Fantasy Terrorchild: Awakening

[K0mori]

1. Play Dumb - "I dunno," you quip, "I figured dressing like you're on your way to a funeral every day would tip someone off."

Corrinth lets out a single, long, sarcastic laugh that sounds something like a donkey braying. Iona, meanwhile, tries to hide a smile.

"Yeah, good one," Corrinth admits. ...Look," she says, dropping her feet from the seat beside her with a thump before leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and looking on you more intensely, the way she did when you met for the first time. "I know you're deeply uncomfortable with the idea that things are preordained, or that your soul is bound to the same eternal plane as the Eldest, or whatever it is that makes you so reluctant to accept reality, but just because I can't control you, doesn't mean you're the one in control."

A moment of silence passes through as you process what's been said to you. As quickly as Corrinth's deathly serious demeanor and spiteful, bloodthirsty grin appears, it fades, and she sinks back into the dining chair with another quiet snicker. "So, if she really wants you, she'll send others to get you. It's only a matter of time."

"So why are you helping me?" you ask, growing frustrated. "If you're so sure everything is going to play out the way you think it will, then why bother being nice to me? Giving me clothing and money for a place to sleep?"

Corrinth's smile disappears, and a look of remorse appears. "...I'm sorry I was rough with you when we met," she says, suddenly. "I got carried away... But I never wanted to hurt you, Agranne. I think that Syrith wanted me to find you so that I could help you on the journey she's planned for you, and, well... vinegar and honey, and all that..." she trails off.

Iona finally speaks up: "Agranne," she says with an almost motherly, but still matter-of-fact tone, "my daughter is worried about you. She might not be the best with words, but I think she might actually just like you as a person."

1. Accept Kindness - You remember how Corrinth first tried to offer you bandages for your feet, tried to discourage you from wasting any more time in the woods, and how she felt such genuine relief that you hadn't killed her - not for her own sake, but for yours - as you would have been stranded there, potentially to die of thirst or exposure. In fact, if not for the coven, you would have been caught in Zuklanar and would be dead by now. If this is all part of Syrith's plan for you, perhaps you can humor it. "...Thank you," you say, watching Corrinth's reaction carefully. She seems stressed, again, on your behalf. "How does one... join... the coven?" you slowly ask.

2. Cut Ties - "I'm the same person I was two days ago," you reply, sadly and brutally honest toward Iona's assessment. "The truth is that Corrinth wouldn't have cared about me at all if I wasn't a hexblood. It's a stretch to even call us friends." You watch for Corrinth's reaction, and see bitter disappointment fall over her. "...I'm going to go to the stables, to see if I can find Jakom. If any more of your sisters cross my path, I'll figure it out," you tell her.

 

[hardcore.munchkin]

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[asphodelus]

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[Breadman]

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[turtwigwins]

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[joshuadim]

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[Infab]

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[bat_hacker]

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[Damian0358]

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[dikdik]

22222222

 

[K0mori]

1. Accept Kindness - You remember how Corrinth first tried to offer you bandages for your feet, tried to discourage you from wasting any more time in the woods, and how she felt such genuine relief that you hadn't killed her - not for her own sake, but for yours - as you would have been stranded there, potentially to die of thirst or exposure. In fact, if not for the coven, you would have been caught in Zuklanar and would be dead by now. If this is all part of Syrith's plan for you, perhaps you can humor it. "...Thank you," you say, watching Corrinth's reaction carefully. She seems stressed, again, on your behalf. "How does one... join... the coven?" you slowly ask.

You watch Corrinth close her eyes and smile for a moment, thankful on a deep and spiritual level that you're finally choosing to listen, rather than bury your head in the sand.

"...Agranne," she says, "what's your earliest memory of the church? Do you remember the first time you prayed to Gallanis?"

At first, you're frustrated that Corrinth would counter with another question, but after glancing over and seeing Iona's emphatic expression, you decide to try and be patient. It's not like you have anywhere to be - or at least so soon, anyway.

You think on the question, and you quickly realize that you aren't actually sure about its answer. Your parents brought you to the big chapel lots of times when you were little. It seems you were young enough in the beginning that the sermons were totally beyond your comprehension, and so the entire ritual bordered on absurdity. All you knew at the time is that the chapel was a place in which you would be expected to follow directions without complaint: to stand, to sit, to bow, and to pray - the latter involving the repetition of droning words that some unseen figure at the far end of the room was speaking to the congregation, behind the wall of bodies in the rows in front of you.

"No," you answer, guardedly. "I'm trying to remember, but it's all just a blur, really. I probably spoke a lot of prayers before I knew what I was saying," you admit.

Corrinth nods, and gently, follows your answer with a chilling observation. "Your faith... it was forced on you. They did it with good intentions, but you were still coerced. How would they have reacted if you hadn't accepted the gods you were given, the patron you were assigned, and the fantasy of it all?" she asks, rhetorically.

"They gave me my beliefs, but it's my choice to keep them," you counter with a sigh. "Can you please just get to the point?" you finally ask. "I already told you-"

"I know. You won't pray to Syrith. But the thing is, I don't, and I would never ask you to, either. Instead, sometime... maybe tonight, or some other night, anytime you're alone and you feel safe," she explains, her eyes narrow, her voice a conspiratorial, hushed thing: "speak to Her - not as a god, or a savior, or a master, but as your Sister. If you're ready to let go of what you were before, and walk this new path, the same thing will happen to you that happened to me."

"Which is...?"

"She'll answer."

