~Disclaimer: You know the drill: I don't own Slayers, don't sue, etc, etc,
etc.
Author's Notes: @.@ Grou and Grau's names are starting to confuse me. I suggest you read it slowly to avoid confusion; there's only a letter's difference between the two, after all. ^.^; Oh, and I pulled DSD's priest and general's names from the Odyssey. It was so fitting...
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Clang, clang, clang... A metallic rapping resounded through the halls of the Dynast's stronghold. Clang, clang, clang...
Grau and Grou were sitting in the hallway outside of Sherra's room, against the wall. Grau was repeatedly tapping the head of his staff against the cold marble floor out of boredom. Lord Dynast had brought the girl back about three hours ago and hadn't left the room since. He was quickening her transformation, infusing Dolgoufa's spell with his own power, binding her to him for life. He would give her a little, and allow her body and soul to fuse with the power, and then a little more. He had to go slowly and carefully, lest he overwhelm her with his power and kill her. Such was the way to make a half-human servant.
Dynast wouldn't leave her a halfling, of course. Once she was used to her new Mazoku body and strong enough, he would tear the human part out of her. That would weaken her drastically for a while, but the other option was to leave her as a halfling. As a halfling, she'd be unable to drop her physical form and return completely to the Astral Plane. If she was left like that, unable to return completely to the Astral Plane, she'd slowly lose her sanity as Valgarv had, and eventually suffer a very slow death from it. How long that would take depended on the person. It could take a month, or a year. It could take five millennia. It was impossible to tell until it happened. The latter was out of the question, so her human half would be forcibly removed in time.
Grau sighed long and hard, exaggeratedly making a point of his boredom. They were told to wait outside the room until Lord Dynast emerged and told them their punishments. Grau looked at his twin, who was sound asleep next to him. Grau sighed again, and yawned. He stood up abruptly, dropping his staff and letting it clatter across the ice-cold black marble. Grou started, surprised by the sudden sound that had just awoken him. He scanned the Astral Plane, looking for possible intruders, and found none. He blinked at his twin, who had just walked across the hall and was curled up on the windowsill, gazing out into the night. There was a blizzard raging outside, and visibility would have been zero, even if it had been midday. Mazoku do not need eyes to see, however, and it might as well have been clear out there, bright as noon. They were high up in the stronghold, maybe about thirty stories, about two-thirds of the way up. The stronghold was huge, mostly to make sure trespassers that were fortunate enough to make it this far didn't get anywhere of importance before being annihilated. This hall had all the main sleeping quarters in it, and there were protection spells every three feet, along with more invisible lesser mazoku patrolling the halls of this floor alone than were humans in the great white magic capital, Sailoon.
Grau's staff still lay where it had been carelessly discarded by its owner. He concentrated on it for a moment, and it reappeared across his lap. Grou's staff was almost identical to his twin's, only the gleaming jewel on top was a different color. Grou's staff was topped by a crimson jewel, while Grau's was a paler aquamarine.
Grau smoothed out his violet cloak. The twins were also dressed very similarly. Their shirts, pants, and boots were black, Grou with violet trim and Grau with green. Grau's cloak was violet with green trim, while Grou's was green with violet trim. Their outfits had slightly different styles, but both were of the dark priesthood.
Grou settled back into a comfortable position, and soon drifted back to sleep. Grau, however, wasn't the least bit tired, and was lost in his thoughts. Lord Dynast hadn't really surprised them when he ordered Sherra's revival; she was an incredibly good general, and was unfalteringly loyal. She could shut up tighter than a clam when under interrogation, which was nearly a necessity amongst the Priests and Generals, the Generals more so than the Priests; it was the Generals who were most likely to be taken and questioned by enemies. The general was the personal bodyguard of his or her Lord, along with being in charge of the army. It was the General who was with the Lord practically 24/7, and it was the General who hears nearly everything that leaves his or her Lord's lips. The Shinzoku knew that by a much larger scale than the Humans. Grau doubted that the Humans had put two and two together; the General's role was no secret, so it wasn't like they were lacking that information.
