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rustandsky · 11 months
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Beacon in the dark.
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imaginesofeverykind · 15 days
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Witches Brew ~ Chapter 2
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Summary: To practice magic is to slight God with the devil's embrace. It is evil, sin, consuming and the price one pays is never worth what one seeks. Yet people, in times of desperation often turn to desperate measures, in Aegon’s case, medicinal remedy is not an option. No healer can undo what has been done. But the Hag tucked away behind reeds, water topped with algae and the voracious bog may be able to. For a price.
Warnings: Catholic-Centric monotheism demonised, language, 18+ Minors DNI
Tags: DnD Fusion AU, Targaryens are just noblefolk, more vagueness
Word Count: 5k
Chapter Song: Harbinger - Kiki Rockwell
Yurisa and Ornmir aren't in a DND pantheon I just made them up for the purpose of the fic!
Series Masterlist
The power of words came from the ability to heed what is said, the Holy word of God revered by many and feared by others denounces the practices that don’t abide his word. Yet, your words — the words of a heretic, a pagan, a ‘devil worshiper’ — haunted the brothers, resounding in disembodied whispers cruelly reminding them of the events that transpired in wake of a seemingly ordinary day.
Neither spoke of what happened, in fear that speaking it outloud would make it a reality. It almost felt as though they shared a deranged and highly realistic dream that stubbornly did not disappear into the back of their consciousness when they were awake. A nightmare they were forced to reckon with when their Lord Father fell mysteriously ill, an infection that appeared seemingly from nowhere had him bedridden for a tenday.
His left eye had begun to fester and rot away.
Troublesome as the sudden ailment came, it all but made the brothers’ blood run cold when they soon realized the eye that had begun its necrosis would have been the same side on Aemond’s if he lost it that day. He did lose it that evening. And then a miracle — dark blood magic — brought it back. This had been the price. The saying ‘Eye for an Eye’ appeared to be most taunting in this instance.
Cycles of the moon that once meant nothing but something to measure time with became a looming presence for Aegon. A beacon of light in the night he looked onto with resentment and disgust where it once bore witness to his acts of sin and debauchery. Each phase a creeping reminder that he must return back to the decrepit hut, a threat he considered hollow until he felt the pull of the moon the closer to full it became.
The swamp surprisingly looked more harrowing during the day, perhaps it were because under the shield of darkness the night brings, many creatures were hidden away. The afternoon sun seared through the treetops, warming the marshy waters and in doing so lifted a pungent odour, souring the deeper into the bog it got. Sulfur fumes so strong it was hard to believe the sounds of nature indicated life thrived blithely, undisturbed in the thick mud pits, reedy bushes or trees when it so easily brought tears to Aegon’s eyes and made his lungs burn.
Fungus, abnormally larger than the toadstools that littered the edge of the Kings Road sat in halo’s of spores it created. Demanding reproduction and relentlessly over taking the grounds of which they grew, the damage a single spore can do to an entire ecosystem of plant life once it infected a single limb of a plant.
Nature was hideous and beautiful, harrowing and wonderous, unforgiving yet forgiving all at once. Amongst it all, as if tying the cacophony of life, death and all that sat in between nature oscillating and constant; A blissful humming. So subtle it was almost easy to miss the gentle caress in the area getting stronger, coaxing more fervently as it neared the epicentre of the swamp. 
The Elder Tree and the Hut entwined in its roots.
“Hello little lordling,” You appear behind him, but Aegon doesn’t jump. Almost as if he were expecting you to be exactly there. The same presence that plagues his thoughts, you could tell how restless he had become over since you last met. A smile pulls at your lips, tauntingly smug, “the moon is not full and yet here you are. Five moons early.”
He regards you slowly, though out of fear or caution you can’t quite tell until he speaks, “my father has fallen ill.” There is no sadness in his voice, no guilt, no indication that he is upset by what you’ve done to ensure his brother became whole again. 
You drag your feet toward him with a tilted head as you stare into his eyes of Violet, curling a hand around his jaw to look at him with far more scrutiny, your fingernails like thorns into his skin. Part of you is disappointed, the younger brother seemed to be a far more amusing moon servant with his boiled temperament, but when you look into Aegon, you see someone far less self involved — self serving perhaps but not one who uses a holy shield to look down on those who refute one God. 
He is as much a sinner as you were but for different reasons.
“That is the price, to meddle with the forces of nature.” You muse, taking away the hand that clawed into his soft cheeks, crescent moon indentations mark where your fingers had previously sat. Head tilted once again, you inspect his rugged appearance, the dark circles under his eyes and how stringy his hair looked. Leagues different in comparison to how he had looked the last time he had enlightened you with his presence. The moon gives and the moon takes, just like magic, just like nature.
”I didn’t come here to hear riddles, hag.” His lips downturn into, what you could only assume was, a frightful grimace with his brows casting downward. Haggard in appearance wasn’t the only change you could note, where he had last been in the clothes of a nobleman now he was wearing commonfolk garb. Though you are inclined to believe this is his choice to do so and not an artifact of disowning from the Lord and Lady of Oldtown.
“I’ve jokes if you would rather,” you smile tauntingly, though he looked less than amused on account of his eye twitching with an ire you had only previously seen with his brother. It must be the Moon. Though you don’t concede in your jest,“forgive me, I was under the impression you were the fun brother.”
He snapped, grabbing the scruff of your cardigan and pulling you up off your feet with a strength that seemed to surprise even him briefly, “there is nothing fun about what you did to me.” His eyes were wild, animalistic like he might just snap a little further over the threshold of man and monster. This anger appeared foreign on him, you could tell. The creases worn into his face like ridges in a tree were that of someone forlorn and closely recognised misery as a friend, not someone who was quick to anger and enmity. His ire was not of desperation as you had seen once before, it was an artificial plague of your making by bestowing him the curse of the moon in your actions of removing it from his brother. 
As if reading his thoughts you shake your head, “I cannot undo what has been done.” You have said this many times to many different people who seek you out, an echo of the woman who raised you, as she would say the same to similarly lost souls. This time it filled you with feelings distant to you but not entirely unheard of, it stirred a deep sorrow that you could not understand the origin or why. 
“Why not?” His grip loosened, a crack in his voice indicated that he will not lose himself to the beast that lives inside his very being now.
“What is taken, must be returned. Your brother's eye was returned to him, but only because it was taken from someone else,” his father, you don’t need to say as he is sure enough to understand on his own, “the curse bequeathed to your brother removed, but only because it was parted onto someone else.” You, Aegon. Your eyes watch his with great interest, his pupils begin to shrink and the violet in them return, and a faint whisper that barely passes as a thought but still registers in your mind are three simple words that shake you to the core: I’m so sorry.
***
Blood curses on their own are incredibly hostile in nature, to meddle magically with the very rivers that bring a soul life, is to be inherently evil. You recall the night of your eleventh winter, the moon at its highest and forever etched into your memory was that it was red. A Blood Moon. Auntie, (as you referred to the woman who raise you as despite her being anything but) would regale you with stories of the various cities she had visited, the travels she would get up to and despite the discrepancies in her timelines you would always listen with a grin on your face and wide eyed.
While the Moon was the symbol of the wolves, the goddess commanded her soldiers and servants when it was at its fullest. A Blood Moon was the symbol of petrifyingly beautiful harbingers of death, lustful creatures seeking blood to keep their souls appeased and their hunger satiated. Though, to your recollection, you weren’t sure what a moon decorated in a blue hue meant and who served the Moon when she turned blue.
The bones of your beloved childhood pet ferret laid out before you indicated troubling signs for the evening's full moon, it warned of uncertainty and danger. “Gods be good,” you whisper and gather the bones of the late Yurisa, you had named her after the Goddess of Winter aptly because of the fur as white as snow. The Goddess of Winter was known to be cruel and calculating, worshippers often regarding her as the Mistress of Atrophy, for when she brought her touch upon the land, it withered beneath her.
To you, Yurisa was merely a name to call your furry companion. 
Now you are well and truly alone. No Auntie left to gently guide you through the mystical arts or teach you kindness and compassion. No more Yurisa to cuddle up with when loneliness crept up like a misfortune or to scuttle around your feet when you went foraging for ingredients. It seemed as though you were destined to be alone, abandoned by a mother, abandoned by another and left alone when death crept up and seized the soul from your small companion.
Perhaps that may have been the reason your thoughts lingered to mournful and sorrowful when lamenting on the impromptu visit for the lordling Aegon days prior. The same reason that voice whispered to offer mercy the night the brothers arrived. Though, you could lament no further out of frustration of not getting any answers and by happenstance due to Aegon’s arrival.
His footsteps were weary, despite being at the hut for a third time, though the weight with each carefully placed step had an adjustment to its cadence that piqued your interest. Blood curses with transformative properties were cruel and unusual on the body and the mind, the ebbings of change often appearing in those infected a few days before and after the Full Moon. It was already taking a toll on him. 
You opened the door at the moment he raised his fist to knock, startling him slightly though you don’t notice behind how disheveled and unwell he looked, “little lordling.”  
Through his tired eyes rimmed with red from exhaustion, he narrowed them, “stop calling me that.”
