AN: Hey guys, I apologize for the enormously long wait. My life belonged on the Jerry Springer show for the last few months and some of the things that happened sent my emotional well-being into the depths of Hell. But I am happy to say I'm recovering now, and will do my best to update more often. Thank you all so very much for your support, without you guys I probably would have given up.

Sins of the Sorceress

Chyemme

It was dark all around me at first, though through the darkness I could clearly hear someone or something moving around. My head hurt terribly. Maybe I could see with my innersight. I focused and reached out with my mind, disoriented though I was. It was almost as if I had been hit with a hammer. The backlash that followed my attempt was a swift and terrible one. I heard myself cry out in pain and a nasty voiced laughed in response.

"If you wish to see, daughter of the isles, open your eyes. Your mental gifts will serve you poorly here," a high voice said coldly.

"Chyemme! Chyemme wake up!" a voice urged. It took me a moment in my mental stupor to recognize her voice.

"Vendra!" I exclaimed, as recollection came flooding back to me. My eyes must have snapped open, because my vision came back, though it was fuzzy at first.

When I could see clearly, I thought I must have been dreaming. This certainly couldn't be any real place in sanctuary. We were on a stone platform with stairs leading to several ones around us, some above and some below. And, all of them, including ours, seemed to be suspended by nothing. There was no ceiling or floor, no walls, and no sky. All around us was black and inky, save for weird suspended balls of stationary light. It was almost as if we had been trapped in the night sky.

"Wha-?" I started quietly.

"Welcome to my arcane sanctuary," the same cold voice from before answered.

I tried to look that direction, but my neck was incredibly stiff, as was the rest of me. I realized, looking down that I was tied to a pillar by some sort of magical rope. The shimmering red rings around my legs and arms were not only restraining me physically, but spiritually as well.

"Figuring it out, are you?" the voice said again.

"Regrettably," I hissed.

The voice laughed again, before someone moved into my line of vision. To my surprise, the voice had come from what appeared to be a child. The figure was only about four feet tall, and to further my surprise, this newcomer also seemed to be completely human; an occurrence that had never happened to our group previously. Up until this point, everything we fought against had been a monster of some kind. I couldn't see this person's face; it was concealed behind an ornate golden mask adorned with intricate amethyst swirls. The mask donned two ram-like horns at the top, one in each direction, each holding a variety of gemstones. This person wore long purple robes embroidered with gold swirls and held a long, vibrant golden staff that was giving off a sickly orange light.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Vendra said quietly. Similarly, she too was suspended on a pillar. "We're in his sanctuary. This is Horazon, the infamous demon mage and summoner."

I blinked. "You?"

The figure growled audibly. "Yes, me."

"But, Maria said you were dead. Along with Bartuc. You two killed each other in that terrible mage war," I recalled.

"Bartuc was an idiot," the person laughed.

"So are you, if you think you can just kidnap us like this. Our friends are on their way now, I'm sure of it," I retorted.

"Your friends? Ah yes. Well, I wouldn't worry about them anymore. There is now way they can get in here, and even if they could, they'd never make it to us," he said icily.

"Well, if you're not using us for hostages what do you want from us?" I shot back.

"Nothing from you yet, daughter of the isles," the man named Horazon replied bluntly. "No, my attention belongs solely to you, sorceress," Horazon said, focusing on Vendra.

My sorceress friend hissed at him defiantly. "Me? I'm not doing anything for you!"

"Not me, my dear," he said, his voice carrying some odd tone. "It is something you must do for yourself."

"What the hell are you talking about you little midget?" she snapped.

I laughed despite the circumstances. "Vendra, you sounded like Piricus just now."

"Sad part is, I'm starting to think like him right now. I'm thinking of all the ways I can get rid of this little asshole," said replied back.

Horazon looked at her with steely gray eyes behind his mask. "Then enlighten me, sorceress. What are your ways?"

Vendra blinked. "You want me to tell you? Man, jackass would love you. You listen to people you don't like talk?" she snarled.

