Walking East Through the Dark Trees
You follow Icadia east, down a path lined with dark, twisted trees. They look to be oozing sap; upon closer inspection, you realize that the trees are crying blood. The reddish liquid drips slowly down their trunks. You shiver and move towards the centre of the path.
'Help me, traveller,' you hear a voice echo from the depths of the trees. You stop in your tracks, looking towards Icadia for help. She merely looks at you and nods in the direction of the whispery voice. 'Please, help me...' You call out to the voice's owner, telling them to reveal themself.
'Here,' whispers the voice in your ear. You jump with fright! Turning, you see a pixie on your shoulder, but one like no pixie you have ever seen before. She is dressed in a flowing, ragged dress, as pale as her features. You wonder if she is recovering from illness, when the startling realization forms in your mind : this pixie will never recover; she is already dead. As this thought crosses your mind, you follow her with your gaze as she flies over and sits wearily on a small tombstone. You approach her and ask for her story.
'Don't listen to her!' cries Icadia. 'She is a liar! Remember, human, you can trust none in this realm. All of the creatures live for one thing : themselves. No one else, ever.' She sneers at the ghostly pixie, who glowers at the angel. You turn to the pale pixie and nod to her. Icadia seeths in silence.
'My name is Magrey Illobrid. I was once a young, beautiful pixie maiden, sought after by all of the males. All of the females envied and hated me. I thrived on the hatred, thinking that it was just proof of how beautiful I was. But, alas, I came into the path of the wrong person. Because of her jealousy, Desirée Rol'kadsa, the Dark Enchantress, murdered me. But that is not all. She made me into the creature that you see before you, one who never rests. Desirée held a bloodstone dagger before my heart, uttering words of magic, then plunged it in. She then bathed her hands and face in my lifeblood as I died. But even when my breaths died I could not stop living. I am this terrible, ugly creature. Please, please, if you find Desirée Rol'kadsa, you must kill her! Please, avenge me!' Magrey puts her head into her hands and weeps bitterly. You feel an ache in your own heart for this poor girl.
'Do not trust her fully,' Icadia whispers to you. 'It is possible that she did not lie, but I have a feeling that she did not tell the whole truth.' When you look at her questioningly, she shrugs and replies, 'Even I do not know all of what goes on in the Underworld. I am merely a guide and caretaker; I am not a god.' She sneers elegantly at this comment. You cringe, remembering that she is a fallen angel. Icadia smirks, seeming to know your thoughts.
You glance back towards Magrey and are startled to see that she is gone. You think that you can almost hear her weeping still, yet it could be the chill breeze through the forest. As you stand and continue along the path, a single phrase floats towards you on the wind : 'Help me...'
A strange howling is coming from the east. Follow it?
Magrey was adopted from The Enchanted Hollow