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Post by Illusion on Apr 3, 2014 15:14:01 GMT -5
The full moon was clear to see in this cloudless night. Apart from the sound of a gentle breeze amongst the barren hills and cliffs of this mostly deserted world, there was no noise, indicative of, at first glance at least, a lack of life. Look closer, though, and one would see the traces of lifeforms that resided here...that is, the darting shadows of Heartless dodging past, mostly looking for more victims. But there was even more to this world. A certain someone - someone others might refer to as 'something' instead - had taken to residing here. Someone far more deadly than any of the lesser creatures of Darkness that called this place home. Someone that, if you have plans on seeing the next day, you'd probably best avoid.
Renegade Merci, however, knew nothing about this. She was here investigating something quite different, or so she thought.
The Princess from an undiscovered world was, in fact, a Heartless herself, one that could shift between human and true Heartless forms. Of course, she preferred the former of the two, and as such that was the form she was in now. Her agile body darted swiftly and silently between shadows, carrying with it what seemed to be a sense of purpose. She was used to adventure, loving thrills and adrenaline more than most, but today...Renegade was quite serious, if a little confused at the same time. She had noticed something a while ago, something that she needed to follow up on. There were questions that needed answers...answers that, today, she was going to find out one way or another.
Ducking behind a boulder, into the shadow it cast, Renegade cast her eyes up toward the starry sky, in time to see the shadow of a Wyvern fly overhead. Her sister, a Heartless Dragon. Why was she here? That was exactly what Renegade wanted to find out. She had discovered that her sister came here for some time every day, but could not deduce the reason. She would do so today.
Tenebris, high above, did not notice her sister down below. She flew onward silently, finally coming to a perch on a cliff ledge, jutting out from a cave entrance. She lowered herself down onto all fours, tail coiling passively on the ground. Renegade observed from where she was hidden. What was going on...?
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Post by Archer Zero on Apr 4, 2014 15:49:44 GMT -5
The End of the World. A world populated by heartless and darkness. It was no place to be for normal people. Only the most skilled warriors and magicians could hope to enter such a world and come out of alive. It was a world of pain, of death. There was no light to be had here, no mercy. Nothing but despair. But there were still who came here - out of necessity, to train, or simply to find something they had been looking for. So it has been with Renegade, so it is with Theseus.
Theseus teleported on this world. His normally-inquisitive eyes began darting about, looking for any immediate threats behind his round glasses that gave him the appearance of an owl. He had his Staff of the High Magus out already, something he normally only brought out when things got serious in terms of fighting. Honestly, despite going almost anywhere and everywhere to research magic and satisfy his insatiable curiosity, he hated coming to this world. The dark magic here felt... perverse. Evil. All-consuming. He made it a point to research as little about this magic as possible. He felt it might drag him under in the end.
He only came here because he knew Renegade was here. They had become lovers a little while ago, and they did almost everything together. So for her to come to this god-forsaken world without telling him was a definitely worrying. Out of worry, he followed her, and with that, he began tracking her down, following her magic signature.
He hoped she was alright.
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Post by Illusion on Apr 5, 2014 10:49:18 GMT -5
Renegade watched her sister on the cliff ledge, still hidden as best she could be; judging by how secretive her sister had been, she guessed she wouldn't be too pleased to discover she had been followed. Crouching low, Renegade silently observed Tenebris shifting position a little, lifting her head up and growling deeply toward the cave entrance. Renegade frowned; it almost seemed as though her sister was calling to someone, or announcing her presence. But who could she possibly have come here, of all places, to see...? Renegade was starting to have a bad feeling about this. Perhaps she should have told Theseus where she was going in the first place... Being as reckless as she was, admittedly a little too much, though, she had gone alone in a heartbeat.
There was movement from within the cave entrance; it was only slight, and Renegade hadn't been able to tell what it was, but for some reason it made her feel uncomfortable, giving her a feeling of foreboding. She continued to watch from her hiding place a safe distance away as Tenebris turned fully toward the cave entrance, the quills on her back flat against her scaled neck, indicative of a small level of caution. The Heartless Wyvern growled deeply again, and was met by a light feminine chuckle from the cave's darkness. Renegade blinked in surprise, tensing up a little like a cat about to spring, ready to pounce should she need to.
