Chorea Macchabaeorum
They were looking outside, through the window glass.
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- Some Horrors -
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-What has happened to the world? Everything was going so well, my kingdom was prospering. All we can see now is hell on earth, and those… those demonic… - said Queen Isabella, crossing herself while holding Ferdinand's head with the other hand - I can't even find words…
- And what happened to the divinity of kings before God? - asked the gravedigger jokingly. - Of course, you can go out there and clear the way for us, maybe throwing this head at one or two creatures. You see, I had one very similar in my own hands just a few days ago.
- Watch your mouth, you scum. You are addressing a queen! - shouted Cardinal Borgia in a way that his spittles risked the air.
- Oh, you obviously want to receive the same recognition. Please, please forgive my ignorance, Your Eminence, prince of our church. Please, I am nothing more than a dirty bag of excrement, incapable of thinking for myself and only in your service. You see, my prince, why don't you go out there as well and protect us of all from evil? If I were one of those creatures, I would quickly disappear with a single glimpse of your magnanimity. You know my cardinal, god is not here today, only them - he appointed to the window glass with his head - …and this, this is the end of the world, a world that should have ended before starting. My only regret is actually having been forced to give away my little earnings so you could wear this beautiful dress, shining so much like gold.
- You did it in order to be saved, you heretic. Our Holy Mother Church is your way of salvation. I shall see you burning - replied the angry Cardinal.
-are you sure of that my prince? Keep looking outside and we will see about it.
There was only silence and crossing signs after that. Well, not exactly silence, for the sounds of the end of the world kept bleeding their ears.
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“Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.”
Blemmyae - Legends of headless walking torsos, with eyes on their chests, were used to terrify the most superstitious people for centuries, until the first ones were seen charging and attacking everything moving.
Centaurs - This half beast creatures were seen behaving very strangely. They steal human male babies and try to nurse them as if they were their mothers. The babies are never the same again...
Wurdulaks - Revenant creatures that became blood suckers after being biten. Almost as an automatic impulse, they come after their still alive loved ones to share their blood, taking advantage of their spiritual connection.
Cynocephalus - Very fast creatures that were seen coming from southeast regions, running and beheading the helpless. They were mostly seen in large groups, forming an army of the damned.
Happyas - Butcherous half woman half bird creatures that feed mostly from corpses. They are extremely dangerous and attack irrationaly. They are being seen everywhere now…
Satyrs - Frequently seen near dense woods, those creatures practically ‘steal away’ any form of adult human life to abuse them, taking them deep into the forests and damning their souls through lustful sins.
Sea Monks - Strange figures resembling monks and clerics are sometimes seen near waters and ports. In such dreadful times, unholy processions are dragged into the waters following them.
Mermaids - Yet another kind of female creature that attracts men sexually for their own ends. They are usually seen near water places, hiding among corals and stones.
Manticores - A kind of lion with a beautiful woman's head, that loves eating living human flesh. They were seen attracting people through a sweet whistle impossible to resist.
Pygmies - Crazy little warriors that were seen coming by the hundreds from the places where the sun rises, having two heads in a single body. One can easily know when someone is nearby because the heads seem to constantly fight each other.
Mandragora - A Female half-plant creature that attracts drunken men to pollinate them through sexual relations, and a single new wicked fruit will emerge from its only flower. Those men are found dead just a few hours after being together.
Sirins - Another breed of half woman half bird monstrous creature. They were seen mistically attracting unwary ones into their warm embraces, taking them anywhere no one has ever returned from to make accounts.
Arimaspi - These one-eyed monsters were believed to live around Etna, in the far Sicily. They walk around killing, collecting corpses and using them as the most accursed symbols one could imagine…
Gog and Magog - They are Berengar’s bully older brothers. They were particularly mean in life, and are even more so now. After a huge earthquake on the First Day, they showed up in a single body. Berengar has barely escaped them...
Melusine - There was a legend about Melusine, someone who had once been human, told to warn recently joined couples. No one could ever imagine she was real… and actually dangerous.