Telrenya

A strong tug at her arm. Her weight being pulled forward. Suddenly the world spun and Telrenya's back crashed into the sand, leaving Jomei in between herself and the small explosion of another trap. Her hands flew back to catch her and she stared up at her savior in wide-eyed disbelief. Practically shrugging off the damage he'd just suffered by rescuing her, his prop comedy broke her out of her stupor. A genuine laugh bubbled up from her chest. "Well now I regret leaving my teacup at home." She joked back. A quick bit of swordplay and a lot of her health disappearing confirmed that the fight w

Pulled back into the moment by force, Telrenya's eyes widened as the weapon was launched from her grasp with a sharp ringing of metal. The simple silver blade stabbed weakly into the ground a few feet beside her, sagging under the weight of its own guard in the loose sand. Her attention pulled from the rapier back to her opponent across from her as Telrenya felt her limbs lock up, frozen in her fighting stance. Her body twitched under the familiar, uncomfortable effect of being Stunned, and her face finally reflected a sense of frustration at having been caught by such an attack. Not to mentio

She felt awful standing up. The alcohol had yet to fully run its course, and she wanted nothing more than to just lay down in a comfortable bed and try to sleep. She surely wouldn't find any such accommodations on this floor. "You live near Taft, right?" The pair of them carefully navigated the broken furniture littering the ground on the way back to the front door. Upon pushing it open, they were greeted with the angular rainfall of the constantly dreary weather. "There's an inn halfway between the teleport gate and the east side of town. If it's not out of the way, could I ask you to help me

Jomei's displeasure at her unorthodox 'attack' was written all over his face. A little nugget of regret nestled in her throat while she chided herself, 'That was too much, wasn't it? Of course it was!' "S-sorry!" She called with a hint of pink on her cheeks. His counterattack was fierce, and thankfully the bear trap shattered when she pulled her leg back in a hurry to avoid it. Her rapier let out an audible 'thwip' as it cut through the hot air to meet his and she continued her retreat, taking a moment of reprieve with a few feet lingering in between them. The fighting spirit Jomei had lu

Her offense turned to defense with a flip of THE coin, and so when Jomei shot forward to attack she was on high alert. They were both rapier users--always had been--and she knew well how easily the thin blades could slip right past one's guard. But before Jomei could fully close the gap and take a stab or twelve at her, something happened. He had taken damage, but not from her sword. Telrenya winced when she spotted the crude spikes stabbing up at him and another chill ran through her. She couldn't forget about the traps. 'Lucky I haven't stepped on something already...' She thought. Jome

Another flinch. Another wince. Telrenya felt helpless, a thick cloud of dismay hanging over her eyes as she was left to watch her efforts slowly but surely scrubbed away. NIGHT’s health bar just kept ticking back upwards. The bleed from her weapon couldn’t even keep up with her opponent’s self-healing. She couldn’t land another hit to save her life. This was the exact scenario she had been trying to avoid. To make matters worse, her own health was degrading at a rapid pace. She had hoped, in this lion’s den, that if she simply threw herself at the strongest opponent she might steal some f

"O-oh, no, you're right, I've never done anything like this before!" A breathy laugh escaped her, and she brought her free hand up in front of her to wave off the thought. "I just thought it might..." She struggled to explain herself. The noise of the crowd carried on the hot wind made it hard to focus on such small talk. So, she shook her head. "I was surprised to see you here, too." She simply punctuated the thought with a small smile. Despite everything, it felt so easy to talk to him in this moment. What a relief. His challenge stirred something in her. Where pieces of her anxious sel

The satisfaction of landing a hit against NIGHT was fleeting as the sting of retaliation was quick to bite at her collarbone. That exposed bit of her chest took on a thick red gash that pulsed with fire. The discomfort left Telreyna wincing as the two separated and she focused on keeping her feet steady underneath her. Lessa’s timing was impeccable. The encouragement she offered washed over her like disinfectant on a fresh cut: it stung at first, but that little squeeze of her shoulder was the band-aid that sealed everything back up. Then came the doting. Telrenya’s cheeks dusted with a f

