She was going to be in trouble when her sister found out about this.
She knew it, of course. She just didn't care. Their empire needed to be rebuilt, and there were only two of their people left. They needed help, and not from mortals. So, Sche'zan'i decided to take matters into her own hands--er, paws. The panwere had visited the Serha Plains and robbed several bandit camps.
Turns out, a few of them had robbed some nobles blind. Now she had a summoning ritual set up nearby her den, with all that wealth off to the side. She was working through an incantation to summon a fellow Immortal who might be interested in gold - and if not gold, then something else she could provide- when a noise interrupted her. As she was in her wolf - woman form (similar to Van Helsing's werewolf form but female), it wasn't difficult to scent the intruder.
It was a deer.
Her muzzle pulled back in a grin, and she lunged for the unwary animal. It would make a nice sacrifice to go with the gold.
Settling down once more, she restarted the incantation and once finished, waited for results. Ta'ssa'ni forbid whatever I conjure wants marriage instead of gold or blood sacrifice. Hopefully the half-form will make them think twice. Of course, if they could read minds, they might well suggest it just to irritate the princess of coldness. She prepared for that possibility, shutting off her emotions completely, detaching from the situation at hand so that nothing would bother her.
In a far off plane of existence, Chenaank oversaw his economic empire. Sitting in his impossibly extravagant office, he carried out his duties as owner of the single largest multidimensional trade empire that ever existed. Hunched over a sheet of gold leaf, he worked meticulously, when suddenly, a feeling caught his attention.
He raised his head, looking around, before a smile crept across his face.
In front of his summoner, a large ball of sharp, golden light appeared before her. The giant pile of wealth she had accumulated slowly started moving towards this ball of light.
"Who are you, who seeks the service of The Great Appropriator, Prince of All Avarice?"
The ball of light trying to take the gold had a slow grin curling over her maw. "Sche'zan'i, heir to the Blood Throne." At least until her sister got knocked up.
She eyed the ball of light, stretched lazily over the top of a rock. "Are you always theatrical or is it just for my benefit?" Her tone was mild, even slightly amused, but her eyes glittered with a sheen of acid. "My sister and I are the last of our kind. I'm looking for someone who can help us rebuild, that the Blood Throne may rule again. Have I found that someone?"
Her dark red, near-black fur rippled as she moved an arm behind her head, studying the ball with cold grey eyes. "Or are you yet another useless imbecile who thinks it's fun to try and con people?" Tone remained mild throughout her speech, eyes hard. Her posture suggested relaxed, and yet her muscles were tense and ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.
"No, wait, I've got it. You're powerful and you're capable of helping, and you will, but it'll cost me even more than that pile there? I don't suppose you accept sacrifices. I'm wonderful at torturing and killing things." Her body began rippling, muscles contracting and bones cracking as she shifted forms. Soon she laid on the rock in her normal form, her grin looking off somehow (and indeed, it might've been because it was more of a snarl than anything else) on her more humanoid face.
The ball of light coalesced into Chenaank's form, the accumulated wealth incorporating itself into the light. Chenaank now stood in front of her, cane firmly planted on the ground in front of him, smile placed prominently on his face.
"You disrespect me, yet you ask me to rebuild an empire. You do not intimidate me, girl, and you'd better not be wasting my time."
As he spoke, he slowly approached her, the tapping of his cane against the cave's floor echoing all around. He stopped at a distance where conversation was more comfortable.
"Your sacrifice of wealth and blood is paltry. You want me to assist your family's cause? To raise your crumbling empire from its ruins and return it to glory? I'll need more than that pauper's sum to convince me that you can pay for my services," He said. His eyes peered into her own. He was scrutinizing her, sizing her up. At the moment, she posed no threat to him.
"I'm not asking if you will. I'm asking if you can. As for money...there is no shortage of bandits and nobles. And Blood? " She threw her head back and laughed, the sound a rich alto of false amusement. "Give me a target, and I shall bathe you in it."
The ground shook then, as a massive form landed outside. Sche'zan'i grinned. "Oops. Mom's home. Looks like lil ole me is gonna get in trouble." Footsteps, and then a woman who could've been Sche's twin if not for the obvious size and build differences stepped into view. "N'aman'i. Sheathe your claws, little sister. You invited him here, after all."
