(AUTOPLAY) The Moon Will Guide My Path

Wandering is in my blood. [Indie Avvar OC. Spinoff of original blog vovkism. Please read about and rules before interacting. ]

[red-athame]

[faolcdh]

[ I’m back form the war ] 

[ Not really but I thought I should explain myself. I’ve been heavily obsessed with playing FFXIV so that’s been my life for the past two months or so. I might pop in here to say hi but yeah. Anyway, here’s my bunbun. Her name is Viktoria and if she doesn’t end up with her own RP blog here at some point then a miracle has occurred. 

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬. vic wanted to leave almost more terribly than he’d ever wanted for anything, mounting up before ishbel had even finished telling him to. the seriousness of the situation was noted, with her use of victor instead of vic, which somehow brought him more DREAD. he’d told her to use that if she was annoyed. was she angry that he’d let the other scout die ? ——–no, he couldn’t think like that, certainly the village was the cause.

riding in front made him nervous somehow, as everything about the day seemed to, but he nodded  &  offered them a quick   ❝ be careful, ❞   ( offering it mostly to ishbel, rather than alba, )  before galloping ahead, hoping this horse didn’t have a mind of its own. 

occasional glances were paid back to the others, as he rode, checking to see if they were being chased, if that horrible risen scout was somehow scurrying along beside them, making absolute certain that this warden was on their side,  &  hadn’t done something ATROCIOUS to ishbel. they couldn’t reach skyhold quick enough, for vic’s tastes——–if only they’d had some form of teleportation, a powerful spell to have them there in seconds !

still, as the hours passed  &  the fortress ahead became visible, he felt the smallest sense of ease in his heart, no matter how many centuries it felt it took them to get there. he slowed the pace of his horse, a little, not wanting to ride too far ahead of the others.   ❝ what exactly are we going to tell the inquisitor ? ❞   he called back, suddenly aware of how tightly he was gripping the reins of his horse,   ❝ i can’t say i’m magically smart enough to know entirely what the fuck i was lookin’ at, in there, or what’s causin’ it. ❞ 

└ ⚔ ┐——  ❝ Write your report as best you can. I am more than sure                          that Warden Alba will take care of the more complicated                          topics. ❞

The other scout that came with them rushed to the group as they saw them riding into Skyhold. At first his expression was that of relief but when he noticed the  empty horse trailing behind them his heart sank and his expression grew somber. Ishbel shook her head before handing the reigns of the other horse to him and  patting the fallen scout’s Mabari. She said some words to him before seeing him  off. 

Ishbel then looked over at Victor and gave him an approving nod as she walked over and put a hand on his horse. 

❝ Nicely done. ❞ she said to him,  ❝ I told you not to die and you listened. ❞

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 made vic feel light in the head,  &  while he found no comfort in the presence of this silent alba, he was eternally thankful she had the undead follow quite a ways AWAY. at least vic wouldn’t have to look at him. he wondered if that was her intention, if she was doing him a favor——–she apparently helped the inquisition, so surely she couldn’t be too unkind. 

he nearly scolded himself for being unfriendly, judging by her appearance, but remembered the way she’d swiftly cut down so many enemies ;  &  didn’t feel very guilty about it. even less so, when the thud of her scythe on the ground made him jump,  &  soon tendrils were creeping out from it. this was no one he wanted to be friends with. still, he’d be civil,  &  even found himself nervously following a step CLOSER at the sight of more creatures. better her killing them than him. 

it wasn’t until they were out  &  he spotted ishbel again that victor felt any sort of security. he hoped they’d all just go back to skyhold——–but, no, ishbel wanted answers, or something,  &  the warden wanted something within the chantry. still, the thought dawned on him upon seeing ishbel unharmed that he was currently the WEAKEST person present,  &  wished they’d send him back anyways, just for that.

he wasted no time moving closer to ishbel  &  far away from alba.   ❝ here’s … her. the other scout, he, er … ❞   turning, he motioned towards the village  &  their apparent lack of the man,  &  felt rather sick again upon remembering.   ❝ ah, fucks sake … i think i understand why leliana didn’t tell me more about this mission … ❞

his pulse was ringing loud in his ears, a sharp stabbing pain in his head reminding him how stressed he was, how woefully sober he was. eyes squeezed shut to ground him, momentarily,  &  he would have WORRIED about appearing ill——–had the situation itself been any less sickening. another pathetic look crossed his face.   ❝ i suppose just sayin’ this is too fucked up and goin’ back would be too easy, right ? ❞

