Among the Val Kyr part 40

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I stood in the middle of the fourth courtyard, outnumbered and surrounded. My opponents had positioned themselves around me, making me stretch my senses as far as I could just so I could keep track of all three of them. Each of them was being cautious, trying to determine what I could do before they committed themselves to an attack. I just smiled faintly at that, holding my sword firmly and silently daring them to come at me.

My opponents were all new Val Kyr, having been recruited and brought to Val Halla within the last two months. Until now, they had mostly been training with their mentors and pillars, sometimes even sparring against experienced members of other pillars so that they could get a feel for them. But today, I had been asked to help with their training. I was here to introduce them to the atra fighting style, familiarizing them with what we were capable of and what we had to offer in battle.

I slowly swept my eyes over my students and opponents, settling on Megan, a muscular brunette who was only a hair shorter than I was. The red sash around her waist marked her as jatta, though the large axe she wielded also would have announced this. Just a month earlier, Megan had been a chubby college student, who had thick glasses, bad acne, and fit almost every stereotype of a female nerd. But now, she was growing into a capable Val Kyr warrior.

Erin was a willowy red head, with her long hair pulled back into a pony tail. Her blue sash and spear both served to identify her as notru, though she moved with such a smooth and graceful ease that it would have been easy to mistake her for kaern. Erin was from Bethany’s bloodline, and though you never would have guessed it from her bubbly and feminine personality, she was also a convert. When she’d been offered the chance to become Val Kyr, she’d jumped at the chance…not for the power, immortality, or even the chance to do something important…but for the opportunity to finally become female…which was the gender she’d always felt she should have been born as.

The last of my current opponents was Shauna, a dark skinned woman with short black hair, and like Erin, she was both notru and a convert. However, unlike Erin, she was less than thrilled about her new gender, though she was taking it one day at a time and learning to adjust. Before being converted, Shauna had been a rookie cop who’d been severely injured on the job, so she looked at becoming a woman as being the price she paid for still being alive, and for giving her the power to continue helping people.

Finally, Shauna took the lead and started the attack, trying to hit me with her spear. I immediately dodged to the side, then had to go into a swirl of motion, dodging, blocking, and avoiding their attacks. I was stretching my senses and enhanced reflexes to their limit, silently being thankful that none of them was kaern so I didn’t have to worry about one of them being able to match my reflexes.

So far, the two notru were avoiding their essence moves, so I only had to avoid their spears…not the ground itself. However, it didn’t take long before that changed and suddenly I had leap to the side to avoid the rolling ground. I did that, then lunged forward and grabbed Erin’s spear, yanking it from her hand and then using that to impale Megan in the thigh and push her away from me. I swung around and smacked Shauna on the back of her hand with the flat of my blade, forcing her to release her spear as well, though I followed that move up with a kick to her face.

“You’re fast,” Megan said, wincing from the wound in her thigh, though it would be fully healed in just a minute.

“And strong,” Shauna added with a scowl. “You hit pretty damn hard.”

“I am faster than all of you,” I agreed with a grin. “But I’m not quite as fast as a kaern…and I’m not as strong as Megan.”

Once the three of them had recovered their weapons and were ready, we began to go at it again, this time with me taking the offense from the start. None of them had ever been in a real combat situation, so that experience made a great deal of difference in our skills, which was why I was able to hold off against all three of them at once. This whole training situation was not only to teach them about what an atra could do, but also to help them learn to work together in order to defeat a stronger opponent. After all, teamwork was critical for any Val Kyr. However, I was fully aware of the fact that they weren’t the only ones benefitting from this training. I was getting more practice at fighting multiple opponents at once.

While we sparred, I noticed that we were developing a small audience. A few other Val Kyr had quietly shown up and were standing back, watching our session and apparently making a few bets. However, I remained focused and didn’t let them distract me, though Erin did…which was something I took immediate advantage of.

By the time we were finished, Megan, Erin, and Shauna all had some nice bruises and cuts for their efforts, while I’d been left with a few of my own. I still wasn’t a fan of Val Kyr motivation techniques, though I had to admit, the brutal training methods certainly made you work harder to improve. I gave my three opponents a few brief tips and suggestions for the next time they faced someone like me, then they all hurried off to the cafeteria for dinner.

