Spirits of the Earth

Falona walked through the village, practically gliding across the icy ground. She move with swift gracefulness, her black hooded cloak hiding anything to suggest that she was female. She hated coming down to cheerful villages. She would have preferred to send her demons to round up the annual harvest, but they were never good at picking the ripest specimens. She rolled her eyes. It annoyed her deeply that her own minions didn't have the brains to choose wisely. But having to come down to the villages to do it herself was outright maddening. She silently entered a tavern, taking a lowly table without even bothering to order anything. She wasn't in the mood. Falona sat at the table, completely cloaked, looking similar to a grim reaper. It made her smirk to feel the watchful eyes of startled men casting concerned glances in her direction. She could smell their fear, and it eased her anger. Her hidden eyes searched their faces hungrily, looking for anything of interest in their souls. As someone walked into the tavern, however, her concentration lapsed, her interest shifting to the person who had come into her view.

There were no prayers for the dying, not where he was concerned.  His place had been one of desperation, constantly jumping from one body to another, when his was no longer in the ripest of conditions.  It was 'bitch' to say the least, but even such a description was a severe understatement.  Few knew of his condition, that the only thing permanent about his apparent vampirism was his spirit, which only gave certain attributes to the body he possessed.  And even fewer still knew that with this state came a constant search to find something that would make him permanent, to maintain the youth and strength of the body he possessed.  That of young Corvus Brahm.

He never thought he'd travel this far north, away from the comfort of his estate, all to follow a story, a legend really, of the Sorceress of the North, or so the story was told.  He braved Mordecai country before, and to do it again only made him realize his desperation.   To find a solution to his 'problem'.  It seemed every possible avenue he found, only seemed to be a dead-end.  But he'd never been so determined before in his life to find an answer.  And it seemed this time, he just might.

He'd heard the stories of the Sorceress who somehow managed to preserve herself for years beyond the mortal coil.  But how?  He'd heard vague tales of her magic, able to harvest souls, using demons and the like.  The very thought of it intrigued him, made him curious.  And curiosity was all he needed to drive him to this secluded village in the tundra, the air brisk, night air cold as the sun steadily faded below the mountain range.  Corvus would make his assessment tomorrow, ask the people around about this strange and mysterious woman.

He walked into the only tavern in town, and pulled down the collar of his cloak, stepping inside with door behind him slamming shut.  Few people glanced up at him, and those that did, his quick eyes saw traces of fear that swirled in them before they turned back to their meager conversations, occasionally looking around the room again, trying to remain inconspicuous.  Corvus set his eyes across the room as he slowly walked in, noticing one pair of them hadn't removed them from his person, and he furrowed his brow in thought, seeing the woman across the way.  He met her eyes for a moment, looking her over and eventually turning around, almost snuffing her gaze and turning his attention to the bar at one end of the tavern.  He took a seat and looked at the bartender.

"What'll ye be havin' sir?" the sweaty old man said, cleaning a glass, and peering at him as if nothing was amiss.

"It's quite cold outside," Corvus murmured in response.  "How bout something to warm the blood?  A brandy would do in that case."

"Ahem, of course," the bartender nodded to him.  He held out his hand expectantly, rubbing his fingers together.

Corvus smirked and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a single gold coin and dropping it into his hand.  "That should do."

The bartender seemed more than pleased at the generosity, when really the drinks were awfully cheap here.  "Ah, yes, well, it should, I 'spect.  I'll get that brandy to ye right away then."  He nodded again, smiling through his mustache and moved to fix his drink.  All the while, Corvus could still feel eyes on him.

Falona studied the new man as he sat at the bar. She could feel the intensity of his soul rising inside of him from her gaze. She licked her lips, giddy from the prospect of a newer soul. The bartender looked at her, quickly going back into the kitchen as she slowly stood. Falona slowly waved her hands across the room, the lights dimming to a dull glow. The people cried out in fright a nd began cowering below their tables. She removed her hood, the only thing visible about her being her luminescent turquoise eyes. Now the villagers' eyes were opened. The Dark Sorceress of the North had returned.

Corvus heard the cries of the tavern patrons and when the bartender made himself scarce, he pulled the brandy closer to him, remaining calm despite the candles running low and the atmosphere suddenly becoming gloomier.  He took a sip, but soon furrowed his brow when he felt a presence standing out among all else in the room.  Corvus turned in his stool and looked over at the same woman that had been eying him when he came in.

He didn't know for sure, but something told him, this was the woman he was looking for.  Particularly if all the other patrons literally cowered in her presence.  "Is this your seat?" he asked with a perked brow, taking another drink of his brandy.  "I can move if you like."

Hearing the man speak, Falona smirked and turned to face him. "So, a traveler has wandered into my village. How intriguing," her eyes flashed. Her looming figure slowly walked over to him. "Your soul is so bright. So strong. Even now, I can see it in your eyes. Do you feel it? The way it rises the closer I come to you? That is how you know it is bright. It comes to me freely, without fighting against the pull of my power." She reached her hand out slightly to demonstrate. She could see the bright light of the soul coming into the man's eyes, practically begging her to release it. She smiled darkly. "How tantalizing," she purred.

Corvus smirked at the woman that approached him and he took another sip of his drink and set it on the bar behind him.  Yet his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed and his lips turned into a frown.  He felt the pull of her power on his soul and internally he felt his soul cling desperately to the vessel of his body as her body seemed almost a magnet to him, calling him.  He stood up and stood closer to her, staring her eye to eye.  His mouth slowly turned into a grin and he peered at her challengingly.  "You could be asking for more than you bargained for," he replied.  "But it just so happens I've been looking for someone just like you...  Are you really as powerful as the stories say?"

Falona's penetrating gaze met his, alluring and cold at the same time. She grinned evilly. "'Tis foolish to question one whom you do not know of, boy. If you came here to hunt me, you made a poor choice of prey. If you came here to see my power, then watch. Watch and be warned." She hissed the last sentence and turned to the frightened villagers. With both hands raised, she stared into space, her eyes now glowing a blinding turquoise. The atmosphere of the room twisted and shifted, sadness and anger raging war with one another. There was one unison gasp from the villagers as glowing white orbs rose from all of their bodies. The orbs rushed to Falona one by one, each disappearing into her torso. When the final orb disappeared, She turned to face him, her eyes livid. "Let this be a lesson. I hope you learned well." Then she smiled devilishly and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The lights returned to normal in the tavern. All of the villagers were dead. 

Corvus's eyes truly widened at the feat, watching the orbs flow into her torso, the very atmosphere falling in on itself, warping and Corvus grit his teeth in resistance to that force.  His soul was strong indeed and could not be forced out so easily and even as she made short work of all the patrons in the tavern, he did not let fear show in his expression.

And just like that she was gone.  Corvus ran out into the icy winds, hair billowing up as he saw the great fortress on the mountain.  He smiled out in the darkness, eyes narrowing against the glare of the moon.  Oh, he took the lesson well, and knew that that was the woman he was looking for.  He set out toward the narrow mountain path that treacherously scaled it's heights and planned to meet her again, even on her own ground.

He had to know her secret, and he felt he'd just gotten a taste of it back at the tavern.

Falona stared angrily down out the Seeing Well. It was refusing to show her anything. She slapped the water, some of it spilling over onto her skirt. "Useless! You're useless!" She fumed. Her Demon General came into the room. As always, Stractaar was slow and ghastly, flame erupting from his molten form every time he moved. "Mistress," He said in a flat, raspy voice, "The prisoners are ready." Falona nodded. "Bring them." Stractaar nodded, and left the room. As she waited, Falona could feel a familiar weakness pulse in her body. Black veins appeared around her eyes and began moving up her arms. She shook them down, using her magic to quicken the prisoners' arrival. Finally they came, shackled, into the room. She grabbed one by the neck. He choked as his soul passed into her, falling limp in her grip. She threw him down and grabbed the young woman. She drained the woman's youth, her skin becoming wrinkled and thin. At last, Falona took her soul as well. She gave the bodies to Stractaar. "Feast tonight." He smiled a horrible way and practically galloped out. Falona leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. Weak souls could only sustain her for so many decades. She rubbed her chest where the black opal had dissolved into her. Why was her power becoming such a burden? She went back to the Seeing Well. It must know something, anything, that could answer her question. But she had asked it so many times through the years, so why would it answer her now?

