#ring cairn | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

Forty percent of Tumblr users are between the ages of 18 to 25.

aishatonu · 2 years

Text

Loch Ness & the Highlands, 2.0

I thought taking a two-day tour to Loch Ness and the Highlands would prove to be twice as good as last week’s one-day tour, but I wasn’t as impressed with the tour this time. Don’t mistake me, I loved seeing both sights again, but the tour itself was lacking. For one thing the tour guide had the personality of a flaccid noodle; whereas the other tours I’ve taken the guides have been chock full…

View On WordPress

#Cava Cairns #Clachaig Inn #Dalwhinnie Distillery #ducks #Edinburgh Castle #Eskdale Guest House #Glen Coe #Inverness Castle #Loch an Eilein #Loch Lubnaig #Loch Ness #Ring Cairn #Rotheimurchus Woods #Scotland #seagull #the Hermitage #the Highlands #The Three Sisters #Urquhart Castle

2 notes · View notes

suryatchandra · 8 months

Video

Cairns at Balnuaran of Clava in 1996 par Historic Environment Scotland Via Flickr : Balnuaran of Clava is the site of an exceptionally well preserved group of prehistoric burial cairns that were built about 4,000 years ago. The Bronze Age cemetery complex comprises passage graves, ring cairns, a kerb cairn, standing stones and the remains of a chapel. This view shows the centre and south west cairns taken with a Hi-spy, a camera attached to an extendable pole to capture the whole site in one photograph. Photographer: RCAHMS Image reference: SC357547 See more images of Balnuaran of Clava: canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/search/?keyword=Balnuaran+of+Clava © RCAHMS

0 notes

tarantula-hawk-wasp · 2 years

Text

The short hair is only acceptable if they include a flashback to Glorfindel falling with the balrog with a Wilhelm scream and emphasis on the claws tangled in his hair and then all of the warrior elves cutting their hair and grumbling about new safety protocols

#or like cutting their hair and leaving it on Glorfindel’s cairn #glorfindel #rings of power #‘I hate our new short hair ‘ ‘well I’m sure Glorfindel hated dying ‘#and then Glorfindel comes back with luscious curls and everyone is mad as hell

28 notes · View notes

willtheweaver · 2 months

Text

Some locations and structures to include in your forest

Abandoned shrine

Alchemist’s lab

Ancient ruins

Army encampment

Battlefield memorial

Boathouse

Bridge, log

Bridge, stone arch

Bridge, suspension

Bridge, wooden beam

Causeway

Cablin

Cable car station

Cairns- grave markers

Cairns- trail marker

Cave system

Caved-in tunnel

Cemetery

Clearing

Campsite

Castle (robber baron or otherwise)

Collapsed building

Dam

Dirt track

Ditch, defensive

Ditch, henge monument

Dock

Dragon’s lair

Elven settlement

Fairy ring

Farm

Ferry landing

Ford

Fort, earthen

Fort, stone

Fort, wooden

Game trail

Ghost town

Guardhouse

Haunted ruins

Hermit’s hut

Hollow hill

Hunting lodge

Hunter’s hide

Inn

Logging camp

Manor house

Mine

Monastery

Outlaw’s hideout

Overgrown ruins

Potholes

Paved road

Portal

Quarry

Railroad

Rail station

Raised platform

Roadside grave

Sacred grove

Sawmill

Sky burial platform

Signpost

Stone circle

Summoning ring

Switchback

Temple

Tollbooth

Treehouse

Troll cave

Tunnel entrance

Turnpike

Village

Waterwheel

Watchtower, stone

Watchtower, wooden

Witches’ cottage

Wizard’s tower

Zip line

#writing #creative writing #writing inspiration #writing ideas #writing prompts #worldbuilding #writer #writers #writing community #writer on tumblr #writeblr

2K notes · View notes

gay-ppl-blog · 1 year

Text

Edited on 1-24-23

It’s time to finally explain the plot that started this entire cinematic universe: Main AU!

Jumping from Robin AU to Main AU is. Quite a leap ngl. When we made the first story, Nico and Gabriel weren’t even meant to fall in love at first. The only reason it happened was bc I made a “be gay, so crime” joke and Finn took me up on the offer.

I’ll jump into it, but I’ll probably split this into parts like I did last time :3

Main AU Part 1

The story starts out the same. The first few years of Nico’s life line up perfectly with his in Robin AU. This Nico also starts out in the Ring—but he stays there longer.

Nico was in the Ring for two years longer in this AU. (Main: 7-11, Robin: 8-10) This shapes all of his interactions with the family, and you’ll understand why in a sec.

Nico escapes just like he did in Robin AU, but this time he shows up right around the same time as Jason. This makes Jason the person he latches onto, unlike Robin AU where Jason was important to him, but Dick was his best big brother.

Nico becomes Starling and everything. Gabriel becomes a speedster, but since he’s so scared of his powers, he keeps them hidden and reluctantly trains in secret.

Nico and Jason are brothers for ~2 years before Jason dies. At this point, Jason is Nico’s person, and he doesn’t know what to do without him. That and the grief are what drive him away from Gotham.

—Noah ✨

#Pls gimme asks grabby hands #Nico and Gabriel #Cairn #Main AU #Cw trafficking mention #(I’m gonna use that every time I mention the ring even if it’s not bad okay)#Cw death

1 note · View note

humblemooncat · 7 months

Text

FFXIV Write 2023: A Journey of Remembrance Day 6: "Ring" ♫

"I thought we were headed to Ishgard today"

"We are, I just needed to make a stop to see Tataru about a few things. Then I figured we could make our way through Coerthas. It's my birthplace after all, I know all the shortcuts" Ki'to explained, making his way through to the Rising Stones. G'raha trailed behind him, curiosity piqued.

"Good morning~" Ki'to sang, looking around for their lalafellin friend. He heard clambering and a few boxes topple before the pink visage of Tataru rounded the corner.

"Well hello, you two! I wasn't expecting you so early!"

"It's nearly midday, is your chronometer off?"

"Apparently!" she said, glaring at the timekeeper on her desk, "Anyway, early or not, I just finished up your orders so no need to worry"

"Ever reliable! Whatever would we do without you, Tataru my dear?" Ki'to said with a laugh, making his way over to her workspace.

"Freeze to death, most likely" she remarked, handing him a neatly-folded coat. "If you're Ishgard-bound, you need to be prepared!" She trotted over to G'raha to hand him a coat as well.

"I already have a winter coat, though. You needn't have gone through the trouble-"

"That is your coat!" Tataru replied, "I just sewed in some warmer inserts and a softer inside that will retain heat well"

"Oh! Well then, thank you Tataru. Much appreciated" G'raha gave her a smile, putting the jacket on himself to check the fit.

"And for you," she made her way back over to Ki'to, who had made himself right at home in the new coat, "I worked with your mother on this, it should be perfectly done to your description" She handed him a small box which he placed within the pocket of his new coat.

"Thank you, dear. I'm certain he'll love it"

"Oh, I know he will. It suits him well" she said, giving him a smile before patting him on the back of the thigh, "Now, off you go. You've got a long trek before you today, and only so much daylight!"

Ki'to gave her a nod, clasping his hand in his husband's and heading towards the door. "We'll be back once we're done with our journey! Thank you again!"

"You better be! I'll be waiting with tea and sweets to hear the whole story!"

---

After exiting Mor Dhona, the two mounted up on horseback. Seeing as they had plenty of ground to cover, it seemed the better approach.

As they approached the Observatory gates, G'raha spoke up.

"I had figured you'd make mention of the box and its contents after we left, I can't help but be curious"

Ki'to patted his coat pocket where the box resided, "You'll see, I promise" he told him, "It's related to one of our stops as we approach Ishgard"

G'raha looked on at his husband with a quizzical tilt of the head, but did not ask further. Though his curiosity held tight in his mind, eyes flicking to the pocket on Ki'to's coat often as they journeyed through Coerthas.

