• Closed • Release the Beast [Burning Mountains]

[Zvezdana Venora]

Jorick's Keep

80th of Vhalar, 716

Jorick’s Keep. It was another eerie night within the Burning Mountains. Something had not felt right all day. Zvezdana was significantly more irritable than normal. The demon within had been incredibly difficult to quell of late. She had yelled at a servant girl for denying her wine the other day. Blackwood had seen to it earlier in the season that she not allowed any alcohol of any kind to ensure the baby’s health; however, despite being told earlier, this particular denial had set her off. She had nearly bashed the maid’s head against the mantle of her fireplace. A little extreme, but the beast had demanded it. The maid had been made it out of the room, and she had to be pried from Zvez’s grip by the soldiers that had been standing guard outside of her room. While the maid was whisked away for nursing care, the soldiers were obligated to inform Blackwood of her malicious attack.

He had not been very happy with her, and that only stimulated the rage within her. To show his disappointment, she had been moved from her normal rooms in the main building of the fort to a tower off by itself. She was to be kept far away from people and be under guard at all time. She was not allowed her belongings until she could regain control and apologize to the maid. It was like being grounded. The incident with the maid had happened several trials ago. ’He’s keeping you only for the babe in your belly. You are nothing to him.’ Zvezdana was sitting at a table, a meager meal set before her. The Qe’Dreki were dwindling into nothing. Their resources were running low, and the morale beginning to dry up. Families had been collared and chained, sold to the highest bidder and this made some of the soldiers antsy. Were their wives and children safe? Or, better yet, were they dead? Some spoke of a place better for their families beyond the physical world where the lack of a Qe’Dreki win and Cassander’s evil could not reach them.

Crash. The sound of clay plates shattering against the floor as Zvezdana swept her arm over the table was followed shortly by a rather feral snarl. This elicited a very sharp, searing pain from the scars that had been left behind by Syroa. ’That’s it. Give in.’

The demon was picking at what remained of her resolve and willpower. The tightness within her chest made it difficult to breath. Rage, despite being an emotion, could be a very physical feeling. Zvezdana stood up suddenly, the chair falling back as she clawed at the fabric of the black dress. The fur that decorated the neckline was suddenly itchy and the dress was confining. One hand continued to pull at the cloth as she tried to strip. The other hand covered her eyes. Zvezdana stumbled around, finally falling to her knees before the rumbling fire. It roared with life, as if stimulated by the voracious demon within her. She tucked herself up into the fetal position on the hearth, a last ditch effort to protect the baby within her.

’LET ME OUT!’

A scream pierced the previously silent night.

[Seira Shiryu]

The tension in the Keep was so thick that you could almost taste it. There was some kind of problem...and a serious one at that. But no one wanted to tell a couple of kids. It was sort of understandable, Seira guessed. It was entirely possible that if someone did tell her, it would be confusing adult stuff that she could neither understand, or help with.


Unfortunately, the problem...whatever it was, put Seira and Seri in a very precarious position. Many of the Qe’dreki who were left resented them being there. They were kids, not adults who could pull their own weight in the eyes of those Qe’dreki. And in some ways, it was true. Seira was no warrior. She didn’t even know how to use the weapons she had. If she did try to fight, she’d likely be more of a threat to the people closest to her than to the “enemy.”


And that was another thing. Seira had a lot of trouble understanding the whole...well...everything that was going on. Some guy attacked Lowtown because he wanted to be king. Why he wanted to be king, and why he thought he should be king were beyond Seira’s comprehension. Cassander was the king. Not that Seira really cared about him, either. He was about as far above Seira and Seri as the stars in the sky were; he had about as much importance to them as the stars did, too. He, and they were just...there. Seira guessed that there was a good reason for having a king, but it wasn’t really something she spent much time thinking about. It was all confusing...and boring adult stuff. Seira figured she was probably better off not being directly involved.


Seira’s, and Seri’s, loyalty belonged to VIvian. She had taken them in; given them a home...a place to belong to. Sure, they had had their cottage before, but before Vivian came into their lives, no one would have cared if they’d lived or died. They’d been completely on their own. But Vivian did things for them...almost like a parent, or an older sister. And for that, Seira and Seri owed her a great deal. There was very little they wouldn’t do for Vivian if she ever asked them for something.


