#xivu-arath

[flowers-of-io]

candles for any of the hive <3

“It was in the year that my Mother the Black Needle struck Elulium of the Eimin-Tin with a thought-lightning,” Balwûr began.

Crota opposed instantly, gesturing so ardently he almost slapped Nokris in the face, “No, it was the year that my Father the King of Shapes devoured two-thirds of the Eimin-Tin armada and rent them down to chitin that he then plastered onto his flagship as trophy!”

“No,” Scoroboth said, “it was the year that my Mother War Herself claimed the Umber Sun for herself, and devised a bomb capable of destroying three neighbouring systems in its explosion.”

Incaru was too young to remeber that, so from her spot pressed between him and her sister she only stared at him with curious eyes. Scoroboth’s arm was curled around her protectively. He had no siblings, and Incaru was currently the family's baby; he had latched onto her from the moment she was born, and sometimes Nokris wondered if it wouldn't be easier for everyone to just let Xivu Arath smuggle the kid to her own brood.

Balwûr scowled at the interruptors, “Can I continue?”

Nokris leaned further against the wall pressing at his back. They—Balwûr and Scoroboth, Malok and Incaru, Anûk and Halak and Crota, and him—were all clumped together in one of the back rooms of the High War, crowding around a hearth, the trembling flame casting shadows that danced around the chamber. Balwûr’s face was lit orange as she went on with her story.

“Then: in the year of the extinction of the Eimin-Tin, a silkweaver in service of the High Coven was sent to one of Xivu Arath’s war moons as part of a sisterly bargain...”

Nokris felt his attention drift off like a leaf caught on a lazy river current. He knew the tale of how the Scalpel of Savathûn was forged well enough he could recite it backwards from memory, but there was still something comforting in half-listening to a familiar story told by a familiar voice. From beyond the doorway, he could pick up faint chatter and laughter coming from around other hearths. Fireglow played on the faces of his siblings and cousins, deepening the shadows and bringing out the glimmer of their eyes.

Crota yawned and rested his head against his brother’s shoulder. Small horns had already begun to form over each of his earholes, and one of them was now digging into the base of Nokris’ neck, making him want to sneeze. He shuffled to get more comfortable. Balwûr’s voice was a pleasant hum filling his mind like cotton, words slurring together—and it was not even halfway into the story that his eyes flickered and dimmed, and Nokris drifted off.

A/N: If, unlike Nokris, you actually *are* interested in hearing Balwûr’s story, read on…

This is the story of how the Scalpel of Savathûn, the Archentrope, the Missing Piece of All Puzzles, was forged:

In the year of the extinction of the Eimin-Tin, when ORYX THE KING devoured two-thirds of their armada and rent them down to chitin for his ships, when SAVATHÛN struck Elulium with a thought-lightning and XIVU ARATH claimed the Umber Sun and devised a bomb capable of destroying three neighbouring systems in its explosion, a silkweaver in service to the High Coven was sent to one of Xivu Arath’s war moons as part of a sisterly bargain. She was a young thing, her talent not yet honed by age—but Savathûn valued her craftsmanship, for the silks that would come from under her claws were unlike any other. Her hands had been mutilated from birth, right bearing only two fingers and left bearing four, and though she had been told she would have never become a craftswoman, she went on to ignore that prophecy profoundly. Her weave was unique due to the gift of her asymmetry, and her threads firm with the strength of her will.

She lived and worked within the war moon, in a workshop at the end of a dead-end tunnel. Word about her craft spread quickly throughout the brood: gossip claiming that she could weave silence into a fabric, that the patterns she made would blink and move, that her thoughts themselves were threads she spun not with her hands but will alone. She did not care much for these rumours, as long as they kept those who could seek to challenge her away for her to do her work in peace. But not all were so easily discouraged. A silversmith who lived in the war moon as a representative of her guild overhead the stories, and set off to check just how big the seed of truth in them was.

Who she found was a woman of patience and persistence, clever and focused on the delicacy of her craft. Not once did a fine thread snap under her claws, not once was a cord braided too tightly or fraying ends messed in a tangle. She wove slowly, but diligently, and the few words she spoke were all pointed and purposeful. The silversmith fell in love with her instantly.

