Prologue
Warning to those who follow:
Evil does
not always wear the face of the unappealing. People don’t usually spend time
gazing into the eyes of the homely. On the contrary, most poor souls are too
busy looking away, or perhaps trying to pretend they don’t notice the unsightly
wart on someone’s face. Yet, they gaze raptly into the eyes of beauty.
Malevolence
can and will display the face of immense loveliness and often not just a
stunning portrait, but one reserved for gods and angels alike. After all, such
is a face with which to become enraptured. Mortals are unable to look away from
those eyes of deepest midnight, set in such perfectly symmetrical beautiful
features, only to be ensnared in the abyss of their own destruction. Most
people don’t bother to look past the façade. If, for some reason, they happen
to catch a glimpse of the vast emptiness lying within the portals to what
should have been a soul, they discount it. Claiming it is nothing more than a
trick of the light. More fool they.
People are
experts at denial, especially with what they don’t understand. Or fear. Which is why those with hollow
souls exist unknown among us. The soulless ones roam the world looking for
something to fill the void inside, craving the emotions they do not have. Human
blood, fueled on strong emotions, provides such nourishment.
Hate and
violence are the most filling and favored, but over time, require vast amounts
of human fodder. These emotions are the easiest to understand and manipulate on
a large and more satisfying degree. It is mere child’s play for these soulless
creatures to manipulate brother to kill brother, or friend to turn on friend,
and then gorge on the resulting hatred and violence. When one is nearby, death
is sure to follow.
All it
takes is a whisper in the right ear—at the right moment. Timing is everything.
Wherever there is war, destruction, fear or strife, there is one without a soul
nearby, filling the desolation with strong emotion. Guaranteeing the escalation
of negative, destructive energies.
However, as
with most things under God’s creation, there are gray areas and exceptions.
Some soulless ones are not evil and merely wish to survive, to exist among us.
Without a soul they must be, but they try to maintain a balance, taking as well
as giving. While one kind kills, the other doesn’t. They even bring a sense of
relief. But there is no easy way to tell the difference between those that do
and those that don’t until it is much too late.
So, if you
happen to catch a glimpse of anyone with black, dead, depthless eyes, it is not
a trick of the light. Look away. Then, Run!
Kalipia, first Chronicler
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