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stingrayextraordinaire · 1 year

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Lord Huron Asks

Ends of the Earth 🌎 — What is a land you have always dreamed of seeing?

Time to Run 🏃 — If you were being run out of town on threat of hanging, what would your crime be?

Lonesome Dreams 🛤️ — What is your most frequent recurring dream, and what do you think it means?

The Ghost on the Shore 👻 — If you were a ghost, what place would you haunt?

She Lit a Fire 🔥 — Describe a stranger that you only met once but have never forgotten.

I Will Be Back One Day 🏜️ — What is your ideal place to settle down forever?

The Man Who Lives Forever 🌐 — How would you spend a lifetime of immortality?

Lullaby 🔪 — Who would you go to if you had nowhere else to turn?

Brother 👫🏻 — Who would you want by your side in an apocalyptic battle?

In the Wind 🌬️ — What is the one thing you would wait an eternity for?

Setting Sun 🌄 — Your lover has been unfaithful. Do you actively hunt them down for revenge or wait until they fall into your carefully-planned trap?

Love Like Ghosts 💕 — Rank your top three favorite quotes about love.

Until the Night Turns 🌠 — How would you want your apocalyptic remains to be found? (think Pompeii, but Lord Huron style.)

Dead Man’s Hand ✋ — What would be your reaction to finding a dead body by a desert road?

Hurricane 🌀 — What is your idea of thrill-seeking?

La Belle Fleur Sauvage 🌸 — What flowers do you want in your grave?

Fool for Love 💙 — What is the most outrageous thing you have done for love?

The World Ender 💀 — Describe your “coming back from the dead to take vengeance on your enemies” outfit.

Meet Me in the Woods 🌲 — What experience completely transformed you as a person?

The Yawning Grave ⚰️ — If you were an eldritch otherworldly being, what would you be and what would your domain be?

Frozen Pines 👽 — Have you ever encountered anything extraterrestrial, and if so, what was it?

Cursed 🖤 — What curse would a witch place on you?

Way Out There ⛰️ — What is the furthest you have ever gone from home?

Louisa 💞 — If you died, what is the one thing that could revive you?

The Night We Met 💜 — If you could choose one moment in your life to go back and change, what would it be?

Lost in Time and Space 🌌 — Where would you go to start a new life?

Never Ever 🎨 — How would your life change if you found out that your SO was just a figment of your imagination?

Ancient Names (Part 1) 🔮 — What part of your future would you like to know most?

Ancient Names (Part 2) 🗝️ — What do you believe happens after death?

Wait by the River 🏞️ — Where do you go to collect your emotions?

Secret of Life ⭐ — What is a dark secret of the universe that you would give anything to know?

Back from the Edge 💊 — What is the closest you have ever come to death?

The Balancer’s Eye 👁️‍🗨️ — What do you think is the one unforgiveable sin?

When the Night Is Over 🛣️ — What is your favorite thing to do in the rain?

Moonbeam 🌗 — If you could appear in someone’s dream, what would you do?

Vide Noir ⚫ — If you were a drug, what would you be?

Emerald Star 💚 — Write a poetic description of your favorite person’s eyes, using as many unusual metaphors as possible.

The Moon Doesn’t Mind 🌙 — What do you look for in the night sky?

Mine Forever ♾️ — What can you not live without?

Love Me Like You Used To 💗 — Where would you go if you lost everything and wanted to feel something again?

Meet Me in the City 🌃 — Describe your ideal place for a secret rendezvous.

Long Lost 🗻 — Where does your spirit feel the most free?

Twenty Long Years 🍺 — You’re twenty years older than you are now, and you’re in a bar when a stranger comes up and asks you to tell them a story. What do you tell them?

Drops in the Lake 💧 — Describe yourself if you were a lake.

Where Did the Time Go ⌛ — What feels like it happened yesterday but actually happened a long time ago?

Not Dead Yet ☠️ — Would you rather be half alive or half dead? (Or do you think there is a difference?)

I Lied 💔 — Would you make a promise to someone you loved if you knew you could not keep it?

At Sea ⛵ — What would you do if you were stranded on a ship for a week?

What Do It Mean ✍️ — Write an epitaph for yourself.

Time’s Blur 🕰️ — What is the furthest out of your mind you have ever been?

Your Other Life 🎭 — If you could live a double life right now, what would your other life be like?

Mighty 🦁 — What frightening power would you wish for?

Son of a Gun 🔫 — How would you take revenge on someone who abandoned you with a child?

The Stranger 👥 — If you met Death, what would you ask him?

When Will I See You Again 👋 — Write a poetic goodbye to someone you will never see again.

Into the Sun ☀️ — Who would miss you the most if you sailed away, never to return?

The Problem with Your Daughter 💖 — If you had been kept hidden away for 20 years, how would you escape?

We Went Wild 🏝️ — How would you spend thirteen days on an island?

Moon Song ✨ — Write three superlatives that you think you could win.

The Birds Are Singing at Night 🐦 — What would put a smile on your face if you saw it as you were dying?

Last Night You Were a Dream 💤 — What is an experience that was magical the first time and disappointing the next time?

Ace Up My Sleeve 🃏 — What is the “ace up your sleeve” that you can always fall back on?

#lord huron #lonesome dreams #strange trails #vide noir #long lost #ben schneider #alive from whispering pines #music #folk music #indie folk #alternative #asks #asks challenge #challenge #lord huron asks #asks list #ask list #asks game

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nirikeehan · 6 months

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Happy Friday dearest!! YASSS HORROR PROMPTS how about #4 (?? I’m sorry if this is not the correct number) from the Eldritch Aesthetic list: “Something pretending to be human”

Forrrrr Thalia and Dorian??? Or Thalia x Cullen uwu

Well. She mentions Cullen.

Who's pretending to be human? One of these two characters and it's not Thalia!!!!!! ahahaha

You know what the real horror is? The class struggle, that's what.

More Curse of Strahd crossover; I can't be stopped

Metrion is borrowed from Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten, the best DND podcast you've never heard but absolutely should, it's fantastic

For @dadrunkwriting

WC: 2281

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“They don’t like me. They don’t trust me.” His words are slurred, the wineskin in one hand, the long leather coat trailing off one bony shoulder. “They don’t want me here.”

Thalia surveys him, her strange, new friend in this strange, new land. He’s drunk. This has happened three nights in a row, and it’s beginning to worry her.

“It’s not that,” she says, trying not to wince. “They’re grateful you brought me back safe. You’re just a little—” Rough around the edges, she tried to say to Pravin, who laughed and told her that was a delicate term for a charlatan. What is it, Thalia, about those peasant accents that make you want to do charity work? Her chest still aches from the insult. “Look. There’s not a lot of people around here we’ve been able to trust. Their suspicion is understandable, isn’t it?”

“You didn’t mention the lot of them is nobles.” Metrion appears not to hear her, pacing between the space of two trees. They’re camping by the shore of Lake Zarovich, with intel that Vallaki is too dangerous politically and the woods too dangerous physically. The tree line is as far from camp as he is willing to wander, and he points accusingly back in the direction of the tents. “You didn’t mention you’re some big shot lady, neither.”

