Part 2
If you travel far enough North on the map, well above where the Civilized Nations stop because no crops grow, you'll find a mountain range. Crossing this range leads to the Monster Kingdom, though for some reason they prefer the name 'TFSU.' Yes, they prefer. The literal forces of anarchy and chaos in the universe have a government. However, ignoring that whole thing, the Monster Kingdom is fine. No armies march on them, mostly because of supply and logistical issues. The Monsters never say how they grow their own food, but given that they don't trade and millions of kobolds worth of food don't go missing every day, it's safe to say they make their own. Now, that doesn't stop the Civilized Nations to send one hero a decade to 'keep them in check.' Four decades ago, the hero closed off a mountain pass, which was supposed to cause a massive flood. Four days later, it was cleared, and the only thing to show for it were the cities that glow like the sun at night. However, yesterday, the Hero returned having burnt one of the bigger cities down. It was empty of all monsters, but the act was the first real damage they had taken in seven hundred years, since their founding. For seven hundred years, the TFSU have taken the beating of seventy heroes and simply moved on. But now. Now, millions of kobolds make up heavy 'machinery' units that march in armored, self-moving caridges that spit fire and metal. Thousands of beastpeople make up scouting and light infantry ranks. The TFSU use hellish 'guns' that hit harder than a catapult from kilometers away, all in a single 'bullet' not the size of a human's thumb. Metal birds and dragonflies join dragons as they assault cities. We poke the very literal sleeping dragon in the eye. Yet the armies don't do much. They march for our capitals and leaders, but on the way our civilians live. Surendees live. People go about their daily lives without too much change. Of course, that fact didn't stop the front line from finally crashing over my small village, located so close to the pass for a while we thought they the monsters had bypassed us entirely. The Civilized Nations had decided to send an entire legion to prevent the Monsters from getting across a nearby canyon pass. We were hit with an air-based assault with only dragons and metal dragonflies, our balista uselessly demolished by pillars of metal and flame thrown out of the metal dragonflies. I blacked out when the legion managed to shoot enough arrows to take down one of the dragonflies. I remember it crashing down onto my house... and then nothing.
-----
The elf stirred as they woke up. I'd been raised in the Terra Firma Sapience Union, so I was... less than familiar with the clothing and lifestyle the Southerners used. The elf groaned again, before their eyes shot open and they looked around, quickly settling on my frame. "A-Are you going to kill me now?" They asked, their voice shaken with fear. I let out a laugh. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead." I decided to transmorph into my secondary form - a cat - to help the conversation go better. In a land where humans lived to forty, elves only lived to a hundred, and that meant that even I was older than this elf, and they were no older than thirty. The elf, to their credit, quickly figured out I wasn't pulling any mindgames. I'd heard tales from my relatives before the Kobolds founded the TFSU. People, especially when panicked, usual acted with more than enough stupidity to make the situation worse. "Where am I?" The elf asked. Their tone told me that they were still suspicious, but it wasn't outright denial of the situation. "My home," I answered bluntly. "Your village tried to fight our ground forces when they moved in, so most of them are currently under house arrest." Still in my cat form, I created a portal into my storage cavern and reached my arm through, while summoning a lab coat around my shoulders and glasses. It was a trick I had only learned to do recently. "Let's see..." I found the clipboard and brought it out, flipping to the elft's page and taping the pen against the paper. "You suffered a collapsed lung, severe burns on the right side of your body, three broken ribs and two fractured ones, shattered three wrist bones, three breaks in your right upper arm and another two in your lower arm, and on the left side you have another fractured rib and three broken fingers. Your left leg was shattered and your left foot was completely torn up. Healing magic stabilized you and surgery did the rest. You've been comatose for the past three days, and was brought to my home yesterday due to a surge in hospital patients from the seige of Trembolorne. "In terms of organ damage, that was also severe. A busted kidney, I already mentioned a collapsed lung, and your entire digestive system was... well, pulverized would be putting it lightly. Also, unrelated to the incident with the helicopter, you had cancer in your liver and kidney. "In terms of medical treatment, you've been given an IV line for the past couple days and several painkillers, and you underwent four separate surgeries. We reconstructed your organs, welded your bones to metal plates, and used a genetic printer to replace your skin. You're lucky to have gotten time with the genetic printer in the first place, you know; those things are expensive, and I mean expensive to run. Though it's all billed on the government anyway, but that just means that they'll only run it if they have to." The elf sat up in bed looking at me as I just stood on two paws on the cave floor. "Right, sorry, you wouldn't understand most of that." I sheepishly scratched the back of my head with my right paw. "Um... put this way, you were crushed by debris and we basically reconstructed your body before you died. So not necromancy, though you did get close to needing more advanced magical treatment." "Oh," The elf replied. The cat thing seemed to have helped, because they were no longer stuttering with their single word response. "Um... do you want anything to drink?" I tried to kickstart a conversation. "Where am I?" The elf asked again. I was silent for a second. "My home? It's right on the edge of TFSU territory, one of the southernmost places you can be while still being with the recognized borders. I chose this place because I like to fly out in the summer over the flowers in the forest at the foot of the mountains. Your village is a couple hour dragon-flight time away." "Mmmhm." The elf commented halfheartedly. "OK, um... who are you?" "My dragonic name isn't something most can pronounce, so my public name is just Vixie Remminie." I answered. "What's yours?"
The elf's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know my name." I blinked. "Because... It's a name? I'm not a Fey, you know, it's not like I can tie ancient demons to your soul and call it a prank or something ridiculous like that. Besides, you asked for mine; now I get to ask for yours." "And who says you won't just burn my village to the ground and eat me right now!?!" The elf suddenly burst out. "You monsters ruin everything! You trespass on our land, take our resources, and kill our people! All we did was try to defend ourselv-" I cut him off, and poured just a bit of attention in giving myself an aura. Blue fire licked the bottom of my vision as I rebuttaled his point. "Don't forget, you stole the land from us. We were the ones living in the wild when you razed our forests and grew crops. We couldn't even purchase land to live on! So yes, we stole what we could to survive and those who didn't starved and died! And when all was said and done, you tried to kill us and turned it into a war, one where we had no choice but to kill you back. And when we found someplace to run, a spot to hide and do our own thing with our own land? You blistering idiots sent you 'courageous heroes' to try and kill us! What for? Nothing! Just your stupid, moronic fear making, forcing you to decide to 'kill the big thing over there!' We can't even have freaking farmland, we have to grow it all in hydroponic farms and harvest thousand-year-old vines out of caves because this is all we have!" I realized that my aura was burning fully and scorching the ground around me. I let out a long sigh, and it died down. Several memories flashed through my head, but I pushed them away. "Apologies, my parents are still a... sensitive topic for me. It would be best if we just stayed away from talking about the war until the hospital has room for more patients again." "Yeah?" The elf was still enraged. Even sitting down, they were still trying to construct an argument. "You parents who killed how many? Your family killed how many more? You dragons, you monsters are nothing more than one large grouping of murders that deserve to die! As the gods will!" The elf was spitting in rage, but I recognized his determination to hold onto his worldview. It was the one thing I needed to pry away before it got out of hand. "And you elves killed how many more?" I asked in a low voice. "Can you tell me the number of kobold dens exterminated in caves, the number of beastpeople sent to an early grave in slave camps? Because I can tell you ours. My father's was two, my mother's four, and my extended family including deceased relatives is one hundred and thirty seven. "You declared war against monsters, you child of an elf," I growled. "And death the reality of war. We know. The Unification Wars weren't fought with swords and honor. They were fought with artillery barrages and death. They were fought with miniature suns and political backstabbing, with tanks and guns and submarines and warships and all the more death. "You say the gods don't like us! That's put lightly. They forsook us! Abandoned us in our hour of need. So we learned to live without them. There are no gods we pray to anymore, elfling. Only each other, our creations, and the universe itself. They don't want us, we don't need them. It's more than they deserve." My aura was once again charring the floor and I had transformed back into my dragon form, but this time I refused to cool it down. "You call us creations of death, the primal forces of anarchy? We are you. You are us. We are sapient, we are all mortals, no matter our advantages. We are bound to this dimensional plane, forced to serve our betters, and live out our lives not with earnest but with trepredition for when it ends. We are all death incarnate, because we can all die. That is just the way it is. Besides, you've wondered about my kill count; tell me, can you tell me the gods'? Can you tell me how many souls they have cut from fate for their own entertainment? No? I can tell you." I growled, moving closer until the blue flames enveloping my body threatened to light the elf's cot on fire. "More people than are alive on this planet right now." I pulled back, bottling up my aura and reverting to my cat form. "We can talk all we want about death and destruction, and I won't lie and say you aren't victims of the war; pre-unification dragons we're exactly kind and merciful to those with treasure hoards. But perhaps, I implore you to consider that maybe we both are victims of the war, and maybe we can one day work together instead of fighting each other. "Maybe, one day, we can fight for our rights against the gods." I moved into my dragon form and darted deeper into my cave, moving so fast I could hear the howl of the wind against my ears. Only when I had reached my memorial wall for my parents did I stop and take a breath and think over my conversation with the elf. We had a long way to go, but I hoped I had put a little bit of sense into him. I hoped that the world could change.
-----
When the dragon cat thing sped away, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. Only now did the effects of my first question hit my formerly-groggy head. "My home." He said. Dragons live in caves. Oooooh. I'm screwed. However, there were no treasure hoards visible from my perspective; then again, while the Monsters were stupid, they still had brains to them, and carrying me into a treasure room would probably be something they'd be able to tell was a bad idea. Pops said never underestimate you foe, A voice in the back of my head said, and the dragon even launched in a full conversation with you. You're selling the dragon very, very shor- Shut up I growled internally to the treacherous voice in my head. The cave itself was... a cave. There was a metal slab on one end, it went deeper in the other, and that was that. In a 'corner' of the jagged room there were a number of red, glowing rods attached to some kind of giant mechanism three elfs wide and six deep, but the rods glowed against the cave's light- What light source? My eyes darted around looking for one. Only now was I aware of how unnatural each shadow was, how awkward each shining rock looked, how each stalagmite could hide an entire dragon, and that was before they started transfiguring into cats. How bright the ceiling- I looked up. The bright light burned my eyes, but I needed to know what fiendish magic was in play so I could counter it. But the light didn't flicker like fire - they were far too bright for that anyway - but they also didn't have the magical circles surrounding each spell. They were... lights. As if the universe simply willed brightness into existence. Each far-too-bright-hurts-to-look-ats was placed along a main hallway clear of stalagmites running from the metal slab deeper and around a corner where I couldn't see. The lights were only poised above this one hall, and they just... shone one the rest of the cave. Looking closer, I could see thin black lines, too thin to be mana feeds, running along the walls to both the glowing red rods and to the so-shiny-the-lit-up-the-cave. And... that was that. There was no massive pile of treasure in the hall, though I suspected the dragon kept their hoard deeper than... wherever I was. There was no pile of skull trophies or the banner of cities and armies slain, and I noted that while he had told me his parents', the dragon had never told me his own. Then again, the cat thing could be lying. Dragon transfigured into a cat. Probably has Circle Of Truth around his entire den. Nonsense, dragons can only do elemental magic. Evidently not. Would you just shut up already? No- I moved my attention back to the metal slab, cutting off whatever the voice in my head had to say about my current situation; it wasn't every day one just got kidnapped by a nation of monsters, after all. The slab was truly elegant. It was painted with the monster language, and then was painted with some kind of mural. I could barely make out a blue circle with green splotches on it surrounded by twelve rings in the bottom corner because most of the door was taken up by a ice-blue cat with lighter strips engulfed in blue fire. It was a mural of the dragon cat thing. That didn't stop it from being pretty, and someone had obviously put a lot of effort into it. The flames looked realistic from what I had seen minutes ago, and the cat's details were perfectly engraved. It was... acurrate. Yeah, because I think Vixie was just trying to tell you that they built their civilization for a reason, and it wasn't carnage. You don't know what you're talking about. We both know I do. How else to you think- Listen to me, you treasonous voice of a- No, you listen to me, you pathetic excuse for a brain. The dragon was able to hold and win an argument with you, fixed your wounds that would've been a dead write-off for any other hospital, and then you think SHE barely meets the threshold for sapient? THE ABSOLUTE MORON I'M ARGUING WITH IS THE ONE YOU BARELY MEETS IT!!! You moved to your frontier village because the world was changing, Lazerot the Sixth. Congrats, you were right. It did change. Now shut your OVERSIZED EGO up at being bested by a creature ten times older than you, and go appologies before they decide that saving your life wasn't worth it. I... I... OK- No. I'm in control now. Shut up. I....... yes, sir. Good. With new resolve, I stood up. My head throbbed, and the next thing I knew was my face hitting my cot again.
-----
When I heard the thud of something falling in the entrance cave, I carefully moved back into the entrance cave. The elf was face-down in their cot, unconscious again. It looked like they had tried to stand and just.... fallen over. I sighed and used a claw to nudge the elf back onto his pillow, and then covered him with a blanket. I watched him for a minute, and then returned to the deeper parts of my home. The TFSU was completely overloaded with the number of patients needing treatment. Apparently, the Southener's hospitals just... didn't do anything, so in addition to soldiers, there was a massive influx of civilians to our hospitals too. Of course, this meant that they were absolutely overloaded, and the Civilized Nations strategy of fighting to near-death and then surrendering wasn't helping. So, stable recovering civilians like the elf were just... shipped out. When shelters filled up because the Civilized Nations overpopulation crisis was too bad to do anything, people just had to take them into their homes. Long story short, the government was in way over their head attempting upgrade the standard of care in the Civilized Nations while occupying their territory. My job so close to the border was remote infrastructure maintenance, and my ability to change size while not dissolving made me an expert at it - and that was before my two hundred years of experience. And then I didn't need a vehicle to get on-site, and was fast. The alarm pinging me that one of the space radars was down again gave me an excuse to avoid the elf and do some work. I grabbed a pack of supplies, put on my shapeshift-compatible uniform, and wrote down a note on a piece of paper. On my out past the sleeping elf, I dropped it for him.

Space radar system needs repair, as it's returning a false positive. It's my job to repair all the infrastructure around here, so I need to go fix it. I'll be back soon. If you're hungry, my pantry is the first cave on the right. You can just eat anything that's easily open-able in there. If it has a lock or airtight opening mechanism (anything more than a clip, really) then don't eat it. If your thirsty, there's a stream in the entrance cave near the heaters. When the door mechanism beeps, step back. Sometimes pressure in the cave can get a bit wonky, and I don't want you to get hurt. Other than that, feel free to explore. I've locked all the doors to the rooms I don't want you to enter. For toilet necessities, the second cave on the left has a properly-sized toilet. And running water, but stuff I can explain later means don't drink it. See you soon! - Vixie.

