Post by Dios Sarvo on Jan 21, 2013 7:27:04 GMT -5
"Where is that damnable thing?" Dios mumbled to himself, scratching his fingers amongst his emerald locks as his free hand firmly gripped his hat. It was a strange thing to happen, but not unheard of. Creatures traversing within the Shadow Plane were inherently curious beings and enjoyed laying claim to any things, especially luminous objects, that by some means managed to phase into the plane.
But try as he might it would appear that that was not that case, as Dios exerted his will over the denizens to try pry and question in some vague hopes to ascertain the sphere's location. Swatting his hand in dismissal of one such creature, he ventured within the shadowy realms envisioning of Brina's Palace, hoping that perhaps it had just managed to move somewhere within the palaces confines. Move how? He didn't really care how, but just wanted to know where it had gotten to.
No such luck though, as Dios' fervent search left him empty handed and harbouring a rather foul temper to boot. With grit teeth and clenched fists, Dios vented his anger outwards to all that he could see, still convinced that someone had displaced the Relic from it's resting place.
"Alright you little shits! I'm gonna ask this once, and only once: whoever had the balls to steal that sphere had better come clean, drop it here at my feet, and beg for your pathetic and meaningless existence before me, and maybe, just maybe, I won't feed you to one of your larger brethren!"
Peering around as he shouted threats and accusation, Dios suddenly noticed something...strange. The beasts of the shadows gazed at him intently, unflinching, their glares cold and almost ominous, and made rather disconcerting as more and more creatures seemed to amass around him, each one following suit with it's own dead-eyed glare.
Taken aback by the strange reaction he'd never witnessed before, Dios took a worrisome step back as his hands raised with an discernible sense of caution in regards to the situation. Making a sudden effort to phase back into the Material Plane to escape, Dios suddenly felt a firm form grip around his ankle, as the pack of creatures around him parted, allowing the grasping shape to suddenly begin dragging him at amazing speeds through the shadow rendition of Allorum at a breakneck pace.
Pulled beyond the forests, seas, mountains and cities of the world in a matter of seconds, Dios suddenly found himself blinded by an all encompassing whiteness, one that seemingly stretched on infinitely after his eyes adjusted, allowing him sight once more. Adorned by only a stark black shadowless column, the room provided Dios with little else to examine, causing the emerald-haired detective to cautiously pace forward, only to jump back as a sudden blackness stretched from the pillar and tore itself from the flatness of the floor, stretching high above Dios as pair of slitted white eyes bore down at him, and a ghastly cracked smile stretched across the blackened figure.
"A mortal dare speak threats to me, master of all that he can see?" The figure enquired with an indignant tone as it leaned in close to the comparatively diminutive man.
"Master...?" was all Dios could muster aside from a hard gulp at the sudden appearance of the towering creature.
"Yes, the master of this shiftless void, the place to where this was deployed..." retorted the figure as it grew thin and gangly limbs, the elongated shadowy fingers clutching the luminous sphere that Dios had been so intently looking for.
"...Where did you get that?" Dios sputtered out, his usual merciless questioning routine all but lost in the given situation.
"Such questions serve no purpose, Detective, for this sphere that I hold is quite defective," stated the towering shade with a sense of smug satisfaction as it ground the sphere effortlessly into a fine crystalline powder. "And save yourself from such duress, the boy is a pointless task, at best. Instead, a special task for you, should you accept, and pay what's due."
It was strange and unnerving for Dios, and left him with little recourse but to continue along and exercise what little patience he possessed, as he seemed without his greatest tools, and could only find a hint of solace that the being before him hadn't already torn him limb from limb. Still caught quite off balance by the whole situation, Dios' mind raced to try and say something, anything, in hopes that he might begin to discern what exactly was happening.
"First things first...what are you?"
"A simple question to answer, I suppose. I am your gracious Lord of Shadows," informed the being with a genteel bow. "This realm is my own for me to rule, and you but a being to be used as my tool. That is your purpose, but do not dismay, for such a feat, you'll receive ample pay. A simple contract is all you need make, and powers untold are yours to take" Continued the shade as it wrung it's hands together in what Dios could only guess was anticipation.
