Lore/Story Province's Tale - Wynn Province Collection

I like these stories, keep up the good work!

 

It has been too long since this forum page had seen any updates. I am terribly sorry.
Life has taken the toll on my writings and I haven't had any time to create and post them. Again, my apologies.
I don't know how much of an importance these writings are to people, but I am going to complete the Quest Timeline.
( No Excuses ;) )
With that, here's the next quest in the Wynn Province, Potion Making. Enjoy!
​

Wynn Province - Quest 12 - Potion Making

*The crunch of leaves drew the attention of the animals as they gave a roar at Sylvania’s approaching dash. These animals had a mixture of red and white flesh with mushrooms sprouting on their backs and had hooves that seemed to have been worn down from centuries of age. The small herd encircled a man dressed in dark robes and garments, a red necklace glowed slightly which only fueled the animal’s rage even more.*


*Sylvania hefted her spear in one of her defensive stances as the main leader of the herd, a much larger and sturdier animal with golden eyes instead of black, charged at her. The thunderous pounding of its hooves puffed up clouds of dirt and dust as it leapt across several fences. Sensing a fight, Sylvania charged at the creature herself, hoping that this wouldn’t be as difficult as it looked.*


*Flarena shot arrow after arrow at the smaller members of the herd while the cloaked man conjured several orbs of dark magic and flung them at any fleeing creatures. Her heart thumped with the adrenaline and excitement of combat, a feeling she hadn’t experienced in such a long time before she arrived at Wynn. When the last of the smaller herd creatures fell, the cloaked man gave Flarena a small nod and began to sprint to Sylvania, the wind whirling past his cloaks as if he moved through the breeze itself. Shaking her head back into reality, Flarena ran to join him as she saw Sylvania struggling to deal with the main leader.*


*It was as if the leader had unlimited energy to Sylvania as this abomination charged at her again and again. She began to feel dizzy and lightheaded from the constant movement and tumbling in order to avoid the charges. As the leader began to rush once more, the strange figure appeared above a small boulder to her left and fired a small blast of dark magic. The magic collided at the creature’s hooves and it crashed against the grass, waving its legs around to get back up. Sylvania, seeing the opportunity, leapt over one of the fences and dug her spear into the chest of the creature. The leader gave a last roar and dissolved into the black ash, the mushrooms falling to the ground as if nothing changed to them.*


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“I must thank you for your assistance. Without you two, I probably would’ve met my fate much earlier.”


*The trio stood before the hut the man was perched on. The wood seemed to glow a dull black as the man dug into his cloak, muttering something under his breath that didn’t seem good to Flarena.*


“Is there something wrong, sir? Could we do something else for you?”


“Hmm...now that you say that, perhaps you can. I need red mushrooms for a potion that I’m concocting so that my Master will be...pleased. There must be remains from the smaller creatures that we previously fought. Collect a batch of them and return to me, and make haste!”


*Sylvania attempted to swing her spear at the man in anger from another task of collecting useless commodities but Flarena grabbed her by the sleeve and dragged her away, the man giving a sly smile from under his hood.*


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*After the duo dumped their pouches full of the red mushrooms, the strange man took out from his cloak a flask with a blood red liquid inside. He waved his hand over the red mushrooms and they began to crumble into a red and white powder, the air providing a gust of wind that shot the powder towards the flask. The powder turned the blood red into a much lighter color, the skin of an apple Flarena thought. Closing the flask with a cork, he handed the potion to Sylvania and muttered in a low whisper,*


“Take this and make my Master drink it. Then, bring his coat to prove that you were....successful.”


*Flarena’s eyes widened as the door to the hut slowly opened, the creak of the old metal and wood sent chills down her spine. Sylvania hesitated before opening the door even more, her spear clutched in her hand as Flarena and herself took silent steps inside the dimly lit home.*


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*The hut opened into a main room with several shelves stacked with books and ingredients, some even making Flarena queasy. The hut itself held a magical essence to it that made Sylvania question what was the problem with this “Master”. She held her breath as a man in the center of the room crouching beside a cauldron stood up, his grey coats suggesting that he had more prominent power within him. He leveled his gaze to Sylvania as he raised an eyebrow in an expression of slight shock,*


“And you must be those helpers my assistant had. Hmph, I see that potion is for me?”


