On the D&D front...
Jan. 7th, 2026 12:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
settiaiIt's been several weeks since I played any D&D at all, and I've missed it a lot.
My Wednesday game has been on break the last two weeks because of people having plans for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, which wasn't particularly unexpected once we realized both of those holidays fell on Wednesdays this year. We're supposed to be back this week, though, so hopefully nothing happens to push it back. 🤞🏻
... although that reminds me that I still haven't recorded the summary video of the last game. Oops. I should get that done during my lunch break so that I can get it uploaded.
My Friday game has been on hiatus since mid-October because A. the DM desperately needed a mental health break and B. a number of people were going to be unavailable in November and/or December. Right now, the plan is that we're going to start back next week. One player may still be unavailable for a while because of work reasons, but we've got a plan for where her character will be for a bit.
And then there's my Sunday game, which went on hiatus at the end of November. It's a bit more up in the air at the moment when it will start back. One of the players is in the middle of planning his wedding and another is currently in Ireland until the end of February, as they're visiting their boyfriend (and presumably soon-to-be-fiancé if things work out well) to see if living together more long-term works out. She also plans on moving to Ireland if things do work out, so making sure it's somewhere they could see themself living long-term is important too.
We took all of December off just because everyone's schedules were super busy, but as far as I'm aware the plan is that we might have some mini sessions here and there in January and February. We're doing a time skip in the game, so there's lots of opportunities for one or two characters to have some side adventures. Plus we can shift times and even days around a bit for those, depending on people's availability.
The plan is that we'll be back to playing regularly in March once the currently-in-Ireland player is back in the United States, but we'll see if that changes at all.
My Wednesday game has been on break the last two weeks because of people having plans for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, which wasn't particularly unexpected once we realized both of those holidays fell on Wednesdays this year. We're supposed to be back this week, though, so hopefully nothing happens to push it back. 🤞🏻
... although that reminds me that I still haven't recorded the summary video of the last game. Oops. I should get that done during my lunch break so that I can get it uploaded.
My Friday game has been on hiatus since mid-October because A. the DM desperately needed a mental health break and B. a number of people were going to be unavailable in November and/or December. Right now, the plan is that we're going to start back next week. One player may still be unavailable for a while because of work reasons, but we've got a plan for where her character will be for a bit.
And then there's my Sunday game, which went on hiatus at the end of November. It's a bit more up in the air at the moment when it will start back. One of the players is in the middle of planning his wedding and another is currently in Ireland until the end of February, as they're visiting their boyfriend (and presumably soon-to-be-fiancé if things work out well) to see if living together more long-term works out. She also plans on moving to Ireland if things do work out, so making sure it's somewhere they could see themself living long-term is important too.
We took all of December off just because everyone's schedules were super busy, but as far as I'm aware the plan is that we might have some mini sessions here and there in January and February. We're doing a time skip in the game, so there's lots of opportunities for one or two characters to have some side adventures. Plus we can shift times and even days around a bit for those, depending on people's availability.
The plan is that we'll be back to playing regularly in March once the currently-in-Ireland player is back in the United States, but we'll see if that changes at all.
Event: Highlander Shortcuts
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:58 pmargentum_lsAnd that's a wrap on another year of ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hlh_shortcuts! This is my favorite exchange and the only one on my docket that's a "must do" every year.
This year, I wrote Metaphorically Speaking" forbrightknightie.
As stories go, this is one of my odder ones ...( Read more... )
For my gift, I received: The Road Forward by havocthecat.
This is a such a delightfully upbeat story, though it manages to weave in just enough melancholy that the optimism isn't immediately obvious. Richie and Connor celebrate the new millennium together (as they should, since of course the both survived to see it), and it's such a delight to see them meaningfully interact in a way that isn't about the Game. Since I was working with Richie and Angie in my own story, it was also wonderful to see another perspective on where they had ended up and why.
hlh_shortcuts! This is my favorite exchange and the only one on my docket that's a "must do" every year.This year, I wrote Metaphorically Speaking" for
brightknightie.Metaphorically Speaking - 3854 words - Richie & Angie - While enroute to start a new life, a roadside breakdown changes Richie’s plans.
