Lord Of The Flies, Queen Of The Spiders (Anadwen)(M)

[Brisinger987]

Kirnardaz had spent most of the evening conversing with Guinevere, mostly spiteful insults before Daerian came knocking.

"Excuse me Guinevere, my queen has come knocking. I bid you a goodnight." Kirnardaz cut the conversation off, walking to the door, opening it to a pleasant sight.

"Ah, my queen. Please, come in..." Kirnardaz had been practising some demonic magic which required significant blood to be spilled, and as such he was shirtless in his quarters. Kirnardaz didn't bother to materialise a tunic for himself.

Instead he sat down in the chair by the small fireplace, and invited her to come and sit opposite him.

"Might I ask why you are here? A midnight snack? Or just some midnight company?"

[Anadwen]

Daerian sat down onto his bed, with the grace so characteristic for her. The edges of her gown, sewn from flowing layers of snow-white silk, dipped into the blood and begun taking its color, but she didn't mind.

"Only company... I am glad to see you've found a room that you like, and already started trying your powers, as I can see. Especially on my staff. I must thank you for that... It's a relief, not to hear whispers every time I pass." she chuckled lightly.

"I feel alone in my chamber. I came to talk. The fortress is vast and there is no one but ghosts and shadows of my past... Meals. However, having a visitor, my situation is completely changed. To my pleasure, I must admit." Her voice was silent and soft as she bent over her knees towards him.

[Brisinger987]

"I did mean to ask... Might I be allowed to take up residence here? A king needs his fortress after all. Somewhere to live in safety with his queen." Kirnardaz had set his persuasive ways into motion again, seeing if he could gain residence permanently. She would no doubt enjoy the company as much as he would.

"When I have more power at my disposal, I will upgrade the current staff, and begin to differentiate between roles. Right now, while our defence is generally strengthened, they are certainly not the most effective killing machines I have created yet, and if I can begin to differentiate, everything will be more efficient, with more integrity and loyalty than before." Kirnardaz sounded like a lord, commenting on how to improve his army.

Kirnardaz put a hand to the floor, and the blood turned to black smoke by evaporation, and flowed towards the pentagram tattoo, simply being absorbed by the black shape.

[Anadwen]

"I would be honored to share my fortress with you, my lord. Its chambers are numerous, its halls vast and its walls thick." she replied, slowly moving towards him. Her arms entwined around his chest, and her head appeared above his shoulder.

"The possibilities we could have if we would work on our staff together are endless... I may need your knowledge about them, but without a little research and experiments, I may be able to enhance their abilities and obedience beyond their previous limits. We could achieve perfect servants, powerful, but fully devoted to their masters. Weapons of war..."

She sprang to her feet and begun explaining her visions, gesturing wildly. "I could give them powers yet unheard of, but could manipulate them with pure will and thought. I could fuse them with other beings, give them the strength of a wild beast and speed of an eagle, mend their flesh with iron and create living weapons. The battalions of darkness will march, and fill the earth. There aren't any boundaries that could stop us. There's nothing... Absolutely nothing to stop us, only the limits we set ourselves! And I have naught of that!"

A striking lightning illuminated her figure, standing before the window.

"And so could be our own power. I held back, hiding in the shadows from that religious Mordecai filth. But I no longer shall."

[Brisinger987]

"I appreciate your hospitality, my queen." Kirnardaz listened to her proposal, enjoying the prospect of every single servant being unique, a complete blend of predatory attributes. Perfect killing machines. Engines of war.

"We can fuse demon soul to war engine, create catapults that fire on their own, swords imbued with powerful souls of demons we have warped and manipulate, crossbows linked to their wielder, with eyes of their own, allowing them to see round corners, to warn their wielder of threats. We would have an army worthy of the true end of this world, utterly obedient and living in pure chaos amongst themselves." Kirnardaz stood, his eyes wide with inspiration.

"Of course... Without you, none of this would be possible... My beautiful, terrible, fearsome queen..." He walked over to her, caressing her cheek, before moving to kiss her.

