Bastard!! Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Macross Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Humanity ❯ Chapter 1

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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Prologue 0x01 graphic

"It is like the ten prophets said, `He will come and bring with him
the tool of hatred and sorrow. He will die many deaths but save more
lives than one can count and among all of it, he will have his Soul
returned to him. It will take a lot of hard work to repair his
chalice, and only one can do that. Only one...' and then the prophecy
stops. It starts up again so say `Dinner is like the witching hour
here, and when the spoon dives for its second fill of stew, then she
will awaken to the horrors of the World and those who Rule it.'" She
put a marker in the book and gently shut it, her blue eyes closing
wearily. She passed a slender hand over her wrinkles, weathered, aged
and tired face, fanning blue hair from her eyes. Then she stood,
walked over to the fire and pulled up Miora from its little sheath
from its little bed on the mantle. She unsheathed it and it glowed
blood red in the firelight. She smiled before plunging the dagger into
her breast. It swelled once with pain and misery, but then she sank to
the floor, her blood seeping through her gauzy dress to pool beneath
her. It seeped into the fire where it sizzled and then the fire began
to glow black and it formed a broken chalice, glimmering slowly before
the fire abruptly snuffed out. The Oracle died, choking upon her own
blood as her heart feebly tried to pumped...

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His eyes were pale blue, almost clear, but not quite. His hair was ice
blond, slightly tinged blue as it stood in proud spikes atop his head.
He unsheathed his sword and crept through the tunnels of Mercadia. He
growled low in his throat as he approached another torch and with a
flick of his gaze the fires died out. The tunnel was cramped, and he
was forced to half-crouch, half-crawl his way down the twisting
corridor. He feared that a beast would attack him and he would be
unable to fight properly with his blade. The sword emitted an icy
aura, frosting the air around it. It almost looked as if it were afire
with ice crystals. The man smiled, his thin lips twisting up without
mirth.

He came to the end of the tunnel at last and found himself confronted
with a door. He stared at it a moment, as if not comprehending. Then
his anger mounted and he thrust his hand out, grabbing the doorknob.
By now the tunnel had widened enough for him to stand almost straight,
he was a little shy of six feet, and he felt strong claws grip his
shoulders. He was ripped away from the door and with a startled cry,
found himself hurled against the far wall, which only seemed far when
you were flying backwards in seemingly slow motion. He grunted but
then the creature was on him. Gangly arms and legs wrapped around him
as well as powerful wings. Something wet began to wrap around his legs
and he managed to move his head slightly enough to see his legs,
twisted off to the side at an uncomfortable angle. He winced,
realizing what was on him. A winged spider... he thought, struggling
to move even a fraction of an inch. He was pinned though. Then, his
brain screamed at him to use his Magick. He was an idiot for not
thinking of it first. He angrily told himself he had begun to rely on
the Scythe of Ice, his sword, and that since he was an Elemental, he
would have to use his Gyft to get out of this. He closed his eyes and
summoned that peaceful spot within moments.

The winged spider screeched as it was engulfed in a crystal. Ice
blinked, trapped in the crystal with a small pocket of air. He
concentrated on melting the ice around him, and then he used his knife
to cut away the sticky wet strands of whatever the spider had woven
around him to use as a cocoon. He stood, a little wobbly and found his
sword, which he had flung out desperately during his brief flight. He
pried it loose from the dirt and then headed back over to the door,
casting a small wall about himself before touching the doorknob. Just
as he thought, a winged spider hit his wall with a thump. If they're
called by me touching the door, what the Hel will be on the other
side? He wondered as he tore free the door from its frame and hurled
it lengthwise through the gap in the dirt wall. It hit a screelish in
the chest and the small creature dropped to its knees crying out.

"Jesus Christ! What's wrong with you?" It yelled.

Ice stared at the green skinned being as it clambered to its feet and
unsheathed a knife, which was the length of a short sword to the small
winged creature.

