As the sun broke over the horizon, washing rays of light across the sleepy landscape, a lone figure was seen moving along at a brisk pace. Casting a long shadow ahead of it, the path it's feet took was clearly marked by the twisted nature of the plant life in it's wake. Grass became just as an ingrown hair, perverted from it's former mindset to reach ever towards the sky. Bushes would warp this way and that, wrapping themselves around an invisible center and then striking away from it.

It was not always like this, and Tithdaeron reasoned it had something to do with a recurring thought in his mind. It kept on with him, and nothing he could do would drown it out or silence it. Not that he hadn't dealt with worse things. The creature was already verifiably insane in the first place, and was more concerned that the voice could only say one thing over and over again.

Why wouldn't this newfound traveling companion at least hold a conversation with him like so many others did? His favorite voice was the one that lead him to a tasty meal. This one was simply boring. The day is finally at hand! the voice would say.

It sounded strong, confident of the event to take place. However, it was also unsure of what that day would bring. "What day? Out with it already!" replied the frustrated elemental.

The day is finally at hand!

Tithdaeron rolled his eyes. It was almost as if there was a child mocking him that he could not reach out to devour. Both of those prospects were equally aggravating. Moving along the southern coast of Ea, Tithdaeron's intended destination was the Shadovar Concordance stronghold in the mountain ranges northwest of him.

After studying a map, he reckoned it was best to follow the coast until reaching Lake Aelin, then after reaching the Misty Forests to make west and the mountain range would lead him the rest of the way. A meeting had been called. The unholy alliance was to gather, and hear of important news from Overseer Jupiter. If it were not for the fact that Annihilate and Xoco both had contacted the chaos elemental, and convinced him to act as a council member, his travel would not be necessary.

It was no great thing, though. Only this voice that kept bothering him. Driving him to temporary fits of primal hunger and rage. Already, Tithdaeron had left a wathe of destruction on the western edge of the Atluanta Falls. Some insolent travelers saught to have him killed. What fools!

After defeating the pair, the predator devoured their bodies for use as energy needed for the long trip. The elf was especially sweet tasting. Thinking of her sweet flesh, Tithdaeron idly licked his lips. How he cut into her neck with his katar as she tried to turn and run. She fell with a light impact on the maroon colored soiled. The color of blood and dirt together. Her life force gushed out of the whole in her neck, as she grasped at it desperately trying to close the gap.

The predator crawled over to her, and happily lapped up the blood as it flowed. Just as if it were a fountain. The elf woman's sceams of pain were gargled and distorted. Each time she took a breath her lungs were filled with her own blood.

When she died, Tithdaeron disrobed her and cut her open. Her guts spilling out around the opening, the creature gleefully ripped out her liver and took a delicate bite from the squishy and fresh organ...

Snapping back to reality, Tithdaeron blinked and a slightly confused look swept his face. Then he realized he wasn't eating that elf anymore. It was a daydream. He quickly became ever more annoyed at this fact. Had he been able to feast on her forever, the chaos elemental would gladly have done so.

Remembering the whole affair with stark detail did not help his hunger situation.


The food acquired earlier was running out and the creature's stomach reminded him of this fact. It growled voraciously, and rumbled his spine. More blood was to be had this night, and the predator began wondering if there was anyone to eat near the lakeside.

Coming over a rise, Lake Aelin could be seen in the distance. Roughly two and a half miles to go. Once he reached Aelin, he would rest for a night and hunt for food. The massive lake winked at him, as the rising sun behind cast rays of glowing warmth over the waters cool and smooth surface. There could be seen a few campfires near the water's edge.

He had struck gold. Tonight there would be a feast! Concentrating deeply, Tithdaeron focused on a group of trees near the lake. "Where I may see, there I may go." he chanted. After a brief moment, the chaos elemental disappeared and was nowhere to be found.

Somewhere in the vast space of magical mystery, the chaos elemental was being slingshotted mind, body, and soul to the destination of his choice. Moments later, the creature reappeared amidst the grouping of trees. He would make his roost here, concealed among the leaves. An old instinct picked up from his days as a vampire.

Walking lazily towards the lake shore, his black cloak billowed behind him as a cool and refreshing breeze played with the fringes of coat. The fiber was of the blackest, deepest sort. Almost as if looking into the empty void of space on a clear night. A pure black, with but one stunning blemish. A crest upon the right breast, a silver sword crossing a crimson flame, intersected by a golden lightning bolt. Tithdaeron's coat of arms, he designed it himself. Using materials gathered from dead noble's garb, of course.

