"And without Nina around, the rest of the Zachs didn’t stand a chance against that immortal doll," Thorin said, going over Uncle Warren’s testimony with Puck as they waited for Riona to wake up.
Puck frowned, arms crossed. "Okay, but seriously—who is this Nightblight lady Nina ntioned? Have you ever heard of her?"
He already knew the answer before he asked. If he didn’t know, then Thorin knowing was about as likely as a squirrel winning a chess tournant.
After all, he was the pack’s tracker—the one who was supposed to have all the inside information. And yet, here they were, completely in the dark.
"Nightblight...?" The Fallen One, who had been left alone while Riona enjoyed her extended recovery nap, perked up at the ntion of the na.
Well, technically, he wasn’t eavesdropping. It’s not like he was sneaking around with a cup against the wall. He was literally right here. If anything, they were the ones discussing sensitive topics in his presence. Not his fault.
Since they couldn’t even see him floating around, they probably thought this was a safe space.
But still... why did that na sound so familiar?
He muttered to himself, sifting through the endless archives of his immortal brain. Not an easy task, considering he had existed for a very long ti and his mory was basically a hoarder’s attic—cluttered with lifetis’ worth of junk and forgotten traumas.
Then, suddenly—ding!
"Oh!" His eyes lit up.
And then, just as fast—nope.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no. This can’t be." His entire form practically deflated.
Panic rising, he hovered frantically around Thorin and Puck, completely forgetting—once again—that he was basically a glorified ghost and neither of them could see or hear him.
"Are you sure? Are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure she said ’Nightblight’? Maybe you misheard? Maybe your uncle misheard? Maybe this is all just a massive ga of supernatural telephone gone wrong! Perhaps she actually said ’Night Sprite’ or ’Nice Flight’ or—I don’t know—’Blight of the Night’ but ant it taphorically? Or literally anything else?"
Why was the Fallen One having this full-on ntal breakdown all by himself, you ask?
Well, the answer was simple—and also deeply, deeply unfortunate.
This Nightblight lady Nina ntioned? Yeah, the Fallen One knew her by a slightly different na: Thessara. Also known as the Eleventh Ancestor. Or, as history would probably call her if history had any common sense—’Oh Gods, Not Her.’
(Back when she was still alive, her surna was Nightblight. Which, honestly, should have been a red flag from the start.)
And why was this so horrifying?
Because Thessara wasn’t just bad. She wasn’t your run-of-the-mill tyrant or so wannabe dark overlord. No, she was Hall of Fa villainy—the blueprint for every power-hungry, chaos-loving nightmare that ca after her.
You see, Ancestors weren’t chosen for their kind hearts or stellar moral compasses. No, they got their fancy seats in the afterlife based on how many people worshipped them. So achieved that by being great rulers. Others by conquering everything in sight.
Thessara?
She got there by being such a magnificent villain that people literally could not stop talking about her.
Oh, she was good at it. Too good.
For example, there was that one ti she convinced a king to wipe out every neighboring kingdom just because she wanted a better ocean view from her balcony.
The issue? There were mountains in the way. Mountains owned by the neighboring kingdoms. Her solution? Flatten everything.
And by the gods, she did it.
There was also that one ti Thessara felt threatened—which, given her particular brand of villainy, could an anything from ’soone looked at her funny’ to ’a bird chirped too loudly near her window.’
Case in point: one woman politely declined Thessara’s invitation to tea. The reason? Oh, nothing major. Just actively giving birth.
A reasonable person might have said, "Oh, of course! That’s totally understandable. Take care of yourself."
Thessara, on the other hand, decided this was treason. And what was the logical punishnt for treason? Mass infanticide. Obviously.
She ordered every infant in that kingdom to be slaughtered—because nothing says reasonable retaliation like wiping out an entire generation over a missed brunch.
Sotis, she took care of these little tantrums herself. Other tis, she made her underlings do it. If any of them had even the slightest sense of morality and dared to hesitate, well... let’s just say they got an early retirent package. And by retirent package, I an a violent and imdiate death.
After one or two examples, everyone got the mo: Thessara says jump, you don’t ask how high—you just jump and pray she’s not in the mood to set you on fire mid-air.
Naturally, so people thought, Hey, what if we just... leave?
Run away. Escape the kingdom. Change nas. Start over in another country. Sure, it might an a lifeti of backbreaking labor, but at least it’d be far better than being on Thessara’s hit list.
They were really banking on the fact that she wasn’t an official queen or soone with actual political power. Surely the kings and emperors wouldn’t cater to every ridiculous whim of a pretty shaman who could throw curses, right?
Unfortunately, they underestimated how dedicated Thessara was to holding a grudge.
Not only did she send kings and emperors after these runaways, but she also ordered the execution of anyone who even vaguely looked like them.
Because, in her mind, why settle for a targeted manhunt when you could just commit mass murder for efficiency’s sake?
It was deeply unsettling to witness soone so breathtakingly beautiful—capable of enchanting anyone with a re glance—could also be an absolute nightmare in human form.
Thessara wasn’t just evil; she was evil with extra seasoning. The kind who made even other bad guys go, "Whoa, maybe chill?"
She had clawed her way to the top from way below rock bottom.
Born to a prostitute, abandoned in the streets with no clue who her father was, Thessara learned very early that the world was a terrible place. But instead of using that as motivation to, I don’t know, be a better person or break the cycle, she settled on a different life goal: Make the entire world suffer as much as she did.
Was it logical? Not even a little. Did she care? Absolutely not.
Because, in her mind, why waste ti considering cause and effect when she could just burn entire civilizations to the ground for fun?
And people loved her for it. Her cult-like following included n who were utterly blinded by her beauty, won who wanted to be her, and a handful of villain-wannabes.
Despite her moral compass being nonexistent—or possibly actively spinning like a possessed ceiling fan—this woman managed to land herself a spot as the Eleventh Ancestor.
And this—this absolute nace to existence—was who they were dealing with.
So yeah, do you see why the Fallen One was currently panicking like the world was seconds away from total annihilation?
Because, realistically, it might be.
"Co on, Riona, WAKE UP!!! We are in so much trouble!!!"
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