The Witch Queen’s carriage looked like a huge spider crouching in the palace courtyard. The body of it was a black orb that seemed to be made of overlapping chitinous plates. It was carried about by long insect-like legs instead of wheels. Two tall dark sentries flanked the carriage wielding sinister looking axes. Their heads resembled the skulls of rams with long curving horns that swept up and backwards. They seemed to have red coals in place of eyes and steam issued from their nostrils. The messenger rode in the carriage dressed in a long black cloak that was decorated with black feathers. A black leather mask shaped like a raven’s head covered the top part of his face. A flock of great ravens had gathered in the trees surrounding the palace, and their gravely voices filled the air with cacophonous croaking.

Father’s archers had stationed themselves above the courtyard on balconies and walls, and Father stood defiantly at the gates of the palace, his silver armor gleaming, his hand resting on the hilt of his long sword. Cerebelle was watching the scene from a balcony, her noble countenance spoiled by the tears streaming down her face as her body was wracked with sobs.

“You are not welcome here!” Father shouted in a commanding voice.

“Come now,” the messenger replied. “Is that any way to treat a humble servant of our beloved Queen? We have had a long and weary journey. I would think some refreshments would be in order, perhaps even a feast to mark this momentous occasion.”

“My daughter will not consent to your obscene ritual,” Father replied.

“Not consent?” the messenger said, feigning confusion. “That’s not really possible now is it. She consented by being born. Her consent was granted by your grandfather, King Omiron, when he signed the treaty with our dear Queen Merlina.”

“Under threat of death and destruction!” Father shot back.

“You lost the war!" he cried. "Losing has consequences. You must obey our queen and your daughter must obey you.” He frowned disapprovingly as he glanced up at the balcony where Cerebelle stood. “I certainly hope she won’t keep sniveling all the way to Silver Lake.”

“You shall return to Silver Lake and tell that… that hag to stay out of the Woodland Kingdom and never bother us again!”

Father twitched a single finger and the archers loosed a volley of arrows, but faster than thought, the messenger raised his hand and the arrows all dropped from their flight to clatter helplessly against the cobblestones.

“Hag?” the messenger replied. “Is that anyway to talk about our beloved Queen Merlina? I’m sure she will be most displeased when she hears about it. And let’s have no more of the arrows please. You can see they are ineffective and they are most distracting. Are you really prepared to go to war over this? You know your rabble of misfits would not stand a chance against Queen Merlina’s army.”

“Don’t be so sure of it!” Mother cried as she appeared on a balcony high above the courtyard. Storm clouds gathered behind her, and she looked like a shining white flame. She clutched a vial in her hands, and when she held it aloft, a bolt of lightning came out of the clouds and struck the cobblestones in front of the carriage. The carriage reared up onto its hind legs, the front legs pawing the air like a frightened horse. The messenger fell backwards in the carriage but quickly recovered himself.

“I see you have learned much since our last meeting, Toruda,” he said with an air of familiarity. “Your power has grown considerably, but you are still no match for Queen Merlina.”

“We shall see about that, Dogoth,” Mother replied.

Father had drawn his sword during the distraction and began approaching the sentries which towered over him. They turned toward him preparing their deadly axes. He knew he stood no chance to defeat them, but that would not deter him.

Suddenly a voice called out.

“Stop!”

Everyone turned to look as El-Filla slipped into the courtyard. Her green and gold tunic was frayed and dusty, her boots were covered in mud, but even so, her beauty captured the attention of all. Even the messenger seemed struck dumb, as she strode into the middle of the fray.

“You have come for the tribute, is that correct?” El-Filla asked. “My sister refuses to go, therefore let me take her place. I am not afraid!”

“El-Filla, no!” Father exclaimed. “You must not!”

Mother did not say anything but looked down on her with thoughtful consideration.

“I make this sacrifice for the sake of my sister,” El-Filla called out in a loud voice. “I make this sacrifice for the sake of my family, and for the sake of the Woodland Kingdom!”

