The Homunculus Knight

Chapter 37: Red Lilies

“What exactly Isabelle Gens Silva did in creating her “Homunculus Knight” has remained a mystery. Some even doubt the existence of such a being, but the records and witness statements are compelling. The evidence seems to indicate that Gens Silva engaged in acts of Necromancy related to the manipulation of Souls in a way unbeknownst to even her fellow Vampires. Creating an artificial soul and inserting it into a flesh-crafted Homunculus Body. A feat never since replicated, and perhaps for a good reason. Only a few years after publicly revealing her creation to Duke Drakovich’s court, Gens Silva suffered her infamous downfall. A series of events that left her dead, her creations destroyed, and her research obliterated” Excerpt from the text, “ Alchemical Abominations ” authored by Aureolus Bombastus, Master Alchemist of the Salted Citadel.

Natalie had never seen a Dragon. She, of course, had heard stories about them. How they were as much magic as they were flesh. The epitome of power in all its forms. Capable of feats, even the mightiest Archmage and War-Master would balk at. While she had never seen a Dragon, the sight in front of Natalie gave her an idea of what a clash between two such legends might look like.

Stretching out before Natalie was a field of Lilies, the white flowers reaching the horizon in every direction. Only two things broke the eternal field, a winding stream that babbled behind Natalie and the warring monsters in front of her. Two colossal shapes of darkness and blood tore at each other in a frantic battle to the death. Each was larger than the Silly Goat itself and brimming with dark power. The monsters were composed of shadows that flowed like blood, constantly shifting forms as they struggled. Natalie saw the leering faces of hungry wolves, swarms of teeming rats, flapping raven wings, and other more twisted shapes in the whirling darkness. Ideas of nocturnal predation sculpted in black ichor.

A familiar voice from Natalies right caught her attention. “You have quite the artistic mind.”

Whirling to face the speaker, Natalie saw a wiry man in a broad-brimmed straw hat. The stranger carried a lily in his lips like a farmer might a piece of grass. Over his shoulder was a long fishing pole. Deja vu flooded over Natalie, and she blinked away the feeling of familiar confusion.

Speaking more to herself than the Angler, Natalie murmured: “I’ve been here before. I’ve met you. But how…?”

The Angler waved a dismissive hand and chewed on the Lily stem absently as he spoke. “It's a hard thing to remember dreams, which is roughly what this is. But it's even harder to forget them fully.”

Pulling the lily from his mouth, the Angler tossed it to Natalie. She caught it and felt something unlock in her mind. Her previous encounters with the “Angler” came flooding back. She was talking with a God, and this wasn’t the first time she’d done so.

Seeing her eyes widen and her mouth fall open in surprise, the Angler nodded in confirmation. “Dreams are technically not my domain, but Aunt Seeress lets me get away with things like this. Especially when the dreamer is more than a little bit dead.”

Natalie flinched at that last comment. She had no idea what to expect from the God of Death when she existed in a state of Unlife. The Angler had been helpful in their past conversations, but things were different now. The sound of tearing flesh and bestial screams pulled Natalie's mind from her worries to the battle raging nearby.

One of the monsters, the larger of the two, had ripped a piece of its weaker foe loose and tossed it into the field of Lilies. Where the pulsing mass of shadows hit, the Lilies turned blood red. On seeing this, Natalie realized huge swaths of the formerly alabaster flowers were now scarlet. Blinking in surprise, Natalie tried to find words.

The Angler put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her towards the stream. “Ignore them for now. Let's find a quiet place to chat.”

Natalie obliged and followed the Angler to the bank. He sat down on the grass and gestured for Natalie to join him. Just then, Natalie realized she was wearing her favorite dress, not the bit of silk she’d last been wearing. Deciding this was not anyway the strangest part of this experience, Natalie sat down, ignoring the sounds of bestial battle coming not fifty meters away.

Gazing out at the stream and unsure what to say, Natalie let the silence drag on. Thankfully the Angler broke it. “You have questions; I can feel them bubbling in that wonderful mind of yours. So go ahead, I’ll answer what I can.”

Before she could stop herself, Natalie blurted out, “Are you going to kill me?”

