[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/vVKfCjO.png[/img]

[colour=f7941d][i]Level 2 Dormant-Goddess of Magic (Pacts)
[b]Might[/b]: 31
[b]Free Points[/b]: 6[/i][/colour]

[h2]&[/h2]
[h1][colour=black][b]The Boy[/b][/colour][/h1]
[img]http://s33.postimg.org/akqcrumwv/rounded_corners.png[/img]

[hider=Summary]Belru makes her way through the forest to visit the Treeminds
She does not find them there, but finds the open cocoon (which appears to have reformed some time after it melted away) and cuts herself on it, upon which she feels her energies sucked by the wood and a 30 Might Holy Site is formed
Waking up, she feels a dark presence
Upon investigating, she comes upon a frightened boy
She takes him with her and comforts him
That night, she awakens and does not see him, but yet again she senses a dark presence and goes to investigate
She finds the boy
He is stood over the body of a giant Snow Bear
Dark energies swirl about him and he appears to be extracting an ethereal fluid from the bear
His head moves slowly and his eyes meet those of Belru, and terror explodes in her heart
He makes for her, and she flees
The chase takes them to the Deepwoods
He appears to be toying with her, for Belru is exhausted and he does not move in for the kill
She loses hope, and surrenders at last before a massive boulder
The child slowly makes his way towards her
As he stands before her, ready to seize her soul, the boulder shifts and a giant turtle emerges
It ignores the boy completely and reaches for Belru, giving her a red garment
The boy flees and the Avatar takes Belru, and they both sally forth to join the fray

Might: 30 Might sucked from Belru, creating a 30 Mighty Holy Site (for her)
1 Might 6 FP remaining[/hider][/center]

She pulled the fur coat more tightly around her body and pushed on through the light undergrowth. For a creature such as her, in this weak human form, it was best to avoid the main paths created by the larger animals. One never knew when a Snow Wolf would be passing through, and even the less aggressive animals tended to be rather lethal. Were it not for the fact that the plants remained benign, Belru would have compared this place to Slough's hellish Venomweald.

As it were, she had been long gone from these forests, having journeyed south through the Ape-Tree jungles and down to the Deepwoods. With time, the Ape-Tree had expanded until it reached and engulfed the Deepwoods, encroaching on the Gilt Savannah and surrounding land. Over the many thousands of years, the trees of the Ape-Tree jungle had slowly adapted until they were a distinctly separate sub-species from the Garatha of the Old Bark-Skin forest. Unlike their northern cousin, these trees did not wilt away and die in warmer conditions, and so they had launched a relentless conquest of and expansion into surrounding land. Such was the might of nature when watered abundantly from the river of time.

She had stayed in the Deepwoods for some time, witnessing the at-times glorious and at-times freakish creations of Slough. The Strip-faced Aphids were of particular interest, for they had developed greatly from what they had been. Though by no means entirely different creatures, it was clear that their success in taming Mammoth Ants had greatly changed their social structure and lifestyle. It was not clear to what this would lead, but Belru would watch and see. There was perhaps nothing more formidable than the ability of the creation to change, and it was not the hands of the gods that changed them, but the hand of nature. In many ways, nature was the one true god of this universe. If the gods all perished that very moment, nature would remain, and she would rule just as effectively with or without the gods.  

Mesmerising though this primeval forest was, eventually something within Belru yearned for the north and the Treeminds she had left behind. Over the centuries she had watched them evolve also, and their community grow, and there was in her heart an attachment to them that she could not deny. Unlike the Aphids of the Deepwoods, the Treeminds had been blessed by Time itself, and so the workings of nature upon them had been ever greater. In fact, the workings of nature upon all things in the north seemed far accelerated. The Snow Wolf, for instance, had grown from the simple sub-species of wolf it had been when Belru first fell to the undeniable lord of all canines it now was. But the greatest reason that she yearned for the north was rather more simple than all of that. Belvast had passed by the Treeminds many times during his travels, and though she never let him see her, she had seen him. And it calmed her heart. And so she hoped that she would catch a glimpse of her beloved child back there among the bears blessed by Vowzra.

