For those of you who decided to skip reading: same discplaimer as the other topic and also i had to start this one since the first post in my other topic ran out of space, fun eh?
as of such I'll continue to write from this topic, oh yeah im thinking of stashing all the chapters into 1 single topic once im done, thougths anyone?
P.S this thing is 8.5 A4 pages, so er.. hope u got soem time to read
For those of you who are just dropping into the story click bellow to read Chapter 1 - 8
Writers notice: for some odd reason the first half of chapter 9 disappeared, I have rewritten this first half, but it may or may not be as good as the first one, I do not know why this happened, but it did.
Draconis and Demonicum (Rewritten due the first half going AWOL)
Inside the dark and gloomy chamber was a machine so large it made even Dusk Heart seems like a small toy, the waves of fear that emanated from it was beyond anything a Nightshade would produce, it was so overpowering even Maya had to use all of her will simply to keep herself from panicking, something Diar was about to do by the looks of things, Diar.
The creature had a lizard like body, but it’s legs was more akin to those of a lion then a lizard, clawed and muscular, its body had countless spiky metal scales made from Nether Steel a near indestructible metal that only the strongest of magic’s could hope to harm, on the creatures back were two grand wings so powerful they could create storm force winds when they lifted the massive creature into the air.
However the most terrifying part of the creature was the eyes, two pieces of Void Stone created an eerily green glow from them a supernatural power from the stones themselves allowed the creature to shatter the mind of lesser creatures with ease turning them into puppets for it to command, however the most devastating weapon at the titanic creations disposal was hidden inside its mouth, a beam of such destructive power even the Dread Lord had only let them unleash it once, and the attack had given the metallic creation the same name as an ancient and long since extinct creature, it was a Dragon.
Dragons was the Dread Lords most powerful weapons and servants, serving as his generals, they were the ultimate enforcers of his will, and the Dread Lord had created each one for a certain purpose, the trick was to figure out which purpose this Dragon had, should they have any hope of survival.
As Dusk Heart carried them further into the hall Diar couldn’t handle it anymore and lost consciousness again, a lucky break for Maya since it removed the biggest distraction from her own mental exercise.
The Nightshade started to crawl on its legs while keeping its head down as a sign of respect and submission to the bigger machine.
“Dusk Heart... it has been a long time since you entered my halls last, didn’t I order you to guard my borders?”
The dragons voice was just like Dusk Hearts, everywhere and nowhere at once, and had a sickly tone to it, like someone who had been down with a cold for some time.
“Forgive me, Great One, but I found these”
The Dragon stretched out its paw to accept what the Nightshade was offering him
It brought both of them much closer to its eyes.
“Humans?”
The dragon looked at the Nightshade with a baleful expression.
“And why did you bring them here, and not just killed them?
The Nightshade shifted uncomfortably.
“They claim to serve the Dread Lord”
The Dragon eyed the two closely, Diar was still out of it, but Maya bowed her head respectfully, fighting through the waves of fear she felt as best she could.
“I am not worthy of being in the same room as one so grand and awe inspiring as you, Great One”
Maya whispered, knowing that the Dragon would hear her anyhow.
The Dragon eyed Maya carefully.
“Human, speak the ancient oath”
Maya looked at the dragon then started speaking, but not in the manner she had before.
The language she spoke in was the same as the constant whispers inside the keep, Dark Speech
Both the nightshade and the Dragon looked at Maya with renewed respect, not many mortals could utter the oath in its original language.
“Interesting, a mortal capable of uttering the Dark Speech, you are clearly not a follower of Yr, they would have died halfway through the oath anyhow, now the question is what to do with you...”
“Great and magnificent one, I request a boon”
The Dragon froze at Mayas whisper.
“And why should I grant you that?”
The dragon looked at Diar then Maya intently, Maya decided to take a gamble as she felt the dragons gaze on her, and lifted her head and met its gaze.
“I request Demonicum”
The Dragon just stared at her in disbelief that she actually had the courage to look directly at it
“And why should I grant such a request?
“Because both me and my companion are working on bringing the Dread Lord back”
The dragon stared hard and long at Maya, then it was as if it spotted something, because Maya could swear it looked shocked for a split second.
“Hmm... Alright, I will let you undergo Demonicum... on one condition”
“Yes, Great One?”
“My name, correctly name me, do this and your wish shall be granted”
Maya looked at the Dragon, knowing fully well that she had no way of actually know its name and still, there was something about it that just nagged at her and before she could help it she blurted out with the answer.
“Coatl”
The dragon looked long and hard at Maya before it put both her and Diar on its shoulder and started to walk.
“You are an unusual human, not many would be able to answer that question, tell me, how did you guess it?”
“To be honest, I do not know, Great One”
Coatl nodded, and looked at the walls.
“Look around you mortal, look and behold the glory of old”
Maya looked at the walls, which were depicting several murals.
