[DotD]The Lichbrood's.

[Arch_Nemsis]

(This is my entry for Nosdyn for The Day of the Dragons event. Note: This thread contains mature/adult themes if you're the queasy type PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS THREAD lol you've been warned.)

Nosdyn oft preferred the depths of Ruild.

Far away from civilization, where it was just him and his rune blade for hunting in the wild lands.

Though Nosdyn was a demon, he knew that he could use the people around around him for perceived advantages.

Nosdyn often travelled alone, he wanted to be certain that he did not keep many mortal attachments that could be used against him.

He was a soldier through and through.

That particular day, he was in his solitary camp. The depths of Ruild were like an entirely separate entity all it's own. It had it's own law, and was virtually untouched by the governments of men folk. Nosdyn stared at the warm fire he'd established for himself. The flames flickering in a sporadic fashion with the wind. Nosdyn frowned as he thought about the direction his life had taken him. He'd recently encountered The Citadel. The Citadel was a perfect place for someone like Nosdyn to explode on unsuspecting victims. Nosdyn found himself facing challenge after challenge, without fail. He continued in that way for several months, without stopping risking life and limb.

That night, he realized something very important.

I have no direction. As a soldier, Nosdyn had taken his rank and file style life for granted. He was used to constantly following orders, living life on a constant edge. That edge was kept sharp thanks to The Citadel. Nosdyn thought very carefully about the chaos and bloodshed he'd caused in his singular war against the surface dwellers. Nosdyn stared into the fire for a long moment. Hours had passed. And he did not have a constructive resolution to his plight. Without my platoon I am nothing. I am another sell sword. Nosdyn realized at that moment that he was on to something important. I need a destiny or whatever, a fate. Something real to cling to that I can say is uniquely mine. Every Demon grew up hearing the stories of the legendary Overlord Zieg. Every youthful Demon aspired to be a great Overlord just like Zieg had been. But is that the path I am meant to be on? Nosdyn thought to himself.

Nosdyn was a lot of things. Cruel, violent, and evil. However, he was not a fool. He understood that history was carved by champions of both the light and the dark. It just so happened that Nosdyn represented the side of the dark. His mind was unusually quiet, normally he heard a lot of noise. The ghosts of his sinful past. Nosdyn sat with his arms propped up on his powerful thighs, and his hands folded together beneath his chin. It was the posture of someone lost in thought, no, in deep contemplation. Nosdyn was pondering the very meaning of his life. His empty, existence without any goals or a plan. He simply just did the shit that needed doing. He simply...existed. I can't continue on like this. Otherwise, this trip to the surface world will be for naught. I have learned a lot about how things run here. I cannot simply just conquer everything as was originally planned. Instead...I have to alter my plans. No empire was built overnight. Nosdyn suddenly understood what he needed to do. That's it! He realized that he needed to build an actual FORTRESS to serve as his base of operations. He was a soldier, a soldier without a base of operations. Without an army to guide him, without generals, with nothing. Nosdyn had something to go on. I can make a fortress, and that is something I can defend... He realized another matter all together. The surface dwellers will likely destroy themselves in the end anyway without our help. But it must LOOK as if we have conquered. Nosdyn stood up at that moment.

And that's when it happened.

Nosdyn heard a screeching sound.

It was relatively nearby to his position.

The fates were oft cruel, and thrust folks into situations they were ill suited for. Nosdyn, the demon, who would be a conqueror, stood up and decided to impulsively investigate the source of the sound. Something about the sound itself was familiar to Nosdyn. Haidia and the Tular Plains were different from the surface world and had an entirely unique ecosystem. Including monsters. I've heard something like that mating call before...I wonder... Nosdyn couldn't place it exactly. He got up, gathered his things, and went to investigate the sound. A short walk to his east placed him in the exact vicinity of the sound's origin. Nosdyn paid attention. He was listening to see if the sound would repeat itself, and it did, in short intervals of about a couple of minutes long. They are mating calls... Nosdyn guessed. Nosdyn crouched low using the shadows to attempt to hide himself. When he finally reached a clearing. The sound was loudest in that direction. And that's when he saw it.

