The Asphodel Incarnate

It was not solely for effect or the sake of tradition that the headquarters of the Ophion Occult Order was lit entirely by candlelight. Existing outside of baseline reality in a nexus of old-growth forest, it lacked access to an electrical grid, nor did it receive enough light for solar power to be an option. Wind or water turbines weren't really viable either, so short of building a small nuclear reactor, their only real option would have been gas-powered generators. Such racket and pollution would not have been tolerated by the primeval spirits that haunted the Adderwood, and so the majestic Adderwood Manor remained as charmingly rustic as it always had. 
The fact that all the candles were red was, however, purely for effect and tradition.
The cloaked and spindly form of the Grand Adderman sat ill at ease upon his throne in the Great Hall, a nebulous chalice of condensed miasma clasped in his ashen, black-tipped fingers. With his free hand, he impatiently tapped his digits as he waited for the limbless man before him to say his piece.  
“I am certain beyond all doubt it was Emrys I saw, Grand Adderman, and he was accompanied by a Revenant of his own creation,” the limbless man spoke. “While his chains remain unbroken, and I don’t doubt he had the assistance of the cowardly clocksmith that did this to me, he was able to bring that woman back from the dead. She may have been the corpse he stole from the Darling Twins, though that hardly matters. What matters is that Emrys has succeeded both in increasing his power and attracting allies to his cause. If he is not stopped, it is surely only a matter of time before he strikes against us.” 
The Grand Adderman crumpled the sterling silver chalice in his hand and violently threw it to the ground in rage, with several Addermen quickly moving out of the way as it ricocheted off the marble floor. 
“If you had had the sense to trail Emrys covertly, you may have been able to uncover something that was actually useful, possibly even where he's hiding or how he's managed to use the Cuniculi without getting caught!" the Grand Adderman chastised him. “Instead, you chose to assail him single-handedly, accomplishing nothing but the loss of your limbs! You are not even fit to be called a serpent, you worm! Remove him!” 
A pair of supplicants diligently lifted up their dismembered member by the ropes on his equally legless chair and swiftly ushered him out of sight. 
“Does this information change anything?” the Grand Adderman asked, turning his shadowed face towards the advisory committee he had drafted over a year ago to figure out some way to deal with this threat to their Order. 
The committee shuffled about nervously for a moment before pushing forth their youngest member as their spokesperson to bear the brunt of the Grand Adderman’s wrath. 
“Ah… the committee’s recommendations remain unchanged at this time, Grand Adderman,” the young woman stammered. Her name was Envy Noir, younger sister to Ivy Noir, and her position on the committee was almost entirely the result of nepotism. She shared her sister’s beauty, but not her genius, and she only really possessed the former because her sister had gifted her with her proprietary bioelectric signal modulation device to optimize her physiology.
While Envy loved and appreciated her sister, she suspected that her parents knew she would never be her equal when they had named her.
“We believe that Emrys’ strategy at the moment is to launch hit and run attacks like the one on the Darlings, both to increase his own power and to undermine our own,” Envy continued. “All Cuniculi doorways should be inspected and kept in good repair, and all members should keep protective wards and charms on both their property and persons at all times. We… acknowledge that our current methods of surveilling and guarding the Cuniculi have been ineffective at keeping Emrys out, and we’re researching methods that might –”
“You speak only of defensive measures!” the Grand Adderman screamed, rising from his throne and towering over her like a cobra about to strike. “If Emrys becomes strong enough to break his chains, then no defence will be adequate to hold him back! We must banish his avatar from this plane before that happens!" 
"Yes, yes, of course, Grand Adderman, of course!" Envy agreed in terrified sycophancy. "My sister Ivy believes she can create a spell circle in the chamber under Pendragon Hill that would enhance the power of his chains enough to hold him in place, and from there we could attempt to banish him. The only issue with that plan is luring him into the spell circle to begin with."
The Grand Adderman shook his head in disdain and slumped back into his throne. 
“It’s unlikely Emrys would ever fall for such an obvious ploy, but it may prove prudent to have such a trap available to us,” he said ruefully. “Tell Head Adderman Noir she has my permission to create the spell circle, but she is not to attempt any plan to trap Emrys in it without my explicit approval.” 
“It shall be done, Grand Adderman,” Envy bowed. “My sister also wishes you to know that the former Head of the Harrowick Chapter, Seneca Chamberlin, has suggested that a diplomatic solution to our conflict with Emrys may still be possible. He has maintained contact with the Witches who were present on Pendragon Hill when Emrys was summoned, and he believes they could serve as neutral negotiators between Emrys and ourselves.” 
