Sweet Dreams

[Kerberos]

Closed.

Kerberos frantically held the door to his room closed, the entirety of his lithe, but solid body leaning heavily against the oaken frame. Every two seconds it would give a huge shudder, and the manwhore trying to desperately to keep the door barricaded would let out a yelp of fear, his eyes widening. His dress was slightly odd, as his shirt was halfway off, one arm having missed the hole it was supposed to go through. His britches were hanging down off of his legs, about at his knees, all of this leading up to the conclusion that he had gotten hurriedly dressed. Or undressed, whichever you fancy. The doorframe suddenly let out another shudder, a bit bigger this time, a bit harder, and definitely alot louder. Especially with the screaming voices on the other side.

"You whore, get out here!" One feminine voice echoed out, highpitched and a few octaves too high. Before that screech even stopped, another one soon started, a completely different voice, but at about the same pitch, and with about the same amount of rage. "We know you are in there! Get out now, you bitch!" The door shuddered again, and to the terror of our dear hero/loser/so-dead-meat-carrion fellow, a third voice joined in. "You are coming out, or we are coming in!" Ah, shit. Kerberos braced himself even harder against the door, muscles straining. He wasn't so sure how he was going to deal with this. When he had decided to sleep with all of them in one day, he hadn't known that they were sisters. Hell, he hadn't even known they were remotely related. He had thought that he would be safe, I mean, this was a huge town, and they were three girls! It was just is bloody luck, wasn't it? Sighing, he cast his eye about the room, looking for a chair or something to wedge under the doorknob. Black eyes brightening as much as black eyes could, he laid them to rest on a large shelf on the side of the room, filled with books. He should be able to push that in front of the door, and then they would grow tired eventually, and leave him alone! Perfect! Springing off of the door, he pounced onto the bookcase, grabbing it with both hands.

Wait. Ah, bloody he-

He spun toward the door and bounced toward it, realizing what he had just did. His react was much, much too late thoigh, and the door sprung open, catching him right in the face and sending him stumbling to the floor, where he caught himself in a crouch. Three pretty young ladies, all barely over eighteen, all with blonde hair and blue eyes, poured into the room with fury lightening their once soft eyes. Well, maybe they did look alike, once you got them in the same room together. One advanced toward Kerberos, and lifted a hand to slap him, shouting at the top of her lungs. "You pig! You said you loved me!" Her hand came down, and unfortunetly, instinct took over completely.

As her hand came down, both of his own came up, only seeing the blow, only reacting to the blow. He caught her hand at the wrist with his right hand, then lurched her toward him with a sharp yank, then placing a hand under her waist, between her legs, cupping rather delicate areas. Body rippling with effort, He lifted with his left arm, pulling her with his right, and actually pulled her off the ground and threw her into the wall. With a mighty slam, she smashed into the wooden barricade, and instantly went out like a light, slumping to the bed.

Both Kerebros and the remaining sisters stared.

"Gooood. Please don't tell." Both girls turned to him, and as one, opened their mouths to scream. A panicked look crossing his face, Kerberos leapt forward, landing between them and striking at the backs of their necks, all in one hurried blow. Each one managed to get out half a starting of a yelp before they were struck, and slumped to the floor, out like a light. Kerberos blinked, eying the three unconscious girls. This hadn't turned out well. Glancing around, he quickly tip-toed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He then broke out into a full run.

That was pretty much how he found himself in a new hostel, all the way across town, and completely exhausted as he fell into bed. Staring at the ceiling, he closed his eyes and willed himself to go to sleep, trying not to think about the events of earlier today. At least the girls had been good at what they did, right?

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra walked along the dirty road with grim care for anything around her. Despite the fact she was tired after her last hunt she was beyod exhausted at walking for so long. Her dark companion felt pooped as well, but she continued to walk, the road sign alerting her the town wasn't too far off. Her last kill was a young woman by the name of Catrina Ferman. She was a worker at the town apothecary and she used her medicine to heal the wondered and the sick. But that wasn't exactly all she did. Much like Cassandra herself, she would capture victims to experiment on, and in the end Cassandra was nearly one of her victims. But luck played its roll, the tables were turned, and the new toys she got to play with were very educational and informative.

Happy with her new found talents and learning in the ways of torture she walked away from that dark place into another. Her urges were unusually quiet, and she figured it was to give her time to relax after nearly having the game end with a loss. She so far was undefeated, and the day she lost at her own game she was dead. So it paid to be very good at what she did. A little rest and relaxation was very justified. The list of kills were very quick, and she felt her urges rise in a very substantial amount of time. Conner, or Peter as she later found out, Huang Lo, Alaster Caine, Catrina. All were snuffed out beneath her heel in a very short span of time, and it was only fair her body allowed her to rest.

The town was a small clearing in the middle of the woods near the base of the mountains nearby them. Emprea, Kingdom of Heros, was just on the other side, and she wanted to see if the city had any villains in there to play with. But first she wanted rest, and she wanted it soon. The town had a very rural feel to it, not like the newer cities with the new technology or advancements like in Corone, Lavinya, or even the Black Archipelago. A perfect place to keep a low profile while her body adjusts to a small break from the killing. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long, because then she would be very bored and her dark companion would get snippy with her.

