WARNING!  THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE TO THE GREATER EVIL CRESS D’WILES STORY PIECE I DID FROM LAST YEAR.  IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU READ THAT PIECE BEFORE THIS ONE AS THIS ONE CONTAINS A MAJOR SPOILER TO THAT PIECE.  YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO THIS PIECE IN THE DESCRIPTION SECTION AT THE END OF THIS PIECE.




“You see this NEU base?” Quixis said to Traven.  “This was my work.  Over five-hundred souls, each now given to Vradka’Dervi.  My reward?  Knowledge that this part of the world is now cleansed, and under my rule, thanks to the Vradka’Dervi.  I did this, alone, and unsupported.  This is the sort of power I am offering you, should you choose to serve us!  Do not prove me wrong, Traven.”

He stood there, looking at the Pravagen.  The Drow found it hard to believe that this single creature had wrought about so much death and destruction alone.  He was about to ask how he had, when his mind flashed with visions of what had just happened.  Quixis was a demonologist of the highest caliber.  The visions he saw were surpassing what he’d seen even the most accomplished Drow demonologists do.  His experience with demons though told him to watch himself carefully.  Lies were mixed with truth when they spoke and he knew that doing this could cost him far more than his soul.  However, his current power was a pale shadow compared to what the demonologist was offering him.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he said.  “But not yet.”  Traven walked around Quixis, making sure to steer clear of the hellspawn that was standing next to him.  “You talk about how your god is seeking to cleanse, the world…  And I take it, that you need agents who can move about a group without being detected…  After all you don’t look anything like me, and I can think of others in Kire who would willingly help you if you could help them.  So, here’s what I offer.  I deliver you Kire, I retain my form until the time Kire is converted.  Then, I accept this cleansing.  After all, not many would question me there.”

“Very well, Traven…” Quixis said.  “Very well…”

“So, do we have a deal?”

“Yes.  We do.”

Quixis smiled.  “Good.  Now then, one of my agents will contact you when you return there.”

“How will I know?”

The Pravagen laughed.  “You will know…  And I am sure you can weave a believable tale for your mistress as to what happened to everyone.”  He turned and motioned to the hellspawn, who followed obediently with a growl.  As it turned, Traven saw a large eye on the back shoulder of the creature open and glare at him, until they vanished from his view.

*****
Traven made his way back to Kire, alone.  It took two days, hiding during the day and walking at night, despite his day-vision goggles.  The barren landscape of what had once been a thriving and civilized Europe was darkening with twilight as he reached an entrance to the city.  He’d used the same entrance almost a week ago.  As he walked through the tunnels, his thoughts turned to how he’d gotten to be such a trusted and in such a position of power among the Sorkara family.  As he neared one of the gates, he realized it was the same thing that he was doing now; his ambition.  He’d done it all because he could be useful, and by being useful, he disproved the stereotype his society had about males.  Traven himself was the most powerful male in the city, all thanks to his ambition.  Now, however, he was going even further, for his own gain again.

You must be Traven… a seductive female voice echoed in his head.

He readied his swordwhip and looked around.  “Who are you?”

In your head…  We have a mutual friend though…

“We do?”

The air in front of him started to bend with shadows and small flashes of dark energy.  They turned into a shadowy face with full lips and dark eyes.  “You may call me Lyla.”

“That is not your name though.”

“Of course not.  And you may never learn my true name, but that is not what matters right now.”  The shadowy face floated closer to him.  “I am a succubus, in service of the great Vradka’Dervi, sent by his hierophant, Quixis, to aid you, Traven.”

“What are you?”

“I’m a succubus…  Though…  Right now, I’m only a spirit, who can survive by binding itself to a host, like yourself…”  She laughed.  “Do not fear.  I have not done so in such a way that you are doomed to become a possessed creature.”

“I do not deal with demons too much, so I wouldn’t know other than that…”

“I wasn’t done.”  The shadow vanished for a second and was behind him now, talking in his ear.  “See, it takes energy to stay in the physical world.  A Drow such as yourself can do so with little effort, but a demon like me…  I need to constantly fight the majiks and natural forces in this world, lest I get pulled back to the demonic realms.”

“So, that’s where the host comes in.”

“Exactly.”  She smiled.  “You needn’t worry yet.  I’ll find one of my own.  I am sure there are several fitting specimens in your city.”