"This world is ours... And nothing will stop us..."

[Anadwen]

If something dared to try, it will burn in the flames of our power...

Daerian pressed her lips onto his, and kissed him, fiercely, but with her usual hypnotizing grace. Her arms were twisted around him, and she could feel the heat of his body, like living fire.

"My king... My dark lord..." She whispered.

Together, they could rule with iron fists, above the barren battlefield, and cover it with darkness that they desired. There would be only them, forever and ever ruling the scorched earth, she could see shadows walking through the endless fields. 

They would be eternal. Their dark rule would never end.

[Brisinger987]

Kirnardaz awoke the next morning to the site of a truly beautiful face next to him, and for the first time in a while, decided to try and go back to sleep. But the more he looked at her the more he knew who he would spend the rest of his life with. She was the woman for him. His perfect queen.

He laid in bed, letting power simply radiate from him as he laid there, not really realising that in his sleep, his power had restored itself.

He only really realised it when a demon servant that he had wished was there had come at command, carrying the desired items.

Breakfast.

A two humans, gagged, screaming for help.

"Daerian, my queen... Wake up... I had breakfast brought to us..." Kirnardaz kissed her neck, materialising his armour, choosing the weaker looking human, but the one with the most courage. The other one seemed confident enough to break free of his bonds, and took the gag out.

"Get off my son, you freak!"

[Anadwen]

Daerian yawned and reached after Kirnardaz. "Ah, left the breakfast for later... And come back to sleep. I had a wonderful dream... You were there, too." she whispered to his ear, and gently pulled him back.

Only when she actually heard the humans screaming, she awoke. Both of them looked tasty enough...

"Souls to you, blood to me?" she asked, tilting her head aside. She didn't bother with shifting into her fierce form - the strength of her body alone was enough to break a neck. Her eyes flashed with crimson, and she rushed to the couple.

Which one first?

[Brisinger987]

The man who was older took Kirnardaz's blade, and ran Kirnardaz through with it. Kirnardaz simply smiled, before kicking the man to the floor, the sound of crunching ribs a perfect indication of his physical strength.

"No. Daerian. Let me try something..." Kirnardaz drew the soul out of the young boy, the white orb floating in midair, as Kirnardaz put the hollow shell back down, the figure standing and turning his head to noise.

"All yours my queen. Feast..." Kirnardaz put a foot on the downed man's ribs, causing him to scream in agony, as Kirnardaz let the soul float down to the man's own.

"Can you hear your son screaming? Frozen in his last state forever? Can you feel his fear?"

[Anadwen]

Daerian's hand just took one of the daggers, mounted above the fireplace, and slashed the younger of the humans with it. She was too fascinated by Kirnardaz's experiment, and didn't want to cause any mess. Her white hand, covered in blood, quickly drained all strength from the body, and left nothing but a withered shadow of what was once a young man. She felt strong, relieved, full of life, she felt it pulsing in her veins.

It was like a fountain of life in this death.

She moved towards the other man, but didn't take him just as well, instead watching him stare in horror. Her lips twisted to a smile, as her hand clenched around his neck, and she could sense all thoughts and emotions, going through his mind.

"An interesting idea... How many souls do you think can a human mind bear before breaking in agony and falling to insanity?"

[Brisinger987]

Kirnardaz knelt down, and his armour began seeping with black smoke, and the tendrils filled the man's lungs and entered every opening on his head.

"Connect with my mind Daerian. Watch me show him horrors. Watch me break him..." Kirnardaz let himself possess the man partially, gaining a solid foothold in the man's mind.

Feel my void... You are a slave to me, mortal... See what your world will become... See your family... Your life... Become nothing under me... Kirnardaz projected images of Vorax's "golden age", where torture, and murder, and horror was rife, demons experimenting on captured souls, fusing and mutating humans with each other and animals. Sick experiments conducted out in the open, with people being devoured by mere children.

This is where I will send you...