Their courtship was swift, and their time together was spent gladly. One night, overcome with fondness for her beloved, the silversmith spent hours in the workshop working on a fitting gift she might present to her, something brilliant and never before created, everlasting like the Shape. What she forged was a scalpel — long and silver and infinitely precise, feather-light and as sharp as the edge between realms. No thread it would cut ever frayed. She gave it to the silkweaver, so that in her work she would always have her love’s aid.

When the time came to return the lease and Savathûn demanded her favourite craftswoman back, the silkweaver trembled. She knew of the ebb and flow of the Sea of Screams, of errant currents which carried the royal courts close together and drifting apart with no reason but the fickle whims of gods. She knew that if she left the war moon, she might never see her beloved again. Thus she went to plead with Xivu Arath.

“Please keep me,” she begged. “My time in your Court has honed my skill; I will make for you a tabard softer than the King’s silk robe. I will weave wavelengths of sound into the fabric for your banners so that they scream and scream forever. I will braid the light of the Umber Sun into luminescent threads to drag behind your throne as a proof of your dominance. Please keep me.”

“It’s not enough,” Xivu Arath said. “Your return was to be a token my of love to my sister. If you want me to keep you, I demand you give me your love in return.”

It was a cruel offer. But the silkweaver was a cunning bastard — she had, after all, been raised at the feet of Savathûn’s throne — and so she pulled out the silver scalpel and presented it in stretched-out hands.

“This blade had been forged in worship,” she said, “to be the perfect extension of its maker, sharp with her sharpness and beautiful with her beauty, so that she would always be with me whenever I held it. Thus I was never without my love. I offer it now to you.”

Xivu Arath was impressed by the silkweaver’s boldness and wit, and accepted. From that day on the two craftswomen lived in the war god’s brood, never again separate, reshaping the universe under their claws into beauty and terror.

When Savathûn came, at last, to Xivu Arath to question about her end of the bargain, the war that ensued cost each brood two dozen warships and one common war moon acquired from the Qugu system. As they scuffled for the final victory, Xivu Arath pierced Savathûn’s carapace with the silver scalpel, and its infinitely sharp edge sunk deep into the godly flesh, puncturing the heart. Thus Savathûn received her sister’s gift, and the war was concluded.

(Read both on Ao3 here and here.)

#two fics in the price of one! #thank you storm <33 #my fics #reply #xivu-arath #keeping up with the osmium dynasty #hive #balwûr #dûl incaru #eater of hope #eater of what’s left #scoroboth #little war sister #aunt savathûn #the silkweaver #the silversmith #destiny 2

[warlordfelwinter]

for rain! ▼ (greatest fear) ☾ (the night) ♒ (how to die)

horrific headcanons

▼ What is their greatest fear?

losing control of himself in general and more specifically hurting someone he cares about. after losing the urge it transitions more to a fear of not actually being free of bhaal, like he's just waiting for the urge to come back. i think it's probably quite a while of always waiting for the other shoe to drop before he starts to actually believe he's free.

☾ What is their favorite and least favorite thing about the night?

his opinion on the night is something that has flipped so drastically after his lobotomy. he used to love it. he was practically nocturnal back in the good old days. he was at home in the shadows, a perfect assassin, and he loved being alone in the quiet. he sometimes liked to pretend that it was so quiet because everyone in the world but him was dead. post lobotomy, he still finds some peace in the dark and quiet, but he has so many nightmares and the one time he woke up to find he'd killed someone was enough to make him afraid to go to sleep most nights. and before he started sharing a bed with gale he found the dark very lonely. he'd learned what it felt like to have friends and he didn't like not being able to see or hear them. his mind would still pretend they'd all died, except now he was scared of that. he got into a habit of going to bed before everyone else just so he could hear their voices talking by the fire while he fell asleep. he's very clingy at night as well, he likes to be able to feel/hear gale's heartbeat just to reassure himself he's not the only one left alive. he's always loved the stars though, and that hasn't changed.

