Dreaming of Power's Destruction Chapter 1
Here's Chapter 1 of Dreaming of Power's Destruction:
Chapter 1
The demon left the wood sprite to die in his living room and went to get a cup of coffee. Designing a room that could seal a creature’s magic, making them unable to even sense the magic within or to draw power from an outside source, was a work of genius. He was testing its abilities at the moment, certain of its power but not foolish enough to leave it untried. Capturing a being of great power only to find that the device was faulty was a good way to lose the advantage.
As the machine was grinding the expensive coffee beans, he felt a wave of pain come from his living room. The wood sprite was dying because the room severed the bond between her and her tree. He finished making his coffee, feeding on the sprite’s pain as he sipped the bitter liquid.
He waited until he could not feel the sprite’s pain before opening the door. The scent of pine wafted out of the room, and he could see clumps of pine needles settle on the carpet. Satisfied, he sent the cleaner to remove the mess. The mortal seemed to like his new ‘air freshener’ but sensed that she really did not want to know about it.
It took the demon another month to prepare for the second layer of spells around the room. However, his second experiment was conducted immediately. He summoned his lieutenant Camelia, an extremely talented shape-shifter, and ordered her to stay in the room while he went to make some tea. The fact that he left the room for a minute made Camelia suspicious enough but when he returned without any tea, she willed her long fingers to become veritable claws.
Nothing happened.
Smirking at the shock on her face, the demon knew that his spells were working properly. His smirk only served to unnerve Camelia even more: he usually wore that expression when he was about to torture someone especially powerful and she was quite helpless at the moment after all. She tried harder, pushing against the block with her full strength. It held firm. “What the hell did you do Krasnar?”
“I’m not going to kill you right now.” The demon said pleasantly. “I still have work for you.”
The shape-shifter knew that if he ever grew tired of her, she would not die quickly. Rather, she’d be tortured, her only daughter would be tortured and killed, and then she would die. She hated the work, but she knew that he would track her down and dispose of her if she attempted to escape.
The demon felt her hatred and his smirk widened, exposing his sharp teeth. “Yes, you’ll be quite useful when I capture the Sphinx.”
“Hiacynthia of the Seven!” Camelia chocked. She knew he was getting ambitious but to attack one of the pillars of the magical community was suicidal! Not only were the Seven exceptionally strong in power, they had veritable armies of humans at their command and powerful allies in the magical community. There wouldn’t even be a magical community if they had not sealed unmagic from the world.
“What other sphinx would be interesting enough to capture?” The demon knew what was going through his subordinate’s head and it amused him. Releasing the binding spell with a wave of his hand, he gave Camelia one of his best Fear-Me smiles. “Do you doubt my ability to bind the overgrown cat’s power?”
“No sir, I just don’t understand what type of trickery would allow anyone to capture a creature as intelligent as a sphinx.” Camelia said carefully.
“You’ll see.” The demon left to send out an invitation.
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The demon greeted her in the apartment complex’ lobby. The sphinx was in her humanoid form, lounging on one of the couches, sweeping her tail side to side lazily. Like the rest of the Seven, the sphinx had two forms whilst lesser creatures and humans only possessed one. Her true form, a giant lioness with a human head, allowed her to use her full magical and physical strength; while her humanoid form only allowed her to pass among humans without accidentally crushing them. Since she was used to using her lesser form in her palace (and that she wouldn’t be able to fit in the demon’s apartment complex otherwise), she went unknowingly went along with the demon’s plan.
The demon’s reddish-brown eyes observed the soft golden fur that covered his prey's body, covered partially by the same sheer material that her female subjects used to cover their breasts and pubic regions. A large gold chocker adorned her neck, an anchor to hang one of Mrr’s shorter fangs as a sign of his favour.
The only things that remained unchanged from her true form were her eyes. Golden irises surround oval pupils, breathtaking in the variety of shades that melded together. Lesser creatures often thought that the sphinx could see through all lies, something that Krasnar may have believed a long time ago, when the sphinx was still a creature of the wild and not half-tamed by centuries of living with humans; but not now. Still, with her fearsome intelligence and her claw-like fingernails, the sphinx was a powerful creature.
The demon smiled as he took her arm, escorting her to her doom. As he suspected, she had grown complacent among the humans and their praise, believing them when they said that she was invincible. The proof was that she missed the markings at the corners of the room, runes interwoven with the carpet but still distinct to the observant eye. ‘Even the dragon’s pet mage would’ve noticed them, if she were still alive.’ He thought, showing none of his disgust as the sphinx’ attention was snared by a heavily cushioned sofa and a matching loveseat. The thirty-two inch television set and the expensive stereo did not appeal to her, being cold and metallic; but comfortable, old furniture pleased her soul.
Primly, she sat down on the loveseat, the closest piece to the door. He chose the sofa, appearing relaxed.
“What do you want Krasnar?” Her voice was a low purr, a cultivated voice that spoke of self-confidence and power. It simply irritated the demon.
