Hi! This is Virgo626, and after a year off, I'm back. So I know there is a bunch of other stories I'm trying to write, but they are based off the anime series and I don't have a place where I can watch good copies of them so I can get the quotes and events right.
This story is classified as a Dungeons and Dragons story, but when I do these types of campaigns, I take so much stuff from other people it's not just DnD anymore. At the beginning of each chapter I will lay a disclaimer and specify which characters are actually mine and which ones aren't. Some will be more obvious than others. I will also specify who played the character in the campaign, if anyone did. However, I will not reveal their real names.
I'm also using a combination of Norse mythology and Forgotten Realms mythology. So there are some things about the Norse gods in this story that isn't mythologically true.
Anyway, enough rambling. Off with the story!
Disclaimers:
Acheron Blackfire is based off Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan, but I don't think it's super obvious.
Aroconus Blackfire is AngelDM's character. He is original.
Miri La'arnie is Ice Queen's character. She is also original.
Ea Art is another one of Ice Queen's characters. She is another original.
Barrey Starsplitter and Nexa Surge were created because of my three boys and three girls per group rule. They didn't have major roles.
Dworgyn is from the game Wizard101, but a few elements of Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter also contributed to this character.
Levi Grace is basically Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan. But I changed him up a bit.
Harleia Tormentor is Harley Quinn.
And their introduction scenes are from the Suicide Squad movie.
Alassra Silverhand and Evenyl Nathtalond are from the Forgotten Realms. Alassra is one of the Seven Sisters and Evenyl is an apprentice of hers.
Cassandra Truth is based off the mythological being of the same name.
Dahlia Falmea is also from Wizard101.
Claire is based off the Seer from Once Upon a Time.
Acheron Blackfire had always steered clear of the cave on the far side of camp.
The cave's entrance was always obscured by a thick, ethereal mist. Sometimes he could hear a woman's chanting from inside, though he could never make out any words, and for all he knew, it could have been in another language.
Most of the campers of the Camp of Magic had different theories about the cave. Some said that the ghost of Sylune Silverhand haunted the cave, though Acheron knew that story was bull. Sylune Silverhand was a Spectral Harpist, and any person who knew what was going on knew that a Spectral Harpist was a special type of ghost exclusive to the Harpers guild.
Others said a mysterious monster lived in there. Perhaps a night hag, or a chromatic dragon in human form, but Acheron also thought this was bull. Monsters at the Camp of Magic were held in the Forest of Monsters, and Thorneira Thalance maintained strong and powerful wards around it. The cave had no magical restrictions.
Others thought it was a metallic dragon in human form, which could have been a more likelier story. But no one had actually went to investigate. Not even the teachers knew. And no one knew if Alassra Silverhand, the founder of the Camp of Magic, knew what it was and wasn't telling, or just flat out didn't know.
"Are you looking at the cave again?" Called a voice.
Acheron turned to see his twin brother Aroconus Blackfire coming up towards him up the hill.
Even though they were twins, they only looked alike in their facial features, eye shape, and ear shape. Acheron had fiery red hair with hints of brown and amber, along with copper eyes that seemed to ignite when he got angry. Aroconus, on the other hand, had light brown hair and soft sky blue eyes.
As half elves, both of them had almond shaped eyes and slightly pointed ears. However, Acheron's skin was tinged with bronze, while Aroconus had a perfect pale complexion, like porcelain.
Acheron usually wore the Robe of the Archmage, which he had obtained during a training exercise outside of camp. He had burned off the bottom part, which made it look like a dress, so it was just a hooded white and gold tunic over a red shirt with a white and gold cloak over it. He didn't need a wand, as he had discovered that he had a natural knack for wandless and wordless magic.
Aroconus wore a dark blue Robe of Stars, also retrieved from the training exercise. It was embroidered with magical stars that displace light, which makes it hard for ranged attack to be effective against him. Currently, six large stars at the collar allowed him to cast magic missile with no power necessary. At every dawn, if he used any stars, they were replaced. On lucky days, he'd get extra stars. On unlucky days, he'd get only one or two extra. He always carried a beech wand with him.
