Free flower border images
A community that enjoys hemp flowers
2019.05.19 22:16 BLMdidHarambe A community that enjoys hemp flowers
A Hemp Flower Community to discuss and share information on legal hemp strains, news, and vendors. Post your reviews, show us your flowers, ask your questions. We are all buds here.
2014.04.04 00:27 WheezyLiam Fibonacci As Fuck: A place for the most golden of spirals
Fibonacciasfuck is a subreddit dedicated to Fibonacci Spirals, an amazing shape that forms when the golden ratio is applied.
2012.05.06 19:36 gunnerheadboy PolicePorn - high quality SFW images of police
/PolicePorn is for high quality safe for work images of police. Submissions should be pictures of law enforcement officers, vehicles, or equipment. Any law enforcement agency from any country qualifies including the FBI, border patrol, DEA, etc.
2023.04.02 11:43 alenpetak11 Scenic shoots of cars as they approaching turn 9, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [13 x 4000x2666]
![Scenic shoots of cars as they approaching turn 9, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [13 x 4000x2666]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/FSzAw3cq-1vZrOrFRNPvktXwsDxbplzZ1Pp817BSV4E.jpg "Scenic shoots of cars as they approaching turn 9, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [13 x 4000x2666]") | submitted by alenpetak11 to u/alenpetak11 [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 11:35 ncfcfan10101 Freddie's Flowers - Free flowers worth £29
As posted previously on the sub, each paid customer of Freddie's flowers gets a code to send to 4 friends each month for a free box of flowers.
As it is now April, my code is now valid again for 4 new customers!
To get the flowers:
Go to the website: https://www.freddiesflowers.com
Click 'Start my subscription'
During the sign up process enter a referral code (for a free box of flowers worth £29 for your first box)
My code: JosephG6620
There is no commitment to continue past the first box - the cancellation process is outlined clearly in the website help section.
Final note: Please try to comment below or message me when you've used my code so I can update my post when all 4 free boxes have been taken. If my code is only giving you a half price box during sign-up, that means my 4 boxes have all been taken - just ask another user here for a refreshed code!
Enjoy the flowers!
submitted by ncfcfan10101 to beermoneyuk [link] [comments]
As it is now April, my code is now valid again for 4 new customers!
To get the flowers:
Go to the website: https://www.freddiesflowers.com
Click 'Start my subscription'
During the sign up process enter a referral code (for a free box of flowers worth £29 for your first box)
My code: JosephG6620
There is no commitment to continue past the first box - the cancellation process is outlined clearly in the website help section.
Final note: Please try to comment below or message me when you've used my code so I can update my post when all 4 free boxes have been taken. If my code is only giving you a half price box during sign-up, that means my 4 boxes have all been taken - just ask another user here for a refreshed code!
Enjoy the flowers!
2023.04.02 11:32 Dad1903 Sunday Reflection (2nd April 2023)
Morning brethren ✌️. So tis the norm nowadays: DWT Doesnae Win Fucking Ever - hoo fucking mama. As mused there in the aftermath, had Brentford hung on, we'd have clawed it pretty much all back. But no no - of course fucking no... they didnae. Fine margins exist, regardless of whether cunts wish to acknowledge them. Just as it happens - Dad generally lands on the wrong fucking side of the bast6arding line. Dad doesnae have an official count of all the last minute disappointments we've endured here at DWT - but for fucking sure, Dad is aware they generally land butter side down. Tis the regularity of disappointment, that actually has Dad hopeful for a glut of non-usual happenings... a run of fence-sitters that decide, 'Here - I'm going to show tails for a few tosses... fuck heads 👊'. But tis tough to remain steadfast in ones hopes when the results get properly ugly - much like Shrewsbury there. Losing by 6 or more is pish sure - but you at least hope that that'll be where all the goals against nestle, and as such still allow a terrific Double to register. Alas no even that... Norwich decided they couldnae be fucking arsed, the useless promotion-shy bastards that they fucking are. Here - Dad aims for positivity when and wherever - and given the brevity of next week’s event, there's an argument for suggesting this most recent pile of shite heightens even further, the magnitude success would have if indeed it occurred. DWT150 we are referring to here people: an occurrence many, many cunts likely thought not possible, such was the surety DWT would be a distant memory by such a time. Dad has proven free of doubt, that he has the energy and vigour available in abundance, to maintain and guide the Good Ship for as long as it fucking takes. At least until DWT200 anyhow, for which Dad has a properly exciting plan for... a defining moment it'll be by fuck - that's a fucking promise 🤘
All the misery evident... and yet Dad is talking about defining moments in the making. That's Dad for you folks - a proper stalwart in the name of dedication and desire, ne'er letting go of that vision... that hope that'll rush forth an era of respect and awe. Seems distant in the extreme maybes - but for sure, that isnae summat that deters, even in the slightest. You takes the bashes, you apply vinegar and brown paper - then you get back to it. Then - when it finally goes terrifically - you give a heartfelt speech about blood, sweatiness and greeting. It's a textbook story ready to be etched... or is being etched even. Yous are reading it. Yet despite Dad telling yous the ending - there's still doubt as to it's happening. That in itself, is a gift which Dad possesses: lulling the reading into a false sense of disbelief - so sure of the inevitable failing, even the suggestion of pish becoming a whirlwind of success is deemed a pile of absolute shite. Stick with Dad - that's all I is asking. Let Dad prove your misgivings misguided and that sometimes - pish is worth sticking with. These days - it's easy to toss out and start afresh... so many fucking options. Dad isnae one to allow oneself to get bogged down - familiarity is still key to Dads Comfort and Satisfaction. The reassuring nature of folks saying the usual kind of stuff and doing the same kind of activities... the respect for such a premise has dwindled alarmingly over the past few years. It's tough to even expect someone to stick with whatever they've decided to dedicate themselves to, such is the inevitability of cunts going out of their way to poopoo the fuck out of it. All this space to operate... you'd think cunts would be able to find summat to distract them for whatever causes so much disdain, they can think only of sabotage and mockery. A damning indictment on a cunts, life when that's the type of shite they wish to focus on.
You'd hope that the facts speak for themselves - and that cunts would rally round to protect the sanctity of whatever is being targeted... instead it's a gawp at-type scenario that often arises. A situation arises where one is clearly a cunt and the other a victim of unnecessary abuse... yet the sum total is pricks standing around observing, exclaiming in shock. No thought to getting involved themselves but - instead tis an opportunity to get some footage and share it with other pricks around the globe. There's a distinct lack of forthrightness these days - which some may argue isnae a bad thing... but it's much like anything of such a nature - because a few cunts have abused a situ for their own cunt end, it's ruined it for actual victims, who now have to suffer through a shit ton of litigation or whatever even to get a proper podium upon which to stand and yell. Now we're at the stage where even the right to fucking protest is being yanked from under our tootsies... threats of travel rights being revoked and all the rest... we've some proper maggot bastards calling the shots in certain parts of the planet. The answer to all of this is tough to pinpoint... everything seems so far gone that the starting point of recovery is nowt more than a hazy image undeterminable to even cunts with 20/20 vision. The determination of hateful arseholes, is at a level where even the most ironclad of good times is under threat. Shit taken for granted and thusly largely unprotected from unexpected attack, is suddenly as vulnerable as even the most laughably constructed gibberish. We need to tap into as much humble as we can - collectively - allowing us to admit and accept superior minds which are best placed to guide the craft out of the madness. Rather than immediately stick the cunt under a microscope and work out how to shame them into hiding. Sure - if there's murder or rape or armed-robbery tucked away in the undergrowth of a cunts past that's one thing... but cunts are being toppled for triviality a-fucking-plenty. Progress is stifled owing to pish no cunt really gives a fuck about, other than a tiny percentage seemingly so selfish, they cannae distinguish the greater good for love nor fucking money. A ways to go there is by fuck... much too far to be solved in the next wee whiley that's for fucking sure. So in the meantime - we stare longingly at DWT, hoping for an alternative to all the misery and disappointment. Next week - should a winner occur- it'll be a proper sign of shit to come, such is the perfect nature of timing and all the rest. No to say all Dads Eggs are in the basket, proper arrogant and knowing... but it'll be tough to ignore the message conveyed. Dad: We're Ready for You Now. Win and Win Well 👊
See yous next week - same DWT time, same DWT channel 😎
submitted by Dad1903 to DadsWeeklyTreble [link] [comments]
All the misery evident... and yet Dad is talking about defining moments in the making. That's Dad for you folks - a proper stalwart in the name of dedication and desire, ne'er letting go of that vision... that hope that'll rush forth an era of respect and awe. Seems distant in the extreme maybes - but for sure, that isnae summat that deters, even in the slightest. You takes the bashes, you apply vinegar and brown paper - then you get back to it. Then - when it finally goes terrifically - you give a heartfelt speech about blood, sweatiness and greeting. It's a textbook story ready to be etched... or is being etched even. Yous are reading it. Yet despite Dad telling yous the ending - there's still doubt as to it's happening. That in itself, is a gift which Dad possesses: lulling the reading into a false sense of disbelief - so sure of the inevitable failing, even the suggestion of pish becoming a whirlwind of success is deemed a pile of absolute shite. Stick with Dad - that's all I is asking. Let Dad prove your misgivings misguided and that sometimes - pish is worth sticking with. These days - it's easy to toss out and start afresh... so many fucking options. Dad isnae one to allow oneself to get bogged down - familiarity is still key to Dads Comfort and Satisfaction. The reassuring nature of folks saying the usual kind of stuff and doing the same kind of activities... the respect for such a premise has dwindled alarmingly over the past few years. It's tough to even expect someone to stick with whatever they've decided to dedicate themselves to, such is the inevitability of cunts going out of their way to poopoo the fuck out of it. All this space to operate... you'd think cunts would be able to find summat to distract them for whatever causes so much disdain, they can think only of sabotage and mockery. A damning indictment on a cunts, life when that's the type of shite they wish to focus on.
