Eye of the Storm

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P Three
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Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:19 am

Let it go...
Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know!
I remember my mother whispering to me, urging control, desperate to fight back the fury that my father's blood carries. "Be a good girl, Storm. You can't let them see you sweat, you can't let them see you angry!" Good Girl. Always, Storm the Good Girl.

Sometimes, Mother...sometimes it's just not that easy. Time and again in this hellish place, I've been abandoned, cast off like...dirty clothing.

When people need me, I'm their family, I'm their friend, their love, their whatever. The moment the need passes..."good riddance".
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!
I didn't exactly anticipate Jenna throwing me over her shoulder, but it's probably for the best. Once I'm calm, I know I'll think that. Or at least, that's what Lily tells me.

Back to square one, then.
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry!


They may have taken everything else. That's one thing I'll never let them have.

I. Warned. You.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Sat Oct 04, 2014 4:27 pm

Let It ROCK!

I see your dirty face
High behind your collar
What is done in vain
Truth is hard to swallow
So you pray to God
To justify the way you live a lie
Live a lie
Live a lie
Fighting is like singing. When you're angry, nothing in all the planes is more soothing, more calming, than smashing through flesh and bone, feeling the sheer power of the physical blow, the burn of your muscles, the screaming pain of wounds reminding you that you...are....ALIVE! For that moment, however long the hunt lasts, you are a creature, a beast of sheer instinct. The chase, the hunt, the kill. Those are all that matter. It's a great restorer of sanity, you know, to have no more pressing need than survival, to only have the cause of breath and run and hit and evade.

It's where I feel most alive, most clear, most myself. It's something no one can ever take from me.
Because when I arrive
I, I'll bring the fire
Make you come alive
I can take you higher
What this is, forgot?
I must now remind you
Let It Rock
Let It Rock
Let It Rock


I spent nearly an hour yesterday, staring into a looking-glass. Trying to see what's there, to understand what I saw.

Pretty smiles, honeyed words. I've always found them to be false. People don't understand why I don't smile at them, why my words are terse and sharp. It's because this is the greatest respect I can show one who I hold worthy of it. To show them that I will not lie, not use smiles to deceive, half-truths to hide.

They don't understand that I still feel pain.

They don't understand that the lies, the manipulations, still hurt me.

Or maybe they do, and don't care? Either way.

When Louis ever-so-gently cast me off, I managed to hold together enough to get away.
Now, I am cast off again, though a bit less gracefully, on my part.
A "loose cannon", my "family" calls me. Good riddance to me. Good riddance, indeed. It appears that this, at least, is mutual.
I have not yet determined what to do about this latest insult. More pressing matters are at hand, and I am glad of it.
I can lose myself in my work, and be surrounded by people. I am...at best...unsure how to feel about this. I am so accustomed to being alone, or being ignored, that their (for the most part) forthright acceptance is strange and discomfiting to me.

Jenna and Vanom, I mostly understand. Even Frey, I generally comprehend. Generally.

Lily...I can't grasp. She worries me, and I don't trust her, and for some reason I think this would sadden her. But the smiles, and the easy acceptance...I've been burned before. More the fool, I.

Back to the hunt. There, all is clear, and all is right with the world.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Mon Oct 06, 2014 6:05 pm

The Dark Waltz
We are the lucky ones
We shine like a thousand suns
When all of the colour runs together

I'll keep you company
In one glorious harmony
Waltzing with destiny forever
His skin is so pale in the moonlight, sometimes I wonder if he's still alive. I check, and he doesn't know, as he's deep in reverie, to make sure he's breathing, he hasn't left me too.

That is one loss I am unsure I could bear.
Dance me into the night
Underneath the moon shining so bright

Let the dark waltz begin
Oh let me wheel, let me spin
Let it take me again
Turning me into the light
I have heard love described so often in these fluffy, fruffy terms, none of which have any bearing on my life. Mother said it was like a fire in your blood, when it was right. With Taelar, and Father, I'm sure that's what it was.
For me, there's no explosions, no fireworks. There is just me, and him, in the dark of night, watching the moon rise, recovering from my battles with the help of the powers Corellon grants him.
Security. Safety. I can show him my throat, and he doesn't rip it out. I can be wounded, and come to him, and there is no laughter. He doesn't need to prove he can hurt whatever hurt me. I find it...comforting. -I- am the important thing. Not his ego. I take some small, gloating comfort in that. Me. It's about -me-.

