[center][h3]Rise of the Wood Witch[/h3][/center] Nimueh was dreaming so pleasantly. She was dancing in the forest with the squirrels moving across the branches to follow her hands as if she was directing them. The birds were chirping their songs like a great choir. At the crescendo, a wolf howled and she spun and she spun. Then the dream faded. Nimueh didn’t know what was happening. Someone was shaking her shoulder. “Wake up.” That person hissed with haste, not anger. “Wake up. There isn’t much time.” “Whaa-“ Nimeuh said. It sounded less like a word and more like a half-animalistic uttered sound of confusion. Where was she? Oh right, at the Obelisk. Zenii were sprawled all around her. It was dark. Nighttime, of course! “Sleep.” She mumbled as she turned over again. Night was for dancing or sneaking or sleeping. Clearly she wasn’t doing the first two things, so she had to do the third one. “Wake up!” The person repeated as they shook Nimueh’s shoulder harder. “Wha- what happening?” Nimeuh mumbled as she kept her eyes closed. She wanted to dream of the forest again.! “Nothing yet, but you have to go.” The Zenii, whoever it was, said. “I’ll go in the morning.” Nimueh complained as she rolled over. More chores, of course. Lonam would probably want her to go into the forest again to gather berries. That could wait though. “Dream sleep now.” A stinging pain coursed through her cheek suddenly. She jolted up. Adrenaline fired through her limbs as she got up ready to fight or run. Well, it would probably be run. Nimueh couldn’t fight. “What was that for!?” She yelled, before whoever woke her up put a hand over her mouth to shut her up. Rehair used her other hand to put a finger over her lips, motioning Nimueh to be quiet. “You need to leave tonight or- Hey!” She exclaimed as she pulled back her hand from a licking Nimueh. “You shouldn’t have put your hand over my mouth.” Nimueh said, throwing the older zena a cheeky smile. “Will you listen!? I’m trying to save you.” Rehair’s patience was running thin. And for once Nimueh realized it in time. Something was wrong. “Remember how you kept talking about the Beast Queen?” Nimueh just nodded. “You didn’t stop talking in time. Apparently some zene named Masol took interest. He’s rounding up people who talk about her and how the forests are dangerous now.” “But the forest [i]is[/i] dangerous.” Nimueh said. Though now she kept silent about how the Beast Queen ruled there and didn’t like it if they broke too many branches or brought those pots into her domain to fill them at the creeks. Nobody would listen and Lonam kept getting angry. Apparently though some people did listen. “Masol is worse.” Rehair said. To her, he was also a lot more real in his threat. “And he doesn’t like the idea that Zenii can’t go too deep into the forest anymore. He’s beaten up many other zenii already.” “But the Lady declared that we wouldn’t slay each other anymore!” Nimueh protested. “Yes but he’ll do worse things. He has done worse things and he’ll make an example out of you because you crossed him.” Rehair then looked over Nimueh. “The sun will rise soon. You have to leave. Now!” Rehair took her hand, pulled her up and started running for the forest. Light was already creeping across the horizon in the distance. They weren’t there in time. Lonam stood waiting at the forest’s edge with a few of his closest friends. Each wielding broken branches. “Rehair. I can always count on you to do what you think is the right thing.” Rehair moved in front of Nimueh out of instinct. “Not wanting to hurt a fellow zenii [i]is[/i] the right thing.” She spat back at Lonam. “If you give her to Masol she’s going to suffer by his hand. Would you really want that?” “What I want is for the people of my blackstone to go back into the forest to gather food.” He sneered back. “They really shouldn’t!” Nimueh shouted back from behind Rehair who tried to hold her back with one hand. To no avail really. She stepped next to her and said: “I told you the Beast Queen doesn’t like those pot things and you still went into the forest with them. She doesn’t like that.” “Are you so greedy that you can’t even share the bounty of the forest with the whole group?” Lonam asked. “Do you really need this whole place for yourself?” With his free hand he motioned behind him, towards the Beast Queen’s forest. “It’s not for myself. You can go in! Just not with pots or-“ “Enough!” Lonam shouted. “I won’t keep listening to your stupid little tales. Masol’s zenii will come here today. When he gets here I’m going to give you to them and be done with you.” “And after that are you going to roll over and show your belly to Masol hoping he keeps you in charge of your own blackstone?” Rehair asked. Clearly she had hit a painful nerve with Lonam. “Get them.” He said. “Nimueh run!” Rehair shouted as she charged forward. She took one of Lonam’s zene by surprise and managed to smash him straight on the nose. He fell