InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Crow Left of the Murder - A "Pride" Sidestory ❯ Chapter 1

A Crow Left of the Murder - A sidestory for Pride (in the Name of Love)
Written by Jezz-Ra
Warnings - Violence, dark, yaoi, lime-ish (well...nothing descript, just mentions of sex)
Disclaimer - I don't own Inuyasha, don't make money off it. Wish I did.

The main story 'Pride (in the Name of Love)' can be found under my author profile at any of my archive sites.
Archived at - inu.adultfanfiction.net, fanfiction.net, and mediaminer.org ::: Anywhere else, ask!
Questions or Comments? - Email me at megami_no_remon@hotmail.com

// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - If you stumbled upon this story first, you will wonder what in the HELL this has to do with the Inuyasha series. Fact of the matter is, in general it does not have ANYTHING to do with it. This is a companion story to my massive Inuyasha fic "Pride (in the Name of Love)". It is the story of an original character that became rather more prominent than I originally intended, a raven youkai by the name of Sairex.

However, it DOES involve characters from and the world of Inuyasha. It just takes a bit to get there. So bear with me. This story COULD stand alone, I suppose...but its really more enjoyable if you are a follower of the original. This is more....the prequel to Pride than anything.
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"Is it done?"

The midwife nodded her head. "Yes, my chieftain."

"And my mate, she is unharmed?"

Again, the woman nodded. The chieftain nodded in response before dismissing her with a wave of his hand. He strode into the quiet birthing room, which had only moments ago contained an inordinate amount of screaming and cursing, and then the high-pitched wailing of the newly born.

His mate gave him an unreadable look, torn somewhere between pride and hatred. "Your heir is male."

The chieftain, Lu'Callin, frowned ever so slightly. A shame, that...he had hoped his heir would be female. Females tended to be stronger. But no matter - his injuries provided him little choice. He would never father a child again. "I see." He moved to look at the child, who was sleeping quietly, wrapped in a blanket next to the bed.

Under Lu'Callin's scrutinizing gaze, the babe's eyes slowly opened. They were a vibrant yellow, the color of lightning in a summer storm, and shocking in their intensity. A pleased smile lit the chieftain's face as he prodded his son's youki. Oh, yes...this one was strong. Good. He would make a fitting heir. Lu'Callin turned his gaze back to his mate, Rashanni. "Have you made arrangements for a nursemaid as yet?"

Rashanni rolled her eyes. "Hn. Of course, bring it to Zhezrye. What, do you think I want to raise the damn thing myself? I have enough to worry about with my work. Take it away, I'll see it when its old enough."

Lu'Callin smirked and leaned in, brushing a kiss to her temple. "I will return later, then." He stood and stretched before hoisting the newborn child without much more care than he would a sack of meat for his dinner. The baby wailed at the rough treatment, but was paid no heed. "I am assuming you did not name it."

"It is male and you are chieftain. Of course I did not name it. Don't ask stupid questions, Lu."

"I'd kill you for your disrespect if you weren't such a damn good shaman."

Rashanni smirked and then waved him away. "Get the thing out of here, it is noisy. And don't break it. Its your last one, remember?"

Lu'Callin nodded gravely, hoisting himself up on his crutch, the wrapped bundle in his other arm. He made his way down the expansive hallway of his family's palace. As he walked, he glanced down at the small creature in the crook of his arm. "My heir, are you? I hope you do not disappoint me. You are heir to the shaman as well. A lot to deal with. I pray you end up intelligent enough to handle it."

The baby's eyes turned towards him, almost looking as if he understood what Lu'Callin was saying. Ludicrous, of course...but Lu did have the feeling this child would not disappoint him. "A name, then...a powerful name..." Here the chieftain paused, eyeing the frail form in his arms. "You will be known as Sairexannaras."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A tongue peeked out between his lips as he concentrated, struggling to balance in his precarious position. His wings - downy and far too small still for proper flight - were extended to help him balance. Ever so slowly, Sairex leaned forward, praying his impromptu stack of chairs would not topple and send him crashing to the floor. That had hurt, last time...but there was no one around to ask for help, and no one kept ladders or stools in a city where everyone could fly.

