Novus and Wrath, Calbrena's new dance (solo)

[Aiko]

Winter time in Scara Brae, a time for joy and happiness, for reconnecting with old friends and spending time with family. Winter it seemed was coming much earlier than normal. Infact, it was actually midsummer. The cause of this unnatural winter wasn’t hard to find, one simply had to listen to the townspeople complain about the Ice Demon that had descended from Windlacer.

It had all gone well, hadn’t done much more than leave behind small mounds of snow in his wake which quickly melted and evaporated. It was making purchase and being an all around good person. But, the town watch, made up of people who were notoriously racist about demons, threatened to do him in if he didn’t watch himself. The Ice demon scowled, and in so doing brought about a fierce blizzard that would’ve been the pride of any winter season, and left five town watchmen suddenly frozen to death.

So it was the third day after the blizzard that Calbrena arrived. The new watch, made up of people who were remarkably benevolent towards demons, greeted Calbrena with the utmost respect, even as their teeth chattered and their armor rattled in their shivering. Snow was still on the ground, but it was thinning away, and it was remarkably cold.

“I’m sorry; did I somehow end up in Salvar? I thought I was headed for Scara Brae.” Calbrena said, scratching her black silky hair and looking about in confusion. She was in demon form, her small weak wings trailing behind her like a small cloak. Her tail was swishing about idly in the air, and her red skin was getting goose bumps from the cold. Fire flickered about idly on her tail, as if dancing in the cold and trying to encourage the return of sunnier days.

“Dearest lady, we assure you that you have not erred. Our Predecessors made the mistake of insulting a fine and noble Ice Demon, and in dealing out their just desserts in Ice Demon fashion, froze the entire town over. We pray he did not summon you to burn it to the ground too.” The head of the new town watch said.
“What? Me? No, no. But I am looking for him, he’s my brother. Any idea where he is?” Calbrena asked.

She knew he was here in Scara Brae, just not where. In her efforts to find her half siblings, the elemental demonkin, she turned to a gypsy fortune teller named Esmerelda. The old hag directed Calbrena to Scara Brae, telling her she would find him there. Perhaps this was the start of an alliance to defeat the lord of the abyss, a man she knew as her father, and everyone else knew as Xith Rith Xail, The Demon God. After all the many people he hurt, he deserved to pay. After he killed her once already, Calbrena decided she was going to be the one to make him.

The Town watch gave her directions to the highest peaks in WIndlacer, where the winter never seemed to end.

This was how Calbrena now found herself climbing a steep path up the mountain. She could walk, but had to use her hands and walk like a beast to make it.
“Stupid brother that can fly and I can’t.” she muttered to herself as she took a break to catch her breath.

Meanwhile, deep in The Abyss…

Xith Rith Xail had six of his seven children, the seven deadly sins, gathered before him. Only Wrath was missing, but he wasn’t hard to find, for he was locked up in an Adamantine cell in the very same room.

Everyone except grandfather stayed well away from Wrath. Of all the sins, Wrath was the most feared. Pride shivered as he heard him growling, breathing heavily in his cell. Lust scooted closer to Sloth when he grabbed the bars and shook them with all his impressive strength, and for as strong as Adamantine was, it was a close call as to who was stronger, the deadly sin of Wrath, or the Adamantine prison cell, for the bars bent dangerously under his might. All six of them ran out of the room when, in an attempt to escape his cell, he shook the door so much that it seemed it was about to break. Wrath knew no love, and hated everyone and everything equally. In his eyes, they all deserved to die, for no other reason than being there. He could invent a reason to hate them if he had to.

Only Xith Rith Xail was unmoved by his son’s temper.
“Get your asses back in here and sit down, wrath if you don’t calm down I’m coming in there.” Xith Rith Xail said quietly. If there was something more intimidating than Wrath, it was The Demon God. The six crawled back in nervously, and wrath grew quiet.

“Your dearest sister, Calbrena, has found Novus. I have tried to kill her, twice, and failed. Perhaps it’s because she’s my daughter that I can’t kill her. It must be so. If I can’t succeed, none of you can either, but your certainly free to try. That’s why I’m giving all seven of you the keys to the abyss, and unsealing it from the mortal realm. Yes, I’m even unleashing Wrath upon the world. Come and go as you please. I’ve kept you all here safe and sound, that I might have you forever. But humans grow confident in their own abilities, and forget what a real demon is. They believe the Haidians to be real demons, yet have only succeeding in fighting off the dreams of children. I send you out and away, and command you to walk among the humans. Spread your power among them, and feed off their souls. Bring them nightmare and torment like none they’ve ever seen before. Now is the time, while they are occupied with Xem’Xund and are weakened. Wrath, I give you but one objective before you are free. Kill Novus. If Calbrena is allowed to grow in power, then she will gain the power to kill me.” Xith Rith Xail said, speaking just as quietly as ever. All seven sins looked shocked.