The first she spotted was showing a celebration of the Dread Lords victory at the Ash Fields, a battle that had been the greatest victory in the Dread Lords was against Yr.
All around the scene the grand creations of the Dread Lord could be seen, A dragon was lying in the background, having its scales polished by slaves whose minds had been enslaved by the dragons gaze.
Nightshades were patrolling the perimeter to make sure the festivities could go on uninterrupted, and Golems and Automatons were with them.
The human followers of the Dread Lord were celebrating like it was one of the Orgies that the cult held from time to time, with complete indulgence of all kinds, nothing was taboo at the Dread Lords feasts.
The main part of the mural depicted the dread Lord himself overseeing transformation of captured knights, the Dread Lord enjoyed to turn them into abominations known as Pariahs, Machines that was even lower in the Dark Lords ranks then even the slaves.
Becoming a Pariah was the ultimate punishment the dread Lord could issue forth, it turned the recipient into a half-flesh-half-machine creature, like a Demon, but the Pariah had no way of moving without orders, the mind of the Pariah was left untouched, meaning it would be trapped inside a body that would not obey it.
The best a Pariah could do on its own was scream and rage against its punishment by taking it out on whatever it was set to kill, which was usually its former comrades, it didn’t take long for their minds to snap under such a wicked leash, and most became mad within the first few days, if they were lucky.
Diar couldn’t help but smile at the perverse beauty of the mural as she watched itl, and she remembered how one of the knights had fought free and tried to attack her, it had ben amusing...
She shook her head, remembered? How could she remember anything from that feast that had ended nearly ten thousand years ago if not more?
Her head was throbbing and she massaged her temples for a moment, once she looked up again the mural ad been replaced by a rather descriptive mural that depicted how the Dread Lords Pariahs tore through the ranks of their old comrades, while screaming in denial and anguish about the actions they were committing.
Another one was depicting several dozen knights being mutilated at the hands of a Nightshade, and one again Maja could see the beauty of the murals.
As she reached the Demonicum chamber she was put inside to some kind of sentient contraption.
“Mortal, rejoice, soon you will undergo Demonicum, you will become perfected beyond anything a human could ever wish for”
Maja was not surprised that the contraption spoke to her in Coatls voice, this was his fortress and as of such he could transfer his sentience into any machine within its walls.
Maja envisioned how she wanted to look like once the process was over; there was a confirming beep from the machine.
The machine then started to hum softly as it made ready for the process, the Maja suddenly felt a ***** in her neck and everything went black.
While Maja slept the machine started to work on her body, everything from the neck down was being reshaped and strengthened.
The first think the machine did was to make her arm regenerate so that it had a complete body to work out from.
Then a glass wall slid down sealing the table shut, an air mask was fitted to her mouth and the Demonicum process started for real.
The first thing that happened was that Majas clothes and hair were dissolved by a special liquid.
Then with her being completely naked and without a single strand of hair that could cause problems during the process, the machine initiated the next stage.
Syringes containing Nether Oil was stabbed into all parts of her body, the liquid an important part of what was to come.
Then once the contents of the syringes had been emptied the machine filled the chamber with a new liquid, molten Nether Steel, normally this burning hot liquid would have killed Maja, but the oil kept her alive and well, allowing the molten metal to bond with her body.
The bonding process was part of a dark ritual that the Dread Lord had developed and it would twist the body into the mental image that the participant envisioned upon starting the process, due to this no two processes went exactly the same.
Some went completely overboard, envisioning themselves the size of a Nightshade, causing them to grow to huge proportions, while not the size of a Nightshade they became large beings indeed.
Others envisioned themselves with inhuman appendages, becoming fiendish in appearance and power.
Maja however did neither, she envisioned herself, as a perfected version of herself, with stronger senses, strength well beyond that of any human, but without boasting huge muscles to deny her the agility and speed she also had envisioned.
Endurance she didn’t bother with, her new body would already be tireless, that did not however stop her from envisioning herself using the dark powers she had learned in the World of Magic, allowing her full access to her powers even in the World of Technology as she was literally becoming the perfect fusion of metal and flesh.
The final thing that Maja had envisioned before she lost consciousness was that she had the ability to regenerate any wound or even lost limbs within seconds, but only from her torso, she had no wish to have copies of herself running rampant all over the place.
With such specific customizations the contraption had its work cut out for it, the first thing it did was changing the pigmentation of Majas skin below her shoulders, turning it leather brown, if she were to operate in the World of magic she had to be able to pass as a normal human, at least to some degree.
Then it reshaped Majas legs, had Maja lived on earth they would have been like the legs of a Velociraptor, then it enhanced their strength and motor functions, once Maja awoke she would be able to run faster than any horse and jump far beyond anything a normal human would be able to.
Once that was done, the contraption added the possibility to reform her legs back into those of a normal human, trading speed for discretion.