---

"Dragonhead was the stage from which we sheltered from the storm, and from which we entered into Ishgard proper" Ki'to explained, poising himself by the northern gate, "with no small bit of help from Ser Haurchefant and Aymeric. For it was their voices that carried weight and gave us the leverage needed. Ser Haurchefant even went so far as to implore his family take us in as wards. An act I will forever be grateful for. For I regard them all as family now"

He lowered his head in remembrance, warm breath encircling his head in clouds backlit by the setting sun.

"It's little wonder why you're regarded so warmly here, then. They'd have kept us till dawn had we let them" G'raha mused, letting out a laugh.

"Of that you're not wrong" Ki'to grinned, "But we've one more stop before we can go bother Aymeric. Come"

He steered his horse towards the gate, urging it forward towards the northern path. G'raha followed behind, and the two made their way up towards the ruins of the old Vigil.

"My family made this journey quite a lot in our time here. Menphina's cairns are nearby" he mentioned, "It was after my first journey that I received this earring from my mother, much like my siblings before me" He flicked his ear, causing the jewelry hanging from it to jingle softly.

"She overlooks Ishgard, then?" Raha asked, "You would think it would be dedicated to Halone"

Ki'to chuckled, "They're both goddesses of ice, but Halone has dedications all over the city. I think it's fair Menphina at least gets an overlook"

He hopped off his horse, tying it to a tree as G'raha did the same.

"That said, she's not who we're here to see"

"Is she not? I thought she was your lady"

"She is, and I regard her with every breath that leaves my body, for I live for love", he spoke, "And love is the reason I know she will pardon me for passing by"

As the two walked through the cairns, Raha spied a headstone, a shield propped against it and fresh flowers at its base. Reading the name upon it, he understood.

Ki'to knelt before it, pulling out the box within his coat pocket. "Do you remember when I had asked all of your blessings for something? A ring for a lost love? That I might make my intent known even if it's never regarded?"

G'raha knelt next to him, seeing within the open box sat a ring, carefully crafted by the hands of expert goldsmiths.

"You loved him"

"I still do" Ki'to said, staring down at the ring, "Grief is simply the word we give love after death. It is when love becomes 'I wish they were here', or 'they would have loved this'; It is when love cannot be expressed directly, but it is no less love"

Raha placed a hand on his lover's back, rubbing a small circle in comfort.

"I will love you all the same, if you pass before I do" Ki'to spoke up, catching his husband off-guard, "I hope not. But, know you will always be loved, even if you are not here to feel it"

Not knowing the words to express himself, G'raha gave him a hug, lingering a while before pulling back.

"I know you will..."

Ki'to leaned his head till it made contact with Raha's chest, "Allow me to bury this beside him, then we can head inside the city"

"Take all the time you need, love"

That's about all the self-inflicted feels I can take for today. ;v;

It's been in the back of Ki'to's mind that he wanted to leave a ring with Haurchefant to communicate what he could not before his death, so I wanted to give him the opportunity to do that through this story. And the prompt came at the perfect time to do so.

Gonna be taking a couple days to chill, then we'll head to Ishgard proper! (Unless a prompt really speaks to me, of course!) Until then, enjoy this and the other write ups I've done so far! They're all tagged with #A Journey of Remembrance for easy reading! o/

Also, if you noticed Ki'to with the wrong haircut in today's picture no you didn't

#A Journey of Remembrance #ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #Ki'to #G'raha Tia #Wolgraha #Wolchefant #Did I cry while writing this?#You're goddamn right I did

12 notes · View notes

melonsap · 5 months

Note

(G T)

Your thoughts on how Gale learns the mechanism of enchantment in the process. He will have to use a weave based on the souls of living beings. Will that affect him in any way, mentally or physically?

Enchantments in Skyrim vary in power, depending on the soulstone and the soul it contains. Will he be able to tell which soul an item has been enchanted with? Will he be squeamish about Black Stones with the souls of intelligent races? Will he have to be persuaded?

Or will it be a "whatever's good for you is good for you" situation?

*cracks knuckles* Alright, here we go.

From how I understand it, using a soul to power an enchantment condemns that soul to the Soul Cairn in exchange for said power. So he could guess the strength of a soul based on the enchantment's own strength, but I don't think he could determine whether it was a rabbit or a chicken.

On Black Soul Gems, it's...more complicated. It's easy to assume Gale would swear off them, but he has no qualms with killing/looting, so long as they're enemies (he tells the Dark Urge to direct their urges at such in-game). On that same note, there's also a world of difference between killing a person and stealing their afterlife from them, and he's from a world where such an afterlife is easily provable to exist. At that point, he still hopes to eventually find himself in Mystra's domain.

I think he would avoid creating them. However, if they're already made, then it would be a waste not to use them, and they're the most powerful in keeping his condition at bay. And if there's an enchantment that was made by such a soul, I don't think he'd care beyond a fleeting "oh, that's a shame," because the soul's already gone.

In terms of how this affects him, he's going to have to learn how to orchestrate the power from enchanted objects much differently from how he did the Weave. The Weave itself is a refinement of magic--it's Mystra's guiding hand on raw magic, which lies beneath everything in Faerûn, even in so-called "dead magic" zones.

Gale orchestrating Magicka as opposed to the Weave is like trading coffee for Mt. Dew. Sure, you can get a similar effect from them, but they're not interchangeable in how you make them.

Soul-enchanted objects as opposed to the Weave are like trading coffee for Red Bull. It's going to be a kick in the teeth and very unpleasant, and he'll have to learn how to balance it carefully with his orb.

The REAL difference is going to be the strength that he has to take in. Because in Faerûn, he didn't care what he took, as long as it had Weave to draw from, all enchanted items were equal.

Now, though? That Ring of Minor Health that gives you 2 more health points will barely last that orb a day.

#ask bee #long post #answer the call #bg3 #skyrim #he is going to be struggling with a lot of chronic pain as he figures out how to manage it #going to be pulling from that dialogue where you ask him what happens if he doesn't get it. muscle spasms and ears ringing and such #did you know he makes quiet comments on how much he hurts if you don't feed him? Now you do! and now you know why his Con score is so high #gale dekarios

9 notes · View notes

moviesandmania · 6 months

Text

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023) Reviews of found-footage horror and release news

‘The live television event that shocked the nation!’ Late Night With the Devil is a 2023 Australian found-footage horror film about a live television broadcast in 1977 that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Written and directed by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes (Scare Campaign; 100 Bloody Acres). Produced by Roy Lee (It; The Grudge; The Ring), Steven…

View On WordPress

#2023 #Australian #Cameron Cairnes #Colin Cairnes #David Dastmalchian #Fayssal Bazzi #found-footage horror #Ian Bliss #Ingrid Torelli #Late Night With the Devil #Laura Gordon #movie film #Rhys Auteri

12 notes · View notes

blubushie · 8 months

Text

31/7/23 Undoolya, NT

There's a stillness out here that breathes silence into the night Every wave of cricket chirp the expanse of lungs, every lull an exhale. Lying on the ground, fire warming my feet and stars blanketing me, I wonder where Australia ends and I begin or if maybe we're one and the same. There's a murmur in the wind of a boy I killed the boy I once was. When I was younger and carefree and still had dreams of another life. He's buried out here, someplace to the east near the border. I laid him to rest under the spinifex at the pool he died in with a cairn and a drop of blood. Australia knows his name a secret kept. His youth and pride expunged his faith forgotten.

