Dais was well-known in the dynasty as the one with the piercing, icy eyes. They were thin-slit, and with one stare, he could strike fear even into the other warlords. His eyes… that was what Dais liked most about himself. He would often be caught staring into the mirror, marveling at his own cruel and rough appearance. His hair was naturally wavy, but he made sure top keep it out of his face. If his hair blocked even one part of his pace, covering an eye, his scare-tactics would not be quite as effective.

He was truly an evil mastermind. Along with those deadly looks of his, he had a mind that could out-wit the best of them. Though he was awed by the power of his inhuman armor, with time, he began to wonder what he was doing where he was. Why was he serving another, let alone a weakling whom he could have beaten, in his own mind. He would sit alone, far from the others and contemplate this. Why did he choose to leave his position as a ruler of a unit of warriors, who served only him, to become a slave to another? Was that what he really wanted?

On one of those days, he was sitting in the courtyard, but he wasn't alone. Along with his armor, he was given power over insects, and at the time, he was toying with one of his pet spiders. Stupid thing, he thought. Such a weak, small and pathetic creature you are. You think you're tough, but you have yet to prove it. With one of my pinkies, I could crush you, and that would be that. I am almost ashamed to be associated with the likes of you! I am not so weak and helpless!

Though he made silent threats, he could not bring himself to kill the spider. He was linked to them, and thus, there was an invisible bond, like a tether, keeping him from doing anything. He told himself it just wasn't worth cleaning up the mess, but only because he didn't know the reason, and wanted to think he was in control of everything. It was rather suddenly when his master, Talpa summoned him. He was reluctant to face a master he did not completely accept, like his other, mindless pawns of companions, but, nevertheless, he rose from his seat and promptly strode to his master's quarters.

When he reached a darkened room, he stopped. Strange of Talpa to summon him to another place, besides the main chamber, and for no one to be there when he arrived, also. For a brief moment, he wondered if he was mistaken, and turned to leave, only to see the door shut itself. He must have been in the right place. So, for a moment, he waited, and walked around. Talpa watched.

Dais was easily bored, and the regular, old, rusted armors and weapons in the room could not hold his interest. He thought of leaving. It was not customary to summon someone and make them wait, and if he was not there when Talpa, himself, arrived, then it was not his fault. He turned to leave, but on his way out, he spotted a cauldron, and several scrolls. Some were placed carelessly across a table, and, being the neat type as he was, this irritated him. He moved to put them away, no matter who was using them, but instead, he froze.

On the scroll, there were several pictures of armors like his. The text was old, and the language long forgotten or abandoned, but the drawings were almost clear as day. They were color-coordinated, which Dais found tacky, but then, as he looked lower, a unique white armor came into view. Dais suddenly felt weak. He could almost feel the power of the armor, even just by looking down at the paper. He saw it moving in his mind, swinging great, long swords. The name inferno rang in his ears, and he thought he felt his soul burning in its flames.

Dais could not handle the intensity of the sight of it, and immediately dropped the scroll. It landed on the floor and rolled, and was picked up by another. Dais was out of breath, leaning against the table with a hand clutching his chest. His heart felt as if was being burned, and torn to shreds all at the same time, and words and images flowed through his mind. Ronin Warriors, battle, death, armor, Hariel. He could not stop them. Companion, master, sacrifice, puppet.

Time stopped for a moment as his thoughts lingered on that last word. Who was a puppet, and who was the puppeteer. He was so lost in thought, he hadn't heard Talpa coming up behind him with the abandoned scroll. He jumped nearly two feet and turned on his heel as his master spoke.

"So, Dais… I see you have discovered the inferno. Well done…"

"M-master…"

"Not many can fathom the power and intensity of an armor such as this. But obviously, I was right in choosing you to serve me."

Talpa rose the scroll up, and Dais looked away, not wanting to feel the intensity of the armor again. Talpa waited a moment like that before throwing the scroll back onto the table.

Dais had never before seen Talpa in a solid form, so he took a moment to catch a glimpse of him from the corner of his eye. He was a tall being, and bold in his physique. His hair was long and white, but there was something that told Dais the man was not physically strong at the time. Putting two and two together, he came up with the conclusion that Talpa came to them in spirit because he could not maintain himself in a physical form for too long. He frowned. He was serving a weak master. Maybe the images and words in his mind really depicted truth. Was he a pawn? Why did Talpa call upon the help of men to serve him? Why choose them? Talpa made a noise deep in his throat, and Dais lowered his suspecting gaze.

"I can see you are curious, Dais… do tell me what is on you mind."

"…A lot of things. Why you chose us."

"All I did was seek you out. you four made the choices yourselves."

"But why seek out humans? Surely there are greater beings and creatures here in your own realm!"

"Simple Dais. In all my existence, I have yet to find a creature more unpredictable and arrogant and determined at a human being. You're as strong as you're ordered to be, and so easy to please and control…"

"What?"

"You're such simple creatures with hardly a mind your own. You look you entire lives to find someone stronger than you that you could serve. You know this of your species."

"You lie!"

"Aside from that, human energy is most satisfying. Plentiful and ripe for the picking."

"No! I do not need to be ruled over! I live for myself!"

Suddenly, dark energy flashed all around Dais, and he cried out in pain. Talpa was throwing only a small portion of his newly-attained energy at his servant, and yet, he crumbled to the floor so quickly.

"Your life belongs to ME now! I control what you do, and whether you live or die!"

"S-stop…! Master Talpa! Let me go!"

"No… not yet. You have much to learn about your position here."

The dark energy disappeared, and Dais fell to the cold stone floor, half-conscious. The last thing he could remember was the word he had seen. His mind lingered on it. Puppet. Puppet. Puppet……