Guy Clansbreath's Story

Bahamut shifted with a slight huff, leaning down and hefting the large, pale, and weak wyrm onto his back. " Si geou onelka wux. I will forgive you." For now... Bahamut kept the last part in his head as he dragged Kelovius to the next room. The dark dragon hardly seemed bothered by the blood on him, and he was glad Kelovius killed the Ubarri before he did. If Bahamut had gotten his hands on the amphibious being, the result would have been much messier.

Mulier followed carefully, waving for her body guards and Guy to follow.

Guy follwed the dragons and Mulier in. He looked at Kelovius. He then looked abck at Mulier. "What the hell is going on now?" Guy asked. He had no idea and he wasn't that fond of surprises.

Kelovius allowed Bahamut to hoist the obviously ill wrym onto his back. He was feverish and distraught, and felt the constant urge to vomit. One side of him wanted to rip Bahamut apart still, the side full of rage and angst that had come with the........sickness, but he kept it under wraps. His humour had vanished however, and now his mood was cynical and depressed.
He heard the suppressed comment in Bahamut's head, but kept silent. This was the way of Bahamut, and who was he to try and change him?

As they approached the white, clinical monolith where he and his servants resided he decided to tell Bahamut of something that was bothering, no, haunting him. However, he talked with telepathy rather than words, as this was a sensitive matter, and he reckoned Bahamut wouldnt want anyone else to hear.

"I saw it all." he messaged, in a haunted, chilling voice "My attack must have been that powerful it managed to penetrate your mental barrier. It wasnt my fault, i swear, its none of my business, its this new power, i'm......struggling to control it."
Right, he couldnt hold it any longer. He leant over Bahamut and vomited forth a crimson column. It hit one of Mulier's bodyguards, who didnt seem impressed.
"Sorry." He apologised in words to the bodyguard and in telepathy to Bahamut
"I saw your childhood." He continued "You wasnt actually that evil then. You were a tad spiteful, sure, but not evil. You liked books. And Knowledge. You was very sensitive about it. Very angsty towards those who didnt understand. Then you left, in your adolescense, to pastures new."
He breathed, "Then the next bit even my power couldnt get to. I know when you came back to Daughtris you had become what you are today, but, still, its puzzling. What tipped you over the edge, to walk the lonely path of darkness? What did you find, in those accursed lands far away? You will always be a great mystery, but i sense sadness, bitterness and rage in your past. And......i feel for you, in a weird way."

He was silent for the rest of the way. As they passed through two automatic doors he whispered, "When you go through that corridor you'll get to the main lobby. On the left youll see a couch. Set me down there, and ill explain everything."

Mulier giggled a bit as one of the bodyguards had been drenched in the blood. It was entertaining to see him try and keep his cool, but, she didn't worry. When Guy posed his question, Mulier simply turned to him and spoke in a hushed tone. "Lord Bahamut and Kelovius go way back...Seems they're still having some issues...Best we don't involve ourselves too far into the affairs of these dragons..." Quietly, she began to slow her pace to keep back a bit, the guards following suit.

Bahamut simply carried Kelovius, listening to what was being said by the wyrm. How much had he seen?! The dark dragon spat a bit when he mentioned Bahamut's return, looking back. Mulier, guy, and the guards had fallen back. Good. He eventually made his way into the described room and lightly dropped Kelovius onto the oversized piece of furniture. Bahamut then gave Kelovius an answer. "What happened when I was gone is of my own concern. I will only say that I had my eyes opened to how the world could be." Cryptic as it was, an answer was an answer.

There was a knock on the door and Kelovius' amphibious assistant, Janice, strolled in to the room where Mulier Tentationis and Guy Clansbreath resided, giving the pair a huge grin. Her head was bandaged.

"Mind if i join you two? That Bahamut fellow is chatting with the professor and, to be honest, he scares me. I get awfully lonely if i have no one to talk to, and you guys seem nice. Under normal circumstances, id be talking Kelovius' head off at this point. Not that he ever listens, a'course, unless you count the occasional nod and 'Uh - huh' as 'listening'." She sighed longingly. Then she suddenly perked up. "My name's Janice by the way."

