Parcid stood over Lo as she drifted in and out of consciousness. He had ordered someone to watch her since she had fallen ill. He walked up the stair to the main deck and found the captain looking over the side. It was night time and only a few torches were spread around, the northern lights shone in the sky as they began to see the city on the horizon.
"What's it like to be home then?" The captain asked as Parcid stood beside him.
"They destroyed the estate when they took the last Overlord down, there's no home here until I build one. How do you know who I am?" The man rolled up a sleeve to revel a tattoo of a serpent sliding into the eye socket of a skull. "Ah, your one of those."
Before the war against the Overlord, he grew tired of ruling and gave his followers the right to govern in his place. In many ways the system returned to that of the empire, while the peasants toilets mindlessly, the rich grew richer, until the rebellion. Parcid's father was one of the three that remained loyal while the others fought themselves and the Overlord minions, building up his army and training his men for when the others were weak from fighting so he could reclaim it for his master. His plan failed, the rest of the land united against them and before the others fell, he finished one of his experiments, a sorcery long forgotten that was meant to infuse someone's body with magic. The men produced weren't given names, there acts weren't record and their entire existence could be denied. The only way of identification was the tattoo, and even then, the strange powers they exhibited made it difficult, as it shifted or sometimes disappeared altogether. They were invisible men, their identities hidden to everyone, even each other, apart from the man who created them.
"Your father was a good man, before the treatment I was nothing, but after that ... well you know what happen end."
Parcid gave a nod. "What about the others?"
"I tried to find them, but with the king hunting us, had some difficulty in the ruins of the empire's capital a few years ago. Mostly doing freelance jobs, getting things for the noble bastards that are ... dislikes by the authorities."
Lo wandered through her house, walking through the sun lit corridors while shadows of small creatures walked behind her. She stepped up the stairs, her feet hitting them with a sound that should have belonged to an armoured boot, not that of a little girl wearing soft soled shoes. She carried on to the door of her room, a harsh red glow emanated from the edges. She twisted the handle and it opened slowly with a long creak.
Baristan let out a sigh, this was the third girl this week. All had seen strange lights, gone to investigate them, and had died, each seemed to be in a more public way. First there was the stones in the well, the second was found to have gone into the jungle, with the heat and moisture her body was already decomposed, the next's throat was slit while she was in the kitchen, there were a few other but this was the worst, she'd gone mad, paranoia of what had happened to the other twisted her mind, she started wandering around the house and slicing anybody who came close enough to her with a cleaver and screaming she wouldn't share their fate, and she'd had to be put down. Baristan knew there must be a link between them, but the only one was to obvious, they were all women, their age varied too much, most from different families, most had different looks. He laid out the details of each killing on a table, trying to find a link, he thought he had one but the latest victim had ruined it. Lo's father, Lord Crasius came in, his face contorted in fear and anger.
"Baristan come with me."
Lo wandered through the obsidian hall walking towards a throne as creatures in the shadows danced and laughed. She could feel the darkness around her. It felt like home.
She knew Crasius and his wife weren't her parents, her pointed ears had pointed that out. True, they had looked after her well enough, she'd been treated like a princess, she'd been given fine clothes and the latest toys, but now the princess part seemed all to real. But even then she knew she was a replacement to her father, her 'parents' had lost their son in the jungle, the spiders that bit the already sickly child spread poison through it's veins. They'd found her on the road swaddled in day old rags. Her mother thought it was a sign, just as their child had been lost to them a new one had been found, a gift from the God's to show them that those who were just would receive blessings when they needed them most. Her loving father saw it as a mockery, a son who he would teach to fight, to hunt, and to rule, was taken away from him. In its place was a daughter, the laws of the land saying that she'd marry the son of a lord and take his name. The Crasius family would disappear into history, his legacy with it. But then it was found out the girl had magic, Crasius despised it, it was used by the Overlord and his followers.
