Unlawful Power
By Gilean Majere
Chapter 1
Azrael gazed from atop his castle on Mt. Illapse. He watched over all of Underlight, his gaze passing from the fields of Trinity, over the Basin of Stars, and beyond. From his viewpoint, he beheld the beauty of Underlight in it’s entirety. And felt nothing. The flame of desire and power were the only warmth his soul felt. For ages, he had watched over the other dreamers, reveling in the fact that few, if even any were even aware of his presence in the dream. Ahh..it had been ages since he had ventured down to Threshold. He thought about venturing outside of his castle, but the thought quickly vanished from his thoughts. What noble folly...they would notice he was different before he even entered through the portal, and his power was not strong enough, yet.
He grimly walked back into the library, leaving his view from the heavens. Codi, more than many dreamers had seen in their entire life lined these walls. These wonderful tomes covered everything, from basic fighting techniques, to advanced evoking. Azrael walked over to one, and opened it, smiling grimly. Obfuscate. A ridiculously simple evocation, but one which no other dreamer had access to. Azrael had created the art, along with millions of others. He smiled, and walked over to the shelf, and almost aimlessly, pulled off another codex. This one was indeed his favorite. Reflection. It created a conduit made of essence, which redirected any flames or chakrams fired at him. It made him vulnerable only to blades. Azrael smiled evilly...in just a few days, his studies would be complete, and he would have created another art..Abyssal. It made his avatar invulnerable to blades. Then. Then he would leave, and take his place in society. Or, maybe he’d just take society.
Chapter 2
Selan cleaned off her blade, as Darius picked up the essence.
"Another one down." he said.
"Yes, my friend." Selan said, sighing. "And how many more are left? It seems that no matter how many of these blasted things we kill, they keep coming back."
"Well, maybe the Order of the Sable Moon can figure something out. My house imprisons them, but, I must agree, the supply seems endless." Darius said. A proud member of Dreamers of Light, he often went on hunting parties with Selan, under the excuse of "collecting essences". Truth be told, the noble dreamer had been love struck the first time he entered Threshold, and met Selan upon entering. She had taken him under her wing, and taught him everything she knew. Now, even after his training was complete, and he had taken his place in the dream, he still enjoyed nothing more than being with Selan. However, Selan had no interest in love. She was solely devoted to combat, and adventure. Romance had no place in her life.
Selan put away her cloth, and sheathed her blade. "So, is your pack full yet, Darius?"
"Yes, it is. I must return to the house, and drop these off in the house.", he replied. "Will you be accompanying me?"
Selan sighed. "I told you before, I have no interest in visiting those blasted houses. I will continue hunting, and you can seek me out when you’re done."
"Alright, I shall." he replied, smiling to cover the downcast look that had suddenly covered his face. He was about to speak again, when Selan turned and walked out the portal opposite, calling after her, "See ya in a little while."
Darius frowned, and left in the opposite direction.
Selan sighed. Why did Darius have to be like this? She’d told him millions of times before that she had no interest in romance, but he unerringly pursued her. "The poor guy," she thought, "with his dashing looks and charm, he could have almost any girl in the dream, so he goes after the only girl who couldn’t care less for love.."
She had almost started to feel sorry for him, when she passed through another portal, and an Agoknight appeared in front of her. She grinned, all previous thoughts of Darius draining from her mind, replaced with lust and passion for battle. She withdrew her blade with an odd sort of pleasure...
The Agoknight drifted closer, obviously puzzled by her lack of fear. Without giving it a chance for second thought, Selan dashed forward, burying her Gatesmasher in it’s torso. The Agoknight, screamed, and swung backwards. It immediately retaliated, but Selan dashed underneath it’s swinging claws, and swung her blade at it’s arm.
Selan smiled in absoulte pleasure. The battle had begun.
Chapter 3
After her battle with the Agoknight, and several bouts with Shamblixes, she emerged into Mt. Illapse, covered in grime and dust, with a completely full bag of essences, and completely at peace. She stared walking down the mountain, to a spot which she often frequented, a small niche in the rock where she could sit in peace. She stopped off near the Dreamer’s of Light house, first however, to bathe in the Sanctuary there, and to give her essences to Goldenboy, a friend of Darius’, to give them to Darius.