“I want to know how you designed The Spell.” He had meant to relax her with small talk but doing so would simply be a waste of time. She may have become blinded to certain things, but she was no fool.
Her cat-like ears twitched forward and her tail stopped moving. “I cannot divulge that information.”
“Why not?” The demon asked reasonably. “We’re both members of the Seven, you needed my power for The Spell after all.”
“You are a demon.” Hiacynthia stood up, looking down at the demon. “I will not entrust such important information to a creature born from the dregs of humanity’s consciousness.”
The demon’s eyes burned red and his fury spread throughout the room, making the hairs on the sphinx’ body stand up. She bared her fangs reflexively; fully alert now that it was much too late.
The demon invoked the room’s power, coating himself in unmagic as he felt his own spell try to bind him. The sphinx did not even feel the spell take effect but she did know that the demon had tried something. “Was that supposed to be an attack?” She sneered.
In response, the demon simply smirked at her.
Avoiding fights was the sphinx’ preference, but she would never back away when one was necessary. Quick as a flash of light, she pounced on the demon, building energy in her claws to pierce his stone-like hide. They made an awful sound as she slashed at his stomach, slicing through his shirt like soft butter, but they did not draw blood. The energy fizzled as she summoned it, unable to stabilize enough to remain in existence.
Back-flipping off the demon before he could react, she landed on all fours, ready to pounce once again. Fury made her shake and the demon knew that if she were in her true form, she would be able to overpower him with sheer strength.
However, she was in her weaker shape so he could afford to take his time.
“What have you done?” Hiacynthia hissed. “When Mrr hears of this…”
“He won’t, or at least not in time to help you.” The demon sent out a wave of power strong enough to kill a regular human. The pain made the sphinx’ body shudder and crumble, leaving her helpless in the middle of the floor. Unable to think with her every nerve on fire, she nonetheless tried to regain her feet but failed. When she screamed, it was more of a roar.
The demon increased the pressure until she lapsed into unconsciousness. He then dragged her over to his couch, pushed it away from the wall a little, and removed the hidden chains from the hollow spot in the wall. The chains were made of dwarf steel, reinforced with his magic, and were attached to steel plates in the wall and the floor. Bound and unconscious, the sphinx did not look very threatening so he decided to let her sleep. He did take Mrr’s claw from her chocker, fully intending to incinerate it before the dragon could use it to locate her.
Prologue *** Chapter 1 *** Chapter 2 *** Chapter 3 *** Chapter 4 *** Chapter 5 *** Chapter 6
Chapter 1
The demon left the wood sprite to die in his living room and went to get a cup of coffee. Designing a room that could seal a creature’s magic, making them unable to even sense the magic within or to draw power from an outside source, was a work of genius. He was testing its abilities at the moment, certain of its power but not foolish enough to leave it untried. Capturing a being of great power only to find that the device was faulty was a good way to lose the advantage.
As the machine was grinding the expensive coffee beans, he felt a wave of pain come from his living room. The wood sprite was dying because the room severed the bond between her and her tree. He finished making his coffee, feeding on the sprite’s pain as he sipped the bitter liquid.
He waited until he could not feel the sprite’s pain before opening the door. The scent of pine wafted out of the room, and he could see clumps of pine needles settle on the carpet. Satisfied, he sent the cleaner to remove the mess. The mortal seemed to like his new ‘air freshener’ but sensed that she really did not want to know about it.
It took the demon another month to prepare for the second layer of spells around the room. However, his second experiment was conducted immediately. He summoned his lieutenant Camelia, an extremely talented shape-shifter, and ordered her to stay in the room while he went to make some tea. The fact that he left the room for a minute made Camelia suspicious enough but when he returned without any tea, she willed her long fingers to become veritable claws.
Nothing happened.
Smirking at the shock on her face, the demon knew that his spells were working properly. His smirk only served to unnerve Camelia even more: he usually wore that expression when he was about to torture someone especially powerful and she was quite helpless at the moment after all. She tried harder, pushing against the block with her full strength. It held firm. “What the hell did you do Krasnar?”
“I’m not going to kill you right now.” The demon said pleasantly. “I still have work for you.”
The shape-shifter knew that if he ever grew tired of her, she would not die quickly. Rather, she’d be tortured, her only daughter would be tortured and killed, and then she would die. She hated the work, but she knew that he would track her down and dispose of her if she attempted to escape.
The demon felt her hatred and his smirk widened, exposing his sharp teeth. “Yes, you’ll be quite useful when I capture the Sphinx.”
“Hiacynthia of the Seven!” Camelia chocked. She knew he was getting ambitious but to attack one of the pillars of the magical community was suicidal! Not only were the Seven exceptionally strong in power, they had veritable armies of humans at their command and powerful allies in the magical community. There wouldn’t even be a magical community if they had not sealed unmagic from the world.