Corvus crawled through the ice and snow, the wind was savage against his skin.  Curse the physicality of his body that though he had a higher elemental resistance, he could feel ice forming inside his bones.  But as he finally reached the doors of the fortress, all shivering thoughts left him as he pressed his hands to iron and stone, the cold therin powerful and nearly freezing his hands against the surface.  His cloak whipped behind him when his hands began to burn with magic fire and the will of it burned against the ice, steam rising from his hands.

Corvus lit his whole body aflame until he was almost spectral, pulling his physicality through the door? Feeling it tear at his form until he passed through the wall, falling into the darkness of the otherside.  Fire vanished in a wisp of purple smoke as he penetrated the walls of the fortress Sorceress of the North.  He would find her secret and he knew it was hidden somewhere within these walls.

Falona felt him. The strong-soul from the tavern. He was here. Her eyes flashed with excitement as she sensed the strong elemental magic radiating from him. Finally, a challenger who could fight back. Falona walked down the cavernous corridors. She glanced on either side of her, making sure no one was watching, and opened the secret entrance to her tower. It was a little dramatic, she knew, to even have a Summoning Tower, but this was a situation where a tower would make it all the more entertaining. She climbed the endless spiral staircase and finally entered the small room at the top. The room had little light, and what was there was coming from a large circular mirror against the wall. Falona walked up to the mirror. She brushed it lightly with her fingers , murmuring the ancient spell to activate it. The mirror rippled and changed. Now, the strong-soul was clearly reflected to her. He was in the Entrance Hall. Falona smirked. "You want Hell? Well then this is your lucky day, strong-soul. Hell is my specialty." Her eyes glowed again, and in the mirror the floor around him began to morph into a lake of shifting black liquid. She placed a hand on the mirror and spoke in a seductive yet cold voice. "Ah, so you chose to visit my humble abode, strong-soul? I do hope it is to your liking. If not, then I guess I'll have to make it that way." Her voice echoed through the palace. The black liquid rose into many pillars. The pillars turned into all of the villagers from the tavern. "Now, my children. Welcome our guest."

Corvus fwlt the groung waver beneath him, shifting like black silk and a powerful voice echoed out through the Entrance Hall that reverberated through his very being.  He scowled up at the darkness , but there was a smirk of admiration on his face as the shapes began to form around him.  "Oh I quite like the warm welcome," he quipped.  "You certainly know how to treat a guest to your hospitality.  However, the black is a little excessive don't you think?  It kills the mystery."  Fire alit his hands and he scorched the spectres of the villagers as they lingered closer.  Cries of their suffering echoing in the hall.

Falona rolled her eyes. "Do you really think your flame is useful here? I control the gates of Hell, boy. You were very unwise to enter with your feeble embers, hoping to match against my inferno." She laughed with cruel malice. She then began a chant in a language so ancient that it had been lost to all except her. Her voice was hypnotically seductive, and the floor began to open beneath the strong-soul. Demons of every shape and form came from the very threshold of Hell itself, their skin glowing with internal flames. "Stractaar, you know what to do," Her voice cooed. The largest of the demons twisted it mangled face into something that must've been a smile, and roared, "Kill him!" The demons charged.   

Corvus felt the maw of hell itself open up beneath him and his feet shifted as it opened between his legs and he leapt to his left as beasts of the darkest matter began to crawl out from within, free of their chains.  He knew there was no immediate way to pause her assault to reason with her in this moment, and felt himself angered by her lack of patience. 

He felt his form alter, his body become thicker as he transformed from his meager stature to one more in tune with the vampiric soul that possessed that body.  Black leathery wings sprouted from his back, bones torn away long ago, and his eyes yellowed as claws sprouted from his hands. He agreed.  His flames would be no match for hers, not here for this was her domain and he was but an intruder within these walls.  Even as he clawed and tore at demon's left and right, their ashen forms shredding beneath his strength, their numbers began to gradually overwhelm him. 

"I am not here to challenge you, Sorceress," he cried out.  "I offer myself as a servant!"  Fire encased his form as the largest of the horde came upon him and he swung left and right, casting them back into the mouth whence they came.  But their own teeth had made their marks, and scratched and wounded him where he'd been too slow to defend.  He was becoming desperate, and closed in his defenses as he began to fight even more savagely.

Falona watched the boy fight, pleasantly amused that he was a little demon himself. She formed an invisible barrier between him and her demons. All who were on the boy's side of the barrier dissolved into nothingness. Stractaar held a hand up to stop his army. "You have fought valiantly, strong-soul. Though you offer your service, I am no fool. Trust is not easily earned here. You must prove yourself." Falona's voice boomed. She appeared before him from a column of flame, Every demon kneeling in her presence. She stared at the boy with cold eyes. "Here am I. I have seen your power, boy. Tis most admirable. However, It will take far more than your power to earn my favor. I accept your service." She reached her hand to the boy's forehead. She lightly brushed it with her fingertips, leaving an insignia on his head. She looked directly into his eyes. "As of now, you are mine."

He fell to his knees once the last demon vanished underneath the barrier between him and the horde and he stayed there exhaustedly, peering up at her demon general and soon her voice echoed inside him once again.  It worked, damn the gods it worked.  But inside him, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just signed himself over to the darkest demon he could have ever faced.  And yet...

Corvus stood in her presence, unlike the other demons who knelt.  "I am a man, not a boy.  But it's not my power that I wish to prove.  It's my loyalty," he breathed, staring her eye to eye.  But no sooner did she brush her hands against his forehead did he suddenly seethe in pain as the insignia burned itself into his flesh.  He pressed his hand to it and glare at her with burning eyes.  "What - what was that!?" he cried out.

Falona smiled a beautifully cruel smile. "A mark of possession. If you go anywhere I don't tell you to, for example, outside the palace walls, that insignia will burn so hot and so bright that you will be blind with pain. The same if you disobey me in any way. You see, I don't merely let my minions wander about on their own free will. Otherwise, I might as well just share every one of my secrets with them, in which case I would have to kill them, and by then they'd be useless." She chuckled darkly. "But, then again, you are a special case. Seeing as you are a vampire, I shall give you access to my prisoners. You'll see that I have quite a selection. Just remember to leave some for me." She winked, wicked playfulness dancing in her eyes. "Now, are there any questions, Corvus?" She grinned evilly.   

He internally clenched his teeth at what he'd just fallen into, but he made no word against it as he just peered at her with wild eyes.  He finally calmed once most of the pain subsided and physically relaxed in her presence.  He grinned at her offer, though his eyes glittered darkly, much like the night stars.  He could not question her reasoning not, when she held all the cards in her favor and he so foolishly broke into the walls of her domain.  But he knew how to be patient, to bide his time and lowered his head to her in what might be construed as a bow.

He slowly turned his head up and peered at her through raised brows.  "I don't fear pain.  It is only a reminder that you're still alive after all," he commented idly.  "But I do have one question: I will serve you, but what do I get in return?  No deal is ever made without quid pro quo, and I can tell by looking at you that you've done your fair share of deals.  And if not, then you simply take what you want without asking, as I've seen first hand.  But this is different.  You could have taken what you wanted, and yet you choose to accept me instead."  Corvus looked at the demons that bowed around her, wondering why they were so eager to kneel, was it of true devotion, or fear?

Falona smiled widely, genuinely entertained. "Stractaar," she said in the cruel voice that only she could master, "leave us. Now." Obediently, the demons flocked out the door. She walked a slow, appraising circle around Corvus. "I can see your soul. With it every want and desire you have ever felt. I can see your past and your present, but your future is clouded. I can feel the lust for power, burning so long and so bright that you can no longer feel the pain of torment." She stopped in front of him. "I knew this pain once. A very long time ago. It berated my feelings, clouded my judgement. I took whatever was necessary to make power mine. In the end, I thought it would destroy me. But, fate has an interesting way of working its magic. My power did not destroy me. It sided with me. It allowed itself to be mine. It refuses to part with me." She stared directly into his eyes. "You and I have that in common. I spared you because you could be so much more. So, in return for your service to me, I will give you your heart's desire. Power. Power that sides with you." Falona grinned. "How does that sound?" 

Corvus surprised himself when he too jumped at the voice that commanded the demons to leave.  But he stared at her eye to eye, forcing his fear to subside from his features as she spoke.  He stepped closer nearly nose for nose as he gave a small smile.  "Power is ever so frugal is it not?" he chcukled lightly that rumbled deep in his throat.  "I guess I was a fool to think I could hide my feelings that were really so transparent.  But could you really give me everything I desire?  There must be limits to even the most powerful of beings.  What makes you the exception?  How did power 'side' with you?"

