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 Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 2:19 pm
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 5:19 pm
Running. Their paws sliding across the ground, their claws digging holes in the dirt for a better grip and it was all they could do to keep ahead of the pack. The wild, half-starved Vileclaw had taken them by surprise, and had the advantage of numbers. They all knew they were heading in the wrong direction, but ever time they tried to swerve away their pursuers would appear, snapping at their heals, forcing them back on a path towards the Rift. There was no way to know if the Vileclaw were doing it on purpose, or simply trying to keep them from circling back around to retake their territory. Either way, they soon found themselves face to face with something they had never hoped to see.
It had been a final attempt to retreat, to move away from the gaping maw that had sent them falling into it's depths. It was an accident, an act of nature, and something none of them would have been able to foresee... or perhaps the Shattered Rift had a mind of it's own, a will, and had pulled them in willingly. Regardless of the reason, whether it was their own weight or the desire of the monster before them, the ground beneath their paws had broken away, sending the pack spiraling down into the unknown. Many had tried to escape it, jumping for the solid ground quickly moving away from them or digging their claws into the quickly shifting earth, but none succeeded. Most of them died in the fall. Perhaps they were the lucky ones.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 5:50 pm
She awoke to darkness and haze, but as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light the true nature of the sight before her slowly revealed itself. It started as a mist of dust, unsettled by the sudden arrival of dirt and stone. Then she saw the mounds of soil before her, the vague shapes of something not quite right. When her eyes finally focused it was then she realized what those vague shapes were. The bodies of her pack lie sprawled in unnatural positions, covered in blood and dirt, many only partially visible after having been crushed by the falling debris. Stumbling to her feet, the disoriented healer stumbled over the body below her, likely the thing that had broken her fall, leaving her one of the few alive.
There was little she could do for him, and most of the others, but she would to everything she could to save the few of them that had made it. She tended to their wounds the best she could, struggling to set broken bones and staunch their bleeding. Time meant little in the darkness, and she worked for what felt like days trying to save them. She had nothing save her skill, as she had been unable to take anything with her in that wild rush to escape. If she had, perhaps more would have lived, but without her tools there was nothing she could do. Only those who had sustained few injuries, like herself, managed to make it through the beginning of their long, long night. The sadness and despair they felt, as they watched their loved ones die before their very eyes, was only the beginning.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 10:03 pm
There was no way of knowing how much time passed while they were in that dark, terrifying place. With no sun and no moon to show the passage of time, and the strange perpetual gloom that hung over them, the very concept seemed to lose all meaning. There way no way out the way they had come in, for the sheer cliff face and loose soil made climbing impossible. Half the survivors remained behind, while the other half walked along the walls, searching for an easier ascent, but found none. It only seemed to get worse the further they walked, and their hunger only made the journey that much more difficult.
Returning to the their comrades, they switched roles, sending those who had remained behind along the opposite wall, hoping they would have better luck. When that group returned unsuccessful, they tried again, and did so over and over, sleeping in shifts until they could barely see the walls through bleary eyes. Hunger filled their every moment, survival instincts beginning to overtake their rational minds, until they could wait no longer. There was no food in this barren wasteland, and they had little choice. They ate well, for they had to take strength where they could if they wished to survive, no matter where it came from. They would be able to live a little longer, thanks to their fallen comrades.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2016 5:30 pm
Her memories of the times that followed are broken and scattered, either by hunger or fear, she knows not which. Just as likely it is a little of both, with a bit of her own desire to forget mixed in. No one wishes to remember the deaths of their friends so strongly, though she knows she must. After all, who will remember them if not her? Still, the rest of that long night remains hazy, and even if she tries she can recall little more then flashes. What little she remembers fills her with terror, and a deep dread she struggles to shake even now. A sense of wrongness and despair. She knows only that those who had been left knew they could remain there no longer, and ventured out into the depths of the Shattered Rift, knowing not what they would find, but having no other choice. It is here that her memory first starts to fail her, for she knows not how long they traveled, how many times they slept, or how many steps they took. It is just as well, for their walks where empty and uneventful.
As hunger once again began to take over, she could see something changing in their eyes. Something more then just simple instinct, she thought so even then, through she had looked upon them through bleary and starving eyes. Something down there changed them, and she lost her pack for the second time. She remembers how their welcome words, and warm talks slowly turn to a strange and disheartening silence. She remembers the growling as she stares into their wild eyes, searching desperately for any sign of recognition. She remembers running, frantically, though she can not remember why. Blood-soaked silence and whispered words echo through her memories, pulling her, leading her to something the flickers along the edges of her mind. She sees something down there, something she can't quite remember but she will never forget. Something strong, and something terrifying. She cannot remember how she escaped, what route she took that lead her from that place. Sometimes she still doubts that she found one. Yet, somehow, she found herself grasping the edge of the Rift, pulling herself from it's gaping jaws. Alone... but alive.
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