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With the use of ancient and forbidden magic, a handful of Mages erased the collective memory of the world, turning many innocent practitioners into mere Sleepers. Only a few trusted folk were left with access to the Runes, and the vast majority of those left with power united to form two sister organizations: The Exodus Corps and the Genesis Corps. One to oversee mages, and one to look after Sleepers.

“Okay, two things.” Tav interrupted once again. “First, I have never heard of any of those, so I assume they either died off or are a secret.”

“Correct on both accounts.” Mustafá nodded.

“I guess Genesis is no more then.” The youth blinked. “Anyways… So we are dealing with Exodus now, which has the power to erase and rewrite memories!? What hope do we have against power like that!?”

The alchemist closed her eyes. She agreed, full heartedly, that such tremendous power shouldn’t be in the hands of anyone.

“I am unsure if such magic is possible anymore, with the changes in how information works and flows in our world.” Mustafá shrugged softly. “But it is not worth it to worry about that, at least not for now. May I continue?”

With Tav’s nod, the old mage continued her story.

The arrival of the Age of Silence did not stop the efforts of humanity for complete control of Jericho. More and more magical beings were erased or enslaved, for people considered them an abomination against their new understanding of the world.

Until everything reached a breaking point.

Mustafá glared for a moment, falling silent and taking a sip of her tea before resuming.

One day, all of a sudden, all magical creatures disappeared from the face of Jericho, apparently at the same time. And soon after that… a mist began spreading through the entire world. A thick, malicious fog carrying horrors of flesh and bone to Jericho, turning animals and humans alike into abominations which had been hidden in the imagination of men for the longest time.

The survivors came to call this cataclysmic event ‘The First Sacrifice’, and it is thought to be the revenge of the forsaken Presences of Jericho, and the many displaced magical creatures.

“It took centuries to rebuild the world after that.” Mustafá said, looking into her cup of tea. “It was terrible for everyone involved… and now, a little beyond six hundred years later, we are facing the start of a Second Sacrifice, a return of the same mist that once covered the world, and the horrors that come with it.”

Storytime was over. Tav’s eyes stared into the middle distance as she tried to imagine it, a fog so thick that could cover the Sun in its entirety. Nightmarish beings roaming the land, death for everyone. She shivered, closing her eyes and trembling for a moment before looking at her teacher once again.

“Wait. How do you even know it is coming? How can you be so sure?” The youth questioned.

“I learned to see the signs, the shifts in the mana of the world, the changes in the Third Layer, the apparent reduction in the amount of unexplainable events.” The alchemist sighed, before forcing herself to admit. “I am not the only one who has been fearing this, nor the only one who has confirmed its coming.”

“H-How long do we have?” The apprentice was starting to feel the pressure. “Is there something we can do!?”

“I don’t have a specific date, but I know that it must happen this year.” Mustafá shook her head, setting her empty cup on the table. “As per what we can do… the book must be the answer. It was written by one of the greatest minds from the First Sacrifice.”

“Humiko did look like the sort of person who knew things…” Tav mumbled mostly to herself. “... Where will it all start?”

“The North Pole.” The teacher nodded softly.

“That’s where we have to go as soon as this book is translated, then. That’s what her introduction said…” The young one finished her cup of tea in one gulp, setting it down as well. “Let’s get to it.”

If Mustafá had the power of smiling right there, she would. Her lips curled up, ever so slightly, as she nodded and cracked her knuckles, walking over to the pile of dried clothes and pulling her turban out. She couldn’t teach without it, at least she felt that way.

“Where’s the iron? I wish to iron my clothes.” The alchemist stretched lazily. “Once that’s done, we are leaving again. We will practice in your assigned Elysium.”

“Isn’t that a bit dangerous? Anyone could see us.” Tav asked to divert from the fact that she didn’t exactly remember where her iron was.

“That’s the point. You need to be seen, at least a little bit, before people stop suspecting you of being evil, or worse, a leech on society.” Mustafá, catching the nervous glances of her apprentice, just sighs and conjures both an iron and an ironing board with a flick of her wrist.

The younger one sighs in relief, before she suddenly realizes something.

“Wait, if you can just conjure stuff like that, why did we have to go to Obuda for bread!? Couldn’t you just summon or create the bread instead of paying for it!?”

“I am not good at making bread.” The alchemist answered, setting her clothes on the board and plugging in the iron.

“Oh but you’re good at making electrical appliances?” The apprentice grew rowdy.

“One.” Mustafá began counting with her fingers. “I am not creating these, I am technically summoning them from my apartment. Two, I am very good at making electrical appliances, thank you. Three, you can only create the objects that you actually understand, so even if I know how bread is made, my lack of talent for baking means my produce will always be inferior to an actual baker.”

“Oh…” Tav frowned. “I guess that makes sense…”

“Four. Just for that, you’re ironing my clothes.” The teacher walked back to her seat.

“Argh, you bitch…”

Knowing that arguing with this woman was useless, the apprentice sighed and got to work immediately, politely leaving the underwear on the side to work with the rest of the clothes. She had her limits.


Honestly, when I started thinking and hearing about Elysiums as magical places, I was expecting something far more mystical or something. Not that there’s anything wrong with a mysterious building in the middle of the city, no; I guess these hideouts need to keep appearances up so people don’t come around making the wrong questions, but… a Cat Café? Really? I didn’t even know we had one in Saüle!

Entering wasn’t a problem, for the place opened quite early in the morning. Soon enough, Mustafá and I are sitting on a puffy couch, in the middle of a warm and comfortable living room decorated with pastel colours and many figurines of cats… not to mention the REAL cats, gathering around Mustafá like bees to honey while completely ignoring me.

She doesn’t look really happy about it.

“The more magical potential you develop, the more you start attracting cats. Or repelling them. It’s a coin toss, depends on the cat really.” She explains with a sigh. “That’s why cats make good familiars.”

“So familiars are a thing, huh?” I tilt my head.

“Of course they are a thing. Did you really think no one would try magic with animal companions? They are dumb as bricks, but useful if you are into that.” Mustafá clearly wasn’t into that, gently pushing the cats away from her as they purred and seeked her attention. “Shoo.”

To keep appearances, and to enjoy the delicious hot cocoa they serve here, we decide to stay a bit in the actual café… but soon enough, Mustafá grows restless and annoyed with all the attention and demands we go into the Elysium proper. Right when I am finally managing to bond with a silly but loving orange cat! I don’t even manage to make the silly lasagna cat joke when she pulls me by the arm and takes me over to the kind lady tending to the café.

I don’t even get the chance to speak when suddenly my teacher pulls out both of our credentials. For a moment I think her mad… but then, I try to put those feelings down and trust her. She is my teacher now, after all! She’s supposed to know what she’s doing.

“Ah…” The lady nodded, recognition in her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were kin. Let me register your entrance.”

Mustafá probably feels my eyes on her, asking questions in silence, because she immediately says:

“Most Elysiums, except for the more public ones, have a guardian that keeps tabs on who enters and who exits them. The members of the Brotherhood are fascists.”

I immediately tell her to hush up, checking to see if the café lady heard her. Luckily, she seems busy looking for her note book. With a sigh, I turn to Mustafá and shake my finger.

“Don’t. Say those things. We all think them, we all know they are true, but we don’t just call a pig a pig to its face!!” I can feel the strength leaving my body as I tell this to her. Her lack of common sense is killing me.

“You’re way too soft.” She simply says, shrugging as the tending lady returns with an open book. “Put your thumb on the page and sign your name.”
I do as she says, even though there’s no ink to dunk my finger in or anything. The paper itself takes the print from my thumb and I feel a little burning sensation on my skin for a few seconds. With a wince I pull my hand off, shaking it for a moment and then taking the pencil to sign my name besides the black print.

Mustafá does the same soon enough, without even caring about the burn, and then we are both directed to a door ‘in the end of the hallway, to your left’. She just lets us leave, just like that! Not even doubting our intentions or anything. Again, I turn to my teacher as we walk through the hall.

“What was that all about?”

“To avoid people using glamour, which is a thing by the way, to sneak in with other identities, they use special paper to reveal your real identity using your fingerprints.” She shrugs.

“What, can’t you change your fingerprints with magic?” I grin, feeling smart and subversive.

“No.” She answers calmly, turning to the left and facing a wall in the hallway. “One of the aspects in which Sleeper Technology has surpassed us is the ability to modify and take care of the body.”

Now that takes me by surprise.

“So there’s no magical medicine?!” I say, louder than I intended.

“You can make magical remedies and enhancements, but magic can’t directly warp the body in any shape or form.” She explained, looking for the Phi symbol carved in the wall. “We are too dense, too attached to our body… It’s also forbidden to even try. We don’t want to end up with another ‘Flesh Sculptor’ situation.”

“A what situation?” Now that has to be made up, I demand for it to be made up.

“Ah, here it is.” Mustafá ignores me once more, pushing a finger against the symbol on the wall and letting her magic do the rest… I watch the octarine travel through her body into the wooden wall, forming a round door leading to a set of stairs. “Come.”

“No, seriously, what was that about ‘Flesh Sculptors’!?” I follow closely to her, watching our access into the dark stairway close right behind us.

“Don’t worry about it. They used to be a great number of them among the necromancers, but lately it’s just an old wives’ tale. Something to make little kids wet their pants.” Again, the damn crone (because I am sure she’s far older than she looks) comes so close to smiling it is actually a bit unnerving.

Honestly… the more I learn of this magical world, the more scared I feel.

I moved in with a family friend 6 months ago and signed a 6 month lease with her. We both put down a deposit of $3,395 (which we split) she works as a car dealer and has a side business of doing nails and waxing (unlicensed) but I figured hey money is money and she seemed responsible.
I knew going into this she had 2 dogs, but I had no idea how little she cared for them. When we first moved in she kept them blocked off in the kitchen (with broken pieces of a baby crib) it was so annoying having to move these to get into the kitchen. They would urinate all over the kitchen floor and on the cabinets and fridge. One of them is not neutered so would mark everywhere and the other would follow and she would never buy pee pads but even if she bought peed pads they are leg lifters so there is still pee on the walls and cabinets and trash can. It felt like pulling teeth, asking her to get them a playpen to keep them contained. It took her months to do so. Once she finally got the pen, the dogs were moved into the living room where they lasted for a while, but there was issues with the water bowl spilling onto the wooden floor and she refused to buy a mat to put their food and water bowls under. So it was back to the kitchen. Where she recently started opening their pen up and brought back the prices of crib to contain them in the kitchen. I decided to leave after this.
The abuse: -she leaves them in their pen for 15+ hours at a time -I have asked her to come on her lunch to let them out since she lives 6 minutes away from her day job and she refuses, she even refuses to stop by after her day job before she goes to do nails at her nail room which is 30 minutes away from her day job. -our ac system only stays on for 2 hours at a time and we live on the 2nd floor so it gets HOT -both dogs have severe dental disease -she never walks them -she takes them out in the front yard maybe once a day if they are lucky -never picks up their poop not sure how neighbors have not complained -the blankets in their play pen smell like urine (and so does the whole apartment) -they are able to jump out of the pen and have no access to water or food for hours -she refuses to take them to the vet -one of them has had a hotspot on his back since we have moved in (it’s been 6 months) -they have fleas, I have given her meds but she refused to give them the meds because she thinks it will hurt their stomachs -I’m a vet tech and I have offered to have them be seen at my hospital but she refuses to put any money towards the dogs There’s probably more but this post would be longer than it already is.
Anyway, she is refusing to give me my portion of the deposit now that I am moving out. She decided she is staying and will be signing a one year lease. She told me she has no plans to bring in another roommate and it will just be her and the dogs and possibly her boyfriend (who she cheats on 🥴 - and that’s a whole other can of worms) im thinking she might bring her nail/waxing business in the 2nd room. Her dogs also ruined the couch that I brought (we have no furniture in the house only the small couch because the dogs pee on EVERYTHING) One time when I went on vacation before I put a lock on my door she had opened my window during the rainy season to “air it out” because I had mentioned there was a new paint smell and I found 3 puddles of dog urine in my room some fresh some dry. She did not have much to say about this and was shocked when I told her I found their pee in my room. There have been multiple occasions where I accidentally left my room door open and the dogs would pee on the foot of my bed and on bags I would have on my floor.
She told me once her 1 year lease she will be signing is up only then will she give me my portion of the deposit. I don’t want to be liable for the damages these dogs are going to cause once I leave. Our lease clearly states that the landlord has nothing to do with the division of the deposit so I’m lowkey screwed. However she did text me she would give me my deposit when the lease was up before (where she did not specify it would be after her one year lease) but now that I have reminded her she said she’ll pay me once she gets the deposit back when she moves out…. A year later. Since the 6 month lease we both signed is up by the end of this month, I’m getting out. I’ve decided I will take her to small claims court if she does not pay me my portion although I’m not sure that text will hold up in court.
Any tips??? Would be greatly appreciated!!
There is a happy ending I got approved for a 1 bedroom apartment and will no longer have to be dealing with any roommates at all!

Here is a list of things customers and employees do in the paint department that make me cringe and laugh in no particular order. I do really enjoy working in paint though. Most of the times

1. When there is a rush usually on the weekends and someone is standing in the paint pit behind you needing something tinted and they get mad you are ignoring them. Motherfucker don't you see the line? Get your butt in line.
2. When it is dead usually during the week in the evenings and a customer gets mad that I am not up at the paint counter. The usual interaction after they finally ask the cashier to call or page me is they have been waiting for 20 mins and there is nobody up here. I tell them once it gets slow I am usually packing out stuff in the aisles or helping out in other departments. There is never going to be someone standing up here at this hour in the evening and if you need help ask the cashier to call or over head page. If you want someone up here when you come in come during banking hours or during the day on the weekends. It is 50/50 if they are nice after that or not
3. When a customer asks an employee passing through a paint question or to tint paint when I am up at the paint counter. It is funnier if the employee looks like they are about to crap themselves. I tell the customer that I am who you need and they are just passing through
4. When a customer wants you to mess around with the formulas or comes in with an old ass paint can with formulas hand written on it and wants me to type them into the computer. We are not engineers here just let me color match it or pick a color from the wall
5. When a customer picks a color from the color wall and wants me to tint primer
6. When a customer grabs the wrong base. I appreciate the effort but I know where all of this shit goes. Bonus points for if they freak out when you tell them you need a different base and you have to explain that the tint goes into the base
7. When a customer wants ultra pure white and they grabbed a deep or medium base. I don't get mad because I saved them from the hassle of having to return it or worse if they put it on their wall.
8. When a customer wants paint tinted right before the store closes. Everything else on the list is just cringe and kind of funny but this one actually pisses me off. You have had 16 hours in the day to get your shit and you come in now? My alcoholic ass is trying to get home. Last thing I want to deal with is you. Also if you are rude I am going to tell you to leave and that we are closed and all of the registers are shut down and if it is something that will take more than 10 mins to do I will tell them to come back tomorrow because I don't want them to wander and get wacked by a reach truck.

Hey, im 15 years old and have been bouldering for a few months. After i come down from the wall, especially when ive climbed crimps or something that requiers alot of finger strength i feel a bit of ache in my fingers. (For context i climb around v4-v5) It doesnt last long and typically goes away in 15 -60 seconds (in a few cases a little longer). I talked with a guy at the gym and he said that this wasnt normal and that i should take a step back from a while and not really climb. According to him you shouldnt feel anything. I asked my friends and they also felt a bit of ache in their fingers in the same way. Should you feel this ache? Cause you pull really hard with your fingers so i feel like you should feel something ig.

People have been asking about the usefulness of the Flood Pod Infectors when spores seemingly did the same thing but potentially better. This is a fair question and something I really wanted to discuss after writing the Flood spore lore post a year ago, so I hope I can offer some clarification.
So, while both type of Flood forms were broadly categorized as Flood Infection Forms in the new encyclopedia, both served different purposes, and one type was more suitable in situations where the other wasn't.
Top Start off:

Pod Infectors

Arguably the most memorable of all Flood creatures, the Pod Infectors have appeared since the first game and were originally called simply as Infection forms, before this term became an umbrella label for different types of Flood forms sharing the same function.

Infection Forms:
All Infection forms share several key morphological traits across their variations, each suited for subduing and subverting any avaliable organic targets. The most commonly encountered Infection forms have a frond-like array, which act as the creature's sensory system, steming from soft, pod-shaped bodies filled with noxious gases that allow them to bound over the ground and obstacles at surprising speeds.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2022, p.406)

So, from this passage, we know that Pod Infectors had a good degree of mobility. In Halo Wars, it was even referenced that they could climb over cliffs, so rough terrains would not hinder their march.

Pod Infectors:
Though individually weak and easily killed, pod infectors strike in vast numbers and can move over cliffs.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Log)

In contrasts, Flood spores had no means of self-propelled locomotion; they can only float aimlessly instead. The anime Halo Origins also shows us Pod Infectors that could perform guided flight. The reason why we haven't encountered these Flood types in the games might be due to the fact that the parasites were more evolved and more powerful during the Forerunner-Flood war.
So we clearly see that the regular Infection forms have an advantage over spores in maneuverability, but what matters more is another factor: Pod Infectors have weapons.

Infection Forms:
Each tendril ends in nano-scale barbs which can latch onto the target's body and cut through armor or environmental suits.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Log)

While the virulence of Flood spores shouldn't be underestimated, the fact that they had virtually no offensive capabilities (they are usually just clusters holding Flood Super Cells together) means that decently protective gear such as fully-sealed environmental suits would be sufficient in keeping you safe in areas where the air is contaminated.
Moreover, Infection via a Pod Infector is by far the fastest method, which often just takes seconds to complete. This is due to the far higher dosages of spores being injected by a Pod Infector injects than infection via inhalation of spore-contaminated air.
And yes, Pod Infectors still use spores for infection.

343 Guilty Spark: "You can see how the body has been transformed by the genetic restructuring of the Flood infection. The small creatures carry spores that cause a host to mutate."
(Halo Combat Evolved, Level: The Library)

And after all, spores are just Flood cells grouped together.

Spore:
Encysted Flood cells form spores, which can remain dormant for centuries.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2022, p.404)

There's another usage for Pod Infectors, which is what we're all familiar with: to create and control Combat forms.
According to the encyclopedia, infection via spores would instead turn the hosts, living or dead, into incubation pods rather than mutating them into the typical Combat forms.

Spore:
Spores can parasite sapient and non-sapient species, consuming them and transforming their biomass into egg-like incubators for larger, more mobile Flood Infection forms.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs)

These incubators are commonly called "Blisters" or "Flood eggs".
The necessity of a Pod Infector in order to create a Combat form is implied by another passage saying that the Flood cells in the wounds would transform the target into a Blister rather than a Combat form.

Infection forms:
Even if the infection form is quickly removed, Flood cells in the wounds will slowly consume the victim and turn them into quivering, spore-packed Blisters.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Log)

This actually makes sense, since a Pod Infector does possess some rudimental level of sentience. This enables the creature to control the infection processes, while spores simply just convert original biomass into more Flood matters.
In action, Pod Infectors replaces the brain as the host's commanding "organ", controlling all functions, processing all knowledge and experience from the host, and absorbing them to the collective hive-consciousness.

Infection forms:
Though barely intelligent on their own, once an infection form infiltrates a sentient creature they turn the victim's cognitive power to the furtherance of Flood goals. Each is an insidious puppeteer, able to sift through memories of any sentient creature to learn of military countermeasures, security access codes, and the location of population centers.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Log)

Pod Infectors can perform biological modification for the host.

Combat form:
The infection form does augment its new body and repair minor damage in order to better serve as a living weapon, but ultimately the combat form is utterly disposable.
(Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Log)

This comes in the form of alterations of the host's anatomical structures.

Combat forms possess unnatural physical strength, perhaps gained through the mutations of the host's musculoskeletal structures.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2009, p.165)

We've also seen some very extensive bodily restructuring, such as this human being grotesquely contorted.
Nevertheless, there are a few instances where the creation of Combat forms occured without Pod Infectors present.

1. UNSC marine Orlav was slashed in the back by a Combat form. Even when a piece of Flood flesh was removed, she turned into a Combat form not long after.
   
2. On the infested surface of Shield World 0459, one ODST mentioned he was bitten by the Flood before inevitably transforming into a Combat form.
   

No explanation has been given; my reasoning would be that both incidents happened near a Proto-Gravemind. One was in the engine room of UNSC Mona Lisa, and one was on Trove, so the respective Compound mind can assume direct control over the Flood easily by themselves.
All in all, Pod Infectors are the more direct threats. They are very agile, they have razor sharp claws, they convert victims far quicker than any other forms, and they can choose what they will do with their victims.
Now, what do Flood spores excel at?

Spores

• Subtle Propagating:

Unlike Pod Infectors, spores don't aggressively attack prey, which makes them seem as the lesser threats compared to other Flood presences. However, this works only in the Flood's own favor, as spores can spread further and under everyone's noses because the defenders are too occupied.
Moreover, the tendency of the spores to infest insignificant organisms as well as propogate on inanimate objects actually keep them and their growth under the radar.

How did it get there in the first place? Adequate wondered. It was highly improbable that the Flood could have arrived here independently. Yes, Flood spores could spread on meteors and comets, as well as derelict space equipment hurtling around the stars.
(Halo Fractures, Defender of the Storm)

In one short story, "Defender of the Storm", the Forerunner space station of Seclusion had pods filled with microscopic lifeforms that broke down biological wastes from the residents.

Worst of all, they had collectively decided the dirtiest assignment on the station should again fall to him: gathering up packs of the occupants’ waste for delivery to the digester units, one located at the end of each vane. Microorganisms inside the units broke down the foul matter to generate power, while releasing unwanted gases into the atmosphere.
(Halo Fractures, Defender of the Storm)

It was suggested that these pods were secretly tainted with Flood spores.

“Yes. The infestation likely began in the replacement digester units just installed by the service team.”
“The apparatus that breaks down waste. That’s why the outbreak started on the tips of the vanes.”
“Correct. They bring in fresh pods of microorganisms annually. Flood spores must have been mixed in with them and been awakened. ...
(Halo Fractures, Defender of the Storm)

The Ancilla further commented on the likelihood that Flood spores feasted on the microorganisms as well as the body wastes brought to those pods to further their growth.

"... The malleable seals would have given them a means of escape. They must have infected several of our sentries, taking them directly to combat forms—and their bodies gave rise to the infection forms we now see. I also suspect the Flood is drawing on the biomass in the digester pods to create an environment that might exponentially increase the rate and severity of infestation.”
(Halo Fractures, Defender of the Storm)

So spores eats everything... even shit or the soil, and unless you actively keep track of every surfaces and every hidden spaces, you're bound to miss pockets of infestation caused by spores.

