Enjoy...
REBIRTH
...the fire raced through the house, burning timbers, incinerating furnishings and charring everything before i. The flames moved with an unnatural quickness and purpose that defied the best efforts to halt its advance or to extinguish its source. No one knew what had started the fire but far too quickly it spread through the mansion cutting off rooms and filling them with smoke and flame. A soot covered man coughed from the smoke that had filled his lungs, he stood in front of the house watching, his elderly face grave and terrified, a young boy barely able to know what was happening clung to him his eyes brimming with tears. The Boy watched as his mother appeared briefly at an upstairs window, a burst of flame flashed horribly bright in the night air and a scream cut off with sickening finality. With a cry the boy slipped free of the man and raced towards the burning building his parents where still inside, the man lunged grabbing at the boys shirt, his hand scrapped across the fabric, the boy raced up the steps to the mansion not feeling the heat, faint cries echoed after him. Across the room pinned under a fallen beam the Boy saw his father, as he tried to move forward the fire roared up reaching for him, the flames curled around his body and this time there were no hands to rescue him, no one pulled the boy free of the burning house, fire flayed the flesh from his arms, charred muscle and liquefied fat, the boy screamed
the young man jerked awake, his heart pounding and his breath coming in vast gulps like a nearly drowned man, perspiration beading on his brow, he looked around the dark room at first not seeing anything but slowly his body calmed itself and his mind placed where he was, it was early in the morning, a little before dawn, he was home in his bed. Swinging his legs off the side of the large bed he rested his head in his hands, the vision had been terrible, he swept his hand across his face feeling the roughness of his palms, for a while he sat not moving, not thinking until he realised he was trembling slightly. A faint murmur caused him to turn, a lithe figure lay next to him on the bed, covers long forgotten lying in a pile on the floor, the first few rays of dawn glinted through the blinds revealing an athletic body, beautiful in its naked glory, lightly sun tanned skin marred only by the passions of the previous night, raven dark hair from which she gained her name spilled about her head and shoulders, a wry smile crossed his face, he pondered about how for such a powerful individual she was incredibly submissive, and yet she was very protective of her hair not wanting to change its colour, not even for him.
His mind wandered as he watched her sleep contemplating trivial thoughts and feelings until an ironic thought surfaced, how difficult it was to wear out someone with such natural endurance and stamina as her, the advantages of being a regen scrapper, he laughed under his breath not wishing to disturb her.
Putting on a pair of silk pyjama pants the man padded on bare feet across the darkened room and quietly slipped through a set of Japanese styled sliding doors, a waft of air drifted through the door and the figure on the bed curled up a little as the cool air picked at her skin. He slid the door closed behind him and sucked in a breath of air still fresh given the pre-dawn hour, the man moved to the edge of a balcony that surrounded his penthouse and gazed out over he landscape of Paragon City, far below he could hear the noises of the city coming awake, a garbage trucks brakes screeching, a car roaring to life and in the distance the sound of police sirens. He rested a foot upon a lower railing of the balcony and an arm on the top, he surveyed the city, tall buildings surrounded him, apartments and businesses for the most part with small shops closer to ground level, his gaze was broken only by the glowing of the war walls that broke up the city, to most they where a sign of protection but to him they where a constant reminder of how much trouble the city was in, before coming to this place he had visited very few cities but none before the Rikti war had used such measures, walls of concrete and force separating up the city into zones to curtail crime and destruction, he doubted that New York or Los Angeles would have such measure even now. He sighed inwardly, the war walls spoilt the sunrise, they reflected the light casting a strange glow everywhere, he could see the sun slowly climbing in its path across the heavens, the orange a fire hotter than anything else, he shuddered and rubbed at his bare skin as if chilled, the nightmare had been so real, there was only one truth for it. His patron LaNon an entity known as the Lord of Nightmares was warning him, as LaNons presence on the mortal world he had never had such a deadly dream, for the most part his rest was devoid of such things, he was no longer human, years before a magical spell had stripped away his flesh leaving a drifting spirit who LaNon rescued and sent forth cloaked in a powerful magic of black shadow and red energy, a wraith, a creature of terror and wrath. He studied his hands clasped before him, toned forearms resting easily on the metal railing, his skin was a light grey the illusion that gave him the semblance of a mortal form was difficult to maintain while he was asleep, his skin was the first thing to change shifting from a more human colour to its present state, if his concentration wavered further he would begin vanish or slip back into his wraith like figure.
