The Queen, Sand and Moon

[Oona Ondessa]

The Goddess stared up at Sehkem, her eyes glazing over; it was almost as if she could not believe what she was seeing, who she was seeing. She was a perfect creature, beautiful and ugly, good and bad. In truth she was THE goddess of the realm, the god who had created all, she was the moon itself. The true moon, before it had been corrupted by the queen and changed into the now familiar blood moon.

"You've been fooled"

She said gently, her own crystalline tears flung towards her, they grew as they flew through the air until they resembled long, sickly bones. They impaled the goddess tearing at her skin, The Goddess look of shock was replaced by sadness and pain.

"I've felt many things in my time my beautiful Vinyakin, Death is the next chapter I suppose. Always remember for the trials to come…"

The earth shifted once again, the floor fell and the sky erupted with light, the Goddess moved, her body lifted so fast it was impossible to track, she appeared level with Sehkem

"To slay shadows is the hardest thing you'll ever have to do, stay true; she can't survive without the shadows"

She said cryptically, the world returned to its former state, the woman, the goddess was standing where she was previously. The Flames around Carthax had burnt down to nothing; all that remained was a black oval around Carthax. The Goddess clothes were stained with a red and blue substance, blood perhaps? A gods blood, The Crystals jutted out of her body gruesomely, they began to tear further through her skin. Pushing further into her body by an unseen force. Her very essence and Aura began to pull, it was as if she was two people, the second was an exact replica but a faded version. That was the goddess that began to spread and tear at the seams. The Goddess opened her mouth and wailed in pure agony.

The Sound was like nothing heard before, it was a sound, but it was also something very deeper, the noise itself caused pain, caused guilt and fear. Sehkem had slayed a goddess, as she died visions began to flash through Sehkem and Carthax minds. They saw nothing, pure nothingness, they could feel other realms and dimensions but that was it, slowly a force mustered, the form began to take colours and shapes, a world began to form, a realm. A beautiful place full with forest and lakes. The Goddess formed an image for herself, beautiful and powerful, she created beings who would worship her, she created them in her own image, but with something extra. wings. The Vinyakin were the good and bad of the world, they judged the wicked and were the balance against good and evil. But something happened; something happened that even the goddess could not predict she created a crystal to balance herself and her realm together. So she could stop for a second and take a look back at her creation instead of constantly weaving the threads. It went missing, somehow the crystal went missing right out from under the goddess's nose and her realm began to change, slowly at first. Spots began to grow spots that the goddess couldn't see through, she sent people to scout the black spots but nothing worked. It wasn't too long before the goddess discovered a fallen Vinyakin had grown outside of her body and mind, the Goddess's realm was not what it was previously; instead it was a desert barren It had been striped, the Vinyakins killed. The Goddess vision perverted.

The fallen Vinyakin became a goddess herself. The only thing the true goddess could do was put a spell over the crystal so the Queen could not break it herself and destroy her realm completely. But the Queen was crafty, she brought beings from other realms to battle the goddess in the hopes her the goddess would be killed and the crystal destroyed, than the Queen would be free to rule as a true goddess not a just a dread Queen.

Mair heaved the crystal across the cave, it glinted brilliantly, the red moonlight made the crystal sparkle, tiny rays of light ignited the cave. The Gargoyle that had attacked ODK clutched it mouth and screamed in agony, blood spilling from the creature's mouth, its tongue had been ripped out. But when the rays of light created by the mixture of the red moon and the crystal touched the Gargoyles skin he began to bellow even louder with renewed pain. The Gargoyle began to fall apart and break away into thick dust. The Last Gargoyle was protected from the light; he batted his wings near the roof of the cave grinning at Mair. The Creature put his talon out in front of him to catch the Crystal, but it pierced his palm. The Gargoyle lifted its head back and screeched loudly as he too began to turn to dust, the crystal fell.

Oona looked up at Krisztinya the realisation hit her like a punch in the face, she shifted positions until she could pull herself up. She stood near Krisztinya but she could feel the Abyss for some reason, closer than ever. Whispering darkly.

