The breeze was nice, even in the night. The sky was alight with the stars, twinkling in the darkness to show their light. H'tes had been looking up at the sky for a while now. He had decided to camp by the lake, as it was peaceful and made him feel better in this wondering life. He watched the stars twinkling in the sky, thinking of whether or not he was like one of those stars, twinkling in the darkness to show it was still fighting the dark, or whether he was more like the moon, trying to reflect the light, but in reality being very dark.
'What do you see when you look at the full moon?' his mother had once asked him. The question seemed to have been a family tradition of sorts. Back then, he had replied 'Something trying to hide it's true self.' And he always believed it. He had been running from his inner demon for a while now. But even now, he still questioned whether or not he should stop running and embrace it.
His staff was lying a little bit away from him. He put his eyes back upon it. He did not think that anyone would come out here for a fight, but he was always prepared for one. This was a violent world, after all, and you had to expect trouble if you were prepared to survive. But he honestly hoped that, just for one night at least, he'd be able to relax for a night without worrying about some bandit coming for a quick bit of gold, or something worse. If something worse came, that would be when he'd have to consider more desperate options, like changing into his demon form.
He only ever used the Demon form if he absolutely had no other option, for many reasons. One, he did not like seeing that part of himself. It reminded him of a father he hated. But the other was that anyone watching would be a problem. People spread rumors, and rumors create infamy. If he became known as a part demon, he'd be hated across most of Arda. And if that happened, he'd be in a bad situation. No where to run or hide, he'd either have to join the forces of Darkness or die. At least, that was how he saw it.

A celebration of the damned
the unfettered few who choose to roam;
Sharing more than sexual excess
sowing more than vexing stones

Te he he he he he...
The loud scrapping of her claws down the bark of a solitary tree echoed within the canopy of the small handful of trees which where litered 'round a rather moon reflective body of water, a lake she knew as Aelin. What an odd name for a lake. Scarlet liquid seeped down the cracks of the bark, the life spilt fluid with which she harvested. Oh how simple it was to reduce flesh to ribbon when you possessed knives for nails.

The tips of her razor sharp claws dug deeper into the side of the tree as she tore in every which direction in no such order as she cackled merrily aloud, not really giving a damn who heard and who didn't. This was play time for demons, when the moon basked in the center of the sky. Madness was a gift Lady Darkness loved to embrace, for it came with the thrill of the chase, the joy of the kill, and the thirst for the unknown.

Favorite haunts of depravation
where the morning fears to tread.
Covenant revere the sullen cain
strike the tethered liar dead!

[i]

But her laughter died away into seething, malevolent snarls. Her figure quaked and quivered with the intensity of her hate as a scent wafted into her nostrils. A scent of which she did not, under [i]any circumstance, welcome. A mortal was near, and not just any mortal. A mudblood, hybrids who didn't know whether they were to be evil or to be good. Disgusting creatures... all of them.

Her claws flexed and unflexed beneath the ebony fabric of her shoulder length gloves as she swipped her tongue over the edge of her index claw, so unseated in her disgust to care that she had slit her own flesh, not that she could feel. When she tasted her own foul blood oozing from her tongue, she had had it. Filth, filth, filth... FILTH! Collecting herself from her lastest play area, the demoness scurried to her feet in a shuffle of claws and then teleported, inch by inch, to the scent of the course.

A young male, probably no older than a mortal teen, watched the twinkling starlight, unaware of the horror that was upon him. She would destory this abomination of nature, torture him until she was bored, and then use his blood to write yet another chilling message to the public of Arda. Dark veins popped out from her death pale flesh, the slits in her dark eyes furrowing upon his figure as she watched him in the cover of nightfall. It was when he was deep into his thoughts that her toxic voice sliced the still air in her haunting lullabye:
"Come here to me, little one.
Come here to me as you fall into decay..."

Dark solstice fever burns in me
like the tugging of my veins to feed.
Ravaging raven-lust
Unbridled at Dusk

As H'tes was lost in his own thoughts, he did not realize something was creeping up on him. Something dark. Something evil. But then, he heard the voice. it sounded like some creepy lullaby. H'tes was quick, and rolled over, grabbing the Staff that served as his only weapon, and then jump up.
He saw the woman. She was rather pretty, but H'tes was not to be fooled by such petty things. He was looking into her eyes, and could see something that he had seen in a while. Demonic eyes. He could tell that this was of demon kind, quickly. He noticed some of her other features. Her fingernails were more like claws. He noticed the black crescent moon on her forehead, which reminded him of his father, who had a red crescent moon on his forehead. Must be a demon thing, then.
He raised his staff in a defensive position. He knew demons accepted part demons even less then humans did. And that would only he would take this even more seriously. But he would not change into his demonic form yet, as he was not sure the level of danger the demoness represented yet. Also, that lullaby sounded a lot like a threat of death to come. H'tes would make sure he was not the one to die tonight.
"If you've come here for a fight, then come and get me," he said, watching her carefully. "I haven't met any of your kind before, but what I have heard is never good news. Although, could just be humans giving you a bad reputation. They have been known to do that." He took a step back. "But I don't like taking chances if I can help it. Besides, your kind generally hates mine."

Every step she took towards him grew heavier with malice, her entire frame seething so violently that it shook, though her pace was a mix of calm and outrage. He was a typical hybrid by appearence and his demonic aura was so faint it was almost nonexistant. The last hybrid she had come across was a were demon by the nam of Crystal, one of the first she had sworn to kill when her plans where complete. But there were milestones barring her path, mere obsticles that would take a bit more time to climb over. And with every obsticle came a spar and every victory made her stronger.

As he watched her catiously, looking her over, she felt sickened, and that only added to her hatred for him. His voice didn't make things any better- it was like a harmonious synphony striking all the right notes. Lady Darkness wasn't exactly fond of such... 'lovely' sounds, you see. A snarl built within the crevice of her chest and snaked its way out as she bared her cruel fangs to their roots. Each carnivorous set of fangs glimmered brightly in the moonlight, a sign which would plainly show this mud-blood that she wasn't playing around. "You speak of humens like a paladin would speak of omens, and yet you reek of their disgusting scent!" She spat between her mouth full of fangs, her claws flexing at her sides under the fabric of her gloves.

That was it! She was done with talking. Just looking at him made her angery; she wanted to kill him... now. But no, for it wasn't to be. Lady Darkness would extend her merriment as much as she could, and thus, she'd take him into her lair so that he would experiance all of the rumers and myths being started by a meer sylable of her name. However, she would not use blades and other weapons crafted by blacksmiths, but the weapons of her choice now were the ones she was born with... more than enough to kill a runt like this one before her very eyes, even if he did, somehow manage to take on a demonic form. Unfortunately for him, only pure blooded demons could transform completely- hybrids could only take on half of everything, which was only equal to a fraction of a demon's true power. It was sad really.

As clear as the dark moon gleamed on her forehead, her twilight eyes reflected the frame of the enemy as a smirk slithered upon her thin lips to curl the edges of her mouth. The very smile which meant his immolation. Her claws flexed one final time, her smile gapping into a snarl of war as she charged at him. He no doubt was planning a counter, a move perhaps. And so when she was right in the spot he needed her to be in to dodge her assult, she teleported in the blink of an eye and reformed behind him. It was there that she aimed to wrack her claws down his unprotected back, guarded only by simple clothes that would shread just as easily as his flesh would.

As he listened to this conversation, he knew his fears were realized. 'Just like a human,' he thought to himself. 'Just a lot deadlier.' H'tes was prepared for an attack, but he had never fought a demon before, and thus was unsure what to expect. But, to her words, he replied with his own. "If I could have chosen my parents, I would have," he said, rather calmly considering he was preparing for a fight with someone he was sure had more experience in the area of death and also more powerful.
It was when she smiled that he felt it. Fear. Something was wrong when an enemy smiled at you, and her smile seemed to have all of her hatred for his tainted blood in it. She was one dead serious demoness. Then, she disapeared. Before he even had time to look around for where she went, he felt pain across his back. He cried out in agony, but he forced himself to move quickly. He quickly spun around with his staff, trying to smack her across the face with it. Because of the length of the weapon, he wouldn't need to worry to much about not getting her position right, but he knew she could dodge it, and would have to move quickly to avoid another claw strike like that.
But, there was something he did not notice when the claws scratched his back. His eyes had changed. From the calming, human pale blue to a demonic dark red, with slitted pupils like a cat and black sclera (the whites of human eyes, for those you don't know). It was the only demon piece of him that could come out easily, and was not under his control at times. It erupted in moments of passion, such as intense hatred, or battle, or pain.

Her claws scored flesh easily, leaving severe gashes down the length of his back. Pain, for those who could feel it, hampered them along with blood loss and made them blind to defence as they struck out to even the score. This mud-blood was no different and even through his horrid stench she would smell the sweet aroma of fear radiating off him. It was clear he was inexperienced, but he was part demon, so at least she hoped he could put up a decent fight.

His remark was backed by the butt of his staff, which was sharp enough to penetrate skin, aimed at her face. This was where she wanted to be, close enough to get herself struck, but she evaded as swiftly as she had vanished and reappeared, and prepared for another strike. He was more conserned with her attacking his upper body rather than lower, so once more she decided to be unpredictable, a sent an aimed and posed hand of claws towards his left leg which were busy steadying his posture as he swung at her.