“Preposterous,” the Grand Adderman said with a disdainful shake of his head. “No, peace with Emrys is not possible, at least not while he has us at such a clear disadvantage. Emrys is obviously becoming emboldened by our repeated failure to defend ourselves. We need to successfully strike back, hard enough to make him think twice about what he’s doing. Certain alchemical lamps are able to repel his avatar while he remains chained, but if his chains are broken these will no longer be enough. We must show Emrys that even if he does break his chains, he is not invincible. 
“You’ve yet to face our Reliquary; correct, Miss Noir?”
“Ah… correct, Grand Adderman,” Envy replied with a fearful nod. 
“Retrieving a Relic from the Reliquary is a trial you must face if you hope to progress to the rank of Master Adderman,” the Grand Adderman reminded her. “Our Relics our well-guarded, and only someone worthy of our Order may return with one alive and unscathed.
“Go down into the Reliquary, and bring me the Asphodel Incarnate!” 
*** 
Without any other words than a softly murmured ‘As you wish, Grand Adderman,’ Envy bowed her head and shuffled out of the Great Hall as quietly as she could. No one dared to impede her for any reason, for they all knew that when the Grand Adderman sent someone down to the Reliquary for something, he was not to be kept waiting. 
Envy had never been to the Reliquary before, but she found her way easily enough. Down the great spiral staircase through the basement, through the cellar, and into the catacombs. No one was allowed down here without either permission or orders from the Grand Adderman himself. It was so deep underground, Envy could hear no sign of activity in the Manor House above her. It was so quiet, she could hear nothing definitive aside from her own shallow breathing and faltering heartbeat.
She had only a small kerosene lamp with her for light, and could not see very far beyond her immediate proximity. The walls, floors, and ceilings were all covered in glazed bricks of a deathly shade of green. Every tomb was sealed with an embossed copper plaque covered in a thick patina, with skeletal and demonic figures protruding from the metal like they were trying to escape. 
She tried to walk softly, fearing that the sound of her footfalls would summon some undead abomination forth from the shadows, yet each step echoed and reverberated off the brick walls as if they stretched outwards for miles in all directions. Envy began to worry that the catacombs themselves were some sort of labyrinth that might mean her end before she ever reached the Reliquary, but before long she spotted another lamp burning near the end of the corridor. As she drew closer, she was able to make out a tall stone door with the Triple Ouroboros icon of the Ophion Occult Order engraved into its exterior. 
Seated at an elevated stone desk and writing in an enormous codex was a hooded Adderman. In the dim lighting, she couldn’t make out much more than his portly figure and neatly trimmed goatee, but that was enough for her to recognize him.
“Fenwick? How’d you get down here so fast?” she asked, relieved to run into a friendly face in such a ghastly crypt.  
“Evenin’ Envy, just makin' sure your paperwork’s in order,” he greeted cordially, setting down his fountain pen and folding his hands together. “And I can move fast for a big bloke when I need to. You, on the other hand, you're draggin’ your feet a little bit, idn’t ya?”
Shamefully lowering her head, Envy replied with nothing more than a timid nod. 
“Don’t fret, Envy. Everyone’s jittery their first time,” Fenwick assured her with an understanding nod. “But Papa Smurf only sends people in there when he knows they can handle it, or he wants ’em dead, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want you dead. Like, ninety-five percent sure. Maybe ninety-two. At any rate, I’m a hundred percent sure he wants the Asphodel Incarnate, given how ruffled he is regardin’ old Emrys. You know what you’re looking for, right?”
“I think so. Asphodels are flowers that bloom in the Underworld that were created by Persephone. Like her, they have a unique combination of Underworld and Summerland properties, the same unique properties that let Persephone draw Emrys’ ichor so that his chains could be forged. Even if his avatar breaks his physical chains, Emrys’ astral form will still be bound by celestial chains, and he’ll still be vulnerable to Persephone’s power.” 
"That's the idea, anyway. At the very least, Emrys' vulnerability to it means it's something he can't take for himself. Do mind yourself though. Trekkin’ down to the Underworld to get one of these and then givin’ it a physical form isn’t something we do every day if we can help it. It looks like a real Asphodel, white with six petals and long stamens, except it’s made of glowin’ crystal with a sort of sparklin’ halo around it. If memory serves, it’s in a hexagon box with an Asphodel carved on the lid; shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” 
He pulled out a large skeleton key and inserted it into a clockwork receptacle on his desk. Turn after turn, he wound it up, and when he released the key, each of the Ouroboroses on the door began to rotate and glow with a dull crimson blaze. 