And so she had journeyed back. It was more than with a little confusion that she stood by one of Old Bark-Skin's giant roots and observed the empty scene before her. Not a single Treemind was in sight, and no sound could be heard, neither that of cubs nor birds nor any other creature. There was an absolute and eerie silence. She walked around in the desolate remains of the Treemind village for a while, trying to figure out the reason behind the disappearance of the Treeminds. Had they simply migrated? But there was no evidence that any migration had taken place, and the Treeminds [i]never[/i] migrated. Had there been a forced exodus of some kind? But there were no signs that battle or struggle had taken place - and it was impossible that the Treeminds would simply leave their holy lands without putting up a formidable fight. Perhaps...perhaps Vowzra had lifted his blessing and let his wrath descend? Could the Lord of Time simply obliterate the existence of an entire race at will? Something within her felt that the god would have no qualms in doing such a thing. She had seen into his essence, and though she could not claim to know him completely, she could claim to know him best of all. But there did not appear to be any purpose for him to do so, there was no purpose for blessing a race isolated from the rest of the world and then obliterating it...was there? 

She came to a halt before a strange rounded piece of wood which was attached to one of Old Bark-Skin's many roots which broke the surface of the earth. It looked much like an egg, except that it was made of bark, and it looked like whatever had been within it had broken free and left. Her hand gently moved over the wood, and she knew immediately that there was something intrinsically more [i]Vowzrid[/i] in this thing than anything else in the Vowzrid north (for had he not effectively claimed it his and placed his mark upon the very air? - nay, upon the very Fabric of the spaces occupied by this place). Yes, she would recognise him anywhere. What could have driven him to leave a part of himself here? What had been the purpose behind [i]this[/i]?

So deep in thought was she that she did not take care to watch where her hand strayed, and it was with shock that a sudden biting pain tore through her had, and blood gushed forth from her palm and onto the wood. But it was not simply blood that surged from her palm. She felt the wood suck from her being something far greater. The horror of the sickening theft caused her to screech aloud and left her nauseated, but she could not remove her hand, and the world steadily darkened about her until she lost all awareness of her surroundings and slipped into the unyielding grip of sleep and perturbed dreams.

[centre]***[/centre]

He looked down upon her with those impossible black eyes of his. Cold. So cold. And she looked back, pleading. Please.
[colour=f7941d][i]'Please,'[/i][/colour] she groaned, her hand rising slowy and reaching out to him. It was bloodied. She did not know whose blood it was, but something told her it was not all her own. And the wound the blood had gushed from was deep, though it was not her palm that bled. She looked at him, she stared desperately into those black holes for eyes. Yes, for his eyes were not truly black, were they. They simply sucked all light, and so could not be seen, and so all they could comprehend was the utter darkness in his eyes. What colour were they truly, a distant part of her mind wondered. [i]Please[/i].
And his voice came cacophanous and heavy, and it came penetrating and as a single beam which tore through her like time tore through and grinded endless lives.
[colour=black][i]'No power do those eyes of yours have here
Go bore them into other souls my dea-'[/i][/colour]

Her eyes shot open. The green of the forest skies loomed up above her and she took quick, short breaths as her heart calmed down. She had broken out into a cold sweat and could not help but shiver slightly as she lay there upon the Galbarian earth. The cold ran through her and the sweat seemed stuck between her shoulder-blades. She took a few deep, calming breaths before sitting up, though her body groaned and her eyes stung from the effort of staying open. Even in her cold exhaustion, she felt the strange weight which seemed to have settled on her shoulders - or was it in her chest? She took another deep breath and shook herself before forcing herself to her feet. Though slightly unsteady at first due to a sudden wave of dizziness, she managed to remain on her feet and maintain her balance even though earth seemed to rise up and the sky seemed to descend upon her for the briefest moment. 

The strange wooden egg was still there, though there was no sign of her blood on it. She instinctively looked to her injured right hand. There was only a faint mark there, running diagonally from one end to just beneath her index finger. Another scar. She looked at it forlornly before clenching her hand and dropping it to the side. He seemed intent on reminding her of himself at every juncture, of carving his presence into her body in every way, of tying the string of his Fate with the string of her own so that they would never know separation. 

So deep was she in her thought that it took her a few seconds to realise that the strange weight she had felt was still there. It was not so much a weight...it was more of a presence. Even as realisation struck she could feel her hairs stand on edge. It was not a benign presence at all. Walking slowly and without making a sound, she made her way towards the epicentre of the strange feeling. With each step, the weight seemed to become more pronounced and the horror of it more striking.
At last, she stuck her head out from behind a tree and was faced with the source of the horror. She could not have imagined it if she tried, for of all the things that should have been there, there was a small boy. He was sitting against a tree with his head in his arms. 

