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Difference between revisions of "Horkval"
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Starting [[Statpack]]: Athletic | Starting [[Statpack]]: Athletic | ||
==The Origins of the Horkval== | |||
Perhaps she knew not what he did. Perhaps she sought to understand what | |||
death was. Whatever the case, the day she decided to sever the head of | |||
her lover as he lay dormant by the pool was a day the world changed | |||
suddenly. | |||
It was the time of the great unknowing, when men and women had no | |||
purpose, but strode across the land, relying only on momentary instinct | |||
and without the possibility of forethought, and intent. It was a time | |||
before the appearance of Varian as the Celestine, and a time nearly lost | |||
in history. It was the time of the great unknowing. | |||
Her lover slept, dozed off after a jerking, nearly violent act of love. | |||
And she glanced upon him, with neither love, nor hate, for neither | |||
existed in the world yet. But she stared at the nape of his neck, and | |||
wondered why the flesh was soft of that like a beast, and why such a | |||
vulnerable part was left so bare, with little bone or sinew to stop a | |||
crippling blow. Was it not here that we end the beast's existence so | |||
that we might cook it and feast upon it? Why were some meats good to | |||
eat, and others bitter, or tough, leaving one retching for days on end, | |||
and thirsty for drink. She looked at his limbs, strong with the days' | |||
activities, and looked down upon her own limbs, stronger yet with her | |||
own activities. He rested, yet she was awake, alive, invigourated after | |||
their passion. | |||
And, not truly understanding what she did, she took a sharp stone from | |||
aside the pool near which they rested, and with one glancing blow struck | |||
him in the head near the fore part of the crown. His eyes opened in an | |||
instant, not comprehending what was happening. With a second blow, his | |||
eyes glazed from the impact, leaving him helpless, and without sense. | |||
She looked down again at his peaceful and weak frame. His chest rose | |||
rhythmically and quietly, mimicing the movements of the ripples on the | |||
pond. His vulnerable form no more powerful that a weak suckling babe. | |||
She was stronger, and if she were to carry on her seed, he would only be | |||
an inconvenience and a strain on her resources for her children. Let him | |||
rest, in eternal slumber, for he would be a strain no longer. | |||
And with the sharp edge of the stone she began to sever his throat. A | |||
low wailing scream leap out from his throat, with blood like a geyser | |||
darkening his unclothed form. Within a few moments, she was down to the | |||
bone of his neck, her hands covered in warm, life-giving blood. The rock | |||
not sharp enough, she tossed it aside, licking the blood from her hands. | |||
Realizing the nutrients coursing through his last blood, she began to | |||
drink from the wound itself, feeding herself, and her growing child. | |||
Satisfied for the moment, she raised her head, and looked around at the | |||
silent woods surrounding her. The air was too warm and humid tonight, | |||
and the woods too quiet. She would find no game this evening. | |||
Standing above the unmoving corpse before her, she began to move slowly | |||
about it, touching parts of it to test its firmness. At last satisfied, | |||
she picked up the bloody rock, and began to cut skin and meat away from | |||
the bone; once having gutted the body, she prepared a fire to dry the | |||
meat so that it may keep to provide for her and her offspring. Pleased | |||
with the results of her hunt, she sat down by the pool, wearied from the | |||
activity. | |||
Varian, the Satus, viewing His creation with some interest, spoke to | |||
her, intoning, "Like the Mantis, who eats her mate, so shall you and | |||
your offspring be." | |||
Immediately a wail of pain exploded from her mouth, as her skin became | |||
more rigid, and her limbs more thin and plate like. Her head became more | |||
rounded, and her eyes wider and bejewelled as the sea's surface. | |||
Covering her face with her bloodied hands, she attempted to hide herself | |||
from the world, but only succeeded in smearing her eyes in the crimson | |||
blood of her mate. | |||
And thus it is that our people came to inhabit Aetolia, with their | |||
strong bodies, and their eyes of red. In the spring, when the woods are | |||
quiet, and the air humid, one can hear the cries of the men giving up | |||
their lives so their mates may feed the young. | |||