[centre] Niraph [/centre]
The town was in a state of shock. Production had slowed, guard shifts had doubled and the local healer was now unavailable. Not to mention the new, fleshy banners that adorned the town walls.
It had been a few days since the local Royal Regiment had brought back the Fomorii. They were badly hurt and needed immediate medical assistance. The healer had his hands full looking after them.
The bodies and ship had been burned, but not before a few of the pirate corpses had been used to make a few new anti-piracy warnings. The things on the ship could be found at te guards baracks, having been "put under protection" until the original owners could reclaim it. Anything that wasn't nailed down had been taken foe safety's sake.
And, of course, the population were suspicious. A strange new creature appears, having engaged in a fight against pirates, threatens their guards and distracts their healer. Thankfully, the Naqar were accepting people, happy to share. They just hoped that the Demons didn't take [i]too[/i] long to heal.

[centre] ??? [/centre]

Lyrus walked softly through the forest, scared his footsteps might alert anything nearby to his presence. He was hardly prepared for company, hostile or friendly.
Not that he was likely to find a friend in this damn place. The trees grew thick and tall, their lower branches raking the exposed flesh on the young man's arm. Even during the day, Lyrus doubted there would be much light. At midnight, he could barely see the hand in front of his face. It was hardly the place one would find faeries and unicorns.
He had no idea how long he had been walking. Minutes? Hours? Days? Did time even exist in a place like this? Or was he doomed to wander forever, trapped in an unending maze?
A low branch snags the White Elf's feet, sending him sprawling head-first into the mud. Dirt and bits of bark go flying everywhere. Twigs bite into the exposed flesh of the elf's arm.
Scowling, Lyrus picks himself up and brushes himself down. As he starts to pick the splinters out of his arm, a voice calls
"Is that you I hear?"
Lyrus looks left and right, but there is nothing but darkness at his flanks. It was probably just his imagination. He takes a few tentative steps forwards, ready to keep walking.
Then, shuffling. It sounds distant at first, but it's definetly headed this way. If Lyrus doesn't move fast, he could end up in a heap of trouble. But, for some strange reason, he can't. A stange mix of fear and curiosity keeps him rooted to the ground. Part of him wants to see what the thing that spoke looks like, another part wants him to sprint as far away from it as possible.
Curiosity wins. The shuffling is really close now, barely 20 paces away. Pesumably, the creature can't see through the dark either, or else it would have...
"Is that you, my love? You came for me!"
As it happens, the being was much closer than originally thought. In fact, it's barely 5 paces away, to Lyrus' left.
It's a girl, but she isn't your typical girl. For a start, she's splattered with blood. Her hair is long and matted and her nails are long and sharp. She's conpletely naked, bar a collar around her throat, decorated with vicious-looking spikes. But easily, her most striking feature was her eyes. They were pitch black and unblinking. Blood trckled from them like tears, dribbling into her smiling mouth.
"I missed you so much. Why did you leave me?" she gurgled sadly.
That was it for Lyrus. He wanted to break away fron this nutcase, to run away and leave this damn forest behind. But he couldn't. Something wouldn't let him, not until he knew what the girl was going to do.
"I knew you'd come back. I knew you wouldn't leave me"

Note: WIP. I'll tidy it later