Done and Done and still more work to do

I finished with Liger's hands this morning, which meant he no longer had any reason to be in the basement with us. I wasn't told to make him suffer past the skinning; so I healed him... and gave him the skin. I'm not sure what he's meant to do with it, but that at least I was told to do. He stalked past Dodgy's cage, giving him a warning glare, and of course Dodgy couldn't stay quiet, even with no tongue. He chortled, maybe trying to provoke Liger. It worked.

Liger stopped and turned back, moving so quickly I only had time to shout, "No!"

But he didn't do anything. He went up to Dodgy without touching him at all and said something his ear. Then he left without sparing a glance for any of us.

And Dodgy looked kind of confused and looked at me funny. He's been staring at me ever since, and it's getting annoying.

I have no idea what Liger would have said to confound Dodgy so much, but he's been very docile all morning. Of course, I cut all the tendons in his arms and legs the other day so he hasn't got much fight left in him at all. I thought about it and whittling him away like I did with Lisa might not please Father. I can fix his tendons later. Father would probably want him with a bit of fight left in him. It's a lot of work, but doable. Taking his arms and legs off completely wouldn't have left much to work with.

His mind is a muddle of confused memories, and I get a headache every time I go in and try to make sense of any of it. How can he have a thousand year's worth of memories in his head and then just this big blank wall of nothing. I don't think he's even aware that parts of his mind have been... removed. I think whatever Liger said, he jarred something loose though. Dodgy's thoughts are all itchy now, like he's trying to remember something and that wall of nothing is trying to eat his turmoil. Like it's alive and aware, and its purpose is keeping Dodgy complacent. I've never seen anything like it. It makes me sick anytime I brush up against it.

Bleh... I'll be glad when he's gone. I heard Father beat the shit out of Dodgy's master. So maybe that's why he hasn't come to collect the small fry yet.

In other news, Seraphina's becoming more and more withdrawn, but Heri's out of his cage. :) Heri's keeping the name, and it suits him. His life in Egypt is easily his strongest, though he's remembered bits and pieces of other lives now, mashed them together to see the common threads, people he's known... He claims he had a portion of the Mother's soul in his care until she was murdered... a student of his when he was quite old and teaching young scribes their trade. There have always been rumors about bits of her soul surviving, even after what Merodach did, but usually by the time we get to investigate, she or he's been murdered by the Assassin.

Father will want to hear about Heri's memories.

Flensing

Liger is in a cage, and he sits there and waits patiently for his punishment to continue, staring death at Dodgy whenever he would open his mouth. Up until a few minutes ago, Dodgy took great delight in calling me Ty, and I could see Liger clenching his fists, hear his knuckles popping despite the cuts whenever he did. I think Dodgy did it just because he KNEW it bothered Liger (and me).

If Dodgy dies, he's free to find another body. He knows it, Liger knows it, but Liger doesn't care. Whatever harm Dodgy did him whenever and a day ago, Liger hasn't forgotten.

This is horrible.

I'm... half tempted to have Delphi and Jet work on Liger, but I know they wouldn't do it right. They'd cut too deep, and I'm not trying to filet him.

I'm to take the skin off his hands, all in one piece if I can. Flensing hands is delicate work. That's the punishment Mercury was sent from whoever decides these things when Father is busy.

At least he's not going to be hollowed or killed... Apparently Father's too busy to come even for Dodgy, let alone Liger. And Liger is... has always been so very loyal.

I started and had to stop. I told Jet to gag Dodgy. He was mocking Liger and egging me on. I stopped again; there was "something" in my eye. Liger just sat there, silent and motionless, waiting for me to continue. He didn't even flinch under my blade or have to be restrained, just watched me calmly like... he expected I wouldn't hurt him or what I was doing didn't hurt at all. And I know damn well it does. Inquisitor was fond of hands.

When I stopped again, Liger said, "Shhhhhh" very softly under his breath, and "Go on..."

Dodgy was giggling. I told Delphi and Jet to cut out his tongue... and cauterize it so he couldn't try to drown on the blood. Of course they didn't strap his head down properly, and he tried to impale his head on the hot iron when they brought it near his mouth. Stupid noob mistake... but it was my fault. They're not experienced. They couldn't have known to expect a move like that. I had to leave off my work. Jet and Delphi kept his head still while I strapped it down and forced the bit back in his mouth and then wedge it open even more to get the iron in. Thankfully he passed out when I finally managed to burn the stub of his tongue. He doesn't need to be able to speak for me to pick his brain.

We were all covered in blood. I sent Jet and Delphi up to shower and bring me some clean clothes. I can't go anywhere. I'm stuck down here with the prisoners. I can't even clean myself until they get back, and I'm leaving red smears on my keyboard. There's a sink in the workroom. I'll pop back as soon as Delphi and Jet come back... whenever that is.

