Death becomes her

[mojom]

Chapter 1 : Birth

It is as cold night within the valley. We have come here to observe and only to observe since we lack any kind of form. We are mere spectators of things to happen. We can judge but we cannot interact.

Within the valley we find a small cottage, currently beïng tortured by an ongoing storm wich has not stopped since the moment the sun set. This cottage belongs to the Hollows, a couple of peasants who have been married for 5 years now. We close in towards the cottage, through the walls were we enter a room. In this room we see a bed, on that bed lays Mary Hollows. Her Husband stands at her side holding her hand. There's another figure bend over Mary, by the looks of it a priestess of sorts. If we look closer at Mary we can see that she's sweating alot and experiencing terrible pains. Her cries of agony fill up the room as her husband stands there helplessly trying to comfort his wife.

We put our focus towards the third figure, the priestess. Appearantly she is performing some sort of ritual. As we take a closer look we see that it is in fact the oldest of rituals, it appears that Mary is in labor and abouth to give birth. The priestess is trying to do her best to bring this new life to earth. Now that we have established that fact we can conclude, by the looks of the state Mary's in, that the ritual have been going on for several hours now.

We wait a bit, the tension's building, then suddenly Mary's cries become less. The sound of the storm now rules the room once more. We see that the Priestess is holding a small figure in her hands. But her expression is not that of joy and relief, it is obviously troubled. Hank and Mary, the Hollows, notice this too and quickly take their gaze towards the newborn child.

We do so as well and the first thing we notice is that it is a little girl. But something is not right, we let ourselves go closer for further investigation. As we zoom in we notice that the baby's awfully silent, and that her eyes are closed. The body appears lifeless as it has yet to take it's first breath. The mother starts crying, the father falls on his knees and the priestess murmurs words we assume are prayers, the chaos of this all compliments that of the storm.

Several minutes pass, our subjects quiet with disbelief. We can almost hear their thoughts as they watch over the newborn

"Please let her breath, whatever deity will heed our call, please give her life ..."

Of course those are not the exact words but that is what the expressions are telling us.
Then, within the sounds of the storm, we hear the crying of a baby ....

[mojom]

Chapter 2: The man in the tree

Several years have passed now, 4 to be exact. Mary and Hank Hollows still live at their cottage in the valley while raising their little daughter called Eve. During this time passed, Eve has become a beautifull little girl with a healthy dose of curiosity. A bit on her own yes, and perhaps somewhat akward in the eyes of bystanders but all by all the Hollows are happy with their little daughter.

We now look over the fields and notice Mary walking around calling out for Eve. Let us follow Mary to see what happens. With determined steps she walks, obviously with a preset destination in mind. As we walk with Mary we notice a little hill closing in. On that hill stands an old oak tree. Mary fastens her step even more, the hill must be the destination she had in mind.

When we reach the hill we see a little girl standing next to it. This girl is little Eve. She's looking up the tree, talking. Mary approaches Eve within about 6 foot before the little girl even seem to notice her. She looks at her mother's direction.

"Whom are you talking to, Eve?", her mother asks.
"The man in the tree", Eve replies.

[mojom]

Chapter 3: The woman in the tree

14th in the year of Eve,

We are watching a curious scene. A group of villagers have surrounded a small house on the edge of a forest, fully armed with pitchforks, torches and various farming tools. This is an example of a classic angry mob, but why are they here ?

A door opens, the anticipation is almost touchable. Out come a few men dragging out a woman, this woman already severely beaten up. The crowd outside riles up, screaming and spitting at the woman. "Witch !", we hear, "Baby killer !". The tension even grows as the men holding the woman drag her towards an old oak tree nearby the house. We now recognize the woman that is been dragged, it's the priestess that helped bringing little Eve to this plane. She's barely conscious, a tear rolls over her cheek.

