Giblet walked up to Iris and presented her with the best armor
piece he's crafted to date, a pair of Daedric gauntlets.
"For the princess" the brown minion simply said with a bit of
enthusiasm in his voice.
Looking over the black gauntlets, she noticed a magical, amber
colored gem buried into the right gauntlet on the back of the hand.
Taking the gauntlets from the small brown creature,
Iris felt a rush of power when she equipped them.
They fit as though they were crafted specifically for her arms.
As if to test her new found powers, she reached out with her telepathy
and ordered the brown minions to return to their tower until she
summoned them again.
With a sense of accomplishment she watched as they obeyed her commands
and returned to Skyrim's Tower.
She kept Gnarl with her to further her education on the workings
of her powers and role as the up and coming Overlord.
Turning now to Mitsu, her weapon and partner, she reached out with her
telepathy to see if she could communicate better with her.
With a bit of joy, Iris learned that her communication with Mitsu was
improved. Over the next 2 weeks, work with the DWMA was slow,
only gaining another 7 souls. Both Iris and Mitsu were doing well in their
classes though, and even made a few new friends named Lily, and Charlotte.
Iris and Mitsu were soon called to the death room to meet with Kid.
"Girls, it's been a little over 4 months since you two were partnered,
I've called you here to check your progress so far. I see that you girls
have collected 93 souls in almost record time. For such an achievement,
I've decided to let you have the hive of those minions, but still no slacking.
All you need to do is trade in the souls you've gathered so far."
Iris used her telepathy to thank Kid, and even Mitsu was excited by
this turn of events.
The gem on the back of Iris' gauntlet got a blue glow as she commanded the minions to carry the hive to the tower.
Once back at the tower, Iris turned to her partner and the girls decided to celebrate how things went, by relaxing and just enjoying the
rest of their day. As the 2 were relaxing in the throne room, Gnarl came before them and informed them that the hive has activated the
tower heart and bestowed upon Iris the Evil Presence spell.
"This spell will allow you to dominate and eventually destroy any who
you use it upon. Rather handy fellow if I do say so myself," the black
minion rasped. "Domination or destruction, the choice is yours Princess.
It was this spell that turned your mother Queen Fay to our side in fact."
This intrigued Iris and Mitsu greatly, for this could prove very useful
in acquiring kishin souls. "If only we would've had this from the
beginning, but it will prove useful considering we're starting over,"
Mitsu said putting voice to the girls' mutual thoughts.
Later that same night, as Mitsu slept, Iris running her fingers along
her partner's back, she felt a burning sensation in the back of her
hands. Putting her gauntlets back on, Iris saw the gem was glowing red.
As she walked to the mirror, she felt a pull and saw a strange land in
the reflection. This new land seemed to be barren and desolate, having
little but jagged rocks and a volcano in the distance. Running her hand
along the mirror, she was drawn to this alien landscape.
Upon her arrival, she was greeted by a specter of a dead man who looked
to be of some form of elven lineage. within her mind she heard the
specter speak, "You're not an orc, nor a wraith, what do you here?"
Using her telepathy to respond she replied, "I've come seeking that
which is rightfully mine." The wraith looked on contemplating the
girl's words for a few brief moments. "Of what do you speak?"
Iris simply answered, "My minions," projecting an image into the mind
of this rather curious being. Without warning the wraith attacked,
leaving Iris barely able to muster a defense. Her gauntlets allowing
her to defend against and attack the wraith as though he were made of
flesh was of great help to the young girl. For over an hour they
clashed, knuckles hitting flesh and specter alike. Nothing fancy, just a drag out bare handed brawl.
At the end, Iris had fallen to one knee, the wraith drew his blade to
score a finishing blow. It was in this moment, when all hope seemed
lost that the gem on the back of Iris' gauntlet got a purple glow.
With a fierce determination in her now glowing eyes, the girl
reached out with all her will and bolts of pure magical energy leapt
from her hands like bolts of lightning, striking the wraith in the
chest, and slowly bringing him to his knees. The once white glow in his
eyes slowly turning purple as his will was bent by the power of the
girl's spell. As Iris' magical energy drained away, she rose to her feet.
"What is thy will, my lady?" The wraith asked, his will now broken.
"Tell me of this land and my minions," Iris ordered.
"I've seen them in the heart of the fiery mountain," the elf spoke,
motioning to the volcano off in the distance.
"Then that is where I must go, I take my leave and thanks for the information."
As Iris turned towards Mount Doom, the wraith said,
"To trespass there and reclaim the creatures which are yours, you
must be able to conquer the lord of these lands. I can clearly see
that you are not even remotely ready for such an undertaking."
"Then what help do you offer?" Iris asked.
"I offer more than help, I offer power," came the reply.
"My name is Celebrimbor, I was betrayed and murdered by the lord of
these lands. Join with me and I shall give unto you all of my powers.
You have need only to take hold of me, and the merger shall happen."
Iris reached out with her right hand, and upon taking hold of
Celebrimbor's forehead, screamed in pain as the wraith was drawn into
her, their bodies now one and the same, forever fused.
As the wraith was assimilated, her blood burned like white-hot fire
and every fiber of her being cried out in protest.
Once the pain subsided, she rose again to her feet and marveled at how
Celebrimbor's power now supplemented her own. She walked back to the
pool that had allowed her passage into this land, knowing well that some
day in the future, she would return to claim that which is hers.
What's to stop her from claiming this whole land while she was at it?
With a smile on her face she returned to her home tower, where Mitsu was
anxiously awaiting her meister's return, having watched the entire ordeal
through the mirror.
-Authors' note-
Think of the spell looking like force lightning from Star Wars.