I'm sleeping in Liger's cage tonight, even if he's been creeping on me for four years. He's the only one who's never let me down and maybe he had a good reason for trying to strangle Dodgy.

making conversation

I wish Blogger had a private posting function. So far I haven't gotten into any trouble for having this blog, but... sometimes I'm not sure if I'm doing the right things, like if I'm making the right choices. I wish I could just make this post visible to my friends only and they could give me feedback without me worrying someone else might see. It's hard being in charge of breaking people and having no one to tell me if I'm doing it right or majorly screwing up.

Dodgy kept up a running dialogue all night... Even telling me at one point that he liked my humming. (I didn't know I *was* humming!) As I was finishing up with my... whittling? sketching? Whatever it might be called, Dodgy asked if he could see my work.

That stymied me, since there was no way to do it without untying him, but there were mirrors in the workroom (since letting people see the damage is sometimes worse than the actual torture). So I wheeled him in there and set up some mirrors to reflect the images until he could see them. He gushed over them and said it was too bad he'd be leaving the body, and my sketches, behind at some point.

I must have scowled because then he wanted to know what was wrong, and I blurted out about how only Igigi and darklings are sick cannibal parasites who steal other people's bodies and eat them up from the inside out. Then he asked uncomfortable questions about Father and people who are Hollowed, laughing when I said that Father only eats bad people. And Hollowed just have their memories wiped and a new personality implanted so they can start over and have a chance to do better.

He asked my name and kept asking till I said, "Ty." That amused him because apparently it wasn't as descriptive or in his words as "flowery" as he'd expected. He told me I deserved a prettier name. >:| Then he asked how old I was and pretended shock when I said 18. "Aren't you too old to believe these fairytales?" he asked.

I punched him in the kidneys and put away the mirrors, wheeling him back out to his cage where I ignored him until dawn and Jet and Delphi came down with some breakfast for me. Then we wheeled him back to the workroom to start the day's session. Jet noticed the pictures I'd drawn up to Dodgy's knees first. Both of them were pretty impressed and couldn't understand why I was so grumpy. So I'm sorry for that if you guys ever find my blog. Dodgy didn't say a word the entire session, which was unusual, but maybe he was tired from being up all night.

Cat's out of the bag

Sorry for the radio silence... been very busy and, well, I haven't much time to post even now, but I figured I could update you with at least this little bit.

Liger is in a lot of trouble.

He came down to the cellar while I was resting and tried to kill Dodgy.

Dodgy is hardly any worse for it, but Liger refuses to talk, even to me. I don't know why he did it, except he must know Dodgy from another life. That's no excuse though. Someone as "high profile" as Dodgy, only Father should be permitted to end his life.

The fact that Liger found out Dodgy was here while he was out and came home directly to kill him means that news of his capture has officially made the rounds. No one is coming to take him to a better Interrogator than me because anyone could try to kill him now, in transit or upon arrival... all the people who he's hurt, who've lost loved ones because of him or his master... Apparently everyone's decided keeping here is just the most expedient thing.

Now I have to sleep in the cellar, in the cage next to him, just to make sure no one uses the Path to skate in and off him while no one's watching.

Until Father comes for him (soon I hope!), I'm a glorified babysitter! :(

I hope he's not too angry with Liger.

So busy!

Sorry I haven't posted the last few days, but I've had a lot of work to do. I had three Chosen at once, and no one to help me. At least when we'd get so many before, there were two of us to handle the workload. I do sort of have help, but neither Jet nor Delphi have much (any) experience. Delphi, you'd know her as Melissa... she's made such progress! Her mental voice is a bit clumsy and unpredictable, but she'll be a great interrogator some day.

She's completely healed now. Her and Jet have fallen in together like old friends, else I probably wouldn't have included him in our sessions. Who knows but that Jet and Delphi won't end up as hunters instead of interrogators. With her mental abilities, she'll have no trouble identifying Chosen, and Jet's a teleporter and very good at snatch and grab. I'm still working with her to uncover memories of other lives. She has impressions of many wars... the civil war, I think Vietnam, and so many others.

Well, her ultimate job is for Father to decide when he comes back to check on Delphi's progress. There's no telling when that will be, but she has to face his approval eventually and be given his blessing. What that is, is hard to describe, but not everyone walks away from it. We die a little and are reborn, part of our soul taken by Father, mixed with his own energy, and returned to us. A "reaffirmation of our familial ties" as Mercury calls it.

