#duskwatch

Encounter The Forest Guardians of the Dusk Watch and the Trader Witches of the Avern have always held a complex relationship with each other. Most meetings have been done from beyond the treeline.

Ascension: Slip into a reality in which you meet a version of yourself who traded away those they loved in favor of empowering themselves, what are they like, do they regret their choices? Do you understand why they did what they did? Do they understand why you haven’t? Confront this version of yourself in order to slip back to own your reality.

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It was rare that Reveria went to Duskwatch herself. Not for lack of desire, simply a lack of time. With a newborn, the young twins, her duties in Sundown, and those duties as First Warden of the harbor saw her with little time to spare. However, today she had made time because she had come to learn that Velerodra was locking herself away inside somewhere and she knew that it was likely taking a toll. Not only on the monkette but also on the druid’s very own sister. Dianesh, of course, would never admit such a thing, concerned with remaining strong and centered for everyone around. She was nearly to the pair’s home when the storm came. ‘Mirror Season’ wasn’t anything the druid had heard of, let alone was prepared for. A mirror appeared before her and her first instinct was to look away, all her years of magical practice telling her nothing good could come from this. Alas, it was far too late, the strange tugging sensation of being pulled to some place unknown setting in before she was simply… Gone. 

When her inky hues fluttered open once more, she was in a place all too familiar. Yet not. The tall graceful trees of Darkshore towered above and around her, yet something seemed wrong. At first, she couldn’t quite place her finger on it, not until she heard something like the twisted heartbeat of the forest. The rhythm was all wrong, speeding up and slowing down at random times. It was then that she saw the faint, sickly, crimson glow pouring out from cracks in the bark. Like a weight being dropped on her, it all fell in place. The trees were snarled and covered in odd growths of vines and thorns, the foliage bore venomous and deadly buds, some that looked vicious and made to consume creatures, even the path she stood upon was broken and torn asunder by corruption. The Nightmare. 

A few panicked beats of her heart thundered in her chest at the realization, eyes following the path to see a place that was altogether more familiar. The family home. Not the quaint and sweet place she recalled but instead a home twisted and corrupted by the vile Nightmare. Then came the slowly bubbling fear, of all that she could lose if she didn’t make it from this place. Just as she was about to turn around and look for a way back, hot breath rolled across the back of her neck. Those hairs stood on end and the druid seemed frozen in place. 

“I remember you…”

A voice like a hundred bears growling and snarling drifted against her, quiet despite the tone. 

“Have you come to give in…? Here… You cannot take it away…” 

Pulling herself together enough that she could whirl around, Reveria turned to face the voice, only to be confronted by something that was more unsettling than anything she’d seen in a long time. Crimson eyes stared back at her from behind twisted and mussed locks of midnight blue, foul streaks of that same crimson corruption running through them. A smile far too wide, filled with vicious fangs curled all the wider in that moment. “Yes… Now you are starting to understand…” Horrified eyes drifted further along the figure, taking in malformed limbs that ended in hands with brutal twisted claws, bone spikes jutting from the flesh of arms and back, the entire figure hunched just to keep level eye contact. A tattered dress that barely covered looked to have in part grown into the very flesh before her, leaving the corrupted being all but on full display. “We… Are meant for so much more…” It all fell into place and the final spark of recognition came when the moon of Elune flickered upon the other’s forehead, no longer glowing with soft moonlight but bleeding with vile and hateful magics. Herself. She recoiled then, stumbling back a few paces, the horror never leaving her face. “What… No… How… Why?! We... I… didn’t choose this path.”

A low and light chuckle that sounded more like a horde of insects buzzing came rumbling through the place, a figure rising up behind her corrupted self to stand even taller. “No…” Even as bad as she wanted it to not be, it was true. The figure resolved into the spitting image of the corrupted Reveria, taller and far more corrupted. Her hands came to rest on the corrupted druid, deadly vile claws rapping lightly. “Little bear… How I have longed for you to join me… And you finally have… In Eternity.” That was perhaps more horrifying than herself before her. The visage of her mother, the one she could still remember breathing it’s last with her knife buried in the woman’s chest. A determination settled in upon Reveria as she took a long deep breath, calming and steeling herself. “Why? Why would you choose this path?” Her voice was strong as her resolve, questioning herself for a choice she could have made years ago. “If only you had listened. There is so much to be had. Min’da is with us… An’da too. Power… So much power… To ensure nothing is ever taken from us again. To protect everything we love. This… Isn’t damnation. It’s salvation.” She had to admit as her mirrored self spoke, that there was a tugging at the back of her mind, an itch that those words rang true. Thoughts of ensuring her children and her family’s safety flooded her mind and for a moment… She considered. It was the sound of the twins laughing, their beautiful faces staring up at her as they lay in bed together, that precious sound of their quiet breathing as they slept against her, Fevalia’s precious smile as right before she slept… That drew her back from the veil. “No.” 

The corrupted mother and daughter seemed surprised, stepping closer as one. “You would refuse the power to protect?” If there was one thing Reveria was good at, it was being stubborn. Standing tall and proud, she looked upon the pair with something like pity. “I don’t need this to protect my family. You two, this…” She gestured around the forest and home. “... Is not my family anymore. Dead and gone. So I say again… No. I can protect my beautiful children on my own. I don’t need this corruption to save them. I do-...” Even as the words were leaving her mouth, the druid felt herself tumbling through time and space once more. She let out an ‘oof’ as she crumpled into a pile on the ground, eyes looking around warily, only to see she’d landed back in Duskwatch. A nearby vendor ran to her side, the young woman kneeling down to offer a hand. “Sunspeaker, are you okay? You just fell out of thin air!” Offering a smile while taking the hand, Reveria lifted to her feet. “I’m alright, strange things in this place, huh?” Bidding the vendor goodbye, she made for the home of Dianesh and Velerodra and when the door finally opened, all she could think to do was wrap her sister in a hug for many long moments. 

A prompt from the list found HERE. 

It’s been a long time, journal, and there’s much to cover. So much so, that I’ll have to summarize.

First, there’s been the Bluewater Cartel. My plan to pit them in a struggle with the Yellowjackets certainly weakened them, but it also drew their ire more fully upon us. They began by kidnapping staff. We rescued Mrs. Nakiri, though I fear she’ll never be the same, and they killed dear Avgustin. We were in the midst of planning our response when they then kidnapped Miss Mitsu when she went to meditate in La Noscea near Moraby Bay. We quickly summoned who we could and came to her rescue, capturing a Cartel lieutenant and bringing a very battered Mitsu to her own clinic. Luckily for us, Miss Emeline Tousart came to our rescue and treated Mitsu, who’d sustained life-threatening injuries.

Kyraeth stared at the cup on the table and contemplated the obvious.

That he'd been skilled enough to see through her masking wards meant he was unlikely to be stupid, so for him to hand over his blood and aether as a means to track him meant he didn't give a damn about the consequences, thought himself untouchable, somehow felt confident she wasn't a villain, or some combination of those. He was toying with her, drawing her into a cat and mouse game. This felt entirely too familiar, and she'd developed a special sort of hatred for it.

Still, given how damned persistent he'd just been, he was unlikely to let the matter drop were she to simply leave the cup on the table and go about her business. He'd show up at some damned inconvenient time and force her hand, anyway.