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leagueofgardens · 8 months

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Legion Álfheimr, Past and Present

The nine headliners of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr

Two legions at Yurigaoka Girls' Academy have borne the name of Álfheimr, one of which is still active, and both in their time have been believed the strongest legion in the world. Though most Assault Lily stories focus on different and less mighty legions, within the setting as a whole, none are more important than Álfheimr.

The influence of the first Álfheimr was so great that it set the standard of other legions, on average, having 13 members. They are also considered to be the originators of Neunwelt Tactic-focused battle strategy as it exists today.

Let's review the stories of both Álfheimarnir, past and present.

The First Legion Álfheimr

Legion Álfheimr began as one of Yurigaoka's reserve teams, composed mostly of third-year junior high school students with a few first-year high schoolers among them. Reserve teams like these are generally kept away from live combat and not considered "legions" at all. At Yurigaoka, the purpose of forming these teams is first and foremost that of preparing the younger girls to stand on the front lines later, after they enter high school (and also to take part in some inter-Garden competitions like firepower reviews.)

In Álfheimr's case, the battlefield found them before they were ready.

In 2050, two years before the events of Assault Lily Bouquet, Álfheimr was in Koshu for a training camp when the Huge invaded in force, seeking to build a Nest and establish a new foothold. The local Gardens failed to mobilize in time to push them back, and soon enough, the Lilies present found themselves not defending Koshu but leading the evacuation of its civilian population.

Álfheimr joined in, dividing their thirteen members into several smaller groups so that they could save more people. One of their number—Kawazoe Misuzu—died during this battle, but they did succeed in rescuing people, including a certain girl named Hitotsuyanagi Riri and her friend Kayu.

After that, Álfheimr became a formal legion and was sent on more missions. Of the roughly 30 combat missions they took part in, every one was a victory. Their final mission was the Odaiba Counteroffensive, in which not a single person died despite the overwhelmingly hostile odds, leading to it being considered a miracle.

The Odaiba Counteroffensive happened in early 2051, and shortly after that, the first Legion Álfheimr disbanded. In the typical Assault Lily fashion, we have multiple contradictory reasons for why this happened:

According to the defunct Assault Lily blog in an entry from 2016, Takegoshi Chihana lost a power struggle in the student council, and as she was captain of Álfheimr, the legion was forcibly disbanded.

In the early novels, Álfheimr fell apart as a direct result of Hasebe Touka being put into a vegetative state by an experimental mind-coupled CHARM she was testing on Mashima Moyu's request.

In Bouquet and more recent stories, the legion is said to have broken up due to regrets its members felt ever since the Koshu Withdrawal.

Later in 2051, one of Álfheimr's former members, Akashi Manaka, disappeared during a battle and has not been seen since; most people believe she's dead, but a few like her Schild candidate Ban Kaya are still hoping to discover her alive and well some day. The other members of Álfheimr eventually joined new legions.

Takegoshi Chihana, captain of the first Álfheimr

The members of the first-generation Legion Álfheimr were:

Hayashi Kaoru, currently a 3rd-year Lily, the Schutzengel of Takegoshi Chihana, and a reserve member of Legion Lohengrin. She was the original captain of the first Álfheimr. It's unknown when or why she stepped aside in Chihana's favor.

Takegoshi Chihana, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Lohengrin. In addition to being the captain of the first Álfheimr after Kaoru vacated that position, she's well-known for taking command during the Odaiba Counteroffensive and leading the Lilies there to victory. She was also, at one time, the Sigrún.

Akashi Manaka, who has been missing in action for a year. If she hadn't disappeared, she'd be a 2nd-year Lily.

Amano Soraha, currently a 2nd-year Lily and the captain of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr. She was vice-captain of the first Álfheimr.

Aoki Kaho, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Lohengrin.

Banshoya Ena, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr.

Hasebe Touka, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Sanngriðr.

Kawazoe Misuzu, Yuyu's Schutzengel, who died during the Koshu Withdrawal. If she were alive, she'd be a 3rd-year Lily.

Niinomi Nodoka, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Reginleif.

Shirai Yuyu, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Ráðgríðr (Team Hitotsuyanagi).

Taniguchi Hijiri, currently a 2rd-year Lily, the Schutzengel of Rokkaku Shiori, and a member of Legion Reginleif.

Yoshimura Thi Mai, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Ráðgríðr (Team Hitotsuyanagi).

Watanabe Akane, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr.

The Second Legion Álfheimr

The current Legion Álfheimr owes its existence to Tanaka Ichi, one of its 1st-year members. She's attended Yurigaoka since kindergarten and has a group of childhood friends known as the "Gang of Five." Along with her, this group includes Egawa Kusumi, Kanabako Misora, Takasuga Tsukushi, and Watanabe Akane.

When Ichi and the other first-years in the Gang of Five entered high school, the five of them decided to form a legion of their own, which received the official name of Legion Skuld. As Ichi was the captain, it was also popularly known as "Team Ichiban."