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ We’ve sent someone to report back and                       the Inquisitor will have word of we found                       here. Adding that to what the Warden seems                       so interested in, I believe we have everything                       we need as scouts. The good news for you is                       that all that means now is that we make it                       back and make sure the rest of this information                       doesn’t die with us. ❞

There role wasn’t to go deep into the fray. At least it wasn’t this time around. With the intelligence they’ve gathered, it was enough for the Inquisitor to go in and investigate properly. The most important part now was for the to make it back alive to fully report. Alba looked as though she had other plans but she simply nodded as Ishbel spoke. Whatever Alba’s intentions were, it was time for them to return to Skyhold. 

❝ Mount up, Victor. The Warden will ride with me.    We need to get to Skyhold quickly. I can already    sense something brewing in the village. Whatever   is in there does not intend for us to leave. We must   not give it the chance to try and stop us.  ❞ 

Ishbel quickly got up on her horse and held her hand out for the Warden to grab. The Warden ignored it and simple jumped up and landed lightly behind Ishbel. It was almost as if she floated down and the horse was hardly jostled by the woman’s landing. Ishbel took one last look at the village before kicking at her horse’s side to bolt away at a gallop. She let out a loud whistle and the Mabari along with her wolf came out of hiding and ran alongside them as they made their escape. 

                      ❝ Ride in front, Victor. If something comes up from behind us,                         you just need to keep riding. We’ll take care of the rest. ❞

[jamiesfraser]

Visit Original Link

[peccatoriii-blog]

[faolcdh]

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

                  RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT

[harleytheweird]

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @taempestas​

@faolcdh liked for a starter with eira!

“I did not think to find another amongst the Inquisition.” Another of the Avvar, she meant. Though their people were often considered as one people, each Hold was separate and had their own ways, much like the Dalish clans did. “Apparently, some Avvar have taken Inquisition soldiers captive down in the swamps. What are the chances they will not listen to reason, hm? It seems no matter the Hold, we are all stubborn.”

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ Gretanen. Ofrag thi bledsungdren eb Haakon                        Wentrsbræt ond di Tiweshlefdi. It is surprising                        all things considered. But any who are willing to                        help heal sky are welcome.  ❞

Ishbel pat her horse’s nose before finding a crate to sit on. She eyed the other Avvar briefly as she situated herself. Her expression was unchanging though her disposition was not unfriendly towards the other. As she leaned back, she looked out at the rest of the Inquisition working away and pondered on the  other Avvar who have decided to oppose them. 

❝ If they have taken our soldiers then they want a fight.   Perhaps a boastful youth wants to show his merit to his   hold in combat. I don’t care either way. If they want a fight   then I am happy to give them one. ❞

                               ❝  Ik jom Ishbel. By what name shall I call you? ❞ 

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

THE QUIET WAS UNNERVING,  in many senses——–vic never cared for the quiet to begin with, an open invitation for thoughts to grow louder, but this time in particular it was a scary sort of silence,  &  he wished again to be back in skyhold. he was made for STEALTH, for crime  &  the nefarious sort of missions leliana liked to deal with. frightening, battle-heavy things were not his sort.

&  it showed——–as they were, in ishbel’s words ; welcomed. 

the cry made vic jump, his hands going for his daggers in an instant, unsheathing them when ishbel gave the word to do so. eyes trailed in the direction she was looking,  &  vic’s stomach turned seeing the woman——–fighting anything humanoid looking was bound to make this harder. he had a feeling ishbel wasn’t going to care for him very much, after this run. if they lived, of course. 

he made no swift effort to charge into battle, instead positioning himself behind ishbel. fiddling with a dagger, his eyes looked about for a place to HIDE, to potentially put his stealth to good use against any enemies, or something smart like that.