As he gazed at his skin his mind turned over the images of his dream, seeking the hidden truths, pondering LaNons less than direct method, normally he was simply told what to do, whom to seek out and whom to bring his wrath against. They called him Rayth and he was according to the greater populace a hero, a person who protected innocence and freedom, he scoffed at them, he was no hero, he cared very little for those he rescued, most just were very lucky that his patron sought to bring Nightmares that would last forever to those deserving them. To that end she had granted Rayth with considerable powers which had grown and flourished over the past year and a half since coming to Paragon City. He had already been a student of magic thanks to his Uncle Theodore before his accident and joining with LaNon had accelerated the growth of his powers, he knew spells of energy and ice, how to create bursts of destruction and auras of frost, spells of levitation and flight and spells of imprisonment and agony. His studies of magic had even given him a powerful incantation that unleashed a wave of energy sweeping away most opponents around him with the power of a small Nova. Lately his powers had changed, they became erratic and his mastery over new incantations took a different path and he had added spells of fire to his repertoire, there was one such spell left as yet untried. It was a complex weave, far more powerful than his other spells, it had no verbal component that he could fathom and even when he tried it there was no effect. It was funny the spell had been there the entire time he had served LaNon, yet he rarely gave it any thought, LaNon had told him that such an ability was there only to be used when truly needed and at such a time it would all make sense.
Rayth shifted leaning his back against the railing feeling the morning air breeze through his hair and across his skin. He looked at his penthouse, high atop a building it was fashioned after an old Japanese home, he liked Japanese thing, enjoyed their culture, he couldnt speak more than a word or two of their language but he enjoyed it none the less, the fortune his parents had left him allowed for a ridiculously comfortable life which allowed him to indulge in certain passions. He was not a playboy or a socialite he was always too busy for such things but where he could he lashed out buying those things he enjoyed. For a while he leaned there listening to the world, his mind cleared of all thoughts the breeze rippled at his pants he shut his eyes and relaxed, the world slowed and stopped, everything was as normal as it could be.
With a burst of movement he vaulted over the side of the building, his eyes opened fiery energy blazing from them, the wind whistled in his ears as he plummeted head first for the distant ground below, his body positioned as if a diver leaping into a pool. Windows raced past as he twisted in his fall exhilarating in the uncontrolled feeling it provided, with the ground rushing up to meet him he uttered a half-spoken word, his flesh vanished, power filled his body, clothing itself in night. Where his head was a black void appeared surrounded by a deep hood only his fiery red eyes gave it a semblance of a face, a long cape streamed from his shoulders which were adorned with huge organic looking spikes that swept out in a huge mantle, metal gauntlets and boots armoured his fists and feet, his clothing blended together with detail apparent only in the brightest light but normally so black that his form seemed a hole in space. His body grew, swelling with unleashed power, becoming larger until it towered over most men by a head and shoulders. With nothing more than a thought his descent changed from an uncontrolled fall into a directed path curving away seconds before reaching the ground, a loose piece of paper whipped about madly in his wake as he raced inches above the street, he darted past parked cars and pedestrians, a man honked his car horn screaming abuse at heroes in general out his window, a lady clutched at her hat and skirt letting out a surprised shriek as the movement of the air generated by his passing caused them to flutter wildly showing more than a fair bit of graceful leg, gaining enough height to survey the area and still make out details he slowed looking about. Everywhere people started their day and not just good people, lurking in the shadows he saw them, all forms of trash trying to corrupt the innocent and encourage the guilty to more desperate acts. Many cowered when they saw Rayth speed past, previous run-ins having taught them their lesson, Cyborg Junkies of the Freakshow, Demon Worshiping Thugs of the Hellions, Robotic servitors of the Clockwork, he had fought them all and many others at LaNons request. Today he did not stop, he was not interested in such petty criminals, there were other heroes in this city who could and would deal with them, his tasks had become larger, the dangers even more real, facing foes of enormous strength, they would all suffer the lessons of the Lord of Nightmares or he would die trying.
*****
A disturbance had occurred within the Astral Plane, that place which was the home to powerful mental entities both ethereal and material, the disturbance had been there for some time, years in fact but until recently it had remained passive, small, weak. Now it was like a vast storm, the grey clouds of the Astral Plane boiled with darkness. Probing spells were crushed or reflected, revealing little or no clues as to the cause. In the Palace of Nightmares LaNon sat in her throne crafted from pure magic, a ball of energy hovered before her flashing with random visions of the storm, she surveyed the disturbance, something in there had grown beyond itself, had over stepped the limitations it had been prescribed, it had avoided the gaze of LaNon for a while, but it had now stirred her ire, it was time to act her power must be put into action.