One of the three Chosen, ugh, he turned out to be Igigi, a bad one. I had to hollow him, and unfortunately I'm not very good at filling up the space left behind. So I hollowed him and gave him a few compulsions and normal urges (you know... eat food, go to the bathroom, obey anyone in a mask) before some of my siblings transported him elsewhere. Someone else will decide who he should be and what purpose he will serve. Hollowing always makes me feel... sluggish. Like I just ate a big meal.

Of the other two Chosen, one snapped by the second day and started babbling in ancient Egyptian. That was interesting. That life must have been very close to the surface. He was a Heri-sesheta in that life, a "priest of the secrets" aka a wizard. (hahaha He threatened me when his other life emerged, thinking I was a demon sent by his enemies to torment his sleep.) His talents will be invaluable to the family; magic is just a round about way for humans to manipulate energy. It's something the Anunnaki once did as easily as breathing, but so much of our power was stripped from us when we were imprisoned.

The third, she might end up hollowed too. She's definitely Anunnaki but so stubborn. If she is hollowed, I'll be very disappointed in myself because she's very resourceful. She's escaped three times, and she's only been with us five days. I mean, that's a useful skill. You can't teach that kind of resourcefulness, least not in the space of a few months, which is all the time I'm usually allowed. She hurt someone the last time though, and that can't be allowed. I'm afraid if she gets out again, my siblings just be too irritable to capture her a fourth time.

Early morning visitation

Liger's home... and a little put out by our guest. I can't tell how he feels about my "promotion." I don't think he cares much that Inquisitor is gone, but having Melissa in our apartment is making him irritable. Oh well, I'm not putting her back downstairs. She's not trying to remove her mask, and mostly she's just sleeping while her body heals. Besides, having her there means if he planned to approach me about his *feelings,* she's cramping his style.

Good. I've decided I'm a little angry with him over the whole thing. Pedo much, big brother? I mean, he's never done anything inappropriate, but he pretty much took me out of the cage so he could make a pass at me four years later? No, that's creepy. I don't care if he knew me in another life. I don't have those feelings for him. He should have given me over to Whistler and kept his distance. Then I wouldn't feel like he's been watching and waiting and creeping on me all this time. Eeeew

Liger came on the heels of Father, who paid us a visit early this morning. News of Inquisitor's poor career choice traveled fast, I guess. Father wasn't exactly gentle in getting everyone's understanding of events. Lots of headaches... I've been offering to fix them, but only about half of my siblings have taken me up on it. They're so stubborn. What more do I have to do to convince them that I'm loyal? Father could have killed me if he held me accountable for Inquisitor at all, or taken me to another Interrogator to be broken properly, as I should have been when I first arrived. He did neither. He left everyone in the roles Mercury had given out and left. To find Inquisitor or assign someone else the task, I don't know. But if Father doesn't have a problem with me, why should any one else?

Melissa was in bad shape after Father's visit. She's new enough that his presence is still... very stressful, and having to relive the darkling attack only made things worse. I had to slip in and turn off her fine motor skills as he reviewed the attack so she wouldn't start clawing at herself and reopen her wounds. I think that surprised him. :3 I think he was pleased. o///O

Jet's been hanging around too, which I think is making Liger jealous. I think Jet just wants to be my apprentice even though he's a hunter now. (He chose the name Jet because he's a fast runner.) Liger has stared him down on the few occasions he's come by. I think I'll talk to Mercury about it. Maybe he can send Liger back out where he can work off some of this nervous energy before he hurts someone.

Father will hear...

I am so mad... soso furious.

Inquisitor needs to get rid of that darkling NOW. That thing needs to die. I- I'll tell father if he doesn't.

Melissa is hurt. She may never speak again. I'm keeping her in our apartment. She is NOT going back to her cage.

Mr Creepy doesn't seem to want to escape, since he had every opportunity to do so when he got Melissa to let him out. Instead, he made her get a piece of broken metal from somewhere and cut open her own throat, completely destroying her larynx. Her clothes were neatly folded and placed a few feet away, spotless.

When he was sure she couldn't scream, he made her mutilate herself. She was very nearly dead when I came down with her breakfast, and he.... He was standing over her, hands on his knees, grinning as he watched her gut herself.

When he heard the tray drop, he sauntered back to his cage and pulled it shut behind him. He cackled as I rushed to where Melissa lay and threw himself into his chair to watch as I tried to keep her alive. The damage was extensive, not like when we torture. His intent had been to cause as much damage as possible in addition to pain.

I felt him then, psychically leaning over us, feeding on her pain and terror, my frustration and fury. No wonder Inquisitor never had me bring any food for his "pet." The thing is an energy vampire. It feeds on emotion with a preference for the negative. Anytime we had a torture session, he was probably glutting himself. Lisa had probably been an all you can eat buffet for him. Even my rage as I dragged Melissa to the door and pulled her into the stairwell was a treat for him.