It's about damn time something was about me.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Sat Nov 08, 2014 7:53 pm

I was home again.

Many elves may not understand living among drow. I know I'm a rarity. But when I was little and I fell, and hurt myself, it was Im'kiira who stood me up and dusted me off, with a smile gentle as a summer's day, hugged me and told me I would be fine, or gave me a little healing from the Maiden as I tore back off with Deli'an and Liress to play tag. It was Niss'assa who tucked me in at night, at my mother's side, his eyes glowing red as he searched the room for any "monsters" who might be hiding.

It was Yudann and Jol'anna who held me up when my sister died, leaving her daughter alone and wondering. When I raged and screamed at the Gods who cared so little and took so much from me. It was Yudann, himself really not much older than me, despite the centuries between us, who told me...Told me I couldn't lock myself away, begged me not to even as he saw it happening.

Drow, at least those I know are of the Maiden, have come to mean home to me, comfort and peace.

So yes, I am a rarity. I doubt Eldul'zair even understands, even as close as we are. I know I felt the tension tighten him up as we walked into the Promenade, but he was disarmed of it as soon as we entered Her temple. Light, song, beauty, dance...All of this, for our Maiden. I met with a priestess; even for a drow, she was tiny. Maybe topping four and a half feet. I was honestly more struck by her delicate build and nature than by her words, at first.

She explained that she knew my struggle. She had been loyal of the Maiden as well, for many years, but had failed Her in a time of great personal strife, and had lost her way. But she smiled and it was gentle and calming, and for an instant I wanted to smile like that. She said that Eilistraee always heard, always understood, and most of all, always forgave. She had come from a fallen priestess to one of the priestesses under Quilé Veladorn and Liriel Baenre, and if she could...

If she could...

Well, I guess that means I can too. I can smile like that.

When she had been down, and had been losing her will to fight, she too had come to the Promenade, in search of answers, and now it was her turn to repay the favour she had received, those years ago. I found myself moved, and a little awestruck at the cyclical nature of things.

She was kind to Eldul, and gave him books on the faith to read, to help him understand me more, and took me into the temple. There, we Danced. I had never had someone lead me in an Evensong, and hefting the bastard sword felt odd. But as the music came forth, conjured by faith (or maybe it wasn't real, I'm still not sure), reality took a step aside to the Dance.

In the movements, the exertion, there is nothing but you, the blade, and faith. I could almost hear Her singing, calling...and before I knew what was happening, without my conscious thought, for I had none at that point, I was joining her song.

When you feel that enwrapped in total, unconditional love, a love whose depth our flimsy, fickle hearts can barely begin to brush the surface of, you lose yourself, you lose the essence of who you are, trying to chase that love, to be a part of it.

Hours passed before I finally dropped, exhausted even beyond my own ability. That's saying something.

When I woke, it was the next day, and Eldul'zair was beside himself with worry, with the little priestess chuckling and trying to calm him, like a cat with a fussy kitten. He grabbed me in his arms before I even had a chance to really come to, and all I could do was laugh. I'm pretty sure he thought I was insane for a few moments, before the little priestess could explain. (How she actually knew, I'm still not sure.)

"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Mon Dec 22, 2014 3:08 pm

War…
If I can let the memory heal
I will remember you with me on that field
When I thought that I fought this war alone
You were there by my side on the frontline
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me a reason to try
“Don’t leave.”
I don’t think you knew just what those words meant…why I’d had news for you, why when I had questions or concerns, I came to you. In a time where my “pack” had turned, or vanished, where the one I love had left me grasping at straws for some kind of closure, you were a calming, steady force.
I waited. For so long. Even for my kind, true, it’s just a blink, those four years. But I waited. Always hoping, never stupid enough to actually put any stock in it. In my head it was something…else. It was a retreat from a world gone cold. In the year or so Eldul was about, I forgot. But when he left (they all leave) I was a guard. I was your co-worked, and I’d stayed. For you. Because you said it’d be a shame if I left, and it was something. It was someone wanting me around, having faith in me. I was more than a flaw or a mistake-with-an-axe.

