[Thebattleangel]

hopeful mark

username: Surroundingcrystals
name: Hayleigh
gender: Female
origins: “My origins?, hmm, I’m not quite sure what you mean?,” the viscet covered in thorns spoke softly “the most knowledge I can offer you is my past, I don’t know much about it, but, this is what I’ve been told from other sources some of the beginning, so here goes.”

When I was born, a great tragedy struck, one would last millions of moons. My mother held me close in her arms wishing I had been birthed in another place, another time. War was about in my mothers peaceful realm every city up in flames my mother, the lone survivor from the attack.

My mother had an underground safe installed in her house when she found out she was pregnant, she knew the worst was coming. She would do anything to protect her only child.

As for my father, I have not been told anything about him, I don’t even know if he’s alive at this present time, maybe one day I could meet him, all I can say for sure is he must have left way before my birth.

When I became a toddler my mother noticed something extraordinary about me, everytime I would touch nature it would grow before our eyes, sometimes in an intense tantrum the bunker would be surrounded in nature. Particularly roses with sharp thrones.

We spent the first five years of my life under the ground hiding from something I had never seen, the only thing I knew was every inch of the bunker, every crack every stone in its concrete wall, everything.

My mother slowly poked her head out the metal engraved safe door revealing the insides of our home to me for the first time, I walked around the city aimlessly looking at the shambles the once gorgeous city was left in, everyone must have up and left the entire country by now.

Body’s of many viscets lay on the streets, some young, some old, some even infants that didn’t even get to take their first breathe, it dawned on me that this was going to happen again to another realm, another home, another set of hundreds of viscets will die due to whatever was out there, I knew I had to become stronger, use my nature kind of ability for the good of the world. My training began that night.

“Mum,” I groan in frustration as I enter our wooden den that still has holes in the ceiling making water lead,
“Yes darling?,” she responded softly as she began cleaning the once trashed living room replacing all the broken glacé in photo frames honouring my father and fallen family members like my aunt,
“Why won’t my powers get stronger,” I replied impatiently,
She crouched on her knees so her face was parallel to mine “Hayleigh, love, you cannot rush these things, the more you concentrate the harder it will be, just let go, let your power flow wishing you, one day you’ll be strong enough,”
I smiled, I walk outside again breathing in along with breathing out slowly to calm my frustrations, my nerves, my doubt helping myself feel at price as roses began to form around my body causing me to levitate slightly off the ground. The roses began surrounding me in a ball shielding me away from the danger just like my mother had done.

———-

I walked for hours, non stop walking home with an injured hind leg, the fight was violent that’s for sure.

The suns heat burned beneath my fur as I walked “atleast everyone is finally safe,” I thought in my head, I had done it, I defeated the evil that nearly sunk my entire species. It was all worth it.

The thorns dug deeper into my wounded leg beginning to bond with my body completely but I couldn’t feel it, the roses are apart of me now, they helped me fight the beast so now I must pay my debt to them that I agreed to pay.

Death.

The thought ran through my mind as I stumbled closer to home, what would it be like if I died?, the roses spoke to me, they said I have fulfilled my destiny, that there is nothing more on this planet for me but to protect it from harm from interstellar things.

But do I have to die for this to happen?

They say yes but I don’t believe them, how can roses talk anyway, that’s impossible! But you know what they say, anything is possible.

I looked ahead to see a city that lay in shambles, home, I thought. The decomposing bodies still in the same place as when I left but nearly bonded with the ground as i with the roses, uncanny, isn’t it?

I walked down the cracked road some more, taking the first right seeing my home down the end of the street, I stopped and stared at it for awhile feeling a sharp pain up my back as I began to remember the wonderous place my home once was, the viscets, the laughs of young children, I missed all of it.

I blink slowly clearing my vision from the blur of forming tears, home seemed like a figment of my imagination now.

I walk up the creaky stairs to the entrance of the house staring at the intricate cracks of paint in the once glossy white door, it has been years since I had seen my mother, everyday I missed her more but I had to leave.

The door gave way as I began to open it, it fell on the floor with a loud clash sending a cloud of dust into the hallway revealing a shadow that stood there, motionless, the sharp pain came again as I tried to look at a memory like the roses wanted me to forget everything I have ever known making me suffer in silence.

My mothers warm face came into the light, her mane as gray as a pre thunderstorm sky, barely supporting herself with the cane that held her up, she had grown much older since I last saw her thirteen years ago.

We both stood still looking at each other not knowing what to feel or say for that matter sending an awkward silence between us that spoke a thousand words. My mother lowered her head in anguish and guilt.

