Part I- Kage no Ou (King of Shadows)

"Your secret heart belongs to the world
of the things that cry in the dark..."
- Mononoke Hime

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Grau polished the circle of glass with the edge of her robes before pushing her long black bangs from her eyes and sliding her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Placing her hands on the balcony railing, she stared out at the frozen wastes and shivered a little; sometimes the wind was too bitter, even for a Mazoku.

But there were more important things to worry about now. Like where that damned partner of hers had gotten to. Grou always played things very close. He knew all too well that their master had requested an audience with them, yet the blasted idiot was nowhere to be found.

"GROU!"she called, her words immediately swallowed by the rising storm.

Turning with a curse, she stalked back inside the castle. He could face the wrath of their master alone; she was going to be a loyal priest and show some respect to their lord. It wasn't that she wanted him to suffer as she knew he would. No, he was as much to her as one creature could be to another. It was as if, she once considered, they had been created as two parts of one whole. Seeing him in agony would cause her no pleasure. But she wasn't about to let their master begin to think that she didn't take an order seriously. Since the death of his general, he'd placed a great deal of responsibility on her shoulders, and she would never disappoint him. Not only because she would consider herself a failure, but because it might mean her life.

Bending the world's fabric to her will, she stepped between planes, and transported herself to the castle's great hall. As she came out of her shift, she was immediately aware that the air around her grew colder. Although she'd spent more than a thousand years in his service, it continued to startle her. Without even looking into the swirling shadows against one wall of the room, she dropped to one knee.

"Master."

Slowly shifting into his human form, Dynast Grausherra didn't look up, merely continued concentrating on the white sphere floating a few inches above his left hand.

"Grau."he made a small gesture with his other hand, and she stood. "Where is your partner?"

"I wish I could say, Master, but I haven't seen him today."

"When you do see him, tell him I'd like a word or two."

Grau nodded and repressed a shudder. Grou was certainly going to be in pain upon his return.

"I will. What is it you want us to do?"

"It's been a long time since Sherra's failure, hasn't it?"

"It has."

"And a while since Gaav and Hellmaster's deaths."

"Almost two years."

"Two years."he repeated thoughtfully, then smirked. "I thought it had been longer." He sighed, and stood up from his throne. "I guess I was mistaken."

"But I'm sure your majesty didn't call me to discuss lengths of time."

Dynast finally looked at her, his cold gray eyes bright beneath his dark bangs.

"No, I didn't. I called you because I have something for you to do."

"Ask, and it's as good as done."

He began to descend the stairs to her, the white sphere still glowing and emitting a soft hum.

"Sherra's failure is behind us now. And the Mazoku race lessens in ranks by the day. We need a new general, and I've had my eye on someone for a good while now."

"Grou and I will get him, Master."she dropped her head respectfully.

"Not him. Her."he grinned. "She's a little sorceress, very skilled, with more battles behind her than one would consider just from looking at her."he held the sphere out to her and she took it. "She's the one. I want you to go and give her Dolgofar, then bring her here."

As she watched the images flash across the convex surface, Grau couldn't conceal a surprised expression.

"Her?! Wouldn't the swordsman be more appropriate? As far as I know, she has no skill with any weapon. You would put Dolgofar into her hands?"

She inhaled quickly as she realized her misstep. Dynast's eyes flashed as he reached out and lifted her chin with one hand.

"Are you questioning me, Grau?"his voice had dropped in volume, taking on a much more menacing tone.

"No. Never."she flushed with shame and embarrassment, her heart loud in her ears.

"I should hope not."

"But I don't understand..."

"Understand this."he tossed her head to the side sharply. "I've been watching her for a long time. I've studied her, and she has more potential to be a great servant of darkness than anyone might have imagined. So she's not a swordswoman, so what? You will train her."

"Won't her companions come after her?"Grau peered into the sphere.

"Of course they will."he brushed past her, heading for one of the long, dark halls that connected to the room. "Do you think I haven't considered that?"

"I'm sure you have."she scrambled after him. "I was just interested in how you plan to deal with them. Perhaps Grou and I should eliminate them at the start?"

Dynast laughed coldly, turing to her with a malicious smile.

"Certainly..if you can get them alone. But as a group, knowing what they've done to Gaav and Hellmaster? Really Grau, do you honestly think you'd escape with your life?"

"I..."the priestess couldn't respond.

