:Don't cry, little one. Don't cry. Your soul called me here. You need me here.:

Who... Who are you?

:I am the daughter of bare trees and the first frost that covers them. I am the icy breeze that pierces your soul, almost shattering it. I am the breath carrying your screams and tears to the night sky. I can make your soul stronger against your pain, or I can lay it bare for your pain to feast on.:

:You need me. I am your shield against your pain, if you'll have me.:

Ma'am... I just want my mom... Help me...

She spread her wings and the child ran up to her, eager for the refuge. As she embraced him, ice slowly began to cover his little body, growing thicker and thicker... Satisfied he could not escape, she began to blow on him - the tiniest of breath - and wherever she blew, the ice cracked a bit, and he cried out as the cold tore through him. Her hand would fix the holes, then she would blow some more, delighting in the desperate screams of her captive...

You decide to take a different path that day on the way home. Cutting through the woods would be much quicker and its getting dark out.

But this path took a strange turn. Thinking it may come back around, you keep going further and further.
Now the sun is setting and you think 'maybe I should turn back. At least there are street lights on the road.'

You turn, but the path has vanished beneath you. Squinting through the dim light, you look for familiar surroundings to set you straight, but see none.

Panic begins to set in. You start to run in what you think is the direction you came from.
Darkness creeps closer. You can't see a thing. Now you're stumbling, tripping over roots and slipping on wet leaves.
Was that a howl in the distance? Did something just touch me?

You reach a clearing. The moon is shining above, casting an erie glow. you stop to catch your breath.

But then you feel it. First just a sensation that something is amiss. The hair on your arms and the back of your neck stands up. You can see your breath in the air.

What was that sound? It sounded like something slithering through the grass.

Suddenly, something wraps around your ankles, holding you tightly. You reach down and feel what you think may be..a vine? You try to pull your legs away but they hold you firmly in place. The vines are painfully cutting into your ankles. Then more spring from the earth and travel up your body, wrapping as they go.
You scream. You try desperately to rip them away, to no avail.

The vines keep coming. They're up to your chest now. They've got your arms. You can't move.

You realize you can't scream anymore. You look down and the vines have fused together to form a solid piece. It almost appears like a tree. Then you feel the bark. It scrapes against your skin, tearing...

The tree is tightening its grip around you. It's very hard to breath now. All you can do is panic. A tear drips down your face. Your vision is getting fuzzy.....

The Bloody Snowman



There was once a Sylestian who thoroughly enjoyed killing all the enemies they came across, especially during festivals. One fateful night, during the Winter Festival, this particular Sylestian was ambushed by one of the Suspicious Snowmen lurking in the Festival Area. Despite the Snowman's success in killing the Sylestian.... something strange happened. They merged... into a bloody abomination! The Sylestian's murderous spirit refused to rest! This creature hunts around during every Festival, looking for more victims. It earned the name, 'Bloody Snowman', due to it's entire being having been dyed crimson red by all the victims it's slayed. The Bloody Snowman especially loves to appear around the Fall Festival, when Fear and Terror run at their highest, and souls linger around the land.

Black, inky, deep, soul-consuming black. It had been his world for too long, ever since his sight was lost. His eyes saw nothing else and neither did his soul. Everything crumbled with every passing second until nothing was left but shards too small to rebuild. First his sight was taken as he tried to defend those he had trusted, that which he had believed in with every fiber of his being. That which he had devoted everything he was to had been the next to fail. The crack opened by his lost sight had made everything crumble away to nothing. The military he had loved turned their back so thoroughly on him and it let him know what he was more completely than anything else could even come close to. He was not a person, he was just a weapon, no better than the rifle he used. Once broken, he was just as easily discarded. No one gets left behind indeed.

It had been years since he had been set adrift, wandering from place to place with nowhere to go. The war was over but his own would never be. His new blindness allowed him to see the depravity of society, how it preyed on those it saw as weak. He lost count of all the cruel, mocking words he had heard, how many had tried to steal from him, trip him. Admittedly, it was always fun to stare them down or, always better, beat those who tried to do anything against him with his cane. It brought a level of amusement to a life of shadows and ice. Things were not as they once were, he was not as he once was, but he would continue on in this world. He wasn't going to just roll over and die.

So many legs! This is the never before seen Widow Queen, at least not by anyone still living. If you see her, it is the last thing you will see! Her green eyes paralyze you should you gaze upon them. Her minion is then set upon you with its venomous bite to do her dirty work. Trust me, you don't want to know what happens next!

Beast Mistress

Papa told me a story the other night, it chilled me to the bones. It was sad, it was scary. Sit down on the log by the fire if you are brave enough to hear it. Many years ago, on a cold October night, a young woman named Mariette walked along a twisting path thru Umbra Forest. She was on her way to visit her family in the Sanctuary of Saerielle. Mariette was a kind soul and loved her family and pets very much. She had a special way with all the animals, especially with Jandur the lupora and a qitari named Jasmine. This path was known to have strange happenings, occasional disappearances, hauntings, and wild animals. Mariette went anyways, she wasn't scared, she had her best friends with her, Jandur and Jasmine.

No one knows what happened to her, she didn't show up at her family's home and a search turned up nothing. Some think that she wandered off the path, others think bandits got her, and still others think that there is a demon in the woods. I don't know what happened to her, but soon after she disappeared, others did as well. Pets were no help in protecting the locals. Others caught glimpses fiery figures and animals moving thru the tree line. Whispers talked of a Beast Mistress, a demon like no other. Eyes as black as night, leather wings and animals straight out of the netherworld. Demons as well, flames and glowing red eyes. The path has been permanently closed off and signs warn not to enter this section of the woods. So dear children, stay close to the fire. We should be far enough away from that section of woods.

As two pair of red eyes glow not far from the flames.