Prologue: Ties of Darkness
Chapter Word Count: 2,124 Words
Rating: T
Description: We meet our Avatar, who seems to be in quite a predicament with a few strangers.
Did I mention the world is crumbling?
It was over.
They stood on the crown of the castle, gazing fondly upon the horror the two had caused with their own hands. their own powers. As if it were a breathing child that they had created. Not of the one who had been a pitiful excuse of a father. Not of fate, for fate was fickle. It was always theirs to control. This destiny of a flaming land.
The world was crumbling, and it was beautiful.
And she, the one behind this ruin, looked to her companion... a soul detached to serve a greater purpose. The god that was known as Grima. He asked, with the greatest taste of curiosity and poison on his tongue: "If you had one wish, what would it be?"
"To know the embrace of love." Her response was short and clipped.
"What a silly dream…" The asker frowned. "You know?"
And the fell dragon's vessel laughed along with his turned down lips.
"I know."
"Then why dream it? When you could have so much more."
"Because this heart of mine is fickle, and it is pure with the taint of acquaintance. It wants to know the bonds of friendship, yearns for another on their level. Not this deluded vision of a deity sitting on her throne."
"That sounds ridiculous."
"It is, it is…"
oxoxoxo
Kill them.
Crush their poor numbers.
Destroy all that they ever were.
You are Immortal.
You are God.
oxoxoxo
It has been a mere three days since the defeat of the Shepherds, yet she roamed the halls with an air that did not suit her.
Past tall marble columns that touched the sky with their flat heads, and through winding hallways plastered with banners of the Grimleal, a cloaked figure walked upon the tiled floors, looking for the one person that would sate her curiosity to the brim. From the outsider's perspective, She didn't seem much to look at, besides her ornate garment that fell upon her shoulders in a shroud. Perhaps she was a skilled tactician of the army. Good for her.
However, if you knew her these past few days, you would know that she was supposed to be mourning. If she were a normal person at all. How unusual for her to be up and about. Just days before, her friends were slaughtered before her eyes. On that poor excuse of a battlefield, innocents were killed and not a single warrior had fell before her. The woman was crushed and left nearly in tears at the feet of her enemy, left alone due to the forcefield that had surrounded them... All her loved ones were gone, the rest retreated. Which left one to ponder, Just how important was this question on her mind?
The trouble with the Shepherds, this strange woman thought to herself, is that they were over-confidant.
It must of been very, VERY important. But then again, she was not a normal person. Yes, this was the Fell Dragon's vessel who was captured and shaped to Validar's liking. Many called her the Dark One. But her name (A powerful thing) was Nabbu.
"Why are you searching so hard for the old man? He can't be hiding anywhere, this is his home!" A particular voice growled out inside of her conscience. Grima himself had came into her when she had been defeated in battle, and the world was all the more worse for it. The sky had grew dark on the day their conscience had been joined together, Nabbu and Grima. Clouds covered up the blue like ants to a sugar cube. The hearts of the people filled with fear to hear the Grimleal's victorious cry from afar. What a day that was to witness, the terror and gloom.
Nabbu, however, learned shortly that she had nothing to fear from the dragon. As long as she was accepting of his input, he would give her control of her shared body. And that suited her just fine. "Calm down, I'm sure he's just around this corner. Have patience." She responded with one of the more evil grins she had. Oh, but how she loved teasing the god. It gave her a sense of power she didn't know existed. That is, until you've merged with a deity.
Grima was not known for patience. However, they entered the Throne room without too big of a hassle. The only response she got was a lowly placed growl.
Behind an extravagant door, a small corridor, led to a large curtain, which, in turn, led to a heavily decorated room. Nabbu reached out a hand and pushed the drapes without a care in the world, strolling onto crimson fabrics underfoot. She paid little attention to the dim lights and the red, hanging curtains that acted as a proscenium to a stage. No, her attention was focused on the only other lifeform in the room. Who was standing right in front of the throne, Sorcerer's robes wrapped tightly around the form that led to thin, spider-like fingers. The collar, flipped back, trailed upward to a dark shade of gray and two orbs housing the purest of maroon colors.
His name, you ask? Validair, of course. And he just moved his gaze from the highly-placed windows, to her own figure with the smallest of smirks. Barely noticeable.
She kept walking until they were face to face, less than ten feet away from each other in a comedic portrayal of a showdown. But none of the three had any intention of fighting today. Well, maybe Grima, but perhaps he was just hungry for the taste of human flesh on his tongue once more. In any case, the only movement either one of them made after that was for Nabbu to lift her hands and take the hood of the cloak off of her head.
"Hello, Father." She greeted with a soft voice, as to not disturb the peace. Underneath the cloak, Nabbu was revealed to have the hair of her mother, a platinum blond color. It matched her pale skin that had only recently seen the harsh rays of the sun. And her eyes… they were the exact replica of the man staring her down. Red to the point where it made one think of blood. It made Validair smile. She was the spitting image of her mother, which had made her so hard to find with her place among the Shepherds. But the one feature that gave her away was the main focus of her facial proportions. It was amazing how Chrom didn't realize it sooner.
"Ah, Nabbu. My dear daughter. Come to kill me, have you?"
A look of utter confusion swept across her face, causing the tall man to widen his coy smile. The spell he had cast must have been a success- she didn't remember a blasted thing about her old mission. Perhaps, bits and pieces would come to her later… but for the most part, it looked like her memory was wiped clean. It was one of his own numbers, modeled after the Amnesia his… son had inherited. (He thought the word with sudden distaste.)
Son.