As stories go, this is one of my odder ones ...( Read more... )
For my gift, I received: The Road Forward by havocthecat.
The Road Forward - 1193 words - Richie & Connor - On the cusp of the new millennium, Richie has been sent to New York for some training with Connor. But do you think these two are going to ignore a party this big? They're going to train. Really. Tomorrow.
This is a such a delightfully upbeat story, though it manages to weave in just enough melancholy that the optimism isn't immediately obvious. Richie and Connor celebrate the new millennium together (as they should, since of course the both survived to see it), and it's such a delight to see them meaningfully interact in a way that isn't about the Game. Since I was working with Richie and Angie in my own story, it was also wonderful to see another perspective on where they had ended up and why.
Setting, nurturing, and maintaining writing habits in 2026
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:19 pmscintilla10For this year, I'm going to try participating in a few things to help nurture and maintain habits related to writing and creative practice. We'll see how they feel!
cultivativity | Welcome & FAQ post
getyourwordsout | Pledges & Requirements for 2026 Participation
I've never signed up to GYWO before! I decided to try a Habit Pledge. I chose The Excursionist level, which is writing for 180 days over the year (approx 15 days/month). This feels ambitious but not impossible to me, and I think working towards building a habit of regular writing will be more fruitful for me than monitoring my wordcounts.
I'm also going to try doing Fannish 50 again! "Make fifty posts about topics related to fandom. You may set any theme(s) you wish, or pick random topics for each post." The info & sign-up post for 2026 is here.
cultivativity | Welcome & FAQ postThis is a space for cultivating creativity.
This is not set up as a challenge, as that implies competition or accountability to produce something (which are fun activities, and for which there are several other communities available). Rather, this community is organized as a series of modules designed to help build a practice to nurture our creative selves. Do the things you want, ignore the ones that don't.
getyourwordsout | Pledges & Requirements for 2026 ParticipationI've never signed up to GYWO before! I decided to try a Habit Pledge. I chose The Excursionist level, which is writing for 180 days over the year (approx 15 days/month). This feels ambitious but not impossible to me, and I think working towards building a habit of regular writing will be more fruitful for me than monitoring my wordcounts.
I'm also going to try doing Fannish 50 again! "Make fifty posts about topics related to fandom. You may set any theme(s) you wish, or pick random topics for each post." The info & sign-up post for 2026 is here.
it's summer now
Jan. 6th, 2026 11:54 pmjadelennoxfinally watching season 2 of the live action Ronia the Robber's Daughter from 2024 and my kingdom for someone who will talk about the cinematography with me the way people are breaking down the Heated Rivalry longing gazes.
Also Ronia singing the wolf song and me being surprised about pronunciation of "Du varg, du varg" and then me realizing it's the exact same way anglos always mispronounce Greta Thunberg's name.
Dear creator
Jan. 7th, 2026 12:30 pmmaharetrHi! This is currently a placeholder for the CandyHearts exchange, and is mostly a stash of this year's sign up, and a place for if I think of anything else between now and the matching going live.
Book Meme 2025
Jan. 6th, 2026 11:07 pmbearshortyBook Meme 2025
I read 40 books this year, which is less than in the last few years. As I was reflecting on the books I read this year, I think part of it is that the books were just ok. There weren't really books that I loved a lot. I liked many of them - there are a lot of good and interesting books that I read, didn't like some, was disappointed in a few. Overall it was ok year but my reading is slowing down over the last few years.
