The Hunger
Barracks Sitting next to her bunk, she’d slumped down with her back against the wall, her stomach full, but her hunger screaming that she was starving. What was this hell? What was this hunger that drained her mind, her energy, and no matter what she ate, no matter what she drank, it never went away. The frustration of it all had made her short and forgetful, that had led to reprimands, to discipline, but despite how much she read over and over again the handbook the hunger was becoming the focus of every moment. Then when she was at her worst it was like everyone seemed to find her, the desire to rip and tear at them clawed in her head. These were her friends, her comrades, and the thought that a rushing excitement came in those flashes disturbed her moreso. Did this mean she would lose control? Would she harm someone? The unknown of it made her search for answers and even after voicing her concern to Marsulu, a fellow Private and friend, she knew she’d have to go back. She’d have to walk the halls of the death knights again and after steeling her reserve she opened the archway back and stepped through. Ebon Hold
Her feet landed on the stone of the floating necropolis and her teeth grit as she moved in to find someone, it took about three steps before a gist-like creature moved into her path stopping her short. “You’ve got it bad.” it said before laughing, it’s lithe from crawling off on its master’s bidding no doubt. She moved down the hall to another section of the hold, upon reaching it she looked to the teacher there. The lesson was just concluding when she stepped closer, “I need to speak to you.” the instructor simply waved a hand, “Then speak.” For a moment she didn’t know what to make of that, to her this was a private if not disturbing matter, but she trusted that experience trumped her knowledge. “I am.. I eat, but I’m never satisfied. I drink, yet still have an unending thirst. I try to follow my duty, keep my mind upon the task at hand and yet I can’t. Flashes of blood, flesh, violence, rush me when I look to those I consider friends. How do I-- control this?” The instructure barked an unamused laugh, “Do you.. -really- want to control it?” “That’s an odd question, of course I do.” she stated in return. The instructor waved her to follow him as he led her down to the bowels of the necropolis, there were fleshcarvers, butchers, the freshly dead, “These will sustain you for now, but it is the curse of all death knights that we must feed to replenish. Some learn how to control the blood, others use pestilence to feed them, but you.. You must pick and consume or the hunger will get the better of you.” To those words she watched in horror the actions of the butchers, the flash carvers and what was in her stomach revolted coming up, the sudden flash made her run to the nearby rail and expel the days meals into the ocean below. She had to consume.. dead.. the dead.. Flesh and blood that would sustain her undead state, but the very thought of it disgusted her. The instructor came up next to her, “The alternative is worse. I promise you.” to that she wiped her lips with the back of her hand before looking up at him, “Is it? How can consuming the dead be preferred over this ‘alternative’?” her gaze shifted to the piles of dead bodies and again she had to turn way and lean against the railing. “Are you so tied to your humanity? You are dead. Your humanity died with your old life. You are a bringer of death, a death dealer. Nothing about you is human.” to that she turned her gaze with a flare, “Shut up!” she snarled at him, but she was growing weaker. “What is the alternative?” The question was answered with a barking laugh, “There isn’t one, but watching the hope of such a relief die in your eyes is payment enough for the amusement. Buckle up child, consume or perish, if you choose the later, then do it quietly.” As Savren’s gaze fell she found herself wishing she knew where her once lover was, where Aturo was, she realized that with her death, there was a good chance he was dead as well. She hadn’t realized it till her close brush once before how he had bound himself to her. To her life. To the beat of her heart that no longer moved in her chest. Standing she gave the instructor a cold glare before she walked along the railing away from the piles of bodies. She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t consume.. She couldn’t. She climbed up and then dropped off the side of the necropolis, below was the broken shore and just off the shore she splashed into the water. Making her way to land was rough. The ice forming around her threatened to freeze her into a solid block in the water, but she kept breaking the ice till she got to the shore. Standing on the shore she looked around at the vacant area, the demons had been pushed back, the area once soaked with blood was now bare. She never saw action here, she’d been safe within the city walls, and the death of so many washed over her. Her hunger had taxed her, the climb out of the water had drained her, and now as she came to shore she collapsed. Her fingers curled digging into the blood drenched shore and as she felt the last reserve of energy leaving her something started to pull and pulse at her hands. Blood was being drawn into her hand, into her body, it started to feed the starving empty reserves and she kept pulling, her eyes opening again as she realized that something was different, she hadn’t perished. Indeed she was feeling better every moment that passed. Lifting up her body from the grimmy sand and standing slowly the blood of the dead feeding into her body through her hands makes her blue rune ignite and along with it the fire rune over her heart. The sudden conflict of runes caused a surge and she paused as her swords shifted to mirror the change, blue from her frost and now the tips bathed in fire. The change also brought a difference in her body, her skin was less pale, almost looking ‘alive’ and the rune over her heart thrummed of its own accord making her for a moment think that her heart was beating again. The power that coursed through her made her lean her head back and give a battlecry, one that echoed over the empty shore before she rolled her shoulders and looked up, the necropolis hung overhead. Taking a few steps forward she easily opened a gate back to where she had left, returning back to the barracks fully charged.
Barracks
The rest of the evening was spent settling out her new set of gear for the deployment and checking her blades. They had changed, but were still as keen and sharp as ever, ready for a fight. She took a walk through the city seeing the Blacksmith to get her armor set, seeing the inscriptionist for decent books to read, and the Alchemist for a few additional healing potions, not for herself, but just in case. Returning to the Barracks she spent some time cleaning up her space and then rolled into her bunk and rested. It’s the first time she’s rested since being raised.