A Bloodied Kitchen Knife

[Heimdalic_Dreams]

Oi! Have ya heard the whispers? Spreading like wildfire from the East, they is! Just up above the Shadowlands, mind you!

They sayin' - and mind you, this is just what they're sayin' - that there was a ruckus up there! And get this; some scrawny, green-faced ORPHAN child, no older than a rabbit, tried to take on Varrach himself! Can you believe it? Varrach! The one they call the God-Slayer!

... See, word is, the place looked like a butcher's yard, some true blue warzone, with magic flaring and the ground cracking! Though, as you know with them magis, it could have just been a few fancy sparks, but it looked impressive to us simple folk watching, eh? Still, they swear many fell, though no one knows if by blade or spell, or just from sheer terror! Wahaha!

But here's the peculiar bi;  they claim this slip of a girl, this mere child, had something stolen from her by him. Something important, they say. What could it have been? A trinket? A memory? Her very soul, perhaps? Well, s'enough to try takin' em on mano-a-niñe, or however ya say it. Huh? It's still mano e mano...? Well, ya learn somethin' new, s'pose.  

Well, she fought him! A child, they say! Fought hard enough to make the earth tremble! But then, the strangest thing; they say Varrach, the demon-blooded imperfect himself, he... He talked her down! Can you imagine? Not a single blast, not a crushing curse ta lay her flat, just words! And she, the little whelp, she walked away! Not just walked, mind you, but with a souvenir of sorts! Some say a mark, some say a gift, ahhh, but others whisper... A pact.

How peculiar, eh?! Let's just pray that poor, mad girl takes a different path from now on. No good can come of picking fights with demigods and ancient horrors, can it? Hah! But what a tale, eh? A child, Varrach, and a strange souvenir! The world's gone topsy-turvy, mark my words!

Mark 'em well!

[Heimdalic_Dreams]

"Oh, darling, darling! Did you hear? You simply won't believe what's being whispered! That little orphan girl, yes, her! Spotted again! Can you imagine? And not too far from the last time, either, bless her stars. Hardly made it out of the district before she goes and gets herself caught up in something else dramatic. Honestly, it's like she's just asking for trouble, isn't it? I suppose missing your parents just... Sets some children off, makes 'em act out, bless their little hearts.

But this time, you'll never guess who she got into it with! One of the Songbirds of Koretheia! Aelora Kasca herself! Can you imagine? A step down from Varrach, I suppose, if you're measuring by... Notoriety. Or perhaps, utterly the opposite direction? Trading the scoundrel's ear for the songbirds advice, eh? I do wonder if that was intentional. You know, a desperate plea for redemption, or some such thing?

But then... Oh, my dear, the ending! They say... Well, they say she took her kitchen knife - yes, a common paring knife, of all things! - and plunged it directly, directly into the Songbird's torso! A huge, gaping splash of blood, right there in the feilds! Can you believe the audacity? I do hope that poor Aelora woman is quite alright... Honestly, kids today! So impertinent, so utterly bold. They pick up any little trinket and think it makes them invincible. It's truly a tragedy, isn't it?"

[Heimdalic_Dreams]

Oh, you know that orphan girl again, donchu? That quiet one thats been about? Well, people saw her out in the woods just the other day. And you won't believe what she was doing. Honestly, it gives me chills. She had this kitchen knife, if can you imagine. Just draaaaaaagging it across the bark of the trees, back and forth, like a, like a feral child, truly. Just mindless, almost.


And then, she spots it. This poor, tiny little ladybug. Just minding its own business, you know? Crawling along a leaf or this and that. And this is where it gets really disturbing. They said she spent hours. Not minutes, hours. Just tormenting that poor creature. Picking it up, dropping it- Even stompin' on it! Over and over again! Just, crushing it, then picking it up again, like it wasn't dead enough!

Now, you have to wonder, don't you? What was going through her head? Was it grief, perhaps, over, well, you know, whatever? Or anger at being abandoned like that, poor lass? Or just a complete frustration with her own helplessness, just boiling over? Is she insane? Mad dogged unhinged? Or just throwing some monumental, grotesque fit, eh? Something it said? Hah. Well. Honestly, though, after all that...  Suppose s' not really all that interesting, in the end. It was just a bug.