But still he haunts me the whispers of a boy long dead. He persists, never giving up his ghost. I hear him when mum rings and still says his name. I hear him in formal affairs when someone reads his name back to me. I hear him in the memory of a girl I loved telling him she loves him. And I wonder if she ever lost faith waiting for the boy who wasn't coming back. I hear him over my shoulder, temping me into what he would've wanted. With no thought of the man I am now boyhood dreams out of reach. He's loud and brash and prideful a boy of twelve who knows no different. And I am the hollow the remains the husk of what's left behind when that inner core of innocence is killed instead of allowed peaceably to die. The old pain rises to the surface again as I hear a howl in the distance a reminder of what I am. I'm not sure if I've taken a one life or two or if I'm merely letting someone go.

#blu muse

10 notes · View notes

alegocarmadein · 1 month

Text

Tagged writing fic game thingy

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

I'm going to do first few sentences because my starts are dry as hell because I'm bad at beginnings

@kd-heart tagged me :)

(newest to oldest)

1. Valentine's Day (Kane and Feels)

"Oh, a young man like you should be out on the town on Valentine's Day!"

2. A Dream (Kane and Feels)

Kane leaned his head out the car window. Gorgeous fields of golden corn rippled in waves over the hillsides. Wildflowers dotted the grass on either side of the road, splashes of yellow, red, and purple amidst a sea of green. A breeze flowed through the car, smelling fresh and clean, lovely and warm.

3. Thirteen Letters (Kane and Feels)

Brutus Feels wiped his hands on his trousers. They were already coated in dirt, and his hands didn’t help. He picked up the basket of collected flowers and stood up.

4. Untitled sequel-sequel fic (WIP)

"We should order some pizza."

Kane looked up from his book and found Brutus in his chair, looking at him. He looked casual, all tired and comfortable. He wore an old ratty shirt, sweatpants, and his hair was all frazzled."

5. Untitled sequel fic (WIP)

Kane and Feels walked through the soft, forest-colored portal. Brutus could feel a soft, warm, humid breeze hit him, filled with the fresh smell of dense vegetation.

6. Untitled original story (WIP)

Sometimes it is easy to fall in love with someone.

7. Overloaded (Kane and Feels)

"I'm sorry young man, I really don't know what you're talking about," the old woman in front of him said. She seemed genuine, but Feels really couldn't tell one hundred percent of the time with old people.

8. A Cairn of Stones (Kane and Feels)

Feels woke up. His body ached in the way that meant it had previously been screaming in pain but wasn't anymore. It almost tingled lightly.

9. Next of Kin (Kane and Feels)

Kane struck a steel tuning fork against one of his rings and listened intently as the tone became clear. He set it in a lump of wax and closed his eyes, letting the tone wash over him. He could feel fragments of energy around him, fractal and scattered in nature.

10. The Universe Gave You A Soulmate? (Kane and Feels)

"Wait, I'm sorry Brute, you're telling me the universe gave you a soulmate?" Jenny said.

annnnd a bonus, unpublished, year-old, non-kane and feels one

11. Rosamund (WIP)

“Arthur, the main road comes to a blockade up ahead. We have to turn off onto a side road.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t fucking know, Arthur, there’s orange and black fences up ahead. They seem heavy, I don’t know if we could drive past them.”

:/ sad I never finished that one, it was a really fun thing to write.

This was fun! Thanks for tagging me!

Tagging @old-stoneface & @lucifer-kane

#w's writing #w's fics #game

4 notes · View notes

shyvioletcat · 2 years

Text

A/N: Okay well, first of I’m pretty happy with this chapter. So if you think it sucks don’t tell me. Secondly, this is one of the ones that’s heavy on the flashback and not so much on the present timeline because... well, you’ll see why. Thanks for reading! ps, one last thing. If I missed you on the taglist please let me know.

~ Made of Ashes Masterlist ~

~~~~~

Rowan had done it. The document in front of him had the signature of the company he’d been chasing since he had arrived in Doranelle. Stone City Advertising would now cover all the advertising on an indefinite basis. He had been the one to do it, almost entirely on his own, after all the mistakes Cairn had made. After hours upon hours of work both in and out of the office here he was looking down at his accomplishment. This was the goal that he had been chasing when he’d left Terrasen. The whole reason Rowan had uprooted his entire life to prove he was the employee the company needed.

Then why did he feel so empty?

He’d lost track at how long he’d stared at the cursive scrawl of the signatures. It seemed like that was all it had amounted to—paper and ink. Rowan supposed it was a natural response, this listlessness that he felt. It was like after running a race. The adrenaline pumped through the body with a race to win, then when you reached the finish line and after you caught your breath there was that lull where there was now nothing to do. Sure there would be another race to run, but would it be as fulfilling as the last? Was there really a point after that?

It had taken him nine months to run this race and when he came to the end of it there was only one thing on his mind. And it wasn’t the fact that he had won.

When the contract had been handed to him Rowan had kept his smile respectful and he’d kept jubilance buried. Once the door of his office has closed he’d grinned to himself, drunk on the pure elation of it all. It was the kind of triumph that needed sharing just for the amount of effort the whole of the task had taken. Then he’d had one thought, one gods-damned thought that had sobered him right up.

Aelin was the first person he wanted to tell.

Rowan thought he had been able to repress all his emotions around her. That it was another task he thought he was excelling in. The tattoo that now ran down his left arm had provided a momentary distraction and a conduit for a release of some of that pent of pain he hadn’t been able to let go of. It almost startled him—the ferocity of how hard the thoughts entered his mind and refused to be dismissed.

All he could do was think about her and how much he missed her. The way he was missing her now felt bone deep, like it was a part of his very body. Rowan looked at his phone and was reminded of all those times he had willed it to light up, hoping that Aelin would be the one to reach out to him. She never had, and he didn’t blame her. Rowan was filled with enough self loathing that he understood why Aelin wouldn’t be the one to do it.

In spite of that Rowan picked up his phone and it was still so natural to find Aelin’s number and tap the tiny phone icon. For a heavy heartbeat he just watched the call connect. The screen went dark before her name followed by ellipses and the word ‘calling’ underneath it shone up at him. He could hear it ringing from where it sat in the palm of his hand and his heart beat faster, the compulsion to hear her voice was what drove him to put the phone to his ear. He felt drunk on the pain now, maybe that’s what was influencing him to make such a disastrous decision.

With each ring the Rowan began to panic, questioning what he was doing and what he would say, and if she would even answer. His number hadn’t changed, and if Aelin hadn’t bothered to delete it she would surely recognise it anyway.

The ringing stopped, and for the first time in nine months Rowan heard Aelin’s voice.

“Hi, leave a message and I’ll get back to you. Better yet, send a text.”

The high pitched message tone reverberated through him, and he was about to hang up without saying a word. But something urged him to say something.

“Aelin.” It was a pathetic start. “I just…”

He halted for an embarrassing amount of time, but he didn’t have much of a choice now. If Aelin listened to the message he couldn’t quit after three words.

“I did it, I did everything Maeve asked me to do. It took me all this time, and I nearly lost out so many times but I just kept going until I won. They just dropped the contract off. The messed up thing was that the first thought I had was to tell you. Because I… I missed you, Aelin.” Rowan hated the way his voice caught on her name, it was far too telling and a vulnerability he hadn’t wanted to share. “I missed you and I wanted to tell you. But then I couldn’t because I was the one who screwed up here. I’m realising now with how hollow I feel inside, that I shouldn’t have walked out that door. I shouldn't have been a stubborn and prideful ass, because now I have nothing and no one.”

Rowan took a deep breath, he knew the voicemail service would cut him off at any second.

“If you don’t call me back, I understand. After everything, I understand, I won’t contact you again. But if you just tell me to come home I’ll do it. One word, and I’ll come back to you. If not, I get it. We’re done. I'll accept this for what it is.”

The end tone rang before he would say anything else. Maybe he would have told her he loved her if he had been given just a few more seconds. Rowan couldn’t help it, he knew there might always be a part of him that would love the woman who had irrevocably changed his life. A single tear fell from his face, landing right by his signature on the contract. The ink bled but Rowan left it as it was.

He waited, texts came in from colleagues that he ignored offering congratulations. The only one he answered was from Maeve to decline the invitation for a celebratory drink. It was a long while before Rowan noticed how dark it was outside his office and he decided it was time to head home to wait some more. The entire drive he kept glancing at his dash hoping to see an incoming call. His phone was in his hand all the way up to his apartment and then it was on the kitchen counter as Rowan poured himself a drink. There was still no answer. It had been foolish of him to think that there ever would be.

Rowan took a gulp of his whiskey, silently toasting himself for a job well done. The screen of his phone remained dark and that old anger seeped in as he questioned why she had forced him to leave, tossing the blame at her like he’d been doing for months. Aelin had been determined to see him go, all he had done was follow her wishes. That night they had reached the point where neither of them would back down—it was well and truly past the point of no return and the prolonged silence was deafening confirmation. Rowan hated himself for the moment of vulnerability, hated himself for letting Aelin once again witness that part of him only for her to reject him. He took another drink and this time he let it burn. With a dark sense of foreboding it felt like Aelin would always be the one to dictate his life despite her gaping vacancy in it. She was a fate he would never be able to escape.