Xith Rith Xail waved a hand, and energy lanced into them.
“Now you have the key. I would advise you go before I free Wrath, you know how he is when he’s free.” Xith Rith Xail said with a smile. Yet the seats were empty before he even finished, and as he stopped, the door on his mansion slammed shut.

Wrath walked over to the bars, peering out with curiosity. Xith Rith Xail unlocked the door and walked away. Wrath stepped out, and felt energy lance into him. He knew what happened; he had the key to the abyss. He waved his hand, using the key, and found himself in the middle of Concordia forest in Corone. He smiled, and sniffed the air, then took off walking.

[Aiko]

Calbrena eventually decided to move on, as it was getting colder. Of course, she was halfway up the mountain. She got up and moved again, once more walking like a beast. Soon she realized the path had leveled off, and she stood up. She walked along normally, hugging herself for warmth.

Snow covered the area like a soft blanket. Ice crystals were carved into figures of trees and creatures, some of them animated. A little Ice deer looked at her, and then moved away. Calbrena caught her breath in wonder and surprise.

The mountain itself was sheathed in Ice, made to make the whole thing look like one giant Ice Crystal, and Ice magic extended the ice shelf out to the other nearby mountains, making it seem like a small plain in the sky. Looking up through the Ice, Calbrena could see the ice reflecting the light in all sorts of pretty patterns.

She moved along, growing colder by the second. Her own natural fire had grown too cold to burn any longer, and she felt herself getting weaker. She wanted to find warmth, but she also wanted to look at the wonders of this ice kingdom further.

“Brother! Novus! Are you here? It is I, your sister, Calbrena, the dancing demon of fire!” she called out, hoping he was about to offer her some warmth.

Her eyes turned to a magnificent sculpture of a snowflake carved from a giant block of ice. It had eight arms, and had a fractal pattern that made anyone looking at it wonder if it was curved in, or curved out, when in fact it was perfectly flat.

Calbrena heard a noise, turned to look, and blacked out from the cold. Her last thought before blacking out was most curious, for her last thought was “The Sky is walking towards me.”

~~~
Wrath walked along through Concordia, oblivious to anything around him. Infact, in his single-minded pursuit of Novus, he walked through a couple trees. He could feel his half-brother’s power, pulling him towards Scara Brae.

“Sorry Mate, this area belongs to the Bandit Brotherhood. I’m afraid I’ll have to charge you for safe passage, or else I can’t guarantee your safety. You wouldn’t want a fight with them fellers, now would you?” asked a medium sized man with brown hair.
Then he actually got a good look at Wrath.
“I would love a fight.” Wrath growled with almost obscene pleasure as he turned on the man. The man stumbled backwards in fear.
“What in the name of all that is good and holy are you?” the man asked in a shaky voice.
“I am anger and hatred personified. In me flows the power of War, for I am The Deadly Sin of Wrath.” Wrath said, grabbing the man. He hurled him into the sky, then leaped up after him, grabbed him, and hurled him back into the ground with such force that it shook the nearby trees.

Wrath walked on, leaving the dead man behind him in the small hole his impact caused, hoping this so called brotherhood of bandits would dare to attack him.

[Aiko]

Wrath walked on through the forest, knocking over the occasional tree, leaving a trail of destruction. He had met no one else brave enough to stand in his way since that one fool who thought to charge him for trespassing upon the forest. If this Bandit Brotherhood had members, then they must’ve been hidden, and passed along word to stay out of his way.

He entered a clearing, and was hit with the full force of the sun. It burned like a thousand fires. In response Wrath roared at the sun. He heard of the unnatural occurrence of the sun. His black skin hurt as though he had been caught in an explosion, his red hair not helping at all to shield him. His wings didn’t help either, for though Xith Rith Xail and his offspring had massive cloak like wings, Wrath’s were torn and shredded, the result of his father and he’s many fights, mostly over getting him into the adamantine cage.

Deciding there was nothing he could do about the sun, he moved on, following his half-brother’s power signature. It was easy for Wrath to find Novus, for part of his power was the ability to feel the most powerful and worthy of opponents, and lock onto them. Novus was particularly powerful indeed. He could also sense where his brothers and sisters were.
~~~
Pride wandered into the palace of the Jya in Fallien. She kept herself unseen and undetected, by the majority of normal folk. As much as she enjoyed attention, she wasn’t stupid, and knew the sight of her would cause undue trouble. Something drew her into a room, where a lady of high station was busy preening herself in the mirror. Pride smiled, and approached the lady.

