Dearest Quin,

I do sincerely apologize, but I fear that I cannot stay by your side any longer. Though you have helped me through so much, being with me will only put you in danger and that is one thing that I cannot allow myself to do. You had put yourself in danger the moment you met me; I'm sorry for being such a burden to you, Quinlan.

There was nothing else for her now that much was as clear as the gloom which surrounded the land of the dead. Her friend, the dracopyre without a name, had sacrificed himself to save her from Lady Darkness, a foul creature that served her future self. Lady Darkness, the demoness which had threatened to not only capture her, but to return her to the origin of her fears. The demoness, which had undoubtedly haunted countless others before her in the Land of Ea, who lead, or would lead hundreds, possibly thousands of sinners in the future, ensuring that Salega would not have a future.




Quinlan, an elf who had sworn to protect her after saving her from almost certain death, had been so kind to her, but he was digging his own grave by simply caring for her. All who were ever close to Salega Cesario fell victim to the uncharted evil inside of her and not even she could control it. It was a fate worse than death, for it caused not only her own agony, but the agony of those she had once loved. Her aunt, Mistress Eight, had been the first of millions to prove that. As much as she didn't wish to admit it, Quinlan would face the same fate as she did when her other self finally decided to make her vile presence known.




She had lost everything in a matter of seconds. Salega doubted that her friends would not be the last things she would loose, much to her dismay. Misfortune followed her like a storm to a lightning rod; monsters, demons, zombies- the whole nightmarish nine yards- where drawn to her because of the smell of her blood. They were also drawn to the darkness which encircled and left its mark on her. Evil may have made her, left its mark on her, may become her, but it did not rule her.
But what hurt the most was the simple fact that she had allowed herself to taste blood again, a substance she had vowed not to touch. It had been fresh and though it was metallic to the taste, Salega could not stop herself. The beast within thirsted for it, yearned and craved it in order to sustain her life force.

Quinlan of the Elves, you have been a blessing to me and I thank the gods that I met you. But it is here that this must end. I'll never forget you. Please... stay safe.

Love Always,
Salega Cesario

She had broken her promise to herself, she had brought countless danger to Quinlan's door, and already someone had died trying to protect her. This was the lowest of the low and not even the Hand of Sorrow could smile knowing all of the horrid things that were still yet to come. It was moments like this one where being alone, to her, was the only way she could survive without indangering others and/or burdening them with all of her otherworldly problems. Trying to show a sign of happiness here was like making an attempt to stretch a broken wing.

Having lost so many loved ones before, the black-clad girl found it impossible to shed a single tear. Crying for her was nothing new but now it was near impossible; crying for days on end took its tole on you in the future. She had endured so much worse than this before, but having a heart as pure as her's made her feel extreme guilt over the smallest little thing that could and would ever go wrong for her and for those around her. Misfortune was like a black cloud looming overhead, an omen which would never fade, but keep her forever soaked with acid rain.

Where had she gone? Her surroundings were so disturbingly familiar to the place from which she had escaped that it almost made her flinch in alarm. But unlike that dreadful place, this one was hallow ground- rich with decaying flesh and bones that the underdog's of the food chain gawled on to fill their hungery stomaches. Now that she took the time to ponder, she realized there wasn't much of a difference between her and them. They were poor, deprived, and weak to defend those they cared about, just like Salega was.

She had wondered listlessly from the woods just outside of Lomedor where she had lost everything, and her careless wonderings had brought her here... where ever "here" was. Not exactly in the mood nor condition to consern herself with where she was, or who was coming at her, Salega's feet dragged like ancor's through the dead soil of Dori'ba as she wondered without care.

Hands broke through the surface of the dying earth as voices called from beyond the grave, clawing their way from their coffin's of eternal slumber. Already stricken by her relentless greif, the Hand of Sorrow continued to walk in an uncertain direction, her twilight orbs downcast. The undead moaned, beginning to approach the unsuspecting soul that which had unknowingly wondered into their domain. Salega Cesario paused in midstep, the moaning and groaning of the fiends behind her distorted howls in her head.

Perhaps this was it. What else was there to go on for? The world, no... the entire universe would be better off if she had ever had existed. Without her, Mistress Eight would've never died, countless people would still be with their families, mother and father would not be dead, the people of her homeland would be without worry... living lives without fear under the rule of Mistress Nine and her mother. She had commited so many horrible crimes in the past and she had hurt so many people in her miserable existance... perhaps it was time for her to be whipped off the face of the universe. No one would notice., no one would care. Not a single one.

She turned to face them with open arms, her thin lips forming a sorrowful smile. This was not the death she had always longed for, but at least she could be delivered away from all of the doubts and misfortune of every day life, and the people of Ea, her home realm, and every place she had ever cursed with her touch, would be spared... That was all she cared about. Everyone would be safe if she were dead. Groaning, the undead neared her, their decaying, boney arms arching and reaching for her small, elegant figure. One breif moment of pain, and it would all be over, and Salega welcomed death with a smile... and opened arms.

But... would anyone actually allow her to throw her life away?

Fear. Yes, that was the over all fealing of this place. It was well known only for it's unending streams of horror and death. Undead were well known in these lands for being all over the place. You could scarcely walk ten paces out in these lands without the scent of the everflowing undead reaching even the lesser human nostrals and giving senses of dread and hopelessness if one were to become lost within this endlessly empty place.

And it was here, of course, the young H'tes had become lost in. He had been in his demon form since he entered the place, and thus an hour had gone by. At first, he was unknowing of where he was, but the constant scent of death had informed him well enough. If he had not met his newest greatest fear not too long ago, he would likely have been scared out of his mind simply from realising he was in the lands of the dead. But instead, he was alert, focused, and demonically prepared for the undead that were likely to come, be they zombie or vampire or any other beast the dead unleashed to the living.

He walked through the lands on all fours, acting more like an animal than a human. He could see out quite far, but all there was to be seen was the seemingly endless graveyard that was Dori'ba. He was dirty, hungry, and starting to grow fatigue, but he pressed forward without halt, until he smelt something that was not of death.

The scent was a sweet aroma to him. He could not explain it, even to himself. It had an intoxicating affect, making him go off his own path and follow it. He did not know what it was, but it felt familiar. Where had he smelt this scent before? He could not quite put his finger on it.

