The Song Challenge 1.14 Flesh-Huntress
Author’s Note-I decided to try something new for this, so let me know if you guys like this essay style of writing.
The following paper was written by an unnamed student at the Miskatonic University. It was recovered from a small office fire on October 7, 1965. It was confiscated by the Arkham Sanitarium Security Personnel, but has since been declassified and made open to the public.
October 2, 1965
The name Yanus has been repeated countless times throughout history, though very few know anything about the name. Fewer, still, realize that Yanus was, and is, real. Ancient cultures have called Yanus many things; daemon, imp, harpy, siren, changeling, skin-walker, nymph, faerie, djinni, wisps, and many others. But one thing is known for certain: she has never been depicted as a force for good. In every mention of the name Yanus, all that followed was misery, sorrow, pain, and death.
The earliest appearance of Yanus seems to be an ancient cave painting, found in a small cave somewhere in Indonesia. The painting depicts a figure with scars at various points along the body. Drawn behind the scarred figure is another figure. The second one is shown laying on the ground, its body painted in red. In the art of the ancient Maya, Aztec, Olmec, and other early American cultures, a similar scarred woman is depicted. Sometimes she is standing over a skinned human, other times, she is stalking some unsuspecting person. The ancient Egyptians had a similar figure painted on the inside of at least one of the Great Pyramids. The hieroglyphics near the image of the women did not provide a name for the figure, but seemed to imply that, while this person was known and widely feared, she was never spoken of. In fact, some recovered scrolls have stated that saying her name, even just a whisper, was punishable by death; for fear of summoning her.
Ancient Greece and Rome also seemed to be aware of her presence, as there are myths involving their respective pantheons that feature her. In these, she is often described as being from Tarturas, a mistress of Hades, or even a goddess of torture. During the Medieval Ages, fear of Yanus became even more wide spread. The Norse believed that the Yanus was a fallen Valkyrie, exiled from the halls of Valhalla, or even Hela, the goddess of the dead, herself. The Christians of the time believed her to be a witch, a psychopomp, albeit corrupted, or even the Devil in disguise.
However, as the Medieval Ages came to a close, people began to forget about the Yanus. In fact, for centuries, there seemed to have been no deaths that matched the descriptions of those blamed on Yanus; that being skinned and left wherever the body was before, even in public. The skin would never be found. But a few years ago, some odd things began to happen around here. Now granted, weird things have always happened around here. Arkham is a bit of a magnet when it comes to weird things, but rarely has something like this happened. It started with reports from people that apparently had woken up, with a large cut on their body. When examined at a hospital, it was found that these people had not been cut; the skin from that area had been entirely removed. Not long after, bodies began to be found, having been skinned. Now, after I heard this, I began researching everything I could find on the Yanus. I wasn't able to find much at the University, because most of the information on things like this are in a section of the library that is off limits to all but a select few. And I would never get any answers from the Sanitarium's staff, they're to busy experimenting on their patients to pay to attention to anything, so I didn't even bother trying.
But I was able to find a silver lining to the Yanus. In every instance of her appearance anywhere, whether as an image or writing, there is a man shown, seemingly following her. In what I was able to find, every time he turns up, the Yanus disappears. Descriptions of this man vary depending on the source, but he is almost always known as the 'Traitorous One', and is usually mentioned alongside something called the 'Dark Fire', whatever that is. It's my belief that this 'Traitorous One', whatever he is, may be some kind of opponent to the Yanus.
You may be wondering why I’m telling you all of this. The reason is that, if this 'Traitorous One' really is a savior, he is needed. You see, I woke up a few months ago with a patch of skin missing from my arm. The Yanus us coming for me, I know it. So please, 'Traitorous One', if you're truly out there, I need your help. Please.