To Crush The Natural Order...[Closed]

[Arch_Nemsis]

(Closed to that Elk, yo!!!)

Despite the life that surrounded it, permeated from it, Concordia had a certain darkness to it as well.

It was this native darkness that drew Nosdyn to it time and time again.

Nosdyn already had the arena prepared for another foolish Hero to show up. His career as a Demon soldier was already well underway, and he would do what he can to someday become a Demon General. Maybe, even a Lesser Overlord. Those were ambitions that Nosdyn held in his dark heart, but they would have to wait. He stared at his reflection in the small, surprisingly deep pond. Nosdyn had been going to The Citadel's halls with a lot of frequency. Those who frequented The Citadel were starting to know and rightly fear Nosdyn's capacity for chaos. He drank from the pond's water for he'd grown a little bit thirsty waiting for his next opponent to arrive.

He hunted game from time to time, killing the larger creatures for their meat and hides. Nosdyn had learned survival tactics as part of his military training and could survive out in the wild lands for an extended period of time. Two recent kill, both large panthers, rested by his side. The carcasses were well cooked, and Nosdyn took their hides for his own purpose. He would attempt to sell the hides if he was allowed to keep them. For the time being, he had instructed the Orc Monk who was his handler to send him a suitable Hero to destroy. Or anyone for that matter.

Nosdyn was growing comfortable with his life as a Citadel participant. He decided he could invest long-term time into his training and combat tactics, and maybe even learn something new. That's when he felt it. At first, he wasn't sure what it was that he felt, but then the creature detached itself from the darkness as easily as any shadowmancer could. Nosdyn turned partially to face the intruder, but sensed something like a kindred spirit flowing from her. The entity was a female presence, and she was dressed in an elegant, almost provocative dress. It was all black lace, and it held the markings of a people that Nosdyn had some dealings with in his past. The closest things to brothers/sisters that The Demonfolk actually had were the Vampires of Haidia. Nosdyn looked down at the carcasses of the fallen predatory beasts, and realized the blood-scent must have called her from her hiding place.

Nosdyn's eyes analyzed the woman before him. She walked towards him unafraid and placed a hand against his powerfully defined cheekbone.

"Long time since I seen a Kindred." She said carefully and moved around him in a dancing fashion. "Those are big cats you have killed, likely to draw other predators."

"I have...appetites." Nosdyn said. "I see so do you." Nosdyn knew that Vampires were a dangerous sort of lot, but they were allies of one another. Nosdyn would not attack her.

"Are those for me?" She asked.

Nosdyn considered the question very carefully. He then looked at the woman, he too hungered, and he did not want the meal to go to waste. He would spare with one of his kills. "One you may have." Nosdyn said simply. Towards the people allied with his race, Nosdyn could be diplomatic and show respect, even admiration to them. Nosdyn knew that Vampires were capable of tremendous skill level and power. He would have to play his cards well in front of the Vampiress. Nosdyn carefully looked at the woman after he hefted one of the dead cats towards her to feast upon and consume. Nosdyn looked at her whilst she ate and satisfied her hunger and thirst. He watched her the whole time with a strange fascination. Nosdyn did not say a single word while she ate.

Then she finished and stood up, turning to look at the young Demon warrior. "Did you enjoy watching me, young Warrior?" She asked.

The Demon was not sure how he should respond to her. His eyes narrowed, but he did in fact enjoy watching her. He felt a direct response was likely the best course of action. "It was very enlightening." Nosdyn said in response. "I am glad you have shown me such an intimate matter..." The woman sat on a small rock. Suitable for a chair, Nosdyn had prepared a campfire to keep warm with. He'd been in The Citadel arena for a few hours prior. Nosdyn watched her as she looked at the flames. "You are the first I have encountered in these mysterious constructs that the Monks create..." Nosdyn said. He wasn't sure if he was being rude to her or not.

Nosdyn observed every movement she made from a strategic mindset. He would have to finish her quickly if she attempted to turn on him. She didn't and instead looked directly at him.