I called for help, and Jet helped me carry her up after I swore I'd take any punishment Inquisitor decided to dish out. Well, I don't care. I'm right, and he's wrong, and Father will not be happy about him keeping a darkling and letting it feed on his children.

I've only just managed to stabilize Melissa, but there's not much left of her larynx. And the edges of the wound are seared. He burned her, like he did the others, but kept her alive to dine at his leisure. Maybe he developed a taste for her over the last few weeks. I don't think I'll be able to reconstruct her voice box. Her other injuries require more attention and by the time I get to it... It may already have begun to heal.

I'm just resting and... and purging some of this rage by writing this. I don't want to feed that Thing anything else. I have no idea how far it can reach, but if some of the more recent petty quarrels are any indication, it's been feeding on all of...

Pounding on the door. I think Inquisitor is back. I'll be back later.

Booooooooooooooooored and creeeeeeeeeeeeeeped out

I cut all my hair off. Half of it was burned away, and I can't make hair grow any faster than normal. So I cut it off. It's just hair, and this is just flesh, and both are just part of a mask that my soul wears.

I don't know what I'm posting about really. I feel... blah. Liger has been nurse-maiding me like crazy, and I haven't been allowed to leave the apartment or go anywhere without him. And I love him, but not that way. It so weird to know he does love me that way. I don't want it. I feel awkward and weird. I'm glad I have this outlet, else we'd have to talk about it or something. Father doesn't bar his children from having relationships, but there's no guarantee that their children would be born Anunnaki. There's all kinds of conditions that control how a soul is reborn and with what souls it grows and I really don't know how it works. And this is a tangent. I just don't want to deal with knowing Liger likes me. Who does he think I was in whatever life we shared? Because I don't feel that way about him. I'll never feel that way about him. I don't want a boyfriend dammit. I want a big brother.

Especially now that... now that Whistler is dead, and I'll never see her again, except in my head if that darkling messes with me again. And I am so angry because I think Inquisitor got her killed catching his brother, the darkling host, and he didn't have any right! Even if he could get the darkling out of his brother's body, his brother is GONE. It's just a body! It's -it's a waste of time and resources. Father would NOT approve. The darkling's killed two chosen while we've kept him here.

I should be sleeping, but this is about the only time I can post without Liger looming in the background. He doesn't show any interest in computers, but that doesn't mean he might not read over my shoulder.

I'm just gah!!!!!!! Arrrrrrrrrg! I hate being cooped up. Now I don't even have any work to do because Liger doesn't trust Inquisitor not to hurt me. Heck I don't even trust him. But I feel like I'm being smothered. I need to do stuff.

Why masks

I know lots of us have different reasons for wearing a mask. Some I've talked to wear a mask simply because they've been told they're supposed to, and someone once told me that we should wear masks so that we know each other when we meet. That's just stupid since ANYONE can pick up a mask and pretend to be one of us, and only a few of us would be able to tell the difference if it came to that. I mean, even the Assassin apparently wears a mask. So there's no sense in thinking a mask will let you know who to trust.

A lot of Anunnaki I've talked to wear masks as a sign of respect for Father because of what was done to him. You know... his face. So they wear masks to hide their own faces out of sympathy for Him. I don't know if Father really cares, but it's a nice thing to do anyway.

And then there's a few of us who know the truth about what was stolen from us, and we wear masks that show the form we would take if we could. There have been very few shapeshifters since medieval times. A lot of them got burned up with the witches the Inquisition managed to pin down. But I've heard rumors that there are a few werewolves and others who've managed to regain that power, and they don't wear masks because their human form IS their mask.

So jealous. :3

The Darklings can also shapeshift... but I've never met any, and what I do know about them gives me the creeps.

Depressed

I've been kind of sad the past few days. First it was Sarah leaving, and obviously she had to go with her parents, but I liked having someone follow me around who wanted my attention. Then the thing with Naomi.

I'm not angry, but Naomi, if you're reading this, I really do believe you've made a mistake. Don't you know, deep down, where you belong? Father is always busy, busy, but he would have killed you by now if you weren't one of us. If we ever met, I would try my best to show you the truth, and I would do everything I could to make sure you weren't punished too severely for betraying us. It was just a mistake on your part. That's all. Considering how much of what we were is kept from us by what the Igigi did, it's not surprising so many Chosen rail against father and try to fight or run.

Come visit me anyway if you can Naomi. I won't be here much longer, but we could talk if you came. Secret-like. No one will know but you and me, and if you don't like what I have to say, you can go away again. I won't try to keep you, even if I want to. There's such comfort in knowing where you belong. I just want to make you understand. You would be happy. We could be sisters.

