dreaddarknessburninglight

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

Tears of the Last Neanderthal.

content warnings: suicidal ideation, gore

Sharp Eyes was the last who remembered the days before the cold. he was never suited to be elder. he knew his place, spotting prey that escaped the notice of the rest of the hunting party, feeling the sun on his skin, singing and dancing with his kin to celebrate a feast. though he could still claim the best sight in the tribe, his muscles were stiff, his bones deformed with age, and now there was no hunting, no sun, no dancing, and no feasts.

now, the last of his people --the last of any people, for all he knew-- huddled in the cave, starving, begging the sun to grant them one last spring, one last chance. Sharp Eyes hated the youngers. maybe if they had tried harder, been more resourceful... but no, he was their elder, and their failures were his. he wished every day that it could have been Arrowhead, or Quick Hands, even Ash Painter, that fool. he would have died in place of any of them, if it meant he didn't have to carry the shame of presiding over the end of their world.

then one night, the last night, he had a dream. in the dream he saw all the possible paths his tribe could've taken, each one covered in shattered bones, and gore, and means of torture he couldn't concieve of. all these paths went on and on, into the black, sunless horizon. when he turned to either side, he saw that there were other tribes, and the same sickening web of futures extended before each of them.

when he awoke, his face was wet with tears, though he felt nothing. when the youngers begged to know what visions came to him in his dream, he cast his eyes upon them, without remorse or judgement, and let his prophecy gurgle from his mouth like purge from a corpse: "It Will Never Again." no one left the cave when the spring came.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

"...kyu, siete, siete, kyu, zero, drei, siete, kyu, zero, khamsa. [BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEP] vosem, vosem, liu, siete, kyu..."

there is a team working to jam the signal worldwide, as well as to automatically archive transcripts. any leaks are to be explained as a test signal being broadcast by mistake, and standard cleanup protocols are to be administered. if a leak results in a breach of the Khonsu Act, a list of any and all possible affected individuals is to be sent to our siblings at The Colossus Helios, to deal with as they see fit. if a transcript or recording needs to be handled for any reason, the individual responsible is to be searched thoroughly for any means of copying the document, and observed by armed guardians for the duraion of the process. any staff who are found to have attempted decryption of the code are to be confined, pending assessment by the Judges of Isfet. we don't know who, or what, is behind The Numbers Station, but we know what they're saying, and any solution is preferable to the public finding out.

-Admin Wesir, of The Order of the Pyramids

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

report from the Order of the Pharos and the Library, regarding something that is not what it seems.

content warning: brief mention of tampering with someone's food.

PHAROS REPORT #952907-3-11/AGENT LYLE SANDERSON/EXAMINATION OF ALLEDGED CRASHED UFO

Local officials were unfriendly, and only became moreso once their bosses confirmed that I am in fact, in charge here. They did play along, though one of them spit in the coffee they gave me. Didn't tell them I knew; my spying would've just upset them more, and besides, I wanted to give them their satisfaction. Anyway, the craft is teardrop shaped, 16x8x4 meters, tapering to 1 meter at the back. exterior is made entirely of an unknown metal, with the only opening being a jagged cavity created on impact; not unusual. the occupants include 4 cadavers of the "grey alien" variety; also not unusual. What is unusual are the construction of the craft, and biology of the crew. Mechanics of onboard systems was nonsensical, and inconsistent with legitimate spacecraft. Autopsies revealed that the occupants, like their craft, could not have functioned, even before the crash. it is clear to me that this was created by someone, likely the Order of the Gardens of Semiramis, in an attempt to cause an outbreak of genuine UFO manifestations, most likely inspired by what came of that Roswell situation. My recommendation would be to hand it over to the Pyramids, and keep a lookout in the area, in case the effect on the psychosphere does end up producing the real deal.

RESPONSE FROM ADMIN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: WE REQUEST, AGENT SANDERSON, THAT IN THE FUTURE YOU LEAVE EXTRAINEOUS INFORMATION OUT OF YOUR REPORTS.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

Light: struggle, order, knowledge, creation, fervor.

Dark: acceptance, chaos, obfuscation, destruction, calm.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

for the record, i will try my best to add content warnings where needed, but if i try to account for everything, i reckon i'll simply paralyze myself with anxiety, and fail to post anything. if something bothers you, feel free to leave a comment telling me so, and i'll see to it.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

the 7 Orders, each named in honor of the wonders of the ancient world.

