What lies beyond these castle walls...

W

Wolfy

Guest
Original poster
Setting: The lone castle of Cardon stands deep within the Black Forest. Here within this castle they feel safe although the citizens here know that outside of these thick protective walls lie miles of darkness that they themselves may only have been luck to get through. Life inside the castle is a mix of cultures from the people who have managed to get there. some have even invented flying machines called Cloud Floaters to get to and from it but it is very expensive and there are only four or five. But passing over this forest can be just as bad as walking through its darkened trails. For, within the forest lie any number of creatures from shapeless beasts to innocent seeming wisps of light. Though you cannot believe everything you see and hear in the forest for even the plants may lie to you. Only the extremely lucky pass through here completely unscathed. Many others have had run-ins with the dangerous beasts here and others have simply not returned.

Will you stay in the castle and be safe from the creatures? Or are you just a creature yourself lying in wait for the perfect meal of an elf or some such creature?
 
Koh paced the perimeter of the outer wall incessantly, careful of every hushed breath and twig snapped under black leather boots. A shout from even one guard could call a hail of arrows her way. She is not sure of her mortality, and she is not willing to test it tonight. With sleek locks primly brushed behind the ear, she looked a perfectly elegant flesh-eating monster. Besides the serrated teeth, of course, but those were hidden carefully behind lips red as blood. Not literally, though. Pity humans have gotten so weak, like sheep almost. Cowering behind their little barriers from the monsters in the woods. It's why she stalks the walls tonight. One guard would get curious, she was sure. She could play up the damsel in distress act a little bit. Idly, she hopes he's a fat one. A fat, gullible fool out on his first, and, unbeknownst to him, last patrol. The waiting was becoming tiring, though. Mentally, at least. She does not get tired. Never sleeps, but she does plenty of dreaming...
 
Rusti sat inside the castle quietly, smoking a cigarette. A sniper rifle slung over his back, a pistol in his pocket, a bow and arrow also slung over his back, and a dagger he was sharpening. Rusti used to be a pirate in Australia. One of the pirates that would always steal stuff and get away with it so easily, leaving no trace of him behind.Rusti supposedly "changed his ways" to become one of the guards of the castle...wrong. He was going to earn everyone's trust then leave with the loot. This castle was rich with valuables and gold. Once Rusti got done sharpening his dagger, he went outside, ready to guard, with no fear. He wasn't letting his game up. He would forever be the best fighter, the best thief, and the best pirate. He knew that he wasn't a coward. He waited for something to make a move in the darkness. He would kill it on sight.
 
A long and and tall shadow stalked the woods nearby the castle. Her paws were nearly silent as she moved along circling ever closer. Her wide white eyes scanned the forest around her then she paused and lifted her massive head to set up a long and lonely howl. Her calls always sounded sad when she howled because that was the only way she could do them. She could use other sounds at lower levels to trick people into cmoing into the woods should she want to. Hell she could even speak english and tonight she was looking for a chase. She trotted towards the castle not caring about her noise now and at 5' at her withers any brave night might think her an awesome target to have. The shadows began to move about her now to look as if other creatures were moving with her. Her permanant smile widened as she neared the castle.
 
"H-... Hello?" Her quavering voice made but a tinny whisper in the darkness. She choked on a snicker, careful to keep it silent. "Is someone out here...?" Koh's back was against a tree, invisible in the night, her voice the only noticeable thing about her. She heard the repetitious sharpening of steel... The crunch of leaves. Her full lips curled into a sneer. She could smell the human, so alive he was. He soon won't be. That thought made her frown a little, but she squelched the bad thoughts under images of what his insides would look like. She let her fingers curve around the trunk of the tree, making herself barely visible to the man. "Please..."
 
