but I have seen what the darkness does

[Seraphina]

Rumors of a Shaman who’d had the luck to find the relic of Tempus had drawn the mare to Ruris; her intent, of course, had been to venture to the Abigo Caves to find this Shaman to see if they might be opening to bargaining for the relic, or to, at the very least, make sure that they had no intent to use it against the denizens of the Day Court. Before she could arrive in the caves, however, Seraphina found herself standing in front of a massive maze of hedges that were most definitely not there the last time she’d visited. Dappled starlight danced along her frame as she paced back and forth at the entrance to the maze, brow furrowed in something of an internal debate. Nothing that was less than godly could manage this sort of a feat, she imagined, so the shaman – and the accompanying relic – was likely somewhere within the maze, or on the other side of it, and she was duty-bound to find out what the shaman intended to do with the relic. However, the maze could very easily be a death trap, designed to keep out anyone else who might be in search of the relic. She couldn’t blame the Shaman, if the intent was to keep others away from their prize – Seraphina had stumbled upon various other travelers who sought the relic for their own purposes, and she imagined that some of them would be happy to shed blood for a chance to satisfy their wishes. As for Seraphina…the thought of the others and their wishes made her feel a muted pang of guilt for even standing in front of the maze. Some of them seemed to genuinely need a miracle to complete themselves, some godly intervention to satisfy some desperate want. Seraphina had sought the relic because she felt like she was supposed to, because it was supposed to be her job. She didn’t remember what it felt like to want anything, or, more accurately, she didn’t really want anything at all. There was a strength in trying to better oneself, to grow…she wasn’t sure if obtaining an object that would, if rumors were to be believed, grant your wishes actually qualified as that much personal development, but she supposed that it was better than waiting for life to happen, which was most definitely what she was doing. At least they were trying. At least they had a reason.

(She supposed that not having a reason did, at the very least, give her less misgivings about entering the ominous, gaping halls of the bramble-covered maze that might very well be a trap designed to kill unwary travelers in the middle of the night.)

She paused in front of the entrance, tail lashing and mismatched eyes staring into the darkness without seeing anything. Seraphina had the stars to guide her, if that was any consolation in quarters that were likely so cramped and twisting. (She doubted that they would make much of a difference.) Dragging her tongue along the tips of her teeth, she stepped into the darkness of the maze without another glance at the world she was leaving behind, breaking into an uneasy hum – some tune or another that Viceroy had taught her. (She could barely remember the words to the song.) Reasonably, she had telekinesis, and more hair than she knew what to do with; if she tied a few strands at each turn, she probably wouldn’t get lost, right?



@Random Events - super excited for this plot! <3