*Sylvania setted the potion on the center table and took several steps back before the man began to cough violently.*


“What is thi-?! You traitors! I shall have your ashes and make them into potions that you wouldn’t believe I could brew!”


*The man took out a dark polished wand from his cloak and began to fire sparks of white magic at the duo. Sylvania ducked under one of the sparks and threw down one of the smaller tables beside her, using it as cover while Flarena dashed madly around the room. The sparks of magic collided with jars and tomes, sending even more wilder forms of magic to spiral around them ranging from flames to clumps of cloud and water. Flarena reached for an arrow and aimed at the Master but the man drew a quick rune and slashed the air, sending Flarena’s quiver across the hut and landing on the top roof shelf. She gasped as the arrows fell from the quiver and hovered readily behind the Master, his eyes turning black as he laughed softly,*


“Thank you for the drink, mada-”


*He gagged as a spear pierced through his throat, the liquid pouring out resembling lantern oil; dark and messy. The Master slumped to the ground as Sylvania stood above him, her silvery hair that is usually combed royally now chaotic and frenzied. She breathed heavily as she ripped away the cloak from the Master’s disintegrating body, the ash seeping into the floorboards and turning them black. She tucked the cloak and left the hut without a word, leaving Flarena in the now cold and damp altar. Her quiver landed softly beside her and she wiped away a stray tear that streaked down her cheek as she walked towards the door, looking down to avoid any possibility of remembering this moment.*


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“Ah, the cloak. Hopefully Master will forgive me about this act. Please, take this as a thanks, and please...don’t recount this to anyone.”


“Do not worry. We won’t.”


*Flarena stepped outside and felt the warmth of the sunset across her face. She missed the feeling of the countryside, the sun always there to see her and the sky feeling as if she could be anywhere. Now, she felt as if she was trapped into a paradox of her two worlds intertwining into something more sinister and gloomful. As the assistant walked back into the hut, Sylvania gave a quick hug to Flarena, surprising herself as much as Flarena wa surprised.*


“We’ll be okay. We have Trention and Relin.”


“I guess...I never had this close of a bond with a group of people before..”


“Not even family?”


“They weren’t there when I departed to Wynn, said how it was a waste of my time…”


“Hmph. Well, that isn’t the support a family is supposed to give.”


“How do you know, Sylvania?”


“Flarena, I may seem cold, but I do know how to show my affection to people. I may be on my own, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find people to keep me sane. I may be brash at points, but that doesn’t mean I care for you, or Trention, or even Relin...sadly.”


*Flarena giggled and Sylvania laughed softly, the duo beginning to walk down the road back to Detlas. Sylvania’s silvery hair now a light orange gold from the rays of the sun, reminding Flarena of her own brother’s hair. She gave a glance behind her and scowled at Flarena, waving her hand down the road,”


“Well? Adventure won’t come to those waiting.”


*Flarena gave a radiant smile and began to run down the road, kicking dirt behind her as she felt the cool air whirl around her. She laughed joyfully as several clusters of villagers gawked at the display of such energy. Sylvania jogged after her, laughing at the villager’s expressions as the shadows of the duo ran down the light of the trail.*


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Word Count : 1474
Thank You for reading this Chapter. I will post more later on this day, I promise :)
I hope to post more frequently now, but only time will tell.
Have a pleasant day!
From an Aspiring Author,
~Katoshii​

 

Very well done, Kato! You demonstrated real-life struggles with the brutality of having to kill someone and how that affects party members... But you turned it around at the end and showed that even tough guys/gals need something to hold on to! That and, despite the hardships, the people you struggle and fight with become a part of your family! :D (Also Flarena makes me smile if not laugh with everything she does, thank you for having a fun comic relief XD)

 

I hoped you all aren't so displeased in my long departure from this series. I've been frantically busy (again ;-;) but I hope you all can forgive me!
I'm trying to write more of these quest-lines, so I'm sorry for any wait. I'm glad to be back however!!
Enjoy Quest 13, A Confused Farmer! I will post another chapter for my Gavel & Ocean Collections as well :)​

Wynn Province - Quest 13 - A Confused Farmer

*The sounds of farm animals made Relin uncomfortable as the party of adventurers walked up the hill leading to Katoa Ranch. His eyes glazed over the cows and chickens roaming around the buildings, not wanting to acknowledge their existence but still being wary about them. Something wasn’t at ease in the farm, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it…*


