Forum Thread

Viper was shocked, to say the least, when the shadows came and washed over her. They already had a master, so it would be useless to try and take control of them now. At the very least, she knew the shadows wouldn't harm her. They swooped upwards, blocking out the sunlight. That was fine. She could see as clearly in the dark as she could during daytime.

Both sides tried to process what had happened. So was she. There was another mage in the battle who controlled the shadows. It was interesting, to say the least. She had never considered the prospect of there being another mage in the country.

Deciding to do a little digging later, Viper looked for her sword. Thankfully it wasn't knocked that far away. Unfortunately, it seemed that the enchantments on it might have picked up a construct's interest. The construct raised it's arms high, preparing to crash it.

Viper's eyes widened as she put on a burst of speed, before grabbing her sword and rolling away. She stood up. The construct had focused it's gaze onto her. Without hesitation, the golem ran forward and smashed the ground. Thankfully, she had jumped backwards in time.

Viper proceeded to stab the golem's metal arm. The golem slapped her in response, hitting her legs and causing her to fall over. Viper quickly backed up, slowly walking backwards with her sword raised in a defensive position. The golem lunged at her, before it's outstretched limb was cut in half by her sword.

Another enemy soon joined the fray. A large lupine, with a white coat and red markings came forward. It growled, pacing forward in a slow pace. Several more wolves came, seemingly answering the white wolf's call. They howled together, before several charged at once.

"Stay away!" Viper shouted as she thought on what to do. The spell to summon fire came to mind, but she knew she couldn't possibly summon a fireball big enough to scare the wolves away.

---

Thiria cringed slightly as the burst of light spread out from behind her. Blinking the spots out from her eyes, she threw herself into battle again. She thrust her hands out, sending pulses of dark gold light at the enemy, letting her powers over luck play out and rush through her.

She had just sent out another dark gold pulse when she was plunged into total darkness, a cry piercing her soul. Glancing behind her, she nearly dropped her bow in realization of the power Raeyn wielded. She stood immobile, the shadows clinging to her form.

Thiria froze still in the silence, before the sounds of battle started again. Giving another glance to the Warden of Darkness, she charged into the fray.

Minutes later, she narrowed her eyes at the remaining enemies as the other Wardens stared them down. Feeling the determination course through her, she closed her eyes, trying to connect with her domain.

For one heart-stopping moment, she felt her resonance with her domain. Letting her now gold eyes fly open, she released her power, aging her enemies to the point where they no longer existed.

Smiling slightly, she heaved a breath before falling straight into the somewhat bittersweet darkness.

---

Drake finished placing spacial barriers where he was guarding. Deciding that nothing could penetrate that now, he blinked over to where the rest of the wardens were fighting. He saw one dead warden on the ground, but more importantly, there were monsters to kill.

He summoned blades of space and thrust them at the monsters nearest to him. But there were too many. The Wardens were getting outnumbered, so he had to resort to the pistols. He whipped them out and started blasting monsters. He set up a barrier around him, to protect himself, and concentrated on picking off the monsters that either looked the strongest or were putting his comrades in the most danger. Meanwhile, every monster that lunged at him was stopped by his invisible barrier.

---

The shadows were weakening.

And so was Raeyn. The strength was ebbing from her, the sunlight trying to pierce through the dark wall. Logically speaking, it wasn't exactly possible for shadows to block out the sun, as they needed light to exist. But this was a world that wasn't a world. Thousands and thousands of thousands of years and at the same time, it was not.

It was an impossible thing, yet at the same time, it was not. To be frank, it was mind boggling, and long ago, Raeyn had decided not to dwell too long on the possibilities. She had a sneaking suspicion that she might literally go insane, and seeing as there had been the rare case of a Warden doing exactly that...yeah, Raeyn didn't think anybody would like a rampaging Warden of Darkness shish-kebabing everyone.

