bat_hacker
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Fantasy Terrorchild: Awakening
- Thread starter K0mori
- Start date
joshuadim
the writer
2
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
2
Keep Mum
K0mori
Servant Supreme
The vote is tied - DEALER'S CHOICE:
In exchange for that indulgence, you make a promise to yourself that you won't see Lachlaen harmed for your sake. If the witches track you down, you'll have to use your magic to keep them at bay for long enough that he'll be able to scramble away. It's not a particularly good plan; the mechanics of spellcasting are still totally unknown to you, but like the driver said, you're practically a fountain of pneuma... whatever the hell that means.
Another thought crosses your mind, however. Even if you manage to hold them back, even by doing something unthinkably noble, you will have altered the path of Lachlaen's life. An encounter with Lythrefang will mean he will always be looking over his shoulder, fearing the common crows as you do now. It doesn't seem fair, but you didn't wish for this life either - not even in the heat of the moment in the market square, with your cheek still stinging and your jaw still aching, and whatever semblance of pride you had as threadbare as your woolen clothes - you did not mean to kill that merchant.
It was just something that sprung out of you, out of the deepest, blackest part of your heart. You hope that it won't come to that again, at least in front of Lachlaen or any other innocent you cross paths with. A morose thought settles into your mind at that moment as you remember the dream you had on the rock this morning: the all-consuming shadow, and the all-conquering isolation. There was just one who could meet you there, but who was it?
You dearly hope that it isn't Syrith. Your troubled dream feels increasingly like a premonition.
"Well," Lachlaen says, lifting himself off the stump and brushing the tiny wood chips and dew off his pants, "I'll get some supplies for the hike. We'll be walking for a while, but I think we can make town around sundown."
You nod. "Thanks again," you say with a smile.
Lachlaen smiles back at you for the first time. Although he's reluctant to spend the whole day walking with you, seeing you fed, smiling, and getting the help you need brings him a bit of pride in himself. He nods and heads for the cabin, disappearing inside for a while.
You sit and watch the fire as it slowly turns the logs to ash beneath your clothes. The sounds of cicadas buzzing in the trees is louder than you've ever heard it, and the shimmering green of the trees all around is picturesque. You can tell that Lachlaen has a good life here, and you can easily imagine yourself settling down in the same manner somewhere and just living off the land. It seems peaceful.
"Brigand."
Your stomach drops as you hear the sudden change in Lachlaen's voice. You turn nervously and find him in the doorway, bow in hand and with an arrow drawn. Your eyes widen; you can't even find the words to plead with him, what do you mean?
But you already know what he means.
He knows you took the knife.
"I- I wasn't sure if-" you stammer, wide-eyed. "I'm... I'm-"
"Just shut your mouth," he says, coldly, stepping out of his home and onto the forest floor. "I don't have much. You already had a good look around, didn't you? Got that nose of yours poking around in my chest while I gave you privacy!?" he roars. "You must have figured: he keeps his coin purse on him, and you're damned right I do. But I'm not a fool. I saw the knife missing as soon as I went in there."
"Please, Lachlaen-"
"SHUT UP!" he explodes, bringing the cicadas to silence and startling birds out of the trees. The fury in his eyes glows redder than the dying embers in the firepit. "I feed you, I offer to guide you... Were you ever lost, or just playing dumb!? How far would we have gotten before you stuck me with that knife and picked the gold off my bloody, dying body!?"
Your shock is mixed with heartbreak. You've done more than offend him; you've hurt him. And as tears well in your eyes, you can see the slightest hint of mistiness in his as well. You do all you can to dissuade him: "I'm a witch, Lachlaen, please, people are looking for me," you beg. Somewhere above you, a bird flaps its wings, landing in the canopy. A crow gives a taunting caw. You ignore it and press on: "I was abducted - Lythrefang took me from Zuklanar, they wanted me to join them and worship Syrith-"
"No..." Lachlaen shakes his head, refusing to believe you, but you keep hammering on with your story, sounding like a madwoman.
