Many people within history seek power. For some, their ambitious quest is met with the visit from the Baron. His chime tolling, signaling his arrival and imminent visit. Some being driven to madness by his whispered offers.

With great speed, she wove in-between the trees. A fast-moving shadow that only slightly disturbed the branches it passed, causing a gentle swirl of leaves to trail in her wake.

Votosha felt her two hearts beating quickly, a steady beat that alternated between the two organs. Thump. Pause. Thump.

This was a hunt, another among many she and her brood-mate had been undertaking. An opportunity had been provided to them both. One that allowed them to not only become more than wandering nomads but also utilize their finely honed skills for battle. This newfound purpose also came with promises for fortune and fame.

They could be more than just shadows hidden from a world that persecuted them, Votosha saw this as a means to rise above her arrogant kin. A satisfaction broiled within her at the thought of seeing them bow to her, fear her.

A sudden pressure within her head caused her to stop abruptly. Lowering herself onto a nearby branch the tree shuddered from the weight of her form, she could feel her clawed feet bite into the bark. The prey was close.

In anticipation Votosha kept her wings flexed outward.

It did not take long before Votosha could hear the faint whisper of his wings. A familiar presence encroached upon her position, and soon she could feel him brush against her mind. Once more the tree jerked and more leaves became displaced. On the other side of the thick trunk, she could hear the tree limbs creak as well as the rustling of a cloak.

The large figure of her wing-mate swung into view, his ebony carapace glistened within the faint light of the forest. Despite missing his top left arm, Sah’Den was still looked imposing. His arms flexed with tight muscle and a fierce-looking horn adorned his head.

They both shared similar patterns of jagged lines carved onto their rough exteriors, a symbol of being bound together. The two of them were garbed in similar attire, pieces of hardened leather, and chain-mail. Nothing complicated or fancy, it was practical and allowed for ease in movement.

His mandibles moved quickly as he quietly greeted her, “It seems we are upon our quarry Votosha. How shall we handle them?” One of his lower hands tapped the hilt of a dagger sheathed on a belt at his waist. Sah’Den communicated with a soft sing-song quality, it often surprised others to hear him speak. It was akin to the quiet trickling of clear water within a stream.

Votosha reached out with a hand and playfully tapped a claw against his horn, a hum resonating through her as she did so. “We wait mine blackened wings, I sense they will close the distance themselves.” She could sense the tingling sensations within her mind become more prominent, the pressure encroached from a position to the north of them.

Her partner reached out and gently touched an upper arm, “Once we conclude our business we must meet with our employer, I feel as though more work will be given to us.” His mandibles paused and seemed to chew the air, “Votosha, I think we should rest. We have been nonstop in this pursuit.”

Unlike her, Sah’Den was more reserved and thoughtful. While Votosha was a raging storm, he was a sturdy mountain that would catch her reckless advance. She snapped her mandibles together, though he was right Votosha could not help but feel restless from the thought.

“I shall consider this.” Votosha nodded and looked to appraise him, “You know my gratitude from you staying by me through this is endless.”

A drawn-out chirp emanated from Sah’Den, his chime-like laugh calmed her. With a tilted head he examined her, “We are bound, I would not see harm come to you.” He shifted his body slightly to the left, facing himself in the direction of their quarry, “I shall say my feelings aloud once more, I do not fully trust the Dukes.”

“We have discussed this once. They require our cooperation in their operations, I’ve seen no reason to see a betrayal.” Votosha said, her wings fluttering in agitation. “Remember, they are not the only ones with grand ambitions. Trust me in this Sah’Den.”

His eyes searched Votosha for a moment, he nodded slowly, “As you say, they are much closer now. Let us ready ourselves.”

Huffing out a breath, Votosha nodded and lifted herself from the branch on her wings. Silently hovering above the branch and focusing on the tingling sensations edging closer to their location.