Rusti squinted at the figure by the tree. It's voice was sweet. Reminded him of the woman the captain on his ship used to have his way with. He hated the way he treated them. That's one of the reason he killed him in the first place. He looked down on female slave. Rusti killed that retch in cold blood, and he never regretted it.
"What do you want girl?" he said with a strong australian accent. He slowly took out his pistol and his dagger gripping them tightly, ready to shoot if he had to. He walked a little closer aiming his pistol at her now, his dagger held under his gun.
 
The howl which pierced the air, thick with tension, momentarily distracted the woman. It was so... Sad... Painful to listen to, really. Emptiness had curled up inside of her and seemed to grow larger with each incessantly passing day. It seemed like that was the only thing she was able to feel anymore. Suddenly Koh's skin felt cold and too tight for her body, yet she shook off the feeling of dread and narrowed her eyes. She was just hungry. Yes. That's all. She poked her head around the tree and graced the man with a wide eyed look.

"I need help... Are you a guard? Can y-..." Her words trailed off, a mock gasp replacing them. "What are you doing with that?! Are you going to shoot me or something?" It was genuinely disconcerting to have both a gun and a dagger pointed in her face, but she added the extra pitch of panic just for show. "I'm a simple maiden, sir, what do you expect me to do?" Koh's lips twitched at that one, but she swallowed the laughter. Brushing slender fingers through long dark hair, she looked the man up and down. He was not the fat guard she had hoped for. A disappointment, really... But she could smell him from here and he would have to do. Does he know that he's talking to a monster? Her fingers left her hair and wrapped around her sides, like she could keep the sadness out of her gut that way. By now crunching footsteps could be heard not too far away, which shook her out of her depressed little stupor. She had to do this quick, before they had... Company.
 
Rusti ignored the tone in her voice, he was trained to be ruthless, heartless, a little insane even. He had a little bit of each left, but only a little. "You expecting me to believe you little girl? Coming straight from the forest, nothing even gobbled you up yet, or at least tried to. You're not normal. I know that for a fact." Rusti licked his dagger. "I suggest you run off and go find another castle, or village, or something to get some food....we don't serve your kind here." he chuckled with an insane tone, then he tilted his smile with a chaotic smile and aimed the gun at her getting ready to shoot next to her to make her run off, until he heard footsteps behind her. "Bloody hell..." he said. "Those don't sound like human footsteps..." he licked his dagger and got ready for whatever was coming. "You may want to run girl." he said with a smile. "Things may get a little wild!"
 
The feigned helpless look dissolved from her face like sugar in acid. Foolish human. All the lies she was going to tell, she swallowed. It was stupid, really, easier to go after the weak-willed prey... But he had just pissed her off, and he was going to pay. Her eyes were like a shark's eyes, cold and passionless. He kept talking on, but she heard nothing, barely even saw him through the red haze. "I'm going to kill you now..." She said quietly. She could feel all her memories, all her emotions, stripping away, leaving nothing but hunger. She took a single, lurching step towards him, not even minding the raised gun.
 
Rani stopped as the pair came into view and sniffed the air. She cocked her head and widened her smile a bit as a soft sigh escaped her lips. She stepped forward through the bushes and looked them over. One was from the woods, Rani had seen her from afar a few times, and one from the castle although he wasn't native to this area by the sound of his voice. Why would he be outside the walls? She shook her head ridding herself of the thought. "Oh don't mind me." She laughed and sat to see if the woman would run or not. Either of them would be a decent chase. She eyed the man's guns a moment then to his knife. She knew she could heal fast but not that fast if she got a few bullets logded in her. Then she turned her solid white eyes on the woman again to see if she would really run as the man had ordered. "Wild indeed. That's all you can expect out here." Rani said nodding slightly in agreeance to the man. Her normally low voice held a hint of excitement at this point but still she sat patiently although she thickened the shadows around the small area they were in. As the darkness closed in slightly the glow in her pale eyes was more easily seen.
 