• Self-Perpetuation

This is perhaps Flood spore's biggest advatange. The spores' reproduction and propagation processes are extremely efficient, even by Flood standard.
I'll be using the Blisters mentioned above as my examples.
According to official depictions, we can see that the hosts who were turned into Blisters are completely broken down and molded into large egg-shaped entities.
This is why I call it efficient, as there is no biomass that was left out or wasted. Spores eat everything and transform what they eat into more of themselves, but it doesn't end there.
As purpose-built forms, Blisters are created to produce more Flood creatures, ranging from simple Pod Infectors, to more complex Pure forms, and, you guess it, more Flood spores.

Blisters:
Non-sapient animals and mangled corpses deemed unfit for being harnessed into larger Combat forms are seeded with Flood cells and quickly transformed into sacs filled with Infection forms and membranes that function as incubation chambers for the development of spores.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2022, p.407)

For those instances where spores do turn their victims into Combat forms, one similarity remains.

Combat Form:
Combat Forms are covered in spore-filled polyps and much of their internal organs are in the process of being consumed and replaced with FSC accretions that function as support lattices, protecting a sickly green liquid that contains Flood spores in suspension.
(Halo, Encyclopedia 2022, p.408)

Combat forms additionally operate as mobile incubators and gestate spores, though they may produce a lower quantity. After all, unlike Blisters which are hosts whose entire body mass is transformed into a single-purposed and stationary pseudo-organ, Combat forms still need body parts for mobility, attack, and handling of salvaged equipment and technology.
Do be noted that this really isn't a new lore. It has been this case since the first game.

Guilty Spark: "The mutated host then produces spores that can pass the Flood to others. It is insidious and elegant. As long as any hosts remain, the Flood is virulent."
(Halo: Combat Evolved, Level The Library)

The fact that Combat forms spawn spores means that any physical harms inflicted on them...

Combat Form:
Ironically, damages incurred by this form scatters small chunks of infected flesh and distribute it in the environment, aiding the Flood in spreading its influence.
(Halo, Encyclopedia 2022, p.408)

... would inadvertently distribute fatally virulent substances everywhere.
And this trait isn't unique to Combat forms. Pod Infectors are stated by Guilty Spark to also carry spores, which I mentioned above.
Pure forms which are the products of masses of Flood Super Cells morphed into biological war machines would carry spores inside them as well. For example, we see the Spawner forms constantly emit clouds of spores from the holes on their back.
It's also stated that the Gravemind can create a huge quantity of spores by itself.

The Gravemind's tentacled body produces billions of Flood spores.
(Halo, Encyclopedia 2012, p.169)

Now the next and my final point.

• Building Infrastructure

I am now looking from a broader perspective — by combining all the characteristics discussed so far and tying them into the discussion about the Flood's modus operandi.
So, we know spores can spread and infest stealthily. We know spores can operate for a long duration of time. We know spores can consume practically anything organic. We know spores can create constructs to create more sproes (Blisters, Combat forms).
In fact, tiny spores can evolve into living Flood creatures...

The Gravemind:
The Flood is the ultimate parasite. It's able to use any sentient being as food, and those infected by the Flood stand no chance. Infection is a gradual process, whereby an Infection Form, grown from a tiny spore, bonds the victim to the Flood's central intelligence and slowly consumes the contents of the host creature's mind.
(Halo, Encyclopedia 2011, p.20)

All these traits combined make spores the integral aspect of the parasite's expansion and conquest.
To put it this way: Flood spores are products of the Flood infestation, and at the same time, they represent the parasite's ... "means of production".
The phenomenon of "Blightlands" best exemplify this.

Blightland:
For its part, the Flood will seek to adjust local environmental factors in its favor immediately after reaching the Coordinated stage. If not stopped, Blightlands are the result of uncontained Flood expansion: Areas around established hives filled with FSC growth and Spore bodies, which harvested the vitality of the soil, soak up solar energy, and consume all native lives within its boundaries.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2022, p.413)

Notice that the passage said "around" the hives?
In regards to Flood infestations, the parasites don't just build hives, which are either repurposed buildings or completely made out of pure biomass, but they also set up the fundations and infrastructures by seeding spores and other bioforms to the surrounding regions.
Basically, the Blightlands are Flood-controlled regions where spores and other growth gathered "resources", from lifeforms and latent energy alike, and the hives are the buildings and bases within the regions.
Blightlands also serve as foundations for future Flood structures and hives to build on top of. We've seen this at the start of the outbreak on High Charity, numerous disparate Flood growth of varying sizes appeared in the corridors and on walls. They continued to fester until they formed into a new hive that blanketed every surface areas there was.
There's more, but before I talk about that, there's an intriguing quote from the encyclopedia:

Hives:
The Flood's only desire is to expand and corrupt. Once enough biomass is available, the parasite can establish lairs for defense and the growth of specialized forms. ... These tumorous blights are the most obvious targets for attack and cleansing, but they are simply a sympton of Flood infestation, not its causes. The Forerunners recognized this distinction far too late, after countless sterilization missions resulted in empty victories.
(Halo Encyclopedia 2022, p.404)

Interestingly, destroying the hives wouldn't necessarily deliver the critical blow, and I think Flood spores' various attributes contribute to this phenomena.
We have concluded that Flood spores are incredibly common: All types of Flood forms carry and disperse spores either voluntarily or by outside factors (i.e. combat damage). This makes it easy for the Flood to cause environmental corruption over a large area, which will create Blightlands.
We also have concluded that spores are fruitful "building tools". When a spore land on an environment of ample bio-organic materials, they can feast on all the resources and convert them into Flood forms or structures, which eventually become new hives; it can be even described as "self-replicating".
This makes the Flood stand out from other factions in Halo. When the issue regarding manufacturing comes to mind, other races — other the Forerunners, are reliant on specialized instruments or facilities to process and refine raw substances and factories to fabricate products.
The Flood can do that with just their most basic vectors that all known Flood forms carry and generate; hives simply do things more efficiently and on a muuch larger scale.
The spores allow the parasite's "industry" to be decentralized, and the expansion wouldn't be crippled when the birthing hive is destroyed. Given enough time, another hive can arise from the surrounding Blightland.

TLDR

Pod Infectors possess superior mobility and actual weaponry. Their speed and ferocity make them suitable for building up an army, and their rudimentary intelligence makes them much better at managing a fighting force.
Spores are adept at facilitating a comprehensive and expanding network of infrastructure, which they can do without the enemy's notice. Spores may work slower, but their subtlety and pervasiveness make them extremely dangerous threats, especially when their infestation goes unnoticed or uncontained for too long.

Lydia awoke with Waldo screaming. Lydia quickly got up and activated the magic stones lighting the room, Lydia did not see a reason for him to be screaming and was about to wake him when he went quiet. Lydia wondered what had happened and as she watched him she became concerned he was not breathing but just as she was about to shake him away he started breathing again then he began to weep in his sleep saying “I would take it back if I could. I did not know what it meant. Please, I never meant for this.” Lydia watched over him for several minutes as he repeated this over and over. Lydia did not know why but after a while she embraced him gently.
“It is ok. We all make mistakes.” Lydia said quietly holding him. She did not entirely know why she chose to do this as she felt some concern over what he was apologizing for having done but something made her decide to stay with him. Eventually, he stopped and started sleeping peacefully. Lydia slowly fell back to sleep after he quieted and returned to a peaceful state.
Lydia awoke again with Waldo sitting dressed on the edge of the bed. “Good Morning.”
“Good Morning.” Waldo replied, turning to Lydia. “Sorry, if I woke you in the night. I do not always sleep well.”
“I can understand that. It took almost a year before I could sleep through the night.” Lydia replied.
“I brought breakfast up. Kna mentioned I screamed in the middle of the night. I rarely have a companion… So I did not know. I guess I was extra loud last night. I woke some other patrons.” Waldo said calmly. Lydia climbed out of bed and dressed herself as Waldo watched her but when she looked at him she felt he was lost in his own mind.
"Copper for your thoughts.” Lydia said as she started to lace up her dress. Waldo walked over to her and helped her.
“I thought I knew who I was…but I remembered things last night…” Waldo said hollowly. “I don’t know what I was fighting for… All that time as a soldier and now I remembered… what I learned before arriving here and it isn’t what I thought.”
“Do you want to elaborate?” Lydia asked.
“I am not sure I know how.” Waldo said and there was silence for a moment.
“Well, maybe you should stay here if you don’t know why you were fighting. At least, until you figure out what you want.” Lydia said and feeling better about what she had heard last night she kissed him gently on the cheek. “Thank you. I would stay for breakfast but I need to get to work.” Lydia said, grabbing a piece of bread with an egg off the plate.
“Have a nice day and I hope to see you later.” Waldo said, as she headed toward the door.
“Good luck today!” Lydia said, smiling and left. Waldo collected several things from his pack then stored it under the bed and took the plate of food to the common room where he ate slowly. Waldo noticed that Lydia was not in the common room as he ate breakfast. Waldo did not have to wait long after finishing his breakfast before Strisk arrived.
“Good Morning!” Strisk waved at Waldo moving across the common room.
“Greetings Strisk.” Waldo replied standing and moving to meet him.
“Are you ready to go down to the training grounds?” Strisk asked.
“Yeah, let’s head out.” Waldo said, motioning for Strisk to lead the way.
“Are you in a hurry?” Strisk asked, leading Waldo out.
“No, nothing like that just…” Waldo stopped in the door exiting the inn as he looked out into the city. Waldo had expected Protham to be small but realized it had been dark when he arrived and late that is why he had not realized how expansive it was. Waldo saw a wall sixty or seventy feet tall. Waldo stepped into the street and could see a gate two hundred or so feet down the road in one direction and in the other there was what appeared to be a small square. “How big is Protham?”
“It is just a small village, only five thousand or so. Most people are employed in fishing the lake or harvesting trees.” Strisk replied. “The gnolls recently opened a college here… Something about ley lines and increased power, but that is not my expertise.”
“I am surprised they even care about the ley line. The planet is so saturated with magic I would have thought everyone can easily use it.” Waldo responded.
“I wouldn’t know about that. Are you a mage?” Strisk asked.
“I cannot use magic… I can still feel it pooling.” Waldo said, wondering why he could feel it still since he now knew he could not use it. “It must be something to do with the leveling. I wonder if there is a construct powering the whole system.”
“You are suggesting a magic artifact causes people to level?”Strisk asked, shocked at the strangeness of the idea.
“Um… So I assume it is a mage college of some kind they opened?” Waldo asked, trying to change topics.
“Yeah. I would have suggested going and seeing the head there about your teleporting but from what I have heard they see almost no one who isn’t a student.” Strisk said, starting to walk down the street. Waldo followed, taking in the people and the streets. Waldo noticed most people were gnollish he saw drakes as well but it seemed to be ten to one.
“Lydia said you are a Drake. I have never learned to identify the scaled races apart from one another. It appears that Protham is mostly gnolls and Drakes. What makes a drake a drake and not say a lizardfolk?” Waldo asked, carefully.
“Lydia is right. I am a Drake. Lizardfolk always have tails. Drakes rarely have tails and those that do have a tail almost always have wings. That is usually the easiest way to tell us apart but it is more nuanced. A healthy Drake’s scales are vibrant, we stand out. A healthy lizardfolk has duller scales. Drakes can have horns or spikes across their head and back but never hair. Lizardfolk never have horns but can grow spikes. Usually they grow something more like a fin, which can be over their head or even down their chin to their chest. All the facial features are nuanced except the eye. Drake’s eyes face forward. Lizardfolk’s eyes face out enough to easily tell if you look at them.” Strisk explained calmly. “Kobolds are short but look like Drakes with a tail and all the other scaled races have gills.”
“Thank you. I realize that might have been rude to ask but I assume it is ruder to make a mistake.” Waldo said as they continued to make their way through the mostly empty streets.
“Most drakes consider it the pinnacle of rudeness to mistake us for the lizardfolk. Well the lizardfolk seem indifferent. I once saw a short Lizardman get mistaken for a Kobold and they laughed about it. Well a few days ago I had to break up a bar fight cause a gnoll called a drake a lizard.” Strisk said. “My people need to calm down about being mistaken for another race. Most cannot even tell the other races apart. No offense, but I assume you are a human because Lydia is one without looking at your ears, which are currently covered by your hair you could pass for an elf in my eyes and if you told me you were a dwarf I would believe it… even though, I think you are too tall to be a dwarf.” Waldo laughed at Strisk’s words.
“An elf you say?” Waldo said, smiling and moving his hair from over his ears. “I am a human. However, I can understand the confusion. Even among humans it is possible for some to mistake another human as one of our kin races.”
“Kin race?” Strisk asked.
“Yes, races that share certain broad features and where half races are possible.” Waldo said.
“Then would Drakes not be a Kin race.” Strisk asked.
“You ever seen a half human and half drake?” Waldo asked.
“Well no, but I was told it was possible.” Strisk said, wondering.
“Possible for our race's women’s bodies to respond as if they are creating a blend. However, it is largely my understanding no blend has survived birth. Maybe one is out there but largely our internal anatomy; bone structure, organ placement, organs in general, and finer points don’t blend into something that survives birth if a pregnancy occurs which to my knowledge is extremely rare and usually it is a half race not a full where that can occur according to one report I read most mothers die in labor if they carry the blend to term and the child still dies.” Waldo said calmly. Strisk stopped.
“How do you know this?” Strisk asked. Waldo thought about it for a moment. Realizing he did not know how to explain having millions of years of knowledge on hand a little surprised he had so easily recalled something from another life. As he thought about it he wondered how he could so easily access it. Then he knew. Four of his prior selves had learned to build a mind palace. When the Orc had implanted all the memories, those four had combined their knowledge and laid out everything, which made him wonder how he knew about the interbreeding of humans and drakes, which brought forth the memories of four doctors. One of which was drake. Strisk watched as Waldo stared off into the distance. Suddenly, Waldo went pale and threw up in the street. “What the hell?” Strisk said, jumping back to avoid getting splattered.
“Sorry.” Waldo said, feeling queasy. Waldo pushed the doctor’s memories away realizing he was not ready to go exploring all the memories aimlessly. Waldo pulled out his hip canteen and washed his mouth out. Spitting the water down a nearby drain “Damn. I was hoping to not have to eat until dinner. I assume the interview will have a combat skills test?” Waldo asked, looking at Strisk.
“Well yes, but what was that?” Strisk asked, feeling the response was unjustified for his question.
“Oh, right, your question. Um… I went to a memory I should have left alone. I was thinking about my time studying… when I strayed into an incident.” Waldo said, trying to explain without lying.
“An incident?” Strisk asked.
“I expect there are things you have seen as a city guard you would rather not remember.” Waldo replied, carefully.
“Oh… you mean something like that. I can understand that. Let’s continue on. Just another block or so.” Strisk said, letting Waldo follow him. Neither said anything until they got to the city's barracks. They had crossed near the center of town and were now at a lakeside gate that had a training arena with a large gatehouse next to it.
“How many positions is the guard filling?” Waldo asked as they approached the building.
“We are adding five new full time positions in hope of growth due to the mage college, three part time, and around fifty new reservists.” Strisk said and then opened the gatehouse’s front door.
“Good Morning, Strisk!” A female voice behind the counter greeted as they entered.
“Good Morning, Violet.” Strisk replied. “Is Trag in?”
“Yes, he got in a bit ago and…Who are you?” Violet asked, staring at Waldo as he entered the gatehouse.
“Waldo Winter.” Waldo said, step into the room and bowing slightly to the human girl behind the counter.
“He is with me. Violet. He arrived in town last night under strange circumstances.” Strisk said.
“Is he why you are meeting with Trag this early?” Violet asked, keeping her eyes on Waldo. “Is he a criminal?”
“Yes to the meeting with Trag and not as far as I am aware. You haven’t done anything illegal have you?” Strisk asked, grinning Waldo.
“Admittedly, I have not read your legal code, but assuming it follows traditional patterns of legal codes for structured societies. Not in this city. At least, I very much doubt I have.” Waldo said, smiling lightly at Violet.
“What are you doing here then?” Violet asked.
“Apart from identifying myself to local authorities due to the strange way I arrived. Hopefully, applying for a job.” Waldo stated. Violet frowned.
“Are you applying for citizenship in Protham or just submitting notice of intent to work in Protham?” Violet asked.
“Notice of intent to work, at this time.” Waldo replied, moving up to the desk as Strisk stepped away. Violet handed him a sheet of paper and pulled out a second enchanted page.
“Good luck finding work here. There are not many jobs outside of scribe, barworker, or general laborer for humans in Protham. The Drakes and Gnolls are larger and stronger than humans naturally and they are basically hiring enforcers right now.” Violet whispered to Waldo. “Where are you staying?”
“The Spriggan Inn.” Waldo said, looking at the form, surprised he could read it. As he started to fill out the form he remembered a passage about grown arrivals passing between world and being gifted languages of the worlds they arrived on from death. Waldo tried to remember the author's reasoning for the gift but could not. Waldo wished he had learned written gnollish languages but had only learned their spoken languages.
“How did you come to be there?” Violet said, showing surprise.
“Long story short…Some sort of teleportation accident.” Waldo answered, focused on completing the form.
“Wow… Lucky.” Violet said, thinking it strange he appeared in the only inn with a human working in it in Protham.
“Yes, but I suspect there is a good reason for that.” Waldo said, handing her the completed form.
“You how to read Grofeas gnoll?” Strisk asked, looking at Waldo holding the form out to Violet. “You said you had not heard of this country last night.” Violet took the form looking suspiciously at Waldo.
"No, I am familiar with other gnollish written languages and this is close enough to them that I guessed. Please check that and make sure my responses make sense.” Waldo said, looking at Violet. Waldo smiled at his omission. He was familiar with several gnoll written languages and had learned a few key words like bathroom, food, and price but had not even memorized their alphabet. Violet started to look over the document carefully. Waldo noticed the enchanted page on the desk had a picture of his face on it now with a list of several things about him, such as height, an approximate weight, and the like. Waldo heard a low growl with several inflections. Waldo looked at the gnoll standing by Strisk.
“Would you mind repeating that? I am not sure I quite heard what you said, because I thought you called me a fur lover.” Waldo said, looking narrowly at the gnoll. The gnoll made several more growls at Waldo. The gnoll had reddish brown fur and stood a little shorter than Strisk. Waldo thought the gnoll would probably be considered extremely handsome among gnolls. He was well groomed and clearly muscled under the fur. He even wore a steel breastplate that was polished to a shine. Waldo saw a stamp over his right peck that appeared to be a runic enchantment.
“Because I am not. I learned it at the time because my life depended on it. The gnolls I met were not as affluent as you are here and only knew one language. Their own. I had to learn it or live without speaking. Their treatment of me would have killed me if I had not learned their language. They knew next to nothing of humans and were a tribe secluded in the mountains. They meant well, but due to the harsh circumstances of the location I was slowly dying from starvation and exposure. It took four weeks to learn enough for rough communication after which I found them to be extremely friendly and curious. I spent two years with that tribe before making contact with a human settlement in the area. I managed to broker a peace there because I learned gnollish. So I continued my education and have since learned various spoken dialects.” Waldo responded to the newcomers' growls calmly.
“Why don’t you respond in gnollish?” The gnoll asked, changing languages. Waldo growled back in several inflections and moved a hand. Violet had noticed hand movements when gnolls growled and never associated it with them speaking but Waldo’s movements were so pronounced she realized it had to be part of the gnollish language. “Fair enough. I am Captain Trag. Strisk says you are a soldier.”
“Wait what did you say?” Violet asked Waldo.
“Violet. Don’t be rude.” Strisk chided, curious himself but having held himself back.
“I am sorry. I have just never seen a non-gnoll speak gnollish” Violet said, almost involuntarily. Trag slapped Strisk across the back of the head.
“Strisk, she is our scribe, do not order her around.” Trag said, smiling. Waldo got the sense that Trag did not like Strisk.
“I explained human throats are not well formed for the gnollish language, which hurts my throat the more I speak it and makes my accompanying hand movements more pronounced than is proper.” Waldo explained to Violet.
“Can you teach me?” Violet asked, seeing how beneficial it would be to know gnollish in her job.
“We can talk after the interview.” Waldo said, smiling at Violet.
“Right, sorry. Thank you.” Violet replied looking over at Trag apologetically.
“Excuse me for interrupting your conversation Violet. I will make sure to send Waldo back once we are done.” Trag said, smiling at Violet then turning to Waldo. “What level of soldier are you? Or is it some other fighting class?”
“I don’t have any levels in fighting classes.” Waldo replied.
“And you want to be a city guard?” Trag said looking angrily at Strisk who looked at Waldo surprised.
“Wait, are you a medic of somekind?” Strisk asked, remembering the other night.
“No, just give me a chance. We should go to the training ground if combat assessment is to be a large part of this process.” Waldo stated, a little surprised they had started asking questions in the entrance.
“It is. We can train you in Protham legal code, but we rarely do combat training for our guards; most people come to us with twenty or more levels in a combat class, when they are applying to be a guard.” Trag stated, as Waldo opened the door.
“Where I come from people do not rely on the leveling systems for combat training.” Waldo started walking to the training grounds as Trag and Strisk followed.
“Where are you from?” Trag asked.
“Halcyon. Heard of it?” Waldo asked, knowing the reply.
“Nope.” Trag replied, thinking this human could never keep up with a gnoll or drake in a fight. “What are you wearing?” Trag asked, no longer able to hold back the question as the human looked very strange to him.
“Desert Armored Combat Fatigues, my throwing knives, combat knife, an assortment of tools I have found useful over the years, and a magic sling.” Waldo said, touching different things on his body. “The armor is stab resistant and there are several metal plates spread out in the fabric. If I get the job I would like to wear this until I can afford to get some locally made gear.”
“A magic sling?” Trag asked.
“Yeah, but I have limited ammo for it. It only works with special magic ammo and I doubt you have that here.” Waldo replied.
“Have you heard of a magic sling Strisk?” Trag asked.
“No, that is new to me.” Strisk replied. “I thought you could not use magic.”
“I cannot not cast a magic spell but this is an artifact. I could teach anyone to use it. If I had unlimited ammo or access to a bullet manufacturer I would be happy to show it off but I only have ninety rounds for it.” Waldo explained.
“How long have you been a soldier?” Trag asked, Waldo had seen himself in a mirror and knew they would not believe the truth. Waldo looked like he was in his prime but Halcyon slowed aging massively Waldo was older than any human got to normally and he was still unsure if he had died or Death’s healing had further reduced the effects of aging.
“Nine years.” Waldo replied, pushing it as far as he thought he could. Waldo had put his age down as twenty nine on the form, but knew he looked closer to twenty now. “I expect I will be sparing with one of you?”
“No, we are waiting for your sparring partners. I sent for two reservists. They generally are not needed for regular guard shifts and if they are injured it should not interfere with their regular jobs.” Trag stated, show us how good you are with throwing knives.
“Alright.” Waldo said, pulling four of the weighted knives from their sheaths. Waldo carried twelve in all. Four on his left leg, two on each arm and four on his chest. Waldo started by juggling the knives as he moved into position to throw them. Waldo smoothly plucked them out of the air as he was juggling them and launched them one after another in quick succession down the lane, with the knives sinking deep into the wooden target in a tight group.
“For having no skills that is pretty good. Now for the moving targets.” Trag said, with Waldo looking back at him as he pressed a button. Waldo watched as the targets began to move side to side. Waldo could tell this was intended for arrows as the range was longer than he would usually throw when it came to moving targets.
“May I move up or do you want me to throw from here?” Waldo asked.
“Tark throws from there.” Trag replied, Waldo grabbed two more knives, throwing them half a second after looking back at the target. Both landed bullseyes but Waldo could feel the strain on his muscles. He was not used to this distance. Waldo pulled two more and turned his back to the targets. Waldo slowly strafed toward the center of the range as he had started to the right side. After a moment making sure to give the targets time to move he spun around and with one hand launched both knives. One landed in a bullseye, but the other fell short. Waldo turned his back to the targets and drew all of his remaining knives placing them at the ready in one hand. Waldo turned and threw three and turned back around quickly. He heard 2 thuds and one that was a clang. He was not sure what the third had hit. Waldo spun around and sent his final knife down the lane hitting another bullseye. The three quick throws were not bullseyes but they had all hit targets.
“That is all the throwing knives I carry.” Waldo said. “Shall I collect them?”
“No, Strisk go get the knives and report back on how deep they are.” Trag said, turning the moving targets off. Waldo moved over to Trag as Strisk retrieved the knives. “Only one complete miss, that is not bad. If you are hired then we are gonna have to replace the knives with some weighted rods. We can issue you some bolas while on duty. Unless a kill order is issued, but most the time we will expect people to be taken alive.”
“Understandable. What is a bolas?” Waldo asked.
“It is three pieces of rope tied to each other on one end and has a weight on the other side. When throwing it, the intent is to hit a person's legs and if it works correctly it will wrap around a fleeing person’s legs and trip them. In town it can be tricky to use and for people they have lighter weights. It was originally used to hunt various animals on the plains. If the weights are too heavy they can break bones.” Trag said, explained. “What class are you?”
Waldo had been preparing for this question since they had asked him earlier. “Diplomat.” Waldo replied.
“You have no levels in a combat class but you are a diplomat as a soldier?” Trag questioned.
“When I use skills from it as a soldier it is generally in interrogations, but my personal goal was to try and find less violent solutions to my nation's disputes. So, I ended up becoming a diplomat. The times I acted in that capacity I was glad to have trained as a soldier. Few people seem to want peaceful resolutions. So as a diplomat I have often been met with violence.” Waldo explained twisting the truth. They stood in silence as they waited for Strisk to finish retrieving the knives. Strisk handed Waldo eleven of the knives and Trag one of the knives.
“Six perfect hits. Three near perfects. Two hits. One miss. Ten hits were all very deep. The one that made the clang hit a metal frame holding the target. It dented the metal and chipped his knife.” Strisk reported as Waldo sheathed the eleven knives he had been handed. Waldo looked at Trag just in time to catch his face returning to a neutral state after what Waldo believed to be a frown.
“How is your hand to hand combat proficiency?”Trag asked.
“I am an expert with a knife, however, I could easily swap it out for a padded baton. It would be harder on me, but I am sure I can hold my own.” Waldo said, showing the knife sheathed across his lower back and trying to determine Trag’s mood. Trag examined the knife and could see it was custom made for Waldo and well used.
“Strisk, you are good to go on patrol. Your partner should be ready about now.” Trag said, with a hint of sadness.
“I was hoping to stay and see him fight the reservists.” Strisk said, a little excited and as Strisk said that it clicked for Waldo.
“No one is coming. To test my combat proficiency.” Waldo said, calmly. “Sorry, Strisk. I should have known better.”
“We should go to my office and talk.” Trag said and handed Waldo the chipped knife Strisk had handed him.
“Wait, why?” Strisk asked, Trag.
“Politics, Strisk. Guardsmen are just a little political, which means Trag cannot hire another human. Especially, not in a citizen-facing role.” Waldo said, with a smile. “Am I right?”
“Violet, is our scribe. Citizen’s see her.” Strisk said looking confused.
“Violet is my scribe. She assists with filing and compiling guardsmen reports. She has only covered the front desk on a few occasions and usually it is to give another scribe a break or chance to go to the bathroom.” Trag stated.
“Strisk, thank you for introducing me to Captain Trag. I truly appreciate this opportunity. I would be happy to speak to you in your office Trag.” Waldo said, smiling at both of them.
“Sorry, Waldo… I didn’t realize.” Strisk said dejectly. Waldo laughed lightly.
“You have done no harm at all and even helped me file documents I needed to in order to stay. You introduced me to your Captain. Strisk, you have been nothing but helpful. Please do not feel sorry.” Waldo said, smiling at Strisk.
“Thanks, I guess I should get going.” Strisk said, clearly feeling better. “Sir. Waldo.” Strisk said, nodding his head to each of them and leaving. Trag started heading towards the guard house and motioned for Waldo to follow, which Waldo did in silence. Trag opened the door and sure enough Violet was no longer at the front desk. There was a male Drake scribe sitting behind the counter.
“Sir.” The drake said, standing up to greet them. Trag waved his hand and the drake sat back down. Waldo followed him up a set of stairs and down a hall to an open room with three scribes working on various documents on a table big enough for four, one of which was Violet.
“Your morning report sir.” A female gnoll scribe said, smiling at Trag and holding a folder. She noticed Waldo and her demeanor changed slightly. She glanced at Violet as Trag grabbed the folder.
“Thank you. I have a meeting for a few minutes. Is there anything urgent?” Trag gestured at Waldo. The scribes all looked up and gave a negative nod. “If needed you may interrupt us.” Trag said, opening his office door and leading Waldo into his office. It was a plain room. There were several chairs facing the back of the room with a large desk and chair behind it facing the door. There were two sturdy looking bookcases organized with an assortment of documents. The room was clean and orderly. A couch sat against one wall with a window behind it that had shutters and Waldo noticed a plain axe with a rope next to it leaning against a bookcase. “Please take a seat.” Trag said, opening the folder as he moved around the desk and sat down. Waldo sat across from him. They sat in silence as Trag read over a few reports. “Thank you for your patience.” Trag said look up from the report.
“Anything important?” Waldo asked.
“No, just the normal going on. Except for you of course.” Trag said.
“Yeah, I made a surprising entrance last night.” Waldo agreed.
“Teleportation has a tendency to create some alerts. If Strisk had not reported your arrival last night, the guard may have interrupted your welcome to our fine city.” Trag replied.
“That report is more thorough than I would have liked.” Waldo stated.
“Kna is a friend and Aer is a gossip.” Trag replied.
“I should have waited in the common room. We could have talked last night.” Waldo guessed.
“Doubtful, but I would have known your face this morning if you had.” Trag stated.
“I had hoped this was an offer for contract work of some kind.” Waldo said, frowning slightly.
“It still might be. I have not determined what to do about you.” Trag replied.
“Oh, well is there something you would like cleared up?” Waldo asked, smiling.
“Kna is worried about one of her barmaids. Aer has never seen her friend respond so positively to someone so quickly.” Trag stated, calmly. Waldo knew they were straying into dangerous territory.
“I have never responded to another human as positively.” Waldo replied, honestly.
“Just two soulmates meeting for the first time?” Trag asked, Waldo jerked in surprise at the word reacting before he could stop himself. Waldo realized Trag did not mean it the way he had taken it but it was too late. Trag had been watching him closely and was now looking unsure at Waldo. “I think you have some explaining to do.” Trag said, prepared to strike. Waldo leaned forward and placed his head in his hand dropping his show.
“This cannot under any circumstances leave this room. If you have listeners they need to stop. If you have a way to make the room secure. I will tell you enough to know why.” Waldo said, unsure of what would happen next.
“What, so can you kill me in silence?” Trag asked, feeling concerned about this stranger's response.
“If you want to tie me up feel free, but I am not talking until I am confident the secret won’t leave this room.” Waldo said, sitting back and calming his nerves. Waldo was trying to figure out how to explain this with as little lying as possible. Waldo wondered if he could avoid lying all together. Trag hesitated for a minute then opened a drawer and pulled out a small box. Trag said a command word under his breath and the box activated.
“Alright, we are alone and no one can see or hear us. This better be good or I won’t keep your secret.” Trag said.
“Have you ever been in love so much it hurt your soul?” Waldo asked.
“What?” Trag asked, surprised.
“I have. If I had understood this was possible. If I had known. I would have done so many things differently.” Waldo said, deciding to be as honest as he felt he could. “I thought she was dead. I joined the wrong people to get vengeance. To make it stop. In doing, so I pissed off some really powerful people. I thought my master was strong enough to protect me and I thought I was powerful enough to protect myself. I want to tell Lydia so bad. I want her to remember our time together. Every second we spent together. If I had magic this would be so easy but using magic to accomplish it would be wrong.” Waldo said, with tears in his eyes. “I wish I could just show her. However, the people I pissed off took my ability to use magic. I did not even know that was possible.” Waldo said, holding out an open palm. “Light.” Trag felt magic tug slightly, but nothing happened. “They took my magic so I could not interfere. When they did that I thought they would send me to a prison cell or some equally horrible place. They cursed me with unwanted knowledge I can barely grasp. Part of my mind is still trying to rip itself apart. But instead of sending me to a desert. They toss me like I am nothing and I land inside Spriggan Inn, in Protham barely even hurt. I did know she was the same soul at first. Standing in the dim light of the inn. She looks the same. Alive working as a barmaid in a place I have never even heard of. She doesn’t even remember me but she was drawn to me just like I was to her all those years ago.” Waldo said. “Kna is worried I might hurt her and honestly so am I. However, if we are to separate again I would have her tell me to go. It would be the most painful thing I ever do but I would leave if she asked. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but I have found my dead lover again, my soulmate and I never thought I would see her. She died so I figured that was it. I did not know about the cycle but now I do. So please give me the chance to win her.” Waldo finished with tears at the corners of his eyes. “Please, I am begging you.” Trag knew Waldo was leaving part out but felt he was being honest and looking at Waldo Trag knew he held this man’s life in his hands at this moment. Trag looked at Waldo and activated several skills he had for conversations like this. Trag knew Waldo did not intend harm at this time or harm to his city.
“For the moment. You have convinced me.” Trag said, still slightly concerned, something about him bothered Trag, but Trag was confident the stranger would be unlikely to deliberately cause problems in Protham.
“Thank you for giving me a chance. I will prove I mean no harm.” Waldo said, starting to recover his composure. Trag grabbed the rope and axe, placing them on his desk.
“Do you know how to cut down a tree?” Trag asked.
“Yes.” Waldo replied.
“As captain of the guard. I am allotted two trees every year. The town allows me to do as I will with the tree tokens, I am issued. The mill will pay me five gold per token on average. However, If I cut the tree down and turn in the tree with the token they will right now pay eight gold. If you cut a tree down and turn it in for me. I will let you keep two gold coins of those eight.” Trag stated placing a token on the table.
“Sounds like a good deal.” Waldo replied.
“Have you hunted boar?” Trag asked.
“I have hunted. Not specifically boar but I am familiar with the complexities they present.” Waldo replied, wondering where this was going.
“Currently, we have a boar problem on the western road and several groups have been attacked by boars. It is quite troublesome. Protham does not have an adventuring guild and most hunters will hunt safer game or only kill one or two boars at a time. You can rent a hand cart for a day for three coppers at the docks. Usually they are used to transport fish around town. They are sturdy carts and can hold several hundred kilos. There are several blacksmiths in town that sell quality steel tipped javelins, for a silver. Now they are not perfect for hunting boar but they should work well enough. Currently, I have placed a bounty on boar kills of a silver per boar jaw turned in. We will even buy the dead boar for one and half coppers per five pounds. However, you could show us the boar, collect the silver, then most local butchers will buy dead boar for two copper per five pounds. Those are the current rates for whole boars” Trag explained.
“Sounds like I have a tree to chop down.” Waldo said standing.
“Out the main gate past the mill and then pick an un-worked tree the taller the better. They pay less for trees shorter than twenty feet and more for trees taller than twenty five feet. If you are willing to search there are some forty and fifty footers out there. I expect six gold regardless.” Trag stated.
“Why are you doing this?” Waldo asked.
“It is not one thing. Lots of little things adding up. Kna is a friend and Lydia is important to her. Kna knows I cannot employ you as a guard. This keeps you out of trouble. Solves a problem for me and if you work hard. Kna might start to like you. I was not going to be able to cut my second tree down before the end of the year. There are more reasons, but in the end, I see no downside for me giving you this chance.” Trag stated plainly.
“Well thank you. I appreciate this.” Waldo said and picked up the axe smiling.
“Good Luck. I plan to eat dinner at Spriggan Inn. So if you get back after sunset you can find me there.” Trag said, gesturing for Waldo to leave.
“Thank you, again!” Waldo said, leaving. After he closed the door he looked for Violet but she was not there. Waldo headed to the stairs back to the entryway. Violet wasn’t there either so he left a message for her and headed back to the Inn. Waldo wanted to ditch his armor before heading out to cut down a tree.