The strength was leaving her. She couldn't hold up the wall for so long. Her conduit of power, her dark frostblade, seemed to sense her struggle, becoming even colder against her leg if it was possible. A good friend to the end. The blade, Raeyn faintly remembered, had tasted blood. Blood of the innocent, even. It was something she had tried to leave behind so long ago, when the first Chosen pledged their vows and chose their conduits. Something like that, she sadly knew, she would never forget.

Raeyn couldn't hold on for another minute. She had to let go. She had to. Or she'd destroy herself. "But you know you'd like to. Die, Raeyn Wilmist. Watch as the worlds crumble," A sinister whisper reached her ears.

No, never. She still had to atone for her crimes. Crimes of the past. Using the last sliver of strength that remained in her, Raeyn moved her arm with difficulty, pain numbing her entire body, dots dancing across her blurring vision. There was, in fact, one last way to end this.

The death of the Warden caused the permanent destruction of a conduit of power. But a destroyed conduit would only strip the Warden of their powers, removing the protection of the Beacon from them, and their immortality. Wardens, before they had been Wardens, were mostly mortal. With the loss of the Beacon's granted immortality, and their years catching up to them, they would almost immediately disintegrate from old age. If a conduit was linked so strongly to their Warden, the destroyed conduit would cause their owner excruciating pain, which was highly fatal.

"If I die today," Raeyn managed a weak whisper, "then the ghosts of my past have mercy on me."

In one smooth motion, Raeyn drew her sword, pain racking her entire body. The wall of darkness was slowly dissolving, and sheer willpower was the only thing stalling it from doing so completely. Despite the terrible pain inflicted upon her, Raeyn let her face relax into a small smile. For one eternal moment, her body relaxed into the pain, and her dark eyes... eyes that had stared at the impossible, that had fought the inevitable, and had prolonged their suffering for redemption. Those eyes, dry for so many years. Alas, it let one more tear fall.

It might be the last.

There was no scream of outrage this time. No cry of rebellion, nor of defeat. Just the silence of the darkness, as Raeyn Wilmist, one of the first Chosen, withdrew the shadows from the sky, and used them to shatter her sword. Using the darkness against itself.

One moment. A moment when the darkness and the silence became one, and a moment when the Warden and their power broke its bonds.

One terrifying moment when the darkness was released, the shattered sword clinking to the ground as Raeyn crumpled to the ground.

One last moment when darkness rebelled against its nature, aiding the side of the good. And the darkness swept through the opposition, and for lack of a better term ghostifying the nasty creatures. The temperature dropped below zero, and for the last time, the shadows ignored the good, and slaughtered through the evils tainting the surrounding area.

---

''Wha... Where?'' - Kichirou opened his tired eyes. The second he woke up, he got startled by some ominous noises. Slicing, cutting, shouting... The usual sounds of a battle. He instantly backed off, only to realize that he was very far away.

The girls' voice on the other hand couldn't be heard. It was a relief to him, but at the same time, it made the situation even more confusing and bothering.

After looking around, Kichirou found out that he's standing right near an ancient building. A ruin.
Using his common sense, or the remains of it, he thought that it will not be a good idea to tackle the ruins like that. However, something was pushing him to go. Maybe, it could be that he's just a treasure hunter. Or maybe it was curiosity. It could be something far worse than that.

After entering through a collapsing entrance, he realized that his bracelet is lighting up the entire dungeon. He couldn't even directly look at it. Even that didn't stop him. He went even further, investigating everything.

---

She could sense it. The power was coming from somewhere near-ish. Whoever had expended that much power... She had a choice. To save the one who had killed the monsters, or to leave and return to her old life, as if nothing had happened.

Do I really need to think this over? She pretty much saved my life. Viper mused as a flicker of a smile crossed her face. She quickly ran to the source, now fading as the release of energy stopped.

