- WARNING: IF YOU'RE A READER OF GOLDGUARDIAN2418, NEWBIENOVELISTRD, OR GUESTSURPRISE, THIS IS FOR YOU!
- This story is a lot different in terms of writing style and overall narrative, and has angst at its core. The purpose of this story is to explore what happens to the humans that fall through the cracks of the Lauhinian's watch on Earth. There's an instance of explicit violence- a mugging- and other details surrounding the resulting injuries. So just be warned: while I'm not discouraging you from reading it, please look out for yourself and skip this if you don't want to read it. Also, please note that while I would love to (and probably will) continue this storyline when I have the time, I cannot- in good faith- view it as canon to the Lauhinian lore. The only way that can happen is if guestsurprise and GoldGuardian give it their stamps of approval to be added to the canon.
Author's Note: The mythological creatures featured in this story are the property of guestsurprise and the mentioned human characters belong to GoldGuardian2418; the only character that's actually mine is my OC, Seph. It should also be noted that elements of this story are based on and inspired by Hadestown, the Tony Award winning musical written by Anais Mitchell. If you want to get a proper feel for this story, then I highly recommend listening to the songs 'Chant' through 'Gone, I'm Gone' from the OBC Recording of Hadestown while reading.
A loud peal of thunder shook the walls of the castle down to its very foundation as a bright red flash of lightning scattered across the inky black skies. A thick, oily shower of rain crashed against the ground below, causing puddles to pool amongst the black grass to the point where it was impossible for one to tell where the grass ended and the puddles began. Old trees wrought with decay surrounded the obsidian castle in a way that made it look like every child's nightmare. A more perfect night could not have been asked for.
"Damus, why have you brought me down here?" Laviatha asked as her husband led her down to the dungeons below their castle. "There's such a lovely storm outside and I would hate to miss it."
"All in due time, my dear; all in due time," the Nightmare King replied, allowing his claw to gently run along the back of her hand.
A few moments later, the couple arrived in front of the large black doors of the dungeons, the green firelight from the torches that hung on the wall allowed for their reflections to be warped in the shining obsidian. They stood at an impressive height with an intimidating stature (their four arms certainly helping in this endeavor) as their pointed ears twitched occasionally, their brown fur being bathed in firelight while their yellows eyes seemed to glow all by themselves. Laviatha wore a dress made of spider's silk that had been dyed black with oil, while the king wore a robe colored the same shade of crimson as human blood (if one were close enough to him, they might even imagine a faint whiff of iron coming from him). With a flick of the wrist, Damus watched with his wife as the dungeon doors opened to reveal that all the chains and torture devices that had previously been scattered all about the dungeon floor had been replaced with a large stone from which a decorative hilt and blade could be seen protruding from the top. The hilt looked to have the middle of it carved to where a coil-like pattern could be seen with a dark red gem embedded in a knob at the very end of it.
Around the stone stood their three sons: Goliath, Vitsu, and Soren. Goliath was their eldest, and practically towered over his younger brothers at height that looked to be the same as a three-story building. Much like his parents, his fur was brown but filled with matted spots and a few bits of mange that were scattered across his skin. He wore nothing more than their traditional loincloth and royal black sash that ran along his torso. His brothers, on the other hand, were much similar to each other in terms of dress and stature. Vitsu had chosen his best robe for such an occasion, as did Soren: both robes were thin and silky, but were each a different color with Soren in dull green and Vitsu donning a sickeningly yellow one. Their fur, unlike Goliath's, was well maintained for a Nitian (if one could call unruly and ever so slightly tangled 'maintained'), while their greasy black manes hung free around their shoulders. They each gave their parents a fanged smile before bowing respectfully.
"We've done as you've asked us, Father," Vitsu said as he righted himself once more. "But you'll never guess where we found-"
"The human realm!" Goliath's deep voice nearly put the thunder outside to shame in its volume.
"...Thank you, Goliath, for the help."
"Is that what I think it is?" The queen breathed out as she approached the stone, her eyes fluttering shut as she could feel the dark magic radiating from it. Or, rather, what was stuck inside of it.
"Yes, my love, it is." Damus watched his wife circle the stone in inspection, her hand running across the rock's rough surface, only stopping when she reached the very back of the stone. Her black claws traced along something in the stone before they started to reach for the hilt.
The king's eyes widened, and he immediately sped to her side and caught her wrist before she could touch the dagger's hilt. "No! We can't touch it!"