I just remained where I was for a moment, wondering how I’d become the experienced veteran who thought of them as inexperienced rookies…when all three of them were older than I was. I hadn’t even been a Val Kyr for all that much longer than they had either, though admittedly, a lot had happened to me in the months since I’d been converted.

It had only been six months since the battle in Val Halla, though sometimes it seemed as though it had only been last week, yet other times, it felt as though it had been years ago. I frowned sadly as I remembered the courtyard after the battle, and the fact that daemon and daemonite bodies had been scattered everywhere. Since the haunts never collected daemon bodies in the Twilight Realm, we’d spent days cleaning them up by hand, tossing them from the walls and letting the daemon scavengers have them. And though we’d cleaned up the mess, and the physical damage to Val Halla had been quickly repaired, the emotional scars that now ran through the Val Kyr would remain for a very VERY long time to come.

That final battle had been brutal, with Fleur losing an arm, Natalie having both legs bitten off, and Lei had been so badly torn up from Estrid’s claws, that even as a jatta, they weren’t sure she’d make it. However, they had all recovered, though not everyone was as lucky. Seven Val Kyr had died in Val Halla during that incursion, with four of those deaths having occurred during the daemon’s initial surprise attack. That didn’t even take into account all the other Val Kyr who’d died in the months before then, during the numerous daemonite attacks, or the ones who’d been removed from service since.

Ailsa had been executed just one week after her crimes had been revealed, but before then, Freya had interrogated her further, learning all the details of the kaern general’s betrayal. Under the influence of her geis, Ailsa had reluctantly revealed the identities of her three accomplices, Val Kyr who’d willingly assisted her in ‘cleansing’ Val Halla of converts.

Though one of these accomplices had been killed in a recent incursion, the remaining two were currently locked up in Val Halla’s dungeon. I suspected that the only reason Freya hadn’t ordered them executed as well was because neither had murdered a Val Kyr with her own hands, though that didn’t lessen their crimes. Both women had betrayed converts within their own triads, intentionally abandoning them in combat so that they were torn apart by daemons.

Six new Val Kyr had been recruited in the six months since that battle, including my dad, which was quite a record. Normally, the Val Kyr only recruited one or two new sisters into the ranks a year, but with all the losses that had been suffered over the last year, everyone considered it urgent to build up our strength and numbers again. That very urgency was one of the reasons the new converts had received a warmer welcome than I first had.

After my sparring partners had completely departed, I turned my attention to the few members of our audience who remained. My eyes first went to Julie, who was dressed in normal street clothes, the kind that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a mall, though they would have helped earn her some appreciative attention from any guys. I grinned as I went over, then gave her a passionate kiss.

“Welcome back,” I told my girlfriend, who’d just spent the last week visiting with her family. I looked her over, looking forward to a somewhat more private and intimate reunion later tonight.

“Glad to be back,” Julie told me with a broad grin of her own. “Though I will miss having a cell phone that works…”

Then my eyes went to Dani, the lean kaern with the short brown hair who stood a short distance away. She radiated a sense of alert competence and tightly controlled danger, so that anyone who didn’t know her would probably assume that she’d been Val Kyr for decades…if not centuries…instead of only six months.

Dani, formerly known to me as Dad, was doing quite well among the Val Kyr, though it hadn’t been easy for her to adjust to her new gender. Still, she had plenty of reasons to enjoy her new life and these had all played a part in helping her accept the body that came with it. Not only was she young, healthy, enjoying the use of all four limbs again, and had a purpose in life, but she and Lindrell had also resumed their relationship…though I tried very hard to avoid learning any of the details.

Dani gave me a faint look of amusement, then asked, “How did you enjoy playing the teacher?” She gestured to where I’d been sparring a short time earlier.

“It’s different,” I responded, giving her a grin. “But not the first time. If you remember, I helped to teach you how to use a sword…”

“That you did,” she agreed with a sigh. “Of course, you know I have improved a great deal since then.”