You'd hope that the facts speak for themselves - and that cunts would rally round to protect the sanctity of whatever is being targeted... instead it's a gawp at-type scenario that often arises. A situation arises where one is clearly a cunt and the other a victim of unnecessary abuse... yet the sum total is pricks standing around observing, exclaiming in shock. No thought to getting involved themselves but - instead tis an opportunity to get some footage and share it with other pricks around the globe. There's a distinct lack of forthrightness these days - which some may argue isnae a bad thing... but it's much like anything of such a nature - because a few cunts have abused a situ for their own cunt end, it's ruined it for actual victims, who now have to suffer through a shit ton of litigation or whatever even to get a proper podium upon which to stand and yell. Now we're at the stage where even the right to fucking protest is being yanked from under our tootsies... threats of travel rights being revoked and all the rest... we've some proper maggot bastards calling the shots in certain parts of the planet. The answer to all of this is tough to pinpoint... everything seems so far gone that the starting point of recovery is nowt more than a hazy image undeterminable to even cunts with 20/20 vision. The determination of hateful arseholes, is at a level where even the most ironclad of good times is under threat. Shit taken for granted and thusly largely unprotected from unexpected attack, is suddenly as vulnerable as even the most laughably constructed gibberish. We need to tap into as much humble as we can - collectively - allowing us to admit and accept superior minds which are best placed to guide the craft out of the madness. Rather than immediately stick the cunt under a microscope and work out how to shame them into hiding. Sure - if there's murder or rape or armed-robbery tucked away in the undergrowth of a cunts past that's one thing... but cunts are being toppled for triviality a-fucking-plenty. Progress is stifled owing to pish no cunt really gives a fuck about, other than a tiny percentage seemingly so selfish, they cannae distinguish the greater good for love nor fucking money. A ways to go there is by fuck... much too far to be solved in the next wee whiley that's for fucking sure. So in the meantime - we stare longingly at DWT, hoping for an alternative to all the misery and disappointment. Next week - should a winner occur- it'll be a proper sign of shit to come, such is the perfect nature of timing and all the rest. No to say all Dads Eggs are in the basket, proper arrogant and knowing... but it'll be tough to ignore the message conveyed. Dad: We're Ready for You Now. Win and Win Well 👊
See yous next week - same DWT time, same DWT channel 😎
2023.04.02 11:31 VadhyaRatha Is this really made in USA? Can't find it on Flipkart/Amazon.
 | submitted by VadhyaRatha to delhi [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 11:30 AutoModerator [Get] Noah Hunter Dorsey – Upgrade Your Shopify Store
![[Get] Noah Hunter Dorsey – Upgrade Your Shopify Store](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/fKeCRFqr9mNdb9OZ3LEhV-D3HALwFRGFuxOU9NoVLBY.jpg "[Get] Noah Hunter Dorsey – Upgrade Your Shopify Store") | Download course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/noah-hunter-dorsey-upgrade-your-shopify-store/ submitted by AutoModerator to Cheap_Courses_2023 [link] [comments] [Get] Noah Hunter Dorsey – Upgrade Your Shopify Store https://preview.redd.it/o9kfvpo8k6ra1.jpg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a84ce1b6c6582da9e7d9987420edbfd9d835383d Noah Hunter Dorsey – Upgrade Your Shopify StoreWhat You Get Noah Hunter Dorsey Upgrade Your Shopify Store:Module 1: Strategy Here, Noah will go into the high-level strategies of creating a killer Shopify store. Lesson 1: Branding & Psychology Lesson 2: Creating Offers Lesson 3: Product Offerings Lesson 4: Themes & Branding Lesson 5: Seasonality Module 2: Homepage Your homepage is the most popular page on your site, so it needs to convert. Here – Noah will give you the templates and frameworks that push curious visitors into shoppers, focusing on maximising your AOV. Lesson 1: Layout Lesson 2: Banner Lesson 3: Navigation Lesson 4: Free Gift Lesson 5: Social Proof Lesson 6: Products & Collections Lesson 7: Copy Module 3: Product Page In this module, you’ll build high-converting product pages that turn shoppers into customers like clockwork. Lesson 1: Familiarity & Setup Lesson 2: Product Images Lesson 3: Name & Description Lesson 4: Social Proof Lesson 5: Shipping & Offer Lesson 6: Discounts & Upsells Lesson 7: Buy Now, Pay Later Lesson 8: Long Copy Lesson 9: Urgency Lesson 10: FAQs Lesson 11: Recommended Products Module 4: Checkout Optimise your checkout system to minimise abandoned checkouts, increase conversions and boost AOV with upsells. Lesson 1: Express Postage Lesson 2: Aftersell Module 5: Customer Experience Here, you’ll optimise customer experience, increasing visitor satisfaction, trust & sales. Lesson 1: Site Speed Lesson 2: Contact Us Lesson 3: Live Chat Lesson 4: Terms & Conditions Bonus #1: Review Automation System Social proof is critical for establishing trust and increasing conversion rates in your store. A single positive review is worth $500 or more. That’s why you’re getting Noah’s exact review automation process, which he used to get Tommi Skin 300+ reviews. Integrate this into your business and begin receiving 5-star reviews from your customers. Bonus #2: Product Photography Masterclass Noah will give you his free, simple system for taking professional website product photos with your iPhone. He’ll go over various shots, setups, camera settings, and simple editing tools you can use on your iPhone. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have many amazing product images for your website and social media that will instantly build trust and credibility with your audience and help you make more sales daily. Bonus #3: Hiring A Customer Service VA System Tired of providing your own customer service? Noah will walk you through his step-by-step process for finding, hiring, and onboarding a rockstar Virtual Assistant in as little as 24 hours (for as little as $4 per hour). Once set up, they will respond to messages and convert them into customers daily, increasing your revenue. This will save you hours weekly, allowing you to focus on more important things. Bonus #4: Canva Design Templates Here, Noah has got his designers to create Canva design templates for you. Just drag-n-drop images and text in, export them and upload them straight into your site. These design templates are built to be as fast and easy as possible to have a stunning website design that looks good and gets purchases. |
2023.04.02 11:24 alenpetak11 Drives leaves pitlane, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [4000x2666]
![Drives leaves pitlane, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [4000x2666]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/R7Rvi8pvEhbmdJbFLu8KmEtDYG7jwQUUU_peclfzz9M.jpg "Drives leaves pitlane, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [4000x2666]") | submitted by alenpetak11 to F1Porn [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 11:23 alenpetak11 Drives leaves pitlane, image gallery, 3rd free practice, 2023 Australian GP [4000x2666]
| | submitted by alenpetak11 to u/alenpetak11 [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 11:19 entalert Sold out at the OCS (Sun., Apr. 2, 5:17 a.m. EDT)
😢 Gone (for now)
Edibles
Topicals
Vapes
Stock-in tweets @entAlert
submitted by entalert to entalert [link] [comments]
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| 6:9 Premium Milled Flower 14g by ABIDE + WholeHemp Custom Blends | $3.57/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| Animal Face 3.5g by Carmel | $13.86/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| BC God Bud 3.5g by Versus | $4.84/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Glueberry OG 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Koko's Cookies 14g by Dank Craft | $8.00/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Kush Mints 3.5g by Tweed | $6.56/g |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Orange Kush Feminized Seeds 4 Pack by Camp River Cannabis | $44.95 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| Rocketman Pre-Roll 2x1g by Vibe | $11.75 |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| TF Pink Kush 1g by CanWe | $9.95/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| The Craft Tasting Flight #3 11g by Cognoscente | $9.09/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Varnish Vapor 3.5g by Strains Limited | $12.84/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wappa 28g by Redecan | $3.57/g |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Wedding Cake Pre-Roll 10x0.35g by Spinach | $23.95 |
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
| CBD Relief Stick 30g by Wildflower | $44.95 |
2023.04.02 11:16 Pech_fee Problems with Adobe Express
Hey guys,
I'm using adobe express on my android phone and I a prime user. I got no problems with the app until today. So I wanted to open a old projekt, but I got this message
"Project cannot be opened. As a user of a free version do you have on one or more adobe Stock premium images in this project no access" translate from german im english.
