I don't draw much, but I do write a lot. I just usually don't write about my characters here. I've been so enamored with Eryn lately, though. I just HAD to give her some literary attention. So, here's a little story about her! I'll be sure to do one about Bane, too.

Eryn is mine

Dralic species belongs to  origami-orange

WARNING: THIS STORY IS SAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

As Eryn’s boat approached the islands, she found herself reminiscing on the conversation she had with the Hewa taskmaster earlier.
“Remind me why you’re going to the Olha Clan?”
“I have some personal business there. I also need some more herbs.”
“So why are you taking your scythe?”
She landed on the beach and looked through the dense greenery, moonlight pouring through the canopy.
“You never know when you’ll get jumped.”
“You don’t get jumped, Eryn. You’re better than that. You’re a fool to cause trouble for no reason.”
The herbs were an afterthought. Eryn made use of the shadows and foliage to hide herself as she passed through the jungle.
“I’d be a bigger fool for not being prepared. And I’m not going to cause any trouble. I’m from the Olha clan, remember? I want to check on an old contact.”
Before long, she was at the house. A modest but comfortable little building made from specially-grown wood and plants. The lights were on, and she dashed to the side to look in through the window.
“Well, I can’t stop you. But know this: if you get in trouble over there, no one is coming to help you. And it’s on you if anyone over there catches onto us.”
“Fine. I’ll be back by sunrise.”