"You are going to battle here are you not?" She asked.

"I am." Nosdyn responded.

"You are not very social, I take it. May I watch you as you have watched me?" She asked.

"You may." He said carefully in response. "It would be an honor to do battle before one such as yourself."

"My, my. I shall watch in a safe distance then. Maybe we will meet again...sometime soon. I thank you for the kind gift you have given me tonight. I wish you glory and blood during the trial you will face." She said calmly. "Might I know your name, young warrior?"

"Nosdyn." He said in response plainly. "I look forward to someday meeting you again." And the Vampiress vanished into the living dark. Nosdyn turned towards the campfire, and waited for his opponent to arrive.

[Thran Iavas]

To be treated as dumb was fully fault of his own. The perfect disguise, to stop those fools who would rather destroy his life than ask questions, had its negitive drawbacks. The orc brute of a monk stared up at Dwell sitting languidly upon Iavas' back, and addressed him with deep courtesy as if he would a king. Or a prince, for after all, that was what Iavas was.

"We 'ave an openin' milord," the grunt related, gesturing with his grimy hand down a corridor. "Someone lookin' for glory, if ya ge' mi'meanin'." There was a chortled laugh and the tusks jostled in the jaw.

Iavas, through his deep-seated enternal mastery over Dwell, forced a regal nod through the otherwise useless elf. The mouth formed the words, "Thank you my good man," then Dwell fell silent.

Twisting away with a deep elk bark, the Thran left the monk to stand there and be awkward. He trotted down the hallway, head proudly raised, towards the direction that had been indicated and made for the closest ajar door.

That which caught him most off-guard upon gaining the threshold of the arena was the smell. So many years of traipsing through the Bestiis Empire, where no building stood, only the natural surroundings of field, forest and freeze. The freshness of the chlororhyll scent, the sap, flowers and leaves caught his large nostrils and bade him to purr somewhat akin to a cat. Though this was a place to hone fighting, and perhaps to die, he was tempted to continue on his way, merely because of the sense of home. A forest, a woodland, a place where deer have the advantage as the lords of environment.

With a sideways look to the monk Iavas stepped in, leaving all possibility of back out behind, and allowed the door to swing closed behind him upon a brush of a breeze. Inwards he stepped into the wooden paradise, and shook out his shallow mane. Once there, he was able to stretch, enjoy the loneliness of the absence of life he could see around him, and let out a bellow as old as life itself.

A bellow, a challenge, to whatever creature lay beyond the foliage. Moving Dwell from his back to the ground, to beside the door, Iavas moved off on his own, severing the link between him and his elvish simple companion. Without a single look back he continued alone, his mind his own, this world his own, with only the mighty crossbow strapped to his haunch. He trusted himself and Enlightenment far more than he trusted the lonely mind of the elf he had liberated, and thus his hooves took him deeper into the forest.

There were few creatures that he could see or track, apart from the spare rabbit or hog. Eventually a fox happened to skitter into view within the darker confines ahead. Iavas paused, then grunted to himself, tossing his mighty head of antlers high into the air and sent a focus of mind towards the beast. It was like a puncture, a dart, swift and toxic that would cause at first stress, then a feeling of dread, then finally subjugation.

Subjugation to the fate of the great mind of the mighty wandering Elk.

[Arch_Nemsis]

(Great character by the way Phi!!!)

Nosdyn heard a lot of sounds in the night time forest. There were the calls of various predatory beasts, and insects, as well as the large avian kind. It was a fitting sort of temporary home for the Demon Warrior. He listened carefully, but ONE sound suddenly caught his attention. It was louder, more aggressive than any mating call. That sound was was the aggressive call of a forest predator. And it was likely a LARGE forest predator at that. Nosdyn figured the sound belonged to the Hero he would ultimately defeat.

