End of Innocents

The dark jungle zips by before suddenly disappearing below the small animatoid revealing a great unfinished tower rising from a hidden valley in the distance. It’s broken crest stands out against the snow-capped mountains beyond as a reminder of a task left undone. Surprisingly, as the sound of passing wind fades near the height of the leap, a faint, slow and majestic music emanating from the forgotten prison tantalizes the ears with suggestions of sadness and woe. An older girl dressed in black with scarf across her face whirls away from a crashing fist in the morning light. The dark-haired young man it leaves an imprint in the side of the wagon where her face had been moments ago. There is no doubt left in her mind. Castel is trying to kill her at last. Bluish moonlight filters through a gap in the canopy into a sunken grotto deep in the jungle. A diminutive robed figure waits in the branches of a tree overlooking several small waterfalls that venture over the edges. The eye can only just catch the a second black-clad figure working quickly but silently around the edge of the large, hidden pool. Rough looking horseman trudge through the pouring rain past a flooded cemetery that has long since given up the faint hope of keeping its occupants buried. The rusted iron fence which once might have been intended to keep it’s occupants in leads to a dilapidated town of sagging roves, diminished lights, and locked doors. It isn’t long before the bloodied nooses hanging from a great oak beside the inn send a shiver down their spine.