“The Woodland Kingdom!” was echoed by the archers.

“I also make this sacrifice for Lady Raven, Queen Merlina, Sovereign of the Silver Lake,” El-Filla said as she bowed low to the messenger. A hush fell over the courtyard, until it was suddenly broken by the croaking of the ravens who seemed to approve of the statement.

Dogoth looked her over for a long time and as his eyes lingered on her figure, they began to gleam with greed. A smile spread across his face revealing his long sharp teeth. He looked up at the largest of the great ravens, and they seemed to have a private conference with their thoughts. Then the raven nodded and Dogoth turned towards Father.

“It is tradition that the eldest be tribute,” he declared in a loud voice, “however exceptions can be made under certain circumstances. I believe this generous offer, by one so young and of such… exquisite beauty, warrants such an exception!”

So it was that El-Filla took her sister's place as the tribute. El-Filla understood that her destiny was far from certain. Most did not survive the ordeal. Some were reduced to shrieking maniacs before the summoning even began. Many would not survive the coupling, and of those few who did, most would not survive the quickening or the ripening of the demonic fruit of the union. In many cases the vessel would be sacrificed to save the spawn.

El-Filla was preparing herself for her departure when Mother came to her.

“Father’s sister was tribute,” Mother said matter of factly. “She endured it fairly well, but things were never quite the same afterwards.”

“Who is Queen Merlina?” El-Filla asked. “How did she come by her powers? Did she really sign a treaty with Grandfather long ago? How old is she?” El-Filla always felt that Mother knew something about everything.

“I’m sorry, El-Filla,” she replied. “These are questions that I do not know the answer to. The only one who truly knows her history is Merlina herself.”

+++++

El-Filla drifted through the ancient halls like a wisp of thistledown, her skin as white as new snow, her hair flowing behind her like a white cloud. Her body had been scrubbed clean, then massaged with scented oils, her hair had been brushed and decorated with pearls and diamonds. Her gown was translucent, iridescent, the labor of a thousand spiders’ silk woven to make the fabric.

She was acutely aware of her senses. The scent of the hall was that of moss, dampness, and old wood, like a bog; acrid and ancient. The slightest sound of her bare feet on the stone floor reverberated with eerie echoes. Light from a distant window cast patterns on the floor of the ancient chamber like red flames on her left, as the sun sank into the forest. To her right, Silver Lake had already settled into a shimmering twilight. Time seemed to stretch out, each moment seemed an eternity. Even the fear building in her breast was something to be cherished. Each beat of her heart caused her body to tremble like the surface of a woodland drum.

El-Filla passed through an archway shaped like a pair of great fungi that opened into a large open chamber lit by flaming braziers around its perimeter. She could see some type of altar on the other side of the shadowy hall that seemed to be caked with blood. Next to the altar was a structure made from two pieces of rough hewn timber in the shape of an X with metal chains and shackles dangling from it; her destination.

Most of the guests had already arrived and they made a motley horde. Surrounding the altar was a troop of elite sentries of the kind that had accompanied the spider carriage to and from the Woodland Kingdom. They stood with axes ready, their skull-like heads gleaming white in the shadowy hall, their eyes glowing red. Denizens of the half-demon army were scattered across the room. They ranged in size from smaller than gnomes to some nearly as tall as a tree. Their forms varied greatly as well. Some resembled mutated goblins with animal features such as talons, claws, tentacles, or wings. Others were thin towering giants or bulky massive ogres. Still others appeared as stately elves or men with only a trace of their demonic ancestry. These last seemed to be the captains and generals of the army.

