Vengeance in the north (chpt 4 - Beginning of the end)
The storms in the far north were at their worst when it came into this world, when it drew its first breath. In pain and blood it was drawn to this plane of existence, this thing, this life. It had took her a while to realize that she was carrying yet another life in her womb and as the days grew longer so did the contempt for the life within her grow with them. Her priestesses spoke of it as a blessing, a new heir to follow her steps and be crowned king. But she knew all to well that this child was not to share the same fate as her son, her precious son. Early in the pregnancy she suffered from doubt about the childs' fate, about her own fate. But when more then half the time had passed she doubted no longer and had the priestesses prepare for the day when the child was to be born. Then the day came...
"Push my queen!"
The priestess gently placed a hand on her mistress forehead and begun to hum soothing words. All around her stood either her handmaidens or her priestesses. How she hated them, laying there so bare so, not in control. Another push and soon afterwards the sound of a child screaming. She rested her head on the cushions she was laying on and as the child was presented to her, a girl, and layed to her breast she took it in her hands and looked at it with a grim facial expression. Tired and exhausted she forced herself to her feet, holding the newborn in her hands. Staggering from the bed over towards the chamber with the altar, in teh finest obsidian it was carved and on it layed a newly forged armour. All the skills and all the dark magic known to her had been used to forge it but there was one thing still missing, a blessing of the dark God. Still bleeding from between her legs and the newborn still covered in blood, she raised it above the altar as the priestesses lit the candles around her. Chanting in the ancient occult words of old the room begun to tremble and the small flames of the candles begun to grow and change colour. A redish light filled the chamber and all of a sudden she took the child by its feet and raised it high into the air, its screams filling the hallways of the fortress.
"Hear me! The blood upon the steel shall never die, for I am the wrath of the Dark God. The roaring thunder from the north, the freezing rain from the east"...she paused and reached for a curved slender blade.
"Brought to the world in blood and by blood shall you be undone, the Lord of Darkness shall welcome you to his halls and he shall feast upon your soul."
The other women begun to whisper to one another, was she really to go through with this, it was her daughter, her child. One of the younger ones tried to stop her and asked wether or no this was wise, her Queen simply looked at her and then at the shadows outside the light from the candles. A moment after heavy steps was heard as one of her bodyguards stepped up to the girl and in one fell blow cleft her from shoulder to stomach, the girl didn't even have a chance to scream and as the rich deep blood ran out onto the tiled floor Nalokha raised the child above her armour.
"Akhâsada hikallaba mîth, dubdam dolgu êphalak! Nithil azgarâ! Azgarâ!"
With a swift motion of her hand she gutted the newborn like one does with a hare, blood and entrails spilling onto the armrour and the altar. The childs screaming was horrific and many of the priestesses lowered their head as not to show their queen their weakness by crying. The red light in the chamber glowed brigth and fierce, the flames of the candles roaring like wildfires. It took a moment, but then the scream stoped and she fell to her knees, taking the dead child in her arms she closed her eyes and made one last thought before she collapsed upon the cold floor.