First / Previous
Jori stood at the edge of the alleyway, pressed up against the wall of The Wandering Fowl as she peered into the narrow street’s depths. Humming echoed from within; a soft, gentle tune that originated from the girl that stood on the snow covered path.
Her sister.
Aria’s attention was not focused towards the end of the street, but rather on the large furred beast in front of her. The auroc groaned gently as the girl moved her brush, patting the bovine as she was lost within the rhythm of her own tune. She reached up and scratched the beast behind its horn, provoking a satisfied bellow from the large animal as it nuzzled up against her. Aria’s giggle broke her melody, ringing out with the same innocent tone that a child’s laugh could only produce.
Just like any other girl.
Pain panged in Jori’s heart, a dull ache that still possessed enough bite to make her clutch at her chest. She looked towards the ground, eyes focusing on the sack that sat at her feet. Its cloth had been pushed to its limit, burgeoning from what had been stuffed within. Jori was content to lose herself for a moment, to forget about the growing hollowness in her stomach, but she was brought out of her trance with a tap on her arm.
“Jori?” Jon asked, her brother’s tone a mix of worry and apprehension.
“I… I’m…” she swallowed, “we could just leave it here. She doesn’t need us bothering her after all she’s been through.”
She started to move away from the alley, but her brother caught her shoulders.
“We’ve come this far Jori, and she leaves today,” he said, his tone heavy, “we can’t back away now.”
She frowned at him, “Brave words for the one making me go first.”
Jon scratched his head, “You’re the oldest, you gotta take charge in these things.”
Jori opened her mouth to respond, but froze as she saw the tremble in her brother’s fingers.
She sighed, “Ok, I’ll do it,” steeling herself, Jori slapped her cheeks, straightened her back, and spun around.
Only to jump at who she saw.
Though he was without armor or helmet, Helbram was easily recognizable in a small town like Redhaven. He was tall, taller than most in the village, but not so much that it would make him a giant, and there were farmers that possessed broader frames than him. However, none carried the same presence as the adventurer. There was an air to the man that threaded the line between gentle and imposing, as if he could switch between the two at the drop of a hat if needed.
As he loomed over the siblings, he trended towards the latter.
He may have been brought into the village in an unconscious state, but any sign of his incapacitation had vanished over the fortnight that it took for him and his party to recover, letting the full weight of his gaze settle over Jori as he looked the two over with unblinking eyes. His vision eventually settled on the bag next to Jori’s feet, and, after a moment of study, a smile broke from his emotionless guise.
He leaned against the wall and tilted his head towards the alley, “Go to her, we will give you some peace.”
Jori tilted her head, eventually realizing that the “we” Helbram mentioned included Leaf, who stood behind him closer to the tavern’s door. The half elven man looked at them with a frown, one that did not reach his eyes, and turned his gaze back to the street, saying nothing.
Jon prodded her in the back, which was enough to get her moving. She picked up the bag and walked past Helbram, marching into the alleyway with enough force behind her steps to echo through the narrowed path.
Echoes that made Aria turn towards her.
As the sisters’ eyes met, both froze. Jon stumbled into Jori’s back, but upon seeing Aria looking at them stopped in his tracks as well. Their sister’s eyebrows were raised in surprise, and the girl leaned against the auroc at her side for support. Her hands clutched at her brush, and the small shake to her fingers revealed the trepidation that the girl felt at the sight of her siblings. It was a sight that made Jori’s heart fall.
But she pressed on.
She walked closer, taking cautious steps towards her sister as she held the bag in front of her. Aria did not react to her approach, but Jori settled at stopping a stone’s throw away. She knelt down and opened the bag.
Revealing the bundles of clothing within.
“We didn’t know how much you needed…” Jori started, “and we didn’t know what your sizes were, so we gathered all we could.”
“We made sure there weren’t any holes in ‘em either,” Jon added in haste, “they may have been ours but they should last you a long while,” like Jori, his eyes were focused towards the ground and not the girl in front of them.
Their sister said nothing.
“We put some blankets in there too,” Jon said, “I know the cold doesn’t bother you but-”
Jori stomped on her brother’s foot. He winced, but upon realizing what he said kept his lips sealed. Cautiously, she looked up towards Aria, staring at the girl’s lips to avoid her eyes.
No reaction.
They stood in silence, the air between them growing more hollow by the moment. It was an emptiness that started to creep back into Jori’s heart, a sense of futility that told her to turn around and walk away. She clenched her hands into fists and pushed that instinct to the side, forcing herself to look her sister in the eye.
“I’m sorry,” she said, the words cracking as her vision blurred, “for abandoning you, for being scared of you. For being an awful, awful sister,” she blinked furiously to keep her tears from falling, “you deserved so much better, and I know there is nothing I can do to make up for what I have done.”
“What we have done,” Jon said, his voice a trembling mess, “I’m sorry too. Sorry for being such a poor brother, for thinking that what I had done was the only… the right thing to do,” he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to steady himself, “It’s not our place to say this, but we hope wherever you go you find the happiness you deserve.”
Still, Aria did not respond.
Any bravery that the siblings held vanished at their sister’s silence. Jori’s gaze fell and, when nothing else was said, she spun around to leave, grabbing her brother’s arm.
“I can’t forgive you.”
Jori’s heart shattered to pieces.
The instinct to run swelled within her, to flee from the burden of guilt that crashed against her shoulders. The shake in her brother’s arm told her that Jon felt the same, but neither of them moved.
Whatever was to be said, they deserved.
“The words are there… but as I try to say them, I can only see you as you were before,” Aria said, “The ones who laughed and played outside my door as I could only look on. The ones who ignored me as they continued to be happy, to be loved. I can’t say it, not after all this time.”
Jori could hear the weeping in her sister’s voice, but neither her nor Jon could bring themselves to look back as their own tears streamed down their faces.
“But I can say thank you,” Aria’s footsteps drew closer, “for the clothes… and for trying to save me.”
It was the sibling’s time to be silent.
“We may never see each other again, but I hope the best for the both of you.”
An impulse washed over Jori then, an urge to turn around and embrace her sister, to cry into the girl’s shoulders and let her do the same, to be like siblings should have been.
But it was too late for that.
“We hope the best for you too,” Jori said, unable to face her sister. She went to say more, but the words caught at her throat.
Unable to take anymore, Jori ran, letting the desire to escape take over. She hurried past the Helbram and Leaf into the street, her steps carrying her far enough into Redhaven that they were out of sight. Jon was at her side, and when their sprint could carry them no further they collapsed to the ground, chests heaving as their sobs hindered their ability to catch their breath.
Tears flowed from their eyes, unending as they traced down their cheeks, splashing onto the street as they continued to cry. They ignored the stares of the townsfolk that walked by, too lost in the tide of emotions that carried them this far. When the tears finally slowed, Jori could still feel the sorrow within her chest, the pain that dug into her heart, unable to leave.
But it had faded.
Their sister’s words did not relieve Jori of the burden of guilt, but it had reduced it to a dull ache. One that she could live with.
Must live with.
Jori wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. She held a hand out to Jon and, after her brother wiped his face, he took it with a firm grip as she helped him up. They met each other’s gaze and shared a nod. They had to continue on, to be the best that they could be, for their sake.
For their sister’s wishes.
___
Aria watched her siblings disappear from the alley’s exit. When they were gone, the grip on her brush relaxed and she let go of the breath that she was holding. She looked towards the bag in front of her and knelt down. Curiosity fueled her hands then, placing the brush down and pulling a piece of clothing from the parcel. It revealed itself to be a shirt as it unfolded, the size only a tad larger than what she needed. It was weaved from a white cloth, and in every way was unremarkable.
Yet the sight of it made her happy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of oncoming footsteps. Helbram and Leaf approached, and while the usual frown-faced man looked at her with some concern, his companion was more relaxed, yet somehow focused at the same time.
Helbram knelt down in front of her, “Are you alright?”
Aria nodded, “I don’t know if it was the right thing to say.”
He put his hand on her head, “Yours is a situation that is a bit more complicated than right or wrong,” he admitted, “and in such times it is better to instead ask this: did you do all that you needed to do?”
She looked down, thinking for a moment, but moved her gaze up to match his, “Yes, I did.”
Helbram smiled at her, “Then that, for now, is all that matters,” he ruffled her hair and stood up, taking the bag into his hand. He held it out for her to put the shirt back into it and held it out to Leaf, who took it as he walked over to Bessie.
“I’ll get her sorted out,” Leaf said, “now go do what you have to do.”
Helbram let out a breath and looked to Aria, “Are you ready?”
She nodded, one that he returned.
He turned towards the tavern’s side door, but waited for Aria to walk ahead of him before he followed. As they walked through The Wandering Fowl’s kitchen, she caught sight of both Elly and Jahora packing various foodstuffs. The taller woman bit into an apple absentmindedly as she peered into the tavern’s icebox. As she noticed them walk by, her ears perked up, and she met Helbram’s eyes with a knowing gaze. Jahora caught sight of them next, saying nothing but flashing Aria an encouraging smile as they walked through the door and into the tavern’s main hall.
She walked up the building’s stairs and down the hallway of rooms that composed its second floor. As her hand reached towards the door that lay at the end of the path, Helbram placed his hand on the doorknob in her stead.
“Are you certain of this?” he asked, his tone measured, but unable to hide the concern beneath.
The weight of the question gave rise to the doubt that sat beneath her determination. Given what had transpired… it would not be wrong of her to leave the door closed, to leave what lay beyond it behind her.
But her heart said otherwise.
Steeling herself, Aria straightened her back and took in a deep breath, “Yes.”
Helbram patted her shoulder, “Then do what you must.”
He opened the door and followed after her as she walked in, facing the two people at the opposite side of the room.
Cora and Erik.
The two Shade’s were still bound, their hands restricted behind their back with Sealing Cuffs while rope tied their legs together. In all practical ways they could do no harm, but that did not stop the flutter that Aria could feel stirring in her chest. Whilst Erik maintained a neutral expression upon noticing Aria, Cora’s own dejected guise shifted to surprise as her eyes fell upon her. Surprise that gave way to something else, though Aria could not tell what. The girl stepped further into the room, and while Helbram did not loom over her, he shifted his position so that she was never out of his reach.
Aria’s lips trembled as she searched for the words to speak, her breath shaking as they refused to form. She squeezed her hands in frustration, the fluttering in her chest now a rapid pounding as she could not form a sentence no matter how hard she tried. She’d ruminated over it far before this moment, yet the sight of the couple, their silence as they waited for her to speak, pushed all those thoughts from her mind. In its place she could only remember Erik and Cora as they were. That kindly man who fed her, who treated her as something more than a monster to be ignored, to be shunned. The bright woman who sat her in her lap and brushed her hair, giving her the warmth of a mother she never had.
She knew that is not who they were, that it was an act meant to make her like them, to feel indebted to them.
But it felt real, the happiness that it gave her was real, and it was that which stopped the words at her throat. She looked to the floor, unable to look at the two any longer, but took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said, “for taking care of me.”
It was a selfish thing to say, something that she could blurt out without damaging the fragile integrity of memories based on falsehood. She’d meant to confront them, but could only find the words to run away.
“Aria.”
She looked up, heart stopping as her eyes met with Cora’s. Gone was the woman’s previous madness, that twisted look in her eyes as she called her a name that was not hers. In its place was the same Cora that she always knew. The one who always wore a smile, who always looked at her with warmth. It was a falsehood, she knew that.
Yet it brought her comfort all the same.
“It is we who should say thank you,” she said, “for giving us a warmth that we’d not felt in so, so long. And it is we who should say sorry, for trying to take that warmth for ourselves.”
“Live your life, Aria.”
The girl’s gaze drifted to Erik, and she could see that man that she’d met in the alley, that man who made her feel like she belonged, and the memories of that moment brought tears to her eyes.
“Walk the path you want to walk, and let none steer you from it,” he said, “it is not our place to say such things, I know, but we should say it nonetheless.”
“May the Matron keep your path clear, your steps steady,” Cora said
Aria bit her lip, and she felt the impulse to walk up and embrace them, but she stopped herself. Even if they were sincere, she could not forget who they truly were, no matter how much her heart wished to. Still, the desire grew, and the tears started to flow down her face. She smiled at the couple and gave a firm nod, then turned and made for the door.
“You take care of her, you hear me?” Cora said to Helbram.
Aria felt his hand on her shoulder as she stopped at the door. He opened it and gently pushed her forward.
“Of that, you should have no doubt.”
___
Ren stood outside The Wandering Fowl, taking in the brisk Winter air as he stood in the street without a coat. The townsfolk looked at him as if he was mad, but that was no different than the look they’d given all of them upon their return. They did give him a wider berth today, but that was due to the wagon that had been moved to the street. A wheeless construct, the vehicle was held aloft by the crystal located in its undercarriage, one that radiated a green light as Aether coursed through it and the rest of the wagon. Various crates and bags were stuffed under its roof, and it was in the process of being loaded even further as Helbram’s party shoved various bags and foodstuffs into its bed. Had he not known that the magitek design meant that their auroc would feel little of the burden, he would have been inclined to feel pity for the beast.
Part of him still did as Elly stuffed a burgeoning sack of books into an already crowded space.
“Do you think you have enough?” he mused towards the group, “one would think you meant to start a village with all you’re taking.”
Helbram, who just walked out of the wagon’s bed, laughed. He walked up to the Cleric while dusting his hands.
“Winter will prove to be a harsh mistress this year,” he said, “and while I have every faith that our hunter is up to the task of keeping us provided, I’d rather not place such a burden upon him.”
“That, and we’d rather not taste bitter herbs for a spell,” Jahora said as she adjusted Aria’s coat, “a month away from such flavors is much too short.”
Leaf’s head poked from behind the wagon, “Oi, if the plants bite back then it's good for ya, don’t blame me for having the wisdom to recognize it.”
“Oh we have the wisdom,” Elly said as she joined Helbram at his side, “we just choose to embrace comfort in its stead.”
“Bunch of soft bellied louts, the lot of ya.”
Aria giggled as Leaf’s grumbles faded into the background. She took Jahora’s hand as the Mage guided her towards Ren. The smaller woman was all smiles when she looked at the girl, but as her eyes cut to the side wariness flashed through her features.
Leon sat on the stairs leading into the tavern. His hands were still bound, and rather than meeting anyone’s eyes he kept his eyes to the ground. Ren frowned as he looked at his companion, partially regretting his decision to push Leon to at least see the party off. He encouraged it anyways; the alternative just didn’t feel right.
He just hoped Leon felt the same.
As Leaf finished adjusting Bessie’s harness, he jogged up and joined with his companions, his caution towards Ren’s companion less concealed than the others as he glared in the Black Cloak’s direction.
“So where are you off to, after all this?” Helbram asked Ren.
“As we originally planned,” the Cleric said, “we make for Blade’s Rest, meeting up with a larger cohort before we travel back to headquarters,” he scratched his head, “Winter will prolong our travels a fair bit, but we’d best be moving as quick as possible now that we’ve fully recovered.”
“Of that, we are of similar minds,” Elly said.
“What of you? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Whitebridge,” Helbram said, “it was where we were heading before all this, and we see no reason not to continue on.”
Ren rubbed his chin, “Whitebridge eh? That is quite the journey…” he looked to Aria. The girl was not cautious around him, he could sense that she was on edge. No doubt due to Leon’s presence. And given his companions actions… she had every right to be.
As he looked upon her, however, he thought towards Erik and Cora, about how they knew that she would be in such a remote village like Redhaven. As he did, he removed the symbol of Velendel from his neck and placed his hand over it. The matching eye on his forehead glowed with a golden light as he made an effort of will, casting a spell over the amulet that left it glowing for a moment before the light faded away. He walked over to Jahora and knelt down in front of the Mage, presenting the amulet to her. She looked at him in confusion, and did not reach for the necklace.
“I am not certain, but I believe someone may possess the means to find Aria from afar. That is the only way I can think of to explain why Erik and Cora decided to settle here of all places.”
“A Scryer, perhaps?” Elly inquired, “Though typically their reach is fairly limited.”
“For the average one, yes,” Ren admitted, “but were the Scryer a Shade… then it may very well be possible,” he looked back at Jahora, “concealment magics are not my speciality, but with enough of Velendel’s grace I do believe that wearing this will keep Aria from their watchful gaze, though the enchantment will need refreshing often. And I do recognize it is suspicious of me to provide this under such pretenses, but I ask that you trust me in this.”
Jahora looked into his eyes and, after a moment, took the amulet from him. She directed her attention to Aria, who had her eyes narrowed in clear effort to keep up with the conversation.
“Do you want to wear this?” she asked the girl, holding the necklace out to her.
Aria reached out and touched the amulet, brow furrowed as she ran her fingers along its various ridges, “It feels… warm.”
The girl nodded and let Jahora put it on her. When the Mage did, Aria looked at it again.
“It’s a bit ugly though,” she said before slipping it under her coat.
Ren snorted, “Of that, we are in agreement.”
“Are you certain of this?” Helbram asked, “I have little knowledge in the ways of divine magic, but a Cleric without their Symbol strikes me as something of a hindrance.”
“We’d hardly be that forminable if a bit of jewelry was our lifeline,” Ren said as he stood up, “Please, pay it no mind. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to get a new one, perhaps one not so garish,” he winked at Aria, and she smiled at him.
“Well, thank you, again,” Helbram said as he held out his hand, “when we next meet, the round is on me.”
Ren smiled and took the man’s hand, “Multiple rounds, perhaps? I’ve a feeling my superiors will be placing me in a drinking mood soon enough.”
Helbram chuckled, “That can be arranged.”
As they let go of one another Ren clapped his hands, “I’ve delayed you long enough, you’d best be off before Spring sets in.”
The party smiled at him and made their way to the wagon.
All except Helbram.
The man marched towards Leon, who’s posture remained unchanging at his approach. Even if the Black Cloak didn’t look at him, Helbram held his hand out.
“Farewell Leon,” he said, “I hope if we cross swords again it will be as we did the first time, not the last.”
Leon didn’t look up.
Helbram sighed, but rather than drop his hand, he gave Leon a quick pat on the shoulder and went to join his party. Before long their wagon disappeared from Ren’s sight, and his companion still did not move.
The Cleric took a seat next to Leon, “It is going to be quite the burden if I have to transport three bound people,” he said.
The Black Cloak remained silent.
Frowning, Ren made to move back into the tavern, but stopped as Leon finally spoke.
“She seemed so… normal.”
“Aria? Yes, the seal is broken but she appears to be in control of herself,” Ren mused, “an interesting development for one as young as her, but it is not unheard of to gain control of one’s Shade.”
“It was out of control Ren, a power that I had not seen since… since…” he fell silent.
“And yet, there she was, hale and hearty as any child should be.”
“I know… I know,” there was a growing frustration in Leon’s voice, “And it has made me think. Had I called out enough, urged him enough… would he still be here today?”
Ren heart ached for his friend, “We can’t know that.”
“And yet, now we have an idea,” Leon said, “proof that such a thing is possible,” tears dropped from Leon’s face as he looked up, “I was so certain he was lost Ren, and the look he gave me told me he thought so as well, but there she was, in the same position, the same abyss of hopelessness, and she came back.”
There was nothing Ren could say to that.
“How many? How many have I killed thinking that they were too far gone? Thinking that I was putting an end… stopping tragedy before it could happen?” He buried his head in his hands, “I’m sorry Astraeus, I’m so sorry…”
Ren walked in front of his companion and pulled him up, “Look at me Leon.”
When he refused to do so, the Cleric forced his gaze up. The Black Cloak’s eyes were red, and the despair beneath them seemed bottomless.
“I understand your grief,” he said, “And I know that you need time to process all of it, but what you can’t let it do is drag you under. Doing so will not help anyone. It will not honor your brother’s memory.”
Leon closed his eyes.
“Let us make our way back to headquarters, and when we are in more stable conditions, we can work through all of this. We can’t afford to fall apart now, do you understand?”
His companion’s breaths slowed as he controlled himself. When his eyes finally opened, a measure of control had returned. Grief still sat behind them, but for now it did not overwhelm Leon, and that was all Ren could ask for at the moment.
“I understand,” the Black Cloak said.
“Good,” Ren unbound the man’s arms, “and when we get back, know that you will always have my aid. We’ll get through this, of that I have no doubt.”
Leon clasped his arm, “Thank you, truly.”
Ren returned the gesture, “What are friends for?”
___
Helbram yawned as he stretched, leaning back on the wagon’s driver seat.
“Don’t you start with that,” Leaf fussed, “We’ve been on the road for barely an hour.”
“I am afraid I must,” Helbram objected in an overly dramatic tone, “my injuries have left me weakened and unable to handle the wear and tear of the road.”
Leaf pressed his lips thin and rolled his eyes.
Elly snorted from within the wagon, “Perhaps you need a distraction? I could teach you how to use a needle so you may be of some use.”
Helbram looked back at her. The Weaver held the sleeve of a pair of pants in her hands, her hands moving with practiced precision as the needle in her fingers glided in and out of the cloth.
“Nonsense,” Helbram said, “I would only slow you down.”
“Perhaps,” she admitted, “but the company would be appreciated.”
She smiled as they both looked at Aria and Jahora. They both leaned against each other as they slept, a contentment on both their faces that was enough to banish any thoughts of waking them from their nap.
“Another time, perhaps,” Helbram said in a quieter tone.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
He flashed her a smile before turning back in his seat, noting Leaf’s now serious expression.
“Everything alright?”
His companion scratched his head, “Honestly I’m just feeling a bit out of my depth. I don’t know how to raise a child, nor one that happens to be a font of magic,” he sighed, “I’m just trying to process it all.”
Hebram rubbed his chin, “It is quite a lot to take in, I admit, but it is not as if you are doing this alone,” he snorted, “I know Jahora would raise quite the objection were you solely in charge of her care.”
Leaf laughed, “That she would… but still, it’s just… overwhelming.”
“It is, and the how of it all escapes me even now, but I know it is something that we must do.”
“Together,” Elly added.
Helbram nodded, “Together.”
Leaf shook his headband and chuckled, “Well now I just feel foolish. Onwards then?”
Helbram pointed down the road.
“Onwards.”

