Chapter One.
There is a place that only one man, and his wife have been allowed to enter. This beautiful, serene place is known by some as the Garden of Eden. It is a lush environment, full of fruitful vegetation and obedient animals that lived only to give the lovers, Adam and Eve, their every desire. According to legend, it was truly a paradise on earth.
Beyond that though, there is another place where no sane man has ever dared to travel. It is a place of monstrous horror and unspoken atrocity. It is a harsh, barren climate known by some as the birth place of evil. There is no plant life, and the only living beings are the vile offspring of the fertile Lilitu.
While there are no humans here, and it has no name, that doesn't mean there are no stories worth telling. On the contrary, there is one story in particular about a young ghoul who came into the peculiar name of Daniel that you may enjoy. This wasn't the name he was born with, but it is the name that changed his life forever.
Daniel was born like any other child of the Lilitu. Spawned on the dirty blood-stained floor of a dark cave, looking up at the gaping maw that was the womb from which he had just emerged. There was no maternal guidance, or instinctual help, so like many creatures, the Lilitu offspring were forced to learn the ways of life quickly, or perish.
Thrust into a kill or be killed world, Daniel took his first stretch and felt something touch his hand. Looking up, he saw something he couldn't comprehend. He wouldn't know it until later, but he was staring into the stillborn eyes of his twin. His first action as a just born infant, would define him for the rest of his long life.
Rolling over onto all fours, Daniel crawled over to the body to examine it better. Through his fresh eyes, the pallid flesh inspired something deep down inside Daniel, causing his mouth to water. Leaning in, unsure of what he was doing, the newborn creature had its first meal, securing his place as ghoul in the world of the Lilitu.
Pulling himself out of the birthing cave, Daniel left his mother, and her apathy behind. You see, the Lilitu was a creature who gave birth to all manner of creature, yet cared not for any of them. She was little more than a factory, producing monstrous abominations that made their home in this horrible place. Daniel stood up and took his first steps away from his first meal and was immediately thrust into a world full of pain. His siblings lived a hard life, scrounging and fighting for every meal. The craggy canyon that they called home was full of caves and other recesses in the sandy walls. Each had been made into a home for another of the Lilitu’s children, until there was no more room. The ones who couldn’t find shelter were forced to live or die in the elements the harsh climate brought.
The pecking order was apparent as each creature did its best to find its place within the deadly society. For the larger ones, food was easy to come by, as they waited outside the birthing cave for a fresh meal to come along. A group of savage beasts, all unique in their horrid appearances, awaited him, just as they had any who had come before. Daniel learned this as he left one gapping maw, only to come face first with another. Before him sat a large mouthed creature who had giant teeth, and massive claws. Its red skin was the color of blood, and its eyes were black and beady. He salivated while looking at Daniel, licking his lips in preparation. Pulling back, Daniel did the best he could to escape before he was roughly snatched up by the clawed hand of a monstrous being. Its mouth seemed as big as its head, as Daniel dangled above the tooth filled hole, looking down into the abyssal throat. The lanky limb that held him in place was nothing but elbows as the boney fingers loosened and tightened their grip on the newborn Daniel, threatening to release him. Unsure what to do, or even what was happening, Daniel hung there, an infant just seconds in life, perhaps seconds from death.
