Of Ice, Death & Monsters

“Kill her? She’s still alive?” Marian’s blood boiled and surged as she sneered like a wolf.

“Indeed, and she will only grow in power as time passes on. Becoming even more dangerous than anything you have witnessed. If she is allowed her way, she will not only wipe out Phorash, but claim the rest of the world as well.”

She gestured to the world below, as it burned in flames that consumed it all.

“She will enact what you saw, and consume everything in her wake with no other desire but to burn. Such is the Harbinger of Destruction. However, that is where you shall come in.”

Marian pointed to herself, confused, yet her eyes told of a hunger that grew within. “What could I do about it?”

“You will become my Chosen, my Harbinger. You will go forth and fend off Destruction. Originally, those who have aided me were the Keepers, but after their downfall, they cannot counter the Descendants. However, you hold the potential, you hold the spark of life needed to beat back Destruction, but we must do it quickly, before Jane unlocks more of her power.”

“What must I do then? What can I do to destroy that wretched whore and wipe her from the face of the world?!”

The Caretaker waved her hand, and suddenly the landscape changed to that of a beach where the ships of the expedition are currently being held.

“That’s our ships. Are they still active?”

“Indeed. The Faeries of the South have salvaged it. Head to it and present yourself as my Chosen. They shall understand and lead you to Jane. I shall grant you my powers, as fading as they are, to soothe life itself, to consecrate, to ward off monsters, to gain better fortune, and even to rival that of Jane as she is now. Then, with it, you shall end her.

“I do, thank you for granting me the strength and opportunity to destroy her!”

A small smile appeared on the Caretaker’s face as she raised her hand.

“Go, Marian Monroe, and save this world!”

And with a bright flash of light, everything turned white.

Morning came as the Volunteers and Rook were already awake. There wasn't much sleep to be had when the world seemed to be against them. They were already prepping to enter the cave when something unexpected called out from deep within.

“Rise and shine~ could go for some eggs and bacon myself, how about the rest of you?” Marian’s voice sang out as she stretched her arms and fluffed her tail. There was something new to her, something much more... lively, as if she wasn't out and about in a death world.

‘Was she serious? What kind of question was that?’ They all thought together.

“Oh yeah, that would be great. Maybe we could find some giant monster hogs here.” Derek added out loud sarcastically as he stretched his arms.

“Well, I got a monster hog right-“ Topher was interrupted by Henry, who simply placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

“I’m more of a breakfast pancakes girl myself.” Mollie said with a yawn.

“Let's all focus. Where are we even going to get any food?” Henry asked as he turned to both Professor Marian and Rook.

“We possibly need to find something high in protein to eat. Possibly when we venture into the caves, we can-“

“Nonsense, Jameson.”

Rook flinched as his Name was called out by Marian, who gave him a sly grin. “We’re finding our ships and eating there.”

“How are you so sure that our ships haven’t been destroyed by the flames? And did you not say that we should venture deep within the earth for better answers?"

“Correct~ but the plan has changed. I have been visited in my sleep, and that visitor was the Caretaker. The Spirit of life herself, who has told me what to do next, so that we could all leave."

“So, you’ve been hearing voices?” Mollie asked with a worried look on her face.

“Correct! And, I trust them to guide us all to our victory.”

At that, everyone else looked at Rook, as if expecting him to give a better answer.

He sighed and cleared his thoughts. “Professor Monroe, are you quite sure that you should be trusting the voices in your head with our safety?”

“Oh, Jameson, can you tell us what you think we should do in such a time of crisis? We either have no plan of action, or we can follow where the world wants us to be."

Rook’s eyes twitched a little as his scales curled on their ends. She was right, of course, they had nothing else… but listening to voices in the wind? Was that really suitable for their survival?

“What did the voices say exactly?” Might as well try and humor it. Maybe it was a trap, or maybe it wasn’t. The only way to know for sure was to roll the dice and take the risk.

