Looking at the tally, we've got a tie for first. I'm probably going to close the vote this afternoon (since I've mostly finished with the second chapter), so if anyone wants to break the tie (or push another option into first) between now and, let's say, 3 pm, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll toss a die in thread to choose.
The Villainess wants to be a Hero
- Thread starter dmclain2
- Start date
- Location
- United States of America
[X] Gluttony. "When I drank deep from the well of Urdr, I learned a terrible secret and gained a wondrous legacy. I am the [Devourer of Dead Gods], and nothing is safe from my hunger."
[X] Greed. "I have defeated a thousand foes. And as they lay dying, I have partaken of their flesh and their essence. I am the [Thousand Chimera]. To fight me is to battle against every foe I have overcome."
[X] Envy. "All I see is mine, kept within my [Infinite Vault]. Can your armor withstand a blow from the [Phoenix Feather Fan]? Can your blade pierce the [Seven Rings that Bind Heaven]?"
[X] Greed. "I have defeated a thousand foes. And as they lay dying, I have partaken of their flesh and their essence. I am the [Thousand Chimera]. To fight me is to battle against every foe I have overcome."
[X] Envy. "All I see is mine, kept within my [Infinite Vault]. Can your armor withstand a blow from the [Phoenix Feather Fan]? Can your blade pierce the [Seven Rings that Bind Heaven]?"
Eternal_0bserver
(Unverified Bookworm)
- Location
- Earth, Northern Europe
[X] Pride. "I stole the [Dance of the Monkey King] from the heavenly sage himself. I am faster than the wind, more graceful than starlight. When I attack, the only thing you'll see will be your body as your head rolls away from it."
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Sloth. "Do you feel that, Markus? The weight of your sword grows heavy. Your eyes grow dim. Lay your head down and rest within the [Shroud of Eternal Slumber]. I promise you won't feel a thing."
We just don't get enoughvillains, sorry, heroes of Sloth.
We just don't get enough
- Pronouns
- Reader
[] Pride. "I stole the [Dance of the Monkey King] from the heavenly sage himself. I am faster than the wind, more graceful than starlight. When I attack, the only thing you'll see will be your body as your head rolls away from it."
I love an agility build. .
The thing she has forgotten is the need to restrain herself at first to avoid being feared.
Drat. I opened this a few hours ago and didn't read for a while because of distractions.
I love an agility build. .
The thing she has forgotten is the need to restrain herself at first to avoid being feared.
Drat. I opened this a few hours ago and didn't read for a while because of distractions.
Last edited:
In which a Villaines takes a pleasant walk
Birds were chirping. Insects were buzzing. The wind was rustling gently through my hair. It was a beautiful day to become a [Hero]. More than that, well more than just that, it reminded me of back when I was a freshly hatched [Calamity] playing with my sisters. Long before I had been forced to grow up and embark upon the ultimately boring and predictable path of a villain.
I lift my head to follow a ray of sunlight poking through the forest canopy and let it dance upon my pallid skin. Despite spending all my time outside, my skin had never darkened a single shade from its pale, almost bone-white hue. But what did an inability to tan matter when compared to the fact that I was done? Done with internecine plotting and sudden yet inevitable betrayals. Done with being a villain altogether.
I could feel my fifteen years of experience as an itinerant example of villainy lifting from my shoulders, and I smile. It was time for a new me. A kinder, gentler, dare I say it, more innocent me.
A me that would mesh well with the stories of a bright-eyed and innocent young lad—though I never understood why so many [Heroes] were boys, girl [Calamities] needed role models too—thrust out into the world to make his way.
Yes. I would be a naive youth whose only goal in life was to bring peace to these lands fraught with danger. And then I would become a [Hero] adored by all and-
The sound of thundering hooves interrupts my introspection and draws my attention to what appeared to be a hastily assembled group of knights spurring their horses furiously as they galloped down the road toward where I was.
In an instant, well-honed instinct kicked in, and my aura pools around my left hand like a bloodstained claw. A bloodthirsty smile crosses my face as I hop down from the stone bricks I had been balancing on, and I take one step toward the center of the road. It had been too long since I had rampaged against a knightly order, and while a half-dozen knights wasn't much to whet the appetite. Not literally, of course. I didn't eat people; I had standards. It would be a perfect palate cleanser after my time with that fool of an overlord.
The knights draw within a hundred paces, coincidentally the maximum range for my [Aura: Caress of the Calamity], and I feel my heart begin to flutter in excitement. It really had been far too long.
"Forgive us, young one, but I would ask that you move to the edge of the road. We are on an urgent task that we cannot tarry from."
The deep baritone shout of the lead knight shocks me out of my bloodlust, and I hastily pull back the invisible tendrils of hate and malice that were reaching out to garrote the knights, most likely by decapitating them.
What was I thinking? I was going to be a [Hero]. I couldn't go around indiscriminately massacring squads of knights any longer—especially not on the first day.