The reason Legion Skuld became Legion Álfheimr relates to Egawa Kusumi. An incident in junior high school, which we know few specifics about, nearly shattered Kusumi's friendship with the rest of the Gang of Five (though they later reconciled with her) and made her so depressed that she wasn't sure if she could continue being a Lily. Because of this, Yurigaoka temporarily moved Kusumi into the "special dormitory", a place for those Yurigaoka Lilies who need extra accommodations in their living arrangements (either because of their mental health, or for other reasons, like because they are Boosted Lilies.)

After the first Legion Álfheimr dissolved, Amano Soraha became disillusioned with being a Lily and planned to retire. She was moved to the special dormitory for similar reasons to Kusumi, and there, the two of them found themselves neighbors. They soon became close with one another. According to Soraha, she thought it would be a shame for all of Kusumi's ability to amount to nothing, decided "I want to be a Lily together with this girl," and changed her mind about retiring. The two of them, Soraha and Kusumi, then became Schutzengel and Schild.

Soraha using her Rare Skill, Heliosphere

Soraha decided to join the legion that her Schild was in, and she was followed by her roommate; Banshoya Ena, another veteran of the first Álfheimr.

Although not part of the Gang of Five, Endo Araya has also attended Yurigaoka since elementary school and joined the legion because she was interested in Ichi and Kusumi. She turned down an invitation from Shinobu, the Brynhildr herself, to join the elite Legion Brynhildr Line in favor of joining Legion Skuld.

Mori Tatsuki, the final headliner, likely joined because she was friends with Araya and Misora, though this hasn't been stated as fact anywhere. Tatsuki is also Araya's roommate.

After they proved their strength, Yurigaoka offered to let Legion Skuld change their name to Legion Álfheimr on the condition that Ichi stepped down as the captain and Soraha took over. They accepted the offer, and are now commonly known as simply Álfheimr, sometimes "the second-generation Álfheimr", and sometimes "Team Ichiban" as they were at the start.

Currently, Legion Álfheimr is one of Yurigaoka's four SSS-ranked legions—the strongest legions at the Garden and perhaps in the entire world. One of their major accomplishments was the liberation of Niigata, carried out after Sado Island was invaded by an incredibly powerful Ultra-type Huge given the name of "Fafnir", and Ryuto Girls' Academy in Niigata sent a request for aid to Yurigaoka. Álfheimr mounted an expedition to Niigata and played a key role in the defeat of Fafnir, though they were aided by several other elite legions.

Left to right: Tatsuki, Tsukushi, Misora

The headliners of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr are:

Amano Soraha, a 2nd-year Lily and the captain. She is also known as the "Wielder of the Blue Moon." Her Rare Skill, Heliosphere, allows her to create a powerful defensive barrier to shield herself and her allies. She is known for her friendly demeanor and large appetite.

Watanabe Akane, a 2nd-year Lily and the vice-captain. Nicknamed the "Conductor", her Rare Skill is Testament, which expands the range of other Rare Skills. Lilies with Testament normally have weak defenses, but Akane has mastered a technique called "Just Guard" to shield herself from attacks. She also plays the flute beautifully. She is Tsukushi's Schutzengel.

Banshoya Ena, a 2nd-year Lily and the commander. Her Rare Skill is Circlet Bless, allowing her to wield two CHARMs at once, and she is titled the "Princesse." She likes keeping aquariums and terrariums, and has a pet African lungfish named "Nyoro." It is a widespread rumor that she'll become Ichi's Schutzengel someday, though neither of them have proposed the oath to one another yet.

Egawa Kusumi, the "Child of the Gods", a 1st-year Lily. Her Rare Skill is Phantasm, giving her the ability to simulate countless futures and choose the one she desires (also, she is thus far the youngest ever Lily to have awakened Phantasm.) Her combat style is sometimes called the "Fairy Step," as she tends to look at her feet rather than her surroundings and twirl around like she's dancing. She is one of Yurigaoka's best cooks.

Endo Araya, the "Fenomeno", a 1st-year Lily. She has the same amount of magie as the average Boosted Lily, despite not being one herself. Her Rare Skill, Phase Transcendence, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet; unlike Miriam, however, Araya can keep fighting even after using it. She's well known for aggressively hitting on other Lilies at Yurigaoka, but people of every gender have been known to catch her eye.

Kanabako Misora, the "Little Alchemist", a 1st-year Lily. She is an Arsenal with a deep knowledge of both CHARMs and Lilies. Her Rare Skill is Regista, which boosts the magie available to her allies. She shares this Rare Skill with Kaede Johan Nouvel, but she has strong opinions on legion tactics and is viciously critical of Kaede's defensive command style, calling it "anti-Neunwelt."

Mori Tatsuki, the "One Who Hears", a 1st-year Lily. Tatsuki is a Boosted Lily who was rescued by Yurigaoka, and can understand the voices of the Huge, including their battlefield orders. This unique power doesn't make her less eager to fight and kill the Huge in the slightest. Her Rare Skill, Lunatic Trancer, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet. She is also an Arsenal who specializes in building and tuning CHARMs.