As he set foot on the silty sands, the lake water rushed up to meet his feet and reeled back as if caught on a rope. He kneeled to put his hands into the water. The dried blood on the creature's hands was moistened by the lake water. The sight of the freshened blood, combined with it's hunger, was slowly driving the creature to a fit of rage. Hypnotized by the sight of a morsel of food, the creature greedily stuck his hands into his mouth and sucked the blood clean off.

It wondered how it had neglected to retrieve that little bit of goodness. The copper taste washed across his tongue, but did not serve to satiate his hunger. It only stoked the burning fire within. Tithdaeron knew he did not have long before he would go into a berserker state. Casting a longing glance along the shores, he could see where two different campsites stood out like sore thumbs. They might as well have been screaming out loud, "Eat us! Come, taste of our blood!"

He reached down and cupped some water in his hands, and brought it up to his mouth to drink.

The day is at hand!

In mid sip, the chaos elemental choked on his anger. Spitting out the water, he shouted, "Silence!" and waited. Tithdaeron began to breathe heavily. His stomach this time purred, teasing him. He tentatively poked at it. Would he wait until night? Perhaps waiting that long wouldn't do.

The Lake Aelin...

Jurian felt more at home here than anywhere else in Arda. Here lied a gigantic pool of luscious water, never expiring, and never poisoned. Jurian felt proud to call this place home. The scent of freshwater and a tinge of lavender ignited his senses. It was a scent of purity, freshness, and calmness. Jurian enjoyed it. Living for over 3,000 years, and he still called this place home. He knew it inside out, sideways, above, backwards, inverted, and under. If Jurian ever had an enemy, he would know exactly where the enemy would be here. He felt more relieved that that was a good assurance. After living this long, and still maintaining youthfulness, Jurian would not want to quit now. He had thousands of years to go, and he wasn't willing to lose yet. He was a guardian. He wasn't a guardian of the specific water element, but the lake. He loved the lake, and he wanted to protect it.

The skies were blessed with a deep blue hue, complementing the wonderful color tone of the lake. It seemed like the perfect day to Jurian, but Jurian knew that nothing was perfect, not even himself. He wanted to be perfect, but he knew that there was no such thing. The trees had not interfered with the lake, as they seemed to keep their distance. It was unfortunate that Jurian, despite his fins and other accomodations, was not able to breathe underwater. Oh well, he was sure that was going to change soon.

Jurian was walking along the side of the lake, skimming the sides with his longsword. The great day had sparked imaginations within him, and he was pondering how such things would carry out. He wondered how ironic it would be if a fire elemental came to rest near the lake.

Nahhhh. Jurian thought. He knew that wouldn't happen. They'd just hurt themselves.

His thoughts quickly changed as he eyed someone not even one hundred feet away from him, also near the lake. It engulfed his mind with curiosities. He unconsciously sheathed his sword on his back, while eyeing the figure. It did seem like a fire elemental, contrasting to what Jurian had firstly suspected. He focused, and it sure did seem like an elemental. All of a sudden, it truly did cause curiosity, and even though it may have killed him, he decided he'd meet up with the elemental. Jurian wasn't too good in the talking, but his 18 feet height and massive frame would do enough talking if the elemental was hostile. But either way, Jurian kept his natural smile on his face, slowly approaching the elemental.

Jurian waved slowly, hoping that the elemental saw him. If he did, then either he would attack Jurian, or be passive. Either way sounded like fun!

A loud growling noise echoed again from his stomach. This time it meant business. Suddenly, Tithdaeron felt hot. The percieved heat agitated him further, and with ragged breaths the chaos elemental's eyes twitched and neck jerked. The strong, battle-seasoned muscle under his currently human-like skin bulged and contracted.

It was like being in a state of near panic, as the elemental desperately tried to penetrate the surface of the water in search of fish or some other sort of thing to eat. His hands clenched and unclenched, growing sweaty and tense along with the rest of his body. The morning sun was now shining directly upon the creature's back, intensifying the growing storm within.

Somewhere deep inside, amongst the turmoil, he lamented. Losing control like this was not always the best of things. While it proved useful in combat situations, it was not very useful anywhere else. And it happened wherever and whenever. Physical hardship merely accelerated it.