Falona blinked a little bit. "I honestly have never known why my power sided with me. I just remember a day when everything in me was tormented, like two parts of me were waging war. I was very sick that day. I actually began to question taking on Dark Magic. I was so certain that I would die. But just before dawn the next day.......I......Well....I can't explain it. It was as if part of me died, but I was still living. That was when I knew that my magic made itself mine. I could FEEL it. Whatever part of me had died, my magic had fought it and won. From then on, it never left me, and continues to aid me today." She grinned slightly. "I will inform you now. What I shall teach you will take massive amounts of time and energy. You must push your body beyond any pain it feels if you hope to succeed. Only then can you gain the power you crave so relentlessly. Now, follow me to your quarters." She went to the door, turning around to wait for him.

Her story began to make more and more sense as he listened to it, and at the same time he hated to admit that it was quite unnerving.  There were quite a few reasons why her magic had 'sided' with her as she put it.  At least in his mind, the most prominent was because the hunger became more important than all else.  And it wa  nothing more than that desire that kept her functioning, that made her the  complete mistress of this realm.

He nodded to her indication to follow her to his new chambers and observed his surroundings a little more closely as he did so.  "However did you find such a fortressto house such majesty?" he heard himself wondering aloud.

Falona smiled. "Oh, I did not find it. I built it." She patted one of the strong stone walls. "Dark Magic like mine can do many things, as you can see. That is why to have it on your side is a true honor indeed." She gestured o the extravagance of the room itself. "The items you see, however, I have collected throughout my many centuries. Antiquities that have been long forgotten by any today. Feel free to explore the spacious confines of your room. I shall see tomorrow for training and mealtime. Goodnight, Corvus." She patted his shoulder and left the room with swift grace, the doors closing behind her.

The room was nothing ataall like he expected it to be.  While not quite as spacious as he was used to, it was covered head to toe in decor, tapestries and portraits and exotic vases and cloths draped over armchairs and lounges.  There was quite a nice fireplace to the rear with a small mantle with a pearly clock on it.  The bell struck 12 midnight.

And just like that she was gone.  Corvus frowned at the door and tuned to the balcony window that overlooked the cold winter mountains.  "Well, she crrtainly has excellent taste," he said with a nod, but certainly had a feeling that there wa  more that she wasn't telling him.  He supposed that would come in the morning.

He was tempted to test the height of the balcony, to see what boundaries lied in trying to leave the fortress.  But he would save that experiment for another time.  Instead he took off his jacket and slung it over the chair and tested the tension of the bed before climbing in it, not bothering to undress or remove his boots.

THE NEXT MORNING

The silence of the crisp mountain air was peirced by inhuman shrieking. Several demons ran down the corridor towards the dining hall, being persued by Falona. While they sprinted as fast as the could, all she merely had to do was walk. Her magic allowed her to move a great dstance with little to no physical excertion. By the time they had reached the massive dining table, it was too late. Falona was upon them. She floated several feet from the ground, a dark smoke emitting from her body. Her eyes were glowing turquoise as she glowered down at the demons. "You are fools! You think that because you are demons you can simply steal whatever you please?! From the one person in all the land who can make your kind MORTAL??!! you have committed a crime, my minions. A crime that you can only repay in one way." They stared up at her withy raw fear in their glowing embers of eyes. "We...We will do anything, mistress....anything you ask......please...." Falona smiled with a sickening menace. "Oh really? You'll do ANYTHING? Very well then. I want something in return for the belongings you stole from me." The demons got down on their knees. "Yes, yes we will give you anything, mistress! Just name it! It's yours!" The demons croaked. Falona leaned down until she was eye to eye with one of them. "Your souls." She drove her hand into the demon's molten chest. He cried a pitiful sound. her hand came out of him unscathed, clutching a ball of what appeared to be black flame. The demon's body fell and turned to ashes before he hit the ground. After doing so to the others, Falona dissipated the ashen piles with one wave of her hand. She now held six balls of black flame. "Let this be an example to any who should try to undermine me. You will not live." Her voice was sharper than a sword as it cut through the room to anypne else who was listening. Falona went over to her chair at the head of the table. She levatated the black flames in front of her. She chanted a spell in a dead language, her eyes closed. The flames came together to form on large ball of black fire. A bottle formed around the flame, and sat itself down before her. She opened her eyes and took it in her hands, examining it. "Good morning, Corvus. You may sit wherever you wish. Your meal will arrive shortly," Falona said, without glancing away from the bottle.

He awoke to the screams.  They were pathetic and weak and made the very core of him shiver for reasons he just did not understand.  But his eyes stared up at the ceiling of his new chambers which wavered in shifting reflection from the early morning gloom still present.  He sat up and listened again but the chill in the air told him there was nothing more to be heard and just as quickly decided it was best to get out of bed.  His clothes were wrinkled and his hair disheveled as it were.  He had nothing to change into that he could readily see and smoothed everything over as best he could.

The high tower he was chambered in swept down toward the dining area and soon, much to his own relief, emerged before Falona in the doorway just as the bodies of the demons were blown away by an unseen wind, a power he could only assume came from her hand.  He smirked a little as he watched her for a few moments longer and adjusted the collar on his shirt.

"I see your morning was quite eventful," he said casually, narrowing his eyes at her and staring at her hands.  He smirked and took a seat in the middle of the table, just a few chairs from her.  "What did they take that required such retribution?  It must have been something very precious.  But, I wonder, is there anything more precious to you than your power?  I'm only curious.  I think it'd be a good thing to get to know my mistress seeing as to how I'll be staying here for quite a while."

Falona shot him a hauntingly annoyed glance. "If you MUST know, what they stole was not an object of substance. To put it into words, what they stole was more of spirit than of solidity, and no, I will not clarify my response. Consider that the end of the discussion." She said this in a firm tone. Two prisoners wandered mindlessly into the room. The man went and stood on one side of Corvus, the woman on the other. "Take whichever you wish, or both if you're truly thirsty. I took th liberty of sedating them, but if you prefer more of a hunt I can remove my spell and let you chase them. Either way, drink to your fill." Falona gestured to the prisoners, her eyes watching and waiting.

Corvus only smiled at the nerve he had struck.  He could hear from all the shouting - and the insane acoustics of this stone fortress - that what was stolen was beyond precious.  So much that the very fate of her minions was as meager as the dust they'd become, completely dissolved by her wrath.  And from what he'd gauged from their previous discussions, what they'd stolen could only be assumed to be something in relation to her power.  Corvus let the subject drop and drank from a glass in from of him, smirking all the while.

When the fresh prey was presented to him, he eyed both morsels with a narrowed gaze then peered back to her.  So she would bother herself enough to feed her new servant, and sedate them as well.  While Corvus smirked at her presumption he merely stood from the table and exmmined the pair she'd given to him.  They were both thin, frail and poorly fed.  They would do together for now as he lunged his head down toward the male and tore out his neck.  With him under sedation, Corvus didn't have the satisfaction of a scream, then at last the body fell slack in his arms.  The woman went much the same way and he laid her down across the table.  He wiped the blood from his lips, only smearing it across his face as he peered at Falona.  "Together they shall sate me for now that is.  But I suppose next time I shall prefer something a little more filling.  If it's not too much to ask."  He smiled looking at her own neck.

Falona smiled a beautifully evil smile. "Unfortunately, my blood would not only be distasteful, but the toxins it contains would turn your vampiric might to ash the minute it went down your throat. It is one of the perks of being 'evil to the core', as they say." She stood, and walked over to the drained woman's corpse on the table. She swiped some of the blood onto her finger tip. Tenderly, Falona licked off the blood, her eyes far away in contemplation. "Hmm.....A weak flavor, indeed. Some meat and maybe some wine should ripen it a bit. I shall look into it later. For now, let us head to the training chambers. You must begin immediately. Follow me." She looked at both of the dead prisoners. Her turquoise eyes began to glow, and when she blinked, both bodies vanished without a trace. Before they left, she gave Corvus a silk handkerchief. "Do try to be a little more tidy, dear. We don't all have to be wild monsters, you know."     

Corvus gave a smile to her nonetheless.  "I wouldn't that in the least," he murmured.  "You might be surprised, but I take it you're the kind of person that doesn't do well with surprises.  Even pleasant ones.  No matter.  Perhaps we might have a chance to test that out another time."  He took the cloth she offered to him and graciously and gently rubbed at his mouth and face where the blood had smeared.  Of course, he hadn't meant to be such an animal, but morsels had been few and far between and the hunger could easily take over when he least expected it.