Rising from his seated position, Nosdyn looked at the campfire quite carefully for a long moment. It would give away his position, but that was the general idea. He was NOT trying to hide at all. He wanted the battle to be long, and epic, and end in someone's death. Even his own. After the mighty challenging call was issued, Nosdyn activated his weapon. The powerful blade manifested and soon extended to it's full length. Nosdyn made some adjustments on the control panel of his weapon and made the width slightly wider of the weapon. Then, he was ready to go.

The beam weapon added a glowing light to the area around him. It seemed almost exactly like a mystical aura, coloured dark purple. Nosdyn heard the sound off to his east, and decided it was best to search off in that direction. Nosdyn walked at first, his pacing very careful and deliberate. Then, he broke off into a small sprint, covering the distance between himself and the general direction of the challenging call. Judging from how loud the calling was, Nosdyn deduced that his opponent couldn't have been very far from his current location. His eyes narrowed. He knew The Citadel Leagues offered all sorts of strange opponents, he just wasn't certain what he was looking for. What The Monks would send for him THIS time.

He discovered a thicket of foliage and bushes. Trees completely surrounded Nosdyn, these were also gnarled. There was a certain darkness in the air, likely caused by the vampire he'd encountered earlier. Nosdyn began the search for his opponent, hoping that the thing would be as brave as his challenge was. His opponent had lured Nosdyn out of hiding, and now the hunt was on. Nosdyn held his weapon with his left hand he was capable of using the beam weapon with either of his hands. He looked around and spotted a red furred fox. The carcass was out in the open, Nosdyn went to investigate it and saw that it's facial expression was one of fear and terror. It's face was distorted in supernatural pain and agony, and it was clear to Nosdyn that the creature had died a particularly horrible death. Nosdyn investigated the creature, and saw no man-made weaponry of any sort. He also saw no bruises or injuries of any sort, the thing was simply DEAD. That thought worried Nosdyn for a brief moment, then he felt a macabre curiosity to find the one who had caused the creature to die such a horrible death.

[Philomel]

Unfortunately the fox had been remarkably weak. Some dire trauma - Iavas sensed his entire family had been slaughtered, vixen and pups all - had left him with an instability. There was also some clear issue of a dark presence in this forest, something real and not imagined, that had fevered the fox's mind. No sooner had Iavas tried to gain control of his limbs and heart and thoughts than the fox gave out, spasmed, and fell to the side.

The mighty Elk grunted, irritated but nonetheless impressed. His opponent here was dark, indeed, dark enough to cause fear into the beasts that dwelt in this illusioniary paradise. They skittered, panicked, and not because a great regal prince was roaming through their homes, but because of the lurking danger ever-present. It lay at the back of Iavas' mind, a silent prod of sixth-sense entailed common sense. Like a warning, but not. Like instinct, but not. Like fore-knowledge, but not. There, but not needing to be focused on. Probably it was filling all the dumb beasts about with irrationality, sending them to die as soon as Iavas' influence cut over them. Maybe softer.

Gaining deeper into the thicker foliage the Elk searched harder, deeper, until he came across a female rabbit. Softly, not like a poisonous dart this time, he impressed the depth of his being and began to establish control over the creature, not death. The rabbit sat still, staring up outside of the hole to her burrow and twitched her nose. The action made Iavas snort with amusement. Twisting around where he had come from he assessed his tracks and the area around him.

Green. Cover. Depth. Finding a massive ivy plant that splayed itself over two trees the bulk of the Speaking Elk moved himself into the leaves. He left the rabbit sitting there, keeping the link between his higher mind and her lesser idiotic one. She was in view for any being who was looking, but not an obvious sight. Merely she was waiting for Iavas to completely dominate himself over her. When done he could keep her alive, and not kill her as he had done accidentally with the fox. Then she might serve some use, somehow, somewhere.

But for now ...

Splitting his mind in two, like the great artist he was, Iavas kept behind the wall of ivy and summoned the light from within his soul. Blessing and beauty and unfathomable honour bestowed to him from the God of Light cast a glimmer into his antlers. They glowed, but dimly, not enough to be seen, he hoped, behind the ivy. Pressing force into the power he lifted Enlightenment from his flank; that holy crossbow that would bring death to whatever dark thing was walking to attempt a deer slaughter. Enlightenment lifted directly into the air, shimmering with the same soft light, and pointed to where Iavas wished it to point. He shifted, lifting his head to peer between a small gap of leaves in the ivy, then set about to wait.