After bathing, she continued on down the mountain, to her niche in the rock. She sighed a contented breath of relief. Nothing like a good rest after hunting. She sat her abyss shield off to the side, and began going through her pack, looking at her other finds. She tossed all the elemens on one side of the small cave, the alterors and charms in another. But, at the bottom of her sack, she found something odd. She picked it up....a codex. She sighed. "Hmm...must’ve picked it up thinking it was an alteror." She took it outside to read it in the light:
My love for you grows more each twilight dawns rise
I yearn for your kiss, I dream of your eyes
My thoughts are rambling in constant digress
My tongue can only my one love confess
I love you, Selan.
Darius
She sighed in annoyance. "Such signs of weakness. I know I’ve taught him better than that."
She took the codex in hand, and prepared to fling it off the mountain. Turning around, she happened to glance up, and stopped short. She backed up, and looked between the peaks. It couldn’t be...but it was. There was a building up there!
Completely intrigued in this new discovery, Selan dropped the codex, and dashed in her cave. She grabbed a strip of vine from the wall, and took her abyss shield, and dashed back outdoors. She quickly tied the vine to the shield, and tossed the shield up between the two gaps above. It caught fast, and she began climbing.
She got to the top of the rise, and looked up. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Hidden under one of the peaks of Mt. Illapse was a small castle! No one had ever noticed it before...there was no way to get up here! Selan was completely immersed in this mystery. The graceful minarets of the castle stretched up in tandem with the peaks of the mountain. The walls blended in with the rock, in a way that it was difficult to discern where the castle quit, and the rock wall began. As she moved closer, she saw that the doors were made completely out of gold...shining like the sun. She stepped out into the clearing in front of the castle, and began to approach the castle, hand resting on the hilt of her Gatesmasher. She reached the door, and was beginning to inspect it for a handle when the door swung open, almost seamlessly. A dreamer stood there, dressed in a abyss, with a flowing blue cape floating behind him. A black skullcap covered his head, exposing only his face.
"May I be of assistance?" he asked, in a voice which, although quiet, still held an aura of ultimate power. Selan was completely entranced.
"Greetings, sir. I am the dreamer Selan. I was exploring, and I noticed your house here, and it caught my attention." she replied, simply.
The wizard smiled, ominously. "Salutations, fair Selan. I am Azrael." He bowed deeply, unexpectedly taking Selan’s hand, and kissing it softly. "Feel free to come in. I apologize in advance for the mess, but you see, I do not receive many dreamers calling at my house." he said, with a trace of a smile.
Azrael led her into his entertaining room. Selan smiled, as she entered, noticing all the small items laying around. He had drinking glasses of the finest crystal. He had a chaok-toa (A board game native to his waking lands, which he had not been to in many years) board, complete with all the pieces. A chandelier hung from the cieling, showering light all over the room, like a million tiny stars. A fireplace burned cheerfully at the end of the room. All along the wall, he had paintings of Underlight. Selan came to one, and looked closely at it. She couldn’t place it’s location.
"What’s this?" she asked, pointing at the picture.
"That?" Azrael asked, smiling slightly,"That, my dear, is the famed Dorsal Rift. Surely you’ve been there.."
Selan blushed. "Of course I have...I just didn’t recognize it at first.", she lied.
Azrael smiled at the response, causing Selan to blush even more furiously.
"Wine, my dear?" Azrael asked....
Chapter 4
The meeting between Selan and Azrael lasted long into the night. The topics of discussion passed from the different areas of Underlight, to how would be the best way to defeat a Horron, to House beliefs, and onward. As the clock on the wall moved closer to 12:00, Azrael stood up.
"Well, my dear, it is getting late. I have chambers upstairs if you require a place to stay tonight."
"Ah...um, no." Selan replied. "I have my own accommodations just a ways down the mountain."
Azrael smiled, and led her to the door.
"Farewell, fair Selan." He said, smiling. "Feel free to come back, and visit anytime, my dear. It gets dreadfully lonely up here all alone." He bowed and kissed her hand, and bid her adieu.
Selan began to walk away...but some force compelled her to turn around. She turned around, having decided to accept his offer, and spend the night in his house. But, as she turned around, he shut the door softly. Selan turned again, and continued on her way back to her cave.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Darius appeared at her cave entrance just as she woke.