~~~~~

Aelin knew she should be up and walking around and doing all those other things the midwives had told her to do. But she was tired—so tired— that Aelin couldn’t really bring herself to get off the floor. That was probably also due to the fact that she was majorly panicking and everything she had went into ignoring the trembling in her hands, and the way she struggled to catch a breath every now and then.

She was in labour, there was no question about it. For more than two hours she had been timing her contractions and they were steadily getting closer together. When she had woken up this morning with some mild cramping she had brushed it off. Thinking it was just another pregnancy pain she would have to deal with. When the cramping came and went Aelin suspected it might be contractions, when they started occurring every twenty to thirty minutes it confirmed the suspicions. Her mother would be the one to call, but Evalin was at a work conference in Perranth today so Aelin left it as long as she could. As soon as the word ‘labour’ was mentioned her mother had sprung into action and left all other responsibilities behind. But with each new and slightly more intense contraction and no appearance of her mother, Aelin began to wonder if she had left it too late.

There was a knock at the door, jarring her thoughts, and Aelin could have sworn it sounded hesitant. Her plan was to leave whoever it was out there because there was no way in hell she was answering the door right now, but then the door opened and she heard a set of keys jingle as they were pulled out of the lock. It was one of her friends then, most of whom usually just walked in. Curiosity wasn’t enough to get Aelin to move from her position on the kitchen floor so she just waited to see which one of them it was. When Lorcan came into view Aelin was surprised, and evidently so was he, eyebrows raising when he spotted her.

“What the hell are you doing down there?” He asked, dropping the bag he held on the counter.

“We beyond hellos then?” Aelin threw back, but she failed at hiding the tremor in her voice.

Lorcan looked down at her, his scrutiny making Aelin’s skin crawl. “Do you need help?”

“No,” Aelin said, hoping the contractions weren’t about to make a fool of her. “I’m fine.”

Lorcan’s dark gaze ran over again, then darted to the phone beside her that was running a timer. “Ah-huh, sure.”

Biting back a retort that would only keep the conversation going, Aelin just said, “You done with whatever task Elide sent you to do?”

He ignored her question entirely and instead asked one of his own. “Are you in labour?”

“No,” Aelin said much, much, too quickly. Lorcan just raised a brow at her to challenge the lie. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. My mother will be here soon.”

"Where is she right now?" Lorcan asked, taking a step closer.

This time Aelin was the one who glanced at her timer. Her contractions were steadily getting closer and closer and they were about eight minutes apart now. The lap in her timer was approaching six minutes so she had two minutes to get the hulking and overbearing man out of her apartment. There was only so much she could handle right now, and Lorcan was not one of them.

"She's on her way back from Perr-anth," the last part of her sentence got disrupted by the sudden tightening in her stomach that took her breath away. That sensation was a precursor of a contraction, Aelin was running out of time.

Lorcan shrugged the sleeve of his long-sleeved t-shirt back to see his watch. "What time did she leave?"

"It was—"

The contraction started, all Aelin's effort went into making sure it didn't look like she was having one. The bastard just stood there in front of her watching it all.

"You sure you're not in labour?"

Aelin shook her head.

"So, you won't mind me hanging around for a bit? I’ll just put this stuff away,” Lorcan said, the plastic bag rustling and he took out a few food items, a book and some baby clothes. All Aelin could manage in response was a low hissing noise because words were hard to find when her whole body felt like it was being ripped apart.

She sat on the floor, breathing through the contraction as she watched Lorcan open her cup cupboard, pan drawer and then he finally found the pantry. He stared for a moment, most likely judging the unsystematic mess that he found inside. The food was put away with a disproving huff and then turned around.

“Are you still good down there?” He asked.

The contraction had subsided and Aelin managed to bite out a single word in reply. “Fantastic.”

“I’ll go drop these,” he held up a few tiny sleepsuits. “In the baby’s room. Elide already washed them for you.”

As soon as Lorcan was out of sight Aelin grabbed her phone and flipped it onto the counter, pulling herself up after it. It took her a fair amount of effort to ease herself up, but the more normal she appeared the sooner Lorcan would leave her be. Aelin checked her phone, no further messages from her mother, just the one with the time she was leaving and the estimated time of arrival. Evalin would be the one in the delivery room, she just needed to get here and get her daughter to it. Aelin switched back to her timer app, she hadn’t wanted to draw attention to it but the last contraction arrived just on time.

A large and annoying presence returned to the kitchen and Aelin looked up to see Lorcan's insufferable face.

“Made it off the floor, I see.”

“Right, so you can go now,” Aelin made sure to put as much arrogance as she could into the words as a deterrent.

Lorcan’s face changed, he didn’t smile, but the expression on his face would have been closest to a taunt if it needed naming. “Hold on, I still have this book to put away.”

The man was stalling, Aelin hated him even more for it. He literally dawdled as he put the book on the bookshelf in the living area. Aelin kept one eye on the timer but she knew it would be pointless to hope that Lorcan would leave before another contraction arrived. So instead she just focused on preparing herself for the pain she knew was coming. The numbers flicked over one by one and Aelin’s hands began to tremble. To avoid the risk of drawing attention to that Aelin lent her elbows on the counter and clasped her hands together. Lorcan was still around, and he ended up standing on the opposite side of the counter. He even went as far as to splay his freakishly large hands on the smooth surface.

“You’re fine, right?” The smug bastard asked.

“Yes, you can go,” Aelin hissed back.

“I might just wait a few minutes more,” he insisted. “Just in case.”

Aelin couldn’t stop it, the contraction hit. The grip her hands had on each other became painful and she tried to breathe but it seemed to be caught in her throat.

“That wouldn’t be another contraction, would it?”

Aelin shook her head.

“Can I get a verbal response to that? At least five words,” Lorcan insisted. It was a test, he knew that contractions were nearly impossible to talk through.

“I—’’ Aelin’s voice was too high and breathy. “I’m not—’’

That was all she could manage before she let out a broken groan from the sheer amount of pain her body was feeling.

“Shit, you are in labour,” Lorcan muttered. “Come on, let’s go.”

Sucking in another breath that made her lungs shudder and hurt, Aelin got through the rest of the contraction. When the pain cleared she shook her head. “My mum is coming.”

“She’s coming from Perranth, at peak hour. Making the good two hour drive even longer,” Lorcan stated. “And your contractions are what, six minutes apart?”

