Nari-Lanreth

Nari watched as the girl seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if waiting for something. A twitch of annoyance on her face as the girl asked yet another question, seemingly ignoring the fight. ‘For one who likes to lecture about remaining focused…’ Nari turned herself back to the fight, putting the less than impressive actions of her two companions out of her mind as she readied herself. The beast had begun to move again, and Nari saw its focus turning towards their NPC companion. A sudden protective urge came over Nari, and she felt herself preparing to intercept the beast. Bringing h

Shop Post: Eínuí Fáin Transaction Date: 2022.02.26 Cost of Transaction: 1 material Crafter's Profession: Blacksmith Crafter's Rank: 6 Item Name: Eínuí Fáin Item Tier: T4 Item Type: One-Handed Battle Axe Item Rarity: Rare Item Enhancements: Damage [1 Slot]; Paralyze [1 Slot] Craft/Appraisal/Obtainment IDs & Rolls: ID204231/204232 [Fusion] Item Description: Placed upon a mid-length shaft of shini

Many days had passed since Nari had last stepped into the forge. She felt a longing for the fires, the sound of the hammer...something that before had been so relaxing, so calming. Now she felt a reminder of her past, and memories of whom she had been. Her time away had changed her, and she knew that she would need to change not just herself - but her environment as well, in order to refrain from returning to that past. Spending some time, she reorganised the forge slightly, changing positions of the tools, the anvil, and other minor things. Nothing that would be noticeable to most people, but

NIGHT leapt forward suddenly, slashing out at…something. Nari wasn’t quite sure what it was supposed to be, but it sure as hell didn’t resemble a monkey to her. The roar from their NPC companion had drawn Nari’s attention only briefly, and she felt the mask slip over her – the concentration that came from the battle ready state she always entered. The glaive slipped forward, held loosely in her palm as she set her shield, letting the weapon lay flat along its top – the point aimed directly at the…thing that they were fighting. Three steady breaths, and a sudden forward slide. Nari pushed

Nari shrugged, both physically and mentally. She knew the hypocrisy of what she was saying, how she was talking about envy and yet admitted she’d kept herself away. “Maybe. Why do you think I’m here? It’s not just getting it though. Ever since…” Another falter in her words, swallowing back the emotions that threatened to rise. “Ever since I lost Evelyn I’ve been different. I don’t know if I can feel joy anymore. I want to, but… we don’t always get what we want.” Their guide seemed to have come to a stop ahead of them, and Nari slowed herself, not ready to stop the conversation quite

Moments passed in silence as they followed the NPC towards their goal. Nari had stopped focusing on the surroundings, trying to figure out her next words best. She knew she had never been great at communicating – Evelyn had just as often told her that, as anything else – but she didn’t like the sour mood that had taken over their trip. “Look. I.. Don’t want you to think that I’m… was. That I was saying that you need to change. Or that your way of dealing with all of this is wrong, for you. My point was… everyone handles it differently. I… I shut myself off. From the… bad memories, when I

Her eyes lingered on the guard house, wondering if she could slide past and inside. She had already made a single mistake, bringing Koga’s name into it all. Perhaps… No, she knew NIGHT wasn’t going to let this sit idle. She’d force it out, one way or another. Nari knew she really didn’t have much of a choice now. Shifting awkwardly on her feet, she stared at the ground as she spoke, the dark violet hair covering most of her face. “He… told me that we’re all in this fight together. That we aren’t alone.” It wasn’t much, nor was it the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. “You laug

She’d struck… something. Her brow furrowed slightly as she considered the answer. She agreed, a fight should remain focused, but she wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with remaining silent. Sometimes there were things that needed to be said. Sometimes… “I’m not sure I was expecting anything…it’s more than I thought you’d say.” Far more than she’d expected, based off previous experience. “One of these days I’ll have to meet them. To figure out whom I’ll fight alongside, when the time comes.” She didn’t bother to blunt the words, or to try and make it sound like anything other than what

