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Author Topic: Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo  (Read 863 times)

Muzz02

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Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo
« on: December 11, 2019, 06:09:35 PM »
[A journal, bound in black leather, covered in intricate, flowing runes, smelling like a forest]
First entry
[The words are written in a elegant, flowing cursive of Elven]
So...
I guess I should start a journal?
Eyes Like Lightning has one... and it might be useful, to remember things. And it will be useful, for the Drain. And it's nice, to write in the Low Tongue again...

I'm rambling again.
I, Karis Nailo, of Kydoba, of the ashes of Nanakary, am starting to write. Not in the High Tongue. I have time, here, in the endless woods, but even my people cannot spend their whole lives tracing the infinite pathways of High Elvien. I did the cover, though. That took time, but if felt nice, to make something of beauty for myself. I like the way it looks out here in the forest: me/mine/all that we have lost. It is... not joyous, but... sometimes, that's what needs to be said. In any case... I'm rambling again. My mind walks strange paths these days, lost in that endless, insidious mist...
I... am mislaid, here. Back home, I always had some kind of... purpose! Now, all I am is... empty. My God... feels so distant here. And cannot feel... anything. My family lie dead in the sand and the dust for long than most human lifespans, the Congregation is in a world beyond my reach, and everyone here is so... distant. Empty. There are exceptions, of course: Kelraj, and Hypatia, and Ron and Val and Wyatt and Sarade, and more recently, Eyes, but... this place... feels wrong. My God is empty, and I am hollow, and the natives are so ignorant, and... I'm lacking something. I need to do... something, in this empty place. I... would like. To keep meeting, with Eyes... he makes me feel alive again, not like some hollow, half-formed thing. And, maybe, if I create enough Undead, or improve their forms, or... do something with the myriad Dead in this place, my God will find me. I moved a skeleton, to wipe out a whole cave of bandits, and still nothing...
Maybe, I'm not trying hard enough. I have been helping at the Hospice, and the Wound (hopefully)... but surely, They will know that I will be far more useful in life now!


I am distracting myself again. I need to take a break, from all of pointless conflicts in this place. But... I don't want to lose Eyes. If he falls, and I am not there to bring him back into his body...
I will not lose him. We have so little time, before he will probably end up fading like a leaf in Famine.
I will be back. I have given myself a limit, 3 weeks, to rejoin Eyes, and the rest of this place... I cannot run from things forever, but... I cannot remain here either. I will be back, but for now. I will meditate. Maybe, I will find the things I have lost, in the dark, forgotten places of my mind. Maybe, I’ll find peace, and respite, and the ashes of my family.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 07:04:25 AM by Muzz02 »

Muzz02

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Re: Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2019, 08:13:24 AM »
Second entry
I saw home again. It was… terrifying, and relieving, and bitter, aching loss. I saw the endless desert, and the spires of the City, half-buried in the sand; monoliths from a time even my people cannot remember. But, when I was tracing the familiar, ash-stained halls, I came across something strange. I saw… Nanakary. Ancient trees were growing from the walls, their roots choking the stones in an earthen grasp. Their leaves stared at the blazing sun, and the sounds of soft winds and hissing rivers filled the air. I know this is not how the City is, nor the ashes of the forest! What… what does this mean? Are my memories fading, crashing into each other like shipwrecks of the Sea of the Dead, littered with skeletons of wood and bone and coral? Did I… dream?

I am no human, and yet still my unconscious mind is… deceiving me. Broken. I long for reverie, true rest, where I can walk familiar halls, and smell the rich forest… not like Barovia, with its cold, sparse beauty. This place… is so hungry. It eats beauty, and peace… and people. I must remain. I shall not die here, in this thin, cruel place. I will not be consumed.

I will not let my friends fall, either… I must return, soon. I hope… that they wait for me. That they won’t leave me here, alone, in the cold and the pines… I miss home. I miss my God. I miss… Eyes, too. (I think). He is… nice company. And… I think, maybe… I’d like to know him better.