She found a hostel at the edge of the town and approached it, sensing something inside but not knowing what to do with it. Shrugging she walked inside and walked around before a skinny elder man with a long white beard that hung until his abdomen came in, crooked back and all looking at her. "Welcome, my dear. Will you be staying the night?" Cassandra nodded dropping a few gold coins, but he gave them back to her. "Tonight I will give to you for free, my promise you will come back again." Cassandra didn't take the money back right away, but then decided why not and put it back into her coin purse. "May the great Shambala guide your soul to the plains of the ether world and let you sleep in the fields of his home forever in peace." he said happily blessing her. Her body felt very cold at the thought of herself being blessed, and she half expected to burst into flames.

However she didn't burst into sudden flames, and content she just walked to her room, shaking her head in disbelief at the gall for someone to bless her so casually. But as she opened her room her body felt very tired and the bed looked very enticing, and with little care she flopped onto the bed, taking her boots off and undressing to the barest clothes before she wrapped herself up in the blankets. Her body purred with delight as her Dark Companion gently rubbed the back of her mind before she was out like a light.

[Requiem of Insanity]

I'm continuing this thread as a solo, because I just finished a solo and no activity was taken in this thread. Sorry Kerberos but I am not waiting forever.

Normally Cassandra napped for a good six to eight hours, depending on the situation. Her internal clock had always gone off right when she figured she should be up and it happened with little missed times. Besides, if her body started to over sleep her Dark Companion would stir her awake, and she would get up without losing to much of the day.

That was assuming that things were normal, and lately Cassandra knew things were not normal. First off, the unusual amount of urges she had was starting to bug her. She usually went a month or two before her urges rose, but now it sometimes took only days after a killing to get the feeling of letting her dark ambitions come out and play.

Secondly, her dark companion was going MIA every now and then. Vanishing without a trace and leaving her all alone. It happened twice when she was on the hunt with Catrina Ferman, and it was starting to really bother her that her dark ambitions could so easily be taken away. Each time her companion left, she had only a cold longing feeling left inside her empty shell of a body. She would call for him, cry out and yearn for his soft touch, but it always ended the same. He would return to her in a few moments, place his hands upon her, and make her forget what had happened as her dark ambitions coaxed her back to sleep. Sooner or later she vowed to find out why he was leaving.

Yet she awoke in the morning and yawned a little as her arms reached for the heavens, her body feeling light and free as she woke up. Her mind was foggy and her vision had a slight blur to the edges of everything which gave her minor concern, but she figured she would just go over to the sink and wash her face. The ground felt warm despite the chill of yesterday, and it was as if she was in some cozy cottage with a roaring fireplace to keep everything comfortably warm and cozy. It was a unique feeling, the comfort, and she embraced it as she reached the wash room.

Her hands fiddled over the sink until she found the knob, and with a squeak the pipe turned and she closed her eyes. Her hands ran under the water and it was a gentle warming feeling. She smiled as she cupped her hands together and scooped the water up, then she splashed it over her face and opened her eyes.

Emotions were not part of Cassandra's everyday routine. She felt little need to act like a normal person and allow their emotions to get to them. She took pride with getting by the bare minimum amount of emotion she had to show and she made sure never to allow her emotions to get to her. So by the sheer fact her mouth stood agape in alarm, her body tensing up as she took a step back from the sink and allowed her eyes to grow wide was a new wave of sensations she cared not to feel. That lack of training was the only reason she didn't scream in terror.

The faucet was not running warm water, but warm blood. The crimson liquid of life leaked out like a flood of ants staining the white sink red. Cassandra wiped the blood off her face and felt the temperature grow in the room she was in to a very hot humid like state. Her mind began to run with thoughts until she suddenly was able to stop and focus on one singular thought.

Her Dark Companion wasn't with her, he was off and away somewhere with all this going on and she cried out to him with little effect. As she left the bathroom she looked outside the window, her mouth still held open in shock. The sky was orange and yellow cracks of lightning hit the tundra earth below. The forest area itself was replaced with just barren red rock terrain that went on for miles. Her mind couldn't comprehend what was going on and she closed her eyes tightly. A harsh heated wind washed over her and as she opened her eyes the room was gone. All that was around her was the barren terrain, the hellish colors of fire surrounding her on all sides.

She took a moment to feel out for her dark companion, listening for him to speak, but when she met with only silence she came to one conclusion.

With a sigh of frustration she began to walk forwards with no idea what would be coming and an even smaller idea of what was going on.

[Requiem of Insanity]

A dark chuckle escaped into the freezing air, a predatory cry of amusement that came only from creatures of the shadows. His roars and his cries were always in a low, dark tone. He was born from the strife of the world, a sliver of some higher deities power. There were others like him, some weaker, others stronger. He didn't care where he stood on the food chain. His source of nutrition didn't come from absorbing the power of the other dark harbingers. His source of food came from the torture of the victims his dark companion chose.

She was a marvelous train wreck. He adored her, dared to even love her as the humans say. She was wrapped around his long, dark tendrils and would bend over backwards to please him. He had to admit, she did excellent work. In return for her devotion he kept her focused, kept her mind clear of confusion. Without him around, she would devolve into a mindless killer, amounting to a few cheap thrill kills before she wound up dead. In a way, he was her dark guardian. Her knight in that desolate, obsidian armor.

