Origin Story for Sariassa: A Deal with the Dead

Nurbedon and Deneria stand patiently within the grand palace courtroom of the King of the Void, Umbranathor.

Umbranathor is standing staring into his mirror and has not yet shown interest in the presence of Nurbedon or Deneria. Eventually, he turns and says 'I will take audience with you now.' He sits down on his throne, he is in his humanoid form.

He picks up a small mirror and looks into it, Nurbedon and his wife stand there waiting for the King to have them speak.

Some minutes pass, and then Umbranathor says 'Well I ain't got all day, what is it you wish?'

Nurbedon steps forward 'My dear King, great and powerful Umbranathor. I come to you with my wife, and plead with you. Your power is great, we ask something of you, oh great Umbranathor.'

Umbranathor smiles as he looks at himself in the mirror 'Yes I am great, and my power can grant many things. What is it you wish of your great King?'

Deneria then steps forward, she falls to her knees and presses her hands together 'Oh great king Umbranathor, long have my husband and I tried to have a child but to no avail. I feel that my womb is not capable of carrying this great gift. I plead with you great King, help us, help me conceive a child, for it is known that your power is great.'

Umbranathor grins at Nurbedon and Deneria and says 'And what will you offer me in return?'

Nurbedon replies 'I will be your loyal subject, and serve you to whatever end.'

Umbranathor makes a dismissive motion with his hand at the notion of Nurbedon serving him. He looks for a long while at Nurbedon's wife and then says 'I do not need anything from you, it is not you who wishes to carry the child. But your wife, I will need something from her.'

Deneria says 'Anything, anything my great King. Just ask it and I shall.'

Umbranathor says 'Dance for me. Dance for me here and now.'

Deneria looks at her husband, her husband nods his head in acknowledgment. Deneria begins to dance.

Umbranathor interrupts 'No no! Not like that, you must remove your gown! For I see that he has chosen a beautiful wife, and I wish to see you in full, in the nude. Now remove your gown or dismiss yourself from my sight.'

Nurbedon is unnerved by this, he prepares to speak out in defiance of King Umbranathor but his wife places her hand upon his chest. She says 'It's for our child.'

She removes her gown and begins to dance, Umbranathor watches as she moves around the room. Music plays on and on.

Though Deneria feels embarrassed and ashamed of what she is doing, she knows that Umbranathor can help her and her husband to conceive a child. That is worth anything to her, even shaming herself.

As the music winds down and the dance ends, Deneria then finishes. Her legs close in front of her and her hands folded over them, she looks up waiting for an applause.

There is only a brief moment of silence before a loud cackle of laughter is heard from Umbranathor. 'I see you would do anything! I bet if I told you to screw every single one of my royal guards here and now in front of me, you would do it! Maybe one of them can get you pregnant.'

He continues to laugh 'Oh you are such a joy! Oh my subjects. But it shows...' Umbranathor stands, Deneria gathers her gown and is embarrassed. Nurbedon is about to speak before Umbranathor continues 'But it shows your loyalty and obedience to me, I will help you.

I will give you the tools you need to summon one who has the powers to grant you what you desire, a child. Clothe yourself, you are not that appealing to me. Come...'

Nurbedon, angry in his heart at the dreadful shaming of his wife, almost wishes to lash out at the King. He has had a deep hatred of Umbranathor, but knows that the only way for him and his wife to conceive a child is with his help.

Deneria pulls her gown back on, she whispers in Nurbedon's ear 'It will all be over soon. Soon we will have a child, and we will never ever have to be in his presence again.'

Umbranathor turns to them 'Are you coming or not? Do you want me to help you or not? Come along!'

The two follow Umbranathor and his royal guard escort down a long hallway into a grand library. Umbranathor is greeted by one of the librarian servants.

He whispers something into the librarian's ear. The servant bows and rushes off to one of the large bookcases looking up and down for something.

Umbranathor speaks to Nurbedon and his wife 'Long ago, in ancient times before I was King and my uncle ruled in my place, there was a sacred cult.

A gathering of powerful void beings, they were given power through their rituals. They called upon one from a far distant place, a place where only the dead can go.'