Rusti heard the girl and stepped back, noticing her steps forward. Rusti backed up and glanced at the alarm. 'Psh I don't need help' he thought to himself. He took a quick swoop forward and kicked her in the stomach, then proceeded to charge at her with a dagger. The dagger was halfway into the girl's side, until he saw glowing eyes. He smiled at the girl. "I hope that thing likes the way you taste. He grabbed her by the neck and yelled. "Do you want this girl? Or whatever this is? I mean honestly it looks delicious!" He smirked at the girl tilting his head. "I don't care who or what you are. I am the top of the food chain. I'm not getting killed tonight ya hear?" He glanced back at the glowing eyes. "You want it? It's all yours love!"
 
Rani wagged as she stepped from the shadows her tongue flicking in the air at the thought of the taste of her blood. A laugh slid between her teeth as her smile widened showing her pearly white teeth. She paused and pricked her ears slightly. "At least have your fun and finish her off." She said in a succubi's voice. The shadows had formed a wall around them now hiding them from the eyes of the castle but it was still easy enough to see within the bubble of blackness. She moved a little closer and sniffed the air. "No one can see you." She said then ran her tongue up the girl's side. "And no one can help you." She said then stepped back.
 
The presence of the darkest shadows had lured her out, she shot through the woods like an orb like distortion in the nightly air. She first bounced off on the thick shadow dome. Although her appearance made some think otherwise, especially at day, she wasn't a dark creature. Neutral maybe but still. Facta Lucis was the name she had been given the first time she had formed and now, she would form again, after long lonely years. She pushed through the shadows and appeared as a small spark, soon a swirling orange light before her physical form came to existence, or at least her upper half. She was white, her hair, skin and even the clothes she was wearing. The only thing was a different color were her eyes, black with a glowing orange ring as an iris. She seemed to be giving of a slight golden or orange glow, especially where her legs should form. That was the thing, it wasn't often that she would take on a full form. the shapes of her arms were there, fine golden threads which seemed to appear and disappear every second, sometimes forming a patch of white skin. She blinked, her face like being chiseled from marble. ( avatar as appearance)

Her gaze moved around, feeling different things moving around and barely seeing them, the sound of a thousand whispering voices accompanied her arrival. Like she had brought spirits with her. She tilted her head sideways a bit an iron like scent penetrating her nose. She shivered, feeling the cold air for the second time in her life. "Humans...?" A question it was, her words were rather limited since she would learn from listening. She never had needed to talk. she kept 'floating' a few feet above the ground, like standing on invisible legs. Staying close to the dark barrier separating the night from what was inside.
 
Rani turned her head slightly as a few voices penetrated the darkness around them. She licked her lips and strode to the edge of the bubble where she peered through it. The shadows dimmed slightly to her eyes and just outside of the barrier she saw a glowing orange figure. She pinned her ears and her grin subsided slightly. "No creatures of the light are welcome beyond this barrier." She said, sending her voice through the black swirling wall. She noticed that the arms and legs of the creature seemed to be made of golden threads but this didn't concern her much, all she knew was with those colorations it must be "Good" and therefore was not welcome near her. She shook out her long coat and stood tall, waiting to see if it would try to burst through.
 
" No light.... " She mumbled, a slight frown wrinkling her eyebrows. She floated closer to the barrier, a pale white hand forming on her right side, the glowing threads rapidly forming into an arm and connecting it to her body before the clothes formed on it, covering it completely. Her hand came closer, rested against the dark wall her irises glowing an icy blue. Her color shifted, the white becoming black. Going from a pure white, soft glowing form to a color as dark as the dome itself, the gold turning an icy blue. Her eyes closed for a moment before passing through the shadows. Opening them again to be granted with the view of a creature still unknown to her. Her head tilted slightly to the right, her newly formed hand lowering besides her body, another arm forming on the other side of her body. The golden threads which now were blue weaved together, forming a pair of legs. She landed on the ground, now dressed purely in black, the eerie blue still emitting a soft glow form her body. Her hair was longer than before, now reaching to below her shoulders. "Creature...? " Her right hand now pointed towards where Rani would be, the frown still wrinkling her eyebrows.
 
