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Post by Daegan on Feb 17, 2008 15:26:35 GMT -5
The silence was deafening. Legions of Undead had long since fallen and littered the darkened wastelands that had been ravished by the Sage of Darkness. And here he was in the center of the devastation. His chest barely rose and fell, his breathing light and shallow. His mind was tired, his body was tired and all he wanted right now was a hot bath and a week or two of sleep.
Slowly his eyes slid open, his left hand clutching the Arc of Shadows as it rested against his body. The insane gibbering of the Arc of Death was calling to him; screeching in his weary ears to embrace his element. It was one voice after another echoing in his mind, calling out to him in strange tongues and in howling tones. Groaning, Daegan’s hand tightened around the hilt of the bone blade when his eyes slammed shut in agony.
The Arc of Death wobbled slightly as tendrils of Darkness flashed through the Sage’s body. The first biting sensation was all it took for Daegan to harness what little energy he had left, his body shifting into shadow as the Darkness tore through his body. Like smoke, his form wavered, but Daegan did not move. He could feel the element, feel the remains of Sitherack passing through his very being, but there was something else there. A different feeling other than the blackness.
“Zinerva.”
Necromantic energy phased from sight as Daegan’s form seemed to splash downward into the blasted lands. Like a bucket of water being tossed, the shadowed form of the Sage vanished for only a second, melting away and then once more splashing upwards. He now stood, facing what would have been her backside. Flickering like smoke, Daegan seemed to float in front of the Arc of Death, the Arc of Shadows clutched tightly in his left hand.
“I know what you feel, Daughter of Darkness. But feel your element. Embrace it. The blackness will show you what unfolded here. Your Lord General did this.”
His voice was raspy and course, echoing through what little shadow remained in the Land of Eternal Night. The only thing that told his flickering wasn’t apart of the darkened landscape was the faint ring of aqua around his eyes.
“Feel the Darkness.”
Daegan’s form began to flicker as if it was pulsating, the shadowy form seemingly becoming engulfed by the crushing blackness. His body and mind were becoming ravished, his energy dangerously low. The Sage looked as though he were a flame, flickering before ultimately being snuffed out; the Arc of Death became more and more visible.
“Embrace… it…”
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Zinerva
New Member
Darkness Sedi Daughter of Daegan Sister to Wynne, Raeghan and Deidre
Darkness Daughter of Daegan
Posts: 10
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Post by Zinerva on Feb 17, 2008 16:53:38 GMT -5
Her eyes narrowed as Daegan's form flickered and splashed away, then his voice echoed out behind her. She spun to face him, holding the blade of darkness loosely in her right hand. Each step she took towards him left a slowly widening “footprint” of darkness, the ground was slowly being covered in it. Touching it would result in it latching onto you and consuming your form. His words stuck her almost like a physical blow however.
“I will see the truth of this Sage, be warned however if you lie your death will be slow and pain ridden.” Her voice was too full of emotion to be interpreted as an empty threat, she was truly devastated at the loss of her people in Tarthia.
The Darkness on the ground continued to expand, but would not reach where Daegan was for at least another several minutes. In front of her a small sphere of darkness appeared Images flickered across its surface rapidly, showing everything from the failure of the element to the black hole that ravaged the city. Tears welled in her eyes as she watched the Undead devouring her people, her grip tightened on the sword till her knuckles turned white and tendons stood out visibly on the backs of her hands.
She watched the initial fight between Sitherack and Deirdre, and his forced retreat, followed by Daegan's arrival and Sitherack's return. Her features paled at the destruction wrought by the supernova and resulting black hole. But a small grim smile of satisfaction played across her features at the death of Deirdre.
As Sitherack and Daegan vanished from sight ripped from the land in a swirl of Shadow, then awhile later the Shadows discharged Daegan but not Sitherack. She sighed and lowered the sword to her side as the sphere evaporated into the night around her. The Darkness on the ground receded back into the pool of seething darkness immediately around her as she stared thoughtfully at the Sage of Shadows.
“It seems my Empire has fallen in truth. I am grateful that the Undead plague that tormented my people has at last been purged from this blasted land, but the price of such an act was awfully high.” Her voice was dull, lost in a way but still held some remnants of the strength that it had formerly been attributed to. She closed her eyes and spun the sword lazily in her right hand, slipping it into the sheathe.
”So would you prefer to kill each other now, or should I let you regain more strength first?” The tone was sarcastic yet meaningful, there really wasn't much left for her to do in her life, everything else she had known was erased.
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Post by Daegan on Feb 17, 2008 17:43:12 GMT -5
A smile flashed over the shadowed form of Daegan as his daughter sheathed her blade. He continued to hover there like a phantom, the Arc of Shadows now held loosely in his left hand. Slowly, and seemingly painfully, his form seemed to become corporeal starting at his legs and inching its way up. After several moments, his form had become whole again, the shadows falling around his body like a sheet. He dropped to his knees and sighed heavily, exhaustion completely obvious in his posture.
Once again the Sage sighed and grimaced in pain as he sort of rocked back, his right hand reaching out for the Arc of Death. He groaned slightly, the green energy from the Arc phasing back into view as he clutched the bone blade. The screaming voices of the undead were quick to welcome the return of there master, exploding in Daegan’s ears the moment his fingers touched the cold weapon.