Something was happening in this world, Grau could sense disturbances in the Astral Plane, things that are there that shouldn't be. Ever since that barrier had fallen along with Hellmaster, the wall between Lord Ruby- Eye's and Dark Star's worlds had weakened. That was why Dark Star had been able to get through, that and those weapons. It made him a little nervous, knowing that Death Fog or Chaotic Blue or even -L-sama forbid it- their respective Gods may be able to cross into this world, as well. It wasn't like Lord Ruby-Eye or even Cephied were in any condition to fight against invasion. Cephied had sunk into the Sea of Chaos nearly five thousand years ago, and those pieces of Lord Ruby-Eye were running around out there, somewhere, still in their coma-like sleep, carried by oblivious human hosts. The remaining five pieces were impossible to detect through the Astral Plane; the Mazoku hadn't a ghost of a clue who they were sealed into. So this world would be defenseless against overworld invasion. The three remaining Mazoku Lords may do something about it if they get tired of it, but Grau knew for certain that Cepheid's precious Dragon Kings wouldn't do a thing about it. They only got their lazy selves up if a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye was running amok.
It was funny, actually. The proclaimed servants of the great dragon god only got up for a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye. The Golden Dragons were lucky to have gotten that riddle of a prophesy from the Fire Dragon King. Grau giggled. Some protectors of the world they were. He stifled his sniggers when his twin shifted in his sleep. Another hour had passed, now there was about three to five hours to go. Grau groaned. It was so boring just sitting here!!
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The Dynast frowned when he sensed his priest's impatience. Grau would have to learn that some things took longer than desired the hard way. He cut off the power he had been feeding to Sherra. She had been doing better than expected. Not only was she able to handle more power at once than expected without a problem, but she fused with the power with a completely willing spirit. If the person resisted the transformation once it gripped them, it would hurt all the more. But the girl had been cooperative with his priests, and was unconscious now. Grausherra didn't doubt that if she was aware of what was happening she'd be resisting it out of fear. Humans have a pointless fear of the unknown. The impalpable, the invisible, ghosts, even death itself. They fear what they do not understand instead of setting their minds on finding out. They fear the mazoku because they bring death. They fear fire and floods, sorcery and weapons for the same reason. They can kill. At the same time, they are fascinated by it, wanting to know more, the constant "why?" echoing throughout their minds, but are too timid to reach out and see for themselves out of self-preservation. Some halflings were known to lose their sanity during the transformation because they were resisting. They were afraid, and they destroyed themselves in the process. A minion that weak was not worth the energy. All were promptly disposed of.
Dynast fed Sherra the energy again. As the transformation neared its completion, it became easier to feed her. Another two, maybe three feedings and she'd be done. Dynast frowned as his thoughts fell onto his "sisters." The three of them got along well enough most of the time, but they had been particularly impossible today. He didn't like Zelas' filthy habit of smoking, either. As if the drinking was bad enough, she had to smoke as well. It was a surprise that Xelloss didn't smoke and drink as well. Speaking of servants, Dynast wasn't sure of what had happened to Dolphin's general and priestess, Scylla and Charybdis. He hadn't heard of them for...how long now? Five, maybe six hundred years. Perhaps Dolphin was keeping them at her stronghold; she had lost interest in the happenings around her along with her sanity. What a pity; such a waste of servants. Oh, well. Dolphin was free to do whatever she wanted with her servants. Dynast glanced down at the girl he was feeding. She was done now. In a few hours' time, she'd awaken, a different species than the last time she was conscious. It didn't make any difference; it wasn't as if she'd had a say in the matter.
Dynast stood, and opened the door. Grou jumped at the sudden movement, and Grau's head snapped up, his reverie forgotten. "Now, what to do about your punishment..." Dynast gazed out at the blizzard raging outside. Grau and Grou followed his gaze, and a wave of foreboding washed over them. "Lord Dynast, are you going to make us...?" Grau trailed off, and Grou blanched as an unpleasant memory washed over him. The Dynast smirked, reading his priests' minds. "Yes, I think that would be a fitting punishment..." Dynast abruptly turned and walked away, disappearing from view in the dark hall. "Noo," Grau moaned. "Of all the things he could have made us do, it had to be that, didn't it?" Grou said dejectedly. They headed to their room to get a few hours' sleep before morning; they'd need it.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` I'm going to stop here, minna-san. Please R&R. It keeps me motivated to write. -^.^-
Author's Notes: @.@ Grou and Grau's names are starting to confuse me. I suggest you read it slowly to avoid confusion; there's only a letter's difference between the two, after all. ^.^; Oh, and I pulled DSD's priest and general's names from the Odyssey. It was so fitting...