“They’re not all nobles,” Thalia protests. “Blackwall isn’t. Hawke barely is, he grew up poor and had to go on a whole quest to restore his family’s—” She realizes Metrion probably doesn’t want a recitation of Tales of the Champion right now. “And I’m the Inquisitor. So what? I don’t understand why any of that matters. It doesn’t matter here least of all, in a world where Strahd von Zarovich is in charge.”

She watches him physically recoil at the sound of his name. He shakes his head and takes another pull from the wineskin. “I don’t belong here,” he mutters, looking at the ground.

Thalia blinks. “None of us do, you said so yourself.”

“’S not what I mean. This is a proper retinue, innit? For you and your very important friends.”

Thalia recognizes the self-loathing in his voice. She’s heard it before and it hurts just as much as all those other dark moments — in the dim light of the Val Royeaux jail when she visited Blackwall, in Cullen’s office on the bad days, in the nook of the rookery library as Dorian told her of the sins of his father. “And if I said you were a very important friend?”

Metrion chuckles bitterly. “You don’t know me, love. Not barely.”

“I know you could’ve left me to die to save yourself and you didn’t.” Thalia crosses her arms over her chest. “You helped me hide and disguise myself so Strahd wouldn’t recognize me again. I’ve plenty of practice with people selling themselves short in an attempt to push me away, Metrion.” She swallows hard, trying not to think of Blackwall sitting in camp, avoiding her with his steely eyes. “It’s not going to work this time.”

Metrion sways on his feet a little. He looks at her with a helpless expression, then leans against the tree trunk and slides slowly to the ground, legs to chest, the wineskin resting on his knees. His yellow eyes are distant.

Thalia chews her lip. The silence stretches.

She’s turning to go when she hears him ask softly, “What d’you mean, ‘this time’?”

She looks at him again, her throat tight. “It’s a long story.”

“Yeah, well. We got all night, don’t we?” He holds up the wineskin, jiggles it at her, laughs nervously. “All our lives, supposedly.”

Thalia takes a breath. “If I tell you, will you promise to tell me why you hate nobles so much?”

His jaw works back and forth. She catches a glimpse of his long gold incisor. “I’ll think about it.”

Thalia snorts. “Not good enough.”

“All right, yes, fine. Story swap time. Just sit down and have a drink before I change my mind, yeah?”

She sits. The grass is cold and damp beneath her trousers. She inches closer instinctively, for the warmth. She takes the wineskin and hesitates.

“Does m’lady wish to have it poured into a golden goblet first?” Metrion asks, affecting the false posh accent.

“Oh, shut up.” Thalia takes a deep swallow. The wine tastes like a dry red, not as robust as some she’s tasted, but will do in a pinch. She licks her lips and hands the wineskin back. Again she sees the flash of bright pink sticking out from between his gloves and trench coat sleeve. The tunic underneath doesn’t look that vibrant, but he never takes off the coat, so it’s difficult to say. She can’t blame him for wearing several layers in this chill. “So. Where do I start?”

“Beginning’s usually a fine place.” The wineskin is already back to his lips.

“Right.” She sighs, casts a glance over at the camp. “You met Warden Blackwall.”

“Yeah. Thought his eyes might cut me in two.”

“He’s like that. He, ah.” Thalia takes the wineskin back, swallows to summon the courage. The rim tastes like the makeup he’s slathered on her face, and she tries to work it off her tongue, wondering how she managed to get it there. She worries her finger at the bit of tan pigment she can see there. “He and I… well…” Her cheeks warm.

“Fucking hell.” She can feel, rather than see, Metrion’s raised eyebrows. “Him? Right old man, ain’t he?”

“It’s not like that. Well, I mean, I thought it was, or would be, at one time.” Thalia feels mortified, saying all this out loud. “I didn’t mind that he was older. He’s one of the best fighters you’ll ever see. I always felt safe with him around. And I thought he wanted me. But it never really… happened.”

Thalia looks up, and Metrion is fixing her with one of those looks she has a difficult time parsing. Skepticism, she thinks, in the cocked brow. His eyes are narrowed, almost dangerously. And yet, he seems sad. “They always want something,” he says, almost too softly for her to hear.

Irritation flares in her. “Now you sound like Cullen.”

“Who’s Cullen?” Metrion shoots back.

“My… I don’t know what you’d call it. Boyfriend?”

Metrion snorts. “Hope he’s closer to you in age.”

“He is. You’re sounding awfully protective for someone who insists he’s not my friend, you know.”

“Look, love.” Metrion takes the wineskin back and takes a purposeful swallow. “Don’t need to be a friend to tell you to be careful. With men like that, it’s always gonna be about how much power they can get over ya. But go on, tell me more about how noble and shit this Warden Blackwall is.”

“That’s the thing.” Thalia stares down at her hands. “I found out he’s not a Warden. He was lying. He was lying about everything. His name’s not even Blackwall.”

She feels Metrion tense beside her.

“He’s… he was…” She swallows. She can’t say the words that lodge in her throat. Criminal. Murderer. Traitor. “He was wanted for treason in Orlais. They were going to hang him.”

Metrion says nothing, taking another slow sip of wine. He looks past her, to the faint flicker of firelight in the camp. “Did he do it?”

“Oh, yes.” Thalia blinks, and her vision blurs from the tears that come without her permission. “He definitely did.”

Metrion watches her, then hands her back the wineskin with care. She sniffles, wipes at her eyes, smears more of the makeup, sighs. She drinks once, twice. “Sorry, I— it still hurts, you know? I saw so much good in him, I saw how he was trying to make himself better — I didn’t care about all the lies, I really didn’t — but here was everyone, everyone in positions that mattered, saying what he’d done was unforgivable. And worse, that he seemed to believe that himself.”

Metrion is silent for a long while. When he speaks again, his voice is a raw mumble. “And this is the bloke you’re comparing me to?”

“No. Yes. I had to save him, don’t you understand? I couldn’t let him die. But he hates me for it.”

Metrion scoffs. “Don’t think that’s true.”

“And why not?” Thalia retorts.

“I seen the way he looks at you.” Metrion takes the wineskin back. “Trust me, I know the difference.”

Thalia opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She feels as though he kicked her in the chest. She grasps clumps of wet grass and yanks them from the earth with a pained tug. Metrion drinks deeply beside her, coming up for air with a near desperate gasp.

“’S that what you want to do to me?” he asks with a sudden, venomous edge to his voice. “‘Save me’?”

“No. It didn’t work with Blackwall; why would it work with anyone else?” Thalia forces a smile. “Besides, what’s there to save you from? An alliterative stage name?”

Metrion chuckles, but she feels no mirth from it. “Right, yeah. Metrion the Magnificent — ’s a little over the top, innit?”

Thalia is surprised by the criticism. Pravin never approached his stage persona with anything but the utmost pride. “I think it gets the point across.”

