To Dance With The Shadowless

[Brahkula Hun'viir]

Vortex was a city that was just beginning to get back on its feet but was clearly one that still bore the scars of the past. Negligent thanes and power hungry beauracrats had sacrificed the well being of certain parts of the city for the sake of advancing their careers and moving onto bigger, better, more prosperous positions in other parts of the Arium or Empire. No where was this more evident than in the southern portion of the city, where ruined structures and crumbling streets cast a depressing and gloomy atmosphere about the area. Nearly twenty years before, a mighty battle had raged over the southern skies, as an undead dracolich, having been summoned from the pits of Aeternia by Vortex's long absent Archnecromancer Grim Fandango, dueled one of the finest air battleships in the Imperial Armada. Men and women, warriors and wizards had lost their lives by the hundreds defending the last city that allowed them to live their lives unhindered by petty regulations under the primacy of doctrine from the hypocritical Church of Faith.

But their sacrifices had been in vain, Vortex had utterly been destroyed, ransacked by the footmen of the Empire, her coffers emptied, her granaries either torched or consumed and her unflinching free spirit broken and crushed under the heel of an uncompromising government. The destruction in this city had been utter and complete, as it had been the necromantic heart of the once darkly powerful city, and as such was the first to have been gutted by a so-called cleansing of fire. No one dared come to this section of the city anymore, as it did not take a trained Necromancer to tell that there was something amiss about this area. An overpowering feeling of hatred and anger assailed one as soon as they entered the quarter, a feeling so subtle at times and horrendously disturbing at others that made one wonder what madness had gone on to make a place feel like this. The wind sometimes carried with it the sound of weeping and moans of despair, the a nightly gust would occassionaly bring with it a scream of mortal agony, wandering children would never be heard from again, foolish adults would be found in various bits and pieces strewn about a general area, and to those very few who could arcanically feel the subtle emanations of evil that the area exhuded would be assailed by the temptation to wander further inside to see what shadows lurked within the ruins.

At the very center of the southern quarter, taking the better part of three or four acres, was a massive building that was half covered in moss. The facade was in a tremendous state of disrepair, as a large part of it had simply caved in or succumbed to the kiss of a wildfire. The stone stairs leading up towards the entrance were simply crumbling pieces of rock in the large majority of places, and upon closer examination one could see that they had once been stained red--red with what was still a mystery. One majestic spire, of twisting stone, obsidian and jade reached towards the heavens, like the claw of some fatally wounded beast desperately trying to gouge one last time at the powers that had wronged it. Its counterpart had fallen over, and rested in a thousand pieces, strewn about the sides and front of the desecrated basilica. A gleam of copper in the light of the suns that came from the enormous domed ceiling , that could once be seen from miles away, could hardly be discerned now, mainly destroyed and disfigured by the massively jagged hole that gaped in its side. It almost seemed as if the very heavens had condemned the place by having some celestial body impact the structure in the place where it had seemingly been the most defiant and reduce it to the state of abandonment and decay it was in now.

No one, save for the wisest and likely the oldest sages, would remember that this had once been the mightiest shrine in the Empire to the Lord of Chaos, the brooding ruler of Aeternia whose followers had given their lives for their dark lord. Even in the eras before the invasion and subsequent destruction, the temple had been abandoned, its majestic turrets broken under the strain of neglect and its imposing facade rotted away by the apathetic eastern wind. Jalat had replaced Jorel as the chief deity of the dark city of the north, well before the city had been destroyed by the Emporer's army, and as such no had cared to maintain the basilica, not even the clerics who had once been so devout. Jorel's temple was but a mere shade of its former existence, but though seemingly abandoned by the powers that be, its master, in the course of dozens perhaps hundreds of eras, had not forgotten his former seat of wordly power...

Description by Ex-AGM Acheron.