According to wandlore, a beech wand was usually paired up with a wizard who was intelligent and wise beyond his years, which could describe Aroconus. Acheron just called him a nerd. Before he switched to wandless magic, Acheron's wand had been blackthorn, the wood of a warrior. Did that mean anything? Acheron could possibly find out if he had the chance.
Acheron huffed. "So what if I am?"
"No one knows what's there," Aroconus said. "Not for sure, at least."
"That's what bothers me," Acheron muttered.
"Come on, Miri and the others are waiting, and it's time for classes," Aroconus reminded him.
Acheron groaned. Studying. He hated classes. He wished they learned their magic more actively. He wished they could learn on the job, not read boring textbooks. No one listened to his complaints though. He had only set fire to one cabin, and it hadn't been destroyed, just a little charred.
"Acheron," Aroconus said, his tone hard. People always thought the older siblings was the responsible and disciplined one, but this was not the case. Aroconus was the younger twin brother and was definitely more responsible, disciplined, calm, and basically everything Acheron wasn't.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming. Don't get your boxers in a wad," Acheron grumbled as he followed his brother down the hill. Four figures were waiting at the base of the hill.
"Did you go in? What was in there? Was it scary?" Acheron was instantly bombarded by questions from Ea Art. She was a young tiefling, about fourteen years old, with purple tinged crimson hair, large gold eyes, a pale pink skin tone, and small purple horns that pointed downwards. She was wearing dual colored robes, half pale pink, and half bright crimson.
"No Ea, I didn't go in," Acheron answered her. "Aroconus," he jabbed a thumb at his brother. "stopped me."
Ea began to chew out Aroconus and Aroconus slowly backed away from her.
Acheron glanced at the others: Barrey Starsplitter, Nexa Surge, and Miri La'arnie.
Barrey had a lithe but muscular build, with wavy dirty blonde hair streaked with amber and golden brown eyes. He was wielding a plain golden robe and had two magical swords at his belt.
Nexa was deathly pale with long, lustrous black curls cascading down her back and black eyes that had subtle flecks of silver. She wore pure black robes with diamonds sewn into the fabric. She was pretty, but she always radiated a strong aura of death and danger. She wasn't Acheron's ideal girl.
Miri was almost as pale as Nexa, but she had splashes of light pink color in her cheeks and nose. She had long raven hair tied back in a braid and icy blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless knee length silver dress, a black cloak, and black boots. She was beautiful but she was always downplaying it.
"Come on, Ea, classes are starting!" Aroconus cried.
"Ohhhhh, riiiiiight," Ea said. "What are we waiting for? Come on!" she started skipping towards the buildings.
The others followed.
"We have a class with Dworgyn again today," Miri said.
"Ugh, not him," Aroconus grumbled. Dworgyn was the darkness and necromancy teacher, but Aroconus's magic dealt with life and healing. He didn't really like the strong dark aura Dworgyn always seemed to carry.
Acheron didn't see the problem. Dworgyn was a great guy. He was interesting. Dworgyn taught more active classes, and if they were just reading, he made sure to make it interesting.
They walked into Dworgyn's cabin. It was made of dark wood with a grinning skull symbol above the door. The inside was just as dark, illuminated by torches lit with faerie fire. The floor was slanted downward with benches rising out of the floor and desks above the benches. Acheron slumped into one near the back and Miri sat next to him.
"Do you have to slouch?" she hissed.
"Yes," Acheron replied, just to annoy her.
"Tch," Miri averted her gaze from him.
Aroconus and Barrey were sitting in front of them, and Nexa and Ea sat in front of them.
Barrey turned around, "Miri, don't let him get under your skin. He's probably just picking on you because he likes you."
"I don't like her!" Acheron exclaimed. He immediately regretted his outburst, seeing a bit of hurt flash in Miri's eyes. "I mean, not in that way. I mean, she's okay, I mean… never mind."
Aroconus snorted. "Smooth move, Ex Lax. The day you get a girlfriend is the day a cow flies."