“Would you prefer Moon Servant? Wolf Pup?” You are hardly smiling or even joking for that matter, as you stepped aside and waved him through.
”Just Aegon is fine,” he grumbled, compared to last time his anger was at a low level — still foreign on him but low nonetheless. His face was more sunken in, hollowing at the cheeks and under eyes as if he were more skeleton than flesh. One of many unfortunate side effects he was about to endure and he was none the wiser about how awful it was about to get for him.
By the hearth you boil water and whisk around your cupboards for the right ingredients when the question in your mind suddenly fell past your lips, “how are you feeling?” It felt like a mistake to ask such a question, as it often is only asked when endearing someone, “the pain, I mean. Fevers? Anything out of the ordinary?” You quickly add, while fussing about the pot of boiling water and various ingredients swirling in a maroon brine.
”I feel…” He had to think about it, eyes lifted to inspect the ceiling while thinking, “I feel like I’ve been hung, drawn and quartered. Though I s’pose that is meant to be normal right, witch?” His tone laced in a particular type of venom, calling you a witch as if it were derogatory but it was nothing except a label of what you are. Sorceress, Enchantress, Hag, Witch — they all meant the same thing; Heretic.
You remind yourself that as far as he was aware, he was not here of his own free will which was far removed from the truth. The lapse in your wrath the night you had crossed paths with him had you wavering conviction and offering mercy. That mercy being that he would not have to face the Moon’s Curse alone and could do it in a place that concealed him far from the eyes of the many zealots within the walls of Oldtown.
Extending a clawed hand out, you gesture for him, “show me your fingernails.”
”Why?”
”If I wished ill fortune on you or even death, I’d have done it by now, no? Show me your fingernails.” You grew impatient.
He reluctantly holds out a hand for you to grab. Unexpectedly, they were red raw around the nail but not because of the impending transformation, this was purely habitual, a very human trait that indicated he was nervous and anxious often. The nails themselves though, were beginning to blacken at the nail bed and were more hardened than what was normal.
Holding one of his hands steady, you manifest a small jar of medicinal salve and begin to lightly swipe it over the affected areas. It wasn’t going to lessen the pain of his impending transformation, but it would help stave off infection. You feel his gaze on you, not hard or weary, rather just inspecting carefully as you silently tend to his fingers.
”Erm — I’ve had joint aches and mood swings. I haven’t eaten either.” He admits shrewdly, the violet in his eyes washing away from colour in his iris slowly. It felt rather ludicrous, hearing his ailments like he was a patient and you were a healer. Though to a degree you may have been just that, even if the circumstances were very different. 
You don’t answer him, merely nodding and turning back to your boiling concoction, opting to add a touch more Docrut ash before scooping a cup full of brine into an aged bowl. It is not grand nor lavish like what Aegon may be used to, but you didn’t care, offering it to him, “drink. It will help with the pain.”
Lifting the bowl to his lips, he grimaced with flared nostrils and took a gulp only to immediately splutter it back out and cough it all over you. Unsure if he was being overdramatic or he simply wished to indignify you for his shortcomings, nevertheless, you wiped your face of his spit silently.
”That tastes like piss,” he gagged, covering his face and mouth as though it would shield him from the steaming brew in his hands.
”I never said it would taste nice,” you smile with slight amusement, “though if you forgo what is helpful simply because of its taste, I can assure you, you will regret it come morning.” He was an interesting individual, thrust into a circumstance out of his control and yet finding ways to nitpick it like the true highborn soul he was. 
“Perhaps if you hold your nose and drink it won’t taste so bitter,” you offer, remembering when as a child how much you despised the mushroom bark stew Auntie made. She would tell you the same thing, because out in the Swamp you either ate what was given to you or went hungry. Choice was not a luxury you grew up having.
He seemed taken aback by how childish you sounded, or, you thought, it was because you had said something that wasn’t inherently monsterous in his eyes. So you decide to bite a little, a smile curling at your lips, “what? Even us Hags have to eat disgusting things despite ourselves… I’ll drink some with you, if it helps.” 
You scoop yourself a bowl, holding it up as if mocking a ‘cheers’ and bringing it to your lips. He wasn’t wrong at all, it smelt awful, eye wateringly awful and as pungent as the acrid scent of the swamp outside. Gods, don’t think about the swamp water. Yet, with a pinch of the nose to seal your nostrils shut, you tilt the bowl up and begin to drink. Eyes flicking over to Aegon who is dutifully following despite the exaggerated expression of disgust.
”See,” you cough and wince as the brew burned your throat and assaulted the senses, “it wasn’t so —,” an onslaught of coughs prevent you from finishing the sentence, though when you came too it wasn’t the fact that he had finished his bowl that came as a surprise. It was the simple and disturbingly pleasant fact that he was actually laughing - at you, yes - but laughing nonetheless. 
The feeling of delight, something as plain as hearing him laugh sent troubling waves of nausea within you. Stop that, you insisted to yourself for thinking too long on such a factor but unfortunately for you it seemed to imbue you with a sense of being. 
“I’m pleased to know it isn’t poison at least,” he jests half heartedly, setting the bowl down on the table beside him. His moment of weakness, laughter, subsided and his walls were back up, though as you look out the window you are reminded that he will very much be a very different kind of man soon, and even more come the morning.
There was still some time left before a long night began, a question that had been plaguing you since that night a month ago and had never found a suitable answer by speculating, “why did your brother get attacked that night? The Lycanthropes in the swamp… They are usually docile because of Ornmir.”
He looked over at you, brow raised in confusion that was met with your annoyed sigh, “right of course — The Swamp Spirit, she has domain over this area, nurtures the land and watches over the creatures.” You explain as if it were the most obvious answer, but recognise you were being unfair on someone who most likely had no idea there was a spirit of the swamp.
There’s a moment of slight humour back in his eyes, a scornful snort exhales from his nose as he laughs dryly, “I suppose then this fabled ‘spirit’ is responsible for the attacks on the nearby village then? A beast descends on a village to kill their livestock, that feels rather opposite to being watched over and docile, like you said?”
”hm,” you hum momentarily, letting his words settle, “perhaps it’s God’s will then?” You weren’t mocking him specifically, rather his family and those who sought to eradicate the magic in the world. The surrounding village’s littered on the outskirts of the swamp were often benevolent in the few times you had passed through to get seeds or fruit, yet the cathedral spires of Oldtown were a beacon that infected many people with prejudice and it reached as far as the closest Village.
Ornmir’s domain was relatively benign despite the creatures that reside, so it did strike you as odd that something had been thought to attack the villages, just like it struck you as odd that an attack happened to Aegon and his brother. Though, your question would remain unanswered for a while longer with the light fading to blackness settling outside of the hut’s windows.
It was always darker in the marsh long before the Sun had fully set, which was natural given the thick cover provided by trees taller than Oldtown's giant Cathedral. Though nightfall would turn within mere minutes, and with that, Aegon would be more monster than man. With great haste you beckon him outside of your hut and take him behind the Elder Tree. A lantern in one hand to illuminate the way and an old dagger in the other.
The humming that vibrated throughout the swamp seemed to permeate from the very roots of the Elder Tree; it was the largest and most intricate looking tree in comparison, even shrouded in darkness. Around it, the ground littered with moss and deceptively hidden soft mud that would encase your foot had you taken a wrong step.
You close your eyes and listen softly, to the wind and its direction, to the symphony of creatures and bugs that coexist within the heart of the marshy swamplands, the humming that never ceased. The moon was on the rise. You felt it, like a presence that made the hair on the back of your neck stand, like a feeling deep within the pit of your stomach. Many serve the Moon, but all life somehow feels its pull.
“Aegon,” you address with a softer tone than necessary, “this may very well be the worst thing you will ever go through. It’s excruciating. It’s difficult. You will begin to recede back, as though no longer in control because you won’t be in control yet will feel, see, taste everything. You’re a shattered soul belonging to two now. A man and a beast.” 
A Primal beast that will exist on urges that would make men weep at the thought.
”We are going to have quite the night together I believe,” you smile wearily, bringing the obsidian dagger to the palm of your hand and cutting deeply into it. He grimaced at the sight of crimson dribbling down your forearm, but in the macabre lighting of the lone lantern and a cluster of fireflies you watch his eyes wash away all violet colouring.
Black consuming even the whites of his eyes, you gave him a playful smile, one that certainly wasn’t appropriate for the situation at hand and darted off through the swamp
***
Lycanthropy is one of the few curses that shattered both body and soul, and contrary to what is believed that the only instance of change occurs under the full moon, the blight is a month long ailment. To have bones, tendons and muscle rip, warp and rearrange to a completely different structure was harrowing enough to watch, though scholars tend to only source that this happened one night per month. 
Mending bones and muscle was no easy feat, nor was it something that could be done in a mere day. Especially under someone’s first transformation. Aegon had slept for a day and a half before awakening to what you could only assume was the worst pain ever to be put through. 
He complained, immensely, but you took that as a sign of him feeling better than anything to be annoyed about. Two days after the full moon his fingernails had finally regressed to their normal sizing, and both his hair and eyes had a semblance of life brought back into them. 