Of all the things, a little human boy. What had brought him here? She walked out from behind the tree and called out to him gently. He looked up, a mixture of fear and curiosity in his eyes. Without pausing to wonder where the strange presence had gone (for she could no longer feel it), she walked towards him and took him in her arms, comforting and soothing. Perhaps it was her motherly instinct which caused her to do so, for the boy could not have been more than four years old and was clearly very much in need of a mother at that moment. She hugged him to her and comforted him as she had never been able to do for her own child, for time had severed her from him long before it should have. Her child had left her motherly embrace before her flower of motherhood had become attained to its full bloom, and had left her thirsting still for the mothers need to press her child to herself. And perhaps it was the residue of that unfulfilled and incomplete motherhood which struck her now as she hugged the boy to her. 

Eventually, she allowed herself to lean back and study his features properly. He had long blond locks and was dressed in a white tunic made of a material Belru had never come across. In fact, she had never before seen humans who wore tunics or who had great enough a knowledge of textiles to create fabric, let alone something so fine as this tunic. Generally they threw whatever furs they could around themselves and decorated them in anyway their primitive capabilities allowed. But this boy's tunic was something else entirely. His green eyes were looking at her warily, and she realised that she was probably looking at him far too seriously for comfort. She smiled quickly and ruffled his hair.
[colour=f7941d][i]'There there, no need to be scared, I'm here now,'[/i][/colour] and she took hugged him to her once more and they sat there like that for a long while. 
[colour=black][b]'What's your name?'[/b][/colour] he eventually asked. She looked down at him in slight surprise, though something deep within her had known that he had understood her and could speak.
[colour=f7941d][i]'Belr- um, Bel. And yours?'[/i][/colour]
The boy seemed to think for a short while before he responded.
[colour=black][b]'Oradin.'[/b][/colour]

At some point her exhaustion finally caught up with her and she fell asleep. And this time there were no nightmares and sleep brought rest. When she woke up it was dark and the boy was not there. But the dark weight was. Suspicion mounting within her, she rose up and quickly made her way through the trees until she came upon him. Though it was dark, she had no difficulty seeing him, and her eyes narrowed at what was before her.

He was stood over a huge Snow Bear, strange black and purple energies swirling around him. An open hand hovered above the dead creature and an ethereal white liquid was slowly rising up from it. She could hear a thudding sound, almost like a drum but note quite. She moved her head so that she could better hear it. Dumdiz. Dumdiz. Dumdiz.
The white energies from the bear rose up until they met with the black and purple of the boy's, and they began to swirl and prance around him also. Even as she looked, the body of the bear seemed to shake as the energies were forcefully extracted from it and the dark presence emanating from the boy grew ever more sinister. [colour=black]Thumdiz. Thumdiz. Thumdiz.[/colour]
In fact, was the bear...hovering? The energies were swirling at greater speeds and with ever greater force and violence. The earth around him was being eroded away and consumed by the strange auras, and the energies were rising up to a point directly above the boy's head. And the thudding was getting louder and clearer. [colour=black][b]Thulmiz. Thulmiz. Thulmiz.[/b][/colour]
His head turned suddenly and his green, no...black...his black eyes struck her own with a fury. For a few seconds her eyes were wide and all she could feel was shock, but then her feet, with a mind of their own, stepped back. A little squeak left her throat as the full blast of the noise drove itself into her mind, and the impossible darkness and...coldness of his presence struck her. [colour=black][b]THULEMIZ. THULEMIZ. THULEMIZ.[/b][/colour]

Without a thought - for the thoughts would consume her later, and at that moment she had nothing but pure, wild instinct - she turned and ran. And she could feel him follow.

[centre]***[/centre]

The Deepwoods again. But she had not been so happy to see it this time. She had not had the mind or time to be happy. She could only think enough to put one foot before the other and keep going. His presence was still there. Still chasing. What did that boy...that [i]thing[/i] want of her? Why did it chase her so wilfully across vast forests and jungles, and now even to the heart of Galbar's most ancient woods. She did not understand. But she did know that her feet could not go on any longer and her body had used up the last of its strength. She slid down against a tree and looked up upon a giant boulder which was coated in all forms of greenery. This was the end of the line. She could go no further. But the boy could, it seemed. His presence was still there, pressing stubbornly on. Why? Why would he chase her so far? What was he? And if he had so much strength and energy, why did he let her get so far? Was he...was he toying with her? That was the only explanation. It caused that creature joy to watch her struggle and flee.

[colour=f7941d][i]'You...monster,'[/i][/colour] she croaked. And even from so far away, he seemed to pause for a while, as though he had heard her. Then he continued, and she soon heard his footsteps, and she soon saw him as he stood before her. He was spotless, no sign of tiredness or travel-weariness showed on him. His white tunic was as clean as it had been on the day she found him...

