The Winged Goddess
Prologue: The Bet With the Devil No one could be sure when it had first appeared. One day it had not been there and the next it had. One night all the livestock in the fields had begun howling and screaming, charging the fences as though pursued. From the darkness a hulking figure dressed in a brown, stained robe came staggering into the village, weaving drunkenly through the streets. Sometimes it would lift its head and appear to test the air. Some claimed to have heard a deep snuffing sound come from deep inside its cloak. The cloak itself was like a funeral shroud, reaching from the ground to cover the creature's head and then spilling over its body and back to the floor behind like a slug trail of material. It held its head beneath its shoulders as though trying to conceal its height. It lurched into a jog and disappeared from the village and into the wood beyond.
From the moment it arrived things began to go wrong. A fog settled over the village and surrounding countryside, bringing with it rain and strange smelling vapours. Children were born that looked like fish, unformed and slimy with boneless jaws that flapped as they gasped for breath. Cattle and horses grew bloated and then collapsed in their droves. Once cut open they were discovered to be filled with maggots and not a lot else.
"It's the creature in the forest fault!" the villagers shouted, "It must be dealt with!"
A group of mercenaries were organised and strode off into the forest... and were never seen again.
At this time a girl also slipped into the wood. Her mother had begged her not to go, to stay away from the thing that now existed in its leafy heart. But the girl could not resist. She just wanted to have a look. She just wanted to know.
She set off in the early hours of the morning, before her nervous mother could wake. The ceaseless rain had turned the village's streets to mud and twisted bodies stuck out of the sludge at unnatural angles, caused by the new monstrous force that had appeared in the village. Great boils exploded over people's bodies, twisting and warping not only the flesh but also muscle and bone beneath. There were not enough healthy people to bury all the bodies and now they were simply left where they fell. The girl skipped past the distorted limbs and out into the wood. It had helped bury hundreds only yesterday.
The trees stopped the rain from reaching the forest floor but with the fog keeping the sun at bay it was as dark as twilight. Not that the girl minded, it was more exciting this way. She clambered over tree roots and with out warning stumbled into something that cut her cheek. She staggered back in pain and peered into the gloom. She could see her blood hanging suspended in the air. She reached out and pinged it, realising she had walked into a wire... and the remains of the brave mercenaries.
Oh wow, she thought to herself, it laid a trap. Various parts of the mercenaries were dangling in the air. They must have simply blundered in to it. She noticed a shield on the floor and heaved it up. It had filled with a mixture of rainwater and blood. She scooped her hand into the liquid and then began to fling it around, highlighting more wires with water droplets. When she was sure she had found them all she dropped the shield with a clang and set off again, dodging the lethal wires. Her prize lay just ahead, nestled in the roots of a large tree.
"Hallo." She said brightly, smiling. The thing, still heavily cloaked looked up in surprise.
"You made it through the wires?" it said in a muffled voice.
The girl nodded eagerly and then grew a little serious. "What are you?" she whispered. The thing appeared to draw itself up and the girl had the feeling it was smiling. "I am something very wrong." It signed darkly, "Something that should not exist."
"Your not from here are you? Lodoss I mean." The girl had noticed the creature's foot. It had slipped from beneath its cloak and was placed neatly in a stream. The girl knew where this stream led. It led straight to the village's only water supply. "You've been poisoning us..." she said in a faintly awed voice. The offending foot itself reminded her on a bird's claw except this one was made of riveted metal. She crept a little closer.
"So many questions." The thing said. "Ask me more questions." The girl laughed bitterly. "Most people complain I talk to much."
"They're all dead fools."
"Pardon?"
"Come closer child." The girl came a little closer. The creature was properly about six feet standing up and still towered over the girl, even sitting down. It lifted an armour-plated hand to its head and untangled itself from its cloak. The girl didn't know for a moment what she was looking out. Then she realised the creature had a dog's skull for a head. It was painted black and covered in emeralds and onyxes that formed swirling patterns. In the eye sockets burned twin red orbs with long, thin pupils. Its eyelids blinked from left to right. Its mouth was full of jagged pieces of glass that acted as transparent teeth. When it spoke its jaws didn't move. The voice came from lower down, in its throat, a male voice, muffled, as though it were talking through a blanket. "You are quite right my lovely. I come from very far away. And I believe I am dying."