Both her and Sah’Den were masters at being quick and stealthy. They thrived within the darkness and lived within the shadow, it was their natural terrain. And with the many shadows cast by the surrounding forest, the insects had fallen into their web.

All four human adventurers were caught completely by surprise when they passed near their ambush spot, still conversing amongst each other.

Still enjoying their perceived safety. That had now passed for now the shadow of death would take hold of them.

The twin shadows flung themselves out from the forest’s shadows, rapidly moving as dervishes of carapace and steel.

From the group came cries of surprise that broke the silence of the forest. This was soon followed by the crunch of metal and bone, as the maul wielded by Sah’Den began to fulfill its grisly duty, bashing into one of their bodies. The bloody pulp of the once standing adventure slumped over, splattering over the forest floor.

The other adventures managed to react and take the initiative to draw their weapons. From out of their scabbards came the flash of steel, within seconds the clash of metal echoed throughout the space.

One of the adventurers, a short and burly man brandished about a flail adorned with sun motifs. A snarl formed across his rugged features as he roared at the new arrivals, “Ya’ took Graydon, damned creatures of the Pit!”

Sah’Den lifted his maul from the bloody remains then began moving towards the stockier man, blood dripping down from the black metal and splattering against the ground like blood rain.

A younger-looking woman began moving her hands in methodical movements. Before her standing guard, to the surprise of Votosha, was a daomon, a large and imposing human-like figure covered in diamond-shaped scales. His fangs were bared as he held up a shield and sword at the ready.

Deftly wielding her twin daggers Votosha launched herself upward then spiraled downward onto the daomon. Unsheathing her twin blades as she fell she slammed against the circular shield the creature held. From the quick and sudden impact of her body, the larger faltered and stumbled back a few steps. Below her the larger creature attempted to shake her free, gripping on with her lower arms she raised the two daggers upward and drove them down into its shoulders. Because of the violent shaking one dagger bit into the air while the other sunk into flesh. Blue blood as dark as the sky at dusk spilled out from the wound.

A howl of fury escaped from the daomon’s maw. It shook itself violently and threw aside the shield it held, it gripped Votosha with the free hand and grappled one of her upper arms with immense strength.

Despite the dagger piercing the flesh of its right shoulder the creature raised its sword arm and swung its blade down onto her.

Votosha felt the cold steel cut past the carapace of her torso into soft meat, a spike of pain radiated from her right side. A screech of surprise escaped from her.

Nearby her partner kicked aside the mangled corpse of his opponent, Sah’Den’s head snapped in her direction upon the screech of pain. He rose into the air and rapidly moved toward her and the foe she was grappling.

Wretching the blade from her torso the daomon tossed her aside. Votosha rolled into a crouching position, the gash within her carapace was oozing a black liquid.

In only a few steps the daomon was upon her again, its blade descending toward Votosha. Using the jagged edges of her dagger’s crossguard, Votosha managed to snag the blade of her opponent. With a twist, she jerked the weapon away.

An obsidian mass slammed into the daomon, Sah’Den had tackled him away and into the trunk of a tree.

A squeak of surprise came from behind Votosha and she turned from the ensuing struggle between her wing-mate and the daomon, it was the woman who was previously concentrating. She had fallen backward and now looked to Votosha with utter horror.

“Stay back!” She stammered out with a heavy Northern accent, tears were rolling from her eyes, “The Radiance protects me!” The woman sobbed but kept her eyes on Votosha.

Without pause, Votosha lunched forward with deadly grace and aimed a few successive jabs at her exposed neck. In a macabre display ribbons of blood followed the blade as it left the woman’s neck. With a thud, the woman slumped down.

Votosha turned quickly to glance back at her wing-mate. Sah’Den was wrenching his maul from the armor of the daomon. He nodded at her, shaking the gore from it, splaying blud blood across the dirt.

The encounter was over, the adventurers were unable to mount much resistance against foes they were unprepared for. A warm red liquid stained some of Votosha battle garb, she wiped her blades clean on one of the adventure’s shirts.