“Seven,” Aelin corrected.

“Seven, sorry,” Lorcan raised his hands in mock surrender. “Not a great time for me to be alone.”

“I’ll be fine.” To demonstrate her point Aelin pushed off the counter and stood to her full height.

“And what? Give birth on the kitchen floor,” Lorcan argued.

Aelin felt herself pale at the thought.

“We’re going,” Lorcan said in a way that brought an end to any discussion. “Bags?”

“Lorcan…”

“Aelin, I’m not leaving her here. Where are your bags? I'll drive you to the hospital and your Mum can meet us there. I’m not comfortable leaving you here,” Lorcan sounded the kindest she’d ever heard him.

Aelin could feel tears building and she knew Lorcan was right. She couldn’t say it aloud so she just nodded.

“Okay, great,” Lorcan said. “Is there someone else I can call that is not driving in from another city who can take you in?”

“Lys, call Lys and I’ll get my bags.” Aelin waddled off to the baby’s room to get what she needed for the hospital. There was a duffel bag for her and a small backpack for the baby. When she came back out to the living room Lorcan was still on the phone.

“Just meet us there, I got her,” when he saw her he wrapped up the call. “Yep, bye.”

Lorcan didn’t say anything to Aelin as he walked over and took the bags, she didn’t fight it, Aelin was too busy trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was on the way to the hospital to have her baby. She felt rooted to the spot—this was surreal. Everything had been building up to this point and now it was here Aelin realised she was so gods-damned terrified.

“Aelin.”

She flinched, not noticing how close Lorcan had come. He was standing right beside her and his hand hovered around her shoulder, hesitant to make contact.

“We should go,” he urged and Aelin nodded, grabbing her keys and leading the way out of the apartment.

In her other hand she was gripping her phone so tight it was cutting into her skin. It was painful but the anticipation of another contraction had her whole body tensing. Aelin glanced around the elevator, checking for what she could use to support herself if it came to it. They managed to make it the whole elevator ride without a contraction occurring and Aelin was thankful that Lorcan had chosen to park in the underground parking lot instead of the street. Aelin knew her time was running out and maybe the walking was what had bought her some extra time. But when she got a few steps away from Lorcan’s car the pressure started to build again and Aelin knew her time was up.

“Damnit,” Aelin muttered and she nearly stumbled those few steps to Lorcan’s car. Her hands slammed on the dark metal before one dropped down to hold her stomach. As the pain took over her body she was aware of Lorcan popping the boot open and putting her bags in. This time the pain was so bad it was making Aelin nauseous, or that could have just been the fact that she was freaking out so badly.

When Aelin could think straight again she found Lorcan holding open the passenger door. “Have your waters broken? I don’t want that happening in my car.”

Aelin glared at him, wondering how effectively she could strangle him in her current state. “It’s not like I can help it.”

“If it happens you’re paying for the cleaning,” Lorcan said, holding out his hand to help her in. It took everything in Aelin not to slap it away.

This was not supposed to be happening. She was not supposed to be driven to the hospital by the man that she hated most. That thought jarred Aelin, her thoughts quickly reordering. Because Lorcan was no longer the man she hated the most.

With the distance she’d had from Lorcan over the past few months the distaste she had for the man offering her this hollow chivalry hadn’t been at the forefront of her mind. And more than that she hadn’t bothered to bring him into comparison with Rowan in a very long time. And that comparison was altered and totally unrecognisable from what it had been. She could say with conviction that Lorcan had moved down the list.

On top of everything else, this was too much to deal with. Aelin didn’t take Lorcan’s hand, instead she went through the extra effort getting into the car herself. She did let Lorcan close the door though, not ready to risk leaning over to get. She only had moments to gather herself before Lorcan got into the driver's seat and she was no longer alone. Aelin was determined not to fall apart in front of him of all people. They only had to last the twenty five minute drive to the hospital, she surely had the resolve to last that long.

“I’ve got this,” Aelin told herself. “I can do this.”

She had finished her little pep talk when Lorcan opened his door and got in. Noncommutative as ever he started the car and backed out of the parking spot. The silence was awkward and tense. Just like her, Aelin could tell that Lorcan was deeply uncomfortable with the situation. Neither of them spoke for a long while, which was only broken when Lorcan muttered a curse under his breath when they hit the traffic.

It was the home time rush—Aelin really had picked a very inconvenient time to go into labour.

“It’s moving, so it’s fine,” Lorcan said off-handedly.

“Mhmm,” was all Aelin could muster as a response.

Once again the car went silent, Lorcan didn’t even bother to put the radio on so the only sounds were the traffic outside the car. It was unavoidable, another contraction was building, this one hit so hard and fast that Aelin instinctively reached out for something to hold onto. That just happened to be Lorcan’s arm that was in charge of the gear stick. Her hand latched onto his wrist and they shared a look. Aelin knew she must look half terrified because there was a flash of sympathy on Lorcan’s face, which quickly morphed into understanding. It was slightly embarrassing that he had more experience in this that she did. He’d undoubtedly been beside Elide throughout the entire labour and birth with Korbin. The support that Aelin was lacking.

When the pain had eased Aelin pulled her hand away. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Lorcan said gently. It was unnerving.

“I…” Aelin wasn’t sure where she was going once she started. “This, I mean—“

She had nothing so her sentence dissipated into nothing.

“Do you know how to drive a stick shift?” Lorcan asked.

“Um, no,” Aelin replied, not really understanding where such a question had come from.

“Give me your hand,” Lorcan said.

“What?”

He physically held out his hand. “Give me your hand.”

Aelin didn’t respond verbally but she did as Lorcan asked. He put her hand palm down on the knob of the gear stick and put his hand over hers. Honestly it was weird to have Lorcan touching her but she went along with it.

“Alright, obviously I have to do the clutch. But I’ll help you change the gears,” Lorcan explained.

“Okay,” Aelin said quietly.

“Here we go.” Lorcan’s grip tightened and Aelin could feel the resistance of the gearbox as he guided the stick through one gear to the other. They drove for a little more when he said, “And again.”

Changing gears gave Aelin something else to focus on besides the nearly crawling traffic and the impending birth that she was about to experience. It was a distraction and gave her something to do as she tried to predict when they would have to shift gears. Then it was time, and once again another contraction was wracking through her body. She groaned and held onto the gear stick for dear life.

Aelin was nearly panting when Lorcan said, “Don’t grind my gears, Galathynius.”

Head leaning back on the headrest she looked over at Lorcan, who glanced over at her. It was right then that Aelin understood what he was doing. Through the only way he knew how, Lorcan was distracting her. By giving her this lesson in changing gears and antagonising her ever so slightly he was taking her mind off everything. Lorcan would not be one for showy gestures but this subtle and quiet distraction was enough.

It took three more contractions and a hell of a lot of gear changes to get to the hospital. A few times Lorcan had given Aelin a little more control of the shifting the gears and she had ground them a few times, but there was no bite in his reprimands. They had been half-hearted and it had been enough for Aelin to crack a small smile.

Lorcan carried the bags so Aelin could focus on walking. When they got to the reception desk of the maternity ward she filled in the paperwork to be admitted.

“Your partner just needs to sign this,” the woman at the counter said as she went to pass something to Lorcan.

“This is where I tap out. I'm not going in,” Lorcan said before Aelin could. “We’re not together, I’m just dropping her off.”

“Oh,” the midwife said.

“My mum is coming,” Aelin said weakly, wavering off the thought of going into the delivery suite alone.

Then Lorcan offered, “She’s got a friend coming, too. Should be here any second.”

Aelin’s mouth was tight as she finished up on the paperwork and handed it back. She turned to Lorcan who was once again looking very uncomfortable.

“Thanks, Lorcan,” Aelin said and held out her hand for the backpack.

