AuDC Productions Showcase: Ivan
The Blood of the Demon
From the moment that they were born, they were put in a never-ending cycle of competition to slay the very man that gave them life and lead his empire into a new utopia. From day one, they were two raging forces of nature, a combination of wind and water combating the mixture of fire and earth, with a century-worth of battles. They're ultimate goal: To kill the Demon.
Talia, the eldest, was the fierce beauty that represented the earth and fire. She was the everlasting and enduring one that weathered all that the Demon could throw at her and hardly budged like the mountains that said Demon had built. Her rage, though very rare, could shake the entire ground, splitting it to swallow someone or some group of people to their unfortunate grave. Her passion to succeed, only justified if compared to the flames of the underworld itself, has burnt empires down within a day. Talia had her moments of nurturing like Mother Earth itself, but was not afraid to show her threats the merciless pits of Hell. She stood firm on her beliefs and morals, only to change her ways if someone with greater levels of passion and intensity could warm her precious metals and reshape them to their will.
Nyssa was unlike that. Nyssa was the Demon's wind and water. She was free-spirited and never afraid to speak her mind. And while she could have a sporadic change of thought, her beliefs flowed like a river, constantly in one direction with the sea as its destination. It could be blocked. It could be altered. But eventually it would reach its destination one way or another. Nyssa had the storms on her side, drowning would-be adventures in her depths while slapping others with a gale so strong it has wiped villages clear off of the map. Nyssa was cleverness related to the ever adaptability of her elements and her raging storms were a wicked sight to behold. She had the ability to kill her enemy with a single strike- a single bolt of lightning- or send a tidal to wash away anyone who thought they would save the poor fool from his or her faith. She, unlike her sister, could never be truly contained and thus, would never truly be controlled.
They were both at the Demon's will- for the most part- and would come to his aid at the simplest request. Their teamwork was a well-known and rightfully feared aspect, only second behind their rivalry. Together, the two had forced kings to bow in their presence and have broken the wills of the strongest of warriors. Their attributions to the Demon's new world order not only built a fear of the two sisters, but also fear of the Demon himself. If Talia and Nyssa could wield so much power then their father had to be twice as strong to keep them at bay.
But as noted, he really did not. From day one, they were destined to compete against one another and he, the Demon, was unable to stop them. He could space the bouts and predetermine who won the battles, but could never truly stop those two forces from colliding. A ruler of life and death could not, at his full strength, completely stop the two sisters from meeting in combat. Not by himself, at least.
There were other forces that had prolonged this particularly meeting. Hidden beneath the Gray City was a cavern that neither sister should- but has- trespassed. The creatures there, a mixture of bats and birds, protected the mortals of Earth from the forces of the two sisters. The leader of these creatures was simply known as the Dark Knight and his godly powers were not those of the elemental natures, but he owned the power of justice and vengeance and was a master of fate. His stare could penetrate the soul and force one to view their judgment prior to his ruling, paralyzing his victim long enough for him to deliver his finishing blow. And the knowledge of the Dark Knight was unrivaled by either of the two sisters.
Yet the Dark Knight was unable to defeat Talia and Nyssa or stop them from tearing the other apart. Worse, he had been tricked, used, and seduced by both sisters. He had been dragged down into the depths of Nyssa and nearly buried in pits of Talia. He could be beaten, killed even, and the Demon, at times, was forced to make sure that neither daughter gained that power to do so.
But he was not the only other threat to these forces.
Deep within a twisted reality of Nevermore resides a creature that could be roughly compared to a demonic twist of the tale of Anansi. This spider, also known as the Heir or Venom, was a master of illusions and reality. He spun his webs deep in the forest of Nevermore and trapped his prey in their own fears before injecting them with a poison deadlier than anything man could dream of. His lair was filled with a heavy mist that distorted the weaker minds with the poison of his stingers being what targeted his victim's body. The sheer thought of this godly fiend venturing out of his forest of Nevermore to target someone has caused many men and women to end their own life as an eternity of hell seemed more desirable than an hour of Nevermore. His form changed from that of a normal man to an eight-legged being covered in darkness. Venom was known for his strength and speed, but also his cunningness, tricks, and ability foresee danger has kept him, not just alive, but ahead of the sisters.