She looked at Mulier. "Ah, so you're a vampire, are you? And a pureblood at that, how very interesting!" she said excitedly. Then she stopped herself. "Sorry, im getting ahead of myself. Im a necromancer, you see, and weve always found vampires as a subject of fascination. Youre darn pretty too, if you dont mind me saying, the professor took to you like a fly to flypaper." Yeah, I wish he'd do that with me, she wanted to add, but she didn't. Instead she changed the subject.

"So, how do you like Freedom inc.? Quite snazzy, isnt it? Very chrome, too. Not that youve seen much of it. In fact, youre probably bound to have questions! Ill be happy to answer some of them, but not all of them, mind, as some things are classified."

Guys sighed as the lady strolled in and began a conversation with them. What he really wanted was to get out of here and maybe work at his old trade, make a descent dollar then go and get some dinner. He had seen enough drama today.

She looked at Mulier. "Ah, so you're a vampire, are you? And a pureblood at that, how very interesting!" she said excitedly. Then she stopped herself. "Sorry, im getting ahead of myself. Im a necromancer, you see, and weve always found vampires as a subject of fascination. Youre darn pretty too, if you dont mind me saying, the professor took to you like a fly to flypaper." Yeah, I wish he'd do that with me, she wanted to add, but she didn't. Instead she changed the subject.

"Oh don't mind me, just the man who... Somewhat... Leads all the Northern Raiders of this glorious world." Guy said, he didn't like being excluded. Especially when someone was speaking of someone of importance around him. He was always somewhat vain. But he never really let it get to him. But now seeing as he was on the "bad" side, he might as well.

Guy had to adjust his armour again. This time though it wouldn't budge. But when he yelled in his mind; 'MOVE!' it did. "Odd." He thought aloud.

"So, how do you like Freedom inc.? Quite snazzy, isnt it? Very chrome, too. Not that youve seen much of it. In fact, youre probably bound to have questions! Ill be happy to answer some of them, but not all of them, mind, as some things are classified."

"Oh it's beautiful... I somehow expected less, um how shall I put this? DRAGONS!" Guy yelled, he really had no idea what he was getting into when he chose this, he just wanted to live, maybe dying would have been better. "The only question I have is where are the merchants around here?" Guy asked longing to make some gold, money always soothed him.

Janice made a sharp "Ribbit" noise and her skin went a darker hue of green than usual, but she kept her smile. "Sorry, Mr...... Clansbreath, was it? I did notice you but i didn't realise you had such an illustrous career. Not trying to sound funny or anything, but you'd better get used to dragons. It IS a dragon that owns this company, after all, and the survival of the draconian species is one of our minor projects. Dragons can sometimes be likeable, if you have a few drinks with the professor, for example, you'll find him to be a right ol' laugh. He's much more likeable than the dragon you came in with, from what i've seen." She chuckled grimly, rubbing her head where Bahamut had hit her. "As for Merchants, well, look around. We're one big company, profiteering and investing, but we operate like a family, everyone is catered for. Bear in mind you ARE in the middle of nowhere, and unless you want to invoke the ire of that Bahamut fellow you work for AND have to walk miles to reach Pruwas or Lightwake then i suggest you have a word with the professor. He can be quite the businesssnake, though he doesn't deal in petty trinkets and stuff like that. Oh no, he deals in something much more valuable. Honestly, if you get the time and he isn't with Bahamut, id have a word. Bear in mind that he's one of the greatest telepaths in all of Daughtris, if not THE best, so if you plan to swindle him then id give up now, not that id suggest that you're into scams like that, of course. However, his prices are very fair, in fact, sometimes money isn't involved at all!"

Then she noticed Guy's armour, and stopped talking. She muttered a single, untelligable word with a mixture of shock, awe and interest upon her face. "Sha'ilival."

Guy laughed as she finished her little lecture. "thanks. And let me guess... Slave trading?" Guy asked, he had never been into slave trading, only things like weapons, potions, and armor. Guy couldn't trade away someone's life to someone he knew was going to treat them terribly. Sure only money truly spoke to him, but he wasn't cruel.

When she noticed her looking at his armor he looked at it too. She then exclaimed and he jumped a little, his hand went to his ax on his waste but seeing she was just exclaiming in a sort of awe or shock he settled a little. "Try to only speak this tongue around me I....Dislike. Magic." Guy said. He sighed a little. "I see you noticed my armor though. Would you happen to know what's going," He was cut off by his armor jabbing into him, he quickly re-adjusted it. "ON?" He shouted as the armor seemed to burn him for a second. STOP! he shouted in his mind, as soon as the words echoed in his own mind teh armor stopped, and seemed to whimper like a whipped dog. "Please." Guy pleaded with Janice.