“Such beauty, truly you are the most worthy creature in this land. I hear the Jya has a foreign prince for a visitor. Yet what does she have that you don’t? You should put on your nicest dress, and add a ribbon tied into a bow to your hair, and then go pay a personal visit to him. It would be rude to not pay your respects to such a young and charming guest.” Pride said, speaking with words unheard by the physical ear. But this woman had a heart after Pride’s own, and it heard her words. The noblewoman never knew Pride was in the room, and thought it was her own ingenious idea to tie a ribbon into her hair after putting on her nicest formal wear to go pay a visit to the nice young prince that came to town yesterday. Maybe she could even snag him for herself!

~~~

Gluttony couldn’t believe the find, an entire warehouse of food! It had to be for an army or something, he didn’t know, nor did he care. He leapt upon the food like a diver into a lake, and found to his utter horror that he passed right through it. Apparently he could only eat in the abyss. But how would he feed out here? He noticed a group of young boys sneaking into the warehouse, and taking food. They were hungry, and so was he. They ate a little, and he found that he was sated little by little as they ate. He could taste what they tasted, and it was heavenly.

“More, just a little more. One more nibble, they won’t notice, it won’t harm you any.” He said, urging them to eat a little more. Though he was too far away to be heard, something about his words urged them to eat more. Gluttony smiled, leaning back in satisfaction.

~~~

Greed and Envy followed Wrath, mostly out of a desire to see where he was going. They hung back and eventually lost him. They were strong individually, but more powerful together. Noticing a strange mark on all the trees, they decided to investigate further. They discovered a group of bandits who claimed to be the Bandit Brotherhood. The women smiled, for here could they find a new home away from home. They spotted a fat merchant traveling the road.

“Oh his purse is so big and jingles with so many coins. I wish I had it. I think I’ll take it from him.” Envy said her green eyes burning fiercely.

“It’s gold, clearly it’s from one of my stashes. He stole it from me. It’s my gold and I want it back. No one steals my treasure. I will get it back and hoard it and hide it in a safe place where no one will find it again.” Greed said, her green eyes burning just a fierce as Envy’s.

Almost as if in response, the bandits watching what must’ve been one of many hideouts suddenly noticed the merchant, held him up, robbed him of his gold, then of his clothes, and sent him on his way, then another decided to knife him in the back since he had came so close to their hideout anyway. Greed and Envy discovered a strange vicarious satisfaction in watching others experience their namesake sins. It was far more thrilling than doing it themselves. Yes, perhaps they’d stay here awhile…

~~~

Sloth had been sitting on a rock under a tree watching the ocean. He decided he didn’t want to go anywhere; there was no point in it. He wasn’t invisible or disguised or anything, it took too much work. His father clearly hated him to send him out into the world. What could he possibly do out here that was worth anything?

To his surprise, a young lad came along and oblivious to Sloth’s presence, tied up a noose on a branch.

“Figures someone already claimed this tree; now I’ll have to go find another.” The young man said, despondent and in a deep despair.

Sloth felt something stir in him, a call to action he didn’t understand. But he went with his instincts.

“No, no, feel free to use this tree, I don’t mind. I’m just resting here. Something seems to be on your mind.” Sloth said.
“Is it that obvious? I was just spurned by the most beautiful woman in Istraloth. I worked hard for days to get her a really nice present, and some flowers, and the nerve to talk to her. She said yes, we went on a few dates, and then she dumped me! I fell in love with her and she didn’t. What’s wrong with me?” the man asked.

“I don’t know, I’m not the young woman in question. But clearly something must be wrong if a pretty young woman would spurn you.” Sloth said.

“I’m so worthless; maybe I should just kill myself and get it over with.” The lad said.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Jump. Jump or go away, just stop bothering me with your problems.” Sloth said irritably, not understanding why the feeling was growing stronger.

Suddenly the young man jumped, and the rope went taut. The strange feeling in Sloth escalated to new heights, and suddenly Sloth understood it was exultant joy. A strange idea came across Sloth, for he never paid much attention to anything his father tried to teach him, it took too much effort. The young man’s soul was departing for the afterlife, but Sloth grabbed it. The soul cried out with fear, but Sloth broke it, and worked, and shaped it into something new, beating it in places with his fists. When he was done a physical monster stood before him, born out of the young man’s soul. It fed on joy and happiness; slowly killing it’s victims with despair.

“I think I shall call you a Life Drinker. Go, prove your worth here in Istraloth.”
~~~
Lust had been following the young couple. She remained undetected, and curious as to why she might be interested in them. They got a motel room for the night, and she slipped into their room, she just had to watch their fumbling efforts for a laugh.

