ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ꜱᴏ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴀ ꜱᴜɴ ꜱᴏ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ

v. why do crazy people love fire so much

cw // explicit descriptions of pain, injury, and blood; intrusive thoughts

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

Her reputation preceded her.

"My brother saw you at High Anura. Please, you have to help us."

The woman, who had introduced herself as Jozefina, looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Do not worry," Elle said. "I will not leave you to deal with this alone. But a magic sect?"

"I swear it is the truth! They took my daughter and they want to sacrifice her to their heathen god-"

"Alright, alright," she interrupted the woman. "Calm down. I believe you."

Elle took a deep breath.

The woman, along with the rest of her family, stared at her. Some in desperation, some in anger, some in hope.

"I will bring your daughter back to you. But I need you to tell me everything you know about this... sect."

- -☆- -

Trekking through the forest in the dark, she wished once again for a horse. Perhaps she should have asked the villagers for one.

Jozefine had told her of the people who had kidnapped her daughter.

Allegedly, they were a group of heretics who had forsworn the Seven to worship a god long forgotten in Westeros. And now they desired to resurrect him by enacting a ritual involving blood magic.

She had heard weirder shit.

They had made their camp in an abandoned fortress near Sallydance, which had been reclaimed by the forest around it. This was where they took Jozefine's daughter. And this was where she was headed now.

She was glad for the full moon this night. Not just for the light it provided her on her journey, but because it meant she could sleep safely for the coming weeks. Safe from any nightmares. Safe from herself.

The ruin stood proudly atop a cliff. Light shone through the damaged roof and multiple windows, though the rushing of the river at its bottom toned out any sound she could have made out from the distance.

Luckily, the greenery at the bottom did not include any thorns, so she could wade through it to the foot of the castle wall. The vines even helped in her climb.

When she finally reached one of the windows, she gripped the sill and slowly pulled herself upwards, peeking over the edge, fully prepared to drop herself.

Which hadn't been necessary, as it turns out, as the window sat below the ceiling of a massive hall, where no one could possibly spot her. Especially due to the walkway beneath it.

She swung herself through the window and landed with a small thud on the wooden platform. It creaked below her feet, swirling up a century of dust. Hopefully it would not break while she was on it.

Creeping towards the railing, she carefully looked through in between the half-rotted wooden pillars and down on the main floor.

People in black robes stood around a table in a spiral-like pattern. Seven torches were alight around them, bathing the area around the tied-down girl in a golden light, so very different from the silver moonshine Elle had to rely on on her platform.

She looked around the wooden pathway for a way to get to the floor as quickly and as quietly as possible. A narrow staircase nestled against the wall to her left seemed like the best option, even though as she inspected it she noticed the gaps in the wood. Most likely termites.