Whisper Forest wasn't known for its rainbow-filled skies and its refreshing, inviting forestland. It was mostly known for its dark environment and the possibility of those who entered it to stay stuck in it forever. The fog made it hard to navigate, and the dark and quiet atmosphere made most people unwilling to approach it, no matter the cost.
However, it was precisely because of that that one particular woman wanted be in this forest.
The albino threaded through the forest without hesitation, the eerie atmosphere actually calming her nerves ever so slightly. She had gone through so many terrains that were worse than a foggy forest; Whisper Forest was nothing impressive or terrifying to her.
However, the same couldn't be said of the child who was accompanying her. After a few minutes of entering the forest, a small body started clinging to her from behind, and the albino woman hissed from the clinging. "Danika," she warned coldly as she stopped in her tracks and looked down at the girl latching onto her in fear. "Get off."
Despite being ordered to let go, the small girl did the exact opposite and instead clung harder. "I-I'm scared, Sibyl," the child said quietly as she looked up at the albino woman, the urge to hide in the woman's scarf growing all the more.
With Danika clinging more and more to her, Sibyl quickly changed strategies and forcefully pulled the child away from her. "Danika, I told you to get off," the adult pointed out coldly, holding the child by the collar of her black turtleneck. "Don't be scared," she then added, as if being scared was but a decision and not an emotional reaction one couldn't control.
The two had an odd relationship. Sibyl was far from being the greatest role model around, but that mattered very little to her. The reason why the child, Danika, was with her, was because the kid had a ridiculously power amount of dark magic inside her body. The child didn't quite know how to wield it, and so Sibyl had taken her under her wing to teach her how to use her magic effectively. Not to be confused with this being something that Sibyl was doing out of the goodness of her heart. Oh, no: she had every intention of using the child once her powers had been awakened and mastered. She held no emotional attachment to the child: should she fail to become powerful and useful, the albino would probably look elsewhere.
As for Danika, the relationship was quite the opposite. Abandoned by her parents due to her dark magic, the child had lived a dark life up until recently. Left to a despicable home for abandoned children in her hometown, the caretakers neglected her and the other children refused to play with her. That was all under the assumption that she had some sort of curse to her, due to her sporadic releases of dark magic energy. People had been freaked out by her powers and called her a witch, hurting her and leaving her to herself. The only one who had never done such a thing was Sibyl. She was the only one who had ever acknowledged her power as a good thing, and the only one who had taken the girl under her wing. She was grateful for the albino's efforts, and all the girl wanted to do was to learn and develop the dark powers she did have. While she still couldn't quite understand what she could do, she woke up every day with the intention of returning the favor to Sibyl for giving Danika a reason to live, and a reason to grow and learn.
Upon being ordered to stop being scared, Danika simply nodded quickly and looked down. "Y-yes," she squeaked quietly, holding her hands together and patiently waiting for Sibyl's instructions.
"Today will be... different," the albino explained as she cracked her hands, which made the child jump a little in surprise. "This is a spell that you probably won't be able to do until later, but it might manifest if you get agitated."
"Wh-what does it do?" Danika asked, looking back up at her mentor, eyes bright and curious to learn more. Despite Sibyl's passive aggressive comments — such as Danika not being able to learn a certain spell — the child didn't hold any of those words or comments against the albino. By now, she understood that the adult was just curt and cold, and that her words didn't mean anything. In a way, Sibyl just had no communication skills, and she called it like she saw it.
"This will let you manifest your dark magic into something akin to necromancy," Sibyl explained as she flapped her hand to ask the child to step back. This time, the child obeyed and stepped back as far as she needed to. "You gather your energy and use it in order to infuse something with it," the dark mage continued to explain as she started to focus, dark energy starting to form into her hands. "And you can use this spell... to create undead warriors called Risens."
With that explained, the albino focused more energy into her hands before dropping the accumulated energy onto the forest ground, summoning two magic circles. She then took just a few steps back before snapping her fingers in both hands. Upon doing that, the two magic circles activated, and after a bright flash of light, two decaying warriors stood in front of the two mages, armor and weapons included. They made a few gurgling noises before slouching away through the trees and fog ahead, breathing hard and leaving a trail of decaying blood and flesh behind them.
Frightened again, Danika latched onto Sibyl again, and this time even harder, letting out a scream from seeing two undead warriors being summoned. Sibyl put her hand right in front of the girl's face quickly and gritted her teeth. "Shh!" she scolded curtly, the same way one scolded their animal when they did something wrong. "I said to stop being scared."
"B-but won't they attack us?" the child asked as she continued to cling, something she would do up until the albino got sick of the physical contact. Whereas Sibyl couldn't stand the child clinging to her, Danika felt the opposite way. She felt a certain sense of security and comfort when she was close to the albino, even if the touch was often met with disgust or anger.
"It's difficult to control them, but I can give them basic commands. They won't attack us unless I order them to." Which, to be honest, would be a terrible thing to do. "Instead, they can simply get lost in this forest and wreak havoc somewhere. They have no soul: there is no lost or remorse in summoning these zombies. Understood?" she asked as she turned just slightly to look down at the child. There was a short pause as she stared, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "Danika, what did I say about getting off me?"