“With this hunt now done, let us go meet with the Duke.” She said aloud while lifting herself from the ground, her wings beating against the air with anticipation as Votosha hovered. With fluid grace, she maneuvered over to her Wing-Mate. Laying a hand gently on his shoulder she said, “Well done Sah’Den, you are ever the peerless warrior.”

Sah’Den’s wings vibrated softly as he nodded, regarding Votosha with his dark eyes. “You as well.” He said then placed a hand on hers, “Then let us not keep it waiting.” His words carried the obvious disdain towards their employers, but she knew his loyalty to her was absolute, he would not go against her wishes unless he felt it was necessary.

The thoughts of their partnership gave her comfort for many changes were coming. Many changes.

For now, the living would take the spoils of victory from the dead, the trophies of another successful hunt. This was the way of the Fallen, power gave the ability to rule and assert oneself on the world.

—

The surrounding forest seemed bland and meaningless, this was despite the abundance of life that teemed within its verdant confines. But then again, most things now seemed to tinged with a dullness. Even the sounds themselves seemed to be softened and dull.

It was now what was normal.

Around the Duke the area took on an ethereal grayness, it was also cool and held an eerie silence. The plants around him wilted, sickened by his proximity.

A rigid smile formed across his face, stretching his leathery skin tinted with an unnatural pallor. His attempts at emotion reminded him of the stiffness a corpse experienced after being dead for a while. The smile on his face was like someone decided, in a macabre display, to force a dead thing to make an expression.

Was it wrong? Possibly.

Then again, what felt right anymore to the Duke? Normality was a word that could fit the circumstance to which it was applied, and in his case, he felt normal.

The gift had been given to him, it was one that changed everything. He was the seventh, one among many who had succumbed darkness shared by The Baron.

In the end, these were thoughts that were pointless and without any true substance. There was a task that needed to be done and the Seventh Duke would see it be done.

An alarming sensation of something entering his area of awareness broke him from his thoughts. His mind was pulled into the direction of the two new presences, the duo assigned to this area had finally arrived at their meeting with him. Just as he was settling with his thoughts, well, he had plenty of time to ruminate further on his existence another time.

Two angular figures darted down from up within the forest’s canopy. They landed a few paces away from him, drawing themselves to their full height. Both of the new arrivals loomed above him, he regarded them with a lazy glance and gave them a casual wave of a hand.

“Your arrival was well-timed, I was becoming too enamored with the lively nature of this forest.” The Seventh commented in a dry and sarcastic tone, “Well? Report.”

The Fallen with more slender features spoke first, she always seemed to, “My Duke, another group of adventurers has been dispatched. Their bodies looted and left to rot within the warm embrace of the forest.” Her firm voice said, echoing throughout the confines of his mind like a discordant set of bells.

“Very good, well, our timetables have been pushed forward a bit. The time to encroach upon the two cities is nigh. The two of you will go ahead and begin raiding closer into the territory of Greenveil. We aim to capture the docks there.” He examined both Fallen closely, the female wad eager while her partner was subdued and remained quiet. “Cause discord within that region and it will make the arrival of our Kithoral friends a lot easier.”

“And what of Eventide?” Votosha asked while her wings vibrated with excitement, “When do we move onto the bigger prey?”

The Seventh tilted his head, his black eyes narrowing at Votosha, “We move when the Baron says the time is right. Patience is required to see the true unfolding of his grand plans.” He wagged a finger toward the two Fallen, “Take the orders as they are given, yes?”

At those words the larger male Fallen shifted, annoyance rolling off of his black form.

All of these lively creatures never ceased to entertain him.

They are always so emotional and infantile. Not only did these basic creatures exude the energies of duality like a bleeding heart, an uncontrollable flow, but also used it as a meager cudgel. How they continued to thrive within the First Realm was beyond the Seventh.

