Luella

Chapter 1

If one was to view Elias from afar, they may assume him to be any other university aged civilian. Some may even believe him to be handsome, thinking of how well his mahogany hair complimented his dark, forest hued eyes. Some believed that his facial structures were reminiscent of the marble statues carved by artists of old, his sculpted jaw and roman nose gave him an air of nobility and heroism. Even the faint, silvery scar that ran from his upper lip to his left eye was romanticised by the unwitting observer. However his looks were deceiving, a delicate rose can hide many a spider within its petals and Elias had many, many spiders tucked away in his thoughts.

Within Elias's very being was something sinister, a dark, corrupted mind with the sickest thoughts of his selfish desires and disturbing fantasies. Fantasies that would turn the stomachs of those unfortunate enough to bear witness to his inner mannerisms. His dignified persona was merely a shell in which his twisted being was allowed to fester and rot, becoming more and more potent with each passing day.

When Elias was still in university, he had been studying for a joint honours degree in both History and English Literature. He was truly dedicated to his studies, as evident by the fact that he would always raise his hand during class and by the string of questions he asked his professors during or after class had ended. All of his essays received unsurpassable grades as well; along with the highest compliments from his teachers. Furthermore they were always handed in early, making him even more favourable. This had earned him the reputation of being a committed student and being somewhat of a teachers pet.

Most of his peers were highly envious of the achievements that Elias would constantly receive and were bored of the young man constantly being placed atop a pedestal by his professors. What also soured their opinion of him was the conceited attitude that he developed, while he was not outrightly rude, he gave the impression that he superior to his fellow classmates and had a condescending tone when talking to them, leading them to believe that he  was a stuck up git.

A small few were curious rather than bitter when it came to Elias, other than his academic prowess little was known about him. They saw him a complex mystery, seemingly impossible to solve but nevertheless intriguing. One or two naive classmates had actually attempted to unravel the vast network of mysteries that wrapped around him. They thought that they could come to know 'the real Elias', and perhaps even form a relationship with him. They were certain that the dark, handsome man was a romantic hero simply waiting to happen but forced to lie beneath a cold and demeaning persona, just yearning for the right person to come along and free him from his shell.

Sadly for them, this was not true. Although they were correct about the feigned personality, their theory of a lonely yet loving soul couldn't have been further from the truth. However by the time that they had realised the severity of their mistake, it was too late for them as they discovered his true nature.

They had seen what no one else should have.

Those unlucky few that had been close to Elias had been forced to bare witness his various interests. Some of these interests were mundane and expected for someone as pretentious as Elias, such as his love for literature, fine arts or obscure 19th century composers. He even had a small library of arcane novels, many of which he had studied whilst in school. Although he did genuinely enjoy these sort of books, they were mostly kept as a disguise for his less than innocent pieces of literature. Tucked amongst the aforementioned books were dozens of books, written with the sole intention of teaching the reader how to harness the powers of the most unspeakable and evil beings.
Demons.

Elias had had a fascination in the paranormal since the age of thirteen, after reading about witchcraft for a history project. Since then, he had delved deep into the morbid practice and had even carried out a few rituals of his own, most of which were successful and only a few resulting in the scars that peppered his body.

Elias had a curious assortment of objects that supported his passion. A lethally sharp athamé, jars of unnamed herbs, hundreds of candles of various sizes and colours, teeth, broken dolls, etc. His proudest possession of all was a subject of gossip amongst his peers, many believed it to be a bizarre rumour or one of the university's many urban legends. However, the small few that had actually seen the speculated item could only wish that it's existence was fictional. They were the ones who had firsthand experiences of the infamous object and the unsettling amount of affection that he showed for it.

The object in question was nothing more than a mannequin and yet Elias had been seen to dote on the figure and caress like a tender lover. It was if that he believed it to be a real, living woman.

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Elias lived with his curious assortment of objects in a melancholy little flat that was situated in the outskirts of town. The building complex itself could be found in the quiet suburban street -by the name of Great Oak- at the edge of The Grey Forest. The titular forest itself, although relatively harmless, was seldom visited due to its heavy atmosphere and dense pockets of fog that even experts were unable to explain. Children were warned not to play in the woods and dog walkers would avoid it completely, preferring to take their dogs to the local park.

Unsurprisingly, Elias was very fond of The Grey Forest, especially when it was raining. It provided him with the perfect place where he could be alone with his thoughts for long periods of time. During these sort of days, he would often find himself wandering aimlessly and sometimes during the dead of night, he would take his beloved to waltz with him, weaving in between the gnarled trees, like lovers from a black and white film.

It was on one such bleak day that he had discovered a small cottage. The cottage was bare with no furnishings whatsoever and was in a clear state of ruin. However this did not stop Elias from instantly claiming the dilapidated ruins as his own.

It should come as no surprise that during the course of time, Elias would move himself and his collection to the cottage. Without the prospect of interference in the form of nosy neighbours or curious classmates, he was free to fully invest himself into his passion. With his mannequin by his side, he was now unstoppable.