Immediately, the girl let go and put her hands behind her back, looking away. "Sorry."
However, it was precisely because of that that one particular woman wanted be in this forest.
The albino threaded through the forest without hesitation, the eerie atmosphere actually calming her nerves ever so slightly. She had gone through so many terrains that were worse than a foggy forest; Whisper Forest was nothing impressive or terrifying to her.
However, the same couldn't be said of the child who was accompanying her. After a few minutes of entering the forest, a small body started clinging to her from behind, and the albino woman hissed from the clinging. "Danika," she warned coldly as she stopped in her tracks and looked down at the girl latching onto her in fear. "Get off."
Despite being ordered to let go, the small girl did the exact opposite and instead clung harder. "I-I'm scared, Sibyl," the child said quietly as she looked up at the albino woman, the urge to hide in the woman's scarf growing all the more.
With Danika clinging more and more to her, Sibyl quickly changed strategies and forcefully pulled the child away from her. "Danika, I told you to get off," the adult pointed out coldly, holding the child by the collar of her black turtleneck. "Don't be scared," she then added, as if being scared was but a decision and not an emotional reaction one couldn't control.
The two had an odd relationship. Sibyl was far from being the greatest role model around, but that mattered very little to her. The reason why the child, Danika, was with her, was because the kid had a ridiculously power amount of dark magic inside her body. The child didn't quite know how to wield it, and so Sibyl had taken her under her wing to teach her how to use her magic effectively. Not to be confused with this being something that Sibyl was doing out of the goodness of her heart. Oh, no: she had every intention of using the child once her powers had been awakened and mastered. She held no emotional attachment to the child: should she fail to become powerful and useful, the albino would probably look elsewhere.
As for Danika, the relationship was quite the opposite. Abandoned by her parents due to her dark magic, the child had lived a dark life up until recently. Left to a despicable home for abandoned children in her hometown, the caretakers neglected her and the other children refused to play with her. That was all under the assumption that she had some sort of curse to her, due to her sporadic releases of dark magic energy. People had been freaked out by her powers and called her a witch, hurting her and leaving her to herself. The only one who had never done such a thing was Sibyl. She was the only one who had ever acknowledged her power as a good thing, and the only one who had taken the girl under her wing. She was grateful for the albino's efforts, and all the girl wanted to do was to learn and develop the dark powers she did have. While she still couldn't quite understand what she could do, she woke up every day with the intention of returning the favor to Sibyl for giving Danika a reason to live, and a reason to grow and learn.
Upon being ordered to stop being scared, Danika simply nodded quickly and looked down. "Y-yes," she squeaked quietly, holding her hands together and patiently waiting for Sibyl's instructions.
"Today will be... different," the albino explained as she cracked her hands, which made the child jump a little in surprise. "This is a spell that you probably won't be able to do until later, but it might manifest if you get agitated."
"Wh-what does it do?" Danika asked, looking back up at her mentor, eyes bright and curious to learn more. Despite Sibyl's passive aggressive comments — such as Danika not being able to learn a certain spell — the child didn't hold any of those words or comments against the albino. By now, she understood that the adult was just curt and cold, and that her words didn't mean anything. In a way, Sibyl just had no communication skills, and she called it like she saw it.
"This will let you manifest your dark magic into something akin to necromancy," Sibyl explained as she flapped her hand to ask the child to step back. This time, the child obeyed and stepped back as far as she needed to. "You gather your energy and use it in order to infuse something with it," the dark mage continued to explain as she started to focus, dark energy starting to form into her hands. "And you can use this spell... to create undead warriors called Risens."
With that explained, the albino focused more energy into her hands before dropping the accumulated energy onto the forest ground, summoning two magic circles. She then took just a few steps back before snapping her fingers in both hands. Upon doing that, the two magic circles activated, and after a bright flash of light, two decaying warriors stood in front of the two mages, armor and weapons included. They made a few gurgling noises before slouching away through the trees and fog ahead, breathing hard and leaving a trail of decaying blood and flesh behind them.
Frightened again, Danika latched onto Sibyl again, and this time even harder, letting out a scream from seeing two undead warriors being summoned. Sibyl put her hand right in front of the girl's face quickly and gritted her teeth. "Shh!" she scolded curtly, the same way one scolded their animal when they did something wrong. "I said to stop being scared."
"B-but won't they attack us?" the child asked as she continued to cling, something she would do up until the albino got sick of the physical contact. Whereas Sibyl couldn't stand the child clinging to her, Danika felt the opposite way. She felt a certain sense of security and comfort when she was close to the albino, even if the touch was often met with disgust or anger.
"It's difficult to control them, but I can give them basic commands. They won't attack us unless I order them to." Which, to be honest, would be a terrible thing to do. "Instead, they can simply get lost in this forest and wreak havoc somewhere. They have no soul: there is no lost or remorse in summoning these zombies. Understood?" she asked as she turned just slightly to look down at the child. There was a short pause as she stared, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "Danika, what did I say about getting off me?"
Immediately, the girl let go and put her hands behind her back, looking away. "Sorry."