And so, I step back to the side of the road and tuck my left hand, still glowing with a fell light behind my back—my aura was always a bit slow to fade away once awoken—and raise my right hand in a cheerful wave. The drum of hooves clattering against paving stones rattles in my chest, but despite the thrill of it, I keep waving as the knight troupe gallops past. I even smile brightly as one of the knights turns to raise his hand to me in an elegant salute.
As the last of the band passes me, my eyes flicker over to the pennon trailing behind the knight who had shouted at me and make a note of a blue trident topped with candles set atop a yellow background. I'd have to find out what order he belonged to and find some way to reward him. My quest to become a [Hero] might have ended before it even began were it not for that timely interruption.
As I watch the knights ride up a gentle hill and out of sight, I let my waving hand fall to my chest, where I can still feel the swift pounding of my heart. Next time I came across one of my sisters, I'd have to let them know how much more exciting knights were when they weren't screaming in pain and trying to stuff entrails back inside themselves.
I could hardly wait for the looks of amazement and jealousy when I shared that pearl of wisdom with them.
Still, I do kind of wonder what had dragged them out of the city with such urgency. Besides the former me—and there wasn't much anyone could do about a [Calamity] when we came to play—Reitzland was one of the safest places in the continent.
Wait. Didn't they have a network of detection wards that spread for a hundred leagues in every direction? A detection ward specifically keyed to demonic and necromantic spellcraft—among others. I check my infallible memory and nod. Reitzland did have a multiphasic array of alarms and sensors. I even remember a mage gloating about it before her ambush had ended in blood and gore—hers.
Well, it would take a while for those knights to navigate through the dense forest, and that meant I had plenty of time to make it to the city before they found my portal site and sent for a mage to interpret the residue of hellfire it had left behind. However, as I allow myself a moment of contentment at that conclusion, my infallible memory reminds me that I'd knocked down a bunch of trees on my way to the road; something that would make their path much easier than it would have been otherwise.
With a slight frown, I ponder sacrificing my meandering pace and speeding up, but only for a moment before shaking my head and continuing as I had been. It had been far too long since I had just enjoyed a nice walk in the forest, and I wasn't about to sacrifice it for something as trivial as a handful of knights.
Besides, I should be fine. Other than Markus and his oaf of a master—and my sisters, too, I suppose—there wasn't anyone living or even undead who knew what I looked like. Sure, plenty of people could recognize the [Calamity of Gluttony], but that wasn't me any longer. So they didn't count.
An hour later, the sun is well overhead, but I'm less than halfway to the city despite my blistering pace. On another day, that fact would make me miss the tree-sized legs of my other form that let me jump for leagues in a single bound, but not today. There were so many things to see.
There were people—not knights or soldiers or warmages, but ordinary people—clumped together in groups and staring anxiously into the depths of the forest. Some had even called out to me and asked me to join them, saying things like 'Where are your parents, little girl?' or 'Come walk with us where it's safer' or 'You shouldn't be alone; the knights are out looking for something,' but I was a soon-to-be [Hero], and I knew that [Heroes] could only group up with their party members, so I'd waved happily at those people and then moved on.
More interesting than the people I passed were the wide variety of small furry creatures that I'd never seen before when wandering about in my other form—probably because I was so tall and they were so small. Unfortunately, none of them had wanted to come close enough so that I could pet them, which had been a shame until I had hit on the brilliant idea to reach out with my aura and grab one of the ones with a puffy tail. I'd named him Markus, after the knight I couldn't take with me, and it had only taken a few minutes of petting before he was happy to sit motionless on my shoulder.
In addition to the people and furry critters, bunches of pretty flowers seemed to grow in the space between where the road ended and the forest began. And while flowers were something I'd seen before, my other form's giant fingers made it difficult to pluck them—at least without plucking everything around them. And so, with a discerning eye, I had stopped at each bunch to look for the prettiest among them. Because sometimes [Heroes] became [Kings], I wanted to be prepared with my own crown. Plus, the rainbow of colors I got when I fused the flowers together with my aura made them sparkle quite elegantly.
I look down at the crown in my hands and then up at the sky above me. The day was moving quickly toward the afternoon, and if I remembered correctly—and with my immaculate memory, I was sure I did—I still had another hour or so left before I reached Reitzland. Less if I picked up my pace. And while I wasn't exactly in a hurry, I couldn't become a [Hero] without first becoming an adventurer, and I couldn't do that until I got to the city.
Still, some things couldn't be rushed, and making sure my crown was perfect was one of them. So, instead of moving on, I cast a critical eye over my crown. Despite looking for flaws in the way I had once searched for the loose strings of a rival's plot, I couldn't find a single one—no doubt evidence of my flawless ability as a craftswoman. And so, like my oldest sister, after she'd plundered a dragon's aery, I triumphantly set my crown atop my head.