The Queen smiled at Krisztinya, They were both beautiful golden creatures just as internally dark as the other. Oona clutched her ribs realised how much the kick had hurt, but she was fine. Blood did not run through her veins but Iron. The fact that the goddess was strong enough to kick Oona across the room was impressive enough. Oona felt a chill down her back, the Queen wanted the Abyss? Was such a thing possible, would Krisztinya and in turn the Abyss allow them to be separated… Krisztinya answered, Oona mouth opened in shock and rage.

"Krisztinya you fool, you cannot let her take the Abyss, don’t give that abomination reason to leave, it is your burden along, the things that woman could do!?"

She said angrily, the very thought of Krisztinya 'hading over' something like the Abyss was too much for Oona to comprehend. What would be the outcome? Oona couldn't guess for the life of her. It dawned on Oona she knew so little about the Abyss, she had read, she had studied, she had even felt the bubbling of the creature under the surface but the true nature of the Abyss and Krisztinya herself was a mystery.

"Ah yes… the things we will do my dark lord, we'll destroy the very fabric of time and space until Your all that’s left and I'm the Queen of nothingness, your servant, Your disease. Krisztinya thinks of you as the disease, but let me change things, I'll be your disease dark one…"

The Queen spoke the Abyss as if it was a person standing beside Krisztinya, for the first time Oona realised… it was… and it disgusted her. The Queen took several steps closer to Krisztinya, but the Queen pointed her hand gently towards Krisztinya

"Take me… "

She whispered, Oona gritted her teeth, a mixture of scales and a metallic substance began to crawl over Oona's skin. The Spell was a favourite of Oona's and very powerful. Oona lunged at the goddess with clawed hands, Oona managed to strike the Queen across the face and push her backwards. But the Queen merely smiled, she straightened herself up and ignored the gash on her cheek. Oona could see the Queens teeth and gun through the wound on her face, but she ignored it and allowed the blood to gush down her, baptise her.

The Catacombs began to shake. Oona could feel something she had never felt before it was the earth… shattered. Oona was a creature of the earth, true she was not even in her own realm, but she still had an affinity and a connection to the very earth itself and the realm she was standing in. The Queen began to laugh loudly and move closer to the Primogen once again.

"It's happening… finally it's happening, the end of the world!"

Oona felt an incredible pain in her head, in her very essence. Oona looked down at the ground, her shadow had reared up. It was a shadow but somehow it appeared to be complete, it was not just a two-dimensional pattern of light. It was a mirror being with no substance. The Creature put its hands on Oona and began to choke her.

The Crystal Shattered on the ground in a million pieces. Immediately the world began to break away, it was an unusual sensation to explain, it felt like weightlessness but at the same time like gravity pushing down and compressing your body. The world rumbled loudly as it tore apart and shifted. And then all sensations simply stopped. Except for the horrible pain felt by ODK, Mair, Moridanu, Sehkem and Carthax. The Shadows they cast reared up; they were brought to life and pulled away from their captor. Moridanu's shadow struggled; she tried to pull away again and again. The creature gave up, instead she lunged at Moridanu. Her shadow wrapped its hands around her throat and slowly began to weave its way into her mouth until there was nothing left. The World broke apart, things shifted and fell there was a bright light and nothingness.

[Krisztinya Valkai]

"Krisztinya you fool, you cannot let her take the Abyss, don’t give that abomination reason to leave, it is your burden alone, the things that woman could do!?"

“What ~she~ could do! My simple Wood Elf, the word “cannot” is not used with nobility.” She turned and leveled her full attention on Oona, her eyes piercing and penetrating. It was as if both Krisztinya and the Abyss were invading Oona’s privacy by merely looking at her. “You forget yourself ~MS.~ Ondessa… I owe you nothing. I owe the people of this land, or any other, NOTHING.” The words dripped from her lips like poison, and yet her cold features lacked any emotion, save amusement. It was obvious that Oona had great difficulty understanding how any individual could abandon the world and creatures around it. How anyone could possibly be so selfish. To Krisztinya, it was laughable to endure anything for another creature. She had one loyalty, and that was to herself. If this queen could take the Abyss from her and return her to the purely destructive state she recalled with devastating hunger, then so be it. It was the Queen’s voice again that ripped her eyes from the Elven Sorceress to focus back on the strikingly beautiful Queen.