Hedge Knight Arc Four: The Cursed Child
End.
First / Previous
Author's Note: And there we have it, the end of another arc. Still not gonna get over how I said this was going to be a shorter one and it somehow matched the last arc in length. Overall I'm happy with how this one turned out. It's smaller stakes than the last arc, but I think it was a good exploration of the characters, especially Jahora, Leon, and Aria, and that's kind of the reason I try and keep things small scale like this. I'm finding myself enjoying the character dynamics more and more as I write this story, and I feel like its important to explore these interactions fully to really build investment not only with the party, but any events that may happen to them. To that end I toned back the action a bit, aside from the duel, so we can have a full explosive finish. One that admittedly mentally fried me as I tried to make sense of all that as happening, but I think I prefer that over having action for action's sake.
But, the story will continue! Lots of threads were thrown out here and I did try to wrap up some of the immediate ones, but there are also plenty that could possibly be explored down the line. The focus will remain on Helbram and his party of course, but I do like giving the sense that there is something else going on within the world beyond what the party is seeing.
Let me know what you thought of this arc! Did you prefer this over the last arc and is there anything that stands out in this arc that you either liked/disliked. I'm always trying to improve and your feedback goes a really long way to making sure this is the best content I can make for you.
Till next time everyone, have a good one!
If you wish to read ahead and gain access to the audiobook version of this story, consider supporting me on Patreon (https://patreon.com/criticalscribe). If you want to leave a donation, here is my Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/criticalscribe).

I just bought an ender3 V3 Plus. My first few prints went just fine no complaints. I am currently trying to print a stand for my monitor. The base piece is about 7 inches in the y direction and for some reason when it slings across this object it makes a grinding noise that vibrates the machine. It seems like this grinding is coming from inside the bed. Whenever i put it on "silent" mode which essentially just slows it down, the grinding stops, but obviously i don't want to print at this speed forever. Does anyone have any advice or ideas of what it might be so I know what to look for?
EDIT: I am using the Creality Slicer with the ender 3 V3 Profile, but i modified the build plate to be larger. I have done minimal setting adjustment, only the infill and wall layers.
This is my first 3D printer. I plan to let this print finish then address the issue.

So I came across a post recently, where the person asked what we would want in a warrior's game, and it got me to remember a document I had made ages ago now regarding that. Now warning, this post is extremely long, and much of what I've written down probably isn't possible to achive (I'm no game develouper). But if you're curious, and find something you like on this list that's do-able, then feel free to run with it, cause I would love to see this in action. (Sorry for any weird spelling/grammar, this is my second language).
Character Creation:
Breed:
-Pureblood.
-Mixed between 2 (choose which trait you want from which breed).
-A specific breed with some minor differences/changes, due to mix breeding.
-A mix of several breeds (from 6 to 10 different breeds, choosing between which trait/look you want from which breed).
-Normal house cat (breeds unknown/unrecognizable/unimportant, free to choose whatever looks/traits from whatever breed).
Fur:
Patterns:
-Single color (with/without different areas with lightedarker markings).
-Single color, except for one, partly or fully, different colored body part.
-Two colors (choose where you want which color to be and the size and shape of the different colors).
-Tabby (choose if the markings are paler or darker in color compared to the main, solid one): Spotted, Classic, Mackerel, Ticked, Patched Tabby markings (in regards to the patched tabby, the player can choose where they want which color to be and the size and shape of the patched areas).
-Multi Colored: Tortoiseshell (bridled, patched), Calico (traditional, dilute, patched tabby). The player can choose where they want which color to be and the size and shape.
-Color Points: Lynx, Seal-Mink, Seal-Point, Seal-Solid.
Colors: Amber, light amber, smoke, black, blue, caramel, caramel 2, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn, light brown, red, ginger, cream, apricot, orange, white.
-Albino (half or full).
Choose realistic or unrealistic color patterns/combinations (unrealistic = the colors themselves are realistic ones that naturally show up in cats, but the colopattern combinations that can be mixed together aren’t).
Volume, Amount, Length, Appearance:
-Thick, dense, thin.
-Long, medium, short.
-Curly, glossy, wirehair, normal, fluffy.
-Extra fur around the neck, between toes and inside/on top of ears.
-Double layer coat.
-Hairless.
Build:
-Height: Small, big, normal, between small/normal and normal/big (a bar the player can slide to adjust the size).
-Shape: Skinny, lean, sturdy, muscular.
Looks:
Eyes:
-Color: Gray, yellow-gray, blue-gray, blue, blue-green, green, hazel, yellow, amber, orange, brown, red.
-In each: The same color in both eyes, complete heterochromia, sectoral heterochromia in both eyes, one eye with complete heterochromia and one with sectoral heterochromia.
-Shape: Almond, round, oval.
Nose:
-Shape: Flat, normal.
-Color(s).
Whiskers:
-Length.
-Shape: Straight, curly.
Legs:
Length: Hind legs can be longer than the front legs or all 4 can be of the same length.
Tail:
-Length.
-Look: Plump, feathery, thin, bushy or stumpy/bobbed.
-Tailless.
Ears:
-Size.
-Shape: Rounded, folded, floppy, loosely folded, curled (from 90 to 180 degrees), straight.
Shoulders:
-Size: Broad or normal.
Face:
-Shape: Flat (mild, moderate, profound, severe), round, triangle, square.
Scars: Choose the length, shape, how visible they are, where they are, the amount. (Some will show up after battle practice, and the others after fighting).
Mutation:
Face: Half the player character’s face is a darker color, the other half is a lighter one (the player can choose the two colors).
Paws:
-Split-foot (syndactyly).
-Extra number of toes - only front paws, or with back legs as well - , 4 to 7 on each (Polydactyly).
-Thumb-cat - 1 or more extra toes around the dew claw specifically - (Polydactyly).
Pelt: Vitiligo (players can choose between a spotted pattern, whole areas turning white, or both, and how much of the white color takes over).
Ears: Four ears.
Tail: Shortened and kinked (japanese bobtail gene), no tail (manx tailless gene).
Size: Dwarfism (dwarf cat gene).
Others:
-Missing body part.
-Reduced or complete loss of hearing or vision (one eaeye can also be completely gone - senses vice - while another is reduced, one eaeye can be gone/reduced while the other one is working, one ear and one eye each can be gone/reduced, and both eyes and both ears be gone/reduced. Although, I must admit, I have no idea how it would work gameplay vice if a character is completely blind and deaf, or has one eye/ear with reduced vision/hearing while the other 3 are completely gone).
Any missing/partly missing body part, mutation or reduced/complete loss of the senses will make the game harder and can cause the player character to go through a special training arc.
Other Choices:
Clan. (Player’s choice, or take an in-game test with the possibility of getting more than 1 clan as an answer - making the player a half-clan cat if they go with that, with the clan they got the highest percentage of being the clan the character is born in).
Blood ties: Full blooded, half-blooded cats (the player can choose what trait/skills they want from each clan. It will cause the player character to have a longer apprenticeship in order to prove the player character’s loyalty and dedication as gaining the trust of their fellow clanmates will be harder).
The half-clan option can lead to several different possible outcomes for the parents, the player character and siblings depending on how the player played the game and how well and how many in-game characters trust and like the player character unless the player chooses something specific. The player can also choose how far back in the family tree the half-clan blood runs and who (if only one) of the parents has it.
Family situation:
-If the player character’s parents live in different clans, if one of them moved to the other’s, if they’re still together and if they get along or not, if one or both of them found another mate, and if they end up switching clans at some point during the playthrough.
-Whether the player character grows up with their mother’s or father’s clan (if the parent’s lives in different clans. The game will provide the player character with a foster mother and siblings if the player chooses the father’s clan).
-If the player character grows up with siblings, and whether or not none, some of or all of their siblings live with the player character (if the parent’s live in different clans), and if the player character knows about their other siblings - and if the siblings knows about them, or only the siblings know - if they do live in different clans.
-The player can also choose if their character and clan knows or is unaware about the fact that they are half-clan (the player can also choose if only the clan or only the player character is aware/unaware of it).
-Parent(s) with half-blood (what traits they have from each clan, and if they’re in one of the clans they have blood ties to, or in one of the other three. If they are in one of the other clans this will give the player the opportunity to add traits from said third clan to their character, deciding how many/few traits the player character gets from each clan, as long as one of the player character’s other parent has blood ties to the third clan).
Most traits from=check off 6 boxes, some traits from=check off 4 boxes, few traits from=check off 2 boxes. In case of half-clans the player can check off 6 boxes from each side/clans, or remove some from one side and spend them on the other. If both parents have blood from the same clan, that clan/side has to be what the player character has the most filled out boxes from.
-What role the player character’s parents have (including being a medicine cat. The different roles affect how the player character is treated).
Character vice:
-Gender.

• The Medicine cat path.
  
• The Warrior path.
  
• If the player character ends up becoming leader or not.
  
• The player character’s voice.
  

