Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 4, 2024 Author Posted January 4, 2024 Just now, Shardwatcher01 said: wow that’s great. Yea I totally agree KEEP WRITING. Thank you! I will as soon as I have some free time.
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 8, 2024 Author Posted January 8, 2024 18 minutes ago, Edema Rue said: *teeeeeeeny tiny poke* 15 hour drive tomorrow, lotsa time to write. 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 18, 2024 Author Posted January 18, 2024 After a very long time, I finally have the next chapter done, and I’m pretty happy with it right now (though, if course, it’ll need work later). Chapter 5 Spoiler A knock sounded on Levi’s door, jolting him from his sleep. “Boys, get up! We need to leave very soon!” Phoebe yelled, already annoying Levi. Levi groaned, sitting up from his position on the floor. He glanced over and saw the bed he was supposed to have slept on. The thing was much too soft to be comfortable, when he’d lain on it, he felt like he would sink right through it. After clambering through the mounds of bedding, he’d eventually managed to get back to the ground, a much more suitable resting place. He stood up, noticing that Anson had also decided to sleep on the floor instead of the bed. And somehow his friend was still asleep, despite Phoebe’s yell. He shook Anson awake, who grimaced as the sunlight streaming in through a tiny window hit his eyes. Levi left him and glanced at the small tub filled with cold water. He liked to be clean when possible, though it often wasn’t. And, at the price the rooms had cost it seemed a waste to not bathe, though he had done so the night before. But Phoebe had said they needed to be quick, so he shrugged and instead changed into his clothes from the day before. The two rooms he had rented were much more expensive than he would have liked, but Phoebe said they were almost to the rest of the Shapeless anyway, and they wouldn’t need the money then. Apparently they had “enough resources,” or that’s what Phoebe said. And, surprisingly, Anson had agreed with her, going against his usual thrifty nature. Levi sighed, and left the room to go join Phoebe. As he did, he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. His brown hair was an unruly mop on his head, hanging down to just below his ears in an uneven wave, a result of Anson’s less-than-perfect haircutting skills. He looked away and left the room, only to see that Phoebe had already gone downstairs. He walked down the steps, finding Phoebe was already sitting at a table speaking with a server who was delivering a few platters of food. It seemed that her “quick” meant they would leave after breakfast. Levi sighed again and sat down next to her, trying to push down the feelings of annoyance. Not only was she spending their money on the rooms and now this food, but she had apparently ordered the most expensive things on the menu, which, fittingly, had the smallest portions. It seemed she had taken this into account though, as there were several platters for each of them. In total, between the room cost and now this, it seemed the flame-taken girl had spent a fourth of what they had made from their theft. And, to add onto all of that, it seemed the food was inedible anyway. “You eat these?” he asked in disgust, pointing to one of the shells that occupied the plates of food. “No, silly,” Phoebe said, giving her annoying little laugh. “You don’t eat the shells, you eat what’s inside of them. They’re called oysters, and they’re my absolute favorite,” she said with relish. Of course they were, and seeing as she was a Shaper the chances were that she would be from a noble family, the spoiled little thing. She’d probably had as many of these disgusting things as she’d wanted. She picked one of the shells up, then put it up to her lips and noisily slurped up something inside. Reluctantly, Levi tried it himself and almost gagged as a slimy mass fell out of his oyster, into his mouth, and straight down his throat. He swallowed it whole, then immediately started coughing profusely. Phoebe laughed uproariously as Anson joined them, chuckling. “Good morning Anson,” she said after her fit of laughter was over. She seemed more happy to talk to Anosn than she had Levi. “I’m happy to see you made it in time for the spectacle,” she said, grinning. The spectacle? Levi didn’t think it had been very amusing. All he’d done was choke because of the food she’d ordered, it wasn’t his fault. Anson grinned. “I am too, I would have hated to miss it.” He turned to Levi. “The look on your face was priceless.” He imitated Levi, acting surprised, then coughing violently His antics drew stares from people dining near them, only serving to increase his elation. Hesitantly, Levi tried another oyster, and, surprisingly, found it to be quite delicious. He managed to not make a fool of himself throughout the rest of breakfast, eating his fill of the strange shellfish. As they stood to leave, he looked down at the five leftover oysters with dissatisfaction. So much wasted food, but he was sure he would be unable to eat any more. There were many days where he would have looked at it as priceless. And now… surely there was something that could be done with them. Then he thought of it. There was something he could do. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ “No, there isn’t a cost, and yes, they’re all for you,” Levi said patiently to the small urchin girl. “I know it won’t be nearly enough to fill you, but you might find them to be more than they appear.” He smiled and handed a small bag, containing the oysters and a couple senines, to her. He hadn’t told her about the money, he wanted to see her face when she saw it. She peeked inside, then shrieked with delight. “Thank you sir!” Levi smiled wider. It felt good to be able to help someone. He knew what this was like, days spent next to an inn, hoping that someone would throw out something just barely edible so it would be ignored by the other, more dangerous people prowling the streets. “Don’t let anyone see this, ok?” “Of course not sir, I wouldn’t risk it.” “Good,” he said, gently prodding her back away from the inn. They couldn’t afford to draw suspicion. “Thank you very much sir! Is there anything that you needed from me?” She seemed unable to comprehend that someone would give her something so valuable without asking anything in return. “No. I just ask that you stay as safe as you can. I have to go now.” He stood up straight and watched the girl scamper away, the pouch disappearing into her torn clothes. Levi walked back into the inn, still smiling. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ The group left the inn just after sunrise, heading down a well traveled road that would eventually take them to Melita. It was their second day of traveling, and they had made good time the day before. According to Phoebe, if they kept up the pace they would arrive at a small pass through the mountain range by midday. As they neared it, the mountains seemed to stretch into the sky, an impenetrable mounds of earth with peaks dusted in ice and snow. “Get down!” Phoebe commanded suddenly in a worried whisper. Levi quickly ducked his head, back bowed as if from years of hard work in the many fields surrounding Strathe. He turned his head slightly and saw a pair of men dressed in the colors of Galahad’s policing force. They were supposed to be only for keeping the city safe, but, like every other important position of power in the city, they were corrupt. The members did a poor job protecting the city, instead eliminating the few who were strong willed enough to openly rebuke Galahad. It was a surprise they hadn't caught Levi and Anson after everything they had stolen from the duke. Though… now that he thought of it, that’s probably what they were trying to do now. Levi turned his head away, trying his best to ignore them. The men passed by with barely a glance at the three of them. As they continued their march towards the pass they were forced to avoid scrutiny from similar men and a single violet guard, Galahad’s most elite. The violet guard were Galahad’s top soldiers, assassins, and trackers. Levi had only rarely seen them in person. If Galahad was sending the violet guard after them, he must really be worried. But, despite Levi’s expectations, the violet guard just walked past them, ignoring them like the other men had. Levi couldn’t understand why though. Then he glanced over at Phoebe, whose face was streaked with sweat, a single tear running down her cheek. “Phoebe!” Anson said, worried. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?” “...Shaping,” she grunted, more sweat appearing on her brow. “Oh,” Anson said, awe evident on his face. “I didn’t know you could do that.” “Not easy,” she said, voice strained. She stumbled, and Anson grabbed her arm and kept her from falling. “Are you ok to keep going?” he asked her, concerned. “Fine. No choice,” she said, breathing hard. “Here, let me help you,” Anson said, lifting her arm over his shoulder. They continued walking, Phoebe leaning heavily against Anson. A little bit later, Levi took her pack from her. Just because he didn’t like her he wasn’t going to make her suffer more, especially not after what she was doing for them. Maybe he had judged her too harshly. She didn’t seem so bad after all now, acting less like a spoiled child ripped from their home and expecting the world to treat them as someone special. She was doing more than her part to help. Eventually they arrived at the mountain pass, a small canyon between two huge mountains. At the entrance, eight guardsmen stood, inspecting each group that passed through. “That’s not good,” Anson whispered. “No, it’s not,” Levi whispered back. “Can we sneak past them?” “No, we can’t,” Phoebe said, pointing weakly to the rocks high up on the side of the mountain. Levi looked, then noticed what she had seen. The violet guard from earlier. “Frosts!” he cursed, looking away quickly. Hopefully the woman hadn’t seen . He at first, he was surprised to see it was a woman, Galahad tended to put off women as useless. Buth then he remembered that, when it came to Shapers, even Galahad’s seculatory ways would allow women to do nearly whatever they wished. didn’t matter what gender someone was. Any regular Shaper was worth ten men in a fight, and that many over when trying to find someone. This was a violet guard, Levi had only heard stories of the devestation they could