The Sunless City

Five

Miles off the shore of Oakenvale, so far that no eye can see, there is an island. Many prefer to dub it Satan's vacation house, the kinder say it is simply a place for misfits to feel as though they belong.

Realistically, it is a home for the misunderstood, the outcasts, those who have been wronged by the witch way of life.

This fact is often disregarded.

A bridge that sways high in the sky connects the two lands, still stringing them as one but keeping each other separated. Very few are permitted to cross between the islands, even fewer end up returning to their respective sides.

Those who originate from Oakenvale become abnormally lost, later forgotten. It is easier to pretend a problem never existed than it is to face it.

While the witches of the mainland take pleasure in discussing that they have no specified leader, (they enjoy pretending to be unified when really, they could not be more divided) those who reside on the smaller of the two countries have regular debates on the very same matter.

It is to no one's surprise when Zarina Bonavich rises as the appointed superior.

She is a woman of high self regard, and uses her deadly beauty to her advantage. Those who adore her suspect this is how she sways her enemies to follow her lead.

The members of the Corrupted Coven idolize Zarina, as they are well aware that she may be their only hope of gaining unimaginable power.

That is what happens when you have a dangerous amount of ambition, you get things done.

Zarina plans to do exactly that.

She has trained for this precise moment her entire life, she has had the most skilled seamstress on the island craft a uniform so immaculate that even Oakenvale soldiers cannot decipher her from their own ranks.

This is how she ploys to steal herself across the bridge.

It will take patience and meticulous fibbing skills, but she has practiced those the majority of her years.

Zarina is ready, to say the least.

So in the early hours between midnight and dawn, when the night shift is in a state incredibly close to sleeping on their feet, she makes her move.

With expert slyness, she pulls a stolen thick wool cap low on her head, doing all she can to hide the feminine gleam to her features. It is effortless to slip by unnoticed when appearing as a man.

Zarina promises to return for her comrades when she can, and help as many as possible escape the island.

If only she kept her promises.

Now on the Divination Coven territory, Zarina briefly squeezes her eyes shut, focusing on the task at hand. Gradually, her black attire is overcome by a deep crimson, seeping over the previous color like ink spilling on paper.

Tossing her cap in a nearby barrel, Zarina strokes the feathers of the raven perching on her shoulder, a coy smile curling on her lips.

Now the fun can begin.