(A/n: Magic role quest finale! This prompt works really well for chronic hero type wols, and mine kinda is like that. But in a way, it also works for Alisaie, always trying to better herself and take on the WoL's burdens. she pushes herself just as hard so the WoL doesn't have to. So they can both be pretty bad about it aha.
but yay, I said I wanted to finish a role quest during the month and I did! There's always room to add more details and cover more plot points and bridge the gap between chapters more with edits, but that's for later. And I still have a few days left so let's see if I can get one more role quest written for before the end.
Word count: 1963)
āWe are in agreement with our strategy then?ā Aymeric asked the group, standing waiting atop the stairs of the main hall within the Vault. The windows rattled with the blizzard that continued to rage outside. Even with her continued frustration that the city still seemed beset by this storm during her time there, Alisaie couldnāt help also feeling a touch nervous at how the battle would ensue in the middle of it.
āYou and I will hold the beasts attentions while Lady Fhara and Lady Alisaie bear their all against it,ā Artoirel recited, casting a glance at the ladies, āAlthough Lady Alisaie has assured us she can manage with the curative magicks as well, I am willing to provide additional healing if need be.ā
She nodded at his assessment.
āI wonāt deny I had much to learn to bring my white magicks up to par in my training, but Iāll do my best.ā
Beside her, Fhara shuffled nervously, fidgeting with the rings in their holsters.
āWe have all our bases covered then,ā Aymeric said, though it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself first. He steeled his shoulders and stood tall, fully in command.
āLetās move then!ā
~~
With the raging snow storms to blanket the uppermost towers of the Vault, Alisaie almost had to wonder if their target would even find them. They were putting a lot of faith in Aymericās plan that Profane Fafnir would be summoned forth by a remnant of the former Archbishop.
The man in question stood unyielding despite the storm, crozier in hand, waiting for a response. Everyone simply stood back, forced to wait as well.
Ears open for any sound other than the roar of the wind, waiting for a shifting shape in amongst the flurry.
A particularly strong gust blew through the upper plaza, and with the frost on the smooth floors, Alisaie found herself blown off her feet and slipping into Fharaās side.
Ever the stalwart ally, Fhara was ready to catch her, keeping her steady and helping her stay on her feet.
Alisaie didnāt have time to respond, in thanks or even to reassert herself, when Aymericās voice shouted over the din.
āIt approaches! Make ready!ā
She could barely see anything, just white all around. But she heard something. Something familiar.
A roar like a dragon, but layered with aching howls and inhuman wailing over the thundering wind.
Then even beats like wings flapping.
Even before Alisaie had her weapon fully unsheathed, she could already feel the energies of Fharaās aether connecting with her, ready to provide support.
As she always did.
āWith me!ā came Artoirelās call, breaking through the din as he charged forth and taking hold of the beastās attention with a bash of his shield right as it made to land, howling and turning to him.
āAt its flank, Ali!ā Fhara called, already jumping through the snow fall with grace, unencumbered by the cold, barely minding the slush underfoot. Alisaie took up her own position at the opposite side, unleashing thunder upon the curled tendril hide.
The follow up fire blast felt especially potent unleashed from her focus staff, already seeing the effects of Fharaās support in battle. Twas only a shame the heat couldnāt linger a moment long, but she had no time to worry about that as the dragon began to take to the air once more.
āIs it fleeing?ā she asked, worried that theyād have to take chase and potentially lead to a more populated area.
āNay, our ruse has angered it enough that it will continue the fight,ā Artoirel responded, gesturing for them to keep an eye on the skies once more as he added, āKeep watch, this storm gives it an advantage to attack.ā
An obvious fact that didnāt need to be stated, but they turned their eyes to the sky, waiting for any aberration against the snowy gloom. It was a long wait, fearing that the beast had indeed fled, until suddenly-
āIncoming on my left, move!ā Aymeric shouted, and with only a moment to spare before the onslaught of frost laded breath began to coat the floor, Alisaie and Fhara raced to get out of the way.
Alisaie almost slipped, struggling to gain purchase, until she felt herself being propelled forward the final way to safety, hearing a hiss of pain behind her. She didnāt even have to know what had happened, immediately turning and preparing a Vercure for Fhara, who was wincing as she hovered a hand over her other arm, covered in an extra layer of frost.
Always the hero.Ā
Alisaie had to bite back the sharp comment she wanted to make, especially as the dragon landed once more, its layered howling roar echoing against the cobbles as it reignited the attack against Artoirel, its tail lashing out toward Aymeric.
Fhara was already racing back into the fight, pink aether tinged jumps propelling her forward and giving strength to her chakrum throws.