He came towards an area, and used his own eyes to see farthur then any human could, which was a new skill he had gained not too long ago. He could see a girl, perhaps somewhere around the age of the way his body looked. She struck him as rather beautiful in ways he could not fully explain. There was a certain darkness to her, but also a purety. What was it? Oh well, that was not important. What was important was that there were aq number of undead attacking her. And she was just standing there, ready to die. What was she thinking?

He vanished from his position, and appeared, bent down on all fours, between the girl and the predators. "To those who fear the flames of hell, thou shalt fear me," he said, and the black blood of his body became alit in the orange and red of fire. He blew out, unleashing flames upon the undead.

This would be followed by a lot of scratching, clawing, biting, and eventually defeating of the undead. It was all rather violent, tearing out their lungs, ripping at their arms, but speed made it safer for him to do it, as they were all rather slow. It took him only a little while to dispatch them all, leaving the partially alive limbs to crawl on the ground at an even slower pace then their bodies.

H'tes turned to the girl, and realised that the sweet arouma was coming from her. His eyes seemed to become disfocused for a moment, before snapping himself out of it. "Tell me," he said, his mix of demonic voice and childish voice coming out as both soft and harsh at once. "What is so aweful in your life that you would be willing to die like that?"

OOC: Longest RP post ever O.O

(( WOW! Nice. You did an excellent job. Now..... it's my turn. >:3 ))

The gnarled faces of the undead that were prepared to take her life's blood for their own drew nearer; Salega stood her ground, with arms wide open. She was more than ready to die and the zombie's were more than willing to give her the kiss of death. Closing her eyes so that she didn't have to watch them feed upon her, Salega tilted her head back to reveal her throat.

Just when she expected to be snatched up by one of the soulless corpses, the sound of skidding earth rang in her ears, followed by the vicious tone of a demon. Though his voice was an anguished howl to her, Salega already knew what he was hear for. His aura was tainted, that much was fact, but he still retained his humanity, which ment he was a hybrid... not a pure-bread. That fact alone relieved her slightly, but it would not set her mind that which was being seiged by turmoil at ease.

The sound of ripping flesh accompanied by the howls of hell made her eyes click open. This hybrid had not come here by chance- he was a messenger, sent by the gods to save her. Obviously, today was not her time to die. Being denied death, the only thing that would end her suffering, made her feel as if a thousand tons of stone had been thrown at her. Her only chance to escape the cold reality of the curse of life was dying before her eyes by the very creature that would follow her to the ends of the earth and back. That in itself was heart-breaking news.

Though his aura was of pure intentions, she did not know him and he was part demon. Even a half breed could rip her apart if he or she was actually tempted to do so. As the last zombie fell to the dying soil, Salega hit her knees, her downcast eyes filling with fluid that had the same texture of oil. "What is so aweful in your life that you would be willing to die like that?" Tears of black blood slipped down the smooth, pale planes of her face. How could he, of all people understand what she had gone through, what she had seen, lost, and felt? Not just recently but in all of the centuries she had been cursed enough to life.

The dracopyre was dead. All of her friends had either betrayed her or they were killed, her beloved didn't even love her and, if given the order, Century would kill Salega if she was given the order from Salega's other self. She had lived on edge her entire life and she had never once been given the chance to be happy. Not once. Those days of bliss and merriment and love were over when she turned four. "H-how... h-how could y-you...?" She cried, her head shooting up to look him in the eyes. Her orbs, which were as dark as night with no pupil to mar their color, were as torn and battered as her body as a whole. Her eyes could tell him of all of her emotional scars while her body could only tell him of the physical ones which, to her, didn't even hurt anymore.

"I have lost everything... I have put the lives of everyone I ever loved or cared about in danger by simply being in their pressence! Because of what I'm supposed to become, I am hunted, I am dispised, and there is never one moment of peace." Her black claws dug into the darkened earth, gribbing it as if it were her clothes. The jagged edges of her claws tore through the soil, reaching the backs of her palms. The tips dug into her milk white flesh until ebony blood oozed out of her wounds in thick rivulets, her midnight tears staining her dress. Her blood had the same effect as Lady Darkness's did, but at an even higher intensity- flaming upwards with malice like an inferno of crimson fire before it collided with the earth, burning through all life like acid, and poisoning the earth which it fell upon.

She, of course, was uneffected by it. It was her blood. "Who sent you?" her frail-looking frame shook with the intencity of her sorrow and not even physical pain could relax nor distract her from her mental drama. "I can smell her all over you. Lady Darkness sent you to catch me, didn't she? DIDN'T SHE!?" Salega collected herself off the ground and threw herself at him, pounding at his chest with her bloody palms once until they slide down where she could burry her head in his shoulder. She couldn't careless about her life now, her only consern was the welfare of the friend she had left behind. "Wha... what did she do to Quinlan? Where is he? Please, he has to be okay. He has to be! I know he'll understand why I left, I had to, I... I..."

The beautiful suprano voice broke at last, and the sobs that were once caught in her throat were now being muffled by H'tes's figure. It had been so long since her last cry, and letting her emotions flow out of her relieved some of the stress that throbbed in her tiny skull. The Hand of Sorrow's wails, accompany by sobs and small screams of agony continued, and would continue, until it drained so much out of her that she fundamentally cried herself to sleep and fell limp. H'tes had saved her, he had protected her, just like Quinlan had. The faces of those she had loved and lost flooded her vision before her body shut-down.

Her words, which here drenched by anguish choked out only two words.

"I'm sorry..."

She sobbed quietly.

"I'm so... so... sorry."

The bloody black tears smelt sweet to H'tes. He struggled to concentrait from them, but it took a large amount of effort. As for what she said, he did not know here story behind it all, but it felt rather silly to fret over it all. He didn't fret over all the bads of his life. And she had at least some moments of happiness for her, while H'tes couldn't really recall a good time in his life.

But it would be her next words that became the trigger. When she mentioned her. His body tensed at her name. Things seemed to go in slow motion in his mind. His memories wentto that night, when she appeared. That lullaby. The fight. The true demonic form. The torture. Everything! He then remembered how he escaped. And thatwas when it hit him. That's why this scent was familiar! It was her. She was the true reason for his escape.