"I'm sorry..."
"As well you should be, moron!" The screelish shrieked in rage, wiping
dirt off the short hairs that covered its delicate body. It sheathed
its sword at its back and Ice watched the tiny muscles bunch.

"Um... If you don't mind me asking..."
"Yes?" The screelish asked impatiently.

"What are you doing here in Mercade? Aren't screelishes indigenous to
the Valley of Death... all the way on the northwest side of Shadowia?"
It nodded. "What are you doing this far east?"
"I was captured. I was thrown into these tunnels to wander aimlessly
forever until they deem my punishment finished."
"How long has it been?"
"I stopped counting three decades ago." The screelish looked at him.
"And what's an Elemental doing here?"
"I'm on a search." He said.

"For what?" The screelish looked interested. Like all things born of
fire, screelish liked to hunt and find precious things. Where a Dragon
would keep its horde to itself, a screelish liked to barter for other
equally attractive goods. What it deemed attractive was based on the
particular personality of the screelish. This one seemed far too
intelligent to barter anything less than what a human would want. A
screelish usually spoke rough English, and most of it only swears it
heard a sailor curse at the hideous sight of it. This screelish was
appraising everything from the Elemental's boots to his sword with an
eye for business.

"... I know of a small book of prophecies I would like to have. I also
heard a man of great strength lurks in here. I wish to find and
challenge him as well."
"What's your name?" The screelish asked.

"Names are powerful words of Magick."
"I'm not an idiot. My name is Des."
"I'm Greshym."
"Diarnia? You looked Diarnian."
"I am indeed. My name now is Ice."
"Greetings Ice. I don't suppose you would let me jaunt alongside you
for a bit of this journey, would you?"
Ice sighed. Disposing of a screelish was almost impossible, almost as
hard as finding one out in the woods.

"How well can you fight with that thing?" He was a bit wary of a
creature who came up only to his knee.

"I was a master of my tribe when I was among them. How well you can
you fight with your sword?"
"It is part of me. I fight like it is such."
Des nodded and started down the hall, waiting until he was slightly
behind the Elemental. They worked their way, blowing out torches, down
the twisting corridors, coming to forks and spending at least twenty
minutes before the grumbling Diarnian chose always the left fork. Des
followed faithfully and silently, not sure of how to treat the man it
was following in hopes of getting out of the dungeons to which it was
con-demned. So far Ice seemed like a private cranky kind of guy. So
far it looked like this was going to be a long journey. Des began
sorting through his bags, thinking about the Kender who had named him.
Tasslehoff Burrfoot was a spritey little fellow who had come to the
tribe of Sandstorm and named him on a whim. His family name was Carol
and Des wasn't sure he liked the name Des Carol. It sounded a little
too feminine to his ears, but he had grown up without hassle and was
now a peaceful age of forty, approxi-mately one eighth of the age
screelishes grew to on average. Des worried this was as old as he
would get, for if he wasn't home within a fortnight, he would take his
own life.

Typically, screelishes weren't violent in the least, although they did
train warriors, they hardly ever the need to use them. Screelishes
lived mainly in the swampy areas of the Valley of Death, and only came
out when it rained, as it did often in their homelands. However, since
people rarely ventured into a such named valley, odds were as equally
slim that they would ever see a screelish. Ice had just made history
in his mind. He sighed and looked down at his winded little companion.
Des was slowly falling behind. Ice crouched down suddenly and the
small screelish collapsed beside him.

"What type of food do screelishes eat?" Ice asked, hoping he had
something in his pack that would appeal to the small little guy. He
did look awfully skinny...

