[13] Deep in the heart of the western hills, the people fashioned a mirror so large and pure, a portal to the three universes, a twin to Orus’s mirror in the Great Temple protected by a labyrinth.
[14] Seated in a cave at Cthlyriddth, it overlooked a deep pool of the blood of infants, slain by Hahn’s men as a sacrificial offering, that they, like Orus, might pass through to new worlds and rule over them.
[15] Hahn’s high priest, Caleb, intoned the spell of magic, yet the mirror remained firm. The spell was incomplete. In a whisper, Hahn said, “Give me your only daughter.”
[16] “Spill her blood into the pool, and you shall see her in the mirror. From it she shall return and give you great power.”
[17] Caleb and his wife cherished their daughter of ten years, Elizabeth, yet blinded by his devotion to the evil Lord, Caleb agreed, contrary to the wishes of his wife. She had hoped the girl’s destiny was to lay with the King.
[18] Stripped naked before the mirror, the girl wept. Her tiny frame looked thin and pale, her fiery hair was shorn. She was an unbeliever, yet Caleb’s belief would save her.
[19] Her throat slit, she bled into the pool until her body was dry, as Hahn’s men chanted their evil chorus. Elizabeth’s body was then committed to the pool.
[20] It came to pass that the pool erupted in flame, killing Caleb and his priests, yet in the mirror, his girl appeared perfect and beautiful.
[21] Her hair burned as fire, and from the mirror, she stepped, naked as a newborn. She pitied her father, touched him and gave him new life.
[22] Filled with her power and desire, he bedded her, yet she remained unmarked. “Take me to the King,” she commanded, “for he cannot resist me.”
[23] “Cyrus shall take me as his wife, and we shall bear a daughter unlike all other women.”
[24] “Elizabeth,” said Caleb. “No,” said she, “for I am Hora, Demon Goddess of the Western Range, the Red Witch. No man who hears my voice may resist me. My word is law.”
[25] Like any man, Caleb could not resist. He took her to his home, dressed her in finest cloths and set off for the Great Temple.
[26] Hora, in her great deception, joined the novitiate of the Sholoch. Under the cover of piety, she submitted to the Summons.
[27] Cyrus was no normal mortal, but impressed by her beauty and chastity, he wed her, and in her eleventh year, she bore him a daughter, an abomination with white hair and pink eyes.
[28] “Take her away,” said Cyrus. “She is not fit to be daughter of a King.”
[29] “No,” said Hora, “I shall rear her in my chambers, and will make her fitting for your love.” The king banished Hora and her daughter to the furthest wing of the palace, where Hora raised the abomination in secret.
[30] Hora named the girl Morag, meaning ‘great’, the seed of her insidious plan. Her daughter would wield great power.
Eirica Johnstone's Obsession 