She saw a girl, teenage probably, crumpled on the ground. She was clothed in black attire. She had to be the one who released all that power. Who else would it be? Viper, trembling, unclasped her pendant. A few sips would keep the girl from dying for certain, but Viper had no idea how much was exactly needed to bring the mysterious girl to consciousness.

She poured about four sips of the potion into the girl's mouth, hoping for a reaction. Hopefully, it would be enough. Viper lifted her pendant away, careful to keep the procious contents inside. She would have to try to brew some more the next full moon.

---

Darkness greeted Thiria as she stared out into a seemingly abyss, before it started to whirl and distort, the colour spinning so rapidly it left her dizzy. She tried to regain her bearings, shaking her head from side to side.

"And we meet again," an amused male voice resonated.

Thiria whirled around, her hands glowing gold and pulsing with energy. "Who's there!"

"The first Warden of Time. I never actually got to introduce myself fully, so I am Matt Valtor, first Warden of Time."

"And you never introduced me? I'm hurt, Matt."

Thiria's eyes narrowed into slits as she shot an energy blast at the source of the voice, who winced as it exploded on contact with him.

"Someone's a feisty one," he grinned, before bowing dramatically. "I am Terry Sagacious, second Warden of Time."

Thiria closed her eyes as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. "You were Raeyn's companion before you died." It wasn't a question Thiria was trying to convey, and Terry knew it.

"Yes, she was," he stated as his expression grew sterner. "But this isn't about her. This is about you. You have excellent control over your powers over time for a beginner, and I commend you for that. However, you have no semblance of self-control. You knew you were at your limit and continued to your powers. That is worrying in a Warden of Time."

Thiria reddened, before looking down at her boots and her still pulsing hand. She stopped the flow of energy gently, before staring in Terry's eyes. "What must I do?"

Terry smiled. "That's the first step: admitting you have a problem. Next, I want you to stop using your powers the very moment you feel tired."

"But that's soon after I start to gain control of them!" Thiria burst out, before covering her mouth and reddening.

"Precisely why you should stop. Control will not be gained easily, and practicing everyday will help you to gain more influence over time. Time is a fickle mistress; you should work with her, not attempt to control her. Granted, you may have more luck given that the pocket watch you carry was my original conduit," Matt injected smoothly.

"Why would it being an original conduit help?"

"The more years an artifact stays in the cellar and gets charged by the beacon of Valhalla, the more it can help its Warden."

"I see. Anything else, then?"

"You look a lot like Terry. Are you related to him somehow?"

"Unless he's a couple of millennia younger, then no. Besides, my parents..." Thiria drifted off, looking forlorn. Sensing her discomfort, Terry smiled at her.

"We'll see you soon, Thiria. Until then, stay safe."

Another whirl of colours greeted Thiria, where she suddenly found herself standing up where she had originally fainted on the battlefield, where several Wardens were staring at her. "What?"

---

Darkness.

Pure, complete darkness.

She couldn't feel anything. Numbness spread through her entire being.

...How could she have been so foolish to believe she would survive? Her kind could survive hundreds of years yes, but as a Warden, she'd lived millennia. The chances of survival were no thicker than a breadth's hair.

But even back then, she wasn't normal. Not even remotely.

"...nie..."

Raeyn froze.

"...phanie..."

A horrible, chilly feeling momentarily forced back the numbness. The voices...were calling for her.

"...Stephanie..."

Fear struck where her heart used to be. No. It couldn't be.

Then their faces swam up, clouding her consciousness with their faces...their hands...reaching...touching...and everything began flooding back...

My name. I was born in a universe where every person had three names. Well, with the exception of the clueless mortals, they usually only had two.

One was our given name, the kind you put on a birth certificate.
The second was our taken name.
The third was unknown to the majority, our true name.

The name I took was something that instilled fear into the bravest hearts.
I left it behind a long time ago.
My given name, you ask?
It doesn't really matter now.
My sister...she was a world-breaker.
But if that was she, I was even worse.