To her disappointment, they stopped at kissing.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to go any further.” The man said.

“I’m not either. Besides, it’s a dangerous time to go any further, maybe next week.” The young woman said, giving the man a clear hint.

“What kind of excuse is that? Just go a little further, kiss, touch, explore. No harm will come if you just go a little further.” Lust said. Her words entered their hearts, and were mistaken for love.

Lust watched, and discovered she enjoyed watching almost as much as she enjoyed doing. Of all the sins, she was the most experienced, in more ways than one. She had snuck out of The Abyss several times to find a lover, and knew well what power she could get from the soul of a person. Control over others, the power to work powerful magics, to shape monsters, to drive normal people insane with passion and make them do things they ordinarily wouldn’t.

In the morning, the young noblewoman and peasant man left the inn in Scara Brae and parted ways, thinking their night’s passion was over and would carry no repercussions, yet in nine months time, the young noblewoman would give birth to such repercussions as to be unable to deny what she had done, and with whom.

~~~

Calbrena awoke with a start. She had a dream her brothers and sisters had been loosed upon the world and had begun to discover things Xith Rith Xail had never told them.

Gluttony once told her that while their father told them they had great power, they had no idea what it was, or why they were named so. Since Calbrena had walked the world and read up on Demonology, she came to understand just what their powers were, and feared what would happen if the sins were ever truly free.

She saw a blue and white demon sitting on an ice block looking at her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I thought you knew. I am Novus, I am the demon of Ice, and your brother.” The demon said.

[Aiko]

Calbrena looked at the demon in shock. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but she knew she didn’t expect such an imposing demon. Novus stood at six foot five, and had a well toned body. Icicles hung from his horns and wings, and a sheath of ice covered his body.
His skin was blue, except his hands were white, as though he wore gloves, and his feet were similar, running up to his calves. In both instances, the white tapered off in jagged fashion, as though they were mini glaciers. His hair, horns and wings were also white, but his wings had black patches that created beautiful patterns, as though they were giant snowflakes. As for his eyes, they were ice blue, and looking at her in curiosity.

“Tell me, did you dream of the Sins just now?” Novus asked. His voice was frosty, but not out of any emotion.

“Well, yes, I dreamt the sins were loosed upon the world and discovering the exact extent of their powers. What a horrid dream, I pray they never get loose.” Calbrena said.

She took a moment to look around the room while Novus sighed. She was in a cave, furnished to be a home. There was no fireplace, but there was a bearskin rug from a white bear. It didn’t seem to be dyed, so the bear had to be naturally white, but she had never heard of Polar Bears and so couldn’t understand how its fur was white. Maybe it was a magic bear, or so she thought. There was a writing desk, and a bed, it was upon this that she laid. There was nothing else in the cave. The walls were covered in frost, so she couldn’t tell what their color was, but she surmised it was the same grey rock that made up most of the Windlacer mountain range. The Light was reflected off the frost and ice a million times over, making the cave exceptionally bright.

“It is as I feared, and guessed. All of the Demon God’s children were born with the ability to sense one another and determine what they were up to. This was but a guess, as you were the only unknown child. It seems their release has awakened this ability within you, but since you’re so unfamiliar with it, it only works on his most powerful children, The Seven Deadly Sins. Your dream was no dream, but reality.” Novus said.

Calbrena shivered, partially from the cold, partially from the realization of her worst fears. The Sins were loosed upon the world.

“What’s going to happen now?” Calbrena asked.

“That depends on why you’re here.” Novus said, the curiosity never leaving his eyes.

“I came to find you, to find out if you would join me in taking out Father. He has done so much wrong to us all; he deserves nothing but complete annihilation.” Calbrena said.

“HA! Join you in taking down my own father, who is also a God? Yes he has wronged me, but I’m choosing to let that slide. Firstly, I cannote stand the thought of harming my own father, no matter how evil he is, and second, I am not insane enough to fight a god. I’ll tell you what I will do though. I have been watching you since childhood, waiting for you to understand your powers, but it seems you’re held back from ever becoming more powerful, because you’re half-demon half-angel. So tell me then, if I were to offer to teach you to use your demonic powers more thoroughly, would you choose to fall from grace, and lose your innocence in order to more thoroughly embrace your powers? Or would you choose to disdain your demonic heritage, and seek what the light has to offer?” Novus said.