"I am a dirge. My name is Rani." She said looking into the girl's eyes. Rani took in the girl's new form and now second guessed her previous assumptions. "What and who are you?" She asked her eyes coming up to meet the girl's again. She stood face to face with her waiting for a response from this strange creature while the human and the... woman, behind her still had their fight. Her nostrils quivered at the inviting scent of blood and its taste still lingered on her tongue.
 
She was silent for a while, trying to remember her names, it took her quite some time to think of it. Her hand pointed at her chest now. "Facta Tenebrarum. " For a short while her eyes became that glowing orange again, the black turning back to white and the glow becoming that orange again. Her legs seemed to dissolve again, just as her left arm, parts of a white right arm remaining and pointing at herself. "Facta Lucis" She was silent again, longer this time. Never she had heard what she exactly was, what her species was called. she remained silent for another couple of seconds before hesitant speaking. " Made of darkness, made of light. " She quickly reformed her legs and other arm, her head growing longer and turning black with blue again. She tilted her head back, looking up at the dome, pointing at it with her left hand. " How? "
 
Rani stood silently and patiently as Facta thought and spoke. "A pleasure to meet one such as yourself I'm sure." She said and watched as Facta reformed herself again. "I can do this because at one point in my life I was possessed by a demon. When He left I looked like this and had some of his powers." She said forming a ball of shifting black shadows in front of herself. "This is just something simple." she said and whisked it away back into the dome.
 
(God-modding? Seriously man??)

The foolhardy man's kick to her stomach brought no pain. She almost had to look down to see where his boot landed. Silly little prick, he was. As he swung the dagger to her side, she simply crushed her hand down on his, with enough force to knock it out of his fingers ten times over. Koh smiled now, sharp teeth, like a sharks, followed the line of such pretty lips. "Nngh..." The words she was going to say, about him dying or being a fool or something, simply wouldn't form. Her tongue felt clumsy and wet, the saliva pooled in her mouth and dripped onto her chin. Whatever. His skin smelled sweet. So... So... Sweet. She bared her teeth at the animal beside her. He's mine. Koh charged the man with the grace of a crashing train, grabbing at his skin and clothes, snapping her jaws in a relentless clicking. Her grip was stronger than a humans. Maybe he would beg.
 
Sage leaned against the colorful window, her face pressed against the glass. She sighed, the window clouding from her warm breath and her cheek turning red from the chill.
"You're going to catch a cold," a voice from behind chimed. Sage turned to see her mother, standing at the door with a small pile of folded clothes.
"I will be fine," Sage said in a voice almost as frosty as the stained-glass window. The woman sighed in reply and set her load on the table.
"Why don't you meet with your friends? Or at least come down stairs for a while...?"
"I have all the company I need," Sage stood and made her way over to the bed, where Dimitri rested. His small, orange, fur-covered body heaved with every breath, his black, canine paws and large ears twitched as he dreamed, his fluffy, white-tipped tail wrapped around him completely (being much bigger than his main body). Sage placed her hand on the sleeping fox's head.
"Spending time with a pet is certainly not the same as spending time with a person," her mother stated with disdain, before walking back to the door.
"But it's probably more rewarding," Sage muttered under he breath.

She sat with Dimitri until her mother left the room.
"At least you are healing. At least you are safe," she whispered, stroking the fox's wounded leg. Her father had brought back the poor creature from the outside. He had been in worst condition then, but with some emergency care, Dimirti was well on his way to recovery.
"You are safe..." Sage stared out the window again (the only one in the castle that faced the outside directly). Thoughts over her father and two brothers swirled in her head. Strolling over to the table, she reached for the pile of clothes, pulling out one item in particular. Moments later, Sage had a heavy, dark red cloak wrapped around her shoulders and was standing in front of the colorful window, now open.
"...but they aren't."
 
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