Spirits of the Earth

Xerordir stalked Tirial's streets, being careful not to let people see his mask. He kept his hood up, his head down and his feet swift. It was early morning, with people transitioning around him. The sight was unnerving. If any of them noticed his gloves or face, and were from Thanatos, he would be instantly reported to the authorities. News had spread from the lands, news of the black sorcerer returning to Thanatos. Indeed he had visited Thanatos in the past months, but he had no intention of going back in the coming years. That he had summoned all manners of the undead and demons meant nothing to him. He had killed no-one yet his crimes went duly noted. That was an annoying aspect of being a dark mage. He had to be discreet about what he did, lest he be hunted again.

But his purpose today was not to summon, or sacrifice, or plot, or scheme. He had heard that a powerful noble family had possession of a book he direly wanted. If he had this book, or had a long while to study it, he may be able to find some dark secrets, locked away and hidden by the Fae texts that the Serenian people had inherited. This was something he needed to do. And if he learned a dark secret to, say, immortality. He would do all in his power to achieve it.

The household he was to visit was the household was that of the Lancaster family. The heiress to the house was the Lady Nadya, and the master of the house was Marielle Lancaster, a powerful noblewoman. Rumor has it, that they were descended from Sirens. He hoped that in the house library there would be some magical texts of some significance to him. No doubt that any black magic, or schools of magic with which he had familiarity, would have to be uncoded and reverse engineered thoroughly to be used or recorded as simple instructions.

He arrived at the door of the vast estate. He knocked twice, considering his options as a greeting. A servant met him at the door. "Good day, young servant. I am a scholar looking to study rare texts. May I speak with the Lady Nadya Lancaster?" The servant nodded and showed him inside. "I will fetch my mistress now." The servant spoke coolly. He then scurried of into the depths of the beautiful Serenian building.

Over the 13 years of travelling, Xerordir had found that Serenian and Connlaothian buildings had the most beauty to their design. Perhaps because both peoples had fled the Fell, they had kept the same features of the architecture that made both types of building so beautiful. He examined a few paintings on the wall while waiting for both servant and master to return.

Nadya had begun the day much like any other. She had been awoken by a maid two hours before dawn, from there it was into the tub, and after that the maids helped her dress before curling her hair and making it up into a fancy bun. Everything had to be just so, her hair, her dress, her make-up, absolutely everything had to be perfectly in place. In the end she knew it wouldn't matter, her grandmother would still find a million faults, a million things that she would have done better.

Today it was a beautiful and elegantly flowing silk gown of a deep purple. It was a lighter garment, with wide but smooth skirts, rather than bulky layers her grandmother favored in the winter. Likewise, the sleeves split from the wrist to the elbow, trailing frilled fabric in a stylish way. A wide, golden belt studded with amethysts loosely encircled her waist. Golden roses were embroidered around the hems of her dress, and on the matching slippers. She looked the embodiment of a lady.

As soon as all that was done and it took until dawn to make her "presentable" according to her grandmother's standards, she was pretty much then ignored the rest of the day. Her grandmother would look over her at breakfast to make sure she wasn't going to embarrass her with her appearance. Once that agony was over, Nadya would escape to the library and that was where she would stay the rest of the day, if possible.

Today she had barely more than sat down before a servant came to inform her that someone had asked for her and that he was awaiting her in the grand hall. It was most unusual. Who would ask after her? Perhaps he was mistaken and actually wanted her grandmother? That had to be it, because there was no reason for someone to be calling on her, let alone a man.

Her light slippers were silent on the marble floors as she walked into the entrance hall. Spotting the heavily cloaked figure she dropped into a slight curtsey. "Good morning, Sir. We were not expecting company, my servant says you asked for me, did you not mean my grandmother, the Lady Marielle?"

He looked over to see a stunning sight. A beautiful young Serenian woman walking over in a beautiful purple dress. He gave a small bow. "Lady Nadya. No my lady, I have heard that you are much more sociable than your grandmother and much more passionate about knowledge." He smiled. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed rather over shadowed. Just from what she had already said he could conclude that her and her grandmother's relationship was strained at best. He had already considered what he was about to say, and decided that he was going to go for the scholar guise.

"You see m'lady, I am a scholar from overseas, studying texts of Fae origins, and have heard your family possess a large collection of old texts. I have travelled most of the continent looking for ancient texts of value, recording them for reproduction at my university." He took a pause to allow her to process that. He needed to tread carefully. One wrong step and his cover was blown. Then he remembered to introduce himself. "Ah, but of course, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Xerordir. A pleasure to meet you m'lady." He bowed again.

Her more sociable than her grandmother? Wherever had he heard such a thing? Nadya's grandmother was quite fond of being a socialite, while she preferred to remain tucked away quietly in her room or her library. Her grandmother seemed content to leave it that way most of the time as well, only parading Nadya out when she wished to impress other nobles or it was simply socially expected for her to be present. Now about the other thing...

"I...well yes, I am quite a deal more fond of books than my grandmother." Her grandmother thought books were a silly waste of time. It was a wonder that her grandmother even let her read as much as she did, but she supposed her grandmother just liked keeping her out of sight and out of mind. Large violet eyes blinked owlishly as he explained that he was a scholar interested in old texts that might be contained in their library. It made since, their library was one of the finer collections, and one of the oldest.

"Xerordir, what an unusual name, overseas you said?" She wondered where overseas he came from, he seemed a strange and mysterious fellow, and very tall, she had to look up very far up just to feel she was addressing him properly. "That sounds quite interesting, but if you're wishing to pursue our library you would need grandmother's permission. Everything here technically belongs to her, I'm afraid I don't have the authority to grant you access to our family archives."

He frowned slightly, but his mask hid his expression of distaste. He had hoped to go through unofficial channels to attain higher magics. He recomposed himself, preparing to try and keep his visit here secret. "Are you sure that you would not be able to let me at least browse your collection? Then I can see if any need to be studied or rerecorded, with your grandmothers permission of course." He smiled grimly under his mask, preferring the safety of anonymity to the usual unmasking. She was exceptionally beautiful, her bright violet eyes meeting his own blood red ones often, for brief glimpses when he raised his head.

If he was not here in pursuit of dark, terrible power, he may have tried to woo her, but he had not felt love's beauties for himself. He would even have made attempts to get to know her as a friend if his mind was not corrupted by the darkness in his soul.

Nadya frowned, she was fidgeting slightly and she let her eyes glanced towards one of the archways leading from the entrance hall. His request to study their family collection didn't seem odd or suspicious, at least not to her, but she wondered at his reluctance to gain her grandmother's permission. Of course it was probably as simple as knowing Marielle's reputation as an unpleasant person to deal with.

"Well...I really should make sure grandmother's okay with it. I'll be in trouble if I let you roam the house without her knowing..." She chewed on her bottom lip out of nervous habit, and then shook her head. "I'm sure grandmother will say yes, it is such a humble request. I could let you wait in the library while I ask her. You won't even have to deal with her; I doubt she'll have much interest in what you're doing, aside from getting to brag that foreign scholars are studying her library."

He could see the direction of this path. It was best that he accepted that he would have to maneuver the official channels, even if that meant that he would have to deal with Marielle. He instead began to think of how he would explain why he was wearing a mask. He could lie and say that his god demanded it of him, or try to make up a half believable lie. If she demanded that he removed his mask, he had to oblige, lest he be unable to study their library. "Very well if you feel obligation to tell your grandmother. However, if you would like to keep me company in the library it would be welcome." That last part was a mistake. He had not meant to say that. It helped him maintain a guise of scholarship, but only hindered his actual task. She was beautiful but he did not need that distraction. He had not fallen for her yet though, but he felt his feelings fade into existence for once, but he could still kill her and her family if required. Only just.

He felt memories pour into his soul, seeing the faces of his victims, slowly crawling back to when he had killed his own sister. To feel that pulsing rush of power as he drove the knife into that witch's throat. To remember the thrill of running. Then his mind shot back to the present. He hadn't killed a man in two days. New record! He felt smug that he had gone two days. Now to keep it up.

Nadya seemed relieved as he agreed that asking her grandmother was for the best. It really was, she didn't want to get into trouble yet again. She was always in trouble for one reason or another, it was just best to not give any more reason for Marielle to chastise her.  At the invitation to join him in the library the ghost of a smile crossed the pale young woman's lips, she dipped into another curtsey. "Of course, Sir, it would be my pleasure. Perhaps I can assist you in your search. My servant will show you the way, and I will join you shortly, after I have informed grandmother you're here."