Marian grinned like the madwoman she was. “They showed me the ships are to the beaches, now commandeered by the Fae of the South, so that's where we are going."

“Wait, the Fae?" Henry asked with concern growing in his voice. He heard of their stories, and many of them ended with someone being kidnapped or eaten alive.

"Correct, the Fae; they have taken over the ship, but don't worry, I have been blessed to go and ask for their aid."

“Did they say anything else? Anything much more specific than that?”

“Of course, Jameson. First, they have blessed me in such a way that I believe that we won't have to worry about monsters anymore... and more importantly, they told me that to have all of us be guided out and return home, we simply have to kill that whore Jane~"

Her eyes began to glow a golden green as everyone around her, in unison, took an uneasy step back. They felt a new power surge within her, the same way it did with Jane. While Rook didn't have any qualms about ending Jane's life, the Volunteers tried to mask their unease.

Henry didn't think she deserved to die. But she did need to be stopped. Mollie thought the whole thing was unfair, while Derek and Topher didn't want to hunt someone like Jane down.

But all of them couldn't say no to it. No objections could be allowed. If it was commanded of them, and the time came, they would have to put Jane into the grave, for better or for worse."

"Now then, let's begin~" Marian began to prance outside of the cave, gesturing the others to follow her."

The Watchtower crew saluted in unison. “Yes, ma’am!”

They then assumed a formation behind Rook, with Derek and Topher on the back, Mollie to the left, and Henry on the right.

“This better work.” Grumbled Rook as he took a deep breath and stepped beside Marian. “If this fails, we are immediately going to look for any possible resources, possibly see if we can harvest fish from the shores, understood?”

“Completely~” Marian sang back as she strode on ahead. She had confidence with each step she took and a cold glint in her eyes, one that continued to unnerve Rook as they went on their journey.

The whole trip was a breeze. It was sufficient to say that Marian was truly blessed. Every step she took and every breath she made oozed out life. It was as if the snow parted for her and monsters avoided her. She even glimmered as if she had a sort of sanctifying aura, like some sort of priestess.

There was no stopping her at all, and even warmth emanated from her body like she was the sun. Honestly, it was quite a refreshing sight compared to what they experienced a day ago. Now it felt like they had a fighting chance.

"Come, we still have a day of travelling to go through, so it's best that we gather as many materials as we can." Marian gestured to the forest around them as they started to notice more things, such as bushes full of berries and even trees that were marked and tapped for water.

Henry chuckled, hope filling him once again as he began to lead the others to collect as much as they could possibly can into their makeshift knapsack.

Meanwhile, Marian went over to much more harrowing sights: The leagues and leagues of bodies decomposing in the forest. Some were hung on trees, impaled upon branches with a small pool of frozen blood below them. Some were face down in the snow, half-eaten with missing limbs.

Many were by small lakes, floating on the shores, motionless. And many more simply scattered around, buried in the snow, left to freeze and sink back into the ground.

Rook sneered a little. There couldn’t be that many survivors left if there were any at all. He doubted many of them chose to continue, and those that did… Well, the results were clear to see.

“If only we could give them a proper burial…” Henry sighed as he looked down, grieving those who had lost their lives.

Marian went to each one of them, carefully placing her fingers onto their eyelids and closing them. Upon doing so, their bodies shimmered and glowed in fluorescent light before dimming down.

"What did that do?" Mollie asked as she poked the body.

"It made sure their souls were carefully transferred to the afterlife here. They won't become ghouls anymore and can rest in peace."

Henry's eyes widened in surprise. "W-Wait, there's an afterlife here?" All of the other Volunteers and even Rook looked on in surprise at such a revelation.

"Indeed, but that talk shall be for later. For now, let us simply go forth."

“Thanks, Professor. Let’s continue.”

She nodded back solemnly, before all of them, except for Rook, bowed their heads in respect for the dead before they continued further.