The demoness rolled to the side to aviod anything he sent her way and hoped to her feet once she was in the clear. But this wasn't a display of skill, she was waiting for his strike. And when it came, she was ready. Lady Darkness would cackle when his attack would come her way, but she would serve too acutely to fully avoid it. This was her real plan. Once she was struck through the stamach, like she had planned to be, she would smile once more, baring her cruel fangs to their roots. "Foolish boy," she would hiss, her voice lingering between hatred and amusement. Lady Darkness would force her body up more onto his weapon, coming so close to him that he could literally feel her breath hot on his face.

"You cannot kill what you do not understand." With that, her hand would rest on the space of the staff seporating her from him and as her muscles flexed, she attempted to snap it in half while she would pull herself from the remaining space of his weapon. She could see, when she was close enough, his demonic nature showing its colors, as weak as they were. Lady Darkness wanted him to show his true demonic form. When he would take his, she would take on hers and make him taste the soil with which they walked and moved upon to show him just who was top dog around these parts...

H'tes was in pain, that much was certain. He screamed as she caught his leg, but had to fight off his pain. He quickly spun around, and struck, but she dodged easily. His second strike was an impale gesture, and it seemed to connect. Unfortunately, that wasn't a good thing. She simply used it to get closer. It was like she didn't feel pain. Just perfect.
He let go of the staff and backed off. It was then that she broke his staff. This was not a good situation at all.
At her statements, he actually agreed, but he would not reveal that. She was faster, stronger, and a lot more experienced. Hell, she was even taller. He had no advantage in this fight, and now he was without even a weapon. He knew his only option left was to go into his demonic form. But it would take time, energy, and pain to do it. Would she even allow him that time? It hardly mattered. If he remained in his human form, he'd die. If she interrupted the transformation, he would die. If he transformed, he still had a relatively good chance of dying, but a little more chance of survival then as a human. He had to take that chance.
"It's the feast of the blood with sin, unleash the beast within."
The words seemed to be different in themselves, as though not by his own voice. This voice was slightly deeper and with a slight hiss in it. As soon as he said it, he felt pain across his body, and he screamed as borns began to change and form. The first noticeable change to appear was his blood. It started to become black, and his skin became paler. The next thing were his fingernails, which seemed to blacken and grow longer and sharper to form claws. Ashe screamed in pain, his canine teeth became longer and sharper, becoming fangs, and his tongue became thinner and longer, with a forked end, like a snake. His legs seemed to become slightly longer, and the shape of them became less human, more like an animal, and the toenails became similarly blackened and sharpened as the fingernails. Another added feature was a long, thin, black tail with the end looking similar to a spears end. And last, four horns, two smaller ones closer to the inside of the head, and two larger ones on the outer part of the head.
After a longed, pained scream, H'tes stood up. Ironically, he was still a bit shorter then her, even though he was a bit taller now. Most humans would have backed off just watching him transform, but he knew not to expect that of her. He had revealed his trump card, but he knew she had only shown him the tip of the ice burg of what she could do. He just hoped he could find an opening. But he knew, it was not likely.

"It's the feast of the blood with sin, unleash the beast within." His voice was morphing on the spot, lingering between the clear tone of the human and the contorted, tainted tone of the demon within him. And almost instantly, his body went through the agonizing transformation that would take him halfway into the demon form. While she watched and observed him, the demoness's lips slithered into her infamous crooked smile that sent chilles up and down the spines of her victims.

I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)

Unlike her demon form, his grew a forked tail... something she'd have to watch carefully. In the demon realm, tails were an underestimated weapon that often lead to the dimise of the foe. But death wasn't in any of the Mistress of Torments plans. Dying by the claws of a hybrid was a disgrace to her kind-- she'd be boiled in acid first before that happened.

It seems you're having some trouble
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes
Oh no, the world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the demon ... in me

As his final scream pierced the chill air, Lady Darkness took a few steps back to give herself room. She'd been waiting for him to reveal his true form so that he would give her a decent challenge. The demoness wasn't frightened, but preparing. While he stood up, Lady Darkness removed her boots and other clothing. She just hoped he knew that full blooded demons tore out of all their clothes during the transformation from human form to demon form. If she didn't want to run around in the nude when she changed back, the clothing that covered her had to be removed... now. The first time she'd transformed, Lady Darkness had learned that lesson the hard way.

Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up
Come on get down with the sickness
You mulleter get up
Come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me

The dragon-like slits in her eyes slowly turned red as her ebony veins popped out of her flesh. She threw up what she had just eatten, not being able to sustain a cooked meal like that without upsetting her stomach. Her fangs darkened and grew in length as her claws extended and grew into talons, taring her dark gloves. What she hated most about going demon was ripping her clothes. Swiftly unclipping the buckle's around her waist to keep her clothes from taring any further, Lady Darkness's skin was soon covered by black marks.

The bones of her back were moving underneath her skin, shreading the flesh in seconds to have wings made completely of bone and skin behind her. Becoming the thing that nightmares were made of was more painful than people thought, and she growled lowly under her breath that sent many of the inn goers' to flee. Her muscles bulked and her frame grew in size while the wings streached behind her. Bones shreaded through her arms to make spikes that pulsed with blood veins, dark mist escaping from her wounds. Instead of healing them, the dark mist stayed around her to give the demon a grim appearence while her transformation continued...


Another demonic roar lanced the air like poison while her jaw line streached to fit her fangs. The bones of her shoulder stabbed through the place of the shoulder blade, curving chaotically like a swiftly dying flower that had just been given poison instead of water. The space above her ears began to point outwards while horns grew from her skull, curling once before ending in a razor sharp point. Lady Darkness's tranformation from human to demon was now complete.

Now in her true form, the demoness towered over the already puny hybrid, looming over him like a dark omen. Wings of bone and black veined death pale flesh extended to their full length before closing half-way. Ghastly snarls erupted from the base of her throat, entending from deep within her chest like an erupting volcano as she bared her cruel sabers which simmered in the light of the unicorn white moon. Now she was prepared for an all out smack down while she took all of his new assests into deep consideration. The muscles of her legs rippled as he knee bent and the dark skinned, clawed foot arched upon the ground as if preparing for a sprint. Midnight talons flexed and her arms drew back.

Hissing at him like a snake might, the demoness lunged for him, using her newly formed wings to propell her forth as razor sharp talons rained down upon him in a fury of swipes. After a few minutes of sparring in demonic form, Lady Darkness had already planned to knock him unconciuous and drag him back into the depths of her lair, where she would torment him until he bored her to tears.

H'tes would not be able to hide the fear in his face at watching her transformation. While he did expect it be something a little like this, watching it in action was something completely different. Everything about he made him want to run at this moment. But he knew that would be impossible.
Instead of succumbing to fear like a moron, he decided to do something a bit smarter: study. The transformation gave her more advantages, but also, some weak points. The wings gave her the ability of flying, but they also made for weak points, and with enough damage on them, they would be more of a hindrance to her. The next thing that he had was kind of pathetic: Size. He was small, she was large. Usually that was considered a bad thing, but H'tes knew that small things were rather hard to catch for big things. And, in his demon form, H'tes was a bit faster, perhaps fast enough to be tougher to catch for a large demon such as herself. The last thing he had also had to do with size. That large body would probably be hard to turn around, and H'tes' smaller body was more useful for maneuverability.
Unfortunately, he then had to come to the bad parts of her transformation to him. Size generally meant strength, and those talons looked rather devastating. It was easy to see the advantages of the body: devastating power. And that might be all the demoness would need to fight H'tes with. Not to mention, H'tes was making these judgments on initial appearance, and appearances can be very deceiving. It could be she was also very fast and maneuverable, but he was hoping she wasn't.
Then she came. It was a powerful lunge straight at him with use of the wings to propel her forward. Her claws came to slash him, but H'tes would not be hit by this attack. He neeled down as she came, and at the last moment, he jumped to the side. His demonic red eyes were focused on one target: the right wing. His hope was to get her right on the wing and slash with his claws and the tip of his tail. If he could do that, he might be able to use his speed to his advantage.

She could feel his eyes upon her as she transformed, and even though ever fiber of his being was dripping with the pall of fear, he was studying her carefully and cautiously. Most likely looking for any weaknesses, but more than likely, basing everything from her appearance. She was bigger, stronger, faster, and more in tune with her surroundings in her true form. H’tes could already see the might backed up by bulking muscle, but since he was smaller, he was no doubt a bit faster than her. Even as she lunged for him, she was also pondering, considering and taking the elements into consideration.

He ducked below her and side stepped. Lady Darkness had expected him to dodge her front on attack, but the hybrid was a bit unpredictable than she thought. It briefly surprised her when he aimed to strike for her right wing, but it wasn’t until she actually thought about that it was his next move if he wanted any hope of crawling away. However, the hybrid was forgetting the basic fundamental of the demonic kind: Demons, especially dark demons, were not hampered by pain. What made Lady Darkness an even more formidable adversary was that she could not feel physical pain. She felt the flesh of the middle flap slice at the end, which meant she’d had one nasty cut on her back in her human form later, but the demoness bared her sabers in a snarl as a retrospect.

The Mistress of Torment could plainly see that his biggest advantage was his tail, and his next weapons were his claws. The sudden urge to tear a chuck of flesh from his throat was overwhelming and almost took her over, and it would have if she didn’t want to kill him… yet.

