AQWorlds Lead Writer Blog

"This family used to own pockets of land here and there. They weren't in a hurry to win more. House Reignolds focused on entertaining the Noble Court with galas and balls. Petals fell like rain in Dreadhaven's toxic garden, drowning prisoners who were brought out of the dungeons to make the guests laugh. To the Drakath Dynasty's warmongers and battle mages, these Lords were little more than jesters.

During the reign of King Dethrix the first, humble House Reignolds rose to sudden prominence because its Lord defied his own motto.

The flowers in his gardens bloomed in winter, but they were already dead. Lord Reignold’s special brand of necromancy kept them beautiful."

"His King discovered his talents, and gave Reignolds the honor of becoming a Court Mage. 

Though he kissed the ground Dethrix the First walked on, everyone at court knew someone as vain and cowardly as him would despise working in the dungeons. There were even rumors of treasonous intent.

When Lord Reignolds and the rest of the Court Mages were expected to sacifice themselves in some sort of forbidden ritual, he fled for the hills. It didn't take long for Sir Valen and Lady Lynaria to find him curled up under a bush, sobbing like a child.

"When Alden Alteon took the throne, Lord Reignolds begged for mercy and convinced him that the tyrant forced him to fight at his side. His daughter, Marigold, would have been harmed if he refused."

"She's all I have left! My wife passed away during the last famine. If something were to happen to me, poor Marigold would be all alone!" claimed Lord Reignolds. It moved the kind and fatherly King.

"King Alteon graciously allowed him to remain in Greenguard, but further investigation uncovered terrible secrets.

Researching forbidden magic, kidnapping innocent people to experiment on them, and creating that Vessel... Lord Reignolds needed to answer for those crimes."

"Reignolds fled to his old summer home, with King Alteon's men were right on his heels. 

But in a mysterious turn of events, Reignolds was found dead at the very top of his tower. His daughter, Marigold, was waiting to be found in the cellar. No one knows who killed her father.

Though King Alteon took her in as a ward of the royal family, he was forced to keep her at arms distance. Letting her stray into the public eye would invite violence. The people wronged by her father were already embolded by jealous Nobles...

Marigold's childhood was lonely, but she was raised by the servants of Swordhaven. They were kind and patient, understanding that her father persecuted her for being unable to learn as quickly as other noble heirs. The common folk taught her how to study in her own way, and she became aware of their hardships."

"The territory that once belonged to House Reignolds was given to the Granvilles. Lady Marigold was allowed to keep her titles, but the Noble Court treated her harshly. 

Studying magic and agriculture, and using it to feed the common folk won their love, but she's an easy target for the frustrations of the nobility. They believe Marigold's family's history justifies their childish actions. One prank went too far, and injured her severely. The incident almost took Marigold's life, which prompted King Alteon to call upon worthy knights."

"House Reignolds original knights were disbanded for being complicit with their deceased Lord's crimes. 

Iberis, Viola, Valerian, Sumac, and Clover are newly appointed Elysian Knights who protect Lady Marigold. Three are Nobles themselves, but the other two are commoners.

They proudly wear the Datura crest and... come on a little strongly. Iberis enjoys dangling his fellow Noblemen off of balconies by their ankles. It tends to wring out truly heartfelt apologies.

Lady Marigold isn't always seen with them, fearing that she'll become as feared as her father was if Iberis and the others keep unsheathing their blades on her behalf."

"She prefers to live in Spring, and prepare the people for winter and famines. 

"Our dear friend is going to get better. It was frightening to see them collapse so suddenly, but this will pass. I know you're worried, and it makes you anxious not being able to come inside and see them yourself, but they can feel your presence. There's comfort in that." - Lady Celestia

"..."

"See? I didn't need to teleport us inside this time. We snuck in, and the Nobles thought there was an earthquake instead of an intruder.

I used to play with my sisters here every evening, until they had more important things to worry about. It's okay, I understand now."

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨... 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭... 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘴." - Volgritian

"Sorry, buddy. You're way too big! I saw you wince when the doors open, too. Claustrophobic? That's not going to help your friends." - Admin B

Hyonix: You're dreaming? I never expected you to have difficulty coming to terms with reality.

Dekanor: Being Great or not doesn't make a difference. Admit it. There's nothing you can do.

Akriloth: Pathetic, shivering and weak like your wretched apes. You should join them.

"..."

"Woah, hey! You want to be awake for this? Cool. Back when I had a body, I liked looking at my own guts too." - Admin B

"...𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵." - Volgritian

"Hm? I'm listening."

"At first, my parents thought that I loved bugs because I caught fireflies thinking they were lost stars. I'd gather them up in a jar, check each one by one, and let them go.

...When I freed the last firefly, I burst into tears for some reason."

"Then my parents freaked out because those fireflies were actually man-eating locusts. Huh, all of the towns around ours were going through famine, but the locusts wouldn't eat our crops unless I fed them.

Sorry, getting off topic. I left home and began studying actual stars."

"You helped create stronger telescopes, and discovered new asterisms all on your own. It's impressive!"

"More like obsessive! And a little fool-hardy. The best stargazing spots tend to be places like Darkovia or Doomwood, but I can't stop myself!"

"That said, I like the stories more than the math.

The Mourning Cygnus, Lupercalia's Pisces... the stars mean so many things to so many different people."

"Which one's your favorite?"

"It's always been 0̶͈̩̈́̕1̷͙̣͎͌̒͋̓0̶̺͚̞͇͋͊̍͘1̴̘̄0̴̓͜0̵̢̯͓̊̈́́ͅ1̶̥͙̭͊͐1̷̫̯̹̕ ̶̗̇̑̚͘0̸̻̑̐͛͆"

"Sagittarius? Is that your zodiac sign?" - Neveya

"Oh, did I say that? Uh... Yes, I suppose my favorite stars are part of Sagittarius." - Kylokos

"I was never treated like a human being. My classmates called me names when they weren't ignoring me, or kicked me in the ribs. You know how happy I when the Shadowscythe killed them? Here, I'm treated like a friend. I… want to be like my friends." -Pilot's Afterimage

"Remember when we landed on that planet where it snowed? The flakes were big enough to knock me down. It was really cold… almost as cold as now. That's right. You don't know what it means to 'be cold.'" -Pilot's Afterimage

"I do now." - Exiled Shadow

"Wait, are you… Oh, please don't cry."

"Hey… Want to know a secret? I was thinking of a new name for you. I hoped I'd get to tell you after the surgeries. It's-"

[Repeating Sequence]

"Remember when we landed on that planet where it snowed? The flakes were big enough to knock me down. It was really cold..."

"My body isn't going to last, so this is it. Let's end on a high note.

"What is Amnion Fluid anyways? The red stuff in those tanks?" - Aleister

"It's not blood, but it definitely tastes like something that comes from a human." - Ouroboros

"Wait. Back in Fort Luma, they were watering the flowers with red stuff. Luma Lifeforms emerged..." - Aleister

"To turn humans into Doom Spirits, Dr. Cassilda mutated a virus. They weren't soaking in the Fluid." - Ouroboros

"The Spirits were the ones who needed it to transform, even if it 'dissolved' them. They also didn't like that it 'drained' the humans. Maybe this is something we shouldn't know..." - Aleister