The repeating crossbow hovered above his head. The rabbit who was slowly giving into his dominance waited to the side. The enemy was hopefully following Iavas' tracks and heading into this fine trap. At which point Enlightenment would ping and a bolt would fly and the creature would die.

Die. The dark creature would die. At the end of the day light will win out.

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn felt an eerie sensation as if the forest were watching him.

He LIKED knowing that he could affect the environment around him so dramatically, so completely. To his left, a few deer cautiously watched The Demon Warrior as he inspected the fallen fox. My target is near now...I have to be careful. This could be a trap of some sort. Having some tactical warfare experience, and experience with the enemy Qua'losh Tactics, Nosdyn could not help but consider that he was potentially walking into a trap.

The fallen fox from earlier was likely an attempt to create a baiting system, much like a lion or a bear hunting it's prey.

Nosdyn carefully studied the fallen fox, unable to determine a cause of death.

He had no knowledge of psionics for the time being, so the powers of the mind were beyond his understanding.

What he DID know, was something mysterious and very powerful was capable of killing the immediate wildlife.

That was a tangible element that he could discern, a tangible mystery. Nosdyn figured that the target was somewhere ahead, and he did not want to spring any lethal trap. Nosdyn decided to play it safe. With his weapon in hand, it's mysterious and unnerving humming sound would likely give his position away. As a non-stealth user, he did not care. He was trying to become as imposing a combat figure as possible.

And so, Nosdyn reacted to the present threat.

He decided to back step suddenly, his heavy boot falls crushing the grass and moist soil beneath. The animals kept a frightened gaze upon his person as he moved. He knew the forest ITSELF did not want him there. But he did not care, Nosdyn was the alpha monster. As he back tracked, he spotted something he had not earlier. An unfamiliar track from a creature not native to the normal beasts in the area. It is lost, or it is the target... Nosdyn recognized the tracks as some sort of a forest creature like an Elk, or a big horned beast. It was large, the hoof prints in the soil were rather far apart.

Nosdyn's glowing amber eyes studied the tracks and realized, he HAD almost walked into a trap. The tracks lead completely around from his former position, and stopped someplace ahead. Nosdyn decided to become the hunter, and would smoke out the clever trap setter. Nosdyn moved quickly in an attempt to get AROUND the giant-sized Elk and move behind it. He did not know what games the monks were playing at, and had never faced anything like what he was about to face.

Then he saw it.

It WAS a giant forest beast, only more regal and dangerous looking than the rest. It had elegant horns that glowed, and what was that?! It's a fucking giant crossbow floating atop it's horns!!! Nosdyn thought to himself with some astonishment. He immediately thought of the Seraphic Arts and their favour towards psionics and other weapons. For a moment, he considered that the elk might be a part of the illusion. But that floating crossbow thing made him realize that THING was likely his opponent. It radiated light, and Nosdyn knew that the thing would likely be his enemy and assault him on sight. GOOD. Nosdyn thought to himself, he readied his weapon, the humming and glowing blade likely to give away his position.


He deduced that he was still a bit of a ways far from his opponent so that he could hide at least somewhat. But then, he decided to be brutal and lethal, efficient. Nosdyn took off on a forward run towards the creature, his weapon rotating upwards so that the blade tip pointed skyward. When he had covered enough distance forward, Nosdyn suddenly leaped towards the elk, and jumped in a forward jump. He covered some ground with his massive size, gripping the handle of his weapon with both hands. Then, as the blade weapon glowed in the dark, he suddenly attempted to bring his weapon downward upon the flank of the creature. He HOPED he had done enough to catch it off card. If it did...his weapon would HURT the creature a lot. He kept his eyes more on the weapon above the creature then the horns directly. He was readying himself to react if the creature was able to evade. In the meantime, he was focused on hurting the creature and starting the battle off in HIS favor.