The problem occurs everywhere where I have used a prime photo. My subscription is still valid. I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. The problem is still there. Does anybody have a solution?
submitted by Pech_fee to graphic_design [link] [comments]
I'm using adobe express on my android phone and I a prime user. I got no problems with the app until today. So I wanted to open a old projekt, but I got this message
"Project cannot be opened. As a user of a free version do you have on one or more adobe Stock premium images in this project no access" translate from german im english.
The problem occurs everywhere where I have used a prime photo. My subscription is still valid. I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. The problem is still there. Does anybody have a solution?
2023.04.02 11:10 HarambeamsOfSteel Completely Stumped, Net Label Errors
Hi, I've been working with Altium Circuitmaker(free version) for my capstone project, and this problem has me completely stumped. For some reason, this net label is entirely non-functional.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/538724280213438474/1092012275268853760/image.png
When I swap it with RIGHT or LEFT, it suddenly works. The error saying "it only has one pin" stops appearing, and RIGHT/LEFT don't need to be connected to anything else for their functionality to retain. I've found out that giving the MOSFET voltage will cause the error to vanish, but RIGHT/LEFT aren't intrinsic voltage sources, and RIGHT/LEFT don't have this issue either. It also defeats the entire point of trying to control the MOSFET.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/538724280213438474/1092012643285467146/image.png
This is where all the other net labels are. Does anyone have any idea? The internet has provided me nothing.
submitted by HarambeamsOfSteel to PCB [link] [comments]
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/538724280213438474/1092012275268853760/image.png
When I swap it with RIGHT or LEFT, it suddenly works. The error saying "it only has one pin" stops appearing, and RIGHT/LEFT don't need to be connected to anything else for their functionality to retain. I've found out that giving the MOSFET voltage will cause the error to vanish, but RIGHT/LEFT aren't intrinsic voltage sources, and RIGHT/LEFT don't have this issue either. It also defeats the entire point of trying to control the MOSFET.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/538724280213438474/1092012643285467146/image.png
This is where all the other net labels are. Does anyone have any idea? The internet has provided me nothing.
2023.04.02 11:05 TechieBundle Stylish Popover Design with CSS: A User-Friendly Guide
Stylish Popover Design with CSS
A stylish popover design with CSS is a useful and versatile user interface element that can be used to display additional information, options, or actions when the user interacts with a specific area of a web page or application. With CSS, you can create beautiful and functional popovers that enhance the user experience and make your design stand out.To create a popover with CSS, you’ll need to start by defining the HTML structure of the popover and its trigger element. Typically, the trigger element is a button or a link that the user can click or hover over to activate the popover. The popover itself can contain any content you like, such as text, images, forms, or even embedded videos.
Once you have the HTML structure in place, you can use CSS to style the popover and its trigger element. You can set the size, position, background color, border, and other visual properties of the popover, as well as add animations and transitions to make it more engaging and interactive.
One popular technique for creating popovers with CSS is to use the “:hover” pseudo-class to apply styles when the user hovers over the trigger element. You can also use the “:focus” pseudo-class to style the popover when the trigger element is in focus, such as when the user tabs to it with the keyboard.
Another option is to use JavaScript to create more advanced popovers that respond to user interactions, such as clicks or taps. You can use a library such as jQuery or Popper.js to handle the positioning and behavior of the popover, while still using CSS to style it.
Overall, creating a popover with CSS can be a fun and rewarding project that can add value to your design and improve the user experience. With a little creativity and some knowledge of CSS and HTML, you can create popovers that are both functional and beautiful.
2023.04.02 11:05 AutoModerator /r/NintendoSwitch Sunday Show Off Thread (04/02/2023)
/NintendoSwitch Sunday Show Off Thread
Hello everyone!Welcome to the Weekly Sunday Show Off Thread! Here you can share various things such as images or stories you would like to show off to others. You can even find all of the past threads here.
Feel free to share your:
- Swapped Joy-Con shells
- Console modification images
- Decorated Switch consoles
- Game screenshots
- Game clips
- Games you have purchased/hauls
- Respect other users and the content they have shared. (Rule 1)
- DO NOT share YouTube or streaming spam. (Rule 5)
- DO NOT share personal sales or affiliate links and no begging. (Rule 6)
- DO NOT link to hacks, dumps, emulators, or homebrew. (Rule 7)
- Please tag spoilers (rule 8). You can tag spoilers by placing the text within >!These style brackets!<. It will show up like this.
Have a great day!
2023.04.02 11:00 PurrpleFox TDP GreenLight Review The Portal Chronicles - a sci-fi adventure packed with suprises
By Stella Vanella
Welcome to the first part of this quarter's GreenLight Review, where we review all the pilots airing on LDPBC GreenLight. For those who are just joining us, GreenLight is a bi-quarterly programming block on LDP1 that airs one pilot every day, and at the end, the audience can vote on one show to be made into a full series.
Tonight's pilot is "Dimension Zero" from The Portal Chronicles. Mark Sparks, the co-creator of the show, was previously a writer on the popular series Flower Island, and with the help of fellow writer and producer Lucas Nicholson, developed the show. They both have hinted at the possibility of this show becoming a reality several times in interviews (though they never went into detail), and now it has. What we're now looking at is the result of five years of development.
We follow our main characters, the members of Team B, a division of SciWest dedicated to investigating the paranormal: Sarah Park (Ella Kim), a serious and dedicated researcher from Korea; Jacob "Jay" Scott (Kevin Hall), a placid and immature intern; Paula Brownell (Whitney Balcombe), a perpetually exhausted scientist; and Donna Hicks (Donna Johnson), an experienced and no-nonsense leader, as they discover and enter a mysterious portal located miles beneath the ground. The writing and cinematography are outstanding, which is to be expected for a Lucas Nicholson production, and it feels as if we are exploring and decoding the world inside the portal with them. The action parts are also well executed, but it's also a bit funny when the team finds out that Jay, out of all people, is the only one armed. I love getting a bit of humor in between the tension. The ending was also unexpected. No, I'm not spoiling it for you.
Overall, Dimension Zero is a very solid pilot to start this quarter's GreenLight. With a talented cast and enthralling storytelling, it is sure to attract viewers, sci-fi fans or not. It does have its flaws, however; I feel like the pilot focuses too much on the main characters, and some plot points weren't answered, but I think it leaves room for new mysteries to be solved in future episodes, if there are any. I hope there are.
submitted by PurrpleFox to HaveWeMet [link] [comments]
Welcome to the first part of this quarter's GreenLight Review, where we review all the pilots airing on LDPBC GreenLight. For those who are just joining us, GreenLight is a bi-quarterly programming block on LDP1 that airs one pilot every day, and at the end, the audience can vote on one show to be made into a full series.
Tonight's pilot is "Dimension Zero" from The Portal Chronicles. Mark Sparks, the co-creator of the show, was previously a writer on the popular series Flower Island, and with the help of fellow writer and producer Lucas Nicholson, developed the show. They both have hinted at the possibility of this show becoming a reality several times in interviews (though they never went into detail), and now it has. What we're now looking at is the result of five years of development.
We follow our main characters, the members of Team B, a division of SciWest dedicated to investigating the paranormal: Sarah Park (Ella Kim), a serious and dedicated researcher from Korea; Jacob "Jay" Scott (Kevin Hall), a placid and immature intern; Paula Brownell (Whitney Balcombe), a perpetually exhausted scientist; and Donna Hicks (Donna Johnson), an experienced and no-nonsense leader, as they discover and enter a mysterious portal located miles beneath the ground. The writing and cinematography are outstanding, which is to be expected for a Lucas Nicholson production, and it feels as if we are exploring and decoding the world inside the portal with them. The action parts are also well executed, but it's also a bit funny when the team finds out that Jay, out of all people, is the only one armed. I love getting a bit of humor in between the tension. The ending was also unexpected. No, I'm not spoiling it for you.
Overall, Dimension Zero is a very solid pilot to start this quarter's GreenLight. With a talented cast and enthralling storytelling, it is sure to attract viewers, sci-fi fans or not. It does have its flaws, however; I feel like the pilot focuses too much on the main characters, and some plot points weren't answered, but I think it leaves room for new mysteries to be solved in future episodes, if there are any. I hope there are.
Watch The Portal Chronicles' pilot for free on Duck+.
2023.04.02 10:52 tartaros-afk Happy April 2nd from Cursed Friends - nut free guide and little announcement
 | Having trouble with our nutty April Fools guide? If you viewed it on the spreadsheet the normally hidden programmed part of the guide has been visible all day long, allowing you to read the nut names. There was also a second grotesque mage tab up all day long that had the regular hero pictures. submitted by tartaros-afk to afkarena [link] [comments] And now that April 1st is coming to a close, I'll put an image version of the allergic to nuts edition of the guide below But first a quick announcement: I've been considering stopping posting the guides here for awhile now. Don't like what we do? Fair enough. But we're giving up our time to make these guides for free. Use them, don't use them. But harassing people, angry messages, reporting us? Come on. That's wildly unfair to myself and everyone else who has given up their time for this project. I do not owe you guides, much less guides produced in some particular way that you want. If it's not what you want, just scroll on. This shit is unnecessary. And some of the attacks are really just....extreme For everyone else - we do really appreciate the positive feedback and it really made the ridiculous amount of effort we put into this joke worthwhile. And for those who have asked, yes, we'll start uploading bigger images of the nuts, we'll post them on the @ floofpire twitter and instagram Anyway here's the allergic to nuts image version of the guide https://preview.redd.it/9qr1juggqfra1.png?width=1625&format=png&auto=webp&s=7753d88e2d84aa177d93235e1622900134b28d67 |
2023.04.02 10:50 JoelTheBloonsMonkey Brainstorm: Enough new towers in each Tower category to match Military
Having the Beast Handler will really make the categories feel more equal. We went from 3 Support towers at launch, feeling like a very small category, to now 5, the same amount as Magic! Which is one less than Primary and TWO less than Military... But what if they were all equal?