cause. Levi suspected all of the eight violet guard were Shapers, there was no way they could gain the reputation they had and be normal people. “What are we going to do about it?” Anson asked, worried. “Can you make them ignore us like you have before?” Levi asked Phoebe. “Not when they’re looking for us like this,” she said. “I could earlier because they didn’t expect to see us, and apparently they guessed where we were going so they weren’t thinking they’d find us before then.” “What are our options then?” Levi asked, anxious. They were getting closer to the pass, but they couldn’t afford to stop and draw suspicion. “I don’t know,” Phoebe said, sounding just as worried. “I could try to make the one that inspects us closely forget us, that could work. I don’t know how much strength I’ll have after though.” “Do we have another choice?” Anson asked, though he seemed reluctant to cause Phoebe any more stress.. “Whatever we do, we need to do it now,” Levi said as one of the men stepped towards them. He looked at them, then suddenly grew suspicious. Instantly, his expression returned to how it had been. “You may go,” he said lazily. “Thank you sir,” Phoebe said as they passed him, stumbling slightly again despite Anson’s support. They had just entered the canyon when a shrill noise erupted from above them, alerting the guards. “Frosts!” Phoebe cursed. “The violet guard must have seen us!” “What do we do now?” Anson asked, concerened. Suddenly, the noise stopped and the guards returned to their original positions. “Run,” Phoebe saud, sinking to the ground. “I bought us some time, but it won’t last long.” Her eyes fluttered, then closed, her breathing deepening. “What happened?” Anson asked, picking her up gently. “She must have used too much Manna. Remember, like that time when you…” “Yeah, yeah, ok,” he said quickly. He began to jog, a slow, careful run. He was steady on his feet despite Phoebe in his arms, probably a result of Shaping. Levi followed him, reserving his Manna for later. “We’re going to need to go faster than this,” he said, easily keeping pace with Anson. “We can’t afford to be caught.” Anson grunted and began running faster, nearly sprinting. He threw Phoebe over his shoulder, where she flopped about, unconscious. Levi soon began using a small amount of Manna to keep pace with Anson, though it wasn’t as much as Anson must be using. He turned his head and saw, at the very edge of his vision, the guards turning and pointing towards them. “They’ve seen us,” he yelled to Anson. They sped up again, Levi’s Manna depleting faster than he would have liked. They probably had around an hour left if they didn’t speed up any more, accounting for Anson’s increased loss of Manna. They should be able to easily outpace the guards, but that violet guard worried Levi. Several minutes later, or maybe more, Levi couldn’t tell, he yelled at Anson, “Hey, do you want me to carry her? You must be getting tired.” Anson seemed to consider it for a long while. “Yeah, that’d probably be best,” he said eventually. He gently handed her to Levi, who slung her over his shoulder and began running again, his Manna about half spent. They continued at breakneck speed, only the Manna’s power making him dextrous enough to stay on his feet. He felt the effects from his Manna wear away at his mind and soul, making everything seem to blur, all he knew was the sound of his feet hitting the ground, his heavy breathing, and Anson running next to him. Time seemed nonexistent, an endless cycle of lifting his feet and slamming them back into the ground. HIs legs, arms, chest, his entire body burned with the effort, even with the use of his Manna. He began a mantra in his head. Can’t stop. Can’t stop, can’t stop, can’t stop… This continued right up until his foot refused to lift from the ground, sending him tumbling into a skid across the rocky floor. He gasped for air, confused. Why had he stopped? Minutes later, he realized his Manna was completely spent. Anson was lying next to him, chest heaving great gasps of air. Slowly, with a heave of strength, Levi raised his head and looked around. He was surrounded by trees, when had they exited the canyon? He didn’t have the energy to figure it out. With all the effort he could muster, he stood up, body aching. He reached down and grabbed Phoebe, dragging her still limp body off of the path they had been running on. He dragged her as far as he could, just enough that they couldn’t be seen from the road. He sank to the floor, more exhausted than he’d been his entire life. Some time later, Levi couldn’t tell when, Anson crawled to them. Levi closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come to him. He was too tired for even that, so he just lay there, entire body seeming to burn with pain. It hurt even more now than it had while he’d been running. He couldn’t stand it, he would suffocate, his breathing would stop because of the pain, because of the enormous effort it took just to take in a breath. Slowy, agonizingly, the pain in his lungs receded. His body seemed to be tightening, any small movement he made caused it to protest, muscles screaming. He stayed as motionless as he could, truing to make the pain go away. He stayed that way for a long time before he managed to finally sleep. 4
Edema Rue she/her Posted January 18, 2024 Posted January 18, 2024 9 hours ago, Lightweaver2 said: After a very long time, I finally have the next chapter done, and I’m pretty happy with it right now (though, if course, it’ll need work later). Chapter 5 Reveal hidden contents A knock sounded on Levi’s door, jolting him from his sleep. “Boys, get up! We need to leave very soon!” Phoebe yelled, already annoying Levi. Levi groaned, sitting up from his position on the floor. He glanced over and saw the bed he was supposed to have slept on. The thing was much too soft to be comfortable, when he’d lain on it, he felt like he would sink right through it. After clambering through the mounds of bedding, he’d eventually managed to get back to the ground, a much more suitable resting place. He stood up, noticing that Anson had also decided to sleep on the floor instead of the bed. And somehow his friend was still asleep, despite Phoebe’s yell. He shook Anson awake, who grimaced as the sunlight streaming in through a tiny window hit his eyes. Levi left him and glanced at the small tub filled with cold water. He liked to be clean when possible, though it often wasn’t. And, at the price the rooms had cost it seemed a waste to not bathe, though he had done so the night before. But Phoebe had said they needed to be quick, so he shrugged and instead changed into his clothes from the day before. The two rooms he had rented were much more expensive than he would have liked, but Phoebe said they were almost to the rest of the Shapeless anyway, and they wouldn’t need the money then. Apparently they had “enough resources,” or that’s what Phoebe said. And, surprisingly, Anson had agreed with her, going against his usual thrifty nature. Levi sighed, and left the room to go join Phoebe. As he did, he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. His brown hair was an unruly mop on his head, hanging down to just below his ears in an uneven wave, a result of Anson’s less-than-perfect haircutting skills. He looked away and left the room, only to see that Phoebe had already gone downstairs. He walked down the steps, finding Phoebe was already sitting at a table speaking with a server who was delivering a few platters of food. It seemed that her “quick” meant they would leave after breakfast. Levi sighed again and sat down next to her, trying to push down the feelings of annoyance. Not only was she spending their money on the rooms and now this food, but she had apparently ordered the most expensive things on the menu, which, fittingly, had the smallest portions. It seemed she had taken this into account though, as there were several platters for each of them. In total, between the room cost and now this, it seemed the flame-taken girl had spent a fourth of what they had made from their theft. And, to add onto all of that, it seemed the food was inedible anyway. “You eat these?” he asked in disgust, pointing to one of the shells that occupied the plates of food. “No, silly,” Phoebe said, giving her annoying little laugh. “You don’t eat the shells, you eat what’s inside of them. They’re called oysters, and they’re my absolute favorite,” she said with relish. Of course they were, and seeing as she was a Shaper the chances were that she would be from a noble family, the spoiled little thing. She’d probably had as many of these disgusting things as she’d wanted. She picked one of the shells up, then put it up to her lips and noisily slurped up something inside. Reluctantly, Levi tried it himself and almost gagged as a slimy mass fell out of his oyster, into his mouth, and straight down his throat. He swallowed it whole, then immediately started coughing profusely. Phoebe laughed uproariously as Anson joined them, chuckling. “Good morning Anson,” she said after her fit of laughter was over. She seemed more happy to talk to Anosn than she had Levi. “I’m happy to see you made it in time for the spectacle,” she said, grinning. The spectacle? Levi didn’t think it had been very amusing. All he’d done was choke because of the food she’d ordered, it wasn’t his fault. Anson grinned. “I am too, I would have hated to miss it.” He turned to Levi. “The look on your face was priceless.” He imitated Levi, acting surprised, then coughing violently His antics drew stares from people dining near them, only serving to increase his elation. Hesitantly, Levi tried another oyster, and, surprisingly, found it to be quite delicious. He managed to not make a fool of himself throughout the rest of breakfast, eating his fill of the strange shellfish. As they stood to leave, he looked down at the five leftover oysters with dissatisfaction. So much wasted food, but he was sure he would be unable to eat any more. There were many days where he would have looked at it as priceless. And now… surely there was something that could be done with them. Then he thought of it. There was something he could do. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ “No, there isn’t a cost, and yes, they’re all for you,” Levi said patiently to the small urchin girl. “I know it won’t be nearly enough to fill you, but you might find them to be more than they appear.” He smiled and handed a small bag, containing the oysters and a couple senines, to her. He hadn’t told her about the money, he wanted to see her face when she saw it. She peeked inside, then shrieked with delight. “Thank you sir!” Levi smiled wider. It felt good to be able to help someone. He knew what this was like, days spent next to an inn, hoping that someone would throw out something just barely edible so it would be ignored by the other, more dangerous people prowling the streets. “Don’t let anyone see this, ok?” “Of course not sir, I wouldn’t risk it.” “Good,” he said, gently prodding her back away from the inn. They couldn’t afford to draw suspicion. “Thank you very much sir! Is there anything that you needed from me?” She seemed unable to comprehend that someone would give her something so valuable without asking anything in return. “No. I just ask that you stay as safe as you can. I have to go now.” He stood up straight and watched the girl scamper away, the pouch disappearing into her torn clothes. Levi walked back into the inn, still smiling. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ The group left the inn just after sunrise, heading down a well traveled road that would eventually take them to Melita. It was their second day of traveling, and they had made good time the day before. According to Phoebe, if they kept up the pace they would arrive at a small pass through the mountain range by midday. As they neared it, the mountains seemed to stretch into the sky, an impenetrable mounds of earth with peaks dusted in ice and snow. “Get down!” Phoebe commanded suddenly in a worried whisper. Levi quickly ducked his head, back bowed as if from years of hard work in the many fields surrounding Strathe. He turned his head slightly and saw a pair of men dressed in the colors of Galahad’s policing force. They were supposed to be only for keeping the city safe, but, like every other important position of power in the city, they were corrupt. The members did a poor job protecting the city, instead eliminating the few who were strong willed enough to openly rebuke Galahad. It was a surprise they hadn't caught Levi and Anson after everything they had stolen from the duke. Though… now that he thought of it, that’s probably what they were trying to do now. Levi turned his head away, trying his best to ignore them. The men passed by with barely a glance at the three of them. As they continued their march towards the pass they were forced to avoid scrutiny from similar men and a single violet guard, Galahad’s most elite. The violet guard were Galahad’s top soldiers, assassins, and trackers. Levi had only rarely seen them in person. If Galahad was sending the violet guard after them, he must really be worried. But, despite Levi’s expectations, the violet guard just walked past them, ignoring them like the other men had. Levi couldn’t understand why though. Then he glanced over at Phoebe, whose face was streaked with sweat, a single tear running down her cheek. “Phoebe!” Anson said, worried. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?” “...Shaping,” she grunted, more sweat appearing on her brow. “Oh,” Anson said, awe evident on his face. “I didn’t know you could do that.” “Not easy,” she said, voice strained. She stumbled, and Anson grabbed her arm and kept her from falling. “Are you ok to keep going?” he asked her, concerned. “Fine. No choice,” she said, breathing hard. “Here, let me help you,” Anson said, lifting her arm over his shoulder. They continued walking, Phoebe leaning heavily against Anson. A little bit later, Levi took her pack from her. Just because he didn’t like her he wasn’t going to make her suffer more, especially not after what she was doing for them. Maybe he had judged her too harshly. She didn’t seem so bad after all now, acting less like a spoiled child ripped from their home and expecting the world to treat them as someone special. She was doing more than her part to help. Eventually they arrived at the mountain pass, a small canyon between two huge mountains. At the entrance, eight guardsmen stood, inspecting each group that passed through. “That’s not good,” Anson whispered. “No, it’s not,” Levi whispered back. “Can we sneak past them?” “No, we can’t,” Phoebe said, pointing weakly to the rocks high up on the side of the mountain. Levi looked, then noticed what she had seen. The violet guard from earlier. “Frosts!” he cursed, looking away quickly. Hopefully the woman hadn’t seen . He at first, he was surprised to see it was a woman, Galahad tended to put off women as useless. Buth then he remembered that, when it came to Shapers, even Galahad’s seculatory ways would allow women to do nearly whatever they wished. didn’t matter what gender someone was. Any regular Shaper was worth ten men in a fight, and that many over when trying to find someone. This was a violet guard, Levi had only heard stories of the devestation they could cause. Levi suspected all of the eight violet guard were Shapers, there was no way they could gain the reputation they had and be normal people. “What are we going to do about it?” Anson asked, worried. “Can you make them ignore us like you have before?” Levi asked Phoebe. “Not when they’re looking for us like this,” she said. “I could earlier because they didn’t expect to see us, and apparently they guessed where we were going so they weren’t thinking they’d find us before then.” “What are our options then?” Levi asked, anxious. They were getting closer to the pass, but they couldn’t afford to stop and draw suspicion. “I don’t know,” Phoebe said, sounding just as worried. “I could try to make the one that inspects us closely forget us, that could work. I don’t know how much strength I’ll have after though.” “Do we have another choice?” Anson asked, though he seemed reluctant to cause Phoebe any more stress.. “Whatever we do, we need to do it now,” Levi said as one of the men stepped towards them. He looked at them, then suddenly grew suspicious. Instantly, his expression returned to how it had been. “You may go,” he said lazily. “Thank you sir,” Phoebe said as they passed him, stumbling slightly again despite Anson’s support. They had just entered the canyon when a shrill noise erupted from above them, alerting the guards. “Frosts!” Phoebe cursed. “The violet guard must have seen us!” “What do we do now?” Anson asked, concerened. Suddenly, the noise stopped and the guards returned to their original positions. “Run,” Phoebe saud, sinking to the ground. “I bought us some time, but it won’t last long.” Her eyes fluttered, then closed, her breathing deepening. “What happened?” Anson asked, picking her up gently. “She must have used too much Manna. Remember, like that time when you…” “Yeah, yeah, ok,” he said quickly. He began to jog, a slow, careful run. He was steady on his feet despite Phoebe in his arms, probably a result of Shaping. Levi followed him, reserving his Manna for later. “We’re going to need to go faster than this,” he said, easily keeping pace with Anson. “We can’t afford to be caught.” Anson grunted and began running faster, nearly sprinting. He threw Phoebe over his shoulder, where she flopped about, unconscious. Levi soon began using a small amount of Manna to keep pace with Anson, though it wasn’t as much as Anson must be using. He turned his head and saw, at the very edge of his vision, the guards turning and pointing towards them. “They’ve seen us,” he yelled to Anson. They sped up again, Levi’s Manna depleting faster than he would have liked. They probably had around an hour left if they didn’t speed up any more, accounting for Anson’s increased loss of Manna. They should be able to easily outpace the guards, but that violet guard worried Levi. Several minutes later, or maybe more, Levi couldn’t tell, he yelled at Anson, “Hey, do you want me to carry her? You must be getting tired.” Anson seemed to consider it for a long while. “Yeah, that’d probably be best,” he said eventually. He gently handed her to Levi, who slung her over his shoulder and began running again, his Manna about half spent. They continued at breakneck speed, only the Manna’s power making him dextrous enough to stay on his feet. He felt the effects from his Manna wear away at his mind and soul, making everything seem to blur, all he knew was the sound of his feet hitting the ground, his heavy breathing, and Anson running next to him. Time seemed nonexistent, an endless cycle of lifting his feet and slamming them back into the ground. HIs legs, arms, chest, his entire body burned with the effort, even with the use of his Manna. He began a mantra in his head. Can’t stop. Can’t stop, can’t stop, can’t stop… This continued right up until his foot refused to lift from the ground, sending him tumbling into a skid across the rocky floor. He gasped for air, confused. Why had he stopped? Minutes later, he realized his Manna was completely spent. Anson was lying next to him, chest heaving great gasps of air. Slowly, with a heave of strength, Levi raised his head and looked around. He was surrounded by trees, when had they exited the canyon? He didn’t have the energy to figure it out. With all the effort he could muster, he stood up, body aching. He reached down and grabbed Phoebe, dragging her still limp body off of the path they had been running on. He dragged her as far as he could, just enough that they couldn’t be seen from the road. He sank to the floor, more exhausted than he’d been his entire life. Some time later, Levi couldn’t tell when, Anson crawled to them. Levi closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come to him. He was too tired for even that, so he just lay there, entire body seeming to burn with pain. It hurt even more now than it had while he’d been running. He couldn’t stand it, he would suffocate, his breathing would stop because of the pain, because of the enormous effort it took just to take in a breath. Slowy, agonizingly, the pain in his lungs receded. His body seemed to be tightening, any small movement he made caused it to protest, muscles screaming. He stayed as motionless as he could, truing to make the pain go away. He stayed that way for a long time before he managed to finally sleep. AHHHH that was so good!!!! I liked it a lot, I'm excited to see what comes next 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 18, 2024 Author Posted January 18, 2024 53 minutes ago, Edema Rue said: AHHHH that was so good!!!! I liked it a lot, I'm excited to see what comes next Thanks Eddie, I appreciate the feedback!