-The player character’s name (either the whole name or just the first part, in which case the second part will be given based on your dialogue choices/reputation and what specific skill(s) the player character excels at).
-Choose what the player wants their character to be honored for during the full name ceremony or have the game choose based on the player character’s game-play/performance (same with what lives the player character receives if they become clan leader).
Likes/Dislikes/Preferences, player character vice and npc vice:
-Fur color(s)/pattern, eye color, build, gender and personality regarding npc’s.
-Sayings/expressions.
-Rival clans.
-Other ranks within the clan.
-Half-clan cats.
-Places.
-Prey.
-Weather.
-Seasons.
How player character feels about:
-Rouges/loners/kittypets.
-The opposite gender.
-Different personalities.
These choices will affect the dialog options in the game.
After finishing the game the 1st time, the player will be able to go to the menu and choose one of the special powers mentioned in the series (maybe also some new ones) to give to your character. The player can also go into the menu and change it during the play-through if they want. And they can choose to play as a character from the Warriors series.
Possibly other choices:
-The personality of the player character’s parents (if they stay close or grow distant/cold towards the player character. What they feel about their former mate, if they still see the player character as their kit, or regret having them).
-The looks of the player character’s parents (unless they’re the foster family).
-The looks of the player character’s siblings (unless they’re the foster family).
-Number of siblings (unless they’re the foster family).
-The sibling’s names (unless they’re the foster family).
-The sibling’s genders (unless they’re the foster family).
-The personality of the siblings (unless they’re the foster family).
-The future position of the siblings (unless they’re the foster family).
-If the player character and the siblings are half-clan, what traits each of them got from the other clan(s).
-If the player character or one of the siblings are the player character’s parent’s favorite or if everyone gets equal attention/love (regardless if they’re the foster family or not).
-How the player character’s siblings feel about one another and the player character. Who’s their favorite sibling to hang out with, who they don’t get as well along with, if any (regardless if they’re the foster family or not).
-If the player character and the siblings are half-clan, what they feel about being half-clan, what they feel about the way the clan treats them and if they want to, and if they end up, switching clans.
-If one or both of the parents passes away and when (before birth, during your character’s kit-hood, as an apprenticeship, afteshortly after becoming a warrior), giving the player the possibility of being in a clan that mostly don’t trust the player character, with only the player character’s siblings for comfort if the player chose the “parents in different clans” option (if the player choose for both of the parents to pass away or the mom while the player character lives in their clan while the player character is a kit, the game will give the player a foster family).
-An option for it being certain and one for being uncertain about whether or not all of the player character’s siblings survive into adulthood/survive long enough to become elders, and whether or not the player character’s parent(s) survives long enough to become an elder.
-Having the option to start the second playthrough as a kittypet, loner or rogue (full, or part kittypet/rogue, kittypet/clan cat, rogue/clancat, lonekittypet, lonerogue, loneclancat). The player can choose if they encounter the clan through positive or negative reasons. Choose at what age the player character meets the clan. Choose whether the player character’s siblings, all of them or just some, choose to join the clan as well and if they choose to join the same or want to join a different clan.
-Choose which season (and possibly time of day/night) the player character is born in.
-A button that randomly picks every choice the player can make in the “Other Choices and Possibly other choices“ part (apart from the Character vice, Likes/dislikes/preferences and How player character feels about part of the list).
-A button that randomly picks every choice the player can make in the “Character vice, Likes/dislikes/preferences and How player character feels about” parts specifically.
-A button that randomly picks every choice the player can make in the “Character Creation” part.
-A button that randomly picks every choice the player can make in the “Mutation” part.
-A button that randomly picks every choice the player can make.
Every randomize button also gives the player the option to cross out boxes that they don’t want checked off, as well as check off boxes that they do want to specifically get chosen.
-A peace mode where the player can walk around and enjoy the territory without the risk of enemies/events, and possibly the other clan’s territories and camp, watching the in-game characters walk around, performing tasks and interacting with each other without the risk of getting attacked/hurt.
Game-play:
The Warrior Apprentice Path:
-Learn about the warrior code.
-Learn about the territory and its layout-how to use it to the player character’s advantage.
-Learn about predators and how to fight them or stay hidden from them.
-Look for, discover and learn about different tracks and track them.
-Learn about prey and how to detect, sneak up on and catch them as different prey requires different techniques.
-Learn where the borders are.
-Learn where scent marks are.
-Mark the territory.
-Learn to look for signs that someone has crossed the border and/or taken prey from the player character’s clan’s side.
-Master different battle techniques, learning when to attack and defend and what technique the player character can/should use when.
-Train and specialize in player character’s clan abilities:
ThundeShadow/SkyClan: Tree climbing.
ThunderClan: Moving/sneaking through heavy/thick undergrowth.
Shadow/Wind/RiveSkyClan: Sneaking in more open/exposed areas.
ShadowClan: Special night lessons.
RiverClan: Swimming and fishing lessons and fighting in water.
WindClan: Races and obstacle course.
SkyClan: Jumping/leaping lessons.
-Learn and detect the different scents of prey and predators, if it’s stale or fresh, and what kind of prey/predator it is, rivaling clans, dogs, two-legs and non-clan cats.
-Learn how to deal with cats waiting at the border.
-Collect moss and water.
-Fixing dens and nests.
-Removing ticks.
-Keep guard outside the player character clan’s camp (After the first playthrough the player can go into the menu and shorten the amount of time it will take).
-Learn about the important cats from rival clans (leader, deputy, medicine cat, medicine cat apprentice), their scent and their clan’s specialties and weaknesses, and how to best beat them.
-Protect the kits and elders during camp raids.
-Travel with the player character’s mentor to the Moonstone and survive in the area outside the player character’s clan territory (Scripted so that different things can happen on different trips, so two trips in a row is rarely the same. After the first playthrough the player can go into the menu and shorten the amount of time the journey will take).
-Race to the camp to warn the player character’s clan leader about surprise attacks, possibly outrunning a pursuer.
-Attend Gatherings and meet and mingle with other apprentices and make sure not to give anything important away.
-Train/fight against the player character’s fellow denmates while inside camp.
-Bring prey to queens and elders.
-Pass the warrior assignment (skippable).
After the first playthrough the player can choose from the menu to skip the parts where the player character learns about the territory, detecting/tracking/finding, prey and predators, hunting ,scent marks/borders, fighting/ battle techniques, cats waiting at the border and trespassers/signs of it, shortening the player’s time as an apprentice.
The Medicine Cat Apprentice Path:
-Learn about the medicine cat code.
-Learn about the territory and its layout-knowing where to find which herb and when they grow/are in season.
-Master basic battle techniques and when to use which.
-Attend Gatherings.
-Learn the scent of different herbs, predators and other cats and how to detect them.
-Learn the names of different herbs.
-Learn what the herbs look like.
-Learn what the different herbs do.
-Learn how to prepare different herbs.
-Learn how to make poultices.
-Learn what’s dangerous and not.
-Learn about different complications and stuff that can go wrong and what to do.
-Learn how to heal different wounds (keeping infection away), diseases and poisons.
-Learn to recognize symptoms for different diseases and keep it from spreading.
-Travel to the Moonstone (Scripted so that different things can happen on different trips, so two trips in a row is rarely the same. After the first playthrough the player can go into the menu and shorten the amount of time the journey will take).
-Receive dreams/warnings/prophecies/omens from StarClan.
-Learn to assist queens giving birth.
-Learn how to deal with different patients.
-Make sure the plants don’t get destroyed or rot.
-Assist and go over the player character’s clanmates after a battle.
After the first playthrough the player can choose from the menu to skip the parts where the player character learns about the different herbs, injuries, illnesses, territory, fighting, kitting, predators, detecting, poultices, complications, preparation and prevention, shortening the player’s time as an apprentice.
The Warrior Path:
-Pick up interesting news and whispers at Gatherings without getting detected.
-Stand guard duty at night and after the player character receives their full name (Skippable, but the player can also, after the first playthrough, go into the menu and shorten the amount of time those nights will take).
-Lead patrols and decide where to hunt.
-Report back to the leader about any events outside of camp.
-Become a mentor (the player can ask for a specific kit. Mentorship is partly skippable: ceremony - both for the player character’s apprentice apprentices and warrior ceremony and assignment, as well as teaching the player character’s apprentice about territory, detecting/tracking/finding, prey and predators, hunting ,scent marks/borders, fighting/ battle techniques, cats waiting at the border and trespassers/signs of it).
-Make sure the player character’s clan has enough prey.
-Help the player character’s clan through battles and harsh seasons.
-If the player wants to find a mate and start a family, name some of the kits and watch them grow into warriors or a medicine cat.
-Go to other clans in times of war and ask for assistance.
-Join a patrol led by the player character’s leader to another clan’s camp.
-Help find lost kits.
-Rush to help during a border fight.
-Deal with trespassing non-clan cats or predators.
-Perform escort missions.
-Do side quests like playing with kits, rebuild/enforce dens and the camp wall, help out friends within or outside the clan and learn about their past, dreams and secrets.
-Share tongue with the in-game characters.
-Build the player character’s reputation and popularity and increase the chances of them getting chosen as deputy.
-Take the player character’s apprentice to Gatherings and tell them about other cats.
-Take the player character’s apprentice to the Moonstone (Scripted so that different things can happen on different trips, so two trips in a row is rarely the same. After the first playthrough the player can go into the menu and shorten the amount of time the journey will take).
-Go on missions from StarClan.
-Guard any potionsoal prisoners.
The Deputy Path:
-Organize patrols (skippable, in which case the game will pick random npc’s).
-Report to and stand by the clan leader.
-Go on behalf of the clan leader to the gathering, or to deliver important messages to the other clans.
-Step in whenever the clan leader is away from camp.
Ceremony skippable.
The Leader Path:
-Go to the Moonstone and receive 9 lives (skippable, in which case the game will choose what lives the player character gets based on the actions they have taken and who they have supported).
-Choose the clan’s new deputy (skippable, in which case the game will pick the most suitable npc based on the in-game character’s personalities. But, the player can also have the game choose among only certain npc’s based on the player’s specific preferences, like: a cat that can challenge them, a cat that stands by them, a cat the player can teach/mold themselves, a cat that doesn’t need any guidance/help within the new role).
-Make decisions affecting just the player character’s clan or several.
-Get help and guidance from the medicine cat and elders.
-Travel to the other camps to discuss clan matters with that clan’s leader.
-Convince the npc’s about the decisions the player character made.
-Handle any negative feedback from the player character’s decisions, the player character’s popularity (both in the player character’s own and the other clans), and face any challenges about the player character’s leadership.
-Give reports at Gatherings (the player chooses how much they want to tell and what they want to hold back) and solve any possible outbursts.
-Listen to and decide what to do with rival clan cats or non-clan cats coming into the camp.
-Make sure the warrior code is being followed and punish rule breakers accordingly after hearing their explanation, if the player finds that necessary.
-Enter StarClan and receive tips, guidance, encouragement or comfort when the player character loses one of their 9 lives depending on what claimed one of their lives (skippable).
-Hold apprentice ceremonies and assign mentors (skippable, in which case the game will assign the newly made apprentice a mentor).
-Give warriors their full name and choose what to honor them for based on the reports from their mentors (skippable, in which case the game will choose a name based on the npc’s actions/personality).
-Guide and boost the warriors’ spirits during challenging/harsh times.
-Negotiate with rival clan leaders for the safe return of any imprisoned clanmates.
The Medicine Cat Path:
-Make sure there are enough herbs.
-Make sure the herbs are fresh.
-Keep as many of the player character’s clanmates as safe as possible during outbreaks and take precautions.
-Give advice to other medicine cats and/or pick up tips.
-Go to another clan and help their medicine cat (bringing herbs if necessary).
-Pick the herbs that might be needed before leaf-bare kicks in.
-Make sure the player character’s have enough herbs before a planned battle.
-Walk with the cats in StarClan, asking them for advice/guidance.
-Help elders and kits through leaf-bare.
-Make sure the player character’s clanmates get what they need in both herbs and knowledge before going on a long journey.
-Go to the Moonstone with the clan’s newly appointed leader (skippable).
-Get through a hard season with only a few herbs (be it having many different ones but few in numbers of each, many in numbers but few in types, or both few types and low in number.
-Race out of camp to help seriously injured clancats, cats who have accidentally eaten something poisonous, or queens giving birth too early.
-Break heavy news and comfort life changing, seriously injured or ill cats (or family members/mates of mentioned cats), and help train them back up again if recovery is possible/if they survive.
-Prepare fallen clanmates on their way to StarClan (skippable).
-Become the clan’s sole medicine cat (skippable).
-Train an apprentice and give them their full name based on their performance (skippable, in which case the game will choose a name based on the in-game character’s actions. Mentorship is partly skippable: ceremony - both for the player character’s apprentice apprentices and full medicine cat name ceremony, as well as teaching the player character’s apprentice about herbs, injuries, illnesses, territory, fighting, kitting, predators, detecting, poultices, complications, preparation and prevention).
-Help the player character’s clanmates keep faith in StarClan during times of crises.
-Join the player character’s clan leader and clanmates on trips to enemy camps as a show of peace/good faith.
-Share tongue with the in-game characters.
-Take the player character’s apprentice to Gatherings and tell them about other cats.
-Take the player character’s apprentice to the Moonstone every half moon (Scripted so that different things can happen on different trips, so two trips in a row is rarely the same. After the first playthrough you can go into the menu and shorten the amount of time the journey will take).
-Receive omens/prophecies/warnings, and find out which cat/event/clan it refers to.
Small side game:
-The player can play as the spirit of the player’s character, hunting and exploring StarClan or The Dark Forest.
-Get to meet and know the other clan cats the player might not have gotten a chance to in the main game.
-Look over the clan, the next generation in the player character’s family and how they’re doing.
-Visit the player character’s descendants in their dreams.
-Walk around the player character’s old clan camp, and its new members, invisible (and listen in on what kind of stories the player character’s predecessors are telling about them).
-Pass on prophecies/guidance/warnings/omens.
-Take part in meetings between fellow StarClan cats and decide what is best to do for the clans.
-Meet old, famous cats.
-Be part of the 9 cats that give a clan leader their extra lives (the player can choose what the life they give is for).
The Elder Path:
-Telling kits-possibly the player character’s grand or great-grand kits, stories about the player character’s life.
-Spend time and share tongue with the player character’s mate and/or fellow den mates that made it into their senior years.
-Roam freely through the territory whenever.
-Take fallen warriors to the burial place and help bury them.
-Based on the player character’s dialogue/options, the player character can either pass away during a raid on the camp, defending their clan members one last time, or pass away in their sleep during peaceful times.
-A cut scene plays out where the player character hears the voices of old clanmates calling them, and their spirit stands up and walks upwards towards the starry sky.
-As the camera goes from the ground to the sky (birdseye view), the player sees the player character’s clan leader give their speech about the player character at their vigil, and then after zooming further up, the player hears the player character’s clan leader informing the other clans of the player character’s passing during the next Gathering, before the player start playing as a StarClan/Dark Forest cat.
The Kit path:
-Spend some time exploring the camp, playing, make friends, practicing the hunter's crouch, leaping, surprise attacks and wrestling, meeting clanmates and listen to the elder’s stories (after the first playthrough the player can go into the menu and reduce the amount of time the player’s new character(s) spends as a kit).
-If the player character’s spend some time with a specific warrior the odds of that cat becoming the player character’s mentor increases.
-Go through the player character’s apprentice ceremony (skippable).
Playthrough:
-Starts with the player character’s opening their eyes for the first time.
-Encounter different cats outside the player character’s territory.
-During hunting or stealth/sneaking mode make sure not to step on or brush against anything that can make sound or move giving away the player character’s position.
-Make sure the wind is towards the player character, and keep to the shadows if possible.
-Activate a “scent mode”, where the player character gets to see everything in different colors, each color representing a scent (the amount of it telling how old or new it is).
-The player character’s get points based on how well the player character hunts, fights and helps out inside the clan, and if the player character’s do well enough the player character gets taken to Gatherings.
-Getting caught breaking the code will result in punishment.
-Stay a clan cat, switch clan, become a loner, rogue or kittypet (which can cause the player character’s to not end up in StarClan/The Dark Forest).
-The game ends with the player character joining StarClan or The Dark Forest after a lifetime (or 9).
-How your clanmates remember the player character will be based on the player’s choices, how well the player played, and how much they learned.
After the first playthrough the player can choose to start with their new character as a newly made apprentice or warrior (starting with the ceremony).
Other stuff in the game:
-Day/night and seasons cycle.
-Easy, normal, though, challenging and random mode. Makes it so that events such as outbreaks of different illnesses, different natural disasters, harsh/long seasons, prey shortage (and prey getting poisoned/contaminated), conflict/tension, invading forces (other clans/groups of cats/animals), low number of warriors/shortage of new kits being born, losing territory, two/three rival clans joining together to face off against your character’s clan, clanmate(s) trying to overthrow and take over leadership of the player character’s clan, and wars happen a specific amount of time within each mode.
Easy: 0-2 things.
Normal: 3-5 things.
Though: 6-8 things.
Challenging: 9-11 things.
Random lvl button: The game picks (same with the other randomize buttons, the player can cross out the challenge lvl the player doesn't want to be included).
Random events list: Allows the player to cross out events they don’t want to happen, and check off events they specially do want to encounter, before picking a lvl/clicking the random lvl button.
-The player character could end up being taken prisoner if they’re found sneaking around inside another clan’s territory. The player will either have to try to escape, or wait until their clan sacrifices something for the player character’s return.
-If the player character ends up getting too many punishments from getting caught breaking the warrior code too many times, the whole clan can grow to distrust, and eventually, even kick the player character out.
-If npc’s finds the player character on their territory alone often, that rival clan will be on a look out, more hostile/aggressive towards, and talk about/discuss the player character in a negative way during Gatherings (this could have a negative effect on a patrol if the player character is part of a patrol traveling to an enemy camp).
-If the player character has a good reputation, enemy warriors will respect and enemy apprentices might look up to and admire the player character and talk in an positive light and exited way about the player character at Gatherings (this could have a positive effect on a patrol if the player character is part of a patrol traveling to an enemy camp).
-Kits could end up playing pretend as the player character regardless of the distrust/trusted status.
-Follow an evil route and the player character could end up becoming a scary story that keeps disobedient kits inside their dens at night/inside their camp.
-Follow a good route and the player character could end up becoming a popular and exciting bedtime story for the kits.
Stuff that could possibly be different between each playthrough:
-Different cats could end up becoming mates and different she-cats can become queens (also resulting in different kits being born).
-Different characters could end up dying or be named deputy if the player character isn’t.
-Different cats could start off as leaders.
-Different cats could end up being leaders, medicine cats, medicine cat apprentices, and warrior apprentices could have different mentors.
-StarClan can send new, or no, prophecies/warnings.
-Npc’s could keep their personality/alliance throughout the playthroughs, or end up changing, depending on: If they fall in love with an outsider or rival clan member. Who they follow. If they have something against the leadethe way the leader leads the clan, or the player character. What happens to them throughout their lives.
-The leader could turn evil and try to prove the clan’s strength and glory through endless battles, try to drive off one of the other clans, or try to merge several clans into one (and this could be challenges the player character could end up facing if they become the leader).
-The medicine cat could lose faith in or be angry at StarClan, and use their powers/knowledge against the clan or to shatter other npc’s faith in StarClan.
It will be up to the player character to help prevent/solve these npc/leademedicine cat events. The player will have the option to choose if these specific events can happen or not during their different playthroughs.
-Different npc’s could end up trying to befriend, fall for and become rivals (both friendly and non friendly) the player character. This could give npc’s from a playthrough where they weren’t in focus/as important more depth/personality.
There could also possibly be a list over the different npc’s, where the player can cross off if a/some specific npc(‘s) should be more in focus/more important during their playthroughs, and what specific role that/those npc/’s will play.
If the player makes several characters, the player can see them in camp, and on the territory if they’re in the same clan, or during border patrols, Gatherings, attacks, or if they arrive in the player’s current character’s camp with their leader if they’re in different.
Controls:
-The view could be behind/over the shoulder, or through the player character’s eyes, or both switching freely.
-Fighting, battle training, tree climbing, fishing, swimming, leaping, pouncing on prey and obstacle course could be a combination of using the moving buttons and mouse or button clicking).
-The player can save and switch characters whenever they want.
DLC or Sequel:
-At a young age, the player character, and their siblings and mother spot a group of strange cats traveling from the mountains to the moorland and forest area not far from the two-leg place, where the player character’s family lives as loners.
-The player character’s mother makes sure the player character stays well away from them, as blood is suddenly being shed over newly made borders and the prey within, kin attacking kin over the right for space and having prey in their mouths.
-When the player character’s mother passes, the player character must make a choice. Try to survive on their own, or join this strange, rouge group of cats?
-Will the player character stay in the group or leave and try to fend for themselves?
-Does the player character switch alliances to a different group, or do they stay with the group that took the player character in when no one else might have had?
-Learn a new way of life and survival depending on where the player choose to live.
-Try to survive and get enough prey through leaf-bare as hostile strangers and hungry rivaling groups eye the player character’s prey.
-Help keep the campmates safe by helping them fight off intruders with the goal of chasing the player character’s group off.
-Get through harsh seasons and fight off dogs, foxes and badgers.
-Learn how to heal campmates with herbs or help them by training kits and gathering prey.
-Attend their meeting every full moon and learn their history (as a tribe or their personal one) and about the other groups.
-Find a mate, start a family, and fight to protect and keep them alive through storms and diseases.
-Watch them grow into independent adults and expand the family tree.
-Walk in the paw steps of the mysterious mountain cats and become a true wild cat and a part of the early 5 clans.
-A cut-scene at the end of the DLC/Sequel will play, showing the player’s 1st character, or the/one of the character(s) from the same clan the player character is in in this DLC/Sequel, from the main/1st game, as a kit in the nursery, being told a story about one of their earliest ancestors, the character the player just played, in modern ThundeShadow/Wind/RiveSkyClan.

Timestamps: https://imgur.com/a/bA5PbbG -- ignore the Maya in the pic unless you want it, I didn't mean to include it. It does have some medium usage and a mild qc creaky scroll that doesn't affect performance. You will also want to change the skates. Clicks feel phenomenal.

Minimal use on all three mice, no QC issues to speak of in my short usage. All come with original packaging and accessories. HTS+ 4K has the newer square dongle but is not USB-C charging.

HTS+ 4K -- $95 shipped Thorn -- $75 shipped Bruce Lee Mini -- $90 shipped
Trades I am looking for, subject to change : Vaxee XE-S (any color), Pulsar Superglide (Polarity Ed.), Wallhack 4.0 (Black), GPX v2 (Magenta), FM ULX Medium or Small, Artisan Raiden XL MID (must be essentially brand new), Artisan Hien (looking for any color or softness for this one, but same rule applies, must be barely touched), Pulsar X2H Mini (Shinobu), Lamzu Maya in anything but Red.
I am open to other trade offers of similar items, just PM me your offer and timestamps.
Pricing is negotiable in terms of a trade but don't expect me to come down much at all for PayPal. Can bundle for a slightly reduced price.
Can add PayPal if your item you are trading is worth more trade value wise, and vise-versa. Only shipping within USA.
Comment before PM, please don't chat/DM me

BY BRENDAN BASTINE MAY 31, 2024 ARTICLES

In today’s fast-paced world, where demands constantly tug at our attention, mastering productivity and prioritization has become more crucial than ever. The ability to navigate through an ever-growing list of tasks efficiently can mean the difference between success and overwhelming chaos. Yet, despite the importance of these skills, many find themselves struggling to juggle competing priorities and deadlines. Struggling with productivity and prioritization isn’t your fault. The sad truth is that no one teaches you how to prioritize, how to juggle competing priorities, or how to be productive. Let’s take a look at some of the strategies to help streamline workflows, manage your to-do list and regain control of your time management.