"I never said I didn't like you," he said plainly. "In fact, if I didn't like you, you would not be here," he continued.

"Excuse me!" Vendra coughed.

"I agree," I snapped. "Kidnapping people off the street, bringing us into some odd dimension and tying us up is a poor way to show affection."

"Yep. You and jackass would definitely be great friends," Vendra sassed.

"Hmm, the necromancer and myself? The only connection we might share if that of the dark arts," Horazon countered.

"How'd you know Piricus was a necromancer?" I asked curiously, though with a growl.

"I know all about your little group. Especially you, esteemed sorceress," Horazon said, walking over and bowing, though he was so short he almost hit the floor. "Or should I call you Vendra?"

"That privilege is only for people I like," she retorted sharply.

Horazon laughed. "I believe, Vendra, if you and I were to spend some quality time together, you would come to like me a great deal."

"I don't need a boyfriend," she snarled. "Especially a little freak like you."

"You have a quick tongue, but an equally quick mind. Excellent for the arcane arts," he praised.

"Man, you have a harder head than Alminus! Get a clue!" Vendra growled.

"You've yet to hear my reasons for bringing you here, Vendra," he said patiently.

"I don't care! Let me and Chyemme go or I will blast you back into history with Bartuc!" she snarled.

Horazon laughed coldly. "An an empty threat, my dear. I know you have no magic to speak of."

"You little bastard, I'll kick your ass with my hands and feet!" she continued defiantly.

"Such are poor methods for those as us. You were meant for much greater things," Horazon said with a snort.

"How would you know?" she scowled.

"Because I have seen that which will be, and that which was. It was your mighty magic that destroyed the demon Queen. You were a great magess, I want you to be so again," Horazon said simply.

"This isn't making sense," I growled.

"She's right. Let me get this straight? You want to help me? Help me to do what? Get my magic back?" Vendra said venomously.

"That's right," Horazon said, nodding.

"Why?" Vendra asked, surprised the same as me.

"Perhaps it is because I see myself in you. I was once stripped of all power, just like you. And like yours, my power was immense. I once believed in serving the greater good. I once believed in serving the Horadrim. I believed it, until the day the Horadrim betrayed me. You see, in those days, we were not strong enough to seal the three away by ourselves. No, we had to rely on the powers of heaven, moreover the archangel Tyreal and his mysterious soul stones. I never liked this; neither did many of the others. We should have been able to seal them ourselves, after all this is our world. I argued that we needed to find a stronger power, that we as humans should be able to stand up for ourselves. We shouldn't be dependent on either heaven or hell. In fact, I argued that the human race was strong enough to conquer hell. I believed that we could conquer demons and bend them to serve us, that would give us the edge we needed over the prime evils. To take their own strength and throw it against them," he said powerfully.

"A dangerous strategy," I admitted. "Demons are chaotic."

"This is true. But under a strong master, there eventually comes order from chaos. Of course, as one might expect, Tyreal and the other heavenly powers despised the idea. My brethren thought it might merely be because they are angels and demons are, well, demons. But I, I believed something more sinister of the higher powers," he continued.

"Tyreal and his likeness have always watched over us!" Vendra snarled.

"Have they?" Horazon asked, a cold chill coming to his voice.

"Yes!" Vendra and I hissed together.

"Wrong!" he said powerfully, "And I'll tell you why. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe protecting us, as they call it, was really their way of controlling us? Just what are they protecting us from? Once the prime evils vanished, the influence of heaven did not. There are many legends that we are taught, Vendra, that tell of strange, angelic forces guiding people away from the resting places of various "dangers". There was one such legend, the legend of Mai Miou. Do you know it?" Horazon asked Vendra politely.

"Yes," she grumbled.

"But your amazon companion does not," Horazon said, peering at me icily. "Tell her your version," he requested.