You had forgotten how nice it was simply having another person around, not even just to talk too, but another presence that made the hut feel less lonely. Though, you remind yourself that much like your Mother, Auntie and Yurisa — loneliness appeared to be your curse to bear.
”I promise this tastes better than it looks,” you hand over a bowl of seemingly beige modge podge that looks less than enticing and more like vomit. Aegon immediately grimaced but seemed to have caught himself and shook it off, probably in hopes that you didn’t notice. But you did.
His eyes widened in surprise when he shoveled a tentative mouthful of the unappealing looking soup, “this is delicious, what’s in it?” 
Snake and Eel. Against your better judgment you decide to refrain from telling him, lest he lose his appetite, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” A sly smile pulling at the corner of your lips as you tend to the daily chores around your abode. His watchful gaze never felt intrusive or rude, it was your understanding that he merely enjoyed people watching though he hadn’t said it, it was your own reticent observation that led to that deduction.
“You are strange, witch.” Without a hint of malice in his voice, it may have been the first compliment you received from him, one that you gladly took on. Invigorating you in a way that was unexpected and worrisome. Auntie had warned you that you had a tendency to grow attached too easily, a facet that rang true for all the creatures you helped mend themselves when they were injured or the travelers that passed through that you assisted her with helping them. 
“Strange is good,” you smile earnestly at him, and though your mind was yelling for you not too, your mouth opened on its own accord, “Bramble… Auntie called me Bramble because that's where she found me.” Though you refused to elaborate when he gave you an inquisitive glance. The memory of Auntie was somewhat sacred, that was something you wished to keep to yourself above all.
”An even stranger name…” he murmured, as though in his thoughts and you weren’t supposed to hear that. 
The remainder of the morning went as such, light chatter that felt more akin to a strategic game of droughts learning a small thing about the other as the morning progressed. He was a first born of four, wildly incapable of the pressures and responsibility of a first born, liked to drink his body weight in Ale and Fine Wine and was horrid at day to day tasks as you came to learn when he attempted to help you with something as mundane as hanging freshly washed linen out.
”Good lord what the fuck is that?” His exasperated tone caused you to turn, his eyes fixated in the distance and a finger pointed at the flying abomination in the air near a cluster of identical looking creatures. Features that looked not of this world, making it appear as though it was the gruesome victim of alchemistic cross breeding, beady eyes and a rat like face of a bat but its body looked like a giant mosquito.
You looked at it, unfazed and turned back to what you were doing, “Stirges, awful creatures…” While the flying monstrosity didn’t worry you, its presence did unsettle you greatly, having not seen a nest of them so close by before. Something strange was happening and it had started from before the night of the lycanthrope attack. You wished to know what events occurred that caused such a chain reaction. An attack on a human, an attack on the village and now an incursion of horrible blights that aren’t native to the lands.
“Aegon,” you slowly lifted your head to meet his gaze which was already fixed on you, “why were you in the swamp the night your brother was attacked?” It felt as though you asked this question several times before and never got a real answer out of him or the conversation naturally diverted elsewhere. 
While he was mostly open about his admissions already, you could sense him hesitate to answer this question. Perhaps he was gifted at deflecting and that was why you hadn’t received an answer for your question yet. Though the trepidation was not for lack of honesty or a need to conceal the truth, his eyes glassy and a slight tremble in his lip indicated guilt more than anything.
“Whatever is eating away at you, is not my concern. The reason is all I care for. Something isn’t right.” You hum, the nagging feeling eating away your insides like a looming sense of dread that was hard to pinpoint and it alarmed you grately that it took this long to figure out something strange was afoot. The humming of the Swamp droned gently, undisturbed and constant and yet there was a disturbance, over by the reedy shallows where the Stirges set their nest up. It was as though they came undetected, unseen.
He sighed, drawing your gaze to him, a look of shame and guilt marred his face, “I want not for ownership of the land, nor title or to become a Lord… but such is duty,” he was resentful and cutthroat, as if the word duty was an unholy word to be spit out. “Yet my father forces upon me what I push away — it’s my fault Aemond was hurt, he should never have been out there.”
Aemond, you repeat in your head, finally putting a name to the younger brother you healed a month ago.
“The village, Watercroft, asked my father to rid them of the beast that started killing their livestock and I was supposed to lead the hunting party. I would not do as he said, I cannot,” he looked away, gritted teeth as he spoke about his father like poison to the tongue. You couldn’t blame him, since you’ve lived in the Swamps his father has ruled Oldtown and whilst the locals revered him for peace, you had vehemently disagreed.
“So I drank, complained and let Aemond take the lead — he’s the one who deserves the power, the title, everything. And we’ve heard stories about beasts within the swamplands from travelers and locals, but this was different. A monstrous scourge that devoured six of our men whole before I sobered up enough to realize what was going on. Aemond.. he… he grabbed me and we ran… right into a den of Direwolves.”
You shake your head correcting him, “not Direwolves.” 
“Right.” He agreed quietly.
His story, while jagged and a mess to make sense of slowly began to click into place for you. It was unsettling at best and at worst borderline apocalyptic for the ecosystem within the Swamp and all the land around. There was only one beast in the Swamp capable of doing what he had described and that was Ornmir herself, in her natural corporeal form as a Swamp Drake. But this revelation only offered more questions than answers, the biggest one more alarming than any other speculation you had gone through prior to this.
Why was the spirit of the Swamp so angry?
~~~~~
Tag List: @karlachs-soldier @serving-targaryen-realness @deltamoon666 @bogbutteronmycroissant
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herstarlitdreams · 1 year
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The Alchemist's Journal: Ingredients
This year, I'm going to make progress on the Skyrim Alchemist's Book if it kills me. This is a complete list of alchemical ingredients, including ones from the Anniversary Edition Creation Kit add-ons (but NOT including Berrit's Ashes, which are a single use item identical to Bone Meal).
As I complete pages of the book, I'll scan them in and link to them here.
Abecean Longfin
Alocasia Fruit
Ambrosia
Ancestor Moth Wing
Angelfish
Angler Larvae
Ash Creep Cluster
Ash Hopper Jelly
Ashen Grass Pod
Aster Bloom Core
Bear Claws
Bee
Beehive Husk
Bittergreen Petals
Bleeding Crown
Blind Watcher's Eye
Bliss Bug Thorax
Blister Pod Cap
Blisterwort
Bloodgrass
Blue Butterfly Wing
Blue Dartwing
Boar Tusk
Bog Beacon
Bone Meal
Briar Heart
Bungler's Bane
Burnt Spriggan Wood
Butterfly Wing
Canis Root
Charred Skeever Hide
Chaurus Eggs
Chaurus Hunter Antennae
Chicken's Egg
Chokeberry
Chokeweed
Coda Flower
Comberry
Congealed Putrescence
Corkbulb Root
Creep Cluster
Crimson Nirnroot
Cyrodilic Spadetail
Daedra Heart
Daedra Silk
Daedra Venin
Daedroth Teeth
Deathbell
Dragon's Tongue
Dreugh Wax
Dwarven Oil
Ectoplasm
Elves Ear
Elytra Ichor
Emperor Parasol Moss
Eye of Sabre Cat
Falmer Ear
Felsaad Tern Feathers
Fire Petal
Fire Salts
Flame Stalk
Fly Amanita
Frost Mirriam
Frost Salts
Fungus Stalk
Garlic
Giant Lichen
Giant's Toe
Glassfish
Gleamblossom
Glow Dust
Glowing Mushroom
Gnarl Bark
Goldfish
Gold Kanet
Grass Pod
Green Butterfly Wing
Hackle-Lo Leaf
Hagraven Claw
Hagraven Feathers
Hanging Moss
Harrada
Hawk Beak
Hawk Feathers
Hawk's Egg
Heart of Order
Histcarp
Honeycomb
Human Flesh
Human Heart
Hunger Tongue
Hydnam Azure Giant Spore
Hypha Facia
Ice Wraith Teeth
Imp Gall
Imp Stool
Ironwood Fruit
Jarrin Root
Jazbay Grapes
Juniper Berries
Juvenile Mudcrap
Kagouti Hide
Kresh Fiber
Large Antlers
Lavender
Lichor
Luminous Russula
Luna Moth Wing
Lyretail Anthias
Marshmerrow
Minotaur Horn
Moon Sugar
Mora Tapinella
Mort Flesh
Mudcrab Chitin
Namira's Rot
Netch Jelly
Nightshade
Nirnroot
Nordic Barnacle
Ogre's Teeth
Orange Dartwing
Pearl
Pearlfish
Pine Thrush Egg
Poison Bloom
Powdered Mammoth Tusk
Purple Butterfly Wing
Purple Mountain Flower
Pygmy Sunfish
Red Kep Gas Bladder
Red Mountain Flower
Redwort Flower
River Betty
Rock Warbler Egg
Roobrush
Rot Scale
Sabre Cat Tooth
Salmon Roe
Salt Pile
Saltrice
Scalon Fin
Scaly Pholiota
Scathecraw
Screaming Maw
Scrib Jelly
Scrib Jerky
Silverside Perch
Skeever Tail
Slaughterfish Scales
Sload Soap
Small Antlers
Small Pearl
Snowberries
Spadefish
Spiddal Stick
Spawn Ash
Spider Egg
Spriggan Sap
Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap
Stone
Swamp Fungal Pod
Taproot
Thistle Branch
Thorn Hook
Torchbug Thorax
Trama Root
Troll Fat
Tundra Cotton
Vampire Dust
Void Essence
Void Salts
Watcher's Eye
Wheat
White Cap
Wild Grass Pod
Wisp Stalk Caps
Withering Moon
Wisp Wrappings
Worm's Head Cap
Yellow Mountain Flower
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butterscotchbeluga · 4 years
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Another design for my Golden Gear Syndicate, introducing the “Swamp Beacon”, an old mech designed for ocean salvage missions, mostly retired by the syndicate, but every once in awhile you’ll see a veteran still piloting one of these junkers. While battered and weathered, this colossus is still ready for a fight with their trusty anchor in hand. Swamp Beacon was chosen in reference to the fungi’s damp choice of habitat and the lights covering the construct.