However, even he, a creature of the darkness, a stalker in the shadows knew when it was time to run. He enjoyed her company and compassion for him. But lately he was being hunted. A far darker hunter was targeting her and he was starting to lose his ability to stay near. He knew that to stay was tantamount to suicide, but a loyal servant such as this. A blind devoted follower of the darkness inside who fell upon knee for any whim he beck and called upon? Surely for something so rare a little risk was worth sticking around for? Who knew how long he would have to wait to find one so useful as her.

No, the risk was high, and he admitted to running twice, but as he looked down upon her tiny frame, a slenderness that oozed of sexual appeal to humans, a charm behind her hazel eyes that was beguiling. No, to throw her away was a waste and he felt ashamed that he abandoned such a useful tool. Yet there was a third time he was pushed away from her, a time she was in desperate need for him to stick around, but as he felt his essence shoved away by some greater hunter, he was witness to a predator of the stalking shadows much greater than he. With a few quick strokes the dark passenger of Catrina Ferman was torn asunder and eaten before this puppet of the shadows. It glared and roared at him, and he knew full well he was as good as dead, but for a reason he couldn't understand the shadow withdrew, roaring at him in challenge for another day.

Forever at that point he knew he was as good as dead if he ran, one final stand could be attempted with Cassandra Remi, his blissful puppet. That was worth sticking around for.

However when he entered this room he felt a very different feeling than that of a normal room. A aura existed where one shouldn't. It was a feeling of darkness, and he came to the conclusion that his dark companion wasn't safe here. With a long, gentle stroke of his blackened hand he stroked her mind gently, attempting to wake her. But to his dismay she didn't even budge at his touch. He was a bit forceful this time and still nothing came from his devoted dark doll.

His concern turned to a feeling of urgency, his hand now violently groping her mind. She didn't budge an inch and he grew worried. Her breath was still audible, a gentle blow that could make the skin of men crawl. But he couldn't place what was going on and why she wouldn't awake.

Awake, my darling. Awake to me, your lover, your ambition, your dark desire. Come back to me dearly devoted darling. I need you. Nothing came from her body, but a dark laughter chuckled behind his own ears which made even his essence squirm in discomfort. He turned to see the aura reshaping itself into the face of a dragon, it's red eyes the only color to the darkness that surrounded the being.

Who are you? Who are you who dares try to awaken those in my realm of suffering? The voice wasn't angry, the tone wasn't upset with him. More curious than wrathful. In response he shrugged, moving away from Cassandra.

I have no clue who you think you are, but I'm going to be back for her. And then, whoever brought you into this world will feel my wrath. The dragon head chuckled at his response and grew in size, dwarfing him in stature and girth, which in response he chuckled himself at his display to intimidate that which can't feel fear.

Than we shall see which of us breaks the strings of the others puppet. The two laughed and then with a loud howl the dragon rose up into the air and slammed into Cassandra's body, disappearing like a ghost through a wall.

He took one last look at Cassandra, ran his hand gently over her mind, and left to find who was running the show.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra's breaths were echoed in the wasteland she could only assume was some kind of dream world. The notion itself made her skin crawl. Not in fear or anxiety, but the notion that she was having a dream. She had never had dreams before. Her sleep was black and empty as she imagined her soul was.

The hot, humid air was starting to bother her, but her body was breaking into a sweat that wasn't natural. She only sweated from her chest and back, but the rest of her body was dry. Cassandra hadn't noticed any other changes to her body that were odd or out of place, but she did constantly check up on them. Who knew when this weird world would pull another trick on her like the sink with blood.

The world itself had yet to offer her any kind of explanation, the barren horizon showed no signs of life in any direction and she was really starting to get bored with walking nowhere. Hope was a feeling she hated, but she had no choice but to hope eventually something would reveal itself to her. For now she had to just be patient.

She took time to reflect on the killings she had done, the bodies she left in her artful displays. Her favorite by far had to be the Lavinyan Alastor Caine. He thought himself invincible, a champion of the people, a useful, dedicated pawn of the guilds. Yet attached to a nail hammered into each side of his chest was two notes that would destroy his impenetrable shield he thought he was in. One was the orders to execute another town hero, the other a notice that he was stealing from the guilds money they didn't wish to loan out.

Connor, or Peter was a unique person. A wolf hiding in sheep's clothing. His screams were unique, but nothing really was special about his death. In his own way he tormented one particular person, a person who wronged him in the past. His way of exacting revenge was with killing off every person attached to the man who wronged him. A strange way of mentally destroying a soul of a person, but nothing extraordinary. Cassandra had learned in her own experience that it took to much time no matter how great the outcome was.

Huang Lo was a fun kill. The hired leader of a town gang who kept the peace through his own physical might. He had a very special dark companion he had never realized until Cassandra got the two acquainted with each other. That was the first night she tried out her favorite method of inflicting torture; a potato peeler. In the end, despite the bloody mess he had become, he thanked her for letting him know about the darkness inside him.

Catrina Ferman was an emotional train wreck of experience. Cassandra had learned how naieve she was, but also learned how to be closer with her darker ambitions, learning how to talk back with her Dark Companion. She even learned about Blood Sire, a very unique poison she vowed to study.

All those kills, plus countless more, had given her valuable life lessons and improved her skills greatly. But there was always room for improvement to satisfy her Dark lover, and she would do whatever it took to please him.

