Heartless Hunter
by Kristen Ciccarelli
Contents
Overture
Overview
Rune watches a public witch purging and remembers how casting scars, once a source of pride under the Sister Queens, have become deadly evidence under the Blood Guard. As the crowd thirsts for vengeance and the accused witch’s scars are exposed, Rune realizes how easily witches are identified and condemned. The scene reveals Rune’s fear of being discovered and her deliberate choice to avoid any scars that could mark her as a witch.
Summary
Rune recalls how the Blood Guard identifies suspected witches: they strip them and search for casting scars.
She contrasts the present terror with the Sister Queens’ reign, when witches displayed those scars proudly as symbols of rank, wealth, and magic. After the witch queens were murdered two years earlier, the Blood Guard took control of the city and began purges.
At sunset in a fog-soaked city square, Rune stands in a surging crowd watching an old witch climb the purging platform. The crowd hungers for vengeance, while the witch faces them without begging. Blood Guard soldiers tear away the woman’s sleeve to expose patterned scars down her arm, and Rune finds the scars beautiful even as she understands they are now proof that makes witches easy to hunt. The sight hardens Rune’s resolve never to cut herself, because she cannot risk leaving scars that would betray her.
Who Appears
- RuneObserves a witch purge; recalls past rule; fears discovery and avoids casting scars.
- The old witch (crone)Accused witch on the purging platform; stoically reveals casting scars before the crowd.
- The Blood GuardRuling force hunting witches; strips suspects and exposes scars as proof.
- The Sister QueensFormer witch rulers whose era made scars symbols of rank; later murdered, triggering purges.