There were tables strewn around the hall where folk were feasting. There was a group of feral looking goblins who had gathered around a brazier and were roasting some meat and drinking mead from large goblets. There were creatures called kinkoo which had the heads of ravens, feathered bodies, and taloned feet and hands, but no wings. There was a group of solemn looking elves dressed in dark cloaks, a phalanx of gray dwarves wearing finely crafted armor, and a cluster of strange looking gnomes arguing over a complicated diagram they had drawn on their table using chalk. All were representatives of the folk of the Lady Raven’s dominion. It was considered a great honor to be invited. El-Filla’s family had refused the invitation.

When El-Filla entered the chamber, a hush fell over the crowd as they turned and stared at her; her naked body was discernible through the nearly transparent gown. The two most senior of the half-demon generals approached her, bowed to her, and led her to the wooden structure. Her wrists and ankles were bound by shackles which were connected by chains to the rough wood. The shackles locked into place with cunning skill, the work of dwarven smiths. She knew that even those sacrifices that were willing like herself, sometimes lost their nerve after the summoning brought its horrors from the other realm. Escape from the shackles was impossible.

The great lake stretched to the horizon before her. The red moon, Rumon, floated ominously in the sky; a huge mottled orb of maroon and black, its reflection looked like glowing coals on the surface of the lake. Silver Argimon was just a thin crescent in the east.

During the summoning, her image would be projected to the abyssal realm. They would sense not just her physical form, appearance, scent, and voice, but also her thoughts, emotions, memories, hopes, and fears. Some demons were attracted to those most frightened. Others preferred only the purest to corrupt. Some demons were mindless blobs that would just consume the flesh and leave nothing but smoking bones and sinews when they were finished. The more desirable the sacrifice, the more likely a powerful demon would be attracted. El-Filla hoped for a powerful commander. She almost dared hope for a lord of the abyssal realm. It was difficult to predict what characteristics would attract a lord though. Such honors were rare indeed.

Finally Queen Merlina, Lady of Ravens, Sovereign of the Silver Lake, entered the chamber. Her hair was long and black, her skin pale white, her cheekbones high, her lips as red as fresh blood, her eyes like pools at midnight. Her ample bosoms surged from the top of her bodice as if they sought release from their bondage. Her gown was decorated in thousands of crystals of onyx and black feathers, and there was a long train of feathers that followed behind her. She wore a crown of woven bones with great fangs forming its points. A huge raven perched on her shoulder and a dire wolf padded beside her. She rested her hand on the wolf’s neck as she immediately strode to the altar.

“Bring forth the beast!” She cried out in a loud voice.

Two of the dark sentries began dragging a struggling creature from a corner of the hall. It turned out to be a unicorn covered in iron chains, its eyes rolled back in its head with fear, its mouth frothed white foam, but it could not resist the pull of the chains by the two sentries. It was led to the altar.

Merlina put her hands on the unicorn's body and it seemed to go mad. Unicorns cannot stand the touch of anyone impure. Merlina threw her head back and laughed loud and long. She then drew a large onyx blade from inside her robes. She grasped the unicorn's horn in one hand and with the other she raised the blade. The horn seared her palm filling the air with the scent of burnt flesh. Merlina brought the blade down with a sudden stroke, severing the horn from the unicorn while a flash of blinding light filled the hall.

The unicorn collapsed to the floor. Merlina threw the horn into a large brass cauldron on top of the altar which had been simmering with a noxious mixture of ingredients. Two of the half-demons hoisted the limp unicorn's body over the cauldron, while a third came forward, slit the poor creature’s throat and drained its blood into the cauldron. Instead of feeling revulsion, El-filla was surprised to feel a strange blood lust come over her; an ache began to grow in her loins.

Merlina stood over the altar and began chanting her spell. The blood began to boil and the unicorn horn sprang erect and the blood flowed along the spiral grooves, evaporating into the air to form a cloud of pungent smoke. The smoke coalesced into a large oval above the altar and then the air inside began to shimmer like the surface of a mirror. Finally the portal formed and it showed a strange realm indeed. The ground was covered in volcanic rocks and lava oozed from fissures in the ground. The sky overhead was shrouded in dark clouds. Huge mountains loomed on the horizon and strange basalt fortresses rose out of the ground. A great city of brass and flames could be seen in the distance.