To a lesser extent, Zvezdana had their loyalty as well. Zvezdana had been nice to them...even if she was a little scary at times. More importantly, Zvezdana was important to Vivian. That meant that the woman was important to them, too. Everyone else in the Keep could go hang, for all Seira cared. Well...mostly. She’d feel bad if something happened to one of the younger kids, but that was about it, with a few exceptions. Some of the soldiers had tried to tell them that they should support the Qe’dreki cause. Seira wasn’t entirely sure what that was, never mind what she thought about it. She was pretty certain it was just weird adult stuff, anyway.


A scream jolted Seira out of her thoughts. She exchanged wide eyed glances with her twin, then, as one, they scrambled to their feet, and bolted towards their door. They opened it carefully, to see what was going on, and why.


People were running around madly. Some were shouting to each other, while others were scrambling for weapons. Seira looked at Seri nervously. Neither girl wanted any part of whatever was terrifying trained soldiers like that. The question was...was it safer to stay where they were? Or would it be better to go somewhere else in the Keep? And if the latter was the safest choice...where should they go?


Without needing to discuss it, the twins decided that it was safer to stay put for now. But just in case they needed to leave in a hurry, they gathered up the things they couldn’t do without; namely their instruments, and their three pets. Once they were done, they kept watch at the door for any sign of what they should do next.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian turned on her heel, anger in every motion she made as she paced the small confines of her room. She could feel Pakse’s eyes on her as she paced, but the dog was mostly asleep and was just watching her own out of idle curiosity rather than actual interest. The situation that had set the Warrick soldier to pacing was, however, absolutely unacceptable. Yoreth Blackwood, that unworthy upstart, had locked Zvezdana, his rightful Queen, away like a misbehaving child over a burst of temper. Granted, Zvezdana’s temper had been excessive, but she had been more irritable in general since the night in Andaris, surely a few bad nights could be forgiven!

Then Vivian stopped as a realization pierced her world. That night in Andaris, the night she had seen Zvezdana turn back from that…thing. She had assumed it was a one-time deal, or something that had to be inflicted by an outside source. But if it was recurring, something she had to suffer time after time, then could her fury be an indication that another transformation was imminent? Cursing her blindness, Vivian stopped pacing and donned the armor she had received from Zvezdana, then grabbed her rapier and buckled on her shield before grabbing her bow and quiver.

It turned out she had realized what could be happening just in time as a scream pierced the air. Growling under her breath, Vivian ran out of her room, then paused as a second realization hit her. The girls. They were utterly defenseless against the hell-hound. Turning, Vivian altered her course to the girls room and opened the door, relaxing a bit as she saw them both still in their room.

“Both of you stay here as long as you can. If you hear the screaming get closer, then run. I’m going to see what I can do to help drive off our attacker. Do as I told you and you should stay safe.” she said, before pausing and giving the two girls a confident smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I know what we’re facing and it’s no match for me.” she said, her tone bordering on arrogance.

As she shut the door, Vivian knew that she had just lied. The beast was stronger than she was. Good thing she had no plan to actually fight it if she could avoid it. This time the Queen’s soldier turned and headed out of the building where she was staying. She heard screaming from the direction of the tower that fool Blackwood had imprisoned the one to whom he should have owed fealty. Yet his undue arrogance could well be the thing that saved many lives this night.

Instead of running towards the screaming, Vivian had a very specific destination in mind. She headed straight for the stables, hoping that the horses hadn’t bolted yet. When she arrived and saw that they hadn’t, she heaved a sigh of relief. Pausing, she threw a heavy blanket over her body to hide the armor she was wearing. She didn’t know if the Zvezbeast knew what armor smelled like, but best to keep any advantage she could get.

Grabbing a saddle and reins, Vivian looked around for a likely horse before she settled on a horse she thought she had seen Blackwood ride before. Granted, using what she thought was Blackwood’s horse was a fairly vindictive move on her part, but she could be like that sometimes.

She had some trouble getting the horse saddled and by the time she finished, the screaming had grown worse. As Vivian swung up into the saddle, she sincerely hoped she could keep her promise to the twins.

