[ It’s difficult to tell night from day in this place and Kettara distrusts her tablet too much to try the timer feature that was mentioned on the network. She hasn’t been sleeping well and her dreams are fragmented and strange when she does manage it. She’s been training constantly as a result, forcing her body to adapt and endure.
This might be the afterlife, in which case it’s likely a trial in which she most atone for her failings. The least she can do is be prepared.
When she’s not training, she wanders. There’s a spark of light in the distance that catches her eye, and she’s been following it from a distance.
She can be found by the lighthouse, staring into the forest. ]
Someone has lit a fire.
[ She can see it flickering through the trees. ]
I hear voices.
[ There is nothing there. ]
TWO
[ She has been seeing things in the dark. Pale hands reaching, clenching at something. Sometimes she thinks they are pulling strings, like some strange puppeteer, and other times Kettara is convinced it is her mind playing tricks.
It’s been several days since she’s slept.
She’s standing ankle deep in the water by the lighthouse, trying to commune with the elemental spirits. Surely the Spirits of Water, known as great healers, would have some wisdom to offer her.
There is no response. Nothing but the gentle press of water against her legs. ]
Something is wrong here.
[ Her eyes are wide and bright in the dark. ]
You can tell, can’t you?
THREE (cw for gore, description of bodies)
[ She’s been told it’s dangerous to go into the trees, so Kettara hasn’t gone far. Just a little ways off the path.
It’s enough.
It’s the smell that gets to her first, the acidic scent of burning meat. The sound comes later, the soft crack of bones giving way to the heat.
There are bodies in the trees, blackened and slumped. Some of them wear armor and carry familiar weapons, symbols of the Earthen Ring scorched alongside their sorry bones. Their faces are gone, burned down to the bone, their teeth bared in awful grins. All of them are dead.
One of them used to be a woman with long hair and curved, elegant horns. Her staff lies broken by her side, still curled in a charred hand.
Kettara has been weeping. She’s kneeling before a tree, head bowed and surrounded by pulsing totems. Fire burns all around her, red and hot.
You need to fight, my student.
Master Muln’s voice is low and rough, a constant promise in her ear. He’s concealed somewhere in the dark, trapped just beyond her reach, but still able to guide her hand. ]
I know.
[ Be strong.
There is pain in his voice. He sounds like he’s been inhaling smoke, like he’s been burnt.
Kettara stands slowly. She can hear someone approaching.
Avenge them, Kettara.
She only nods, and turns to face the approaching figure. It’s a warrior, face blackened with ash, and body wreathed in flame.
She offers no warning. She only lunges, summoning lightning to charge her weapons.
There is no fire. There are no bodies, no ash, no voices in the woods. There is only a young orc woman with tears running down her face and the power of the elements at her command, charging forward. ]
Kettara Bloodthirst | World of Warcraft | OTA
[ It’s difficult to tell night from day in this place and Kettara distrusts her tablet too much to try the timer feature that was mentioned on the network. She hasn’t been sleeping well and her dreams are fragmented and strange when she does manage it. She’s been training constantly as a result, forcing her body to adapt and endure.
This might be the afterlife, in which case it’s likely a trial in which she most atone for her failings. The least she can do is be prepared.
When she’s not training, she wanders. There’s a spark of light in the distance that catches her eye, and she’s been following it from a distance.
She can be found by the lighthouse, staring into the forest. ]
Someone has lit a fire.
[ She can see it flickering through the trees. ]
I hear voices.
[ There is nothing there. ]
TWO
[ She has been seeing things in the dark. Pale hands reaching, clenching at something. Sometimes she thinks they are pulling strings, like some strange puppeteer, and other times Kettara is convinced it is her mind playing tricks.
It’s been several days since she’s slept.
She’s standing ankle deep in the water by the lighthouse, trying to commune with the elemental spirits. Surely the Spirits of Water, known as great healers, would have some wisdom to offer her.
There is no response. Nothing but the gentle press of water against her legs. ]
Something is wrong here.
[ Her eyes are wide and bright in the dark. ]
You can tell, can’t you?
THREE (cw for gore, description of bodies)
[ She’s been told it’s dangerous to go into the trees, so Kettara hasn’t gone far. Just a little ways off the path.
It’s enough.
It’s the smell that gets to her first, the acidic scent of burning meat. The sound comes later, the soft crack of bones giving way to the heat.
There are bodies in the trees, blackened and slumped. Some of them wear armor and carry familiar weapons, symbols of the Earthen Ring scorched alongside their sorry bones. Their faces are gone, burned down to the bone, their teeth bared in awful grins. All of them are dead.
One of them used to be a woman with long hair and curved, elegant horns. Her staff lies broken by her side, still curled in a charred hand.
Kettara has been weeping. She’s kneeling before a tree, head bowed and surrounded by pulsing totems. Fire burns all around her, red and hot.
You need to fight, my student.
Master Muln’s voice is low and rough, a constant promise in her ear. He’s concealed somewhere in the dark, trapped just beyond her reach, but still able to guide her hand. ]
I know.
[ Be strong.
There is pain in his voice. He sounds like he’s been inhaling smoke, like he’s been burnt.
Kettara stands slowly. She can hear someone approaching.
Avenge them, Kettara.
She only nods, and turns to face the approaching figure. It’s a warrior, face blackened with ash, and body wreathed in flame.
She offers no warning. She only lunges, summoning lightning to charge her weapons.
There is no fire. There are no bodies, no ash, no voices in the woods. There is only a young orc woman with tears running down her face and the power of the elements at her command, charging forward. ]
WILDCARD
[ Hit me! ]