“Yeah.”  He looked back at the shadowy face.  It smiled, before fading away.

For the moment though, I’ve found a nice little spot in your head to hang out.

“Yeah…  I figured…”

“Figured what?” a male asked.

Traven turned around.  The door had opened and a Drow in body armor and with a blade slinger stood there.  “Figured, that…  That those idiots would’ve gotten killed out there…”

“Ah… you’re Master Traven, no?”

He nodded.

“Mistress Viria has been expecting your party back…  Though, it seems there’s a distinct lack of party.”

“We had a very unfortunate accident, and a threat that needs to be addressed.”

The Drow blinked.  The dark caves that were the tunnels above the main city groaned a little, then.  “Something is coming.  You had better come inside.”

*****
The city of Kire.  It was one of the oldest Drow cities in existence.  Clearly not the first though, as those ones had been situated in a place the surfacers called Greenland.  Or was it Iceland?  Traven didn’t remember or care at all as he walked down an elegant street.  Shops and merchants were finishing their business for the day and packing their wares away, while a pair of grell were pulling a cart directed by a noble male.  Slaves were not allowed to be out at this time by his mistress’s orders.  He walked down the street some more before turning and coming to a long path and amazing rock garden.  Lamps of dim magical light glowed along the walls around it and skeletons patrolled the yards to keep interlopers out.  Traven approached the main gate and a pair of skeletons there walked away from him.  Their empty eye sockets glowed with a violet necromantic light, which kept them moving and assembled.  Sometimes flashes of the energies could be seen in the joints and between the teeth, but right now, there was hardly any.

This was the home of the ruling house of Kire.  Home to Viria Sorkara and her family.  It was Traven’s home too.  The ornate structuring of the Romanesque columns near the entrance signified greatness.  Bodies of the most recently disposed enemy to the family were openly displayed on the pillars as well.  They were kept alive right now, being used to show what would happen if someone defied the rulers of Kire.  Traven had set up these current bodies himself, quite happy with how they’d come out as he walked into the main room.

Two servants bowed as he entered, and a young female stood from a couch at the other end of the room.  She walked over to him, not looking too happy.

“You’re back too early!” she shouted.

Traven slowly bowed his head.  “Good to see you too, Karyiestra,” he said.

“Where are the others?”

“Dead.”

“Why?”

“Trouble.”

“Tell me.”  The female huffed at him, her long braided hair rising menacingly.

“You are not head of household, and you know it.  Nor could you be.  Where is your sister?”

“Busy.”

Whenever he heard that, it usually meant Viria was raping some servant or ‘counseling’ with one of the priestesses.

My my…  Tell me, Traven, you and this Viria are quite close it seems… Lyla said in the back of his mind.  Though, from what I see, she’s not quite what you see as an ideal partner…

“Shut up…” Traven whispered.

A braid whipped across his cheek.  Traven looked at Karyiestra who was growling at him.  “Do not dare tell me to shut up, male.  If my sister didn’t have such a draw to your power, you’d be no better than any of the servants.  Remember that.”

“Do not tell me things I already know,” Traven said.  “I will speak with the mistress soon as she is available, as it is an urgent matter.”

“You can tell me and I’ll tell her.”

“No.  My instructions were to speak only to her about any findings.”

“You will tell me.”

“No.”  Traven folded his arms.

“Is there a problem here, sister?” a seductive voice said.

Traven and Karyiestra turned to see a naked and beautiful female Drow standing at the top of the stairway.  Her long flowing hair ran behind her and was slowly rising to make a dress out of itself to cover her form.  Deep, red eyes looked at the two of them.  “Lady Viria,” Traven said.  “I come with troubling news which I must speak with you about.”

“You know, I do not like hearing that.”

“Even if there is a possibility that there is something wonderful at the end?”

Viria raised an eyebrow.  “Come, and tell me what happened.”

*****
“It’s been too long since we strolled in the gardens together,” Viria said as her and Traven walked along a path in the stone garden surrounding the house.

“Indeed,” Traven replied.

“So, business first.  Any luck in finding anything we can use to make Necroplics?”

“No…”

She looked at him.  “Traven…  You are making me question your skill.”

“However, we came across something disturbing, which we, could possibly use for research.”

“Oh?”

Traven nodded.  “On the surface are odd demons and the sorcerers who control them.  Their skills, I hate to say it, surpass our own.”