"We like our meat raw."
"I don't eat meat." Ice said. "Do you like spice soup?"
Des looked at him curiously. "What does it taste like?"
Ice looked down at his watch. "We'll camp here for the night." He set
up camp and built a fire of Magick that wouldn't die out in his
presence. Then he made some soup, which Des ate hungrily. He ate three
bowls, leaving one for Ice, how generous eh, and then they settled
down. "Tell me of why - exactly - you're here, Des."
"Thirty years back I was on an expedition with several other warriors
from my tribe of Sandstorm. We had to cross through Shadowia and
Mercade to get to Nigel, our trusted elder, but when we found him in
Desmont, he was dead and halfway rotted. We left, our hearts heavy and
several of us took our lives. I was traveling with a female warrior
named Teres when she dropped from dehydration. A man, who claimed to
be our friend, took us here, where he locked us up in this maze and
left us for dead."
"How have you survived all these years?"
He looked disgusted. "I fed off Teres. She was my... sister..."
"How awful." Ice hugged the screelish, who wasn't sure he felt any
comfort in that cold embrace, but who appreciated the emotion
nonetheless. "How long ago have you been starving?"
"Few days. Teres lasted two weeks because of the rations I set for
myself. Then I fed off plants along my way and then I killed a winged
spider, which poisoned me and kept me trapped down here for, what I
judged to be, a month in a coma. I woke up and found myself half
starved, half crazed and then I started out on a rush, depending on my
chi to keep me alive." He sighed and looked into his empty bowl.

"You have Magick?"
"All creatures of Shadowia have Magick, however, if one is born with
it, it is not perceived as Magick. You have a lot to learn,
Elemental."
Ice smiled. "Go to sleep. You've led a hard life."
"I believe everything leads a hard life."
"You're also a bit too introspective for a man like me. I'm just a
dumb brute." Ice curled up in his blanket, his body cooling it to a
decent temperature for his nature and then he closed his eyes,
throwing an ice wall around them and drifting off into a blissful
sleep, the kind he hadn't had since childhood.

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Airiad growled as the tentacled monster gripped the book curled in the
crook of one slender tentacle, holding the book to his chest. Airiad's
blade made of air and as easily seen, whirled about, dancing like the
wind. Tentacles fell all around until only the thick front-most
tentacles were left, one occupied by the book of prophecies. Airiad
snarled again, his sword flying through the air but it was knocked
from his hand by the free tentacle.

"How dare you!" The beast shrieked in a decidedly feminine voice.

"How dare you!" Airiad cried indignantly before he realized the beast
was talking. "Jesus, what the Christ are you?"
"I am an Elemental just as you." The woman said, her voice breathless
as her free tentacle applied pressure to various wounds; mostly those
where a tentacle was previous-ly attached. In her eye, he had some
nerve lopping off body parts with such indifference as he had shown.

"What the Hels kind of Elemental could you possibly be?"
"I am a beast Elemental, obviously. Hence the beastlike form!"

"What are you doing with my book!"
"Your book!"
"I came here for it. I need it!" Airiad snapped as if this was so
obvious.

"Listen, what's your name?"
"You may call me Airiad."
"I call no one by their Elemental names. What is your family name?"

"Calyphis. Dryad Calyphis." He sighed.

"This is a sacred book, guarded over by the spirits until the spirits
began to dissipate on the wind as easily as my arms fell to the
floor."
"Tentacles. They're tentacles..." Airiad said helpfully, trailing off
when she glared at him, her amber eyes with the slit pupils looking
very menacing once again. "Sorry, continue please." He gave her a meek
smile.

"An evil very great has entered this World. This Universe to be
politically correct. Only the ones of whom the Prophecy speak of may
change the future. Otherwise, we are all dead." The woman sighed,
shifting her girth uneasily.

"Tell me the Prophecy in full. I think I am connected."
"Why?" Those amber eyes glazed with fury at his incessant prying. "Why
do you think that?"
"It takes a special key to open the stone gates to this underground
tunnel, yes? I and another had that key and now we both wander
aimlessly. He has no doubt befriended some sort of underground beast,
and I am most definitely angering the underground beasts, as we always
tend to do when we run off together. However, we haven't met, but we
know each other and I know my anger will end up saving his life and
his cool composure will save mine. That sounds a lot like it may be
part of the Prophecy you speak of, but haven't spoken of. Don't you
think?" Those clear eyes, with just the slightest hint of blue,
settled on hers and she gestured for him to sit. He retrieved his
sword before doing so. She settled down and suddenly the tentacles
were gone, her beastlike form was gone, and she was a slender woman
with many stab wounds on her body. She sat down cross-legged and gazed
at him, those amber eyes staring right into his Soul. She opened the
book and began to read, having mysteriously opened to the correct page
on the first try.