*****
Harvey Maylor was the editor and owner of the Tattler, one of the gossip magazines published in Paragon City, it dealt primarily with many of the less famous heroes, those unable to get on the front page of the Paragon Times and with mysteries a more reputable paper would refuse to publish. His business was located within the section of the city called Peregrine Isle, the locale was one of the more troubled spots within the city that wasnt classified as a Hazard Zone, mainly this was due to the presence of the Portal Corporations main facilities, and this to Harvey made great sense, with so much trouble focused on the area, stories would come to him, rather than he having to go looking for stories. Too many of the various criminal organisations such as the Malta Group, Circle of Thorns and Nemesis made their way here in the hope of appropriating new technologies or gaining illicit access to the various other realities catalogued by the Corporation, others like the Rikti hoped to find a way home or to disrupt the wards separating the two realities so that the Invasion might resume..
Crowds of people filled the streets shoulder to shoulder with lunch time traffic as business men and women all dressed in suits moved to and fro, it was a break in the monotony of their work, some did a little shopping and others sat and ate with friends chatting about various things. Harvey stepped out of a small bakery with a sugar-dusted sweet roll in his mouth, his left hand held a mobile phone to his ear, he was an over-weight man, balding with a bad comb-over, dressed in a dark brown suit, yellow shirt and chequered tie, he muffled words down the phone line around the sweet roll, lunch did not mean a break for Maylor, their were always stories in the making and today was busier than usual, it seemed one of his best writers had vanished, probably just trying to avoid a deadline, or kidnapped because of a story he mused to himself, either was a likely reason especially in this city. He wandered through the crowd before turning a corner into a quieter boulevard lined with trees
Harvey Maylor. A soft voice spoke his name, it was not a question. All sound died away as a figure draped in night stepped free of a concealing shadow, Harveys eyes widened and he gasped in fright promptly choking on sugar dust, the roll dropped to the ground as he pounded on his chest fighting for air.
Jeez, dont sneak up on a man like that will ya. Tears streamed from his eyes as he finally stopped trying to breathe and cough at the same time.
I am called Rayth the sound emanated from the hooded figure, try as he might Harvey couldnt make out a face.
Yeah, I know who you are, been wondering when you would turn up, sooner or later all you hero types come to Maylor, begging for a piece in my magazine, well listen I got
his words stopped abruptly as Rayth strode forward, towering over Harvey, his shape blotted out the light, Harvey gasped as their eyes locked, he felt his mind swept away, his vision filled with fire, he whimpered trying to break free from the intense gaze.
An eternity seemed to pass before Rayth spoke. Ellie Wiessman the name whispered from the dark figure like a wisp of smoke.
It was as if a horrible pressure had been lifted from Maylors mind, Harvey dropped to his hands and knees feeling as if he had been pole-axed. His strength still seeped from his body, he sobbed uncontrollably, he had seen things in that burning red gaze, terrible visions, things his mind refused to identify. His eyes fixed on the forgotten sweet lying between his hands.
S-shes missing, no one has seen her for t-two days The crunch of a boot turning on loose gravel caused Harvey to start, he looked up to see Rayth pacing away his cloak snapping in the air, with a word and a gesture he flew off, gaining altitude swiftly, his body disappearing, cloaking itself from sight.
If your going to rescue her, at least take some pictures! yelled Harvey at the disappearing figure.
Clambering back to his feet Harvey looked around, the sounds of the street returned, the hubbub of voices, the noise of traffic and the sounds of what nature still lived in the city, the roar of the ocean not so far away, no one seemed to have noticed what had just happened, feeling slightly awkward, Harvey quickly walked away, putting as much distance between what had just happened as he could.
A pair of sparrows seeing the discarded roll alighted on it chirped to each other and set to their feast.
*****
Rayth pondered, all day the strange feelings had persisted, in fact they had grown in strength, from his meeting with Maylor he had travelled to the small office building where Ellie Wiesmann worked composing her stories, the place had been invaded by strange people dressed in carnival outfits were ransacking the place. This was not the first time he had encountered the Carnival of Shadows, previously an acquaintance of his had fallen under the sway of an amulet, Madeleine Casey, she had for a time been processed by a entity whom the Carnival seemed to obey. It had taken some tricky work to free her mind from the procession, and now he was not certain if just freeing her mind was enough. Could she have relapsed? No, this was different.
The Carnivals minions had fallen before his power, laughing fencers, burly strongmen, dancing jugglers, all dressed in their macabre style reminiscent of carnival performers for high society in 17th Century Venice, none had presented any difficulty, still they had slowed him down. They had been searching through Weismanns office and by the time he had dealt with them he recovered only a single note, scribbled with an appointment time.