Almost immediately a servant appeared from where they had been still and silent a short distance away. The woman appeared to be a maid of some sort. She curtsied much more deeply to him. "Right this way to the library, sir." She would lead him through the halls, richly hung with beautiful tapestries. The library was a large room, and as she opened the double doors to show him inside, he would find himself faced with a room decorated from floor to ceiling in books. The spines ranged from new to old and worn, but all were obviously meticulously maintained.

There were books on every subject imaginable, from sciences, art, theater, poetry, fiction, and everything in between. An entire section was devoted to mythology, history, and magic. These were, of course, the more tame magical texts. The oldest and greatest (and more forbidden) books were secured away from the main collection.

He gasped at the massive collection of texts. He thanked the maid, bowed politely and watched her leave. As soon as she left, he removed the mask and looked at the mass of books. One had to contain something he didn't know. If they didn't, the house was no loss if it burned down. But to go through this library would take days. But if he was lying about abroard, he could lie that magic was commonplace in his college. Yes, that seemed good.

He scanned the wall nearest to him. He saw one book that caught his eye. A History Of Necromancy, by Jerome Nodork. He felt he needed to have a look at the book closely, make sure no rituals were hidden in this book. He removed his Black Book from his cloak, and opened it to a page that related to Necromancy. This page made him remember his first Necromantic summoning. He remembered it ate the sacrifice, and the client. He found that memory so amusing. He rarely felt emotion, and when he did, his memories flooded back to him. He was lucky that he had been able to escape without being branded as an untouchable. So he could go back without being completely distrusted. But he was always chased out. He didn't watch the time as it passed, delving deep into this book. It contained no instructions that he didn't know for summoning. But he found a flame fan spell that he did not know. He memorised the enchantment and created a flame proof field and tried it. A massive gout of fire sparked from his hands in a spectacular show of orange tongues, licking the air. He laughed as he repeated the action, happy with the feeling of power.

As soon as Xerordir was out of sight, Nadya moved gracefully through the halls in another direction. It was still fairly early in the morning hours; her grandmother would be in her sitting room. The meeting went well, all things considered, she was scolded for bothering Marielle, although all her grandmother was doing was writing letters. Nadya skillfully maneuvered the conversation in a way to make her grandmother the most agreeable, and with putting emphasis on the prestige of having a foreign university studying their library, she was able to gain Marielle's permission for this scholar to study their library at his leisure.

Satisfied, she made her way back through the halls, finally coming back to the great double doors that opened into the library. Pushing one open quietly she peeked inside to see if the mysterious stranger had already begun his studying. Her violet eyes went wide and she gave a sharp gasp as she witnessed the gout of flame. That was certainly unexpected, and quite alarming! Playing with fire around so many books was dangerous, well; playing with fire to begin with was dangerous.

"What are you doing?" She asked; her tone one of astonishment more than any anger as she hurriedly swept into the room and closed the door. If a servant saw that and told her grandmother she would have thrown a fit and probably have thrown him out.

He heard her voice and lost all forms of concentration from pure shock. The flame and field both disapparated and he stood, stunned. He couldn't speak, all that came out of his mouth was the repeated starts of multiple sentences. He could understand her shock and anger, visible in her purple eyes, which stared, wide at him. He stumbled backwards as his words continued to fail him.

Finally, he spoke. "I-I-I-I can explain! I was merely attempting magic I found in this book! I had a fire shield up! It was perfectly safe!" For the first time in years, true panic entered his mind, and he felt scared. In the light of everything he had done in his life, he had not been this afraid before.

Nadya stopped, back pressed lightly against the doors to the library as she openly gaped at him. Had she actually frightened him? She didn't think of herself as very intimidating. She was a small woman, and he had just been wielding fire. As far as he knew, she didn't have any abilities at all. Not that she even knew if she had any magical abilities. That was something else her grandmother didn't approve of her studying.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." She was still staring at him owlishly, but it was obvious that she wasn't actually angry. "I would certainly hope it was safe, we would have been terribly upset if you burned our entire collection by being careless. I'm just glad that I'm the one that walked in here. Grandmother would have had you removed. Please don't, ah, practice in here. If there is a spell you find interesting that you want to try, please do it outside and away from the books. They're priceless."

She seemed almost as frightened as him. Startle him? If she hadn't he may have burnt the place down, so he figured he might as well mention it. "If you hadn't startled me so badly the place could have caught fire, so be grateful you did." He smiled, hoping that she understood his point well. Realising he wasn't actually putting the book back, he hurried to it, closed it and put it back on the shelf. He scanned the shelves, and found a book, entitled Elemental Magic Through The Aeons by numerous authors. He hoped this book contained interesting information. He decided what to say, choosing carefully. "M'lady, might I ask of your age? I would imagine that a woman of your age would have inherited the household already."

Could have caught fire? Nadya paled slightly at the words. This library was the only place in the world she could find some form of peace; to think of it actually burning was unsettling. "It would still have been better to not have startled you. Startling you could have caused a fire as well." At least she thought so, she didn't know a great deal about magic. She loved reading everything, no subject was boring, but she didn't really read any of the magic books because her grandmother didn't like it. Nadya didn't want to lose privilege to all her books over one subject.

When he inquired about her age she blushed slightly, finally moving into the room and gracefully taking her normal reading chair, fussing over her skirts to make sure they were smoothly flowing, but it was mostly just an excuse to procrastinate answering the question. "I am almost through my seventeenth year, Sir Xerordir. Truthfully, I don't know if I will ever come into an inheritance. My grandmother will not let her authority go for as long as she lives, and she would take any heir before me. I am only set to inherit everything because there simply is no one else."

"Only 17? One must conclude you are still a maiden then." He paused, thinking about what he would say. "I am just into my twenty fifth year. Ah! This book looks interesting." The book was titled Primal Magic Throughout The Ages, by Christoph Notru. Perhaps Primal Magic was the answer to his search. Then he remembered the book he had come for. He set the book down on a table and began a minor searching incantation. Black magic provided a spell for every minor action, utilising magic to make life easier, and longer. A small purple orb appeared in his hand. "Find me the book called Death's Embrace." Then he paused, wondering how he would explain the Black Book and his seeking of a book on Necromancy. He decided to save the lie until she asked.

"You have heard the rumors of the Dark Magician that has fled from Thanatos?" He gave her a reassuring look. He could not lie if she guessed it was him, because he was that man. All he could do was comfort her.

The purple orb wandered the shelves, looking for the book. In reality he had summoned an imp, trapped in an orb of magic, forced to do the bidding of it's master until released back into the hell from whence it came. This orb was a simple piece of black magic and could be commanded to do almost anything. When told to attack the purple orb became a humanoid creature, with two bladed arms, and a jaw of magical teeth. When told to search, it gained an eye. When told to destroy, it could self destruct. And it took no energy from him whatsoever.

Nadya inclined her head slightly at the comment about being a maiden. She wasn't really surprised to hear his age, the man was a scholar, if anything, she was impressed to hear how young he was. Curious now, she stood back up and walked a little closer to peer at the book he had mentioned. Primal magic? Just from what she had seen, it was obvious that Xerordir was more than a mere scholar; he was also a mage of some sort. In Serendipity, mages were widely accepted, so the fact that he could use magic did not frighten her.

"A dark magician, you say? No, I haven't heard such news. We don't hear much about Thanatos, to be honest." Nadya had heard the name of the book he had mentioned before the purple orb began to glide around the room in its futile search. That book, Nadya well knew, was not kept in the general collection. "That book you're looking for...why? It is not a scholarly book, grandmother says it is evil."

Inadvertantly he had just damaged his cover. He turned to the book shelf, considering what answer would best work. "I am... Researching the effects of evil on the soul." He had not intended to be heard when saying the book's name. He wondered if he had now made his true objectives clear, or given away who he was.

"I met the man on my trip back from visiting Thanatos. He boarded the same ferry as me. He showed me things I should not have learnt. When I returned to my college, I was deemed tainted, and have been purposed as an experiment. I am to try and resist my own corruption as I learn these magics, and should I return with a dark and terrible secret, I am redeemed." He hoped that she would not piece the puzzle together. He had given her half the pieces. If she could put work the others out then he would have blown his cover. But he had no cause to lie. He was corrupted, and he liked it. The only lie he had placed was his guise as a scholar. If she rooted that out, he would simply take what he wanted.

The purple orb pinged lightly as it hovered in front of a wall, a flashed a light on the wall. He walked over to the wall and studied it. "What's this, a house secret?" He murmured lightly.