Calbrena was confused. She had never thought her own heritage was holding her back. She thought about it carefully. As an angel, she had the power to heal and help others, but as a demon, she had the power to fight. What good was healing, if the cause of the trouble wouldn’t go away? Better to fight the cause to speed up the healing. She tried to think of a time when she actually enjoyed being an angel, but couldn’t. That form was weak, and everyone seemed to try to take advantage of it. It was probably why she was mostly in demon form. Then she realized she had made this choice long ago.

“Will it hurt when I lose my innocence?” she asked, making her decision final.

[Aiko]

“All loss hurts in one fashion or another dear sister. But enough of that. Demonic magic has many forms, but the children of Xith Rith Xail wield the most powerful. This is why The Seven Deadly Sins are so powerful, and why Xith Rith Xail himself is considered a God.

“Our form of magic is tied into our emotions. This is both a blessing and a Curse. To master your magic, you must master your mind and your body, and learn to control your emotions. If your emotions control you, then you are controlled by your magic. When you have control over your emotions, you may seem to be unemotional, but this is not the truth, we still experience emotions the same as any other, but at the level of control we muster, we can decide what emotions to show. This is where our magic is both a blessing and a curse, in that you can never show what you want to feel naturally, but must feel what gives you the best advantage in any given situation. However, some events will affect you so deeply and profoundly, that even if you had such control over your emotion as to be legendary in the art, you will still show the emotion you feel naturally, and in this instance, your magic will react as suits the situation best.

“Allow me to explain further. I am certain you came through the city of Scara Brae, and found that when assaulted verbally by four upstart guardsmen, I froze the city over. I chose to show the emotion of anger, and in so doing, spawned a blizzard. Yet on another occasion, I was brought face to face with a powerful knight who sought m hide as a prize. At the time, this knight far outranked me in terms of power, and I had no hope of survival. I reacted with fear, a natural reaction, not a chosen reaction, and in so doing, froze his armor so quickly, that it shrank upon him in an instant, and choked out his life. Do you understand?” Novus asked, explaining the basics of the magic that they both used.

“I think so. So your saying, if I react with surprise to something, I might create a giant exploding fireball of doom?” Calbrena asked.

“You might, but please do us both a favor, and don’t use terms such as ‘of doom’ it makes you seem childish, and takes away your credibility as something to be feared. Your concept raises an additional point. Each entity’s mind is different, both by species, and the individual. An Elven mind differs from a Dwarven Mind, and a bee’s mind is shared among the Hive. All three react differently. For example, Dwarves are tied to the mountains and mines of the earth, an elf to the trees and fields. A bee is tied to its hive and flowers nearby. If an elf controlled our magic, and reacted with surprise, it is more likely that a wooden barrier would spring up between it, and the object that created the surprise reaction. A Dwarf on the other hand, is more likely to cause a rockslide. Though I have not heard of any magical bees, should one react with surprise, it is likely to summon the rest of its swarm, and attack the offender.

“But just as well, continuing with these examples, an Elf with a strong affinity for mountains is more likely to cause the dwarf’s rockslide, or maybe even open a deep rift within the ground, separating it from the object of surprise. A Dwarf who spent its life on the ocean is likely to summon a tidal wave, or maybe a fierce windstorm, such as a Cyclone. Bees with an intelligent, self-aware Hive mind might increase the effect of the natural poison in a bee’s stinger to quickly eradicate the object of surprise with a single sting. But this is assuming each thing conforms to the standards and ideals set to the species, and what person, being blessed with free-will and individuality, always conforms perfectly? There are myriad ways emotions might cause magic to perform. Until you get stronger, we won’t know.” Novus said.

“Ok, I think I follow. So, how do we start?” Calbrena asked.

“I am not a teacher, and so must devise what to do next. Until then, meditate. Meditation allows you to get to know your own mind. It is exercise for the mind, and allows better control over it. From this action springs emotional control. Those starting out on meditation are usually advised to sit comfortably, and concentrate on their own thoughts. Having Sinful Senses, you might even catch another look at what our dear half brothers and sisters are up to.” Novus said.
~~~
Wrath was walking across the road that ran between Underwood and Jadet. He was following the river, only because it ran in the direction he was headed. It was unfortunate for the travelers that he happened to be there, for these travelers were members of The Order of The Golden Dawn, and they recognized him as a demon.

