Movement part-2

The Riverlands – High Heart

The Dark Rebirth

Witch breathed deeply, tasting the growing magic all around her. The feeling was wonderful, being exactly like the Black Sabbath so many months ago, yet the potency far stronger on this 'sacred' hill. The hunched hag had crafted finer clothes for herself, materials taken by the dead villagers and traders. The humans she had enslaved had dug a deep pit to the very roots of circle Weirwood tree stumps, tapping into the dormant power within them. The pit was flooded with murky gory red water, bits of dead villagers hinting under the surface.

"The time is neighed! The new age dawns…the reawakening of the magic!" She growled out gleefully as she stared high into the sky, which was thick with clouds drawn by the power forming on this hill. Even though the starry sky was obscured by the black clouds, the red glow of the comet was still clear overhead.

"I draw from the wandering flame of chaos, the purest of power!" Her long lanky arms waved overhead, clawed fingers twisting and turning in intricate motions.

The pool began to bubble as if a deep heat in the warm began to cook below, making the thick smell of death and decay well up into the air.

"I draw the life of this world! Untapped by the ages!" The red water began to glow, red trailing sparks leaping and coursing through the pool.

The hag walked closer to the pool edge, taking out a large brew bottle from her tattered robes. While she lacked the skills of her sister, she had all the talent needed to make this special elixir, a mix of rare toxic herbs and her lifeblood. "With my blood, the shared blood of our mother, let it give you form once more."

She'd pour the thick liquid into the pool, the mixture sinking into the dark depths of the pit before it dissolved away. The witch began to chat out in an echoing language, a tongue never heard by this isolated world. Back in her homeworld, this form of speech was as old as existence itself and not fit for mortal ears to hear…our minds to comprehend. The sky crackled with energy as the clouds above churned into a thunderous storm, though no rain fell as lightning boomed across the sky. Such power would have required all the hags to create such a fierce storm, yet Witch felt twice as strong as time passed this night.

Soon her inhuman chant came to an end as she'd raise both hands upward. "Arise my sisters! Let this world be the womb of your rebirth…AND LIVE AGAIN!"

From the sky, a massive lightning bolt strikes directly into the pool, the final spark needed to complete the ritual. The glow in the pool died down and a deafening silence followed as the thunder suddenly stopped. Soon a drop fell from above, then another and another as the rain began to pour down until it was a downpour. The witch stood completely still, waiting even as the rain-soaked her horrific form. Then the water shifted as if something underneath it moved. Then suddenly two long-fingered hands grasped the earthen edge of the pool, drawing a lanky figure from the depths. Close by, a pair of massive fat hands reached for the shore, pulling a bare obese form from the murky waters.

Witch beamed as she saw her sisters crawled onto the shore, heaving and gasping as they took their first breaths. The rain washed their grotesque naked forms of the gore and filthy water from the pool, as the two struggled for a moment to stand.

"Slowly my sisters. Take the time needed to rest and recover. The air is strong with power…it will fill your very being soon." She'd turn to pick up clothes set aside, new clothes for her sisters, styled like before yet much like her own clothes made of finer cloth. She'd lay each set of clothes by each sister, as the two began to recover.

Whispess gave a deep grunt and spat out thick slime from her mouth before she'd speak out in a wispy voice, grabbing at the red vailed headdress to cover her inhuman face. "My mind is…foggy. I remember the Sabbath…yes…the girl…and her blade biting at my heart!" She'd growl out those last few words.

Brewess groaned at the pained memory. "Oh, that pain! The chilling feeling…and the darkness, unlike the blackest night." She'd bellow as she'd fit her wicker basket mask over her face along with her cloth shawl across her head and bulky shoulders.

"Indeed, the Child of Destiny killed you both. How perfect this reunion would be if we had her at our mercy." Witch muttered.

"How long have we been gone? Also, what is this place?" Whispess stood up as she fixed her dress over herself, head tilting as if listening to something. "The crows speak differently to me…and the annoying muttering of ravens echo around."

"Another Conjunction happened in our world, the time of the White Frost had come. I saw it as a chance to escape the world's death…yet didn't expect it take me here."

Brewess glanced broadly about the surroundings, noting the Weirwood tree and the many white stumps surrounding them. "The earth here is old. We're not the first to have lived here…and…" She'd glance farther north. "Do you feel it? The creeping chill and that muttering."

"Indeed sister! I know it well…the same whispers that followed the Wild Hunt." Whispess glanced northward as well, silent as she'd 'listen'. "The White Frost began on this world. It's been kept back…repelled…yet this time it will consume and reach beyond."

The witch was curious about this new fact, considering she had sensed a strange building power as well. "What do you purpose sister?"

"It is a threat to us now that we're stuck on this world. We must face it or be destroyed with everything else."

"Such as task…yet…" Brewess had fat hands clenching together. "I feel mightier than ever before, not since the days when we took Mother's power."

"Then we will begin anew in this world. For too long we kept ourselves isolated in Velen, too comfortable with ruling weak superstitious peasants." Whispess paced about, arms wide as he basked in the falling rain. "Imagine the lords who we could… 'advise'. With our wisdom and powers, we'll have them enthralled to our will."

"And if they resist and challenge us…hehehe…how can they hurt us? With no Witchers or mages, they have no understanding of our powers or the means to fight us." Brewess added.

However, Witch spoke up. "No…there is still a threat to us." Both of her sisters looked to her curiously. "The White Wolf followed the girl to this world. He does not know of us yet and is tangled in the games of the humans…though once he learns of us he'll act quickly."

"Then we'll be ready for him and show no mercy!" Whispess growled.

"Now I wonder…what of the Child of Destiny? If we had her flesh and blood…" Brewess muttered.

Witch realized what her older sister was meaning. "The power to defeat Frost. Yes…it makes us truly immortal and invincible."

"Make us true goddesses." Whispess chuckled before her youngest sister held up a silver wolf medallion. "I see you have something close to the girl. A useful item."

"It will let us scry her once preparations are made."

"Yes…" Suddenly Whispess paused, head glancing to the northeast. "It seems we have guests coming. Curious and foolish men from what I sense."

"Mgh…young, strong and handsome?" Brewess cooed, her flabby body swaying at the thought.

"Keep your desires in check sister. We can't let these humans learn of our new home and warn others. The surprise is our strength."

The three hags turned and began to march into the dense woodlands that surrounded the hill, giggling and chuckling in sadistic glee.