"Chyemme's not a toddler, and I really don't think she wants to hear any tall tales right now. As she's already pointed out half-pint, we're in pain and tied to posts," she growled.

"My apologies," he said briskly and for some odd reason my ties loosened so that my limbs were no longer immobile and stiff. "Perhaps a looser rope will loosen your lips."

"Just do it, Vendra. I have no idea where he's going with this," I sighed, though part of me was undeniably becoming intrigued.

She looked at me and sighed. "Mai Miou was a Zhan-esu mage, like me and Sovellis. She was in many ways, what Lord Rathma is to the necromancers. She was our founder, and the only one to ever achieve the purest elemental magic. Legend says that Mai Miou lived in a village much like the one I grew up in, she had humble origins. A harsh winter descended on her village one year, the likes of which had never seen before. The winter was unnatural, it lasted many years, and many people died. The village was becoming a frozen, forgotten wasteland and everything Mai Miou loved was almost gone. There was an artifact, one that was supposedly forged in heaven itself, called the "hou jikin", which in your language would be translated to " great fire of the sky". It was a torch, that carried with it what was said to be the very first flame," she began.

"The legend tells that the resting place of hou jikin was a mountain named "virikjin" or "sky spire" and that it stood taller than Mt. Arreat. This place was close to Mai's village, but was rumored to be guarded by a terrible demon that slaughtered indiscriminately. After losing her mother and brother and having only her sister left, Mai vowed to put a stop to the cursed winter. Mai journeyed to sky spire and confronted the demon," she continued. "But . . ." she furthered, then stopped, something apparently donning on her.

"But what?" I asked, confused.

"What she found was not a demon, but an angel. An angel named Izual," she said quietly.

"I don't understand," I said with a blink.

"Let her finish," Horazon snapped.

I fell silent as Vendra resumed. "Izual warned Mai that the flame was evil and could not be taken from its resting place. Mai was going to heed the angel's advice and leave, but the hou jikin seemed to call to her. Mai pleaded with the angel, and told him of the troubles in her village. The angel was touched by her story and her sincerity. The angel told Mai that he would let her take the hou jikin if she could defeat him. It was a long battle, and Mai used every magical ability she had ever been taught. Mai almost died, but in the end, she won because she managed to call the hou jikin into herself and used it to fend of Izual," Vendra explained.

"It was said that the angel admitted defeat and allowed Mai to leave the mountain with the hou jikin, which is said to be the first flame. Mai used the flame to stop the endless winter, and it is legend that Mai spent the rest of her life spreading fire to the human race, giving the gift of warmth and hope to all people," Vendra concluded.

"So, what's so sinister about that?" I asked, trying to draw the conclusion Horazon was making.

"So, you two wouldn't know this because you have not been inside the minds of demons, but do you know what happened to Izual?" Horazon asked.

"No," we both said together.

"You wouldn't. You see, according to the demons, man was never meant to have control over fire. The angel, Izual, was the guardian of the sacred flame that was only to be used by the powers of heaven. The angels were afraid of what would happen if the human race gained power over fire. That demon killing people was actually that angel Izual. The hou jikin was not evil, we all know that much, even the demons. The powers of heaven said it was because they did not want humans to obtain it and sent one of their 'powers' to guard it. Aren't they supposed to be protecting us? To be helping us? That doesn't sound like help to me, it sounds like control. And, as for Izual, it is said that he went on to lead an assault against the hellforge during the battle with the prime evils. He was captured and twisted into the very thing he hatred most, a demon. And, did heaven send someone after him? No. They did not. Do you think it was coincidence that the assault on the hellforge failed and he was taken prisoner? I don't," he said eerily. "I think it was his punishment for failing the will of heaven and letting fire escape heaven's control."

For moments afterward, Vendra and I didn't speak. I was the first to break the silence, a strange resilience in me. "That is the truth from the source of all lies. That is the truth as spoken by demons."

"There is truth in both sides of a story, nothing is black and white, daughter of the isles," Horazon said coldly.

