Raven descended, with a torch in her left hand, down the stairs deeper in the dungeon, one she had ventured into on advice of her new advisor, Gnarl, the self-proclaimed Minion Master. The promises of wealth and power intrigued her. It is not unheard of for alleged magical artifacts to surface; around two years ago one such artifact caused quite a bit of commotion in Kuchinashi, rumors only bolstered considering around the same time Qrow lead an intervention in Kuchinashi's affairs.
She looked around, taking in the look of the place. She was in big room, mostly empty aside from some rotting wood in the northern corner of the room. The walls looked ravaged by age, but the bricks the room was built from still held strong, despite it all. One of the doors on the western side of the room caught her attention, unlike everything else, it looked untouched by age. She approached it, and threw a piece of rubble from the ground at it. The rubble bounced off the door, and the door took no visible damage. Raven frowned. She hadn't used her full strength, but she expected the door to have broken either way. The frown quickly turned to a smug smile. She was correct, the door was special. While there were other points of exit from this room, this particular door kindled the fire of curiosity inside her. Determining that the door was not hazardous, she placed her gauntleted hand on it.
"Ah!" Gnarl said telepathically in her mind sounding triumphant as if he figured out the secret of the door. "That's a shield spell, Lord! Different from the typical variation that the Overlords use, but unmistakably a shield spell!"
Raven had already figured out it had some sort of magical protection on it, though she expected something more impressing sounding than 'a shield spell'. Still, some of his words intrigued her.
"What's the difference?" she asked, making a note to learn the spell herself. Though she preferred offensive tactics, she would be a fool to pass on an opportunity for such a useful ability.
"One of usage." her advisor replied simply, and after a small pause instructed her. "Hit the door with all your strength, Master. I believe you are more suited for visual aid."
For his sake, Raven hoped that he meant that she was a hands-on learner and not that she was stupid. Nevertheless, she pulled out her Omen, and struck the door down with all her might. With a loud shriek, the door shattered, collapsing into many pieces.
"As you see, Dark Lady, the door stood no chance against your grand strength." Gnarl said, words as always full of honey. "And there lays the difference. This version of the spell empowers the object with a preset amount of magic energy, Mana it is called, and when the object is hit, the mana takes the hit instead of the physical attributes of the object. Th-"
"Like Aura?" Raven interrupted him, wanting to be absolutely sure. If she could have a way to replicate her aura, that would essentially double her reserves, maybe even making her unstoppable.
"I am not a Huntsmen, Sire, and as such my knowledge about Aura is lacking." her advisor easily admitted. Raven liked that, it was far better to have someone at her side who could admit to their shortcomings and work to fix such issues, than someone who would lie to her about their capabilities. Taiyang never hid his faults from her, and she rewarded him by treating him the same. Dark thoughts swirled in her head, remembering their time together. Though she had enjoyed the time while it lasted, their faults made them hardly compatible. Though, she owed Taiyang a lot, the pain had helped her grow, some of her edges-of-fault, rounded. She wondered, for a short moment before returning to the present, if the pain she caused him helped him grow as well; if he took a piece of her with himself, as she had took a piece of him.
"One of the basic features of Aura is that as long as it is active, how long that is depends on your reserves, it will prevent physical damage to you, though it won't stop things like pain, nor will it be able to heal things like poison. Any damage taken damages the reserves instead." Raven explained to him, giving him a fast, but well-rounded, summary of the very basics of Humanity's light against the onslaught of Grimm.
Raven could swear she could mentally feel the creature nod in understanding, though before she contemplate whether this is merely her imagination, or yet another proof of her mastery of the Minion race, Gnarl spoke up to answer her question.
"It appears then that this seems indeed like the Aura you wield." he said, confirming Raven's ravenous suspicious. "Now, as I was saying, the Overlords of old used a different version of this spell. It is flexible version, more suited for quick adaption in battle than protection of important objects. It is also more cost effective, though the basic variants are noticeably weaker."
