Screams of pain and terror rebound through the underground room, the echo’s muffled by the spider webs covering the entirety of the cavern. A bloodcurdling roar overwhelmed the screaming, and the high pitched whine was extinguished as fast as it came to be. The smells of burning flesh and hair rose through the chasm, melding perfectly with the metallic scent of blood. Silence reigned for moments, before the crunching of bones and the metallic shriek of rending metal broke the calm.

From the mangled body of a would-be adventurer, wisps of black smoke rise. The wisps begin congregating above the body, swirling into a small space. Soon, a black flame appeared with a white outline, dancing in the heated breeze of the chasm. White specs appeared within the flame, giving a testament to the adventurer’s humanity. A dainty, porcelain hand reached forwards, and gently cupped the wavering flame. The figure gently tucked a strand of ink black hair behind a small ear, and a small smile graced her face.

With a growl, the crunching of bone stopped. The amalgamation of a spider and the embodiment of fire itself began slowly walking across the bloodstained ground. Atop the spider, a beautiful woman appeared to be riding the beast, completely naked from the waist up. Molds of pink flesh connected the woman from the waist to the giant arachnid, a curse that almost claimed her life. A curse brought on from her mother’s greed.

Sighing to herself, the Witch Quelaag directed her lower half to head back to her home. With a longing glance at the corpse of the fallen adventurer, the spider shook its bulbous head and began to walk up a set of stone stairs that curved around a stone pillar, leading into a hole in the webbing. Ducking her head, Quelaag was carried into what appeared to be a broken steeple to a grand church, the stone of the bell tower completely separate from the hardened ash and molten stone of Izalyth.

Glancing upwards, Quelaag sighed to herself, seeing her reflection glowing within the bell’s coppery reflection. They keep coming. No matter how many times I kill them, no matter how many times I take their sparks of Humanity, they always return. And all for what? They do not speak, and they do not spare any of the people around them. I only wish I knew what they wanted, so that I might give it to them to stop them coming here.

The spider entered into the massive hole in the center of the bell tower, and began to descend. Leaning backwards to keep her balance, Quelaag rested her back on the spider’s bloated carapace. Flickers of flame danced around her, but they did not burn her white skin. Another ‘gift’ from her mother. Quelaag cupped the tiny scrap of black flame to her breast, careful to not crush the fragile shard of the Dark Soul. The tiny, flickering flame was the only thing she wanted within this world, the only thing that would help her sister.

This world… Quelaag remembered a dream she had, before waking to the constant threat of death that was constantly surrounding her. A dream of rolling hills, beautiful forests and various intelligent creatures. In the dream, there was no threat of undeath, of losing your mind slowly to the insanity of never ending agony. She also remembered a pair of blazing hazel eyes underneath a short crop of blonde hair, dark enough to be considered brown in certain lighting, and a human who could control fire and darkness as if they were a part of his very being.

Her other half jumped from the wall, landing on the floor of the bell tower and breaking her from her dreams. Gently shaking her head, she directed her other half towards a wall that appeared like any other. Raising a dainty hand, she pressed up against the wall. For a second, the wall pushed back. The resistance broke, the wall becoming transparent quickly before disappearing entirely. Quelaag willed the spider onwards, and the spider carried her through the illusory wall and through a small passage.

A poor wretch of a man, back covered in writhing egg sacks, crawled in front of the passage. He spoke, his voice holding respect despite the waver of pain behind it. “My lady has returned. Have you brought something for the Pale Lady?”

“Yes, now out of my way.” Quelaag snapped, her musical voice harsh in anger. The wretch was a constant reminder of Quelaag’s failure. The failure to protect the thing most dearest to her.

“Of course, My Lady. Thank you.” The man crawled out of her way, and her lower half brought her into a large cylindrical chamber. Looking around, Quelaag saw hundreds of spider eggs, woven within confines of smooth silk. Some were twitching occasionally, streaks of black occasionally seen through the white of the eggs and web. Turning to her right, she urged her spider forward, bringing her in close to the one thing that she lived for. Her sister.

A young woman rested atop a spider, clasping her hands in front of her breast. She took an occasional shuddering breath, the only way to know that she was alive. Her hair, drained of all color, fell over her white, unseeing eyes. Hearing Quelaag approach, she raised her head slowly, and offered a pain filled smile at the other woman’s general direction.

