Raija Darknight, mage extraordinaire, looked at the Shoikan Grove, the
accused trees that surrounded the Tower she was at several days ago, and
felt another drop of fear fall into the overflowing pool. Her black hair
and robes swung as she paced back and forth while Nightshade looked on
curiously. "Just go in already," the giant rabbit said as Raija passed her
for about the hundredth time.
"I can't," Raija said petulantly.
"Aww, Raija is scared." Nightshade sneered slightly. "He must've been pretty powerful to scare you, O ever calm master."
" You weren't there, rabbit, so don't even start," Raija snapped." He was more powerful than all the wizards I've ever met put together. And it was eerie. Like pure evil just radiating off him."
"Suure" was Nightshade's only reply. Raija's black eyes turned amber, a sure sign she was enraged. Without a word she grabbed Nightshade's ears and swung onto her back. Nightshade smirked as best as a rabbit can and bounded into the grove.
After the usual unnerving trip, Raija was at the Tower of High Sorcery yet again. She noted the gates were open a crack and walked through as Nightshade bounded away. As she walked to the lowest level of the tower and started for the stairs she sensed a change in the magical levels in the air. When she turned, there was nothing. She climbed the stairs cautiously, looking around. When she finally reached the top the stood at the edge, looking at how high she was. A little warning pinged in her head, and she started to turn around. She was too late.
A deadly, silent streak of green light zapped through her shoulder in a neat hole. Raija cried out and almost fell as she clutched her bleeding shoulder. Most of the wound was burned, so there wasn't that much blood. Still, she could see the blood dribbling down hundreds of feet to the hard floor beneath. As Raija was still trying to prevent herself from screaming, she was seized in a magical grip and held in the air in the middle of the tower. She swallowed hard. If she fell she was most certainly dead. Then she looked at the man who had attacked her, who had levitated in front of her.
She saw a man in a dark black robe, the same man she had seen two days ago. His face was still hidden under the hood of the robe.
"Did I not tell you this place was forbidden?" His voice was calm, emotionless, which was scary. Raija swallowed slightly and came back with one of her usually replies, which came out strained due to the pain.
"The gate was open, so I came in." The man leaned in close and Raija could feeling the icy power radiating from him.
"You don't know who you're dealing with, young one. If you leave now and swear by , ah, your god never to return, I might let you go." There was a slight tone of amusement in his voice.
Raija's eyes, which had returned to black, flashed amber once again. " No way! This place is open and quiet, and there's no signs or anything saying I can't come." She struggled against the magical grip around her. " You're not anyone who can tell me what to do!" The man laughed slightly, cold and mocking. He raised those hauntingly pale hands to his hood. He pulled it back in one swift movement, and Raija gasped, her eyes bugging out.
The man's face was also white. His eyes were shadowed and slanted slightly, giving him a sly look. His hair was jet black, and in waves flowing to his mid-neck. His eyes had stars in them and looked like endless nights. He was extremely handsome in a scary way.
Raija mouthed wordlessly and the man laughed, his eyes fixed on her. "Nothing to say, mage?" he asked, a slight smile curving his mouth. Raija made a sort of disbelieving gag. She had recognized him instantly even though she had never seen him. It was just so…obvious who he was. He was Nuitari, the god of dark magic. No wonder he was here. It was his tower. In a way anyway. I mean, until someone claimed it. But it was his right now. And…she was dead. Reaaaly dead.
"Well, It's not like you introduced yourself or anything. You'd think you'd be more dramatic."
Nuitari's eyes narrowed slightly. "I shouldn't have to. You are one of mine." His eyes narrowed further, his voice soft and icy. "Aren't you?"
Raija, her usual recklessness taking over, rolled her eyes slightly. "Why else would I be wearing this? But I'm not 'yours'. I'm my own person. Individualism and all that."
Nuitari's face was expressionless. "Wearing the black robes and using the magic means you are mine."
"Well, I'm not!" Raija snarled. He was a god, but geez. It was obviously the Seishirou complex: people are objects.
Nuitari sighed. "I hate it when people disagree with me." His eyes turned cold as they surveyed Raija, hanging in midair and trying to not be pained.
"Well," Raija replied in a nonchalant tone, "I don't suppose many people do since you've got your mommy and daddy to protect you." There was a brief moment of crystalline stillness in the air, and the next second Raija was pinned to the opposite wall, with a dagger poised above one eye.