”Foolish boy!” A demonic howl echoed across the sky as the demoness spun adruptly on her heels with which to face him. Acidic midnight blood dribbled from her hacked right wing in small amounts in a slow pace. The thickness of it clogged the wound enough to stop the bleeding enough to where the dark regeneration coursing through her veins could activate to heal it partially. Whenever a wound of hers bleeds, it needed swift care in order to retain maximum function abilities. She couldn’t fly properly with a torn wing!

Using the pulsing spikes of bone which had precluded from both arms, she sent them crashing down in an ‘X’ formation. The main purpose of the attack was to knock him down so that she could finish this fight by punching a fragile nerve spot, something anything and everything with a human form had… unfortunately. Should the bones score flesh, they could be aimed at his ribcage. Lady Darkness was becoming slightly board with sparring with this meek little half-breed. Every move she made registered her sheer anticipation and growing irritation, something that if not settled soon, would enrage her and possibly cause her to enter assassin mode ahead of schedule…

H'tes was slight taken aback by the acidic quality of her blood. As soon as he landhe had to run his hands on the ground to get it off. It did not affect his claws, but his human skin was burned slightly. The lady demon screamed as she turned toward him, something about him being foolish. Of course he was foolish, he was fighting a full demon, which was something he had not even studied before. He would have no idea that demons like her would not feel pain. It was an advantage on him that he did not anticipate. In fact, that she didn't scream at the scratch was just an odd occurrence for him. He had expected, and hoped, that it would impede her, but that plan had failed. But, he would not give up on it. He now had a weak zone, and he intended to strike it.
Then came the attack. He was able to see it, but he would not be able to dodge it. While he wanted to attack that wing, he realised he would not be able to dodge torwards it this time. The way the attack was angled, he'd have to move to the other side. However, as he began to move that way, something bad happened. His leg that the demoness had wounded earlier clinched. He tried to move, but couldn't, and his leg went in more pain when he tried.
'There has to be something!' he thought to himself. 'Something I can do! A way to dodge, a way to stop the attack.' But his thoughts became more grim as the attack became closer. 'No, I did all I can. And I can do no more.' He knew that was the truth. 'Then... this is the end?' And that was when the blow hit. The way it hit made it so he was knocked into unconsciousness as soon as the attack hit. He fell to the ground as his demonic form seemed to very suddenly leave him. The tail, the horns, the claws. All that was left of his demonic form on the frail human figure were his eyes, the only part he never had to force out.

Success! As the bones sliced across him, the ferocity of the empact proved to be too much for his body and caused his system to shut down in a vital moment of his life. For all he knew, he would never wake up again, but be condemned to the blackness from which he was birthed. However, the demoness had plans for him. He knew next to nothing about her kind, which was even more of an offence to her. Snickering with her wings closing behind her, Lady Darkness sent her boot to his ribcage as a sign of sheer disgust while her talons retracted and her skin slowly converted back to its death pale color.

Lady Darkness coughed, her body trembling as she hit the ground in a fury of midnight hair. The bones all over her body retracted into her skin, becoming the tendons of arm, back, and shoulder once again while the flesh that made up her wings merged itself to her backside. Although she couldn't feel the pain of her de-transformation, her figure quaked and trembled during the process while the bones and flesh repositioned themselves to construct the beautiful and elegent female body of her human form. When it was complete, a fully naked demoness sucked in another breath by habit as a bead of sweat trickled down the smooth pale planes of her face.

In a fury of claws, Lady Darkness scampered to her feet and rushed to collect her clothes from the filthy ground. Being without anything to cloak her made her feel volunerable and extremely uncomfertable. Once the dark clothing was in her possession, she wasted not a single second in dressing herself. The Mistress of Torment tugged on her left glove as she made her way back to H'tes's unconscience body. With a ripple of muscle, her arms scooped him off the ground in a single liquid motion. And with a lazy flick of the wrist, she was gone, and she had taken him along with her.

As her boot reigned down upon the hapless branch of the oaktree, it made a loud Crack!, sending her downwards with the hybrid over her shoulder. S**T! Thinking quickly in a jumble of curses, Lady Darkness regained her balance on the way down, landed on bent knees, and sprinted once more, leaving a trail of smoldering grass in her wake. This little runt, she hissed to herself, I'll make him pay!


Many moments later, she reached the infamous outskirts of Lomedor, and after that, she soon stood on her own doorstep. The pub was buzzing with activity; a few of the drunken men sung out to her over Adrasteia only knew what when she past. Black flamed candles burning in the mouths of the skulls she used for sconces on both sides of the door; they flickered in her pressence. Lady Darkness raised her knee and kicked the door open.

As she walked, she raised her free hand, the door swung ajar behind her. Sparks ignited from her fingertips and flames danced 'round her claws, flicking it this way and that. The small flaming sparks lighted the wax in the jaws of more skulls that lined the walls from drow to beast. Even her own kind.

She wasn't just a killer. Lady Darkness was a cannibal, and a mighty ruthless one at the looks of it. The few skulls that were close to perfect condition where either cracked, or were missing a few parts of bone around the crown of the forehead and jawline, where evidence of tooth imprints were. Black ribbons drapped between the obsidian beams that supported all three floors of her manor. She'd taken down the cendalir's of crystal and gold and made her own out of the bones of the fallen, all of which she was proud to have slain (and/or mawled to death). The air inside was dankly tainted by the strong scent of blood and death. Decay came from the top level and mingled with the scent of dust from the second level. Lady Darkness wasn't home much, so she didn't even bother to dust or clean. She didn't want to, and she certainly didn't have to. In her opinion, the collection of dust and spider webs was something she called 'beautiful'. Any one else was welcome to think what ever they desired, but their opinion's didn't matter here.

Lady Darkness paused in the middle section. Stair cases lined the tall statue in front of her, leading up to the second level of her manor, and a hall snaked to her left that lead to her main ritual room and another hall slithered to her right, where she normally went when she brought 'guests' home to play with. Since today was one of those delightful occations, Lady Darkness turned aruptly on her heel to her right. She flicked a spark to the single dragon's skull to light the wax in its opened jaw to light up the room. It wasn't for her, but for Vencreast rather. All he had to do was follow the lit skulls. A burnt hand print displayed in the middle of the room; she approached it with malice to her stride. Pressing her palm flat on the burnt imprint on the floor, she murmured a single word under her breath in the Black Tongue and stepped back. From the center of the imprint of her hand came an expanding hole. She'd had a few necromancers and sages help her out in the construction of this manor, and as an assassin, she'd need a few 'unseen' places in which to conduct her... other 'rituals'.

She dropped down into the hole at it's maximum length, landing a few feet below on solid ground. Flames flared alive the moment the heels of her boots met the cold stone of the ground. Much death occupied this particular room. In the middle of the chamber was a metal chair with wires around the legs and arm rests and another chair beside it that was perfectly fine. The metal chair was bolted to the floor and the eletrical conductors at the base of it made it particularly fun to torment the living in the most cruel way possible. Belt straps hung low from the arm rests and betside the two front legs. She dropped him in it and dipped turned to the solitary table after adjusting all of the equipment.

The demoness did not strap him down- she had something better in mind. As she collected a needle from the table, the Dark Knight sent a final spark to the back of the room, where chains were nailed to the wall, ending in shakels made of dragonbane, an unbreakable material that had even more value than mithril. The emblem of her kingdom was fixed at the center of the wall, and for a moment, she admired its craftmenship, slightly lost in her memories of the delectible chaos back home.

Riding her skull of the thoughts by shaking her head, the demoness unlocked the shakels with the needle and made her way back to the hybrid, where she collected him from the chair and bound his unconscience body to the walls, locking the shakels over his wrists. She knew he would struggle, they all did at first, but fighting their fate only made it worse on them since the rough dragonbane made their flesh raw. After she was done, she twirled the needle, returned to the table, and carefully looked over all of the "weapons" to chose from. Unfortunately, she couldn't use any of them until her woke up.

Digging her gloved hand inside a box on her special table while she hummed to herself, the demoness dug out a vile and stabbed the tip of the needle into it. She waited until it was full of the fluid before she withdrew the needle and placed the vile back to where it belonged. With a sharp sigh, the demoness jabbed herself with the point in the arm and enjected the liquid into her veins slowly, carefully. That should take care of that nasty wound on my back... She shot a scowl in the hybrid's direction, the demon's voice entering her mind to word her sentence. [b]No thanks to that filthy mongrol.

The Mistress of Torment took the needle from her arm and pressed her thumb against the opening as she returned the needle to the surface of the table. Clearing her throat, the demoness waited until the spell in her veins activated and then removed the pressure from her arm, spun around in her chair, and tapped her foot against the crystaline tile, waiting for her latest victim to awaken...

The unconcious H'tes had gone on, without a dream or hope in his mind. As far as he knew it, he was dead. But, as his eyes slowly opened, he realized that something much worse would happen before death would take him. His eyes that opened were still demonic, as he had to concentrate to switch them back into their human form, and H'tes would likely not not even consider trying to concentrate about such a small matter now.
As his eyes opened, he quickly regained his memory of what had happened. The demoness had won their little battle. As the thought came, he seemed to jump a little. He could feel chains on him, keeping him in place. He struggled to get out of them, but as he did, he felt as though it hurt more to struggle. He groaned a little from that small pain, but as he looked around, he realized that was the least of his worries. At first he saw a chair that looked like it was designed to hold someone in place, but as he looked further, he saw her.
The Demoness was sitting in a chair next to the torture chair, staring at him, waiting for him to wake up. He struggled more in the chains, but the pain he felt as he did it made it seem less worth the resistance. He stopped struggling, and looked at her. She had only been playing with him in the battle, and he knew it. Apparently he was still going to be used as a toy. But he didn't want to think about that. He knew pain was coming, but he wanted to avoid the thought of it. He couldn't be hopeless. There had to be some way out of this, somewhere.
But, there was not. He knew there wasn't, he just didn't want to admit it to himself. His last hope was his demonic form, and that had failed him. Now all there was left to do was see what she would do to him. But no matter what she did, he knew he wouldn't like it.
"Where have you taken me?" he asked her. He was hoping that perhaps conversation might prolong the time before she tortured him... or whatever she was planning on doing to him. For all he knew, she could be planning on eating him alive, or something.

