The World of Ravenswood: Ravenswood

THE WORLD of

Ravenswood

An Anthology of Tales

BY: WILLIAM L. TRUAX III

Introduction to The World.

And Author Note and Welcome Letter

Author Note::

Greetings and Salutations!

IF I WERE ABLE TO, I would like to shake you WARMLY by the HAND and give you all a proper Greeting; however, the case will be, if this finds you along the way, I hope this GUIDE will help you.

There are many tales inside of here that deal and embark its characters in ways that may make one feel as if the World is stacked against them, the question is will they be able to overcome as we all must? The answer in short is a simple one, read on!

In here you too may find something that is just what you need or want though the possibility of you knowing it or finding it may be of something else.

As it was that I too was handed something long ago I am now passing it all forward, in a way, hurry, read on...

They come.

Contents

THE WORLD of

Ravenswood

Introduction to The World.

Contents

Part 1:

The Forbidden Tales:

A Shocking Disposition

Abomination

Alone and the Way out

Autumn Star Gazing

Call Me Wind

Carol

Castle High - A Tale for My Dearest Morganna

Deadly Curse

Dear Lord and Husband from B

Destiny's Kiss

Doctor whom Helped

Entry 1

Flower or Thing

Inside the Withering Halls of Marie Lowe Hill

Me and the Ghost of YOU

Nocta

Nyx

Star-Dog

Star-Dog 2

The Fragrance of Lilacs

The Letter from Tike

The Nightmare Woods

The Nightmare Woods 2

The Reappearance of Sir Edwin Cole Sr

Witch Hill

Part 2

The Bard Songs

Wizard

Remembrance

Fear and what is it

Sadness and Woe

Eliza and the Power of Self Belief

Hello Friends and Colleagues

Luna and Eila and Fernwood

Two-Hearted Under Fire and Flame

Reconciliation of the Damned Lovers

Love and Understanding

Beast Woman and Her Prince

Willow Finds Belief in Herself

Two Lovers’ Heart Decanting

Dark Poem

Overcoming Grief and Loss

Ophelia and Hazel

Love Found in Brokenness

Song for the Broken and Defeated but Not Alone in the Darkening Light

Emily and Ariana

Loves Rise and Fall

Part 3

Ravenwood

Ravenwood

Captain Ravenscroft, the sole survivor and the Book of the Fallen

Elinore, the Niece of the Captain, identified the body and found the Tomb of the Forgotten and the Book of the Fallen

Elinore and The Fallen Guide, Range of Hades Inferno, Passage through Dis and Whim

The Master Calls

Out of the Fire

The Unified Ravenwood

The Tomb of the Fallen

Enoch, the Devil's Son

The thunderclap or Ravenwood Rises!

Ravenscroft Fall

Ravenwood expands.

Keira

Keira rebuilds Ravenwood.

Keira saves a child.

Dani, Keira’s Lost Child

Dani asks her mother about her real mother.

Keira's Death suddenly occurs.

Tomb of the Citadel of Light & Staircase of Perpetual Night

The first great army

I entomb Dani says.

WE HAD A DEAL! ... MAL!... Dani is missing

Dani does not return...

MAL and Dani

Dani and MAL rebuild Ravenwood

Ravenwood Revived

Ravenwood Manor Revived

The Encounter

Tales of Ravenwood

Ravenwood Rises from the Ashes

A New Life; A New Hope

Kimberly and the Great Divide

Unbreakable

Raven House

Part 1:

The Forbidden Tales:

Of Ravenwood

A Shocking Disposition

It was a shocking disposition that I found myself in on the night of my brother’s passing. Long were the halls that spread over the house, long were the lines and droves of slaves and people alike and akin to he that pulled into the yard with their horse drawn carriages, long were mournful, sorrowful cries of our mother who found him at the bottom of the steps to be what would have been his twenty-first year of birth, the celebration was in his honor and now he was lost and I too were among the damned souls who would be there to mourn instantly with them, along side of them, along side of my mother. My mother, whose accusing eyes were instantly upon mine own and I felt that his death was ingrained as mine or that I should have died instead of him. My brother, who I had just argued with about coming down and greeting those there to see him and how he was once more dead and casting not a glimmer of a shadow anymore upon the floor. It was the moments leading to the appalling disgrace that I brought with when I was sent to fetch him. Me being the eldest of the three of us, now all that remained was I, my dear sister and no one but my mother. My father who died years before due to bouts of hysteria where not even the local priest and all their knowledge were able to appease him help moreover comfort in his time of need and struggles, instead they locked him in a sanitarium where he would consume his last upon the green fairy and was lost to us. It was a year to date when his passing timed that with my brother, who was just now lost to us as well.

