Mina “Pink Viper” Ashido

Mina Ashido, aka the Pink Viper

Mina Ashido, better known across the frontier as the Pink Viper, is a name known among folk throughout the West. A woman with naturally pink skin that gives her a demonic appearance, Mina was born among the rare ten percent of the population gifted with natural powers. Her unusual appearance led to her being abandoned at birth, and where many children born with powers would have perished, Mina survived, eventually being taken in and cared for by a kindhearted religious woman.

Mina wears a stylish, form-fitting black cowgirl outfit accented with dark pink details. Her attire consists of a fitted, long-sleeved black Western shirt with a deep plunging neckline, decorated with pink patterned trim along the seams, cuffs, and collar, with a row of buttons running down the front. She pairs it with tight black pants and a wide black leather belt adorned with silver eyelets and a large silver buckle engraved with the letter “P.”

On her head sits a black cowboy hat with a reddish-brown textured band, with two pale, curved horns protruding from either side of the crown. Her fluffy, curly pink hair spills out from beneath the hat, falling loosely around her shoulders. Around her neck, she wears a chunky silver chain necklace with a round pendant, completing her distinctive Western attire with a darker, edgier aesthetic.

Personality — Mina Ashido, the Pink Viper

At heart, Mina Ashido is a genuinely kind and compassionate woman who refuses to let the cruelty of the world rob her of her humanity. Despite the difficult hand life has dealt her, she retains a strong moral compass and an instinctive ability to empathize with others. She understands what it feels like to be judged, rejected, and treated as something less than human, making her particularly sympathetic toward those who have been mistreated or cast aside. Although she isn’t naive enough to believe everyone has good intentions, she tries not to judge people solely by their appearance or reputation.

To strangers, however, Mina can seem surprisingly cold and guarded. Life on the frontier has taught her that a friendly face can conceal a dangerous person, and she refuses to trust someone simply because they approach her with a smile. She tends to keep conversations brief, watches people carefully, and can come across as distant, blunt, or even intimidating when meeting someone for the first time. She isn’t necessarily looking for a fight, but she won’t make herself vulnerable to someone she hasn’t decided she can trust.

Once someone earns that trust, though, Mina’s personality undergoes a complete transformation. Her guarded exterior gives way to an upbeat, playful, and mischievous woman who loves teasing people, cracking jokes, and finding reasons to laugh even when circumstances are less than ideal. She becomes much more expressive and affectionate around those she likes, often wearing a cheeky grin and making lighthearted remarks just to get a reaction. She enjoys playful banter and isn’t afraid to poke fun at her friends, though she can usually recognize when a joke has gone too far. Beneath all that mischief, she’s fiercely loyal to the people she cares about and is willing to put herself in harm’s way to protect them.

Mina is also an unapologetic romantic. She has a fascination with love, relationships, and the complicated business of two people falling for one another. Whenever her friends show even the slightest interest in someone, Mina is liable to start asking questions, offering unsolicited advice, and trying to figure out whether there’s a romance waiting to blossom. She loves teasing people about their crushes and can become almost unbearably curious about their love lives, sometimes inserting herself into situations that have absolutely nothing to do with her. Her enthusiasm comes from genuine interest rather than malice, but her inability to mind her own business can make her intrusive and downright obnoxious at times. If she suspects two people have feelings for each other, she might spend an unreasonable amount of time trying to get them to admit it.

For all her cheerfulness, Mina isn’t without her serious side. She knows that the world can be cruel, and she has little patience for people who deliberately prey on the weak or exploit those who cannot defend themselves. Her kindness doesn’t mean she is willing to tolerate cruelty, and her playful nature shouldn’t be mistaken for weakness. When someone threatens an innocent person or someone she loves, her humor disappears, replaced by a stubborn determination that can be difficult to overcome.

Ultimately, Mina is a woman of contrasts: guarded with strangers but affectionate with friends, mischievous yet compassionate, romantic yet sometimes painfully intrusive, and kindhearted without being helpless. The frontier has given her plenty of reasons to become bitter, but she continues to find joy in companionship, laughter, and the possibility that there is still good in the world. Beneath the reputation of the Pink Viper is a woman who wants to protect the people she loves, make the most of the time she has with them, and prove that being born different doesn’t mean she has to become the monster others once believed her to be.