*Flarena, Sylvania, and Trention weren’t as bothered with the collection of animals as they looked around the ranch for their contact, a man named Bylvis. Apparently, the farmer sent out a distress call and the Ragni guards were too caught up with defending the town to notice him. Seeing as this would be a nice way to earn some emeralds, Sylvania took the flyer describing the man’s needs and began to walk over to Katoa Ranch, offering the rest of her companions to follow.*


*Now, the group came across a middle aged man who seems to be flustered as he ran to each stall within the barn shack, his overalls dusty and covered in mud. His eyes spotted the adventurers and he rushed over to them, his straw hat falling to the ground with how quick he sprinted.*


“Oh, adventurers! Please, you must help this Bylvis out! My poor cow Drale isn’t here for the daily roll call. Could you go on up to his stall and see if he came back from grazin’ or somethin’ like that?”


*Sylvania gave a simple nod and began to walk over to the shack the man pointed to. Flarena quickly followed and Trention gave several glances to the other cows before leaving, his hand brushing against Relin’s causing him to snap his gaze to him. He dropped his eyesight back to the dirt and gravel paths and quickly sped up his walk, making Relin show a slight tint of blush. He shook his head and followed the others, thinking that this forsaken cow better be in that shack, or he’ll have a hefty dinner tonight after they’re done here.*


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*The wooden door gave a soft creak as Flarena gently pushed it open. This barn shack seemed to be in less of formidable condition than the one they were previously at; cobwebs littered the corners of the roof and it seemed no one has stepped foot into this shack for several days. Stepping down the path, a piece of paper creased under Flarena’s foot and she bent down to pick it up, the edges of the paper covered in a fine layer of dirt and muck.*


“Detlas Suburbs? Hmm, I wonder why this paper is here then…”


*Sylvania looked at the scribbled and horrendous writing over Flarena’s shoulder, squinting her eyes to make out the letters. Whoever wrote this seemed to have either been in a rush, or just had atrocious handwriting...or both. Whatever the case, Sylvania began to step out of the shack when she saw Trention and Relin underneath one of the apple trees that dotted the grounds of the ranch. She quickly crouched behind a cluster of barrels near the wall and perked her ears, wondering if she could catch any of their conversation…*


*Flarena’s scream echoed across the vast grounds of Katoa Ranch, causing the party of adventurers to turn their heads. A small herd of chickens pursued her as she ran towards the front gate of the ranch. Horses neighed and the chickens continued to give their chase after the archer as she desperately tried to outrun them. As Trention rushed over to the gate, he twirled his staff around and sent several gusts of flames at the chickens, causing them to bawk in chaotic manners. Sylvania rolled her eyes at the somewhat pointless display and turned back to Bylvis, who was still frantically running around to the other buildings of the ranch. She gave a sigh at yet another basic task for the group to do and motioned for Relin to follow her as she began to make her way to the gate. Trention and Flarena were out by the bridge as Relin and Sylvania descended down the hill, the group thinking that cutting through the Nivla Forest would be the quickest way to reach Detlas’s suburbs.*


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*Sylvania’s face was grim as she led the party of adventurers through the forest, already disgusted by the amount of small creatures lurking within the shadows. She had thought since Trention and Relin already delved inside of the forest that they knew a path out, but that was too much for her to expect. At least the path was still intact enough for them to not mindlessly roam around the forest - who knows what other horrors are still inside. As they came to the other side of the forest, a large stone and wooden bridge curved over the river ahead of them. On the other side laid several clusters of cottages and off in the distance, Flarena could barely make out what seems to be an apple orchard. The party of adventurers crossed the river and began to make their way to the suburbs, wondering how this cow managed to escape so far out into the province.*


*A sudden rustling of a bush caused the party to freeze in their tracks. Sylvania held her spear out in front of her as Relin twirled out his dagger. Trention and Flarena sprinted to a small lining of fences and perched themselves on top of them, pointing their staff and bow at the bush. The rustling continued and Sylvania was about to rush at the bush before a cow emerged from it. Before the group could question whether or not it was Drale, the cow stood on it’s hind legs and removed it’s head. The adventures stood their with astonishment across their faces; this wasn’t a cow, but a human?!*