The Angler just looked at her like she was slow. His eyes showed a mixture of annoyance and amusement as he answered. “You are already dead. Petar ripped your throat out not long after our last meeting.”

This time it was Natalie's turn to feel annoyed. She could do without having that particularly terrible memory pulled up. “Let me rephrase it, are you going to end my existence as it currently is?” Natalie clarified.

That got a bemused smile out of the Angler. “Of course, I will; I’m the God of Death. But not yet. You still have a role to play in all of this.”

Natalie actually relaxed slightly at that. It was strangely comforting to hear Death himself say you still had time. Moving on to her next question, Natalie gestured to the clash of titans happening behind them. “Is that Glockmire and the Alukah fighting?”

The Angler nodded in confirmation. “Yep, or at least it's how your mind is interpreting it. This whole place is, after all, an interesting mix of your unconscious mind, my domain, and the influence of those two old Parasites. You are seeing inside your soul and the effect Johan and Annoch are having on it.”

With his words, the Angler gestured at the flowers and how more and more were soaking up the Darkness and turning red. What he implied made Natalie feel sick. Not physically, she couldn’t be even inside her own soul, but it still provoked the mental component of nausea. Forcing herself to look over her shoulder, Natalie watched the two whirling storms of black blood fight.

A great stain of red lilies spread out from the battlefield. A clear marker of the contamination she was experiencing. “Am I going to become a monster like them?” Natalie asked, her voice weak with fear.

Taking a moment to choose his words, the Angler stared off at the river. “You could, you very easily could. But you don’t have to.” After another moment of contemplation, the God changed the subject. “Have you figured out why the Alukah isn’t burned by the Sun?”

Shrugging her shoulders and looking away from the fight, Natalie answered plainly, “I assumed it was because of how powerful it is. Just a side effect of it being the biggest monster.”

That got a snort of amusement from the Angler. “It's what Glockmire and most others who know about the Alukah assume. And it's a frightfully arrogant supposition.”

Lying back into the grass and Lillies, the Angler stared up at the sky. “The first Vampire, the being you call the Rabisu, committed an act of treachery so heinous it scarred the Beyond itself. Her actions caught the attention of both Noble and Fell Gods. For our part, we, the Pantheon, layered curses upon her in a ham-fisted attempt to punish her. While our malicious counterparts heaped blessings upon her as a perverse reward. That combination of curses and blessings curdled inside the spiritual wound she created. Turning her into the first Vampire”

Staring off into space, an almost haunted look in his eyes, the God continued. “Later bloodlines of Vampires came into being by echoing this original act, but none can match the first. Where Drakovich and the Strix Sisters managed to create a Spiritual Disease, the Rabisu created a Parasitic Spirit. Something that extended from her into her scions the Alukah and can survive past even their true deaths. In that early age, the Alukah were truly monstrous. Entire civilizations died in their wake. I’m sure you know the details from the Book of Miracles”

Natalie did indeed. She had read the Thirteenth Chapter of Lamentations alongside most of the Holy Book. But reading stories recorded in that dusty old tome lacked the gravitas of hearing it from a God’s mouth.

Seeing her frown, the Angler continued. “But then something happened that none of us ever expected. Something that fell out of the records for one reason or another. The Rabisu, that traitorous monster, she felt remorse for her crimes. True and utter remorse for the oceans of blood she spilled. Even we Gods don’t know why. But we know the remorse was strong enough to alter the very nature of that original curse. The weaknesses we’d given her diluited by that fact. Letting her and her children see the Sun once more. ”

Grimacing, the Angler raised a hand up towards the illusionary sun overhead. “She didn’t get to enjoy it for long. Her scions, the Alukah, tore her apart only a few months later for the crime of doing good and asking them to be better. Which, all things considered, was a poetic end for the Rabisu. Still, it proved something that I think you should find incredibly important”

Sitting up from where he lay, the Angler smiled at Natalie. “The power you are claiming was born of evil and used for evil. But that does not mean it cannot be redeemed. You have been cursed, Natalie, but that does not mean you have to be a Curse for others.”

Slowly, Natalie responded. “It’s possible to be a Vampire, the new Alukah, and not be a monster?”

