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"Echoes of Darkness" [A familiar Castle, near a villiage of Warriors] "This is your room," the elf said as he opened the door in front of Sassy. The dark haired girl frowned as she entered. It was not a large room, yet neither was it uncomfortably small for a girl of her size. A stone fireplace was set directly in front of her, though she doubted that it would make much of a difference during winter when the cold would seep into the gray rock walls. The furniture itself was spare, a plain wooden bed good for one, a sitting chair with table, and a small closet. Yet in a display that contrasted with the simplicity of the decor, the room was filled with ornate gilded candle stands and candelabras, almost to the point of gaudiness. Adding to her feeling of disquiet was the portrait hung just above the mantle, a stern looking woman with eyes that for some reason had been painted wthout pupils. Sassy supressed a shiver. "Isn't there any other... I mean, this room seems a bit..." she trailed off as she locked gazes with Abelain. Even masked as he was, Sassy could see the ruined left half of his face and his sightless left eye seemed eerily similar to the woman in the picture. If the elf ninja noticed her aversion he gave no hint of it in his tone. "All the other rooms are similar in... decoration my lady. If you wish I can remove the pieces here which cause your discontent." For a moment Sassy was tempted to ask him to do just that. Then she remembered just who he was, Leon Silverburgs pet assasin and that despite how deferentialy he treated her she should never forget that the ninja had killed a dozen men the night before, most of whom had not even seen their murderer. She was still their prisoner. But damned if she was going to be an easy one to handle. "Thank you but no," she said, mustering as much disdain as she could. "I'm sure your Master can make better use of your... talents." Abelain looked at her silently for a moment, then bowed out without saying a word. As he closed the door behind him, Isabel Dayarin rolled up her sleeves and surveyed her little kingdom. "Alright," she said to herself, "who's first?" Her gaze locked with pasty white eyes. Her fingers itched but she shook her head.
"No... I'm not afraid of you," she whispered. Then, raising her voice she
said, "You'll stay right there and remind me that this is not home... and
it never will be."
"Oh, you've got a live one there Master Silverburg," an old voice, raspy with age, chuckled. "A right and feisty one... its a good thing you gave me these magic eyes so I can keep an 'eye' on her eh? An 'eye' on her... get it?" Leon Silverburg showed no emotion on his face as Dr. Ninon rasped his old mans laughter. Ninon was the very image of your absent minded genius, unkempt appearance, emaciated frame, salt and pepper hair thrusting out in all directions... and a mind that often seemed too belong to a child. And yet hidden within that mind were two qualities which Leon had a world of use for: a genius level intellect and a total lack of morals. Ninon was so totally committed to his quest for knowledge that everything else was relegated to a far second place. It hardly mattered that it had taken the lives of 6 unwilling test subjects before Ninon had perfected the installation of the 'magic eyes'... what mattered was that his new toys worked. "Enough, I only wished to make sure that they worked. Call it back." Even Leon found talking to a man who had only a gaping socket in place of one eye to be mildly distracting. The doctor chortled again. "As you wish... O little eye! Daddys calling!" A few minutes later a faint whirring sound was heard. Skipping like a toddler, the doctor rushed forward and opened the door. As he did so a floating black orb whizzed into the room, an orb the size of a regular eye. Ninon made a show of chasing it around, scolding it as if it were a living being. His patience at an end, Leon ordered the old man to desist. Ninon acquiesced with a pout and unself-conciously slipped the orb into the socket of his right eye. The 'magic eyes' as Ninon had taken to calling them, had been products of magic and science, orbs that doubles both as regular eyes and as roving sensors that could not only see but hear as well. Leon suspected they had been a collaboration between dwarves and high-powered mages, but their origin was lost in the mists of time. The eyes, and many other artifacts of magickal and scientific power, had been hoarded and secured in the Dwarven Vaults for centuries... until Leon had decided that they could serve a higher purpose than collecting dust. Now Leon had his own personal stash of artifacts, and Ninon had insisted that he become the owner of the eyes. After perfecting his technique on others, he had led Batin and Abelain in the operation that had replaced his own eyes for these. Leon remembered that the whole affair had seemed surreal... not once during the grisly operation had the doctor given any sign of pain, or any emotion aside from childish glee. The old man chuckled again. "Heh... an 'eye' on her... did you get it?" Leon shook his head, then returned to the matter at hand. "So will the gem suffice?" Ninon looked startled. "Who...wha... oh,yes the Iridisia gem." The doctor adjusted his spectacles - another oddity since he now possesed vision much keener than normal - and said "It is truly a marvelous substance. Such an abundance of magic, compressed into such a tiny form... and the colors it gives off are soooo enticing-" Leon cut him off. "Will it suffice as a power source for the artifact?" The doctor blinked. "Why, yes, I believe it will, didn't I already tell you that? Or was it the one about the rabbit and the fox that I told you, thats always been a favorite of mine... you see theirs this rabbit see... or was it a frog...?" The door opened and closed,
and still the old man rambled on, no longer realizing that he was performing
for an audience of none.
