Daylight's End

The Solari shield-maiden pauses at the entrance to the cave. The sun is starting to go down and the evening chill is approaching. The cave is colder still. Should she light a fire and make camp for the night?

Her orders are clear. "Find the heretic. Protect the faith." She enters the cave. Its darkness soon envelops her, and she calls upon the sun for a little light. Her shield begins to glow. She sees that the cold walls are painted with crescents and blasphemies. She goes deeper.

Further in, she begins to hear a high, clear voice, chanting in worship:

The Song of Oryx

When I saw Oryx I was overcome with many thoughts
    I fled to a very High place
    Which was very Deep

And I said:

Aurash, Auryx, Oryx!

PROJECT: Lucian

This was an entry into a fan-fic micro-competition for League of Legends. I just figured I'd cross-post it here because I'll never save the Boards permalink like I can this post. If you'd like more information, I'd recommend reading Lucian's background and watching the PROJECT: Overdrive video. (Lucian is a character in the game, while PROJECT is a line of skins for several of the characters.)

—

They know their foe—Battlecorp's latest monster, codename WARDEN. It doesn't seem a great threat; in fact, it looks mostly harmless. In truth it is a shell housing an anti-cybersecurity and hacking AI, armed only with ad-hoc trans-physical jacking ports and a datapad. It has hit other PROJECT installations, but agents had severed communications before it could infiltrate the main system. Now it comes for the system directly.

The Bannered Mare

Image screencapped from zemalf, possibly the only other person to ever enjoy this view.

Faraway traveller, song-regaled battler,
Bards that are skilled in both rhythm and rhyme:
Though other lands wait and their castles be great,
There’s still an establishment begs your time.
Rest for the weary and wine for the dreary,
And song for those without a care—
A coin and a road are the requisite load
To enter the halls of the Bannered Mare.

Why I love Skyrim

A friend... wrote:

Perhaps someday, when you have time or inclination, you could explain why Skyrim fascinates you so? I play Minecraft on occasion and some people love to build Skyrim themed houses, all of which are beautiful. That's about the extent of my exposure.

Well, friend-o, glad you asked. Not only have you given me my evening's topic, but you've also given me an excuse to talk about why I love the things I do.

A Winter's Tale

Aldmer lay in a circle of snow,
Terrible wounds had laid him low;
Then Primera came to earth,
Bringing with her all her mirth.
“Beautiful one, as bright as the sun,
Surely you can heal me true.”
“No, my child, your wounds are wild,
And I must begone ere day has dawned.”

The Dragons

Jarl Ulfric, called the Storm-Cloak, rode a wain to Helgen-Town;
He wore no crown, he wore no helm, he held no scepter high,
But bound and gagged instead, prepared to meet his mortal end
And Sovngarde awaits the one that bravely went in life.
He came there as a dragon who had slain his brother liege,
He came there with a dragon, and a dragon saved his life.
It came upon his captors and confusion set him free;
The other dragon fled, for it had also faced its fate.
The Saviour-Dragon Ulfric saw no more; the other now
Was filled with awful purpose to protect his native land,
But Ulfric-Dragon rent in two the people they would save.
As man fought man, and brethren all, the Dragon-Born could see
What they could not, and put himself in bonds to other men
And prayed that Talos granted strength to see them to their prize.
His aim was true, his purpose strong, his strength the city breached
Of Windhelm, and the stronghold where the mighty Ulfric lay.
The Dragon-Born and those that leashed him faced the stormy Jarl;
The captors could not stand the gale and blew away as chaff
But Dragon-Born and Dragon-Storm at long last locked their eyes
And clashed, and Voice and Steel and Scale resounded in the gloom
Until the freer Dragon could no longer best the bound.
The masters rushed upon him, gave him chance ere facing fate
To give one word to any that should wish to know his mind
And he asked them then if brother’s end might come at brother’s hand:
’Twould be less hard to take, and ‘twould the bett’r incite the bards.
Then Brother-Dragon’s world at once embarked in sudden halt—
The Brother-Slayer’s death would bring him nigh upon his foe,
But brother slaying brother was a bitter pill to take
For the healing of the wounds that brother unto brother gave.
He thought and prayed and pondered, till the one that leashed him asked
If he would do it after all, or if he would relent
So that the leash must take the head—but taking sword in hand
The Dragon-Born the Dragon-Storm, his brother, ended then.
The Dragon-Born the Elder-Dragon swiftly did defeat,
His people saving sure from double danger in their midst;
A hero he was lauded, but he ne’er the man forgot,
The double brother, dead untimely at his brother’s hand.