With no-one wearing their real face
It's a whiteout of emotion
And I've only got my brittle bones to break the fall
When the love in letters fade
It's like moving in slow motion
And we're already too late if we arrive at all
And then we're caught up in the arms race
An involuntary addiction
And we're shedding every value our mothers taught
So will you please show me your real face
Draw the line in the horizon
‘Cause I only need your name to call the reasons why I fought

Finally, I told you. As horrible as it felt to be so exposed, so vulnerable, it felt just as good to finally be honest. Heart laid bare, so to speak, and you looked surprised, and you smiled. I realized how much I like your smile. I realized how little you smile, and I became determined to make it happen more. And, like a moron, like I do every time, and it always blows up in my face…
I hoped.
“Yeah, later!” turned to drinks, and drinks ended up in my room, and that ended up….well. It ended, up.
I don’t know how sharp human noses are, but I could smell you on the pillow the next day, and it hurt. When you left, I cried.
Things were never going to be easy. I knew that. But I thought….hell, I still think…you’re worth that battle. I’d still fight, if you had given me any indication you wanted me to.

When you pushed me away, the last time, after sweet words of hope…words that gave me something to hang on to, I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to lash out and let you feel the sting of every rejection this isle has showered on me. I wanted to call you the one name I knew would crush you to your very core, because you did to me what that false paladin had done, and opened all those wounds, the ones I’d so carefully nursed closed, for so long.

I didn’t. Because I knew he’d done you just as much damage, and I swear…you turning me away may not be enough to stop me from putting her where she belongs too. You were wrong, for that, but you shouldn’t suffer like this, like you are.
When she did…whatever she did this time, when you were falling down drunk, and passed out on the floor, I took care of you. Took your armour off, tucked you into bed, made sure you didn’t vomit and choke on it…I honestly thought you might, given the stench of alcohol, but I understand. A child should never been a tool to hurt a person. And that particular walking armoured pile of pig droppings shouldn’t be in charge of a child on his best day.

I kissed your forehead, and spoke to you quietly. I doubt you heard, doubt you’ll ever remember. I’m not sure if I walked off the island today I’d even leave a lasting mark on you.
But I won’t. I’ll stand here, and fight. With the Guard. Because you told me to, so long ago. Because they are still the part of you I can defend. Because in serving them, some part of me remains tied, serving you.

Because that’s the most I’ll ever have, and I know it.

Damn it, Desmond…
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:23 am

Wrong Side of Heaven

I spoke to god today, and she said that she's ashamed.
What have I become, what have I done?
I spoke to the devil today, and he swears he's not to blame.
And I understood, cuz I feel the same.

Arms wide open, I stand alone.
I'm no hero, and I'm not made of stone.
Right or wrong, I can hardly tell.
I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of hell.
I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side, righteous side of hell.
Days shift and flow, in and out, so quickly I barely even notice anymore. The hope is gone. It's been crushed under the welcome weight of duty and the not-as-welcome weight of the dark, of despair and hatred that have all but become my mantra.

The priestess' glowing smile is getting harder and harder to remember anymore.

I heard from god today, and she sounded just like me.
What have I done, and who have I become.
I saw the devil today, and he looked a lot like me.
I looked away, I turned away!
I clung to Eilistraee. I clung to faith. I clung to the hope of love, to the promises of at least friendship. The promises even I made. But my hands...can only hold on for so long. My grip is slipping, nails are breaking. I wake in the morning, and I wish I could dream. I wish I could find that respite that humans have. I envy them their ability to dream, to lose themselves in un-reality for even a little while. All I have are memories, and even they are tainted now. Hate, sorrow, guilt....so much guilt.

It's easy to point and blame others. It's simple to lay my pain at Louis' feet, and blame him. But I allowed it. I trusted someone I barely knew, simply because they were kind while it was convenient. I reached out, knowing the risk if it didn't go the way I hoped.

