Blackwater Islands Pure intention juxtaposed

anger faded to acceptance; denial brightened to curiosity. the listener merely nodded at first, when tulok asked after her curse.

then the prophet turned, beckoning to her speaker. i will show you, she said, and led him to the cave behind the waterfall. her den, where her precious children slept and her altar shimmered and hummed in the darkness.

upon her altar, the bloody skyrock gleamed under a stray shard of sunlight.

this is my curse. when it first came to me, each moment was painful. each breath. and when i killed... when i took a life, even that of prey, i felt it as keenly as if i had taken my own. the pain still surfaces, at times.

she gazed on it impassively, this thing which had brought so much destruction and so much power to her.

but in it lies my connection to the unnamed god. it is the source of much of my power.