Chapter 14

Avator stood in silence, fuming over the total disrespect the young female wizard had shown him. He was to be a Lord of Hell. He could not let such arrogant behavior against him go unpunished. As his trusty servant Rin, the dark fairy, sat upon his shoulder, he plotted.

"We have work to do." He addressed the little demonic fairy who moved swiftly from his shoulder to fluttering in front of his wicked grinning face. "We need a base of operation. Somewhere to gather our troops and arm them for the war to come."

"The war?" Rin asked.

"Yes. Those wizards are no joke." Avator explained. "Especially the female." He stroked his chin with a firm hand. "Killing them won't be easy."

"The war against New Tristram." Rin said to no one in particular. "Sounds fun!"

"Eliminating two wizards, a demon hunter, and the cursed village that even the Prime Evils and Andarial couldn't overthrow will definitely earn me the right to be a Lord of Hell."

"You already deserve it." Rin praised him, as was his custom.

"Now where should we set up base?" Avator asked his little helper. "I have thought about two options."

"What are they, master?"

"There is an old convent just outside the monastery beyond the Tamoe Highlands. It has been abandoned for some time. The bodies that remain there are but brittle skeletons now from what appeared to be a brutal slaughter, most likely by the hands of the Fallen Rogues under the orders of Blood Raven. Our activity would most definitely go unnoticed there, but we would have some distance to lure our troops."

"And the other?"

"The Forgotten Tower." Avator stated plainly. "By most, the name rings true. However, there are some that the tower's existence is remembered. Isendra and The Countess both would know of the place."

"But neither of them are around." Rin added.

"True." Avator agreed. "Seems like a good choice."

Avator and Rin made their way to the Forgotten Tower. It was a dilapidated old tower which was once a luxurious fortress in the middle of the Black Marsh. It was made of stone, but was beginning to topple over, but that was no problem to the overall integrity of the structure. It was no typical tower. It actually was an upside-down tower. It went down into the ground rather than up into the sky. Avator couldn't have cared less if the above-ground section was falling over. He only needed the dark basements for hiding and the strong walls within for protection as he amassed an army.

Within the bowels of the tower where The Countess once murdered virgins to bathe in their blood for the prolonging of her youth was now simply the stench of decay, the silence of cobwebs lingering overheard, and the darkness of the depths of the earth. None of this bothered a demon like Avator. In fact, it made him come alive. He was ready to do that which the Prime Evils could not. All he needed was an army.

He had plans for that. Dark Fairies had substantial power, but what Rin excelled at was the warping of souls. If he could lure innocent, naive souls to him, within hours he could birth from them the most terrifying of demons. This complemented well what Avator was the master of. Dominance. He had the power to dominate the mind and will of any creature around him, barring those with exceptional resilience and fortitude, such as a Lord of Hell or a hero like Cassia or Isendra. Together, they were confident they could provide for themselves an army of lesser demons, brain-washed villagers, and soul-born devils in a meager amount of time. The only thing that worried Avator was those two wizards and the demon hunter in town. He knew he could handle them, but Rin was not so powerful, but he was an essential part of his plan. He needed to keep an eye on him.

He'd kill the wizards and demon hunter if he needed to, but that wasn't his preference. He truly wanted to dominate them. Put them in the ranks of his army. Especially the young female wizard. She had immense power within her. The kind of power that even the Lesser Evils of Hell feared when they were honest with themselves. If he could get her on his side, they'd win. That was a guarantee.

Rin flew toward New Tristram as quickly as his wings could carry him, though he knew he didn't need to rush. Stealing children away was something much more easily done under the shrouds of night. But he was so eager to serve Avator! He couldn't help but rush to the village.

At the same time, Avator stood still in the center of a dark room in the bowels of the Forgotten Tower. Surrounded by darkness and silence, he closed his eyes and focused himself. His mind travelled to the lands surrounding the tower as quickly as lightning could strike. He located all sorts of beasts and unlucky villagers going about their work. All of them seemed weak-minded and simple. He knew he'd have no trouble dealing with them. Focusing himself, he forced his way into all of their minds. The wild animals. The lesser demons. The humans. And even a few more substantial and powerful demons. None of them stood a chance against his dominating mind.

The animals and lesser demons gave in immediately. The humans all succumbed within a minute, but the stronger demons resisted, however, their resistance was short lived. In just a few minutes Avator dominated them all at the same time. His overwhelming will was like a flood raging over all the freewill within them. They couldn't fight it.

Without speaking a word by his mouth, Avator directed all his new unwilling recruits to gather within the tower. There he would bide his time, assess his army, and arm those who needed it. He sent one of the larger demons toward the village to protect Rin. The dark fairy's role was too important to allow anyone to jeopardize it.

Rin arrived at the village's edge. He could sense that he couldn't enter the village himself. Even after his death, the barrier erected by Deckard Cain remained strong enough to ward demons from entering in. That's why it was so important Avator had his army. The dominated humans and animals could enter without trouble, for in order for the true demons to get in, they would need enough demons to sacrifice to the barrier to lower it. They needed fodder.

As he waited, a large almost canine demon approached him from behind. Rin could immediately identify the aura of domination enveloping the beast. He was one of Avator's. He was a rather rare specimen in the current days. He was a Tainted. Within the realms of Hell they were known as Hellhounds. He was clearly a remnant of the reign of Andarial, the Maiden of Anguish in the Monastery. They were known for their ability to breathe electricity and their fierce determination for slaughter. They had large heads and clawed hands and feet. Their mouths were rowed with incredibly sharp fangs and on top of their head were two twisted and dangerous horns.

"You'll come in handy." Rin smiled. "But if this all goes as planned, you won't be needed now." The Tainted looked at him obediently. "We'll get their kids without them even waking from their mindless dreams."

They waited silently for night to fall. Once darkness had covered the silent village, the dark fairy got to work. With an enchanting voice Rin sang, his voice only recognizable by children. Each child in the village still young enough to have an untainted soul by the evil in the world heard his beautifully beckoning song. Under a trance, each child snuck from their bedrooms as silently as ghosts and followed the fairy straight out of town.

So powerful was the dark fairy's powers of luring that not even the guards noticed the dark magic at work. They stood at the town's entrances and exits and never noticed the entirety of the youth population wander right by them. It was as if they were invisible.

Rin slowly led the entranced children down the dirt paths of New Tristram toward the mangled trees of the Dark Woods and ultimately to the Forgotten Tower beyond. The Tainted keeping the collection of Avator's souls and his most trusted partner safe from any wandering beasts in the wilds.

Avator had his souls. His army was now a real possibility.