Lord Everling

This book is titled "The Monsters - by Maria Scalius". It is a fictional account of a young couple and how they found shelter for the night in the Nektulos Forest.

It was a dark and stormy night. A young couple, having been lost for days in the Nektulos forest, now sought shelter from the rain. As they aimlessly wandered, a bolt of lighting struck the earth in a nearby valley. As they glanced over at the flash, they saw their only hope for shelter - a castle.

As the young couple quickly approached the castle, they were relieved to see candlelights in the windows. They banged on the front door and were shortly greeted by the butler. The couple was invited inside at once and told they could stay there for the night, only as long as the master of the castle gave his permission.

The young couple was led to what appeared to be a workshop of sorts and told to wait there. All manner of strange instruments lined the shelves of the workshop, which were all arranged around what appeared to be two coffins. The young man walked up to one of the caskets, fully intent on peering inside. At that moment, a shadow stretched out from the doorway

The shadow belonged to an old man who introduced himself as Lord Everling, owner of the castle. He told them they were welcome to stay the night if they so desired. He apologized in advance, however, for any noise that might disturb their rest. He explained that tonight he would finally complete his greatest creations to date.

The young couple expressed interest in his creation. Everling invited them to watch its completion, but asked them to stay out of the way. He then called in his assistants who gathered around the coffins. All of the women were of varying ages, from little girl to young woman, yet they all shared the same face. Everling introduced them one by one, explaining they were his daughters.

For the next several hours, the couple watched as Everling, assisted by his daughters, adjusted the various instruments around the workshops. When he was done, the hush in the room was deafing. A moment later, a bolt of lightning coursed down a rod, straight into the caskets. Lord Everling stepped over to the coffins and removed the lids, smiling proudly.