"What was that?" asked Nuitari calmly.
"I think you heard it pretty well," Raija replied, managing to grin and grimace at the same time. The dagger flashed in the tiniest of arcs, and the next thing Raija knew, she had a small but extremely painful gash across her cheek. She gasped and kicked out at Nuitari, catching him in the stomach. Smiling mirthlessly, he let go.
Without his hold on her, however, Raija fell. Her hands grabbed at the wall and she managed to catch a crack.
A bolt of lightning seared through her injured arm, in the exact place as the green light had. Raija screamed and let go one hand. She was now hanging by one hand above what seemed like millions of miles of air. She looked behind her into the merciless eyes of Nuitari. The gash on her cheek and her shoulder was not helpful. Not to mention she wasn't that strong.
"That was unnecessary," Raija managed to say. Several tears dripped of her face. The wounds burned and ached unnaturally; it was all she could do to keep hanging on.
Nuitari smiled again. "Oh, I don't know about that." Raija tried to hit him with her injured arm. It would have hit any other person. Even in her wounded condition, she was still fast. Nuitari, being a god, simply grabbed her arm, twisting it backward and inward. Raija gasped sharply as she felt her bones being twisted around. Nuitari pinned her arm, still twisted, against her back.
His ice-cold fingers burned into her arm and back as she desperately tried to find foot and handholds to take the weight off her arm. "What's the matter, mage of mine?" Nuitari asked slyly. "Are you having trouble? Let me help you." He took a painfully hard grip on Raija's pinned arm and lifted her from the wall. Raija screamed as her full body weight was put upon her twisted and injured arm. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't break," Nuitari hissed. "That would take all the fun away." Raija made several gasping sobs. She was having trouble breathing. She managed, through the sobs, to snarl something in drow about his weakness.
"Weakness? The pain must be confusing you. Allow me to demonstrate," Nuitari said as he traced a symbol in the air in front of Raija with one hand, the other hand still grasping her hand. The symbol, completed, hung in the air, flaming orange. Raija, recognizing it, started struggling and kicking wildly. The pain in her arm soon became too much and she slumped weakly back against Nuitari, who smiled slightly and let the tension build.
Raija turned her head as if about to sob and bit into his shoulder. Nuitari sighed slightly, flared his magic so it sent a jolt through her body, and whispered a word. The sign flared brightly, and then disappeared. It reappeared on Raija's forehead. It hung for a second, and then disappeared. Raija stiffened in Nuitari's hold. She thrashed around, screaming and shrieking as the head flared through her body. Blood ran from her nose and mouth. Nuitari floated back over to the overlook where Raija had been standing just before he'd attacked her.
He tightened his grip so hard one of Raija's wrists snapped. Annoyed at the screams, Nuitari cast a temporary silence spell on her. He then dropped her in a heap on the floor. Raija collapsed, mouthing soundlessly as the pain from all her wounds flooded her body. Everything was hurting more than she could have imagined. Nuitari reached down and grabbed her right hand. He pressed the tips of his fingers lightly into it. Raija kicked out viciously at him as he did. By dumb luck, she hit him in the leg. He tripped and fell on Raija. Ignoring this, continued to press his fingers into her hand. Finally he took his fingers away. He grabbed her hand and turned her to face him, one knee in her stomach, the other on the floor. Eyes red and teary, Raija gazed upward at her hand.
There were five black marks on it. It looked like a small handprint. Or it might be the outline of a star. It burned and seared at first. Then the pain faded and the black fingerprints were left on Raija's palm, the swirls and whorls clearly visible. Nuitari remained in that position for a minute, smiling down at her. Raija grimaced, her head clearing a little. He was waaay too close. Then he stood up and dragged Raija to the edge with a spell. Raija tried to stand up, but as she did, Nuitari kicked her, sending her over the edge.
Raija shot out her right arm and grabbed onto the edge. She was amazed she could still hold on after all that. Nuitari smiled at her and spoke one word, pointing at her hand. "Nuitari". Raija, her eyes watering with pain and strain, blinked at him in confusion. The next instant, a sharp pain shot through her hand as the five black fingerprints burned with a fierce pain. Raija gasped but held on. Nuitari just stood there as the pain got worse and worse.