Alisaie huffed, casting another Vercure for Aymericās blow from the spiny tail, then leaping forth with her own aether, sword embedding into the beastās thick behind.
The battle raged, Profane Fafnirās breath scorching them with ice at every turn, fired into the air to descend upon them, forcing them to spread out lest they catch each other in the assault.
Its wings beat furiously, joining with the stormy winds to try and throw them off their feet and over the edge into the clouds far below.
It let out another screeching howl, piercing through the air such that they all flinched at the sound. Barely above the din, Artoirel could be heard cursing, āFury, what was that?ā
One of Fharaās chakrams flew over the beast and hit it sharp at the back of its head, causing it to spin around and suddenly snap directly at her. She dodged out of the way, but was immediately winded once more as another piercing howl was unleashed directly in her face. Its massive flank hid the men from view, but Alisaie had no doubt they were trying to regain its attention, to turn it away from them both.
But she still had to do something, and without thinking, threw herself forward, slashing into its exposed neck.
Its piercing scream cut off sharply, however it wasted no time flinging its heavy head into Alisaieās side, throwing her back and against the floor like she was just a nuisance fly.
She heard Fhara call her name, worried, ears ringing from the blow such that if it werenāt for Fharaās hands already on her, trying to help Alisaie back up to her feet, sheād think they were malms apart.
Always minding her.
Underneath the white noise and the wind, she heard Aymeric call for aid as more blasphemous monsters crawled over the sides of the tower and into their arena.
āIt mustāve summoned them forth! Take care!ā Artoirel yelled.
She couldnāt be the weak link. She could already see Fhara taking up a protective spot in front of her.
āTake it easy Alisaie, I can handle them,ā Fhara said, already going through the steps that then pushed back on the approaching tide with a final stomp. The endless chattering sounds surrounding them showed no end to the horde.
āThe beast is also preparing to attack! Weāll be overwhelmed!ā That was Aymeric behind them, and indeed when Alisaie chanced a glance, she could see Profane Fafnir flying above them, energy gathering in its gaping maw.
āI can hold against the blast,ā Artoirel stated, already taking up stance in the centre of the ring.
āWhat of the others?ā said Aymeric, even as he took cover behind his companion, Fhara and Alisaie backing up to join him.
āIāll-ā No!
āIāll handle that,ā Alisaie stated, immediately cutting Fhara off, āIāll have them in one blow!ā She turned her back to Artoirel and was already gathering as much power as she could muster into her focus, stretching her aether to cover the area.
Black and White magic building in tandem, ready to rain down like meteors upon her targets. Building and building-
She could feel a final surge of protective energy, layering over the top of Artoirelās aether. If his were like protective wings encasing them, this familiar magic was like a warm embrace.
Always trying to do what she could. This much Alisaie couldnāt fault her on, as much as it tired her out that she always had to do something.
In the same moment Fafnirās mighty breath sprung forth, bitter frost nipping at their skin and armour even through the protective layers of several shields, Alisaie unleashed her own attack.
The arena was bathed in white light, almost bathing the battle in silence as the panicked chittering faded with their enemiesā demise. Once the light faded, it was only the four of them, and Fafnir, landing once more and approaching with heavy footsteps.
Alisaie, tried not to collapse from the exertion, using her sword embedded into the ground to keep herself standing. A similar warmth to the pink aether tinged shield washed over her, healing her aches and giving her a momentary burst of vigour.
Fhara was watching over her as she got to her feet again. Always reliable.
Alisaie gave a nod, confirmation enough that she was ready to keep going, and all four jumped back into the fray, surrounding their beast and continuing the fight.
This time, as a fresh gust of wind blew over them, it was Profane fafnir that stumbled, finally tiring in the fight. And with that stumble came an opening.
āNow!ā
Aymeric didnāt even need the order, as Alisaie and Fhara lept in tandem.
Fharaās chakram throw slicing through skin, and Alisaie using the opening to pierce right through.
Profane Fafnirās head flew back, letting out another one of those layered echoing wails into the sky. Its weakened cry faded, even as it tried to let out another.
And another.
But each cry just saw it go limper and limper.
Until it finally collapsed. Lingering a moment longer than most other blasphemies, long enough that it could stare Aymeric direct in the eye. Whatever silent exchange they may have shared, or whatever Aymeric could glean from its expression, they didnāt know.
For it then vanished into black smoke.
And finally, the snow seemed to stop. The skies cleared, and the sunset appeared through the grey gloom to greet them, painting the city orange.
āIt is done,ā Artoirel said, sheathing his weapon.
