[PK] Good night, Maira Aleksandra Baruch

[Diogen 3729]

 

 

 

 

 

Strokur

 

 

Within Haense- a land where winter never wanes, there lived Maira Aleksandra Baruch, a woman of gentle heart and curious mind. She was drawn to the beauty of the cold, to the way snow blanketed the world in quiet serenity, and how the frost painted intricate patterns on the windows of her cottage. Yet, for all her love of the winter's embrace, she never ventured far beyond the safety of her nation.

 

Hi! I’m new here.
Smiled the stranger.

 

One fateful day, Maira encountered a woman by the village well. This woman, a stranger, appeared out of the gathering dusk as if she had stepped directly from the shadows. Her smile was warm, her voice soft and sweet, like the first bloom of spring after a long winter. But what struck Maira most were her eyes - icy blue, clear as the coldest river, yet somehow not as cold. They seemed to harbor a depth of kindness that put Maira at ease, despite the chill they bore.

 

The woman introduced herself with a name that slipped through Maira’s mind like a forgotten dream. She spoke of a hidden place high in the mountains, a sanctuary untouched by the world below. Her words were like the most delicate snowflakes, falling gently upon Maira’s heart, melting away her caution. The woman’s invitation was simple, yet irresistible: "Come with me, Maira, and I will show you ascension."

 

Maira hesitated only for a moment, the tales of the mountains' dangers briefly flickering in her thoughts. But the woman’s smile dispelled her doubts, and with a nod, she agreed. Together, they began the ascent, leaving the village and the safety of its hearths behind.

 

As they climbed higher, the air grew colder, and the world became an expanse of white silence. The path was treacherous, the snow deep, but the woman moved with an unnatural grace, guiding the trembling Haeseni with ease. Maira, though less sure-footed, followed without complaint, her trust in the woman unwavering.

 

Yet, as they neared the mountain’s peak, a strange thing began to happen. The woman’s skin, once smooth and fair, began to crack like a dry riverbed under a scorching sun. Maira watched in horror as flakes of ice began to fall from the woman’s flesh, revealing something dark and twisted beneath. The warmth that had once emanated from the woman faded, replaced by a cold so intense it burned.

 

Maira’s heart pounded in her chest, fear gripping her as she realized the truth too late. The woman was no friend, no gentle guide, but a creature of the Frost - a hag of ancient and malevolent power, who had donned the guise of a human to lure her prey. It was then, the Frost Mother offered her a seat as a part of her kin. Yet she refused.

 

But… I was supposed to get married. I can’t. I can’t.
Whispered the Maira, as she quivered.

 

The hag’s face dropped, disappointed in such a response. Flakes of snow and ice began to rapidly swirl around her form, almost shrouding her, hinting at the sheer anger displayed by the creature.

 

Panic set in, and Maira turned to flee, but the ground beneath her feet was no longer solid. It shifted and trembled, as though the mountain itself sought to entrap her. The snow became ice, slick and treacherous, and as Maira ran, her feet slipped out from under her. She fell hard, the impact jarring, her breath stolen by the icy cold that now permeated her bones.

 

Around her, the ice began to rise, jagged spikes shooting up from the ground like the teeth of some great beast. She tried to scramble to her feet, but her limbs were numb, her strength fading with the warmth that left her body. She screamed, a desperate cry for help, but only the wind howled in response, carrying her voice away into the void.

 

Why- why? Stop! Cathan and Nimue will find you!

 They will hunt you until their last breath!

Cried Maira as she ran.

 

One of the spikes caught her as she fell, piercing through her side. The pain was sharp, but brief, the cold quickly dulling all sensation. Maira's breath came in ragged gasps, each one more shallow than the last, her vision darkening as the life drained from her.

 

Don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.
Pleaded the Noblewoman.

 

And then, silence.

 

Maira Aleksandra Baruch’s body hung suspended on the spike of ice, her blood freezing as it touched the cold air. She remained there, a frozen statue, her eyes wide in a death she had never seen coming.

 

The hag, now fully revealed in her monstrous form, watched with eyes that no longer held any trace of humanity. She let out a low, guttural laugh, a sound that echoed across the barren peaks, before she turned and disappeared into the blizzard, leaving Maira's hanging body beside the mountains where Haense resides, for all to see.

 

 

 

 

Into the spike, was carved:

"Hello Nimue.
Hello Cathan."

 

 

A taunt, to humanity.

 

 

 

OOC:

Spoiler

Thanks a lot to Trinn @410,757,864,530 Dead Xannites for the RP opportunity!! I hope that made for a worthwhile PK 

 

[Wizry 1222]

A silence came over as Cathan observed the hanging body, before quietly shifting to draw his knife and cut it down. He'd then remove his pack off his back, before driving a metal spike into a trophied head from a frost-witch, and offered a note besides it:

 

"Hello, witch."

 

Spoiler

 

Yet the body was buried closer to the base of the hill, a stone with a carving of the Radiant Star of Malchediael into it placed at the head of the site. Furthermore, candles were lit and then placed on top of it as the Templar followed death rites that were passed to him. The spike was removed and kept onto himself - for privacy.

Edited August 19, 2024 by Wizry

[ivery 592]

Eileen Rosalind Baruch waits by the window of her father's keep, the notice of her missing sister in her hands. As she watches the roads as though willpower alone will manifest news, she thinks of happier times- of laughter in these quiet halls. Petyr's boasting and Maiteas' jabs, Maira squabbling back and forth with their father over dinner until their mother calmed the both of them, Malcolm quietly sneaking treats to their hounds.

 

Then Maiteas left, and Petyr drowned, their mother got sick and their father wasted away.

 

Maira must return, she decides- prays. Their house was not cursed, as the rumors say. It cannot be.