...My name...

It was Alice.

Something was stirring inside Raeyn. She was semi-conscious. But how? Abandoning her conduit...it should have killed her. She tried to twitch a finger, the feeling returning...oh so slowly. Too slow. Raeyn Wilmist would not stand for that.

She shot to a sitting position, and immediately regretted it. Pain raged through her veins like a wildfire, jangling her nerves. When the aftermath passed, there came the weakness.

"I...not....leave..."

Her face muscles hurt when she frowned. Ow.

"Never...leave..."

That voice...

Why was it insistently calling to her? Why? Raeyn tried to blink, but despite the feeling of her eyelids moving, she saw nothing. Just the darkness.

"Ra....eyn...."

Terry?

Terry? What?

Raeyn tried to reach out for him mentally, but was slammed back by a force field. Joy, she was not only powerless, catching up to her age, but also unable to sense anything logical happening.

Feeling returned to her jaw. Those faithful, faithful teeth. Her tongue was moving. Her vocal chords spun back to coordination.

"Alec?"

[Just to clarify, all enemies have either been driven away, destroyed, or being hunted by the remaining Wardens.]

---

''...What is this place?'' - Kichirou spoke quietly to himself, thoroughly and carefully investigating the dungeon. It wasn't just a plain old ruin. It was something else. Something magical, even.

He could feel the incredible power and force that dungeon held. He could even feel the power flow into his body. It was an incredible feeling. Something that a mere human wouldn't feel in his entire life.

Soon enough, he reached a labyrinth of rocks. Not normal, ordinary rocks. These were literally brimming with energy. It was best not to touch them.

''Ah, great. A labyrinth. Well, we're going in!'' - without wasting any time, Kichirou jumped into the maze, from curiosity.

---

Thiria sighed as she sat down in the pavilion. After her apparent show, the other Wardens had decided that she was to be avoided due to her 'freakishness'. It wasn't that new for Thiria, but it still stung anyway.

Raeyn had no say in her apparent quarantine, as she had been carted off by a Warden, but Thiria could see the pain she held after the display she had put out in the previous battle.

She couldn't say anything about the Warden of Song, but she had seen Amsel after the battle somewhere, but Thiria couldn't be bothered to ponder on that at the moment. Sparing a glance at the other Wardens, who looked highly uncomfortable at her presence, she huffed, before holding her hand out, calling onto her luck powers.

As several sparks leapt into existence, the other Wardens shifted uncomfortably. Letting a small smirk curve her lips slightly, Thiria let more sparks leap into existence, increasing their size as she continued.

Her eyes set alight with amusement as she overheard one of them murmur something about her being an alien. 'And you aren't?' she thought, rolling her eyes slightly. If only they knew she was only practicing her powers over luck....and that those powers also showed up as gold sparks.

---

Viper just sat there in a cell, as she was left to think... and brood. Her magic, had, thankfully recovered, and they hadn't thought to disarm her, apart from her sword. Viper slowly cast out her mind, as she searched for someone, anyone who didn't think she should be locked up.

Or perhaps a conversation partner, she was probably going to go insane, with nobody speaking to her. Or she was already insane since the beginning, that was always possible. All the minds she found so far were those of wardens, and she had been careful not to let them know she was there.

---

[jeez haven't posted on this in a while XP sorta forget my char]

Drake finished up his patrol, exhausted from the battle, although he insisted on not showing it. When his shift was over, he set up a few extra barriers just to make sure, and headed back to his cabin.

Once inside, he teleported under it to the secret room, picked up the diary there, and started reading. He hadn't made much progress on deciphering it, but he knew that the text written here had something to do with his past, why he was missing his memory, and why the other Wardens wet suspicious of him.

---

Viper had a near-perfect sense of time, and she knew that it was time for the wardens to change shifts. They really needed to be more careful what they said to each other near her. Suddenly, she found someone who wasn't a warden. He was... far, his mind flickering on and off to her. Yep, he was far away.