"Shut up!" Acheron snapped.
"I'd like to see a cow fly!" Ea piped up.
"Of course you do," Nexa grumbled.
Clearly, they were all the best of friends.
"Silence everyone! The class is starting!" a loud voice called and a small figure began making his way to the front of the room.
Dworgyn was a tall halfling, about 4'5", but he was permanently hunched over from always bending over to get through the small doorways of halfling society. His face looked like it was roughly carved from wood, and he had shoulder length, stringy dark gray hair and a long, forked beard. He was wearing a black robe and carried a wooden staff with a lantern dangling from the top. One of his eyes was dark gray and small, while the other was a larger gold false eye that moved around independently from the other.
Everyone instantly quieted down and watched Dworgyn make his way down to the front, his staff and boots clicking against the floor.
"Today we will be going over death procedures to make sure you know everything we need to know," Dworgyn said. He had a growling, accented voice.
"Now, will someone name me the most common afterlives?" the halfling asked.
Acheron raised his hand. Just because he wasn't an ideal student didn't mean he didn't answer questions. "Valhalla." He answered. "That's where the dead who die in combat go."
"Not quite," Dworgyn began pacing as he explained. "Not all those who die in combat go there. And sometimes, people who don't die in combat go there. Only the worthy go. Before they get in, they die making a sacrifice. They save people. They are heroes."
Heroes, huh? Acheron thought.
"They become einherjar, and they are faster, stronger, and more durable than regular mortals. Some of the older einherjar even reach levels of their abilities thought impossible by others," Dworgyn said.
"Valhalla has an infinite number of floors, and has exits into each of the Nine Worlds. Valhalla is overseen by Odin, the All-Father and god of wisdom, and his honored thanes," Dworgyn said. "Any other afterlives?" he looked around.
"Folkvangar," Aroconus said.
"But Folkvangar is just a flipside of Valhalla, isn't it?" a student spoke up.
"Folkvangar is where those who lived a hero's life, but did not die in combat or sacrifice, go" Dworgyn countered. "There, their youth is restored. They are also known as einherjar and have the same benefits as the einherjar from Valhalla. This afterlife is overseen by Freya, the goddess of beauty, war, and death."
"She's a goddess of war and death too?" Ea's eyes widened.
"Yes. People tend to forget that," Dworgyn said.
"Helheim is an afterlife, right? I heard it's not a very good one," Barrey said.
"Damn right it isn't," Dworgyn said. "It's where the folks who died of sickness, old age, or suicide go. Villains go there too. It's overseen by Hel, the cruel goddess of the dishonorable dead. No one wants to go there."
The class shuddered.
"There are nine gates to Helheim, one in each of the Nine Worlds," Dworgyn explained. "But they remain closed. If they should open, the dead would be able to flood back into the rest of the Nine Worlds."
"What keeps the portals from opening?" Aroconus asked.
"No one knows," Dworgyn said with a shrug. "But whatever it is, it's worked. For centuries, the gates have remained closed. You all have nothing to worry about."
The class continued, with Dworgyn explaining various other minor afterlives. At the sound of the horn, Dworgyn shooed them out of the cabin as he barked, "Quiz about afterlives tomorrow, don't forget!"
Acheron was one of the last few people out. He probably shouldn't have heard it, but he heard Dworgyn mutter to himself, "Best they all think that."
Think what? Acheron thought. He didn't know what the paranoid old halfling was talking about, but he wanted to find out. What was he keeping from them?
Dworgyn rose up the slanted floor. He caught a glance of Acheron, and scowled. "What are you doing here, Blackfire? Don't you have lunch right now?"
"Yes, I do," Acheron replied.
"Go on then, kid, catch up with your friends," Dworgyn said, waving his hand.
Acheron wanted to argue that they weren't his friends, just his classmates. He didn't have any friends. But Dworgyn was already hobbling away.
He had two choices: he could go to lunch immediately and have to put up with an hour of Aroconus, Miri, Ea, Nexa, and Barrey, or he could follow Dworgyn and find out what he was keeping from them.