( Book List 2025 )
( Book Meme )
I read 40 books this year, which is less than in the last few years. As I was reflecting on the books I read this year, I think part of it is that the books were just ok. There weren't really books that I loved a lot. I liked many of them - there are a lot of good and interesting books that I read, didn't like some, was disappointed in a few. Overall it was ok year but my reading is slowing down over the last few years.
( Book List 2025 )
( Book Meme )
Round 157 Runoff
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:53 pmxandromedovna posting in fic_rushTicky box won by a landslide again? Sure Jan... So considering there's a three-way tie and the majority have no strong opinion, we're doing a runoff poll featuring the two January options with the most Mods available and a skip option. This time around ticky box will be celebrating its victory and is not available, meaning you can choose only one.
Poll #34054 Round 157 Runoff
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
No but actually, when should we have the next Round?
View Answers
9-11 Jan
4 (50.0%)
16-18 Jan
4 (50.0%)
neither, ask again in February
0 (0.0%)
I literally could not care less
0 (0.0%)
Book review: In the Night Garden
Jan. 6th, 2026 07:17 pmrocky41_7 posting in booknookTitle: The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Illustrator: Michael Kaluta
Genre: Fantasy, fairy tale
First book of 2026! This was The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente with illustrations by Michael Kaluta. I have no recollection of how this ended up on my TBR and I was a little skeptical checking it out in the library, but I'm glad I stuck with it because it ended up being a lot of fun and I will definitely check out the second volume.
You might be a little confused in the beginning, as In the Night Garden is a series of nested stories within stories and the style takes a minute to get used to, but it's worth it. Valente unfolds a veritable matryoshka of tales into neat blooms whose petals all fit together. Retroactive reveals and recontextualiations are delightful here.
Valente's vivid prose brings together her fantastical tales with such clarity; she attends frequently to all five senses, so that the reader knows what the characters are not only seeing, but hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling as well. There's obviously a lot of fairy tale inspiration here, but Valente definitely brings her own flavor. Women are almost always the hero of Valente's tales (though they play the villains too!) and there are such a great variety of them. Monsters abound too, but they get their chance to tell a tale too. (There's also some gentle ribbing at the Arthurian legends, with one witch lamenting about "all that questing" princes get up to.)
I was so engrossed in the work I didn't realize until quite late in the book how little romance factors into it. In a fairy tale inspired book like this, I would have expected a great many characters motivated by romance, but I can only think of two here who are primarily motivated by a love interest, and this delights me too. I'm arospec myself and while I enjoy a good tale of romance, I also weary of how frequently and totally it is centered in stories, so I was really enthused by how little that's the case here.
Friendship and family relationships do make frequent appearances though, and the friendship between the orphan teller of tales and the young boy hanging onto her words is the framing story. Love between mother and daughter, between brother and sister, even between strangers is a common thread.
She also avoids a pitfall I see in various modern fantasy stories which are so keen to explain the magic of their world they strip it of all mystery. Valente's world remains largely unexplained and asks the reader to simply take it as it is, which I found fun and appropriately mysterious.
The style of the book allows Valente to pull in a great many diverse characters and voices, which she does it well. Most impressive though is her ability to pull a cohesive tapestry out of all the various threads she's juggling.
A really fun and unusual story which I enjoyed a lot--a great start to a new year of reading!
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Illustrator: Michael Kaluta
Genre: Fantasy, fairy tale
First book of 2026! This was The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente with illustrations by Michael Kaluta. I have no recollection of how this ended up on my TBR and I was a little skeptical checking it out in the library, but I'm glad I stuck with it because it ended up being a lot of fun and I will definitely check out the second volume.
You might be a little confused in the beginning, as In the Night Garden is a series of nested stories within stories and the style takes a minute to get used to, but it's worth it. Valente unfolds a veritable matryoshka of tales into neat blooms whose petals all fit together. Retroactive reveals and recontextualiations are delightful here.