"Here on time as usual, I see," Renegade's keen ears picked up on the voice emitting from the cave entrance, shortly before a figure stepped out, a figure Renegade did not recognise; a girl of about 16, by the look of her, very attractive too, but had bright crimson eyes with the most piercing glare Renegade had ever seen before. She could feel it sending shivers down her spine even from where she hid. Staying silent for now, she watched the figure walk closer to Tenebris, stopping just in front of her. Tenebris growled one more time, apparently conversing with the new arrival.
"Yes, everything's ready for you," the stranger replied. "I've had everything prepared. You'll no doubt remember your side of this deal, hm?" At this, Tenebris hesitated. The quills on her back rattled somewhat, indicative of some sort of inner turmoil. The stranger, Archah, chuckled lightly again. Her wings flexed a little beneath her cloak. "I'm not just doing this if I...or, rather, my master...don't get something in return. And you know full well what he needs from you. What he wants from both you and I, Tenebris."
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Post by Archer Zero on Apr 5, 2014 19:46:16 GMT -5
Theseus was worried for Renegade. He had absolutely no doubt about her combat abilities, but coming to this world without telling him... something was up, and his gut was telling him she was in over her head. She was an adrenaline junkie, a thrill seeker, but he very much doubted that this time, it was such a light thing. He kept going, trying to find her. He could follow her magical signature she left behind well enough, but it became intermingled with something that was a little older... was she following something? Or someone? He recognized the tell-tale traces of heartless darkness in the other signature....
He kept going until he reached a cliff ledge. He looked down and gulped. Quite a drop. He began moving carefully, keeping his staff in front.
Deep inside, though, listening to their conversation, was a young man. No ordinary young man, though. He had black hair speckled with blood-red, blood-red eyes, and although he looked young, his eyes reflected of a much greater age. His features could've been handsome if they weren't twisted with malevolence and deep evil. There were hard lines around his eyes and mouth that bespoke cruelty, and indeed, he cared for no one for himself, and had no morals or ethics either. He was bare-chested because he could afford to be. He was more comfortable like this anyway.
In front of him was a large magic circle, with swords implanted in the ground at five points. Floating above the swords were crystals, glowing with energy. Everything was set up. It was up to Archah to finish up with negotiations. Afterward... he smirked to himself. More toys and tools for him to use.
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Post by Illusion on Apr 10, 2014 10:55:50 GMT -5
Renegade, unaware as of yet that Theseus had arrived not too far away, listened and watched carefully to the conversation taking place between her sister and Archah, whom Renegade had not met before. A light frown of puzzlement on her face, she crouched a little lower in the shadows in order to better hide herself as her sister growled softly, as though muttering thoughtfully (or reluctantly) to herself, following which she looked at Archah and slowly nodded. Archah, in response to this, grinned slyly and clapped her hands together, seeming rather satisfied with the way things had turned out. Tenebris simply returned to an apprehensive silence; had she been capable of more facial expressions, she might have looked worried to some degree, although to be honest right now it was hard to tell.
"Excellent. Master will be pleased," Archah informed Tenebris. She turned her back and started wandering into the cave; Tenebris held back for a moment. Archah called back over her shoulder to her. "Come in once you're ready. We have everything prepared for the process." From her hiding place, Renegade watched Archah wander out of sight into the cave depths. The human-form Wyvern headed toward the central chamber where the magic circle was set up, and approached the lone figure present, stopping just over a metre away from him...what was considered a respectful distance. She bowed her head briefly to him as another gesture of respect and submission; she knew her master liked that, that he liked feeling 'superior' and dominant. Sure, she could well have been as strong as him (maybe), but she had learnt that he was to be obeyed at all times.
"Looks like you'll have another 'toy', master," Archah said, grinning slyly even now. She chuckled lightly. "Although I don't think she'll quite outshine me..." Indeed, as this individual's first and primary consort, it could be assumed that she would stay in this position even after a second came into play...Tenebris would become a 'secondary' consort, as it were. And Archah liked things that way. There was no love between herself and her master, of course...loyalty to him, yes, and perhaps some degree of affection for him, but by no means was it what you or I would call love or the like. Turning around to face where she had entered, she saw that Tenebris had finally followed her in. Tenebris stopped right there, though; she was quite looking forward to the process she was about to undergo with the prepared magic circle, yes, but she showed considerably more in terms of fear in Alpha's presence...fear that would probably, at least to some degree, wear off in time.
