Hazel's Story

Once above the surface he would be confronted by one last surviving knight, in his hands a large halberd ready to strike him down. "End of the line heretic!" he shouted his obsceneties at him, preparing to strike with his halberd raised high. Suddenly he stopped, something was wrong, he had been struck from behind. protruding from his throat was the blade of a dagger, all he could do is gasp and choke on his own blood.

"Such a beautiful noise you make, it makes your suffering so much more pleasing." A pleasing voice of a woman came from behind the dying knight, it was her dagger. The knight fell to his knees close to death, she walked over to his front slowly and sensually. Just before he could claim his dying breath, she swiftly turns his head all the way around with a sickening SNAP.

She retrieved the dagger from the mans neck and allowed him to fall to the floor with a loud thud. She smirks and admires her bloodied dagger before licking the blood off the blade. She slowly then turned her attention to Hayden, her eyes predatory and hungry.

Hayden was frozen, still shielding himself from the soldier's attack, still holding the young figure. He peeked out, horrified at yet another corpse, and another who's eyes were filled with bloodlust. At this point he had begun to grow exhausted from the horrors, his eyes from shock to that of one who's grown resigned to it. He looked down at the dead soldier, then up at the woman, a tired look in his eye.

"And what of you? Deliverer or assassin?" he said, his voice having grown weary.

Basalah had not left far from her creator, still in the lamplight, polishing and cleaning one of her acquired blades, and then looking into it to get a look at herself, while also keeping watch of her creator and the new arrival. She remained quiet, simply preening and examining her oozing flesh underneath the bandages with an annoyed hiss. She seemed a bit more agitated now than before, perhaps some vanity had developed along with her intellect.

"Answer... carefully," she said with a cold snarling voice.

She looked at Hayden with a look of hungry interest, sheathing the dagger she had just killed the soldier with no sign of mercy. "You are in luck fair Alchemist, I came on orders from our lord and lady." She suddenly looked to Basalah, an expression of mutual annoyance on her face.

"I do not take orders from you creation, though I will indulge you both." She grinned some, showing off her sharp fangs. She walked past both him and Basalah, her eyes on the bloodbath in front of her. She held out her hand toward it, inhaling through her nose as if she were enjoying the scent of the carnage before her. Suddenly a torrent of the blood caused by the carnage flowed into her, her eyes almost rolling back into her head at it. Once she had finished consuming her meal she turned her head toward them both, an expression of satisfaction.

If he wasn't already pale it'd have been more evident his reaction to the woman simply sucking in all the blood within his home and leaving behind dried corpses. Despite his visceral work, he felt squeamish, while he was a man dedicated to the preservation and quality of life, this woman was a predator, a vampire, who thrived off extinguishing others. It didn't help his worries either that she not-at-all subtly enjoyed it. There was no solace here, between a sadist, his murderous creation, and the one who was silent to it all. He had to admit, however, within the fear and worry that washed over him, he was at least curious how even such a being functioned. Was it even human still? She wasn't killing him yet, so there was that.

"So I am to live then?" he said finally, after taking the time trying to shake off the knocking of his knees. "For what purpose does she want me exactly? None of these creatures were intended for crazed slaughter, it is something within the magic, and I was trying to find out what. I-"

"Crazed!?" Basalah interrupted, quickly moving beside Hayden, grabbing his cheeks with one clawed hand, forcing him to look up at her. He looked shocked in response to her and her sharp nails. "Do you... do you not see!? I speak, I think, I learn, I grow! Recognize me!" she said with a growling voice, her eyes wild and breathing erratic. She let go of him and hissed, holding her side and buckling over, the pain of her ruptured body catching up to her. Feeling sympathy for his creation when his shock subsided he reached out to touch her, but she simply hissed and recoiled.

"I'll... to be useful, I'll need a new place to do my work, mine is... compromised," he said, turning hesitantly towards Hazel.