The servant comes rushing back with an old book, it looks tattered and torn. Umbranathor opens the book and flips through the pages. He says 'Ah, here it is. This is a ritual to summon the ones that can grant you life from death.'

He shows the book to Nurbedon and Deneria. They see the strange inscriptions within the book and a diamond-shaped object with strange writing engraved into it.

Nurbedon who is fluent in many different languages reads the manuscript, his eyes go wide 'You wish for us to summon one of them? One of them from the borderlands.'

Umbranathor laughs 'Why yes, this will guarantee what you want. There will be a price that must be paid, but you and your wife will conceive a child in the end.'

Umbranathor hands the book to Nurbedon, before he lets go of it he says 'And you will return this when you are done.'

Nurbedon bows in agreement. Umbranathor then turns and waves in a shooing motion 'Now be gone, and don't mess up my book!'

Nurbedon and his wife leave, they return to their home. Together they read through the book and gather the materials for the ritual, for the summoning of a Myrrdonite.

For many days, they work tirelessly to set up the materials they have gathered and prepare themselves for the ritual. Once all is complete, Nurbedon and Deneria disrobe and stand within a large diamond-shaped drawing that has been etched onto the floor.

There are other symbols that Nurbedon took from the book that he and his wife drew onto the floor. Together they begin to speak the words of a language they do not totally understand, the words are in thothilssin.

They close their eyes while holding on tight to each other and begin chanting the words. For a moment it seems that nothing has happened for there is only silence, then the room begins to grow dark.

The two stare into each other's eyes, then a voice can be heard, then the rattling of chains. A voice speaks 'You wish to make a deal? You wish to barter with the dead?'

Nurbedon and Deneria turn to see a figure coming out of the darkness, it looks similar to Umbranathor in his humanoid form, but the being appears mutilated.

The being asks again 'Have you come to barter with the dead?'

Nurbedon steps forward 'Yes, we wish to conceive a child.'

The being speaks 'Then you have come to the right place, I am the barterer, I can grant you what you desire if you choose to pay the price.'

Nurbedon says 'To have a child of our own I would pay any price.'

The Barterer says 'The price will not be paid by you, it must be paid by her.'

Deneria steps forward and asks 'And what is the price I must pay?'

The Barterer answers 'Your eternal core, your soul. If I grant you what you desire, you must surrender yourself to me upon death. You will come to be part of the borderlands, to remain there forever.'

Nurbedon steps forward angrily 'No! Never, we'd never make such a deal!'

The Barterer replies 'The deal is not yours to make, but if you wish to speak for your wife then I shall leave you.' The Barterer begins to drift back into the darkness.

Deneria steps forward and says 'Wait, do not leave!'

Nurbedon grasps his wife by the arms 'No, no this cannot be. Not this way.'

Deneria touches his cheek, calming his emotions. She says 'It is my choice. To have a child will complete us. I know we will spend many happy years together.

And when the time comes, I will accept the price that must be paid. This is my choice. I know that you love me as much as I love you. So please, let me decide.'

A tear runs down Nurbedon's cheek 'I do love you, it is your decision.'

The Barterer says 'Good, come then.' He opens a rift 'You must come with me, I will gather what you need and return you soon.'

Deneria kisses Nurbedon 'I will return soon, and we shall have our child.'

She follows the barterer through the rift, when she arrives on the other side, she feels weak and falls to her knees.

There before her, she can see the Myrrdonite. He is standing before what appears to be a forest, but they are not trees. They are beings, beings that she has never seen before petrified and frozen like statues.

The Barterer speaks 'You wish for your child to be strong, to be wise, to stand up against those who would dare try to take anything from her.

You will have a daughter and with the essence of those who have been here in the borderlands, since the time of the first judgement. You will have a strong child and she will be yours and of that which came before.'

Deneria asks 'Who are these beings?'

The Barterer replies 'Long ago before the time of the Void and the realms, there was the first judgement.'

Deneria then asks 'What is the first judgement?'

The Barterer continues 'The judgement upon the first existences. These beings were slaughtered long ago as they stood against the ones called the Savage Gods which wiped their kind out.

