DarkCaster: Time Heals: Scars
Violence, Gore, and Time Heals-Verse under the cut!
Time Heals: Scars
The citadel was ornately decorated with snarling statues and runes inscribed along the walls. Fine carpet and marble lined the floors and The stone golems dragged the limp wizard across the floor like he was little more than a child’s toy. He wasn’t much to look at. A tattered green cloak clung to the thin man. Intricate runes were inked into his skin and a pair of purple eyes stared out of his sickly yellow face. He looked eerily jittery and excited at the same time. Normally, appearances could be deceiving, but Darkstar knew a lowlife when he saw one.
“I mean the master of this house no insult! I am here to praise him! For I have heard that one of my almost extinct clan is responsible for this great achievement!” the wizard called out at the unseen masters of the house. The two stepped out of the shadows and onto their council platform. Darkstar cocked his head to the side and turned his masked face to face his lady.
“One of yours?” Darkstar asked Charmcaster.
The mana witch nodded.
“Salen. He is from my clan on my homeworld...in my home plane. He...was an associate of my Uncle’s,”
“Oh, well...should we deal with him accordingly?” Darkstar asked cordially, his voice carrying a hint of malicious glee.
“Not just yet. Let us see if he can be of some use to us,” Charmcaster offered, “Then we can deal with him accordingly. Or you can, yourself, if you want,”
“My lady is too kind,” Darkstar answered.
Charmcaster’s painted lips smiled at the way her counterpart’s pale eyes lit up in anticipation.
The two rulers of Earth turned their attention to the pathetic being that the rock creature had dragged unceremoniously in.
The wizard’s face fell when his eyes fell on Charmcaster.
“Wait...no...YOU? Why..why did it have to be you? It could have been any of our women...but your father chose you to save! What a waste! He was blinded by blood bonds or he would never have chosen you of all females! Our clan will die because he sent you away from the ravages of Adwaita’s wrath. Even after this insult, it is you who manages this? The gods are laughing at us,”
Darkstar raised an eyebrow under his helmet, but said nothing. He glanced over at Charmcaster and frowned. The mana witch’s eyes flickered with angry flashes of mana and her fists clenched tightly.
“Shut up!” she barked.
The wizard turned towards Darkstar.
“You’re wasting your time, you know? I see she hasn’t told you that she’s a dead end. She’s...incapable of perpetuating her line. Any attention lavished on that waste of space is for nothing,”
He felt the change in her before she saw it. Her energy fluctuated. It plummeted to the pit of her stomach and lay there heavily Her pupils dilated a little, but otherwise her posture did not change. If he were anyone else he would not have noticed. But he did notice and he would not tolerate such insults in his own home.
“I think we’ve heard quite enough of your ramblings. Take him to my council chamber. I wish to speak to this gentleman in private,” Darkstar said, careful to his the rage that simmered in his chest.
Without question the lumbering servants did as he said. As soon as the wizard had been dragged out of sight a great deal more roughly than he had been dragged in, Darkstar placed a hand on the witch’s shoulder, softly cupping his palm.
“My lady should not worry her lovely little head about this transgression. I will take care of this,”
A hand tipped with well manicured, dark painted nails squeezed his own.
“I know you will. Do what you like,”
It was all the license he needed.
Darkstar did a bobbing bow before following after the golems.
Upon entering his private council room, he gave a wave of dismissal to the rock creatures, who lumbered out and closed the door behind them.
Darkstar took a deep breath and and strode around the room, making a complete circle before he stopped directly in front of the wizard. One hand shot out and grabbed the man’s shoulder tightly. Salen flinched when he felt something dig into his skin, but when he tried to shake the masked man’s hand off his shoulder, he found that he could not. The wizard’s heart began to pound in his ears.
“Salen, am I correct? You are of the Lady of the House’s clan, and you come here claiming to bestow praise, but instead you deliver slander. You’ve no doubt heard the stories...so what would make you do such an ungodly stupid thing as that?”
The wizard glared up at him.
“It was always her. Spellbinder was always putting her first, not the clan. He was always thinking about her. He could have sent anyone away from the hell Adwaita put our homeland through. Who did he send? His brother and his infertile daughter. He doomed us all...all out magical bloodlines!
“Of course he put her first. She was his daughter. He only wanted her happiness. I realize you are backwater and an imbecile, but even you must realize that she is more than an incubator for your ego. She’s strong and ruthless like precious few others. She can accomplish whatever she sets her mind to and she doesn’t give a damn what anyone else has to say about it. Her father was a strategical genius and if you’re too stupid to realize that, then that isn’t her fault,”
Darkstar wasn’t sure about Spellbinder. He’d never met the man, but he knew everything else he said was true and Salen didn’t know that. He released the wizard’s shoulder before he seized Salen’s greasy hair in a gauntleted fist and lifted the wizard off the floor.