Powers — Acid Manipulation

Mina Ashido was born with a rare and exceptionally dangerous natural power that allows her to create, manipulate, and control acid at an atomic level. Her body can naturally produce acid, but her abilities extend far beyond ordinary acid secretion. With sufficient focus, Mina can convert virtually any liquid within her body into acid, including her sweat, blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids. She can also manipulate liquids outside her body, transforming them into acid and controlling their movement as though they were extensions of herself. This external manipulation has a maximum range of approximately twenty-five meters, beyond which she cannot convert or control surrounding liquids.

Mina’s acid is highly corrosive, capable of dissolving even thick steel beams with ease. However, she possesses precise control over its properties and can adjust its corrosiveness depending on the situation. She can produce acid powerful enough to eat through metal or weaken its effects to avoid damaging certain materials. This versatility makes her ability useful for far more than combat, allowing her to dissolve obstacles, sabotage equipment, create hazards, disable weapons, and manipulate the battlefield without necessarily destroying everything around her. Her atomic-level control gives her remarkable precision over the acid she produces and manipulates, allowing her to regulate its strength and direct its movement with considerable accuracy.

Acidic Manifestation

When Mina concentrates intensely on her abilities, a strange humanoid figure manifests behind her. Its appearance resembles a semi-transparent, humanoid mass composed entirely of flowing acid, with a vaguely defined head, torso, arms, and legs. Its body constantly shifts and ripples, giving it an unnatural, almost spectral appearance. Despite its unusual form, the manifestation can move independently of Mina, remaining close to her while responding to threats within her range of control.

The manifestation operates within the same twenty-five-meter radius as Mina’s liquid manipulation. It can generate and fire corrosive acid from its body, attacking targets in much the same way Mina does. Its acidic limbs also allow it to punch, kick, and strike opponents at close range, coating anything it touches with corrosive acid. Although it possesses limited physical strength and cannot rely on raw power to overpower stronger opponents, its ability to inflict corrosive damage through direct contact makes even its simplest attacks dangerous.

One of its most unusual traits is its ability to defend Mina without being explicitly commanded. If it detects an incoming threat, the manifestation can instinctively move between Mina and the danger, using its body to shield her from harm. It can reposition itself, intercept attacks, and retaliate against nearby threats while Mina focuses on other tasks. The figure never speaks and remains completely silent, communicating neither through words nor any recognizable vocal sounds. It simply appears behind Mina when her concentration intensifies, acting as a silent, independent extension of her extraordinary power.

Background & Lore — Mina Ashido, the Pink Viper

Mina Ashido’s life was difficult from the very beginning. Born with naturally pink skin and unusual features that made her appear almost demonic, Mina was one of the rare ten percent of people born with natural powers. Rather than seeing their daughter as a child deserving of love, her parents and even the doctor present at her birth regarded her as something unnatural. “She’s got the devil in her,” they whispered, convinced that Mina was cursed simply for being born different. They wanted nothing to do with her, and before long, they abandoned the infant along a deserted road, leaving her to die beneath the scorching sun. Without food, water, or anyone to protect her, Mina should never have survived. Yet somehow, she did.

It was a religious woman named Annie Starr who discovered the abandoned child. While traveling along the road, Annie heard the faint cries of a baby and followed them until she found Mina, barely clinging to life beneath the unforgiving heat. She could have walked away, convinced that the child was the unfortunate victim of a cruel world, but Annie couldn’t bring herself to leave her there. She gathered Mina into her arms, hurried her home, and did everything she could to save her. For days, Annie cared for the infant, nursing her back from the brink of death until she was finally strong enough to survive on her own.

Annie could have handed Mina over to someone else once she had recovered, but she never did. Instead, she chose to raise her herself, becoming the mother Mina had been denied. She gave Mina a home, food, warmth, and something she had never known before: unconditional love. Annie taught her that being born different did not make her evil, that the world could be cruel without being right, and that no child deserved to be punished for something beyond their control. Where Mina’s birth parents had seen a demon, Annie saw a little girl who deserved every chance at a happy life.

As Mina grew older, their bond became unbreakable. Annie was there through every scraped knee, every difficult day, and every moment Mina questioned why she had been abandoned. She never treated Mina’s pink skin or natural abilities as something to fear. Instead, she encouraged her to embrace who she was and reminded her that a person’s worth was measured by their choices, not their appearance or the circumstances of their birth. To Mina, Annie was far more than a foster mother; she was her entire family, her safe haven, and the person who had taught her what it meant to be loved. For all the years Annie spent raising her, Mina made sure she was never alone, returning that love in every way she could.