I look over at Markus—the furry one, not the knight, though I was growing rather more content with the puffy-tailed version. Despite the pitter-patter of his little heart, he still seemed perfectly happy to sit utterly motionless on my shoulder. I made a mental note that when we got to Reitzland, I'd have to make sure he got some exercise, but for now, if he wanted to be lazy and let me do all the walking, I supposed that was fine. I had much longer legs, after all.
The sun was starting to really dip in the sky by the time the road I was on finally wended its way out from the cover of the forest and into sweeping, open plains.
I pause for a moment and lift my finger to point at a gentle scar in the landscape, still glowing with a malevolent purple flame and ringed by layer upon layer of fencing.
"See that, Markus." I pause to put my hand to my crown as the wind picks up and whips through my hair, and then return to pointing. "That's where an innocent [Calamity] taking a nap was rudely assaulted by an army of knights and mages and forced to evolve into her ultimate class: [Calamity of Gluttony]."
To be truthful—which was an essential trait to being a [Hero]—the [Calamity] was me, but I wanted to spare furry-Markus the horror of knowing he was traveling with such a prolific villain. Besides, since I wasn't a [Calamity] any longer, I think I was still technically telling the truth. Which I knew from reading about being a [Hero] and actually being a villain was the best kind of truth.
Markus seems to take me pointing out the malefic landmark with the same stoic stillness he seemed to display for everything. I was impressed. I'd seen people run screaming for their lives at the mere mention of a [Calamity], yet to see my furry companion so untroubled by it. I had truly chosen well when I'd randomly snatched him from his tree.
I step out of the comfortable shade of the forest and stop motionless as a cascade of golden sparks dance around my outstretched foot.
That was different. When had Reitzland created such a delightful way to welcome travelers to their city? I let my foot continue to the ground and watch happily as the golden sparks multiply in size and number.
While I was content to watch the welcoming display, my furred companion shifts minutely on my shoulder. I turn to look at him, but his gaze is also locked on my shoe. And so I turn back to look at the magical sparks, wondering what Markus had fixed his inscrutable stare upon, only to catch the scent of smoldering leather.
My smile turns into a frown. The magic was burning my shoe. That wasn't good. Without my shoes, my feet would get dirty. I pull my foot back and watch the sparks slowly fade.
Sparks that burned people's clothing was a weird way to welcome someone to the city. Unless they wanted the people to be naked when they arrived. If that were the case, I may need to put my quest to become a [Hero] away for a minute and go on a little rampage. That kind of behavior was unacceptable for [Heroes] and villains.
My non-smoldering foot taps as I ponder the quandary in front of me. The magic in those sparks was far too pitiful to actually harm me, but it was clearly enough to burn my clothes.
I could wrap myself in my aura. That would keep my outfit from getting even the slightest bit singed, but that band of knights that had passed by earlier had reminded me of an important point. I could hardly be considered a [Hero] if I was still going to use my [Calamity] skills. Those two things just didn't mix.
I turn my head to look at Markus and wait as his furry face slowly turns toward me. "Do you want to see if this ward includes fur in its list of clothing to burn?"
Markus stares at me, wide-eyed and unflinching, as he refuses to move. I smile, happy to have such a brave furry companion and nod in acceptance of his decision. "That's fair. I don't think you'd look anywhere near as cute without your puffy tail."
I reach out with my hand this time, pressing forward until a single, solitary spark settles on the end of my finger. I wrap it in a quick [Stasis Field]—hardly my best work, but then my older sister was the only one of us who really enjoyed magic—and bring it up to my face.
My eyes blur as [Dissection of the Root] films across my sight. The mana within the golden spark shifts into a kaleidoscope of letters and numbers and I frown as the meaning behind the spell becomes clear. Someone in Reitzland—probably the Mage's College—had cast a spell that would attack and destroy any being tainted by evil that wandered too close to the city. My frown deepened further as I realized I was somehow included in that number even though I clearly wasn't a [Calamity] any longer.
I quickly bury a flicker of hurt beneath a bonfire of upset as my frown grows into a glare. If they wanted to target a soon-to-be [Hero] as though she were still a garden-variety [Calamity], then I'd show them. I'd show them all.
My arm starts to morph, losing the hue and color of human flesh in favor of the raw Wyrd with which I'd been made. I would rampage just long enough to shatter this spell—and maybe the city itself—and then I'd try again somewhere more welcoming of reformed villains.
[Balefire] gathers about my fists and starts to climb up my arm as my transformation into the [Calamity of Gluttony] progresses. I breathe out a seething anger and shape my aura to shred the pitiful ward they'd cast against me.
I was a [Hero]. How dare they treat me like this.
A ball of purest darkness coalesces in my hand and turns day into night as it sucks in the light from the afternoon sun. From the size of a child's ball to a horse to a house, my attack grows until, at last, it has gathered enough energy to eradicate this ungrateful city from existence.
I-
"Chirp."
I stop dead. The ball of magic and raw hate forming in my hands dissipates as though it had never existed. I had almost… I swallow slowly. How could I be a [Hero] if I were so ready to destroy a city in a fit of pique?