I'll use this as an opportunity to share whatever Tower concepts I can think of: One Primary, Two Magic, Two Support, so we can have 7 of each!
Primary: Gamer Monkey/Arcade Monkey
This DEFINITELY seems like a weird pick, but it is with reason. Primary towers seem to be some sort of category for the original forces that the Monkeys used to pop Bloons. Every tower from BTD1 except for the Super Monkey is based off of a Bloon from Bloons (The Dart Monkey is more-so based off of the Monkey throwing Darts but there ARE Dart Bloons) and based off of other elements in the Bloons series it can be assumed that the reason that the Bloons take on these volatile forms is because they are masters of mimicry who have mimicked the towers that were present during the Bloons 1 generation, meaning that the Super Monkey was new to the Bloons Tower Defense 1-3 generation. But there is ONE Bloon that doesn't have a Monkey counterpart... The Pac-Man Bloon!... Which, like, I can imagine why, but still. It's either this or an Exploding Pineapple Monkey and that feels more geared towards Support, similar to the Spike Factory whose attacks are based off of the Road Spikes.
So how does the Gamer Monkey work? Well, naturally, their base attack is Pac-Man; well, Pac-Monkey, so that it's a proper parody. You have to micro Pac-Monkey within the fairly short range of the Gamer Monkey using the arrow keys (Or when on Mobile, by tapping arrows that surround the Gamer Monkey themself, which is also an option for clicking on PC but like why would you do that? I don't know the control scheme for when you have a controller with Bloons like with the upcoming console ports so I won't handle that). Pac-Monkey does an astounding 2 damage per chomp for a base tower but has only 1 or 2 pierce without Primary Training+. There would probably be an upgrade that allows Pac-Monkey to seek Bloons, though I imagine it'll be like Pursuit or Wingmonkey where manually targeting the tower is sometimes better. After that, the sky's the limit, really. Middle path would probably have some sort of power pellet gimmick since that's the ability path but ultimately Pac-Monkey is probably not the only tower that the Gamer Monkey could control. Though Minecraft Monkey might be a bit redundant with one of the later ideas here.
The main attack may have to be reworked for Battles 2 in some way, though.
Primary Honourable Mentions:
Aforementioned Exploding Pineapple tower, since the Exploding Pineapple originated early-on in the series. Guess this also sort of counts as a Support Honourable Mention since the reason it doesn't work as Primary is because it feels more Support-y.
Monkey Beacon tower, would have to be revamped into basically a completely different tower than it was before since it was basically just the Monkey Village but with the ability to call a Super Monkey Storm, and plus none of that is very Primary-y anyway (Since Primary is the lowest priority categorization and if a tower fits well enough into any other category, which Glue and Ice apparently don't somehow?)
Military Honourable Mention:
While we don't really NEED another Military tower out of all tower categories unless we're going 8 towers in each Category, the Bloonsday Device would be a fun and unique one. Most Special Agents from BTD5 are animals and Ninjakiwi has mentioned moving away from non-Monkey towers, but they still include Monkey-operated machines such as the Spike Factory and Tack Shooter so why not the Bloonsday Device? For those not familiar, the gimmick of the Bloonsday Device is that it's a really powerful overhead laser that leaves acid pools in its wake and it's controlled by the mouse. However, it only attacks while its ability is active. Sort of like a Super Monkey Fanclub but it would probably cost less than a Super Monkey but still over $2,000, instead of costing about $8,000. Less powerful off-cooldown than a Super Monkey Fanclub though, admittedly. I guess you could make an argument for this tower or an echo of it being in a different category but I dunno, it feels very Military-y to me imo.
Magic #1: Vampire Monkey
You know how like, Marceline was in Bloons Adventure Time TD? Do you... Do you think they'd mind if we just... Borrowed some of that? Basically, this Monkey would fly around like a Heli Pilot while biting Bloons. Way less pierce than a Heli Pilot but a lot more single-target damage. Their base, instead of a boombox, would be a coffin. Among other great powers, they also can harness power from Red Bloons and BFBs, plus partially from Rainbow Bloons (I don't think Marceline can get power from Rainbow Bloons for whatever reason, which is pretty ironic considering the character.) They'd probably have some skills that heal Monkeys but also potentially some powerful skills that cost lives, some stuff to set them apart from other Magic Monkeys as well as the Heli Pilot, y'know? Also, Vampires are traditionally sapphic. This doesn't relate to the tower. Anyway, just make sure you turn OFF the Vampire Hunter cosmetics on the Monkey Engineer if you have them while using Engineer Vampire strategies lol.
Magic #2: Cartoon Monkey
I struggled a lot on this one TBH but an old-timey cartoon character for a monkey can be interesting, especially since they can start with gloved punch attacks that are longer range than the melee heroes or the Beast Handlers but are still shorter ranged than something like a Dart Monkey shot, I guess sort of like Jake's spear hand attack. In fact, they'd probably just get a bunch of different cartoon gag attacks, stuff you'd see in Toontown Online or Who Framed Roger Rabbit for example, that would all serve different purposes, making them really similar to Jake. I mean, hey, all the Monkey Characters from Bloons Adventure Time TD were based on towers from Bloons but while some of the Adventure Time characters took on the role of Bloons towers like default Princess Bubblegum and Ice King being the Glue Gunner and Ice Monkey some of them were original, so it's not that weird to get some overlap with them right? Especially with the CARTOON Monkey, and even more especially with the MAGIC Category considering the nature of Adventure Time. Oh, and in case you're wondering how this fits the category outside of how abused the label of "Magic" gets considering superheroes, ninjas, and science are somehow all considered magic, it's the magic of animation! Plus they'd probably be some sort of drawing brought to life or maybe just actually made out of ink, and their cartoony mishaps would certainly be very much like magic (I mean think about it, a lot of the nonsense cartoons get up to would be considered magic in a realistic setting, such as when the Roadrunner runs through a drawing as if it's a real road!)
Magic Honourable Mentions:
Pixie Monkey, I was thinking it'd be nice to juxtapose the horror-y and Halloween-y Vampire with a more light-hearted fairy tale creature and first thought of a Pixie or something but ultimately they'd be surprisingly similar to the Vampire or Alchemist with the way I thought of how they'd work.
Dart Chimera, this is a concept that I had thought of as a Fauna counterpart to the Druid's mostly Flora theming (even if bottom path is very wolf-y) but ultimately that theme is now covered by the Beast Handler. The Dart Chimera was also going to have a lot of attacks based off of Special Agents, though, since I miss their inclusions and they're not getting in if they're not at least part Monkey since Ninjakiwi is leaning away from non-Monkey towers. They'd also be amphibious with a slightly different design that's easy to make just by briefly editing the base art, because having an amphibious tower would be cool.
Leprechaun Monkey, the idea of a tower who you can put more cash into not to upgrade them but to fuel their attacks in some way is cool but Leprechauns are very stereotypically Irish which makes them feel a bit wonky identity-wise imo.
Ghoul Monkey, some sort of spooky scary tower who freezes Bloons in place and knocks them back, maybe possessing them or other towers for some sort of power bonus or something, but since I already suggested the Vampire Monkey I didn't want both of the new Magic Monkeys to be heavily Halloween-based.
Yeti Monkey, could be similar to the Ice Monkey but with more brute strength early-on so that we get another tower who does Freezing since that's a really underused gimmick as time has gone on but ultimately not sure where all they go with that.
Sea Monkey, a basic and good idea but I think Ninjakiwi has mentioned being against the idea of having more water towers due to water being a limited resource (I guess the compromise was Beast Handler having one upgrade path limited to water)
Grim Reaper, I don't want to blatantly steal ideas from mods but the Grim Reaper Monkey IS a cool and unique concept, even if they might be hard to balance.
Gravity Monkey, I like taking stuff from other Bloons games and putting them in the Tower Defense series but the only way I can imagine a Gravity Monkey would be even more support-based than the Alchemist is, increasing damage/other functionality from track hazards, increasing projectile lifespan, and slowing down Bloons. I guess if the Ice Monkey and Glue Gunner can be Primary Towers then it'd be TECHNICALLY allowed, but like, nah I'm not gonna do that. In that right I guess this also counts as an honourable mention for the upcoming Support section!
The ideas have been a bit off-the-wall up to this point, but my concepts for Support Towers are actually very pre-mediated and solidified, relatively speaking anyway.