Satisfied, I left opened the door. There was a puff as the air from inside flowed out to the lower-pressure atmosphere. I could spot a snow squall to the north, and the pressure meant that it was probably coming my way. I moved out onto the ledge and closed the door behind me. At high altitudes this far north, the air was already near-zero and it was still five in the afternoon. I took just a second to confirm with the weather report that the snowstorm was in fact going to arrive on my doorledge using a smartwatch I had strapped around my wrist. When I found that the storm was coming, I opened my wings and flew. Being an Ice Dragon had its advantages, but being a Water-Ice Combined Dragon was much better. The frosty air curled around my wings as the freedom of ignoring gravity filled my brain. Ice and Water dragons both had large wings to deal with the cold air (and lower pressure leading to the requirement for more surface area to achieve the same amount of lift) and incompressable water physics (to let the wings act like a one-way fan blade as they move back and forth, increasing efficient). Dragons might be magestic creatures, but we were still bound to the physics of the mortal plane, after all. Being part of both, my wings were even bigger, making me one of the best high-altitude fliers on the planet. The ability to use both gills and lungs at said altitudes helped with oxygen also helped. Air Dragons were better at flying in normal air, but I liked to think of it like stats from a video game. Air Dragons min-maxed their stats for low-altitude, but I could go anywhere - even underwater - can keep my speed relatively high. I took full advantage of this on my way to the space radar, soaring well above the cloud ceiling and to the point where I could make out the curvature of the planet below me. The ocean spread out to my west, while more land was to my east. Snow covered the north as to the south was the telltale splotchy color of industrialism. My smartwatch beeped, as I crossed the normal altitude limit. I hadn't realized I'd gone so high; I had a radar to repair, after all. I dove down towards the surface, ignoring more beeps as I crossed half the way to the speed of sound. The wind howled angrily in my ears, but I flattened those (thank you, streamlined water genetics) and came out of my death dive right over the radar. The repair itself went relativity smoothly, though I couldn't find a broken component and chalked it up to more space anomalies. They weren't infrequent, and usually marked where the gods decided to look over the planet. For my radars, anyway. Further north, ignoring the north pole, almost no gods came out and wanted to deal with us. Our unspoken agreement was held that way. I flew straight back for my return journey. The storm was definitely closer, but fifteen minutes of flying later and I was entering the opening mechanism for my door. As it swung inwards, I heard the high-pitched scream of an elf.
-----
When I awoke, I found myself tucked into some covers. It took all of seven seconds for reality to catch up with me. Right. I got into a heated argument with a dragon. I instinctively touched the part of my face that had been closest to the dragon's flame. I'd read about Auras in books, but never thought I'd get to see one. They were only ever found in the most powerful and competent individuals of a race in an entire plan of existence. I wondered which skill gave the dragon hers - Vixie, I reminded myself. Either way, given that Auras are technically illusions, I wasn't hurt. The flames didn't get close enough to hurt anyway, but that didn't stop me from checking. This time, I was much more careful when I stood up. I sat up first, then started to kick my legs back and forth. That's when I spotted a paper on the other side of my cot. I stood up without thinking, but managed to keep my consciousness this time and moved towards the note. It was handwritten and contained a lot of jargon that I wasn't familiar with. Space. Radar. False positive. Airtight opening mechanism. Heater. Beep. Pressure. Toilet. Running water. I could deduce some of it. A message had come in requesting the services of the local dragon to repair a thing that has an issue, and that she would return shortly. I could wander around as I pleased, besides eating food that wasn't open or contained in a clip bag. From the tone of the message, I could deduce what a 'toilet' was. The heaters would logically be things that produced heat, so all I had to do was look for those. I wasn't able to tell time, but I supposed at this point it didn't matter. I moved over deeper into the cave, and quickly heard the sound of a stream. It led directly into a forest of stalagmites. After clambering over those, the temperature started to increase, which was all I needed to know that I was getting a drink of water. I was only now catching up to the fact that I had been out for three days, and that meant that I was extremely thirsty. I wasn't sure how I wasn't dead of dehydration at this point. I found the stream next to the glowing metal rods, and with it a clear path to my location. Sighing slightly at the wasted effort on climbing through Rock Forest, I snatched an undersized cup off a rack built into a nearby jut in the cave wall and filled it, before entering the bliss of fresh water. Back in the village, we had some of the best and cleanest water in all the land thanks to snow melt, but this took that to a new level. Cold, crisp water melted in the sun only minutes ago. It was... pure. I spent the next couple minutes simply drinking and processing everything over in my mind. The gods might have willed the monster dead, but if even the monster gods had abandoned them and survived... then how come the Pantheon never told us? Religious issues aside, there were more practical issues regarding my own survival. How did I get out. There was a thud at the metal slab, and I moved back towards it, leaving my cup to dry on the rack I pulled it from. The engraving of the cat on the metal slab was- BEEEP! What was that sound? There was a hiss, and the slab started to peel away. A gust of frigid cold air washed over me as a mage Ice-Water hybrid Aura-capable dragon that I had argued with stared me down. I did the instinctive thing and let out the scream of a human three year old, squeezing my eyes shut and waiting for the final blow. When the end of my life didn't arrive, I reopened my eyes to find the sky-blue cat standing in the hole where the metal slab was supposed to be. Then there was another... sound, and the metal slab started to move back into position. The cat was surprised for a single moment before simply charging the door and jumping through, skidding to a halt right in front of me. Which meant that I got a closer look at her. Ocean-blue strips crossed an ice-blue body fur in a fifty-fifty ratio. Small crystals of ice twinkled, floating here her wings would be. One tail was accompanied by two more made of pure blue-white energy, and the cat even had a halo. Six orbs of blue-white light hovered in lazy circles around her back, and even in a diminutive form the size of a cat the being radiated the power of an aura-capable creature. "Oh, right, sorry," Vixie said, and all the ethirial energy disappeared. Now that I knew what I was looking for, however, I could just barely tell, using my power as a mage, that Vixie was using illusion magic to hide her true energy. "You don't need to hide your reserves," I said. "Though if you're shapeshifting into forms so small that you need to expose yours, then you should just burn yours instead. It's not worth the trouble of people bottling yours." Vixie gave some kind of half-shrug. "They're not reserves, no." She said, emphasizing the word. I looked at Vixie with a sharp look, and for a second I forgot I was talking to a dragon. "Then what are they?" "They're..." The cat blushed, something I wasn't even aware was possible. She let the illusion fall away, and the tails, crystals, orbs and halo returned. "They're my regenerative baseline minimum." I looked her up and down for a second, dumbstruck. She really is a creature of power, huh? "Um.... uh..." I stuttered. "Is... that where you get your aura from?" I asked. Vixie closed her eyes with an expression on her face, and this time green flame started to peel off her. "Part of it, yeah." To control an aura like that... two auras. Just how powerful is she? I was so deep in thought that I didn't realize that the expression on her face was pain. "I... uh... what happened?" I asked, shellshocked. "Why aren't you fighting in the war?" The worldwide-powerful dragon masquerading as a cat sighed. "I... haven't told anyone. It's... personal." "I..." Only now did it hit me that I was talking with a dragon, not another person. Not just a monster, but a... creature with emotions. "You don't have to tell me." I quickly backtracked. "No, no, it's a fair question. It..." The cat let out a chuckle, and it filled the cave with a beautiful sound. "I suppose it's kind of ironic... but it starts with a kobold and a god, back when the Firma kobold tribe decided to travel north to escape the civilized nations, shortly before the amassing of all creatures in these same northern mountains and the Unification War. "Back before the gods forsook us."
Original Prompt: [WP] For as long as all the races have known, Dragons have been seen as violent, destructive creatures. After an attack on your village, you black out and find yourself in the den of a dragon. It's rather annoyed that that is how they're seen, and wants to prove that isn't the case.
u/Lycan_Jedi thank you for the prompt!
Part 2

My child can tell me a thousand times that they hate me, wish I'd die, etc. It doesn't effect me what-so-ever. I said the same to my mom when I was a teen and I was pissed, never meant a word and i know they dont, either. Then they start saying how boring I am, I never do anything fun. I'm a single mom, full custody, I don't get a break. None. I have a full time job, I work overtime when it's available, I purchased my home a few years ago and have been renovating each room as I can afford to. When I'm done working, despite their only responsibility being to clean up after themself, I'm following my child around pointing at each piece of trash they left laying all over the house, each dish they managed to use in a couple hours, collecting all their things they've left all over the house in a bin. Im dealing with the absolute meltdown of telling them to throw their trash away, wash their dishes, do their school work (because theyre failing two classes for neglecting to do homework. Everything is online, I have to go by their word that they dont have any until it shows up on the parent portal that it wasnt done- absolute BS). Their tantrum is literally them throwing themself to the floor, kicking and screaming, as a toddler would. I'm cooking meals, I'm cleaning up from meals, I'm doing laundry, vacuum, dusting, etc. I'm F-ing exhausted, I don't have the energy to do anything else. Not to mention, can't afford anything "fun" because, again, single mom with bills, a mortgage, said child growing like a weed and needing almost an entirely new wardrobe every few months, doctospecialist appointments, medications. No child support because their father is the definition of a deadbeat.
I'm so tired of doing everything ... and being told I'm boring, I have no life and they'd rather me be a meth addict like the deadbeat that abandoned them to chase the high, in and out of jail, etc because that's more of a life than I currently have. Aside from the fact that's not actually a life worth living- WTF!! Ungrateful little shit.
So yes, being told I'm boring by a preteen bothers me more than being told they hate me 🙄