"Thank you, Markus." I turn toward my companion only to let my eyes drop at the wide-eyed, accusing stare. "You're right. I-I overreacted."
The words were difficult to force out. I had never been in the wrong before, but that was as a [Calamity]—something I no longer was.
I wanted to be a [Hero], and my reading had been very clear that [Heroes] could be wrong—rarely, to be fair, but they could be. And when they were wrong, it was a key trait of a [Hero] that they learn from their mistakes so they do not repeat them when it matters. So that's what I had to do here. Learn from my mistake so that I would never repeat it.
I consider asking Markus for his advice but discard that idea almost as soon as it forms. If I were to be a [Hero], I would need to rise above this challenge on my own merit.
For a long moment, despite my brilliant mind branching off in a thousand different directions, I'm stumped. This wasn't like baiting a dragon into a rage by devouring her eggs. Nor was it like waiting motionlessly underwater until a convoy of ships passed overhead. It was something internal. And…
A wide grin splits my face. Of course. Internal. It was so simple. If I couldn't go places without tripping every ward against evil that existed in that place, then I'd just have to seal away that part of me.
I was a genius.
With a twist of my will, not unlike how I transform from my small form to my larger form, I wrap my [Calamity of Gluttony] around a kernel of itself. Then I toss it into a box deep within my soul, slam the lid shut, and lock it.
Done. Now, I was just like any other person with a [Calamity] locked away deep within their soul.
I look over at Markus, who had started to relax from his stoic stillness—I suppose that after chastising me on my lapse in judgment, he deserved a chance to relax—and smile.
"Let's go join the adventurer's guild!."
"What do you mean the gates are closed!?!" A man sitting on a wagon bench shouts down at a harried-looking guard in cheap metal armor. "There are children out here!"
"I'm sorry, sir." The guard grimaces, looks over at a woman holding hands with two young children, and grimaces deeper. "The city is under a crimson alert after an unidentified discharge of dark magic. City policy is to lock the gates for twenty-four hours. We will reopen tomorrow afternoon."
"So you're leaving us out here to fend for our-"
I tune out the rest of the shouting between the guard and what was probably a merchant. It seemed something—or someone, I supposed—had tripped the wards around the city, and no one was being let in.
That was fine. I could wait a day to become an adventurer. Couldn't I?
The burning impatience bubbling in my chest said I might be unable to, but I had just recently learned my lesson. So instead of going on a rampage, I cast my brilliant mind out to find an alternative.
The first thing I realized is that just because I had never gotten around to assaulting Reitzland itself, that didn't mean the only way into a city was breaking down the walls. On the contrary, I knew that just because the gates were closed, that didn't mean there were no other ways in. Hadn't my books told me all about how [Heroes] would infiltrate the castles and domains of their fated villains?
My eyes trace over to where Reitzland sat in the middle of the Reitz, and I trace the sluggish flow of the river from one end of the walled city to the other. Yes. Yes, they had.
My mind branches fractally along a thousand different paths before returning almost instantly with three different plans. I smile, happy and content. This first obstacle on my path to becoming a [Hero] would be trivial.
[] If I waited for night to truly fall, I was sure I could find an out-of-the-way spot of the city wall to climb. From there, it would be simple to drop unseen into Reitzland.
[] If there were a city, then there would be smugglers. I should know. I've worked with a number of smuggling crews before. So if I couldn't go over the walls, why not go under them?
[] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
[AN]
Ciel gets a fresh start, and everything is going smoothly.
I lift my head to follow a ray of sunlight poking through the forest canopy and let it dance upon my pallid skin. Despite spending all my time outside, my skin had never darkened a single shade from its pale, almost bone-white hue. But what did an inability to tan matter when compared to the fact that I was done? Done with internecine plotting and sudden yet inevitable betrayals. Done with being a villain altogether.
I could feel my fifteen years of experience as an itinerant example of villainy lifting from my shoulders, and I smile. It was time for a new me. A kinder, gentler, dare I say it, more innocent me.
A me that would mesh well with the stories of a bright-eyed and innocent young lad—though I never understood why so many [Heroes] were boys, girl [Calamities] needed role models too—thrust out into the world to make his way.
Yes. I would be a naive youth whose only goal in life was to bring peace to these lands fraught with danger. And then I would become a [Hero] adored by all and-
The sound of thundering hooves interrupts my introspection and draws my attention to what appeared to be a hastily assembled group of knights spurring their horses furiously as they galloped down the road toward where I was.
In an instant, well-honed instinct kicked in, and my aura pools around my left hand like a bloodstained claw. A bloodthirsty smile crosses my face as I hop down from the stone bricks I had been balancing on, and I take one step toward the center of the road. It had been too long since I had rampaged against a knightly order, and while a half-dozen knights wasn't much to whet the appetite. Not literally, of course. I didn't eat people; I had standards. It would be a perfect palate cleanser after my time with that fool of an overlord.
