[center][img]https://images.cooltext.com/5248231.png[/img][/center] [sub]Brought to you by Ellion and [@Aerandir][/sub] [hr] [hr] Alexina stood in front of the Coven in the courtyard, on either side of her, sat her pack of twelve wolves that stared silently at the five witches that were singled out of all the witches in her castle. She had called every last one out to witness this. Her gold eyes seemed to burn as she glared at five witches, of which, Three of them nursing wounds on their arms. Marks from the pack of wolves that literally dragged them back to the castle when they did not listen to her. Her fingers clenching as she tried to keep her anger in check. Three years, THREE YEARS they did not have an an issue, Now a town way wasted, painted red with the blood of all it’s previous owners who hung upside down stripped and mutilated. A church defiled, with it’s priest sacrificed on his own alter to his god as another slap to the face of those who believed in such a being. Horrors and deeds brought out of hell itself. Worst of all. Innocent children had been killed. Sacrificed, for an evil ritual to extend the life of those for a too brief of time in compared to the life taken. A price for blood, must be settled. “[color=007236]I have called you all out her tonight because these witches...and warlock… have put our home in danger! They left our home, and went to the small mountain village of Goldencrest and Massacred the people there. Defiled their church, and made mockery of the dead. Even slaughtering the children for a few more years to live! Their actions will have surely been found out by now. The horrors the hunters will see will spread and find the ears of more hunters! Rumors of our coven will spread and bloodthirsty murderers who care not that we want to live in peace will come searching our woods once again to destroy us. Calling for blood! [/color]” She looked to the three who once were old and haggard, now once again in their twenties. “[color=007236] You all know I do not like the hunters. I have killed hundreds in my lifetime! I will continue to do so to protect our home! But to kill children who are innocent, Who have done us no wrong! Is always unforgivable![/color]” “[color=007236]The price of Blood...must be paid in blood.[/color]” She said suddenly very coldly. “[b]Is that right oh [i] Queen of the Forest [/i]? Going to sully your own hands for once? Going to take it yourself?[/b]” Hissed one of the witches stepping forward. “[b] Is this the leadership now? Killing your own for a few squealing mongrel whelps? [/b]” Pressing one of her boney finger deep into the flesh of Alexina’s chest. The few whispers that scattered the room before stopped as the seconds slipped by, each one more tense than the last. A smirk flashed across the witches’ mouth as nothing happened. “[b]I thought as much. Little girl, you’ve disappointed us all once again, Medusa would have had my neck for even daring to look upon her,[/b]” Alexina suddenly grabbed the witch by the throat, her nails digging into her jugular. As her eyes grew narrow. With an unnatural growl that escaped her throat she lifted the witch off her feet. She knew she had to kill the woman, it fell within the category of necessary violence. She pulled her close to her she asked with venom in her tone. [color=007236]“Like… This?” [/color]Giving the witch only a moment more in this life as her nails suddenly became sharper and tore into the skin. She then yanked the witch to the ground but held onto the Jugular. As the weight of the witches body ripped it out as she was thrown to the ground. She didn’t look back at the woman but lifted the warm bloody Jugular up and after a moment she raised her hand, showing the blood that was on it.[color=007236] “I kill when it is necessary. I keep my promises to the coven… Has there been a time I did not look after you? I protect the forest, I make sure those hunters do not find us and come for our heads. Is it too much for you not to listen to my words to NOT attack them unprovoked??”[/color] She asked pointedly to the witches in front of her tossing the bloody jugular to the side like it was trash. [hr] [hr] [h3] Meanwhile....[/h3] Remnants of a thick fog still hung on the outermost houses as the sun brought light to the horrors of night. A small group of hunters stood in what was once the center of Goldencrest Village. A nearby mountain town, close enough to Seren’s Folly that a handful of travelers reported hearing the incident less than a mile away from the hunter’s village. Yet so remote that it took most of the night to traverse the steep and winding path up the mountain. Whatever had come was long gone, leaving no clear sign as to who--or what, did this. Sure, there were many theories tossed out, but no evidence that one was more true than the other. The villagers weren’t much help either. All dead. The survivors, if any, fled during the night. Emiliah's heart ached for the men, women...children, whose bodies now littered the streets. While more were hung upside down, bled dry like a stock pig. The worst was the church. The bodies of the young were scattered across the floor. Looks of fear still etched in their small faces as they fled to this holy house for protection. The Font of Holy water was filled to the brim with their blood. At the very center of it all, the priest, striped bare and given a crown of the thorns as he was mounted upon a cross. His entrails draped across his hips offering a mock of modesty. There wasn’t much to be done now, except leave the crows to their feasts and cleanse the land. After the fires had been lit, it took what felt like mere seconds for the hundred year old town to be returned to nothing. Fire created the world and fire would cleanse it from the evil that tried to take root here. Maybe, in time, life would return to this area. Once the blood faded from the streets, once the bones crumbled to dust. Once the hunters who helped the priest down forgot how warm his body was when they found him. Trusting the flames to take care of themselves, the hunters left the rocky village. It would be well into the night by the time they returned to Seren’s Folly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It wasn’t till it dark once again when the hunters Bobby sent out to help the village came back into town. Many of them went straight home...wanting to get away from the things they saw by being with their loved ones...to hold them close and remind them how much they loved them. Most of the others however, went to the tavern. Because they had no family… or they wanted to drink till the burned images of the horrors in Goldencrest hopefully washed away and made to be remembered as a bad dream. The looks on all their faces spoke a thousand words… yet at the same time worried those who saw them. Wondering what they could have seen.