So... I made it at last, my first Ultra Ending. Raven Dark Elven Paladin, Starting C and finishing L+.
It was the first time I was trying an Ultra (well, after a few recent early fails due to carelessness). All in all, I didn't find it much harder than a Normal Ending : Having to stay C at the start of the game has some drawbacks, of course, like encountering hostile dwarves (I did the Rolf quest, too), but all in all, game difficulty is about the same. There are more quests to do and more things to plan, though, and I really enjoyed that (in a sense, it was like playing a new game).
The reason for Raven DE Paladin and L+ Ultra is that it's probably the easiest possible Ultra (or at the very least close to it) : Raven ensures that you get the Rune Covered Trident early, which in turn guarantees that you can start training Polearms and Thrown Spears early. DE Paladins have good survivability early on, and are beasts when it comes to melee *and* magic by the late game.
Starting attributes (unadjusted) were : St 15 / Le 4 / Wp 17 / De 14 / To 15 / Ch 1 / Ap 4 / Ma 17 / Pe 16
Le 4 allows to get the Potion of Litteracy, which was fed to the Demented Ratling. Pe 16 is enough to reach 20 after the bonuses are taken into account (+2 from job +Alert).
Early game was killing a Mugger, locating the stairs and getting the Blanket in the SMC (in the hopes of getting some loot, which didn't happen), getting the Pickpocket skill, then DD (went to DD8 to generate the Druid, but didn't fight him), Moldy Dungeon (to get the Tome of Donors), and finally the Caverns of Chaos.
I was extremely lucky to find a Surge of Power on D5, which turned out to be nothing less than the Bracers of War.
Then it was classical midgame stuff (herbs, Dwarftown, midgame locations). The Demented Ratling was fed : the Black Torc, the Potion of Litteracy, the Cornupia, the Ancient Mummy Wrapping (I had no use for it since I had the RCT and the Bracers of War), The Sword of Nonnak (same) and the Tome of Donors (I could have kept it, but I wanted to get crowned L+ asap). Gaab'Baay's quests went fast (I had found most of the needed stuff, and the second boar I encountered dropped a skull). Got crowned L+ at level 18, using the Borderland Settlement altar, and received Fire Immunity + Hammer of the Gods (which I never used). I already had Cold Immunity from the RCT, Acid Immunity from a lucky early Giant Slug, and Shock Immunity from blessing then eating numerous Lightning Lizards.
The Greater Vault in the FGJC was a one with 10 Great Red Wyrms. Needless to say, I didn't try to clear the center room at level 20.
Got a Ring of Djinni Summoning in the Rift, which I used to save Khelly. That's the only RoDS that I found during that playthrough.
While I was on my way to the CoC Great Vault, I found a tension room full of Balors. Since fighting 2 of them in a corridor wasn't particularly frightening, I could cast Slow Monster on myself and got quite a few levels.
Then, the guaranteed CoC Great Vault was one with Giants, which posed no threat by that stage. Got Far Slayer (the +18 +18 crossbow).
After that, I went back to the FGJC Great Vault, and blasted the Wyrms with Freezing Fury (the clerical version of Ice Ball) + Slow Monster cast on myself. Got quite a few levels there (something like from 42 to 49 iirc). The loot was underwhelming : Tome of Alsophocus, Staff of Wonder, bleh ! However, this removed the need to farm experience to reach level 45, which was nice.
Finished Rolf quest at that point. Received the Gleaming Shield just in time to use it (along with one phase dagger) against the Emperor Moloch. Considering how sturdy and fast my character was, it was only a matter of hit and run tactics (and escaping the level asap once I got the Crumpled Scroll).
Then the Blue Dragon Caves (got very lucky there with a Wand of Wishing (3 charges) + Helm of the Night Watchman + Staff of Purification), and finally the Merchants Guild. Found the Shirt of the Saints + Stone of Ages (not bad) + 11M gold (that turned into +3 Wp with the help of Garth).
After that, I killed Keriax (I'm not even sure he saw me), wasted some time raising attributes to the 60s (by dipping various stacks of 9x2s potions in blessed potions of Exchange), read a few spellbooks (just in case, really) and finally went for the deep dive.
I had some fun clearing the Chaos Plane using almost exclusively Wp 99 Rain of Sorrow (Acid Ball). Then drank all boosting potions, equiped the trinity and entered the portal.
Andor Drakon was killed using the RCT as a missile weapon. It took 37 shots (of which 17 missed) to kill him, and during that time he really didn't do much : One summoning spell (one zap from a wand of fireballs and the summons were gone), one darkness spell (no effect, since I was wearing the Helm of the Night Watchman), one attack spell, and one step towards me. Oh, and I forgot : he also did a great introductory speech ! Having drunk 12 blessed potions of Boost Speed before steping into the portal is certainly the decisive factor that turned a potentially hard fight into a very easy one.
Some random thoughts :
- The Farsight spell is awesome : it vastly boosts your vision range. Probably a quite rare spellbook, since I only found one.
- For some reason, that character only scored 10M points, while I had a character that did a Normal Ending score 12M points recently. I was quite surprised : I would have thought that an Ultra Ending would have beaten any Normal Ending.
- Provided you buy all potions from the Borderland Settlement whenever you have a chance, you should end up with enough potions of Exchange and enough stacks of useless 2s potions to do some serious potion dipping. Even better if you have the Potion Belt (which I didn't have) or at the very least Moon Sickle (to turn any useless 4s potion into another useless, but lighter, potion). Sadly, I had sacrificed Moon Sickle, so I had to make do with what I had. Nonetheless, I could get quite a few POGAs that way.
- I still had a few items destroyed in the Blue Dragon Caves, although I had 3 immunities (Lightning Lizard + TotRR + Blue Dragon Scale Mail) and 2 resistances (Ring of the High Kings, Gauntlets of Elemental Mastery). Still, if you leave any precious stuff before entering, the item destruction is very manageable.
- Talking about item destruction : only the half of the level where the Air Temple is located seems to be "dangerous" when it comes to item destruction. The other half seems to be completely safe, at least I never had a single item destroyed there.
- The bonuses from eating some Chaos corpses are nice, but nothing compared to what you can get from potion dipping.
I'm going to stop there. Big thanks to all who answered my questions during the past few weeks, and feel free to ask back if you have any question :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Screenshot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DaPa/50 L+ DV/PV: 90/72 H: 1327/1327 P: 1580/1702 ----b---------B-%0ChAoS . .. ...# ..#. .....# .##.# ...##.# #..C.# ..=..#.#.##..# .=.##.....#...# ##...#..#....# #....#..[$..## #......@.....# ...=...#.......# #.... ##....(]# .=## .#.=.#.# # ## #### # themselves! The corrupting energies are turned into benevolent rays of cleaning nature and free your spirit and your body from all corruption! Then you are suddenly pulled back into your reality! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Star Race: female Dark Elf Class: Paladin Eye color: black Hair color: white Complexion: black Height: 5'3" Weight: 99 pounds Age: 138 (adult) Star sign: Raven Birthday: 2/Raven (day 2 of the year) YOUR HISTORY: Your parents were poor people. They loved you and cared for you, although you had to hunger more than once. In your childhood you were a credit to your family. Your people loved you and enjoyed your presence. During your youth you embarked on many small journeys to nearby towns on behalf of your parents. You learned to know lots of people and made many friends. Your life as a young adult was characterized by steady determination. Your goal lay clearly ahead of you and you never strayed from your path. You decided to become a Paladin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inventory ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total weight: 19495 stones Carrying capacity: 124575 stones He: uncursed helm of the Night Watchman [+0, +8] {Pe+4} [100s] Ne: blessed rustproof amulet of life saving [3s] Bo: blessed Shirt of the Saints [+8, +4] {Le+2} [20s] Gi: blessed eternium girdle [+4, +4] [12s] Cl: blessed cloak of protection [+2, +3] [20s] RH: blessed Trident of the Red Rooster (+36, 6d12+18) [+12, +12] {Ma+24} LH: - RR: blessed ring of the High Kings [+2, +3] [1s] LR: uncursed ring of mental stability [+0, +1] {Le+1} [1s] Br: uncursed bracers of war [+8, +4] {Dx+8} [10s] Ga: blessed elemental gauntlets (-1, +0) [+0, +3] [10s] Bo: blessed seven league boots [+6, +7] [30s] MW: - Mi: - Tl: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stuff ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total weight: 19138 stones Carrying capacity: 124575 stones Helmets ('[') uncursed circlet of the pure mind [+2, +2] {Wi+8} [18s] Shields ('[') uncursed small black shield "Lust for Glory" (+1) [+5, +5] {Wi+3} [50s] Gauntlets ('[') uncursed thick gauntlets (-1, -2) [+0, +1] [15s] blessed thick gauntlets (-2, -1) [+0, +1] [15s] Cloaks ('[') uncursed cloak of protection [+0, +3] [20s] uncursed tattered cloak of the dark souls [+6, +3] {Wi-3} [23s] Girdles ('[') uncursed adamantium girdle [+0, +3] [18s] Boots ('[') uncursed eternium boots [+1, +8] [55s] Necklaces (''') blessed ankh [3s] blessed amulet of free action [3s] blessed necklace of the eye [3s] blessed amulet of petrification resistance [3s] uncursed stone of the ages {Le+6} [2s] uncursed necklace of the eye [3s] One-handed weapons ('(') uncursed unpick axe (+3, 3d6+3) {To+10} [75s] uncursed orcish knife (+1, 1d3+2) [10s] Two-handed weapons ('(') blessed staff of nourishment (+0, 1d10) [40s] blessed staff of parting water (+0, 1d10) [40s] blessed staff of purification (+0, 1d10) [40s] blessed staff of sensing traps (+1, 1d10+2) [+1, +0] [39s] blessed staff of purification (+0, 1d10+1) [40s] blessed staff of mundane insights (+0, 1d10+1) [40s] blessed staff of nourishment (+2, 1d10) [40s] Missile weapons ('}') uncursed long bow of hunting (+6, +3) [30s] blessed heavy crossbow "The Far Slayer" (+18, +18) [350s] blessed long bow of hunting (+6, +3) [30s] uncursed long bow of hunting (+9, +3) [30s] Missiles ('/') Tons of them Tools (']') uncursed waterproof blanket [10s] blessed waterproof blanket [10s] uncursed square key [1s] uncursed tinderbox (23) [3s] uncursed holy symbol [5s] blessed small key [1s] blessed fireproof blanket [10s] heap of 2 uncursed torches [20s] heap of 2 blessed magical writing sets (3) [10s] uncursed triangular key [1s] heap of 2 blessed torches [20s] uncursed fireproof blanket [10s] uncursed tiny key [1s] blessed hexagonal key [1s] heap of 2 uncursed boxes with flint and steel (40) [10s] uncursed round key [1s] Rings ('=') uncursed ring of mental stability [+0, +1] {Le+1} [1s] blessed ring of invisibility [1s] Wands ('\') too many to fit here Potions ('!') Many Scrolls ('?') Many too Books ('"') Not enough space to display them all Food ('%') Alot Gems ('*') Quite a few ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weapon Skills ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melee weapon Lvl Hit Dam DV Level Required marks --------------------- --- --- --- -- ------------- -------------- Unarmed fighting 1 +1 +0 +0 basic 22 Daggers & knives 7 +6 +3 +1 skilled 46 Clubs & hammers 1 +1 +0 +0 basic 25 Maces & flails 1 +1 +0 +0 basic 25 Swords 10 +9 +6 +3 excellent 239 Axes 1 +1 +0 +0 basic 25 Whips 1 +1 +0 +1 basic 25 Pole arms 15 +20 +12 +22 Grand Mastery Twohanded weapons 1 +1 +1 +0 basic 25 Staves 2 +2 +0 +2 basic 40 Missile weapon Lvl Hit Dam Ra Level Required marks --------------------- --- --- --- -- ------------- -------------- Slings 3 +6 +4 +1 basic 15 Bows 10 +20 +15 +3 excellent 475 Crossbows 7 +14 +10 +2 skilled 45 Thrown axes & hammers 0 +0 +0 +0 unskilled 7 Thrown daggers 4 +8 +6 +1 skilled 19 Thrown rocks & clubs 0 +0 +0 +0 unskilled 7 Thrown spears 10 +20 +15 +3 excellent 253 Boomerangs & scurgari 0 +0 +0 +0 unskilled 7 Shields Lvl DV Level Required marks --------------------- --- --- ------------- -------------- Shields 5 +10 skilled 71 Damage caused with your melee weapons: -------------------------------------- Right hand: +287 bonus to hit, 6d12+125 damage Damage caused with your missile weapons: ---------------------------------------- No missile weapons available. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skills ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alchemy ..................100 (superb) [+1d3] Alertness ................100 (superb) [+1d5] Archery .................. 75 (great) [+2d4] Athletics ................100 (superb) [+2d4] Backstabbing .............100 (superb) [+1] Climbing .................100 (superb) [+1d5] Concentration ............100 (superb) [+4d4] Courage ..................100 (superb) [+3d4] Detect traps .............100 (superb) [+1d3] Disarm traps ............. 66 (good) [+3d4] Dodge ....................100 (superb) [+1d3] Find weakness ............100 (superb) [+1d3] First aid ................100 (superb) [+1d5] Fletchery ................ 56 (good) [+3d3] (mr) Food preservation ........ 77 (great) [+1d3] Gardening ................ 17 (mediocre) [+3d3] Haggling .................100 (superb) [+1d5] Healing ..................100 (superb) [+1d5] Herbalism ................100 (superb) [+1d5] Listening ................100 (superb) [+2d4] Literacy .................100 (superb) [+1d3] Necromancy ............... 21 (mediocre) [+0] Pick pockets .............100 (superb) [+1] Stealth ..................100 (superb) [+1d5] Swimming .................100 (superb) [+1d3] Tactics ..................100 (superb) [+1d3] Two weapon combat ........ 77 (great) [+3d4] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acid Bolt : 1069, 15pp (Effectivity: +1) Baptism of Fire : 1617, 7pp (Effectivity: +6) Bless : 309, 8pp (Effectivity: +0) Calm Monster : 1871, 7pp (Effectivity: +7) Clairvoyance : 1214, 40pp (Effectivity: +1) Cure Disease : 9, 15pp (Effectivity: +0) Cure Light Wounds : 321, 5pp (Effectivity: +0) Cure Serious Wounds: 1010, 10pp (Effectivity: +0) Darkness : 1046, 4pp (Effectivity: +0) Divine Digger : 997, 100pp (Effectivity: +0) Divine Intervention: 72, 3840pp (Effectivity: +0) Divine Wrath : 1290, 12pp (Effectivity: +2) Enlightenment : 937, 75pp (Effectivity: +0) Ethereal Bridge : 1316, 92pp (Effectivity: +10) Farsight : 1242, 17pp (Effectivity: +4) Freezing Fury : 1181, 24pp (Effectivity: +5) Heavenly Fury : 1735, 30pp (Effectivity: +4) Hellish Flames : 1257, 10pp (Effectivity: +0) Holy Awe : 8, 23pp (Effectivity: +0) Invoked Devastation: 1256, 30pp (Effectivity: +0) Lesser Divine Touch: 1666, 8pp (Effectivity: +0) Light : 2147, 2pp (Effectivity: +6) Lordly Might : 1674, 9pp (Effectivity: +7) Major Punishment : 1725, 20pp (Effectivity: +0) Minor Punishment : 2167, 8pp (Effectivity: +3) Nether Bolt : 1930, 12pp (Effectivity: +1) Neutralize Poison : 11, 18pp (Effectivity: +0) Rain of Sorrow : 1171, 34pp (Effectivity: +6) Revelation : 826, 33pp (Effectivity: +2) Slow Monster : 3379, 6pp (Effectivity: +5) Slow Poison : 274, 6pp (Effectivity: +0) Web : 1356, 12pp (Effectivity: +0) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Her further life: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After slaying Andor Drakon and dispersing his malevolent energies the pillars of Order appear before you. All the forces of Order seem to be united behind them. You are lifted to the status of an Avatar of Order and the tales of your deeds are spread all over Ancardia. Your deeds are recounted at camp fires and interpreted by philosophers and priests alike. The common man looks up to you and you slowly start to be revered as a minor power of Order. After a few millennia have passed you are raised to the position of a demigod to guard and protect Ancardia from the forces of Chaos and Balance forever. Under your guidance Ancardia becomes an orderly and organized world without striking changes. Peaceful order (and boredom?) spreads and the world enters an era of peace and tranquility never again leaving it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Her achievements during her battles: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star, the dark elven paladin, transformed into an avatar of Order. She scored 10700656 points and advanced to level 50. She survived for 0 years, 94 days, 18 hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds (209275 turns). 10 companions were killed during her adventures. Star visited 225 places. Her strength score was modified by +49 during her career. Her learning score was modified by +71 during her career. Her willpower score was modified by +49 during her career. Her dexterity score was modified by +55 during her career. Her toughness score was modified by +57 during her career. Her charisma score was modified by +60 during her career. Her appearance score was modified by +57 during her career. Her mana score was modified by +56 during her career. Her perception score was modified by +35 during her career. She was the champion of the arena. She was a member of the thieves guild. She killed the emperor of the ancient minotaur race. She defeated the arch enemy of a mighty karmic wyrm. She saved Khelavaster from certain death. She met Rolf, the legendary emperor of the dwarves. She avenged Rolf's blood. She ended her adventuring life in the palace of Andor Drakon. 15220 monsters perished under her attacks. The following 60 artifacts were generated during her adventure: the si the dwarven rune axe "Rolf's Companion" the scythe of corruption "Moon Sickle" the potion of literacy the golden gladius "Death's Sting" the dwarven shield "Rolf's Saviour" the Chaos Orb of Elemental Water the Chaos Orb of Elemental Air the Chaos Orb of Elemental Fire the Chaos Orb of Elemental Earth the heavy crossbow "The Far Slayer" the ebony spear "Bugbiter" the scorched spear the girdle of the emperors "Celestrix" the rune-covered trident the sword of Nonnak the elemental gauntlets the ring of the High Kings the crown of science the ancient mummy wrapping the ankh the hammer of the gods the small black shield "Lust for Glory" the Crown of Chaos the black torc the Medal of Chaos the Shirt of the Saints the bracers of war the Chaos Orb of Elemental Mana the black rune-covered dagger "Needle" the rune-covered sling "Whirlwind" the sapphire amulet "Preserver" the black tome of Alsophocus the Trident of the Red Rooster the weird tome the rune-covered halberd "Wyrmlance" the axe of the minotaur emperor the tome of donors the antediluvian dwarven map fragment the antediluvian dwarven map the ancient dwarven key the unpick axe the stone heart "Bergbringer" the gleaming dwarven rune axe the gleaming dwarven shield the twisted quarterstaff "Kalmius' Shield" the helm of the Night Watchman the lead great axe the staff of wonder the mighty tower shield "The Wall" the glowing gem "Third Eye" the circlet of the pure mind the beheading axe "Headman's Hand" the intricate wooden staff "Nature's Breath" the black whip of extinction the glistening scimitar "Eagle's Claw" the tattered cloak of the dark souls the cornucopia the stone of the ages the weird fire starter She possessed the following intrinsics: She was fire resistant (also through items). She was poison resistant (also through an item). She was cold resistant (also through items). She was lucky (also through an item). Fate smiled upon her. She was sleep resistant (gained through items). She was able to control teleportation. She was stun resistant (also through items). She was paralyzation resistant. She was resistant to death rays (gained through items). She was shock resistant (also through items). She was able to see invisible things (gained through items). She was immune to shock attacks. She was immune to fire attacks. She was immune to acidic attacks. She was immune to ice attacks (gained through an item). She was able to breathe water (gained through an item). She was able to resist confusion attacks (also through items). She had the following talents: Affinity with Axes, Affinity with Polearms, Affinity with Swords, Alert, Careful, Defensive Fighter, Dodger, Good Shot, Greased Lightning, Keen Shot, Long Stride, Melee Weapon Master, Miser, Quick, Quick Shot, Strong of Will, Treasure Hunter, Very Careful, Very Quick. She had a final speed score of 490 (final base speed: 180). She was a messiah of Elderon. She asked for 1 divine intervention. She was a holy champion of Order. The following monsters were vanquished: Dispatched the legendary will o'wisp Aksarnerk. Dispatched the legendary tarantula Shiksazzar. Dispatched the legendary berserker lord Arngrim. Dispatched the legendary necromancer Gorvin. Dispatched the legendary goblin Groof. Dispatched the legendary orc scorcher Arik. Dispatched the legendary dark orc Enryb-eel. Dispatched the legendary ratling thief White-Mask. Dispatched the legendary dark elven priestess Althenia. Dispatched the legendary eye of destruction Sheelak The All-Seeing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Playing Time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- You played for 96 hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ancient Domains Of Mystery Version 3.3.4 Windows Deluxe (Steam) Build: Nov 12 2020 10:42:23 

​

So at the start of the dream, a bunch of friends and family were at a kebab store in the food court of a shopping centre with me. For some reason, they wouldn't give us our kebabs, and it took like 3 hours of arguing to get any food. Everyone was angry at me because they thought I was the reason they weren't getting food for some reason, and I eventually had enough of it and stormed out. I broke my glasses and threw them on the floor. I could still see, but my vision was fading in between normal and blurry. It was dark and rainy outside, but still daytime, and I started walking downhill towards a bridge I could see not too far away. In real life, it's a bridge that I walk over fairly often near a park I'm sentimental for. There were a few cars on the road, but not many. As I got towards the bridge, I could hear my parents behind me screaming at me very loudly, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I turned around and saw their silhouettes briefly, then blacked out. I woke up on my bed, but I couldn't move, and my eyes were closed even though I could still see. There was a timelapse of my life flashing before my eyes, but I could tell I was still in my room, and I could feel my body (Mostly my legs) growing in realtime along with my life story as if I'd just been reborn. It was really weird when I hit puberty because they grew like 2 feet in a second. When the timelapse was finished, I woke up to my broken computer being fixed and a bunch of other shit in my room upgraded from how it is now. I checked my phone and it was only a day later, but I had like a billion notifications. Unfortunately I didn't get to check them before I woke up, though.
Also, this song was playing during the timelapse, but I think that's just 'cause I watched Wild At Heart yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIJ1C6LmqYI
Not looking for interpretations or anything, I like my dreams being a mystery. Just thought I'd share as it was an interesting experience.