The knights draw within a hundred paces, coincidentally the maximum range for my [Aura: Caress of the Calamity], and I feel my heart begin to flutter in excitement. It really had been far too long.
"Forgive us, young one, but I would ask that you move to the edge of the road. We are on an urgent task that we cannot tarry from."
The deep baritone shout of the lead knight shocks me out of my bloodlust, and I hastily pull back the invisible tendrils of hate and malice that were reaching out to garrote the knights, most likely by decapitating them.
What was I thinking? I was going to be a [Hero]. I couldn't go around indiscriminately massacring squads of knights any longer—especially not on the first day.
And so, I step back to the side of the road and tuck my left hand, still glowing with a fell light behind my back—my aura was always a bit slow to fade away once awoken—and raise my right hand in a cheerful wave. The drum of hooves clattering against paving stones rattles in my chest, but despite the thrill of it, I keep waving as the knight troupe gallops past. I even smile brightly as one of the knights turns to raise his hand to me in an elegant salute.
As the last of the band passes me, my eyes flicker over to the pennon trailing behind the knight who had shouted at me and make a note of a blue trident topped with candles set atop a yellow background. I'd have to find out what order he belonged to and find some way to reward him. My quest to become a [Hero] might have ended before it even began were it not for that timely interruption.
As I watch the knights ride up a gentle hill and out of sight, I let my waving hand fall to my chest, where I can still feel the swift pounding of my heart. Next time I came across one of my sisters, I'd have to let them know how much more exciting knights were when they weren't screaming in pain and trying to stuff entrails back inside themselves.
I could hardly wait for the looks of amazement and jealousy when I shared that pearl of wisdom with them.
Still, I do kind of wonder what had dragged them out of the city with such urgency. Besides the former me—and there wasn't much anyone could do about a [Calamity] when we came to play—Reitzland was one of the safest places in the continent.
Wait. Didn't they have a network of detection wards that spread for a hundred leagues in every direction? A detection ward specifically keyed to demonic and necromantic spellcraft—among others. I check my infallible memory and nod. Reitzland did have a multiphasic array of alarms and sensors. I even remember a mage gloating about it before her ambush had ended in blood and gore—hers.
Well, it would take a while for those knights to navigate through the dense forest, and that meant I had plenty of time to make it to the city before they found my portal site and sent for a mage to interpret the residue of hellfire it had left behind. However, as I allow myself a moment of contentment at that conclusion, my infallible memory reminds me that I'd knocked down a bunch of trees on my way to the road; something that would make their path much easier than it would have been otherwise.
With a slight frown, I ponder sacrificing my meandering pace and speeding up, but only for a moment before shaking my head and continuing as I had been. It had been far too long since I had just enjoyed a nice walk in the forest, and I wasn't about to sacrifice it for something as trivial as a handful of knights.
Besides, I should be fine. Other than Markus and his oaf of a master—and my sisters, too, I suppose—there wasn't anyone living or even undead who knew what I looked like. Sure, plenty of people could recognize the [Calamity of Gluttony], but that wasn't me any longer. So they didn't count.
An hour later, the sun is well overhead, but I'm less than halfway to the city despite my blistering pace. On another day, that fact would make me miss the tree-sized legs of my other form that let me jump for leagues in a single bound, but not today. There were so many things to see.
There were people—not knights or soldiers or warmages, but ordinary people—clumped together in groups and staring anxiously into the depths of the forest. Some had even called out to me and asked me to join them, saying things like 'Where are your parents, little girl?' or 'Come walk with us where it's safer' or 'You shouldn't be alone; the knights are out looking for something,' but I was a soon-to-be [Hero], and I knew that [Heroes] could only group up with their party members, so I'd waved happily at those people and then moved on.
More interesting than the people I passed were the wide variety of small furry creatures that I'd never seen before when wandering about in my other form—probably because I was so tall and they were so small. Unfortunately, none of them had wanted to come close enough so that I could pet them, which had been a shame until I had hit on the brilliant idea to reach out with my aura and grab one of the ones with a puffy tail. I'd named him Markus, after the knight I couldn't take with me, and it had only taken a few minutes of petting before he was happy to sit motionless on my shoulder.
In addition to the people and furry critters, bunches of pretty flowers seemed to grow in the space between where the road ended and the forest began. And while flowers were something I'd seen before, my other form's giant fingers made it difficult to pluck them—at least without plucking everything around them. And so, with a discerning eye, I had stopped at each bunch to look for the prettiest among them. Because sometimes [Heroes] became [Kings], I wanted to be prepared with my own crown. Plus, the rainbow of colors I got when I fused the flowers together with my aura made them sparkle quite elegantly.
I look down at the crown in my hands and then up at the sky above me. The day was moving quickly toward the afternoon, and if I remembered correctly—and with my immaculate memory, I was sure I did—I still had another hour or so left before I reached Reitzland. Less if I picked up my pace. And while I wasn't exactly in a hurry, I couldn't become a [Hero] without first becoming an adventurer, and I couldn't do that until I got to the city.