backwards on the ground as a drop of blood fell from his nose. But Rehair recoiled as well. “Ah that hurts!” She screamed as she shook her fist. One of her knuckles’ skin had split already. Nimueh was already dashing sideways. Another zene of Lonam was chasing her and gaining quickly. “Oh please Beast Queen. Please help me. Please, please please.” Nimueh kept saying as she got further and further. Until she was hit on the back and fell down on the ground. Immediately she turned around to look at the zene looking over her. He was reaching down at her. Nimueh started to crawl backwards while she kept repeating: “No, no, no!” She found a stray stick in her hand as she crawled backwards and out of pure instinct she threw it at the zene. The stick bounced harmlessly off of his shoulder and into the air. He threw her a vile smile and suddenly all the dangers Rehair told her about flashed through her imagination. How they’d hit her and hurt her and bleed her until she would regret ever walking into that forest. The painful hit made that very clear to her now. And she felt angry. So angry. Angry because she hadn’t done anything wrong! Angry because she wasn’t telling lies. The Beast Queen was real. She ruled these forests. There was a flash of satisfaction going through her as well. For as sure as she knew that she was breathing, she knew the Beast Queen would punish this Masol, and Lonam and every other zenii who sided with him! The branch fell from the air back on the zene’s shoulder again. The second it touched his cloth it suddenly started glowing. Green particles from the air began to flow towards the branch. Drawing the attention of both the zene and Nimueh. And then suddenly it bursted open like an overripe fruit. Roots and vines swarmed across he zene’s body, pushing themselves into his flesh. He dropped to his knees puking up blood before Nimueh. For a second he looked up and there was nothing but terror in his eyes as the vines strangled themselves around his body the roots pushed through his flesh and bones. He dropped dead before Nimueh. Who scrambled to get up with tears flowing down her cheek. Rehair was laying on the ground. Suddenly the kicking had stopped. She looked up. Lonam and the other zena helping him were looking towards where Nimueh had run. She looked up to see if they got the poor girl. Instead she saw the zene falling to his knees with blood drenched vines around his body. Silence fell safe for the rustling of the wind in the forest. Rehair could believe it. She had killed someone. The one thing you couldn’t do according to the Lady herself. The one rule that couldn’t be broken. “What.. have you done?” She asked disbelievingly as she watched Nimueh get up and look as if she was ready to just cry and cry. The girl didn’t hear her, probably. But a wave of disgust went over Rehair. “You’re coming with us.” Said Lonam as he started walking towards Nimueh. “Masol will make sure you pay for your godless deeds.” There was real hatred in his voice and Nimueh knew it. She could feel it now. Next to her own sickness. But as Lonam got closer, she felt her feet take her backwards. Away from him. He sneered at something, Nimueh didn’t know what exactly. She could hear him, she just couldn’t understand him anymore. Everything felt so weird. Almost muted. She went backwards till. And then suddenly she realized she wasn’t out of danger yet. No, she was so much deeper into danger than ever before. They would beat her so hard she would wish she was dead. Because she had already crossed that line they could probably kill her as well. And suddenly she was off. Like a deer smelling a predator that already got far too close, she bolted into the woods. She ran and ran and tripped over roots and then crawled and got up and ran. She kept running until she saw the world light up around her. Her body was bruised and scraped by the constant running and falling. Eventually she fell again and couldn’t get up. There was no strength left in her body to get up. She had used it all up. So instead she started sobbing and crying. [hider=Summary]Nimueh is rudely woken up by Rehair who tells her she has to flee because her preachings of the Beast Queen upset a certain elven leader. She’s confused at first, but eventually goes with Rehair to the forest where they believe she’ll be safe for the time being. But Lonam, Nimueh’s blackstone leader, is there to wait for her. They have a discussion about the forest, the Beast Queen and Masol. Which culminates in Nimueh running as Rehair tries to distract Lonam and his group. Nimueh runs, gets caught but then rather unknowingly casts magic to do the one thing no elf can do: kill. Shocked by what she indirectly did, she runs into the forest until she can run no more.[/hider] [hider=Spirit] Nimueh Start spirit: 2 + 1 Spirit: Appeared in this post + 1 Spirit: Central focus - 2 spirit: Push Limit: cast the root spell Nimueh end spirit: 2 [/hider]