With ice cold hands [Bladeswipe]

[Heartfrost]

Nessa was once again walking. Seeking refugee from the rain and the bad weather pestering the land. The Baroness pulled her brown hood further down (if that was even possible) in an attempt to avoid more of the rain.

She was home in Altas Verde, the province which had been given to her family. The province her family was set to guard over but also rule. Nessa took both parts very seriously. She knew that those of lesser nobility envied her, despised her even for her power. She would - no matter if they also held the title of baron or baroness - be higher on the social ladder than they would. She had the ability to add in a "High" before "Baroness", easily standing outside the crowd of her lessers, showing that she was part of the Great House Feyal, not some minor House who had come into power through marriage or because of the size of their pockets.

But being able to flaunt that title of High Baroness did not come without price. I mentioned earlier that the raven-haired baroness took both parts seriously. Now I have mentioned power. So let us go to the guard-part. It was Nessa's duty to protect her people, to make sure they were kept out of harm's way.

This was the very reason she was in the forest today, not dressed as she usually was in her green gowns, decorated with jade and emeralds. No, she wore something far more practical. Nessa was wearing a hunter's outfit, with high quality boots of soft but sturdy leather. The leather outfit was accompanied by green fabric to be worn under and Nessa's mark was visible on one of her gloves. A lizard on top of a gem. Slung over the Baroness shoulder was a quiver with arrows and a bow. The bow looked well used but also well taken care of. Nessa smiled fondly when she stroke out to touch the top of the bow. She had taken the string of to avoid getting it wet in this rain but she couldn't do much about the bow. She had no cloth to hide it with.

When Nessa looked up from her daydreaming see saw a castleruin loom above her. The wall in front of her was cracked, overgrown with vines and other greenery. It didn't surprise Nessa that she hadn't seen it until now. With a quick glance to her right and left, she pulled on the nearest vine and used it to climb over the castlewall. She wanted to get away from the rain and even a damp, old castleruin looked more hospitable than the wet forest. She was still some distance from the nearest village and had no intention of going anywhere in this weather.

Her feet connected with the castlegrounds and once again Nessa looked around. She was luckily. Not so far from her she saw a small wooden door. The wood was dark and looked old but it still seemed sturdy. Nessa walked forward and opened the door. It squeaked on old hinges. Nessa entered a room which looked like the servants kitchen. There was an old table in the middle with chairs around (some broken, some still whole) and a fireplace made for cooking. Around the room was several spaces and counters made for preparing meals and Nessa could see door which probably led into the pantry-room. Another door seemed to lead out into a hallway and the second door must lead into the old nobility's dining room.

Nessa walked over to one of the broken chairs, broke it more and tossed its remains on the fireplace. She didn't try to be quiet. Why would she? She was a baroness ... no, THE Baroness and she could damn well go wherever she pleased in her family's province. Nessa looked out through one of the dirty windows. Dusk was falling. She had to work quickly or she would have no light at all to guide her. Only shadows.

[Bladeswipe]

A sad existence, a black existence, a dark existence. That was all that the thing knew, it was a strange being, one that shouldn't exist in the first place and yet it did. It had existed for a few years now but it didn't do much, apart from care for where it had lived for the past few years and technically even before so.

It was the exact castle that the Baroness was walking into, an old castle, one very rarely ever explored. It was known as Castle Blackforge and it was not as dark as its name might suggest, it was apparently a lovely place during the Spring when flowers sprung up in its courtyard and the forest around it. The castle would become festooned with flowers of amazing colours, red, pink, blue and purples all around.

All that was gone now though, the castle was all but gone, the main keep still stood, as did the courtyard and three of the five majestic spires that should've been sticking up were still there. The spires however had all had their top layers removed by something or other. The rest of the castle was made of faded black stone and mortar, giving it a dingy, evil feel now that it was completely empty. Although, a plaintive whistle would be coming from nearby in the castle, almost sounding like the wind but too tuneful for it to be just that.