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verpa-xylaria · 7 years
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green-algae · 5 years
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Close shots of the very cutely named swamp beacon [Mitrula elegans], a pretty little fungus found scattered throughout marshes and bogs. This fungus rarely exceeds a single centimeter in height. Images taken in Plumas National Forest, California, by Ron Wolf.
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mellifera38 · 6 years
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Mel’s Big Fantasy Place-Name Reference
So I’ve been doing lots of D&D world-building lately and I’ve kind of been putting together lists of words to help inspire new fantasy place names. I figured I’d share. These are helpful for naming towns, regions, landforms, roads, shops, and they’re also probably useful for coming up with surnames. This is LONG. There’s plenty more under the cut including a huge list of “fantasy sounding” word-parts. Enjoy!
Towns & Kingdoms
town, borough, city, hamlet, parish, township, village, villa, domain
kingdom, empire, nation, country, county, city-state, state, province, dominion
Town Name End Words (English flavored)
-ton, -ston, -caster, -dale, -den, -field, -gate, -glen, -ham, -holm, -hurst, -bar, -boro, -by, -cross, -kirk, -meade, -moore, -ville, -wich, -bee, -burg, -cester, -don, -lea, -mer, -rose, -wall, -worth, -berg, -burgh, -chase, -ly, -lin, -mor, -mere, -pool. -port, -stead, -stow, -strath, -side, -way, -berry, -bury, -chester, -haven, -mar, -mont, -ton, -wick, -meet, -heim, -hold, -hall, -point
Buildings & Places
castle, fort, palace, fortress, garrison, lodge, estate, hold, stronghold, tower, watchtower, palace, spire, citadel, bastion, court, manor, house
altar, chapel, abbey, shrine, temple, monastery, cathedral, sanctum, crypt, catacomb, tomb
orchard, arbor, vineyard, farm, farmstead, shire, garden, ranch
plaza, district, quarter, market, courtyard, inn, stables, tavern, blacksmith, forge, mine, mill, quarry, gallows, apothecary, college, bakery, clothier, library, guild house, bath house, pleasure house, brothel, jail, prison, dungeon, cellar, basement, attic, sewer, cistern
lookout, post, tradepost, camp, outpost, hovel, hideaway, lair, nook, watch, roost, respite, retreat, hostel, holdout, redoubt, perch, refuge, haven, alcove, haunt, knell, enclave, station, caravan, exchange, conclave
port, bridge, ferry, harbor, landing, jetty, wharf, berth, footbridge, dam, beacon, lighthouse, marina, dockyard, shipyard
road, street, way, row, lane, trail, corner, crossing, gate, junction, waygate, end, wall, crossroads,  barrier, bulwark, blockade, pavilion, avenue, promenade, alley, fork, route
Time & Direction
North, South, East, West, up, down, side, rise, fall, over, under
Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, solstice, equanox, vernal, ever, never
dusk, dawn, dawnrise, morning, night, nightfall, evening, sundown, sunbreak, sunset
lunar, solar, sun, moon, star, eclipse
Geographical Terms
Cave, cavern, cenote, precipice, crevasse, crater, maar, chasm, ravine, trench, rift, pit
Cliff, bluff, crag, scarp, outcrop, stack, tor, falls, run, eyrie, aerie
Hill, mountain, volcano, knoll, hillock, downs, barrow, plateau, mesa, butte, pike, peak, mount, summit, horn, knob, pass, ridge, terrace, gap, point, rise, rim, range, view, vista, canyon, hogback, ledge, stair, descent
Valley, gulch, gully, vale, dale, dell, glen, hollow, grotto, gorge, bottoms, basin, knoll, combe
Meadow, grassland, field, pasture, steppe, veld, sward, lea, mead, fell, moor, moorland, heath, croft, paddock, boondock, prairie, acre, strath, heights, mount, belt
Woodlands, woods, forest, bush, bower, arbor, grove, weald, timberland, thicket, bosk, copse, coppice, underbrush, hinterland, park, jungle, rainforest, wilds, frontier, outskirts
Desert, dunes, playa, arroyo, chaparral, karst, salt flats, salt pan, oasis, spring, seep, tar pit, hot springs, fissure, steam vent, geyser, waste, wasteland, badland, brushland, dustbowl, scrubland
Ocean, sea, lake, pond, spring, tarn, mere, sluice, pool, coast, gulf, bay
Lagoon, cay, key, reef, atoll, shoal, tideland, tide flat, swale, cove, sandspit, strand, beach
Snowdrift, snowbank, permafrost, floe, hoar, rime, tundra, fjord, glacier, iceberg
River, stream, creek, brook, tributary, watersmeet, headwater, ford, levee, delta, estuary, firth, strait, narrows, channel, eddy, inlet, rapids, mouth, falls
Wetland, marsh, bog, fen, moor, bayou, glade, swamp, banks, span, wash, march, shallows, mire, morass, quag, quagmire, everglade, slough, lowland, sump, reach
Island, isle, peninsula, isthmus, bight, headland, promontory, cape, pointe, cape
More under the cut including: Color words, Animal/Monster related words, Rocks/Metals/Gems list, Foliage, People groups/types, Weather/Environment/ Elemental words, Man-made Items, Body Parts, Mechanical sounding words, a huge list of both pleasant and unpleasant Atmospheric Descriptors, and a huge list of Fantasy Word-parts.
Color Descriptions
Warm: red, scarlet, crimson, rusty, cerise, carmine, cinnabar, orange, vermillion, ochre, peach, salmon, saffron, yellow, gold, lemon, amber, pink, magenta, maroon, brown, sepia, burgundy, beige, tan, fuchsia, taupe
Cool: green, beryl, jade, evergreen, chartreuse, olive, viridian, celadon, blue, azure, navy, cerulean, turquoise, teal, cyan, cobalt, periwinkle, beryl, purple, violet, indigo, mauve, plum
Neutral: gray, silver, ashy, charcoal, slate, white, pearly, alabaster, ivory, black, ebony, jet
dark, dusky, pale, bleached, blotchy, bold, dappled, lustrous, faded, drab, milky, mottled, opaque, pastel, stained, subtle, ruddy, waxen, tinted, tinged, painted
Animal / Monster-Related Words
Bear, eagle, wolf, serpent, hawk, horse, goat, sheep, bull, raven, crow, dog, stag, rat, boar, lion, hare, owl, crane, goose, swan, otter, frog, toad, moth, bee, wasp, beetle, spider, slug, snail, leech, dragonfly, fish, trout, salmon, bass, crab, shell, dolphin, whale, eel, cod, haddock
Dragon, goblin, giant, wyvern, ghast, siren, lich, hag, ogre, wyrm, kraken
Talon, scale, tusk, hoof, mane, horn, fur, feather, fang, wing, whisker, bristle, paw, tail, beak, claw, web, quill, paw, maw, pelt, haunch, gill, fin,
Hive, honey, nest, burrow, den, hole, wallow
Rocks / Metals / Minerals
Gold, silver, brass, bronze, copper, platinum, iron, steel, tin, mithril, electrum, adamantite, quicksilver, fool’s gold, titanium
Diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz, opal, pearl, jade, jasper, onyx, citrine, aquamarine, turquoise, lapiz lazuli, amethyst, quartz, crystal, amber, jewel
Granite, shale, marble, limestone, sandstone, slate, diorite, basalt, rhyolite, obsidian, glass
Earth, stone, clay, sand, silt, salt, mote, lode, vein, ore, ingot, coal, boulder, bedrock, crust, rubble, pebble, gravel, cobble, dust, clod, peat, muck mud, slip, loam, dirt, grit, scree, shard, flint, stalactite/mite
Trees / Plants / Flowers
Tree, ash, aspen, pine, birch, alder, willow, dogwood, oak, maple, walnut,  chestnut, cedar, mahogany, palm, beech, hickory, hemlock, cottonwood, hawthorn, sycamore, poplar, cypress, mangrove, elm, fir, spruce, yew
Branch, bough, bramble, gnarl, burr, tangle, thistle, briar, thorn, moss, bark, shrub, undergrowth, overgrowth, root, vine, bracken, reed, driftwood, coral, fern, berry, bamboo, nectar, petal, leaf, seed, clover, grass, grain, trunk, twig, canopy, cactus, weed, mushroom, fungus
Apple, olive, apricot, elderberry, coconut, sugar, rice, wheat, cotton, flax, barley, hops, onion, carrot, turnip, cabbage, squash, pumpkin, pepper
