Evil in the form of a Rat!
Bartholomew with the holy book in his arms had just wished his two brothers, Dominic and Petras, a goodnight. The two brothers left the Cathedral and went to the Estate located on top of Mullbury Hill to rest for the night. Bartholomew wanted to join his brothers, but he had just remembered to return the holy book back onto the altar in the hall of worship.
The priest enters the main hall where the people come to worship the true god. He notices that the chamber has a sinister aura about it whenever nightfall comes. Brother Bartholomew always has an unsettling feeling when he enters the hall of worship during the hours of darkness. The pews where the people sit during the day cast eerie elongated shadows at night. The silhouettes of rats can be seen running across the windowsills, backlit by the moonlight shining through the stain glass. But some how this night was to be different, Bartholomew can sense it; something evil is lurking within the shadows.
As Brother Bartholomew places the holy book upon the altar, he notices a rat staring at him from the aisle way between the two rows of pews.
“Shooo go away rodent. I’ll have nothing to do with you this night”, whimpered the young priest.
Unfortunately for Brother Bartholomew, the rat just stood there and stared, instead this time it had a human-like grin on it’s face. Suddenly the fiendish rat lunged at the priest with a vicious attack. It bit into Brother Bartholomew’s skin repeatedly until the young priest’s robes were soaked with his own blood. Now visibly scarred by the rodent’s relentless attack, Bartholomew’s body falls to the floor. The body of priest spasms as it begins its transformation into a monstrous humanoid rat-like creature. The Were-rat, Craven, has been reborn.
The Were-rat Craven woke from his eternal sleep, only to see a fiendish apparition appear before him. He sees the Devil Lord Hexxis standing over him and realizes that this infernal entity was the one who had resurrected him back to life. The Devil Lord Hexxis speaks,” Craven, this is the temple of the forbidden god. If Knowledge of this god spreads throughout the lands then the control that we have over this world will be lost. The monsters and mythical creatures, which were born from the Dreamtime Mists will cease to exist. You, Craven, will also cease to exist along with them if you fail in your mission.”
Craven, falls to his knees in a gesture of obedience to the infernal Lord and cries,” My Lord Hexxis what would you have me do to stop the knowledge of this forbidden god from spreading across these lands?”
“Craven, you must start by killing the other priests who come to this temple. Use your shape-shifting ability and assume the form of Brother Bartholomew, this will allow you to perform this first task without difficulty. After you have killed them, then you will infect their bodies with your blood. This will transform whatever life they may have left within them into were-rats, who’ll obey you without question.”
Craven suddenly interrupts the infernal lord with a statement of his own,” Yes, my lord Hexxis, I see this plan of yours develop within my mind. When the people come here to worship this forbidden god we will set a trap for them. We will kill them all!”
“Craven”, Hexxis interrupts,” You will kill all but one person that comes to this temple. That one survivor will then tell others about the evil thing that this god did to the people who worship him. The people will grow to fear and hate this forbidden god and no one will ever come to worship him again.”
“Is there anything else that you wish for me to do, Lord Hexxis?” asks the Were-rat as he shape-shifts into the form of Brother Bartholomew.
“Yes Craven, one of my agents is amongst the brothers nine. He is a traitor to them and their god. He has a strongbox hidden within a secret room in front of a shrine that is dedicated to me. I want you to tear your beating heart from your chest and place it within that box. If you are killed in battle, then you will be resurrected back to life and physically reappear wherever the box containing your heart is located. Anyone who opens this box and looks upon your beating heart, Craven, will be transformed into a ratling that will obey your commands. However, I must warn you, should a crying child gaze upon your heart. Then those tears from the crying child, that fall upon it will destroy you.”
“I will immediately put your plan into action, Infernal Lord Hexxis,” cries Craven as he watches the vision of the fiend fade from his sight."