A small creature is dragged by one hand up the steps of a giant pyramid by a pale thin woman painted in white, covered in purposely scarred markings as a homage to their god. In the other hand the woman carries a dagger dripping in blood. The pyramid itself is dotted by hundreds of figures who had lost their life clamoring to the top, some seem to have been tossed down from the top itself with stab wounds in their hearts. Lava flow slowly down the pyramids sides and cools, it’s entire structure seems to have been carved out of layers of cooled rock and bone, growing taller from it’s glowing peak. Above it’s peak a thin trail of heat and magical essence snakes into the sky to an all consuming hole in the cosmos. In the sky, other planets of barren cold rock drift slowly towards the consuming darkness, their cold lifeless matter the only thing left to offer up to this entity.
Reaching the top of the pyramid, a long table made of obsidian stands in front of a bubbling pool of lava from which the heat and magic emanates. With her weakening strength, the woman drags the malnourished creature to the foot of the table who struggles to stand. Taking her dagger, the woman whispers incantations to the blade and slices it against her palm which is already covered in barely healed wounds. The blood drips on to the table and causes the pyramid to shudder. From the lava, glowing red chains of cooling rock crawl out and grab the creature by it’s limbs, the sound of searing and smell of burning flesh fill the air as the chains pull the creature on top the table with it’s hands above it’s head. Broken pieces of obsidian rake across their back on the table that has been chipping pieces of obsidian off.
Throwing her hands up towards the void in the sky, their god. The woman begins chanting in tongue and lifts the dagger above her head. In a swift motion she brings the dagger down into the chest of the creature.
The bellowing horn of the citadel vibrates across the landscape.
- Scout wakes under a fruit tree, it’s that recurring dream again…
- Panic sets in as the scout realizes they’ve been away too long
- The citadel is a mile out, the sound of the horn signals to all parties that they must immediately return home.
- Scout collects the spare fruit into a sack and starts quickly traversing back using their now glowing navigation pendant to point the way.
- Ducking under gnarled branches and stumbling into small plants the shoot small mildly neurotoxic needles into their leg (in small doses the needles have a similar effect to a bee sting) but the scout is no stranger to the harsh environment.
- Leaping from large root to large root, the acrobatic scout has become quite skilled in navigating this terrain. Grabbing a fruit from their bag at one point and leaping up to low branch containing a nesting creature, in a skilled swift jump gently placing the fruit into the nest.
- Rushing to the edge of the forest, the scout spots the top of the citadel peaking over the top of a hill.
- As they approach the full floating citadel, held up by large organic balloons, has stopped at the edge of a clearing. The citadel currently hangs low and will need to be replenished with new balloons soon. In the middle of the clearing sits a large star shaped structure that had planted itself into the earth with diamond shaped objects placed in the ground around it. Shadows of humanoid figures are burned into the ground and all organic matter has been cleared within a neat radius.
- Underneath the citadel the clerics look toward the clearing still, their ropes to the citadel they pull slowly waving in the wind.
- Other scouts and hunters have started to return and the small figure of the high priestess is seen walking to the ledge of the floating citadel to look on to the clearing.
- The High Priestess is never an easy one to read but their look on to the scene and back up at the deflating balloons makes it clear that they are unsettled. The entity has been here. It had been a year since any trace of it has been discovered, let alone carnage of this magnitude. But who had brought these new structures? The structures and humanoid shapes burned into the soil are alien to this land.
- From behind an intiate approaches the high priestess and bends over so they can meet their ear to their small stature. The high priestess whispers into their ear and the intiate nods, retreating back into the core of the citadel.
- Three horns bellow from the citadel, signaling that it is time for a new hunt.