Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

apocalypticCritic · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

SNAP RESULTS

Miara: A
Litu: A
Sera: B

The spider queen scrabbled with Miara for a moment, adjusting itself. Its ovipositor glistened slightly in the light, and Miara's eyes locked onto it. Embarrassingly, even as her mind rebelled against the thought of it, her snatch quivered in anticipation. The spider's abdomen dipped, and the ovipositor rubbed against the smooth scales on the underside of Miara's tail. It slipped up under her loincloth, and found its target. Miara writhed and screamed as the spider pressed its strange member past her folds. Her tail lashed around as the spider began pumping its abdomen, trying to find the right spot to begin depositing its eggs.

Miara moaned lewdly with every movement of the spider, its actions pushing her almost to the edge of orgasm. She could feel her body reacting to the spider, clamping around its ovipositor and attempting to milk it of cum that wouldn't come. Still, she managed to keep her head, gathered her tail, and shoved upwards, causing the spider's ovipositor to slip out. She gasped with the pleasure at the feeling, though she felt her pleasure fading fast. She gasped, arms shaking, and collapsed back onto her back as the spider twitched its mandibles in frustration.

Spider 1 decided to take revenge on Sera for her fire, and blasted web at her again. The web caught Sera in the chest and bound her arms to her side, though she struggled mightily. She glared at the spider, rage and other primal emotions boiling through her head.

Spider 2 decided not to get in range of the very angry dragonborn, and also spat web at her. The web caught her in the face again, and she fell on her butt, writhing as she tried to get out of the webbing.

Litu raised her arms and focused on a different spell. A ball of liquid began to gather in her hands. She cast it over the spider queen, targeting the center of the 4 spiders. The ball splashed, splattering all enemies with liquid. At the same moment, Litu twisted her hands and finished the incantation. Spider 1 managed to avoid the attack, twisting slightly, though it was still somewhat splattered. Spiders 2 and 3 were not so lucky, and they shrieked as the acid ate into their chitin. The spider queen was a different story. As the acid landed on her, she turned and locked eyes with Litu. As Litu's spell tried to land on the queen, the energy dissipated, and rejoined the lust backlash. Litu threw her head back, screaming with lust as the spell poured lust energy back into her. She panted, slumping down to her knees.

Spider 3 decided to take advantage of Sera's state, and approached her. It crawled over her trussed form, and its own ovipositor swung down into position. Sera felt (though she couldn't see) the creature over her, and started writhing wildly, trying to keep it away. As it lowered itself onto her, she tilted back onto her shoulder blades (and wings, eliciting a muffled groan as the wing joint twisted), pressed her feet against the spider, and rolled back, throwing it over her head. And into the crevice. The spider shrieked as it fell, splattering on the rocks far below.

Sera struggled to her knees, struggling with the webs around her body. She got nowhere trying to break them with brute force, and she pushed herself to her feet, growling in her chest. Though she knew it was stupid, she reared like a striking snake and blasted fire out of her covered mouth, the roar of the flames covering up the scream of pain she gave as the fire washed back across her skin and down her throat. The fireball streaked across the battlefield, striking the spider queen on her large abdomen. The queen screamed, the blindly fired fireball somehow managing to strike right between her plates. The queen burst into flames, stumbling away from Miara toward its remaining companions. Miara cried out slightly as the flames burnt her, but managed to roll away from the fire before it did too much damage. The queen fell toward her companions, still burning. Both managed to scramble away, shrieking.

Sera clutched her face as the rest of the webs on her body burned away, collapsing to her knees in pain. "SON OF A BITCH! That felt good. Come on, ladies. Let's kill the rest of these shit stains, then let's get to Daen and buy a bar."

SNAP DECISION

Miara:

A. KILL.
B. Throw the spiders off the cliff.
C. Kill them, then throw them off the cliff.

Litu:

A. Dump lust into one of the spiders (may be a bad idea, but she needs to get rid of some.)
B. Keep casting!

Sera:

A. BREAK SHIT!
B. MORE FIRE! FUCK MY MOUTH BURNS!
C. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! BREAK SHIT IN INVENTIVE WAYS!

STATS

Sera:

Name: Sera Craith
HP: 15/30
SP: 10/10
Lust: 22/35
PD: 20
DR: 15
Status: Horny: -5 to all rolls.
Level: 3
EXP: 273/300
Active Skills:

Dragon Breath: Breathe fire, ice, lightning, or acid. Cost: 2 SP
Lust for Battle: Raise lust to half of maximum lust.

Passive Skills:

Wings: You can fly, giving you a bonus to avoiding melee attacks and traps outdoors.
Dragon Skin: Your scales have begun to harden, giving you +5 DR that stacks with armor.
Lust for Battle: While Lust is equal to half or more of maximum lust, gain + speed (7) attack and +strength/2 (6) damage. Gives + 15 Maximum Lust

Inventory:

A belt (forcibly removed)
A makeshift bra and panties. (forcibly removed)
2 swords which do 1d12 +6 damage each. -5 attack.(Equipped)
1 Great Axe which does 2d12 + 6 damage. -5 attack. Has a 10% chance of breaking limbs on a successful hit that does damage.
2 unlit torches
Leather bound book - Lust curse?
5 scrolls
1 healing potion.
1 Elven Cloak (891/1000)(worn)
4400 gold pieces

Statistics:

Strength: 12
Speed: 5(+2 from Cloak)
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

Litu:

Name: Litu Cralubl
HP: 20/20
SP: 10/10
Lust: 63/70
PD: 20
DR: -5
Status: Extremely Horny: -10 to all rolls. 1d2 (coin flip) chance of not resisting a pin or rape attempt.
Level: 3
EXP: 259/300
Active Skills:

Lust Mage: Can cast spells by increasing her lust rather than decreasing her skill points. Requires a Spellbook.
Liquid Form: Can become liquid, allowing her to move through any passage large enough to permit water flow. (Also allows for shape shifting in general)
Absorption: Can absorb any liquid to heal HP. Depending on the liquid, she can also gain additional effects.

Passive Skills:

Base: Is immune to poison and acid.
Conductive: Lightning based attacks do no damage to her.
Freeze!: Ice based attacks do double damage to her.
Boiling: Fire based attacks do double damage to her.
Be Water, My Friend: +5 PD. Also forces a reroll when she is hit by a trap.
Splash!: Blunt damage does double damage (because she splashes)
Reconstitution: If her HP is ever reduced to 0, she reforms after the battle with 1/2 HP.

Inventory:

Litu's Spellbook

Spells:

Synchronity: Siphons lust from caster to target (or target to caster if target has more) until both parties have equal lust points, or one is at max. Save for no damage.
Water of Life: Heals target for 1d6 + int/2 (7) hp.
Desertification: Draws water out of target creature, causing the dehydration status and inflicting 2d12 points of damage. Save for half damage.
Emotion Bomb: Hits up to three targets. Does caster's current lust/number of targets damage to HP. Save for half damage.
Freeze: Immobilizes target for caster level * 3 turns. Save ends.
Acid Splash: Does 3d6 + int/2(7) acid damage to up to four targets, ignoring DR. Damages target armor for an equal amount. Save for half damage.

1 Fire Resist Potion (in a waterproof bottle)

Statistics:

Strength: 2
Speed: 6
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 12
Charisma: 10

Miara:

Name: Miara Slatescale
HP: 8/25
SP: 40/40
LP: 15/20
PD: 35
DR: 0
Status: Normal
Level: 3
EXP: 133/300
Active Skills:

Tail Smash: Smash an opponent for 2d12 plus 14 damage. If opponent survives, they are knocked prone and stunned for 2 rounds. Costs 5 SP.
Bite: Bite an opponent for 1d6 + 7 damage. Even if damage doesn't overcome DR, attack poisons opponent with a poison that decreases each vital stat (HP, SP, LP) by 3 per turn for 1d6 turns.
Constrict: Roll a strength check versus opponent's Active Defense. If you succeed, the opponent is automatically grappled and cannot act until they manage to roll higher than you. Unlike a normal grapple, you are still free to move and act without provoking a counterattack.

Passive Skills:

Cold Blooded: Take double damage from ice attacks.
Snake's Tail: You get two strength scores: One is just your attack strength, one is used for anything where you would use your tail.
Snake Senses: You can see in the infrared range.
Snake Reactions: You gain a +5 to any active defense roll that uses your speed stat as its controlling stat.
Poison Immunity: You are immune to poison.
Critical Threat: If you roll an 18, 19, or 20 on an attack roll, you get a critical hit, which hits regardless of PD.

Inventory:

2 Lamian Axes: 2d12 + Strength /2 damage each. +5 to hit (+10 total, due to her speed)
4 unlit torches
5 Potions of Healing (1d6 + 4)

Stats:

Strength: 7 (14)
Speed: 12
Constitution: 6
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

ENEMY STATS

Mountain Spider Queen:

Status: Smoldering
Level: 5
BASE EXP: 100

Mountain Spider 1:

HP: 67/75
SP: 10/10
LP: 3/10
Status: Normal
AC: 15
DR: 0
Level: 4
BASE EXP: 50

Mountain Spider 2:

HP: 59/75
SP: 10/10
LP: 3/10
Status: Normal
AC: 15
DR: 0
Level: 4
BASE EXP: 50

Mountain Spider 3:

Status: Splattered
Level: 4
BASE EXP: 50

Mountain Spider 4:

Status: Mummified
Level: 4
BASE EXP: 50

AUTHOR'S NOTE

............. CHRIST, SERA.
She critted on her defense roll against spider 3, then I flipped a coin to see if she was going to say "FUCK IT" and blast fire despite it being a bad idea. It still was, but Spider Queen got her first (and last) bad roll of the night, and rolled a nat 1. A critical failure on a defense roll treats the attack roll as a critical success. So Sera did max damage: 3d10 x 2 because Spiders are weak to fire. Good bye, spider queen.

Of course, Sera also blasted her own damn face off (not literally, lucky her. She would have if the spider queen and Sera had their rolls switched. Break the rules at your own risk, folks), and her mouth and throat are now severely burnt, and her entire body is covered in burns, and her cloak took huge damage from the fire. But damn if it wasn't worth it.

Tassadar · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

A, A, A!

Zephyrion · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Triple A.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

SNAP RESULTS

A, A, A!

Miara took up her axes, and lunged forward at the more injured of the two spiders left, swinging down while screaming with rage. Her axes bit deep into the spider's chitin, severing two of its legs with the swing. She recoiled quickly as the thing writhed in pain, barely managing to stay upright under the assault.

Spider 1 turned and leapt toward Miara, trying to strike her with its leg. Miara dodged easily, twisting out of the way of the attack, which carried the spider past her and smashed a hole in the path. The spider spun around, enraged.

Spider 2 charged Sera, attempting to tackle her off the ledge. Sera grinned and prepared herself for the attack, wings flaring. The spider, two legs missing or not, hit Sera hard enough to push her back. She felt her heels go over the edge, and she grinned. Her hands snapped downward, grabbing onto the spider's legs, and she leaned back, dropping over the edge into free fall. The spider shrieked as the duo plummeted, and Sera writhed, breaking away from the spider with a flap of her wings. She landed a little heavily, next to the splattered remains of Spider 2, who landed quite a bit more heavily. She grinned, then launched herself back up.

