--Ravenfell- Athroyeaux Coast--
Off the coast of Arthroyeaux, amidst a cloudy sky and disturbed sea, a lone fisherman's ship was seen over the water. Fishermen could be seen with their nets. But, more importantly, coming up from the lower deck, was none other than Valor Teardrop, standing with a hand on her hip, looking out at the waves.
They were right over the coordinates. Now, it was only a matter of snatching up what was lost. The air, however, felt tense…
The inexplicable tension in the air then heralded itself through an archway-shaped portal spawning on the same deck that the Clandestine agent found herself on, and stepping forward from said portal was none other than She Who Hosts the Shade, Scion of the Tearmoon Coven and Royal Apprentice of the Hathforth Court, Melisande Tearmoon... or at least, an entity that wore her face and voice. It heeded not the various reactions of the fish-harvesting mortals, how could it when it could reunite with its 'old friend' from the castle gardens?
"So... here it lies..." Kronos chuckled, gazing toward the sea before ever so slightly turning its indigo gaze at Valor,
"You seem surprised, pawn of the false-shade king." At this point, the Dremora had dropped any pretense that it was the Lilim it masqueraded as, its voice carrying otherworldly whispers through the very air,
"Did you really think your mages could manipulate the fabric of space-time in my presence and expect it to go unnoticed?" It sneered, half-amused, half-insulted.
It'd have preferred to devour the Ghost King himself, but for now, one of his pawns would do, a little... entree to the main course.
"You see, I'd never have thought I'd sympathize with any mortals, and yet... your king had proven me wrong. Your kind is so vile that I felt pity for those humans you summoned. I've made it my duty to consume every last one of your “people”... starting with you, so come, you unliving mockery of the shadekin; fight and resist, it shall make my meal all that sweeter..."Valor Teardrop turned and faced ‘Mèlisande’, staring for a moment before scoffing.
“So you really are a Shade.”She gestured with her hands, shrugging.
“You can try all you like, King DuFairre's magic is true, and his intent pure. The Ghosts of Ravenfell have little to fear from the likes of you.”"Indeed, in the shadows, a truekin, which your 'people' mock with your very existence," The Dremora curled an uncharacteristic grin across Melisande's face as it too tilted its head, albeit to such an angle that very much suggested it was no Lilim,
"Good, I prefer prey that has confidence." It chuckled lowly as the simulacrum's shadow seemed to part its jaws and lick its lips.
Valor was silent, before she placed a single gauntleted finger on the chin of her mask.
“Though, if you really noticed the Royal Symphony's teleportation magic, this is perplexing… You've come alone, haven't you?”"Of course I had. Why would I share my meal?"The Dremora lied as easily as it manipulated space-time.
"Kronos, Mother and I are ready to act upon your command.""Wonderful, Feylings, just as we schemed.""Be cautious, she might not be alone herself.""I am aware. If you see one cockroach, there'll always be more lurking nearby..."Valor clasped her hands together in front of her,
“Very well, then. Still no intent to heed His Majesty's words? You know what's coming. A storm that will destroy everything, and a new Arrowfell will sprout from the ashes.”Her head tilted.
“Surely a Shade such as yourself has some amount of self-preservation…”"Ehehehe... hahahahahaha!!" The Simulacrum's shadow cackled, though its voice was carried through the air all the same, its source mattered not, both its 'body' and the shadow cast by said vessel were of one and the same entity,
"You seem to misunderstand... Arrowfell disgusts me, all those mortals and their petty squabbles," It paused, simply to let its words hang in the air,
"However, it's not about that at all, what I want is the utter extermination of your kind, I care not what your ambitions are, only your demise..."Valor listened intently, silently. Before a huff left her chest, short, dismissive. Still, she didn't move to draw her sword. She seemed relaxed, as if she was untouchable.
If the undead wouldn't make her move, then... fine by Kronos, even as they spoke, Melisande and her vexatious Feyling of a mother were working on narrowing the location of the sword and as for the Dremora, it could wait, after all, it had all the
time in the world.
Indeed, it was easy to detect with magic that the sword rested at the bottom of the ocean here, gently wedged between two coral beds. Fish unknowingly swam around it, some gazing at the strange, ghostly gleam it gave off.
However, the moment Mèlisande and her mother would begin to seek it with their magic, a gold cage, or shield, encased the sword.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Melly dear, tell Kronos that a rather intrusive party is competing for possession of the artifact.""Kronos, we've located the sword, but someone got to it before us and blocked our access.On the boat's deck, Valor stood there, casually swaying her weight on one leg, her hand raised and glowing a faint golden hue. She tutted at the Shade.
“Lying like a bad child. Someone ought to teach you some manners.”A minute shift of Kronos' indigo pupils as it reflected the the dim golden hue,
"Ah, I may have identified our culprit..." "Ehehehe... indeed, so come, punish me."Her free fingers snapped, and there was a rush of air. In an instance, a lithe man in a billowing cape and white mask appeared in front of the Shade. A slender lance was gripped in his hand, thrown with rapid force, aiming so the tip would pierce Kronos, right in the heart.