He folded the cloth in hand before tucking it into his pocket.  "I hope you don't mind I hold onto it," he said with a nod.  "But please, don't let me keep us here any longer.  Lead the way, mistress."

They proceeded through miles of long stone corridors, some twisting in every direction, some straight and narrow. At last, Falona and Corvus reached two large oaken doors with a large ornate carving stretching across them. She glanced back at him. "I'll let you in on a little secret." Falona gently touched the carving. The etched lines lit up, illuminating every detail. From this a scene became entirely visible. It was a meadow valley, with woods and mountains on the horizon. A stream ran down the middle of the meadow, and grass and flowers were abundant. In the center, there was a girl bending to pick the wildflowers. Upon closer inspection, the girl looked a little similar to Falona herself. "This is my favorite carving. It is the only thing that ever truly captured the beauty of my old home. It isn't like this anymore. The stream is dry, the grass is dead, and the sky has been blackened by the fires that still rage there. What a true waste of beauty." Her hand lingered on the door. Her eyes were distant, as if for a moment she wasn't there. 

For that moment the cool smiles and wry smirks left him and his eyes linger on the design.  His eyes turned speculative in their wonderment before glancing back at her.  "Why did you let it die?" he asked.  "It was your old home of course, it couldn't keep you forever.  But if it's all gone with no one to remember it but you, why did you let it die?"

For the first time in decades, Falona felt sadness. It was a strange thing, to feel. It almost reminded her of being human. "I....I didn't want to. But.....I had to. It couldn't be spared. I needed the power I had always felt there to keep me alive. As a girl, I always thought it was magic. I swore I saw fairies there once. In truth, I guess, I.......I......." Falona couldn't think of the word to say. She hadn't said anything like it for so long. The word was alien to her. She composed herself again, removing her hand from the door and straightening her posture. "Well, enough lingering. We've got training to do." She pushed open the doors to reveal a large cavernous chamber. Everything from swords to staffs littered the walls and a large dueling stage commanded the center of the room. Falona rubbed the place on her chest, distracted by a twinge of pain coming from it. She shook it off in her mind and went to the far left wall. 

He didn't need her to spell it out for him, for him to know that a nerve was struck and he looked solemnly at her eyes as they became momentarily lost in the memory.  He wondered how even the call of power could draw someone away from their ancestral home.  He wondered also what might draw her back.  But perhaps that was a question to be answered for another time.

When they entered into the chamber, Corvus readily expressed his awe, nodding in apporval.  "You certainly know how to go all out," he commented.  But a  he saw her press a hand into her chest, he turned to her, though said nothing about it.  His eyes followed hers to the left wall.  "Shall we begin with a set of staves then?"   He walked over to the wall and gently plucked them off and twirled one in his hand.

Falona smirked. "Actually, I don't prefer weapons. I believe that it is better to use your natural talents to survive. For instance," She held her hand out to her right. The air around her seemed to morph into black smoke, moving toward her outstretched hand. The smoke then elongated in her palm, and a black staff appeared in its place. "Now, for me, my natural talent is the power I wield. For you, it is your ability to survive on blood alone and your ability to turn into a human torch. These lessons will teach you how to strengthen your natural talents into a power that no one can ignore. So you may use any weapons you like today, but trust me when I say they are useless." Falona smiled darkly. "Your move," she chimed.

"In this instance, I would have agree with you," Corvus said delicately.  He held the staff just as delicately before extending his hands across it.  His palms began to grow warm and he focused his breath enough to hone the heat into the staff, encasing it in a smoky glove of violet flame.  It billowed out and did not scorch the wood.  In fact, it seemed to solidify and enhance it.  "Admittedly, I don't feel quite as comfortable hitting a lady, but I suppose I'd be making a mistake if I held back," he said with a soft smile.  But it was one that quickly faded.  And without further delay, he flipped the bottom part of the staff and flung a fireball out at her.

Excitement practically radiated from Falona. She held out her hand and caught the flame. It did not burn her. In fact, it appeared she was enjoying herself. "Ah.....Your fire burns ever so hot. I like it. But you will find that mine burns HOTTER!" Within seconds the flame in her hand turned white, and it flew directly at Corvus's face. Falona uttered a hauntingly beautiful laugh. This was going to be a god fight.

Corvus rolled out of the wat and shot two more flames her way, smirking ever so slightly as if he was beginning to understand just what to expect from her.  It wasn't as if it were an impractical science.  And he figured she was guaging just as much from him.  He was quick and moved like a blur to the naked eye, he focused his flame to burn brighter and flung it toward her in an explosive fireball.  He could feel his flesh begin to sweat but wasn't because of the fire.

Falona was dodging each of Corvus's fireballs. A smile was stretched across her face, and her eyes blazed like the fire she continued to re-direct toward her student. They could do this all day, play fireball catch. It was time to switch things up a little. As the next of Corvus's fireballs hurdled toward her, falona stood directly in its path. She stared directly at it, her eyes beginning to glow a familiar turquoise. Instantly, the room grew bitingly cold. Falona put her opened palm below her lips and blew a frosty mist at the fire. The flame froze completely, but instead of extinguishing, the flame turned a light blue. "This is a special trick of mine. It is the physical example of when Hell freezes over. I like to call it, 'Iceflame'." She hurled it towards Corvus. "Oh, and be warned. It can cause frostbite in extreme cases." She smiled beautifully cruel. 

Indeed the fire play was getting quite taxing and beginning to grate even on his nerves.  But he couldn't help his playful smirk and indeed was taking some great enjoyment from this.  As the room began to grow colder, Corvus twirled the staff and watched her carefully.  The iceflame she hurled at him moved swifter than any flame he'd yet to encounter, but he was no less ready.  He attempted to swat the ball away, to reverse it's path, but as soon as the end of the staff made contact with it, it began to freeze solid and course upward toward his hands.

Growling, he immediately hurled the staff her way like a spear as the ice ate away at the wood.

It was indeed cute to hear him growl in frustration, Falona thought. She caught Corvus's staff. The iceflame had done its work well.  The ice crawled up the handle of the staff, reaching Falona's hand in seconds. The frostbite was very quick to penetrate her skin, but only a smile was evident upon her face. "When you live a life such as mine, you learn to enjoy pain." Falona squeezed the staff. It immediately turned to ashes. She cast her own staff aside, clearing the frostbite from her hand. "Now that we've established our abilities, let's try some physical combat. No weapons, no magic. Just skill." She leaped forward kicking Corvus to the ground. She stood menacingly over him. "I'd like to see if the legends were true. That vampires are inhumanly strong and fast. Well, get up. Vampire." She smiled with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Corvus was growing irritated more and more quickly.  As she somehow managed to knock him to the ground, he peered up ar her with peculiar glint to his dark eyes and slowly sat up, smirking at her taunts.  He wasn't much of one for physical fighting, but if she asked for it, that's what she would get.  He did move fast, but he had a feeling she would anticipate his moves as she'd done so so far with magic.  His fists moved like a whiplash of lightning as he struck as her face, her body and quickly dropped down to sweep a leg underneath her feet.

The pounding hurt Falona. But that didn't mean she was in pain. Cutting off her magic for a short time was risky, especially for her, but there was once a time when she had no magic. Though it had been centuries ago, The memories came flooding back to her mind. Falona jumped over Corvus's leg. Her vision was sharp and clear, no details escaping her gaze. Falona began to move in the rhythm of Corvus's lunges. bobbing and weaving, she quickly studied every part of his movements. She threw fast jabs into his abdomen and jaw, angling her knuckles for more potency. Falona's eyes were glowing. She was laughing, but not with the chilled evil of before. This laughing was melodious and beautiful, like cathedral bells at dawn. It filled the room with a warmth that could be felt nowhere else in the palace.   

Corvus had eearly forgotten what pain felt like, the physical trauma that quaked through his form through Falona's calculated blows.  She hit well and she hit hard and turned his head and body this way and that. He's never been one to favor  physical combat but his body grew to hold the strength of the soul that possessed it, a desperate longing to survive.  Corvus lost his footing with another blow to the gut, but used that motion to make a lunge for her legs, tackling her to the ground with animal savagery and stuck his claws at her throat.  "What's so funny?" he growled, tightening his grip.

Falona continued her beautiful laughter, panting. "I haven't had such fun sparring for decades!" Blood slowly trickled from Falona's neck where Corvus still held her, but she didn't notice. She stared him directly in the eyes, hers sparkling like rare gemstones. Falona used her right index and middle finger to jab the center of Corvus's throat, momentarily stunning him. Taking the upper hand, she rolled until she was on top of him, and pinned him there. She smiled. "You appear a little unhappy, Corvus. Is it because the mighty Vampire is being beaten by a woman?" She didn't bother to hide the coyness in her voice.

