Susanna felt awful... and wonderful. She felt both at the same time. It was like when you have a positivity great night's sleep, far more than you are used to getting and though you feel rested you also feel wasted for the amount of time spent in sleep. The was a bumping from where Susanna sat and she realized that she sat on a cart rolling down a dirt road. It was early morning, she must have slept for the whole day and night. The day was misty lending an unreal quality to the landscape.
"Beautiful isn't, dearie?
Susanna strangely didn't find herself surprised to hear that voice, it was one she knew well. Susanna looked to the ground where it had emanated. There was a girl walking beside the old nag that pulled the cart. She was pretty with flowing dark hair and pale skin that contrasted nicely. Her eyebrows were straight giving her an innocent "not a care in the world" look. Her ears were pointed marking her as an elf, she must have been very young for she couldn't be any taller than Susanna.
Her dress looked as if it had been sung from a tree. It could have been fine leather if the elves condoned leather. The sleeves were the gold of a healthy oak reaching to her knuckles but not being as long on the bottom so as to give her control with her hands. It had a multi level skirt that was the color of freshly turned soil on the front and the golden bark as it branched outward. She had an ornate belt with a little bag strapped to it and a silver tiara set with an orange gem in her hair. When the girl turned to look at her Susanna saw that her eyes were as black as a starless night.
Susanna had seen this girl before in her dreams and nightmares and when she pressed deeper, her memories. "Lilith," Susanna said unfeelingly. If Susanna could see her then everything around was a façade. Susanna was dreaming and Lilith loved to torment Susanna in her dreams. "Hello Susan. You have some truly beautiful memories I hope you appreciate them. This is where I come when I want to be alone."
Susanna looked around. She knew this place. It was the road between her father's farm and the local town. She realized that she was sitting in her father's wagon and that it was Sally there old horse that Lilith was petting. The whole landscape didn't quite feel right, it felt empty and hollow. "That is the way with memories Susan, there never as complete as when we were there."
Susanna started to pay more attention to Lilith. She'd never heard the demon address her as an equal. Lilith always called her "little girl" or "dearie". Not only that but despite it being shorter Lilith's current form of address was not only equal but also formal compared to her name. "I'm dreaming." said Susanna just to reassure that fact in her mind. No Susan. I'm dreaming. You're following me." For the first time in the ten long years that the demon had inhabited Susanna's body Lilith sounded tired. "Where?" Susanna asked "You're looking for something. Where are we going?"
"Got to see a man about an apocalypse." Lilith said simply for the first time a smirk beginning to appear on her face.
"You can come if you want. It's not like you'll remember when you wake anyway." Susanna felt like this statement should elicit some sort of shock or fear or action but Susanna felt apathetic about it. It didn't feel quite right but she put the thought aside squirming under her skin. Lilith stopped the horse and motioned for Susanna to follow. Then she left the road. They were walking over her father's land now. This was were he liked to plant strawberries. There wasn't a big demand for them but Susanna's father always set aside a very small patch for strawberries as a treat for the two of them.
The stopped at the edge of a forest. There was an enormous man standing between Lilith and where Lilith wanted to go. Susanna felt that Lilith would easily destroy him but rather than causing something to impale the man she bowed her head to him. "Jernlod, you have been appointed keeper of the Prince. Good he will need someone strong. The master requires that I make the Prince a 'proposition' as it were." The man smiled at her. "Lilith, as lovely as the day you gave me my strength. He is ready to see you."
They nodded to each other and Lilith walked past the Viking King letting Susanna pass with her. "This is delicate Susan. Keep your silence if you please." Susanna found herself unable to speak or perhaps unwilling. This was Lilith domain and she must listen to what Lilith wanted whether she wanted to or not.
Behind the Viking King sat a crypt so old that moss had started to grow over its surface. ”Come inside, Lilith said to Susanna eagerly. Susanna followed curious to see what lay inside the crypt. What sort of Prince would live here and have company like Lilith.
The inside was nothing like Susanna expected. It was made of the same stone as the outside and just as run down but it was a throne room. Columns lined the walls with such proportions that Susanna didn’t believe this room could fit in the building outside.
At the far end of the throne room sat a single throne. In it there was a slumped figure. As Susanna approached she suddenly realized who it was and would have screamed if she could. It was the elven man from the clearing, the one whose wounds Susanna repaired.
Lilith walked up to him and started to speak whispering in her ear. It was not her sweet calm voice that she usually used. It was the voice of her demon form, violent and unpredictable yet enticing and intoxicating.
”Mahtan, the girl, the one your called your beloved The Nobleman and Warrior killed her, slain her in cold blood when she was simply a pawn for the Demon. It is their fault... all their fault. But I can help. I am Lilith and I want them hurt as much as you.”