The appointment was with a man called Percy Winkley a retired member of the Midnight Squad, he was the caretaker of their secret library. Gaining access to the library had initially been a problem until he spoke with an old acquaintance of the group. After rescuing him from certain death at the Carnivals hands Percy revealed the location of an item Ellie was researching called the Bands of Shu, a set of three jewelled armbands that allowed access to the Psychic Realms, and perhaps to the entity LaNon had sensed. In his procession was a mystical Monocle that allowed the users to pear into the mind of others to divine a single thought.
Heading to the streets Rayth had searched for hours hunting the Carnivals minions. On a cargo ship docked at Peregrine Isle, he had divined Ellies location, the Carnival was holding her in a old warehouse, retrieving her was simple enough, Ellie had then revealed that the Bands of Shu where held by the Malta Group, a jumped up rogue government agency that liked to meddle with things beyond their abilities. He hated fighting them, they used Tasers, he hated Tasers, and being stunned in general, they disrupted his spells and many times he had been seriously hurt while trying to clear his head. Still he had proceeded into their base defeated the sentries and taken out the Malta troops, retrieving the bands from one of their supposed anti-hero specialists. Rayth smirked at the memory, they where never a problem for him, his natural stealth and magical power easily allowed him to get the jump on those operatives, their own tendencies for the dramatics where their undoing.
With the bands retrieved they needed to be awakened, he had re-energized them with the essence of the devouring earth and focused their power with the inter-dimensional presence of Praetorian Earth. Once more restored to power, the Bands provided the ability but not the focus, so he had travelled to the industrial shipping area called Independence port. In this district was another powerful individual called Sister Psyche, with her guidance three portals to the Astral Plane where forced open, and on those mental landscapes Rayth confronted what he thought was his foe, battling his way through mental terrors and dreams given life he instead found the shattered memories of a young girl Vanessa DeVere. Apparently she had been a struggling art student who while on a trip to Venice had uncovered a porcelain mask, the mask housed the soul of another powerful psychic mind that once belonged to a person called Giovanni Scaldi, Vanessa had apparently tried on the mask and Giovanni had taken over, she was the true power behind the Carnival of Shadows. Giovanni boosted the untapped powers of Vanessa mind much in the same way LaNon did for Rayth, with that information in hand he had returned to Sister Psyche seeking help once more, this time, he would enter the Astral Plane and defeat the mind of Giovanni Scaldi.
It has been too easy Rayth muttered to himself
Hmm? a lithe figure stepped into the room, clad in a tight fitting green costume, she closed the door and looked at Rayth he shook his head at the inquiry
Your sure about this? asked Sister Psyche as she sat down in a lotus position on the floor across from Rayth.
They where in an empty room, a small sphere of mystical light floated above them providing the only source of illumination. It was bland, unadorned room except for a hasty ward of protection Rayth had scribed moments earlier on the floor perfect for the coming task. Once you enter the Astral Plane you will be cut off from everything else, and if her mind is stronger than yours Giovanni will be able to easily deal with you.
Rayth gazed at Sister Psyche, she was beautiful, her red hair fell about her face, brushing her shoulders, she had a sweet smile, her blue eyes gave her a seeming innocence, and she had a figure that was easily able to wear such a tight-fitting costume. Still, he was not here for the eye-candy.
Can you not read my mind, see my conviction? his voice echoed strangely in the empty room.
No. She shook her head, her hair brushing across her face, confusion apparent in her eyes Your mind is inaccessible to me, it is barred to revealing its secrets, I can gain only the most general of thoughts, its actually quite refreshing, such a blessed respite from the noise I hear normally.
I am sure, if left unchecked Giovannis power will unbalance everything. replied Rayth
Let us begin then. Sister Psyche closed her eyes, the 3 rings that made up the Bands of Shu sat on the ground between them, a golden aura warped the air around her, a low hum filled the room, the Bands lifted from their resting place, stopping at head height between the pair they began to spin in place. Rayth closed his eyes, focusing inwards, such workings of power where harder for him, he opened his eyes, he chanted in a low voice, words barely distinguishable from each other, his eyes glowed with a deep blue power rather than their normal blazing red, and aura of blue fire, splashed across his form, wreathing him in ethereal energies. Across from him Sister Psyche sat, her eyes ablaze with golden power, her mouth open, singing a single pure note, the Bands spun and golden light and blue fire swirled from the pair, intertwining, mixing as if dancing with each other wrapping around the bands. The low hum changed pitch and electricity crackled along the bands, arcing between them, a miasma of evil seemed to form, surrounding them pushing back the blue flames and golden light, the miasma took shape forming an image of a porcelain mask grinning manically, a fell laugh seemed to issue from the apparition, the mask pulsed with violet energy. A loud retort broke the atmosphere and a wave of power detonated from the rings, energy pulsing outwards washing over the pair flinging them across the floor and slamming them into the walls of the room like rag dolls.