Takasuga Tsukushi, the "Wildschwein", a 1st-year Lily. Like Ena, her Rare Skill is Circlet Bless, allowing her to wield two CHARMs at once. She is a talented frontline fighter who is especially good at working together with Kusumi, and is one of her closest friends off the battlefield. She is also Akane's Schild. Unfortunately for Akane, who is afraid of the supernatural, Tsukushi loves stories about ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.

Tanaka Ichi, the "Heavenly Wolf", a 1st-year Lily. Her Rare Skill is The Way of the World, allowing her to perceive the movement vectors of allies and enemies alike and predict their future positions. As the president of Yurigaoka's Camellia class, she is strict with many people, but is kind and indulging towards her friends, especially Kusumi. She likes to play the piano and sing.

The reserve members are:

Maki Wakana, a 3rd-year Lily. She is Soraha's Schutzengel. Her Rare Skill is Regista. Uncommonly for a 3rd-year Lily, she has a good understanding of the Neunwelt Tactic and is an excellent commander. She, Soraha, and Kusumi are often said to be the strongest trio of Norns* at Yurigaoka.

Okada Kisara, a 3rd-year Boosted Lily. She is Ena's Schutzengel. Her Rare Skill is Zenon Paradoxa, an ability often described as a combination of Shukuchi and The Way of the World which makes unbelievably swift attacks possible. In contrast to Wakana, she prefers one-on-one dueling to the Neunwelt Tactic, though she can handle both. Because of her pale appearance and sadistic nature, Kisara is nicknamed the "Vampire".

Mozuna Noa, a 2nd-year Lily. Her Rare Skill, Charisma, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet. Noa's fighting style is unique, and Kusumi modeled hers after it. Off the battlefield, she's said to be very sweet.

*When a Yurigaoka Lily's Schild has her own Schild, the three of them are known as "Norns".

Final Notes

You might have noticed that Assault Lily has a lot of football (or soccer, if you're an American) references. This article contains three such references. Can you spot them all?

Hint: They're all in the final list of second-generation Legion Álfheimr members.

Edit: After I first made this blog post, Akashi Aika's name was changed to Akashi Manaka by official sources, so I've changed it here too.

#assault lily #assault lily lore #assault lily meta #legion alfheim #legion alfheimr #lore #assault lily bouquet

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annachum · 7 months

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Sigyn Ivarrsdottir of Alfheim Aesthetic

🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

#sigyn #justice for sigyn #volva sigyn #valkyrie sigyn #valkyrie veteran sigyn #alfheimr nobility #asgardian nobility #asgardian royalty #volva #valkyries #aurora borealis #pink magic #yes currently jennifer connelly looks kinda like how i imagine mcu sigyn to look like #except sigyn in my mcu fics got pointy ears

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alfheimr · 8 months

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commissions are open. yippee!!!! prices are in USD.

i'm using artistree for the first time! it is more or less a one stop shop for requesting, communicating, and delivering commissions, which is an exciting concept to me. in addition, i'm still managing long term effects of a hand injury so i have limited slots and will be working with limited palettes. 3 slots for type 1, and 2 slots for type 2. i'm hoping to do commissions in batches, so i'll post updates when more slots are available.

-> https://artistree.io/alfheimr <-

you can view my full TOS on there which has more details on payment, process, usage, etc. here's basic info for what i will/wont draw:

i WILL draw: humanoids, mecha, ocs, fanart

i WILL NOT draw: animals, furries, nsfw, hateful content

all commissions are personal use only at this time. prices are subject to change based on demand. you can do either a 100% upfront payment (preferred, default) or a 50% deposit. again, more details on the artistree page.

it's been a minute since i've done commissions but i'm excited to get back into them ^___^ thanks for reading!!!!

#commissions #comms post

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scorchrend · 2 years

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neopolitan ice cream

heavily inspired by @alfheimr 's works!

#i rushed this because i lost steam lol so its not clean at all. still want to post this one #pokemon #nimbasa trio #submas #elesa #ingo #emmet #art #the knight's testaments #the thumbnail is a lot cleaner but ykw this heat is hellish and melting me i cant sit at my desk any longer HELP #anyways insp's art is so good i think about it a lot. i love the use of shapes and negative space and urg have got to osmose that into my h #into my head auuuua

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pigdemonart · 2 years

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Elesa and her (dance) partners ⚡️

I’ll clean these up later. Just wanted to share a bit of today’s warm up.

Directly inspired by @alfheimr ‘s nimbasa trio dance art btw. Their art is 🥰🥰🥰!

#submas #nimbasa trio #airplaneshipping #cannot rest until i give elesa the love she deserves.#also can people help me come up with a name for these four. i dont wanna leave skyla out of the ….#the gang squad fam friend-polycule lmao #its gotta be something clever but i cant think of anything but -trains planes and automobiles- lmfaooo #my brother my brother and my sapphic ass #they’re like mystery inc but their mascot is freight train #ruh roh ringo -SOUNDS OF METAL SCRAPING TRAIN TRACKS-

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elfydrell · 1 year

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Alfheimr, the land of the Light Elves

Long ago, in Norse mythology, the cosmic tree Yggdrasil was the framework of the worlds. It supported and sheltered the nine worlds, each of which was the domain of an element or a creature. Alfheimr was ruled by the god Freyr and his subjects were none other than the Light Alfes.

