A Maleficar Strayed

[TreeSmoothie 5019]

[None of this is public knowledge/merely just a creative writing; please refrain from metagaming against any of the characters mentioned.]

 

 

Spoiler

Inspiration: 

 

 

Cold and damp were the rocks she clung to, as water trickled down from the jagged crevices and filled the pools at the very bottom of the cavern. Ancient ruins, pillars of stone, and the like decorated its walls; only a small portion of the gigantic graveyard of Almaris, appropriately dubbed the Tomblands. She breathed through her clenched teeth, cold sweat dribbling down her chin as she made her way toward the three thrones that towered before her. There, sat a malignant figure of ectoplasmic sludge and a husked metal body, with a grin as toothy and crooked as the dozens of souls taken to forge it. The woman bowed her head, and muttered out a quiet greeting. From the corner of her gaze, she watched it rise and float toward her, and in the next moment, she felt her souls -- all three of them, writhe and scream within her mortal coil.

 

. . . 

"Viktoriya."

 

 It was as though time had stopped. The Wight before her stared joyfully as its hand, which had plunged into her heart and out the other side, clutched two gleaming orbs of light. Why had the pain ceased? The screams faded?

 

"Do you blame yourself?"

 

Like a rush of wind, she felt her consciousness fade. All of a sudden, she stood, not knelt, beside another of her Mystic brethren -- his name long forgotten to her. It was the beast she'd just seen torturing her, she'd almost forgotten they'd both learned the craft beside eachother as mortals. Azakrivel ... Vevodrok. The Barrowlords of Arcas . . . At least, the only Barrowlords she ever knew of back then. She recalled dealing one of the last blows to the behemoth of an Apparition to ascend him to Wightdom as Khorvhaditz. And then, the student she taught and called a sister of her own. Veil.

 

"It's quite common for patients in this sort of situation to have a sort of ..."

 

She'd grown so much, she truly had. And she was there, unmoving, watching as Khorvhaditz tore her souls in twine. How had she gotten into this situation? Wasn't she a soldier? A ... Woman who fought for the 'greater good'?

 

"Guilt."

 

Again, her consciousness veered back to an even later date than when she'd begun to walk upon that darkened path. The Inferi War. She was only a Lieutenant of the army, then, but she'd lead her brethren with great success. Perhaps it was only a small dent they'd ever put in the demons' numbers, but it was a triumph to them nonetheless. Her hopes were high, until that faithful day. She could tell, as she sat in a boat beside her husband -- her Captain, that this was the very day. Not wishing to see it over again like she had so many times, the Knight finally croaked out in response to the voice.

 

"What situation?"

 

Time jumped forth again, though only in minutes. There she was, trapped beneath a tree as her soldiers were being slaughtered left in right and the man who caused it, Captain Velhrun ...

Viktoriya scowled. He was the only man to nearly equal her in her insanity and her accursedly long lifespan. She wished she could forget him like she had all the others. He was fleeing. The remaining soldiers had fled, too, yet the Inferi chased after the Captain instead. She could've let him die, and she could've swam off later, but instead she limped toward the party and screamed. Screamed at the top of her lungs, so they'd chase her, instead.

 

"The ACCIDENT."

 

Within a blink she felt a spear skewer her thigh. She threw some odd concoction she was holding. She felt another blade penetrate her arm. She blinked, expecting death, yet in however much time had passed she was instead contained in some cell. The wretched form of the demonlord, Tichar, stood before her. Her will had been broken. She had been broken. And she'd done something unspeakable; she pacted with It. 

 

The next sequences flew by her vision like bolts of lightning and claps of thunder, tearing her mind asunder and leaving her frothing on the floor of her abode . The vision of her past had now gone away, she was in the present, now, but she couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear ... Anything, except them.

 

"GET UP!"

Knock, knock. The door to her house shuddered against the weight of someone's fist. Right, she lived in Krugmar, now.

"THE DOOR, THE DOOR, THE DOOR!"

                        "DON'T OPEN IT!"                                                                "OPEN IT!"

"THEY KNOW WHAT YOU DID, WRETCH!"

"DEMONIC KNATCH!"

"OPENOPEN OPǪ̸̺͖̘̭̦̩͆͂͗̒̅͌̏̚͜͝P̷̧̹̩̍̒̄̑̔͠É̴̛͎͐͗̉̍̀͜͝N̷̢̬̠̳͓͈͍͖̜̽̑̈͆͠ ̶̘̰̥̆̀͋̾̃̄͊̐I̸̱̗͔͔̪̥͛͋̎̚ͅͅT̶̛̹̹̻̩̭͚̤̗̉̈́̽̓̒͆̚!"

 

Wordlessly, she crawled on her hands and knees toward the door and swung it open, her dagger unsheathed, yet there was no one there. They were taunting her, weren't they? This was a trap. She was going to die. Viktoriya stumbled down the street, wildly looking about like a wolf lost in the midst of a human city. A goblin side-eyed her as she scrambled past, and she whipped around to try and nail him in the jaw. "IT WAS YOU!"

Luckily, however, she was as weak as she'd always been after becoming a Voidal mage. Her hand missed by a longshot, and she stumbled forward. An Uruk of her own clan cautiously shuffled nearer and placed her hand atop Viktoriya's shoulder. "Yahzlak ... Mi grukkz latz need moor zleep. Mi bring latz back, ukee?"

 

Her chest rose and fell in rapid breaths, confusedly being tugged along by the Orc.  "Apologeez, bruddah. Shez ... A bit awf tuday, agh--"

 

"I'M NOT! I'M NOT CRAZY, GENERAL RUTHERN! I CAN PROVE MYSELF AGAIN!"

...

"Please. VEVODROK, LET ME PROVE MYSELF! GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE!"

...

"Tichar -- TICHAR, I SWEAR! STAY, I CAN GET YOU OUT OF THERE! I PROMISE!"

...

"Velhrun ... You can't die yet! YOU CAN'T! NOT AGAIN!"

 

History was repeating itself.  Realities were colliding. What was she?

 Was she imagining everything, again?

 

Was ... She real?

 

Spoiler

This is my submission for the Battle of the Arts -- the theme is 'Adventure in Almaris', so I decided to recount my characters adventures with a more morbid twist (schizoposting).. 

Here's the doc link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BofMwCyAS4nTxu7WPlvc0eTsTXlyQOuzX0nRkqnBydw/edit?usp=sharing 

 

[Wizzar 483]

Spoiler

I love this +1