Disclaimer: I do not own The House of Night series, any of its characters, or plot. That right belongs to the Casts.


This is my first House of Night story based on a random idea I had while daydreaming in a class. I have always loved both Greek and Egyptian mythology so I wanted to work the two together if I could. I'm not sure how far this story will go, but I know it will at least deal with Kalona and Erebus. If I get response to this I might continue on with other characters from the series. So please review, criticisms are welcome.

~Ciliegina


Origins: The Ancients Sands of Nyx

It was necessary for him to prove himself. She was known for kindness and forgiveness, but when her trust was betrayed, massive strides must be made in attempt to make amends. One must fight to prove trustworthy again in order to gain forgiveness. And even though she knew he loved her and truly desired to be by her side once again, he continued to accept and absorb more power from the Darkness. It saddened her to watch it consume him, knowing that he was rapidly approaching the point of no return. She wanted him to realize just how far he'd gone and how twisted and maniacal his goals had become. He needed saving, but it was his life, his choice to make, and she simply could not interfere with that.

She often thought of incarnating herself on Earth, or simply descending to the world for the purpose of lending aid to her vampyres, but she knew from the deepest depths of her heart and soul that she could not. It was no longer her world and she had long made a promise to herself that she would not personally interfere. She had already pushed the limits of what she would allow herself to impact the Earth by creating the vampyre race and even more so by bestowing gifts among certain individuals beyond the gifts given to the group.

And she had done all of that for the love of the world that she had once called home. For in the beginnings of true human civilizations she had been a priestess herself, to a goddess of a mythology far more ancient than that of the Greek ancestry that she became apart of.

Orphaned due to bandits' dark motives, she found herself warmly accepted into a stonewall city a few miles off of the banks of the Nile. The city was blessed with protection by Nuit, the Egyptian lady of the night. It was a small city, unknown by many for Nuit was much less worshiped than other gods such as Osiris or even her son, Amun Ra, the God of the Sun and the bringer of life. However, the small city quickly began to mean everything to her and she became very spiritual to the night skies.

The Egyptian Gods and Goddesses were different from those whose ranks she would later join. These gods watched the world through the entities to which they were associated. Instead of demonstrating their awful powers to mortals, they distributed their earthly powers to those they deemed worthy of spreading their ideals. These chosen select were high priests and priestesses, and only one existed at a time per god or goddess for powers were given entirely to a person for a lifetime, at the end of which they returned to the deity.

At the ripe age of thirteen, Layla, the girl born of night, was saved from an unwanted marriage that most girls her age were forced to succumb to in that society. She had been gifted with the powers of the Goddess Nuit, and was immediately elevated to the position of High Priestess.

But with the title came a large load of responsibility that was placed on her shoulders at a much younger age than any other high priest or priestess. However, Layla pushed through and made many difficult decisions within her first four years as a priestess, and she as well as her little city became more known. As her reputation as a powerful, strong, independent, and beautiful woman grew across the growing empire, jealously and desire grew strong.

Sethos, a powerful rising prince had learned of the girl and came to desire her greatly, so much so that he waged a war against the city in order to capture her. Wise beyond her years and with a will to protect all that she loved, Layla prevented the prince's forces from touching a single white stone that protected her beloved city and it's peoples. And a day after she had purposed a marriage to the greedy prince, she was whisked away as the sun began to overtake the darkness of the clear new moon night, forcing her to leave without so much as a goodbye to anyone.

The marriage happened quickly, and within a week Layla had become a princess whose power and beauty her vain husband had began to flaunt across the land and the worry about possible invasion rapidly increase. However as fear of her power was growing, the power itself was seeping deeper inside of her with every passing day. She missed her village, her people, her home and the prince had completely cut her off from them, fearing she would try to return. But she would honor her commitment and never even thought of fleeing her new abode. So as he worried about her, he was blind to the rising plots against her life, for fear of an unstoppable force for Layla rarely used the full extend of her power, and most feared the unknown strength they believed she held.

One year after the marriage Layla was allowed to leave the castle that had become her prison, on her black stallion with a white star as his only marking; the horse had been the only thing she had left of her home. Despite the fact that the wary prince's guards accompanied her as they rode past an obscure oasis a hiding assassin skillfully released an arrow that sliced through her body right below her right shoulder.

A delicate finger was placed at the wound in shock as the blood flowed out steadily, staining her ivory dress. Slowly she slid off of the side of her last companion, unbeknownst to all that her power was so far withdrawn into her that it had become locked inside her soul. Her death was quick and surprisingly painless like water flowing downstream to the ocean.

Yet her soul remained trapped on Earth, the power of Nuit still bound to it. The Goddess peaked over the horizon at her fallen priestess as night began to overcome the sun. The girl had been more honorable and wise than any other priestess that had ever been previously bestowed that power. The girl's love for that stonewall city and the people that had taken her in without a second thought had kept her pure and free from corruption that power often brought. And it was that pureness that had allowed the girl to attain power unlike anyone before.

The Goddess sadly smiled upon her fallen daughter of the night who had in essence given her life to protect those most dear to them and their way of life. It was then that the Goddess of the Night, the deity of the sky decided against recalling the power, and instead gave it to Layla.

When the power was given to her and became her own, it absorbed into her soul creating an immortal of a new kind. In what seemed like a kind of out of body experience she opened her eyes to feel completely refreshed and anew. Looking at her body surrounded by the guards, she knew she was no longer part of that world, no longer Layla. Bowing her head to the woman who was now her equal, her mentor, she knew that she would try to lead others through a bright path and try to prevent others from losing their worlds as she had.

As dawn grew closer, she followed Nuit to the west, to the fleeting darkness, where she would begin a new journey. A goddess in her own right, but different at the same time. As she followed Nuit, she learned of her new powers, and began to understand how and why she done certain things.

However as she followed her mentor, she soon came upon a small grove with a flowering cherry willow tree that captivated her. The tree was so beautiful yet it seemed to cry over some great loss. For hours she stood there watching the trees branches sway in the light breeze, blowing her hair similarly across her face, remembering those whom she loved and now had lost. As single petal landing on her woke her from her daze, the stars in the night sky giving a glowing light to the grove. Here she felt at home. Here, in this Grecian grove she became a complete goddess, insightful, kind, forgiving, and wise. Here she decided on her goals, for she knew that despite she was no longer part of the world she loved, that she would do what she could to help protect it. Here, next to the cherry willow, she became Nyx.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first enstallment of Origins. Please REVIEW, especially if you want to see more quickly, because reviews really inspire me to write.