Then once done with those changes it moved on to her arms, she had wanted deceptive strength; it imbued her with enough strength to punch through solid metal as if it were glass.
It then reshaped her hands so that her nails turned into short, but extremely sharp claws.
Her skin became tougher and stronger, allowing her to shrug of blows that would cleanly cut of arms and legs of normal humans.
Once that was done it enhanced her eyesight, allowing her to operate in glaring sun and total darkness as if it was the middle of the day, and the sky was cloudy.
The contraption then simulated Majas movements, and instantly concluded that she would have problems keeping her balance with her new legs, it added a tail and instinctual knowledge on hot to use it to keep balance, just like her legs it could be hidden as the needed.
Being then it added the regenerative factor, testing it by cleaving of her left arm, the arm itself disintegrated and a new one quickly grew in its place.
The contraption further strengthened Majas skin, then changed the leathery colour of her torso back to that of a normal human, the same for her arms and her human looking legs, no use in making her a dead give away after all.
Then it started to work on unsealing Majas powers, this took time and after hours of trial and error it finally found that by exchanging Majas heart with a Void Stone her powers started to flow effortlessly.
Deciding that since it had already changed one internal organ it might as well continue it started to exchange Majas insides for advanced Bio-metallic upgrades, the first one allowing her to forgo the need to breathe, allowing it to replace her lungs with more upgrades.
The second was a mental upgrade that removed her need for sleep, the thirds was a reactor that created enough energy to keep it running and still generate enough power to keep Maja in top condition; removing Majas need to eat and rest.
The contraption continued to upgrade her as much as I could without breaking Majas specification of remaining as human looking as possible.
Enhancing strength speed and damage resistance even more it also added the possibility of radiating a fear aura like that of a dragon, it then sent specifications to the forges to forge an armour and weapon that could go with her enhanced body.
Once it was done it powered down and patiently awaited Majas awakening.
Sorry bout the delay, finally fought back that writers block.
Chapter 10
Dawnbane
Chapter 10
Demon spawn
Maja awakened, and the first thing that greeted her was the extreme pain in her entire body, then after just a moment or two the pain just disappeared.
As Maja sat up Diar walked into the room, her legs had indeed been restored and Diar seemed quite pleased with them.
“Mistress, I am glad that you are awake, how do you feel?”
Maja looked at her hand and called upon her dark powers, instantly she disappeared then re appeared standing just behind Diar.
“I feel like a fool, I thought I had power...”
Majas voice trailed off.
“And now you feel what exactly? My Mistress”
“I feel that I never knew what power was”
Majas new tail snapped down, flipped a rock into the air, Majas left hand snapped out, grabbed the rock and crushed it, without Maja even looking at it.
“Let’s go and ask Coatl about means to get back to our world, we can do more for the dread Lords return there then here”
Diar nodded solemnly, not looking forward to be close to the Dragon so quickly.
Maja started to walk but stopped noticing Diars hesitance.
“Is something wrong, Diar?”
“I was just wondering if we really had become...”
Maja laughed
“If we really have become Demons, Diar, my dear, look at your legs, and then think about the fact that ever since you entered this room your chest havens heaved to draw breath even once and then the answer should be self explanatory.”
Diar looked rather puzzled then looked down at her chest, no movement was evident.
Diar looked up only to see Maja disappear out of the door.
“Hey! Wait for me!”
It was when they were walking back to the throne room that Maja realized just how big this place was, it had taken the Dragon nearly an hour to walk from the Throne room to the chambers of trials and then to the Conversion room, Maja and Diar had been walking for nearly tem minutes and had not even gotten sight of the first corner!
“Diar, we need to speed up or we will use days on the trip back to the throne room”
Diar nodded and they started to run.
They had expected to be faster but after just a minute or so of running they could see the first corner approach them ad incredible speeds, if not for their enhancements their reaction time would not have been sufficient to get them past the corner.
“This... this is incredible, Mistress!”
Maja could not disagree; never had she experienced anything like it.
The trip back to the throne room went quickly after that and in just about half an hour they were back.
As they arrived they found Coatl laughing.
“Little demon spawn, why didn’t you just teleport, that would have saved you some time in getting here”
Maja and Diar wisely kept silent, which only made Coatl laugh more.
“Great One, not to interrupt you fun but the two of us need to get back through the Veil, as we need magic to resurrect the Dread Lord at full strength”
Coatl immediately stopped laughing, Dusk Heart, who were also present, could feel the tenseness of the air at the mention of the Dread Lord.
Truth was that only the enforced loyalty the Dread Lord had made a part of the Dragons made them want to aid in the resurrection process instead of just taking power for themselves.
“Yes, your return to the world of magic... You are in luck little demon, it just so happens that I know a way such a feat might be possible, but there is a slight... issue”
Maja tapped the claws of her right leg creating a tap-tap-tap sound.
