It was a simple mission.  At least, it should have been.  The witch Lady Yvaine was a threat to the realm of Lord Blackvayne and therefore she had to be dealt with.  Vara had killed witches before, they always thought themselves more powerful and more pious than those that lived in the Black Lands.   To Vara, they were little more vultures or cultists, those that subscribed to their own moral code and were happy to get rid of anyone who stepped outside of it.  It was this woman and those like her had concocted the whole idea that Vara and those like her, those who lived under the protection of Lord Blackvayne were traitors to their kind.<br/><br/>The temple dedicated to Gaia was well within the walls of the witches’ compound.  They had plenty of wards and spells to keep vampires out, but not as many to ensure that werewolves could not enter.  It was hard to keep out your own watchdogs.<br/><br/>The building had likely been something else in the world before.  Maybe a small shop, or a church.  Vara entered it without issue, the cloak of darkness aiding her in her movement.  The moon was out that night, but it was shrouded in dark clouds and not quite full.  Some areas still had electricity, but this was not one of them.  It was lit by a variety of candles.  Many of them were handmade, while some were likely from the time before when things were made by machines.<br/><br/><br/>A woman kneeled at the altar.  All of the reports her Lord had received said this was when Yvaine came to pray to the goddess, to beg for blessings upon her people and to ask for the great goddess to end the rule of children of darkness.  Vara could hear those prayers now, spoken in a low, soft voice.  There was a rhythm to them, as if it were a chant that Yvaine had made many times before.  She approached in near-silence and bent slightly to retrieve a blade tucked into her boot.  It was long and sharp, more like a spike than a sword or dagger.<br/><br/>All it would take was one quick thrust downward, through the witch’s chest and into her heart.  Vara raised the blade, ready to strike, but before she could complete the motion she felt a pinch against the back of her neck.  She turned just in time to see a woman with Yvaine’s face standing behind her, holding a syringe.  The confusion only lasted a moment, even with Vara’s fading capacities.  She had been betrayed.  Someone had warned the witch of her Lord’s plans.  They would not kill her, their precious goddess prevented the witches from doing harm such as that, but that did not mean she would be safe.  She tried to stab out at the woman before her, but the impostor at the altar had moved to turn around and grabbed her hand before she could complete the weak motion.  Vara tried to fight, tried to shift, but it was useless.  This was not some magic they toyed with, this was a tranquilizer and she could not fight that.<br/><br/>One thought floated through her mind before it all went dark.  How had they masked the scent of the second woman?  How had they veiled her from Vara’s senses?  Before she could contemplate the question, the world went black…<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>Vara had expected to wake up chained or in some kind of cage.  The other protectors of the Black lands told stories of such things, of camps and prisons where the witches brainwashed her kind and turned them into servants of the goddess.  As she looked around the small room, it was clear that this was not one of those places, even though her eyes squinted to make out the area around her.<br/><br/>There were no witches here, unless they were somehow confusing her senses.   She thought she perhaps smelled another wolf, but dismissed the idea as foolish.  Why would they pass her over to one of their servants?  Vara shifted in the chair only to feel a sudden sting against her flesh as they did so.  Silver.  She was held in the sort of chains that would burn if she allowed them to touch her skin.  Most of the chain was wrapped around her clothing, which caused nothing more than a heated sensation.  No pain.<br/><br/>“Let me go and I will spare your life.”  She growled into the darkness of the room.  It was far darker than it should have been, perhaps they had done something to her sense of sight.  It would make sense if they intended to interrogate her.  Wolves relied heavily on their ability to see things in the dark, it would have been easy to create a sense of fear if her sight were dimmed.<br/><br/>“Or kill me now.  I will not become a servant of the untrue goddess.  You are wasting your breath to even try.”<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="2986" data-username="@GMO" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/2986/">@GMO</a>