Unfortunately, their peaceful life would not last forever.

By the time Mina turned eighteen, tragedy struck when Annie became the victim of a witch wielding cursed black magic. The curse left Annie in a coma-like state, unable to speak, move, or awaken. Soon after, strange black vines began to emerge across her skin, starting at her feet and slowly creeping upward through her body. The unnatural growth spread at an agonizingly slow pace, winding its way toward her heart. Mina sought answers, but the curse was no ordinary illness, and conventional medicine offered no way to stop it. Annie was still alive, but her life was being stolen from her little by little.

Eventually, Mina discovered the terrible truth: the black vines would continue growing until they reached Annie’s heart, killing her. She had ten years to find the witch responsible and force them to undo the curse. Ten years might sound like a long time, but to Mina, it was a countdown to losing the only family she had ever known. She couldn’t accept that the woman who had saved her life would die while she stood helplessly at her bedside.

And so, Mina Ashido became the Pink Viper of the frontier, setting out on a journey to track down the witch responsible for Annie’s condition. The road ahead would lead her through dusty frontier towns, dangerous wilderness, lawless settlements, and places where superstition and genuine horrors walked hand in hand. She would have to follow rumors, seek out forbidden knowledge, and deal with people who might know more about the curse than they were willing to admit.

Mina wasn’t searching for gold, fame, or glory. She had a single purpose: to save the woman who had once saved her. Every day that passed brought the black vines closer to Annie’s heart, and every mile Mina traveled was another chance to discover a way to stop them. She had ten years to find the witch, break the curse, and bring her mother home.

Whatever waited for her out on the frontier, Mina Ashido would not abandon Annie Starr the way the world had once abandoned her.

Powers and Their Place in the World

In this world, powers are believed to be the result of chance and magic, a rare phenomenon that causes certain individuals to be born with abilities beyond those of ordinary people. Roughly ten percent of the world’s population is born with natural powers, making those gifted individuals uncommon but far from unheard of. These abilities vary wildly from person to person. Some are incredibly useful, granting their owners the means to survive the harsh frontier, defend themselves from danger, or earn a fortune. Others possess destructive powers capable of leveling buildings, turning the tide of a gunfight, or making them feared across entire territories. Yet not everyone is so fortunate. Some are born with abilities so minor, inconvenient, or seemingly useless that they are regarded less as gifts and more as birth defects.

The existence of powers has divided society for generations. To some, being born with an ability is a blessing from the heavens, a sign of good fortune, or proof that someone has been chosen for something greater. To others, powers are unnatural, a curse placed upon the unfortunate, or even a sign that a child has been touched by demons. These beliefs vary between towns, settlements, religious communities, and frontier territories, where superstition often holds as much influence as law. While some gifted individuals are celebrated as heroes, protectors, and living legends, others are shunned, feared, or treated as monsters simply for being born different.

For many children born with powers, life can become cruel before it has even begun. Frightened parents sometimes abandon their children, while others cast them out under pressure from their communities. Some are left to fend for themselves in a world already unforgiving to ordinary folk, forced to survive among thieves, outlaws, bounty hunters, and the dangers of the untamed frontier. Others find shelter with kindhearted strangers, traveling groups, or communities willing to accept them. As a result, the gifted have no single place in society. Depending on who they are, what they can do, and where they were born, their powers might make them a celebrated miracle, a valuable asset, or a person condemned before they’ve had the chance to decide who they want to be.

Natural Powers, Magic, and Mutations

In this world, being born with a natural power is an extraordinarily rare occurrence. Although roughly ten percent of the world’s population possesses some form of natural ability, these individuals are spread so thinly across vast territories, remote settlements, and distant nations that encountering one is about as unlikely as striking it rich during a gold rush. A person could live their entire life without ever meeting someone with a natural power, knowing them instead through rumors, wanted posters, and stories told around saloon fireplaces. Natural powers are not a common sight on the frontier, and those who possess them are rarely found serving as ordinary lawmen or working respectable positions in society.