“The latest surge tore a rift in the seal, it was through that rift that you were pushed out, it just so happens that I managed to locate the rift before the knights managed to close it, get to the rift fast enough and you might be able to fight your way through the general melee of the battle for the rift and enter the Veil”
Diar and Maja exchanged glances.
“What are the coordinates?”
Coatl created a holographic diagram and pointed at it.
“This is where we are now and this”
He pointed at a small valley a good distance from the fortress.
“Is where the rift are located, you should hurry, it won’t be long before it closes.”
This chapter will be a tad... diffrent, hope you like it.
Chapter 11
Dawnbane
Chapter 11
Order of the White Lilly
“Sir Runnard, you are the only survivor of the battle for the Rift, it is of the utmost importance that you tell us what you remember”
The Judges were looking at the knight in front of them, the poor man had hardly been healed before being sent to Purification, then without being allowed a rest he had been sent to the Hall of Justice to report on what had happened.
“Of course, your excellence, it all started at 1400 hours....”
As he told his story, Rennards mind drifted back to the horrible events that had transpired.
“Rennard watch the right flank! don’t let those Goblins through!”
“I’m on it Captain!”
The scene of the battle was a bloodbath, Goblins, small war machines whose primary strength lay in overwhelming numbers, had completely surrounded the 4731st Company, here and there a Troll could be seen to, they had been lucky so far, and had avoided running into any tougher opposition.
The 4731st would not be felled by such weak enemies, they might take losses, but not laid low.
Rennard was dragged out of his retelling by a question from one of the Judges.
“Pardon, you excellence, I was lost in my memories, please repeat the question”
“I were asking you, Sir Rennard, You claim that the 4731st could not possible be laid low, then how come you were the sole survivor?”
“It was not the Goblins that defeated us, Your excellence”
The Judges looked at Sir Rennard, clearly interested as to what could defeat one of their most elite companies.
“What defeated our company; were Demons, your Excellence”
“IMPOSSIBLE! All the Demons were destroyed when The Dread Lord fell to Lady Ym”
“Then allow me to show you my memories, your excellence and you can see for yourself what destroyed our entire company”
“Very Well, prepare for the Rite of Memoarie, and let us all pray you are wrong, Sir Rennard, it would be a dark day indeed if a pair of Demons made it into the veil and crossed it to the World of Magic.
Rennard and the Judges started the rite and soon all the judges were at the battle.
“Rennard watch the right flank! don’t let those Goblins through!”
“I’m on it Captain!”
Rennard charged the attacking Goblins, the pesky little machines more then a nuisance then an actual threat to his magic armour.
He cleaved the first of the attacking Goblins in half, and was rewarded with a spray of oil in return.
To his right Sir Jason was jumped by three of the machines and stabbed repeatedly as they searched his armour for a weak point, Jasons scream then gurgled coughing alerted Rennard to the fact that they had managed to nick him with their poisoned blades.
With renewed fury Rennard and those under his command dove into the battle once more, cleaving the pesky monkey like machines apart, sometimes three per swing, but more were always ready to take their place.
“Captain we cannot hold, we cannot AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH”
Rennarh shook his head about the panicked Magical message.
“Captain, that sounded like it was Arielle, should I break of the offence and lend support?”
The Captain looked at his lines, they were gaining ground, fast, and those small contraptions could do nothing to stop them unless they managed to find a weak point in the Orders armour.
“Go and see if you can be of any assistance, I didn’t like the sound of that message, Arielle are not the kind of Knight to panic”
Rennard had to agree, Arielle was the most calm collected and brave knight he knew, she had proven herself an asset over and over again, defeating overwhelming odds and coming out on top.
Rennards unit quickly broke off from the main melee and headed for the hillside that Arielle and her unit had disappeared over some time before.
They crossed the ridge and started to track down Arielle, not a hard job seeing as they just had to follow the trail of scrapped Goblins.
The trail led into a ravine that Arielle had been ordered to blow up to stop more goblins from entering from that direction and thus allow them to focus on clogging the rest of the entrances.
As they neared a sharp turn two recruits were making a joke about all of this being an excuse just to get Rennard alone, the joke tellers words stopped in her throat as the group turned around the corner.
Dead knights were everywhere, many had their guts ripped out, while otters had been mutilated beyond recognition, all of the brave knights had been ripped apart, and clearly in a way that would make their deaths most painful.
Only two knights were still alive, and their attackers were already in the process of correcting that.
Boris, Arielles second in command was lying on the ground, and standing above him holding both is arms were something that Rennard could only describe as a Demon, or more correctly, a Succubus, a type of demon designed to operate behind enemy lines.
The average demon would hardly have any human traits left, still Succubae were just as, if not more dangerous then your average demon, since the Dread Lord had put much effort into keeping them alive even against impossible odds.
As they all watched, crestfallen the Demon tore both of Boris arms off, causing fountains of blood to shoot out from the knights’ body.
