Through Darkness

Deep within the Feywilds, in an area where the leaves on the trees were always bright shades of red, yellow, and orange and the air remained cool but never cold, Leif was daydreaming. The young Eladrin boy had always found this portion of the Feywilds oddly comforting. He knew that the folks on the Material Plane viewed the Autumn season as one symbolizing death and mortality, but Leif didn’t see it that way. He saw it not as the end of one thing, but as a peaceful transition into something else. Leif knew that nothing truly ended and nothing truly began. When one thing “died” it just meant that that thing would come back in multiple forms until it returned to the way it was, despite a long and painful journey. And as the leaves fell to the ground, they would in turn fertilize the soil, beginning the cycle anew again.  

“Hey Leif! What’cha doin’!” a loud, high pitched voice pierced the peace from behind Leif.  

Startled, Leif shot up and lost his balance before falling onto the ground before him. Lickily a pile of leaves broke his fall. 

Lief turned back to see the smiling, oblivious face of his childhood friend, a highly energetic Satyr boy. 

“Oh...um...not really anything right now, Southernwind”. 

“Oh, ok, that’s cool, my dad just left to the Material Plane again and I was walking through the spring portion ya know, talking to all the squirrels and stuff, by the way the summer and spring squirrels aren’t really getting along right now but I think that’ll pass. I don’t really get why they fight so much. Like, the Summer area is only a bit hotter although I guess if you were there all day you’d get kinda cranky too”.

Southernwind seemed to trail off with his sentence again. 

“Did you come over here to tell me that?”

“Oh! That’s right! Where was I? Ok, so I was walking through the Spring portion and I totally saw a dragon!” 

“Really? A dragon? Here?”

“Yeah! Ya wanna come see it?” 

Leif became curious as to what Southernwind thinks he saw. 

“Um...sure, but I have to be back soon”

“Great!” Southernwind exclaimed before grabbing Leif’s hand and running off to the Spring portion. 

The two made their way to where Southernwind said he saw the dragon, but there was nothing in sight. Leif knew that Southernwind, despite seeming very ditzy, was very observant to the world around him, especially when it came to animals and beasts. 

“Southernwind, are you sure that you didn’t just see a gecko really close up to your eye again?” Leif asked. 

“No, it was right here I swear” 

“Ok...well I should be getting home about now, let me know if you find anything else”.

“Alright, goodnight Leif!”

“Goodnight Southernwind”. 

As Leif was walking home, he began to hear chanting in the distance. Curiosity struck him again as he began walking over towards where it seemed to be coming from. As Leif got closer and closer, it became clearer that this was no ordinary chanting, as if there were such a thing. This sounded like it had come from the 9 hells itself. 

Once he got close enough, Leif could see that a group of humanoids were engaged in some sort of ritual. All were wearing dark robes. Immediately, Leif knew that it was time for him to get out of here. But just when he was about to move, he froze. And not like his body just couldn’t move or anything, he literally froze. A sheet of ice formed from underneath him, trapping him in place. Just then, a member of the group raised their head. 

“The vessel has been found. Secure him so that the ritual may commence.” 

Leif’s heart began beating rapidly as the other cult members rose their heads slowly and turned towards him. The next thing he knew, Lief was being dragged into the center of the cult, unable to move within his icy prison. 

“It seems that The Frost Lord  has decided to take the form of an Eladrin boy for this iteration”.

Unable to move or speak, Leif could only watch and listen as the cult completed their ritual. Despite not being able to react, the cult leader seemed to be trying to calm him down. 

“Do not be afraid, child, for your body is necessary for the frost Lord. It will hurt for a while, but eventually…”

The cult leader placed a finger onto Leif’s forehead. 

“You won’t even be in there”.

Leif awoke, lying face down in a pile of snow. It was cold, much colder than it ever would’ve been in the Feywilds. He got up, shivering, and looked around. There was nothing but ice and snow. 

“Hello!?” Leif shouted “Is anyone out there?”

He waited for a few seconds. Then suddenly, as if whispering directly into his ear. 

“The only one out here is me.”

Leif quickly turned around, only to find nothing. 

“Wh-who are you? Where am I?”

Once again, sounding like a whisper from just behind him, Leif heard a response.

“Your body is making quite a good tool for me. But it is so small. It will need time to be viable for me to use. In that time, you will suffer here until you disappear. It shouldn’t take too long, you are a weak child after all”. 

“What are you talking about!?”

“I am I’ze, the Frost Lord. You no longer own this body, it is mine now. Sit here and die” 

Leif hell to his knees, hopeless. Wherever he was right now, it was clear that there was no way out. Tears began to drip from the young Eladrin’s face. However, something strange happened. His tears seemed to be melting the snow underneath him. 

