09-20-2020, 03:18 PM
The Churchyard is an eerie sight. Beautiful in it's own way, with the oddly graceful tombs that never seem to crumble lining the rows of the cemetery, but not a welcoming sight to those who aren't familiar with it. To those whom are easily influenced by the ghostly aura of both malevolent and benevolent spirits, it gives off a feeling that could only possibly be explained as eyes. Eyes that watch like a hawk, that cause a prickling feeling of nervousness to spread over limbs and chests constantly. Sometimes you might hear a whisper, might feel the wind rush past their body, might see a dark shadow in the corner of their eye and when they turn to try and see what's causing them that unease, it vanishes. As if it were never there.
That is The Church Grim.
It's a whisper only told by mothers to their adventurous children, to warn them from entering the churchyard. A whisper it might be, but it is not an untrue one. Some have claimed to see him late at night, dragging invisible shapes into graves. And, while some of them might have, they don't tend to last too long- driven mad and locked away, or mysteriously winding up dead.
Some of them never spoke of their sighting out loud, but they knew. The story of The Church Grim was true, and should be told. These are the people who passed it onto their children, and in turn, they passed it on too. The story had been known, had been told, for thousands of years.
With a legend like that, you don't expect it to be true. And if you do, you hope with all your being that it's not. This legend is not of a friendly being but of a gigantic black dog that protects the churchyard from thieves, vandals, and graverobbers. That part of the story, though, is not true. It is not the churchyard that he is protecting, but the people outside it.
Once, he had protected humans, but they had died anyway. Today, he protects the creatures of Tanglewood. Some of them he knows, the higher ranking ones- Vigenere, the leader, being one of them.
Creatures that are not part of Tanglewood but who have died in their land are often welcomed into the churchyard. Today, there is a little one. A young sloth, unable to speak- frozen solid, with stiff peaks of ice in their fur. He sees the sadness in their gentle gaze and keeps them with him most of the time, an unstoppable force against the aggressiveness of the other ghosts.
No child should be welcomed into the churchyard, but it is not his job to stop it. It is his job to make sure that those inside the churchyard, never get out.
Perhaps that is why he lets his guard drop so low as to reveal himself to the creatures of Tanglewood on this day.
Recently, many more animals had joined the ranks in the graveyard, and some of them were angry. It wasn't his duty to question them, only to stop them from getting out or anyone out from getting in, but he knew there was nothing could be done against them.
His body seems to almost flicker into visibility, like that of a spectral being, a ghost if you will. Shadows dance across thick, black fur, coating his body in a mist that absorbs all light. His eyes are barely discernible against the shadows, being the exact same colour, but they are bright red now, angry. They reflect the image of the haunted soul that his teeth have latched around as he pulls, heaves, drags the spirit back to its shallow grave. He understands the anger, truly, it hadn't even been given a proper burial, but it is no use in taking it out on animals who had no part in the misdeed.
After the deed is done, the spirit returned to the depths of its final resting place, the dog stands. Massive in size and radiating a familiar feeling, one that sparks anxiety, paranoia and pure fear into the heart of even the most brave beings, you have to wonder... Is it the churchyard that gives off that familiar eerie feeling, or is it him?
As forst decorates the ground and the being stands, chest heaving, before the ancient building, he turns... and locks eyes with another.
//tldr; church here is somewhat of a legend told to frighten off children from the churchyard. not many people believe he exists, but an (unnamed) someone happens across him dragging a soul back to their grave in the graveyard. guess he's gotta explain himself.
That is The Church Grim.
It's a whisper only told by mothers to their adventurous children, to warn them from entering the churchyard. A whisper it might be, but it is not an untrue one. Some have claimed to see him late at night, dragging invisible shapes into graves. And, while some of them might have, they don't tend to last too long- driven mad and locked away, or mysteriously winding up dead.
Some of them never spoke of their sighting out loud, but they knew. The story of The Church Grim was true, and should be told. These are the people who passed it onto their children, and in turn, they passed it on too. The story had been known, had been told, for thousands of years.
With a legend like that, you don't expect it to be true. And if you do, you hope with all your being that it's not. This legend is not of a friendly being but of a gigantic black dog that protects the churchyard from thieves, vandals, and graverobbers. That part of the story, though, is not true. It is not the churchyard that he is protecting, but the people outside it.
Once, he had protected humans, but they had died anyway. Today, he protects the creatures of Tanglewood. Some of them he knows, the higher ranking ones- Vigenere, the leader, being one of them.
Creatures that are not part of Tanglewood but who have died in their land are often welcomed into the churchyard. Today, there is a little one. A young sloth, unable to speak- frozen solid, with stiff peaks of ice in their fur. He sees the sadness in their gentle gaze and keeps them with him most of the time, an unstoppable force against the aggressiveness of the other ghosts.
No child should be welcomed into the churchyard, but it is not his job to stop it. It is his job to make sure that those inside the churchyard, never get out.
Perhaps that is why he lets his guard drop so low as to reveal himself to the creatures of Tanglewood on this day.
Recently, many more animals had joined the ranks in the graveyard, and some of them were angry. It wasn't his duty to question them, only to stop them from getting out or anyone out from getting in, but he knew there was nothing could be done against them.
His body seems to almost flicker into visibility, like that of a spectral being, a ghost if you will. Shadows dance across thick, black fur, coating his body in a mist that absorbs all light. His eyes are barely discernible against the shadows, being the exact same colour, but they are bright red now, angry. They reflect the image of the haunted soul that his teeth have latched around as he pulls, heaves, drags the spirit back to its shallow grave. He understands the anger, truly, it hadn't even been given a proper burial, but it is no use in taking it out on animals who had no part in the misdeed.
After the deed is done, the spirit returned to the depths of its final resting place, the dog stands. Massive in size and radiating a familiar feeling, one that sparks anxiety, paranoia and pure fear into the heart of even the most brave beings, you have to wonder... Is it the churchyard that gives off that familiar eerie feeling, or is it him?
As forst decorates the ground and the being stands, chest heaving, before the ancient building, he turns... and locks eyes with another.
//tldr; church here is somewhat of a legend told to frighten off children from the churchyard. not many people believe he exists, but an (unnamed) someone happens across him dragging a soul back to their grave in the graveyard. guess he's gotta explain himself.
