Vaslyn Noqundar stood next to a large oak tree overlooking the Wizard's tower. The payment was considerable so he knew there was true power inside the old stone building. The wizard employed personal guards and Vaslyn could see them make their rounds down on the ground. They sported heavy armor and short swords. Speed and defense was a dangerous combination. He could take them out easily from a distance but that wasn't the strategy he had in mind. He counted the lookouts on the elevated balcony positions. That would be his insertion. The ground had too many guards and he didn't want to draw attention early, allowing the wizard to prepare any spells.
He looked at the clouds as they covered the quarter moon and he took his chance. He silently sprinted towards the tower and covered the ground at breakneck speed. He jumped to a tree next to the tower and climbed it in seconds. His momentum slowed not one bit as he made a massive leap towards the tower and grabbed the bottom of the balcony.
The master assassin hung there effortlessly as he pulled a dagger from his belt. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sounds of the guard above him. He listened for every breath, every creak of his armor and judged exactly where he was positioned. He swung his legs back gently and leapt up, doing a back flip, in a flash. He landed on the shoulders of the guard. One hand on his mouth and the other on his dagger he made one quick jab down on the right collar down to the top of his heart, killing him quietly.
He stood there silently for several moments, taking his surroundings in. He looked around, listened and felt everything his senses could pick up. After half a minute he pulled out his two hand crossbows and made them ready. Each had a fast acting poison that would slow and kill at the smallest scratch. He loosened two of his throwing daggers and unsheathed his short sword.
A smile spread across Vaslyn's face as he crept from shadow to shadow farther and farther up the tower. He savored these moments. These moments before the kill. He was so close to another life that would soon extinguish by his hands. He was the only living this on the planet aside from his contract that knew death will smile at someone. His heart rate slowed, his dark elvish pupils dilated, taking in every detail of his surroundings. Hearing became as acute as a dogs and he even heard the shifting papers of his prey as he approached the large wooden door at the top of the tower.
There was something else. Vaslyn paused for a moment, listening to the other side of the door. What was it? There was someone else in the tower. His intel spoke only of the Wizard. This complicated things. He didn't like the unknown. It could just be another guard but with Wizards you never know. It could be anything from an apprentice to his teacher, wizard friend or a summoned demon.
Our rogue could see the door was unlocked. He grabbed the handle and slowly cracked the door. Millimeter by millimeter it opened, not a single creak or squeak could be heard as the door opened for what seemed like an eternity. He could see the Wizard in the corner of the room. His robes draped over his shoulder, staff leaned on the wall to his right and all concentration in his papers. Where was the second person? They must be on the other side of the room. That was bad. There was no way of telling until it was too late.
"FATHER!" was cried out from the unseen corners of the room.
Vaslyn gritted his teeth and tensed his entire body as he viciously kicked the door in. He aimed his hand crossbow with his left hand and aimed at the source of the cry. He let his arrow fly and fly true. It his the young boy in the chest as a blasting spell flew from his small quarterstaff. The spell was magnified by the sudden release of life-force, making the spell master level strength. It hit just behind Vaslyn but the force threw him across the room, hitting his head against the wall.
"NOOOO!" cried out the wizard. It was a beastly cry of hate and anger. It wasn't uttered by a man but of an animal let loose of its human ties. It was pure rage and fury.
The second crossbow was fired and the bolt struck the wizard in the stomach. He was seemingly unaffected as the air around him seemed to shimmer the way a distant road shimmers in the mirage of the summer sun. Vaslyn saw the wizard's staff fly to his hand. Cracks began to materialize across the staff as cosmic power was too quickly absorbed. The wooden staff seemed as to be made of glass as the cracks began to spiderweb up and down its full length. The cracks glowed of a hateful reddish glow. The wizard began to float as a noise kept growing and growing from the beyond. It was a rumbling of a distant earthquake.
Vaslyn sprinted towards the door and jumped from the first balcony he saw just as a massive explosion of all the power the last Wizard's spell could muster in his dying, rage filled breath. The tower exploded in a massive reddish fireball that could be seen, heard and felt for miles around. Clouds were blown away, trees fell and the ground shook with a father's dying anger.
Our master assassin suffered third degree burns to his back as he fell from the top of the tower. He landed on top of a large oak tree and the branches dug deeply into his flesh as they viciously broke his fall to the ground. He landed with a heavy thud, breaking his back and legs as the momentum finally stopped his body.
He laid there staring at the now burning tree above him. He could feel the heat of the fire as the area was engulfed by a mixture of ethereal and physical fire. He tried to reach for his dagger but the fingers of his right hand were no longer there. His left hand was broken and mangled under his body. He had to wait for the flames to take him.
The world seemed to fade as the comfort of death began to take him. It was then that he saw a dark shadow standing above him. He could almost hear laughter as the darkness took him.
Vaslyn Noqundar began to slowly come out of his deep slumber. His head felt light and hazy, as if coming out of a five day bender. Everything around him was dark and fuzzy and thoughts came to him with great difficulty. He wasn't able to concentrate or focus on any of his senses. He smelled burning meat, blood and rotting flesh all around him. The smell of charcoal and embers accompanied his every breath. The stench was overwhelming and sickly sweet.
Why couldn't he move? He felt helplessly chained to a wall. The metal shackles were hot; unnaturally hot. They didn't have the familiar feel of cold metal; they almost seemed to have a life of their own. It's as if the chains enjoyed wrapping around his wrists and ankles, keeping him spread and helpless.