♒ If they could choose how to die, how would they want to go?

peacefully in his sleep of old age or something. he has already nearly died in so many painful ways in combat and fully died once by having all his blood pulled out of his body in agonizing fashion, so if he gets to choose how he finally dies for good, he wants it to be painless and peaceful.

#that nighttime one got away from me #anyway waterdeep better not have light pollution or rain is going to be so sad #replies #xivu-arath #ask games #the horrific hc one #oc: rain

[vergess]

vees what was the first most alarming bird

A non-domestic turkey

Even punching a bald eagle that broke into my house less stressful.

Those bitches were hunting me down in a pack.

While, geese and swans are... willing to concede to my displays of avian dominance (being larger and punching) turkeys do not care.

They know I am an outsider, perhaps they even know I am a Bird Eater, and they react accordingly.

#Asks #Answered asks #xivu-arath #life of vees #They had taken over a golf course at the time which I would happily have let them have #BUT THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN ARMISTICE

[nerice]

between the Extremely Cool Monsters and the various unhinged relationships between women who are also monsters I am so surprised you have not gotten into claymore yet tbh

i started the anime wayyyy back in the day then heard it kind of butchers the manga/not the whole experience, put it on hold, never got back around to it in any capacity.............. :')

#i love unhinged women who dismember each other i NEED to get into it. bildungslücke as the germans say #i feel like just reading the manga will be a solid experience but sometimes funky old adaptations are a class of their own so ! hm #please enlighten me should i just read the manga? should i watch the anime as primer n then jump over?? i suck at making up my mind #askbox #xivu-arath

[planet4546b]

oc emoji ask meme: collision, pancake, moon for june!

💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with?

june is very much the ‘bottle every emotion up and leave it for later’ type, so she has trouble dealing with most emotions, but especiaaaaally failure. she loves to blame herself for every perceived failure and she just lets herself spiral about it, it’s not pretty!!

🥞 PANCAKE - what is their comfort breakfast?

some sort of egg sandwich + black coffee from like a tiny breakfast place down in the city!! i think the part of it that’s comforting is also the act of deliberately going to get breakfast, walking around the city in the early morning, letting herself be part of the crowd etc…

🌙 MOON - what is your oc's greatest wish? how far are they willing to go for it?

she very very very badly wants to get Out of the sol system. during a particularly bad moment (after season of dawn), she called in a favor to drifter and asked if he could source her a ship with trans-solar warp so that if things ever got particularly bad she could actually just get out, and he agreed, so she does allegedly have a way to get this wish, but the weight of her responsibility keeps her in place for now, and it would take kind of a lot for her to get out from under that (she especially doesn’t want to dissapoint her ghost, cal). but she’s fast approaching that breaking point.

thank you!!! this was a very fun combo

#asks #xivu-arath #guardian #the sorta rule in my head is that she won’t leave unless either the war against darkness ends entirely (unlikely) or cal straight up dies #which is very upsetting. also while i was answering this drops of jupiter started playing on the radio #which is my favorite cheesy ‘june makes it out’ song. waugh

[airlock]

female character ask game: 1, 5, 6, 7!

(pertinent to this ask meme)

while I did just answer a 6 and a 7, there's always more female characters to talk about, I suppose! ... ever so unfortunately when it comes to 6!

#1 - One of your favourite female characters?

look at she on my pfp! (for the uninitiated, that's Delthea from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

she's the cutest thing, and the funniest, and the most powerful, and but so many superlatives

#5 - A female villain you love?

there's usually not much good to be said about Mortal Kombat when it comes to female characters, or Mortal Kombat 11 in general, but one of the high points of that game was Kronika. as powerful and vicious and cool as any of 'em, while also sporting a strong, defined personality that also distinguishes her from the series's standard-faire conquerors and traitors -- no notes, really. ... well, besides that she's a symptom of the greater problem that it was dumb as hell to start doing Timeline Fuckery again just three titles into the new timeline

#6 - A female character who got done dirty by the narrative?

it's still wild to me how little it took for Lusamine from Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon to be transformed, from her original incarnation as a thorougly compelling villain, into the most incomprehensibly incoherent mess of a story that gets Ganon Hijacked by... necrozma?

like hell, they kept in the shocking reveal that she has a basement full of cryopreserved critters AND they made that location the part where the original dialogue abruptly branches away into being about "no mother stop sacrificing yourself to fight space beafts we all love you here". whose bright idea was that??