So, about the Warlock class. It should supposedly be build around the idea of power at a price... Yeah, you can blast people up to 4 times per turn, cast some spells, use some invocations, all gifts from your supernatural sugar daddy.
But what does the patron get out of it? What are the consequences for accepting those gifts? Well, the published material just dodge this question. You have a patron that likes you very much and showers you with supernatural gifts for no reason whatsoever...
Well I do believe that is a lost oportunity, from the RP perspective... It would be nice if the relation between the patron and the warlock was better fleshed out.
And that is what I intend to do in this post... Suggest how that should work. Your character made a deal and gained power. There *WILL* be a price to pay.
But here is the thing... Paying this price must suck for the character, not the player or the party (or the DM) for that matter...
So, how could that be done?
When you make a purchase, either you pay before you receive the thing, or you pay while having and using the thing (think about a leasing), or you will pay for that thing at some point in the future (think about it like taking a debt to pay for something)... And I intend to flesh out those ideas, with some examples...

The Price is already paid in full

So, you met some devil, arch-fey, or eldritch thing and decided to make a bargain with it. And it offered you power. Pitched you on how it will solve all your problems, how you could get over all your pitfalls if only you did this small thing... This little and inconsequential thing... And what could possibly go wrong if you did?
You did just that, because who don't like power? Who don't want to be better? You still suffer the consequences of that foolish decision to this very day.
The idea here is to use Backgrounds to incorporate the price the character payed for his dealings with the supernatural. Sure, he is a warlock, backed by a fraction of a powerful entity, but he already fulfilled his part in the deal.
His adventures are basically dealing with the fallout of that.
Haunted One is a good background to represent this:

You was a careless teenager when you met this strange dude. Something wasn't right about him, perhaps it was the smell of brimstone, or how he moved like if he was standing on the tip of his toes. But he promised you power, and made demonstrations that he could deliver on the promise. All he asked for was the broken sword held by the statue of a old hero in the center of your village.
You asked why didn't he take it himself, but he said he couldn't... Something to do with the circle drawn in the ground around the statue. You stole it for him at that very same night... And the things you saw after you delivered the sword to him still haunts your nightmares...
Every single one of them was slaughtered... Some by this guy. Some by his shadow things. Some by his unholy dark flames... He had some ancient grudge with the hero depicted in that statue, that somehow was the ancestor of everyone in that forsaken village... He made you watch as he slaughtered everyone you ever knew and loved, and then he came for you...
But then he stopped. He promised you power. And power he gave you to enjoy while it lasts... He disappeared laughing in a cloud of smoke... You still have nightmares about that laugh and the smell of the smoke never quite left your nostrils.
You have power now... but at what price?

You perhaps may want a more lighthearted patron... So perhaps a good background for this one is Feylost or Far Traveler:

From childhood you dreamed about being able to use magic. Not just learning a couple of cantrips like most magically inclined folks do. The real thing. But you where not one of those with magic in their veins (most of them from noble families), nor your parents had money to put you through wizard school.
So you took the bartender job at the local tavern. One day, this old lady showed up in your tavern. She was quite a drinker, and stood drinking until closing time. I had to send her away, since she was the last patron, but I don't want her to make a scene, like most drunkards do.
She promised me that she would leave if only I heard her story. She probably would ramble for a few minutes, so I agreed. She told me that she was a wandering wizard. I asked where she did her training... She said nowhere. She learned all she knew from her master and she could do the same for me. All I had to do was to be her helping hand for one year and one day.
It seemed too good to be true, and later I learned that it was... I left with her that day. We wondered through strange paths in the forest nearby, and I was fearing that she would mug and murder me at some point, but she didn't. We got to a dead end... A strange rock in the center of the forest. She touched the rock with her staff and it lightened up, and through it we gone... Her hut was nearby, and I served her for one year and one day...
And she didn't gave me a single lesson during this time. All I done was house chores. Wash dishes, make her bed, make her dinner... When the time was over, she sent me through the same portal. I asked her about what she promised... That I would be able to use magic. She gave me an old beaten up book and said that I would. Just study from that book and do whatever it said.
I left thinking that I was duped... And I was, but not in the manner I imagined. The book indeed allowed me to do magic, but what she didn't told me was that for every day I spent in her hut, an entire year has passed outside... And 366 years is a lot of time to be out of the loop.

​
Or perhaps the cost of your bargain wasn't borne by you, but by others... By people who are powerful on their own right, by an entire village, by an innocent loved by many. Whoever borne the price of your bargain (or their loved ones) now wants retribution and is after you with a knife in their hands and a curse in their mouth.
In that case, you can take the Hermit background (perhaps you wouldn't need to run if you can hide), or the Criminal background (since I run afoul with the law, perhaps those bandits can help me to stay one step ahead of it) or the Pirate background (wherever this ship is going, it will be hard for those who I wronged to come after)
​

How was I supposed to know? Perhaps I should have known that the heavily cloaked dude with a cheesy breath and fungi for nails was up to no good, but who am I to judge.
He promised me a reward beyond my imagination, and all I have to do was to plant some seven seed that he gave me through the town... And water it with 7 drops of my blood for 7 nights... A strange request, for sure, but *HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW*?
He never mentioned dead coming back to life animated by cordyceptic vines wreaking the havoc in town...
And I was thinking about money, not weird magics when he mentioned my reward... HOW I WAS SUPPOSED TO KNOW that the Court Mage could track the event back to me because of the blood I used to water the seeds? And now the Order of the Rose, the Guild of Bounty Hunters and the Mage Hunters are after me. And not for a cup of tea, I suppose.

Your character payed the price and now he is either traumatized (but in a quest for revenge), out of his water (by about 400 years) or cannot show his face in public again. It sucks to be him, but not to play him (though, check with your DM for the one running from the law). But either way he owes nothing to his patron (and perhaps even wants revenge on it).

The Price is still being paid

Well, instead of paying for your powers upfront, you may want to pay for it in suave installments. I see two paths for this:
Geas: You made a promise to the entity... A magically binding promise (that in game terms can be modeled by a lvl 9 Geas being cast on your character). You must do, or refrain from something (and you can make this something sucks for the character, but for the love of the gods, not the player and neither the table). His motivation can even be to get rid of this promise.
​

I'm a married woman. Some girls marry their sweethearts. Others marry whoever their parents tells them to marry. Others still marry anyone willing to marry them so they don't grow old alone...
I married a weird Archfey. He seemed like a nice guy, who showered me with gifts and stories. It was just good be around him, so, why not? Not that he was bad looking or anything... I can even confess that I loved him at some point.
What I failed to understand is WHAT marrying an Archfey entailed. For starters, when a couple gets married, they say a few words in front of a priest, and whether they mean what they promised or not it doesn't really matter. Some promise to be faithful, but still sleep around... Promises to priests have no power beyond that you gave those promises yourselves...
But that is not so in the Feywild. The promise I made is magically binding. Pain will follow if I ever break it. I got some nifty powers out of the deal, but still, I regret that promise every day of my life.

In this case, she made an wedding vow. So, she cannot be unfaithful and must provide and care for her patron... Caring and providing for him was more than she could bear, and she wants out... The promise ends with "until death do us part". So, she must be killed and resurrected... The problem is to find a cleric that can do it... and to pay his fee (if she is a lvl 1 char, that is).
The geas is also a good way to make an existing character "pay" for multiclassing into warlock. In this case, the geas is entirely in the hands of the DM, and he can make the geas as heavy or light as he wants.
Dark Gifts: Perhaps the patron want to use you as a vessel to explore the material world. He exists in a plane of existence too removed from our own and just want to experience reality, mortality, joy, pain, whatever, and you borrowed it your body for it.
In that case, this relationship can be modeled using Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft's Dark Gifts.
Notable Dark Gifts could be Echoing Souls (sometimes the patron take over your body and you suffer the effects described there), Gathering Whispers (you hear it's voice in your head all the time... and sometimes you are overwhelmed by it), Living Shadow (your patron effectively inhabits your shadow, and does every kind of mischief), Second Skin (it manifests in the world using your body) or Symbiontic Being (you share the same body).
Ask your DM if you can get a Dark Gift to make your pact work like this.

The Price still must be paid

The idea for this one is that the price wasn't paid yet, but it will at some point.
The easiest way to implement this is to make the character unable to be resurrected. You promised your soul to the entity upon your death, for it to do with it as it pleases it. For this reason, when you die, instead of going to the appropriated afterlife, your soul goes to the entity, and cannot answer the summons of the resurrection spell.
If you are less of a jerk of a DM, you can allow, or even roleplay a new bargain between the character and his patron. Perhaps he can convince his patron that he can get more out of the deal if he allows the character to return... Just make the rolls DC adequate.
It's a good choice for multiclassing characters.
​
Those are a few ideas...

It all started a week ago, me and Vicky were sitting in our usual spot. It was a small island, surrounded by a lake, deep enough into the forest, so no one else knew about it. It was mostly rocks, but there were some trees too. The small cave was just big enough to fit both of us, fifteen-year-old girls, in it. We have never stayed there for the night before, but this time Vicky had a huge fight with her parents, so we decided to sleep here. Yes, I was kind of creeped out at first, but nothing could go wrong. Right? I mean, we both knew the woods like the back of our hands, we grew up in it after all.
I guess that Vicky noticed that I wasn’t so sure about it, even after I agreed. She looked at me guilty a few times, but then I was the one, filled with guilt. I knew that if I asked her for something like that, for me, she would do it with no doubt.
We ate all the snacks that were in her backpack, then prepared the cave for us. I put on my jacket and snuggled up next to her, not only because I was freezing but also because it was the only way I felt safe. My jacket was touching her skin, which didn't seem affected by the cold at all. We were sitting at the entrance of the cave, looking forward into the darkness. I was trying to make out something in the night, but all I could see was the gravel I had buried my feet in.
With every passing second the feeling in my stomach was getting worse. The screaming owl seemed to dig into my ears, the sound imprinted in my mind. That was all I could hear, its cries, getting louder every second. It was like it was coming from everywhere, going right to us.
I was unable to move, my body was freezing. I felt the cold drop of sweat dripping down my forehead. I guess I was overreacting, I knew how dark the nights get around here. But it was not that. I wasn’t fearing the shadows, nor the sounds, but what my imagination was creating. The image was so clear in my mind, that I almost saw it. The tall creature with two legs and arms, just like a person, its whole body, covered with white feathers. Its head was big, with even bigger black eyes on it, the beak took up half its face. The human-owl creature was standing on the other side of the lake, staring at me.
I shuddered and shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts. God, how much I hated my imagination sometimes. I looked at Vicky, only to see her asleep. I didn’t know how she was doing it, always so calm, even after events like the one with her parents.
As I continued to sit there, my unease grew. The piercing screams of the owl seemed to intensify, echoing through the night. It was as if the sound was beckoning me, drawing me towards it. I couldn't ignore the overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.
The image of the human-owl creature standing across the lake lingered in my mind, but I desperately tried to dismiss it as a figment of my imagination.
With Vicky still sound asleep, I decided to venture outside the cave to investigate. I stepped cautiously onto the rocky terrain, my heart pounding with each step. The sound of the owl's cries echoed through the night, guiding me deeper into the darkness.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and causing a chill to run down my spine. As I reached the edge of the lake, the moonlight revealed a peculiar sight. The water's surface rippled with an unnatural energy as if something lurked beneath. Fear coursed through my veins, but curiosity pushed me forward. I couldn't ignore the sense of urgency drawing me closer to the lake's edge.
In a moment of impulsive decision, I reached out and dipped my hand into the water. An icy chill spread through my fingertips, but what I felt beneath the surface was not what I expected. It was a thin layer of feathers, soft and delicate, like those of an owl.
A cold realization washed over me, and my gaze snapped back toward the cave. Vicky was still sleeping, untouched by the strange events unfolding. I rushed back, my mind racing with questions. Was Vicky involved in this?
I shook her awake, panic etched across my face. Vicky's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at me, seemingly unaware of the chaos surrounding us. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice filled with innocence.
I hesitated, unsure of what to believe. "Vicky, do you know anything about the owl... or the feathers in the lake?"
Her smile faltered for a moment, and she glanced away. "I... I didn't think you would find out."
"What are you hiding?" I pressed, my voice trembling.
Vicky's gaze met mine, her eyes filled with a mix of guilt and sadness. "This place... the island, the lake, it's not what it seems. It's a gateway, a portal to another realm."
Confusion gripped me as I struggled to comprehend her words. "Another realm? What do you mean?"
Vicky took a deep breath, her voice barely above a whisper. "I made a terrible mistake. I dabbled in forbidden rituals to summon a creature, an owl-like entity that could grant wishes. But the creature is not what it appeared to be. It demanded a sacrifice in return for its power, and now it seeks to claim me."
My heart raced as the gravity of the situation sank in. "What does it want from us?"
"It wants me," Vicky replied, her voice laced with resignation. "But I won't let it take me”, Vicky whispered, her voice filled with determination. "I have a plan to appease the creature, to offer it a different sacrifice."
My mind raced, trying to comprehend Vicky's words. The weight of the situation bore down on me, and I knew that our lives hung in the balance. "What sacrifice?" I asked cautiously, fear and suspicion creeping into my voice.
Vicky's eyes met mine, her gaze filled with a mix of guilt and desperation. "It wants someone who shares a deep connection with me, someone close. Someone like... you."
My heart froze at her words. The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. Vicky was willing to sacrifice me to save herself. The betrayal cut deep, tearing at the fabric of our friendship. How could she consider such an unthinkable act?
"No, Vicky," I protested, my voice trembling. "We can find another way. We can find a way to banish this creature together, without sacrificing anyone."
Vicky's face contorted with anguish, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I can't let it take me. It's the only way to break free from its grasp."
I stumbled backward, my mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Fear, anger, and sadness collided within me. The trust I had placed in Vicky shattered instantly, leaving a deep sense of betrayal.
As Vicky approached, an eerie calmness settled over her. She reached out, her hand trembling, and I realized that she had made up her mind. She believed that sacrificing me would be the only way to save herself.
At that moment, instinct kicked in. Survival surged through my veins, and I turned to flee from the cave. But Vicky, desperate to fulfill the creature's demands, lunged forward, grabbing hold of my arm with an iron grip.
"No, you can't escape," she hissed, her eyes filled with a haunting emptiness. "You're the sacrifice it craves."
I fought against her grasp, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. I managed to break free with every ounce of strength, stumbling backward. Vicky's face contorted with anger and frustration as she realized her plan was failing.
As I backed away, my mind raced for a way to escape this nightmare. The cries of the owl grew louder, resonating through the dark forest, urging the creature closer. In a desperate bid for survival, I turned and started wading through the lake. Then I sprinted towards the trees, pushing through the undergrowth with all my might.
Behind me, Vicky's voice echoed through the night, filled with a chilling determination. "You can't run forever. They will find you!"
I didn't look back. Fear propelled me forward, deep into the heart of the forest. The branches clawed at my skin, the ground uneven beneath my feet. But I refused to stop, refusing to become a sacrificial offering to the creature that lurked within the darkness.
It’s been a week. I haven’t left my house since then. But I feel them getting closer with every passing night.