This 64x64 pack houses a world I needed to build for my "Mushroom" story. The Light Elves are an integral part of my backup. That's why I decided to share with you my creation which includes conversions made by me. You will find several rooms, objects, characteristics of these creatures of the Nordic legends. I would like to thank the creators of CC who allowed me to expand this terrain to make it more realistic! You will find a non-exhaustive list of creator names as well as my "Tray" folder. I advise you to place it on the island of Windenburg because I made sure that the flora goes with the terrain. Furthermore, one of the most important packs is "Magic". Why is that? Because only the magic portals can take you to secret places… I wish you a good game and don't hesitate to share your screenshots with me!

Download :

Alfheimr, City of Alfes (Mediafire) => Some items are high-polygon bb.move ACTIVATE Lot: 64x64 => Residential Price: $947,111 Comfort : 3 bedrooms and 2 toilets

💕Thanks to all CC creators specializing in medieval item conversion💕 Main: @agressivekitty @arcanewonder @dravenxivuk @felixandresims @kerriganhouse @lady-moriel @lunelfy @mara45123-blog @natalia-auditore @shandir @solistair @soloriya @syboubou @thesensemedieval @valhallansim @zx-ta Not to mention the others 💋

Thanks for the reblog: @sssvitlanz @emilyccfinds @fantasycclove @sims4-fantasy-cc-finds @ts4medieval

#SIMS4 #TS4 #SIMS 4 FANTASY #SIMS 4 MAGIC #SIMS 4 MEDIEVAL #SIMS 4 WORLD OF WARCRAFT #SIMS 4 CUSTOM CONTENT #SIMS 4 DOWNLOAD #SIMS 4 SCULPTURE #SIMS 4 DECORATION #MYCC #SIMS 4 ELF #SIMS 4 NORDIC #SIMS 4 MYTHOLOGY #SIMS 4 VIKING

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agonyaster · 2 years

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got the idea that ingo and dawn went home on a train in my head and once i saw @alfheimr’s ghibli train studies i knew it was a sign

companion piece about emmet and elesa here!

…

Dawn doesn’t like the Spear Pillar anymore, she decides.

It’s cold, for one, which is a strange thing to hold against it. She never really minded the cold before; loved to spend hours frolicking around in the snow with her sister until their father dragged them inside and swaddled them in blankets to make sure the tips of their noses weren’t going to fall off. Grandfather would keep them from sneaking back out with stories, ones he probably made up on the spot, now that she thought about it.

As strange as it sounded, that cold was… warmer, in a way. Just the memory of catching the falling flakes on her tongue or making an army of snow-Bidoof outside their little house in Sandgem has a warm, fuzzy feeling gathering in her stomach, one that spreads out to the rest of her body in waves. Her grandfather would probably say it was the love in the air, warming her straight to her bones. Back then, Dawn would’ve rolled her eyes and told him to stop being such a sap. Nowadays she would give anything to hear his voice, rough and low but kind all the same.

There is no love atop Mount Coronet.

Perhaps there was, once, back when the Celestica people lived on this land. A temple constructed from gratitude, statues of heroes carved from worship; the sweet reverence oozed from every surface of the Temple of Sinnoh.

There is even some awaiting it in the future, Dawn realizes, thinking of Cynthia and all the other people of Celestic Town. Even herself and Professor Rowan, with the way he looked at her— so damn proud— and put a comforting hand on her shoulder after their search. It was love, in its own way.

But now, standing atop the peak of Mount Coronet, Dawn couldn’t find it within herself to give ‘Almighty Sinnoh’ anything.

The air is completely still up here, but Dawn hates it more than wind. The cold seeps into her bones and locks up the joints in her fingers; whenever she moves it slices right through her Survey Corps uniform and grates her straight to her core. As she draws a breath, Dawn winces as the frigid air stabs her chest, prickly in a way that makes her want to turn her lungs inside out.

Standing on top of the world isn’t as fun as you think it is; especially when you’re standing alone. Not even her pokémon are by her side anymore. She wonders how the hero would have reacted, seeing the temple to their god in shambles like this, the statues of their partners turned to rubble. Distantly, she thinks about how she is a hero of Sinnoh now too, alongside them and Lucas.

Will she be in history books? Is she already? She wasn’t before, but none of that has happened yet, technically, so maybe? Dawn didn’t know. This time travel stuff hurt her head.

She takes another breath. It stings less than the last one.

Footsteps strike softly on the stone behind her and then there is someone standing by her side.

“I apologize for the delay,” Ingo says, voice hovering in the air just a smidgen longer than it would have at sea level. “Departure is proving much more challenging than anticipated.”

Dawn gives a one-shouldered shrug. “It’s alright. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more minutes?”

“You young people treat minutes like they’re the most valuable things in the world.”

