Born of saints and monsters.
It has waited in the darkness in men’s hearts and the city's streets.
Now, it wants revenge.
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An égrégore is as much a creation of the intentions and actions of like-minded people as it is a being capable of influencing those who invoke its name. It is the combined will and strength behind every movement in human history. No other force has built greater wonders, and none has wrought as much destruction. They exist in every cathedral ever erected and every war ever fought.
In a distant megacity, far removed from the war-torn nations of the world, people of differing faiths and strange tastes live together in fragile peace. Paranoia spreads as reports of missing people grow, and an unseen influence stretches its hand across the city.
At the heart of this chaos, Emerald, a witch fleeing her past, and Caleb, a soldier torn between duty and love, are bound together. Their love could set them free, or Caleb's mission could mean her death.
The Holy Mother Church minds its flock, while more are led astray each night. New horrors emerge from the laboratories beneath the BioSystems Corporation as it tightens its grip on its people. Those who tried to eradicate the enemy are unaware of the ancient power stirring under their noses, plotting its vengeance in the dark.
Will those wronged destroy the forces that created and oppressed them, or will the city’s outcasts and misfits put aside their differences to stop the cycle of destruction once and for all?
The Story Begins - Chapter 1
The Story Begins - Chapter 1
I
I
Emerald stood alone beneath the large oak tree, running her hand over the striped bark. She thought back to the magical night when her love had pressed himself against her beneath the sprawling branches and promised himself to her. The memory warmed her as she traced the rough furrows, but she wondered if giving Caleb the token, which would allow him to come and go as he pleased, had been a mistake.
Emerald stood alone beneath the large oak tree, running her hand over the striped bark. She thought back to the magical night when her love had pressed himself against her beneath the sprawling branches and promised himself to her. The memory warmed her as she traced the rough furrows, but she wondered if giving Caleb the token, which would allow him to come and go as he pleased, had been a mistake.
She had dressed for a warm day, but the sun had since dipped beneath the skyline. A cold breeze stirred the trees’ branches and sent a chill down her spine, and it dawned on Emerald that Caleb would not be coming. The branches above her shifted to let a ray of sunshine cut through the lengthening shadows to warm her sun-blessed skin, and she forgot her disappointment for a moment.
She had dressed for a warm day, but the sun had since dipped beneath the skyline. A cold breeze stirred the trees’ branches and sent a chill down her spine, and it dawned on Emerald that Caleb would not be coming. The branches above her shifted to let a ray of sunshine cut through the lengthening shadows to warm her sun-blessed skin, and she forgot her disappointment for a moment.
The clearing grew smaller, and the trees formed a ring around her. The young woman heard nothing but birdsong and the rustling of the leaves, but she felt a presence that had haunted her since before she left Holy Mother Church.
The clearing grew smaller, and the trees formed a ring around her. The young woman heard nothing but birdsong and the rustling of the leaves, but she felt a presence that had haunted her since before she left Holy Mother Church.
The Rituals of Égrégore
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Standing between worlds, she bides her time guarding her children from the sins of her makers.
He wears his faith like armor, the only light left in the darkness overwhelming the church.
His thirst consuming all, he dares not return home and turns to the dark places.
Égrégore is Matthew Black’s foray into urban fantasy.
A visual artist drawn to the occult and things that go bump in the night,
he dives deep into the hidden realms of the human psyche in search of truth and dark delights.
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