Such were the trials of living as a thing created to kill and destroy.

Tithdaeron's hunting instincts were now being brought to bear, and off to his right he heard the sound of footsteps. Whatever it was, it sounded reasonably large. Typically, something that large would have been easy to stop from the two vantage points that Tithdaeron had.

He wondered why he hadn't seen anything so close by. The predator jerked it's head over to lay eyes upon the approaching stranger. Examining the newcomer, he was reminded of an old ally who was of the same race. Lizarian.

They must have begun to spread more in Arda, at last check they only inhabited the swamps. While the killing machine on the surface began plotting a way to kill and eat the newcomer, the information was being pocketed behind the scenes.

A small 'click' interrupted the ambient noise of the lakeshore. It was Tithdaeron's katar springing out of it's sheath on his wrist. Triggered by a twitch reaction, the katar generally remained unseen under his cloak. It was covered with blood only a day and a half old. Bits of flesh were also stuck to the blade with the dried blood, making for a frightening weapon.

Without announcing any intention of his attack other than that, the chaos elemental sprung from his position like a lion and moved for a straight on attack. All logic had gone out the window. The only thing left was the desire to kill and eat, to survive.
Soon, this heat would go away.

Yes, after drinking the warm blood and eating the tasty flesh from this lizarian, Tithdaeron would be able to experience a few hours of bliss. Reveling in the victory of a successful kill, the sheer pleasure derived from knowing the creature had yet again fulfilled it's purpose. This was all not far away in it's mind.

The elemental seemed to be losing control of itself!

There it was, twitching, and seemingly breathing hard. It was a curious thing, what it was doing. It didn't seem to be too well. It seemed to be ill, either physically, mentally, or both. Either way, Jurian had a bad feeling about it. It didn't seem like the kind of sickness that impairs you. It seemed like a kind of sickness that will make you want to kill something. Where Jurian got that reference, he didn't know, but all he did know is that something bad was going to happen. Fast.

Jurian quickly stopped, and stood ground. Still in a peaceful state, he examined the strange elemental, once more. It seemed to make a noise. Some kind of 'click' noise was heard by Jurian. It seemed that the elemental was starting to make noise, and that wasn't too bad. It wasn't too good either, because maybe it had rabies or something. But Jurian did not know of any rabies-infested beasts that clicked. The only thing resembling that was a mouse with a clapper toy. That was it.

HOLY HECK---

The elemental had charged him! There it was, just staying in it's little crouched position, and then all of a sudden it sprang up! Or he... It had jumped up at impressive speed, with a katar equipped, and was sending the katar to Jurian.

Phew...

Jurian quickly tried to figure something out. It would be a split-second before he would be gouged with a katar. Sure, his scales could lower the stopping power, but he had to figure somewhere the elemental could hit that WOULDN'T be lethal. The chest was very vital, and the stomach / torso area was needed as well, not wanting his liver, or stomach to get stabbed. Jurian hated internal bleeding. It happened to him 1,500 years ago, and he almost died. It was a dreadful experience.

Taking this train of thought into a physical movement, he raised his large forearm, and attempted to direct the katar to his arm. Sure, it would hurt, but it's better than dying. Besides, he had his left hand to bring his sword out. So, while holding his right hand up, he drew out his longsword from his back sheathe with his left hand. Holding it tightly, he attempted to point the edge at the elemental. Jurian really wasn't too smart, so he didn't really 'aim' the blade. He just pointed it in the elemental's direction. For all he knew, he could hit the hand! But such was the life of a duller brain.

Why is it that everyone Jurian meets has to be killed by him?

Tithdaeron payed little heed to Jurian's counter movements. Logic had pretty much gone out the window, replace with bloodlust, rage, and the thrill of the hunt. The chaos elemental's cloak flapped wildly in the air behind him as he closed the distance, and mere moments before impact he let out a terrifying roar. The same roar the a lion would use to strike fear into the heart of it's prey. When he was at his peak power, Tithdaeron was able to cause the very earth to tremble beneath his feet, and people to go stark raving mad with a horrible scream.

The chaos elemental's katar found purchase in the lizarian's forearm with a simple but disgusting 'schuk'. Blood started to leek out around the katar as it began to rend scale from scale and flesh from flesh. It was a minor injury, but the sight of blood only encouraged Tithdaeron to cause even further damage to his prey. Not before further terrifying the victim, though. While the lizarian brought his sword to bear, Tithdaeron took the time to sink his teeth right next to the wound.