Janice smiled "No, its not slave trading. We value the fair treatment of others, and Kelovius dislikes seeing anyone in unnecessary pain due physical labour, as it is unnecessary when you have machinery to do the job.Good guess though. No, you wouldn't believe me if i told you, but perhaps you would if HE did. He isnt a 'bad guy', as it were, he can be quite a, how can i put this, dick at times, but hes not THAT much of a sadist. Hes a very meagre sadist, is all I'm saying. As for your amour, well..... i dont know that much to be honest, and I'm a bipedal and highly intellectual amphibian from the dawn of time, so that tells you a lot. The word i used, Sha'ilival, is from the tongue of my people, the Ubarri, and it means "creeping shadow". We used this term when referring to our most ancient enemies, the Blackpyre, in the days of yore, and we still do, for like most things in this land they have been preserved by Kelovius' will, though their continued survival is not really his intention, and they still lead petty raids against us from time to time. The aura your armour exudes is practically identical to the aura i remember feeling when getting up close to the Blackpyre. Do you feel it, Mulier?" She asked the vampire. "A sickly heat, makes you want to blanch? A force so powerful that when exposed long enough to it, you begin to feel empty and unfeeling. Those are the remnants of the Blackpyre's dark dealings. They worship some crude god, a vast, ever gnawing shadow that sleeps beneath the earth's flesh, the only patch of darkness in existence that is not of Kuro or Venash's making. Tell me, Mr Clansbreath, may i call you Guy, by the way? Tell me, Guy, where did you acquire this armour? I remember the Blackpyre whispering about a special metal theyd found that gained sentience when filled with the stuff of shadows. They talked of making a giant, metal scion of their god, more terrible than any golem, but Kelovius stopped them unearthing any more by sealing the mines with fate magic, but whos to say that some intrepid miner, probably a dwarf, from the other side of the world didnt nab some, forge it into armour and sell it off? If you want answers, then youll need to brave the depths of the Blackpyre's lair and seek audience with Thaqotul, their depraved shaman. Provided they dont eat you, mind, or drive you insane with their miasmic breath. Ill come with you if you like, i can show you the best way to get there, then, as every cave or burrow leads to their den, but some routes are better than others. Im sure Miss Tentationis would like to come too, the chance of an adventure very oft beguiles even the best of us, after all. Isn't that right, Miss Tentationis?"

Guy once again listen to her. As soon as she began to talk of Blackpyre, it all came back to him. The gem, The dark, deep purple, sinister gem that he had pulled from the corrupted beasts heart. The evil spirit voice that had called to him, beckoned for him to go to it, and he did.

The gem. THE GEM! The voice now screamed at him! It tore at his very being, ripping at every fiber. He felt the gem in his pouch begin to get hot, Like his armor earlier had. It wasn't the same though, the gem went into him, It melded with him. It sank into his mind, like that of a master mind reader. It consumed him, and then for some reason let him go.

He felt more free than he ever had, like he had been living in a haze his entire life. He felt the gem speak to him. But not in words. In images and memories of past hosts. Then it went to it's first, but it's first host wasn't anything. It was a shadow. that shadow now resided in the gem. A demon.

Guy looked up. It was if he had fallen asleep. It was a dream...? But not so sure he looked at his armor, a black shadow seemed to dance on it. And then, the shadow swirled and concentrated in one spot, forming the gem. He felt in his pouch for the gem, finding nothing.

"Let's leave as soon as possible." Guy said. He had just seen his life change, He had to rid himself of this demon. He wouldn't be ruled by this evil creature. It still somewhat probed at his mind, it still hurt, but not enough to stop him. ENOUGH! Guy echoed in his thoughts, He was sure every mind reader for miles would hear it. But it silenced the Demon.

Mulier would've stayed engaged in the conversation when it started, but her phone had begun ringing. Stepping away to talk care of the call, she handled the communication device carefully. Every now and then a few words would slip from her lips, but otherwise, she stayed focused. Her cheery, carefree and somewhat licentious demeanor from before had become cold intensity and sheer seriousness. Ostwyn was being attacked on two fronts, and the Avory princess's group were still in Clearwood. Mulier shifted, biting her lower lip before switching the channel for communications. "5th and 8th companies, report!" She said almost in a shout, stepping away from Janice and Guy while they talked.

