Chapter 18: Shove off (Patreon)

Author’s note: Hi guys

Did I mention I hate text formatting on Patreon? Well, I guess these first chapters will be a bit of experimentation with that and the Grid/Status Screen presentation. Sorry about that, but I appreciate any feedback.

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Enjoy!

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Chapter 18: Shove off - link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102067637

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Chapter 18: Shove off

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Eleaden Standard Language

General Weave

15 glyphs - ⦿⦿ 

⦿ 

Shared speech is a way to convey the meaning of your thoughts to each other,
whoever it is, a stranger, an enemy, a lover, or your long-lost brother.

⦿⦿ 

Speech is not always the most ideal way to get your thoughts conveyed,
therefore, your ability to read the words that others have engraved.

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Not sure how common a language this Standard was, but every slave in the cellar seemed to speak it. Although it had to be said: We didn’t really get a chance to talk much, let alone read. One of the many things that deranged bastard forbade us to do, and likely why I barely made it past the second circle even though it was the first weave I got.

From what I had gathered, the circles, and yes, that’s what the natives called them - glyph circles to be exact - were something of a tier of a weave. The more glyphs you gain, the more circles the weave formed. It was pretty much similar to the way sigils opened the first circles for weaves in arrays. Unlike with those, however, the second circle did not form until the 12 glyphs were engraved on the weave. Then, the numbers followed in the same manner: 24, 48, and 96 glyphs for respective circles.

‘Ninety-six.’

That threshold was as far as I got on both the weaves and my array. But while having a hard time imagining what would mean for the array, as there were no more peaks in its hexagon, it wasn’t hard to figure out the necessary number of glyphs to form the next circle. Going by the figures, it should be 192 glyphs. 

‘Quite a number, huh?’

Well, knowing about it and getting there were two completely different things. Even with my strongest weave, I was still barely halfway there.

Not that I really cared. 

The Indomitable Will was a weave I loathed no less than any other.

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Indomitable Will

Array Weave

108 glyphs - ⦿⦿⦿⦿

⦿ 

Your indomitable mind can withstand quite a bit of abuse,
with a little time, it will recover, ready to be reused.

⦿⦿ 

There is nothing worse than being turned against your master,
whoever tries to push you will find they’ve walked into a disaster.

⦿⦿⦿ 

You can be as strong as you want, to confront both the dreams and nightmare seas,
but there are times when even the strongest of mind needs a bit of ease.

⦿⦿⦿⦿ 

Certainly not a trivial task to put back together what was shattered,
be it your sanity, memories, reason, or character, it does not matter.

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Why the deranged asshole made me choose this weave as soon as the weave reached 6 glyphs was apparent from the description of the first circle. As cryptic as it was, and that was unfortunately the case with all the descriptions, it allowed me to go through and recover from more severe traumas than would drive me crazy under normal circumstances.

‘S-shit . . .’

Chewing on my lower lip, frustrated, I couldn’t help but swear - annoyingly, the main reason I had lasted sane so long in that damn cellar was undoubtedly the cause of me sitting here relatively calm, sifting through my weaves, even after killing several people.

‘Yeah, I was a cold-blooded killer, a heartless waste of humanity.’

The Indomitable Will was at fault. 

Or so I tried to tell myself.

In a sense, this weave was no different from the collar or shoelace bitch. It played with my mind. The third circle, for example, could wrap it in a blanket of ease and make me numb to everything - even to the death of others.

The feeling was . . . well, sickening. 

So, unless ordered, I didn’t use it.

Regrettably, some parts of this weave were beyond my control.

Like the second circle, I never really got to use it. But I would imagine that if someone tried to order me to go against the asshole, either it straight up wouldn’t work, or the weave would push me against them instead. And the fourth circle? Well, it felt like a backup to the first.

‘Lucky you, what a great weave, huh Korra?’

If it was to keep me sane, I’d rather swap the Indomitable Will for a Butt Wiping - and yes, it was General Weave I could choose - but vexing as it was, to go without the weave would be too big a risk right now. Losing my mind in the middle of the forest, lying who knows where, didn’t sound like a solid plan.

Same with the Eleaden Standard Language.

Sure, the forest didn’t look like a place frequented by people, but you could never know. Running into someone and not being able to reason with them, only to have it result in a bloody misunderstanding, would . . . well, it would destroy me.

On the other hand, the other weaves in my Grid could go fuck themself for all I cared.

The Master’s Toy was the worst of them all.

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Master’s Toy

Array Weave

72 glyphs - ⦿⦿⦿

⦿

With your master the only one on your mind,
you will be thrilled to fulfill whatever you were assigned.

⦿⦿ 

To hear at least once a day your master’s voice,
will make carrying out his orders easier and your heart rejoice.

⦿⦿⦿ 

To serve often entails to selflessly sacrifice, even to suffer,
but one look from your master and your guts will flutter.

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This weave with the description as spare as any other, wrapped in flowery rhymes, held a sickening power over my mind. While the collar brute forced me to obey that deranged asshole’s orders, the Master’s Toy made me eagerly await them, to want to serve him, and when he seemed unhappy, to wonder what I had done wrong and how I could possibly make things right.

Mercifully, for whatever reason, the Slave Array had two skills that essentially worked against each other. Likely, the Indomitable Will wasn’t intended to be used to counter the Master’s Toy, but without it, I would have been a thoughtless puppet longing to fulfill my master’s every wish. Whenever the urge for a new order became too strong, the desire for the master’s presence hit me hard, or I just started thinking about the asshole in any other way than making him suffer like me, I used the Indomitable Will.

And since the Master’s Toy worked pretty much non-stop, I used Indomitable Will all the time - hence the number of glyphs both skills had.

However, that tug-of-war ended right here and now. 

‘Shove off.’

One thought, and the Master’s Toy was gone from my array.

Breathing a sigh of relief and wiping away the tears of joy running down my cheeks back in the real world, I returned to Grid Forge with renewed determination, eyeing my next prey.

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Silent Suffering

Array Weave

91 glyphs - ⦿⦿⦿

⦿ 

One moan escaping your lips can ruin your master’s day,
luckily, you can choose to remain silent and stay that way.

⦿⦿

Slave servitude comes with so much, hardship, love, and pain,
but better to make your moves quiet than have your master go insane.

⦿⦿⦿ 

It is not easy to see others suffer and what they become,
yet you find it just as easy to ignore their pain and grow numb.

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Author’s note: So what do you think? Were the weaves/skills a bit easier to read, or too stretched out?

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