Rennard let out a scream and charged forward, but his anger was crushed and replaced with panic as he stepped closer, he quickly looked over to the other Demon, this one was holding Arielle by the throat, and only her armours neck guard prevented her neck from snapping of her wind pipe from being crushed.
Rennard quickly took a step backwards as he realised the nature of this fear.
“Captain, come in, CAPTAIN”
”What can be so bad, that you would freak out, Rennard?”
”Demon Lord”
Rennard didn’t have time to say any more, the first demon , now finished with Boris charged towards them, Rennard knew that they had no chance to survive.
The Demon Lord looked over to the knights and grinned, then slowly started to squeeze Arielles neck guard, Rennard could hear it scream in protest, but he knew that it could not hold. Arielle started to claw at the demons arm, but if it felt any pain it certainly didn’t show it.
Then there was a snapping sound and Arielle went limp, Rennards rage redoubled at the sight of such wanton cruelty and charged into the range of the Demon Lords aura once more, this time fighting back the fear that clawed against his resolve.
Behidn him the other soldiers were trying to stave off the Succubus, but they met with limited success, like all demons their skin seemed impervious to all but the strongest enchanted weapons, and most of the swords his team wielded only bore enchantments of minor sharpness, nowhere near enough to pierce the skin of such a being.
Screaming in defiance Rennard charged in and chopped his sword downwards, the demon took the hit head on, and Rennards sword broke on impact, The demon levelled a right hook at him and Rennard was flying, then there was a thud, a tremendous pain in his back and the world went black.
Rennard slowly awoke, how he was alive he didn’t know, most likely the demons thought him dead as the punch had sent him flying across the ravine, and he would clearly see the point o impact nearly 16 feet off the ground.
As he looked around he saw that the Demons had moved on, everyone in his unit were dead, their bodies mutilated.
That thought woke him up, he had to warn the Captain!
As quickly as he could he started to make his way back towards the rift, the going was slow as the pain in his back also extended to his legs, solemnly he wondered if his back might be more injured then he thought.
As he climbed the hill he was struck by how silent it was, and an awful sense of dread washed over him, despite his pains he quickly climbed the reminder of the hill.
The sight that met him would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life, mutilated and brutalized bodies everywhere, some of the m had been torn apart, others had been torn open and it’s contents spilled all over, several had been flayed to the bone and some had been partially disintegrated.
The only thing every knight in that valley apart from Rennard had in common, was that they were all dead.
Rennard quickly made his way towards the rift, it had started to mend and he had to get back to headquarters so he could warn them about the re-emergence of the demons.
As he stepped into the rift his only thought was to cross the veil back to the World of Magic, unknown to Rennard however, two other forms slipped into the rift behind him, using Rennard as a guide through the Veil.
Unknown to Rennard, he had led the demons to the World of Magic.
Rennards memories stopped flowing, the judges sat in shocked silence.
“As you can see, your excellence, Demons have re-emerged, didn’t the Lunar Prophet say that when Demons again walked the world of magic, the time for the Dread Lords return would be at hand?”
The judges nodded, the Lunar Prophet was blessed by Ym with the gift to see the future, and he had indeed said that when Demons again walked the world of magic, the Dread Lords rise would be at hand
Prophesies, however, were an inaccurate thing, and “At Hand” could be anything from a few seconds to several millennia.
The development was troubling however, where in the world did the Dread Lords servants find someone willing to undergo Demonicum, let alone someone with a strong enough will and enough power to become a Demon Lord?
“Thank you for the report, Sir Rennard, that is all”
I have been working on this thing for some time now due to being ill, now however I have finished it, sorry once again for the delay, guess i'll stop giving estimates in case something like this happens again.
Dawnbane
Chapter 12
Mountains
The valley high in the Farellion Mountains was calm and peaceful, with not a single sentient being around for miles, birds were chirping, a pair of bear cubs were playing under their mothers watchful gaze, squirrels moved from tree to tree with their food, in short, it was as idyllic as could be.
Suddenly a dense red mist appeared, then cracks of red glowing energy appeared in midair, and then finally, a huge explosion.
Maja and Diar looked around, the valley was devastated by the power they had unleashed to exit at that place, still had they not they would have exited in the main stronghold of the knights.
Even they could not hope to defeat that many of Yms fanatical followers while in their stronghold
“Well, Mistress, seems like we made it”
“Indeed, let’s move, the smoke from the blast are all but guaranteed to attract unwanted attention.”
“Where are we anyway?”
Maja looked around.
“This hellscape aren’t going to yield many clues, let’s find some living nature and see if we can use it to pinpoint where we are”
Maja and Diar moved generally eastwards out of the valley at a slow comfortable pace, no need to rush after all.
“It feels weird, everything are much more vivid then is used to be due to our enhanced sight”
“Is that a bad thing, Mistress?”
“Not bad, just weird”
“I wonder how Master Charon is going to react to our changes”
Maja stopped at the mention of Charon.