"Cost effective? How?" this intrigued Raven too. A possibility to have a second layer of Aura was amazing, but this could prove to be a useful addition as well.
"While the variation of the spell this door was protected with used Aura-based rules, Overlords of old saw issues with it. First of all, it is an awful waste of mana. You have to dedicate a lot of magical energy, energy that you could use for attack, for empowerment of you Minions, or some other purpose."
"In other words, they found it more effective to be less protected and use that extra unused mana to take down the source of damage easier." Raven expertly surmised. If the less powerful protection was still great enough, Raven thought, then her predecessors might have had a point. Though, considering her lack of any Maidenless magic, the point was rather moot. An important thought struck her. Did her Maiden powers use this mana, or some entirely different source? She had to solve this question as soon as possible, meaning she had to learn what magic the old Minion could teach her.
"Exactly right, Master." Gnarl happily said, evidently pleased how quick she was on the uptake. "Though it had other uses, as I mentioned. The version of the Overlords' was more adaptable. When dodging an attack, and applying the version that was on the door, you stand to waste your mana, and it involves a lot of guessing too, if the attack is weaker than the amount of mana put in. What if, instead, your dodge was completely successful?"
"But you'd still have protection in both of these cases." Raven pointed out, not entirely sure of his point.
"Still, you committed magical energy to a move you were not sure you needed, and now you cannot use that energy for a follow-up attack. And if the enemy overextends with his attack, that limits the amount of punishment you can deal on to him."
Matter of preference, Raven decided. She was more used to physical combat regardless, so the former option was not as devastating to her as it would be for a mostly-magic user.
"How does it work, then?" Raven asked, though for those who heard her, the words seemed more as a demand, fitting to her nature.
"While the version you encountered requires you to choose some amount of magic energy to incorporate as defense, the method of your forefathers' is a constant spell, requiring a flow of willpower and mana. While the spell is being cast, it slowly drains your mana while giving you the full defensive capabilities it possesses."
"You said those were weaker, correct?"
"The most powerful version of this spell is more powerful than the one the door uses, but it would require far more skill in the magical arts than the latter, I'm afraid. If you are willing to live with the downsides of the latter, it should be no more difficult to cast than the simplest of your ancestors' shield spells." Gnarl patiently explained to her, before pausing as if in thought. "Though, I'm sorry to say, I don't think you'll ever manage the 'Sanctuary' spell."
That irked her, both the disrespect to her abilities, and her servants doubting her at all. However, if she learned anything from Ozpin, with the old types, it paid to be patient, to bear through the disrespect, and then a lot of useful things become yours to learn.
"Why not?"
"That spell is for low-corruption Overlords, Sire, ones that tend to shy away from Evil actions unless necessary. I don't think that's quite you."
Raven wasn't stupid, she saw through his Ozpin-ways. His words carried enough context to make it seem like he fully explained the situation. For a slave, he did a lot of mastering.
"And that's really all I need to know about corruption?" her tone sarcastic and non-believing, challenging him to lie to his master.
"Of course not, Master," he said, voice full of amusement, as if it was all a game, and perhaps this was yet another test of her fit for the position, "merely all that is relevant for now. I think you would rather enjoy lessons in magical theory back at the Dark Tower."
'Dark Tower', she noted mentally. As if it was expected for her to not want to rest with her family, her tribe. He'll give her lessons wherever she demands them.
"Tell me now." she demanded instead, flexing her authority. Gnarl, like expected, folded. She never thought someone extensively loyal to her could be such trouble.
"As you wish. Evil acts, like killing innocents, and Sire, I use the term loosely, increases your corruption. Your corruption draws in Evil Energy. Evil Energy increases your powers, both magical and not. Every person is susceptible to this, but only an Overlord like yourself, or extremely talented magic-inclined individual, can use the Evil Energy to increase their power. Overlord's embracing their corruption gain unparalleled strength, but Evil tolerates no Master, corruption taints your mind, twists the very purpose of all it touches, Overlord who delves deep into corruption must be careful. Death and decay may be fun, but it is rarely suitable for establishing a long-term Evil plan. That requires people, living people. Gratitude comes with its own rewards."