Consolidate Your Task List

The first step in regaining control over your tasks is to consolidate them into a single, centralized location. Scatterbrain is the enemy of productivity, and having tasks strewn across various platforms only adds to the confusion. By consolidating your tasks, whether through a dedicated task management app or a simple digital document, you create a clear and organized space where all your responsibilities reside. This not only reduces the risk of overlooking or losing sight of important tasks but also provides a comprehensive overview of your workload.
If you’re already using a task management app, take advantage of its integrations to streamline task consolidation further. Many apps offer integrations with popular tools like calendars, emails, and communication platforms, allowing you to sync tasks seamlessly across different tools despite where the task originated. By harnessing the power of integrations, you can ensure that all your tasks are synchronized and up-to-date, eliminating the need to switch between multiple apps and reducing the risk of missing deadlines.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Once you’ve consolidated your task list, the next step is to prioritize your tasks effectively. Not all tasks are created equal. Attempting to tackle them in random order can lead to inefficiency, frustration, and missed deadlines. One popular framework for prioritization is the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks based on their urgency and importance.
At the top of the matrix are tasks that are both urgent and important—these are your high-priority tasks that require immediate attention. These could be deadlines, important meetings, or critical deliverables that cannot be delayed. Next are tasks that are urgent but not important. These are your medium-priority tasks that require your attention. Due to the urgency of these tasks, it’s important these are scheduled to be completed prior to their deadline. These could be meetings, project management tasks, or collaboration efforts. Some may choose to delegate these tasks, especially if you are unable to meet the required deadline and they do not require your specific skill set. Then come tasks that are not urgent but important—these are your low-priority tasks that contribute to long-term goals but can be scheduled flexibly. Finally, there are tasks that are neither urgent nor important. The Eisenhower matrix dictates that these tasks should be deleted. I, however, disagree. These tasks made the list because you deemed them necessary to complete. These are your time-filler tasks that can be tackled during downtime or delegated to others. I know what you’re thinking, who has down time? Consider using time between meetings or other scheduled tasks to complete these. Whenever possible, these tasks should be delegated and given a due date.
When prioritizing tasks, it’s essential to assess their relative importance and urgency objectively. While some tasks may seem urgent due to external pressures or deadlines, it’s crucial to differentiate between true priorities and mere distractions. Seeking guidance from managers or colleagues can also provide valuable insights into the relative importance of competing tasks, helping you make more informed decisions about where to focus your time and energy.

Integrate Your Task List with Your Calendar

Once you’ve prioritized your tasks, the next step is to integrate your task list with your calendar to create a structured schedule. Your calendar serves as a roadmap for your day, guiding you through your tasks and appointments with clarity and purpose. By merging your task list with your calendar, you can ensure that your time is allocated efficiently and that no important tasks slip through the cracks. Most integrations will only show you the task name and will likely link back to the task itself for details. When creating tasks, ensure the summary is descriptive, especially if the due date is scheduled a few months out. The important thing to remember is that the task itself is on your calendar to complete. The details of the task can be looked up if they are not brought over to the task itself.
(I recently made a guide to color-coding your calendar; read the guide OR, if you’re a visual learner, watch the video.)
One effective strategy for integrating your task list with your calendar is to employ color coding to visually differentiate task priorities. For example, you could use red to represent high-priority tasks, orange for medium-priority tasks, green for low-priority tasks, and blue for time-filler tasks. By color coding your calendar, you create a visual cue that makes it easy to identify task priorities at a glance, allowing you to focus your attention on the most important tasks first.
In addition to color coding, it’s also helpful to label your calendar entries with descriptive titles that provide context about each task. This ensures that you have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and why it’s important, helping you stay focused and motivated throughout the day. By integrating your task list with your calendar in this way, you create a seamless workflow that maximizes productivity and minimizes distractions.

Follow the 80/60/40 Rule and Maintain Tasks on Deck

To maintain a consistent level of productivity, it’s essential to follow a structured approach to scheduling your tasks and meetings. One effective strategy is the 80/60/40 rule, which involves allocating a specific percentage of your calendar to tasks and meetings each day, depending on their urgency and importance.
According to the 80/60/40 rule, you should aim to fill 80% of your calendar today with tasks and meetings, leaving the remaining 20% for breaks and unexpected interruptions. Assuming you are working an 8 hour workday, this is equivalent to scheduling 6.5 hours. This allows you to allocate sufficient time to tackle your high-priority tasks while also providing flexibility to accommodate unforeseen changes or delays
Similarly, you should aim to fill 60% (4.75 hours) of tomorrow’s calendar with tasks and meetings, leaving 40% for flexibility and contingency planning. This ensures that you have a clear plan of action for the following day while also allowing room for adjustments based on your progress and priorities.
Finally, you should aim to fill 40% (3.25 hours) of your calendar two to five days out with tasks, leaving 60% for flexibility and long-term planning. This allows you to allocate time for tasks that may not be immediately urgent but are important for achieving your long-term goals, such as strategic planning or professional development.
In addition to following the 80/60/40 rule, it’s also helpful to maintain a list of tasks on deck for flexible utilization. Ideally these are “Time-filler” tasks. These are tasks that can be tackled during downtime or used to fill gaps in your schedule when unexpected changes occur. By keeping a list of tasks on deck, you ensure that your time is always productive and that no opportunity goes to waste.

Deadlines Have Power

One of the most powerful tools for driving action and accountability is the assignment of deadlines. Deadlines create a sense of urgency and momentum, motivating you to prioritize tasks and take action to meet your goals. It’s essential to assign deadlines strategically to ensure that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.
Even low-priority and time-filler tasks benefit from having deadlines assigned to them. A task with no deadline may never be completed. While these tasks may not be as urgent or important as others, assigning deadlines ensures that they receive the attention they deserve and prevents them from being neglected or forgotten. Additionally, assigning deadlines to low-priority and time-filler tasks helps you manage your workload more effectively by spreading tasks out over time and preventing last-minute rushes. The deadlines on these tasks can be flexible but it’s important that they aren’t continuously “kicked down the road”.
When assigning deadlines, it’s important to be realistic and considerate of your workload and priorities. Avoid overloading yourself with unrealistic deadlines that create unnecessary stress and pressure. Instead, aim to schedule tasks to be completed the week before they are due, allowing for flexibility and buffer time to accommodate unexpected changes or delays.
Mastering productivity and prioritization is a journey of continuous improvement that requires dedication, discipline, and a willingness to adapt. By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you can streamline your workflow, conquer your to-do list, and reclaim control over your time. Remember, productivity is not about doing more but doing what truly matters. So, take charge of your time, prioritize wisely, and watch your productivity soar.

It was peaceful pacing back and forth along the top of the shipping containers that marked the border of our camp. The sound of the waves lapping against the dock and the breeze that brought the mingling smells of the ocean were the ideal work environment. It was only the fact that I was up there as a lookout for the undead who might try to get in that made it just short of relaxing.
Having stretched my legs enough, I sat back in the metal folding chair next to Alan, who was flipping through the pages of a worn People magazine. Distracting articles from a simpler time.
“Anyone got married? Or acquired a drug habit?” I quipped quietly, crossing my legs.
Everything we said was quiet on guard duty; it was instinct. There weren’t any zombies close enough to hear us, and we were three containers up off the ground, but the silence in and of itself encouraged us to lower our voices. A world almost devoid of humans was staggeringly silent, especially at night when our camp was sleeping, away from any forests and the nocturnal animals that lived there. You couldn’t hear the sounds of crickets or frogs or owls anywhere for miles. If we heard something, there was a good chance it was a threat.
“Nothing new,” Alan joked back at me. He dropped the magazine in the small pile next to our chairs. When there was little to occupy the mind of a guard, it was important to both have distractions and also company. Otherwise you ran the danger of nodding off. “Matthew McConaughey has been married to his wife Camila Mark for twelve years now.”
“You think any of the celebrities are still alive?” I asked. “That those two are celebrating fourteen years now?”
He grimaced. “They must’ve been in LA. Big city folks? I’m always skeptical that they could survive the mobs.”
“True.”
It was at that point that I heard the telltale rapid scuffling of shoes, the faint sound of an approaching group of zombies, as well as a set of boots hitting the pavement at a faster pace. Alan heard it at the same moment and we both got to our feet, picking up our rifles. Then a figure darted around one of the shipping containers on shore to come into view, someone I recognized. It was Brianna, one of the vampires in our camp, and in addition to her scavenging pack, she had someone else slung over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry.
“Prep the gate!” I shouted. The sound carried to the two guards who were on gate duty, likely startling them. Alan and I both looked through the sights of our rifles and started picking off the zombies, years of practice giving us the result of a successful head shot with every valuable bullet. One after one, they dropped, and a dozen zombies became six.
Once Brianna got to the gate, she hefted her baggage off her shoulders and onto the ground, swiftly drawing a weapon from her side, and killed two as Alan and I killed the last four. At that, the echoes of gunshots faded and Brianna leaned over on her knees, gasping for air. She must’ve been running for a while; it takes a long time to tire out a vampire.
“Open the gate!” Alan called, walking over to the edge of the containers to take a look.
The rolling corrugated steel door that we’d built as our entrance trundled upwards. I left my rifle and went to the back of the container we were on, rapidly descending the ladders welded into the sides.
“My fault,” I heard Brianna wheeze as she pulled off her half-conscious vampire’s backpack and laid her down on her back. We were nearby, but gave them a wide berth. The gate rattled as Jack lowered back to the ground, sealing us off from the outside world once again. “We were in a Target. Like a goddamn idiot in a horror movie, I brought them on us with noise.”
“It happens,” Harry answered, looking over the ravaged body of Nancy. There was the upside of being immune to a zombie’s bite, but the downside was that vampires were still made of tasty meat.
The vampires obviously slept during the day and so they would go out at night, their night vision letting them see easily. It was quite an advantage since the zombies still kept to human waking hours. They didn’t sleep, exactly, but they became what we called ‘dormant’. That meant night was the best time to scavenge for supplies, but not if you needed a flashlight.
“Got it,” called a voice that drew my gaze, rapid footsteps approaching. It was Greg, with a bag of blood fresh from the fridge in his hands.
Built to work similar to a Capri Sun, the vampires could puncture the bottom with their fangs and drink straight from it. Luckily there were tons them ready to be shipped in warehouses across the country, and we had dozens of boxes of them on site, ready to be filled. Donating the blood through the standard process you’d have found before The Fall was a much better option than a bite, considering that it was a wound that would have to heal.
Greg handed the bag off to Brianna, since she had the strength to deal with Nancy, not to mention wasn’t a walking Capri Sun like we were. She sat next to her friend and put the bottom of the bag against her mouth, tipping her head up to meet it. “Nancy,” she said sharply. “Drink. Come on.”
The young woman’s eyes fluttered, her right hand twitching in the direction of the bag, and she bit down. Some of the blood leaked even as Brianna held it against her mouth, but that wasn’t anything that could be helped. After a moment of drinking what was spilling out, she got a good seal on it. Nancy gulped down the blood, visibly relaxing from the relief of sustenance that would heal her wounds.
Once she’d pulled everything she could from the bag, Brianna lowered her head back to the pavement. “You good?”
“Yeah,” Nancy breathed. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Nancy would go into decon, since she had infectious saliva all over her skin, but for the moment, she just laid there and let the blood heal her wounds. Another reason only other vampires helped a bitten vampire besides aggression: zombie saliva was something no human could touch without risking infection. Brianna would go through decon too, of course.
“If it’s your fault the zombies found you, are you volunteering to clear out the bodies?” I asked with a dry smile.
Brianna rolled her eyes and smiled back at me. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll drag them away from the camp once I get a bag of my own and get my strength back up. Fair is fair.” That was one thing we were grateful for: other animals couldn’t get infected. Any carnivores would wander out at the smell of the genuinely dead and vultures would flock to them as soon as the sun rose.
“I owe you,” Nancy said, tilting her head toward her friend, blinking languidly. “I’ll help.”
“You don’t owe me shit,” Brianna scoffed. “You’d have done the same thing. And you need to rest and recover.”
“All right, I’ll get decon prepped,” Greg said. “Was the scavenge at least worth it?”
“Oh yeah,” Brianna said, nodding. “We got some good food.”
“Awesome. Leave your bags. They need to go through decon too.”
“Right.”
Brianna leaned down and picked up Nancy once more, following Greg toward the decontamination container.
“Hey, show’s over,” Harry told me with a grin. “Back to your station, soldier.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I said with a smile and a casual salute.
***
[WP] An uneasy alliance… Humans and vampires band together as the world is ravaged by zombies. Humans need the vampires for protection and the vampires need a food source in the dying world.
***
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/storiesbykaren

Uploaded 13 MITM scripts. Asked it to write two scripts: one with a prompt from me and one without.
My prompt:
Reese is a billionaire. Having not showered for a month in an attempt to force a girl to dump him, medical science discovered a cure for cancer inside the mould on his body.
He enjoys being petty and lauding his new success over everyone. Malcolm is assistant manager at Lucky Aide; Craig is his boss. Dewey has some success in music. Francis and Piama have many kids. One was killed after the rocket-powered stroller Malcolm built went haywire and crashed into Lucky aide. Hal is Reese's dogsbody at the mansion.
**INT. REESE'S MANSION - DAY**
*The mansion is lavish, but the family’s interactions bring out an absurd contrast. The living room is enormous, filled with expensive decor, and an oversized portrait of Reese hangs on the wall. Lois, now in her early 60s, is sitting on an opulent couch, knitting furiously. Hal, also in his early 60s, is polishing a chandelier awkwardly, occasionally muttering to himself.*
**LOIS**
Hal, if that chandelier sparkles any more, it’s going to blind someone.
**HAL**
(balancing on a ladder)
It’s Reese’s orders, Lois. He wants everything to shine, especially his ego.
*The door opens and Dewey, now 33 and dressed in a casual yet stylish outfit, walks in with a guitar case slung over his shoulder.*
DEWEY
Hey Mom, Dad. Just got back from my latest gig. The crowd actually knew the words to my songs this time.
LOIS
(smiling)
That's wonderful, Dewey. Maybe someday they'll spell your name right on the marquee.
HAL
(teasing)
Don't get your hopes up too high, son. Remember when they called you "Dewey Decimal"?
DEWEY
(sighing)
Yeah, that was a low point.
*Reese, 38, enters, wearing an outlandish designer suit. He’s holding a champagne glass and has an obnoxiously smug grin.*
**REESE**
Ah, the smell of success... and the faint scent of cancer-curing mold. How’s everyone doing in my mansion today?
**DEWEY**
(sighs)
We’re fine, Reese.
*Malcolm, 37, enters wearing a disheveled Lucky Aide uniform, looking defeated.*
**MALCOLM**
Assistant Manager Malcolm reporting for duty. Another day of stacking shelves and avoiding Craig’s motivational speeches.
**CRAIG (O.S.)**
(excitedly)
Malcolm, you're late! There are sales figures to review!
**CRAIG**
(enters, looking chipper)
Malcolm, you need to embody the Lucky Aide spirit! Which, coincidentally, is just like your soul – non-existent!
**MALCOLM**
(deadpan)
Good morning to you too, Craig.
*Francis, 42, enters with Piama, 39, followed by a gaggle of children. They look tired but resilient.*
**FRANCIS**
Hey everyone, the gang’s all here. I barely managed to wrangle the kids into the minivan without losing one.
**PIAMA**
(holding a baby)
Francis, we did lose one. Remember? Little Jamie.
**FRANCIS**
(clearly struggling)
Oh right, how could I forget. Thanks for the rocket-powered stroller, Malcolm.
**MALCOLM**
(muttering)
I was just trying to help...
**REESE**
(laughing)
That’s right! Malcolm’s bright idea to save energy by rocketing Jamie around. Talk about a crash course in parenting.
*Hal finishes polishing and descends the ladder, his back creaking audibly.*
**HAL**
(to Reese)
Is there anything else you need, Master Reese?
**REESE**
(smirking)
Just your dignity, Dad. Oh wait, I already have that hanging on the wall.
*He points to a framed piece of paper that says "Hal’s Dignity" in elaborate calligraphy. Francis tries to gather his children, who are running around the room causing chaos.*
**FRANCIS**
Kids, gather round! Uncle Reese has some... interesting stories about how not to become a complete sociopath.
**REESE**
(grinning)
Careful, Francis, or I might just buy your children and send them to a Swiss boarding school.
*Lois looks up from her knitting, her expression stern.*
**LOIS**
Reese, why don’t you show a little humility?
**REESE**
(mockingly)
Humility? That’s rich coming from the woman who terrorized us all with her iron fist. Remember, Mom, you raised me to be this way.
*Piama finally speaks up, trying to maintain some normalcy.*
**PIAMA**
Reese, why don’t you use some of your money to help Francis and me find a place of our own? This mansion is... a bit much.
**REESE**
(smirking)
Why would I do that? Watching you all squirm is the best entertainment my money can buy. Plus, it keeps you all under my thumb.
*The family looks at each other, a mix of resignation and frustration. Malcolm, trying to muster some hope, speaks up.*
**MALCOLM**
You know, Reese, money can’t buy happiness.
**REESE**
(grinning wider)
No, but it can buy a rocket-powered stroller. Right, Malcolm?
*The family doesn’t laugh. They just continue with their tasks, each of them silently dealing with their own absurd reality.*
REESE Oh, come on. You all are acting like I haven't earned this. Remember when I stopped showering for a month to force my girlfriend to dump me, and medical science found a cancer-curing mold on my body? Yeah, when you become a billionaire by accident, then we can talk about humility and charity.
LOIS (grimly) I still can't believe that's what made you rich. It's like the universe played a cruel joke on us.
HAL (to himself) And I’m the punchline...
Francis tries to calm down one of his screaming kids, who is running around the room with a toy sword.
FRANCIS (to the kid) Hey, buddy, maybe Uncle Reese can buy you a real sword next time.
PIAMA Francis, don't encourage him. The last thing we need is Reese arming the children.
REESE (laughing) Now there's an idea. A fully armed and operational battle station... of children.
Lois, unable to take it anymore, stands up and faces Reese directly.
LOIS Reese, this isn't funny. You're sitting on all this money, while the rest of us are struggling. Have a heart, for once in your life.
REESE (mock sympathy) Oh, I’m sorry, Mom. Did you want a loan? Maybe I could throw you a few million to ease your pain?
DEWEY (flatly) How generous of you, Reese. Maybe after you’re done pretending to care, you could actually do something helpful.
REESE (smirking) Ah, Dewey, always the moral compass. How’s that working out for you in the real world?
Malcolm finally speaks up, tired of Reese's constant gloating.
MALCOLM You know what, Reese? Enjoy it while it lasts. Because at the end of the day, you’re just as miserable as the rest of us. Money can’t fix everything.
REESE (leaning forward) Maybe not, but it sure makes it a hell of a lot more fun.
The family continues their tasks in silence, each of them dealing with their absurd lives. The camera pulls back, showing the entire family together, yet worlds apart.
NARRATOR (MALCOLM) (TC) And there it is. Twenty years later, and we’re still stuck in this crazy dynamic. But hey, at least we’re in it together. Even if together means living under the reign of King Reese.
Fade out as the family continues to interact, each dealing with their bizarre lives.
END.
This is the script ChatGPT generated with no prompts from me.
INT. FAMILY LIVING ROOM - DAY
The living room looks lived-in and somewhat cluttered, but there's an air of warmth. Lois, now in her early 70s, sits on the couch, reading a book. Hal, in his early 70s, is trying to fix a broken lamp.
LOIS Hal, if that lamp could talk, it would ask you to stop torturing it.
HAL (holding wires) I'm almost there, Lois. Just a few more tweaks...
The door bursts open, and in walks Dewey, now 33. He's a music teacher with a calm demeanor but still carries a playful spirit.
DEWEY Guess who just composed an entire symphony based on cat meows?
LOIS (smiling) Let me guess, you?
DEWEY Absolutely. And I think the school might actually play it this time.
Reese, 38, enters, wearing a police uniform. He's matured but still has a mischievous glint in his eye.
REESE Hey, Dewey, did you finally convince them to give you real instruments?
DEWEY You'd be surprised how versatile a classroom full of recorders can be.
Malcolm, 37, walks in with a briefcase. He looks every bit the successful professional but carries the weight of his responsibilities.
MALCOLM (deep sigh) Tough day at the office.
HAL You know, I still don’t understand why you didn’t go for that cushy research job in Switzerland.
MALCOLM It’s called ambition, Dad. Plus, the world needs policymakers who understand quantum physics.
LOIS And your father needs someone who understands how to fix a lamp.
MALCOLM (laughing) Let's call an electrician before Dad electrocutes himself.
Francis, now 42, enters with his wife Piama, 39. Francis looks rugged and has clearly embraced his life on the ranch.
FRANCIS Hey, family! Guess who wrangled two wild horses this morning?
PIAMA (smiling) And then tried to convince them to wear cowboy hats.
HAL Francis, you always did know how to talk to animals.
FRANCIS Too bad it doesn’t work on my kids.
Jamie, now 22, enters, holding a baby. He’s grown into a responsible young man, taking after both Lois and Hal in different ways.
JAMIE Mom, Dad, everyone, meet little Lois.
LOIS (teary-eyed) You named her after me?
JAMIE Of course. We wanted her to have a strong name.
The family gathers around the baby, cooing and fussing over her. The doorbell rings, and Reese opens it to reveal Craig, in his late 60s, holding a cake.
CRAIG I heard there’s a family reunion and thought I’d crash the party with cake!
LOIS (sighs) Come on in, Craig. You’re practically family at this point.
CRAIG (placing the cake on the table) I’m honored. So, who wants to hear about my new job at the library?
MALCOLM (smirking) As long as it doesn’t involve you dressing up as a book.
CRAIG Oh, Malcolm, you wound me.
The family laughs, and the camera pulls back, showing the entire family together, enjoying the moment.
NARRATOR (MALCOLM) (TC) Twenty years later, and we're still as chaotic as ever. But I wouldn’t trade this crazy family for anything. Well, maybe for a Nobel Prize... but then again, probably not.
Fade out as the family continues to chat and laugh.
END.