By the time he awoke, Lady Darkness was fustrated and her irritation had caused her claws to leave dents in the arm rests of the chair in which she sat. When he asked her where she had taken him, she felt like back slapping him. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't worth the back of her hand, she would have. The demoness snickered in distain, examining her gloved claws as she spoke while her lis pursed. "Hmmm, you're chained to the wall, there's a chair in front of you that has blood stains on it, and there's weapons on the table behind me. Where do think you are?" She hissed before continuing, "If you still don't know, then allow me to spell it out for you. Welcome to my lair, mud-blood."

The demoness stood up from her seat, her figure trembling slightly with sheer anticipation as she reached downward into the lace-work of her boots, pulling out her Black Dagger. The demoness brought it up to her lips, her tongue washed over the ominous hilt as she made her way over to him, her carbon orbs wild with malice. Lady Darkness flicked her wrist lazily, tracing the outline of his face with it in a teasing manor.

"Now, my pet," She spat, the slits expanding into diamonds as the iris spun with mad ferocity. "What do you think I'm going to do with this? Mmmmmmmmmm?"

Well, it was obvious that trying to make conversation was not going to halt her in what she was going to do to him. She was irritated, and seem to really be anticipating this torture she was about to unleash. That would really make H'tes worry about what was to come. As she spat out the word mudblood at him, he remembered her sole reason for going to such lengths: that he was part demon. All of this because of his mixed blood. As if his life was not already prologued with lesser torments, now he had to meet a truly sadistic demoness who literally had him right where she wanted him.
Then she got out the knife. H'tes wanted to back away, but there was no where to go. As she traced his face teasingly with the black blade, he felt a feeling of powerlessness here. He couldn't even try to go out acting like a smart ass. Fear was taking him in here, but it did not completely take over. He was still trying to hold onto the hope of escaping this place alive, but that hope was dying quickly.
"Something I am not going to like," he said, stating a rather obvious answer, but it was an effort to keep his courage up that made him speak. If he did not talk, it be left to his own mind to drive him into absolute despair of the moment, and he needed to keep that back. But, in all likelihood, he would eventually succumb to the pain she was about to give to him. All he could do now was hope she got bored of his screams of agony quickly, and that was a rather sad thing to hope for, now wasn't it?

"Something I am not going to like," He said and the sole sentence that he spoke made her giggle. She never said it was going to be fun for him, but torture was the greatest form of entertainment for this Dark Knight. She brought her index claw up to the center of the wall, tapping a solitary brick with the tip of it. The brick pressed inwards; the shekels’ pushed off of the wall to which they were bolted by a network of dragonbane in the shape of poles, pushing the hapless hybrid to the center of the chamber. The demoness licked her chops as if she was a predator and she circled him like the wolf circled its prey before attacking. Her eyes roamed over his figure, taking in the sweet scent of his growing fear.

But it was his eyes that mocked her the most, for the light of hope still brushed the surface of the iris. He was somehow hoping that he would make it out of her lair alive; pity that he would be sadly mistaken. H’tes would become her slave before she even thought of cutting him loose, and that was one thing she never planned on doing. Lady Darkness chuckled, pausing behind him to observe his backside with a wild eye. ”How do you feel about...” She pressed the tip of the blade to his flesh of his back, grinning with glee. ”This?”

It was more of a rhetorical question than an actual one. The demoness dug the edge of the hilt into his flesh, cutting upwards and sideways without lifting the tip off his skin. She was carving a picture of a angelic looking goddess impaled on a crucifix, serpents coiled around her bleeding body. Some lines were sliced through twice in order to make another one. He could struggle and scream all he wanted to, there was no way he was getting away now. The demoness carved a halo atop her head and withdrew the hilt of the blade and licked the trickling scarlet fluid from the blackened edge.

Taking a few steps back to observe her latest masterpiece, Lady Darkness cackled, her murky eyes now a pandemonium of merriment. A struggling goddess of light was always a pleasing picture; if she ever let him go, the image on his back would be a relic of which the citizens of Ea would scoff and sneer about. Pleased with it, she backtracked to the table lined with all of her favorite items and covered her eyes with a hand, reaching for the table to select one at random. When her fingertips found the handle of the leather whip, a bold, malevolent smile slithered across her thin lips.

Removing her ‘blindfold’, the Mistress of Torment went back to him, letting him see what she had before she used it. ”I’m Lady Darkness. Remember my name,” She hissed between her cruel fangs, a sound that sounded more like a growl, ”You’ll be screaming it later.” Begging me for mercy. When next he blinked, she was gone once more. The sickening sound of bones cracking lanced the air as she snapped her neck side to side twice to relieve the building tension as she stretched the whip and tested its strength by yanking it between her hands, preparing to give him the most brutal beating he’d ever had…

The giggle sent chills up his spine. Anything that made her laugh had to be bad. When she pressed the wall, he felt himself being pulled forward. He tried to struggle, but he already knew that was useless enough already. He now stood in the middle of the chamber. As she circled him, he had the distinct feeling like he was about to be pounced on by a wild animal making his fears grow.
She stopped at his back. He felt it was about to come. And then she asked the question, and a sharp pain came on his back. He gasped for a moment, but stopped an actual scream from coming. But, as she continued to move the blade across him, making her art a more permanent mark on him, he could not hold back the screams of agony. She even made some lines twice, just so he would feel more pain as the art became more perfectly marked on him. Blood trickled out of the wounds, and he was able to make out the sound of her licking the blade. She laughed as she enjoyed her work, making H'tes feel all the more afraid of what was to come.
She went away for a moment, but as she came back, H'tes saw her weapon. A leather whip would be a particularly painful weapon. H'tes eyes could not hide his fear.
"I’m Lady Darkness. Remember my name,” she said with a cruel hiss in her voice. ”You’ll be screaming it later.” He did not doubt it. He could not take the abuse of torture for long, he was too weak for it. The longer the agony was prologued, the more likely he would break into tears, begging for mercy. He blinked for a moment at the thought, and she was gone. He shivered with fear as he heard her cracking her neck. He tried to brace himself for the next strike, but it was likely the first strikes would still make him scream just as loud as if he hadn't braced himself.

The metallic taste of his life’s blood lingered on her tongue as she wound the leather whip back before cracking it, adding extremely aggressive force with each air-slicing crack. She had seen the undeniable fear in his eyes, which was better than he realized. His fear gave her an extra boost of adrenaline, feeding the beast within with the violence she so craved, the sounds she so desired. Everyone from her world, especially the followers of Lego, knew that the Mother of Light had been whipped on her back and both sides of the ribcage during her brief capture in the War of Divinity where she dared to defy her sister. All of the demoness’s frustration and distain towards the Mother of Light converted into glee as she took all of her unbound hate upon the hapless H’tes.

She lashed the leather whip to his sides, pausing for a few seconds to let him feel the sting of it before she cracked it again, striking the same places at least thrice before moving on. His figure was insanely weak, but he had more endurance than humans with the half demonic blood coursing through his little veins, which meant he would last longer than the last paladin had, and that was more than enough to make her laugh.

The more violent her strikes became, the louder her merriment became, voiced into cackles that choked off to become contorted laughs mingled enriched by a wild flow of never-ending malice. He had made a lovely chorus of screams when she had carved the grotesque image of the goddess of light on his bare back, and by striking his back, she would most likely hit a few of the lines she had carved, making them sting even more. It almost made her anxious for him to fall unconscious.

When he finally couldn’t take anymore and passed out, she would unbind him from the chains of dragonbane, drop him rather roughly into the electric chair, and bind him to it. She wanted him to beg her for mercy. She was growing severely impatient for him to ask her if she would let him go. There were many mischievous methods she used on those idiotic enough to ask her to let them go. But for him, she’d pretend to be merciful for a few moments. Unfortunately for him, her form of mercy was what others called heartless and cruel.

When he would ask such a question, Lady Darkness would furrow her dark eyes upon him, her features emotionless and seemingly questionable. A sharp, ghastly sigh flowed over her lips as she blinked, briefly, concealing the seething malice under her eye lids before she did anything else. Her lips would purse with which to speak, her voice that of poisoned chocolate, enriched by the sound of a ghastly whisper that was the demon that was hidden beneath the beautiful humanoid flesh. ”Very well,” she breathed, walking back to her table. ”I’ll let you go, but you’ll have to get out in twenty seconds if you want to be free.”