"Your pet seems to be troubled, how amusing." She turned away from him for just a moment, sensing something he otherwise couldn't. She turned her attention back to him, he predatory gaze almost piercing right through him. "You live because my Lady requires you, but should she no longer need you I'd be more than happy to drain the life from that pretty face of yours." She smiles approaching him somewhat aggresively.

Before she could completely answer his question though, they would be set upon by something much larger than all three of them. A loud chittering noise not unlike an insect, crawling on top of a nearby rock and staring at them was a Mantis that was the size of a horse. Its eyes stared right at them, unblinking, unfeeling.

Hayden backed away from Hazel as she approached him, even if it could have been only intimidation, first impressions made it effective enough to make the man leery of her intent. His cargo would only stir slightly, but remained in a quiet and inactive state, and Basalah... he was worried if her state of mind were to decay, would he be able to control her? Unfortunately, before he could contemplate further his options, Basalah peeked out and hissed as her eyes met with those of the new trespasser. It was a large insect, a hunter with terrible foreclaws like jagged sickles. Was it attracted by the sense of fresh blood, or was it attracted by the fight? It was a hunter, horrible and true, but observing Basalah, her teeth bearing through the bandages and black viscus, her body tightening hungering for a kill, she was too.

"Don't... look at me..!" she shrieked madly, lunging at the giant mantid with superhuman force, blades drawn, kicking dirt and rock upon liftoff, forcing Hayden to brace his face before he could order her retreat. She was transfixed with the mantis's eyes, aiming with wild urge to tear them out. In her, there was no fear, only rage.

"Damn it, Basalah!" he yelled, a breach in his own quiet veil, displaying similar frustration from before. Despite his anger, it was clear that he worried greatly about his creation.

The mantis did not move the entire time, waiting for her to come close. Suddenly with high speed everything stopped, the mantis had grabbed onto Basalahs arms with its pincers. Its cold unfeeling eyes pierced into her own, its hungry maw ready to devour her. Before it could do anything else to her, Hazel charged in from the flank and slammed it into the rock with her palms.

Basalah yelled out with a wail not of man or beast, but somewhere between both, as the barbed hooks of claws the mantis had sunk into her arms. There was still no fear, only rage in the unnatural beast's eyes, lit with a murderous blaze that only sought to destroy in its flames. "Choke!" she only roared, as it went to sink its mandibles into her, only for it to be toppled with an unexpected attack. As it was slammed into the rock, disoriented, Basalah reacted immediately, not allowing it to lose grip, but instead entangled her multiple arms with its claws more, pulling closer, both her feet feet towards its head, and pressing them hard against the giant insect's body, she started pushing away and pulling at the same time, hellbent to rip and tear the giant bug apart piece by piece.

The mantis let out a nightmarish shriek as she tore at its limbs. She managed to tear a few of its legs off, she would not however have the kill as its head promptly fell off and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The reason for this sudden death was Hazel herself, having snuck behind it and sliced off its head with her dagger. "I believe we're done with this little charade, it's time you two found out where our rebellion resides." She spoke to Hayden specifically, with her gaze directed toward him.

Hazel however was giving a sideways glance, like she dissaproved her rage. She held out her hand toward him, acting as his guide in this harsh land.

"Tch, amusing... gave more fight than man," Basalah uttered, reveling some in the carnage. She caught the glance and simply twisted her toothy maw into a grin, before biting into the chitin of one of the claws to suck out the meat within. Her satisfaction waned, however, as she watched as Hazel spoke directly to her master, a slight grumble escaping deep within her throat as she saw held her hand out to him. Only fueling the fire of the green-eyed monster was that he actually went towards the vampire accepting her gesture, an audibly snap as her jaws sunk deep within the carapace of the insect's exoskeleton, splitting it in two, a storm of violence and torments unfathomable brewing within her mind. She followed behind, more quietly, like a stalking animal.

Hayden worried, of course, wary of the very being that threatened his life earlier, the head of the giant insect that came after him and his creation, and his creation herself, a being who has shown thrice no hesitation to torture and kill, at least this time with a beast and not a man. "Ah, there are more?" he asked, though he worried more what the rest of this group was like, given the impressions so far given, a chill ran down his spine at the notion.