If the Baroness was to explore further, she would find that the pantry would be trashed like the Servant's Kitchen but that the hallway and Dining Room were clean, far, far too clean. There wasn't even a speck of dust around in the room and some of the chairs were missing where they had broken but the table was polished and there was sets of china at every seat, all of the cutlery and plates very clean and arranged. All in all it would seem rather strange.

As response to earlier though, when Nessa threw pieces of chair into the fireplace, the tuneful whistling would abruptly cut off and a quiet chime would sound from much further in the castle. It would appear that something was coming towards the room that Nessa inhabited at the moment.

Now onto the thing that was coming, it knew itself as Nox and it was unlike any other creature it had ever seen. All the others had some kind of solid form, one that was unchangeable unlike itself. Others seemed to have different colours as well and none were like itself, it was just a pure black mass of some kind of material. It knew that it was shadow but it was even unlike every other shadow it had seen, it could move on its own accord and command the other shadows, unlike the other shadows that just sat there. Nox was different in every way he knew and it didn't make him happy.

From the doorway to the hallway in the Kitchen, a black form slid under the wood and swooped into a corner. It sat there, concealing itself within the shadows of the room and watched the person that stepped into its castle. From Nox's little knowledge, it knew that the person was female but it wasn't sure of which nationality. The Shadow was also unsure if the person was helping it or destroying its home, if she was doing the latter then Nox would have to stand up to her and prove to her it wasn't a good idea to go messing around in ruins.

[Heartfrost]

Had Nessa known the castle's name then she probably would have been a little more careful. Seriously an abandoned castle, with five broken spires named Blackforge was bound to have legends spun around no matter if it was true or not. But Nessa didn't know where she was. She hated to admit it (and would never do it out loud) but she was lost. She actually knew how to find her way back but that had nothing to do with survivalskills. No, it was only magic at work if she was to find her way home again.

Nessa looked at the broken chair - which could no longer be called chair, but rather splinters - at the fireplace and put her arms around herself. She needed something to light the fire with. She could do it herself but she often refrained from using magic in ruins like these. Magic could sometimes wake creatures that lie slumbering below and Nessa really didn't feel like waking some unnamed centuries old horror. She wasn't very worried about her own safety. With Illusion-spells she could hide herself and warp reality. With Destruction-magic she could strike back and if things turned real bad she always had her forbidden lore. Most of the Forbidden magic she knew needed long preparations to work but there was a few ritauls made for protection which could be invoked quickly. Not without a price though.

Nessa turned around to look for firesteel. She opened the door to the pantry (Not noticing the changed sounds from the corridor) and found it to be just as trashed as the kitchen. Carefully as to not step on anything she walked inside. Nothing eatable was to be found but that was not becuase the food was spoiled. It simply wasn't there. Nessa found baskets and bottles, all empty. A confused wrinkle appeared on Nessa's forehead. This was very strange indeed. Had the people who lived here taken the food with them? Or had the castle simply stood abandoned for so long it all had rottet away?

Nessa didn't have much chance to think about it though before her boot connected with something that hit the stone floor with a metallic 'chink!'. Nessa saw it glimmering and its own glamour matched the one found in her eyes:
"Firesteel!" she thought and picked it up before returning back to the kitchen. Well there Nessa felt something. The atmosphere in the room was different. And it had nothing to do with the low thunder she could hear in the distance and the rain which were battering on the windows. Nessa was glad that someone more clever than she had closed them with their wooden shutters. No the changed atmosphere was another: She was not alone.

Nessa put her back to the pantry door, holding the firesteel in her left hand as if it was a weapon and with her right she widened her fingers, ready to cast a spell if the need arose. Nessa squinted, trying to see better. Had the room gotten darker? Nessa looked over the kitchen, looking straight at Nox's 'hidingplace' without seeing the creature. She decided to trust her instincts though. If someone was there they'd know she knew and if it wasn't, well who would tell on her?
"Who goes there? I demand you to show yourself in the name of High Baroness Nessa of Great House Feyal!"

[Bladeswipe]

In fact, there were many legends and tales spun around Castle Blackforge, almost all forgotten in the passages of time. There were tales about a great evil that lurked under the castle, tales that the towers had once held some of the most powerful mystical artifacts to have ever existed, tales that the Kitchen was attended to by magical servants. No one knew if any were true, not even Nox who had been wandering the halls for much longer than he knew, he had been here for centuries although his sentience had only came about in the last two.

