1891
Adea looked all around at her surroundings as she rode slowly through the tranquil, springtime woods. It was amazing to her how little twelve years’ time could change these mountains, yet her entire life had all but flipped upside-down and emerged into a whole new world.
It had taken her almost a year to recover mentally from the shock of losing her entire family. Eran had since taken her into his family’s home, and soon after she had taken her vows, the two were finally married.
Ever since the day they were blessed before the Spirits, Adea began the slow transition into a new life of peace. In a way, she felt as though one life had died and a new one had been born, but every Spring equinox, she would go back to her family’s cottage to pay her respects to the graves of her parents and her sister.
Everything went numb. Adea felt nothing. No soft touch of the wind. No tranquil sounds of birds singing. No grief nor remorse. The only thing there, lingering in the dark depths of her mind, was the memory of the last moments of her sister’s life. Everything she tried to do to her twelve years ago, Adea now found herself on the other side of it.That was when she felt it. A great surge of warmth and energy coursed through her blood. It spread to every corner of her body, filling her with a sensation greater than any adrenaline or sexual satisfaction she had ever felt in her life. It continued to escalate, rising to the surface of her flesh until it almost burned. The power her sister always wanted, the power promised by the Dark Twin, she had finally taken it for herself. Suddenly, she let out a scream when it felt like some powerful force was tearing at her very soul, but it was over in little more
A cold wind flowed slowly through the dark, stone corridor, carrying with it an unnerving moaning like whispers. From out of the darkness, a lone, cloaked figure stepped forth. Its robes were lined with mysterious hexagonal designs, and its ghostly white hands hung by its side. The figure stood still in the middle of the corridor as the moaning sound escalated as though something was drawing near.The walls of the corridor began to distort slightly as if the cloaked figure was staring right through the transparent shroud of something otherworldly. Without flinching or even so much as saying a word, the figure nodded its head and turned to walk back into the darkness.The trip through the pitch-black hallway was slow and seemed to last an eternity, the sound of the figure’s footsteps echoing loudly. Eventually, a faint light began to seep back into the atm
I could not tell you where I am, nor how I got myself here. I know as much of that as we know in life, which is nothing. Even now, I find myself blighted more than ever by the plague of mankind’s ignorance and the consequences thereof, consequences the minds of the living were never intended to comprehend.Just like the passage into one’s dreams, my universe has all but changed in the blink of an eye. Minutes are as long as eons, yet time does not flow. There is nothing to feel but emptiness, yet the pressure of broken reality weighs upon my shoulders. I have long forgotten the tranquil sounds of the flowing spring water and the breeze whistling through the treetops. The last sound I ever heard was the voice of darkness whispering beneath my earthly flesh, drawing me to this immeasurable horror. Everything has gone still and silent henceforth, even the whispering, taking with it th
'The Darkness is known to always do two things - take a life...and spare one.'1871The young girl woke in the dead of the night. It was unusual. She was always awakened by the first rays of morning. She could not see anything as she lied face up in her bed, and for a moment, she forgot where she was. Her breathing intensified as her eyes darted around, only to be met by more darkness, except for a small opening above her where a very faint light flowed in and she could hear the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze outside.When her eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness, she remembered that she had been asleep in her room. It was still too dark to see anything, however, as the candle sitting on her nightstand had long burned out. She looked over to her left, barely able to see her older sister's bed on the other side of the room."L-Lyda?" she stuttered, almost too afraid to make a sound in the darkness. There was
Adea slept like a baby that night in her sister's bed, despite the horrifying events that had preceded. However, the following morning was no easier to endure. Adea felt an enormous strain on her energy after the nightmare that affected her usual cheerful attitude, and there was nothing subtle about it as everyone could see it. After forcing down breakfast with little appetite, Adea found herself sitting alone on the front porch of the cottage, staring off into the trees.Their home was located just below a ridge that looked out over the horizon. On some cool evenings in autumn, her parents would take her and Lyda onto the ridge to watch the sunset over the sea of golden leaves, but that was halfway around the year from now. It was spring, and the trees surrounding the cottage were greener than ever.A river flowed down the hillside not far away and into a small valley, where her father would go periodically to trap fish. They were neither hunters nor farmers. Instead,
"Lyda! You're distracted again."Lyda quickly snapped back to her senses, having been lulled by the sound of a rushing creek nearby that she could not see. Usually, Iris would conduct her lessons with Lyda at the cottage or off in the woods not far away when the days were nice enough. This time, however, she took Lyda deeper into the mountains, heading west and carrying a burlap sack around her shoulder with everything they would need for today's lesson.Lyda was excited at first for a refreshing change of scenery but grew tired after the first hour of hiking. She kept asking Iris where they were going and how much longer it would take, but Iris just told her, "You'll see." To Lyda's bewilderment, they walked for over six hours, pausing a few times for breaks, before Iris finally stopped and instructed Lyda to sit down on a large, natural stone slab that was sticking up out of the dirt. She did as she was told, and Iris sat down on the stone in front of her. She began
That night, Lyda was unable to sleep. She felt overly aroused by her spiritual conversation with Iris, and as promised, she did not say a word about it to anyone, not even her own sister.Adea had been hesitant to go to sleep that night, remembering the horrible dream from before. She asked if she could sleep in her sister's bed again, but Lyda only shot her a look and said, "No. Grow up." Despite her fears, it did not take long for Adea to pass out, but Lyda was stuck in a state of limbo where she could not close her eyes no matter how tired she was. It got to the point that her eyes were burning with exhaustion, yet her restlessness prevented her from drifting off. Her mind was lost in wonder, desiring to know even more about the Spirits, but she knew that Iris considered their talk to be a one-time thing. It was like a terrible itch rising from the very depths of her soul.Just then, an idea lit up in Lyda's head that she would not have considered in her wildest dre
Lyda knew she must have lost her mind to think this was a wise idea. She slipped quietly back into her room, careful not to wake Adea as she dressed in warm clothes. She then hurried out to the small shed near the chicken coop and grabbed an old, rusty lantern. They rarely ever used it because her family did not often leave the cottage at night, so she doubted anyone would notice she was using it now. She managed to light the stone cold lantern and, with her leather-bound book stuffed in a pack on her back, she saddled up one of her father's smaller ponies and rode off down the ridgeline.Lyda had been learning to ride since she was six-years-old, so she was fairly good at it for her age. The pony she had taken was her favorite, the same one she rode the first time she ever mounted a horse; a beautiful, auburn young pony with white spots dotting along her back. Lyda fell in love with her immediately, naming her Hazel.Despite how adept she had become riding Hazel aroun