Nadya felt a twinge of doubt, perhaps even fear. The effects of evil on one's soul. She couldn't even imagine. Although the answer seemed obvious, if one let evil into their soul they would become corrupted and evil. Who would want to study such an awful thing? Perhaps allowing this stranger into their home had been a terrible mistake, but what could be done about it now? The book he was looking for was hidden, there was a reason it was hidden. It was a dark book, and evil book. The magic in that book should never be used upon others, it was an abomination.

"That seems a cruel experiment. Are you not afraid of what will become of you if you travel down such a dark path? Your soul could be irrevocably damaged. Is it worth it?" Oh if only Nadya knew the truth behind things. She could be quite naïve when it came to some things. Including thinking that people were fundamentally good. Despite all that, she seemed genuinely concerned about him. Then again, she knew the evil of that book first hand.

The purple orb seemed to get excited when it came to a certain section of shelves. Nadya's purple eyes widened slightly. That was not possible! She hurriedly moved to the shelf, putting herself between it and Xerordir, her violet eyes were wide and fearful. "You wished to see the library, and you've seen the library. Permission was not given to allow you to poke around wherever you wanted."

She raised her chin, eyes flashing defiantly. Nadya was not an imposing figure, but she seemed perhaps more formidable than a person might initially assume. She lowered her voice, her tone earnest. "That book killed my parents, please leave it be."

The orb stayed where it was as he studied the books on the shelf. One of them must have been something secret. Then he processed what she said. "I am corrupted, yes. I will redeem my soul. I need this book." Then she mentioned it had killed her parents.

His memory swelled, remembering the sight of his mother's naked, bloody corpse. He remembered the hooded figure, cursing and swearing at his mother's body. He remembered the Book, glowing purple, the wind howling through the jungle trees. Suddenly he was there again. He took the memorised step forward. His right foot. A branch broke underneath his foot. The hooded figure turned, his blood red eyes glowering at the young Xerordir. Then he fled, leaving behind the book. He remembered the tears streaming down his face as he recognised his mother.

Then he came back to the present. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't know." He walked over to put a hand on her shoulder. He too had lost his parents to evil. "Do you want the truth?" He was speaking things but not thinking. He was actually besmitten by this girl, and he was just talking cause that was what he could do, he forgot his magic, the orb, the secret shelf, he was talking to her. I'm not going to lie, not now, he thought. There was no cause to lie, and he wasn't going to. Him and Nadya shared that they had lost their parents. That was enough for now.

Large, sad violet eyes watched him closely, only a slight flicker of fear deep within them. Nadya was a little afraid, knowing now that it was that cursed book he was after. Only someone with wicked intentions would ever mess with something so vile. If he was evil, then just defying him, getting in his way, was putting her life in grave danger. Someone like that would not hesitate to squash someone that stood between them and their goals.

Rather than immediate retaliation, Xerordir seemed to turn inward, going somewhere far away within his mind. Had she said something to cause such a reaction? She knew she must have, apparently something had struck some kind of chord with him. Perhaps that the book had killed her parents? Truthfully it had been a riot that landed the killing blows, but the riot was caused by the book, so she blamed the book in its entirety.

Nadya recoiled slightly as the tall man finally snapped out of whatever waking dream he had entered, flinching as his hand touched her shoulder. The spark of confidence had snuffed out, her face and eyes downcast, not looking up at him. At first she had been afraid, but he had apologized, and he didn't seem angry or malicious. She was still wary of him. He had deceived her to gain access to this book, why would he stop pretending now? She doubted his pursuit of the book would end so abruptly. "The truth...if you please."

"I am..." He found it difficult to speak, for he was unmasked, and he found himself unable to summon any sort of defence. He deserved no defence, for he had committed atrocities to gain power. He wouldn't give up that pursuit, but he would not seek it here. He would not harm her. She was defenceless. Perhaps he needed to be a bit more human, instead of being as evil as his summoned servants. He released the orb and walked away from the wall, withdrawing his hand. Do I tell her the whole story, how I too have lost my parents? Yes, that will found some trust I hope, his mind spoke to him for once.

"I will start at the beginning. I am from overseas, technically, from Thanatos. I am no scholar though. You see, when I was conceived by my mother and a foreigner, he was killed by men in Suna who thought that foreigners who conceived children with locals were evil. I grew up knowing only my mother and older sister, being the illegitimate child, I was abused by my sister. My mother's husband was soon killed through murder. I grew up with the protection of my mother, loved as much as my sister. I eventually came across a basic magic book, it taught me basic magic, mostly offensive powers, fireball, lightning bolt, freeze. I practiced these on my own, slowly mastering them. Then one day my mother disappeared, and I went looking for her in the forest." He paused, considering how to phrase what he said. "I found her. A dark sorcerer had used her as a sacrifice to some demon. I saw her body naked, bloodied, with a slit in her throat. The sorcerer fled upon seeing me, but he left behind that book." He pointed to the book he had left on the table. "I was left in the care of my sister, who abused me abhorrently, beating me, burning me, anything she could do to hurt me was done. And one day I snapped. I fought back, and decided to practice summoning a demon. The demon didn't take, and I was forced to kill her. I took every joy in it. I was chased out, but I escaped without being branded as untouchable or killed. I make a living as a necromancer for hire. I summon that which people need that they refuse to summon themselves. I was here to find any dark secrets that book contain. Bear in mind I have changed my mind." If her response was accepting or even slightly hostile it was good enough for him. He did not need immortality bu he wanted it. It could wait.

Nadya slowly found her eyes raising to gaze at Xerordir as he stepped away, speaking of his experiences. She felt pity stirring in her, but it was so much more than that, empathy. They seemed eerily similar in some regards. Both had lost their parents because of evil people, magic, and books. Even more unnerving, both had been mercilessly abused by someone that should have loved them. He by his sister and her by her grandmother.

Both had faced tragedy, but they had taken from that tragedy very different things. Where Nadya had come to fear the evil things, Xerordir seemed to embrace them. Was his ploy for power just some way for him to fight against the feeling of powerlessness losing his mother had caused? Nadya knew that she was a weak person. She hated herself for it, but she really didn't know how to become stronger. What she did know was that she wasn't an evil person, and while she could possibly understand why he might have turned to dark magic, she still did not think it was right.

Nadya seemed to visibly relax, her shoulders slumping as she leaned on the shelves for support, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She was thankful that he seemed to be willing to let go of his ambitions to gain the book he had gone through so much trouble to deceive his way in here for. There was a deep air of sadness around her as well.

"I...I understand you pain. My parents were killed over that book when I was only two. My twin brother and I were raised by grandmother. She always loved him, but never me. She hates me so much, she hated my mother two. She only cared about my father, her son, and Noah, her grandson." Nadya choked up slightly. "When we were young, Noah died, and I was badly hurt. She blames me, she has always reminded me that she wished it had been me instead that had died and that Noah had lived. I understand, but you can't let it consume you."

He saw her message, he heard the words but he was beyond comprehension. He had always believed that he needed evil to break bigger evil. That was the way the world had seemed to work. The more you manipulated it, the more you came away with. If that mean that you embraced an evil darker than demons themselves, if you didn't do it, someone else would, and therefore gain power over you. If he had the most power, he was in control, he could do anything. Save the ones he cared about. But without power, he had nothing. But then again, she had no power. She wasn't murdering or killing for power.

"We share a lot it seems, but our paths have been different. I have not let it consume me. I just have let it have control of me." He walked over and sat in the seat next to her. He ran one hand through her hair, and worked up some courage, which he found surprisingly difficult. "You know, you looked beautiful early when you smiled." He had managed to salvage some humanity in his soul. Maybe he should let it take over a bit more. He allowed all his emotions to finally enter his mind after years. And now he could talk in a human manner. To lose a sibling who cared for him was not something he had felt. "I am truly sorry about your brother. I can't imagine what that feels like."

Nadya felt exhausted, it was still early in the morning, but already it had proven to be an eventful day. Talking about her parents, her brother, and her misery had only brought old wounds to the surface and made them hurt anew. Pain could make one weary, she knew all too well. He was quite right, they did seem to have an awfully lot in common. Again she felt it was a bit eerie just how similarly cruel life had been to them. He was a lot soul, to her, someone that had once been good, but had fallen to darkness. She did not think poorly of him for it, but she did think he was going about things the wrong way.

When he sat next to her, she did not seem afraid anymore, but she did tense slightly as he ran his fingers through her hair. A blush came to her cheeks as she looked away, shaking her head slightly as he said she had been beautiful when she smiled. "I am not beautiful." Her grandmother told her constantly that she was not, and went out of her way to point out her flaws. More than that, she felt hideous, because, while he could not see them, she could never forget the horrible scars beneath her dress. His gesture of empathy about her lost brother was appreciated, but she couldn't speak about Noah further, she feared she would cry if she did.