“Dear… sister,” The Pale Lady’s voice, once even more beautiful than Quelaag’s, was rasping, filled with a never ending agony. “It is… good to … see you.” Her lower half, the spider body that acted as legs and a source of strength, was decaying from underneath her, its glossy white eyes seeming to stare at Quelaag with gratitude. Gratitude for being released from the utter torment that the woman attached to it brought upon herself.

“Sister, I have brought you something.” Quelaag gently took her sisters hand, and placed the quivering black flame upon it. The Pale Lady’s smile grew slightly, and she cupped the piece of Humanity to her chest. With a gentle sigh like the breeze through a plain, the shard entered into her body.

“Thank you… dear sister.” Her smile grew, but Quelaag could still see the pain behind it. “It… doesn’t hurt… anymore.”

Quelaag gritted her teeth in a snarl, a single tear trailing down from her eyes. The tear fell, splashing against her lower half, and evaporating from the heat of the spider. A hand gently grabbed onto Quelaag’s own, frail enough to be broken by a passing breeze. Looking up with blurry eyes, Quelaag saw the pain filled smile, and her sisters milky orbs also filling with tears.

“Please sister… do not cry. I’m… fine, really. I am… happy. I have… you, don’t I?”

Forcing a smile, Quelaag gently held her sisters hands. “I believe you, Quelana. I do.” But they both new that the other was lying. Quelaag’s lower half crouched down, bringing the two sisters together. Taking a quiet, shuddering breath, Quelaag gently placed one of her hands on her sister’s head, running her fingers through the dead hair. Quelana smiled and sighed with contentment, letting her sister massage her scalp.

“Sister, would you like to hear a story?” Quelana gently nodded, eyes closed in pleasure from Quelaag’s ministrations on her hair.

“I had a dream, and in this dream I was brought to a faraway place in a great torrent of black and purple flame. When the flames receded, I was standing on a hill underneath a starry sky. And in front of me, was a strange human with a large smile on his face…” As Quelaag continues telling the story of her dream, the world appeared to go dark, and streaks of static began to break throughout the chamber. Suddenly, the world descends into darkness with a pop of electricity.

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With an electronic snap and a flash of light, an Owl Beast-Kin came into focus. Beams of light extended from her hands to the figure sprawled out on a table in front of her, their moans and grunts of pain slowly quieting. Serena pushed harder and the light brightened. The injured Beast-Kin’s torn flesh knitted itself together in front of her eyes, and with a sigh she extinguished her magic. A pair of Beast-Kin medics, once pure white tunics soaked red in blood, picked up the now healed Beast-Kin and carried him away.

As the only Light aligned Beast-Kin in Trentshire, Serena volunteered herself to help the hospital and doctors of her city. This was not her first taste of the terrors of war, but they still haunted her. Serena let her mind wander in an attempt to break her from the sights and smells of the dead and dying. Her mind settled on the strange Mageous that had appeared earlier that day, and a small blush crept onto her face. I hope he is alright…

Her thoughts were interrupted by another team of medics bringing one of the defenders of the outer wall onto her table. Rubbing her eyes, either from tears or exhaustion she was not sure, she began to look over the injured warrior. The Beast-Kin’s legs were shattered, and his left arm was mangled. Shuddering at the sight, Serena began to heal. Light again streamed from her hands, somewhat less dim than before.

Blinking sweat from her eyes, she pushed as hard as she could with the Light. Her spell increased in power, and the gravely injured soldier’s body began to knit itself together. Serena continued to push for what seemed like hours, giving her best to help those in need. The Light began to fade, and Serena couldn’t push herself any farther. With a shudder, she cancelled her magic. Clutching her head in pain, Serena weathered through the effects of draining her mana, while the same group of medics took the half-healed warrior away to one of the ordinary doctors to finish up the process.

When the pain faded, Serena kept her head bowed, staring at her shaking, blood covered hands. Tears fell, mixing with the congealing blood that was splotched across her face. Quiet sobs wracked her body, and the Owl-Kin cried from the fear and self-hatred of not being able to heal those that depend on her.

If only I were stronger. I could help all those that needed it… I could…

“Daughter.” A sharp voice startled Serena, making her jump. Turning her blood and tear stained face, she saw her mother, Eaglin Blood-Talon, standing behind her. Noticing her daughters face, Eaglin’s eyes lost a little bit of their sharpness, and she enclosed her daughter in a hug. “This work of yours is breaking you, daughter.”