The guilt makes it all that much harder to bear, because it's there all the time. I don't know what to do. When I sit and remember her smile, and the naive hope that one day I could wear it too, it infuriates me. Because I was stupid, and because then...I had hope.

Arms wide open, I stand alone.
I'm no hero, and I'm not made of stone.
Right or wrong, I can hardly tell.
I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of hell.
I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side, the righteous side of hell.
I can't give up. The city still needs its guards, and my guards need someone to be the bulwark between them and the city. My few, beloved friends, those who haven't tried to warp me or use me...they need me. I need them.

I need them.

I can't see for the darkness. They are my light.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:16 pm

Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven, when we die
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all
”Get up. GET UP! STORMGETUP!”
I can hear Im’kiira screaming…the Shrine…The ceiling is falling in…The Lolthites…
My sword is so heavy, but I have to keep moving. Pushing it into the ground…it’s the only way I can stand up, I’m so tired…

”You have to get up, little one. You cannot let Her fall. Not here. Not now. Rise. Rise, and fight. In My name!”
The words were musical, the voice gentle but firm, determined. I knew the voice. I’d heard her sing to me, and I heard it now. Felt the strength rush through a body that was screaming to fall, and the sword flew up, into a gnoll’s face. I remember the scream tearing out of me like wildfire, staggering the beasts before me, and I remember seeing Her running for the cavern, for dark, for safety. In that moment the Maiden’s song is power, it is death and blood, protecting the one I need safe more than anyone else on the island.
Fire your guns
It's time to run
Blow me away
(I will stay, in the mess I made)
After the fall
We'll shake it off
Show me the way
Blood flew in rivers, and I think they were surprised I kept coming. The archer ran, and I cut them down from behind as she launched blazing arrows. My blood sang, and for the first time on this island, seeing my priestess safe, I could die. Here, and now, vicious joy sings, Her voice is heard, and I am Her steel. Arvandor awaits, and Her embrace is there.
Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven, when we die
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all
Cordor is a million miles away. In the bloodlust, I hear them all. I hear the voices of those I've loved, those I've lost. When the last gnoll falls, it takes a long time until the shouting dies down, until I don’t hear Delaran and Yudann yelling, until I don’t hear Lily hollering to get back on my feet, don’t hear my mother pleading.

I am the strongest.

Because of Her, I survived.

And I will keep fighting.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:54 am

I remember the moment I gave up, and stopped fighting.

When I saw him in the cavern, bloodied, beaten, but standing. I knew why. I knew he'd refused to hurt me, again. When Yasdia's cursed voice slunk around him, I saw red. I saw him start to fall and all I could do was run to him. I barely felt the traps Yasdia had set, but I felt the knife when it came through his chest. I only knew that whatever it was, whatever had happened, we could fix it. When I told Reddok to go get Shalifil, I wasn't kidding. I wanted Yasdia to hurt. I wanted him to bleed. I wanted him to know the pain he'd given me, given Kashall.

I had a brief moment in the sun, after so long in the cold and dark, and even though I don't know where he is now...I know that I am grateful. And I can't fault him,wherever he is. I only hope he is safe, and happy...more than anything, I want that for him, even if it takes me not being there to achieve it.

In my Evensong, at night, as the moon rises, I pray to the Maiden. I dance, and my thoughts are with him, my prayers with him. When the Dance ends, I put him away, tucked safe into my memory, where he will remain. A little part of my heart still remains his, and I can hold that. I helped him. He is free now, partly because of me, and he can live the life he deserves, and I am so grateful, to the Maiden for leading me to him, or him to me, and leading Sabal to us, to help in that last trying time.