Dios was used to making deal with those that lied in the shadows, having already made several with some of the more powerful shades, but something seemed strange about this whole situation. It was starting to form something, but Dios couldn't tell what. It was obvious this Lord of Shadows had been watching Dios, if not having already seen all that the man had done. It knew who he was, and as such, what he could do, but the question that lingered was why did he need Dios? It demanded questioning, but many things did, and Dios needed answers before he started making any deals, especially with something quite so...imposing as this specific creature.
"Okay, so this is all rather flattering, but just as equally suspicious. What are you aiming at?
Dios wasn't entirely sure use how much leeway this planar creature was going to grant him, and needed to pick his questions carefully. If there was any one question he could ask, this would provide the most clarification as to what this creature wanted, if he would answer it.
Questions, questions, so stuck in your way, but I suppose it's a game I'm willing to play. That creature of chaos, The Other he's called, rivals we've been since times long recalled. He covets sovereignty, a trait that we share, but it is his realm I wish to ensnare. And you'll be my soldier, my conduit and host, and with it my powers shall be yours to boast."
Dios couldn't help but laugh at the strange hilarity of the situation, feeling the grip of uncertainty loosen as things continued to become less obfuscated.
"So a pawn is all I am to you, is that it? Well I suppose I can accept such a title from a Planar Ruler, but do tell me, before I fully consider this little deal of ours, just what "power" shall be mine?" Dios could appreciate a barter, but he needed to know that he was making a fair deal, at least for himself, until he decided either way. He had already spent his life being labeled by titles in the name of others, titles he had grown to loathe over time, but if this power was great, he'd be more then willing to be called a pawn as an expense.
"Must this distrust I continue to weather, for this pact makes you as powerful as you are clever," The Lord of Shadows whispered as his form quickly shifted around behind Dios; his gnarled fingers massaging gently at the man's shoulders. "Fear not my friend, for we'll work as team, not like that brute, but rather quite clean. You do your part, and I shall do mine, and together we'll both reach our own goals in time."
Dios grinned ear to ear, all to taken in by the shadows honeyed words.
"Flattery will get your everywhere, won't it "Master?"" Dios retorted with a glance back towards the shade, baring witness to it's cracked grin as it stretched wider along the shadows form.
"Splended, quite splendid, oh host of mine. Now let's wrap things up so as to not waste time. Come to my cage, in the column I'm found, and by your will let me be unbound," instructed the shade with a hint of excitement and impatience in it's voice.
With a sharp crack of his knuckles, Dios all to eagerly walked up to the blackened pillar the rose from the formless floor of white beneath him, hesitating for only a moment before thrusting both hands upon the sheer black column. Besieged by a sudden onslaught of visions and knowledge, Dios stumbled backwards gripping at his head, panting harshly as beads of sweat suddenly trickled down the sides of his face.
"What...what the hell was that?" Dios muttered as he tried to catch his breath from the sudden exhaustion that took him. Hearing nothing, Dios looked around before taking notice of his own shadow as it peered back at him with a set of slitted white eyes and a jagged grin. Bursting forth from the floor, the Lord of Shadows once again appeared, giving a few twists to it paper thin form and exuding what could only be described as a sigh of relief.
"Oh such freedom, how long it has been? My thanks to you Nightmare, with the highest esteem. What you have felt is a transfer of mine, for you're my new "pillar," my host, quite sublime." The Shadow sang with adulation as it gripped Dios' hand and shook it with a repetitive and refined motion. "That feeling you feel is visions of truth, of knowledge, of power, now for your use. Secrets once had by one Nightmare, the first, who's powers you hold, but are quite...dispersed. Weaker from time, but still can be honed, back to the level the first Nightmare owned. And with it ,even you, The Other will fear, for my power's cause not one to easily sneer."
"So can I get out of here now?"
It was all Dios could muster as a response, feeling rather dazed with the plethora of words and visions running rampant through his head. Strange visions of things long past, people he'd never seen but somehow knew, and terrifying displays of powers conjured forth from the shadows. He needed time to sort through them, analyze them, and draw some kind of coherent meaning from them, but that could be done somewhere a little more comfortable...and a little less vibrant; the light only serving to agitate the pain that throbbed and pressed against his skull.
Placing it's elongated appendage softly against Dios' back, it motioned him forward with a eloquent motion of it's arm.
"My apologies, host, how callous of me. To depart is a task for me now quite easy. No longer bound to this throne room of white, I'm free, so take hold as we take flight."