Sniffing hard, Serena returned the hug. “I…*sniff* I know, Mother. But I can’t stand idly by while people are injured.” Her mind turned back to the blood and death she had witnessed today. Shuddering, she gripped her mother tighter.

Eaglin comforted her daughter for a few more minutes in silence, then, patting her back gently, broke the embrace. “Come along, Daughter. The light of day has faded, and your father is looking for you at the keep.” She shot Serena a sly grin. “And besides, your Mageous is being reward on the morrow. We can’t have you looking like this during that time.” She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “Apparently he fought off a stone Golem completely in the nude.”

Serena blushed heavily, and opened her mouth repeatedly without speaking.

Eaglin chuckled at her daughter’s discomfort, and the duo began walking slowly back to the keep. The world faded once again in static, heralding the pitch black.

_________________________________________________

With a crackle of electricity, the night sky appeared through the black. Stars twinkled under the light of a crescent moon, and roaring laughter and raised voices could be heard through a tavern window. With the sound of a door slamming against a wall and a burst of firelight, a figure stumbled out of the tavern. Swaying on their feet, the figure began to shuffle off into the deserted streets of Trentshire.

“There’sh nuthin like a good *hic* drink after kicking some Orc ash… ain’t tha right, Sarlin?” The drunk turned around, almost falling down. Squinting his eyes, he peered into the darkness around him. “Sarlin? Where you hidin, Sarlin?” The drunk swayed for a few more moments, glaring into the darkness trying to find his friend. “Bah, shtupid Sarlin. She probably got lost, stupid drunk.” A cloud passed over the moon, and bathed the streets in almost pitch darkness. Grumbling and hiccupping to himself, the drunk started stumbling home.

As he passed a small side street between two close in buildings, shattering glass brought his attention to the alley. Squinting into the gloom, the drunk stumbled forwards. “Sarlin? That you? Shtupid Sarlin, our home’s *hic* this way. Get out a there.”

Responding to the drunks words, the shadows seem to twist and turn, creating a towering figure in the darkness, twice the size of any Beast-Kin that the drunk had ever seen. A low growl emanated from the shadows, a deep bass that reverberated through the drunks head, sending his ears ringing.

The drunk shook his head, then glared at the darkness. “Yer not Sarlin. She’s much to pretty ta be you. Getsh out of here, before I get the guardsh… the on duty guards, not the guards in the pub. They’re too drunk.” The drunk moved away from the shadows, stumbling awkwardly. Before he could move more than a few steps, a massive hand shot from the darkness and enclosed around his head and ripped him off of his feet and into the ally.

With the sound of shattering stone, the hand threw the drunk into one of the walls, knocking the wind from him and causing cracks to form in the mortar of the building. Gasping for air, the drunk looked up at the shadowy figure just as the moon broke free from the cloud.

Large, dead eyes stared at him. The eyes bore no sympathy, just the maddening hunger of a beast. The face was an amalgamation of fish scale and humanoid features, with a massive jaw ringed with thousands of needle-like teeth. Strings of saliva continuously dripped from the gaping mouth, while the figure bent down on its warped legs. The last thing the drunk saw was the mouth opening far larger than should be possible, and the fetid breath of decaying fish.

The crunching of bone signaled the end of the drunk, blood pumping from the stump of his neck, spurting the red liquid all over the creature and the alley way. Swallowing the severed head, the creature grabbed the desecrated body and began dragging it slowly into the darkness, leaving a trail of blood behind it. With a final look at the retreating abomination, the world encloses on itself within the sounds of static.

__________________________________________________________

An electric pop brings the world into focus, but everything was darker than the pitch blackness of space.

“Wait, wait, I got this.” A childlike voice breaks the silence, before a massive thud causes the world to shake and shimmer. Another thud rings out, and a new world comes quickly into focus. Twin eyes, pitch black with irises of silver and reflecting the entirety of the cosmos swirl directly in front. The eyes move backwards, showing a young girl with snow white hair, shifting to black towards the ends. Her dress shimmered, changing colors rapidly through each wave of the fabric. Her feet were bare, and she hovered a few feet off of the floor covered in rolling white fog.