The Angler answered with a wry smile, “Yes and no. You are already a monster, just with a lower-case M. You don’t have to be a Monster with an uppercase M. And that’s okay. Plenty of monsters run around this world and help make it a better place. Cole is a great example of that. He’s a monster, everything about him defies the rules of the universe. His origins are steeped in atrocities even *I* don’t like to think about. But even with all that. He tries to be a good person, and I believe you know as well as I that he succeeds.”

Natalie actually smiled at that, the God of Death’s words bringing back warm memories. Memories that died as quickly as they lived as other more terrible ones replaced them. Of how she’d assaulted Cole, ripped open his throat, and drank him to death. The mind-crushing guilt she’d experienced earlier had been greatly tempered by Cole’s resurrection, but it wasn’t totally gone. Natalie might not have truly killed Cole, but she had still done something horrible to him.

A sigh escaped the Angler, and Natalie looked up to see him watching her with pity in his eyes. “They would have grabbed Barnabas if Cole hadn’t attacked the Castle.” Natalie’s eyes widened at the horror implied in those words. “It is a tradition in the Blood Duchies to feed a Fledgling their loved ones. If it hadn’t been Cole, it would have been someone who would have truly died.”

the Angler gestured to the raging battle behind them. “In fact. There are much worse people to inherit this power. You are afraid of what the power might do to you, and what you might do with the power. Which easily puts you head and shoulders above all other available candidates.”

Finally getting to his feet, the Angler gestured for Natalie to rise, and she did. Watching the two titans of blood fight, the Angler remarked, “Your response when you truly got to know Cole was to try and help him. And that was before you even fell in love with him.”

Natalie opened her mouth to protest but felt her denials die on her lips. Even she wasn’t bull-headed enough to argue with a God. The Angler flashed her a knowing smile and continued. “He’s falling hard for you too, y’know. Which all things considered is good. If you are going to exist with this power and not let it corrupt you, then you’ll need help. And I can’t think of few people better qualified to do so than Cole.”

Elation filled Natalie's chest, not accompanied by the usual flutter of butterflies but still there all the same. Having a literal God confirm your feelings are reciprocated did wonders for the heart. Of course, the elation didn’t last long as another worry percolated.

Isabelle, she was still haunting her skull, and Natalie doubted Petar’s Minions did anything as convenient as destroy her. Thinking about Cole’s lover and creator, Natalie was suddenly struck by a realization. Just as Cole’s company might help her resist becoming a true Monster. Her company would help Cole move away from his creator's influence. It was perfect. It fit together like a master-crafted wood joint.

Turning away from the battle, Natalie set her jaw in outrage. Everything had aligned in such a way it felt too perfect. Seeing it from this exterior perspective, things clicked into place, and Natalie felt a mix of rage and confusion overwhelm her.

Natalie leveled an accusatory finger at the Angler as she spoke her thoughts. “You planned this,” she spat. “You set it up so all this would happen! You are using me to fix Cole and keep the Alukah locked away! This was all organized by you!”

The Angler just shrugged. “Yes and no. I had an idea of what might happen. And my perspective is…less linear than yours, so arranging things was possible. Yet these events were going to play out no matter what I did. All I did was make sure the least damage happened. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

A biting retort started to grow in Natalie, but the Angler didn’t let her. “What do you think would have happened if Cole never came to Glockmire? What would happen if the Alukah’s power fell into Johan or Petar’s hands, or Fixed Stars Forbid was set free? My conservative estimates put the casualties in the millions before it could be stopped. Millions Natalie! Entire cities consumed, Nations brought to their knees and a War the likes not seen in a millennium.”

Natalie’s anger was stifled by his words but not fully quenched. Giving her a sad smile, the Angler spoke in a consoling tone. “I’m sorry you’ve suffered in all of this, Natalie. And I’m sorry for what the future might hold for you. If you want to hate me, that's okay. I won’t hold it against you. “

A pained shriek in the distance made the Angler pause. “It seems I’m almost out of time. Before I go, let me leave you with this. In all the futures I can see involving you, Natalie Striga. Ones where your story has a happy ending are not uncommon. You can make a life out of your undeath, and a good one at that.”