Nox himself had kept a weary and old eye on the person stalking around in his castle. He wasn't sure if she even had the right to be here but then again, did he? It was a question he didn't wish answered and instead just watched her, noticing that she was looking for something. He didn't actually know at all that the entire castle was extremely cold for he couldn't feel that sort of thing but the rain against the shutters that he had closed and the thunder tolling in the distance told him that maybe she wanted heat.

When she moved into the pantry, Nox sighed unto himself, he had moved all of the rotten foods out of there because they were starting to smell quite a bit and he was sick of it whenever he came into the Kitchen. When Nessa lost sight of the corner he was in, Nox moved slightly closer to the door and watched and waited for her to return, trying to ponder over what he should do about the strange girl in his house of shadows.

Before the shadow could even think up a plan, Nessa had returned and she seemed visibly wary, he entire body on guard and she looked around and right at Nox at one point but didn't seem to notice him, a bonus for the Shy Shadow. Oh what to do, oh what to do? Nox thought to himself as he sat there, the shadows slowly but surely moving closer and closer to Nessa, as though the entire room was alive and responding to her.

At the call of her name and house, a spark of recognition lit up in Nox's mind. House Feyal!? This is the lands of that House? I remember when the Blackforgers would speak of the upstart Feyal. They seem to have grown now... my, my All of this, Nox knew only from his memories of being the shadows of Castle Blackforge. He had to do something however and he slunk right up behind Nessa and formed up the wall behind her, changing into his usual, rather tall, humanoid form.

Unfortunately for The Baroness, she would only feel a presence behind her where it shouldn't be possible considering the space and she would only see the shadows of the room drawing closer and closer to her, as though they were living or the entire castle was in fact alive.

[Heartfrost]

Grown indeed they had. Had Nessa known the Shadow's thoughts then she would have felt very insulted. To have her great ancestor be called upstart would have done some serious damage to her ego. No one dared today to speak ill of the founders of the Great Houses. Most dared speaking about living noblemen and their behaviour but to insult a founder was not only to insult the dead but a whole House and to an extent, the whole Province. But then again, Nox was not human and who could explain to a shadow the complexity of House intrigue and etiquette? Not to Shadow surely who was more concerned with ... Oh, I don't know. Shady things.

Nessa still held the firesteel like a weapon in front of her. It was only a distraction however from her other hand. Nessa knew she would probably lose in a physical fight. She was beautiful, not young. She could aim well with her bow and guide the arrows somewhat by reading the currents in the air but she had never been much of a brute. It was in her magic that her power resided and she hoped that whatever creature that was in here, that it didn't know that.

While Nessa stood looking about the room she noticed some changes. Small at first but soon not even she could avoid seeing. The shadows were moving. Not from the shutters rattling or because of the outer light. They were moving on their own. Nessa swore under her breath. This castle was either cursed or demons made their living here. The Baroness threw herself away from the door. She wouldn't be staying in the one place where the shadows moved. She dashed across the room towards the door that lead into the Dining Hall. She put her hand on the knob and turned her head to catch a glimpse of whatever was forming on the other end. Trust me, Nessa had seen much as her alter ego Paricida. But even she made wide eyes when she saw ... that. She wasn't even sure how to label it. I mean how do you explain that shadows creeped up the wall and made a seemingly solid form? The worst part of it all wasn't that however. Nessa was a master of illusions. The thing that struck her the most was a simple fact:

That thing over there wasn't an Illusion. It was real.

Nessa didn't get more time to inspect the phenomena before the door opened and she stumbled into the dining hall, kicking the door shut. She squinted, adjusting to the light and once more this night felt her mind trying to wrap itself around the facts that the world showed to her. Why was the candles lit and the table ready? Why did this place look ready for a ball?
"What on Earth is happening here? What sinister trick is this?" Nessa heard herself mumble before she collected herself and her wits. She looked down at the firesteel giving it an accusatory glare as if it had caused all this. The question was (as Nox earlier had phrased) what to do? She knew nothing of the ... creature? ... Was it hostile? Curious? A guardian? Was it sentient or just ... freaky? Nessa made a decision. She wasn't baroness for nothing and a baroness had to be able to make decisions sometimes quickly.

