#shining force ii: ancient sealing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

claire-starsword · 4 months

Text

Shining Force II Encyclopedia - Prologue + Act 1: Presage of War

[read on Neocities]

In distant days of a time gone by, there was a creature of pure evil. The people then were resolute, and challenged such evil. Paying dearly with many sacrifices, they reached an end to their harsh struggle. Sealed that evil existence. And a peaceful age went by, countless days and nights. However, by certain impetus, that balance now stands to be crushed! The evil creature's accrued power and anger gusts out at once. Swallows the fruits of this plentiful age and tear them to bits. The people once content in those blissful days now shiver in fear, scream, and lose their minds in terror… However, there was one young hero. The young boy chosen by the gods, unknowing of the fate entrusted to him, Rose up against the evil ones. And now, he departs from Granseal.

Act 1: Presage of War

Everything began from two jewels being stolen...

The continent of Parmecia lies in the distant north, and to its coast is an island of lush green, Grans. In this island, there are two ruins built long, long before the current residents settled there.

One is a massive tower of stone, known as Ancient Tower. Its entrance is sealed tightly, and no one has ever laid eyes upon the secrets within.

The other is a small ancient shrine. As the years passed, many came to learn of its existence. It is said that within this shrine lie the legendary Jewels of Light and Darkness... But, not many know the jewels have a reason to exist. No one knows what will happen once their seal is broken...

In the south of Grans Island is the kingdom of Granseal. A certain boy lives there. He does not yet know, the fate that will befall him. The fate of the world now begins to change...

[As seen above, the book has a prologue for the game and flavorful narrations for the start of each of the four acts it splits the story into. Besides that, the rest of the walkthrough consists of event and battle pages. Event pages are about the exploration and story developments, so I've translated the main text, as it sometimes contains descriptions of towns and details not in the game. I've glossed over other info boxes though as they only point out important items and other gameplay stuff. Battle pages are entirely battle strategy so I've ignored them, save for their flavorful subtitles.

Not including page images because it's pain, the book's full scan is here as usual]

Event no.01

Granseal Town

-The town where Bowie was born and raised

This rural town is blessed with water and lush greenery, and fishing thrives there. Many species such as humans, elves and centaurs live there together.

The story begins the day after a storm. People welcome the new dawn as usual, but...

Granseal town is a castle town next to the Granseal castle, at the south of Grans Island. To the northeast looms the Ancient Tower, with impenetrable secrets, and to the south, a small ancient shrine hiding two jewels. There aren't any sort of farms around, and many people seem to make their living out of fishing.

To the side of the item and weapon shop is a fortuneteller with a crystal ball, reading the future. Their premonition is that somehow, ruin is coming to the kingdom of Granseal. How will such a peaceful country be destroyed? But, the appearance of this fortuneteller is something for later.

Event no.02

Granseal Castle

-Something happened to King Granseal?

Regular people usually cannot set foot on the castle. The only person at town that seems to come and go there freely is Sir Astral.

Following Astral to Granseal castle. Let's explore the place.

Within the large castle grounds is a temporary bedroom for the soldiers not in the castle proper. There's also a weapon storage, but the doors haven't been opened in many years, they might not be fit for proper use. There's a big chance that they have rusted after so long.

The only bordering country, Galam, at the north of Grans Island, is an ally of Granseal. Because of that, Granseal hasn't seen any war in the past decades. The soldiers walking around the castle look bored. The most they have to do are things like exterminating rats. But the fact that they have so much free time is proof that the country is at peace.

It's not as if they wish for war, but some soldiers do seem frustrated by these boring days.

Battle no.01

The Ancient Tower

-How is it connected to the king's illness!?

To find out the cause of the king's sickness, Bowie and his friends joined the investigation at the Ancient Tower. Inside the tower, evil creatures awaited!

Battle no.02

To Yeel Village

-The first field battle

In place of Astral, who has collapsed, Bowie and his friends must go the Hawel's house. The situation is escalating little by little.

Event no.03

Yeel Village

-A mountain village where not many young people can be seen

A small village surrounded by mountains, to the northwest of Granseal. The few remaining young people there are bored of their too quiet lifestyle.

The team is not the only one that came for Hawel

The village of Yeel is peaceful to the point of boredom. This Hawel person that Bowie and his friends are looking for is a bit notorious there. Apparently he's a very eccentric and weird old man. Somewhere in the village is Hawel's pupil, Kazin, and he'll guide the team to his master's house. By the way, from what the people in the village say, soldiers from Galam came looking for Hawel as well. What could they possibly want with him?

Battle no.03

To Hawel's House

-A field that favors defense, covered in forest

Guided by Kazin, the team heads north once again. However, the path to Hawel's house is monster territory!

Event no.04

Hawel's House

-Other guests have arrived first...

The isolated house at the northwest of Grans Island is Hawel's house. Arriving at the door, something odd seems to be happening inside. Maybe someone else has come by.

Bowie and his friends have arrived at Hawel's house. Will be mystery of Granseal be revealed?

Hawel lives at this quiet land surrounded by mountains and forest. He doesn't come out of the house very often, absorbed in some sort of research. Because of that, the people of Yeel regard him as a weird guy.

Coming to the door and calling out for him got no answer at all. Maybe he went out for something. As everyone enters the house, two other people were already there. And Hawel was lying down at their feet!

These people who attacked Hawel were actually Galam soldiers. They came to steal his research on Granseal. Hawel speaks of a seal cast upon Grans Island, and then take his final breath. For some reason, the once friendly nation of Galam has done such a thing. And there's some connection between this and Granseal's door opening.

Battle no.04

From Hawel's house to Yeel Village

-Galam soldiers are in the way!!

The team has to go to the small ancient shrine now. Blocking their path were not monsters, but soldiers of their ally country, Galam.

Event no.05

Galam Castle 1

-What will happen to Bowie and the others locked in the underground prison!?

Bowie woke up in an underground prison. A sage and an officer of Galam were also there. They know a little of what's happening to Granseal.

King Galam has imprisoned even his own people. What could be his goal?

In the prison underneath Galam castle, the team discovers who broke into the small ancient shrine. The culprit deeply regrets what he did, and helps Bowie and his friends escape from Galam. There's no time to waste. They must warn Granseal of the incoming attack from Galam as soon as possible!

Battle no.05

Galam Castle 2

-Will they be able to escape from Galam castle?

Thanks to the thief Slade, they managed to escape from prison. Maybe they'll be able to reach Granseal before the Galam army.

Battle no.06

To Granseal

-Attack from the ally-turned-enemy country!!

There are orders to strike down anyone leaving Galam. Force the Galam soldiers to retreat, and hurry to Granseal!

Battle no.07

The Ancient Tower's Underground Path And Huge Hall

-The mysterious seal in the tower is crawling with evil power

The team headed to Granseal, pursuing Sir Astral and Lemon. With this battle, King Galam's true objective will be revealed.

#shining series #shining force 2 #shining force 2 encyclopedia #shining force 2 act 1 #if you wanna know how my brain's been this week #i've been making the neocities pages all this time #and only now i realized i should be putting the pages side by side to look better #as opposed to vertically like a pdf #it has not been a great week people #enjoy this though

3 notes · View notes

tianyuelin · 4 years

Link

戰鬥場4

#EP:04-2 #光明與黑暗2續戰篇古代的封印 #シャイニング・フォースII 古えの封印 #Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing #Mega Drive #MD #角色扮演 #SEGA

2 notes · View notes

lifeofkaze · 3 years

Text

The Easter Dragon

Charlie Weasley x Reader

A/N: Happy Easter to all you lovely people!

Word Count: ~ 1.800

With a sigh of relief, Charlie shut the door to his old room behind him and leaned against it for a moment. The Burrow was a madhouse today; all his brothers and his sister had arrived with their families to celebrate Easter with the Weasley grandparents. His parents loved their house being filled with the laughter of countless children once more, but Charlie was glad for the respite his old room provided him.

Everyone was here already, except for you. You weren’t scheduled to arrive until tomorrow, for the actual Easter celebrations. There had been some last minute emergency back at the dragon reserve that had demanded your immediate attention; under usual circumstances, Charlie would have stayed as well, but the circumstances were anything but usual this time.

He carefully placed his bag on his old bed and produced the giant chocolate egg he had secretly crafted in your kitchen back in Romania before he had left for England. His mother had told him how to do it; gifting each other chocolate eggs had been a tradition in the Weasley family since Charlie could remember.

He had given it his all; he had spent countless hours meticulously carving the scales out of the crimson coloured chocolate before he had sprinkled it with a fine layer of golden glitter to make it look like the egg of a Chinese Fireball; he knew they were your favourite breed.

Charlie brushed his old dragon miniatures on the desk to the side with his elbow before he delicately placed the dragon egg on the wooden surface. He lifted the top off and set it aside before he dug deep into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out the small red box containing your present and placed it in the middle of the lower half. He assembled both halves again, making sure the scales on the outside were aligning, and sealed the crack in the chocolate with a flick of his wand.

He observed his work with a self-satisfied grin before placing the egg in the wicker basket he had stuffed with hay and some smaller chocolate eggs and pushed it back under his bed until the time for its great appearance had come.

Relieved that this part of your surprise was finished, he left the room to go help Bill put up the garden decorations his mother had forced on him, whistling happily to himself. He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the two intrigued pairs of eyes watching him leaving his room from the shadow of the crooked staircase.

When he returned an hour later, he stopped dead in his tracks upon finding the door to his room standing slightly ajar. The colour drained from his freckled face as he frantically raked his mind for the memory of whether he had locked the door or not. He pushed it open and went straight for the hiding place of his special Easter basket. He crouched down on the floor to peek under the bed and found his worst fear confirmed; the basket was gone.

His heart pounded faster as the panic started to set in; he had to find the dragon egg again. He searched the whole floor for it, then the next one down, and the ground floor afterwards. He was just rummaging through the kitchen as the sound of crinkling paper and giggles reached his ears from the adjacent living room.

Charlie spun around and followed the laughter to find his nieces and nephews assembled in a circle on the carpet, surrounded by heaps of coloured wrapping paper, mouths smudged with chocolate. In the middle of the carnage sat his basket, the red dragon egg the last thing to survive the feast.

“Where did you get that?” he asked them with the sternest Uncle-Charlie-voice he could muster.

The little rascals froze on their spot as their eyes collectively darted to their scolding uncle.

Little Lily finally plucked up her courage to answer him. “The Easter Bunny brought us chocolate!” she stated defensively. “We were even sharing!”

Charlie stemmed his hands into his hips. “The Easter Bunny, huh? Does this,” he pointed to his chocolate dragon egg, “look like a regular Easter egg to you?”

They all shook their head. “No, Uncle Charlie,” muttered Hugo.

“That’s because it’s something special,” Charlie lowered his voice conspiratorially. “It belongs to the Easter Dragon.”

James crossed his arms in front of his chest critically. “The Easter Dragon?”

“Exactly,” Charlie crouched down next to them. “He lives in Romania and like proper dragons do, he guards his treasure until the time is right. And he wants you to give his egg back.”

James hummed and leaned over to his cousin Fred II without taking his eyes off Charlie. “Do we believe that, Freddie?”

The other boy shook his head. “Not at all, James.”

“Thought so.” With a sudden lunge forward he tackled Charlie, who immediately lost his balance and crashed to the ground. James wrestled Charlie’s wand from the waistband of his trousers and held it up triumphantly before leaping off his stunned uncle.

“Run!” he shouted to the other children. Fred grabbed the precious egg and lead the pack out into the garden in a full sprint, James hot on his heels.

Charlie cursed in Romanian and scrambled to his feet. He cursed again as he realised his wandless state and set off after them.

Although their legs were fundamentally shorter than his, they were surprisingly fast, he had to give them that.

He was chasing them through the garden and back into the house again. George had joined him as he had leapt over the fence of the chicken compound. “Why are we running?” he had shouted at Charlie with his unmistakable mischievous laugh, but Charlie had been too out of breath to answer.

They raced them through the kitchen and up the stairs to the top landing. Charlie thought they had them cornered there, but these kids were surprisingly resourceful. They had climbed out of the window and onto the roof one by one and were clambering down on the many nooks and ledges of the Burrow by the time Charlie had reached them.

He could hear Hermione hysterically screaming from outside as she saw Hugo dangling from the ancient drains, but by the time she had her wand out, he had already let go and landed safely in James’s arms.

Charlie dashed down the stairs again with newfound determination; if he managed to reach the porch before they did, he would be able to intercept them and get his treasure dragon egg back.

He skittered out of the patio door to see the kids already making their way off the porch in the direction of the fields unfolding behind their garden. Freddie was still carrying the egg under his arm.

As they passed Victoire, who was lounging in a sunchair at the end of the patio, flicking through the pages of a magazine, she stuck her foot out all of a sudden without even batting an eye. James, who had been running in front, stumbled and came crashing down on the floorboards; the other children were unable to stop their momentum and tripped over him, landing on top of each other in a cluster of arms and legs.

“That’s for ratting Teddy and me out earlier,” Victoire stated indignantly, got up and strutted off.

Charlie was finally able to catch up with them, this flanks burning from the lack of air. As Freddie scrambled to his feet rubbing his elbow, he was able to take in the amount of damage the fall had wreaked on what had been the focal point for his great surprise for you only an hour ago.

The crimson chocolate egg had crushed beneath the weight of his nieces and nephews, the shattered remains scattered all over the floor. Charlie’s eyes quickly scanned the area for the small box the egg had held; unseen by the children, it had rolled under Victoire’s sunchair. Before anyone else could get their hands on it, he quickly scooped it up.

“What in Godric’s name happened here?”

Charlie jumped at the familiar voice coming from behind him. He quickly got up off the floor and hid the box behind his back as he turned around to face you.

He smiled in what he hoped looked like a surprised and innocent way as you strode up the steps from the garden to place a quick kiss on his lips.

“What’re you doing here already, love?” he murmured against your lips. “I thought they needed you back at the reserve until tomorrow.”

You hummed as you smiled up at your oddly flustered looking boyfriend. “We were able to settle things quicker than we thought we would, so I caught an earlier portkey.” You eyed him up and down. “Is everything alright?”

He was spared an answer as the kids, who had disentangled themselves from one another, took note of who had just arrived.

“Auntie Y/N!” they screeched as the raced past Charlie and almost knocked you back down the steps into the grass.

You laughed and ruffled their hair. Lily hugged your waist tightly and exclaimed “Look at what we nicked from the Easter Dragon!” She was waving one of the bigger shards of the chocolate egg in your face.