"Why not?" Laviatha asked as she wretched her hand out of her husband's grip. "Our magic is rivaled only by Lauhinians in power; we should be able to to claim this for our own!"
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, Mother. Since this wasn't found in our realm, its magic is too foreign for us to safely use," Soren said, a clawed finger pointing to a symbol that was etched into the stone's surface in front of them. It looked to be an open semi circle facing up with a small dot in the center of it. "The only person who can draw the dagger is the one who bears this mark. Now, Vitsu and I were talking-"
"Without me, might I add."
"Goliath, shut up for once in your life!" Vitsu yelled, his eyes turning red as he glared at his mammoth of a brother.
"Excuse me, but I'm the only one who was strong enough to carry this across realms in the first place and you two act like I'm not even involved in this!"
"Yeah, and who was it that tracked it down to the human realm?"
"Soren!"
"Hey, do not bring me into this!" Soren exclaimed, only to be met with a smack across his head.
"Quiet, all of you!" Their father growled, his ears folding against his head in irritation before returning his attention to his youngest. "Go on, Soren, what were you saying?"
"Well, Father, Vitsu and I were talking and we believe that since it came from the human realm, only a human bearing the mark on the stone can take the dagger. I've been working on a variation of tracking spells that could give us a lead on who this dagger is tied to." He explained, his gaze drifting from his father to his mother while he spoke.
"And you think it can work?" Laviatha asked, running her claws through her son's mane. The prince nodded and grimaced as his mother grasped his hair tightly. "Then do it."
Soren sighed and pried his mother's claws out of his mane before looking at Vitsu, who gave him a nod and stepped back. The others, seeing this, followed suit until they were all a good few feet away from the stone. Soren took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration as he focused all of his magic that flowed through his body. Once he could feel that all of it was at his disposal, he raised his hand towards the stone and waved it over the symbol as he whispered, "Vestigium ejus est fons." He opened his eyes and stood back when he saw the symbol slowly begin to take on an eerie glow as if it was being heated from the inside out, glowing brighter by the second. It was only a few seconds after that the dungeon shook with a loud scream of agony. Damus quickly clawed at the air next to him to open a viewing portal to the human realm to see who they had traced.
The portal swirled with a mix of greens and purples before it finally rippled out into an image of a young woman clutching at her right wrist in pain. All around her, the walls looked to be like that of a decrepit building that was practically falling apart at the seams. However, it allowed the Nitians to get a good look at her in the moonlight that streamed in from the cracks. Her light brown face was rounded, yet her cheeks were sunken in with dark circles shading her eyes while her long black hair covered them almost completely. A dark grey vest hung around her chest that offered little more warmth than what her thin black dress could give her, even with the orange and yellow scarf that was tied around her neck. She was sitting up on what looked to be a poor makeshift bed since it was only a dirty tablecloth and a beaten bag overtop a dirt floor. A large shabby grey coat covered her thin pant legs and pooled around her waist as she continued crying. Her body was trembling, whether it was from the cold or pain was unclear. Her fingers kept brushing over what looked to be a brand that had formed on her wrist: an open semi-circle facing up with a dot in the center.
"Who is she?" Damus asked, furrowing his brow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She's not one of the humans that damned Prince Jocu watches over…"
"Certainly not. From the way she's dressed and the state of that bag, I think it's safe to say she's a runaway." The room shook once more as Goliath groaned, but he was cut off by a quick knick on the arm by his mother. " Quiet, boy! Don't you see?!"
"See what, Mother?"
"Like I said, she's a runaway...and a girl like that will be desperate." Laviatha looked up to see her sons' faces screwed up in confused scowls and she resisted rolling her eyes at them. "If she's desperate enough, she'd be willing to do anything to keep herself alive."
A conniving chuckle sounded in her ear as Damus curled his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. "I forget just how brilliant you are sometimes, my love," he whispered before placing a kiss on her neck.
"That's all very well, but how exactly are we going to do this? Runaways aren't known to be very trusting and by the looks of it, this one has held her own for quite some time." Soren asked as his gaze found the girl once more.
"The answer to that is simple, brother," Vitsu stepped towards the portal, tapping his claws against his cheek. "When the time comes where she's desperate enough to trust even one of us...that's when we'll strike."
"And I suppose you have it all figured out then?"
The prince raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous."
"Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Know better."
Vitsu laughed quietly at his brother's attempt to throw him off. "It's alright to admit it, brother! We both know I'm the only one among us who's skilled enough to approach her, after all."
