In the murky depths of the ancient and forgotten forests, there lives a people who worship a strange and ethereal being known as the Horned Princess of Sharom. She is said to be a being of immense power, forever cloaked in the veil of an innocent child. Her worshippers believe that she can grant them immense knowledge and unspeakable power.
As the legend goes, the Princess would only appear to her most devoted followers, always appearing with her half mechanical familiar, named Shirez. Those who dared to summon her without the proper rituals and sacrifices would suffer a terrible fate. But there were always those who were willing to take that risk, for the promise of the Horned Princess's favor was too great to ignore.
One cold autumn night, as the stars aligned in a sickly pattern and the moon turned to crimson, one such brave soul began to chant the ancient incantations. The air grew thick with the stench of brimstone and rot, and the ground shook with the terrible power of the Goddess's descent from her realms above.
With a blast of dark trembled visions, the Horned Princess appeared before him, her eyes glimmering with a shifting celestial light. She surveyed him with cold detachment, and then spoke in a voice too deep and earthen to resemble sound.
"Speak," she commanded. "What do you seek from me?"
The paralyzed man's bones began to creak and shatter from the vibrations of her voice, but with the last commands his body would obey, he forced himself to speak. "I seek your power, O Horned Princess," he said. "I seek the knowledge and the strength to command the very elements themselves, to bend reality to my will!"
The Horned Princess regarded him for a long moment, and then spoke again, with the final words he would ever hear, as she touched a mechanical branch to his forehead. A searing pain shot through his body, and he felt his mind being consumed by a knowledge beyond comprehension, leaving him utterly changed. Utterly unhuman. Utterly alone.