But he was near to many, many rocks charged with energy. He probably didn't know where he was going, it was a maze after all. But perhaps... with her mind, Viper could easily navigate the expanse of stones. Perhaps, he could help her.

'Hello?' She shouted into his mind. 'Can you hear me?'

---

(I'm really not sure how to jump in, and it's been a while since I've RPed in this thread, forgive me if I've forgotten or missed a few facts.)

Amsel settled onto the ground next to Raeyn, and lifted the girl's head onto her "lap." Her fingers gently stroked Raeyn's dark hair as she began to sing a soothing song to the girl. Its melody was an old one from her home planet, and was believed to be a song of healing. It didn't matter whether it actually worked, as long as it soothed Raeyn's tormented soul.

The Warden of Song put a finger to the lips of the weary Warden of Darkness when the latter tried to speak, as if to say "Don't waste your energy, you need to rest for now." The notes of the song continued to echo around the area. They were almost hauntingly beautiful as the Piscean poured her heart into the song, now accompanied by the harp which her fingers plucked at.

Amsel closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her and take over her being. Raeyn.... You've been through as I've watched you over these long years. Even if this melody cannot save you, I wish that it soothes your soul as you journey into Hassa. Be well, old friend.

(Hassa = Piscean name for afterlife.)

---

(I'm just starting off with something heavily leaning towards the old belief that water was the source of everything. Feel free to tell me to delete my post if it's too unrelated.)

Dakar opened her eyes to find herself floating in an apparently endless pool of water.

"Where... Where am I? Hello? Is anyone there?"
Dakar started paddling and was relieved to find that the water was simple water.

"So... Why am I here? All I can remember is meditating..."
A sound, similar to the ring of a gong, rang out from behind her and Dakar whipped around to find the source of the sound.

"That noise... I think I've heard it before... It's oddly relaxing..."
After she went over her thoughts to see what this place could be, she blinked as a sudden revelation hit her.

"Could this be my idea of some infinitely ideal place? No... I definitely don't think so... Hmm..."
Dakar thought for a while, then found an idea.

"What would happen if I died in this place? Well, there's only one way to find out..."
And with that, she exhaled once, then let herself sink.

(Tripped over my usual keyboard and broke it, so I'll just leave this little cliffhanger here. Sorry!)

---

(Hope you edit before Omnia sees...)

(And you're not the only newbie here, believe me)

Viper groaned as she came to consciousness. Had she blacked out again? It appears so. Maybe I should make a point to limit my energy use these days... She thought, her head throbbing. It didn't matter. Untill that warden she saved- what was her name? Rave? Raven? Raey? Raeyn? Yes, that was it. Until Raeyn regains consciousness she was most likely stuck in the cell. Raeyn seems like she was their leader through fear or something.

It doesn't matter. Viper reminded herself. I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Oh well, I might as well sleep. She curled up on the bed she had been provided with, content to simply drift around her own dream.

---

[meeppppp.]

Darkness. Raeyn was getting awfully tired of this scenario by now. She could not track the time that had passed as she sat there with no light, her coat billowing behind her like there was a strong breeze trying to whisk it away. But there was no breeze. There was nothing.

"Why am I not dead yet?" Raeyn mumbled irritably, staring boredly at the wide expanse of darkness that encompassed her surroundings. "Or God forbid, you're not trying to bore me to death?"

"You always did have a habit of guessing exactly what I was trying to do," a voice responded dryly.

The former Warden of Darkness tensed, eyes widening with shock as she stood. That voice...she knew that voice.... "Terry?" she hesitantly called out.

"There's my girl," came the voice again as a vaguely familiar figure came into view, with them coming light.

There was absolutely no hesitation as Raeyn broke into a run, crashing into the miraculously corporeal person. "Ow! You know you're still heavy!" Terry whined, nevertheless grinning.