A demon with the head of a hyena came into view, sniffed, looked at El-Filla, and began loping towards the portal. Before it could make it to the portal, a great crab-like claw suddenly grabbed the creature, and with a sickening sound it was cut in half. The clawed demon reached the portal and began climbing through. Its head consisted of little more than a mass of writhing tentacles. El-Filla braced herself and turned her head to look away. A gasp went up from the crowd and she glanced back in time to see an onyx greatsword protruding from the head of the monster. A greenish goo oozed onto the floor of the chamber, as the creature was pulled away from the portal by some newcomer. Suddenly, to the amazement of all, a demon lord stepped through the portal.

The demon lord resembled an elf or a man, though he was much larger. His body was covered in large sculpted muscles, his skin was the color of red brick, his eyes gleamed yellow like a cat’s, and two black horns protruded forward from his skull. He glanced around at his surroundings as if he were a bit confused, then he looked upon El-Filla with a lustful gaze.

El-Filla had been bracing herself for this meeting but the demon at first seemed to be surprisingly gentle. He just gazed into her eyes as if he were reading her thoughts. He gently stroked her hair and her cheek with his hand. El-Filla felt a longing to give herself to him fully. He put his lips to hers and she kissed him with her open mouth. His long pointed tongue probed her mouth before forcing itself down her throat. El-Filla’s eyes bulged as she tried hard not to gag on it. He stared into her eyes as if testing her. Eventually he withdrew his tongue and El-Filla gasped for air, her breasts heaving.

The demon moved down her body, kissing her neck and shoulder. Her gown began to interfere with his pleasure and he cut long gashes in it with his black claw-like nails before tearing it away from her torso. He placed his mouth on her right breast, opening his mouth wide to engulf the entire breast, biting it gently with his pointed teeth. He then moved to her left breast and his long tongue coiled around it like a snake, squeezing it while the pointed tip of his tongue teased her nipple. El-Filla released a moan of pleasure and she felt her groin growing moist with anticipation.

The demon withdrew and took a step backward. Suddenly his tongue struck out like a whip, lashing El-Filla’s bosom. She cried out as a red welt began to bloom across her chest. This was more like it! He struck her breasts again with his whip-like tongue. The next stroke struck her groin and her labia began to swell. She savored the exquisiteness of the pain, twisting her body from side to side as she received her tongue lashing. The strokes came faster until her breasts, belly, groin, and thighs were covered with red welts. El-Filla was writhing in ecstacy, juices streamed from her cunt down her inner thighs.

She was getting close to climaxing, when the demon bent over and put his mouth on her cunt and began exploring her inner recesses with his snake-like tongue, savoring the taste of her. The tip of his tongue withdrew, circled her clit a few times and then took some long strokes along her labia before it plunged deep inside of her again. He began flicking his tongue in and out of her cunt faster and faster until she felt a tremendous wave of pleasure wash over her and her body began shaking as she reached orgasm. He continued working her over with his tongue until she came again and again and the hall was filled with the sound of her cries.

Of the demon lord’s sex nothing could be seen at first, for between its great legs was a hood or cloak of the demon’s hide that was like leather, but now a thing emerged from beneath the cloak that was like a crimson mushroom sprouting from the ground. The demon tore the chains from the wooden beams, picked up El-Filla around the waist, and held her off her feet as he began pushing his giant phallus against her slit. A slime began to extrude from the tip of his phallus and somehow it seemed to cause El-Filla’s cunt to expand enough to allow him entrance.

The great phallus felt as hot as fresh blood as it surged into her, penetrating until El-Filla felt it could go no further. She felt a brief relief when he pulled it nearly all the way out, but he immediately thrust forward again and began pumping her with long powerful strokes. The phallus continued to grow in girth as well forcing her open wider and wider as he ground against her. El-Filla's belly would swell so much when he pushed into her that she looked pregnant and she put her hands on her belly marveling at how distended it was.

