From the Ashes, IV
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 7:05 amAll was silent. Marius' words had left an emptiness in the air, a void of unknowing that unsettled even Gizash. As the Vampires went about their grisly harvest, Marius the Black, Lord of the Tower of Scorn and Master of Dark Magic, strode to the very crenellations of his towers' rooftop, peering over the side. Again his eyes turned towards Britannia, the twinkling lights almost taunting him with their radiance and purity. A small part of Marius raged at that, while the rest remained calm.
Minutes stretched on as Gizashs' patience waned. The creature first paced, and then randomly struck at the shadows in it's path, driving them away like wisps of smoke until they settled somewhere else, wisely out of the way.
Do you mock me with your silence and my unknowing? Do you tempt my wrath? What are these details you speak of? Tell me! This pandering and dramaticism is tiring! Speak!
"No," Marius said simply, wheeling about to turn on his idol, his comrade. His enemy. "I shall not. And," he added, "there is little you can do to force my hand."
Again Gizash raged, if only for the harsh truth of his words. As a destroyed spirit, he held only the smallest influence in the world, made real by Marius continuing interest in his memory and history. Such was the way of departed souls.
And why? Do you fear your plan might fall short of my scrutiny? That I might tell you of it's failings? Are you afraid to tell me?
"Of course not." Marius said simply. His answer was sheathed in the cool confidence and well-constructed air that made every word seemed to be another brick of an impregnable fortress: ideas so well founded that no scorn or doubt could shake them. Here, he looked over his shoulder, arching an aristocratic brow out the figure who joined him on the pinnacle of his tower. Even in the darkness, the expression carried a weight and seriousness that implied that Marius deigned not to be badgered about this particular issue.
"I will simply not tell you, because it is prudent." He clarified. Turning back to gaze down at Vesper, he waved his hands expansively over the city cloaked in mightnight. "Even now, ears on the wind listen to our words, and your very shadows conspire against me."
Here Gizash was caught off-guard. Marius spun about quickly, taking three steps towards the suddenly cowed figure of Gizash.
What? Never! I would not dare play such a dangerous game! Not now! You lie, you lie so that you justify my torture! My existence!
The mighty spectre, still garbed in his fleshy host, recoiled in fear. Marius raised a black-gloved hand, extending his palm forward, towards Gizash and his entourage of spirits. A dark smile twisted his lips as he gazed out from the depths of his hood.
"I am your existence." Marius said coldly, "And I need not justify any of my actions to you."
With a flash and a silent scream, lances of energy shot forth from his palm, enveloping the creatures in a crecendo of white light and pain. Shrieking and howling, the creatures evaporated away, consumed by the spell. Even as he faded, Gizash raged into the night. A defiant howl echoed through the trees as Gizash faded from existence.
You insolent cur! You wretch! You will pay for my agony, my pain! The whole world will pay! As my progeny, you cannot hope to succeed where I failed!
The corpse Gizash inhabited was a steaming mound, even as the mighty spirit faded away. A sudden wind swirled the ashes in the air, raining them down about the tower, coating it in the grey-black substance that gave the tower it's dark image.
Marius stood a moment, complacent to let the moment linger. Kneeling down, he gathered a small handful of ashes from the corpse in his gloved hand, rubbing the substance through his fingers. He stood again, standing triumphantly atop his tower, throwing back the cowl of his hood and gazing upon Britannia - his Britannia - unhindered.
"I will destroy this land." Marius said, and the children of the night, the Vampires, gathered around the tower of their master, as he spoke unto them, giving them purpose and power. "There is a spell, one spell, recorded in history that can destroy this land. I will use it and at the moment the death energy is uncontested, I will reign supreme. At that moment, I will be as a God. And when I am, I will rebuild this world."
The Vampires howled and shrieked in joy, before returning to their grisly harvest with renewed vigor and hate. Above them, their great leader Marius the Black, raised his hands, and, with a swirl of his cape, he became as a swarm of bats, arcing over Vesper and through the night, like some unholy cloud on a sinister mission.
The swarm of bats flew past the moon, engulfing Vesper in midnight and shadow. True enough, the town was the first of Marius' conquests, a place of darkness and horror, where Vampires stalked the streets and death was supreme. Here, Marius was his strongest, in this haven of dark magic that he could fuel his most powerful spells.