Sharp fangs at first grated on the tough scaly hide, but soon penetrated the weaker flesh near the katar wound. Blood trickled into his mouth, and Tithdaeron became delighted. He pulled out his katar, and grasped onto the massive being's arm, looking for a place to go to avoid being killed.

He decided to climb up and over his shoulder, and then onto his back where it would be difficult to reach him. With a childish laugh, the creature clawed it's way up the lizarian's scaly hide and made way for his shoulder. Perhaps a neck wound would be inflicted as well, if not thrown off.

"You have no idea how long it has been since I have had a meal! I am going to rip your spine out and beat it over your head when I am through with you!" he said gleefully. Reaching the lizarian's shoulder, Tithdaeron winded up his left hand. If the lizarian did not shake him off, he would have another katar shaped hole in his neck as well as his forearm.

Shluk.

Jurian felt dizzy. Not the dizzy that disorients you, but the kind of dizziness that makes you want to fall to the floor in surpise. Indeed, Jurian was surprised. This attack was very fast, and unexpected. All Jurian wanted to do was say hi, and he got a katar in the arm. He started to move his hand to grip the elemental.

Shluk. Again.

Oh great. Now it was nibbling on him! It didn't hurt, as most things don't, but it irritated him. His beautiful green scales were pierced, and that did anger him. What would seem like a fiery dog was now chewing on his arm. And yes. it seemed to be driven mad. It was sucking up all of Jurian's pure red blood. His wonderful blood! That son of a female dog...

Wait, now what? The elemental finally let go. Finally. But now it seemed to be crawling behind Jurian. Oh, so it was a coward him? This was to be interesting. The roar that the elemental did did not cause fear to Jurian. It merely startled him. But he decided to have a contest.

Jurian's massive figure let out a terrifying roar. It shook the trees, sending leaves falling, the water rippling like crazy, and birds flying away in fear. A dog barking in fear seemed to run away, as the echo seemed to last on and on. In mid-roar, Jurian took the oppurtunity, as the elemental was on his back, to grab the elemental by the foot, and crash his 850 pound body onto the floor, hoping to crush the elemental in a body slam. Should he succeed, he'd have one less enemy. He guessed the fact that his sword was pointing to the elemental still would help.

The blue sky seemed red to Jurian, as he figured out what this elemental was. It was not a fire elemental. It was a Chaos Elemental.

An enemy.

That just drove Jurian angrier. Not only would Jurian kill someone today, with his 3,000+ years of experience in fighting, but he would also have a trophy of the kill.

Wonderful.

Before the predator could land his well aimed shot, his prey made a reply. With a gut wrenching release of rage, the lizarian made known his own anger aloud. The ground trembled somewhat at his voice, and the lake heaved when it heard the alarm. Animals of every sort scattered this way and that, filled with the primal fear of death. Tithdaeron, being closest in proximity to the source of the roar, was nearly deafened by it.

It impressed him deeply, and caused the elemental to have a sort of respect for the lizarian's power. No longer was he prey in Tithdaeron's eyes, but a near equal. One that deserved a good fight. As the slightly dizzied creature made another attempt at piercing the oversized reptile's neck, it started to fall back.

The massive hulk took it's good time getting even a quarter of the way there. Tithdaeron realized that if he did not move, he would be pressed into the sand like a toy in the hands of a child. Even though sand at first seemed rather inoffensive, when something heavy hit it the billions of tiny rock's opposed with tremendous vigor.

Tithdaeron leaped off of the lizarian's back, landing several feet away. The near half-ton behemoth crash into the sand, causing the ground to shudder. A rather large cloud of of the beach material was raised into the air around the impact area, distorting Tithdaeron's view of the lizarian temporarily.

He would not allow the creature a chance to recover. Taking advantage of the sand already present, Tithdaeron decided it best to confused and overwhelm the beast with a ace of his own. Bringing up will and energy, the chaos elemental focused it to summon a great wind from the north and east. Soon, a sandstorm would would arrive.

Running at top pitch, Tithdaeron suddenly burst into flames. The cloak of flames would prevent the lizarian from grasping him, as the extremely hot fire would burn much. But the chaos elemental didn't have defense in mind. When he was within leaping range, the creature again burst into the air to throw himself onto the reptile and barbecue him.