Sche'zan'i simply smiled in response, flicking a hungry gaze behind her sibling. Right on time, her sister's wolf - son dragged in the carcass of a human man. "Leave some for me, if you don't mind. He wasn't difficult to catch--men rarely are--but I always feel like I've been doused in slime after pretending to be interested in a human, especially one that vile."
Kassir'a turned her attention to Chenaak then, extending a slender hand. "Kassir'a. Might I inquire as to your name? Please, excuse my sister. She is powerful but has never quite understood or cared for the nuances of dealing with anything that isn't an animal. Diplomacy, as I'm sure you noticed, is not her strong suit." A low snarl from Sche answered that remark, and Kassir'a responded by turning her head to smile at her sister.
"You're in enough trouble as is. Shut up and eat your food." She wasn't normally so harsh, but her sister needed discipline. "My apologies, again. Shall we step outside or are you comfortable here?" Sche'zan'i shifted into her leopard form, and tore into the carcass, watching with grim amusement as Kassir'a flinched almost imperceptibly. Stop it. You're digging yourself a grave, little sister.
What? Why? You told me to eat, so I am.
"You may call me Appropriator," Chenaank said, offering Kassir'a a curt bow of his head. It was nice to finally see someone civilized.
"I'm sure your sister has her uses. Some things are better off left to less civilized hands."
He shot Sche an ambiguous glance, before returning to the matter at hand.
"Please, let us leave this cave. If I have to watch and hear her feed, I think I might just leave."
"Indeed. She is excellent at torture and assassination." She lead him from the cave, heading to some large rocks nearby so they could sit and talk. "I suppose I can guess why she summoned you. She thinks that we cannot rebuild alone. I'm loathe to admit it, but she's right. Unless one of us suddenly decides to be like Ta'ssa'ni, the First Queen...our race is dying out and our history will be lost. I cannot allow that."
She took a deep breath, and then gave Chenaak a politician's smile. "What will it take? If it's wealth, well, I don't mind robbing mortals. There are also castles of my people all over the lands, and each has a store of wealth. Dragons hoard gold, and...well, several of my kind were much like that. If you wish a sacrifice or two or a dozen, that can be taken care of as well. Or, if there's anything different you might desire?"
Chenaank's expression grew flatter and flatter as Kassir'a went on. Riches? What riches could these two possibly offer him? Individuals who had to rob bandits to acquire the sacrifice to summon him. And sacrifices? Blood held no worth for him. However...
"Kassir'a, what you're asking from me is no small thing. You want me to rebuild a glorious empire from the ground up, resurrect a dying people, bring prosperity to the lands they will occupy, the fields they will plow. For this, there is no true, measurable price."
He tapped his cane against the soil, leaning against it.
"What are you prepared to sacrifice for this?"
She inhaled deeply, turning away from him for a moment. "It's simple enough to breed offspring and pass down memories. The empire will take help to rebuild, but that can be done--and it won't be quite from the ground up. Prosperity? We will be fine, as long as you don't lay a curse or anything. What I most want...is the death of the only other Blood Elf we know to be alive. She is a powerful Necromancer, and she caused the extinction of my people. We can't go after her without support--she has an army, and we have each other." Wide, expressive eyes turned back to Chenaak, clouded by the past. "If you're willing to do the rest, well. Name what you wish of me, and you shall have it. I live for my people, immortal. I am a devoted Queen." She could sacrifice nearly anything to bring her people back--and would.
Chenaank listened to Kassir'a, slowly nodding. "Ah, so this is a pact for blood, then. Excellent," he said, and approached her, placing a comforting arm on her shoulder.
"So, it's death for life. The death of one of the very last of your kind. And you would regrow your species, from what. Two females? Breeding with men? Your future people will all have muddled blood. But I suppose that isn't my concern. It's not what you want me for, apparently."
He sniffed, and rolled his shoulders.
"You'll take some comfort in knowing that I have an army of my own. Thousands upon thousands of elite, demonic troops, ready to kill on my order. I can give you an army to fight hers, an army that is no doubt superior. How does that sound, Elf Queen?"
The arm over her shoulder went ignored but for a slight stiffness appearing in her stance. She turned an amused glance to him at his remark about breeding, lifting a brow. "I wasn't aware you were volunteering for that particular job." Not that he would be involved in raising any kids, if he didn't want to be. "Besides, my sister and I don't have to breed outsiders to have children." Incest wasn't an uncommon occurrence in her species, and it hadn't had adverse effects thus far. His proposal was a tempting offer, yet she couldn't help but eye him warily. "It sounds almost too good to be true." Nothing more crossed her lips, to avoid causing offense, but her tone hints at the end to her sentence-- what's in it for you?
