Deep in the woods of the Carpathian mountains, there is a small cottage sitting in its perfection while the land and plant life around it is twisted, tainted and horrendous. The cottage stands as if built in just previous days but has stood for hundreds of years, and was built by the witch Zyphyra for her and her unborn daughter. Back when Zyphyra was around, the woods were bountiful with fruit and game, and she allowed all the villages nearby to gather what the needed and hunt for their families with no need of payment. She simply told each who gained from her land that they must pledge their loyalty to her. This was no issue, as every human for miles and miles, expanding as far as close kingdoms, all loved Zyphyra. She was kind and loving, would allow orphaned children to live in the woods, in a clearing she had blessed so no matter what may happen, the children would be safe from any event or creature. However, as years passed, problems began to arise, after the birth of Zyphyra daughter was born and grew. The girl was far different than any creature the humans had seen.

Essylt was a beautiful girl, and from her toddling years, she was the center of many individuals obsessions. She was blessed with porcelain skin, without any flaws, and soft was lamb skin leather. She had raven black hair with golden streaks, with bright light lavender eyes that sparkled like gems in any view. As she grew older, she became even more beautiful, with the figure of a goddess or an angel, and men would come from far away lands to visit the enchanted forest and the witch’s ethereal beauty of a daughter. At first it was not problematic, the nearby villages earned more money from the tourism and Zyphyra earned more as well as the men would buy charms and potions before leaving to tell the tales of the witch and her daughter to their comrades.

 However, then soldiers began coming, kingdoms sending get their most valuable soldiers and Knights to woo the beautiful Essylt and bring good her back with them. Zyphyra felt it was time to put a stop to the visitors and used her majyk to transport their little cottage further into the mountain forest, and the land that was once bountiful with food and life began to warp. Without Zyphyra majyk to keep the land nourished with positive majyk, the dark thoughts of those who would come to the forest expecting to see a beautiful woman to be met with disappointment and anger seeped into the ground. The negatively then brought far darker creatures than those of the realm of man.

Demons were attracted to the once blessed land, and began to wander in hordes. Villages lost scores of their population to hungry or horns demons, men were killed and eaten, women raped mercilessly before being killed or forced to bare the demented spawn of the acosting demons. Children were used as slaves until they reached maturity, then depending on gender would meet the same fate as their parents.

For years, the blood of the innocent and foul fluids of demons in ecstacy, warped the wild life, tainted the ground and destroyed the villages to the point that the land was deserted and abandoned. The humans that were left were those who worshipped the demons in exchange for powers which they used to torment others of their own, until they became as twisted and foul as the demons who used them.

Zyphyra knew of all of it, but she kept it secret from her daughter. Essylt was naive to the world, and didn’t realize her mother was wasting away using so much majyk, until finally, Zyphyra could keep up the majyk no longer, and her life forced slipped away. Essylt found her days later, her mother reduced to dust and a cloak at the edge of the woods where the blessed and the twisted land met.

Essylt was extremely skilled in majyk herself, being a half Ling, however, she didn’t realize the reason she was so skilled, and why she had to be hidden, was because the man who had fathered her was Lucifer himself, and his blood called to creatures whose souls were demented and disgusting from the dark energy that consumed them.

Essylt tried her best, putting up her own barrier, but it was not nearly as strong g. It could keep out lesser demons, but those with a hold on their power could walk through it without injury. There were traps, charms and spells in place to prevent them from coming get further, but with each demon that was stopped, another stronger one would make it further into the blessed land. Until eventually, Essylt could see them from the windows of her cottage. The cottage itself would be impenetrable,  however eventually she would have to step out of the cottage for herbs or food, so it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened.

Essylt had adorned herself in her mother’s cloak, blessed by her ashes, and covered with runes, talismans and charms to act as a shield so she could collect food. There was a fruiting apple tree only fifteen feet from the door, but only feet behind it, there was a powerful demon, watching and waiting for her. She took a deep breathes and chanted a spell as she opened the door and took a tentative step outside. Barely out the door and the miasma permeating from the demon made her vision blur, she felt bile biting at her throat, but she kept it down and continued chanting.