Still, some things couldn't be rushed, and making sure my crown was perfect was one of them. So, instead of moving on, I cast a critical eye over my crown. Despite looking for flaws in the way I had once searched for the loose strings of a rival's plot, I couldn't find a single one—no doubt evidence of my flawless ability as a craftswoman. And so, like my oldest sister, after she'd plundered a dragon's aery, I triumphantly set my crown atop my head.
I look over at Markus—the furry one, not the knight, though I was growing rather more content with the puffy-tailed version. Despite the pitter-patter of his little heart, he still seemed perfectly happy to sit utterly motionless on my shoulder. I made a mental note that when we got to Reitzland, I'd have to make sure he got some exercise, but for now, if he wanted to be lazy and let me do all the walking, I supposed that was fine. I had much longer legs, after all.
The sun was starting to really dip in the sky by the time the road I was on finally wended its way out from the cover of the forest and into sweeping, open plains.
I pause for a moment and lift my finger to point at a gentle scar in the landscape, still glowing with a malevolent purple flame and ringed by layer upon layer of fencing.
"See that, Markus." I pause to put my hand to my crown as the wind picks up and whips through my hair, and then return to pointing. "That's where an innocent [Calamity] taking a nap was rudely assaulted by an army of knights and mages and forced to evolve into her ultimate class: [Calamity of Gluttony]."
To be truthful—which was an essential trait to being a [Hero]—the [Calamity] was me, but I wanted to spare furry-Markus the horror of knowing he was traveling with such a prolific villain. Besides, since I wasn't a [Calamity] any longer, I think I was still technically telling the truth. Which I knew from reading about being a [Hero] and actually being a villain was the best kind of truth.
Markus seems to take me pointing out the malefic landmark with the same stoic stillness he seemed to display for everything. I was impressed. I'd seen people run screaming for their lives at the mere mention of a [Calamity], yet to see my furry companion so untroubled by it. I had truly chosen well when I'd randomly snatched him from his tree.
I step out of the comfortable shade of the forest and stop motionless as a cascade of golden sparks dance around my outstretched foot.
That was different. When had Reitzland created such a delightful way to welcome travelers to their city? I let my foot continue to the ground and watch happily as the golden sparks multiply in size and number.
While I was content to watch the welcoming display, my furred companion shifts minutely on my shoulder. I turn to look at him, but his gaze is also locked on my shoe. And so I turn back to look at the magical sparks, wondering what Markus had fixed his inscrutable stare upon, only to catch the scent of smoldering leather.
My smile turns into a frown. The magic was burning my shoe. That wasn't good. Without my shoes, my feet would get dirty. I pull my foot back and watch the sparks slowly fade.
Sparks that burned people's clothing was a weird way to welcome someone to the city. Unless they wanted the people to be naked when they arrived. If that were the case, I may need to put my quest to become a [Hero] away for a minute and go on a little rampage. That kind of behavior was unacceptable for [Heroes] and villains.
My non-smoldering foot taps as I ponder the quandary in front of me. The magic in those sparks was far too pitiful to actually harm me, but it was clearly enough to burn my clothes.
I could wrap myself in my aura. That would keep my outfit from getting even the slightest bit singed, but that band of knights that had passed by earlier had reminded me of an important point. I could hardly be considered a [Hero] if I was still going to use my [Calamity] skills. Those two things just didn't mix.
I turn my head to look at Markus and wait as his furry face slowly turns toward me. "Do you want to see if this ward includes fur in its list of clothing to burn?"
Markus stares at me, wide-eyed and unflinching, as he refuses to move. I smile, happy to have such a brave furry companion and nod in acceptance of his decision. "That's fair. I don't think you'd look anywhere near as cute without your puffy tail."
I reach out with my hand this time, pressing forward until a single, solitary spark settles on the end of my finger. I wrap it in a quick [Stasis Field]—hardly my best work, but then my older sister was the only one of us who really enjoyed magic—and bring it up to my face.
My eyes blur as [Dissection of the Root] films across my sight. The mana within the golden spark shifts into a kaleidoscope of letters and numbers and I frown as the meaning behind the spell becomes clear. Someone in Reitzland—probably the Mage's College—had cast a spell that would attack and destroy any being tainted by evil that wandered too close to the city. My frown deepened further as I realized I was somehow included in that number even though I clearly wasn't a [Calamity] any longer.
I quickly bury a flicker of hurt beneath a bonfire of upset as my frown grows into a glare. If they wanted to target a soon-to-be [Hero] as though she were still a garden-variety [Calamity], then I'd show them. I'd show them all.
My arm starts to morph, losing the hue and color of human flesh in favor of the raw Wyrd with which I'd been made. I would rampage just long enough to shatter this spell—and maybe the city itself—and then I'd try again somewhere more welcoming of reformed villains.