Litu focused on Spider 1, bringing into her mind the core of lust that was currently tormenting her. She poured her lust into the spider, which stiffened for a moment, then whirled around, confused. Soon, its ovipositor swung out into the ready position, and it turned toward Litu with some dark purpose obvious.

((Sera will get back to the top of the cliff at her turn next round.))

AUTHORIAL FIAT

We all know what's going to happen next. Fuck it. We're dusting this bitch.

Miara spun, swinging her tail at the spider. The spider dropped low to the ground, hissing as the tail sweep passed over its head, with the tail smashing into the cliff face. The stone cracked from the impact, and Miara groaned slightly, shaking her tail and making it rattle.

The spider lunged at Litu, who flowed out of its way. The spider spun, ovipositor glistening slightly. It hissed at Litu, clearly disappointed that she had dodged its attempt to pin her. "Do you think it would understand if I told it I was made out of water?"

Pondering strange matters such as these, Litu focused on the core of her lust again. This time, she hardened it into an attack. She swung her arm toward the spider, which screeched in pain as the spell struck, powered by Litu's lust. Some of the lust doubled back into her, and she groaned as most of what she had dumped into the spider earlier flowed back into her.

Sera landed on the top of the cliff. "What'd I miss?" She pulled her shiny new axe from her pack, feeling its weight, then took off again, rushing toward the spider. Her axe slammed down, slicing the creature's abdomen off of the rest of its body. It writhed, and died.

EXP GAIN

432 EXP each. YOU GET A LEVEL! YOU GET A LEVEL! EVERYONE GETS A LEVEL!

Sera landed, panting. "Well, that was fun. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to scream in agony." She did so, collapsing onto her knees and clutching at her face and throat. Litu crossed to her side.

"That was a really stupid thing to do, Sera."

"I couldn't let that bitch do that to Miara. Thought up a really great one-liner for it, too, when I was trying to lie back and think of things that weren't giant rape spiders. WHY DOES EVERYTHING WANT TO RAPE US?! Gods!" Sera exclaimed, sitting back and pulling her knees in. She stared down for a moment, then turned to look up at Miara.

"Here I am complaining, and it never actually managed to... to... ugh. Are you okay?"

Miara looked away from Sera. "I am fine. It was not my first time, and it wasn't my first time being assaulted by a foul creature. As you said, it's easier to just lay back and think of things that aren't giant rape spiders, if escape is impossible." The lamia's words were matter of fact and disaffected, but her body language spoke otherwise. Sera reached out for the lamia's hand, and pulled her gently into a hug. The lamia resisted, at first, but soon relented, wrapping her tail around Sera and Litu both. The girls remained there for a time, resting and calming their nerves.

After a sufficiently long time frame, Litu cleared her throat. "Sera, I need to take a look in your mouth to see how badly you were hurt. This is going to be a bit uncomfortable, for both of us." She chanted quietly, and began to glow a soft blue. She leaned forward, tilting Sera's head back, and allowed a thin tendril of herself to flow into the dragonborn girl's mouth. Sera wasn't certain what was happening, but Litu nodded to herself, looking away from the dragonborn girl the whole time. Sera felt the tendril enter her throat, and almost gagged, but the slippery fluid went down just fine. After a few moments, Litu withdrew the tendril, and frowned at Sera.

"I told you that was a really stupid thing to do already, didn't I?"

Sera stuck her tongue out in response, wincing as the blistered portions brushed against her lips and teeth. "Weeh, mith lutht mage, can you fickth it?"

"Not without great personal risk."

Sera blinked - she hadn't expected that response. "Eh? Really?"

Litu nodded. "I have over cast today. My body is nearly fully lustful. It took quite the effort of will not to attempt to... well... we've already done that once, haven't we?"

Sera blushed, while Miara looked between the two, slightly confused. "Actually, now that you mention it, something cool would feel nice. Do you have any water?"

Litu raised an eyebrow. "Unless you want to suck on my teat, no, not really. It's difficult to take the fluid that makes me out of the containing magic. It takes great heat, great force, or an enchanted weapon to cause any real damage to a water spirit."

Sera considered, then shook her head. "Let's just keep going. I want to get to Daen before more spiders come along. Or something worse. We can find a way for you to get rid of some lust, and then we can heal, or something."

The others nodded their agreement, and the trio began working their way down the path, both Sera and Miara leaning on Litu slightly for support.

With no further incident, the trio arrived at the gates of Daen, a town perched precariously on the edge of a cliff. They reported the spider incident to the guards, stated their business for being in town, and were directed toward the nearest inn. Sera got a nice cold drink of water, which made her throat and mouth feel much, much better. Meanwhile, Litu helped Miara tie her spider bite, and then left her to bathe. All three girls bathed for the first time in what felt like days, and Sera resolved to go out into town before they left and buy some proper clothes.

But what next?

A. Find a way for Litu to... spend Lust Points. (Suggest a target)
B. Find a different healer, maybe someone who can assuage Litu's lust problems?
C. Eat, drink, rest, and gather information.
D. Just sleep it off.

LEVEL UP!

SERA LEVELED TWICE WTF!
Sera: Pick two skills and two stats.

Improved Breath: Increase damage done with dragon breath to 5d10 + 1/2 strength.
Grappler: Gives a +10 bonus to all grapple attacks and defenses.
Flight 1: Sera is beginning to feel more comfortable flying. Gain Aerial Smash attack, and +10 to PD and dodge rolls while outside.
Improved Dragonskin: Gives Sera another +5 DR to all damage types.
Bound Fighter: Halves the detriments of being bound as long as Sera is not immobilized.
Elemental Mastery: Gain +20 DR to all elemental damage types.
Fireproof: Halve all fire-based damage, before DR is applied.
Great Smash: While wielding a 2-handed weapon, smash an enemy with the weapon, doing 3*Weapon Damage, with a -5 to hit. If the attack is successful, enemy is knocked prone and stunned for 3 rounds. 3 SP
Critical Threat: A roll of 18, 19 or 20 gives a critical hit.
Thick Skin: Reduces lust gain by half.
Chomp: A bite attack. Does 2d12 damage, and holds the opponent in place. You can use dragon breath from this position. Has a 20% chance of breaking bone. 5 SP

Litu: Pick one stat and one skill

Asphyxiation: Can attempt to drown any one opponent. Opponent takes -10 to attack rolls and damage versus Litu while she is drowning him.
Breathless: Litu is immune to asphyxiation and any attack that deprives its target of oxygen.
Erosion: Blast your opponent with water for 2d6 damage, and reduce their DR by half. 2 SP
Lustful Torrent: Reduce your lust by half, and blast one target for lust damage equal to half that number.
Healing Spring: The fluid that makes up your body acts like a weak healing potion, healing one ally 1d6 +5 hit points when they drink it. Downside (or upside): it only comes out of places you would expect it to.
Crush: Drop yourself on an opponent, doing 5d10 damage, knocking them prone, and stunning them for 3 rounds.

Miara: Pick one stat and one skill

Strangle: Attempt to strangle an opponent, giving them the asphyxiating state.
Tail Trip: Sweep the legs out from an opponent, knocking them prone and dazing them.
Dexterous Tail: You can pick up items with your tail.
Teasing Tickle: You attempt to make your opponents unable to fight by teasing their sensitive parts.
Improved Critical: Instead of just doing max damage, roll a d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, do twice max damage.
Stealthy Movements: You gain a +10 to all stealth rolls.
Evasion: You gain +5 PD, and +5 to all speed defense rolls.
Quick Strike: You attack quickly, allowing you to make two actions in one turn, though at only half effectiveness.

STATS

Sera:

Name: Sera Craith
HP: 15/30
SP: 10/10
Lust: 22/35
PD: 20
DR: 15
Status: Horny: -5 to all rolls.
Level: 5
EXP: 5/500
Active Skills:

Dragon Breath: Breathe fire, ice, lightning, or acid. Cost: 2 SP
Lust for Battle: Raise lust to half of maximum lust.

Passive Skills:

Wings: You can fly, giving you a bonus to avoiding melee attacks and traps outdoors.
Dragon Skin: Your scales have begun to harden, giving you +5 DR that stacks with armor.
Lust for Battle: While Lust is equal to half or more of maximum lust, gain + speed (7) attack and +strength/2 (6) damage. Gives + 15 Maximum Lust

Inventory:

A belt (worn)
A makeshift bra and panties. (worn)
2 swords which do 1d12 +6 damage each. -5 attack.(Equipped)
1 Great Axe which does 2d12 + 6 damage. -5 attack. Has a 10% chance of breaking limbs on a successful hit that does damage.
2 unlit torches
Leather bound book - Lust curse?
5 scrolls
1 healing potion.
1 Elven Cloak (891/1000)(worn)
4400 gold pieces

Statistics:

Strength: 12
Speed: 5(+2 from Cloak)
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

Litu:

Name: Litu Cralubl
HP: 20/20
SP: 10/10
Lust: 61/70
PD: 20
DR: -5
Status: Extremely Horny: -10 to all rolls. 1d2 (coin flip) chance of not resisting a pin or rape attempt.
Level: 4
EXP: 391/400
Active Skills:

Lust Mage: Can cast spells by increasing her lust rather than decreasing her skill points. Requires a Spellbook.
Liquid Form: Can become liquid, allowing her to move through any passage large enough to permit water flow. (Also allows for shape shifting in general)
Absorption: Can absorb any liquid to heal HP. Depending on the liquid, she can also gain additional effects.

Passive Skills:

Base: Is immune to poison and acid.
Conductive: Lightning based attacks do no damage to her.
Freeze!: Ice based attacks do double damage to her.
Boiling: Fire based attacks do double damage to her.
Be Water, My Friend: +5 PD. Also forces a reroll when she is hit by a trap.
Splash!: Blunt damage does double damage (because she splashes)
Reconstitution: If her HP is ever reduced to 0, she reforms after the battle with 1/2 HP.

Inventory:

Litu's Spellbook

Spells:

Synchronity: Siphons lust from caster to target (or target to caster if target has more) until both parties have equal lust points, or one is at max. Save for no damage.
Water of Life: Heals target for 1d6 + int/2 (7) hp.
Desertification: Draws water out of target creature, causing the dehydration status and inflicting 2d12 points of damage. Save for half damage.
Emotion Bomb: Hits up to three targets. Does caster's current lust/number of targets damage to HP. Save for half damage.
Freeze: Immobilizes target for caster level * 3 turns. Save ends.
Acid Splash: Does 3d6 + int/2(7) acid damage to up to four targets, ignoring DR. Damages target armor for an equal amount. Save for half damage.