“Wait, no, what are you doing?” the whispering voice asked. 

Suddenly, it began to feel warmer, very warm, and the cold gray sky became bright, so bright that Leif could no longer keep his eyes open. 

When he opened his eyes again, he was in Hell. Specifically, the fourth circle of Hell, Phlegethos. Leif would remain here for years. He searched and searched for anyone, anything that could help him better control this beast inside him. He was able to stay in control some of the time, but every other day or so, I’ze would take over. After gathering up enough willpower, Leif would regain control once again, but be left in a new area of the nine hells with no idea how he got there. Leif began to hear tales of a being in the nine hells that wished to aid souls in need, a cleric woman named Faith. He was able to track her down and explained his situation. 

“Hhhmmmmm...I’ze you say?” Faith asked 

“Yes, he’s some sort of demon lord. I can only control him for so long and it’s getting harder and harder each day. Is there anything you can do to help me?” the tormented elf boy asked. 

“I can not do anything myself, but I’ve heard a friend of mine talk about I’ze before. You seek Brigid”. 

Brigid

Upon hearing that name, Leif’s world went cold and dark. It was different this time. That name seemed to spark something up in I’ze. The frost lord knew that name. And he hated it. 

Leif couldn’t tell how long it had been, but eventually, a warm sensation blessed his cheeks, and he found himself in control of his body once again. He seemed to be lying down in some kind of forest. Before He could look around to try and figure out where he was, the end of a large wooden staff dug into the dirt beside his head forcefully. Lief screamed. He looked up to see an impossibly tall woman with tan skin, long curly red hair adorned with antlers, and a flowing dress made out of leaves that seemed to change color rapidly. The staff was a long twisted tree with a hook shape at the end of it. Upon the hook dangled a metal lantern lit with a blue flame. 

“NO harm will come to the seasons as long as I am around!” The woman said in a commanding tone. 

Leif cowered and held his hands over his face. 

“Please don’t hurt me! I swear it wasn’t me! I’m trying to find Brigid so I can better control him! He’s evil and I want him out now!” 

The woman stood confused. 

“Hmmm, well that’s a new one. Never thought I’d see you cower after all these centuries”.

Lief took his hands away from his face, still shaking with fear. 

“You...you changed forms. Why?”

“Th-that’s the other guy. He seems to prefer the winter form but I like this one and...and...are you going to kill me?”

The woman lifted her staff and planted it in the ground beside her. 

“How do I know this isn’t just some tactic to lower my guard, I’ze?” 

Tears began to stream from Lief’s face. 

“Ok, ok that’s enough. He would never do that”. 

She knelt down and held a hand out to Leif and helped him up.  

“Are...are you Brigid?” Leif asked through his tears. 

“The one and only! Lady of the harvest and connoisseur of chaos!” She said while striking a flamboyant pose. 

“So...so are you a god?”

“No, not quite. That stuff seems boring anyway. I’m more into protecting the harvest while causing some mischief in the process. What about you, kid, you got a name?”. 

“Um...yeah...It’s Leif” 

Brigid got close to get a better look at his face. 

“How old are you, kid? Cuz I know your kind picks a new name when they turn like a hundred or something.” 

“Well...I’ve been wandering around the nine hells for a long time, trying my best to control this...thing but...I honestly lost track of time down there” 

Brigid then got really close to Leif’s eyes. Uncomfortable close. She then raised her staff and. 

“BONK! Your name’s Harvest now. And I swore to protect the harvest so I guess that includes you. So come along, I’ll get you all cleaned up and then we can start making you a warlock”

Leif became more confused than ever. 

“Wait what? Warlock? Harvest? You were just about to kill me and now you want to train me in something?”

“Yes yes, I know I can be quite impulsive. It’s one of my wonderful quirks”. 

“Wh-why do you want to help me?” 

“That thing that’s hijacking your body. I’ve been fighting it for centuries and it’s taken many different forms. Not once have I ever seen someone able to suppress him for even a moment. This is interesting! Oh! It’ll be so much fun having a little warlock around!” 

Leif stood more confused than ever. 

“Well come on then, you smell like shit and I can’t have my warlock going around like that. What would the other archfey say?”

Not sure of what else to do, Leif followed her. 

“Do… do you think you can get rid of him?” 

“Maybe not get rid of, but I can help you keep more control. A lot will be up to you though, you seem to have a strong will, you’ll have to keep that up and then some to take care of him. Just do what I say and you’ll be good...but maybe break some rules every now and then”. 

Finally, Leif got what he wanted. It would take a lot of time and effort, but with Brigid he could finally keep this demon at bay. 

“Ok, I guess I’m your Harvest now”.