A new arrangement of flowers sat atop an artisan's front counter in a simple vase of baby blue. They shifted slightly as Telrenya's fingers gently prodded and pinched at a stem here and there. Having given in to a bit of fidgeting, the shop's owner fussed over the immortal blooms for a few more seconds before tearing herself away from the meaningless task. "I suppose I ought to get breakfast soon." The acceptable window of time for 'breakfast' was rapidly closing, after all. And while she wasn't yet feeling that dull, nagging buzz in the pit of her stomach when Cardinal was reminding her to ea

She knew this match would come since the first week of the tournament. The moment she’d seen the list of combatants and found Jomei’s name among them. The way that the brackets had been explained to her meant that they would face each other eventually, and now that she stood here, approaching the arena with her name called out over the stands, all she could think about was how much she wished she could have been doing this differently. Anxiety gripped her as tightly as her fingers clenched the white cloth hanging down at her sides. Things had been hard the last couple of months. This competiti

Electricity shot through the joint of her wrist. Her rapier clattered to the ground, but thanks to their earlier dinner, Telrenya was spared a completely stunning blow. Her jaw could only clench at the thought. 'Used up already...!' Her inner monologue rang with disappointment and she hurried to retrieve her weapon without leaving herself wide open for another attack. Lessa moved closer and offered some kind words which did well to pull herself out of that knee-jerk reaction to self-criticize. She turned her wrist and her rapier arced wide beside her. She drew in a breath, taking a moment

She didn't like this anymore. Her head felt scrambled and it was hard to concentrate on anything. All she could focus on was her tear-blurred vision and the shape of Ryo planting himself on the floor across from her. A small hiccup worked its way into her silent sobs and she listened to what he had to say. The instinct to argue with him bubbled in her chest. To tell him that he was wrong, that he doesn't know what happened, or what she was going through. He didn't know about their fights. He didn't know how she struggled with reality in every sense of the word the past few...how long had it be

Telrenya accepted her partner's handshake eagerly--maybe a little too eagerly--and nodded to confirm her identity. But the next words out of Lessa's mouth caused her stomach to twist into a sudden, tight knot. "O-oh! Has he?" Of course he would have! They'd been friends for a long time, right? Dumb question. She opened her mouth to speak again, but couldn't pick the right words. 'Nothing bad, I hope'? 'How's he been lately?' She practically knocked the wind out of herself as that last one crossed her mind. And so her jaw closed again, settling into a weak, nerve-wracked smile. She should messa

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ When Telrenya opened her eyes and began to push herself up, she was greeted with the white landscape of the void filled with colored glass. Her heart racing, her eyes stinging, and her breathing heavy, she looked around in silence while her mind settled and tried to process everything that had just happened. ”Newfound purpose often brings a sense of enlightenment.” That voice remarked as plainly as it ever did. Telrenya pulled her knees in under her and looked over towards the shape. She had only just begun to steady herself, the events of her last trial replaying in h

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ As the minutes ticked by, nothing worked. She couldn’t find any hole or gap in the wall. Not a single thing could pass through or cause it to waver. Everyone around her just acted like it wasn’t there. The way they looked at her, Estelle may as well have been pacing around a brick wall all this time. ”Excuse me, miss. Do you live around here?” She turned to see a couple of men in police uniforms standing there and she froze. ”O-oh, I, um–” She stammered over an answer, stiffening up and instinctively straightening out her clothes. ”W-well, yes, I do, but I–” ”Please, would

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ Estelle stood perplexed with a weight settling into her chest. She looked back to the woman and took a few hurried steps to catch up to her before she’d disappeared from view. ”Um! Excuse me!” She called out. To her relief, the woman stopped and turned back towards her. ”S-sorry to bother you. I, um… Do you see?” She pointed across towards where the player stood against the threshold. ”Is… is that your son?” She couldn’t come up with a more delicate way to address the situation, but the way the woman’s expression shifted from confusion to silent anguish practically made her squi

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ But as she crested that hill, breathing a bit heavier, she was met with a horizon that didn’t quite match the still, mid-morning air that settled on her cheeks or the twittering of birds that intermingled with the noise of the train crossing two blocks over. She was instead met with rolling hills of lush green grass that rippled in wide arcs from a fresh, strong breeze. A sky painted with all different shades of deep blue, orange, pink, and purple as the sun hung low. In the distance lay a sprawling city surrounded by curved walls that stretched on for miles, twinkling to life t