Throw TheLiving Silverware he/him/il/lui Posted January 18, 2024 Posted January 18, 2024 16 hours ago, Lightweaver2 said: After a very long time, I finally have the next chapter done, and I’m pretty happy with it right now (though, if course, it’ll need work later). Chapter 5 Hide contents A knock sounded on Levi’s door, jolting him from his sleep. “Boys, get up! We need to leave very soon!” Phoebe yelled, already annoying Levi. Levi groaned, sitting up from his position on the floor. He glanced over and saw the bed he was supposed to have slept on. The thing was much too soft to be comfortable, when he’d lain on it, he felt like he would sink right through it. After clambering through the mounds of bedding, he’d eventually managed to get back to the ground, a much more suitable resting place. He stood up, noticing that Anson had also decided to sleep on the floor instead of the bed. And somehow his friend was still asleep, despite Phoebe’s yell. He shook Anson awake, who grimaced as the sunlight streaming in through a tiny window hit his eyes. Levi left him and glanced at the small tub filled with cold water. He liked to be clean when possible, though it often wasn’t. And, at the price the rooms had cost it seemed a waste to not bathe, though he had done so the night before. But Phoebe had said they needed to be quick, so he shrugged and instead changed into his clothes from the day before. The two rooms he had rented were much more expensive than he would have liked, but Phoebe said they were almost to the rest of the Shapeless anyway, and they wouldn’t need the money then. Apparently they had “enough resources,” or that’s what Phoebe said. And, surprisingly, Anson had agreed with her, going against his usual thrifty nature. Levi sighed, and left the room to go join Phoebe. As he did, he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. His brown hair was an unruly mop on his head, hanging down to just below his ears in an uneven wave, a result of Anson’s less-than-perfect haircutting skills. He looked away and left the room, only to see that Phoebe had already gone downstairs. He walked down the steps, finding Phoebe was already sitting at a table speaking with a server who was delivering a few platters of food. It seemed that her “quick” meant they would leave after breakfast. Levi sighed again and sat down next to her, trying to push down the feelings of annoyance. Not only was she spending their money on the rooms and now this food, but she had apparently ordered the most expensive things on the menu, which, fittingly, had the smallest portions. It seemed she had taken this into account though, as there were several platters for each of them. In total, between the room cost and now this, it seemed the flame-taken girl had spent a fourth of what they had made from their theft. And, to add onto all of that, it seemed the food was inedible anyway. “You eat these?” he asked in disgust, pointing to one of the shells that occupied the plates of food. “No, silly,” Phoebe said, giving her annoying little laugh. “You don’t eat the shells, you eat what’s inside of them. They’re called oysters, and they’re my absolute favorite,” she said with relish. Of course they were, and seeing as she was a Shaper the chances were that she would be from a noble family, the spoiled little thing. She’d probably had as many of these disgusting things as she’d wanted. She picked one of the shells up, then put it up to her lips and noisily slurped up something inside. Reluctantly, Levi tried it himself and almost gagged as a slimy mass fell out of his oyster, into his mouth, and straight down his throat. He swallowed it whole, then immediately started coughing profusely. Phoebe laughed uproariously as Anson joined them, chuckling. “Good morning Anson,” she said after her fit of laughter was over. She seemed more happy to talk to Anosn than she had Levi. “I’m happy to see you made it in time for the spectacle,” she said, grinning. The spectacle? Levi didn’t think it had been very amusing. All he’d done was choke because of the food she’d ordered, it wasn’t his fault. Anson grinned. “I am too, I would have hated to miss it.” He turned to Levi. “The look on your face was priceless.” He imitated Levi, acting surprised, then coughing violently His antics drew stares from people dining near them, only serving to increase his elation. Hesitantly, Levi tried another oyster, and, surprisingly, found it to be quite delicious. He managed to not make a fool of himself throughout the rest of breakfast, eating his fill of the strange shellfish. As they stood to leave, he looked down at the five leftover oysters with dissatisfaction. So much wasted food, but he was sure he would be unable to eat any more. There were many days where he would have looked at it as priceless. And now… surely there was something that could be done with them. Then he thought of it. There was something he could do. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ “No, there isn’t a cost, and yes, they’re all for you,” Levi said patiently to the small urchin girl. “I know it won’t be nearly enough to fill you, but you might find them to be more than they appear.” He smiled and handed a small bag, containing the oysters and a couple senines, to her. He hadn’t told her about the money, he wanted to see her face when she saw it. She peeked inside, then shrieked with delight. “Thank you sir!” Levi smiled wider. It felt good to be able to help someone. He knew what this was like, days spent next to an inn, hoping that someone would throw out something just barely edible so it would be ignored by the other, more dangerous people prowling the streets. “Don’t let anyone see this, ok?” “Of course not sir, I wouldn’t risk it.” “Good,” he said, gently prodding her back away from the inn. They couldn’t afford to draw suspicion. “Thank you very much sir! Is there anything that you needed from me?” She seemed unable to comprehend that someone would give her something so valuable without asking anything in return. “No. I just ask that you stay as safe as you can. I have to go now.” He stood up straight and watched the girl scamper away, the pouch disappearing into her torn clothes. Levi walked back into the inn, still smiling. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ The group left the inn just after sunrise, heading down a well traveled road that would eventually take them to Melita. It was their second day of traveling, and they had made good time the day before. According to Phoebe, if they kept up the pace they would arrive at a small pass through the mountain range by midday. As they neared it, the mountains seemed to stretch into the sky, an impenetrable mounds of earth with peaks dusted in ice and snow. “Get down!” Phoebe commanded suddenly in a worried whisper. Levi quickly ducked his head, back bowed as if from years of hard work in the many fields surrounding Strathe. He turned his head slightly and saw a pair of men dressed in the colors of Galahad’s policing force. They were supposed to be only for keeping the city safe, but, like every other important position of power in the city, they were corrupt. The members did a poor job protecting the city, instead eliminating the few who were strong willed enough to openly rebuke Galahad. It was a surprise they hadn't caught Levi and Anson after everything they had stolen from the duke. Though… now that he thought of it, that’s probably what they were trying to do now. Levi turned his head away, trying his best to ignore them. The men passed by with barely a glance at the three of them. As they continued their march towards the pass they were forced to avoid scrutiny from similar men and a single violet guard, Galahad’s most elite. The violet guard were Galahad’s top soldiers, assassins, and trackers. Levi had only rarely seen them in person. If Galahad was sending the violet guard after them, he must really be worried. But, despite Levi’s expectations, the violet guard just walked past them, ignoring them like the other men had. Levi couldn’t understand why though. Then he glanced over at Phoebe, whose face was streaked with sweat, a single tear running down her cheek. “Phoebe!” Anson said, worried. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?” “...Shaping,” she grunted, more sweat appearing on her brow. “Oh,” Anson said, awe evident on his face. “I didn’t know you could do that.” “Not easy,” she said, voice strained. She stumbled, and Anson grabbed her arm and kept her from falling. “Are you ok to keep going?” he asked her, concerned. “Fine. No choice,” she said, breathing hard. “Here, let me help you,” Anson said, lifting her arm over his shoulder. They continued walking, Phoebe leaning heavily against Anson. A little bit later, Levi took her pack from her. Just because he didn’t like her he wasn’t going to make her suffer more, especially not after what she was doing for them. Maybe he had judged her too harshly. She didn’t seem so bad after all now, acting less like a spoiled child ripped from their home and expecting the world to treat them as someone special. She was doing more than her part to help. Eventually they arrived at the mountain pass, a small canyon between two huge mountains. At the entrance, eight guardsmen stood, inspecting each group that passed through. “That’s not good,” Anson whispered. “No, it’s not,” Levi whispered back. “Can we sneak past them?” “No, we can’t,” Phoebe said, pointing weakly to the rocks high up on the side of the mountain. Levi looked, then noticed what she had seen. The violet guard from earlier. “Frosts!” he cursed, looking away quickly. Hopefully the woman hadn’t seen . He at first, he was surprised to see it was a woman, Galahad tended to put off women as useless. Buth then he remembered that, when it came to Shapers, even Galahad’s seculatory ways would allow women to do nearly whatever they wished. didn’t matter what gender someone was. Any regular Shaper was worth ten men in a fight, and that many over when trying to find someone. This was a violet guard, Levi had only heard stories of the devestation they could cause. Levi suspected all of the eight violet guard were Shapers, there was no way they could gain the reputation they had and be normal people. “What are we going to do about it?” Anson asked, worried. “Can you make them ignore us like you have before?” Levi asked Phoebe. “Not when they’re looking for us like this,” she said. “I could earlier because they didn’t expect to see us, and apparently they guessed where we were going so they weren’t thinking they’d find us before then.” “What are our options then?” Levi asked, anxious. They were getting closer to the pass, but they couldn’t afford to stop and draw suspicion. “I don’t know,” Phoebe said, sounding just as worried. “I could try to make the one that inspects us closely forget us, that could work. I don’t know how much strength I’ll have after though.” “Do we have another choice?” Anson asked, though he seemed reluctant to cause Phoebe any more stress.. “Whatever we do, we need to do it now,” Levi said as one of the men stepped towards them. He looked at them, then suddenly grew suspicious. Instantly, his expression returned to how it had been. “You may go,” he said lazily. “Thank you sir,” Phoebe said as they passed him, stumbling slightly again despite Anson’s support. They had just entered the canyon when a shrill noise erupted from above them, alerting the guards. “Frosts!” Phoebe cursed. “The violet guard must have seen us!” “What do we do now?” Anson asked, concerened. Suddenly, the noise stopped and the guards