Sage of Mirrors' Sensational Stories (Or So Sage Says)

Hello there! Most likely I'll only post this one thing here, but in the event that I do write something else, I just might also put that here.

The Azerian and the Casian (open) The Azerian and the Casian (close)

The battlefield had once been a vast, fertile plain full of the soft whispers of life. And the sky had been brilliantly blue at midday; but now, the land was scorched and poisoned, and the sky was indefinitely blocked by a rainless thunder storm. Across this bleak landscape moved a group of ragged figures. They could hardly be called ‘people,’ as in the grand scheme of things they were mere shadows of their ancestors - a miraculous and mythical race long claimed by the devices of war.

As the group trudged onward, they disturbed the unnatural silence that veiled the flats.

Suddenly, the leader of the pack stopped and looked slowly around.

“Did anyone hear that?” He turned to look at his squad.

Quiet murmurs erupted from them, but the consensus was ‘no.’

The leader then turned back and carefully surveyed the area ahead. “Ready your weapons! I don’t have a good f-”

An impossibly loud gunshot resounded across the plain. The leader jerked backwards before crumpling to the singed ground. He was dead. Quickly, the group raised their aged weapons and searched for the opposition. In response, several dirt-covered poltergeists sprang from their hiding places in the darkness. Soon the plain was ringing with the sound of bullets and the occasion yell, scream and screech. Individuals on both sides dropped, one by one, until only two remained.

Only two.

They stood feet apart, aiming their ancient weapons at each other. But neither of them shot- because both parties had realized that the one to shoot would be the one to be alone. They stood like this for what seemed like hours, as statues carved in a forgotten age.

Finally, one spoke. “Has it come down to this?” He absorbed his opponent’s image. “Are we the last ones in this world?”

“What does it matter?” The other soldier shifted his weapon. “There’s nothing left!” He paused. “And it’s your fault, you filthy Azerian!”

The Azerian didn’t seem to react. “I was not the one to quarrel with you, Casian,” he said. “Nor was I the one who commanded us to war.”

“What’s it matter?! What happened, happened! And… now we’re here.”

Silence followed. The pair digested this fact.

“Perhaps, then, we shouldn’t be here at all.” The Azerian looked up to the dark sky. “Perhaps… it was all created to end. Here, on this burned-out battleground.”

Lightening roiled in the dust clouds above them.

“There’s nothing left,” the Azerian said. He shook his head. “Nothing left.” He looked to the ground, then raised his weapon and locked eyes with his opponent.

The Casian soldier furrowed his brow for a moment before realizing what the gesture meant. He, too, raised his weapon, making it parallel to his opponent’s. “On… on three,” he said. “One… two…”

He stopped, unable to go on.

The Azerian finished. “…three.”

Both of them closed their eyes.

Listened to the agonized silence of the decaying world one more time.

And fired.

Well, here's two more.

The Siege of Atbaltious (open) The Siege of Atbaltious (close)

The Siege of Atbaltious

In the dead of the night move the Keepers of Fire;
The walls of the Great City hold back the great flood
While the men of Third Blood lift the very Earth,
Blast upon blast fills the Air
And the Crystals Five guided by Light
Work against time to cleanse the Darkness

Besiege the great city afflicted by disaster did the warriors of Darkness
The many braziers were alight with Sacred Fire;
And the Moon’s gaze cast dreadful Light
Upon the many deliverers of death; and in their haste the Keepers of Water
Pooled their strength, but still the city would not lift into the Air
The stars shone with mocking brilliance, lighting the citizens’ final hours upon the Earth

Shake and buck and tremble did the Earth
As the Queen of Evil herself slid out from within the Darkness
She watched the Great City with envy and bloodlust as her generals barked commands into the Air
From the Great City’s ramparts came scorching tendrils of Fire;
But the First Blood’s power was sapped by the mighty wall of incoming water
And the Crystals Five were also weakened by the loss of the Master of Light

It was thought all hope had left when news spread of the loss of the Crystal of Light;
It was lost in time and within the Earth
Buried beneath scarlet red waters
The Queen of Evil laughed in triumph as her forces barraged the Great City’s defenses with her powers of Darkness
Her influence strong, not even the First Blood could dispel it with their Sacred Fire;
Sounds of iron against steel began to ring out into the Air

The Second Blood’s plan was to escape into Air;
To leave the land behind without Light
When all was burning in evil black Fire
With a sickening crack the land under the Great City gave way and the City fell into the Earth;
It was then that victory belonged to the Darkness
The Great City succumbed to the waiting deluge of Water