“Sure it does.” Metrion clutches the wineskin in his lap and studies it. “You said— this Blackwall fellow, he was trying to better himself.”

Thalia blinks. “Of course. That was the whole reason he wanted to join the Grey Wardens.”

“What if I said I’m not tryin’ to do that?” He looks at her, and his eyes seem glassy, though from the wine or grief it’s hard to tell.

“I… don’t know.” She gets the sense he’s fishing for an answer that eludes her. “Why would you need to? You’re just an actor.”

As soon as she speaks, the doubt comes, because he’s glancing away, sniffing, rubbing at an eye.

“Aren’t you?” Her voice is small.

“O’ course. Yeah.” Metrion grimaces against the lip of the wineskin. “Just not the kind your friend Fidencio would approve of.”

Thalia takes a breath. She feels off-kilter, like they’re somehow not talking about the same thing, despite their words. “Metrion, I know what I must look like to you. But I’m not a wide-eyed innocent, or a dainty lady, ignorant to the ways of the world. And because of Fidencio, I’ve met some colorful types when it comes to the stage. Nothing about you — shocks me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“How magnanimous of you, m’lady,” he sneers, and she flinches.

“All right, fine then.” She snatches the wineskin away from him and drinks. It’s nearly empty. “I bared my soul to you; it’s time you returned the favor. Why do you hate the aristocracy?”

Metrion snorts, letting out a slow, drunken laugh. I shouldn’t have let him have more, she thinks fleetingly. “You’ve got it all wrong in your pretty little head, pet. I don’t hate ‘em. I don’t think about ‘em much at all. Except for their money.” He waves his arm with an exaggerated flourish, as if to take a bow, and clenches his fist. “And how it can be mine.”

Realization dawns. “So you’re a thief.”

Metrion shrugs. “Don’t really like to nail myself down to one thing.”

“A swindler, then. A huckster. A snake oil salesman.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Never tried to sell any sort of oil, nah.”

Thalia tries to work this through her head, which the wine has made light and warm. She feels suddenly sleepy. She sighs, eyes his shoulder, and slowly leans closer, resting her cheek against it. He doesn’t resist, but doesn’t move either, instead looking straight ahead. He really is quite bony, beneath all the layers.

“Okay,” she says, yawning.

“Okay?”

“Okay. You’re a real knave, I guess. You run scams on people, is that it? I just told you I was in love with a man who almost got executed for treason.” She giggles. “You can still be my friend. I don’t care.”

There is a confused silence. “You’re not… afraid I’m gonna make off with the family jewels or nothing?”

“Joke’s on you.” Thalia smirks. “I left all my jewels back at Skyhold.”

“Well, shit.”

They snicker in unison, and Thalia thinks things might finally be settling between them.

“That wine isn’t bad, you know,” she ventures.

“’S the only thing gettin’ me through, love.” Metrion takes the wineskin back, drains it in one gulp, and drops it at his side opposite her.

She worries he’s going to suggest they go back to camp and get some sleep, but he doesn’t move. Thalia has no desire to go back either, to face the others: Blackwall’s grim visage, Pravin’s disapproving looks, Hawke’s devil-may-care bravado. She can sleep right here, she thinks, as long as he doesn’t move, which he seems to have no intention of doing. She feels a strange sort of comfort from that, if not exactly affection.

“Metrion?”

“Mm?” He sounds half-asleep.

Thalia wrinkles her nose and sniffs. “Why do you smell like shoe polish?”

His eyes pop open, the yellow irises sliding toward her. He stretches his long legs out and wiggles the toe of one boot. “Gotta keep ‘em looking proper, you know.”

“For your magic act?” She can see him on a stage, conjuring cards from thin air. Summoning rabbits. Drawing applause, passing a hat around. Enough money, maybe, for one night, or two, or ten. She feels as if she’s on the cusp of understanding something, and it makes her terribly sad.

“Yeah,” Metrion mutters. “For my magic act.”

#thalia trevelyan #metrion the magnificent #curse of strahd au #i just want them to be traumabonded besties is that too much to ask #the punch line is he's a bright pink tiefling in stage makeup and thalia doesn't know #among other things he's hiding #will i ever write this crossover in order?#TBD #fics #dragon age drunk writing circle

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monstersdownthepath · 2 years

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Monster Spotlight: Abaia

CR 10

Neutral Huge Magical Beast

Bestiary 4, pg. 7

Mysterious protectors of magical waterways, the Abaia hail from the First World but frequently end up in the Material Plane, making their homes in lakes of magical significance. Like many lake guardians, Abaia allow creatures to live in courteous symbiosis with their waters, only rousing to action when their homes are exploited by greed and cruelty or despoiled by pollution. While the first offenses are paid in the Abaia capsizing boats or causing floods with their at-will Hydraulic Torrent or Control Water, later offenses can see the skies cracking with torrential rains thanks to their 1/day Control Weather combined with their Control Water, making these creatures seem like furious gods of the lake to the surrounding people.

Should these shows of force not be enough, Abaia are more than willing to attack offenders directly. Their control over water allows them to knock their targets straight into the lakes or trap their ships in dips in the water, closing in with their 80ft swim speed, usually enough to prevent the targets of their malice from escaping. Their Endless Coils allow them to extend their bodies outwards as a full-round action, grappling upwards to four Medium targets within their 15ft reach at a time, dealing 2d6+12 constriction damage each round the victims fail to escape the crushing bodies of these lake serpents.

Any creature not killed by the initial damage is typically held underwater until they either drown or succumb to the constriction, assuring their death will come eventually. Underwater combat is already terrible for players, so adding in the extra hazard of a creature that can control and shape its aquatic environment and move twice as fast as nearly any PC should be able to swim is an easy recipe for disaster, especially if combat is initiated from below a boat by the Abaia suddenly surfacing, grappling four unlucky saps at once, and then dragging them into the depths like a single, incredibly dexterous Kraken tentacle.

In a straight-up fight on even terms, Abaia have a reasonably tough bite for 3d6+8 damage, and a tail slap that deals 2d6+4. Both attacks have Grab, though, opening victims to being constricted for further damage as though they had been trapped in its Endless Coils. If the colossal fish doesn’t want to waste time doing a Full-Attack, it can make use of Vital Strike to make its bite into a 6d6+8 crunch that still grabs the target for later constriction.

Let’s say, however, that your party does the smart thing and tries getting the thing to engage on land, thinking it’ll lose its advantage. Indeed, it’s only when surrounded by water that the Abaia retains its speed, maneuverability, and even its 21 Spell Resistance, so of course getting it onto land is top priority! But while it can slither across the ground at 20ft a round, the Abaia is a Wave Rider and almost never touches bare earth to begin with, instead retaining its impressive swim speed by dragging a sheath of water around it whenever it needs to venture onto the land to punish transgressors, negating the one tactic the party may have been trying for. This sheath of water lasts for up to 6 rounds before it needs to be refreshed, gradually shedding 10ft of speed each round, but it can last indefinitely in the rain. Y’know, like the rain it probably called down with its weather control?