Your eyes found Charlie’s as you smiled down at the girl; they were shining with the laughter mirrored on your face. “The Easter Dragon, huh? Now that’s a dragon I’d like to meet; do you want to tell me all about him?” You picked Lily up and made your way over to the big tree at the corner of the garden where the old swing Charlie and his siblings had played on when they were children was situated.

All the kids followed her without so much as another glance at their uncle. Only Lily stuck his tongue out to him over your shoulder.

Charlie smiled to himself at the sight of you surrounded by the youngest members of your family. He opened the box he had still held hidden behind his back until now to check its content. He sighed with relief upon seeing that the ring situated inside was unharmed.

“Do you think she noticed something?” Bill had walked up to him, leaning on the railing lining their porch and casting a quick glance at his younger brother.

Charlie snapped the box shut again and stuffed it deep into his pocket. “I don’t think so.”

“And what are you going to do now? Your plan seems pretty much ruined to me.”

Charlie shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter,” he grinned, “the Easter Dragon always finds a way.”

#charlie weasley #harry potter #hogwarts mystery #hphm #charlie weasley x reader #easter fluff #happy easter you lovely lot

175 notes · View notes

quillandink333 · 3 years

Text

Bereavement ~ Part II

BotW Link X Zelda

Rating: M

Word Count: 1.1k

WARNINGS: graphic depictions of violence, blood and gore, major character death

Summary: In the wake of the Great Calamity, Link mourns the sudden loss of his beloved princess, who never succeeded in unlocking the sacred power to seal Ganon away.

Part I • Part II • Part III • Masterlist

The words somehow spoken by the blade were enough to shake me out of my pain-stricken state. “Who are you?” And how dare you? I wanted to add, muscles tense and teeth borne in a disgusted snarl.

“The details of my identity are not important. For now, I am simply your loyal messenger.” Messenger? What kind of messenger resided inside an ancient sword with the power to pierce the heart of evil? “I have received word from the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. Please listen well, for Their decree is thusly.”

I kept waiting for a chance to interrupt this spirit, or whatever it was, as there were still so many things on my mind that I needed answers to. But the chance to do so never came.

The voice changed as it delivered the so-called ‘decree of the Goddesses.’ Its aura was brighter and purer, almost unrecognizable. “‘As Hylia’s sole heir has fallen in the wake of the Great Calamity, We have no choice but to put the fate of Hyrule in your hands.’”

“What—?!”

A sudden shock wave erupted right in front of me. I winced, feeling like my body had collided flat against a surface of water. The sound was deafening. I opened my eyes, but the blinding light now emanating up from Zelda’s corpse forced me to squint.

As my eyes adjusted, I began to make out the shape of the insignia known well by all people across Hyrule.

“‘O hero chosen by the sword that seals the darkness,’” it went on, “‘We now bestow upon you Our legacy—the ancient power that was once passed down from generation to generation within the holy royal family—the Triforce.’” My mouth hung open as I knelt, at a complete loss. “‘Go forth, brave one, and put an end to this disaster.’”

The sword went silent. I was expecting something more. Perhaps a few words of clarification or encouragement or at least some justification for me to do as suggested. When none was given, I shook my head in disbelief, then simply said, “No.”

The blade reverted back to its original voice. “Master...”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“It is by the will of the Goddesses that you—”

“Really?” I snapped. The sword’s glow dimmed. “Where were these ‘merciful Goddesses’ while the princess wasted her whole life away trying to wield this ‘sacred power?’” I scoffed spitefully. “Where were They just moments ago? When...when I couldn’t...” My tone was teetering, tears rolling heavily down my cheeks and plummeting onto the unmoving husk lying in my lap. My hands clenched into fists. “Damn it...”

Another moment passed as I wept silently. Then that wretched voice chimed in again. “Please, do not think you hold any responsibility for this.” I buried my nose in Zelda’s limp, golden locks, the light continuing to beat down harshly. “I may be a stranger to you, but this is not the case in the other direction.” I raised my head. “I can say with ninety five percent certainty that you blame yourself for this more than you do anyone else, including the three Goddesses.”

I blinked away a few more tears. “What...?”

“I can sense the deep anguish you are feeling,” continued the sword spirit in its ethereal tamber. “And at present, I must urge you to direct that anguish towards your enemy, the one that took Her Highness away from you.”

I clasped my hand tightly around that of my deceased deity, gritting my teeth. “Ganon.”

It was true that none of this would’ve come to pass if it weren’t for the putrid haze of evil crawling across every field. Even now, I still heard the bone-chilling clanks and the screams of terrorized soldiers in the distance. It filled my being with an overwhelming need for silence.

I was already prepared to die alongside her; I no longer feared it.

Tenderly, I placed the body of my goddess on the ground, whispering a faint yet heartfelt apology for once again having to abandon her where she lay. I stumbled as I rose to my feet, still wounded and weak, and fixed my gaze on the gleaming monument before me.

The moment the fingertips of my right hand made contact with it, my being was seized by an insurmountable force. It flowed through me, burning my throat and filling me up to the brim like lightning. Then as soon as the sensation had taken hold of me, it dissipated.

The light was gone, now manifesting itself as a faint glow exuding from my form. I stood up straight, rolling my head back. I felt completely revitalized. There wasn’t a trace of fatigue left in my body, and it was as if each and every one of the cuts and bruises I’d sustained had been burned right off.

Casting my gaze downward, I took in the sight of the Triforce, all three segments shining bright and strong, engraved on the back of my hand.

Crouching down onto one knee, I donned the legendary sword once again. My hair fluttered in the wind once freed from the bonds keeping it contained behind my back. I’d gone and done it. There was no turning back now.

It didn’t take me long to master control over my new abilities. After my first attempt at wielding them, it seemed just about all the evil within a mile radius had been wiped clean off the face of the earth. At first, it shocked me. Then I realized, up against a foe such as mine, there was no point in holding back.

I hated to admit it for the princess’ sake, but utilizing this power was surprisingly intuitive. If she’d only had a few more moments...

My hand tightened its pulverizing grip on the Master Sword. The sooner the Calamity was brought to its knees, the better. It wouldn’t be much longer, as traveling on foot was made incredibly easy. I was so light on my feet, it felt as though I could leave the ground at any moment. I was impervious to the laws of nature that had once kept me chained to the earth. Nothing stood in my way as I bounded weightlessly across the fields, leaving a trail of twisted carcasses behind me.

At long last, I’d arrived. Castle Town was in ruins, and the stench of blood mixed with malice hung thick in the air. The beast billowed and prowled high above the castle rooftops, the very sight of it setting my nerves ablaze. The end was nigh, and this time, I would not fail.

#my writing #fanfic #botw #zelink #botw zelink #zelink botw #link x zelda #botw link x zelda #zelda x link #botw zelda x link #zelink fanfic #zelink fic #zelink ff #link pov #I was only gonna have two parts to this but.....#yeah this got a little out of hand lol

26 notes · View notes

freddy-ryland · 3 years

Photo

scene ii: the art of memory

turn up the volume I'm not listening the dialogue is static and I start to panic and the music fades

The dull roar in her ears was familiar as she stepped out of the glowing green flames, hurrying forward a few steps to make room for the tell-tale whoosh of a similar traveler. The teenager was sure to wipe her sooty palms off on a handkerchief, straightening out her jumper before approaching the visitor's desk. There was a long winding line behind the little gate, stamped with the Ministry Seal, but she sidestepped it and waited for the man to wave at her.

There were a few noises of annoyance as Freddy cleared the line, but a singular glare from the attending Auror shut them up. Freddy patted Amara Bone's arm, who flushed and continued to stand ramrod straight. The elder Hufflepuff had always been kind to her at Hogwarts; she'd woken up with Amara carrying her back to her room many times after passing out around the castle. Amara always cut a surprisingly imposing figure, despite being one of the softest people Freddy had met in her life.

"Another top-secret meeting with our magical mimes eh Lil' Ry," The man had a shockingly bad case of bedhead and a lazy eye, he told her tales that he popped the eye out during the war to scare Snatchers so he could get the drop on them in a fight, and it never healed right. "Thinkin' that you might as well become a mime yourself, missus."

"Gerald, I think I've had my fill of our devout Unspeakables," she flashed him a smile as he continued to process her wand, a rigid formality, "and I've every intention to make a grand escape of them once I graduate."

"A grand escape, eh?"

"Oh yes, it's all very planned out, our lovely chats will come to an end. I'll be sure to send you a postcard." She had a map of every place she wanted to see, already marked up and pasted to her wall.

"You do that girl," Gerald smiled, he was missing his front tooth, and it always gave his words a distinctive whistling sound, "you get outta here an' far away from those mimes before they trap you in their circus."

"I was thinking of joining the circus actually, as a fortune-teller. Get some real-world experiences," Freddy grinned, "though I have plenty of experience working with mimes and clowns." Gerald's whistling laugh followed her through the marbled Atrium as she squeezed by, fixating her visitor's badge to the front of her sweater.

More than a few ministry workers recognized her, between Micah and Uncle Kinglsey and her Mum being the Healer for the rich and pure, Freddy had been around these halls since she was born. Most offered small smiles and mayne some gently awkward small talk and returned to their lives. An older red-haired woman held the elevator door open for her as Freddy thanked her profusely, having nearly missed it after being waylaid by some friend-of-Mom's-patients-nephew. It wasn't unusual to see teenagers at the Ministry, between internships and family, but it was unusual to see 'Department of Mysteries' embossed on her visitor's badge. It earned her a few looks on the crowded elevator so Freddy simply smiled and watched the arrow tick. Slowly the overfilled elevator began to empty until it was just Freddy left. Kicking her heels against the ground, the teenager started to gently sweat under her loose top, a pit opening as she watched the arrow tick down and down towards 9.

Finally, the door opened, and the Hufflepuff stepped out into the Atrium, a cold desolate place. The floors were disconcertingly white, the kind of white that reminds you of dying, shined to such a high polish that Freddy could see up her own skirt. The walls were covered in etched runes and spells in Latin, Greek and possibly more than a few ancient, dead languages. There were no portraits adorning the sparse walls, only four statues in each corner of the room, all of which were humans in some sort of distorted way. Unspeakable Hawkins once told her they were reminders of how the human soul can twist when experimenting with unknown magic, a warning of sorts to the workers. A reminder. One she didn't need as Freddy looked away from the child chimera hybrid writhing on the ground below the impatient glare of an older woman who held a gnarled rod above it’s body. There was a distinctive clicking noise that was the only sound in the room, and Freddy moved towards it, keeping a careful eye on the statues.

The Hufflepuff hated when they moved, or decided to watch her.

A woman sat behind a similarly Spartan desk, typing away and glaring at the man sitting at the lone mid-century chair that looks like a child's under his bulk and stature. His shock of royal purple and gold robes were dazzlingly out of place in this room, and as the receptionist sniffed at Freddy in her voiceless greeting, Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up. His lips pulled into a comfortingly wide smile.

"Uncle King?" Freddy hurried across the marble, taking care not to slip on the slick surface, "what are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check on your progress with Madame Basnet--"

"Unspeakable Basnet, Mr. Shacklebolt," the receptionist, Alisha snapped, her box braids whipping around her head so she could level a cold glare at him, "do remember her title, Sir." The clack! clack! clack! continued it's metronome and paper continued to feed into it with twitches of her pinky.

"Forgive me, Madame Kieta," his grin might’ve been charming to anyone else but the living statue at the desk.

Her face pinched returning to her typing, the clack of the typewriter going faster as the door in front of them began to open. Freddy never understood how she opened it when her fingers never left the typewriter. "Mr. Shacklebolt has already taken his Vow of Silence, he may enter. As for you, Ms. Ryland, the statues will tell if you've been following your end of the contract."

Following her end of the contract, a contract she took when she was still a child and was somehow so binding it made her keep having to coming here every goddamn week. Just the notion of still being forced by a decade old scrap of parchment was enough to make her want to cuss Ms. Kieta out.

But, Uncle Kingsley held his arm out, and in the fashion of any proper young woman of magical society, she took it with a gentle bob of her knees. Long schooled into her by her Mum. She kept her mouth shut, teeth grinding on sharp words until they became soft powder.

The statue from the corner crawled over as they crossed the invisible barrier between the rest of the world and the Department of Mysteries. It was an eyeless thing, mouth carved open and gapping with marble streaks of drool. Truly it would’ve been an impressive piece of art if it wasn’t so gruesome. Its movement caused a grinding sound of stone on stone; the magicked creature prowled around her ankles before coming up behind her shoulder.

Freddy stood stock still, eyes screwing tight. She'd seen what happened when someone broke their Silence Vows, and the statue found it. The teen remembered how fast they moved and the high-pitched whistling sound they made for an alarm. She remembered how the woman's skull cracked when marble met marble with a body between. Freddy had been tugged in by Unspeakable Ellie, and sat down with comforting head pats from folk who didn’t know how to pet a cat without being constipated.

The teenager let out a sigh, not unlike a balloon, as the statue nudged her hand, cold and hard, before retreating to its sentry position in the corner.

"Horrible creatures," Kingsley whispered; his knuckles were white, and the bulge of his biceps were stone beneath her tightened grip, "wholly unnecessary for someone of your position." For all that he was a war hero her Uncle always did take far too much pride in their family position at the Ministry, but that was just pureblood upbringing for you.

"The Department must have their protections, even from someone overly familiar."

Kingsley made a noise of disapproval before they entered the real Atrium. The place was a madhouse in truth, positively Frankenstienan compared to the cold room they just left. Messenger papers were flying above their heads and the distant sound of a boom. Desks were smashed together while massive runes covered thick paper; one desk was dedicated to writing implements -- quill, pen, pencil, charcoal, blood ink, unicorn blood ink, paint, chalk. In addition, there was a large bookcase stretching from floor to ceiling and filled to bursting with papers, books, and more than a few stone tablets.

Unspeakable Hawkins was rushed past, jostling a cauldron and a papyrus scroll. He offered a cursorary wave before cursing as he tripped over a series of tangled wires. In a distant corner, Freddy noted a man talking to himself, Keith? Kai? Kyle? She couldn't remember his name, nor what they spoke of, nor anything about him. His name started with a 'K,' and he always looked half beaten to death with exhaustion. Unspeakable Ellie (who refused her surname for security purposes) was orchestrating a jostling crowd of marmosets, succulents, several hummingbirds, and a single cacti in a floating box headed towards a door marked with green. Freddy could see the bone thorns on her shoulders and arms peeking between the folds of her bulky Unspeakable robe even from this distance. There were doors all around them, moving in and out of existence. It reminded Freddy remarkably of Lib-Con, without the fun of it. Only hurried, furious magical workings, the scent of stale coffee and the ambiance of lab rats on a wheel chasing only certain death via science (or magic). The doors that led to the various Halls of Magic were locked to her personally, but employees busted in and out at breakneck pace. The smaller doors belonged to offices and various other tinkering workshops where booms and clangs shook the floor and no-one batted a single eyelash. It was an orchestra of chaos, with no conductor keeping track, time or tempo.

