Show me the path I must walk

[ladywinter]

Who: Catleyn Stark and you
What: Nightmares
When: Now!
Where: Catelyn's brain. She apologizes in advance
Rating: PG13 to R, depending. For violence and blood. This is also your warning for potential ASOIAF spoilers




You are in a war camp, the bustling of soldiers all about you. A tend stands nearby and in the tent, you can see a troubled young man, pouring over maps. An iron crown sits on his head, looking far too heavy for him.

Woods surround the camp, blocking almost the entire horizon. Two paths cut through the forest, each leading to a new location. Strain as you might, you can’t see anything beyond the wilderness, except for the ends of the path. You have choices, but not many.

One path leads south to a walled city by the sea. A large keep stands at the top of a hill, looking down at the filth and squalor of the city below, as if in judgment. This is a place of power. Somewhere where important things happen and there’s something compelling to you to reach it. A sense of urgency, as if something needs to be done- and soon.

The other path leads north to an isolated castle, the lands around it covered in ice and snow. Even if you’ve never seen it before, you know in your bones that this is home and it’s a sight for sore eyes. But you’ve neglected something, haven’t you? Something important. And it’s in danger now.

[Sections coming: At the camp | To King's Landing | To Winterfell]

Comments

To King's Landing

[ladywinter]

[You need to get to the city, even if you don't know why. The path is an easy one, well worn by the many travelers who have gone ahead of you. Still, you may begin to feel nervous. Something's not right.]

[heloise]

[ Her shoes aren't made to weather great distances. Lucrezia isn't made to walk such paths either, but there was something she had to find, something she must do for herself at this strange city. The urgency is so great it feels much like fear. ]

[ladywinter]

[The first thing to greet Lucrezia on this road is a raven, swooping down from overhead, carrying something.]

Dark wings, dark words.

[There's no one to say the words, but they'll echo in her head all the same. The raven lands and drops its package at her feet- it's large, too large for a real raven to have been carrying.]

[heloise]

[ She ducks in surprise, peering up at the sky to catch a sight of whatever it was that swooped over her. The woods has her on edge, nerves frayed, and she nearly jumps out of the skin when the raven drops down in front of her.

The dark birds were never a good omen.

It feels clear to her that the package is intended for her however, so she crouches on the ground and traces its shape, glancing at the bird occasionally. In case. ]

[ladywinter]

[It's round and irregularly shaped, but there's nothing overtly threatening about it. Still, Lucrezia would be forgiven if she feels a twinge of dread. Nothing good will come of it, certainly. But does the need to know outweigh that?

The bird simply tilts his head back at her and squawks. This is his job, don't blame him.]

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia frowns, almost accusing at the bird, because who else can she blame if not it. She lifts it off the ground, heavier than she expects, then decides against placing in on her lap. Must she accept it?

But she finds the break in a package, hooking her fingers and unwrapping it carefully. ]

[ladywinter]

[As she unwraps it, her fingers will meet wood. It's the head of a statue- a bearded man, though the details are worn.

At least, that's what it is at first. As she examines it, it shifts, and suddenly she will find herself in possession of the very real head of a once handsome man, his dead eyes staring up at her sorrowfully.]

[heloise]

[ Doves for good news and ravens when it is otherwise, perhaps, but is there ever any other kind of news aside from the bad?

Lucrezia stands back and cradles the head in both hands as it shifts and grows eyes to stare back at her. She drops it with the quietest gasp before fully registering what it is, as if it seared her palms before she could feel the heat, and then she sees.

The scream is so loud that she feels it is coming from outside, someone else with their mouth to her ear, and she clamps her mouth shut when she realizes it is her, in case anyone hears, stumbling back as far away from the thing as she can. ]

[ladywinter]

[Satisfied that he's done his job, the raven squawks again and flies away, leaving her alone with his gruesome offering.

What now, is the question? The road to the city still beckons, still holds something of importance. But now there's a small sept within eyeshot, offering the possibility of shelter and comfort. Was it there before? It's hard to say.]

[heloise]

[ Panic without an audience loses its fuel much too soon, and she's left gasping, catching her breath, one hand over her mouth. The forest looms silently, as if even the leaves are stone.

She gets back to her feet eventually, fiddling with her own fingers as if they are tainted by something she can't brush off. She must find her way to the city, and soon, but it would not do to leave a poor man's head lying on the ground where ravens would pluck out his eyes.

Lucrezia inhales deeply and holds it in, before rushing to wrap that package as well as she can, at least enough to cover his sad face, and rushes toward that sept.

[ladywinter]

[The inside of the sept will be equal parts strange and familiar to Lucrezia. The scent of incense hangs in the air, candlelight flickering against stained glass windows.

There are seven walls and against each, a wooden statue. The might have been beautiful once, but they have been defaced, smeared with...was it blood or paint? And, most notably, one male figure is headless.

Catelyn Stark kneels at the feet of the most prominent female figure, her hair a mess and her cheeks still stained with tears. This is Cat at her most vulnerable. There is no hiding here.]

[heloise]

[ She has the package clasped to her chest (how else does one carry a severed head?), hovering first by the door to adjust to the darkness. The religious symbols are altogether foreign to her, like those abandoned temples to forgotten gods hidden in some corners of Rome.

One figure strikes her as familiar however and she rushes toward her to comfort and be comforted, the bundle carefully covered. ]

Lady Stark.