Next scene we witness is that same house smoldering, next to it an old oak tree. One of it's branches has gotten a new addition. Naked and with various wounds covering her body a woman hangs from it. The former priestess has been disgraced, for the whole world to see. But currently the only one watching appears to be a young girl hidden in the shadows. She's observing the aftermath with no emotion, her eyes focused on the priestess. No, to say that is wrong, it seems she's trying to focus on something else, something deeper, as if she's trying to see past the woman, to see something within.

[mojom]

Chapter 5: Curse of Stillhaven

14th in the year of Eve, 2 months before the hanging,

The village is in a state of uproar. Another incident occured the night passed. Two of farmer Jhon's cows were found dead in the morning, probable cause poison.

For the past few weeks several such incidents happened, many under the cover of night. It started with the gruesome dead of Piko, the baker's dog. The poor animal was found spread over the Baker's property. Literally spread, different parts of Piko were laying in puddles of blood as the baker found him. Only 2 days later old man Watson was found dead lying on his floor. Though old, he was still much allive the day before. Next were the twins, only a week after the old man's dead. They were found at the shore of a nearby river, drowned. Rumors started to spread, that the village had fallen under a curse. That some evil force was at work.

It would be a couple of more weeks and more incidents before the people would find a clue towards the cause of this evil. The Waters family first child, a new born, was found stabbed to dead in her cradle. But this time theperpetrator left some evidence. Within the cradle a dagger was found, a dagger decorated with ritual markings. A dagger the people knew too well belonged to the priestess at the edge of the forest.

Soon after, an angry mob set out towards the edge of the forest.

[mojom]

Chapter 6 : Mutt Stories

The dog had always bothered her, the way it barked as she passed and looked at her with those dumb, mean eyes . To say she despised the foul thing would be an understatement.

She wipes some blood of her face, the dog's. She looks around to see the result of her work. Pieces of Piko everywhere. Originally she just wanted to shut the thing up and her initial blow with the hatchet had that purpose and that purpose alone. But as the metal repeatedly hit the dog's head, a strange sensation grew. A sensation she had forgotten. The same as wen she was still very young. The man in the tree, she remembered suddenly. It was the same as when she spoke to the man in the tree.

But as quickly as the sensation came it faded. She looked at the dead mutt's corpse. She had to feel IT again, to feel something. With the hatchet risen above her she plunged at the corpse once more. With each hit the desire grew, madness filled her heart.

The sensation however did not return again that day.

[mojom]

Chapter 7 : fear

29th in the year of Eve,

She looked at her left hand, wich currently was missing a finger. She didn't care about the piece of flesh that once was hers. What bothered her was the cause of it all.

A figure, perhaps allive perhaps an image of her own creation. She had conjured such things before in her less ... stable states.
No wait, this one certainly was real, she touches her cheek remembering the cold sensation she felt.

From the moment she layed eyes on her she felt a certain attraction.
She was drawn by the sheer power this figure radiated. Why did she do it ? She felt uneased. Not coping with the feeling she wasn't familiar with she went with her instincts instead. They told her to obey. That's why she did it. For the first time in her life she was introduced to fear , and she liked it.

And now ? Now , she needed to be saved. To be able to withstand the fear. And for that she needed a priest ....

[mojom]

Chapter 8: Death becomes her

One last fleeting image, a man charging with a blade.
One moment, too short to hold on to.

She opens her eyes,
She looks around but all she can see is a dead landscape.
An endless void, with her at the center.

She cannot remember who she is or what she's doing her.
She tries to utter some words, questions most likely.
But her mouth produces no sound, and she gets no answers.

Suddenly, like a floodgate opened, things start pouring into her mind.
Voices, a thousand of them. Screams of agony and despair. Words, loud as a waterfall but just out of reach for her to understand the meaning. They keep building up, relentlessly assaulting her mind. She grasps her head with both hands in an effort for them to stop.

She cannot.

She falls on her knees. Her eyes wide open, looking into the void yet not seeing at all. The assault continues. An endless stream of tears covers her cheeks as she's just sitting there. Her lips barely moving in silence , a last cry for answers. A last effort to understand.

This is how she'll spend an eternity.
Death became her.