For now, moving forward. Ever forward. My chat with Shalifil has provided, I think, some valuable insights, as has my chat with Elessar. I guess we'll see what happens. I'll try to remember the little priestess' smile, and hold on to that.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:51 pm

Shatter Me!
I pirouette in the dark
I see the stars through a mirror
Tired mechanical heart
Beats 'til the song disappears

If I break the glass then I'll have to fly
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
I'm scared of change and the days stay the same
The world is spinning but only in gray
If I break the glass then I'll have to fly
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
I'm scared of change and the days stay the same
The world is spinning but only in gray
The stars shine, full moon coating the land in silvery light, my skin glowing, my sword flashing as it stabs, dips and swings. This is my release. I miss it, now and then. I miss screaming, fighting. I miss the rush and the burn...
"He is supposed to hate the girl....and he cannot. Why does she do this?!"
I remember him hitting the wall, fury bubbling, my own shouts...
I can vaguely feel the exhaustion creeping in. But I keep moving, because every memory brings a wash of energy, good or bad, and that is what this is for. Giving them back to Her, for one more day. One more day of functional existence. One day closer to the future.

Being hard, always hard, is more trying...more trying than anyone knows, and crystal can only take so much, before it shatters into glittering, deadly shards.

My every breath burns...begs me to stop, and I don't. I can't. If I can still move, I move. This is going to be another night the dawn wakes me up in the grass. Oh well.

"Don't tell me that! I know it's wrong! I know she's wrong! I just...I can't!"
"You lied! You're just like...just like him!"
Even in memory, the sounds of fists hitting flesh linger. The fury, the rage, the pain.
My steps stagger, and I can feel the sweat on my skin, dripping and flying off....but I keep going. Because I can still move. A warmth is replacing that empty coldness, finally. Rays of sun after a cold storm, a fire after a drenching rain. Better memories flood in, replacing the bad ones, and I can hear Her music again, sweet and drawing, embracing me.
"What're you thinking of?"
"You..."

His eyes, being the first thing I see after a fight, his soft voice the first I hear...

"Why do you care? Why do you care if I live or die?!"
"Because I love you."


Somebody shine a light
I'm frozen by the fear in me
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!
So cut me from the line
Dizzy, spinning endlessly
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!
I see his form, as my body finally thuds to the grass. For once, I'm not out. A little glow remains in my chest as I gasp for air, the song still wrapped around me. Some things are important. Passion....purpose...they're important. Loyalty is irreplaceable.

But then, I am not crystal. I am steel.
Shatter me, to forge something better.
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Tue Nov 03, 2015 11:07 pm

No One Gets Left Behind!

NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND ANOTHER FALLEN SOUL
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND ANOTHER BROKEN HOME
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND WE STAND AND FIGHT TOGETHER
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND OR WE ALL DIE ALONE

Politicians bathing in their greed
No idea on how to be all they can be

Have you no honor? Have you no soul:
What is it they're dying for? Do you really even know?
Have you no backbone? Have you no spine?
Whatever happened to NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND?!
When an attack is imminent, sometimes...you can feel it in the air. An electric charge, a thickness like the air before a thunderstorm. Your blood races, and you know....this is the time. Win, or lose. Live, or die.

Guldorand had none of that. When the pounding came on Memmorath's door, I truly thought it was just someone being a pain. Janick, perhaps, with his awful, groan-worthy sense of humour.

I should be so lucky. I should have known better.

The guard was panicked, and it hit my gut like a ten-ton brick. I could only think of how convenient it was as I wrapped the protective embrace of my Maiden around me, and a flash flickered, as I told Shadow to stay, knowing damned well he wouldn't.

I don't even remember running into the logging area. I just remember a sea of druids and treants. I remember them coming through the gate, and I remember...pain. And fear. Terrible, terrible fear.

...The sound of the Council chamber door slamming open...the looks on their faces. Total trust, total loyalty, total knowledge of what was going to happen to them. My people...Cordor's people...standing firm. And the knowledge that they were going to die, and it was my fault....

...The inside of the Hub, as the Weave welled up and I couldn't hold it back...The swift, helplesss prayer that Davit and Ahriman and Elizabetta would find something, some way, to get clear in the half-second before all became chaos...

...The cracking of stone, as a Lolthite disguised as one of our own sundered my home around me, Wren firing arrows, Daedin grabbing my arm, and Deli'an's arm, and wrenching us out, Im'kiira screaming to get the children to safety, as the spiders massed, and Yudann plunging in, bastard sword drawn and alight with the Maiden's fury....
When I could see again, when the world had returned and sanity had reasserted itself, I couldn't find Memmorath, and terror roared again. I couldn't face this alone. Not even with Janick. I did the only thing I could think to do.