Above all the noise Cassandra Basnet walked like a whisper, in a tight business uniform that seemed more in place with the Department of Law Enforcement. Not even a single item of turquoise or jade adorned her person, no jangle of obtrusive jewelry or an obnoxious scent of sage or patchouli marked her for a Divination expert like others in the field. There were no stray tea leaves or frog spawn in her pockets, nor a deck of tarot cards in hand. Hair pulled back in such a severe bun that it would make Headmistress McGonagall wince. Yet, even with the power walk of a misandrist girlboss, no one could deny that Unspeakable Basnet is beautiful with her high cheekbones and startlingly green eyes, always decorated with minimal make up and on occasion wire frame glasses. Her walk slowed, dodging desks, the tenseness in her arms softened as she came closer before wrapping Freddy into a familiar hug, tugging her straight from her Uncle's arms.

Freddy tensed but hugged back, politely but wincing as she felt the surprisingly heavyweight of Cassandra's arm. It was a show of dominance, and all parties knew that as she pulled away, keeping a possessive arm around Freddy's shoulders.

"Mr. Shacklebolt, I had no idea you'd be joining our little shindig today." Her smile was florescent bright. "My little crystal didn't send a word."

"I simply wanted to do a quick drop-in. It's so difficult to plan these sorts of things these days."

"Well, I am always happy to have someone of your esteem in our halls. Come to my office. Today is hectic, we've had more than a few breakthroughs, so everyone is very excited. They'd probably want to drag Freddy to show off, and we can't have that."

Moving through the zoo, they found a deep maroon door that came into the similarly stark office, the wall covered in crystal balls, palmistry books, more than a few photos of Freddy in various states of having a Sight or Vision. Several papers on her desk and a bronze paperweight in the shape of a jaguar, which Freddy knew to be her Patronus. A plush couch pushed up against the wall with a gauzy veil over it to block light. Freddy had passed out many times on that couch after long days working with her powers and had woken up an unknown number of times under a heavy weighted blanket that laid folded up neat against the arm. The desk was minimalistic, and there was a single dark brown leather armchair in front of it, where Kingsley settled his imposing mass into, without so much as an invitation, lounging like a panther.

Freddy dropped herself onto the couch, pulling her sweater tighter around herself, wishing with all her might that a pit would open beneath her butt and drop her from this incredibly awkward situation.

"So, Mr. Shacklebolt, have you any questions about Freddy's instruction here with me? Concerns?" She kept her voice even and relaxed, puttering around the office shuffling and filing papers, pulling out an all too familiar folder more than three inches thick. Quills marched to their places on the desk with muttered incantations. She was absolute crap at wordless magic for all of Basnet's abilities, and her wandless magic was abysmal. All in all, Freddy regarded her as a less than average witch, but no one could deny that she had some sorta latent power and her mind was a whetstone on which she sharpened it.

"Just wish to observe as much of Freddy's instruction as possible. Our family has begun to worry that perhaps she has grown stagnant in this environment. Our Freddy may need some more... varied instruction" though his tone remained polite, there was a distinct sense of 'fuck you' in each curated word. She knew her parents were worried, but she hadn't realized how nervous her Mom had asked her esteemed cousin to attend. "You know, young wix, always needing to be pushed in the right direction, teachers can make or break a future."

"Of course, however," Basnet pulled down several more books and smiled, "there is a point where I will have to ask you to leave. Your Vow of Silence only goes so far when it comes to more... delicate magical workings."

"I will respect that; however, if Freddy should ask me to stay, then I'd like to push that envelope."

"We'll see if you have any questions--"

"Believe me," his eyes flickered towards Freddy before back to Basnet, steel entering his voice, "I will speak up."

"Alright, now," Basnet turned her piercing gaze onto the teenager who squirmed in her seat, "Freddy, what did you have for breakfast?"

It seemed a harmless question if it weren't for the fact that she couldn't remember.

"I believe I had some toast and tea."

"Do you believe or know?"

"Believe," Freddy answered, clipped and strangled.

Basnet noted something down on parchment, "This morning, what time did you wake up?"

"Seven o'clock; I went for a walk with Micah." She could smell the lavender, see the brick they walked on. She was sure of that.

"Where did you walk to?"

"The shops down the road had to pick up some things." The man greeted them, or was it his daughter? What day was it... Tuesday? His daughter then.

"What things? List them."

"Milk, bread, some cleaning supplies for mum. I wanted one of their cookies."

"Flavor?"

"Chocolate." Her fingers ran over the packaging still in her pocket, the embossed words 'Ghirardelli' guiding her answer.

"Good, you had breakfast when you came home?"

"Yes, I had a small vision while we were walking, just a flash."

"What was it?"

"A child screaming."

Basnet frowned, "Just a flash?"

"Just her and the sound, then it went away, lasted less than half a second."

Kingsley was watching Basnet's hands like a hawk, no doubt trying to decipher what she was writing.

"So you believe you had breakfast, then you came straight here."

"Yes." Freddy shifted her weight.

"Who helped you at the Visitors Gate?" The question came fast, a little voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Tierney whispered 'Your Mom.'

"Gerald, we chatted for a few minutes, nothing crazy. He was asking about my plans for post-grad." she ground her teeth. "I told him I was leaving after graduation, maybe to join a circus." That earned her two eye-rolls from both adults. "I said I had enough experience working with mimes and clowns." Basnet sneered and continued to jot things down.

"Who was the Auror on guard?"

Freddy stopped.

Fuck. Wait, no, she had seen them. They had waved them through. She knew them, but their faces were blurred. Their robes weren't trimmed with any color.

"I'm not sure of their name!" She answered brightly, "I don't know everyone in the Auror Department." She hoped the lie would stick.

But Basnet pressed further, steepling her fingers and peering at her over the tips of her chipped manicure. "Who were they, Freddy? Surely you would know most of the Aurors; give me an image, a gender."

"Now it's insulting to assume they use one of the binary genders, Madame Basnet!" Freddy was grasping at straws now, plowing through her memory over and over again. Who was standing there? Had they smiled? Did Freddy touch them? Sometimes the Aurors give her high fives or slip her a candy. She patted her pockets; they were empty except for the cookie wrapper and some lint. So who was at the Gate? "I can't-- I don't. I wasn't paying attention."

"It was Auror Amara Bones," Freddy's mouth went dry, and unshed tears came to her eyes, "but you can't remember that can you? Who held the door open for you on the elevator?" It was a woman, right? Freddy began to tug on the sleeves of her sweater. Maybe it was a man, a tall man? That didn't seem right... "What did you have for dinner last night? Who did you have lunch with last week? What is the name of the delivery boy at your work?"

Questions began to pile up before Freddy finally shook her head.

"I--"

"What. Is going on." Kingsley stood from his chair, coming around to press a hand to the top of Freddy's head. "What are you badgering her for?"

"Short-term memory loss," Basnet finally said, "her memory it's," she wiggled her fingers, "going wonky for lack of a better term. Her power is a mental one. The more it gets used, the stronger it gets, the more it affects the brain."

"What does that mean?"

"What it means, Mr. Shacklebolt is that Freddy is losing her memories, short blips of time are being lost in her day-to-day life, and your visions are getting stronger, more detailed, aren't they? What did your vision smell like?"

"Piss." It came sharp, "The child was screaming and smelled like pee, the ground was brick, and it was cold out."

"All that in a flash requires a mind to remember. As they get stronger, her daily memories get lost."

"What is your plan?"

Basnet shook her head, "There really isn't one; we can just continue to manage the Visions, work on keeping them longer or stopping them when they start. But the memory loss is a side effect, like her migraines, like her nosebleeds. So it can only be managed, not healed."

"So what you're telling me is that all this is a waste of our goddamn time?" Kingsley was angry now, but his voice boomed from deep within his chest. "She is coming here just to have you manage her?

"Teach her to handle it better, Mr. Shackle--"

"Get up, Freddy," the teenager flinched as Kingsley seemed to dominate the room, though Basnet sat pristinely and seemingly unaffected at her desk, "we are leaving. I will not have you waste your time as it gets worse."

"Freddy, stay."

The teenager hovered at the couch, her fists tightening under their equal gaze.

"Freddy, you know you can't leave yet, don't you?" Basnet's voice was sugar-sweet, "Your time isn't up today, as agreed upon."

Persephone chose her place with Hades, she decided to eat the pomegranate seeds, and Freddy desperately wished to throw hers up.

"Uncle... The contract says 8 hours a week during non-school time. I can't leave yet."

Her Uncle was breathing thunderclouds before sitting back down in the chair, "Continue," he ground out.

Slowly Freddy walked through last week. She could count up at least 20 instances of purely lost memory. More than 50 flashing visions, and 5 of the longer ones. They continued to record and tally up each one until finally they were done at the two-hour mark. Taking a deep breath, Freddy leaned against the back of the couch, her legs pulled up against her chest despite being far too tall for such a position.

"I think that is enough for the day," Basnet finally hummed, "We can make up the hours later this week, perhaps Friday?"

"Sure, I don't work that day."

"Excellent, now I want you to keep a notebook, make notes of when you forget things. Then, start playing some muggle brain games. I've heard Sudoku is helpful, and we'll talk to St. Mungo's about their memory-impaired patients and what they do. So that'll be my homework." Freddy nodded, hopping off the couch and stretching out her tensed limbs as her Uncle stood by the door, opening it.

"Mr. Shacklebolt," the man didn't look at her, "next time, do tell me when you plan on dropping by, we can have a more formal session planned, and it won't be as startling then while we do our work."

"Thank you for your time. Freddy, let's go."

The duo strode through the Department Atrium. They passed into the white marble room, where the receptionist quirked a brow. She knew that Freddy's sessions were usually much longer. Then they stepped into the elevator, and with a murmured silencing charm, Kingsley looked down at her.

"I want to see that contract."

"Dad has it."

"I want a legal team to search it," there was a lightness in her chest, "she is a goodman quack, you are getting worse, and your control is minimal at best."

Freddy grimaced because, in truth, it was better than it had ever been, but neither her Uncle nor Basnet needed to know that. She didn't need Basnet poking around her head any more than she usually did.

"We can find other help. There are many bright wix in the world who can help you, other Seers."

"I know. But we need to stop talking about it, the wards..." watching the arrow tick up and up.

"Of course," they both fell silent as the voice rang out -- "8th Floor!"

Freddy leaned against her Uncle's arm, and he curled her tighter against him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I had no idea how bad your condition has gotten." She nodded slowly, trying not to let a tear fall. "We'll get you out of this contract, get you some real help. Basnet has done well with your control, but frankly, it's not enough anymore."

"She tried--" Freddy started weakly before closing her jaw together with a click. The wards were in place, and Freddy was far too terrified to talk too much about what Basnet had her doing. What envelopes she was pushing. Freddy could only think of the swirls of the room, the way she'd wake up, her memory blank and energy drained, the way she'd vomit blood up, and the glare of a timer going far, far past the agreed 10-minute mark. Breaking the Vows of Silence for the Department of Mysteries led to tragedy. Though Freddy had looser restrictions than any regular Unspeakable, she hardly wanted to test the boundary here.

"Trying to use the wrong family's kid is what she’s trying to do.” He was tense, every inch of him and every movement militaristic. “I'll have the Head of the Department investigate her. Then we'll see where we're at with getting you a new teacher. I’ll speak with my Mother, she has connections with the other magical schools." So this really was a family matter.

But, Freddy knew that it would take a lot more than the Shacklebolt name thrown around to get her out of the contract. But she let her Uncle have the optimism and simply let him crack jokes and tell funny anecdotes for the rest of the elevator ride up. Freddy popped in on occasion, exchanging a quip or describing a new story about her friends from school and things going on at the candy shop.

Freddy hardly noticed they were already at the Visitor's Gate, a low thrumming headache forming at the back of her skull. She rubbed gently at her eyes; they were aching too. Maybe she ought to get checked at St. Mungo's to see if they could get her any more potent headache potions.

"Gerald! I didn't know you were working today."

"Huh, lassie? You were just here, not even 3 hours ago? I checked you in, remember?" Gerald gently took her visitor's badge, "We were chatting..."

Freddy's face fell, and Kingsley tensed as she tripped over her words before finally exiting. Amara stood there, concern blatant; Freddy peered up at her before sharply turning away. They paused at the fireplaces, and Freddy looked at Kingsley, tears in her eyes, and whispered quietly. He seemed deep in thought.

"Uncle King?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know if I Flooed in this morning?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked down on her, a feat with her height, and gently slid his hand into hers and tugged her into the Floo, gently calling out "Ryland Residence, Falmouth."

Freddy let her world go up in flames and didn't remember stepping out of them this morning.

#scene ii: the art of memory #sp #sp: the art of memory #on freddy #freddy ryland

1 note · View note

clansayeed · 4 years

Text

Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 31: The Last Act part 2

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

TAG LIST: @googlesentmehere, @cess02, @hellyeah90sbaby,

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Gaius has sent Isseya to Paris with one mission: bring Nadya back to him at any cost. Things go about halfway as planned, and Cadence unwittingly rekindles an ancient rivalry. The fate of New York is revealed.

[READ IT ON AO3]

“Allez, for fuck’s sakes will you two move faster!”

They hear the crash and shatter of glass doors through the still-open window. No time to close it now. No time to do anything. Oh god.

“It’s a delicate-fucking-process!” Cadence snaps back, fangs bared, but this time Serafine meets him eye for eye and, well, fang for fang.

“Then be delicate, but be quick about it. We’ll try to stay together, but if splitting up becomes necessary, we meet up in the heart of the city as planned, yes?”

Nadya’s no use, still a little weak in the knees and there’s no way she was going to be able to help carry Lily in the event of an emergency evacuation from their hiding hole anyway. She hangs back, makes sure to stay out of the way, but keeps looking back and forth at the moving vampires hard enough to crack something in her neck.

“Nadya —” Serafine shoves a duffel bag into her hands; she fumbles but manages to hold onto a zipper, “— to the kitchen. Get as much of your blood as you can carry.”

She sees the flicker of hesitation in Nadya’s eyes, the way she looks over the woman’s shoulder to where Adrian and Cadence shoulder Lily’s limp weight as fast as they can without too much disturbance.