[Balefire] gathers about my fists and starts to climb up my arm as my transformation into the [Calamity of Gluttony] progresses. I breathe out a seething anger and shape my aura to shred the pitiful ward they'd cast against me.
I was a [Hero]. How dare they treat me like this.
A ball of purest darkness coalesces in my hand and turns day into night as it sucks in the light from the afternoon sun. From the size of a child's ball to a horse to a house, my attack grows until, at last, it has gathered enough energy to eradicate this ungrateful city from existence.
I-
"Chirp."
I stop dead. The ball of magic and raw hate forming in my hands dissipates as though it had never existed. I had almost… I swallow slowly. How could I be a [Hero] if I were so ready to destroy a city in a fit of pique?
"Thank you, Markus." I turn toward my companion only to let my eyes drop at the wide-eyed, accusing stare. "You're right. I-I overreacted."
The words were difficult to force out. I had never been in the wrong before, but that was as a [Calamity]—something I no longer was.
I wanted to be a [Hero], and my reading had been very clear that [Heroes] could be wrong—rarely, to be fair, but they could be. And when they were wrong, it was a key trait of a [Hero] that they learn from their mistakes so they do not repeat them when it matters. So that's what I had to do here. Learn from my mistake so that I would never repeat it.
I consider asking Markus for his advice but discard that idea almost as soon as it forms. If I were to be a [Hero], I would need to rise above this challenge on my own merit.
For a long moment, despite my brilliant mind branching off in a thousand different directions, I'm stumped. This wasn't like baiting a dragon into a rage by devouring her eggs. Nor was it like waiting motionlessly underwater until a convoy of ships passed overhead. It was something internal. And…
A wide grin splits my face. Of course. Internal. It was so simple. If I couldn't go places without tripping every ward against evil that existed in that place, then I'd just have to seal away that part of me.
I was a genius.
With a twist of my will, not unlike how I transform from my small form to my larger form, I wrap my [Calamity of Gluttony] around a kernel of itself. Then I toss it into a box deep within my soul, slam the lid shut, and lock it.
Done. Now, I was just like any other person with a [Calamity] locked away deep within their soul.
I look over at Markus, who had started to relax from his stoic stillness—I suppose that after chastising me on my lapse in judgment, he deserved a chance to relax—and smile.
"Let's go join the adventurer's guild!."
"What do you mean the gates are closed!?!" A man sitting on a wagon bench shouts down at a harried-looking guard in cheap metal armor. "There are children out here!"
"I'm sorry, sir." The guard grimaces, looks over at a woman holding hands with two young children, and grimaces deeper. "The city is under a crimson alert after an unidentified discharge of dark magic. City policy is to lock the gates for twenty-four hours. We will reopen tomorrow afternoon."
"So you're leaving us out here to fend for our-"
I tune out the rest of the shouting between the guard and what was probably a merchant. It seemed something—or someone, I supposed—had tripped the wards around the city, and no one was being let in.
That was fine. I could wait a day to become an adventurer. Couldn't I?
The burning impatience bubbling in my chest said I might be unable to, but I had just recently learned my lesson. So instead of going on a rampage, I cast my brilliant mind out to find an alternative.
The first thing I realized is that just because I had never gotten around to assaulting Reitzland itself, that didn't mean the only way into a city was breaking down the walls. On the contrary, I knew that just because the gates were closed, that didn't mean there were no other ways in. Hadn't my books told me all about how [Heroes] would infiltrate the castles and domains of their fated villains?
My eyes trace over to where Reitzland sat in the middle of the Reitz, and I trace the sluggish flow of the river from one end of the walled city to the other. Yes. Yes, they had.
My mind branches fractally along a thousand different paths before returning almost instantly with three different plans. I smile, happy and content. This first obstacle on my path to becoming a [Hero] would be trivial.
[] If I waited for night to truly fall, I was sure I could find an out-of-the-way spot of the city wall to climb. From there, it would be simple to drop unseen into Reitzland.
[] If there were a city, then there would be smugglers. I should know. I've worked with a number of smuggling crews before. So if I couldn't go over the walls, why not go under them?
[] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
Summary Description: In appearance, the [Calamity of Gluttony] is a fifty-foot-tall chimeric beast made out of some sort of pure-white material. Unlike the other [Calamities], the [Calamity of Gluttony] has shown a substantial variability of form—mainly in the apportionment of its limbs. Despite this mutability, it is distinguished from the other [Calamities] in that it has shown no capacity for flight, instead preferring to walk upon its many legs.
Summary Rank: SS+. In accordance with guild procedures. If found, do not engage. Retreat slowly in as non-threatening a manner as possible and then notify the nearest civil institution for evacuation and disaster response.
Known Skills
[Aura: Caress of the Calamity] Suspected S+ Rank skill.