Before we wrap this up, let me close on a note I find personally entertaining: Abaia are curious little creatures that hoard magical items of all shapes and stripes, using their permanent Arcane Sight to locate such curiosities in the wreckage of ships or among the belongings of their victims. While most of these items end up in little niches and nooks as part of the Abaia’s treasure hoard, these creatures are smart enough to keep wands, staves, and other such spell-trigger items on their person for their own use. Their nubby fins make for poor hands, but their Eldritch Gizzard is, somehow, alarmingly dexterous enough to manipulate such items without difficulty, activating as though the serpent was holding it in a regular human hand. This special, magical gut-pouch can hold items of seemingly any variety, slurping them up or regurgitating them as standard actions, but there’s no listed limit to how many the Abaia can have stored at once!

A DM wishing to make these serpents even more difficult to battle, or more confusing, could have a veritable utility belt of magic items stored inside these things, giving it the illusion of having one extremely confusing breath weapon. If you thought they were dangerous before, wait until it blasts everyone with the Wand of Fireball lodged in its throat to soften them up...

You can read more about them here.

#Monster Spotlight #CR 6 to 10 #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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markdrummondj · 1 year

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Download the map here: patreon.com/markdrummondj

At the edge of a mossy outcrop is an otherworldly shrine of twisted flesh and unsettling eyes. Arcane stone slabs protrude from the shifting horror, evidence of the previous shrine that stood here to summon this eldritch denizen. The corruption stretches to the land around, turning this once tranquil lake into a swampy den of terror and lost souls. Many travel here to seek a pact with the creature, and those that can withstand the sudden fixated stare of the usually darting and unfocused eyes can bargain for great power.

#5e #battlemap #battlemaps #dnd #dnd 5e #dnd maps #dnd memes #dungeons and dragons #numenera #rpg #rpg maps #star wars rpg #ttrpg #vtt

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themarquisyellow · 2 months

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The Marquis of Carcosa

[ The following is lore for my PNGtuber! I wrote and read this out on stream but also wanted somewhere to post it that isn't twitter or bluesky. ]

Carcosa, lost Carcosa. It is in this distant city that we find the Marquis Yellow – in the court of the King in Yellow.

The Marquis had found their way to Carcosa long ago, from across the black waters of Lake Hali and from lands under different stars, and soon became an inhabitant of the city during its prime, before its fated destruction. Once a bustling city, all kinds would find their way to Carcosa yet none of them were strictly human – for this place existed an age before humanity formed. This city rose from the shore, tall obsidian towers piercing the sky and great domes that could house thousands within them for the eldritch mass that prayed to the elder Gods. Carcosa saw many visitors, pilgrims from beyond the Lake and beyond the stars, who sought to venerate this holy place and pay respects to the King in Yellow.

Here, in this strange and alien city, where the Twin Suns hang low and dim above the lake, the Marquis, before they had claimed that title, was but a performer – making their wage on the street and during religious festivities paying homage to Hastur and the King in Yellow, both whom ruled over the Hyades cluster. It was at such a time that the King deigned to walk among the masses, and had his attention brought on the jester. Upon a whim, the King decided to lay claim to this lone fool, inviting them to Court and even granting them a title… even if the title was in name only.

Thus, the Marquis Yellow was raised into nobility, as a member of the King’s court. However, this was not without its detriments. As a condition of this position, the newly appointed Marquis had to become a host of one of Carcosa’s more… troubling inhabitants; The Umbral Watcher, That With Eyes to Witness the Black Stars, Bane of the Twin Suns, this was the entity that the Marquis would be bonded to for the rest of eternity to ensure that the Twin Suns would remain safe from the threat of darkness that the Watcher would bring.

Under the King’s decree, the Marquis was given the privilege to joke and jest about any topic they wished, they were even allowed to insult the King himself or the nuances of the religion – such is the privilege given to any jester. However, one topic was forbidden under the King’s rule: the Watcher was not to be mentioned or even acknowledged. And any attempt the Marquis made to bring up the matter to the King in private was shut down almost immediately.

Yet, due to their newfound state of being, this was not something that the Marquis could accept. For the Watcher would whisper to them in the dark of night, when the King’s yellow eye was not upon the two of them. Beneath the lake’s abyssal surface, that was where it came and where it would wait for the twin suns to sink into the Hali and Carcosa would find its destruction once the dim light had died. Visions of this future entered the Marquis’ mind, a maddening prophecy that the Marquis was subjected to despite their best efforts to do as their King decreed; ignore the beast, disregard its lies and repeat not the heretical divinations.

Time passed, as it was want to do, and slowly Carcosa was filled with madness for its King’s condition began to decline. He who was once a vaunted god amongst the pilgrims who travelled the Hyades to visit the great city of Carcosa had now delved into strange and paranoid routines, an obsession with realms far and distant. His gaze no longer lingered on the city that he lived in, no, for it was humans who had stolen his interest. The tattered King left the city to fall into decay, into its own destruction now that the foe he truly believed to be its enemy had been captured and imprisoned. The very thing the King once sought to avoid had happened, yet, it was not the fate that the Watcher had foretold.

Carcosa would last under the dim light of the suns. Even if it was left in ruins, it was where the Marquis still lived – keeping the Court of the King in Lost Carcosa, prowling the empty halls of the palace – and deep in its heart sat the mad King.

#pngtuber #pngtuber lore #carcosa #the king in yellow #robert w chambers #eldritch #lore #oc lore #the marquis yellow | lore

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silvertown · 2 years

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I just love part 13 “The Dreamlands” so much.

John’s poetic (as always) descriptions and Arthur’s dry humor: “…the lake before us claws at the sky as if trying to escape the lands, the sand here is black, like crushed coal, and seems to cling to your pants” – “We’re still wearing our clothes then”.

John talking about finding meaning and purpose for himself, John deciding that he is his own person, his grim resolve (“Let him try”).

The trader, who is so grumpy and is able to see John separately.

A fable about woodcutter and the trees. At least the handle is one of us. (and then the trees gave them a part of themselves!)

“The woods are lonely. They welcome their old friend back into the woods, despite his intentions”.

The forest that walks. The forest that is actually small but walks around you. (I love LOVE this forest that is, unlike many disgusting eldritch horrors that they encountered, is both monstrous and quite beautiful. The forest that will eat your bitten off finger but is also lonely? And wants to give you something in return? This is something that Guillermo del Toro could direct a movie about).

Arthur: No I’m not considering it, because it’s fucking insane, John. John: They don’t want to suffer alone.

*gestures wildly* THIS. This is some parallel to Arthur talking about how he killed himself for a voice in his head, how mad that sounds. It’s Arthur who doesn’t want to suffer alone – can’t be alone: “Because I can’t lose another person”.