"I jumped off the bridge when our cart reached the river and came to shore when I couldn't take the cold anymore... I swear, Lachlaen - people are looking for me, and I'm scared. I can't go home, because I killed someone. I didn't mean to - he struck me - and I killed him with magic I didn't know I had. I- I lied about my family; they're good people and I didn't want anything to happen to them, that's why-"
"ENOUGH. Gods. You really have no shame, do you?" he says, coldly. More chattering from above. More crows. "You tabaxi... You'll just say whatever lets you get your hands on what you want, damn anyone who gets in the way. So now you're a sorceress - that's your story? You can kill just like that, no staff and no wand? If that's true, there's just one little problem. Why did you need the fucking knife!?" he yells, exasperated.
A1. RUN - You've said all you can say, and Lachlaen can take no more excuses. If you don't move now, he will kill you; his hesitation suggests that maybe running is exactly what he hopes you'll do, and the two of you will never meet again.
B2. Kick the Embers - Your mind reels in a panic. You want to run, but aside from a towel, you're naked right now, and you doubt you'll make it far without shoes, at the very least. The memory of your dream and the crows above fill you with dread, as that same violent impulse returns to you. You need your stuff back, and you're going to fight for it, starting with kicking the embers of the fire into Lachlaen's eyes, now that he's closer to you.
B3. Tap into the Darkness - For a moment, time stands still as Lachlaen's words pierce through you, reducing you to nothing. You can't pretend that you didn't make mistakes which led to this moment, but right now, you're an unarmed adolescent girl in nothing more than a bath towel, and Lachlaen is an armed, grown man spouting hatred for your entire race. A familiar voice whispers in your ear: perhaps his few acts of generosity aren't worth your restraint, sister.
In exchange for that indulgence, you make a promise to yourself that you won't see Lachlaen harmed for your sake. If the witches track you down, you'll have to use your magic to keep them at bay for long enough that he'll be able to scramble away. It's not a particularly good plan; the mechanics of spellcasting are still totally unknown to you, but like the driver said, you're practically a fountain of pneuma... whatever the hell that means.
Another thought crosses your mind, however. Even if you manage to hold them back, even by doing something unthinkably noble, you will have altered the path of Lachlaen's life. An encounter with Lythrefang will mean he will always be looking over his shoulder, fearing the common crows as you do now. It doesn't seem fair, but you didn't wish for this life either - not even in the heat of the moment in the market square, with your cheek still stinging and your jaw still aching, and whatever semblance of pride you had as threadbare as your woolen clothes - you did not mean to kill that merchant.
It was just something that sprung out of you, out of the deepest, blackest part of your heart. You hope that it won't come to that again, at least in front of Lachlaen or any other innocent you cross paths with. A morose thought settles into your mind at that moment as you remember the dream you had on the rock this morning: the all-consuming shadow, and the all-conquering isolation. There was just one who could meet you there, but who was it?
You dearly hope that it isn't Syrith. Your troubled dream feels increasingly like a premonition.
"Well," Lachlaen says, lifting himself off the stump and brushing the tiny wood chips and dew off his pants, "I'll get some supplies for the hike. We'll be walking for a while, but I think we can make town around sundown."
You nod. "Thanks again," you say with a smile.
Lachlaen smiles back at you for the first time. Although he's reluctant to spend the whole day walking with you, seeing you fed, smiling, and getting the help you need brings him a bit of pride in himself. He nods and heads for the cabin, disappearing inside for a while.
You sit and watch the fire as it slowly turns the logs to ash beneath your clothes. The sounds of cicadas buzzing in the trees is louder than you've ever heard it, and the shimmering green of the trees all around is picturesque. You can tell that Lachlaen has a good life here, and you can easily imagine yourself settling down in the same manner somewhere and just living off the land. It seems peaceful.
"Brigand."
Your stomach drops as you hear the sudden change in Lachlaen's voice. You turn nervously and find him in the doorway, bow in hand and with an arrow drawn. Your eyes widen; you can't even find the words to plead with him, what do you mean?
