Emperor Tardel, the Third of his name, holy defender of Humanity, was bored. The minutiae of running an empire was tedious when there were no calamities to solve or wars to win. Which is why he was both dreading and looking forward to the Monster delegation's arrival.
"Remember when I battled the Werewolves for the plains and mountain range that now supply the Empire with most of its produce and furs? Or when I pushed the Vampires that had infiltrated the Eastern province? Those were glorious battles. Unpredictable. Monster magic is clever and powerful." The Emperor, in his throne, seemed to fill the entire chamber. Though he was rumoured to be one of the oldest mages alive, he looked like a man just past his prime, but still brimming with strength. His hair had shocks of white, but was thick and long, his beard was neatly trimmed to highlight his strong jaw. His eyes flashed with the power of unknown spells that con
Lord Jala expended much magical energy to keep his expansive bulk from weighing him down, so he could stay mobile. This was fine most of the time, as he could release those weaves if he had to cast a particularly difficult spell. Unfortunately, he couldn't maintain the concentration necessary to maintain these spells when he needed to restrain his bulk the most… during his carnal pleasures.Which was why his Seneschal, Solos, was in the room, literally supporting his master, while he 'experienced' his newest toy.'This is a temporary nightmare. If I can raise Jala, I will rise even higher,' the disgusted Seneschal thought."Gods! Yes, yes, yes that is exactly what I needed," the Lord Jala cried out. He heaved his bulk over in his room sized bed and sighed loudly. He was still wearing a thin robe, and he casually covered his nakedness.From a deep indent in the sheets of the massive bed, a small and lithe figure slowly
Sardi ran towards Shinra, a small group of deputies and two Sheriffs close behind."Let's go, we have to secure the crime scene," Sardi said and continued to run past Shinra.'Big talk for someone on day one of the job,' he thought, but smiled a bit. The kid was full of himself, and a pompous mage, but he definitely had impressive skills…. And he did try to save Shinra.'I need to get stronger. I can't really on f**ing mages to protect me. I want them to shit themselves at the mention of my name,' that made Shinra smile wider. He fell in at the rear of the group, happy to let Sardi and the Sheriffs take the lead. Now that they were safe, it was better if Shinra faded into the background. The less people focused on a Zombie killing several mage assassins, the better for him.[Do you wish to use your Skill Points? You currently have 11]'Right!'[Status][Shinra: Death Walker: Assassin Le
'This Zombie is… different. If I was viewed as the underdog in a group like the Sheriffs, I am pretty sure I'd brag about taking down 3 underworld hitmen. He's making it sound like I did it all…' Sardi wasn't sure what to make of Shinra. His first impression was that he was too confident for a weak zombie, and shouldn't be so presumptuous when talking to him. Now though… well the damn Zombie didn't act confident enough.'There is something going on with that guy… and now I know that he is trying to hide something.' Sardi couldn't afford to trust anyone. His life, and mission, were too important. However, knowing someone else's secret was better than trust, it was mutually assured destruction. He might not be able to trust anyone, but he knew that this Zombie, this Shinra dude, would do everything he could to protect his secrets; including protecting Sardi's."Shinra, after we interview th
"Huff, huff, hunnh, haghhh," the man panted as he ran through the dark stone corridors of the labyrinth. 'Freedom my ass, I'll never find the way out of here,' the dark mage said. His hair was long and tangled with deep streaks of grey, his clothes were worn and grey as well. He was large and fit looking though, as if he worked with his hands more than his magic. Which made sense, considering the silver bracelets on each of his wrists, magic inhibitors.He leaned against the edge or an entryway and peered in. The next tunnel was darker than the last, a worrying development. 'Am I getting closer or further to the exit?' Albsu wondered. He took a steadying breath, crouched low, and dashed into the next tunnel. This one had a trickle of liquid, hopefully water, in the centre. It made it impossible to be quiet, so he decided to run faster. 'I don't know who is following me, but I can sense them.'For a revolutionary who had b
"Try not to say anything, ok? This is not good for either of us. Just blend into the seat and become furniture." Sardi said to Shinra. He was whispering fiercely, but there was an edge of panic to it. Shinra wasn't surprised. Somehow they were sitting in a private booth inside the Imperial Arena.The Imperial Arena was actually very small, and was inside the Imperial Palace, but the fiercest and most spectacular shows were reserved for this intimate space that could only be viewed by under 1000 mages. And Shinra was in one of two private boxes; he was beside the Emperor's. 'My life is getting dangerous,' he thought.An hour ago he had somehow been pulled into this craziness. Instead of the dirty and bloody clothes he'd arrived in, he was wearing fresh wool trousers, a woven white shirt that fitted like a second skin, and a smart looking short jacket with slim lapels and a bright satin sheen.&nb