#7 - A female character the narrative wound up being much better to than you’d thought it would be?

low bar it is, but it still heartens me how Kaguya-Sama: Love is War in general manages to discuss sexuality a whole lot while seldom veering into schoolgirl fanservice territory. and this, considering it's seinen, too! everyone else's excuses run thinner yet by the day.

#ask meme answers #xivu-arath #Oshi no Ko is doing better still on that front but it's also less about sexuality

[soothinghymn]

!! !!

<3 thanks homie

This is Rehma Noyhiri (she/they), my warrior of light in FFXIV. My OC blorbo of choice for over a year now. A reserved, confident, powerful bunny lady who is quick to feel affection but quiet and understated in showing it. Has one of the Top Ten Most Complicated Romance Dynamics of all time with Emet-Selch, my canon blorbo of choice for over a year now, but has a few other LIs among the canon cast of the game as well.

(art by lokorum)

This is Luca (he/him), my most recent PC for a Vampire: The Masqurade tabletop game that takes place in San Francisco. Luca is a vampire belonging to the Hecata, the Clan of Death, who guard the Shroud and practice necromancy. His mortal life put him in constant close contact with violence and death, which led to his selection to receive the Embrace. He and his Hecata "family" unit (of which he is the youngest) run a flower shop in Colma, and there are a few unsettling (understatement) things hidden away in the extensive basement beneath the shop. Frequently has prophetic visions involving flower symbolism.

#asks #xivu-arath #oc: rehma noyhiri #oc: luca

[lordzenos]

12!

ty!! :)

#xivu-arath #ask meme #spotify wrapped

[autism-crime]

Me when tragic siblings:

#I’m feeling things don’t judge me #mara sov #uldren sov #crow destiny #obi wan and anakin #star wars prequels #ahsoka tano #anakin and ahsoka #there’s probably more #but I can’t think of them rn #Oh god the fucking hive trio too #savathûn #oryx the taken king #xivu arath #vash the stampede #millions knives #trigun #hayakawa trio #zuko #Azula #atla #i fucking miss my brother #he’s an asshole #but he’s still my brother

[fetabathwater]

happy continued rotation around the sun, el!!

thank you storm!!!!! ☀️☀️☀️

#xivu-arath #replies

[sabbathism]

the Verticality of Devotion

my piece for the @finalityzine ! so proud to have been a part of this and to be featured alongside so many powerhouses of art

#destiny 2 #destiny the game #destiny art #the witness #rhulk #rhulk destiny #calus #emperor calus #xivu arath #savathun #oryx #oryx the taken king #nezarec #eramis #bungie #my art

[flowers-of-io]

wip asks: my family's role in the world revolution and when do ghosts have nightmares!

Remember that post you made a long time ago about the typo of "table of ruin" being where the Osmium family dinners take place? My Family's Role is pretty much that,

when do ghosts have nightmares is Toland being taunted by the Nightmares of his fireteam back in Shadowkeep times (:

#because you know there's that patrol dialogue where he says he always respected them and still does (: #ty! #reply #xivu-arath #wip

[warlordfelwinter]

1 and 9 for fiver!

[oc asks]