Then her voice changed, becoming higher and sweeter, the voice of the elven girl.
"Wake up, child."
Mahtan’s eyes shot open and he sat up on his throne but Susanna would have sworn upon a bible that he could see nothing before him.
”Mahtan, they killed your beloved, but there is more than one love in the world. There is another, one that you can save if you hurry, her name is Susanna. You must make them pay for what they did. You must take your vengeance.”
Susanna knew that these words spoken in demonic tongue were reaching Mahtan’s heart. Lilith’s voice changed again.
"Mahtan, Susanna needs you. Go to her now; wait for the one called Seth of Valeria to release her from her prison, then save her from the clutches of evil. Good luck my Prince, and take care."
Lilith waited for several seconds before putting another command into Mahtan’s head.
"Mahtan, my Prince, I will wake Susanna. Make sure you are waiting to rescue her. She needs you, Mahtan, do not fail her."
Lilith smiled with pride and stepped away from the throne. She motioned for Susanna to follow and left the crypt. Once they were outside the forest Jernlod stepped back into his place. Susanna was suddenly aware that the trees all except for where the Viking king stood were grown trunk to trunk creating an unbreakable wall. What was that place.
“It is his mind.” Lilith said simply watching Susanna closely. It would not do for our champion’s mind to be altered by other forces so we guard it. Lilith sounded tired with this duty. She was a warrior not a guard and it was clear just how she felt about it. ”Susan, it is time for you to wake.”
“One questions,” Susanna said suddenly desperate to prolong the dream “Before I wake answer me one question.” Name it. “Who is that girl whose image you cling to so fondly.” Lilith cocked her head at Susanna thinking for a long time before saying. ”She was my first host, I think… before the demons took my soul… I think I called her sister.”
In that moment Susanna sat bolt upright. She was in a small wooden house. She wasn’t sure how she knew but she did know that she had slept for a day and a half. It was mid morning now. There was something she had to remember. A dream she’d had concerning Lilith. It was about… but as Susanna tried to remember what she’d seen the details slipped away leaving her with a memory of her father’s fields and a sense of urgency. It was about that elf she had saved, Mahtan. She didn’t know where the name had come from but she knew he belonged to it.
A woman bustled into the room carrying a bundle of blankets. She stopped suddenly when she saw Susanna. "You're awake." She said surprised. Then she looked at the door. "I would get out of here if I were you. The man who brought you, he gave no name but he said that you passed out performing some sort of witchcraft. There are those in the village that would see you burn."
"Beautiful isn't, dearie?
Susanna strangely didn't find herself surprised to hear that voice, it was one she knew well. Susanna looked to the ground where it had emanated. There was a girl walking beside the old nag that pulled the cart. She was pretty with flowing dark hair and pale skin that contrasted nicely. Her eyebrows were straight giving her an innocent "not a care in the world" look. Her ears were pointed marking her as an elf, she must have been very young for she couldn't be any taller than Susanna.
Her dress looked as if it had been sung from a tree. It could have been fine leather if the elves condoned leather. The sleeves were the gold of a healthy oak reaching to her knuckles but not being as long on the bottom so as to give her control with her hands. It had a multi level skirt that was the color of freshly turned soil on the front and the golden bark as it branched outward. She had an ornate belt with a little bag strapped to it and a silver tiara set with an orange gem in her hair. When the girl turned to look at her Susanna saw that her eyes were as black as a starless night.
Susanna had seen this girl before in her dreams and nightmares and when she pressed deeper, her memories. "Lilith," Susanna said unfeelingly. If Susanna could see her then everything around was a façade. Susanna was dreaming and Lilith loved to torment Susanna in her dreams. "Hello Susan. You have some truly beautiful memories I hope you appreciate them. This is where I come when I want to be alone."
Susanna looked around. She knew this place. It was the road between her father's farm and the local town. She realized that she was sitting in her father's wagon and that it was Sally there old horse that Lilith was petting. The whole landscape didn't quite feel right, it felt empty and hollow. "That is the way with memories Susan, there never as complete as when we were there."
Susanna started to pay more attention to Lilith. She'd never heard the demon address her as an equal. Lilith always called her "little girl" or "dearie". Not only that but despite it being shorter Lilith's current form of address was not only equal but also formal compared to her name. "I'm dreaming." said Susanna just to reassure that fact in her mind. No Susan. I'm dreaming. You're following me." For the first time in the ten long years that the demon had inhabited Susanna's body Lilith sounded tired. "Where?" Susanna asked "You're looking for something. Where are we going?"
"Got to see a man about an apocalypse." Lilith said simply for the first time a smirk beginning to appear on her face.