At her words, the growling subsided a little, but only a little.  And his eyes sought hers for the moment.  They burned with a hidden temper, the quiet coals burning with a small satisfaction.  He actually smiled through a snarl and stilled his struggling for a moment.  "Not at all, Mistress," he said.  "I never thought myself so high and mighty.  My only dissatisfaction may come from displeasing you."  It was half-true at least, but there was little he could do from his position on the ground.

Falona came closer, her face inches from his. "Trust me. It would take a millennium of things for you to displease me." She smiled. Sitting here was definitely more entertaining than sparring. "So, should I just sit here, perched on top of you all day, or are you planning to find a more comfortable way to lose?" Falona laughed again.

"A millennium, truly?  Then I'll do my best to get started," Corvus half-grinned back in jest.  The brown of his eyes was still warm and he wasn't sure he was ready to lose just yet.  But maybe he didn't have to...  Corvus relaxed his features and peered his eyes down toward her mouth and her smile and then to her neck, though it was a look of a different hunger.  "That depends on a few factors.  One, movement in my current position is quite limited.  And two, you're much stronger than I anticipated.  But if you had a better idea in mind, I wouldn't be opposed to losing gracefully."

Falona smirked mischievously. "You will find some women harder to please than others," She said as she swiftly plunged her knee in a certain tender area. Falona stood up, the smirk still on her face. " Was that loss soft enough for you? It can be harder once I beat you again, if you like. That is, of course, IF, I beat you again." She put her hands on her hips. "I know there's more in you. I want to see it. I'm not a priceless artifact, Corvus. You don't have to worry about breaking me." She winked at him.

Corvus held his breath but refused a scream when her knee came down on him.  He was a little red in the face, but stood up and cupped his sore area until most of the pain subsided.  His grin was smug despite the literal low-blow and he gave a shrug of his shoulders.  "I think I'm more worried about you breaking me," he said, giving her a once over.  "But I think this is a good opportunity to gracefully bow from your challenge."

Falona growled playfully, positioning herself like a werewolf ready to attack his prey. "BRING IT, Vampire!" She smiled, barring her teeth at the same time. This Exhiliration was something she wasn't going to give up any time soon. She no longer cared who beat who, she just wanted to continue having a good brawl. Falona was silently thanking herself for sparing Corvus's soul. It was definitley worth it.

Corvus frowned at her and straightened as he fixed his shirt from where  it'd gotten ripped and torn and wrinkled.  That frown turned into a small scowl as he stepped away.  "No," he said adamantly.  "I think that's quite enough."

Falona straightened herself out, frowning. "Oh? You think that's enough? You think that merely because your feathers have been ruffled that you've had enough?" Her expression soured. "You know nothing of battle. You can fight me, but only until you're tired. You do not know the pain of battle, the anguish." She turned away from him. "When you're out there, surrounded by screaming and blades and blood, you cannot stop. You must fight, or you must die. I had to learn this at a very young age. Very young...." Her voice trailed off. Falona turned back to Corvus. "you must learn to fight past the pain, to fight past the exhaustion. I shall teach you how, in time. For now, we will cease. Come," She went to the door.   

Corvus straightened as she spoke, but his brown eyes never left her face.  He watched what little emotion that displayed across her features, as if the very events of their cause flashed across them.  But he couldn't read minds. He knew only his own.  And that he stopped not because of pain.  Pain he could take, it was real, and in a manner of speaking he relished it's sensation.  For it served as a reminder that one was still alive.

He said nothing and neither did his face when she came forth.  He gave no warning when he struck at her, claws coming down across her face and his should rammed into her.  He stalked around her with a half-amused smirk. "And you should know better than to put your guard down."

Blood trickled from the fresh wounds on Falona's face. She swiped some on her fingers, looked at them, them smiled up at Corvus. "Well, aren't you special. You've managed to cause more flaw in my strategy than anyone before you." She punched his stomach, hard. As he caved inward, she grabbed his arm and went behind him, twisting it all the way backward. "Just what do you have to say for yourself, oh master of weaknesses?" She purred into his ear.

Corvus knew she wouldn't give up so esssily and she should have known that he wouldn't either.  But it was one lesson to be learned and both would learn it well.  He only laughed at her words and grinned, even with the pain of his twisted arm.  He soon forced himself backwards and dissipated his body, flowing through her like he did to make it through her walls, phasing through her.  And becoming solid through the other side.  He appeared behind her and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up from the ground before planting her on the ground, slamming her hard.

Falona's head smacked hard into the stone floor. For a moment, the world became a blur of color. Then, she remembered where she was. She locked her legs around his, pulling him down with her. She held him there, refusing to budge. She was certain she had a concussion, but that was nothing a little magic couldn't fix later. For some reason she couldn't quite grasp at the time, Falona hissed like an animal at Corvus and began clawing savagley at any part of him she could reach.

Corvus fell when her legs entwined with his and dropped him like a fly.  He slammed down and seethed through grit teeth when she started to claw into his legs.  He lunged forward and slammed his body on hers, headbutting her in the process.

Falona gasped loudly when Corvus's head smacked hers. She started clawing and hitting his upper body with what strength she could muster past the throbbing in her head. She knew she may pass out, so she fought hard. Finally, she managed to kick him off. She lied there on the cold stone floor staring at the ceiling, her chest heaving. Her vision was beginning to greatly distort the room.

Corvus was sufficiently bruised and beaten when she threw him off her at last.  Magic had given her strength enough to vault his body over her head and he landed with and "Oof!" just opposite her, his head was beside hers.  "That was good!" he coughed beside her.  He turned over and knelt over her face.

Falona nodded slowly, momentarily forgetting how to speak. Blotches of color began appearing in her sight. "You'll be.... happy to know.....that you may have......seriously injured me......" She struggled with her words. Her head was pounding, and it felt as if it weighed a ton. It was getting difficult to reactivate her magic. Falona was trying to concentrate, but her head held massive amounts of pain. Also, she was experiencing an odd sensation while Corvus leaned over her face, merely inches away. She began panting harder, her heart racing faster. "What...are you looking at?" She managed to say as she studied his face.

Corvus leered at her with a clever grin as she panted, grinning wider all the more for it.  At her question, he quirked a brow and gave a soft pout.  "You're gorgeous when you're put down," he whispered in his own breathless fashion, laughing even a little at the end.  He didn't put further adieu to the thought before he went in and kissed her cheek, softly as it were, but a kiss all the same.  "Now let's take you back upstairs before you wilt and die in this battle chamber.  That wouldn't do at all, we've only just begun our lessons."

It was a strange sight indeed, to see an immortal sorceress of supreme darkness blush, but it happened. Falona's face turned a deep pink. When she realized that she, the Dark Sorceress of the North, was blushing, she blushed even deeper out of embarrassment. "Y-yes......of course.....let's......let's go upstairs....." She stammered dumbly. Upon trying to stand, Falona fell backward into Corvus. She was much to dizzy to walk, let alone stand. Her magic was still detached from herself, and she was still too wounded to call it back. 

Corvus didn't waste any time when she leaned into him.  Instead of righting her up, he just pulled her against him and took her feet off the ground, scooping her into his arms and proceeded through the chamber door.  The door sealed up as she had made it before and he eventually found his way back up to the dining hall.  The castle was still strange to him, and navigation was a bit of a chore but he eventually brought her up to the chamber she had afforded him and laid her softly on the bed.  "I'm not sure where your own room is, but this is your palace, I hope this will do," he said.

Falona nodded. With Corvus so close to her, and the electric feeling that pulsated through her as she thought about it, she finally broke through to some of her magic. It was not easy, but she concentrated until a thread-bare connection was re-established between herself and her magic. Almost instantly, her wounds began to disappear. "Thank you," She breathed, "for helping me. You truly are a gentlemen." She was now perfectly healthy again, but for some reason, Falona couldn't bring herself to move. She lied there on the bed next to him. "You're a pioneer, you know. I have never blushed in my life. I guess you have a talent for making new things happen to me." She smiled, laughing lightly.

Corvus sat down beside her and raised a brow at her words.  He couldn't help his clever smirk, to see her in such a state when she could so easily peel the flesh from his bones.  He felt pretty cocky, just a little to soak up what little glory he could in the face of his temporary victory.  He doubted he would fare as much better a second time around.  So he leaned in and gave her a smirk and let his hand drift across her face.