She smiled at the thought of leaving this dream world and being one with her darker ambitions. The happiness spread and the ground upon her feet eventually began to grow off in the distance into something fertile.

"About time." She muttered angrily as she walked towards her new discovery.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Shadows was always his favorite place to hide. It was mostly because in the darkness he could easily observe that which was going on. Nobody could watch him back, not even those with the trained eye. Other shadow creatures dwell there, but he was stronger and more attuned with the darkness than they were. Those shadow puppets were insignificant insects that could only dream what he lived on a daily basis. The feeling of power he got just resting in the smallest crevices of the darkness made him tingle with excitement all over.

But today was not a day for sensation. Today was a day of work. He hadn't really willingly left Cassandra like this before. Most times he ran to preserve his own life from that which hunted him, but this was different. He was protecting an investment that he placed great energy and effort into. To let this dark harbinger that infested this Inn win at the game would be a great insult to everything he worked for. Great plans all thwarted with no fight from her was unacceptable. So he diligiantly would stalk in the shadows as he searched for the cause of the problem.

He didn't exactly know what he could do. His power was only so much considering he stalked in the darkness. Sure he could chuckle and touch the minds of those who didn't dwell where he did, but to adversely affect their actions. Well, he had only recently began to learn how to do that with Cassandra, and so he wasn't sure how deep he could go into the soul of someone he wasn't even attuned with. He allowed himself a dark grin as he figured there was always a time and place to learn, and patience so far had rewarded him once before. He would be patient and learn how to destroy that which harmed his beloved dark delusional darling companion.

His attention suddenly shifted as he felt a fierce wave of energy erupt from the inside of a room located behind the desk where his companion checked in, and the wisp of smoke escaped under the door crack as light flickered into and out of life from the small amount of room he could see. Moving with the grace of a cat he lurched his body over the counter top and he went under the door, fleeting immediately into the the shadows. His eyes focused through the thick fog of smoke, the horrid stench of scented candles offending his own senses.

To be able to cause him to recoil in disgust showed how powerful the dark harbinger in the hostel was. This wasn't a mere spell or incantation. It was a ritual to a far darker being, and the inn keeper was locked heavily in a trance with his legs crossed over each other and his hands held loose to his side. His spirit was floating in the room, a casual flicker of golden energy amongst the gray smoke. The dark passenger watched as the spirit hovered for a moment over its body and after a moment it spoke out. As it voiced words out to him, the body spoke as well, creating two voices. One was a high, golden toned honey like sound, the other the sound of eons of experience.

"Why do you come to this place?" It was a simple question, one he half expected to answer sooner or later, and with little thought he answered quickly. The surrounding shadows brimmed with red energy as he spoke, intensifying his own words with a darkened chorus.

"I came here to destroy you and free my dark companion from whatever you think you are doing." The spirit nodded for a moment in understanding before the two voices spoke.

"Shambala has warned me of you, dark one. I will not be so easily sundered and cast aside. You are not strong enough to kill me." The tone was even, the weight heavy as if this news was cold fact. The shadow creature grinned devilishly as his words echoed in the room.

"My goal isn't to kill you. No, I want to keep you alive as a matter of fact." The spirit looked to him with a quizzical expression, not truly understanding what he meant by those words. With little warning he charged out from the shadows, claws stretched outwards as the shadows spun like a cloak behind him. "No, I just want to wake up my dark companion so I can destroy you mind body and soul!"

[Requiem of Insanity]

The fertile area wasn't to much an improvement over the barren wasteland. The similarities were astounding as she began to think about it closer. They both went on for miles, nothing seemed to show signs of life, and best of all, each step didn't bring her any closer to figuring out what the hell was going on. Yet she still walked, hopeful despite her body being repulsed by the idea of reverting to such a useless ideal. She walked forwards and onwards, never looking back or thinking of straying from the path.

Most would say they had a gut feeling that this was the direction to go, or others would say their heart told them it was the right direction. Cassandra however walked in that direction because it was a direction. It looked like every other direction around her, and going any other way would just have wasted the time she already had been wasting. She hated wasting time. It was a precious commodity that she knew she didn't have too much of lately. Life was drastically short, and every kill she did reminded her that was always true.

So she walked forward in the hopes that eventually she could leave this place and get on with the killing. Hell, she knew somebody had to be up to this, and she would kill him or her as well. That was also a matter of time.

At last something shifted in her vision, a creature darted from tree to tree ahead of her. She felt her body moving faster towards the creature but she wasn't getting any closer. That had bothered her greatly as her feet wasn't able to catch up to the thing ahead of her. Each step she took, no matter how long her stride kept the creature moving the exact same distance ahead of her. Her eyes never left the shadow that darted ahead, and her mind concentrated on reaching the beast.

It was weird that she felt no fatigue as she ran, but she could feel her heart beat loudly in her ears. Each step was another pounding in her ear. The faster she ran the faster her heart raced, but as she slowed, so did the beat. She pushed the noise to the side of her mind as she tried to focus upon reaching whatever it was that was ahead of her.

Her dedication and single minded tunnel like concentration was always her biggest asset. Once she was focused on the hunt, she could do nothing else. Her mind was devoted to destroying that which was in her mind. And currently she wanted very badly to hurt whatever was taunting her in this cat and mouse chase.