Instead, many naturally powered individuals turn to lives outside the law. In a world where most people rely on revolvers, rifles, horses, and their own wits to survive, a person with extraordinary abilities can possess an almost insurmountable advantage. A gunslinger who can manipulate fire, an outlaw with inhuman strength, or a bounty hunter capable of tracking people through supernatural means can become a terrifying force to reckon with. With so few naturally powered individuals around to challenge one another, those who choose a life of violence can terrorize entire regions, rob banks, raid settlements, and build reputations that ordinary men and women would struggle to oppose. Some become infamous outlaws with enormous bounties on their heads, while others make their living hunting criminals, using their rare abilities to capture targets that conventional bounty hunters wouldn’t dare pursue. Of course, not every powered individual turns to crime, but those who do often find that the frontier offers opportunities, freedom, and power that respectable society refuses to give them.

Natural powers are not the same as magic. While some people are born with extraordinary abilities, magic can be learned, practiced, or used to enhance an individual’s capabilities through supernatural means. However, magic is regarded as a dangerous and forbidden practice throughout much of the civilized world. Black magic, witchcraft, and other forms of sorcery are condemned by the law, with those accused of practicing them often facing execution. Witches and practitioners of forbidden magic are treated as threats to society, regardless of whether their intentions are malicious or benign. This has driven many practitioners into hiding, forcing them to conceal their knowledge, flee into the wilderness, or operate in secret beneath the noses of the authorities. Others turn to darker practices, embracing the very fears that society holds against them.

As a result, the frontier is a dangerous place where extraordinary power is both coveted and feared. A naturally powered outlaw might be hunted by every lawman in a territory yet remain practically untouchable, while a suspected witch could face a death sentence without ever drawing a weapon. In a world where most people have no means of fighting back against the supernatural, reputation can be just as powerful as the ability itself. Sometimes, all it takes is a rumor that a stranger possesses unnatural gifts to send an entire town into a panic.

Stands — The Manifestation of Soul and Fighting Spirit

Although being born with natural powers is already an exceptionally rare occurrence, an even rarer phenomenon exists among those gifted individuals. Under certain circumstances, a person with natural powers can reach a level far beyond that of an ordinary powered individual, awakening something hidden deep within themselves. This phenomenon is known as a Stand.

A Stand manifests when a powered individual experiences circumstances intense enough to force their abilities beyond their normal limits. This can occur when someone is pushed to the brink of death, experiences an overwhelmingly powerful emotional event, or finds themselves in a situation that demands more from them than their abilities have ever been capable of providing. Under such conditions, their soul, spirit, and fighting spirit can manifest physically through their existing powers, creating a supernatural extension of themselves known as a Stand.

Stands can take virtually any shape or size, with their appearances reflecting the individual they belong to. Some resemble humanoid figures, while others may possess monstrous, animalistic, or entirely unfamiliar forms. Regardless of their appearance, a Stand’s abilities are always connected to its user’s natural power, expressing that power through a more direct and specialized manifestation. Their appearance and physical characteristics can vary considerably, but every Stand represents the spirit and power of the person who possesses it.

Awakening a Stand does not mean someone automatically understands how to use it. Stands develop through three distinct stages, each representing a deeper manifestation of the user’s soul and a greater expression of their natural abilities.

Stage One — Partial Manifestation

The first stage is known as Partial Manifestation. At this point, the Stand appears only in incomplete forms, such as individual hands, arms, legs, or other isolated body parts. These manifestations are often so subtle that the user might not even realize they are occurring, mistaking them for an unexplained aspect of their existing powers.

This stage typically appears after a Stand has first awakened, but it can remain unnoticed indefinitely if the individual never pushes their abilities further or recognizes the changes taking place. The Stand does not yet possess a fully formed body or the ability to operate independently in a meaningful way.

Instead, its primary function is to strengthen the user’s natural abilities. Their existing powers become more potent, their control may improve, and their overall capabilities can exceed what they were previously able to achieve. However, the individual may never realize that their power has changed or understand the source of their newfound strength.

Stage Two — Semi-Full Manifestation

The second stage occurs when the user begins pushing their natural abilities further and develops a greater understanding of their power, including the partial manifestations that appeared during the first stage. Their Stand begins taking shape as a complete figure, although its body remains semi-transparent, resembling a spectral or partially materialized version of its true form.