“Something wrong, Mistress?”
I just thought of something, if I am right then it would explain a lot, a lot indeed.
Later that evening they stumbled upon what seemed like a camp of Rangers, but both Maja and Diar recognized the bandit camp for what it was, no self respecting group of Rangers would be without a watch.
“Only one place where bandits would dare be so relaxed about being caught they wouldn’t even bother with a guard” commented Diar
“Indeed, that means we are somewhere up in the Farellion Mountain ranges, I can’t believe we dropped out so close to home as that”
“Should we attempt to find home on our own?”
“No, I think we can get those fine gentlemen to tell us our exact position from Tuyanmar, and then we can take it from there”
Maja then calmly walked towards the fire, with Diar one step behind.
As they entered the ring of light around the fire pretty much every bandit flew up with a hand to their weapons.
“Don’t bother with those toothpicks boys, if I wanted you dead you would all die long before I entered your camp”
This did not seem to relax the bandits at all.
“All I want from you are some answers, once I have them you can go back to your drinking, sounds good?”
The bandits eyed each other, the initial shock of Majas sudden appearance started to fade and the bandits got more confidant.
The leader stepped forward while leering at Maja, both she and Diar only worse loose fitting robes and travelling cloaks, and while such an outfit obscured much of their bodies only a fool could take the leaders expression for anything but lust.
“Tell you what, missy, you make me and my boys ‘warm’ and I’ll tell you what you want”
The other bandits chuckled.
Diar glanced at Maja, who smiled, lifted her hand and incinerated the bandit leader with a stream of green flames.
“Anyone else has any other fine ideas, or would you like me to make you ‘warm’ too?”
The bandit who was 2nd in command was pushed forward by his comrades, clearly not wishing to share their leaders’ fate.
“Well, Madam, how can this humble bandit be of help to you?”
“Due to some rather unfortunate circumstance I was ejected from the Veil up in these mountains and I need a reference point in order to teleport back home, do tell me how far and in what direction Tuyanmar lie”
“Tuyanmar, that’s about five hours to the southwest by horseback, if you travel south you should hit the road leading there in an hour or so, Madam”
“Thank you, I am in your debt, consider the fact that I am leaving you and your fellows alive, repayment of that dept in full”
The new bandit leader nodded and slowly backed away as Maja and Diar left southward.
“Damn, boss, didn’t think Druids played with Hellfire”
“They don’t, that wasn’t a druid but a sorceress, and a powerful one at that”
“Should we inform the triad then, we are staying here on their mercy after all”
“Hmm, we could, but what good would that accomplish?, she’s just passing through, and while being ejected from the Veil causes lots of devastation to the surrounding area, I doubt the Druids would travel all the was to the City of Witches just to be denied their vengeance by the Cauldron Council”
The others nodded and started to clean up the mess at the campfire.
Meanwhile Maja and Diar had reached the road and were making good progress towards Tuyanmar.
“Mistress, did you feel something odd about those bandits?”
“Druidic magic, the fools do not realise it but they have been bound to that area as protectors of the land, should they attempt to leave they’ll quickly learn their folly”
Diar nodded.
“We will rest in Tuyanmar and continue further tomorrow, it’s been a long day, not to mention eventful”
“But Mistress, we do not require rest”
“Perhaps not, but it’s late and don’t you think the city guard will find it odd that two young women as ourselves just want to pass through the city in the middle of the night?”
Diar was about to answer, but closed her mouth, realizing that Maya was right.
Problem bout writing is that you have to decide on a scenario from a wellspring of ideas, anyhow here is the next installment
Anyhow I have decided on a storyline now, however things will be slowing down a bit, in short I am going to split the chapters into parts, so I can make a longer and better story without making text walls 9 pages long in one single go.
but enough ranting! onwards to:
Chapter 13
Dawnbane
Chapter 13
Tuyanmar, City of Witches.
Part 1
Gideon hated to take the nightshift, even more so since it was pouring down and every once in a while the darkness was lit up by lightning bolts.
Gideon was standing inside the gate towers that was above the main gate to Tuyanmar, and was peering out through one of the left side door onto the road bellow, the tower was only half done, so he could not sit at a window in front of a nice fire and peer out into the darkness for at least another month.
The council had refused to use their vast magic reservoir to simply will the tower into being, despite every single guard in the night watch asking them to do so.
As he peered out into the darkness he thought he saw something during the flash of a lightning bolt, he squinted his eyes, trying to penetrate the complete darkness beyond the ever-burning torches.
Another flash of lightning, followed by a tremendous thunderclap, and Gideon could make out two cloaked figures walking towards the gate, Gideon started cursing, at his current position he was at least halfway sheltered from the rain, and now he had to leave to answer the knock that would without doubt come on the gate.
The cloaked figures stepped into the torchlight on the road bellow, and one of them stretched out her right hand and banged the door, the sound of the impact was like a thunderclap in itself and the door shook as if a ram was bashing it.
