This was a good start. Honestly, I've been reading since I discovered Untested more or less by accident way back when. Ria is one of the few long running characters in fan fiction that's worth checking up on regularly. So keep making it work. I'll be watching :D

Oh, boy...Ria's not doing well with Keisha's death and is having a "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" overcompensation reaction...and *poof* there's a timeline shift and Keisha no longer existed (which is a head-spinner concerning a dead person when you start factoring in the nature of souls, time, and God! Spiritual paradoxes may abound!), Sophy isn't sick any more (hey, not all changes are negative) and she's still dating Darren (while some changes suck). I wonder why Sara was sensitive to the time-shift; could it have anything to do with Joachim interfering, or is it simply a function of her particular existence?

But more importantly...just what is a "bang" in the LJ sense, anyway?

oh my. Complications.

...The whole Sophy being sick makes me think she's pregnant. Anyway, this is a good ch. I'm curious to how Ria will interact with Joachim when they meet...

I was so excited to come home to this new chapter! I had a pretty blah day in general, but reading this made me smile. I love these strange happenings and it's already got me thinking of who could be responsible. I can't wait until the next chapter!

Also, I just want you to know that your Untested series is literally my favorite fanfiction ever! Keep up the good work!

Wow! It's been three whole years since I last read Trials! Now, having finished it (and what a sad ending it was!), I'm excited to see you're making a sequel! I can't wait to get into this!

...Belatedly, I realize (and only because someone else faved one of my own Castlevania fics, reminding me of the section) that as I do not have you on Author Alert, I actually need to go looking for this story. And presto, here it is! *headdesk*

So, the Timey Wimey Ball is in effect. This could get very interesting indeed. The Librarian's employer remains mysterious, par for the course, as do his (at least we have an identified gender) motives (hmm, given that Ria's history is different from Castlevania canon, since we're well past when Drac should have been sealed up in that eclipse, perhaps the employer's intent is to put things back on track for those results? Who can say...) for good or ill.

Joachim, though, looks to be rather the fly in this temporal ointment. I rather wonder what happens to the timeline if he's not there in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls to be defeated by Leon to give him the Yellow Orb and unlock the gateway to Walter. Under those circumstances, things could get very, very different in a hurry, since the very existence of Dracula was dependent on Leon defeating Walter so Death could claim his spirit and give it to Matthias, forging the core of Dracula's power as the Dark Lord. And too, if there's no confrontation with Walter (at least not in the same way-that is, if Leon's late to the party), is it too late to keep Sara from changing fully? Would this also mean that the Vampire Killer would never have been created? Oh, there's plenty of potential trouble afoot as this one goes forward!

(The presence of time travel, of course, also suggests that Keisha's death might somehow be negated. Or, if that's not possible for whatever reason, that Ria might think it is possible and be pushed to attempt it with potential further tragic consequences. I fully expect she'll at least think of it, once she becomes aware of the temporal aspects of the plotline...)

Incidentally, I hope to see more of the Librarian in this story, specifically to see how you make the connection between Rinaldo from LoI and his Librarian persona from SotN and onward, the kind of things that changed him from whom he was to whom he became.

Wow. You really outdid yourself this time.

Nice use of Latin :3

yes, nice beginning.

Fantastic! I loved, loved, loved this beginning! Such a promise of so much *funfunfun* ;) And such a great set of characters in this prologue, too. I can't wait to see what happens in this story.

Yay! The new story is up! I am excited already since I just read the appearance of Joachim and St. Germain(not the time traveller I was hoping for, heh, but this guy is way awesome!) I'm really anxious to know more about our main baddie, because I haven't a clue. This chapter has just gotten me so excited right now I can't hardly stand it! I can't wait until the next update. Keep up your fantastic work!

Ha HA! The new story is in Well, time for me to weigh in.

Mmm, it's nice to see that 'Hamm' is staying put in his mortal life, which means Ria and Isaac will be able to find him again if the situation calls for it. Also, since I've played LoI, I see what you did there, back in Trials. What's the phrase? 'Headcanon accepted.'