Another room, another weird painting. Since she had finished 'de-eerie-izing' her quarters, Sassy had taken the liberty of exploring the castle. She had specifically been encouraged to stay in her room, but she figured that since it wasn't a direct order, she was free to engage in less than subtle rebellion. Not that there was much to see. All the other rooms she had seen had been exactly the same size and dimension as her own, and the decorations within had the same sense of weirdness emanating from them. Whatever else he may be, Abelain had been truthful in that respect. Paintings of dark towers, distorted houses and lewd acts hung within the rooms, if not then there were the even weirder unfinished clay sculptures - at least she thought they were unfinished. They looked like nothing Sassy had ever seen in her young life. Even the very architecture of the place seemed strange. It didn't have corridors like a normal castle... instead of rooms being equally spaced and all being against the walls, this castle had those cubicle like rooms that seemed to occupy very little floor space, resulting in wide open areas between each one. The effect was more like the rooms were sprouting mushrooms on a grassy plain than a corridor. Also, there seemed to be a lot of door placed for seemingly no reason... places on the floors which one could only reach by going through empty rooms and out a back door. The whole place was very confusing and if not for her photographic memory, Sassy was sure she would have been totally lost... and she was still no closer to seeing any logic behind the castle design. Well at least the trip couldn't be said to be a total loss... she had been able to witness that magnificent sunset from high up on the balcony. She really should be getting back to her room - she was getting hungry and had no idea how she was going to get dinner - yet she had an urge to see what lay at the top of the castle. She was close now... in fact the room she was currently approaching with the big double doors should be the final one... She pushed the large doors forward and to her surprise, found that they moved with ease. Past them lay a huge chamber, the biggest she had seen in the castle so far. This had definately served as the throne room when the castle had still been in use, although an actual throne itself was no where in sight. What the room did have was a gigantic pipe organ on an elevated platform at the far end where the throne would have been. Behind the musical monstrosity were a series of stained glass windows which covered the far wall from floor to ceiling. Sassy had a hard time making out the images in the shifting light, but they seemed to show the scenes of a battle between monsters and humans - which side was winning seemed to shift with the light. Sassy walked further into the room, which on closer examination actually seemed a bit worse for wear. Cracks in the mortar scarred the pillars and the floors, and charred outlines marked places that had been touched by intense heat. A battle of some kind had taken place in this room... a battle between very powerful forces. Sassy knelt on the floor and brushed her hand across a blackened swath - her hand came away with soot on its fingers. "Would you like to be able to do that girl?" Sassy turned so fast she was afraid her neck would crack. Standing behind her, next to the open double doors stood Leon Silverburg. His stance was neither relaxed nor tense but was a posture that exuded a confidence that whatever might happen, he had already figured out a way to come out on top. Sassy took a brief, steadying breath then snapped, "I'd have thought the great general would have somehing better to do than terrorizing young girls." Leon smiled. He approached her slowly, hands in the pockets of his coat. "Fear can be a good teacher you will learn, even for nosy young girls. And since you are my apprentice for the foreseeable future I will be using all available tools in your instruction. Whether fear will continue to be the most appropriate one will be in your hands." He was standing beside her now, staring at the damage done to the room. "Now answer my question child." Sassy considered being difficult but then realized it would be futile. Until she had an ace up her sleeve she would have no way of winning her freedom from Leon... right now she didn't even have a single card come to think of it. Besides, she was intigued by his question. "What do you mean? Do I want to be able to burn holes in throne rooms?" "That and more. Would you raise mountains with a thought? Summon a storm with a breathe? If it is raw power you seek I could teach you the ways of magic. You have as much potential for it as Batin does, if not more." Sassy snorted skeptically. "You're no mage..." "One does not need to be a mage to know how to cast spells," the other answered cryptically. "I know enough to start you on that path if that is what you want." "I don't want to learn magic. I don't want power." I want to go home. But she didn't say that. Even then Silverburg seemed to read her mind. "You will need power if you ever want to leave my service, if you want to win your freedom and your fathers safety. Power is simply being able to get what you want. Nothing more. Nothing less." Leon walked towards the organ as he continued. "Thats why Neclord was never truly powerful. He was the vampire who ruled this castle before we came. For all his physical and magical abilities, he set his eyes on an impossible prize. He wanted immortality." Leon shook his head at the folly. "How would he even know he had achieved it? He doomed himself to frustration and death - in that he was less powerful than a new born babe." Sassy listened and tried to ignore the shiver that ran through her at the thought of a vampire. Yet Leon did seem to be making a frightening amount of sense. "And you Master Silverburg? Do you think you are powerful? Do you think you can get whatever you want?" Leon smiled at that, a small smile that did not reach his eyes. He turned to her and looked her in the eye. "Why yes Miss Dayarin. I believe I can." "And what is it that you want?" Leon was silent then. But his smile widened. "Best return to your room now Isabel," he said softly, without looking at her. "We are taking another trip tomorrow." Sassy blinked at this obvious dismissal, then scowled at the man and stalked out of the room slamming the doors behind her. She was well out of earshot when Leon silently voiced his answer to her question. What do I want my student?
I want law, order and reason. I want to be the one who will set the course
of history and the destiny of man.
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