returned to their original positions. “Run,” Phoebe saud, sinking to the ground. “I bought us some time, but it won’t last long.” Her eyes fluttered, then closed, her breathing deepening. “What happened?” Anson asked, picking her up gently. “She must have used too much Manna. Remember, like that time when you…” “Yeah, yeah, ok,” he said quickly. He began to jog, a slow, careful run. He was steady on his feet despite Phoebe in his arms, probably a result of Shaping. Levi followed him, reserving his Manna for later. “We’re going to need to go faster than this,” he said, easily keeping pace with Anson. “We can’t afford to be caught.” Anson grunted and began running faster, nearly sprinting. He threw Phoebe over his shoulder, where she flopped about, unconscious. Levi soon began using a small amount of Manna to keep pace with Anson, though it wasn’t as much as Anson must be using. He turned his head and saw, at the very edge of his vision, the guards turning and pointing towards them. “They’ve seen us,” he yelled to Anson. They sped up again, Levi’s Manna depleting faster than he would have liked. They probably had around an hour left if they didn’t speed up any more, accounting for Anson’s increased loss of Manna. They should be able to easily outpace the guards, but that violet guard worried Levi. Several minutes later, or maybe more, Levi couldn’t tell, he yelled at Anson, “Hey, do you want me to carry her? You must be getting tired.” Anson seemed to consider it for a long while. “Yeah, that’d probably be best,” he said eventually. He gently handed her to Levi, who slung her over his shoulder and began running again, his Manna about half spent. They continued at breakneck speed, only the Manna’s power making him dextrous enough to stay on his feet. He felt the effects from his Manna wear away at his mind and soul, making everything seem to blur, all he knew was the sound of his feet hitting the ground, his heavy breathing, and Anson running next to him. Time seemed nonexistent, an endless cycle of lifting his feet and slamming them back into the ground. HIs legs, arms, chest, his entire body burned with the effort, even with the use of his Manna. He began a mantra in his head. Can’t stop. Can’t stop, can’t stop, can’t stop… This continued right up until his foot refused to lift from the ground, sending him tumbling into a skid across the rocky floor. He gasped for air, confused. Why had he stopped? Minutes later, he realized his Manna was completely spent. Anson was lying next to him, chest heaving great gasps of air. Slowly, with a heave of strength, Levi raised his head and looked around. He was surrounded by trees, when had they exited the canyon? He didn’t have the energy to figure it out. With all the effort he could muster, he stood up, body aching. He reached down and grabbed Phoebe, dragging her still limp body off of the path they had been running on. He dragged her as far as he could, just enough that they couldn’t be seen from the road. He sank to the floor, more exhausted than he’d been his entire life. Some time later, Levi couldn’t tell when, Anson crawled to them. Levi closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come to him. He was too tired for even that, so he just lay there, entire body seeming to burn with pain. It hurt even more now than it had while he’d been running. He couldn’t stand it, he would suffocate, his breathing would stop because of the pain, because of the enormous effort it took just to take in a breath. Slowy, agonizingly, the pain in his lungs receded. His body seemed to be tightening, any small movement he made caused it to protest, muscles screaming. He stayed as motionless as he could, truing to make the pain go away. He stayed that way for a long time before he managed to finally sleep. Really good indeed! I quite like the way you introduced the violet guard: they don't even need to do anything special to be just terrifying Waiting eagerly for the rest 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 18, 2024 Author Posted January 18, 2024 Just now, Just a Silvereye said: Really good indeed! I quite like the way you introduced the violet guard: they don't even need to do anything special to be just terrifying Waiting eagerly for the rest Thank you! I just kind of threw them in here because it felt right, I hadn’t planned to have them before, but I’m glad it works! I’m working on another name for them, but there’s a chance the name won’t change. 1
TheFrugalWizard he/him Posted January 19, 2024 Posted January 19, 2024 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2 Hang in there, Lightweaver. God is on your side.proms 2
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 25, 2024 Author Posted January 25, 2024 I had fun writing this one, please tell me your thoughts! Chapter 6: Spoiler Levi woke to immense pain. He tried to move, but his body refused to do so, instead sending another wave of pain through him. He lay there, waiting for something to happen. Every muscle in his body felt tight, like any movement would his muscles in two. After a long while, he slowly began inching his arm away from where it lay. The muscles stretched, loosening slightly. He gritted his teeth and repeated the process until he could move it without inciting too much pain. He did this again with the other arm, then both of his legs. Eventually, he tried to stand, through excruciating pain, he lifted himself to his feet, wobbling greatly. Even his chest and torso were sore, though he didn’t understand why. He looked around and saw Phoebe sitting next to a small fire. Levi sighed in relief, teetering over to her. “Are you ok?” she asked him, looking worried. “That might be a stretch,” he said, a small grin appearing on his face despite the steady pain he felt. That pain seemed to be receding though, faster now, until it was much more manageable. “I’m sorry,” she said sincerely, with none of the girlish tone her voice usually carried. “This is my fault. If I had just…” “Frosts, Phoebe, don’t blame yourself!” Levi said with conviction. “Without you, all of us would be dead. What more could you have done?” “...I don’t know.” “Well, let's look at what you have done,” Anson said, wobbling towards them from where he had crawled to the night before. “You managed to make us avoid detection by eight guards as we traveled, not to mention messing with a violet guard’s mind and not being caught. Then you did something to those same eight guards and that violet guard that made them forget us for a time, allowing us to escape. Now, all that we have to deal with, at least for now, is a little bit of soreness. That was a violet guard, Phoebe. I still can’t believe you did that, you were incredible.” “Well…I…Well…” she stammered. “He’s right,” Levi said, letting a little bit of his admiration for her show. “You saved us, without you we’d probably be in Galahad’s clutches right now.” “That makes what I did sound a lot more heroic than it was,” she said modestly. “All I did was some Shaping. Anyway, without you two none of it would matter. I made the mistake of using too much Manna. If you hadn’t carried me away I’d be dead. Galahad isn’t fond of traitors.” Like we’d leave you, after all you’ve done,” Anson said. Phoebe blushed slightly cheeks turning pink. Levi laughed. “He’s right though, we wouldn’t leave you.” “Thanks,” she said weakly, face still flushed “Are you ok?” Anson asked her suddenly, seeming concerned. “I don’t really know what mental Shaping feels like, but it must be terrible.” “I’m fine,” she said honestly. “The effects wore off hours ago.” Anson sighed in relief. “Good, I’m glad. He moved to sit down, but his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed on the hard dirt. They all laughed, and Phoebe pulled him to a sitting position, then sat next to him, their arms just barely brushing. Levi sat too, a few feet away from them, enjoying the fire’s warmth in front of him and the golden sunlight on his back. His muscles seemed to be easing up even more, his pain fading slowly to a dull ache. He sighed in contentment. As soon as he did that, he knew he had made a mistake. “Alright, we need to get going now,” Phoebe said. I saw the violet guard pass us, we’re lucky she didn’t notice where we were. But Galahad will find us here eventually, our only hope is to make it back to the rest of the Shapeless before we’re found.” “You’re probably right. And I was just starting to get comfortable,” Anson said, standing up and groaning loudly. “Before we go, we need to make sure that no one can know we were here, " Phoebe said calmly, ignoring Anson’s slightly exaggerated reaction. “I dug this pit so it can be easily covered,” she said, motioning to the fire. “The rest should be fairly easy to do.” Levi and Anson got to work throwing dirt on the fire, smothering it. They didn’t have the water to put it out, and even if they did, they couldn’t afford to have the steam give them away. Travelers weren’t common in the Wanderer’s Forest, or so Levi had heard, so it would be obvious who and where they were. Eventually, their campsite, if it could even be called that, had been cleared almost entirely. “This should mask our presence,” Phoebe said. “At least, no normal city patrol will know we’ve been here. But if that violet guard comes back…” her sentence trailed off, and she grew worried. “We get it,” Levi said. “We need to go and get as much of a head start as we can, I doubt we’ll stay hidden from her for long.” He started walking, limping. “Frosts! I wish I could move faster. I pushed myself too hard yesterday!” Phoebe looked at him, concerned. “Is there any Shaping you could do to help?” she asked. “I don’t think so. We’ll just have to go slower until Anson and I regain our strength fully. “Fine,” Phoebe said, obviously worried. “There’s something I can do, but it’s only for an emergency. We don’t want to push your bodies past what they can do, and you’ve already bent that limit. “Alright, we get it, we’re going to be slow,” Anson said sufferingly. “But however fast we move, it’ll be faster than what we’re doing right now.” “You're right,” Phoebe said. “Let's go.” ⤞⤝⤞⤝ As Levi crossed what seemed to be the hundredth hill, he groaned softly as he saw another in front of them. They had exited the forest hours ago, and the sun was beating down on them, hotter than ever. As he looked, he saw a small patch of reapers on the next hill, small flowers that grew in this area. The reapers were shriveled and almost stark wight, an unique tactic they used to keep out the summer sun. When night came, they would bloom and absorb the rain that often fell at night. “How much further is it?” Anson asked Phoebe, panting softly. “We’ll try to make it to the next town, Inalta, by tonight. That way we can rest well and hopefully be at Melita in the morning. Anson sighed softly, which Phoebe didn’t seem to notice. He didn’t complain as they continued their travel though. Levi began drawing slightly on his Manna to keep him moving at the quick pace Phoebe was pushing them at. The sun made its way down, the eastern sky, touching the mountains they had crossed through the day before. Levi smelled and saw the smoke before he saw the town itself. It was a good smell, hearths burning, meat roasting, and forges belching out black smoke into the sky. He breathed it in, it smelled almost like home. Phoebe, on the other hand, wrinkled her nose at the smell. “I forgot how much I hate this kind of place,” she said. “With the grimy streets and disgusting inns. I guess it’s better than nothing though. Even with how much I love spending the nights with the trees, out in the wild, I never do get good sleep.” Anson nodded his head in agreement, despite sleeping on the floor last time they had rented a room. Phoebe looked at him and laughed, coming to the same realization that Levi had. Anoson shook his head, seeming to try to clear it. “What?” Phoebe laughed again, pushing his arm playfully. Anson winced slightly, then immediately tried to hide his reaction. “Sorry,” Phoebe said, concerned. “It’s fine, I’m still just sore from yesterday.” She didn’t say anything for a little bit, looking slightly abashed. “Well, we shouldn’t have to be walking much longer,” she said eventually as they approached the small wall surrounding the town. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ Levi trudged up the stairs to his and Anson’s room on the second story of the inn. Though it was really only a few steps, it seemed to take all of his energy just to reach the top. He was utterly tired, his Manna nearly spent from the full day of travel. He couldn’t feel its effects too much, as he had spent it evenly throughout the day instead of in a rush like the day before. That didn’t seem to matter to him right then though, all he could feel was his own tiredness. He pulled open the door to his room and tumbled inside, falling to the floor in a heap. He didn’t move from there, still fully dressed. His eyes closed, and sleep came to him easily. ⤞⤝⤞⤝ Levi gasped awake, sweating profusely, his entire body shaking. He tried to clear his mind of what he had just seen, what he had just relived, but he couldn’t. Issac’s laugh seemed to ring loudly in his head, and he thought he could still see the executioner, ax raised above his parents. He shivered, goosebumps rising on his arms. It had just been a dream… well, a dream of what had happened before, he told himself, trying to calm down. That was the past now. He tried to steady himself, taking slow, deep breaths, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. He heard his heart pounding in his ears, and felt like he couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything at all. But he could, his body just seemed sluggish. Or, no, it was his mind that seemed to be moving slower. Slowly, he sat up, then stood, planning to get a drink of water and try to clear his head. It was too dark to see much of anything, so he lit the candle on the desk next to the bed. He held it up, and saw Anson shaking on the floor. Levi walked towards him, putting the candle out in front of him to see better. But for some reason, an area by Anson remained dark, though the rest of the room was filled with dim light. As Levi looked closer, he gasped as he saw the humanoid… something leaning over Anson. It seemed to be shadow incarnate, unmoving as it floated a couple of inches off the ground. It didn’t appear to be doing anything, but as Levi slowly edged closer he saw Anson twitch, arms and legs spasming. The thing didn’t seem to react as Levi stepped towards it. Then it turned and faced him. Levi’s mind grew more blurry, almost like when he used Manna. He stepped back, and the thing, the demon it appeared, floated towards him. He let out a scream of terror, his mental capacity dropping rapidly. But then the strange feeling left, his mind returning to normal. The demon floated past him, phasing through the door and out into the rest of the inn. Levi heard movement in front of him and he jumped, but then saw it was only Anson standing up, still shaking. “What was that?” he whispered, voice hoarse. “I don’t know,” Levi said, his own voice surprisingly calm. A knock sounded on their door, making them both jump again. “We need to leave!” Phoebe yelled, her voice filled with confusion and worry. Levi hesitated, wondering if it was some demon imitating her. He stumbled over to the door, legs still stiff and sore, and looked through the small peephole. It was indeed Phoebe standing outside, not another demon. He sighed in relief, opening the door, letting Phoebe into the room. She rushed in, eyes filled with fear. “We need to leave. Now. You won’t believe what I just…” she looked at them, Levi and Anson shaking uncontrollably. “Nevermind, you would. It looks like it’s been in here too. So you know why this is urgent.” “What…what about everyone else?” Anson stuttered, voice shaking. “Hopefully it’ll leave them alone, but we can’t do anything about it. We don’t know how to stop it. The best chance we can give them is to leave now.” “I…I don’t like that,” Levi said. “B…but, like you said, we d…don’t have another choice.” “We need to go,” she repeated, turning around. She dashed out of the room, and Levi and Anson followed her, using Manna to increase their speed. Levi didn’t want to run into that demon again, so he went as fast as he could. They sprinted down the stairs and out of the inn, feet pounding loudly on the floor. As they left, Levi thought he could just barely feel the demon’s presence, draining on his mind more than the Manna usually would. “What…was….that?” Anson huffed as they ran, exiting the city entirely. “Not…sure…” Phoebe responded. “Remember the stories… about demons?” Levi asked Anson, his breathing a little more controlled than the other two’s. “Yeah…” comprehension dawned on his face. “You think…real?” “I think we just saw one.” 3
Throw TheLiving Silverware he/him/il/lui Posted January 25, 2024 Posted January 25, 2024 Really cool! Especially the character dynamics between Levi, Arson, and Phoebe 1
Edema Rue she/her Posted January 25, 2024 Posted January 25, 2024 Oo I loved that!! I also like the way the characters interact, and I love your demon!! And the description of are muscles was so true xD 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 25, 2024 Author Posted January 25, 2024 6 hours ago, Just a Silvereye said: Really cool! Especially the character dynamics between Levi, Arson, and Phoebe Thank you! I’m happy you think that, as personally I feel my characters are the weakest part of my story. 48 minutes ago, Edema Rue said: Oo I loved that!! I also like the way the characters interact, and I love your demon!! And the description of are muscles was so true xD Hehe, I love my demon. And yeah, I know from much experience 33 minutes ago, ΨιτιsτηεΒέsτ said: This is awesome! Thanks! 1
Wierdo he/him Posted January 26, 2024 Posted January 26, 2024 I just gotta say, this is amazing. Nice work- and good luck 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted January 26, 2024 Author Posted January 26, 2024 1 hour ago, Wierdo said: I just gotta say, this is amazing. Nice work- and good luck Thank you!
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted March 4, 2024 Author Posted March 4, 2024 I… well I wrote for the first time in a while, it’s not part of my book but I’m really happy with it. It’s a little short story that is kind of (really) depressing in some ways, so here’s a warning. Spoiler The heart monitor beeped one last time. I barely heard it, it was so hard to hear anything. I had known this was coming, known for years now. So had he, he said he’d been ready. But I wasn’t, not ready for him to be gone. I had begged the doctors for days to do something, but they told me again and again that there was no hope for him, that his illness was incurable. I, in my desperation, had even written a letter to the Council, pleading with them to fix him. I knew they had the ability to do so, little was beyond their power. I had received a nicely written letter back, telling me that they would not, could not, help him, for they were unable to meddle in individual affairs. They had saved, and would continue to save, thousands, millions, even billions with their magic, but the one that mattered most to me they could not save. Of course, they didn’t have time to write that letter back, nor even read the one I had sent. An underpaid, overworked secretary had most likely been the one to write back, the one that, so kindly, had explained why they wouldn’t save him. My other letter, on the other hand, they had viewed personally. I was nobody, just another woman with an idea, and yet, for some reason, they had latched on to it. They had invited me to speak with them personally, to inform me that of the millions of ideas they had received, mine was the one they would try. I didn’t know why, or even how it would be done, but only that it was humanity's only hope for survival. In that moment, I asked for what I wanted most, for them to save the one I loved. They told me that they would not. They didn’t even have the shame to sound regretful. Hearing it in person made it feel more real. He was going to die. There was nothing that could be done. I felt something latch onto my thumb, bringing me back to reality. Reality hurt so much more. It was my child’s hand, so small and weak, that had grounded me. I looked down at him. He was smiling, he didn’t understand what we had both lost. I didn’t either, I couldn’t comprehend it. I knew what had happened, but I refused to accept it. I saw a droplet splatter across my baby’s forehead, and only then did I realize I was crying. I immediately stopped. I could do that, could control myself. I’d often heard of people weeping uncontrollably, I’d never had that problem. Or maybe that ability, for tears were few and far between for me, another of my many failures. I couldn’t be weak now though, no more failures. This child needed me, and I needed him. He was fatherless, I, a widow. We would need each other for the days ahead, if there were any. I felt something buzz against my leg. Numbly, I reached down, pulling my phone from my pocket. I stared at the screen for a long time before I understood what it said. The Council would act soon, and would try to save our world from Him. The Dark One, Destroyer of Worlds, the Vengeful, He had many names. Stars had been disappearing from the sky, visual evidence of His presence nearby, and then we had learned he was coming for us, like we knew he would eventually. And so, the ideas had flowed to our only hope of survival, the Council. And the Council, in their wisdom, had chosen my idea. They would reverse time for the entire planet, but from our perspective it would be almost the exact same as before. I didn’t understand it, despite the original idea being mine. They said a few minor things would change, but not anything important. It didn’t seem to matter to me, nothing did, for my husband’s death was like a force was pressing down upon me, dampening my thoughts, my feelings. For a moment I wished I, like my husband, were dead. A few minutes later, I felt the entire world shift. Something changed, the Council had acted. Then, nothing new, everything returned to what seemed normal. I set my child down gently, for he had fallen asleep, then I sat, holding my head in my hands. My husband was gone, it didn’t matter whether or not the Council had succeeded. I looked up at my child, sleeping so peacefully. It did matter. Not for me, but for him. He was my purpose now. I heard the Elder’s voice enter my mind, as crisp and clear as if he was standing in front of me. It worked, we are safe from the Destroyer. Thank you for what you have done. I…am sorry for your loss. That was it. He had taken the time to speak to me individually, and all he could say was ‘I’m sorry for your loss’? I felt anger rise up within me, the emotion a relief, for I had feared I would never feel anything again. How dare they let him die. How dare they… The heart monitor beat. Silence. Another beat. Silence Another. Another. Another. I leapt to my feet, and heard it, a new sound. A long, rattling