Back Alley Break
26th of Cylus 718

Ivanthe wasn’t even sure he was breathing, he was running so fast. The cylus wind cut daggers into his skin, slipping right through his clothes as if they were nothing. His cloak streamed behind him, catching the wind and slowing him down, but his fingers were...

Continued from here

The problem with legs, he'd found, was that you couldn't make them blur. As in, you couldn't unleash storms of blows like you could with your fists, arms moving so quickly that left and right sometimes seemed to be landing at the same time. That speed, married to power and...

Continued from here

There was a rhythm to be found, in this as well as all things. A balance. A beat. Once it was captured, once you could match the frantic energies of your body with that sustainable, repetitive staccato, it was just a matter of keeping pace. And spurring on the music.

No...

A lot went into making what he did look simple, and seamless.

He'd never thought about it as a kid, but then again, couldn't everyone say that? The end result, the final flourish of movements, the victory and the glory, all these were obvious, but not the trials and seasons and arcs of training...

Etzos Has Skills!

An Etzos EVENT
Saun 25, arc 717

The rumors were true!

Guidance Coordinator Marlin Tagley's face could be improved with a smile.

It was entirely possible the young Qi'ora sitting across from him was wishing he'd have taken that bet after all. But bet or no, his own day...

Ashan 29th, 718
Her focus was devoted entirely to the task at hand as she tried to keep a steady hold on her focus. It wasn’t helpful how her mind seemed intent to jump and wander, never wishing to stay in one place for more than a couple moments. It seemed fine gliding through every possible...

20th Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
South-East Outer Perimeter
15th break

Continued from here

There were the sounds you grew used to, living in a city. Raised voices. Terse, sharp commands or long, rolling advertisements. Animals of all kinds, wailing and braying and neighing. Wagon wheels crunching...

Ashan 16 718, Late Morning
Location: The Cow and Corset

Patrick stirred in his bed half forgotten of what transpired the night prior to this Trial, the better half remembered treated as some kind of wet dream he enjoyed. Sure enough when he nuzzled his face into the backside of his partner, his...

A Song Of Finns And Dorans

The Temple, Etzos Underground, Ashan 16th, arc 718

Nothing good ever came out of the underground and nothing good entered it either. It was said that all who crossed the threshold from the world above into the underbelly of the city were given an invisible mask to...

THE PLAN TO ERADICATE ALL XIURS

________________________
13th Ashan, 718

Finn awoke one of Zipper’s bedrooms while the roosters still slept and dew still clung to the grass. A few shy rays of sunlight crawled over the horizon and tickled his skin through the worn-out curtains, blowing in a...

Ashan 28th, 718

She watched the smith quietly as he hurried about, barking orders at those around him. She needed a new sword anyways. So, she’d come up with a small order. Of course, even if she said small, she meant absolutely massive. She wanted one of every kind of weapon she could think of....

28th Cylus, 718

Even the mortal born had fallen victim to Cylus’ darkness. Animals and mortals alike grew disoriented, their sleeping schedules being so afflicted even tracking the passing trials became impossible. Many bordered insanity in this season, for they wrapped themselves in blankets in...

The title wasn't my idea

________________________
12th Ashan, 718

For someone with mysophobia, his sister had elected a peculiar place to live, but what the alleyway lacked in orderliness it more than made up for with bargain rent prices. Sometimes principles fell victim to vices.

The door...

19th Trial, Ymiden, Arc 714
The Citizen's Market, Outer Perimeter
23rd break

There came a point when he stopped remembering them as he imagined other men would. And because memory and past experiences informed how a man lived in the present, regarded his future, what he did to them became as...

20th Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
South-East Outer Perimeter
18th break

Continued from here

There were things he didn't think about when he did them. Because he didn't need to. The way he moved, the position of his body, the means to get to the end result... it was known by his own muscles so well...

The Ratfinder
1st of Ashan, 718

The guilty were so gloriously nervous when they were confronted with their wrongdoings. Even when nothing was said out loud.

It was moot that one hunter or another had betrayed Ivanthe to his prospective kidnappers; they were the only people in Etzos he spoke...

Finn O'Connor :: 81st of Vhalar, 717
His friend, the vulture with the crimson eyes, had left him a message. As befitted an outcast, the crow had not shown himself but instead seen a crumpled note slipped into his pocket. Finn only discovered it when he’d buried his hands into his pockets on his...

13th Trial of Zi'da, Arc 716
Outer Perimeter
23rd break

There was the oldest profession, plied by fallen women the world over (though in Kasoria's experience, a canny whore could make more in a season than honest work could next in an arc). Then there was the second, thievery, pilfering, taking...

20th Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
South-East Outer Perimeter
13th break

They were on him before he had any chance to react. Lithe bodies tipped with razors, sliding out from cover and comfort to ambush him the moment he opened the door to his house. He'd barely put a foot inside before the first...

51st Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
Outer Perimeter
2nd break

Continued from here

It never stopped bleeding. Not really. No matter how tightly it was bound or how little he exerted himself, whenever he changed the bandages at night, there was still a red smear on the cloth. For the first could of...

50th Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
Outer Perimeter
23rd break

Continued from here

All cares and concerns faded away, all consequences and calamities were immaterial, save that he did not fulfill his mission. The day had been long and tiring and... strange. Too many dimensions to it. Too...

16th Ashan

Despite his struggling, Ryder found himself unable to move. He'd been resting in the barracks for the night, having stayed away from home so Serah could have space from him. Despite being the man that rescued her, she feared him more than anything else. Perhaps that was due to the...

14th Vhalar, 711

Come on, big bad mercenary. Hurry up! Bella chuckled, running through the beaming sun, the stunning grass shining underneath her as she ran. Her summer dress flowed as she spun around, her laughter riding the wind towards Ryder, who was close on her tail. His grin shone through...

14th Vhalar, 711

Silence was comfortable for some and fear inducing for others.

For Ryder, it was always the latter. He'd hated isolation since realizing what it finally felt like to have someone there at your side. Waking up and not being alone in a cold world like this had given him a new,...

50th Trial, Ashan, Arc 718
Outer Perimeter
22nd break
Continued from here

He ain't comin'.

Yeah, I'm gettin' that.

Freddie wished he was wrong, but the echoes from the bells seemed to mock his hopes. They'd rang out the time and the skinny man knew that Nick's people weren't coming....