"You are. Do not let others tell you otherwise. Take a necromancers word." He looked at her, and he finally accepted that he had feelings for her. He cared for her, and he wanted to do anything he could to make her feel better, even if he didn't stay to be there forever. He saw the one solution that she didn't approve of, and he knew she wouldn't forgive him for. So, in his humane state, he decided to leave it. "I am evil. There is no denying it. But how does one return from evil Nadya?" He stopped to think. He had to know what she thought. Perhaps it was necessary to keep evil in the world. In him. Who was he without it afterall? Was he just another sheep, who would join the masses on the streets?

He put one hand on hers, not thinking of it, not trying to do anything to seem romantic. He just wanted to see that smile from earlier. He cared for her.

Nadya shook her head again. He didn't know about how horribly disfigured she was, how could he? It was difficult to just accept the compliment; no one complimented her on anything. Still, she couldn't help her cheeks from becoming even more flushed. His insistence made her feel good, but she was also quite sure the praise was undeserved. "Beauty is deceiving."

For the longest time she had refused to look at him, but finally feeling as if she was not on the brink of tears, her violet eyes raised to meet his red ones. It was a serious question, but it was hard to answer that question. His declaration of being evil disturbed her as well. Not because she was afraid, but because she wanted to think better of him than that. "By being a good person, by doing good things. Everyone has evil inside them, just like everyone has good inside them. Maybe because of how hard things have been for you, you have a harder time holding onto the good, but you can't let the evil take over you. You would lose yourself."

Xerordir had laid his hand atop hers and she looked down at it, blinking in surprise. Nadya was uncomfortable with being touched, by anyone. She feared people getting close to her. Everyone she cared about either rejected her or died. Hastily she stood and stepped away a few feet, turning her back on him and hugging herself lightly. He would not do or say such things if he knew about the scars, she reminded herself.

"Perhaps being good would not be easy, after embracing evil the way you seem to have, but even you can surely find some form of light in the darkness. Something good that will anchor you, to keep yourself from completely losing yourself."  Her violet eyes looked up absently at the books in front of her.

He thought as she spoke. He managed to grasp what she was saying, and he comprehended it. He felt the message ring true. He felt a range of emotions as he tried to think of what to say. "Lady Nadya, I feel that, as a personal opinion, it would be nice to get to know one another. Don't you?" He gave her a light smile. He knew some things about her, but not much. Perhaps, if she would allow, she could have a friend. Of course, it would have it's risks. Necromancers gained many enemies, and he had been a necromance for at least 8 years. He had 8 years worth of enemies. If they found out she was even his friend, they would kill her to get to him.

Nadya slowly turned back around to look at Xerordir curiously as he expressed an interest in getting to know her. He was quite strange, and very mysterious. To her, he seemed a puzzle, and Nadya liked puzzles. Of course, he was a very dangerous puzzle, but because of their similar experiences she did feel some connection with him. Perhaps it would be good, for both of them, to have someone they could relate to, even if only for a little while. She didn't know how long he planned to stay there, or in the area, or even in the country.

"I think I would like that. I-I'm sorry I pulled away from you, just now. I just...being touched makes me uncomfortable. It has for a long time."  Ever since the attack that took her brother's life and left her forever scarred. "I just don't want you to think that was because of you, it wasn't."

"What you have to remember is that I am a dangerous person to know. And while I can come to Serendipity often, I will often be away on business." He gave her a long, honest look, and kept his smile. "I can be as humane as possible if that would make it easier for you to know me. I doubt you desire to know me as a murderer." He gave her a smile that said "I am getting better, I don't kill every day". He hoped she would find it amusing.

He thought how he was to keep in contact with her. Letters seemed the best option. Magic was too interruptive. Seeing a swirling vortex open in front of you is scary, even to him. The only issues were, letters provided the issue of interception. He could enchant the letters to be invisible to all but those he desired to see them. But that spell was taxing and difficult. He needed to keep in contact with her, she kept him human. She made him happy for once.

Nadya considered what he said, but finally gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, looking down at the floor. Her entire life had been filled with dangers. Those of the lower caste didn't realize the stresses and dangers that nobles dealt with on a day to day basis. There were constant threats of riots, like the one that killed her parents, then there was assassination and kidnapping as well. "Just living is a danger, there will always be dangers, no matter what decisions I make, or that you make. Danger is part of life."

Rather than reassuring she found his words and smile a little unsettling. Even more than getting to know him, in a kind of way, she wanted to save him. She couldn't know exactly everything he had been through, but she could understand enough, and she knew that she too might have gotten lost in darkness. "I would appreciate that." She looked up with her large violet eyes; they were soft and worried as she walked back over to take her seat beside him again. "I want to help you, Xerordir. I don't want you to be lost."

He heard her words, and knew what she was saying, but wondered if there was a deeper message. Did she actually care for him. She brought out the humane side of him, but he thought that was just compassion. He constantly thought of how he wanted to be hers, but somehow he knew it should not be. "I just don't want to hurt you. Gods know the damage I could do to your family reputation. And no doubt if your grandmother knew, she would disown you to keep herself clean." He dared not think what the implications of having a necromancer as a lover would be.

She wanted to save him though. Was he beyond saving? He had never thought he could be, and instead sought to be a force to be reckoned with. He still wanted to. He had learned a cool new flame spell. He knew how to make a lot of things, fire being one. But sheets of flame, for multiple enemies. He decided to summon another orb, this time he was gonna ask it to search through the books for a black lightning spell. He did so,and watched it fly off to find him the spell. If he had that spell, he could rip through dragon scales.

To be honest, Nadya didn't know if Xerordir could be saved, or if he even really wanted to be saved from darkness. Was it really her place to even try to bring him back from whatever evil he had embraced? No, she supposed it really wasn't, but she still wanted to try. He did say something, though, that finally made her smile once again. It was a soft, shy smile, with a hint of sorrow. So he did not want to hurt her? He was concerned about her? That, at least, was something.

"You won't hurt me, Xerordir. Whatever evil lurks in you, I can sense that much."  Nadya didn't realize quite how he thought of her, who on earth would actually want someone like her? She was mousy, timid, weak. For her part, she felt a kinship with him; they shared a lot of the same pain. The idea of romance wasn't within her grasp. She just couldn't picture being with someone, of being accepted. All her life she had only known rejection.

"As for grandmother, well, I'm the only one that knows the truth, everyone else still thinks you're just a scholar, and we'll keep it that way. I...I may not like that you practice dark magic, but I would never..."  Her words trailed off as she blushed and looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. How could she turn him in as a necromancer? No, no, that was not something she could do.

She ignored his orb as it searched the library again. He had said he would not try to take the book, and no matter how silly she might seem for it, she trusted him.

He looked up to see the orb picking up books and scanning a light over the cover. In reality the light went down through the last pages of the book and onto the other cover. The only way to see was if one scanned the book you were reading. If that happened, the orb hit the reader over the head. If the summoner was reading, the orb exploded because of conflicting commands. He never understood why. He had never commanded it to do that. He then tore his vision away, returning to Nadya.

"You want to save me?" He thought long and hard about this. Did just using black magic make him a bad person? Did it make him evil? Or was it him that was evil, and black magic was just like any other magic, but that it defied nature, life, death and harnessed powers which were born of darkness and corruption? But she wanted to save him. He didn't think she knew how humane he had become since he begun talking to her. But then if anyone else was to save him, it would be the punishments in the afterlife. He wanted saving. He wanted to be human, even if it was just around her that he was truly human.

Nadya nodded her head at his question. Of course she wanted to save him. She couldn't just pass up an opportunity to help someone who she thought needed help. Not that she really knew what she could actually do to help someone come back from darkness. If he was truly evil, and liked it that way, what could she really do? "I want to try. If I fail, so be it, but I need to at least try."

Sighing, she looked up at him; did he understand why she felt the need to help him? She wasn't quite sure why she wanted to save him so badly. Maybe it was fear of what paths her life might lead. They had both faced similar trials in their relatively young lives. Another thought occurred to her. "Do you even want to be saved? I can't help you if you don't want to be helped." She blushed deeply and looked down again. "You probably think I'm just a silly fool."

She just had to ask him if he wanted to be saved. She couldn't save him without knowing if he wanted to, but he had forgotten what it felt like to be human. He couldn't save himself from accepting the evils of death and dark magic on his own. But perhaps she could. "I don't expect you to completely save me Nadya. That will be done when I suffer in the afterlife for my crimes. But if you could show me how to be human again, you could stop me getting worse." The evil part of him screamed at his mind, screaming that he should kill her. He resisted with little effort. He had something to hold onto.