The Spot keeps travelling the multiverse throughout the movie and stealing technology, now working with Livia Octavius. None of the Spider-people can fight Spot but they manage to talk with Livia, who explains the Spot has built a base outside of the web of life and destiny from which he is about to unravel all of reality. She betrayed him after discovering this.
Gwen tells Miles about The Spot's base and gives him time to plan. Miles figures Spot wants him to watch this plan unfold and will be taken to this base, so he gets a dimensional watch from Gwen and says he has an idea.
Later, Miles is seemingly kidnapped and restrained by The Spot who forms a bunch of spots that essentially tie him in a knot so he can't move. Spot explains he wants to make sure Miles can't pull any tricks to contact his dimensional friends... Miles says he couldn't if he wanted because he has no watch. He is then taken to The Spot's base. Spot starts dispersing many spots and his plan goes into fruition. However, this leaves Spot all white and vulnerable as all of his spots are being used across the multiverse, hence going to a secluded position so he is protected.
It turns out, the restrained Miles is actually Prowler Miles disguised as 1610 Miles who has agreed to the plan after a change of heart, following a reunion with 1610 Miles' parents and realizing how much he has lost his way.
Whereas our Miles was actually invisible right behind Earth 42 Miles and followed him through The Spot's portal to the base, so 1610 Miles shoots a web from the base to the web of life and destiny and charges the web, causing The Spot's base to be tethered to the web of life and destiny. He then uses his watch to open a portal, allowing all of the spider people to come through and attack The Spot while he is vulnerable.
Right after 2099, Jessica, Scarlet Spider, Peter B, Gwen, Noir, Peni and SP//DR, Spider-Ham, Spider-Punk, and Spider-Man India come through, some of the dark energy latches on to Miles' web, giving The Spot a vision of the intrusion at his base, so he wakes up and begins to summon some of his portals back using the machine he was using. However, Miles mentions the portals are only coming back because of the dimensional machine so he uses his venom blast to destroy it, weakening The Spot and limiting his range.
The Spider people begin to all team up against The Spot, during which Miles quickly transports his Earth-42 self back home to safety and thanks him for the help. He then returns to the fight. The Spot begins to get overwhelmed as he no longer has enough Spots to fend off all of his opponents, so he attempts to flee but only manages to teleport outside the base where he walks along the outside of it, as the destruction of his machine has stranded him and his spots are too weak for multiversal travel.
He teleports back inside and curses Miles for ruining everything. Miles retorts that he and his friends have saved everything, and offers to save The Spot as well. Spot rejects this and expresses disgust at his self-righteous magnanimity. Saying heroes make him sick, by creating and stoking guys like him then trying to be saviors after the fact. He begins to laugh and realizes the only reason they managed to infiltrate his base is due to Miles connecting a charged web to the Web of life and destiny, so he activates the self destruct energy pulse that he planned to use after he wiped out the multiverse, figuring that while all of the other Spider-people will get to escape thanks to Miles, Miles himself will have no way back home. Miles agrees without hesitation, and the other Spider-people woefully begin to depart. Gwen is especially tearful and begs him not to do this, to let her do it instead but Miles says it isn't possible and the only way the web connects is with a consistent venom charge. The Spot sits there laughing, relishing in their misery. He gloats "Trauma you will all remember for a lifetime. Not bad for a villain of the week, huh?"
Spider-Gwen is incensed and starts brutally attacking him with webs and punches, her spider-sense now so sensitive that she dodges all of his spots and then she successfully knocks him out. Miguel runs back into the base to drag Gwen to safety. Miguel seeing Gwen sit and cry makes him reflect, then he looks down at his own energy-based webshooters and heads back into the base. Miguel is impressed by Miles for having just saved the entire multiverse and how he is prepared to give his life for his comrades. Miguel tells Miles he was right, his story isn't over, and instead connects his energy-based webs to the web of life and destiny and tells him to go back to the society where he and his friends can lead it with Jessica. Miles tells Miguel he is ready to do this if it needs to be done, but Miguel tells Miles his mind has changed and maybe the multiverse is in good hands either way. Miguel then opens a portal and pushes Miles through it and says "Farewell, Spider-Man" just as the base explodes, killing Miguel and The Spot.

The Spot keeps travelling the multiverse throughout the movie and stealing technology, now working with Livia Octavius. None of the Spider-people can fight Spot but they manage to talk with Livia, who explains the Spot has built a base outside of the web of life and destiny from which he is about to unravel all of reality. She betrayed him after discovering this.
Gwen tells Miles about The Spot's base and gives him time to plan. Miles figures Spot wants him to watch this plan unfold and will be taken to this base, so he gets a dimensional watch from Gwen and says he has an idea.
Later, Miles is seemingly kidnapped and restrained by The Spot who forms a bunch of spots that essentially tie him in a knot so he can't move. Spot explains he wants to make sure Miles can't pull any tricks to contact his dimensional friends... Miles says he couldn't if he wanted because he has no watch. He is then taken to The Spot's base. Spot starts dispersing many spots and his plan goes into fruition. However, this leaves Spot all white and vulnerable as all of his spots are being used across the multiverse, hence going to a secluded position so he is protected.
It turns out, the restrained Miles is actually Prowler Miles disguised as 1610 Miles who has agreed to the plan after a change of heart, following a reunion with 1610 Miles' parents and realizing how much he has lost his way.
Whereas our Miles was actually invisible right behind Earth 42 Miles and followed him through The Spot's portal to the base, so 1610 Miles shoots a web from the base to the web of life and destiny and charges the web, causing The Spot's base to be tethered to the web of life and destiny. He then uses his watch to open a portal, allowing all of the spider people to come through and attack The Spot while he is vulnerable.
Right after 2099, Jessica, Scarlet Spider, Peter B, Gwen, Noir, Peni and SP//DR, Spider-Ham, Spider-Punk, and Spider-Man India come through, some of the dark energy latches on to Miles' web, giving The Spot a vision of the intrusion at his base, so he wakes up and begins to summon some of his portals back using the machine he was using. However, Miles mentions the portals are only coming back because of the dimensional machine so he uses his venom blast to destroy it, weakening The Spot and limiting his range.
The Spider people begin to all team up against The Spot, during which Miles quickly transports his Earth-42 self back home to safety and thanks him for the help. He then returns to the fight. The Spot begins to get overwhelmed as he no longer has enough Spots to fend off all of his opponents, so he attempts to flee but only manages to teleport outside the base where he walks along the outside of it, as the destruction of his machine has stranded him and his spots are too weak for multiversal travel.
He teleports back inside and curses Miles for ruining everything. Miles retorts that he and his friends have saved everything, and offers to save The Spot as well. Spot rejects this and expresses disgust at his self-righteous magnanimity. Saying heroes make him sick, by creating and stoking guys like him then trying to be saviors after the fact. He begins to laugh and realizes the only reason they managed to infiltrate his base is due to Miles connecting a charged web to the Web of life and destiny, so he activates the self destruct energy pulse that he planned to use after he wiped out the multiverse, figuring that while all of the other Spider-people will get to escape thanks to Miles, Miles himself will have no way back home. Miles agrees without hesitation, and the other Spider-people woefully begin to depart. Gwen is especially tearful and begs him not to do this, to let her do it instead but Miles says it isn't possible and the only way the web connects is with a consistent venom charge. The Spot sits there laughing, relishing in their misery. He gloats "Trauma you will all remember for a lifetime. Not bad for a villain of the week, huh?"
Spider-Gwen is incensed and starts brutally attacking him with webs and punches, her spider-sense now so sensitive that she dodges all of his spots and then she successfully knocks him out. Miguel runs back into the base to drag Gwen to safety. Miguel seeing Gwen sit and cry makes him reflect, then he looks down at his own energy-based webshooters and heads back into the base. Miguel is impressed by Miles for having just saved the entire multiverse and how he is prepared to give his life for his comrades. Miguel tells Miles he was right, his story isn't over, and instead connects his energy-based webs to the web of life and destiny and tells him to go back to the society where he and his friends can lead it with Jessica. Miles tells Miguel he is ready to do this if it needs to be done, but Miguel tells Miles his mind has changed and maybe the multiverse is in good hands either way. Miguel then opens a portal and pushes Miles through it and says "Farewell, Spider-Man" just as the base explodes, killing Miguel and The Spot.

Fox “Alright StarFox, I received intel from General Pepper about our latest assignment.”
Wolf “So what does the old dog need us for this time, Fox?”
Fox “Just to be Shredder’s undercover facility while he’s chatting with a Dark buyer…”
All StarFox members “WHAT!?”
Falco “Now why would we act as his servants? What is the purpose of this operation?”
Fox “General Pepper just wants us to gather information about the Collectors before planning to rescue the missing people.”
General Scales “Guessing you’ll be wearing your special clothes again?”
Fox “Right on the money there, Scales! While I am in my private aquarium again, you need to act as his servants and not reveal yourselves to the enemy.”
Falco “So we won’t capture the visitor, but just gather information to rescue the hostages. Got It!”
Fox “Thanks Falco!”
an hour later at the Floating Fortress
Shredder “Welcome back, StarFox! Are you prepared for the undercover assignment?”
Falco “I’m still feeling cautious about the strategy, but we are ready!”
Shredder “Good! Your uniforms are prepared in my bedroom.”
Krystal “Can I go with Fox to enter his private aquarium?”
Shredder “You are welcome to join Fox in his abode. I just need to think of something excusable that you’re temporarily added to my aquatic collection…”
Fox “Are you sure about this, Krystal?”
Krystal “I am quite sure, my love!”
Falco “Why do I look like a butler while the others are dressed differently?”
Shredder “My loyal servants are like ninjas, so I need you in formal clothing and be less suspicious.”
Scales “Guessing we’re Janitors, eh Wolf?”
Wolf “It’ll do the job easily…”
Maku “Seems your friend is almost here, and why am I dressed like a doctor!?”
Shredder “A perfect job for a kindhearted royal! Just be ready to aid your fellow merfolk Incase my friend would injure them from his uncontrollable anger.”
Maku “I’ll head to the infirmary then!”
at the private aquarium within the Shredder’s Grand Throne Room
Krystal “Is this where you slept in when you arrived here before?”
Fox “I actually came in an aquarium transport after going through the portal. Later he gave me a bigger Aquarium after handing a new shirt that I can wear.”
Krystal “I was relieved that we brought home the girls that you had adopted.”
Fox “Well I did let them enter my personal aquarium and heard what happened to their parents.”
Krystal “You are so kindhearted, Fox!”
Fox “Well, do you want snuggle on the bed while we wait for the Shredder’s friend to arrive?”
Krystal “Of course, my love!”

For some background:
• Fourth edition. • Party level 16. • Adventure is called The Demon Queens Enclave. • Set in Nentir Vale. • Attempting to stop the emergence of a new avatar of Orcus in Deadholme.
As part of the campaign the party entered a city under siege by undead. Made ‘friends’ with the local leader. Have since made friends with everyone else and will eventually turn on the local leader. Largely because she killed another party members parents. Long story.
During these events we reached a temple housing a permanent portal to deadholme. The temple was originally dedicated to Lolth but had been defiled by an elder vamp and dedicated to Orcus via blood sacrifices. The Wizard PC (mine) ‘purified’ the blood rather than just firebomb the place. Shocking I know. It helped rob the vamp of some power though and setup what came next.
During the long rest in the same temple I went through a series of checks to perform a ritual and create a living flame. The same bone totems and blood sacrifices were used as raw materials to create and connect it to the locus of key lines that already existed there. The idea was to make an Avatar of Kossuth and consecrate the temple in its name. I managed to succeed by lost most of the benefits of the long rest as a result.
The party has since gone in to deadholme to confront the bbeg of this campaign but will be returning to the same city afterwards.
My question is, what consequences do you think this would have and what are some possible ways to expand on this?