breath, just like the one I had heard before, just before… “John?” I said, barely a whisper, looking at his face. Color was returning to it somehow. The nurse gasped, but I ignored her. Somehow, my husband was alive. Somehow, he, I, had been saved. … They had said the changes would be minor. How wrong they had been, for a month later, I suffered the loss of my son. And, unlike my husband, he did not miraculously come back. They told us that nothing serious had changed. The only noticeable thing was that, from now on, people would age backwards. Which was, of course, no big change. The mechanics of it were confusing, but I didn’t care, because what the Council had done had brought my husband back. I was lucky he remembered me, for those that returned later were devoid of their memories. Shamefully, it took me a week to realize what would happen to my son. I blame it on the elation of having my husband back, for I blissfully realized I would have another thirty years with him after I had believed, had known, that we would never share another moment together. He grew stronger, the signs of his sickness leaving, though he would have traces of them for years to come, for the sickness had lasted many years. When the realization did hit, it seemed to hit the world at the same time, there was mass panic, both for me and everyone else. Our children would be the first to leave us, in this strange new age of backwards time. I held my husband for a long while after I told him what I had realized. He, such a strong, wonderful, man, wept in my arms the tears I could not shed. My son had been born seven weeks before, he would have five more to live, or so we suspected. I made sure he was comfortable the whole time, seeing to his every need, for I knew his time was limited. He grew weaker every day. My son, my precious little child, lived longer than we had expected, though not by much. In total, he was eight weeks old when his time came. When he passed, his body stopped aging backwards. It made sense in a twisted sort of way, for he could not age beyond death. My tears flowed freely this time, one of the first times in my entire life. In saving my husband, and the human race, the Council had doomed my child. I never forgave them. @Edema Rue I wrote, please don’t beat me with the writing stick again! 3
Edema Rue she/her Posted March 4, 2024 Posted March 4, 2024 9 minutes ago, Weaver of Lights said: I… well I wrote for the first time in a while, it’s not part of my book but I’m really happy with it. It’s a little short story that is kind of (really) depressing in some ways, so here’s a warning. Reveal hidden contents The heart monitor beeped one last time. I barely heard it, it was so hard to hear anything. I had known this was coming, known for years now. So had he, he said he’d been ready. But I wasn’t, not ready for him to be gone. I had begged the doctors for days to do something, but they told me again and again that there was no hope for him, that his illness was incurable. I, in my desperation, had even written a letter to the Council, pleading with them to fix him. I knew they had the ability to do so, little was beyond their power. I had received a nicely written letter back, telling me that they would not, could not, help him, for they were unable to meddle in individual affairs. They had saved, and would continue to save, thousands, millions, even billions with their magic, but the one that mattered most to me they could not save. Of course, they didn’t have time to write that letter back, nor even read the one I had sent. An underpaid, overworked secretary had most likely been the one to write back, the one that, so kindly, had explained why they wouldn’t save him. My other letter, on the other hand, they had viewed personally. I was nobody, just another woman with an idea, and yet, for some reason, they had latched on to it. They had invited me to speak with them personally, to inform me that of the millions of ideas they had received, mine was the one they would try. I didn’t know why, or even how it would be done, but only that it was humanity's only hope for survival. In that moment, I asked for what I wanted most, for them to save the one I loved. They told me that they would not. They didn’t even have the shame to sound regretful. Hearing it in person made it feel more real. He was going to die. There was nothing that could be done. I felt something latch onto my thumb, bringing me back to reality. Reality hurt so much more. It was my child’s hand, so small and weak, that had grounded me. I looked down at him. He was smiling, he didn’t understand what we had both lost. I didn’t either, I couldn’t comprehend it. I knew what had happened, but I refused to accept it. I saw a droplet splatter across my baby’s forehead, and only then did I realize I was crying. I immediately stopped. I could do that, could control myself. I’d often heard of people weeping uncontrollably, I’d never had that problem. Or maybe that ability, for tears were few and far between for me, another of my many failures. I couldn’t be weak now though, no more failures. This child needed me, and I needed him. He was fatherless, I, a widow. We would need each other for the days ahead, if there were any. I felt something buzz against my leg. Numbly, I reached down, pulling my phone from my pocket. I stared at the screen for a long time before I understood what it said. The Council would act soon, and would try to save our world from Him. The Dark One, Destroyer of Worlds, the Vengeful, He had many names. Stars had been disappearing from the sky, visual evidence of His presence nearby, and then we had learned he was coming for us, like we knew he would eventually. And so, the ideas had flowed to our only hope of survival, the Council. And the Council, in their wisdom, had chosen my idea. They would reverse time for the entire planet, but from our perspective it would be almost the exact same as before. I didn’t understand it, despite the original idea being mine. They said a few minor things would change, but not anything important. It didn’t seem to matter to me, nothing did, for my husband’s death was like a force was pressing down upon me, dampening my thoughts, my feelings. For a moment I wished I, like my husband, were dead. A few minutes later, I felt the entire world shift. Something changed, the Council had acted. Then, nothing new, everything returned to what seemed normal. I set my child down gently, for he had fallen asleep, then I sat, holding my head in my hands. My husband was gone, it didn’t matter whether or not the Council had succeeded. I looked up at my child, sleeping so peacefully. It did matter. Not for me, but for him. He was my purpose now. I heard the Elder’s voice enter my mind, as crisp and clear as if he was standing in front of me. It worked, we are safe from the Destroyer. Thank you for what you have done. I…am sorry for your loss. That was it. He had taken the time to speak to me individually, and all he could say was ‘I’m sorry for your loss’? I felt anger rise up within me, the emotion a relief, for I had feared I would never feel anything again. How dare they let him die. How dare they… The heart monitor beat. Silence. Another beat. Silence Another. Another. Another. I leapt to my feet, and heard it, a new sound. A long, rattling breath, just like the one I had heard before, just before… “John?” I said, barely a whisper, looking at his face. Color was returning to it somehow. The nurse gasped, but I ignored her. Somehow, my husband was alive. Somehow, he, I, had been saved. … They had said the changes would be minor. How wrong they had been, for a month later, I suffered the loss of my son. And, unlike my husband, he did not miraculously come back. They told us that nothing serious had changed. The only noticeable thing was that, from now on, people would age backwards. Which was, of course, no big change. The mechanics of it were confusing, but I didn’t care, because what the Council had done had brought my husband back. I was lucky he remembered me, for those that returned later were devoid of their memories. Shamefully, it took me a week to realize what would happen to my son. I blame it on the elation of having my husband back, for I blissfully realized I would have another thirty years with him after I had believed, had known, that we would never share another moment together. He grew stronger, the signs of his sickness leaving, though he would have traces of them for years to come, for the sickness had lasted many years. When the realization did hit, it seemed to hit the world at the same time, there was mass panic, both for me and everyone else. Our children would be the first to leave us, in this strange new age of backwards time. I held my husband for a long while after I told him what I had realized. He, such a strong, wonderful, man, wept in my arms the tears I could not shed. My son had been born seven weeks before, he would have five more to live, or so we suspected. I made sure he was comfortable the whole time, seeing to his every need, for I knew his time was limited. He grew weaker every day. My son, my precious little child, lived longer than we had expected, though not by much. In total, he was eight weeks old when his time came. When he passed, his body stopped aging backwards. It made sense in a twisted sort of way, for he could not age beyond death. My tears flowed freely this time, one of the first times in my entire life. In saving my husband, and the human race, the Council had doomed my child. I never forgave them. @Edema Rue I wrote, please don’t beat me with the writing stick again! You almost made me cry so...I won't attack you with a stick. For now. ...Also that was wonderful and I loved it 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted March 4, 2024 Author Posted March 4, 2024 17 minutes ago, Edema Rue said: You almost made me cry so...I won't attack you with a stick. For now. ...Also that was wonderful and I loved it Thank you! This is the first time I’ve written anything close to this style and it was a lot more emotionally impactful than I expected. 1
