Her life had been short. After she had answered Carnage's call in Pangea she hadn't lasted long - only long enough to produce a child and loose one important battle. But she had not rested in the afterlife, even if she never thought she would see the land of the living again, she had not allowed herself to wallow.

She had fought that battle every day.
She had ripped him open in one hundred different ways.

And when crossed Nikkia's river of life and death, her body had been remade, and she had felt strength as she never had before.

Yet, it was not enough.

She was little more than prey still, like the creature whose antlers she wore. So she tells her mate she is going to the field, and leaves Tephra behind with a blink of her long-lashed eyes.

When she wakes, Warlight stands at the base of the mountain. She would not cheat the pilgrimage to teleport any further up. No, she begins the arduous climb with her head lowered, conserving energy for a journey she knows will last well into the night.

Hours pass, she falls, she stands, she climbs, and she forms the words she wants to say. The stars come out, and despite the howling of the wind, it is a brilliantly clear night. But finally, as she reaches a plateau that looks like it could be the edge of the world, she halts.

"Carnage!" Warlight calls to the Dark God in a voice that does not betray her exhaustion, as a sudden burst of adrenaline infuses life into her tired body. It was not the first time she had called on him, and it was not the first time she had been prepared to do his bidding.  "I am a warrior, but my strength is nothing in the field." There was little use for her antlers when magic ran rampant, and no matter how well she trained her body, her strength and speed were nearly useless when matched against the traits of others. "I'm asking for the power to level the field, to have the chance to fight a battle where the winner is decided by teeth, hooves anthers and claws."

Her return to the Mountain is a march in slow-motion. She weaves between the kingdoms and territories on foot, a trek she had bypasses with her teleportation last time. She had lived the last half-year without such gifts, and the journey is nothing short of grueling.

But when she reaches her destination, the true trial begins.

She had told Raul she didn't know how long it would take, and on her fourth night, she sleeps at the base of the mountain.  She dreams of the comforts of home, of warmth and security, and she dreams of the afterlife. It's one of the later dreams that wake her, her chest still throbbing, pumping icy blood from an imagined death-wound.

She doesn't try to sleep again.

From this mid-night moment until the next day's dusk, she climbs. The leopard-skin warrior watches her feet as the hours fade in some mindless, disassociation. When the earth plateaus, she almost stumbles. Halting instead, Will regains her balance and looks around to see where her hooves have taken her. She recognizes the lands stretched out below, causing her stomach to churn from the height, and she decides that this place will do. Lifting her head and strengthening her shoulders, Warlight calls for the dark god.