SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem: Origins
Part 1
Resurrection of the Mad Goddess
by Lotus
Disclaimers: I don't see why I have to do this *every* chapter....well, anyway, Eternal Darkness does not belong to me. It belongs to the geniuses at Silicon Knights. I am not the geniuses at Silicon Knights. Therefore, this game does not belong to me. Simple logic.(Geometry is taking over my brain...)
Chapter 2 I See Dead PeopleIt has begun. As I knew it would.
I suppose I should have seen it. It was inevitable. There was nothing that could be done to prevent it. I knew that, better than anyone.
If only I had been able to warn them...
Ehn'gah is quiet today, as it has been for centuries, empty and desolate, the Guardians gone with the inhabitants themselves. Now that the dying cries of the citizens no longer echo in the streets, the place seems almost peaceful. Almost. If you can ignore the bloodstained history that still permeates every inch of the place.
Enough dwelling on the past. What concerns us is the here and now. And the here and now is in very real danger.
"She's been keeping something from us, Jenny. I know it."
"So what, Colin, that is no reason to break into her safe!" Jen protested. "That's just plain old rude!"
"I want to know what's happening, Jen. And I want to know why she's acting like this. And why she shot you in the shoulder. And why she jumped out a third-story window. Among other things." Colin continued to fiddle with the lock. "I've almost got it."
"I can't believe you, Colin. I didn't think you'd stoop to snooping around in your girlfriend's stuff. And for all we know, she just has money in there. The safe might have nothing to do with it."
"No. There's something in here that she's keeping secret. I heard her messing with it, and she shut it really quickly when I came in. Ah. There. Got it." The lock popped open. "Now, what could be in here..." He reached into the reinforced metal cube, and his hand came to rest on a box-like shape.
"I think it's a book, or something." He pulled the contents of the safe into the light–and the book blinked at him.
No. That had to be wrong. Books didn't blink. Books didn't have eyes. At least most of them didn't.
Then how come this one had tiny eyes lining the circle on the cover?
Colin shook it off. It was a decoration. It was just an ornament. There weren't really eyes on the cover. And they most certainly didn't blink.
"Colin, what is that?" Jen took a step back.
"It's a book. What does it look like?"
"Colin, that looks a lot like skin on the cover."
"Don't be stupid. It can't be skin. It wouldn't stay together."
"That looks like skin, Colin. That looks a whole lot like skin and that looks like bones in the binding--"
"It is not skin and it is not bones. Stop being a baby." Colin placed the book on the table and looked over the cover. "No title...how odd."
Jenny's voice had risen a few octaves; she seemed genuinely panicked now. "Colin, Alex didn't want us to know about this, and there's probably a very good reason for that. Now why don't you just put it back, lock the door, and pretend this never happened?"
Colin snapped the book shut in frustration and turned to Jenny. "Jenny, if Alex was keeping something from us, I want to know why. I, personally, would like an explanation for how Alex's been acting, and maybe this has it." Turning back to the book, Colin opened the cover and flipped to the first page. "'The Procession of Flesh and Bone...'" He said, reading out loud.
"Colin, you shouldn't do this!"
"There's nothing you can do or say to change my mind." He replied. "'Herein is contained a history, a history that spans all the centuries of civilizations, a history that is even now being written and becoming the present. But this is not the history of one individual, nor even of a family of individuals. It is a history of many, many Chosen, from across the seemingly impenetrable reaches of space and time, and of those who lie Beyond, whom the eyes of mortals were never meant to see. Like it or not, believe it or not as you will. Your perceptions will not change reality, but merely color it. '" Eagerly, Colin turned the page. "'Prologue: A Death in the Family. In the summer of the year 2000 Anno Domini, Alexandra Roivas, a student at a D.C. University studying abstract mathematics and number theory, received a summons to the mansion of her grandfather, Dr. Edward Roivas, from the Chief of Police in Rhode Island.' Jenny, why is Alex in this book?"
"You tell me." Jenny whimpered from over his shoulder. "You're the one who thought this was such a damn good idea."
"Stop whining. 'She was informed, upon arriving, that her grandfather had been the victim of a brutal murder. The cause of death was a mystery to the police-no sign of intrusion save for the absence of the head, an undue amount of force exerted on the body--'Jenny, what's wrong?"
The girl was covering her hands with her eyes, and was hunched over in fright. "Colin...I saw it..."
"What do you mean you saw it?"
"The body...I swear I could see it, right there in front of me...like I was right there...oh my God, it was terrible..." Jen trailed off.
"But that's not possible." Colin wondered aloud. "You can't have seen it. That happened a month ago."
"Well, I did. I know I did, I know what I saw." Jenny protested.
Colin went on reading. "'–and there was no evidence except for the body. The police were baffled, and could do nothing to apprehend the murderer. Alex, however, became determined to solve the mystery, and, after attending the funeral, entered her grandfather's ancient mansion alone, vowing not to leave until she had determined the circumstance, if not the identity, of the murderer.
"'After wandering the few accessible areas of the mansion for a time, Alex discovered her grandfathers secret study--'"
"Behind the bookcase in the library."