The girl smiled. “Good, at least it’s working now.” She waved. “Hey all, it’s Lilith. Goddess of Change and all that. Hope you enjoyed that little bit, should have given you guys a good chance to see into the minds of the two women in Jake’s life, at least for the moment. We normally keep with Puppet for this thing, but he’s… a little preoccupied.” She gestured over her shoulder, and a computer screen appeared through the fog. On the screen was a man, snoring loudly while sprawled on a massive bed. A large fox was curled up beside him, it’s three tails covering the man’s face. A hand reached up and swatted the tails away, revealing a short crop of dirty blonde hair. Grumbling to himself, the man went back to sleep.

Turning back, the Goddess smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. You didn’t miss much, besides what I’ve already shown you. He’s supposed to be getting rewarded when ‘the first rays of the dawn light the lowest valley’. I think that’s what Mr. Cuddles said, at least. Anyways, thanks for being here! Off you go!” The Goddess made a shooing gesture, and then turned back to the computer.

She began typing, occasionally mumbling to herself. “So, this one just unlocked a skill with staves, and it’s a guy… hmm, let’s go with ‘Surprisingly, you’re really good with handling things long and hard. You can’t have gotten that much practice with what’s in your pants.’ Hmm… could work. Oh well, here you go random guy!” The Goddess tapped a single key with a flourish, and giggled to herself.

Stretching, she looked back. A look of surprise showed on her childlike face. “Oh, still here? I mean, there’s not much else to do.” She gestured around at the blank landscape; the only noticeable features were the rolling mist and the computer. “It takes too much work to generate anything, except if I am going to get something out of it. And, well, you guys can’t really offer much.” She tapped a slim finger against her chin, thinking. A lightbulb appeared over her head, and her star-filled eyes dazzled with mischief.

“Hey, you guys wanna know what’s coming up next?” Lilith began to bounce up and down in the air. “Oh, c’mon. There’s no way that the big guy is going to notice. He lets me occasionally add things in, and he usually leaves most of his notes on his desktop.”

Skipping through the air, Lilith approached the computer. Sitting down on a chair created from the mist, she began to type.

“All right, let’s see here. Username… there it is. Password was… hold up, let me check.” She grabs a piece of paper from the air, and looks it over. Tossing it back into the air, the paper vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Here we go. Password is… [email protected]@. And here we go. Oh,” she turns back, “forget that password, okay? Thanks.”

Interlocking her fingers and extending her hands away from her, Lilith pops the cartilage in her fingers with quiet snaps. “Let’s see what we’ve got coming later on. So, Jake is going to receive a ‘gift’ at the ceremony. That’s normal, I guess. Not too sure why ‘gift’ was quoted, but there you go. Umm, Serena finds out about Jake’s different forms of magic. Ouch, that might be awkward. Getting called out on your lies sucks. Let’s see… Oh! Jake finally summons his imp! I know at least one of you guys was looking forward to that. And Jake also goes into detail what his pro-“

The screen went black and dark storm clouds appeared overhead, causing Lilith to be interrupted mid-sentence. “Ah shit…” She glances around, a speck of fear visible in her eyes. “I was never here, okay?” She disappears in a puff of smoke. With a crack of thunder, a figure appeared, holding a squirming loli by the back of her dress like a kitten.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I just wanted to let them know what was coming up! Please don’t-“

Again, Lilith was caught mid speech by the large figure twirling the Goddess around himself, and tossing her into the air. Her scream slowly petered out as Lilith was rocketed from the ground into the air, disappearing into the white expanse. As she became a speck in the vast emptiness, a flash of light appeared, and the speck was gone.

The figure turned, and quirked their head. “I always notice.” The figure bowed. “Thank you for your time.” The figure disappeared with a crack of lightning, leaving a blank computer screen as the only scenery within the vast expanse of white fog.

Nothing happened for a time, and then with the sound of an approaching scream, Lilith smashed back down into the ground. A mushroom cloud of mist appeared at her landing site, and coughing could be heard through the mist.

Waving her hand in front of her face, Lilith stepped out of the mist, coughing violently. Glancing up with tear-filled eyes, she noticed something and froze for a moment. Quickly running forwards, her entire face increased in detail and strength, making her the entire world. The world shook for a few moments, loud banging sounds rebounding through everything.

“Shit, how do I turn this thing off? That was so embarrassing. Turn off you fucking piece of human shi-“

Darkness overrode all, and all that was left was the empty void.