Finally, with a cry that no one heard, Raija fell. Nuitari waited until Raija was almost at the bottom, then stretched out his hand. Raija disappeared to her home. She would find her wounds slowly healing when she got there. In fact, she'd probably be well in several weeks. Nuitari smiled at this amusing toy and continued his gliding walk, guarding his tower.
"I can't," Raija said petulantly.
"Aww, Raija is scared." Nightshade sneered slightly. "He must've been pretty powerful to scare you, O ever calm master."
" You weren't there, rabbit, so don't even start," Raija snapped." He was more powerful than all the wizards I've ever met put together. And it was eerie. Like pure evil just radiating off him."
"Suure" was Nightshade's only reply. Raija's black eyes turned amber, a sure sign she was enraged. Without a word she grabbed Nightshade's ears and swung onto her back. Nightshade smirked as best as a rabbit can and bounded into the grove.
After the usual unnerving trip, Raija was at the Tower of High Sorcery yet again. She noted the gates were open a crack and walked through as Nightshade bounded away. As she walked to the lowest level of the tower and started for the stairs she sensed a change in the magical levels in the air. When she turned, there was nothing. She climbed the stairs cautiously, looking around. When she finally reached the top the stood at the edge, looking at how high she was. A little warning pinged in her head, and she started to turn around. She was too late.
A deadly, silent streak of green light zapped through her shoulder in a neat hole. Raija cried out and almost fell as she clutched her bleeding shoulder. Most of the wound was burned, so there wasn't that much blood. Still, she could see the blood dribbling down hundreds of feet to the hard floor beneath. As Raija was still trying to prevent herself from screaming, she was seized in a magical grip and held in the air in the middle of the tower. She swallowed hard. If she fell she was most certainly dead. Then she looked at the man who had attacked her, who had levitated in front of her.
She saw a man in a dark black robe, the same man she had seen two days ago. His face was still hidden under the hood of the robe.
"Did I not tell you this place was forbidden?" His voice was calm, emotionless, which was scary. Raija swallowed slightly and came back with one of her usually replies, which came out strained due to the pain.
"The gate was open, so I came in." The man leaned in close and Raija could feeling the icy power radiating from him.
"You don't know who you're dealing with, young one. If you leave now and swear by , ah, your god never to return, I might let you go." There was a slight tone of amusement in his voice.
Raija's eyes, which had returned to black, flashed amber once again. " No way! This place is open and quiet, and there's no signs or anything saying I can't come." She struggled against the magical grip around her. " You're not anyone who can tell me what to do!" The man laughed slightly, cold and mocking. He raised those hauntingly pale hands to his hood. He pulled it back in one swift movement, and Raija gasped, her eyes bugging out.
The man's face was also white. His eyes were shadowed and slanted slightly, giving him a sly look. His hair was jet black, and in waves flowing to his mid-neck. His eyes had stars in them and looked like endless nights. He was extremely handsome in a scary way.
Raija mouthed wordlessly and the man laughed, his eyes fixed on her. "Nothing to say, mage?" he asked, a slight smile curving his mouth. Raija made a sort of disbelieving gag. She had recognized him instantly even though she had never seen him. It was just so…obvious who he was. He was Nuitari, the god of dark magic. No wonder he was here. It was his tower. In a way anyway. I mean, until someone claimed it. But it was his right now. And…she was dead. Reaaaly dead.
"Well, It's not like you introduced yourself or anything. You'd think you'd be more dramatic."
Nuitari's eyes narrowed slightly. "I shouldn't have to. You are one of mine." His eyes narrowed further, his voice soft and icy. "Aren't you?"
Raija, her usual recklessness taking over, rolled her eyes slightly. "Why else would I be wearing this? But I'm not 'yours'. I'm my own person. Individualism and all that."
Nuitari's face was expressionless. "Wearing the black robes and using the magic means you are mine."
"Well, I'm not!" Raija snarled. He was a god, but geez. It was obviously the Seishirou complex: people are objects.
Nuitari sighed. "I hate it when people disagree with me." His eyes turned cold as they surveyed Raija, hanging in midair and trying to not be pained.
"Well," Raija replied in a nonchalant tone, "I don't suppose many people do since you've got your mommy and daddy to protect you." There was a brief moment of crystalline stillness in the air, and the next second Raija was pinned to the opposite wall, with a dagger poised above one eye.
"What was that?" asked Nuitari calmly.