“How is that possible?  Our people have been dabbling in the demonic arts for millennia, while the surface cowered from it!”

“I do not know how it is possible, but it is because of two of these demons that claimed the rest of our party.”

“Did you try raising bodies?”

“Yes, but they too were corrupted and could not be raised.  The corpses exploded when energies were introduced for reanimation.”

“This does not bode well…  Especially if we want to expand.”

“I know.”

She stopped as they neared a fountain.  It was a natural phenomenon with the nearby underground water that ran near the city.  “Then stop wasting my time and tell me if I should kill you here?”

Traven blinked.  He’d plotted it all out to before he’d even entered the tunnels, exactly what he was going to say to her and put her mind at ease, so he could become ruler of Kire.  She folded her arms and tapped a foot, waiting for him to answer.

Wake up! Lyla said.  You have to say something or she will!

“Well, you see…  The demons have many new runes and symbols that are…”

“Get to the point.”

Traven slowly blinked.

Listen to me, and say exactly what I say, Traven…  Or else you will find that the Vradka’Dervi is the last person you want to make a false promise to…  The reason I am saying this…

He blinked, but knew the succubus who called herself Lyla had been sent by Quixis, and the want of power was too much to ignore.  “The reason I am saying this…”

…Is because these new runes and energies might possibly be beneficial to our own research.

“…Is because these new runes and energies might possibly be beneficial to our own research.”

Viria looked at him with surprise.  “How can these demonic energies aid our undead?”

First, you must understand that I am hesitant about asking for this, because I know you give the final okay on resources for the family and how they are distributed… the succubus continued in Traven’s head.  As she spoke, Traven repeated the same words.  Is because I believe we can find a way to bind and add demonic traits and abilities to our undead, making the ultimate soldier.

At that, Traven gasped.  He was surprised, but so far, it looked like he had Viria’s attention.  “…Is because I believe we can find a way to bind and add demonic traits and abilities to our undead, making the ultimate soldier.”

Viria blinked and laughed.  “Now, I know you’re lying.”

“I am not...”

Because… Lyla said, The energies used by the surfacers are more akin to our own in polarity to the necromancy we use.

“The energies used by the surfacers are more akin to our own in polarity to the necromancy we use.”

“It is?”

“That’s what the runes we found before we were attacked suggest.”

You’re almost home free, Traven… the succubus whispered again.  Now, tell her this; I am hesitant to ask for more resources, but this could give us a chance against the surface, due to the demonic energies, should anything happen, and due to the aggressive nature of the demons, it is looking like more and more of a possibility.  Again, Traven heeded the demones’s words and repeated them.  However, in order to do this for you, I need a very valuable resource.

“What kind of resource, Traven?” Viria asked.

I am in need of souls.  Living souls.

Traven was clearly shocked by this.  Viria’s face even changed when he did respond to Lyla’s words.  “I am in need…  Of living…  Living souls…”

“Living souls?  You mean slaves?”

No, souls.  Actual souls that have been pulled from the body of a living creature.  A soul rots if left connected to its body unless aided by necromancy, so, using necromancy or demonology, the soul can be extracted.  From there, we can do what we want with it and integrate it to our undead.  She laughed in his head.  I’m sure you can think of something now…

Soon as Traven had finished repeating what she’d said, save for the last bit about him finishing it, he regained his confidence.  “So, we mutate the souls and corrupt them before injecting them into undead bodies to give them greater strength and power.  From there, the undead can mutate and evolve on their own to serve different roles we need them to.”

“What if they evolve too much?”

“Then we be careful with the early ones.  Find out just how much they do and if it becomes too much, remove the threat by dispelling them and banishing the demonic presence.”

“How confident are you about this?”

“Quite.”

Viria nodded.  “And how many of these living souls do you need?”

He thought, wondering just how many would be enough.  He had little idea what he was doing, but knew how the matron worked.  Just say what she wanted to hear and he could get whatever he wanted.  “I will take as many as you will permit me to.”

“Alright, good.  I’ll have my brother go purchase…  say… 20 slaves?  For your experiments.”

“Sounds good.”

“Any others you will have to get on your own.”

“Of course.”

“Do not disappoint me, Traven…”

“I do not intend to.  Regardless of the outcome of this, I expect we will learn much, and as you know, knowledge is power.”

