Dreadful was the night they had chosen for this ritual. The woods were howling, its inhabitants eerily silent on this cloudless, full moon. The duo had wandered deeper than most cared to, far beyond where the crows turned. An instinctive feeling of being observed loomed ever over their shoulder, though was met with nothing should they have tried to glean this silent observer.

What the party intended to do here, in the minor clearing they found, was without the scorn of noble folk. Outside the reach of ears of the holy. The only noise they heard, was the sound of their own feet, as they waded through the mild fog that had settled over the most cruel of nights, only pierced by the pale moonlight.
(Narrator)
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A faint rumble of earth and stone would follow behind the wolf of a woman as the pair walked through this dark night.

Trailing behind them, twenty feet away would be a set of three marble coffins. each containing a corpse to be offered to her god, to prove her faith in these turbulent times.

Road, Zheng Jiaho and a suicide victim would be incased within.

The ears upon the Ookami's head would swivel gently forwards, listening to the surrounding area as her golden moons glimmered in the pale light, a gentle huff escaping her lips as the pair keeps trudging forward, as silent as the forest the pair was within.
(Hestia Illarian)
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With the ceasefire upon them, and the dread of the night beckoning their diabolic intent, tonight seemed to be the perfect night to indulge.

What a horrible night to have a curse.

At the side of his hunter, the beast of a man marched. Nyshek armor didn't allow for stealthy travel, as his marching was far from silent. His and Hestia's foosteps are all he hears in the dead of the night.

..and regardless of how often he shifts his scarlet eyes, attempting to locate anything out of the ordinary, he finds nothing.

Fog, silence, and paranoia are all he can discover within the dead of the night.

(Somnus Illarian)
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The clearing seemed optimal for their intended goal. It was reasonably wide, surrounded by lush vegetation. A shame they weren't here for their God's counterpart, for it would have been beautiful in the light of the sun.

Flowers were uprooted as the caskets rolled in. There wasn't a lot of space between them and the two yet-living, but surely the prowler of the night wouldn't care for the size of His tribute.
(Narrator)
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Rumbling up beside Hestia, past Somnus. The three graves aimed to move to the center of the clearing, Ground awash in holy lights as the ground shook below them.

One after another the marble casing would pop off of the coffins, each revealing the bodys of the multiple magi. still slightly frozen in the permafrost from where they were kept.

"Now's a good of a place as ever. Reminds me of my home back in the Wych in Valmasia." the woman would say with a smile.

Strapping the massive tower shield onto her side, the Ookami would ascend the small mound she had created. Blackened claws unfurling from her paws as her body starts to loom over the caskets, teeth bore to the deceased.

"I wonder how many ive killed, maimed over the years for my god. How many Ive fought, and bled for in his name. Ever since I was a little pup ive looked up to the two. Now here I am, providing vessels for Saekanis to glance upon.

Its truly wondrous yes?" Hestia would say, white locks of hair clinging to her shoulders as she slowly turns to rest her gaze upon Somnus, the one that had been by her side for almost a decade now.

"Truly Im blessed by Asena.. now to see if I can get approval of the other."

Running her blackened claws over the shin of the slain. the devout follower started to gouge her fingers into the cold skin, carving in runes deep into their once active circuits, A terrible sound of flesh tearing filling the air as she repeats the process for each one before glancing up at the moon with a smile.

"If only every night could be like this."

(Hestia Illarian)
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This was more Hestia's ordeal than his own. While Somnus wasn't the most religious of men, he'd always respected, encouraged, and pushed Hestia to offer sacrifices. From an outside point of view, however, it may appear as if she were being used as a human garbage disposal...

At the mention of her words, he shrugs. "Wouldn't know. I was born here, after all." He nods. "Unsure. I've given you a few of my victims, but I can't keep track of that lives the both of us have taken." He tried to respect the memories of the dead by remembering their names and faces- but at some point, they all became another number.

"Mhm. Wondrous." So long as she was content, it was good enough for him. "Can't say I've ever held much interest in Asena, but I'll forever assist you in appeasing the Chaos Wolf."

He'd do very little in assisting in the ritual. Aiding her in the attainment of these vessels, and the escort to the ritual grounds- these were his roles to play in all this.

...and, more truthfully, he is a bit ignorant in how one is supposed to make offerings to Saekanis, outside of the cannibalism.

So, he continues to stand guard, alert, ready to defend his mate should something attempt to interrupt her work.
(Somnus Illarian)
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Tributes were presented before the forest. And it drew the attention of something darker. The sensation of observation grew, but no sound or presence could be felt. Nothing showed at all, in fact, not in a distant owl.