Support #1: Bloon Inflation Factory
From Bloons Monkey City, this tower is now used on the battlefield! If we get Bloons Monkey City 2 it'd probably be handled in the same way that Banana Farms are handled, where the resource building is ALSO a building that provides a tower. Now, the idea of a Bloon factory isn't exactly unique, but I feel like people's ideas for this sort of tower vary, with a big thing being that the Bloons would just... attack other Bloons somehow? Not in this concept, though. You're literally just summoning more Bloons that WILL take lives. But what's the point of this outside of bottom path Druid? Well, we don't really have a CHEAP eco tower, and for good reason! It's way too easy to save up for OP stuff if you just get to invest into money generation even earlier than a Banana Farm or Merchantman with no drawback. But Bloons give money, right? If only you could have a round be a little bit longer to get more money... Aha! There it is. The Bloon Inflation Factory is relatively cheap, but it makes it even harder to defend in exchange for more money. At the base level, anyway. And no, they won't give money in CHIMPS, so a base level Bloon Inflation Factory in CHIMPS is either there just for the challenge or so that you can take advantage of something like Bottom Path Druid. To stop this from scaling too poorly or too well into lategame however, the RBE and individual Bloon count that it can send out is based off of the actual Bloons in the round and is limited to something like 30 RBE and 20 Bloons or something. One path will be dedicated to money-making and decreasing that limit, one path will be for popping power using player-rotatable Power Pops from the Bloons series, Bloons Pop!, and perhaps even the Bloons Super Monkey series and Bloons Supermonkey 2, (That'd be the Middle Path so that there can be especially powerful Power Pops locked to a cooldown), that way we don't have 2 towers that are 100% useless in CHIMPS, and also a path where the tier 1 and 2 upgrades make the Bloons it sends easier to deal with (Making them take less lives and making it so that, while still giving the normal amount of cash, they take an extra point of damage from each attack) before transitioning into a debuff tower who uses the similarities between the Bloons it's sending out to fool the nearby natural Bloons into becoming weaker (since the Bloons being sent out from the Bloon Inflation Factory already have those two upgrades that make them easier to handle) in various ways themselves, based off of the heavily adaptive nature of the Bloons (For example, Bloons 1 where all except 1 type of Bloon are heavily based off of towers from the first few Bloons games, and the Bloons Super Monkey series + Bloons Supermonkey 2 where the Bloons make formations of other existing things such as arrows and even Sentry Turrets. I mean c'mon even the Power Pops are based off of things that Monkeys do such as Magic Bloons and Tack Bloons). Believe it or not, despite me being big on Bloons lore, that's the one path that I didn't think of until this post. Oh, speaking of lore, this actually benefits it. Like, anyone else remember that one meme where it's said that Monkeys would never harm each other with Bloons or something and yet MVM still exists in Bloons Monkey City? Clearly it's supposed to be hush hush, but that's sort of weird considering the MVM buildings being built. So clearly this tower's existence is, in part, a cover-up for MVM by the Bloonminati! Anyway, it can't hurt to have another debuff tower, especially one that's actually in the SUPPORT category. Though I'm sort of torn on whether or not this would also cause the Bloons to adapt to not having certain properties such as Regrow because that just puts it really close to Embrittlement. Also the fifth tier should probably be something more interesting than just Super Brittle with a potential slow or a diet Bloon Master Alchemist, maybe the Bloons start adapting target patterns from the Bloon Inflation Factory that cause projectiles within a certain range to home in on them? That'd be cool! Oh, and for those wondering, this wouldn't adapt well to Bloons TD Battles 2 since you don't get cash from pops, but that's fine because the COBRA would probably be a Support Monkey anyway. Alternatively the Bloon Inflation Factory can be fully transformed into a tower that, instead of soley buffing the eco from your Bloon sends (since that's locked to a very expensive Monkey Village upgrade for good reason, though it'd probably be fine for a specific expensive path for a Battles 2 Bloon Inflation Factory) it would actually strengthen your rushes, such as giving an extra Bloon per Bloon Send or increasing their speed or something, maybe with a defensive path for the Power Pops which infects your opponent's Bloons. Though outright allowing you to send certain Bloons early would probably be going too far into COBRA's territory lol.
Support #2: Barricade Creator (Monkey Architect is a cool name for them too but feels too similar to Engineer lol)
The obstacle system is a very unique BTD6 mechanic, but it's not really in your hands outside of paying for it. I don't think I'm the only one who's thought of an idea like this, either. Their basic skill is holding back Bloons for a certain amount of time (Probably a similar system to the Wall Nut from Plants vs. Zombies where the wall is degraded by a Bloon pushing against it and is degraded more by more Bloons and of higher strengths). They're pretty cheap, but their wall is also an obstacle. Though you might want this for certain things such as 2 Megapops challenges, to be fair. The wall can be placed off-track (Both for specifically blocking projectiles and also for if you don't want normal Bloons to put stress on the wall, so that it can hold specifically MOABs, though at a base level due to how cheap the tower is they'd probably just have to not be able to wall off MOABs without upgrading a bit, though probably no specific upgrade but instead a tier minimum such as 2 or 3 so that there isn't a crosspath that just doesn't hold MOABs lol). If it's not placed right on a track then it'll have a default rotation that you can change by clicking on it and holding down while moving your mouse in the direction it should be rotated in. The wall will be repaired slowly over time if no Bloons are attacking it. Low tier upgrades will have various utility upgrades such as better handling of higher tiers and quantities of Bloons, the rate at which it is repaired, possibly having more than one wall up at a time, and perhaps an after-effect of the wall collapsing, such as being made out of volatile bricks popping a few Bloon layers. Oh, and the ability to make hazard removal cheaper, I think someone else already did that idea with something similar but I mean it just kinda feels natural. It might be tempting to just give a high-pierce explosion but I feel like that's too similar to Spiked Mines, being a track hazard that expires then explodes, especially if you want to give the wall the ability to pop Bloons that are pushing against it. One path can have a third-tier upgrade called "Special Materials" which is an especially big part of this tower concept. So, a lot of things from the original Bloons series are represented, even including the Ceramic and Lead blocks, however I think that part of the obstacle system in BTD6 was to reference how the Ceramic and Lead blocks actually functioned in comparison to the Ceramic and Lead Bloons. But there's something missing. The rubber obstacle! Basically the only bouncing projectile is when you have a Spike-O-Pult+. So the Special Materials upgrade gives targeting options. Brick can be a default or something, but then you have Rubber, which blocks energy-based projectiles (Not soley based off of damage type since "Normal" includes both energy-esque projectiles AND solid projectiles) but bounces solid projectiles, increasing their lifespan and buffing the power of Spike-O-Pult+ (So that they still have their speciality.) Then there's Mirror, which does the same but it blocks solid projectiles while reflecting energy projectiles. There can also be Glass which would just block solid projectiles but let energy projectiles go right through. Worth noting that Rubber would have fairly high durability against Bloons since it bounces them away so that they aren't constantly attacking but, while leaving behind volatile glass shards, the Mirror and Glass would be very frail to Bloons. After that upgrade would be a target upgrade which has a button that looks similar to re-target buttons that are being introduced in the upcoming update except it's instead a toggle that changes between no image, to an image with a Bloon on it for negative priority attacking, (So you can, for example, have a Juggernaut attack it constantly when no Bloons are in their range and their projectiles will hit Bloons far outside of their range after bouncing), to an image with a Bloon with a target on them for top priority attacking, (So you can, for example, have Quincy attack a Rubber wall, buffing the next hit of his projectile[s] while also activating the very accurate part of his attack where it bounces from Bloon to Bloon, instead of having him try to attack a Pink Bloon only to miss). Then the fifth tier would probably be some sort of cool portal upgrade where a portal will take any projectile to another placed portal at an angle you decide the same way that wall angles are decided. Would also probably be able to transport Ceramics and below, maybe with some sort of limitation so that you can't just perma-loop Ceramics (While Spirit of the Forest handles infinite Ceramics that's not accounting for freeplay scaling of Super Ceramics so that's different). The portals would strengthen projectiles maybe a bit stronger than reflections and bounces but the main benefit is just the ability to teleport projectiles to anywhere you want while greatly increasing their lifespan, probably losing the specific synergy with Spike-O-Pult+. Middle Path would probably just be a basic "Wall even more Bloons more strongly!" path with a fortification ability, just an extremified form of the base concept, cool stuff. Then the final path can, regardless of if that brick idea is on the same path as the "More Materials" concept, focus more on handling the Bloons AFTER the wall is defeated. I'm personally a fan of there being snow on top of the wall so that all the Bloons get frozen after the wall is destroyed because WE NEED MORE FREEZING. Maybe the fifth tier can be a mountain that has an avalanche, allowing it to do massive damage and freeze MOAB- Nah that's too similar to Icicle Impale isn't it... Well, if we get rid of the cool ice gimmick then it can just be some sort of volatile wall. Maybe it does more damage based off of the quantity of Bloons? Some sort of... Recoil upgrade? That could be neat. Anyway I don't know how well this tower translates to Battles 2 but if they wouldn't translate well then that's why I gave an alternate function of the Bloon Inflation Factory, in case the COBRA would take this tower's spot instead lol
Support Honourable Mentions:
Reworked Monkey Academy, in case you don't know there lies in the code a tower that had paths that would buff Magic towers, Support Towers, and Military Towers/Heroes, but it was ultimately scrapped for one reason or another (Some of the buffs were wild like decreasing Military Monkey footprint lol)
Terraforming Tower, could have some things from Barricade Creator while also helping with placement in places that wouldn't normally be allowed such as water on land, land on water, and and tower on aipath, but that admittedly sounds a little bit too strong unless you make them overpriced, kinda hard to balance like the Bloonchipper though maybe it's not that bad lol.