"It does, doesn't it?" Chenaank purred, completely aware of how his statement sounded.
"It's quite intriguing, actually, how you can rebuild your entire species from two females. The Blood Elves have always been...an interesting sort. Still, an entire civilization borne from the seed of only two different individuals? It just doesn't seem...sound."
He looked at the ground for a bit, before he waved the matter away. "That's something else I can help you with, but that's not what we're discussing. My payment..." Chenaank trailed off, and paced back and forth a bit.
"In return for my army, which will help you defeat your necromancer, I will take nothing less than a yearly living sacrifice of Elven maidens, say...one from each family? If your race can procreate as well as you claim, supplying me with a fair amount of personal servants shouldn't be a problem for you at all, once you reach a certain amount of citizens," He explained.
He looked like he was done, but he added one more stipulation at the end. "On top of this, I want to be revered for my generosity, placed among your gods, if you will. I want to be prayed to, I want shrines erected for me, all of that."
"That is how our race began." She murmured quietly, blinking at him as he paced. "Maiden being a female who has never reproduced?" Her question was a legitimate one--her people had multiple definitions of that word. "You will be given my firstborn daughter as a deposit, if you'd like." Her sister's voice drifted into her head. No. He can take one of mine. Kassir'a ignored her sibling, blinking again. His final request was met with a mild frown, her mind working quickly. "Our only gods are the founders--the first Elf and her dragon husband. Given that I and my sister are the last, we would be raised to that status upon the recreation of our race." She paused, turning to face him. "You would have to be a founder. Then, my people would call you a god. Then, my people would willingly serve you. Consider it an honor, even." She flashed a small grin. "Sche probably won't even consider it, but that's why I'm Queen."
"What can I say? I know my history," Chenaank replied, in regards to his status as a founder.
In regards to the "maiden" question, he nodded. "Yes, maidens as in virgins. A suitable area must be set up where I can recieve these sacrifices. I'm assuming it'll get bigger as your empire grows. Remember, one per family, every year."
He held a hand out to the side, and a fine scroll of gold leaf parchment appeared, the caps extravagant in their design. Rolling it down, he revealed it to be a demonic contract.
If she wanted to read it thoroughly, it detailed their terms (one army for yearly maiden sacrifices from each family and elevation to founderhood). However, there was one small addition at the bottom, in the fine print.
Chenaank procured a pen (which was little more than an elegant, sharpened quill), and pointed out the addition at the bottom. "Now, should you fail to provide the sacrifices to the exact number necessary, or should your people cease my worship, there will be consequences. I'll visit you, actually, and you'll sire a demonic son with me. Should you refuse, I will lay your lands and people barren. Are these terms clear?" He asked, holding the sharpened quill out to her.
She took the offered quill and signed, handing the quill back immediately afterward. "Yes. Quite clear. I assume you'd use powers to force the gender and species of the child to differ, hm?" She'd never heard of such a thing, but perhaps it was possible. "She lives in the largest mountain in Connlaoth, and she's bent on being Queen." Her body went stiff, her eyes cold.
"And she's my mother."
"Of course I will. The child will be what I desire it to. And you'll have to make do with it, as punishment." Chenaank said, taking the quill back and returning it to his pocket. Once she signed her name by passing the blade over the malleable gold, the letters flared up for a few moments, then dimmed, and it was there in ink, as if it had always been there.
"Oh, your mother. How cliche'," He said, inspecting her signature before smiling. The contract disappeared in a flash of perfume and incense smoke. He clenched his fist, and a scepter appeared in it, powerful looking. Such was its opulence, that the shaft made out of pure diamond was the least noticeable detail about it. He held it out to her.
"To command your army with, Kassir'a."