"There you are...I looked all over for you last night! Why’d you Mind Blank?" he asked. Selan sorted through her muddled thoughts, and remembered what happened.
Blushing, she replied, "Oh, well, a bunch of newly awakened were continually asking for my help, and I couldn’t get any hunting done. MindBlank was my only choice.." In truth, Selan didn’t remember evoking Mind Blank last night, but, it was possible. She wasn’t sure about a lot of things today..
"So, we going hunting?" Darius asked, grinning.
"Well, Dar, I really don’t feel that great today...I felt like laying down and resting, truth be told.."
Darius looked crestfallen. "Would you like me to stay and talk with you?"
"No, my friend, that’s quite alright." Selan said, smiling. In actuality, she wanted him to leave, so she could..."go visiting.."
Chapter 6
Azrael looked out the window, gazing over all of Underlight. Soon, it would be his. And she would be the perfect tool. Cunning, ruthless, loyal to battle, willing to kill. He would train her, and then he would use her to take over. And those poor fools in Underlight would never know what hit them.
He smiled ruthlessly, before turning away from the window.
Chapter 7
Azrael was waiting at the door as soon as Selan appeared on the rise. He gazed at her. Chuckling inwardly, he admired her body, noting that all the dreamers that she attacked would be stricken by her beauty, and then by her strike. Her long amber hair shimmered like sunlight on her shoulders as she climbed over the rise. Her long, slender body gracefully mounted the rise, and swung herself over. He saw her piercing violet eyes, as she turned to face him, and he saw her lips, red as crushed roses, part in a smile upon seeing him. She dashed deftly over the small rocks and crags, and was soon at his doorstep. She smiled at him, laughing.
"Well, I guess I came back..", she said, smiling.
Azrael smiled, and replied, "And I couldn’t be more pleased, my dear!" He bowed, taking her hand, and kissed it. Selan blushed slightly, hoping that Azrael didn’t notice. "Come, I have something to show you..", he said.
Selan took his hand, and he led her through the castle, to the library. He opened the doors, and Selan gasped. Never in her life had she ever seen, or heard of such a collection! The shelves rose up two stories to the ceiling, and smaller shelves had been set up in the room to accommodate the more commonly used evocations. She picked up a codex, and read it aloud."
"Evocation: Concedation Effect: When evoked, gives soul a concede effect...upon reaching collapse, the soul does not collapse, but instead teleports to a location known to the evoker, saving the unnecessary loss of power."
Selan gasped. There was no such known effect in all of Underlight! Any evocation like this, would make the evoker...near invincible. Any dreamer with this type of power....
"Ahh..", Azrael interrupted her thoughts. "That is one of my favorites," he said smiling.."I made that one a good 6 years ago."
"You....made....this?" Selan asked, haltingly.
Azrael smiled. "Yes, m’dear...I made all of these!" he said, motioning around to the whole library.
"But you...you aren’t a Lyran.." she said.
Azrael laughed. "Lyran? Those incompetent dolts? Of course not..." He paused, and continued. "Would you be interesting to know how I learned to do this?"
"Yes...of course.." Selan said, in wonderment.
"It was long...long ago..."
Chapter 8
Azrael crouched behind the boulder, eavesdropping on the conversation.
"So, when will the class be to teach all Lyrans who do not know how to, to introduce arts?", Jarret asked.
"Soon. I think tomorrow would be good.", Akela answered.
"Where will it be held? We have no house or safe place as of yet."
"Do not worry, I shall ward off all the entrances and exits to the meeting area. No one will overhear us."
"Ah. Well, farewell then, Akela. I will go inform the other initiates."
Jarret left, and Akela wandered around for a while.
Azrael silently cast Locate Dreamer, and saw what he was searching for. He leapt up from behind the boulder, acting as if he’d just ran into the room.
"Akela, it’s urgent...from Kalasta. He said that a horde of Horrons are loose in Dorsal Rift, and heading towards Thresh!"
"WHAT!?!? Come, Azrael, let us stop them!" Akela dashed off, with Azrael trailing closely behind. They soon met the horrons.
