These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends.

Avalear - for a kind spirit and good friend.

The MEAT. 🤪

Yes, I'm around. My social batteries have long since been depleted and I'm trying to find ground again. Things have been status quo and that is enough for me.

I do not wish to address my absences. Nor will I. So, don't ask.

The whispers through the trees and through the woods were distinctly poignant. A human walked these woods. They all knew. They all stirred, hungry, violent, and curious. The fae-touched beasts stalked them both. One born to this world. One mortal and not from this place, but he carried her mark and that kept him safe. 

They knew better than to tamper with her invited guest, but their curiosity was intrusive nonetheless. Harper walked with her hands folded behind her back and alert to the shifting shadows and shimmering and illusory shapes that moved alongside them at a distance. When they got too close, a low and guttural warning growl rumbled up from her chest. Enough to ward them away. 

The man was seasoned and older; a comfortably middle aged human that carried with him the very distinct aura of one that wielded the light. This potent and rare magic was what beckoned the creatures in closer, eagerly hoping that he was to become another game for them to pull to pieces. His features were stern and focused. 

They passed through the forest largely unhindered, save for some uneven terrain, but with her as his guide, the woods took on a much more beautiful and hospitable appearance. The lighting was surreal, ethereal and it mottled the ground and leaf litter below their feet. None of the trails shifted to punish the travelers, and eventually their journey brought them to a large set of stone ruins and fallen architecture. The earth had begun to consume much of the massive structure. A pavilion with fallen arches and fine stonework, elegant curves and carvings. Marble accents that were inlaid to form a mosaic image of a crescent moon over the main arch, and at the center in the ring of stone and forgotten structure, an absolutely massive tree twisted up towards the sky. 

The bark was coarse and deep, spiraling lines decorated the surface, some of them inlaid with a haunting blue glow that pulsed slowly like a heartbeat against the naturally dark wood. The width of the tree was thick and imposing, branches towering upwards and spreading outwards in a canopy that shaded the ruins. The lowest boughs were decorated with bone fetishes and effigies. Crystals and feathers. Glass orbs and ornaments and small lanterns that were lit with the same ghostly blue light that thrummed along the bark of the body of the tree.

The human man paused in silence, his eyes widening as he realized the nature of this place and the significance of her sharing it with him.

This was the heart of the forest.

This was the font that fueled the woods and served as an anchor between realms. It stabilized the rifts that allowed the spirits to pass through freely, giving them access to the world outside with no repercussions. And as the young woman approached, the ghostly after-image of stag’s horns shone brightly above her head. A hidden crown that gave away her station as the Wood Warden's flesh and blood. She touched the tree and the bark shuddered and recoiled with an uncomfortable cracking sound. It split apart, spreading open and Harper stepped aside to reveal what was inside, and though he’d seen many things in his travels, this struck him as new.

A beating heart. 

It had long since been imbued and engorged with the magic of this place, swollen in size to be something supernatural in appearance. The flesh pulsed in a steady rhythm despite the twisting vines that impaled through and held it in place. Thorns encased the human organ, the veins and arteries shining with the same blue that had decorated the exterior bark. And as the Paladin looked on in awe, his attention turned to the girl that he had just spent the last week with here in this wicked plane.

She had trusted him implicitly. She had shown to him the very reason for this alternate reality and existence that the commune called life. They had welcomed this outsider at the behest of the Warden’s daughter and they had treated him with kindness and warmth, despite every horrid tale of adventurers vanishing and being torn to shreds by the fae-touched and moon-struck beasts that shared this place.

The man approached her quietly and as he did so, the tree groaned again, as though it were alive, the bark pulled closed defensively and Harper met his gaze as he reached forward with calloused fingers and cupped her face gently. He leaned down and his lips brushed close against her pointed ear, murmuring something to her before he slipped his strong arm around her and gripped the nape of her neck.

Bennett pressed his forehead against hers and there was a great trembling in the trees and woods around them, leaves shuddering and spirits falling silent as they observed his human hands touching her. There was a pause between them. He towered over her in height and he stooped down to tentatively press his lips against hers. It was gentle, soft and sweet when he kissed her and there was a well of tranquility in her chest despite her heart beating fast. 

A promise was made that day. Words exchanged before he departed the woods the following morning to return to his company. He was armed with new knowledge and the blessing to return to this place, should he desire. But time would dictate that the promise exchanged would be broken. 

He never did come back. And tired hearts grew restless and ruthless.

@daily-writing-challenge