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ She knew this place. Of course she did. It smelled just like she remembered: springtime. Her favorite flowers sprung from those well-manicured bushes in her neighbor’s yard. They made her walk home a little more enjoyable every day. She felt the weight of a bag slung across her shoulder and she looked down to find herself dressed in a nice pair of leggings, a pleated white skirt, and a soft blue top with baggy sleeves that reached just past her elbows. She knew those clothes, too. ”Oh, Estelle?” A familiar voice called out that pulled tenderly at her chest. Without thinking

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ It felt like there was more to say. Weak embers still stirring within her heart. Not some burning confession or eye-opening revelation, just…more thoughts to express, more feelings to describe, more words that longed to be spoken. ”An address lacking its audience proves wasteful.” The shape faced her from a distance. There was a long silence. “You said I could be here for a while, right?” Her voice was weak, barely more than a whisper. She had no energy left to speak up or call out to them. ”An eternity.” It repeated. Telrenya merely braced herself against th

Shop Post: here Transaction Date: 02/18/2025 Cost of Transaction: 4 materials Crafter's Profession: Artisan Crafter's Rank: 3 Item Name: Silver Token Item Tier: 1 Item Type: Trinket Item Rarity: Perfect Item Enhancements: ACC II / EVA I Craft/Appraisal/Obtainment IDs & Rolls: 241266 Item Description: A large coin made from silver that shines in the sunlight. The design on the Heads side appears to be of a Western Dragon of four legs and a set of wings, while the Tails side's design appears to be of an Eastern Lungwyrm. Furt

A familiar face, unchanged by the passage of time. She'd been seeing more and more of those lately. Amazing what pulling yourself out of your own shell after so long could accomplish. A bright smile broke out on Telrenya's face. "Vigilon! I knew I recognized your name on that tournament sheet." She purposefully hadn't spent much time mingling with the other combatants outside of the arenas so far. She had to wonder if and when the two of them might end up being matched against each other. "Yes, of course," She paused to look over the stats that he specified. They were important ones, but

The walk from the teleport gate to the smithy was less nerve-wracking this time. Now that she'd received the confirmation that her order was ready, and given explicit instructions, Telrenya was much less intimidated by knocking on the door that read 'Closed'. Yet, when she arrived, she was surprised to see no such notification. Still, she did as she was told, and reached up to give a firm knock on the heavy wooden door. Seconds later, it swung open and she was surprised to be able to see the whole interior of the shop. She stepped inside where she was shown her weapon finished and ready.

They had been cackling and wheezing and sharing stories for a while now, but the mood began to shift before Ryo's forehead planted against the counter. Telrenya had just taken another swig of champagne when his grievances reached her ears and she frowned while setting the glass back down. He mentioned the dragon hunter quests, but the topic slipped past her for the time being. She couldn't help but place a hand on his shoulderblade and attempt to comfort him. "Hey, don't be upset about not being on the frontlines or whatever." She insisted. "I mean, yeah, there are some fun quests and stuff, b

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Telrenya beamed, truly impressed with Krysta's craftsmanship. She gingerly took the main body of the cloth armor in her hands and lifted it up in front of her. She could have easily selected the option to equip it, but in the moment it was more fun to forget they were in a video game and simply hold it up against herself in front of the nearest mirror. She admired the look of it draped against her front for a few moments, then turned to give a thankful nod towards the shopkeeper. "Thank you so much. I've really been needing to refresh my wardrobe, so I'll definitely have

✧♪✦⋆♫⋆✦♪✧ She thought back to that encounter with the stranger she had tried to protect. ”I’m…” She hesitated, slowly thinking things through and forming the words, ”I’m less afraid of what it will do to me…but more afraid of it taking others away.” She concluded softly. She thought about each name she’d seen crossed out on the Monument of Life. Those she knew, and those she didn’t. Every frontliner. She remembered every time she tried to talk Jomei out of attending the next floor boss raid. She remembered staying up all night worrying over whether any of them wouldn’t come back. She reme