The house of the Lumiones has long since fallen. The head of the family was an elderly man, one who valued his gold over the lives of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
As the story goes, he invited his family to one last banquet. It wasn't just any old banquet, either. It was the most lavish in the empire, including the expanse of tables he had used for each generation of his family. The mismatched tables clashed greatly with the extravagant evening.
Murmurs of confusion rang throughout the hall.
People say the elderly Lumione walked into the dining hall and seated himself at the head table. With a grave and sinister voice, he spoke. "Why should we not celebrate the generations of my hard work?" His face twisted into a sneer. "Or is that too much for you?"
One of his daughters spoke to him. "No, Father, it isn't. We were just curious about what tonight's celebration is all about." The daughter who spoke held one of her grandsons.
The elderly Lumione pointed to the child in her arms. "He does not sit with you! He goes at the end with the rest of the children!" He then glanced around, noticing some of the other adults had followed her example. "All the children go where they belong!" People say he even growled and his eyes glowed.
Murmurs of discontent began as they sent each child, one-by-one, to the end. Each who did as commanded did not know that they had just sent their child to an early grave.
The elderly Lumione laughed under his breath as his servants entered and lined up behind each person. The food began to come, and it smelled entirely new to them. Each person, including the children, received a single empty dish. The food rested behind them.
In the confusion, everyone glanced at each other. Once again, murmurs wandered around the tables.
One servant brought a steaming covered dish to the elderly Lumione.
Now this story varies from region to region. Some say black magic was at work, but most agree it was his evil, alone. No one likes to tell this tale. It sends shivers down a good man's spine and a smile to a sinister woman's lips.
It was not the dish itself, but what followed afterward.
"Your children will not make it. This aches my heart. And it is all your fault!" He pointed viciously at the group. "This happened because you all stole from me. My time and my wealth!" It is said that the elderly Lumione's hands made a fist as he spoke.
Everyone around the table became quiet, except for the children, who hollered, whopped, and loudly talked with one another.
The bitter man demanded quiet by slamming his fist down and screeching.
The children at the end grew silent.
The elderly Lumione waved to another servant, one with desserts. "Pass those to the end of the table. Every child receives one."
No one expected what happened next. Many cannot even finish the story, cannot hear the horror that unfolded.
The parents and grandparents tried to protest. The elderly man waved them off. The servant with the desserts went around passing one to each child. Once he was finished, he returned to his original position.
The delighted children enjoyed breaking the rules. One-by-one, they placed a spoon in their mouths. It tasted so good, the children could not stop eating.
The older generation tried to keep a sharp eye, but the elderly Lumione called their attention to the front. "The children are done!" He ordered that the lid of the steaming dish be removed.
The open dish revealed a steamed baby! One of the female parents screamed. "My baby! My baby!"
Everyone rushed to stand. With fearful faces, they turned their attention to the end. The unholy sight pierced their hearts. The children had gorged themselves on each other.
Shouts of anguish echoed throughout. As they went to turn on the elderly Lumione, he revealed more dishes, all too gruesome to detail.
Horror filled the hall. The servants moved one-by-one, killing each member until only the elderly Lumione remained.
Blood covered the banquet floor!
The servants transformed into devils!
Then a man wearing a black cloak came into the hall. That man gave the elderly Lumione a plate of gold. "Now all of your riches are on this plate. It will never go dry until the day you die, but you must eat every last drop."
The elderly Lumione ate one gold piece at a time, all the while laughing at his family's demise.
People say his skeleton rests at the head table still, with a plate of gold that he can never touch again.