It was within these infernal halls of the damned where it would begin, Lady Of Angels wished to become an udran beydire. A fabled creature of speed, and reflex. She cared not for bland weapons training, she craved something more something intense which did set in motion her desire to traverse this eerie citadel. She had aspirations of feeling the power of the shadowless, to dance with her swords and butcher her adversaries.

It was a dream after all, to have more meaning then simply a brothel master.

The darkness did envelope her form as she began to venture deeper inside this monument. What secrets did it hold? Was there relics that had been forgotten left behind? Was Jorels watchful eye still present in his holiest of holy temples. Lady Of Angels did wonder what prizes lay in this realm, what great knowledge there was to quench her intellectual pursuits.

Maybe if she was brave he would show her a sign, but then again maybe she was looking for guidance from the wrong god. Maybe she was better suited too Risthal or Haya. Maybe there was a reason why nobody cared for Jorel in these parts no more.

The vampire snickered at the thought, she simply wandered going further and further down into the heart of darkness. She cared not for specters, those that had fallen. She cared about herself, she had no reason to sympathize with failures.

Brahkula had stumbled across a room, there were no places to sit. Just a large altar before which one could kneel. The altar itself was unadorned, save for a large tapestry that hung above it and ripples slightly with the chilling wind. In the back there was the picture of a black gauntlet balled into a fist, the fist itself seemingly being aflame, as it was outlined by a reddish-orange variety of faery fire. Two small pillars erected with large dishes, which once grand fire emenated but now only ash and charcoal.

So this is the great temple of your name, pity...
It seems the church broke your spine, and jalat stole your followers.
Is this what you have been reduced too?
A fitting name for you indeed, lord of failures.
No comment? Didn't think so, your as empty as the rest.
You could have had me though, a true prize a vampire one that would have restored your temple.
Yet you are speechless, weak, your followers murder eachother while others worse yet give praise to false gods.
I changed my mind, maybe you arent strong enough to have me, maybe you just arent worthy of my time...
Still no answer? I figured, what could I have expected from a god who let mere orcs ravage and rape his temple once again with fire. Are you truly that pathetic?
Well what have you? Anything to say? Still nothing?
What of your champions? What have they done? Nothing? Betray You?
What of your clerics? They hide.
What of your followers? They abandoned you.
What of your temples? Destroyed.

WHAT OF YOUR NAME JOREL!

Has Ionnas won? Have you submitted to the pride you gave him?

Perhaps I shall refurbish your temple for one deserving of it, would you enjoy that?
The Basilica Of Jalat, Risthal, Haya, Meephos? Has a nice ring dont you think?

Brahkula had felt the need to simply express herself as she ventured, she was not quiet at all either. Her tones did grow louder and louder still, yet when she had heard nothing, when she had finally felt that her words had fallen upon deaf ears. She turned around and began heading back the way she came so that she may journey further down, of course there was something about her. She had to push it just one last time, she had to say it.

A fitting reward indeed for your service, enjoy your eternal imprisonment.

This temple is mine now, you have been robbed by nay a mortal

[Pine]

A chuckle from behind her, low and dry.
"Jorel? You search for Jorel in this place? For that meandering, pathetic god-child? Ah, Jorel is weak in these realms."
And from behind her, legless man wheeled out, in a strange contraption; a chair with spoked wheels that clicked and grumbled as they moved across the stone. His face was somewhere between young and old; indistinct even to the eyes of the vampire. But the eyes; the eyes were dark and cold and shadowless; sharp like venom and unchanging even while the face could not be distinguished.
"We've been watching you, dead thing. You're an abomination, but you might prove a useful one. Useful, or unfettered. As you've seen, Jorel is nothing. I'm glad you've come to that realisation. There are better masters to serve... better by far. Better masters with better rewards. Why this one?"

