Lie Down, Little Child
The night is warm, as are the stars, and the clouds that blind them. Thus is the dream. Calm and decadent, a pillow for the resting soul. We start in a soft white, fading into a full picture, as the camera focuses on a small cottage at the edge of a verdant forest, not far from an enormous lake that dominates the horizon. The Haze tells us that we are on Triaxus, home of the dragons and their kin, somewhere on the secluded continent of Ning.
A pale, weathered man sits on the porch, smoking from a hand-carved pipe, staring out onto the lake with yellow, soulless eyes. His chest-length ivory hair contrasts a black shirt and faded jeans. Despite the cold of the morning, he wears no shoes, and no goosebumps rise along his skin.
The girl sitting next to him is unmistakably Pin, although she is barely six years old. She wears a bright pink coat and matching pants, strapped to a hiking pack now empty of supplies -- all of which is covered by days of dirt and muck from being out in the wilds. We appear at the end of her story, which the man takes in with a calculated look of disinterest.
Pin: "-and I went and I walked for a long time. And I ran out of food, but then now I'm here!"
???: "You poor, poor thing."
The man's voice is deep and full of honey, with a magical quality that Chad immediately identifies, and the Haze shares. Pin smiles, her eyes a little less bright than before, and looks up to the man, as if waiting for a command.
???: "Would you like to come inside? I'm afraid I have little to eat, but you can warm those tiny legs, and drink a big glass of water."
Pin: "Yes, Mr. Mikhael. That sounds very nice."
The man winces, a snarl building at his lips -- revealing a set of wicked canines. The Haze hovers over the vision, and then confirms our suspicions -- a vampire.
???: "That's not my name. Not any longer. You will call me by my title. Don't you remember, child?"
Pin: "Gorgon."
Gorgon: "That's right, Pin. What a very sweet girl you are." The two stand as one, and the Gorgon leads Pin back into his cabin. It's a simple affair, made up of a fireplace, a bed, a table, and two chairs. There isn't a technical device to speak of, and after close observation, we see that the wooden walls are carved with hundreds of tiny runes, each focused on thwarting a specific kind of divination. The dream pauses, and then hovers around the cottage, adjusting the light and sound to see through a nearby window. By the time the picture settles, Pin and the Gorgon are sitting at the table, and the girl is finishing an enormous glass of water. She slaps it on the table with a contended sigh, a little bit of her personality fighting back against the glamour, but no more. Pin: "Mr. Gorgon."
Gorgon: "Yes, child?"
Pin: "Can I stay here with you? Maybe... Until my uncle gets here? It's cold outside."
Gorgon: "Of course, of course. I would never abandon you to the cold. If you can pay, that is. Charity is difficult in the wilds, Pin." The glamour is intoxicatingly thick, tangible even from outside the window. The nearby forest goes quiet, sensing the appetite of a predator. The girl speaks almost drunkenly, and the Gorgon's eyes begin to glow with hunger and malice. Pin: "I don' haff mahn."
Gorgon: "Money? Oh, my dear thing. You're too young to have money, I understand. I simply want what all humans have. I haven't had any since I came here -- is that fair?"
Pin: "N- No."
Gorgon: "That's right. It isn't fair. And you can make it all better, my treasure. So, will you pay?"
Pin: "O- O- k-kay." There isn't any hesitation. The Gorgon doesn't even smile. A pact clicks into place, and the vampire leaps across the table. Pin squeals, her body lashing out instinctively, but her eyes are dead of any fear as the Gorgon sinks his fangs into her, and takes a long and terrible drink. The Haze loses focus, allowing time to pass, and then the shapes on the floor of the cottage begin to move again. Gorgon: "So small. I can barely get a mouth full."
