EI Report: Antipathy's finale!

Good afternoon, EI fans! Glad you're here, it's a "big'un" today! How do you like that slang? I picked it up at a truck stop. I was just getting some snacks, minding my own business, when a rude trucker told me that my head was too big for my body and that I had a "big'un dome." I didn't pay him any mind, though, because his head was extremely small, so it's no wonder why he thought my normal-sized head was huge.

Anyway, yes, it really is a big week around here-- Antipathy just reached its last stage of evolution, and there's so much to see (including an illustration at the bottom, scroll all the way down)!

Antipathy
- At last, the sound carries to the deepest chambers. The King, grandly dressed in silks and furs, leaps to his feet at the shrill scream, a chill crawling up his spine. He shouts for guards and dives for his sword just as the door to his room bows inward and shatters to pieces with a horrifying crack. His heart freezes in his chest, his limbs like stone.

"My dear hunted," Wraak slips past the splintered wood as the scent of blood taints the air. The demon mockingly holds a hand to its chest. "This heart skips a beat at the sight of you."

"You..." the King sputters, eyes wide in recognition. "You, I thought you were dead. I locked you in the tower--"

"Twenty years ago. Yes. And as revenge, I have now killed much of your court, your men, your wife and your son." Wraak advances slowly. "And there is not one remaining to come to your aid." The King watches as the monster's face changes. He can see the prisoner-- the dead man-- peering out at him from someplace dark within his own body. "I came to this city to offer aid. Charms and potions and harmless spells. But you were afraid of my foreign magic." The dead man falters his steps, as if trying to pull his own body back, and failing. "You had only to ask, and I would have gone."

"It was witchcraft," the King replies, his face white. "You tell me you meant no harm, but now, look what you have done."

The dead man snarls. "I had only wanted to be a friend. Now all I can think of is my revenge. This is what you have done to me, King. This evil thing consumed me... as it has consumed this castle... and as it shall consume you."

"No--" The King collapses, bowing his head. "God, what are you? Forgive me. Oh please forgive me!" Wraak touches the King's head, almost kindly. Behind its eyes, the prisoner is gone. Only the monster remains. Smiling.

"I am Wraak," it whispers.

"I do not forgive."

Ah, what a finish! I'd like to remind you to go vote in the weekly EI poll as well, because it too is a "big'un" not unlike the item itself! See you next time!