He would be the one to snuff out the light...

[Thran Iavas]

Okay please excuse my previous post as Philomel. Totally did not realise I was posting as her, its a mistake. Many apologies.

When the enemy did not reveal himself, Iavas felt cheated. Here he was, proud and ready, steady as an immovable moutain with his cover of ivy and weapon assembled. His eyes glowed with a silent fury that flowed through his body, pumping adrenaline and a feeling of euphoria into the mighty limbs of the elk. Yet his concentration did not falter. He felt the winds pass overhead, shaking the leaves. He heard the rabbit under his dominance scrabbling around in mental confusion. He saw the light shift and shimmer as the foliage before him bade a distraction ...

But the Thran of Bestiis Empire, nephew to the great Elk Emperor did not falter. That which burned within him, the desire to end all darkness with the deadly light of his God, made him the determined paladin he had always desired to be. His forehooves ground into the dirt. His antlers glowed even brighter with fervent passion. His throat rumbled with impatience, waiting for this beast to come. Because he had to come. He would come. He had to come and meet his death.

Sound. Essence. Life. Movement. Iavas sensed it before it struck, already on alert as his enemy had not shown himself in front. As he was supposed to. As Iavas had waited him to do so. His opponent was supposed to walk into this clearing, stare dumbly at the wall of ivy and - thwunk - he would die with a crossbolt between the eyes.

Yet no, apparently, not. His enemy hated playing by the rules Iavas had created. And that made the princely Elk mad.

He swung his great head at the whisper of crushing leaves, the scream of bugs dying underfoot, the rush of wind past a fast-paced body. Antlers were lowered, bellow was let free as his small but intelligent black eyes saw the creature rushing forwards from his left, towards his flank. It was truly dark, truly torturous - disgusting, humanoid, a demon. Worthy to be crushed. As what looked a beam of pure darkness in his hand, one that would surely crush all light before it, and one that only Enlightenment could compare to. A beam of darkness that hummed like a storm of biting flies.

The crossbow swung around as his antlers glowed more intensely. As the thing, that apparently was the Elk Prince's enemy, dived down from the ranged jump to strike the Elk's thigh, Enlightenment loosened a bolt, as fast as lightening. It harmonised a heavenly hymn as it swiftly darted through the air to where the dark blade would land, and Iavas shifted his behind instinctively. Back, around, away. The tip of the beam of sorrow, for that is what it might as well be, scraped his flank to a small degree and left a pale wound.

Keeping his mind still upon that of dominating the bunny, and keeping Enlightenment aloft, Iavas ignored the cut, and waited for the bolt to collide with the demon. Swinging around he let the wall of ivy be nothing more than a wall to stand through and faced his opponent face to face. Or antler to unnaturally blue skin, tattooed with disgusting etchings of horrid fortune.

Let the holy Elk win.

Iavas faced his enemy now, on even ground, with crossbow and antler aloft. This time he would not be caught off guard. One wound was one small mistake. But Princes never made the same mistakes twice.

[Arch_Nemsis]

A mysterious substance not terribly unlike Nosdyn's OWN Demonic blood flowed from the cut he gave the beast.

It is strong willed...but I can cut it. If it bleeds...I can kill it. Nosdyn continued his movement and reverted himself to a tight combat stance. He looked the Elk prince right in the eyes...they too were filled with a similar hatred that Nosdyn held in his own eyes. Good. He is angry, angry Paladins make mistakes... That moment of distraction left Nosdyn slightly vulnerable to attack. He had no idea WHAT the princely Elk was capable of doing. So when a tremendous burst of pain shout through his right shoulder, Nosdyn flinched for a moment and took two steps back. He noticed there was an iron tipped bolt now piercing his right side. Nosdyn growled with something like anger and rage. The pain helped him to focus, and as he focused he prepared himself for what would become a brutal battle.