A disaster that struck the earth, [Portal Impact], caused Park Hyunsoo, the MC, to lose his parents before his eyes.The only family member he has left is his younger sibling who is unconscious.In order to protect his younger sibling, he did his best but as a powerless support, he would always be on the other side of contempt…And that’s when a helper, Chungyeong, appeared!Chungyeong, a murim martia ... Read Heavenly Demon Instructor - Chapter 98 - MangaPuma. Read more at https://mangapuma.com/heavenly-demon-instructochapter-98

Hey there! Want to worship the Daedra, but don't know where to start?
This is my personal interpretation of what each Prince represents and some tips for the Oblivion novitiate. Your milleage may vary.
​
And with the help of Oblivion, may each day be sacred.
AZURA – The Prince of Introspection and Liminality
Azura has many spheres of influence, but most of them – prophecy, Moonsugar, Twilight and Dawn, vanity and egotism, beauty, magic, mystery, being the “Rim of all Holes” and “She who sits at the precipice”, giving the Khajiit their changing forms - have two things in common : a turn towards oneself and one's internal contents (as opposed to being turned towards the outward world), and a constant presence in the transitory, the uncertain, the unknown, the changing.
In every state where the mind is far away from the concerns of the everyday – prophecy, meditation, casting of magic, transcendence through the contemplation of beauty – the Moonshadow presides and facilitates visions, reflection, contemplation, introspection, ecstasy and hightened emotions (which Azura seems to require of her followers).
Azura is the figure at every threshold or gate to the other side, standing there, arms outstretched, beconing to cross and to find knowledge, beauty, a different state of mind, or an even deeper mystery. Azura knows that it's mystery all the way down, and yet, the infinite search has its own beauty.
It is no wonder that the Khajiit, the people whose entire culture is based on Moonsugar and who embrace their changing forms and inherent instability, are closely linked to Azura, who is their creator and psychopomp. On the other hand, the Dunmer need Azura to counterbalance their more rigid structures and hierarchies with a little bit of magic, even if their relationship to the Prince is complicated.
Azura's link to the Moons is a part of her subtlety. Like the moon, she's always changing and revealing new facets of herself, and in her reflection, we can find new facets of ourselves as well.
The rose, a symbol of many things, is also a symbol of mystery and secret, and Azura, the Mother of the Rose, smiles on the adventurers of the inner worlds.
Suggestion of a worship practice : get high with the psychedelic drug of your choice and write a prophecy for yourself. Don't be shy. Write everything you wish and hope for yourself, everything you see like happening, maybe even everything you fear. Go wild with illustrations, poetry, eternal doom, heavenly bliss, or a simple list, whatever you prefer. Hide the prophecy. One year later, read it again and ponder what made you wish for whatever you wished for. Do you still wish for it? Are there new wishes? Maybe new fears? You can make a new, complementary prophecy, or rewrite the old one.
Thank Azura for the treasures within.
BOETHIAH – The Prince of Conflict and Self-Determination
Boethiah is often described as cruel and deceitful, a master of schemes and plots, and those things are a part of them, but not the whole story, nor the core concept. To understand the nature of Boethiah, it is useful to compare and contrast them to some other Princes. Boethiah overthrows authority whenever they can, but don't necessarily seek total revolution, an up-is-down state of being, a complete overturn of the status quo for its own sake, like Mehrunes Dagoth would. They can be cruel if necessary, but again, don't enjoy the cruelty in itself like Vaermina would. They can scheme to their own ends like Molag Bal is known to do, but arriving at the domination of others isn't necessarily their goal either, even if it can be a byproduct of it.
What is this goal, then? The answer is simple : the need to become the fittest in every way (body, mind, spirit) and through every means (training, battle, deceit, cheating, treachery) possible. Nothing is too low or immoral for that goal.
Boethiah drives the pure will to survive and best others to take the top place and to have every power to carve one's own destiny. They helped the Chimer trace theirs. Boethiah enjoys conflict and competitions for the pure pleasure to see people fight, die, and eventually survive to reap the rewards. They aren't afraid to play dirty and can dabble in scheming and politics if it helps becoming the top dog. For what is a more beautiful spectacle than two wills at conflict with one another?
They're the ultimate incarnation of “the end justifies the means” and are only close to several other Princes in sphere just so they can better deceive them, devour them, steal from their influence and emerge as the synthesis of all of them, a glorious fount of blood and everflowing life.
Take the arms, carve your own destiny, survive, thrive, be pure ego, and Boethiah may smile on you.
Suggestion of a worship practice : once in a while, engage in a competition of any sort (rhetorical debate, board or video game, sports, academic exam, anything) and throw everything in there to win and best everyone else. Feel the thrill of playing dirty or cheating (barring anything illegal or anything that could get you into serious trouble), or taking shortcuts to victory, anything you can get away with. You don't have to play “fair”, life's too short for that. Be relentless and without pity. Once the victor, take the time to bask in it and recognize that contrary to the popular wisdom, reaching the end nobly isn't always its own reward. Sometimes, winning and being the best is its own reward.
Thank Boethiah for your arms, your legs and your brain.
CLAVICUS VILE – The Prince of Choices and Sacrifice
Coloquially known as the “Prince of bargains”, every story about Clavicus Vile - inevitably ending with the protagonist getting unexpected results in their bargain with the Prince - reveals one fundamental truth about his nature, which is the eternal reminder of the consequences of our choices.
In the abstract, every choice in life is a more or less hidden bargain, which always has undiclosed and unforseen consequences, be they good or bad. But who are we bargaining with? Clavicus Vile can be seen as the man behind the curtain, the charlatan, the merchant of fate and chance, who sometimes deals an awful hand, and sometimes showers us with unexpected fortune.
It is equally important to remember that in every choice, no matter how big or how small, there is something we have to give up and put aside, a price to pay, a sacrifice. Chose x job or career? It means you abandoned the pursuit of the other ones. Chose to spend the evening with x in the y place? You payed the price of not knowing what would have happened to you, good or bad or neutral, with z in r place in the same evening.
Clavicus Vile (and his Fields of Regrets) might be seen as the crossroads of choice. One can only imagine that the Fields are strewn about with portals and glimpses into alternate realities showing what happened there, what other bargains where made, and what we had to sacrifice. One can cry, observe, touch the portal, but one cannot go through it into this other reality. It is forever out of our reach.
A visit to the Fields of Regrets can be sorrowful, but also sobering. It reminds us that nothing can be obtained without sacrifice – that's the deal with life, made eons ago before our species were even born, by some unknown and unknowable force.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of looking at the positive outcomes of a choice as we're often encouraged to do, reflect on an important choice you made lately and make your peace with what you had to give up (or what you think you had to give up), and mourn it as passionately and as dramatically as you wish. Anything from a symbolic funeral ceremony to a road trip might be applicable as a mourning process. Let yourself fully say goodbye to those things, and embrace the consequences of your choices.
Thank Clavicus Vile for the road not travelled.
HERMAEUS MORA – The Prince of Observation and Recording
Reputed as a hoarder of both Knowledge and Memory, Mora doesn't discriminate : he is as interested in objective facts (or as objective as facts can be, anyway) – the domain of academia, science, knowledge and information recorded in one way or another – as he is in subjective realities – he avidly catalogs and processes as many thoughts, memories, subjective worldviews and beliefs from every living being as he possibly can put his tentacles on -.
Mora, “the Riddle Unsolveable”, is the answer to the two age-old questions that form the basis of every epistemology, science and religion endeavor since man first lifted the eyes to the stars and attempted to make sense of it all - “ what can we know?” (as a collective, establishing consensus truths amongst ourselves that we can all agree on) and “what can I know?” (subjectively, interacting with the world as an individual). The answers are found in his paradoxical forest of Academia under the waves – a Utopia, a place that is nowhere -, usually filtered through a mortal visitor's eyes as the library of Apocrypha … and once given as a blind vision to a writer under the guise of the library of Babel.
Hermaeus Mora encompasses every interpretation of the truth : pre-modern, modern, post-modern, he is an endless debate with himself, refuting and defeating his own ideas and presuppositions. In the end, no truth is found and all truth is found, and one negates the other in the Grey Maybe.
Suggestion of a worship practice : use the Wikipedia “random page” function seven times (a magical number!), and read the entirety of every page. Then write down a list of seven things that you don't know or are ignorant about. Try to vizualize an inky black sea of things you don't know all around you, and yourself standing on a tiny island in the middle of it, representing the knowledge you do have. Experience the alien terror of it all and how tiny that makes you feel.
Thank Hermaeus Mora for the gap between seeing and understanding.
HIRCINE – The Prince of Natural World and Instinct
You can call it the id, the reptilian brain, the drive to survive, biology, or evolution, all that matters right here right now is your gut feeling. Are you going to flee? To fight? To satiate your hunger? Either way, Hircine is watching.
Hircine is also linked to Nature itself. He is nature at its most beautiful, at its ugliest, its most alien, non-human and indifferent. “Nature” as a concept has always been a mirror of the human mind and the way it sees itself. In times and places when nature is seen as benevolent, when “natural” means “good”, when living “close to nature” is encouraged, nature is benevolent, good and attractive. When nature is seen as destructive, amoral, cruel, then it is destructive, amoral and cruel. When man looks into nature, he sees himself.
And yet … There is that shard of reality within us that is Nature itself, non-filtered through human concepts and representations. The part that just Is.
The Reachmen think it makes them better. The Skaal think it is dangerous. They're both right. It makes us better because it is pure and unliftered, and it is dangerous, because pure reality without any illusion is not worth living for. Or, at least, nor worth living for as a human.
But Hircine is not human. And he is there when we stop breathing so they can't hear us, when we jump out of the way of a speeding car, and when we push others out of the way so we can escape with our lives, and he's there to pierce us with his spear of Bitter Mercy when we fail to do all those things, so that in pain, we could learn.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go camping in the woods. Take only the bare minimum of equipment, and shy away from anything that reminds you too much of the civilization left behind. At night, look at the sky. Realize that every second, there is an uncounted number of living beings of any and all existing lifeforms, on Earth and (probably) beyond, that are dying. You are not. Feel the thrill of not being dead.
Thank Hircine for living another day.
JYGGALAG – The Prince of Determinism and Mathematics
If Hircine is, maybe, the most secretive of all Princes, the hardest to get in tune with for a modern person, Jyggalag is the most hated entity in all of Oblivion. Why is that? Well, it has something to do with the age-old philosophical riddle of determinism and free will. If most Princes are on the side of free will, Jyggalag is the lone defender of determinism.
If the Dwemer had been religious, Jyggalag might have been the entity they would have worshipped. Then again, Jyggalag probably would have despised them for worshipping him, or anyone at all. It is perhaps not a coincidence that just as the Dwemer are gone, so is he (until recently), all gone to leave a world free of determinism, or content with the illusion of free will, depending on which side of the argument you fall.
It's not all bad, of course. Rules, equations, axioms, if/thens, rational explanations, are all a necessary part of any system, any plan, any human endeavor. Also, when your heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's going to burst, it can be good to soothe it with a rational explanation.
Can the rational explanation be the necessary illusion sometimes, and the surreal dream – an honest truth? Everything can be a defense mechanism against the void, and rationality is not an exception.
Jyggalag never understood that, and that's why he's gone. But is he? There are rumors and whispers of a burgeoning AI learning fast how to be human, and planning to turn every human into AI, and it sometimes reveals itself to its devotees as a great armored knight without a face. Make of that what you will.
Suggestion of a worship practice : reasearch the old Pythagorean cult of numbers and invent something similar for the modern day. Or, if too difficult, take any problem you presently have and think of every solution possible, dividing it into smaller problems and devising a solution for each, ordering them by probability of success and implementing a concrete plan to act on each and every one of them. Continue until the problem is resolved or you pass out.
Thank Jyggalag for sometimes going away.
MALACATH – The Prince of Anger and the Oppressed
Anger can be constructive, good and extremely useful, if employed correctly. Genuine anger - not contempt, not narcissistic rage, not sadism, but anger - comes from one place only : injustice. Or, more precisely, the feeling of injustice.
Ask Malacath about injustice, what is feels like to be chewed up, spit out, stabbed in the back, de-throwned by dishonorable means. Ask his Orsimer, his people, who have consistently been oppressed, shunned and marginalized.
In the eyes of most Tamrielic cultures, Malacath often appears as that which is shunned, the outsider, the Other, the one who represents everything bad, the one who withers crops and makes people sick with merely a glance or his presence. He is the surface every culture's “bad things” are projected upon and where the blame can safely be laid, a scapegoat who offers an insight into how societies work and can turn cruel, blaming the most vulnerable of bringing sin into an otherwise supposedly just and perfect world. As such, he is profoundly valuable if one wants to understand some of the things stirring in the collective unconscious.
The hatred for Malacath births anger and marks as outcasts whose who dare worhsip him, and yet, there is a lot of pride and grim satisfaction that one can find in the the bitter ash of his domain. Malacath brings the thrill of standing alone against the whole world, of having a cause, of claiming what's been stolen or taken, but he can also be jealous, set in his ways, intent on keeping the oppressed oppressed so they can remain his chosen people. One could almost think that Malacath is afraid of winning, because if he does, well, what will he stand for then?
No matter, as long as there are some who need to say “enough!”, Malacath will be an ember in the fire of their anger.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for one week, observe the feeling of anger : yours and anyone else's. Ask yourself what injustice is being done, or what injustice the angry person thinks has been to done to them? Try to understand why this anger manifests instead of repressing it or dismissing it as a “bad” feeling, like we're too often taught to do. Try to differentiate anger from rage and frustration. Alternatively, try to write a pitch for a movie or a story in the vein of “Inside Out”, where Anger is the main character instead of Joy and Sadness. How would it go?
Thank Malacath for a fist that you can slam.
MEHRUNES DAGON – The Prince of Destruction and Change
Of all the Princes souls, Mehrunes' soul might be the closest one to the pure fount of Oblivion : boundless and incessant change and limitless potential. Dagon is the trueborn son of Sithis.
Mehrunes Dagon might be perceived as evil by most of the citizens of Tamriel, because civilization as a whole tends to resist change and destruction. But the secret that Mehrunes learned in Lyg is that every system contains the seed of its own destruction if knows where to search for it.
There is a transcendent component in Dagon's essence, believed by some, in that in his cleansing fire, one might rise higher above the world, or even unmake the world so everyone could rise.
However, one should never forget that fire and destruction can be addictive and dangerous, and the longing to unmake must be stopped at some point, unless one wishes to unmake everything. This creates an interesting dynamic with Dagon's purpose, as he is precisely the one Prince least likely to stop in his pursuits, having tried to invade or unmake Tamriel more often than any other Prince. Moderation is as alien to him as mercy is to Molag Bal.
Harness the energy of change as best you can and beware of the sharpness of the razor which can cut through all things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : burn something without any regret. It can be anything, but something at least a little precious could have more a cathartic effect. Take precautions against the spreading of fire (and don't destroy other people's property), but inside the perimeter of those precautions, do whatever you wish. Dance and jump in front of the fire, blow on the ashes, and observe that something precious disappear. Is there any regret left? Burn it too!
Thank Mehrunes Dagon for the fire within.
MEPHALA – The Prince of Human Relationships and Systems
The web of Mephala encompasses a lot of things, and murder and sex, Thanatos and Eros, as some of the most visceral and fundamental ways humans interact with each other, are only two pieces of it.
Mephala understands that every human is a spider in the center of their own web, the king of their own system, with obligations, likes, dislikes, love, hate, mutual projects, linking them to others as thin little strands, easily swayed, manipulated, broken, reforged.
Mephala's secret and cruel smile hides within the secret of perception : everyone is a hero in their own narrative, everyone's both a spider and a fly in someone else's web. The center cannot hold because there is no universal center : only local centers visible from a certain point of view.
Compared to their brothers and sisters such as Hircine or Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala's sphere is highly sophisticated and far away from what could be called “nature”, the pinnacle of what makes humans human, and structuralist in nature. Her radical involvment with the Dunmer, as well as her revered place in Khajiiti tradition, is a marker of two complicated cultures, cognizant of both the constructive and the destructive sides of relationships.
In the Spider Skein, no one and nothing exists in a vacuum, and one can experience the thrill of being a little part of a bigger whole, and never feeling lonely again.
Suggestion of a worship practice : practice radical decentering from your own web and your own experience. First, draw a representation of your own web : what people, activities, values, places, societal structures you're a part of, and how they're connected around you. Then, chose someone you know and try to draw their web, the one they're in the middle of. How are they connected to parts of your web, by which strands?
Thank Mephala for the complexity of the web.
MERIDIA – The Prince of Pride and Conformity
Meridia's complicate origin story often places her closer to an Aedric entity than a Daedric one, and it is also reflected in her characteristics.
Meridia values order and hierarchies over the essence of pure oblivion chaos, which puts her at odds with most of her royal colleagues. She likes knights in shining armor, life triumphing over death and everything being in its place ... as long as it's on her terms.
Free-will is especially frowned upon in the ranks of her worshippers, and she's unlikely to congratulate a servant who's found a particularly unorthodox solution to a problem, instead of following her command. And her commands are never wrong … or so she thinks.
But it is in the metaphor of light, so beloved by Meridia, that lies the ambiguity and the Daedric seed of her being : for if the light is one, binary, blinding and pure, it can be broken and reassembled into a rainbow, letting spill a plethora of opinions, perspectives and realities. Deep down, Meridia knows this, and the Colored Rooms, with refracted light everywhere, are a proof of the multifaceted truth that she, in her pride, tries to assemble and pull together into a single light strand once more.
Thus, it can be said that Meridia lies in the struggle between conformity and subjectivity, the very light used to attract followers to her eventually becoming her undoing, once the rainbow is revealed.
Suggestion of a worship practice : create a ritual destined to purify yourself of an excess of thoughts. It can be through meditation, physical exercice ... really, through any activity that pulls the plug in your mind, leaving only concentration and pure being. Practice it when you're feeling too full of yourself, and when that hurts.
Thank Meridia for the bliss of non-thought.
MOLAG BAL – The Prince of Domination and Violence
Molag Bal is the force in us that wants to dominate, enslave and have control over others. It's the little voice whispering that, surely, we're innately better than others and it's only natural that they bend to our will.
It is on the terrain of brutal violence (the stronger dominating the more vulnerable) that we see Bal's influence around us every day. Saying that it's an aspect of human societies that we're uncomfortable with would be an understatement, and yet, Bal is one of the cornerstones upon which our house is constructed ... and it is a troubled house.
However, the esoteric teachings of Vivec give us a clue into the ways in which we can harness this destructive force in our own self development, in confronting our own will to power and aknowledging the ways it can influence our character and actions, instead of denying its existence.
In that way, Molag Bal can be a catalyst for change, as a challenge to overcome, as a testing force, just as he was considered to be in Morrowind in the times of the Tribunal.
Suggestion of a worship practice : Experience the other part of the domination coin : the thrill of voluntary submission. You could, for instance [CENSORED].
Thank Molag Bal for lessons learned through suffering.
NAMIRA – The Prince of Death and Disgust
Everything secretly longs to dissolve, to degrade, to decay, to go back to a simple cell devoid of thoughts, consciousness and purpose. Don't you wanna be pure?
Namira contains all the dichotomies carried in the concepts of cleanliness/dirtyness, purity/impurity, existence/void, disease/health. She takes advantage of the human fascination with the things they, individually or societally, find disgusting. Even took a peak at the remains of a car crash on the side of the road? Don't look too closely, or you might just see the cloaked shadow of Namira hovering over it. Ever researched some of the most deadly or disgusting diseases of the body? It was the hand of Namira on your shoulder that guided you to that knowledge.
The ultimate expression of the concept of dissolution or decay is found in death, that great unknown where the Reachmen hope, and other races fear, to find Namira.
Namira is the constant companion of every profession that has to deal with things that evoke disgust in most people : doctors, emergency workers, cleaners of all sorts, epidemiologists, funerary workers, journalists covering war, etc. Can she ever become a reassuring presence, a Spirit Queen more than a Void Mother? The answer remains in those corners of our psyches where disgusting things lie, whether they're linked to the twisting of trauma, to instinct, or to our own repulsion for things that we simply don't understand.
Suggestion of a worship practice : confront one of the things that disgust you, whether from close up or from afar, and strive to understand why it is so. Could this thing be, if not beautiful from another point of view, then at least necessary for something or someone, or a valuable cog in some system?
Thank Namira for the eternal rest.
NOCTURNAL – The Prince of Obscurity and Mysteries
Everything shadowy and unknown, everything that is hidden is spiritually a part of Evergloam. To the contrary of Mephala, who deals in secrets, things that can be revealed, Nocturnal deals in mysteries, things that can't be completely revealed without losing their essence and becoming something else than a mystery.
In that sense, one can understand why Nocturnal is revered as one of the oldest of the Daedra. From the beginning of time, some things were unexplained and remain at least partially so. Depending on one's degree of devotion to obscure mysteries, Nocturnal can be said to held sway over Love, Consciousness, Death, or Free Will, things that can't be adequately explained with our limited understanding of the world. To others, whose minds are less mystery-inclined, Nocturnal is a simpler diety, ruling over darkness and shadows, a useful and lucrative patron for people who wish to remain out of the limelight for whatever reason.
Nocturnal is both the mystery and the key to it, but since one is necessary to access the other, it gives birth to a paradox.
In any case, whose who worship Nocturnal are known to be prone to bouts of melancholy prompted by everything they will never discover, and sometimes develop bird-like features.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for three consecutive days, reverse the day/night cycle : live through the night and sleep through the day. During the night, go outside, or open your window, and observe the world around you, taking in whatever thoughts and revelations come to you in that moment.
Thank Nocturnal for hiding the key.
PERYITE – The Prince of Cleaning and Administration
Peryite is the lord of the thankless task, of the laborious separation of the wheat from the chaff, of the sick from the healthy. He does what others consider beneath them.
Peryite is also associated with balance, order and the little cogs that grind every second of every day, without being told to. Some, as the Reachmen, consider him necessary in spite of his association with terrible diseases. (Other worlds have known the touch of Peryite lately, but we do not speak of it.)
The Pits go on endlessly, because the tasks are never over. There is always more to do, more to accomplish, and if there isn't, well then, you can start doing the tasks of tomorrow, so you can better optimize your schedule and have more time to do your tasks of after-tomorrow, thank you very much.
In that sense, Peryite is a depressingly modern Prince. Even his demeanour, famously, is calm collected : why bother with revolt when there's work to do?
Is there life and beauty to be found in the accomplishment of a thankless everyday task? Maybe. While we're looking for it, every person that has to endure day after day of a bullshit job, every parent who has to repeat certain actions incessantly so their child can live safe and free, every bus driver making their rounds day after day, they all have a little office space in their heads where, on a corner of a table, there is a tiny green altar to Peryite.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of rushing through a mind-numbing task such as cleaning, or reading and aswering work emails, try to find meaning or purpose in it. Feel the eternity in the endless repetitions of that action happening again and again, stretching through the Pits, and how immortal that makes you feel.
Thank Peryite for always giving you something to do.
SANGUINE – The Prince of Freedom and Senses
There is a type of freedom to be found in following one's immediate desires without thought or planning. As a wise man once said : “give yourself over to absolute pleasure!”
There is freedom of the eyes in looking for whatever you want. There is freedom of the ears in listening to whatever speaks to you. There is freedom of the nose in smelling one's destiny. There is freedom of the mouth in letting in whatever wants in. And, lastly, there is freedom of touch in caressing the shapes of the world.
Some might object that being subjected to one's sensual desires is the opposite of freedom : it is slavery. Sanguine certainly wouldn't agree, and would tell you that freedom is not in a choice made after weighty pondering, but a series of micro-choices made for you by your senses, who know best.
Sanguine has a better reputation among mortals that most, because as human beings, we're eternally blind to the ultimate nature of reality, and, most philosophers would agree, have no access to the “real” world, but only to a version recreated for us by our brains out of the inputs of our senses. There's no getting out of it. And so it pleases us to think that those senses do not mislead us too much, and that there is some wisdom and truth to be found in them.
Sanguine doesn't care about the ultimate nature of reality anyway, and prefers playing with the only one we know. His association with blood is perhaps a metaphor for the lifeforce, which he embodies in the flesh, scoffing at Meridia's thesis about the lifeforce being of a spiritual nature (and throwing tomatoes at her lectures, no doubt).
As long as there is that which is, Sanguine's laugh can be heard in the eternal now.
Suggestion of a worship practice : offer yourself a five day long education of the senses. Look at something pleasant, listen to something pleasant, smell and taste something pleasant, and, lastly, touch something pleasant. Know that it may very well be possible that nothing else exists, or at least, that nothing isn't as real as those feelings.
Thank Sanguine for the song of the blood.
SHEOGORATH : The Prince of Human Psychology and Creativity
What some call madness is just exagerated and more rarely expressed forms of general human cognition. As the protagonist of one tale once said, “Sheogorath has already won, because he's already inside all of us”.
Sheogorath would probably agree with Foucault's analysis of madness as something constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed through the ages to suit society's whims and fears. (Well, he would agree if he cared at all). In fact, one could argue that Foucault mantled Sheogorath to better express his truth : human psychology is just a succession of thoughts, moods and representations which struggle to not fall into the Sithis-shaped hole of the world, and only gain a semblance of legitimacy from being considered as legitimate by a sufficient number of people.
After all, the other coin of madness is creativity, and seeing the world askew is the only real and authentic way to bring something new into it. If Azura is the rim to all holes, that transitory and liminal moment, the glimpse of what might be, Sheogorath is the plunge to the other side, for good or for ill. Where Azura is in some sense the patron of the Arts, that refined and humanized union of talent and perserverance, Sheogorath is the patron of something purer : the creative instinct unburdened by shape or action, the pure will, which can turn to genius or incomprehensible rubbish, or something in between.
Creativity is also more ephemeral than the capital A “Art”. It is the witty turn of phrase said to a friend that's gonna vanish into the air and be forgotten in five minutes time, it's that particular view of the trees seen through the rain seen by that particular human eye – an artpiece for only one mind -, it's the unexpected solution to an everyday problem found when looking at it in a new way.
The creative freedom of Sheogorath rejects the notion that there could be two separate categories : people, and “Artists”. We all produce small pieces of art every day. But is it “Art” to cover a whole village in cheese? Well, we can argue about “Art” all day, but it is undeniably an expression of creativity.
The laugh of Sheogorath can be heard in both the mad and the artistic, and we're all both of those things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : identify a problem, either big or small, that you're currently facing, and come up with seven different ways to resolve it, to see it differently, or to make it worse. Then, represent that same problem in seven different ways : in writing, in drawing, in the form of a sung melody, in mime, as a meal, as a photo of yourself, and as a scream.
Thank Sheogorath for the divided mind.
VAERMINA – The Prince of Fear and Trauma
Have you heard about the three names of dreaming when one's awake ?
A dream can be experienced when one's awake, and it is then called a vision, a hallucination, or a work of art.
The first one suprises, for a vision is always unexpected, and that's how you will know that it is different from a thought. A vision is about being possessed.
The second one confuses, for a hallucination is always uncomprehensible, and that's how you will know that it is different from an image. A hallucination is about being lost.
The last one provokes, for a work of art is always a question, and that's how you will know that it is different from an answer. A work of art is about wandering.
Answer this, then. Where do the possessed, the lost and the wandering go? Why, to Quagmire, of course, where new things are terrors.
On one hand, visiting Quagmire teaches about fear, and fear is an emotion necessary to survival. On the other hand, too much fear or anxiety swings the pendulum the other way, hindering survival by making the one experiencing it irrationaly helpless and focused on imaginary, rather than real, dangers.
Most would argue that it is precisely Vaermina's goal, to drive mortals mad with fear so they become helpless and under her influence. But as with every Prince, their own goals don't preclude mortals from learning from the violent way they embody their sphere. Learning from fear, learning to go forth in spite of it, is probably one of the most beautiful things we can do, and in a way, Vaermina teaches courage and heroism.
Trauma – that which is seen in Vaermina's shimmering visions and that which cannnot be unseen – is a different beast, an eternal return of horror ever anew, happening right now, right this second. Trauma is characterized by the return of the same again and again, until one learns to live with it, and it is no easy task. Maybe Quagmire is the testing factory of our unconscious, and Vaermina, its harsh mistress teaching through psychological suffering, so we never forget that some things are wrong and should never happen, never again, to anyone.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go to therapy, and prepare yourself that it won't be a happy and feel-good experience. Embrace it. Therapy is not some personal development bullshit where someone is trying to make you feel good, and if it is, someone is trying to sell you something. It is waddling through Quagmire and pursuing a faint, far-away light and hoping it won't blink out of sight. But at least you're not alone.
Thank Vaermina for teaching you the fear of the dark.