Dawn agrees, somewhat, but has to resist the urge to laugh at his words. He sounds like Calaba, which is a little scary because even though no one knows how old Ingo is, he’s definitely not anywhere near Calaba’s age. Maybe once they get back, they’ll learn his real age. That would be nice to know.

“Are you not going to say goodbye as well?” Ingo asks.

“I wouldn’t want to hold us up any longer,” she fibs.

“We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more minutes?”

Dawn grimaces and lets her shoulders sag. “I don’t… want them to remember me like this.”

Ingo hums. “They wouldn’t mind, I think.”

“I do.”

“Oh. I see.”

Ingo doesn’t press any further. Dawn is grateful. Facing Rei and the professor was hard enough the first time around; she didn’t know if she could do it again.

“How are we to reach our destination?”

“I- uh, I’ll get it ready now.”

Dawn reaches into the satchel tied around her waist, fingers finding grip around the flute and pulling it free.

The Azure Flute feels strange in her grasp. It’s cool to the touch, yet pulsates with an energy that makes her skin tingle. She’s only played it once before, having kept it tucked away in her satchel ever since its transformation. As childish as it sounds, something about it freaks her out.

Slowly, Dawn brings the flute to her lips and lets out an experimental puff of air. It travels through the flute, the sharp sound ringing in her ears. Dawn draws another breath and blows again as her fingers start to move on their own, tugged this way and that like a marionette on a string. Echoing sounds are strung together in a haunting melody that charges the air around her with energy. It thrums against her skin, insistent, and anticipation builds in her gut as the music calls into the void above.

Before she knows it, Dawn is out of breath and she’s lowering the Azure Flute from her lips, tucking it into her satchel on instinct. When she opens her eyes, they burn at the sight in front of her; the stairs from before, their brightness a shining beacon leading up into the heavens and beyond.

Wordlessly, she extends a hand to Ingo, who takes it. His grip is firm, rough skin keeping her prickling anxiety at bay.

Together, they ascend.

Dawn doesn’t remember how many stairs they climb. It might’ve only been one, for all she knows. Her head spins as the silence presses in around her, this world above devoid of everything but her and Ingo, sitting and waiting to be judged.

“Almighty Sinnoh,” she calls out, voice trembling the slightest bit. The title feels foreign on her tongue. Improper, almost, like it was something she stole.

“Arceus.”

The name is swallowed up by the void all around them, but Dawn doesn’t dare speak it again. It heard her.

She blinks, and when her eyes open again it is waiting for her.

Sweat drips off of her brow and her stomach seizes. Her grip on Ingo’s hand tightens as her eyes itch uncomfortably, like this isn’t something she’s supposed to be seeing. It probably isn’t, in all honesty.

“Take us home.”

Waves of nausea roll over her as Dawn stares into the eyes of Arceus, which seem to pierce her very soul. This was wrong, so wrong— making demands of the creator of the universe wasn’t something someone like Dawn did.

Arceus stares down at her before letting its eyes slide shut. It almost looks peaceful.

Thou hast done well.

Arceus speaks directly into her mind and Dawn’s head throbs in protest. Mortal minds weren’t meant to comprehend the speech of a god, no matter if it wanted to assist or not.

Rest, my child.

The next thing she knows, Dawn is falling through empty space; wind whistling in her ears and heart thumping in her chest as she falls faster, faster.

“Do your best not to become uncoupled from me, Lady Dawn!” Ingo shouts. He’s got their elbows locked together, and through the darkness she can see his eyes glowing faintly, like dying headlights. Despite herself, Dawn giggles at the thought.

How long they spend falling, she doesn’t know. Everything melts together, then fades away, until all Dawn knows is the blackness around her. The first sensation Dawn feels is a coolness against her cheek, the next a strange clicking sound coming from somewhere below her. She pushes herself up off of the floor, blinks the blurriness out of her eyes as she looks around.

The floor is wood, polished and waxed so thoroughly Dawn’s reflection stares back at her from it. Two long rows of seats line the room, breaking only near the ends and in front of a pair of double doors; looping handholds dangle from the ceiling, bouncing to and fro as the room moves through space; long windows break through the rich brown of the walls, revealing the dark void beyond. There are signs posted on the walls and stuck to the poles running from floor to ceiling, written out in the script of the Unown.

“A train,” she says, a little breathless. “We’re on a train.”

Beneath her, the car jostles a little, like it was confirming her suspicions.

“Yes. A train.” Ingo sounds sure in his words, like he’s not just parroting back an unknown in an attempt to understand it.

He’s a few feet away, stood at one of the pairs of twin doors and staring absentmindedly at his reflection in the windows set within them. His left hand rubs at his wrist where the band marking him as Lady Sneasler’s warden used to be.

“You know what a train is?” Dawn asks, rising to her feet and joining him by the doors. He barely seems to notice.

Ingo nods, still staring into the abyss. Through his reflection, Dawn can see the twinge of regret in his eyes. “I can’t believe I ever managed to forget them in the first place.”