This night was theirs, to their worship. To feed the Plague Wolf whatever recognition It demanded in Its perpetual cycle.

The bodies shimmered lightly in the moonlight, crystals reflecting the dull light that managed to tear through the veil of fog that coated the clearing. It seemed as if they might have been alive-- merely sleeping, but they both knew better.
(Narrator)
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A few more minutes of carving and Hestia was done. Vague runes and depictions of wolves running across the carcasses were finished, the girls claw awash in sanguine fluids as she backs down off of the mound of earth, leaving the caskets bare open to the sky.

"It is done, hopefully this meager tribute is enough for Saekanis, enough to satiate him maybe if even for a while." Hestia would say, the shimmer of her eyes being the only thing easily spotted through the thick of the woods.

Tilting her head back to the sky, Hestia would open her maw, the womans chest heaving as a long howl is released to the moon, echoing off the deafening quiet of the night. Eyes returning back onto her partner.

"Though- Something is off. All the animals are silent." the wolf of a girl would say with a twitch of her ears, the lilac scars gently pulsating in purple hues as mana courses through her frame, the slabs of marble sinking back into the earth to leave the bodies side by side.

"What do you make of it Alpha?" she would ask, pulling the towering shield back into her grasp.
(Hestia Illarian)
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That odd feeling of being watched never seemed to fade. As Hestia's ritual began the feeling managed to grow tenfold. No matter how hard he looked, or listened, there didn't seem to be anything tangible for miles.

Him, his woman, the bodies, and her dark God.

As his gaze falls upon the cadavers, he looks towards Hestia briefly. While she worked upon her tribute, Somnus would choose to engage in another activity-- meditation.

The atmosphere was right- full of silence and dread. Eerie was the mood, allowing him to sink into at trance with ease. While his connection to the arcane is far from stable, still budding, falling into a chaotic trance had grown easier with time.

It took little to no effort to bring for feelings of anger and bitterness, but focusing upon them, without thinking about what caused them, still proved to be difficult.

As she howled, the distraction was almost enough to break the trance- if it weren't for the time he'd spent fighting within this frame of mind, he'd have likely had to start all over. "Mn..yes. It's odd. One moment."

Falling upon his rump, Somnus would bask in the silence, focus on his hate, and attempt to reach see the unseen- know the unknown.

(Somnus Illarian)
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Distant birds, far, far off left their nests at the howl, only heard and never seen. The crows had been disturbed, as the howl pierced the veil of the night. And silence soon befell the ritual once more.

How strange. He couldn't be ignoring them, could He? They had gone far from everything, even brought sacrifices for Him. But all they saw, heard and felt, was the deafening silence of woods that might as well have been dead.

Yet they couldn't shake the feeling of not being alone. It had never left them for a second.

Thunk.

A fox was seated upon the middle of the carcasses, staring straight towards the two. It didn't seem out of the ordinary at all, in comparison to a normal canine of the same species, save one particular detail.

It held no 'Presence' at all. They hadn't even seen it slip in. It had simply appeared before them, without any hint or clue to its arrival.
(Narrator)
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Eyes on Somnus, the remainder of her voice dying out in the darkness of the night, the huntress was all but ready to head off, accepting that the wouldn't be able to see her god once more. Possibly having to strive for even more corpses next time....

Shame.

Turning around to take one last peek at the offering, hair would stand on end, teeth bared as she nearly jumps back in surprise, yellow moons struggling to make out the shape of the fox like thing before them.

"Kin?" would be mouthed as the woman cautiously pulls the chunk of metal in front of her, In front of somnus.

Unnatural, Eerie.
(Hestia Illarian)
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Nothing.

The faint connection to the arcane didn't aid him in locating this unseen force. He felt, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Any inquiries Hestia had would go unanswered, as he simply couldn't provide her with any information.

No facts, or assumptions.

As he continued to focus on his fury, attempting to think about the feeling of anger itself, rather than what brings forth the emotion- the trance becomes severed.

With the right preparations, fighting in a chaotic trance is feasible.

But, he was extremely unprepared for what happened next.

The fox that manifested before them simply appeared. No sound, no smell, no trace of mana, it merely existed.

Hestia seemed paranoid, and rightfully so. Yet, Somnus didn't seem to fear the creature. It didn't show hostile intent, and in turn, he wouldn't be rude enough to do the same.

This didn't mean that he wouldn'ttake caution. He rises from his seat, scarlet eyes never daring to move away from the fox that lacks presence.

"...hear to take the offering?"

He questions, attempting to discover the canines motive.

