#junipers body is being puppeteered by the evil spirit that increased briars magic

[bionic-egypt]

Whumptober Day 21: Spirit Possession

The sickly scent of rot permeated the air as Briar crouched low and reached out, fingertips grazing the blackened growth at her feet. It had once been a healthy vine, ivy by the looks of it, but now lay shriveled and dark. It was an all too familiar sight.

The Blighted Lands were spreading. That much was obvious. The question was how. She had once been responsible for the control and reach of the desolation. It had been an extension of her power, power she had since abandoned. Without her to pour magic into it, it should have stayed static until her eventual death. Yet here it was, reaching its blackened tendrils toward her new home.

Unsteady crunching and rustling of leaves just beyond the treeline drew her attention away from the blight. Had one of the villagers followed her out into the woods? Slowly Briar rose to her full height, ready to call out. And yet, something kept her silent. The late hour, the creeping rot at her feet, the unknown lurker... The reason didn't matter; she held her tongue all the same.

A long shadow blinked between the gaps in the trees. Briar's hand flew for her pendant, finger pressing hard against the sharpened point hidden in the metal casing. Magic welled up hot in her blood.

The rustling haunting the shadow's movements grew louder. Closer. She stood her ground.

The shadow stepped out from behind the trees, a dark silhouette in the night. A single streak of moonlight breaking through the trees fell across its path, illuminating its face.

She knew that face.

She had loved that face.

"Juniper?"

Briar's voice was a broken whisper, shards of pain scattered across the blight at both their feet.

Black streaks of rot crept up the body in front of her, staining its once light dress. Hair like dirty, tangled roots hung limp around a bloodless face. The sound of snapping bone rang in Briar's ears, an echo of a memory that haunted her every time she closed her eyes.

Juniper's corpse smiled at her. The smile did not reach its dead crimson eyes.

"Hello, Blackthorn."