Triumphantly he reached forward, latching on to the book he wanted. Before he could celebrate his triumph, however, the balance of his stack of furniture shifted. Sairex let out a tiny squeak of dismay, his talons latching onto the bookshelf in front of him as the chairs collapsed. The weight of his falling body jarred his arm painfully but his talons held.

The raven-child frowned at his predicament. Well, there was nothing for it...he was dangling a good ten feet off the ground and it was unlikely anyone would be by soon. He would tire long before then, as he was far from physically strong.

Sairex let go. He let out a pained 'whoosh' as the air left his lungs, his body impacting with one of the chairs as he landed. Luckily, it didn't break. That was good - Zhezrye had nearly beat the feathers right off of him last time he broke something!

Zhezrye was his nursemaid. She had made sure he survived his infancy, and then switched her role to making sure he survived his childhood. She made sure he had eaten, dressed, was clean, and got to his classes or important appointments. She also made sure that he was punished if he was lacking in any of these areas.

At six, Sairex was already starting to show his potential. He was a pretty child - something both of his parents frowned on. He had taken strongly after his mother in that department, with a fine-boned, elegant structure, large eyes with long lashes, high cheekbones, full lips and petite in stature. His father was handsome, certainly, but in a much rougher, more muscular way. He held his position as chieftain as much by the force of his hand as he did by force of power. Sairex had fine hair that fell to the middle of his back, the same glossy black as his downy wings and rather exotic, shockingly yellow eyes. That was not much of a surprise, however - all the clan had dark hair and eyes in varying shades of yellow.

Both of his parents accepted him despite his disappointing image. Even at his young age, Sairex could outwit some of the elder members of his clan. The child was terribly smart and quick-thinking, and absorbed information like a sponge. Indeed, even when the battery of tutors that assaulted him daily were not attempting to teach him something new, he spent his free time digging into books in the library, as he was now.

The tome he had risked personal damage for at the moment was a rather dry but informative collection of lore on herbs and their various uses. This was an area Sairex felt he personally needed to learn much in, and quickly. Herbalism - finding the things, knowing how to care for them, knowing their uses for healing or hurting or all manner of other information - this was one of the key skills he needed to learn as the clan's future shaman. It was a huge subject to tackle, and his mother had a heavy hand. Reflexively, Sairex rubbed his cheek with a wince. Her claws had laid him open last time he had gotten a question wrong. She had virtually no patience and absolutely no tolerance for having to repeat herself.

Sairex set the book on a table and began to wrestle apart the small tangle of furniture he had made. It took a bit, but he was able to restore the room to order. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he snatched up his book and headed for his favorite seat on the window-ledge. The morning sun was just starting to crest the horizon, and that was the best place for him to fully utilize it's light and warmth. He did so love it... as small as he was, he was often cold. Besides, there was something comforting about the sun. It was constant, trustworthy. No matter what had happened, it would be there the next day. The bright yellow light was also something he cherished. It was special, in a way. Most of his clan - almost all of them, in fact - tended to sleep during the day and go about their lives nocturnally. Being up like this meant he wouldn't get much sleep when his tutors came in the middle of the night, but...he didn't care to give up the sun. It was his, special...something only he appreciated.

He settled down comfortably with the massive book on his lap and opened it, beginning to read.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sometimes, it was hard being practically the only child of the clan. People treated him with respect...the fearful, hateful respect of a violent, fatal and contagious disease. No one had any use for him and avoided him if at all possible. Sairex didn't mind too much. Half the time he was approached it was one of the bolder members of the clan attempting to learn something from him that he should not reveal, and intent to trick him into it if he would not answer. They learned quickly, however, that this child was frightfully intelligent and often would catch on what they were up to, and soon they simply left him alone.

Even had there not been very few other children - only three or four, actually - Sairex would have been kept from them. Sometimes, he distantly wondered what life would have been like without days of grueling lessons and a bit more time to run about in the courtyard with the others. It did rather look like fun...but no. He understood he had responsibilities. He was special. He was not like them. He knew secrets, and would learn many more. He would single-handedly lead the clan one day.