There were many things in his words that demanded her attention, but for now she focused on a thing that stuck out to her the most.
"'Evil tolerates no Master?'" Raven repeated in a questioning tone, hiding her suspicion easily. "You lot seem happy to serve me."
"We Minions are merely creatures of Evil, Master." Gnarl replied easily. "Overlords are the chosen champions of Evil to fulfill its grand design."
"To what end?" and in response she heard only a belly-filled laughter, before eventually he deigned to answer her. "Who knows, Master? We Minions serve, and we are rewarded by being able to do the things we like. Overlords end up on a path to conquest, always, and eventually Evil rules the world, be it through the champion that has chosen to recoil from the corruption, or be it though one that has chosen to embrace it. Then heroes eventually liberate the world, doing their best to destroy all Evil. But Evil always finds a way. There will always be a Minion ready to serve, an Overlord wanting to become the Sovereign, be it for personal reasons, or ones willing to be marching their way to hell for goodness, protection of others."
The last part of his speech intrigued her. "You would serve me even if I wanted to be good?"
"An Overlord commands, a Minion obeys." Gnarl said simply before elaborating. "An Overlord never stays put, there's never just one village to protect. Whatever the reason, an Overlord always destroys his enemies, slays the era, always makes it all worth it."
If nothing else, that was certainly encouraging, but she had further questions.
"You said corruption twists purpose of things, and the user's mind." Raven stated, words not formed in a question, but demanding an answer all the same.
"An Overlord must always be careful to resist the influence of the corruption through, in this case, her willpower. It will attempt to twist you into nothing more than an intelligent Grimm. Anger will always follow you, pain of others will be your happiness, wholesome feelings non-existent, that sort of thing. Do not worry, Master, such a state takes quite some time to enter, and requires very much Evil."
"But I can get the power of corruption while resisting it?" the most important parts, he spent the least time on, to her deep annoyance.
"If your will is strong enough." Gnarl answered, sounding rather cryptic. "But when your mind turns against you, whispers of power if you'd only delve deeper, will you resist?"
Raven was willing to take that bet. And, besides, if she was to get corrupted either way, might as well profit of it all. One more question remained.
"And the purpose? You didn't answer that." she reminded him. She almost thought that it was just an elaborate and dramatic way to describe what he already told her, though remembering at what started the conversation made her suspect that there was more to it than merely that.
"The spell 'Sanctuary' is the purest expression of the desire for protection." Gnarl started with an example. "The attacker won't feel so much as a bump on their hand when attacking it, but the spell will negate all damage at the same mana cost as the base Overlord-shield spell. It is one of the most impressive and difficult pieces of magic. However, in the hands of an Overlord full of corruption, the spell twists and changes. The corruption warps it into a piece of magic that will disintegrate anything that touches it, friend or foe. Strictly speaking, it doesn't even do any protecting, that is just the side effect of it doing its very best to kill whatever touches it. It was warped from the purest expression of the desire to be protected, into something unrecognizable. While corruption tends to have a bigger effect on the more complicated spells, ones that have a strong desire that can be perverted, the point remains the same, Master. That is what it does to your magic, and that is, indeed, what it intends to do to you."
That…that was disturbing. Certainly, Raven thought the perverted variant of 'Sanctuary' was more useful especially for solo missions, though this flourishing taint still unnerved her. But she was a determined woman. She will not become a slave, it is she who is in command; she had always seized her destiny.
