Infernal Covenant:
(Orkney, The Isle of Resdren, The Primordial Circles of Dullasethra, AD 805)
The biting chill of night sweeps across the ancient stone circles of Dullasethra, a sprawling complex of derelict ruins hidden deep within the Orkney archipelago. Above, the blood-hued moon casts its ghostly crimson light upon the earth, bathing the sacred grounds in a fevered glow.
The air hums with wicked anticipation. Masked zealots in crimson robes line both sides of a serpentine processional path, their murmurs rising and falling like waves against the stones. The path coils inward, threading through fallen structures and sacred monoliths, leading to the heart of the abyssal grounds where a grand sacrificial altar of silver and blood-red marble stands in twisted splendor.
At its base, a nude woman with skin pale as death and raven-black hair commands the crowd. Her blood-caked body gleams under the moonlight as she raises a hand, and silence falls like a blade. Beside her, a golden-haired man, an Adonis in a black suit with a silk crimson sash, steps forward. Asmoday bows low, presenting her with an ornate crimson tome before retreating to her side.
Lilith opens the book, her gaze sweeping across the sea of cultists.
"Welcome, my children," she cries, voice ringing like prophecy. "Behold! The Sanguine Moon has risen! The hour of cosmic convergence is nigh! May the infernal covenant we make now in this most unholy of places bind in darkness our eternal order and the House of the Dragon for all time, even unto the end of all things…"
Her words crackle with power. The crowd trembles.
"For too long has our beloved Lord Mammon been bound. For too long has the Lilithosothrian Throne sat empty. Forces great and powerful already work their wills against us, but through this union, we will reforge the world in our image. We will birth a new body… a perfected body for our Lord Mammon. We will give him back his throne, and the heavens will burn as the earth drowns in the blood of gods, washing away all who dare oppose us. For the future! For Lord Mammon!... for my son."
As her proclamation echoes across the stones, a great ebony serpent slithers toward her, its body coiling and shifting until it takes the form of a grey-skinned boy with ashen hair and tar-black lips. Naked and reverent, Lucien bows his head and offers her a ceremonial dagger of scarlet and ebony.
"Thank you, my dear Lucien," Lilith whispers, her voice tender.
Lucien smiles, then retreats to Asmoday's side. Asmoday kneels, pressing a soft, fatherly kiss to the boy's forehead before rising to join his wife at the altar.
"Let this union, born and sealed in sinless blood, chain together the fates of the House of Draig and the Order of Lilith for all generations!" he declares, extending a hand toward Adreon Draig.
Adreon steps forward, his smile tight and false. "You keep your word, demon, or I will have your head."
Asmoday leans in, voice smooth and menacing. "Relax. This oath binds us as much as you… brother. But a word of caution mortal, don't make threats you know you can't keep."
He pulls Adreon into a warm embrace, whispering into his ear before licking the hidden side of his face with cruel intimacy. Then he releases him, and both men turn to face the crowd, their smiles forged in mock camaraderie.
"Bring forth the sacrifice!" Asmoday commands.
Asmoday bellows as he thrusts forth his hand toward the crowd, causing the massive gathering to part and turn to face a large procession, making its way up the central path toward them. At the head of the procession are four pallbearers carrying a strange cage in which a small naked boy sobs and pleads in terrified hysteria. The boy's hands and feet are bound, rendering him completely defenceless.
The congregation chants menacingly as the boy is ripped from the cage and thrown helplessly to the ground before the large sacrificial altar. Lucien surges forward, descending upon the helpless boy. Lucien assaults Peader with his forked tongue. He trails slime up Peader's neck and across his lips before forcing his tongue into the defenceless lad's mouth. The kinder-form demon deeply explores his prey's mouth, savouring the unspoiled taste before withdrawing his tongue.
Lilith's voice cracks through the ritual haze. "Enough, Lucien! The sacrifice means nothing if it is sullied."
She strides forward, eyes blazing, and yanks her son away from the trembling boy. Peadar collapses to the ground, gasping, freed from Lucien's malicious grasp. With a flick of her wrist, the crimson tome reappears in Lilith's hands, its pages fluttering as if stirred by unseen winds.
Asmoday lifts Peadar telekinetically, his body limp and shivering, and lowers him onto the sacrificial altar. The boy's skin glows faintly under the blood moon's light. Asmoday nods once to Lilith. She raises her hand to the sky, the tome open before her, and begins to chant.
"THE BLOOD MOON SHINES, AND THE HEAVENS ALIGN IN THIS HOUR AND SEASON OF THE WITCHING! ARISE, FOUL WICKED MISTS OF AZETOTHRIA! ARISE AND LET THE VEILS BETWEEN WORLDS BE RENDED! LET THE DOORS BETWEEN EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE BE OPENED!"
Her voice grows louder, more commanding.
"OH, SUPREME DULLAHAN, LORD OF DEATH'S DREAM KINGDOM! COME FORTH UNTO US AND RECEIVE OUR SACRIFICE TO YOUR GREAT POWER! BY YOUR ETHEREAL RADIANCE, MAY OUR PACT OF BLOOD AND FLESH BE MADE ETERNAL! HEED THE CALLS OF YOUR CHILDREN AND ARISE... ARISE... ARISE!"
The incantation crashes over the world like a tidal wave. Lilith's hand remains outstretched toward the blood moon, which pulses violently. The stars bleed crimson, and scarlet rain begins to fall. As the droplets strike the earth, they transmute into shimmering purple mist, cloaking the ritual grounds in a glistening violet fog.
Silence descends. The night holds its breath.
"He arises," Lilith whispers, then shouts, "He is here! Come forth and receive the offering your loving children have prepared for you!"
A terrible wailing erupts, as if the gates of Hell have been flung open. The earth trembles. The sky blackens with thick red storm clouds, streaked with ruby lightning. The storm builds, thunder rolling like war drums. Then the heavens split.
A plasmatic bolt of energy crashes down, reshaping itself into a towering skeletal figure cloaked in shadowed forest and the fur of wild beasts. Its form is vaguely human, but its head is that of a Dire-Stag, antlers gore-strewn, eyes vast and void-like, pulling at the edges of reality.
Peadar screams. He sobs. His body writhes on the altar, sanity unraveling beneath the creature's gaze.
The congregation bows low, trembling in reverence. Only Lilith, Asmoday, and Adreon remain standing.
Asmoday takes the ceremonial dagger from Lilith and slices his wrist, letting blood soak the blade. He passes it to Adreon, who does the same. Adreon hands the blade back to Lilith, and she presses it to her own skin, adding her blood to the mix.
She lifts the dagger high, brandishing it before the Supreme Dullahan.
The creature speaks, its voice a thunderous quake: "YOUR OFFER IS ACCEPTED. I KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD ASK OF ME. NOW, COMPLETE THE OFFERING AND YOUR WISH SHALL BE GRANTED TO YOU."
Lilith's eyes blaze. "In your name! In your honour! For all eternity!"
She plunges the dagger into Peadar's lower abdomen, dragging it upward in a single, brutal stroke. His body arches, then collapses. His vision fades. Breath ceases. The deep, dark numbness of eternity claims him.