Still, bouncing off rocks in failed attempts to fly and chasing each other amidst the moonshadows did look like fun...

A sharp smack sent him reeling and almost off his chair. Rashanni narrowed her eyes at her son. "Pay attention, wretch!"

Sairex winced at the dangerous hiss in his mother's tone, giving her his full attention again. "I am sorry..."

Rashanni slapped him again, not pulling her claws. "Do not interrupt me, boy. I did not tell you to speak."

Sairex bowed his head in deference, but did not let his eyes leave her. He resisted the urge to wipe at the warm liquid he felt seeping from his cut cheek. Rashanni stared at him for a long moment before relaxing and going back to her terse explanation on the proper preparation of a dusk-blooming chokevine.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sairex gritted his teeth tightly, wincing against the pain as the lash hit his bared back again. It hurt worse, this time, than usual - he had received several tattoos with his coming of age and most of them were not fully healed yet. The lash connected again and he couldn't help the cry that tore itself from his lips.

A sharply taloned hand grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head up. His father glared darkly at him. "What a miserable thing you are...are you so fragile that you cannot take a little pain? You shame me..."

Sairex gasped, struggling desperately to paste a stoic expression on his face. These lessons from his father were always so much more difficult...

Over the years, his lessons with Rashanni had become easier. He had shown an amazing talent for the shamanistic arts, and soon surpassed even his mother in several areas, particularly the clairvoyant arts. His scrying - the art of seeing things at a distance through a medium such as a mirror or pool of water - was exceptional. He showed aptitude for being able to see the future, and also possessed the ability to cypher. Cyphering was an incredibly rare talent in which he could 'read' an object, glean information from it about things that had happened near it or involving it. Rashanni stopped calling him a failure and even had developed a grudging respect for him. At his coming of age, when he had finally reached thirteen summers, Rashanni had officially announced him as the clan's future shaman.

Lessons with his father were never so smooth. Lu'Callin was a warrior - all the males of his line had been warriors of some degree or another - and he would be damned if his son would disgrace his line by being an exception. He taught Sairex the art of pain and the art of war. Sairex proved apt at being a tactician - a saving grace, the young raven supposed - but combat was an area he simply was not built for.

As he grew, it had been his father's hope he would fill out some instead of being the small, delicate thing he had been since birth. Sairex gained some height, but his body was that of a dancer and not a fighter. He was graceful and willowy, long-limbed and beautiful. He wore the front half of his hair pulled back into a series of tiny braids, each studded with rune-carved bone beads. The rest swung loose between the arch of his wings, nearing his waist. The features that had been cute when he was a fledgling had molded into something beautiful, sensual.

The delicate, specific patterns of the black tattoos on his pale skin only seemed to enhance his ethereal beauty. His eyes were outlined with dark lines of kohl. He dressed simply enough, in a black wrap around his waist with a gold belt. Bracers of beaten gold adorned his wrists and ankles. A heavy golden amulet - adorned with the twin signs of his clan's shaman and chieftain - hung from his throat.

Several of the males of his clan had put in requests to his father to buy him. Lu'Callin had been tempted by some of the offers, but to accept any of them would reveal his own frailty when he failed to produce another heir. He could not replace this boy. A battle had resulted in most of his lower body being crushed beneath a falling building, and while his legs had mostly healed he remained impotent.

This served only to enrage the chieftain further. He was stuck with this pretty but physically weak creature as his heir. He did not doubt Sairex had the magic to defend his claim to the chieftaincy, but it still galled him to think of his flesh and blood failing as a warrior. At least the boy showed some skill with a light blade...and he WAS fast and agile. Still...

"You will learn not to show pain, wretch. It is weakness. You can never be weak. A sign of weakness in y our position will be the death of you. The clan has no mercy! Do you understand me?!"

Sairex winced as the fingers in his hair yanked his neck back further. He managed to gasp out a response. "Yes, my lord..." He fell forward as his father roughly threw him to the ground.

"You shame me. I've had plenty of offers to buy you as a whore from several of the lords of the clan...and none of the females. At your age I had three mates already. Rashanni killed them when she gained enough power, but that is not the point."

