Dawn Ch 01

The Grotto

You like to think you're a good person. You try to do what's best, fight for what's right, always stand your ground. All of that kind of stuff. You put a lot of effort into forming that image of yourself, and even if you slip up sometimes, you're still getting by.

"Hey, dipshit! Don't get lost in the reverie, that's a good way to slip and break your neck!" You tore your gaze from the pale stone walls surrounding you and flicked off Eva, your best friend of the last two years and, as she describes it, the reason you weren't yet dead from walking off a cliff or into traffic.

"What's got you so pensive, huh?" she asks, finishing hooking the rope to the cave's wall.

"Just thinking about life and how badly I must have fucked it to end up 200 feet underneath rural Kentucky with a psych major instead of, like, an actual spelunker."

Eva scoffed. "'An actual spelunker'? I'm more of a spelunker than you!"

"Never debated that, I'm just not sure if you're a good enough spelunker that you're 'trespass-in-a-national-park' good."

"I'm above and beyond, Robin." She winked at you as she performed one last yank test on the now-fastened rope. "Above. And. Beyond." She made her way down the rope. You rolled your eyes and followed her.

You had to admit, it was a beautiful cave. The two of you had driven down from Illinois earlier that weekend, and had camped the night before in a tucked-away corner of Mammoth Cave National Park. This morning, Eva had discovered a promising looking hole in the ground, and lo and behold, here you were: following your friend down a cliff with absolutely no chance of survival if one of you twisted an ankle. Living the dream.

So," you started again as your toes touched the floor. "Why isn't Rick here, exactly?" Rick, Eva's boyfriend of three months, was as the British say, a proper knob. He wasn't particularly bad at romance, but he simply shared no interests with Eva. He also carried with him your typical rich-kid-at-U-Chicago energy, which had always given you a bad taste in your mouth about him.

"Oh, you know Rick. He had to go do something or other with his family." Eva turned her face away from you for a moment, before turning back, temporarily blinding you with the flashlight on her helmet. "Hey, maybe he'll get some cash from his mom and buy me something pretty."

You laughed, the sound echoing from the walls. "Well, that'd make it all worth it!" Eva joined your laughter. It was good to be out together. You and her had six more weeks of university before your sophomore years were over and you could finally get to the real part of college. The two of you hiked on, the cave curving and dropping slightly, but never getting claustrophobic.

It was crazy this had never been mapped out before

, you thought before pushing the thought out of your mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"WOAH! ROBIN, HURRY YOUR SLOW ASS UP AND LOOK AT THIS!"

Your legs, your poor, poor legs, how they begged you not to continue. It had been an hour, but so long as there was a spot to put one foot in front of the other, Eva would take two. You pushed yourself around a curve, seeing Eva standing on a small incline, turned back to you with a hand extended to help you up. Even illuminated only by the light of your head lamp, she was beautiful: her auburn hair fell in locks across her shoulders, framing her pale face cutely. Her stature was more petite, only being 5'2", but she made up for it in pure adventurous spirit and the ability to consistently outperform you in bad decision making.

Grabbing her hand, you got onto the incline. She was right, the view was gorgeous. From your light, it was a reflectively wonderland of white stone. In the centre, there was a surprisingly clear pool of water. There didn't seem to be an exit, marking this as the end of the trail, but this little grotto was worth it.

Eva let out a satisfied sigh and leaned against your arm. "Isn't this perfect?" You nodded, satisfied with this trip (despite your legs' continued protest). You looked to Eva before-

Oh no.

She had an Eva Grin.

Before you could stop her, she was already leaping off the incline into the water. You braced yourself for the sounds of her screaming after her legs break on the shallow bottom but...

Nothing. She broke the surface laughing, allowing you to let out a sigh of relief.

"Eva!" You yelled as she continued laughing in the water. "All your gear is gonna be ruined! Also, we had no idea how deep that water was!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Eva said between laughs as she doggy-paddled her way back to dry land. "I put all my shit over there." Eva gestured towards a dimly-lit corner by the entrance. "Oh, you shoulda seen your FACE. Too good."

You had serious doubts she could see your face given that, now that you think about it, she hadn't been wearing her helmet before she jumped, but you let her have it. "Well, as long as you knew it wasn't just a shallow puddle," you concede.

"Oh, I had no idea how deep it was. That was a gamble."