Many hours later, night fell, but at that point, they had all discovered a cave to use quite conveniently. When they settled down, Marian grabbed one of the many sticks around, several dead leaves, and even a bit of fluff from some of her torn clothes as she rubbed out a fire for the group, eliciting a cheer from them all as they warmed themselves by the fire.

Derek rubbed his hands over the flame with a sigh on his lips. "Can we all get cool life powers too?"

"Yeah, cause this is way better than before. Would be amazing if we all could just be super lucky."

"Yeah, and also shove off monsters like that. Don't think I've seen a single one so far." Mollie added as she began to roast her berries.

"How exactly is all of this tied to the Spirit of Life? It seems out of place. I would have expected healing and other stuff like it." Henry mused out loud as he remembered those games he played when he was little and chose the healer archetype.

"My own theory is that this Caretaker is the opposite of the terrors of Galfania. They represent fertile land and a peaceful life, free from the monsters and horrors that plague the environment." Rook stated as he stared outside of the cave, noticing how there was less snow around the perimeter of the cave.

"That would be my idea as well. Although I don't think they can bless all of you the same way. I possess a 'spark', as they call it, something that made me compatible." She looked at her hand as she saw the back of it glow a slight golden green.

"I believe it's because of my desire to be rid of those such as Jane, and because she is the Chosen of the Harbinger, I was able to forge a connection with the Caretaker."

Once more, the rest of the Volunteers stared at each other uncomfortably before Mollie finally asked.

"So, we really need to kill her? We really need to kill Jane to get home?"

"Correct, that's what it would take for the Caretaker to guide us back on our ships." Marian grinned ear to ear as if such an idea was simply perfect.

Henry felt a pit form in his stomach. He didn't like that, not one bit. It felt like she was justifying Jane's death, trying to make an excuse to kill her, but seeing this miracle in front of him... He had to admit that it might be true.

Mollie gave a sigh. "I... I see, well, when you see her, give-"

"Oh no, silly, don't worry about getting your hands dirty. I'll do it myself." Marian's claws shot out from her fingertips as she scraped the floor. "You can handle those that come to her aid, but I will be the one to deliver her to justice. Does everyone understand that?"

They all nodded along, looking away except for Rook, who merely shrugged. "You do what you want, as long as it gets us home and away from this place." Justice? That didn't matter to him; she was just another obstacle in the way that needed to be rid of.

Marian smiled, thankful for their understanding. However, before she could continue, she felt a tingle in the air as the hairs on her tail and ear stood up: danger, but it wasn't any regular type of danger. There was a feeling inside of her that told her that she couldn't involve the others in this, or else they would be killed.

"Thank you~ All of you, enjoy yourselves. I'll be handling watch this time." Marian stood up and once more walked away from the group and out to the front of the cave before any of them could say otherwise. She took a deep breath and leaned on the wall, her eyes scanning the area as she saw six figures begin to approach from the woods.

She then purposefully walked away from the camp, making sure the figures followed her in a secluded section near a small hill before she seemingly stopped by a dead end right in front of her.

The moonlight shone on her body as she hummed carefully, twirling around as she spoke out. "Alright now~ come out already, perhaps we can make this more civil than you all desire."

From the shadows came forth six robed individuals, all of whom had an ivory mask to hide their faces. They unsheathed daggers from their waist and spoke in unison.

"Oh? A Monsterkin being gifted the powers of a Keeper? How curious. But alas, we are here to offer you a choice. Your presence stands in the way of ultimate unity and freedom, give up your mantle of the Caretaker and we shall not only spare you, but those under your protection shall become one of ours. We offer-"

Marian raised her hand. "I'd rather not hear what you have to offer. Your Chosen is a horrid woman who deserves death, and you are no better than her for giving her the ability to grow. Now then, I will make sure to wipe you out so thoroughly that no one will notice your missing presence~" The hunger in Marian's eyes grew as she unsheathed her claws, baring her fangs as she got on all fours.

The Descendants all sighed in unison, readying their dagger in one hand and a flame in the other.

"Ah... so be it."