With a huff, Serafine grabs Nadya’s upper arms hard enough to hurt. Fresh bruises, that’s why it hurts. Fleetingly she remembers Valdas; the fingertip-touch.

“I need you to trust me right now. Trust that we will get Lily out of here safely. Please, petit. We are in more danger than you can fathom.”

She can fathom it pretty well, thanks. But Nadya nods and bolts off to do whatever (little) she can.

There’s a collective regret about the open window again — the next sound to catch on the wind sounds like banshees shrieking at midnight.

They’re getting closer.

“Argh,” Adrian growls in frustration, “just give her to me, here — watch the head.” He cradles Lily like a long and gangly baby; but does it all on his own. Cadence flashes him a questioning look.

BANG!

That would be the stairwell door. But which floor?

“You’re the strongest of any of us right now.” Adrian rasps in one harsh breath. His struggle and care to keep the young vampire in his arms as stable as possible is taking its toll on his still-starving body. “You’ve taken her on before, can you do it again?”

Serafine stops, rope in a loop over her shoulder (where did she… nevermind). She looks between the pair with growing panic as it dawns on her, suddenly, that they aren’t nearly as panicked about their incoming visitors as she is.

“That harpy of Les Trois Amants is the least of our problems right now —” she looks at them all in a whirlwind, “— or don’t you recognize the man at her side?”

Jax shrugs. “It’s not the other guy with a buzz-cut, right?”

“This isn’t the time for jokes!”

Serafine’s voice croaks; she lets out a strangled noise. Adrian shifts, wants to reach out for her, but has to think better of it for Lily’s sake. Nadya doesn’t let his sacrifice go unnoticed.

“Calm down, Serafine. Who is this guy?” And it pains her, that much is obvious, but she tries.

“That is Marc Antony, you fools.”

Another BANG! punctuates the silence; how they take in the reality and gravity of her revelation.

Nadya clears her throat. “You mean, like…”

“Like Gaius’ consolation prize after he failed to secure Caesar for his Court. Arguably a better choice for the King; and a terrible sentencing for the world.”

BANG! And this one is louder than the rest. They’re at the end of the hall. Probably not anymore.

“Processlater—runnow!”

Nadya turns and the door splinters open at her back. She grabs for the duffel strap across her chest, barely one foot off the ground—

Then the world is going sideways, Nadya’s going backward, and her head slams into the dated plaster hard and heavy and hurting. She slumps down, head hanging forward, and struggles to swallow down her bile.

Black boots come into view, their owner looming over her.

Isseya crouches down, dusting plaster from her leather pants. “Hello again, little Bloodkeeper.”

A familiar pain ignites atop her head. Isseya’s nails like claws raking over her scalp to yank her up by the knotted locks in her hair. Holding her on the tips of her toes like a puppet on strings.

“You—don’t—” teeth clenched, burning tears in her eyes keeping the woman a dark blur of red eyes and shining fangs, “—please—don’t do—this—”

Isseya snarls and leans forward, the soft whisper of her lips a stark contrast to the raw wound of her words.

“I gave you a chance to avoid this, girl. You wasted it—you did. Don’t tell me I don’t have to do shit. You’ve given us no other choice.”

Nadya can only sob; words beyond her now.

“Isseya!”

The woman whirls around at her name; shouted over the crack of splintering wood as Serafine and Antony move as blurs only distinguishable by color and size. Splinters of wood cut into Nadya’s cheeks and she tries to recoil, turning her face away in just enough time to see Cadence braced in the doorway to the kitchen.

Surprise—pain—loss—anger—hatred. There one instant and gone the next in a whirlwind. Isseya can’t tell who she wants to hate more; him for calling out to her with that voice he knows she could never ignore or herself for falling for it time and time again.

Jax comes out of seemingly nowhere at her side. Doesn’t give Isseya the moment’s rest to decide where to aim her anger as he shoves his boot in the middle of his chest. A powdery print left in the center before she goes flying backwards into the far wall.

“Nadya! Come on!”

Everything ringing in her ears.

“Get her out of here!”

Jax’s hand on her wrist, pulling her towards the open window. Adrian clings tightly onto the fragile form still in his arms, one foot over the wall and out into the night but he’s frozen in place, fixated; focus pulled to the iron-wrought grip Antony has on Serafine’s sword arm before he snaps it at the wrong angle.

“It’s been some time, Serafine.”

She snarls, bestial; in a way Nadya had previously thought only reserved for Cadence and Cynbel. “Not—nngh—long enough, I assure you!”

He laughs, deep and rich and so damn casual for the moment at hand. “You wound me!”

“Not to worry—I’m trying!”

A tight grip on Nadya’s upper arm makes her jump violently — Jax rounds in front of her hard and resolute.

“Go, follow Adrian. I’ll be right behind you.”

“But—” Back to Serafine who resorts to shouldering the older vampire through the wall of what was temporarily Nadya’s bedroom. To the thud of Cadence as he collides back to the floor, Isseya wrenching herself out from under dust and the upended coffee table to bear down on him in fury. “—Jax I can’t—”

“NO, Nadya! Not this time!” He shakes her roughly. “Do you understand me?! They want you, they can’t get you! Now GO!”

Nadya is turned and shoved towards the open window before she can get another word out. Adrian’s body angled towards her, reaching out the only way he can. He jerks his chin down to the knot of rope pooled at his feet. “They’ll cover us for as long as they can. Come on.”

“We can’t leave them!” Because surely if anyone—anyone—understands, it’s him.

And he does. It’s all over his face; and covered with the same resolute decision he had tried to pull on her back in the Cathedral.

“I—I know. But this…” His gaze drops down to her feet and goes wide with shock; fear. “Nadya, you’re bleeding.”

Huh? She wipes her hand over her head but it comes back dry. Nothing over her front, then she feels the trickle down the back of her leg. Looks down in horror to see the blood seeping into the carpet at her feet.

The duffel.

Her blood!

Isseya had slammed her into the wall and the collision must have broken the seals on the blood bags inside. “We can’t go without it!”

“Nadya—no—”

“Lily doesn’t stand a chance without it—and I did not go through that hell to lose her now!”

Adrian tries to grab her but catches himself at the last second — swooping one arm back under Lily before her body hits the floor. Nadya can hears him shout behind her but his words are lost in the chaos. She’s already skidding on her knees through the fallen doorway to the kitchen.

There’s no time to be squeamish now. Not even with the coppery smell hits her nostrils, bag hurled back over her shoulder and already dripping red through the nylon. Nadya grits her teeth and starts yanking the old bags out to scatter on the floor. You’ve literally held your own guts in with your bare hands, she reminds herself with bitter determination, this is for Lily—don’t forget this is for Lily.

Inside the fridge there are only a handful of bags left. She had grabbed as much as she could and look how that turned out. The rest is useless; smeared, splattered in uneven patterns over the tile around her. The cold plastic slips through her red fingers; once, twice, and with a scream of wordless noise the third time she manages to get them close enough to scoop into the bag at her feet.

“Come on… come on…” Stupid fingers stop slipping on the stupid zipper! Fuck! She has no other choice she can see, and bends down to bite hard on the metal and yank the duffel closed.

Yes! Once the bag is securely back around her Nadya scrambles to stand, to turn and run as fast as her legs will carry her back to the window and Adrian and—

And instead she collides with a vampire as solid as stone for the second time tonight.

“A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss.”

Nadya looks up just in time to see the last of Serafine’s attack knit closed across the curve of Antony’s cheek. He shakes it off like one might a pesky fly; all of his focus trained on the heavy hands he rests on her shoulders. “The infamous Bloodkeeper… you really are the talk of the Court. I found myself unable to pass up the opportunity to meet you in person.”

She tries to break free; even when it feels like he’s pressing her down so hard she’ll break through the floor she tries as hard as she can. But the tile is slick with blood and he’s two thousand years old and at this point she’s experienced this enough to know exactly how badly it can go.

“Can’t say the feeling’s mutual.”

Antony’s amusement falters; the barest betrayal of a frown. “I see. Best we take care of this swiftly, then.”

Before he can move the sound of a cracking neck breaks the strangely echoing silence.

“My sentiments exactly.”

Then there’s a different grip on Nadya’s wrist — people need to stop manhandling her this is getting ridiculous — and it’s tugging her to the side just in time for a blurred movement to send Antony soaring through the air and back into the interior wall.

The lights flicker once—twice—and die. The room plunged into darkness. Sparks flashing from torn wires in the hole in the wall, the electricity crackling violent and intense.

Gooseflesh prickles over her arms and Nadya holds her hands up, like that’ll defend her from anything, but no touch comes.

“Are you okay?” asks Cadence; and when her eyes adjust to the lack of light she finds him on one knee in front of her; looking over her blood-soaked clothes to see how much of it is freshly spilled. “You should have listened to R—”

The sound of shifting wood and rubble cuts him off. Antony stands from the mess with tears in his suit and a piece of his lower jaw sitting at an odd angle. He sets it with a quick twist of his neck and steps out of the heap; eyes leveling bright and red on Cadence’s face with an unfamiliar recognition.

Cadence locks with tension in front of her. She knows that reaction all too well, now. Both of them do.

“I admit none of us really believed in your miraculous return, Pathicus,” Antony muses, cracking his knuckles on each hand, rolling his shoulders; proving he can shake them off with barely a thought.

“I’ll give you cover,” hisses Cadence without turning back to look at her, “when I say run… you run.”

“But on the bright side, I’m glad for it.”

“Cade—”

“No arguments. Yes?”

“Yes.” She finally says, and only then does he let her go.

Cadence stands, feet planted and shoulders squared. Something about the sight makes Antony’s upper lip curl.

“I would have loathed not to have been there to do the deed myself.”

“You and quite a few others.”

“Seniority rules.”

Nadya swallows her heart back into her chest. It pounds so fast, so loud — she nearly misses it.

“RUN!” He shouts, moments before the heel of Antony’s palm slams into his lower jaw.

Blood splatters in droplets on the floor. Tiny little garnets that slick and smear underfoot as strength battles strength battles something else — something a little more like the will of survival.

Cadence collapses back, limbs flailing, and collides with the small kitchen table. The wood is weak, can’t bear the full brunt of his weight, and together they crash to the floor violently. The loud noise is enough to shake Nadya from her stupor and send her practically dancing back on both feet to avoid being caught in the heap.

She’s terrified. Again. That seems to be happening a lot lately.

But she doesn’t want to abandon him like this — no matter how strong his opponent is. The last time she did it hadn’t been Cadence who came back.

What if this time is the same?

Perhaps the scariest part is how human Antony’s eyes look as he swing his head around. Gaze level, watching Nadya brace herself in the middle of the doorway trying to decide whether to run forward or back, and still that same warm brown color. Not how a vampire is supposed to look, she thinks.

But this isn’t a vampire. This is… yeah she’s still trying to wrap her head around the reality of how that sentence ends. Marc Antony, the vampire.

“Shame you don’t listen very well.”

Marc Antony, the vampire; who is no longer across the room and instead right up in Nadya’s face. Who snatches a hand out and grabs her wrist hard enough to break. “I won’t say this is my favorite part. But those of us who know how the game is played… we don’t break the rules when we don’t need to.”

There’s a blur of darkness over his shoulder; movement too fast for her mortal eyes. Then Nadya cries out in surprise; sharp pain, bright white behind her eyes squeezed tightly closed, and the hold on her wrist is gone in the next instant.

Bloodied knuckles in a grip tight around a tanned throat, the wounds already healed over. The no-doubt expensive leather of Antony’s boots squeaking against the floor, trying and failing to gain his footing. But Cadence is taller and holds him aloft and pinned against the far wall with ease.

That… is Cadence, right?

Because she’s not sure. Between the safe at Persephone and the top part of the Feral’s head torn off and flying across the Manor hall and the way there’s no comparison—none at all—when Jax is backhanded hard enough to fly through the air and every warning Serafine ever screamed through her tears; she just isn’t. Countless times, all of them unmatched — and what they meant about who—or what—was actually standing in front of her now.

“C—” She tries to call out a name, but her voice freezes on which one to say. She doesn’t know.

“You know… there were more than a few times I was beaten to a pulp by Carlo’s men.” And the sheer relief when she recognizes the name from New Orleans is enough to punch the air from Nadya’s lungs; tears salty on her tongue while she cradles her wrist close.

“I was fresh from the war. Still new to this life, or so I thought. They had been in the de la Rosa family for a generation, some of them longer. Between then and now… I think I get it.”

Strands of blond hair fall thin in front of Cadence’s eyes. Nadya can see the bright red of them reflected in the backdrop of the night sky from the kitchen window. He lifts Antony higher and with no effort at all.

“I lost to those men because I expected to lose; because I thought there was no other option. I thought I was younger, so my body acted like it.” Shoulders tensing, rolling back; for the first time a flicker of concern wavers Antony’s steady frown. “Following that same logic now… I’ve got quite a few centuries on you, don’t I, domine?”

He tosses Antony aside like a doll; like he weighs nothing at all. A flick of his wrist that sends the former Roman general right in the path of the fridge. The metal catches him, cradles him; door bending inward and the contents of the shelves joining the mess on the floor. The lightbulb inside shatters under the pressure and the distant, white-noise hum of the fan splutters and dies.

But this time Antony was ready. This time he leaps back to his feet without respite and brushes the fall off of his shoulder with a flippant hand. “There’s that look. That arrogance. I prefer it this way — better a fair fight than none at all.”

Everything shifts; the air, the tension, the looks on the vampires’ faces. So fast Nadya almost misses them. Maybe she would have — were she not the Bloodkeeper. But she is, and she doesn’t miss a thing.

Because she can feel it all.

Centuries piled on in staggering weight and animosity; changing both everything and, outwardly, nothing at all. But he’s leveled the playing field now. Nadya feels it. Antony, too.

They all do.

“What… are you?”

His shoulders sink slightly, but he doesn’t turn around at the sound of Isseya’s voice. Not when it’s a whisper, and not when it’s a cracked, splintered fragment of a scream. “Answer me!”

“I don’t have an answer to give.”

“Lies.”

“If I did, I would. Everything would be so much easier on all of us.”

The vampiress steadies herself on the door frame, impressions of her fingertips pressing down and breaking the drywall.

“‘All of us,’” she repeats — like she doesn’t know the language, “meaning…”

The blond vampire looks up and Nadya’s heart stops.

It’s an opening Antony cannot and will not waste. Rushing forward, fangs bared — but even he isn’t fast enough to avoid the hand that catches him by the back of the neck. Claws piercing flesh, blood spotting along his collar. He tries to turn, to see the face that caught him by surprise, but doesn’t get the chance before the grip closes down and his neck snaps with a sickening crack.