And then as a special treat to myself at the end of the episode they talk about that fucking lighter which has words “this too shall pass” written on it, how Arthur found it in a desk drawer in the office. AND right after that Arthur begins whistling the song as they walk. You know which one I’m talking about. THE song. And I’m just left sitting here like:

#malevolent podcast #malevolent spoilers #arthur lester #john malevolent #malevolent

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neonponders · 1 year

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For the 5+ HC - Alien au

I'm taking this as an Extra Terrestrial au instead of the Alien movies because I Cannot™ with face-huggers lol

But also to be a hypocrite, I’m giving Billy tentacles.

Billy and Max are Eldritch fae from a different realm/dimension/planet (that counts as extra terrestrial, right?). They’re able to shapeshift, so they look human when they want to.

Billy and Max obviously have very Sibling™ behavior and this physically manifests in how they both have a lot of eyes (like eldritch angels sorta), but Billy is able to manifest extra limbs/tentacles while Max is able to defy gravity. She uses her abilities for skateboarding and Billy used his for swimming/surfing.

California is where they land but they can’t stay. Being inland doesn’t bother Max much but being away from water is like being in a desert for Billy.

Enter: lifeguard duties with one Steve Co-Swim Captain, Lifeguard Certified, Harrington. The two definitely clash but Billy likes this human - even if he is missing a sensible amount of limbs. Summers are now spent being lifeguards over the lakes in Hawkins.

Steve likes to skinny dip. He’s got the confidence and the gall to spite the trending Friday 13th movies. Billy tries to freak him out one night by giving his legs a tug with one of his tentacles. Steve, bless him, knows that it wasn’t a hand that grabbed him, but his mind isn’t open enough to process what did. Yet.

But the most dangerous thing in the lake is Billy, not some undead summer camp kid. Even if Steve doesn’t know it yet. And if the lifeguards start having sex on the lakeshore? It’s no one’s business.

Send me an AU and I’ll give 5+ headcanons about it ~

#thank you!!#harringrove #neonponders #jellyfishloveletterghosts #ask game #alien!billy

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astriiformes · 11 months

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Might actually cry a little bit (in a good way) - the new bill that just passed here in Minnesota granting paid medical leave to people caring for sick family members has such an intentionally expansive definition of "family" that biological and/or legal ties are not actually a prerequisite to qualify for the program. In fact, there's a portion of the bill that specifies anyone designated as family by the incapacitated party can receive the benefits.

Apparently this was done in part to make the policy as inclusive as possible of queer family structures and I am absolutely floored; as someone with a seriously chronically ill queerplatonic partner I worry a lot about my options as a primary caretaker, seeing as the fact that we are not legal partners bars us from so many other benefits, but the fact that this particular one would be inclusive of us (and poly partners, and single queer people with no ties to their biological family but close friends willing to help them out, etc) has given me more hope that may change someday than I think anything ever has.

This is how you do policy that benefits the entire queer community, including poly, ace, and aro folks for whom same-sex marriage has never offered the same legal rights (and plenty of other folks besides, like disabled people or people with terrible biological families -- you don't have to be LGBTQA+ for it to be a seriously important option). This is genuinely incredible. I was excited to see this pass even without knowing it would potentially apply to me, too, but now I'm a total grateful, emotional mess.

#genuinely can't believe this is something that was prioritized in the bill (and then PASSED)#minnesota: a pro-found family state apparently #land of eldritch lakes #aroblogging #aceblogging

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spiralghoul · 2 years

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literally not creative when it comes to asks but need more eldritch ghouls. rain and aether doing something

Rain likes to cuddle with Aether a lot.

Since Aether is composed of the cosmos his body often feels like a cold solid weight that's wrapping around whoever he's with, he also has a slight pull to him sometimes it can be felt physically sometimes it’s just something nagging at the subconscious of whoever it’s aimed at to get closer. Either way, this means it’s hard to escape/interrupt cuddles when Aether wants them.

Rain likes it because it reminds him of the deep sea. The cold indifferent pressure on all sides and miles of nothing aside from pitch darkness and whatever lies in that abyss. He can’t see too well on land with his fish eyes so it's nice when Aether will just wrap his being around him and take away that option to see. It gives him that same empty and vast feeling that he used to get from the darkness that lies in deep water.

they have a special hang-out spot in one of the old towers in the Abby. There's a large window sill it's quiet and a good place to watch storms when they come through, it overlooks a rather large lake that is near the Abby. the tower itself is largely abandoned for the most part and the few people who might happen to come through wouldn't notice the two barely contained forms entwined in the window sill.

#hope this is good!#eldritch horror ghouls #rain ghoul #aether ghoul #rain x aether #the band ghost #ghost headcanons #ghoul headcanons #impera ghoul #ghost bc #nameless ghouls #shitghosting #spirals brain worms

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scaevolawrites · 2 years

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A WRITEBLR (RE)INTRODUCTION - @scaevolawrites

Hello there, It's been a couple of years since I've been properly active on here - so it's high time I reintroduce myself. I'm Scaevola (or Scae for short), he/him and am 26 years of age. Currently busy with a triple major in Journalism and Film & Literary Sciences. If I'm not working on that you can find me either engrossed in my writing or lost in a Wikipedia rabbit hole somewhere - it's a known weakness. I mostly write fantasy across a number of sub-genres, but historical fantasy tends to be my favourite one.

CURRENT PROJECTS;

Captured Lightning - Historical Fantasy with Horror Elements

At the tail end of the Industrial Revolution machines, factories and their fumes are becoming a permanent fixture in lands across Europe. The hidden inhabitants of the wilds that still sprawl over the continent feel the need to act. But with the fae locked away, the dryads afraid to leave either forest or lake, and the witches' plans continuing to fail, the future of the wilds seem uncertain. And what is with these odd lightning strikes that are occurring more and more frequently? [Tag] // [Old WIP Intro] (New one coming soon)

The Lightbringer Sessions - Contemporary Fantasy

Ophelia is a first-year Psychology student when she one day has the urge to visit the local park, where she encounters a strange fellow. He somehow convinces her into a therapy session, and she finds herself sitting on a park bench, jotting down everything he says. The cryptic man turns out to be Lucifer himself - and Ophelia has unwittingly struck a deal with him, to be his therapist. With all the strangeness that comes from being Satan's shrink, Ophelia tries to focus on the mundane parts of her life, until even those become alien to her. [Tag] // [WIP Intro] (Coming in December)

FUTURE PROJECTS;

The Sacred Disease - Mythological Fantasy with Eldritch Elements

During a battle Damokles, a Spartan soldier, is assaulted by terrifying visions from a vengeful and blind Appolo, the Sun God. As a result, he has been branded an ill omen and is exiled from the city. Damokles resolves to find out why this fate has befallen him and what Apollo's plans are. All while Damokles' former allies are hell-bent on vanquishing him.

More info on these projects will be coming in the future. If you'd like to be added or removed from any of my taglists, do not hesitate to shoot me a dm or send me an ask!

TAGLIST [Send me an ask to be +/-]

@lazy-bumblebee @endymions @inky-duchess @ladywithalamp @talesofnetline @seomarshalls @veneritia @seasteading @raven-ink

(This taglist will be a one time thing, and consists of people who were interested in my work in the past. This is just to get the word out. My taglists are wiped clean, so if you're tagged above, and are still interested please let me know.)

