Even in death, it was wracked with agony. Ghastly flames the color of a bleeding sunset licked at the wailing phantasm's body. As the sepulchral blaze danced about, it gave off a gentle glow and a small amount of warmth. Despite that substantial warmth, to look at the apparition was the feel a chill in your heart. Before melting into tallow, the pale, translucent flesh blackened like crops left to wither in the frost. Then, the flames leaped to another position, and the apparition's flesh was restored so that it could burn again another million times. 

Shaige peered through the glass of the vial that was his heart, armor, and home. It was satisfying to gaze at the pain elemental, his first minion. Its creation had been simple enough; he simply found a lost soul and with a few mere thoughts, cursed it to torture unending. The pain elemental had only two forms of salvation: one could give into its destructive urges and attack any living beings, earning a temporary respite as it transferred its own suffering onto the mortal and utterly drained its victim of lifeforce. The other way was to die a second time, exploding into a ball of fire and anguish before moving on to the eternal peace that waited in the void. 

The pain elemental shaped itself into a glowing sphere that from a distance might resemble a firefly. It could glide effortlessly through the air as swift as any bird, though its glow and the eery sound of the tortured soul's wailing would warn any potential victims of an impending attack. Still, with only a partially corporeal form, fighting the pain elementals would be difficult. Upon cornering their prey, they would transform from the fiery spheres into the ghostly, burning figures of what they had looked like in life. Arrows and swords could harm them, though it would take more than a few swings or shots to make a pain elemental dissipate. In any case, attacking them would only make them more likely to martyr themselves, exploding in order to end their torment and strike down a few more of their master's foes.

Shaige examined his pain elemental for a few brief moments before using the imps' crude altar to quickly bind more to his service. There was a limited number of lost souls in the area, so only another six could be made. Still, seven would be more than enough to fend off a few foolish humans. The seven drifted to the walls of the room, standing vigil in their humanoid forms. Then, Shaige willed the dirt and gravel outside to tremble before his power. The earth obeyed. Pebbles suddenly began bouncing and shaking as if there was an earthquake, and the imps' attention was gained. The lot of them ran into the cave, aware that their master was the source of the disturbance. The ten imps knelt before the vial in the room's center, looking at the pain elementals surrounding them. Even from across the cave, the imps felt uncomfortable; it hurt to be anywhere near their master's wretched minions.

After almost a minute of silence, one of the imps walked over to the vial. Perhaps that imp had tired of the silence, or couldn't bear the pain. Tentatively, and to gasps of shock and nervousness from the others, the imp touched the heart of its master. A surge of energy rushed through the demon's pathetic form, Shaige's willpower the only thing stemming the flow enough to prevent the imp from being disintegrated. Through the smooth glass of the small container, the Keeper's thoughts resonated into the imp's mind, [i]"I see your bravery. I feel your potential. I bestow upon you the power with which you might rise to greater heights, under my tutelage."[/i]

Imp Construct: 0/1 Posts

[b]Shaige's Stuff:[/b]
[u]Minions:[/u] 10 imps, 7 pain elementals
[u]Resources:[/u] A few bags of tools and food for the imps.
[u]Infrastructure:[/u] A dungeon heart, the imps' makeshift altar

Location on the map- A small cave located in the foothills of the mountains, due east of Paterdomus.