But you already know what he means.
He knows you took the knife.
"I- I wasn't sure if-" you stammer, wide-eyed. "I'm... I'm-"
"Just shut your mouth," he says, coldly, stepping out of his home and onto the forest floor. "I don't have much. You already had a good look around, didn't you? Got that nose of yours poking around in my chest while I gave you privacy!?" he roars. "You must have figured: he keeps his coin purse on him, and you're damned right I do. But I'm not a fool. I saw the knife missing as soon as I went in there."
"Please, Lachlaen-"
"SHUT UP!" he explodes, bringing the cicadas to silence and startling birds out of the trees. The fury in his eyes glows redder than the dying embers in the firepit. "I feed you, I offer to guide you... Were you ever lost, or just playing dumb!? How far would we have gotten before you stuck me with that knife and picked the gold off my bloody, dying body!?"
Your shock is mixed with heartbreak. You've done more than offend him; you've hurt him. And as tears well in your eyes, you can see the slightest hint of mistiness in his as well. You do all you can to dissuade him: "I'm a witch, Lachlaen, please, people are looking for me," you beg. Somewhere above you, a bird flaps its wings, landing in the canopy. A crow gives a taunting caw. You ignore it and press on: "I was abducted - Lythrefang took me from Zuklanar, they wanted me to join them and worship Syrith-"
"No..." Lachlaen shakes his head, refusing to believe you, but you keep hammering on with your story, sounding like a madwoman.
"I jumped off the bridge when our cart reached the river and came to shore when I couldn't take the cold anymore... I swear, Lachlaen - people are looking for me, and I'm scared. I can't go home, because I killed someone. I didn't mean to - he struck me - and I killed him with magic I didn't know I had. I- I lied about my family; they're good people and I didn't want anything to happen to them, that's why-"
"ENOUGH. Gods. You really have no shame, do you?" he says, coldly. More chattering from above. More crows. "You tabaxi... You'll just say whatever lets you get your hands on what you want, damn anyone who gets in the way. So now you're a sorceress - that's your story? You can kill just like that, no staff and no wand? If that's true, there's just one little problem. Why did you need the fucking knife!?" he yells, exasperated.
A1. RUN - You've said all you can say, and Lachlaen can take no more excuses. If you don't move now, he will kill you; his hesitation suggests that maybe running is exactly what he hopes you'll do, and the two of you will never meet again.
B2. Kick the Embers - Your mind reels in a panic. You want to run, but aside from a towel, you're naked right now, and you doubt you'll make it far without shoes, at the very least. The memory of your dream and the crows above fill you with dread, as that same violent impulse returns to you. You need your stuff back, and you're going to fight for it, starting with kicking the embers of the fire into Lachlaen's eyes, now that he's closer to you.
B3. Tap into the Darkness - For a moment, time stands still as Lachlaen's words pierce through you, reducing you to nothing. You can't pretend that you didn't make mistakes which led to this moment, but right now, you're an unarmed adolescent girl in nothing more than a bath towel, and Lachlaen is an armed, grown man spouting hatred for your entire race. A familiar voice whispers in your ear: perhaps his few acts of generosity aren't worth your restraint, sister.
turtwigwins
Junior Member
A1
dikdik
colossal leaf and prince of the universe
A1
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
B3
joshuadim
the writer
B2
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
A1
RUN
K0mori
Servant Supreme
Again, you sense and suppress a violent urge that sneaks up on you, but without that dark impulse fueling your action, all you have left is fear. In an instant, you drop off the log onto the ground and, moving so quickly and recklessly that it's a wonder your towel doesn't come off, you dash away from the fire, away from your possessions, and away from Lachlaen. You pass by the first few trees before you make the mistake of looking back; a blur, a shadow pierces the air just ahead of your nose and stabs into the wood of a walnut tree. Your head snaps back to the direction you're headed, and you pass by Lachlaen's arrow as you stumble over uneven ground and poison ivy.
