Disclaimer: This story is written for the purpose of being much like a fairy tale. The idea is original, but there are aspects of this story which are not, which I first must disclaim as being my own: 1. The idea of this story is based off of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. All proper claim is put under his name. 2. Names of kingdoms, towns, and cities in this story are named for actual places. All implications of climate, weather, terrain, regions, topography, etc. are made only for the sake of the story and I will proceed to use the names only to imply their place and unique purposes for this story. 3. Perros is shortened for Perros-Guirec, which is also a real place that I do not intend to make implications for. It has been shortened for a few different reasons (one just being for my sanity, because I have a ridiculously hard time writing it out repeatedly). 4. The ceremonies and rituals which take place are a mixture of many traditions of various cultures. These alterations and combinations were made also for the sake of the story and will continue to be used for the unique nature of this tale.
Now that all of that is out of the way…
Thank you all for stopping by to read. More notes about the story will be posted in the next chapter. First, an introduction to Le Fantôme et L'ange…
- Phantom's angel
Le Fantôme et L'ange
Introduction
On the north-western corner of the kingdom called Trégor, in the small village of Perros, families within every home were preparing a feast which they would not consume. Their platters would be left out at sunset, waiting for the unseen forces of the night to devour the meal with their hungry souls. For within the forests and woods of the great land, the mystic creatures and souls of the dead wandered ramped, seeking the living as their hosts. Those who lived within Trégor's borders took heed to remain out from the woods entirely, but for Perros, which was settled far from the interior – surrounded by the forests and the sea – they lived within the trees, shoveling out just enough land for themselves to steal back from the haunters of the night. While towns such as Lannion, Morlaix and Gruingamp kept far from the trouble of interaction with such fears, those who lived in Perros were trapped within it, daring not to leave because of the journey through the woods which would last for four day's time.
Villagers of Perros had grown to thrive despite the known presence of such ill spirits. One sign of their triumph over the specters surrounding them was the creation of la Toussaint: the cause for the preparation of such meals this eve. La Toussaint was an evening unique to Perros when villagers appeased the spirits which they feared, yet respected. It was the night when they left a feast out for the spirits to consume as a peace offering and shared stories of their land to the young, for it was through stories that the spirits of the land were first born. La Toussaint was the one night of the year which the spirits were most active throughout the year's calendar. In response, villagers of Perros averted these mysterious beings by warding them off successfully for centuries through their ceremony.
The festival started with the feasts which were left on tables outside of the villagers' homes. Three courses were served for the korrigans, ghouls and fantômes to pass over and gain their fill, pleasing themselves enough to pass their houses during the night when they were out to play. After the sun set, the people feasted in the center of the village square, celebrating in song and dance, then sending their children off to parade from house to house, begging for stories to be told to them until midnight arrived and the night was done. The elders of the town had the most stories to tell, but as generations changed, stories grew with legends which happened amongst their people over the course of time. All of these tales surrounded around the three active spirits in their part of the kingdom.
Korrigans were siren-like creatures who used their enchanting songs to draw victims in and switch them with changelings. They lived anywhere where water was present and radiated with a slight glow of red in the night air. Perros' borders were surrounded by water, with the sea at its north, and two rivers gliding through the east and the west, meeting not more than ten miles to the village's south. While korrigans were scarce, children often would run up to the hills during the rainy seasons, gathering in the clearings and blowing out their candles to wait and see the flames floating against the ocean's far-off currents. In the days leading up to la Toussaint, water would be concealed in any way possible and hauled to the trees at the back of their homes at the edge of the forest's reach. Every child was warned that if they were unfortunate enough to catch a korrigan in the water's draw to ask the lutin for the list of days of the week, for it was known that a korrigan cannot enumerate the full list of the days for the sacredness of the week to the maker.
The same could be said for the ghouls, who were the most feared of the spirits. Forbidden access into the heavens, ghouls were truly demons who preyed on innocent souls to persuade them into mischief and vice. Children were the most susceptible to their trickery, yet as they prepared for la Toussaint, they took great joy in creating their own images of what they thought the creatures to look like. To ward them off, children carved faces into squashes, stumps and bed sheets, leaving their masterpieces accompanied by a candle out for the night to frighten the ghouls before they could steal inside to their bedsides.
The most active spirits during la Toussaint were the fantômes, who were the lost souls of the dead dismissed from access into the afterlife. Whether they were left to wander the earth because of unfinished deeds or for unholy acts committed during their lives, the fantômes were faceless creatures; merely a shade of silk which floated through the woods, cloaked in decaying cloths and shackles. They were the easiest to gain human interaction, yet they feared any form of light.
This was why not only la Toussaint, but all days in the year were filled with the constant use of light. None of the spirits of the woods could materialize within the light and this was the villager's main shield against them all.
As sunset approached, the village began to bustle. Families began lighting the candles within the bellies of the miniature ghouls at their doorsteps and bringing the food they had spent all day preparing to the tables outside of their homes. Widowers sorted through memories of their deceased loved ones, silently praying to the maker that their souls had been spared to the after-life. While each home was high with life, the square remained vacant, waiting for the villagers to complete their preparations and join in the center of it all at sundown, partaking in their own feast for the night.
Meanwhile, just outside of the village of Perros, two travelers were pushing their way through the woods, pressing onward toward the ceremonies, unaware of the spirits which followed behind them.
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