Post by Joliette Thorne on Jun 23, 2007 0:49:34 GMT -5
Tenebrae set her tankard down, the pewter coming to rest with a ‘clunk’ that rang loud through the pin-drop silence of the tavern. Her peridot gaze was cast to that timber, as though it was there that the words of her story were written. After few moments’ pause, she glanced up briefly to the expectant crowd and spoke, her voice soft yet distinct.
“Once there was a vampiress who lived a life of crime and debauch such as this land has rarely known, even in its excesses. She had no heart, you see, no real feeling beyond what served her pleasure or her survival. She killed and pillaged, manipulated slaves and nobles alike to sate her whims and, having soiled the northern lands with her presence for two hundred years, wandered here on her way to the islands of the East. Just stopped for a drink, you see. But before her ale had a chance to cross the bar, her attention was caught by a man.”
Tene closed her eyes for the duration of a long and ragged breath.
“Now… he seemed no ordinary man and indeed, he was not. He was a soldier, handsome and rugged; his presence itself caused the folk around him to quake. And the two were drawn to each other at first sight, as though Fate had one hand on the back of each and pushed them to this inevitability. He swept her up on his great warhorse, proclaimed her the most exquisite beauty and, in time, his only love. He promised her the world itself and she … she believed every word.” Her lips moved in the faint flicker of a smile. “He was a god, you see.”
"A demi-god to be exact, and like all of his ilk arrogant, and vain. You must understand…” In the pause, she’d look up to the gathering, eyes seeking the gaze of each. “He gave this poor woman a heart, the capacity to feel, to love. But it happened that one day, after leaving their bed, this demi-god went for a stroll and discovered that his former mistress had returned to the lands. The vampiress went looking for him, and found them together.”
Redhale slowly and quietly moved nearer to Tenebrae, wanting to hear her story, though not interrupt it.
Tenebrae ’s gaze was on her tankard, her voice quieting. “He told her then and there that he loved her not, and was taking up with his former woman. Of course the vampiress was shattered, in such a way she almost died within the day. But once she could feel rage, it was that that fed her desire to live. She had to endure the agony of seeing them together, and feigned disinterest. But all the while she plotted and planned her revenge.
“Now, this godling had a special place where he slept at night. And the vampiress had risen in power in the lands at that time. She was also versed in dire magics…”
Tenebrae paused once more, to sip her ale.
“Terrible magics. And these she used to call up forces that were in motion even before the gods were made.” She glanced up, to the crowd. “For how else was she to gain vengeance on a god?”
And again she looked to the timber. “She made a pact with these beings, who swept through the rift she’d made in reality itself to tear down his erstwhile home… she was sorry only that he and his woman were not in it at the time, though many people he doted on were.” Her lips trembled slightly. “They died, horribly, as sacrifices to the building she erected on the site, that very same night, again with the help of these vile, arcane forces.”
"And so the god lost what was most important to him, and his presence waned in the lands, while hers grew and prospered. The vampiress had won, it seemed. Until her building began to think for itself. And its thoughts were black and foul, and only of death.” She looked up. “But that’s a tale for another day.”
Quortek shivered, feeling the goose bumps on his skin, "I'm full of emotion. No words to a story so grand."
Tenebrae smiled faintly, her head turning quickly aside as she blinked transluscent crimson moisture from her eyes. "To this day, I'd imagine, she would sometimes wonder what it might have been like to be Queen of the World, with a god at her side."
“Once there was a vampiress who lived a life of crime and debauch such as this land has rarely known, even in its excesses. She had no heart, you see, no real feeling beyond what served her pleasure or her survival. She killed and pillaged, manipulated slaves and nobles alike to sate her whims and, having soiled the northern lands with her presence for two hundred years, wandered here on her way to the islands of the East. Just stopped for a drink, you see. But before her ale had a chance to cross the bar, her attention was caught by a man.”
Tene closed her eyes for the duration of a long and ragged breath.
“Now… he seemed no ordinary man and indeed, he was not. He was a soldier, handsome and rugged; his presence itself caused the folk around him to quake. And the two were drawn to each other at first sight, as though Fate had one hand on the back of each and pushed them to this inevitability. He swept her up on his great warhorse, proclaimed her the most exquisite beauty and, in time, his only love. He promised her the world itself and she … she believed every word.” Her lips moved in the faint flicker of a smile. “He was a god, you see.”
"A demi-god to be exact, and like all of his ilk arrogant, and vain. You must understand…” In the pause, she’d look up to the gathering, eyes seeking the gaze of each. “He gave this poor woman a heart, the capacity to feel, to love. But it happened that one day, after leaving their bed, this demi-god went for a stroll and discovered that his former mistress had returned to the lands. The vampiress went looking for him, and found them together.”
Redhale slowly and quietly moved nearer to Tenebrae, wanting to hear her story, though not interrupt it.
Tenebrae ’s gaze was on her tankard, her voice quieting. “He told her then and there that he loved her not, and was taking up with his former woman. Of course the vampiress was shattered, in such a way she almost died within the day. But once she could feel rage, it was that that fed her desire to live. She had to endure the agony of seeing them together, and feigned disinterest. But all the while she plotted and planned her revenge.
“Now, this godling had a special place where he slept at night. And the vampiress had risen in power in the lands at that time. She was also versed in dire magics…”
Tenebrae paused once more, to sip her ale.
“Terrible magics. And these she used to call up forces that were in motion even before the gods were made.” She glanced up, to the crowd. “For how else was she to gain vengeance on a god?”
And again she looked to the timber. “She made a pact with these beings, who swept through the rift she’d made in reality itself to tear down his erstwhile home… she was sorry only that he and his woman were not in it at the time, though many people he doted on were.” Her lips trembled slightly. “They died, horribly, as sacrifices to the building she erected on the site, that very same night, again with the help of these vile, arcane forces.”
"And so the god lost what was most important to him, and his presence waned in the lands, while hers grew and prospered. The vampiress had won, it seemed. Until her building began to think for itself. And its thoughts were black and foul, and only of death.” She looked up. “But that’s a tale for another day.”
Quortek shivered, feeling the goose bumps on his skin, "I'm full of emotion. No words to a story so grand."
Tenebrae smiled faintly, her head turning quickly aside as she blinked transluscent crimson moisture from her eyes. "To this day, I'd imagine, she would sometimes wonder what it might have been like to be Queen of the World, with a god at her side."