This conversation has gone for long enough, she decided, and decided to explore more of the dungeon. Now that the door was destroyed, she stepped though. The room wasn't all that spacious, though full of rats; the five Brown Minions she had brought along were quick to kill them, and skillfully wear them as hats, all of them were hatless before, much to Raven's disgust. She looked around the room again, taking in the finer details, mainly that the walls were all littered with scratches, as if a great battle had taken place here, and in the corner of the room there was also a body, long dead; Minions were quick to loot it for all it was worth, some gold pieces and sword long since rusted beyond use, though that didn't stop the Minions from fighting over it. She sighed in annoyance at the sight, but didn't stop them.
To the right of her was an iron door, and after extending her gauntlet-clad hand towards it, she mentally commanded her Minions to break it down, something they were more than eager to do, and with happy cheers of 'For the Overlord!', they broke down the iron door. As they entered the room it appeared even smaller than the one they were just in, the room littered with corpses, walls lit up by torches ablaze with a seemingly magical blue flame, with two more things of note. A crimson chest at the end of the room, and a big boulder in the middle of the room. One of her more curious Minions poked it, and to her surprise, the boulder rose, the sounds making its anger clear, and like a turtle coming out of his shell, the beast's head and appendages came out of the boulder.
"A Boulder Beast, Sire!" Gnarl informed her telepathically, and Raven had to wonder if that was really the name of their kind, or if Gnarl was just very uncreative with his naming conventions. Regardless, the rest of his advice was of bigger use. "Be careful! As you can see they have tough hides, and they are fond of getting in their shells and rolling over anyone in their way!"
Like Boarbatusks then, Raven thought, and the strategy was clear. Though Boarbatusks didn't always do rolling attacks, those were very easy to turn on its head, make it the killing blow. The beast retracted its appendages after a few unsuccessful swipes at her Minions, and as it was about to roll, Raven mentally had the Minions move out of the way when it does start its attack. Minions, once again, showed their competence to follow basic instructions, and excellently moved out of the beast's rolling attack, causing it to collide with the wall, leaving a sizeable dent in it; the whole room seemingly vibrating from the impact. The impact had left the beast stunned, and with an afterthought on her behalf, the Minions disposed of her enemy. Raven smiled. Despite their nonsensical behavior, and often signs of stupidity, their usefulness, or competency, could not be denied.
The aforementioned chest contained nothing more than some more gold, which nevertheless was still impressive, and a bottle of a red-colored liquid, color of blood in those video games that her brother enjoyed so much. The gold disappeared by the power of her gauntlet, her vault growing fuller bit by bit, but she willed the gauntlet to keep the bottle in her hand. To her surprise, though she really should have expected nothing less, the gauntlet's magic obeyed her, this still being somewhat foreign to her, as if she could just command an explosion to just not explode, and the bottle stayed in her hand. She swirled the bottle, watching the liquid move.
"Ahhh, Master, you've found something truly of great use." Gnarl happily chirped. For a malevolent being of Evil, he sure could make his voice sound happy. Raven didn't bother voicing her question, merely waiting for him to elaborate, and in time he obliged her. "That swirling red liquid you hold is a potion, potion of healing to be precise. This concoction will imbue you with minor healing energies, as well as closing your wounds. The Elves were particularly handy at making such potions, but their vile sanctuaries are nearly impossible to find, they are, and were, always a reclusive lot."
Perfect, she thought with irritation, more races she didn't know about, more potential enemies that could assail her. Her advisor's words did not bring her confidence in this, for it seemed like her new servants' relationship with these Elves was far from pleasant.
She eyed the potion again. A lesser woman would throw it away, convinced that aura can protect and heal her, and while aura certainly could do all that, Raven decided to keep hold of this potion. If she ever was in a fight so bad that she lost her aura, this right here, could be her lifesaver. The bottle disappeared by her will, and she turned around, exiting the room, her servants following dutifully behind.