"Precisely. Haven't you been listening? I said I know these people. I can predict their course of action down to the last spell they'll cast. They'll come after her, and they'll fight for her. But fighting is always much easier when it's on your own ground."the Dark Lord paused, looking up and around the shadowy pillars of his palace. "If they come here, we shouldn't have as much trouble." He started walking again. "I'm not saying that going against them is going to be easy, but when you know the attack, and you have the advantage of knowing the field, the cards are in your favor."

Grau blinked as another image appeared before her eyes.

"What about him?"

Glancing over, he smiled smugly and smoothed his hair back.

"He's nothing."

"Well, she loves him, doesn't she?"

"So what if she does?"

"From what I've heard about these people...Master, they'll go up against L-sama Herself to save someone they love."

"Do you have a point to this, Grau?"

"I just...He'll be quite a threat, won't he?"

"Grau,"he reached over and closed his fist around the sphere; it dissolved into nothing. "Whether she loves him, or if," he chuckled darkly, "He loves her, isn't the question. I've made up my mind, and I've planned this longer and farther out than you know. The question is this." He turned to face her. "Will you get her for me or not?"

"I will, Master. As will, Grou. I promise you.." Dropping again to one knee, she lay her right arm across her chest.

"Go get Dolgofar, and then be on your way." Dynast moved off down the hall. "I'm leaving this in your hands, Grau. Don't fail me."

"I swear we won't, master."she called, but he had rounded another corner and disappeared into the depths of his castle.

Grau stood, trying to slow her heartbeat. This was the greatest thing he had ever asked of her, and to do it right meant to prove herself and her partner to him. She had been waiting for this for centuries upon centuries. Shifting through space once more, she entered a room low in the castle, pitch black except for a dim light in the distance. As it had in Dynast's presence, the temperature seemed to get lower as she approached the light source, and Grau felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to prickle. Raising her hand, she whispered a few words and broke through the first of a series of barriers designed to prevent any of her master's lesser minions from getting too close to Dolgofar.

The second seal required more concentration, and the chant was longer, but still it was an easy task for her. The third proved to be the most difficult, as it was by far the most important. A few feet beyond the invisible barrier, a black sword rested on a slab of marble, barely indistinguishable from its surroundings in the poor light. Raising her hands such that her index fingers and thumbs formed a diamond shape, Grau recited the final set of words- words known only to Dynast and his priests- and the last invisible partition parted for her.

With growing excitement, she stepped into the magic circle drawn around the marble slab, feeling the power of the symbols flow through her body. Her breath caught in her throat as she reached the stand and gazed down at the sword that had once belonged to the Supreme King's general. The blade was as black as the ice walls of the palace, but after careful inspection, one could see shadows dancing across the surface, moving at a maddeningly slow pace. The hilt was just as dark- made, she knew from Vjada, a metal long since forgotten by the mortal world. Reaching out to it, Grau ran her fingers along the blade, over the deep blue stone set at the point where the cold blackness gave way to the huge double guard. The matching stone set in her silver armband seemed to warm suddenly, and the rush of power became even stronger. This was a sword that could break souls, and soon it would be put to use once more.

Grau lifted its scabbard from where it rested nearby, then carefully picked up the sword, sliding the two together. The hilt met the edge with a sharp click, and the light from the circle suddenly went out, leaving her in darkness. That was no matter, as in a moment she was back in the main network of hallways, sword in hand, heading for the balcony where she'd waited for her partner.

The clicking of another pair of boots was suddenly present behind her, but she didn't turn.

"Where have you been?"she made her tone as annoyed as possible as her fellow priest increased his pace to walk up beside her.

"Here and there. You know."he grinned at her.

"You smell like cheap wine."she glanced over and raised an eyebrow. "Master is not going to be pleased. He wants to see you."

"I know. I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?"he didn't sound the least bit contrite. "I would have stayed away longer, but I felt someone break the barriers around Dolgofar." his eyes fell upon the weapon in her hands. "And it was obviously you who did it. Dare I ask why?"

"We have an appointment with someone this evening. We're leaving after Master blasts the shit out of you."her smile was cruel, but familiar; to him, she could say anything she wanted, without fear, without remorse.

Trying to scowl, he brushed his short hair back and stopped walking, beginning to fade out.

"Where are we going?"

"Seyruun."Grau said as she continued down the corridor. "Dress nicely, because we're going to meet with a princess."

Grou watched her go, and felt the corner of his mouth curl up in a smile. Then, he too was gone.