“I’m sorry, mother,”
her headed lifted as the words escaped my mouth,
“You knew I had to go for the greater good,”
She took a few steps toward me “you left me just like your father did Hayleigh, I do not want you in this house anymore,” she responded with tears flowing out of her eyes,
“But mother please, I had no choice, unlike him I wasn’t a coward who didn’t want a daughter!,” I yelled in anguish,
She remained silent.

“Please don’t make me go... I beg of you...,”
“You can stay one night. You will leave by dawn to find somewhere else to live.” She interrupted with anger covering her voice, I nodded slowly in response as I limped to my old bedroom.

All of my toys were in the same spot I left them, nothing in my room looked to have changed since I had left at all, like my mother never touched it, like she wasn’t concerned about me at all.

I sat on my bed, it responded with a loud creak close to a snap as I lay my head on the pillow looking around my old dusty room full with memories of a younger time, the time when I had a family, the time when I had a mother, but now all I have is the roses.

The roses will set me free.
(729/1000)

[kamelgirl]

username: kamelgirl
name: eirian
gender: female (she/her)
origins:


"I'll be ready for you in a moment, Corbin."

Her paws flitted from bottle to bottle, identifying them at a touch. Some were uncapped to pour their contents into a mixing bowl, while others clinked together as they were shoved haphazardly into corners. The workshop existed in a constant state of organized chaos, its system known only to Eirian herself.

To the viscling peering wide-eyed around the doorjamb, it must have looked like another world.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm mixing ingredients for another potion," Eirian said, not looking up from her work.

"Who's it for?"

"Someone else." No need to tell the child that his next-door neighbor had come in for the third time that month for dreamless sleep potions. "Why are you here?"

"My mom sent me to get a healing spell for Judith. She's sick again," he said with a long-suffering air.

Eirian sighed. "Magic isn't a replacement for a real doctor. Has your mother taken her to see one?"

"Too expensive."

"And she doesn't want to risk it for nothing. I see." Eirian placed the finished potion on the table to set and reached for a new bowl. "The same as last time?"

"Yup." Conversation done, Corbin clambered onto a chair to watch her work. Eirian began crushing leaves with a pestle. The scent of lavender filled the air. "You're very good at this," he opined solemnly.

Despite herself, Eirian's tail flicked with amusement. "I am. I've been doing this for a long time."

"How long?" Corbin asked.

Eirian's hands stilled. "I'm... not sure," she said slowly. "A very long time. When I started, I would've been a few years older than you."

The viscling hummed thoughtfully. Eirian squeezed a few drops of oak sap out of a dropper and stirred it into the bowl.

"My mom's teaching me magic," announced Corbin. "Did your mom teach you yours?"

Eirian shook her head. "I never knew either of my parents." The viscling nodded in understanding. Probably has friends whose parents are dead, she thought with a tinge of sadness. "I lived in the orphanage for a while and joined the army. They taught us magic there. "

"You were in the army?" he gasped. "Did you fight a lot?"

Child, you have no idea. "A few," she said, pausing to ruffle his mane. "I was the star of my squadron. But you don't want to hear stories about the war, now that it's over. What have you been up to in school lately?" She listened with half an ear as she mixed the ingredients thoroughly and began to prepare the wrapping.

In hindsight, her life had been... not the best. Not that anyone had it good these days, with the economy in shambles and the renewed threat of war on the horizon. She'd grown up in the general area of an overcrowded, underfunded orphanage, spending more nights outside than in. As soon as she was of age (officially, the limit was eighteen. Unofficially, it was something closer to twelve) she had entered the military academy.

The government had been suffering a deficit of soldiers and an excess of children orphaned by the war. The logic had been simple - use one problem to solve another. The reality had not been so easy. Thousands of child soldiers were thrown into battle, most hardly knowing what they were getting into.

Eirian had been one of the lucky ones. Selected for her high magical aptitude, she and a few others had been trained as the highly skilled mages that formed the backbone of the army. There, she'd quickly established herself at the top of the class. I was the best of the best, she thought, tying the spell off with a sharp tug. An acrid scent filled the air. And they threw me away for that...!

"... Miss Eirian?" Corbin asked, sounding nervous. "You look kinda scary."

"Hmm?" Eirian pasted a reassuring smile on her face and turned to the viscling. "Of course not, Corbin. I- do you smell smoke?"

The smell of burning wood grew stronger. She strode over to the door, pushed it open, and nearly stumbled.

Outside, a thick haze hung heavily in the air. Flames licked at the smithy across the street. And the bakery, and Mr. Soleil's house... Where is the fire department? she thought wildly. A few streets away, someone screamed. Eirian slammed the door shut.

"Corbin," she snapped, turning to the viscling. He stared out into the streets, petrified. "Corbin!"

He startled. "Yes'm!"

Eirian gripped his shoulders. Corbin's wide blue eyes stared into hers. "I know that it's scary out there, but I need you to be brave for me," she said evenly. "Can you do that?"

He nodded.

"Good. Take this," she thrust the finished spell into his hands. "That's for Judith. Now get back to your mother and do what she tells you. Something's going on, and you may be in danger. Don't talk to anyone, just to straight home. You hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Go quickly." Eirian grabbed her wood staff from the corner and hefted it appraisingly. Not as heavy as I'd like... too late now. It'll have to do.

"Miss Eirian?" Corbin's trembling voice caught her attention. "What're you gonna do?"

Eirian hesitated. If my hunch is right... "There's something going on," she repeated. "Don't follow me. I'll be fine! I was in the army, remember?" she forced a smile.

He smiled back hesitantly. "Yes, Miss Eirian."

"Good boy. Get going." As the viscling scampered off, Eirian began packing. Nonperishable food, her potions kit, a blanket and a canteen. She'd acquired a few trinkets here she was loath to abandon, but anything she couldn't carry had to be left behind.

After doing a quick sweep of the place for anything she'd missed, she swung the bag onto her shoulder and pushed open the door. "Well, little village," Eirian murmured. "Staying here was nice. Too bad it had to end so soon." She whispered a goodwill blessing under her breath, shifted her bag to a more comfortable position, and made her way out. There was nothing more to be said.

The streets were dim and smoky. More buildings had gone up in flames (the grocery, the carpenter's, the jeweler's- Aisake, Cassie, Samoel. Are they alive? she wondered briefly, before shaking the thought away. She had her own issues to worry about.)

There was screaming in the distance and strange viscets- armed strange viscets- on the streets. I was right, she realized, pressed against a wall. The army's finally found me. It had to happen sooner or later. Only thirty feet away, a soldier forced a civilian to his knees, mechanical glove pressed to his neck. A moment later, the civilian collapsed to the ground, throat slit.

That had been Luke, she noted. Father of two children, husband to a loving wife. He'd come by Eirian's shop once or twice and talked about his family nonstop. Eirian tugged her hood further down and shuffled along the road.

She'd hardly gone ten feet when a heavy paw clamped down on her shoulder. Eirian eyed it with disdain. "Stop right there," a voice growled in her ear. "Paws out in front of you, where we can see them. No sudden movements and do not pull out a weapon."

Eirian held up her paws obligingly. "I'm not holding anything, officer," she said mockingly. "May I go now?"

"Of course not, Eirian," said the soldier, spinning her around roughly. "Not when you're the reason we came here in the first place."

Eirian stood stiffly, tense beneath the soldier's grip. The other viscet smiled coldly. "It's a surprise, isn't it? After all this time, that they'd send me to hunt you down. How the mighty fall, Eirian."

"Uhh..." Eirian stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry, I've got no clue who you are."

The soldier's smug grin faltered. "It's me, Carmen? I was in your class?" At Eirian's vacant look, she added desperately, "We sat together at lunch for the entire time we were there?"

Eirian shook her head slowly.

Carmen's lip curled back. "Well, fine. I don't need you to remember me to fulfill my duties. I don't let attachments to other people cloud my vision... unlike you."

That stung. The fur on her back bristled. Eirian snarled, "Aasim was my fiance! We were engaged! I was taking my due vengeance for a murder!"

"You lost your little boyfriend and immediately threw away everything we were working towards!" Carmen shot back. "We still haven't found Kolbyr. The research we lost with him set us back years! All you had to do was being back one pathetic traitor, and you blew it!" She paused, centering herself. "But I'm not like you. I'm going to succeed where you failed and bring you in, and then you'll tell us what you did with Kolbyr."

"He killed Aasim. I trapped him in hell on earth," Eirian spat, feeling her magic flare around her paws. "And if you're lucky, I'll let you go rot with him there." As she spoke, she let her senses spread through the ground. Like feelers, she let them probe the ambient energy and- there. An shift beneath her feet. Eirian wove a simple shield spell and let it-

Her veins were on fire. Her back arched as a wordless scream burst out of her lungs. Her vision swam, her limbs spasmed, her skull pounded. The pain raced up and down her spine and settled in her very bones, aching with the knowledge of eternity. This was something immortal, a pain that would never fade, that would-

- and then it was over. Her face was pressed painfully into the soil. Eirian spat the dirt out of her mouth and squinted up at Carmen through blurry eyes. "You- you're an Illusionist?" she rasped painfully.

