Lamentis

**October 19th, 1919**

It is with a shuddering hand and a tremulous heart that I recount the chilling evening of last fortnight, when the shadows cast by the crescent moon bestowed upon my mind the visage of a most ghastly creature. It had been a dark and stormy night, a time when nature's fury seemed almost to conspire against the very fibers of my sanity.

In the midst of my evening stroll, I had taken shelter beneath the skeletal remains of an ancient oak when an image, clear as day, struck me with the force of a lightning bolt. There, amidst the inky blackness and the symphony of raindrops, the creature's form took shape in my imagination.

The creature’s head was the grotesque visage of a horse’s skull, bleached white and devoid of any semblance of life. It gazed upon the world through hollow, cavernous sockets. Attached to this skeletal head was the robust, hulking body of a bear, covered in thick, matted fur. But the true horror lay in its hands. They were not the paws of a beast, but the delicate, refined hands of a woman, pale and with elongated fingers that seemed to gesture with an almost human-like sorrow.

Seeking some semblance of reason in this abominable vision, my mind began to weave a tale of its origin. In an era long past, a scorned woman, seeking refuge in the wild, happened upon a bear fatally wounded by a hunter's arrow. As she cradled the dying creature, she whispered a forbidden incantation she had learned from a forbidden tome. Their souls became intertwined, and from their union, the creature was born. A being bound to both humanity and beast, tormented by its dual nature.

I have named it "Lamentis", born from the lamentations of both woman and beast. As I recount this chilling revelation, I cannot help but feel that Lamentis is more than just a figment of my imagination. It is a manifestation of the innermost fears that reside deep within us all. It serves as a dark reminder of the thin line that separates our humanity from our primal nature.

I am compelled to pen its tale, but I do so with caution. For to give life to such a being, even in the realm of fiction, is to dance with forces beyond our understanding.