WrathofaShardKitten

"That's good to know." Good to know that all Evelyn had to do to get to an amazing story was finish a book that literally had burning n the title. "I'll need to look into picking it back up again once I get home."

"Rangers Apprentice, by John Flanagan, right? Yeah. I've read most of the first book. Skipped a few of the end pages. Stalled a bit at The . . . Burning . . . Bridge." Her small smile turned fragile. "Managed to get most of the way through before putting it down. Haven't quite gotten around to picking it up again." It really depends on what you mean by worth reading. I think it's a good fantasy story, and I really enjoyed reading it. It's one that I've gone back to several times and still like reading now. It also got me interested in some of Eoin Colfer's other works - like Airman - that I really enjoyed. If you've tried reading it before and it's not your type of book, then that's fine, but I'd suggest finishing at least the first book. Cinder was an interesting read for me, but I think part of the difficulty that I had getting through it was that I picked it up as a retelling of Cinderella. There was a lot less of that then I was expecting, which like I said before, led to difficulties with reading it. I can't really recommend picking it up again if I don't know the original reason for putting it down, but I thought it was an interesting read at the very least. The book (and author) had some interesting ideas with the characters and setting.

"There's Artemis Fowl, Septemus Heap, your LotR book, and - of course - Harry Potter. Plus a couple of fairy tale retellings that I found. They're by an author called" - she flipped the book around so she could read the name - "Marissa Meyer? Ever heard of her before?" Evelyn asked, looking up at Nym for the first time.

Evelyn sped up the stairs and into her room, thankfully not seeing anyone in the hallway. She grabbed the book Nym had been reading fairly quickly, but took her time selecting one for herself. The one she'd been reading before had fire, and she didn't want to think about that right now. She ended up selecting three of her favorite books they had there - ones with absolutely no mentions of fire - as well as a couple more good fiction books for Nym, in case she wanted to read something else. Evelyn hesitated before leaving her room, however, not quite wanting to rejoin the others. She hadn't looked in a mirror, but it would probably be fairly obvious to anyone who looked at her that she'd been crying. But Nym was waiting for her, so she pushed her trepidation aside and headed back downstairs where Nym had already arrived with food.

"Divide and conquer? I'll get the books." There were more people in the way of the kitchens. "Unless you want to get the books while I get the food?"

Evelyn sat down on the couch and waited there awkwardly for a moment. Eventually she said, "I can go get books if you want. And some more food." @AonEne

Evelyn followed Nym into the house, a weak smile of her face. "Yeah, books sound good. And breaks."

Evelyn gave a laugh at that, but it was a half sob too. "Yeah, food's good. And it's cold out here, too." It wasn't, but it should have been, and no doubt it was to Nym. "Maybe we should head inside. Do you think they started the party again? I'd hate for it to get ruined for Ax and Jace just because some voidbringers showed up." That should change the subject. It hurt to much to hear Nym's voice, telling her that it was okay, that she was normal. Evelyn wasn't normal. She'd used fire to hurt the voidbringers. She'd taken what she hated, and turned it on someone else. That would never be okay. Evelyn stood, using the wall of the house to push herself up. She still shook slightly, but not as badly as before. The tears had stopped, too. There didn't seem to be any left to cry.

"I used it on them. The voidbringers. There were so many of them coming towards me, and I didn't know what to do, and I burned them. And I heard their screams," she added softly.

Evelyn just shook her head, and began rubbing her arms to try to get rid of the prickling sensation. "It's not okay." She said at last, voice slightly muffled. "Everyone else here is so brave. You tried to face your fears. I just hide. And when I can't hide, then I end up like this."

Evelyn heard footsteps approaching and pushed herself into a sitting position, trying to wipe away her tears before anyone saw. She'd never liked crying infront of people, and here, among all the radiants, it felt so selfish. She didn't know what had happened to them, but she knew you had to break to become a Knight Radiant. They'd gone through so much more than Evelyn, and yet they were still brave. Still smiled. How could Evelyn cry when they'd been through so much more. "Are you OK?" someone asked. It sounded like Nym, but Evelyn didn't want to look up. Didn't want to show she'd been crying. "Fine. Fine, I just . . ." her voice was trembling. Her whole body was shaking, and she couldn't keep more tears from leaking from the corners of her eyes. "I hate fire," she whispered. "I hate it." She could still feel the heat on her skin, accompanied with a horrible stinging, prickling sensation. The flames rose once more in her minds eye, and Evelyn couldn't stop a fresh flood of tears.