(Somnus Illarian)
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{LOAD GAME}

The canine stared at the two, predatory eyes entirely void of any life. It became apparent it wasn't staring at them, as much as it was staring through them. And boy did it now bring much comfort. But perhaps so was to be expected, when dealing with the Plague Wolf.

Red, glowing eyes appeared in the far end of the clearing, along the gloom of darkness, but these eyes held no presence either. Nothing to track them by, beyond visuals. And they weren't alone, either, soon joined by another set nearby, followed by another pair.

Not even twenty seconds later, the whole circle of trees were lit with varying sizes of crimson orbs, shifting in the gloom.

At that point, the fox lowered down, a hollow growl leaving it, as its maw parted, ferociously trying to eat and claw at the presented tribute, frenzied and uncontrolled to the core. All the while it seemed ragging itself thin, blood spilling from its eyes, snout, mouth and claws.
(Narrator)
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The lips upon the Ookami woman would form into a snarl as her hues glance all around them, an untold amount of glares focusing on them.

Pulling out her blade, the woman would shoot upwards on a stone pillar, blackened claws sinking into the stone as a low growl of her own rumbled out of her throat. tendrils of holy energy pouring out of the cracked earth.

This was her offering, if the morbid creature claimed it then it was for them, even if the primal sense of fear bolted through her spine.

"This is Saekanis's offering, fuck off freeloaders and spirits.

Unless they wanted to be added to the offering!" Hestia would bark, looking down at Somnus, her tail swishing back and forth in the air behind her.
(Hestia Illarian)
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It was far more brutal than Hestia's feastings.

Somnus' scarlet gaze shifted around, attempting to take it what he could. With the light provided by the moon, the dimlit forests remain obscured by shadows. Glowing red eyes that linger in the darkness force the Illarian to grow discomforted.

A piercing gaze offered by the plague wolf, the red glowing eyes held by unknown figures in the distance, and the grisly display before him--

It'd be a lie to say that he wasn't extremely uncomfortable.

Even if he'd been in the heart of war, been the executioner to many, and partook in various profane arts--

There was something about the fear of the unknown that could send shivers down his spine. Something about sitting face to face with a beast without presence forced the weight of his insignificance in the world upon his shoulders.

The sudden burst of holy energy forced the man to snarl. It was the one thing he hated about fighting alongside Hestia-- the clashing of exorcism and the occult. "They've yet to strike, they may be with the devourer, but-"

Overwhelming was the sense of dread that lingered within the woodlands. It become difficult to discern what may be friend, or foe. "Should they try and interrupt- we crush them."
(Somnus Illarian)
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The shadows moved, bleeding out into the clearing on slow legs. Each form seemed almost wrapped in strange cloth of darkness, trailing it after them as they staggered into the moonlight. Every one of them seemed to be some kind of canine, although horrifically twisted in each their unique way.

Some were more akin to wolves. Others to hounds. More foxes, too, joined the crowd. But these were malnourished and weak-looking. Empty. Dying. It helped the vision, when all these canines, began to bleed and rot before their eyes, flesh melting off like liquid, tainting te clearing with crimson as yellowed bone became apparent in the moonlight.

The fox in the casket wasn't slowing at all, despite the abnormal circumstances. The frenzied glutton literally seemed to be eating itself to death, as it wailed with bone-revealed paws.

It was a gruesome scene. Life had no place within this ritual. And Hestia, deep down, gained the understanding that hertribute had been accepted by her God.
(Narrator)
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"Cowards! Useless kin!" Hestia would shout, standing back up on her legs.

"Those who cannot bring death themselves deserve to rot and die! To be food for the strong! For what good is a predator that cannot hunt, that cannot sacrifice for the pack.

Come at us failures, all will fall to the chaos wolf and be brought to Asena."

Whipping her sword forward, the shaking arm of the disturbed girl would tremble as she barks out words, putting on a brave façade

Adrenaline would course through her body, the entire right side of her body aflame in purple magics, tainting the holy light pouring out of the ground.

She felt it, deep down a satisfaction she was doing the right thing. To be acknowledged by her god.

It was watching.
(Hestia Illarian)
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Despite her barking, and screeching, Somnus places his back against her summoned pillar, gazing upon the death that surrounds them. As the rot and crimson flooded the clearing, an audible gasp of relief spilled from Somnus' mouth. While he desired a fight, dealing with several mortals is one thing-

Taking on an army of creatures that he couldn't even sense, is another.

When his gaze shifts to the creature that takes in the sacrifices, he becomes witness to...

Cannibalism.