“Regardless of your stupidity, one does not trespass in this house and have the audacity to insult its lady. It is a mistake that is never made twice,”
There was a clang as a heave metal gauntlet hit the floor, leaving a grey hand exposed. The wizard’s face broke out into a terrified expression that made Darkstar’s heart race.
“By now you’ve realized you can’t summon any of your dime a dozen mana manipulation tricks. Am I right? You’re helpless without them. You never learned to actually do anything other than move energy around. Well, someone else around here has a few tricks of her sleeve, as do I,”
With that, a wide, circular maw opened in Darkstar’s hand, revealing row after row of sharp, pointed teeth. Salen’ s eyes widened in dumb horror. He’d heard stories...legends...stories to frighten children about creatures that fed on the energy that gave his clan their powers...beings that had a life stealing touch and it was utterly frightening to see one in the flesh. The teeth in Darkstar’s palm gnashed and seemed to reach out of the circular mouth toward the wizard’s face. Darkstar’s hand centered over Salen’s right eye, where it hovered. A bead of sweat dropped down Salen’s nose.
“I’m not going to kill you, you know,” Darkstar promised, though a promise from him had little comfort to the wizard, “Though, may will feel some momentary discomfort,”
Without another word, Darkstar pressed his palm flat against the man’s face. The outer row of teeth dug into the sensitive flesh around his eye and the inner circles seized the fleshy orb in its socket. Salen screamed so loud even Charmcaster’s pet Levin outside turned its blank, empty stare toward the sound before returning to its menial labors.
After a solid minute of gnawing, Darkstar pulled his hand back, the teeth in his palm taking the wizard’s eye with it. The wound the masked man had left was distinctive. An eight pointed star would permanently ring the wizard’s empty eye socket. There wasn’t a soul within four thousand miles who did not know who had left such a marking.
“Glad we could have this little chat. It would be wise if you never again crossed either myself or the lady’s path. For god’s sake pick yourself up and walk yourself out before I allow the lady’s pet to run you out,” Darkstar scoffed as he replaced his gauntlet and exited the room, leaving the bleeding wizard to his own devices. Several pairs of purple, glowing eyes framed with stone stared through the door at him as their master passed, dropping a small, bloody ball on the floor and crushing it under his boot.
Time Heals: Scars
The citadel was ornately decorated with snarling statues and runes inscribed along the walls. Fine carpet and marble lined the floors and The stone golems dragged the limp wizard across the floor like he was little more than a child’s toy. He wasn’t much to look at. A tattered green cloak clung to the thin man. Intricate runes were inked into his skin and a pair of purple eyes stared out of his sickly yellow face. He looked eerily jittery and excited at the same time. Normally, appearances could be deceiving, but Darkstar knew a lowlife when he saw one.
“I mean the master of this house no insult! I am here to praise him! For I have heard that one of my almost extinct clan is responsible for this great achievement!” the wizard called out at the unseen masters of the house. The two stepped out of the shadows and onto their council platform. Darkstar cocked his head to the side and turned his masked face to face his lady.
“One of yours?” Darkstar asked Charmcaster.
The mana witch nodded.
“Salen. He is from my clan on my homeworld...in my home plane. He...was an associate of my Uncle’s,”
“Oh, well...should we deal with him accordingly?” Darkstar asked cordially, his voice carrying a hint of malicious glee.
“Not just yet. Let us see if he can be of some use to us,” Charmcaster offered, “Then we can deal with him accordingly. Or you can, yourself, if you want,”
“My lady is too kind,” Darkstar answered.
Charmcaster’s painted lips smiled at the way her counterpart’s pale eyes lit up in anticipation.
The two rulers of Earth turned their attention to the pathetic being that the rock creature had dragged unceremoniously in.
The wizard’s face fell when his eyes fell on Charmcaster.
“Wait...no...YOU? Why..why did it have to be you? It could have been any of our women...but your father chose you to save! What a waste! He was blinded by blood bonds or he would never have chosen you of all females! Our clan will die because he sent you away from the ravages of Adwaita’s wrath. Even after this insult, it is you who manages this? The gods are laughing at us,”
Darkstar raised an eyebrow under his helmet, but said nothing. He glanced over at Charmcaster and frowned. The mana witch’s eyes flickered with angry flashes of mana and her fists clenched tightly.
“Shut up!” she barked.
The wizard turned towards Darkstar.