Gideon started to sprint down the stairs and to the gate.
“Alright there! No need to bash down the gate stranger! The council wouldn’t like that”
“What the old crones are thinking does not concern me, open the gate or I will open it myself”
“Not until you answer what your business is here in Tuyanmar, I won’t”
"Open the gate before I decide to turn it, you and about the next two blocks from the gate into ash, or worse”
Gideon swallowed; if there was one thing the people in Tuyanmar did not underestimate, it was the threat of magical destruction, something that was all too common under the rule of the Cauldron Council.
“Fine, FINE, you win! I’ll open it just give me a moment alright?”
Gideon fumbled with the locks on a smaller gate and after a few seconds managed to unlock it.
“There you go, now get in before the council finds me opening the door in the middle of the night”
“Thank you, Gideon, you have been most helpful, and thanks for directions to the best Inn in town too”
One of the cloaked strangers tossed a small bag his way, and Gideon could hear the jingle of gold in it.
As the two figures left, Gideon let out a shiver, there was only one type of magic that made him more nervous then the council’s sorcery, and that was the Mind Magic of the Inquisitions Psions.
Maja smiled as she entered The Singing Swan, it was a luxurious Inn with prices so steep only nobles could afford to live there, and this was quite common due to the city being the main hub for all non-holy magic in the entire country.
The nearest magic hub aside from Tuyanmar was Aphetto several months travel to the southeast through the Grudan Desert, one of the most desolate areas in the entire world.
As Maja and Diar entered many of the nobles that were living there sent them glances that told then exactly what they thought of the two.
Maja ignored it and walked towards the counter.
“We want a room for ourselves and our handmaiden, we do not accept no for an answer”
Maya demanded coldly and slammed a bag with the seal of House Ishtonar onto the counter.
Every single noble in the room suddenly got very busy NOT looking at Maja and Diar; no one would want to upset House Ishtonar, who was leading the Inquisition against the cults dedicated to the Dread Lord.
Common courtesy was to accept anything offered and offer anything in return, to avoid being detained for “questioning”.
The Innkeeper looked at the bag, shot a quick glance at Maja then started to nod eagerly.
“Of course, Milady, This way, please”
Maja backhanded him as he walked past, dropping him to the floor
“That’s Inquisitor Ishtonar, peasant!”
The innkeeper quickly got to his knees.
“Please! Forgive me, Inquisitor! I only wished to be discreet, in case your quarry was in this city!”
“Hmph, fine, we will forgive you this time, now show us our room, it has been a long journey and longer still tomorrow”
The innkeeper quickly got to his feet and showed them upstairs to his most expensive room, usually reserved for members of the Grand Council or Diplomats from other lands that would prefer to stay outside the walls of the Cauldron Councils fortress.
Maja looked around.
“This will do, we are pleased, we will retire for tonight, and we do not wish to be disturbed for anything”
The Innkeeper quickly agreed it was common practice for Inquisition members to only eat and drink from their own magic food and water, to avoid anyone poisoning or hexing what they ate.
“I must say Mistress; you can really act the part of an Inquisitor alright”
“When you grow up among them acting like one are not exactly challenging, especially when my weak mind magic has been enhanced by my ascension, now then, let’s plan ahead for tomorrow”
OK, been busy so ive written this thing one or 2 lines at a time, sorry for the delay.
Dawnbane
Chapter 14
Tuyanmar, City of Witches
Part 2
As the sun started to peek into the window at the Inn, Maja and Diar left the room, the Innkeeper had been true to his word and not a sound had disturbed their planning the entire night.
“Mistress, I must say again that his is a bad idea, its way to risky!”
“Your complaints are noted and ignored; we cannot let such a minor detail slow our search, Innkeeper, we will be staying for a few days”
The Innkeeper went pale, if word got around that an Inquisitor was staying in his Inn, then business would slow to a crawl as no one would want to stay in the inn while they were there, on the other hand, what choice did he have?
Maja threw another bag of gold onto the counter and then left the Inn.
“Well then, let’s get started, shall we?”
Maja and Diar started off towards the Southeast, down the street towards the docks, where the dock workers were busy loading and unloading the catch from Lake Kaiach, a dangerous job due to the lake serpents living in the dark and deathly cold waters.
The street was crowded and Maja and Diar soon had to literally push people out of their way.
As they neared an extremely crowded intersection Maja led Diar into an alleyway to cut across to another way.
Further down the alley opened up to a small space hidden from plain view, there were also several people milling about the area, looking bored and more then one looked a bit drunk.
“Hey, look fellas! Look there, a pair of really lovely dolls coming our way”
Maja and Diar ignored them.
“Hey! Don’t you ignore us, *****!”
One of the men stretched his hand out to grab Maja.
