there's a devil inside of you

VALKYRIE She stood in the storm The shadowy silhouette of the spires rose like a lure above the horizon to the north. Valkyrie’s eyes surveyed them with rising interest, navigating each vertical length and burrowing down into the blurred, dimmer hollows. She had never ventured beyond the invisible line between the portal and the rainforest, though often, as aimless wanderings found small elevated clearings along the way, vision of those spear-like piles stirred burning curiosity within her. What did they represent? She couldn’t help but wonder if they towered above the city of sophisticated people like a beacon of hope, a relatable population which the Rift, so far, seemed unfortunately to lack. Perhaps excluding the woman with the flaming spine (what was her name again?) and K’yarie, the vast population in this potbelly of rejects, were neanderthal, unruly - man. She couldn’t believe that that was it… So the pretentious young Shieldmaiden had parted ways with her celestial goddess in the morning to utilise the well enough lit hours of day and delve into the flat span of land beyond the river. She sought eagerly and hopefully, whatever lay beneath that strange murky skyline. Of course, the rain was yet to cease and it made the first leg of her journey quite challenging, for Valkyrie was unfamiliar with the deathly monotonous terrain - flat, dull and lifeless. She became careless with her tread, quickly disorienting, stumbling often upon unsettling, part-submerged skeletons and slipping through the soup of glistening quicksand. Queerest of all, were the fellow-travellers who passed her: intangible familiars - Sisters too, of old, as well as some infamous creatures from Loorien, all of which caused her to pause and consider. Though she tried to reach out, to swing nearer and touch them, they seemed always to sit at the same distance; nor focus their glassy eyes anywhere other than the course laid ahead. It made no sense… Valkyrie began to feel nauseous. She had been drifting helplessly, caught in the web of lies and deceit for hours when a shimmer in the distance to the right drew her tired eye. Twin ears slipped forward quickly, examining the air for sound that might prove to be more than these illusions, though nought but the hideous sucking of the sand around her hooves could be heard. Were it not for the movement of the bird beyond, melting in and out of the backdrop of forming thunderheads, the Daughter of Sunnmōre might have resisted temptation. She was sure, however, that she had seen a sort similar, before. Slowly and with uncharacteristic lethargy pressing down upon her, she turned towards the fire and continued on. and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.

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