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Clang, clang, clang... A metallic rapping resounded through the halls of the Dynast's stronghold. Clang, clang, clang...
Grau and Grou were sitting in the hallway outside of Sherra's room, against the wall. Grau was repeatedly tapping the head of his staff against the cold marble floor out of boredom. Lord Dynast had brought the girl back about three hours ago and hadn't left the room since. He was quickening her transformation, infusing Dolgoufa's spell with his own power, binding her to him for life. He would give her a little, and allow her body and soul to fuse with the power, and then a little more. He had to go slowly and carefully, lest he overwhelm her with his power and kill her. Such was the way to make a half-human servant.
Dynast wouldn't leave her a halfling, of course. Once she was used to her new Mazoku body and strong enough, he would tear the human part out of her. That would weaken her drastically for a while, but the other option was to leave her as a halfling. As a halfling, she'd be unable to drop her physical form and return completely to the Astral Plane. If she was left like that, unable to return completely to the Astral Plane, she'd slowly lose her sanity as Valgarv had, and eventually suffer a very slow death from it. How long that would take depended on the person. It could take a month, or a year. It could take five millennia. It was impossible to tell until it happened. The latter was out of the question, so her human half would be forcibly removed in time.
Grau sighed long and hard, exaggeratedly making a point of his boredom. They were told to wait outside the room until Lord Dynast emerged and told them their punishments. Grau looked at his twin, who was sound asleep next to him. Grau sighed again, and yawned. He stood up abruptly, dropping his staff and letting it clatter across the ice-cold black marble. Grou started, surprised by the sudden sound that had just awoken him. He scanned the Astral Plane, looking for possible intruders, and found none. He blinked at his twin, who had just walked across the hall and was curled up on the windowsill, gazing out into the night. There was a blizzard raging outside, and visibility would have been zero, even if it had been midday. Mazoku do not need eyes to see, however, and it might as well have been clear out there, bright as noon. They were high up in the stronghold, maybe about thirty stories, about two-thirds of the way up. The stronghold was huge, mostly to make sure trespassers that were fortunate enough to make it this far didn't get anywhere of importance before being annihilated. This hall had all the main sleeping quarters in it, and there were protection spells every three feet, along with more invisible lesser mazoku patrolling the halls of this floor alone than were humans in the great white magic capital, Sailoon.
Grau's staff still lay where it had been carelessly discarded by its owner. He concentrated on it for a moment, and it reappeared across his lap. Grou's staff was almost identical to his twin's, only the gleaming jewel on top was a different color. Grou's staff was topped by a crimson jewel, while Grau's was a paler aquamarine.
Grau smoothed out his violet cloak. The twins were also dressed very similarly. Their shirts, pants, and boots were black, Grou with violet trim and Grau with green. Grau's cloak was violet with green trim, while Grou's was green with violet trim. Their outfits had slightly different styles, but both were of the dark priesthood.
Grou settled back into a comfortable position, and soon drifted back to sleep. Grau, however, wasn't the least bit tired, and was lost in his thoughts. Lord Dynast hadn't really surprised them when he ordered Sherra's revival; she was an incredibly good general, and was unfalteringly loyal. She could shut up tighter than a clam when under interrogation, which was nearly a necessity amongst the Priests and Generals, the Generals more so than the Priests; it was the Generals who were most likely to be taken and questioned by enemies. The general was the personal bodyguard of his or her Lord, along with being in charge of the army. It was the General who was with the Lord practically 24/7, and it was the General who hears nearly everything that leaves his or her Lord's lips. The Shinzoku knew that by a much larger scale than the Humans. Grau doubted that the Humans had put two and two together; the General's role was no secret, so it wasn't like they were lacking that information.