Today was a day of new sensations and rotten truths. Things she knew and took pride in were downfalls and embarrassing truths. Today her single minded focus would be a great downfall, and fall she did as her feet lost traction and her body fell forward and over the cliff her mind refused to see.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Failure was a common part of life, and the dark companion of Cassandra knew it very well. The last three he chose to ride with were all small failures in their own ways, each contributing the darker ambitions he had today. To cope with failure was a part of evolving and growing, and to survive is to prosper he once heard. Well, he had prospered where others like him were vanquished, and when he was with Cassandra Remi he had known only success.

"I have told you, dark soul, I am not to be so easily sundered." The spirit of the shaman and body both still spoke as one, and looking up into their eyes he could only feel hate and irritation. His charge was thwarted aside and his being nearly banished away. It took him every ounce of power he had not to be dismissed so casually by the stronger spirit.

The two entities stood in the room in a stand off, the shaman of Shambala and the dark passenger of Cassandra. One could akin it to good versus evil in a way, but despite all the darkness he held inside he was the one fighting for virtue, not the creature of light. It's golden aura looked down upon him like he were an insect, the lips around its mouth curling in disgust as if annoyed even looking down upon him was a crime against some higher order.

"You can crumble cretin, I just have to find the chink in your foundation to watch all you hold dear go spiraling down." His body hid in the shadows and he moved around the room, the spirit watched him but the body remained still and motionless.

"I shall not tumble down like a stack of bricks, harbinger of darkness. Shambala is with me, and you will fade away into nothing. You're a creature of darkness and deceit. This is the lot your life brings. Despair to others, a terror of the night who stalks the shadows and preys upon the souls of innocents. Shambala's light will banish you to a dark corner, and one day his light will be strong enough where you will have nowhere to hide."

The darkness chuckled back to the comment about right and wrong, and the dark passenger laughed with malice in his tone as he looked at the body. "Innocents? I have no use for those who can't raise my desire. I have long since given up harming those who haven't harmed others. They are of no use to me and their screams are like nails on glass." He causally approached the center of the small room towards the body of the spirit as the shadows followed in his wake. "Really annoying how they beg for help, calling for the forces of light to intervene. No my tastes are of a darker nature. I prey upon those like myself. Those of a darker nature." His steps echoed upon the ground in the silence before the spirit moved forward, watching him closely. His lips turned into a grin as his mind calculated the move he was about to perform.

"How noble of you, a creature of the darkness hunting his own. Much like the legends of Gilgamesh. A noble warrior who hunted only his own kind in hopes of eradicating those like himself. To cleanse the world of the darkness." He looked at the dark companion with interest. "Join Shambala, let his light fuel your passion to destroy those like yourself. Turn your back on the dark and let his light guide you on a new road." His hand stretched outwards.

He looked at the pro-offered hand with disdain, the notion of doing what he loved for some higher authority. He was a lone wolf, a creature of delicate tastes that only he could choose the meat that would make his exacting qualifications. This spirit shaman of Shambala had crossed a line. What I do I do naught for right nor wrong. I do it because I love to see those of a dark nature scream. They echo in my mind and bounce off the walls I place up and if gives me a sliver of life that nothing else can bring. No, this isn't vengeance I do, this is a labor of love and devotion. And now if you'll excuse me I found a weakness where your Shambala can't get to me and not even you can stop me." His steps moved towards the body with determination and the spirit hovered next to the body in alarm.

"Shambala..."

"Can go to hell!" He interrupted moving his hand through the mind of the spirit shaman.

[Requiem of Insanity]

As Cassandra fell her mouth did not scream, her body did not tense up, and her heart did not clench in fear. Instead her mind wondered when she would land and be done with this idiot dream world. But instead her body remained suspended in the air, her time being wasted as she free fell.

Her thoughts began to turn to what she would do if she died. That in itself wasn't a happy thought for she never really thought about afterlife for herself. No doubt a dark pit of some hell awaited her, a place reserved for those were like her. Sadistic, uncaring souls who only took glee in that which they harmed. She had nobody to love, and nothing to care for save her dark companion.

But I have a way to escape death. A distant voice hissed into her ear. A shadow emerged spiraling around her body and she watched the red eyes with keen interest. I have a solution to the afterlife, one the gods do not wish to let you know of. the sincerity in his voice sickened Cassandra as she crossed her arms against her chest, pouting in boredom.

"You sound like a cheesy salesman. A worthless excuse at life with a bargain as idiotic as the notion you are talking to me." The red eyes flickered with amusement and the shape of a dragon began to form. Her hair flew upwards as if she still fell, but the sensation was no longer with her.

I have a great power, a power you shouldn't be foolish to squander. Cassandra yawned.

"Pass." She said looking for a way to escape the dragon shadow. Flames of purple and blue erupted around her in a circle, and her body began to feel warm in the humid air.

I represent a higher being, a being of pure darkness who corrupts the light. You, you are possessed by a dark shadow who controls you, I offer freedom to do as you wish. Free of his chains. Cassandra thought about the words and realized he referred to her dark companion.

"My darker ambitions and I are not enslaved to one another. I am happy with him, and he with me. I love my dark harbinger with mind body and soul and the fact you dare accuse him of enslaving me is an insult I will not take kindly." The dragon growled with wrathful intent as it looked down upon her. Ground suddenly formed beneath her feet and her hair fell back to her shoulders. She was back in the orange skied barren wasteland, alone with just the dragon that now stood over her in full plain view. Each shadowy figment turned into obsidian like stone as he roared into the sky causing lightening to strike in the distance.