That was a joke in itself. Her manor was enchanted and he had not seen the way they had come in. He’d never make it out in time. And that wasn’t even including what she was about to do to him. Lady Darkness’s claws yanked up a scalpel from the surface of the table, and slowly approached him, pausing behind him and kneeling downwards. She would yank up the fabric that hid his ankles, removing his shoes if need be to reach her desired location. If he wanted out bad enough, he’d at least make his crawling laughable. Her wrist would bare next to the flesh of his heel (the place where the leg goes into the foot. O_o) and begun to cut away at it until she figured at least two inches had been cut until she moved to the other foot. When she was done, she stood once more and would undo all of the straps and shekels that bound him to the chair, and folded her arms in front of her chest as if saying, “Well?”.

With each slash of the whip, a small scream. Tears began to fall as the strikes were made. Her cackling laughter gave him more of a sense of hopelessness. The pain H'tes felt was unbearable. It took him a while thanks to that demonic endurance, but it would be eventual that the tears and screams of agony would cease, as he fell into unconsciousness.
She did not give him the sense of rest that came with unconsciousness. Instead, she took him off the chains, slammed him into the torture chair, and tied him down in it. He awoke during that process. No, not more. Anything but more of this. "P... Please...." he said, his voice was low from a lack of strength to properly speak, and also pathetic in all it's weakness. His begging would make those of good release him immediately, those of neutral feel sorry for him and maybe release him, but those of evil would laugh in his face. "No more... let me go... please...."
Then he heard it. Something he could not believe he would hear from her. "Very well," she said, walking back to her table of weapons. "I’ll let you go, but you’ll have to get out in twenty seconds if you want to be free.” His eyes widened. Desperation made him believe those words. In other words, desperation made him a fool.
She re-revealed her true malice as she grabbed the scapel, slowly coming at him. Then, she started removing what would be protection from his legs. "Wha-" he began, but it was replaced by an agonized scream. His heel was being cut, and thus he would not be able to walk. But he was probably not thinking about being unable to walk. He was probably thinking of the excruciating pain she was causing him. And when she stopped for a moment, he sighed with relief, but then screamed again as she worked on the other.
She freed him from the chair and crossed her arms, waiting to see his hopeless struggle. He fell off the chair. He crawled on the floor like a struggling worm, and found his way to the wall. But, as he looked around, he already knew it was hopeless. There was no opening. She must have had this building enchanted for secret openings. It seemed to be the last nail on the cross that had killed his hope. He was crying, at first rather silently. Then, he looked at Lady Darkness. His demonic eyes displayed a weakness no demon would have, a sadness no demon would show. For all a human might make out the little hybrid to be, he was too human to take the pain. "I'm... never getting out...." he said, admitting it to himself tearfully. "You'll... always have me..." A desperate look entered his eyes again. "Just... just kill me... end it..."

It didn't take long for him to realize that he wasn't going anywhere after he took a fall from grace from the chair of which he was once bound. Her dark eyes followed his every movement with criminal lust, wild and unbound like an animal in a fight to the death with its greatest oppoent. Her thin lips slithered into her infamous crooked grin, chuckling as she watched his hopeless struggle, the well-defined shoulders heaving up and down with her merriment.

He begun to sob quitely at first, but the more he realized it was futile, the louder he made his agony known. His aghast was uncanny and delicious which made her even more pleased with herself, for his pain was her pleasure. When he looked upwards at her, the weakness and hopelessness of his plight bore like an apple from a tree, just right for the picking. Unfortuntely for him, Lady Darkness hated ripe apples, she preferred them decaying and withered, so her features relaxed into an emotionless mask when he begged her to kill him. Her lips pursed once more, but this time for a laugh. H'tes's plight was delicious, but his weakness was pathetic. "Tell me, mud-blood," She spat, kneeling down to make her gaze level with his, "What would I gain by killing you? What fortune could I reap from your demise? Hmmmmmmm?" She giggled, stroking his face roughly.

"Tell me, mud-blood," she said, kneeling down to his level to look him in the eyes. "What would I gain by killing you? What fortune could I reap from your demise? Hmmmmmmm?" She giggled, and stroked his face roughly, making him cringe slightly. He had started to become deeply afraid of this demoness, and every gesture she made felt like it would cause another pain to him.
As to the question itself, she was quite right. There would be no benefits to killing H’tes. None at all. He had no wealthy possessions one could claim upon his death, nor anyone close enough to him that his death would hurt them. “Nothing,” he answered. He felt pained just saying it, because it felt like another invitation to re-begin the torture process.
But, a thought came to mind. And like any desperate person, he said the thought as quickly as it came. “But what benefits to keeping me alive?” he asked. It was a perfectly acceptable question. If it wasn't for the fact that she simply enjoyed torturing him, it might actually make her think. But, unfortunately for H'tes, Lady Darkness was not likely merciful enough to kill him... yet.
There was nothing he could do. This closed room was completely against him, and with his heels cut, he would not be able to stand,let alone try to run away. He had no other options in here. Hoping for freedom was useless. At the same time, hoping for a quick death also seemed useless. And for now, at least, he did not want to hope for life. Life in the hands of Lady Darkness could only be a bad thing, filled with torture and misery. He would never be able totake this kind of torture over that long of time. There was simply no way.

"Nothing," He replied. His voice cracked with the realization of the truth, causing him even more pain, much to her delight. She saw a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes a few seconds later and her black orbs instantly furrowed upon him. He asked the question she thought he would; a sly grin tugged the edges of her lips. The answers were quite simple. She had multiple uses for him, much to his misfortune, other than for her own personal pleasure.

H'tes was a hybird- a cross bewteen demonic royality and human flith. As much as she hated his kind, his blood held answers and possibably even remedies for various illnesses and such. Demon blood was such a precious thing and she couldn't afford to waste it. Besides, keeping him also meant she wouldn't have to hunt as much as she normally would. H'tes's tainted flesh would suffice long enough for her to strip every single use he had out of him.

Lady Darkness chuckled, slightly pleased with his stupidity. It was the fools who normally made her work even more enjoyable, but they also made it fustrating. The tips of her ivory fangs glintened in the shadows of her mouth as she spoke, hissing out the word like a snake would. "Multiple." she hissed, standing to her full height. Much to her dismay, the demoness knew there was only so much he could take before he could be of serious risk of dying and unless she wanted to let him waste away, she had to make sure he was well taken care of in the mean time.

Cursing the responcibility of keeping a subject for the amount of time she planned on keeping H'tes, Lady Darkness spun on her heels and walked until she reached one of the boxes on top of her small table lined with weapons. With a single hand, she dug into it and fished out a roll of white goze and cotton. She made her way back to him and set her supplies aside, rolled him over, and put her arm to her mouth so that she could bite into it just deep enough to draw blood.

H'tes had seen her blood in action before, so to keep him from struggling, she held him down with her free hand. Withdrawing her arm, she took a few thick droplets of her own ebony blood and dropped them into his main wounds before her own healed. Though the midnight fluid flamed and wisped in mid-air, it would settle with ease on his flesh. It would sting, but the dark revuvenation spell in her blood would activate and heal his wounds enough that he wouldn't bleed to death. Lady Darkness took to his wounds like a doctor, doing the best she could to wrap them, but she was not tender nor was she careful. The demoness made all of the wrappings tight, which would mostly likely cause him more pain.

When and if he would ask why she was doing such a thing, Lady Darkness would remind him that he was no good to her dead and punished all other questions, if there were any, with a harsh, violent smack to the face. The moment she was finnished, the Mistress of Torment backed away from him and spat at the floor in disgust. "I have many uses for someone like you, so you'll be staying for awhile." she spat once more, refusing to make eye contact with the disgrace for a demon on the floor. "If you have any other questions, I'll hear them. Keep in mind that foolishness will result in punishment, If you have nothing else to say, at least tell me your name."
I have records to keep.

H'tes heard her laugh when he asked her the question, and she would reply simply "Multiple," in that smooth hiss of a voice. The demoness walked away for a moment and seemed to get something. He did not know what it was until she returned. It was some medical supplies. Wait, really? She was going to heal him. But he knew it was likely so that she could torture him more when he was better.

She turned him over. He had no power to resist her at this point, but when he saw her bite into herself, he flinched, and tried to struggle, but she held him down in place. As the blood of the demoness came onto his wounds, he groaned in pain. Even the healing would act as a torture, but at least it would seal his wounds and heal him a bit. She then dressed the wounds, much like a doctor, but a very cruel doctor. It was tight, giving him more pains. Pain would be his life for a while longer, and he would fear every moment of it.

"I have many uses for someone like you, so you'll be staying for awhile." she said, not even making eye contact with him. It confirmed his fears that he would be staying here for longer then he'd like to imagine. "If you have any other questions, I'll hear them. Keep in mind that foolishness will result in punishment, If you have nothing else to say, at least tell me your name." He had no more questions he could think of. But, he would say his name.

"H'tes Enyar," he told her, his voice seemed to express his hopelessness and his inability to do anything about it. "That is my name." He just wished he could get away from her, the one who was the driving force of his torment. But he would never be able to do it on his own strength.

"H'tes Enyar," He said, his voice seemed to express his hopelessness and his inability to help himself escape her clutches. "That is my name." The demoness arched a solitary black brow, testing his name on the end of her tongue before saying it aloud whenever she addressed him. "Well H'tes, it is time for rest."
Knowing that he was far too weak to move or resist her, Lady Darkness picked him up once more and exited the torture chamber through an enchanted wall that had been cloaked by shadow, the imaginary bricks rippling like water as she passed through.

