#rift walker

So ... I did a thing!

This is a scene from the D&D Campaign I play on on Saturday Nights. Im sure you’ve seen my pictures of Brydi before. Well, last week she fell pray to an “ENSLAVE” spell and turned on her friends, almost killing our parties Warlock before they knocked her out.

I HAD to draw it! I HAD TO!!!

                The giant double doors swung open with a bang, the sound echoing off the walls. Aided by the strong blue glow at the center of the arena-style meeting room, the young woman strolled down the aisle towards the long table on the stage. For a moment, the stage and everything on it looked like a hologram, semi-transparent like glass under the unnatural light. But as she neared, the men and women at the table were obviously opaque, muttering amongst themselves while only one young man on the far right kept his mouth shut. He had short unruly hair that was a pale pinkish orange and even sitting it was obvious he was shorter than even the old men at the table. His green eyes fell on hers and she shot him a soft smile.

                No longer was her physical being merged with the unending darkness; she was back to her true form, finally allowed to feel something other than consuming hatred. Warm arms enveloped her, scents and feelings filling up her senses until it was unbearable. The sound of wailing filled her ears, sounding muffled as her ears popped. Finally, she realized the sobs were her own, accompanied by warm, salty tears that ran down her cheeks and covered her lips. She was screaming, an eternity of pain washing over her so suddenly. Her chest was tight and her hands trembled as she pressed them to her closed eyes. Still, those warm, soft arms held her as she shook, her face eventually finding its place nestled in the Rift Walker’s chest.

                The darkness had not gone away into nothing. Instead, it seemed to crawl away from the rebirthed child and spread onto the pale skin of the Rift Walker’s limbs. It closed in on her heart before fading entirely, absorbed as the light around them died away. The silver hair darkened into a plain brown and fell upon the child’s head as the Rift Walker bowed her head to hide her sad smile. The child continued to cry, her hands leaving her face to grasp at the woman’s back, arms wrapped around her middle.

                Eventually, left to only the sound of her tears and a silent embrace, the child stopped shaking and started to sniffle quietly. The Rift Walker hesitated to let go at first, but then loosened her hug to make sure she was okay. Behind long, black bangs, the child looked up at her with big, dark blue eyes, red and swollen from crying but also wavering with guilt. Suddenly unsure, the young one stepped back from the hug and clutched at her chest nervously, lip quivering as her eyes darted to the ground. The Rift Walker got down on her knees and smiled, but then her eyes drooped a little and her balance waned.

                “You’re safe now,” she breathed quietly, “I told you…I’d save you.” Before the young woman could collapse fully, a strong arm caught her mid-fall and eased her to a sitting position. At the same time, another man tugged a t-shirt over the child’s naked form, although it was much too big for her.

                That was Kana’s first memory of Samu Hanako, the kind soul that had brought her back from the Darkness she had become. All of the pain felt like a bad dream; and if any hurt feelings were left from all the torment she had inflicted, Samu never brought them up. She still felt the guilt however, unable to forget the cruel words, the murder of innocents, and mind games all in the name of destroying the Rift Walker entirely. The hatred instilled in her from birth, the hatred from sacrificing her body and mind to the Darkness for power, had been too strong to not leave scars. Some nights, she still had dreams of the village burning to the ground, others she remembered shattering the crystalized manifestation of the Rift Walker’s power. Every day Kana’s body grew—the result of her fast-forwarding through time to catch up to her true age—but the memories never faded. When they found Kana was to be Samu’s successor to the role of Rift Walker, she pushed harder to escape the Darkness of her past. It hadn’t been long before it caught up with her and Samu was taken.

 ~~~

                The giant doors of the ballroom swung open, echoing as heavy footfalls spilled in.

Fenris’ deep voice boomed along the high ceiling as he called out, “Lyra!” The woman, long blonde hair pulled back into a neat braid, stopped her instruction of some young men and turned around. The small group looked beaten down from battle, but the tone in the elf’s voice told her something more dire than injuries was afoot. Yuji dragged Kana with him, her arm draped across his neck as he was the shortest of the men. Although he looked more beaten, from inexperience rather than a difficult opponent. Kana, however, was in no shape. Her eyes seemed to quake in their sockets as she stared down at the tile in shock. “Lyra,” she looked at Fenris again, brow furrowing already, “something took her.”

“A Rift opened up behind her,” Sebastian Vael explained, one hand on his wounded side while his other rested on Kana’s shoulder, “Something came out and pulled her in, but it closed before we could get near.”

“Th-there’s a way to track her, right Lyra?” Yuji asked, a look of desperation on his face as he looked to his mentor. Lyra, however, was looking at the Rift Walker in training with a coldness in her gaze. Yuji swallowed and adjusted Kana a little, finding her weight was beginning to wear him down. Sensing the fledgling Watcher was getting worn out, she stepped forward and unhooked the young woman’s arm before sweeping her off her feet. Kana did not react.

They followed Lyra out of the ballroom and into the hall towards the stairs, heading to the meeting room on the second floor. It was the room where Samu always preferred to make her battle plans, now a force of habit than anything else. It was probably because of the view of the city. “In theory, Kana should be able to sense her. But if she’s too far, there may be an issue.”

“She needs to snap out of it first,” Fenris said, his voice a half-hearted growl. It was no secret that none of this would be happening if Kana had stayed back with Sebastian like she was told. Instead, she had opted to shadow Samu. When the monster reared his evil head and charged her, it was too late. In the chaos of trying to stop it from reaching Kana, their guard was lowered and Samu was snatched up. They all knew it, but Fenris and Kana were the only ones outwardly bothered by it.