Simultaneously, Valor manipulated her golden fingers, and the sword with its gilded cage slowly began to raise.
As both sides expected from each other, neither of them were alone. Thus, the Dremora was quite pleased when another of her ilk finally showed himself. By the end of the day, it might have enough to share with other Shades... no, nevermind, it'd have all of them for itself.
"Feylings, now, they took the bait."Within the following short seconds, a cascade of events all unfolded at once.
First, Kronos didn't even bother to move the Simulacrum out of harm's way, instead using the chance to silently cast Fate Bond upon Valor and Faith, intertwining their strings of fate and causality together.
Second, a Dimension Door tore through space-time behind Valor, connecting the two locations, revealing a pair of nearly-identical Lilim in a mystical forest by a verdant glade. One of them was keeping the portal open, while the other...
"O' stellar comets, swarm them!"Third, Jezebel snapped her wand toward Valor as numerous magical bullets burst forth from it, all homing in on the female undead with power and precision one would come to expect from the Lilim Matriarch.
There was a haughty huff as Valor half turned to view the portal, the rush of comets. Instantly, a gold construct, translucent, erected itself in a dome over Valor. Comets impacted the magical barrier, ricocheting off. Fishermen panicked, scurrying below deck to avoid any stray magic.
Valor, however, kept her position, her stance calm and relaxed despite the minor cracks inflecting on the surface. As the Matriarch's attack ended, her dome morphed into pinpoints of gold, like hovering rain. Each elongated into a needle, and shot forward, a shower of needles arcing forward to pierce the Lilims.
"Ah, the little corpse has her tricks~" Jezebel remarked with a chortle, so indeed, there were good reasons why Kronos itself relented to allow Melisande to ask for her assistance, these pawns of the Ghost-King weren't pushovers,
"I shall handle her thorns, my dears." The Matriarch declared as she flicked her wand, casting her Magic Missiles once more as swarms of star-shaped projectiles rushed forward, clashing and neutralizing Valor's golden needles.
Meanwhile, the masked Clandestine made disgruntled noise, noticing the weaving of magic the Shade had wrought upon them. Nevertheless, he struck forward with his lance, the Shade unmoving. The lance appeared struck through the Shade's head, before the weapon impacted, a shockwave ripping the Shade's body apart, along with the rail of the boat.
"Ha ha ha ha ha haaa...." Slow, mocking laughter haunted the open sea even as Faith's lance struck the Simulacrum true, shattering it as the construct dispersed into tiny motes of mana residue...
The Clandestine stared for a moment, before he hovered on the spot, plucking up his lance again and turning to the Dimensional Door.
...only for Melisande's Seed to glow as Kronos reappeared right in front of the lancer, between him and the Dimension Door. Its shadow curling a mad grin, whispering right into Faith's unliving soul,
"Sit, boy..." as it hexed the Clandestine agent with a chronomantic malady, the aptly-named 'Slow' spell gripping his limbs and - due to the Fate Bond - Valor's as well.
"Feyling, I've bonded their fate-strings and cursed them with time-lethargy.""Duly noted, Kronos."Meanwhile, the real Melisande was not about to let Kronos' efforts go in vain as she reached her right hand forward... then closed it into a fist. At virtually the same time, the fabric of space-time around Faith trembled and throbbed before violently imploding, courtesy of the silent-cast Vacuum spell.
Before the spell could hit its mark, however, a red sigil appeared under the feet of both the masked Clandestine and Valor. In an instant, space warped, and the two members vanished…
The cage around the sword disappeared, and it began sinking once more into the waters.
"And thus they scurried off like the fleas they are...""Do you know where they went, Kronos?""You offend me, Feyling, one does not manipulate the fabric of reality before The Dremora of Space-Time and expect it to not notice.""That is fair. Would you go after them?""Good question. As much as I'd like to, they are mere pawns, and we have a more pressing matter to attend to. However, rest assured, upon my immortal soul, I swear that Ravenfell will be truly lifeless sooner than later.""While you two are having your lovely little telepathic chat, look what I've discovered~" The Matriarch chimed in as she made a flourish with her wand, then a second later,
something rose out of the watery surface...
Titanslayer, The One Sword to Rule Them All.
The mythical blade proceeded to slowly descend, finally landing in Kronos' hands.
"Ah... yesss..." Kronos hissed, splitting an ear-to-ear grin as the Simulacrum's hands gripped it tight. Shadowy tendrils licked the air around the Dremora before they coalesced upon the ghostly blade, enveloping it,
infusing it with a part of the Shade's own essence.
"With this, you are 'Titanslayer' no longer, I christen thee... 'Shadesbane', slayer of my own kind and leviathans alike."The very air of the open sea rumbled as if Ravenfell itself was quaking under the realization that their sovereign had just made a powerful enemy, it wasn't enough that he had to declare war against the dukedoms and houses of Arrowfell, but gained the ire of the Shade as well. Perhaps, indeed, twas' time the Ghost-King learned that agelessness did not equal true immortality.
For now, the pair of Lilim mother and daughter watched in silence through the portal...
...as the sky turned black.
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