Candle flames lit the hall as the sound of her footsteps echoed throughout her manor while she wound her way to the front room to scale the left stair case in order to reach the second floor. Once at the top, the Mistress of Torment's calm composer retained while she made her way to the end of the corridor. The walls, lighted by black fire, revealed scenes of ancient's past etched into the crystal. A colossal dragon, composed of dark fire, stretched its fiery wings across the sky, blocking out the sun as its maw was cracked open to reveal coal-black sabers the size of a bastard sword. Its talons were arched, as if poised to attack; even through the crystal carving, its murky eyes, with no pupil to mar their color, seemed to engulf its figure in an inferno of seething hate.

Below the black flamed dragon's figure was the limp carcass of a woman, tall and slight even in the carving, with hair which never ended. Just by looking at her, flawless even in a drawing on crystal, one would be able to guess that she was of royal blood. Royal blood that now ran through the rivers and lands, spilt by the spawn of war. Behind the dragon was a palace whose towers disappeared into the gloom choaked skies and warriors, mainly women by the shape of their silhousettes, behind it with weapons raised high like a chorus of triumphant kings who had just vanquished the terrible beast that had once haunted them.

The demoness cast a single glance at it, skimming the foreign symbols that surrounding the images on both walls, and smiled to herself. These very walls told the story of her people's greatest victory. However, even she knew that the War of Souls was just the beginning. Their Messiah's older sister was bound to return to Alusterial to free all of the hapless innocents and disrupt the order her Empress had worked so hard to create. Somewhat irritable at the thought, the demoness rushed herself to the solitary door at the end of the hall, snatched open the door, and tossed H'tes inside without a trace of compassion for his pain.

The room in which she had put him in was a solid white padded room, so she figured it wouldn't hurt him much. Lady Darkness shut and locked the door without a word, coming back only a half an hour later to bring him food and water. She brought him one of everything out of the main food groups and water to quench his thrist along with a small packet of blood, if he wanted it. "You are part demon, after all." The demoness snickered, still disgusted by that fact. "Fluid is essential to your well-being. Your nothing but bone as it is." She then rose to her feet and told him that once he was done, he needed to rest. With that, she exited, relocked the door, and her figure vanished into the shadows... the place where she felt most at home.

H'tes was rather glad to be taken out of the room of torture. On his way out, he saw the art Lady Darkness had taken her time to look at. Black Dragon of Flames conquering some oddly perfect beauty. It was not something that warmed the heart in an already hopeless point of his life, but Lady Darkness seemed to take pride in it.

But, after the slight lapse, she continued on. She would stop as she opened a room and simply tossed H'tes in. H'tes gasped at suddenly being tossed to the floor, but found it was not a hard floor. The entire room was white and padded. She closed the door and seemed to leave, to the relief of H'tes. He crawled to the far side of a wall, and leaned against it.

He was about to be able to rest, but then she returned. She had brought food this time. A full meal, in fact. He did not seem to want the blood, but when Lady Darkness left once again, he ate and drank to his leisure. He first ate the meat, then the fruit, and gradually the rest of the meal. He drank the water up rather fast, but the pack of blood remained.

H'tes tried to get some sleep after that. But, before he could rest, he found himself shaking. Tears came from his eyes as the memories of the day went seeped in his mind. He found himself still thirsty, and took the only drink he had: the Blood. He would need to fend for himself, and take what he could while he was here, and could not afford to not take what was given to him. He eventually was able to close and rest his eyes, and finally drift into a dreamless sleep, knowing the next thing that would happen was to be awoken by her.

Though it wasn't difficult drifting off into slumber-land to a dreamless state, it was slightly to get to sleep. The moment she had entered her personal chamber and spotted the opened treasure box of drowven craft, she suddenly thought of Vencrest. Every time she looked at it now, she thought of him. When she could see his face in the blackness of her memory, it actted as a hot stove and water, causing something within her to bubble, and it wasn't her blood. The demoness was torn between two emotions. Apart of her missed him, that feeling she knew, but the other emotion she still couldn't put her claw on.

To free herself from those pesky distractions, Lady Darkness irratably hiked the coverlets over her head to cloak herself in her favorite element- darkness. Then her body begun to shut down as each breath became fainter and fainter until she didn't take in air at all.

Lady Darkness had fallen asleep just when the sun shreaded the curtains of twilight and simmering stars, rudely giving the moon the boot so that it could take its place while streaks of magenta and turqoise took the place of the twilight dark. Morning wasn't exactly her favorite time of day- it was too bright and noisy- so she normally slept right through it. It wasn't until evening that her body begun to restart. Air rushed into her lungs the moment she opened her mouth as she sat up rubbing her eyelids sleepishly. As usuall, her dreams were nonexistant and her figure was still slightly reguvenating... until she remembered that her little H'tes was in the padded cell down the next hall.

She dressed herself for the new day, and then proceeded to the second floor where she kept all of her supplies. AFter undoing all of the enchanted locks, the demoness found herself a slab of meat (kept in a bag; if it was on the floor, that would just be gross), collected it and opened the bag. While she was looking for something to drink, she begun to gnawl on the slab lightly, using the juices still in it to take the edge off her thirst. Locating the vault on the other side of the room, Lady Darkness entered, picked out a half-full liter of blood, and exited the room, gulping it down slowly to savour it's flavor.

Lady Darkness collected a few supplies of food from the main chamber to make H'tes breakfast, entering yet another room in which she would prepare and cook it. The white shells of chicken eggs were still a new thing to her, but it didn't take her long after discovering them to find out how to open them. She cracked it, somewhat carefully, on the edge of the counter. Although, she still didn't get what the lump of yellow was, she took a fork to it and stirred the eggs just like she would batter. Trying to be multi-talented, she reached for an iron pan in which she poured the now mixed eggs into, and placed it over an iron rack.

Flames danced around her fingertips, Lady Darkness fliched a spark at the wood beneath the iron rack with her claw, turning only when the fire started. She gathered two plates from the cabinet (which she had to pull up a chair to in order to reach) and placed them on the counter while she dug out various other foods, like fish, rice, red beans, and cabbage. While she begun to cook them, she removed the pan of eggs and divided them evenly between the two plates. Lady Darkness was no gormet chef, but she was entilted to know how to cook in order to fend for herself outside of home.

All of the ingrediants mixed together was a dish that was famous back in her homeland, great for any meal of the day. The people of the dark moon called it 'Nuvar De'chun', but in the english tongue, it was called 'rice salad'. Since no one else bothered to change the name, it stuck, but the recipe would be as original or simple as the person making it wanted it to be. While she was pouring H'tes a glass of water, she remembered how metallic the taste of it was the first, and the last time, she was forced to drink it. How in the hell could anyone drink this... crap?!

Drawing back from it in distaste, she collected teh liter of blood she'd brought with her, poured a single glass, and kept the rest for herself. Lady Darkness carefully placed both plates into a larger, silver plate she'd set on the counter while all of the food was cooking. She made sure to include forks; she might be wicked to the core, but she did at least have manors. Placing his glass of water on the tray, she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small can of grounded spices- a mixture of garlic and pepper, another thing well-liked back home, and placed only two pinches on each meal before carrying it to the padded cell.

A candance of her breath wisped through the air, her movements elegant and liquidic while she placed the tray on the floor to unlock the door. Recollecting it from the floor, Lady Darkness carried the tray into the room, placed it down again, and roughly ran her claws down his arm in an attempt to wake him up. When he awoke, she would hand him his plate and both glasses, along with a fork, and told him to eat quickly while she begun to work on her own plate after she greeted him.

Surprisingly, Lady Darkness ate with the table manors of royality, using only her fork to lift her food slowly to her lips in order to eat. However, it was counter balanced with her uncanny kink for her thirst for blood. She downed the liter like a man would down ale, savouring it while it lasted.

While she waited for him to finish, she thought of what she would do on this fine evening. Satisfied with her plan, she put the last bit of rice to her lips and ate, chewing slowly while her gaze wondered over to him to check on him.

H'tes had not wanted to dream. He knew any dreams he had would become nightmares. But, unfortunately, he did have a nightmare. He was awakened, and her face was there... wait, that was not a nightmare. That was simply what actually happened.

H'tes awoke from her rough shaking, and sat up. He felt dreary, but she told him to eat quickly. He sat up to the food. He would eat the eggs first. He had hunted for eggs as a means of food before, but did not like the taste of this one as much. He still ate it, though. Next came the rice salad. That was a better dish in his opinion. He found it rather odd how she was cruel to him and yet fed him rather well, but he wouldn't verbally complain on that matter. He next drank the water, but then came to the bit of blood he was given. He took it, but drank it slowly. The taste of blood to him was better then he had at first imagined. Last night, he did not think much of tasting it, as his mind was on other things, but now that he took his time with it, it tasted oddly good. Perhaps that was the bit of demon in him.

He had eaten quite a bit quicker then Lady Darkness, not impolitely, simply fast. He noticed she was gazing at him, and he was forced to remember his current situation. This horrible nightmare was not yet over, and he knew more horrors were going to be brought on him. What these horrors were he did not yet know, but he would find out soon enough. It was finding out what she had in store for him that H'tes dreaded right now, and as he looked back at her he showed that dread in his eyes.

H'tes had finished a bit faster than she had, which was something she didn't expect. On the other hand, she had told him to hurry. The demoness cast her empty plate aside seconds later and cracked the bones in her neck from side to side. She had just the thing for him today, which would be, in her opinion, even better than any torture session she could ever put him through. Smirking, she reached out for him, to seize his chin so that she could look him dead in the eye.
"Before I treat you again, I thought we'd go into town." she hissed venomously, "It's such a lovely, lovely, lovely day today!!"