"You can come if you want. It's not like you'll remember when you wake anyway." Susanna felt like this statement should elicit some sort of shock or fear or action but Susanna felt apathetic about it. It didn't feel quite right but she put the thought aside squirming under her skin. Lilith stopped the horse and motioned for Susanna to follow. Then she left the road. They were walking over her father's land now. This was were he liked to plant strawberries. There wasn't a big demand for them but Susanna's father always set aside a very small patch for strawberries as a treat for the two of them.
The stopped at the edge of a forest. There was an enormous man standing between Lilith and where Lilith wanted to go. Susanna felt that Lilith would easily destroy him but rather than causing something to impale the man she bowed her head to him. "Jernlod, you have been appointed keeper of the Prince. Good he will need someone strong. The master requires that I make the Prince a 'proposition' as it were." The man smiled at her. "Lilith, as lovely as the day you gave me my strength. He is ready to see you."
They nodded to each other and Lilith walked past the Viking King letting Susanna pass with her. "This is delicate Susan. Keep your silence if you please." Susanna found herself unable to speak or perhaps unwilling. This was Lilith domain and she must listen to what Lilith wanted whether she wanted to or not.
Behind the Viking King sat a crypt so old that moss had started to grow over its surface. ”Come inside, Lilith said to Susanna eagerly. Susanna followed curious to see what lay inside the crypt. What sort of Prince would live here and have company like Lilith.
The inside was nothing like Susanna expected. It was made of the same stone as the outside and just as run down but it was a throne room. Columns lined the walls with such proportions that Susanna didn’t believe this room could fit in the building outside.
At the far end of the throne room sat a single throne. In it there was a slumped figure. As Susanna approached she suddenly realized who it was and would have screamed if she could. It was the elven man from the clearing, the one whose wounds Susanna repaired.
Lilith walked up to him and started to speak whispering in her ear. It was not her sweet calm voice that she usually used. It was the voice of her demon form, violent and unpredictable yet enticing and intoxicating.
”Mahtan, the girl, the one your called your beloved The Nobleman and Warrior killed her, slain her in cold blood when she was simply a pawn for the Demon. It is their fault... all their fault. But I can help. I am Lilith and I want them hurt as much as you.”
Then her voice changed, becoming higher and sweeter, the voice of the elven girl.
"Wake up, child."
Mahtan’s eyes shot open and he sat up on his throne but Susanna would have sworn upon a bible that he could see nothing before him.
”Mahtan, they killed your beloved, but there is more than one love in the world. There is another, one that you can save if you hurry, her name is Susanna. You must make them pay for what they did. You must take your vengeance.”
Susanna knew that these words spoken in demonic tongue were reaching Mahtan’s heart. Lilith’s voice changed again.
"Mahtan, Susanna needs you. Go to her now; wait for the one called Seth of Valeria to release her from her prison, then save her from the clutches of evil. Good luck my Prince, and take care."
Lilith waited for several seconds before putting another command into Mahtan’s head.
"Mahtan, my Prince, I will wake Susanna. Make sure you are waiting to rescue her. She needs you, Mahtan, do not fail her."
Lilith smiled with pride and stepped away from the throne. She motioned for Susanna to follow and left the crypt. Once they were outside the forest Jernlod stepped back into his place. Susanna was suddenly aware that the trees all except for where the Viking king stood were grown trunk to trunk creating an unbreakable wall. What was that place.
“It is his mind.” Lilith said simply watching Susanna closely. It would not do for our champion’s mind to be altered by other forces so we guard it. Lilith sounded tired with this duty. She was a warrior not a guard and it was clear just how she felt about it. ”Susan, it is time for you to wake.”
“One questions,” Susanna said suddenly desperate to prolong the dream “Before I wake answer me one question.” Name it. “Who is that girl whose image you cling to so fondly.” Lilith cocked her head at Susanna thinking for a long time before saying. ”She was my first host, I think… before the demons took my soul… I think I called her sister.”
In that moment Susanna sat bolt upright. She was in a small wooden house. She wasn’t sure how she knew but she did know that she had slept for a day and a half. It was mid morning now. There was something she had to remember. A dream she’d had concerning Lilith. It was about… but as Susanna tried to remember what she’d seen the details slipped away leaving her with a memory of her father’s fields and a sense of urgency. It was about that elf she had saved, Mahtan. She didn’t know where the name had come from but she knew he belonged to it.
A woman bustled into the room carrying a bundle of blankets. She stopped suddenly when she saw Susanna. "You're awake." She said surprised. Then she looked at the door. "I would get out of here if I were you. The man who brought you, he gave no name but he said that you passed out performing some sort of witchcraft. There are those in the village that would see you burn."