Master of Death Backstory: Angela Dusklight's Pregnancy By Draconid

Welcome, Guest.

By @Draconid_Jo
POSTED: 22 Jul 2019 04:42
CATEGORY: Short Story
FEATURED: Yes (@banjo2)
(Go to comments)

In order to understand some of the weird and/or unique terms that I use in this story series, I made these glossaries, in which I try to explain what they all mean.

The following story takes place when Helena's mom Angela Dusklight was 6 weeks pregnant with her:

Sarah Lifetender: I have both good news and bad news, I'm afraid…

Angela: What's the good news?

Sarah: The good news is that you ARE pregnant, just like you had hoped.

Angela: Really?! That's wonderful news! What could possibly be bad about that?

Sarah: …The bad news is that your baby is a little… different…

Angela: "Different"? Why would that be a bad thing?

Sarah: Well, you see…

Sarah: There seems to be an intense Dark Magical presence within your baby, almost as though they were cursed…

Angela: "Cursed"? No, that couldn't be possible…

Sarah: …I know.

Sarah: To be honest, I can't even determine the cause of the Darkness with my Healing Magic, let alone actually dispell it…

Angela: …But what does this mean for my baby?

Sarah: Well, as far as I can tell the baby is actually one with the Darkness, and it actually seems to be making them stronger…

Sarah: However, I'm fairly certain that if you try to give birth to your baby, it will kill you…

Angela: Kill me?! How awful! And leave my baby without a mother?!

Angela: …Is there any way that I can cure my baby of this "Darkness"?

Sarah: …I'm afraid not, as the baby seems to be depending upon this Darkness to live…

Sarah: Even if you were to somehow visit the Light Elves of Alfheim or the Angels of Vanaheim, they could probably dispell the Darkness for you, but I don't think that your baby would survive it…

Angela: Oh… I see…

Angela: …So basically either I die or my baby dies then, right?

Sarah: I'm afraid that it seems that way…

Sarah: …I'm sorry.

Angela: …I'm going to need to talk with my husband about this.

Angela called her husband, Christian Dusklight, who was currently deployed in the Suna region far to the east, between the Evilonian Empire and Akushina.

Christian (Telepathy): Hello Angel. What is it?

Angela (Telepathy): I'm afraid that there's something wrong with our baby…

Christian (Telepathy): Something wrong with our baby? So that means that you are pregnant then?

Angela (Telepathy): Yes.

Christian (Telepathy): Well that's great! What's wrong with them exactly?

Angela (Telepathy): …Apparently there's a powerful Darkness inside of her, and if I give birth to her it will kill me…

Christian (Telepathy): KILL YOU?!!!

Christian (Telepathy): The way things are looking over here there's a good chance that I'll be dead before they're even born, and now you're telling me that you'll be dead too?!

Christian (Telepathy): What in Evelyn's name did we do to deserve this?! Should I have fought with them when they forced me to go to war against the Akushinese? Or should I have not gone to the church of that false war god of theirs every day and instead have been executed for heresy?!

Christian (Telepathy): WHY?! Why is this happening to us of all people?!

Angela (Telepathy): …I know how you feel, but we do have an important decision to make given the circumstances…

Christian (Telepathy): …I can't believe that I'm even considering doing something like this right now, as I've always believed that all life was sacred.

Christian (Telepathy): Then again, it's either their life or yours, I suppose, and the thought of you dying at such a young age and leaving our child an orphan…

Christian (Telepathy): …What do you think, Angel? I mean it IS your life that's on the line here, and so it should be your decision to make, not mine…

Angela (Telepathy): …I absolutely refuse to kill my baby, even if I die while giving birth to her.

Christian (Telepathy): I see…

Christian (Telepathy): What about this Darkness though? Will it affect them in any way?

Angela (Telepathy): According to Sarah she's actually dependent upon this Darkness for her survival, so I'm not quite sure…

Angela (Telepathy): I can actually feel this Darkness of hers myself, but it actually doesn't bother me.