It was peaceful pacing back and forth along the top of the shipping containers that marked the border of our camp. The sound of the waves lapping against the dock and the breeze that brought the mingling smells of the ocean were the ideal work environment. It was only the fact that I was up there as a lookout for the undead who might try to get in that made it just short of relaxing.
Having stretched my legs enough, I sat back in the metal folding chair next to Alan, who was flipping through the pages of a worn People magazine. Distracting articles from a simpler time.
“Anyone got married? Or acquired a drug habit?” I quipped quietly, crossing my legs.
Everything we said was quiet on guard duty; it was instinct. There weren’t any zombies close enough to hear us, and we were three containers up off the ground, but the silence in and of itself encouraged us to lower our voices. A world almost devoid of humans was staggeringly silent, especially at night when our camp was sleeping, away from any forests and the nocturnal animals that lived there. You couldn’t hear the sounds of crickets or frogs or owls anywhere for miles. If we heard something, there was a good chance it was a threat.
“Nothing new,” Alan joked back at me. He dropped the magazine in the small pile next to our chairs. When there was little to occupy the mind of a guard, it was important to both have distractions and also company. Otherwise you ran the danger of nodding off. “Matthew McConaughey has been married to his wife Camila Mark for twelve years now.”
“You think any of the celebrities are still alive?” I asked. “That those two are celebrating fourteen years now?”
He grimaced. “They must’ve been in LA. Big city folks? I’m always skeptical that they could survive the mobs.”
“True.”
It was at that point that I heard the telltale rapid scuffling of shoes, the faint sound of an approaching group of zombies, as well as a set of boots hitting the pavement at a faster pace. Alan heard it at the same moment and we both got to our feet, picking up our rifles. Then a figure darted around one of the shipping containers on shore to come into view, someone I recognized. It was Brianna, one of the vampires in our camp, and in addition to her scavenging pack, she had someone else slung over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry.
“Prep the gate!” I shouted. The sound carried to the two guards who were on gate duty, likely startling them. Alan and I both looked through the sights of our rifles and started picking off the zombies, years of practice giving us the result of a successful head shot with every valuable bullet. One after one, they dropped, and a dozen zombies became six.
Once Brianna got to the gate, she hefted her baggage off her shoulders and onto the ground, swiftly drawing a weapon from her side, and killed two as Alan and I killed the last four. At that, the echoes of gunshots faded and Brianna leaned over on her knees, gasping for air. She must’ve been running for a while; it takes a long time to tire out a vampire.
“Open the gate!” Alan called, walking over to the edge of the containers to take a look.
The rolling corrugated steel door that we’d built as our entrance trundled upwards. I left my rifle and went to the back of the container we were on, rapidly descending the ladders welded into the sides.
“My fault,” I heard Brianna wheeze as she pulled off her half-conscious vampire’s backpack and laid her down on her back. We were nearby, but gave them a wide berth. The gate rattled as Jack lowered back to the ground, sealing us off from the outside world once again. “We were in a Target. Like a goddamn idiot in a horror movie, I brought them on us with noise.”
“It happens,” Harry answered, looking over the ravaged body of Nancy. There was the upside of being immune to a zombie’s bite, but the downside was that vampires were still made of tasty meat.
The vampires obviously slept during the day and so they would go out at night, their night vision letting them see easily. It was quite an advantage since the zombies still kept to human waking hours. They didn’t sleep, exactly, but they became what we called ‘dormant’. That meant night was the best time to scavenge for supplies, but not if you needed a flashlight.
“Got it,” called a voice that drew my gaze, rapid footsteps approaching. It was Greg, with a bag of blood fresh from the fridge in his hands.
Built to work similar to a Capri Sun, the vampires could puncture the bottom with their fangs and drink straight from it. Luckily there were tons them ready to be shipped in warehouses across the country, and we had dozens of boxes of them on site, ready to be filled. Donating the blood through the standard process you’d have found before The Fall was a much better option than a bite, considering that it was a wound that would have to heal.
Greg handed the bag off to Brianna, since she had the strength to deal with Nancy, not to mention wasn’t a walking Capri Sun like we were. She sat next to her friend and put the bottom of the bag against her mouth, tipping her head up to meet it. “Nancy,” she said sharply. “Drink. Come on.”
The young woman’s eyes fluttered, her right hand twitching in the direction of the bag, and she bit down. Some of the blood leaked even as Brianna held it against her mouth, but that wasn’t anything that could be helped. After a moment of drinking what was spilling out, she got a good seal on it. Nancy gulped down the blood, visibly relaxing from the relief of sustenance that would heal her wounds.
Once she’d pulled everything she could from the bag, Brianna lowered her head back to the pavement. “You good?”
“Yeah,” Nancy breathed. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Nancy would go into decon, since she had infectious saliva all over her skin, but for the moment, she just laid there and let the blood heal her wounds. Another reason only other vampires helped a bitten vampire besides aggression: zombie saliva was something no human could touch without risking infection. Brianna would go through decon too, of course.
“If it’s your fault the zombies found you, are you volunteering to clear out the bodies?” I asked with a dry smile.
Brianna rolled her eyes and smiled back at me. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll drag them away from the camp once I get a bag of my own and get my strength back up. Fair is fair.” That was one thing we were grateful for: other animals couldn’t get infected. Any carnivores would wander out at the smell of the genuinely dead and vultures would flock to them as soon as the sun rose.
“I owe you,” Nancy said, tilting her head toward her friend, blinking languidly. “I’ll help.”
“You don’t owe me shit,” Brianna scoffed. “You’d have done the same thing. And you need to rest and recover.”
“All right, I’ll get decon prepped,” Greg said. “Was the scavenge at least worth it?”
“Oh yeah,” Brianna said, nodding. “We got some good food.”
“Awesome. Leave your bags. They need to go through decon too.”
“Right.”
Brianna leaned down and picked up Nancy once more, following Greg toward the decontamination container.
“Hey, show’s over,” Harry told me with a grin. “Back to your station, soldier.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I said with a smile and a casual salute.

RAW

03/02/2014
Omaha, Nebraska
Commentated by Tom Phillips and Michael Cole
In what is becoming a worrying tradition, The Authority make their way to the ring to kick off the show. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Corporate Kane, and The New Age Outlaws are out first. Stephanie introduces the UNDISPUTED WWE World Heavyweight Champion ---- RANDALL KEITH ORTON! Orton walks out with his arm in a sling and soaks in a very negative reaction. Triple H and Stephanie take turns talking up Randy Orton's accomplishments like proud parents. They unveil a new championship; the World Heavyweight and WWE titles have been merged into a modernized version of the classic Winged Eagle design. Triple H straps the new title around Orton's waist and the fans chant "CM PUNK!" Stephanie reacts to the chants by informing everyone that due to his threats of violence, CM Punk has been barred from the building tonight. That is not a popular decision in Oklahoma. Triple H demands the fans shut their spoiled mouths and acknowledge that there’s a new definition of greatness. Orton takes the microphone but the boo's are deafening and he declines to speak until the fans quiet down.
Orton finally talks, managing to say "Welcome to the era of greatness. The era that is best for business. You cheer for guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, but they don't measure up to me on their best day." Daniel Bryan's music hits and the arena breaks out into a massive YES chant. Bryan reminds Orton that he stole that championship from him at Summerslam with the help of Triple H. The American Dragon wonders how long Orton is going to hide behind The Authority, security and fake injuries. If Orton really believes himself to be the standard of greatness, why are The Authority doing everything in their power to make sure he doesn't have to stand across from Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 30? "I won the Royal Rumble and I will win the Elimination Chamber, so while you're sitting at home watching me be the champion you pretend to be, I want you to remember one thing: I AM INEVITABLE!" Orton shakes his head and says Bryan will never learn. His injury is 100% legitimate and he doesn't owe anybody an explanation. Orton says the only person watching from home is CM Punk! And tonight, Punk can watch Daniel Bryan in the main event .... against an opponent of Orton's choosing. Bryan welcomes the challenge and says his opponents blood will be on Orton's hands.
Divas Champion AJ Lee comes down and joins commentary ahead of the Gauntlet Match.
# 1 Contenders Gauntlet Match
Kaitlyn and Eva Marie are our first competitors. Kaitlyn makes quick work of Eva, hitting a Spear for the pinfall elimination.
Kaitlyn eliminates Eva Marie
Tamina Snuka is out next and she attacks Kaitlyn from behind after a distraction by AJ. We come back from commercial to see Kaitlyn take Tamina down with a baseball slide on the outside. Kaitlyn is in control until AJ throws some water at her and Tamina takes advantage by sending Kaitlyn face first into the ringpost! Tamina throws Kaitlyn back in the ring and hits a devastating Samoan Drop for the 3 count.
Tamina Snuka eliminates Kaitlyn
Aksana is out next but she doesn't really stand a chance. Tamina is like a cat playing with a mouse. She mercy kills Aksana with a Samoan Drop for another elimination.
Tamina Snuka eliminates Aksana
Naomi hits the ring and gives Tamina a run for her money. She connects with the Rear View but Tamina kicks out at two. Naomi goes to the 2nd turnbuckle but Tamina takes her head off in mid air with a big boot! Tamina scales the ropes --- SUPERFLY SPLASH! 1-2-3!
Tamina Snuka eliminates Naomi
Mickie James is out next to a great reaction! Mickie takes the fight to Tamina and knocks her down with a dropkick from the 2nd rope. Tamina goes for a powerbomb but James rolls through with a sunset flip and gets a 2 count! Mickie attempts the Stratusfaction but Tamina yanks her down by the hair! Mickie crawls to the corner where Tamina smashes her with a running hip attack! Tamina climbs to the top and leaps off with a Superfly Splash but Mickie rolls out of the way! MICK KICK! 1-2-3!
Mickie James eliminates Tamina Snuka
Brie Bella is next and she shakes Mickie's hand as a sign of respect. They have a good back and forth, countering big moves, and securing some nearfalls. But Mickie's championship lust overwhelms her opponent, she hits Brie Bella with the Stratusfaction and gets the pin.
Mickie James eliminates Brie Bella
Nikki Bella is the final competitor and she pounces on Mickie right away with a Bella Buster! Mickie kicks out! Nikki goes for the TKO but AJ Lee gets on the apron for a distraction. Tamina comes out of nowhere with a Superkick but Brie Bella jumps in the way, sacrificing herself for her sister! Mickie and Nikki dropkick Tamina from the ring and then Nikki Bella ducks a kick and rolls James up for the 3 count!
Result- Nikki Bella wins. (12:32)
We get a recap of The Ascension's debut last week as well as their bone chilling warning to Cody Rhodes and Goldust. Konnor and Viktor make their way to the ring for tag team action.
The Ascension vs. Los Matadores w/El Torito
Konnor viciously tosses Diego over the ropes and into the barricade! Fall of Man to Fernando! 1-2-3!
Result- Konnor pins Fernando via Fall of Man. (00:35)
El Torito gets in the ring to check on Fernando but The Ascension attack the little guy and hit The Fall of Man to him as well!
We see a video package of John Cena training for the Elimination Chamber. He says this is the most barbaric and painful match he's ever been in and if he wants to main event Wrestlemania, he has a tall task ahead of him. Cena talks about his five opponents at No Way Out and while he has the most experience inside the Chamber, he's not taking anyone lightly.
It's time for The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho. He welcomes WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E Langston to the show and says last week they suffered a loss against The Shield when Seth Rollins pinned Big E. Fans have been pointing to the fact that Jericho didn't break up the pin but Y2J assures Big E that he had the best of intentions, it's just that The Shield is a different beast entirely. They don't stop fighting and when Jericho saw Big E get hit with Dirty Deeds and the Curb Stomp, he knew their night was over.
Big E snatches the microphone and says being champion means there's a target on his back. He doesn't buy Jericho's explanation and he won't make the mistake of trusting him again. Jericho turns a bit nasty, showing his true colours, and says young ignorant up and comers like Big E make him sick. Y2J is a legend in this business and is respected industry wide.
Jericho was hoping to put this little miscommunication behind them but now he see's that Langston's ego is just as big as his muscles.
SIERRA. HOTEL. INDIA. ECHO. LIMA. DELTA. SHIELD
United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns come through the crowd as Big E prepares for a fight. Rollins has a microphone and tells Big E that next week he's taking the Intercontinental Title. As for this week, they want a pound of flesh. The Shield surround the ring like hyenas ---- JERICHO SMASHES BIG E IN THE BACK WITH A STOOL! Y2J dashes out of the ring and heads up the ramp with a big shit eating grin as The Shield pounce on Big E.
BROOKLYN! BROOKLYN! IT'S CRYME TYME!
Shad Gaspard has returned to the WWE alongside his partner JTG! Shad boots Jericho in the head for good measure as Cryme Tyme charge the ring! Big E has some back up; he and Cryme Tyme send Roman from the ring, followed by Ambrose! Shad lifts Rollins up on his shoulders but Ambrose and Reigns pull Seth to safety and retreat through the crowd. Big E holds up the Intercontinental Title and poses with Shad and JTG much to the fans excitement.
John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Goldust vs. The Wyatt Family
Goldust and Cody attack Luke Harper and Erick Rowan before the bell rings and brawl all over ringside! Cena and Wyatt to face off in the middle of the ring. Cena with a snap suplex on Wyatt but Bray kicks out at 1 and does his spider walk! Cena is freaked out and backs into the corner to rethink his game plan. Bray clobbers Cena and makes the tag to Harper after things settle down on the outside. Harper and Rowan make quick tags and isolate Cena but they go to well one too many times --- Cena with a double DDT to take both monsters down!
Cena tags in Cody Rhodes! Cody runs wild --- Alabama Slam to Harper! Disaster Kick to Rowan! Wyatt tags in and cuts off Cody's momentum with a nasty uppercut. Wyatt goes for Sister Abigail but Cody hits a neckbreaker and kips up! He's fired up babeh! Tag to Goldust. Wyatt charges at Goldust --- right into a lightning quick powerslam! Wyatt rolls out of the ring to recoup with Harper and Rowan. John Cena flies off the top rope and crashes onto all three members of The Wyatt Family on the outside!
Back in the ring we get a chaotic rush of attacks to close out the match; Erick Rowan flattens Goldust but gets hit with a Cross Rhodes! Wyatt clubs Cody from behind and hits a Sister Abigail. Cena scoops Wyatt up for an AA but eats a boot by Harper. Wyatt knocks Cena out of the ring as Harper drops Goldust with a brutal Lariat! 1-2-3! The Wyatt Family win.
Result- Luke Harper pins Goldust via Harpoon Lariat. (14:16)
We see a video of The Real Americans and Zeb Colter challenging Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to a tag team match next week on RAW after the Swampmen ruined Cesaro and Jack Swagger's title opportunity last week.
Josh Matthews is backstage with Hunico and Camacho. They talk about their beef with Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara --- Hunico is now calling himself the mask collector. He promises to be the nail in the coffin of Mysterio's career and anyone who gets in his way will be dealt with accordingly.
Daniel Bryan is taping his wrists backstage ahead of the main event. William Regal enters and greets his former protege but Bryan is laser focused on kicking someone's head and tells Regal they can catch up later. Regal wishes Bryan good luck out there and pats him on the back as The American Dragon heads for the ring.
Main Event- Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett
Randy Orton appears on the titantron to give Bryan the BAD NEWS. This starts Barrett's loose association with The Authority from here on out. Barrett was in a tough place, facing a suspension after attacking a referee, when The Authority offered to forget about it and help him back into title contention. His first opportunity is a big main event against Bryan.
These two men share quite a bit of history with NXT and The Nexus just a few years back. The match begins with them exchanging stiff elbows and uppercuts in the middle of the ring. Bryan with some stiff chest kicks until Barrett catches a breather with a short arm clothesline. Barrett stomps Bryan in the corner, choking him viciously. The ref pulls him off so Barrett whips Bryan across the ring --- Bryan moonsaults off the turnbuckle, lands on his feet, and hits a big head kick! He takes a turn stomping Barrett, chokes him in the corner, and yells at the referee that he has "UNTIL FIVE!" The Yes Movement is in full effect as Bryan charges up for the Busaiku Knee but Barrett hits The Winds of Change! 1-2-Bryan kicks out. Barrett is pissed. He traps Bryan in the corner and hits a barrage of knees to the ribs and head. Barrett tries for a superplex but Bryan reverses into a Guillotine Choke on the ropes! The referee tries again for Bryan to break the hold but The American Dragon uses every bit of his 5 second count.
Barrett falls out of the ring so Bryan runs and leaps off the apron! A knee right to Barrett's chin sends him flying over the barricade, into the front row! Bryan rolls in the ring to break the count and then goes out to get Barrett. Bad News shoves a fan at Bryan and then cheapshots him to gain control. Barrett throws Bryan into the ring and goes for the Bullhammer but Bryan ducks and hits a bridging German! 1-2-NO!
William Regal appears on the stage and slowly walks down to the ring. Bryan and Barrett exchange strikes until Bryan locks in the YES LOCK! Barrett is screaming in pain and manages to crawl to the ropes; again Bryan waits until 5 to break the hold. The referee argues with Bryan as we see Regal slide something into Barrett's elbow pad! Bryan charges up for the Busaiku Knee again but this time Regal gets on the apron for the momentary distraction ---- BARRETT TAKES BRYAN'S HEAD OFF WITH A BULLHAMMER! BRYAN IS OUT COLD! BARRETT DROPS AN ARM OVER HIM! 1-2-3!
Result- Bad News Barrett wins by pinfall via Bullhammer with a loaded elbow pad. (16:32)
William Regal helps Barrett to his feet to celebrate this momentous win. Bryan is still unconscious as Regal steps over his body with a bittersweet look on his face. The announcers wonder why on earth Regal has seemingly struck a deal with The Authority as RAW goes off the air with Bryan being checked on by officials.

Changing the flair to closed to catch up on the queue!
Welcome to another giveaway on the island of Immortelle! Today, I am offering:

• Clothing
  
• Hats
  
• Accessories
  
• Socks
  
• Shoes
  
• Furniture
  
• Miscellaneous other items and materials
  

You will see very few duplicate items, there are many different variations and colors of the available items.
Feel free to pick things up to catalog them, and try clothing on to see which items you want. Please put them back down relatively close to where you found them if you decide to drop an item.
Take as much as you can fit in your pockets! Please come with empty pockets.
Everything is in one large fenced in area. Take the pipe right in front of the airport and you’ll be transported to the giveaway area!
Feel free to spend some time wishing on shooting stars!
Comment your name and island name and I’ll DM you the dodo code!
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to seeing you here!

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You are born without your permission, into genetics you didn't choose, to parents you didn't choose, to a family you didn't choose, to a country you didn't choose, to a culture you didn't choose. You didn't choose the time or place, you didn't choose your language, you didn't choose the school, or the people in your class or the teachers.You didn't choose your likes and dislikes, your strengths or weaknesses, you didn't choose your economic status, you didn't choose to be prone to diseases, you didn't choose to be human instead of another animal, you didn't choose to be this "race" or another, you didn't choose your skin color, you didn't choose your IQ, you didn't choose what makes you happy, you didn't choose what makes you sad. You dont choose who thinks you are uglt or beautiful. You didn't choose who loves you, you don't choose who hates you, you don't choose who to love, you don't choose who to hate, you don't choose the code of morality, you don't choose to have wars, you don't choose to have peace.You didn't choose to be on this planet specifically, orbiting this sun, in this solar system, in this galaxy, in this universe, obeying these laws of physics.Everything that happens in the present has happened because of past events, and on the same principle, the future is already decided for us because of the same past. Your whole life is nothing but a "movie" you watch from your own body. A very limited point of view, and a very short movie (even though it feels like alot), relatively to the scales of time of the universe's existence. Your role is already "scripted." Even the fact that I'm writing this and that you are reading it is just part of the chain of events ruled by the principle of causality. Even if it will have an impact on you or not, it was already decided long long long time ago, infact, it was decided from the first moments after the start of the chain of events which will end in nothing. From nothing, to something, to nothing again. Everything that is "good" in our life can be traced to or summed up as some physical need of the body. We work in one job that other people need, to get money, so we can get from other people's work what we need. And what we need is to eat, drink, sleep, "piss", "shit", and multiply. If you do that successfully, you have other needs and desires to fulfill; otherwise, you'll experience boredom and a sense of lack of meaning. Therefore people paint, travel, dance, play games, create music, read, watch movies, have hobbies or do some other activities we do "with the body for the body." When fulfilling all these needs and desires are not enough, people tend to have the desire to create more humans, and those who choose to create another person are therefore deciding for the created person that the value of the "good" things (which are just material physical needs forced upon us) is more valued than the "bad" things that can happen (which are also forced upon us) like crimes, wars, diseases, injuries, anxiety, depression, sadness, rape, murder, race discrimination, theft, slavery, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, tiredness, nightmares, boredom, hate, confusion, old age, pains, memtal amd physical suffering and so on and so on. As I said earlier, because of the principle of causality, each proportion of this "good" and "bad" in one's life is already decided ahead of one's birth, and the sense of agency and free will are nothing but a perception from the inside of our body. This perception of free will itself is a cause of a lot of harm to many people because we don't choose anything, but we do give all the credit and assign all the blame for people's actions they are not choosing.Another tragic fact about the universe and existence is that everything that is "good" for somebody is bad for somebody else. For example, you enjoy your steak, which means some cow lived and died for it. Or you enjoy some vegetable or fruit, so it comes from a field that used to be a habitat for some other animals, and people have to pick it for you in hard conditions. You enjoy a book, some tree and habitat was taken down for it. You enjoy the roads, somebody had to pave them, and so on and so on. Every animal existence, humans included, are living at the expense of other animals or even humans. If it is true that all we do is serve our bodily needs, then there is no other way but to say that: The thing we call life is nothing but slavery to our body. The saddest thing in my own opinion is that you don't choose when you'll die and how. Even if you want to die as much as one can, you'll face challenges and moral dilemmas and all your natural instincts that evolved through millions of years of successful reproduction will kick in to prevent you from the risks of causing yourself harm. Also, the process itself is a cause of suffering most of the time and is very scary to us by nature. If you want to bring another soul to existence because you want company, it's selfish. If you want them to fight your wars, it's selfish. If you want them to fulfill your dreams, it's selfish. If you want them to help you in old age, it's selfish. If you want them to take care of your wealth or businesses when you are gone, it's selfish. If you want to create a legacy, it's selfish. If you want to change the world, your world, it's selfish. If you want to serve your god, it's selfish. If you want to serve humanity, which you decided should be protected by your morals, it's selfish. There is no such thing as an unselfish act because every act is done to gain some good for ourselves in some way or another, including having kids. No matter what the reason was, the reason is still, at its core, a selfish one because the parents benefit from this birth in some way or another.To conclude: Existence is bad. Creating other people is selfish. Don't create other people. I'm open to a civilized discussion.

This is a crossover fanfiction between original fiction titles: Nature of Predators by SpacePaladin15 and The Last Angel by Proximal Flame respectively. All credit and rights reserved goes to them for making such amazing science fiction settings that I wanted to put this together.
You can read The Last Angel here: Be warned, it's decently long, and at its third installment so far. I highly suggest reading it before reading this, or this story will not make sense.

