Jotunn Draugr

Google Picture War

For all the Brits out there. You can stump the Trump, but you can't barrage the Farage.

Just Three Words!

Who is that?

Era of Succession(Closed)

Got my first post up. I'm up for diplomacy with anyone who's interested!

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Okay, my encounter with Dissonance is up.

U N I V E R S A L ™ (Accepting New Players!)

May 3rd, The New Athens Banking Company

Jen paused for a second whilst she was climbing down, the sounds of crashes echoing up the elevator shaft from a few floors below. Apparently someone was trying to find her. She landed on the entrance to the floor above this, the third floor, preparing herself for whatever was about to happen. She cracked the door open and peeked out, waiting to see what was happening.

"Ta-ma-de!", Jiao swore, kicking another water-soaked desk over, frightened office workers scrambling away, into corners of the room. Tapping on his earpiece, he grunted to his boss. "Wo-bu-kan-dao."

"Keep looking. If you see nothing, move to the next floor", Gunrat ordered from below.

Jiao glanced around, giving the floor a final once-over, his rifle still nocked in his shoulder. The sprinklers continued pelting his face with water. With no sign of the target, he shuffled back to the stairwell, and stormed his way up to the third floor. Bursting through, again encountering office-space seperated by hallways, he began his sweep.

Jen's eyes flitted over the man who had just burst through the door, noticing the rifle and combat gear he was wearing.
Professional military by the looks of the armour, but the rifle is too old.

"So it's an elite branch", she thought to herself.

She held her breath, waiting for him to draw closer. Jiao continued to search the room, occasionally kicking over a desk, slowly making his way closer to the doors. When he was just outside them, Jen fired a shockwave forwards, blasting the doors open and shoving Jiao backwards into the desk behind him. She rushed forwards, grabbing his gun as he raised it and aiming it at the wall.

Jiao reflexively clamped his finger down on the trigger, sending a spray of bullets into the wall behind Jen. With the clip spent, Jiao felt safe to let go of the gun, and swung his fist around. She reacted quickly, extending a field from her hand to block her face. Jiao's hand connected with the field with an unpleasant crunch.

"Ta-ma-de!", he shouted in pain, rolling over the table, away from his opponent. As she tossed the gun aside, and prepared to send another shockwave his direction, he tapped his earpiece again.

"Ta-you-jia!" he shouted, as a second shockwave knocked him back again.

Two levels below, Gunrat jumped at the loud message.

"Armour?", Xiu mumbled to herself. "She has... armour?"

Gunrat holstered her pistols, drew out her armour-piercing rifle, and began skulking up the stairwell.

Springing from the ground, into a kneeling position, Jiao pulled a pistol. Seeing the weapon, Jen took a swing to knock it from his hand. She succeeded, but he managed to get a shot off first. As the pistol flew from his hands, a spike of pain radiated from her right shoulder. She recoiled from the shock.

Jiao took this moment of hesitation to lunge toward his pistol.

Wrapping his fingers around it again, he felt a force form beneath him, as he was lifted into the air. He fired another shot off, clipping her ear. She flinched, and sent him flying up, through the ceiling tiles. He struck the concrete floor above, and came tumbling back down landing painfully on the floor.

Face-down on the ground, Jiao let out a roar of anger. He sprung back onto his feet, and sprinted at his target. As she took a left swing, he dropped to the floor, dodging the attack. He jumped back up, and aimed a kick at her gut. It connected!

Jen stumbled backward with a deep groan, as Jiao continued his approach. He took another swing, but she tripped him with her field before it could connect. He fell to the floor and she threw another shockwave at him, sending him tumbling across the floor, into the corner of the room. As he again sprang to his feet, and attempted to circle around him yet again, she flung a desk at him. He attempted to duck out of the way, but it struck him in the head, and both he and the desk went tumbling through an office window.

Stunned from the impact, he tumbled down, among broken glass, to the street below.