“Well, it’s progress, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” Ingo chuckles to himself and draws his gaze away from the window. “But it is incredibly dangerous for us to be standing like this! Please, Lady Dawn, take a seat.”

She does and Ingo sinks down onto the spot next to her. Beneath their feet, the train rattles, rhythmic thumping jostling her ever so slightly. Dawn squints at the sign plastered above a set of doors, but only sees meaningless words in a language she doesn’t recognize. One lost to time, or maybe one that had never been found.

“So. Any guesses for how long we’re gonna be here?”

“I’m afraid not. We must sit and wait, it appears.”

“Yeah. Guess it’s kinda hard to put an ETA on moving through space-time.” She thinks of the cracks in reality that would spring up in an instant, and the pokémon brought with them. She hopes they made it back okay, once the distortions faded.

The silence presses in around them. Dawn thought she had grown used to silence, but she was wrong; tt was never really silent on her surveys, the rustling of grass or distant chirping of a Starly filling the void. There was no grass and certainly no Starly here.

“I, uh, is it weird for me to be grateful, in a way? For being sent to Hisui? Like, I get my entire life uprooted and I’m sent back to a time that doesn’t even have indoor plumbing with people who distrust my every move—“ Dawn says, wringing her hands in her lap. “But I don’t… If I could go back, and had a choice to do it again or not, I think I still would.” A sharp, awkward clear of the throat, and Dawn laughs. “That’s like, a little weird, right?”

“I don’t think you should let other people tell you how to feel.” Ingo hums. “Are you truly grateful for your time there?”

“Yeah. I am. If I hadn’t been sent I wouldn’t have been able to gather all this research, o-or learn so much about the way of life in the clans and meet so many people.” She pauses. “I wouldn’t have ever known you. I wouldn’t have been able to help you.”

“You have a kind heart, Lady Dawn.”

“Thank you.”

“Do not thank me for speaking the truth.” Ingo looks up at the ceiling, eyes squinting at the writing on the emergency hatch. “You remember your time before. You’re sure we didn’t know one another?”

“Pretty sure. I don’t even think we’re from the same region.”

“What makes you say that?”

“A few things, I guess.” Dawn shrugs. “You’ve kinda got an accent, and you mention pokémon that don’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard of. You’re a really strong trainer, too, even in a world where training and battling is unheard of and pokémon aren’t used to taking commands from people. In one where it’s normal, I’m sure you would’ve been even better. I think I would’ve heard about you if you were from Sinnoh.”

“I see. Did you seek out challengers?”

“Not really. My friends were more into that sort of thing.” Her heart sinks a little as she thinks of the two boys who rummaged through Rowan’s briefcase. “I’m not, uh, not really the best at pokémon battles.” Barry tried to get her into them, back then, but she never really got it. Turtwig never really wanted to battle anyway. Felt wrong to force him to.

Ingo’s brows raise. “I beg to differ.”

“Akari’s good at battling, then.”

His brows drop and furrow, the lines around his mouth deepening. “She still is you, Lady Dawn. That much you cannot deny.”

“Akari was a necessity.” Dawn exhales through her nose harshly. “I don’t want to have to be her anymore.”

“And I’m sure you won’t have to, but pretending that things never changed won’t help anyone. When I return to my life, my family,” Ingo’s voice catches on the word, “wherever and whoever they might be— adjustments will have to be made. The same is true for you.”

Dawn thinks of days spent in Snowpoint with her father, years ago, when her only aid to research was running around delivering it to other assistants. He promised to take her out on her first proper study, but the time for that had long passed. She couldn’t even remember how many studies she went on in Hisui.

Her stomach clenches. “What if I don’t want things to change?”

“I’m afraid we cannot always get what we want.”

“Why not?”

“The forces which control this world… They did not build the world to accommodate humans and they do not change it to do so.”

Dawn wonders how Ingo even came to Hisui in the first place. He wasn’t brought to save it by Arceus, like she was, but he was there all the same; just another casualty of the conflicting nature of living.

“I… do you-” She bites down on her tongue, distrustful of the words that it might say. “I’m sorry, Ingo. I’m so sorry.”

“Why?”

Dawn startles. “Why? I lied that’s why. I lied to you, I-I said that my name was Akari and that I had amnesia like you did and it was wrong.” Her voice drops. “I tricked you into thinking there was someone else like you.”

“You are like me, Lady Dawn.”

“Not in the way you thought I was.”

“Within Hisui, you were the only one who understood, even the slightest bit.” He shakes his head slowly. “You were a frightened child, Lady Dawn. I do not blame you for your actions.”

“I still did it though.”

“That’s true, but there isn’t much we can do about it now.” Ingo twists his head to look at her, silver eyes cloudy with emotion. “Nothing but move on.”

“Yeah, that’s… Yeah.”

Silence falls over them as Dawn stares out the window, watching as the inky black slowly bleeds into something resembling the twinkling night sky.

“I want to help you,” she says, voice steady.

Ingo shakes his head. “You’ve already done so much for me, I couldn’t possibly ask you for any more.”