Acheron took Option Two.
Sweat ran down the man's face. A drop rolled into his gray eye, and he squeezed it shut as he continued throwing punches at the punching bag in front of him. He had thrown off his white shirt and gray jacket, his dark hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.
A small window in the cell door opened and a gruff man's voice snapped, "Lunch time, Levi."
Levi Grace scowled and stalked over to the door. "Only me friends call me Levi."
The guard laughed. "You have no friends, Levi."
He shoved a tray into the cell. It had a bowl of watery soup and some bread.
"Let me tell you something," Levi could tell now that this was the guard that he hated, and the feeling was mutual. "One day, somehow, some way, I'm going to get out of here, and I'm going to rain down in you like Vidar."
The guard grinned and Levi realized his mistake. "You just threatened a staff member." He licked his lips. "Let's have some fun."
Levi was dragged from his cell and chained to a pole with his back facing the Whipwoman. Her name told a lot about her. All of Scarlet Prison heard the screams of the tortured criminal.
A former captain, a former hero. Now a criminal. He had tangled himself with the wrong people. He had been betrayed by them. He then closed himself off from any personal connections. He screamed more from the initial shock, but as it went on, he grew used to the pain.
The world was upside down to the woman as she slowly and rhythmically swung. Most of her prison uniform had been ripped up to create a swing where she hung upside down, so she was left in short shorts, a tattered shirt, and a bra. Her unwashed, unkempt long, thick dark blue hair touched the ground of her cage. Her large, dark wings were clamped down so she couldn't use them. Her eyes were closed, but they had long eyelashes. She had full lips, thin eyebrows, and a strong jaw. Her skin was as white as snow, but she was no Snow White.
Guards shouted orders at each other as the gates were opened and a few strode towards the cage of Harleia Tormentor, a tiefling warlock. She had many crimes, including theft, manipulation, kidnapping, treason, arson, impersonation, murder, among other things. She was crazy from incarceration.
"If she moves, fire," the guard ordered his wizards as he glanced up at Harleia. "You gonna come down from there, or what?"
The tiefling giggled as she opened her heavily lidded eyes, revealing her two toned eyes, one a deep, sapphire blue, and the other silver, pale and cold like the moon. They were both mysterious and beautiful. Someone could get lost in them, staring in those deep orbs for hours, the perfect distraction.
She swung down from her swing and walked up to the bars to meet the guard, a smirk dancing at her luscious lips as she gripped the bars, which she knew she wasn't allowed to touch. Her hair fell over her shoulders, reaching her waist, revealing her horns.
The guard laughed, "Heh, look at you. You know the rules, hotness. Keep off these bars."
"What? These bars?" Harleia asked. She licked one of them, clearly not caring about the consequences.
"Oh my gods. You are a really bad chick," the guard chirped, amused.
Harleia tilted her head, "Can you come in here and tell me that? Or are you scared?" her smirk melted into a pout. "Come on, I'm bored. Play with me!"
"Lady, you put six of my guards in the infirmary. No one's gonna play with you."
Harleia licked her lips and her smirk returned.
"Hit her," the guard ordered.
The bars where Harleia was gripping shocked her. Harleia yelped and fell backwards.
Harleia snarled and got back up. She screamed and ran forward and plowed straight into the bars. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
One of the wizards whistled, the pitch getting lower every second.
"That is just a whole lot of pretty and a whole lot of crazy," the guard declared.
Acheron snuck behind Dworgyn. The halfling didn't even suspect, or maybe he was pretending not to notice.
Dworgyn led him behind the buildings to the large building where the teachers usually met. He closed the door behind him, but Acheron murmured a few words before placing his hand against the door. Now he could hear what they were saying.
"…Told them that the spell was holding up. They'll never know that the Gates of Helheim are pushing open," Dworgyn was saying.
Acheron's eyes widened.
Someone shushed him. "Keep your voice down, Dworgyn." It was Shenzi Sharptooth, the toxic magic teacher.
