The Widow
From Changeling Venue
The Widow
Contents |
How does she Feel
Have you ever known sadness when surrounded by beauty? Not just sadness, but as if your heart were filled with blackness and emptiness at the same time… and all around you are the most beautiful things, but they are void of any sense of joy, devoid of depth beyond the superficial images reverberating in your vision. Welcome to the world of The Widow. Much like the legend of the Black Widow, she preys on her targets – sometimes waiting years before striking. She is unable to be near anything with the essence of true joy, so her world is devoid of it entirely. Once captured by The Widow, your feelings become muted – your memories become blurred… and after enough time your soul also feels the pains similar to those The Widow feels if coming into contact with any sense other than sadness.
The Widow's area of effect is that of an emotional black-hole. Her lands are highly regarded for their gardens, but once inside of the twists and turns of the boxwoods, if without a knowledgeable escort, one would feel as if they were surrounded by gravestones and mist, eventually roots and branches become animated & ones deepest sadness is revealed and abused. The superficial beauty engulfs the vision and drags unsuspecting individuals into the gardens. If engulfed by the torment, hours of rest are necessary for one to recover from just a moment in the maze.
The Widow suffered many losses in her existence, and every loss made her that much more jaded - eventually she began thriving on the sadness and devoid atmosphere she created within her homestead. Her gardens had once been compared to the finest of any fairest true-born, a place for the finest Fae parties. As she suffered from sadness in her losses, and she grew more and more bitter the gardens changed - the guests no longer flocked to her door. Now, the lands feed off of emotions and lure in any passer by that finds the view tempting, as there is no essence to sustain them inside the Widow's lands - whatever they draw in as sustenance is used to provide the Widow with the power to suck the life out of her own prey through draining of emotion, she poisons the body and darkens the very spirit within you.
Understanding
"How dare you allow my Forsythia to die... AGAIN!!! You call yourself a gardener, you will taste the roots from the very soil you tend... Take her to the Pit." Goblins drag an already beaten and bloodied child to the middle of one of the many stone and boxwood mazes and she is dropped into a deep, dark dirt filled Pit. She begins falling - and just as she begins curling up into a ball, knowing what is about to happen to her, she is caught by something and jerked so that she can not remain clenched in protection. She is ripped and mangled as the roots from the surrounding bushes and trees reach out from the ground grabbing at her skin, pulling her, tossing her, throwing her, wrenching her, whipping her - the more she struggles to free or protect herself, the more she suffers. The screams are muted by the chanting of the goblins above, giving the roots strength to continue their punishment. The Widow sits above, in her somber throne, the trees caressing and rocking her as a child in their tender boughs... she sits and watches, the color and emotion drain from the very air surrounding the event - it is dark, sad, scary, lonely, angry, beautiful and empty. The girl finally lets out a shout that carries above the chanting and other sounds of torture - the sound perks the Widow's ears and she raises her arm slowly just as the girl finishes the statement "I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again... Please, please make it stop - I love you Mother, all I want to do is whatever you ask of me... Pleeaasse (cry/cry/sob/scream)!!!" At the very moment, the roots transition from torturing her into comforting her, they form a hammock in which the girl is cradled to the surface - the Widow is lowered down by the branches to where the girl is laid. The Widow kneels down, kisses the girl's cheek, picks her up in her arms and while carrying her to her room says, "there, there child... rest now, tomorrow is another day - sleep well my daughter".
Underlings
She has only but a few under her control, a few for her household, several as her personal servants, one or two for contracts between other Fae – then there is always one sometimes a rare second given the task of tending her gardens, as vast an expanse of mazes, trees, flowers and landscape you can imagine. The most painful and sad task is always saved for those The Widow most loves. Tending the gardens involves keeping the vegetation alive, which in such a miserable place is seemingly impossible. Each day is filled with painful work trudging through the thorns, cleaning out all the dead pieces to shape the appearance of everything being alive. If The Widow passes through the garden and finds signs of death, her wrath on those responsible is more than most can survive. There was at least one who survived long enough to escape, but she is rare to have lived to tell her tale.
Gizmo (currently an NPC) is the longest surviving servant of the Widow. This very small, woodland creature looking individual, takes time to inform each new comer of where they are and to what station they are being assigned. He is sort of the leader. None of the keeper's captures ever witness Gizmo and the Widow interacting, but he seems to know everything and does his best to keep everyone informed of how to keep the Widow from sending them to the Pit. However, the more the Widow loves you, the more she focus' on you... and that is both a blessing and a curse for your existence. The most loved end up tending the gardens, they also tend to not live as long as the other attendants under her rule.
Tristis Venia was one of the Widow's most cherished gardeners. The little girl in the description was once Grayce, abducted from her own mother's funeral by the Widow, to grow up tortured in Arcadia. Over the years spent in Arcadia, Grayce assumed the name of Tristis Venia to symbolize her transition. She made up several other names for herself over the years as the Widow only ever called her 'daughter'... She only remembered her real name after her brother found her and reminded her of her past. Once she remembered the truth, it was as if she had awakened from a long nightmare, though all the characters with whom she had interacted felt as real as her own flesh. The barkskin remains a constant reminder of the reality of her time in Arcadia.
Songs & Lyrics
Fear by Sarah McLaughlin
"Morning smiles
like the face of a newborn child,
innocent, unknowing.
Winter's end
promises of a long lost friend.
Speaks to me of comfort
But I fear
I have nothing to give.
I have so much to loose here in this lonely place.
Tangled up in your embrace
There's there's nothing I'd like better than to fall.
But I fear I have nothing to give.
Wind in time
Rapes the flower trembling on the vine
And nothing yields to shelter it from above.
The say temptation will destroy our love.
The never ending hunger
But I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much to loose here in this lonely place
Tangled up in our embrace
Theres nothing I'd like better than to fall
But I fear I have nothing to give.
I have so much to loose.
I have nothing to give.
We have so much to lose..."
Shoots & Ladders by Korn
Ring-a-round-the-rosies.
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head.
Into my childhood, theyre spoon fed.
Hidden violence revealed, darkness that seems real.
Look at the pages that cause all this evil.
One, two - buckle my shoe.
Three, four - shut the door.
Five, six - pick up sticks.
Seven, eight - lay them straight.
London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.
London bridge is falling down my fair lady.
Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head.
Into my childhood, theyre spoon fed.
Hidden violence revealed, darkness that seems real.
Look at the pages that cause all this evil.
Knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
Baa baa black have you any wool? yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
Ring-a-round-the-rosies.
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head.
Into my childhood, theyre spoon fed.
Hidden violence revealed, darkness that seems real.
Look at the pages that cause all this evil.
Knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone!
Quotes
Rumors
It is rumored that The Water Queen stole Tristis (briefly) from The Widow which caused a huge feud between the two keepers.
This was created by Karin Miller-Scheidt - Email questions or connections to: riggyday@gmail.com.
Back To: The Gentry