She spoke of things H'tes did not know, but what he did know was that this girl was a target that Lady Darkness considered important. And that put a great fear in him. Would she follow her here into this dark place? It waspossible, and H'tes feared the possiblity. Not her again. That would be too much. But could he leave this girl here to be caught by her? No, that was not an option he would ever pick. No matter the who it was, stranger or enemy, he would wish the wrath of Lady Darkness on no one. In fact, with that in mind, he could see better why she was willing to pick death.

It took him a moment to realise she had fallen asleep on him. It actually took him longer to realise she had tackled him to the ground. Mention of Lady Darkness had put his mind into a rather blank state of just fear and thought. Mental perception was at a low, but he was eventually able to lift himself up, and set her gently on the ground. He looked around for a moment. Not the best place to fall asleep, he thught to himself.

His conciense would not let him leave her out here alone, and thus he stayed with her, sitting beside her. He occasionally had to battle off the undead that had smelt the blood of prey, but for now, it was just the slow zombies that came, and they were easily dealt with. He also sometimes drifted into an entranced state from her scent, as it was rather intoxicating, and he still didn't get quite used to it. What exactly was she, anyways? She wasn't a demon, that much he could tell, but he also knew there was no way she could be human. She wasn't an elf either. In fact, she wasn't anything H'tes had smelt before. So what exactly was she?

And furthermore, why did Lady Darkness have an interest in her? Aside from the intoxicating quality of her scent, H'tes did not see much special about her. Odd eyes, but that should be natural for a non-human. He didn't even get her name, or anything. All he knew of her was that she was inhuman, heartbroken, lacking the will to live, and was sought by Lady Darkness. But it was not much to go on. He would just have to wait and see what she would say when she awoke.

Her sleep was a timeless, dreamless state of self-indulgence. The only thing is her mind were the images of everything she had done in her life in a slideshow without a happy tune. Even the friend she had been forced to kill had crept her way back into Salega's phyche, until the collection of deceased and living were gathered. All of them, including the individual's who she had never stopped loving, were present, and unfortunately, so was she.

The silhousette of Mistress Eight, whose long bangs hid her face, dragged the girl by her long raven-black hair into the center of the mob of twisted, angery faces. In front of the entire group stood the mezmerizingly beautiful Dark Diabolo Queen and the seemingly 13-year-old dark haired girl whose piercing eyes were void of emotion. Black wings tucked tightly to her back, a midnight hued bushy, wolf-like tail flickered behind the girl's slender figure. Century, whose eyes were also blood red, were almost completely like the girl's, but the Dark Diabolo Queen's pupils were diamonds... not circles.

Mistress Eight and knights dressed in purple tinted armor raised up a crucifix that faced downwards into the ground, and as she held the screaming and crying Salega by the hair, beckoned the girl to her. It wasn't until then that Salega could see that the girl was holding a small box, which she delivered to the deceased empress of a fallen kingdom. "Shaligo..." Crimson eyes burned over the girl's shoulder as she glanced back at her when Salega had said her name. Shaligo snickered, a wisp of sapphire flames spewing from her nostrils as a sign of her diabolo nature, and returned to Century's side as someone else emerged from the ranks of the angry faces.

Pulling long nails from the box Shaligo had delivered, Mistress 8 paused while her knights raised the Hand of Sorrow to the center of the crucifix, and then proceeded to drive the nails through both of her wrists and ankles. Darkness swept into the scene; shadows twisted and spun, extending outwards like the legs of a spider to form the body of yet another woman who towered over all of the others. Ebony eyes that of a funeral pyre stared back into Salega's own, a sinister, mocking grin slithering across dark pelted lips.

Screaming in sheer horror, she wretched and writhed in place, causing her flesh to tear where the nails had been driven. Even in her worst nightmares, pain could no longer phase her. Well, at least not physical pain. Armored hands became flesh; claws dug into the flawless skin that which held the secrets within. When she made the mistake of looking down, the demonic eyes of Lady Darkness bore down into her own. Lillian Bloodmare, and the three general's that worked for her leered up at her, causing Salega to wail. The knights, along with all of the other familiar faces laughed at her agony.

"Dear, dear Salega, my heart, my soul," The Mother of Darkness snarled, running her long, jagged carbon talons through Salega's hair as she addressed her. "You weren't trying to HIDE from me, were you, my dear?" She cackled; Century shifted her weight behind her, taking a small step. "Don't you know that you can't hide from the shadows?"

A loud, strident scream echoed over Dori'ba when Salega awoke, clawing at her head as if she'd been trying, miserablly to wake up. When finally she calmed down enough to look around, she saw H'tes, sitting by her side with the parts of decaying flesh around him. He had stayed and he had protected her. Salega stared at him in disbelief, her mouth gapping. "Why?" she asked, "Why did you stay?"[/color]

H'tes heard her scream pierce the night. He looked at her worriedly. She sounded as though she was in sheer terror in her dreams. H'tes could understand that well enough, considering his nightmares were of his time with Lady Darkness, he always awoke in shock, horror, and memory of pain. But she looked in absolute despair from just the memories, and looked as though she was trying to claws those memories out of her mind.

When she finally calmed down, she noticed the demonic form of H'tes standing guard by her. It must have been a sight when she looked upon the ground to see the corpses that surrounded them, now twice as dead as when they rejoined the earth, and H'tes looking rather covered with the disgusting blood of the dead, with that devilish look to him. Her stare at him expressed pure disbelief, and her mouth was gaping open as though she were shocked to see he was still there. "Why?" she asked, "Why did you stay?"

H'tes sighed. "Because I wasn't going to leave you here, and even if I am part demon, I don't have the strength of one, so I couldn't carry you all the way." Hiseyes flared for a moment at what he next said. "And I would never leave someone who is being hunted by her." He almost growled when he said it, but refrained from it. "I'd not wish that demoness on anyone. And, I kind of owed you anyway. You probably don't know it, but you saved me before. If it wasn't for you, I'd not be in the position to be saving you right now. More likely, I would be begging for my own death, and it likely would be postponed just for me to suffer."

H'tes sighed. "Because I wasn't going to leave you here, and even if I am part demon, I don't have the strength of one, so I couldn't carry you all the way." She clutched the rim of her blood-stained dress, ignoring the wounds in the inside of her palms while she listened to him speak. When he had told her that she had saved him, she was suddenly struck by the cold realization of the situation.

