Author's Note

This is a Doctor Who, Harry Potter, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Demon Cycle fiction, though does play primarily within the sandbox that is the Doctor Who Universe, with characters (be they AU or completely original) from the Harry Potter Universe making an occasional appearance.

For now, the only character from the Pirates of the Caribbean Universe is Aion alone; although as the series progresses that will most certainly change.

The 'LoEG' side of this fic lays predominately with Thade and the 'Hyde to his Jekyll'; the Dragonbat.

The Demon Cycle part... well, lets just say that I reread a favourite book of mine (The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett) and the idea I had of Demons secretly hiding amongst Muggles and Magical beings alike... it just really couldn't be passed up.

Again, anything recognisable is not mine and belongs to whoever owns it.

Now, onto the story...


'Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.'

Edgar Allan Poe


'The Keep'
Blackthorn Estate, Godric's Hollow
England - 1998

Within the depths of a rundown, desolated manor, where hidden passages and winding corridors intertwined like a spider's web, a young woman moved with a silent determination. Platinum blonde hair cascaded behind her like a silken waterfall as she navigated the darkened halls with a familiar ease, and to the casual observer, she would have looked just like one of the many children living within the grim walls of The Keep.

But beneath her calm and youthful exterior, Ravn Smythe was a force to be reckoned with.

The fact that the seventeen-year-old was magical had been her downfall, however; the people that ran The Keep having taken her for those very same abilities. And for the last two years they had trying to mould her into an instrument of power and control, a child-soldier loyal only to their cause. But Ravn's memories of her life before her appearance within the deceptively rundown manor, however fragmented they may be; the flashes of her family, her real home, and the loved ones that she had lost...

The teen's heart had always ached for the life that she'd had stolen from her, and her spirit had refused to break, to give up on the hopes that she would one day be reunited with the family she could only recall within the depths of her deepest and darkest of nightmares. It was something deep within her, a flicker of continued defiance against those that had wanted to shape her into their perfect image, and the Witch was more than determined to escape the clutches of her captors and find her way back to the world she had lost.

Yet, and as she made her way through the darkened corridors, rounding a corner and entering a section of The Keep wherein she knew no-one really abided, Ravn came to a stop as something peculiar caught her eye. A wave of wary intrigue washed over her as she found herself staring at a single, white rose sitting on the floor of the corridor ahead, its pale petals all but glowing under the moonlight shining through an opened window.


"Hey Rav, Tuney, look at this!" James suddenly called, breaking away from Ravenna and their pale-haired sister to head towards a peculiar rosebush that the trio had discovered to only bloom with white flowers.

Ravenna felt her eyebrows furrowing as she let her gaze drift to the bush, her head tilting to the side as she swore she saw it rustle upon James' approach. And as her eyes fell upon the shrub, the nine-year-old stiffened as her gaze locked onto a pair of piercing green eyes; twin orbs that looked as though they were glowing from within the shadows of the flora despite they themselves widening upon being discovered.

"Watch what I can do." James exclaimed as he suddenly snagged a flower from the rosebush and snapped Ravenna's gaze back to her brother. Though she was quick to look back to the bush, seeking out those emerald orbs, feeling surprisingly bereft when she discovered they were no longer anywhere to be seen.


Ravn frowned as she studied the rose in her hand, twirling its stem between her fingers as confusion clouded her mind.

The vision she'd had, the memory, it had been something different, something... new, and the blonde found herself unsure what to make of it.

"Ravenna?"

A sudden and unexpectedly frosty draft cut through the corridor and caused the blonde to startle, the rose falling from her grasp as she spun on her heel, eyes searching the dark hall for where the source of the breeze had come from. Though the shifting shadows to her right, the small figure that darted way to close to her being than she'd liked had the teenager turning back in the direction she'd originally been facing - and found herself speechless by what she saw.

A small monkey with dark fur and pale face stood before her, the rose she had dropped held carefully between its nimble paws. And eyes sparkled with intelligence as it looked up to Ravn, who couldn't help but feel a strange connection with the creature, as if it were trying to communicate with her.

Much to blonde's surprise - and growing confusion - the monkey looked between the rose and Ravn for but a moment longer before letting out a chittering chatter, beckoning the Witch onwards with but a gentle flick of its tail as it shoved the thorny stem between its teeth and took off down the hall. Ravn couldn't deny that she felt... something towards the primate, as if they shared a deeper connection she just couldn't recall. that 'something' growing more profound as she felt the strange compulsion to do just as the monkey wanted.

