I'm sorry to hear about the aching head, I hope you feel better soon! Regarding our missing antagonist, did you want to wait a few days longer and put this story on hiatus, or something like that. Alternatively, we can also wait a while, and then just seek out another player if @marxxie never responds. What do you think?
Saoirse brandished her blade, swiftly dashing forward to stand between her father and the menacing man that spout nothing more than madness! Despite the weapon in her hand never being designed foe battle, and the heavy beating of her heart as fear caused her to tremble - she could not let this vile fiend sink his fangs into her father before making a mockery of them all. There was malice in those eyes, and the princess knew that this invading monster disguised as a man promising mercy in exchange for her father... this demon was a liar.
Her gaze did not stray from her foe, but she spoke to her father behind her. "Father, please reconsider." She shook her head, revolted by this empty proposal they had been given. She did not approve at all... the Divine must be testing the people of Seanate. That seemed to be the only answer. She held onto her faith and stared defiantly at the one that had brought so much chaos and strife in her life in such a short time, and waited to see what would come next... prepared to fight should the need arise.
The colors came together like pieces of the puzzle, bleeding into each other, overlapping and merging into shapes - and finally sight. It was beautiful, but she seemed blind. If only such shapes and colors were actually familiar to her.
—
It felt like she was flying in a circle, or perhaps she was flying, no… she was falling back and forth like a pendulum. Silence screamed in the shadows that surrounded her, for the return of colors had been too much, and so she had fled into darkness where the burning pain was replaced by agonizing anxiety. Nothingness. Incoherent thoughts tried and failed to alleviate her suffering with calm encouragement as well as kind words, but these sentiments shattered all around her and became nothing more than a maelstrom of madness that overwhelmed her.
Every sound and sensation was a terrible explosion, a tumultuous collection of terrible calamities that tormented what little she was, or what was at least left of her:
Unborn.
Who was she?
She did not know…
Who was she?
A question without an answer! Struck by the sea of shadows that crashed against her being; the endless waves then coalesced into an immense frightening demon that grasped the edges of her vision with ghastly hands, and began shaking her. Burning her… Burning her with its touch. When would she wake from this nightmare, or would she forever remain imprisoned in this horrid realm where nothing seemed real? She was adrift, unaligned to anything that would shelter her from this demented dreamworld. She was alone.
—
How many times had she dared to approach the light… how many times has she lived and died - ascending and descending like a puppet on strings being raised and then swiftly discarded. How close she came to a world of sight, only to then plummet back into the depths of despair, she could not ascertain such things… so easily forgotten. Akin to ashes. Sometimes she thought that the world wherein colors and shapes were to be found was actually below her, and she should’ve been seeking a way to dive deeper in the darkness in order to find where she belonged, as she felt regret having abandoned the light so long ago.
She could hear herself begging for forgiveness, for mercy, for a return to peaceful times that she could no longer remember, but yearned for anyway. Every attempt to traverse the path of memories felt as though she were cutting herself; sharp edges surrounding her and preventing her from progressing farther, lest she inflict too much damage to her being. Gone. The thoughts that had persisted in their endeavor to soothe her were always offering her guidance, and told her that the pain was not real… only a figment of her imagination.
Their words were so easily forgotten though. Meaning. Imagination. Pain. She was no longer aligned to such concepts, and aside from ephemeral interactions with them, she strayed far from thinking too much. Broken. She did not seek to define them, or to understand them. She tried to avoid them most of the time, especially pain. The hurting never came to an end though, and she reached out with imaginary hands, alone and afraid.
–
Her hands touched something. Her being… touched something. Everything ached, but instead of silent shrieking and the shadowy demon that thrashed her, it was her own voice and her own body that cried out and trembled. She heard herself sobbing, and felt her limbs tentatively exploring their environment, unled by the rest of her that seemed intent on curling inwards now. Was she being crushed, how was it she heaved and choked when she was uncertain what she even was? She was being compressed and torn apart, but there was nothing she could do to resist these staggering forces. Her struggle was in vain, and so she became lost in the chaos of consciousness - unbeknownst to her, connected to the waking world once more.
It was the first morning she awoke… the girl that could not remember her name.
-Fear is mentally messed up after having her inner flames be greatly diminished. She slowly recovers enough to instinctually navigate and barely move her body, but her understanding of herself and the world is lacking.
Fear gains 2 Spirit. (+1 minimum, +1 main character)
She had been unable to persuade the knights ordered to protect her that she must see what was happening, that she must see her father at once, and that surely they would be able to protect her while she was near him. Perhaps close enough to at least watch and ascertain his wellbeing, she had begun begging in vain. Then something shook the castle, a terrible and thunderous clamor that came from the gates where her father had gone to defend. The air became cold and Saoirse felt her heart beat harder in her chest. What had happened!?! She persisted once more, attempting to free herself from the grasp of the knight that held her.
"Please! My father!" She cried out, and her plea was heard for one among those that held her here said that he would investigate, as no word had come back, all of the castle's staff having sequestered themselves away, or went with the king.
When the knight departed, Saoirse still found herself outnumbered and held back, but her endeavor to escape had become less hopeless. With newfound vigor, she thrashed again and resorted to... acts undignified for a princess, but after the guard let out a gasp of surprise and pained grunt, and she stumbled away from him, well there was little time to be concerned about how she acted. She tore at the hem of her long flowing gown, granting her legs a little more freedom as well, but of course her attire would continue to hinder her dash towards the gate while her remaining "retinue" of protectors gave chase.
With a burst of speed, she stepped outside the keep and towards where she saw the devastation inflicted upon the gatehouse, to where she saw her father confronted with a man that exuded a terrifying and evil aura that threatened to overwhelm her upon first glance. She pressed on, running as fast as she could, her rather useless ceremonial sword in one hand, her body shielded with nothing but a now ruined gown and her conviction, as she sought to fight beside the king to defend her family and homeland.
"Father!" She called out, raising her weapon, as though she were uttering a war cry.