The demon began pounding faster and faster until its movement appeared as a blur to those in the hall. El-Filla let out an ecstatic cry like the wail of a banshee in the night, a great howl that pierced the ears and minds of those who watched in the hall, until all present felt her ecstasy. The males found themselves erect and spurting ejaculate involuntarily, the females felt themselves grow wet like beasts in heat and fell into an orgasmic swoon. It was said that in ages to come the echoes of El-Filla’s cry could sometimes be heard in the chamber and it could have a similar effect on those who heard it.

El-Filla felt her body was about to shatter like it was made of glass. The feeling seemed to spread from her groin upwards until her body and mind shattered into fragments as a tidal wave of pleasure swept over her being. Each shard erupted in an explosion of pleasure, over and over again, until there was nothing left of her body or mind but a fine dust. Finally even the dust dissolved, and all that remained was a brilliant white light.

A low growl began somewhere in the demon’s chest which increased to a great howl that shook the hall as it reached its climax. The demon’s black seed began to spill into El-Filla until it overflowed down her legs burning them like molten pitch.

El-Filla felt like she was floating in a white void. After a period of time that seemed like an age, she became aware of something else in the void, it seemed far away or very small. A round circle. As she focused on it, it seemed to grow and El-Filla knew it was important in some way. It was part of her and yet not part of her. Her first egg, her perfect egg, waited in her womb. The seed seemed to have a mind of its own as it sought the egg, but the egg was its match in many ways. The two met and the demon seed flowed around the egg in a spiral like a black tentacle until it was completely engulfed, the egg relented, allowing itself to be quickened. It bonded in her womb and El-Filla suddenly found herself aware of her surroundings and whole again.

The demon pulled his phallus from the princess and as it sprang free its black seed spilled across her body, great spurts of it striped her belly and her breast, splashes fell on her neck and face, drops splashed on her chin, lips, cheek, eye, and hair. She probed a drop with her tongue to get a taste of it. Everywhere that the demon seed fell it burned and burrowed into her flesh, and great welts of blackened purple grew, a stain on her great beauty. The mark of the demon seed would remain with her all her days and most that saw her would turn away in disgust or fear. But El-Filla wore the marks of the demon seed as a badge of honor.

The demon stood up and turned to stalk into the hall, but the portal was closing, and he was drawn into it against his will. The portal closed, the smoke dissipated, and the demon was gone.

+++++

The moon Rumon was new when the time came for El-Filla to deliver. The spawn had grown with incredible speed and El-Filla had been ravenously hungry during the pregnancy. She especially had a craving for meat which she ate raw and bloody. Queen Merlina had congratulated her on her performance and came to see El-Filla frequently as her belly swelled. Merlina seemed to think the spawn would be a great prodigy. A group of wizards came to examine the marks on her. They tried spells and potions but nothing would remove the mark of the demon seed.

The new born child looked as sweet as any elf, except that his skin was red as clay, and he had two bumps on his head which would someday grow to be his horns. El-Filla named him Cambrumon. The child refused to suckle on her left breast but would only suckle on the breast that had been splattered with the demon seed. The milk produced by it was a pungent nectar with a strong flavor.

Some events permanently change a person. El-Filla’s family tried to visit her, but she refused to see them. She was no longer the joyful carefree woman of her youth but had grown solemn and thoughtful. Her eye that had been splattered with demon seed developed a strange ability. She found she could see into the past or the future a little. She could also see things far away, and even into other realms like a portal. The visions were often strange and El-Filla was not able to control what it might show her. El-Filla began to spend more time with Queen Merlina and El-Filla began to admire the queen’s powerful magic. The queen seemed to grow fond of El-Filla and as they talked El-Filla began to learn of Merlina’s past.