Despite the creature before him having the frame of an animal, it a strange sense, it hardly seemed any different from Hestia's typical sacrifices. She never devoured herself, but the sentiment was all the same.

(Somnus Illarian)
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The creatures approached the caskets in their ragged paces, hopping onto the constructs to be with the sacrifices. Occasionally, one would snap at another, some even taking quite impressive chunks out of each other with their bites. It was a gruesome feast, full of morbid gluttony.

Any sane person would have left the scene long, long ago, but none such thing was present. And who would have called themselves sane, in the wake of what followed next?

The trees would wither, as the moon seemed to grow above them, looming closer, as if it, too, was amongst the predators that lurked the night. But although it took an orange-red hue, it never anything but add to the bloodied night's atmosphere.

Leaves trailed rapidly from the nature around them, as the grass grew stale and dry below them. The animals, although partaking in the horrific picnic, seemed no less affected by this rapid decaying.

And then snow bagan to build, as the world seemed more and moredistant to them. Naked bark contorted and twisted, as if the very landscape had aged two seasons past.

To the season of winter. The season of the Plague Wolf.

They felt cold, as silence befell the nightmare, the canines crumbling and dying one by one in messy, gore-filled death. The tribute had been accepted. The claims found true. The weak served little but the purpose to die for the strong.

And such was the life of those beneath others.
(Narrator)
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* You have been awarded 0.5 Roleplay Points! *
* Your RP modifier has expired.
Mass confusion would awash over Hestia's senses, the scene before her being forever etched in the wolf girls mind. While she feasted to offer her respects.. they feasted for the sake of it.

As expected of her god.

Lowering her arm, the woman turns herself atop of the stone pillar, the forrest withering and decaying all around them, a sense of surrealism washing over her.

heat beating fast, pupils dilated, it wook almost everything she had to stop herself from dashing over to the gory mass of cannibalism, to join them.

Her fear was quite palpable, but so was the woman's curiosity. To become like her god.. to be closer, she had to devour like those before her? Not just the ritualistic sacrifices.. but to consume in its entirety?

It clicked in then.

Wrapping her arms around herself, shimmering orbs of yellow gazing at the dying, decaying wolves. Hestia would watch, aspire to be an ounce as intimidating as the beings before her.
(Hestia Illarian)
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It was fairly safe to say, they weren't in the proper world any longer. Winter stretched beyond te treeline, consumed by fog and moonlight before too much became revealed to them. Hestia could have sworn she saw shapes behing the veil, but it might as well have been shadows, dancing in her mind.

But she felt stronger than before. A high of power, like she had ascended the foodchain just enough to see herself the better predator.

A tree crashed behind them, splintering underneath the weight of something equally as massive. And when they turned, the two where greeted by a darkened wolf, standing in stark contrast to the white snow that fell around them, one paw planted upon the toppled tree It had simply shoved to the side like a twig.

The monstrous canine was leaking blood chronically, from decayd patches along its furred body, seemingly in perpetual disrepair, but unlike the previous creatures, this one was regal. Where the scrawl prior had held no form of presence at all, this one? This one held the very essence of a God.

It couldn't have been the real Plague Wolf. An avatar, perhaps, but it nevertheless crushed them through its aura alone. The aura of death. That they could have been staring the end in the face. Unavoidable, remorseless death.

"DO YOU HUNGER, KIN?"

The wolf's voice boomed through their heads, shattering what little sensibility they might have tried to make of the situation. It didn't matter. Not in the wake of finality.
(Narrator)
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Hestia couldent make any sence of it, wouldent. She desired what they had, what she could have. The Ookami has killed, eaten before.. but the need to hunt has never stopped, it was always there, she always wanted more. so when the monstrous wolf appeared before her, she wouldn't bow, she wouldn't kneel down.

To do so would show weakness.

Instead she gave a firm nod and a swift response, terrified but certain of her answer.

"There is not a day I don't desire the hunt, to feast upon those weaker than me. To show those just how the world truly works." the wolf girl would growl back.

"The day I stop is the day I die!"

Rumbling beneath her feet, the pedestal would drop, bringing her on more even footing with the massive being.

Fear and respect.
(Hestia Illarian)
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The behemoth leaned closer, easily towering over any person standing on ground-level. But it seemed she had chosen the correct approach in now bowing. For no one blessed by Saekanis would bow to anyone. Not even a superior predator.

"GOOD. HUNGER. FEAST. GROW. BRING TO AN END THOSE UNWORTHY OF THE ETERNAL HUNT."

It words sang with animalistic frenzy. In some strange place, it was oddly liberating. Like one's instincts were being drawn to the front. Passion and emotion embodied this creation and so it would invoke in those close by.

