in the shadows of night, darkness rises
Night had fallen across Novus, but all was not still. Where parts of the world had settled down for rest and slumber, there was a flurry of activity deep within the heart of Delumine. In the wake of the destructive force of the wildfires nature valiantly attempted to regain what was lost, grasses, shrubs, and even trees ever so slowly beginning to regrow and recover from the insurmountable loss. It was a slow process, but every day progress was made. Even despite the biting kiss of autumn’s arrival, life was blooming. Everything was returning to how it once was.
But not for everyone.
A beast lurked in the spreading shadows, wretched and misshapen, watching the changed world through empty sockets. Its pale skull of a maw salivated as it watched its quarry; two meandering equines enjoying an evening stroll along the shoreline of the Rapax River, one of deep bay and the other of ivory. They spoke between themselves in hushed whispers and casual chortles, completely unaware of the creature that watched them from afar.
’Hunger.’ Eat.
If it could speak, the word would be a mantra, a prayer. A hymn of salvation to the damned, it knew what it must do. ’Tasty. Food. Want.’ Baser instincts kicked in, the churning pain of an empty stomach prompting the creature to amble forward on bipedal legs far too long and crooked, its sheer weight leaving behind large, cloven prints in the soil. Through the shadows it moved, its lumbering form far too large to be stealthy, but lucky for it the two equines seemed far too distracted to notice that they were being followed.
’Want. Eat.’ Repeating, over and over and over again within its bleached white skull, the amalgamation lurched forward from shadows to shadows between the trees and the cover of night, maw opening wide, growing closer, closer… Oh, but they were so close it could almost touch them… The ivory meal spotted it first, a chance glance over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, lips parting to scream, but by then it was already too late. It lunged.
’Food. Eat. Tasty.’
As Dawn broke, it did so upon a bloodstained, tarnished land. The sky was heavy with dark clouds as though the world itself knew what had transpired the night before, a cold autumn wind passing through the trees. Two bodies lay within a trodden clearing in the Viride Forest near the riverside; half eaten, remains strewn about, the scent of blood carried easily upon the cold breeze. One was a crimson-stained ivory female, the other a mottled, dark bay male. Members of Dawn Court proper would recognize them as workers within the Citadel, dutiful pages known for their warm smiles and eagerness to assist in whatever way they could.
Seemingly gone in the blink of an eye, little could immediately be said on how they died, other than the grisly obvious; murder. But why? By who? In a peaceful land such as Delumine, what could truly be going on here?
On a cold, cloudy morning, two citizens of Delumine are found murdered and half eaten within the Viride Forest near the Rapax River. What could have done this? Why? It is up to those brave enough to investigate the scene of the crime and piece together the provided clues.
This is a Dawn Court event. This thread is open for everyone, but members of the Dawn Court are highly encouraged to participate and will receive top priority!
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