Christian (Telepathy): What do you mean…?

Angela (Telepathy): Well, although it's Darkness, it feels like a gentle, kind Darkness, and it actually reminds me a little of Evelyn's Light.

Christian (Telepathy): A kind Darkness…?

Angela (Telepathy): It's hard for me to describe, but I know that my baby isn't evil, even though she's filled with this mysterious Darkness.

Christian (Telepathy): I see… That's a lot different from the darkness of the Snake and its minions…

Christian (Telepathy): …It must be similar to the Holy Darkness of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim.

Angela (Telepathy): Yes, I think that it is, although I think that she might even grow to be more powerful than they are.

Christian (Telepathy): Really? A Human with more powerful magic than the Elves?

Christian (Telepathy): And wait a second… You keep saying "she" and "her"… Did Sarah already figure out the gender of our baby this early?

Angela (Telepathy): No, but I know that she's a girl, and I've decided that I want to name her Helena.

Christian (Telepathy): Helena? That's an unusual name… Is there any particular reason why?

Angela (Telepathy): I'm not quite sure to be honest, but it just seems like that's what her name should be.

Christian (Telepathy): I see… "Helena Dusklight"…

Christian (Telepathy): Well, I suppose Lisa will be the one to raise her then, considering that neither of us will be able to…

Angela (Telepathy): Yes, Lisa has always been a dear friend to us both, and I know that she'll make a great mom, too.

Angela (Telepathy): Plus she's already used to dealing with children, too.

Christian (Telepathy): Hahaha! That's for sure!

Christian (Telepathy): …You're sure that you're OK with going through with this though, right Angel?

Angela (Telepathy): …I'm sure.

Christian (Telepathy): Alright then. Let's hope that our little girl has a better life than we did hiding in the shadows all these years, just because we worshipped Evelyn.

Angela (Telepathy): Yes, let's pray that she has a happy, wonderful life!

Over 7 months later, on October 31st 1000 AE, Helena Dusklight was born, and Angela Dusklight, her fearless, kind, and loving mother, bravely gave up her own life to bring her into the world.

+5 -0

GuiedGui
04 Oct 2020 04:22

Getting German vibes from all the capitalized nouns.

Actually reading through this now :]

Draconid_Jo
05 Oct 2020 03:45
In reply to GuiedGui

Yeah lol, that was (sorta) intentional.
(I borrowed a lot of names from Norse/Germanic mythology.)

And AWESOME!!!!!

GuiedGui
05 Oct 2020 03:57
In reply to Draconid_Jo

Norse myth is amazing, pity that I don't know more of it.

Draconid_Jo
05 Oct 2020 04:38
In reply to GuiedGui

Yeah, my dad's always been pretty into it, so I picked up a lot of it from him.

BTW, Helena Dusklight (and Helena Blackheart, for that matter) was named after Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld, AKA Helheim.
(No wonder she feels so at home down there, lol!)

GuiedGui
05 Oct 2020 05:03
In reply to Draconid_Jo

I thought it was just a random name pulled from the air. Nice to know that :p

Siling-La
20 Jul 2019 18:30

Ok. More than a few times the husband refers to Helena as "them". Is this a mistake or does this have another meaning?

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 19:20
In reply to Siling-La

Just my lousy attempt to use a gender neutral word, as he doesn't yet know the baby's gender, and doesn't catch on to the fact that Angela keeps saying "she" and "her", until a certain point in the conversation.

I thought about using "it" instead, but I thought that might sound weird.

How do you think I should handle it?

Siling-La
20 Jul 2019 19:26
In reply to Draconid_Jo

That is a tough call, but usually he is used when the gender is not known. It, would be grammatically correct, but that doesn't show his concern for a living being. Idk.

banjo2
21 Jul 2019 06:13
In reply to Siling-La

In my opinion, that's not 100% necessary, as it's a character. A character could say "I a bad person" and there wouldn't really be a problem if it was intentional.

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 19:56
In reply to Siling-La

That was my concern with "it", too.

Do you think go with "he"?

