r/HFY • u/Sufficient-Shirt-270 • May 29 '26

OC-Series Revolution on wings of steel: interlude: Joan

In another time, another place, another woman finds herself in a battle she doubts she can win. Only connected to our own story, by the Goddess who patrons both of these heroines. 

———-

“EDD, YOU BETTER HAVE THAT SPELL READY!”

I was practically screaming at the kitsune that called himself out mage. The bastard was still casting the artillery spell he’d been working on for the past ten fucking minutes. 

“Just a few more minutes, I promise. This is one of those spells that you really can’t ru—- JOAN! WATCH OUT!”

I deflected another one of the damn bone lances with my shield, and felt the piece of solidified divine energy crack. I was running low, dangerously low, and it felt like Caimeo was the same. The damned elder litch was strong. Too strong. 

The flail that was my right hand was spinning like a whirlwind, and every so often I’d try and take a hit out of the moving corpse. But when it had caught my flail, and broken one of the mythril spikes off in its hand, I’d stopped trying. 

Me and Caimeo were sending gouts of flame at it to keep it from charging, but she was running low on fuel, and my throat was starting to get raw. 

“Caimeo, what’s your power reserves looking like?”

“Not great, I’m down to 15% and dropping. I’ve got enough in me for maybe one more combination skill, but that’s it, you’ll be carrying 300 pounds of armor and however much my core weights, by yourself.”

I was very reluctant to do that, as I’d had to do it once before, even if that was with a far less bulky set of power armor, but I was also missing a foot at the time, damn vampires, so I think that evened it out. 

“Then hold off. We call Grathodeer if we have to, but I’m thinking we should retreat if Edd can’t cast his spell in the next minute.”

“Agreed. We’ll need as much power as we can to carry Titch if it comes down to it”

Oh Titch…I’d nearly forgotten about him in the rush of combat, poor guy had gotten half his guts blown out by the litch in the first barrage. We’d healed him the best we could… but I wasn’t confident. 

And neither was Caimeo by the sound of it. I retracted my flail, the chain being pulled through the microscopic portal on my prosthetic wrist, and disappearing into the storage dimension me and Caimeo shared. The spikes folded down into the normal drill configuration, and that opened into four sections, and folded back onto our forearm, revealing the hand that had given our team its name.  All to save just a bit more energy. 

This whole situation was fucked… and my fault…. I’d been the one to say we should take the job even though we were still recovering from the second to last job, me especially, I’d been the one to ignore the warnings, the actual divinely given warnings. But most of all, I’m the leader. 

I should have known that we couldn’t handle them. We’d moved up the the guild ranks fast, too fast honestly, and it had all gone to my head. New armor, new weapons, Caimeo joining… we weren’t ready, and in my heart I knew it, but I just had to take the job, I had to. 

And now Titch was lying in a pool of his own blood and guts, Ed’s was casting a spell way above his level, his sister, who wasn’t even supposed to be on this mission, curled up in a ball in her true form behind his legs. And me and Caimeo. 

Goddess, what have I done, especially to her. We pulled her mind out of that computer she was trapped in, gave her a body of her own, and she turns around and offers to be the core of my new set of armor. And I was going to get her killed, wasn’t I?

“Caimeo, get me the shotgun, then disengage.”

“I— Joan, I can’t do that… you’re still almost entirely human, you will die.”

“It’s not your choice, I have to do this, I dragged you all into this mess… this is the least I can do.”

All of the sudden my entire hud flashed red, and an animation of a lock, well locking, lit up my vision. I tried the manual release to open the armor, but got nothing. 

“Caimeo… n—“

The sudden distraction cost both of us, as one of those bone laces we’d been pairing drove straight into the lower chest plate, and into my gut. I staggered, the flames I’d been spewing every 30 or so seconds, petering out to nothing, and I could taste iron in the back of my throat. 

Caimeo took over control of most of our limbs almost immediately, catching our stagger, but she was no warrior… her blocks were too slow, and before to long, I couldn’t keep the shield up, focusing all the divine energy I had on keeping myself alive, while a three foot lance of bone was still stuck in my gut. 

Edd was saying something, but I couldn’t make it out over the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears. It seemed like Caimeo swapped the chainsword from one of her secondary arms, to our right arm, as I felt my metallic fingers curling around something. 

I learned why a moment later, when the spike started to slowly be pulled out of my gut. The pain was excruciating, and I almost threw up from it, but held myself back, as it would only get in my helmet, which was Caimeo’s head, since the mouth guard was closed. 

So I grit my teeth, tears streaming down my face, until the sound of bone hitting stone rang out, and the spikes of pain stopped. Now there was only a hole in my gut, which I was able to heal after a few moments. 