Valente's vivid prose brings together her fantastical tales with such clarity; she attends frequently to all five senses, so that the reader knows what the characters are not only seeing, but hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling as well. There's obviously a lot of fairy tale inspiration here, but Valente definitely brings her own flavor. Women are almost always the hero of Valente's tales (though they play the villains too!) and there are such a great variety of them. Monsters abound too, but they get their chance to tell a tale too. (There's also some gentle ribbing at the Arthurian legends, with one witch lamenting about "all that questing" princes get up to.)
I was so engrossed in the work I didn't realize until quite late in the book how little romance factors into it. In a fairy tale inspired book like this, I would have expected a great many characters motivated by romance, but I can only think of two here who are primarily motivated by a love interest, and this delights me too. I'm arospec myself and while I enjoy a good tale of romance, I also weary of how frequently and totally it is centered in stories, so I was really enthused by how little that's the case here.
Friendship and family relationships do make frequent appearances though, and the friendship between the orphan teller of tales and the young boy hanging onto her words is the framing story. Love between mother and daughter, between brother and sister, even between strangers is a common thread.
She also avoids a pitfall I see in various modern fantasy stories which are so keen to explain the magic of their world they strip it of all mystery. Valente's world remains largely unexplained and asks the reader to simply take it as it is, which I found fun and appropriately mysterious.
The style of the book allows Valente to pull in a great many diverse characters and voices, which she does it well. Most impressive though is her ability to pull a cohesive tapestry out of all the various threads she's juggling.
A really fun and unusual story which I enjoyed a lot--a great start to a new year of reading!
Fandom things
Jan. 6th, 2026 05:43 pmsholiocandyheartsex signups close tomorrow! I was going to try to do it this year, but ... I just don't think it's a good idea. I'm starting to really need a break from exchanges, so I'm going to take a couple months off (aside from the ones I already have, which will be over when Festivids wraps up at the end of January) and then show up again when H/C-ex signups open in March.Amperslash is still looking for two pinch hits! You can find the details here at the Amperslash comm.
• PH 3 - 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
• PH 9 - Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn, Honor Harrington Series - David Weber, The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
If any of those sound like you might want to write them, the exchange has already had several delays and fingers crossed it'll be able to get them filled and open on time! I know there used to be some Guardian people around here; I don't know if anyone's still actively writing in it, or might be able to advertise the PH in Guardian-centric fandom spaces?
Stand up on your own.
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:18 pmhannahChallenge #3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favorite character, anything at all.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Dear Fandom,
You've changed. That isn't a bad thing. I'd go so far as to call it a good thing.
I remember when we met - properly, that is. Not the shy glances, not the vague hellos, the genuine, meaningful introduction. When I announced myself. I'd better remember it; I did it several times. You had to, in those early days. Everywhere we met, even if I already knew someone there, I had to introduce myself all over again. There was some fun to be had in that.
I remember when it was just us, you and me. At least, it felt like that. When I didn't dare speak your name and hid behind euphemisms and vague half-truths. When the party was small enough you could fit it onto one dance floor. When I think back on it, the excitement of being private and secretive, of having something all to myself, was a powerful feeling.
You're not my secret anymore. You've come roaring out into the world, with everyone aware of you and many people taking you seriously. There's power in that, too. I know I've known you longer than most people out there. It's still not something I want to explain. I don't think I should have to, and even with so many people knowing about you, I'd rather keep things quiet. They know you their way. I know you mine. The way I know you isn't just the way I remember you; it's the way I'm constantly getting to know you. There's things I can say about how you used to be - the phrases, the trends, the arguments of the day, the sudden new shiny thing appearing out of nowhere - and most of those things are pointless, because there's always going to be arguments and trends, with some of those arriving new and some simply wearing new clothes and I love that I've gotten to know you well enough to recognize which is which. To parse where the impulse comes from. To perceive the motivations. What's happening now would've happened back then and it'll happen in the future.
That's part of what I love about you that I've only recently fallen in love with. I couldn't have loved it back when we met. I didn't know you well enough.