Nosdyn's eyes narrowed.

He immediately understood that he was looking at a Lich.

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn carefully observed the person that he was looking at.

The man was tall, very lithe, and wore an extravagant robe. It was adourned with the inscribed marks of a lich. The man had an amulet of some sort that glowed with power, he also wielded a very large horn. The horn's tip was held against his lips and the man was blowing into the mysterious horn. The instrument made it's diabolical sound. Surrounding the lich was three female lich dragons! Nosdyn immediately felt intrigued by the power that the lich held control over. Nosdyn observed in silence, his eyes narrowed and his back to a tree. The lich was somehow able to command the dragons. Nosdyn carefully studied the scene before him. He sensed radiating power from the lich and the dragons themselves. However, he wanted to be certain if the lich was his enemy or not. It can't be a coincidence that he's performing this rite very near to my camp...this must be what I have been waiting for.

Nosdyn observed for a long while as the man conjured forbidden powers.

At least powers that were forbidden in the surface world, such dark arts were common place in Nosdyn's realm.

As the rite went on, he watched with fascination as the lich inter bred with the female dragons. It was exotic, and he'd never seen anything like it. The female dragons welcomed the intrusion of the powerful lich, and that was the mysterious part of the acts. As Nosdyn watched, he felt compelled to intrude upon the act.

One of the female dragons noticed him first. "We are not alone sire."

The lich finished what he was doing, and turned towards Nosdyn. "Oh, have you come to stop me?"

Nosdyn noticed the elder runic symbols etched upon the naked man's body.

"Hardly." Nosdyn said. "I didn't know there were any dragons in these parts."

"You're a hunter, are you not?" One of the females asked of Nosdyn.

"Something of that nature. Except I mean your lot no harm." Nosdyn said truthfully.

The lich had a confused expression on his face. "You're not here to stop us then what are you here for?"

"I have a camp nearby. I can bring supplies and food if any of you folks need it." Nosdyn said.

The lich considered the situation. He stood up from finishing his servicing of one of the female dragons. Then he walked towards Nosdyn. "You're not offended by any of this?"

"No." Nosdyn was actually fascinated.

"You're not a Human. I've never seen your kind before." The lich said calmly. "You radiate a certain power though."

"I am a demon!" Nosdyn said with SOME degree of pride. He looked at the gathered for a moment. "You have plans of conquest more than likely, so do I." Nosdyn said carefully. "Your kind is one of them lich folks if I'm not mistaken."

"You're smart." The lich said calmly. "I do have some plans, but I am still lacking the power to enact them."

"Your friends are the key are they not?" Nosdyn said casually. He looked at the lich. "We should discuss things together and figure out if our plans coincide. Perhaps we can benefit one another."

The lich had a confused expression on his face. "You would help me?" The lich asked. "Why?"

"Let's just say...you have my interest. And so do your companions." Nosdyn answered.

"My companions? Oh! I get it." The lich chuckled. "You are interested in my stock are you not?" The lich asked.

"More than that." Nosdyn said honestly. "But we can discuss payment AFTER we have talked about a plan. You are hunting someone are you not?"

"I am preparing for such a purpose, yes." The lich said. "My friends here are part of the plan."

Nosdyn listened. "Let us talk then. I am sure we can reach an agreeable arrangement." Nosdyn said.

[Arch_Nemsis]

"Let me get dressed first though." The lich stated and put his robes on.

His female companions, the dragons, were resting at that point.

They were smaller dragons, but still dragons none the less.