[centre][i]Or had he found her?[/i][/centre]

His presence was no longer simply cold. It was bitter as winter. It was the numbing cold of death. And that may well have been it, for she did not feel within him a soul brimming with life. His soul did not have that warmth which all living creatures, no matter how unholy or foul, always had. Even Reathos, who was the master of Death, was not this cold. Even his Pronobii, creatures forged in the blizzards of the frigid south of Galbar, had no coldness such as this. Around his feet the grass and moss seemed to wilt away, and she could even feel the life within her slowly being gnashed at and battered by his very presence.

[colour=f7941d][i]'What...what are you?'[/i][/colour] he surveyed her coldly with those black eyes for a few moments (had his eyes always been black? Where had those green eyes, which had within them the vital spark, gone?) before he made a response.
[colour=black][b]'I cannot be certain. My memory is hazy and this is a land foreign to me. But there is something familiar about you...'[/b][/colour] he leaned in and stroked her cheek with a single small finger, [colour=black][b]'something ever...so...familiar,'[/b][/colour] he froze like that for a while, and something told her - though she could not see into them, and could not tell if there was emotion therein - that his eyes had wandered off elsewhere. The moment soon broke. He withdrew and continued surveying her.

[colour=black][b]'But no matter. What is more important is that your spirit is oddly powerful, and while I can remember very little I do remember this: I am a dealer in souls. The spirits of unknown thousands have passed between my fingers and been as playthings in my hands. And so I shall have yours,'[/b][/colour] and with that, he raised his palm and those same black and purple energies she had seen all those months ago - or was it years? - reappeared and began swirling around him. Her heart's thudding became ever more notable, and she broke out into a cold sweat as she felt something within her stir and something begin to crack and something begin to cry out and weep.
[colour=f7941d][i]'No, no...'[/i][/colour] but there was no point, he was going to take her soul as he had taken that of the Snow Bear. She tried to scream, but her throat could make no sound. Was there a point anyway? Who would hear or deign to help her? That god of bark? If she could make a noise, she might have scoffed.

The earth seemed to shake around her as the boy slowly reached into her most profound depths and began to take of her most integral self. And the earth shook around her even more - was this the shaking of the world at so grave a crime? Would the trees uproot themselves and the mountains be torn asunder at so heinous an act? And what was that sound? Was that the anguished roar of the skies on the wind? Was that furious thunder's outcry on a cloudless day? And had the winds all gathered upon this spot, and were they shaking the ancient branches and causing it to rain leaves upon her? Perhaps the shadow of Life which yet haunted these woods could not stand idle by as the greatest transgression against life took place. Perhaps even now it gathered itself in the winds and leaves, and in the trees and very earth to which she was rooted, and would rise the vengeful rising of tenacious, unrelenting warmth and light (what else could hope to defy this here cold and darkness?) It was very sudden, but the boy abruptly paused and turned around, and Belru felt the coldness of his grip on her essence lighten and disappear altogether. She could feel it slowly sitting back into her body, she could feel it hug and kiss the flesh and the flesh embrace and caress it in response. And she sighed a sigh of momentary relief, and she shook herself and looked up - not knowing whether it was fear or hope which had settled in the depths of her chest. 

Even in her weakened state, she could not help but raise an eyebrow. The boulder had risen up upon its feet and was towering above both her and the boy. But it was not a boulder at all. It was some kind of freakishly large turtle. And it had in its hand a red piece of garment.

[colour=darkgreen][b]'You have come,'[/b][/colour] it took Belru a few seconds before she realised that the sound had come from the turtle. The boy moved away very slowly, looking first at the turtle then at his victim.
[colour=black][b]'It seems that you yet have some luck, "Bel". I will come for you another time,'[/b][/colour] and with that, he turned away and disappeared into the depths of the Deepwoods. He seemed to mingle completely with the shadows and eventually become one with them. Ignoring him completely, the turtle leaned in and extended a hand towards the exhausted woman. In his hand was the garment.

[centre][img]http://oi67.tinypic.com/1zg72ie.jpg[/img][/centre]

She reached back and took it from him, and she gripped it in her two shaking hands. A single tear found its way out of her eye and trickled down her cheek. It hung at the end of her chin for the slightest second before it dropped and was replaced by another. Before she knew it she had buried her face in the garment and was weeping bitterly. That stupid god of bark. [colour=f7941d][i]Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.[/i][/colour]
Without pausing to consider Belru's state, the turtle leaned forward and took her up in its hands before placing her atop its head. It stood to its full height and, without even looking around, began walking. The gods were a-warring, after all, and the Vicegerent of the Vicegerent could not let it all pass it by.