Aspheri - Shadow's rule. - open -

Shadow slowly walked down the black marble corridors, flanked by two large wolves. Her black dress brushed the stone floor, her cloak weighing down on her shoulders. Her violet eyes were cast downwards, as had been their normal place ever since she had taken over in Aspheri. She missed her friends desperately for the year she had been there. She wondered if they had forgotten her, or if they missed her like she missed them.

She sighed silently, resting a hand on the head of the wolf to her right. Wraith looked up at her with a look that could only be given by a canine to a person he or she loved more than anything. A sad smile crossed the demoness' face very briefly at the sight of it. Fortunately, the wolf had been able to recover better from the loss of her 'pack', better known to Shadow as Bart and Dominique Kraferr, two people she had befriended along the way of her adventures.

Shadow and her escort arrived at an elaboratly carved archway, one which Shadow usually dreaded seeing. She let her fingers brush against the cared black marble as she entered her throne room, one which she had stood in at the age of 4, where she had been given the demonic mark against her will by her father. She sat on the black throne, the two wolves sitting at her sides. The silver coloured headdress that marked her rank glinted in the bright candlelight. She closed her violet eyes briefly, pushing the thoughts of her previous friends from her mind and preparing herself for the audiences that she had to receive.

In another corridor, lightly lit by one of the same type of candles inside the marble corridor Shadow was walking inside, there was nothing. A faint, yet annoying rumble could be heard from a very large crowd away past the corridor. The flame of the candle flickered gently, as if it was longing for its extinction. Beads of wax were hardened on the sides of the burning candle.

The light of the candle began to fade away, as if eaten by some sort of darkness. The interesting thing was that there was nothing inside the corridor that could've done this odd event. A flick was heard, followed by a low-toned whirl, as if a large quantity of water was flushing through a tight hole. A flash of black, and a wave of air blew the candle's fire away, making the corridor faint into darkness.

A bolt of dark lighting shot from the ceiling of the hall, smashing itself on the black, dry ground. A slamming sound was heard, and a curse word was uttered from the black aura that lifted in the air, as a unrecognizable figure lifted itself on the ground. The silhouette lifted its hands, flexing its fingers, making them crack. The fingers were equipped with sharp blades at their extremities, almost the length of knives, but slimmer. The shadow coughed, blowing away the fog with no smell, letting four bright red eyes illuminate the halls.

As the smoke was lifted, like if bound away by a powerful curse, the features of a tall teenage boy could be seen. He had dark brown hair, about sloppy mud color. He wore a slightly dirty long-sleeved purple shirt, along with a large, baggy-ended pair of marine blue trousers. A long, violet tail whipped the fog away, curling around one of the boy's legs. He looked around warily, as if he was looking for something.
The boy cursed under his breath, looking down at the ground fiercely. "And I thought I was trained enough for teleportation," he muttered darkly. His voice was one octave too low than it should be for a normal boy of his age, which was visibly near fifteen years old. He lifted his head, letting his red eyes pierce the darkness. "Where am I, anyways?"

The boy noticed a candle to his right, which was still smoking from the recent extinction. His ear pricked as he heard the mumble coming from deep within the corridor. Bart gulped silently, looking at the direction where the sound came from.
"And I ain't alone," he grumbled coldly. He frowned, as he felt some sort of strange aura envelop him. He closed his eyes in concentration. He knew this feeling. He remembered it. It was when he was with...
Shadow, he thought to himself, mouthing her name, looking sadly at the ground. But that ain't possible. She said she would have to begin her reign on Synairn... Or Aspher. Yeah, Aspheri. She's gone. I must be mistaken. Bart looked around, sniffing the air. Even the smell was recognizable, but he had never felt it so strongly. He lifted one eyebrow. She's gone from Earth. If I can sense this kind of stuff... Would that mean I'm in Aspheri? No, that ain't possible. I don't know the song. And that would've transported me way too far then I would've imagined! Bart sniffed again. No, it's her smell all right, he corrected himself, or else... It's the smell of others of her kin. Am I in Aspheri? But how could I get in there?