"Akela, ward the portals!", Azrael yelled, "I’ll hold em off!" Akela hurriedly warded all the portals with her strongest wards, then turned to Azrael, and together, the defeated the wave of horrons.
"More are coming, and I’m out of chaks!", Azrael cried. "Do you have any DreamSeer chaks, Akela?"
"No, my friend..." Akela answered sadly.
"I have some in my house.." Azrael said, "Please give me an amulet so that I can get through the ward to my house."
"Yes, brave dreamer." replied Akela, and handed an amulet over to him.
"I shall return shortly!" he said, and dashed off through the portal.
Akela smiled. "If only more dreamers could be as brave and devoted as dear Azrael," she thought, "the dream would be a much better place."
Chapter 9
Later the next day, Azrael joined onto Akela for a small discussion, about something insignificant, and, as he’d hoped, Akela never thought to leave the party. Azrael left the room, and waited all day to hear the words...and finally, his wait was rewarded.
"Ok, Jarret, gather all the other Lyrans, and come to the Sanctuary in Trinity. Make sure to give them all an amulet of mine."
Azrael dashed off towards Trinity, and waited outside the Sanctuary. Soon, Lyran after Lyran started filing up the walk. Azrael dug into his pocket, and took out his strongest Chamele alteror. He activated it, and walked into the Sanctuary along with the rest of the Lyrans.
Chapter 10
"And so, my dear, the Lyrans themselves unwillingly taught me how to bring new arts into the dream.", Azrael replied, finishing the story.
Selan gazed at him in admiration, and respect. For the first time in her life, she felt the flame from something else besides battle. She burned to be near him, to have his presence near her.
"You are so....brilliant!" She replied.
Azrael smiled. That smile meant more to Selan than a battle with fifty horrons. It completely sent her over the edge. For the first time in her life, Selan was in love.
Chapter 11
She left that night, without telling Azrael her feelings. When he kissed her hand goodbye, she flushed deep red, but hoped that he wouldn’t notice in the fading sunlight. Her heart burned with desire, not wanting to leave, but she knew she had to. She had to think about all these new feelings.
The next day, Darius called on her again, but she didn’t even acknowledge his presence. He left feeling down trod and worthless.
Selan began visiting Azrael all day, constantly. Every waking hour, she spent at his house, studying his tomes, training with him, and, of course, admiring his body. He still had a youthful appearance to him...his arts must have kept him young for all these years. He looked no more than 20. His body, she noted when the cape he wore was brushed aside, was strongly muscled. His studies had not kept him from training...he was as strong, if not stronger than she was. He had a thin, lithe, yet heavily muscled body.
She couldn’t think of anyone but him.
Chapter 12
Darius entered the house of the Dreamers of Light, looking extremely downcast. Goldenboy stopped him just inside the entrance.
"Dar, what’s wrong? Where’s Selan? You guys ALWAYS go hunting.."
Darius looked at Goldenboy, and frowned. "When you find the answers to those questions, tell me." he said, and continued moping into the house.
Goldenboy couldn’t stand to see a brother of his so depressed, so he resolved to find out what was going on. The next morning, he awoke early, and ran down to Selan’s niche. He hid behind a boulder, and watched. Soon, he saw her emerge from the cave, and look around. Seeing nobody, she tied her shield to a vine, and tossed it overhead, into a break in the rocks. Goldenboy watched all this, noting every instance in his mind for his report to Darius. She waited until the shield gripped, and then began climbing. As she reached the top, she pulled up the vine and shield. Goldenboy waited for a few minutes, and then, when he was sure that she had left, got up from behind the boulder, and dashed off to the Dreamers of Light.
He came back minutes later with his own shield, and tied a vine to it. After several tries, he finally got it caught in the rocks, and climbed up. As he pulled himself over the ridge, he was amazed to see a house. No doubt, this was where Selan had been coming. He ran to the windows, and looked in. As he suspected, there was Selan, with another dreamer he didn’t recognize.
He spent the whole day there, watching, and memorizing events. He hunched over in the bushes outside the castle, and peeked through the windows, and listened through the vents. Soon, night had fallen, and Selan prepared to leave. Goldenboy hid, and waited. He watched Selan drop her shield over, and drop down below. Then as he was getting ready to leave, he felt a strong arm on his shoulder.
"So, someone wants to ruin my fun, does he?"