Not even the Second Blood could stop the falling walls of water;
The screams and shouts of citizens and laughter from the Queen of Evil sprang into the Air
The flood was succeeded by an army of Darkness
It seemed that all hope was lost and dimmed had the Great City’s Light
The Citizens left as the City was sealed within the Earth,
The Warriors of Evil left to writhe in Hell’s Fire

On that day the Queen of Darkness was victorious, sealing the Great City in Water and Myth
The Keepers of Fire and the Keepers of Air lamented their loss
And on that day the citizens departed, leaving behind the Earth and shunning the Light in shame​

Now, this next one is Sci-Fi. It takes place on the planet of Lintsyia, which is home to two intelligent species- the humanoid Averi and the spider-like parasites known as the Zentrin. For the most part, the Averi and the Zentrin coexist peacefully. Most (if not all) Averi-Zentrin relationships are formed voluntarily. Empress Glatia Atgali is the leader of Lintsyia, and has recently been dealing with a severe famine. This famine has caused riots and general dissatisfaction with the government among the people. The following is the aftermath of an attempted assassination of Glatia, which was foiled by her own son protecting her.

(Oh, and for reference, a Tetra is a plasma-based, ranged weapon.)

[spoiler="Edge of an Empire" Post- Hospital Scene]The hospital room was quite empty. It was decorated sparsely, with only a couple of paintings strewn across the walls. On one end of the room was a large window; Kalemboro Tower and Capitol Plaza could be seen faintly in the distance through the fog. On the other end was a door guarded on each side by three heavily armed police officers.

After a small commotion, Dr. Salandra Ralasand was allowed to enter the room. There she found Empress Glatia in a chair next to the hospital bed. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and her eyeliner was running down her cheeks. At some point, she had been crying. Lying in the bed immediately to her left was her teenage son Ithori. He was unconscious, and hooked up to several medical apparatuses. There was a severe burn spread across his forehead, marked by patches of crimson and pitch black skin.

Upon seeing Dr. Salandra enter, Glatia stood up. “Dr. Salandra! Is he alright? Will Ithori be alright?” She spoke quickly.

“We aren’t sure yet.” Salandra frowned. “The Tetra projectile that he was exposed to caused severe damage- his eyes, skull and brain have all been affected.”

Glatia entered “Empress” mode, and her expression became very business-like. “There must be something that you can do. Cellular regeneration, perhaps?”

Salandra shook her head. “While that would work for his skin, his eyes and brain are completely missing types of cells unique to their organs.”

“Therapeutic cloning, then!” The Empress paused. “I will even supply the egg cells myself.”

Again, Salandra shook her head. “The blastocyst wouldn’t mature in time. We’d lose him before it was useable.”

Glatia spun around towards the window violently. “Taché!” she swore in Old Lintsyian. She proceeded to kick one of the chairs on her right to the floor.

“Empress!” Salandra scolded. “Empress, calm down!”

“‘Calm down?’” Glatia stopped and turned to stare at Salandra. The three policemen near the door silently prepared themselves in case they’d have to apprehend the Empress. “‘Calm down?’ Don’t tell me to ‘calm down!’ He is my son! And not only that, but he risked his life for me! I have every reason to be upset!”

As she spoke, another doctor passed the guards and handed Salandra a clip board. He whispered something to her before leaving.

“Glatia, listen to me.” Salandra commanded. Glatia looked at her sheepishly, not used to the sound of her first name alone. “There is something we could do. There isn’t a guarantee that it would work, but I think it’s worth a shot.”

The Empress' eyes widened. “What is it?”

“As you are probably aware, the venom of the Zentrin is biologically designed help the Zentrin’s host recover from injuries quickly." Salandra reread the clipboard. “It has even shown the ability to replace cells that have become extinct within the body. Becoming the host of a Zentrin might be the only thing that can save him.”

The Empress didn’t hesitate. “We’ll do it.”

Salandra blinked. “Empress, we usually need the patient’s consent before-”

“Does he look like he can give consent right now?” Glatia said. “Besides. I am his mother- I have every legal right to give consent for him while he is in this state.”

The doctor was silent for a moment. “I see.” She looked at the clipboard that the other doctor had given to her. “We already have potential match for Ithori. We will begin the process immediately.”

