Selene, Vision of the Shadow Priestess

Just as quickly as dusk had bloomed into night, so too did the demeanor of her two guides morph into troubling grimaces.  While the two proceeded to stamp out the remaining embers from the once roaring fire, butterflies stirred chaotically within her stomach.  As the surviving member of the only world she had known, worry over her predicament grew.  She shivered abjectly under the growing presence of the glowing moon.

“It is time,” one instructed her.  “Drink and she will come.”

Was this the right choice?  Did she really… have any other choice?

Within this forest, she was no different than a fresh off the boat foreigner in the city.  A guest at the mercy of the unknown.  Little was known about these two, outside of whispers from long ago.  Tales in which nothing seemed factual.

Unable to think of something to say that wouldn’t come across as an affront, she reluctantly drank.  It tasted of… well, she wasn’t exactly sure.  Vaguely familiar and yet, nothing like anything.  Following the swig, a sensation crept from the back of her throat.  It felt as though she were choking, but it left as quickly as it had begun.  As her throat cleared, a shadow descended from the sky.  An ornately adorned woman appeared before her flanked by a rain of feathers.  By her appearance alone, they could have been sisters.  But maybe it was merely a trick of the drink.  Perhaps, she was only a vision.  Nonetheless, the lone survivor couldn’t help but reach up toward the glowing vision before her and place a hand upon their face.  Warmth radiated from the woman’s skin as a voice echoed from within her mind.

“Submit and become strong.  I shall reclaim what belongs to us.”

She attempted to speak, but was somehow unable to locate her mouth.  What had seemed a proposition now registered as a command, one from which she could not disobey.  Her choice made; a path forward wrapped in chains.  Sparkling, the near blinding glow of the moon brandished twisted intentions.