Colin looked up momentarily. "What was that?"
"The secret passage behind the bookcase in the library."
He checked the book. "How did you know that?"
"Because I can see it, Colin. Right here, in front of me. I don't know why you don't believe me."
He couldn't find a way to answer her, so Colin merely turned back to the book. "'–her grandfather's secret study behind a library bookcase. Contained therein was this very Tome, which she read from, unknowing of it's origins or what was between it's covers.'"
"Colin, please, stop reading."
"Why?" Colin turned the page. "'Chapter One: The Chosen One. 'To think that once I could not see beyond the Veil of our reality...to see those who dwell beyond. My life has purpose, for I have learned the frailty of flesh and bone...I was once a fool...' 'In the days of the dawn of the Roman Empire, there lived a centurion by the name of Pious Augustus. A gifted tactician and a dedicated soldier, Pious continued to serve the Roman Army even when most of his comrades had retired and pursued political careers.'"
"He's in centurion armor, he has a gladius, he's short by today's standards, he has brown hair and a five-o-clock shadow, and he looks like he could knock you flat with an arm behind his back." Jenny cut in. "Am I right?"
"Colin checked the small illustration at the top of the page. "To the letter."
"I knew it. Please, stop reading, Colin, I don't want to see any more."
"I can't just stop reading, Jen. Think about it. Alex was involved in something that reaches all the way back to the Roman Empire! Don't you want to find out what it is?"
"No. Now put it down."
He ignored her, turning back to the page. "After a long and hard-won battle in the Southwestern region of the Empire's territory, Pious received an order from his Emperor to search the area for treasured and legendary artifacts rumored to be hidden in the area. As he searched, he heard, amidst the desert winds, the calling of many voices that he could not recognize.
"'Enticed, he followed them to a circle of five stone pillars, which, to his shock, glowed with Magickal energy. As he stepped into the circle, unconsciousness overtook him, and he awakened it what has become known, throughout the ages, as the Forbidden City.
"'Others had obviously been here before him; the bodies of the slain littered the tiles of the Forbidden City. Many of these restless dead rose up and confronted the wandering centurion. These were not true dead, but rather the undead emissaries of Mantorok, the Great Ancient of Chaos.' What's an Ancient...?"
Jenny screamed.
It wasn't a very loud scream-it was more in shock than in fear-but it was enough to jolt Colin out of his literary spell. "Jenny!"
"Stop it, Colin! Don't read any more, I'm begging you! I don't want to see any more!" Jenny was again covering her eyes, and she was on the verge of sobbing. "I don't want to see anymore..."
"Jenny, please, calm down!"
"Calm down?! How the hell can you tell me to calm down? You can't see what I'm seeing!" She was shouting and rocking back and forth and beginning to cry. "I just don't want to see anymore..."
"Jenny, I can't--"
She was no longer listening. Upon hearing these words, Jenny took off for the door. She hadn't gone very far when she stopped dead, eye to eye with an unfamiliar figure.
Although, admittedly, it was hard to come eye-to-eye with someone who had nothing but empty sockets.
The color drained from the girl's face, and her eyes widened till her pupils were ringed by the whites. One phrase escaped her throat, choked and afraid.
"Dr. Roivas...?"
The specter of Alex's grandfather only nodded in confirmation.
Jenny backed away a few steps, transfixed at the sight of someone she knew for a fact was dead standing right in front of her. She made a few attempts at speech, then, eyes rolling back in her sockets, she collapsed on the ground on a dead faint.
"Jenny?"
Jenny squeezed her eyes tight shut. She didn't want to wake up. Not after the nightmares she'd been having...
"Jenny, are you awake?" Colin's voice. He sounded concerned.
No. That was stupid. They were just nightmares. She hadn't been getting visions. And she had certainly not seen Dr. Roivas. Dr. Roivas was dead.
"Hey, Jenny, wake up."
"Can I ask you a kind of stupid question?" Jen asked timidly.
"Fire away."
"Um..." Jenny kept her eyes shut. "Are the ghosts still here?"
There was a pause. Then, "Jenny, do you want me to say what will make you feel better, or do you want me to tell you the truth?"
That wasn't a good sign. "The truth."
"Yes. They are."
Jenny froze.
"And there are a lot more of them too."
The girl gave a low moan of dread and turned over in her bed, face to her pillow.
"Jenny, you're going to have to get up eventually."
"No, I don't."
"Jenny, they've all talked to me, they're all perfectly friendly, and no one's going to hurt you. Now get up."
Reluctantly, Jenny turned over and opened her eyes. Seven figures stood over her, all of them with the same blank eye sockets that she had seen in the ghost of Dr. Roivas. And she had sen all of them before–in the nightmares that had danced through her unconscious brain just a few minutes earlier.
"Did you dream, Jenny?" Colin asked. "I figured you might, since you seemed to be the one getting the visions from the book."
"Yes, I did."
"What did you see?"
Jenny recounted the images she had seen in her mind, and Colin nodded with understanding.
"I thought so." He replied. "Even unconscious, you received the visions of the events in the Tome. Everything that you dreamed of was written here." He held up the Tome, which gave her a slow, lazy blink.