Salandra turned and pushed past the guards, effectively leaving Glatia alone. She righted the chair that she’d kicked and returned to her position next to Ithori’s bed. She clasped his right hand in both of hers.

“Don’t worry, Ithori,” Glatia said in a soothing voice. “We’ll get through this. Don’t worry.” She looked through the window, and shook her head a moment later. “Forgive me.”[/spoiler]

Another post from the same RP as the third one. This scene arose after Entria, the AI designed to help manage the Internet-like Primary Network, interfered with an important diplomatic discussion between Empress Glatia and a race called the Ayar. The discussion had been over how Lintsyia should repay the Ayar after the assassination of one of their diplomats on the planet.

One more thing: the capital city of Lintsyia is called Meliniza City, and is made up of five districts - the Northern District, the Southern District, the Eastern District, the Western District and the Plaza District. Entria's main CPU is located in Kalemboro Tower, a university and research center located on Capital Plaza in the Plaza District.

[spoiler="Edge of an Empire" Post- Consequences]The door couldn’t open quickly enough for Reama Amaer. He strode angrily into the lab containing Entria’s main processor, his cape-like overcoat billowing behind him. “ENTRIA!"

Not a moment later, Entria appeared, an innocent smile plastered on her face. “What is it, Father?”

Reama grimaced at her. “Oh, don’t give me that. I just got called in all the way from the Eastern District. They said that there was a transmission override coming from this room. An override that affected Glatia’s discussion with the Ayar.”

Entria didn’t change her expression. “I don’t know what you mean, Father. Ooh! Empress Glatia! How is she doing in these rough times?”

“Entria!”

The hologram flickered for a moment, and when it stabilized it had taken on a less cheerful complexion. “Alright, alright! I did it. But I didn’t mean to be a nuisance! I just wanted to talk to some aliens!”

The scientist folded his arms and assumed a stoic expression. “That is no excuse for you to have willingly interrupted an exponentially important diplomatic discussion! Do you know what you could have done? You’re lucky that the Field Marshal-Councilor saw you as humorous!”

“He said that?” Entria’s eyes widened. “I thought I held a pretty decent conversation.”

“Listen to me! Whatever the case is- diplomacy, trade, I don’t care- you do NOT interrupt a transmission like that!” Reama paused to gauge the AI’s reaction. “That is completely unacceptable behavior!”

Entria frowned. “I didn’t mean any harm! And plus, I found the cure to that crop disease! Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“That is besides the point!” The scientist raised his voice. “You can never do that again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Reama…” She watched as Reama walked to a console and began to interact with it. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m taking away your access rights to the Primary Network and every other network on the planet.” He tapped a final icon, and upon doing so it went dark. “You’ll have to earn those rights back in the future.”

“What?!” Entria was shocked. “That’s not fair! I already said that I understand!”

“I need to make sure that you do.” Reama crossed his arms again. “You do something wrong, you have to face the consequences.”

Entria stomped. “This is SO not fair!”

The hologram abruptly disappeared. Reama stared at the space where it had been for a moment before looking back to the console and leaning on it.

“Gods damn it!” he swore. “Why do you have to act that way?”

“She acts that way because she’s learning.” Reama spun around to see Zarama Ramaaz standing in the doorway.

“Zarama,” Reama said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

Zarama chuckled. “Oh, but I heard you.” She smiled. “That was quite a talk.”

“I know. It’s just…” He paused. “It’s just that what she did was completely wrong.”

“Of course it was,” the woman replied. “But I think you handled that well. Like a true father.”

Reama smiled, a bit embarrassed. “You think so?”

Zarama nodded and smiled, too. “Yes. I do.”

Reama looked back to the console and sighed. “I just wish I knew why she acts like a child all the time.”

“Because we made her to learn,” Zarama said. “We made her to experience the world for herself. Just like a child would. Because of that, she’s going to go through these phases. She’ll grow out of it, just like a child will.” She paused. “At least we missed the Terrible Fours,” she said. She laughed. Reama joined in.

“You really think that’s what it is?” Reama asked when the laughter had subsided.

“Yes, I do,” Zarama replied. “After all, if she calls you Father, then she can call me Mother.”

There was a bit of silence between them. “It’s nearly a quarter past 7,” Reama said, glancing at the console once again. “Would you like go to dinner with me?”

Zarama smiled once more. “Yes… I’d like that.”

The two left the room together. As the door slid closed, a faint sob echoed throughout the room.[/spoiler]