Throw TheLiving Silverware he/him/il/lui Posted March 4, 2024 Posted March 4, 2024 Reading this was quite the experience. Keep up this way, you're awesome 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted March 17, 2024 Author Posted March 17, 2024 A couple more. (warning for the first one, it contains self-harm) Spoiler He blinked his eyes open, then went to brush his hair out of his face. He blinked a few more times. How did he have hair? It had been many years since he’d had enough to cover his face. Was this some kind of joke Jessica had played? He rolled over towards her and promptly fell off the bed. He groaned, sitting up. What was going on? Had he moved to the other side of the bed during the night? That didn’t seem right, he didn’t usually roll around much in his sleep. But there had been that strange dream…maybe that was the cause? He stood up, looking around. It wasn’t his room that he saw. The walls were grey instead of the dark blue they should have been, there was no window, no overflowing bookshelf, and, most notably, no Jessica. Had someone taken him somewhere? That was the only reasonable explanation. He looked around and saw that whatever room he was in had a small mirror hanging on the wall. When he looked into it, it wasn’t his face looking back at him. Instead, a girl looked back at him, young, maybe in her early twenties, she had dark brown eyes and light brown hair. He stared at her for a moment and she stared back, almost mimicking his expression. It had to be some kind of trick, the mirror couldn’t be a real mirror, it was probably just a screen made to look like a mirror to trick him, He laughed. This was all probably an elaborate trick, and he was sure Jessica was behind it. Then he saw his hands. They were tiny and soft, not large and callused like his should have been. He felt at his face. It wasn’t his own. He looked at his chest. It was definitely not his own. What was this? What had happened? His hands started shaking, his knees wobbling, his entire body trembling. Something was very wrong. This couldn’t be a joke, it was far too complicated for that. Could it be a dream? No, his thoughts were coming clearly. It was something else, something much more confusing. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did. A knock sounded at the door. “Ellie, are you awake?” came a girl’s voice. “It’s almost time for class, if you don’t get up now, you’ll be late!” He hadn’t been to school since…how long had it been? A long time. That did it. Somehow, some way, he had been transported into a girl’s body. He didn’t freak out at the realization. Most people probably would, but he was quite level headed in situations where he should have been driven insane. He did feel an underlying sense of panic, wondering how he was going to deal with life now. He’d just have to adjust. He opened the door to find a woman, maybe a year older than the girl’s body he had inexplicably taken over. “I’m not feeling well today…I don’t think I can go.” His voice…her voice? Was much higher than his and had a squeaky quality. It felt so weird to have that voice coming out of what should have been his own mouth. Professor Abrahms isn’t going to be happy, not after you missed his class on Tuesday. But…well, you don’t look so good. Maybe you shouldn’t go.” The girl studied him. “Get some more rest.” He gave an inward sigh of relief. He could take the day, recuperate, figure out how to let his mind and body deal with this new… change. “Thank you,” he said. He closed the door, then sank to the floor. He thought he could handle it well, but he was wrong. Instead, he was just able to put on a strong face in front of others. Tears began flowing from his eyes. He didn’t understand what was happening! He had just lost everything, he’d lost Jessica! Was she worried about him? Was she even alive in this strange new place? He needed something, some way to ground himself in this new place. Was he really going to have to restart everything, especially as a girl? Maybe he could try to find Jessica? Explain to her what had happened? No, even if he could find her, she’d never believe him, would she? He saw something. On the girl’s, no, now his dresser, a pair of scissors. Urges that he thought he’d gotten rid of many years before resurfaced. He could use them to ground himself, something familiar in this completely new place, body, maybe even time. He grabbed them, then slowly jammed them into his thigh. Blood welled up, and pain exploded through him. The pain was familiar though, so he welcomed it. He quickly located another shirt and wrapped it around his leg, covering the wound. Then he sat down again, tears of pain welling in his eyes. He wished he could just…end. He sat there for a long time, doing nothing, the emptiness overwhelming, until his eyes grew heavy, sleep taking him. He woke up in a new place. What was happening? Was he still that girl? Had it been a dream? His leg didn’t ache like it should have, that was a good sign. But…no, this wasn’t his room. Jessica wasn’t beside him like she normally would be. He looked down at himself. Once again, he wasn’t in his body. He was a boy, young, maybe twelve years old. He opened one of the two doors to whatever room he was in, and the sudden light from the hallway hurt his eyes. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden brightness, then walked down the short hallway leading to what seemed to be a kitchen. A woman was there, probably the boy’s mother. “Good morning, Tom,” she said, smiling warmly at him. “Good morning,” he said back, his voice tired. He sat down at a stool next to a counter, where it appeared he was supposed to sit. There was a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice, which he ate and drank with hastyness. A TV on the wall was showing the morning news. The title was, “Possessed?”. He watched for a moment. The girl on the screen, she seemed familiar…it hit him. It was who he had been the day before. She was talking about how an “evil spirit” had taken her body and made her hurt herself. A tear fell from his face. That had been his fault. He had done that to her. “Is something wrong?” the boy’s mom asked. “Nothing, he said, forcing himself to calm down. That was extremely hard, for he realized something. He might never see Jessica again. If this continued on…he would never have a life again! He’d just steal a day out of hundreds, thousands of people’s lives if this trend continued. He forced himself to stay strong. He wouldn’t hurt this boy’s life like he had hurt that girl’s. He went to school, did what he thought he was supposed to without too many issues, then went home, ate dinner, then watched TV like any boy that age would. A normal day for someone like the kid he was possessing. The next morning he was a father providing for a struggling family. The next, and elderly grandma. A kindergartener. And on. And on. And on. Spoiler I want my mommy back. They took her, like they took all the others. I hate them. Why did they have to take my mommy? I tried to fight them, tried to stop them, but I wasn’t strong enough. I’m never strong enough. My head hurts. One of the men who took her, he hit me after I bit his arm. It still hurts, so bad. I wish I knew where they had taken her, I could go find my mommy. I know what will happen if I don’t. I’ve seen the bodies. Eliza hung suspended twenty feet above the ground, chains connecting her wrists and ankles to hooks in the ceiling. Blood seeped where the chains cut into her. She could ignore the pain though, she was used to it. What did the people who had taken her want? No one else had been with them this long, they had been taken, killed, then thrown onto the streets. Why Was Eliza special? You know why, she thought. She shoved that part of her brain aside. She didn't want to think about that. Suddenly, the chains holding her up began to lower. A man waited for her, his face dimly lit by a torch on the wall. He held a knife, and he was smiling. “My dear, it’s time for me to take a few…tests.” He raised the knife, then walked around her, moving behind where she couldn’t see him. She felt the knife cut into her calf, cutting it open. He cut her next on the thigh, then the torso, then her arm, then shoulders, then finally her cheek. She could see, almost feel his smile as he made his final cut, tutting in disapproval. “No change yet…we’ll need more.” He left, and she was raised back up to the ceiling, waiting once again. I’m scared. The men are back, so I’m hiding from them. Do they want me? Why would they want me? I’m just a little girl, I can’t give them anything. They already took my mommy, why won’t they leave me alone? I’m hiding under mommy’s bed. Maybe they won’t find me. One of the men, he’s looking towards me! Maybe he can’t see me? No, he’s laughing. He’s raising something to his lips now, what is it? Ow! My neck hurts, what did he do to me! I’m tired…so tired… Eliza reached within herself for something she hadn’t touched for many years. That power that she had spent so long training to use, but had given up, all for her husband, then her daughter. Well, he was dead and she needed Eliza, for without her mother’s help she would die on the streets. She didn’t know how to take care of herself. Eliza drew upon that power, trying to force her will over the chains, to make them unclasp across her hands. They didn’t budge. It would have been a difficult task no matter what, and if the people who had taken her knew what she was they would have enchanted the chains against her magic. She sighed, almost giving up. No! She couldn’t give in. Not yet. I’m awake again. It’s dark and it smells like smoke, not at all like what home smells like. I wish I was home with my mommy. Where have the men taken me? What are they going to do with me? What have they done with my mommy? I scream for help, but no one hears. At least, that’s what I thought until a minute later when a man opened a door and stepped into the room I’m held in. He has a knife, a bloody knife! What is he going to do with me? He steps forward, I try to run but I can’t, ropes are holding me in places. I bite at him and he laughs. He twirls the knife, then cuts a gash in my arm. I scream and he smiles, a twisted sort of smile. He cuts me, again and again. It’s dark. I’m cold. I hurt. But there’s somewhere light, warm, and free of pain. I think I’ll go there now. Eliza felt something change. Her power…it was immense. Stronger than it had ever been before. With a thought, she caused the chains to lower her, shredding the other enchantment with ease. Such power! She looked up. She had to find her daughter. She tore the stone above her in two, causing an enormous rift. A person fell through it, screaming. She ignored them. Using the air around her to lift her, she flew out of the cavern she had been kept in. Her cuts were gone, they had healed seconds after her power had grown. She flew across the city, making her way to her small house where she would find her daughter. She barely spared a thought for why her powers had grown, it didn’t matter right now, only her daughter did. She slammed the door open with her mind, and yelled for her daughter. There was no response. She ran through the house, looking for her. She wasn’t there. Eliza stepped outside again, a tear flowing down her cheek. Where was she? A familiar face in the crowd of people walking past her. An old woman stepped up to Eliza and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, child.” “Matron?” Eliza whispered. This was a woman Eliza hadn;t seen for a very long time. She was probably the singular most powerful person on the planet. “What have they done with my daughter?” “I think you know the answer to what we have done with your daughter. Those newfound powers had to come from somewhere, and family blood is always the most potent.” Eliza stood, dumbstruck. They had…done what with her daughter’s blood? She yelled in defiance. “No!” “You know it's best for a ritual if the victim-or victims in this case- are terrified and hurting…” the woman grinned, a horrible, twisted grin. Eliza screamed again. She forced her magic upon her Matron, their wills contesting for a moment. Eliza was much more powerful though, and her will became truth. The Matron became stone, her smiling expression evident still. Eliza lifted herself into the air to begin her revenge against those who had taken all from her, ignoring the words whispered by passers by. “Witch.” I hope you like them. @Edema Rue the second one is a rewrite of the one that was stolen from me. 3
Edema Rue she/her Posted March 17, 2024 Posted March 17, 2024 Aww, those were so good and sad!! *hugs* 1
Throw TheLiving Silverware he/him/il/lui Posted March 21, 2024 Posted March 21, 2024 Wow. Just... wow. 1
Weaver of Shadows he/him Posted May 14, 2024 Author Posted May 14, 2024 Alright, I know it’s been a while. A long while. But I’ve finally started writing my novel again, and I’ll have another chapter out fairly soon for anyone that cares. 3
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