In the clearing, Vasha finally looked down and away from Arik. “You’re right,” she admitted. “Our duty is to get them home, and we have to- it’s going to take both of us.” The hircine Champion looked back up, straightening. “We’ll start back the way we came, staying off traveled roads. We get them back to the capital, whatever it costs, and then get our new orders. We agree?”
“We agree,” the bigger man said soberly. “It&rsq

As night began to fall, Vasha and Arik finished rendering what aid they could to the civilians caught in the demonic ambush with them. Physical healing wasn’t a problem, but to the worry that they were now going to be spending a terrified night without shelter or food- well, there would be a caravan along at some point the next day, and the Champions couldn’t fix everything. As soon as it became too dark for most of the shivering merchants to see them, the Champions slipped away into

Days continued to pass, or so Galya thought. She didn’t get much sun in prison, though everything else was properly luxurious as befitted her station- or at least, what the current “duchess” wanted Galya to think was her station. The food was plentiful and good, the bed was soft, and she never, ever saw anyone bringing either. It always somehow happened while she slept- Galya suspected magic, naturally. In the cell, she kept up with her exercises as much as she could to avoid g

Galya slept shallowly, mind twisting and turning in its own corridors as she sought unconsciousness as a respite from both her own roiling emotions and the contented, sated pleasure soaking through her embrace of a hermaphroditic demon that she hadn’t the mental control to ignore. Try as she might, Galya kept finding herself drifting back ever-so-close to waking up only to shove herself back down into slumber to hide from reality.
She’d failed.
The idea was a gremlin squatting in

Mayonne kept looking for some way that her luck might be a trap. She had a Champion- an actual, live Champion- in her bed, and expressing a cautious interest in letting Mayonne eat her but not digest as a way to tease out who might be in on the conspiracy… without seemingly knowing that Mayonne was, herself, in it! And yet, everything the elf’s senses told her weighed in on this Galya being entirely honest and forthright. After their slimy “experience” together… w

As Galya laid on the table, a demoness claiming to be her grandmother looking down at her, Galya felt… confused. There was a part of her that accepted the tale- and a part of her that rebelled against the very idea that she was part demon. Torn, Galya bit her lip and let her mind race around inside her skull, blinking back the tears of denial or grief as the demoness stared down at her with a thin smile.
“You can’t expect,” she finally said, “To just… be be

Galya listened to the new duchess’s speech with half attention, letting the rest of her brain chew on tactics. If she struck here, now, and succeeded, it’d probably decapitate the nascent demonic attack into her kingdom. Probably. Her odds of survival were next to zero, though, and Galya couldn’t make herself believe there wasn’t a hidden set of protections somewhere- archers out of view or something similar- that would take her down before she could land a second blow. I

Allie was doing the thing she usually did in the castle, but that didn’t help her regain a sense of normalcy. Everything was wrong in so many different ways the young woman didn’t know where to start collecting the incongruities, or how to address them, and so she kept on doing her job- bringing the… bringing the guests their food. She’d been already asleep after working a dinner when the demons took over, and the first she knew of the new order of things was when she wo

The strangest thing about the castle, Galya quickly decided, was how little had changed. That wasn’t a surprise, or at least shouldn’t have been, since they’d been in charge for scarcely a day, but it still rocked her. Some of the tapestries had been taken down, yes. The halls were a little warmer, or felt that way, and there was a faint smell of incense that no human would have willingly chosen for a castle. But the walls still looked the same, the furniture hadn’t chang

“Tomorrow,” Galya said weakly. “And it’s already noon?”
“Tomorrow.” Mayonne nodded, head jerking up and down like a marionette. “Galya, what- what are we going to do?”
“Get Conzi out of her collar,” the Champion said reflexively. “While I think. Have you…?”
“I did that while you slept,” the arcanist said, a little sheepishly. “It had a few anti-tamper spells on it I recognized, so I unwound

“We’re getting you out of here,” Katena said, shakily. “We can’t leave you behind. Help me get them on horses,” she told the elven arcanist sternly. Galya leaned against one of the stable railings, coughing. She was going to slow them down, she was painfully aware, and it might be that her staying behind with a crossbow to stall would get them further, but… she knew what was waiting for her if she did. Besides- these two, with a shell shocked Mayonne an

Galya, in the end, had a duty, and had years of training and indoctrination to that duty. She could no more abandon the possibly-already-dead Duke’s eldest daughter to a fate arguably worse than death as a demon’s brainwashed slave than she could walk on air. There was no universe where Galya’s response to the demonic challenge was anything other than violence. She already had her sword out, and she pointed it at the armored, suspiciously-gendered demon in full armor pacing slo