“Thing of Evil, I don’t know what your doing here, but if you don’t leave now, I’m going to have to hurt you.” A valorous young knight declared. He was backed by his fellows with nods to the affirmative. Wrath turned and looked at them, and smiled, a deadly sinister smile, and advanced on them.

The knights, realizing this wasn’t going to be easy, drew their swords, never knowing that this demon wasn’t one they should be fighting in their inexperienced youth. With a cry, all six knights fell upon Wrath, swinging their swords to kill him, and then cried out in fright when their sword rebounded off his skin without so much as a scratch.

“What manner of demon are you, that reflects our swords without effort paid due?” asked one of them.
Wrath’s smile grew, and he grabbed the nearest knight, and raked his claws through his armor and down his body. Realizing that they could not defeat this creature, the remaining five turned tail and fled. Wrath meanwhile proceeded to drink a measure of the youth’s blood, and used the remainder to paint very specific signs on the road. Some were six pointed stars in circles, others were unclear as to design and purpose. Once he finished, he stood back and admired his handy work.

“Xhr’thil et nox, xhr’thil et khrem, shla’dro whra rni’uo.” Wrath said, speaking in a language native only to the demons of The Abyss. Though his words might have been a mystery, the descending darkness was not. A rift in the ground opened up, and a small number of demons ran out and escaped into the surrounding woods. Satisfied, Wrath moved on, back into the forest, following his objective.

[Aiko]

It was later that day, and Calbrena was sitting atop the mountain freezing.

“Alright, now that you’ve meditated, the first step is to get in touch with your inner demon.” Novus said.

“My inner demon?” Calbrena asked, raising a nearly frozen eyebrow at her appearently comfortable brother.

“Shut up, I told you I was no teacher.” Novus said.

“I don’t recall forcing you into the arrangement, it’s not like I used a fully-loaded priest on you.” Calbrena replied.

“A fully loaded priest?” Novus asked, returning the raised eyebrow.

“Shut up, I’m freezing up here.” Calbrena said.

Novus took her hand, and stood her up, then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Suddenly the cold didn’t bother her, and it felt comfortable up here.

“I gave you temporary immunity to the cold. Elemental demons have natural resistance to the element they wield; this also grants them a sort of environmental dominance over terrain related to their element. I’m sure in the pyre you’d feel right at home. In icy climates, I have no trouble.” Novus said.

“Sure, you just wanted to kiss your cute sister. Just like Lust.” Calbrena said smiling.

“I assure you I am no Incubus. Unlike Lust and her ilk, I do not sleep with my own family members. I find that practice disturbing.” Novus said coldly.

“Gee, way to ruin a joke.” Calbrena muttered.

“Sorry, I just, well, let’s move on.” Novus said.

“To my inner demon? Is he the artistic kind, with the pitchfork dancing around a boiling lake of fire full of people?” Calbrena asked smiling and barely able to restrain her laughter.

“Don’t say that again, that’s, no, that’s just wrong. I know, what do you like to do most? I’m known as the artistic demon of Ice, because I love sculpting things out of ice. I made the forest, the creatures, even the giant snowflake with my own ice magic and claws.” Novus said.

“Well, I am the dancing demon of fire. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I’ve been watching fire burn all my life, and slowly, been learning to imitate it through dance. It seems as though it’s missing something, and if I find that missing step, I can dance magic. Do you have any idea what that step might be?” Calbrena asked.

“Yes. You have grown fond of the ritualized methods of magic. Certain patterns of movement create power. They are disfavored by humans for the quicker will power magic. That is, simple gestures and the strength of will provide the power, not the movements of nature. I too favor that method, but studied the demonic rites. Its apart of learning your magic. Let me show you something. Come sister, dance with me, and learn the Waltz of Ice.” Novus said.