[Zvezdana Venora]

The soldiers that had been stationed outside of Zvezdana’s rooms were unfortunate bastards this evening. They burst through the door just in time to see Zvezdana become the monster that some of the seasoned warriors told stories about. Her skin dripped off her bones like melting wax. She swung her head back and forth like a serpent, the muscle and sinews of her body stretching and thickening as the demon began to form itself. While her body morphed, openings between her shoulders were formed. Black smoke billowed out of them, draping her blood covered body in a fog of black. It covered her well enough to prevent the soldiers from seeing her face splitting directly in half. The heads of the demon burst forth in a symphony of barks, growls, and howls. The fire in the hearth was choked out as the beast became bigger and heavier. Floor boards cracked beneath her weight, threatening to drop the three onto the next level.

Coughing, the soldiers drew their swords. Whatever had consumed Lady Zvezdana deserved to die. It was difficult to see through the smoke. They fanned out, as if telepathically planning to flank the beast and attack from both sides. The taller man had gone right while while his pudgy companion went left. A muffled gurgle and crunch from the left suggested that someone had sustained damage. Before the tall man could call out, the pungent smell of burning flesh met her nares. He gagged, choking on the residue that had been his comrade. Two pairs of glowing eyes turned to face him as the beast chewed hungrily on the strings of intestines that hung outside of its mouth.

“Gu-Gunther…?”

That was the last word that left the tall man’s mouth. The floor gave way, the floor splinter with a single step by the beast. The massive beast went first, dropping to the next floor. The floor beneath had been wood as well, so the beast continued to fall, creating another hole and splintering wood. The soldier was significantly less fortunate. He was impaled on one of the planks of wood. While he lay alive, a flat stake through his abdomen, the beast landed on the ground floor. It shook its head while its mind assessed what had just happened. It identified pain associated with a thick splinter of floorboard shoved into its thigh. Blood dripped down from the wound. With a frustrated hiss, the beast took a moment to sit up. One head went about licking between its own legs, sniffing a very round belly to ensure that no significant had been sustained to its precious cargo. The other head fastened its teeth around the stick, pulling it free. For a beast that only focused on food, it was very sentient in its own survival.

That, and the survival of the tiny creature growing within it. The only reason the demon had an investment in the child was strictly because it would be a high quality meal of pain and suffering for the human prison the demon was contained in. The beast, satisfied with its assessment of the wound and the baby, stood up. Now to focus on the primary mission: feeding. Soldiers were mobilizing, screams echoing from the dying soldier above them. No, that would not do. It required fresh blood. The room it had landed in was empty, so they would have to try elsewhere. Seven hundred pounds of demon elected to go through the nearby wooden wall. A glow of hot fire began to fill the mouths of the beast. Simultaneously, the heads released fireballs upon the wood wall shattering the barrier between it and the courtyard.

The stability of the tower was incredibly compromised, and it threatened on falling as the beast entered the courtyard through a wall of fire. Soldiers were hastily running around trying to figure out what was going on. Some were dressed in their skivvies while others were pulling their helms onto their heads to complete their armored attire. The way the beast waddled out of the destroyed tower suggested that it was smug. There was a brief silence over Jorick’s Keep. Soldiers and demon alike were analyzing the area. Who would be the first to react?

The sound of a liquid dripping into a puddle drew the attention of the beast. A short lad, no more than 16 arcs old and currently glad in a chainmail shirt and his white underwear, was busy wetting himself with fear. The beast’s ears swiveled constantly, keeping an open ear for movement from the other soldiers. With little warning, the beast launched itself at the lad. He screamed in a rather girlish fashion as he was taken down and eviscerated. Thankfully, due to his small size, it did not take the beast long to finish him off. He died quickly, and was devoured slowly. The taste of fear was delectable, even if the meal was small. While the remains were churning away in the demon’s throat, creating fresh plumes of acrid smoke, some soldiers began fleeing to the gate and the wilds beyond.

Everyone for themselves. Fear reigned supreme.