Antony’s eyes are closed before he even makes it to the ground.

Isseya steps over his body — still a body, Nadya notices, not a pile of ash — and closes the gap between herself and Cadence. One hand with fingertips still stained with Antony’s blood comes up and strokes the cut of his jaw.

The pair share the same look; like reflections. Longing, loss, pangs of regret. After a moment, Cadence finally reaches up and presses his palm against her cheek.

“I’m not him.” He whispers hoarsely.

Together they stand still; years stretching through the passing seconds. Finally Isseya lets her eyes flutter closed. The tears clinging to her dark lashes finally get the chance to fall.

“I know.” She shudders a gasp; breathes through the daggers in her chest sharper than they were all the years before. “Consider this to be my last act of free will.”

So that’s what Valdas had meant.

There’s a shine in Cadence’s eyes. He parts his lips, looks for a moment like he’s going to do it — he’s going to tell her about the Cathedral, about what happened, about…

The moment passes when Isseya steps away.

“He won’t stay down for long, resilient bastard,” she looks over her shoulder to Antony’s unconscious form, “though I’ll admit I’ve been waiting to do that for weeks now. It’s not as satisfying as I thought it would be…”

Nadya swallows. “Is he still…?” But Isseya’s sharp look cuts her off with a flinch.

“Yes, he’s still alive. And I can’t be gone when he comes to. Not if I have any intention of returning to Valdas.”

There’s no question about it. So why does Cadence ask?

“What if you came back with us? We could —”

“No.” The sharp edges, barely easing up, are back without warning. Isseya’s glare is cold and growing all the more distant. “I wouldn’t — I couldn’t. But—neither can you.” She looks between Nadya and Cadence both. “It would be a death sentence, and would make this, here, look like a kindness. Surely you know by now.”

“Nadya!”

Shit.

The anger in Jax’s growl breaks any spell that might have held them all there — maybe for eternity if they weren’t careful. Nadya dashes back into the living room and gasps, hand coming over her mouth, at the mess of mangled bruises and gaping wounds riddled across Serafine’s body.

Jax is kneeling at her side; looks up just in time to push every ounce of his frustration in one long look, before he jerks his chin up at her.

“The blood. Now.”

Nadya struggles to pull it over her head fast enough, skidding to her knees beside Jax in time for him to grab it and rip the zip apart with brute strength. He grabs one bag and forces it into her mouth; thankfully it doesn’t take much more than that for her survival instinct to kick in and fangs to descend and tear the plastic open. She takes several long drinks before her hands have the strength to grab on; reaching desperately for the second and tearing it from Jax’s grip without hesitating.

His sigh is weak, croaked and now without effort. With tentative fingers Nadya reaches up and brushes away some of his hair matted at his temple where a cut still oozes thin blood. There’s one blood bag left — she doesn’t think twice before all but forcing it into his hand.

“You too,” she insists — thankfully for them both he’s too exhausted and weak to decline.

It’s not much between the pair of them. Enough to stop the bleeding and fade most of their bruises to mottled greens and yellows but not much more. Nadya would offer her wrist, neck, ankle up to help any more if she could but she still has a few wounds of her own and her wrist is most likely very broken and not at all palatable.

Serafine slowly comes to, French mumbled and thick on her tongue as she tries to take in her surroundings. “Ad…ri…”

“He’s fine,” Nadya says — and throws a look to the window and the rope still draped over and out, “he got away. He’s safe, probably heading to the meetup point. Take it easy, you’re still healing… but…”

But she hesitates because saying anything more would be akin to lying.

Jax eases himself up with grunts of effort; helps Serafine do the same only when he’s steady on both feet. “If you think this is gonna go undiscussed, Nadya, I swear to god…”

“If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have anything to heal with, so I don’t wanna hear it.”

“If you hadn’t—”

Cadence and Isseya shuffle out of the kitchen together and Jax practically bites off his own tongue, cutting himself off. Nadya can feel Serafine grow stony behind her and reaches out in a meek attempt at reassurance.

“What are you idiots still doing here?” Isseya snaps. Looks briefly like she has much more to add to it but she bites her tongue instead. “You are weak, and ill-fed, and need to leave. Neither Antony nor I are gravely injured. If you’re still here when he wakes up, you’re fucked.”

“What’s going on here?” Jax snarls, but the question is aimed principally at Cadence.

“She’s giving us an opening. We need to take it.”

“She came here to kidnap Nadya!”

“No, Jax, he’s right.” Nadya doesn’t smile at the vampiress — after all the pain she’s felt at the hands of this woman she doubts she ever could. But they aren’t in any position to be looking gift horses in the mouth. “I don’t trust her, but…” The look she gives him is imploring.

What other choice to do we have right now?

“This is bull —” Jax stares at each of them in disbelief. “— this is insane! We’re not trusting her. And we’re not running. We get Adrian and Lily and we get on the first plane home. I’ve had enough of this shit. I’m taking the fight to him.”

“Returning to New York is no longer an option.” Isseya meets the rebel’s glare with her own.

“I beg your fuckin’ pardon?”

The Trinity vampire sweeps a long look over them, the furrow in her brow slowly easing from disgust into… disbelief?

Raw, unfiltered disbelief at that. “You don’t know.”

“We’ve been… not here.”

“Obviously.” And both Jax and Serafine look ready to shoot down any questions she might ask, but Isseya surprises them both — she doesn’t. “Otherwise it would not have been so easy to find you, I see now. If you had known what happened… only the suicidal would have stayed somewhere he knew to find you.”

Cadence stands hunched, eyes trained down at his shoes and the bloodstains in the carpet. She’s already told him what she keeps withholding from them — awesome.

“What do you mean… what happened?” asks Nadya warily. No one else does.

“Three days ago, the last of the resisting faction was captured at the harbor. The ones you called your Clans — those who did not immediately bend the knee. I wasn’t there myself, but there were thirty, maybe forty left who were captured and taken before the Godmaker at his Court. Those who swore fealty to him were allowed to live. Those who did not…”

Her words are left hanging, but it’s not exactly hard for them to fill in. Just like it isn’t hard for Nadya to know she’s full of bullcrap — she has to be. No, really, she has to be. Because if she isn’t, that means…

That means…

“Enough of this. Go—run—hide wherever you can for as long as you can. But do not dare show your face back on his shores. He wants the Bloodkeeper,” she nods to Nadya, “he would not say why, but I don’t dare to guess. Whatever you must do, do it. But he cannot have her.”

“Tell me you’re not believing this,” mutters Jax under his breath, and from the looks of it he fully expects Serafine to take his side. Only… she doesn’t.

“Maybe not everything… but I know better than to think she would be so willing to send him to his death.” Cadence shifts under the scrutiny of the woman’s glare. Isseya, however, doesn’t seem all too perturbed by it.

“If he comes with us, we will at least be safe long enough to regroup.”

Three days ago… Because Nadya still hasn’t quite let that part go. How could they?

“Allez, Nadya, allez.” Serafine keeps a firm hand at her back, all but shoving her towards the window and the rope to freedom(?)

Instead she digs in her heels and tries to look back to Isseya, who lingers one last look at Cadence’s back before she makes for the kitchen.

“Isseya!” She calls, but goes ignored. “Isseya, wait! What happened to those who didn’t join Gaius?”

“Help me,” growls Serafine, then there’s another pair of hands helping urge Nadya out into the night.

“Isseya!”

“Nadya — stop.”

“No—shut up! Isseya! Tell me what happened!”

The shadows of the apartment swallow her up before Nadya can get her answer.

“We have to go back.”

“No, Nadya.”

“No—she needs to tell me what happened—”

“I’m sorry.”

Jax has never apologized to her before. Not even when they were facing an army of Ferals. He shouldn’t be apologizing now.

“Jax… she…”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and pulls her into a one-armed embrace for safety before he begins the rappel, “I’m so sorry.”

“…No…”

He holds her tight and kicks off. Serafine and Cadence keep pace on either side; agile movements down rails and pipes towards the rapidly approaching ground.

Without another word they disappear into the night.

#bloodbound fanfiction #choices fanfiction #kamilah x mc #adrian raines #jax matsuo #lily spencer #serafine dupont #bloodbound mc #mc: nadya al jamil #oc: cadence smith #oc: isseya #marc antony #fic: oblivion bound #oblv: bound by destiny ii #oblv: new chapter #; my fics

7 notes · View notes

boxartcomparisons · 5 years

Photo

Box art comparison (JP/US/EU): Shining Force II.

#Box art comparison #Boxart #Shining Force

42 notes · View notes

pml1225-blog · 6 years

Text

4:(urbosa>)mipha>zelda(>revali>daruk)

Link is not really the most interesting character. No RPG protagonist is, because their sole purpose is to serve as an insert for the player. As such, some of the side characters have much more compelling stories and become much more memorable. Let’s take a look at two of them in Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild’s story is a backstory of events that happened in the past, and it focuses on Zelda’s struggles to unlock her power to seal Ganon away. She is fiercely devoted to unlocking her inherited power, but when her training doesn’t pay off, she understandably gets frustrated. In the off-time from her training, she works on deciphering and engineering the Guardians, ancient mechanical spider-bots that she hopes to use in the fight against Ganon’s forces.

“At the current rate, we’ll soon know all we need to know about the Guardians and the Divine Beasts!”

“He always says, ‘Quit wasting your time playing at being a scholar!’ I’ve spent every day of my life dedicated to praying!”

Her father adamantly disapproves of this, insisting that she focuses on her training. This leaves Zelda feeling helpless and not in control, and when she goes to the final holy spring to pray, only to be met by silence once again, Ganon suddenly attacks. Zelda can’t do anything but stand by as she watches Link and the rest of her friends go fight the war she knows she can’t finish. When Calamity Ganon hijacks the Guardians and Divine Beasts with his ~evil essence~, killing the other champions and turning the army that she had worked so hard on against her, the defeat is complete and she breaks down. Throughout this ordeal, Link is by her side, but being the silent protagonist that he is, can only offer a meager lap for her to cry on in the rain. It is only when Link collapses from his injuries and exhaustion and a Guardian is about to lay waste to them both that she jumps in front of him and cries out, and unlocks her power, saving their lives. Power unlocked, but still thoroughly defeated, she arranges for Link and his sword to be safely stowed away for 100 years, and goes off to Hyrule castle to hold off Ganon as best she can until Link reawakens.

well, that was easy.

Zelda’s story throughout the games has always been somewhat of a disappointing one, because the games, despite their titles, center around Link. In past games, Zelda always plays a secondary role in Link’s quest, and her involvement and agency in the story ranges from just being asleep for the entirety of Zelda II to Ocarina of Time, where she semi-orchestrates the entire plot from behind the scenes, setting up things so Link can save the day. When Zelda plays an active role in the stories, it is almost always as an alter ego – either as Sheik in Ocarina of Time or as Tetra the pirate in Wind Waker. The Zelda/Tetra distinction is especially interesting and particularly glaring because Tetra is a badass and a primary mover of the plot for the first half of the story, but is unaware of her heritage as Princess Zelda. When she is informed of her ancestry, she goes full princess mode and is relegated to being asleep in a dungeon and firing arrows at Link for him to reflect at Ganon. In the next game (Phantom Hourglass), she readopts her Tetra personality, but her story is very much that of a damsel in distress, which came as a disappointment to fans yearning for more.

By telling Zelda’s story in the past while letting the player finish Link’s story, Nintendo cleverly maneuvered around the problem of having Zelda, who is technically the title character, always being the secondary character. Her story is quite compelling and relatable, seeing how her attempts to balance the burden of unlocking her power with her knack and interest in research and essentially the Hyrulian version of engineering. The way she, as psychoanalyzed by one of the Champions, views Link’s steadfast dedication to his set path as a constant reminder of her own failure paints a convincingly conflicted character, stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, Nintendo fails to bring her story to a fully satisfying conclusion. In the end, her efforts to tame the Guardians are useless and actually lead to her defeat, and she unlocks her power not through her own dedication to her training, but rather her desire to protect Link. This girl climbed three (3) mountains for that shit! Eventually, when she can’t hold Ganon back any further, she calls out to Link to help, and that’s when the game begins. In the final post-game cutscene, Zelda expresses her desire to explore all of Hyrule and continue learning about their ancestors while helping the people, so she does get to do what she wants, but it is still a happy ending that is given to her by Link and the player. In a game where the primary gameplay philosophy is “you can literally do whatever you want”, Zelda’s story where she can’t escape her destiny and the wishes of her father and ancestors leaves a bitter irony. However, her character that is portrayed still shines through the miserable lot in life she was given, as her scenes show her as a real character with real motivations that players will want to root for. Just not a primary character.

That’s not to say that Nintendo is incapable of telling non-Link stories in the context of the Legend of Zelda. The stories of the characters Link meets throughout his journey are often quite compelling and imbued with feeling, and even through the brief interactions the player has, they really contribute to the overall vibe of the games. Breath of the Wild ups the ante by introducing 4 other secondary characters – the Champions. Of the four, Mipha’s character stood out to me, especially since her reception among the fanbase seemed to be extremely divided. Most of her critics claim that “her only character trait is liking Link”, and while, admittedly, much of her character arc revolves around her love for Link, it is told in a way that provides agency and weight to her decisions. Mipha is a childhood friend of Link’s, and as adults/teenagers, she often tends to his wounds with her healing powers. When their respective duties as Champions require them to travel separately and pair Link with Zelda, she is understandably jealous, but keeps it to herself in order to not jeopardize their group’s mission. Instead of being passive, however, she still expresses her wishes to spend more time with Link when their mission is fulfilled, and vows to stick by his side and protect him with all of her power. She also harbors no ill will towards Zelda, instead offering her advice on how to unlock her power by describing how she thinks of someone she cares about (Link) when healing (which somehow ends up being the key to unlocking Zelda’s power even though she’s not the one with a crush on Link ugh).

“We just don’t seem to know much about what we’ll be up against. But know this: that no matter how difficult this battle may get, if you - if anyone ever tries to do you harm, the I will heal you. No matter when, or how bad the wound, I hope you know that I will always protect you. Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young. You know...perhaps we could spend some time together.”