"You mean...the Ancients...the Guardians...all of it?"
Colin nodded again. "All of it written here. All of it happened." He glanced at the specters all around him. "I trust you know who these are?"
Jen's eyes surveyed the room, speaking the name of each now-familiar phantom as her eyes met their empty gaze.
"Ellia...Anthony...Paul...Karim...Maximilian...Roberto...Dr. Roivas..." She turned to each of them, mystified. "Why are you here?"
"Because, even though you have read from the Tome," The spirit of Edward Roivas spoke up, "There is still much you need to learn in a very short time."
"Why did you run away, Alex?" The second Alex walked no more than ten steps behind the first.
"Because of you."
"How do you know it was because of me?"
Alex did not turn to her double. "It's called logical thinking, I don't know if it ever occurred to you. Let's recap. First, you show up. Then, things start happening that don't make sense. Put two and two together." She snapped.
"You've gotten Jenny and Colin involved in this, you know..."
"They are not involved." Alex continued walking. "For all they know, I've run off and committed myself to an asylum. They don't need to know the truth about any of this."
"They have already discovered it..."
Alex whirled around. Her double was still standing ten steps away from her. "Why are you staying so far away? Are you afraid of me?" She glared.
The other her shook her head innocently. "I have no reason to be afraid of you, Alex."
"Then why?"
"Because those two won't let me get any closer."
Confused, Alex looked all around her. In spite of her double's words, there was no one standing anywhere near her.
At least there didn't seem to be...
"But what is it?" Colin enquired, examining the Tome. "I mean, where did it come from? Who's writing it? Does it write itself?"
"We don't know." None of the ghosts was looking directly at them, as the last time one of them looked Jenny in the eye, she had shivered and looked the other way. "It appeared to each of us-most of us, anyway-in a chamber removed from the world we knew. We have no way of knowing who wrote it or where it came from."
"For all we know, it very well could write itself." The spirit of Brother Luther spoke up. "There is no other way it could record the events as they happened."
"May I ask a question?" Jenny meekly spoke up from a corner of the room. "What's happened to Alex? How does all this...tie in to what's happening now?"
"We do not know that either." Karim answered him. "We do not know what has happened to the Keeper of the Light any more than you do."
"Keeper of the Light? Is that Alex's title?" Colin was less uncomfortable about meeting the ghost's empty sockets than Jenny.
"It is the title of the Roivas family, whichever member is currently entangled in the Ancient's affairs." This time it was Maximilian who spoke. "So in this case, it is a title for any Roivas who has ever lived."
"Your family has always been involved with the Ancients? How have you survived this long? And why aren't all of them recorded in the Book?"
"It is a marvel to me that the Roivas line survived this long, as well." Dr. Roivas, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke up. "And many of them never knew of the existence of the Tome. They were merely involved with the Ancients, whether they knew it or not."
"But then how can we tell what's happening to Alex?"
"We cannot. Not unless we can find her."
"Can we do that?"
"Possibly. But it is probable-in fact, it is most likely-that she will not want to be found. She jumped out of her own free will, did she not?"
"So you think she knows what's happening to her?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't she tell us?"
"Because she feared that you would not believe her."
Colin shrugged, and turned to the last page on the Tome. Black ribbons of pure Magic danced on the page, half-forming themselves into words, then dispersing before they became intelligible, then beginning their twisting and writhing once again.
"What is this?"
The spirits clustered around him, peering over his shoulder, watching the dancing spectral ink. Looking among them, Jenny thought she could see surprise on the face of Dr. Roivas...but it couldn't be. An instant later his expression was blank again.
"I don't know..."
"We have never seen this before..."
"What can this mean?"
As they gathered around the book, Colin reached out to touch the page. His fingertips burned where they met the parchment, and he hastily withdrew his hand.
"Magick." Anthony concluded. "Pure Magick...like the beginnings of a Spell."
"I don't see any Runes. How can it be a Spell?" Jenny looked over Colin's shoulder.
"Maybe it's not a Spell." Colin peered at it closely. Maybe it's something else..."
"Tell me who you are."
The second Alex shook her head.
"Why won't you tell me? I don't know–you *know* I don't know."
"You know very well who I am, Alexandra Roivas. We have met before. You are just trying your very hardest not to see it."
"Are you telling me that I don't *want* to know who you are?"
"Exactly."
"Why wouldn't I?" She strode forward, confronting her double. "Why would I not want to know who you are?"
"I thought you were smart enough to figure it out for yourself, Alex. Obviously, I was wrong. Well, it doesn't matter. You'll discover who I am soon enough, whether you guess it or not."
"I'm sick and tired of guessing, dammit. Tell me who you are!" She tried to take another step toward the other her-but something was holding her back.
"Don't go any nearer to her." Someone whispering in her ear...a female voice, sounding very much like her own...
"She is dangerous, Alex. She could kill you whenever she pleases." A male voice this time, again so familiar...yet, as she looked around, there appeared to be no one there but her and her double.
Were these the ones her double had seen before?
"Who are you?"
The voices did not answer.
End Chapter 2