Bracing himself as best as he could, the Lord of Shadow's form sprawled out, wrapping itself around Dios before the blackened form shrank out of sight, leaving the stark white room that lied beyond shadows devoid of any inhabitants once again.
But try as he might it would appear that that was not that case, as Dios exerted his will over the denizens to try pry and question in some vague hopes to ascertain the sphere's location. Swatting his hand in dismissal of one such creature, he ventured within the shadowy realms envisioning of Brina's Palace, hoping that perhaps it had just managed to move somewhere within the palaces confines. Move how? He didn't really care how, but just wanted to know where it had gotten to.
No such luck though, as Dios' fervent search left him empty handed and harbouring a rather foul temper to boot. With grit teeth and clenched fists, Dios vented his anger outwards to all that he could see, still convinced that someone had displaced the Relic from it's resting place.
"Alright you little shits! I'm gonna ask this once, and only once: whoever had the balls to steal that sphere had better come clean, drop it here at my feet, and beg for your pathetic and meaningless existence before me, and maybe, just maybe, I won't feed you to one of your larger brethren!"
Peering around as he shouted threats and accusation, Dios suddenly noticed something...strange. The beasts of the shadows gazed at him intently, unflinching, their glares cold and almost ominous, and made rather disconcerting as more and more creatures seemed to amass around him, each one following suit with it's own dead-eyed glare.
Taken aback by the strange reaction he'd never witnessed before, Dios took a worrisome step back as his hands raised with an discernible sense of caution in regards to the situation. Making a sudden effort to phase back into the Material Plane to escape, Dios suddenly felt a firm form grip around his ankle, as the pack of creatures around him parted, allowing the grasping shape to suddenly begin dragging him at amazing speeds through the shadow rendition of Allorum at a breakneck pace.
Pulled beyond the forests, seas, mountains and cities of the world in a matter of seconds, Dios suddenly found himself blinded by an all encompassing whiteness, one that seemingly stretched on infinitely after his eyes adjusted, allowing him sight once more. Adorned by only a stark black shadowless column, the room provided Dios with little else to examine, causing the emerald-haired detective to cautiously pace forward, only to jump back as a sudden blackness stretched from the pillar and tore itself from the flatness of the floor, stretching high above Dios as pair of slitted white eyes bore down at him, and a ghastly cracked smile stretched across the blackened figure.
"A mortal dare speak threats to me, master of all that he can see?" The figure enquired with an indignant tone as it leaned in close to the comparatively diminutive man.
"Master...?" was all Dios could muster aside from a hard gulp at the sudden appearance of the towering creature.
"Yes, the master of this shiftless void, the place to where this was deployed..." retorted the figure as it grew thin and gangly limbs, the elongated shadowy fingers clutching the luminous sphere that Dios had been so intently looking for.
"...Where did you get that?" Dios sputtered out, his usual merciless questioning routine all but lost in the given situation.
"Such questions serve no purpose, Detective, for this sphere that I hold is quite defective," stated the towering shade with a sense of smug satisfaction as it ground the sphere effortlessly into a fine crystalline powder. "And save yourself from such duress, the boy is a pointless task, at best. Instead, a special task for you, should you accept, and pay what's due."
It was strange and unnerving for Dios, and left him with little recourse but to continue along and exercise what little patience he possessed, as he seemed without his greatest tools, and could only find a hint of solace that the being before him hadn't already torn him limb from limb. Still caught quite off balance by the whole situation, Dios' mind raced to try and say something, anything, in hopes that he might begin to discern what exactly was happening.
"First things first...what are you?"
"A simple question to answer, I suppose. I am your gracious Lord of Shadows," informed the being with a genteel bow. "This realm is my own for me to rule, and you but a being to be used as my tool. That is your purpose, but do not dismay, for such a feat, you'll receive ample pay. A simple contract is all you need make, and powers untold are yours to take" Continued the shade as it wrung it's hands together in what Dios could only guess was anticipation.
Dios was used to making deal with those that lied in the shadows, having already made several with some of the more powerful shades, but something seemed strange about this whole situation. It was starting to form something, but Dios couldn't tell what. It was obvious this Lord of Shadows had been watching Dios, if not having already seen all that the man had done. It knew who he was, and as such, what he could do, but the question that lingered was why did he need Dios? It demanded questioning, but many things did, and Dios needed answers before he started making any deals, especially with something quite so...imposing as this specific creature.