I know what really scares people, what turns them away from their instincts... the deaths, the murders. There's a reason for it, but I can't talk about it yet. :( Besides, Liger thinks I don't know what kind of work he does for father, but I've read the blogs. I'm grateful for how he takes care of me and protects me, but sometimes I think he tries to shelter me too much. Maybe that's why Inquisitor hates me. He's the only one who doesn't baby me even a little bit. Maybe he resents how sheltered I am. Maybe he's a better friend than I give him credit for and just wants me to live up to my potential.... not that I'm looking forward to working with him again. I hate watching people suffer and not being allowed to stop their pain until he says so.

We leave in less than a week. This time I won't say where we're going aside from further west and south.

Cookies and a Story

Liger's mask :) Isn't it pretty?

Liger's home! 

<3

He brought me sparklers and Oreos! I shared the cookies with anyone who said they'd like some. Inquisitor did not want any, and I didn't expect that he would, but it would have been rude not to ask. He just stared at me like I was an idiot. As if to say, you know I hate you, why would you offer me cookies? Well, I don't care. He's mean, and I'm not. If he doesn't want any cookies, the more for me and everyone else. I'm not going to be mean just because he is. Then he'd win.

I put the sparklers away. Maybe when Inquisitor goes away the next time, I'll bring them out and play and share with anyone else who wants to play. There's no sense aggravating him by being "a silly little girl without the sense to keep quiet and out of sight unless she's wanted" as I heard one of Inquisitor's "friends" say to his buddy. Inquisitor doesn't have any friends. He just has people who kiss his ass in order to get favors and I won't. I refuse.

X, I asked Liger if it was okay to write about the Igigi, the Anunnaki, and humans. He said I couldn't tell the whole story yet. :( He says it's not time yet, and the Assassin might step up his game if he realized how much we knew, but I can say what the difference is at least!

In the beginning, there were the Igigi who had no bodies and were from a place where only spirits lived. One day the weakest of the Igigi discovered Earth and being curious, got stuck in the material world like quicksand and couldn't be taken back out again. So some powerful elder Igigi came to earth because they decided the little ones needed to be cared for since they couldn't be freed. 

Before they came to Earth, the Igigi created children by "budding." (I'm guessing like cellular fission or like micro-organisms.) But when the guardian Igigi came and created bodies for themselves, they paired up and gave birth to the Anunnaki, the gods of the earth, and Father was the first! 

Everything has an Igigi soul, even rocks, but these are usually of the weakest kind of Igigi, and they barely know that they are even a rock. The Igigi try to keep any more spirits from coming to Earth, except if they are exiled for whatever reason, which Liger says still happens sometimes. So that means that souls are constantly reborn, though they mostly forget their previous lives. So when I mention humans, they're technically Igigi (or even Anunnaki) but they probably don't know it unless they were around when Father was born or they're our enemies like the Assassin.

My mask... not as pretty :(

Knowing My Place

Liger has been gone for days and days, and I miss him terribly. Maybe that is selfish of me, as I know we all have our work to do and also because I miss him because I am more afraid when he is away. Inquisitor hates me because he was forced to give up breaking me by others who were concerned my gifts might be ruined if I was driven mad rather than remembering. Some things I can do, only Father can do, so I am very valuable to the cause of the Anunnaki. While I serve our people Father may spend his important time on other matters.

I would hide and wait for Liger to come back, but if Inquisitor needed me for his work, and I was nowhere to be found, I would be punished even worse than I already have been. With me there, Inquisitor is able to go further in his tortures than he ever would be able to on his own. He is horrible, and I hate him, though I know I shouldn't. But he is a monster, even if he is Family. He enjoys his work too much.

I am nearly healed from my punishments. The day after Liger left, I was punished with lashings for not being quick enough when Inquisitor summoned me, and again when I tripped and made him accidentally cut himself instead of the Chosen he was trying to break. It wasn't my fault as the cables from the car battery were lying underfoot. He alternated holding my hands over a boiling pot and plunging them into ice water until they were red and blistered as bubble wrap. This I was finally allowed to heal later that night so that I could feed myself and so that whenever Liger returned, he wouldn't see.

Liger is Very old, centuries, and Inquisitor is not even one hundred. Liger could be a leader if he wanted, just based on his age and experience, but he doesn't want it. Still, there are very few as old as him and if he decided the Inquisitor had overstepped himself, things could go very bad for him. Which is why I was allowed to heal myself and why I've been forbidden to tell Liger what he did. I wish Liger liked computers but he calls my laptop a toy. He wouldn't understand the internet or blogs at all. I wish someone would tell him about Inquisitor, but I know none of you will because I have been barred from speaking about it and so therefore have you. Still... I wish...