Xiu reached the floor, just in time to hear the screaming and shattering glass. Bursting through the stairwell door, she saw the scene before her. A blue-haired woman panting heavily, and wind blowing in through the broken window. As far as Xiu knew, her partner was dead. Gunrat's training kicked in.

Jen turned around at the sound of the opening door, but, before she had time to use her powers, Gunrat had already taken aim.

"Mark", she hissed to her telekinetic target, firing a quick shot.

As Jen dodged to the side, the large bullet tore through her left arm. Jen recoiled in pain, and thrust a wave of force at Gunrat. Flying back, into the metal door she had just entered from, Xiu let out a grunt, as a wave of pain radiated up her back. She hoped nothing was broken. Tossing her rifle to the side, she sprang off the wall at her target, a look of pure rage in her eyes.

Jen swung low at her attacker with her right arm, attempting to trip Gunrat, but Xiu leaped over the telekinetic strike. Landing on her feet, she swung her left arm around, striking at Jen's weakened side. Her metal-plated forearm collided solidly with Jen's head, sending her tumbling over. Jen fell to the ground with a thump. As Gunrat bore over her, attempting to land a knockout strike, Jen swung her right arm again, tossing Gunrat into the air. With a thump of her own, Xiu landed on her side. Lifting herself up, she saw Dissonance scrambling to her feet, running to the open elevator shaft. She rose up and gave chase.

Jen jumped forward, grabbing the elevator cables with her one good hand, and slid down. They were only two stories up. Once she reached the ground, she could run. She did what she came there for anyway, all she had to do now was escape.

Gunrat lunged forward, and grabbed hold of the elevator cables too. Her target was nearly at the bottom.

"Ay-ya!", Xiu shouted to herself, thinking quickly, she let go of the rope...

Dissonance's feet hit the ground, and she swung her hand forward, smashing the elevator doors open.

She took one forward and *SLAM*

From two floors up, Gunrat landed on her target, slamming Dissonance into the floor of the elevator shaft with her metallic shins.

Laying on top of Jen, she reached her arm around and checked the girl's pulse. She was alive. She put her hand over Jen's nose. She was breathing. Gunrat attempted to get up, but pain shot up her left leg, and through her back.

"Damn. Guess she didn't completely break my full.", Xiu murmured to herself.

Moments later, the SWAT team came in, their guns pointed directly at Gunrat.

"You're welcome to arrest me, boys, but you should know that my leg's broken. Would you be so kind, and carry me? And be careful with her. From how it sounded when I landed on her, a lot of things are broken."

An police-supervised trip to the emergency room, and a couple hours of interrogation later, Gunrat was free to go. Both Jiao and Dissonance were alive, but they would likely be spending a little more time in the hospital. When Jiao was ready, Gunrat knew who to call to get him off the hook. Dissonance would be in jail for a long time. Meanwhile, Xiu had to visit a doctor of her own, and get some more metal plating under her skin. Clearly, metal-plated shins weren't enough. She'd need metal on her femurs and kneecaps too, if she wanted to pull stunts like that again. X-rays also showed cracks in her vertebrae, which presented yet another problem.

Era of Succession(Closed)

The Inner Sanctuary, The Holy Cathedral of Leadership, Rhodullgard Province, Halmr: The Second World



The massive room bustled with life. Religious and political officials from all corners of the union wandered about, finding seats, exchanging pleasantries, and leading prayer sessions. At the head of the room sat the First Alter, and in front of it stood three thrones. As the last of the attendants filed in through the front door, the great drums rang from the church's drum-tower. With this prompt, the hundreds of representatives slowly took their seats, including the the four thrones. From left to right, they were filled by President Dyrrboen, of the Fourth World, Archpriest Rhomaera, of the Second World, Deputy Prime Councillor Rhodullvard, of the First World, and Rage-Channeler Fen, of the Fourth World.
As the drumming ended, the room fell utterly silent. From the back of the room, opposite the thrones, a voice boomed.

"The Deputy Prime Councillor will now commence the blessing of Rhodull, for this emergency summit. All in attendance, please raise your hands in prayer."