I nodded at that, fully aware that she was now just as good with a sword as I was, and even faster. I let out a faint sigh, wishing I still had all that extra val I’d used back in that fight against Estrid, but unfortunately, unlike my natural val, that stuff hadn’t recharged once I’d used it up. Now I was back to my normal val levels, though admittedly, when I’d stepped into the scale to test myself again, each of the pillars had flickered just faintly…enough to suggest that I might have come out of the experience with just a little more val than what I’d started with…but still not quite enough to qualify for any of the pillars.

Of course, I might be able to recharge that extra val by letting a daemonite infect me again, but there was no way in Hell I would ever do that again…at least not willingly. After all, there was no guarantee that I’d be able to fight that energy off a second time and I didn’t want to risk even a small chance of becoming a daemonite.

“Let’s spar tomorrow,” I told Dani, grinning in anticipation.

I’d been practicing a little with a dual wield sword style, similar to what I’d seen Estrid use, because I thought it would be a great way to deal with either multiple opponents or the speed advantage that any kaern would have over me. Ionne had told me that dual wielding was a tactic that many atra had used in the past, which was where Estrid had picked it up. I was looking forward to trying it out against Dani, especially when I released essence from both swords at the same time.

Dani gave me a suspicious look, then said, “Your mother told me that you’ve been up to something…”

I nodded at that, still finding it odd to think of Lindrell as my mom, even after six months. Of course, thinking of Dani as my dad was even stranger, and I’d actually seen her go through her transformation. It had looked pretty uncomfortable and had made me grateful that I’d been unconscious for my own changes.

“I might have something new to show,” I responded with a grin.

Dani rolled her eyes, then looked to Julie, who was trying to hold back a laugh. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what Michelle has been up to while I was gone.”

“That reminds me,” Dani said, giving Julie a curious look. “How are your parents doing?”

“They’re doing all right,” Julie responded with a shrug, though she grinned as she added, “But Mom has been teasing my dad, saying that if he doesn’t help with the chores more, she might run off and join the Val Kyr.” I chuckled at that, mostly as I imagined Mr. Rosewald’s reactions.

This was the second time Julie had gone back home to visit everyone in the last six months, not counting the time we were all there to deal with the incursion. However, neither Dani or I had gone back at all. She was too embarrassed to let anyone there know about how she’d changed and what she’d become, so as far as anyone back home knew, David Sorensen had died heroically on the battlefield. I certainly couldn’t blame her for this since I’d done the exact same thing.

From what I’d previously heard from Julie, her parents were doing pretty well, but the town itself was not. Once the daemons were gone and people were finally able to leave, a large portion of the survivors had done just that, trying to get as far away from the scene of their living nightmare as possible.

With no daemon bodies or video evidence of what had really happened, all the outside investigators had were a lot of witnesses, all of whom were yelling about monsters. Of course, that hadn’t gone over well and the official report was that the town was the victim of a terrorist attack, which had included a suspected chemical weapon that caused massive hallucinations.

There had been a few who were willing to at least consider the truth, but all the reporters who went there and tried to report the daemon story found that their video cameras and footage kept blanking out and being deleted. It seemed that the haunts were still at work, limiting how much this incident exposed the existence of the daemons.

Julie told Dani and I the latest news about back at our old home as we walked across Val Halla, and when she was done, she asked, “So, what has everyone else been up to while I was gone?”

“Ionne has been teaching me a few new tricks,” I responded with a grin, intentionally teasing Dani with that fact since I still planned on showing them off to her tomorrow during our sparring. “I’ve been practicing with more fighting styles and tactics as part of the whole atra versatility thing.”

“And don’t forget your training team,” Dani pointed out, looking rather proud.

“Training team?” Julie asked, giving me a curious look.

“Freya is sending me out in a couple days for a training mission with a few of the new recruits,” I explained, feeling just a little self-conscious. “She put me in charge of the training triad, saying that she wanted me to give them a little practical experience in working with an atra.”

“Considering that you and she are the only atra around,” Dani pointed out, “and you already have a permanent triad, I suspect her real goal is to give you an opportunity for leadership experience.”