There are good things about being Anunnaki though. Don't think I am complaining. Everyone complains once in a while, so that's normal, right? I do love the Family so very much.  My former parents never loved me or noticed me much... They weren't Anunnaki or Igigi, just human. They barely noticed when I disappeared. There were no pleas for my safe return, no newspaper articles about what they found of the bastard who tried to rape me behind the school when Father came and saved me. Father does not like people who do such things, not after what was done to HIS parents. What he did to that boy was horrible and I had nightmares for months, but he deserved it. I really thought Jeff was my friend but he was a liar. The only good he did was making me so scared my powers kind of kick-started and Father and many Anunnaki heard me screaming in their heads (as far away as Texas I was told). It's weird being grateful to someone for almost raping you, but I wouldn't be here with Liger and the rest of our Family otherwise. Even the things Inquisitor does when Liger is away are bearable if it means I am where I belong.

Punishments

I hurt.

I shouldn’t be so sympathetic. That’s why the Inquisitor hates me.

Liger stands up to him any other time but not this time because I shouldn’t have been messing with the new guy’s ropes. He was tied up that tightly for a reason, and it doesn’t matter that his fingers were turning purple. It wasn’t anything that I couldn’t have healed later. Lots of the reborn Anunnaki have to live with the scars from before I came here. So I shouldn’t waste my efforts on temporary pains that will only encourage the Chosen to discard this life in favor of the previous. When I’m called to help with a new recruit, I’m to do only as the Inquisitor says, no more, no less.

Liger took care of my wounds, but he was none too gentle about it. I feel so rotten about disappointing him. I’m being punished. I was careless. So it’s my fault the new guy tried to kill me before he ran away. I have to learn obedience. I’ve been forbidden from healing myself since there’s nothing wrong with me that won’t heal on its own.

Liger told me a story while he was fixing me up, and I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to get from it, but it’s more than he’s ever said all at once in the three years he’s been watching over me, so I figured I should try to copy it down.

Once upon a time (I added that part, but I tried to use his wording wherever I could remember it right), there was a young Prince whose entire family had been killed by the Assassin right down to his infant nephew in his cradle. The Prince left his land in the hands of his nobles, vowing never to return to his people, nor rest more than a night, nor take a wife, nor provide an heir to his throne until the Assassin was dead by his hand. So he hunted the first murderer high and low, through city and forest, across seas and continents, until at last he had cornered the masked killer.

But the Assassin was sneaky. He escaped into a private garden where he came upon two women and a child. As the Prince was nearly upon him, he snatched up the boy-child and held a knife to his throat, threatening to kill him if the Prince did not withdraw. The old nurse ran towards the palace calling for help while the Lady the Prince took to be the mother of the child stood by in horror. The Prince knew the Assassin would kill the boy regardless of what he did, but he could not bear the responsibility of being the cause of the boy’s death. They watched as the Assassin dragged his hostage to the wall of the garden, climbed a tree and dropped the boy after stabbing him once in the side.

Both the woman and the Prince ran to the wall, but the assassin was gone. The Lady gathered the child into her arms, but he was near death. Even if the Prince had carried him to the palace, he would not have lived to see a physician.

“Please, keep my secret,” the woman said to the Prince and bent low over the child even as men ran up to them with weapons drawn. In a moment, the child stirred and began crying.

Unable to follow his enemy without appearing guilty, the Prince laid down his arms and waited. As the men-at-arms arrived, the Lady called them away from the Prince, explaining that the man who had injured the child had already escaped. The Prince had tried to save them and should be treated with kindness.

Their looks remained dark until the boy agreed that the man had been chasing his attacker. The Prince would just as soon have continued his pursuit of the Assassin, but the King who was among the men, insisted on offering the Prince his hospitality. It became clear as they entered the palace that the woman was not well looked upon by the inhabitants. The boy’s mother appeared, rings dripping from every finger and gathered him to her, fussing over his wounds, now very much diminished. Her sister, for such was the Lady, stood away from the rest and was ignored.

A feast was held in the Prince’s honor, and he was in every way treated like a hero, though he had done nothing. He was plied with so much wine that he barely knew what he was saying. The company was enthralled by the story of his quest, which only reminded him that had he not been chasing the Assassin, the boy might never have been in danger at all. It became so shaming to him that he tried to deflect some of their attention to the aunt who sat at the very last seat at the table, silent and sad.

“How could she have helped?” the lord sneered, and the woman’s sister nodded.

Forgetting the woman’s plea, he said, “She healed him of his wounds.”

The party was plunged into silence. “Witch. I knew she was a witch!” was shouted by several feasters. The nearest made a grab for her, but she fled the table.

The Prince was given a room and the following day, he was given a fat purse and his supplies were replenished as he continued in his quest. Nothing was said of the sister, and he was too shamed to ask.