The bands clattered to the floor with a cold lifeless tone, one rolled to a stop in front of Rayth, slowly, his body aching with pain he forced himself back to his feet, he steadied himself against the wall and staggered across to Sister Psyche, she moaned softly as he rolled her over, her eyes fluttered open, and he slowly helped her to her feet.
Nngh! she made an unintelligible noise as she rubbed her head Thats going to leave my head ringing for a week.
Were we successful? Rayth asked looking at the scattered rings, sensing a lack of power from them.
Yes, I can feel the gate to the Astral Realm, it has opened somewhere in Kings Row.
Thank you.
Last chance to back out, that explosion was from her mind resisting, and if she can affect this world like that
She left the sentence hanging.
I made my choices a long time ago. He strode from the room, there was nothing left, he was LaNons creature, and he would take the fight wherever and to whomever he must.
*****
Once again Rayth observed his target from above, this time he sat watching a doorway to a warehouse in Kings Row. He crouched on top of a stack of shipping containers, the door only a few yards away. It hadnt taken him long to find the location of the portal, it had resonated with him as soon as he had entered this section of the city. To most people they would see an unremarkable steel door and even were they to enter though it they would simply pass into the building, to his eyes, the door swirled with chaos, gold light flooded from around the door, blue runes crackled with arcane energy across frame, and a dark presence seemed too emanated from the steel. He dropped down to the level of the door, his magic slowing his descent to that of a floating feather, his feet lightly touched the ground and he walked up to the entrance, his hand hesitated over the handle for a moment, focusing his mind he turned the latch and stepped through.
A wave of dizziness passed over him and he stood not in a warehouse but on a grassed slope, smoke and ash filled the air and fires raged all around him, he coughed in the thick atmosphere, his swept his gaze across the stark devastation. The landscape appeared like a park he had once seen but everything was blasted and either burnt or burning, craters pockmarked the ground and he could not have seen the sun even if there had been one in this place, behind him a huge wall of raging storm clouds seems to cut the landscape away, the wall extended as far as he could see, the storm was a physical limit to Giovannis realm. His attention was captured by several half seen shapes moving through the smoke. A stray breeze briefly cleared the air and he glimpsed the bright clothing of Giovannis minions, calling upon the shadows to cloak his body he set off through the smoke and fire.
The Juggler dropped to the ground defeated, a bright surge of energy filled with the image of a screaming face escaped from her body and her form disappeared back into whatever dream had spawned it. Rayth looked around he had already fought against several groups of minions and so far they had moved in groups of three, always a brightly dressed pair of women armed with swords and whips and a strongman. This one had been alone. Rayth looked around seeing only smoke, perhaps she had been a lone wanderer he pondered when suddenly a huge rock flew through the air barely missing his head and smashing through the remains of a nearby tree, a huge bare-chested man with his face hidden in a steel mask stood off to Rayths left, with a roar he charged forward, a huge wooden mallet was clutched in his hands, startled by the figure suddenly appearing Rayth had little time to act, he chanted a short spell and energy pulse from his hands at the same time as the raging man swung the mallet at his chest. The attacks impacted at the same time, throwing the pair apart in spectacular fashion, Rayth flew through the air a dozen feet before incanting a flight spell to halt his motion. The strongman was not so lucky and ended up landing in a pile of hot ash. The man screamed and thrashed sending burning embers into the air as he tried to get clear. Rayth raised a hand and took careful aim, a nimbus of blue energy crackled around his fist building up a charge. The energy leapt at the strongman as he finally struggled free of the fire, it struck him dead in the chest, again propelling him backwards once more into the embers, this time he did not get up.
Two down. muttered Rayth.
He turned around looking for the expected third enemy, to his surprise he saw three feet of cold steel being stabbed at him, lurching to the side he twisted his body avoiding the strike, swiftly the rapier struck again with another savage thrust, this time Rayth swept up a hand and summoned a sword of ice to deflect the blow, he stumbled back fending off a series of cuts and thrusts from the rapier. A young woman, little more than a girl dressed in a yellow and red harlequin outfit attacked him, trying her best to kill him, every sweep of her blade caused the bells on her hat to jingle and chime. Steel met ice in a furious exchange as the girl forced Rayth back. He let her fall into a rhythm of cuts and parries before suddenly reversing his path. The weapons rang together as Rayth stepped into the next strike, both blades slid against each other until they where locked together, with a maniacal grin Rayth placed his free hand in front of her chest and spoke a single short word, with a surprised shriek she was launched backwards through the air smashing into a tree and tumbling to the ground.