#wtwcommunity #writeblr #writeblr introduction #writers on tumblr #wip; captured lightning #wip; the lightbringer sessions #wip; the sacred disease #I'm stoked to get back into writing #new wip intro for captured lightning will be posted sometime next week (and I'll update this post accordingly)

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grailfinders · 2 years

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Fate and Phantasms #289: Abigail Williams (Summer)

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re building the first (and only, as far as I know) summer servant without a class change, Abigail Williams! That’s right, they got a puritan in a swimsuit before a guy.

You’d think having her spirit origin change so little would mean her build didn’t change much either, but you’d be wrong! Abby’s still a Great Old One Warlock for obvious reasons, but we also have to pop into Aberrant Mind Sorcerer to pick up the sleep spell as well as a few extra Sothoth-brand goodies. Why they put Sleep on one list and Dream on another is a nightmare to figure out another day.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: We! Are! We are VR!

Race and Background

So, I know we made Abby Custom Lineage last time so Abby could be babby, but I also really like the symbolism of making the gate the elder gods pass through have the Mark of Passage, so now she’s a Human proper. This gives her +2 Charisma and +1 Dexterity, the Courier’s Speed of 35’, an Intuitive Motion that gives her a small boost (1d4) on all acrobatics and land vehicle checks, and you can create a Magical passage once a day by casting Misty Step. You also get some extra spells of the mark, though we don’t really use them here.

I know this setup’s more focused on the standard kind of passage than the elder gods would prefer, but tbh have you ever tried to keep a hold of a wet child trying to get back in the lake? Impossible. If anything, she should have a bigger boost to acrobatics checks.

She’s still a Haunted One though, for Religion and Survival proficiency.

Ability Scores

Abby’s scary this time around and also a strong spellcaster, so make sure your Charisma is as high as possible. I know we dumped Intelligence the last time around, but you’ve had time to incorporate Yog Sothoth into your brain a little more, plus you live in the future, so it’s pretty high this time. You like keeping it light, so your Dexterity is also above average. You also have to survive the summer sun, so your Constitution is also above average. This means your Wisdom is pretty low- it’s summer, nobody’s particularly worried about being observant. Unless they’re trapped in your nightmare world, probably. Finally, dump Strength. Small children be small.

Class Levels

1. Warlock 1: Lä, lä! It’s time to strike a deal with a Great Old One! I mean you did this last time, but we’ve got to start somewhere, right? This gives you an Awakened Mind, so you can talk to any creature within 30’ of you telepathically. You can also cast Pact Spells using your Charisma, so you’ll get these spell slots back on short rests, and you’ll always have them at the highest level possible!

Pick up Eldritch Blast for some spooky shots and Sword Burst for those… key… lance…. Things, you use. You can also Hex an opponent to deal more damage and force disadvantage on a skill check of your choice. Finally, Arms of Hadar makes tentacles around you, battering anyone who gets too close. Tentacles are kind of your thing.

You also gain proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saves, plus Arcana and Intimidation. Yeah, Abby’s rude now. What of it?

2. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get another spell like Unseen Servant. We’ll have plenty of more… catlike options for your familiars later, but we need two at a time, so grabbing a spell right now is a good idea.

You also get your first Eldritch Invocations this level, helping you customize your spirit origin for summer fun! Your Eldritch Sight lets you cast detect magic at will, while your Eyes of the Rune Keeper let you read any language. Why bother with Duolingo when your headmate just knows everything already?

3. Warlock 3: At third level we gain our second cat adoption option with the Pact of the Chain, so now we can cast Find Familiar as a ritual. Technically we also get more options, but we’re here for a cat. Or maybe a quasit, if you’ve been good.

More importantly, we get second level spells like Phantasmal Force that let you create illusions that deal a little psychic damage if they would hurt the target. We get a lot of cool stuff, but summoning giant monsters is high-level magic. This will tide us over ‘til we get there.

4. Sorcerer 1: Now that we have plenty of gifts from your patron, it’s time to get to work on your own. Mostly because warlocks don’t get the sleep spell.

Regardless, as an Aberrant Mind sorcerer you gain access to Telepathic Speech, which is pretty similar to the telepathy we already have, but it has some slight tweaks. Instead of being a free action like regular speech, it takes a bonus action to set up the link. After that, you can speak to each other freely for a number of minutes equal to your Sorcerer level, and it works up to Charisma Modifier miles away. You can only bond like this with one creature at a time, so at least you have Awakened Mind speech to fall back on for short-range communications.

You also get access to Spells, and in particular Psionic Spells. This is also an extended spell list, but they’re all added to your list for free, and you can change them once per level-up for any sorcerer, wizard, or warlock spell that is from the school divination or enchantment. We’re going to do that, but I’m not bringing it up every time we do.

Your sorcerer slots and warlock slots are essentially separate things, though you can use one class’s slots for the other’s spells. Spells like Chill Touch for that classic horror vibe, Message for a slightly longer-range telepathic message, Minor Illusion for a little bit of dreamery in reality, and Control Flames to shut off the lights before everyone goes to bed.

For first level spells, Chaos Bolt is just a generally good attack, and Mage Armor will help you fight in a swimsuit without dying.

For our Psionic Spells, you learn Sleep for obvious reasons, Dissonant Whispers to melt peoples’ minds with your eldritch power, and Mind Sliver to weaken a foe’s defenses even further.

5. Sorcerer 2: At second level you become a Font of Magic, giving you sorcery points that you can turn into spell slots and vice versa. All your extra slots disappear on a long rest, but you can turn your warlock slots into points, turn those points into sorcerer slots, and then have a short rest for free extra spells.

Spells like Comprehend Languages, letting you understand any spoken language for up to an hour. You can also slowly read text, but that’s what the warlock stuff’s for.

6. Sorcerer 3: Now that we hit level three you can also use your sorcery points on Metamagic to make your spells even stronger, kind of like the villain pulling powerups out of nowhere in a horror movie. A heightened spell forces disadvantage on one creature’s first save against it, while an extended spell has double the duration. Sleep only lasts one minute! That sucks! Now it sucks half as much!

Also, either option is useful for your new spell Enlarge/Reduce. I could see you using either of these, but it’s another reason we went full-size abby this time. It’s a lot easier to terrorize teens in their dreams when you’re the size of a house. I feel like it’s easier to scare anyone at that size, tbh.

You can also Hold Person to freeze someone with fright, and Detect Thoughts to feed on their deepest fears.

7. Sorcerer 4: Once we reach level four in a class, we get our first Ability Score Improvement which will improve your Charisma for stronger spells.

We can also use Prestidigitation for any smaller spooks you might need to make, and Kinetic Jaunt makes it impossible to escape your wrath. You know how in nightmares the monster can practically teleport while you’re stuck in place? Here’s part one of that.

8. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells like Water Walk. That’s right, we got floaties, baby!