Carmen nodded brightly. "Yup! See, Eirian, the funny thing about you is you were your own downfall. You're so arrogant in your own little world of power and being the best that you fail to notice anyone else- but they notice you. Believe me, Eirian," she said conspiratorially, "I've studied your style. I know how you think. But you don't know anything about me. Well, except my name."

Her titter grated on Eirian's ears, but she forced herself to laugh wearily anyways. "That's true, Carol."

The viscet's smile froze on her face. Eirian took a vicious satisfaction in it. "I'm sorry, what?"

Eirian blinked innocently. Unseen, a wisp of magic darted between her fingers. "Isn't that your name?"

Carmen fairly turned red. "How dare you," she seethed. "You know perfectly well what my name is, you little- I don't know why anyone likes you! All they do is talk about you. 'Oh, Eirian was so great and strong and powerful and why can't you be like her?'" she spat derisively. "I'm fed up with you! Get up, we're leaving." Her hand shot out to grab Eirian by the scruff and was stopped short. "Wha- a shield-?"

"You see, Carlotta," Eirian interrupted her. "The reason everyone compares you to me is because, to be brutally honest, because I'm better than you. I'm stronger, more mature, and a lot more intelligent."

The other viscet stared at her, looking utterly gobsmacked.

"If you'd been paying attention, you would know that the shield was the first spell I had casted," Eirian said. "And if you'd been paying attention, instead of monologuing, you'd have noticed the other spell I've been working on this whole time."

For what was probably the first time in the fight, Carmen's sensing magic brushed up against her own. Eirian let her. "That's the sequence for summoning," the Illusionist said, brow furrowed. "But self and away are encoded too, so what- no. No."

"Ah, so you're not completely unintelligent after all."

"No! Teleportation spells are impossible on one's own- no viscet is powerful enough for that!" Carmen protested.

"Didn't our time together teach you anything?" Eirian smiled ferally at her. "I'm the best."

Instead of answering, Carmen poured her energy into breaking the shield. Too late for that, Eirian thought victoriously, feeling the nearly-completely teleport magic surging around her. Goodbye, village. Hope she doesn't mess you up too bad.

And then the smell of fire and sweat and blood and desperation faded away, and she was lying face-down in the damp grass. An owl hooted nearby. Somewhere in the woods, then. Can't believe I actually made it. Eirian rolled over into her back and stared up at the sky. It was nearly night. She should make camp soon.

... I wonder, did Corbin make it out okay?

Eirian let that thought fade away in favor of staring blankly into the distance. Soon she would set up camp and go to sleep, and tomorrow she would go on with her day and pretend she hadn't just lost everything (again). But for now, she would allow herself a moment to mourn.


extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

[stormzien]

username:
name:
gender:
origins:
extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

res omg

[snuppy]

Mark

[JessKnight]

username: JessKnight
name: Conleth ("Chaste Fire"/"Restrained Fire")
gender: Nonbinary (AMAB)
origins: For the first few years of Conleth's adult life, they were a simple gardener, tending to others' gardens and earning just enough to eat and live a decent life. Their life was... mundane. Simple.
Boring.
Eventually, they got bored. It was the same thing everyday. Wake up, breakfast, water, weed, lunch, water, weed, dinner, sleep. Day after day. No change. No excitement.
They. Were. Bored.
And so, they found their own fun.
They began planting fast growing, omnivorous weeds in the gardens of people who were rude. At first it was just one or two, just to make a point. Then they did it more.
And more.
And more.
Until one day, when they weren't paying attention, one of them wrapped around them, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until they thought they would pop-
Then it loosened.
And it curled around them more.
It recognized them.
It recognized it's parent.
And so, they let it take them.
And since then
They've been like this.
And their life was no longer boring.
extras:

[Thani]

Wow this is gorgeous MARKING.
First viscet thats actually caught my eye aaa

[Saberblush]

Username
LEEaboo

Name
Akatsuki

Gender
Male

Origins
The child of the blood moon

Extras
optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

[Xelinator]

markk

[cvpidxpng]

username: cupid.png
name: Novella
gender: female
origins:
Was a clone to another viscet, after finding out, ran away. Spent majority of her life alone in dense forest. She found another viscet that drabbles in witchcraft. Begged her to change her appearance. Witch agreed for a price, which was she was to do her dirty work, which is why she has the thorns. When she doesnt respond the thorns wrap around her tighter until she cant move, and then drags her to the eitcjes hut. Or the thorns dig in deeper if she shirks her duties.
extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!


Will make fancy later!

[sweet tooth]

username:
name:
gender:
origins:
extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!