[Brahkula Hun'viir]

Lady of Angels eyes seemed to change hues until they reached a state of neon green that glowed like molten magma they were intensly bright as if exotic gemstones dug from the infernal pits of aeternia, her chilling gaze was set upon this strangers eyes, but her own seemed to possess a certain emerald afterglow that eerily pierced the shadows veil like burning embers pulsing as though breathing unnatural life beneath cackling tendrils of wildfire. Like a fireflys beacon, it was an entrancing sight that was equally nightmarish. A mesmerizing gaze that could leave the beholder to assume that what grimly stared at him was a succubus from the deepest pits of hell.

But at that moment they were filled with an undeniable hatred for this man, they screamed of malice and wrathful glee. She was considering butchering this man, how dare he refere to the daughter of the blood lord as an abomination. Shed rip his neck open and watch him flounder about like a fish out of water, but she refrained kept her temper in check.

I chose Jorel because I have the power at my fingertips to change himself in this realm, I have an army begging me to invade the church of faith. We shall storm there alter and tear them apart at the seam in Vortex, it will start here when we rebuild his temple to its former glory in his name. But I am no fool, how does he wish me to wage a holy war without skill I might be a vampire but without the ability to move like the Udran Beydir I will fail my task and I will be no more but dust.

Im sure you could enlighten me, pretell can you move faster then your shadow; Wheels ???

So what have you Wheels? What makes you think you are worthy of my time, tell me now or I shall strike you down.

The vampire was extremely agitated, had he not been so exotic so different and unique he would have been sprawled out across the alter gurgling in a pool of his own blood. But there was something about him that made her feel uncomfortable, but had he no reason to sway her morbid thoughts she would devour his soul.

She smiled in his direction, it was one of pure evil as she exposed her elongated inscisors.

[Pine]

"Brittle as bone, you be you be
A spirits gap on sand and sea"
A gesture with a single gnarled hand, the words flowing freely from his roughly curdling mouth. The air hung still around him, as if a moment of power had come and gone inbetween fragments of passing time.
"My lady, you forget. You are a vampire, and that gives strength, well and good. But it also relies on tricking your body into believing it still lives. And such illusions are readily shattered. Without them, you are nothing more than a furious flesh elemental."
His mouth twisted into a harsh smile that was at odds with the blandness of the rest of his face. Teeth that were almost not there gleamed at her.
"Of limited capacity."
He wheeled himself forwards, gradually. His hands were rough and calloused, but the rest of his body still seemed indistinct.
"I'd wager you have no idea what being a vampire truly is. Even less an Udran Beyir. And if you think the abilities of an Udran are necessary to wage a holy war, you have little understanding of logistics or what an Udran is. I'd say you're still far too... human?"
And there it was. A shiver of a beat within Brakhula's chest, as if the heart was contemplating starting once again. And then it faded away like a memory, no more than an instant of confusion. But the wheeled man was sitting, watching with a smile; and it seemed up to Brakhula to make the move.

[Brahkula Hun'viir]

Belief was an interesting topic, her heart shivered and a chilling feeling resonated down her spine. How long had it been since she had felt her heart beat, to bask in the suns cascading rays, to feel the warmth of her flesh. Mind rot insued, and the fabric of her reality rippled for just but a moment. Even in the realm of elves, she would have been long past expired yet she knew nothing of her former life. It besmirched her, how many countless patterns had the sleeper slumbered? She almost couldn't handle the thought, her anger faded and Brahkula gently placed her right on her face before her fingers draged across her visage and met at the bridge of her nose. How could she have so easily forgotten?

A single trickle escaped her eye, a scarlet streak that ran down her cheek. The droplet of blood soon fell and landed on the floor, where the miniscule speckle then splattered.

To feel that again was to much, it was overwhelming such an action had shook her core. It had been nearly 2,000 patterns since she felt that, it ushered forth a pain an ache and an emptiness in her black heart. She would have rather been burned alive then to endure such a twisted agony.

So lost in her thoughts, it had escaped her grasp and fell with a clang as it hit the floor. It was a cheap dagger, she would have kept her word and ripped him apart. Yet now she surrendered, she might have been powerful but she was just a shadow of her former self that she knew no longer.

Then perhaps you could enlighten me?