Rose s'était forcée de se libérer du vice de pierre seulement pour trouver que le chemin devant avait disparu. Elle battit dessus avec de grands arcs de tonnerre qui éclatèrent de sa paume, ébranla la grotte par des tremblements de terre, tous en vain. Le chemin a été bloqué. Elle se retourna et retourna à la surface, dans l'intention de survivre. Elle ne laisserait pas le Dieu brisé s'échapper, elle ne mourrait pas ici. Elle ferait descendre la montagne sur elle si elle l'avait fait.
Et elle flotta de haut en haut, au-dessus de la montagne, au-dessus de la Pierre, portée par les vents de Lha'tak. Et puis le monde autour de Rose s'est transformé en chaos. Elle délivra la puissance que le dieu lui avait donnée, tout cela, la puissance profonde du dieu qui dominait sur les catastrophes naturelles. La foudre pleuvait en volleys, le sol tremblait et se fendait, le vent raflait, pliant les arbres, menaçant les racines qui avaient été creusées dans le sol au cours de centaines d'années. Rose était en colère, triste, et effrayée, entourée d'une apocalypse de sa propre fabrication dans une tranche apparemment morte du monde entouré par la puissance terrifiante des dieux qui se penchaient à faire les survivants de la Pierre dans leurs jeux.
J'aurais été mieux si j'avais dormi sainement dans cette boîte maudite.
Ironiquement assez il y avait un temps où Rose aurait accueilli la puissance de Lha'tak quel que soit le prix. Mais maintenant elle savait que le coût ne valait pas le retour - la perte de sa liberté, liée à la volonté du dieu avec aucune de ses propres. Et puis le cataclysme s'est arrêté tout d'un coup. Ce n'était pas utile, c'était clair. Elle ne serait pas libre de Lha'tak comme ça. Elle n'a pas voulu détruire Ni de cette façon, pas qu'elle l'avait voulu en premier lieu. Elle avait besoin d'un nouveau plan.
Le nouveau plan était défiant. Elle ne tuerait pas Nor. Il y a de nombreuses années, Rose aurait été plus que prête à le faire, mais maintenant? Elle a refusé. Lha'tak le savait, elle le savait; il n'y avait aucun moyen qu'elle puisse cacher l'information, du moins par son estimation comme il était apparemment dans son esprit. Alors elle courait, se cachait, elle avait pris un tour à être l'émissaire de Dieu et a décidé qu'elle était finie. Elle s'est laissée tomber et a couru pour la protection de la Pierre. Elle était sûre que Lha'tak ne serait pas loin derrière.
An errant witch with a penchant for snark who's motives and history are uncertain.



Many tales hide in tomes of forgotten lore scattered throughout the land. One such tale is that of Rose Halwell, known to the people of a dreary village called Everfall as the 'trickster witch'. The old books tell many conflicting stories, although a few key details always remain the same. They all agree that Rose appears as a young, beautiful women, although some posit that she is a actually a withered hag that uses the souls of her victims to maintain her youth. They all agree that she lures weary travelers into her swamp hut, although to what ends no book will ever know. And they all agree that she was captured and taken to the Stone. But there is one more key detail that the books lie in agreement on: All roses have their thorns, particularly the Trickster Witch of Everfall.
William Humphrey's book "On Monsters and Mysteries" is one book that tells the tale of Rose. In Humphrey's tale he writes of a hag that takes the form of a young maiden, stalking the roads about Everfall posing as a young maid in peril and preying on lone men. She plays the part of the damsel, conjuring wicked abominations for travelling men to save her from. Of course they always succeed in slaying Rose's conjurations, at which point the liberated maiden implores them to escort her back to her swampland home, stringing them along with promise of... an enticing reward. Upon reaching her hut the witch invites them inside, entering into a darkened room. As the door swings shut behind them it locks, sealed by some form of magic, and the room illuminates to reveal the horrid interior of the witch's lair. Humphrey describes the interior in great detail, painting a picture of a slaughterhouse filled with human remnants, strange brews, demonic symbols, and much and more depraved sights. Finally, as the prey realizes they have fallen into a trap, the witch's skin melts to reveal her true form, a withered old women. She then presents them with a riddle. If one answers it correctly they leave with their life. However, if they do not the witch will kills them, using their remains and their soul itself to fuel her demonic magic, particularly that which gives her life eternal.
However Humphrey's version of the story is not the sole account of Rose. Indeed there are many more, all conflicting. One other story is that told in Henry Bisland's "The Lore of the Wispy Woods", an account of the legends of the city of Everfall and the darkened woods around it. Rose's is not the only legend of Everfall, its inhabitants will tell you that the forests around it hold all sorts of dark mysteries and twisted monsters. However, in Bisland's tale Rose doesn't take the form of a malevolent hag. Bisland's account claims that she was indeed the age which she appeared, and uses no sort of demonic magic to achieve longevity. Instead the young witch roams the woods, playing harmless pranks on the people of Everfall and seeking to help lost or injured travelers in need. Those she finds in need may be taken back to her hut to rest and recover, by Bisland's account a warm and pleasant nook. Bisland describes her as a healer and a generally pleasant person to all who cross her path, likening her to some sort of whimsical forest spirit.
Both tales although differing do have the same ending, only the details changing. They both say that one day Rose encountered a valiant knight on the road, a champion of his hometown and a mighty warrior with wile to match. The tale splits here, with Humphrey's Rose using her trap to lure the knight back to her hut. Upon being presented with the witch's riddle he quickly deduces the answer, leaving unmolested. However in Bisland's tale the knight encounters Rose and the young witch becomes enamored with him, inviting him to sup at her home. The knight came to stay in Everfall for a time, and the witch came to love him. The knight too loved Rose, and as time went on the two would soon wed. However, Rose concealed from the knight that she was a witch, knowing that he was a religious man and despised witchery. Inevitably the truth would be revealed, and the knight would flee in disgust of his lover's use of demonic pagan arts.
Both tales converge when the knight returns and imprisons Rose, taking her to the Stone. Both Roses curse the knight, causing him to live a life of misfortune for imprisoning her. One story is a tale of an heroic knight, the other a tragedy of a benevolent witch betrayed by the one she loved.
No one can truly say which story is correct, and the truth is likely somewhere between the many accounts of her life.