I miss the thrill that came from knowing you, just from knowing you. But people meeting you for the first time are feeling that same thrill themselves. I've learned enough to know that. I've learned enough to love that people are always falling in love.
Best,
Hannah
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Dear Fandom,
You've changed. That isn't a bad thing. I'd go so far as to call it a good thing.
I remember when we met - properly, that is. Not the shy glances, not the vague hellos, the genuine, meaningful introduction. When I announced myself. I'd better remember it; I did it several times. You had to, in those early days. Everywhere we met, even if I already knew someone there, I had to introduce myself all over again. There was some fun to be had in that.
I remember when it was just us, you and me. At least, it felt like that. When I didn't dare speak your name and hid behind euphemisms and vague half-truths. When the party was small enough you could fit it onto one dance floor. When I think back on it, the excitement of being private and secretive, of having something all to myself, was a powerful feeling.
You're not my secret anymore. You've come roaring out into the world, with everyone aware of you and many people taking you seriously. There's power in that, too. I know I've known you longer than most people out there. It's still not something I want to explain. I don't think I should have to, and even with so many people knowing about you, I'd rather keep things quiet. They know you their way. I know you mine. The way I know you isn't just the way I remember you; it's the way I'm constantly getting to know you. There's things I can say about how you used to be - the phrases, the trends, the arguments of the day, the sudden new shiny thing appearing out of nowhere - and most of those things are pointless, because there's always going to be arguments and trends, with some of those arriving new and some simply wearing new clothes and I love that I've gotten to know you well enough to recognize which is which. To parse where the impulse comes from. To perceive the motivations. What's happening now would've happened back then and it'll happen in the future.
That's part of what I love about you that I've only recently fallen in love with. I couldn't have loved it back when we met. I didn't know you well enough.
I miss the thrill that came from knowing you, just from knowing you. But people meeting you for the first time are feeling that same thrill themselves. I've learned enough to know that. I've learned enough to love that people are always falling in love.
Best,
Hannah
fic post - Yuletide
Jan. 6th, 2026 07:19 pmalchemiseI wrote for True Detective: Night Country this year and kind of just sunk myself into this world for a couple of months. Did a bunch of research on polar night, only to have to acknowledge that the show just hand-waved whatever it wanted so I followed suit. I love these characters so much that I had an absolute blast writing this.
Endless Night (4657 words) by alchemise
Fandom: True Detective: Night Country (TV)
Relationships: Liz Danvers/Evangeline Navarro
Characters: Liz Danvers (True Detective: Night Country), Evangeline Navarro, Peter Prior, Rose Aguineau, Bee Malee
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Horror, Cosmic Horror, environmental horror
Summary: Liz hadn’t intended to watch the first sunrise of the year.
( fic )
Endless Night (4657 words) by alchemise
Fandom: True Detective: Night Country (TV)
Relationships: Liz Danvers/Evangeline Navarro
Characters: Liz Danvers (True Detective: Night Country), Evangeline Navarro, Peter Prior, Rose Aguineau, Bee Malee
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Horror, Cosmic Horror, environmental horror
Summary: Liz hadn’t intended to watch the first sunrise of the year.
( fic )
Fic: In the Demon's Claws
Jan. 6th, 2026 06:06 pmsenmutAO3 Link | In the Demon's Claws (2219 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner — no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now… personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal… and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form —
— or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point — she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House — had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him — after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for — had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good… and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door — for now — and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine… but bargain with one? That she could — and would! — manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work — she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness — and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more —
— and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my — our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Things in the Hall went slightly different, but still Drizzt chooses the road, and learns of one more quest.
In the Demon's Claws
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner — no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now… personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal… and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form —
— or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point — she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House — had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him — after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for — had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good… and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door — for now — and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine… but bargain with one? That she could — and would! — manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work — she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness — and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more —
— and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my — our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