Your face, could anyone have seen it, was once again red. You opened your mouth to say something, but then it was all let out in a sigh like a steam vent or particularly bad gas. "Please just don't die when you're in a situation that would leave me as the prime suspect."

Eva giggled adorably. "No promises, R. Now hop in, the water's ice cold and you will

not

get used to it."

Rolling your eyes again, you started to disrobe (Eva took off her already-soaked jacket as you did so). As you took off your helmet, you clicked off the light, leaving you in total darkness.

"Good call, Robin. This'll make it much easier to not drown."

"Oh shut up, you-" But, as you turned towards the general direction her voice had been coming from, you were caught off-guard by a soft blue light coming from the water. "E, you see that?" You took a cautious step towards the water.

"No, Robin, I do not see anything as you turned off the only light. Speaking of that, are you going to undo that any time soon?"

"Huh?" you said, snapping back to reality. "Oh, y-yeah." Fumbling slightly, you turn on the lamp. The blue light was invisible now. Flicking the light on and off again, you saw the light come in and out of existence. It was almost as if you could tell what was projecting it down in the water. Again, you're shaken out of your reverie by Eva.

"Robin, I get you're ADHD and all, but you NEED to learn to not tune people out, especially when you start throwing a rave in their awesome cave grotto." Eva takes your head lamp and puts it with all of your stuff, dimly illuminating the chamber. She then takes her own head lamp and places it on the other side of the grotto, improving the lighting from "sultry mood lighting" to "suburban swimming pool at night".

"Ha, try drowning in that, sucka!" Eva exclaimed. "Alright, let's swim this bitch UP."

You do, enjoying the cold water after that long, annoying hike. After a few minutes, though, your thoughts remain dominated by that blue light. You looked through the water.

It doesn't look that deep,

you thought.

No way in hell I'm explaining to Eva why I'm going deeper into this pool though.

And so, you waited for Eva to turn away before quietly slipping under the water.

The pool was maybe 9 feet deep; definitely nothing to write home about. It remained clear throughout as well. The lower you got, the more the blue light returned, and then you saw it: a necklace, with a spherical blue orb as its clasp. As soon as you touched it, the light died. The burning in your lungs outweighed your desire to question this, so you popped back up.

"Welcome back?" Eva said curiously, sipping her water on the "shoreline". For the record, I wouldn't have had a problem with you diving.

You pulled yourself next to her. "Well I would have."

Eva snorted. "Yeah, because you're boring."

You spent a moment more to catch your breath. "You play trumpet, Eva."

Eva grasped at her chest. "My heart, you wound it so with your anti-trumpet slander!" Finally, she spied the chain in your hand. "Aw, man. We weren't the first ones here."

"Yeah, a bit disappointing. You think it's real gold?" In the light of the lamps, the necklace revealed itself to be a simple golden chain of interlocking links.

"If it hasn't corroded all this time, I'd think so. Too much silver and it would have tarnished." She touched the blue orb. "Kinda gem do you think this is?"

"I don't know. It looks, like, unnaturally blue, right?"

Eva nodded. "Mhm, yup, unnaturally blue. That's the blue that Slenderman painted his house with."

"Sarcasm duly noted, E. I'm putting it on."

"Oh, I always thought a chain would look great on you!" The sarcasm had not left her voice. You ignored it as you slipped it on and-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Were you dead? No, dead people couldn't hurt, and your legs were still sort of burning. Alright, could you see? No, you were blind. Wait, your eyes were just closed.

Opening your eyes and leaving a moment to adjust, you found yourself in a room straight out of a mediaeval drama. You slowly stood, glancing to find a sparsely decorated stone room with a fireplace roaring on the side. You tried to parse the purpose of the room (gotta occupy yourself with something other than your apparent sudden teleportation) when a sudden shift from a chair near the fire caught your attention.

A man, impossibly tall and lanky, rose from the chair. He was dressed in rich velvet robes, and a golden circlet sat atop his head. He turned towards you slowly, his blond hair ratty and clinging onto his scalp. His face and arms were emaciated, with his body hidden under thick fur clothing.

"Ah, finally. It is good to finally see you, Hel. I thought that perhaps Odin would take mercy on me, but-" His eyes fell upon you. You felt chills fill your entire being.