"The Universe is born of light and the light will encompass everything
and breed Souls from the Gaea as it flows gently through the earth.
The Souls will develop cases to keep them safe and then Man will have
been created. Created in many forms from Vampires to Shadows to Humans
to Elementals, we have Man. There is an opposite for everything in
creation and for light, there is Dark. The Darkness will soon begin to
fight back against the Light in every way it knows how and soon the
Universe as we know it will become the battlefield for the Gods and
their wars.

"It is like the ten prophets said, `He will come and bring with him
the tool of hatred and sorrow. He will die many deaths but save more
lives than one can count and among all of it, he will have his Soul
returned to him. It will take a lot of hard work to repair his
chalice, and only one can do that. Only one...' and then the prophecy
stops. It starts up again so say `Dinner is like the witching hour
here, and when the spoon dives for its second fill of stew, then she
will awaken to the horrors of the World and those who Rule it.' But
companion to this woman will be a one eyed warrior of no fear and no
compassion. Emotions will have fled from this man's heart and all that
he once held holy is now nestled deep within his mistress's Soul. So
you see, you are not mentioned."
"You lie. The prophecy goes on for three more paragraphs. Read them."
She sighed and nodded. "You are indeed a wise man. It continues to say
`Two men who know not of each other but know the other better than
themselves will be brought into the war of the Gods, but whether
either shall survive remains grim and undetermined. One will move
silent and kill with invisible weapons and act without thinking, thus
making enemies quicker than he can secure allies. However, the other
will be cold and composed, thinking everything through before even
attempting action. He will steal the heat from one's body and the
breath along with it and he fights with a sword that can be solid or
not. These two are the key to survival... But only if they can find
the book in time.'" The woman glared at him and stood.

"You don't want the Light to win, do you?" Airiad asked, passing a
hand over his eyes. She smirked at his revelation and nodded briefly.

"I am a creature bred of the Darkness, else I would be more... human
looking like you. However, I am not and it is my duty to kill you."
She drew a sword of her own and tucked the book in her belt. The door
splintered into a thousand pieces and a screelish stood, shivering
next to an Elemental. The beast woman hissed as she found herself
against three armed creatures. "You too are a creature of the
Darkness, Des!"
"And you are the being that trapped me down here to die miserably and
eat my companions."
"You ate the Elemental?" Airiad's eyes got big as a wail welled up in
his throat like the tears in his eyes. "How could you?"
"I'm right here, you moron!" Ice snapped and the wind Elemental looked
relieved as he said "Thank the soon-to-be-nonexistent Spirits!"

"What?" Ice frowned but soon found a sword sticking through his chest.
He looked up and gave her a cold smile. "Threat assimilated." He
whipped out his sword and began to attack, feinting in and out, his
sword dancing intricately on the air. The beast woman found herself
being attacked from three sides and quickly died, her head flying
across the room to lie gazing up into Airiad's eyes. The taller
Elemental shivered theatrically before turning to Ice and grinning.

"You're a hero!" Airiad cried.

"You're an idiot!" Ice snapped.

"You two know each other?" Des asked.

Airiad retrieved the book and made Ice read the Prophecy containing
them. Finally the Ice Elemental looked at him with a scowl.

"Are you serious?"
"As a triple bypass!" Airiad said, his eyes large and innocent. "I
believe this is us. I mean, it sure as Hel sounds like us, neh?"
"I have to escort Des here back to the Valley of Death. Care to
accompany us?"
"I'd be honoured!" Airiad perked.

"Then you're under my command and not to run off and be moronic again,
you hear me?"
"Yeah, whatever. My name's Airiad." He thrust his hand out and Ice
shook his head, his lips twisting up in a sneer.