Raeyn raised her hand, almost afraid, gripping his shoulder. "You're really there? Does this mean I'm dead?" she asked softly.

"This is me, but no, you're not dead yet," Terry's grin mellowed slightly.

An exasperated sigh emitted from Raeyn's throat, and she drew her hand back...and slapped him. The force was strong enough to push back the stunned Terry who let loose a string of vehement curses. "What the hell was that for?"

"For making me wait, you damned prat," Raeyn hissed half-heartedly, already embracing him again and stepping back. "What is going on?"

"Ah," Terry mused. "This is where things get serious. I never liked the serious stuff," He muttered with a straight face.

"Terry," Raeyn stated in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay!" Terry held up his hands in surrender for a moment before jamming them into his pockets. "So anyway, you destroyed your blade willingly. Released the power of voodoo darkness and stuff. Oh, and critically injured yourself while at it," He shot her a look of such disapproval that Raeyn winced. "Almost to the brink of death. Your magic roots protected you though."

"But...I abandoned-"

"I'm fully aware of what you did," Terry cut in, but not unkindly. "It's in your blood, Rae. You can't abandon that."

"Then if I'm not dead, why am I here, talking to you, who is dead?"

A sly smile spread across Terry's features, making Raeyn regret she even asked. "But who ever said I was dead, Rae?"

---

Raeyn Wilmist jolted upwards, sweating profusely and her breathing shallow. Her guard jumped awake as well, staring at her in astonishment. Adrenaline was surging through her veins, blood being pumped so fast when it was supposed to be stagnant. The first thing that came into her mind was a blurry vision of a young girl, leaning over her, dripping something into her mouth.

"Release her at once," Raeyn rasped, trying to stand.

"Release who, Ma'am?" Her guard, who was a Warden of Metal she noted, asked in confusion.

Raeyn's dark eyes locked onto the woman's ashy grey. "The stranger who saved my life, but wasn't a Warden. Release her, I order it, Leise."

Leise nodded reluctantly, already heading out of the room. They had placed her in the infirmary, Raeyn noted with mild surprise, in a separate room. The place was carefully partitioned into a hundred or so so rooms, seeing as some injuries and magical maladies were greatly perturbing or highly infectious. Raeyn moved to stand up, but gasped in pain as heat shot up her forearm. Grabbing at it, her dark eyes widened perhaps for the billionth time that day.

"Oh hell," She breathed, staring at the symbol of the burning eye now tattooed on her arm.

---

Thiria rose from her seat, feeling the eyes of the other Wardens and Chosen on her. Sighing mentally, she strode out of the pavilion and away from the others. Honestly, with the way they were all behaving, one would think they didn't want her around. Oh, who was she trying to kid? Of course they didn't want her around!

She continued on her path, her eyes scanning the rows of houses. She supposed there were the residences of the ones she left behind at the pavilion. Briefly, she wondered whether there was one for her. She shook her head. After their behaviour towards her in the pavilion, she highly doubted they would allow it to remain standing.

Suddenly, she rammed into a person, or, more specifically, a person rammed directly into her. "What's going on?" she asked, wincing inwardly. Her tone of voice was sharper than she would have wanted.

Her look was enough to intimidate the other Warden to blurt out the answer, “Ms Wilmist has ordered the release of one of the prisoners!”

That got Thiria’s attention on two matters: One, Raeyn was not dead, and awake. Two, she had ordered the release of a prisoner.

From what she had gathered, the prisoners were some of the more dangerous ones in the universe. Why would Raeyn order the release of one?

“Which one?” Thiria asked.

This time the Warden was less compliant to reply, so Thiria sighed. Luckily, her reserves had returned to normal and she could try to use her newly gained powers without trying to hurt herself.

She concentrated, skimming the surface of the Warden’s past. To her mind, the past of someone was a pond; the surface what had just transpired and the bottom, their almost forgotten memories.