The steady breathing of the crowd as they were to debate upon moving the body as if it too were cursed and carried a bag which held within it a lock and key to a madness that would to spawn into their homes upon touching, the steady whispers and drones of slaves calling out to my mother and myself for their safety which was now their own concern. They spoke in prayers in their own native language, for at the time, they were not what one would call civilized as they are now, they still spoke in the tongue of their homeland and of their ancestors before them, they still had their rituals where upon the nights end the fires were bright and in delight as they were celebrating the passing of my brother, and to many as they watched in disbelief at what they called an atrocity, I knew that they were trying to make sure that my brother went from one side of the land, here I would say the land of the living, to that of the land of the dead without worrying of him returning as an angry specter or spook. It was their way to ensure that his passing on would go according to plan and design. With them I found no fault and ignored the counters of those whom wore their hats tight around their heads so as to appear to be better than them or us in general.

But perhaps I speak of things where one would not understand the ways and wiles of our homestead and as such slander was a common place. Yet everyday we found ten or twenty new slaves that were willing to work with us and to be here in the land that we held this way they knew that they were to be safe, and their way of life was not drastically changed by force or any other way for that matter. We, meaning my father, mother, sister, brother, and I were not above those whom worked the land as we too worked well into the night besides them and we too allowed them to shelter inside the house that we all took part in building, stone by stone, wood by wood, yard by yard, it was said that here we were all in it together and all would be treated as so. But it was then, that night, hone year after the passing of my father that my brother too met his untimely end. It was that same night after the fires calmed and the scene became serine and the walk through the town was more monotonous than ever before, after arranging the funeral and ensuring that my brother was laid to rest in the yard by the oak that bore his favorite swing as a child, it was after all this was said and done that I was held captive by the appearance of he upon the roof of the house and the slaves too did see him. It was then that the cries of my sister were to of sounded an alarm that pulsated through my entire body as she was the one who found her, my mother, her body, wine upon the lips and a kiss on her cheek.

I knew not what was to become of us and though none ran away that worked the land, it was said in many a hushed tone and whisper that we were cursed because of them. And it was the foremen whose daughter was made to be with child from my brother two years prior was the one who had cursed the family, and it was made full upon the death of the child as it was born still and when it shown no life upon a mothers’ birth, it was cast into the flames to be forgotten. It was being said that when the foreman took his own life after the death of his grandchild that he enacted the curse upon us, and it would then not stop until all of us were destroyed from within. It was he who made sure that we died and were plucked like flowers in a  vast field of roses were to be mauled over and mulched as we were a torment to he and his, for the life and prize of his daughter and her child lost as well as the act to conceive the child by a white to a woman who knew nothing of the outside and that their child was to become an abomination to all who would have known of it and the disaster it would have brought to the house, why he made the curse to begin with and now after silence of all these years it began to come out and take its toll. Now it was I who buried my mother and sister, it was she who died upon the night thereafter and found in the morning hanging in the doorway of the dining hall whereas I am now the last and buried all members of my family, I write this now to try to make sense of the unsensible and explain the unexplainable, as if all the worries of those caught in here were to open and find me still. There is truly no way to explain it or to escape it.

You are all freed by my writing and words.

If I were to be drained of all my blood, and let it be looked upon by someone who may know how to break it, let it be so as I do not have a child of my own and none were to want to be wed by me or have the curse bared upon them by teeth of an angry ghost or that of a ghoul or some specter thereof, but still, if one could wash me away by the time of death and duty, that would then be the final request.

