Cursed Wood

Draco's grin widened as she pondered the title of Queen, and it quickly vanished as she mentioned queen of shadows. "No." he said flatly. "That title is already taken. You will be Queen of the Vampires." Draco already had his own queen. His love, Kethend, the only dragon to break through the labyrinth of madness and emotion to find Draco for who he truly was, and to catch his attention and love. His mate, and mother of his children.

As she took his hand, the ring appeared, and the corruption seed was planted. Daemala would feel a slight surge of her own power, and at the same time, a strong inclination to do as she was told by Draco. Her guards would be powerless to do anything as the rubies of the ring glowed. They formed the eyes of the Dragon, staring up at her, watching her, eternally reminding her of her allegiance to Draco.

Once the deal was sealed, Draco retracted his hand and the glove returned. "How do you feel?" he asked calmly. After her answer, he'd lean back in his chair and nodded softly. "I need you to prove your loyalty, Vampire Queen, to the Legion." he looked to either side, where her guards sat nervously in the limo with them.

"Kill your guards."

Daemala felt great. Queen of Vampires was enough a title itself, and with the new power surging through her she had no doubt that's exactly what she was. The rubies glowed. The deal was sealed.

He asked her how she felt. Daemala looked Draco long in the eyes. She felt better than she had ever felt before, which said something. Daemala had plenty of euphoric days. This must be what the Gods feel like, the Queen of Vampires thought to herself. She smiled, and snapped her fingers.

Without even the time to scream, the guards on either side of Daemala blackened and crumbled to ash. She dusted a smudge from a spot on her thigh. Their death was painless; she felt her power grow in the moments of their passing. Daemala would personally sign the honorable mentions on their death certificates.

"An honor doing business with you," Daemala looked Draco again in the eye, "Welcome to the Cursed Wood, Domain of the Vankoryth Detente; of which I am the Vampire Queen. Now to discuss your place in our grand scheme. Do take your stay with us at the Castle."

The vehicle began to rumble back to Castle Vankoryth. Daemala sent out a text to begin arrangements for the most honored of guests, and to ensure Zosimos stayed contained.

"Care to tell me about your Queen? She must be lovely!"

Draco lifted his chin slightly as the car began to move, considering his next move silently to himself. His eyebrows raised slightly as well at Daemala's words. Their scheme? No, it was all his scheme. Daemala and the Detente were nothing but pawns on his chess board against the Light. He blinked as the question of his Queen came about.

How would he describe Kethend?

"A Dragon of impeccably Dark beauty. A Black Dragon who I blessed with my power when we mated. She survived the corruption. She, however... has more feelings than I do. My corruption killed most of my emotions." he explained, growling about his own corruption. Draco's history was one of pain and torment - not one he liked to get into. He had shared it with only Kethend. Only a select few others knew it - Light being one of them, the people directly involved in his past being the others.

Clearing his throat, he looked to where her guards used to it, ash in their place. His eyes narrowed, and he grinned. Interesting. "What about this scheme should I know?" he circled back to the main topic of discussion. He was straight to the point - there wasn't a need to beat around the bush with Draco, he had goals, and often took the most direct route to it.

Dark beauty, the only kind that mattered in Daemala's book. She listened to Draco describe his other half, puffing out her lip with pity when he touched upon emotions. She wiped her face clean when Draco cleared his throat and the subject was changed. As dramatic as she could be, Daemala knew when to pry and when to leave well enough alone.

"Well, there's a dinner party, which of course you and your Queen will be honored guests of. However a more concerning matter has come to our attention," She held a hand to her own throat, a sneer rising to her lip, "Dissidents."

Daemala absentmindedly played with her new ring as she recounted recent events.

"As much as I don't care about any mortal in this world, our survival depends on harmony. Being so, the Vankoryth Detente has been in alliance with Wing City, Lutetia, and other areas across this godforsaken planet. There are systems set in place to ensure we don't starve. We've been lucky enough to partner with a business which supplies us with blood product from private willing donors-high end stuff, if I do say so myself. As you can imagine, an attack on the most popular watering hole in Wing City in the name of the Detente would cause an issue."

She glowered out of the window for a moment. Residents of Verinotte Hollow had been rendered uneasy. It didn't do well for business or her life of leisure.