She searched for the signature that always radiated from Raeyn, deciding that was most likely the quickest way to locate the conversation. She didn’t have to look very far as the conversation replayed itself before her. Her eyes narrowed. It was true that the girl had saved her, but she could have had an ulterior motive.

Thiria pulled herself out of the memories, noting that this time, it was slightly easier than the first time she attempted it. She closed her eyes briefly, noting the power she had left. Half-drained. She would need to conserve that power.

She met the Warden’s eyes. “You do realise the prisoner could not be as kind as she seemed, right?”

“H-how did you-”

“Call it insight. Do you realise that or not?”

“Y-yes."

"Good. I'm coming with you," Thiria said firmly, her tone not leaving any room for argument.

---

Someone's coming. Viper thought as she heard footsteps in the hallway. She ignored that, instead opting to pretend she was asleep. Ever so subtly, Viper reached out her mind and tried to sense whomever was coming. She sensed Thiria and Leise headed for her. Both were suspicious that she had ulterior motives. It didn't matter. She preferred to get out of their hair as soon as possible.

So they call themselves Wardens, don't they? What do they guard anyway? Viper thought, confused. Her mind was finally clearing up after doing... whatever she did. And where am I? I never even knew such a place existed. You'd think the Court Mages would have found it already otherwise. Unless they have protective barrier or something, but nobody, not even a hundred mages, should be able to do such a thing. Ahh! 'm going to go crazy thinking about this! Viper thought in frustration.

---

I finally made it. Liana thought as she gazed at the landscape before her. As fas as she could see there was nothing but old buildings and rubble. There seemed to be an energy pulsating off every object, vaugly reminding her of her EMP field. Her hand went to the pendant around her neck. I'll make you proud mother, just wait and see. She started off, her ten and a half foot frame moving her quickly through the ruins. At one point she thought she could see movment in the distance, but she was to far away to tell what it was.

After some time she stopped for a rest, sitting down on a large boulder. It was at this moment that two robbers decided to attack her. This was a major err in judgment on their part. once they got a good look at her face, or rather lack of one, they turned to run. Others might have just let them go. Liana was not so merciful. In one quick motion she stood, turned towards the fleeing men, and shot her tentacles after them. They had no chance to escape. Three impaled the first man, leaving him to bleed out on the ground. The others grabbed the second person, a boy in his late teens, around the waist, yanking him back towards her. His screams sent chills of pleasuredown her spine. She did love a good screamer.

"Now what shall I do with you, hmm?" she asked the terrified man, caressing his face with the back of her hand. "How about you help me find my way through this maze of ruins? Wouldn't that be helpful of you?" Liana place a hand on either side of the mans head, forcing him to look at the spot where eyes would have. A purple light began to pulse from within the nonexistant sockets. "You Will Obey!" she cried, forcing her will upon him. The boy's screams died away as his mind was brought under her control. The symbol of her people, A circle with an X through it, carved itself into the skin on his forehead. To the guy's credit, he put up a tremendous fight against her control, but in the end it wasn't enough.

Placing him down, Liana clapped her hands gleefully. After all that training on animals, she finally had her first real Proxy! She patted him on the head, saying, "You and I are going to have such fun together! I have to give you a name first, though" She stood thinking for a moment, before the teen spoke up. "If you don't mind me giving a suggestion My Lady, how about Unus? It means 'one', as I am the first of your servants." Liana smiled at him. "Well Unus, if you could take me to the center of these ruins, I would be very much pleased." Unus bowed before striding off to the left.

After a few minutes of walking Liana could see an open area, a few hundred yards in front of them. "Thank you Unus. I do not require anything else at the moment. For now just stay hidden until I call for you." she said to the boy. He bowed, saying, "As you wish My Lady." before walking back the way they had come. Now to find out what this place is all about Liana thought to herself. Moving quickly she strode towards the open space, and the people within.

---