Nosdyn then knew he could NOT face the Elk's front-side or he'd just get pin cushioned. So instead, Nosdyn quickly figured out he had to vastly cripple the beast's tactical advantage. Que'losh tactics... Nosdyn despised the ranged tactics even when his own kin used it. Quickly, Nosdyn acted and ran at a slight angle AWAY from out of the creature's front line of vision. Or so he hoped. He didn't know what sensory capacity that the thing had, but he knew he wasn't going to get used like a Demonic shooting gallery. Nosdyn had no intentions of dying that day. The clunky wooden shaft sticking out of his shoulder hurt like all Hell. It was difficult concentrating with a chunk of wood sticking out of your body, but despite that, Nosdyn had a task to complete.

As he moved into the shadows of the forest, attempting to get out of the Elk's field of vision, he quickly acted. He jumped from out of nearby hiding and took a stance that heavily favored a high sword stance. As he leaped TOWARDS the Elk, he had one thing in mind: the utter defeat of the prince. In mid-jump, Nosdyn suddenly slashed downward with a carefully spinning sword swipe. The cut was downward, and aimed a very specific location. A location located right above the head, antlers area of the prince. The very CROSSBOW itself had become his target. Nosdyn struck downward with all of his weight sacrificing all finesse for brute combat tactics. If his attack was successful, Nosdyn would have a slim chance of severing the huge repeater crossbow into two pieces and make it completely useless. He hoped to catch the prince off guard and repay the favor for the bolt now jutting through his shoulder. Nosdyn would employ full use of Demonic military tactics.

The never ending and nearly maddening sound of his beam sword seemed to pierce the dark itself. Nosdyn kept his eyes on his target, he knew he was placing himself in tremendous amount of danger and well within reach of the prince's antlers. But Nosdyn didn't care. Nosdyn was there to kill and appease the old bastard gods of destruction. Nosdyn was unafraid, and had committed EVERYTHING to the single act: destroying the ray of hope that the prince clung to. His entire mind set was now locked on that one simple act. Seconds passed as he swung his weapon down towards Enlightenment. Precious seconds...and then he would show the prince what fear truly was.

[Thran Iavas]

(( okay not deleting this character... should keep him going, so replied))

That thing, the demon, twisted and became one with the shadows.

Shadows were one thing that Iavas did not care for. They were dark and treacherous and concealed things from his eyes. Only when he was using the light of dawn was he able to form a glow and send those darknesses running, a brilliance held aloft in his mighty antlers. Yes, he had managed to hit the attacker, that prevailing enemy that sought to hunt him down and carve the noble Elk heart from his chest, but that seemed to be of little use. Blood had now been exchanged for blood, and now the villain was using sneak tactics, so unworthy and unchivalrous it made the Thran seethe within.

He found himself looking around with eager eyes, waiting for that right moment. Enlightenment, above his antlers, hovering in a still form and following every mental movement he gave it, clicked another bolt into place. A few seconds passed, or perhaps they were micro seconds, but Enlightenment only needed those few to arm itself again. It was sweetly in time - for no sooner had it reloaded than the dark demon bounded from behind and under a branch in the tree opposite the prince.

That sickly black beam of utter evil swept down from above. Iavas bellowed, loud and fearsome, like a monster bear declaring his lair. Brightly, his antlers glowed, and with them his eyes, sparking a beautiful sweep of sunlight in wake of this hellish being come to quell him. As the dark blade sliced down towards his skull - nay towards Enlightment itself the prince of Elks let loose the bolt. Aimed, at least near to the on-comer's body, it whizzed off at high speed and close range.

Blade came down, bolt went flying, and Iavas hoped that it would meet its mark, for his thoughts were faster than physical movement, and Enlightenment followed his direct thoughts. As Enlightment was smashed into by the dark sword the Elk retaliated with a great sweep of his antlers. He moved down, then smartly struck up, defiantly, mashing through broken crossbow and hardened evil, straight at the demon.