Lost for words, Nari considered what NIGHT had said. She knew, deep down in her heart that at some point she would have to start relying on others, that you could only go so far alone. The question for Nari was, how far did she need to go before she could rely on them? Pondering the idea, it took her a moment to realise she had been asked a question. “Hmm…? Uhm… you’re better with people, I think…” She wasn’t confident in that at all, but it was the best answer Nari had at the moment. She was still trying to figure out where they stood – NIGHT seemed… almost impartial to everything,

“I…didn’t want to be near anyone. Not while I was…figuring things out.” Nari fiddled with her glaive, trying to find the best way to answer the question. Her immediate response was almost a deflection of the question, and she quickly continued, trying to explain herself. “I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Trying to figure out what I needed to do to fix…myself. I needed time to make myself right, before I could make anything else right.” She knew it was a poor excuse, but at least it was truthful. She wandered over towards NIGHT, still hesitant at getting too close, keepi

‘A pushover.’ Nari felt herself scowl at the words, her face mimicking an appearance of distaste. She felt herself grip her glaive tighter, pulling it into herself, as if a certain comfort was felt from its presence. “I wish…just once, that Cardinal would give a challenge…” She realised suddenly she had spoken aloud, blinking surprise. Had she gotten so used to being alone that she couldn’t keep her voice inside her head anymore? Shaking aside the disturbing thought, she popped open her map, trying to locate the location that she had been told they would find the quest. “Based on th

Her words lost for a while, Nari followed along behind the girl, letting the more experienced player lead her ever deeper towards their destination. Her thoughts turned inwards again, returning to days long past. She felt like they would never stop haunting her, like they would forever trap her in this torment, repeating in her mind over and over again until her sanity was stripped away. She needed something to distract her, something to pull her away. “Have you done this quest before?” Her words were distant, as she tried to pull herself back to the present. “The Cerberus quest was far

It took Nari a moment to realise that the girl had begun to leave, her thoughts considering the few words she had managed to catch. She had expected anger, outbursts, yelling. The quiet had been worse. Far worse. It was as if there was a detachment, a wall. She wasn’t sure how to approach the situation, except through the ways she always did – direct honesty. “I…I was out of control. During the tournament. I wasn’t…I broke the rules, the very essence of the tournament. I wasn’t just trying to win. I was trying to…to kill.” Her words carried a combination of hesitation and shame, the emoti

She’d just begun to step off, right as the question slipped from NIGHT’s lips, causing Nari to stumble in her single step movement, catching herself on the glaive. Her face reddening deeply as she glanced away from the girl. She hadn’t expected it to be so abrupt, nor had she expected NIGHT to bring it up. She wasn’t ready, hadn’t considered the words she wanted to say, and yet now – here they were. “Yes. No. Yes…but also no…” The words fumbled, almost as much as her step had fumbled. She couldn’t bring herself to look at NIGHT, staring at a patch of grass off to her right, her face a mix

Nari felt her steps falter for a moment as Bismuth asked about the situation between herself and NIGHT. She had known the question was likely to come, but was hoping that this far into the conversation, she had maybe avoided it. Her face flushed slightly at the thought of the entire encounter, and her mind raced as she felt herself tightening her grip on the glaive. “It…uh…happened. It’s…Hey, that breakfast was pretty good. I wouldn’t mind coming back for more.” It was the worst distraction she could possibly have dropped, but she didn’t care at the moment. Her face burning, she quickened

The young girl called out to Nari, her greeting one of an almost casual nature. Nari pushed off the half-wall that she had been leaning against, tucking the glaive into the crook of her elbow as she did so, and attempting what she hoped was a welcoming smile. Her eyes roamed everywhere but NIGHT’s face, and she felt her pulse quicken for a moment. “I uh…I’m glad you came.” Her face flushing lightly, Nari forced herself to continue speaking, focusing on the question that NIGHT had presented. “I…I heard a rumour that a village around here had some trouble. Something about a…Monkey King?...

