User blog:EllenEagle/The Third Night/What The Crow Saw

Night I- Childhood Tales and the Watch On the Roof
It was like all of the superstitions and stories that were once dismissed as childhood tales had all come together at once.

''Thea sat perched on top of the Poison Arrow pub with several of the soldiers she had begun to call brothers during the extended siege. The mood had been optimistic during the day but by nighttime laughter and conversation that she and the others shared during the day had given way to a silence that was only interrupted by stony-faced sentries returning to give reports. People had been disappearing even before the first major skirmishes and there were rumours of creatures hiding in the sewers…

Stop the rumours, stop the thoughts, they would go in her mind and fester and spread like the rot that set into the enemy’s flesh. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts too much. To over-imagine things would be to give into the siege mentality that so many were succumbing to.''

The city was surrounded.

''If she listened hard enough, Thea could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore despite the distance from the docks and for all of the years she had lived in the city, she was never able to do that. Life had a distinct sound to it even at the most quiet of nights but the silence was sickening. It wasn't natural, and it put everybody on edge. The moon did not comfort her- the taint of the dark magic in the air was so prevalent to her that its light seemed faded. The miasma seemed so thick she could almost make it visible in her mind like a fog, so instead she stared to the forest.

The shadows seemed to move along the treeline, and-''

''Thea suddenly saw movement in the forest and jolted, reaching for her staff. It wasn’t an animal- no living animals were within ten leagues of the sieged city. The animals were wise enough to have fled, and she waited for another movement, but there was none. She couldn't give into the paranoia, but eventually she knew that her suspicions would prove true.''



II Who The Night Belonged To


That night, the land belonged to the dead and the living outside of the city’s walls were intruders into the domain of something more powerful than them.

'' Light still shone in the windows of the makeshift hospital that she had helped to set up. Beds organised, herbs prepared, bandages checked, routes planned. It was a normal procedure to her at this point. There would never be a lack of things to do, and there would always be a lack of people to do them. She’d sleep when she could, but the sight of the moon didn't make the concept of rest any easier. ''

The only ones who dared exit the city limits wouldn't be seen again, she thought, taking a moment to look outside before returning to her work.

The moon was dimmer.

III- What The Crow Saw That Night


''The night belonged to the dead, and so it was hers. She had exited the city limits hours prior. ''

''A crow alighted on a tree branch before looking down to her. It affixed her in its gaze, and when Thea looked up to it she could not help but wonder what the crow saw in her. Crows did not fear the undead; carrion birds did not fear rot.''

''Fear crossed her mind at this and she turned to walk away from it. She did not want to see what it was the Crow saw, and she continued her walk through the trees. Nikkoli’s warning to her still echoed in her mind. “What they are is a miserable existence. Evil wrapped in decayed flesh with no goal but misery.”''

''But this HAD to be different- she didn't have a choice. When the Shade's dagger plunged into her side, Thea thought it would be the end, but after closing her eyes for what she thought would be the last time, she opened them once more in a state that was neither alive or dead.''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">''No goal but misery. That was not her. Undead would soon cease to care about the cares of the living, but Thea refused to believe that would be the case- not then, not there, not while there was still a city to defend.''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">''Her daughter was there. As long as her daughter was alive, she’d have a reason to keep trying to live.''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">Her very existence was a rejection of the natural order of things and that did not make her superior.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">''As the sounds of her footsteps faded and her form dissipated into the trees, crow remained staring after her. It did not fear rot, but it knew that whatever had passed was not food.''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">''Once it flew away, the forest was silent once more. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">''Thea had unwillingly become a walking superstition. Only time would tell just what sort of superstition was true about her.''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">Evil wrapped in decayed flesh,

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">But she had not decayed,

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">Not yet.

<p class="MsoNormal">________

<p class="MsoNormal">(( An OOC piece based on the Hunger RP Thea was part of a long time ago. Will eventually be linked to her bio. ))

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:24px;">