"BE THE HUNTER. NOT THE HUNTED. BUT YOU ARE WEAK. FRAIL. TEMPORARY."

It wasn't insulting her, merely making an observation of comparison.

"FORSAKE MY SIBLING. FORSAKE THOUGHTS OF LIFE. ONLY THROUGH DEATH, WILL YOU PROSPER. WILL YOU TRULY LIVE."
(Narrator)
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"Yes, you speak words of great wisdom, Ill keep them close Lord of the hunt." Hestia would give another nod forward, its words riling up a primal excitement. Something akin to the cries of war horns stirring on the soldiers for battle.

She was eager, itching to please, to continue her hunt. to bring down those too weak, or unwilling to kill.

Just as her role has always been, take care of those unwilling to do so. Only one knows how long they could confine the woman to a city like setting for long, now that shes heard the urging words of the avatar before her.

"Ill show those who are weak, who are scared of your the true meaning of the hunt, to fear. Those who refuse to become strong on their own accord, those who choose to weaken the pack. I will find them, and feast upon them." Hestia would shout back, her tiny voice unable to conquer the dominance the chaos wolf exuded.

"I wont stop until Im on top, until im above the rest!"
(Hestia Illarian)
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It was hard for him to comprehend his surroundings. Everything had gotten so cold, so quickly. As his scarlet gaze falls upon the Avatar of Saekanis, the beasts knees begin to buckle. It was difficult to tell if this occurred due to the cold, or...

Due to the an overwhelming sense of fear, and dread. The former of which, an emotion he'd long sense forgotten.

Or, so he'd thought.

There are no words offered to the beast, less he gets spoken to directly, as this conversation is for Hestia and her god.

That, had speaking had grown difficult, while standing in the face of death itself.
(Somnus Illarian)
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"THEN REMEMBER THIS FEELING, KIN."

Its massive paws shifted along the snow-covered ground, crushing the remainder of the tree it had balanced one foot upon as it neared once more. Well-within range of touch, which most certainly couldn't have been a poorer idea to do.

"REMEMBER THE FEELING OF BEING BENEATH THE STRONG. DESPISE IT. DESPISE HELPLESSNESS."

Its paw raised up, dropping with decay and red-tinted, diseased flesh. And it was brought down in a swift strike upon the two, far, far faster than they had any kind of ability to react to. Nothing less, for the deity of finality.

But it didn't hurt. It didn't even feel any different, physically, as complete blackless overcame what they had just been standing among, mere moments ago. Were they floating in a void? The pressure was immense, weighing down like ten-fold gravity, only to be replaced by the sansation of falling, as Saekanis boomed in the distance.

"BRING THIS FEELING TO THE WEAK. THEY WILL GROW. ADAPT. OR THEY WILL SERVE THEIR PURPOSE TO DIE BY YOUR HAND."

Dread. Fear. The unmistaken closeness to real death engraved itself upon their psyche. A tainted scar, briefly reminding them of their mortality. Of how little their short lives meant in the wake of the true end.

Something that would likely last with them for the remainder of their time in this plane, faithful or not. Saekanis was no kind God, not even to those dedicating themselves to Its existence.

For it was the will of the strong, to prey upon those below it.

The next thing the two knew?

They woke up, in the middle of the clearing, between the caskets. Summer had returned to the nature around them, as had the moon faded in the sky. It wasn't even foggy anymore, the croaks of frogs, hoots and owls and constant hum of bugs returned to the land.

It was almost as if it had been a dream.
(Narrator)
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arms would start to raise in an attempt to protect herself, but by the time the darkness enveloped her.. it was too late, she already died... but she wasent dead. She was falling. In that brief moment she realised just how swiftly she could be slain.. without even a seconds thought or a chance to react.. That is what happened to those without power.

Those too weak to defend themselves. Hestia despised it loathed it..

Appearing back into the clearing. Anger and uncertainty swirled around in her head. The path.. was far and long to become the best, to be the all encompassing embodiment of the hunt the wolf wanted to be.

Tilting back her head, the womans pointed maw would open, howling in anger

"Fuuuuuckkk!

FINE, I get it.." She was pissed she was so easily swatted away without to ask more. She knew what she had to do... but the powerlessness was beyond agitating.

"Kill the weak, spare none. Train to become strong" she would mumble, patting herself down.

"Still all here, still alive." a large sigh echoes out from the girls lungs.

Glancing over at the epty caskets, the weight of it set in, realising it wasent just a figment... and with that it gave the Saekanite a renewed drive once more.

"No more wasted opportunities."
(Hestia Illarian)