A Devine Introduction

There were two spaces that had filled her with delightful possibility and those were the things which had prompted the youthful-looking Aleriana Devine toward her newfound task of venturing into the DeVuehn Estate. The existence of monsters was nothing she hadn’t already come to terms with and there was a flare of knowing that she would endure a few in her passage toward the famed manor.

And yet, for all that she knew she would undergo, Leri could not pull free of the notion that she needed to arrive at those gates. She wondered if they would be wrought iron, or perhaps overgrown with the weight of all the darkness that had descended upon the land. It was a curious thought but Aleriana had always been a bit consumed by the occult and all things of a precarious notion.

Dressed in a long black skirt with stitched lacing that ran her backside, Leri’s bodice was a cream color with a velvet black vest. Three silver buttons held it wrapped tightly about her waist and the appearance it gave made it shapely with a perfect silhouette. With the night air falling over her olive skin, there was now a riddling of bumps that arose to showcase the cooling temperature and for that reason, Aleriana had chosen to don an embroidered shawl that fell over her shoulders.

When her journey had first began, she had chosen to ride in a carriage but some time ago she’d found herself treading the soles right of her black boots, whose heels now clinked against the cobblestone road beneath her. She held to her resolve, however, as if the thought of coming to this new place would finally set some worries in her mind at ease,

"The Library and the Vault. Oh, the things I could learn if only I could venture within them.” these thoughts accompanied Leri as she continued in her intentional stroll. But, she held no intent of harm or wrongdoing, hoping instead to find an audience with the Lord of the House, one she had only known to be called Heathcliff - with his mysterious allure and curious family, Leri wondered if she might find sanctum with their kind. As it seemed, she had no family any longer.

The Moorish were never well-received, and she being a ‘gypsy,’ the horrid word for her Bohemian peoples, was always held with disdain. This meant her traveling caravan never would be left in peace and it had resulted in the murder of her clan some ten years before. In the time since Leri had never been sure of where she belonged and it was to that end that she made way with the hopes that Lord Heathcliff would grant her that much-needed audience. A quick sucking in of breath, and Leri drew in the cool air. Though she seemed completely solitary in her gait, the truth was the workings of her mind had been so strong that she had created herself something of a companion in the automaton arachnid she had so come to love, Fernanda.

For short, she called the contraption spider, Fern, and the gears of her body were laced with interesting added gadgets which included the potent injectors of her fangs that housed a concoction Leri herself had created and with proper ingredients could make much more. It caused opponents' paralysis and the fine way she had made Fern’s brass legs made them delightful knives when need be. The creature now perched on Leri’s shoulder taking up a good deal of the circumference of space that it sat upon as it were no small thing, but rather about the size of a common house cat.

But, Aleriana’s attachment to Fern was a strong one and it almost seemed as if the creature had a mind of its own, somehow forging a loving bond between both machine and the woman who had made it. Nevertheless, it was only Fern that remained of her past life, and since Leri had chosen to begin the walk toward the estate of DeVuehn she had known that things would not stay quiet and untouched. The sound of something rustling nearby suddenly brushed her earlobe and the rising of bumps upon her flesh and the hair at her nape quickly seemed to lift up. All indicators of her prompt awareness of her suddenly being not so alone, after all. Pausing, irises lit up as she pivoted to tilt her neck in the direction of the sound. Daring not to make any sudden move, Aleriana’s lips twitched as if she wished to call out but knew better. Her tongue laced out from between her lips, snaking along the edge of her mouth as she finally found her gaze stationed upon a darker space hidden within the trees.

The faint outline of the road beneath her gave a hint of something lying across the cobblestones but she could not make it out quite yet; silvery emphasis tracing along the edge of what appeared to be fragments of a corpse was all she could make out. Lithe fingers slipped toward the buttons of her vest, tips of her nails dragging across the fabric as she reached into her inner pocket. Her fingers bid to grasp the hilt of a long silver dagger, filigree etching the handle with what appeared to be Romani thorn and ivy embellishments. But the blade, it was a rather long one and shapely in its curvature; she pulled the first of a set of her curved throwing knives free of its housing. Delicately, and with her petite stature she sucked in a deep breath of knowing as the bounding shadows of darkness suddenly gave birth to a scourge beast, with eyes glimmering from the wood’s edge,

