She's lowered the convertible roof of the car and the radio's blaring Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer". 

Everything happens in 8 year cycles it seems. That was also incidentally the time that it had been since she'd last visited her sister at her new place in Pyhämaa. The county name is translated literally as "Holy Land" from the natives grunts that they call language. So an apt habitat for a god's daughter? 

Her fair headed sister, a true shine on her brow, had said she'd had a surprise for her, but the bitch had refused to go into any more detail than that.  

"Well I've going to stop soon and taste the local atmosphere sooner." She said to no one in particular while flipping the bird to a few skaters while running a red light. 

"...me on my way to you..." She nodded in tune with the song. 

 

*Earlier on the phone*

 

"You'll see then, a lot happens when you live among mortals. You've probably just indulged in your baser instincts in the lands of the rising sun." 

__________________________________________________ 

 

The kiosk has a return key policy. An awkward wooden plaque attached to the dainty thing. Quite nice stall actually. Hardly any piss on the floors. Her phone rings. It's her sister. She tucks the key into her jean's back-pocket and answers. Silence for a moment and the phone hangs up.  

"Shit". Redial. 

The ringtone blares right around the corner. It's Handel's "Sarabande". The lingering forlorn end of the piece. 

Two men come at her with knifes. A sidestep, broken shinbone for the bearded one; his kukri disarmed and taken, a swirling thrust to the jugular for hooded one. They both fall. She kicks the first in the face. Hard. They glow with power. Gravel is strirred. She turns quickly. 

Sharp crack and pain. The advancing third assailant steadies his handgun and lowers his stance and gladius, putting another round in her chest before she has time to dodge. 

Stumbling to her knees she flings a knife at the assailant and she swiftly stabs a hole in both of the men's heads. Wrong move. This fucker is not kidding and he's fast. The knife buries itself in his gun(fun)hand and he still just keeps on coming. 

He jumps over her in a wild flurry of steel bringing his sword down in a deadly arc. It connects bone, more crushing than slashing, and is yanked free. The kiosk wall is sprayed with a reddish spurt of blood. It coagulates a second later and her wound is already knitting with a fast dull luminant throb.

 

They stare at each other. He smiles and breaths a lingering lick of fire between his lips curled into an impossible sneer. She coughes up a bloody string of saliva down her yellow sunflower shirt.

 

"Blood-light... all for me. Prepare to be eaten, morsel." It croons.

 

She cannot stand. The wounds have become unbearable, this Nött-born has shot her right through vital organs. She tries to summon everyconcept, but it is only enough to stop him for a few seconds. 

 

"Your fighting style is familiar. What have you done with my sister!" She asks.

 

His smile grows to impossible proportions ripping the shell of its face apart. Flesh tears and the rest of its hair starts to burn falling away in flakes.

 

"My name is Aleksi. Die!" 

 

A deafening keen of a car alarm stops him in mid-lunge for just for a moment. 

 

*Tableau*


Local teenagers, four of them; trying to steal her car. All rock'n roll, beer and cigarettes.

They stare horrified at the bloody asphalt and the crazy people trying to kill each other in front of the toilets. 

 

She rushes the daemon. It turns the sword skilfully bringing it upwards in a practised nito stop-hit manoeuvre, but she catches it with the guard of her dagger and shoves the heavier sword to the side. Stab, and she catches the creature's forearm, crushing and grinding bones to dust. The jagged edges of bones smoulder and she lowers her curved knife again. It catches her by the wrist with its working hand trying to keep her away, but is not strong enough. Slowly, oh ever slowly, the blade is embedded through the chin, finally pinning the thing to the wall of the kiosk. 

 

"Fuck off." 

 Farewell Aleksi. Farewell kids. She speeds off wounds healed already. Angry. 

 _________________________________________________________________


It's all a blur afterwards.


A very early morning car ride turned into carnage at the house. She was happy; going to spend a joyful holiday with her sister.

She'd tucked The Sword inside a sleeping mattress. It was wrapped carefully with tarnished yellow burial ribbons. The house was burning and surrounded by rescue units when she arrived. She ran inside and...

Found her.

"Eyes burned to embers."

Where we learn that she finds her sister dead at the hands of the shadowspawn and her baby stolen. She hunts them down for answers. They tell her it's Nött all behind it and where she can be found.

They are found wanting in preventing her. Many shadows are de-fanged. Destroyed.

Their fire/shadow leader, Amy, when questioned, sings in a mocking tone ...

"I am the zeroth luminati that has taken human form. There are many among the legions of Hell that call me master. I have great protection and faith. I am not afraid of the dark. I'll tell you where to go."


"There is a house in Uusikaupunki
They call the Lifeless Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor soul
And Lord, I know I'm one."


She cut its hands clean off, then beheaded it swiftly. She took the body to water and let it float. The head she took with her.

____________________________________________________________

She invokes the Moon Court by waiting for night and prays for audience.

The moon god Sin is dead at the hooves of the Nött. Instead she must negotiate with the Black Knight, Ashor, servitor of Anonymvs. He shares: "That is no longer my name. I am the counter without weight." And says no.

She offers radius solis (Sun Beam) as a boon. Ashor takes it, ribbons and all. He holds his hands like a waiting cradle after attaching the blade to his back. Kneeling down to receive the child. "The vessel will be safe, as anything can be at a time like this. I swear."

The baby giggles and pours it's mother's spark into Helena. She starts to glow with the power of two daughters of the sun. He is safe. Time to find some answers and kick some ass. Plan A is always through.

Where we learn that this is Helena.

___________________________________

Some never learn, some yearn.

PART 3