[b]Miriam
Chapter 14: The folly of Faith [/b]

She recognized the sensation, it coiled about her with its dark extremities, pressuring and suffocating the very skin of her body. The tendrils were searing hot and scorched Miriam's pant leg badly as it wrapped and grasped it tightly. She found it was impossible to squirm out of and she could only watch and writhe as it locked her legs in place. The man had approached Eliana whom had been assailed by a far larger amount of the vile magic. The girl had fallen back on her knees and sat locked in a dark grasp. The cowled man stood before her and his hollow voice croaked as he briefly looked over to Miriam.
	"You've been ever so helpful. Thank you." Miriam could not see the face beneath the large cowl but she could imagine the smug smile on his arrogant face. Miriam responded heartily, she slid a hand beneath her own coat and retrieved a slender dagger from within, with a flick she went to throw it-... Thud! She was on the ground. With nothing but a wave had the man tripped her by use of his dark lengths and they seared into her flesh again, causing her to squirm in meek resistance. "Useless." The figure growled, leaving Miriam there on the ground. He turned back to Eliana who was at this point almost entirely enveloped in the black trap. She seemed completely unable to withstand whatever magic was overtaking her. Miriam lay on the ground and watched in terror as the girl was being assaulted. "You are not meant to exist." The figure told Eliana though she could not hear. "I shall corr-...Ah!" The attacker cried out in alert which was quickly outdone by the bark and growl of the dog that pounced him. He hit the ground and his cowl flew off, Leia stood on top of his robed torso, her ferocious jaws locked and gnawing angrily on his right arm, which still swirled with dispersing black magic as it was twisted by the dog's bite. The dog barked and snapped her jaws toward the attacker's face, he rose his arms for defense and his large sleeved robes were ripped into further. Miriam watched in genuine surprise until she realized that the magic had been dispersed around her. Her legs still hurt but were effectively free from the grasp. This was her chance. She got up in a hurry, grasping her knife in her left hand, her legs pulsed with excruciating agony but she rushed up and headed toward the man. As she approached he had managed to twist his elbow around and knock Leia off of him, the dog skipped to the side with a pitiful whine and made some distance. The attacker managed to rise, his cowl had fallen and his pale, hollow face was revealed. It reminded Miriam of the undead lord she had encountered, it was rather tidy, but the lack of surging blood or even colour in the eyes were obvious enough indications. This man was already dead, Miriam had no time to concern with the implications as she had already arrived, she thrust her knife before her and pierced into the robe of the undead. It sunk into the flesh and the impact caused the monster to stagger backwards with a groan. Miriam lodged her knife deeper and winced as she looked up at the tall looming figure. He returned the look with an emotionless expression, parched lips drawn thin in indignation. Miriam promptly decided to let go of her knife and quickstep back. She lent a nervous smile at the seemingly unphased monster.
	"... You're not going to die from that anytime soon, are you?" She queried stiffly.
	"No." He replied dryly. He then raised his other arm, that had not been torn at by Leia and his hand erupted in a flash of blue light which left Miriam stumbling in blinding whiteness. She was then suddenly flipped as before and again hit the cold ground with a painful thump. She saw nothing other than the flashing white but heard the familiar growl of her companion as she had no doubt attacked the undead again. Miriam scrambled to her feet quickly and she could feel the heat of one of the tendrils slip near her ankle in an attempt to grasp it. Miriam blinked in rapid succession, attempting to regain her sight. The sound of a dog's loud whine alerted her, followed by a thud. 
	"Leia?!" Miriam cried out. As usual, there was no response from the dog.
	"... Suffer." She heard and she could feel the heat of the extensions enclose around her feet again. Miriam panted in short panic, she rubbed over her blinded eyes but could see nothing, she took a stumbling step and was tripped by the tendril, she fell down on the ground yet again, grunting breathlessly as her leg was at last caught. 

A sensation came over her. It was the same as it had been before. A feeling of utter isolation. She could not walk, not run and especially not fight. She was sightless and crippled. This was however some of her lesser issues, as she no doubt would soon be dead, as well. 
	"Leia... Ellie." She murmured, dragging her hand through the ground in a desperate attempt to move. There was only one sense Miriam could now rely on, hearing. And what she heard caused her to twitch a jump of surprised fright. Certain that the world had just shattered around her. It had been a thundering crack as if lightning had just struck on top of her, it had rolled out of nowhere and quickly spread across the area. The boom left her ears ringing and she dared not move, certain that she was dead now. She could not feel how the tendrils were again removed or how the very air buzzed with unleashed energy. She listened to the smokey voice as it spoke out out of the silence that followed.
	"Come now, dear. I believe that belongs to you."