❝ what are we up against, here ? ❞ he whispered, only half panicked, ❝ what do we do ? —-if there’s a rift in there, we can’t very well close it without the inquisitor. ❞

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ There is no rift but that does not mean this                             will be easy.  ❞

Already she could see that the man would be of no use to her in combat as seemingly cowered behind her. She sighed as she gripped her spear tight and kept her head on a swivel. There was no movement around them yet. At least she knew they would be coming from one direction for the time being but there’s no telling.They were at a clear disadvantage already and she knew then why the other group of scouts didn’t return.

Thinking on her feet, she ordered the youngest among them to mount his horse and ride hard to Skyhold. At least one would go back alive and relay what she was describing in detail. Something was controlling the villagers and changing them. There was no rift but there was no shortage of danger and it smelled of Venatori. 

No sooner had the scout left did she turn her attention to Vic and the other scout. 

             ❝ I am going to draw their attention. I want the two of you                to sneak into the village and find the Warden. Matters                of the arcane are lost to me but this Warden will know.                Go quickly. ❞

Before she walked towards the main road, she turned again to Vic and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

 ❝ Try not to die. ❞

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

EVERY TIME THE INQUISITION faced a demon that wasn’t popping from a rift for the sole purpose of attacking, vic found himself unnerved  &  weary, the secret magic in his veins humming a quiet warning that he, weak-minded  &  untrained, could easily become the danger. his thoughts mulled over it staring into the darkness, following ishbel——–if this was a demon, it was clearly of a different sort than they were growing USED to. he dearly hoped for anything else, humanoid enemies, or maybe a simple plague, with bad timing. could things ever be that easy ? 

❝ has the warden gone in there ? alone ? ❞ leave it to vic to worry after a stranger that frightened him. he squinted ahead, though began to pace backwards for intended camp preparations, anyways. ❝ i … don’t want to check it out ‘til its light, either, but ya’ did say people came here before and didn’t come BACK. ❞

concern had him torn——–he did care, about the warden  &  missing scouts, but in truth ; he wanted to be as FAR away from the village as possible, go back to skyhold  &  tell leliana to forget it. even camping nearby sounded dreadful, yet there they were.

❝ i guess if we go in now we’ll end up the same, though, huh ? ❞

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ In any other situation I would agree with you and                            go in now but there is definitely something in that                        village. It’s quiet. Very, very quiet. Did you notice?                            No animals, no birds, no insects. Nothing but the                            still air.  ❞

It would be foolish to dive in head first against something they had no real knowledge of. Ishbel thought on the Warden and wondered whether or not she was still alive. Was there something in the village more powerful than anyone anticipated? Ishbel pushed the thoughts away as she took a deep breath to bring herself back to an even keel. Another deep breath in and the veins around her eyes started to bulge as she shifted her vision only. 

Ishbel’s eyes gave off a faint glow in the darkness as she looked out towards the village to see if she could spot any movement. She focused hard until she spotted something shambling in the distance. She fixed her eyes on it and saw that it was what looked like a young woman though her movements were irregular. The woman jerked violently as she walked and her steps wavered as she moved. 

No sooner had Ishbel spotted her was she spotted. She and the woman looked each other in the eye before the shambling husk let out a loud cry that lead to a rumble coming from the village. 

❝ So much for rest. ❞ she said,  ❝ To arms. We’re about to be welcomed. ❞

[meanwhilebackinthedungeon]

[faolcdh]

– Arnaud Valette

[triforce-fox]

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

❝ SEWN SHUT ? ❞  FOR A MOMENT,  vic wondered if this was meant to be a prank, an eerie story told as initiation into ishbel’s scouting party. but she sounded serious,  &  the others chimed in, adding to vic’s horror. WHY would someone have their mouth sewn shut ?

he shuddered once the stories were ended, face twisted  &  disgruntled. ❝ i’ll … keep up. don’t worry. ❞ for barely a moment, he tried to ride in silence, but couldn’t shake the imaginative picture of this silent alba from his head. 

