It is said that ravens are tricksters, liars and bringer of bad omen. Yet, some might say they are symbols of hope and renewal. The clock was ticking to midnight as the sky turned pitch black while a young girl by the name of Alice played tag with her friends, within a forest near her house. Alice never really had any human friends, instead being closer to wild animals. Other kids would find her weird, or were scared of her because of her obsession over witchery and magic, something that people see as taboo. The curious kid, however, would fantasize over the infinite possibilities of such an art. Playing with her friends, the young girl chased around a white rabbit who was playing with her. She sprinted with all her might, but to no avail, she was unable to catch it. She did get fairly close, but when she almost got within reach of the animal, she stumbled on a tree branch, causing her to roll all the way down a small hill, until her back hit a rock, sharply stopping her tumble. As the young Alice slowly recovered, she shook her dress to remove the dirt, and observed her surroundings. “Where did the rabbit go?”, she thought, unsure of where her friend went, or where she ended up. Looking around, she could see huge grey bricks making a hallway down. Vines and moss were growing between the different bricks, all the way down until they finally came to an halt. Both sides of the vines tangled with one another on top of a giant double door, towering over the tiny girl. Witnessing such a sight, Alice wondered if she was inside one of the fairytales she used to ask her mother to read for her.

As she pushed the door in front of her, it surprisingly offered little resistance, completely opening with a loud screeching sound, the vines on the door splitting quite easily, giving a way for her to enter. The room was huge, lit only by a hole in the ceiling, leading Alice’s eyes down to a book resting atop a pedestal made from the same bricks she saw moments ago. The book immediately captured her attention. As she rushed to the book, she almost stumbled on vines grasping the book atop the pedestal. Despite the thick layer of dust, the small child could discern some sort of magic circle followed by the words “Memento Vitae”, in bold letters, on the black leather cover of the book. However, before she could lay a single finger on the book, she heard a voice echoing within her own mind, freezing her in place for a moment.

“Who dares enter my lair?”, asked the deep voice

“I-I’m sorry !”, the young Alice answered, panicking, her heart skips a beat.

Frantically looking around her, she couldn’t see anyone. The only living thing she noticed beside herself was a white raven, with bright blue eyes, watching her from its perch.

Alice had never seen such an animal before. She had seen crows before within the fairytales she read, but they were pitch black, it intrigued her quite a bit.

Loosing her voice for an instant, she added "Are you lost, little birdie?"

“The book atop this pedestal must not leave this place”, said the voice.

Alice was quite confused, she could’ve swore the bird was speaking to her, was she dreaming?

“Are you the one speaking to me?”, she asked while keeping her gaze on the raven, unsure how to react. She had spoken with animals before, but never did one of them answer with actual words, let alone inside her head.

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The white raven flew from its perch and landed behind the book in the middle of the room, the book now being between Alice and the white raven.

“I am Moentem, the guardian of this grimoire, and I must ask you to leave this place”, the raven answered.

The young girl’s eyes widened as she heard the word “grimoire”, a real one? Like the stories she had been obsessed with?

“A book of magic? A real one? It’s not a lie?”, she exclaimed as loud as she could.

“Indeed, young one, it is a grimoire in which is written the forbidden arcana, for your kind”, answered the raven, slightly irritated that she only listens to what she wants.

Without her even realizing it, Alice was already trying to open the giant book with her tiny hands, without finding much success. “The book shouldn’t be so hard to open. It feels so heavy! Like the pages are glued together!”, she thought.

“Why… is… it… not… opening…!”, yelled the small girl, trying to force it open, gasping for breath.

The raven pecked one of Alice’s fingers, which caused her to yelp and let go of the book, before putting the finger in her mouth, out of habit.

“This grimoire cannot be opened by conventional ways, to gleam its content, you must first form a contract with its guardian”, he then answered.

“A contract!?”, asked the young child, slightly worried, she had seen mention of those within the stories about magic she loved so dearly.

“Indeed, a contract, or a blood pact, to be more precise”, calmly answered the raven.

“B-b-blood!?!?”, responded Alice, even more worried, she didn’t like the sight of blood, reminding her of pain.

She took a moment to think about it, it may really scare her, but it might be the last and only chance she would ever get to realize her dream.

“W-what d-do I h-have to d-do?”, she finally answered, her tone of voice giving away her uncertainty.

The raven stared at her for a couple seconds. 

“Nothing, none of your kind shall access the content of this grimoire”, answered the bird.

Alice’s expression changed quickly from fear, to sadness, as she heard Moentem’s answer.

“I-is there really no way to see inside? You must be lonely here... wouldn’t you want some company?”, she answered, tears slowly falling from her eyes, struggling to come up with something that might make the raven reconsider.

Moentem looked straight in her eyes.

“What might this be?”, he asked, intrigued.

“T-this?”, asked Alice, confused, not knowing what the raven was speaking about.

“The liquid falling from your eyes”, the raven responded in the same tone as before.

Alice quickly rubbed her eyes, slightly ashamed.

“T-these are tears”, she quickly answered, with sadness in her voice.

“Tears?”, the raven turned its head slightly while he answered. “I do not know of such things”, he added.

Alice thought for a couple seconds, “maybe this is her chance?”, she thought, before answering to Moentem.

“I-I can help you learn about it... if you let me take a peek inside the book”, she said, unsure of herself.

The raven stopped moving for about three seconds, which seemed like forever to the young girl.

“Give me your hand”, he proceeded to answer.

Alice hesitantly laid her hands in the raven’s direction. The moment her hand became within reach of him, Moentem pecked her again, strong enough to cause small drops of blood to drip on the ground as Alice struggled to keep her calm, biting her lip to help to ease the pain, more tears falling from her eyes.

“Bring your hand over the gem on the grimoire”, added the raven.

Alice slowly brought her hand to the cover, unwillingly dripping blood on the cover, until she reached the gem in the center of the grimoire. As small drops of blood fell off her small fingers, it started glowing a bright blue, and the book slowly opened itself, as Alice looked in glee, forgetting the pain on her finger almost instantly.