Two voices piped up. "5th company, here ma'am!" "8th company reporting, whaddaya need milady?"

The Temptress Vampire tilted her head a bit before speaking into communicator. "Execute 'Undermine' order, Avory plan. I repeat, execute 'Undermine' order." The two voices gave a confirmation before ending the link. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves and moved back over to the duo. "Sorry about that...Important business call."

Janice sighed at the vampire. "We were just talking about how Guy's armour seems to have some shadowy sentience. The only way he can get help is by asking the shaman of the Blackpyre for advice; malign, degenerate dragonkin who worship shadows and are living below the swamp. We need to traverse their lair, and we may die. Would you like to join us on this little adventure, Miss Tentationis?"

(OOC: Sorry for the wait, shadow phoenix, not to mention the small post size. Sevre writers block, y'see.)

Mulier grinned at the mention of the dragonkin of Blackpyre, tilting her head and nodding once. "But of course! Though, it may be best you let me do the talking. My family has done business with those fellows before, they wouldn't dare harm me or anyone in an entourage with me." One hand on her hip, she snapped her fingers, the two bodyguard purebreed vampires coming to the Temptress Vampire's sides from different places. It seemed they had wandered away on their own for a while. "But, it's been hundreds of years. Maybe one of the elders would recognize my family name. But, either way, I'd love to go and help Guy with his little armor predicament.~"

Mulier grinned at the mention of the dragonkin of Blackpyre, tilting her head and nodding once. "But of course! Though, it may be best you let me do the talking. My family has done business with those fellows before, they wouldn't dare harm me or anyone in an entourage with me." One hand on her hip, she snapped her fingers, the two bodyguard purebreed vampires coming to the Temptress Vampire's sides from different places. It seemed they had wandered away on their own for a while. "But, it's been hundreds of years. Maybe one of the elders would recognize my family name. But, either way, I'd love to go and help Guy with his little armor predicament.~"

Guy smirked. "Well that's kind of sad... I was looking forward to a good fight." Guy said. The voice in Guys head had changed him, oddly it seemed to want him to draw blood. Guy couldn't quite put his finger on it.... if only he hadn't gone for that walk in the forest. Now his mind hadn't just changed, but his entire look had changed too. Guy really didn't like change.

Guy was still dumbfounded though. "Dragonkin?" Guy asked just out of pure curiosity, he didn't even mean to ask. He had never heard them mentioned before. An old memory rushed to him though. When he was young, there was a vial race of half dragon half human kind of creatures. They invaded their island, killing everyone they could. Guy was lucky to be away with his father on a raid. When they came back, many of their people were dead. Guys father and his men eradicated the vial creatures driving them off the island.

Guy scratched the back of his head. "Oh... Them... I may or may not be linked to the extermination of them." Guy said a little worried for himself. there were old myths of the hybrid dragon men within his tribes, they were known as vial creatures. Guys tribe killed them on sight. And vice versa.

"Wha.....you're both involved with them? But....." Janice began, but she was cut off as shadows suddenly began to erupt across the walls and floor. Alarms began to sound, but by then it was too late.

"Oh dear. They must've read our thoughts. They've found us before we found them. Funny, that." Janice remarked. She looked around. Where the FUCK was Kelovius and his overgrown toyboy?

Dark shapes detached themselves from the walls, forming into three black snake - like creatures. They were not dragon/human hybrids, but they certainly were kin to dragons. One of the dragon's most feared cousins in fact - Wryms!

The largest of the three began to speak, looking directly at Guy. "We read your thoughts, little one. You fought against the hybrids who will soon come to kill us all and drove them from your island. We know this, and so does the armour. It CHOSE you, and it has made things quite clear."

Then the creatures bowed their heads
"You, man of north, are the one our shaman prophecized about. You are both the saviour and the destroyer of daughtris. You are the reincarnation of the god of the Blackpyre wyrms!"

Guy drew his axe out of habit, but the armor sent a signal to his mind telling him it would be all right. Guy let his axe fall back into it's holster.