"And yet I was the one who rescued our father from the clutches of King Lauhin. Tell me, when was your last successful endeavor?" Soren asked, raising his brow.
His brother opened his mouth to answer but he was silenced by a smack across his head. "He's right," Damus growled. "Out of all of you complete and utter failures, he's the only one who's able to best Lauhin outside of battle."
"Father, he doesn't know the first thing about manipulating humans!" The younger prince shot his brother with a look of confusion.
"That's exactly how I beat Lauhin in the first place, you idiot!"
Laviatha rolled her eyes and smacked both of her son's heads at once. "Quiet, the both of you. He makes a valid point, Vitsu, considering that the princes were able to stop you these last few times. I know you'd rather it be you, but Soren is the best one for this. Now...enough bickering between us! If the Lauhinans find out what we're planning, they'll be on that girl before we've even begun to plan!"
"There...is a plan, isn't there?" Soren asked, his eyes drifting from the portal to his mother.
"Of course there is, my son. But for right now, we'll let the girl rest; she's got a big day ahead of her tomorrow." Sinister grins spread across all of their faces as they turned their attention back towards the portal. They watched her as she tried to gather a small bit of snow to numb the brand on her wrist before she pulled her coat over her and settled her head back onto her bag, her breaths coming out shaky and shallow as she began to drift off once more.
Seph rubbed the underside of her wrist as she trudged along the sidewalk as best she could while going against the chill of the wind. The skin was still raised from the strange symbol that had been burned into her flesh the night before, though she was still trying to figure out just what made made such a mark in the first place. There had been no evidence of someone else being in the room while she slept, so that eliminated the possibility that some psychopath had put a brand on her wrist just for the hell of it. No...the symbol appeared after the burning woke her up, making it all too clear that something otherworldly had branded her. Why it even happened in the first place was another question altogether.
But she couldn't let such things distract her. A group of storm clouds hung over her head in an ominous warning that made her walk just a little bit faster towards the train station. Winter had snuck up on her faster than she would've liked and she didn't want to think about what would happen if she was left in the city to bear the darkness and cold that the winter would bring. Times were hard enough as it was, and being a runaway wasn't doing Seph any favors as it made it virtually impossible to get a job. You can't get paid if you don't let yourself exist, after all. A sharp hunger pang shot through her stomach, her arms immediately wrapping around herself as she heard a deep rumbling come from within. The worn bag on her back carried nothing more than a small candle, a single match, and only enough money to pay for the train ticket; there was no way she would be able to get herself some food in time. So, she did what she would always do and ignored the pain as she marched on.
Seph was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the hand reaching her back until it was too late. A hard tug on her bag caused her to reel back, her ragged shoes slipping on the ice as she fell back into the nearby alleyway, making sure to keep her head from hitting the concrete. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her while her vision swam. A few rapid blinks were able to clear up her mind and she was able to see what looked to be three hag-like women standing over her. They wore tightly wrapped headdresses made of a silky purple cloth that almost looked grey in the dimming sunlight adorned with black feathers, a brown leather band wrapped around their necks that connected to a single leather strap that went from their shoulders to their waists, a thicker black leather belt wrapped around the middle of their dresses, which were made of the same material as their headdresses. On their ears were dangling hoop earrings that swayed along with their heads as they looked down upon Seph with what could only be described as predatory grins.
"Oh, you poor dear," the hag on her left cooed. "We didn't mean for you to fall like that!"
The woman in the center helped the girl to her feet, her grip on Seph's arm growing just a little too tight. "Such a fall…"
"Yes, such a fall…" The third woman echoed as she eyed the young girl in hunger. "Are you alright?"
Their voices sounded not unlike how one might imagine an eel's voice to be like: slippery and slimy. A pit of dread found its home in Seph's stomach as she stepped away from the women that crowded her. "I'm fine, thank you."
"You know...we couldn't help but notice the bag you're carrying..." the center hag said with mischief sparkling in her eyes.
"A tattered bag…" They stepped closer.
"A heavy bag…" And closer.
"And we thought to ourselves, 'A poor child such as that shouldn't have to carry such a heavy load!'...didn't we, girls?"
"What a load…"
"Poor child…" The women were now close enough that Seph could feel their hot breaths on her face and neck.
"It's not that heavy; I can easily carry it around," her voice shook as she brought her hands up to grasp the shoulder straps of her bag as tightly as she could.