You keep running, as far and as fast as you can manage, and the trees grow in height and density around you. The shifting inclinations of the land force you to the left and right, and you're unable to keep a straight line. Of course, you're getting farther from the trail and the river, and after reaching a sturdy-looking oak, you duck behind it and call out.
"Lachlaen...?" You plead as you gasp for air, panting hard after the terrifying sprint. Right now, you don't even want to try reasoning again; you just hope you don't get an answer so that you can be sure he's not following you. After a few seconds of silence, apart from the distant cawing of crows, you slowly lean and look over your shoulder, and find nothing but trees stretching out, seemingly forever. Only now does your survival instinct relinquish and allow you to think clearly, and you bitterly chastise yourself for not running toward the river, back when you knew where you were.
Swallowing hard, you regain your nerve. You need the elf's help, or you might just die out here. "Lachlaen!" you call out again, to no answer but those gods-damned crows. The forest is wide, and dark, and utterly empty without your companion. Your feet are bloody from running on uneven ground, rocks and roots. A part of you actually hopes that one of those crows might be a messenger, one which could lead another witch to you. You sit down and lean back against the tree, trying to regain your composure, but you're panicking on the inside.
1. Pray to Gallanis - When you were little, the church in your home village taught you to pray to Gallanis when things were seriously amiss - when someone was sick or had recently died, when food was too scarce to feed everyone at the dinner table, when fires burned down the houses of your neighbors, you remembered the mass prayers in church to Gallanis, the God of Charity. He is considered a weak god, but one who will always heed the call of the destitute.
2. Pray to Syrith - Things have never been this bleak.
joshuadim
the writer
1
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
1
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
2, but distrustfully.
youraverageroleplayer12
Lurker
1.
turtwigwins
Junior Member
1
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
2
dikdik
colossal leaf and prince of the universe
1111111
Pray to Gallanis
K0mori
Servant Supreme
You bow your head and sink to your knees. "My Lord, Gallanis," you begin, and pause a while, not sure of how you can reconcile your faith with your actions. You take a deep breath and start from the beginning. "All my life, I've been faithful to You. From Your seat in Heaven, You must hear the pleas of thousands - the orphans, the poor, and the sick. I... I don't know if my own have ever reached You," you admit. It's impossible to know if the Gods above are incapable of helping, if They are overwhelmed and underequipped to help, or if They simply do not care. But as you kneel in this forest, you choose to believe it's the middle option. If Gallanis hears you, He will help. But the Church always cautioned the flock not to expect anything to miraculously occur. For all the suffering in the world, few martyrs exist which garner the attention of the Gods.
"A year ago," you continue, "my sister, Rigatte, returned to me after falling into a cult of Syrith. She wanted me to join her, even though I wasn't a witch. She begged me, and I was frightened, because I was tempted, not for anything the cult promised, but because I wanted my sister back so badly. I... I did what I believed You would want me to do," you say quietly, almost ashamedly as even after a year, you can't bring yourself to call it the objectively correct move. "...I told the church about her, and her hiding place... And they, in their wisdom, decided that Rigatte had to die."
"I prayed to You, every night, for months. I know that she was an evil person, but I've never stopped missing her. I wanted my guilt and my pain to end, but I think I'm going to keep hurting as long as I know that she is... wherever she is. I've hoped that You could reach her and soothe her suffering as well. As for me, things have been harder than ever at home. Mom and Dad are getting older, there's more competition than ever at the market, and my brothers and sisters are hungry because we can't afford to keep what we grow," you state, silently wondering just how many times you've told Gallanis all of this before.
You sigh. It's time to get to the point.
"Yesterday, I went to sell some produce, and a merchant struck me in the face. He knocked our produce out of my hands as he walked past, and he insulted me when I was gathering it off the ground and trying to salvage what I could. I cursed at him, and he struck me," you explain, your voice trembling as you begin to tear up. "I... I didn't know, when I reached for him, that I could hurt him the way that I did. Whatever darkness lived in Rigatte lives in me, Lord, and I let it out. I sometimes wonder if she cursed me for what I did, because I'm terrified of it. I don't want this. That merchant is dead, Lord, and it's my fault. I was just so angry..."