Nosdyn observed the lich as he got dressed, and sat on a rock deep in thought. His mind was pondering the situation at hand. He wasn't sure what he was trying to prove, only that the Lich had been there at the same time as he. This cannot be a coincidence. I am meant to know this person...I just have to figure out the WHY of it. Nosdyn thought to himself whilst the lich got dressed. Nosdyn placed large, meaty hands underneath his chin and considered the situation at hand very carefully. He wasn't above earning a blood stained gold coin. But there was something more to his motivations. The dragons are there too, that must mean a greater plot is present. That must mean that he is after someone potentially very powerful and I don't want to be left behind. I am also searching for something...something to cling to. Nosdyn looked up and saw that the lich was done dressing. "Finished there?" Nosdyn asked.

"Aye." The lich stated calmly. He had long and vibrant black hair. His eyes were a deep dark brown and they had a glow of power to them. His skull structure was quite angular. The lich walked towards Nosdyn and sat down in a lotus position. "Let us talk then."

"I suppose introductions are in order." Nosdyn said. "I am called Nosdyn, I belong to the clan Krotar." Nosdyn said casually, he doubted the lich would know too much of Haidian politics. But the dragons...would likely know something. One of them, likely the lich's mate, laid on the ground casually next to him. Nosdyn noticed that the lich sometimes petted his companion very sensually, but not in a vulgar sort of way. "Been fighting since I learned to walk." Nosdyn explained. "Not much else to it. Don't got a rank worth a fuck, but I do know how to use the old arts." Nosdyn said and continued. "Learned how to use this a long time ago." Nosdyn unsheathed his rune weapon and showed it to the lich very delicately.
"Gotten me this far." Nosdyn said. "What about yourself?"

"Me?" The lich rubbed his chin. "I suppose introductions are in order." The lich looked to his four female companions, they were of the same dragon breed. They were attractive and had black scales, deep and powerful eyes. One of them yawned as they rested. "They call me Mael." The lich introduced himself. "Son of Chazamos." Mael said. "I dabble in things. My friends here were acquired as the result of a recent study and an inheritance." Mael paused for a moment. "I'd rather not place them in harm's way as they are of a particularly powerful and ancient breed." Mael continued to explain. "Plus, this one is with child." He patted his companion's belly for a moment. "So that means that she is not adequate for battle. I would rather preserve my heirs." Mael said. "But they are still part of the plan regardless."

"More than one ways to skin a cat I suppose." Nosdyn said. "You mentioned earlier that you were after someone. Mayhaps, I will be able to assist you with that."

"You're the sellsword type I take it? Blade for hire?" Mael asked.

"Sometimes." Nosdyn responded. "I dabble in what needs to get done. Plus I currently have nothing else to work on except my hunts. And that grows dreadfully old."

Mael considered the situation at hand. "I see." He said. "So you meet a lich out in the middle of no where and look to find some direction in your existence?" Mael chuckled pleasantly, there was no malice. "I suppose life does have a way of working itself out for the better. But before I decide either way, there is something I must know."

"Ask away." Nosdyn responded.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of The Thayne Codex?" Mael suddenly asked. "More importantly, how fluent are you in the diversity of The Lesser Thayne?"

Nosdyn frowned. "I have knowledge of Lesser Thayne from my own realm." He explained. "But the surface world's religions and variations of The Thayne Codex are beyond my knowledge."

"So..." Mael said thoughtfully. "Have you heard of a Lesser Thayne called Cool?"

Nosdyn shook his head in the negative. "Doesn't seem familiar to me."

"All right. I can instruct you in that, but I am glad you have answered truthfully." Mael continued. "If you agree to assist me, the target is a Temple of Cool." Mael rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It is heavily guarded, but we do not have to cut all of the guards, in fact, I'd rather avoid unnecessary deaths. The target we are after is a High Priest named Volk Dansen." Mael frowned visibly for a moment. "For the next part of my plan to begin, we will need to carve out Volk's heart and retrieve a certain item in his possession."

"A High Priest?" Nosdyn found himself liking the idea. "You think big Mael. I suppose you will be the one carving out the heart and taking the item?"

"I just need to get close enough to directly attack Volk." Mael said. "After that we can focus on our escape from the Temple of Cool."

"That seems reasonable." Nosdyn said calmly. "You just need someone to distract the guards in the mean time?"