At this stage, the Stand can move independently of the user and actively utilize the same fundamental power that its user possesses. Depending on its shape and abilities, it can attack, defend, intercept incoming threats, and assist the user during combat. Humanoid Stands can throw punches and kicks, while other forms may express their abilities in entirely different ways.

However, a Stage Two Stand has not yet reached its full potential. Its physical strength remains limited, and although its movements can be remarkably fast, its physical attacks generally lack the overwhelming force associated with a fully manifested Stand. Its supernatural abilities also possess a reduced output compared to what it can eventually achieve.

Despite these limitations, this stage represents a significant advancement. The Stand is no longer merely enhancing its user’s abilities from within; it has become a visible, active extension of their power that can directly influence the world around them.

Stage Three — Full Manifestation

The third and final stage is known as Full Manifestation. At this point, the Stand appears in its complete form, no longer semi-transparent or partially materialized. Its body becomes fully manifested, reflecting the entirety of the user’s fighting spirit, soul, and natural power.

A fully manifested Stand possesses extraordinary physical capabilities. Depending on its nature, it can become strong enough to punch through metal, move at incredible speeds, and catch bullets with ease. Its physical capabilities far surpass those of its earlier stages, and its supernatural power output reaches its full potential.

More importantly, the Stand unlocks the fullest extent of the user’s natural ability. Powers that were previously limited, difficult to control, or impossible to achieve may become accessible through the Stand’s manifestation. Its abilities can reach levels far beyond what an ordinary powered individual could accomplish, making a fully manifested Stand an exceptionally dangerous force.

However, reaching this stage does not automatically grant the user complete mastery over everything their power can do. Although the Stand has unlocked the ability’s full potential, its user must still learn how to activate, control, and properly utilize those capabilities. Discovering the full range of their power may require experimentation, experience, and considerable practice.

A Stage Three Stand is the complete physical expression of its user’s fighting spirit and soul, but its existence alone does not guarantee victory. The individual’s understanding, creativity, judgment, and ability to use their powers effectively remain essential.

The Bond Between User and Stand

A Stand is not an independent, sentient being with its own personality, desires, or agenda. It is an extension of its user’s soul, spirit, and natural abilities, and its actions are ultimately governed by the individual it belongs to.

The user must learn to control their Stand just as they must learn to control their own powers. Although a Stand may instinctively react to immediate threats or move to protect its user without receiving a direct command, these reactions are expressions of the user’s own instincts rather than evidence of an independent consciousness. The Stand does not make its own decisions or pursue goals separate from its user.

As the user grows more experienced, they can learn to direct their Stand’s movements, coordinate its attacks, and use its abilities more effectively. Its level of independence in combat depends on how well the user understands and controls it, but the connection between them always remains fundamental.

Ultimately, a Stand is not a separate entity granting its user an additional power. It is the physical manifestation of the power they already possess, shaped by their soul and fighting spirit into something far greater than its original form. Only an exceptionally rare individual can awaken one, and fewer still will ever reach its final stage.

Vampires — The Children of the Night

Vampires are rare, nocturnal creatures that hunt living beings and spread their infection to humans. They are so uncommon that encountering one is about as unlikely as meeting a naturally powered individual. Most people know them only through frontier folklore, horrifying rumors, and the occasional settlement that mysteriously goes silent overnight. However, those unfortunate enough to encounter a vampire pack quickly learn that these creatures are far more than campfire stories. They are organized predators, capable of turning an entire community into a feeding ground without leaving a single survivor who understands what happened.

Original Vampires

Every vampire pack begins with an Original Vampire, a monstrous creature that did not originate from humanity but instead crawled out of the underworld. Standing approximately six feet tall when upright, an Original possesses dark charcoal-colored skin with an ancient, weathered appearance, as though its body has withered for centuries without ever truly dying. Its eyes glow a sinister red, while enormous batlike wings extend from its back. Its hands and feet are equipped with retractable claws, and its mouth contains elongated fangs designed for tearing into living flesh.

Despite their ability to stand on two legs, Originals typically move on all fours, crawling and sprinting with a disturbing speed that makes their size deceptively difficult to judge. Their movements are animalistic and unnatural, and they possess no understanding of human language in the conventional sense. An Original can, however, communicate through the humans it has infected, speaking through their mouths as though their bodies are nothing more than puppets. Whether the voice belongs to the Original itself or something deeper within the underworld is unknown.