"So that's how she found me." Her voice was a murmur, trembling with cold horror. H'tes was only one of many people Lady Darkness had tormented, but he was the first to get out of her clutches alive. "She lives in Lomedor, you know." She said, matter-of-factly, "I'd be careful with going back. She and the other's have centered their opperation there." Pausing to allow the word "others" sink in, the girl shallowed her tears, drawing back her emotion to reduce her cold features into the same composition as the face of a doll.

"She's not the only one. She has dispatched many knights here. But you escaped her, you escaped the Mistress of Torment. You are the first, and most likely the last." H'tes was going to have questions, lots of them, and she would have no choice but to answer them. She had saved him, and without knowing it, he had saved her. His debt was paid, but because they had something in common, H'tes had refused to leave her side. "You have questions, don't you? I can see it written all over your face. But first, let me tell you this, and swear to me now that you will not repeat a word I am about to tell you." She waited for his responce, presenting her hand, as if asking for an oath.

Her grim expression would tell him everything he needed to know- this was not a game. After he had swore, she would inhale sharply and then continue. Salega would then explain that she had Lady Darkness, as well as the other knights, were from an alternet realm called 'Alusterial', which was infamously known as 'Silent Ruins'. "The Mistress of Torment is just a dark knight, but she IS the daughter of the Dark Knight General, which makes her extremely formitable. Plus the fact that she was trained by Mistress Hyva, that's the dark knight deputy." Salega withdrew her hand, letting it rest in her lap.

"But she is just one of thousands of knights in the service of she-who-must-not-be-named. They, the knights, serve The Mother of Darkness... I've recently heard that LD has started a guild called 'The Sinners' and that their goal is to open a doorway for the Dark Messiah to come through. She is worse than LD and everyone else that you may meet. Compared to what she could do to you, LD was being nice. But she wants me back... as long as I am held captive, I can't find and inform others of her plans. As long as I exist, she can still be imprisoned."

He heard her speak of others. Could that one have more at her service. His memories went back to the night she had taken him out for a 'walk' like a dog, and some had gestured in friendly terms to her. Surely that could be it. H'tes could not fathom there being truly more with the cruelty and malice of the demoness. The girl asked him to promise her not to tell her secrets, and H'tes agreed. "I won't tell anyone," he swore. He then listened to her tale.

There were indeed more like Lady Darkness. And, in fact, there were worse then her. H'tes met the cautionary tale with what one met Lady Darkness should greet it with: Absolute horror beyond imagination. The details made his eyes widen, his fear excel, and his greatest nightmares become ever more terrifying. One Lady Darkness equalled hell to H'tes, but an entire realm that molded it's peoples in that way was an absolute apocalyptic scenario to H'tes. His imagination created the scenario, of a wave of female warriors, all similar to Lady Darkness, descending upon the world, lead by a black dragon of flames. He remembered the dragon only from the lair of Lady Darkness, but it seemed as best an image as any to fit this creature that sat as the demoness' superior.

He was unconciously holding himself tight, and his fears were spread across his face. "More?" he spoke quietly, as though saying it louder would make legions of evil appear out of nowhere and attack. "There are... more like her?" He had to struggle to break free of this fear, but in the end he simply could not do it. It was already developing itself into something more then simple fear. It was developping into slight paranoia, as though the demoness could appear at any moment. It was a similar paranoia to the one he gained right after he had escaped her, and onethat would not let him rest for some time.

"More?" he spoke quietly, as though saying it louder would make legions of evil appear out of nowhere and attack. "There are... more like her?" H'tes, bless his pour soul, was absolutely horrified at the information she was feeding his itching, blood-hot ears. Salega's tale was not an easy one to shallow, that much was true, but what was even more difficult was that the fact that Knights like Lady Darkness at a number that could overwhelm even Ea a thousand fold, was just the tip of the iceberg. The black-clad girl lowered her gaze, her lashes sweeping over her orbs. "Millions more." she replied coolly.

"There are three divisions of knights, ranging in race and weapons. The dark and shadow knights are equal in power, but one favors weapons while the other favors magic. Lady Darkness is a Dark Knight; she favors weapons more than magic. But at the very top of the hiearchy are the Crescent Knights. They are dark or shadow knights who have mastered all weapons and are experts in all feilds of magic." Her gaze swept up, observing H'tes's paranoia. There was such a thing as a limit to what people could take; the fact that there were more of people like LD had pushed him to the edge already. Salega wasn't certain how much more he could take in.

He had saved her in return for her saving him and he had stayed when anyone else in their right mind would have left. "They make up the base up the Shadow Empire. But she has overthrown Alusterial entirely, so my homeland is now completely under her accursed rule. Unfortunately, Alusterial isn't the first, nor the last, that she has rule over. The Empress of the Shadow Empire currently rules over fifty worlds, and over a hundred realms... I would dread to see Ea the 51st world they take over." A smirk crossed her face. "But that's why Lady Darkness is here... to become a Crescent Knight."

OOC: SHORT!!! T_T

"Millions?" he said, the word echoed in his head. "Stronger, and more powerful?" It was starting to spin his head. This army would be worse then he could have imagined if that were true. He could hardly comprehend such a thing as existing, and yet he knew it did now. She hardly had a reason to lie about something like this. No reason for that could find a way into H'tes mind, but niether could what she was saying ring as possible. Perhaps for what wishful thinking he would like to keep, but such things as that were destroyed by the ongoing imagination of H'tes.

'This changes nothing,' came a thought to H'tes head. It sounded slightly colder then his usualthoughts. 'The result is the same. I still want to kill Lady Darkness, all that has changed in that is a greater cost for if I fail. And if that happens, I'll be dead. I am never letting myself fall into her hands again. No one can make me do differently. No one! I will show her how we pitiful 'mudbloods' can conquer even her pureblood kind. And then when she's the one begging for mercy...' Darker became H'tes thoughts. While he did not originally have the heart to even think of things like this, the need for vengence had changed him slightly. He wanted Lady Darkness to regret that dark encounter as much as he did, but he feared failing as much as a he desired revenge. The costs of such would be more then he could bare if he was caught alive.

He shook himself out of it. "I see," he said, a slight lift in his spirit turned his attitude from fearful, to relitively calm, but still with a sense of dread over the possiblity of such things as he was hearing. "Then the question is, how can she be stopped?"