I ran.

I looked for his body, and I found him still standing, as that...drider thing lunged.

Not on my gods-damned watch.

I remember running forward. I don't remember falling. I do remember standing back up in a lurch, Shadow panicked at my side, and hearing the call that they'd breached the town. There was no option. Innocents hid within the town, and they had to be protected.

I hate the Grove. And I hate the Amnish. I know damned well this is about gold. This is about some Balance that doesn't matter and isn't being held anyway. They're not doing the fighting, and they're not working for peace. Neither of them. They're letting the druids die, letting us die, and none of them care.

NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND! I KNOW YOU MADE IT UP!
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND! IT'S WAR FOR MONEY!
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND! DRINK FROM THE GOLDEN CUP!
NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND! YOUR TIME IS COMING!

Play your war games with other people's lives
It should be you on the front line
I screamed to get the innocents out. They'd breached the town, all a house was to them was a tinderbox, and I knew it. That damned drider thing was on its way, and...I knew I couldn't fight it. I knew I'd lose. And I knew it didn't matter, because every moment it was dealing with me was another moment it wasn't hurting a child, or a helpless townsperson.

The terror and pain welled again, and I wished for death. I don't remember anything else until I was waking up beside Memmorath, hearing that it was over. So many dead...so many. So many beyond my reach, even beyond Her reach. So many dead in ways I would never wish on anyone. Torn to bits. And for what?! Why? For gold?! Bastards! Why aren't they here, bleeding out for their metal!?

As I dragged their bodies back, the smell of death soaking into my clothes, my skin, I couldn't cry. I was too angry to cry, too tired, and in too much pain. Every body made something inside me shriek in fury, and keeping it from rending my throat was all I could manage.

So much healing. So many desperate attempts to yank spirits back from Beyond, back into a life they never should have been removed from.

At the end of it, all I could do was fall over. Too exhausted to move, so much magic having gone through me that I can't do anything else, and I just remember Shadow falling beside me, fear in his voice. I fought with Memmorath, urging him to get his people the hell out of that town. He's so stubborn. So proud. And he's going to get so many people killed...

NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:26 pm

Baby Mine

Baby mine, don't you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart,
Never to part, baby of mine.
I remember, specifically, one pain. Standing outside the logjam. I'd been having these annoying, pain in the arse pains for days. But it was early yet, and the healers shrugged it off as "growing pains", mostly mine, growing around you. I was pretty sure I couldn't physically grow any more, mind you, but they seemed so sure.

I'd come so close to losing you.

Little one, when you play,
Pay no heed what they say.
Let your eyes sparkle and shine,
Never a tear, baby of mine.


There are no words to describe the sheer terror that that one pain put through me. The idea that something could be wrong, that that bastard mage had succeeded in you, what he'd tried to do to me. The idea of having to tell your father. The idea of his pain.

When the midwife assured me (for the umpteenth time) that you were fine, and moving, and it was natural, something finally clicked, and I knew it was time to get a move on. I had a daughter to meet. Lily had a namesake that needed to join us.

I don't know how long it was, your father was frantic...a story I'll tell you later, I'm sure. And calm, by turns. As only he does. Until we finally heard that first, loud, angry shriek that you greeted the world with.

And nothing could have convinced me that my daughter was all right, and alive, and healthy, like that wail that about shook the walls.

From your head down to your toes,
You're not much, goodness knows.
But, you're so precious to me,
Sweet as can be, baby of mine.


Lily-Rose Teu'aerron. Named for two women who made such differences in the lives of both me and your father. Women we love...loved?...for their strength, courage, and devotion.

I wish she could have met you. Met this little person I made, with the thick black hair, and those big, pretty eyes, and chubby cheeks. You're going to be a better person than either of us, and we're going to give you the world, or as much of it as we can. You're going to have all the love I could never show to anyone else, and you are what I have been waiting for to make me a person who is more than a block of ice.