The girl tried to get up and made it onto her hands and knees before Rayth stood before her, she looked up in time to see him reverse his grip on his Ice Sword and drive it into the middle of her back.
Three he counted to himself, the ice blade faded from his grasp, as he watched her form vanish a feeling of unease washed over Rayth, the world suddenly seemed to quieten the sounds of the fire disappear, it was if everything paused, he felt like he was being watched. Rayth looked about seeking the source of the feeling, there before him stood a large group of Carnival minions. They stood watching him, no one moving, only Rayths cape rippled with the slight movements of his body. The first to move was one of the strongmen, he raised a mallet and charge forward, Rayth stepped to the side, his clenched fist made a punching movement and a pulse of energy blasted the man down. A second started forward even before the first had hit the ground, this time it was a nimble juggler, she sprinted straight at him before leaping into a cartwheel and springing into the air above his head. Her whip snapped forward and blast of psychic electricity leapt from its end, the blast was wild it and shot into the ground in front of him. Rayth raised both his hands fists together and blasted her from the sky. She fell past him and he turned to deal with the next opponent. Now they came in numbers twos and threes and then as a mob, he moved among them, lashing out and delivering magical strikes, throwing them back again and again with repulsing blasts, vanquishing them with explosive blasts. Such spells wore him down, he couldnt keep it up, they closed in en masse, surrounding him, and finally they drove him to the ground, they crowded thick about him each trying to fulfil the commands of their mistress to destroy all outsiders. Rayth had them just where he wanted them. With so many bunched up he called upon his most powerful spell. A pale light lashed out from his body, illuminating those closest with a sickening clarity, a wave of energy surged from him, blasting through those nearby, instantly defeating them, the power of the spell triggered a small nova smashing everything around him, throwing the mob back and even scouring the ground of life. Rayth knelt hands on his knees gasping for breath, creating a Nova wasnt an easy task but it was effective, none of those who attacked had survived.
As he stood there recovering from the spell a voice drifted to him, it was female and from the sounds of things quite mad, cautiously he moved towards the noise. As he walked the landscape changed, no longer was there nothing but ash, instead the air cleared and the noises of a more normal park returned. It was not long until he found the source of the voice, there she stood out in the middle of a clear area with several others sitting like school children at her feet. Giovanni Scaldi wore very little clothing, thigh high boots chequered with various colours were held up by garters, a green and blue sash was wrapped loosely around her waist, her long gloves where coloured in a similar fashion to her boots, a jewelled velvet vest barely covered her bosom and a white frilled collar framed her head, she wore a white porcelain mask from behind which glowed violet eyes and her red hair was cropped short against her scalp. Overall the effect was somewhat hideous. He watched her hidden among the shadows cast by a large rock formation. She appeared to be telling a story to the two women at her feet, he tried to listen but the distance was too great. As he studied her, his feeling of disquiet grew, there was something wrong here, why was she not aware of him, if this was her realm surely she would sense his presence or have noticed the defeat of her supporters.
A trap he mused, and one that needed to be sprung, but she would be expecting him alone. Rayth looked up towards what should have been the sky, an image of a sleeping figure formed in him mind, he sent out his call. Raven. You are needed.
Having dispatched the mental call he sank back into the shadows and waited. A short time passed before she arrived, following his mental call to the portal and then across the burning landscape she landed next to him.
Hello Master she said gazing at Rayth with untempered affection. He gazed back marvelling at her not for the first time.
A new costume I see.
Do you like master? she spun in a circle to show of the entire outfit. Knee high black leather boots and fishnet stocking up to her thighs, a short black leather skirt and a revealing leather bustier left a vast expanse of flesh.
I do indeed.
Thank you Master she said playfully, she pressed her hands against his chest and standing up on her tip toes she lightly kissed Rayth and smiled.
So who shall I fight for you today Master? she asked as she settle back onto her heels.
YOU WHERE SUPPOSE TO BE ALONE! a voice boomed with the force of a thunderstorm, a bolt of purple and pink energy blasted into the rock sending shards everywhere and knocking Rayth and Little Raven to the ground.
