#5 The Lotus Carrier

The Lotus Carrier is not your friend. No, really. He is not your friend. He lies. That’s the first rule of the Lotus Carrier. Actually, the first rule is this: do not trust the Lotus Carrier. The second rule: do not trust the Lotus Carrier. The third rule: he lies.

If he had a name before this one, it has long since been lost. Some might theorize he himself had forgotten his name, but all who have met him have perished. (There might be one who has encountered him and lived, but she is scary enough on her own.) . Alas, what word of him exists is folk tale and mystery. But the stories of the Lotus Carrier are not ones you tell to children to encourage good behaviour and heroic deeds. His title is only spoken in the softest of whispers in the most brightly lit rooms, in the shadows of alleys from the lips of terrified oracles, in the fluttering of heartbeats before he silences them forever.

No one knows what he looks like, but his mark is well-known: the unbearable, intoxicating scent of dream lotus, and the still, dead heart. When that scent fills your home, bring out your white mourning dress and ring the brazen bells. Someone you loved has met the Lotus Carrier.

Some foolish, brave souls have tried to fight the Lotus Carrier, but to no avail. He does not mark those brave of heart, who seek glory and godhood and have little room for much else in their minds. His prey is simple: hearts small and cold enough to be devoured in a single gulp, and those with cracks in them so that he may slip inside and feast on them from the inside out.

If the Lotus Carrier comes for you, it does not matter if you are brave or scared, rich or poor, handsome or unsightly. Nothing can save you. No one can help you. You might hold him off to wake once more, trapping him in the labyrinth of your mind, but remember: the Asterion is waiting. He is not coming for you. He is already there.

Sweet dreams.

Category: 2011, Drama, Fantasy, Horror