“Don’t mention it,” but he hesitated on the handover of the backpack, like maybe he was considering not leaving her alone. Then there was a familiar voice from behind Aelin and she saw sheer relief on Lorcan’s face.

“I’m here! I’m here!”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Lorcan muttered and Aelin surprisingly laughed at that.

Lysandra was there a moment later, picking up the duffel bag and taking the backpack.

“See you on the other side,” Lorcan said, giving Aelin a nod.

“See you.” When she would have a baby.

“You doing okay?” Lysandra asked, an arm around Aelin’s waist.

“Yeah.” It wasn’t entirely true, but who was in this situation? “I’m fine.”

An hour and a half later Aelin was decidedly not fine. Since getting to the hospital her contractions had amped up one thousand percent. The thought of an epidural freaked her out enough that she had declined it so she was on some milder pain relief as the gas. Lysandra was supportive throughout the whole thing, even when Aelin vomited twice. Her best friend was great, but she wasn’t who Aelin needed or wanted right now.

There was a gentle knock then someone came into the room.

“Fireheart.”

Aelin looked up from where she was bent over the bed. “Mum.”

“I’m here,” Evalin said, smoothing Aelin’s sweaty hair away from her face. “And before you say you can’t, you can and will do this. You’re so brave and have already done so well.”

Aelin sobbed, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the sheets of her. Her mother had taken the words and fears right out of her mouth. Still Aelin didn’t feel like she could do this, or she was even that brave with all the tears she had already cried. Someone else used to call her brave, someone who had made her believe it when he said it. But he wasn’t here.

“Come on,” Evalin said and helped Aelin sit up. “Why don’t we try the shower?”

The hours dragged on in a blur of pain. Lysandra had left when her mother had arrived, so now it was just her, a midwife and Aelin in the room. Right now Aelin leaned on the bar in front of her that let her practically squat on the foot of the bed. Her resolve had frayed with every hour that passed, she felt nearly delirious from exhaustion and pain. All she wanted to do was sleep and forget about the world because her thoughts were progressively spiralling to somewhere bleak and hopeless.

“I just want it to stop. I hate this, I hate it.” The babbling kept Aelin from screaming. If she thought the pain was bad before, it was so much worse once her waters broke. It was like the buffer had been taken away and the pain was raw and brutal. “I hate him.”

“Aelin,” he mother said soothingly.

“He should be here, all the times I imagined having a baby the father would be here. Rowan would be here,” Aelin said and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, he had been the only one she had ever loved enough to imagine having kids with. In a way she was, this was Rowan’s baby. But besides that fated conception he would have no part in it. “He did this to me and I hate him.”

“Try to focus on something else,” Evalin suggested.

“How can I? My body is literally being torn apart right now,” Aelin managed to get out before a contraction took precedence. When it was over her whole body was trembling. “I don’t regret this baby, I could never. But he’s not here,” she couldn’t help it, the sobbing started again. “All because he was a gods-damned bastard and didn’t choose me.”

“But you chose this baby,” Evalin said. “And you already love her so much, try to focus on that so we can meet her, huh?”

Aelin looked over at her mother and could see tears that threatened to overflow. That made Aelin cry harder but she nodded. As she leaned forward to gather herself Aelin felt the tears fall from her cheeks. She watched them fall, the droplets ricocheting apart as they hit her nightgown.

“Alright, Aelin,” the midwife said. “When the next contraction comes, it’s time to push.”

“Okay,” Aelin’s voice wasn’t strong but her resolve was. She wanted to meet her daughter so badly, this was just the hard part. “Time to meet my baby.”

After so much turmoil and commotion, it was strange for the world to be so quiet. By some miracle Aelin had managed some sleep, it wasn’t sound or undisturbed, but it was just enough for her to manage. Because she had a daughter now, a beautiful baby girl who needed her attention more than Aelin needed sleep.

The baby was bundled up in Aelin’s arms, the new mother soothing her the best she could. It was hard for Aelin to believe the infant she held right now was hers. She was the person that had been growing all this time. It was a privilege to finally meet her.

The name Aelin had decided on was Elspeth, but it would be Elsie for short. It was the perfect name for the most perfect little girl. That was a little secret she had been keeping to herself and it had felt right to only say it once Elspeth was finally here.

They were alone, Evalin having ducked out to get some breakfast now that the rest of the world was awake. Aelin couldn’t stop touching Elspeth, couldn’t stop looking at her. It was all just so surreal.

Returning, Evalin ducked into the room with a bag of takeaway in her hand. She smiled and the way her eyes creased at the corners giving away how tired she was as well.

“How’s she doing?” she asked, coming towards the bed.

“Perfect,” was Aelin’s reply.

“Of course she is, I didn’t expect anything less.” Evalin took the food out of the bag and put it on the small wheeled table

It smelled so good, but Aelin was considering what she would do with the baby while she ate. She didn’t exactly want to put her down. “Before we eat can you grab my robe from my bag? The morning has brought a chill.”

Evalin nodded. “Sure thing, Fireheart.”

Aelin heard the rifling through her bag, but she didn't bother to look over. She had something better to look at. In her sleep Elsie sighed, her little fists shifting under the blanket. Aelin smiled. Everything she did was adorable but Aelin was well aware that she was caught up in her own little bubble right now. Soon things would get much harder and far more difficult, and when she heard her mother’s sharp intake of breath she wondered if that had already begun.

Dragging her eyes away from her daughter Aelin looked over to see her mother staring at the phone in her hand. Aelin’s phone.

“What is it?” Aelin asked, holding Elspeth a little closer.

Evalin’s face was tight as she looked up. “I was just checking to see what notifications you had and… ah…”

“Mum, what?” With so little to go on and the evident discomfort her mother was in, Aelin’s mind was just jumping from one conclusion to the next. Each one progressively worse than the last.

“You have a voicemail.”

Aelin sighed, that didn’t seem so disastrous. “Okay.”

But Evalin wasn’t done. “It’s from Rowan.”

And just like that Aelin’s blissful bubble burst. She couldn’t believe he’d done such a thing, and the timing of it was a shock as well. Aelin looked down at Elsie, taking comfort in her precious tiny face. She was not about to let that man ruin yet another thing for her, not after all the pain and healing she had gone through to bring herself to a place of happiness and contentment. Aelin was past him having any influence in her life.

“Delete it,” she said without a second thought.

“Aelin,” Evalin hedged. “don't you think you should at least listen—”

“No.” Aelin would not argue about this. “I don’t need to hear what he has to say.”

Still her mother persevered. “Aelin.”

“No, he doesn’t matter.” Aelin reached for her daughter's hand, tiny fingers latching on the best they could. “All that matters now is her.”