Done. Of course it wasnāt actually done. Alisaie still had work to do. Fhara still had work to do. But theyād succeeded in this much. Ishgard could see some peace for a bit longer, and hopefully the Scions could ensure that peace could continue.
She turned back to Fhara, and already her heart panged to see how exhausted the woman was. Equal parts concern and frustration building in her chest, threatening to burst forth. Always putting herself at risk for others, always taking on every burden. And she knew that Fhara would be off to see to another blasphemy, and she wouldnāt get any rest, despite needing it more than anyone else.
And of course, Fhara could argue much the same about Alisaie, trying to do so much for everyone else, and especially for her. She was no doubt a wreck as well for the stunt she pulled with that magic blast.
But then Fhara smiled back at her. Always so positive.
āYou did good. Iām proud of you,ā she purred, tail whipping behind her. And Alisaie had to bite back every frustration she had. Now wasnāt the time for that.Ā
āI tried my best,ā was all she could respond with, trying to match that same smile.
They had time yet. They had to hope they would always have time.
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[[ Was holding off on this for awhile but here it is-- the reason for what iām secretly considering to be alt (first) Pipin despite the few color differences. Itās the closest Iāll get and the backstory is very fitting (wonāt spoil that much)! These certain individuals give me so many ideas... ]]
(A/n: Full confession, I'm also kinda disappointed in this one, but more so cos I had an idea in mind and I didn't quite get to execute it the way I wanted. So I'm just pushing it through as is to hit the deadline, and it's definitely up for big edits and extra additions after the month is done.
I know people don't like to hear disappointment from a writer cos then they're not interested to read a piece in turn, but I know I could do this one better, I at least wanted to get the building blocks in place to work on later and say its done now.
Takes place after the Reticent piece for the healer quest. I originally wrote that one to be a more general interaction during the quest but I didn't have a timeline placement, till I realised I wanted to write this one with actual plot from the questline, so I had to figure out where it could go. Maybe even with edits I could say Reticent happens after, idk yet.
Word count: 830)
Up early the next day and ready to get started. They had their instructions and where to start looking from Raganfrid, a family that had apparently gone missing in recent days before Alphinaud and Fhara had arrived to help.
They and Fordola had split up, hoping to cover more ground with all three of them going separate ways along the river and up into the mostly abandoned quarries.
Alphinaudās own path barely showed any sign of activity, only the gouges into the rock face and thin strips of shredded clothing caught in the brush off the beaten path.
He skidded to a stop once the carnage seemed to disappear from the pathway. He tried to calm his panting, listening carefully for anything, waiting for something decidedly more otherworldly to break through the forest din.
It was quiet. A rustle of leaves, birdsong, and wind. The tumbling of rock falling-
That was his only warning before he turned and jumped back, managing to escape the beast as it landed where he stood, claws digging into the dirt. His nouliths were already flying, firing off into the creature and wrenching an inhuman howl from it.
Itās fur bristled and it already started racing toward him, tearing through the ground with each bound, and all Alphinaud could do was continue to fire and side step each charge until it finally began to slow, and lurch from the onslaught.
It stumbled one final time until it collapsed, and burst into black smoke, leaving no further trace, bar a single ring, glinting on the road.
It was certainly expected, but it didnāt stop the surge of disappointment swelling in his chest. He collected the ring and rang Fhara over the linkshell, agreeing to meet back at the settlement to report in.
He didnāt miss the similar tone of despair in her voice, already saying much of the same experience before they even reunited.
~~
The incident had happened all too fast, thereād barely even been any time to try and defuse it.
The young lad had laid eyes on Fordola for one moment, and immediately felt overcome with guilt and panic at the sight of the Butcher, voice screaming regrets that echoed and faded into another twisted abomination. Fordola was doubled over into herself, both from the pain of the initial attack from the beast as sheād taken a blow for a young girl, and from an untimely Echo that left her clutching her head, leaving Fhara to handle the newly formed beast while Alphinaud provided her support, keeping an eye that none of the villagers tried to approachā¦or in case they also ended up turning.
āFhara, on your flank!ā he yelled, seeing the blasphemy raise an arm to swipe, but of course she was already on it, jumping out of its range and flinging her throwing weapons into its own side. A timely shield from Alphinaud blunted the blow from its tail on her, catching her as it swung around and leaving her winded for a moment. So long as he had her in sight, she wasnāt in any danger.
He could hear Raganfrid and Arenvald hollering orders behind him for the villagers to get to safety in their homes.
Fhara was already having to jump back again from another slash, trying to put distance between herself and its tail.