From her place sitting next to the carved black throne, Wraith began to whine. Shadow looked down at her wolf, laying a gloved hand on Wraith's head, trying to sooth the canine, but she could see that the wolf was trembling.
"What is it, Wraith? What do you sense?" She murmured to the wolf. Wraith whined quietly before standing up, moving as if to exit the room. Shadow sighed, grabbing her indoor cloak. She didn't like the indoor cloak, as it was only suspended by a thick ring of material around her neck, but it was one that went with the rank, as many things did. She sighed, turning round to grab something else. She took the headdress off to quickly place the mask over her face. She had to wear it during audiences, unfortunately. Another annoying thing. She tied the black ribbon around her head, pulling her long black hair out from underneath it before picking up the crown again. She turned the ring of metal around in her hands, feeling the braided silvery pattern and running a finger over the onyx that was embedded in the front before jamming it on her head, turning round quickly, striding towards the door after Wraith. The second wolf of her escort trotted after her, taking its place at her left side, its two white front paws flashing in the low loght.

Shadow strode down the corridor until she saw something in the shadows ahead of her. She stopped, placing a hand on the concealed dagger in her bodice. Behind her mask, her facial expression couldn't be seen, as it left only one violet eye visible, but that eye was narrowed, searching the darkness. Wraith's tail was wagging, and Shadow saw a flash of purple fur in the darkness. She mentally shook her head. Bart would have had to really mess up his teleportation to be here...

Bart frowned at the ground, not having noticed that he had been perceived. He grumbled at himself, trying to understand. It's impossible that I ended up in Aspheri! He outraged in his thoughts, if that is true, I must be the worst teleporter demons have known in their centuries of their freaking history! Bart glanced around, just as a clothed figure passed by, and disappeared behind the wall.

Bart's fist clenched. If I'm in Aspheri all right, I should stay in this demonic form, Bart concluded, his face darkening. I can still feel that demonic aura, that I recognize greatly. I must be in Aspheri, whether I want it or not. Now, the only question is, how the h*ll do I move without being noticed as only a half-demon? I'm a freaking Kraferr, and I don't know if strangers are welcomed warmly in Aspheri. Come to think of it, I don't know anything about Aspheri! Jesus Christ. Bart sniffed the air, checking for the smell for at least a fourth time.

He shook his head, lifting his clawed hand to his face, relaxing his brain by massaging his forehead. Okay, I messed up my transportation. Now what? I wonder if I can go back. No, wait, I can't. Too risky. I would end up in the middle of somewhere else on Aspheri... And, anyways... I'm sorta curious about how full demons are... Wait, no, Bart, get the h*ll out of here! You know the song of the lake! Curiosity killed the cat!
But satisfaction brought it back, Bart thought. I'm going to try to sneak a little. Anyways, I don't make any sound while walking anymore, thanks to Dominique.

Bart turned to where he saw th clothed person pass. I hope that they didn't see me, he muttered darkly to himself in his mind, or else I'm screwed. Bart stepped up closer to the rumble of mixed sounds and voices, and he put himself against one of the walls, trying to hide himself from any pair of four red eyes that might be wandering around. He lent one ear to the sounds, listening to what was happening. So many people, must be an event, or something... Bart thought a while, then slapped himself. What am I doing?! I don't know how to speak demonic!

Shadow walked the black marble halls with a confidence that could only belong to a princess that had lived there for a while. The two wolves kept pace with her easily, their own strides matching. Her cloak floated behind her easily and her hair, loose to hang down to her waist, glinted slightly in the firelight. Wraith's tail was still wagging, and Shadow was curious to see what was exciting her wolf in such a way.

The only sound Shadow made as she moved was the soft rustle of the fabric of her dress and the clicking of the wolves' claws on the marble floor. With her black mask covering her face and the headdress shining in the light, it was obvious to the passing demons who she was. Several stopped, bowing with one hand fisted over their primary hearts. She would briefly return the gesture before continuing on her way, knowing that Wraith was impatient to get to what ever it was that she had sensed.

Shadow turned down a dark, narrow corridor and saw a figure there. She blinked, hoping that the year of stress controlling Aspheri was just playing tricks on her mind, but no. There the intruder was, standing half in shadow. The one violet eye on show widened in shock. Wraith barked once, joyfully, but ddn't bound forwards as she once would have.