Julie nodded thoughtfully at that, then pointed out, “Knowing Freya, it’s probably both reasons…and something else that only she knows.”

“Probably,” I agreed. Freya usually had multiple reasons for everything she did, and they weren’t always obvious ones.

“Either way,” Dani said, giving me a thoughtful look. “I think she’s grooming you.”

I nodded uncomfortably at that, not sure what I could say since I suspected she was right. During that big confrontation with Ailsa, Freya had revealed that three of her predecessors had been atra, and suggested that an atra would probably be her successor as well…if possible. Though Freya and I hadn’t actually talked about this, I’d paid enough attention to realize that she was training me to one day be a possible successor. Of course, if that day ever did come, it would be a long time in the future.

The title of Freya was not an inherited one that was passed down through a family line, but one that would only be given to a Val Kyr who’d proven herself to be extremely capable and experienced. Even though I was the only other atra, I knew that if Freya somehow died tomorrow, I would not be her replacement. That was something I would have to spend centuries earning and proving myself worthy of, and by the time that occurred, there might very well be other atra who were even more qualified. Still, I couldn’t help but feeling honored that Ionne would even consider me worthy…or at least of one day being worthy…of such a thing.

“But what about you?” I asked Dani in order to change the subject. “I know Freya has been giving you some training assignments too.”

Dani grunted faintly at that, though I could tell she was actually pleased. Once Dani had gone through all her own initial training, Freya had tasked her to do a little teaching as well. For the last two months, Dani had spent a lot of time on Earth, in a Val Kyr training facility where she taught groups of women about modern weaponry and tactics. A lot of Dani’s experience would be useless against daemons or in the Twilight Realm where firearms and explosives didn’t work, but some of it could still be integrated with the Val Kyr fighting style, helping us all improve and become more effective.

“And I heard you talking with Mari about sniper tactics as well,” I added with a grin, remembering how much the two of them had gotten caught up in the conversation.

“She has an interesting perspective,” Dani responded with a chuckle. “Of course, she’s been doing it for a thousand years, so she has a few tricks I’d never even heard of before.”

Mari was the new kaern general, who Freya had called back from of a long sabbatical so she could take over Ailsa’s responsibilities. At first, Mari seemed to resent her sudden promotion, or at least the end of her fifteen year vacation, but to her credit, she also approved of bringing converts back into the Val Kyr and had gone out of her way to make Dani feel welcome among the kaern.

When we walked past Jass, I was still a bit startled to have Jass give a friendly wave in our direction, or at least to Dani. Strangely enough, Dani and Jass had become friends, which I never would have expected from the woman who used to constantly insult me because I was a convert. Of course, learning the truth about Estrid’s ‘betrayal’ and seeing the damage that Ailsa’s hatred had caused, had not only softened some of Jass’ views, but those of a lot of other Val Kyr as well.

Though my own relationship with Jass had definitely improved, I still wouldn’t say we were really friends, and I doubted we ever would be after our previous issues. However, there was courtesy and respect between us, and that was much better than I ever would have imagined at one point.

A short time later, the three of us ended up at the bath house, though none of us had actually said that this was where we were going. However, after sparring with those three new recruits, I’d built up a nice sweat and was looking forward to just relaxing in the hot water. I glanced over to Dani, who was very carefully acting nonchalant and pretending she didn’t notice the naked and very attractive women who were already present. However, I knew her well enough to know that she’d definitely noticed them, especially one in particular.

I just took a casual glance around the pools, curious about who was currently present. In one of the closest pools, I noticed Nicole, soaking alongside Cindy and Megan…who’d somehow beat us there. When Nicole noticed us and gave an inviting wave, I waved back but gestured to indicate that we’d already found another spot to soak.

Without a word of discussion, the three of us went straight to a pool where Lindrell and Shannon were already soaking. Dani immediately slipped into the water beside Lindrell, then they greeted each other with a passionate kiss. Julie giggled at that, grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, then we kissed each other as well before climbing in.

“Welcome back,” Shannon said to Julie who just grinned in response.