Abomination

The feeling of being alone and lost, searching for the one that would light the way in the darkness... it is a small feeling of terror... but I digress, I am getting ahead of myself. Please, allow me once more to start again. My name is Quintis Allure, I am a Wizard of sorts, served under the great masters of my time and learned from the works of Socrates, Aristotle, Virgal. They say that I am a learned man, whatever that means now is nothing compared to the horror that I faced that night and with all the knowledge of the heavens and of hell, it was nothing. I still stood there lost and alone in front of that great beast.

I am sure that you are asking yourselves why I use the word great a lot, I will say this much, as I hope that this letter finds its way to the chosen one, that the word GREAT is the best way to describe, it or the thing or the dreamlike state that we all find ourselves in when facing the Great beast. But GREAT is the only word when thinking of the beast or of anyone who came before me, GREAT being the only word allowed. It is not for the fact that I know other words to use, it is just that I am not allowed to.

I was around eighteen in the year of our lord, 1896, I lived in the manner with the Lord at the time as he was my caretaker, for lack of better words, in truth, it was I who took care of HE and myself as well as the staff and the grounds, well, to be frank, I took care of everything while HE sat on His chair and made a fortune. It was that night upon the day of my eighteenth when the dreams started, and I was called upon in my slumber. The sound of the great beast waking me and calling me into the parlor where at once I was to behold him, nay, he was not there that night, nor the night thereafter, yet upon the third call, when I made it to the parlor, I beheld his greatness.

His appeal to me was that of a young man, tall in comparison to myself, though I am not of shortened stature, but the man, whom I thought was a man prior, was but a foot or two taller than I as if he was showing off that he towered over every soul and of everything within his domain. I at once without thinking was upon bended knee and acknowledging he as master and lord. There was a glimmer of admiration within his cold dark eyes, and a small hint that there was something more there that was not to be seen or ever would be seen again. His skin was pale, more so the idea or fact or not having enough sunlight dance upon his skin, he was not yellow in that regard, just a pure white of paleness. He had long raven hair, and as I had mentioned before, his eyes were dark and cold, yet there again seemed to be a fire in there of something more wanting to break free from the shackles that bound them, however it was at this point that I must admit to you, dear reader, that I was taken aback by the mere kindness of the beast as his touch, when his hand pressed against my right shoulder, that it was of gentle nature as if he was but a parental unit from some far off place to the likes of which we cannot fantom. This, in turn, kindness did a great deal to me as I have been shown little in my eighteen years to this point.

It was then that I made allegiance with the being that stood before me and upon my waking I was under his complete control. At first it seemed that I was still myself and all was nothing more than a fancy that I had been longing for, however as the day drove itself onward, I was to discover that the dream was more of a reality than reality and at once I was lost in that. I found myself unsure and unaware as to the who and why when I found myself reading from the books in the library about the tomes and spells from the days in where the Lords and Masters had of Paganism and though knowing that while the Lord that I served was adamant that I must never engage in the fancy of foolery and my time in leisure was not of that of my want but a need to be able to recover the loss and manage the books, I was cast into the thrills and thralls of the stories that I found. Paradise Lost, Thre Divine Comedy, and the likes were all in my hands and it seemed to me at that junction that I had read and understood every aspect and inch of the papers that were bound. Then, a sound jutted out from behind me as if a book had fallen off the shelf in its own manner begging me to read from it and upon the lofting of it from the floor in that room, on that fateful day, I beheld a book unlike no other that I had ever seen before. It weas not something that my Lord and Master had normally kept or if HE had it would have been under locke and key, as it was bound in what appeared to be skin or flesh of some forsaken animal or beast of burden, there seemed to be a face graced upon it and it looked as if it were smiling at me. Nay, I must say, that I was thrilled to behold a smiling book, but it showed no sense of malice or wrong to it, and then I tried opening the locke that sealed it.

There was no movement of it. The locke was in place, there seemed to be no keyhole to which I could insert anything to open it, nor was there anything around or written upon the book to say who to open it. While fumbeling around and moving the book left and right and upside down I appeared to had cut my right index finger, a small paper cut, I paid it no mind at the moment and went about again searching for a way to open the locke, this however, when my blood found its way to the mouth of the face that graced the smiling book, the book spoke!

