Kekona's Story - Deadly Predator in The Village

Kekona already fills the concealed reliquary beneath Hollowbell, her black-furred silhouette blocking the stair. Three villagers huddle around a sealed stone relic, surrounded by blankets, grain, and guttering prayer candles.

The villagers are a gaunt elderly man, a young adult woman with cropped brown hair, and a frightened adolescent boy. Their faces blanch as the manticore advances through the cramped chamber.

Kekona seizes the elderly man before he can retreat. His prayer breaks into a strangled cry as her jaws close, and the other two villagers stumble against the relic’s carved base.

The young woman tries to pull the boy behind her, but Kekona’s paw catches them both. Stone grinds beneath their feet while the relic’s silver seal splits in a hairline crack.

A dim blue radiance leaks from the fracture, washing over blood, blankets, and terrified faces. Something ancient stirs beneath the stone as Kekona lowers her head toward the remaining prey.

Kekona ignores the cracked relic and clamps down on the elderly man. His cry ends beneath her jaws as blue light spills across her black fur.

The young woman drags the adolescent boy sideways, but Kekona’s long arm sweeps them from the relic’s base. Their feet lose purchase on the dusty stone.

Kekona pins the young woman beneath one paw and seizes the boy in her other hand. Their terror echoes beneath the shrine while the broken seal remains untouched.

She devours the young woman first, then the adolescent boy, consuming both in the cramped reliquary until their struggles cease and only scattered blankets remain.

The elderly man is gone as well. Blood darkens the grain sacks, prayer candles gutter in the blue radiance, and the three villagers leave no living voice behind.

Above, the bell tolls again through the stone. Kekona stands amid the emptied refuge, her hunger eased for the moment, while the sealed relic continues to glow.

Leave the reliquary