“When you’re ready, then,” he said with a nod towards the door. 
Clutching the serpentine sceptre she had brought with her close to her chest, Envy nodded and turned towards the Reliquary. To gain entry, she had to draw a sequence of seven Futhorc runes; one in each open space within the three interlocking Ouroboroses, and each with their matching incantation. Only Master Addermen or higher knew this secret passcode, and the only way to become a Master Adderman was to have one of them sponsor you for promotion and to trust you with the secret personally. 
Envy’s sister Ivy had been the one who told her the passcode, but she had not told her what the price for failure would be. 
With the tip of her sceptre, she drew the rune Thorn in the top space, her staff leaving an incandescent wake that lingered in the air.
“Khaos!” she spoke loudly. She hesitated a moment, waiting for some kind of rebuke that she had done it wrong. When none came, she continued on with the ritual. She drew the runes Ing, Os, Feoh, Aesc, and Iar, speaking the words Ouranos, Cronus, Zeus, Apollo, Yggdrasil with each one. Each one seemed to be correct, and in its proper place. Only the small, center space was left empty now, and it would be the most difficult to draw a legible rune in without trespassing into the space of the others. Envy let the end of her sceptre hover right above it, the price of failure looming heavily on her heart. 
“Odin!” she spoke aloud, without having drawn any rune at all. 
This was, of course, correct. Odin was the unknowable rune, and lacked a visible form. 
The three Ouroboroses locked in place, and the door slowly began to rise. 
“I hate that it opens ‘up’. Always afraid it’s goin’ to come down on my head as I’m walkin’ under,” Fenwick remarked. “Off you go then. We’re not supposed to keep this door open longer than is strictly necessary.” 
With a proud smile, Envy nodded and hurried into the Reliquary. 
“And remember, don’t touch anything but the Asphodel and keep your wits about you for – ah, she’s already gone, idn’t she?” 
The door gently thudded shut behind her, leaving her alone in the tall, long, and narrow antechamber of the Reliquary of Adderwood Manor. It was made of the same dark green stone as the catacombs with high vaulted ceilings, faintly illuminated by a stygian blue light with no obvious source. The shadows spun alternately clockwise and counterclockwise, as if the unseen light source hung from a tether that was forever being wound and unwound. 
It was difficult to say how long the antechamber was, and in fact, Envy wasn't even sure if she could see the end. It was forty or so feet abreast, however, with a wide blue carpet running down the center. At the very edges of the room were ceiling-high statues of hooded Addermen, evenly spaced in their silent vigil of their Order’s most cherished treasures. A heavy fog seeped in through high-placed vents that cascaded down in misty columns and through grates beneath them, the echoey sound of rapidly moving gas beneath the floor giving some clue to its ultimate fate. 
The Relics themselves were kept at the border of the carpet, in chests and shelves, on pedestals and display cases. Many of them were bizarre and grotesque in appearance, some were ancient beyond human memory, and a few were quite literally not of this world. 
Envy hadn't needed Fenwick to warn her not to touch them. 
She progressed the length of the room with great caution, wary that any sudden moves might trigger the Reliquary's defences, whatever those might be. Her clairvoyance allowed her to sense the weight sensors hidden beneath the carpet, and her knowledge of her Order’s lore and customs informed her on which ones to step on and which ones to avoid. 
After only a few moments of walking, the antechamber she was in splintered into two curving hallways; the first of many. Envy had known the Reliquary was a labyrinth, but facing the first fork in her path was still a daunting choice. It was a non-Euclidean labyrinth, and if she failed to navigate its illogical and everchanging passageways, she would be lost forever. 
Just another challenge to keep their Relics safe and ensure only the worthy ascended to the rank of Master Adderman. 
Envy didn’t know how many had been unworthy of that ascension, but she was sure the number wasn’t zero. She turned down the corridor to her right, now keeping an eye open for any decaying bodies, or worse, any starving and deranged former Adderman who had failed their test.
As she went, she was sure to take careful notice of the more distinctive Relics so that she could use them as landmarks when trying to find her way out. In the dim light of the dancing shadows, she couldn’t be sure that they weren’t moving. It was nerve-wracking, constantly waiting for the proverbial axe to drop, but no matter how deep she trekked into the Reliquary she encountered no proof of any other living thing but herself, heard nothing but her own footfalls and the rush of the gas beneath her. 