I grant you access! it had said and went silent once again and the bindings and locke were at once removed and a light emerged from the book that blinded my sight for a moment or two, then I beheld a sight before me of that of ten thousand men and women bound to the leather and lashed for holding it. I found myself standing before the one whom I had seen in my dreams, and it was at that point the torment began.

Here, I write this for anyone to read and in fear that I am to become yet another entry in the Book as I am to forever be bound to the loyalty I made to the great beast and in turn, I was given this one chance to right a wrong and pray that none faulter as I have...

I am sure that they know that I am writing this. Time is short.

Remember this my friends, though I am not going to see you when you get here, nay will you be able to see me in a more bound form but know that I will be near to protect you from the book and all the secrets of madness.

I have written many pages and passages sent to the open word; I hope the message gets through.

Good luck and may the beast guide you for all times.

Alone and the Way out

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind was howling through the trees. I was hiking in the woods, trying to find my way back to camp, but I had gotten turned around and was hopelessly lost.

I stumbled through the underbrush, trying to find any sign of a trail or a landmark, but everything looked the same in the dark. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could feel my breath coming in short gasps. I was scared, really scared, but I knew I had to keep moving if I wanted to make it out alive.

As I trudged through the rain, I heard a branch snap behind me. I spun around, my heart in my throat, but there was nothing there. Just the trees, swaying in the wind. I brushed it off as my imagination and kept walking.

But as I continued on, the feeling of being watched grew stronger. Every time I turned around, there was nothing there, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was following me. The woods had a spooky, eerie feeling that made my skin crawl.

I tried to reassure myself that I would make it out okay. I kept thinking of all the survival skills I had learned, and how I had always been able to rely on myself in tough situations. But as the night wore on, my confidence began to waver. I was cold, wet, and scared, and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep going.

Suddenly, I heard a twig snap, and a low growl echoed through the trees. My heart leapt into my throat, and I froze in terror. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but I could feel the presence of something sinister, lurking just out of sight.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I knew I had to keep going, no matter how scared I was. I couldn’t give up now, not when I was so close to making it out alive.

I kept moving, one step at a time, my senses on high alert. Every sound made me jump, and every shadow seemed to be hiding some kind of monster. But I gritted my teeth and pushed on, knowing that I had to believe in myself if I wanted to survive.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I saw a glimmer of light through the trees. My heart leapt with hope, and I raced towards it, stumbling through the underbrush. As I emerged from the woods, I saw the familiar glow of the campfire, and I collapsed onto the ground, panting, and shivering with relief.

Looking back on that night, I knew that my belief in myself was what had kept me alive. Despite my fear and the spooky setting, I had never given up on myself, and I had made it out okay. And that was something to be proud of.

As I sat by the fire, warming my chilled bones, I couldn’t help but think back on the harrowing experience I had just survived. The woods had been so dark and foreboding, and the feeling of being lost and alone had been almost too much to bear.

But as frightening as the experience had been, there was also something exhilarating about it. I had been forced to rely on my own instincts and skills, to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. And in the end, I had emerged stronger and more confident than ever before.

As I sipped my hot tea and listened to the rain pattering against the tent, I knew that I would never forget that night in the woods. It had been a test of my courage and resilience, and I had come out on top.

But even as I felt a sense of pride in myself, I couldn’t help but shiver at the memory of the growling in the woods. What had been lurking out there in the darkness, watching and waiting? And would I ever be brave enough to face it again?

For now, I was just grateful to be safe and warm, surrounded by the comforting glow of the campfire. I knew that I had a long road ahead of me, filled with more unknown dangers and challenges, but I also knew that I had what it took to face them head-on.

As the night wore on and the storm raged outside, I curled up in my sleeping bag and closed my eyes, drifting off into a deep and peaceful sleep, safe in the knowledge that no matter what lay ahead, I would always believe in myself and my ability to make it through.

The night passed without incident, and as the sun rose over the horizon, I emerged from my tent, feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. The storm had cleared, leaving the air crisp and clear, and I could see for miles across the rolling hills and forests.

As I sat by the fire, sipping my hot coffee and watching the birds flit among the trees, I knew that I had come out of the experience stronger and more confident than ever before. The spooky setting and tense moments of the previous night had tested me in ways I had