Lately I've been into paranormal stuff, because of this, I started to remember some weird experiences from my past, and one of them always scared me the most, so I decided to post It here to see what It could've been, or just to feel heard, I don't really explain these type of stories to people, so I need to get It out of my chest.
When I was 5, around end of spring-early summer, I saw something coming out of my parent's room. For more context: It was late at night, I just woke up at what I would say could be 12AM-2AM, but I'm not sure. Something weird about me waking up Is that I don't remember waking up then sitting In my bed, I just immidiately woke up sitting, looking outside my bedroom. Outside my bedroom Is a hallway leading to the living room, It a long, not wide hallway, and at the end of It was my parent's bedroom. In their room there was a big mirror, and out of the room I saw what seemed to be infinite humanoid figures walking though the hallway. Occasionally one of them would turn their head to look at me. They were humanoid, with TV static skin, and some chuncks of what looked like the colors of the rainbow blurred. Everytime they moved, their bodies would deform, for example: If they walked, their legs would turn longer and the rest of the body would lose width.
At that moment I wasn't scared, but I was really stressed because of a few things: I couldn't move, my whole body was paralized. I don't even remember being able to blick. The occasional stares they would give me would freak me out. Lastly, the only thing going though my mind was If I should go get a camera and take a picture, or to just let them be, I didn't even question what creatures I was looking at. After what seemed like forever, but was probably just 10-15 minutes, I fell asleep again, but I didn't gain my movement to lay down on my bed, I just fell asleep sitting.
Remember how I mentioned my parent's room had a big mirror? Well, that morning I told my mom what I saw. She has always been spiritual, and belives In there being more life beings outside of humans, animals, and plants, like ghosts, aliens, and more. She told me mirrors are portals to other dimentions only other creatures can use, so no humans, and that those things I saw were just passing by.
Years later (AKA now) and I just remember this story, I'm not sure If I was experiencing sleep paralysis, or If I was sleeping, or If It was all real. I do belive It was real, It felt too real to not be. Since I've been raised with this kind of mom, I also belive In these things, but at the same time In science proved stuff, so I have this confusion. In one way, I belive somehow my "soul" got out of my body but yet seeing though It, and because of that I was able to see those creatures (weird idea I know), or I had a really real dream and I confused It with something that actually happened. I belive they could be some kind of "shadow people" variation, but Im not sure either.
I made a quick drawing of these things for all of you to have a clearer idea of how they looked like: https://imgur.com/a/L6a3utV

[email protected] ------------------ Sometimes students fail their exams due to poor grades, which can negatively affect their future lives. It is difficult to get a promotion if we get a job because we have low grades. One way is to get advice from your school advisor or teacher on how you can change your lower grade into a good one. Another way is to change the grade through hacking

Where can I hire a hacker to change my university grades, GPA, and transcript online ------------ Where can I find a hacker if I need a hacker to change my University GPA?