Flower, rose, lavender, lilac, jasmine, jonquil, marigold, carnelian, carnation, goldenrod, sage, wisteria, dahlia, nightshade, lily, daisy, daffodil, columbine, amaranth, crocus, buttercup, foxglove, iris, holly, hydrangea, orchid, snowdrop, hyacinth, tulip, yarrow, magnolia, honeysuckle, belladonna, lily pad, magnolia
People
Settler, Pilgrim, Pioneer, Merchant, Prospector, Maker, Surveyor, Mason, Overseer, Apprentice, Widow, Sailor, Miner, Blacksmith, Butcher, Baker, Brewer, Barkeep, Ferryman, Hangman, Gambler, Fisherman, Adventurer, Hero, Seeker, Hiker, Traveler, Crone
Mage, Magician, Summoner, Sorcerer, Wizard, Conjurer, Necromancer, 
King, Queen, Lord, Count, Baron, Guard, Soldier, Knight, Vindicator, Merchant, Crusader, Imperator, Syndicate, Vanguard, Champion, Warden, Victor, Legionnaire, Master, Archer, Footman, Gladiator, Barbarian, Captain, Commodore, 
Beggar, Hunter, Ranger, Deadman, Smuggler, Robber, Swindler, Rebel, Bootlegger, Outlaw, Pirate, Brigand, Ruffian, Highwayman, Cutpurse, Thief, Assassin
God, Goddess, Exarch, Angel, Devil, Demon, Cultist, Prophet, Hermit, Seer
council, clergy, guild, militia, choir 
Climate, Environment, & The Elements
Cold, cool, brisk, frosty, chilly, icy, freezing, frozen, frigid, glacial, bitter, biting, bleak, arctic, polar, boreal, wintry, snowy, snow, blizzarding, blizzard, sleeting, sleet, chill, frost, ice, icebound, ice cap, floe, snowblind, frostbite, coldsnap, avalanche, snowflake
Hot, sunny, humid, sweltering, steaming, boiling, sizzling, blistering, scalding, smoking, caldescent, dry, parched, arid, fallow, thirsty, melting, molten, fiery, blazing, burning, charring, glowing, searing, scorching, blasted, sun, fire, heat, flame, wildfire, bonfire, inferno, coal, ash, cinder, ember, flare, pyre, tinder, kindling, aflame, alight, ablaze, lava, magma, slag,
Wet, damp, dank, soggy, sodden, soaked, drenched, dripping, sopping, briny, murky, rain, storm, hail, drizzle, sprinkle, downpour, deluge, squall, water, cloud, fog, mist, dew, puddle, pool, current, whirlpool, deep, depths, tide, waves, whitewater, waterfall, tidal wave, flow, flood, leak, drain
Wind, breeze, gust, billow, gail, draft, waft, zephyr, still, airy, clear, smokey, tempest, tempestuous, windswept, aerial, lofty, torrid, turbulent, nebulous, tradewind, thunder, lightning, spark, cyclone, tornado, whirlwind, hurricane, typhoon
Man-made Item Words
Furnace, forge, anvil, vault, strap, strip, whetstone, brick, sword, blade, axe, dagger, shield, buckler, morningstar, bow, quiver, arrow, polearm, flail, staff, stave, sheath, hilt, hammer, knife, helm, mantle, banner, pauldron, chainmail, mace, dart, cutlass, canon, needle, cowl, belt,  buckle, bandana, goggles, hood, boot, heel, spindle, spool, thread, sweater, skirt, bonnet, apron, leather, hide, plate, tunic, vest, satin, silk, wool, velvet, lace, corset, stocking, binding
Plow, scythe, (wheel) barrow, saddle, harrow, brand, collar, whip, leash, lead, bridle, stirrup, wheel, straw, stall, barn, hay, bale, pitchfork, well, log, saw, lumber, sod, thatch, mortar, brick, cement, concrete, pitch, pillar, window, fountain, door, cage, spoke, pole, table, bench, plank, board
Candle, torch, cradle, broom, lamp, lantern, clock, bell, lock, hook, trunk, looking glass, spyglass, bottle, vase, locket, locker, key, handle, rope, knot, sack, pocket, pouch, manacle, chain, stake, coffin, fan. cauldron, kettle, pot, bowl, pestle, oven, ladle, spoon, font, wand, potion, elixir, draught, portal, book, tome, scroll, word, manuscript, letter, message, grimoire, map, ink, quill, pen, cards, dice
Coin, coronet, crown, circlet, scepter, treasure, riches, scales, pie, tart, loaf, biscuit, custard, caramel, pudding, porridge, stew, bread, tea, gravy, gristle, spice, lute, lyre, harp, drum, rouge, powder, perfume, brush
bilge, stern, pier, sail, anchor, mast, dock, deck, flag, ship, boat, canoe, barge, wagon, sled, carriage, buggy, cart
Wine, brandy, whiskey, ale, moonshine, gin, cider, rum, grog, beer, brew, goblet, flagon, flask, cask, tankard, stein, mug, barrel, stock, wort, malt
Body Parts
Head, throat, finger, foot, hand, neck, shoulder, rib, jaw, eye, lips, bosom
Skull, spine, bone, tooth, heart, blood, tears, gut, beard
Mechanical-Sounding Words
cog, fuse, sprocket, wrench, screw, nail, bolt, lever, pulley, spanner, gear, spring, shaft, switch, button, cast, pipe, plug, dial, meter, nozzle, cord, brake, gauge, coil, oil, signal, wire, fluke, staple, clamp, bolt, nut, bulb, patch, pump, cable, socket
torque, force, sonic, spark, fizzle, thermal, beam, laser, steam, buzz, mega, mecha, electro, telsa, power, flicker, charge, current, flow, tinker
Atmospheric Words
Unpleasant, Dangerous, Threatening
(nouns) death, fury, battle, scar, shadow, razor, nightmare, wrath, bone, splinter, peril, war, riptide, strife, reckoning, sorrow, terror, deadwood, nether, venom, grime, rage, void, conquest, pain, folly, revenge, horrid, mirk, shear, fathom, frenzy, corpselight/marshlight, reaper, gloom, doom, torment, torture, spite, grizzled, sludge, refuse, spore, carrion, fear, pyre, funeral, shade, beast, witch, grip, legion, downfall, ruin, plague, woe, bane, horde, acid, fell, grief, corpse, mildew, mold, miter, dirge
(adjectives) dead, jagged, decrepit, fallen, darkened, blackened, dire, grim, feral, wild, broken, desolate, mad, lost, under, stagnant, blistered, derelict, forlorn, unbound, sunken, fallow, shriveled, wayward, bleak, low, weathered, fungal, last, brittle, sleepy, -strewn, dusky, deserted, empty, barren, vacant, forsaken, bare, bereft, stranded, solitary, abandoned, discarded, forgotten, deep, abysmal, bottomless, buried, fathomless,unfathomable, diseased, plagued, virulent, noxious, venomous, toxic, fetid, revolting, putrid, rancid, foul, squalid, sullied, vile, blighted, vicious, ferocious, dangerous, savage, cavernous, vast, yawning, chasmal, echoing, dim, dingy, gloomy, inky, lurid, shaded, shadowy, somber, sunless, tenebrous, unlit, veiled, hellish, accursed, sulfurous, damned, infernal, condemned, doomed, wicked, sinister, dread, unending, spectral, ghostly, haunted, eldritch, unknown, weary, silent, hungry, cloven, acidic
(verb/adverbs): wither (withering / withered), skulk (skulking), whisper, skitter, chitter, sting, slither, writhe, gape, screech, scream, howl, lurk, roil, twist, shift, swarm, spawn, fester, bleed, howl, shudder, shrivel, devour, swirl, maul, trip, smother, weep, shatter, ruin, curse, ravage, hush, rot, drown, sunder, blister, warp, fracture, die, shroud, fall, surge, shiver, roar, thunder, smolder, break, silt, slide, lash, mourn, crush, wail, decay, crumble, erode, decline, reek, lament, taint, corrupt, defile, poison, infect, shun, sigh, sever, crawl, starve, grind, cut, wound, bruise, maim, stab, bludgeon, rust, mutilate, tremble, stumble, fumble, clank, clang
Pleasant, Safe, Neutral
(nouns) spirit, luck, soul, oracle, song, sky, smile, rune, obelisk, cloud, timber, valor, triumph, rest, dream, thrall, might, valiance, glory, mirror, life, hope, oath, serenity, sojourn, god, hearth, crown, throne, crest, guard, rise, ascent, circle, ring, twin, vigil, breath, new, whistle, grasp, snap, fringe, threshold, arch, cleft, bend, home, fruit, wilds, echo, moonlight, sunlight, starlight, splendor, vigilance, honor, memory, fortune, aurora, paradise, caress