Sairex kept his eyes down as he got back to his knees, his voice surprisingly level. "I am sorry, my lord."

"Yes, you are...but there is no other to take your place. You will be my heir...and you will learn." Lu'Callin glared hatefully and flexed his claws before raising the whip again.

"Yes, my lord."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Another four years saw Sairex free of his tutors entirely. Quite simply, he had surpassed them all. There was nothing more any of them could teach him. His mental prowess was unrivaled. The same youkai that had looked on him in disgust now looked on him in awed fear and respect. Despise him, they still might...but not one would challenge the sharp-eyed raven. It was well known what had happened to those that had tried...they had been left bleeding and mentally broken, their minds ruptured and ruined.

Even Sairex's father had found some measure of respect for the young raven. Limited, but some. It had become entirely apparent that his son would never change from his lithe grace into anything more physically intimidating...but Sairex had learned several different styles of combat effectively. He could be beaten to a pulp and would show no sign of having felt the pain, no trace of weakness. He was lightning fast, and he was able to think several steps ahead of his opponents. While generally this would not have earned his father's respect...the fact that Lu'Callin could no longer come close to defeating him in full-out battle did.

On the night of his sixteenth birthday, Sairex was announced as the official heir to the chieftaincy. No one rose in challenge against the declaration - none were foolish enough. Sairex had succeeded in the only way the cold-hearted clan knew - he had clawed his way to the top. He had survived. He feared no one. No, there would be no challenges to his right to rule.

Sairex sat near the blazing bonfire with his sharp yellow eyes closed in something like meditation. The other elders of his clan sat nearby. The rest of them were involved in a mind-melding technique that allowed them to instantly exchange information and thoughts. A sardonic smile twisted Sairex's lips briefly - how much easier his lessons would have been had he been allowed to participate in such mental sharing!

But no. As the heir to both the chief and the shaman, he knew too many secrets that the rest of his clan must never learn. The mental sharing was forbidden to him at an early age. Sairex knew it was one of the reasons he was different.

And different he was. Not because of his physical appearance - he was exceptionally beautiful but he was not the only one in his clan to be so. Nor was it because of his wickedly sharp intellect or his skills. Many in his clan were powerful, and several were stronger in various aspects of the clans necromantic magic than he was.

He was different in his world views. He had no taste for murder, had no desire to perform the ritual sacrifices almost every member of his clan performed to heighten their own personal power. In fact, he was somewhat mortified by the thought. It was well known that his clan had developed an ability to drain the power from other living things and claim it as their own. This resulted in the destruction of the soul of the victim, but the ravens did not care about such things. Very few were the children born to the clan that were allowed to live - to absorb the power of a child of the clan was the biggest gain that could be hoped for. As such, children were traded as commodities or sold to the highest bidder.

Always children. As the mind developed, so too did the defenses of the victim in question. With every day that passed, so did the risk of retaliation. Attempting to absorb an adult victim would provide much power if successful...but would result in the destruction of the attacker or both if not. Most of the clan was far, far too selfish to take such risks. Sairex was the five hundred and forty-eighth child of his parents, and the only one to live past infancy. Had his father not been injured after his conception, he may have simply been another number.

Sairex had found value in life - not just his own but the lives of others. He did not delight in torment. He did not participate in his clans Hunts any more than he did their cruel ceremonies. No one ever thought to question him on it - he was, simply, above their questioning. It never even occurred to the rest of the clan that his reasons to avoid the bloodletting was a distaste for it rather than...well. Anything else.

"Sairex."

The young raven was drawn from his contemplation by the dark voice of his father. He wordlessly turned his eyes to his sire and waited patiently.

"Negotiations are in place with the Lazraga Dragon Clan. They are to ally with us in the Creation, but wish a sign of good faith. We also are working on negotiations for resources with the Western Lands. You are to accompany Rashanni and I."

Sairex nodded slowly. Ah, the Creation...he had to admit, on a technical level, that it pleased him. He had been instrumental in some of the research and development involved in the process. Sairex's clan were practitioners of necromancy, death magic. They frequently raised the dead to serve them as soldiers and slaves, with a myriad of other dark rituals and reasons. Breaching the barrier between worlds, however...pulling the dead souls from the netherworld into the world of the living was difficult and dangerous. His clan had sought a way to make it easier.