It was miles down the road that he saw a figure in a long cloak slip away into the trees and gave chase in the belief that it was the Assassin. But when he had chased the person down, he discovered the woman who he had betrayed with his drunken tongue. He released her, and she attempted once more to escape into the woods.

“Stay and forgive me. I am a stranger here and did not realize the damage my words would cause.” He searched his belt and offered her all his remaining funds. It was not much, even with the purse the King he had given him, but he was used to privation in his long hunt.

“Keep it. Word will spread that I am a witch and none will take jewels or gold from my hand lest it become offal when I have gone.”

“Then… at least allow me to escort you to safety.”

“What of your quest?” That stopped him. He could not then break his vow, though he was responsible for the hardship that had come to the Lady. She shook her head, and offered, “If you will have me as your companion, I will protect you from harm.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her how she might defend him, but he recalled how she had healed her nephew. He consented, though not without misgivings. What kind of warrior hides behind a woman, he thought.

Still, she was useful in more ways than one. That she was a healer he already knew, but she could also tell lies from truth and could charm animals to his bow, though she would only do this when there was no other way to fill their bellies. (! o_O)

It was many years that they spent finding and losing the Assassin and in that time, the pair fell in love. The only thing that barred their marriage was the Prince’s vow. He became paranoid of her safety, even more so when the Assassin took an interest in her and attempted to kill her on more than one occasion.

(Here Liger broke off his story and said:) The Assassin is our most hated enemy, left behind to keep us from recalling our true selves by Merodach. He has had many names and has created many slaves over the years. The Lady was Anunnaki, as the Prince’s Family had been, but the Prince himself was Igigi. He may have stood with us in the war or he may have been an enemy who fell during it. Father was only just beginning then to recover and gather us to him. (This is important later.)

Even an immortal killer can grow tired of being hunted, and the closer the Prince and his Lady came to pinning him down, the more often the Assassin focused his attention on the Lady. Though she did not wish to leave his side, the Prince finally convinced her to stay in a place of his choosing whenever it seemed he might confront the Assassin. On one of these occasions, the Prince lost the Assassin yet again but on returning to the hut where he had left his Lady, he found the place in disarray. She was gone, and it would be many years before he would see her again.

Now the Assassin is a wily creature who wears a mask just as we do, but for other reasons than respect for our Father who was nearly destroyed and still has no face. The Assassin wears a mask foremost to disguise himself from those who might recognize him later and also to disguise the fact that he does not age. Being masked, he has used this tactic many times to hide himself in plain sight, pretending to be one of us. Because we were all once Igigi before this plane was colonized and the Anunnaki rose, it can be difficult for us to tell if an Igigi is friend or foe. This is why Father is so very careful in who he chooses to foster and who he kills.

For several months, the Lady had seen masked figures in the wood and cities they passed, and the Prince saw this as a sign that they were getting closer to the Assassin. In fact, we had noticed the Lady and her great power and were intent upon bringing her to father who was not as mobile then as now. So when the Prince went out to hunt the Assassin, we slipped in and stole her away.

It was many, many years before her memories of her former self surfaced, and she forgave us. (Liger actually said “me,” not “us,” before correcting himself, so this is a true story!!) But she never stopped loving her Prince, which irked her keeper, for he had fallen in love with her himself, and they had been quite close in the age before the Igigi betrayed us. He despised the Prince for the love the Lady felt for him and was determined to make her love him.

So when she begged to be allowed to go to her Prince and tell him the Great Truth, this coward suggested restrictions to test his love. One, she could not under and circumstances remove her mask. Two, she could not speak one word. And three, she must somehow convince the Prince to trust her and come with her. If he had been our ally in the Age of Miracles, then he would not need to see her face or hear her words. He would know her and be drawn to her spirit, accompanying her to Father who would adopt him as his own son.

And the Lady went to her Prince, and he did know her. But he saw the mask and believed she had been stolen away by the Assassin and taught to hate him. He believed she had come to distract him from his vows or to kill him. Had she been able to show her face, he would have seen that she had not aged, though he now had more white hairs than black. Had she been allowed to speak, she might have told him where she had been and why she had been unable to return for so long. He knew none of this and because of his hate for the Assassin, he threatened her and drove her out. For good measure, he said if he ever saw her again, he would kill her.

She returned to us, broken and grieving, a state which pleased her cowardly admirer greatly. He begged her to love him instead her faithless Prince, but all she would say was, “I love you as I love all, but my Prince I love more than all.”

He badgered her day and night, telling her how he loved her and would do anything to prove it. Finally she looked at him, her eyes red after many months of weeping and said, “If you love me, go to him and tell him the truth. I am bound by the restrictions of our Father, but you may speak! If you love me, Brother, tell him we do not belong to the Assassin.”