The Order of the Pharos and the Library is an organization dedicated to shedding Light on dread beings, and preserving information on the paranormal.

headquartered in Alexandria, Egypt. (Light aligned)

fronts: museums, libraries, paranormal investigators/cryptozoologists

The Order of the Pyramids is an organization dedicated to keeping dread beings and information buried in the Darkness.

headquartered in Giza, Egypt. (Dark aligned)

fronts: private collectors, archives, and private detective agencies

The Order of the Gardens of Semiramis is dedicated to dismantling the line between (un)reality and (non)fiction. if they succeed in their goal, the world as we know it will dissolve into an incoherent sea without lies or truths.

headquarters may or may not be in Hillah, Iraq. (unaligned)

fronts: anyone could be an agent, particularly artists, writers, unreliable news publications, and anyone who comes forward with a UFO, cryptid, or ghost sighting

The Order of the Artemisia is dedicated to the cycle of death and rebirth. they see to it that rotten things are burned when it's their time, and tend to the things that bloom from their ashes.

headquartered in Selçuk, Turkey. (Light aligned)

fronts: demolition/construction companies, wilderness restoration organizations

The Order of the Zeus of Phidias is dedicated to unknowing. further details unavailable.

headquartered somewhere in Olympia, Greece. (Dark aligned)

The Order of the Tomb of Mausolus is dedicated to the passing of all things, which includes putting souls to rest, and working to make sure the end of this world comes smoothly and naturally; a whimper, not a bang.

headquartered in Bodrum, Turkey. (dark aligned)

fronts: nursing homes, funeral homes, various non-profit organizations

The Order of the Colossus Helios is dedicated to combating otherworldly forces. exorcists, monster hunters, and destroyers of eldritch tomes. no compromise.

headquartered in Rhodes, Greece. (Light aligned)

fronts: pest/animal control, hunting clubs, paramilitary groups

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

content warnings: claustrophobia, asphyxiation, financial debt, body horror, fate worse than death.

You Are Choking Me, also known as Drown, Swallowing, The Debtor's Prison, and Let Me Out, is the avatar of claustrophobia and suffocation, physical and metaphorical. signs of its manifestation are subtle, at first. tightness of breath, a feeling of unease. whatever you do, do not let it know you are aware, or it will escalate. the walls will close in, the bills will pile up, day by day. you will slide deeper and deeper down its throat, and at the end, it will be so tight that you can't even move an inch, you will asphyxiate, and if you are lucky you will die. stay calm, control your breathing, and maybe, just maybe, it will spit you out.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

EDIT: upon review, this doesn't really mesh with my view of this character, nor does it meet my personal bar for quality.

i'll leave it up, but with the disclaimer that it's not canon.

content warnings: death of a loved one, cancer.

"hello, susan. what, you don't remember me? we've met before." the thing that is not a person says with a lazy grin.

"i believe it was at your mother's funeral. in any case, i'm here on behalf of my... employer. you see, you and your organization have been causing us an awful lot of trouble, and we would like to offer you the chance to reconsider your position." susan flinches as one of the lightbulbs burns out with a pop. she wants to say something, stand up for herself, but she knows that would be as useless as arguing with entropy.

"if you're disinclined to do so... well. your relation to the Light does afford you some personal protection, but let me assure you, your friends, your... remaining family, they are not so lucky." another bulb pops.

"we'll let you think it over, but please, no more funny business in the mean time, eh? oh, and one more thing: you may want to tell your daniel to lay off the smoking; lung cancer is such a nasty way to go."

the last light burns out, and though it's now pitch Dark, she knows her visitor is gone, and she finally allows herself to burst into tears.

-It Will Never Again in conversation with a member of the Order of the Pharos and the Library.

[dreaddarknessburninglight]

i suppose it's best to start with the first thing i wrote for this, before i even considered making it a project. comments, questions, and criticism are, and will always be welcome.

content warning: death of a loved one

it is known as "It Will Never Again", and it is the avatar of endings, of lost futures. from fallen civilizations, to the deaths of loved ones, even something as minor as your first breakup, it was there, it is there, it will be there, feeding on the days that would have been. it cannot (or perhaps prefers not to) kill its victims directly. instead it stalks, steering their lives into tragedy, boxing them in, until they have nothing left to lose. if you or someone you know encounters it in person, you have two options: persist until it is unbearable, and then continue still, until it leaves you in favor of weaker prey. alternatively, it has been known to accept offerings of great and terrible loss.