Before anyone, even Diar could react; Maja had grabbed the man by his arm, tossed him to the ground, summoned a spear out of thin air and stabbed him through the heart with it.
“We are not.... amused”
Maja started walking again, dismissing the spear as she did.
“Mistress, what was that spear?”
“A gift from Coatl, same as the armours we are wearing, the Spear however is an ancient relic, in difference to the swords we carry, and only materialises when its owner wishes to have it in hand, it is... useful”
A few minutes later Maya and Diar arrived at a ramshackle building inside a partially hidden alley way, without hesitating Maya knocked on the door, first the times fast, then two slow then finally a heavy slam that shook the entire door.
A small hatch in the door was opened and a pair of small beady eyes peered out at them.
“Open the door Mathuk, we need to talk”
The eyes went wide with surprise, shock and more than a small bit of fear.
“You! W-what are you doing here?”
“Is there a problem, old friend?”
“N-no, not at all”
Maya and Diar would both easily distinguish the lie for what it was.
“Open the door”
“Erm... I... err...”
“Open the door NOW!”
Maya’s last word was carried on her fear aura and Mathuks will to resist crumbled in front of such a devastating onslaught, and he quickly opened the door for them.
As they entered however Maya froze, sitting at a table on the other side of the small room was the last person Maya had ever expected.
“I didn’t know you were feeding information to others of my order, Mathuk” said the man sitting at the table.
“Neither did I, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Inquisitor...?”
“Dralen, Akelar Dralen of the Nid Dragon Inquisitorial Chapter and you are”
“Inquisitor Ishtonar, Black Rose Chapter”
Dralens eyes nearly popped out of his skull at the mention of the chapter of the black rose, the most powerful of all the inquisitions chapters, even other Inquisitors were lucky to come back from a meeting with them with their minds intact, not only that but nearly all of the members of the Black rose was of the Ishtonar family, the most powerful Psion’s on this side of the desert.
Dralen quickly cleared his throat.
“Forgive me, Milady, I had no idea a member of the Black Rose would be hunting someone this far away from the capitol”
“I received reports from my contacts that a cult had been established in the area, I am here to ferret it out, one cannot leave such things in the hands of lesser Inquisitors”
Dralen looked to Mathuk, who was still recovering from the fear aura then back to Maya, his expression went from revering then grim, and both Maya and Diar felt a sudden temperature drop followed by Dralens eyes going wide.
“You are too curious for your own good, Inquisitor”
Said Diar as she drew her sword and were on him in an instant, that instant was the all that the shocked inquisitor needed to shake off the initial surprise and draw his own sword, his arm trembling with the effort to keep Diar at bay.
“You sold your soul to the Dread Lord for mere physical strength?”
The Inquisitor asked through gritting teeth as he slowly started to push back against Diar, clearly using a magical item to grant himself greater strength so that he could fight Diar on even terms.
“For mere physical strength? Hardly”
Dralen looked over to Maya and gasped in shock as she revealed her true form, and released the full force of her fear aura, Mathok gasped, made several gurgling noises and started foaming before he fainted in a pool of his own piss.
“Neither me nor my companion sold our souls for strength, Inquisitor”
Diar smiled and revealed her true form as well, it didn’t change as much as that of Maya, but it sprouted a pair of bad wings, and her eyes became crimson, a pair of fangs grew from her mouth and a pair of horns from her head, and she was bathed in a weak pink light that somehow made her seem like the most terrible yet attractive thing Dralen had seen since his wife passed away about 5 years earlier.
“Unholy monster, you will not tempt me!”
“I am not trying to tempt you”
Dralen looked at her with a confused look, when a searing pain erupted from his midsection as Diars razor sharp tail cut cleanly through his back, through his heart and out of his chest.
“I am just trying to distract you”
She smiled softly as the Inquisitors body fell to the floor, leaving behind a transparent version of him stuck on Diars tail.
“Mistress seems like I accidently extracted his soul from his body, what should we do with it?”
Maya slowly walked over and gave a feral grin as she took out a gem, she pressed it against the Inquisitors translucent body and uttered a word of Dark Speech, the soul of the Inquisitor slowly started t flow inside the gem and in just a few moments the gem, before a sparkling diamond turned midnight black and lost all shine, as to reflect the evil that it just had been used for.
“He might be useful later, now then let’s have a chat with Mathuk”
She calmly walked over to the fainted man and revived him with a word, and as he came too, Mathuk knew that he would wich the Inquisitor had taken him for "questioning".
thanks Lun! i havent been around as much, cause of youtube. anyway, the last two chapters were really good! i enjoyed them a lot, and the few grammar errors i found are more than excusable. i cant wait for more.
As I have said if there are any grammar errors it's cuss my spelling program aint finding it, on a side note chapter 12 is in the works should be up in a day or 2... hopefully
As of now I have the choice between several branching storilines in my head for this story, and are writing along all of them in order to find out which one I like the most, until then I won't be able to post.
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