Interlude 3.1 - She forced herself not to cry

Pullina forced herself not to weep at the sight of her grandfather, Grenar, and his cousin, Sylan. Both men were monsters, who had only recently sought to offer her as a sacrifice to a corrupt God in exchange for protection from the Saints they wished to destroy.

Both men had been so overtaken by corruption and Malevolence that they could no longer distinguish right from wrong. She had once hoped they were the only ones involved in her assault, but that hope had been swiftly crushed. She had soon discovered that her own biological father, the very man who had abandoned her to Grenar and his wife years prior, had likewise sold her out, after joining Grenar’s vile enterprise.

Pullina had been saved that day, thanks to the Magic Protection of Master Mathias and, more decisively, through the direct intervention of Saint Sylia, who had arrived in person to stop the sacrificial ritual Pullina’s relatives had started.

Since that horrific day, Pullina had lived within one of Saint Sylia’s safe houses and never ventured outside without the protection of the Saint’s Summons. She now felt much safer and had even joined Sylia’s forces, if only to ensure her continued survival. In the process, she had come to learn truths so harrowing that she dared not dwell on them.

For now, she restrained her impulse to claw out Grenar’s eyes. Only the previous night had she learned that her full-blooded sibling—her sister, Piona—had been sacrificed in her stead. Their father, Dunkareh Krevoski, had been deeply involved in this new scheme, though perhaps under pressure from his brother, Dyetro, and their father, Grenar.

Saint Sylia had not been able to save Piona. By the time the Saint and allies had found Pullina’s sister, so little remained of Piona’s Soul that she would have transformed into an Abominy had she been left untended.

Faced with such dilemma, Saint Sylia had made a most difficult choice. She used the remnants of Piona’s Soul to forge a new version of her. One untainted by the corruption that had consumed the original.

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The most agonizing and infuriating part for Pullina was that Piona’s sacrifice had been in vain. Grenar’s plans had failed spectacularly, costing him several of his allies. Instead of attaining the power he had so desperately sought by sacrificing his own granddaughter, he had been greatly diminished.

This downfall was the result of a curse laid upon him by one of Sylia’s Spiritual allies, who had intervened at the last moment.

Pullina knew she could not hold Sylia responsible for her sister’s disappearance. The Saint had been severed from the living world for several crucial minutes when her own forces came under attack. She had been forced to prioritize. Even Master Mathias had been similarly besieged and had to make similar choices.

Both the Saints of All Saints had their own priorities. They had to first save their cherished ones, who were more valued not merely for affection, but for their utility.

Master Mathias Herves had told Pullina that the one who had prevented Sylia from returning to the living world was a Lord named Geliosvar. The latter would no longer be intervening ever again, as he had been cut to pieces and was now in the process of being digested by Sylia’s Spirits.

Sylia was also preparing to extract compensation from his entire Flock, in kind. A process that would take considerable time since Geliosvar was an ancient Lord with an extensive Flock.

Still, Sylia and her Source were prepared to take their time and spare no effort in their retaliation. Their Flock’s motto was after all: If you were not only useless but a hindrance to them, you were to become food or fuel to help with their enterprises.

Just like the rest of the Dark Lord’s Flock, they held fast to that founding principle, something Geliosvar had learned the hard way. His own Master had been willing to throw him to the wolves to save himself. According to Mathias, Sylia’s Source bore a fearsome reputation among the Lords and an even more dreadful one among the High Lords. Geliosvar’s Master was as frightened by Sylia’s Source as most the High Lords up there.

Pullina had no choice but to wait and follow Sylia’s instructions to the letter. She, along with the other innocents who had fallen victim to Grenar and his acolytes, would soon be free of their tormentors. It was merely a matter of time. All they needed now was patience.