As those words filtered into Natalie’s mind, the sound of tearing flesh caught her attention. She turned to see the twin spirits of the Alukah and Lord Glockmire tear each other apart. They exploded in a shower of black rain as they died. Flitting between a hundred hungry shapes as they melted away. Vampire Blood spilled out across the lilies and rushed towards Natalie in a great tide. As it got closer, the wave grew in size until it became a wall of black ichor ready to swallow everything. Natalie looked to the Angler, attempting to scream for help. The God-in-Disguise tipped his hat and smiled just as the blood enveloped her.

The first thing Natalie noticed when she awoke was the smell. Coppery blood and coarse ash filled her nose. Flitting her eyes open, she realized she was lying on the tomb dais. Ash covered her hands and mouth, its sooty texture unpleasant against her lips. Pulling herself to a sitting position, Natalie looked around the tomb. Dazed and trying to sort through half-remembered dreams and memories not her own. Examining her surroundings, Natalie tried to understand what she saw.

Puddles of blood and smears of ash covered the black-granite floor of the tomb. Bones and broken armor littered the ground. Unnatural fog hung in the air, and hoarfrost covered nearly every surface. Steel rang on steel, and a vague sense of unease filled Natalie. Forcing herself to focus, Natalie looked to the sound of battle and saw her defender.

Cole stood upon the steps of the dais, scavenged halberd in hand, dozens of wounds leaking blood onto the stone below them. Chest heaving like forge bellows and clothes slick with blood, the Paladin faced down a monster. Standing taller than even Cole while hunched over was a figure of malformed muscle and oily darkness.

Vaguely humanoid in shape, the monster’s body bulged with unnatural muscle. Leathery hide colored like old parchment covered the body, except for the numerous wounds that leaked black blood onto the ground. Limbs of shadow erupted from its back, forming into bladed tendrils, each of them lashing out at Cole. The monster looked like some terrible amalgamation of every nocturnal terror mortal kind had dreamed up. As she stared at the monster, Natalie felt something, a slight tug in her heart toward the monster. It was a bizarre sensation like her blood was trying to pull itself free.

Eyes widening, Natalie reached a hand up to her chest, right over her heart, and felt the tugging sensation grow in strength. As she focused on it, Natalie “felt” a connection between herself and the monster, a string of magic linking them. It wasn’t a physical thing, not anything Natalie could touch, but a sensation, a feeling born of the spirit, not the flesh. On closer examination, the “string” was more like a rope or a vein, a large connector that bound her soul to the monster. Branching off the vein were dozens of capillaries that went in myriad connections, each providing a subtle tug on Natalie’s soul.

Something was trying to pull at Natalie, trying to pull her soul out through this connection. A sudden spike of anger hit Natalie; she had suffered enough. She had lost enough already. She was not about to let her soul be ripped out by something she didn’t even understand. Following some instinct not quite her own, Natalie pulled on the connection. Reaching out with her mind and intent, Natalie imagined herself pulling on the rope like she was hauling a bucket up from a well. To her incredible surprise, the rope moved, she felt something flow into her and the Monster fighting Cole stumbled.

Cole opened up an ugly gash on the thing’s torso in that moment of weakness, forcing a roar of pain from the monster. The monster turned its focus to Natalie and spat words at her. “You! What have you done!”

Natalie expected the hungry growl of a monster, not the nasal rasp of Petar, to come from the creature. The words confirmed her suspicion about what fought Cole. Petar had taken on a more monstrous form to do battle. A form at least partially powered by stolen blood. Blood now belonging to Natalie. Reaching out to the connection, Natalie pulled again. This time Petar had enough warning to resist, and the power barely budged. Still, the effort seemed to have taken something from Petar. The twisted Vampire had a hand clutched to its chest while ruby-red eyes stared at Natalie with horror.

Responding to the monster, Natalie smiled and said, “I’m avenging my Father, my Mother, and every other person you’ve killed Feeder.”

Cole didn’t react to her words or even her presence; he simply continued his attack, lashing out with his salvaged weapon in a flurry of blows. Cole couldn’t react; he didn’t have the time or energy to do anything but fight. An avalanche of pain and exhaustion was bearing down on him, and if he paused for even a second, it would overwhelm him.