"I won't be able to give up the power. Not now, not ever. It is my only source of power. You don't have to approve of it, but I make a living off of it. And how I use it lets me defend people. People like you. Please just try and make me humane again." He gave her a smile, hoping she understood what he meant. He wanted her to understand that he couldn't give up the magic. He needed to survive somehow.

Nadya sighed softly, glancing up at him with an unhappy frown. Did he really believe he would be punished in the afterlife even if he let go of his evil ways? She didn't want to think that such a thing was true. "I'll do my best. I don't know that I could even save anyone from anything, but I still want to try. Maybe if I can help you it would mean there was hope for someone weak like me. I just...you can still have power without being evil! There are many great mages who do not resort to dark magic."

She knew that one could be powerful without being corrupted by darkness. Surely he was capable of changing his focus of power from something dark and cruel to something less loathesome. Nadya didn't know if she could convince him of that or not, though. He seemed to wish to cling to the darkness he professed to have lurking within his soul.

"You stand here in front of a murderer who has summoned the dead, called on demons and crushed souls. You are telling that man you can change him, save him. You are not weak. You are brave, and kind, and compassionate. Not weak. Weakness would have been giving up the book to me despite what you have gone through because of it." She was right. He could perhaps strike a compromise. A deal of sorts. After all, what would he do with the magic he had learned? He couldn't forget it. He had mastered the dark bolt spell, and was close to mastering the art of summoning zombies.

Or he could lie. Dark magic itself wasn't evil, it drew on the evils in a person, yes, but if he could keep that evil in check, he could keep using it. Just not when she was around. "I will try and stop using it. My job requires me to, but necromancy feeds on things other than evil. And I have no other skills but magic. So if you wish that I would not use dark magic, I won't." He smiled honestly at her. Necromancy wasn't evil, that was a definite. When perfected, necromancers could restore men and women to a living state, not just zombies and skeletons.

"You're too generous with your praise." No matter what he said, Nadya still didn't feel very confident in herself. She was weak, that was something she had accepted a long time ago. She also knew she was a coward, but she didn't try to argue with him about it. Arguing with him about magic and dark magic and the differences between them didn't seem like it would have much of an effect either. She really couldn't stop him from practicing his necromancy.

Shifting uncomfortably on the sofa, she sighed. "I would appreciate it. Especially here, please don't practice such things in my home, and please don't kill anyone, not here."  Even if she could only get him to reform while in her company, it was a start. "So now that you aren't here for the book anymore, how long do you intend to stay? Are you going to spend a few hours looking through our magic collection? You could stay longer than that, we have very fine guest suites. I could have my servants prepare one for you while we have mid-morning tea."

((Idk why, but listening to Biblical by Biffy Clyro helped me write this post.))

"If I was generous with praise, I would give people praise constantly. I don't." He gave her a cold look. He also gave her an extended hand of friendship. He then smiled at her, being as warm and welcoming as he could. He could have lied, promised to give up dark magic, but he couldn't. It was all he had, so a few days of not practising it would be fine, he could deal with it. And if he was going to stop killing, he could handle that. "I would love to stay thank you. That would be lovely." The orb pinged and brought him a book.

He had forgotten about the orb. It brought him the book, dusty and in disrepair. It opened the book to a page demonstrating the incantation and effect. According to the book, it would shear through mithril armour if cast correctly, and could kill a dragon in several hits. He needed this spell badly. Dark lightning. Real lightning spells were supposed to be powerfull, let alone lightning made of dark energies. That it only took one soul of energy was fine. Every kill he made gave him another soul. And he had killed dozens. Animals even gave souls. Which meant he had hundreds of souls in his possession. He could kill a couple of dragons with this power. And the incantation was so simple. It was just purely the literal of "dark lightning" in demon.

Nadya wasn't sure whether to be relieved for worried that he'd accepted her invitation to say. The enormity of what she was undertaking was starting to sink in. How could she possibly expect to help save anyone from darkness? Frankly she didn't know if it was possible or not, but she found a steely resolve forming in her. Maybe she couldn't save Xerordir from evil, but she could try. They had both suffered in their lives, and she had always felt so crushingly alone. Perhaps if neither of them had to be alone in their tragedy, it would help them both.

Smiling, she moved to the door as he began looking over another book. Peeking her head out she informed a servant to prepare rooms for their scholarly guest so that he could stay and study the library for as long as he needed to. Of course she told them they were ready for tea. Closing the door and plunging them back into privacy she turned to study her guest as he studied his book. Faintly she wondered if her grandmother would be upset with her for inviting him to stay longer than the day, but almost immediately she decided that in this case, she didn't care if her grandmother approved or not.

"Your rooms will be ready when you wish to retire for the evening. They'll bring refreshments shortly for us. Our servants will be happy to serve your meals here in the library, in your rooms, or in the great hall, wherever you prefer, Sir. The library is going to be at your disposal, study all the books here if you like, except the one, please. Maybe when you're not studying I can show you around the grounds. Grandmother is fond of extravagant things. Even I have to admit some of her collections are impressive."

Unconsciously she winced slightly. Her words were quite formal and proper, but she really didn't know how else to speak to most people. She hadn't a friend in the world since her brother passed away. Nadya didn't know how to speak in a familiar manner with people. Her own grandmother wouldn't speak with her in a friendly manner. It was all formality and propriety.

Xerordir summoned the well of magic inside of him, summoning a window to the demon realm about the size of a human torso.

"Let me try something."

"Nahdia..." Unwittingly, his pronounciation of the spell he had just acquired sounded exactly like her name, and instantly a bolt of black lightning flew threw portal, followed by a screech as it sheared through everything in it's path. Travelling that way through the portal amplified magic a thousand fold. What would take out a dragon, was an army killer going through the portal. Anything going the other way was reduced to a thousandth of it's power. In response, a petty demon mage threw a fireball through, which was turned into nothing but a speck of ash upon arrival.

Xerordir put a bubble of black magic round the ember concealing it. Then he spoke an incantation backwards, inverting the meaning in the demon language. It would have the opposite effect. Death curses instead resurrected loved ones as ghosts to haunt, and harmful spells became items of value. It was only possible on things done by black magic, but it could be done.

"Open your hand. This is a trick I learned."

Nadya watched with violet eyes wide as the portal opened and he did something. She really didn't know what exactly he had done, except that it was magical and dangerous and dark. The sounds were almost as bad as the sight of that dark energy shooting through the portal. Maybe she was naïve, but death and killing were an ugly business. At least whatever was on the other side of that portal sounded inhuman and as dark as whatever Xerordir had sent through.

Magic, light or dark, was terrifying and appealing all at the same time. Her parents had paid a steep price for their involvement with magical forces. Ultimately their dabbling in the dark arts had left her and Noah orphans. Magic was so steeply entrenched in the society of Serendipity; it was strange for her grandmother and her to be so closed off from it.

"Was that dark magic? Please don't do anything that's going to bring trouble to this house." When he told her to open her hand, she hesitated, but stepped forward tentatively and held out her hand, not sure what to expect.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing... I've been doing it long enough..." Xerordir brought the orb over her hand, and it popped out of existence, letting a black rose float gently down into her hand, defying the weight of the object. It had been stripped of it's thorns, and it's petals had subtle hints that suggested they were tinged purple, just as the leaves of the rose were.

"A gift. For you generosity and understanding. Just my way of saying thank you." He smiled, as he closed the book he had opened to get the lightning spell, as well as the portal to the unthinkable hells beyond this realm.

"So... You said you would like to take me to see the grounds?" Xerordir smiled, waiting for her to lead the way.

Her grandmother would have called her naïve and stupid, showing so much faith in someone like him, but Nadya wasn't afraid of Xerordir, not really. She allowed his words to reassure her. Nothing bad was going to happen, he wasn't going to hurt her, and he had no reason to. At least, she didn't think she'd given him any reason to harm her.

"It's beautiful." Her fingers closed around the stem of the black rose, bringing it up to her nose to lightly take in the scent. Nadya hadn't thought something so innocent could be done, especially considering what she'd seen of the portal. Of course, she knew that the rose wasn't the only thing he'd accomplished, but the other thing didn't concern her. She didn't want to know everything he was capable of, to be truthful.

A faint smile came to her lips as she peered up at him over the rose. She had offered to show him around, hadn't she? Well, it would be rude not to, besides, it could be nice to explore the large manor with someone actually there to talk with. Reaching up she fixed the rose into her hair before turning and heading for the doors. "You've seen the library already, which is my favorite room, but we also have a lovely music room, an art gallery, and the gardens are my next favorite after this room. What would you like to see first?"