Little Raven leapt to her feet and raced across the intervening distance, snapping off a flying kick at Giovanni, the first shot missed as she ducked to the side. Landing lightly on the balls of her feet Little Raven executed a series of kicks, high, low, fast, and powerful, each one connected and Giovanni was literally driven back with the force, her heels dug furrows in the ground. Rayth stood up, eyes blazing he swept his hand toward Giovannis Minions, quickly dispatching each with a blast of power. Turning he focused his attention on the Carnivals mistress, arcane patterns formed in the air as Rayth motioned with his hands, power flooded his body twice, and again he took careful aim, one arm extended before him the other bracing against his elbow, the energies coalesced in his hand before blasting forward, the spell washed over Giovanni, a flash of purple light shimmered around her as she diverted the power into the ground. Giovanni lashed out, psychic blasts tearing at Little Raven, pulses of energy knocking them around, flying kicks, psychic projectiles and blasts of energy flew fast and furious between the combatants they where trying each to gain the upper hand but the battle was a stalemate, then Giovanni stopped. With a wild scream a huge wave of psychic energy rippled out from her, the blast distorted the air and slammed into them, Little Raven sunk to the ground stunned, Giovanni stepped past her as she fell to her knees, a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, a puzzled look crossed Little Ravens face just before her eyes rolled up and she passed out.
Rayth was thrown clear of the blast. His body ached in a way he had never felt before. He shook his head tyring to clear it, his eyes fixed on Giovanni as she strode towards him, she blazed with power, it filled the air around her, seeing him struggle to her feet she raise a gloved hand a finger pointed directly towards him.
Height, I have to get some distance! Rayth said to himself, he enacted the spell of flight and burst upwards, the ash on the ground swirling in his wake, the ground dropped away as he gained altitude. A bell like laugh tolled in him mind and a flash of purple energy raced down Giovannis arm and lanced out from her finger, the bolt traced after Rayth and struck him dead centre. Pain shot through him, tore at his mind and body, the flight spell faltered and broke. Down he tumbled, dropping over a hundred yards to the ground below, he smashed into the ground the impact rippling out from his body, bones snapped and shattered, blood spurted from his mouth with the force of the fall.
The smiling mask of Giovanni appeared above Rayth she looked down at him hands on hips, the mask showing great pleasure.
My, my, my! What where you thinking, running away like that, there is no escape this is all me! she laughed and twirled in place spreading her arms out to indicate the destruction.
Rayth coughed, his lunges where crushed, that wasnt right, his connection to LaNon always prevented the worst from happening and would whisk him away to safety should he truly be defeated. Why was he still here.
Aw, I see youre still alive, whats the matter no emergency teleport beacon? No fancy spell to resurrect you? Of course not, this is my place, here I make the rules. Oh look, you have blood on your face, here let me help you. Giovanni knelt down and wiped the blood from Rayths lips with a lacy handkerchief There much better. she smiled down at Rayth as she stood But with your body so broken I dont think you will make such a good play thing anymore. Hmm, what shall I do? I know!
Giovanni disappeared from Rayths vision, the fire in his eyes burned low, his spirit was slipping away, he slowly turned his head, the pain jolted through him, but he managed to follow Giovanni as she walked back to the unconscious form of Little Raven.
So beautiful when they are asleep she bent down and pushed back the hair obscuring Little Ravens face. Dont you agree Rayth? Her hand continued to brush back Little Ravens hair for a moment before twisting into it, with a single hand she dragged Little Raven up onto her knees.
I think I will make her my slave, I cant allow such a spirit to go to waste now can I?
Rayth struggled to act, every movement bought a new strike of pain, he was broken and lost, his vision filled with smoke and he could barely feel the heat from the nearby fires. His sight dimmed and he felt his body start to slip away, the spells holding him together where unravelling, his connection to LaNon was shattered, here in this place he was powerless.
Are you watching Rayth? Here is the last thing you will see. Giovanni leant towards Little Raven her hand cupping her chin tilting her unconscious face towards Giovannis. She leaned forward as if to kiss Little Raven, her lips parted slightly a blue mist seemed to issue from between them curling forth towards Little Ravens. Rayths tried to act, tried to move or do anything but his body refused, his vision filled with red, the world became dull and seemed to stretch away, his eyes closed their fiery power went out, a darkness blanketed everything, chasing away the light.
... The fire raced through the house, burning timbers, incinerating furnishings and charring everything before it. The flames moved with an unnatural quickness and purpose that defied the best efforts to halt its advance or to extinguish its source. No one knew what had started the fire but far too quickly it spread through the mansion cutting off rooms and filling them with smoke and flame
wait, this wasnt right, this had happened already
No one knew what had started the fire
No, someone did
.