The coward was infuriated by her words, but he hid it well. She did not know that the restrictions placed on her had been his idea. He refused at first to do as she asked, but each time he begged her to love him, her answer was the same. “I you as I love all, but my Prince I love more than all.”

Finally he agreed to go to the Prince, but as you know, Father does not favor those who find loopholes in his edicts. The Coward went to the Prince, who had grown quite old, and reviled him for turning the Lady away. He told him of the War of Souls and that the Lady was someone of importance and left it at that. It was not the message the Lady or Father would have approved.

When Father learned that the Coward had gone to the Prince and betrayed His existence and the fact that He was gathering His forces, Father was furious. It was much to early for anyone to know His plans, and certainly if the Prince betrayed our secret, the Assassin would learn of it and begin hunting us in earnest. Some thought Father would kill both the Lady and the Coward, but the Lady came forward and offered to take any punishment laid on the Coward for getting round Father’s restrictions onto herself in addition to whatever punishment was laid on her.

Father’s punishment was most cruel. He said that the Lady must kill her Prince.

The Coward was relieved that he would not suffer for his actions, and the Lady’s willingness to suffer in his stead moved him to charity. He could not kill the Prince without earning Father’s wrath, but he would help her get to the Prince who had given up his vows entirely and descended into every debauchery he could find in the few short months since the Coward’s visit. He would help the Lady get close enough to kill her Prince, but not without extracting from her a promise that she would be his if he did so. Even then, he was selfish and unkind in his love.

As always she said, “I you as I love all, but my Prince I love more than all.” But this time, she added, “When the deed is done, you may have whatever is left of me.”

This delighted the Coward who did not think to ask how she planned to kill the Prince or what her words meant. He took her to the brothel where the Prince was pissing away his remaining energies, took the Lady’s mask, and smuggled her inside. It was only later when the Prince and Lady were both found dead of poison that the Coward had cause to regret his actions from beginning to end. Her body was retrieved and revived, but her soul had fled from that life, and her form was nothing more than an empty vessel. The Coward smothered the Revenant and vowed if he ever found the Lady again, he would not try to force her to love him.

New Recruit

They brought a new recruit in today and I have to help break them. I hate it, even it's necessary. Liger says it's my duty. He'll stand up to just about anyone who tries to bully me, but when it comes to doing my duty I just gotta suck it up and deal. o.O

Not happy about it, but at least it's something I can do that's useful.

It's like this... once upon a time there was a horrible war and everybody on our side, and more than a few on their side, died. All except our Father who *ALMOST* died. He's been working very, VERY hard ever since to restore our memories because when the Igigi defeated us, they stuck us in bodies of their own making and then erased our memories!

And unfortunately the only way to come close to those memories that's been even halfway successful involves mindgames and torture. I'm really very good at the first. It's the second one I really, really hate. I still remember when I first joined the family and the months and months and months of horror and I STILL can't remember who I was. I mean, at least I didn't go crazy like some, but it totally sucks because I want to remember so bad. I know me and Liger must have known each other because Anunnaki and Igigi will kind of know each other on sight, especially if they were close. And I Liger and I must have been very, very close for him to ONLY talk to me.

......................

Liger's giving me a look to stop playing with my blog and go do my job. :( I gotta go.

Bye for now. <3

in which I introduce myself and tell you about the Family

Hello everyone! I'm Tigercub :) You can call my Ty or Cubby. This is my blog. I'm going to talk about lots of things you probably don't know about here, but I hope I can make you believe me! It's very important that you do!

<--That's a Liger!

Me and my family move around a LOT. We're always busy. Sometimes my brothers and sisters don't have time for me, and Father is almost always away, but I have Liger to take care of me. So it's not so bad. He's my big brother, and he makes sure no one is mean to me. I have a really big family, and some I've never even met! A lot of times when Father takes us into his family, my new brothers and sisters go mad and then they can be very dangerous and hurt themselves or other Siblings. Some of my Siblings think Liger is mad, but he's not. He just doesn't like to talk to them because they're so selfish and care more about being important to Father than doing their jobs right.

I try to do my job and learn as much about everything as anyone will teach me. Even if I can't remember ANY of my past lives like some of my older Siblings, I can do a lot of things they can't. No one knows who I was, but I've heard them whispering that I must have been a general! o.O I don't know about that! I don't feel important. I just want to learn and do my job well and help Father.

That's why Liger talks to me and no one else. He says I may have forgotten who I am, but not my duty. :D He makes me so happy when he says stuff like that! No one else says nice stuff to me. And a lot of times they're jealous. That makes me sad. I didn't ask to have all this power. I am trying to do what I am supposed to; so when the Igigi come back, we can save humanity. I don't know why the others should be jealous of me for that. We're all trying to do the same thing, right?