Outside, Renegade darted out from her hiding place; dashing as quickly and quietly as she could out across the open, she nimbly ascended to the cliff ledge leading to the cave and crouched in the shadows just outside it, trying to catch any more snippets of conversation without being detected. She was apprehensive of going in...so far.
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Post by Archer Zero on Apr 12, 2014 17:44:10 GMT -5
Alpha looked up as he heard her approaching. His gaze was expressionless as he listened to her. Indeed, they weren't 'lovers' - he had no need for such a thing. She was his toy and tool, and he made that quite clear. A very useful and fun one, admittedly. Archah seemed to be quite content with her station, and as a result, if there was something she wished and was in line with his goals, he got it for her. There was already one world he had dominated, but was fiercely resisting and rebelling against him. It was populated by humans. He gave that world to Archah for her to break in.
And she did, taking about 10 percent of the world's population with her.
Looks like you'll have another 'toy', master. Although I don't think she'll quite outshine me...
At that, he smirked and chuckled. "Well, there are very few things that could out-do you as a toy, Archah," he replied. He leaped down and gave her a small kiss. "Nevertheless, you did well. This shall prove to be entertaining," he continued with a grin. "Bring the new toy in. Everything is set now. Though before you go, do tell me... how much breaking in do you think she'll require?" Might as well ask. But he knew Archah had a good eye for these type of people, and knew that sooner or later, they would succumb to his will... if they hadn't already.
Theseus meanwhile had just entered the cave... and was almsot bowled over by the immense darkness and evil that was in this cave. Just what the hell was in here?! He quietly crept in. where the hell was she?
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Post by Illusion on May 4, 2014 7:58:17 GMT -5
Ah, yes, Archah remembered that day rather fondly...the day she broke in one of her master's worlds. It had been quite fun for her, and with her great power, reasonably easy for her to do. Without much effort and a hell of a lot of enjoyment later and she had rid that world of approximately 10% of its human population (she most likely would have exterminated more of those humans, perhaps even all of them, if not for the fact that Alpha needed 'subjects' to rule over and whatnot). Her hatred for humankind thanks to certain events of her past - the merciless killing of her previous mate and her son - knew no bounds and it brought her considerable joy to watch human suffering. So, if ever her master needed humans disposed of...Archah was more than happy to take care of it.
She kissed him back in return as he jumped down to her, and grinned slyly along with him as he spoke. In response to his question, though, her grin grew a little brighter, and perhaps a little more devious. "Well, it's hard to say...I don't think she'll require too much 'breaking in', but certainly more than I went through, I think." Archah chuckled lightly, then winked. "I think this'll turn out to be rather fun..." With that, she turned round in time to see Tenebris, whom had stopped on the other side of the chamber, most likely waiting for them to have finished speaking. Whether or not this was done out of respect or mild fear, or indeed both, was unclear.
"Alright, everything's ready for you," Archah called over to her, still with that grin on her face. "Come on over. Don't be shy, now." Tenebris nodded her reptilian head and approached, stopping directly in front of the two of them. She stayed silent for the moment; her wyvern form was quite different from Archah's, lacking the armour-like scales or tail club, but her head did bare a large razor-like horn, giving her an air of both speed and agility, contrasting to Archah's raw power. She held her head low for the moment, submissively, awaiting instruction.
Meanwhile, Renegade had found an ideal spot with which to watch the unfolding events below without notice. Crouching silently in an area of shadow, blending in rather well thanks to her affinity for darkness and the like, she watched carefully. Briefly she wondered if she might eventually be smelt out, but dismissed this thought; her scent would mostly have been that of a Heartless, and if things got too bad, she could just switch into her full Heartless form for a speedy getaway. At a soft sound behind her, she quickly turned her head, and noticed that Theseus had followed her. Well, to be honest she expected he would, but even so... Quickly she raised one hand and placed a finger against her own lips; she said nothing, but the gesture coupled with the look on her face was a clear message that he needed to be as quiet as possible. That done, Renegade returned to her cautious watch.
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