And at the same time...now I know my heart is living outside of my body...
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:52 am

The Undermountain
The Undermountain. When you think of it...or when I do...it conjures images of a great dark thoroughfare. In truth, that's not far off. Built in ages past, by dwarves, and drow, and human alike, nestled below Waterdeep, which was far too large and chaotic, even for my tastes, the levels of caverns range from raucous to serene.

Serene is where I found myself most often.

Save the day I spent in Waterdeep, awaiting my Shadow's presence once more, of course. While this is not the passionate, fiery union I had envisioned, I am half a person when he's not with me. I am blind, and I am stripped of the one person I truly believe supports me and loves me.

We met again in the Warm Arms; seemed like the safest place to reconnoiter after his voyage to join me there.

It was good to get away. It was better not to be alone in the times that followed.

To see Lily-Rose doted on by the priestesses, and even the fiercest of the Darksong, when she'd run up with her ceaseless (oft times barely understandable) questions and "revelations", to see her wonder and joy, was a soothing balm. Once more seeing my uncle (and, unfortunately, his dismay) was a relief I hadn't been able to anticipate. Seeing his utter adoration of our daughter brought a smile to my lips. It had been a long time...too long...since I had been able to smile and not immediately fear what would step in to take it away.

It occurs to me, then, that perhaps it's time to meditate on that. That is, after all, what I'm here for. To determine where my life is going, and how I can turn it in a direction that will lead to more living, and less simply existing.


"I can't keep living like this..."

"I know."

I can't keep living like this. I'm not "living" at all. I'm breathing, I'm eating, every day or three I Reverie. But I'm not living. And what the hell is the point of a life, if not to live it? If I hand it away, who have I helped?
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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Re: Eye of the Storm

Post by P Three » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:07 pm

Towards The Sun
And you know I've been burned
I've been burned I've been burned
You've seen me lose control
It's not worth
it's not worth
it's not worth
My soul
It's over.
Every moment spent there, every gleam of hope, every tender touch, every moment of friendship, of loyalty, of promise. It's over.
The ruins of the Shanty were more than I could take, and how I didn't dissolve into screams to let the pain loose, even I don't know.

I told him I was going, and I know he hoped to talk me out of it, but there's no talking now. It's the island, or me. I have to pick one. I pick me, for once. It won't be so bad. I won't be far, and especially now, with this precious burden, I don't want to be -here-.

I wrote to the Jarl, almost a year ago. To see if he could lend a ship. It's time I saw my mother's place, spoke to her. Found my family and reconnected, even briefly. Maybe, hell. Maybe leave her some flowers.

I got a letter back, with a date, and a time. The ship should be here at any time. Not sure who he sent, but it'll be worth the wait, I'm sure....


The time for thinking ended, as the ship approached. She could recognize the dark green of its banner, the black of the skeletal seabeast, the red slashes, and more than anything, the odd, blue-haired tiefling at the helm. In nearly thirty years, very few things had brought Storm to silence, but seeing Taelar once more managed it. The man who, in another life, with different luck, might have been her stepfather, smirked down as she stared up.
"Heard you were looking to return, for a visit?"
Lost for words, she managed to nod, her duffel already on her back, though she hardly remembered picking it up. As the dock ramp lowered, she scrambled up.
"How...what?....How did you get here?" She stood as awkwardly as a teen, wide-eyed as she looked about at the burly men manning the decks.
The tiefling snorted and gave a gamine grin. "It's a ship. How do you think I got here?"
That was enough to snap her out of her daze, and get a glare in response. As the orders went up, and the ship pulled out, she looked off the bow, looking for her Shadow. Knowing he was there, even if she couldn't see him, she waved, and yelled one word, that would mean nothing to anyone but him, and her.
"SOON!"

With that, she turned away, walking to stand beside the Lord at his post, and folds her arms.
"I guess we have a lot to catch up on...also, I may vomit everywhere. I don't do well with ships when I'm...y'know."
He chuckled and shook his head, their voices fading into the distance. "That's all right. We have mops. Lots of mops. And you look strong..."
Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you
Don't look back, just carry on
And the shadows will never find you...
"Fail your Death Attack? Boomstick. Immune to sneak attacks? Boomstick. Gnome? Boomstick." ~ Baron Saturday

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