The largest of the three began to speak, looking directly at Guy. "We read your thoughts, little one. You fought against the hybrids who will soon come to kill us all and drove them from your island. We know this, and so does the armour. It CHOSE you, and it has made things quite clear."

Then the creatures bowed their heads
"You, man of north, are the one our shaman prophesied about. You are both the saviour and the destroyer of daughtris. You are the reincarnation of the god of the Blackpyre wyrms!"

Guy was dumbfounded. "I'm a God," guy flung his arms wide. "of what!?" guy yelled. he had never been a leader of anything, not even his own tribe that he had inherited. How was he to be a god. "I can't even control this damned armor!" guy yelled. "How am I supposed to be a god?"

Guy hated this. he couldn't stand the waiting. "If the Drakains are coming let them. I've been deprived of the pleasure of killing them. they killed many of my friends." Guy drew his axe again and stretched his swinging arm as he reached back to unsling his shield from his back, but it wasn't there. Instead a black goop seeped onto his arm and formed into an obsidian shield, it had a lions head in the middle of it, a lion not roaring, but.... Counting money.

Guy looked at Wyrm. "Why did it chose me," guy asked. "who am I?" He was getting impatient.

The main wyrm smiled. "So many questions. So little time. We alone cannot explain the destiny that lies ahead, but perhaps our shaman, Thaqotul, can. We shall take you there, Northman, along with your companions. After all, I'm sure Thaqotul will be pleased to meet one from the line of Azogarr Tentationis, after all these years." the creature droned softly, twisting his serpentinian head to Mulier with an unpleasant grin. Then he turned to his attendants and nodded. They began to chant, speaking ancient, untelligable words that fell out of writing in ages past due to their blasphemous nature. Suddenly, at their infernal command, shadows oozed forth from the walls and floor once more, and began to wrap around Janice, Mulier, Guy and the three Wryms, before dragging them down below the floor.

They reemerged in a great, slimy, underground cavern, the vast base of operations of the blackpyre. Janice felt sick at the sight of multiple piles of Wyrm excrement and rotting carcasses hugging the slimy walls. The whole place was shrouded in darkness, and from the shadows multiple pairs of piercing red eyes and the occasional flicker of a forked tongue could be made out. Suddenly, the cavern began to rumble and shake as a great scaled horror loomed out of the darkness. A great Wrym was he, his black, slime slicked scales were worn and tarnished and gave the impression that he was old beyond counting. His eyes did not glow with the same unnatural red light like his other kin, and, as he leaned closer out of the dark gloom, it was soon clear why. They had been gouged out, his eyelids having been sewn shut with profane surgery.

"Greetings, northman." spoke the beast, in a voice as soft as velvet, which radiated a sinister sense of authority as each word dripped from his lips. "I am Thaqotul, shaman of the Blackpyre. I felt your presence here in Ubarri and sent the scholar Karuune to collect you." he said as he motioned to the wrym who had brought the three here. He then turned back to Guy and narrowed his eyes, and the dark gem the merchant had been carrying levitated towards him, before coming to a halt in mid air. "I believe you have concerns about this artifact, seeing how it is linked directly to your impending destiny, and so i ask you this in kind. What do YOU think it is? What do YOU think lies within it?"

"Greetings, northman." spoke the beast, in a voice as soft as velvet, which radiated a sinister sense of authority as each word dripped from his lips. "I am Thaqotul, shaman of the Blackpyre. I felt your presence here in Ubarri and sent the scholar Karuune to collect you." he said as he motioned to the wrym who had brought the three here. He then turned back to Guy and narrowed his eyes, and the dark gem the merchant had been carrying levitated towards him, before coming to a halt in mid air. "I believe you have concerns about this artifact, seeing how it is linked directly to your impending destiny, and so i ask you this in kind. What do YOU think it is? What do YOU think lies within it?"

"Greeting wise one." Guy said with a slight bow. He knew that these wyrms thought him to be a god, but the could still kill him with one whip of their great tails. Guy was quite humbled by them. He looked at them and decided to speak, "I have seen a shadow in this gem. He seeks to help me it seems, but I fear it seeks to control me." He concluded. Guy was afraid. First it was the corrupt monkey, then the shadow god, then Bahamut, then Kelvious, now this. Guy had been through a lot in the past few days. Maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew deciding to be a raider.

Guy looked at the wyrms again. "Why am I here? What do you want?" Guy questioned.