He snapped his fingers, and snow began falling from the heavens. He moved slowly, gracefully, as a snowflake drifting through the air. Calbrena noticed he glowed slightly as he moved left, right, spinning, moving in a pattern as unique as a snowflake. Infact, walking along his steps revealed the outline of a giant snowflake in the ground. Moving inside the outline, he moved slightly faster, and the snowfall picked up to a blizzard’s pace. Inside he added a couple of leaps and slides to his movements, and finished in the center of the snowflake. The ground glowed with light blue energy, and shot towards the heavens, causing the blizzard to become a screaming tempest of frozen fury. Novus extended his will, and snuffed out the blizzard entirely.

“Now you try.” Novus said.

Calbrena was in awe. She had never heard of The Demonic Rites except in passing in some of the demonology books she had read, and even then, the authors had considered them as non-existent. She wondered what else The Demonic Rites could accomplish.

She took the first few steps, and stopped, feeling a chill crawl up her spine.

“Why have you stopped?” Novus asked.

“I suddenly got a chill, what’s wrong?” Calbrena asked.

“Only the fact you have stopped. It is Ice magic, you’re supposed to feel a chill, and it only intensifies.” Novus said.

Calbrena nodded, and started again. She was stopped several times by Novus, who corrected her movements; often they were too slow, or too fast. Sometimes the steps were out of place. By the time the sun went down on the day, she was exhausted, and had only gotten a quarter of the way through the waltz.

~~~

Wrath continued through the forest, and halted. Before him two armies were faced, preparing for battle. Neither seemed to have very much heart for the upcoming battle, and both seemed to want to just turn around and go home. Infact, the two leaders were negotiating just letting each other turn around and walk away.
Wrath knelt, and put his hands on the ground, pouring his anger into it, using it to extend his consciousness to both armies. Then he spoke quietly, but he may as well have shouted, for his words were heard clearly inside the minds of each soldier in both armies.

“What are you, cowards? You stand facing the enemy, and consider letting them walk away? Is this anyway for a mighty warrior to act? True glory is not found in peace, it is found on the field of battle. Don’t you want to make your people proud? Don’t you want to become a hero?” Wrath asked, knowing exactly what to say to spur the armies to battle, for after all, war was his domain, he said so himself.

Both armies became uneasy and restless, and both leaders made excuses to return to their sides to discuss the terms with their fellows.

“Look at them, standing over there. Their everything your not, they consort with demons in secret, and seek to defile Corone and turn it into a new Haidia. The beautiful forests of Corone will be burned down, and fields of Lava opened in their places. The mountains will blacked with soot, and the whole island will become inhospitable to all but Demon kind. Worst of all, they’ll capture your loving wives and mothers, and abuse them, forcing them to bare them half-demon aberrations and use them in dark and sinister acts of great evil.” Wrath continued.

A few weapons were drawn, and a few catapults loaded.

“Better to turn it over to Xem’zund, and let him turn it into an undead paradise, than to let the others have it alive. You know you can’t ever truly come to peace with them; they’ll hate you, and crush you under the misery of oppression. You’ll be forced to serve them in slavery. Think of the children, won’t you fight to give them a better future?” Wrath asked. Then he stood, and sat on a nearby boulder, as the catapults were fired, and battle was launched. As the day progressed, he fed on the ambient hatred he had seeded in both sides, demonizing each side in the other’s eyes. The fight seemed to make him stronger, healthier. As the sun set, Wrath stood and walked across the battlefield, strewn with broken weapons and dead bodies, examining his newly healed wings.

“All for the good of Corone.” He said laughing.

[Aiko]

Calbrena awoke with a start. She had dreamt of a towering demon pitting two armies against each other for its own amusement. Then the dream shifted, she was lost in a blizzard, running towards an unknown destination. Was it Novus? Perhaps it was. She was dressed differently in the dream, she did not have her robes on, only a barely concealing slave outfit of some sort.

She sat up and looked down to reassure herself she had not been enslaved. Then gasped in horror, she was enslaved! She had been dressed in Thigh High boots, made of blck patent leather, and a garment she knew to be called a teddy covered her body, made of more black patent leather. Chains extended from the top of the garment to her neck. She put her hands to her neck and discovered a collar with embedded spikes had been attached to her neck. She tried to tear the outfit off, not wanting to look like a street walker, but for all her effort, the stupid things repaired themselves instantly. Even more unwilling to go about undressed, she looked about for her robes, and found the last burning scraps of it in a fire.

"Novus! Novus! What is the meaning of this?" Calbrena called out angrily.

Novus came in from the outside smiling in triumph.

"It’s obviously your first time, so I shall forgive you. Kneel before your master, slave." Novus said grinning.

"Make me. I'm getting out of here, thanks for nothing." Calbrena said moving to leave.

Novus snapped his fingers, and pain coursed through Calbrena's body. She tried to resist, but was slowly driven to her knees, her forehead touching the floor, her hands spread before her. Her body refused to cooperate, not even so much as letting her speak.

"It’s for your own good Calbrena. You’re innocent, untrained, but innocent. Demonesses that actually possess the aspect of innocence are far more valuable than you might think. Everything I’ve said to you so far yesterday was a lie, everything, but the Demonic Rites. The Demonic Rites take time to cast properly. Some parts are movements, ritualized dances. Others, well, to know of them would rob you of innocence. It was all an act, to gain your trust, to make you fall asleep in my house, so I could enslave you. But a slave collar alone did not seem fitting, so I changed your outfit, and destroyed the old one. Know this; you cannot do anything, unless I command it. I command you to stay there, just like that for the next hour, and then come join me on the mountain top. You have no choice but to obey, the pain you will feel will be too great. With you as a bargaining chip, I can buy my way into Father’s good graces. I could trade you to a sorcerer for a princely sum; I could purchase a private island using you, maybe even purchase the great southern Ice continent where there is no such thing as warmth.” Novus said, and then left laughing.

Calbrena tried to fight the control, but her body refused to cooperate. A tear rolled down her cheeks, the only free will she had left, and this she exercised greatly, until a half hour later, she could cry no more.

When the hour was up, she rose, fighting every step, and went to the mountain top, where she knelt as before.

“Now, continue dancing as I showed you yesterday. For every misstep, accident or not, you shall feel unbearable agony.” Novus said, enjoying the control he had over his sister.

Calbrena tried, but several times the pain she felt was so great she collapsed in tears.

Novus simply stood, smiling and watching.

I’m sorry sister dear, but it really is for your own good. Only half of everything I said yesterday was a lie. Our magic is not of emotions, but of The Demonic Rites, but to throw you in to the deep end would overwhelm you. Slavery is but one way to remove a being’s innocence. Hate me, loath me, it’ll make what is to come much easier. I have seen the future, and know my end approaches. I would flee, but this messenger I cannot escape for he would follow me anywhere. Better to have it out here where I can protect you, otherwise I would take you to the big cities where I could help you lose your innocence in far more pleasant ways.

Novus shuddered inwardly, not wanting to do what he was going to do next, but outwardly, grinned in anticipation. Another day had passed, and Calbrena had gotten only halfway through the dance.

“You’ve made progress. See, I’m not such a cruel master. I’m still helping you learn one of the easier demonic rites. Our half sister must be about, because watching you dance has filled me with her desires. I’m going to satisfy each and every one of them with your body too. The ties are in the back; remove everything but your spiked collar, and don’t forget to smile.” Novus said.

Calbrena’s hands went to her back, as a smile crossed her face. Only a single tear showed what she really felt.