"How does any of this relate to you?" I asked, becoming irritated.

"It has everything to do with me, daughter of the isles. I learned this knowledge, and shared it with a few of my brethren and then we all began to wonder, what if, after the prime evils had been vanquished, the powers of heaven were to turn on us? We would have nothing to defend ourselves with. I thought it would be a wise investment in our future to be able to vanquish demons on our own and to bend them to our will. That way, in case heaven turned on us as they did Izual, we would have a powerful weapon at our disposal. For that reason, I began to study the demonic arts, for years I trained myself to become a force that could organize the demonic chaos. And I succeeded. I called an army of demons from hell to fight for the horadrim at a critical moment in a battle we would have otherwise lost. I saved them, but as I'm sure you already know, they turned on me instantly when the battle was over and cast me and all my lot out with me. The rest, the war with the mage clans and my brother Bartuc is history," he explained.

"That's disturbing," I growled.

"Yeah, but it's kind of logical," Vendra admitted grimly.

"And, tell me this, either of you," Horazon asked, extending his question to us both, "Am I human?"

"I don't know," Vendra confessed. "Chyemme?" she asked me uncertainly.

"He is," I said, unbelieving the fact myself.

"How is that possible with all that demonic magic you've been exposed to?" Vendra asked. "Everyone else we've ever met went crazy or warped instantly."

"Weaklings," Horazon said bluntly. "Weaklings every last one. I am exceptional, and so are you, Vendra," he started.

"I can see your point of view about what happened to you, but what has any of this got to do with me?" Vendra asked with a scowl.

"You will be great. Greater even, than I. With training, you might be able to control Duriel, the prince of Pain, into serving you. Then you could enter the tomb of Tal Rasha," Horazon said with inspiration.

"The tomb of—what? Seriously rat-hound, what the hell are you talking about?" Vendra snapped in confusion.

"Was it not your original intention?" Horazon asked simply, unoffended by her insults.

"It was, but what would you gain from this?" I asked suddenly.

"My logic is simple. The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said dangerously. "If Vendra can reconnect with her magic, under my tutelage she will become strong enough to even bend some of the lesser prime evils into servitude. This would be a mortal blow against the three, and against all who would challenge the human race."

"How is it that I am even capable of something like that?" Vendra asked, exasperated.

"Because you have broken through the barrier of magical restraint, the fog of control has been lifted off of you when you became as one with the ancient magics," he explained.

"Yeah, I broke restraints and so everything I had went out the window," she hissed.

"Your powers are not entirely gone. Think of them as a dog on a long leash. The dog may disappear around several corners and streets, but in the end, the master is still holding the leash and is still connected to the dog," Horazon explained.

"So what do I have to do to make them come back? Whistle?" she asked sarcastically, not unlike something Piricus might have said.

"Hardly. This dog will only return under special commands. A request will not be enough; you must demand they come back. You must be aggressive, and I will teach you how. If you want to save your powers we must begin quickly. You still hold a connection, but it is diminishing quickly," Horazon urged.

"How can that be? I've felt the same all this time, like I'm not losing or gaining anything," she admitted.

"That is because you have allowed another to become your source of stability, and the bond at first was working as a balance, keeping you both even. But now you have become as a lead weight on your end of the scale and are dragging him down with you. To be blunt, your bonded's magic is now tied to yours and if you lose much more of your connection, his magic will disintegrate into nothing as well. Neither of you will ever cast another spell in your life, and, as tied into the arcane as both of you are after your transformation, losing your connection completely will also sever your spiritual connections," he said bluntly.

For a moment, Vendra's face went very pale.

"Vendra?" I asked quietly. "What does he mean? I thought you could live without magic?"

"I can," she said gravely, "but not without my spiritual energy. My spiritual energies are what connect me to this plane of existence. Chyemme, if I lose those . . . I'll die," she said silently.

