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,