Eventually, amongst all the countless thousands of weird and wonderous Relics, Envy spotted the box of the Asphodel Incarnate. In her excitement and eagerness to end her ordeal, she let her sceptre fall to the floor as she rushed to claim the Relic she had been quested to retrieve. It was a hexagonal box, just as Fenwick had said, but in the strange light it was impossible to tell if the flower upon its lid was white or not. The lacquered wood showed no signs of rot, despite the damp air of the Reliquary. It felt so light she feared it might be empty, but at the same time, it was colder than the surrounding air. 
Rationalizing that she had better be sure this was the right box before heading back up, Envy gingerly opened the lid with the same wide-eyed wonder as a child sneaking a look at her Christmas present. She gasped as she glimpsed the radiant crystal asphodel, its light chilling her as it fell upon her face. The bloom signified life, and yet it was as cold as death, embodying the same duality as the Goddess who had created it. Its dazzling aura was blindingly bright to eyes adjusted for the dark, so much so that Envy did not immediately notice the blue light around her begin to fade.            
Nor did she notice the sound of the grates sliding shut, or the hall filling with heavy fog. 
Envy snapped the lid close and placed the box into her satchel. As she waited for her eyes to adjust back to the darkness, she bent down and reached for her sceptre. 
A surge of panic welled up inside her as her hand landed on nothing but cold stone. 
She cursed herself as she remembered that she was never supposed to let her sceptre out of her grasp while she was wandering the Reliquary. Dropping to her knees she began to feel around for it frantically, but froze in place when her hand fell upon a misty, booted foot. 
Filled with a plunging sense of dread, she raised her head and beheld the cloaked figure that had condensed out of the cold mist. It was a nebulous thing, lacking much detail, but a faint pair of glistening eyes shone dimly from the deep sockets of its gaunt face, and upon its throat Envy could make out the unmistakable Triple Ouroboros icon clasping its cloak in place. This was the damned soul of an Adderman who had failed their challenge, and now guarded the Reliquary for all eternity.
And now, it seemed, Envy was to join it. 
The spectre's mouth slowly gaped open, a soft but burgeoning scream forming in its throat as it did so. It swelled in size as it took more of the mist into its hastily cobbled physical form, looming over Envy like a child over an insect, until it rivalled the sentinel statues in stature. As it grew, it began to float slightly off the ground; and behind it, Envy spotted her sceptre. 
Before the spirit could strike, Envy rolled under it and snatched up her staff, darting down the corridor towards what she hoped would be the exit. The spectre wailed angrily before taking flight after her, trailing just behind her like some kind of monstrous kite. 
Envy summoned a beacon of protective radiance from her sceptre, giving her just enough light to see by and to hold the pursuing spirit at her heels. But in the weak and bobbing light, she could scarcely make out the Relics she had chosen as landmarks to guide her way back. Still, she managed to catch a glimpse of an iridescent obelisk here, a bit of snake hide tapestry there, and above all, she trusted in her clairvoyant intuition to guide her back out. 
Lesser, smaller spirits had risen from the mist as she raced her way through the labyrinth, at first being caught up in the wake of the greater spirit like leaves in a whirlwind, but quickly growing in size and vigour as they joined in the pursuit. Their cacophonous wailing was near deafening now, and some skirted ahead of her at the edges of her radiance to try to force her off her path, but she held firm. The horde in front of her was so thick, and her light so pale, she barely managed to spot the Triple Ouroboros emblazoned door before crashing into it. 
The spirits fell back somewhat, their curse keeping them from getting too close to the exit, but they were not defeated yet. As Envy attempted the ritual to open the door, they howled and wailed with all their might, churning up eddies of stale air and stirring the thick layers of dust in a desperate bid to keep her from succeeding. 
Envy clutched her sceptre tightly, knowing that if she dropped it, the spirits would be able to manipulate the carpet enough to pull it away from her, and that would be the end of things. 
Keeping her focus amidst such a deathly racket was challenging, but she powered through. She drew the runes in their proper place, barely able to see them in the whirling dust, and unable to even hear her own voice as she spoke the incantations.
But when she spoke the word ‘Odin’, the door began to lift once more, and the wailing of the spirits turned from predatory to despair. Envy didn’t even wait for it to lift to a third of her own height before ducking under it. They could not follow her out, for they were condemned to linger in their labyrinth for so long as it stood upon the Earth. 
The door fell back down nearly as soon as Envy was through, the cries of the enraged spirits quickly dying to nothing. Physically and emotionally exhausted, Envy sat down against the door and hugged her knees to her chest as she broke out into quiet sobs.  
“And keep your wits about you for the guardian spirits of fallen Addermen,” she heard Fenwick say to her. “That’s what I was going to say, before you ran off. Sorry if it idn’t of much help now.” 
Category:Ghosts
Category:The Vesper's Bell