(adjectives) gentle, pleasant, prosperous, peaceful, sweet, good, great, mild, grand, topic, lush, wild, abundant, verdant, sylvan, vital, florid, bosky, callow, verdurous, lucious, fertile, spellbound, captivating, mystical, hidden, arcane, clandestine, esoteric, covert, cryptic, runic, otherworldly, touched, still, fair, deep, quiet, bright, sheer, tranquil, ancient, light, far, -wrought, tidal, royal, shaded, swift, true, free, high, vibrant, pure, argent, hibernal, ascendant, halcyon, silken, bountiful, gilded, colossal, massive, stout, elder, -bourne, furrowed, happy, merry, -bound, loud, lit, silk, quiet, bright, luminous, shining, burnished, glossy, brilliant, lambent, lucent, lustrous, radiant, resplendent, vivid, vibrant, illuminated, silvery, limpid, sunlit, divine, sacred, holy, eternal, celestial, spiritual, almighty, anointed, consecrated, exalted, hallowed, sanctified, ambrosial, beatific, blissful, demure, naked, bare, ample, coy,  deific, godly, omnipotent, omnipresent, rapturous, sacramental, sacrosanct, blessed, majestic, iridescent, glowing, overgrown, dense, hard, timeless, sly, scatter, everlasting, full, half, first, last
(verb/adverbs) arch (arching / arched), wink (winking), sing, nestle, graze, stroll, roll, flourish, bloom, bud, burgeon, live, dawn, hide, dawn, run, pray, wake, laugh, wake, glimmer, glitter, drift, sleep, tumble, bind, arch, blush, grin, glister, beam, meander, wind, widen, charm, bewitch, enthrall, entrance, enchant, allure, beguile, glitter, shimmer, sparkle twinkle, crest, quiver, slumber, herald, shelter, leap, click, climb, scuttle, dig, barter, chant, hum, chime, kiss, flirt, tempt, tease, play, seduce
Generic “Fantasy-Sounding” Word Parts
A - D
aaz, ada, adaer, adal, adar, adbar, adir, ae, ael, aer, aern, aeron, aeryeon, agar, agis, aglar, agron, ahar, akan, akyl, al, alam, alan, alaor, ald, alea, ali, alir, allyn, alm, alon, alor, altar, altum, aluar, alys, amar, amaz, ame, ammen, amir, amol, amn, amus, anar, andor, ang, ankh, ar, ara, aram, arc, arg, arian, arkh, arla, arlith, arn, arond, arthus, arum, arvien, ary, asha, ashyr, ask, assur, aster, astra, ath, athor, athra, athryn, atol, au, auga, aum, auroch, aven, az, azar, baal, bae, bael, bak, bal, balor, ban, bar, bara, barr, batol, batar, basir, basha, batyr, bel, belph, belu, ben, beo, bere, berren, berun, besil, bezan, bhaer, bhal, blask, blis, blod, bor, boraz, bos, bran, brath, braun, breon, bri, bry, bul, bur, byl, caer, cal, calan, cara, cassa, cath, cela, cen, cenar, cerul, chalar, cham, chion, cimar, clo, coram, corel, corman, crim, crom, daar, dach, dae, dago, dagol, dahar, dala, dalar, dalin, dam, danas, daneth, dannar, dar, darian,  darath, darm, darma, darro, das, dasa, dasha, dath, del, delia, delimm, dellyn, delmar, delo, den, dess, dever, dhaer, dhas, dhaz, dhed, dhin, din, dine, diar, dien, div, djer, dlyn, dol, dolan, doon, dora, doril, doun, dral, dranor, drasil, dren, drian, drien, drin, drov, druar, drud, duald, duatha, duir, dul, dulth, dun, durth, dyra, dyver,
E - H
ea, eber, eden, edluk, egan, eiel, eilean, ejen, elath, eld, eldor, eldra, elith emar, ellesar, eltar, eltaran, elth, eltur, elyth, emen, empra, emril, emvor, ena, endra, enthor, erad, erai, ere, eriel, erith, erl, eron, erre, eryn, esk, esmel, espar, estria, eta, ethel, eval, ezro, ezan, ezune, ezil, fael, faelar, faern, falk, falak, farak, faril, farla, fel, fen, fenris, fer, fet, fin, finar, forel, folgun, ful, fulk, fur, fyra, fallon, gael, gach, gabir, gadath, gal, galar, gana, gar, garth, garon, garok, garne, gath, geir, gelden, geren,  geron, ghal, ghallar, ghast, ghel, ghom, ghon, gith, glae, glander, glar, glym, gol, goll, gollo, goloth, gorot, gost, goth, graeve, gran, grimm, grist, grom, grosh, grun, grym, gual, guil, guir, gulth, gulur, gur, gurnth, gwaer, haa, hael, haer, hadar, hadel, hakla, hala, hald, halana, halid, hallar, halon, halrua, halus, halvan, hamar, hanar, hanyl, haor, hara, haren, haresk, harmun, harrokh, harrow, haspur, haza, hazuth, heber,  hela, helve, hem, hen, herath, hesper, heth, hethar, hind, hisari, hjaa, hlath, hlond, hluth, hoarth, holtar, horo, hotun, hrag, hrakh, hroth, hull, hyak, hyrza
I - M
iibra, ilth, ilus, ilira, iman, imar, imas, imb, imir, immer, immil, imne, impil, ingdal, innar, ir, iriae, iril, irith, irk, irul, isha, istis, isil, itala, ith, ithal, itka, jada, jae, jaeda, jahaka, jala, jarra, jaro, jath, jenda, jhaamm, jhothm, jinn, jinth, jyn, kado, kah, kal, kalif, kam, kana, kara, karg, kars, karth, kasp, katla, kaul, kazar, kazr, kela, kelem, kerym, keth, keva, kez, kezan, khaer, khal, khama, khaz, khara, khed, khel, khol, khur, kil, kor, korvan, koll, kos, kir, kra, kul, kulda, kund, kyne, lae, laen, lag, lan, lann, lanar, lantar, lapal, lar, laran, lareth, lark, lath, lauth, lav, lavur, lazar, leih, leshyr, leth, lhaza, lhuven, liad, liam, liard, lim, lin, lirn, lisk, listra, lith, liya, llair, llor, lok, lolth, loran, lorkh, lorn, loth, lothen, luen, luir, luk, lund, lur, luth, lyndus, lyra, lyth, maal, madrasm maera, maer, maerim, maes, mag, magra, mahand, mal, malar, mald, maldo, mar, mara, mark, marl, maru, maruk, meir, melish, memnon, mer, metar, methi, mhil, mina, mir, miram, mirk, mista, mith, moander, mok, modir, modan, mon, monn, mor, more, morel, moril, morn, moro, morrow, morth, mort, morum, morven, muar, mul, mydra, myr, myra, myst
N - S
naar, nadyra, naedyr, naga, najar, nal, naal, nalir, nar, naruk, narbond, narlith, narzul, nasaq, nashkel, natar, nath, natha, neir, neth, nether, nhall, nikh, nil, nilith, noan, nolvurm nonthal, norda, noro, novul, nul, nur, nus, nyan, nyth, ober, odra, oghr, okoth, olleth, olodel, omgar, ondath, onthril, ordul, orish, oroch, orgra, orlim, ormath, ornar, orntath, oroch, orth, orva, oryn, orzo, ostel, ostor, ostrav, othea, ovar, ozod, ozul, palan, palad, pae, peldan, pern, perris, perim, pele, pen, phail, phanda, phara, phen, phendra, pila, pinn, pora, puril, pur, pyra, qadim, quar, quel, ques, quil, raah, rael, ran, ranna, rassil, rak, rald, rassa, reddan, reith, relur, ren, rendril, resil, reska, reth, reven, revar, rhy, rhynn, ria, rian, rin, ris, rissian, rona, roch, rorn, rora, rotha, rual, ruar, ruhal, ruil, ruk, runn, rusk, ryn, saa, saar, saal, sabal, samar, samrin, sankh, sar, sarg, sarguth, sarin, sarlan, sel, seld, sember, semkh, sen, sendrin, septa, senta, seros, shaar, shad, shadra, shae, shaen, shaera, shak, shalan, sham, shamath, shan, shana, sharan, shayl, shemar, shere, shor, shul, shyll, shyr, sidur, sil, silvan, sim, sintar, sirem, skar, skell, skur, skyr, sokol, solan, sola, somra, sor, ssin, stel, strill, suldan, sulk, sunda, sur, surkh, suth, syl, sylph, sylune, syndra, syth
T - Z
taak, taar, taer, tah, tak, tala, talag, talar, talas, talath, tammar, tanar, tanil, tar, tara, taran, tarl, tarn, tasha, tath, tavil, telar, teld, telf, telos, tempe, tethy, tezir, thaar, thaer, thal, thalag, thalas, thalan, thalar, thamor, thander, thangol, thar, thay, thazal, theer, theim, thelon, thera, thendi, theril, thiir, thil, thild, thimir, thommar, thon, thoon, thor, thran, thrann, threl, thril, thrul, thryn, thuk, thultan, thume, thun, thy, thyn, thyr, tir, tiras, tirum, tohre, tol, tolar, tolir,  tolzrin, tor, tormel, tormir, traal, triel, trith, tsath, tsur, tul, tur, turiver, turth, tymor, tyr, uder, udar, ugoth, uhr, ukh, ukir, uker, usten, ulgarth, ulgoth, ultir, ulur, umar, umath, umber, unara, undro, undu, untha, upir, ur, ursa, ursol, uron, uth, uthen, uz, van, vaar, vaelan, vaer, vaern, val valan, valash, vali, valt, vandan, vanede, vanrak, var, varyth, vassa, vastar, vaunt, vay, vel, velar, velen, velius, vell, velta, ven, veren, vern, vesper, vilar, vilhon, vintor, vir, vira, virdin, volo, volun, von, voon, vor, voro, vos, vosir, vosal, vund, war, wara, whel, wol, wynn, wyr, wyrm, xer, xul, xen, xian, yad, yag, yal, yar, yath, yeon, yhal, yir, yirar, yuir, yul, yur, zail, zala, zalhar, zan, zanda, zar, zalar, zarach, zaru, zash, zashu, zemur, zhent, zim, ziram, zindala, zindar, zoun, zul, zurr, zuth, zuu, zym
A lot of places are named after historical events, battles, and people, so keep that in mind. God/Goddess names tied to your world also work well. Places are also often named after things that the area is known for, like Georgia being known for its peaches.
