The enemy of my enemy

When a treachery proposal is the only possible one, it becomes considerable.

The fatty man sat down on a strong chair made out of stone. He smiled mysteriously.
"My little mice tell me your powers are without limits. Tell me more about them, child."
Lila grinned.
"Well, I am a Reaper and the souls I collect grant me my powers. With those, I can control people's actions. Necromancers and other Reapers are the exception, as they pay their own souls to Death in order to be able to release others. The sad thing is that every power is limited. If I don't free souls, then my powers diminish."
The Soulless rose and slapped her in the face and continued with contempt.
"You things do not free souls. You enslave and kill them. They are a natural element in this world."
Lila rubbed her sore cheek and eye before she answered.
"How can you be sure? I believe something else."
He grabbed her throat and looked her in the eye.
"I think you don't even have a clue what you're talking about and I should kill you on the spot."
Lila pushed away his hand and rose too. She started walking back to her prison cell until the Soulless pushed her against the wall. He came very close, which gave Lila a close-up of his fat face. She was clearly disgusted by it, which the Soulless seemed to take as a compliment. He smiled.
"Still, I know you only have enemies. And those happen to be my enemies too. I heard you're able to enhance Rebel bears' strength. I'll get you the necessary feed, and in return, you help me to create a safe place for the souls. You command and strengthen my warriors. I could use your powers and you could be mighty. "
"You want me to kill my own kind and become a master of your army?"
He pushed her back into the cell.
"Think about the power."

Lila's portrait

'I will always remember everything you taught me,

but please forgive me for the mistakes I'm about to make.'

Lila Syringa

My greatest gratitude for making this awesome artwork goes to Nejoka! Don't forget to visit her Deviant Art profile!

The ally of my ally

Betrayal puts his knife in the back of Trust.

A black eye decorated Corll's happy face as he was leading Lila through a desert. They entered a gray but lively castle not much later. Any guard could see anything arriving from miles away and a welcome party had been arranged to take them to see their leader. Lila was pleased to know Corll was important enough to be brought to there upon entering. When they entered though, things changed. Corll walked up to the ugly, fat and pretentious man who was sitting in the big chair.
'My great leader. I bring you the soul abuser who was the reason your son got killed!' He shouted.
Lila couldn't believe what she heard and before she could protest, two guards seized her. Corll continued:
'Watch out for this one, my friends. She can mess with your mind.'
The fatty rose to his feet, but didn't seem to be slowed down by his weight. He was three times as big as Corll and the fat was everywhere.
'Why should I trust you? You're only human. Who knows where your fealty lies.'
Corll seemed desperate and dropped to his knees.
'Please, great Master Morpher, I did everything I could to save your son's life!'
'Did you now? My little mice did tell me a different story to be honest. You're slow, and using runes to channel some magic isn't real power.' He gestured to two other guards and they took Corll and Lila to a dungeon. Before they left, the Soulless uttered a last warning.
'Stay away from the girl's cell, my friends. She does mess with your mind.' He smiled.
Four long days passed, while the only moment she saw some light was when they opened a small lid to shove her some rotten food. The screams and shouting was everywhere and Lila tried to keep her spirits up. On the fifth day, heavy footsteps arrived near her cell door. It was opened and the light revealed the fat contours of the Soulless. A guard took her by her arm violently. Lila knew the Soulless was not to be commanded by her magic.
'I'll have some questions for you now, girl.'


(Written in Syringa Cross; episode 12 of the web story)

Bar at war

Crossing boundaries ignites distrust and controversy.

The man's name was Corll. He told Lila he would not forget what she did for his leader's son and insisted she'd meet him as soon as possible. She had nowhere to go, so she agreed and they left Ferinta, the city of Necromancers. Corll helped her to understand her world better and told about how Necromancers had been the first 'releasers' to interfere with the existence of souls and how the Reapers came to the lands with their own beliefs and powers. Lila was obviously a reaper, using the power of souls to channel magic skills. Corll most vividly told about the youngest faction, the Rebels. He himself was one, and his leader was called the Soulless. He was a Rebel whose soul had been stolen in an extraordinary extraction performed by a legendary Necromancer. It had lifted all limits to his morphing powers, allowing him to become the most feared warrior in their modern history and king of all Rebels, uniting them in their quest to save the souls. By nightfall, they had reached the border to the Soulless' lands, but Corll insisted they would rest at an interesting bar and inn. Lila smiled as they entered. There were both Necromancers and Reapers sitting at the tables, though never at the same ones. Corll smiled at her and talked out loud.
"Now look here, Lila. These releasers are lurking around near our border to fight against the forces of our Soulless leader."
The whole bar was in awe, as there was obviously an alliance between a Rebel and a Reaper. None of these releasers was fond of the Rebel entering. Add to that the old grudge between them making the Necromancers distrust their like-minded Reaper allies and tensions rose. When one of the Necromancers started insulting Lila, and Reapers in general, all hell broke loose. Lila smiled, for she did not bother engaging the enemy without restraint. She just didn't grow tired of testing the limits of her powers. She fought Necromancers and opposing Reapers. She fought alongside Corll, without having to use her magic on him. She dodged and punched, enhanced his powers and supported him. Everyone seemed to want everyone else dead. Lila laughed aloud as she knew the night was young and this bar was a miniature of her new found war.



(Written in Syringa Cross; episode 11 of the web story)