"Beyond that, I have an adequate purpose for you." Mael smiled at that. "The rite I have to perform will provide us with a window needed to defeat a certain entity. This entity is a dragon as well. More importantly, she guards Cool's temple.
The dragon was asleep for many years until just about a month ago." Mael continued. "I have gone close enough to see this with my own eyes."

"So...do you want me to engage this dragon?" Nosdyn asked.

"If we can avoid her, I'd rather we do that. But if a battle seems unavoidable, yes, we engage her. But give me adequate time to complete the rite I must perform." Mael said.

"This is more like my type of odds!" Nosdyn grinned. "All right, once we discuss the method of payment and have agreed upon it, you can count me in."

"What do you seek as a method of payment?" Mael asked.

Nosdyn already knew what he wanted. He pointed to the dragons general direction. "I want one. Female." Nosdyn said.

"They are all female. I can spare you a prime specimen. That is a promise." Mael continued. "Do we have a deal?"

"We do." Nosdyn responded and the two shook hands. "A contract."

"I look forward to working with you." Mael said truthfully. "Now, what about these supplies and a camp you mentioned? I'm fucking starving."

[Arch_Nemsis]

The present dragon kin were resting after their actions.

Nosdyn knew very little of the dragon folks but he wanted to learn more about them, he realized it may have become his calling. As he stood there the night air came in from the east, it was cooler that night. But near the dragons the temperature rose subtly to more tolerable conditions. Nosdyn preferred the heat, Haidia was a hot place. Concordia Forest oft got cold air from Salvar, signalling that winter was near. Nosdyn paused to look around and get his bearings. Mael was standing right next to him after he'd gotten dressed. He found the lich to be a surprisingly agreeable fellow. The ground beneath Nosdyn felt a little rough under the soles of his boots. Nosdyn crunched the earth as he moved and his boot falls were loud because of his size. Nosdyn could smell the various scents of the forest, nearby mushrooms and plants gave off different fragrances. Nosdyn stretched for a moment, they'd been sitting for a few hours prior to the move. Once Nosdyn was done, he walked forward again. He noticed that Mael followed without having to say a word to him. He is quite competent. Probably military background of some sort. I'll have to be certain to put him to full effective use. Nosdyn thought to himself as they walked the short walk back to his base camp.

Nosdyns eyes narrowed as he saw the campfire up ahead. It was glowing brightly and gave off the distinct smoke that campfires oft give off. He knew this far away from civilization, there were very few dangers that were of the surface dweller sort. I'm lucky I even found this lich out here. Could have been pretty bad for him and his stock if someone else had found him though... "This is my camp." Nosdyn said calmly. "Been living out here for a few months now, surviving on what the forest provides." Nosdyn motioned for Mael to have a seat atop one of the rocks. The campfire was still glowing strong.

"Good construction you have adequate knowledge of wilderness survival." Mael said out of respect noticing that the campfire had a carefully constructed fire pit around it. Mael sat back and felt his stomach rumbling. "Damn it's been a few days since my last hot meal." Mael said casually. He looked over towards Nosdyn. He noticed that Nosdyn was already preparing one of the beast's he'd killed for food. There was an area of the camp set aside for Nosdyn's meats and hides and such. It was all quite organized. Mael watched Nosdyn work carefully and prepare the food for the two of them. It took a span of about ten minutes, but Mael patiently waited.

"Sorry for the delay I had to clean the meats and such. Don't want to offer an ally dirty food." Nosdyn explained. He gathered a basic plate and dining sets, he kept spares in case they were called for. "There is meat on the plate for you and some bread rations." Nosdyn stated. "Hopefully they will do the trick, not sure what you like but the meats out in this area of Concordia are prime cut." Nosdyn sat down on a rock in front of Mael and watched the lich eat some food quickly and with a voracious appetite.

"Thaynes be damned." Mael chuckled as he ate. "This is the best Thaynes damned meal I've had in days. Can't barely remember the last time I ate such good food."