"Oh! Then it'll be no trouble to relieve you of it!" With that, the women pounced. Their sharp nails dug into Seph's skin as they clawed her hands off of the shoulder straps, her numbing hands suddenly feeling something wet flow down her palms while the third hag started to painfully tear the bag off her arms. A hand reached up and gave the roots of her hair a sharp yank, causing her knees to buckle and her arms to go slack, the blood in her ears pounding too loudly enough for her to hear anything else. Her cheek suddenly stung with a numbed pain as the sound of skin meeting skin barely registered in her mind. It wasn't before long until the women were able to wrangle the bag off of her back, leaving her bloodied and bruised on the ground.
Seph could barely hear one of the hags crying out in disgust, but she definitely felt them pull her to her feet before getting slammed into a nearby brick wall. "You got blood all over our brand new bag, you little cretin," they hissed into her ears in unison. "For that...we'll need compensation."
This time, she did little to fight them as they pulled the coat from her body, only having the strength to grasp onto the bundled material as tightly as she could before getting yet another slap to the face that got her to let go. As she slid silently down the wall and onto the slush-covered ground, she could hear the sounds of the hags' laughter that echoed all around her. The wind suddenly picked up with a few snowflakes cascading down from the dark clouds above, but Seph could do nothing more than weakly wrap her arms around herself and do her best to stand to her feet. If she was fast enough, there was still a chance she could secretly hitch a ride on the caboose of the train. But the sound of a train whistle sounding off in the distance sent her hopes crashing right back down. Hot tears began to well up in her eyes as she realized just how hopeless her situation now was: she had nothing to keep her warm, nowhere she could stay that could give her proper shelter, and no way to get herself some food. Not to mention the fact that without proper medical attention, it was likely that the cuts she'd gotten were going to get infected and cause her to waste away in pain. Seph allowed herself to slowly sink to her knees as her body trembled from the sobs she could barely hold back.
"Whatever is the matter?" Seph's head shot up at the sound of someone else in the alley, her hands reactively going to her face to wipe away the tears.
"Who are you?" She called out, shifting her weight until she was fully sitting on the ground with her back against the wall.
"Someone who hates to see such a lovely young girl in such a miserable state." Out from the shadows stepped a handsome young man in a large leather coat that covered a rather nice black and white pinstriped suit that complimented his tanned skin. His jet black hair was combed back neatly into a tight bun that was hidden behind his head and a pair of dark sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose as he looked down upon Seph, shivering in the snow. "You got a name, little songbird?"
She stared at the strange man before her with caution. If her life had taught her anything, it was that no one could be trusted. "Why do you wanna know?"
He scoffed a bit and dipped his head in amusement. "Isn't it polite to ask for a person's name when they meet?"
"...Seph."
"I'm sorry?"
"My name...it's Seph."
"Seph? Huh. Never heard a name like that before," the man mused as he stepped closer to her.
"Wouldn't expect you to; it's not a common name." She crawled away from him, her back never leaving the wall.
He hummed in thought for a moment, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Is it short for something?"
"What?"
"Well, names like that are usually short for something, aren't they?"
Her eyes ran over him in an attempt to glean...something from him. To see if he was actually trustworthy, perhaps? "A name for a name," she said after a moment's pause. The man tilted his head as he thought over her proposal before smirking down at her.
"Very well, then. My name is Soren." A scoff was the girl's only reply, making him give her a rather hard stare. "What, not what you were expecting, I suppose?"
"Well, yes, but I find it rather funny that you questioned my name while yours is just as strange," Seph replied, ducking her head to avoid his gaze.
"True...but I do believe we agreed on a name for a name."
The air between them hung dry and still while he waited for a response from her. She seemed to mumble something, but it was hard for him to hear. "Come again?"
"I said it's short for Persephone, okay?"
Persephone...Soren couldn't help the chuckle that rose from his throat. Could a more apt name be given to such a wilting flower- a flower destined to bring about such darkness? But when he saw her give him a heated glare, he quickly covered over his laugh with a sharp cough before addressing her again.
"It's a lovely name, my dear; far too lovely for someone in such a dire situation." He watched as she slowly brought herself to her feet, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I can handle myself, thank you very-"
"Is that why you're without your coat and bag, covered in cuts and bruises, sobbing in the snow?"
Seph reared back at his sudden counter, her arms hugging around herself subconsciously as she felt herself somehow growing more vulnerable under his scrutinizing gaze than she had been before. She opened her mouth to respond, but he raised a hand to silence her.