Nevertheless, even Venom could never truly put an end to the two sisters. His webs- his deceit-would only drive a larger wedge between the two and force them to battle that much harder. Venom had done what the Dark Knight had failed to do though. He had gained the backing of Talia, though through his powers of illusion or his physical might was unknown. So while the two combatants prepared for their duel, the spider fiend sat in his web, in his forest of lies, waiting for the Demon to venture under Talia's guidance to kill him.
Nyssa could never allow that.
And thus the sinister being known as the Prince was brought into the mix. His white skin heavily contrasted the darkness of Venom's webbed form and his wicked smile was a mere opposite of the Dark Knight's constant scowl. He was known for his unpredictable nature, something the Knight's wisdom could not fathom, and his insatiable bloodlust and craze could not be deterred by the mist of Venom. He was a cleric of chaos and had a mind far more sinister that the Knight's or Venom's. His tricks, much different from the spider tricksters illusions, were both jovial and deadly on a wide scale. And his bravery could only be referred to as crazy. He asked for Nyssa's storms. He begged for Talia's flames. He longed for the Dark Knight to end him. He requested for Venom to slay him.
It is unknown if the Prince still lives today. His acts, however, still terrorizes the citizens with his chaotic gags. He can still be heard giving out a sickening cackle before disaster struck an innocent bystander. He still, unknowingly of course, did Nyssa's bidding and kept the likes of the Dark Knight and even Venom off of her trail. All for his son to a young woman, the High Jewel of the Crowned Prince.
Nyssa's recruitment did not stop with the Prince, though many believed that it should have. There was also a man, arguably one of the best physical specimens produced, that worked for Nyssa for his own reasons. A warrior with an unbreakable code who was haunted by the ghosts of his past. And given his scars and prowess, he was rightfully given the name Cratos. A Ghost of Sparta, Cratos continued to test his skills daily in order to run away from the familial murders that occurred in his family, each he had a hand in. It is said that the vision of their deaths constantly played in his right eye, rendering it useless to see anything else while his left eye possessed the powers of insight, foresight, and hindsight. He has battled the likes of the Prince, Dark Knight, and Venom. He has beaten them as well.
Cratos was also rumored to be the true father of Venom, though no one has ever seen Venom's true form to confirm this or not. Presumably, the Dark Knight holds the answer to that particular conundrum but has gone out of his way to keep said information hidden from the world. Nonetheless, the relationship between Cratos and Venom has become something the Demon found as volatile as the two sisters'.
Again, there were other forces that aided and battled the sisters. The Bane of Men, for example, used his tremendous size, strength, and smarts to break any foe that opposed him. The Spirit of Arkham used his wits and his opponents' inner demons against them. The Tigress, a poison-tongued cat-like creature known for her association with Venom, used her beauty to lower her prey's defense before ending them with a toxic stab and a deadlier smile. The son of the Demon, commonly referred to as the Ghost, used his immortality and experience to avoid his sisters' wrath while secretly forming an army of his own. And finally, the nigh beatable dragon known to the world as Shiva circled the globe to challenge those would-be champions, her golden-red scales made of the flesh and bones of those who she had already conquered.
There were the very forces that shaped this world. When the Harbinger of Death said that the Gray City would burn, he referred to the clash of these great warriors. This arbiter predicted the many deaths that would come. He forecasted that the blood of the slain would nurture the destroyed ground to build the new battlefront that the sisters looked to claim. When this Herald from the Gods, this Angel of Death, spoke about the world burning to the ground at the Demon's bequest, he also mentioned of what would rise from the ashes of such clash.
So, here they were. Two that were born from the ashes. One born from the depths of nature, the other reborn from the Pits of Lazarus. The male, a direct lineage of the Demon itself, the female, a creation of Venom. The battle would end when one of these two claimed what they believed was theirs and not a second sooner.