“No need for any hostility. We are all friends here.” The Seventh said in a low hiss, his strained smile returning to his pallid face.

“If our relationship can be defined as friendship, then you have a skewed understanding of the word.” The obsidian magonon said curtly, regarding the Seventh with obvious disdain. Like an untrained animal that wanted to bite the hand that fed it.

Though humorous, the first realm was barbaric. A purification was truly needed, a cleaner slate would be more pleasing in the Seventh’s opinion.

“Duke? And what of our payment for recent efforts?” Votosha asked, her wings twitching with sudden impatience.

“Ah, yes, it almost slipped my mind.” With a flourish, he reached behind him for a large whose rough burlap surface was stained with various sized blotches. The Seventh casually tossed the bag onto the ground near Votosha, “Hunted within the highlands and grown fat upon the finest quality greenery.” Nodding towards the bloodied sack he continued, “I made sure it died quickly.”

Sah’Den grabbed the sack with a vicious swipe of his clawed hand. “Your payment is accepted. You have our thanks.” The Fallen male said with a rumbling voice, a short growl sharply punctuating each mental word.

An empty chuckle came from the Seventh, “And your efforts are always so appreciated.” He gave the two Fallen a short bow, keeping his cold dead eyes on them. Though they were creatures of the darkness he still unnerved them. The slight twitches in their wings and hands betrayed a nervousness that they both tried to hide.

The Seventh had to commend them for their actions. It was a passable one.

With a slow and deliberate gesture, the Seventh tipped his hat, “You know what to do.” He walked away from the two of them and moved to the shadows of the forest. Like descending a flight of stairs he slipped into the blackness.

—

The fire crackled within the small confines of the cave, the sweet aroma of cooking meat and spices filled the air, and it mixed with the husky smell of burning wood. Within the flickering flames was the light browning meat of the horned worm, being turned slowly on a spit by Sah’Den.

Votosha was opposite of him. Various items were assorted before her on the cavern’s floor, she was sorting through the things they retrieved from the dead adventurers. The usual fare of items came off of their corpses, different types of tools, clothing, and other types of paraphernalia. One of the pouches from the sole female contained several scrolls.

Written on the rolls of parchment in the rudimentary characters were a few descriptions of current jobs, party records, and letters of a personal nature to the writer. Votosha leafed through the pages, glancing at each of them with a detached interest. The particular wording of one of them caught her interest.

It was a missive from the League of adventurers. One regarding the increase in aberration activity within the Emerald forests. It would seem that the League was on alert and paying bounties on the heads of aberrations brought in and verified through local guilds.

Some of the other Fallen working beneath the Baron used the assistance of lesser creatures from the Void, and as such attracted more attention to themselves.

“Foolish.”

“Votosha?” Sah’Den was looking up at her with his head tilted, eyes fixed on her.

She shook herself from her thoughts and held the scroll up, “It would seem the League has taken an eager interest to the activities being conducted within the forests.”

“We knew this would happen eventually my wing-mate,” Sah’Den said, wagging a finger at her. “That they would begin to take action was only inevitable, but what is astonishing is how long it took for them to truly react.” His wings fluttered, “It just means that now I may meet someone worthy of fighting.”

“I would have to agree. While I too see this as an opportunity, I am frustrated at the blatant flare our brethren have decided on showing.” Votosha crossed all four of her arms, “But they have their use as decoys for those of us with more ambition.”

“I doubt there exists any whose ambition rivals that of yours, for it is as deep and vast as the darkened skies.” Sah’Den said, his eyes softening as they looked at her, “If they wish to continue demonstrating their lack of skill and honor, then I say let them. Those with the more powerful wings shall rise to the top.” With a fist, he pounded his chest.

Votosha chuckled in a series of chirps. She and her wing-mate would both use the Baron, they would use its influence to rise far above simple mercenaries. Both of them were going to be a part of something that would change everything.