The easiest way to get past the barriers, Sairex figured, was to go around them. Or between them. So, with the help of several of the more brilliant minds of his clan, they had found a way to mold a world between worlds, brushing against the borders of the netherworld and the living world both. From here, it would be a far simpler matter to conduct their magic. They jokingly referred to it as the newest circle of hell. The Black Circle. If it proved stable enough, there was even talk of his clan moving there permanently.

Sairex accompanied his parents that spring to their meetings. He was introduced to the prince of the Lazraga dragons, a powerful dark beast with a rare talent for shapeshifting by the name of Tsetsukosei. He learned from his parents soon after that he was to be given to the prince as a mate to strengthen the alliance between the wicked dragons and the ravens. Ultimately, he was to spy on them, glean information from them. Tsetsukosei had powerful spiritual magic of a different sort, and the knowledge was coveted.

It did not occur to Sairex to be appalled by this - he had known from a young age that his mating would be preordained by his parents. They informed him they would eventually send him a suitable female - he would need children, after all - but the dragon was to be his first and only true mate...at least until his parents died and he was in power. Then it was his own decision if he remained with the dragon or not.

The trip to the Western Lands changed the young raven more than anything else he had experienced previously in his life. Everything was different from the dark mountains in which he had been raised. He was fascinated. His parents settled into negotiations with the Lord and Lady of the West and left him to examine the native culture firsthand. He naturally gravitated to the library, his sharp eyes scanning book titles as his brain struggled to translate things. The language here was foreign and came to him with some difficulty - he had never had much opportunity to practice.

A deep voice from behind him startled him, although he kept his reaction minimal with the ease of long practice. "Well, hello there..."

It was then that Sairex met Toga, the son and heir to these lands. At first, the young inu lord had a bit of difficulty understanding the raven's heavy accent and poor grasp of his language, but Sairex improved rapidly and Toga adapted. The two became fast friends.

Sairex was absolutely fascinated by the inu. They were roughly the same age - Toga was only two years older than his sixteen - but their lives were vastly different. Toga was relaxed and easygoing, but moved with supreme confidence in his skills. He was a born leader. He was also open and affectionate, hiding none of his passions for anything. Laughter and reveling in life were foreign concepts to the raven, and he settled in to learn from Toga as he had any of his tutors.

Over the course of the summer, they both learned from each other. Sairex was sharp and cunning, a brilliant tactician despite his lack of battle experience. He taught Toga several cunning strategies, pointed out several things he could do to make his kingdom larger or more efficient. The future Lord of the West absorbed it all. In return, he taught Sairex all about his lands and about enjoying life simply because it WAS. Sairex, so caught up as he had been in learning and the continual grasp for power that was existence for his clan, had never stopped to smell the proverbial roses.

And one summer evening in the moonlight at the seashore, Toga taught Sairex about making love. It was a deeply forbidden relationship. Toga was sole Heir to the throne of the West, and it was rumored he would be inheriting that throne soon. His parents were ailing of late. As their only child, he would be fully expected to carry on the family line, which would mean mating a female.

Sairex was to very soon be given over to the dragon prince. If his parents found out he had been anything less than a virgin, that their offering was thus tainted, they would have killed him...not to mention the fact that he was expected to make his own heir.

Of course, neither of them really had intended for things to go as far as they did. However...two gorgeous teenage boys, sharing a moonlit swim with clothing long since discarded on the shore and the rest of the world and all the cares and concerns of daily life seeming so far away...well, it had just rather ...happened. And continued to happen in secret for most of the rest of the summer. Every chance they had. Raging hormones and all that.

As summer gave way to fall, Sairex had far less opportunity to visit the West as he was officially presented to Tsetsukosei. Sairex had the thought cross his mind that it would have been better and far less painful for him if he had never met Toga, even though he couldn't bring himself to regret it. His relationship as the dragon's plaything was vastly different than the sweet, pleasurable passion he'd shared with the inu. Tsetsukosei was brutal and vicious, delighting in seeing how much pain he could bring the raven, using his body however he pleased and treating him as nothing but a possession.

