11 August 2023

Fera’s official recruitment of Kyra. Honestly, reading back over it, I’m not especially satisfied with this; I might cut it entirely, if the previous scene ended well enough, or I might rewrite it in the future. We shall see.

…twice and let go. “How would you feel about joining me on an expedition to the demon king’s castle?”

Kyra blinked slowly. “What?”

“You and me. Based on the scuffle last night, you seem quite strong. If you think it’s too dangerous, though, I understand.”

It took another moment for Kyra to catch up. Then she snorted and shook her head. “Hate to break it to you, but unless you can somehow get the saintess to join us, no way they’ll be letting us anywhere near the front, much lest into the heart of the demon realm.”

Fera pointedly avoided meeting Kyra’s gaze. “Ah, yeah. Um, about that…” She held out her hands, which slowly started to glow.

Kyra’s jaw dropped. After a few moments, she said, “You’re the saintess? Here?” When Fera nodded, Kyra planted her face into the palm of one hand. “What the hell did I do last night?”

“You stepped in when I was accosted by a trio of overzealous noblemen. Really, if you hadn’t immediately gotten sick, it would have been quite gallant.”

Kyra groaned, her cheeks flushed. She took a deep breath, and then she looked up at Fera. “So, let me get this straight. If I go with you, act as your bodyguard, you’ll give me a chance to punch that son of a bitch demon king in the face, yeah?”

Fera shrugged. “More or less.”

A positively feral grin formed on Kyra’s face. “Then count me in.”

10 August 2023

I wasn’t super happy with the timing and pacing of the scene, so the next day I rewrote it, let Kyra show up sooner and get dismissed. I also felt like I did a better job demonstrating that Fera is capable of taking care of herself better, but I think I could do more; perhaps in future scenes. That could be fun, actually. Someone—maybe even Kyra and/or the rest of the party—underestimates her badassery until they get to witness it first hand. …Might be too cliche. She still needs to show off at some point regardless, though.

“...offer, then?”

Before Fera could reply, the door to a nearby bar slammed open, and a tall redheaded woman stumbled out into the street. She had a hard look to her, and Fera couldn’t help but stare at the twin axes on her belt. She ignored the lot of them to retch in the alley behind them.

Fera took the chance to dick around and step away from the young man. “Thank you, but I think I’ll be better off on my own.”

The young man frowned, and his lackeys stepped in behind Fera. “I don’t think you understand how dangerous the city can be, saintess.”

Well, pickles. Why did every brat with a title think they knew what was best for her? Fera sighed and began gathering mana to her palms. It was amazing how often a simple flash of light let her escape unpleasant situations. And if that didn’t work, it’s not like she didn’t have other options.

As she prepared, though, the redheaded woman appeared behind the young man and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Hey, asshole. She said no.”

The nobleman jerked back and began to draw his sword. “What!? How dare you–”

The sword was still halfway in its sheath when the redhead decked him, leaving him out cold on the ground, nose broken. Fera was so shocked she let go of her spell, letting the energy dissipate, while the nobleman’s lackeys cried out and jumped at the redhead.

She caught the first in the temple with a hook kick, then stumbled out of the path of the other’s sword. “Oof. Might have had too much to drink.”

The last young man roared and lunged, but the redhead dodged to the side and drove her fist into his stomach. Before he could do more than wheeze, she flipped him onto his back and knocked his lights out.

For a moment, Fera could only stare in shock. Then a wide smile broke out across her face and she hurried over. “That was incredible! Thank you, miss–”

The redhead held up a hand to keep her back, and then unceremoniously vomited all over the alley floor.

Kyra woke with a splitting headache. That wasn’t really a surprise, though.

A young blonde watched her expectantly from beside the bed. That very much was.

What the hell happened last night?

Once the young woman realized Kyra was awake, she beamed. “Good morning! How are you feeling?”

Still groggy, Kyra sat up, then groaned as her headache spiked. “Terrible.” She took a deep breath. “Sorry if this is insensitive, but… Who the hell are you?”

“Ah, yes.” The young woman held out a hand. “I’m Fera.”

Kyra eyed her warily a moment before she accepted the handshake. “Kyra.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Kyra.” Fera pumped her hand twice and let go. “I’d like to hire you as a bodyguard.”

9 August 2023

I decided that the best place to start building my “goddess of battle” story — where Kyra kills the demon king while they’re sealed together and takes some of his powers — was to write down the backstory, so I could have it on hand and reference it throughout the modern-era story. I’m also hoping it will give me ideas, between world building and the party’s experiences together, that will lead to the plot of said modern-era arc. What flaws does Kyra have? How do they interact with the world? What flaws might society wind up with? Etc.