Goldenboy turned around, and found himself face to face with Azrael.
"What are you doing with Selan?" Goldenboy demanded.
Azrael laughed. "Like I’d honestly tell you." Azrael said, as he smiled. Then, he evoked blast on Goldenboy, and completely destroyed his avatar in one blast. The soulsphere bobbed around, looking for escape. Azrael laughed evilly again.
"Not so fast, little one..." Azrael reached out, and gripped the Soulsphere. And, holding the sphere at arms length, he evoked DreamStrike upon it.
Goldenboy was completely, totally, and irrevocably destroyed.
Chapter 13
Finally, the day arrived. Selan had decided, she was going to offer herself to him today. It would be her way of showing her love. She climbed up the peak, and knocked at the doors. As usual, Azrael opened the door, and kissed her hand. But, instead, she drew her hand up as he was kissing it, and she kissed him. She felt such wonderful release when his strong arms gripped around her torso, and she kissed him with all her passion. As the kiss ended, Azrael pulled away. Selan whispered to him, "You can have me if you want."
"What?" whispered Azrael.
"I said you can have me if you.."
Azrael pushed her away, and his face turned angry. "What makes you think I want you? I’m above and beyond that! I have my arts, and my power. I feel no need to go rutting around in the dark like common farm animals! Go!" he shouted, and slammed the door.
Selan waited outside, close to tears. Finally, she ran, and hid in her cave all day.
Azrael watched from the upstairs window as Selan stood, waiting at his door for him to open it again, near tears. He saw all the inner turmoil building within her, and her life was spiraling out of control. He saw all this, and laughed quietly.
Chapter 14
Everyday, for the next week, Selan came to call on Azrael. and every day, he refused to answer the door. She grew more and more desperate to be near him with every passing day. Soon, she came to just stay within her cave, and not leave, except to call on Azrael.
Darius stopped by a few times, but the visits began to grow less and less frequent as Selan rarely acknowledged his presence, and when she did, she talked little to him. Finally, Selan stopped even going to call on Azrael, and laid in her cave and cried all day.
Then, upon awakening one morning, she saw a codex fall from above. Thinking it was from Darius, she ignored it. That is, until she realized it had come from up, and not from the side. She dashed out to read it:
My dearest Selan,
I cannot apologize enough for what I have done to you. Please understand that no female has ever offered herself to me, and I haven’t had companionship in a long time. Please feel free to come by, and visit anytime.
Love, Azrael
Selan’s heart lept with joy, and she dashed out of the cave, tossed the shield up, and climbed up. She ran to the front door, where stood Azrael with open arms. She dashed to him, and they embraced in a powerful, strong kiss. Then, afterwards, the evening led on to more....."active" pursuits, shall we say.
Selan spent her first night in the castle with Azrael. When she awoke, she found him already downstairs studying. As she approached, he turned to her.
"Selan, do you love me?"
Selan was taken aback. "Of course, I do, my dear!" she replied.
Azreal smiled kindly. "Have you noticed the problems between all the houses, recently?"
What was all this leaping around in conversation? From love, to house pursuits?
"Yes, my love. They are constantly at war."
"Ahh..that is my point. I have a theory that all of the mares are the product of the hatred between dreamers, basically, their negative emotions made concrete."
Selan was taken aback by this new knowledge. It was certainly possible..that would explain why there was a nearly endless supply of them..
"The only way to stop them, is to unite all the houses under one ruler. I shall be that ruler. I am the only one strong enough to hold them. I have taken my views to the council of houses, and my views were shunned. The rulers of the houses care not for their own initiates! This is a chance to end the mare threat forever, and these rulers with their own agenda are stopping me!"
Selan looked at him questioningly.
"Will you help me conquer Underlight?"
"Yes, my love, I shall."
Chapter 15
Darius sat in the DoL house, alone in a corner, begotten. Members of the house ran about on usual house business, and no one noticed him. Of course, that was quite alright with him, he didn’t want to be noticed. He was in the middle of feeling sorry for himself, when the guards ran in.
"Everyone, House Calenture has been attacked!" he screamed.
Everyone cheered, until they noted the frown on the guard’s face.
"The completely destroyed everything...all of the Dreamers collapsed, many dreamstruck. The house has been almost leveled, and all the survivors are on their way here to escape."