My brain was fried by the end of this so feel free to add more!
I hope you find this reference helpful and good luck world-building!
-Mel
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aethelar · 4 years
Text
FB week day 4: Alternate Universe
The Jedi code is simple. A well worn, familiar mantra that has seen Graves safely through the good and bad parts of his life so far. It’s a comfort, a beacon, a paragon of calm that’s doing sod all to fix the kriffing ship, and, as Graves rationally and logically reminds himself, it’s been pondered and contemplated by far wiser minds than his, so if the code says he should trust the force and keep his cool then he’s damn well going to trust the bloody force and keep the last fraying threads of his cool.
“Everything alright, master?” his padawan asks in a deliberately offhand tone.
“How old are you?” Graves asks in lieu of an answer.
Credence blinks. “Seventeen last I checked, same as I was this morning.”
“Then ask me again when you’re old enough for me to stop censoring my language around you.” He turns away so he can pretend he doesn’t see Credence laughing at him and hits another button on the flashing control panel. “Chastity! Where’s the power at?”
“What power?” Chastity yells back from somewhere in the bowels of the engine. “You expect me to pull it out the air, wizard?”
“Knight! I’m a Jedi Knight, we’ve been over this!”
Chastity shouts something rude. And explicit. Credence pretends to cover his ears and Graves fights the urge to glare at him. He’s zen, fuckdamnit, his feelings have bled away in the force and he’s one with the universe and the universe is at peace.
Actually that’s a bald faced lie, the universe is teetering on the edge of a war between the Republic and the Separists, but. Point still stands. Graves is zen.
Chastity says we need parts, the little Model ST droid whistles, rolling down the corridor towards them. I have a list. It whirrs, then opens a slot and produces a shopping list. It’s written on a pink datapad. Of course it is.
Credence takes the datapad and pats the droid on the head. “Thanks, Mod-ST. There’s a trading port not too far from here, tell Chastity we’ll have her parts by sundown.”
“Which of us is the master and which is the padawan here?” Graves mutters under his breath. He squints at the list. “Also don’t go making promises you can’t keep, that’s an expensive list for a backwater planet.”
“I trust in the force,” Credence says serenely, and Graves resists the urge to stick his tongue out.
-
Helpfully, the backwater planet has enough of the parts Chastity needs to get them airborne, at least for a short trip to somewhere better stocked.
Unhelpfully, the backwater planet has never heard of Republican credits.
“They’re credits,” Graves explains patiently, “which are valid in the Republic. You know. The big governing body that sits around doing jack all and arguing over obvious decisions. The head honchos. The ruling bigwigs. They wear big robes.”
“Tattooine is Hutt space,” the Toydarian huffs. “You got peggats, we got your parts. You got fake money, you get sand.”
Graves does not growl. Or glare. “Thank you for the advice,” he says with admirable restraint. “And how, please, would I go about exchanging for peggats?”
The Toydarian scratches at the base of a tusk, then gestures at Credence with a lazy hand. “I’d give you four hundred for the boy.”
The vague notion of taking the money and then rescuing Credence in a high stakes daring escape flashes briefly through Graves’ mind before he forcibly dismisses it. They’ve done crazier things in his time as Credence’ master, sure, but never actually on purpose. Besides, it probably isn’t the most Jedi-approved of plans, and Graves is nominally meant to be a responsible adult.
“What, me?” Credence asks, blinking in shock. “You’re talking about slavery!”
Yyyeeeaahhh, that’s the other reason of course that Graves shouldn’t be planning to sell his padawan, even in pretence. He winces at his own insensitivity; slavery in the republic is an outdated concept found in stories and history, but that’s far from true on the outer rim. Making light of something thousands of people suffer through every day is... not Graves’ proudest moment.
“Jedi don’t deal with slavers,” he says out loud, sharper than he means to. “Credence, let’s go.”
They sweep out of the shop in a swirl of brown cloaks (heavy, hot, designed for the chill of space rather than the oppressive heat of a desert planet and if Graves never has to come back to this hellhole again he’ll be delighted).
“Slavers?” Credence repeats, jogging to keep up. He sounds bewildered, and though a large part of Graves wants to protect that innocence, he knows it’s better that Credence understands. “The Republic doesn’t allow -”
“We’re outside the reach of the Republic,” Graves interrupts gently. “Slavery is abhorrent, but it’s still a fact of life for many people in the galaxy.” He pauses, debating with himself whether to point Credence at Chastity or not. She’s a Twi’lek, and he knows that her life hasn’t been wholly untouched by slavery, but she’s also close-mouthed about her past. Not his secrets to tell, he decides.
“But we’re Jedi,” Credence says, horrified. “Can’t we do something?”
“You’re Jedi?” someone blurts, and Graves whirls round with a hand dropping to his lightsaber. He steps back immediately, arms up in a calming gesture as the man that spoke flinches back. “Sorry!” the man says. “Sorry, sorry, I just - you’re really Jedi?”
He’s human, or looks it, several years older than Credence. His curly hair is bleached red-blond by the sun and his tanned skin is covered in freckles, across his face and down to the shoulders his loosely gathered tunic does very little to cover. By the scars that also mar his shoulders and paint down his forearms, he’s almost certainly a slave.
Oh no, Graves thinks, not daring to look back at Credence. He can feel down the padawan bond as Credence’s horror morphs into a resolute righteousness.
“We’re Jedi,” Credence agrees, stepping forward with a winning smile. Why. Credence, why. Graves had literally just decided to avoid daring slave-rescue shenanigans. “I’m Credence, and my master is Graves.”
“Master?” the slave asks, gaze flicking nervously to Graves.
“Not that kind of master!” Credence hurries to clarify. “Sorry, it’s, um, it’s a translation error. I guess he’d be more... my teacher?”
“Oh,” the slave says, nodding at Graves with a new respect. Graves nods back and tries hard to look serene and Jedi-like. Then the slave smiles. Oh no, Graves thinks again, and tries harder with his serenity. “My name is Newt,” the slave says. “You need engine parts, right?”
Credence agrees enthusiastically, and Graves resigns himself. He’s a Jedi, he reminds himself. Even if it’s only one slave, he can still do something. He and Credence have done crazier things, and they might even get Chastity’s approval for this one.
Newt grabs his hand to tug him down the street and the force around him all but purrs in happiness.
Oh no, Graves thinks for the third time with a sudden, swooping realisation. He’s not prophetic, but he’d have to be a literal swamp fungus not to pick up on the vision the force is gleefully shoving at him. He waves his Jedi code at it in a pathetic attempt at defence, but the force changes the angle of the vision and fast forwards a few minutes.
Graves trips over his cloak.
Fuckdamnit, the force is a voyeur. Is nothing private. Graves is never going to jack off again.
“You alright, teacher?” Newt asks staring back with wide eyes and Graves forcefully ejects all force visions from his consciousness. He’s screwed. So very screwed.
Yes, the force preens, and Graves flushes scarlet.
“I’m fine,” he croaks.
Very quietly, where only Newt can hear, the force whispers, yes.
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edh-a-to-z · 6 years
Text
Dominaria - Black
From Blue to Black, let’s see what the Cabal has for it’s loyal followers!
My Top 3 picks:
Cast Down
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Grade: A-
Home: Any Black Deck
Range: Very Wide
Like Doom Blade and Go for the Throat before it, Cast Down joins the hallowed ranks of 1B conditional (but not really) instant removal spells.
Grab 7 of these. 
Phyrexian Scriptures
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Ugh, someone got blood all over my alter. It’ll never wash out.
Grade: B+
Home: GY Hate, Artifact Decks
Range: Wide
We’ve got it all - Artifact conversion (haven’t seen that since Ashnod’s Transmorgant), Board Wipe, and GY hate, in three easy turns. One of the most interesting mythics we’ve seen thus far. Even with the weakness of Saga’s - people seeing them coming - most players welcome a board wipe every now and then, so unless this gets taken out the round it comes down, BOOM, new board.