"Then the question is, how can she be stopped?" How in the hell could he be so calm as they were discussing this? Salega smiled at him, which through her efforts, was that of a half-smile. The loss of her loved ones still haunted the back of her mind. H'tes had a glorious sense of humour, which made her throw her head back in a beserker's howl. It would remind all those who heard it of that old saw- that a sound can make the blood run cold. It was merry and daft, innocent and muderous all at the same time, enriched by the sophano pitch of her voice.

"'Stop them'? Salega asked, "Many have asked that question but none have been able to answer it. As long as their Empress lives, they will forever remain. Problem is that she, curse her, is a Mother Spirit. Only her sister could kill her, and even then her "death", which wouldn't really be a death at all, would effect the entire universe. She is THE Mother of Darkness." A sign wisped through her lips, then.

"However," Salega begun once more, "The only thing I can tell you is that a true demon's greatest weakness is holy magic. And unless you have that, you might as well kiss your life good-bye. Even with the assistance of holy magic, Lady Darkness will not be easy to kill." Pausing to place her thumb to her chin in thought, the black-clad girl closed her eyes. "Though that would only be worse for you, or who ever does manage to kill her. Shago, their Empress, can easily revive her and send her back. After Lady Darkness is killed, I can assure you that every demon that Alusterial has to offer will be hot on your heels. Sealing her, body and soul, would be much easier. It's more difficult for them to break demonic seals... unless Lillian is with them. Crap..."

The knights and people of Silent Ruins don't play around. To meddle in their affairs would be like playing with fire: Either way, you're going to get burnt. Shaking her head and pulling herself to her feet, Salega's curtesey to him portrayed how thankful she was to him. Talking about home made her feel as though a stone had been lifted from her chest, but at the same time, the price of relief also brought questions. She could answer all of them easily, the simple fact was that she did not want to, for the answers weren't exactly "pleasent". If Shago, the Dark Messiah, had claimed multiple worlds even greater or lower than Arda, what would make this world even different?

"That's enough for today," She told him firmly, avoiding his gaze. "But there is still so much more to tell."

Talons dipped into the liquidic blackness that formed a pool, which held the image of Salega and her new companion, clawing at the face of the innocent little girl. The pool of dark water, suspended in a silver dish that which hovered over the earth like a holy relic, also held the image of Lady Darkness, who had fallen unconscience in the woods where she lost track of Salega's scent, and of Lillian Bloodmare, who was gleefully using the parts of individuals she had just recently captured in her dreadful experiments. The last image was of a pure white wolfess padded her way across an open field, with feathered snow white wings clinging tightly to her backside. A snarl, a sound reflecting that of a demon, a boom of thunder, and an erupting volcano all at once, exploded from the base of her chest, causing her throat to hum with the intencity of the enraged snarl.

Malice infected obsidian eyes, with no pupil to mar their color, reflected the face of her child self, speaking freely. Dark pelted lips formed a sinister grin, boldening the demples of her milk white face. Piercing red eyes glared from over the Mother of Darkness's bare shoulder, the head of a serpentish demon-like creature with obsidian colored skin leered down from the left, followed by another over her right shoulder. A dark hand rose to stroke the scaled head of the snarling darkling over her left shoulder, minding her jagged, razor sharp talons. Her other hand, which had been placed upon the handle of her sword, a blade perpetually stained with blood and used to severe the souls from her victims, stretched to the image in the pool and swatted it in distain. "Useless vermin." Her tone was that of poisoned chocolate, enriched by the hatred which made her entire figure appear to be seething with rage. But the familiar pitch of a sophano's song was lost within the deeper, darker sound of the Empress of Alusterial.

She was kneeling next to the dish of liquid darkness in a chamber of mithril and obsidian, which was decorated only by foreign writings of battles from ancients past, foretelling of omens and days of salvation, but also foretelling days of absolute catastrophe and ruin. Across from her laid a pure black dragon, laying upon his belly with his massive head raised. Though she was as tall as any giant, her dragon was twice the size of her humaniod form. His eyes, which were a deep scarlet, observed her from afar, watching the sway of her moods and patterns. Carbon talons, equally as sharp and jagged as his masters, edged to the end of the space beneath the dish holding the images of those his master had dispatched.

The base of his wings were dipped in a dark hue of crimson, which complimented his blood-red mane of spikes running from head to tail tip. A ruby, fixed at the center of his chest, shimmered in the blackness of the chamber, illumentated only by the midnight candle flames around them.

From the force of Shago's swipe, the images smeared briefly before re-connecting to portray the entire image.

[align=center]Lady Darkness, daughter of Mistress Dark, who desires to become a Crescent Knight, has only mastered two spells upon entiring Ea. She has failed to capture the child once, and she has suffered severe wounds by the claws of a dracopyre. A snicker fell from her lips. Pathetic. The stone-cold eyes that of a funeral pyre shifted to the face of the cackling countess. Lillian Bloodmare, the Countess of Wrath, who has had nothing but success in her study of the celestral native to Arda, has saved the lives of a young demoness and an even younger angel girl. Both should contribute wonderfully into her research to better benefit my people. WindStar, the birthless diabolotic angel chiasm, who has been banished by her alpha, now searches for her reason for living once more. Little does she know she will fall into the devil's snare that I have sent for her at the end of her journey.

And troublesome little Salega Cesario... my heart and soul in child form. Her pitch eyes furrowed. Do you truly believe that you can elude me forever?

Her 'laugh', if it could be called that, was a rather creepy thing to hear. It was merry and daft, innocent and muderous all at the same time, enriched by the sophano pitch of her voice and struck H'tes as though he had said something that was impossible. Not exactly the most heart warming feeling he'd had.

Then, she went on with some things about it all. This was also not exactly heart warming. Essentially meaning it be near impossible to truly end them at all. Slow them down, piss them off, but not end them. That was just great. Perhaps if their own gods did something about it, it be a different story. But those gods were more concerned with matters from within, as H'tes had heard.

Then she said what would end this line of conversation. That's enough for today," She told him firmly, avoiding his gaze. "But there is still so much more to tell."

