The Illusion Of Choice

​

In a world ripe with war, betrayal, lust, agony and profit - do morals make the man or do the manipulation of the elements? This is an easy question, depending on your composure as a person and speaks a lot about your morals and in question, intelligence to view the world. On one hand, you have the sheer beauty of living; the ability to look into the valley and see the sun shining softly across the trees as they wave gently from the wind unaware of the chaos that runs the world. Birds tweet, deer call and the bear's roar in the distance - sheer beauty from the natural and constant order of life itself. On the other, the profitable nature of the wilderness. Beautiful trees in the distance would look even better on a house, the deer could feed your family for a few days and the pelt would definitely go for a pretty penny. That bear? That'll be the story to tell to your friends, a test of courage and discipline that puts you on top of a vicious predator in the food chain. A form of idealism, the world is what you make of it.

But our story is a mere disillusion of the entire fact, what is really our opinions?
​

How do we know they are our own and not an idea fixed into our heads by another?

And that is the beautiful art of manipulation.
​

It doesn't matter how you see it, because a few words can change it.

​

Within the countryside of Daenshore, there once stood a beautiful monument of wealth held by the los que dan fortuna, the name of the Fortune Givers. On a mighty estate, a charitable few endeavoured to help the fine people of Daenshore from a life of despair from the greedy hands of business and make sure everybody could live equally - or at least this was the endeavour. See, this doesn't come cheap and maybe, just maybe, the group wasn't as ethical as they preached. Meet the leader of the organization, Eduardo Zaragoza - on the surface, he is a kind, caring and devoted to a fortunate future but behind closed doors, a desprince for one of the most sinister covens in the region. Cirilla, one of his four wives who each barely qualify as grown adults, is an unfortunate passenger in this mans endeavours. Sanguines who are forcefully invited into the coven must undergo one simple job, murder your entire family to prove your loyalty to the coven, if not, then the coven will do it for you and more. There were already stories of such atrocities happening, but why would such a friendly organization have anything to do with it? Misdirection, the last place you'd look.

On the sunny day of August the 3rd, 282 AC, Cirilla and Eduardo are both in the throne room. His three other wives are scattered across the estate and his guards were called out of the room so the two could be in private. Eduardo, a highly intelligent man with the skill to manipulate is revered as a god to her and the wives - a man with no flaws, a dream and a gameplan to achieve that. Cirilla, while technically the youngest of his wives and the most naive of the bunch is blind to his true intentions, a woman who was forced to trade families and taught to be a weapon, rather than a person, but like any sentient being, Ciri has her doubts - however momentary. They speak casually as the sun bellows through the skylight, the sound of birds tweeting from the trees outside and the waves so casually splashing the harbour down below.

Eduardo looks to Ciri, and proudly speaks
"Scouts found another girl like you, and she'll be soon to turn. Once she finally turns, you can teach her all your tricks."
​

Cirilla smiles, giving a quick and cheery reply
"Oh really? Well, it'll be tough but I'm sure we can make good use of her. What do you know about her?"

Eduardo confidently remarks back
"Well, she is your cousin from all accounts so it'll be like a family again. I had your interests in mind, you know."
​

She pauses for a moment, not speaking a word as she processed.

This time, a new voice emerges.
"Cirilla, are you alright, darling? Something the matter."
​

Cirilla emerges from the rain, blood down her dress and her eyes streaming tears.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! This is the only way!"

Her father looked at Cirilla with confusion, quickly responding.
"What's wrong, kiddo? Something the matter-?"
​

Cirilla cut his words short as she slashed a knife across his throat, blood soon to follow. Her mother froze, her face turned pale as she watched her husband collapse. Cirilla's tears slowly wiping the blood away.
"This is the only way. Please forgive me, I love you." she cried.

The sun bellowed once more, Eduardo clutching his throat as he stared Cirilla down. Cirilla smiling with more happiness then she'd ever felt before. Another wife had come in, staring terrified at the two.
"As you said, there was never another option. Time is a luxury we should obey."
​

Cirilla walked to the terrified wife laughing maniacally.
Cirilla walked to her terrified mother, crying hysterically.

"I'm going to make this as painful as I can."
"I'm going to make this as quick, I love you and hope you can forgive me."

Cirilla promptly went to bite the throat out of the woman, a truly animalistic endeavour and left her to suffocate within the throne room. Eduardo tried to speak, but his lungs were full of blood. She was gone.
Cirilla stabbed her mother in the throat and held her hand for the few minutes she had left, dragging her to be with her father as they both suffocated. She couldn't leave them, despite being the murderer.

Cirilla left the estate just in the nick of time as the vampire hunters she had given information to began their assault, setting fire to the illustrious lie of goodwill, and the dark intentions of humanity. Unfortunately for her, Dorkarth had taken quite an interest in the coven and was apprehended in the hour.
Cirilla left as she heard the neighbours trying to kick down the door, leaving through the back window and trying to flee before Eduardo intercepted her travel, almost knowing exactly where she was. She wouldn't stop crying, as far as she was aware, they all died that night. Eduardo leaned and whispered "A Family for a Family. Welcome to the new world, Cirilla."

There will come a time in every good person's life where their goodwill is tested, and if they do not survive the test, all of it will manifest into the darkest black you have ever seen.

OOC: Welcome to why I shouldn't write characters lmao thanks for reading

​

 

[RememberTheGame]

reserve