Shrike's Heart (#1)

[idolpro]

The woman before you is beautiful—fair of features, with lovely golden skin and luxurious long black hair, petite. You have the immediate and distinct impression that she's just let go of your hand, and she steps back, and smiles.

It's not quite a happy smile.

"I'm sorry," she says. "There's just nothing I can do, as things are. But the way is there; it just needs to be lit."

You open your mouth—maybe to say something, or to express confusion—but you have to cough, and taste something metallic, spattering black blood onto the ground in front of you. Then you realize—blood seeps from opening wounds in your arms, your chest, your stomach, your face. It rims your eyes and trails from your nose and you feel like you're dissolving—

—and you fall through the ground like it's the surface of a lake, and go down, down, down.

> Wake Up

Comments

THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

Once, there was a maiden...
...whose battles called her far from home.
She slew the thing she feared most, and conquered the land that feared her.
As she fought, far away, she knew her children needed guidance.
She knew they faced tyrants.
She knew they faced fear.
In her homeland, things were broken.
So, she held up her hand before the sun, and cast a shadow on the world, and drowned the troubles of her home in darkness.

[ There's blood on your weapon, you realize—the weapon you hold in your hand, and if you didn't have one before, you have one now, whether it's sword or axe or war fan or chakram. It's no surprise from the bodies that lay in the trampled-down field behind you. It looks like it used to be for growing, but now nothing will grow there again, probably, even though a few bags of seeds sit aside it.

A clatter; one of your soldiers tosses another sword atop the pile of discarded enemy weapons.

Ahead of you lies the small border city that your forces have just conquered. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[mind_blown]

[DID THEY SALT THE FIELDS?

he's petty but he's not that petty. c'mon.

actually why will nothing grow there]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ well. given the state of things it looks like no one's going to be doing some growing for a bit.

that, and... something you can sense—though you're not sure why—is that the massive loss of life, the regrets the dead were left with... are getting into the earth itself, here, like an inkstain.

however, you suspect the people on what appears to be "your" side of the battle know that, since one of them does in fact appear to be engaged in sorcerous raising of the dead. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[mind_blown]

[you know it's too bad he doesn't have his memory of being raised from the dead, because let me tell you. he sure would have some feelings about that.]

Seriously?

Knock it off.

[to the person. raising the dead.]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ the woman raises an eyebrow. ]

Really? You're already making it hard enough for me to do my work by not giving a shit about what state the bodies are left in, at least let me do my job.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[mind_blown]

Yeah, again. Knock it off.

The dead generally like to stay dead.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ she snorts, and waves a hand. her skin is ghost-pale, and her hair a sickly grey-green shade. ]

Since when is that a stance we have around here? Send a letter to the Walker, don't take it up with me. I'm sure he'll take it very seriously.

[ she seems to also do A Sarcasm. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[mind_blown]

What if we just burned the bodies instead, gave them a cremation ceremony? Surely that'd go over well, right?

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

Didn't tell me it was new recruit season— Then again, I guess you meatheads don't get any training in the occult arts since he thinks it's useless.

If we're thinning the boundary between here and the underworld, we have to have a catalyst. If ordinary burial of the dead counted, our work would already be done for us across the whole world.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[syncintohell]

[ Shu is exhausted from burying two bodies.

So actually he's going to fall to his knees, grip on the axe in his hand loose ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ paff paff

you rest beside the pile of weaponry, and get a little bit of a second wind back, at least. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[syncintohell]

[ Once he has his second wind, he'll get to his feet again.

can he go head into town? ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ sure can! people don't stop you; in fact, your presence seems to be expected by the rest of the soldiers.

This is more of a city—some kind of border trade town, though maybe a less-prosperous one. On one side of the town is the prefect's mansion, with its doors barred.

When you cross into the main square, a man with sallow skin, black hair and bird-like features greets you, waving you over. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[syncintohell]

[ He raises a hand, acknowledging, as he walks over ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

Eyyyyyyooooo, it's about time you showed up.

[ He twirls a knife between his fingers. ]

They barred the doors; isn't that inconvenient? If you're strong, help me out.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[syncintohell]

I may not have stamina to my name, but I do have strength.

[ Also an Axe, now, apparently. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[claestrophe]

[ ... this doesn't seem like a good place for their loads of personal items. actually, it seems like possibly a worse place. Are there MORE dead bodies here than before? ]

... I think we should go back, Peepaw.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ hey, where's the path back?

there's not one, anymore. only forward, friendos. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[jokesaboutrighthands]

[im dying]

Uncle. If you call me any variety of grandfather again I'm leaving you here.

[he can't actually do that but don't call him old!!

anyway it looks like they are going to be carrying this shit for a while so with a sigh he sets down the items and starts to make a sack by folding his jacket cleverly and putting the stuff in there]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[claestrophe]

No way! Your eyes and hair are both going white; how can you not be a Peepaw?

[ BY DEFINITION that makes him OLD

she's almost sure.

similarly, she is undoing her cape and using it to nestle stuff inside for safe keeping ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[jokesaboutrighthands]

I don't have a single white hair! And white eyes doesn't mean old. Have you ever even seen an old man?

[gesturing at the bag of seed]

Grab that, too.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

[ you acquire a BAG OF SEEDS. ]

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[claestrophe]

[ SHIT i am so sorry.

grabbing these seeds and I guess heading with him toward the city??/ maybe? is that where we're going? ]

Are we going to plant a garden?

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[jokesaboutrighthands]

Yeah, making something grow is on the to-do list.

Re: THE BATTLEFIELD

[handpuppets]

"Survival's a long reach," a voice says.

[ A bright line draws from where you stand, then to the doors of the local militia's barracks—now empty—leading you ahead.

Proceed. ]