He sighed. "Fine," he then stood up straight. "Then we shouldprobably be off. I'd rather notstay in these lands longer then I have-" He was interrupted by his own scream of agony. He cried out loudly as he fell back on his hands and knees ashis claws retacted and became human fingernails once more, as his horns pressed back into his head and vanished, as his tail went back into him, and the tongue and fangs becoming normal once more. All that remained were the eyes, as even the demonic tone of voice vanished in the scream of agony. He had not realised how much time had passed, and his time in his demonic form was up. It must be handy for those who don't have to use a spell to transform like that, because it was a real pain for him to. He felt rather weak now, as even his hellfire had vanished, leaving him with little magical power and even less physical power. He struggled to stand up, as his eyes began to revert into their human look of pale blue. "I hate it when I do that," he said wearily.

A pierceing scream of agony cut his words short as his demonic features slowly retracted into the shell that was his human shell. She'd seen it happen multiple times before, but perhaps not from a hybrid who took complete pain from it. H'tes obviously wasn't used to the transformation... other wise, he'd be used to the agony of transformation by now. Salega blinked only once, waiting pathiently for it to be over. An old friend, who had been a demonic hybrid like H'tes, had also transformed before Salega's eyes.... and when she changed back into her human form, the Hand of Sorrow was dreadfully worried about her, so she was foolish enouogh to near the tranforming hybrid. And she still had the scars to prove it.

"I hate it when I do that," Resting a reassuring hand on the ball of his shoulder, Salega smiled angelically at him, hiding and shallowing her sorrow. "I can only imagine..." That was lie number one. Even if she hated lying, sometimes she didn't have a choice. Fact of the matter was there was nothing else to say other than that without telling him the truth.

Taking his arm to steady him with her weight, Salega begun to walk with him, heading out of the cursed lands of Dori'ba- out of danger. She was gentle with him and would never let him fall if his weakened body quivered for even the slightest second. And if he should feel faint, she would hold him tight long enough for him to get back on his feet. She knew he was tired. She entered a small, pleasent conferversation with him, asking him things like where he was born, if he had any siblings, what he was doing in Dori'ba, and what job he had. The last person she had befriended and fleed from was a mercanary, but Quinlan would turn down any job that didn't suit his alignment. In other words, he'd only take the jobs that caught the bad guy.

As H'tes stumbled, she helped him stand. He greatly appreciated the gesture of kindness as he slowly gained back some strength to walk. Usually, the only way he could stand transformations was the mere adrenaline of battle, which was usually why he transformed in the first place, but transforming back usually took it's tole on him like this. He had been slightly lucky that most of the time he transformed back from being unconcious. Well, not that lucky considering that meant he had been beaten, and either captured or left for dead.

As they walked, she began to make normal conversation. Well, considering she already knew he was a part demon, he didn't have much to hide, but he still felt rather shy on revealing much else about himself. To the place he use to live, he just called it the place he'd rather forget. To siblings, he simply said no. And to why he was in Dori'ba, he simply said he got lost on his way to Ondoland.

The only answer that was more then a one word or sentence answer came when his job came up. "I usually wonder from town to town, not staying in one place for too long, just getting enough available work to pay for the supplies to move to the next town," he said, honestly. "I don't like to chance humans figuring me out as a part demon. But recently, I think I have gained a more... lasting job. I met a man in Lomedor, named Thanatos. He pays well, and all I had to do was deliver a package. I am suppose to get information on my next mission in Ondoland. He even gave me extra gold to enjoy myself with. I usually don't use free time like that."

"I usually wonder from town to town, not staying in one place for too long, just getting enough available work to pay for the supplies to move to the next town," he said, honestly. Salega smiled at him, not bothering to interupt. Hearing someone else talk for a change put her mind a bit more at ease. At least she wasn't the only unlucky soul around. "I don't like to chance humans figuring me out as a part demon. But recently, I think I have gained a more... lasting job. I met a man in Lomedor, named Thanatos. He pays well, and all I had to do was deliver a package. I am suppose to get information on my next mission in Ondoland. He even gave me extra gold to enjoy myself with. I usually don't use free time like that."

"I see." She said simply when he was done explaining. His muscles were beginning to relax more, which meant that he was recovering. The more he recovered, the less she steadied him until, fundamentally, he would be able to walk without her help... probably without realizing it at first. When at last they reached the outskirts of Dori'ba, the girl paused dead in her tracks whenever a scent wafted through her nostrils. The horrid stench of a powerful demonic aura threw her thoughts off for a few seconds, but she'd know it from anywhere. She was here, in Dori'ba, and she was not alone. There were others. Soon after it was the scent of blood- the very substance the Hand of Sorrow had tried so hard to avoid.

Her entire frame seethed and quivered as her veins pulsed black; the aura that which surrounded her pulsed as if it had a heartbeat. No... Claws as dark as night extended, seizing her partner by the arm. "We have to get out of here." Her honey sweet voice was a hiss through her thin lips. A gleam of an ivory tip shown in beneath the moonbeams- fangs that had been pushed back by force into her skull. Salega sprang in a second flat as fast as her meek little legs could carry her across the barren fields of death that made Dori'ba, trying to pull H'tes with her.

If Lady Darkness or any of the people she was with caught scent of them, it didn't matter how badly she had been wounded- the demoness would chase them to the ends of the earth and back. Her grip would become tight, almost enough to cut off circularation of blood, but her claws would threaten to pierce the flesh first. She wouldn't let that happen, however. H'tes had helped her and though evil was in his blood, evil did not rule him. Salega's grip would release just as the tips of her claws pierced skin, but they would instantly sink into the backs of her palms, re-opening her wounds from eariler.

It wasn't until several hours later that she stopped running for her life, nearly killing over from exhaustion into the lush, green grasses of the north eastern outskirts of the grasslands of Salquedor. It was a lightly wooded area. Colvanant sunlight filtered in well enough to feed the thick grass that blanketed the ground like soft carpeting. There were a few little brooks here and there, making the woods a wonderful escape from the sun on a hot day, which Salega was thankful for after all that running. Thick droplets of ebony blood oozed from her palms, trickling down her arms and elbows, burning through the grass when it made contact. Hints of red, that of malice, made itself visible through her blood and almost instantly, her body begun to convulse.