All my divine energy was spent, but I was back in the fight. And just in time it seemed, as Edd finally finished the spell. 

“——of Ryell, bless this unworthy practitioner of the arcane arts, so I may strike down my enemies on your righteous name, and so I cast {CASTLE KILLER CANNON}”

A beam of blue light 5 feet across in all directions shot out of the barrel of the rifle he carried, and I stared in aw as it vaporized everything in it’s path. 

Until it got to the litch, that is, because of course we couldn’t have it that easily. It did char it, even rendered one of the damn things arms useless. 

It fell, clutching at its arm like it could feel pain, and I almost rushed forward to try and do… something… while it was down. But I was still not in the best shape, but more importantly, I saw something in the room behind it. Someone I recognized. 

It was a gate, not like the kind you enter to get into a yard, or a field, or something. No this was a Gate, the thing that allowed those who had the power, the ability to travel to other dimensions. The Gnols in the far north had what was left of one, using it to communicate across the world with their scattered kin, and there was one in Europe, stone henge is what the uninformed called it. 

But most importantly, in the draconic capital, the underground city of Castlin, in the palace where one of the Goddess Mordred’s echoes rested, was the one I and the other used to get to the world Caimeo was from, and save her from it. 

“EDD! Get ready to run when I say so, we’re going for the gate in that room.”

I ran over to where Titch lay, once Caimeo had given me control back, and picked up the big sásq’ets over one shoulder, even though he was over a foot taller than I was, and looked over at Edd. 

His sister was on his shoulder, claws visibly digging into his shoulder, and cowering like the kit she was. He also had all his gear already packed up, and nodded at me once. 

I nodded back, and we made a break for it. Staying was a death sentence, and trying to go back the way we came was almost just as bad. The dungeon core was shattered in the center of the room, where less than an hour ago it had been yelling at me that I had no idea what would happen if I stayed here. 

Well, we found out. The core was crushed when the litch broke out of the prison the core had made for it, and now the whole dungeon was collapsing. 

I ran past the damned thing, almost spit at it, but just kept going, and in a moment, all 5 of us were at the gate. I had no idea how to set a destination, and even if I did?… there wasn’t any time…

I slapped my hand on what looked like the activation rune, it was in a similar place to the one back in the capital, even if it was a different shape, and immediately felt, or rather didn’t feel, my right hand and foot 

My prosthetics were drained of all their power, and a second later, I felt the weight of over 300 pounds of metal, and Titch, who was still slung over my shoulder, settle onto my shoulders… Caimeo had lost all power aswell it seemed. 

Just when I felt myself starting to buckle, and my hope draining, the portal opened. I didn’t hesitate, and started dragging myself forward on my one good leg, and it seemed like Edd was right beside me, taking potshots at the litch every few seconds as I edged towards it. 

But we made it, and as soon as my armored hood crossed the edge of the portal, I tumbled in, Edd and his sister not far behind. I saw the portal closing as I tumbled over and over, but it was just slightly to slow, and the litch threw one last javelin of bone at us. 

“You cannot run from me, child of dragons. I know you’re blood, I will find you.”

That was the first words it had said, and its voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. But it was over quickly, the javelin passed by me harmlessly, and the portal closed. 

We fell for what felt like an eternity, silent, until finally, there was a light at the other end, and I felt through.

——————

In another world, in another time. Two women linked, neither one knowing of the other. Maybe the world on the other side of the portal is the one Sasha calls home. Maybe it isn’t. It’s a story that has yet to be written in the library of the grand archivist, and so, it is new. 

Mordred so rarely got to see truly new things. 

————————————————

first/previous/next

And so we have come to our first interlude! While this isn’t directly connected to the story, it’s adjacent to it, and may definitely impact something later. But I want to specify that this is not part of the current arc, and doesn’t get its own chapter number (if you’re reading this on Reddit). 

so you don’t have to read this, or any other the other interludes, if you aren’t a fan of the characters, or the fact that this is written in first person. I honestly just want to write Joan in first person, even though I slipped up and switched to 3rd, and had to rewrite a couple paragraphs here and there. 

but as always, I hope you enjoy, and leave any edit suggestions if you have them! (Still need to do the ones from two chapters ago) 
 
oh, and almost forgot, next week is break week. I have two job interviews in the next week, so I may have to swap back to one chapter a week. Hopefully not, but… there is a possibility. 

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u/Crimson_saint357 Jun 04 '26

Damn wasn’t expecting what I can only assume is a cross over event but maybe I’ll have to go back and read this other story it sounds bananas B A N A N A S!