You also get psionic spells like Hunger of Hadar and Catnap. Short rests are super important for you, so sneaking one in with only 10 minutes to spare? Super helpful. Also, more tentacles! Tentacles are your thing.

9. Warlock 4: Now that you can enjoy summer, it’s time to let your patron ruin it a bit more. Bouncing back to Warlock makes you Telepathic, which… you already were, yes, but this rounds up your Charisma, and you can cast Detect Thoughts once a day for free. It also effectively doubles the speaking distance of your Awakened Mind speaking, making Message even less needed!

You can also use Mage Hand for a more visible magical cat helper. You can also use Borrowed Knowledge to steal proficiency in any skill from your patron for an hour.

10. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get third level spells like Spirit Shroud, further slowing down anyone getting too close to you and dealing extra creepy damage. For your next invocation grab Cloak of Flies for advantage on intimidation checks and disadvantage on all other charisma checks. Also, any creature within melee distance takes poison damage each turn they start in the cloak. You can power this on once per short rest.

11. Warlock 6: At sixth level you can finally Summon Shadowspawn to make your creepy monster minions. Your Shadow Spirit lasts up to an hour, and commanding it is a free action. Shadowspawn come in three flavors: Fury shadowspawn have advantage on attacks against frightened creatures, while Despairs reduce the speed of creatures in melee range. Mixing this reduction with a spirit shroud will lock most humanoids in place!

Finally, Fear spawn can hide as a bonus action in the dark.

You also get another benefit from your patron, an Entropic Ward. If a creature attacks you, you can use your reaction to force disadvantage on it. If the attack misses, you get advantage on the next attack against them. You can only use this once per short rest, so make it count.

12. Warlock 7: Seventh level warlocks get fourth level spells like Evard’s Black Tentacles. I don’t think I need to tell you why that’s on-brand.

You also get another invocation like Ghostly Gaze, letting you see through solid objects on a range of 30’, as well as giving you darkvision. This lasts for a minute and uses concentration, and then you need to take a short rest to use it again. Still, all sorts of secrets can be found behind closed doors…

13. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level aberrant minds know Psionic Sorcery, allowing you to cast any spells from your Psionic Spells feature by spending sorcery points. If you do so, you need no verbal or somatic components, and you can ignore material components not used by the spell. Yeah, maybe don’t let people figure out you’re reading their mind, that would defeat the purpose of it.

You also have Psychic Defenses that give you resistance to psychic damage, and advantage on saves against being charmed or frightened. It wouldn’t be much of a Nightmare on Elm Street of Freddy was afraid of the kids, would it?

Speaking of, you can cast Fear now. Make things afraid of you! OoooOoOoh, scary!

14. Sorcerer 7: Our last level of sorcerer nets you some fourth level spells, like Raulothim’s Psychic Lance, letting you hunt down your prey wherever they may go! You also get one last bunch of psionic spells including Evard’s Black Tentacles again and Summon Aberration. Same as Summon Shadowspawn, but a bit beefier and with different benefits. The Beholderkin can hover and deal ranged attacks, the Slaad has regeneration and prevents other creatures’ healing, and the Star Spawn deals psychic damage to anything nearby.

15. Warlock 8: Now that your charisma is maxed out, let’s worry about your Dexterity a bit. Higher AC is always nice.

Plus now you can make Hallucinatory Terrain! It’ll still be a while til you can mess with the dream world, but messing with the real world is a lot easier, for some reason!

16. Warlock 9: It’s been a while! With the fifth level spell Dream, you can finally hop into someone’s dreams and pass them messages. Or use it for our purposes and give them terrible nightmares instead. This means they’ll need to make a wisdom save or take psychic damage and then they can’t get the benefits of a long rest. Absolutely devastating if you’re a wizard.

You also get an Eldritch Mind, which gives you advantage on concentration checks.

17. Warlock 10: Tenth level Goolocks have a Thought Shield that keeps their mind from being read unless they allow it. You also reflect psychic damage back at whatever caused it, dealing the same amount to them as they did to you. You would get resistance to the damage too, but we already have that.

Yeah, Toll the Dead’s creepy enough, it can be your last cantrip.

18. Warlock 11: Eleventh level warlocks get a Mystic Arcanum. See, instead of giving you sixth level slots, warlocks get one sixth level spell they can cast once per long rest like a *shudder* regular caster. Yours is True Seeing. You have truesight, can see hidden doors, and can see into the ethereal plane, all for 120’ for up to an hour.

19. Warlock 12: Summer Abby’s actually a bit more defensive than her Halloween counterpart, so use this last ASI for some extra Constitution. You can also pick up the invocation Whispers of the Grave to cast Speak with Dead at will for free. Turns out dead man do tell tales!

20. Warlock 13: We all knew this was coming. Abby Simply wouldn’t be a good gate for extraplanar monstrosities if she didn’t learn Plane Shift at one point or another. Bring willing people with you on a trip or launch an enemy into another plane, either way it’s a super cool spell.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

You have access to a lot of hired hands, which can make your life a lot easier, even if it’s by virtue of just giving the enemies more targets to aim at. They’re also great for setting the mood and being absolutely terrifying.

Another great perk to working with the old ones is that it’s hard to defend against you. Plenty of intelligence saves, plus you have options to both reduce someone’s save and force disadvantage on it at the same time. Mix in your maxed out charisma, and you can take care of just about anything. Or at least force them to use their legendary resistances.

You’re also pretty good at shutting enemies down physically, with you and your shadowspawn combining their slowing auras to completely stop an enemy in their tracks. And if a faster one shows up, you always have hold person ready to go.

Cons:

Sorcerers eat through points quickly, and aberrant minds do so especially fast since they equal free casts right out the gate. Thank goodness you’re so good at getting points back then, huh?

You also have a lot of concentration spells. You’re not terrible at keeping them up, but it means you can’t scare people while you have a shadowspawn out, which is unfortunate.

While Summer Abby is one of the better mixes for obtaining the unlimited power of the sorlock, it comes with a major downside- you have no way of avoiding exhaustion, which is what you’re supposed to be forcing onto your prey!

#fgo #fate grand order #D&D 5e #DND #Abigail Williams #Warlock #Sorcerer

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lucentfir · 1 year

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Lore In ancient text from civilizations past depicts an eldritch creature 'The Red Serpent'. The description of the serpent was detailed to be a horned serpent skulled creature with a symbol engraved into the skull, pulsating powerful magic, the body a endless length of thick crimson liquid ever shifting and never calm. Along with various different bones protruding beyond the liquid surface and an amalgamation beneath, many of the bones beneath allowed the formation of skeletal limbs and claws alike. Another recording of text by those who had served the serpent, formed a communion 'becoming one with the serpent', were given the blessing of its blood, a form of gifted power. It is said the domain the serpent holds dominion over is referred to as 'The Red Garden' from the text of the serpent's past acolytes. It is described to have an expanse of red flora as far as the eye can see, with an enormous vibrant crimson lake. Flowing red rivers in the distance and bones of large creatures scattered throughout the land. The ambience is described as never feeling alone, this feeling is intensified when near the lake and rivers where some have even heard whispers or voices.