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*The man led the party to the back of the apple orchard cottage and looked around them before clearing his throat.*


“Well, this seems to be a surprising outcome of events. Before you ask any question about me, indeed, I am Drale. That maniac of a farmer took me into his cow inventory as I was walking past Katoa Ranch three years ago. He thought I was a cow myself and kept me with the other farm animals as I planned my escape. With Etus’s help, I managed to dig a tunnel out of the farm, but it seemed the other cows were one step ahead of me…”


*Drale gave a sheepish glance at the trapdoor behind him and turned back to the party of adventurers before continuing.*


“The other cows found my exit as well and are currently defending it. A “revolution” you could say, but it hasn’t gone out of hand yet. Go back to Bylvis and tell him that I was just a misunderstanding if you may? Oh, but leave out the revolution bit, I don’t want him more deranged than he already is.”


*Taking off the full cow costume, Drale was dressed in a simple tunic and leather trousers with boots to match. Walking over to the trapdoor, he pulled out from his pocket several embroidered cloth patches. Each adventurer took one of the patches and walked over to the trapdoor, noticing that there was a slight wave of magic surrounding it. Trention raised his hand over the entrance and it turned into what seems to be a cauldron but much smaller. Relin decided to toss him patch into whatever this was and a cloud of purple mist began to spread all around them. Before anyone could react, the cloud of magic flashed a dark purple and the party of adventurers were gone, leaving Drale alone.*


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*The cloud of magic reappeared inside of a barely lit dirt tunnel and gave off a final burst of purple light. As it began to dissolve, the adventurers were overcome with a sense of nausea and gripped on to the walls of the tunnel. After several moments, their visions returned back to normal and the tunnel looked as if it were kept in poor condition. Trention brushed off some of the dirt and dust that collected on his robes as Flarena attempted to keep her sneezes as minimal as possible. She let out a sneeze loud enough for it to echo down the tunnel, making Sylvania stop mid stride. Off in the distance, a low rumbling seemed to be approaching them and Sylvania ran down the tunnel, Relin at her heels while Trention and Flarena attempted to catch up to them.*


*As the group entered a slightly larger room, a few cows were huddled over another one of the contraptions Relin tossed his patch into. Seeing the possibility for an ambush, Sylvania whispered several orders to the group and the party began to fan out across the room. While Trention and Flarena crouched down behind some of the fences, Relin and Sylvania attempted to quietly step towards the cows…*


*The ears on one of the cows perked up as Relin stepped on a twig and it began to turn around right before Relin dug his dagger into the cow’s side. It gave out a thunderous “moo” before swinging its legs back, causing Relin to take several quick steps back. The few cows that were still huddled finally realized that they weren’t alone and faced Sylvania and Relin, one of them wearing rough leather armor all across its body. The herd madly dashed at the duo and Sylvania gave a sharp whistle…*


*Hearing the high pitch sound, Flarena stood up behind her fence and shot several arrows in quick succession, taking down one of the moving cows. As she shot her final arrow, Trention ran out into the room and sent several puffs of flames at the cows. The flames licked at the herd’s legs and they began to pound their hooves on the ground as another one of the cows crumbled into ash. Before long, the armored cow was the lone one standing and it gave a harsh pound of it’s hoof before charging at Trention. As Trention attempted to head back to Flarena, he tripped on a cluster of branches and tumbled on to the dusty floor, the cow still mercilessly running at him…*


*Sylvania jutted out her spear at the cow’s legs and hefted her spear up, sending the cow crashing and sliding against the dirt. Relin hurdled over Sylvania and threw his dagger into the belly of the beast, black liquid beginning to gush out of the wound. The cow continued to flop around in despair for a moment longer before Sylvania pulled out the dagger and inserted her spear into its place, causing the cow to finally lay limp. Sylvania heaved her spear out of the body of the cow and the armor began to disintegrate into black ash, the cow’s body following. She tossed the dagger to Relin before approaching the small cauldron and tossing her patch into it. The same cloud of purple magic appeared once more and Trention and Flarena barely stepped into the mist before the cloud disappeared and collected the adventurers with it.*


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*Bylvis barely noticed that a dark purple cloud was behind his ranch as he tended to his farm animals. Noticing that it gave a final burst of purple magic sent his curiosity over the edge and he began to walk over to where it once was. As he looked behind the hill near his ranch, he saw the adventurers beginning to walk to the front gate and called out to them…*


“Adventurers! Have you found my Drale!?”