The yard still looked empty when Evelyn arrived at the back of the house, but looks didn’t really mean anything if there was the possibility of illusions in play. And she still had no idea how she could tell if they were or not. There might be aons that could help, but Evelyn had no idea what they might be. And if she didn’t know the aons, then she couldn’t use them. The easiest, and stupidest, way to find out if there were voidbringers seemed to just be to go outside. The voidbringers would attack her, and she’d know they were there. Simple, right? It was also exactly the sort of thing Avina would do, and exactly the sort of thing that terrified Evelyn. It was also something that she could do to feel like she was helping. So Evelyn dismissed the edo sheild over the door and stepped out into the night. For a moment, everything was still. Then a voidbringer appeared in front of Evelyn. She screamed, and some sort of instinct must have kicked in, because she punched the voidbringer in the face. It fell backwards, and Evelyn stared at her her hand in shock. Had she done that? Her smarting knuckles told Evelyn that she had, but she’d had no idea that she was that strong. Then the voidbringer moved, and Evelyn snapped out of whatever trance she’d been in. She jumped backwards and began blasting the voidbringer with aon daa until it lay still. She wasn’t sure if it was dead or just unconscious, but she didn’t have time to find out. As the voidbringer who’d popped up in front of Evelyn was still at last, five more appeared in the center of the yard. They did not look happy. Evelyn moved away, mind frantically searching for options. There were too many voidbringers to use aon daa on them all, and the same thing applied to any of the other aons. Except for the one she’d wanted never to use. But it was her only idea. The only one that might work. And the voidbringers were moving closer. Her hands were steady as she drew the aon, though they felt as though they should have been trembling. Evelyn drew the last stroke just as the voidbringers drew within striking range. The oan finished, Evelyn fled. She ran as far from the aon as she could before it activated, but it still wasn’t far enough from the column of flame that erupted from the aon, engulfing the voidbringers inside it’s raging heat. Evelyn collapsed as the heat struck her. It wasn’t hot enough to burn her, but it was fire. She hated fire. Hated the way the heat seared her skin, hated it’s burning light, and hated how it could make her so afraid. She laid there, curled up in a tight ball, knees hugged tightly to herself, watching through tear filled eyes as the voidbringers burned. There was a scream, too. The voidbringer’s as they were consumed. It seemed distant to Evelyn as she stared into the bright flames, unable to look away. And then the fire vanished, aon used up, leaving three still forms where the fire had once raged. And lying there, shaking in a corner of the yard, was Evelyn. She stared unseeing into the darkness the flames had left as tears poured down her face. She didn’t notice when lights began to appear in the upstairs rooms as people came back inside after the battle. Didn’t notice the cold due to the phantom heat still on her skin.

While that's true, don't we usually try to stick fairly close to what we do know? While we don't know everything about how shardplate works, we have been given some hints. For example, we know that Radiants gain shardplate after swearing more oaths, which seems similar to what happens with blades. Plus, there was that whole Kaladin thing in Oathbringer. Both of those combined makes me think that spren are still involved somehow. Since I'm mot directly involved with the battle, it would probably be better to figure out mechanics with someone who was. I just thought that they were some points that should be brought up.

Everyone else had gone. They were outside, fighting the voidbringers, while Evelyn stood around, trying futilly to find something she could do to help. The best she'd been able to do last time was to turn the voidbringers shoes to metal, but right now she couldn't even do that because she had another job she was useless at. She didn't know enough. She hadn't had enough time to train, and hadn't even considered the possibility of such an attack until now. The house was supposed to be safe . . . A traitorous thought said. It is! The house is safe. None of the voidbringers have gotten inside yet, and you're going to go back to your post and keep it that way. But I don't know what to do! Then be someone who does. Be someone who knows how to deal with this, or who can find something to do when it's time. You've read enough stories to know how this goes. How to act. You don't have to be a hero; Just pretend for a little while. Maybe it wasn't the right advice. Maybe there was something better that Evelyn should have done. But at that moment, it was the only advice she had. No one else was around to help. So Evelyn took a shuddering breath, and became someone else. Avina, a character Evelyn had written herself in a time before she'd known characters were supposed to have flaws. Avina always knew what to do, and everything always turned out right. Strangely enough, Avina had had white hair. Avina turned away from the battle, Evelyn's fear replaced with a cold light and a hard smile as Avina strode toward the back of the house. Evelyn would have wanted a weapon - a sword or something. Avina knew her hands were the only weapons she needed. Avina was never afraid. Avina always knew what to do. A mistake in the character, perhaps, but right now Avina's story was exactly what Evelyn needed.