Bart's heart skipped in his chest, and it followed its action by pounding violently against his ribs as he jumped away from the sound. He lifted one hand to his face, his fingers outstretched in a cat-like position, as his other hand swayed elegantly to his side, the huge claws glinting in the darkness. The blades that shot from Bart's back sliced the air as he moved with swiftness.

Bart scanned the three entities. Two canines, and a person. A demon, more like it, almost completely hidden by clothing, making Bart unable to distinguish any traits of the being. One of the canines was a black-furred wolf, with a white patch of fur right on its forehead. Bart had already seen a dog like this before, in the past. But he couldn't believe that it was the same canine he had seen before.

Bart's breath was slow and stable, showing calmness in his stance. Bart knew the rules of Kraferric Martial arts nearly by heart, but he had the basics dissimulated in his body. Kraferric Martial arts were defensive. One had to wait until the opponent attacked to block, giving the opponent a counterattack. Then, it most relied on destabilization or deconcentration.

Bart stood silent, not sure what to do. He knew that if he used demonic magic in here, seen his small power in demonic power, it would be easily blown away. Bart's purple tail flicked at the air, then slashed fiercely behind him. A faint black smoke emanated from Bart's opened hands, seeping through the claws. Bart kept his eyes on the person, which he judged to be the most dangerous.

Shadow's visible eye was wide, unblinking as she took in the sight of the person before her. She wasn't fazed by his offensive stance, she had seen it so many times before. Wraith looked up at Shadow, but she ignored the look, her eye locked with the Kraferr's. Despite it having been a year in the Earthern dimension, time went almost three times as fast in Aspheri, meaning that she had been there for three years. Of course, she hadn't aged, she was destined to remain looking like a fifteen-year-old for the rest of her very long life.

Unfortunately, the other wolf, the second one of her escort, saw Bart as a threat to his charge. He bore his teeth, hackles raised and ready to pounce. Shadow murmured something to him in Demonic, her voice muffled very slightly by the mask, but the canine had understoood enough. He didn't look at all happy as he sat down, glaring darkly at Bart. Wraith, on the other hand, had a doggish grin plastered over her face, as if she was going to pounce on Bart and lick his face off, but the wolf had a bit more class now.

Shadow's eye found Bart's again, locking their gazes. She couldn't believe that he was here.
"You," She said simply.

Bart frowned slightly, as he heard the words. Even though they took some time to get through his thick skull, he didn't lower his stance for a second, or even the half of that. He was still on his guards, the tail still whipping at the air, having a life of its own. His red eyes glimmered in the darkness under his hair, that he pushed away gently by blowing them away, to have a better look at the person.

The flames that sprouted from Bart's hand teetered-and-tottered vaguely, throwing shadows of light in various directions. It seemed pretty odd but sparks soon lifted from Bart's hands, driving up his arms, down his back to the ground under his feet, where the marble stood, managing to keep the energy drawn inside. Bart's chest expanded and flattened as he breathed deeply, preparing himself for more reactions. The words were said with a slight tone that he recognized. As they made their way to his mind, and actually connected memories one by one in his thoughts, his eyes slowly widening, letting more crimson light flow through them.

Bart's eyes were locked on the demon's, slowly glimmering, then going to squint again, convincing himself that what he was looking at was not what he thought. Completely illogical, he thought darkly. And I thought we spoke demonic here...
"I don't remember having met before," Bart remarked sharply.

Shadow smiled slightly behind her mask. Of course he wouldn't recognise her like this, but she couldn't take off her mask. She mentally rolled her eyes. Karthragan had been excempt to this rule, having been male. Unfortunately, being the female ruler of the dimension, she was required to wear a mask in front of everyone except the other female demon who had been commanded to wait on her. Urg, Shadow hated all of the decorum. She remembered when she used to climp trees in Synairn wearing shorts instead of a dress.

Shadow locked gazes again with the Kraferr, trying to think of a way to get him to recognise her. She sighed inwardly, wishing the many rules would just vanish, but she knew that it was extremely unlikely to happen.