There would be a great feast tonight! He would cook each arm, leg, and strip of flesh throughly in a great fire on the lake shore! What he was not capable of eating, Tithdaeron would dry out to preserve for the trip to the conference. Everything was working out perfectly!

Damn!

That beast jumped off, as expected. Jurian should have realized his terribly slow falling speed. But it was merely a basic move. Jurian had much better plans of his own. Jurian could have sworn he grabbed the Elemental's foot, not miss it. It was a really unfortunate event. In mid-fall, Jurian had an impressive thought.

Let's see if it can resist a little more fun.

Jurian was falling in slow motion. His strong heartbeat was heard by himself, as Jurian felt the adrenaline force itself into Jurian's veins. He could feel his blood being pumped in and out of his heart at exponential rates. Everything was blurry. Jurian slowly tilted his head to the right, and saw every single grain of sand. That reminded him to close his eyes. This was going to hurt.

Boom.

The very ground shuddered beneath his weight, a few trees toppling over, and the lake splashing water onto the dry areas of the beach. But one thing caused a yell. A sudden, large roar of pain.

He had landed on his longsword. The point.

Jurian got up. He stumbled once, but he made it. His longsword that he was holding behind him. He was trying to slash the elemental, out of dumb thought. And now that same longsword went right through Jurian's stomach. Blood was not just trickling out; it was spraying out. But Jurian had lots of blood, and he had suffered worse. But it hurt. It hurt so terribly. The blade was sticking out through the front, the hilt through the back. Jurian desperately wanted to get it out of him, but with his slow movements, the chaos elemental would overpower him. Not like it mattered. Pain is temporary. Jurian would end up disregarding the sword.

Whoosh.

And now a fireball was near him.

Jurian had enough of this. He just wanted to say hi! He wanted to help! He wanted to be kind and assist the person if they were in need.

And now he had a sword in him.

Jurian drew out his gleaming sword from his second sheath. The Sword of Air.

Jurian bellowed out a loud yell. "Malagnos!"

A freezing cold whirlwind of air stirred in Jurian's location. He grinned. If that HOT elemental were to get caught up in the COLD whirlwind, which was heading to the FREEZING lake, Jurian would have an advantage. He directed the whirlwind into the chaos elemental's path to try and intercept. If successful, this was going to be an easy win.

Jurian finished his 'move' by moving to the lake, as the wound spurted blood from both sides, creating pools. He was feeling weaker, and he had to retreat into what may be called his home. But not without a victory.

Not without this elemental learning a lesson.

Tithdaeron was practically treated to an in-flight movie as he careened towards his target. After the dust settled, there was almost a fountain of blood displaying from the center of the large opponent's body. Tithdaeron thought this strange, but also counted himself lucky. The lizarian had somehow injured itself! With the... hilt of it's own sword?

The chaos elemental did not have time to fathom the possibilities. Just as he was to land over top of the lizarian, it cried out with a strange word. Malagnos? What did that mean?

A sudden gust of wind acted as though a giant hand. Swatting Tithdaeron away from his quarry as if he were no more than a fly. Spiraling through the air, the predator found itself heading fast and hard for the lake surface. Surprised and disoriented, his eyes were nearly as wide as dinner plates.

His body impacted the water hard, and it was like smacking into a brick wall. The water resisted the foreign object at first, jarring Tithdaeron to a somewhat dizzied state. A fanfare of the lake water and steam rose up as his mass displaced it, highlighting where the creature had landed and sunk. The cold liquid doused his cloak of flames rather well.

Tithaeron had not had time to take a breath of precious air before going under, and was quickly running out of time as he slowly was drifting towards the bottom of the lake. Finding a way out was of vital importance. The chaos elemental knew that as soon as the lizarian managed to unpin itself from the beach, it would come straight for him. He no longer had the advantage of speed over his opponent, it was now quite the opposite.

At least for the moment. Tithdaeron was no typical chaos elemental (if there ever were to be one) and was capable of shape-shifting. Focusing his chaotic essence, the creature re-arranged itself into a lizarian, but with gills like a fish.

However, he did not intend to fight with this creature any longer. It was not fit as prey, and deserved to be killed on the field of battle like a true enemy. He did not have any more time to waste trying to eradicate the reptilian foe. Swimming hard and fast, the creature made a break for the other side of the lake. Whilst he was powering away, the creature pondered if he was able to teleport underwater as well as on land.