Negotiations with the West drew largely to a close, and so too did Sairex's acceptable reasons to see Toga. Toga was violently angry and wanted to act, but both of them knew their hands were tied. The inu's heart ached to see the scars and vicious rips in the raven's body, and it nearly broke to see the tears in Sairex's eyes the last time they made love. But he could do nothing - to reveal their relationship would have caused them both no little amount of trouble and gotten Sairex killed.

Their parting was silent and bittersweet. Neither dared to say anything - they never had. To voice any feelings for each other would have been in violation of their unspoken pact... to put words to their feelings would have bound them both in ways that could not be. Sairex was now living in the Lazraga castle and did not see Toga again.

Life moved on, as it had to. Sairex's life had settled back into its dull normalcy, and he quietly locked away the colorful flash of memories that had been his sixteenth summer. The Black Circle was completed, and proved to be a far more stable realm than any of them had expected. Dark, shadowy things took up residence there unbidden by its creators, but this suited the raven clan. They moved there from the world of the living, abandoning the mountain reaches in which they had previously dwelled.

Tsetsukosei was power-hungry, like most of his clan. He soon struck against his own tribe in a civil war. Sairex fought with him - he didn't much care for either side and it didn't matter to him which was in power. As far as the raven was concerned, it was better to fight for the one he was stuck living with. Tsetsukosei had a cunning plan in place as he began the final stages of his assault.

The battle was horrendous, and ultimately resulted in the dragon-demon's death. However, all of the dragon and Sairex's spells had been in place. The dark dragon was resurrected in the Black Circle, an undead beast known as a dracolich. His power was exponentially higher than it had once been.

In an unexpected turn of events, he had cast a spell of binding on Sairex. The binding trapped the raven, prevented him from either harming Tsetsukosei or straying too far from him. Sairex was enraged and lashed out at the dracolich time and time again, but it was fruitless and he eventually stopped, not seeing the point.

Sairex's clan did send him a female raven as they had said they would. She was beautiful and a talented necromancer, the daughter of two prominent lords of his clan. He accepted her - what choice did he have? - and she came to Tsetsukosei's dark castle within the Circle.

Things seemed slightly brighter for the raven youkai for a time. It was nice having someone he could speak to whom was more on a level with him. It was also nice to have an excuse to not share the dragon youkai's bed. She WAS his mate. Sairex found physical pleasure with her, but ultimately it was hollow. He didn't love her, knew he couldn't love her. Her world views were too different from his own, which had changed so much. She was truly a member of his clan.

It was a dark night indeed when the raven snapped. Of course, every night was dark...as was every day. There was no sun in the Circle....just a lighter shade of gray to signify the day. However, this night was exceptionally black. Sairex had discovered, to his chagrin, that one of the lasting effects of his time with Toga had been growing a sense of optimism. While hope and optimism are generally considered to be positive things...it opens one up for pain and disappointment.

Sairex made a casual mention of the baby he knew his mate was carrying. Despite everything, the thought that he would have a child...someone that would not have to necessarily be cut from the same dark fabric as all else around him... pleased him.

His mate was quite pleased as well. The grin on her face was ecstatic as she detailed how wonderful it would be to drink the babe's power and harvest its soul.

It was the last straw. Sairex could not stand the all-consuming wickedness any longer. He had prayed there was some redeeming quality in his clan, but there was not. He could not do anything about Tsetsukosei...but he could do something about this. He would not allow a child of his to be born into this dark and tainted world, only to be consumed. No.

His mind snapped and he mentally lashed out at his mate. In her surprise she fought back, but her defenses were thin and Sairex was frightfully strong. With a sense of black justice he ate her power, took her knowledge for his own and left her an empty husk - the same fate she had intended for their child.

The knowledge of what he had done made him ill. Sairex could not hide it, and thus made no attempt. He went to his clan and informed his parents calmly of what had taken place, although he did not tell them why. He could never tell them why.