"We've called a blood hunt against these dissidents. They're calling themselves the..." She fished out her phone and read a group message, "The Sabbat."

Draco listened to her recounting of the events having to do with the Dissidents calling themselves The Sabbat. His expression was stoic and. He held a hand up to stop her once she named the group, and uncrossed his legs, setting both feet on the floor of the limo, the vehicle shaking under his weight.

"If you are asking me to enter Wing City, that is not possible. I have attacked the city too many times, they will recognize me, and a great battle will once more ensue." he said plainly. He shifted in his seat. "The Legion has but four members capable of coherent Thought, and they, too, are not smart enough to do the job you're requesting. They would just as quickly send their battalions to invade the entire city rather than kill this dissidents you're having an issue with." he asked.

He then leaned back, his eyes narrowing softly as he delved himself in thought. "However..... I can give you a small detachment of Commandos to be at your summons." he offered. "But you will be required to be where you need them to be summoned, or they will be useless."

Draco's eyes relaxed and he leaned back in his chair again as he waited for the Vampire's reaction, and whether or not she'd want to go through with this compromise.

"Enter Wing City, goodness no," Daemala politely sneered, the idea dancing across the back of her mind that perhaps it would have been better off under rule of Draco, "His Highness, of course, will always be most welcome within the walls of Verinotte Hollow." She hoped he was satisfied to hear that, in the least. Verinotte Hollow had long been home to the dark and the cast out, the undead and the misunderstood.

Next, Daemala bowed her head in thanks. A group of able bodies were always welcome, especially now that she was down two guards. Military talk had a tendency to elude her, which prompted her next question, "A Commando is a unit of about how many?"

She glanced out the window as they skirted into the Forbidden Thick. There was a signal being sent out to her and she tuned in. The slightest of frowns played across her lips, but she quickly returned her expression to a pleasant one. Something was amiss at the Castle but it wasn't a big deal. She tuned out when chatter turned from informative to gossip.

"Would his highness prefer to step into the Hollow for some refreshments, or would you rather we stay on course towards home?" Daemala asked Draco, swearing in the back of her mind that whatever it was had better be fully handled by the time she arrived. Still she twisted the ring on her finger.

Cuspid has arrived, coming from Forbidden Thick.

Something was decidedly off in the Cursed Wood. New dark forces were at work. The darkness of years past crept in from the edges of the clouds, eating away at any silver linings to be had. Cuspid picked up the pace, until in the distance she heard the hum of a Detente transport.

"RUN!"

Cuspid has left the area, heading north into The Abandoned Slums.

TomCruisader has arrived, coming from Forbidden Thick.

TomCruisader has left the area, heading in into Forbidden Thick.

TomCruisader has arrived, coming from Forbidden Thick.

TomCruisader has left the area, heading north into The Abandoned Slums.

Awinita descends into Verinotte Hollow.

Awinita arrives, coming from Cursed Wood.

"A commando is a single soldier. Highly skilled, extremely deadly, perfectly silent." he explained. As he spoke, two appeared -one on either side- of him. Crimson visors formed their eyes, but besides that, the only discernable features were gender and size. They sat with arms crossed, staring at each other endlessly. As advertised, they were perfectly silent. If not for their visual appearance, Daemala would never have known they were there.

With their presense known, her new ring resonated faintly, but enough for her to feel the vibrations. "Straight to the castle. I don't intend on staying long." he answered. He noted the scowl that played across her face momentarily, and his expression remained neutral. Narrowing his eyes, he peered through the realm of Shadows, aiming to check in on the servants of the Castle, to see their goings on. If he wanted, he could appear inside the castle in an instant of shadow teleportation. But he decided to play along, and enjoy this car ride.

For now.

Daemala Tauvyr has left the area, heading in into Forbidden Thick.

Meteor has arrived, coming from Midland.

Meteor vanishes into nothingness, but you get the feeling they are heading somewhere else.

Kethyr Naethus has arrived, coming from Verinotte Hollow Eastern Gate.

Kethyr Naethus has left the area, heading north into The Abandoned Slums.

Ghost of Aurora has arrived, coming from Cursed Edge.

Ghost of Aurora has left the area, heading in into Accursed Gate.

Ghost of Aurora has arrived, coming from Verinotte Way.

Ghost of Aurora has left the area, heading north into Cursed Edge.