"Then I'd best make payments on time, huh?" Accepting the scepter, she offered him a radiant smile. "Thanks." Her sister approached them, a sinister grin in place. "Oooooh, we gonna kill the nasty? Mom and dad would be proud." Near imperceptibly, Kassi flinched at the mention of their mother. "Soooooo when do I get to take down some undead freaks? We gonna go now?" Kassi rolled her eyes to the heavens, breathed deep, and counted to ten. Focusing her gaze back on her sister, she released her breath in a sigh of exasperation. "No, Sche. It takes time. Planning. I can't even send you in for recon--you're too impulsive. You'll get yourself hurt or killed." The tiny Elf turned and left them, shifting into dragon form and flying off. "She's so..." Exasperated and at a loss for words, the Queen shook her head and turned her attention back to Chenaak. "I assume my firstborn won't be sired by you, as I doubt you'd want your own daughter as a servant."
Chenaank grimaced in disgust. "Perhaps if I was like other demons, the barbarous swine. They'd enslave their own mothers, if they could. I'd rather wait," He said, shaking his head. He seemed to think for a few moments, before speaking up again. "I could also help you with your breeding issue. Now, I don't know how long it takes, but you and your sister breeding to repopulate a species sounds lengthy...at best."
Licking his lips, he shifted his cane to the other hand.
"What if I told you I could provide virile breeding stock as well? While they may not be Blood Elves, they're certainly of elvish stock."
"That would be most generous, though I must decline. You see, despite there only being two of us, we are quite capable of having a hundred children each, in one go." Her expression twisted for a moment, a grimace of something like horror taking her face over before she schooled her expression once more. "We have multiple methods of reproduction, as I'm certain you know. Our dragon forms can lay clutches of up to a hundred eggs. The gestation period is but a month, and the eggs hatch another month after that. Then it's only a decade or so before they're the equivalent of a teenager. Sexually mature enough to reproduce, but not quite fully grown. They can be given to you then, but not before. Still, it's not as lengthy as you seem to worry." The only problem? Finding a male dragon to impregnate her and her sister. "My firstborn will have to come from a different pairing, of course. Probably a human halfbreed--after all, human males aren't that difficult to find and use."
Chenaank nodded, noting silently how apparently having a hundred children in one go disturbed Kassir'a for a moment. When she said that her firstborn was probably going to have to come from a human, he scoffed. "Such common stock..." He said, looking off to the side.
He cracked his neck, and gave his cane a little twirl.
"And if I told you I had a dragon? Several, actually. I breed them. You won't find better dragons anywhere else. Plenty of strong, potent males." He said, raising an eyebrow and waiting for her answer.
"True, but it is of no consequence. She will be strong." And she will never be queen. Her new ally's next little speech made her eye him with interest. "The strongest you have, then. I will not submit to any other." As a dragon, she was very volatile, and it was part of her genetic code to accept only the strongest to breed offspring--to help ensure their survival. Since she was also very, very large, the male would have to be at least somewhat close to her size or the pairing wouldn't work. "I do hope you won't mind if he gets clawed up a bit. Dragon ritual is violent." Her tone remained even, as though speaking about the weather. Memories clouded her eyes, memories that weren't her own. She lifted a hand to her temple, eyelids fluttering closed for several seconds before she was able to lock the memories back up. She'd had no training on how to deal with the genetic memories of every Blood Elf that had ever died--no knowledge on how to channel them and still remain who she was. She'd gotten bits and pieces from her father's memories, but it wasn't enough. If she couldn't use them at will without fear of being sucked in, she'd go mad. It had happened once before. She couldn't let it happen again.
"The strongest? Oh, Kassir'a, you'll be in for quite the ride, then," He chuckled and started to pace back and forth again, slowly. He narrowed his eyes when she had her little memory-attack, and smiled inwardly, knowing that this was something he could take advantage of later.
"I have a dragon, from a completely different world as this one. The perfect specimen, really. I've bred him over the course of eons, perfecting his stock. When I began with him, he would've already been worthy of you," He purred, enticing her to let her imagination run wild with what this dragon could be.
"We can make this a seperate deal, a little...side contract, if you will."
Another contract appeared in his hands, this time blank.
"What say you...the genetic superiority of your entire race, in return for..." He trailed off, thinking.
"...I want your sister for a month. Her dragon form is powerful, youthful. If your kind can provide the hundreds of clutchlings you say they can, it'll help me take my dragon breeding to a whole new level. If you let me have her for my dragon breeding efforts for a month, you'll get...six breedings with my most powerful dragon, enough for around six-hundred genetically superior Blood Elves. How does that sound?" He asked. As he spoke, the contract filled itself out with the details.