~~~

Lust was no where near the pair, but her ears twitched as Novus mentioned her. She turned toward Scara Brae as she flew, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Then she laughed a little laugh, and resumed course to Salvar. A very deep winter had just begun to pass. She had to do her part to help keep everyone warm after all.

---

Wrath could see the ferry that plied the waters between Corone and Scara Brae. From atop the peak of the Jagged Mountain upon which he sat, he could see most of the ocean, including the pirate ship lining up to attack. He leaped off the mountain and glided down to the ferry. With a great thump he landed.
“What in blazes!” the startled captain exclaimed.

“Relax. I don’t feel like flying to Scara Brae. You have a ship. I’ll assist you with those pirates if you sail me to Scara Brae.” Wrath said his deep gravely voice making the captain’s heart pound.

“Deal, but only if I make it out alive.” The captain said, thrusting out his hand.

Wrath’s grip was cold as ice to the touch, yet when he withdrew from the shake, the captain’s hand throbbed with excessive heat. Wrath turned to the pirate ship, and poured his wrath upon the ocean. It trembled and shook, and the skies darkened as the wind picked up. A colossal wave swamped the pirate ship dashing it against an outcropping of rocks and breaking it up.

“And guess what, you’re still alive. Allow me to introduce myself; I am The Deadly Sin of Wrath. I’ll allow you to live so long as you promise to not screw around about getting to Scara Brae. Take the long way, and, well I tend to get bored easily, when I get bored I get angry, and when I get angry things have the tendency to die, quickly.” Wrath said.

“Well, I don’t know about all that, but a deal’s a deal. We reach Scara Brae in a week.” The captain said, and returned to his sailing.