"Ice."
"As nice as it too. When do we leave?"
Des looked nervously at Ice who smiled reassuringly. "Now."

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"And cake, chocolate on chocolate, ice cream, Mississippi mud pie or
mint chocolate chip, strawberry cheese cake, and cherry cheese cake--"

"High Lord?"
Freedan looked up, his eyes opening with a start. "What is it
Yamaria?"
"Dinner is ready and the Lady awaits you."
"Thanks."
"Uh, High Lord? What were you doing?"
"Being stupid." He grinned as he dashed down the hall.

He came to an abrupt halt outside the doors and smoothed his black
clothes, his icy hair and replaced his mask of indifference. He slowly
opened the door with his Gyft and walked in, walking the length of the
large dining table, each seat filled until he came to the head of the
table. Phoebe, his sister, sat off to the right and a man, Flaem, the
Fire Elemental, off to the left. Freedan took his seat and sat down.

"As you may have heard, we have captured the spy who was creeping
through Shadowia and selling secrets to the Realm of the Dead.
However, it has also come to our attention that the spy is none other
than the Queen of the Dead, and so we all feel like asses." His black
eyes swept the table, meeting each gaze without a hint of emotion and
they blinked and looked away, or blushed and passed hands over their
eyes. "So we hold her in the suite across from my own, to watch every
move she makes. She rooms with one of my personal men, Sadi--"Eyes
turned to him and he gave them a grin that was more like baring of his
teeth than anything else, and eyes hastily returned to the High Lord,
who was giving Sadi a bizarre look, making the man smile. "--who has
only come to show you he does indeed exist."
"What measures will be taken against this Queen?" A man asked.

Freedan's black glittering eyes locked on that man's, who hedged and
looked uncomfortable. Without removing his gaze, Freedan picked up his
spoon. Nobody moved and he spoke a moment later, looking down in
disgust at the meat in his soup. "Nothing will happen until we know
why she was gathering information about us. We know not if she should
be perceived as a threat or as a mere hindrance."
"She should be killed!" A woman snapped.

"If you saw this woman, you wouldn't have the balls to kill her." Sadi
said, his cultured voice flowing smoothly over the silence and the
woman thrust her chin out.

"I would kill her this instant if she was gathering information. She
may not be the threat, but whoever she passes the information to may
be."
"But if she has something to do with the Prophecy then she must live."
Phoebe said, her soft voice piping up suddenly. All eyes spun to her.
"I know it is wrong to speak of the Prophecy in exact words, but there
is a part about a woman being here to help the saviour of the
Universe."
"We need no saviour!" The same woman seethed.

"What's your name, milady?" Freedan asked suddenly.

"Danielle South."
"Lady South, shut the Hel up."

"How dare you speak to me that way, High Lord!" she shrieked, standing
up abruptly. "You have no right--"

"I have every right! You speak out of turn and do not know when to
stop!" Freedan snapped and a few of the women began to frown, fearing
his temper more than his sword at the moment. "You are lower on the
chain than I, and will never rise to be my equal nor my superior. I
suggest you sit down and compose yourself South, before I give you
reason to be upset."
"Do not make empty threats with me, High Lord. I am not easily
scared."
"Empty threat? I will kill your daughter and strip you of your land.
That is within my power, that is in no way an empty threat. Now sit."

"Ask me like the lady I am!" She snapped, her cheeks heated.

"NOW!" She dropped to her seat, suddenly very pale and the room seemed
deadly silent after the High Lord's shout. He smiled warmly at the
guests, raising his spoon to his lips. "I'm happy to see you're all as
straightforward as ever."

"Uh... May I be excused High Lord?" Sadi asked quietly.

"Have you eaten?" Flaem asked, astonished at the concept of Sadi
passing up free food and wine. It would be totally unlike him!

"While the High Lord and Lady South were flipping out on each other,"
Sadi said meekly. Freedan dismissed him with a wave of his hand and
the man slipped from the room on silent feet, his red eyes glinting in
the darkness of the Shadow World.

