Avap12: Great idea! In fact, here's a chapter about her backstory!

Fire Breathing Queen: Sorry! But the cliffhanger was too tempting! I couldn't resist!

House of Lilith

Cicely stood on shaky legs, her vision black, and her palms calloused. Her arms reached out blindly and met empty air. She took a hesitant step forward and quick footsteps reached her ears. A soft hand gripped her arm and gently lead her to the wall.

"Be careful," a female voice chastised.

"Who is this?" she asked and reached out to feel the hand gripping her arm. She knew the feeling of their palm and their perfectly trimmed nails. "Valea?"

"Come on, you need to get to your training," her cousin gently guided her down the hall and the clashing of metal filled her ears.

"Tell me again, what you look like," she whispered and Valea placed the hilt of a light blade in her palm.

"Later, but right now your mother is waiting for you." Quiet footsteps faded and she was left alone with a blade. She ran her fingers from the hilt to the tip of the blade and concluded that it was three feet long.

She felt a shift in the air and paused. A quick strike to her chest knocked her to the ground.

"You doubt yourself," her mother's sharp voice cut through the air. "Trust your instincts, that's all you have."

"I don't doubt," she gritted out and swung toward the spot she heard her mother's voice. Shuffling was heard underneath her strike and she brought it down, successfully hitting her mother's armor with her blade.

A strike to her legs followed another shift in the air. Her mother spoke again, "You still doubt. Trust that you will do the right thing."

She fell to the ground and blindly stood back up. Her blade was lost somewhere during her fall but she didn't bother to find it. She listened with her magic and heard her mother's thoughts nearby. She blindly threw out a punch and her hand connected with bone.

A sharp crack filled the air as her mother retreated, pain laced the air and reached her nose, as did the metallic scent of blood. She willed no mercy to show on her face as she marched up to where the scent of blood was strongest.

"How many times have your instincts failed you?" Her mother's voice came from behind her, but in front of her was where her scent was strongest. She pushed away her reaction to lash out behind her and instead leapt forward.

She collided with another body and blocked every strike that came toward her face. She blindly grabbed her mother's arms and pinned her to the ground.

"Never." She answered and pushed her knee deeper into whatever body part it was resting on. "It never failed me."

"Then trust it." Her mother said. "This lesson is over. Go to your father."

Immediately, a familiar soft hand lead her off her mother and fixed her clothes, they clipped back her hair and took her hand in theirs.

"Let's go," Valea said softly and lead her out of the room, leaving the clashing of metal behind them.

OoOoO

"The Valg, daughter, are creatures of darkness," her father told her. "They will take over your mind and your body, shoving you into your darkest memories and making you relive them. Your gifts from your mother and me will ensure your survival should you ever encounter one. Your mind can harness it, leash it, and your abilities can break it. Play your cards right, and you can defeat it."

"And if I can't?" she asked and Valea placed a hand on her arm.

"You will have to pray your death comes quickly," her father's voice was low and grave.

"I will never yield," she growled at her father's answer. "I will fight it until I burn."

"That is all we ask of you." Approval and pride laced her father's voice.

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into Cicley's history!