[Seira Shiryu]

Seira nodded when Vivian told them to stay where they were. They could do that. In fact, they would be more than happy to stay put. Out of sight, out of mind was something that had been ingrained into them when they were very young. And right now, being “out of mind” of whatever horrible creature was screaming like that seemed like a very good idea to Seira.


If Vivian said that she could handle whatever was out there, then Seira believed her.


“Good luck.” she said simply.


“We’re going to hold you to your promise, so you’d better come back.” Seri added.


Seri wasn’t very good at expressing her feelings with anyone other than her sister, but her tone suggested that she was worried about Vivian. After Vivian left, the two girls were still too tense to sit and wait. So they quickly packed their belongings. That way, if they needed to leave in a hurry, they wouldn’t have to leave anything behind.


While one girl packed her things up, the other stood watch at the door. The horrible screaming continued, and they could hear screams of terror and agony as well. But none of it seemed to get any closer to their room, much to their intense relief.


Every so often, they would see more soldiers running past their room. One of them paused long enough to tell them that they should run while they could. He babbled something about a monster in a tower. Then he was gone again. Rather than fleeing after him, Seira and Seri stayed where they were. If it were true, and there was a monster in a tower somewhere, then the best thing they could do was obey Vivian, and stay out of sight.


Another soldier babbled at his companions about a people eating monster as they fled past. The two girls shared a horrified look. If there was a people eating monster somewhere in the Keep...could Vivian really defeat it?

[Vivian Shiryu]

The was a loud sound, as if something heavy had been smashed, and Vivian had to fight with the horse for a moment to get it going in the direction she wanted it to go. However, after a moment, she was able to get Blackwoods mount going towards all the screaming instead of away from it. The closer she got, the more she found herself having to guide the horse around screaming soldiers and civilians, some of whom spared her a shocked glance. After all, what kind of mania would deliberately ride towards the man-eating demon that had so suddenly appeared in their midst?

When Vivian arrived, the beast was feasting on what appeared to be a downed soldier, though it was hard to tell. There wasn’t much left that she recognized as something that was supposed to be on the outside of a body. Pausing, Vivian grabbed her bow and drew an arrow, taking careful aim. Thankfully, the beast was facing away from her and hadn’t yet noticed her presence. Selecting her target, Vivian loosed her arrow at the beast's back foot. “That outta get your attention.” she murmured.

And indeed it had, giving Vivian no time to put her bow away properly. Cursing, the sky rider tossed it aside and drew her rapier. “Come on, then!” she shouted defiantly at the beast. However, the moment it turned to attack her, she wheeled her horse around and drove it away from the beast, hoping it would follow her. It didn’t seem to be capable of focusing on more than one target at a time, and she sincerely hoped that was the case.

Vivian had no intention of staying in the keep and instead drove the horse towards the woods outside the keep. Flammable trees might not be the best idea with a flame-spewing hell-hound on her tail, but she figured it would be the best way to keep people alive. Hopefully that would include herself as well. Zvezdana might not take killing Qe’Dreki well, but she really didn’t want to have to put her friend through the trauma of having killed her as well.

[Zvezdana Venora]

The small meal of a soldier had been quite delectable, flavored with a hint of fear. The first lad had brought hatred from the surrounding Qe’Dreki. Some had even developed a spine and taken up arms against the beast. Those that had lost them quickly. One by one, the men fell to the hunger of the demon or ran away out of fear. It fed, never seeming satisfied with the man it ate, moving to the next one in hopes that it would satisfy. The endless circle of cravings. No matter what kind of being - Human or Sevry’n, free or enslaved, man or woman - no meal seemed to satiate the beast.

The demon had gone about savoring its meal when the twang of a bow loosing an arrow tickled its ear. It was only when the small projectile landed in the taut skin of the plantar aspect of its back left paw did it realize that someone had decided to be brave and attack it. The beast turned around, one head still absently chewing on the arm of the lad. The other had the head by the hair, the shocked looking of the dead man staring blankly at Vivian. If his evisceration hadn’t killed him, clearly the shock had. The beast took a moment to find the culprit. When it had, there was a sudden feeling that drove its madness through the figurative roof.