The lycanthrope, standing in its primal Glory was impressive for sure, but the crowd went even quieter when a roar shattered the silence from the darkness behind a magic and iron banded portcullis in the far wall of the arena.That scream could almost be seen as it tore through the air, and wounded Shinra's eardrums. Everyone, including the lycanthrope, stared as the rusted and thick iron of the gate slowly rose up into the strong stone of the arena wall.Nothing happened. Shinra stared intently through the black opening though, unable even to blink. His heart had trembled after hearing that sound, and he needed to know what sort of horror waited in the arena with him. Even though he was in one of the private boxes, and shielded by magic so powerful even a zombie could feel it, he was still afraid. Sardi whispered something to him, but Shinra couldn't hear anything.The anticipation, and fear, roiled around inside of him, dredging up a primal response. It
Shinra was uncomfortably aware of the woman's hand on his shoulder. Her grip was too strong, for one thing, but he hadn't spent much time with women. Except his sister, and Loren. Loren didn't count though as a woman, she was a murder conspirator first."Watch?" Shinra said as the huge man's manacles settled onto the cobblestoned arena floor.He was about to ask, 'for what?', when the man threw his great sword like a javelin at the beast. It flew like a beam of light, but the beast was constantly moving, and the blade barely grazed it; the sword continued on to stick into the stone of the arena wall, a foot of the blade at least was buried in solid stone."Holy crap," Shinra said, his eyes glued to the sword. That would take more than superhuman strength."Not there, silly human," the woman said, and gently, but inexorably, turned his head back to the Lycanthrope. The man appeared to be …. Exploding
Seeing that giant fur god rocketing towards them, Shinra's vision went out of control. The rocketing motion slowed down, and he could clearly see a grid all around them with vectors showing the direction and speed of everything. He followed the projected path of the Lycan, and saw that he was going to land on Sardi. Sardi's head to be precise, if he didn't move.In this slow motion view, Shinra turned towards Sardi, and, without thinking, dove forward. The movement broke his concentration and everything happened fast. He hit Sardi high in the chest, bowling them both over into a rolling ball of limbs that hit the far side of the event box. They were still moving when the Lycan crashed right where they had been, splintering their seats into kindling under its muscled bulk.Some of the splinters shot towards Shinra and Sardi, but they were in too much shock to notice."Shit, shit, shit!!!" Sardi was saying, louder and louder. Shinra, seeing the monster start to look towards them,
In the middle of a fight is when Shinra felt most certain. He wasn’t thinking so much as assessing and deciding in real time. It was happening faster than thought, and it was addictive.He looked at the wand, death in a slim package, bearing down on him.‘I just need to be somewhere else,’ he decided. His vision highlighted vectors for diving, rolling, and jumping to avoid an attack originating at the sword tip and covering an area of 2 metres around it. He couldn’t just avoid the attack though, he had to finish this one off before the other 4 combatants got their shit together.He jumped, hard, into a forward twisting flip, easily clearing the guard. Even in Daemon time, he could see the surprise on the man’s face as a powerful green blast made a crater in the f
Shinra’s vision filled with the measurements, vectors, grids and critical strike paths that he basically associated with life, but now knew was his combat vision.[Ready?][Status: Shinra][Health 3000][Shinra: Death Stalker - Assassin: Tier 2, LvL 5 ][Shinra: Night Squire - — : Tier 0 ][Experience Points: 77,500 | Skill Points: 0][Stats][ Tier 2: Strength | Speed | Dexterity ][ Tier 0: Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma | Magic ][Skills Status:][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim | Deception | Visual Reflexes][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire Vision ]“Who the hell are you?” Loren was saying, even as her wand came up. Shinra knew she might be able to handle this all on her own, she was exceptional.The chains hit her face and torso, knocking the wa
Shinra was leary of all magic, so he almost bolted from his place as soon as he saw the glowing sphere hanging in the air. Well, he did bolt, but luckily he heard Loren’s message from the hall. He was still trying to wrap his head around what she said, even as he stood in front of her door. ‘Naori was here?’Shinra loved his sister, he never had any doubts about his feelings towards her. She was the kindest, most capable, and brilliant person he had ever known. And, though he spent every moment since his parents died trying to take care of her, he knew she had taken care of him even more. Being in the city without her had been difficult, but, if he was honest, he worried about her less after sending her his wages. ‘My life has been pretty complicated this last little while,’ he thought. He knew he was making excuses. He did believe her life would actually be better without him. She was more resourceful than he ever was, and the other villagers liked her much more than him.‘So why
