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)

A blood red square

When you can't go on or back, stand tall and fight with the weapons you possess.

She started running without hesitation, but some black bears stood in her way very quickly. The lilac glow filled her eyes. The bears did not know what happened to them and they started fighting among each other. As she looked around, some soul enslaving Necromancers started to advance towards her. She sighed. The two bears charged them and fought viciously. The square was filled with confusion and chaos. A band of soldiers came rushing towards the fight and turned against the Necromancers too. They were no ordinary ones though, as their army of souls was massive and easily cut through her converted bears and humans. Blood colored the streets and the smell of death was everywhere. Another few Necromancers joined the fight, and that's when the man from before joined the battle. He took Lila by her arm and created a magical shield around them, deflecting every projectile swung at them. Her eyes brightened and she turned her magic towards the man. His magic exploded and the whole square was hit by the huge shockwave this created. Souls incinerated, people were thrown in the air and windows shattered. Lila took the surprised man by his hand and together they ran towards the house. There, Lila realized she was too late. The mistress of the house, who was still under the remnants of Lila's spell, was sitting on the ground, weeping over the recently murdered boy. Lila walked closer and put her hand on the woman's head. She let hers down quietly.

(Written in Syringa Cross; episode 10 of the web story)

A birthday and festvity

Thou shalt not steal... in an better world.

The city was filled with markets and festivity. Parades and spectators marched through the streets while Lila was looking for some food. She carried along a small basket and stole some vegetables at different stands. One of the merchants caught her and tried to grab her by the arm. She managed to escape and ran off with a smile on her face. A soldier had witnessed the commotion and chased her. At another square, she came across a parade with an elephant. Lila used her magic on the animal, it left its route and stood between the two. The lonely soldier quaked with fear as the elephant threatened to charge towards him. Lila smirked and walked up to the soldier.
"There's no need to worry, sir. Just let me go cook for a sick child on my birthday."
The soldier backed off but kept staring at the elephant. Lila walked away carefully, but did not help to change the situation. As she was roaming the streets happily, she heard a voice behind her.
"How is the child?"

(Written in Syringa Cross; episode 9 of the web story)

Tearful eyes

When life escalates, responsability becomes a burden to bear.

The boy was in bad shape and Lila had no other choice than to to take care of him. He was the only one who could tell her what was going on. She carried him towards a small house adjacent to a church. An old man opened the door. When he didn't want to let an exhausted looking girl carrying an unconscious boy in, Lila did not hesitate to use her magic to change his mind. But her lilac glow only made him grab a large dagger and summon a bloodred soul to charge Lila. It grew a lion's head and left paw. Lila dropped the boy and dodged an attack. She charged the old man and disarmed him quickly. She tried to dodge another attack dealt by the soul, but it slashed a deep wound into her upper arm. Turning in pain, she saw an opportunity to cut the soul aggressively. In the heat of the moment, she kept going and stabbed the old man, mortally wounding him. As he collapsed, Lila noticed his wife had seen everything. She stood there frozen to the ground, carrying a meatcleaver, ready to help her husband. After a dreadful stare, she used her lilac glow on her, soothing her tearful eyes. Lila carried the boy inside and sat down next to the woman. She put her hand on her shoulder and knew she had won nothing that night...

(Written in Syringa Cross; episode 8 of the web story)