Conclave

Chapter 17 of Ghost in the Machine

Well I’ll be damned, Garrus thought as they entered the Consort’s chambers. He’d never been farther in than the main hall – the so-called ‘waiting room’ – and he’d never seen Sha’ira in person. The theme of the decor was ‘twilight on the lakeshore’. Holos of shimmering water, distant mountains and a couple of faint moons in a pink sky projected on the walls, and noises of night-creatures and the wind in the reeds playing in the background. That smell of wet sand – was that part of the elaborate illusion? Or only in his mind?

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Can’t Stop Laughing

Nihlus almost rolled down the narrow spiral staircase, his boots clanging in inglorious bursts. When he finally touched the bottom floor, he glanced up and saw the figure of his mentor, three stories above, struggling with the punctured pipe at the back of his suit. Saren’s motions were uncomfortably reminiscent of panic. Nihlus shook the fascination off and hurried to close the valve. He had to lean in with all his strength. Thank the Spirits (and the generosity of said mentor) that he had the kinetic exoskeleton built into his suit, otherwise it would’ve been impossible.

The Ephemeral Bride

In secret, Mnemoli whispered the blue words of promise and the red words of love for the time-god but his eyes were turned always to Nirn and he would have no other bride. The words went afloat on the breeze of possibility and a stray thought – to make Nirn even more beautiful, so that time-god’s eyes would ever be filled with joy – distilled the promise of love and froze it into the heavens. And that is the origin of the great nebula, the Veil of Nirn.

But the light of Magnus knows no secrets. He saw into Mnemoli’s heart and became angry at the wasteful ignorance of Time. Being long bored with the labor of creation, he decided to leave the lesser gods behind and marry; and his children would rule a universe of light! Mnemoli had not the power to repel his lust; but seeing how their offspring would scorch the frail life out of Nirn, so dear to her loved one, she seduced Magnus to chase after her far into the void. For long, she kept one step ahead of his fiery breath, but finally she let him overtake her, only to escape again. Each time this happened, they left their progeny behind. And that is the origin of the distant stars, the Children of Sun.

Now Mnemoli can only be seen through the mists of her own mysteries as the Blue Spark, the harbinger of Untime; for not even the mighty Magnus dares approach the time-god during his madness. It is only then that Mnemoli may rest and lament over the torment of her lost love. And that is the origin of the raining stars, the Tears of Mnemoli.

Notes

Submitted to Temple Zero.

Extraction

Chapter 16 of Ghost in the Machine

Shepard squinted in the dim light of the nightclub. It smelled like a distillery and there were nearly naked asari pole-dancing and lap-dancing everywhere. Small round tables riddled with bottles and glasses and rubbish surrounded the bar and the stage. There were all sorts of customers: turian, human, salarian, volus. The music was unpalatable, probably drell or something even more exotic, but there was a rhythm to it and the dancers hardly needed anything else. Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard caught a man sniffing something from the back of his hand. It certainly didn’t look like C-Sec maintained a presence here.

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Good Timing

Chapter 15 of Ghost in the Machine

Wrex could smell the shithole called Chora’s Den from the other end of the gallery. He leaned over the railing, his gauntlets screeching in contact with the smooth, matte metal, and glanced at the light sky-car traffic below. None of the cars would be bringing him company: that much was clear from the message he’d just received from his so-called support. Fucking amateurs. Held at the docks for trying to smuggle weapons through customs. What did they do – hide them in their pants? Fucking idiots.

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A New Mass Effect Fic: Forgiven

My first commission. Well, not the paid kind, but close enough. An artist and a good friend asked me to write a scene to serve as the narrative foundation for a painting. The topic was: Garrus and his thoughts just after sparing Sidonis’ life.

The story is titled Forgiven.

Image: infiltrator-N7 @ deviantArt