This request was met with a unanimous "aye", from the attendants, as a thousand hands rose into the air.

"Oh mighty Rhodull", Rhodullvard began in a hazy voice, resonating from his eyeless, mouthless face, "keeper of the eternal flame, prophet of the stars, your will lives on in your followers. We, many, devout, continue your dream, that as all life basks in the warmth of the stars, so may the stars bask in the reverence of all life. They that give us life. They that give us sight. They that chose you to be their voice. Give this congregation your blessing, so that we may enact your will, as you would desire. Give us your protection, so that we may banish the darkness with glorious solar light. For this, we pray."

Rhodullvard returned to his seat, and the crowd concluded this prayer with a deep, ritualistic chant.

"Rho-dull, Rho-dull, Rho-dull" echoed through the chamber, accompanied by "Rh-o-du-le", from the short-breathed, fish-esque representatives of World Four, and rhythmic clicking sounds from the monstrous residents of World Three.

As the sound once again died down, the Archpriest of Halmr, the Second World, rose from his throne. Standing nine feet in height, he was among the tallest of all True, and his resonating voice was uniquely imposing. Exploding out, from his indistinguishable face, his words washed over the audience like a great wave.

"As most of you are aware, I'm sure, aggressions are increasing along our outer border! The Second Imperium, and the Barbarian Hordes, grow ever more vicious! It is only a matter of time before war begins breaking out within our territory! Worse still, the travel of our missionaries has been limited by this... Dyarchy! Our prophets have read the will of the stars, and the overwhelming consensus is that this region is a threat! The artificial beings of this realm are not blessed by Rhodull! Action must be taken, so that our people are safe, and to ensure we do not lose the blessing of Rhodull! It is to determine the best course of action, in the face of such danger, that you have all been summoned here! Our blessed Prime Councillor is currently praying for a solution, so our Deputy Prime Councillor will be acting on his behalf for the extent of these proceedings."

Another "aye" resounded throughout the room, and the behemoth Archpriest retook his seat.

A bearded, middle-aged man jumped to his feet, near the front of the crowd.

"The admiral of Rhodull's human fleet wishes to speak", he shouted as loud as he could, introducing himself.

"You may be heard, honourable human", Rhodullvard responded.

"Thank you, blessed Deputy", the man began, "As I have lead the patrol of our forces along our border with the Imperium, I have seen the aggression that brings such concern to the Archpriest. However, I have also personally seen the conversion of thousands of refugees, from across the war-torn space. Great council, we humans have an old proverb, that if a new church is built, a new congregation will appear. It is my belief that our armada has the strength to endure in Imperial space, and that Rhodull will bless us for our boldness. As such, my request to the council is that you order our fleet into Imperial space, to act as a peaceful safeguard to the civilian planets therein. I am certain, that our mere presence in the face of such belligerence, would quickly lead to the conversion of many billions of Imperial citizens. Let us be a beacon of hope, to those who feel abandoned by the Imperium."

A cacophony of aye's and nay's filled the chamber, which quickly devolved into a storm of argument and debate among the membership.

Rhodullvard gestured to his fellow True, the Archpriest, who again rose from his throne.

"Silence!", he roared at a deafening volume. "In the name of Rhodull, SILENCE!"

The room was again quiet, with many dignitaries recoiling in shock.

"Each!", the Archpriest announced, in a somewhat milder voice. "Each of this summit's four capital members, shall now respond to the honourable human's proposition!"

First to respond was the President Dyrrboen, of the Fourth World. He dropped from his throne to the floor with a bare-skinned slap, where he stood less than four feet tall. Speaking through hyperventilated breaths, as was the manner of the Herfiligr, the President's throaty voice carried well nonetheless.