“Yes,” Lindrell added once she and Dani had finished their greeting. “Now that you have returned, we can get back to training…and your schooling.”

Julie and I both groaned at that, rolling our eyes simultaneously. Now that Julie and I had finished with our initial training, Lindrell had decided to go back into teacher mode and had begun assigning us homework…the math, history, and English kind we used to get back in school. Apparently, now that we knew enough to fight effectively, she thought we needed to work on our regular education too.

“And Michelle,” Lindrell told me, “do not think you will be allowed to skip your own work just because you will be off training with the new recruits.”

“Of course not, Mom,” I said with another roll of my eyes, intentionally calling her Mom just to test it out. I still had a hard time thinking of her as being my mom, but it was getting a little easier. She smiled in response, definitely looking pleased.

Ever since I’d learned about my relationship with Lindrell, I’d been getting to know her as more than just a teacher, trainer, and teammate, though I doubted we’d ever have any kind of traditional mother/daughter relationship. Still, we had been bonding a little, with much of it occurring in her workshop where she showed me some of the wood working skills that her father…my grandfather…had taught her a few centuries ago.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Julie abruptly told me with a broad grin. “I picked up a few more things for our costumes…”

“Costumes?” Shannon asked, giving us both curious looks.

“They’ve been going to fantasy and comic book conventions for years,” Dani explained with a faint chuckle. “And they always go in costume…”

“We’re going to a convention next month,” I explained with a grin, definitely excited about going. After all, this would be the first convention that Julie and I had gone to since becoming Val Kyr, and we were both eager to show off our new bodies…and how well our costumes would look on us. “It’s going to be a blast…”

“Why don’t you both just wear your armor?” Dani asked. “I’d think that would look impressive enough…”

“That’s just cheating,” Julie responded with a dismissive snort.

“The point is to go in costume,” I explained. “Not in something we wear all the time.”

“I see,” Lindrell commented with a faint smile. “So, what kind of costumes will you be wearing?”

“I’m going as Batgirl,” Julie exclaimed excitedly.

“Supergirl,” I added with a grin.

This was the first time I’d be able to go to a convention as a girl, and I was really looking forward to it. Well, I had done crossplay once before, but this was the first time I actually had the right body for a sexy girl costume. I was going to totally rock the spandex.

Julie and I talked about our costume plans for a few more minutes while Lindrell, Dani, and Shannon all looked vaguely amused. Once Julie and I realized that the others weren’t really that interested, we finally dropped the conversation, at least for the time being.

I smiled as I sank down into the water, all the way up to my neck, enjoying just how nice the warm water felt. It felt so good to just sit there, soaking while being surrounded by those I cared for…by my family.

When I’d first come to Val Halla, it had only been to save my life, and it hadn’t even been intentional on my part. And on that day, I’d lost nearly everything I knew and cared about. I’d lost my girlfriend, my dad, my body, and even my own identity. At the time, I hadn’t imagined that I’d ever get used to this new life.

But to my surprise, it hadn’t taken long before I learned that I’d gained far more than I’d ever lost. I’d discovered a new world, a world of nightmares and wonder, where things from myth and legend really existed. I’d found a strength, power, and confidence that I’d only imagined myself capable of in my wildest dreams. And in these things, I’d also uncovered an ancient and worthy purpose that I was honored to dedicated my life to.

Of course, being converted and coming to Val Halla had also led to my finding the mother I’d never known, the father I’d thought was lost to me forever, distant relatives I’d never known existed, and even the kinds of friends I could literally trust with my life. I now lived a live that I never would have imagined possible for me, yet one I wouldn’t surrender for anything. And though there were unbelievable dangers and fears, I would never give up my new life among the Val Kyr.