They responded by simply replacing his mate with another. In fact, his parents were both amused and pleased by his reaction - being able to absorb the power of a powerful adult of their clan and come out unscathed spoke volumes for Sairex's own personal power and was thus a testament to their own. It was unheard of.

Sairex swallowed his misgivings and gave a real try of it with this mate as well It did not take long for her to prove that she was, if anything, more wicked than the first. Sairex destroyed her too.

And the messenger that his family sent to deliver their displeasure at the fact that he was angering the lords of the clan by killing their daughters was destroyed in kind.

Sairex was declared a rogue after two more messengers died the way of the first. He had crossed a line. While his clan was almost exclusively made of murderers and thieves, there was an unspoken pact that they did not kill their own. Often. Or repeatedly, as he had done. Assassins were hired to dispatch him.

Sairex killed them, too. They were easy, not even members of his clan. He almost felt badly for doing it. He was still struggling to accept the new power and dark knowledge within him, what he had stolen from the others of his clan. Some of the things they had known that he had not yet learned shocked and horrified him. The memories of things they had done to others made him sick. To realize the full extent of his clan's evil mortified him. With every creature he absorbed he waged a mental war, suffering small bouts of insanity until his mind could overwhelm the remnants of his adversary.

Over the years, the assassination attempts increased. Sairex had been taught well, however, and his mental prowess had grown. Eventually, the assassins were not so willing to accept the contract on Sairex's head, no matter the bounty offered.

Some of the younger or weaker lords began to join the assassination parties then. They knew that to kill Sairexannaras would be a claim to fame and power. They were eager to acquire that.

Sairex tore them apart, although the initial strike had surprised him. He knew that these increased attempts would grow dangerous. One on one combat with a raven of his clan was risk enough....but more than one, with additional assassins besides?

He began to use his herb lore and developed poisons to damage the minds of his opponents. If he could sever the connection to their magic, they would be virtually defenseless. As a precaution, he developed an antivenin as well, which he injected into his bloodstream.

The assassination attempts increased. One by one, or in small groups at a time, the raven demons and their minions fell to Sairex. With every one he took, his own power and knowledge grew. It became easier. Slowly, things reached the breaking point after many years.

His clan began to call him Kinslayer and Deathraven. They spoke of their former prince in hushed tones of awe, reverence and horror. The balance was finally reached where the clan's numbers had shrunken and none wanted to risk conflict with Sairex any longer. They were content to leave him be and simply stay away from him.

Sairex was not content. With every raven he killed, more terrible crimes were left in his mind, more fondly remembered acts of wickedry and pain and death. The hunted became the hunter. He would not allow this evil to continue...not if he could do something to stop it.

First, he told off Tsetsukosei. That had been a terrible confrontation, and left Sairex feeling smug and gleeful.

"I am leaving."

Tsetsukosei snorted. "You cannot leave, you are mine."
"Vell, I am yours no longer. I never vas."

Tsetsukosei's bloody crimson eyes narrowed violently. "Your clan gave you to me long ago and I claimed you as my own."Sairex's smirk was triumphant and cold all at once. "You did...but you vere too late. You vere not my first. My parents did not know. I can't zay I'm zorry, either...it vas da best ting I ever did. Find another playting, I'm done dealing vith you."

"WHAT?! I will KILL you, raven!"

"No, you von't. I'm leaving." Before Tsetsukosei could make good on his threats, Sairex was gone. He dropped his shielding spells into place, assuring the dracolich could not track him. He was still bound and could not leave the Circle...but that didn't mean he had to be found either. A thousand years and more he had spent in the clutches of the dracolich, and even a half-freedom seemed glorious after that.

His hunt and eradication of his clan took hundreds of years. As their numbers shrank, they poured more and more into their defenses, or into attempting to hide. Their own greed became their undoing.

In the resulting chaos left by Sairex's attacks, several of them took the opportunity to kill rivals. Further, the clan's penchant for murdering their offspring meant that their numbers had no time to grow. Then it was too late, and they were beyond prayer of recovery.