A little lore piece in regards to the last picture of Valn.

#eldritch creature #digital art

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creatorofuniverses · 2 years

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Gt July Day 7 - Creature

Please ignore weird formatting and any other errors, as im posting this on my phone just before midnight lol. Made it!

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We were walking down by the shore of the lake- Ewe, Ze’zien, and I. Not my favorite place, as these things went. I’d nearly been drowned and eaten by something last time we were here, and the few times before that hadn’t exactly been a picnic, starting with me parachuting out of half a helicopter and landing on a shore populated by giants.

Yeah. The lakeshore was maybe my least favorite place in the valley.

Still, I was walking- all on my own too, a situation rare enough that I didn’t want to jeopardize it by complaining about the location. Since winter in this remote Alaskan valley was in full swing, I was dressed from head to toe in furs, meaning I had more than just knit socks on my feet. Helpful for the whole walking thing; not to mention the fact that I desperately needed the warmth. All the snow and ice didn’t really agree with my New Mexican temperament. It meant I was often teased for being colder than anybody else, but c’mon, the villagers were both native to the climate and over sixty feet tall. Some of them had fat layers thicker than me. Of course I was more prone to the cold.

I meandered along the icy rocks on the beach, giving the ice that had grown along the lakeshore a wide berth. Ewe and Zezien walked behind me, chatting about villagers who I didn’t know very well, at a rate of speech too fast for me to pick up much. They also weren’t necessarily walking, since they were behind me- they only had to take a step to catch up to the last five minutes or so of my trail. A glance back showed that Ewe was balancing on a slippery log, wobbling a bit but generally doing well, as Ze’zien told a story with a lot of animated arm-waving.

They were supposed to be babysitting me, but they seemed just as aware as I was that they could overtake me at any moment. I was close enough they didn’t have to pay that much attention. Also, I was twenty-one and didn’t need babysat. Those two kids were probably the only people in the entire village that might actually believe that.

Then again, the moment I had that thought, I turned around and came face-to-face with a monster.

I yelped and scrambled back, panicked adrenaline already leaping through my veins. This wasn’t the first time some horrific creature had tried to eat me. It wasn’t even the fifth. My body was already primed for fight or flight; and when I was smaller than most anything in this oversized valley, the choice was never hard.

My yelling had alerted the other two, and like I expected, it took barely a stride for them to come over to me. Ewe knelt down, her knees cracking some of the thinner ice between the rocks, and I scrambled towards her. My eyes were still glued to the creature behind me, taking in details. It looked, weirdly enough, like a huge, eldritch version of the Pokémon Omanyte: big spiral shell, eyes on stalks tucked beneath the edge, and an entire host of tentacles creeping out towards me. Its shell was a dark blue-grey, however, the same color as most of the rocks along the beach; its eyes were slitted horizontally, something I didn’t think I’d ever seen on a creature before; it easily reached seven or eight feet in height; and its tentacles were long and slender, covered in flagella that wavered as if tasting the air.

As long as it didn’t taste me. I finally reached Ewe and leaned up against her bent leg, breathing heavily and staring at the beast as it somehow wiggled itself closer.

“Oh!” Ewe exclaimed, with a delight I certainly did not share. I felt more than saw Ze’zien kneel down on her other side. “It’s a to’finel ch’kor!”

Those words, full of foreign sounds and even an odd clicking vocalization I couldn’t replicate correctly, were somewhat familiar regardless. “To’finel ch’kor?” I hesitantly repeated, messing up the ‘ch’ click as usual. “Like a to’finel dara?” That was the lake creature that had almost drowned me the last time we were here. I never got a good look at the thing, but it definitely had tentacles, so that was at least one commonality.

“Sort of!” Ewe answered. She reached out to the creature, giggling as it wrapped a few monstrous tentacles around her huge, but child-slender fingers. “They both live in the to’finel.” I must have looked characteristically lost, because she immediately rephrased for me. “The part of the water we can stand in.”

Oh. The shallow water. Or at least, shallow as far as the giants were concerned. That made sense. “Is it dangerous?” I asked, this being the next important question now that I knew what it was called.

I looked up in time to see Ewe shake her head and offer me a smile. Of course, it wasn’t dangerous to her, seeing as it had entangled itself thoroughly into her hand with no apparent consequences; but she knew the question was for myself anyways. “No, they’re safe, Emy,” she cheerfully replied. “They only eat water-moss and other plants.”

I frowned critically at the spiral-shelled creature, watching as it snugged the soft parts of itself thoroughly into Ewe’s palm. “Then why is it so intent on getting to us?” Or at least, that’s what I wanted to ask. I had to sub in a few simpler words thanks to my limited vocabulary in their language.

To my surprise, Ze’zien answered my question. “They’re drawn to heat,” the boy explained, “especially in the winter.” I nodded, thinking that made some kind of sense.

Some. Apparently these monsters just wanted to cuddle, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Ze’zien made a noise of surprise and I jumped, watching as he bent over and reached for something. When he straightened he held a second to’finel ch’kor. “I thought we might find more,” he crowed, grinning from ear to ear. “There’s usually more than one.” He leaned across Ewe and held the creature out towards me, making me balk backwards to avoid a face full of writhing tentacles. “Go on, Emy,” he cajoled. “You can touch it, it won’t hurt you.”

I still had some reservations on that front; but I did have a reputation as a scaredy-cat that I wanted to work on changing, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any. I may not trust this prehistoric tentacle thing, but I did trust the kids. If they said I was safe, I was probably safe. So I took a deep breath, immediately wished I hadn’t thanks to the salty fish smell of the saltwater lake, and hesitantly reached out a hand.

A couple of tentacles reached back, though most still waved about trying to touch the ground, since Ze’zien held the thing a few feet up. They wrapped around my arm and I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. Nothing bad happened, however- the tentacles didn’t pull me off my feet but simply clung around my arm, flagella waving along the backside of the appendages. It was hard to tell the texture through the furs I wore, but the pressure was gentle, not painful. It really was safe. Weird, but safe.

Ze’zien lifted the to’finel ch’kor, as if to pull it away, but it held fast and I lifted up a bit along with it. The boy just chuckled, scooping both me and the creature into his hands. “Looks like you made a friend, Emy,” he laughed.

“Guess I did,” I replied, a bit breathless from the quick ascent- not like that was anything new. I was about to say something else, but the thing took the opportunity to wrap even more tentacles around me, pinning one arm to my side and holding the other one fast. I couldn’t balance well given all that and tipped over, only for it to settle itself mostly on top of me. “Um,” I said, a little squeakier than I would like thanks to my chest being compressed. “Could you get this new friend off of me?” Ze’zien and Ewe both laughed, making some blood rise in my cheeks, but Ze’zien worked on gently prying the to’finel ch’kor away from me.

Say what you will, but at least I survived; and as far as strange creatures in this valley go, I think the ones taking care of me are still the best.

#my writing #gtjuly #gtjuly2022 #in deep waters

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