The Jade Baroness grabbed one of the knives on the table, replacing the firesteel and turned towards the door with her new weapon. She couldn't use her bow since it was wet. She didn't want to use magic either. Better not to reveal all her assets.
"I do not wish to bring you harm. I am not here to seek the knowledge buried in this place. I am not here to desecrate your grounds. I am here to escape the rain and the cold. In the morning I will take my leave. Now that you know of my intentions, reveal your own!"
Some people would call her arrogant for her request. Nessa wouldn't see it as so. She asked the question she wanted the answer for and if the creature answered or not, well, she had given it a chance. If it attacked she would react, if it didn't she would wait.

[Bladeswipe]

To be entirely fair to Nox, it wasn't an evil being at all. It usually spent most of its time trying its best to clean up the castle after its downfall and the massive burst of dark magical energy that had caused most of the castle to become broken in the first place. If Nox had known that Nessa thought he should've been doing shadier things then he would've been quite offended but alas, he didn't. Instead, the shadow only knew that the girl before him became visibly terrified at the shadows he was summoning in case she was a threat.

Nox never even adopted a threatening stance, he simply stood there behind the Baroness with his head cocked and his shiny black eyes focused on her curiously as though she held the secrets to his existence, he would've been extremely pleased if she did actually. He wasn't even attempting to reach towards her which would've made it even worse. Unfortunately, he never got to make a move at all as the girl ran forwards to try and escape him, which was both a smart and not too smart thing to do. It was smart because it got her away from Nox, it wasn't smart because it caused the shadows to attempt to ensnare her ankles and wrists and stop her from escaping.

Luckily for Nessa, the shadows were weak and she would make it to the dining room and get through without being stopped or tripped over by the shadows under Nox's control. Quite unluckily, it caused Nox to follow her and finally show himself in plain sight. The living shadow slid forwards from his point near the pantry and slithered under the door to the Dining Room. From Nessa's perspective it would seem as though the shadows followed her and a black form was moving under the door.

When Nox had a sufficient amount of shadow through the door he formed it into his humanoid form. Standing around 8 foot tall he towered over Nessa and he had a slightly forlorn look in his beady black eyes. "You wish to know my intentions, Scion of Freyal?" His voice was very tuneful with a variety of accents together. It didn't sound evil as should be expected from a being such as himself.

"I do not have any, truly. I have lived in this castle for centuries and watched with curiosity." He was technically lying but it wasn't as if Nessa knew how to read the emotions of a shadow. "When this castle became empty I started to tend to it. I made sure that it didn't go too much to ruin and it stayed clean and free from... pests." He paused before the last word and a strange look almost seemed to pass over the blackness that was Nox's face. The pests in question were a series of looters who had come for loot, he had done more than just scare them off though.

"If you wish to stay here for the night then you needn't worry. As long as you don't show hostility or attempt to destroy anything then I shan't have need to hurt you. This is my Castle of Shadows, and I rule" He nodded gravely and then upturned his long, clawed 'hands' and seemed to shrug. "But I am just shadow. Mayhaps you might be hallucinating and none of this is real? Might be that you simply dream of this or suffered a fall in the woods or kitchen and are in a coma. You'd never know would you?" This was an attempt at Nox's fun, he never usually got a lot of it so he took it where he could, confusing people mostly.

[Heartfrost]

Had Nessa been more of a hot-head she would have thought "To hell with civility!" and attacked the moment Nox had begun to slither from under the door. But now she was a cold and calculating woman and as such she watched. Yes, she may leave herself open but she wanted to be certain. No need to start a fight if no fight was needed. That was like waging war over petty things, like kings often had done through history.