Their core essence and souls were sent here to the borderlands. Here they remain, they hold a power of darkness that is ancient, reaching far back even before the Void. Within them is the power and strength that I shall place within you, and within your child.'

The Barterer waves his hands, coils come from the darkness shattering the statue-like figures. As they shatter, they form into black dust which floats into the air. It gathers into a cloud above the Barterer's head.

The Barterer then turns to Deneria and says 'Kneel and accept what I offer you. Do you accept it? Will you pay the price for this exchange?'

Deneria bows her head in acknowledgment 'Yes, yes I will.'

The Barterer says 'Then so be it, open your mouth.'

Deneria opens her mouth. With a wave of his hands, the Barterer summons the cloud of black ash. It pours down the throat of Deneria. She coughs only for a moment.

The Barterer says 'Now go to your husband, be with him and conceive your child.'

Just then everything goes black, Deneria is on her knees still overwhelmed by the energies of the borderlands. As the darkness rises, her husband is at her side.

He takes her in his arms and Deneria smiles at him 'Lay with me, my love.' Her hand touches his face 'Let us conceive our daughter.'

Nurbedon then smiles 'A daughter.' He kisses the hands of his wife 'A beautiful daughter.'

The two lay with each other that night, and their daughter is conceived.

Time goes by and the child within Deneria grows. She and Nurbedon are quite happy. They have decided to name her Sariassa, a beautiful child of inner strength.

They are both together, Nurbedon and his wife within their dwelling. They are eating a meal when Deneria stops, she places her hand on her belly and begins to feel faint. Nurbedon notices this and rushes to her side 'What is it?'

Deneria replies 'She is coming.' Nurbedon quickly gathers her and helps her to her chambers. The bearing one and her assistants gather around Deneria, she screams in pain.

The bearing one then tells her that she must push with all her might, for her child is almost in the realm of the Void. With one final push and one loud shriek of pain, Deneria gives everything that she can, and Sariassa comes into the realm.

The bearing one holds Sariassa in her arms, and then hands her over to Nurbedon and says 'It's a girl, a beautiful girl.'

Nurbedon smiles 'Yes, she is beautiful.' He turns to his wife 'Look, look at our beautiful daughter.'

There is silence, Nurbedon looks long and hard at his wife whose eyes are wide open and have gone completely gray.

He hands Sariassa back over to the bearing one and rushes to the side of his wife 'My love, my love no... The price, must it be paid now?'

Deneria's life has faded, she has paid the price she has promised the Barterer.

Nurbedon stands holding his child in front of a great pyre that his wife is placed upon, the Void flame is set and her body has turned to ashes.

He holds Sariassa close and tells her 'Your mother has sacrificed everything so that you could be here with me. I will love you, as I love her. You will grow, I will teach you to be strong, and one day you will rise. You are my everything, you are my gift. My beautiful daughter.'

Sariassa grows to become a young girl, she loves her father and her father is kind and wise and teaches her many things. Sariassa notices that her father goes every day to the courtyard of their dwellings, where her mother was burned upon the pyre.

One day Sariassa goes to him as he stands there, she takes his hand. 'Tell me father, why is it you come here every day?'

Nurbedon replies 'To remember your mother, your beautiful mother. Every time I look into your eyes, I see her.'

Sariassa then asks 'Where is mother?'

A sad look crosses Nurbedon's face 'She's in a place, a place that is beyond here. A place one day you may come to see. But you can avoid going there, never my daughter...'

He kneels before her, placing his hands upon her shoulders 'Never make deals with the dead, be who you are and grow with your own strength. No matter how many times you try to achieve something and fail, never give up. Never make deals with those you do not understand.'

Sariassa smiles at him and nods her head 'I promise father, I promise no matter what happens I will always strive to overcome. I will never take another route or make deals with those I do not understand.'

Nurbedon smiles and hugs his daughter 'You are so precious to me. One day, one day you will rise. On that day, I will smile at you and be proud, as proud as I am now.'

Sariassa takes her father's hand and they exit from the courtyard back into their dwellings. Sariassa looks back, she says 'I love you mother, one day I hope we will meet again.'

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