Corrinth's response sends an icy chill down your back, and her devilish grin makes you want to run from the room and back into the woods. However, you don't do that; you instead stay anchored to the edge of your seat, trembling slightly, until you finally snap out of it when Iona hands you something wrapped in a small towel.

"You have a lot to think about," Iona says. "Why don't you take a walk and get some fresh air? We'll see you tonight, won't we?"

You nod, dumbfounded as she helps you to your feet and guides you toward the door. All the while, Corrinth watches you, relaxed in her seat, smug as a cat that's just killed a bird. Out into the sunlight, you feel a cool breeze against your face and finally feel as if you can breathe and strangely...

You feel okay, now. A smile curls at the edge of your mouth as you walk away in a daze, and it's not until you're halfway across town that you finally unwrap the treat you were given and discover a small apple turnover. You don't even care that all you've had to eat since Lachlaen's terrible stew has been apples - you have your breakfast.

1. Seek Employment - You stick to the plan, and head directly for the stables, where you intend to find work.

2. Seek Guidance - Maybe what you really need is to repent. Things feel like they're getting out of control, and maybe if you were in a more familiar setting, you'd be able to think straight. You ignore your earlier reservations and head directly for the local church.

 

[Infab]

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[dikdik]

111111 ponies

 

[hardcore.munchkin]

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[Breadman]

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[asphodelus]

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[joshuadim]

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[bat_hacker]

deny your fate no longer

submit to horse

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[Damian0358]

Go with 1. You can't risk going to the church.

 

[K0mori]

1. Seek Employment - You stick to the plan, and head directly for the stables, where you intend to find work.

The thought crosses your mind as you trod along on the dirty road that you might want to spend some time at the church, speaking to a cleric who can help you make sense of your world. You know that you're stuck between two worlds and two lives - the nothing and no one you were before, and whatever comes next - and if Corrinth can get you so riled up, planting thoughts of a new, creepy patron goddess whose voice might answer you if you're so bold as to speak to her, it would be good to have someone in your corner who can talk you back down to solid ground. You won't tell them that you're a witch, or that you killed someone. You can still just be Agranne, a nobody from nowhere, and they can give you the same old, boring sermons about faith and fidelity.

But then again, no. Your faith is resting perilously on the edge of that very fearful thing that Corrinth told you. All those times you prayed to Gallanis and felt nothing, and watched as nothing ever changed. What if she was right, and He didn't even exist? For a cleric to put your mind at ease now, he would need to know what's really eating at you, and that would mean telling him the truth, not just about yourself, but also of Corrinth and Iona.

It would be another catastrophe. People would die.

And plus, as if you needed any other reason not to go, you knew that Lucyk would be outside the church doing his work, and that might lead to another confrontation.

No, you think it's time to meet Jakom. Further down the path, you spot a few horses in a grassy pen, and that leads your eyes to the wooden stables nearby. Next door, a blacksmith's workshop casts a long shadow from the chimney, and you noticed that no smoke is currently rising from it. Either Jakom hasn't started work for the day, or he's busy with the horses themselves. You assume the latter, and circle around to the door, or lack thereof, to walk in to somewhat dark building.

You find a tall, rotund man with a long, wild beard inside, leaning against an empty stall and smoking a pipe.

"Excuse me, are you Jakom?" you ask.

He nods. "Are you the grim reaper?" he asks, stone-faced.

You laugh nervously, remembering your outfit as you remove your hat. "...My name is Agranne. I've just arrived in town and I'm looking for work. Iona said you might want a hand?"

"I've got two already," he says, wiggling his fingers. "Are you good with horses?" he asks.

You shake your head. "I've never really been around them, but I can learn."

Jakom grunts. "Alright," he says ambiguously, taking a puff off his pipe. "So where are you coming from?"

You take the time to explain to him that you've left Zuklanar in search of a happier, more independent life, and you're hoping that he might teach you how to care for horses so that she could learn a proper trade beyond subsistence farming and housework.

"...I hurt my back," Jakom says.

You wait for him to elaborate before finally replying, "I uh... I know. That's why I'm here."

He nods. "...Go get the wheelbarrow and a pitchfork."

---
​

After a hard day's work, you leave the stables looking and feeling rather disgusting, but in your pocket jangles a gold coin and a few silvers, almost double what Lucyk would have paid you. The horses seemed cautious about you, and you didn't get much chance to pet them, but you were impressed by their size and beauty, up close. Your stomach empty, you force yourself to gather water so that you can wash yourself off like you did in the morning and get the gunk off your boots, before considering whether to head back to Iona's tavern.

You have magic lessons to look forward to, but it'll mean facing Corrinth again. You aren't sure what she'll be expecting of you, and to be honest, you aren't really sure what you're expecting of yourself. Standing in this dark patch of forest just outside of town, you realize that you're fully alone for the first time all day. You could... before you return...

1. Speak - The night is peaceful and the breeze is gentle. All you hear is the rustling of leaves and the distant cawing of crows. What to say...? Don't make it a prayer. Just, say something and see... you think. Your heart starts to pound and your hands tremble, but you swallow your fear and turn intently to the darkness. "...I'm here," you say. "Do you hear me? What do you want with my life? ...With my family? Was Rigatte not enough for you?"

2. Walk Away - You feel unnerved by the temptation. All the fear you experienced in Corrinth's presence comes rushing back to you. No, you can't - you won't - do this, not now. You decide that if you're going to do something brave, you're just going to walk back to the tavern and face the devil you know, and not the one you don't.

 

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[hardcore.munchkin]

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[joshuadim]

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[Breadman]

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[turtwigwins]

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