The End

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Comments

Morpheus,

Morpheus,
A nice wrap up ending. You tied everything together so nicely, but I am also hoping that "down the road one day", we might be presented with a chapter or two of Michelle, Julie, Lindrell, and Dani and all new Val Kur adventures.
Thank you very much for this charming story.
Janice Lynn

Morpheus

great story. It is truly a piece of literature that goes beyond the simple TG Fiction stories seen regulary. I chose not to input my opinion on the last chapter where David was changed. Even tho I doubt you remember but you and I have talked about that issue from other stories. I have made comments on here about how the majority of the writers here take the easy way out and just change everyone. I think that this time it was the right ending. You set up the character as once being strong warrior, beaten and injured and he did not handle that as a warrior should. But not all warriors are strong enough to handle being beaten. David did not. I dont think it was an easy choice for David either but one that made total sense not only to the majority of readers but to a warrior like David. It was a second chance to overcome that defeat. It didnt hurt that he got his love and his child back either.
This was an epic journey, one told by a Master Writer. I know you rarely write any sequels and I know you always leave that door open. It amazes me how you gather such a following. The comments that other writers leave after each chapter. Writers that vary in such different genres than what you write about. How each give this bit of advice or say how they wish they could do this or that. Vince Lombardi was once asked, Do you consider yourself the greatest Coach of all time? by a reporter. There was a long pause before he gave his answer. His response was very simple. "No Sir my mom was the greatest Coach of all time. She taught me how to Love. Each of your stories teaches something to each reader. Makes us think, put ourselves in the place of the main character. Makes us examine ourselves in a different light.
All there is to say is Thank You.

SDom

Men should be Men and the rest should be as feminine as they can be

Thank you, Morpheus

Another great, enjoyable story. Of course like all great stories, it never really ends, so the Val Kyr will still be out their fighting to protect people who don't even know they exist.

One side note: it's nice to see that Michelle has adjusted to her gender, but I have to say that if she was really a confident, well adjusted young woman, she'd be rocking a Power Girl costume! ;P

Morpheus, thank you for this

Morpheus, thank you for this great story. looking forward to the next one.

p.s. I think my invitation to become a val kyr was lost in the mail

My appologies,

While I've read each chapter as soon as it appeared and left kudos, I have not left any comments. I would just like you to know that this was a very well planned an executed tale that was a joy to read. Your Whateley fiction has also been outstanding! been reading it there because it gets posted there first

Thanks so much for the stories,

Larimus

Great ending.

Great story, and with a great ending. You tied up everything nicely. In a positive way.

I hope some day you right a sequel to this story.

And I look forward to seeing what your next project is.

Val Kyr...

All I can say Morpheus is 'WOW!'. I've been a fan of your stories for some years now and have my favorites but on this one you have outdone yourself! Thank you ever so much for sharing this great story with us!

Whaaaaa! Its over! Sniffle!

^_^ Wonderful story.
Sorry to see it finish but it is for the best that when a stories time has come it retire gracefully.
Thank you very much.

A good ending

Well this story was quite a ride. When you started it I had no clue where you were headed, but now it speaks for itself. I also really like the fact that Michelle's family was put back together. Thank you for writing this.

"we can turn it all around, because it's not too late, it's NEVER too late" -(never too late, Three Days Grace)

Awesome!

I have to say, this is one of my favorite Morpheus stories thus far. I don't have a single critical thing to say about it now that it's done. It was just right.

The wonderful thing about Morpheus, in addition to his above par writing skills, is that no matter how slow things get you just have to wait a little and Morpheus will deliver something new and interesting. Thanks for that, Morpheus. You're the best!

Val Kyr Story

Forgive if I didn't offer praise along the way, and allow me to say thanks for your time, efforts and talents to bring this story to fruition! Good job Morpheus!

Another Morpheus classic

This was amazing, an excellent read. I really enjoyed it, it was full of suspense and intrigue and ended well. I have no idea how you keep churning them out but long may it continue.

Sydney Moya

Thanks

Dahlia's picture

I can't say all the profound things of substance and writing style as all the other commenters so far but let me just say thanks from a simple reader who loves your stories. I look forward to any and all your writings.

Dahlia

Thanks for another entertaining tale,

As always, the plot was well-conceived. The writing just flowed so that you could just absorb rather than parse. Very good!

Among the Val Kyr

I dont know if I can add anything to this that has not already been said. I loved this story from the very start and I'll miss it going forward. An imaginative tale where you identify with the characters fearing for their future. Maybe there is a chance for a future sequel or even a prequel if the story is centered around the ATRA rebelion.

