Exist to Spite

[Marakai Trin]

The sun was shining high above the Sirantil Valley, a gentle breeze blowing through the boughs of a tree nearby, the leaves whispering their soft protest against the wind. Off in the distance, one could see the wide expanse of the northern Matron, flowing sluggishly at one of its broadest parts.

The scenery was quite beautiful, but events there were not - despite the shining sun, one area seemed to be afflicted with a pervading darkness. The grass appeared dead, curled in on itself. A tree that may have once been beautiful was stripped of its leaves, it's branched gnarled and dead. Fallen from the tree was a birds nest, a swallow seemingly drained of life and emaciated to the point it was almost unrecognizable. Three eggs that may have once been pearly white had turned an ugly, rotten shade of green, emitting a particularly foul odor. Despite the ugly scent, no insects dared intrude on this oasis of decay.

In the center of a circle over one hundred feet wide was a man, his hair long and black, face deathly pale and very thin. Dressed in a black long-coat of most lustrous material, he sat cross legged on the ground, two eyes as black as the void itself staring downward. His mouth moved slowly, but the sound issuing forth seemed to come from the very air , a chorus of hateful whispers of pain and mourning, a fell keening that would strike fear into the most stoic of hearts.

[AevumEternity]

This intrusion of clearly unholy magic upon the land was certainly not something that would be ignored for long, let alone by one sent specifically trained to fight such blight. Hakon thankfully was already in full battle armor, as was her faithful Theocog, Purgatorio - both had been traveling to meet with the unit known as Ansgar's Hand after the Major had sustained a rather gruesome battle wound from a demon during her last bout in combat.

Still her torso felt slightly stiff from the healing and treatment she had sustained, but this did not stop her from urging the massive steed into the plain of decay, drawing scimitar and readying shield as she observed the rotted land with some look of pain. the eggs most of all seeming to cause her the most distress.

Alas, upon spotting the man, she slowly turned the great steed toward him, growing defensive as she called out in a strong, vibrant voice," Identify yourself, sirrah!" though she knew this man was likely the cause of such devastation, she was cordial. To greet an enemy as an equal by name was to bring honor to a bloody sport.

[Marakai Trin]

Just as the woman drew her blade and spoke, the phantasmal voices hushed their eerie keening. The dark man seated in the dead grass remained in his position for several moments, his mouth now shut - the blackness in his eyes swirled away to reveal sharp red retinas, glowing hellishly against the light of the sun.

With deliberate slowness, the man stood. Despite having been seated upon dry, dead grass and earth, none of that detritus remained adhered to his clothing. When he turned around to face the speaker, she would see the utter absence of emotion on his face, his gaze impassive and distant. His voice gave no notion of the darkness that had previously been sounded, instead rather sonorous and slightly baritone, yet still smooth as black silk.

".....I am called many things, human. I am the wings of the night. I am the shadows that hide within your mind. I have even been called fear itself."

His baleful red eyes flicked to glance at the bared blade the woman carried, but still looked to be uncaring - proven further by the deliberately slow steps he took towards her.

"I am the Messenger and Avatar of the Dread Queen, my Dark Lady Tiamat. I am Kranath Trin. Who dares disturb my meditation?"

[AevumEternity]

There was a slight falter, in her demeanor, even the great warhorse shifted with unease as he opened his eyes. But still, the young woman remained firm, drawing the scimitar back offensively while the massive shield shifted into a defensive position - blue and white runes twinkled faintly upon the armor that both steed and rider adorned, blessed by Ansgar's priests as it were.

" You have desecrated this land and brought pain upon innocent nature. I must demand that you depart back across the borders of wherever you have come from, or I will use lethal force to convince you to do so." There was something about this man's demeanor that reminded her dreadfully of a memory she had long hoped to have forgotten. But alas, she urged the white Theocog forward at a slow walk to meet the man half way... Knowing that once he was caught in her aura, she would stand a better chance at... Whatever this man wielded.

[Marakai Trin]

Kranath continued his slow steps forward, even as the woman before him urged her horse onward. When she began to move, his eyes suddenly turned stark black, twin pits of the abyss, a physical manifestation of his power over fear. The twin marks beneath his eyes spread apart into disjointed lines all across his face, giving his visage a cracked appearance.

"I will ask again only one time. Who are you to disturb me? I will not leave...nor do you have strength enough to force me to do so." Again with deliberate slowness, he moved his left hand behind him, and his right over his shoulder. In a fluid movement, he drew both a black, crystal daikatana and a wakizashi of the same make, the six foot blade held unnaturally in one hand, betraying a strength and balance far beyond what his thin frame should have been capable of.

((Check your PM's, Aevum, had a question for you unless you didn't get my message!))

[AevumEternity]

" You will Leave." She answers firmly, shifting upon Purgatorio's back- already the war horse began to shudder with excitement and adreniline. Eyes narrowing warily beneath her helm, Hakon continued," And you have the pleasure of speaking to Major Hakon Kilandre, know that despite us being on opposite sides, I shall address you with equal respect, sirrah Kranath."

She knew this man was unlike many mages she had faced before, likely rivaling the strongest - but then again, the last mage who could have expressed such power was alone and she had a squadron of her trusted men. Still... the horse was now 10 meters away as the powerful aura began to seep into the man's very core.

(I didn't get a PM xD)

[Marakai Trin]

"Oh, human, you are so very wrong..." he said, a smile in his voice but still his face was emotionless, almost as an automaton.

"I am forced nowhere. And...Hakon, you say? It will be a pleasure to send your soul to the Dread Queen. May you join my brethren in......what?"

Suddenly, he felt as if a part of him was pushed outward as she drew nearer to him, a part of his very being removed as if someone had thrust it away. His eyes, void-like as they were, began to flicker between empty and black, to hellish and red. After but a moment, they stabilized, remaining stark black.