In any case… I will return. And… I’ve been thinking… If Eyes wants to do the ritual, to get a new familiar… I could bind it, with High Elven… maybe, something, like…

Death/linger/yours forever?

Yes… that could work. But… I need to clear my mind. I think… I’ll stop writing now, for a few days…
I’ll be back, but… the Forest is peaceful, as Summer bleeds into Autumn, and everything hangs between change and Death’s icy grasp… I think I’ll rest by the river, for a while… I think… I’d like to rest, for a while.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 07:04:34 AM by Muzz02 »

Muzz02

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Re: Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2019, 09:39:40 AM »
Third entry
I made my way back, to the outskirts. It’s… bad.
Val’s left. I think… the state of the Drain, is… critical. Wyatt’s vanished. I can’t find Sarade, or Mason. The logs have been empty for weeks…

And the Guarda. They… they killed Zerasé, and Constanta. Their ghosts are still there, in the Outskirts. Poor Ash. Poor them! The Guarda have gone too far: their summons, and beatings. The Dead are still here! I hope… she comes back. Zerasé deserved so much more. She should’ve had centuries. I hope… that lost time turns to rage, and fire. I hope… she makes them pay. I hope she watches them burn.

When I reverie…  all I can see is Nanakary, burning. I thought coming back, might help distract me from my memories, but… fire dances at the edge of my vision. I… try to avoid it, but… there are lights and candles everywhere. I… don’t know what to do.

And I can’t find Eyes anywhere. Or Garec. I… don’t know, if I should ask Ash. But… I hope he comes back soon. I miss our talks. At least I have Hypatia… but she’s going back to Port today. Everyone always leaves, but… I can’t go. The Dead linger… I must see this through. And, Grimm… his presence is a worry. I cannot leave, but… I fear what will happen, if I stay.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 07:04:44 AM by Muzz02 »

Muzz02

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Re: Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2019, 06:37:15 PM »
Fourth entry
Let them burn.
Let the Dead rise.
Let the rivers run with blood.
Let the sky be choked with ash.
Let the trees crumble to dust.
Let the Land cry out; and let them know my sorrow.
Let guilt consume them.
Let rage tear them apart.
Let the Harvester claim them.
Let all things fall.
But first...
I need to find help.
And I need to find her.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 07:04:52 AM by Muzz02 »

Muzz02

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Re: Blood and Ashes - Karis Naïlo
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2020, 04:26:08 AM »
Fifth entry
Ron is dead.
Chimera is dead.
What am I supposed to be, now?
Orsolya’s taken back the Drain. I hope she sets the Vardo aflame, and wipes out Vallaki. For Ron’s sake, and Chimera’s.
But… I don’t know what to do, now. Soth is back, and there are rumours of Dhaerow, lurking in the depths beneath the Grey City. I don’t know, if I should help Degannwy. I don’t want the place to fall, but… my power lies with the Dead. And there are far too many prying eyes, so consider anything of the like in the Autumn Court.
There are… other rumour, too… about Orsolya. At first, I dismissed them; the Garda will do anything to destroy her, and wipe out her reputation among the sympathetic outlanders. But… she will do anything, to free her country. And, if she has indeed become one of the Dead… there we must act fast, lest she be properly discovered. She will need to know, all that Wyleredar has restored her to, and how best to proceed in her… current state. Additionally, it might be… useful, to know, how she achieved that state, in case anything ever… goes wrong, for me.
But… I still miss my home. Ophelia was wonderful, but… it is not enough. And I cannot rely on a person who will be dead and buried before I reach my second century. I try not to dream: sleep is a danger I cannot afford… but, maybe, with strength… I will hear the messages of my God, and not fear. I think, it’s the lack of control that I flee from in my subconsciousness, and… I will need time, to master dreams like reverie.
Finally… I think, I will come back soon. Even with Soth, I cannot leave for long. The Dead will not remain in the Ruler’s realm, and their purposes must be found. Death walks the land, and I must find Them.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 07:05:05 AM by Muzz02 »