I hope to read many more of Morpheus's stories.

One of your better stories

I think. Somehow I doubt we'll see a continuation of this one, you wrapped everything up very nicely.

Thank you Morpheus

Hope Eternal Reigns's picture

It has been an EXCITING ride! Unwanted transformation, bigotry, monsters, battles, intrigue, betrayal, family, love and eventual harmony; an EPIC saga, worthy of the classic norse myth-spinners.

Thank you for sharing all your hard work with all of us.

with love,

Hope

Once in a while I bare my soul, more often my soles bear me.

Hm. It seems to me that they

Hm. It seems to me that they _really_ need to locate the other anchors, and wall them off - at a minimum. That, and find out what happened to the other groups. Maybe there are ways to reactivate the descendants of the other 'gods', or contact those 'gods' and have them help restart the groups.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Actually...

Actually, I've been planning on eventually writing a story that takes place in the same universe, that deals with the legacies of the other gods, the other anchors, and even the origins of the daemonites. However, I wouldn't call it a direct sequel because I don't intend to have any of the characters from this story appear in it.

The waking world is but a dream.

Well, keep in mind that

Well, keep in mind that pneumatic weapons will work _just_ fine in the anchor world :)

(Think paintball guns, on steroids - or even spear guns. They're driven by pneumatics, or compressed air. Heck, shoot a demon a few dozen times with acid pellets, and they probably won't be happy campers)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Probably.

Athena N's picture

It depends a bit on how similar physics the two worlds have.

Then again, there's always jeweller's rouge.
(For those unfamiliar with the late Roger Zelazny's Amber series, the point here is that something that is completely inert in one place may make an excellent gunpowder somewhere else where Mummy Nature set up a different legal system.)

Will they?

I mean, because firearms don't operate on some mystical principle like electronics do. As long as a normal non-magical fire will burn, there's really no reason why firearms shouldn't work. You pull the trigger, the spring-loaded hammer drops on the firing pin, which strikes the primer of the cartridge containing possibly the most mysterious part of the process, a pressure sensitive material that burns when struck, sending a jet of flame though the flash hole of the cartridge into the propellant charge, igniting it, where upon the expanding gases produced by the burning propellant force the projectile down the barrel at a high rate of speed and down range to do its business. All of which is far less mystical than electrons moving through a conductor or batteries producing electricity though a chemical reaction. It's all mechanical or involving the same chemical reaction that allows a regular fire to burn.

So if something as basic as a firearm won't work, why would a pneumatic weapon?

FYI, primers and percussion caps used to be made from fulminated mercury (mercury dissolved in nitric acid) but these days they are made from something less toxic.

Yes, pneumatics will continue

Yes, pneumatics will continue to work, for the simple fact that if compressed air can't work, then neither can speech! (Or breathing, for that matter. Let alone anything else that involves stress on a material).

As I recall, it wasn't that firearms don't work, it's that they aren't reliable. Some areas the combustion effects work, and some they don't, with no guarantee. All it would take is an alteration in the chemical reaction in potassium nitrate or sulphur, and you'd get a 'pff' from the primer, and a jammed bullet. And that's it. (Valence bonding, if you wanted to be specific, but what the heck, it's fantasy). Compressed air works exactly like a spring, which is all a bow is (leaf spring). So, the bulk of them focus on weapons they know will work every time - which firearms aren't. However, I've noticed that almost every single writer out there ignores pneumatic weapons, such as paintball guns. Propel a 1/2 inch ball bearing at 250 fps, and repeat it, and you've got a weapon that will stun, knock over, or outright kill most humans. The best part? They're not firearms, so you could carry one all day long if you wanted to. The downside is that to get a good amount of use, you have to carry a nitrogen bottle (or two) on your belt/backpack.

