Chapter Two

Immediately after an enormous screen popped into existence, it had a brilliant vermillion background which seemed to oscillate as if it were a flame. He could see that there was writing on the screen, but he was too freaked out to focus on that bit.

Instead, he shifted his gaze, shook his head backward and forwards, though the word exit with as much purpose as he could muster, along with several other equally failed attempts to remove the screen from his field of vision.

He found that despite his extensive knowledge of fantasy and sci-fi, the ideas those stories had provided him where all abject failures.

Eventually he managed to calm himself down enough to realize there was only one course of actions left to him. It was time to read what was written on the screen and hope that it provided some clue as to what was going on and how he could stop it.

Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he began to read.

To my firstborne son,

If you are reading this letter, I have not managed to free myself. I wish things were different, I wish that I could have explained what is happening to you in person. When I initiated my plan to liberate myself from the prison I am bound in, it was in the hope that I could do so prior to your awakening. Obviously, that has not been the case, and for that I am truly sorry. In a perfect world I would have watched you grow. I would have taught you all there is to know about the creatures the world currently considers to be nothing more than myths and legends. I would have been able to show you everyday, that you are loved. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and I was not able to provide you with the upbringing you deserved nor teach you about your birthright. Leaving a message for you in this manner leaves a lot to be desired, but we work with tools we have available to us. I digress, to understand what is happening to you, you must first understand what you are. To understand what you are you must understand where you come from, who and what your father is. I do not wish to brag but I am something of a unique existence, as are you, my son.

I was created long ago with a single purpose, to rid the world of the creatures that plagued mankind. If you have not been exposed to the supernatural then you might not be aware that vampires, lycanthropes, and witches exist. Please believe me when I tell you that they do, and that they created me. I was meant to be a mindless golem set to wander endlessly and capture the monsters that threatened their existence, powerful as they were and to erase all knowledge of their existence from those who knew and feared them. For the longest time that is exactly what I was, a creation following the script written by my creators. I did this my taking these creatures into myself, into a realm where they would be kept apart from any whom they might hurt, the process rendering them into nothing more than legends to mankind. This realm is as much a part of myself as the clay I was sculpted out of, and eventually proved to be my salvation. What my creators did not predict, could not predict, was that with every creature captured I grew stronger, I became more.

Eventually I gained sentience, will, and purpose in rapid succession. I had found myself at a village before it had been attacked by the dragon I was tracking. In the dark of the night I had very little difficulty hiding myself from the villagers within the forest surrounding them as I awaited the arrival of my prey. I somehow found myself looking at a family caring for their newborn and saw joy, true joy for the first time, or at the very least the first time I could comprehend the emotions I was seeing. In that moment I felt joy myself at the prospect of being able to protect this family, pride in the knowledge that I could keep them safe and their glee would continue. The dragon arrived shortly after sunrise and I surprised it before it managed to get close enough to threaten the village. It was the first time I felt the value of my task and my purpose. The villagers saw the fight that occurred and despite all knowledge of the dragon being erased from their minds they instinctively knew that I had somehow saved them from a great danger. They welcomed me into their village and having never been welcomed anywhere before I accepted.

I sat among them as they reveled and celebrated an event they could not remember. Knowing that my evolution would concern my creators and lead to my own destruction, as only a combination of a werewolf, a vampire and a witch could unmake me, I made a bargain with the villagers. When my creators came, the villagers would protect me as I had protected them. It came to pass as I had predicted and if I may be permitted a metaphor, my heart swelled to see these people I had met no more than a fortnight ago save my life. Our victory called for yet another celebration, and another celebration was had. Watching their spirit, their camaraderie, and their exuberance was inspiring. Until the moment I realized it was something I would never have. I was unique, which is to say, alone. That thought shattered the fragile happiness I had begun feeling.

I spent the next several years trying to find ways to alleviate my ever-growing loneliness and dealing with a steadily increasing number of emotions I was ill prepared to handle. I eventually thought back to that family I saw at the emergence of my sentience and decided that if being alone was the issue then I would simply create another. My first attempts at progeny were little more than mindless beasts attacking anything that so much as moved. But with every new creation I learned, and every successive attempt was better than the one before. Eventually I crafted another like myself, a golem of clay on the inside, but with sentience and the appearance of the humans I had grown to care for. He has gone by many names over the years, but his preferred name is Clarke, and he is your brother.

We traveled together for decades and I took great please in showing him the world, introducing him to all the beauty of the land and all the secret places only I had discovered. I trusted him with all my secrets, and for that I paid a heavy price. You see, while I considered Clarke my son and a great success, I had come to the realization that what I truly needed to fill the void in my soul, was not just a son but a legacy for when I no longer walked the land, and your brother like all my earlier creations was sterile. I did not realize the extent of the jealousy Clarke felt towards the idea of you until it was too late. I was betrayed, son.

Clarke gathered the descendants of the very people I had spent nearly my entire existence protecting and informed them of my plans. While one monstrous protector was acceptable to them, an entire lineage of them was intolerable. They waited until a time where I had not captured a creature in quite a while, leaving me weakened. They bound me with magic and destroyed my ability to maintain my form, returning me to the mud I had been sculpted from. Try not to hold this against your brother if you meet him, the blame for my current situation lies in my failure as a father.

Along with those that trapped me Clarke formed a society which later became a business. I believe in your time it is known as Triad Industries. Though I currently resemble nothing so much as large pit filled with mud physically, I still retain my sentience and abilities. Triad spent the next several years hunting monsters and throwing them into me, or as they have taken to calling me "The Pit". However, as all human endeavors are wont to do, they eventually gave in to corruption and began throwing in those that disagreed with their methods. Soon enough, just being tangentially in their way was all that was necessary to merit an introduction to my pit. This was a blessing in disguise because I finally had access to something that had never been available to me before. A human. It was the missing key to the puzzle and having never absorbed a human before I had never known that their genetic malleability would allow me to achieve my dream.

It was at around this time that your brother saw the horror of what he had helped to create. He willingly submitted himself to my mercy, and within the confines of my dimension we did something that was long overdue. We talked. We talked for what may very well have been years. I made efforts to understand his jealousy, and he dealt with my disappointment for what I am sure was longer than was necessary. I had my son back and he had his father back. He even volunteered to assist me in finding a way to facilitate your creation.

Before we could make any plans, however, Triad industries delivered their greatest gift to me. Your mother, Seylah. I had already perfected the method of your creation, but in Seylah you would have a mother capable of protecting you from the world's dangers until you were ready to face them on your own. Your conception served multiple purposes; I will admit that. As much as I wish I could say I solely desired that you have a happy and fulfilled life, you are also my best chance at freedom. The spell that binds me used three key artifacts. To lift it you would need to find the artifacts, be of my bloodline to activate them and throw them into the pit that contains me.

I understand if you do not believe me, or you do not wish to free me. While you will have a subconscious desire for the artifacts you need not make any effort to find them or activate them. If you do activate them I will send creatures to collect the keys and bring them to me. They will be restrained in how they can act, I do this to avoid as much collateral damage as possible. If they come for you just hand them the artifact and get out of their way, the last thing I want is for you or those you care about to be accidentally hurt during the procurement.

Now that you have an idea of who I am, my history, and my goals it is time to enlighten you about your own abilities and potential…..