1 Fire Resist Potion (in a waterproof bottle)

Statistics:

Strength: 2
Speed: 6
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 12
Charisma: 10

Miara:

Name: Miara Slatescale
HP: 8/25
SP: 40/40
LP: 15/20
PD: 35
DR: 0
Status: Normal
Level: 4
EXP: 265/400
Active Skills:

Tail Smash: Smash an opponent for 2d12 plus 14 damage. If opponent survives, they are knocked prone and stunned for 2 rounds. Costs 5 SP.
Bite: Bite an opponent for 1d6 + 7 damage. Even if damage doesn't overcome DR, attack poisons opponent with a poison that decreases each vital stat (HP, SP, LP) by 3 per turn for 1d6 turns.
Constrict: Roll a strength check versus opponent's Active Defense. If you succeed, the opponent is automatically grappled and cannot act until they manage to roll higher than you. Unlike a normal grapple, you are still free to move and act without provoking a counterattack.

Passive Skills:

Cold Blooded: Take double damage from ice attacks.
Snake's Tail: You get two strength scores: One is just your attack strength, one is used for anything where you would use your tail.
Snake Senses: You can see in the infrared range.
Snake Reactions: You gain a +5 to any active defense roll that uses your speed stat as its controlling stat.
Poison Immunity: You are immune to poison.
Critical Threat: If you roll an 18, 19, or 20 on an attack roll, you get a critical hit, which hits regardless of PD.

Inventory:

2 Lamian Axes: 2d12 + Strength /2 damage each. +5 to hit (+10 total, due to her speed)
4 unlit torches
5 Potions of Healing (1d6 + 4)

Stats:

Strength: 7 (14)
Speed: 12
Constitution: 6
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

Zephyrion · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

A. Target Sera. She's horny too, and would probably prefer to lose her virginity to a friend, than having it taken from her by some monster, which let's be honest is pretty likely to happen sooner or later. Invite Miera and make it a threesome if she looks like she's feeling left out.

Then do C.

Sera Level: +2 Con +2 Str
'Grappler' and 'Improved Dragonskin' Sera gets grappled a lot and you can never be too tanky.

Litu Level: +2 to whatever her casting attribute is.
'Healing Spring', should be fun and nice for Sera during sexy times.

Miara level: +2 Con
'Evasion'

Iwanako · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Zephyrion said:
A. Target Sera. She's horny too, and would probably prefer to lose her virginity to a friend, than having it taken from her by some monster, which let's be honest is pretty likely to happen sooner or later. Invite Miera and make it a threesome if she looks like she's feeling left out.

Then do C.

Sera Level: +2 Con +2 Str
'Grappler' and 'Improved Dragonskin' Sera gets grappled a lot and you can never be too tanky.

Litu Level: +2 to whatever her casting attribute is.
'Healing Spring', should be fun and nice for Sera during sexy times.

Miara level: +2 Con
'Evasion'

Seems fine to me, except for Litu's skillup, I vote for erosion, I suspect that a boost to melee damage on that target would pay off moreoften than a weak heal.

maxentius-septimus · Sep 14, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Agreed A then C if there's time for that, although A should allow Litu to do some healing.

Sera:Con,Speed
Grappler, Elemental Mastery

Litu: Int
Asphyxiation (This seems like something that would absorb moisture from the enemy, not sure if that's true or not.) seems like a good skill anyway, but if not enough people agree with me, I'll default to erosion

Miara:Cons
Evasion

Tassadar · Sep 15, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Zephyrion said:
A. Target Sera. She's horny too, and would probably prefer to lose her virginity to a friend, than having it taken from her by some monster, which let's be honest is pretty likely to happen sooner or later. Invite Miera and make it a threesome if she looks like she's feeling left out.

Then do C.

Sera Level: +2 Con +2 Str
'Grappler' and 'Improved Dragonskin' Sera gets grappled a lot and you can never be too tanky.

Litu Level: +2 to whatever her casting attribute is.
'Healing Spring', should be fun and nice for Sera during sexy times.

Miara level: +2 Con
'Evasion'

I concur with this. Edit: Save for Rose's suggestion.

Quartz · Sep 15, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Zephyrion said:
A. Target Sera. She's horny too, and would probably prefer to lose her virginity to a friend, than having it taken from her by some monster, which let's be honest is pretty likely to happen sooner or later. Invite Miera and make it a threesome if she looks like she's feeling left out.

Then do C.

Sera Level: +2 Con +2 Str
'Grappler' and 'Improved Dragonskin' Sera gets grappled a lot and you can never be too tanky.

Litu Level: +2 to whatever her casting attribute is.
'Healing Spring', should be fun and nice for Sera during sexy times.

Miara level: +2 Con
'Evasion'

Ill go ahead and third using this and replacing Healing Spring with Erosion.

I'd also have picked Thick Skin over Improved Dragonskin since getting taken out by lust seems way more likely at this point, but it seems I'm alone on that.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 15, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Sorry about how late the update is. I have a metric tonne of homework to get done for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get an update up tonight. If not, it'll be up sometime tomorrow.

Zephyrion · Sep 15, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

apocalypticCritic said:
Sorry about how late the update is. I have a metric tonne of homework to get done for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get an update up tonight. If not, it'll be up sometime tomorrow.

Don't be sorry, good grades are more important than making free cyoa smut for the internet.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 16, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

LEVEL UP RESULTS

Sera: +2 Con, +2 Strength; Grappler, Improved Dragonskin
Litu: +2 Int; Erosion
Miara: +2 Con; Evasion

WHAT NEXT?

C->A (You horny bastards~~ <3)

After washing up, Sera found her way to the room she was staying at in the inn. It wasn't a very expensive place, but the rooms were clean and the proprietor didn't look down on them for not being human, which was more than could be said for some people she had met already in this town. Sera sat on the bed and took her cloak off. She looked at herself in the closet mirror, tilting her head this way and that. She had been noticing an itch on her chest and arms, and as she looked closer now, it looked like she had more scales growing in. She tapped a patch with her nail thoughtfully, noticing also that the scales were much harder than before. 'I wonder if it's normal for these to grow in so fast....' she thought, unconsciously running a hand along her chest. She shivered slightly, remembering herself. No matter how hard these scales were, they were certainly just as sensitive to touch as her skin was.

There was a knock on her door. Unselfconsciously, Sera called out, "It's open," and turned back to the mirror. She heard the door creak open, and a light gasp. "Hey Litu. What's up?"

"H-how'd you know it was me?" Litu asked, her speech a little distracted. Sera glanced over her shoulder and noticed that the water spirit was flushed again, eyes roaming Sera's back. Sera grinned to herself, then stretched, allowing her wings to extend as far as they could, flexing all the muscles through her back. Litu gasped again, much to Sera's satisfaction.

"I could smell you. You smell like melting snow." Sera said, finally turning around to face the obviously distracted water spirit. Litu looked up, smiling slightly. Something about that smile made it Sera's turn to shiver and gasp slightly. For as polite as the girl was, she had one hell of an "I'm going to do scandalous things to that ass" smile. Litu began crossing the room, looking up at Sera.

"You have a really nice back," she said, drawing closer. Sera giggled slightly, suddenly self-conscious. She backed up slightly, until her back touched the mirror. Litu smiled again, then reached out to touch the scar on Sera's face. She traced the scar with her fingers, frowning slightly, then traced a cool fingertip to one of the burns on Sera's face. "You heal remarkably fast, as well. I think you're already starting to heal from those burns. I'd be surprised if they even left a scar at all...."

Sera shivered as the fingertip dragged across her face, turning her face toward the palm of Litu's hand very slightly. She took in a shuddering breath, one hand slipping out to Litu's hip. The smaller girl smiled softly, gently pulling Sera's head down to press a kiss to her lips. Her other hand slipped around to Sera's back, sliding up slowly, fingertips pressing into the muscles gently. Sera moaned slightly, pressing into the kiss. She barely noticed as Litu corrected the height difference, growing a foot and a half. She did notice as the light girl pushed Sera back against the wall slightly harder, making the dragonborn gasp in excitement. Litu's lips moved from Sera's, planting gentle kisses along Sera's cheek and jawbone. When her lips met Sera's throat, the dragon purred, tilting her head back slightly.

Litu slid her hand up Sera's back, to the knot holding her tattered "bra" on. A quick tug, and it came off, revealing Sera's bosom. Litu grinned, continuing to kiss down Sera's neck and on her collarbone, then down onto her scales. Sera moaned, hands sliding down the water spirit's back. Quickly, Litu caught Sera's hands and tied them together with her own bra. She pushed them up over Sera's head, making the girl gasp and flush. "Keep them there, please~~" she purred, before moving her lips down further, to Sera's breasts. She circled around Sera's nipples, chuckling to herself as Sera squirmed. Finally, she closed her lips around one of them and suckled it gently, flicking the nipple with her tongue while gently pinching and twisting the other one with her free hand. Sera moaned, obviously wanting to push Litu's head onto the teat further, but she kept her hands up, pushing her chest forward instead.

Suddenly, Litu broke off. Sera gasped, the sudden cessation of sensation almost making her knees collapse from under her. She blinked at Litu, pouting. "Wh-" she began, before Litu shushed her gently. She gently tugged on Sera's bound hands, positioning her in front of the bed. With a gently push, Litu completely failed to make Sera move at all. She frowned, then pouted at Sera. "You could at least play along, Sera."

Litu reached out and pushed Sera again, a little harder this time. Sera stumbled back, falling onto her back on the bed. Litu quickly straddled the girl, tracing her abs with an absent finger. She reached up, pushing her "robe" off. It splashed on Sera's feet, making the girl have to stifle a giggle. The sensation of it running up her legs was different, eliciting instead a gasp and a slight moan. Litu smirked down at Sera, who felt a little thrill of... emotion in her chest. Litu's fingers slid across Sera's stomach and ribs, massaging in circles that slowly approached the girl's makeshift panties. Sera shivered again, biting her lip to keep from calling out. Litu gently pulled on the knot holding these on as well, and smiled as Sera was lay bare in front of her. She smiled down at the dragon girl, then frowned slightly.

"Sera... are you okay with this?"

"Of course I am."

Litu stood up, still frowning. "Even though it's your first time? Wouldn't you rather it be with someone... special?"

Sera sat up, and reached for Litu's hands. She held them gently, pressing her lips to both of them in turn. "I'd rather my first time be with someone I trust. Someone who is my friend. What could be more special than that? Anyway, it's better than my first time being with some beast, or worse," she said, smiling up at Litu, who smiled back.

"Good, because I've been wanting to do this since the first time we met."

With that, Litu pushed Sera back onto the bed. Her crotch bulged slightly, then transformed, with a fairly large cock growing where Litu's clitoris would normally be. Sera's eyes locked onto it as Litu gently maneuvered it into position. Sera's tail coiled around Litu's leg as best it could, and Sera grasped Litu's hands, trying to keep from shaking. Litu looked down, not voicing the question that was on her face. Sera swallowed, and nodded.

The first thrust made her gasp. The second made her cry out, gripping Litu's hands so tightly the fluid squished out between her fingers, making Litu wince. After the third thrust, tears streamed down Sera's face. "Gods.... They never said it would hurt this much at the first time...." she panted, biting her lip so hard she almost drew blood.

