The Chronicle of Amon

Four

The dark room seemed to have an air of menace now, and Little Claw was becoming more and more nervous. He knew that what he was about to read would probably give him nightmares for a long time, but still, he read on, and mentally prepared himself for the horrors he knew he would soon be reading about.

Journal Entry Four, Enter the Labyrinth

The journey to the Hive was an experience I shall not soon forget. Xercxes and I entered the umbra and began making our way towards the Hive of Dark Insights, and I was shown the different types of banes and spirits that could aid us. I had a natural affinity for communicating with them, which made Xercxes both annoyed and intrigued. "Who taught you that gift, pup?" he asked, a bit of edge in his voice. I stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about? I guess being able to talk with spirits is something of a gift, isn't it?" I asked, still confused. Xercxes rolled his eyes. "Never mind, but let's move a bit quicker. The last thing we need is the damn local garou ambushing us."

When we came to the Hive I stared in both fear and wonder. H' rugglings, or sludge elementals, crawled up from the ground, oozing this way and that, leaving raw sewage in there wake. The smell was, and still is, horrid. My balefire elemental, or firmling, Sevren, remained near to me, his appearance shrunk to that of a small wisp of flame close to my side. The atmosphere was toxic as well, and I caught sight of several Hoglings, or smog elementals, flying through the air, leaving noxious fumes in their wake, there forms shifting and intangible. The sky's overhead were blackened with the overwhelming toxicity, and that's when we came to the entrance of the Hive itself. Two Black Spiral Dancers guarded the entrance; ones jaw was twisted so that it opened horizontally, his skin mottled and pealing. The other, which I presume was female at some point, stood clutching a spear of some sort, her breasts sagging, and her nipples, which had turned into small mouths, snapping in the air. Her skin was completely rotted off in some areas of her body, and her face...imagine a Picasso painting, except real, with a hint of Bosch to it, and I think you'll get a pretty good idea of what I was looking at. Upon seeing Xercxes, they parted and allowed us to enter the Hive through the cave entrance. He saw my face and laughed with a hint of cruelty. "Ah yes, the Metis are such wonderful shock troops. Most can't pass in public, as you saw, but they are very effective as cannon fodder." We slipped out of the umbra and began our decent.

The path led us deep underground, and our only lights were the occasional balefire torch, and the bit of light that Sevren gave off. Here and there I saw various skulls embedded into the walls, fountains of blood and slime, and bit's of flesh hung in some ritualistic manner. Various tunnels branched off of this main one, and led to small antechambers. Most acted as make-shift dens for the other Spirals, and it shocked me at the time what they were doing. One was viciously sodomizing a young girl who couldn't have been more then thirteen. Her piteous screams echoed throughout the cavern, until the Spiral reached his climax, shifted to his war form, and ripped the girls head off. He sat basking in the after glow, greedily drinking from the dead girls stump of a neck. I thought I was going to be sick, yet somehow controlled myself. The Spiral saw us standing there, and smiled at me, then quickly bowed to Xercxes. We pressed forward. I glanced in another of the dens and saw another Spiral, this one totally bald, skin shriveled, fingernails gone, and the pointed tips of his finger bones jutting out. He rocked back and forth, a bowl containing some concoction of blood and bile on the floor next to him. He muttered to himself about the epoch of corruption, and drew spiraled glyphs on the walls with the substance in the bowls, sometimes licking the filth off of his fingers. Another room contained a weapons casche of guns, explosives, and various other weapons I couldn't recognize. "We have some rather wealthy, Wyrm tainted benefactors," Xercxes said, nodding to the room.

We continued down the tunnel until at last we reached what appeared to be the central meeting place, which was not the Pit. I was brought before the alpha, a lithe beauty who's voice conveyed complete visciouness, her blond her streaked with what looked like black oil. As I took her in, I realized she was doing the same to me as well, when her mouth finally opened, a long pointed tongue with a sharp edge emerged and tasted my sweat. Knowing the nature of what was now my people, I held my ground. "Mmmmm, you taste so sweet, little cub. Perhaps if you fail the Labyrinth, I shall taste that sweet flesh of yours again and again, even if it's cold!" she laughed, her fangs glinting in the low light as the tongue waggled. I was taken to a young Theurge, and she looked to be only two or three years older then me. She had a small, almost fragile frame, and her movements were almost delicate in nature. Her eyes were what marked her; one was pure white with only a small black pupil, and the other was solid black, like a black gem stone. She sat cross-legged, examining a pile of animal innards at her feet. "Prepare him or it's your head, Carianna," Xercxes growled at her. "I will do as I should, and the dark father will determine our worth," she retorted, a detatched smile on her face. As she bowed, I couldn't help but give her a cocked smile. Xercxes departed, licking his lips as he called to another spiral to bring him a "light snack".

"Come, sit, we have much to talk about," she gestured in front of her. I sat and stared into her eyes, as her mismatched eyes seemed to bore into my soul. "I see you've been touched by the Dark Father already, and yet there is a hint of something more," she cooed. "I will teach you what you will need to survive the trial of the labyrinth, and I will help you to understand the mysteries of the umbra and beyond. The only question is, will you submit to my teachings?" she asked, a glint in the black eye. "I will do what is required," I responded in turn. Carianna smiled.

During the next month, I spent almost all of my time with Carianna. We would spend much of the day in the umbra, traveling around the Hive and the outlying areas. We often communed with banes, and she imparted much of her understanding of the Triad during our lessons. Carianna revealed to me that she had once been a Child of Gaia, and had fallen do to her dabbling in things that the garou nation feared and reviled. In the end, she was no longer just dabbling, and she was finally drawn into the Labyrinth itself. Her insights into the nature of things had earned her respect amongst the Hive. Anyone else would have believed her to be completely insane. And though barley 24, her insights had aided her in achieving third rank, adren as we call it, but had left her somewhat...disconnected at times. "Our insights into the the nature of the Wyrm can sometimes leave us touched by the Father," she told me. "And those that are are most respected by us." I studied her for a moment as a bane scuttled past us, and it hit me. "Only through sacrifice may we glean knowledge, and because of the Wyrm's state, the knowlege drives most mad," I remarked. Carianna nodded approvingly, and we continued walking. "You're grasping concepts it takes most years to understand. Perhaps what I first sensed in you..." and like she sometimes did, Carianna trailed off.

At the end of the month, when Luna was waning and crescent, I was called into the Pit, that inner sanctum of the Hive that is jealously guarded against all outsiders, often times including other Black Spiral Dancer's. I walked in, wearing my usuall boots, black jeans and black t-shirt, and was greeted by a sight that stunned me. The entire Hive had gathered, all clad in ritualistic clothing of various shapes and styles. The alpha, Xercxes, and Carianna stood near the center, waiting for me. As I approached, the veil began to weaken, and I could see Sevren and what appeared to be a hundred banes gathered. Above all, the Whip-poor-will presided, the Green Dragon also in attendence. Lot of people here ofr little old me, I thought, somewhat unsettled. The alpha and Xercxes began stepping back, and as I approached closer, Carianna began to trace the outline of a labyrinth spiral into the ground which glowed and radiated like black flames. The entire Hive began to chant wildly as Carianna smiled at me. "Behold the gateway to the shattered Labyrinth, Temple Obscurum. Within lies the hidden truths of the Father, buried within us. Come forth, and enter the Labyrinth." Without any further prompting, I lept the gateway of the Black Spiral Labyrinth.