Shivs and Shindigs; Chronicles of the Incompetent Undead

Seraph is © to me

Kaamos is © Drcheerio of DeviantArt

Adisius is © Dimitrininjasan of DeviantArt

All original characters not belonging to me are used with permission

Drakengard, any canon characters, and the scenario minus any original characters/races are © Square Enix

Prologue

-Caim's pursuit of Verdelet-

The sounds of combat had finally faded away, leaving corpses strewn amidst pools of congealing blood. All signs of life had fled, and the ravens now descended to begin their feast. The One-Eyed man had come and reaped his share of life; his enemy had been felled, and all who stood between him and his target now lay cooling and lifeless.

Suddenly, the harsh voice of a raven rent the air, and the heavy beating of wings stirred the still, rank miasma of death. From the shadows stirred a form, blood soaking robes and skin alike. The figure leant its back against a wall, all its energy spent to move these few feet. In the dim, curdled light, intricate markings stood stark against a bald, smooth head, spattered with blood and gore. The chest was a bloody ruin, rent open by a single swipe of the One-Eyed man's sword. The man with the ruined, gaping chest, raised milky white, near blind eyes to the sky, mouth grasping for air. Slowly, almost hesitantly, one hand reached for his chest, the other grasping a knife. Eyes still fixed on the sky, teeth clenched against the pain; he cut out his own heart. Ancient, dark texts told of how, in times even blacker than these, men would sever their own hearts from their bodies; sacrifice their mortality and their soul for ultimate power over the dead.

To survive, he would do anything.

Even if it meant destroying all that he ever was, and all he could ever be.

Life was still far too sweet for him to give in to Death's wheedling now; no, he would sacrifice his morals and his heart, in exchange for unholy life unending.

Years passed, but they meant nothing to him now. Before, years marked life, now they passed by without any meaning to him. He was timeless, he was ageless.

He took up residence in a dark corner of the earth, and there he brooded his hurts and nurtured his armies of Undeath.

He was timeless, he was ageless, and he was patient.

There was a time for all things, and his would soon dawn.