Bloon Delayer, something that, by your command, moves Bloons to later rounds so you deal with them later. I dunno seems neat.
Feel free to KINDLY share constructive criticism and also your own ideas! I'll try to not be too critical of you as long as you're not overly critical of me ;)
submitted by JoelTheBloonsMonkey to btd6 [link] [comments]
I'll use this as an opportunity to share whatever Tower concepts I can think of: One Primary, Two Magic, Two Support, so we can have 7 of each!
Primary: Gamer Monkey/Arcade Monkey
This DEFINITELY seems like a weird pick, but it is with reason. Primary towers seem to be some sort of category for the original forces that the Monkeys used to pop Bloons. Every tower from BTD1 except for the Super Monkey is based off of a Bloon from Bloons (The Dart Monkey is more-so based off of the Monkey throwing Darts but there ARE Dart Bloons) and based off of other elements in the Bloons series it can be assumed that the reason that the Bloons take on these volatile forms is because they are masters of mimicry who have mimicked the towers that were present during the Bloons 1 generation, meaning that the Super Monkey was new to the Bloons Tower Defense 1-3 generation. But there is ONE Bloon that doesn't have a Monkey counterpart... The Pac-Man Bloon!... Which, like, I can imagine why, but still. It's either this or an Exploding Pineapple Monkey and that feels more geared towards Support, similar to the Spike Factory whose attacks are based off of the Road Spikes.
So how does the Gamer Monkey work? Well, naturally, their base attack is Pac-Man; well, Pac-Monkey, so that it's a proper parody. You have to micro Pac-Monkey within the fairly short range of the Gamer Monkey using the arrow keys (Or when on Mobile, by tapping arrows that surround the Gamer Monkey themself, which is also an option for clicking on PC but like why would you do that? I don't know the control scheme for when you have a controller with Bloons like with the upcoming console ports so I won't handle that). Pac-Monkey does an astounding 2 damage per chomp for a base tower but has only 1 or 2 pierce without Primary Training+. There would probably be an upgrade that allows Pac-Monkey to seek Bloons, though I imagine it'll be like Pursuit or Wingmonkey where manually targeting the tower is sometimes better. After that, the sky's the limit, really. Middle path would probably have some sort of power pellet gimmick since that's the ability path but ultimately Pac-Monkey is probably not the only tower that the Gamer Monkey could control. Though Minecraft Monkey might be a bit redundant with one of the later ideas here.
The main attack may have to be reworked for Battles 2 in some way, though.
Primary Honourable Mentions:
Aforementioned Exploding Pineapple tower, since the Exploding Pineapple originated early-on in the series. Guess this also sort of counts as a Support Honourable Mention since the reason it doesn't work as Primary is because it feels more Support-y.
Monkey Beacon tower, would have to be revamped into basically a completely different tower than it was before since it was basically just the Monkey Village but with the ability to call a Super Monkey Storm, and plus none of that is very Primary-y anyway (Since Primary is the lowest priority categorization and if a tower fits well enough into any other category, which Glue and Ice apparently don't somehow?)
Military Honourable Mention:
While we don't really NEED another Military tower out of all tower categories unless we're going 8 towers in each Category, the Bloonsday Device would be a fun and unique one. Most Special Agents from BTD5 are animals and Ninjakiwi has mentioned moving away from non-Monkey towers, but they still include Monkey-operated machines such as the Spike Factory and Tack Shooter so why not the Bloonsday Device? For those not familiar, the gimmick of the Bloonsday Device is that it's a really powerful overhead laser that leaves acid pools in its wake and it's controlled by the mouse. However, it only attacks while its ability is active. Sort of like a Super Monkey Fanclub but it would probably cost less than a Super Monkey but still over $2,000, instead of costing about $8,000. Less powerful off-cooldown than a Super Monkey Fanclub though, admittedly. I guess you could make an argument for this tower or an echo of it being in a different category but I dunno, it feels very Military-y to me imo.
Magic #1: Vampire Monkey
You know how like, Marceline was in Bloons Adventure Time TD? Do you... Do you think they'd mind if we just... Borrowed some of that? Basically, this Monkey would fly around like a Heli Pilot while biting Bloons. Way less pierce than a Heli Pilot but a lot more single-target damage. Their base, instead of a boombox, would be a coffin. Among other great powers, they also can harness power from Red Bloons and BFBs, plus partially from Rainbow Bloons (I don't think Marceline can get power from Rainbow Bloons for whatever reason, which is pretty ironic considering the character.) They'd probably have some skills that heal Monkeys but also potentially some powerful skills that cost lives, some stuff to set them apart from other Magic Monkeys as well as the Heli Pilot, y'know? Also, Vampires are traditionally sapphic. This doesn't relate to the tower. Anyway, just make sure you turn OFF the Vampire Hunter cosmetics on the Monkey Engineer if you have them while using Engineer Vampire strategies lol.
Magic #2: Cartoon Monkey
I struggled a lot on this one TBH but an old-timey cartoon character for a monkey can be interesting, especially since they can start with gloved punch attacks that are longer range than the melee heroes or the Beast Handlers but are still shorter ranged than something like a Dart Monkey shot, I guess sort of like Jake's spear hand attack. In fact, they'd probably just get a bunch of different cartoon gag attacks, stuff you'd see in Toontown Online or Who Framed Roger Rabbit for example, that would all serve different purposes, making them really similar to Jake. I mean, hey, all the Monkey Characters from Bloons Adventure Time TD were based on towers from Bloons but while some of the Adventure Time characters took on the role of Bloons towers like default Princess Bubblegum and Ice King being the Glue Gunner and Ice Monkey some of them were original, so it's not that weird to get some overlap with them right? Especially with the CARTOON Monkey, and even more especially with the MAGIC Category considering the nature of Adventure Time. Oh, and in case you're wondering how this fits the category outside of how abused the label of "Magic" gets considering superheroes, ninjas, and science are somehow all considered magic, it's the magic of animation! Plus they'd probably be some sort of drawing brought to life or maybe just actually made out of ink, and their cartoony mishaps would certainly be very much like magic (I mean think about it, a lot of the nonsense cartoons get up to would be considered magic in a realistic setting, such as when the Roadrunner runs through a drawing as if it's a real road!)
Magic Honourable Mentions:
Pixie Monkey, I was thinking it'd be nice to juxtapose the horror-y and Halloween-y Vampire with a more light-hearted fairy tale creature and first thought of a Pixie or something but ultimately they'd be surprisingly similar to the Vampire or Alchemist with the way I thought of how they'd work.
Dart Chimera, this is a concept that I had thought of as a Fauna counterpart to the Druid's mostly Flora theming (even if bottom path is very wolf-y) but ultimately that theme is now covered by the Beast Handler. The Dart Chimera was also going to have a lot of attacks based off of Special Agents, though, since I miss their inclusions and they're not getting in if they're not at least part Monkey since Ninjakiwi is leaning away from non-Monkey towers. They'd also be amphibious with a slightly different design that's easy to make just by briefly editing the base art, because having an amphibious tower would be cool.
Leprechaun Monkey, the idea of a tower who you can put more cash into not to upgrade them but to fuel their attacks in some way is cool but Leprechauns are very stereotypically Irish which makes them feel a bit wonky identity-wise imo.
Ghoul Monkey, some sort of spooky scary tower who freezes Bloons in place and knocks them back, maybe possessing them or other towers for some sort of power bonus or something, but since I already suggested the Vampire Monkey I didn't want both of the new Magic Monkeys to be heavily Halloween-based.
Yeti Monkey, could be similar to the Ice Monkey but with more brute strength early-on so that we get another tower who does Freezing since that's a really underused gimmick as time has gone on but ultimately not sure where all they go with that.
Sea Monkey, a basic and good idea but I think Ninjakiwi has mentioned being against the idea of having more water towers due to water being a limited resource (I guess the compromise was Beast Handler having one upgrade path limited to water)
Grim Reaper, I don't want to blatantly steal ideas from mods but the Grim Reaper Monkey IS a cool and unique concept, even if they might be hard to balance.
Gravity Monkey, I like taking stuff from other Bloons games and putting them in the Tower Defense series but the only way I can imagine a Gravity Monkey would be even more support-based than the Alchemist is, increasing damage/other functionality from track hazards, increasing projectile lifespan, and slowing down Bloons. I guess if the Ice Monkey and Glue Gunner can be Primary Towers then it'd be TECHNICALLY allowed, but like, nah I'm not gonna do that. In that right I guess this also counts as an honourable mention for the upcoming Support section!
The ideas have been a bit off-the-wall up to this point, but my concepts for Support Towers are actually very pre-mediated and solidified, relatively speaking anyway.
