Before you read, some of you may know that I don't read a lot of fluff surrounding games systems...particularly 40k and I only really know bits of fluff through people telling me! So, I've looked at a Malifaux piece today and I have an idea for another soon!
Hope you have a good Easter and I really hope you enjoy this story!
Peering into the seemingly endless darkness, Komi realised that the night was still a long way from the dismal light of morning. Visions of daemons and creatures of the Breach paraded around her ceiling, dancing to the silent music which filled the void of emptiness in her head.
It had been a long time since Komi stepped into the Breach for the first time leaving the earthly world behind but those memories still held as firm as those she had seen in Malifaux, only now they have been distorted in such a way that fact and fiction combine in a bitter cacophony of reality which has been hard to escape.
This wasn't the first sleepless night, nor would it be the last but one thing was for certain; it was like no other.
Komi came into the Breach as a tourist, a young child in the arms of her mother however the seeming emptiness that surrounded Malifaux in those early days presented itself to Komi's parents in a bewitching and spellbinding trance.
Suddenly populated by happy-go-lucky wanderers, travelling to seek their fortune it was an opportune time for Komi's parents to join the rush to be one of the few who struck lucky in the mines of Malifaux. This wasn't to be and through long nights and backhanded deeds both of Komi's parents disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Rumours of the time speculated that they made a deal with the near-devil Jacob Lynch to try to increase their chances of soulstone gain, others claimed that spirits who fed on the souls of the despondent enveloped them and they were dragged into the aether to be used as slaves of the neverborn. Whatever the reason, they weren't here now and they couldn't take away the memories that have happened. Now Komi was alone in a run down shack in the middle of an abandoned stone-rush town, unafraid of most events that would happen around her but still with a nagging sensation at the back of her mind that something was disastrously wrong somewhere through the Breach! She had many sleepless nights before which gave pause for thought about her future but something tonight made her wonder if it meant something more.
Quickly rising from her stone slab, Komi crept through the empty cobblestone street without making too much sound. Screams of the wind steering through cracked brickwork and slams of wooden shutters reverberated around the surrounding area making the street seem something like a nightmare. A vision of a pale green Spector flashed in front of Komi's eyes. She blinked...nothing. The vision was something of her imagination she assumed and continued her fearless walk down the never ending corridor of night. Again a green flash, this time in the corner of her eye. Once was just imagination, twice was getting spooky...the third time however, started a heart beat in Komi like a thunder roll. She picked up pace gradually getting faster, this pace was not enough! The green flash was not a flash any longer, it appeared as a translucent Spector right in front of Komi bringing her to such a halt that her torso flung forward while her feet rooted themselves into the opened cobblestones below.
With a scream which shattered the panes of the abandoned houses around them the apparition brought Komi to a complete halt. The apparition gained form and the translucent green shaped into a gangly figure with jet black flowing hair and piercing red eyes. The gaze transfixed Komi, it was as if the two beams of red were reading her mind or at least anchoring her into position. The spectre's newly found pale face tightened, it's lips braced together and the red light coming from it's eyes consumed the surrounding area engulfing the ghost town in a flood of light. Komi couldn't look any longer, she closed her eyes and tried to turn away but found she couldn't! The engulfing light faded, the blinding red flash died away, running down the walls like blood trickling.
The scene had changed. Gone were the faded signs, broken shutters and smashed glass. In its place; a dismal narrow corridor with dim fire light barely stretching the length of the hall. A musty smell fermented filled the air making it hard for Komi to breath. Still transfixed to the spot, she became more aware that this was a part of Malifaux that hadn't been explored in great depth, at least, not by the workers or peasants! The figure which once was a terrifying form had been transformed into a flesh form child with hollow black eyes void of all emotion.
A jolt took control of Komi and she was flung forward sprawling on the floor at the feet of this spectre. The child began a seamless glide down the dim corridor and it was all Komi could do not to follow. Every once in a while the raging torch light which spread it's chilling glow into the corridor extinguished itself as soon as the figure went past. Komi had to keep up, the problem was the apparition got quicker and quicker which meant Komi ended up sprinting to keep up. Eventually however it was too late. The figure disappeared once more leaving Komi in a state of absolute darkness.
Her new found surroundings, or lack of them, brought Komi to another sharp halt and a stillness which resembled a meerkat waiting for the next sign. 'If only' she thought, 'I'd eaten my carrots...'
"That wouldn't help you..." Bellowed a voice which reverberated around the immediate surroundings. "You have been chosen..." It continued.
Komi's startled reaction saw her grasping against the jagged chiseled rock, her hands scrambling for some sort of release, a door or a hole. Choosing to ignore the fact she had only thought a silly thought to keep herself amused rather than exclaiming it was not at the forefront of her mind.
The voice's deep lull somehow sounded more reassuring than first thought. "We have been watching you very closely" it explained "you have everything we need."
"We?" Komi's stuttering high voice broke the monotone drone which came before.
"Yes, we."
Before Komi could begin to contemplate what would happen, it happened. Another flash of light blinded the child sending her once again sprawling to the floor, this time in shock more than exhaustion. The scene had been reset. Komi was back in her empty slum street in the middle of the day. The town, still ghostly, had a different feel. A warmer glow.
Komi looked down panning the ground beneath her feet. A silver glint caught her eye. She bent down to pick it up. As she drew closer she gained a better appreciation of what it was.
There, reflecting in the beaming sunlight, a new silver coin with the inscription
'Our duty until death'
It was true, she had been chosen... to become a Marshall of the Guild.
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In other news, I have acquired a Tara crew and I will be doing something special with the it I shall leave that for another post!
Thanks for reading!
I'll see you soon!