"Honestly, I would never take you for the blushing kind of girl.  You're so...forthright.  But perhaps...I might test that theory.  Let's see how your cheeks fare now that you're restored to power."  He leaned in to kiss her again, this time lightly on the lips rather than the cheek.

Falona went numb as Corvus's lips touched hers. Electricity danced inside her body. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers entwined in his hair. The atmosphere started to get warm around them, radiating the passion Falona was feeling. It was a while before she could regain her senses. It was getting very hot in the room now. She could feel er cheeks turning a deep red. Suddenly, something inside her screamed in her mind. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL! HE SHALL BE THE END OF YOU!" The voice was not exactly hers. Without warning, Falona pushed Corvus away. She didn't want to push him away, but something had made her do it. "I'm sorry," She said surprised. She was panting from the heated moment. The room was still hot. She got off the bed, putting her hands on both of her arms. She stood, trembling with passion, with her back to Corvus. "You snake," She whispered, "You've....You've done something to me......."

He tasted her electricity when she sealed her lips to his, how it stirred inside her and made her hands clasp around his head.  Admittedly, he felt his face heat up from it as well and even released a soft, breathy moan to compliment it.  He kissed her harder until she shoved him away at last.  He stumbled backwards, catching himself on the bedpost and looking her with some bewilderment.

He smirked a little and wiped at his lips.  His face softened and his eyes turned quizzical as he peered at the back of her head.  "Done?" he questioned.  "What exactly have I done? I'm not sure I understand."

Falona shook her head. "I.....I don't know.......This is strange for me.........But you did something........Just look at me.........I can't talk straight, I'm TREMBLING........" She laughed nervously. She was, in truth, a little frightened by the feeling she was experiencing. Frightened, but also joyous. The way she stood would remind anyone of a teenage girl who had just received her first kiss. Falona knew this and was embarrassed, but she was too bewildered to move. So, there she stood, trembling, refusing to turn and face the one who had evoked such a strong emotion from her. She knew if she did, she might lose control and kiss him again.

Corvus did notice her trembling but had no consideration to comment on it.  His smirked at her back, but it quickly faded as he sighed and began to fiddle with the collar of his jacket.  Ripped and torn as it was.  He slipped it from his shoulders and stepped in behind her.  He shrugged and looked at the back of her head again.  "I caused nothing.  If you tremble it is simply because of your own lack of control," he replied simply, narrowing his cautious eyes at her.  "Relax.  It was just a kiss."  He placed the jacket on her shoulders and stepped away.

Falona looked down at the jacket now on her shoulders. "It's not that," she mumbled. She finally turned to him. "As it happened, my power.......it spoke to me. It MADE me push you away. It thinks you're bad for me." She looked into Corvus's eyes. "It thinks you'll be the end of me," She smiled. She then looked up and down his body. "I don't know if I should listen, though."

Corvus peered at her with solemn eyes as she spoke. But a small smirk touched his lips and  stepped in closer.  He could feel the magic within her flux to his proximity.  "How can you be so sure?" he asked.

Falona stepped even closer to him, so close that they were practically touching. "I'm not," she breathed, "but bad boys don't scare me." She then leaned in and kissed Corvus. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body against his. Her power was so loud in her ears that it could almost be heard, but she fought it down with passion. The room felt tropical now, her passion reflected back to them. Falona's core burst with electrified emotion. She kissed him fervently, her mouth open. She grasped his torso firmly, refusing to let her power make her stop.

The moment her lips impacted his, Corvus felt his lips tingle with the power of her magic.  For a good long moment he did tremble as she held onto him.  A soft sigh escaped him, but he did not give in to her passion, at least not for the moment.  He broke the kiss, at least to catch his breath and peered down at her though half-lidded eyes.  "You know when you play with fire, you're bound to get burned," he challenged.  Small tendrils of smoke could be seen from the corners of his lips, of the flame that coursed inside him.

Falona smirked. "I strive for the burn." She licked her lips, her eyes pulsating turquoise. She came up to him again. Black smoke began to seethe from her hands as she evoked her inner fire. She reached up and touched Corvus's face, her hands scalding hot as the fire burned hotter. "I guess I'll have to fight fire with fire," she purred.

His smirk grew at her words but his eyes werenot less solemn.  They searched her face for a moment as her hands came up and began to heat the flesh of his face.  Unlike other mortal men, the fire inside him made him more resistant to heat and in fact he almost relished in it.  He just looked at her for that long moment and could have devoured her with his eyes. "How quaint," he murmured and took her hand from his face and pressed his lips to her palm and there they could hear the sound of sizzling flesh.  "But I think our sparring session has me more than a little worn out."

Falona smiled as her hand felt the intense heat of Corvus's lips. "Lunch is in two hours. Rest while you can." She gave him a small bow of her head. "I'll be teaching you a spell for our next lesson. See you at lunch." She gave him a quick, searing kiss, and left the room.

Corvus wiped his lips of her taste when she left the room and proceeded to lay himself across his given bed.  He needed time for respite, to let his body heal and to mull over the newfound attitude of his mistress.  Unlike her, he did not have the magic to simply will his wounds away.  Though he could heal more quickly than a human, he still needed time to rest.  And thus he quickly fell asleep.

He awoke to the sound of laughter, one that he recalled hearing from Falona in the sparring room, that light airy giggle that sounded almost like music.  It sounded more like a dream than anything and all that filled the air now was silence.  He peered up at the clock with the second hand still in it's motion, though the hour had certainly changed since he first laid his eyes on it that morning.  It was lunch time now he supposed and promptly made his way down from the room.

Falona was in a smaller dining area when lunchtime came around. She was playing her favorite harp, one that she had crafted herself over 300 years before. She did not recall the name of the melody she played, but she knew every note by heart. The song was peaceful and serene, and it floated down the corridor from the room. She liked this song the best, for the notes captured her homeland perfectly. As she played, Falona summoned a demon to tell Corvus where they'd be dining, not breaking a single note of the music.

Corvus cursed when the demon appeared to him and directed him to another smaller hall just opposite the one she had first shown him.  Despite the labrynthian nature of her fortess, Corvus was beginning to understand the layout a little more and was happy to see real windows within this area.  He pasued for a moment in the doorway as she kept on playing, but he dared not interrupt her.  He merely took a seat and eyed her from the corner of his vision and helped himself to a glass of wine.

When the last few chords were struck, Falona sighed and admired her harp. A single tear escaped her eye when she finished, as it always did when she played this song. She stood, her had resting on the arch of the harp. "I have always loved that song. I made this harp just so I could play it. It always makes me feel my home." She looked at it once more, her hand still lingering on the beautiful instrument. Then, with a tap of her fingers, it vanished. She looked over at Corvus. "I trust that your rest was eventful?" She asked.

Corvus paused before he could take his first sip when at last she  finished her song.  His eyes beheld her as he caught the tear that flowed down her cheek and he pursed his lips for a moment. "I-I did," he said, taking a drink at last. 

He peered at her again and smiled.  "It was a lovely tune.  Though it seems a little ironic, don't you think?  Considering you left your home because...  Well, it was lovely."

Falona smiled. "Thank you. It took me a decade and two years to master." She sat down across from Corvus. Three prisoners escorted by a demon were lead into the room. Two went and stood at Falona's sides, and one went to Corvus's side. "I realize that you're still fairly well-nourished from breakfast, but I brought you a snack just in case." She looked at the prisoner on her right side. Taking their arm, she lifted the weak soul from their body, doing the same to the other prisoner. After absorbing the souls, she used her magic to absorb all of their blood into a silver pitcher. She poured some of the blood into a goblet and sipped it. "Blood keeps my muscles strong," she explained, "so I only drink it occasionally."

Corvus watched her transfer the blood into the pitcher with fascinated eyes and he grinned wider at her as he sipped his wine.  "That was quite a trick you've done, but I don't suppose you'd have any real food would you?  Even I would enjoy a savory steak of venison or perhaps pheasant would you?"

Falona looked at him a little oddly. "I haven't craved mortal food for over 500 years. But if you'd like some..." She tapped the table in front of her. A silver plate materialized in front of Corvus with the biggest, most succulent steak to be found anywhere in Le'raana. "Enjoy," She grinned and drank some more blood. 

Corvus grinned all the wider when the steak came before him.  He poked it a little, testing the juices before cutting himself a piece.  It indeed was one of the best steaks he'd had in a while and he gave a sigh at the taste of it.  "Five hundred years?  It wouldn't hurt to indulge from time to time.  Don't tell me you don't get...cravings?"

