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seasonallyapril · 3 months

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Unexpected Fate - Chapter 1

Chapter One - Conscription Day

Aliyah’s POV

The wind outside the conscription register was strong. The loose hair outside my two braids are flying in every direction. Looking up at the parapet in front of me my body shivers with anxiety. There are many families surrounding the line to become a candidate to the Riders quadrant of Basgiath, all crying and hugging with more strength than I have ever received. I stand in line-eyes forward, completely dissociated from my body-waiting to give my name and start the 250 step climb to what I can only assume is my certain death.

I have no family supporting me through my conscription, no family crying for me to change my mind. The family I have is at home, safe and indoors, and expecting an update on my success as a rider within a year. I was thrown into this burden, it was not a choice. Regardless of my want to be anywhere but this line, I hold no anger. I carried that weight for the year that I was forced to train for this moment. Now, I only hold acceptance, acceptance for what I am to endure if I manage to cross the parapet.

I’m broken out of my mindless state with a gentle tap to my shoulder. I quickly look behind me to be greeted by the bluest eyes I have ever seen, just as blue as my own. The man behind me, with blond hair and the muscles of someone who has been training hard for this moment, kindly gestures me forward. I shake my head and start to walk towards the register.

“Looked like you were deep in thought there, my name’s Liam.” He offers me his hand to shake. I notice his rebellion relic that peeks out of his long shirt, at his wrist, and what I thought was my subtle glance was noticed by the blond as his smile slackens. I quickly meet his gaze and offer my own smile as I shake his strong hand.

“I’m Aliyah”, I gesture to his relic, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I haven’t seen a relic up close”. I start to admire what little of the markings I can see. “Minus the history behind it, it is quite beautiful. As I glance up Liam is intensely staring at me. I go to apologize until he smiles, showing me how it lights up his eyes.

“What brought you here?” Liam questions me. I stand taller and quickly answer, “My family, they needed me here so here I am”. I end my answer with finality, details aren’t important when entering a death college. That’s if I manage to make the trek across the parapet without falling to my death before I even begin.

“Name” the cadet at the register demands, without looking up from her parchment. “Aliyah Zarella” I say and nod back towards Liam with a small smile as I start up the spiraling steps of the Riders turret. My heart starts to race with each slow step, following the line of the candidates in front of me. I distance myself once again to my surroundings. My eyes stay ahead but my mind is elsewhere. I’m thinking of the daisies in the front of my home, the sun that peaked over the mountain cliffs that I viewed from my bedroom window. I’m quietly missing the peace of the early morning that I have always cherished. There’s no beauty here, there’s hard stone and gray walls. The mourning smell of fear and sweat, there are no more bright days.

I’m broken out of my memories when I accidentally look down the middle of the torrent and see how high up Liam and I have climbed. Before I start to let my fears start to fester, there’s a strong squeeze to my shoulder, effectively grabbing my attention to Liam behind me. “How long have you been preparing for this day?”

A year”, and those blue eyes widen slightly with disbelief. “It wasn’t what I thought I’d be doing for my life” I answer honestly. Knowing that it’s a statement we both share.

“Is your balance good”? He looks me up and down and I see a quick assessment of my current chances.

“Balance is fine, it’s the fighting that will get me.” I try to ease his critiquing with a joke. Liam only stares back. “When you’re on the parapet, don’t look down. You’ll fall into all the fears you’re trying to keep locked up right now. Keep your arms out, don’t put a foot forward until you’re sure this storm isn’t pushing you off. Focus on getting to the other side, so I can have a real conversation with you” he ends with an amused smirk.

Now it’s my turn to stare. I start to thank him, truthfully, but we have reached our destination and I have to give my name to the marked roll keeper. Liam and I lock eyes before I walk forward and cross the entrance to our challenge.

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The wind is intense, it’s the first thing I feel. It’s all consuming, just distracting enough to keep me from looking below at the barely visible ground. With arms outstretched I keep my steps precise. The advice Liam had just given sits in the back of my mind as I try to convince myself that I’m not walking the parapet of a war college, but instead I’m back in Lucera, walking along the mountain trails. My rucksack isn’t packed with a bouquet of daggers but instead the bundle of pink bittersweet I always managed to have. I’m not surrounded by an incoming storm but instead clear skies and grass plains, making the chill of the wind only a quiet tether to this new reality.