"Ah yes… the things we will do my dark lord, we'll destroy the very fabric of time and space until You’re all that’s left and I'm the Queen of nothingness, your servant, Your disease. Krisztinya thinks of you as the disease, but let me change things, I'll be your disease dark one… … … Take me… "

The Abyss was visibly stirring in Krisztinya, though no actual being would present itself. The Primogen stood still, her eyes darkened wholly by the swarming threads of pitch, the shadow cloak she wore became increasingly more agitated, more aggressive—the tendrils curling and gyrating from the hem and sleeves reared and snapped like vipers gone mad. The Queen’s extended hand was an invitation that she could barely resist. For a split second, Krisztinya saw the flash of action in her mind: a flash of movement, her hands around the wrist and chin of the Queen, incisors sinking into the golden woman’s skin, tearing the flesh and pulling the thick vitae from her artery. But that glorious image was dashed to pieces as Oona flung herself at the Queen, ripping the rising anticipation from her very blood to be released in a guttural, feral growl. Oona’s transformation was beautiful, grotesque and another flash of action reared into Krisztinya’s mind by the good graces of the Abyss. One touch, and the beautiful Elf would remain that way forever, crafted by her own hands, her own blood and will. But the blood cascading over the perfect skin of the Queen overwhelmed that image with lightning speed, perhaps saving Oona from a fate the Tzimisce would not forget.

Baptisim, blood, it was all the same to her, and the Queen wanted something from Krisztinya that she was more than happy to give. As the Queen righted herself, Krisztinya began her movement to the Queen, her weight shifting to predict the movement. But it was cut short. ~Do not think I would leave you so easily, Mystress.~ Krisztinya, rather than gracefully snapping the distance between the Queen and herself, fell to her knees, her hands raking at her temples as her eyes snapped shut. It was not the first time the Abyss sought to overtake her body and mind completely. This, however, was different. And she could feel it crawling under her skin, eating at the flesh she walked around in, tearing at her mind with savage brutality. It was a reminder of their connection, of their symbiotic relationship. Before she could stop it, she felt the inherent power of her blood being manipulated, twisted and controlled. The sounds of her jaw fracturing from the pressure of her teeth clenching and her fingers breaking from the spasmed gripping of her head was audible to both Oona and the Queen. Alone, without the added potency of the Abyss, Krisztinya could force her will onto those around her in the form of a psychic attack, hijacking the minds of those around her to display penny arcade images of horror, representations of their fears, atrocities that could only be generated by the viciously disturbed mind of a Tzimisce, all to effectively overwhelm and melt the victims’ brains, destroying their minds and bodies. This discipline took incredible focus and weakened with the number of victims attacked. To attack both Oona and the Queen, Krisztinya would have been drained, exhausted. If it were her will alone, that is. But it was not Krisztinya’s will that issued the Psychic Attack.

The Abyss used Krisztinya’s disciplines, the essence of her blood and Clan, for it’s own darker purposes, and as she lay on her side in the fetal position, fingers and jaw broken, a constant scream through gritted teeth grew louder and louder, shaking her very body. Trickles of blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, and eyes, tainting the pristine alabaster skin of the Primogen as she felt the shockwave of Psychic atrocities emanate from her blood and mind without her consent. Like a sonic pulse, the Abyss sought to touch everyone in the quickly dying land—forcing many to their knees, knocking some unconscious, barraging all with images that nightmares cannot begin to measure up to. And through this attack, the Abyss slipped along that psychic link into the mind of the equally affected Queen. Through that single action, the sentient being laughed through the minds of those affected, reverberating in the skull of Krisztinya like a jackhammer as it spoke to her again. So immediate was the pain and the demanded attention, Krisztinya did not hear the Queen’s rapture, nor did she feel the world collapsing around them. ~Don’t think you’ve won, Mystress. I’ve not left you… I’m going to play puppeteer with another marionette for a while. You’ll kill for my full attention again, Countess. Mark me.~

And with that, the Abyss’s consciousness shifted from Krisztinya’s mind to the Queen’s. The Abyss was no foolish entity, and knew that within moments the blood of the Kindred’s Clan would begin transforming the pain to pleasure, reinforcing her energy and replenishing her power. It’s chance for another toy to play with was leaving no margin of error, and so, like a puppet master who dropped the strings of a marionette, Krisztinya’s body went limp, her eyes emerald and dim, the threads of swirling ichor again returned to the corners of her eyes. The Mystress of the Abyss was incapable of stopping the rebellious shadows, unable to intervene in the attacks on Oona and the others. Only a slow building, deeply disturbing laughter bubbled from the broken body of the Primogen. As the world fell around them, she laughed. Louder and louder, her body wracking from the absolute hysterical pleasure the incredible pain blossomed into.