"That's right," Horazon said simplistically. "You'll die. And you will take your closest friend with you. Do you want that to happen? Ask yourself this," Horazon continued. "Even if you refuse my aid and you did die, could your soul ever fully find peace knowing that you took the life of the one dearest to you? And not only that. You will have failed him and your friend Ryelass. You would have had a priceless tool to aid him in his fight, but you chose not to. Are you so afraid of being weak that you will not try to do something powerful? Do you not have confidence that you are strong enough to conquer Duriel? Have some ambition and I promise you I can make it reality," Horazon reasoned.

The look on Vendra's face was unreadable and that scared me. "I," she began.

"And, let's not forget the most important thing of all," Horazon said, a cruel tone in his words, "You mustn't forget dear old Annah. She trusted you," Horazon taunted. " She trusted you to protect her and you weren't strong enough."

I had absolutely no idea what Horazon was talking about, but it was taking an enormous toll on Vendra. "That's not true! I was just a kid! Just a kid! There was no way I could have saved her!" she said, starting to shake for some unknown reason.

"That's not true and you know it. You were strong enough, but you're having the same problem you had then. You're afraid. You're afraid to try because that which would have saved her was dangerous!" he said, smacking his staff against the floor to put emphasis on his words.

"It's not true!" she shouted.

"It is! But that was in the past. Overcome it! Come with me and I will teach you how to ensure something like that will never happen again!" Horazon urged.

"There has to be another way!" I growled. "There has to! Vendra, don't listen to him, this is madness. This man is a monster! Nothing good can come of this!" I shouted and struggled fiercely to get free.

"Silence!" Horazon thundered and my ropes suddenly wrapped around me so hard that they began to constrict my limbs.

"Vendra!" I snapped, struggling even harder.

"Give up priestess, you're useless!" Horazon continued and without warning, the ropes started to burn, causing me enormous pain.

"Stop!" Vendra shouted at Horazon desperately, watching me. "Stop it!"

"Or you'll what, Vendra? It's the same as it is then. You want to save her, but you're too concerned with following the rules. You're too concerned about doing something dangerous," he said sinisterly.

"If you stop it right now, I will go with you! I'll learn what you have to teach me, JUST LET HER GO!" Vendra shouted desperately.

"No!" I snarled. "Don't you dare!"

"You have a choice this time, like you did before. What will it be this time? Have you learned from the past?" Horazon said icily.

"Yes!" Vendra insisted. "yes I have and I will pave way for the future of myself and my friends!"

"Swear it! Swear it in our language!" Horazon demanded.

Vendra cringed and hesitated. The ropes around me squeezed so hard I felt like my head was going to pop off.

"Vendra! What do you think Sovellis would want?" I tried out at last with the last of my fading breath. "What would he do?"

I saw a tear slide down her cheek. "I don't know," she whispered. "I can't ask him. I haven't been able to since we left. This mess is all my fault, you were just trying to help me, just like the monastery was all my fault and Sovellis was trying to help me. And Annah . . . No. It will never happen again. Let me down, master Horazon," Vendra said respectfully.

"Ah, an understanding. Some things must be lived to be learned. As you wish, my dear," he said gently and snapped his fingers. The magical ropes binding Vendra faded into nothing and she fell onto her knees. She stood up, and walked over to Horazon calmly.

"Swear and we shall be on the way to your recovery," Horazon said with a nod.

Vendra bowed her head and said a sentence or two in some strange language. The sickly light from Horazon's staff wrapped around them both for a minute, then the demon mage nodded.

"Very good. You will benefit greatly from this, you have my word. Come my dear, let's get started."

"Vendra! What have you done!" I shouted in horror.

"I had enough from you, daughter of the isles," Horazon said in boredom and with a flick of his wrist I felt all my energy fade and I started to black out again. Zerae, tell me I'm dreaming . . .I thought desperately. But, I knew in my heart this was really happening and that this time, this might be all my fault. If I hadn't been here, Vendra wouldn't have done this to protect me. Horazon was right. I really was useless.