"I feel some fresh air after reading is always a good combination. It certainly was a favourite activity of mine before I was forced to flee Thanatos. Nowadays it's a rare luxury of mine." Xerordir stood near her, adjusting himself to look less like the herald of doom he would become. He didn't know how much the sound of his voice would turn into a horn for the death of many.

He didn't know just how he would rise and fall as a being of death. He would be forgotten. Left to rot in the history of the world.

And of course. They would forget he was human. Those that remembered would despise him as a force of death, or worship him as a harbinger of death.

"I think it would be good to go to the gardens to catch the last rays of sunlight."

Nadya smiled and led the way down a long corridor of finely carved and polished wood. Doors opened up on either side, leading into various rooms. Most were obviously sitting rooms, there was one that seemed to contain nothing but sculptures and paintings, and another was filled with marvelously crafted instruments. One thing was certain; everything seen was of expensive and careful crafting.

"The gardens were something my mother loved dearly. My grandmother thinks gardens are a waste of space, but she hasn't done anything to harm the gardens because my father had them made for my mother. Her favorite flowers were the tulips. Do you have a favorite? I like the orchids myself." She wasn't sure if her attempts to engage him in light conversation were clumsy or not, but she at least felt like she should make the effort.

"I've always found that the flytraps of Thanatos were exceptionally beautiful when they're in bloom... They flower about mid winter with a deep, dark purple flower with a gorgeous white core to them. They look like roses with daisy centres to their flowers, until about mid spring, where almost overnight, every flower on the plant turns into a meat eating head. Beautiful until that point." Xerordir remembered being bitten by one, as it had given him a small scar on his elbow that had persisted since his childhood.

"But in terms of what we'd most likely see, outside of Thanatos, it has to be lavender. I don't know why, that pale purple has an eerie sense of tranquillity." Xerordir took to the conversation casually, quite enjoying just talking to her normally.

Listening with rapt attention, Nadya tried to form an image of the plant he was describing. She had never seen one of these things. They sounded beautiful, at least until the part where they turned into insect eating heads. Maybe one day she would get to see one of them for herself. Wouldn't that be something? Of course, the only way that would ever happen is if someone were to bring one here. That could probably be arranged. Her grandmother certainly wasn't going to let her go see on in its natural habitat.

Her eyes lit up when he mentioned lavender. That was the color of her eyes. "Lavender is my second favorite. I love the coloring and it smells so wonderful. It grows all over the hillsides around here. In the spring the entire countryside smells of lavender."

She led him out a set of glass double doors onto a stone patio as she spoke. A river rock path snaked its way through a maze of flowerbeds. A carved fountain of a fair maiden robed in only enough flowers to keep her from being indecent sat in the center of the half-acre space, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence.

"Unfortunately, they're slightly vicious, so getting close is hard. But when they flower they do make a wonderful healing potion too.  Not many people know that, but they do. It'll heal things from almost certain death as a flower, but is certain death when it's past the flowers. It's an odd plant. Very dangerous, but odd." Xerordir made idle conversation about the plant before answering her question.

"It must be a lovely time of year to be here... I've always wondered where to settle down when it's all over, when I feel it's time... Maybe here is the right place for me... What do you think?"

Nadya smiled shyly when he said that it must be a lovely time of year to be in her country. Of course, she always thought it was wonderful to live in the Wester Highlands of Serendipity. The young lady had lived here all her life and she couldn't imagine a more beautiful place. A soft blush did come to her cheeks when he mentioned settling here some day.

"Oh, well I honestly couldn't say, Sir Xerordir. It's hardly my place to say, or even suggest, where you should spend your time. I will say that you would find a welcome here in this house anytime you did come to my little corner of the world." Her pale eyes moved over the flowers, admiring their beauty, even when they weren't flowered properly.

"And I am very grateful for your generosity. I will try and pop in now and then to say hello. I do enjoy being here actually. It's nice to have living company. Doesn't smell nearly as bad." Xerordir had to admit that his career path had it's downfalls. Including the smell.

"Now that I sit and consider it, my soul is tainted. I don't know if it can be saved." In his head, he was trying desperately not to have a change of heart right now. So desperately that he was considering killing something.

No, I won't. I will make this work...

Nadya smiled softly, keeping her eyes out on the gardens, eyes focused on something far away, like a distant memory. It would seem less lonely here with Xerordir visiting every now and then. She liked that thought. The house was huge and empty save the servants and her grandmother. "It isn't just generosity; your visits will be enjoyable - a little pinch of excitement in an otherwise dreary setting."

A soft hum escaped her as her new friend began to voice doubts about salvation. Maybe he was right, but accepting defeat was not something that would come to her easily. Besides, she couldn't just let him give up before he even tried, could she? "Maybe you can't be saved, but what if you can? Would you not bother trying because of the possibility of failure?  Nothing would ever get done if people thought like that."

"Is it bad to be tainted? A tainted soul does not necessarily mean evil nature. You know that I have a tainted soul yet here I stand, commenting on flowers, and me settling down. Do I need saving? I mean, it's not what I do that defines me necessarily, me as a person." Xerordir was still trying to overcome the argument in his head. It was all still difficult for him.

"Well, that will be decided in time.... Come, let's go inside." Xerordir turned to go indoors.

And they spent the rest of their time conversing, and generally enjoying themselves. The next day, Xerordir said his thank you and bid them all farewell before continuing on his travels. And whenever he could, he came to visit Nadya.

But then one month, the visits stopped. No more messages came, no more visits.

===============================

The hooded figure had his head hung low, and his large cloak trawled over him in the midnight gloom, as he slowly walked the town that was Nadya's home. The mere presence of what appeared to be the harbinger of doom would wake most people from their slumber. The ground was layered in a thick, impenetrable low fog, only making the hooded figure scarier.

He approached Nadya's home, and when he reached the door, he did not knock, he simply stood there. He exponentially increased the field of his dread, so that it would reach Nadya, no matter where she was in her house.

Everything was drawn, in morbid, dark fashion to him.

Some of the best times for Nadya were Xerordir's visits. It was the only time she didn't feel utterly alone in the world. For a while, it was perfect. Then he stopped coming, there were no more letters even. Life didn't return to the way it was before she met him. Things were darker, even more lonely and dreary than before. The violet-eyed maiden retreated back into her library and rarely left it in the daylight hours, even to eat.

It was the dead of night when death came to the Wester Highlands. Everyone could feel it. An encroaching doom that sent chills through all it passed. At first it felt far away, as she lay there in her room, staring at the arching ceilings. When it was so close as to be unbearable she rose from her bed and put a warm robe over her shift. Several of the servants were awake, whispering uneasily to themselves. None dared so much as peek out a window. Something was out there. Something terrifying and they were afraid.

Nadya wasn't afraid, though. Not really. Someone tried to stop her as she made her way to the front door, but she ignored them. The double doors were thrown open and her soft eyes gleamed in the darkness as she peered out at the figure on her doorstep, her chin lifting defiantly. "Be about your business and be done with it, creature of darkness."

Xerordir had been standing at the door for about a minute before it opened, and he was told to be gone from the premises.

"No way to treat old friends, Nadya. But then again, change has happened." Xerordir kept his head down so that she couldn't see the skull that was underneath the hood. He wasn't the same man that had left her house for the last time all those months ago. That man was dead.

"I suppose I don't get an invite inside? Or do you not allow 'creatures of darkness' inside your home as you once did?" Xerordir seemed almost demanding in his attitude, but he still didn't raise his head. He would freak her out where she was most vulnerable. His new personality was like that.

Intense violet eyes softened as he spoke, there was a tremor of surprise in Nadya's voice as she looked at the cloaked figure in disbelief. This couldn't be. After so long with no sign and no word, had Xerordir actually showed up on her doorstep? Change had happened, he said, and those words made her shudder, suddenly feeling vulnerable and even slightly afraid. Her skin was crawling from the sense of darkness, of evil, that radiated from his very being.

"Xerordir...? This can't be right. No. It isn't you. It isn't!" She wouldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it. She had tried so hard to save him, but she had failed. Nadya had known she would fail, but she had wanted to believe it so bad. Tears ran down her cheeks. "What happened to you?"

Up until the point, Xerordir hadn't felt any compulsion. But when she asked what happened to him, he felt the compulsion to pull his hood back. If she was careful, she would notice the skeletal hand, before she noticed the skull.

"Put simply: I died." Xerordir turned his head up, and above him, lightning cracked through the sky, illuminating the surrounding area briefly.