Her heart was but a thunderous drum within her chest, fear and curiosity forcing adrenaline through her system, but something inside her urged her forwards, compelled her to discover exactly what the creature seemed so determined to show her. And so, ever so cautiously, Ravn followed the peculiar monkey through the maze of ever-winding corridors, her steps as light and silent as the primate's own as it continued to lead her deeper and deeper into The Keep; the white rose in its mouth working like a beacon through the darkened halls as the pair navigated and trespassed through sections that the Witch had never dared to explore before.

It wasn't long until Ravn felt a shift in the atmosphere, the air crackling with an unknown energy that she swore to be magical in origin. Though she had no time to locate its source, the blonde startling as faint murmurs and whispers in unknown languages begun to echo - through? - the halls. And the drum had turned into a champion racehorse wining first place within the confines of her chest as she found herself being led closer and closer towards the heart of The Keep, towards a hidden chamber she had never even knew existed before.

She watched in baffled confusion as the monkey came to a stop before a partially opened door, plucking the rose from between its teeth and placing it almost reverently upon the ground just before the doorway. It seemed to study its work for a moment, brushing its knuckles over the unblemished, platinum petals and readjust the flowers' positioning upon the ground. Though the moment it deemed it's work acceptable, it turned to Ravn and once again beckoned her to follow.

Following the monkey, and earning an earful of disapproving chittering when the movement of her feet caused the rose to shift ever so slightly upon the ground; the primate racing back to the door to make certain she hadn't disturbed its work, Ravn found herself stopping dead beyond the threshold of the door the second her gaze landed upon what lay within.

The chamber within, its walls and floor were complete covered with hundreds of thousands of intricate symbols and ruins, each one casting an eerie glow within the surprisingly large room while the air continued to hum with that familiarly unfamiliar supernatural power. However, and much to the teen's continued confusion, she found herself more drawn to the weight of eons that seemed to be held within the chamber; the history and stories contained within its four walls. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend the significance of the runes, couldn't quite deny their beauty and complexity either; each one seeming to tell a tale that she just couldn't quite grasp, like a puzzle with far too many missing pieces. But Ravn could grasp upon their overly sinister nature.

Her monkey of a guide, after having made certain that the rose was still as it should be, dashed back into the room, coming to a stop at its centre before turning back to Ravn. It beckoned her once more to follow, though this time with a paw instead of tail, but the Witch hesitated, her senses beginning to tingle with a mixture of terror and excitement; something about the room itself drawing her in as if it held all the answers to questions she didn't even realise she'd had.

But the chamber also had her wanting to run far, far away at the same time, a chaser of cold terror racing its way through her veins and sending her heart into a stuttering rhythm.

Taking a deep breath, hoping it would help to try and calm herself, Ravn did finally manage to move herself further into the chamber. Though she jumped, a rather embarrassing 'Eep!' escaping her lips as she stepped on one of the hundreds of runes adorning the floor. A wave of energy enveloped her; magic, just as she'd thought, crackling through the air in an explosion of blinding white light and forced the Witch to close her eyes.

Letting her own magic and senses guide her, Ravn took a step forwards, then another; each seemingly without thought or consciousness as she let herself be led by the continued connection between herself and the monkey she knew to be somewhere in front of her; slowly closing the distance between them with her eyes still firmly close.

She couldn't quite understand, or even begin to explain the sensation that washed over her when her hand finally came into contact with the monkey's soft down. But as she reached out with her hand, extending her fingers towards the primate; the moment her outstretched limbs made contact with its darkened fur, a profound feeling filled her. It was as if she'd rediscovered a long-lost memory, a connection that had been buried deep within her soul.

A jolt of warmth surged through Ravn's form, and her eyes flew open.

In that moment, that single instance in time, the world around the Witch faded away. The chamber and its rune-marred walls and floor vanished before her eyes as a darkness stole its way across the room. Though it was but a heartbeat later that Ravn found herself standing in the clearing of a vibrant, flourishing garden. Roses as dark as the most inhospitable of abysses swayed gently in the breeze, and as she looked around, taking in her new surroundings, the teenager realised with a heart-stopping fear that her monkey-guide was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the snapping of a twig somewhere behind Ravn had her startling, and she whirled around. The wand that had appeared in her hand wavered, however, as she watched a creature that could only have been born in the depths of a dark abyss step into the clearing, its green eyes that were as familiar as they were unfamiliar meeting her wide and wary gaze.

A sense of recognition tugged at her mind, the thought that she should know the beast before her crossing the darkest recesses of her grey-matter. However, Ravn couldn't recall from where.

"Wh-who are you?"