"You need to relax, Sera. If you relax, you won't be so tight, and it won't be a problem. Remember, it's designed for eggs to come out. You're not going to break because of this penis."

Sera nodded, trying to force herself to relax. Litu frowned, then started shrinking the penis slightly. Sera shook her head. "Keep it the same size. I can manage. J-just give me a second before we continue...." she panted, trying to control her breathing. Litu waited patiently, running a hand through Sera's hair as she did. Presently, Sera nodded, and Litu began to push in slowly.

Litu had to bite her lip to keep from exploding almost immediately. She had been in quite a few lovely young women, and some of them had been virgins, but none of them had felt like this. Sera's passage was simultaneously the softest thing her dick had ever touched, and yet somehow squeezing so that it was almost too tight. And yet, Sera's body responded to every movement, yielding easily to a thrust, while gently gripping as she pulled out. Not to mention the omni-present heat. Sera's passage was so warm, Litu was slightly afraid she was going to get burned. The combined feeling was one of almost impossible pleasure. 'No wonder dragon girls go for so much in the sex slave markets. If I didn't have almost 200 years of experience, I'd have cum 10 times already. I thought her mouth and tongue were good, but this is something else,' Litu thought, barely stifling an incredibly lewd moan.

Sera was not so quiet. Now that she was more comfortable, she was becoming more and more aware of just how good this felt. With all of her one penis of experience, she couldn't say if it was something special about Litu, or if it was something that felt good no matter who it was. She didn't care. She moaned and cried out, rolling her hips with Litu's movements. She panted, letting her tongue flop across her tits. Litu's name was on her lips tonight, and she moaned it with passion and fire, every movement bringing the pair closer and closer to the finale.

Ultimately, it was Sera who went first, unable to keep her orgasm down. Her vagina clamped down hard as she cried out, Litu's name echoing into the night from Sera's throat. She pulled the girl in question down onto her chest, kissing her with passion and need. Almost immediately, the feeling of Sera's already amazing vagina pushed Litu over the edge, and she cried out Sera's name in turn as she sprayed her "seed" into Sera's womb. She shivered and shook, back arching as her orgasm continued, the feeling of the slightly cool cum pushing Sera right back over the edge into another orgasm. Litu pulled out of Sera, who moaned softly as the cum poured out of her vagina. She twisted around, eyes locked on Litu's still hard member. She crawled closer, the sight of her lustful movements making Litu's cock twitch. Sera's tongue snaked out and wrapped around Litu's cock, tight around the base. Litu moaned again as the tip of Sera's tongue snaked into her urethra, the taste of cum making Sera moan lustfully. Litu bit her lip, looking down at the lustful dragonborn. "Do you- nnnhh- Do you like the taste of my cum, Sera?"

Sera locked eyes with Litu, letting her lustful gaze tell the answer. Then she slipped forward slightly, wrapping her lips around the head of Litu's cock. She flicked around the head with the very tip of her tongue, sliding the very tip around the most sensitive parts. Litu moaned, gripping Sera's hair. Sera felt Litu getting close, and moved back, opening her mouth and unwrapping her tongue from around the dick. She held her mouth open, just licking the head with the tip of her tongue. "Please, Litu. Cum for me?" she panted, moaning slightly on the word cum. Litu couldn't hold it any longer. She cried out, cool blue seed spraying into Sera's waiting mouth. Surprisingly, most of it got in there, and Sera managed to hold it in. She smiled, mouth still open, swirling her tongue through it. Then, without warning, she lunged upward, grabbing Litu's face and pressing into a kiss. Litu gasped, then melted into it as Sera split the cum between the two of them. Her tongue snaked down into Litu's throat, making the girl choke slightly. The kiss continued for a few moments, before Sera broke away and swallowed, smiling at Litu.

Sera fell sideways, laying her head on the pillow. She smiled distractedly up at her lover. Litu stretched, then, without needing to be asked, curled up next to Sera. In the time that they had been exploring each other intimately, the sun had begun sinking toward the horizon in earnest. Sera nuzzled the nape of Litu's neck, and drifted off to sleep.

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"Sera, stop moving. I'm trying to heal you."

Sera turned slightly, frowning at Litu. The girl pressed two fingers to a burn on Sera's cheek, chanted a short phrase, and smiled. Sera twitched as the healing pains shot through her face. She frowned more deeply at Litu, who giggled and began inspecting the largest burn on Sera's body. "Sorry, I'm a little worried. I don't want to have ended up getting pregnant on my first time."

Litu sighed. "I told you, you can't. Stop worrying about it."

"I am worried about it! It's not that I wouldn't want to have kids with you, someday, maybe, but I'm only 24! I'm not ready to be a mom."

Litu sighed again, then sat in the dragonborn's lap. She looked up into Sera's face, a serious expression showing. They looked at each other for a moment, then Litu averted her eyes. "We can't have kids. Not that way, at least. Sera, I'm a water spirit. I'm a bunch of different fluids mixed up in a big pot with a little magic tossed in. Hell, the only reason I'm sentient is because I was specifically designed to be a sentient spirit. Most water spirits don't have a soul. It takes a very powerful ritual to make a new water spirit. I'm not strong enough to cast it on my own, and you're magically neutral. So even if, someday, we did want to... we couldn't."

Sera gaped slightly, then closed her mouth, frowning. Litu continued her work in silence, the only sound in the room being the occasional snap of a magical discharge. Once Litu was done with all of Sera's burns, she stood up and started toward the door, still silent. Sera's hand snapped out, closing around Litu's wrist. She turned, looking at the dragonborn girl, who didn't want to meet her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. It was insensitive of me to talk about having children like that. I didn't fully understand your situation, and I apologize," she said, keeping her eyes toward the floor. Litu stared down, then giggled softly. She reached out and lifted Sera's head so that their eyes could meet. "I think we're starting to train you to be polite, Sera," she said, smiling softly. She leaned down and kissed Sera softly on the lips. "You don't need to apologize. I understand why you were worried about it. And you don't need to say that other thing, either. The one you've been thinking all afternoon. I think it's mutual."

With that, Litu left the room. Sera stared after her, then lay on her back, careful of her wings. She stared at the ceiling, thoughts seeming to simultaneously whirl around quickly while also drifting sluggishly. She lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. 'I can't figure these feelings out.... Is this natural for dragonborn, or is it because I was raised by humans? Maybe it's just natural for anything like me at this age....' she thought, almost starting to drift off to sleep.

A sharp rap on the door startled her out of her reverie. "Ah... Yes?" she called out, pulling a blanket over herself. "Sera. Can I come in?"

Sera assented, and Miara pushed the door open, looking around the room casually. "Hm. I expected more destruction, with all that screaming you girls were doing."

Sera spluttered, rolling off the bed as she tried to simultaneously stand up and wrap the blanket tighter around herself. Miara giggled, the girlish noise surprisingly lovely in her slightly raspy tones. "You heard?!"

"Sera, sweetie, I think the whole town heard. I had to chase a bunch of perverts away from your door. You're lucky we're on the second story, and that the innkeeper wasn't going to let people set up a ladder. It was nice to listen to, though. You have a nice voice. Maybe someday it'll be calling out my name~~" the lamia said, sticking her tongue out lewdly with the last sentence. Sera threw her pillow at the lewdly lascivious lamia. Miara caught the pillow, giggling again. She sat on the bed next to Sera, smiling at her over the pillow.

"Well? How was it? Was it good for your first time?" she asked enthusiastically. Sera blinked at the girl, who hadn't seemed nearly this energetic when they first met. "How did you know it was my first time?"

The lamia blushed slightly, then tapped her nose. "It smells like maiden's blood in here. The blood smells like yours. And also I was in the next room, and those walls are really thin," she said, mumbling the last sentence quickly. Sera blushed, then laughed slightly. "It was pretty good, I guess. I wouldn't know. It was my first time, so I don't have anything to compare it to."

The lamia leered lewdly at Sera. "Want to collect more data~~?" she purred, which was pretty surprising. Sera hadn't thought snakes could purr. In any case, the lascivious question made Sera blush even hotter. "I-I...." The lamia watched her face, a smirk playing around her lips. Sera blushed hotter, looking away and blurting, "I guess I wouldn't be opposed to it too much."

Miara laughed out loud, patting Sera jovially on the shoulder. "Ah, I see you have been touched by the goddess' gift! She does love a fiery woman!" The lamia waved her hand, smiling less lewdly. "Maybe later. I'm not that horny right now."

Sera frowned at the lamia. "Did you masturbate while listening to Litu and I?"

It was now Miara's turn to splutter and fall off the bed, blushing furiously. "I... um... I heard someone call me! I'll be going now!" For such a heavy girl, Miara was damn fast. No sooner had she said that, then she slammed the door behind her. Sera waited a moment, then burst out laughing, ending up on the floor again.

She was still giggling as she began to get dressed. She had just settled her cloak into place when there was another knock on the door. Sera crossed over and opened it. "Hey Sera. Miara and I were going to go explore the town a bit. Want to come with?"

Sera nodded happily, then grabbed her swords. Litu frowned at her. "Sera, I don't think you're going to need those. This is a city, not some battlefield." Sera smiled at her words, then nodded at Miara. "She's carrying two daggers right now." Miara blinked as Litu turned to look at her, then back at Sera. "How do you know?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"The way your belt is fit, and the way your holding your hips, mostly. Those low profile sheaths tend to be uncomfortable after a while. And you don't have the luxury of padded armor or anything like that." Miara blinked again. "Um... wow. That's... wow." Sera smiled, buckling her sword belt on.

"Nah. That was total bullshit. You keep reaching back to put your hand on the hilt. I made a guess about you carrying two of them. Are you nervous about something?"

Miara laughed, but it sounded a bit forced this time. "I think someone is watching us. I keep feeling eyes on the back of my neck...."

"I think those were my eyes you were feeling, Miara," Litu said, smiling flirtatiously. Sera felt a pang of jealousy shoot through her, which was a pretty surprising feeling.

"Oh Gods, we're in a love triangle, aren't we."

Litu and Miara blinked at Sera. As they opened their mouths to speak, a thunderous explosion rocked the town. The three girls glanced at each other, then rushed down the stairs. A great plume of flame split the sky, smoke billowing high into the sky. Sera grabbed someone running down the street by one arm. "Hey! What happened?!"

"The lumber mill! It exploded! I'm getting to the fire shelters! You should go too. Most of this city is made of stone, but there's a lot of wood, and it will all burn!" The woman shook Sera's arm off and continued down the road.

"Sera. We should also get to the shelter. It should be safe there...." Litu said. As Sera turned to look at her, she could see that the girl was staring up at the plume of fire, almost frozen in fear.

"Litu. You go on ahead. I'm going to lend the fire brigade a strong arm."

Litu turned around wildly, grabbing Sera by the hand. "Y-you can't go! Sera, it's too dangerous! You should leave it up to the professionals!"