"Okay, so this is all rather flattering, but just as equally suspicious. What are you aiming at?
Dios wasn't entirely sure use how much leeway this planar creature was going to grant him, and needed to pick his questions carefully. If there was any one question he could ask, this would provide the most clarification as to what this creature wanted, if he would answer it.
Questions, questions, so stuck in your way, but I suppose it's a game I'm willing to play. That creature of chaos, The Other he's called, rivals we've been since times long recalled. He covets sovereignty, a trait that we share, but it is his realm I wish to ensnare. And you'll be my soldier, my conduit and host, and with it my powers shall be yours to boast."
Dios couldn't help but laugh at the strange hilarity of the situation, feeling the grip of uncertainty loosen as things continued to become less obfuscated.
"So a pawn is all I am to you, is that it? Well I suppose I can accept such a title from a Planar Ruler, but do tell me, before I fully consider this little deal of ours, just what "power" shall be mine?" Dios could appreciate a barter, but he needed to know that he was making a fair deal, at least for himself, until he decided either way. He had already spent his life being labeled by titles in the name of others, titles he had grown to loathe over time, but if this power was great, he'd be more then willing to be called a pawn as an expense.
"Must this distrust I continue to weather, for this pact makes you as powerful as you are clever," The Lord of Shadows whispered as his form quickly shifted around behind Dios; his gnarled fingers massaging gently at the man's shoulders. "Fear not my friend, for we'll work as team, not like that brute, but rather quite clean. You do your part, and I shall do mine, and together we'll both reach our own goals in time."
Dios grinned ear to ear, all to taken in by the shadows honeyed words.
"Flattery will get your everywhere, won't it "Master?"" Dios retorted with a glance back towards the shade, baring witness to it's cracked grin as it stretched wider along the shadows form.
"Splended, quite splendid, oh host of mine. Now let's wrap things up so as to not waste time. Come to my cage, in the column I'm found, and by your will let me be unbound," instructed the shade with a hint of excitement and impatience in it's voice.
With a sharp crack of his knuckles, Dios all to eagerly walked up to the blackened pillar the rose from the formless floor of white beneath him, hesitating for only a moment before thrusting both hands upon the sheer black column. Besieged by a sudden onslaught of visions and knowledge, Dios stumbled backwards gripping at his head, panting harshly as beads of sweat suddenly trickled down the sides of his face.
"What...what the hell was that?" Dios muttered as he tried to catch his breath from the sudden exhaustion that took him. Hearing nothing, Dios looked around before taking notice of his own shadow as it peered back at him with a set of slitted white eyes and a jagged grin. Bursting forth from the floor, the Lord of Shadows once again appeared, giving a few twists to it paper thin form and exuding what could only be described as a sigh of relief.
"Oh such freedom, how long it has been? My thanks to you Nightmare, with the highest esteem. What you have felt is a transfer of mine, for you're my new "pillar," my host, quite sublime." The Shadow sang with adulation as it gripped Dios' hand and shook it with a repetitive and refined motion. "That feeling you feel is visions of truth, of knowledge, of power, now for your use. Secrets once had by one Nightmare, the first, who's powers you hold, but are quite...dispersed. Weaker from time, but still can be honed, back to the level the first Nightmare owned. And with it ,even you, The Other will fear, for my power's cause not one to easily sneer."
"So can I get out of here now?"
It was all Dios could muster as a response, feeling rather dazed with the plethora of words and visions running rampant through his head. Strange visions of things long past, people he'd never seen but somehow knew, and terrifying displays of powers conjured forth from the shadows. He needed time to sort through them, analyze them, and draw some kind of coherent meaning from them, but that could be done somewhere a little more comfortable...and a little less vibrant; the light only serving to agitate the pain that throbbed and pressed against his skull.
Placing it's elongated appendage softly against Dios' back, it motioned him forward with a eloquent motion of it's arm.
"My apologies, host, how callous of me. To depart is a task for me now quite easy. No longer bound to this throne room of white, I'm free, so take hold as we take flight."
Bracing himself as best as he could, the Lord of Shadow's form sprawled out, wrapping itself around Dios before the blackened form shrank out of sight, leaving the stark white room that lied beyond shadows devoid of any inhabitants once again.
