Blackwater Islands verdict

eldritch began to weaken beneath the powerful effect of the berries. the listener stepped forward deftly, catching the dark woman by the throat as she fell. she felt her pulse thrumming against her teeth.

the listener laid her upon the ground, her back against the dirt. life still flickered in her glazed silver eyes. the prophet bent, teeth finding the delicate skin at her chest.

as the life faded from eldritch, the listener whispered a prayer and tore the heart from her. blood spattered and smeared the earth, her paws, her face, warm and sticky-wet. steam rose from it in tiny billowing tendrils. all around her, the spirits came alive. whispering. singing. screaming. she worked feverishly, and consumed the heart only when it had been fully torn from eldritch's body. it burned down her throat, burned like fire.

she found the skyrock, and placed it in the cavity where the heart had once resided.

the music pulsed inside of her. she saw the pale woman. saw her running, fighting. she called out.

the listener threw her head back and howled.

find me. find the druids. your destiny is here.

around her, the spirits shrieked and thundered. the sea lashed at the cliffs. the listener felt the strength leave her body, the unnamed god demanding she pay the price for her work of magick. eldritch's life had sated the spirits, but not the god of many hungers.

the unnamed god demanded everything of her. everything, so that she might restore balance to the world. she fell against eldritch's corpse, exhausted, panting. she looked upon her lifeless form, and felt something like regret.

everything.