*When Bylvis finally approached the party, he could feel that something wasn’t right. Sylvania stepped forward and cleared her throat, willing herself to get this over with…*


“Bylvis, was it? Drale isn’t a cow...he’s an actual human.”


“Why, are you serious?! Huh, I don’t understand why he hadn’t bothered to mutter a word or two to ol’ Bylvis, but I suppose that ain’t any of my concern. Perhaps those drinks really caught up to me that night…”


*Relin clutched the hilt of his dagger as Trention and Flarena controlled themselves from brandishing their own weapons. Sylvania, understanding the group’s displeasure, kept herself under control as she continued to speak…*


“Well, now that’s he free, at least you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”


“Hm, I guess that’s true. Give Drale my best wishes, will you adventurers? Oh, give him a scratch for me too. You might want to let your nails grow for several mont-”


*Before he could finish, the group of adventurers were already walking away. Sylvania glanced behind her and offered another simple nod to Bylvis before she looked back in front of her. Bylvis wiped away a stray tear knowing that Drale is now gone forever, but he regained his composure and went back to tend to his actual animals as he could see the same purple cloud appear once again. He watched it disappear and went into his barn, picking up a bucket filled with seeds and tossing them at the chickens who feverishly pecked at the ground with delight.*


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*Drale stood up as he saw the purple cloud of mist dispense the adventurers, noticing that the nausea hadn’t had its potent effect on them anymore. He held a quick pace as he stepped towards the party, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of Bylvis…*


“Well, what did he say!?”


*Flarena and Trention glanced at each other for a brief moment before Relin cleared his throat…*


“He seems accepting of it. No grief as far as we saw.”


“That’s it!? He just took it in? I don’t believe it, but if what you say is true, then I’m grateful for your help. I suppose I will miss his company, those scratches were absolute magic...would you help out a fellow fri-”


*Sylvania gripped her spear handle and Drale looked mortified as the party of adventurers behind the silver haired woman actually weren’t opposed to what she was implying.*


“I didn’t actually meant it! Sheesh, would it hurt the lot of you if I told a joke or two? Please, feel free to use the passage as often as you wish, the hopper still holds its potent magic.”


*The group of adventurers weren’t pleased that there wasn’t any payment involved, especially Sylvania and Relin, but they were still content that they helped out Drale. They walked down the path towards Detlas, passing by the apple orchard where Relin quickly cut down several apple hanging on low branches. Flarena giggled as Relin jumped from branch to branch, reminding her of an animal she once saw back home. Trention stood underneath another tree and twirled his hand around as a way to keep the falling apples from hitting the dirt and grass. Sylvania took the moment to sit underneath a tree and meditate, clearing her mind from all the commotion and adrenaline that happened today. She sometimes opened one eye for a brief moment to check on the others, seeing that they are content with whatever spare time they have at the moment and smile softly before returning to her meditation.*


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Word Count : 2529
I hope you enjoy the return of these chapters and you'll want to see more!
Thank you again for reading!!
~Katoshii​

 

Very well done Kato!! I feel with each writing piece you are improving, both with character development and storytelling! With each new addition I'm finding these characters to be more and more human.

For example, the chickens. That's all I have to say on that. I admit, I got a good laugh in while reading that, because I know that feeling!

Also the lowkey love interest between two characters is developing well. I like how you kept Trention as the sassy one; and Relin is mysterious, but not edgy by any means. Sylvania's harsh-but-soft nature is coming along well, both as a leader and just as a person. Aaaaand Flarena is nothing but a smile magnet... She's very well made, and I like her ties to the countryside... Feels realistic and relatable. You got a great cast of characters here, Kato!!

I look forward to to your other/future works!! :D

 

Ahh, my thanks!! I'm glad you're liking the series so far and how I'm sculpting it but don't worry, there will be more very soon to satisfy ya! ;)

 

Fixed

 

I feel this is AMAZING

 

Indeed, I hoped this text coloring would help all users!!

Aww, thank you so much!! I'm, glad you like the chapters :)