"We must figure out a way to renew the spells without causing a mass panic," said Evenyl Nathtalond, the chief evocation wizard declared. Since she had the least amount of teaching responsibilities, she helped her master, Alassra Silverhand, run the Camp of Magic.
How has it not caused mass panic yet? Acheron thought frantically. According to Dworgyn, if the gates were to open even a little bit, the dead would be able to come back into the Material Plane.
"Perhaps we should consult the Oracle," said Cassandra Truth, the divination teacher. She had the gift of prophecy but people tended to doubt her. They usually regretted it, but the campers didn't doubt her. She predicted the takeover of seaweed crackers.
NOW THERE'S AN ORACLE? Acheron's brain was about to explode.
"I suppose it's worth a shot," Evenyl said. "You go check in a bit, Cassie. After the students' lunch break."
There was a silence, as if the others were nodding.
"I'll consult with Alassra," Evenyl said. "But in the meantime, I want you all to be vigilant, and not a word to the campers."
The meeting was adjourned and Acheron dashed away before he could get caught.
He found his group at the edge of the field, away from the others as usual. He squinted and saw two extra figures, and he groaned aloud.
One figure had a lithe and muscular build with black leather armor and a sharp sword at his waist. His dark hair was close cropped and he had cold black eyes. His name was Bellum Swordweaver, a conjuration wizard who specialized in weapon summoning and bullying.
His skinny sidekick, illusionist Evann Mirage, stood to his side. He had thin blonde hair and gold eyes and a cheap leather robe hung on his skinny frame. He was laughing as he clutched Ea's lunchbag.
"Leave us alone, dummies!" Ea snarled, trying to snatch her lunch bag back from Evann. Evann moved it out of her reach and tripped her, and the girl went sprawling on the ground.
"Hey!" Ea complained. She sat up, wincing slightly.
Bellum laughed. "Aw, look, the poor baby's gonna cry for her mother. Cry for your mommy, freak!"
He had pushed it over the line. Acheron, as well as the rest of their group, knew that Ea's mother was Zariel, the archdevil of Avernus. She wasn't one to comfort her daughters after bullying. In fact, according to Ea, Zariel killed Ea's father. Ea didn't share the details, but they guessed it was traumatizing.
Because Ea immediately launched herself at Bellum and tackled him. She bit Bellum's forearm, causing the brute to scream.
Acheron began to smile but Miri cried out, "Ea!"
She and Nexa separated Ea and Bellum, or more removed Ea from Bellum. Ea kicked, "Let me go!"
Evann and the rest of their group ran over to Bellum.
"Does it hurt?" simpered one of the girls.
"Of course it does! That savage bit me!" Bellum whined.
"Ah, shut your big mouth, you're fine!" a gruff voice snapped. It was Dworgyn, followed by a woman wearing a long dress that transitioned from red at the top to yellow at the very tips of the dress. Her orange hair that was bright red at the roots and yellow at the tips was swept up in a way that made it resemble a flame. Her eyes were bright red, like warm little flames.
"Ms. Falmea!" Acheron exclaimed. Dahlia Falmea was a fire genasi, a half human half efreet, or fire genie. She was the teacher of fire magic.
Ea wiggled out of Miri and Nexa's grasp and Dahlia helped the girl up. She led her away, but Acheron wasn't worried. He knew Dahlia knew about Ea, and why Bellum's comment had riled her up so much.
"Is everything okay? Did anybody die?" Dworgyn rumbled.
"No, sir," Barrey answered.
"Alright then. Now behave yourselves," Dworgyn ordered before walking off.
Bellum stood up, but Miri shot an icy glare at him before he could even speak. She snapped, "Listen to teacher, little boy. Now scram before I decide not to listen to teacher." a tiny holographic snowflake formed at the tip of her finger and she poked Bellum's chest. Had a chest poke ever been threatening? Frost spread from Miri's fingertip across a bit of Bellum's chest. He let out a choked cry before Miri pulled away and turned around. Her braid smacked him in the face.
A few people started laughing and Bellum fled away in shame. Evann and the rest of the group followed him.
