“ We do not hunt the desperate — it is their betrayers we pursue. ” The Spear of Vengeance had been a we for the best part of many centuries, the souls of the wrong joining her one after the other each time a pledge was accepted. Lady Vengeance, some called her now, not wrong in their assumption; the Black Mist urged her on, like many others – but where some sought the agony of others, delighted in spreading terror and violence or simply hungered to consume, ‘twas her resent that had been enhanced, the rage at being wrong, righteous fury that from then on becoming the mote of her hunt for others ( an endless duty to bring retribution to each betrayer, oath-breaker or turncoat ). “ Betrayers like you. ”
But she knows him – Thresh – both before and after death. A familiar face is enough to stir her, yet it is her name that causes the shift. He speaks of home, and her mind conjures the distant, almost dream-like image of a kingdom now lost to time and forgotten by most.
The Shadow Isles had never been her home, only her defiled grave.
Her clarity of mind comes and goes like this, recently. Kalista does not yet reign completely, not enough to remain aware of time and distance or even of self, sometimes. Any semblance of clarity, true and lasting, had begun with heart-ache as she had not experienced after death – not until Ledros claimed himself a betrayer, led her to enact revenge she not once wished for, forced her to remember through sheer shock she was Kalista, the Spear of the Argent Throne, and to see that she had killed a man who loved her enough to still try, even after they had been dead for centuries, even after she looked at him with eyes unseen and cold. Powerful though that had been, the effect had not been permanent; only through Viego’s return and quest to once again recover Isolde some semblance of control seemed to return, fleeting as it often still was.
Whatever clarity is regained, her expression is still stern and harsh, eyebrows pressed together in a frown. It is hard to be Kalista on these shores. The land is heavily populated, inhabited by a people given to war and violence. There was no lack of resent; no lack of wanting retribution. Not all of them spoke the rites to invoke Lady Vengeance, but it didn’t matter. The creature she had become was fine-tuned to cries of rage so alike the one she once felt, at the time of her demise.
And near Thresh, how could it be different? No small amount of souls wished fervently for his demise. Eerie blue of the wraith’s gaze only momentarily leaves the oddly human form of the one she knows to be anything but; he is accompanied by a true human this time, a poor fool who would pay dearly for being so trusting. We would help him have his revenge. Would like to, at very least; but there is something odd about the Chain Warden now, more powerful – it is not merely a matter of appearance.
“ You are far from home as well, Thresh. ” True though that was, she had not come for him ( had she? ). Now, more Kalista than revenge incarnate, she had a moment of uncertainty as to what her goal was. Her eyes lose some of their harshness, replaced briefly by confusion. The warrior tries to shake it off, focusing on him rather than herself, voice no less accusing despite her disorientation. “ Tired of deceiving the usual victims? ”
Long strides brave the effort of invading upon space. A splash in a puddle with droplets coursed free to linger within the mists about his feet. His clothing refined. Regal. An air of superiority dominating broader than before. More keenly. Rightfully instilled as was his place now among the unliving. The lantern pulsates. Waves of subdued murmurs lost in the anguish of the trapped. Tiny, ghostly hands clawing their way out, pleading to be set free.
He had denied her this same quality upon the deception of her unknown beloved. The man who longed to see her returned, vanquished by tricks. Cards played in perfect motion to defeat. He had lay his hand to set it in motion. Witnessed an opportunity drowned by careful planning. Successful in keeping her Kalista - The Spirit of Vengeance. We is she. How it amuses him so. But he did not pity her. Nor deceive in the beginning The betrayal of Hecarim was simply another nail in the coffin.. And she, a victim of this terrible scheme put into motion by her own..
He was simply there to watch it unfold. And gain entertainment from the cruelty unleashed.
A half smile. A pull at the left side of his lips with a hint of mirth glimmering in that cold, calculating gaze. Where steps ceased, he stood at her front. Tall, and lean with deep brown locks and decor alike hooks woven onto the ends of hair.
“Like me..” Echoed with teeth shone briefly. Smile reaching his eyes until it melts away leaving behind an unsettling look rested upon his visage. “I merely assisted him, Kalista.“ One eyebrow lifted in a soft wave, then back down with humor regained in expression. “His undoing was his failure.. As much as I may.. enjoy... taking credit for it.”
Now the smile grows. Edges pulled up deviously with eyes partly flicked back in the direction of Bort. The man a soul, but untouched by the cruelty of his Master. Human looking yet certainly not human as the people hidden in their homes.
A short inhale with lips hung open; parted just enough in pause to indicate a reconsideration of words. Fondly so, like he had to draw that extra bit of attention to the fact he would be speaking. He was always selfish in his ways. Enjoyed his bravado. Ego aged by centuries of entrapment, only making his confidence stronger as he succeeded in achieving those diligently planned out events.
“No, of course not. Every soul is another opportunity. Do their memories serve you well? Lady of Vengeance.” Smug, and entertained by the quiet sufferings he imagined she must be facing.