I see that you are beyond saving. Then I shall feast upon your soul and harvest your body for Shambala! You were a fool to throw away the chance at god hood.

Cassandra sighed as she looked around. If this dream world was her death, so be it. She really didn't care anymore. Her dark companion wasn't near her, and without him by her side she felt useless and alone. This pain in her heart was worse than dying, and if this dragon could take away her pain than she was grateful.

His blackened claws shone brightly in the tainted light, and as he moved down to swipe her from exsitance it suddenly stopped and recoiled. A scream of pain left its mouth as it stumbled backwards clawing at the sky. FIGHT HIM OFF YOU FOOL! I AM CLOSE TO ENDING HER! Cassandra suddenly felt a sliver of that hateful feeling of hope again. Hope that what he meant was that her dark lover was fighting for her now to be with her again. It was idiotic to even assume he came for her, but she clinged to that hope no matter how ill it made her feel.

"My dark love will not let me perish to the likes of you. He fights for me now and will release from this prison. When that happens you better prey I can't find you or the torment I shall visit upon you will be endless!" Cassandra shouted to the dragon. It staggered for a bit longer and then roared again, this time a predatory cry of challenge as it looked down upon the woman before him.

Not if you die first, vermin! He swung for her and nearly connected, but she dived away and began to sprint away from the giant beast. Cassandra was no idiot and she knew that to fight this dragon was committing suicide. All she needed was to buy her love time. Then all this hardship would be worth it.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The darker half of Cassandra felt the energy of the spirit claw at him with a fervor of a zealot. Some darker aura that he had not noticed bellowed out of the shaman's body and the spirit acted accordingly. He however knew that his little trick had worked.

The body of the shaman was the vessel for the ritual being taken here. The spirit was just acting as a guardian while whoever that Shambala deity was worked through him. However, Shambala did need that source, and as he clawed deep into the mind of the body he began to shatter the ritual.

"Stand aside you cur! You cannot hope to stop the will of the great Shambala!" The spirit clawed at the shadows, but the dark harbinger of Cassandra's ambitions cared not for him. He kept frantically ripping into the mind of his target, feeling the room start to lessen with the tension that was building.

Do not worry my love, I will let nobody harm you.

~*~*~

Cassandra's body was now feeling fatigue worse than she ever felt before. The road kept quacking as the dragon chased after her, one hand trying to end her life while the other claw was wrapped around its head as it bellowed in both rage and agony. Her dark lover was saving her and she had to do everything she could to stay alive while he saved her.

Blasted shadow puppet! I cannot lose at this game! THIS IS MY WORLD! He bellowed. I will not be embarrassed where I dwell! With a swing of his claw a wall erupted in front of Cassandra, blocking Cassandra's passage as the dragon swung his tail towards the ground, creating more rocky walls to surround her.

"You are such a sore loser!" Cassandra bellowed to him as she clawed at the walls looking for anything to escape this rocky prison. Her heart raced as her body yearned to be free from this realm.

Die you bitch!

~*~*~

"The great Shambala's will can't be reversed you cretin! Stop it now!" The spirit's hands wrapped around a necklace and a bright golden energy shot out and began to eat away at the darkness that protected the dark passenger from his previous attacks. He was running out of time and if he didn't do something soon he would be banished and lose Cassandra forever. That thought alone made every fiber in his ethereal spirit claw out towards the body, and at last he grasped the mind as hard as he could and squeezed as hard as he could. The light attack became overwhelming as his body felt cold, his eyes losing focus. But he held tight none-the-less. At long last he felt his body sigh in exhaustion, and he collapsed, passing out.

"Shambala's will...is.....done..." he breathed out.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra's body ached, her mind sore as her muscles felt stiff as she moved them for what felt like the first time in ages. A sensation of pain washed over her, like tiny needles poking her as her joints welcomed back the flow of blood. Her eyes fluttered multiple times as she shook the cobwebs out.

Slowly Cassandra moved the blanket off her and rotated to allow her feet to touch the ground. The coldness of the floor was a welcome change and she felt sweat drip down her back. She touched the nightstand and felt the coldness of the wood and she sighed attempting to stand. At first she nearly fell over, but she slowly regained her balance and made her way to the wash room. She turned on the faucet and smiled. Water. she thought happily.

The moonlight shone through the curtain and she felt a sudden irresistible call from deep inside her. Her urges reacted strongly to the moon's light and she swooned with lust at the thought the moon called her by name it seemed. Happily she changed into her sneaking suit, and grabbed her tools of the trade looking at each knife lovingly like a mother would look at a child.

Her steps led her down to the desk, and she saw smoke coming from a room behind the counter. With easy movements she hopped over the counter top and opened the door. A wave of dark energy passed over her, and she nearly passed out by the weight of the aura she felt. It was as if a high speed wind just blew against her and she was humbled by the malevolence of spite such a wind brought. But it was a momentary passing, and she focused herself on the prey she found in the corner.

The Inn keeper was breathing, heavily, and had blood coming out his ears and eyes. Cassandra moved to him and pulled out her chains placing them on each of his wrists. She did the same with his ankles and lifted his body. He was amazingly light for a man and she dumped him on a desk she pulled out of the corner. She placed his back against the wood and used her chains to wrap him to each table leg. His eyes looked up to heavens, before they rolled into the back of his head.