❝ this … isn’t goin’ to be any fun, is it ? ❞ the look he offered ishbel was practically PATHETIC. ❝ i mean, the mission’s eerie enough, but someone like her goin’ ahead hasn’t really done much for my nerves. are we after a demon ? ❞ 

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ No, Vic. I doubt this will be any fun. And I do not                            know if we are facing a demon. If we are then I                            suppose we may find it fortunate to have a monster                            on our side. ❞

                                         —————————

It was close to nightfall by the time they were near the village. The air was still and as they drew to a stop, Ishbel took a deep breath in. The scent in the air was malevolent and reeked of death. Not a single light could be seen in the distance, not even a campfire. Everything around them was quiet and that did not sit well with the Avvar. She motioned for everyone to get off their horses and hitch them on the nearby trees. 

                                ❝ I cannot sense a thing. Not a single person and                                   not that Warden. No tracks going in and out of                                   the village either though it could just be that no                                    one used the main road. ❞

Ishbel already had a bad feeling about this run. It was getting dark and she didn’t think it safe to survey the village at night. 

 ❝ We’ll find a place to rest for the night and head     into the village when it’s light out. ❞

[omophagist]

[faolcdh]

viticomus‌:

All my rage and scorn  Let it off 

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

SOMETIMES DISAPPOINTMENT WAS WORSE  than anger, depending on what person was disappointed. in vic’s experience, disappointment was just a road that led to anger, an anger that would be charged by something meaningful. it was a starting point——–&  never a good one. though, he doubted people of the inquisition were as CRUEL as the people from his past. either way ; he decided he would do his best not to disappoint ishbel. 

his playfulness shifted to something UNEASY, at the mention of ‘something malevolent,’  &  seemed to grow as she kept speaking. ❝ that sounds … uncomfortable. ❞ what a stupid word to describe a creepy necromancer, he thought. ❝ or strange would be a better word, i guess. ❞

squinting ahead, he frowned in thought. ❝ my mother used to tell me stories about wardens, with their old griffon riders. she never mentioned necromancers with names like that … ❞

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ I have seen her. She reminds me of the ghost stories my                        father used to tell. At times she appears as a fair maiden                            but at the other times, especially when she is under moonlight,                            you see her for what she is. Impossibly old with dead eyes and                            her mouth sewn shut. ❞

At hearing this, the other two scouts chimed in with their stories of the Warden in question. One of the scouts was Nevarran and was particularly familiar with the subject. He spoke of an old folktale from a remote village in Nevarra that told of a “dead woman” who was a vengeful guardian of children. 

❝ In any case, we have a long ride ahead of us. Keep a     steady pace and try not to fall behind. ❞

[faolcdh]

█ ▌ @guiltsworn​

wolf just yet, for vic’s hand was already halfway extended to do just that, having only seen the small, grey wolves that often attacked other scouting parties in his life. there were no massive white wolves to be seen behind alienage walls, regrettably. he drew his hand BACK with ishbel’s words,  &  looked at the thing with wonderment, before carefully mounting whatever horse dennet was giving him, this time.

horse master dennet gave him a snide look. he must have caught on to how many treats vic brought the horses every day when his back was turned. vic offered him an overly-sweet smile, before trotting ahead to follow ishbel. 

❝ just the basics, but enough to get by. ❞ he replied once he was riding beside her, eyes kept up almost uncomfortably on her face, before they wandered to look at all their surroundings ; every tree, rock,  &  snowflake. ❝ my assignment was a bit last minute, but i know we’re goin’, to be careful, to listen to you and NOT piss ya’ off, apparently. ❞

his eyes narrowed into a frown. ❝ ——pretty sure she only told me that last bit, specifically. ❞

└ ⚔ ┐——   ❝ I would say it’s sound advice. Though take comfort in                        knowing that I am not quick to anger, just easily disappointed. ❞

Ishbel smirked at him before giving him the rundown of what they were looking for. They were chasing a dark rumor that found its way to the Inquisition. A village was said to be taken by something malevolent though no one was quite sure what it was. A scouting party had already been sent to get both a lay of the land and to ascertain the threat before the Inquisitor was called in. The scouting party never returned and now it was their turn to suss out what it was that was lurking in the dark. 

❝ There’s something else you should know. A Warden has gone ahead of us    alone. I don’t know if you’ve seen her in around Skyhold, but she is quite    an unnerving thing. No ordinary Warden. The soldiers say she’s called     Silent Alba. A necromancer from what I’ve been told. ❞

[jlgibsonart-deactivated20220731]

Face on fire