The Dark Lady

[Cybermancer]

As most of us know, many of the supernatural entities we face today have been around for many yesterdays. What we call entities were the spirits of yesteryear. Even beings attributed with god like power often had more mortal origins.

So it is with the original Dark Lady, Lilith. In myth, she was the first wife of Adam who refused to bow down to him and was cursed as a result. She appears in or has an equivalent in many ancient cultures. In some myths for example, she is the herald or hand of Inanna.

She is also associated with her own host of demons. Her progeny, usually female, that prey upon men and children. In connection to the above belief that Lilith or perhaps her progeny the Lilitu, were sort of sacred prostitutes.

Lilith is associated with the Arch Angel Samael with whom she supposedly mated. She is also associated with the Lilitu, who are storm and air spirits. She is also associated with the Shedim, which are spirits or demons. While they could be benevolent or malevolent, they were associated with human sacrifice.

In some lore they were highly predatory and sexual towards men and could not reproduce through conventional means. They were night demons.

Lamashtu is a demon similar to the Lilitu. They were known to steal children from breast feeding mothers in order to suck their blood and chew on their bones.

If you're thinking there may be a connection between Lilith and vampires, you are not the first to draw that conclusion. During the late 1800's and early 1900's there were a group of investigators who were involved in a hidden struggle against a powerful vampire that called herself Lilith. This conflict took place mostly in rural areas of Easter Europe and the near east. There are few records of this campaign but a journal of one of the scholars involved has survived and has recently resurfaced.

After many years and quite a few casualties, Lilith was eventually defeated. Part of the problem they had was that while they identified her as a vampire, she had far more power than any they'd even heard of before. What's more, her abilities and vulnerabilities didn't always match up with the known lore of vampire kind. Many of the usual tells were absent as well. For example, Lilith had a reflection and her fangs were not always present.

When this entity known as Lilith was defeated, her corporeal body turned to sand. But she persisted as a spirit or wraith. Fortunately her opponents were prepared for this and used magic to contain her in a chamber until the sun came, which would see her destroyed. Unfortunately for them, she escaped the chamber into the astral plane. Frustrated at being denied their final victory, they managed to create a seal in the form of a curse to prevent her from ever returning to our world.

I don't know the theory behind arcane works but apparently powerful curses such as this always have clauses to end them. In this case, the exception was that in order for Lilith to be reborn, she would have to possess a young girl. This girl had some of the usual conditions applied to her. The seventh daughter of a seventh daughter for example. The real key however, that made it seem impossible that this curse would never be broken was that this girl couldn't have a father.

Here we are a mere hundred years later and ingenious scientists have found ways to make what was once impossible, possible.

[freerunner92]

Well your kind is kinda bad at lumping things into nice easily defined categories, no wonder there were so many troubles.

My kind has over a hundred different words for vampire, each representing a slightly different type with different abilities.

[Daichan]

Well your kind is kinda bad at lumping things into nice easily defined categories, no wonder there were so many troubles.

My eyes are bleeding from the irony overdose.

[GhostSpider]

I can't help but draw unpleasant parallels between this, and my own experience. Belladrox was able to escape a similar spell by sending an infinitesimaly small portion of himself into the soul of one of the practitioners who bound him. My ancestor Johann Fenix, a man of questionable morals. A trait which has, unfortunately, been repeated throughout my family's history

That tiny piece of Belladrox spent centuries altering my family, trying to create the vessel that could hold his being. Me.

[Ron Caliburn]

We're going to be ready for this one. We know what's coming and we will stop it.

[Nemesis]

Papa,

While we may take action to prepare and attempt to prevent Lilith's return, I don't think any of can be truly ready for her.

She was a goddess in her time. Khavik jumped at a chance to ally himself to her alleged representative.

Her return must be prevented no matter the cost. No matter what or who must be sacrificed.

So while Matthew and Papa may wish to spare my reputation I think it is only right and fair to say quite clearly that I am the girl who fullfilled the conditions of the prophecy. I am the vessel by which Lilith means to return to the world.

Ready or not, it has already begun.

[Ron Caliburn]

Lilith was stopped before by those who didn't understand what she was. We are much better prepared than they were and we happen to know exactly where she's going to show up.

We just need to make sure that we can stop her from getting so much of a hold that we risk harm to Cynthia.

[freerunner92]

You got a lot of folks backing you up on this one Cyn, we won't let you down.

[Hannah]

She definitely does Peter.

Thanks for your support.

Hannah

[Ken]

Intense.

[Hannah]

That's a word for it Ken,

but no worries. We're keeping Cynthia just the way she is while we work out a way to stop things from getting worse.

Hannah