Falona laughed lightly. "I stopped craving for human delicacies when my powers first came to me. All I ever crave are souls or blood. To me, they are the finest foods I have ever consumed." She watched Corvus eat quizzically. "It is fascinating to watch someone eat something that disgusts me. You're positive you LIKE that stuff?" She sniffed the aroma of the steak and wrinkled her nose. It smelled like a decaying animal.   

He ate solemnly but with no less enjoyment of his meal as he peered at Falona with the corner of his eye.  He laughed at her comment, though it didn't seem in jest.  He took another bite and nodded to her as he chewed.  "I do, actually.  There's something I enjoy about sinking  my teeth into flesh that is gratifying.  It's almost primal. "  He grinned and took the last few bites. 

"How barbaric," Falona smiled coyly. She had drank three-fourths of her pitcher of blood. "You know, I feel I should tell you the truth." She sipped more blood. "Remember when I told you that my blood was poison?" She looked at him from the top of her goblet.

He couldn't have agreed more.  As he savored the taste the wine went well with it and he felt himself momentarily sated.  He peered over to her and the pitcher and carefully helped himself to a small cup of that.  "Oh?  Um, yes, I do believe I recall you saying something of that nature.  What about it?"

"Well," Falona sat her goblet down, "let's just say......I was bluffing..." She avoided Corvus's eyes and instead played with her hands. She suddenly felt embarrassed for lying to him to begin with. She blushed lightly. "It was a bad lie on my part, and I apologize. That was very inappropriate of me to lie to my own apprentice."

Corvus narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, sipping the blood.  "Why?" he asked sharply.  "Why would you apologize?  There is no need.  You were merely taking precautions.  It is understandable, if not commendable."  He smiled at her regardless, noticing her blush.  "I was almost too curious to try anyway.  I'm sure it's flavor would be unique."

Falona smiled down at her hands, her blush deepening. "I'm sure it's the most vile blood there could be, thanks to my magic." She looked back up at him. "Darkness has that effect on things, you know."

Corvus laughed and sipped the rest of the blood from his glass.  "All the more to savor," he growled a little.  "And truthfully, even if I did have a taste I promise you wouldn't turn into anything you didn't want to in the first place.  Knight's honor.  I don't spread the poison much like other ordinary vampires would.  We are both unique in our aspects."

Falona smiled, a challenge in her eyes. "Alright then. I'll let you taste me. But first, you have to catch me!" She rose from the table and practically flew out of the room, her beautiful laughter filling the air.

Corvus was caught unawares the moment Falona bolted from the table and he choked on the last of his drink and dropped the cup on the table when she flew out of the room.  He bolted after her, chasing the echo of her steps, but she was nowhere to be see when he rounded the corridor.

Falona smiled most amused from her perch as she watched Corvus search for her. "What's the matter, vampire? Can't you find me?" She giggled as she magically projected her voice to confuse him. "Come now. Surely a great predator like you can smell the bitterness of my blood?" 

Corvus paused when the trail of her voice sent him into a hall of pillars, similar to the ones in her great hall, but it was exceedingly different.  He stood at the center of several of them, each one rising high toward the vaulted the ceilings and they all sprawled out toward various corridors.  But the loudest echo of her voice resonated here and he began to search, carefully and slowly despite her taunts.

Falona watched him, silent now. He searched so carefully and meticulously. She smiled. "Use your senses, Corvus. You know where I am. Find me." She said this with her mind, sending it to his mind through magic."

Corvus smirked as she spoke into his mind.  It was a strange sensation, but he wasn't opposed to it for the time being.  He honed his ears and listened out toward the echoes of the hallway and he passed through them before he neared one of the side walls and finally looked up to see a shadow perched up by the sill of one of the high windows.  He smirked and eventually leapt upward, climbing into the perch and snatched onto her form.  "GOTCHA!"

Falona smiled. "Not quite." She kicked his chest hard, flipping backward and landing on her feet below. she growled playfully. "My nectar is not so easily won." She poised her self, waiting for him to come at her.

Corvus only grew irritated by the fact she so easily evaded him and didn't waste any time leaping from the ledge and seeing her as little more than prey.

Falona felt a little guilty. It was such a long way down from the ceiling. So, she decided to meet Corvus halfway. She jumped up and collided with him, forcing them both to the floor. She growled like an animal and gave him a big scratch across his face.

The pain was momentarily blinding, but Corvus only let it distract him for a moment.  He turned around and twisted her body, turning his neck toward hers and smashing his face against her neck, trying to get a good hold to bite.  But he let go once he landed on the ground and smacked his head hard on the stone floor.

Falona stood and backed away slowly. She positioned herself leaning forward, teeth barred, nails curved like claws. An inhumane growl escaped her lips. She was all animal now.

White flashed before his eyes as she appeared as if she were about to pounce on him.  It was his turn to become a momentary invalid while she readied herself for the kill.  But when his vision came back to him, he rolled away from her before cradling his head in one arm and turning on the defensive.  He bared his own teeth and bristled like a caged beast.

Falona ran up to him and began pounding him with deadly accuracy and precision. If Corvus wanted to drink from her, he would have to fight for that reward.

Corvus felt his face explode from the force of her own punches and strikes. She hit hard for a woman of her size and statur, but Corvus wasn't about to let her get the upper hand if he had anything to say about it.  He shoved her off him after ducking a blow to the face and leapt at her.  He used his strength to hold her down and smashed his lips against hers fiercely, biting into her lips and tasting the bitterness of her blood.

Falona's eyes grew wide, a few tears beginning to fall from them. Corvus's bite was hard. VERY hard. She tried to squirm, but his grip was iron. The pain only lasted for a moment before it was replaced by a beautiful warmth. It actually started to feel GOOD. Instead of trying to free herself, Falona closed her eyes, relaxed her muscles, and let him drink her blood.

Corvus licked at where his teeth had cut into her lips and turned his headthis way and that as he kissed her and tasted her tongue as well as her blood.  It was a shocking flavor, almost intoxicating as it were but he had enough control over himself to stop and pulled but a breathe away from her.  "How lovely.  There's a kick to it.  A spice."

Falona felt like she had just woken up from a dream when Corvus stopped drinking. "That's the magic you must be tasting. It will always taint something." She swiped some blood onto her finger and tasted for herself. "Hmmmmm......... Fascinating," She sighed. She then reached up to the cut on Corvus's face. "Sorry about that. Here..." She channeled her magic into the wound and healed it. "There. You're back to your handsome self." Falona smiled.

He smirked at her.  "You flatter me, thank you," he said with a smirk and took the hand she used to heal him and brought it up to his lips.  "You're not so bad yourself...."  He leaned in again for the moment, lingering for only a second of hesitation before kissing her again, this time without drinking her.

Falona moaned softly as Corvus kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, her lips moving with his.

The sound of her breath against his skin gave her pleasant chills.  He turned his head around her and deepened the kiss, wrapping her within the vice of his arms.  What blood remained on his tongue and hers intermingled with the taste of her and he moaned softly because of it.

Falona was electrified with passion. She wrapped her fingers in his hair, kissing Corvus deeply. A small shudder went through her when her tongue touched his.

After a heated moment, breath to breath, lips to lips, Corvus pulled himself away, panting a little and grinning.  "Is your magic still creaming in your head?"

Falona laughed. "Yes. But with you this close, I can barely hear it." She smiled radiantly.

He snickered and leaned his face against hers.  "I'm sure your magic must be screaming often," he said.  "I'm sure you'd get a lot of visitors coming to praise your icy beauty."

She smirked. "Not exactly. You're my first actual guest. Villagers have knowledge enough to tell their children the stories of the Dark Sorceress of the North." She laughed lightly.

Corvus nodded.  "And right they would be," he murmured.  At long last he let her go and ran a thumb along her lip.  "You thrive on fear, their fear.  But what has it really earned you?"

Falona sighed at the feeling of Corvus's fingers. "Solitude. A place where no one takes me for granted. Where they know what I'm capable of and leave me in peace. That's all I wanted. That's all I got." She kissed his thumb as it moved across her lips.

His lips frowned a little at her words and leaned in toward her, pressing his thumb into the corner of her mouth.  "So lonely.  But it begs the question.  Why did you let me in?"

Falona looked into Corvus's eyes. "Because for the first time in all my years, I finally found someone who isn't afraid of what I am."

"Perhaps I am just clever in hiding my fear," he murmured.  He placed both hands on her face but his face truly did now show he was afraid.  "Maybe because I've seen things in my existence, done things that would make a mortal man's stomach turn...  But you...you are a breed all your own.  And perhaps what I feel is a separate kind of fear.  Not of death, but what out meeting may mean for either of us."