Mayonne didn’t have any words of wisdom about how to proceed, looking at the injured Galya warily. “Let me… get you some more healing,” the arcanist said. “It’s not real healing, but- it’ll keep you fighting. You’ll still need rest and real medical attention, after-”
“Mayonne,” Galya said, “If I’m not demon fat by dawn, I’ll have time to worry about medical attention. Pour whatever you’ve got down my thro

Galya lunged for the door, heedless of her own nudity. Mayonne sounded just on the functional side of panic, and some sharp edge to her voice told the Champion that delay would be unwise. She quickly unlocked the door, and in front of her Mayonne stood in disarray- her pudgy illusion still held, but the elf’s blond hair was wild, and her eyes were bloodshot and- tearing up? “Demons,” Mayonne hissed, elbowing past Galya. “They’re here- they’re attacking- I don&

The Champion’s heart pounded as Mayonne got up and came back with a bucket of water, carefully pouring it over Galya’s head to rinse off any remaining acids. Another blanket was sacrificed to gently dab- she felt the slight tearing pain the first time Mayonne tried to wipe her down- her dry, and then the elf got up again, pulling a few healing potions out of her bookcase. “You might- might have had another half hour,” Mayonne hissed. “You shouldn’t have-&rdquo

After the Duke’s introductory dinner, Galya made her polite excuses and left for her room to try to get some rest after the harpy and miner-filled days she’d had on top of the unpleasant travel, when with one foot on the stairs she heard herself called…
...and as she turned, Galya saw the dark-skinned marshal, Gesualdo, holding up a full bottle of mead as a trophy. “Champion- Galya,” he said, smiling with bright white teeth. “I’d love to hear some more

Galya entered the little side room where Mayonne kept a cot for times when some arcane research wouldn’t let her be as far separated from her work as her room upstairs. Tiny, with just a bowl of water on a stand and a rumpled, unmade pair of sheets on a low-slung cot jammed into a corner. It smelled pretty strongly of the arcanist herself, and Galya’s nostrils flared as she took it in. “Cozy” was one word for the room. With a sigh, she rubbed her throat and took her robe

Standing there doubled over and still coughing, Galya tried to answer Mayonne quickly, but ended up gagging out another little chunk of slime. As it steamed on the stone floor, the Champion finally got her breath gathered. “When you- injected me,” she gasped, “When it hit the slime, I felt- it burned,” she said before coughing again. “I tried to gasp for air, but your body was in the way. When I caught my breath, I spat you out-” She took a deep, heaving gasp,

After some thought, Galya stayed quiet as the arcanist worked with a look of absorbed concentration on her face. Instead, picking up a tray of what looked like useful implements, Galya stood beside Mayonne- out of the light- and wordlessly held it up for her to be able to easily snatch from. That meant that the half-elf had a front row seat for Mayonne’s grisly work, trying not to think of what it portended for her own infection. With the guard unconscious, Mayonne didn’t seem to thi

Combing ooze from her hair and dropping it onto the underbrush, Galya considered, and then slowly shook her head when the Duke met her gaze. “I’d love to keep hunting, your graces, but-” Seeing the Duchess’s face cloud, Galya continued, “I don’t think any game willingly stayed within a mile of this thing,” she nudged the body with her boot. “So, we have to go further out to find a good target, making us have to hustle and then rush to get back by n

Crossing over to the door, Galya checked whether she’d remembered to lock it- the handle gave way easily. Had she- she couldn’t have just forgotten to lock it, could she? Or could the spymaster have unlocked it? Certainly she’d have a skeleton key for her work, but then, so would others. The Champion scowled as she regarded the door thoughtfully, piecing through alternatives. It wasn’t arguable that two demons had gotten into her room, somehow. They might have had a key.

Turning at the sudden interjection, Galya saw the ratling merchant scurrying up behind her with a half-filled bottle of wine in her hands, who soon presented it to the Champion as though it were a trophy. Galya raised an eyebrow at Vicaria, silently asking her what she wanted but not being so rude as to push on without her.
“Would you care to have a private drink, Champion?” The ratling asked, expression unreadable. “Away from the others and the need to be… politic?&rdq

Making of a Hero- The Story So Far
Our main character, Galya, is a young woman who appears half-elvish and is beginning her career as a Champion- one of an order of extremely well trained and equipped warriors that fights back and protects their kingdom against murky hordes of monsters and corruption.
Chapter 1
Galya is in the final days of her training. She converses with Li, an orcish female fellow trainee with whom she is close friends. She learns that a famous Champion, Joanna, has been def

Galya laughed at the byplay between the Duke and his wife as they politely bickered about putting on a party for her. “I’d be honored if you feel a small, informal get-together would be appropriate,” she told both of the nobles. “I’ve been eager to meet your councilors, and it’ll do me good after that trip to eat a professionally made meal before I get a night’s sleep.” She could study, but- well, Galya never could pass down even a stuffy party.