Okay. Voidbringer inside the house, but it's tied up. Don't panic. Please don't panic, Evelyn thought to herself. It's fine. It's totally fine. No problems here. "Guys," Edwin called. "I think those three were just the beginning." Evelyn tore her eyes from the unconscious voidbringer on the floor and looked out into the night. Red eyes, glowing like embers in the night. Were there more at the back of the house? Hidden, sneaking up under the cover of illusions. Evelyn didn't know. She couldn't tell, and didn't know how. She needed another radiant, but everyone was rushing away, drawing their weapons and preparing to fight. Evelyn couldn't fight. She didn't have a weapon other than her aons, and even those would be hard to use offensively. She'd never learned how. She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts away. It wouldn't help. She had to get to the back of the house again. Find someone to come with her. Someone who could actually fight . . . She pushed the thought away and began looking for someone close by that she could convince to help her. Who actually knew about voidbringers, and could (hopefully) tell her that she was wrong.

Evelyn reached the back of the house and began peering out the windows. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but something felt wrong. Maybe it was just worry, feeling like nothing could be alright when those creatures were around. She began covering the windows with the aon edo shields anyways. It wouldn't hurt to be careful, and it gave her something to do with her hands as a thought began to trickle into her mind. The voidbringers at the front of the house had been using powers too. They had been glowing with the same not-light as before, and one had been flying. Another had been moving at a strangely fast speed. There were radiants that could do that. Windrunners could fly, and edgedancers could glide over the ground, moving quickly without running. A chill raced down Evelyn's spine, causing her back injury to burn again. What if the voidbringers were the same as the radiants, just inverted? Using not-light instead of stormlight. Hurting instead of helping, but with the same powers as the normal radiants? If it were true, then just because she couldn't see any voidbringers didn't mean they weren't there. There were radiants who could create illusions. Could the voidbringers do the same? Her hands had stilled as she considered the thought, but now they continued with renewed speed, working furiously to cover the windows and door. But what if that trapped them inside? Did the others know? Had they thought about the possibility of illusions? There could be more voidbringers closing in at any moment, closing in to attack the unaware radiants. She finished closing off the door and windows and raced back through the house towards the others. She could ask them. They would know. Wouldn't they? They would know how to tell if there were illusions, or tell her that there was nothing to worry about. Evelyn reached the living room. "Guys -" Her eyes fell on the voidbringer in the middle of the floor. "WHY IS THERE A VOIDBRINGER INSIDE THE HOUSE!?!"

Evelyn nodded and started for the back of the house, trying to move quickly.

Evelyn was just wondering where Nym had gone when she heard the shout. She jumped at the sound, dropping the book she'd been reading and racing downstairs. There, she saw Nym, standing in the living room, and Cassie and Shana running outside. She followed them to the door, trying to see what was going on outside. It was easy to see. Voidbringers. At the sight of them, red eyes seeming unnaturally large and bright, all strength left her. Evelyn sagged against the door frame, fer vision growing darker, pain beginning to bloom once more in her back, as the same scene began to flash through her mind once again. The not-light flashing, the pain - No. She couldn't relive this again. Not right now. Voidbringers were attacking. Her fingers tightened on the door frame as she forced the pain and memory away. Then, she ever so carefully pushed herself away from her support and let go. She'd need her hands if she wanted to help. "What can I do?"

"You're a Windrunner, puppy!"

"Yeah." She glanced back down at the book. "Does it ever . . . Does it ever seem strange to you? Reading the books, and then thinking: 'that's my life.' Some people would say we're living the dream. Special powers, a secret world we can escape to when real life is too ordinary, a group of friends that always have your back, and the ability to make a difference. It's something that I used to wish, when I was younger. But it hurts so much. It hurts when everything happens. In books, you can always know that there's going to be a happily ever after. A good ending. "Real life isn't like that. Even when you do have powers, there's no guaranty that everything will be okay," Evelyn continued softly. "You lose people. You're afraid of taking another step forward, because you're walking in the dark, and might be stepping of a cliff." She suddenly shook her head, as though trying to shake the thought away. When Evelyn looked back up at Nym, she was smiling again. "Nah. No way am I letting magical powers ruin fantasy for me. Besides, fantasy books have dragons, and - as far as I know - there aren't any dragons on Earth. They also have giant eagles. And swords. Super cool swords, and magical daggers. And way too many other awesome things to name."

Evelyn flipped the book over, checking the name on the cover. "It's called The Amulet of Samarkand, apparently. I've never read it before. It's pretty good so far, though."