Stephen Oliphant
Treacherous Gluttony
Every man dreams of rescuing a damsel in distress, of becoming a hero. However, reality is never so fantastical. It is often cold and cruel.
When Ron and his brothers discover a beautiful, alien woman trapped on the bottom of the ocean, they are immediately enchanted. But soon, they realize a terrifying truth.
She was sealed away for a purpose. She is no princess. She is something different… something dangerous. She is cursed.
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Suddenly, tales of the ancient gods don’t seem so crazy. It looks like they may have just found one!
Prepare for an adventure that spans the dark reaches of the galaxy. Prepare for the unexpected. Prepare for Treacherous Gluttony…
Prologue
Long ago, an ancient enigma drifted into the light of civilization once again. It had come from the depths of space, from regions lost in time, bearing a solemn warning. However, the creatures that discovered it, failed to understand the importance of what they had found. And so, began a series of events that would tear the galaxy in two…
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Deep within the Dionysus spiral, Isofarm freighter Grinning Skabbat, discovered something entirely unexpected. A strange vessel had drifted into the Akkon Trade Route. The thing was of such foreign design, the crew was wary to board it. Its shape was nothing like the rough, metallic frame of the Grinning Skabbat and the contents of the vessel were even more bizarre. Inside, lay the remains of a body that, at first glance, appeared to be human, however, its frame was massive and tall. The vessel’s only other occupant, was a lone, cube-like object that hovered several feet from the floor. It hummed in an odd, almost musical fashion.
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When the crew attempted to interact with the object, something incredible happened. It began to sing! It sang in an eerie, yet wondrous voice, beautiful beyond any sound mortal ears had heard. Words of a strange and wondrous sort were put to song, touching its hearers’ very souls.
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The contents of the song were recorded as follows:
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Light’s Shadow, the shunned child…
Once whole, now torn in two…
From golden lips dripped false promises and sweet lies.
Minds of delusion unified as stone.
Jealousy, avarice and false virtue grew in hearts of hatred.
The forgotten now honored, corruption now beauty, destruction now renewal.
Treacherous Gluttony…
Our dreams of freedom, our sorest downfall.
Chaos our peace, hatred our love, death our life.
A sacrifice made; fragile bonds now constrain our inexpungible stain.
Depths long forgotten now hide our twisted calamity.
Treacherous Gluttony…
Time will not save us…
The shunned and rejected will be free once more.
The light shall grow dim and the song shall fade, never to sound again.
The nightmare within…
Treacherous Gluttony…
The song brought tears to the eyes of some, dark thoughts to the hearts of others. It begged for someone to divine its meaning. Many saw it as a warning from the ancient Gods, for the cube seemed to sing directly to the mind of the listener, singing in their native tongue.
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The strange cube changed countless hands throughout time as intellectuals and scholars attempted to solve its origin and purpose. The body of the cube’s owner was also examined, but his species remained a mystery. He was the last of an extinct race, a harbinger of calamity. As time passed the origins of the ancient enigma remained unsolved. Slowly, the cube and its message were lost again to the flow of time. The cube, however, continued humming its song until the time it would be fulfilled…