“You’re not asking, Ingo, I-I want to help. I really do. You still haven’t gotten all of your memory back or met the man in white—“

“Lady Dawn, I wouldn’t wish to be a burden to you any longer. You deserve to go back to your life without worrying over me.” Ingo’s eyes burn into her, filled with so much regret that it makes Dawn sick to her stomach.

“I’ll worry more if I don’t know what you’re up to,” she protests, the hands in her lap curling into fists. “Besides, weren’t you the one who said adjustments will have to be made? Why can’t you be one of them?”

Ingo snorts. “You’re very stubborn, aren’t you?”

“You just learned that?”

He snorts again, but says nothing. Dawn fiddles with the end of her scarf, picking at the fraying threads. She knows she shouldn’t, she doesn’t have anyone to fix it for her anymore, but she does anyway.

“Of course you can help, Lady Dawn. I would be honored if we were to work together once more.”

She beams.

It’s almost as if the train can feel her excitement, because it starts to speed up. The thudding of wheels passing over tracks grows faster and louder beneath her feet until the entire car is shaking around them. They’re moving faster, faster until the world outside the windows is nothing but a blur. Her hand finds Ingo’s, their fingers interlacing as she draws breath, deep and slow. He does the same.

Soon enough, the train screeches to a halt, the sound of metal against metal grating Dawn’s ears.

The world is quiet and still. Beside her, Ingo huffs out a breath.

“I believe that this is our stop, Lady Dawn.”

He stands, gently tugging Dawn to her feet, and guides her across the car until they’re stood in front of the pair of double doors.

“Are you ready for departure?”

Dawn’s own wild eyes stare back at her from the reflection in the window. Her hair is frizzed and her scarf is fraying, the foreign clothes of the Galaxy Team highlighted by the modernity of the train around her. She may look like a piece of history, but she was returning to her time. The right one. Maybe even bringing a little bit of history along with her, with tales of Beaufort the Dustox and clan rivalries and festivals filled with laughter and music and potato mochi. Even by bringing back the man who fell through spacetime.

“Yeah. I’m ready.”

Ingo doesn’t quite smile, the corner of his mouth twitching up only the slightest bit, but it warms Dawn from the inside out anyway.

“Please stand clear of the doors,” he says, reaching forward and flicking the latch free. Dawn’s eyes fixate on the movement, on the doors slowly sliding away to reveal the other side. “And watch your step while departing.”

Together, they step forward and out into the world. Dawn can feel the cool hardness of the concrete beneath her feet, even through her sandals. It’s a feeling she’d never thought she’d miss, but it grounds her now.

Her eyes take in a quick scan of the surroundings. They’re at a proper train station, based on the board of arrival and departure times and the map of all the lines plastered on the back wall. It’s surprisingly empty, too, the only people she sees are the loose half-ring of trainers surrounding them.

Most of them are in green uniforms, pokéballs in hand— real ones, with that shiny finish and sleek design and perfectly round buttons— standing at attention. Or they would’ve been, if they didn’t look so shocked. One of them looked ready to burst into tears, another more angry than anything else. Dawn forces herself not to shrink underneath their gazes.

There’s a tall woman standing near the center, with two coils of dark hair and a large yellow coat. She looks ready to cry too, a dangerous mixture of confusion and relief swirling around on her face. Her eyes are fixed onto Ingo, but she keeps blinking like she expects him to disappear when she opens them up again.

But most importantly, there is a man. He stands in-line with the woman, eyes just as wide as hers, clutching a pokéball within his grasp. His posture is stiff as a board, his clothing pressed to perfection, all straight lines and sharp edges.

He is the man in white. The one who shares Ingo’s face.

The grip on her hand tightens and Ingo tenses, drawn taut like a fishing line. There’s something in his expression that she can’t quite read, even as Dawn searches over and over.

Then, all she can do is watch as the line snaps. Ingo’s grip in her hand goes slack and he rushes forward, pure joy blossoming on his face as he and the man in white slam into each other, collapsing into a tangle of limbs and tears and delight.

Quietly, Dawn sends a prayer of thanks up to Arceus.

#submas #ingo #emmet #pla dawn #pla akari #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon #pokemon bw #elesa pokemon #can you tell i love it when characters hold hands and just talk it out #can you #shippers dni #this is not romantic #blankshippers dni

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haveyoureadthispoll · 13 days

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Once, we’d worshipped them as Gods. For nearly 400 years, the Veil has protected us from the Fae of Alfheimr. In their absence, our lives have shifted from decadence and sin to survival and virtue under the guidance of the New Gods. I’ve spent my entire life tending to the gardens next to the boundary between our worlds, drawn to the shimmering magic like a moth to the flame. Then, we died on their swords. All of that changes the day the Veil shatters, unleashing the fae upon our world once again. The magic of faerie marks those of us they mean to take, but the Mist Guard protecting Nothrek will kill us all before they let the fae have us. There’s no choice but to flee everything I’ve ever known, not if I want to live to see my twenty-first birthday as a free woman. Now, they’ll claim what’s theirs. But before they capture me, Caelum saves me from the Wild Hunt. Fae-marked and on the run, he is able to fight back in ways I only dream of. From tentative alliance to all-consuming passion, our bond strengthens as the fae close in and evil lurks ever nearer. With my life on the line, he is everything I shouldn’t dare to want and a distraction I can’t afford. I can’t seem to stay away, not even with something greater on the line. My heart.