"I'm not going to stand idly by while people suffer, Litu! I know that fire is dangerous for you; that's why you should go to the shelter. You'll be safe there. Please."

Litu shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Dammit, Sera! You're not invincible! You can still die, you know! You were just burned earlier today! Killing yourself won't bring anyone back!"

Sera looked down at Litu, resolve wavering. A second explosion rocked the city, carrying with it a few screams. Sera looked in the direction the explosion had come from, and came to a decision.

"Miara. I need you to handle this." Litu visibly relaxed.

SMACK! Sera's hand struck the side of her neck, throwing her sideways to the ground. Sera turned away quickly, nodding to Miara as she did. "Get her to safety. I'll find you guys when this is over. And if I don't...." Miara held up a hand. "You will, Sera. You had better. Or neither of us will ever forgive you."

Sera smiled, then set off at a run, Litu reaching out for her, unable to stand from the blow that was still ringing through her head. Miara gathered the water spirit, groaning under the incredible weight. "D-don't let her go...."

"Litu. She made her choice. All we can do now is pray."

Miara reached up, and brushed at her eye, trying to get that damn speck of soot out. It was making her cry, dammit.

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Sera took to the skies as soon as she had a wide enough clearing. From the sky, she could see how bad it was. She could see figures dancing at the edge of the fire, trying to keep it from spreading further. The flames towered into the sky, the heat buffeting Sera and making it difficult for her to keep aloft. She sighted down her arm, then flew down toward the largest clump of people trying to control the fire. She landed with a graceless thud, making several of the fire brigade jump away from her. One man, wearing a military uniform, turned and regarded her with a cold stare. She met his gaze diffidently.

"Who's in charge here?"

"That would be me. What are you doing here? All civilians were told to evacuate. Are you the one who started this?!" The man turned fully toward her, glaring at her. "I don't make a habit of burning people who can't fight back. I'm here to offer my services. I'm stronger than any of you humans, and more fireproof. And I can fly over the fire to get at any survivors inside of the fire. You don't have the luxury of time. Don't make me ask twice."

As though to emphasize her words, there was a load crashing noise as a house near the fire line collapsed into the street, old wood crackling merrily. Sera watched the military man's face. He stared her down, but for the briefest moment, he glanced at the wall of flames, barely held in check.

"Fine. Get in there, and help them hold the line. You may want to leave that cloak here. If it catches on fire... it wouldn't be pretty."

Sera didn't answer, she just dropped the cloak and ran toward the fire line. One of the fire brigade waved to her as she approached, passing her a bucket full of sand. "Pour it on any small flames you see. For big flames, try to keep them away from fuel!" Sera looked down at the bucket, then nodded. She turned toward the wall of flames, inhaled, then unleashed a burst of arctic wind. The fire roared as it met the icy wind. It marshaled its strength valiantly, but Sera's push won the day. For the first time since the fire line was set up, the fire was pushed back. It was only one house, but it was something. The fire brigade gaped at her, staring.

"What are you all waiting for?! Move forward!"

Sera led the charge into the flames.

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-CONTINUED NEXT POST-

apocalypticCritic · Sep 16, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

-Continued-
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Sera wasn't certain how much time had passed. Once the blaze was under better control, she was told to begin going into the houses and trying to find survivors.

There hadn't been any yet.

But this house felt lucky. For one thing, it was only half burnt. For another thing, there was a heavy iron door, and though it was melted, it wasn't breached. Sera took a deep breath, then grabbed the handle, biting her lip to keep from yelling as the still hot iron burned her hands. She grunted, strained, and then... the door left its frame with a shrieking crunch. Sera tossed it aside, immediately moving into the room. She froze.

Two small children knelt next to what appeared to be their mom. Sera could see from here that the woman hadn't made it. She was horribly burned, to the point that Sera could see her bones, blackened and cracked, poking through her flesh. On the other side, she was only slightly burned, compared to the extensive burns of her right side. The children cried, shaking her body, calling for her. There was a loud groaning noise, and the children looked around wildly. They saw Sera, who had just started to act again. "Girls! Come this way, please! We need to get out of here!"

"What about mama?!"

"She... I need to get you two out first! Okay? And then I'll comeback for your mama, okay?"

"No, miss Sera, you won't."

She felt the bolt strike her in the middle of her back... where it bounced off her scales. She spun, baring her teeth at the military man, who looked extremely surprised that his shot had failed. "What the hell are you doing?!"

The man smirked. "I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. A dragonborn, here?! At this time?! It must have been a miracle from Elorna herself! Right as we were testing that new weapon, a lovely scapegoat presents herself. It's too bad she died in the blaze herself. Ah well. I'm sure we won't need much more reason to start our war! Especially when the public hears about how the vicious beast tore apart two young children before she succumbed to the flames."

Sera gaped. "Y-you're insane! You would do this... You would kill children?! You... you monster!"

The man moved fast, lunging forward with sword drawn. He drove it toward Sera's stomach. She managed to twist and deflect the blade, but she still felt the blade cut into her flesh. "I'm not the monster here, dragon. You are. And soon, everyone will know it!" The man cackled madly, twisting on his heel and kicking toward Sera's stomach.

"You talk too much."

THUD. The man's foot was caught easily by Sera, who looked down on him with pure hatred. "And now you die for it."

As fast as the man was, Sera was faster. Her foot snapped up and slammed heel first into the man's supporting knee. There was a crunch, and the man cried out in pain. Sera twisted at the hips, and slammed the man into the wall, hard enough to break something.

The wall didn't break.

Sera panted for a moment, looking down at the scum. She grit her teeth and turned away. "Girls? It's okay now. The scary man is gone. Please come out, so we can get away!" The building groaned again, and Sera glanced up. From outside, there was a muffled boom, making the building shake.

Sera leapt across the room, grabbing a girl under each arm. She charged for the exit, wings flaring as though to give her an additional burst of speed. There was a rumble... and the floor collapsed.

Sera twisted, holding the girls close to her body. She fell about 10 feet, landing hard on her back. The impact drove the air out of her lungs. She lay there, dazed for a moment. Another rumbling sound spurred her to movement, and she rolled over, wings flaring as she threw her arms out and shielded the girls with her body.

Then the ceiling fell on them.

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End of Chapter 2
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apocalypticCritic · Sep 16, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Don't read unless you've read all of the update. Seriously.

Now, put those torches and pitchforks down.

First off, let me confirm here and now: Sera is alive. So are the kids, if you care. No matter what, Sera at least will survive this story. I made a decision about Sera's character arc. You see, I have a DnD character by the same name, who has a tragic past. I'm going to tie this Sera and that Sera together. Much better than my old plan for that Sera. Don't worry; it's not going to affect the story that much.

Second, I know the whole "government conspiracy" trope is a bit overplayed. Oh well. Those of you who have read the lore I've posted so far may have recognized a familiar name. I assure you, it will all make sense.

Third: About these giant STORY TIME posts: These are pretty much going to be kept for only chapter beginnings and endings. They help me get some of the plot in there without having to try and shoehorn it into a different situation. And yes, there is a plot. I swear, it will... probably make sense.

Fourth: Corruption. I already asked you to put down the torches and pitchforks, right? Okay. It will be explained next post. That's a promise. An actual promise, that I am making right now. It will be tied into the story. Litu gets to info dump. Everyone's happy. Well, except Sera. Spoilers.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope you've enjoyed reading so far, and will continue to do so, even as I butcher my own narrative and my own characters.

Tassadar · Sep 16, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Dem cliffhangers.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 17, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Judging from where I am in this post so far, and where I want to be before I let you guys start choosing again, this is probably going to be another two poster, if not a three poster. And then I'm going to do an AN about Water Spirits.

So much writing. T.T

Tassadar · Sep 17, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

Welcome to my world.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 17, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

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Chapter 3
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Smoke rose from the ruins of burnt buildings, as a grey, greasy rain poured over the city. Litu and Miara looked out over the ruins. The men they spoke to from the fire brigade had been sympathetic, but had not known anything about where Sera was. Despite the fire brigade telling the girls to leave it to them, they had still offered their help to search for survivors - and the dead.

So far, it had only been the dead.

Miara groaned as she wrapped her tail around a large support beam and tossed it aside, revealing the house within. There was a hole in the floor, and a corresponding one in the ceiling above. Miara poked her head in slowly, scanning the room. There was a dead body by one wall, and what appeared to be a semi-melted iron door. She slithered in carefully, leaning close to the ground so that she could test it with her hands before putting her full weight on it.

She paused for a moment. Had she heard something? She listened intently. At the edge of her hearing, she heard a sound like a sniffle.

"Hello? Is someone alive in here?"

"Miara?"

Miara sat bolt upright, feeling many conflicting emotions flood through her. "Sera?! Where are you?"

"Down."

Miara slithered to the lip of the hole in the floor, looking down. Sure enough, there was a large piece of masonry and burnt wood that was standing at a weird angle to everything else. "I'm coming down, hang on." She said, then slid her tail down into the hole and lowered herself to the ground, coiling up slowly so as to not disturb any rubble. Within a few minutes, she had cleared enough rubble to see Sera.

The scene was terrible, and yet also beautiful. Sera half kneeled, arms thrown wide with her back against the masonry. Dried blood stained her face and arms, and she looked absolutely exhausted. In the zone protected by her body, two girls sat, holding each other. They whimpered as they looked up at Miara.

"Get the girls out first, then come back for me. If the building tries to collapse again, just let me go. Alright?"

"I can't agree to that, Sera. I'm coming back for you, no matter what. Girls, come on. Let's get you out of here."

The girls looked scared, but they crawled out of the space Sera's body provided. Miara grabbed one of them, then coiled and launched herself straight up, depositing the girl on the ledge. She held on for a moment, then told the other one to grab her tail. Once both girls were out of the hole, she carried them outside, where Litu was waiting, breathless. "Sera's in there. She's alive, but she may be hurt. She was protecting these two."

"Of course she was," Litu said sadly. She called the girls over to her, and they went reluctantly. "Are you miss Sera's friend, blue lady?" one asked, eyeing Litu suspiciously. Litu laughed. "Of course I am. I hear she protected you two. So I guess that makes you her friends too."

The girls nodded, then sat next to Litu and watched for Miara to emerge again.

"Can you push up at all?"

"I could try, but I'm pretty sure I'd break something. I don't have a great lifting stance right now, and... well, everything hurts already."

"Okay. I'm going to start lifting. Once you're able, get out of there."

The lamia bunched herself under the large slab of masonry, and began pushing up with her whole body, making the rock and timber covering Sera groan as it began shifting. Sera groaned as well, as the weight lifted off her exhausted and sore back and arms. As soon as the weight was off, she collapsed forward and crawled out of the hole. Miara waited until she was all the way out, then reached out a hand to her. Sera took it, leaning against Miara exhaustedly. Miara lifted Sera like a child, and placed her on the lip of the hole.

The pair left the building together, with Sera leaning heavily on Miara. She took a deep breath of fresh air, smiling softly.

"Sera!"

