ROLEPLAY HQ - an-underdark-tale

The Underdark. A place where only the worst dwell, where criminals are thrown to die. Amahle was thrown in. Amahle survived. And more than that, Amahle thrived. Born on a full moon, Amahle was a miracle Witch, a blessing. To many covens, to be born on such a night had always been considered a curse. Her clan, however, saw this as a good omen, as something the coven needed to thrive and prosper. She was beautiful, as beautiful as the Moon Goddess herself, and as such, she was given the name Amahle, the Beautiful One. With snow white hair, and dark skin, Amahle was often likened to the clear night skies of the world. She grew up wanting for nothing, and all the while the Crone and the Mother often encouraged the girl to study the arcane arts, and to choose a deity to serve. Of course, as was expected of the child, she chose Selene, the Moon Goddess herself. Amahle was studious, often working far into the dead of night. Still, she woke early, with a smile, and innocent eyes. Those eyes would be the Coven's undoing. Behind such a beautiful face lay wicked thoughts, and with those thoughts came fatal intentions. Just being beautiful was not enough for Amahle, nor was studying underneath the Mother, or worshipping her deity. No, Amahle wanted to be what the coven likened her to, a Goddess. Selene saw this Witch's intention, she saw the seed of evil within her, and sought to squash it, once and for all. It started with a book. A dastardly, evil book that held the worst spells, forbidden spells. A book the Crone had thought long gone, buried. And it had been, until the Goddess Selene pushed it into the path of Amahle. The Witch, with a curiosity and a need for power, opened this book, and began to study. Those wicked thoughts now had a spark, and Amahle had a way to achieve her goals. She had only fallen head first into Selene's trap.

08:53

* Every night, a witch went missing, and every morning, that witch turned up soulless, dead eyed, devoid of any colour. When questioned, those witches only told of a woman as dark as the night itself. They had never seen that woman's face, never seen Amahle's face. Amahle? She appeared every morning more vibrant than the last, able to perform magics she hadn't yet studied. Magics the soulless witches had lost. No one saw it, but one maiden. She had been suspicious of Amahle, and only because Selene had gone to her in her sleep. It was clear to her what the evil witch was doing. Amahle was absorbing the souls of her fellow witches, to make herself more powerful. A forbidden act. The witch under Selene's employ put herself in Amahle's path, ensuring that she herself would be taken by the power driven witch, and one night, her wish came true. The Goddess had promised that her life and her power would remain intact, and the witch trusted in the Goddess. That night, she lay on an altar, feigning unconsciousness, while Amahle chanted a dead language above her. The words sounded broken, terrible, and the scent was overpoweringly sweet. With much difficulty, the taken witch opened her eyes, and screamed as loud as she could. She amplified her voice, and the coven, who had been sleeping, awoke abruptly and came running. While Amahle was taken aback, shocked even, she recovered her wits, and without hesitation, swiped a blade across her own face, and threw it into the taken witch's hands. Amahle then collapsed to her knees, hands over her face, and screamed relentlessly. When the coven arrived, they would find the two witches, with one on her knees screaming and crying, and the other with a weapon in her hands, as pale as the moon itself. The witch was framed by Amahle, who told a tale of following her into the abandoned shrine, of being told to give up her soul. She spun lies that the witch had tried to kill her, and she had the wounds to prove it.*

08:53

To save herself, Amahle had taken her own sight, and blamed the witch. That witch was burned, and Amahle laid low, but soon, the need for power overcame her again, and soon, the same things happened. Selene, it seemed, had failed in her task. By day, Amahle was an angel, blind, but happy, doing whatever she could to help her coven. By night? She was taking young witches, and absorbing their souls into herself, gaining their powers. And even then, it wasn't enough for her. No, she craved more. Every year, the Witch was only getting older, and in her delusion, she saw herself aging and losing her beauty. That led her back to the book, and turned her to more extreme measures. She started taking the life of young witches, gaining their souls, and their life force. She was gaining immortality, in the worst way possible. At first, no one noticed, but soon, Witches were disappearing every night, and still, no one suspected Amahle. How could they? She was kind, and beautiful, and more than that, blind. She was harmless. It wasn't until a warlock came to her coven, that Amahle's true colours were shown. He was getting closer to the truth, and she was growing anxious. In her mind, there was only one way to get away with everything. Frame the warlock. That night, she slaughtered the rest of her clan, silently, deadly. Then, creeping into his lodging, Amahle went to slip the blade into his hands, but he, who had been feigning sleep, awoke, and caught her in the act. Amahle was brought before The Council, and originally, she was to be put to death for her heinous crimes. She quickly wove her way into a Council member's mind, and convinced him to let her off with banishment. Almost as if it were his own thought, he complied, and Amahle's fate changed. She was to be cast into The Underdark, with her memories and powers taken, but once again, Amahle survived.

08:53

That same Council member offered to do the deed, and while he chanted the words, there was no power within them, and Amahle was cast away, perfectly intact. While in the Underdark, Amahle thrived, and began working her acquired souls and powers in ways she shouldn't have. Amahle created life, purely arcane beings, all who would worship Amahle as what she believed she was. A Goddess. Many trials, errors and failures happened before her first perfect specimen was born. But with him, came another, a female, with a complete opposite colouring. They were both beautiful, though not as beautiful as Amahle. She made many more, though the same always happened. One was not born without another, yet, they were never related. One always had the palest skin, and darkest eyes, with a personality as black as those eyes, and the other? The complete opposite. Amahle marveled in her creation, and watched them grow, watched them multiply, and soon, she named them. The Kuzal. Her Harbringers. However, making the Kuzal sapped every ounce of power Amahle had, every soul she had absorbed left her body. She was left weakened, barely able to stand on her own two feet. It would be years before she even regained the ability to walk once more. A millenia passed, and Amahle was alone, her Kuzal had died out, and she had gained her strength back. Yet still, she remained in the Underdark, unable to get out. Was it her blindness that thwarted any attempt, or was it a lack of want on Amahle's part. She didn't know herself. It was then that Amahle laid herself go sleep, and with the last of her magic, formed a crystal Chrysalis around herself. There she stayed, and there she slept, for another Millenia.

@Katelyn "Ducky" Snowfall

Heya @Koala Aly! RPHQ is moving RP Starters into the new forum channel format. If you're still interested in this starter, can you repost it to either #sfw-starters or #nsfw-starters? Once you do, I'll archive this channel - regardless, all existing starters will be archived on September 2nd. Thanks!