"Sorry," His eyes were beady and his voice raspy. You felt like he could dissolve into dust if a particularly bad breeze got in. "I was under the impression my whole life you would be... well, a woman."

You opened your mouth to speak, but all the moisture had been sapped. The dead man walking looked at you ever more curiously, crossing the distance between you in a single step. Beneath him, you couldn't see him being shorter than 7' tall. You noticed his outfit was actually quite ill-fitting, and despite everything about him, his scent wasn't particularly egregious. He put his icy-cold finger to your cheek.

"You aren't Hel, are you?" the man asked, his voice monotone. You shook your head weakly. The man stepped back, looking down. He sighed, producing a sound reminiscent of sand being poured from a burlap sack. "I'll never leave this damned prison."

After a few minutes of silence, you finally steeled your nerves. No point standing around frozen in terror! "M-Mr., uh, Mr. Emaciated Corpse-"

You were immediately cut off by a more terrifying than usual glare. It softened quickly, though. "Njal. My name is Njal Hákonsson. That you don't know this shows either your stupidity or the world's ignorance."

"I, uh... I've never heard of you." Your voice was barely a whisper.

Njal was pensive for a moment. "What year is it, boy?"

You considered, briefly, mentioning you were twenty, then decided against it. "It's 2022, sir."

Njal studied you further. To be honest, you were getting a little bit used to it. "On Júlíus's calendar?"

"Th- the Gregorian, actually. I-it's pretty much the same, though."

"Hm. I've been phylacteried."

"That's... that's not a word."

"And you're not speaking Norrǿna, but I suspect meaning is taking precedence over the properness of language here."

You had no argument against that. Njal continued:

"So, you discovered my prison?"

"Woah, woah, I discovered a necklace, alright. In a grotto in Kentucky!"

"I do not know what Kentucky is, but I imagine you'd like to return there some time this," Njal paused briefly. "This eternity."

Admittedly Kentucky wasn't exactly a stunning locale, but you probably wouldn't graduate if you took a mid-semester break until the end of eternity. Plus, if this was really some spiritual-communion enraged undead souls shit, you might just be lying on the floor of that cave like a corpse slowly actually dying of exposure.

"Yeah." You say, the fear of the unknown overcome by your sheer confidence (or adrenaline, whichever works).

"Then we need to make a deal, I believe." A smile carved itself across Njal's face. "See, child, I am powerful. Very powerful indeed. But I'm stuck, and I've been stuck for a very, very long time." He one again approached you, bending down unnaturally to make direct eye contact. "You can have that power. And don't think this is one of Loki's tricks -- there is no subtext here. You want your freedom from my prison, I want the sweet release of Helheim's cold winds blowing on me. And you get some superpowers from it. I would take it in a heartbeat."

"I-..." You're at a loss for words. "How would I free you?"

"Oh, that can be discussed once I'm out."

"See, that seems very suspicious."

"Well, it involves magic, and I can't exactly perform magic locked in limbo, can I,

boy

." He really spit that last word out. Seems like Njal has some anger issues. Still, he represents the only possibility of escaping, unless you want to be his roommate for eternity.

You think for a long while. It isn't really a choice, though. You're just bracing yourself. "Alright, Nj-".

But then you are awake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You shoot up, almost lifting yourself off the ground from your latent muscle tension. Your body wasn't in pain. You quickly patted yourself over, double-checking you had all your limbs and things like that. You were suspiciously fine though.

You glanced around. You were still in the grotto. Everything was peaceful; serene, even. You took a moment to appreciate the-

A scream tore through the cave. "ROBIN??!?!?!" Eva rushed over and tackle-hugged you. "ROBIN HOLY SHIT I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD I COULDN'T DECIDE IF I SHOULD CALL THE COPS OR STAY WITH YOU YOU JUST COLLAPSED AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD OH MY GOD ROBIN HOLY SHIT!" The torrent of terrified speech continued as she hugged you. You let yourself melt into her warm embrace.

Oh, this will be a good start.

Wait, what? That wasn't your normal thoughts (duh, it's bolded

and

italicised, obviously it's a totally different voice), that was... it was Njal's voice?

The fuck?

you think, figuring if anything would work to communicate with Njal it would be that.

Oh, nothing, just give it a second.

Eva sniffed slightly as her tears faded. "Are you alright? Are you feeling ok? Th-the necklace, it wouldn't come off."