She certainly gives off a very different aura here than she did when we first met her, doesn’t she?

“Well? What do you think?” The young man in front of Fera flashed her a grin. His sword was still poised from the impromptu demonstration he’d given. As far as Fera could tell, he, along with his two companions, were all dressed to see who could best imitate a peacock.

Fera forced a thin smile. “Ah, um. Yes. That was… a very fine display.” And it was; very flashy. But “flashy” didn’t always mean “skilled”, and her journey to the demon lord’s castle was going to be dangerous enough as it was.

Still beaming, the young man sheathed his sword and stepped in closer than Fera was comfortable with. “Does that mean you accept my offer, then?

Fera ducked around him and stepped away. “Truly, thank you, but I must decline. I’ll be quite alright on my own.”

The young man frowned, and his followers stepped in behind Fera. “I don’t think you understand how dangerous the city can be, saintess. Much less the demon realm.”

Well, pickles. Why did every member of the nobility expect her to just agree with whatever they said? Common-born or not, she was the saintess, wasn’t she?

Fera opened her mouthe to tell him off when the door to a nearby bar slammed open, and a tall redheaded woman stumbled out into the street. She had a hard look to her, and Fera couldn’t help but stare at the twin axes on her belt. The redhead took one look at Fera, then the trio of men surrounding her, and managed to ask, “Need help?”

26 April 2023

This was fun. I think I do intend to do more with these characters at some point in the future. That said, I would like to focus more on Hanako and Majesty for the time being…

There are definitely some spots I’d tweak in this scene, though. The biggest one is that I’d like to have Kyra have a bit more banter with the cultists; give her a chance to actually confirm things are what they look like, and make it a more ironic twist for them before she kills them in some way. Also, without knowing the rest of the story (both Kyra’s past and where the story goes after this), it’s hard to set timelines, so all that may change.

Notes

Brinja (pronounced brin-ya) trembled in fear on the altar. She struggled against her bindings, but the ropes were too tight for her to break free. With tears in her eyes, she watched as the cultist raised a dagger to plunge into her heart.

Just before it fell, there was a sharp crack, and the seal on the great evil split. An eerie red light beamed from it, and the seal crumbled to pieces, revealing the figure of an eight-foot-tall humanoid monstrosity with horns on its head.

“My lord!” All the cultists, including the one holding the dagger, turned and knelt before the figure. 

For a long moment, the demon didn’t move. Then, slowly, it tipped forward, landing face down on the floor, and slowly disintegrated into dust.

From behind it, a tall red-headed woman in scarred leather armor stretched. “Oh, it’s good to be out of there. I hope Fera won’t mind that I went ahead and killed the thing… if she’s even around anymore, I guess.”

It was at that point she and Brinja made eye contact. There was something fierce in the woman’s eyes, and Brinja trembled even harder.

The woman’s gaze flickered over the cultists around her, drinking in the scene. Before she moved, the lead cultist gathered their wits and shuffled toward her, head bowed. “My, my Lady! Long have we awaited your return!”

With narrowed eyes, the woman simply said, “Have you now?” With a motion so smooth Brinja almost missed it, she spun one of the axes from her belt into her hand. A moment later, the axe-head blazed with an infernal violet flame. “Then I’d better give you the reward you bastards deserve.”

She launched herself toward the cultist, bringing the axe back, and Brinja squeezed her eyes shut. She had no way to block her ears, however, so she heard every thud of the axe, every scream and shout, every interrupted spell the cultists tried to cast before they were cut down.

Things were quiet for several moments before Brinja felt warm, rough hands working on her bindings. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the woman tenderly untying her.

“Even who knows how many decades–maybe centuries–later,” the woman muttered, “and crap like this is still happening?”

Soon, she’d released Brinja, and the young girl stood shakily on her feet.

“Are you alright? Any injuries?” The woman looked over Brinja with concern.

With a shake of her head, Brinja replied, “No, I-I’ll be alright. Thank you!” She bit herr lower lip, then asked, “U-um, I hope you don’t mind, but… W-who are you?”

The woman relaxed. “I’m Kyra. What’s your name?”

Brinja’s head went blank. Kyra? The Kyra? The goddess of battle that sealed herself off with the demon lord to keep him from escaping [three hundred years ago]? A little awed, somehow Brinja managed to spit out, “It… it’s Brinja.”

“Right. Good to meet you, Brinja. And, er… Sorry if this seems strange, but by any chance, could you tell me what year it is?”