Pin: "Sleepy." The child leans up from the floor, wiping at her eyes, having forgotten what has come to pass. Pin: "Daddy. Can you tuck me in?" The Gorgon grins from ear to ear, picking up the child and putting her into his bed. Gorgon: "Yes. Lie down, little child. All will be well..." As Pin's eyes close, a fog fills the inside of the window, obscuring our view, and then the dream fades.
A pale, weathered man sits on the porch, smoking from a hand-carved pipe, staring out onto the lake with yellow, soulless eyes. His chest-length ivory hair contrasts a black shirt and faded jeans. Despite the cold of the morning, he wears no shoes, and no goosebumps rise along his skin.
The girl sitting next to him is unmistakably Pin, although she is barely six years old. She wears a bright pink coat and matching pants, strapped to a hiking pack now empty of supplies -- all of which is covered by days of dirt and muck from being out in the wilds. We appear at the end of her story, which the man takes in with a calculated look of disinterest.
Pin: "-and I went and I walked for a long time. And I ran out of food, but then now I'm here!"
???: "You poor, poor thing."
The man's voice is deep and full of honey, with a magical quality that Chad immediately identifies, and the Haze shares. Pin smiles, her eyes a little less bright than before, and looks up to the man, as if waiting for a command.
???: "Would you like to come inside? I'm afraid I have little to eat, but you can warm those tiny legs, and drink a big glass of water."
Pin: "Yes, Mr. Mikhael. That sounds very nice."
The man winces, a snarl building at his lips -- revealing a set of wicked canines. The Haze hovers over the vision, and then confirms our suspicions -- a vampire.
???: "That's not my name. Not any longer. You will call me by my title. Don't you remember, child?"
Pin: "Gorgon."
Gorgon: "That's right, Pin. What a very sweet girl you are." The two stand as one, and the Gorgon leads Pin back into his cabin. It's a simple affair, made up of a fireplace, a bed, a table, and two chairs. There isn't a technical device to speak of, and after close observation, we see that the wooden walls are carved with hundreds of tiny runes, each focused on thwarting a specific kind of divination. The dream pauses, and then hovers around the cottage, adjusting the light and sound to see through a nearby window. By the time the picture settles, Pin and the Gorgon are sitting at the table, and the girl is finishing an enormous glass of water. She slaps it on the table with a contended sigh, a little bit of her personality fighting back against the glamour, but no more. Pin: "Mr. Gorgon."
Gorgon: "Yes, child?"
Pin: "Can I stay here with you? Maybe... Until my uncle gets here? It's cold outside."
Gorgon: "Of course, of course. I would never abandon you to the cold. If you can pay, that is. Charity is difficult in the wilds, Pin." The glamour is intoxicatingly thick, tangible even from outside the window. The nearby forest goes quiet, sensing the appetite of a predator. The girl speaks almost drunkenly, and the Gorgon's eyes begin to glow with hunger and malice. Pin: "I don' haff mahn."
Gorgon: "Money? Oh, my dear thing. You're too young to have money, I understand. I simply want what all humans have. I haven't had any since I came here -- is that fair?"
Pin: "N- No."
Gorgon: "That's right. It isn't fair. And you can make it all better, my treasure. So, will you pay?"
Pin: "O- O- k-kay." There isn't any hesitation. The Gorgon doesn't even smile. A pact clicks into place, and the vampire leaps across the table. Pin squeals, her body lashing out instinctively, but her eyes are dead of any fear as the Gorgon sinks his fangs into her, and takes a long and terrible drink. The Haze loses focus, allowing time to pass, and then the shapes on the floor of the cottage begin to move again. Gorgon: "So small. I can barely get a mouth full."
Pin: "Sleepy." The child leans up from the floor, wiping at her eyes, having forgotten what has come to pass. Pin: "Daddy. Can you tuck me in?" The Gorgon grins from ear to ear, picking up the child and putting her into his bed. Gorgon: "Yes. Lie down, little child. All will be well..." As Pin's eyes close, a fog fills the inside of the window, obscuring our view, and then the dream fades.
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