And all the while, in the corner of the forest, very nearby, the rabbit began to foam at the mouth. Its eyes rolled back, wildly, into its skull and its naturally large incisors mashed hard against its own tongue. Ears twitched as the fury of the Elk began to merge with it, and the maddness that had slain the fox rushed into the leporide mammal. Insanity, pure utter insanity, that was willing to give its life for the service of the prince, and the light and all that stood in their way.

[Arch_Nemsis]

For a long moment, everything seemed to slow down.

I think I heard something... In his rage, he did not notice that the arrow had pierced his chest straight and true. However, Nosdyn would not stop, he could not stop. He had an adrenal rush built up and and he would give everything he had for the singular purpose of defeating the animal before him. The sound he had heard? The sound he heard was the piercing of leather armour, and the piercing of his own flesh. Nosdyn growled in a hysterical fit, then it happened, something heavy and powerful hit Nosdyn hard. It hit him across the side of his rib cage, and he felt the impact like a sack full of concrete bricks. It was painful, loud, and horrifying. Nosdyn was knocked out of the air, in mid-jump and sent cascading towards the ground in a heap. He had destroyed the weapon of his enemy, but at what price? Nosdyn felt the ground come up underneath him as he stared up at the sky.

He could only hear the sound of the prince augmented by his beam sword.

Nosdyn couldn't move! In that moment he realized he'd likely broken a rib bone or three, and that was when he noticed something else. There was a long crossbolt shaft sticking out of his chest! When had I failed to notice that?! Nosdyn wanted to scream in agony and pain, he wanted to pull the bolt out of his chest and run the prince right through with his own weapon. Alas, the majestic animal had won the day. Nosdyn knew he was dying. But still, he did not feel one ounce of fear or regret. He had committed to his tactics and stuck to his guns. Next time, I'll get you...yeah....next time... Nosdyn thought to himself. He continued to fight the cold grip of death, even as it made him sink deep down into the abyss. He stared at the stars of the night, and then...everything went black and there was only cold.

Somewhere across time and space a voice mocked him laughter...or perhaps...

It was the sound of his own laughter as he mocked the prince one last time.

He never stopped staring with those cold menacing eyes, burning with hatred even through the piercing dark.

If one would have looked closely they would have seen one more terrible, frightening detail. Nosdyn died with a smile on his face.

[Thran Iavas]

Imitating the flotsam and jetsam that is cast upon a stony beach, the froth from the mouth of the savage, mad rabbit, ran down to the earth and mingled there with bark scratchings and dirt. It ran as soon as the antlers of the mighty beast collided with the flesh of Nosdyn Krotar, releasing its full potential of energy from its hind legs to race forwards in exhuberant enthusiasm. Skittering around the edge of the trees, it slammed into a halt against the hoof of the mighty elk prince.

The great eyes, as dark as night as as majestic as an emperor, rolled down to stare at the puppeteered creature. Beneath his glory, beneath his control, it trembled, and all he did was huff and then look away.

Nudging the body of the demon with his other foreleg, that the rabid bunny did not quake beside, Iavas found his foe to be apparently dead. Naturally he had felt the jarring slam of the creature on his antlers, then felt the thud as his crossbow, split in two, fell back to his skull. Protected as he was by the iron plate on his brow, Iavas felt little pain, but great annoyance. Again he pawed at the broken body, somewhat snorting with loud, angry bellows, but it would not move.

Still. It was still. Its blood, from where his points had pierced the torso of the beast and slain it down, was pooling out over the ground. It carried the red dead juice in little rivulets, finding all the cracks and ravines in the dead leaf floor, before creating lakes and being met by vegetation. Some of it was soaked directly into the soil where some small worm would find his meal entirely delightful for the day.

However ... however. Iavas was disatisfied. It had not gone the way he had wanted. This body was down, useless to him. It had attacked, then slumped, dying in one foul blow and now he could not do anything about it. He could not torture, he could not play. He could not tease, nor could he slay. He could only stare at this thing beneath him, defeated and dead, whilst the now useless rabbit shivered beside him.

In anger, the Nomad Prince forced the rabbit to break it own neck. Crunch. Click.