You touched the phylactery hanging by your neck.

HEY! Watch the fingers, boy! You're very warm, and I've been dead for a thousand years!

You can feel that? Wait, are you the necklace? What are the rules here?

The rules are don't touch the phylactery, fool!

"Are you listening to me, Robin?" Eva interjected.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I am. I'm just still a little... out of it."

Eva exhaled. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Here, have a drink." She handed you a bottle of water, but you couldn't move your hand to drink it. "Robin? Drink the water." You tried and tried, but your arm would not budge.

Don't bother, boy. That can't sustain you anymore. And you do need sustenance.

"What? Then what do I do?" you said aloud.

"Huh?" Eva questioned.

Your sustenance must come from her.

You heard a laugh emanating from the depths of your mind.

"The fuck does that mean, Njal?"

"W-who's Njal...?" Eva took a step back.

It means...

Your hand raised involuntarily. The water bottle fell to the ground, sliding into the water. I know littering isn't the top concern right now, but you better remember to pick that up.

It means your sustenance forevermore will come from the same place as mine: the minds of lesser beings!

"WHAT?!?!" you shouted as the room was filled with a bright glow, the eerie blue of the phylactery. You heard Eva's scream, and then silence as it disappeared.

You were shaking. You were afraid. You felt very... hungry. You felt full, like you would not need food, but a desire for food. Your eyes readjusted to the dim light. Eva was staring at you blankly.

"Uh, Eva?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You, uh... you good?"

"Of course, sir."

What happened to her?

"Oh, you can talk normally now, Robin."

You jumped as the emaciated form of Njal stepped out from a wall like a ghost. Eva turned and curtseyed for the visitor, no fear at all.

"But to answer your question, it is what

you

did to her. And what you did to her is bring her under her first thrall. To free me, and to stay alive, you must continue to do this. Your power will strengthen as you progress."

"But... what happened to her?"

"Oh, that's simple. She is currently entranced. You are able to give her a command. She will be released afterwards. After her first enthrallment, she, and all others, will become addicted to you. After their second, obsessed. After their third..."

he paused, menacingly.

"They will be reborn, and reprogrammed, to your whim... Master Robin."

Well, this was fucked. However, it was fucked in a way that you couldn't do anything about it even if you tried. This was just how it was now. You thought for a moment about how easily you just dismissed the thought of not engaging with this. Then you discarded that thought, because regrets are for losers.

"Eva," you said, feeling power resonating in your voice. She turned to you, still emotionless. "I command you... uh, I..."

"Need some help?"

"No, I, uh..."

"Command her to perform oral sex on you."

"What, but-!" You cut yourself off. Compared to the rest of what he said, this was pretty reasonable and a good test of what you can do. "Alright, actually. Eva, I command you to g- to- to... to become my oral sex slave. Your mouth is mine. My cum is your sustenance. The sole purpose of your throat is to serve as a cocksleeve." Those weren't the words you intended to come out of your mouth.

Eva's eyes lit up. "Of course, sir. I feel my mind changing; you are not just my friend, but the owner of my mouth. I am always ready to blow you, or for you to pull me to my knees so you can fuck my throat."

"Good job! Soon you'll be able to alter her form, too. That will make everything much easier on both of you."

"Well what the fuck does that mean?" you ask, but Njal is gone. Eva blinks.

"So, explain everything to me again? I zoned out."

"What? I don't think I explained everything to you in the first place, Eva..."

"Huh? But everything felt so clear a second ago."

You pause to ponder this. "Alright, I'll explain everything. Just..." you hesitate. This could be a very bad idea. "Just get on your knees so I can fuck your throat while I explain."

There was a silence that felt like it lasted a lifetime. Then, Eva spoke: "Yeah, sure. I was feeling hungry after all the commotion anyways." Eva lowered to her knees, her jeans being the only thing separating her from the cold stone.

You looked at her kneeling and looking up at you expectantly. "Well?" she asked. You acted, almost on impulse, unzipping your pants and pulling out your dick. It was already erect from the erotic display you had just wrought. Eva licked her lips.

You stepped towards her before she grabbed your hips and pulled you to just the right distance. "Ok, go ahead and talk, R!" Your best friend began to caress your balls as she expertly licked your glans, using her left hand to jack you off. It felt better than anything you'd ever gotten before (admittedly, most of your experience was with your right hand).