“What other sphinx would be interesting enough to capture?” The demon knew what was going through his subordinate’s head and it amused him. Releasing the binding spell with a wave of his hand, he gave Camelia one of his best Fear-Me smiles. “Do you doubt my ability to bind the overgrown cat’s power?”
“No sir, I just don’t understand what type of trickery would allow anyone to capture a creature as intelligent as a sphinx.” Camelia said carefully.
“You’ll see.” The demon left to send out an invitation.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&
The demon greeted her in the apartment complex’ lobby. The sphinx was in her humanoid form, lounging on one of the couches, sweeping her tail side to side lazily. Like the rest of the Seven, the sphinx had two forms whilst lesser creatures and humans only possessed one. Her true form, a giant lioness with a human head, allowed her to use her full magical and physical strength; while her humanoid form only allowed her to pass among humans without accidentally crushing them. Since she was used to using her lesser form in her palace (and that she wouldn’t be able to fit in the demon’s apartment complex otherwise), she went unknowingly went along with the demon’s plan.
The demon’s reddish-brown eyes observed the soft golden fur that covered his prey's body, covered partially by the same sheer material that her female subjects used to cover their breasts and pubic regions. A large gold chocker adorned her neck, an anchor to hang one of Mrr’s shorter fangs as a sign of his favour.
The only things that remained unchanged from her true form were her eyes. Golden irises surround oval pupils, breathtaking in the variety of shades that melded together. Lesser creatures often thought that the sphinx could see through all lies, something that Krasnar may have believed a long time ago, when the sphinx was still a creature of the wild and not half-tamed by centuries of living with humans; but not now. Still, with her fearsome intelligence and her claw-like fingernails, the sphinx was a powerful creature.
The demon smiled as he took her arm, escorting her to her doom. As he suspected, she had grown complacent among the humans and their praise, believing them when they said that she was invincible. The proof was that she missed the markings at the corners of the room, runes interwoven with the carpet but still distinct to the observant eye. ‘Even the dragon’s pet mage would’ve noticed them, if she were still alive.’ He thought, showing none of his disgust as the sphinx’ attention was snared by a heavily cushioned sofa and a matching loveseat. The thirty-two inch television set and the expensive stereo did not appeal to her, being cold and metallic; but comfortable, old furniture pleased her soul.
Primly, she sat down on the loveseat, the closest piece to the door. He chose the sofa, appearing relaxed.
“What do you want Krasnar?” Her voice was a low purr, a cultivated voice that spoke of self-confidence and power. It simply irritated the demon.
“I want to know how you designed The Spell.” He had meant to relax her with small talk but doing so would simply be a waste of time. She may have become blinded to certain things, but she was no fool.
Her cat-like ears twitched forward and her tail stopped moving. “I cannot divulge that information.”
“Why not?” The demon asked reasonably. “We’re both members of the Seven, you needed my power for The Spell after all.”
“You are a demon.” Hiacynthia stood up, looking down at the demon. “I will not entrust such important information to a creature born from the dregs of humanity’s consciousness.”
The demon’s eyes burned red and his fury spread throughout the room, making the hairs on the sphinx’ body stand up. She bared her fangs reflexively; fully alert now that it was much too late.
The demon invoked the room’s power, coating himself in unmagic as he felt his own spell try to bind him. The sphinx did not even feel the spell take effect but she did know that the demon had tried something. “Was that supposed to be an attack?” She sneered.
In response, the demon simply smirked at her.
Avoiding fights was the sphinx’ preference, but she would never back away when one was necessary. Quick as a flash of light, she pounced on the demon, building energy in her claws to pierce his stone-like hide. They made an awful sound as she slashed at his stomach, slicing through his shirt like soft butter, but they did not draw blood. The energy fizzled as she summoned it, unable to stabilize enough to remain in existence.
Back-flipping off the demon before he could react, she landed on all fours, ready to pounce once again. Fury made her shake and the demon knew that if she were in her true form, she would be able to overpower him with sheer strength.
However, she was in her weaker shape so he could afford to take his time.
“What have you done?” Hiacynthia hissed. “When Mrr hears of this…”
“He won’t, or at least not in time to help you.” The demon sent out a wave of power strong enough to kill a regular human. The pain made the sphinx’ body shudder and crumble, leaving her helpless in the middle of the floor. Unable to think with her every nerve on fire, she nonetheless tried to regain her feet but failed. When she screamed, it was more of a roar.
The demon increased the pressure until she lapsed into unconsciousness. He then dragged her over to his couch, pushed it away from the wall a little, and removed the hidden chains from the hollow spot in the wall. The chains were made of dwarf steel, reinforced with his magic, and were attached to steel plates in the wall and the floor. Bound and unconscious, the sphinx did not look very threatening so he decided to let her sleep. He did take Mrr’s claw from her chocker, fully intending to incinerate it before the dragon could use it to locate her.
Prologue *** Chapter 1 *** Chapter 2 *** Chapter 3 *** Chapter 4 *** Chapter 5 *** Chapter 6