"Look...I'm going to cut right to the chase. The way I see it, you're not going to last very long out here without a way to keep warm and to be fed. And that train isn't coming for another few days at the earliest, so there's no way you're getting out of this city without having to pay dearly. Now, personally, I'd rather not see such a lovely creature like yourself stoop to such levels just for an uncertain chance of survival."
The girl sighed and rubbed her arms for a bit as she stared at a spot on the wall next to him. She knew what he was saying was true, but she hadn't wanted to accept it. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Seph's chest heaved in a deep sigh. "Then what do you suggest I do?"
"Simple: come with me." Her eyes blinked in confusion before they were drawn to the hand he held out in front of her. A cough rose from her when her voice caught in her throat at the offer.
"I don't understand…" She mumbled to herself.
Soren sighed and allowed his arm to drop at his side before he stepped towards her, causing her to scramble away in turn. "If you come with me back to where I live, you won't ever be like this again."
"Like what?"
"Hungry...tired...cold...beaten down. My family and I will make sure that you're never like that again for the rest of your life, I promise you."
It was an enticing offer, and rather hard to see the downside of it. But Seph had seen the way the world was and she knew that such things were often too good to be true. "What's the catch?"
"The catch?"
"There's always a catch with these types of things." She could see Soren's brow rise above his shades- from being impressed or insulted, she couldn't tell which. He stared at her for a moment until he finally let out a short breath and pointed to her arm.
"In return for the comfort we'll provide you...you will be our champion. "
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Champion?"
"Yes, my dear." Soren began, leaning himself against the wall near her. "Back home, my family has procured a rather powerful magical item: a dagger trapped within the confines of a stone. On the stone is a mark...the same mark that's on your wrist. Only the one who bears the mark can pull the dagger free, and once you do so, you'll be granted all the magic the dagger holds. And with that magic...you will become our champion."
Seph pulled her right arm away from her shivering body to look at the brand upon her wrist. So she had been right before: something unearthly had indeed marked her for something. And that something was apparently becoming a champion for a rather strange young man and his family. Her fingers lightly traced over the raised skin on her wrist while she allowed herself to be lost in thought, only for her to snap back to reality at the sound of fingers snapping in front of her face. Seph blinked rapidly and looked back up at the young man, who was now far too close for comfort.
"What makes you so sure that I'd even want the dagger after I free it?" She asked, stepping away from him once more.
Soren's chest rumbled with dark laughter. He forgot just how questioning humans could be when they didn't trust someone. With a knowing smirk, he began to circle the girl like a vulture preparing to dive for its meal. "Because I know that a girl like you is hungry for more than just food...you're hungry for power. That's all magic really is, when you think about it: having the power to do whatever you want whenever you want. And right now, I know that you want to never be in a position like this again. While I can't make this choice for you, Seph, I can tell you this: if you think you're going to be safe out here after I leave...you're wrong. The vultures that did this to you," he gestured to her injured state, "they will come back, and when they do...there's nothing that'll stop them from picking you clean."
Now he was behind her now, whispering in her ear, and her knees nearly buckled at yet another hunger pang that shot through her. She didn't want to admit that he was right, but there was really no other way to put it: she had nothing and nowhere to go. If she chose to stay, there was a very little chance that she was going to live long enough to make the next train out of the city. And with the dark clouds that were gathering overhead, her chances were growing slimmer and slimmer by the second. A bit of movement on her left caught her eye and she looked down to see his hand open to her once again. Her body shivered again, but this time, it wasn't from the cold.
"If I go with you," she asked, "do you swear that I'll never be hungry again?"
"I swear."
That was all she needed to hear. Without any more hesitation, she grasped onto his hand tightly and allowed him to turn her around, his dark shades meeting her hazel eyes. He gave her a smile of satisfaction, but she couldn't tell whether it was for her or for himself. Soren squeezed her hand a little before flicking his right hand towards the empty alleyway. A large portal suddenly opened up with a small gust of wind throwing snow and dirt this way and that. It soon settled into a swirling, blinding show of white and purple light that she had to squint at in order to clearly see it. A cold finger rubbed against her hand and her attention was pulled to Soren, who lifted her hand and gently pulled her towards the ring of light. Suddenly, a feeling of peace washed over her as she felt her desire for rest and food overpower any reasoning she had against her decision. Seph looked around the alleyway for a moment, allowing herself one last look at the world she was leaving behind, before she let herself be pulled through the portal.
Author's Note (2): I already have the last chapter written, but I'm gonna wait to see how this one does before I post it. Please leave a review!