Those words settled in her like a promise and Aelin knew that it was the new conviction she would live by.

~~~~~

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Rowan said, knowing this would be his last chance to back out.

“That sounds awfully ominous,” Evander said with a light laugh.

There was no point in delaying any further and he went on. “I have a daughter, meaning you have a grandchild.”

Both his parents were stunned into silence as they took in the information. Rowan used that lapse in conversation to prepare himself for the incoming barrage of questions.

“Who?” Rowan’s mother was the first to recover and he’d expected this to be the first thing asked. And it was more of a demand rather than a question. “Who is the mother?”

He couldn’t look either of his parents in the eye, but he could feel their gazes burning into him. Rowan cleared his throat, buying himself precious seconds more before the real drama started. These next few minutes we’re going to be nothing but pain for him. Rowan knew he needed to get the words out, but once he did the bubble that he had been functioning in was going to break and he was about to find himself in an uncomfortable reality. The city of Orynth had shown him no mercy since he arrived and it showed no signs of relenting.

“Aelin.”

He counted the beats of silence by his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. Now he looked up to see his parents reactions to that. The shock had morphed into confusion, his mother was shaking her head and Rowan knew that she would be the one to seek further clarification. When she looked him in the eye Rowan did not avoid her prying gaze.

“You broke up…” Iris started and then stalled as she let out a tight laugh, her face pausing in consternation. Then she was looking Rowan right in the eye. “You broke up two years ago. More even. Please explain.”

This was part of the conversation Rowan had been rehearsing over and over. He had decided that brutal honesty was the way to go. “After I left, she found out she was pregnant and she never told me.”

“I see,” Iris said, hand resting over her heart. “How did you find out?”

Rowan hadn’t been expecting that question. He had assumed there would be further interrogation into the particulars of the current relationship Rowan had with his child and her mother. So, again he was just honest.

“The day I arrived my daughter ran into me, and I mean literally,” Rowan said. “Turns out the company had rented out the apartment right next to Aelin.”

“You’re kidding,” his father interjected.

Rowan shook his head. “A twist of fate you could say.”

“What’s her name?” Iris asked softly.

With a sigh that gave away his own bewilderment with his life he answered. “Her name is Elspeth.”

~~~~~

“I still don’t know what to do,” Aelin bemoaned as she buried her head in her folded arms that rested on the bench in the kitchen of her parents’ apartment. She’d left Elsie with her boyfriend and fled here to talk thing over, again, with her mother. Since Rowan had told her that his parents were coming to the city she’d barely given Evalin a moment of peace because she was so confused and conflicted over what this surprising situation had forced her into. She’d agreed to let Rowan tell his parents but his second request had Aelin’s stomach twisted in knots. Was she going to let Elsie meet her paternal grandparents?

“Well, you know what I think,” Evalin said, sipping her coffee.

“I just… It’s going to open a door that I don't know if I can close again,” Aelin admitted, pushing herself back up. “You’re right, they had nothing to do with what he did. But it’s one step closer to him, and I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“You make and hold the boundaries, Fireheart,” Evalin said and reached across the bench to pat Aelin’s arm. “Just consider that Elsie will have two more people in her life that will love her unconditionally. That’s never going to be a bad thing.”

She knew her mother was right. Iris and Evander were not the kind of people to hold whatever had occurred between herself and Rowan against Elsie. They weren’t the type to blame the child for the sins of their father—or mother for that fact. Because Aelin had kept their grandchild’s existence from them, and she knew they wouldn’t be unhurt by that. Whatever they felt towards Aelin would be valid; whether that be anger, disappointment, sadness or direct outrage. For her daughter, Aelin would be willing to face it and hope for the best.