~And they all fall down…~

[Catrux]

(OOC: I hope this is at least a bit better than before, and what ever happened to the brother of Sehkem?)

Sehkem watched as his attack succeeded, as the tears impaled the goddess, he felt pain in the same spots as she. With the pain came power, strangely enough. The goddess spoke once again addressing him as though he belonged to her, then the earth and sky changed. The floor vanished, the sky blazing with light, then the goddess spoke once again this time something about shadows and the queen not being able to live without shadows. The world then snapped back to the way it was, leaving Sehkem with an odd feeling, much like he had been crammed into a tiny hole then exploded forth back into a normal amount of space.

The goddess then started to tear in two, when she let out an incredible scream. Sehkem once again felt pain, this time accompanied by guilt. He didn't have much time to reflect on said guilt before he started to feel different realms, dimension. Somehow they all felt familiar to Sehkem, like most can feel their native realm and the like. Then images began to play, first it was of this realm and what had happened to it, what the queen was. It confirmed Sehkem's previous suspicions, the queen was a Vinyakin. Just as soon as he came to this conclusion his mind was flooded with more visions, this time of him. It was parts of his past, it didn’t amount to much other than that the Vinyakin’s were created by multiple gods as a pact, and that he was the Judge.

After the vision ceased he felt empowered, that was because the information about his past and what he was unlocked some of his true power. Not only did Sehkem feel empowered, he was angered as well. This anger stemmed from one source but for many reasons. First, that he had been tricked, second, that his fellow Vinyakin thought she could usurp his authority over her, and lastly she caused him to slay one of his creators.

Sehkem then looked to Carthax and nodded once he saw the man was alright. Without warning Sehkem’s shadow began to attack him, at this point Sehkem no longer cared. If death was coming, let it try and take him. As soon as that thought entered his mind, so did an immense pain in his head. Sehkem brought his hands to his head in an attempt to drown it out, he then threw his head back in sheer agony. He prayed it would stop, but why and to who he prayed was a mystery unto itself. He believed in no gods, and as such had no one to pray to. If he wasn't preoccupied with the pain in his head he may have appreciated the complexity of the situation. Maybe later he would stop and re-evaluate himself, but for now survival mattered most.

[Moridanu]

*Nothing.

Darkness.

Pure stillness. Silence. A safe cocoon in which to enjoy the metamorphous into a beautiful winged being. But it was not a butterfly that Moridanu was morphing into. It was something much more darker; more uglier.

For so long there was nothing. Time stood still, yet strangely she could still hear it ticking. It ticked back and forth, a relentless ticking in her ear as she slowly became aware of her surroundings.

An overpowering heat made the air around her appear to shimmer, but although she felt her skin must surely blister from the unbearable heat, her waxen skin never once perspired. Eyes as black as coal snapped open to survey the scene before her, her once auburn curls burned a deep crimson. The shimmering heat combined with those long dark red curls, gave the impression that blood was gushing from her head. She laughed, a deeply terrifying laugh that sounded more like the ancient creak of a long forgotten joint. Around her was chaos as she searched the debris for any sign of Mair or the Other Demon Keeper, a twisted smirk creasing one corner of her dark mouth. *


(( OOC: I know I was supposed to check with you first BB, but I never catch you, so I posted instead of holding this up any longer.. hope its okay. I just aint got much sense of what she is seeing, ya know? So feel free to jump on in with a tasty description for me, anytime now. *grins* ))

[Shizuku Tonderui]

"My eyes....My God my eyes!" Carthax looked around him in panic, as the world began to collapse, and the shadows began to attack. He never saw the shadowy figure looming behind him, nor did he feel the tight gripping hands around his neck. He felt no pain as he slowly slipped away, dying finally. The nightmare...it was over wasn't it? He could go home perhaps? Of course, that wasn't going to be the end of it.

"Carthax my child, where are you?" A haunting voice, one that commanded respect and power flitted around him. He was no longer being attacked, but...nothing was around him. There had been a large flash of light...and then nothing. The voice though, it was so familiar. His father? No. His father would never call him 'child' after all, this was...this was his God.

