User blog:Ore-samma/My Liliraune (Pocket Plane) (Alraune)

Hello Fans, Ore-samma here!

And here is day 25 of the halloween one-shot entries!

Hope you like it!

Ever your Servant-

Ore-samma

“Lilly, watch out!” I cried out as I pushed my magical fire over the head of my alraune wife.

My green fire rippled over her head as she ducked, and roared over the nightmarish reaper-trees. They crackled and screamed as the conflagration consumed their enchanted wood.

They stumbled, screaming and flailing as they shot lighting across the landscape. I quickly activated my attractor and felt my body burn as I just barely re-directed a few bolts away from Lilly and into me…..fuck…..Reaper lighting was so painful.

I turned and noticed several vine gremlins scampering closer and summoned a whirling flurry of blades, reducing them to pulp. Panting I looked about. The cursed jungle retreated, seeming to scream and roar as it did so. I glanced over at one of the reaper-trees and used my air scythe to extinguish its flame and cut it in two- separating its main body from its stump and sat down upon it, panting.

“Thank you, Percy.” Lilly breathed, also panting as she kneeled to the ground and rested her head on my back. “I’m so tired….I would have never imagined this pocket plane would be so dangerous.”

I took a long drink from my canteen and pulled Lilly’s mamono-infused water from my pocket dimension and handed it to her. “Well, this should have been an easy one. We were perfectly matched to take this dimension for Lady Yulande.” I took in a deep breath, smelling my own burnt flesh from the lightning, “but…..no one could have ever imagined that the plant life could ignore your commands.” I shook my head. “To think- plant life being able to not only resist your authority, but to actually take up arms against an Alraune? That’s unheard of!”

“My love….we should retreat. You’ve been severely injured from the lighting!” Lilly cried, rubbing her hands over my charred skin that showed under my torn robes.

“And if we leave and come back, the jungle will have grown back and stronger than the last time.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to risk coming back and risk facing down dire reapers. If we leave, we might as well give up and tell Lady Yulande that an expeditionary force would be needed.”

Lilly sniffed and tugged a healing potion from my backpack but I pushed it back in.

“Percy! Please!”

“No, Lilly. We only have two left, and by the looks of it, only about two hundred yarbs to get to the center of the jungle...or what’s left of it.”

The pocket plane Lady Yulande sent my wife and I to secure was barely a full yar'beth in length, but it was nothing but jungle...at first. The moment we arrived, we were immediately attacked by wriggling vines, poisonous, walking flowers, razor toothed chomping plants, sub-reapers, and all manner of stinging insects. Lilly was supposed to be able to control the plantlife, but they were under the influence of something greater….which meant only one solution….violence. Together, we cut, shredded, and burned back the jungle….but it was not only taking a toll on me, but also Lilly who agonized over the destruction of so many unique and wonderful plants that I had to admit; were as beautiful as could be.

We made a good foray into the jungle and decided to retreat for a day to recover and finish it off, only to find that years must have passed since we left….the jungle recovered and was more vicious than the last time….now teaming with battle-ready monstrosities that were hell-bent on killing us. And again we cut, shredded and incinerated the jungle back...but this time….

“This time, we are gonna finish the job.” I looked back to Lilly and felt my heart jump to my throat.

Lilly was weeping amber colored nectar tears. Her face was in her hands, her body trembled and sobbed. A delicate, half burnt flower was in her lap.

I got off the smoldering stump and sat next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “Lilly….I know this hurts….I’m sorry.”

“Oh Percy...” Lilly sniffed. “They can’t even talk to me.” She whispered. “All I hear is screaming, and these sounds that make no sense…..they aren’t evil….they’re just feral….and I can’t even talk to them!” She bawled.

“Well, that’s to be expected….isn’t it?” I said with a heavy sigh. “The magic here is not attuned to mamono energy.” I pulled the Rift Device from my pocket dimension and checked its harmonic resonance. “We are still about a full two hundred yarbs from the source of magic here….we have to keep going.”

“I’m sorry.” Lilly breathed as she gingerly placed the flower on the ground and stood with me.

I sighed and looked at the new border of the jungle. This day had been especially hard for Lilly, the mental anguish of burning plantlife aside, she was not used to being in her bipedal form for so long. I could tell she wanted to grow another flower and rest inside it, but she said the soil here tasted rotten and filthy….we had to change the magic here, or give up.

I groaned as I saw the dark shapes of several dire-reapers emerge from the edge of the jungle.

“How- how is this possible?” Lilly breathed.

“Easy enough to explain….whatever is in there, saved the best for last.” I shook my head. “I’m sick of this.” I looked over to Lilly. “Get in the water sphere.” I raised my hands and formed a large bubble of water.

“Percy! Please! No!” Lilly cried out.

I looked at the seven dire-reapers and exhaled. Dire-reapers were resistant to blades, magic, and most types of fire….there was only one way I knew how to take em out safely and….

“Lilly, unless you know of a way we can defeat these, we’ve run out of options.”

Lilly sniffed and quickly entered the water bubble just as I unleashed my hellfire spell.

The purple fire flowed from my hands and settled upon the dire-reapers as they still marched forward and blasted their lighting across the desolated plains towards me. I directed the fire to my feet and used the blast of heat to further warp and twist the air around me, causing the lighting to dissipate in the thick smoke. The smoke itself caught fire, creating phantom fire that I pushed deep into the jungle.

The dire-reapers soon fell into clumps of ash….and I waited….waited…..

The phantom fire spread through the entire canopy, binding to the very air itself, causing a chain reaction that quickly reached its critical point, and flashed into an overwhelming burst of light. When it died down I nodded, seeing the entire jungle ablaze. I gritted my teeth as I used my magic to tear a gaping hole in reality and forced the void scar over the jungle, gutting out the fire instantly by removing the air in the immediate area.