No, don't die! She demanded. A soft, calming hand brushed against her shoulder and she melted at the touch of her dark companion as he gently stroked her mind. You, you saved me... The grip grew tighter and she felt the shadow of her darker ambitions near her. You were all that kept me going...my only hope. If I didn't have you in my life I surely would have crumbled long ago. The hand moved down her spine and she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She nearly cried but instead shook her head turned on her heel dropping her satchel.

I will make him a most excellent plaything for us. She said lovingly as she began to hum to herself setting up her tools of death.

[Requiem of Insanity]

"You're probably wondering why you are here." A seductive voice spoke from the darkness. The elder shaman's eyes fluttered back into focus, and the room was dark save a few sticks of candlelight. His mind raced as he began to move his arms, but found himself chained to some odd structure.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked out into the shadows. A dark chuckle laughed in his left ear, and he shivered with fright as the sound moved around his mind. "Tell me what's going on!" His voice sounded broken as he began to weep.

"The darkness is nothing to fear. It's just the hidden places the light refuses to wander. But what's inside the darkness, that's what should be feared." The feminine voice called out to him. He tilted his head to the side and felt something sharp stab his cheek. He lifted his head just a bit to see tiny bits of broken glass surround his body. "Squirm to much and you'll start to lacerate yourself and bleed."

"Why are you doing this?" He cried out in fear. The woman laughed as she stepped into view, a long serrated blade in her hand. "What are you going to do with me?" The woman smiled in a loving way as she looked to him like he was some choice meat at the market.

"I'm going to play with you," she said lovingly. She took the blade and walked over to his body and grab his middle finger. Then with careful precision, despite his efforts to squirm free, she began to gently cut underneath the fingernail until eventually she was able to rip it off. His mind racked with pain as the dark chuckle exploded into a fit of laughter as his screams echoed in the room. He shivered and squirmed to be free, but cut himself on the glass shards that surrounded the table. The pain was excruciating and made him nearly pass out unable to hold it in anymore.

"You, you bitch! Shambala take the light," he suddenly felt his tongue firmly in her grip and she dropped the serrated blade pulling out a potato peeler from her back pocket. He squirmed and cried and made incoherent noises as she began to slowly peel off one layer of his tongue muscle at a time. She hovered each bloody sliver over his face before placing it on his head. After a while there was only a bloody mess left, and he bellowed in agony, but was unable to produce more than a dead horse whisper. She bent over and leaned into his face, licking it as she tasted the blood mix with the salty tears. Her body convulsed with ecstasy as she moved back into the shadows.

"You and that Shambala person can go fucking die in a fire for all I care, but don't you dare, even for a second, think what you did to people is righteous. What you tried on me was no better than this punishment you are receiving now. If anything I am being to lenient. My dark companion told me all about what you pulled, and I am impressed at the gall you have thinking how high and mighty you are." She returned with a thin knife and moved over to his stomach, starting to cut into the skin one smooth layer at a time.

With a few more garbled bloodied words he passed out, and with little care for his soul or life she let him sit to die in peace.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The moon hung very low as the dawn of a new day creepily crawled over the hill. Cassandra's body felt cold but she didn't mind it to much. The last experience she had was one to frightening to want to relive again, and the cold kept her mind focused on leaving that place behind. Her Dark Ambitions herald her with praise and worship for her last kill, and she swooned like a school girl at his words. She was happy to know he was with her and wouldn't willingly leave her.

Her sights were sent to getting over the mountain and into the land of Emprea, city of heros. There she would blend into the populous and figure her next move. But for now she just walked in toe with her dark harbinger, and felt her love for him wash over her.

Though she still couldn't talk with him directly she was getting closer. This experience was one that had brought her ever closer, even more so than Catrina Ferman, and she was starting to see the shadows mold around her to create his beautiful image. One day, one day she would be with the one she loved.

Until then she just relished the attentions he gave her.

[Mathias]

Judgement
Sweet Dreams

Alright. Since Requiem continued this after the second post as a solo, Kerberos will be exempt from the normal rewards awarded by the score of the thread, and I will merely give him a tiny critique based off of his first and only post. He will receive 50 experience points, and no gold.

Kerberos, I like it when, in a stylistic flourish, authors break the fourth wall and do it consistently. Compound on that little flare, and it will really open up things to explore as far as writing techniques go. Other than that, I have the basic comment everyone should always here: Proofread. And if you did, do it again. And again. I've no other comments, other than its a shame you didn't continue the quest with Requiem. I think it would've been interesting.

From here-on in, this will be judged as if it was, and always had been intended to be, a soloquest.

Story: 20
~Continuity: 7
You did a pretty good job setting up the story, and I had a pretty firm grasp on who she was and why she was where she was, doing what she was doing. By the third post, I finally was able to figure out what the Dark Companion was. Although, by that point, it no longer detracted from the thread and didn't hurt your score here, I would note that maybe some further introduction (though, not a full-blown elaboration) would serve you a bit better. Maybe just touching upon the abstract nature of him and, from what I assumed to be the fact that he was the personification and embodiment of her vile nature.