"Terrin! Terrin please help me! I'm...I'm dying!" He cried out to the darkness. There was a chuckle, and Carthax didn't understand, he felt insulted really. His own God, was laughing at him. Was this some sort of joke then?

"I cannot help you child, you know this. You're not here anymore...Where ever you are though...I'll do what I can. The boundaries are still intact...I can...try my son. I will figure something out. Remember, if you die, you will return here, and you have not returned, so you are alive...Be strong Carthax Feratul.." With that, the presence left his mind, and a great sorrow filled his heart. He was...alone again. This seemed unfair. Anger began to boil through his body as he tried to figure out why it was so dark still.

"Am I going to die?" Carthax said aloud to himself. There was this pressure on him, like something was squeezing him together. It wasn't all together painful, but for the most part it was uncomfortable. He needed to be free...he needed a portal. He needed his avatar powers. If only he wasn't left alone like this, without a source of dark energy. This was a rare experience for Carthax. He felt...useless....and weak. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed really.

[Mair Debryn]

-Clinging to the top of the soon-to-be shattered orb’s cage, Mair was feeling a little more than just slightly uneasy. Far below lay a pool of an oily, black substance the demoness had no desire whatsoever to attempt swimming in and her ride up had moments ago turned to dust, assuring her it would not be her ride back to solid ground. Rather than immediately plan her route down, Mair watched with less joy than she’d expected at the completion of their mission as the sphere connected with the stone floor, exploded and sent zillions of tiny pieces in all directions. She was never given the chance to ponder what about the whole situation wasn’t setting well with her.

All at once the world around Mair abandoned all reason. Before her eyes reality began to shudder, a flood of unpleasant sensations crashing over her so suddenly she was unsure whether or not she was floating up off her perch or being crushed to death by some unseen force. As if the dizzying height of her current position wasn’t enough to deal with, sharp and unexpected pain chose that moment to erupt in her forehead. Any thoughts of how the others were fairing or anything else for that matter left her mind entirely. Pressing herself flat against what remained of the uppermost bars of the cage, she lay motionless apart from her panting as she waited for the barrage to stop. And then it did.

Sadly, Mair was given no chance to enjoy her moment of rest. Sprawled on her stomach, her eyes opened and widened in surprise as icy fingers rose through the open spaces between the bars beneath her clamped in a death grip around her throat. She gagged, temporarily panicked, and stared down in shock at the owner of the jet black hand currently doing its best to strangle the life out of her: her very own shadow. Curled inside the cage, the dark form of her living shadow watched Mair in chilling silence as it began to climb up through the hole she’d created in getting the orb out. One hand occupied on her throat, the shadow’s free hand now went for her face, spurring the stunned woman into some kind of action.

Raising her own hands defensively, she grasped the arm of her attacker tight and twisted forcefully to loosen the grip on her neck. She could determine what the hell was going on later when her windpipe was no longer in danger of collapsing. Bringing up her left leg, she put her foot frantically into the unguarded stomach of the shadow and managed to push her/it back down into the cage for the moment. If only this one shadow had been the extent of her troubles, she’d probably have gotten away. Instead, only inches from escape, her surroundings faded and were replaced with a slew of horrific images, each more terrible and painful than the last. The urge to vomit rose up again in her stomach as she flailed blindly atop the cage in her shadow’s grasp, cringing as a cold hand pressed firmly over her nose and mouth. Ironic that she would share the same fate of the victims she’d punished in past times with her nightmarish powers… a final thought before Mair sank into the dark depths of unconscious.-

((The idea behind it is better than the actual writing but hey, at least it's done.))

[The Demon Auditor]

ODK was racing across the cavern to put his fist through something, anything when the crystal began its free flight around the room. One gargoyle after another went down in screams. He saw the brilliant glittering of that crystal, and ran for it. Somehow, he knew letting it crash would not be a good thing.

However, a massive psychic shockwave knocked him flat on his face before he could ever make it. The pain and images flooding his mind were not the usual vore and gore of mortal imaginings. They weren't even the tortured nightmares of immortal undead. They were the lifeblood of Hell. The first time he'd seen and felt such carnage was his very first trip to meet the dark one...