"I think you heard it pretty well," Raija replied, managing to grin and grimace at the same time. The dagger flashed in the tiniest of arcs, and the next thing Raija knew, she had a small but extremely painful gash across her cheek. She gasped and kicked out at Nuitari, catching him in the stomach. Smiling mirthlessly, he let go.
Without his hold on her, however, Raija fell. Her hands grabbed at the wall and she managed to catch a crack.
A bolt of lightning seared through her injured arm, in the exact place as the green light had. Raija screamed and let go one hand. She was now hanging by one hand above what seemed like millions of miles of air. She looked behind her into the merciless eyes of Nuitari. The gash on her cheek and her shoulder was not helpful. Not to mention she wasn't that strong.
"That was unnecessary," Raija managed to say. Several tears dripped of her face. The wounds burned and ached unnaturally; it was all she could do to keep hanging on.
Nuitari smiled again. "Oh, I don't know about that." Raija tried to hit him with her injured arm. It would have hit any other person. Even in her wounded condition, she was still fast. Nuitari, being a god, simply grabbed her arm, twisting it backward and inward. Raija gasped sharply as she felt her bones being twisted around. Nuitari pinned her arm, still twisted, against her back.
His ice-cold fingers burned into her arm and back as she desperately tried to find foot and handholds to take the weight off her arm. "What's the matter, mage of mine?" Nuitari asked slyly. "Are you having trouble? Let me help you." He took a painfully hard grip on Raija's pinned arm and lifted her from the wall. Raija screamed as her full body weight was put upon her twisted and injured arm. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't break," Nuitari hissed. "That would take all the fun away." Raija made several gasping sobs. She was having trouble breathing. She managed, through the sobs, to snarl something in drow about his weakness.
"Weakness? The pain must be confusing you. Allow me to demonstrate," Nuitari said as he traced a symbol in the air in front of Raija with one hand, the other hand still grasping her hand. The symbol, completed, hung in the air, flaming orange. Raija, recognizing it, started struggling and kicking wildly. The pain in her arm soon became too much and she slumped weakly back against Nuitari, who smiled slightly and let the tension build.
Raija turned her head as if about to sob and bit into his shoulder. Nuitari sighed slightly, flared his magic so it sent a jolt through her body, and whispered a word. The sign flared brightly, and then disappeared. It reappeared on Raija's forehead. It hung for a second, and then disappeared. Raija stiffened in Nuitari's hold. She thrashed around, screaming and shrieking as the head flared through her body. Blood ran from her nose and mouth. Nuitari floated back over to the overlook where Raija had been standing just before he'd attacked her.
He tightened his grip so hard one of Raija's wrists snapped. Annoyed at the screams, Nuitari cast a temporary silence spell on her. He then dropped her in a heap on the floor. Raija collapsed, mouthing soundlessly as the pain from all her wounds flooded her body. Everything was hurting more than she could have imagined. Nuitari reached down and grabbed her right hand. He pressed the tips of his fingers lightly into it. Raija kicked out viciously at him as he did. By dumb luck, she hit him in the leg. He tripped and fell on Raija. Ignoring this, continued to press his fingers into her hand. Finally he took his fingers away. He grabbed her hand and turned her to face him, one knee in her stomach, the other on the floor. Eyes red and teary, Raija gazed upward at her hand.
There were five black marks on it. It looked like a small handprint. Or it might be the outline of a star. It burned and seared at first. Then the pain faded and the black fingerprints were left on Raija's palm, the swirls and whorls clearly visible. Nuitari remained in that position for a minute, smiling down at her. Raija grimaced, her head clearing a little. He was waaay too close. Then he stood up and dragged Raija to the edge with a spell. Raija tried to stand up, but as she did, Nuitari kicked her, sending her over the edge.
Raija shot out her right arm and grabbed onto the edge. She was amazed she could still hold on after all that. Nuitari smiled at her and spoke one word, pointing at her hand. "Nuitari". Raija, her eyes watering with pain and strain, blinked at him in confusion. The next instant, a sharp pain shot through her hand as the five black fingerprints burned with a fierce pain. Raija gasped but held on. Nuitari just stood there as the pain got worse and worse.
Finally, with a cry that no one heard, Raija fell. Nuitari waited until Raija was almost at the bottom, then stretched out his hand. Raija disappeared to her home. She would find her wounds slowly healing when she got there. In fact, she'd probably be well in several weeks. Nuitari smiled at this amusing toy and continued his gliding walk, guarding his tower.