Okay, the moment he reflects on the buyer/employer/contractor/person X being unusually able to find good items the librarian would ask for makes me think person X bought from Isaac. Now, Isaac is smart. So he probably knows what everything he sells could be used for. As such, if person X bought from Isaac's online store, he/she/it probably made 20 fake accounts for said purchases. Harder to track who's going to cast what if everyone is only buying bits and pieces of a spell. Conversely, if person X bought offline, he/she/it probably staggered all purchases by a few months, so that Isaac wouldn't think much of what he was selling, over the months. . . if names were even involved.

And that's if Isaac was even involved at all.

Sure, he knows things that were common in his day, and are considered lost arts in contemporary/modern times, but there are other immortal things out there too. . . or at least long lived things. And given the level of consideration person X has show for the ripple effect. . . Mmm, maybe they have power enough to get all things asked of them on their own, but needed a frontman to do the task so no one would come asking him/her/it questions until they wanted people to.

I will read on, because this is a rather intriguing puzzle to start off with

Oh! Saint Germain! That would be an easy way to bring time traveling into the mix. I've never played CoD, but I have a friend who owns it. She won't let me borrow it - which I don't begrudge her, as it's hard to find - but she's more than willing to play through it while I watch. *chuckles* So, I guess I learned about him just in time.

Eh? More Alucard? Why, I feel like I'm being spoiled:Heart: Mmmm, so, even if Genya is too busy this time around - if Genya even exists this time around! - I'll have the joy of Alucard classic *chuckles* I feel like Ria is going to on one had be thrilled and on the other hand want to slam her head into walls. But then, that's usually how things go with her life. Well, so far, so good in pleasing your readers. . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . wait. . . .

Wait, wait is that - that's! Joachim! Is that? *reads*

JOACHIM! *Insert inhuman screeches of joy and happiness here. Also, violantly wild and joyous flailing and spazzing and did we mentioned flailing?*

JOACHIM! This! THIS! !

I'm playing!
LoI!
Right Now!
As Joachim!
You Don't Even!
I can't!
Cannot!
With Words!

*wild flailing, round two*

. . . . You've made me happy beyond measure. w

However, some of his dialogue is a bit jarring. I know he's crazy/insane, and he doesn't actually get many speaking lines in LoI, but, well. . . .

It's probably because I've been spoiled by other writers. They have one way of writing for him, and I'm used to that, which is a stark contrast from this. It's not you, it's me and my expectations, so we probably have two different interpretations of him. Add in that the other stories I've read for him have him as a main character, rather than a side/background/supporting character, and that's probably why I'm being thrown for a loop.

But, again, Joachim is crazy, so I'll get over him not acting like I'm used to from other fics.

. . . . *snorts* But in a way, it's funny. I remember saying, long ago, that your Isaac felt too sane from what I had read in the Wiki, and now Joachim is too crazy compared to what I've read in some other fanfics. Maybe I'm just too picky, and there's no pleasing me at all? xD Ignore me on this point, and do what makes you happy. I'm positive I'll enjoy everything you do in the chapters to come.

Good luck, as always

Wow, so Joachim gets a chance to meet Ria. I'm looking forward to more updates.

Interesting...very interesting indeed. I had half expected to see St. Germain participate in this story, as it deals with the timeline, but I had never expected Joachim to be involved as well. That's quite an interesting surprise. I do wonder who the Librarian's employer is; probably the Time Reaper because Galamoth ordered him to so he could take care of Alucard before he takes down Dracula, and also because he may-if I'm correct-have the power to control time, or perhaps Aeon because he wants to ensure that nothing bad happens to Alucard's past self, but we'll see who it is later in this story. And because this story does involve time traveling, I'm also wondering if we'll see the Chrono Mage and/or Zephyr take part in this story as well (in fact one of the two of them could also be candidates for the Librarian's employer).

Kudos on the excellent prologue, and good luck with the rest of Tribulations; I'll be looking forward to reading it and giving it a full review when it's finished. Keep up the good work, and once again, good luck.