#book: what lies beyond the veil #author: harper l. woods #genre: fantasy #genre: romance #year: 2020s

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ambrosiafaery · 1 year

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i simply think the animatic brainworms need a better working schedule. anyways. intro of a farren centric animatic that has been haunting my waking hours for the past 3 weeks but didnt allow myself to start because i had 3 other art projects and a different animatic thats in progress right now

youtube

#farren #thousand year legend #alfheimr #talesin #my characters #wip #Youtube

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dwollsadventures · 11 months

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The conventional description of the Nine Realms. Each is a different branch of Yggdrasil, separate from the others.

Watching the newest Overly Sarcastic Production video on the mythological Nine Realms (here) has motivated me to return to writing a proper myth stuff entry. This is going to be on a single topic and a widespread misconception.

We in the modern world have a bit of a handicap when it comes to understanding the old world. The culmination of science and historical knowledge makes it difficult to understand people who don’t have that same basis of information informing their own beliefs. The most important widely known fact for our purposes here is astronomical. When most people today hear the word ‘world’, the next mental connection is often ‘planet’. We know we live on a planet which itself is one of many in a great celestial system of stars. This is the reason why there’s such a mental disconnect between us and the concept of the mythological ‘realm’.

This cosmological bias is evident in adaptations of Norse mythology: in Marvel the Nine Realms are different planets and in both God of War and Magnus Chase the Nine Realms are different dimensions. The other eight are connected to our own planet or dimension. It goes without saying that the medieval Norse and their ancestors did not know what planets or dimensions were. If they couldn’t understand the Nine Realms as dimensions or planets, what did they imagine them as?

Let’s look at the language. ‘Realm’ is but one translation for the word ‘heimr’. When we say Nine Realms in English, the Norse said Niu Heimar (heimar being the plural of heimr). The same word is used as a suffix for most of the commonly listed ‘realms’: Vanaheimr, Alfheimr, Niflheimr, etc. This word was not exclusive to mythology, however. One of Norway’s largest cities, Trondheim, bears this as well. “The Realm of Trond” doesn’t quite ring though. The more direct translation is “the home of the Trønd”, which makes more sense when you know that the trønder (þrǿndr in Old Norse) were a people who founded the city which bore their name. Applying this to the mythological names we get ‘home of the Vanir’, ‘home of the Elves/Alfar’, and ‘home of Mist’. When you read it outloud and abandon the astronomical point of view for a medieval geographic one, these names read less like planets and dimensions and more like countries or territories.

A rough attempt at combining the disparate geographic elements in the Eddas into a single plane. Jormungandr not included. Although, his presence makes one wonder if the Norse had an idea like the Greek Oceanus, where the mortal world was surrounded completely by a continuous river.

In this context, the confusing geography of the mythological heimar makes (a little) more sense. The Norse understood the mythological races not as living in a magical otherworld, but as living in far-off lands and territories. Jotunheimr’s frequent pluralization makes more sense in this regard: the jotnar are not a monolith, so of course there are multiple territories controlled by different populations of giants. The multiple ‘realms’ of the gods in Asgard are recontextualized as separate counties or neighborhoods controlled by the head gods. The Old Norse, after all, were a feudal society where farmers controlled large plots of land. The second suffix found in the mythological realms adds to this: ‘gardr’ means a fence or wall, which is what farmers would encircle their land with to demarcate boundaries.

The surprising amount of physical geography that pops up also makes more sense. Skirnir, the vassal of Freyr (note the medieval feudal term), must pass “wet mountains” to reach Gerth in Gymir’s abode. Griminsmal mentions many, many rivers that cross the lands of the gods

It isn’t all peachy-keen. The names we like to focus on so much are still poetic inventions. It’s doubtful that the skalds and priests who recited and/or believed in them put as much thought as anyone today into their mechanics. There are also still supernatural elements surrounding them, as can be found in other myths and legends: the home of the dead cannot just be crossed like any old border, and all the Jotunheimar are East of Asgardr and Midgardr regardless of position. Hel itself is a conundrum as it is said to be both beneath the earth and accessible by crossing the earth. The primordial Niflheimr and Muspelheimr are said to be north and south respectively, but that’s it.

Still, the idea of these mythological polities as planets or dimensions continually hinders modern understanding and writing concerning them. Looking at things from the medieval point of view rather than the modern one can shake up the preconceptions we continually apply to these fantastical lands.

Sources:

“Contradictory cosmology in old norse myth and religion – but still a system?” by Eldar Heide (2014)

“Eddic Mythology” by John Arnott MacCulloch (1930)

#myth stuff #norse mythology #germanic mythology #nine realms #the nine realms #niu heimar #yggdrasil #mythology #jotun #jotnar

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