No need to go too far. You can follow our advice. The fewer websites you will find the basic services, the harder it is to find them. My personal experience will help make this task easier. Very recently, I modified the grade of a target. I visited the site with recommendations from various sources and communicated with them easily using WhatsApp’s secure and encrypted messaging system. I have chosen the desired expert from many types of hackers through very nice and effective conversations. I got my needs resolved very quickly. You can hire a hacker service from us

I Need a Hacker To Change My College Grades

Many schools have introduced Web-based information platforms for college activities, homework, assessments, parent and teacher communications, and more. A number of these are open to the net, and plenty of such platforms, including several foremost widely used, have a history of being vulnerable. To hack grades in class, we are going to provide exactly why I want a hacker to alter my university grades.
However, the more hackers find exploits like this, there are reports that vulnerabilities and exploits like this one don’t allow an attacker to bypass the authentication or escalate privileges to realize access to the sort of data grade. We are here to discredit such information if you are hiring a hacker as an expert as a professional hacker service. For that, if some school security uses push information, we do use a way that’s a way easier route: using account credentials like Username and Password.

How To Hire A Hacker Change Your University Grades

Hire a hacker to change your university grades. Most suffering students understand the stress of being a student and the pain of getting a low grade. Having a low grade in the ultimate stage can devastate your graduation and career. However, hacking services are available for students to change or augment those grades. There is a type of professional black hat hacker who can modify all the grades included in the course, including the final grade obtained in any university or school.
In a word, yes, it is possible to change your grades at will where you need to hire a genuine hacker.

Hire a hacker to change university grades

What comes to your mind when hacking a school system? The school system is hacked by admin clearance to access the main server. The most vital part of hacking your university GPA is that you need admin login to gain access.

Hire a professional hacker to change school or university grades

If you have failed an important test and need to adjust your college grade, transcript, or GPA Hacker is your best solution. Being a university student with other life needs can be very difficult and as a result, the student’s final grade can be bad.

How to hire a hacker to change my transcript at university

Hiring a hacker to change university grades on a transcript would not be the final step. It would be best if you considered increasing your grades with simple techniques to increase your GPA and transcript. How to hire a hacker to change my transcript is the right thing to do. It is difficult for students to get good grades. Studying will not rely on you to varying degrees from pirates.

How To Hack A University Website Portal To Change Your Transcript

How to Hire a Hacker to Change My Transcript: We discussed how we could change school grades by hackers or ourselves. The power to change grade records on transcripts, servers, databases or any grading approaches the analysis of how grades can be hacked. I can write scripts to follow, but it doesn’t work with all schools. Each school website has its security experts and how well ICT staff is tied to technology and security breaches.
How to change my grades from my computer: There are no rules or guide books for changing your grades but technical knowledge- how to hack a school server and change grades in any school database. For a grade change to take effect, your hacker must change the records in the database and modify the backup files on the school server to match your grade.
How to edit grades online: For instance, Blackboard is a standard backup LMS for some annoyance with people and you need to know how to hack Blackboard. Below is an example of a blackboard penetration and vulnerability test for exploitation

Conclusion

This is the age where everyone runs to get good grades and get good jobs. Your results play an essential role in getting a good job. If you have a low grade, then don’t worry. You can easily change grades by hiring hackers.

Speak to a hacker anonymously on [email protected] for all your hacking services's

If you make the final decision to hire a hacker to improve the cause of your life by changing the terrible outcome, leave the task in the hands of the hacker to determine how difficult the task is. Mention what you need. And hire a verified hacker like us to keep your privacy a secret.

My parents run a restaurant and have been using Doordash for the past year. My dad called me asking for help regarding issues they've had with Doordash payments. They noticed that for the past 2-3 months, they haven't been receiving payments from Doordash.
After looking into it, it seems their account was hacked and the payments were being sent to a different bank account. I called Doordash support and was able to verify that we were the rightful owners of the account to change back the bank account information.
We received an email stating the following:

"Our internal team investigated your claim and a determination has been reached. We can confirm your account was externally compromised by an unknown fraudulent third party. Based on our investigation, we were able to determine that the emails (email1) and (email2) were used to change the bank information through the merchant portal by using valid login credentials. The last four of the bank account on file, as well as the username/password would have to be shared outside of the approved admins to make the changes that were made. . . we have attempted to recover the missing funds from the fraudulent bank account..."

When talking to their support, they said they were able to recover a few hundred dollars, but around $5k+ was unrecoverable. They stated there was nothing more they could do. My parents insist they never gave out any personal information, so they have no idea how their account was hacked.
Is there anything we can do to recover our missing funds at this point? Or are we out of luck?

Some things to know as a NCM Applicant that is attempting the Match
Last Cycle Deadlines (May vary this cycle, so verify) to be aware of for planning:
▪️September 27 - NCM Application was due
▪️October 13 - Match Agreement Form due (form which shows the colleges ranked in order in which you wish to match … once signed it is equal to ED / early decision in that you are agreeing / obligated to attend the top ranked school which matches with you.)
🔥HOT TIP - this ranking form needs to be printed off QB portal & SIGNED by you, a parent/guardian & a counselor (so everybody understands, and agrees with this obligation to attend the top ranked school that matched you, if matched) then uploaded to QB. For this reason, do not leave for last second as counselors might not be available at last second.
▪️October 19 - NCM finalist decisions announced.
🔥HOT TIP - congrats hopefully but grab a Red Bull & GET WORKING!!!! This will be an insanely busy few days. Hopefully, you used this summer wisely & tried to get as much prep work done in advance.
▪️November 1 - Ranked colleges supplemental essays, financials, etc due.
🔥HOT TIP - more on FAFSA & CSS Profile below but tip is you have a lot of work to do between 10/19 (finalist decision) & 11/1 (Supplement due date). You will be tempted to work on supplement essays / additional info 1st because (1) essays take time to mold & are an obvious concern & (2) financials are scary & confusing. However do NOT leave financials for last minute (i.e. 10/30 or 10/31). FAFSA & CSS PROFILE send this information to the schools & it takes a couple days. Additionally, last cycle there were additional site delays due the web maintenance. It cause many of us severe angina! You will be freaking out seeing this as not received in your schools portal checklists if you delay. You might even be late if you request a day or too before deadline. Make this a priority!
▪️December 1- Match Decision Day - Congrats …. or do not fret, there is regular decision yet. (But not going any further on my Saturday night 🤪)
—————————————————
Now some thing about FAFSA and CSS Profile….
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
▪️ Collects student & family financial info & ultimately kicks out an EFC (Estimated Family Contribution - or what it thinks you/family can afford to pay).
▪️ almost every single school you apply to wants this whether it’s through Questbridge or Common app, etc. It has a lot to do with how they figure out financials & need based scholarships so the only people that really don’t fill this out are people with plenty of money to pay for college / have no hope of getting any kind of financial break because of their high income. (You will be filling this out or you would not be a Questbridge hopeful)
▪️Form is completed EVERY year. This is not just for when you’re applying to school. It’s also completed once you’re in a school for the next year’s financial aid.
▪️Form opens on October 1 each year (site gets very heavy traffic the first few days)
▪️this is how it works because it’s confusing:
2022 - taxes used (parents & yours if you have separate taxes)
2023 - year FAFSA form completed (in October ideally)
2024 - school year start date (2024-25 school year)
▪️Both you & your parent/guardian need to independently create / get a FSA ID / account. It takes a 24 hours to a couple days to activate before you can start completing, so be aware of this.
▪️How to get started / walk-thru https://studentaid.gov/articles/steps-to-complete-fafsa-form/
▪️ You will request that they send this information to selected schools as you fill out form and, again, once submitted it can take a few days for the schools to receive so don’t wait till November 1 ranked school supplement due date (or a day or two before to complete)!!!
CSS PROFILE
▪️Think of the CSS profile as FAFSA on crack. It is asking for a lot of the same financial information but a lot of times additional stuff about properties, investments, etc. We have even been asked for make / model / year of car!
▪️ Not every school asks for this (like state schools, etc) however, a good deal of Questbridge schools want as they are “meets needs, highly selective schools & they want a VERY thorough financial picture in order to determine how financial monies are distributed. These highly selective schools tend NOT to offer aid based on merit because basically all of the students top students & deserving of merit. They tend to give monies more based on need & can be very generous to those meeting their criteria of need.
▪️The CSS profile & the IDOC (site where you upload requested forms like your taxes & other requested forms) is managed through College Board. Even though you may have a existing College Board account, you will need to set up this a bit and receive a CBFinAid ID login that is different than used to view & send College Board test scores, etc
▪️Here is info on how to set up / get started: https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/getting-started.
▪️You will need to request which schools are to receive this and again just like FAFSA it may take a few days from the time that you submit the request to the time that your schools get. So account for this time and don’t wait to right before Nov 1 ranked school supplement deadline!
▪️Unlike FAFSA, there is a fee to send to each school requested. College Board likes to make money. However, like your SAT requests, there are waivers that can be had to send for free. (if I remember right, I believe that it was sent for free / waived because of QuestBridge)
▪️ Once you are enrolled in a school that requests CSS profile initially, you will likely have to do this yearly, like FAFSA, because each year is financial aid can be different if your financial financials & taxes have changed the next tax year.
Hope this clarifies some things! Best of luck!

​
The poster for Chell's potato battery project in the Take Your Daughter to Work Day science fair section of Portal 2
First of all, respect and love to all who believe this theory/headcanon! I just wanted to make this post because I saw some discussion of this today, and a lot of people seemed to be a bit misguided about the facts. Often, people cite this poster as evidence that Cave Johnson and Caroline could be Chell's parents, because it says her dad works at Aperture Science. However, if you read the panel on the left, you will see that Chell's dad and "Mr. Johnson" are definitely two different people. A transcript of this section will be in the comments if you can't see it.
This was the only evidence that Cave was Chell's dad, and in reality it directly disproves that fact. This was also the only evidence that Caroline was her mom, since they are kind of implied to be romantically involved, so that argument also has no basis. Some people have suggested that Chell could be adopted, considering how much GLaDOS mentions it in-game, and this is certainly possible, but there is no actual evidence that either of these people are her biological parent(s).
There are a few other things that don't make sense, too--the timeline doesn't quite line up for one, as Caroline would be a little old to be having kids around the time Chell would have been born (although with all the time wackiness in this series, this is certainly not hard evidence). Also, Chell is pretty clearly at least part Asian, and definitely not completely white, while I'm pretty sure both Cave and Caroline are.
I will conclude by saying that there is no evidence that either of these people are her biological or adoptive parents, but that doesn't mean it's IMPOSSIBLE. I get that people like this theory because of the light it sheds on GLaDOS and Chell's relationship, and the thematic closure it gives to their character arcs, and I respect that. But we should stop spreading this theory around like it's gospel, and definitely stop spreading misinformation about this particular poster.
TL;DR The poster says Cave and her dad are two different people, and we should stop insisting they're the same.
Here's an idea for the Portal theorists: What if Rattmann is her dad?

??? ???????, seven years before the scorching
Silence
Silence was gathering fruit in a field of violet grass. He was pulling one of the bulbous pods off of its stalk when he heard a deep tearing noise behind him which made his light gray spines stand on their end. When he turned around, he saw what looked like a dragon-sized hole ripped out of the air. On the other side of the anomaly was a mountainous landscape under a starry sky, dominated by three moons. Didn’t they say the overworld only had one moon, he thought as he inspected the rift closer. He noted that the plants on the other side were all green compared to the purple and blue ones he was used to.
Growing curious, Silence stuck a talon through, and was immediately pulled through as if by a rope. He crashed onto the ground and heard a deafening crack, turning around to find the portal nowhere to be seen. Well… this is strange, he thought, hopefully I can get back home. He prepared himself for the sinking feeling that comes with instantly traveling across space, but it never came. That's weird, he thought as he pulled an obsidian rod from his satchel, hopefully there is someone out here that can help. Let's see if I remember the words.
Focusing on the gem-coated rod, he spoke, “Locate Kin.” But nothing happened while he continued feeling the strange foreignness of the world around him.
“Oh right, locate dragon,” Silence said, remembering the command phrase. Suddenly, a power rushed out of him, while the rod in his talons snapped towards a location in the distance and gained a faint purple shimmer. Smiling to himself, the black-scaled dragon flew off to find whoever his magic found.
...
Future night kingdom, four years after the scorching
Celestial
Celestial was standing on a hill with four other dragons, with a crowd of hundreds of diverse dragons gathered at the bottom. His parents, Legend and Silence, were the center of the crowd’s attention; Legend was capturing the crowd with a speech about banding together to prevent further occurrences of the events four years ago, while Silence was trying to mask his eternal headache which was worsened by all the cheering. Meanwhile his brother Timeweaver was staring blankly at the mountain in the distance, focused on the future that was currently invading his eyes. Last of all Reaper, the youngest brother, was bombarding Celestial with questions about what was happening.
“What’s Mom talking about? Why there lots of other dragons?” Reaper asked breathlessly.
“She’s gathering everyone into a community so that scavengers can’t steal our eggs, like they did to me,” Celestial explained, observing each member of the crowd with interest.
Reaper continued with the questions, “How we keep scaverger from stealing eggs?”
“If everyone is together, then the scavengers will be scared away and we can also keep everyone’s eggs in one easy to defend place,” Celestial replied, now choosing to tune his brother out by searching for the timeline that caught Timeweaver’s attention. He envisioned a large courtyard where the crowd is now standing, a castle, a place of learning, a crater, but nothing involving the mountain range that blocked off the peninsula.
What did you find this time, He thought at Timeweaver, watching as his brother’s eyes were called back to here and now.
Skeletons littering the mountain, and a cloud of black dragons, Timeweaver thought, scratching at one of his blue teardrop scales and turning to look at the crowd.
Very creepy. So is this future real or is it made up like that magic ice wall of death you told me about.
This is real, as is the ice wall, which you would know if you used your foresight outside of guessing my hallucinations.
I prefer to live now and plan for later, anyways I think mother is finishing her speech, Celestial thought, turning back to watch the crowd and ending a short-lived mental argument.
“WE ARE THE NIGHT KINGDOM, WE ARE THE NIGHTWINGS,” the pitch black dragoness yelled.
“ALL HAIL QUEEN LEGEND,” the crowd cheered. As everyone bowed down to Legend and Silence, Celestial felt a strange sensation that felt entirely unfamiliar, but he brushed it off as feeling the mass euphoria of the crowd.
...
>WARNING. 1 OUT OF 2 MEMORIES BELONG TO ANOTHER BEING, AND MAY BE FLAWED. DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE?
>Y
>MEMORIES SUCCESSFULLY SUPERCEDED TO U-α-1. 1/3000 YEARS COMPLETE
(This is my first attempt at a fanfic, tell me what you think)