She looked at Bart, shaking her head.
"You do not believe that we have met. I think otherwise." She curtsied slightly, fisting one hand over her heart. "However, I introduce myself as Princess Shadow of Aspheri."

"Prin-" Bart repeated quickly, after the sentence had been uttered from the demon's mouth. He mouthed the rest of the sentence to himself, his fingers twitching awkwardly. His tail stopped moving, and flopped on his leg, coiling tightly around it, making the fabric bend and move. Bart's stance slowly melted, and his final position was a hunched boy, with his arms falling on his sides, his legs still bent expertly.

"Princ-" Bart stuttered again. His four red eyes glistened in the darkness, as his mouth tried to make out the words that came out of his mouth as only small sounds and squeaks. He gaped foolishly at the demoness, lifting one eyebrow extravagantly.

"Princess Shadow?" Bart finished. He blinked multiple times, his eyes flashing like a lamp with a defect. Suddenly, he crouched down on the ground, laying one clawed hand on the black marble. One knee was flexed upwards, whilst his other knee was against the ground. He laid one clenched fist over his kraferric heart, letting his hair sweep over his forehead. "Princess," he muttered quietly, lowering his head in a bowing gesture.

Shadow smiled as Bart seemed to have problems uttering the word 'Princess'. Then, behind her mask thankfully, she turned slightly red as he bowed before her. She crouched slightly to place two gloved fingers under his chin, bringing him out of his bow. Her violet eye twinkled slightly as she smiled.
"I would take my mask off, but rules of the dimension forbid it." She said apologetically before moving on, shaking her head. "Bart, Bart Kraferr... You really screwed up this time, didn't you?" It felt good to be free of all the higher class language that she was so fed up of.

"I f*cked up, more like it, yeah," Bart answered darkly, "excuse my expression, your highness, but I've got no freaking idea why the h*ll I'm here!" Bart outraged, throwing his arms in the air fiercely, his red eyes blaring like a fully-powered flashlight. His tail squeezed tighter on his leg, but he took no notice. He wasn't very used to being in front of a person with a very high social class, and he wasn't taking care of the clothes Dominique had given him before he went training, for an excuse of 'you wear that purple shirt and that crummy white pair of shorts of yours all time, all day long. They stink like hell wouldn't'.

Bart took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. He didn't know how to come back to his home planet, which he knew that if he stood too long, he would be in various depths of sh*t, for the multiple reasons that his newly-made magical replica didn't have life for long, and that Dominique would soon be wondering where the heck he would be.

Bart, after taking a few deep breaths, looked back at the demon he knew as Shadow, with a certain glint of interest in his eyes. "What is happening here?" he asked, "And how did you..." Bart lowered his voice, hoping not to be heard by other people nearer that he may not have noticed, "how did you become royalty, if you're not really the 'real' Shadow, if you know what I mean?"

Shadow was silently starting to become annoyed. After all, this was one of her friends, and this friend was refering to her as 'your highness'.
"Shadow," She growled firmly, her violet eye flashing slightly in her anger."Not 'your highness', just 'Shadow'." She took a deep breath, calming her own emotions before she lost control over her emotions and morphed.

She rested a hand on Phantom's head, the other wolf escorting her, sensing that he was still uneasy with Bart. She was about to say something again when a rather frazzled looking mesenger appeared at her shoulder, having teleported. He said something hurridly in Demonic, tripping over his words. Shadow listened carefully, nodding once when he had finished speaking. She turned back to Bart, rolling her eyes.
"There are affairs which need my immediate attention, apparently." She said apologetically. "Phantom will take you to the throne room. I'll meet you there and help you get back to Dominique." The last part of her sentence was spoken with a certain level of regret and sadness, but with those words, she turned, striding off with Wraith and the messenger at her heels. The way she moved was no longer Shadow Roth, the part demon who had been hiding on Earth, but more of Princess Shadow, the ruler of Aspheri.

Bart sensed the aggressive tone in Shadow's words as she spoke her first sentence to him. Bart understood that the demoness was the ruler of Aspheri, but, even then, doesn't force people to have the normal royal allegiances with her. He lowered his head slightly, his hair falling over his face again. He looked down at the canine who seemed uncomfortable with the presence, and he honestly didn't blame it.

"Phantom, eh," Bart repeated, looking down at the wolf, gulping. Woah, I didn't know that creatures here resembled earth beings so much... He waited for the said Phantom to do something, to move in the direction of the 'throne room' Shadow had just mentioned.

Phantom gave a heavy sigh, standing up and walking away, expecting the Kraferr to follow him. He felt slightly disgusted that he had been told to take the Kraferr, instead of escorting alongside Wraith. He looked back briefly, making sure that the Kraferr was there before continuing, his two white front paws flashing in the darkness.

Shadow listened to another messenger, saying that the field leader of her army wished a word with her. Her eyes widened behind her mask and she quickly thanked the messenger for the heads-up and walked as quickly as she could while retaining some of her dignity and respect of her status back to the throne room. She had to either get Bart away quickly or hide him before the field general to a whiff of him.

Bart shrugged regrettably, and started following the canine, looking around in the halls. Only had been five minutes since he appeared in Aspheri because of a teleportation mess-up, and he had already met Shadow as the ruler of this world, and was already taken to the throne room by one of the princess' escort canines, which seemed to do it half-heartedly.
But even with Shadow's sincere salutations, Bart kept his guard up. People who may not know of his presence here might take him for an enemy, seemingly different than all the demons. And when he thought about what had happened, about a year ago, in Shadow's flat, he couldn't bear to keep it in his mind. He remembered the event just like it was yesterday. The first time he went completely demonic, taken over by the blood in his body. What he had said back there... He said he was Shadow, which he wasn't... And he didn't know who he was. But if Shadow was still alive in him...
It also meant that Karthragan was still in there somewhere.

In the courtyard of the magnificent palace of Aspheri, stood a single being. He stood at an astonishing 6 feet, 8 inches, tall for one who looked to be human. The man had long, dark hair, of a colour and tone resembled a mix of black and a very dark violet. The man's receptive organs, that processed the light and turned it into image, were sea green, and emitted an eerie glow that would render gods uneasy. The man wore a black longcoat of the finest quality of silk, engraved with many dark incantations of a language not even the demons could understand, a tongue not spoken since the old world had come to an end, and even then it was spoken only by the Avatars of the dark gods. The mans shirt was thicker, and appeared to be composed of felt. He wore a single, thick chain across his torso, from his right shoulder to his left thigh.
The mans trousers were of the same visisble quality as his long coat, but the material that they were made of was questionable. The man had two long straps, ending in onyx rings, starting on the back of his shoulders, and dangling freely. He stood, with several demons surrounding him, he assumed they were authoritive figures, but he did not care.
"Is there a reason you have crowded around me, and taking on stances and poses as if i were some kind of threat?" The man asked, but was quickly answered by the demons, who spoke in unison. "We witnessed what you did to those demons, they didn't stand a chance, you, you are not something we know of here, and you are dangerous. We can not allow you to harm any more civilians!" The man simply shrugged, as one of his several bands fell over his right eye, one would think it a nuisance, but he did not move it.

Shadow sighed impatiently as another messenger arrived to face her, stammering about an entity in the main courtyard. In her mind, the demoness was impatiently tapping her foot. She rolled her eyes mentally as she dropped all decorum and lifted her skirts to be able to run to the courtyard, stopping some distance away to regain her composure. The one wolf of the pair that normally escorted her had loped alongside her easily. Shadow smoothed her skirts, adjusting her cloak, mask and headdress before pushing the double doors open with a crash. That was one of the perks of being the princess now. She was allowed to make dramatic entrances and exits.

Shadow observed the being before her, and motioned for the soldiers to stand down. Although Shadow was tall for a girl, she wasn't quite as tall as this other demon, one who unfortunately seemed to command more authority just by his stance. She rolled her eyes mentally, her one visible violet eye impassive.
"Who are you, stranger to my realm?" She asked in a voice that demanded an answer.

Bart continued following the canine through the many tortuous halls and corridors, which seemed like any man stupid enough to venture here would just get lost in the depths of Aspheri, forever to be whispered at by the mouth of death itself. Bart asked himself many time is Phantom was actually leading him to the throne room. He could sense the power of the demons around him, their aura bouncing off the walls of the hall, and dispersing into more corridors. Bart's footsteps were inaudible, even though he wasn't concentrating on walking silently at that moment. His four red eyes still flickered in the dark as bands of hair fell past them.

Bart's calm look could deceive a lie detector. In fact, Bart was struggling with the demon inside at that very moment not to let it out. Ever since he had appeared in Aspheri, his heart started running, and his blood seemed to try to be pushing itself out of his very pores. He needed to keep it all under control. But with the thought of Karthragan still alive in his blood, it didn't make anything easier.

The figure tilted his head at the new entity, she wore a mask, allowing only one eye to be visible, which would obviously impair her hand eye co-ordination, as one requires two eyes to see in 3 dimensions. The figure smiled, as he lowered onto his knee, so he was now shorter then the Princess. "I am Be'lakor Fëanáro Sîrfalas Lólindir, I am a Daemon Prince. I stumbled across this land in my searches. I seek only company. Princess." Be'lakor grinned, he had judged by her appearance that she was of royal rank.
The man stood back up, flicking his hair out of his eyes, and formed a warm grin in the Princess direction. "I apologize for the gaurds behaviour, it was my fault..." Be'lakor announced, as he looked at them. "They are not to be punished..." Be'lakor demanded, as he looked towards the princess of this realm.

Shadow took in the apparent Deamon Prince's appearence with her violet eyes before nodding once. She curtsied slightly, one hand fisted over her heart in the traditional sign of respect among her people. She locked gazes with Be'lakor before she spoke.
"You shall be accepted here, should you wish to stay, on the condition that your being here is for purely peaceful reasons." She said before narrowing her eyes slightly at the demand. In her three years rule, no one had dared try to command her, only to advise her.
"My guards are rarely punished without proper reason, but I reccomend that you do not make demands as such, should you wish your stay to be pleasant." She warned, carefullychosing her tone so that it was not threatening, but rather friendly advice.

"It is good that you are a fair ruler, it is rare that i am treated with such Hospitality. I am a monster, you see. The cause for your gaurds concern was...somewhat troubling. I lost control, thankfully i only consumed an animal..." Be'lakor answered to the princess, as he lowered his head. "My demand was not without proper reason, i am rarely one to even ask things of others, but i will not allow harm where it is not needed. I do mean i will not allow it, i will do all within my power to stop such trivial things." Be'lakor smiled once again, as he stood back up to his full height. "May i become acquinted with your, wolf-like friends, M'lady?"

Shadow's hand drifted to rest on Wraith's head as she silently listened to the Daemon Prince's words. She looked down at the one wolf by her side as he spoke of being aquainted with them.
"I have only one of my guards by my side for the present moment. Her name is Wraith," Shadow said quietly, smiling behind the mask at the wolf that had been born at the moment of her rebirth.

Be'lakor smiled, as the hair moved from his eyes, to reveal that they had changed, they were no longer the sea green colour that they had previously adopted, but were now a shadow like violet. They were emitting a glow, although not as eerie as before, it was still rather unsettling.
"I am gifted with Truesight. I am able to see your other companion inside the palace, as well as the Kraferr." Be'lakors words contained only a slight amount of emotion, and even then, the emotion was enlightenment. "I see what things really are, no amount of magic can disguise anything. Your mask provides no challenge for me, you are quite lovely, if i may say so without sounding disrespectful, My Highness, i know it is law that you wear it."

Shadow's hand flew to her mask, her violet eye wide. The guards had raised their weapons again, but Shadow motioned once again for them to stand down. She closed her eyes briefly, regaining her composure.
"Should you allow me to excuse myself, I have affairs that require my attention," She said before looking at the captain of the guard, discussing briefly with him in Demonic before turning back to Be'lakor.
"Captain Dementius will accompany you to a place of accomodation," She said before turning her back, striding back into the dark corridors, Wraith trotting nex to her as she made her way back to the throne room.