I collapsed along with my water bubble; the last of my magic was drained, but thankfully most of the remaining jungle was spared.

“Percy! Oh! Oh! The entire jungle is screaming!” Lilly wailed, sinking to her knees.

I fished out a mana potion and quaffed it, feeling the magic shock my frayed nerves and burnt body. “I’m sorry, Lilly….I really am...”

“Please...Percy….please….we have to end this...we have to stop the agony of this entire pocket plane.”

I nodded, forcing myself to get up despite my body already being at its limit and took Lilly’s hand, entering the smoldering jungle. I scanned the trees with my magics, glad that they were just singed, and not significantly damaged. The underbrush though was nothing but ashes that collapsed as we passed through them.

The entire pocket plane was always eerily silent due to only insects and plants being the only living things, but now- the jungle carried an even more unnatural silence as we walked through a graveyard of ash plant statues.

“Percy!” Lilly screamed, pointing to my right. “Oh! Oh no!”

I readied my magics and gasped, rushing over along with Lilly. “What is it?” I cried, seeing the charred form. “It can’t be.... an alraune?”

The charred form rolled over, revealing its relatively undamaged front that looked similar to most Alraune’s-types. Her eyes looked at Lilly as she cradled her head and then to me.

''Bar-ves-ku-vath! Et-pal! Et-pal!''  She cried out, pointing to me.

I focused my magics to translate her strange words and felt my heart turn to ice as she continued to cry and scream at me.

''Why? Anna was alone for eons upon eons! Why did you invade Anna’s home? Why did you kill Anna’s many parts? Why did you burn Anna’s home? Why did you burn Anna? In your heart Anna sees the love for things that grow! You have a wife that is of the ground and plant! Yet, you have come here to kill Anna? Why?''

I tried to swallow, but my throat was as parched as the land around me.

“My name is Percy. I was sent here by my Lady Yulande. We…..we seek separate planes in the unending chaos….we thought since we were under attack from you….that…..that this realm contained an ancient evil.”

Anna wailed and covered her face. I quickly summoned another pitcher of mamono water, and handed it to Lilly. She tried to feed it to Anna, but she smacked it away.

''Your water is so strange! Your wife and you carry this energy that is so strange! You are both so horrible!''

I looked at my Rift Device and my heart sank….the entire Pocket Dimension was tied to this plant-woman.

I kneeled next to Anna and Lilly.

Stay away from Anna! She cried as I slowly moved my hand towards her face.

I braced myself and activated the Rift Device just as I touched her face, taking her pain and memories into my being.

Through Anna's memories, I felt the surprise and shock of my home being invaded so suddenly by people who had such poisonous energy. How they hurt, then killed my many parts, then at last burned them….and then how they burned me.

I screamed and cried as her memories became mine, as her injuries were transferred to me.

(later)

“My love! Someone has invaded our home!”

I placed my hands on Anna’s shoulders and slid them to her face, kissing her full lips and pressing closer to her body.

“Anna, darling...it’s just Yulnade. She is a good person. She will not hurt any of us if we do not attack her. I promise. She will protect all of us and this plane from this ever happening again.”

Anna trembled and sniffed, holding onto me. “Y-you promise?”

Lilly came up from behind Anna and held onto her as well. “Sister, please….be at ease, our husband always keeps his promises.”

“Lilly,” I said looking over Anna’s shoulder, “could you make an obvious path for our Lady?”

“Already on it, my darling.” Lilly purred, making me notice a carpet of red flowers sprouting all the way to our joined Liliraune flower.

A few dire-reaper guards entered our clearing, escorting our Lilim Patron, Yulande into the clearing. Her blood-red eyes fixed on us and her face took on a relieved expression and she exhaled.

“Aaah! Percy! Lilly! And who might this be?” She said, striding up to Anna. “Lilly, did you sprout another part for yourself?”

Lilly shook her head and handed Yulande a bouquet of mana blossoms. “No. This is Anna, my Lady, she was a feral plant-entity of this pocket plane and has since changed allegiances to the Mamono Empire.” She draped her arm around her sister and kissed her cheek. “She and I have become one; a Liliarune.”

Yulande smiled as she accepted the blossoms and gave a slight head bow to Anna who curtsied at Lilly’s prompting. “Well met, Anna. Welcome to my house and Nation. This was your home before, and so shall it be even now. I swear to protect you now, and forevermore." She sat upon the ground to be more at eye level with Anna. "With your permission, I would like to have more people live here. To keep you company."

Anna pouted, "People? People who will cut parts of Anna? People who will wreck my parts?"

Yulande shook her head. "Absolutely not! I would only have people like you. People who are part plant. I wish for them to grow food to feed innocent, good people." She gave a smile with a gentle head tilt. "If you are willing."

Anna sighed and her face relaxed. "Yes! People who are part plant are welcome! They can grow as much food as they want!" She relaxed into my arms and sighed again. "It will be good to have people here that I can talk to. Husband who loves me, and sister who loves me." She held out her hand and grew a Heart Rose from her palm and extended it to Lady Yulande. "Thank you, my Lady. I swear fealty to you."

Yulande accepted the delicate blossom and added it to the bouquet. She locked her eyes to me and smiled. "You have a wonderful family, Percy. Do let me know if you need anything, or if you are up to more reclamation assignments!"

I nodded, noticing the flower petals start to close and my two girls holding me close. The light grew dim, now filtered in the pink-and-blue petals and we soon relaxed in the golden glowing nectar, fully at peace and in love.