"....what is it that you just did to me?" he asked, raising a hand for his inspection. He focused for a moment, and naught but a wisp of black mist blew forth from his hand, easily dispersed into the air. His magic was... suppressed? It was hard to say.

But then again, he could feel the Dread Queen's gift still remaining. For the first time during their encounter, he smiled.

His smile was a horrible thing to see, if you knew him, as twisted and malicious as it was.

"No matter. I am an assassin and necromancer, but you have stripped me of my magic, but not hers."

He hefted his sword, and his bloodthirsty grin widening, eyes narrowing.

[AevumEternity]

" Kranath," she returned through grit teeth, a feeling of hopeless fury permeating through her body- she knew that not all his power was gone, which could only mean that some of his power originated from an immortal source. Nonetheless...

She readied her blade, knowing should he attempt any magical attacks, it would merely dissolve at his fingertips," Kranath," Hakon repeated," Leave, this is your last warning. Leave this land in peace."

Even as she spoke, she was prepared for anything, already feeling Purgatorio's great flanks beginning to rise and fall deeply- this horse, this creature and this rider were one. As inseparable and cohesive as a centaur.

[Marakai Trin]

Suddenly that wicked smile curled upon his lips vanished, leaving again an utter lack of expression. She wanted him to leave. He could, easily, with not but a turn and steps in the other direction.

But why would he do that? Here, he was challenged by a woman of noble standing, wielding steel that she would use against him. He truly had no reason to stay, nor reason to leave - his reasons for being here were not many.

He stared up at Hakon upon her six-legged beast of a horse, remaining where he was standing. Maybe some play was due, but only if her resolve was as hard as her countenance would suggest.

With a quick movement, he relieved himself of his weapons, thrusting his black daikatana and wakizashi into the ground before him. He crossed his arms over his chest, hands coming to rest against one another in the wide sleeves of his coat. He closed his eyes.

"I will not, human..." he said, remaining there still with eyes shut.

"You will simply have to strike me down and be on your way, or else detain me however way you will." He stood there before her, his arms still crossed, unmoving but for the opening of his eyes. They were red now, the focus on his power given up. He looked up at her again, and offered a wry smile.

"Come, Hakon. Kill me, if you can. Strike me down with steel and horse, and perhaps you can have an end to this."

[AevumEternity]

His sudden act of submission caught her  by surprise, causing her to stop short. But this shock did not last long,"... I do not strike down unarmed individuals unless they are due for execution." She answered carefully, she hesitated before suddenly swinging one leg over the great warhorse's rump after pitching her shield onto her back.

Landing rather heavily in the massive armor but surprisingly agilely, the knight approached him, deep green and black cloak snapping in the wind as she now stood no more then a meter from him. Gazing at the mage, Hakon felt her heart turn to ice. No, she did not like mages, they corrupted all they touched. But she was a woman of honor and served Ansgar as his fist of judgement.

Reaching up, she carefully took off her helm, obviously still wary but this would not stop her from her duty. Kneeling before him, she rested the helm in the blackened earth beside her before reaching out with both hands, surprisingly cupping his face in her hands,"... I wish to detain you, but I would rather see you repent. For the destruction you have wrought, you can save yourself." she implored quietly as white-blonde whisps of hair fell over her eyes.

[Marakai Trin]

Kranath reached up very slowly, laying one hand atop her gauntleted one, seemingly welcoming her sudden compassion.

"I am far beyond redemption....and I am already saved."

Quickly and quite suddenly, then, his fingers clamped down upon her gauntlet with a strength far beyond that of a humans, his strength nearly enough to crush the steel her hand was encased in...but he didn't want to hurt her...not physically anyway.

That darkness swirled back into his eyes, convalescing like black water. When he spoke again, his voice was that of the abyss, the dark magic of fear - a gift of the Dread Queen herself - twisting and blackening his voice, seeming like the voices of the dead from her past. Anguished cries and muffled voices of panic and torment would serve as a background, unheard in the air but clearly heard within her mind.

"But who will save you, who has ended the lives of so many, those who desire only to be themselves as they are in the land they were born in....can you see their faces? Hear their dying screams and hateful whispers fill your ears? .....remember your fears, human..."

[AevumEternity]

Still, young Hakon's hands remain gently cupping the man's face, even as her body tenses slightly. She remains still- the whisper, the voices- all of which had plagued her nights for many years, were nothing but ambiance now to this verbal battle for purity," The Light does not discriminate against any one, stranger."

Her voice was oddly familiar in its tone but- much different," My fears are of none of your concern. Simply allow your mind and eyes to be open to the possibility of purity once more. No- neither you nor I can attain innocence again, but-" she glances up, tearing her grey-hazel eyes from the void of his as she looked toward the sun,"- you can reach for being free."

[Marakai Trin]

The pale, thin man garbed in black stared up at her with bottomless black eyes, his lips curling into a sneer. "There is no freedom in this life. Not for me, not for you. There is no purity, either, not in the Light you speak of - purity does not burn, not like the radiance that you would follow."

He pulled her hand off of his cheek, and found his own gaze raising skyward as well - but rather than to the sun, his eyes traced their path across a pale blue sky to see the full moon, hanging in the afternoon light as it had for the past several days.

"There is purity in darkness, for in the dark we are all the same. But for that purity to come about....the light must be extinguished."

[AevumEternity]

" Yet you still look toward a source of light, no?" She pulls slightly away though one wrist remains firmly trapped in his grip, turning slightly to motion toward the rising lunar sun. Carefully maneuvering herself about so he would not accidently break her wrist.

" I do not believe you are looking to the shadows as much as hopefully toward some relief- are you not in pain?" She asks quietly, offering a weak smile