Though she falls to Ganon along with the remaining champions, the extent of her feelings towards Link is revealed during the game. The Zora, her race of fish-people, initially distrust Link because they believe that he took Mipha away from them and failed to protect her from Ganon. After her father reveals the truth that Mipha loved Link and desired to protect him along with the rest of Hyrule, however, the elders turn to begrudgingly placing their faith in Link based on their trust of Mipha’s judgement. This is symbolized by the armor that Mipha crafted for Link, which in Zora culture is something similar to a proposal. The armor is instrumental to Link’s success, and when he frees Mipha’s soul from Ganon’s grasp, she expresses her gratitude and feelings and passes on her healing powers to Link so she can continue to look over him from the afterlife. In this way, Mipha’s story, though a trite one of impossible childhood love, is more satisfying than Zelda’s. Many of her actions are dependent on her love for Link, sure, but they are logical and are met with logical results. Her happy ending is a direct result of her own actions and character (other than the part where Link still has to free her soul from Ganon, but he has to do that for everyone). The player is reminded of this every time they don the armor she made for Link or get merked by some dumb shit and are revived by her power. The difference between Zelda’s and the Champions’ stories can be seen by how fans responded. When the DLC came out promising more backstory on the Champions, fans were excited and rumors even circulated that you would be able to play as Mipha and the others. Though the DLC eventually fell way short of these expectations, providing little more backstory than “Mipha is kind to everyone”, the prospect that people wanted to play as her indicates that people wanted to experience more of her character beyond her devotion towards Link, something which you can’t exactly say for Zelda. I hope that Nintendo will continue to tell compelling and satisfying stories that aren’t solely based on a male lead, but perhaps the traditional Legend of Zelda story isn’t fit for this. Maybe Metroid?

#storyworlds #storyworlds characters

1 note · View note

vampireadamooc · 5 years

Text

Lecture I: The Primitive Rite Itself

1.7 - The Bond of the Covenant

Just here it may be well to emphasize the fact, that, from time immemorial, and the world over, the armlet, the bracelet, and the ring, have been counted the symbols of a boundless bond between giver and receiver; the tokens of a mutual, unending covenant. Possibly, probably, as I think, this is in consequence of the primitive custom of binding, as an amulet, the enclosed record enclosed in the "house of the amulet" 1 of the covenant of blood on the arm of either participant in that rite; possibly, again, it is an outgrowth of the common root idea of a covenant and a bracelet, as a binding agency.

Blood-covenanting and bracelet-binding seem as already shown to be intertwined in the languages of the Oriental progenitors of the race. There are, likewise, indications of this intertwining in the customs of peoples, East and West

See page 7, supra.

For example, in India, where blood-shedding is peculiarly objectionable, the gift and acceptance of a bracelet is an ancient covenant-tie, seemingly akin to blood-brotherhood. Of this custom, an Indian authority says : "Amongst the rajput races of India the women adopt a brother by the gift of a bracelet The intrinsic value of such pledges is never looked to, nor is it necessary that it should be costly, though it varies with the means and rank of the donor, and may be of flock silk and spangles, or of gold chains and gems. The acceptance of the pledge is by the 'katcJilij or corset, of simple silk or satin, or gold brocade and pearls. Colonel Tod was the Rakhi-bund Bhai [the Bracelet-bound Brother] of the three queens of Oodipur, Bundi, and Kotch; as also of Chund-Bai, the maiden sister of the Rana, and of many ladies of the chieftains of rank. Though the bracelet may be sent by maidens, it is only on occasions of urgent necessity and danger. The adopted brother may hazard his life in his adopted sister's cause, and yet never receive a mite in reward; for he cannot even see the fair object, who, as brother of her adoption, has constituted him her defender." 1

"The . . . 'Bracelet-bound Brother 'feels himself called upon to espouse the cause of the lady from whom he has received the gift, and to defend her against all her enemies, whenever she shall demand his assistance."

Cited from "Tod's Travels, Journal Indian Archipelago, Vol. V., No. 12," m Balfour's Cycl. of India, s, v., "Brother."

Thus, the Great Mogul, Hoomayoon, father of the yet more celebrated Akbar, was in his early life bound, and afterwards loyally recognized his binding, as "the sworn knight of one of the princesses of Rajasthan, who, according to the custom of her country, secured the sword of the prince in her service by the gift of a bracelet "When he had a throne of his own to care for, this princess, Kurnivati, being besieged at Cheetore, sent to Hoomayoon, then prosecuting a vigorous campaign in Bengal; and he, as in duty bound, "instantly obeyed the summons"; and although he was not in season to rescue her, he "evinced his fidelity by avenging the fall of the city." 1 It is noteworthy, just here, that the Oriental biographer of the Mogul Akbar calls attention to the fact, that while the Persians describe close friendship as chiefly subsisting between men, "in Hindostan it is celebrated between man and woman"; 2 as, indeed, it is among the Arab tribes east of the Jordan. 3

In the Norseland, an oath of fidelity was taken on a ring, or a bracelet, kept in the temple of the gods; and the gift and acceptance of a bracelet, or a ring, was a common symbol of a covenant of fidelity.

See Elliott and Roberta's Views in India, II., 64.

Ayeen Akbery, II., 453.

See citation from Wetzstein, at page 9 f., supra.

Thus, in "Havamal," the high song of Odin, we find: "Odin, I believe, A ring-oath gave. Who in his faith will trust?" And in "Viga Glum's Saga," it is related: "In the midst of a wedding party, Glum calls upon Thorarin, his accuser, to hear his oath, and taking in his hand a silver ring which had been dipped in sacrificial blood, he cites two witnesses to testify to his oath on the ring, and to his having appealed to the gods in his denial of the charge made against him." In the "Saga of Fridthjof the Bold.' when Fridthjof is bidding farewell to his beloved Ingeborg, he covenants fidelity to her by the gift of

"An arm-ring, all over famous; Forged by the halting Volund, 'twas, the old North-story's Vulcan. . . Heaven was grav'd thereupon, with the twelve immortals' strong castles Signs of the changing months, but the skald had Sun-houses named them." As Fridthjof gave this pledge to Ingeborg, he said: "Forget me never; and, In sweet remembiance of our youthful love, This arm-ring take; a fail Volunder-work, With all heaven's wonders carved i' th' shining gold. Ah! the best wonder is a faithful heart . . . How prettily becomes it thy white arm A glow-worm twining round a lily stem."

And the subsequent story of that covenanting arm-ring, fills thrilling pages in Norseland lore. 1 Yet again, in the German cycle of the "Nibelungen Lied," Gotelind, the wife of Sir Rudeger, gives bracelets to the warrior-bard Folker, to bind him as her knightly champion in the court of King Etzel, to which he goes. Her jewel casket is brought to her. "From this she took twelve bracelets, and drew them o'er his hand; 'These you must take, and with you bear hence to Etzel's land, And for the sake of Gotelind the same at court must wear, That I may learn, when hither again you all repair, What service you have done me in yon assembly bright.' The lady's wish thereafter full well performed the knight."

And when the fight waxed sore at the court of Etzel, the daring and dying Folker called on Sir Rudeger to bear witness to his bracelet-bound fidelity: "For me, most noble margrave! you must a message bear; These bracelets red were given me late by your lady fair, To wear at this high festal before the royal Hun. View them thyself, and tell her that I've her bidding done." 2

It would, indeed, seem, that from this root-idea of the binding force of an endless covenant, symbolized in the form, and in the primitive name, of the bracelet, the armlet, the ring, there has come down to us the use of the wedding-ring, or the wedding-bracelet, and of the signet-ring as the seal of the most sacred covenants.

See Anderson's Norse Mytho, p. 149; his Viking Tales, pp. 184, 237, 272 f.; Wood's Wedding Day in all Ages and Countries, p. 139.

Lettsom's Nibelungen Lied, pp. 299, 388.

The signet-ring appears in earliest history. When Pharaoh would exalt Joseph over all the land of Egypt, "Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand." 1

Similarly with Ahasuerus and Haman: "The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman; "and the irrevocable decrees when written were " sealed with the king's ring." When again Haman was deposed and Mordecai was exalted, "the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai." 2 The re-instatement of the prodigal son, in the parable, was by putting" a ring on his hand." 3 And these illustrations out of ancient Egypt, Persia, and Syria, indicate a world-wide custom, so far. One's signet ring stood for his very self, and represented, thus, his blood, as his life.

The use of rings, or bracelets, or armlets, in the covenant of betrothal, or of marriage, is from of old, and it is of wide-spread acceptance. 4 References to it are cited from Pliny, Tertullian, Juvenal, Isidore; and traces of it are found, earlier or later, among the peoples of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Islands of the Sea. In Iceland, the covenanting-ring was large enough for the palm of the hand to be passed through; so, in betrothal "the bridegroom passed four fingers and his palm through one of these rings, and in this manner he received the hand of the bride."

Gen. 41:41-42.

Esther 3:10-I2 ; 8:2.

Luke 15:22.

See Wood's Wedding Day, also Jones's Finger Ring Lore.

In Ireland, long ago, "a usual gift from a woman to her betrothed husband was a pair of bracelets made of her own hair"; as if a portion of her very self as in the case of one's blood entered into the covenant rite. Again in Ireland, as also among the old Romans, the wedding-ring was in the form of two hands clasped (called a "fede") in token of union and fidelity. Sometimes, in England, the wedding-ring was worn upon the thumb, as extant portraits illustrate; and as suggested in Butler's Hudibras: "Others were for abolishing That tool of matrimony, a ring, With which the unsanctify'd bridegroom Is marry'd only to a thumb."

In Southern's "Maid's Last Prayer," the heroine says: "Marry him I must, and wear my wedding-ring upon my thumb too, that I'm resolved." l These thumb-weddings were said to be introduced from the East 2; and Chardin reports a form of marriage in Ceylon, by the binding together of the thumbs of the contracting parties; 3 as, according to the classics, the thumbs were bound together in the rite of blood-covenanting. 4 Indeed, the selection of the ring-finger for the wedding-covenant has commonly been attributed to the relation of that finger to the heart as the bloodcentre, and as the seat of life.

Cited in Jones's Finger Ring Lore, p. 289.

See Ibid., pp. 87-90.

Persian-und Ost-Indische Reise, II., 1 96.

See pp. 59 f., 62, supra.

"Aulus Gellius tells us, that Appianus asserts, in his Egyptian books, that a very delicate nerve runs from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart, on which account this finger is used for the marriage-ring" Macrobius says that in Roman espousals the woman put the covenant ring "on the third finger of her left hand [not counting the thumb], because it was believed that a nerve ran from that finger to the heart" And as to the significance of this point, it has been said: "The fact [of the nerve connection with the heart] has nothing to do with the question: that the ancients believed it, is all we require to know." 1

Among the Copts of Egypt, both the blood and the ring have their part in the covenant of marriage. Two rings are employed, one for the bride and one for the bridegroom. At the door of the bridegroom's house, as the bride approaches it, a lamb or a sheep is slaughtered; and the bride must have a care to step over the covenanting-blood as she enters the door, to join the bridegroom. It is after this ceremony, that the two contracting parties exchange the rings, which are as the tokens of the covenant of blood.2

See Godwyn's Romana Historia, p 69; Biewer's Dict. of Phraseand Fable, s. vv "Ring,""

Ring Finger"; Jones's Finger Ring Lore, p. 275. See also Appendix, infra.

Lane's Mod. Egypt II., 293

In Borneo, among the Tring Dayaks, the marriage ceremony includes the smearing with a bloody sword, the clasped hands of the bride and groom, in conjunction with an invoking of the protecting spirits. 1 In this case, the wedding-ring would seem to be a bond of blood.

Again, in Little Russia, the bride gives to the bridegroom a covenanting draught in "a cup of wine, in which a ring has been put"; 2 as if in that case the wine and the blood-bond of the covenant were commingled in a true assiratum? That this latter custom is an ancient one, would seem to be indicated by the indirect reference to it in Sir Walter Scott's ballad of "The Noble Moringer," a mediaeval lay where the long absent knight returns from the Holy Land just in time to be at the wedding-feast of his enticed wife. He appears unrecognized at the feast, as a poor palmer. A cup of wine is sent to him by the bride. "It was the noble Moringer that dropped amid the wine A bridal nng of burning gold so costly and so fine: Now hsten, gentles, to my song, it tells you but the sooth, 'Twos with that very ring of gold he pledged his bridal truth."

Clearly this was not the ring he gave at his bridal, but the one which he accepted, in the covenanting-cup, from his bride. The cup was carried back from the - palmer to the bride, for her drinking.

See Bock's Head Hnters of Borneo, p. 221 f.

Finger Ring Lore, p. 174 3

See page 63 f., supra.

"The ring hath caught the Lady's eye; she views it close and near; Then might you hear her shriek aloud, 'The Mormger is here! 'Then might you see her stait from seat, while teais in toirents fell; But whether 'twas fiom joy or woe, the ladies best can tell."

To the present day, an important ceremony at the coronation of a sovereign of Great Britain, is the investiture of the sovereign per anmdwn, or " by the ring." The ring is placed on the fourth finger of the sovereign's right hand, by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and it is called" The Wedding Ring of England,"as it symbolizes the covenant union of the sovereign and his people. A similar practice prevails at the coronation of European sovereigns generally. It also runs back to the days of the early Roman emperors, and of Alexander the Great.1

That a ring, or a circlet, worn around a thumb, or a finger, or an arm, in token of an endless covenant between its giver and receiver, has been looked upon, in all ages, as the symbol of an inter-union of the lives thereby brought together, is unmistakable; whether the covenanting life-blood be drawn for such inter-commingling, directly from the member so encircled, or not. The very covenant itself, or its binding force, has been sometimes thought to depend on the circlet representing it ; as if the life which was pledged passed into the token of its pledging. Thus Lord

See Finger Ring Lore, pp. 177-197.

Bacon says: "It is supposed [to be] a help to the continuance of love, to wear a ring or bracelet of the person beloved;" 1 and he suggests that "a trial should be made by two persons, of the effect of compact and agreement ; that a ring should be put on for each other's sake, to try whether, if one should break his promise the other would have any feeling of it in his absence." In other words, that the test should be made, to see whether the inter-union of lives symbolized by the covenant-token be a reality. On this idea it is, that many persons are unwilling to remove the wedding-ring from the finger, while the compact holds.2

It is not improbable, indeed, that the armlets, or bracelets, which were found on the arms of Oriental kings, and of Oriental divinities as well, were intended to indicate, or to symbolize, the personal inter-union claimed to exist between those kings and divinities. Thus an armlet worn by Thotmes III. is preserved in the museum at Leyden. It bears the cartouche of the King, having on it his sacred name, with its reference to his inter-union with his god. It was much the same in Nineveh.3 Lane says, that upon the seal ring commonly worn by the modern Egyptian" is engraved the wearer's name,"

Cited in Jones's Credulities Past and Present, p. 204 f.

See Appendix.