Desire. Whoever this woman was meant something to the physical vessel that held the demon prisoner; therefore, it must be devoured at all costs. The beast with the head dropped its prize while the other head slurped the hand into its furnace of a mouth. One step in Vivian’s direction, and the chase was on. The horse spun around, taking off across the courtyard. It was making a mad dash to the exit. The beast wagged its tail with glee, taking a step forward. The discarded head popped with a sickening crunch the 700 pound beast placed its paw on the head, squashing it like a berry. The prospect of a fantastic meal of the vessel’s friend was more than enough to distract it from the other men. It bounded from its position, leaving the few remains of its meal to sicken those soldiers that had not fled yet. As it exited the keep after Vivian, cheers from the fellow men could be heard. Vivian was the brave one, leading the beast away from them. The only cry of dismay within the cheers suggested that someone was going to miss his horse.

Once out in the woods, the beast followed its nose. The horse was fast, a valiant beast fleeing because it was bade to and because it desired too. A man or an animal compelled by fear was a remarkably fast creature. The horse and rider seemed to be guiding them down the main path to the keep, eventually attempting to veer off into a less dense portion of the forest. This turn nearly caused the beast to lose the scent, but after a few trills, it was back on the trail. Wherever Vivian was leading the beast, only she knew.

[Seira Shiryu]

Once Seira and Seri had finished packing, they found themselves at loose ends. Vivian hadn’t returned, so they knew it wasn’t safe for them to leave the room. But was it really any safer to stay where they were? Probably. If they encountered the monster that was causing such a panic in the Keep, they were dead. It was that simple, and both of the girls knew it.


At the same time, it felt as though they were just waiting for the monster to come find them. And that didn’t sit well with the twins, either. Neither of them wanted to be caught in an enclosed space if the monster...whatever it was...tried to come through the door. They’d be utterly helpless.


Seira paced around the room, her entire body tense with the need to do something. She just couldn’t sit still, and wait for Vivian to return...if she ever did. Seri wasn’t much better off. She managed to resist the urge to pace, but she held herself tense, ready to move at the first sign of threat.


Seri listened at the door for several bits, but there was no sign of Vivian returning. After a while, she moved to look out the window. Vivian was riding a horse towards the woods. Hot on her heels was...something unlike anything Seri had ever seen. Something terrifying; a monster. With a horrified shout, Seri stumbled back from the window.


Seira stared at her with wide eyes for a few trills, shocked by the sudden outburst. Then she demanded to know what was going on. If she voice was shaky with fear laced tension, she ignored it. When Seri told her what she had seen, Seira’s heart skipped a beat. Vivian had become very important to her in a very short period of time. The thought of losing her wasn’t something she wanted to think about.
She considered her options, wanting…needing to do something. But her mind drew a blank. Part of her wanted to run out and save the woman who had saved her twice now. She didn’t, because she knew that it wouldn’t do any good. She was no fighter. All she would do if she went after the monster was get herself killed for nothing. It wouldn’t help Vivian in any way. It might even make things even worse. Seira was helpless. She hated being helpless.


Seira wasn’t one for praying to the Immortals. Praying suggested that she was admitting failure. That she was asking for something that she couldn’t provide for herself. And that rankled deeply. But she wasn’t so proud that she would put someone she cared about at risk by refusing to ask for help when she needed it.


The question was...who might be willing to help her if they somehow heard her prayer? Seira ran through the names of the Immortals in her head. She had very little to do with the Immortals. She believed in them, of course. But she was very much of the thought that it was best to avoid their attention. She was also vaguely worried that the Immortals might be angry at her for daring to ask them for something when she had never really prayed to them before. Still, she had to try.


“Zanik? I’ve never really done this before, so I don’t know how this is supposed to work. I don’t even know if you can hear me at all. But you are the Immortal of music, and I am a bard. If you can hear me, then please...help VIvian. Keep her alive, and well. Please. If you do...I’ll pay you back. Somehow. I promise I will. I’ll do anything you want. Just keep her safe.” she prayed.

[Vivian Shiryu]

The horse was as terrified of the beast behind her as Vivian herself was, and Vivian had never been so glad for it. The notion of being eaten by the beast behind her seemed, to Vivian, a fate far worse than simply being killed would have been, especially since she wasn’t sure the beasts apparently demonic nature wouldn’t be able to somehow keep feasting on her soul after her death.