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She sat up, pale and shivering.

"You again." She said as he entered. He had black hair, spiked with
red tips, thin black eyebrows, one arched at the moment and blood-red
eyes that glinted in the torch-light. Sadi smiled.

"Me again," he chirped pleasantly.

"Where's Belhelmel?"
"Who?" Sadi squinted, brushing dust from his suit jacket.

"My guard."
"Oh, in the Dungeons, of course. We've no need to keep an eye on him."
His eyes took in her slender frame and she shuddered. "Just you." He
sat down in the chair beside the bed and resumed his watch. His gaze
traveled over her body while she sat, shaking on the bed. She wore a
long tunic, a belt tied at her waist. Beneath her tunic she wore
leggings tucked into knee high combat boots with a deadly looking
heel. Her arms were bare and muscular and Sadi smirked. "You have the
wiry build of a warrior."

"You have the arrogant look of an aristocrat." She snapped, her blue
eyes blazing, turning red with anger.

Sadi nodded slightly, more like a brief inclination of his head.
"Indeed I am. You may know my father, Diamond Diablos." Her eyes
widened, turning green and Sadi crossed his legs. "High Assassin."
Sadi looked into her green-blue eyes and found he almost couldn't
break his gaze away. She was breathtakingly beautiful. But then there
was a knock at the door before the High Lord entered. He walked over
to the woman, who was really no more than a girl, and she spit in his
face. He wiped the spittle away and gave her a charming grin.

"Sadi, would you mind leaving us for ten minutes?"
"Ten?"
"Come back in ten." Freedan nodded, giving the man an annoyed glare at
having to repeat himself. Sadi shrugged and left. Freedan glared at
her, his eyes an intense shade of black, red just hinting beneath the
darkness as his eyes sparkled. "I see you're adjust-ing to your
accommodations alright?"
"Why do you care?" She snapped, pushing herself to her feet. She was
six inches shorter than the High Lord and hoped that the old saying
was true. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

"I naturally hold an intense interest in the one who was sending
Shadowic secrets to the Dead."
"You don't understand--"

"You're right, I don't!" He snapped quietly, lest the anxious Sadi who
waited just beyond the outer doors heard him. "Why did you do it, Lady
Takashi?"
"Prophecy. You probably wouldn't believe me."
"I do, in fact." He said, a small smile creeping to his lips. "But I
don't believe that's why you were doing it."
"Do you know anything about the Prophecies?" She snapped angrily.

"I know that you think you're the aid to whoever has to save the
Universe. Who do you think our saviour will be?" His eyes glinted
dangerously, a small hint of fear edging into them, but his voice was
hard and sarcastic. She held her breath and answered.

"You."

"Frankly, my dear, that's madness."
"Don't act cold as fuck and say you don't give a damn about humanity!"
She yelled. Her eyes, so bold, so open yet so dark and mysterious
blazed an intense shade of red, almost glowing with the white heat of
her anger.

"You obviously don't know me, Takashi because I don't give a damn
about humanity! Why would I want to protect a cruel Universe in which
neighbors denounce neighbors and the only thing that keeps us alive is
that we manage to betray our enemies first, thus reversing the game?
It's an endless waltz we dance and I have no desire to continue this
masquerade! Do what you will," he lowered his voice, shoving his hands
in his pockets and rocking back angrily on his heels. "But please.
Just leave me out of it."
Her eyes searched his desperately. Is this really the man the prophets
told me of? She spoke then, her voice onyx in the still evening air,
her eyes equally cold and dark. "There is a time and a place where
anger is a useful tool, High Lord. The men who plan to destroy us will
not expect an attack from one such as you. You could use your power
and the element of surprise to overcome them. We will win, I have no
doubt, but we must act quickly and soon." She extended her hand and
his eyes went to if before flicking back to her eyes. His face was a
cold mask of masculine beauty, devoid of emotion.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time, or maybe words with more
than two syllables throw you off Takashi. But I do so recall saying I
will not play with the Prophecies. Take Sadi, he has taken quite a
liking to you. Maybe the Prophecies won't know the difference." His
smirk mocked her and her anger rose.