"On be-half of the Her-fi-li-gr of Njor, our ble-ss-ed ho-me-wor-ld, I have doubt in the se-cu-ri-ty of su-ch a de-ci-sion. The ci-ti-zens of Rho-du-ll's Un-i-on have liv-ed pea-ce-fu-lly for cen-tur-ies now, since the fall of the Em-pi-re. We have the de-fen-se of our prou-d na-vy, and the hon-our-a-ble hu-man ad-mi-ral him-se-lf to thank for that. How does he e-x-pec-t this pea-ce to con-ti-nue, with our de-fen-si-ve for-ces out of po-si-tion, in-tru-ding up-on hos-tile spa-ce?"

"The admiral of Rhodull's human fleet wishes to respond!", the man hastily requested.

"Granted", said Rhodullvard.

"Honourable President, our only other immediate concern is the Dyarchy, and we have no current conflict with them. Let's offer them a treaty of peace, and fortify our planetary defenses along that border. They have no reason to conflict with us, and our current defenses would be enough to hold them off, even were they to suddenly take aggressive action."

"Hmmm", the amphibious President pondered. "The hon-our-a-ble hu-man spea-ks thought-fu-lly. I shall with-ho-ld my jud-ge-ment un-til I've heard the re-sponse of my fe-llow ca-pi-tal mem-bers."

Climbing back upon his throne, the fish-creature nodded to his left, back to the Archpriest.

"On behalf of the True of Halmr, Rhodull's Second World," the Archpriest began, sounding like the voice of God, "I wish to remind all in attendance, that Rhodull's will is law. Rhodull wishes to hear the praises of the stars, wherever their light may shine. It shines bright in Imperial space, and yet the Imperials do not sing in praise. We must do as the honourable human reccomends, in Rhodull's glorious name, and great Rhodull will bless us for this act of devotion. This is my judgement."

With that, he nodded to the Deputy.

"On behalf of the residents of Musdl, our sacred First World, I must disagree with my brother, the Archpriest. It is my belief, that Rhodull would not be pleased, if we left his loyal followers vulnerable. What is the value of billions of new worshipers, if trillions of Rhodull's most devout fall to nonbelievers. In the glorious name of Rhodull, I can not agree to risk so much."

The Deputy gestured to the last of the council. Rising from his throne, dripping with saliva, the four-legged Rage-Channeler towered over the congregation. He stared hungrily, as a slender human female arose from the front of the congregation, standing directly opposite him.

"The human translator for Rage-Channeler Fen wishes to speak.", she announced.

"Granted"

The disgusting monstrosity began breathing heavily, and swinging its head about, tossing strands of saliva across the floor.

"On behalf of the False of Negh, the Third Planet, Fen expresses aggression toward the Second Empire", the woman commented.

The quadruped leviathan stood up on its hind legs, flailing its front limbs in the air.

"Fen wishes to move forward, into Imperial space."

The gargantuan animal lowered itself down, thrusting its snout into the face of the translator, and exhaled heavily.

"Fen wishes to lead the charge, and hopes to bring torturous death to any aggressors."

The creature sat back down upon its throne, satisfied, as did the woman.

All eyes turned to the President of Njor, to make the final verdict. Not bothering to go through the trouble of lowering himself to the ground, he spoke from his perch.

"Well, ha-ving heard from my fe-llow ca-pi-tal mem-bers, I vote to en-ter Im-per-i-al space. But On-ly af-ter, con-tac-ting both the Sec-ond Im-per-i-um, and the Dy-ar-chy. Peace comes first."

The summit continued for several more hours, with many other issues, and logistical concerns being addressed, but the takeaway remained the first resolution. Emissaries were quickly sent to the Second Imperium, seeking a cease-fire while the fleet worked to retake civilian worlds from the Barbarians, and the Dyarchy, seeking a pact of non-aggression.

@Serpentine88 @Wernher

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The Unpopular Opinions Thread.

It's not sexist to be attracted to attractive women.

It's also not sexist to be unattracted to unattractive women.

Being against obesity isn't an "-ism". Being fat is bad.

Body standards are a good thing.

U N I V E R S A L ™ (Accepting New Players!)

@The Kid Lantern

Still waiting to hear back from you on whether or not I can write a battle and an arrest for Dissonance.

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scent