However, she did have a plan. A good part of the beasts power, she believed, came from the fire that seemed to burn perpetually. Dampening that fire would give her an edge, possibly it might return Zvezdana to her proper self. There was a river nearby, a relatively deep one. Hopefully the horse wouldn’t tire out before she made it there. And hopefully she wouldn’t have to ride all the way to the ocean to get water deep enough.

Pausing to look behind her, she noticed that the beast actually wasn’t following her. Swearing, she almost turned to see if it had decided to turn back to the keep, but before she could slow the horse the beast burst through the foliage behind her. “Oh, lovely.” she muttered as she turned her attention back to the barely made trail in front of her. She had to keep herself low to make sure a wayward branch didn’t knock her off the horse’s back and she was still getting scraped up by stray branches. Better than teeth, she supposed.

After what felt like far too long, Vivian heard the sound of water and angled her stolen horse towards the sound. After a bit longer, she saw it ahead of her. Now, if her plan worked, she would be safe once she hit the water and she just had to keep the beast’s attention focused on her. She was so close now, all she had to do was reach it. But the beast was close too, much closer than she liked. She tried to urge some more speed out of the horse, desperate to reach the water she hoped meant safety.

[Zvezdana Venora]

The trees were too close for the beast to move at top speed. The horse that carried the desired meal was thinner, capable of bounding over trees and weaving about the few trees that were preventing the path from being a straight-away. The beast, however, had shoulder far too wide to maneuver as freely. It had already nearly missed its prey when they turned off the beaten path. The natural defense of the forest was making it hard for the beast to keep up. At one point, so focused on Vivian’s demise, it even connected its shoulder with a thick tree trunk. The bark cracked and splintered loose from the hardy trunk while the beast was forced off the path. It slide to the ground, its shoulder sore from the high velocity impact.

It paused only a moment to shake its heads, dizzy from the collision. Out of spite, the beast formulated a fireball within the back of its throat, hurling it at the offending tree. Had it been a sentient being, it would realize that such destruction would bring vast damage to the surrounding forest. Of course, it did not care. It was a beast designed to bring chaos to the world. It was doing its job. The bark caught fire immediately, the dry foliage at the base of the tree catching as well. Slowly, the flames reached upward and outward, sucking in everything it could find for fuel. With fire as its background, the hound got up and continued the chase.

The acrid fumes that came from its back were dying down. With only one or two bodies to fuel the beast, it was becoming tired. It desired its meal and it wanted it now. The horse and rider had continued to flee, but the scent of fear was pungent. The beast followed that, a little more slowly so it would not collide with another tree. The rider and horse had probably made it to their destination now. As it closed the distance, its ears were placed on a perpetual swivel. Was that water? Clever woman, leading a beast born from fire to water. Angered by this turn of events, the beast put on a fresh burst of speed, leaping through the foliage that marked the edge of the forest and gave way to the thin river bank. This sudden appearance and the barks that followed startled the horse, causing it to turn and rear.

The beast took a smart hit to the nose as the stallion kicked out. That head reeled back in pain while the other head took a moment to snap at the stallion’s face. It pulled back even further, now standing on its hind limbs at full height. There was a good chance that Vivian would have difficulty maintaining her position in the saddle. Thankfully, with the river behind them, it would be a softer fall than normal if she elected to bail.

The pedalling hooves of the front legs were posing minimal threat to the demon. Eventually the horse would have to come down. More barks followed as the beast egged on the stallion. Finally, it began to fall down, planning to stomp down on the creature. As the horse plummeted down, the two headed beast jumped up. Each head sank its teeth into various parts of the neck. Heavily muscled jaws contracted to draw the jaws as close as possible, crushing the horse’s windpipe as they did. With a strangled whinny, the horse began to panic. It slipped sideways, its legs going one way as it several hundred pound body fell to the riverbank. Its back legs splashed around in the river, splashes of water threatening the beast. Further angered, the demon back pedaled, dragging the horse away from the water kicking and screaming. While it killed the equine, Vivian was momentarily forgotten.