This time she took the eastern exit, destroying the magically-protected door with ease. She felt reassured, surely if there was a threat worth her worry, the protections would be much more dangerous, much more mana-filled. The corridor that greeted her was long and narrow, and as she ventured deeper in, she had to navigate her way past the traps aplenty. She snapped her fingers and willed the fire to leave the arrow that was shot at her, and her hand easily crushed the aforementioned arrow. Fire arrows, parts of the ground that tried to get your foot stuck in it, only for a rock to fall from above, spikes, all that she faced and conquered, that and much more. She smiled satisfied. While the traps weren't particularly dangerous to her, she was glad to see that the engineer of this place didn't see magic as the be-all and end-all of his skillset.
She took a left turn and a right one just a bit further, and stopped soon after, hearing one of her Minions call out to her.
"Look, Master, look!" one of her Minions said, she hadn't yet bothered learning their names, and as she followed his finger with her eyes, she saw what had interested him so. At the very top of the right wall there was a door, around 13 feet higher than where she was. She was impressed actually; the door was carved into the stone, seeming more like a statue than a door, something she wouldn't have noticed if not for her follower.
With a dramatic wave, she willed the earth to make her, and her Minions, stairs to the door, an easy task with her Maiden powers. Thankfully, the other side of the room had stairs leading downwards, not that the fall would have hurt her. In the middle of the room was a silver mirror and in front in floated a ghastly figure. It was a male human, best she could tell, though his identifiable features were barely visible on his transparent figure. As she approached him, his eyes opened to observe her, his face contorted in a polite smile, one the face wasn't used to showing, and he addressed her.
"Greetings, kind traveler." Raven had to force herself to not snort at such an unfitting description of her. "I am tasked with answering any questions you may have of me."
"Who are you? What are you?" Raven started with the two most obvious ones as the voice of Gnarl whispered in her mind about the connection between the figure and the mirror.
"In life I was but one of the apprentices serving Lord Tanish, he who founded this dungeon, and sought to protect its ultimate secret. In death, I was chosen to remain here, to guide those worthy to claim the treasure. 'What worth is one's work, if those worthy cannot use it?' he had thought, and left me here, a mere echo of my life, trapped for the one purpose I was given, able to do no other."
He was long dead, Raven realized from his words, though she supposed that was visible from his appearance. She took a look at the mirror again, Gnarl's previous words ringing in her head. The mirror was what kept him here, where his memories, or whatever his echo was, was contained. She wondered, how sentient was he really. Just to see what would happen, she spent the next five minutes in complete silence, and the shade did not react at all, as if he was merely aware only when she talked, or approached him, aware only when he was programmed to be, nothing more than a partless machine.
"Where is the treasure?" Raven finally asked him. This place was starting to get depressing, and she wanted to leave as soon as its secrets were hers to command.
"I cannot answer that." he said much to Raven's displeasure. "While in life I was granted that knowledge, in death I did not receive that pleasure. Have no fear, however, seeker, for I can still indeed guide you along your path"
His translucent hand gestured towards the mirror. "This is the key to the treasure. It is only by using this mirror that can you find the way." with those words, the ghastly form disappeared, and the silver mirror began glowing a powerful yellow. Raven risked a peek, and was rewarded with the sight of a glorious and exquisite golden chest, the only visible thing in a room full of darkness. With a thought, she commanded a Minion to step through, though unfortunately, the mirror was as solid as silver could be.
"Any bright ideas, Gnarl?" Raven asked, hoping that this one of the relatively easy problems to resolve for people in-the-know. She felt a mental shake of his head as he replied in a negative. "Apologies, Master. You could try breaking it if you run out of options."
Raven thought about it and reconsidered. If all the dungeon-master had sought in worthiness was mere strength, he would have stuck with magical doors and monsters. Instead there have been traps, requirement for a different skillset than mere bruteness. She extended her hand behind her, at the opposite side of the mirror's face, and sent a blast of fire to destroy the wall. When the dust cleared, she released a sound of displeasure, her theory proven wrong. Instead of there being a secret passageway, there was now only a hole. Clearly then, this was not how the blasted mirror worked.
