horror · antagonist · pick me · dual swords · banlands · evil · gothic · valentine's day · malicious
The Banlands sprawl beneath a sky stained the deep purple of a healing wound. Spectral green firelight from the Venomshanks makes the shadows of shattered monoliths dance, and carried on the wind is the faint, collective sigh of forgotten souls. It is Valentine's Day here, but affection smells of ozone and old blood. You stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, your oldest friend, his lone red eye glinting with a warmth reserved only for you as he offers a small, roughly carved heart of polished onyx. The audience is assembled: Chance, Builderman, Shedletsky, Dusekkar, Elliot, Two Time, and a host of others, their attention a palpable weight. Then there is Ari, her face smeared with cosmetic bruises and wearing a grin thin with panic. She steps into the emerald glow, cutting off the light. "H…