Miara had to stop Litu from tackling Sera right then and there. It wasn't clear to anyone if Litu was trying to kill the dragonborn, or trying to kiss her. "You stupid, stubborn, bull-headed jackass! How dare you get yourself hurt like this! You idiot!"

Sera listened to the tirade in good humor, watching Litu through half-lidded eyes. "As much as I enjoy your dulcet tones, Litu, I think I need medical attention. After that, you can scream and yell as much as you want, I promise." With that said, she swayed on her feet and slumped down to her knees, groaning in pain. She looked up at the grey clouds, smiling, and slumped forward, vaguely aware of Litu and Miara shouting her name as consciousness gave way to darkness.

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Sera woke up in a well-lit room, which smelled vaguely like alcohol. Everything hurt. It was difficult for her to take stock of the pain, and to say exactly what hurt worse. She remembered the actual impact, driving her down on one knee. She remembered the poor girls screaming and crying, and gently shushing them. She remembered telling them stories, keeping her mind off the massive pain through her whole body. She remembered struggling to stay awake, to keep from passing out, and hoping she wasn't bleeding as badly as she felt like she was.

And now she was here. Miara had gotten her out, and then her taxed, tired, and battered body had collapsed. She groaned slightly, and registered movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see Litu, sitting in a chair by her bedside. The girl was asleep, a book forgotten on the floor next to her. Sera smiled, then tried to push herself up to sitting. The instant she moved her arm, pain shot through her shoulder and collarbone, making her yelp. She clutched the shoulder with her other hand, biting her lip to keep from yelling in pain again.

"The healer said the damage was extensive. If you were human, he doesn't think you'd have survived at all, let alone walked out of that building mostly under your own power. I'll let him tell you the extent of the injuries. Fortunately, he thinks you'll make a full recovery. Mostly."

Sera looked to the other side, wincing as her body protested the movement. Miara was sitting on the other side of her. She gave Sera a level, blank stare. "What does mostly mean?" The lamia looked away, conflicting emotions chasing each other across her face. "You're an idiot, Sera. What the hell were you thinking?"

Sera looked down. "I was thinking.... I don't want to see innocent people die. Not if I have the power to save them. I saved those kids. Even if I had died, it would have been worth it."

"What about her?"

Sera couldn't look Miara in the eye. "I.... If the choice isn't between my life and an innocent's, I will choose to live. But if the choice is dying or allowing someone innocent to die, I will choose to die. Even if it hurts the people I love. If the choice is do nothing and live, or act and die, I will act. That is who I am."

Miara looked away, so that Sera couldn't see the tear going down her cheek. "I know that. She knows that too. But... I don't think either of us would be able to keep going if we lost you." Sera sniffled slightly. The pair sat in silence, which was broken by a knock on the door.

"Come in, Doctor. She just woke up."

The healer was a middle aged man, and he was huge all around. Sera would probably still have almost a foot on him, but he was built like a brick wall, and his hands made Sera's look petite and smooth. He shook her good hand jovially, smiling down at Sera. "Good to see you awake. I'm Mayor Stevenson, and I'm your healer. As you may have guessed, I'm also the mayor of this lovely town. In that capacity, I would like to humbly thank you for your efforts in quelling the flames. The chief of the fire brigade told me that if it weren't for your aid, the fire would have spread much further than it did. Your actions potentially saved hundreds of lives, and definitely saved many houses. Because of your selfless actions, I have elected to bestow upon you and your companions a boon: for as long as this city stands, you will be welcomed here. No inn will charge you for rooms, and you will be allowed to eat and drink for free as well. Within reason, of course."

"You are too generous, sir."

Mayor Stevenson laughed, a jolly sound from the large man. "Oh, I'm not done being generous yet. On the behalf of the fire chief, whose daughters you personally protected with your own flesh, I give you this. A sum of gold coins no less than 3000 pieces."

Sera shook her head, holding up her hand. "I can't accept this. It's too much."

"The chief said to tell you, if you said that, that his daughter's lives were worth more to him than all the gold on Aulondria. He also said, if you still didn't want to accept it, to consider it payment for the work you did quelling the flames. If that didn't work, he suggested telling you to stop being proud and just accept the money. I think that's a little harsh though." The mayor said, eyes twinkling merrily. Miara snorted, turning it into a cough when Sera gave her a blank stare.

"Well, when you put it like that, I have no choice but to accept. Please pass my thanks on to him."

The mayor smiled, then picked up a clip board from the bedside table. He frowned down at the papers on it. "In the capacity of my other position, I regret to tell you that you're going to be in that bed for a little while. The damage done to you was extensive. One broken shoulder, one broken collarbone, several broken ribs, and a crushed knee. The impact crushed your liver and one kidney, and nearly ruptured your stomach. You were lucky, though. Your wings cushioned your back. The wings... well... they're quite broken. I think almost every bone on the top ridge of both wings broke on impact."

The man sighed, rubbing his forehead. "And then there's the matter of actually healing you. For the most part, the internal injuries are not extensive enough to be a problem. The broken bones are a different story. We have to keep them positioned properly, and it's a lot harder to heal broken bones with magic. The biggest problem is your wings. I don't know enough about dragonborn anatomy to set them, or even arrange them properly. There are some doctors who could set a popped wing joint, but most humans don't know enough, and no doctor I know of could fix this damage. Well, that's the way it is. You don't need to answer now, but you might want to consider amputation. They'll just be getting in your way if you can't move them around properly."

He stood up, checking the clipboard again. "We estimate that you'll be able to walk around in a couple days, and you'll be ready to do some training by the end of the week. I wouldn't suggest doing any real fighting for a while, though. Judging from some of the old injuries I noticed while examining you, you're probably not going to listen to that advice. Oh well. For now, just rest."

The doctor left the room, and Sera sat in silence, looking at her feet under the covers. The other injuries didn't bother her nearly as much as her wings being broken did. It had never really occurred to her just how much flight had meant to her. It was probably because her people flew naturally. Being unable to fly made her feel... broken. The idea that she might not be able to fly ever again made her feel shattered. She knew already that she would never accept amputation. Even if she couldn't fly, she would rather have useless wings than no wings. Maybe it was prideful, but her people weren't exactly known for being humble.

Litu jolted slightly, finally waking up. She sat up, blinking blearily at Sera. She smiled distantly, like her thoughts were elsewhere. Sera could see on her face the moment she remembered what had happened. The girl's pretty features hardened into granite, and she stood, facing Sera.

SLAP! The stinging blow rocked Sera's head on her shoulders, making her wince. "You! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Can we skip this part? I already went over it with Miara."

SLAP! Sera gasped as the incensed water spirit slapped her again. "How dare you joke about this?! You nearly died, Sera! You acted without thinking, and you almost paid for it with your life! Did you even stop to think about how that would make me feel?!"

Sera caught the water spirit's hand as she got ready to smack her again. "Of course I thought about what would happen if I died! But I made my choice, Litu! If I can act, and save a life, I will! Even if... even if I die because of it. Even if it means losing you."

Litu gaped at Sera, conflicting emotions drifting across her face. "I... I don't think I could stand it if I lost you, Sera. The idea of it... I wasn't ready to face that possibility. Not after what happened in those ruins. And especially after our first time together, the thought of losing you terrified me, almost more than the thought of going into the fire." The girl slumped onto her knees, pressing her face against Sera's chest. Sera reached out and stroked her hair gently.

"I know why you're angry, Litu. I'm sorry I made you worry for me."

Litu sobbed slightly, clutching Sera's hand tightly, almost like she was afraid it would slip away from her. The pair stayed like this, holding onto each other for support and comfort, for some time. Finally, Miara coughed, making both girls jump slightly. "Don't mind me. I believe we discussed something yesterday, Litu?"

"Ah, yes. That's right. We're going to help you get on your feet more quickly."

Sera raised an eyebrow. "You can do that? The doc said magic was no good for broken bones."

Litu sighed. "That's a complicated question. It's not a matter of possibility. It's a matter of energy efficiency. A normal mage would probably have to completely reformulate their healing spell in order to get it focused and efficient enough to heal broken bones without killing the caster. Lust mages are different. Lust is a much more efficient energy source than life force, which isn't surprising, considering the act of sex and the power it holds."

"The power of sex?"

"Sex creates life. Anyone, from anywhere, at anytime, can find an acceptable and hopefully willing person, and make a child with them. And lust is most often the driving force behind the choice to have sex. In this way, sex is the ultimate expression of lust magic, and it has enough power to create new life. It doesn't even take a lot, which is fortunate. If things were otherwise, you'd have to worry about corruption every time you had sex."

"So, what you're getting at here is that you can heal my bones? Even my wings?" Sera asked, face brightening instantly. Litu looked away.

"... I can't fix your wings. The damage is too extensive for me to fix, without risking massive corruption. If they were set properly, I might be able to accelerate the healing, so that it may take a week instead of a month. But the doctor doesn't know enough to set wing bones. As for all your other bones, mostly I'm going to be accelerating the healing for them as well. It should make it so you'll be ready to be active and exercising within 2 days, instead of in a week."

Sera's face fell. "Oh. I see. Okay. Have at it," she said, barely able to keep from choking slightly as she said it. Her sorrow seemed heavier for having been momentarily buoyed up by hope. She turned her head and awkwardly wiped away a tear, silently berating herself for it.

"This is going to tingle a bit. And then it will hurt a lot."

"Your bedside manner needs woooNNNGH!"

Sera grit her teeth as every muscle in her body seemed to tighten at the same time. At every broken bone save for her wings, pink sparkles danced, then sank into her skin. She groaned, writhing as bones shifted and set in their proper position, and the healing began. She could see Litu flushing. It was obvious the lust was affecting her.

Finally, the spell ended. Sera slumped back onto the bed, panting. Litu leaned back in her chair, fingers drifting downward absently. The room was silent for a moment. Then Litu smiled down at Sera, giving her a come-hither stare. "How are you feeling?"

Sera whimpered slightly in response. It didn't seem possible, but she actually hurt more than before. On the other hand, she could feel the pain in her knee dulling and fading away quickly. She bent her knee gingerly, and though it wasn't painless, it certainly wasn't debilitating. "Thank you...." she said tiredly. Litu smiled again, a wicked edge to it this time. She placed a hand on Sera's stomach, gently massaging.

"Don't mention it. I've got a few other ideas as to how you could thank me, though...," she said, fingers drifting downward slightly. Miara's hand snapped out and closed around Litu's wrist with a slap.

"She's too injured. You said you could handle this, Litu."

Litu's face turned cold for a moment, and she wrenched her hand away from Miara. "When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it, snake," she spat, in a voice as cold as the depths of the ocean. Miara blinked, then her hand moved in a blur.

SLAP! Litu stumbled from the blow, then whirled toward Miara, snarling. "Stop, Litu. You're getting too excited. You need to get yourself under control."

Litu opened her mouth, probably to say something else cruel or mean, then paused, mind apparently catching up to her body. She shook, a look of shock on her face. "I-I.... Oh gods," she said, pressing a hand to her mouth and swaying slightly.

"Litu? What's the matter?"

