A Half Expected Visit (Moonie)

[Brisinger987]

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."

[Zero]

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.

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Zero]

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?"

[Brisinger987]

"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."

[Zero]

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.

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Zero]

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.

[Brisinger987]

"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?"

[Zero]

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.

[Brisinger987]

"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...

[Zero]

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."

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Zero]

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."

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Zero]

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?"

[Brisinger987]

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?"

[Zero]

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.

[Brisinger987]

"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?"

[Zero]

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.