She walked around the mirror several times, pondering the problem before her. She was certain that the mirror was a passageway, when her angle changed, so did the visage, except she did not see a new perspective on the chest, but wall instead. Suddenly it clicked to her, and she commanded the Minions to rotate the mirror instead. The foul thing resisted, soldiered to the ground by some force, but no force was greater than a group of death-cultists whose biggest fear was not pain, but disappointing their Death God. With a terrible screeching sound the mirror was pulled out from the ground, and as Raven continued to move around the room, the Minions kept its face pointed to her own. With a snap of her fingers, and a mental command, the Minions obediently dropped the mirror.
The mirror now showed a door, the pathway revealed before her. She blasted away the ornate doors in the magical mirror and stepped through, excitement overtaking common sense. The mirror was no longer as solid as silver, and let her and her compatriots through easily enough.
They now stood in a dark room whose only source of light was the golden chest that was so clean, it produced visible light, a magical effect she was sure. Her own torch barely illuminated the room, though that problem soon was replaced with another. The room light up in an early blue light at its edges, and from the same edges a dark mist began gathering towards the center of the room, in front of the treasure that was rightfully hers. The mist formed into a humanoid shape, resembling a seventy year old man covered in coat of the dark mist, eyes glowing a brighter red than her own.
The figure lunged at her, and she easily cleaved him in half with her Omen. "That was easy" Raven remarked, pleased with herself before suddenly lunging rightwards, aura screaming at her about an incoming attack and she turned around to see her Minions slashing at her foe, who had, somehow reformed again into his previous shape. It was lucky that she hadn't had enough time to let her guard down.
She observed her Minions kill the figure, and before her eyes, the shattered pieces flew to the corner of the room, rebounded and reformed back in the circle of the room ready to attack once more. She ignored Gnarl's words advising her on something she already divined herself, and instead slashed at her foe again, mentally ordering her servants to go at the corners of the room, look for something, anything, that they could break to shatter the connection. She willed the fires all around the room to go out and back at every one of her slashes, sometimes one at the time, sometimes all at once. She had to begrudgingly conclude that her fire powers would be no use here, the flames were merely illumination.
She dodged yet another attack from the mysterious figure, and killed him once again. It wasn't even all that difficult. She was certain even the weakest of her tribesmen could do it, though perhaps not as easily as her. The shattered pieces flew once again to the borders of the room, and an idea struck her. By her command, as soon as the pieces touched the corners, she had the flames go out, and the Minions slashed at the figure's parts. There was a loud, unnatural sounding screech, sound of great pain, and the room began violently shaking. She willed the flames back, and was pleased to see that her plan was successful, the spirit was gone.
"Necromancy, I believe, Sire." were the words she heard from her advisor. "A dead warrior animated to serve as this room's guardian, the room specifically designed to make fully killing it far more difficult than it should be. While I'm not familiar with this exact technique, using the dead as traps to secure treasures wasn't an uncommon practice many years ago, though considered deeply heretical. Necromancers and their kind used to be hunted down on the spot, there didn't used to be a higher honor than being able to cleanse your people of a necromancer."
The room's shaking did not stop and, in fact, increased. She picked up the exquisite golden chest and began running her way out of the room, making her way back into the room with the silver mirror. She had the Minions pick it up; she wasn't going to leave this curiosity alone here.
"Seems like there is one final trap here after all, Sire." Gnarl said not sounding very concerned as Raven gathered her Maiden strength to blast her way out of this place with her loot. "Fortunate for you that you are an Overlord, then, yes?"
The words stopped her for a moment, and after a few seconds of thinking, she wanted to slap herself silly. She snapped her fingers, and the Tower Heart responded to her wishes, Tower Gate appeared near her. The Minions put the silver mirror inside, and disappeared alongside it, and Raven jumped after them, nearly missing being crushed by the collapsing celling. As she stood up back in her Dark Tower she had a pleasant thought, the Minions certainly weren't going to let her get bored at this rate.