"I need to go!" The girl said, pushing past Miara and rushing out of the room. Miara turned to watch her go, face carefully blank.

"What was that? Why was she acting like that?"

Miara frowned. "She's been casting too much lately. And that was a particularly complicated piece of magic. I managed to get her back to herself before she did something rash, fortunately."

"Casting too much? I don't get it."

"Everything has a cost, Sera. Lust magic is incredibly dangerous, for both target and caster. It can do worse things to a person than make them into some monster's personal fucktoy. You just saw a bit of one of them. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask her tomorrow. For now, get some rest," Miara said. With that, she doused the lamps and left the room.

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"Can you hand me my stuff?"

Litu handed the pack over to the still bedridden warrior. The doctor had been pleased that she had found a way to heal quicker, but still told Sera to stay in bed for now. Because of her progress, she was moved from the small hospital to the inn Litu and Miara were still staying in. Litu was sitting in with her, and they had been talking about what Sera had done before they met. It had been at that point Sera had remembered something important.

"So in that ruined temple, I found some interesting things," she said, pushing herself up to a full sitting position. Her ribs protested, being one of the parts of her body that was still really hurting. She pressed a hand to them, then continued, "Like these."

She dumped the 5 scrolls out on the bed. Litu picked one up, skimming it quickly. Her eyes bugged slightly. "Ooh. That's a good one. Devious. I like it. Are they all spells?"

Sera shrugged her good shoulder. "Unknown. I couldn't read the first couple I picked up, and we were too busy for me to try reading the others," she said, rummaging in her pack again. Her fingers brushed something hard and leathery, and she felt a jolt shoot up her arm. She gasped, feeling her groin heat up. She pulled the book out of her pack, glaring down at it. "Never got around to reading this thing. Makes my body tingle touching it."

She flipped the book open, flicking through a few pages, and frowned. "I can't read this either. Is it a spellbook?"

Litu reached out for the leather bound book and flipped through it. She frowned too, muttering under her breath. She blinked, then flipped to the first page. She skimmed it quickly, frown turning into a grin of excitement. "Oh my gods. This is... this book is a journal from before the Great War!"

Sera blinked at Litu to demonstrate that that particular revelation did not reveal the secrets of the universe to the warrior. Litu sighed. "The Great War happened about fifty thousand years ago. Hells bells, there are still dragonborn alive today who were born before it. This book is older than the country we're currently in. Hell, I think this book is older than the forest that grew around its long time resting place. But this is more important than that. This is the journal of Cynthia Rath, the first lust mage. She never had an apprentice! This might be the only place any mage could find her original theories and works."

"What's so special about the Great War? I mean, why is known as 'Great?'"

Litu sighed. "That is a really, really long story."

"Go down to the kitchens and get us some food, and then start telling it. We have time."

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-CONTINUED NEXT POST-

apocalypticCritic · Sep 17, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

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-CONTINUED-

"The short version of why the Great War is important, is that it was the first time lust magic was used on a large scale. It was also the last time, at least up until the Draco-Human war. But that's merely its historical importance. The actual story is much more complicated than that, and it starts with the discovery of lust magic.

"You see, before the discovery of lust magic, every mage used life force. With practice and patience, and the correct theorems and working the numbers perfectly, a life force using mage could be powerful. Terrifyingly so. But there was one mage who felt that this wasn't enough. The first lust mage, Cynthia Rath. She constantly sought ways to increase her power, to push past the upper limit of life force, and to find a new way. The woman was a genius, albeit in a very mad way. Before even discovering the secret of lust magic, her spells were powerful enough to reshape the world as she saw fit. But she was also incredibly amoral. Her first foray into the power beyond the peak required the sacrifice of many lives. It is estimated that her early rituals killed between 3 and 5 people per spell. This was before there was any united government, you see. The rule of the day was power, and Cynthia had power to spare. It wasn't long before she hit the ceiling again. The problem with life force as a power source is that ultimately, no matter how efficient your spells are, no matter how many people you sacrifice, no matter what, life force is finite. There's a limit to it. Cynthia refused to accept that. She pushed further, pressing at the boundaries. She stepped on a lot of toes doing it, and eventually the other mages banded together and sent her away. She crossed the southern sea, and was not seen again for a very, very long time. But something sent away will eventually come back, and she did. She brought with her a legion of creatures the humans of Aulondria had never seen before. And she brought lust magic with her as well.

"Nobody knows where she learned the secret. Even those who have managed to make the journey across the southern sea report no lust mages down south. Some mages think she just pushed and pushed, and eventually derived the answer. They have proved that this is possible. Most of the equations that describe the rules of life force magic can also be applied to lust magic. More than that, the equations that describe the properties of life force as an energy are the derivatives of the equations that describe the properties of lust as an energy."

"Question. What's a derivative?"

Litu blinked at Sera. "We definitely don't have time for me to explain calculus to you. You don't really need to know the math, though if you're interested, I'd be willing to tutor you sometime. Not now, though. Anyway. The other prominent theory for where Cynthia got lust magic is that she pushed through the barrier between Aulondria and the underworld. They believe this, because lust magic is somewhat similar to the magic used by various forms of 'cubi. This theory also explains why corruption happens with lust magic, but not with life force magic. Of course, the proponents of the other theory say that life force magic does corrupt, it's just that most mages cannot move enough energy to feel the corrupting effects, whereas lust has such a high energy density" (At this point, Sera's eyes began to glaze over.)"that the amount of energy moved is high enough to cause corruption. Either way, it doesn't matter. Cynthia's arrival back on this continent is the important bit, because it signaled the beginning of the Great War.

"Cynthia led her army across the continent, and they won victory after victory. That was, until the dragonborn got involved. Up until the Great War, they had kept to themselves, staying away from the other races. The only major exception was the dwarves, who had frequent border skirmishes with the dragonborn. The threat of Cynthia's lust armies, however, was high enough that the dwarves and dragonborn agreed to leave each other alone until the invaders were driven out. At the battle of Kiirut Pass, the first major victory was won versus Cynthia's army. It was at this point that the most important lasting legacy of the Great War came to light.

"You see, Cynthia was a very proud woman. When her army was defeated at Kiirut, it hit her in her pride. So she responded in a very measured and mature way. She focused a huge amount of lust energy on the dwarven capital, and blew it up. From half a continent away. The resulting magical fallout caused massive corruption to every living thing for a hundred miles. To this day, the area where the dwarven capital once stood is still so corrupt, no one can go there without extensive protection. Even then, there's a very good chance you will be corrupted by simply being there.

"It was at that point that the Allied forces realized they would need to be able to directly counter Cynthia's magic. At this point, the mages did not realize that what Cynthia had done should have been impossible. Now, looking back on it, mages know that Cynthia's spell should have taken so much energy that she would be reduced to a mindless creature of corruption. The fact that it didn't suggests one of two things: Either Cynthia had a spell that was impossibly energy efficient, or she had some sort of catalyst, capable of amplifying the power poured into it by a thousand-fold or more. The mages worked furiously, trying to find a way to counter Cynthia's awesome power without needing to sacrifice an entire city in order to fuel the spell.

"While the mages tried to push the boundaries of magic further than they had ever gone before, the foot soldiers pushed the enemy back further and further. In the third week after the dragonborn joined the war, they recaptured the largest city on the continent from Cynthia's army. It was at that point... that she got desperate.

"During the celebration, a lone enemy stole into the center of the city. He proclaimed, in Cynthia's voice, that 'if I can't have this city, you shall not claim it! For every one of my children killed, I will kill ten of yours. You will know the horrors of corruption before the end!' At that point, the enemy soldier exploded. Every person still within the city perished instantly in the explosion. Everyone within a hundred miles of the city... well, they considered those who died instantly lucky. For a time, the armies were in a destructive stalemate. Every victory won by the Allies was erased by a suicide bomber from Cynthia's army. But she could not regain ground against the might of the Allies. It looked, for a time, that the war would last forever. But then, the mages made a breakthrough.

Through massive experimentation, the mages discovered how to tap into the same power Cynthia was. While they still had no idea how she was doing her massively destructive magic, they found themselves able to interrupt the spell that caused the detonations. Being able to do so, the Allies found themselves advancing across the continent easily. Within a fortnight, they breached the walls of Cynthia's stronghold. The battle was fierce, but brief, and afterward the Allies held the fort. Unfortunately, Cynthia managed to escape, into these very mountains, I believe. After that, she kind of fades from history. It's not known if the Allies ever caught and killed her. The remnants of her army dispersed, hiding in the dark places. Likewise, those beasts who were corrupted became some of the dark creatures, like tentacle beasts.

"The areas corrupted by Cynthia's magic are still corrupted to this day, and efforts to reverse the corruption have met with failure after failure. Currently, even with the most advanced spells available, the energy cost per square foot would be instant-corruption level. There's anecdotal evidence, however, that Cynthia could reverse corruption. Once again, it's not known if she was using some sort of focus, or if she just had some sort of super efficient spell, or possibly both."

Litu looked down at the journal in her hands. "Except, now, for the first time, her writings were uncovered. I... it seems unreal. I'm almost afraid to decipher her work. It feels like a set-up, like someone wanted it to be found. But why now?"

"That's... kinda weird. And I can totally see where you're coming from. It's like finding a legendary sword just lying on the ground. No, actually, it's more like finding the manual explaining the ultimate fighting technique just lying around."
"Precisely. How was it not found? Why wasn't it destroyed back when the government first tried to purge lust magic? More importantly, why would it turn up now?" Litu sighed. "You ever feel like you're just a pawn in a far bigger game?"

Sera snorted, then frowned thoughtfully. "You made a lot of mention of corruption, but I'm still not entirely clear on what it is."

"Corruption is the byproduct of lust magic. There are four recognized stages: In the first stage, you still appear as you once were. You may act out of character for short periods of time, or be more prone to mood swings. Either way, when you're manic, you act out of a desire for more power. Even if you should know better, as you approach stage 2, you start to believe that corruption is the only way to become more powerful. At stage 2, all corrupted become violent and lust-driven. They will attempt to sexually dominate anyone, even someone who was counter to their original sexual preference. As they get toward stage 3, they begin to mellow out, and most start trying to tempt people instead of directly raping them. In any case, having sex with a stage 2 is a very bad idea. At best, they'll kill you afterward. From what little experimentation has been done, they kill you if you are very resistant to corruption. If you are more susceptible, they will continue to rape you until you enter stage 1. Any sex with a stage 2 causes corruption, even if it's entirely consensual.

"At stage 3, sapient beings begin worshipping the corruption. At this stage, they tend to form corruption cults, and they will drag people in willingly or unwillingly. At this point, it's rare for any stage 3 to not have suffered severe mutations. They will tell normal people that the corruption is the only way to salvation. There's one strange anomaly: every single stage 3 captured alive has said the same thing. That they wait for their master to strike down The Wanderer, and take his place. They neither name their master, nor explain who or what The Wanderer is. Twelve hours after they made this statement, every single stage 3 brought in has died. Autopsy revealed nothing abnormal beyond what their corruption already did to them. When left to their own devices, all stage 3 victims slowly degrade in mental ability until they enter stage 4.