(As I recall, torpedos and sub launched missiles are still ejected using compressed air)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Potassium Nitrate, Sulfur,

Potassium Nitrate, Sulfur, and charcoal (AKA: Black Powder) haven't been used as a propellent in modern ammunition for years. I still maintain though, if fire burns, then the ammunition should work. The only dubious part is whether or not the primer would function since the material might not be as pressure sensitive. And if firearms don't work then maybe compressed air will also behave differently, or perhaps the mechanics of the valving won't function, or the seals will have different properties that will cause the mechanism to fail. You could use whatever phelbotinum you care to think of to explain why a basic process won't work in a fantasy setting. BTW, a firearm and a paintball gun both work on the same principle; a firearm just operates at vastly higher pressures to drive the projectile down the barrel.

Torpedo motors actually run on CO2 as well, IIRC. At least the WW2 versions did. Not sure about modern ones.

No, a firearm does _not_ work

No, a firearm does _not_ work on the same principles as a paintball gun, at least not completely.

Firearms work by combustion, yes, but _all modern propellents work with the same chemistry_. That is, a nitrated chemical. Your normal combustion of cellulose products (wood stove, coal, cow patties) doesn't involve nitrated cellulose. Paintball guns work by direct compression, exactly like a bow does. (decompression if you want to be pedantic)

Cordite, ballistite, and the various formulations all work with variations of guncotton. (nitroglycerine formulations were even tried. Eww)

If you're going to have an applied phlebotinum to use for your story, then KISS. Having nitrates work differently (irregularly) would be a very good one. Doesn't hurt anyone, doesn't affect day do day anything, but affects almost all fast combustion (explosion) chemicals. Remember, the anchor world is supposed to be different, with the anchor points being locations that are closest to the Earth. I'd guess that you could use the firearms right there in the fortress, but that the usability at the edges would ... drift. (Machine gun dead center over the pillars, mounted on a pintle? Would only be useful at killing those that randomly come by)

I suppose you could make your entire propellant out of fulminated mercury or something like that, but I wouldn't want to carry the ammo box.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Morpheus, this is one your very best stories yet!

I Can't wait to read what kind of story that you'll come up with next. I also agree with the orther readers that I'd love to see a sequel to Among the Val Kyr some day. Keep up the wonderful story telling. May your Muse forever continue to inspire you to continue writing.

Hugs,

Tamara Jeanne

In conclusion

Very nice conclusion to a great story. I really enjoyed reading this one.

Cheers
Zapper

I could wax eloquent, but

that would be gilding the lily. Instead I will merely stand and applaud yet another classic from Morpheus.

Bravo, bravo.

Catherine Linda Michel

As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script. Y_0.jpg

No Free Pass

BarbieLee's picture

All the chapters were top notch story telling until this last one. You didn't tie a bow on it. You tossed the ribbon at it and said, "I'm tired, I'm done." If you put this puppy in print and sell it, a rewrite on the last chapter would be a save. I wouldn't publish it until you cleaned it up. You were tired when wrote it and it came through. You weren't in the story connected with your actors and actresses any longer.

The rest of the story is some of the finest pieces of writing I've had the pleasure to read. A few spelling and grammar errors. Nothing a good editor couldn't clean up without changing the context of the sentences.

As much as I love your style and your stories, I will skip the next one until it is finished. I am NOT a serial reader. I just as soon have a lobotomy as read a continued story or watch a TV Soap.

Nicely done. Excellent story telling.
always,
Barb

Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl

Awesome

Tas's picture

This was a great tale, something I really enjoyed reading. There were so many twists and turns that you never knew what was coming next, and there were cliffhangers every second chapter it seemed like, but that's part of why it was so good.

Well done and thank you :)

-Tas

Two Thumbs up. ...

Way, way up. Excellent story and writing. Thank you very, very much.

i lived it

i lived it i have read it two times thank you

A CLASSIC

Another class act from Morpheus! Love the story love romance, with a little humor great combination. Love you all! Bye. Natasha.

Can't get enough!

I just finished rereading this story! Thank you Morpheus for the wonderful tale! <3


Hugs from British Columbia! :D

Great Series

Exciting and fun to read with a very satisfying outcome.

Thanks for sharing.

Long but great

Really wonderful story. Took me a couple of days to finish it but definitely worth it. Great job!