In that moment, unbeknownst to Alphinaud, not even paying her any mind while she recovered, Fordola shot back in and cut through the beast, directly in its chest. It let out a long whistling cry, then folded in on itself and disappeared.Ā
The quiet that followed was almost oppressive. No villagers to point and whisper, no animals set off in a frenzied panic, just the pants of the trio as they recollected themselves from another fight.
Youāre all alright there?ā Arenvald called, rushing over as quickly as he could on his wheelchair. āEveryone else is accounted for in the village. All of them are frightened, but no-oneās turning.ā
āGood,ā Alphinaud could only answer, already feeling out of breath. Even when he didnāt have to do that much in that fight, the adrenaline rush still left him winded, especially with how busy the day itself had been.
Behind him, he heard Fhara and Fordola, though more so the former trying to reach out to the other.
āHey, are you ok-ā
āIām fine. Leave me be.ā She was already marching off.
āWait!ā Fhara was ignored, as Fordola strode out of the village. In the distance, the villagers were poking their heads out of windows and door frames, watching her depart.
āI canāt imagine what she sees every day,ā Arenvald lamented, āItās pretty hard for her as you can tell.ā
Seeing those same villagers begin to gather around and talk, and some casting angered expressions the way sheād disappeared, and then a very conflicted looking mother worrying over her girl - the same girl Fordola had protected - Alphinaud couldnāt help but sigh.
The irony of using a DT themed banner when I didn't even write anything for Dawntrail this month XD Bar one prompt.
But yeah, I ended up with two main story threads I was writing with only a small handful of standalone pieces; the Endwalker role quest rewrites to feature a relevant Scion in each story, and a farming sim AU based off Fields of Mistria cos that game had a grip on me at the start of the month aha...
And even with the month finished I still have ideas I want to do for that AU, and I want to flesh out the rewrite works to post on Ao3 - mainly add more to the other, non-Magic questlines, get more interactions and hit more of the actual plot threads for each quest story. But that'll be after a break from writing.
Thank you for reading if you did~ Please look forward to future updates and Ao3 postings for the stories that hopefully won't be left till next year!
Standalone
#2 Horizon - A final addition to last year's collection of writings for my second character Yuri meeting the Scions with the final character she didn't get to meet, Estinien
#3 Halcyon - Post-Endwalker, contemplating what peace even means and especially for the Scions
#23 On Cloud Nine - Dawntrail spoilers, looking at Sphene and the final area residents
Fields of Mistria AU
#9 Lend an Ear - Fhara's settling in, ready for a new life in the valley to help out a poor town hit by an earthquake, with Minfilia to greet her
#7 Morsel - Beginning the town introductions by meeting the inn runners, Thancred and Ryne
#24 Bar - Meeting the general store owner, Tataru
#16 Third-Rate - The Hext sisters Yda and Lyse running the combined forge-and-carpenters
#30 Two Heads... - The clinic owner Y'shtola and her frequent assistant Urianger
Role Quest Rewrites
Healer w/ Alphinaud
#1 Steer - Arriving and chatting with Arenvald
#4 Reticent - A late night talk about Fordola and their potential similarities
#27 Memory - The mission begins, and some unfortunate encourters...
Melee w/ Estinien
#10 Stable - Mission briefing with the Admiral
#20 Duel - Training with the Company of Heroes
#26 Zip - The old commander shows up
Ranged w/ G'raha
#12 Quarry - Hunting for the blasphemy
#21 Shade - Hien needs someone to share his woes with late at night without his usual companions
Tank w/ Thancred
#25 Perpetuity - Thancred offers an ear for Kan-E's troubles
Caster w/ Alisaie
#3 Tempest - Arriving in Ishgard
#14 Telling - Searching for clues about the blasphemy
#17 Sally - Confronting the Bishop
#19 Taken - Alisaie and Artoirel have a talk while the inquiry goes on hold
#28 Deleterious - The final confrontation with Profane Fafnir
(I will never deny my twin bias, but the magic quest being finished over all the others really is just cos the prompts worked with my brain and the plot points i wanted to hit, and Ali's just really fun to work with and her reactions with the cast there. I could still add more even for her story, but I do need to go back and add more for...everyone, really)
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Hercules Game Studios je upravo lansirao svoju prvu Kickstarter kampanju. Mladi britanski izdavaÄ druÅ”tvenih igara je pokrenuo Kickstarter kampanju za svoj prvenac, Role Quest, kartaÅ”ku igru u kojoj Äete igrati uloge otkaÄenih fantazijskih likova. Ovo definitivno nije igra za stidljive, jer Äete zaista morati da glumite likove i [ā¦]
from Pitchwise.net: Role Quest je igra uloga u bukvalnom smislu