It was something she couldn't control- in the future, she would become a true predator and would drink only blood instead of water or juice- her body thirsted for the nurishment of the fluid of life in order to sustain her own, and craved the proteins of flesh. To prevent herself from crying out when the four sets (not two- four) of sabers popped out from her skull, Salega bit down on her lips and tongue as hard as she could. Blood burned her lips when it flitered through, dribbling down her pale face. Just the meer scent of blood, other than her own of course, drove her to this. Forcing her eyes closed as she bent her head towards the ground, the black-clad girl hit her knees and fell into the thick blades of grass that now surrounded them.

The warmth of sun-beaten earth sent tingles through her, but it wasn't enough to counter her body's reaction. Black fire spread in the form of wings from her backside; the earth beneath was scorched to a crisp as well as everything her massive wings of twilight flame breezed past as if it were candle wax. Claws that extended into talons dug into the soil as she tried to keep herself under control. Now all of the text written across the crystal of Lady Darkness's manor surrounding the colossal dragon would suddenly make sense.

"It is a beast of the purest of nightmares- a creature so big when the gods first saw it, they were too craven to fight it. The Black Flamed Dragon's wings stretch across the sky, blocking out the sun should there be one, and its talons are the size of a full-grown giant. Fangs as dark as night extend past the beasts chin- its eyes, as emotionless and blank as a doll's eyes, are the flames of a funeral pyre. This beast is the true form of the Mother of Darkness... and it symbolizes the end of all life.

When at last her body slowly grew calmer and stopped trembling and seething with an almost ravenous, demonic hunger, Salega lifted her head. "Damn it," She cursed herself aloud, "I profoundly hate it when this happens..." Lifting her hands from the earth where the long, jagged talons gleamed in the light of the sun, she shook them free of dirt and preceeded to bite them with an almost dragonic mouthful of teeth (if they could be called teeth). The two sabers that overlapped her chin, which she was careful not to use, were the color of her blood. Not even the rays of the sun could cast a shade of white upon them, nor could the sunlight penetrate the wings.

However, both wings were bent, as if they were broken somehow- Salega couldn't fold them without wincing. Done "reclawing" herself, the girl placed the tip of her finger underneath a single fang and proceeded to push it upwards. The tip of it had sliced past her finger by the time she had the first one back in. The rest of her fingers ended up the same way when she was done. Unfortunately, she couldn't force her wings to vanish at the time, so she took her time breathing to steady herself.

As H'tes became stronger, he slowly started simply walking himself, without really realising it. It was nice to have a relaxing moment. Well, it was hard to necassarily relax in the dead lands, but they both seemed to be having a rather peaceful moment here. But he noticed something when they reached the outskirts of theland of Dori'ba. She smelt the air, and became tense once more. His own senses were not that keen, so he could not tell what she was smelling. She began to change a little her veins pulsing with black, and black claws extended. What was happening here? "We have to get out of here," she said, her sweet voice was in a hiss, telling H'tes something dangerous was near. And something dangerous to him meant the possiblity of it being her. She began to grow fangs, as well, and grabbed him, running off, with him trying to keep pace behind her.

As she ran, he claws were begining to hurt him slightly. He gasped slightly in pain, but she retracted her claws, and held him no more. It took them a while until exhaustion had caught up with her. H'tes was really pushing himself today, and fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily, his eyes closed. Sweat seemed to cover him, from running for hours away from an enemy he could not even sense. He took no care in his surroundings as he struggled to catch his breath. But suddenly, he smelt it. Her blood. He opened his eyes, revealing the demonic eyes rather then human ones, and looked at her. At first, he was entranced, but slowlyit turned into horror as she seemed to transform. Those black, flame-like wings seemed familiar. He had seen them carved as dragon wings in a work of art in Lady Darkness' lair. Every piece of Salega seemed to be trying to become like a demonic form of dragon, but she fought against it.

"What's... happening?" he asked, rather breathlessly, as he was still trying to catch his own breath as she transformed. He was still wondering exactly what it is she was, and this seemed to give slight hints at it all. "What are you in your world?" he asked, although not expecting a quick answer from the girl who was obviously in pain from her own transformation she did not want to take.

"What's... happening?" he asked, rather breathlessly, as he was still trying to catch his own breath as she transformed. Cursing her own rotten luck, Salega turned to face him, her breath coming in small, shallow huffs of air. There was no denying it- H'tes had just witnessed the very thing the Hand of Sorrow wished no soul would be cursed to see but she couldn't turn back time to take it all back. Not now, not ever. Since the shifting process had begun, she had refused to open her eyes, but instead, she forced them to remain shut.

"What are you in your world?" he asked, although seemingly not expecting a quick answer from the girl who was obviously in pain from her own transformation which she did not want to take. Time seemed to freeze in place as her head tilted upwards to face him while still keeping her eyelids shut tight. Either way, this was bound to happen eventually.... she simply wished it wasn't so soon. Though her lips pursed with which to speak, she gave no voice to whatever she was going to say, or wanted to say, rather. Salega couldn't simply tell him the truth without making some kind of mistake, but showing him also meant risking opening a portal between Ea and the Shadow Realm... where her other half thrived. This wasn't just something you could say and then go on and pretend nothing happened. No- this was the very reason she kept her identity and everything else a secret, even from Quinlan.

Salega heistated and shifted her weight, her breath coming in small, shallow huffs of still air. Carbon hued blood spalshed onto the ground with a sizzling effect, forming a pool beneath her. And from what H'tes could see from her reflection, the form reflected in her blood didn't look like Salega at all. There was no dress, but midnight boots. And judging by the sean of them, there were traces of mithril in the fabric somehow. And they were much larger than her shope size now... in this pathetic child form.

"Do you... truly wish to know?" She would wait for him to answer as she caught her breath and until he replied, the only movement she made was the rise and fall of her chest when she inhaled and exhaled. When at last H'tes answered, since his curiousity was undoubtedly getting the best of him, Salega turned adruptly on her heels and begun to walk deeper in the thickening wood, motioning for the hybrid to follow her. Even if her senses were still out of wack from the stench of blood, Salega could still decipher the scents of the elements such as water and earth. Using her nose to guild her, almost like a canine, the Hand of Sorrow lead him to a small opening where the trees tucked over a small lake around 14 foot long and who knows how many foot deep, and judging by how clear it was, wasn't much.