Something was happening in this world, Grau could sense disturbances in the Astral Plane, things that are there that shouldn't be. Ever since that barrier had fallen along with Hellmaster, the wall between Lord Ruby- Eye's and Dark Star's worlds had weakened. That was why Dark Star had been able to get through, that and those weapons. It made him a little nervous, knowing that Death Fog or Chaotic Blue or even -L-sama forbid it- their respective Gods may be able to cross into this world, as well. It wasn't like Lord Ruby-Eye or even Cephied were in any condition to fight against invasion. Cephied had sunk into the Sea of Chaos nearly five thousand years ago, and those pieces of Lord Ruby-Eye were running around out there, somewhere, still in their coma-like sleep, carried by oblivious human hosts. The remaining five pieces were impossible to detect through the Astral Plane; the Mazoku hadn't a ghost of a clue who they were sealed into. So this world would be defenseless against overworld invasion. The three remaining Mazoku Lords may do something about it if they get tired of it, but Grau knew for certain that Cepheid's precious Dragon Kings wouldn't do a thing about it. They only got their lazy selves up if a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye was running amok.
It was funny, actually. The proclaimed servants of the great dragon god only got up for a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye. The Golden Dragons were lucky to have gotten that riddle of a prophesy from the Fire Dragon King. Grau giggled. Some protectors of the world they were. He stifled his sniggers when his twin shifted in his sleep. Another hour had passed, now there was about three to five hours to go. Grau groaned. It was so boring just sitting here!!
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The Dynast frowned when he sensed his priest's impatience. Grau would have to learn that some things took longer than desired the hard way. He cut off the power he had been feeding to Sherra. She had been doing better than expected. Not only was she able to handle more power at once than expected without a problem, but she fused with the power with a completely willing spirit. If the person resisted the transformation once it gripped them, it would hurt all the more. But the girl had been cooperative with his priests, and was unconscious now. Grausherra didn't doubt that if she was aware of what was happening she'd be resisting it out of fear. Humans have a pointless fear of the unknown. The impalpable, the invisible, ghosts, even death itself. They fear what they do not understand instead of setting their minds on finding out. They fear the mazoku because they bring death. They fear fire and floods, sorcery and weapons for the same reason. They can kill. At the same time, they are fascinated by it, wanting to know more, the constant "why?" echoing throughout their minds, but are too timid to reach out and see for themselves out of self-preservation. Some halflings were known to lose their sanity during the transformation because they were resisting. They were afraid, and they destroyed themselves in the process. A minion that weak was not worth the energy. All were promptly disposed of.
Dynast fed Sherra the energy again. As the transformation neared its completion, it became easier to feed her. Another two, maybe three feedings and she'd be done. Dynast frowned as his thoughts fell onto his "sisters." The three of them got along well enough most of the time, but they had been particularly impossible today. He didn't like Zelas' filthy habit of smoking, either. As if the drinking was bad enough, she had to smoke as well. It was a surprise that Xelloss didn't smoke and drink as well. Speaking of servants, Dynast wasn't sure of what had happened to Dolphin's general and priestess, Scylla and Charybdis. He hadn't heard of them for...how long now? Five, maybe six hundred years. Perhaps Dolphin was keeping them at her stronghold; she had lost interest in the happenings around her along with her sanity. What a pity; such a waste of servants. Oh, well. Dolphin was free to do whatever she wanted with her servants. Dynast glanced down at the girl he was feeding. She was done now. In a few hours' time, she'd awaken, a different species than the last time she was conscious. It didn't make any difference; it wasn't as if she'd had a say in the matter.
Dynast stood, and opened the door. Grou jumped at the sudden movement, and Grau's head snapped up, his reverie forgotten. "Now, what to do about your punishment..." Dynast gazed out at the blizzard raging outside. Grau and Grou followed his gaze, and a wave of foreboding washed over them. "Lord Dynast, are you going to make us...?" Grau trailed off, and Grou blanched as an unpleasant memory washed over him. The Dynast smirked, reading his priests' minds. "Yes, I think that would be a fitting punishment..." Dynast abruptly turned and walked away, disappearing from view in the dark hall. "Noo," Grau moaned. "Of all the things he could have made us do, it had to be that, didn't it?" Grou said dejectedly. They headed to their room to get a few hours' sleep before morning; they'd need it.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` I'm going to stop here, minna-san. Please R&R. It keeps me motivated to write. -^.^-