~Setting: 5.5
This score was hurt pretty harshly by the fact that I had no idea where this all took place. If it occurred within Radasanth, there was no mention of it. The description of the unnamed town was far from anywhere close to fitting the capital city of Corone, and a couple of sentences, such as the notation of the town's proximity to Emprea, made me wonder if it was in Corone at all. So, the fact that I was kind of lost as to where this was, aside from a small hostel in a non-descript village, really dealt a blow to this score.

~Pacing: 7.5
I liked the fact that you cut the tension up between Cassandra and the Dark Companion. It left me hanging with each time you switched perspective, and for that, I really commend you. At one moment, I was really feeling the confrontation between the shaman and the Companion, and you cut me off from that. It was a good use of the division of your characters, and you really played that card well.

Character: 21
~Dialogue: 6.5
First and foremost: I didn't really dock you for what I'm about to explain. However, I want to say that although it might qualify as a technique in some sense, I would suggest and even stress, that you do not use alternating colors for your dialogue. I see nothing but futility in it, because it's distracting and takes away from the actual dialogue itself, as well as the quality of the writing it is placed in. It it is too forum-esque, unprofessional. In print, you would never have that ability. Another thing to it, is that some might use different forum-styles. I use Bronze Castle, others might use a darker one. The colors are not universally appealing, so they blend in or require strained eyes to be read. And the final thing about it: I understand that the color may reflect the characters, and even set the tone of their voice... But to me, that is a cop out. Your description of the dialogue, and the dialogue itself, should be a distinct taste of both the characters themselves, as well as the mood to what they are saying.

~Action: 7.3
I really don't have much to say, other than that this played really well with your pacing. That, and the Saw-esque sort of torture at the end really made me cringe, and it played well into your character.

~Persona: 7.2
I got a really good feeling for both Cassandra and her dark companion. I felt that elaborating more on who he was would've helped a bit. Maybe even a name (although I understand the need for ambiguity.) I got a feeling that it was sort of her sadist hunger incarnate. Like it was the personification of her psychotic tendencies, and that's why she was so in love with it. To boost your score, I recommend only by giving the Companion more substance, and play on their romance in a more varied way. Excuse me in saying, but there was a bit too much 'cheese' in there, especially for such a morbid and twisted romance. But your really well on your way to playing out these characters in a very fascinating, rather unique way.

Writing Style: 17
~Mechanics: 5
You have several issues that your writing tends to present regularly. The first of them are run on sentences, of which you have quite a lot. Although sometimes they can be used to adjust the flow of a narration, its more rather from a first person perspective than a third person. Since you write in third person, you should really watch out for them. They tend to drone on when they could instead be cut up into several short sentences that would flow better. A second problem is your sentence structure. I have a similar problem, myself, in that I write a sentence in a way that makes sense only from my standpoint, because I know what's going on. A good example is in your 5th post,

"His attention suddenly shifted as he felt a fierce wave of energy erupt from the inside of a room located behind the desk where his companion checked in, and the wisp of smoke escaped under the door crack as light flickered into and out of life from the small amount of room he could see."

This is not only a lengthy run on sentence, but segments of it could be placed better to flow more logically and with more ease for the reader. "His attention suddenly shifted to the door behind the Desk. He felt a fierce wave of energy erupt from the room inside." Is a sort of example. Restructuring some sentences like that - not only by chopping them up, but placing them in a different sort of order, allows the reader to not be bombarded by several things at once. I was caught up for a moment, trying to figure out where this room was, and once realizing that, figuring out what this energy was. It was a bit sudden, moving away from what had been happening prior in your narrative, in a direction I wasn't ready, as a reader, to move in yet.

Also, mostly from your 5th post and onwards, those posts began to be riddled with mistakes in grammar and spelling, which is another reason your score really hurt here. Again, I suggest careful proofreading and revision, as that is the saving grace of every carefully written story.

~Technique: 6
I would like to note two things, one in your first post and one in the second. "she half expected to burst into flames. - However she didn't burst into sudden flames," The repetition of this phrase caught me at first glance, and I merely want to make a note of it for revision and proofreading. Catching small things like this, such as unpoetic repetition, can help you diversify your writing at a later date. The second thing is using abbreviations, which is possibly a pet peeve of mine, but I believe that in formal narration, the saying, "going MIA," is out of place. It's a bit awkward of a line to put in there, and could easily be replaced by either just spelling it out or substituting a different phrasing.

Another instance of minor awkwardness I saw was the line in your second post, "She felt little need to act like a normal person and allow their emotions to get to them." Here, you switch your pronouns around in a minor grammatical mistake.

Although it's somewhat minor, I liked how the 'dark companion' referred to Cassandra in the same way. I thought it was an ironic little tidbit for them both to describe eachother in such similar, yet somewhat accusing terms.

~Clarity: 6
This score was mostly hurt by a combination of things above. I think, when she first woke up and the blood poured out of the sink, I was a little lost, but I quickly understood as things played out further in your subsequent posts. This score will be further improved by following the advice I've already given, as well as fortifying your weaknesses in categories like setting. Mechanics and technique, when further developed, will also really help you out in this category as well.

Wild Card 6
All in all, it was a good thread, and a pretty interesting read. I'm looking forward to more quests from you, especially exploring the workings of Cassandra's head and the relationship with her companion. Good luck, and good writing!

Total: 64

Kerberos is awarded 50 experience and no gold.
Requiem is awarded 724 experience and 77 gold.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added