"And now, we run, Fern! For where there is one there are certainly two or three more!” with the blade in hand, Leri recognized that she had some semblance of protection but she knew better - there was a guarantee she was outnumbered by at least one or two more of the same horrifying beasts. What this meant, however, as her boots began to resonate with loud clicks - evidence of the speed she had now risen to in an effort to flee the path - was that she had finally arrived within the full breast of Hartleigh. Yet, living to see Lord Heathcliff might be a feat she would never see if her feet could not carry her in utmost haste from the grasp of the terrifying being that now bounded from the shadows toward her with a fierce growling that caused Aleriana’s body to physically quake even as she continued to run for dear life from the infernal thing. Still, even as she began to run further up the street the implications of the beings she had spotted before were nothing compared to the bestial and yet mesmerizing creature she noted sprawled out across the road with her feet propped up on none other than a corpse’s remnants.

It was stunning - not that the grim scene surprised her, but how this entity seemed to do so with such nonchalance was beyond her understanding. Moving to avoid the calamity of crossing her path in an ill manner, Leri bounded across the corpse and continued her forward sprint with Fern attached to her shoulder, and there, Leri began frantically adjusting her vest as her hands reached for yet another blade. Transfixed, as she was, the sound of something behind her and the voice of a male broke into her thoughts - driving her to peer up at him as she glanced back at the unfolding scene,

”Well, don’t just stand there, you, Sir! There are scourges all around and some entity I am quite positive I’ve offended whilst sleeping upon the ground! Name yourself: friend or foe?” she bellowed, lifting the blade as she pointed back at him with accusatory eyes.

The inky pitch of darkness swarmed all around, and Aleriana fought off the pungent odor of death as she worked to move free of the pit of putridity that she had landed within. Granted, the mushiness of rotting bodies made for a cushiony landing, but the after-effects of the stench and bits of splattered, festering organs and rotting blood that splotched her clothing were definitely less than sophisticated.

"Pity that, let’s pray that the Lord of DeVuehn Estate takes sympathy on the wretch that I have now become,” she glanced down at her clothing before lifting her mahogany gaze to find the male’s who had saved her from the jaws of one of the scourge’s. With her second throwing blade in hand she perked her brow as lips quirked, "Silvanus, you say. This is Romani. Have you a tribe?” She murmured, eyes narrowing as with a reproachful glint. It was clear that trusting others was something Leri had little patience for, but she also couldn’t help but note his willfulness to aid her without any hesitation. Still, in her rolling fall, it seemed Fernanda had disappeared and the look of worry instantly fell over her visage as she quickly spun about-face - completely absentminded to his querying of her name. And still, Aleriana could not help but find herself digging her hands into the piles of death in frantic search of her beloved automaton,

"Oh, where on earth is my spider? Fern!” her voice called out over the winds, but Leri did not cease her motions; tossing limbs and innards all about as she worked to find her precious arachnid. It was clear, then and there, that Leri was far more concerned with keeping the spider close than befriending anyone else, and yet as she peered over her shoulder she found herself calling out to him,

"Well, make yourself useful! Help me find Fern, please!” she urged, head shaking in slight as she worked to full a severed head free of the mass of corpses. She quickly glanced down to grimace as a worm slithered out of the eye socket of the rotting skull, and groaned - tossing it in haste above her head as she murmured to Silvanus once again,

"My name is Madam Aleriana Devine, Leri, if you please.” but Aleriana did not once glance upward as her prying eyes continued to search for the creation she loved most. Creak The distant sound of gears in motion brushed at Leri’s ear, and as this transpired she quickly turned her head toward the sound,

"Wait, did you hear that?” came her instant response, "Hush, now! Listen!” she encouraged, leaning in as she arose to peer about her surroundings with an intentional stare. Slowly, Leri’s head swiveled from left to right; raking the scenery for the sound,

"Ah, there you are!” in the distance, the twinkling of brass flickered and the creaking of gears became more intense as Fernanda’s steely legs came closer into view. A grin came to claim Leri’s lips then, tracing out to pierce her cheeks as glee crept into her chest and the agile young woman instantly sprinted across the scattered cadavers, scooping up her precious creature as she spun about to once again peer at the man who had introduced himself as Silvanus Vano Leander,

"And, do you know your way about this place? Or which direction I should seek for speaking with one Lord Heathcliff of DeVuehn? Hm?”