“You’re wasting your time, you know? I see she hasn’t told you that she’s a dead end. She’s...incapable of perpetuating her line. Any attention lavished on that waste of space is for nothing,”
He felt the change in her before she saw it. Her energy fluctuated. It plummeted to the pit of her stomach and lay there heavily Her pupils dilated a little, but otherwise her posture did not change. If he were anyone else he would not have noticed. But he did notice and he would not tolerate such insults in his own home.
“I think we’ve heard quite enough of your ramblings. Take him to my council chamber. I wish to speak to this gentleman in private,” Darkstar said, careful to his the rage that simmered in his chest.
Without question the lumbering servants did as he said. As soon as the wizard had been dragged out of sight a great deal more roughly than he had been dragged in, Darkstar placed a hand on the witch’s shoulder, softly cupping his palm.
“My lady should not worry her lovely little head about this transgression. I will take care of this,”
A hand tipped with well manicured, dark painted nails squeezed his own.
“I know you will. Do what you like,”
It was all the license he needed.
Darkstar did a bobbing bow before following after the golems.
Upon entering his private council room, he gave a wave of dismissal to the rock creatures, who lumbered out and closed the door behind them.
Darkstar took a deep breath and and strode around the room, making a complete circle before he stopped directly in front of the wizard. One hand shot out and grabbed the man’s shoulder tightly. Salen flinched when he felt something dig into his skin, but when he tried to shake the masked man’s hand off his shoulder, he found that he could not. The wizard’s heart began to pound in his ears.
“Salen, am I correct? You are of the Lady of the House’s clan, and you come here claiming to bestow praise, but instead you deliver slander. You’ve no doubt heard the stories...so what would make you do such an ungodly stupid thing as that?”
The wizard glared up at him.
“It was always her. Spellbinder was always putting her first, not the clan. He was always thinking about her. He could have sent anyone away from the hell Adwaita put our homeland through. Who did he send? His brother and his infertile daughter. He doomed us all...all out magical bloodlines!
“Of course he put her first. She was his daughter. He only wanted her happiness. I realize you are backwater and an imbecile, but even you must realize that she is more than an incubator for your ego. She’s strong and ruthless like precious few others. She can accomplish whatever she sets her mind to and she doesn’t give a damn what anyone else has to say about it. Her father was a strategical genius and if you’re too stupid to realize that, then that isn’t her fault,”
Darkstar wasn’t sure about Spellbinder. He’d never met the man, but he knew everything else he said was true and Salen didn’t know that. He released the wizard’s shoulder before he seized Salen’s greasy hair in a gauntleted fist and lifted the wizard off the floor.
“Regardless of your stupidity, one does not trespass in this house and have the audacity to insult its lady. It is a mistake that is never made twice,”
There was a clang as a heave metal gauntlet hit the floor, leaving a grey hand exposed. The wizard’s face broke out into a terrified expression that made Darkstar’s heart race.
“By now you’ve realized you can’t summon any of your dime a dozen mana manipulation tricks. Am I right? You’re helpless without them. You never learned to actually do anything other than move energy around. Well, someone else around here has a few tricks of her sleeve, as do I,”
With that, a wide, circular maw opened in Darkstar’s hand, revealing row after row of sharp, pointed teeth. Salen’ s eyes widened in dumb horror. He’d heard stories...legends...stories to frighten children about creatures that fed on the energy that gave his clan their powers...beings that had a life stealing touch and it was utterly frightening to see one in the flesh. The teeth in Darkstar’s palm gnashed and seemed to reach out of the circular mouth toward the wizard’s face. Darkstar’s hand centered over Salen’s right eye, where it hovered. A bead of sweat dropped down Salen’s nose.
“I’m not going to kill you, you know,” Darkstar promised, though a promise from him had little comfort to the wizard, “Though, may will feel some momentary discomfort,”
Without another word, Darkstar pressed his palm flat against the man’s face. The outer row of teeth dug into the sensitive flesh around his eye and the inner circles seized the fleshy orb in its socket. Salen screamed so loud even Charmcaster’s pet Levin outside turned its blank, empty stare toward the sound before returning to its menial labors.
After a solid minute of gnawing, Darkstar pulled his hand back, the teeth in his palm taking the wizard’s eye with it. The wound the masked man had left was distinctive. An eight pointed star would permanently ring the wizard’s empty eye socket. There wasn’t a soul within four thousand miles who did not know who had left such a marking.
“Glad we could have this little chat. It would be wise if you never again crossed either myself or the lady’s path. For god’s sake pick yourself up and walk yourself out before I allow the lady’s pet to run you out,” Darkstar scoffed as he replaced his gauntlet and exited the room, leaving the bleeding wizard to his own devices. Several pairs of purple, glowing eyes framed with stone stared through the door at him as their master passed, dropping a small, bloody ball on the floor and crushing it under his boot.