Salega paused at the water's edge and motioned for him to join her. When he would make his way to her side, the girl pointed to her reflection in the water. The thing was, it wasn't her reflection at all. Instead of a child, there stood the body of a full grown woman who towered at a record breaking 12'7'' (O_O) clad in black.

Her once rounded face, innocent with youth, had aged out of that cold age of bliss and ignorance. Now, her face was as cold as the vast frozen wastelands to the south of her homeland, where a man freezes to death in seconds, his breath turning to ice in his lungs. The once silk-like locks of midnight were now the long and ragged of the undead corpse, her full lips darked into a shade of prepetual darkness.

The dark moon upon her forehead glinted with the same lighting as Salega's, without the silver crown around her head. Bold black lines trailed from both lashes, down her cheeks, and another from the corner of her eyes, which tied around her head. The shadow marks out of the inner corners of her eyes made her milk white skin glow like freshly fallen snow. Tendrils of shadow crawled out from behind her, bending and swirling, crawling outwards like the legs of a spider. Gleaming red eyes would pierce through H'tes's own as two serpent-like creatures materialized behind the reflection of the Mother of Darkness. Their jaws streched to fit sabers that exceeded ten inches in length, omens of doom to those who met the eyes of the creeping dark. But the woman's eyes were closed, just like Salega's were now.

"In Alustrial, I am known as a being called a Mother Spirit. Here, I have been called an archangel due to my otherworldly appearance. However, I am not such creature... as you can plainly see." Exhaling, and drawing in another breath, the child reluctantly continued to explain. "My name is Salega Cesario. In my native tongue... 'salega' means darkness. When I was four years old, my body split in two. What you see before you now, reflected in this body of water, is my other half. This is Shago. 'Shago' is an excerpt of 'salega' in english, though the meaning remains the same. I, Salega, am Shago's heart. So, in a sense, I am her and she is me. The only difference between us is that I have a heart... she does not.

"I never wanted to share this with anyone, especially someone like you. You don't even know how much danger you could be put in from just coming in contact with me." It was then, and only then that she opened her eyes. The dark, blurry depths of the endless black hue of her eyes had become the flames of a funeral pyre in her "reflection", highlighted by her sins with no pupil nor white to mar their color. Salega's own eyes had also undergone change. Dragonic red slits stared blankly at the atmosphere around them... not exactly the best place to deliver such frightening news. The rest of her eye was a tone of glossy midnight. Her wings composed of twilight flames were also reflected on Shago's backside- only her's were larger and thousands of times more omnious.

"She devoured me, her own soul and heart, and imprisoned me within her. I have only recently escaped, and as a last resort to escape her clutches, I tore open a portal to this world..." Salega's gaze cast towards him then. The eyes of the Black Flamed Dragon glared back at him, but there was a slight humanity about them due to the fact that Salega had chosen to surpress the beast and its evil within. "To Arda. I have tried to erase every trace of evidence that would give way to my true nature, but unfortunately, the scent of blood triggers this... the reason my blood smells so magnificant to you is because the blood which courses through my veins is malice and darkness in the purest form. To those of demonic descent and dark nature, my blood is a true delicacy. One sip, and all of your humanity would vanish. I implore you to keep refraining, H'tes."

She explained herself well. The truth was revealed to H'tes, who listened intently. It was all rather important information to him. This explained better why Lady Darkness was after her, and why she smelt fantastic to H'tes' own demonic senses. But most of all, it told him what struck him as most important to himself. "To those of demonic descent and dark nature, my blood is a true delicacy. One sip, and all of your humanity would vanish. I implore you to keep refraining, H'tes."

H'tes slits widened, making them look more like normal pupils, but then focused again, become simple slits once more, and his vision focused and magnified upon the blood. "My humanity would... vanish?" he asked, in a sort of disbelief. Could that possibly be that easy? To throw away the immunity that had felt like a curse to him for all of his life, it sounded almost like a dream. The idea took his imagination for a moment, showing him inner visions of the glory of becoming completely inhuman.

But he shook himself out of it, as a thought went back in his head. 'No,' he thought. 'I have to beat her with the mixed blood she so despises. This isn't a matter of dreams, it is of pride. I want to beat her pride. With my own power, as what I am.' That thought made the decision for him to heed her imploring warning. "I would not take that easy path," said H'tes. "I am neither demon nor human, and shall never belong to one or the other. I accept that truth." He smiled. "I don't need to become my enemy to beat her. And you," he said, looking back at her. "You are what you are. And this other half of yours, is what she is. May be in some ways the same being, but in my eyes, you are a different being entirely."

The next few words he said Salega would never forget. Never in her life had someone been so pure and unafraid. "I am neither demon nor human, and shall never belong to one or the other. I accept that truth." He smiled; it took her quite some time to realize she was smiling back at him. His persona was just as pure as her's was and it effected her in a positive way. "I don't need to become my enemy to beat her. And you," he said, looking back at her. "You are what you are. And this other half of yours, is what she is. May be in some ways the same being, but in my eyes, you are a different being entirely." What was the sweetest thing she had ever heard was also the greatest lie ever told. Her orbs stole a glance towards the surface of the small lake, which caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

The Mother of Darkness was strickingly beautiful, but her beauty was fell and horrible to look upon. Wrenching her gaze away from what was to be, she begun to walk away from the large body of water, beckoning H'tes to follow. In a sense, he was right, but in another sense, H'tes was completely wrong. Salega and Shago were one in the same... one just older and one was younger. They had lived the same life, committed the same sins, and cried the same tears. Even the Hand of Sorrow knew that she could not aviod her shadow forever, for nothing could hide from the dark. Nothing. "Perhaps that is so, but regardless... caution must be taken. She had eyes in every shadow, ears in ever dark corner, and voices where ever darkness falls. Nevertheless, you drinking my blood could have one of two effects. A hybrid, such as yourself, who should drink from me normally turns into a full-fledged dark demon who looses every fiber of good. The other effect... well..."

Pausing to let it sink in that there was another alturnative, the girl continued. "Not even I am absolutely sure, for it has only happened once. All of the demonic blood disipates and pure white wings would grow from the backside, like an angel." Her eyes met his, "If you were a full-blood angel, Lady Darkness would have to be extremely tolerate of holy magic in order to win. I suppose I carry both traits within me... how facinating."

OOC: Sorry, lag of shortness. Somebody shoot meh! *BANG!*