POV -> Katryna

The perfect day was spent in bed. Under plushy feathered covers, snuggled next to a beloved pet, and reading a book. That was exactly how the Spinner planned to spend her day.

No matter the size of the task, a job well done was rewarded with a pat on the back, and a self imposed vacation.

If only her coworkers would respect that.

She had cozied into her bedsheets, Jeremy cuddled at her side with his eight fuzzy legs all tucked in tight. The morning ghouls were shrieking their songs in the streets of Westlock. And then… there was a knock at her window. Or perhaps, it was more of a panicked rattle. She half expected to see the the Vanguard's Legion waving their tattered banners, and Archons walking the streets when she opened it, but all that came to her was a small leaf.

It did its little dance in her room, before leading her sleepy form through the halls and landing on a large map she'd left wide in the study. She stared at the leaf, a little off ways from Bervolt, but a day or two in the general area. And then the glow of magic caught her eye, the leaf slipping off the map to twirl around the soft white runes of a fresh teleportation ritual that had been drawn on the floor.

An in person mission. That was just grand.

"Let me put some makeup on." She sighed, cut short as the wind picked up to slam the study room door in her face. Katryna scoffed, brushing her night coat to change the cottony fabric into a more presentable emerald silk. She pulled her hood down past her nose, staring at the floor to navigate to the teleportation spell.

The magic swirled around her as soon as she stepped into it, swelling with a bright light before scattering in every direction. She watched parts of the spell crumble as the new scenery grew around her, scanning her surroundings for guests. Teleportation left a very clear and long lasting mark for those with a trained eye. Her biggest concern for this rode a gryphon, and cold called her every month using her true name with a summoning circle.

All that awaited her was an eerie quiet. The remains of a bridge hung over a deep ravine, with scorched and shriveled vines reaching out into shared stumps. She could see residuals of the magical flames that had eaten the roots, familiar, foul, and steeped with Ra'zerun's energy. The roots as well were laced with magic. A different kind.

It was a familiar combination.

She wondered how Rikka was doing under the boot of her lunatic father.

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The same leaf cut across her vision, pulling her attention away from the scene and directing it to the trees below.

She lifted part of her robes, revealing her slippers, then stared over the deep ravine, watching the small leaf twirl and dance in the air. Katryna breathed out a scoff as she eyed the rough forested terrain below. "You did not tell me to bring hiking shoes." With a defeated sigh, she pulled up her sleeves, and locked her fingers together to pull away at invisible strands of magic. With a couple flourishes, she made the weave of magic broad and light, the threads becoming thicker until they twinkled in the sunlight. She tossed the blanket of webs in the air, holding a few strands tight as the wind lifted to catch the parachute.

With a chuff, she eyed the leaf accusingly and snatched it out of the air. "I'm telling if you land me in another puddle."

She stepped off the cliff, the wind gently lifting her parachute to guide her through the trees and into the dark ravine. Katryna had assumed that the Wind was guiding her to a potential new recruit. But she felt no dark magics as she descended. The foul energy had stayed at the burnt bridge of vines she had found.

So what was the urgency?

The Wind guided her to a dry cropping of stones, before snatching the leaf from her hands and tossing it deep into the wall of trees in front of her. Without a short supply of swears she followed it. But the destination, thankfully, was not far. She soon found the little leaf meandering about a small clearing.

From below, she noticed the trees had bent at a strange angle, sheltering the clearing and the pile of vibrant leaves that centered it. The wind swept her ankles, brushing up some of the pile before her.

And she saw a boot.

Katryna looked up at the thick net of branches, some of them snapped and snagged with torn and bloodied fabric.

They looked as though they had stretched their arms to try and catch something.

She crouched before the mound, the smell of blood and wet earth becoming pungent as she brushed away more of the leaves, and exposed a clear set of colours the body wore.

She clicked her tongue. Disappointed at the reveal. "Heroguard."

The Wind wouldn't just walk her out of Westlock to stare at a dead commander. She twisted her lips into a frown. This corpse should have had the witch's curse by now, but she felt nothing of that sort.

Unless it had survived the fall.

Unease settled into her as she stared at the visible parts of the commander's uniform. His face was still covered by the dry leaves, but familiarity weeded its way into her stomach. The Wind would have no other reason to lead her here.

Katryna stopped as she felt a presence behind her. Eyes in her back, and a pitifully small tickle of magic to the air as the beast behind her growled.

She stared at the arcane hound, the beast poised with its jagged fangs bared as it crouched in the trees. Its magic was pulsing a bright red, enchanted with a bloodthirst that was not directed at Katryna.

She eyed the pile. An enemy of the Heroguard was an ally of the Agents of Death.

Katryna snickered at the guest, releasing the flow of her magic. The hound whimpered as her magic steeped the air, thick enough to suffocate it. "Did I take your bone, puppy?"

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