Anbessa lightly knocked on Sessie's door. "We need to go or we'll miss the train." He returned to the living room of his small house, now crowded with bodies. It was the two of them, along with Ibrahim and Rohama. And one more, a girl of maybe 15, Maryam.

Maryam- his heart jumped whenever he heard his mother's name, seeing her sign her love for him every single night- had been in the war lord's camp, one of girls he'd held captive. Not for the usual reasons, though. No, she was also g'brim, used by him to control the others. The girl had fought as best she could but the beast had controlled her. Power is no match for cunning, blackmail, and mental abuse.

While Anbessa and Ibrahim had subdued his forces, Sessie had sent word to the local authorities. Another g'brim tried to engage him but had been inexperienced. The man likely thought this would be a simple fight against men weaker than him. Anbessa, though, had trained for this for 5 years with Ibrahim. He had fought men who channeled before. The man and those with him had been forced to flee.

It was Rohama that reached the girl, somehow getting through to her. He did not pry but he suspected that Rohama was speaking from experience. Not just her grandmother's, he guessed. Whatever the case, when local and state forces came to gather up the boys and those loyal to their now dead leader, Bessie and his companions had disappeared into the night. Her family was dead and she had been taken from a village far away. They had only meant to teach her enough to be safe and then help her get home.

Between Sessie and Rohama, that didn't happen. And little by little, she became part of their family. 

Anbessa did his best to teach and provide while the women gave the real help- comfort and training, a listening ear and a motherly embrace.

In the meantime, the Legion had arrived at the orders of The Ascendancy. Eritrea was not part of the CCD. But the entire Horn of Africa was on fire- a humanitarian crisis, given the warlords and Al Janyar. He gave credit where credit was due. Between the locals and the Legion, eventually they were pushed back north. Eritrea and Djubouti were free for the first time in years.

And while their work continued now that the crisis had abated, their was a sense of relief in the air. Even a sense of peace. Sometimes people just needed a little help to see that they had strength. He knew this. Even before the Legion had appeared, their work as G'brim Qdus had inspired many to fight back.

They had settled down into something resembling normalcy when the call to Axum had come. He couldn't help the worry in his stomach. The Negus Mena's calls had always meant something would change. And he was happy at how things were right now. He wanted no more change.

Still, a call was a call. But Sessie would be with him. Whatever it was, she would be by his side.

@"Thalia"

Sterling ran through the streets of Moscow taking alleys and other short cuts she and Rissa had found over the years all the way to the University.  Mom and Dad couldn't keep tabs on her if she didn't stay on the roads like she was supposed to.  Her wallet was of course tracked but that was easy enough to disable and fake to stay at home.  No one would know she had slipped out.

The University Hospital was a large place she wasn't sure how she was going to find her cousin.  She didn't even know what he looked like.  This was probably a bad idea, but she walked into the front door and to the desk where people asked questions. "I'm looking for Nox Durante."  

The world around her felt clear and everything seemed more colorful as the woman in front of her blinked at her then smiled. "He was checked out just a little while ago.  I'm sorry, maybe you can catch him.  He was on the third floor."  Sterling was heading towards the elevators even as the woman said, "Though there are many ways out."

In her haste, she bumped into a couple holding hands...

The Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God, Patricus I.

Wiki page

The terrain was unstable. Aïdōneús chose his steps carefully. He twisted an ankle one time as a child. He could still hear the pop that cut short a runner’s exercise. He took up swimming later that season at the behest of the country club’s trainer. Turned out he had a knack for the sport despite a natural detest for the water. But once submerged, flying weightless, it was rather exhilarating. Besides, the exercise kept him fit.

The air was thin here also. It reminded him of Siberia, cutting wind included. He put a hand to his eyes, gauging the remaining distance. A sunless sky blinked from above, blinding him momentarily as his heart sank low.

Aïdōneús gathered the wool close, warm, but annoyingly scratchy. He preferred fur, a nice skein dyed black as night. Why was he here, he thought as slate scattered loose beneath his boots. Grumbling, he carried forward despite the unease growing in his belly - not from the menacing caverns stretching far below. 

His swimmer’s lungs - so accustomed to stretches between breaths - burned in the thin air. The darkness of a cave opened temptingly nearby, but with a sigh, he turned his back to the cold air. The hand went to his brow again, eyes piercing the sky with the same biting blue that snapped back at him. Then he saw it. A black speck at first. A frown deepened the lines on his face. It soared straight as a missile - a what? he thought. He stretched outward, trying to capture the demon with his very eyes.