Groaning again, and in his weakened state, the voices assailed Daegan, relentless in there cries for peace; the gibbering of insanity wrought by an eternity of bondage to the Arc. Daegan was barely able to lift his head to look at his daughter, finding it even harder to bring himself to speak.
“Cyrida… we must… return…”
Daegan seemed to sink down into himself as he barely held onto the two Arcs, eyes sliding half shut. He breathed lightly and barely had the strength to remain in the crumbled position he was in. The Sage needed to return to his own City, to retreat into his antechamber and be immersed in the pure shadow the Soul Fire well created. To sink away from this Realm of time and thought and regain his energy for the vengeance that was sure to be swift and complete.
And the rage Lasius was sure to experience when Daegan told him of the events and in his intentions to step down as Lord General. The next few days were going to be hell, and this thought made Daegan sigh again. It was time to go home.
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Zinerva
New Member
Darkness Sedi Daughter of Daegan Sister to Wynne, Raeghan and Deidre
Darkness Daughter of Daegan
Posts: 10
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Post by Zinerva on Feb 17, 2008 18:30:08 GMT -5
She watched the weakened form of the Sage of Shadows sink in on himself. He was still not one of her favorite people, but rather than kill him there was more to be gained through collaboration. Extortion was not beyond her moral compass especially now that everything she had ever cared for in her life was stripped away, all she had left to cling to was the dead and gone dream of an empire who's time had ended far before it ought to have in her opinion. She folded her arms as she stepped forward in front of Daegan, the ice cold blackness moving with her. He was obviously helpless, something she expected she would not be lucky enough to witness again.
The Darkness formed soft caressing tendrils, still chilling to the bone, but not vicious like the ones that had attacked before. They wound their way around Daegan's form and lifted him to a semblance of a standing position, supporting his weight so he wouldn't have too. Her smile was predatory, but amused at the same time. The shimmering black material of her dress/armor was spectacular looking in the green nether light of the Arc of Death, but seemed to crave the light in a similar if significantly less powerful way than Darken's Armor did.
“I felt that you ought to be on your feet for these negotiations. That way you wouldn't feel at such a disadvantage, after all I wouldn't dream of taking advantage of you in your weakened state.” The Dark tendrils tightened slightly giving just enough pressure to be slightly painful, but not enough that he wouldn't be able to stand it.
“I will help you, take you to Cyrida, I will teach you the way to Sitherack's Sacred Temple, I know Sitherack is not dead, too much darkness remains in this land for his presence to have been eradicated, He is still my Lord, but he has become unhinged by the actions of you and his brother. He is no longer fit to rule in the name of the Darkness. I have chosen to assist you in extracting your revenge upon him, but I will require a price. I will have the Arc of Darkness when he falls, and sole command of any Sedi of the Darkness element within Cyrida. They will answer only to me, not to you, not to any of your commanders, and certainly not to the Lightning Childe. Do we have an agreement?” Her eyes penetrated the dimly glowing soul fire orbs of Daegan's and it was clear she would not take no for an answer.
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Post by Daegan on Feb 17, 2008 18:42:02 GMT -5
Daegan winced at the touch of the darkness, feeling the cold sensation as they wrapped around his body and lifted him to his feet. He still loosely gripped the two Arcs, barely looking into his daughter’s eyes. His eyes were obviously distant and seemed to pass through Zinerva as she began to speak.
He didn’t show it, but the flare his daughter expressed was something that made him proud. Before the Sage of Shadows holding his Arc and the Arc of his profession, a young Darkness Sedi would challenge that fury. His eyes seemed to flicker open slightly as his gaze locked onto the eyes of his daughter.
“Agree…agre… agree..ed…”
He gasped out his words, groaning as the darkness bit into his flesh. The Sage was too exhausted to feel the rage from such demands and words, and at this point didn’t care who held that infernal axe. Daegan’s eyes once more slid half shut, his eyes going out of focus again. His daughter’s bold words would be remembered in the back of his mind, if and when the time came, Daegan would teach Zinerva the meaning of respect.
But for now, he was at her mercy.
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Zinerva
New Member
Darkness Sedi Daughter of Daegan Sister to Wynne, Raeghan and Deidre
Darkness Daughter of Daegan
Posts: 10
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Post by Zinerva on Feb 17, 2008 19:04:18 GMT -5
“Good, I thought you would see things my way.”
The Darkness supporting him abruptly surrounded them both, it rushed past them like a wind tunnel, the ice cold bittersweet feel of it surged through their bodies, Darkness had an addictive quality to it, once embraced by it ones soul craved more, as darkness was all consuming and always craved more. There was nothing to really see nothing except a disembodied sensation in a void, for the time of transport they couldn't even see each other, but she could feel his form through the darkness. For him it would be terribly lonely however. Hours passed inside the dark, but less than a second passed in the outside world as a sphere of obsidian night exploded just outside the Tower of Shadows, dropping the two to the paving stones.
She landed gracefully, and rapidly wove a hammock of darkened tendrils to catch the Lord General in before he cracked his skull on the hard surface. Once he was caught she stood him back up and released all but the very few necessary tendrils that supported him from dropping onto his face. He was in control, but would feel weightless so that movement was effortless for him.
“Welcome Home Sire.”
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