"Soon," Marius thought, even as he willed the bats towards the horizon, "the world shall know exactly what is in store for it - first hand."
The bats swarmed towards the twinkling lights of Britain.
(Continued in part V)
Minutes stretched on as Gizashs' patience waned. The creature first paced, and then randomly struck at the shadows in it's path, driving them away like wisps of smoke until they settled somewhere else, wisely out of the way.
Do you mock me with your silence and my unknowing? Do you tempt my wrath? What are these details you speak of? Tell me! This pandering and dramaticism is tiring! Speak!
"No," Marius said simply, wheeling about to turn on his idol, his comrade. His enemy. "I shall not. And," he added, "there is little you can do to force my hand."
Again Gizash raged, if only for the harsh truth of his words. As a destroyed spirit, he held only the smallest influence in the world, made real by Marius continuing interest in his memory and history. Such was the way of departed souls.
And why? Do you fear your plan might fall short of my scrutiny? That I might tell you of it's failings? Are you afraid to tell me?
"Of course not." Marius said simply. His answer was sheathed in the cool confidence and well-constructed air that made every word seemed to be another brick of an impregnable fortress: ideas so well founded that no scorn or doubt could shake them. Here, he looked over his shoulder, arching an aristocratic brow out the figure who joined him on the pinnacle of his tower. Even in the darkness, the expression carried a weight and seriousness that implied that Marius deigned not to be badgered about this particular issue.
"I will simply not tell you, because it is prudent." He clarified. Turning back to gaze down at Vesper, he waved his hands expansively over the city cloaked in mightnight. "Even now, ears on the wind listen to our words, and your very shadows conspire against me."
Here Gizash was caught off-guard. Marius spun about quickly, taking three steps towards the suddenly cowed figure of Gizash.
What? Never! I would not dare play such a dangerous game! Not now! You lie, you lie so that you justify my torture! My existence!
The mighty spectre, still garbed in his fleshy host, recoiled in fear. Marius raised a black-gloved hand, extending his palm forward, towards Gizash and his entourage of spirits. A dark smile twisted his lips as he gazed out from the depths of his hood.
"I am your existence." Marius said coldly, "And I need not justify any of my actions to you."
With a flash and a silent scream, lances of energy shot forth from his palm, enveloping the creatures in a crecendo of white light and pain. Shrieking and howling, the creatures evaporated away, consumed by the spell. Even as he faded, Gizash raged into the night. A defiant howl echoed through the trees as Gizash faded from existence.
You insolent cur! You wretch! You will pay for my agony, my pain! The whole world will pay! As my progeny, you cannot hope to succeed where I failed!
The corpse Gizash inhabited was a steaming mound, even as the mighty spirit faded away. A sudden wind swirled the ashes in the air, raining them down about the tower, coating it in the grey-black substance that gave the tower it's dark image.
Marius stood a moment, complacent to let the moment linger. Kneeling down, he gathered a small handful of ashes from the corpse in his gloved hand, rubbing the substance through his fingers. He stood again, standing triumphantly atop his tower, throwing back the cowl of his hood and gazing upon Britannia - his Britannia - unhindered.
"I will destroy this land." Marius said, and the children of the night, the Vampires, gathered around the tower of their master, as he spoke unto them, giving them purpose and power. "There is a spell, one spell, recorded in history that can destroy this land. I will use it and at the moment the death energy is uncontested, I will reign supreme. At that moment, I will be as a God. And when I am, I will rebuild this world."
The Vampires howled and shrieked in joy, before returning to their grisly harvest with renewed vigor and hate. Above them, their great leader Marius the Black, raised his hands, and, with a swirl of his cape, he became as a swarm of bats, arcing over Vesper and through the night, like some unholy cloud on a sinister mission.
The swarm of bats flew past the moon, engulfing Vesper in midnight and shadow. True enough, the town was the first of Marius' conquests, a place of darkness and horror, where Vampires stalked the streets and death was supreme. Here, Marius was his strongest, in this haven of dark magic that he could fuel his most powerful spells.
"Soon," Marius thought, even as he willed the bats towards the horizon, "the world shall know exactly what is in store for it - first hand."
The bats swarmed towards the twinkling lights of Britain.
(Continued in part V)
But i need more.