Vision slowly returned to him as well as his hearing. He was surrounded by a compilation of screaming, laughing and whorish moaning. As his focus slowly became sharper with the moments he could see two large creatures ravaging a human female. The two demons were humanoid but far from being a race that could be considered as recognizable. They were unnaturally large and their skin was a stony blue green. It was of an almost granite texture and their movement was unnaturally quick and full of determined cruelty. They were physically toying with a woman as two cats would toy with a small rodent. They laughed and grunted as they hurt and humiliated her in horrible and disgusting ways.
The girl looked very young and there were small dead traces of innocence and purity in her eyes. Both were long stolen from her very being. Her face was bruised and swollen as they forced themselves inside of her with growling pleasure. Tears were rolling down her face and a mixture of blood and demonic seamen dripped from her orifices. Her back sported deep lacerations to her very bone and organs. One of the creatures shoved his hand inside of her back and used her spinal cord to pull her towards himself with every forward thrust of his hips.
"What the fuck!?" Vaslyn suddenly snapped to alertness suddenly. He helplessly struggled against the chains but they were securely tied. He was naked, chained to a wall in a... dungeon? No, he was out doors. Wait... he was underground. He could see hundred foot stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the massive cavern. He could see hundreds of demons as far as his eye could see. They were torturing, raping and humiliating a mixture of animals, elves, dwarves, humans and many other races of beings. Some were chanting rituals of unknown dark magic and ancient power.
He watched as several human females moaned as they floated in the middle of a demonic circle inlaid with candles and apothecary ingredients. The wounds and bruises on their bodies began to heal as their skin seemed to drain of color and their canines could be seen as they grew.
Where was he? Was this hell?
From the corner of his eye he noticed a figure standing from a throne made of blackened stone. Spikes, demon heads, pain twisted faces and hatred itself decorated the throne of this evil creature. The demon stood naked, minus a ceremonial looking cloth hanging from a belt. The bones seemed to protrude from its chest yet the muscle and sinews looked to be stronger than iron. The two horns came around his ears from the back of his head and a smile of sadistic pleasure spread across his face. His tail whipped back and forth as he made his way towards the helpless Dark Elf.
"Welcome." said the demon. The voice was deep and guttural, full of ancient wisdom, power, and evil. It seemed as if he could look directly into the soul of anyone it wished. This creature had the air of never knowing what fear is and never needing to know what it is. Gods don't need to know fear. They simply follow their purpose. It was very clear, by his domain, what his purpose was; pain, torture, flesh and fear.
"I've watched you for a long time." the god spoke, a hint of respect in its voice.
"Wha... who... I don't understand... ." Vaslyn spoke in broken breaths, true fear in his voice. Fear was an unfamiliar feeling to our experienced assassin.
"I know you don't. Most mortals wouldn't even comprehend my form, much less my purpose, my existence and my will. You seem to be doing just fine which is why you're receiving the extremely rare pleasure of conversing with me. You have intrigued me since you took your first life. I noticed something no other god or demon lord could. You have mortal morals and ethics but you are the only one in existence to completely turn it off at will. That is why you made such a perfect killer. Most of them suppress it or try to make amends through righteousness or enjoy it and relish in it. You simply turn it off. In my eternal lifetime I have never seen such a thing. It's such a shame your spirit was stuck to such a thing as a mortal body. I can change that." the god finished.
"I still don't... how? What do you mean?" Vaslyn said, nervous confusion in his voice.
The god walked to our assassin and swung his green glowing magical mace at his chest. Bones broke, flesh sliced and meat hung from the chest wound. Vaslyn screamed in pain. It was more than physical pain, he actually saw his spiritual body bleed. He saw the flesh of his non-physical self hang there as a glowing rotting piece of flesh from his chest. The pain was in his very being, in his thoughts, in his emotion!
"Pain extends far beyond the physical. It extends to the spiritual, the mental, the celestial, and the metaphysical and even in the emotional. Why do you think that the body is in such discomfort when a close lover or friend dies? There is so much more pain those other gods, and especially mortals, never manage to tap into." The god finishes with almost sadness in his words. He touches the fresh wound he just created and it instantly healed, all pain disappearing. He stepped back and snapped his fingers. The chains instantly broke loose and Vaslyn dropped to his knees.
"Stand." The god demanded.
Sudden strength vibrated from the dark elves body. He stood, clear headed and senses keen. His naked body glowed and a dark, leather Ranger armor materialized. It was feather light and almost glowed with darkness, emanating a sort of shadow from the inside. The demon pointed to a table with his weapons. They seemed different. His daggers and two hand crossbows seemed to radiate a dark inner power.
"I have given your weapons a portion of my power. They don't just damage the physical body but they will cause harm to the metaphysical. Neutral creatures will feel additional pain when harmed by these weapons. Their very souls will feel my power. Creatures and beings of dark will be especially weak since they are already partially in my domain. Creatures of light on the other hand will be resistant to taking damage from your weapons so be wary. You will also be weak to any celestial beings. The light is your enemy but darkness is your ally. Do you understand?" the demon finished.
"I think so my lord." was the assassin's reply. He picked up his weapons and gear and felt their power as he sheathed and put them away on his armor. He stared at his dagger and felt the darkness inside of it wanting to come out and cause pain.
"There are many dimensions only gods are aware of. There is one in particular that has yet to fear me. I want you to take my name and spread it in this world. I want you to slice, kill, torture, mutilate and cause as much physical and metaphysical pain as possible in this realm and have them fear and speak of my name. The more it is spoken and spread the more power I will be able to give to you in this dimension. As of now, it will be limited to what I have already spoken to you about.
Just know that this world will be unknown to you. You will no longer be in Tamriel. The laws of magic and the laws of nature as you know them will be different. This land is of dungeons and of dice. I know you don't understand but you will. Learn this world and spread my name." the god finished.
"What name shall they be speaking with dread and fear my lord?" Vaslyn said as he bowed his head.
"Molag Bal." the demon god said.