Eryn hadn’t been back here in a long time. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to find, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was what she knew she was going to find. Crouching near one of the windows, she looked inside. The shutters around the “light,” a bundle of bioluminescent mushrooms, were half-closed. Two people were talking, and she had only anticipated hearing one. She readied herself to bring out her scythe and listened.
“Look at what granny has for you, little buddy!” An unfamiliar male voice spoke with controlled excitement, trying not to be too loud.
Eryn leaned in and saw a male Dralic with a youngling that couldn’t have been more than two years old. They were both sitting on the floor while the father held his son upright.
She paused when she looked at him, and listened intently to his voice. ”It can’t be,” she thought.
“Oh, Kolas!” An elderly woman spoke up. “Lookie here! What do you think?” A pair of elderly hands held out a hand-crafted doll, a simplified but nonetheless lovingly made stuffed toy of the Guardian Rhex. The child immediately started giggling and reaching out for it. The elderly woman put it in his hands and he held it tight as his father cuddled him.
“Isn’t that nice, Kolas?” The father beamed. “Now, what do we say when someone gives you a present?” He spoke with a wide grin.
Eryn’s breath was caught in her mouth when she heard this. She and her brother Larin received the same kind of goading when they were young, and it hadn’t been until recently that he finally got the message. That was Larin in there, and little Kolas was her nephew.
“Tha-thank you!” Kolas said after some effort, too enamored with the toy to pay much attention.
“Very good!” Larin bounced Kolas up and down, the child giggling and laughing. “Thank you so much, Granny!”
“Oh, it was a delight! I’m so happy you like it!”
Eryn swallowed and bit her lip when she changed her angle, looking at the old woman. She had tried to prepare herself for a long time, but she still wasn’t ready to finally see her mother. It had been years, and the toll on her was clear, but there was no mistake, this was her and Larin’s mother. She looked at Larin again, feeling a pit in her stomach. Her runty little brother was having kids and being the responsible parent, and there she was outside, the professional killer.
“Aww, look at the time! We gotta get you to bed, little buddy!” He stood up, carrying Kolas with him. “Say good night to granny, Kolas!” Kolas reached out and hugged his grandmother around the head, giving her a little peck on the forehead. She reciprocated. “There we go! Thanks so much for this, mom.” Larin hugged her, the cooing infant between them.
“Anytime, dear. It’s always so nice to have you and Kolas over. Hopefully your wife can get some time off soon!”
“Yeah, well, a doctor’s day is a long one. We’ll work something out.” He nodded and put both hands around his son. “Say night-night, Kolas!” He turned and walked out the door while the child reached back out to his grandmother.
Eryn pressed herself closer to the wall, watching the two of them go. She shrunk when she saw Kolas look at her, wide-eyed, and he started making distressed little noises. Eryn dashed around back before Larin could turn to her.
“It’s okay, Kolas. We’re gonna see her again real soon!” Larin didn’t break stride, holding his son tight.
Eryn looked at them go through the windows when the door closed. Her mother was standing there, smiling, then sighing.
“Mom looks happy,” she thought. She moved away from the window. “I don’t have to keep worrying about her, I guess.” Eryn sighed, her thoughts mixed with relief and resignation. “I’m glad… She’s finally past it.”
As she turned to leave and gather some plants, Eryn heard a stifled sob come from inside, and she turned to see it. Her mother went into another room and opened the shutters on the light inside. Eryn saw it and thought she was going to be ill.
It was her old room. Near-untouched for so many years- her bed, her old drawings, her early plans for making potions, and all of her old toys. She felt a pull on her heart when her mother went for one of her old favorites: a handmade plush toy of Empress Hina, just like the one of Rhex she had for Kolas.
In the closet, there was a small altar. Covered in pictures, old pieces of clothing, and old pieces of a Dralic eggshell. They were all Eryn’s. Her mother lit candles around it all, and she placed the stuffed animal in the center as she gently wept.
“Honored Guardians,” she began, her voice shaking, “look after Eryn, wherever she may be. Let my daughter still live… and let her find her way home.” She bowed her head as more tears came out. “In your infinite wisdom, guide her safely. Wherever she goes, let her know that we will always love her, always be proud of her, and always wish her strength and fortitude. If my little girl can’t hear me, at least let her know how much she is missed.”
Eryn couldn’t stand this. She knew her mother would be hurting after she went “missing” years ago, but this was new. Her mother had gone from grief to fanaticism. She wasn’t sure what hurt more- her mother’s grief, or this sick display.
She went to the front of the house, and in the most brazen display of Hewa infiltration she had seen, she knocked on the door.
“J-just a minute!” She heard her mother from the far side of the house. Eryn hung her head and wondered what on earth she was going to say. She knew it would be a few minutes before her mother came to the door, but still, nothing came to mind. She covered the eyehole when she heard the heavy footsteps on the other side.
The door was cracked open, and the light slivered out. “Hello? Who’s-“ She stopped when she saw the figure outside. She flung the door open, the short and withered old Dralic standing before the Hewa cultist. “It… It can’t be… Eryn?!”
Eryn bowed her head and sighed. “Hi, mom.” Shame crept along her back for having nothing better to say.
“Eryn! My baby!” She threw herself at Eryn and hugged her, crying all her tears out onto Eryn’s chest. Eryn couldn’t resist, and hugged her mother back, trying and failing not to cry herself. She was rushed inside.
“Where have you been? Everyone… everyone thinks you’re dead!” She was rubbing the tears out of her eyes before looking at Eryn again.
“That’s for the best.” Eryn said, her voice depleted.
“Wh- Eryn, what are you…” Her mother turned back to her, the tears mostly gone. Her eyes widened when she saw her daughter’s changed colors and hardened eyes- as well as the Hewa mark on her shoulder.
“I heard what you were saying, Mom. You’ve kept my room clean, and you still pray to the Guardians… I came back to see if you were okay. I was hoping you were… But this needs to stop.”
The old woman grimaced. “Eryn, don’t talk like that! I… I don’t care what you’ve become! You’ll always be my sweet little girl…!” A faint, desperate smile grew on the woman’s face.
“Mom, I’m not that person anymore. You need to let me go. Forget about me.”
The tears came back, and the old woman was nearly incoherent. “Eryn, please! You’ve finally come home! You can’t ask this of me! I’ll never stop loving you! I’m always going to be proud of you!” She tried to run up and hug Eryn again.
Eryn started to cry herself when she kept the woman away. “Mom, you don’t know me anymore! I’m not…” She sobbed. “I’m a different person now! I’ve hurt people, Mom. I’ve killed people…” Eryn almost lost her footing as the sadness took over. “Don’t be proud of me. Save it for Larin and Kolas. Let them make you happy…” She fell to her knees. “If everyone thinks I’m dead, then you need to start thinking that, too.”
“Eryn, no!” She grabbed her daughter and hugged her tight. “I can’t lose you again! You can’t expect me to just forget about you!” The old woman was wailing, and Eryn held her back.
“Mom.” Eryn composed herself and stood up, still holding her grieving mother. “I’m going to make this right. You won’t have to mourn anymore.”
“Eryn…?” The old woman looked up. “What are you saying?”
She shut her eyes. “I love you, Mom.”
Eryn slipped a draught out of her bag and poured it into her censer. In one movement, she closed the shutters around the light and lit the burner. It dangled in front of her mother’s face, powerful vapors coming off it while Eryn put on her mask.
The tears stopped as her mother took a deep breath, the draught putting her mother in a state of extreme suggestibility. She looked at the censer’s flickering light and the grate that spun around it with wide eyes.
“Focus on the light. Heed my voice. Listen, okay? I want you to say ‘okay.’ Okay?”
“Okay,” her mother said.
“Okay, good. Your daughter went missing. She’s missing, okay?”
“Okay,” her mother said again, tears welling up.
“This makes you very sad. What about your daughter’s death? Your daughter is dead, okay?” The censer continued to burn, its mild orange glow filling the room.
“Okay,” her mother said, starting to weep.
Eryn was hoping for this, and she finally brought her pheromones into it. She could tell her mother felt deep sorrow, and changed it into a mild sadness, the kind of subtle grief in the back of your mind for someone long passed.
“Okay, how about now? You’re not so sad anymore, okay?”
Her mother took a staggered breath, and seemed stunned. “Okay,” she said in earnest. “I’m not so sad.”
“Okay, good. It’s because you’ve moved on. You’ve moved on, okay?” Eryn altered her mother’s mood to calmness. This would translate to peace and acceptance.
The breathing became steadier. “Okay.” The grimace faded from her mother’s face. “I’ve moved on.”
“Okay, now what makes you happy? You have a son and grandson. They make you happy, okay?” Instilling the thought of her family into her mother, Eryn changed the vibe, filling her mother’s head with happiness.
“Okay,” she said, breaking out into a wide grin. “My son and grandson make me happy.”
“Okay, good.” Eryn breathed some relief. “Now, you must be tired. It’s late, and you’ve had a busy day, okay?”
“Okay.” Her mother’s eyes fluttered as she yawned. “I am tired.”
“Okay, good.” From her other hand, a fine powder was lit into smoke, a mild relaxant that would peacefully put her mother to sleep. “Thanks for behaving. You were very good.”
“Okay,” her mother wobbled a bit as her eyes shut.
Eryn caught her before she fell, carrying her into her bed and tucking her in. Against her better judgment, she kissed her mother’s forehead before she left. “I love you, Mom. Please, just be happy.”
As she left, she saw a neighbor outside, wondering aloud what all the crying was about. Eryn sighed as she pulled out her scythe and chain.
“It’s for the best,” She thought. “Don’t be proud of me, mom.” Eryn caught the neighbor by the throat with her chain and pulled him in, readying her scythe. “I’m not that person anymore.”