Siling-La
20 Jul 2019 19:58
In reply to Draconid_Jo

Over it, or them, I would say yes.

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 20:04
In reply to Siling-La

Alright.

I changed "them" to "him", although I DID leave in "it's either their Life or yours", as I don't think that one sounds that weird.
(If you think it does, I'll change that one, too.)

And thanks, BTW!

Siling-La
20 Jul 2019 20:12
In reply to Draconid_Jo

That one's fine. I love how all your characters are so well-developed! Its incredible!

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 20:26
In reply to Siling-La

Thanks!

In the next Chapter, you'll get to see (or read about, anyway) Helena meeting her 4 new sisters, as well as her new dad, and her (rather ruthless) new mom.

In particular, Winter is a VERY interesting Character IMO, and is also both VERY powerful, and VERY intelligent.

You'll also get to learn a lot about the Truth of Evilonia (that same Truth that Helena already figured out back in Chapter 1, lol), as well as get a better understanding of how Misandria looks at things.
(I'll just tell you right now, though: She is NOT just some Evil Psychopath, and she actually has some admirable qualities, which you will eventually get to see, as well.)

Finrod
21 Jul 2019 09:01
In reply to Draconid_Jo

Just a comment from a 21st century freak, but "it" is pretty dehumanizing, it's for referring to animals or life-less objects really.

TL;DR it's an insult in 2019.

Draconid_Jo
21 Jul 2019 15:40
In reply to Finrod

Yeah, that's why I wanted to avoid using "it", and opted for "him", instead.
(I originally used "them", but it sounded kinda weird, so Siling suggested I change "them" to "him", instead.)

heaven.is.a.joke
21 Jul 2019 17:48
In reply to Draconid_Jo

you could just say, "the child" or "the baby"

Draconid_Jo
21 Jul 2019 22:03
In reply to heaven.is.a.joke

Yeah, DID do that a few times, but I was trying not to over do it and sound weird or anything, like in Harvest Moon: Magical Melody, which my sister played.

You see, in that Game, you DO get to get Married, and even get to have a baby, but it never grows to the point where you can really tell if it's a boy or a girl (it's not as though there's any "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" from the doctor or anything, lol), and they constantly refer to your baby as "the child", rather than even using the name you gave your baby.
(This annoyed the heck out of my sister, BTW.)

banjo2
21 Jul 2019 21:00
In reply to heaven.is.a.joke

the baby

I appreciate anyone who gets that reference

Siling-La
21 Jul 2019 21:00
In reply to heaven.is.a.joke

Oh. I never thought about that.

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 06:25

Sarah Lifetender is Angela's Midwife, BTW.

Anyway, here's a Sneak Peek at Chapter 3:

Winter Adamantia: "Greetings, Helena Dusklight. I've heard much about you."

Helena: "Really? Am I that famous, hehehe?"

Winter: "As you probably already knew, our Mother has been spying on you, whenever she could do so."

Helena: "Yeah, but her spies do a pretty lousy job, and are WAY too obvious."

"Not to mention they can't follow me when I go to Svartalfheim, so they couldn't really learn much about me."

Winter: "That's correct."

"In fact, they've been completely oblivious to the fact that you've had that Dracolich Ghost following you around everywhere."

Draconid_Jo
20 Jul 2019 17:23
In reply to Draconid_Jo

That was probably more of a Teaser, rather than a Sneak Peak, actually.

The conversation between Helena and Winter was editted somewhat to avoid spoilers, as there are a TON of revelations in Chapter 3.

Also, just to clarify, when Christopher calls Angela "Angel", it isn't a typo, but rather that's his nickname for her.

Oh, and a bit of Trivia regarding Angela's name:

In the same way Helena Dusklight apparently has the same first name as Helena Blackheart, The Empress of the Dark Elves, Angela has the same first name as the Empress of the Light Elves, Angela Whiteheart.
(A mere coincidence? Or is there something more to it?)

Master of Death Backstory: Angela Dusklight's Pregnancy

Comments