And we’ve got a lovely Phi symbol sneaking in the background. Wonder how that infected artifact plane is doing...
Yawgmoth’s Vile Offering
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Grade: B
Home: GY Decks, Any Black deck
Range: Wide
Unfortunately, due to the order of effects, you can’t kill something and steal it, but that’s hardly something to worry about. The Legendary hoop of these Sorceries is more worrying to me.
Killing something is worth 2 mana at Sorc Speed in black, and Resurrection without downsides is probably worth 3-4 mana. Entwining the effects is probably worth another 1 mana, so this is a pretty fair card given it needs a Legendary and Exiles itself. Any deck can use it well, but Entomb decks use it more reliably, and I love reliability over anything else.
Blessing of Belzenlok
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Grade: F
Home: N/A
Range: N/A
I miss Unholy Strength now. Combat trick version is just bad.
Cabal Evangel
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Grade: D-
Home: Cleric Tribal
Range: Very Narrow
Bog-standard Limited filler.
Sweet flavor, for those followers of Belzenlok reading this.
Cabal Paladin
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Grade: C
Home: Artifact Combo
Range: Very Narrow
Can combo infinite to take out Hexproofed opponents. Mirran Spy, Banishing Knack/Retraction Helix, cheerio artifact. But there’s other options out there that are easier, or more brutal. 
Caligo Skin-Witch
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Grade: D-
Home: Discard
Range: Very Narrow
2 mana for garbage, or 6 mana for “everyone else discard 2.” Solid potential in discard, but I think Dark Deal and Unnerve do a better job, as the body is lame.
Chainer’s Torment
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Grade: C-
Home: LG Deck
Range: Narrow
Mild damage.
Mild damage.
Giant monster.
Do it for the meme.
Dark Bargain
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Dormammu. I come to bargain.
Grade: C
Home: Any black deck, GY deck
Range: Wide
Few black Instants involve drawing, and they’re usually like Altar’s Reap. This card lets you choose the best two out of three, for double the mana. Instead of a sac, you take 2 damage, but who cares!
Landing something in the GY can work to your benefit, drawing 2 is nice. It’s like a cousin of Ambition’s Cost at instant.
Deathbloom Thallid
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Grade: D-
Home: Fungus/Saproling Tribal, 
Range: Narrow
Body’s skinny for a 3 drop, feels like a Penumbra creature balanced for today. A three drop should probably be more than just slightly underpowered and sticky.
Demonic Vigor
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Grade: C-
Home: Death Triggers?
Range: Narrow
Nice little cheap recursion, a passable usable Aura. Nice commander tax dodge, if that’s a problem.
Divest
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Grade: F+
Home: Discard?
Range: Very Narrow
Another cousin of Duress. I’ve always had a fondness for B Sorcery discard spells, they’ve always had a flavorful effect of “mind ripping” that Black Mages seem fond of.
That said, this is garbage, even in the worst Creature/Artifact meta. 
Dread Shade
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Grade: D
Home: MonoBlack Swamp Ramp
Range: Very Narrow
A shade?
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I actually like Shades, but they never do well in EDH. Play one on Turn X, pump it with X+1 mana next turn, and wham, tons of damage. Suffers like most of the CCC cycle (like the damn Blue Djinn) with the EDH scaling problem.
Drudge Sentinels
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Grade: F
Home: N/A
Range: N/A
Ah, Drudge Skeletons, this is what has become of you.
Brutally overcosted in CMC and ability cost. A sorry successor to an Iconic card of Magic’s history.
Eviscerate
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Grade: F
Home: N/A
Range: N/A
Never thought I’d miss Murder. Limited and Standard has been controlling the removal introduced to the game - reasonable, given the game has been going on 25 years of slow power creep.
Unfortunately, it’s useless for our purposes.
Feral Abomination
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Grade: D+
Home: Any Black Deck
Range: Very Wide
Fatties above 4 power don’t really need deathtouch - they should be able to kill things with raw size. With that said, I’m not complaining. This guy is big enough to stomp any small stuff, as well as remain a threat to a 30/30 creature.
But at the same CMC, look instead to Grave Titan, Harvester of Souls, Soul of Innistrad, Sidisi Undead Vizier or Hythonia the Cruel, all around better choices.
Final Parting
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Buckle up kids, we’re going on a feels trip.
Grade: C
Home: Any Black Deck, GY decks
Range: Wide
Entomb stitched to Diabolic Tutor could only have a home in EDH. Solid workhorse of a card, if not a spectacular. 
Fungal Infection
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Grade: F+
Home: Saproling Tribal
Range: Very Narrow
Saproling Tribal’s equivalent of Darkblast. Feels like something out of Lorwyn block.
Knight of Malice
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♪ Fighting hard, fighting on for the steel / Through the wastelands evermore ♪
Grade: D
Home: Knight Tribal, Anti White
Range: Narrow
Black Knight rides again.
Hexproof is the new Protection, making it way easier to understand. Ironically, the two knights can now trade instead of being unable to fight each other. Ah, time marches on.
Lich’s Mastery
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Grade: B
Home: Horcrux.dec, Pillowfort Deck, Combo Deck, Token Deck, LG deck
Range: Average
Good luck killing me now Harry, I have another Horcrux!
I just wanna make a trolling deck that’s impossible to kill, just more and more Lich spells.
A good option to keep yourself alive for another turn or two, especially if you have a GY or tokens to feed it. 
LG makes good use of going from this into combo, but there’s a non-zero chance of drawing yourself out with Beacon and the like, so count your cards.
Lingering Phantom
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Grade: D
Home: Historic. Recursion
Range: Narrow
While self recurring spells are nice, this offers a poorly priced body, with cheap recursion. Much like Deathless Ancient of recent Ixalan block, it depends on the deck. Might have nominal usage in decks that need something to discard constantly.
Repeatable discard or playable creature is interesting, but not that powerful. I think I’ll stick with Reassembling Skeleton or Sanitarium Skeleton for my self-recurring needs, as they have less activation hoops to jump through.
Rat Colony
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Grade: C+
Home: Rat Tribal, Whatever Relentless does
Range: Narrow
Relentless Rats, except top heavy and cheap!
Get 20 of them if they end up cheaper than Relentless (which is still <$2).
For everyone else, grab a Tsavo’s Decree or Kindred Dominance to do something about all these darn rats.
Rite of Belzenlok
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Grade: D+
Home: Demon Tribal, Sac Effects
Range: Very Narrow
Make your own Lord of the Pit. Nice to have Clerics for saccing to anything you need, and while a 6/6 Flying Trampler is nice, 6 damage to the face isn’t nearly as bad here as it is in any other format.
The real problem is how bloody slow it is, and the possibility that a turn 6 demon isn’t big enough to be worth it.
Settle the Score
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Grade: C-
Home: Black Superfriends (Atraxa?)
Range: Very Narrow
Unexpected PW synergy from Black.
And it’s like a hundred time better than Impale at the same cost. Everyone can use exile removal, sorc sucks but is workable.
Soul Savage
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Grade: D-
Home: Any Black Deck
Range: Very Wide
Kinda feels like Death’s Duet.
I’d recommend Death Denied instead, it’s instant, and can scale like crazy. I think it works in most EDH decks instead.
Stronghold Confessor
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Confessor? That’s what they’re called now?
Grade: D-
Home: Any Black Deck, Piracy
Range: Wide
Meh as a 1 drop, meh as a 4 drop.
Menace and counters don’t make it that useful.
Thallid Omnivore
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Grade: D-
Home: Tokens, Sac Deck
Range: Average
Man, fungi love killing their buddies.
It does a Blood Bairn impression, assuming you’re willing to pay. Still, paying for sacrifices that only have temporary benefits? Meh.
Thallid Soothsayer
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Grade: D
Home: Sac Decks, Token Decks
Range: Average
WOOHOO a Thallid!
For all 80 of you playing Fungi tribal, it’s an alternate for Carnage Altar.
The Eldest Reborn
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Grade: B-
Home: Black Goodstuff, Discard decks, Res/steal decks
Range: Average
Pact. Discard. Steal
Fun saga. CMC’s a pain, but immediate removal helps, and it scales well to EDH.
Vicious Offering
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Grade: B-
Home: Sac Decks
Range: Wide
A nice removal with an option. Simple card that’ll probably be in a sac-oriented Commander deck one day.
Windgrace Acolyte
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Grade: F
Home: N/A
Range: N/A
Holy hannah, a mono black good guy? That fights the Cabal! Wow!
Filling your yard is better than milling, nominal lifegain is okay, and the body is pathetic. Filler.
See ya soon campers!
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Found an image for Monoblack campfire! It’s all the rage in Demon Vogue!
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mushrooms-en-blog · 7 years
Photo
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Mitrula paludosa
The swamp beacon (US) or bog beacon (UK) is the club-shaped fruiting body of the Mitrula paludosa fungus (which was known as Mitrula phalloides). More details Android, Windows
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