Lo carried on walking towards the black throne, a suit of silver armour sat on it. Lo placed her hand on it's gauntlet, she smiled when she discovered it felt warm, her hand trailed up to it's shoulder plate before moving to it chest and helmet. She placed her other hand on the arm of the throne before sitting in the lap of the immobile armour. She stayed there for a minuet, she tried to move but her heart froze as its arms wrapped around her, keeping her in place as she tried to struggle against its vice like grip. She could feel it draining her, absorbing her into it's armour. She let out a scream as blue lightning leapt from her hands.
Parcid looked as Lo writhed in her bed, trying to fight some unseen force. He let out a sigh and then left her room, heading straight for the ramp off the boat, they'd been docked for a few hours but the captain was explaining why his cargo was technically legal. The city was just as he remembered, it had grown under the overlord to be the centre of arms and armour, massive forges toiled day and night to produce huge quantities of swords, shields, arrow heads, and all other thing needed to maintain an army. The armour produced this way weren't pieces of artwork like the armour the lords wore, it was simple and practical. But there were a few smithies that produced the more elaborate. Parcid walked to the black glacier, where the soot from the forges blew , and carried on walking to the site of his old home, all that was left was a few scattered stones. Parcid started to work. He'd told the captain he was going to build a home here, and that's just what he planned to do.
Baristan looked at Lo's mother. She knew what might happen to her but she didn't lose her composure. She just waited as her husband explained to Baristan that she'd been seeing the lights for the past few days. Her eyes were blood shot and dark circles had formed around the bottom. She looked tired, and the sun would set soon, and with that the lights would return. For once Baristan had a plan on how to catch them.
Lo was panting, she'd broken free of the armour but it walked towards her, in it's shadow were the creatures that had jeered before. No matter how fast she ran the armour and its followers kept up with her, the distance between them shortening with every second. She felt something grasp at her leg and felt a burning sensation as she looked down to see a small, red creature grasping at her leg and felt something else leap onto her back and drive her to the floor. She was pinned to the ground as a group of brown creatures held down her arms and legs. The armour knelt beside her and placed it's hand on her face, blocking her vision and keeping her mouth closed. She tried to let out a scream before she felt herself being drained again. Lightning shot from her hands once more, frying the creatures that held her down and forcing the armour away.
"No." Lo shouted. Pulling herself up, she shot another bolt of lightning hitting the steel creature in the chest. "No." Her other hand joined in, the energy increasing in intensity as it crumpled onto the obsidian floor. "You will not take my body, but I will take yours." The creature tried to struggle against the floor but was thrown up into the air. The space between them glowed green and was dragged towards Lo. The armour disintegrated, leaving her standing in the hall by herself. "You are mine".
Lo's mother watched as the light danced around her, they were beautiful, but she couldn't follow them. She was locked in her room, given the key in case she needed to run. They were out side on the balcony, she gave no notice till she heard a tapping on the glass door that separated the area. There was a woman standing outside, her dress was crimson and flowed to the ground she was wearing a black corset that hugged her waist stomach and made her seem slender than she was and long blonde hair that stopped at her waist. Lo's mother felt herself being dragged towards the beguiling woman.
"Who are you?" She asked.
The woman gave a smile as Lo's mother unlocked the door. "My name, is Lilith."
Baristan had heard the voices and he quickly turned the key, opening the door just as Lilith's knife slit Lo's mother throat and she pushed the body over the side off the balcony. She glanced towards him as he charged, his sword dragging behind him. She pulled herself onto the side as her corset unfurled into a pair of black, leathery wings. She gave a seductive smile before leaping off the edge, her wings flapping behind her.
Lo smiled as she pulled herself up, a slight blue light flowed from her skin. She felt strong as new magic flowed through her veins. She felt as if with a snap of her fingers she could set a city alight. And it felt good.
A/N Sorry it's been a while since I've updated and this chapter jumps all over the place, but things should begin to tie together at some time as for once I have a plan where this story is going.