Land of Sorrow

Far above the Lands of Sorrow mountains of grey ash clouds blocked out the sun from the region, making the desolate place even more dreary. The storm system had been in place for centuries, and had been officially named Disdain's Blight, but it not only eroded the skyline. On ground level there were only two types of weather. Ash fog, or Blight storm, one being a more violent version of the other.

Outside it was currently the latter, a brownish grey sand made of the ancient ashes of tragedy and war across these lands which blew across Disdain in the high winds. It made the foggy dusk into pure night, and that is all Nox saw. The young boy Nox was standing in his family home staring out a tall window at the storm. The property was a rather large estate that his nobleman father had once owned.

The house was rather bland however, as being a noble in Disdain was little more than making ends meet. As such was the reason behind Nox's current problem. Two older gentlemen also claiming to be nobles sat in front of the boy's new desk. Both were looking frazzled and uncomfortable as they both spoke over each other at the boys back.

Endless discussion, ongoing princibles and regulation. Nox knew why the men where there. They wanted what money his father had left behind after his passing. They thought Nox was a weak minded child, but that would soon be proven incorrect. The dark haired boy turns on his heel, staring down both if these men and waving a hand for silence. "Enough! I won't tolerate your sniveling."

Both of these men seemed surprised to be silenced by a child. Their expressions changed quickly however when Nox flicked his arm out again. This time a thin blade impacted one of the men's throats, catching him off guard and severing a jugular in his neck. His associate stares in horror and begins to scream, but it was little use. With the roaring storm outside no one could hear Nox as he turned the screams into blood soaked mumblings. He even had a grin on his face as he wiped blood onto his sleeve and cleaned his blade off before securing it on the inside of his sleeve with some leather.

He had only been in his fathers place for a month and already he had dealt with over half of his local competitors. He had no goal to conquest the remaining nobles, for they knew their place in not messing with him, and this most recent set of corpses would ensure that. He dragged the bodies with some difficulty into twin burlap sacks and sealed them, cleaned both the room and himself of blood, then sent a servant to deliver the sacks to a black market butcher. He didn't expect the servant to return either, as all loose ends had to be taken care of.

Now dressed once again in clean and proper clothes he sets about keeping up the books his father used for business, and continue his noble status. But with most of the messy business taken care of he sought pleasure and relaxation. Perhaps a trip out of Disdain would do him good. He made plans on paper immediately, confident on his plan.

For a night of calm skies around Disdain, it was unimaginably loud. Many a person was out and about. The arguments, the screams, the drunken bustling, all of it filled the night air. If it wasnt for the lack of an law enforcement and the general disarray of the populace it might seem like any other city. For those who lived in Castle Xyr, it was anything but.

The twelve 'councilors' that ran Disdain led a life of subterfuge, secrets and murder. Each one was always trying to kill the others and take Xyr's place. But right now, they all were having an excellent dinner together. While the twelve varied in age, gender and background each one was the same inside. A killer.

They were talking amongst themselves and eating around a long stone table in a well lit banquet hall. The food had already been tried by a servant for poison, as it always was after last years new year party. Each kept up their facades and personas while around the others. It was not public knowledge about the death game, yet they all knew each other knew. The only thing keeping it from being a blood bath was Xyr's rules.

His seat was the only one empty, at the head of the table. That soon changed as Xyr returned from Hoffngard and his dark silhoette of a body manifested in his throne. The room went silent for a moment when he arrived but quickly picked back up again. Xyr rested his chin upon his palm, lazily leaning to one side as he runs over the days events and continues writting more scripts in his head.

Dinner was wrapping up in Castle Xyr. Those of the "council" were eating their last bites and making idle conversations, with Xyr still in his seat lost in thought. Servants soon came out to quickly whisk the empty plates and trays away. As was custom in upper class meals, each course was different than the last. The next and final meal of the night was desert. The Land of Sorrow was unable to support much variety of delicacies, so the selection was rather limited. A pudding made from local Blood Yams was about the best thing on the table, and even that was rather bland.

None of this concerned Xyr, it never did. But as all food was set and the others ready to eat they were interrupted by Xyr standing out of his throne. Slowly, he steps up onto the table as his eyes were transfixed out a window opposite him. He continued to walk with black silhouetted feet around the food, each dish being effected by him in a variety of ways. A large gelatine mold became a horrific one eyed slime monster. Another platter of skewered beetles grew snake heads and began slithering across the table.

All sorts of dangerous and horrifying monstrocities fed off a combination of Xyr's energy and the fears of those in the room. As many of the mortals scrambled for cover, Xyr stopped at the end of the table and watched as a cluster of clouds to the north glowed with multiple colors. The Erts'e gart seemed busy, but it wasn't the doing of something he knew. As quickly as it had begun, the light had faded and Xyr felt the fears of a new being hit him hard. Along with it came a new tragedy, a new character, and new possibilities.

Many of those remaining in the room were frozen in horror as Xyr let out a slowly rising maniacle laugh, his excitement mounting. As his laughter apexed his arms raised high, casting long shadows across the room. He suddenly stopped and swept his arms down, returning all altered realities to normal and turning on his heel. "Dinner is over." With that he disappears and becomes smoke, whisking away to the top of his tower as dark ash storms brew up around the Land of Sorrow and Disdain, created by the power of his emotions to manifest a low speed hurricane to cover the entire land under his control in its worst storm yet.