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She lived exactly 16 years before dying naturally, which is quite an achievement for a lioness in a pride ruled over by a bloodthirsty demonic ferus-like empress from a galaxy far far away. The empress was most impressed and granted Elizabeth immortality through some good old fashioned necromancy, however Elizabeth might have come back “wrong”. Now she spends her days selling trinkets and oddities to those strangers who are lucky enough to make it through the empress’s lair alive. After being immortalized, Elizabeth would often accompany dying animals, although it was never her that killed them. Due to having come back from the dead herself, Elizabeth now has a fascination with the prospect of dying. As time went on Elizabeth slowly began to lose her sense of identity. “What’s in a name? Nothing more than an arrangement of words… it can be rearranged and changed into something else. As time marches on, it will eventually be forgotten and lose all its meaning.” She thought to herself. To her, the name “Elizabeth” had lost its meaning over time. She had not chosen her own name in the first place, it had merely been given to her. She decided to change it to match her new identity and outlook on life: Memento Mori.
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While exploring the desert, you found yourself in a strange new place. It looks much like any other place you’ve been to, but something is very off. It is unnervingly silent, there is no sign of any other living thing here. The atmosphere seems dark in this desolate place. Out of bravery, or perhaps stupidity, you continue on your journey through this shadowy land. As you look around, you notice piles upon piles of bones. More concerning is the fact that you immediately recognize them as lion bones. They look to have not died naturally, and their positioning tells you that their last moments were far from peaceful. The damage would indicate hyena activity… except for the fact that these bites look more like they came from a lion. A very big one at that.
Suddenly, your nose catches a whiff of a horrible scent… the scent of sulfur. You hear the sound of skirmish occurring nearby, and you decide to investigate. What you see next makes you feel sick… a lioness-like beast, crouched and feasting on the corpse of a freshly killed lion.
You audibly gasp… unfortunately it heard you. The she-beast raises her head and gets up from its crouching position. Blood drips from her jaws as she sniffs the air. Suddenly, much to your dismay, she turns and looks directly at you. A low rumbling comes from within the beast’s throat.
You decide to run in this scenario. This was of course a bad idea, as she appears to be intent on killing anything that moves. As you run, the monstrous lioness chases you; knocking down and crushing the bones of her past victims as she tears and thrashes at any obstacles that stand in her way. You keep running, but are starting to get tired. The thing hunting you however, doesn’t show any signs of fatigue. In your tired state, you trip over something and end up finding yourself sliding into what looks to be a makeshift den. The opening was big enough for you, but too small for the beast. She lets out a roar of rage before stomping off.
You suddenly feel something brush up against you. Still afraid, you prepare to attack, only to find that what brushed against you was a much less demonic looking lioness, and not some lion-eating demon. Although something seems off about her as a dark aura outlines her form and she even appears to have strange, ethereal wings. Suddenly, she begins to speak, her voice is soft yet it seems to echo slightly, like the whispering of an incomprehensibly ancient being. “Judging by your terrified expression, you had an encounter with Insatia…and managed to avoid being eaten by her too.” She says. Her body language indicates that she does not have ill intentions and appears to be anticipating a response from you. “What is wrong with her!?” You ask her. She sighs and looks at you in the eyes. “She’s batshit crazy and eternally hungry. Oh, I should probably mention that she is not the only nightmarish entity around these parts…” She explains. “There’s more monsters like her!?” You ask with concern. “Yes and no. I am also technically one of those “monsters” as much like Insatia, I am cursed as well. I’m immortal, unnatural. The other “living” inhabitants of this pit and I are all heralded as “champions” of the apocalypse. Atrocitas is the champion of war, Rodentia is the champion of pestilence, and Insatia is the champion of famine…” The mysterious merchant explains to you calmly. “Wouldn’t that make you…” the lioness interrupts you with her answer, “I am the champion of death… Memento Mori. You should not be afraid of that though, I have no interest in reaping your soul at this time.” She says as if trying to be reassuring. You aren’t sure how to feel about it but you’re distracted by your surroundings. You notice that various items seem to be scattered around this part of the pit, items that a lioness generally wouldn’t just have lying around. There’s also multiple silver and golden beetle shells scattered around. “I couldn’t help but notice you looking around. In case you’re wondering, all of these items are for sale if you’re interested in buying some souvenirs from this near death encounter you just had.” She pitches.
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