So she still held her ground when the shadows materialized themselves even though her grip on the knife grew harder. Her knuckles grew white from the effort. Otherwise she tried to not let her ... discomfort (Nessa would never go so far as to say 'fear') be shown. Then the creature spoke. It even ackowledged her parentage. Its voice surprised her too. She had expected it to be more deep, more sinister. This almost had a ... playful tune to it? Could it be called that? At its question she gave it a nod, still clutching the knife.

The creature had no intention? It just stayed here like a care-taker? Nessa looked at it warily. At least now she knew it was sentinent and that it apparently cared about its castle. It could be lying but as Nox thought it wasn't like she knew how to read a shadow. Maybe if she spent many hours talking with Nox she would catch on to his shifting shadows and what they meant, but now she was blind to his feelings.

The shadow continued to speak. Nessa slowly put the knife away on the table and let the magic in her other hand die out. She didn't trust this creature but the best way to assure trust was not by holding weapons. When the creature spoke about hallucination Nessa rolled her eyes and almost looked insulted. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked into Nox's eyes.
"A woman must either trust her senses and decide that what she sees is real or decide that she is mad. And even though you say that none of this may be real, I will deduce that what happens around me is indeed true", she answered it. Probably not the respons Nox wanted, since he looked to mess with her but Nessa didn't know that. She was far to confident in herself to begin to doubt. Maybe nothing was real, but she'd decided long ago to trust in herself.

"What did you say the name of the castle was? Castle of Shadows? If I am staying over the night, then maybe we should acquaintance us more with each other. You are after all my host now if this is your castle. May I ask to get a tour of the castle grounds as well as your ... name. If you have one. Or should I just call you Master of the house?"

Yes Nessa quickly went to noble protocol. But she was a noble and if this shadow claimed ownership over this castle, then she was a guest. And so she treated the situation as she would any other. Apart from the many differences. She had never been guest in an seemingly abandoned castle before with a shadow as host. Probably none ever had. She would have to ask about that later.

[Bladeswipe]

It had been a long time since Nox had ever heard anyone quite like this talk, the people he'd seen last were bandits and rogues, rough voices and many vulgar words spewing forth from their mouths. They'd been pleading for their mothers after Nox was done however but there as no need to try and terrorise the girl before him, she was noble born and it was obvious by the way she acted and the way she spoke.

When she finally put the knife down, a shadow slithered up from the floor and took hold of it, moving it away and back into a nice, even, symmetrical position on the dining table, so that nothing was out of place anymore. Nox then let out a little whistle, although it sounded melancholy, it was a sigh of his but it sounded more like the wind blowing through a broken shutter. "All perfect, as they wished it." The shadow whispered, his voice taking on a sad tone as he said it but that quickly vanished.

"You are interesting, girl." Nox whispered to Nessa, the shadows that made his face shifting slightly into a dark parody of a smile. "You are certain enough in yourself to be classified as arrogant, then again, I wouldn't expect any different from Nobility." And then Nox dropped into the floor and reappeared behind Nessa, one of his 'hands' reaching around and very gently, almost motherly, taking her jaw and turning it around so that her eyes stared straight into the black orbs that adorned Nox's face.

Still, the rictus, fake smile persisted on the Shadow's face and he let out another sigh, the same whistle from before as he spoke, not moving at all from his position less than ten centimeters from Nessa's face. "This is Castle Blackforge but it's only Shadows and Dust that rule now. As for my name? You may know me as...Nox or Shadow, I do not mind all that much." He let go of her and once more sunk into the ground.

Reappearing on the other side of the table he gestured towards it. "Take a seat Nessa. I suggest you get yourself comfortable. You might be here more than just a day, this is a large storm... but Blackforge is sturdy and I shan't let my guest do anything on her own, no, too many things to worry about in here." The last words he spoke were more to himself than Nessa and he vanished again and appeared at the door to the kitchen. "It's been so long since I've had to make food... but I'll manage, I know how to cook." He turned and flashed Nessa what could've been a smile. "What do you like, Freyal? I shall make you what you desire and then set a bed for you for this night. Would you like a tower room... or a ground one?" Nox cocked his head to the side and waited, his shadowy claws wringing one another as he stood there, an eight foot tall patch of living shadow at the door.