‘Being dead isn’t so bad actually. I will get used to this. In all honesty, I had my doubts about the bond between Aal’eiria and I, but she’s managed to bring me back while keeping my mind intact. I mean, the actual dying bit sucked, obviously. But then again, what had I expected? Terminal means death. Terminal disease, terminal plummet, terminal sentence. Looks like terminal just meant different life. It'’s quite interesting how most races don’t see the light after the tunnel, but the Sia’d most certainly do, and I’m the… well, not living, but proof. I wish someone had told me, maybe I would have just ended it rather than slogging through the long process of dying. But oh well! Existentialism has no place once your heart’s stopped beating.’
Sia'd
Aluren
Jaried mumbled as he was looking at the notice board; “28 people dead. None of them were even close to being at his power level. Sounds like I’ve found my target for the month. … And in my own home town even. I know he is in the area, the last murder was only yesterday. Another monster will be in the ground by the weeks end. Time to prep.”
​
He cut quite an imposing figure, tall with sleek black fur trimmed reminiscent of the military style, standing well over 6ft tall. His face had been scarred, fading to beneath his fur. He checked his arrow count, and when he turned to walk away from the notice board, the crowd parted to let him through. No one in their right mind jostles the elbow of a Hive Bounty Hunter, especially not one that has been able to stay alive for so long.
Karieht reached for the next branch, hauling himself up into the tree one painful lunge at a time, digging his claws into the bark to make footholds where he wasn't tall enough to reach the next natural one. He would be safe once he reached the top. With every step he went up, he reminded himself to not look down, to not look at the horrors that were going on in the swamp beneath. “Keep going.” His mother had told him. Her last words would be obeyed. He remembered the glow in his mother’s eyes fading as she muttered those words, and her jaw slowly dropping until her face reached the slackness of death. The monsters from the stories had come for them.
Rakesht
Drekkai
Rekke clopped across the mountain path, blatantly ignoring his sister throwing pebbles at the back of his head. “STUPIDSAYSWHAT.” His younger brother yelled as fast as he possibly could to the point where words became an incoherent jumble. “What?” Questioned Aunt Reicia. As the younger herd members fell about laughing, Rekke assumed that an incoherent jumble was rather the point, and they were simply waiting for someone to call ‘What’. Being the eldest of 8, he really didn’t get his octuplets. He finally got sick of his sisters rock antics and flicked a rock back at her with his hoof, hitting her on the shoulder. “OWWWW! MUUUUMMM REKKE HIT MEEEEEE.” Their mom sighed, rolled her eyes, and glared at Rekke. He became immediately indignant. “CARRI STARTED IT! I WAS IGNORING IT FOR THE LAST TEN MINUTES LIKE YOU SAID I SHOULD.”
DAMAGE REPORT AFTER GOL’DAARTH ATTACK -
Hraath, Rakehst settlement
16 buildings destroyed.
40 people killed.
Survivors: unknown
Chance of recovery: Highly unlikely
END OF DAMAGE REPORT
He read the damage report as he was stroking the mane of his horse, partially in order to clean it, but really just to take a moment and enjoy the damage they had caused.
Gol'Daarth
Ellari
Through the window of the carriage, roses and the daffodils stretched out over the grass next to the driveway belonging to Arya. The sun was dipping towards the horizon and not a single cloud hung in the sky. Here and there, a windmill stuck out from the rolling hills, and Arya took a moment to appreciate the sight farmers working on her land. She provided food and shelter to those who needed it, and they maintained the land and helped support the estate in return.
​
She was headed to the city in order to personally retrieve a custom order for a golden necklace inlaid with a brilliant cut ruby. The goldsmith ensured her that she would be able to request any last-minute changes to the setting, and she intended to reward the man greatly for his efforts.
It had been a while since we had gone out on a date. Ray had been helping his father out with the new baby boom happening, and his father couldn’t keep up with the amount of hearts that had to be made. It was an amazing process to be able to craft the hearts that gave life to our species, but I suppose I got a bit selfish.
I ran into the workshop, grabbed Ray’s hand when he wasn’t doing anything, and dragged him outside. “What… Erri!! Where are you taking me?!”. Erri tilted her head, grinned, and kept running. “We’re going to the fair! It’s about time you see some sunlight!” Ray sighed, knowing how stubborn she could be, and joined in on the plan.
Gearhearts
The Hive
For as long as I can remember, we have been living shrouded in shadows. The Hive’s base of operations in Fairdenn. A whole fourteen years.
It was just another day as a child of ‘The Enclave’ as locals called it, and I had put on my robe and cowl accordingly. I was so proud to get one of my own, a proper black one like dad wore. It was he who I was looking for actually, I don’t remember what I needed to find him for anymore, that bit kind of got lost in everything else that happened that day.
​
Being so proud of my new robe, I had almost forgotten about the warnings they gave me about going outside with it.