"I'm pleased you like it. I am a fair cook, living out here you pick up a few skills." Nosdyn said. "Here." Nosdyn tossed a leather skin filled fresh water towards Mael. "That should help it go down smooth."

"You're quite generous for one of the Haidia folk." Mael said. "I've oft heard, in the order, that you guys were a conquering lot. Were the ancient texts wrong?" Mael asked.

"No." Nosdyn responded calmly. "They were not wrong. They got it right, it's just I'm kind of without a platoon right now. Have to improvise you see?" Nosdyn continued. "The initial plan was scouting weaknesses for exploitation and surface exploration. Possible conquest, but that would come later." Nosdyn spoke without really understanding why, it was just nice to have some company present that he could relate to. "My platoon fell apart from within and orders were all shot to Hell." Nosdyn said. "From that point on, I was on my own because my platoon lost all sense of coordination and military feedback from back home." Nosdyn ate casually, tasting the succulent meat of the forest beasts he'd oft slain. "That's what brought me out here, to think and to get my own agenda straight. I'm what you would consider a deserter?" Nosdyn frowned visibly at that. "The platoon was a top secret mission anyway, with a high chance of failure. We're expendable you see." Nosdyn understood what it meant to be a soldier of Haidia. You had to follow orders until you were severed from the military or dead. "But now the rules don't apply 'cause I'm on my own." Nosdyn said. "So that's why I offered my services to you, kinda been itching for some real action." Nosdyn explained. "Plus, I'm guessing you're after a big score are you not?"

"I am." Mael responded after a few bites of his tasty food. "I work for an order of my kind of folks. Not at any real liberty to discuss much more than that. But, I CAN tell you the mission at hand." Mael removed a small parcel that contained a scroll from a pouch at his belt. "Here." Mael tossed Nosdyn the scroll. "Those are direct orders from the masters of my order."

Nosdyn caught the scroll in mid air and undid it, he then began to read the writing in perfect common tongue language.

"The temple of the Lesser Thayne, Cool." Nosdyn read out loud. "You were intending to raid it with just you and your stock out there?" Nosdyn looked in the general direction of the group of dragons who stayed behind for the time being, resting.

"To be fair I'm after two very specific items." Mael said. "You see what's in the parcel. I am a neophyte of my order trying to gain my own place." He said. "I couldn't have possibly done what they requested on my own, so I sought out help and a bit of clever planning. Then I stumbled upon the dragons you saw earlier. Used a technique to bind them, and they now obey my command."

"Did you survey the temple you have to raid?" Nosdyn asked. "I need to know what we're working against."

"There are numbers on the temple grounds, but they are not the main concern." Mael explained. "The priesthood of Cool is quite skilled and have formidable training. The master of the priests is my primary objective, I just need to get close enough to perform the ritual that the masters have instructed of me." Mael said.

"You are fully prepared to perform this ritual I take it?" Nosdyn asked as he took a viscous bite from a chunk of meat he was eating.

"I have gathered the necessary tool and power." Mael explained. "Nosdyn, if we complete this whole job, we will be received by the order as Heroes. We will have accolades beyond the payment of the job we have already discussed between you and I. I want to get this done, it is my life's work." Mael said. "I have prepared long and hard for this day waiting for my chance at glory. Not even the Thayne themselves will stop me."

Nosdyn nodded. "You're brave and I like that about you." Nosdyn considered everything being asked of him. "I will accompany you on this job." He paused for a moment and then spoke. "Since I am without platoon I will consider you my first lieutenant." Nosdyn stated with a chuckle. "But those are formalities we can worry about later. When are you due to start the attack?"

"Tomorrow." Mael explained. "We will storm on two prongs. I will come in from the air, and you will come in from the forest. Together, we will destroy The Followers of Cool."

"I'm in." Nosdyn said calmly. "As long as we can kill tons of our enemies, I am definitely in." The demon said with all of his cruelty in heart.

"This will be a battle long remembered." Mael said calmly. "We will be the undoing of a Thayne."