The girl was a nightly creature that struck at the perfect opportunity. Like her believed creator Venom, her true form never seen by the world. The form that was seen scarred many men and women alike. The top portion of her face showed that of a normal girl. The bottom half, a skinless skeleton of her jaw. Her fingers clawed like the Tigress that nourished her, yet her black legs heavily reflected the Spider of Nevermore. Her eyes were a chaotic dark gray that shown no fear of Heaven or Hell and her long black hair was said to be woven from the silks of Venom himself. On her back was a bow carved from the bones of her previous life that fired arrows that never strayed from her target's heart.
The girl's skills were unrivaled with any born in the same time. She was never deterred by the winds or tsunamis that Nyssa could create nor was she shaken by the quakes or flames made by Talia. She was capable of venturing to and from the forest of Nevermore, fearlessly finding Venom's true persona and Tigress's true smile. Her skills exponential growth allows her to slay demons, claiming their titles like the mighty dragon Shiva while leaving a trail that would impress the Bane of Men. She was born for war, made for battle, and lived for the fight.
Her name, forever edged in the stone of time, was Lian Adeline Nguyen.
Her opponent was also one with an unknown form. Some say that he was the size of a small boy with casual features such as black hair and blue eyes. Others claim that he was the size of giants and his eyes were a monstrous green. He was said to either have the face of a stoic child or that of a crazed murderer with skin thick enough to deflect small firearm bullets.
But his looks were not what made him dangerous. This boy was said to be born from one of the sisters and raised in the blood of the Demon. His skills granted him the ability to crush those that oppose him without batting an eye and his motivation kept him constantly moving without the need of rest. He felt no pain which allowed him to take on anyone, even those of greater skills. And if his power was not enough, he was smart enough to uncover the cave hidden within the Gray City and hunt down every flying critter that once resided within it.
This boy's name was not carved out of stone, but written within his grandfather's blood. He was Ivan.
From the moment they were born, they were put in the never-ending cycle of war and competition. The forces of Heaven, Earth, and Hell shaped the world that the two lived in as well as the title that they fought for.
"I will take the League," Ivan spoke over the loud rain, glaring at the girl with her mask covering the lower half of her face. "And I will hang your corpse as a flag when I do as a sign to your father!"
The gray eyes of Lian narrowed. "You are nowhere near my level kid, but you attempted to kill Aliyah. No one attempts to kill my annoying siblings but me." Thunder clashed behind the two. "And now you're going to see why."
As Ivan's muscles began to enlarge, his body transforming into his Bane-like appearance. Lian pulled two sai from their respective holsters.
"I will crush you Cross!" Ivan roared.
"I killed your grandfather's dad. Tonight, I end your life as well Wayne." Lian hissed.
And with that, the ashes of the sisters' battle ignited for the last time.
Author's Notes: I have some real bad news. Last Sunday, my computer caught a virus that has stopped any progress on all of my stories. This particular showcase was not supposed to updated until after the Outsiders Arc, but given the circumstances, I decided to upload something. I will sincerely try my best to recover any data that I can to continue working on my stories, but until then, I'm stuck. I do want to say this, avoid Dailymotion at all costs. That's what got me. Find videos on Youtube. On that note, I will do a special chapter on Arkham Rising Saturday night (Eastern Time) answering all of your questions about Jake Cross, Eli Jackson, and Sora Takashi. Again, I am so sorry for this and believe me when I say that music videos will only be played on YouTube for now on within my household. I really hope to hear from my friend (who is working on recovering some documents off of my laptop) soon and pray that he has anything on the three stories. Until then, your support and patience means a lot to me and I appreciate you reading this long tedious message while I'm currently pacing with anger, typing on my old desktop (an old Dell that is still running XP). Like always, leave a review or PM for any comments, thoughts, or questions that you may have and I will reply Saturday night Easter Time. Peace.
P.S - This showcase does have a lot of Easter Eggs and spoilers in it. I won't reveal everything Saturday, but if the right questions are asked, I will reveal something. Okay, this time, I'm off. Peace.