"You need no such help following I assume, beast of the alchemist?" She asked Basalah specifically, as if she were taunting her. Before she allowed her to answer however great leathery wings sprouted from her back with a sickening crackle. She gripped Haydens hand firmly and launched herself into the sky, taking the Alchemist with him.

Whilst in the air above they flew above the darkened landscape, calm for now but severely ravaged by man. Below them was a clear hideout shrouded in their ladies magic, unseen by all who were not meant to see it.

"What are y-" Hayden began, before he found himself being lifted high into the air, the sudden shock sucking all conceivable words from his mouth, replaced with a long gasp as he saw the world below get smaller and smaller. His cargo held tight, nearly choking him as they too held tight to their master. Basalah reached out to catch her creator, but was too late to do so. Annoyed, she'd have to follow closely underneath, keeping track of one of the only things she seemed to care about.

It was never before that the alchemist had seen the world from such a perspective, looking down on it, a sinking feeling other than from his fear of heights as he observed the horrid state of the lands he called home. It was somehow worse than he had first assumed. A turmoil renewed, stormed within his mind as he hung his head. Men of power, he thought, "and they claim I make monsters?" He then saw a strange space, a location veiled in some way by magic. Being not a user of magic, and reluctant to try being so, he could only assume how the magic works, but another curiosity came to his mind: if between Hazel and Elyzabeth are what represents their order, should he fear what the rest are like?

"I-I must thank you for so courteously spiriting me to your encampment, Lady Hazel," he said, delivered with genuine, albeit timid, cordiality in his voice. Despite circumstances, he felt at least that he could trust her not to severely wound or kill him, even if it was just because it would provoke her superior's ire. "Terrifying as it is, the talents of the Sanguine kind have always been something both fascinating and formidable."

For a brief moment, a smile formed on Hazels face. She was amused by his comments but was also enjoying his utter fear from their flight. "You flatter me alchemist, but do not mistake my amusement for peace." She spoke to him with a clear tone of predatory cruelty. As they arrived at the horizon she pointed herself downward and took a sharp nose dive. Her speed picked up drastically, her wings folded inward. Just before they could impact the ground she unfurled her wings again and softened the landing, landing on her feet in front of the castle now unveiled before them.

"I... I see, simply voicing my respect," he said, furrowing his brow in thought, a certainly odd reaction to being dangled dangerously high above the ground. He was trying hard not to receive his escort with malcontent, to treat her as a person rather than a monster. Before he could speak further, he was cut off by an abrupt drop into a blinding dive, everything becoming little more than a blur of shapes and colors as the ground grew closer and closer, his body limp against the rush of air. As he braced for impact, he felt an abrupt stop, his feet touching the ground, his feet wobbling as he tries to steady himself, with failing results as he shook. He took a moment, breathing in and out audibly, trying to get a grip.

What was more strange, however, was the sheer calm emitted from the humanoid figure that held on to him, who seemed more intent on scanning him over. As he started to regain his bearings, he had a sobering thought come across his mind. "She can't be left to her own, she could become hysterical!" he began, his mind shifting to his creations.

Heavy breathing could soon be heard, shifting his attention to a wild-eyed Basalah on hands and feet, having obviously been following them with her utmost effort, breathing out steam from her hot breath into the cold night air. Though anger was in her eyes at first, having taken and threatened her master no doubt, or even, perhaps, the jab at her pride, seeing her master well softened her expression. The beast's maw cracked into a cocky grin as she stood upright, flipping her hair back with one of her hands, taunting back the vampire who challenged her.

"Ah, this," she began, turning to the castle. She gripped at her sores and hissed slightly. "That... that which is hidden from the eyessss of men..?" she asked, a rhetorical question with particular emphasis, scratching herself under her chin. She gave that dismissive grin again. "Food perhaps? The bug... did not satisfy. Master, you are hungry as well... yes?"