“Indeed.  I expect you to start later today if my brother can get the slaves.”

“Will do.”  He nodded as she left.

She certainly has an air about her… Lyla said.  Not much to look at… though I gotta admit…  Nice back end…

“Whatever…”

Do I detect jealousy?  The succubus laughed.  Believe me when I say there are a great many things I could do to her.

“Just tell me what we need to do next.”

*****
Traven walked up the stairs to one of the highest rooms in the house.  Everything had been done as Viria had instructed.  The twenty slaves were all situated in a basement.  There was a lift that could be used to bring them up quickly if need be, and Traven thought it would be seeing a lot of use.  As he closed the door and made the special lanterns turn on, the room was lit in a purple haze.  Bottles and devices everywhere made it look like something out of Frankenstein, though Traven would have no idea who Frankenstein, let alone Mary Shelly.  Bottles with liquids in them bubbled, while steam floated from beakers.  Books upon books lay everywhere open with notes scribbled in his handwriting on them.

“What was it you two talked about?” Karyiestra asked.

“None of your business.”

“Really?”  She got up from the table she was lying on.  “Then what’s this about needing 20 slaves?”

“Experimentation, now go.”

Karyiestra put a hand on him.  “Y’know…  You might be a powerful sorcerer, but you are still male, and need to remember your place…”

“And you need to remember yours…”

She growled and her hair raised menacingly.  “Now…  Tell me exactly what she has planned!”

Tell her…  I have plans for this one…

“Okay.”  He smiled with a chuckle.  “I am plotting a hostile takeover of Kire and using your incredibly gullible sister to finance my operations until she has no longer a use for me.”

“But that would throw Kire into chaos!  A male ruler!”

“I won’t be the one ruling.”

“Then… who?”

“The Vradka’Dervi.  The one who opened my eyes to how corrupt and unclean our people are.  Because of it, we risk far greater problems, but by listening to him, we can become far greater, so great we can conquer the surface!”

“You speak of heresy.  To disobey a female is to be dropped in Maledici’s tars!  It is to be sucked dry by Arakaraa!  And for us, servants of Kali, suffer for an eternity between life and death!  You would dare defy the goddesses?”

“False-goddesses…”  Traven could see the shadowy face behind Karyiestra now.

She growled.  “You will die for your sacrilege here…”

“Do it then…”

Karyiestra raised her hair even more and bladed clips in her hair became visible.  She was going to slice him to pieces if she had the chance, but Traven saw the dark shadow forming around her neck before she started to choke.

“My, my, my…” Lyla said.  “Aren’t we the eager one?  Not sure just what to do about this?  You’re being replaced again, mortal…  And I must admit.  Your soul is full of life and fire.  It will be a pleasure to quench that fire…”

Karyiestra gasped and tried to scream, before the shadow forced itself into her throat.  Her body convulsed violently before collapsing on the floor.  In a minute, she slowly sat up, coughing for a moment, before getting to her feet.  Traven stood ready, just in case.

“Perfect,” she said.  “Finally, a host that was weak, yet good enough to take!”

“Lyla?”

“Yes, I’m here.”  Her voice sounded identical to Karyiestra’s.  “Right now, I’m thinking I’ll keep this form though.  Change it to my needs later.”

“Alright, but if that’s the truth, then we’re gonna have to keep a screen or something up to keep Viria from finding out.”

“Don’t worry about that.  I’ve done something like this before.”

“Good.”

“Now then…  We should get to work.  After all, you’re one of the Vradka’Dervi’s messangers.  And what about followers?  We have to spread his word.”

“Yes…”  Traven waked to a window and looked out on Kire.  “And we can start by preying on the bottom to make a base.”

“So, those 20 slaves…”

“Some for the experiments, some for a following.  Though, in the end, I think they’ll all just prove to advance my power.”

Lyla giggled.  “Wow, Traven.  From that, I’d say you would sell out your entire race if it meant you could have more power.”

“I’m a male, Lyla.  I have always been the bottom, even in this position of the society.  Where most would be content, I keep looking for opportunity.  The key is to never settle, for anything.”

“Good.  With that, you will do great things for the Vradka’Dervi, and by consequence, yourself.”

He nodded.  “Good.  Let’s get started then.”  He walked from the window and went to begin his work to please Viria Sorkara.  Someone who would learn just how dangerous it had been to let a male gain so much power in her city.