After hesitating for only a moment, Galya turned on one heel and strode down a side street. The Duchy’s castle wasn’t a proper place to show up smelling like a bird’s nest, not for her formal presentation. This was an important enough ceremonial event that the half-elf figured she should look her best. The “town” clung like a barnacle to the walls of the castle proper, and couldn’t have held more than a few hundred souls. Mostly it seemed like a place for vari

The Champion took a deep breath. Well, she was going to have to assert her authority in this neck of the woods at some point, and though she’d have preferred to let it wait for her official presentation it seemed that things had come to a head. “Your mate will live,” Galya said. “He’ll be sick for a while- several days,” she estimated. The female harpy cringed, and looked at the miners warily.
“They’ll kill us,” the harpy bleakly said, &ldqu

As the harpy’s song battered Galya’s ears, she ran through her short list of options quicker than she could consciously think about them. One way or another, it’d be instinct that drove her, since her mind was skittish enough to light on ideas only briefly and without actually having the time to inspect them. In the end, Galya knew she needed to stop the singing, no matter what. As such, the Champion pulled her hand down, drew her fist back, and shoved it forward right down the

Galya spooned thin stew into her mouth, keeping one slightly pointy ear cocked in case the miners next to her got more chatty. They’d seemed to realize that they were actually in public, that people could hear them, and toned down their conversation accordingly though the Champion still caught references to treasures and eggs. While Galya worked on her second bowl- it wasn’t actually that bad, just a little watery, probably because the innkeeper was stretching his profits to the brea

The familiar antiseptic smell of the stronghold’s clinic woke Galya up, but wasn’t enough to banish her pounding hangover. With a loud, melodramatic groan, Galya pushed herself up, wobbling unsteadily on one of the clinic’s cloth-covered bed. Her spine ached as she continued her slow growth back to her normal size, the benefit of her prior meal starting to spread out with her greater surface area. Her face ached, and her skin was itchy, just another pair of complaints for the m

As Galya picked her way gingerly through the hallway, swaying enough to make forward progress an inconstant goal, she felt a warmth down in her chest that had nothing to do with the alcohol in her bloodstream. She’d been afraid of what the others felt about her ‘faking’ not being a predator, of evading the restrictions and suspicions they were under, only to dramatically reveal herself in time to face no consequences and party with her true peers. As it turned out, she needn&rs

After a long few seconds of indecision in her clinic room, Galya snorted. Like hell she was going to miss a party on this night of all nights, whether or not she was sick and whatever anyone else thought about her for doing it. For two years, she’d been risking her life jumping through all the hoops she had to jump through to become a Champion alongside a select group of some of the best and brightest that the kingdom had to offer, and now that she’d won- all of her friends were goin

Confusion, disorientation, and a peculiar tightness in her midsection. Galya felt wrong; a trail of icy fire wound through her veins, and she found herself unable to stand up on her own legs. Her arms burnt; she tasted sour bile at the back of her throat, but willed herself to keep her hard-won meal down. She heard her own heartbeat pounding in her ears so loudly that she couldn’t hear anything else. People were talking at her, surrounding her, she could see Li and some of the instructors.

Galya didn’t hesitate when she heard the horn. She’d thought through her options in the heartbeats before the graduating fight began, and came to a quick conclusion. Li, she of course couldn’t fight. Badger? Well, he could probably plow right through or cut apart her net while she was trying to find a joint to shove her trident into or shuck him out of that armor, and then she’d be at an armor and weapon disadvantage faced with an angry sword-wielding gnome Drosi, though&

Warm, relaxed, and increasingly aroused in her orcish friend’s close grip, Galya gave Li’s proposal a long thinking over while letting her gaze hold the orc’s eyes. Li had an unmistakable… hope, in her facial expression, and Galya realized the orc’s motives weren’t entirely protective. After all, if they both became Champions, odds were they wouldn’t see that much of each other. Had the orc become infatuated? Galya turned that thought over in her head a

Galya picked out some light leathers and a quarterstaff. Positioning was the name of the game for this sparring exercise; no sense in bulky armor with padded weapons, and the long weapon let her fight at a decent range and not risk getting close to one nearly-out opponent only to be tossed by their partner. Standing in the center of the ring at parade rest, Galya watched as the others in the first batch of second-years found their other rings, yawning as the sun slowly climbed the blue sky. Afte

"Wake up, wake up! Training's better than sleep, boys and girls, and you don't have much training left!"
In the hallway, a cheerful voice bellowed its morning message, accompanied by the all-too familiar cacophony of a snare drum being mauled to death with echoes reverberating in the low, claustrophobic stone passage. Galya had woken up about five minutes ago, on an internal clock that two years of training honed to a point. She'd laid in bed treasuring the last fleeting moments of peace and wa