Support #1: Bloon Inflation Factory
From Bloons Monkey City, this tower is now used on the battlefield! If we get Bloons Monkey City 2 it'd probably be handled in the same way that Banana Farms are handled, where the resource building is ALSO a building that provides a tower. Now, the idea of a Bloon factory isn't exactly unique, but I feel like people's ideas for this sort of tower vary, with a big thing being that the Bloons would just... attack other Bloons somehow? Not in this concept, though. You're literally just summoning more Bloons that WILL take lives. But what's the point of this outside of bottom path Druid? Well, we don't really have a CHEAP eco tower, and for good reason! It's way too easy to save up for OP stuff if you just get to invest into money generation even earlier than a Banana Farm or Merchantman with no drawback. But Bloons give money, right? If only you could have a round be a little bit longer to get more money... Aha! There it is. The Bloon Inflation Factory is relatively cheap, but it makes it even harder to defend in exchange for more money. At the base level, anyway. And no, they won't give money in CHIMPS, so a base level Bloon Inflation Factory in CHIMPS is either there just for the challenge or so that you can take advantage of something like Bottom Path Druid. To stop this from scaling too poorly or too well into lategame however, the RBE and individual Bloon count that it can send out is based off of the actual Bloons in the round and is limited to something like 30 RBE and 20 Bloons or something. One path will be dedicated to money-making and decreasing that limit, one path will be for popping power using player-rotatable Power Pops from the Bloons series, Bloons Pop!, and perhaps even the Bloons Super Monkey series and Bloons Supermonkey 2, (That'd be the Middle Path so that there can be especially powerful Power Pops locked to a cooldown), that way we don't have 2 towers that are 100% useless in CHIMPS, and also a path where the tier 1 and 2 upgrades make the Bloons it sends easier to deal with (Making them take less lives and making it so that, while still giving the normal amount of cash, they take an extra point of damage from each attack) before transitioning into a debuff tower who uses the similarities between the Bloons it's sending out to fool the nearby natural Bloons into becoming weaker (since the Bloons being sent out from the Bloon Inflation Factory already have those two upgrades that make them easier to handle) in various ways themselves, based off of the heavily adaptive nature of the Bloons (For example, Bloons 1 where all except 1 type of Bloon are heavily based off of towers from the first few Bloons games, and the Bloons Super Monkey series + Bloons Supermonkey 2 where the Bloons make formations of other existing things such as arrows and even Sentry Turrets. I mean c'mon even the Power Pops are based off of things that Monkeys do such as Magic Bloons and Tack Bloons). Believe it or not, despite me being big on Bloons lore, that's the one path that I didn't think of until this post. Oh, speaking of lore, this actually benefits it. Like, anyone else remember that one meme where it's said that Monkeys would never harm each other with Bloons or something and yet MVM still exists in Bloons Monkey City? Clearly it's supposed to be hush hush, but that's sort of weird considering the MVM buildings being built. So clearly this tower's existence is, in part, a cover-up for MVM by the Bloonminati! Anyway, it can't hurt to have another debuff tower, especially one that's actually in the SUPPORT category. Though I'm sort of torn on whether or not this would also cause the Bloons to adapt to not having certain properties such as Regrow because that just puts it really close to Embrittlement. Also the fifth tier should probably be something more interesting than just Super Brittle with a potential slow or a diet Bloon Master Alchemist, maybe the Bloons start adapting target patterns from the Bloon Inflation Factory that cause projectiles within a certain range to home in on them? That'd be cool! Oh, and for those wondering, this wouldn't adapt well to Bloons TD Battles 2 since you don't get cash from pops, but that's fine because the COBRA would probably be a Support Monkey anyway. Alternatively the Bloon Inflation Factory can be fully transformed into a tower that, instead of soley buffing the eco from your Bloon sends (since that's locked to a very expensive Monkey Village upgrade for good reason, though it'd probably be fine for a specific expensive path for a Battles 2 Bloon Inflation Factory) it would actually strengthen your rushes, such as giving an extra Bloon per Bloon Send or increasing their speed or something, maybe with a defensive path for the Power Pops which infects your opponent's Bloons. Though outright allowing you to send certain Bloons early would probably be going too far into COBRA's territory lol.
Support #2: Barricade Creator (Monkey Architect is a cool name for them too but feels too similar to Engineer lol)
The obstacle system is a very unique BTD6 mechanic, but it's not really in your hands outside of paying for it. I don't think I'm the only one who's thought of an idea like this, either. Their basic skill is holding back Bloons for a certain amount of time (Probably a similar system to the Wall Nut from Plants vs. Zombies where the wall is degraded by a Bloon pushing against it and is degraded more by more Bloons and of higher strengths). They're pretty cheap, but their wall is also an obstacle. Though you might want this for certain things such as 2 Megapops challenges, to be fair. The wall can be placed off-track (Both for specifically blocking projectiles and also for if you don't want normal Bloons to put stress on the wall, so that it can hold specifically MOABs, though at a base level due to how cheap the tower is they'd probably just have to not be able to wall off MOABs without upgrading a bit, though probably no specific upgrade but instead a tier minimum such as 2 or 3 so that there isn't a crosspath that just doesn't hold MOABs lol). If it's not placed right on a track then it'll have a default rotation that you can change by clicking on it and holding down while moving your mouse in the direction it should be rotated in. The wall will be repaired slowly over time if no Bloons are attacking it. Low tier upgrades will have various utility upgrades such as better handling of higher tiers and quantities of Bloons, the rate at which it is repaired, possibly having more than one wall up at a time, and perhaps an after-effect of the wall collapsing, such as being made out of volatile bricks popping a few Bloon layers. Oh, and the ability to make hazard removal cheaper, I think someone else already did that idea with something similar but I mean it just kinda feels natural. It might be tempting to just give a high-pierce explosion but I feel like that's too similar to Spiked Mines, being a track hazard that expires then explodes, especially if you want to give the wall the ability to pop Bloons that are pushing against it. One path can have a third-tier upgrade called "Special Materials" which is an especially big part of this tower concept. So, a lot of things from the original Bloons series are represented, even including the Ceramic and Lead blocks, however I think that part of the obstacle system in BTD6 was to reference how the Ceramic and Lead blocks actually functioned in comparison to the Ceramic and Lead Bloons. But there's something missing. The rubber obstacle! Basically the only bouncing projectile is when you have a Spike-O-Pult+. So the Special Materials upgrade gives targeting options. Brick can be a default or something, but then you have Rubber, which blocks energy-based projectiles (Not soley based off of damage type since "Normal" includes both energy-esque projectiles AND solid projectiles) but bounces solid projectiles, increasing their lifespan and buffing the power of Spike-O-Pult+ (So that they still have their speciality.) Then there's Mirror, which does the same but it blocks solid projectiles while reflecting energy projectiles. There can also be Glass which would just block solid projectiles but let energy projectiles go right through. Worth noting that Rubber would have fairly high durability against Bloons since it bounces them away so that they aren't constantly attacking but, while leaving behind volatile glass shards, the Mirror and Glass would be very frail to Bloons. After that upgrade would be a target upgrade which has a button that looks similar to re-target buttons that are being introduced in the upcoming update except it's instead a toggle that changes between no image, to an image with a Bloon on it for negative priority attacking, (So you can, for example, have a Juggernaut attack it constantly when no Bloons are in their range and their projectiles will hit Bloons far outside of their range after bouncing), to an image with a Bloon with a target on them for top priority attacking, (So you can, for example, have Quincy attack a Rubber wall, buffing the next hit of his projectile[s] while also activating the very accurate part of his attack where it bounces from Bloon to Bloon, instead of having him try to attack a Pink Bloon only to miss). Then the fifth tier would probably be some sort of cool portal upgrade where a portal will take any projectile to another placed portal at an angle you decide the same way that wall angles are decided. Would also probably be able to transport Ceramics and below, maybe with some sort of limitation so that you can't just perma-loop Ceramics (While Spirit of the Forest handles infinite Ceramics that's not accounting for freeplay scaling of Super Ceramics so that's different). The portals would strengthen projectiles maybe a bit stronger than reflections and bounces but the main benefit is just the ability to teleport projectiles to anywhere you want while greatly increasing their lifespan, probably losing the specific synergy with Spike-O-Pult+. Middle Path would probably just be a basic "Wall even more Bloons more strongly!" path with a fortification ability, just an extremified form of the base concept, cool stuff. Then the final path can, regardless of if that brick idea is on the same path as the "More Materials" concept, focus more on handling the Bloons AFTER the wall is defeated. I'm personally a fan of there being snow on top of the wall so that all the Bloons get frozen after the wall is destroyed because WE NEED MORE FREEZING. Maybe the fifth tier can be a mountain that has an avalanche, allowing it to do massive damage and freeze MOAB- Nah that's too similar to Icicle Impale isn't it... Well, if we get rid of the cool ice gimmick then it can just be some sort of volatile wall. Maybe it does more damage based off of the quantity of Bloons? Some sort of... Recoil upgrade? That could be neat. Anyway I don't know how well this tower translates to Battles 2 but if they wouldn't translate well then that's why I gave an alternate function of the Bloon Inflation Factory, in case the COBRA would take this tower's spot instead lol
Support Honourable Mentions:
Reworked Monkey Academy, in case you don't know there lies in the code a tower that had paths that would buff Magic towers, Support Towers, and Military Towers/Heroes, but it was ultimately scrapped for one reason or another (Some of the buffs were wild like decreasing Military Monkey footprint lol)
Terraforming Tower, could have some things from Barricade Creator while also helping with placement in places that wouldn't normally be allowed such as water on land, land on water, and and tower on aipath, but that admittedly sounds a little bit too strong unless you make them overpriced, kinda hard to balance like the Bloonchipper though maybe it's not that bad lol.