1. How did you choose their name?

i believe i gave him his forest name first and then the city/nickname of Fiver came later when i realized that viera often had two names. his forest name Atli Rehw-dvre i chose because viera first names are sort of Icelandic in nature, so Atli i got from fantasynamegenerator's Icelandic name generator. i just liked the way it sounded. his surname started as Dei-Ijla which i chose randomly from the list of Rava surnames, but eventually they released lore about male specific naming conventions (because male viera were only added with endwalker, so their lore wasn't out when i started playing) and i used a fantasia to change his name when i learned the male names and meanings. they're given a surname based on their affinity with its meaning and have a sort of supersition about all 12 names needing to be used within the wood-warder ranks at the same time to ensure the forest's safety, based on balancing the 6 celestial elements with the 6 worldly elements. Rehw-dvre is associated with the worldly realm and the element of lightning. worldly lightning means arrow, so i chose that one since he's a bard. i like to pretend he earned that name fairly young, maybe the last Rehw-dvre got killed and they needed a new one and Atli was an archery prodigy. Fiver, on the other hand, is his city name, which is something a lot of viera who leave their forest take as a way to part themselves from their culture, since leaving the forest is exile. i chose Fiver because the viera are rabbit people and Fiver is my favorite character from Watership Down, a book about rabbits. i later decided that Fiver chose this name because it was a childhood nickname given to him by his sisters, as he was the youngest of five children. he didn't even think of coming up with a city name when he left until someone asked him his name and he panicked and Fiver was the first thing that came to mind.

9. If your character could have handed their role in the plot to someone else, would they have?

you know... he would probably say he would, but in reality he has too much of a sense of duty and knows he's the only one that could play his role. and despite all the terrible traumatic things that have happened to him, there has also been so much joy and growth that he wouldn't hand any of it off.

#ask games #the oc askbox one #replies #xivu-arath #ty! #oc: fiver

[vergess]

🐭 due to how knowledgeable you are, even tho we rped together and wrote fic for each other. I am just Big Admirer Forever

I do think it's very funny that apparently I still sound like a snotty know it all even in my advanced age (30s). Truly, some character traits are unchanging lol.

But, that's fair! I am also often beset with anxiety and confusion over your mastery of unfamiliar subjects, so I guess I sympathize!!

[Animal emoji ask meme]

#asks #ask answers #xivu-arath

[nerice]

idk if this was a particular meme but songs for kizuna pls

it was a [tag three songs for your oc] rb that i turned into an ask game bc i have too many oc haha. kizuna songs are very rare tbh bc a/s is chronically underfunded as a story corner but i can pull together 3 i think!!

15 min flame by poets of the fall

the old queen murder anthem!!!!! a soft prelude,

golden days in the golden court that head towards the inevitable with sol's resolution to upset the balance of the entire world with her death & using kizuna to do it for her :^) wormed lined of all all timed

kizuna the pawn, the tool, the fool, the queenslayer, the mad reaper who cannot remember what set her on this path but she is seeing it through to the end <////3

faceless by red

madness arc !! playing off of the end of oqm territory >>

all kizuna was all she could have been folded and turned inside out she keeps retracing her steps trying to find sol, save sol, kill the imposter queens and consume them but all it does is fracture her personality further, a million faces and none of them her own until she finds herself wearing sol's face & she has utterly lost track of reality........

save me by a life divided

not 100% a kzn song but very specifically the soundtrack for the [end of academy] conclusion to the oqm saga. also a song i was thinking of a lot when i read machineries of empire which also had large a/s aesthetics so the two got wrapped together in my brain w

& the most specific kizuna lines in this being

a little bit of agency regained... This Is Not The End Of Your Story but it will be the end of Theirs :)!!!

#ignore the fact that i had to go screenshot the lyrics from the fucking booklet bc websites REFUSE to list them correctly argh #bane of my existence!! (pretending like i havent severely misheard some of their lyrics on the tge playlists myself) #a life divided is sponsoring a lot of things in my brain. up there with disturbed FOR SURE #anwy. another big song for her is l'assasymphonie but i vaguely recall plugging it in ur direction before which is why i omitted it fr this #WHEN WILL I WRITE A/S OQM SAGA H #askbox #xivu-arath #oc asks

[planet4546b]

you know shady cicada's music!! please tell me which one inspired wolf au?

yes i love shady cicada!!! homesick is the wolf au song, i watched the video they made about it forever ago and the way they described the synths in the leitmotif being distorted to show a hero-turned-villain’s reluctance to fight has always stuck with me. and it’s just a heartbreaking song!!

#asks #xivu-arath #love to picture a boss battle to a beautiful instrumental track and then make a whole au about it!! #wolfposting