See Wilkinson's Anc. Egypt., IL, 340-343 ; Layard's Nineveh and its Remains, II., 250, 358; also 2 Sam. 1:10.

and that this name "is usually accompanied by the words 'His servant'(signifying 'the servant, or worshiper of God*), and often by other words expressive of the person's trust in God." 1 As the token of the blood-covenant is sometimes fastened about the arm, and sometimes about the neck; so the encircling necklace, as well as the encircling armlet, is sometimes counted the symbol of a covenant of very life. This is peculiarly the case in India; where the bracelet-brotherhood has been shown to be an apparent equivalent of the blood-brotherhood. Among the folk-lore stories of India, it is a common thing to hear of a necklace which holds the soul of the wearer. That necklace removed, the wearer dies. That necklace restored, the wearer lives again. "Sodewa Bai was born with a golden necklace about her neck, concerning which also her parents consulted astrologers, who said, 'This is no common child ; the necklace of gold about her neck contains your daughter'ssoul; let it therefore be guarded with the utmost care; for if it were taken off, and worn by another person, she would die." On that necklace of life, the story hangs. The necklace was stolen by a servant, and Sodewa Bai died. Being placed in a canopied tomb, she revived, night by night, when the servant laid off the stolen necklace which contained the soul of Sodewa Bai.

Modern Egyptians, I, 39.

The loss was at last discovered by her husband; the necklace was restored to her, and she lived again. 1 And this is but one story of many.

In the Brahman marriage ceremony the bridegroom receives his bride by binding a covenanting necklace about her neck." A small ornament of gold, called tahly, which 13 the sign of their being actually in the state of marriage, ... is fastened by a short string dyed yellow with saffron" 2 And a Sanskrit word for "saffron" is also a word for "blood." 3

The importance of this symbolism of the token of the blood-covenant, in its bearing on the root-idea of an inter-union of natures by an inter-commingling of blood, will be more clearly shown by and by.

Frere's Old Deccan Days, pp. 225-245.

Dubois' of Man and Cust, of India, Part II , chap. 7.

See p. 194, infra.

#Library #by H. Clay Trumbull #The Blood Covenant A Primitive Rite And Its Bearings On Scripture

0 notes

techcarecenter · 6 years

Text

Sega Genesis Flashback HD with 85 Games

Price: QR 495

What follows is the official finalized 85 game list for the retail version of the 2017 release of the Sega Genesis Flashback, which should be available next month. Reviews for the newly updated and optimized hardware (versus the earlier review units) should also be out starting October 13 (preview: it’s really good!). This is an update to the earlier official list (here), which was posted back in July. Of special note is that there are now more Sega Master System and Game Gear games, and fewer Bonus Games.

SEGA GENESIS GAMES:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Alien Storm Altered Beast Arrow Flash Bonanza Bros. Chakan: The Forever Man Columns Columns III Comix Zone Crack Down Decap Attack Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine ESWAT: City Under Seige Eternal Champions Fatal Labyrinth Flicky Gain Ground Golden Axe Golden Axe II Golden Axe III Jewel Master Kid Chameleon Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat 3 Mortal Kombat II Phantasy Star 3: Generations Of Doom Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star IV Ristar Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention Shining in the Darkness Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master Sonic & Knuckles Sonic 3D Blast Sonic Spinball Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Super Thunder Blade Sword Of Vermilion The Ooze Vectorman Vectorman 2 Virtua Fighter II

SEGA MASTER SYSTEM GAMES:

Alex Kidd in High Tech World Alex Kidd in Miracle World Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars Assault City Astro Warrior Dragon Crystal Fantasy Zone Fantasy Zone The Maze Kenseiden Kung Fu Kid Ninja, The Phantasy Star Psycho Fox Snail Maze

GAME GEAR GAMES:

Baku Baku Animal Defenders of Oasis Sonic Chaos Sonic Drift 2 Sonic Triple Trouble Super Columns Tails Adventure

BONUS GAMES:

Adventure in the Park Air Hockey Bomber Bubbles Master Cannon Checker Cross the road Curling 2010 Fight or Lose Hexagonos Jack’s Pea Jewel Magic Memory Mr. Balls Naval Power Plumbing Contest Snake Spider Wall-Breaking

0 notes

retroldschooltv · 7 years

Photo

Shining Force II ("Ancient Sealing") es un videojuego de rol táctico salido al mercado en 1993 para la consola Sega Mega Drive. El sistema de juego es similar a otros títulos; como la saga Fire Emblem o los Final Fantasy Tactics.Este juego es la secuela del primer Shining Force (The Legacy of Great Intention) salido en 1992. las historias de ambos no se encuentran directamente relacionadas y es en el juego Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (solo comercializado en Japón en 1995) el encargado de unir la trama de ambos. #shinnigforce2 #genesis #sega #retroact #retroactRed #retro #retrogaming #retrogamer #retrogames #videojuegos #juegos #juegosretro

#retro #retrogames #juegos #sega #videojuegos #retrogamer #retroactred #shinnigforce2 #retroact #retrogaming #genesis #juegosretro

0 notes

claire-starsword · 4 months

Text

Shining Force II Encyclopedia - Act 3: Seeds of a Counterattack

[Read on Neocities]

As the devil army marches onwards, the boy heads back to his birthplace!

Finally the devil forces have begun to advance through the continent of Parmecia. They dominate the nations of Parmecia one by one with crushing power. Yet there are warriors to push back and lead the revolt against them. An army gathered around a boy chosen by fate, the Shining Force. Their journey was arduous as they faced the devil army time and time again, yet they continued onward without faltering. To free the people captive of the devils, to bring the peace of old back to the world... And to repent for the sin of breaking the Ancient Seal...

After freeing Goddess Mitula, who had been imprisoned by the devils, the Shining Force now finally heads to Grans Island. The decisive battle awaits them at the devil's base, the Ancient Tower. Cruising the sky with great wings left by the Ancient civilization, the boy's heart is filled with determination.

The great tides of fate have once toyed with him, but now he cut them open on his own. A huge battle awaits him at the end.

Battle no.24

Before The Cave To North Parmecia 2

-The path is opened to the northern land, covered in dark clouds

The force leaves New Granseal, heading to help North Parmecia against the demon invasion, and enemies in the way attack with no mercy!

Battle no.25

The Cave To North Parmecia

-Run through dark corridors, to the light

The cave entrance is finally opened! But devils lie in wait to block the Shining Force's way.

Event no.23

Ketto Village

-A small village living in fear of devils

This small village close to the cave's exit was put under martial law by the devils, who fear attacks from the south. Pretty much no villager is showing their face outside.

Lots of signs around the village

Once the village is in sight, take care to not overlook it. Walking a bit too far, a battle will start and you won't be able to enter it before it's over. The village is right outside the cave.

In the village, there are a lot of signs blocking the entrance to the buildings. They might seem impossible to enter, but there's a way going around the signs. The people inside have things to say.

Search for the weapon shop owner

The church and shop are empty, as the devils forbid them of working. But it is too early to give up on replenishing forces. The priest outside the church will do his services if asked. Buying at the shop is also possible once the owner is found. Of course, his hiding place is a bit hard to find.

Battle no.26

To Pacalon

-A fierce battle at the vast northern coast!

As the force leaves Ketto and continues on their way to Tristan, devils appear, chasing a wounded knight. Defeat the devils and save him!

Event no.24

Pacalon Town and Castle

-The Kingdom of centaurs suffering under the drought

A country between Ketto and Tristan. The population is almost all brave centaurs, desperately defending against the devil invasion.

A knight's pride cannot beat starvation, and the country continues to weaken

Pacalon is the country of centaur knights. Their order of knights is renowned for its bravery throughout North Parmecia. An intense battle broke out once the devils appeared, and closing the gates of Moun, the main invading force was blocked.

While Pacalon has a great army, the drought has made food scarce. As things are, they cannot resist the devil's assaults for much longer.

Battle no.27

To Pangort Valley

-Break through the enemy siege and continue north!

The Shining Force heads north of Pacalon, to Tristan, the country of Goddess Mitula, and a powerful army stands in their way!

Battle no.28

Pangort Valley

-War cries echo in this quiet canyon deep in the mountains

As the group arrives at the suspended bridge on the path to Tristan, a lone woman is being attacked by monsters. Attack them and save her!

Event no.25

Tristan

-A detached country that does not know of the chaos below

Finally arriving at the noble region of Mitula's shrine, it was as if the war against the devils and the calamity approaching the world simply didn't exist.

Prepare your forces in this peaceful town, before entering the shrine

Tristan is a country inhabited by many different species, like humans, beastpeople, fairies, and more. The residents take pride in the fact that Goddess Mitula rules directly over them. No one seems aware of the world's situation, having not heard the news of the devils' attacks below.

The town of full of stairs, so navigating it can be a bit of a pain, but not visiting the church first can cause problems later. The underground path to Mitula's shrine is also complicated, and must be walked around thoroughly to understand its ins and outs.

Battle no.29

To Mitula's Shrine

-Take back the shrine over the lake!

Devils await in the path to the shrine! The war rages on, staining the myriad of colorful flowers with blood. Hurry to Goddess Mitula!

Battle no.30

Mitula's Shrine

-A captain of the devil army awaits

The shrine, meant to be Goddess Mitula's holy ground, has been taken over by the devil army. Awaiting at the altar is the devil army commander, Zalbard!!

Battle no.31

Pacalon Town

-The sinister plans of Geshp, tactician of the devil army!

In order to reach the Nazca region, the group returns to Pacalon for a moment. Break through the town turned battlefield by Geshp's plans, and escape!

Battle no.32

To Moun Town

-Acting fast is the key to victory

Defeating in Pacalon, Geshp has mobilized the devil troops to stop the group from reaching Moun. Destroy the blockage, and continue north!

Battle no.33

Moun Town

-Take down the land devil forces!

Win a super fierce battle at the last stop before the Nazca region.

Battle no.34

Nazca Region

-A battle to the death in the plain of geoglyphs

In the mysterious plain where the image of a giant bird is etched, the devil army captain Cameela and her underlings await in a solid formation!

#shining series #shining force 2 #shining force 2 encyclopedia #*bdg voice* there's nothing here!#i'm just gonna post the final one right next

2 notes · View notes

tianyuelin · 4 years

Link

(ゝ∀･)⌒☆

#EP:04 #光明與黑暗2續戰篇古代的封印 #シャイニング・フォースII 古えの封印 #Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing #Mega Drive #MD #角色扮演 #SEGA

2 notes · View notes

claire-starsword · 4 months

Text

Shining Force II Encyclopedia - Act 2: Traveling the Frontier (Part 2)

[Read on Neocities]

Battle no.13

Polca Village

-The peaceful village becomes a battlefield

The remaining devils fight Bedoe's forces hiding behind the fearful villagers. Clear these dark clouds looming over Mt. Volcanon with true power!

Battle no.14

To The Small Shrine of the Ancients' Heirs

-The desert region where scorching sun shines

Going down the river with a raft, the team heads to the desert region at the southeast of Parmecia. In a small shrine of a people who've inherited the will of the ancients through generations, new events develop.

Event no.14

The Small Shrine of the Ancients' Heirs

-Here lives a tribe with a duty to protect treasures

A small where people who've inherited the will and secret treasures of the Ancients live. With the treasure they protect, a secret of the ancient ruins will be revealed.

Listening to the heirs of the Ancients is the key to open up the path

A small shrine at the southeast of Parmecia. It is protected by a small tribe of people who pass down the Ancients' will. Inside stand a man and his grandson from this group. It seems he has another child named Petro. He says Petro has taken a key that allows passage to Grans Island. On Grans Island there is an ancient ship called Nazca Ship, and Petro intends to use it. In this huge turning point to the story, the old man will guide the team to the entrance of the Ancient Pathway.

Event no.15

Entrance to the Ancient Pathway

-A long sealed pathway connecting to Grans Island

An ancient pathway connecting to Grans Island, where Bowie's homeland of Granseal once stood. With the help of the Ancients' heir, its doors will now open!

The goal is a small shrine to the south of Ribble!

Going up the river to the north, there's a small shrine south of Ribble that is the entrance to the pathway. It has been sealed for a long time, and not even the heir of the Ancients has entered. However, now that his grandson Petro has decided to ride the ancient Nazca Ship, he can't stand by and do nothing. He must cross the pathway at once and chase after Petro. But this story seems to not be reaching a conclusion yet.

The archeologists researching the ruins

Back at the first visit to Ribble, did you know the archeologist Paseran was meticulously investigating the Ancient Pathway? Saying things like, "there has to be a clue about the entrance to the ancient ruins here". Perhaps the item to enter the ancient ruins that the people of Ribble search so frantically for is here. This must be confirmed once entering the shrine.

Battle no.15

Hall Before The Ancient Pathway

-A room of the great Ancients, falling apart

Beyond the door was a wide room with fallen pillars and crumbling walls. The place is falling apart now, but it is said that a great civilization lived there in the past.

Event no.16

The Ancient Treasury

-Legendary treasures sleep beneath the great tree

The treasury where ancient hidden treasures sleep, sought after by the people of Ribble. A legendary sword slumbering for ages there is now at Bowie's hands.

An item obtained after the fierce battle solves the mystery

The ruins that the people of Ribble are looking for are under the centre of the village. Using a certain item, this mystery is solved. Going through the opened entrance, the walls might be crumbling and falling apart, but the place is definitely ruins once built by the Ancient people. In its depths lie a treasure chest with a legendary sword.

With that sword in hand, Bowie becomes a hero inheriting the will of the Ancients. With this sword that hides a special power, he will cut through the devils' ambitions and return peace to the world. Now he must go down the river to the place the people of Ribble come from, the harbor town of Hassan.

Battle no.16

Kraken Raft

-Kraken, the giant squid attacking people who go down the river

To reach the harbor town of Hassan, Bowie and his friends go down the river with the raft. However, before they reach town, the giant squid who has been tormenting people blocks their way.

Event no.17

Harbor Town of Hassan

-A town that once flourished as a trading harbor

A harbor town at the southwest of Parmecia. Back in the day it was a trading harbor with ships big and small passing by, but now it has fallen, unable to do commerce.

What is the Ancient's Caravan that Rohde talks about?

After the grand battle against the Kraken, the place Bowie and his friends arrived at is the harbor town of Hassan, which can no longer function as a port since the water has dried up.

As the only trading harbor in the continent, the whole town used to be full of riches. It also used to have ships coming by from all around the world, gathering plenty of information and talks. However, as news spread of ancient ruins localized in the center of the continent, more than half the population became fascinated and left to seek them. The remaining people wanted to preserve the town somehow, but couldn't keep it up for long. The great scholar Rohde is in town, and tells of a secret of the Ancient Shrine.