~~"You wish to join me, immortal one?" The words were merely ODK's mind translating the pure thought entering his skull. "Suffer for your master, then, and do my bidding. You will obey my voice as I speak it through my avatars. You will sacrifice yourself on my altars. You will carry the burdens of demonic souls, and every demon will tear at your psyche. You will do all that I desire, and more. Is this still your wish?"

ODK kneeled with head bowed in darkness. His skin bled as if sliced by many razors, his body bruised and battered, and the bones of his skull fractured. All clothing had been burned away, and only a few strands of scorched hair remained on his head. He had been spared from further physical torture, but his eyes spoke of the horrors he'd seen. Wide with fright, brimming with tears that would not come, he felt the immense sadness he had steeled his heart against millennia ago. But, there was no turning back. His jaw dripping with ichor, his head bowed lower.

"Then take the mantle you have sought for. If you can..." the thoughts hissed with laughter. Instantly he was lying on the soft earth, cold and naked. His body was still broken, but he could see the task directly ahead of him. The task of his master's will. The task that would change his destiny forever. Directly before him stood The Demon Keeper.~~

The pain of memories was ripped from his mind as quickly as it had been pushed there. His eyes opened to find himself in a shattering world, suspended in space as his shadow clone tried tearing itself free of his physical body. His blood-stained eyes narrowed, his voice escaping his thin lips in a raspy whisper, "'ello, poppit..." In the final moments of the planet, the brilliant white light silhouetted the pair as they locked their hands around each other’s throats, wringing necks like dishtowels, neither forgiving in their attack until the bitter end.

Darkness.

[Oona Ondessa]

Oona struggled with her Shadow was futile, the Shadow was stronger, faster and incorporeal, at least When Oona lunged towards it, it had no trouble at all in choking the breath out of Oona. Oona knew had she the energy, perhaps she's be able to fight the shadow, the truth however was Oona had little desire, her head still throbbed painfully, memories still flashed through her skull, tearing and plunging at her scalp trying to escape, blood and death, The Primogen killing hundreds, thousands. She couldn't stop the hideous visions, the blood and gore and everything that was wrong with the world… and so many others. Krisztinya's laughter filled the world as the pain slowly stopped. The World shook, broken and shattered somewhere the small cavern Krisztinya and Oona were standing in remained standing. Oona glanced to her side; she could see pure white in the distance, nothing corporeal, no earth, no sky, heaven or hell… nothingness. She could make out six figures, half dead half struggling with their Shadows.

The Cavern began to crumble, it didn't vanish into pure nothingness like the rest of the realm, and instead it simply crumbled. The Shadow let go of Oona in alarm, a huge rock was about to fall on Krisztinya, with brimming sickness in her stomach, Oona lunged towards the Primogen hopefully knocking her out of the way as the stone began to crumble over the both of them, She held her enemy tightly, protecting the woman and herself in the process.

"If anything going to kill you it will be me!"

Oona snarled savagely, at the moment, even the touch of the Primogen made Oona want to throw up, her mere glance brought back all the hideous memories and visions she would rather forget. It wasn't long before the cavern fell, tones and tones of rock simply fell over the two women, seemingly crushing them to death.

The universe heaved once again, There was a deafening noise, the sound of one thousand waves, one thousand volcanoes spewing over and hundreds of earthquakes, the Shadows vanished and amazingly the world began to reform, grass grew, trees sprung and the world was once again whole.

Mair, Moridanu, The Other Demon Keeper and Carthax found themselves standing on a large mound of broken stone, if they looked close enough they would see one delicately tattooed hand lying limp and bruised between two stones they stood on. The World however was no home, it was Morthika true, but it had changed, the sky was not blue, it was a dark grey colour, lifeless and drab. The Blood Moon hung in the sky, still foreboding it hung in the air like a jokers prank. Nothing was alive over Morthika, the trees grew, but they were dead, no leaves would ever spring from the branches, the grass was short and brown, there were no birds or animals. Morthika had been conquered.

"Mair? Are you ok?"

Talon said as he crawled out of the cast iron cage, that lay on the ground near Mair and the group, who were all drawn together. Everyone else would find their belongings in the cages on the ground. The Only casualty so far was Sehkem; he was nowhere to be seen…


- To be continued in The King, Shadows and Abyss[/b][/size]