Among the birds in the branches above, you pick out the solemn caw of another crow. You shake your head, keeping your eyes firmly shut. "After I killed him, the same cult that abducted Rigatte took me away. It wasn't my choice - they forced me - and as soon as I was able, I ran away. But I'm lost, My Lord. I have nothing, and I'm so far away from home. I don't know where to go or who to ask for help... Maybe Your church? Please... Please send someone to guide me. Lead me to safety so that I may continue to serve in Your name, even if I am no longer worthy of Heaven."
You pause a moment, wondering whether you really believe what you just said, or if you were just saying what you thought He would want to hear. You take one last deep breath.
"Amen," you conclude.
You open your eyes and let out a scream: right in front of you, sitting in a tree with her legs dangling carefree, is a pale, dark-clad human with a crow on her shoulder. She takes an apple out of her pocket and bites it with a loud crunch, looking at you as if she's disappointed.
"You know he's not real, right?" she asks rhetorically with her mouth full.
You slowly stand up, deathly afraid of what she might do. "Who are you?"
"I was about to ask the same," the witch says. "One of my sisters said she spotted 'one hell of an awakening' over in Zuklanar. She said she never got your name before you jumped into the Turus. We were taking bets on whether you drowned or not, but I guess you got lucky," she says with a shrug before dropping out of the tree, sending her crow flapping back up into the canopy. "My name is Corrinth, by the way... I overheard the whole thing, so I'd say I've got your whole story, minus the name." She takes another bite of the apple and looks at you expectantly.
1. Cooperate- Telling lies and running away has gotten you in more than enough trouble, lately. Clearly, you don't have much of an option besides cooperating for the moment, but if you escaped from Lythrefang once, you can do it again, if you're patient. "My name is Agranne," you answer tersely.
2. Obstruct - "You already have more than you deserve," you answer fiercely.
joshuadim
the writer
1
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
2.
dikdik
colossal leaf and prince of the universe
2222222
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
2
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
2
Obstruct
K0mori
Servant Supreme
Corrinth stops in her tracks and gives you a bewildered look as she chews on her apple. "Look, if you want me to come back in like, a day, or two, or three... I can just leave you here and talk to you when you're even more tired and hungry."
She pauses a moment and swallows, holding a finger into the air as if to say "hold on," and then reaches into a bag and fishes around for a moment.
"Ah, there it is," she says, pulling out a small roll of gauze bandage. "Here, for your feet," she says, tossing it to you. "You're coming with me, back to Tashlaan. Tomorrow morning, we set out for Yan's Find and pick up right where we left off."
"I won't go," you state, doing your best to remain calm and collected, despite the fact that Corrinth means to place you in the exact same predicament you were in before. "I won't join your coven, and I won't worship Syrith. Just leave me here, like you said."
Corrinth, finally exhausted with your refusal to cooperate, rubs the bridge of her nose. "Okay... How about we just skip to the part where you stop acting like there's any other way out of this?" She asks, fishing what would prove to be a gnarled wand out of her belt and brandishing it at you. Instantly, the tip of the wand seems to emanate a black smoke as a horrible feeling of cold settles into your body before something even more alarming: a feeling as if someone or something has reached into you, it's hands sliding over your arms from beneath the skin.
Of no input of yours, your limbs bend and move, just like a puppet, and you shakily rise to your feet...
1. Beg - "My name is Agranne!" you shout, your eyes wide with fear. You feel the phantom creature halt in its advance. "Let me go; I'll walk."
2. Get Angry - Until now, fear and loathing has dictated your actions with Corrinth. Your hidden power might be able to drive her back. If only you could find it! You have to summon up that awful side of yourself...
Last edited:
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
2