[Anadwen]

Daerian's mind joined with his, and she projected her own images into the man's mind. Endless battles with nothing but defeat for humankind, shadows feasting on blood.

There isn't any escape. You will only watch, frozen in terror as the cowardly human race falls.

"There will be no way out, and no end." she whispered.

She observed the horror, reigning in his mind, but it was slowly getting boring... There was yet one thing to show him. The tip of the blade pierced his skin, and blood streamed out. Daerian didn't end it instantly, instead slowly drawing the life out of him, and letting him watch as his body dies, but mind keeps alive.

It was the true horror.

[Brisinger987]

Kirnardaz drew both souls out of the man's body as he died, taking them in one hand, and crushing them, the light turning red and flying into his armour, making it glow brighter.

"I found a use for sleep. I can restore my previous energy states through sleep." Kirnardaz clicked his fingers, and the shadow being took both bodies out to the courtyard, feeding them to his comrades.

Kirnardaz swapped the armour to a royal outfit, fit for a king.

"I suppose I should mention, I have a son. He's every bit of me, but less experienced. Born through manifestation. I need to find him, and as such, I will spend some time away, searching for him. I expect I will be anyway. I should be able to locate him by his energy."

[Anadwen]

Daerian raised a brow. "A son? Interesting... Do you think he would like me? I could help you track him through strands of energy that beings like us leave in this world..."

She shrugged. "More allies mean more power. Actually, it's a pleasing fact that you have a son." she admitted. "I never had children... Creations, yes. Children, not."

The only thing that she wished was for Kirnardaz's son to like her. She would treat him like an ally and friend, if it would come to that...

"If you'd return with him, I'd greet you with fresh blood..." she uttered with a dreamy look on her face, and smiled slightly.

[Brisinger987]

"He is like me, only really needs to feed on souls, although since the incident, I do not know how he was affected." Kirnardaz felt that children were no longer a creeping threat to him. He might actually be able to spend quality time with his son. Even if it was hunting humans for sport.

"I imagine he would have no issue with you. Hmmmm...." Kirnardaz tried to open up a psychic connection with Ardeadai, but found he could not for some reason. He did, however, get an echolocation from the psychic message bouncing.

"I have located him. I am sure I will be able to reach him..." Kirnardaz would love the company, but he felt this was best done on his own.

"Besides... If you're with me, won't leave you anything to look forward to when I get back... While I am gone, study the shadow beings, their strengths and weaknesses. I have given you unbroken control over them. They will obey as if they were dogs waiting for a meal." Kirnardaz smiled.

[Anadwen]

Daerian smiled softly. "My lord, I will await you wish fresh blood and souls..." she whispered. Her hands once again bent around his chest and she pressed her lips on his face.

"I won't disappoint you in the research... I promise. You shall return to stronger, better soldiers, and maybe also a stronger lady..." she chuckled a little. The shadows may be good tools to bind to herself and increase her own power.

"But return soon... I will be waiting, my dark lord."

[Brisinger987]

"Of course... Don't want to keep you waiting too long..." Kirnardaz kissed Daerian back, enjoying it so much more than he had planned. He didn't want to go now.

"I'll make sure to fill Ardeadai in on the way back." Kirnardaz wanted to say one last thing before he went.

"Verkt nuig darph, Daerian." Kirnardaz left her with a rather ambiguous demon message, in his home language. She would have fun deciphering that no doubt, only to find it was a unique word combination, with no translations possible.

Then with those words hanging in the air, he left, using the energy he gained to turn his lizard mount into a small, fireless dragon mount.

[Anadwen]

Daerian watched him leave, and only turned away when he was but a small point on the sky. She was planning to begin her research immediately, and nothing could stop her from it. Let the mordecai come... I'll rip them to pieces and let my servants feast on the remains of their corpses!

The dungeons were safe and secure. And even if she would be accidentally revealed in them, no one ever left the walls of her fortress without her permission. No one ever found the bones, too.

When Kirnardaz would return, he would find a preparing army of shadows. Their own perfect weapons, ready to flood the world.