Incubus

In the village of Nomen Tuum,

an ancient Deer Well is reputed to contain healing waters.

In certain cases, people have been restored to seeming health,

but, more often, have acquired a subtle beauty.

For this reason, the area has attracted the vain and the corrupt

as well as the infirm.

As a place of dark miracles,

the village has become a searching ground for demons.

Manifesting themselves as young women,

the Succubi lure tainted souls into final degradation,

claiming them at the end for the God of Darkness.

Salt!

Are the marks on my face gone?

Am I young?

Beautiful?

Do you want me?

I want you.

What happens to a girl who drinks too much wine in the middle of the day?

She gets caught.

What is my name?

I can't remember my own name.

How do you know I'm clean?

Are you?

No.

You're lying.

Are you hurt?

My forehead...

Wash it off in the sea.

But I cannot walk.

I'll help you.

I'll swim with you, naked.

He was very rich, sister.

Rich and foul and craving punishment.

Tell me about his soul.

His soul, sister?

His soul was tainted, corrupt and rotten, grained with black fibers.

- How many have you claimed today? - Three.

An ugly child dying of hatred,

a widower addicted to grief, and this carrier of disease.

You feel sad, Kia?

I am sad.

The God of Darkness loves you.

Then why does he make us claim these corrupt souls?

Why waste our powers herding swine?

I am weary of luring evil, ugly souls into the pit.

Why do we have to guide them, tempt them, seduce them?

They'll find their own way down to the sewers of Hell.

When wheat ripens, someone has to harvest it.

But why force us to do such ugly work?

Why can't the Incubus rise up out of the fires and slaughter them like sheep?

A soul cannot be forced to join the Legions of Hell.

Each one is given a choice

and when they choose to come to meet us, we then greet them.

Sister, I want more than that.

Surely the God of Darkness would welcome the capture of a noble soul,

clean and good, free of taint, without a shadow of corruption.

Sister, be careful.

I have powers, Amael, powers that must be tested!

You are young, Kia.

You don't know what goodness is.

I want to know! I want to find a saint and cut him down,

corrupt him, crush him, put my foot on his holy neck,

Kia, no!

Make him rave and howl and bleed and weep,

then send him plunging down to the inferno!

Kia, no!

Then, I would be a demon!

Then, I would be the Beast God's best daughter!

Sister, I warn you!

Keep away from the good!

They carry a power that rules the heart, a great power,

mysterious, profound, far beyond your understanding.

Power? What power?

They call it "love".

My Lord of Night, forgive your foolish child.

This water is sweet.

I wonder if it's true that this water has healing powers.

Your color is better.

Fresh air brings me to life.

Your eyes are clear.

For three nights now, I've gone to sleep without hearing thunder,

without dreaming of battles.

You can walk now.

Your wound is healing.

It won't be long before you can run.

We'll plant this in the ground and let it grow roses.

So, Marc, you've decided to live...

...after all?

Marc, look at our faces.

It seems we think alike, so why don't we look alike?

You've got to confess, except for our name,

no one would ever know we were brother and sister.

People know.

They sense it.

The same blood, same heart...

...same soul.

Sister, for the last time, I beg you, don't try to take him.

He is truly good.

Pious? God-fearing?

What is so dangerous in that?

He has faced death, Kia.

They all face death, all of them.

He was unafraid.

Is that so pure and noble?

The beasts in the fields have courage.

The smallest bird will beat its wings and claw a weasel in its nest.

But his courage went beyond self-preservation.

When death appeared in a fire-storm,

he would not turn his back on those who had fallen.

He went forward into the eye of the storm and brought each one back to life.

I warn you, Kia, that quiet, modest man who seeks no honors, no rewards,

that gentle person who seeks only peace, that man is a hero!

He is a mortal man!

A great hero, Kia, great and good!

Then he has a soul worth fighting for!

There are no heroes burning in the fires of Hell!

No martyrs and no saints!

Don't try to stop me, Amael. I warn you!

Be careful of protecting me.

Beware of pity and compassion.

Beware of tears.

Is this your land?

I live here.

Do you know the roads?

I know the mill road and the river.

Six of us were on our way to work in the harvest.

The sign at the crossroad was broken by the wind, so we each took different paths.

Are you lost?

Yes.

When did you last have something to eat?

I do not remember.

Come.

Come.

Sit down.

My sister made some bread.

Arndis!

We have cheese and wine.

Bring some food!

We have a traveler, lost and starving!

I'll get you some water.

I'm alright now. Thank you.

I drank from a well back there.

The Deer Well.

It's supposed to have healing powers,

but it's probably not true.

You ought not to walk through the forest alone.

I have no choice.

Where are you from?

Avernus. By a lake.

It's not a pleasant place.

Why not?

A vapor rises from the water and kills birds.

It's getting dark,

the way it does before a storm, but I don't see any clouds.

It's an eclipse!

I've never seen one!

Don't look at it.

Your pupils open and the flare can burn your eyes.

Is it a sign?

What do you mean?

An omen of good or evil?

Some people see a dragon swallowing the sun.

But it's only the moon, passing between the earth and the sun,

casting a shadow.

It's cold.

Only for a moment.

The cattle are coming in.

They think it is night.

Vespers at noon.

The hens are going to roost.

I hope it doesn't stop them from nesting.

We need the eggs.

Are you afraid?

No. Not now.

Where is Arndis?

Safe, inside the house.

There, it's over.

Do you feel the light returning?

It's morning.

We've spent the night together.

It's time to go.

You're welcome to stay.

When wheat ripens, someone has to harvest it.

But you can't go on alone. Not through the forest.

I can follow the shoreline along the cliffs.

Stay here. Please!

Tell me your name.

My name is Kia.

Kia.

Then let me come with you for a mile or two.

At least until you find the road.

What about your sister?

She is safe.

Marc?

Marc!

Marc, where are you? Help me!

Marc, my eyes, I can't see!

Marc!

Marc?

Marc!