A collective gasp filled the room. Everyone sprung into action, the quartermasters running down to the armory and vault, handing out items. The rulers grouped off to the side to discuss house defense. In the confusion, Darius approached the guard.
"What is doing all this?" he asked.
The guard looked at him strangely, almost pitiful. "Not what...who. Your love, Selan, and another mysterious dreamer no one has ever met before."
As the revelation sunk in, Darius dashed out of the house, with only one objective, to find Selan whatever the cost.
Chapter 16
Selan and Azrael walked peacefully down Trinity. Another house completely destroyed, with no hope of survival. Sure, a bunch of the initates and rulers escaped, but the house was pretty much destroyed. Hand in hand, the two destroyers merrily looked forward to their next victim house.
Without warning, a lone dreamer appeared in front of him. Azreal prepared to blast and Dreamstrike him, but Selan raised a halting hand. Darius materialized in front of them. Selan took a breath, and whispered to Azrael, "May I please have a moment alone? This one would be my pleasure..."
Azrael cast a disapproving gaze at Darius, but finally decided that he could do no harm, and left, saying, "I will be in the next room."
"So, Dar, whaddya want? We’re busy, little boy...", Selan asked.
Darius shuddered, and replied, "I just wanted to see you again, before I die, or you do. I loved you with all my heart, Selan, and it is killing me to see you acting like this."
Selan laughed mercilessly. "So, you still got a crush on me? Hah!"
Darius frowned, and continued, "Selan, I do not approve of what you’re doing, but if you must continue on this course of action, I will not stop you. All I ask is that you take these with my blessing, and that you kill me, so that I will not have to witness your destruction.", Darius said, holding out five Blood Abyss elemens. "In some small way, I will have helped you in your conquest, but, it is the least I can do in memory of the time we shared.", he finished, sobbing.
"Well, whatever, little boy." Selan said, smiling. Then, before he could continue, she cast FlameShaft on him, and watched his avatar sizzle...then, she cast Dreamstrike on the Soulsphere, and Darius was gone. She grinned as she walked through the portal, and took Azrael’s hand. "That’s one more down, my dear.", she said, smiling.
Chapter 17
The two lovers continued destroying house after house, until the only remaining house was Dreamers Of Light, where all the refugees had gathered. They halted on the steps outside of the Illapse Sanctuary.
"Are you ready, my dear? To bring freedom and peace to the dream?" Azrael asked to her.
"Yes, my love, I am."
Without another word, they stepped into Dreamers Of Light.
The battle that ensued was devastating. Several gathered inside the house, and constantly restored the dreamers outside, while others ran back and forth from the vault carrying the much needed artifacts to the dreamers outside. DoL fought beside HC. OoSM fought beside PoR. Everyone gathered together in defense of the dream, regardless of house, or belief. Azrael, and Selan were strong, the strongest two dreamers ever to have dreamt. Victory seemed inevitable, until Azreal let his guard down for a moment to cast blast, instead of blade fighting. Many soulspheres floated helplessly around, waiting to be restored, while the restorers waited for runners to bring elemens so they could recharge, while the runners hunted high and low for spare elemens. As Azreal let his guard down, a brave FateSender by the name of Kalerie stepped out from his hiding spot, and cast Razorwind, and as Azrael and Selan recoeverd from that, he began attacking them with his blade. Such a skilled fighter was he, that he almost collapsed them both, before they dashed back outside.
"Azrael, here, take this, hurry! We must heal before the rest of them get restored!" Selan said, handing him one of the Blood Abyss Elemens given to her by Darius. Azrael took it, and began using charges from it, as did Selan. Suddenly, she felt dizzy...she looked at the elemen.
"What the...it’s.....cursed...." she muttered...losing strength..
"That...little....bast...." gasped Azrael as he fell to the ground, his veins burning from the poison coursing through them.
Selan gasped for air, fighting for strength. She struggled to move, but her limbs had turned to lead. Her vision blurred, and everything swam in her eyes. She thought of Darius, and wondered, "How could he do this to me? He loved me, didn’t he?" Her last sight of the world, was of the doors of DoL, and several dreamers coming out, and gathering around them...and then, all went dark.
- The End -