Bloon Delayer, something that, by your command, moves Bloons to later rounds so you deal with them later. I dunno seems neat.
Feel free to KINDLY share constructive criticism and also your own ideas! I'll try to not be too critical of you as long as you're not overly critical of me ;)
2023.04.02 10:48 entalert Sold out at the OCS (Sun., Apr. 2, 4:47 a.m. EDT)
😢 Gone (for now)
Edibles
Topicals
Vapes
Stock-in tweets @entAlert
submitted by entalert to entalert [link] [comments]
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2023.04.02 10:48 Sinpleton025 [Rifts of War] - Chapter 10
Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
---
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Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
---
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2023.04.02 10:44 Sinpleton025 Rifts of War - Chapter 10
Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
---
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Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
---
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Thank you very much for reading
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2023.04.02 10:43 PinkPicasso_ What is up with this freeway?
 | submitted by PinkPicasso_ to LosAngeles [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 10:41 Particular_Baker7194 Should the government hire hackers as privateers
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) -------------------- Are you interested in hiring a hacker for any kind of secure professional hacking service? Then you are in the right place. There are a lot of ethical hacking services being offered online. When it comes to highly professional and reliable service, CYBERLOGHACKER offers the best
When filling out cybersecurity teams, character, passion and diversity top experience, and hiring a technologist who thinks outside the box could be a better move than opting for a government security veteran.
Should Government IT Be Hiring Hackers ?
About a decade ago I was sitting in a large auditorium listening to valedictorian speeches at my daughter’s high school graduation ceremony. Most of the five-minute speeches seemed too long, with predictable thank-you to parents and teachers, hopes and dreams, future service, etc. But one bright young lady shocked everyone. “I’ve examined my options … visited colleges … taken my parents’ money … and have decided to buy a ship. I plan to live life as a pirate!” she declared.
Her passionate appeal to her classmates was to break the rules. Go the wrong way on one-way streets. Don’t just reach for the stars — explore the universe. Live free or die. Don’t let others define you. Follow your heart. She received the only standing ovation. But as a former National Security Agency employee, images of traitors and espionage filled my brain. I thought, “Hazards ahead!”
Nevertheless, a few years later, I realized that this 17-year-old was tapping into something important. I read in What Would Steve Jobs Do? by Peter Sander that Jobs once proclaimed, “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”
So why did Jobs seek to hire pirates?
“A pirate can function without a bureaucracy,” Sander writes. “Pirates support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of a goal. A pirate can stay creative and on task in a difficult or hostile environment. A pirate can act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the greater vision and the needs of the greater team.”
Pros and Cons of a Pirate, and Hacker, Mentality
I’ve often heard similar statements made about “black hat” hackers. The desire is to hire people with an outside-the-box mentality. The sentiment is that hackers who like to break things, who steal things, also find new ways of accomplishing things. Hackers are professionally curious, and never say never. Talented hackers who understand the dark web and think like criminals are needed to stop the bad guys.
Which brings us to the elephant in the room with hiring pirates — and black hat hackers. Namely, their activities are generally illegal. They do not follow society’s rules. Taken to the extreme, pirates and black hats might not even show up at the office at all.
But this leaves us with other questions like, how far do you let the pirates/hackers go? Could their illegal actions tarnish organizational reputations, lead to more insider threats and audit findings, or even bring fines, jail or bankruptcies? This discussion leads to an inevitable question: Can you hire an ethical pirate? In security circles, many people call these people “gray hat” hackers, with a foot in both the good and evil online worlds.
What Traits Should We Aspire to Hire?
There are no easy answers to these tough questions. Nevertheless, the importance of this topic cannot be underestimated. Every organization seeks to hire the best talent, but the greater goal is to build effective teams that work well together to deliver solutions, produce new innovative products and services, and build a culture of lasting success.
It is generally true that technology and security professionals who earn interviews have the minimum skills to fulfill the duties in the job descriptions, at least on paper. But how do we measure future potential and cultural fit? Beyond credentials and certifications, what traits should we be looking for? My answer is to start with character. Is this person trustworthy? I’d rather hire a good securty pro who has a great attitude, is trustworthy and is accountable than a great cyberexpert I don’t trust.
Second, is the person passionate about the role, the organization and team success? You can’t fake passion. Third, hire for diversity of experiences and backgrounds on the team. I agree with Steve Jobs on this: “Recruit a diverse, well-traveled and highly skilled pirate, and they’ll follow you anywhere.”
Are you interested in hiring a hacker for any kind of secure professional hacking service? Then you are in the right place. There are a lot of ethical hacking services being offered online. When it comes to highly professional and reliable service, CYBERLOGHACKER offers the best ........ [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
submitted by Particular_Baker7194 to u/Particular_Baker7194 [link] [comments]
When filling out cybersecurity teams, character, passion and diversity top experience, and hiring a technologist who thinks outside the box could be a better move than opting for a government security veteran.
Should Government IT Be Hiring Hackers ?
About a decade ago I was sitting in a large auditorium listening to valedictorian speeches at my daughter’s high school graduation ceremony. Most of the five-minute speeches seemed too long, with predictable thank-you to parents and teachers, hopes and dreams, future service, etc. But one bright young lady shocked everyone. “I’ve examined my options … visited colleges … taken my parents’ money … and have decided to buy a ship. I plan to live life as a pirate!” she declared.
Her passionate appeal to her classmates was to break the rules. Go the wrong way on one-way streets. Don’t just reach for the stars — explore the universe. Live free or die. Don’t let others define you. Follow your heart. She received the only standing ovation. But as a former National Security Agency employee, images of traitors and espionage filled my brain. I thought, “Hazards ahead!”
Nevertheless, a few years later, I realized that this 17-year-old was tapping into something important. I read in What Would Steve Jobs Do? by Peter Sander that Jobs once proclaimed, “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”
So why did Jobs seek to hire pirates?
“A pirate can function without a bureaucracy,” Sander writes. “Pirates support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of a goal. A pirate can stay creative and on task in a difficult or hostile environment. A pirate can act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the greater vision and the needs of the greater team.”
Pros and Cons of a Pirate, and Hacker, Mentality
I’ve often heard similar statements made about “black hat” hackers. The desire is to hire people with an outside-the-box mentality. The sentiment is that hackers who like to break things, who steal things, also find new ways of accomplishing things. Hackers are professionally curious, and never say never. Talented hackers who understand the dark web and think like criminals are needed to stop the bad guys.
Which brings us to the elephant in the room with hiring pirates — and black hat hackers. Namely, their activities are generally illegal. They do not follow society’s rules. Taken to the extreme, pirates and black hats might not even show up at the office at all.
But this leaves us with other questions like, how far do you let the pirates/hackers go? Could their illegal actions tarnish organizational reputations, lead to more insider threats and audit findings, or even bring fines, jail or bankruptcies? This discussion leads to an inevitable question: Can you hire an ethical pirate? In security circles, many people call these people “gray hat” hackers, with a foot in both the good and evil online worlds.
What Traits Should We Aspire to Hire?
There are no easy answers to these tough questions. Nevertheless, the importance of this topic cannot be underestimated. Every organization seeks to hire the best talent, but the greater goal is to build effective teams that work well together to deliver solutions, produce new innovative products and services, and build a culture of lasting success.
It is generally true that technology and security professionals who earn interviews have the minimum skills to fulfill the duties in the job descriptions, at least on paper. But how do we measure future potential and cultural fit? Beyond credentials and certifications, what traits should we be looking for? My answer is to start with character. Is this person trustworthy? I’d rather hire a good securty pro who has a great attitude, is trustworthy and is accountable than a great cyberexpert I don’t trust.
Second, is the person passionate about the role, the organization and team success? You can’t fake passion. Third, hire for diversity of experiences and backgrounds on the team. I agree with Steve Jobs on this: “Recruit a diverse, well-traveled and highly skilled pirate, and they’ll follow you anywhere.”
Are you interested in hiring a hacker for any kind of secure professional hacking service? Then you are in the right place. There are a lot of ethical hacking services being offered online. When it comes to highly professional and reliable service, CYBERLOGHACKER offers the best ........ [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
2023.04.02 10:36 transcribersofreddit traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns Image "Some of you all think you got a "get out of jail free" card."
 | submitted by transcribersofreddit to TranscribersOfReddit [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 10:34 Cheatography HaoDT-AWS Cheat Sheet by tronghao (6 pages) #programming #nope #aws
 | submitted by Cheatography to Cheatography [link] [comments] |