“You cannot fail, you cannot break” I mumble on repeat. I keep my focus on the overly full rucksack of the candidate in front of me, a man with broad shoulders. I can’t see his features but I see how tense his shoulders are as they hold his arms outstretched like my own. You cannot fail, you cannot break. You cannot fail, you cannot break.

I’m walking steadily, keeping myself a good five feet away from the man in front of me. I feel the wind picking up, pushing against my sides. A push that my body is heavily fighting to stay upright against. My ankle rolls at a crack in the stone path, my body falling forward to a kneel and my fear and stress starts to push away my mental images of Lucera.

The panic that has been building since this morning burst out and I'm suddenly hyperventilating. I can’t look away from the stone below. “Don’t stop!” a deep voice shouts behind me. I jerk my head backwards and I see bright blue eyes, piercing through the stormy sky, looking right at me with an intensity I haven’t felt before. Liam brings me back to reality, just enough that I slowly stand upright and continue to follow the rucksack in front of me. Gaining my footing and pace to once again fight against the monstrous winds. Please let Liam cross.

I continue to start, continue to walk, continue to mumble for I don’t know how long. All until I reach the Rider that waits in the hole in the wall, marking the end of my first challenge. My heart is racing, my mind is as numb as my fingers from the loss of heat. I don’t know how I manage to respond to the Rider to give my name. I find myself still walking forward until I eventually press my back against the stone on the side of the courtyard. I allow myself to look at the ground, trying to ground myself with the visual.

My hands press against the stone and I wiggle my toes in my combat boots to feel the ground, to feel my ‘safety’. Time is still lost until for the third time today there is pressure on my shoulders. My rucksack is being removed from my back and I'm turned around to stare at Liam. Instinct shoots my hand out to his bicep with a grip that stops him in his tracks.

“You made it”, he assures me. As if he can look into my soul and know the change the parapet has already caused. He continues to bring my pack next to his on the ground and places his hand overtop mine.

“You made it” I repeat to him. I continue to stare, until a laugh bubbles up and lets loose without my consent. He chuckles in response and continues to hold my gaze until my mind catches us to what is our new reality. We are in the courtyard of the Riders quadrant on conscription day, no longer Candidates but Cadets.

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Here is chapter 1 of Unexpected Fate. Please let me know what you all think! I'm excited to keep writing and continuing this story I hope you are excited to continue reading.

#liam mairi #the empyrean #fourth wing #oc character #liam mairi x oc character #chapter 1

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seasonallyapril · 3 months

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Unexpected Fate - Blurb

Aliyah was raised in a loveless family and the only thing that kept her alive to see the next day was the nature surrounding her. She has never found safety and honesty with the people of her town, but she has found peace and warmth within the solitude that is the mountain's of the edge of the Lucrian providence. Aliyah has made peace with her fate to continue her family’s legacy of being Luceria's top blacksmiths. But it all changes when her father sends her to Basgiath to be conscripted into the riders quadrant, with only a year to prepare for this burden. As it is a trial to survive or die-once rising to the rank of a lieutenant for Navarre's military-one’s pay will be considered significant. Aliyah is to become the financial resource for her family but along the way, she learns her true value and what real love feels and looks like. Her first year contains more than just being trained to be a soldier, but reveals a web of secrets that she didn’t know were being hidden. The catalyst-the kind soul-Liam Mairi. This is the journey of Aliyah Zarella.

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This is not only my first ever post on Tumblr but also my first fic. I loved Liam's character in Fourth Wing and honestly felt that he didn't get enough time to develop more. I wanted to explore more of what could of been...not to give spoilers right away. Not sure if anyone thinks this is interesting but I'm writing it for me, just for fun. I'll post chapters if anyone wants them!

Here is the blurb for Unexpected Fate, a Liam Mairi x Original Character journey. I encourage all feedback, positive or constructive. I genuinely want to grow as a writer and become more confident in more of my work, so please let me know what you think.

#the empyrean #xaden riorson #liam mairi x oc character #liam mairi #slow burn

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seasonallyapril · 3 months

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Unexpected Fate - Blurb

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#liam mairi #fourth wing #oc character #slow burn #liam mairi x oc character #sneak peek #my first fic i hope it's not bad #plot twists #romance #drama #fantasy

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