The room was Pitch Black, so Raisd wasn't sure if his eyes were open or not at first, so he blinked a few times. ‘Definitely open.’ The fact that he was lying in a bed instead of bleeding in a gutter was a good sign, but he wasn't sure of anything else. He slowly moved his hands down his chest and body, feeling for any bandages or gaping wounds.‘Huh, not only am I naked, I seem to be in one piece.’ Which was amazing in and of itself, because the seven finger Gremlin counter attack is enough to kill most mages. Clearly he was both lucky and, maybe, tougher than he thought.He tried to stand, but that is when he noticed the weight across his legs. Not able to see, he reached down and realized the weight was a pair of legs draped across him. His fingers traced their way up those legs until he found their intersection. It was warm there, and his fingers were tickled by the fine hairs they brushed up against. ‘God I hope this is Mimi,’ was all he thought before the
“I promise, it is usually cleaner here,” Loren said as she rushed around trying to stuff books and scrolls back onto the shelves while gathering up a precarious pile of dishes. She definitely didn’t care what the place looked like when Naori’s brother broke in. Funny how something so random could lead to Loren trying to clean her place. She looked over her shoulder to see Naori just standing still, eyes widened by the mess, no doubt. ‘I need to distract her maybe? Where am I going to put all of this stuff!’ Loren was not used to caring what anyone thought about her, her space, or anything she did, really. “Wow. Just…. Wow,” was all Naori said, eyes still wide.‘Oh god, she thinks it is worse than living on the streets, she’s never seen anyone live like this… dammit!’, but what Loren said out loud was, “I just need a few more minutes. Why don’t you sit down over … “ except she hadn’t cleared any of the seating surfaces yet.“This is the most amazing home I’ve ever seen! It is
The office was surprisingly orderly for an assassin, Shinra thought. Tastefully arranged sofas, end tables with a high polish, and a full bookcase. He went straight to the desk though, to see if he could find what the assassin guild leader was talking about.‘Would it just be on top? Is that too easy?’ Shinra looked, but the few pieces of parchment on top of the desk were innocuous bills and tally of equipment. He opened the top drawer and only saw quills and inkstones. The larger drawer underneath was locked.“Why don’t I have lockpicking skills? I can do everything else…” He flexed his newly healed hand, still amazed at how whole and pain free they were, after the devastating burns he’d suffered. “Well, I’m strong enough to just rip it open,” he said, then gripped it tightly and pulled with all his strength.He felt the small release of power, ‘shit,’ he thought and then flung the drawer behind him as hard as he could. It was the right move, as the entire desk exploded in a sho
“Filthy blood slut," was all the lesser Earl of Clodven had said. It wasn't a nice thing to say about anyone, and Raisd had heard much worse. This time though, it was directed at his betrothed.To his credit, Raisd showed enormous restraint by only breaking the man's nose. The young lesser Earl and his friends didn't agree, and so now Raisd was in an honour bout.“The first to ten wins the bout,” one of the hangers-on was intoning, "and may request an honour payment." “I think I'll ask for one of Its fangs," the arrogant noble said.Raisd paid him no mind. ‘Foppish, useless nobles think life is a silly game. This bout is probably the highlight of his week’. He knew the type well. The lesser Earl’s father, or grandfather, had been useful to the Empire once upon a time, but then they produced entitled, talentless wastes of flesh like this. The patriarch of the family has probably all but disowned him.‘If I'd punched Shinra, he probably would have punched back and we'd be having a
Raisd was having a weird night. Actually, everyday had been weird since his betrothal. He couldn't get over the fact that suddenly people knew he was an active part of the imperial family. Well, maybe vampires didn't count as people, but they knew. If that was all that had changed, he could deal. After all he had been in military intelligence, and had infiltrated many places as part of his work, including the deputies office. Unfortunately he was quickly apprised of how different human and vampire customs were. Which was why he was lying in bed with General Mimi right now. Uncomfortably. Wrapped up in his own blanket and wearing a full set of clothes. He wasn't 100% certain, but he was pretty sure that she was naked under the thin sheet she had draped over herself. He made sure all the lights were off though and just laid there staring up at the ceiling in the dark. It had been like this for a few days now, ever since the rest of the vampire delegation went back to their capital
Shinra was surprised. ‘Shadow Heal isn’t one of the skills in the list. Does this mean they are all low level skills? Or are there a tonne of skills that the System just doesn’t show me?’Either way, this wasn’t what he was expecting. ‘Healing is high level magic… what does Shadow Healing mean? Am I a mage now?...’ He knew he wasn’t though. He looked around and did not see the primal flow of mana in the world. He was a zombie. One with interesting skills, but a zombie all the same.“Unless a Ninja is a different class of being?” The head Assassin said Ninja enough that it did make Shinra wonder. Not that he had time for that mystery right now. [Skills Status:][Skill Points: 20][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire