• Blood:
    “Conspirator of the Shadows”


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    Shadoe

    In the days of reckoning death stood like a shrouding cloud above the royal seats of planet BLOOD, thus three kingdoms held vast power amongst its lands; but only one was a true conspirator. This one was Lord Pandorus of the Shadoean Empire, through greed of a more palpable power he schemed to overthrow the two rivaling kingdoms; the Empire of the Silver gun, and The Kingdom of the Purple sun. Through these royal families, a blood unlike any others ran within their veins, to some point it was a gift and to others it was a curse; in the Shadoe kingdoms case it was a dreadful curse, with a thirst for Blood and much more power. Though to make his plan possible Lord Pandorus would need the assistance of his most beloved disciple his son Prince Pandorum, but the lord knew that his son would never willingly oblige so he needed a place to fuel the Princes craving for revenge…
    CHAPTER ONE
    “Plotting in the Dark”


    It was about sunrise in the province of Ruuga, the continent in which laid the darkly beautiful and rich Kingdom of the Demon blood Shadoe; to the east near the river of souls rested the imperial palace of the Shadoe family known as the Black citadel. It stood many miles tall and even more wide, with onyx black bricks and beautiful gold Shadoe glyphs; the ancient trees gave substantial and ample defenses to this extravagant structure yet no one would have ever thought once of trying to take siege of it. It was said; in many legends that the lord did not train actual guards, as it is told they say that he summoned Demonic Spirits to do his bidding; the forest around the citadel was called the Dark Mull, creatures of legend lurked within its wooded Shade constantly protecting the Royal family from unwanted intruders. Yet they should not have been worried of the outside, there was indeed a plot at hand one that would change the fate of many lives. The darkness of dusk clung to the castle like an annoying, fog clouding the mind of a philosopher, all deemed silent and grave as the royalty slept…
    One man sat awake in the warmth of his chambers, head held low and mind working ruthlessly. This man was about forty years old, but wise beyond his years and as twisted as any tormentor, his hair was long and black with grey streaks lining his side burns; his eyes were a dusty grayish red, and his skin as pale as a moons eerie glow. Thoughts rushed through his brain, stimulating recollections of deaths and soon to come murders, this man was a Lord and a powerful being, “Lord Pandorus” was his name, one that was most feared amongst all people of Planet Blood; and one that would soon be remembered forever.
    A candle lit upon his study table flickered as the Queen his wife and mother of his dear son, moved restlessly in her sleep; she was on the verge of awakening, until Lord Pandorus lifted a hand and channeled power to put her back to rest. She fell back into a soft sleep in all of her astounding beauty, her name was Cecilia; she was once the daughter of a powerful wizard and a formidable witch herself. Under the lord’s power she was a mere tool, a fragile twig to snap under his heel whenever he wished, he cared very little for their love and more for his goal of all glorious dominance. Soon you shall become part of a splendid plot my sleeping widow, he thought almost condescendingly. He thought rather to kill her violently and be done with it but by means necessary he would need her death to look like an assassination, how he would do so was already thoroughly planned. In his house he held control over the guards which were no more than shades, spirit possessed humans with arcane powers of their own; he controlled them through his thoughts. Ah I see now if I succeed my son will fully unlock his true potential, and with him in my grasp no one shall be able to stand in my path…he growled with a low laughter as he stood from his desk chair, Time for your salvation my wife…

    Pandorum jumped out from under the sheets of his bed at the sound of his mother’s screams, and his fathers cries for help. The seventeen year old Prince grabbed the short sword from under his mattress and bolted for the bedroom door. His heart pounded as his long black hair whipped in front of his face, suddenly sweat seemed to cling to his red and gold velvet night robes as a strong chill ran down his back. Pandorums bright blue eyes seemed hazy then the realization that his door was bolted shut came to him. Screams echoed through the halls and he lost his mind, the Prince began to stab his steel blade through the heavy black oak, his heart hurt and his brain went fuzzy. Something clawed at the inside of his chest and mind; a sharp pain filled every molecule of his body like a million needles penetrating the surface of his skull, as a fire erupted in his sword hand as his eyes shifted red. The inside held snake like grey slits and the whites of his eyes where solid grey as well, something indeed was wrong; as a strange sensation rippled through his anatomy.
    “MOTHER!” he bellowed, he threw his hands up and the door flew from its hinges, shattering into a thousand pieces; his mind was no longer his to command, instead the power awakening in him shaped the conclusion of his destiny. Pandorum ran down the dim lit corridor to his parents chambers. Heaving open the door he gasped at what he saw, his father was sprawled unconscious on the black tiled floor; while his mother laid dead in her bed, with a sword driven through her heart. The sight of her blood soaking the sheets in a blackish scarlet stain made him sick up on the chamber floor. His sight was lost as he realized that his dearest mother was dead killed by who knows, in her sleep. “M- Mother…n-NO!” he choked on his sorrow. Running to his sire’s side he lifted her head to his chest, running a hand through her light blond hair; her blood stained his finger tips, her breadth was shallow but she stopped breathing before he could say anything. One last time he held her close as hollowness filled his heart, his mother had been murdered but by whom? His teeth clattered and his fist ground as he roared with fury. Something flared within his soul as his hair turned a smoky grey, and instead of shedding tears from his eyes he shed blood in their place.
    Lord Pandorus moved in his daze and lifted a hand to his blood stained head.
    “My son…” he gasped in pain, “There is a traitor amongst our ranks, he slew your dearest mother in her sleep and attacked me soon after… my son you must find him and bring him back alive.” Pandorum glared down at the floor as he gave a short nod and wiped the blood from his eyes, “You need not worry of me my boy, just let your royal lineage guide your blade… and remember that the eye of virtue can see what lies yond a mans heart.”
    “Yes father…I shall avenge my mother.” The Prince seemed almost dead and cold as his eyes began to glow and his voice grew dull but mockingly intelligent, to a point he was terrifying, and so much more dangerous. The short blade in his hand crumbled to dust like silvery powder, and his nails became long and black. “I…want BLOOD!”
    Pandorum bolted through the halls, as his new found sight blessed him with the ability to track his suspects, body heat. Red light trailed down the halls as he twisted and flew down the corridors, his victims trial disappeared at the far end of the south wing hall were the window at the end was shattered; almost as if the traitor had leapt through it. He was on the sixth level of the citadel so the jump would possibly break his bones, but to his surprise he continued to sprint towards the opening; with a deep sigh he bounded out of the window, plummeting towards the Dark Mull Forest. Wind blasted past his face whipping his hair, as a wicked blade shot out from his clenched fist; the blade shined black and red with a realistic carving of an eye upon its wrist guard. In an acrobatic flip Pandorum smashed into the forested ground, jarring his ankles as he landed on his feet; his boots dug into the dirt, as his eyes picked up the heat signature once again. The chase was a tiring one but it was worth the time as Pandorum jumped through the brush and bramble before his path to revenge, tears of red blood trailed down the smooth contours of his face all the while sorrow tasted so bitter on his tongue.
    In the trail of pursuit Prince Pandorum, tracked his victim down like a hunter stalking its prey in the night; his catch was an armored man running through the forestry path and foliage. His black armor glinted dully towards Pandorums direction, while his blade clanked at his side and his breathe misted in the cold dawn’s air.
    “You cannot run from me forever!” he hissed wantonly raising the hand with the summoned blade above his head, in a swift maneuver he launched the sword into the traitors back; scarlet red blood spurted from his armored back as the blade vanished and reappeared back into Pandorums open palm, upon his hand was an actual eye that held the Shadoe symbol of the royal family. It blinked as it shifted into another blade identical to the first, in all dignity Prince Pandorum hadn’t the slightest clue as of to what was happening to him, yet he did not care for his time of revenge was here and now enough.
    His quarry stumbled forward catching himself on an overhanging tree limb; the man shuddered and turned around with a blade held tightly in his hand, Pandorum spotted the royal symbol of the Silver Gun Empire upon his right breast plate; Pandorums nostrils flared like a beasts as he snarled at the man trying to defend himself, the traitor had the blood of tyranny upon his hands and now his inevitable death. The Princes hate for the Silver Gun Empire outweighed even the most evil of any heart.
    The hapless man swung his blade but was instantly treated with the loss of his right arm, the limb toppled to the ground spraying blood in its downward path; the man did not even make the slightest noise as the royal Heir severed his head from his shoulders, the now useless corpse thudded to the dirt with its dismembered head rolling beside it. Pandorums chest heaved violently and the twin blades in his clutches vanished back into nothingness. He wanted to say that he felt better but nothing would change the finality of his mother’s death or the rage at which he felt towards the Empire that killed her, the distortion of his world was great yet he could no longer cry over his mothers corpse, he could only hate the cause of her death and the assassins that aimed to kill her as well as his father; though they succeeded in the shattering of his child hood memories, his wrath was far from relinquished. He cursed every person that had ever doubted him and his family so that when he killed them he would carve his Royal name upon their flesh…my revenge for your death mother shall not rest here. I will not respite my vengeance until the very Empire of the Silver Gun falls beneath my heel!

    Three weeks later: Midday
    Father…
    “I have wondered why you never speak of mother these days… would you mind sharing your thoughts with me.” Pandorum spoke in a dull voice as he sat down on the ground, with a slick sweat clinging to his flesh; his breaths flowed heavily while he watched his father, Lord Pandorus took a seat next to him. The Lord gazed up at the misty white clouds in the azure sky; as Pandorum rubbed a sweaty hand on his leather combat pants while his father began to speak in somewhat sullen tones.
    “My son, at times your mother was a hindrance but at others she was a very lovely and kind hearted woman, I begrudge speaking of her because it unsettles me to know that she could have been murdered by those barbarians. The thought of such sorrow makes my black blood boil, I feel nothing but rage.” Yet the lord did not sound at the least angry as he drawled on. “But soon I plot to take siege of their Empire so that I may pay my respects to the Royal father Lord Draco, and of course you can handle his brat, Prince Redd Allo’ hov.”
    “Yes I would enjoy that very much…” Pandorum replied thoughtlessly, while he pondered his father’s reactions to his inquisition; yet he could not shake the feeling that something was being hidden from him…Remember that the eye of virtue can see what lies yond a man's heart. His father’s words from that night blistered his brain once more though he did not fully understand the saying; he knew that his father was hiding something about his mother Cecilia’s assassination. He did not bother asking the meaning of those words, so instead he grabbed his wooden training sword and went back to his sword practice.
    Lord Pandorus grinned snidely at his boy, and stood to leave for the Black Citadel; Pandorum watched him leave until he was completely in the fortress. The prince studied the world around him, staring at the brick wall that separated him from the real world, and the forest of monsters beyond. It had been three weeks since he had awakened his powers and now he wanted more. But he only desired it so that he could exact his wrath amongst those who slew his beloved mother Cecilia. The tree tops that peeked above the courtyard walls perplexed the prince as much as the plants within his walled training area, which by far was not much at all; as for every waking hour he learned something new of his gifts every day, and for that he was appreciative yet not proud. When he finished his techniques he plopped down on the patch of grassy land below him, as he settled down to admire the gardening; as the prince he never really found much pleasure in gazing at the sky or caring for plants, but at an early age his mother had taught him to give thanks for the things that lived in their land. Yet now only he could think of her sweet voice and loving concern as he glowered at a patch of scraggly yet brilliantly red roses.
    Damn the roses, for they never gave thanks to me for letting them grow in my home! The prince thought this with fury as the flowers wilted and caught fire, the once green leaves shriveled and greyed until the entire blossom was lost in ashes, black soot stained the ground were the patch once stood uprooted. Then in unison all of the flowers from daisies to Scarlet Carnations, began to blaze in a black fire that turned them into pure ash.
    “Why do you fret my love?” came a smooth soft voice from his back, he did not bother to turn as he felt warm and caring hands rub his shoulders; Pandorum smelled the sweet scent of Salza berries through the stench of burning plants as he growled,
    “How did you get in here girl?” as he stood, the female behind him giggled mockingly in his ear, forcing him to turn around in annoyance, as he faced her he instantly pinned her by the wrist as he bore a blade in the blink of an eye. The girl sighed vexingly as she stared at him with her cat-like yellow eyes, holding her wrists with one powerful hand he lifted the dagger to her throat; but instead of begging for mercy she smiled impishly and replied.
    “I got in the way I always do through the wall, my handsome devil.” Pandorum smirked slightly letting her go as he said
    “It is far too dangerous in the forest and it’d be best if you’d not stain the forest floor with your mangled corpse.”
    “Oh, how charming of you to care for my welfare…”
    “I don’t care for your life… I only worry for the sickness of the creature that devours you.”
    “You’re so dreamy when you’re upset” she sighed hotly as she danced amongst the seared plants, she was only slightly smaller than him yet she was such a beautiful creature.
    “There is only one word for women like you, Obsessed!” he turned his back to her as he hid a subtle grin. “What do you want Alexandra?” he solicited deeply.
    Alexandra touched the burned grass, and it began to regain its color and life, her healing powers were to a point phenomenal as she restored the entire garden to perfect health and harmony; she only looked up at him and smiled with her pretty white teeth, as she ran a light beige hand through her velvet black hair. Pandorum studied her extravagance in their brief moment of silence; she wore clothing that barely covered enough of her light beige skin, and enough jewelry to make the rich look sloppy and poor; her lips were full and her cheeks just slightly round enough to make her adoringly cute, a black sash wrapped about her slender waist made her look fairly exotic. Though Pandorum knew that she was merely a rogue, a thief and assassin to be exact; nonetheless as her moral of a thief she never stole from the poor or the old, but only from the rich and the wicked.
    Alexandra laid, out on the grass as she stretched her nimble arms above her head and said, “I don’t want anything from you but your company…” Alexandra beckoned him to sit beside her, he sat but with his back turned to her; Alexandra sighed wistfully while making an attempt to spark conversation.
    “I over heard you speaking with your father, what is it that worries you my love?” a long pause severed her attempt to spark his interest, but before she could say another word he turned to face her and answered almost gravely.
    “My father seems to be taking my mothers assassination lightly…”
    “Well isn’t that good?” she asked coolly, Pandorum shook his head in disagreement as he added to his previous comment,
    “He doesn’t seem to care about our loss at all; instead he seems preoccupied with something else…something devious.” Alexandra looked with a renowned sternness in the prince’s direction as she almost lost her grip, to think that he would have thought so boldly about his father; and only family that he had left, made her a little disappointed in a sense, for she had lost her entire families existence to a pestilent plague, and never till this day did she complain of her unfortunate loss’s. She did not bring up that unnerving fact, because she was practically raised an orphan; however now she was eighteen years of age and prosperous to her best, but in order to curve her need for an even deeper conversation she reproached him with her boldest tones.
    “My, my…how could you squander your only father’s name in such an ill fated fashion?”
    Pandorum scoffed stoically in her face and turned away yet again, and now Alexandra was finding it ever so harder to read this handsome young man; here she was trying to rectify his suspicions the best she could, then still he reversed her methods and crushed them to a fine powder of oblivious ignorance in her face. Alexandra found herself sulking like a small child, at the last minute she straightened her facial composure as he turned to stare at her. He gave an extremely brief smirk and began to speak freely once more.
    “You see, my mother was very different from my father in many ways, she held the keys to my disposition and the bearing of my very life. Because she bore me at birth is the reason I am alive today, in light the bonds between a father and a son is much more primitive than one between a mother and her son. I was more attached to her than I have ever been to my father, and for that I need her with me at this very moment, for without her I feel that my humanity will slowly drift from me until I am no longer able to be called a human…” Alexandra sighed with a sorrow for him as she urged him to speak more of his dear mother, and what memories he still held of her within that empty cavity in his chest.
    “Tell me of her, it will make you feel better if not well.” She coaxed. With this he stared up to the sky as if staring at the heavens where his mother must have been, as he let his deep voice carry in her ears.
    “Well I recall when I was merely eight years of age I was running in this very garden and I had fallen, I had stubbed my finger on the thorn of a rose bush and it drew blood. When I saw the blood I began to actually cry, my mother had taken me into the manor and wrapped my wound in a light gauze; and I remember her saying as she put me away to bed that night, ‘Do not cry over lost blood little one for it shall never cry over you.’ I still recall the time that she said this to me and now… I just do not know if what she said had any truth to it. It was because of her that I felt complete but she’s gone now, and I only want to be…”
    Pandorum let his voice trail off without finishing his comment, for he couldn’t bear to speak of her anymore. Alexandra studied him with empathy in her yellow amber eyes, and her heart in her hands; she honestly understood his pain though she had trouble telling him so for she didn’t truly feel as bad as he felt, or she couldn’t feel as he did because her pain was not quite his. It was something that she wished would have been much more intimate, Alexandra knew that he only wanted to be complete and maybe with her in his life he could grow to be that way one day; Alexandra stared at him for long while until he turned around and stared into her eyes with his own, she felt a strange pressure on her heart like a lead being lifted from her chest, as her heart suddenly began to pound in excitement.
    “Have you ever thought…” she began with an easy start, “What it is that makes my heart dance?” at this Pandorum looked away quicker than he’d intended, as he replied in a barely audible voice,
    “I do not understand what it is that you mean…”
    Alexandra bit her lip in reprieve, trying to repress her urge to yell at his immaturity; she could vividly smell the slight sweat on his smooth skin, and the aroma of grass mingled with the scent of Rose berry wine. She could clearly see his rejecting glare, but still she yearned for no other than him in her obsessive way,
    “Take note my paramour… one midsummer’s eve you will grow to want me as I have and always will want you.” She composed her voice in a sweet symphony of smooth and utter calm as she let her words flow from her silver tongue, “Still my yearning for you stays true through even my vanity, you are the sculptor of my stone passion and the bearer of one thousand sorrows thrown about your shoulder; I only wish that you would give me a shooting chance to bring you one step closer to wholeness, with the help of my love.”
    Pandorum seemed to snarl savagely as he began to chuckle with laughter at her woe, as if she were just some infatuated girl stuck to a king like the yellow blood of a tree. He laughed as if it were a parody to ‘Shakespeare’ or a ruse to scandal his royal profits, strangely he felt sick at his hatefulness; and the way in which he treated her, for he truly wished to hold her so that he may cry, but he could no longer cry tears of salt and water, only could he weep blood. Even if he could cry he would not for he needed to retain his cocoon of denial, he modestly wanted to love her as much as she loved him, but his blood would not let him; for love was dead in his newly acquired eye’s. Alexandra’s eyes began to water with regret and deep hurt; never before had she felt so discarded and unwanted as she stood to take her leave. The prince that she had once loved was no longer there, now he was replaced by a cruel natured young man with no regard for the good things that he still had in his life; and through her wet gaze she could still see the nice things of their childhood, when they used to fantasize of great adventures, and matrimony. Without a sniffle or a sob she, turned away wetness brimming her eyes as she said the last thing she ever thought she would to him.
    “Good bye…Pandorum…” her hands clutched at her black sash, as she walked away, with tears staining her beige cheeks; as she hoped he would stop her from leaving, but he did not so with her head held high she left him for good…
    After a few minutes Pandorum found himself; feeling emotionally horrid and unkempt as he sat in the same spot of grass longer than he could remember, constantly grinding his teeth in pure frustration and over biting bitterness-do I truly feel for her well being? - he’d thought this many times in so short a time that he knew it was final, he really wanted and needed her by his side. He wanted her to somehow fill the hole in his spirit, it took him only a second to stand and run after her; he needed to amend his mistakes with a desperation that made him almost frantic to a point, and though he knew that the Dark Mull Forest was teeming with vile creatures he sprinted towards the great black stoned wall of the Dark Citadel, separating him from her. With the defensive wall at twelve feet itself, it was surprising as he leapt to its lip and heaved himself over with his fine toned arms bulging while he scaled it to the other side.
    When he landed with a heavy footed thud, he stood and bolted faster than he ever had, picking up her small foot prints as he went he yelled her name; sprinting ever closer to his desire.
    “Alexandra!” his voice reverberated off of the forest walls from tree to tree as his head swiveled from left to right in search of his true redemption. “Alexandra!” shortly after his call was answered with a short scream coming from the east of the forest; suddenly his face went pale as it began to contort with a feral and ravenous rage, which was fueled by the past experience of a present nightmare. Pandorum sprinted towards that direction with his head held low while he dodged the obstacles in his path, his eyes began to shift into those strange demonic shades of scarlet red and smoky grey; as a strange energy surged through his entire body like a dark tide, whilst the nails of his hands morphed into black talons of fatality. If it is you Alexandra I hope that you are not hurt…he thought almost frantically as his humanity slowly began to drift away, Pandorum was no longer himself, in his place now was a beast of the darkness enshrouding his heart.
    In less than a split moment he bounded into a large clearing of billowing arbors, letting his eyes guide him he caught sight of the entire scene in less than a mille-second; he saw five men, all dressed in shaggy leggings and wool vest’s…one held Alexandra at knife-point while the others watched the clearing in a defensive sort of formation. It took Pandorum no time to retaliate and them a lot longer to realize that something was awry, as the first man hit the dirt clutching at his now bleeding throat; the Prince grabbed the next by his collar and easily hurled the much bigger human into a nearby tree, on impact the mans back bone snapped like a fig and he crumpled to the ground paralyzed. He had more than enough time to pounce on the older ruffian holding Alexandra but he, stopped and crouched on the offensive letting the grown man see him as he was. With blood from a kill splattered on his chest and a snarl like a demons smile etched along his lips, he heard the other two men behind him move in to strike, but he laughed instead of taking action, for they obviously had no clue that he was not a creature of the forest.
    “Kill it!” bellowed the man with the knife pressed against Alexandra’s breast, Pandorum cackled and vanished in the wink of an eye, as he slaughtered the remaining thieves; he made it to were they had wounds in their vital areas so that may die in agony for their insolence. He aimed to punish as the last man dropped to the forest floor kicking and screaming in pain, Pandorum sought to silence him but he only knocked him unconscious instead. In the last moment he scaled a tree behind Alexandra so that he could hide from her without being seen, Alexandra held her hand to her chest as she blinked hysterically at the dead men littered at her feet; she had sworn that she had seen Pandorum amidst the reign of blood yet at the time he was no were to be found, she thought, and looked behind her at the roof of the tree’s but he had disappeared as soon as her gaze caught the rustling leaves upon its limbs.
    “What are you?” she screamed at the top of her lungs with her apprehension building in her gorge, “PLEASE JUST…LET…ME…BE?” she slumped to the forest floor with the dead not far in her path, as she heard foot steps and the voice that she still loved but hated all the same.
    “I…I’m sorry Alexandra, I shouldn’t have done this to these men, or…or to you. I just thought that they were going to kill you…just like…” his comment was severed with a loud crack as Alexandra stood and smacked him with the back of her hand ,all in one aggressive bound. She had hit him so hard that blood flew from a split in his lip, and his eyes began to glow ominously with a creepy luminescence that refracted on her smoothly contoured visage. She jumped with a skittish paranoia and backed away from him with every trace of her previous resentment replaced by the panic now placed plainly on her facial expressions.
    “You…you murdered these men, this quickly?” she asked, while barely containing her instinctive urge to scream. She suppressed her voice, into a thin silent moan as she backed up into a tree; Pandorum saw that she wanted to run away from him, and it hurt his feelings but he could understand why.
    “I am a monster, Alexandra…I killed for you though and I never wanted you to see me like this…” his glowing red eyes dimmed gradually into their electrifying hue, as the blood running down his lip dried and flaked away. “I truly do…care for you…” Pandorum touched the stinging side of his face and actually gave a subtly attractive smile, it was an earnest twitch of his mouth that visibly relayed all of the pain he had endured as a young prince and an abandoned adolescent, “and if I could I would amend for the bloodshed I have wrought this very day, and the bloodshed to come from my hands in the near future…but I can’t, I only want you to understand why this beast resides within me. In turn if it is not too late I will accept your woes, while I only hope for you to acknowledge this creature of chaos within my soul…I need you Alexandra, I need you as much as I need to see my mother at this moment.” Pandorum’s eyes retained their electric blue tone as he looked away from the young woman’s starry gaze, Alexandra hadn’t the slightest ideal as of to how she should’ve felt at that exact point and time; but to a point that gave what seemed like a vast insight to her true emotions towards her highness…
    …Dark citadel: Chamber of conclusion.
    Lord Pandorus sat comfortably in his ‘Throne of Judgment’ holding a finely sculpted goblet of ‘Red berry whine’ in his left hand while he stared blankly around the expanses of the chamber in whence he waited for his audience, of noble men and therefore women. He sighed morosely at the foundations of the circular court room; lined with oak benches varnished in the finest polish ever made in the continent of Ruuga. The room had an enormous support beam nestled in its middle, which spread in a radius of about fifty cubits or so. It was sculpted from pure marble onyx, with red vines shaped from the finest ruby found in the lands of Northwind, whose borders were not far from Ruugatta; the home of the shadoian royal families. As a Shadoe lord Pandorus was a man solely of wealth and nobility, as shown in the portraits of the two gods painted upon the dome ceiling of the chamber in which he lounged almost thoughtlessly. The only things that ran through his mind were the drinking of his ’Red berry Whine’ and unexpected deaths. Such as the ones to come soon…his desolate stare skated atop the domed marble plastered ceiling, as he observed the paintings of Ares the god of war and Aphrodite the goddess of love; the portraits were much darker than the others that he had scattered about the citadel. It showed death and heart ache all in one cluster of dark dissonance…it was a portrait that indeed portrayed the very heart of his highness.
    “Your highness…” drawled a smooth sly voice from the chamber entrance “You are aware that the Lord Prince Pandorum has been meeting with that wench rogue Alexandra?”
    The Lord Pandorus only sipped at his goblet of wine as he was interrupted from studying his entourage of discordant beauty; he glowered into his platinum lined glass goblet before he acknowledged the noble. He looked down at a fairly sly looking man in a black cloak with a Shadoe emblem clasp, the man had the soft hood pulled over his head but the Lord knew him well enough from his devious voice alone. The man he acknowledged was his contact, a rat of the sorts whom told him everything that he desired to know, as well as dispensable messenger from The-powers-that-be; his name was Ballavore’ jackueles, he was a tall limber man with a mysterious but precautious nature…which was something that the Lord did not like.
    “Why do you tell me such impudent things Ballavore’?” the tall man no more than thirty looked directly up at the majesty, as he slightly shifted in his black cloak whereas he rubbed his beard, and replied.
    “I felt that it was my duty to inform you of such odd occurrences…”
    Lord Pandorus chuckled and said, “You will only inform me when I tell you to, nothing less or nothing more…am I understood Ballavore’?” the man bowed deeply while replying, “Yes your majesty.”
    “Good.” Lord Pandorus raised his goblet to his lips and took a deep swig, drinking to a legacy of pain as he savored the strong sting of his beverage as it rolled down his throat. He smiled coolly down at the man all the while enjoying the sense of power that he held over the lesser human being. The lord Pandorus turned his icy stare down into the crimson depths of his goblet as he murmured, something then said.
    “Do you know, Ballavore’, why I am so rash towards you?”
    The sly looking mans eyes grew slightly wider with a growing trepidation, as he slowly stood to supply an answer to his lords inquisition; but he could not because he frozen with fear at the un-expectancy at the type of question, for most likely Ballavore’ would have to carefully answer the question at which he was asked.
    “I-I have never felt you rash or blunt milord…”
    “That was not the question boy! DO YOU WONDER WHY OR NOT?” Ballavore’ shrank under his Lords bellow and cold-hearted stare as he was forced to stammer out the first answer that came to his tongue.
    “Y-Yes my lord!”
    “Hmm…So I see you have reconsidered your selection of words, coincidently you are a filthy liar and those were your last…so you shall pay due fully with the loss of your tongue.” Lord Pandorus growled in a dull remark, Ballavore’ fell to the floor in an attempt to plead for his ignorance, “Shut up…and listen to my reasons fore wielding such an iron fist!” he snapped before any thing else could be said in his wake.
    “You see my overly humble weasel, when I was but a wee lad; occupying my fathers company when he once ruled this forsaken land, we had a short fight… yes I believe you’ve seen the scars imprinted upon my flesh. I received them from our very last encounter, seventeen cycles ago.” Lord Pandorus took an even bigger swig from his goblet, and drawled on in satisfaction, “He swore to me, that before he died he would make a man out of me, he swore that he would shape me into a pure bred king… he denounced that I was too soft to be his son, so I lived grueling through the days of hell that he subjected upon me. I lived on plotting the unwary b*****d’s time of annihilation…until finally the day of our very last confrontation came to pass. Hmm…I still receive a current of satisfaction just from thinking of the way that my blade pierced his flesh and bones, as he screamed from the pain of my Shaido’bakto (all seeing eyes); he begged for the mercy of my all seeing eyes, yet my sword and the pressure of my agony gave him little less than an eternity of hell. Before I killed him with a thrust to his heart, I told him that I would never be the type of father that he was; yet like him I murdered my lovely wife, and lied about it to my son for my own personal gain…and still I couldn’t feel any better than I do now. In fact I am giddy with the kind of joy that only comes from the hearts of the darkest and corrupted…so I ask myself, am I insane…well I do believe it so.”
    Lord Pandorus pondered as he witnessed Ballavore’ trembling in terror upon the stone cobbled floor, the older man actually began to wail like a small child; and for Lord Pandorus laughed coldly.
    “I still see that you wish to keep your tongue. Yes?”
    Ballavore’ frantically shook his head, his beard wet with sorrow and fears.
    “I bet you do, of course you wouldn’t be much of a weasel if I severed your tongue, so I’ll take your heart in place…does that suffice?”
    Ballavore’ slumped to the ground in a futile plea for some type of retribution, but the point was obvious that his Highness was not going to think twice about silencing or killing him.
    “M-my l-lord; plea-PLEASE! I beg of you! Spare me for my ignorance!”
    “I already have, at the cost of your life you shall and will always be spared, your filthy soul will go to hell knows where; while your body remains under my control…now I demand that you drop dead like a good trampled weasel and never reproach me again…besides I’ve already told you too much loyal snitch. So do not worry of your family in the ‘Kaidin mountains,’ they will soon join you in the pits of hell fore whence you belong.”…