Why do sons so often betray their fathers?
"...What do you mean, 'Kill you?' You're my own blood." Validair was snapped out of his unpleasant thoughts when Nabbu spoke up again. She blinked once, twice even, to add to her helpless look. But even with her given innocence, he still felt the power of Grima stirring underneath her skin, a deadly viper poised to strike.
"I mean nothing by it, my daughter."
"You are a strange one. Not important." The problem with having two souls connected so closely together, is that they would both talk at the same time, causing Nabbu's sentences to become strange and otherworldly. It was hardly a effect fit for the vessel, though. "I didn't come here to kill you, only to ask a question. But I suppose Knowledge could be the equivalent of killing." Her arms raised up in a half-hearted attempt at a shrug.
The room stood silent Validair waiting for the question and Nabbu waiting for an affirmative to go on. You could almost cut the tension with a fine, sharpened sword.
After a few more moments of this, she spoke.
"How… would you like me to kill Chrom for you?"
"To do WHAT?"
The surprise in his voice made Nabbu laugh in glee. "Well, it's kind of obvious that you didn't finish the job earlier!" This was a mixture of Grima and Nabbu talking- One's undying loyalties and the other's spitting sarcasm. "I know he's a hard foe, so I thought it would be a great present for Daddy Dearest if I was able to bring him back for you….." She paused at this point before continuing her half-insults: "It's funny. My mind has been in a sort of haze these days. I barely remember much of those Shepherds, except that they were very naive."
Well, at least that was a good sign from his flesh and blood, if anything were to be said about his family. He didn't exactly care for Nabbu as a daughter, more as a… a bipolar boss.
"Don't worry about the haze, my dear. I'm sure you'll get over it. But as for killing Chrom?" Slowly, his hand went up to his face, pretending to contemplate his next words with utter precision. "To kill Chrom would give you the world. But, have you forgotten that Chrom has a legion, while you have…..?"
"Have….. what." Nabbu's voice faded, to be replaced with an angry Grima's growl. How quickly she had changed from a carefree individual to a terrifying entity? "Are you saying that my powers LACK? That I'm WEAK? Face me now, OLD MAN, If you wish to-"
"I'm saying you need help, Nabbu. You can't do everything alone. That's simply ridiculous. I had an ARMY when I defeated Chrom's pathetic allies, and you should have the same." ...His previous statement was a bit of a falsehood. It was more along the lines of a god he held dear then a child, and he was obliged to care for her body and it's well being
. "...Oh." Thank… well, thank her that her anger had gone back to normal. If her emotions had gone out of hand, then that could of easily triggered her Dragonoid form, or worse- her memory. why it had been important to Validair that Nabbu didn't become a wreck, so to speak: She had to keep Grima tamed until he could be controlled. "...An army.. I'm sure it shouldn't be too hard to find a few people to fight alongside me"
"You can't use my own."
"...Why Not!?" There was one plan out of the rhetorical window.
"Because that would be too quick, too easy. You need to strike when the time is right, my dear child." Validar let his hand fall on Nabbu's shoulder as he gazed down at her with one of those practiced, fond gazes that she seemed to like. "You need to gather your own followers, loyal only to you in the times of need. You are currently separated from Grima's true form, and if you are to take down Chrom before you are completely joined…"
"I would die?"
"Correct."
If there was anything Grima DIDN'T want to do, it was to have his vessel die on him before the time of joining, so this was sound advice. With a bowed head and a slight frown on her lips, Nabbu responded. "... Alright. But I WILL kill Chrom for you, father. That's a promise." She didn't know why, but Nabbu wanted so badly to please her father, that she would have the one who wronged him crucified for the humiliation that he had caused.
The Stress…
The Guilt….
Just why did the head of the shepherds live? Why didn't she walk out now to claim his head?
"Good, my child." Validar, once again, smirked in quite an evil way. It was something all stereotypical villains decided to do these days, but the warlock was far from your stereotypical villain. You are dismissed."
The red eyed woman slowly turned on the ball of her foot and started to walk out of the room. However, she came to a halt just before the curtain, and turned her head over her shoulder. Validar raised an eyebrow at her, noting how her lips turned upward in a cunning way and her hands twitched with the need to grab something.
"...Ah, but who said I needed you to dismiss me?" Grima purred in a nonchalant fashion before turning to walk the rest of the way out, leaving a slightly stunned Sorcerer in her wake.
It was time for her to rise up.
SkulledRenaissaince: Hi-ya, welcome to Ties of Darkness, the story where Grima rules the world and the Avatar just doesn't care! Meet my Co-writer, ShimoRyu!
ShimoRyu: Hello dear readers! Umm… Skulled uses the term "Co-writer" rather loosely I think… I just kind of jump in with ideas and helped to create the characters that will appear later as well as do any and all of the artwork for this.
SkulledRenaissaince: You underestimate yourself too much. Co-writer, not a Jump in! jump In sounds so lame. Besides, i'm sure you were just intimidated by writing Grima/Nabbu. But Anyway, we hope you enjoy this story. We worked hard on our little buddies, and this was kind of a last minute thing. If you have any ideas at all, please, feel free to tell us. Flames will be used to stoke the fires of hell in which I'm probably going.
ShimoRyu: You're going wherever I'm going because I will drag you with me if I have to! But yes, Ideas are appreciated and flames will be ignored!
SkulledRenaissaince: I hope you like Sulfur then….
ShimoRyu: I'll make the best of it… We can roast marshmallows!
SkulledRenaissaince: And Hotdogs. But don't let your brother get near em.
ShimoRyu: True, true.