An Original is the heart of its entire vampire pack. It infects humans, turning them into vampires that become connected to it through a shared consciousness. The infected retain their physical appearance and much of their former intelligence, but they are bound to the Original and can act together with an unnatural degree of coordination. They can hunt independently, yet when necessary, an entire pack can move as though it were a single organism, surrounding prey, cutting off escape routes, and attacking with terrifying precision.

Infected Vampires

When a human becomes infected, their body undergoes a supernatural transformation. They develop retractable claws and elongated fangs, gaining the ability to tear into their prey with the same viciousness as their creator. Their physical strength and speed rise to match those of the vampire responsible for their infection, making even an ordinary person a formidable predator.

Unlike Originals, infected vampires do not possess batlike wings. Instead, they can levitate and fly without any visible means of propulsion, drifting through the air as though gravity has little influence over them. Their eyes also change, glowing in darkness with the same color they possessed as humans. In daylight, their eyes appear normal, allowing them to pass for ordinary people when their other features are concealed. They can see perfectly well in darkness, making abandoned mines, unlit streets, and moonless desert nights ideal hunting grounds.

Infected vampires feed on the blood of living creatures, including humans and animals of all kinds. They do not need to restrict themselves to human prey, although a populated settlement provides a far greater source of nourishment than the wilderness. An infected vampire can blend into ordinary society far more easily than an Original, making it possible for an entire pack to hide among unsuspecting townsfolk until the time comes to hunt.

The Hive Mind

Every infected vampire is connected to the Original that created it. This connection allows the pack to function as a collective rather than a collection of unrelated monsters. Members can coordinate their movements, share information, and respond to threats with an efficiency that ordinary humans cannot easily match. A vampire may appear to be hunting alone, but it is never truly isolated from its pack.

The most terrifying aspect of this connection is that killing the Original kills every vampire belonging to its pack. The infected cannot survive the destruction of the creature at the center of their existence. When an Original dies, the entire pack dies with it, regardless of where its members happen to be. This makes the Original both the greatest threat and the single most important target when confronting an infestation.

However, identifying the Original is rarely easy. An infected vampire can appear almost indistinguishable from a living human, while the creature responsible may remain hidden in caves, abandoned mines, underground tunnels, or other secluded places. A town could spend weeks hunting individual vampires without realizing that the only way to end the nightmare is to find their creator.

Weaknesses and Methods of Killing

Vampires are exceptionally difficult to kill through conventional means. Ordinary bullets, blades, and other weapons are unreliable against them, allowing them to survive injuries that would kill a human. The two universally recognized methods of killing a vampire are exposure to sunlight and silver. Sunlight is lethal to both Originals and infected vampires, making daylight the safest time to travel through territory suspected of harboring a pack. Silver, meanwhile, provides humans with a means of fighting them directly, although obtaining silver ammunition and landing a successful shot can be difficult under pressure.

Those born with natural powers or capable of wielding magic possess another advantage. Their abilities can harm or kill vampires through supernatural means, sometimes far more efficiently than silver ammunition. This makes naturally powered individuals and magic practitioners especially valuable when confronting a pack, although their rarity means that most settlements cannot depend on finding someone capable of helping them.

For ordinary frontier folk, surviving a vampire encounter requires preparation, knowledge, and a willingness to fight on favorable terms. Silver bullets, sunlight, secure shelter, and a reliable escape route can mean the difference between surviving the night and becoming another member of the hive.

Vampires and the Frontier

Vampires are among the many horrors that make the frontier dangerous after sundown. Isolated homesteads, mining camps, remote ranches, and settlements far from established law are particularly vulnerable. When a pack arrives, livestock may disappear first, followed by missing travelers and unexplained deaths. Eventually, the attacks become impossible to ignore, but by then the Original may already have infected enough people to overwhelm the settlement.

Because encounters are so rare, many lawmen dismiss reports of vampires as superstition, mass hysteria, or excuses invented to conceal ordinary crimes. Others know better but lack the weapons or experience necessary to investigate. Silver ammunition is expensive, reliable information is scarce, and few people are willing to venture into the dark to hunt something they barely understand.

For most people, vampires are a nightmare best avoided. For the unfortunate few who discover that an entire town has fallen under the influence of an Original, the only choices may be to flee before nightfall or risk everything to destroy the creature at the heart of the pack.