(Daughter of) Dark is the Night

Midnight.

Samantha Featherstone looked out of her window across the bay. The sea breeze whipped her hair in a way that - in anime, at least - would have signified a dramatic, emotional pause. Alas, this not being anime, all it signified was the arrival of more knots in the hair, and a slightly colder child.

It was long past time to sleep. Nanny Greenwood had tucked her in to bed, whispering the familiar, comforting words, but no comfort had come. She had lain in bed, afraid to surrender to sleep (and its attendant nightmares), yet unwilling to stay awake and deal with the... memories.

At last, she had left her bed, and was gazing out of her window, trying to lose herself in the lights and the darkness. Then she heard a footstep behind her.

She turned slowly, and looked at the two shadowy figures in the room. She wasn't afraid, she realised. Her recent experiences had left her a little beyond fear, and besides any creature in the lighthouse would either have to be powerful enough to get past Nanny Greenwood (to say nothing of the other people in the place), or already friendly. In either case, fear would not be very productive.

In the dim light, the figures resolved themselves. A dark-skinned female in a white robe, and an amorphous blob hidden deeper in the shadows. One was obviously Ebony, the other was the main mass of the Manga Shoggoth. Samantha was not quite sure how she knew that, but it seemed evident none-the-less.

"You should be asleep." said Ebony, quietly.

Sam didn't reply, however she didn't resist as Ebony guided her back to her bed. As she laid back in bed, Ebony perched herself on the edge of the bed, illuminated by the moonlight from the window.

"You can't sleep." said Ebony. "You close your eyes and see Black torturing your parents. Instead, you lie awake and then can't stop thinking about what happened."

Samantha nodded, the movement barely visible in the darkness.

"Let me tell you a tale..."

There was once a little girl, who lived with her parents in the jun... woods. Her parents called her DarkTree, said she was beautiful, and loved her very much. She played amongst the trees, and was very happy.

DarkTree grew up to be a fine young woman, and then she caught the attention of the local priest.

I thought priests weren't supposed to pay attention to girls, commented Sam.

He wasn't, replied Ebony. I'm not sure that he would have known what to do with one anyway.

The priest served a cruel god, who demanded the sacrifice of young maidens. So, the priest gathered his acolytes together and stole DarkTree from her parents. She screamed for her parents, but they couldn't help her. They tried, but were overwhelmed by the acolytes.

The priest was a cruel man, and took great delight in explaining to DarkTree what was going to happen to her. She was to be dragged up the temple, spread out on the high altar, and the god would come to claim her and rend her, soul and body. Failing that, the priest would cut out her heart as an offering to the god.

She was then imprisoned in a cage outside the temple.

Her parents tried to rescue her, but they were caught by the acolytes. The priest was furious with them, and had them beaten, then staked out in front of the temple, by the cage, and left for the wild animals to eat. They took a long time to die, and DarkTree had to watch helplessly as the only people who cared for her died.

DarkTree was left in the cage for three nights. She was hungry and thirsty - the priest refused to waste food on someone who was already doomed - and she despaired, knowing that there was no-one to save her, and that whatever happened she faced a terrible death.

At last, the moon was full and the priest declared that the stars were right for the sacrifice.

The stars were right?

Sorry - I meant "omens".

The Priest strode up the temple steps, chanting the ritual of sacrifice. DarkTree was dragged up the stairs behind him by four burly acolytes, who proceeded to chain her to the high altar. The priest finished his chant, and since the god had failed to appear, raised his obsidian knife to tear out DarkTree's heart...

As he brought the knife down, the god appeared. DarkTree screamed as it flowed over the altar and up the priest. The cruel god tore the priest's head off, and then carried DarkTree off to its foul lair, and terrors beyond human comprehension.

"That was not exactly a comforting bedtime story." said Samantha accusingly. "OK, the evil priest was killed, but what about DarkTree?"

She became a neophyte, and eventually became my High Priestess. answered the Shoggoth.

Samantha stared at Ebony in surprise.

"You have been through some terrible times, and you will never be able to fully forget what happened. You cannot change your past. You can, however, take control of your future. Remember your parents, and how much they loved you. Dwell on the important memories - choose the ones that will stay with you. In time, the others will fade."

"But not disappear."

"No. But they will weaken, and in time you will learn to draw strength from them, just as you draw strength from the memories of your family."

"But..." started Samantha, somewhat confused.

"Do you want the same things to happen to another child?"

"No!"

"Do you want to stop the same things to happening to another child?"

"Yes!"

"Then you have already started down the right path."

There was silence for a few minutes, broken only by the faint sounds of the sea and the Shoggoth squishing slightly as it settled its biomass.

"But I couldn't do anything to save anyone. I hoped breaking his bag of creation crystals would help granddad Mumphrey, but..."

You are still young. In time, you will understand. rumbled the Shoggoth. You broke his power, and you survived what he did to you. The only way he could truly defeat you would be if you had been left broken by his actions. You are of the line of Mumphrey Wilton. You will not break.

"Do you still miss your parents, Ebony?" Samantha asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes." Ebony replied. "I miss them a great deal. But time goes on, even when you work for an Elder Creature that looks upon time as a scribble rather than a line."

There was another silence.

"I expect the others will come to offer their sympathy and support. It may get a little wearing, but remember: You are not alone. You have friends to support you."

Samantha nodded again.

"Were you alone?" she asked.

"Not always." Ebony replied.

"Does anyone else know this story?"

"Only my predecessor, and - of course - the Shoggoth."

There was another squelch from the shadows, and in the distance a ship sounded its foghorn.

You have seen great horror, and stand unbroken. You have some inner strength, and in a few years will be a human to be reckoned with. When the time comes for you to decide your future, consider this. You have shown many of the characteristics I desire in a High Priestess. If you decide not to follow in the footsteps of your grandfather, I would be honoured to consider you in such a role.

Samantha started to sit up, but was gently pushed back down by Ebony's hand on her forehead.

"That is for the future. For now, survive, prosper and become strong."

Samantha laid back down.

"Now, this is something my mother used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep."

Ebony sang. It was a soft, gentle tune, and although Samantha couldn't understand the words, they still felt comforting. As she listened, she felt herself slowly relaxing. Eventually, she fell asleep.

Ebony quietly rose from the bed, closed the window and left the room. The Shoggoth shambled out of the room after her, silently closing the door. They walked down the spiral staircase into the kitchen, where Nanny Greenwood sat, nursing a cup of herbal tea.

Nanny Greenwood raised an eyebrow.

The one known as Samantha Featherstone has now entered her unconscious maintenance cycle. rumbled the Shoggoth.

"She's asleep." translated Ebony. "For tonight, at least."

"Thank you." said Nanny Greenwood. "We will take tomorrow as it comes."

The Shoggoth flowed over Ebony, and they disappeared. After a stern glance from Nanny Greenwood, the residual slime disappeared as well.

Footnotes:

Dark is the Night was the title of a short tie-in to the Hallie and the Sepulchre of Destiny stories at the Hallie Database, wherein the Shoggoth attempted to help Hallie in a similar situation.

The line about the Shoggoth looking at time as "a scribble rather than a line" comes from one of AG's comments, and was so good I had to put it in a story.