Battle no.17

Sand Bar

-A vast desert at the west of the continent

It's not easy to traverse the western region, with the steep mountain range and and the vast desert land. It is said that there lies a shrine hiding an ancient secret.

Battle no.18

Ancient Shrine

-What's the treasure hidden in this shrine of distant times?

The giant soldier Taros protects the shrine since ancient times, stopping anyone who draws near. Now he challenges Bowie and his team.

Event no.18

Dwarf Hole

-The diggers who came from Grans Island

Dwarves who dug a tunnel all the way from the distant land of Grans, looking for Mithril. But, something is troubling them. Let's listen.

Search for their dwarf friend who hasn't returned

Riding the ancient vehicle, Caravan, the group arrives at a hole with some dwarves. The dwarves have dug a tunnel from Grans Island, looking for Mithril ore that can make powerful weapons. However, the great earthquake at the island has blocked the tunnel. The disaster didn't end there for them, as one of their comrades has fallen ill. The dwarf who left to search for the Fairy that can heal the sickness hasn't returned, so the team must search in their place.

Event no.19

Fairy Woods

-A secret paradise where you may relax in peace

The Fairy is the key to meeting the devil Creed. To find her, Bowie and his friends arrive at a hidden village. Where is this fairy after all?

A person called Elric

In a house next to the traveler's lodge, an old woman² waits for her only son to return. She's the mother of Elric, who has been spoken about in the dwarf hole. Elric is friends with the fairy with healing powers, and went after her to save the very ill dwarf. The old lady says the western forest is a dangerous place. Maybe he ran into some complications while crossing it. Has he managed to meet the Fairy in the end? This brave boy, Elric, it's worrisome what might have happened to him...

Gather information at the traveler's lodge

The building at the center of Fairy Woods is a lodge for travelers. There's a priest here, so saving and reviving aren't problems. On the floor above, travelers tell of what they've heard around. According to rumors, the Fairy went to the Devil's Tail to meet with Creed. Of course, the reason why she did that is still a mystery.

On the top floor there's a man who came to meet Creed as well. It seems that the entrance to Creed's mansion cannot be seen by regular people. But Elric might have learned from the Fairy where that entrance is.

[²The sprite for Elric's mom in the book is different from the final version, which might have influenced her description as an old woman. See this post for details.]

Battle no.19

To the Forest of the Spring

-Devils block the way to Creed's mansion

Bowie and the team chase after the fairy who went to Creed's mansion. But the path to the western forest is as dangerous as the rumors say. A trail with monsters running rampant...

Battle no.20

The Forest of the Spring

-Defeat the lawless monsters and save Elric

Elric had really been met with deadly peril. Everyone is fired up to fight the crowd of devils surrounding the swamp.

Event no.20

Cave Passageway

-A quiet underground path through the cape of Devil's Tail.

After being rescued by the group, Elric guides everyone through the passage to Creed's mansion. It's a tense journey filled with antecipation...

A lot of treasure chests lay here unknown to anyone. Search for paths the eye can't see

The cave's layout is very simple. It's easy to not get lost. Even if by rare chance someone gets lost, there are no monsters around so it's nothing to worry about. Going straight left leads to the cape of Devil's Tail. But there is also a secret path leading to valuable items. There must be an entrance to it somewhere across the main path. The walls should be inspected very carefully.

There are even more unseen turns in the secret path. The room it leads to hides a treasure chest, but many don't notice the extra path to acquire all four items. They are special items which will be very desirable later, so be extra careful.

Battle no.21

To Creed's Mansion

-More hurdles awaits before the mansion

Bowie and his team have arrived at the cape of Devil's Tail upon exiting the cave. But the monsters protecting Creed bare their fangs at unknown visitors!

Event no.20³

Creed's Mansion

-Fate awaits at the devil's mansion reached after much struggle

Finally, the team has arrived at Creed's mansion. But fate has yet another trial for them to face. Danger draws near.

Everyone gets shrunk down!

In the next room, Creed and the visiting Fairy are about to have their secret conversation. Bowie attempts to break in, avoiding the watch of the butler, Goliath. However, the moment he touches the doornob, everyone becomes very small!

Confronting the Demon King

Leaving the Floor World and descending the stairways, the group finds Creed and the Fairy in an altar. They summon the Evil Spirit, and within the flames, a vision of the Demon King appears. What the Demon King has eyes on is not Creed, but Bowie and the two jewels he carries. He says the princess is captive at the Ancient Tower. The group's fighting spirit is lit up once more.

Four allies, which one to choose?

Learning that Bowie carried an important duty, Creed spares one of the people in his collection to join the force. They're all different, but each one can be a valuable asset, so choose carefully.

[³Another numbering mistake, but this time it repeats the previous number, so it actually fixes the previous one.]

Battle no.22

Desktop Kingdom

-A strange battle in warped space

Giant books. Vast paper. Deep bottles of ink. This is Desktop Kingdom, where the shrunk down collection lives. A live risking match starts, with freedom on the line.

Battle no.23

Floor World

-Cornered by a giant demon rat

Using the Cotton Balloon to descend, Bowie and his friends have reached the Floor World under the desk. Now they fight to escape this micro world.

Event no.22⁴

New Granseal

-A brief rest for the wounded warriors

The Shining Force⁵ returns home, to rest from the journey so far, and to set out on yet another. This second homeland, it is warm and soothing...

The reencounter and joining with Sir Astral

Lots of faces, not seen in a long time, smile at the group. Bowie and his friends have returned to New Granseal. Bowie heads immediately to the castle, and tells the king of everything that has happened so far. Of course, that includes reporting that Princess Elis is still alive. The king worries on how the kingdom should respond to the current crisis looming over the world. Astral says they should head to Tristan in the north, to listen to the storytellers there. Everyone renews their determination to continue traveling. But the situation is quite serious. Can this group alone solve everything...?

Sir Astral joins the Shining Force here as a strong advisor.

[⁴Numbering skipped no.21. So yeah, nothing was actually fixed. I already regret paying attention to these mistakes lmao

⁵Before this point, the characters are usually referred to as "Bowie-tachi", which is just "Bowie and the other people with him" in JP grammar. Because the repetition and the expression itself feel clunkier in english, I used a number of different translations throughout the text (Bowie and his friends, Bowie's team, the group, etc.) I never used "force" however, because only here does the book starts to refer to them as Shining Force, and I feel that's very deliberate to mark the turning point of the story, as only now are them in direct opposition to Zeon. The term "一行" (ikkou) also starts being used here, meaning "traveling party/group/troop", and feeling a little more formal ("Bowie-tachi" is never fully dropped though).

Perhaps it is worth mentioning that I don't recall the term "Shining Force" being used in the game itself, as the characters are usually referred to as "Granseal army" instead.]

#shining series #shining force 2 #shining force #shining force 2 encyclopedia #shining force 2 act 2 #and that's it folks! nothing good from here on #you can see they already slight me personally here by not having any flavor for Desktop Kingdom of all things #also you can now see i was not joking when i said they hype up the achilles sword way more than the force sword #look at all that drama #you would think that's an endgame weapon or at the very least a big plot point

2 notes · View notes

claire-starsword · 4 months

Text

Shining Force II Encyclopedia - Act 2: Traveling the Frontier (Part 1)

[Read on Neocities]

Alongside his new allies, the boy learns of how his journey will begin...

Their hometown was swallowed by the fissured earth. Now, one year after that tragedy, the people who escaped Granseal have built a new kingdom, in the land of Parmecia. That boy among them. The Jewels of Light and Darkness wrapped around his neck. They were proof that the boy was a fateful child chosen by the gods.

One day, a mysterious bird appeared in the boy's town. With that young phoenix at his side, the boy headed to unfamiliar regions. To meet the many races that lived in that land... And to find the reason behind the tragedy of an year ago... What he learned in these travels was that ancient devils had been released upon the earth. The Ancient Tower was the gate sealing them, the Jewels of Light and Darkness the keys.

God Volcanon, learning that the people of earth had summoned the devils, refused to lend his power to the boy and his comrades. They had to reseal the devils with only their own power. Where will the tides of fate take this boy to...?

Event no.07¹

Aboard The Ship

-An ark in search of a new holy land

After the earthquake that ravaged Grans Island, a ship sails on, carrying the people of Granseal, in search of a new holy land. What will be their fate?

Now, everyone will work hard to build a new town!

They headed west, far west, and at last wide land could be seen. It was the continent of Parmecia. In this land, a new adventure awaited Bowie and his friends, a second stage. Following Sir Astral's instructions, people began to dismantle the ship to gather resources for building their new country. Of course Bowie and his friends were there, working hard at the rebuilding. In front of the stairs at the center is a huge plank, and Bowie should bring it to the deck above.

A worker is missing!?

After handing over the plank, a worker came rushing to Bowie! Seems another worker went missing. What happened!?

[¹The event numbering seems to have skipped no.06 by mistake.]

Battle no.08

Before The Cave To North Parmecia 1

-Enemies suddenly appear. Save your fellow countryman!

Awaiting Bowie's team in the mines were enemies getting in the way of the work. Rise against all them to rescue the worker!

Event no.08

New Granseal Castle

-The starting point of this second story

Forgetting all the glory of the past, the people aim to build a new country together. It is small, but to Bowie, it is his one and only homeland.

Deepening relations with the people of the continent

Sir Astral has made his proclamation! He says, "we must strengthen our relationship with people of the continent". He believes that trading with the many races inhabiting Parmecia will help develop their country. Astral entrusted Bowie and his friends with this important duty. And thus begins a real adventure with lots of comrades. Come, let's part to new lands!

Let's head out with Peter!!

The king is delighted at the sudden arrival of a guest! Bowie and his friends will accompany the phoenik Peter on his travels. They'll take him safely to his homeland, Mt. Volcanon.

Event no.09

New Granseal Town

-A hopeful rebuilt town carved amidst the forest

The town built by people's own hands, using the ship they sailed on as material. Being built by hand, it is not yet complete, but their hopes and dreams reside there!

A rare visitor came

It has been one year since they've left Grans Island. To secure their livelihood, they've built houses, made roads, and erected a castle to represent their country. For a long time people have not left the town, and many boring days have gone by, but a single visitor stirred everyone up. They gathered one after another to see the rare guest. Wanting to build relations with the continent's people, staff from the castle bring him in.

Let's try going to the town to the east!

While people had gotten used to living in a new land, there were still many dangers outside town. But as Astral had said, the town wouldn't develop unless they could get along the people of the continent. Amidst this situation, a soldier went to check how things were outside, and said the following: "There's a village east of here. But people there flee right away. Even though we want to get along with them." Why are them so avoidant? It would be good to find the truth on this matter.

Battle no.09

To Ribble Village

-Devils act in the shadows of these wild plains

Wild plains surrounded by a rough mountain range. Once travelers came and went through it frequently, but the movement died out once the devils appeared. Let's purge the wild enemies in a clean sweep!

Event no.10

Ribble Village

-The small village scared of visitors

A village with people from many different regions, attracted by the allure of ancient ruins. What is the ancient hidden treasure they seem to be looking for!?

People chasing after the mystery of the ruins!!

Many villagers of Ribble come from the town of Hassan to the south. Despite many different sorts coming due to their interest in the ancient ruins, they have all settled into a cordial and orderly life together. Among these people are two archeologists from Hassan, Paseran and Keseran, who have shed some light in the mystery of a hidden ancient treasure. Currently, the search for ancient ruins covers a wide area, extending all the way to the cave leading to North Parmecia. However, the researchers still struggle on finding a way to uncover the entrances to these ruins. According to the village chief, the villagers' ancestors came from the distant continent of Rune. Perhaps, while these people remain in Ribble for now, they'll set out for new adventures one day.

Battle no.10

From Ribble Village to the Cavern of Darkness

-Enemies await once more in the field

To the south is a running river, and to the north are majestic mountains at the center of Parmecia. Following the river's path is the holy mountain. Mt. Volcanon.

Battle no.11

From the Cavern of Darkness to Polca Village

-The only path to Mt. Volcano

The dark cave connecting to the foot of Mt. Volcanon, where devils settled with a hobgoblin as their leader. Smash the enemies down with a single light on your side!

Event no.11

Polca Village

-The village where worshippers of Volcanon have gathered

A small village surrounded by diverse nature and a steep mountain range. The people have deep faith in the great god Volcanon as their protector.

A mysterious boy arrives lost in the village

The village is worthy of being called isolated, as only a single path connects it to the plains. That single pathway was blocked as the devils took control of the cavern, but the village received help from the birdmen country, Bedoe, and managed to continue their lives without problems. But, having relied on Bedoe for too long, they forgot how to fight for themselves. At first glance, the villagers seem to be living in peace, but they actually fear every day that the devils might attack. Volcanon's anger has them shaken as well. No one know why the god is upset.

Battle no.12

Volcanon Mountain Path

-The mountain path to the shrine over the precipice

A steep mountain path that blocks people from coming to the mountain, throwing some down to the bottom. The devils' power now reaches even this place!

Event no.12

The Country of Bedoe

-The birdmen country full of strong warriors

Towering over Mt. Volcanon's summit is the fortress of the birdmen, boasting great power. As the devils continue to assault this country, what is their real objective!?

The residents are shaken by the devils' attack!

At the center of Parmecia, Bedoe is located at the peak of a tall mountain, as birdmen countries tend to be. The building is full of windows, designed that way so that soldiers can fly out all at once in times of battle. Birdmen are very skilled at battle, and were a powerful force even back at the war between gods and devils. They continue to pass on these skills even now, being capable of taking down any enemy. This time too they have won, but they had never been attacked directly in their base before, and cannot hide how shaken they are by the devils' fearsomeness. Returning to his homeland after so long, Peter saw many wary faces. Why have the devils attacked Bedoe!?

Event no.13

Volcanon Shrine

-Towering above the summit, the great shrine watches upon the world

The Creator, God Volcanon, has continued to live for thousands of years. He has given a harsh trial for the people of the land that summoned the devils.

What is the task entrusted to Bowie and his team!?

At the very top of Bedoe is the Volcanon Shrine. There lies the God Volcanon said to have lived for thousands of years. He has the form of the legendary phoenix bird, and firmly immobile, has waited for Peter to return from his travels. Hating the people of the earth, who called upon devils, his anger is currently bare for all to see. He has even said that he won't help through the catastrophe that awaits. Volcanon is putting the people's power to the test, sending them to defeat the devils with only their own power. Giving them a single hint, he went into a deep slumber. Can Bowie and his friends defeat the devils!?

#shining series #shining force 2 #shining force 2 encyclopedia #shining force 2 act 2 #long post #could be longer. i truly cannot stand the size of this act #why didn't you break it here it makes so much sense

2 notes · View notes