All around stood demons, skeletons, zombies, and other ghastly horrors, but only visible in the lightning. His red eyes illuminated the air in front of him, but only enough to cast a red, eerie light over things.

"So. Can I come in?"

The shock and horror on Nadya's face was unmistakable when she realized that he was a walking skeleton. He had died? What had happened after that to cause such unholy terror as this thing that stood before her. This was not Xerordir, not anymore. This was not her friend. Her friend at least had still been human somewhere deep inside himself.

"What reason could you possibly have to come in? What made you think that you should come back here. To show me...this. You should have stayed dead, Xerordir. You don't belong here anymore." Tears flowed down her face as she said the words, but she could not say anything else. He was dead and damned, there was nothing more she could do for him.

"Oh, I came to tell you something." Xerordir's eyes brightened, and he let out a ghastly sigh of a breath, before continuing what he was saying. "Have you felt the sun's shine lately? It's been growing weaker. The air is darker, colder than before. The clouds have grown thick, and mountains have begun to tremble in the face of the oncoming storm. The waters will turn red with your kind's blood, and gods will fall from their thrones. The end is near. And I have been given a privilege. I may select ten people. Ten people to survive and live in the demon realm that will devour this realm. They will be protected from the harms of that realm, and they will be allowed to live."

Xerordir held out a skeletal hand, the thunder calming for a moment. "I'm inviting you to survive the oncoming purge. Will you stay and fall to death, or survive?"

Nadya stared at Xerordir in disbelief as he spoke. This was madness. When he held out his hand to her she looked down at it and stared as if it were a writhing viper. A darkness crossed her features, violet eyes blazing in anger.

"How dare you. You may be damned, but you're not taking me with you. My the gods have mercy on your soul, Xerordir, if you still have one. Leave, and don't come back." She stepped back and slammed the door. Unwilling to gaze upon his horror any longer. Heart breaking that he had fallen to...that.

Xerordir snarled, and wandered across the street. The screams of terror and death would be obvious to all, and their cause, a deathly silent reaper. A harbinger of doom to all.

And just as quickly he had arrived, he had left.

=====================================

It was midday, and Xerordir approached the door. If this ended badly, he wouldn't try again. He was a freak, a monster. Kirnardaz had twisted him, turned him into something he had never dreamed he would be. And now he had to make it all right.

Starting with Nadya.

It had been about 3 months, so she'd probably forgotten about him. But he wanted to make things right. His now blue glowing eyes and white robe made him seem much friendlier, and his aura was gone, replaced instead with a light aura, something positive. He was literally the reciprocal of himself three months prior.

He knocked on the door, hoping that Nadya wouldn't freak out. It was obvious he had changed again. Very obvious.

Nadya was sitting quietly in the library, embroidering the sleeves of a new dress with roses painstakingly crafted from golden thread. The dress she wore was a deep plum, with slashes of creamy lavender in the wide skirts. The bodice was snug, with a neckline that dipped in a modest "babydoll" fashion and sleeves that hung off the shoulders, fitting snug at the upper arm, but slashing and trailing down from elbow on.

She certainly wasn't expecting company, but when there came a knocking at the front door she set her project aside and rose, soft slippers barely making a sound on the carpet as she glided gracefully though the halls. Not a single servant passed her as she made her way to the door, but she didn't really think much of it. They had so few of them about these days.

When the door opened, Nadya peeked out, soft violet eyes gazing at the white-robed figure standing there. For the longest time she simply stared at him, saying nothing at all. Finally she managed to regain her voice, though it was soft. "I asked you not to come back."

((OOC: The song, Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy4HA3vUv2c) heavily influenced this post.))

"Nadya, I'm dead. If I want to change who I am, the I just buy some new clothes, dye my hair and start acting differently. I won't pretend to be the Xerordir you once knew. But I'm damned close. I just lost weight it all. He lifted his head up, his blue eyes being gentle, and kind. The skull seemed to have a happy impression, as if it were capable of changing expressions.

"And if I want to say sorry to old friends that I hurt and betrayed, then all I have to do is do it. I choose when, and where. I could wait until the end of time if I wanted to, find you in some long forgotten afterlife, and just before the end, I could say sorry, try and make things right." Xerordir's expression seemed to shift to one of regret and sorrow. It was very clear that he was being sincere.

"And if I wanted to tell someone how I felt about them, I would choose to come to their house, in Serendipity, and tell them. Right then and there. Even after I betrayed her, hurt her. Nadya, you know what I'm saying, and I'm not saying it would ever work out between us, but I thought you should know. I'm not asking you to wait. But when I finally come to collect you, when your time on this earth is up..." A blue tear of light rolled from the eye socket of Xerordir's skull.

"Promise me I can spend time with you?"

It was an impressive speech, wasn't it? Nadya couldn't help but wonder if it was rehearsed. How many times had he practiced his little lamentation? Those soft violet eyes were full of hurt and mistrust, and they shimmered with tears. There was an overwhelming desire to believe him, to trust that he meant everything he said, but after his last visit, after what he had become, how could she really trust anything about him.

"You have some nerve, coming here and throwing this on me after everything else you've done. When you first came here, what seems forever ago now, I wanted so badly to help you. I wanted to bring light back into your darkness. I thought you wanted that too, but I was wrong. If you're close to who you once were then you don't even mean what you're not saying. You care about power more than me. Don't deny it."

Her eyes squeezed shut, tears running down from the corners and she raised a hand to lightly cover her mouth as she bit her lip to choke back a soft sob. "You're dead, you said it yourself. I've lost you twice already, and here you come to make my heart mourn for you again. Don't ask me to promise something that I can't."

"You know that I didn't expect you to believe me? You did change me. I resolved to try and find balance. An old friend caused problems, affected me, manipulated me. He controlled me, as if I were a marionette. I don't expect you to believe me, but eventually, you will have to see me again. Everyone will. I have to offer everyone a choice. Even if you don't forgive me, can I at least come in and explain what happened?" Xerordir didn't expect her to let him into the house either.

"I'm not asking you to promise your heart to me. Your heart should go to someone more deserving. I did hurt you, I don't deny that. At the time, I did care about power. But I have seen it's ugly side, the face of hell itself. I don't care about it anymore. I'm just asking that eventually, you find it in yourself to forgive me. Even if it takes a change in perspective." Xerordir's form shifted, and he was flesh again, the form now his to control again.

He held his hand out, his red eyes the same as they used to be, the same face. Feature for feature.

"Please?"

All of this was really overwhelming. Nadya didn't know if she should believe a word he said. It wasn't as if he hadn't lied to her before. Would she be naive and silly to not slam the door in his face again? Her grandmother would have known exactly what to do. Her grandmother would have scorned Xerordir right from the beginning, never would she have befriended a mere scholar to begin with.

"What is there to explain?" She whispered softly, watching him transform in front of her eyes from a skeleton to the man he had been before his fall. That only made it so much harder. The lady of Lancaster had called this man her friend, and then she had found out in the most horrible way that he had not only died, but had become a monster. Now he was here again - changed yet again.

Violet eyes stared at the out held hand, unsure if she should dare take it. Nadya couldn't stop tears from leaking from the corner of her eyes. After a little hesitation she finally took his hand with no small amount of trepidation.

"More than most could comprehend. But I am confident you can understand why." Xerordir took a very cautious, sheepish step inside, seeing if he was actually allowed inside.

"Come, let us go to the library, to talk."

((OOC: Shortest post of the thread, I swear))

Nadya let him inside. Part of her wanted to just make him leave again. Still, he had been a friend to her - once. At the very least, letting him explain himself seemed fair. If she didn't like what she heard she could just demand he leave. Right?

"Yes, the library..." She murmured softly, almost numb from the shock of everything. They'd first spent time together in the library. That was where their friendship had blossomed, where she had first pledged to help save him. It seemed almost poetic that it was there that it would end.

Leading the way she moved quickly, not sure if her grandmother would or should know that Xerordir was there. As soon as they were inside, surrounded by her countless books, Nadya walked over to a chair and collapsed into it wearily. "I don't even know where to begin..."

"I do..." Xerordir sat in the chair, his human form matching exactly the one he had first been in when he entered the library for the first time.

"I suppose it started when I got possessed." Xerordir sighed, remembering his old, power-hungry self. Remembering the old Xerordir. The one that needed her help.

"It was not long after my last visit in human form, my body was inhabited by a demon, a combination of me attempting to recruit a young boy into the field of necromancy, and the demon's considerable willpower. It entered my mind, and blocked certain memories. One of which, was your visits. It didn't want me to overpower it through positive emotion, it needed something to feed on." Xerordir, deciding this needed to be a visual story, melded his features with Kirnardaz's, producing a red skinned, red eyed half demon.