A few people started clapping as Miri sat down and muttered some unfriendly words under her breath.
"Well that was… interesting," Acheron said.
"Interesting is not a word I'd use to describe that," Barrey said.
"It happens nearly every week," Aroconus said. "For no real reason, actually."
"Speak for yourself," Acheron and Miri muttered at the same time. They both looked at each other, momentarily stunned. Then Miri scowled and turned away. Acheron did the same thing.
Barrey shook his head. Acheron got ready to chew out Barrey for trying to subtly offer advice, then he noticed that Barrey was trying to suppress laughter.
Acheron glared at him, "What's so funny, Starsplitter?"
Barrey snorted. "Nothing."
Acheron rolled his eyes, breaking his gaze away from the abjurer.
The two women walked towards the mysterious cave, ignoring the ethereal mist. They entered the large cave that was at the bottom of a small cliff. Instead of rock, the walls were made of light blue, pink, and purple crystals. A few feet inside, there were four couches pushed together in a square shape. A chandelier of glowing crystals reached down to the middle of the square from the ceiling. A corner was roped off with a thick curtain obscuring the space for privacy.
On one of the couches sat a girl, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, with long, curly red hair, dressed in a plain emerald green robe. She looked harmless at first glance, but what was truly horrifying about her was her face. Where her eyes should have been, there was a long scar that had to be stitched together.
Claire Voyanté was an experiment that a few evil wizards conducted. She was a demigod daughter of Savras, the god of divination. The wizards thought that they could unlock her gift of prophecy by tearing her eyes out of her face and replacing them on her hands. It was about as gruesome as it sounded.
Savras felt a little bad about it and decided to give Claire an actual gift of prophecy. As if that could make up for the complete loss of her eyes. Still, there had been rumors of an artifact that could restore her eyes. Some of the teachers were still looking for it, even after all the years.
"Welcome Cassandra Truth, Alassra Silverhand. Apologies for being so bland." Claire said. Her voice was hollow with little emotion. The palms of her hands faced them. A green eye was in the middle of each of her palms.
"Good to see you Claire," Cassandra said as she sat down on one of the sofas. She had short auburn hair trimmed at her earlobes, with bangs almost reaching her eyebrows, and she wore a dark blue robe. She regarded the Oracle with her pale bluish grey eyes.
Alassra sat next to her. She had long wavy silver hair and deep purple eyes. She was wearing a long black dress and a diamond amulet.
"Something's troubling you, I can see. Will you trust that knowledge with me?" Claire tilted her head.
"Dworgyn has just informed us that the magic keeping the Gates of Helheim closed is weakening," Alassra answered.
"I am well aware of this situation, and I would like to prevent our eternal damnation," Claire said. "I will console with my Inner Eye and hope nothing too ominous is nigh." She began slowing waving her hands. Her eyes moved, looking in all direction, but they seemed unfocused, as if they were searching for knowledge on other planes of existence.
Slowly, the eyelids slipped closed. For a few seconds all was quiet and still. Then a sudden wave of magic swept through the room and Claire's eyes snapped open. She began speaking in a dazed and distracted voice. "The magic of the gates will break… the dead will flood out in its wake… child of sun kings, beware the dead… travel through the Tree, trust who you must… or your world will crumble into dust…"
Claire slumped sideways and slipped out of consciousness.
Cassandra slipped a nearby blanket over the girl before looking at Alassra. "It's true then. The Gates of Helheim are opening."
"Yes, just as I feared. Alas, Savras never has good news," Alassra said.
"But who is the child of sun kings?" Cassandra wondered. "Who are the sun kings?"
"The elf kings of Sunwood," Alassra answered. "It's the only logical explanation."
Cassandra made a disgusted sound between a laugh and a snort. "Who? The current king has no heir or other family. And that king is not going to do any heroics anytime soon." Complete understatement. She thought.
"I know exactly who it is," Alassra declared.
Cassandra tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "Who?"
And that's the first chapter! Wow, I am so sorry about Claire's cringy rhymes.
Chapter 2 should be coming soon. Until then, byeee~