"What! Why?" the girl couldn't bare the thought of this strange monster not existing in her dull world. "Is there anything I can do?"
The creature's blood coloured eyes smiled. It patted its knee. The girl curled up in to its lap, staring up intently at the bejewelled skull. "I am dying." It repeated sadly, "I can not live without my kin. I can feel myself freezing." It glanced down at her. "Still want to know what I am?"
She nodded dumbly, her body twitching with eagerness.
"I am a machine..."
"A whatie?"
The creature gave an amused cough and tired another word, "I am a weapon."
"Oh, like a sword or a bow?"
"That's right." It reached a hand back into it cloak and pulled out two items that the girl didn't recognise or understand. "Or a gun."
The girl reached over and pulled one of the items from its wrapping. It fitted snugly into her palm, the handle already warming with her sweat. For such a little thing it seemed very heavy and... important.
The creature was speaking again. "What do want to know?"
"I want to know everything." She whimpered.
And so the creature began to talk. It talked about weapons and machines. It talked about angels and demons, monsters and devils. It spoke about wars in countries beyond this reality, nations of mortals that this girl would never see. It spoke about darkness and disease, rape and murder. It spoke about music and dreams, neon lights and beautiful things. The girl looked and listened with a face full of rapture and wonderment. This information, this knowledge, it was like nourishment to her starved body and mind. Each word was like a glittering talisman that glistened before her eyes and sparkled in the foggy light. It spoke for a full day, its voice getting lower and lower, in till the girl had to place her ear right against its mouth to hear its feverish words. Then, without warning, it whipped its head around and bit off her ear. Ripped it clean off. The girl fell back into the creature's arms, too stunned to scream out. She clamped her hand to the side of her head and felt her hot blood gush through her fingers. She pulled her hand away and glanced at it. For the first time in her life she found the dripping blood beautiful. Enchanting. Its colour was so vibrant and rich, more glorious then any piece of jewellery. How did it work? Why was it red? What did it do? Why did the splashes never fall in the same place twice when they hit the ground? She looked up in time to see her informer swallow her ear down. "That is in return for all I have told. That is your payment." The girl nodded, to happy to care about anything else. She'd sell her soul if this devil were willing to tell her more.
Prologue: The Bet With the Devil No one could be sure when it had first appeared. One day it had not been there and the next it had. One night all the livestock in the fields had begun howling and screaming, charging the fences as though pursued. From the darkness a hulking figure dressed in a brown, stained robe came staggering into the village, weaving drunkenly through the streets. Sometimes it would lift its head and appear to test the air. Some claimed to have heard a deep snuffing sound come from deep inside its cloak. The cloak itself was like a funeral shroud, reaching from the ground to cover the creature's head and then spilling over its body and back to the floor behind like a slug trail of material. It held its head beneath its shoulders as though trying to conceal its height. It lurched into a jog and disappeared from the village and into the wood beyond.
From the moment it arrived things began to go wrong. A fog settled over the village and surrounding countryside, bringing with it rain and strange smelling vapours. Children were born that looked like fish, unformed and slimy with boneless jaws that flapped as they gasped for breath. Cattle and horses grew bloated and then collapsed in their droves. Once cut open they were discovered to be filled with maggots and not a lot else.
"It's the creature in the forest fault!" the villagers shouted, "It must be dealt with!"
A group of mercenaries were organised and strode off into the forest... and were never seen again.
At this time a girl also slipped into the wood. Her mother had begged her not to go, to stay away from the thing that now existed in its leafy heart. But the girl could not resist. She just wanted to have a look. She just wanted to know.
She set off in the early hours of the morning, before her nervous mother could wake. The ceaseless rain had turned the village's streets to mud and twisted bodies stuck out of the sludge at unnatural angles, caused by the new monstrous force that had appeared in the village. Great boils exploded over people's bodies, twisting and warping not only the flesh but also muscle and bone beneath. There were not enough healthy people to bury all the bodies and now they were simply left where they fell. The girl skipped past the distorted limbs and out into the wood. It had helped bury hundreds only yesterday.
The trees stopped the rain from reaching the forest floor but with the fog keeping the sun at bay it was as dark as twilight. Not that the girl minded, it was more exciting this way. She clambered over tree roots and with out warning stumbled into something that cut her cheek. She staggered back in pain and peered into the gloom. She could see her blood hanging suspended in the air. She reached out and pinged it, realising she had walked into a wire... and the remains of the brave mercenaries.