Falona looked up at him. "It has been my experience that one should never fear unless there is something to fear. All that I have to fear now is....What if I hurt you?" Pain crawls onto her face. "I've hurt so many to become what I am. Some of which I loved," She swallowed. "I could kill you so easily. Even here, even now, when you're so close to me. I don't want to hurt you, Corvus." A tear escaped from her eyes.

He sighed a little and pressed his thumbs into her cheeks.  "Fear keeps you alert, alive.  That is my experience," he replied.  "But don't worry.  You won't hurt me."

Falona looked at him seriously. "You don't know what my power can do, Corvus. I haven't used it fully on you, because if I had, you'd be dead." She said solemnly, and no exaggeration could be traced in the sentence."

He knew she was powerful, of that he knew no doubt.  It wasn't like him to consider such things in a trifling manner.  He, however, also knew that as much as he knew of her power, there remained little she knew of his.  But those secrets would never pass before his lips.

So Corvus just smiled sweetly at her and held her face.  "If you don't want to hurt me, then I trust that you won't," he murmured.  "Trust yourself and your judgment.  If I wrong you then cast me out."  He kissed her then stepped away from her.

Falona smiled a stood up. "Well, why don't we head to my favorite place? Saemon Tower. We'll start your lesson there." She went to the door.

Bowing his head, he grinned at Falona and followed her to the tower.  "Why is it your favorite?"

She flashed him a mischievous grin. "Because I can see every room and corridor of the palace there," She replied.

"I see," he gave her a nod.  Soon they were at the doors of her favored tower.  And if Corvus didn't know any better, he would say his heart was beating much faster, moment by moment, for reasons he could not say.

Falona stood before a bare stone wall. "The door only opens with my touch." she place her hand on the wall. Five blue sparks ignited on the wall, crawling out from where her hand was. The sparks began forming ornate designs until they finally created the image of a door. The door opened to a dark chamber with a large spiral staircase leading up at least five stories. Falona climbed up them. At the top, the dark corridor opened into a fairly large chamber, the only light coming from the blue liquid-like pool on the wall. Shelves of spellbooks lined the walls. A podium sat in the far left corner in front of one shelf, and a single table and chair in the right corner. "Welcome to Saemon Tower, my pride and joy. feel free to look around." Falona gestured to the room before her.

Corvus was indeed in awe when they entered the chamber and he stepped forth to better see it.  He ran his hands along the shelf of spell books until he eventually moved toward the podium.  "This is magnificent," he commented.  "You really made all this?"

"Many of the books, yes. The furniture, yes. The Seeing Mirror, no." She walked up to the glowing blue liquid disk on the wall.

Corvus approached the mirror but did not touch it.  He just stared at himself for a moment then spied her behind him.  "This was how you spied me in your hall.  Clever, girl."

Falona laughed. "You think that's clever?" She dug around until she found a small hand mirror and handed it to him. She then turned him away from the Seeing Mirror. Falona touched the mirror lightly with her finger. The liquid glass stirred a little, and then Corvus's face appeared in front of her. "Hello again. you'll also note that my face is in your mirror." She smiled.

"How useful," he said and spoke to the face in the glass.  "I'll be more careful about changing within view of the full-length mirror in my quarters."  He laughed and handed the looking glass aack to her.  "So, what lessons shall be learned here?"

"I shall be teaching you a basic, but useful spell. A shield." Falona pulled out a particularly thick spell book and opened its dusty pages. "Ah, here it is. Aesonem Fulitasem." She gestured to the page.

Of all the languages that he'd had the pleasure to let grace his tongue, the meaning of that phrase was unknown to him.  He stepped back and let a light flame ignite in his hands.  "What does that translate to?"

Falona picked up the book. "It is a long dead language. It means, 'Shield of Light'. Ironic, isn't it?" She laughed as she handed the book to him.

His fire kissed the book but did not sear the pages. He caressed the strange runes along the title.  "Shield of light," he repeated.  Tuurning the pages, he inspected the letters inscribed and didn't know whether the text read right left, up or down.  "So how does it go?  I just repeat the words?"  He did repeat the phrase and the fire went out of his hands, but nothing happened.  "Hmmm, perhaps the spell doesn't like me."

Falona rolled her eyes. "You don't chant it like some pagan ritual, you simpleton. You have to feel the words deep inside of you. As your heart beats, and your lungs breathe, the spell must become apart of your body. Let it echo in the rhythms of your footsteps. Let it ripple in the essence of your thoughts. It IS you..." She held the book before him again.

Corvus gave an exhausted sigh and he laughed, taking it lightly.  "Very well!  There's no need for you to get your corset in a tangle, darling," he smirked at her.  But it quickly and he slowly repeated the words on the very edge of his breath.  The whisper was audible at first, until it slowly began to fade into nothing more than the draft of wind that poured through the mountain fortress.

"Aesonem Fulitasem," he said, feeling the power grow inside of him, the word becoming one and he felt his hands becoming light as air.  He lifted his palms and from their poured a reddish light, almost manipulated from his own flames, as they billowed outward and began to spread in a tangible, pulsating light that slightly singed the tips of his fingertips.

Falona watched enthusiastically, smiling. "Yes, that's it! Now, bid it to spread around you. Make it become like your skin, protecting everything inside from the outside."

Though the strange light tingled at his hands and singed his fingertips, Corvus focused further and forced the shield to envelope around him, until it sealed around his back.  It felt suffocating and soothing at the same time and he opened his eyes.  Breathing lightly, he stared at Falona.  "How was that?"

Falona walked in a slow circle around him. "Hmmm..." She suddenly tossed a fireball at him. It dissipated against his chest, no marks visible. "It's superb," She smirked playfully.

It took some getting used to, but the sensation of the flame billowing out and fading away against his chest almost tickled and Corvus peered down to examine the energy that encased him.  "Superb certainly is a choice word!" he said, marveling at the ability.  "Now what else is there to master?  I'm more than certain I can handle it."

Falona picked up the book once more. "Ah, yes..... Hmmm......Now, here's something more difficult. Air Stride. Xaltus Aerotumaniris. It allows you to, for a time, walk in mid air. It is similar to flying, but it can only take you so high. If you attempt to pass the height of a mature tree, the spell falters, and there is a large risk that you may fall to your death." She held the book up, allowing him to see the page.

There was so much to learn and so much time to learn it in, Corvus began to realize when the next spell was presented before him.  A self-levitation spell, he concluded as he stepped forth, took the book and examined the words carefully, letting them roll off his tongue.  He gave it back to her and peered at her once more.  "Should I deactivate the previous spell before conducting this one or can I cast them both simultaneously?  I suppose to a seasoned sorceress such as yourself, you can cast both without much trouble on your part."

She smiled at him. "I'm so glad that you think so highly of me. But yes, you should practice each spell, one at a time. When you get more skilled, then I will teach you how to cast multiple spells at once. For now, one will do." She stood across from him. "This spell requires complete and utter concentration when first learning it. Feel your body. Feel your arms, your legs. Now, imagine that air is absorbing you. It is filling up your abdomen, your limbs, your entire body. You are no longer on the ground. You are floating. You are weightless. You are air."

Corvus felt the energy of the previous spell leave him as he moved his concentration on toward the next set of words he'd gone about memorizing.  He did exactly as she instructed him and relaxed his mind, allowing the only thing within it would be the words of the spell.  He breathed in harshly through his nostrils once he'd centered himself and suddenly he felt as if the very gust of air he'd injested made him as light as it was and suddenly his feet left the ground.  He gasped in exhilaration, and upon losing his concentration, promptly fell back down to the ground.  He groaned in some pain and coughed, feeling as if he was kicked in the gut by a stone golem.

"You weren't kidding about the concentration part."

Falona laughed and walked over to him. "I know I'm ravishingly gorgeous, darling, but if you get distracted like that outside, you might just fall to your death." She smiled devilishly, touching her palm to his chest and subsiding his pain. "There. Feeling better?"

"Honestly, no," Corvus said, rubbing his chest for himself, and managing to climb to his feet.  "This is more difficult than I anticipated.  I've dabbled in minor sorcery before, but nothing like this.  And yet I can only imagine the spells get more and more difficult as we progress, don't they?"

Falona gave him a little smile. "I'm afraid so. But, we don't have to continue. Not if you're afraid of a little hard work and pain...." She looked at him, a gleam of challenge in her eyes.