Aelin gave herself one swift nod, like that could help in convincing that she was doing the right thing. “Maybe I should talk to them.”

~~~~~

Until next time, friends

Tags: @fucking-winchester-trash // @literary-licorice // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine // @highqueenofelfhame // @3am-reading // @soup-that-is-too-hawt // @aelinfire-bringer // @nalgenewhore // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca // @sleep-and-books // @alifletcher2012 // @westofmoon // @sleeping-and-books // @ttakeitbacknoww // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen // @velarian-trash // @queenofxhearts // @heroesofterrasen // @highladyofstoriesandmusic // @empire-of-wildfire // @camerooonchiu // @crackedship // @lowhangingtreebranches // @over300books // @yourwhisperingshadows // @thesirenwashere // @tswaney17 // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper // @cat5313 // @judelovescardan // @flowerspringsea // @chaoticskyy // @the-regal-warrior // @fanfictrash3000 // @blueeyes425 // @starseternalnighttriumphant // @bamchickawowow // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda // @flora-and-fae // @thereaderandfangirl // @illyrian-bookworm // @chemicha // @meltalgel // @gay-book-nerd // @that-odd-puzzle-piece // @i-love-all-books // @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato // @girl-who-reads-the-books // @hizqueen4life // @the-third-me // @1islessthan3books // @bestmelle // @cursebreaker29 // @b00kworm // @superspiritfestival // @aesthetics-11 // @maastrash // @mynewdreamwasyou // @the-last-apprentice // @charincharge // @firestarsandseneschals // @scarznstars // @absolute-dissapointment // @thesurielships // @df3ndyr // @trinitybailey2003 // @gwynethhberdara // @booknerdproblems // @empress-ofbloodshed // @queenophelia // @petrichara // @grandma-noob-lord // @silentquartz // @curlyredqueen06 // @littleboxofthunder // @sjmships // @sanakapoor // @keshavomit // @magicalunicorngypsy // @wanderingjpg // @wordsafterhours // @but-she-was-aelin-galathynius // @yesdreamblog // @motherofdragons155 // @elriel4life // @aelin-is-my-heart // @ireallyshouldsleeprn // @crystalfireandblazingice // @court-of-glass // @larisssss // @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves // @rolltide7 // @scandinavianromantic // @tillyrubes10 // @starwarsslytherin // @minaidss // @mu-si-ca-l // @hsilberfarb // @aelin-queen-of-terrasen // @alyx801 // @amandaswallowtail // @louiseleblancdiggory // @abookishfreak // @paytin77 // @jesstargaryenqueen // @anntheintrovert // @starbornvalkyrie // @loudphantomdragon // @woollycat22 // @claralady // @perseusannabeth // @fangirlprincess09 // @maddymelv // @sierrareads // @emilyoftheshadows // @heirofthrnightcourt004 // @azymondias05 // @booksbqueen // @rowanwhitethornisbae // @rabodocardan // @acciowests // @danibutterr // @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx // @jlinez // @lysandra-ghost-leopard // @mis-lil-red // @midnightdreamersthings // @swankii-art-teacher // @rowaelinismyotp // @pullnpeeltwizzlers // @anne-reads // @jadeaffliction // @gracie-rosee // @rowaelinrambling // @tothestarswholistentodreamers // @thenerdandfandoms // @castielspelvis // @grandma-noob-lord // @vanzetanze // @thegreyj // @lizzyfirebringer // @endlessdaydream // @anidealiveson // @magnifique1807 // @charlizeed // @highlady-brittney // @story-scribbler // @linguine-panini // @pastasiren // @ghostlyrose2 // @themoonthestarsthesuriel // @feysand-loml // @backtobl4ck // @live-the-fangirl-life // @whimsicallyreading // @goddess-aelin // @khildreth //

87 notes · View notes

aurore-parle-de-ses-idees · 7 months

Note

33 Corunir & Est? :D

33- picking them up (from the hug list actually lol)

pros of running into the grey company before going back to isengard: more friends for isengard!

cons of running into the grey company before going back to isengard: more friends. in isengard.

The Fords of the Isen are quiet, the river running reddish-brown even in the shallow places, the camp on the hill in ashes and stones heaped in piles like grave-cairns over the drier places. They look down upon the trampled, muddy banners and the broken armor caught on the river stones. A heavy quiet hangs over them all.

The others might be thinking of the Company’s allies, of the long search that surely awaits them here if they are to find their Chieftain, of what it means that battle came here so certainly and so violently. Of the long shadow of Orthanc that reaches down the valley to the north. Of Esterín.

She rode away with the Prince of Rohan. Faeron calls from the eyot that he has found Théodred’s helmet.

Surely she did not come here and die, Corunir thinks, gripping his horse’s reins too tightly while he searches the shallows for any sign of their dear friend. But surely she would not have gone easily if she had had it in her head to protect the Prince or his men. None of the horselords had returned to the Gravenwood- but no, Braigiar had said he saw her, hadn’t he? That there had been a battle, and she had been injured but had survived, and she had gone across the mountains with Nona and into Rohan. She had not returned to them, not even in passing, and he finds the thought stings- but then, they had sent her away, hadn’t they? She had not returned smiling from her conference with Halbarad and Saeradan, and two days later she was gone.

But even Braigiar is looking around the Fords in dismay, and that does not lift Corunir’s heart any more than the clouds in the distance.

“There are riders to the north,” Elladan calls from the burnt-black hill overlooking the crossing. A charred timber that may once have been the palisade falls with a hollow thump. “Rohirrim, I think. They make for Isengard.” And there they have another friend, and they gather eagerly at Halbarad’s command and ride, gathering speed at the bidding of unspoken urgency until a stranger’s voice calls out to stop them- until familiar laughter comes to them on the wind with a thunder of hooves and Halbarad dismounts, and even from here they can tell he is smiling.

He doesn’t recognize her, for a moment, dressed in the style of Rohan and sliding down from a horse that is not Lakewind, her carved star gone- but she spent long enough beside them that they know her smile and the way she slips between them, falling easily into tight hugs and grasping white-knuckled hands. She stops before Corunir and almost- almost- he dares to think she seems a little lighter than she had when she left them. But she crashes into his hug and she is warm and alive and... lifting him up. He makes a small sound of surprise and she drops him the scant two inches back to the ground, and steps away as if surprised herself, and then someone else calls her name and she is moving on, and for just a moment he thinks manic. In her wake there trails the faint sensation of the air after summer rain, damp and fresh and still rumbling with distant thunder. Like the feel of her healing, almost, but directionless and just a bit charged, as if the rain will come again before too long.

He tries to catch her again, but the Rohirrim ahead are growing impatient and all the Company wants to speak with her, and Corunir falls to the back of their party beside Golodir, watching Esterín and her too-bright eyes, and her sharp and brittle composure that grows only sharper and brittler the nearer they draw to the Ring of Isengard.

#ask games #my stories #est #corunir #......i may or may not have deleted half of the other hug one while trying to copy it.#much day. anyway-#i will try to fix that lmao and then get to putting est in Situations #but ty friend <3 #the est + corunir collection

8 notes · View notes

the-college-of-whispers · 9 months

Note

I was wondering if you have anything on worship of Y’ffre? I know he’s not a Daedra, but he’s still fascinating to me.

Alright, I'm sorry this took literal months to get together, but my schedule was fucked. Now, let's talk about Y'ffre.

Y'ffre is the head of the Bosmeri pantheon, the creator of the Green Pact, and usually described as a bearded man (though Y'ffre has been referred to with she/her pronouns in at least one instance). The Bosmer are also referred to as Y'ffre's people.

As Jephre, he is worshiped by the Altmer, who also depict him as bearded. There is an Altmer order known as the Jephrine Paladins who style themselves after indriks and protect the wild, as opposed to most Altmer who demand perfection and obedience from nature.

The Bretons worship him as both Jephre and Jeh Free, God of the Forest and Spirit of the Now. They have their own version of the Jephrine Paladins, the Vicars of Jephre who are also known defenders of the natural world. This isn't even getting into the Druids, the Druids of Galen, and the Beldama Wyrd.

As Y'ffer, he appears in the Khajiiti pantheon (though, who doesn't?). He created the first flower to woo Nirni, became corrupted by Namiira, killed Nirni, and was slain by Hircine, Azurah, and Khenarthi (who turned his bones into a cairn for Nirni). He was known as a snooping spirit who couldn't keep secrets and was the reason Fadomai's Children could cross the Lattice. In their lore, he's responsible for turning some of the Khajiit into the Bosmer. Prior to the Riddle'thar Epiphany, he was known as the bastard son of Ahnurr. Interestingly, he is not a figure of worship.

He's also believed to have had Ayleid and Snow Elf worshipers.

There was once an Argonian heresy that abandoned the Hist and turned to Y'ffre and the Valenwood for an alternative reproduction method, but this was potentially wiped out in the Second Era when ex-Shadowscale refugees assassinated those responsible.

Fascinatingly, the Imperials were strictly prohibited from Y'ffre worship due to Alessian Empire religious laws (though the current ban on worship is unknown in the modern Imperial Cult).

Along with the names Y'ffre, Jephre, and Y'ffer, he is also known as the Singer, the Storyteller, God of Song and Forest, and Spirit of the Now. He is known to be swift and to send wisps to herald the storms of Rain's Hand. Seeing the wisps are a promise of new growth, new life, and a new chapter in nature's cycle.

His most faithful are the Spinners, who keep histories, laws, and prophecies as stories. They invoke him into themselves to tell the stories. Some of them include how he brought forth the Green from the Ooze, the establishment of the Green Pact, and how he taught the Bosmer to both escape the original Ooze and how to activate the Wild Hunt, which is super fucky.

As a god of nature and, let's be honest, life as a whole - because let's be honest, that's what it means to pull the Green from the Ooze - he's associated with literally all animals and plants, though obviously cares more for the plants than the animals given the average Bosmer's diet. Particularly of note are trees (especially oaks), flowers, birds, elks, and indriks. His only known artifact is the Ring of the Wild Hunt, which we'll talk about later.

What is he the god of? Well...

Songs

Stories

Narrative magic

The Green

Treethanes

Nature

Guardian elemental spirits

Graht-Elk

The Wild Hunt (aka Great Hunt)

Speed/swiftness

I'd even argue that he's a god of the planet overall, creation, and life as a whole given his mythology and what exactly is attributed to him. Like, pulling the Bosmer out of gook is a huge thing, and it's only one of the things that is attributed to him!

What? Okay, okay, fine, I'll talk about the Ring of the Wild Hunt!

Look, everyone keeps arguing about what is or is not canon in the Elder Scrolls series now. Which means that I'm just taking all of the information, canon or no, and dumping it at your feet. That's been the case for everything, but it's especially the case with this section.

The Ring of the Wild Hunt is a Bosmeri artifact. It plagues the wearer's dreams with images of hunters and prey, yet also blessed the wearer with Y'ffre's swiftness. Literally, it makes you run a lot faster.

The ring is composed of five pieces: the Band of Water, the Charm of the Shapeless, the Face of the Serpent, the Face of the Wolf Beast, and the Symbol of Y'ffre.

Band of Water: small band, possibly depicts a liquefied Bosmer (my thoughts: potentially one in the midst of the Wild Hunt)

Charm of the Shapeless: bizarrely-shaped green charm, possible relic of the Wild Hunt

Face of the Serpent: possible imagery of the Wild Hunt, resembles serpentine beast

Face of the Wolf Beast: monstrous animal resembling different creatures, possible depiction of King Dead Wolf-Deer

Symbol of Y'ffre: depiction of Y'ffre, thought to be of the god unleashing the power of the Wild Hunt

It broke into five pieces sometime after its creation and was reunited in 2E 582 by the ESO player character as a member of the University of Gwylim's Antiquarian Circle.

So that's it. That's all I managed to find about Y'ffre in canon. My only additions are some minor musings, as I've never interacted with Y'ffre myself.

Something I should consider doing is to trace where the inspiration for him came from, as the Elder Scrolls series has a bad habit of pulling directly from Greek, Roman, or Norse gods to "inspire" their own... Though the lore of Y'ffre does do its best to separate him from any direct inspiration or obscure the gods who inspired him.

(PS: The apple dividers used on this post were created by @firefly-graphics!)

Perhaps this gives you something to work with, anon!

UESP Lore page: Y'ffre

UESP Lore page: The Green Singing

UESP Lore page: Jephrine Paladins

UESP Lore page: Ring of the Wild Hunt

UESP Lore page: Beldama Wyrd

UESP Lore page: Druids

UESP Lore page: Druids of Galen

UESP Lore page: Wild Hunt

UESP Online page: Ring of the Wild Hunt

#answered #anonymous #the elder scrolls #elder scrolls witchcraft #elder scrolls paganism #in-game lore #y'ffre #deities and worship #bosmer