The Boy entered into his parents study, it was a place forbidden to him. It was the only room in the entire mansion that was kept locked. Yet today he had watched as his father exited the room and left the door ajar. Inside the room was filled with books, every wall lined with them, they even sat stacked on the ground, a stone table dominated the centre of the room, on it sat strange devices, feathers, inks, paper, flasks filled with strange glowing liquids. It was a beautiful Crystal that captured the boys eyes. The crystal sat near the edge of the table, light flicked through its facets as if it contained a spark of flame within its surface. The Crystal called to the Boy. He had to climb up a chair and onto the table to pick it up, it felt strangely warm, somehow comforting, the boy sat back holding it. A sound in the hallway caused the Boy to start and his foot slipped on a piece of paper, he fell to the floor with a thud and a gasp, the crystal flew from his hands, time seemed to slow, the crystal rose in its flight, the door to the room swept open, the crystal spun end over end appearing to halt at the top of its arc, the boys eyes turned to the door a woman draped in power stood in the door her eyes blazing with mystical energy were locked on the crystal, slowly the woman moved her gaze towards the Boy, their eyes met, with deliberate slowness the woman closed her eyes and the crystal fell. It struck the boys chest and the world seemed to explode in fire and darkness. Everything was black, there was no sound or light or feeling, the Boy was alone. Into this blackness appear a single speck of light, it called to the boy sang to him, drove away the darkness, the spark grew and took shape becoming a raging fire, it wrapped around the boy lifted him up gave him wings. Fire erupted, exploding across the room incinerating books and parchment, setting fire to everything it touched, and in the middle of the conflagration a young boy opened his eyes and sat up, the fire washed away from him, parted before his steps, he staggered out of the room before collapsing into the arms of an elderly servant
Giovanni paused, her lips a hairs breath from Little Raven, she thought she had seen movement, no, that cant be right, Rayth was dead, his body crushed. There is was again, not movement a sound. She straightened looking at Rayth, the sound seemed to come from him, a slight crackling like the noise of a fire starting.
Rayths eyes flew open, red fire blazed from them, his mouth opened and a scream echoed forth, his body raised upwards, fiery wings sprouted from his back, a burning wind whipped from his broken form. Flames charred the ground, filled the air and bore his body upwards. Life flowed into his body his spells strengthened and his spirit returned, with two great beats of fiery wings he settled on the ground before Giovanni, the fire vanished from his body leaving him restored.
Shes Mine! shouted Rayth lashing out, a pulse of energy raced from his fist smashing into Giovanni, she fell backwards the wind knocked out of her.
Awaken! Rayth commanded his gaze settling on Little Raven. Her eyes fluttered open at the mental urging. She looked at Rayth briefly before spying Giovanni. With a feral roar she leapt at her, punching and kicking, not giving Giovanni a moments rest. Giovanni cried out trying to use the same power she had used before, the energy struck Little Raven but she struggled against it, shrugging it off. Rayth summoned all his power and unleashed a volley of mystical energy, blasting, smashing, freezing, burning at Giovanni, distracting her, keeping her off balance. Faster and faster they struck at Giovanni, not giving her a moments relief, not letting her use her powers or to flee from them. Giovanni screamed as her psychic defences crumbled, the blows started to strike her body, with a stunning ferocity it was over, a kick to the head, a pulse of energy into her ribs and a finale strike across her back was all it took, Giovanni hit the ground face first, the realm trembled and shock, the sky boiled, the flames in the distance whirled skywards, with a sound the world broke, the psychic plane shattered, Giovanni screamed once a cry of untempered frustration, her mask cracked and split and the realm disappeared.
*****
Rayth and Little Raven stumbled from the door of the Warehouse, the energies crackled once behind them before fading away. Rayth stared at the door without seeing it, he felt stronger. This new power or rather his oldest power was not something LaNon had given him. It was something else, something innately destructive and yet it had restored him, he had been reborn in fire.
Another close one, but we still survived master Little Raven looked at Rayth and smiled as she stood panting to catch her breath. Ravens smile turned into a smirk and with a quick motion, stood up on tip toes and kissed Rayth, she laughed as his expression darkened, turning quickly she sprang away, not quite quick enough to avoid a slap across the bottom.
Ouch! she squeaked before sticking out her tongue at Rayth and leaping away, disappearing past the abandoned containers of Kings Row.
Some things never change. voiced Rayth to the empty lot, before taking to the skies once again to continue his work.
Written by Raith
Bottom line, there's no correlation between our interest in semi-realistic visuals and tints on costumes. Those are decisions made by two different groups of artists. That said, I'll try to communicate the issue to the team.