Otherwise, enjoy the story! Thanks again to u/jesterra54 and u/skais01 for beta and checking of work!
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Memory transcription subject: Adjek, Venlil Space Corps Engineer
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
I had departed with a collection of other engineers who had assisted on the tethering of Nemesis several days ago back to her massive ship. There were twenty-five of us, although none I knew directly from my work.
As our cargo shuttle entered the direct monitoring range of the beast once more, I felt a bad feeling throughout my fur. I didn't know what, exactly, but it was like we had just stepped into the eyes of a predator lurking in the undergrowth, watching us intently. As if to capitalize on that unease, our pilot Mimek bleated something in a panic that made said fur stand straight.
"T-th-th-there's an Arxur vessel trailing us!"
I whirled onto the oncoming feed near the front of the shuttle. Behind us, was a Arxur Ambusher-class dropship that had taken a path directly behind us. It followed the exact same trajectory as our own, and showed no signs of diverting. I bleated out a panicked command of my own.
"K-kick it! W-we need to get distance from them!"
While I had no authority to tell the pilot what to do in this situation, he must've nevertheless agreed, and as such Mimek kicked the boosters into overdrive to escape their proximity. I kept an eye on the rear display, watching as in response, the Arxur craft opened up its own engines, as if to accept the chase, and closed in.
Mimek spoke again. "Why are they chasing us?! D-didn't the humans forbid them from attacking us in-system?!" I had a horrible thought as to why...
"They've fallen to their p-predator bloodlust! They won't be stopped so long as we're in vulnerable space! Close to Nemesis, fast!" I pointed at the guidance lights to the hangar on Nemesis' keel opening. While the Arxur could likely outrun us in an extended burn, we had the advantage in a sprint over a shorter distance. Nemesis was in that shorter distance range, and so we needed to reach it fast to be in its haven.
Mimek, already piloting at full afterburn, corrected the shop in a sharp turn from the plotted approach vector cleared with the Lunar Shipyards. As this occurred, a reminder from the very same monitors came through on comms.
"Venlil ship, this is LSC Tower 3, you have left the agreed final approach vector, adjust your course to match the planned path immediately, do not continue on your current heading."
The humans did not realize the threat we were currently in, and thus the pilot ignored the warning. The Arxur seemingly took our course change as a challenge, and followed suit.
"I repeat, readjust your course heading immediately or fighters will be scrambled. This is your only warning." Even were that the case, we were far too close for them to plot an intercept vector. The shipyard monitors would need at least [one minute] to reach us, and Nemesis was merely [20 seconds] at full-burn-then-brake approach. We would not let the ship closing in behind us catch us, disciplinary action be damned. The damned Arxur succumbed to their predator madness!
A lazy-curve speed burnoff pattern was adopted, and we rocketed at ever-decreasing, but still frightening pace towards Nemesis in an attempt to shake the Ambusher behind us. The hangar was merely moments away, don't fail us now!
The Arxur vessel broke off the chase near the massive docked ship, seemingly slowing for no apparent reason. Perhaps it realized it couldn't slow down as fast as we could, and as such had to? But, that came with another stomach-hurdling problem: us slowing down. If we didn't, we'd crash and turn into nothing but paste on the walls of the gargantuan ship's hangar.
Thankfully, Mimek pulled through, and we zoomed into the hangar space, hitting the emergency external inertial dampener breaking as we attempted landing. The ship skidded across the floor, as it skipped nearly a [fourty meters] to a stop, crashing through something on the way through, but we were moving at such a pace that I had no clue exactly what.
As the ship came to a complete stop, rocking back onto its belly with a final thump, there was the sound of heavy stomping outside, before something rammed into the back of the ship, nearly rocking it off-balance again. "What...what was that?!" We both exclaimed.
We stepped away from the back exit ramp of the vehicle, all twenty five of us, as it began to groan under immense stress. The door dented in, and a few of us instantly cried out in surprise and fear.
And then again. And again. Another rocking of the ship as a dent formed. Another.
And finally, with an unsettling sound of metal being torn through, a crack in the plating of the door turned into a gap that widened into a shaking hole, until the door literally flew off its hydraulic support. The strain spat out fluids and electrical sparking, and several bleated in fear of the sudden disassembly of the door between us and the hangar. Had the Arxur caught up to us? Were we doomed?
But as the burst of electrical smoke cleared, and the light was filtered through our adjusting eyes, what was on the other side shocked me.
A mechanical monstrosity, far bulkier and massive than the one that had confronted my group and I aboard Nemesis stood on the other side. It towered above us, with a intimidatingly large cannon built into one of its arms, aimed dead center into our room, looking more akin to a vehicle's gun than a handheld one. One could see behind it many more of a similar looking model closing in. It spoke in a wrathful tone...Her wrathful tone.
"What the hell are you doing CRASHING INTO ME? There better be a-"
But I felt a chill as it suddenly cut off, and the featureless head of the bipedal robot swiveled to look directly at me instead. Though I could see no clear indicator of eyes like the nightmarish drone I had talked with in the past, I could feel it gaze directly at me, ignoring the others. It suddenly spoke again, a single word conveying contempt dripping in it. The blood in my veins turned cold as the Twilight.
"YOU..."
+CONFED IO.5+
+READING MAIN SEQ.MEM+
+ADDENDUM: ADJUSTED DATE 24.10.2136+
Something's wrong, I can feel it.
The bearing of the approaching ships has left the supposed approach vector, and directly accelerated towards my open hangar bay. While the ships pose no threat to me directly, I am uncertain if they are capable of stopping quickly enough to not risk the human crew that had just landed. I considered my options...
+grab beam non-responsive, schedule systems evaluation immediately+
I had no capability to tractor the ships from their path, and they showed no sign of slowing. I could fire a particle beam in the path of both ships, but there was no ability to tune down the power enough to not destroy the ships, and it would not reduce their velocity. I plotted the relative course of the Venlil shuttle to be coming at this angle, which thankfully was towards the opposite side of the hangar as the Human delegation. That did not remove the possibility of shrapnel from a crash, however.
I interspersed my Praetorians in front of them, seeking to act as a shield in the case of any flying debris. I warned them in the same instant.
"Take cover behind these drones, there is a problem with the landing Venlil ship on route."
"W..What's going on, Red?" Hailey asked, confused. Never had I been this direct with her physically, actively interspersing my drones in front of her and the rest of the scientific delegation.
"They are likely to crash. Predicted acceleration curves of the shuttle do not meet the prerequisite delta-V to stop safely at this current distance and velocity. Duck and cover."
The shuttlecraft streaked into my hangar bay at speeds that would make a 21st century jet blush. It slowed anomalously upon entering, but did not slow at enough rate to prevent the crash. The Praetorians situated on that side of my hangar were incapable of moving fast enough to dodge out of the way, and I was forced to watch as the shuttle crashed through thirty-two of them in a 45-meter break distance, before slamming into a hangar wall. They were built to withstand incredible munition strength, but not twenty-some odd tons of shuttle at near mach speeds. The impact brutally cast them across the deck, smashing some, tearing apart others.
Debris flew from the front of the shuttle outward, but none reached near the humans. Those moronic aliens were about to answer painfully for their incompetence on my deck.
"Dear god!" One of the humans swore at the sound of the shuttle crashing. Another screamed and ducked down further behind my Praetorian. The drone curled down to better envelop her in protection. Hailey was speechless.
A squadron of Praetorians had been closing in from a safe distance throughout the entirety of the crash. They were a mere hundred meters away, only 4.9 seconds to reach the doors. I collided with the shuttlecraft's exit ramp, and slammed repeatedly into the back of it, aiming to create a gap by which to pry the thing off. Eventually, a gap was made, and the Praetorian body wrenched a manipulator into it.
Then, after tearing off the ramp door to the ship, and beginning to interrogate the idiotic fucks at gunpoint, I find no less that a familiar face has come with them. A familiar face I would have rather not seen again in the slightest.
+identity confirmation, Adjek, Venlil engineer+
"YOU...What, are you doing here, again?"
I stepped forward, into the cargo shuttle, the Praetorian I controlled looming over them, over him, by nearly one and a half meters. I made certain to emphasize that size difference. One does not just crash in me like this without a good reason, or I'd be testing how long a Venlil survives vacuum.
Adjek decided to speak up, fear laden in his voice. "I-I-I...W-we were being chased by an Arxur vessel on the course here! T-They ignored the human's truce and decided to p-pursue us directly!"
I faltered a bit at that. Chased? The Arxur supposedly promised that they wouldn't attack the Venlil in-system, but given how much the bad blood between the Arxur and herbivore races was hyped up, I couldn't toss out the possibility.
"Is he telling the truth?" I swung the Praetorian's fake head about the room, scanning over each Venlil in the audience. It wasn't necessary, I had a panoramic view just from the chest optics alone, but the psychological effect and bait of having a head was palpable. They all parroted something similar to what Adjek and the pilot said, so I had no clear contradiction to go off of yet.
But I wasn't done with intimidation, I warmed the cannon muzzle to be visible within the deep red visual spectrum, and aimed it at him.
"Tell me everything, now."
He began to describe his intent and clearance for coming here...but reality decided to be a pain at that exact moment, as the likely culprit entered the hangar. Thankfully, I wasn't hampered by multitasking. A section of me split attention equally to the Arxur ship landing in my bay.
This ship, supposedly the Ambusher-class Goring Claw going off the IFF, was an armed dropship of some sort capable of intro-extra-atmospheric operation, given the rotary variable mode engines. They had been given landing clearance, but not by me, no, instead by the shipyard.
I would need to ask the UN to bring down that blackout protocol soon. This is immensely inconvenient to not have access to monitoring and communication outside myself, except through Hailey. Nevertheless, I positioned my remaining Praetorians around the likely exit of the dropship, awaiting it to open and...greet...these likely troublemakers. I had one Praetorian stand directly front-and-center to the back end, and aim weapons, but not arm them at the dropship hangar doors.
With a hiss, and a burst of slightly depressurized gas, the door opened, and out marched a line of two pairs of two Arxur guards. Their gear looked highly ceremonial, given its lack of tactical or efficient features, and the choice of weapon being a spear of some sort with a sidearm still holstered. Behind them, walked an even more gaudy individual than the guards, an Arxur with a prominent scar across their face covered in flamboyant ceremonial uniform. I was almost certain this was Chief Hunter Isif, Lithke's commanding officer, given Hailey's description of the visitors earlier. Behind him marched a set of less extravagantly dressed figures, likely advisors of some sort. And, of course, Lithke.
I wouldn't just let them off the hook so easily though, despite their far better entrance.
"Chief Hunter Isif. Lithke. You had best have a good reason for making a Venlil ship crash into my hangar."
Memory transcription subject: Chief Hunter Isif, Arxur Dominion Sector Fleet
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
Those idiots seriously did not-
...No, calm yourself, a Chief Hunter must always look composed, even in the face of absurdity.
The pilot in control of this Ambusher had heard my order to follow the Venlil in, got target fixation, and decided to escalate it to a chase. I would have him lashed for the offense later, but for now, I needed to quickly rekindle what little good will the Arxur had in Red One's eyes.
Losing it now could mean turning up hungry forever.
"I apologize for my pilot's unprofessional actions. He will be punished severely later for the transgression of letting his instincts override both human and my orders. Is there anything I can do further to fix your appetite, Red One?"
The robot frontmost of our shuttle stepped forward, it's bulk and size intimidating even by Arxur standards. It towered tall enough to nearly be at my head height despite the fact I was standing on the dropship ramp. Red One's response was curt, and [quick to the kill]. "You can start by convincing the odd twenty-five or so Venlil engineers your pilot chased into crashing on my hangar deck that you aren't here to eat them all, or whatever sickening actions you Arxur do. When that's done, then you may converse with Hailey Whitmer."
At least it wasn't "you've done enough, stop". I'd seen plenty disappear after that particular response in the Dominion.
"Fine. Blades!" I shouted to the ceremony guard I was issued. "Two of you will hold the pilot at the ship for punishment. He is to not eat, nor rest, nor do anything until I return. The rest will assist Lithke in assuaging the prey that they are safe...for now. I must speak with Red One while you do."
They saluted, and went about their way.
Good, everyone bought it. In a sense, this was funnily enough just the distraction I needed. Perhaps I'll reduce the pilot's lashing count quietly for that.
Now...for the harder part. I had no idea if Red would sense my intentions, and so-
The combat drone spoke once again. "Lithke's sung your praises, Chief Hunter Isif. An icon of 'applied cruelty' in his words. I'm curious as to why that should be praised, out of all things in a leader."
We're still too close to the ship, even if none are around to hear it, audio logs might pick up any dissenting thoughts. I should bring this conversation elsewhere.
"I see Lithke wasn't convincing on his own, it seems. Here, walk with me, I still have yet to meet your Special Envoy Hailey personally." I began to walk towards the group of humans near the other end of the hangar.
"So, you have met her?" Red One instantly picked up on the message, noticing the phrasing. So, she's capable of understanding subtlety...
"Yes, but not directly. She gave a presentation at the UN's discussion on you, which I attended."
"And what, pray tell, did you learn about there?" Red One seemed to press me slightly on the session, clearly looking for something. I'd play along, get in their favor.
"Plenty. You're by far the most powerful ship in the galaxy, as far as I can tell. The Humans and Venlil alike are afraid of you, but the former less-so, seeing a more mixed reaction to your presence."
"And what do you think of me?" Red questioned.
I began with a political mealy-mouth phrase.
"The Dominion is not-"
But she interrupted my train of thought. "No. I didn't ask what the Arxur thought. I was asking what you thought, specifically."
What?!
I scanned quickly, my head paced from side to side as I looked for any potential monitoring agent or tools nearby that could potentially pick up on my dialogue.
"You're...an interesting shake-up to the galaxy. Possibly even a means to an end I've been looking into."
There was a curiosity laden in that tone. "Is that so? What, pray tell, would an Arxur fleet leader need with me?"
Again, I checked about, to make certain none were close. "I...am trying to solve a personal problem. Your emergence is convenient to it..."
"Ah...so I was correct..." Red One's drone stopped in front of me for a moment, before turning directly to address me. "...The constant checking about other Arxur assets, the send-off of your personal guard, the overcompensation on the facial details and micromovements, the ordering of Lithke to 'convince' me of Dominion ideals. How much of it is an act, Chief Hunter Isif?"
She already found me out!?
The mask dropped in a panic, knowing none were close enough to pick up on it. "Quiet! How did you pick up on that?" I hissed under my breath to them.
She neglected to answer that statement directly, instead asking another question. "That's not important. The better thing to ask, is what exactly do you want with me?"
Well, since the meat has been spoiled...
I decided to be blunt, and honest. "I need either a line to directly converse with you on a sensitive matter later, or a method to do it now. There is a deep sickness within the Arxur, and you are a possible lynchpin to excise it. But it is traitorous in nature to Betterment, and they have agents everywhere. I would need it to be done away from their ears."
"I am currently operating in blackout conditions. I cannot send or receive signals from the outside without going through a UN transponder, so the first option is out currently. You need a distraction then, while you're here." Red's drone turned back around and continued walking, not giving away anything to the outside of her sudden skinning of my fake personality. "That can be arranged. But not this instant, we are already too close to outside ears for an extended conversation."
"A codeword, then? Some indicator that I may step away and talk securely with you?"
"A codeword is a start, but I'm more concerned about your personal guard. Are they loyal to you enough to ignore such a conversation?"
"Absolutely not. Effectively none of the group that has come along with me is loyal enough to hear this."
Red One didn't speak immediately, but the pause was small. "A full separation might be possible. I have an idea during the tour. If I say the phrase, 'Feel free to peruse' to you specifically, it will mean I have sufficiently separated attention enough that you may speak to me securely. Do you understand?"
She already has a plan? Her speed on that matter is dizzying.
I would have to trust her method. "I understand."
"Good, mask up again, we are within the distance of maximum human audible range given this volume."
Her matter of figuring out my intentions and act that quickly was unnerving, but it made some sense for a sentient computer. She likely thought far faster than the average Arxur, or even Human. But I could consider that later, I needed to get back in character. While my physical demeanor hadn't wavered any, I needed to give off the mental face of a Chief Hunter once again to allay suspicions. Especially since my personal guard were likely to return soon.
Hailey Whitmer noticed us soon after, and disengaged herself from talking with the other Humans. She began her way over here, leaving them to huddle around their ship, still unloading a collection of scientific equipment and personal belongings. "Chief Hunter Isif! Welcome to the UECNS Nemesis. What happened exactly that caused the Venlil to crash in like that, however? I heard a concerning bit that they were chased?"
I lashed my tail in frustration at that. "Our pilot idiotically got fixated on the Venlil ship. He will be punished later. For now I apologize on their behalf. I will try and...convince the Venlil's not to fear soon, but I honestly don't expect them to listen. They are prey, after all, sniveling in fear at the slightest provocation."
Hailey looked annoyed at that statement, but I could at least take personal solace in knowing it was mere persona. She would simply have to deal with it. "That's rather rude to our allies, Isif."
I corrected her: "Your allies, Human. The prey do not interest me. No, what interests me and my cohort is this ship." I pointed a claw at the robotic soldier behind me.. "I have already met Red One herself, and as you are the UN's Envoy here, I must meet you as well. Lithke has spoken much about both of you."
Hailey's expression changed from veiled frustration to surprise at that. "He has? Hah! I did charm-...oh, excuse my manners. When your entourage arrives over here, we can begin a proper tour with the both of us at the helm. Red?"
A voice emanated from the walls. "Yes, Hailey?"
"Do you have a path listed for a proper tour throughout your facilities?"
She responded immediately. "Yes. The UEC military has conducted tours before of my hull to other officials. I can follow said pathing, ignoring areas currently exposed to vacuum or damaged heavily. It will cover roughly 45% of the ship, and with transportation aid, take roughly 4 and a half hours."
Hailey clapped her hands together. "Perfect! When the three groups are gathered properly here, we can begin."
Given I could see my guard returning, thankfully not laden with prey blood or wounds, that would be soon.
+CONFED IO.5+
+READING MAIN SEQ.MEM+
+ADDENDUM: ADJUSTED DATE 24.10.2136+
I have had tours done of my shipself before. When my form was still under construction, Commander Theodore William Billingsly had given a walk-around to Yasmine, in preparation to turn over the role of Captain to her. The visit had gone rather easily, and familiarized her with my layout quickly in a professional manner. I had given numerous miniature tours of my layout to new crew members, with assistance from more established crew. I figured tours were nothing too special to my sensibilities and experience.
But I had never quite had the experience of juggling a tour where each distinct species of the tour was at odds with the other two. Listening to them was taxing.
"What are you looking at, leaflicker?"
"H-Help! I-It wants to e-e-eat me!!!"
"Could y'all just get along for a single moment? We're coming up on the barracks, supposedly, and yet you're at each other's throats!"
"Of course we're at their throats, those are rather delicious to tear out."
"You predators would focus on our vulnerable spots, w-wouldn't you!"
"Fuck's sake, you can't behave, can y'all?"
"Jealous of our vicious nature?"
"No we're not! What you do to the other races in this galaxy is abhorrent!"
"Yeah, you Arxur monsters have nothing to be proud of! I've lost family to your kind!"
Very taxing.
The human team and Hailey were trying to somewhat wrangle the mood down, but the Arxur and Venlil despised one another, and it showed. There was no quieting-down of their feud for more than a few minutes, before it started up again for the smallest altercations. I was glad I had brought a host of Praetorians to keep them physically separate somewhat, as I'd hate to have seen any humans hurt in the way.
Instead, I tried to focus on just providing an air of authority, as Hailey led them throughout my assorted systems and layout, only providing input where she did not know about. There were at least some receptive comments of myself during the tour that didn't result in lambasting the other two parties.
"The internal layout of this ship is rather unique. It doesn't look like anything in the Federation proper." A Venlil engineer by the name of Joluk mentioned.
"Yeah, I know!" Said a human scientist by the name of George Oscoda. "It's very...Death Star meets Nostromo, made a bit wider, then painted gunmetal black with red detailing."
Joluk turned back to him. "I have no idea what those are, but I don't like the sound of a Death Star." Their tail went ramrod straight, hanging down at the comment. Perhaps a body language fear response?
I decided to clarify from a drone nearby. "The internal design pattern of the UEC favors a highly geometric, hexagonal or octagonal hall layout, for maximum support with little freestanding support. A three-to-two width to height ratio also helps alleviate claustrophobic concerns, and detriments mental health minimally for extended stays."
George spoke up again. "I guess that's fair, but nothing will change how depressingly dark and scarred-up some of these corridors and bulkheads are currently. I get that it's battle damage, but..."
Lithke piped in from the front. "Nemesis wears her scars proudly. She is a predator forged in war, none escape without scars." I couldn't find a reason to directly deny said statement. I did sometimes prefer the reminder of how many Compact Janissaries had died within myself. How I shivered in delight at knowing they met their ends aboard my hull.
I decided to just remain silent on that. Hailey also responded to that soon after. "Well, honor besides, a lot of that damage will have to be repaired eventually. No amount of self-righteousness excuses holes to vacuum in some spots." She was also right. There were various spots throughout me that were not even enterable, let alone habitable as I was. Numerous collapsed-in sections, holes in my hull all-throughout. There wasn't even a main engines section anymore, with the aft exposed to space after redlining to Earth to save them from the Federation fleet. No amount of scars would justify not repairing battle damage.
I was at least partially glad they could not read Compact Standard. The various little easter eggs of alien languages scattered on my walls were filled with warnings and resignations of regret for boarding me. I left them there, to add to the ambient horror of unwelcome borders, but currently it just felt...out of place. I did not want to scare the people on board.
Thankfully there were few along this path, and none noticed it as the language it was offhand, so I avoided those questions. As we walked to the entrance doors to the barracks, there was a hallway we would have to cross first. One I had kept tenderly over the centuries.
I decided to speak ahead of time on it. "We are coming up on a particular area of mine en route to the general barracks. It was not something made in my time with humanity, but more...a personal project. Reminders and trophies of what and who I fought for both myself, and any others who might unfortunately find themselves this far into my halls." Some of the Arxur looked intrigued by that statement.
Hailey looked a little nervous at the way I introduced it. "I-I wouldn't really call it something particularly-"
I kept going over her response. It wasn't particularly polite, but if I was to make a maximal psychological distraction for Isif to say his piece, it would need to be done...
As a drone already within put the finishing touches on the arrangement, and skittered away into the dark lofts above, the doors opened to my favorite rooms, and I introduced the hallway ahead.
"Welcome...to my Collection."
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Lots of new spaces have opened up so far this year on or near Broadway. I visited most of them this past week before CMA Fest kicked off and here are my thoughts:

Wallens is the best one of the bunch. They hit the mark in all areas. It's spacious, employees were friendly, plenty of bathrooms and it just felt comfortable there. I spent quite a bit of time here.
JBJs is just okay. It's dark and not a place I chose to spend a lot of time. You're treated like cattle and that's just not my jam. It was one beer and done at this place. It's big so I guess it has that going for it. I won't return.
Barstool does not have a traditional Nashville vibe at all. Very unfriendly staff - especially at the front door. It's more of a club atmosphere that caters to a younger crowd. I'm sure that was their intention but you can get this same experience at any bar across the country. Nothing unique about the place. I did enjoy all the tvs so no matter where you were seated/standing you could watch one of those. $16 cocktails as well so they're not even in line with other bars on that. Skip this if you come to town and have a limited amount of time.
Chiefs was the most disappointing place I stopped at. The main level is really cool - the walls and bar are awesome but it has extremely limited seating. I thought for sure it would be the big expansive space but it's not at all. Because there was no place to stand/sit, I ended up walking up a few levels and none of those other floors made me want to plop down and chill for a while. I maybe had 2 beers before deciding that I was wasting valuable time and moved on.
Friends in Low Places is pretty decent. Their stage is massive and the sound is good. The band I saw was killing it as well so that definitely helped too. It's a cashless bar which is a bit of a turnoff. The employees are friendly and welcoming. I was able to sit at the bar and chill. This is a place to check out if you come to town.

My favorite bar on Broadway is still AJs. No frills but a great time every time.