It was all so much. Nadya listened quietly, hands folded in her lap as she let him explain what had happened. She had wondered what had kept him away, but finding out he had died had been a big shock and a painful loss. Now that he was telling her, she wasn't even sure she wanted to know the details. None of it would make him less dead.

When he changed his appearance she gasped in horror, violet eyes widening. She had witnessed him change from a skeleton to the familiar form of the man she'd called her friend, but to see him take the appearance of a demon was a bit of a shock.

"Oh no, why didn't you stay? I begged you not to go..." She squeezed her eyes shut. If he'd have just stayed with her none of this would have ever happened. Nadya didn't know how, but she would have protected him...somehow!

"I know. And my mistake was not listening Nadya. However, to grieve over another's mistakes is to make a mistake. I made my mistakes, and they landed me where I am. And I am honestly better for it." Xerordir's newfound immortality may have provided him perspective that Nadya couldn't understand, and he accepted that. She saw a dead man, where he saw someone with the rest of eternity to set everything right.

"But, after a time, the demon released me. Partially. It kept me in it's service, slowly making me more and more power hungry, until I decided a visit to an underworld was in order. I sought more power. But it proved my undoing. For in the underworld, I strayed into a field of hell, whereupon I found my place of rest after death. Then, I was killed, by my sister's agonised, tortured skeleton." Xerordir let the form shift to a skeletal one, no wings or robes, just a plain skeleton.

Nadya kept her face in her hands, her eyes squeezed shut as he went on. Of course she didn't have the same perspective as he did. Nothing he could do or say would convince her that he was somehow better off dead. In fact, just his saying that caused anger to stir within her heart. What a cruel, idiotic thing for him to say!

As Xerordir explained how he ultimately met his end, at the hands of his sister, no less, Nadya raised her head, violet eyes watching him change into a skeleton passively. Her initial fear was quickly being swept away by something else.

"You're better off for it..." Her voice held a hard edge, though there was also something else. Despair, perhaps. "How could you possibly say that you are better off? You're dead. You haven't learned anything!" The anger rose in her voice. "You haven't given up your lust for power at all if you think this is better."

"Nadya, I do not deny, my personality isn't that changed from when I first met you, but I assure you, I do not wish to have power. Although my form is immortal, I still have the mind and soul of a man, just as easily corrupted. You are throwing baseless accusations at me out of grief. I have seen it in the families of those who I come to collect." Xerordir remained calm, and passive. He would not get into an argument over this. He wouldn't.

"Anyway, continuing on with my recent history..." Xerordir's skeleton changed, into the white form, with blue eyes, white robes, and glowing white wings. "The goddess in charge of the underworld I lived in selected me to be her reaper. To take the souls of the deceased and guide them to her underworld. To the afterlife. But, even in death, I was still a thrall to Kirnardaz's will, and he soon removed me from the underworld, and corrupted every fibre of my being with his unholy presence."

The colours on Xerordir began to change, the skeleton went from white to a musky cream, and his robe changed to black, his eyes fading through purple, from blue to red, and his wings shed their feathers, black feathers replacing them.

"I became a harbinger of doom. That was when I last visited you."

Baseless accusations out of grief? Did he think she was stupid? Nadya was angry, she shouldn't have let him in. It didn't matter what he had to say. What was it going to change? Absolutely nothing! Xerordir was dead, and that was all there was to it. The details weren't all that important were they? She didn't even know what his point was anymore. What could he possibly be trying to accomplish?

"You shouldn't have come to me then, and you shouldn't have come now. I don't know what you really want, but I don't know of anything at all I have to give you or that you would want, except maybe that stupid book you came here for so long ago. You know where it is, take it and leave if that's what you're after. No need to put me through more than you already have."

His appearance as that evil, vile creature that had come to her before did not get so much as a bat of the eye this time. He wasn't going to shock her or scare her anymore.

"Let me finish, if you will." Xerordir remained perfectly calm, shifting his form into the newest one, habitually clearing his throat.

"Then... He tried to invade this world, flood it with death, and violence. However, his realm collapsed under it's size, and he was rendered near powerless by it. I was freed, and I took up a job as a reaper, finding comfort that I put the dead to rest now, instead of taking them from their graves like I once did. It is fitting." Xerordir would have smiled if he wasn't bound by skeletal limits.

"And I do not want your book. I do not want more power. I am content with my current position."

Let him finish...how could he be so calm? Nadya couldn't even sit still, instead she jumped up and began pacing furiously as he finished speaking. Whether it was nervousness, anger, or sorrow, she couldn't really even decipher how she even felt right then.

"It's a good thing you're content, I guess, since I can't see you being able to change it. I just don't understand why..." There was a ton of different things racing through her mind. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask him, and to rage at him.

How could he be content like this? Had he not been content with her? Of course not, he left her behind, so obviously there were other things he needed at that time. "Why'd you come back here? Just to explain what happened? Why? I could have gone my whole life without knowing and probably have been happier not knowing."

At least she could have held hope that he had simply gone about his life and forgotten. Now it was too late. He was dead and that knowledge would linger with her for the rest of her life.

"I thought you'd like to know that you succeeded. That you did save me. My time with you, was the only reason I didn't fill my spot in that field of hell. The goddess of that underworld saw the same good in me as you did. And she only saw it because you did. And she restored my memories after I was freed, and it changed me. Seeing how I died. Seeing how hurt you were. It did change me. And I came to thank you for that." Xerordir's voice was soft, and calm, and he let an image replace his skeletal form, an image of his fleshed form, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a white clothing. He looked purely human now.

"I also wanted to apologise for last time. I was not myself. And I wanted to see you. Before the day that I come to collect you, when your time on this earth is finally up. I can destroy that book if you'd like. Obliterate it entirely. Do you want me to destroy it? If not, it will remain with you, until you find another with the means, or you die."

Why did he have to keep talking? Curse him! Nadya wanted to be furious with him. Anger was so much easier than the alternative. Her mind kept trying to frantically draw up venomous words to throw at him, things to tear down everything he said, but she couldn't. Maybe that was just a tiny bit vindictive. He had hurt her deeply, and she wanted to hurt him back, but she didn't really want to hurt him, that much she knew. Even know, knowing everything, she wanted to just run over and embrace him.

Slender shoulders slumped in utter defeat. He said that she had saved him, but it didn't feel that way. Perhaps his soul had been saved, but that was a paltry consultation prize to the realization that they wouldn't be able to be together as long as she lived. Numbly she nodded her head and moved over to the shelves where the secret panel was, and triggered the opening mechanism. Nadya pulled the heavy black volume from it's small hiding place and, holding it away from her body, brought it over to him.

"Make sure this filthy thing can never hurt anyone again." She whispered, violet eyes shimmering with tears.

Xerordir nodded, and summoned Guinevere, who stood by the book, and vaporised it.

"Thank you Guinevere." Guinevere's aura was clearly one of purity, promoting happiness in it's range.

"You're welcome Xerordir." She disappeared as quickly as she had disappeared, and book was gone.

"There you go. It's gone. Forever." Xerordir hoped she would be happy with how it had been dealt with. If Nadya decided she wasn't happy with it, he didn't know what to do. And that made him seem guilty of taking it.

"So, do you want me to leave? I've nothing more to say, and if you desire, I will leave you in peace until the end of your days." Xerordir spoke plainly, unsure of what to say next. What to do.

Nadya blinked as some appeared out of nowhere and made the book disappear. She had no idea what had been done to the horrid thing, but as it vanished Nadya felt a great deal of relief. It didn't matter what had been done with that cursed thing, as long as it was out of her house and her life forever.

Did she want him to leave? Part of her said yes, she wanted him to go away and to never come back. Cutting him out of her life was the easiest, least painful thing she could think to do in this situation. Still, another part of her didn't want for him to go. She truly had cared for him.

"If there's nothing else to be said...I guess you should. I'm sure you've got a lot of work to do." Was there really nothing else he had to say to her? Nadya didn't know what else to say, really.

"If that's what you want, then I will return to my duties. I did take the day off however. Not many people scheduled to die today. One of the junior reapers got my shift today." Xerordir stood up, feeling that he hadn't exactly done a great job of patching things up.

"Ever wanted to get hugged by a grim reaper?" He asked awkwardly, feeling that a mere hug wasn't too much to ask of Nadya at this point. He'd asked her to hear his tale, and that was probably painful for her.

"I'll let you brag about it and stuff if you want..."