"You will die. Phoebe will die. Evil will prevail. Kiri will have you
once again."

Her back hit the wall and a torch dropped into her lap. Fire licked up
her torso as she propelled herself to her feet, a chair crashing where
her head had been a moment before. She couldn't think, could hardly
see and she felt blood running down her legs in thick, slow torrents.
She was tackled around the waist from the left and her temple made
contact with the corner of a small table by the door. She saw a
soft-soled boot, Sadi's boot, but then something acidic dripped onto
her cheek, exposing the bone. She saw Freedan clearly for the first
time, his face still that cruel mask of indifference, but a knife
edging closer to her throat. When she had swung her arm as he tackled
her it had nicked his face, a small cut slicing his eyebrow into
uneven pieces. His blood, black as those cold unseeing eyes, dripped
down and she went limp, letting the knife dig into the soft flesh of
her throat. The momentum sent the knife in to the hilt and she watched
his face as he pushed himself back into a crouch, one foot to each
side of her hips. He was panting as he wiped blood from his face. He
looked up at Sadi.

"High Lord..." Sadi sighed.

"Tell Phoebe to gather my men in the strategy room." He said, voice
flat.

"Yes sir." Sadi rushed from the room as Nerouki ripped the knife from
her throat, the wound closing as if it never was. Freedan stood and
offered her a hand. He swept her up from under him, to her feet and
she gave him a cold glance, ignoring his authority with her eyes.

"What changed your mind?"
"Nothing. I want my men to hear how stupid this entire story is, and
then we're going to talk about the numerous ways we'll see what it
takes to break a F'Kor."
"You'll destroy royalty?"
"I killed my parents. I'll kill again." He turned on his heel and
swept down the hallways. She didn't know her way and was forced to jog
to keep up with him. She studied him as she trotted beside him and he
finally looked down at her. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Eyes to the floor she slowed with him until she was walking
at a brisk pace and he strolling at his leisure.

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"Ok, so she wants to infiltrate their headquarters in Denelvia of the
Vampire Domain, kill three men going by the names Gabriel, Alucard and
Richter, and then come back here so you two can train together and be
the warriors the Prophecy spoke of?"
"Flaem, you forgot the part where we go to the Valley of Death and
befriend two Elementalis!" Freedan scolded merrily.

"I know it sounds impossible--"

"Impossible? A waste of time would be more accurate!" Phoebe scoffed.

"Freedan--" All eyes turned to her and she paled "Oh shit..."

Freedan smirked. "There is a legend that when a name that translates
into Bringer of All Death is spoken aloud by one the Bringer hates,
that person will meet an unkind end. However, when studying German, I
stumbled upon my name, Frieden, which means peace. Seems like a
contradiction of cultures, neh? Everybody stop staring at her and let
her be." He turned to her, his expression vaguely amused. "You were
saying Takashi?"

"I was saying that... uh... Have you made the Holy Sacrifice? Are you
at your full power?" Flaem snickered and Sadi shifted restlessly.
Freedan shot Flaem a glare that stilled the room.

"No." He snapped.

"What haven't you done?" Nerouki asked timidly.

"Both."
"But..." His eyes, black and opaque, focused on her. "You should do
that before we go."
"I think I'll just make the Holy Sacrifice. Seems a bit more
imperative than get-ting laid, although Sadi just paled as I said
that." Freedan smirked.

"I would come to my full power for you High Lord," Sadi graciously
offered.

"You can only come once," Phoebe snapped.

"So you think, but I have offered you--"

"Sadi, not my sister. You know that!" Freedan snapped.

"High Lord! May we go over the map now?"
Freedan looked at her before he stood. "No. I should probably go make
the Sacrifice." He grinned. "And so should you. You might as well come
to your full power. Sadi here has some free time. He can help you with
it." He turned back to the room. "Come back in three hours everybody.
Three."