Oh wow, she thought to herself, it laid a trap. Various parts of the mercenaries were dangling in the air. They must have simply blundered in to it. She noticed a shield on the floor and heaved it up. It had filled with a mixture of rainwater and blood. She scooped her hand into the liquid and then began to fling it around, highlighting more wires with water droplets. When she was sure she had found them all she dropped the shield with a clang and set off again, dodging the lethal wires. Her prize lay just ahead, nestled in the roots of a large tree.
"Hallo." She said brightly, smiling. The thing, still heavily cloaked looked up in surprise.
"You made it through the wires?" it said in a muffled voice.
The girl nodded eagerly and then grew a little serious. "What are you?" she whispered. The thing appeared to draw itself up and the girl had the feeling it was smiling. "I am something very wrong." It signed darkly, "Something that should not exist."
"Your not from here are you? Lodoss I mean." The girl had noticed the creature's foot. It had slipped from beneath its cloak and was placed neatly in a stream. The girl knew where this stream led. It led straight to the village's only water supply. "You've been poisoning us..." she said in a faintly awed voice. The offending foot itself reminded her on a bird's claw except this one was made of riveted metal. She crept a little closer.
"So many questions." The thing said. "Ask me more questions." The girl laughed bitterly. "Most people complain I talk to much."
"They're all dead fools."
"Pardon?"
"Come closer child." The girl came a little closer. The creature was properly about six feet standing up and still towered over the girl, even sitting down. It lifted an armour-plated hand to its head and untangled itself from its cloak. The girl didn't know for a moment what she was looking out. Then she realised the creature had a dog's skull for a head. It was painted black and covered in emeralds and onyxes that formed swirling patterns. In the eye sockets burned twin red orbs with long, thin pupils. Its eyelids blinked from left to right. Its mouth was full of jagged pieces of glass that acted as transparent teeth. When it spoke its jaws didn't move. The voice came from lower down, in its throat, a male voice, muffled, as though it were talking through a blanket. "You are quite right my lovely. I come from very far away. And I believe I am dying."
"What! Why?" the girl couldn't bare the thought of this strange monster not existing in her dull world. "Is there anything I can do?"
The creature's blood coloured eyes smiled. It patted its knee. The girl curled up in to its lap, staring up intently at the bejewelled skull. "I am dying." It repeated sadly, "I can not live without my kin. I can feel myself freezing." It glanced down at her. "Still want to know what I am?"
She nodded dumbly, her body twitching with eagerness.
"I am a machine..."
"A whatie?"
The creature gave an amused cough and tired another word, "I am a weapon."
"Oh, like a sword or a bow?"
"That's right." It reached a hand back into it cloak and pulled out two items that the girl didn't recognise or understand. "Or a gun."
The girl reached over and pulled one of the items from its wrapping. It fitted snugly into her palm, the handle already warming with her sweat. For such a little thing it seemed very heavy and... important.
The creature was speaking again. "What do want to know?"
"I want to know everything." She whimpered.
And so the creature began to talk. It talked about weapons and machines. It talked about angels and demons, monsters and devils. It spoke about wars in countries beyond this reality, nations of mortals that this girl would never see. It spoke about darkness and disease, rape and murder. It spoke about music and dreams, neon lights and beautiful things. The girl looked and listened with a face full of rapture and wonderment. This information, this knowledge, it was like nourishment to her starved body and mind. Each word was like a glittering talisman that glistened before her eyes and sparkled in the foggy light. It spoke for a full day, its voice getting lower and lower, in till the girl had to place her ear right against its mouth to hear its feverish words. Then, without warning, it whipped its head around and bit off her ear. Ripped it clean off. The girl fell back into the creature's arms, too stunned to scream out. She clamped her hand to the side of her head and felt her hot blood gush through her fingers. She pulled her hand away and glanced at it. For the first time in her life she found the dripping blood beautiful. Enchanting. Its colour was so vibrant and rich, more glorious then any piece of jewellery. How did it work? Why was it red? What did it do? Why did the splashes never fall in the same place twice when they hit the ground? She looked up in time to see her informer swallow her ear down. "That is in return for all I have told. That is your payment." The girl nodded, to happy to care about anything else. She'd sell her soul if this devil were willing to tell her more.