Line #9 NightmareFuel/HopeForTheHeartless


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2	* Imagine that you're Avalina and you're just realizing that the castle (which you've been told has been destroyed) where you're currently waiting for the chance to continue your journey home belonged to the [[OurLichesAreDifferent undead]] and [[MonstrousHumanoid monstrous-looking]] warlord who is reported to have died recently. When she gains the confirmation of the identity of the castle's master and sees for the first time [[SkullForAHead the Horned King's face]] as he [[EmergingFromTheShadows walks out of the shadows]], she's understandably terrified.
3	** Avalina's escape attempt results in her almost getting choked to death and then thrown into a cell. She stays there about a fortnight and nearly dies after she stops eating.
4	*** Later, after one or two PetTheDog moments toward her, you might think the Horned King has finally changed a bit and she's now safe. [[MoodWhiplash Until she accidentally provokes him]] during a DespairEventHorizon outburst, after which he just snaps and tries to murder her right then and there in UnstoppableRage. If not for the [[KryptoniteFactor water]] conveniently nearby, the story would have a pretty abrupt DownerEnding right now.
5	* [[TheDreaded The]] [[AxCrazy Mad]] Pack, a pack of more than thirty {{savage wolves}} that has terrorized Prydain for the last twenty years. They suffer from a disease similar to rabies which was originally gained from a foreign dog. It has robbed them of all natural instincts and reason, making them attack and kill ''anything'' that moves -- big cats, bears, entire wolf packs, any forest animal they can sunk their teeth into, livestock and humans. At least fifteen people (including a child younger than Avalina by one or two years) have lost their lives to the Mad Pack. They rarely touch the meat of their victims, living only for the blood and the kill. The worst part is, this disease is incurable, and unlike real-life rabies, it doesn't seem to have killed off any of the wolves because their numbers have increased in the years following the pack's first appearance. It's fortunate that the Horned King finishes them off since they're too crazy to run away even from ''[[WalkingWasteland him]]''.
6	* Several of Avalina's nightmares get a special mention as some of them are created by [[DreamWeaver Arawn]].
7	** In one dream, Avalina finds herself included to the infamous scene in the movie in which the Horned King uses [[ArtifactOfDoom the Black Cauldron]] to create the [[AnimateDead Cauldron]]-[[DemBones Born]]. She's been tied up next to Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur. Everything happens exactly like in the movie, until the Horned King orders his undead warriors to go forth. Suddenly the rope holding Avalina in the air snaps, and she falls to the ground. All the Cauldron-Born around her start advancing toward her, and she does her best to evade them. Eventually she runs up the stairs, right toward the Horned King. He grabs her and then throws her right into the skeleton warriors' clutches. They overwhelm her, and the dream ends with one of them piercing her heart with its sword.
8	** Another dream is worse. It begins with Avalina riding Mitternacht through the forest happily. When they reach her favorite ridge, she sees the Cauldron-Born advancing far away. She rides home quickly and warns her family. When she's about to take Arran to the saddle, the Cauldron-Born arrive. He orders her to leave and tries to buy her time to escape and gets killed by the Cauldron-Born before her eyes. She then sees their home in flames and her mother lying in a blood pool. She and Mitternacht then ride away until the Horned King appears before them in his wicked joy. He grabs her by the throat and announces his intent to use her body as a fuel source for the Cauldron. The dream ends with Avalina hearing Mitternacht's dying scream, and the lich's BlackEyesOfEvil turning [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]]. She sinks into blackness with the smell of Death being the last thing she's aware of.
9	* The Horned King and Avalina run into Taran and Eilonwy purely by accident. The lich is [[UnstoppableRage consumed by his hatred]] toward the pig-keeper and attacks him, hardly paying attention to Avalina and Eilonwy who both try repeatedly to stop him, merely shoving or throwing them away. The unhurried NoHoldsBarredBeatdown leaves Taran badly injured everywhere (dislocated left shoulder and broken ribs among other things). An earthquake suddenly stops that all and a chasm forms in the hill. Avalina and Eilonwy both nearly fall into it and are saved just in time only by Taran and [[VillainousRescue the Horned King]], respectively.
10	* [[BigBad Arawn]]. The Horned King is considered by most people to be the greatest evil to have existed, but they're unaware of the Death Lord of Annuvin, the Horned King's EvilMentor who's always been [[EvilerThanThou worse than him]]. The fact that Arawn can [[{{Telepathy}} speak to others]] and influence their dreams [[LeakingCanOfEvil despite being sealed inside the Black Cauldron]] makes him a very existing threat.

Context NightmareFuel / HopeForTheHeartless