Renching her hand away from him, she pulled herself to her feet, urshing him on. Even if she knew H'tes was still weary, the Mistress of Torment would become fustrated if he didn't move fast enough; she would send blows (with her boot) to his back, aiming for his fresh scar which she had carved the previous night.

Lady Darkness did not wait for him to come after H'tes would exit the padded cell. She left the lit black candles in her wake, leaving a trail that he could follow as she made her way downstairs. The demoness would pause for a few minutes, waiting for him while she tapped the foot of her boot on the crystal tile. It was only when he did reach the base of the staircase that she could carry on towards the door, grabbing something from the corner by the enterance door.

A collar, studded with silver spikes, and a leather 'leash' were the items in her possession. If she took him outside, into the open, she couldn't afford to left him get away for the time being. Lady Darkness wanted to make his first appearance in town a huge event, an event that which he would never forget. When he would near her at last, the demoness bound to him, taring at his shirt with her claws while she fought to get it off, tossing it aside when it would be in her posession.

Hence thereafter, she would fasten the spike collar 'round his throat, and tied the leather 'round it, that way she could keep hold of him. This hybrid belonged to her now and no one else. You are nothing but my puppet. She hissed under her breath with a sly smile. When she would finish, Lady Darkness swept to the door in a single, fluid bound, to open it and reveal the splendor of evening of the outside world. The skies were painted a deepening hue of sappire with dashes of simmering ebony, the clouds wafting through the vacancy of Ea's atmosphere.

A violent wind gusted across the landscape, blowing her dark hair and her 'skirt' erotically behind her slender figure. Her wild eyes cast towards the busy streets of Lomedor, the infamous capidal city of Arda, observing the amount of growing activity flooding into the streets.

Tugging on the end of the "leash" in her tightly balled fist, the Dark Knight froliced from her yard, over the long wooden bridge which swayed in the breeze, and stepped into the poisoned soil that made up the outskirts of Lomedor. A select few lifted their heads once the Mistress of Torment was out and about, dragging poor H'tes with her, and waved glasses of ale in greeting. Lady Darkness nodded to them in recognition but she did not speak as she made her way deeper into the city.

The city's gloom begun to lift the deeper they went into town; the cursing and the sounds of drunk, yelling men died away and was replaced by merriment and simple chatter. Snarling to herself, the demoness twirled her way through the building crowds, pushing past them like an enraged stranger. Even if she hated this part of Lomedor, it was where she needed to take her puppet in order for her plan to go smoothly. The more people turned to look at them, the more their features twisted and contorted with horror and protest.

People were slowly beginning to notice Lady Darkness's masterpiece, etched into H'tes's back as if it were a tatto; outrage and fear filled the air over it. The citizens of Lomedor, along with the other people of Arda, did not tolerate those who commited blasphemy, mainly towards Kieraline and/or Lothomendil, two of the Aniur that watched over them from the clouds of Aman. The demoness shoved aside those who were in her way as she made her way towards one of the most religious spots in town, dragging an unfortunate hybrid by the name of H'tes behind her.

She took H'tes by the chin, suddenly, and told him they would be going to town. The way she said it implied her pleasure, and her pleasure implied that H'tes should be afraid of whatever she was thinking. She ushered him to move forward. He tried to, but the Lady was impatient. Kicking him in the back, he cringed and fell.

When H'tes was able to crawl out of the room, she went ahead of him. H'tes followed, but slowly, in a sort of crawl. Eventually, the crawl would turn into walking, but on all fours so that his weight was not balanced on only his legs. They had healed enough to walk, but they still hurt.

When he was able to make it to her, she suddenly came at him. He was a little shocked at the sudden motion, and struggled, but his shirt was torn off. He then felt the collar on his throat, and felt as the leash was attached. He felt like some kind of dog, now. It was an embaracing feeling, and in town he'd have humilation everywhere.

He was tugged into town, forced to follow. He was at least getting the hang of walking again, but he felt humilation rising as many saw him here in this position. But it was as they neared the more happy peoples that H'tes seemed to realise exactly why she had brought him out her. All around people were shouting curses at him, because of the mark on his back. Nothing was scarier then a human mob with a holy cause.

For those able to see his eyes, there was more disgust at the demon staring out at them. H'tes could not take it. He tried to hide by being closer to Lady Darkness. "Please, stop," he begged, his voice pleading for some form of real mercy to come from her. A nonexistant thing, really. This was one thing he feared above anything else: Being known for what he was. And that was exactly what she was doing to him now.

"Please, stop," he begged, his voice pleading for some form of real mercy to come from her. The only responce she gave to his imploring plea was a malevolent, toothy grin. Whenever he drew closer to her, the demoness hissed and lashed out at him with her claws. And, while she did so, she used just the right words to gather the attention of the people around her. If the people of Lomedor knew something, the news spread like wildfire, becoming international in a matter of hours.

"Filthy beast!" She spat, causing heads to turn. "Worthless demons like you should be smited by a priestess of Keiraline!" Vomit nearly crept up her throat when she used the name of the Goddess of Light. Citizens froze in place, staring at her and him. "Is he really...?" Delighted, the demoness nodded, chuckling. She pointed to his back, creasing her features to make an expression that of disgust. Even though her expression was full of scorn, her wild, malice-infected eyes, were full of amusement. Lady Darkness knew his type- those that feared to be exposed for what they were.

Part of her job as a Knight was to snuff out hybrids and expose them for their true nature, enticing them into their demon form, and using their own rage to their advantage. What was more painful than losing a loved one by your own hands?
"Look! He has carved blasphemy into his back. This beast is clearly a cohort of Raku!" Gasps and whispers rose and fell across the streets; a woman dressed in a cloak looked up from the enterance of a shop and pulled back her hood. Hearing the word 'demon', she pushed into the crowd who were now rediculing and poking H'tes with sticks.

"You there!" She called to the demoness, who secretly snarled at her from underneath her hair as she approached. Lady Darkness refused to answer to the High Priestess; the woman called out to her again and again. Finally, she decided to give up on calling to her and just got to the point. "If he is truly a demon, he should be excercised." she said, observing his condition. "Would this be allowed?"

You want ME to go into a... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! She couldn't stop the voice in her head from laughing. This was wonderful! He was being recognized for a demon and was now offered to be "purified" by a High Priestess of Lothomendil! What could be better than this? Carbon orbs swept down at him, her lips slithering into a sinister smile that caused her demples to show. "Yes." She replied, her eyes furrowing upon H'tes, her little slave. "I do believe it would be."

OOC: I give you permission to take control of LD for your next post into the shrine. This should be good.... >:3

H'tes was stuck. On one hand, Lady Darkness clawed at him every time he tried to hide. On the other, the humans were trying to poke, prod and jeer at him on every other side. He was crying, but the damn humans were not paying attention to such things. He was pulling and struggling to get away, but there was no where to go, and nowhere to hide.

Then he heard the priestess. He tensed and focused on her. He could not allow it to happen. And Lady Darkness seemed like she was going to allow it. No... no! He could not. His sturggles increased, until finally, he decided to hold back no more. If he was lucky, he'd be able to escape.

It's the feast of the blood with Sin, unleash the beast within, came the dark voice of his demonic nature, singing in the black speech that Lady Darkness could understand. His horns, the tail, the claws, and all the changes that came with it grew. There was no avoiding this now. But H'tes was not going to linger, as he screamed with pain from the transformation. He used his claws to cut the leash and ran for his life.

The crowds were trying to stop him. They would not let a demon escape from them. H'tes, however, now had something new he had learned from watching Lady Darkness fight. He looked up into the sky, at the top of a building. Vanish, he commanded to his body. Suddenly, he was gone.

He reapeered on the top of a building. He was unlucky enough to have one of the angry towns people spot him and point him out. He ran on the roof tops. He ran from humans, and from the demoness. He might be able to escape now if he was lucky, but he would never be able to set foot in human settlements without a disguise again.

Fangs shredded through the leather of the leash as the hybird went beserk with desperation. Once free, or so he thought, H'tes ran for it, and having picked up Lady Darkness's teleport, vanished a few feet away. Smirking, but laughing to herself, the demoness whipped her neck to the side to crack the bones within. The people gathered in the streets stared at her, disturbed by the sickening echo of cracking bone; rushing forth, the priestess rose her voice to the Mistress of Torment. "He got away! Aren't you going to catch him?" Nodding in retrospect, Lady Darkness prepared herself for the chase ahead. H'tes would run from her, but he could not hide from her.

And no matter how far he ran, she would find him, and she would not be merciful. "Priestess," The woman blinked. "Do you know of Marcus the paladin?" When she nodded, Lady Darkness's lips slithered into a smile. "Do you know of the murderer?"
"You mean murderess? Aye." Just as the people crowded her, eager to hear the name of the killer, Lady Darkness turned in the direction H'tes had taken off, and without looking over her shoulder, she said: "Tell his wife he was a disappointment."

As gasps and shreiks filled the air on her words, the demoness teleported, using her sense of smell to guild her to the escaped hybrid. His scent lead out of the physical plane and into the astral plane when he had teleported, leaving only small dots in the physcial world. She had been taught the ways of astral, spiritual energy, and of the astral plane; Lady Darkness could track him with no problems at all.