The arc of its trajectory turned downward. It was then that he knew that something terrible was going to happen. When it touched the horizon, the mountain trembled and the resulting fires touched the heavens. Horror wrapped him tight as the shroud knotted his neck. Dozens of the demons darkened the skies sharper than arrows and mightier than bombs.

Power swelled his bones, but he spit out the taste of doom that silvered his throat. With his furious steps, the earth trembled. He’d not see everything he built cast down like this! The mountain bowed with his departure. Aïdōneús roared defiantly, and their aim was drawn toward himself.

He knew what had to be done.

The earth opened beneath his feet. When the maw closed, the fires were swallowed to its depths, and the darkness trapped them all.

Nikolai’s own cry of alarm woke him up, and the darkness sure to have been real, was banished to the four corners of his room by a swift flick of the power’s light.

He was drenched in sweat. Bad dreams plagued him like the ijiraq made good on her promise with nightly dedication. That had to be the origin of these nightly screenplays - or so his therapist suggested. A frown, and he got up. 3:15 AM was early, even for the Ascendancy.

He called Evelyn.

She was radiant, answering almost instantly. Her expression changed after the initial moment of gleeful surprise.

“Nik, it’s the middle of the night there. Whats wrong?”

He couldn’t help but look at the scene behind her shoulder. Daylight streamed into her office. No bombs blanketed the horizon. No hellish pits swallowed them all.

“You had another one,” she deduced.

“I just wanted to see that you were safe. You’re important to me.”

She chuckled at his austere gesture of affection. “Oh Nik, I love it when you talk like that.” She winked and some sort of spell was discharged. His shoulders relaxed, and his own face dropped the tension.

“What’s on your agenda today?” He asked, but Evelyn knew exactly what he really wanted. She filled the following minutes with the sing-song sound of her voice. He didn’t really listen to the details, but soon, he was laying his head back down, and had no idea when the call ended.

Hi all. To accommodate the passage of time and make some strides forward in overall plot, I am going to roll out a series of events in the coming weeks. Keep a look out for some shake ups. mhuwhahahahaha. 


If you have a specific request you'd like to see implemented, shoot me a PM! I'm open to suggestions.

Hope ya'll have a great day and a great new year!

Just wanted to wish y'all a Merry Christmas. Hope you have a great day.

Dunno if this was something anyone here cared about but I figured I'd share.

Brandon confirmed a theory on the ending of the WoT.

Elyse felt alone.  She wasn't alone, and if she really thought about it, the word alone really didn't fit either.  Sierra had left, and Elyse was with Marta, Ricky, and the wolves, but for some reason she didn't feel right.  Perhaps it was because of giving Sierra that kiss before she left.  She still wasn't sure if she had been right to do so or not, and mostly she felt stupid.  She had told Ricky, Marta, and Stinging Nose that she had needed some time to herself that night, and they had understood.

Elyse walked through Moscow, just letting her feet take her wherever they wanted to a go.  She opened a door and found herself at a bar, ordering herself a Manhattan.  The drink came and she took a long sip.  Music from the club came from behind her, but Elyse looked at the antique bottles behind the bar and ordered another drink as she finished her first one.  This time she turned around to face the other end of the club. It was then she had realized that she had not just wandered into any club.  She had wandered into Kallisti House of Burlesque.

Heya all,

I'm trying to get back into this and looking for anyone wanting to write.  I have several characters available.  I don't think it's a good idea for me to go into an already established thread, as I'm still pretty slow to respond (mostly due to personally struggling with my own writing) and I don't want so slow down anyone's story telling.

Here is who I have available.

Gio - He's in Africa - I don't think I'm ready to get into his mindset right now, but would be willing to try with someone patient.
Anton - my sentient
Calvin - Wolfbro - CCPD Monster Squad
Elyse - Wolfsis
Emily Shale/Jared Vanders - these two will likely come as a set
Enrique - Atharim with an adopted wolfsis daughter
Pyotr - Not sure I'm in his mindset either

If you're interested in any of the above - reply here and maybe we can set something up.  I'll be honest, I have very little faith in my own writing ability right now, but I'll try.