The notification startled her from her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. With a trembling hand, she opened the message, a single, partial word standing out against the dialogue box. Nari quickly typed back, hitting the send button before she could think twice. Her heart was in her throat, and a sudden fear had gripped her. She tried to take a deep breath, instead nearly hyperventilating as the air was sucked in and pushed out in repeatedly quick, jerky spasms. She gripped the glaive’s shaft tightly – to the point where she wondered if it would break in her palm. She

Nari cursed herself, losing track of how many times this had been. She had cursed herself after sending the message. Cursed herself after rolling into the bed – ‘lunging into the bed’ – and even after she had finally managed to peel herself from the covers. Then, just for good measure, she had cursed herself for hiding in the bed to begin with – as if it would somehow save her from the reply. Not that she had expected a reply. She had spent the following day preparing herself. She kept telling herself it was for the mission, for the quest. But she knew the truth – as, so she assumed, did

Nari’s hand hovered over the dialogue box, the words shimmering in the air. Her heart beat, feeling as if it would burst out of her chest. The message – typed almost an hour ago – still unsent. She hadn’t left her bedroom in almost two days, trying to dredge up the courage just to type the message. That had taken her until early this morning – nearly four hours ago. The last hour had pertained to her sitting and staring at it, reading it over and over again, trying to figure out if the words were right. She wasn’t sure if the message was too little, too much, too vague, or not vague en

Thread Summary Nari-Lanreth | 4,047 EXP| 1,000 EXP [Quest] + 3,047 EXP [Thread Progression] | 400 col | Cerberus Soul (T1 Unique Consumable) Adds 12 Burn damage for two turns to a weapon on a Natural BD roll of 8-10 for the duration of the thread. Does not stack with the Burn Enhancement. | Unlocks <<Gatekeeper of Fire>> Quest

The head exploded in another shower of shards, drifting through the air for a moment before disappearing into the ground – leaving no trace behind. Nari managed to catch the attack of the remaining head coming her way, ducking beneath it and rolling backwards out of its reach. The beast seemed more reluctant to charge after her as the second head was destroyed – as if it somehow felt its impending doom coming closer and closer. Silent, face devoid of any emotion, Nari set herself for another strike, waiting as the creature seemed to pause in its advance – as if uncertain of its chances.

Her glaive lashed out, catching both heads and forcing them backwards – where they held in place, the stun effect giving Nari a chance to recuperate slightly. Her health bar dropped further as the flames did their damage, before disappearing – something that she was thankful for. It had already become uncomfortable how much health she’d lost already. She gave herself a moment to collect her breath, before pulling the shield back up, resting the glaive’s shaft along the top portion of it. She waited, trying to gauge exactly when the stun would wear off, the slight twitch giving it away. Se

The dual heads slammed into her, breaking past her meagre defences as she attempted to wildly swing her weapon towards them. She felt the heat sore through her body as the flames erupted on her, causing far more damage than the simple bite had. Nari felt herself stifle a scream, holding back as she pulled herself out of the grasp of the heads. Curses erupting from her, she stepped away from the beast, trying to calm herself. ‘Losing control now won’t help, you need to re-centre yourself. Get control.’ The beast seemed to wait a moment, as if taunting her. Nari pushed against the emotions

The assault caused Nari to pull her attack, forcing her behind her shield as the heads tried to gain an advantage on her. She felt herself being pushed back, and quickly shifted to the side, forcing a sudden dance around the attacks that the creature tried to barrage her with. Although she was unable to get her own strikes out in return, she held her own, the beast unable to land anything of consequence against her. Eventually, it pulled away, giving her the breathing room she needed to resettle herself. Deciding that she had enough with being a punching bag, Nari went on the offensive,

The head exploded as the glaive slammed into it, the thorns within lashing out and piercing it from numerous angles, causing a shimmer of shards to float through the air before disappearing. The other two heads pulled back, howling in unison at the pain and loss it must have been feeling. Nari ducked behind her shield, waiting for the strikes she knew was coming. But, as nothing slammed into her shield, she pulled herself out from behind it, seeing the creature glaring at her dangerously. It appeared to be waiting for just such a moment, and launched itself towards her suddenly, both hea