It lead her to a building top, where his scent and aura reappeared in the physical plane, and sure enough, there he was... standing there, lost. Lady Darkness spent majority of her life working to eliminate his kind. Little did he know, she had tracked, captured, and assassinated thousands of half-breed demons in her time. H'tes would be no exception to her streak of anti-hybirds. Like a shadow, the demoness snuck up behind him and reached for the collar she had put on him.

He could make this easy, or he could make it diffcult. Either way was fine by her, for in the end, both would eventually lead to his death. Lady Darkness pressed her lips next to his ear, her breath hot on his skin. "You can run as far as your meek little legs can carry you, you can teleport and pray to whatever god you think will listen, but in the end, I will find you. And I will conjure your greatest fears."

H'tes was in a panic. Where would he go now? What could he do now? There was no town he could hide in. No place to run to. His fear had been done, and his dread was complete. Then, he heard her, and his heart sunk. Lady Darkness pressed her lips next to his ear, her breath hot on his skin. "You can run as far as your meek little legs can carry you, you can teleport and pray to whatever god you think will listen, but in the end, I will find you. And I will conjure your greatest fears."

At first, the words seemed to make him full of fear, but something came into him. Anger and hatred overtook his fear of pain and death. Just because he went quietly, would she have mercy? No. He knew the answer to the question. And he now knew what he must do. He teleported again, but only a few feet away, now facing her in his crouched down position. He hissed at her. He already knew her skill was beyond him, but he would not go back into her clutches willingly. "When every road leads to pain and death," he said to her, his voice no longer one filled with fear. "I choose the one where I die here."

His demonic eyes focused on her in hatred. For once, his eyes seemed to have a real demonic flare in them. Then, he spoke his next words to summon his power. "To those that fear the flames of hell, thou shalt fear me," he said. He tensed for a moment, as his black blood became alit with fire. Even the veins in his eyes seemed to grow flame, creating a fire in the blackness of his sclera. "You might kill me," he said, quietly. "But I will make sure to give you hell before you do it." He inhaled his breath, and then blew out the flames at her in a stream. This would be what you might call H'tes at his most serious, or H'tes prepared for his demise.

When he hissed at her in difiance, Lady Darkness snarled and bared her curel fangs to their roots. Her veins popped out of her death-pale flesh, jet in hue, while her eyes rimmed with crimson. The demoness cackled when ever he spoke, smirking at him. There was no doubt in her mind that she would take him back into her lair, and like he had "promised" to give her hell in taking him back, she would return the favor in the future.

He was becoming more defiant, which ment he would at least give her a decent challenge. 'Twas something she smiled upon; Lady Darkness wanted a challenge, even if it was already a fact that she would always have the upper hand on the pitiful H'tes. Words poured out of his mouth like water from a glass, making promises he couldn't keep. The more he spoke, the more she wanted to tear that pretty little head of his from his shoulders. As the blown flame from his mouth came at her, the Mistress of Torment's palm bolted instantly to the lace of her boots, fishing out one of her short sword.

Making a brief stance in the line of fire, she waited for it to come into her reach, and when it did so, she brought the hilt of her blade down swift and heavy. The flames split from the force; Lady Darkness used that time to leap from roof top to roof top, bringing up the hilt of the blade when she was directly in front of him. It wasn't until the last minute that she vanished from thin air; teleporting at his side when he would be focused in front of him, expecting her head-on strike. He was like a blind, mewling kitten in this particular spot. Just as she was about to deliver a blow that could almost certainly cause severe damage, Lady Darkness froze in place.

The fragrence which had wafted into her nostrils was thick, enriched by the twing of something she couldn't define, something no demon could ignore. As it blew into her nostrils in explosions of deliciously vivid flavor that even she could not describe. It was the smell of blood, but not just any blood... something pure, untouched, and... tainted. As if evil had left its mark on a person, lived and thrived in them, but did not own them in spirit. The sheer scent of it awakened every fiber of her being, sending waves of unfathomable hunger throughout her body, pushing all of the right buttons in more than one way.

Taken aback by its sudden bombardment, the demoness withdrew from H'tes, no longer interested in their petty fued. Her only interest now was to find who possessed such a lovely scent! Half drowzy from sheer pleasure, half in a daze, Lady Darkness returned the short sword to its place, and took a dive (with boots first) from the buildings roof. Silver spikes emerged from her heels, impaling a man beneath her on the street when she landed full-force on his back when he saw her coming and foolishly decided to curl inward. She wasn't even smiling at his pain from the moment she landed to the moment she lept off of him, the bloody spikes disappearing back into the heels of her boots when she landed on solid ground.

Who? Who...who? Who was the one with the thick, rich blood?

Long raven hair glided on the wind, the rim of a flowing dress disappearing behind a corner, catching her eye. That same unignoreable scent trailed after them as they disappeared; the seething Dark Knight surged like a bolt after them. She was so buffeted by its splendor that her mind didn't even take the time to register the fact that the scent was extremely familiar. When the Mistress of Torment rounded the bend, what she saw stunned her beyond belief. It was as if her Empress was walking among the filth of this miserable world, but her figure was small, frail, and insignificant.

The child was clad in shades twilight; the only color marring her figure was the twinkle of silver of the crown around her forehead, and a small silver "plate" that caressed her throat and her shoulders, a ruby fixed in the center of it, which the demoness only saw when the girl turned.

She was like a vision, something half-dreamt that had found it's way into reality. Tall and slight for a child who appeared to be at least 12, her face was a perfact oval; her hair falling down her back in streams of midnight as dark as a raven's wing, stirring slowly as she moved, seeming to sway and curl with a life all it's own. She wore a long flowing carbon-colored dress in tones that matched her hair, clinging to her slender figure, a fabric as light as air and which shimmered like the mist at the foot of a waterfall. Her skin was as pale as milk and inhumanly perfact, and her features were alien, resembling those of a girl and yet not, seeming to smoother somehow, as if she were moulded rather than born. Her eyes were pools of endless and never ending blackness, with no pupils to marr their colour, like a void of gloom.

The dark moon cresent mark on her forehead comfirmed the Lady's excitment. She was no ordinary child, her seemingly angelic persona her nearly innoscent enough to pass an a archangel. But she was not a demon in sheep's clothing, everything about the girl was pure. Her people knew this girl as Salega, a name in her native tongue which meant Darkness- the name of her Empress in english- and what little they knew of her was that she was the Empress's living, breathing heart. Not as in beloved, as in literal heart and soul who took the form of her Mistress back when she was a child. Even if she was older than she looked, her physical body would never age.

The demoness eyed her, watching her every move; the girl paused in mid-step. Lady Darkness snuck behind the corner of the building when Salega glanced over her shoulder. Salega could sense her in every degree of the word, not just by smell. Thousands of years of sharpening her skill made this seemingly innocent girl a formitable foe, but fortunately for the demoness, the Heart of Darkness detested violence. Should she ever chose to fight, Lady Darkness would be entering the fray with an opponent that could send her howling back into the fiery depths of the Underworld without as much as a flick of the wrist.

By the scent of her, there was someone else with her. Whoever it was, they were undoubtablly keeping a close eye on their little treasure. The Mistress had put up a reward on the girl's head, dead or alive. Salega was worth more than just any shiny penny. It was she alone who once grew up to be the most vile and malevolent being in the universe; and as the Mother of Darkness, which Salega would most likely become if she didn't watch herself, she was omnipotent. Just one glance sent thousands to their deaths.

Exhaling softly so as not to alarm the girl, Lady Darkness peeked around the corner, pleased to see the Hand of Sorrow walking into the distance. H'tes was just a toy to her, nothing more than an optional play thing but this... THIS was the motherload of all motherloads! Turning in Salega to the Empress would surely promote the demoness to Cresent Knight rank without overthrowing a world by herself. It might sound like the simplier task, but in reality, it would be the ultimate challenge. The thrill of the hunt pounded like a drum in her chest, her excitment so overwhelming that she could hardly contain herself.

And like a shadow, Lady Darkness snaked her way through the area, following the girl without letting herself be seen. She would return to recapture H'tes some other time. Her only desire now was to follow this girl. And every movement Salega made the demoness increasingly antsy, made the desire to sink her fangs into the pale flesh even stronger than ever before, at an even greater intencity than hunting.

Lady Darkness seemed prepared for the flames. Simply cutting the current of flame to allow her time to jump up. She gained momentum by jumping from roof to roof, getting higher, and then descended upon him. He prepared to block her blow with his horns, but suddenly she vanished. He looked shocked as he realised his timing was too late. She was right beside him, preparing for the kill.

But then, she was gone. H'tes was rather confused for a moment. Something else seemed to have caught her interest and she hads just... left. He stood in shock for a moment, but then shook himself out of it. He was now finally able to get away from her. He looked out, away from the city, and teleported to the ground he saw. He would run, and flee with his life. But these events would forever effect him.

Now, he would always need to be more careful. In everything he did, he could not relax. He would stay out of the city for a while, then return under the cover of darkness, and try to keep himself hidden. He would never be able to stroll casually in Lomedor again, and possibly not anywhere else, either.

And most of all, he would not be able to go a day without the fear of Lady Darkness catching him. There would never be another care free moment like that. He would now live in the fear of her, and run from her, on top of everything else he did. But one day, perhaps, he might grow strong enough to defeat her. But until then, she would invade his dreams, and be his ultimate nightmare. The Dark Encounter that would never let him truly rest in peace, and would torment him for a long, long time.