A combination offensive and defensive skill that seems to act independently of its wielder. As dangerous as the aura is in an offensive capacity (see Report 0141: The Decimation of The Order of Roses), it is its defensive capacity that is responsible for the rating. There is no corroborated evidence of an attack, whether magical or martial, that has successfully managed to pierce through its defenses. Even a strike from the A-Rank Alis du Lantzen [The Sword of Summer] could not leave a scratch.
[Dissection of the Root] Suspected A Rank skill.
Along with its size and seemingly indestructible nature, the Calamity possesses a preternatural ability to interpret the spellcraft wielded against it. It has shown this ability both in avoiding traps crafted by the S-Rank Zefor [The Archmage of Cycles] (see Report 0081: The Death of Zefor) and in turning spells and wards back upon their caster (see Report 0082: The Second Death of Zefor).
[Devourer of Dead Gods] Suspected EX Rank skill.
"If you ever see the light drain from the sky, run. Run as far and as fast as you can. Do not stop. Run until your lungs bleed and your legs have turned to water, and then keep running. Sacrifice your enchanted gear and your artifacts. Sacrifice your dearest friends. Run, and pray to the gods that no longer exist to save you from your fate." — an excerpt from an interview conducted with a nameless adventurer, the only known survivor of having witnessed this skill.
Summary Rank: SS+. In accordance with guild procedures. If found, do not engage. Retreat slowly in as non-threatening a manner as possible and then notify the nearest civil institution for evacuation and disaster response.
Known Skills
[Aura: Caress of the Calamity] Suspected S+ Rank skill.
A combination offensive and defensive skill that seems to act independently of its wielder. As dangerous as the aura is in an offensive capacity (see Report 0141: The Decimation of The Order of Roses), it is its defensive capacity that is responsible for the rating. There is no corroborated evidence of an attack, whether magical or martial, that has successfully managed to pierce through its defenses. Even a strike from the A-Rank Alis du Lantzen [The Sword of Summer] could not leave a scratch.
[Dissection of the Root] Suspected A Rank skill.
Along with its size and seemingly indestructible nature, the Calamity possesses a preternatural ability to interpret the spellcraft wielded against it. It has shown this ability both in avoiding traps crafted by the S-Rank Zefor [The Archmage of Cycles] (see Report 0081: The Death of Zefor) and in turning spells and wards back upon their caster (see Report 0082: The Second Death of Zefor).
[Devourer of Dead Gods] Suspected EX Rank skill.
"If you ever see the light drain from the sky, run. Run as far and as fast as you can. Do not stop. Run until your lungs bleed and your legs have turned to water, and then keep running. Sacrifice your enchanted gear and your artifacts. Sacrifice your dearest friends. Run, and pray to the gods that no longer exist to save you from your fate." — an excerpt from an interview conducted with a nameless adventurer, the only known survivor of having witnessed this skill.
[AN]
Ciel gets a fresh start, and everything is going smoothly.
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- Location
- Florida
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
I'm starting to understand the true nature of the title, it's going to be a lot of work to turn her into a proper Hero.
I'm starting to understand the true nature of the title, it's going to be a lot of work to turn her into a proper Hero.
- Location
- United States of America
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
NSMS
Probably evil, unfortunately.
- Location
- A rapidly widening tear in the fabric of reality
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
I wonder where we're hiding our third hand right now?
I wonder where we're hiding our third hand right now?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
[X] If there were a city, then there would be smugglers. I should know. I've worked with a number of smuggling crews before. So if I couldn't go over the walls, why not go under them?
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
Sneaking around town might be fine for a dashing rogue type, but since we're reformed we've got to go cold turkey on anything remotely shady. Of course having the [Calamity of Gluttony] locked up will probably help us with the not rampaging on a whim thing but better safe than sorry.
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
Jonen C
F.M.D.G.
- Location
- Lincopense, Ostrogothia, Suecia
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
(Not only is this the properly heroic response, it also puts a certain young prospective [Hero] in the best position to respond should whatever set off the alarms attack the city, and that will surely be an approved shortcut to becoming a [Hero])
(Not only is this the properly heroic response, it also puts a certain young prospective [Hero] in the best position to respond should whatever set off the alarms attack the city, and that will surely be an approved shortcut to becoming a [Hero])
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm wondering if our MC is what set the alarms off, actually
Jonen C
F.M.D.G.
- Location
- Lincopense, Ostrogothia, Suecia
IC: Impossible, she's going to become a Hero, after all.
OOC: Duh. There is a miniscule chance that she isn't the only thing that did, tho.
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- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards.
We must protect the city against any foul beasts, because that is what any [Hero] would do.
We must protect the city against any foul beasts, because that is what any [Hero] would do.
mynameisyouQQQ
Miss Brightside
- Location
- A Hell of my own making
- Pronouns
- Fae/Any
[X] On the third hand, I could just wait and protect the poor people caught outside. Doubtless, my presence as a soon-to-be [Hero] would help ward off whatever foul beast had tripped the city's wards