The final confrontation with his clan almost destroyed Sairex. Both of his parents and several of the highest ranking lords were all that remained, and they had banded together. They were too self-centered to work in concert or they may have succeeded. Sairex felt no sorrow for their deaths, not even for his parents...the only sorrow he felt was that things could not have been different.

When his spells and traces turned up no sign of any remaining ravens anywhere at all, Sairex breathed a mournful sigh. He was the last, then. His footsteps were heavy as he made his way into the libraries.

One of the positive things he had gained was the expansion of his mental abilities. His memory was virtually flawless. He picked the books off the shelf one at a time...he read them, memorized them...and then destroyed them. The task took him another several years. He did not leave the raven's city until he had memorized every spell, every ritual, every scroll...and destroyed everything down to the foundation of the last building. His clan would never rise again, nor would another take this knowledge.

He knew there was always a chance something could occur in the future. It was possible he would find love or be assaulted. While unlikely, he did not want to chance fathering a child that could inherit any of this dark power from him. Using his herbalism knowledge he concocted a stout poison that ultimately rendered him sterile. While it grieved him to think he would never have children, it was better that this evil be stopped in its tracks.

And thus, Sairex was the last of his clan. He left then, to make his own way in the Circle. Rumor had spread far and wide of what he had done, and many feared him. His reputation as an assassin, however, soon took a back seat to his reputation as a spy and an informant. His encyclopedic knowledge of things...his seeing, his abilities to know what was going on almost everywhere earned him a new sort of respect.

He knew far too much to be allowed to live, and yet was too valuable to kill for the same reasons. To kill him and lose the things that he knew... it was nothing the few that had the potential wanted to risk.

Tsetsukosei alone would have likely killed the raven, had he the capability. He did not, however - unbeknownst to the raven, Tsetsukosei had bound Sairex as his phylactery. All liches possessed a phylactery, an item to which their soul was bound. Unless their phylactery was destroyed, the lich was impossible to destroy. Sairex never suspected the true reason for his binding to Tsetsukosei - he had always assumed it had something to do with the dragon's claim of him as his mate.

The dragon burned in silent rage as the years went by. He slowly pieced together information, haunted by Sairex's smug words that he had not, indeed, been the first to claim the raven. By process of elimination, he figured out who it must have been.

He met with Toga, now the Inu no Taisho and Lord of the West, under the guise of wanting a treaty, an ally in the living world. Toga agreed to meet with him, but was very cold and not terribly receptive. He was properly cordial and diplomatic, but that meant little. Tsetsukosei did not inform him of his true reason for being there - let the Inu no Taisho wonder at his hatred and malice.

The perfect thought for revenge crossed Tsetsukosei's mind in his stay at the Western castle. From his room he had a clear view of the castle gardens. He was glaring, bored, out at the plantlife there, idly fantasizing about ripping Toga apart with his claws. In his disgust, he planned on leaving that evening. He would devise a new plan, some way to strike at Toga from afar.

It was then that he saw Sesshoumaru. The inu was small - only ten summers or so. Even still, he was a pretty little thing. A frustrated kappa was chasing him and demanding he come back inside for his lessons, only to be punted halfway across the courtyard.

Tsetsukosei's lips curled in a feral smile. He knew then what he had to do.

Toga was displeased to see the dragon youkai and even more displeased to hear his ultimatum.

"Inu no Taisho, I have reached my decision. I will leave your lands in peace...and teach you to utilize some powers as I originally offered."

"And in return?"

"The silver-haired pup of yours...you will turn him over to me."

A deep growl echoed from Toga's throat. It was the sort of growl that was heavily laden with spring-coiled menace...the sort of growl that started deep in one's throat...and ended in someone else's. "Get out."

"I will destroy all you hold dear if you do not accept my terms, Inu no Taisho. My vengeance will not be merciful!"

"You will never so much as breathe air near my Sesshoumaru again, beast. If you do not leave, I will destroy you." Toga's fingers twitched eagerly near the hilt of his blade, and Tsetsukosei growled dangerously in return.

"I will not forget this. You have taken what was mine and refuse to give me what I wish in restitution. I will not forget, Inu no Taisho!"

With that, the dracolich was gone...for the time being.

Toga would have acted so very differently had he known what the future would bring.