"At stage 4, victims become like zombies. They take very little notice of their surroundings, preferring to shuffle around, playing with their own genitals. For some bizarre reason, 8 out of every 10 mutations from corruption include adding new sexual organs, or expanding old ones. At stage 4, it is advised that all civilians keep away from the victim and put in a request for an extermination team. Stage 4s don't wander far from their P.O.C, that is, Place of Original Corruption. An odd side effect of being stage 4 is that stage 4s are functionally immortal. They don't need to eat or sleep, as far as we know. They are extremely resilient to damage, able to continue moving and fighting with 2/3 of their head missing and both arms and legs cut off. Getting bitten by one increases your corruption level. Making eye contact with one will cause it to scream at you, charge you, and attempt to rape you. Much like a stage 2, there's a good chance you will be killed immediately after it rapes you, but while most stage 2 victims are still at human levels of strength, the average stage 4 is about 5 times as strong as the average human of that size."

"Um. Wow. So corruption changes who and what you are? And... it comes from lust magic? Do I need to worry about you?"

Litu looked down and shrugged one shoulder. "I'm mildly corrupted. Not a stage 1, by any means, but as I cast more and more, I tend to have to struggle with the corruption I've already got a little harder. Eventually, I'll probably become corrupted enough to be officially marked as a level 1. Level 1s are generally allowed to be in society. They aren't able to infect others with corruption, so the government's less worried about them. When they go to level 2, they are always bound and taken far away from any town. From then on, they are no longer allowed in any town on the continent. So far, it has worked. The only time anything over stage 1 is allowed in a town is if it is being studied by a mage. Do you have any other questions?"

"Just one more. If you had... whatever Cynthia had, that focus or those spells... could you fix my wings?"

"Yes," Litu said, without hesitation. "That's certainly one way we could do it. There's another way, though. I did some research, and it occurred to me that dragonborn are much more advanced than us. They may have surgery techniques that would allow you to set the bones in your wings without too much issue. Well, either way, we'll have to go to their lands anyway. If there's anyone alive who may be able to point us in the direction of whatever Cynthia had, it would be a dragonborn."

Sera smiled. "Then it's a plan. That's where we'll be going. We'll still need to finish getting to the capital and letting them know Crael was destroyed. After that.... I guess we're going to the land I was born in."

Litu smiled back, then leaned in and kissed Sera on the cheek. "In any case, I'm going to go rewrite those scrolls you gave me so I can scribe them. You should get some rest. Hopefully we can leave by the end of the week."

Sera smiled as Litu stood up and left the room. She rolled over on her side, wincing as her wing shifted, crackling as bones rubbed against each other.

'I'll be flying again soon...'

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Two days later, Sera stood in the lobby of the inn, shaking the hand of the mayor. "Thank you for all your help. I'm feeling much better. Have you heard anything about the road?"

"It looks like whatever was stopping traffic is still there. Presumably, the military knows and has acted against it. The fact that it's still there suggests it's a lot stronger than they expected. I would definitely suggest finding a different route."

Sera nodded, and thanked him again. She walked out of the inn, blinking against the bright sun. A few people waved to her, and she waved back, smiling. Litu and Miara also got a few waves, but the waves looked more cordial and polite than a case of someone actually being happy to see them. Sera rotated her shoulder, wincing slightly as it caught halfway through the movement. "Not quite healed. Hopefully we don't get into a big fight. I'll try to fight left-handed, I guess."

"Sure you don't want to rest more?"

"Nah, I'm good. I think you just want more time to scribe more spells into your book."

Litu smiled softly, an obvious maybe. The trio walked to the gates to the town, and looked out.

Now what?

A. Go through the caves.
B. Go to the forest (gonna take longer)
C. Throw caution to the winds and go down the road.
((You might want to go back and look at the post where we met the merchant. I explained the pros and cons there.))

LITU'S NEW SPELLS (Pick 2)

Fireball: Blast a sphere of fire at a target. Attack does 3d12 damage + intelligence/2. Save for half damage. Fire has a chance to destroy magic effects on the target. Fire also reduces DR by half.

Control Monster: Take control of a single non-humanoid enemy. Save to end. Target will do anything the caster requests.

Icy Wind: A blast of arctic wind disorients, freezes, and possibly knocks enemies over. Target up to 4 enemies. Attack does 3d12 +intelligence/2 damage. Save for half damage. Ice has a chance of immobilizing a target. Attack also causes disorientation, which cuts PD in half. Attack has a chance of knocking the targets prone, which further reduces PD.

Thunder Storm: A blast of lightning tears through enemies. Target up to 4 enemies. Attack does 3d12 + intelligence/2 damage. Save for half damage. Lightning has a chance of paralyzing a target. Targets hit with lightning cannot act for one round, unless they are resistant to lightning. Targets wearing metal armor take 2x damage.

Lust Wave: A lust mage's special. Target up to 4 enemies. Do damage to their lust equal to casters current lust divided by the number of enemies hit. Targets cannot act for one round, due to needing to adjust their armor. ((NOTE: Unlike Synchronity, this does not reduce Litu's lust. Don't be too frivolous when she's class to max LP))

STATS

Sera:

Name: Sera Craith
HP: 35/35
SP: 10/10
Lust: 0/35
PD: 20
DR: 20; 5 Fire, 5 Ice, 5 Lightning, 5 Lust, 5 Poison, 5 Acid, 5 Force
Status: Crippled: Sera's wings are broken. She cannot fly, though she can still move them slightly.
Weakened: Her right shoulder is not yet fully healed. Has an increased chance of breaking.
Level: 5
EXP: 5/500
Active Skills:

Dragon Breath: Breathe fire, ice, lightning, or acid. Cost: 2 SP
Lust for Battle: Raise lust to half of maximum lust.

Passive Skills:

((Wings: You can fly, giving you a bonus to avoiding melee attacks and traps outdoors.))
Dragon Skin: Your scales have begun to harden, giving you +5 DR that stacks with armor.
Improved Dragon Skin: Gives +5 DR to all damage types.
Lust for Battle: While Lust is equal to half or more of maximum lust, gain + speed (7) attack and +strength/2 (6) damage. Gives + 15 Maximum Lust
Grappler: Gives a +10 bonus to all grappling attacks and defenses.

Inventory:

A belt (worn)
A shirt, brown, which covers her whole torso.
A pair of shorts which cover her upper legs and crotch.
2 swords which do 1d12 +6 damage each. -5 attack.(Equipped)
1 Great Axe which does 2d12 + 6 damage. -5 attack. Has a 10% chance of breaking limbs on a successful hit that does damage.
2 unlit torches
1 healing potion.
1 Elven Cloak (950/1000)(worn)(was repaired while Sera was laid up)
7400 gold pieces

Statistics:

Strength: 14
Speed: 5(+2 from Cloak)
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

Litu:

Name: Litu Cralubl
HP: 20/20
SP: 10/10
Lust: 0/75
PD: 20
DR: -5
Status: Normal.
Level: 4
EXP: 391/400
Active Skills:

Lust Mage: Can cast spells by increasing her lust rather than decreasing her skill points. Requires a Spellbook.
Liquid Form: Can become liquid, allowing her to move through any passage large enough to permit water flow. (Also allows for shape shifting in general)
Absorption: Can absorb any liquid to heal HP. Depending on the liquid, she can also gain additional effects.
Erosion: Blast a target with water for 2d6 damage, and halve DR.

Passive Skills:

Base: Is immune to poison and acid.
Conductive: Lightning based attacks do no damage to her.
Freeze!: Ice based attacks do double damage to her.
Boiling: Fire based attacks do double damage to her.
Be Water, My Friend: +5 PD. Also forces a reroll when she is hit by a trap.
Splash!: Blunt damage does double damage (because she splashes)
Reconstitution: If her HP is ever reduced to 0, she reforms after the battle with 1/2 HP.

Inventory:

Litu's Spellbook

Spells:

Synchronity: Siphons lust from caster to target (or target to caster if target has more) until both parties have equal lust points, or one is at max. Save for no damage.
Water of Life: Heals target for 1d6 + int/2 (7) hp.
Desertification: Draws water out of target creature, causing the dehydration status and inflicting 2d12 points of damage. Save for half damage.
Emotion Bomb: Hits up to three targets. Does caster's current lust/number of targets damage to HP. Save for half damage.
Freeze: Immobilizes target for caster level * 3 turns. Save ends.
Acid Splash: Does 3d6 + int/2(7) acid damage to up to four targets, ignoring DR. Damages target armor for an equal amount. Save for half damage.

1 Fire Resist Potion (in a waterproof bottle)
Cynthia Rath's journal
3 Lust Scrolls

Statistics:

Strength: 2
Speed: 6
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 14
Charisma: 10

Miara:

Name: Miara Slatescale
HP: 30/30
SP: 40/40
LP: 0/20
PD: 40
DR: 0
Status: Normal
Level: 4
EXP: 265/400
Active Skills:

Tail Smash: Smash an opponent for 2d12 plus 14 damage. If opponent survives, they are knocked prone and stunned for 2 rounds. Costs 5 SP.
Bite: Bite an opponent for 1d6 + 7 damage. Even if damage doesn't overcome DR, attack poisons opponent with a poison that decreases each vital stat (HP, SP, LP) by 3 per turn for 1d6 turns.
Constrict: Roll a strength check versus opponent's Active Defense. If you succeed, the opponent is automatically grappled and cannot act until they manage to roll higher than you. Unlike a normal grapple, you are still free to move and act without provoking a counterattack.

Passive Skills:

Cold Blooded: Take double damage from ice attacks.
Snake's Tail: You get two strength scores: One is just your attack strength, one is used for anything where you would use your tail.
Snake Senses: You can see in the infrared range.
Snake Reactions: You gain a +5 to any active defense roll that uses your speed stat as its controlling stat.
Poison Immunity: You are immune to poison.
Critical Threat: If you roll an 18, 19, or 20 on an attack roll, you get a critical hit, which hits regardless of PD.
Evasion: +5 PD and +5 to all speed defense rolls (+10 total)

Inventory:

2 Lamian Axes: 2d12 + Strength /2 damage each. +5 to hit (+10 total, due to her speed)
4 unlit torches
5 Potions of Healing (1d6 + 4)

Stats:

Strength: 7 (14)
Speed: 12
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 3
Charisma: 3

AN:

OH GOD WHY DID I WRITE SO MUCH.

23 pages in Word. 7,619 words. 45,090 characters. I think that officially makes this the longest thing I've ever written.

apocalypticCritic · Sep 17, 2013

Re: Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

I know I said I would post Water Spirit lore, but it's 12:30 at night, and I need to get up for school in the morning. So I'm going to bed. I'll post Water Spirit lore after the next post. It shouldn't be one of these monstrosities.

Aulondria: A Warrior's Path

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Mystic Girl

Evard's Tentacles of Forced Intrusion

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Evard's Tentacles of Forced Intrusion

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