Destruction Chap. 1: The Seeds are Sown.
 

(OOC: Fair warning... this chapter will involve some romance themes between Jareth and Ren, which will lead to important plot points in the next. If I have something specific I'd like you to be doing this chapter, I'll PM you... if not just... do whatever... the latest you'll have something DEFINATE to do is the beginning of chapter III. And the only reason I give you things to do... is because right now things are pretty loose, and it might be hard to find something.)

It had been three weeks since Ranzif had located the 'Tomb of Destruction,' as the ancient magi had dubbed the vault where Alucard's Amulet was kept. He smirked as he walked along a lonely path through the mountains. 'With this, I can tap into the power of the very ESSENCE of destruction... I'll be unstoppable. I AM unstoppable.'
The mage couldn't help but laugh out loud as he palmed the amulet lovingly. 'Oh yes... I can already feel the power,' he thought as he continued the path to his home. That, however, would be his last thought.
A moment later a large troll leaped down upon him and ripped out the man's windpipe within seconds. The man was killed, but as the troll started to walk away he thought he heard something, inside his primitive mind.
I'm forgetting something.
It looked backward, mistaking the voice for it's own thoughts and moved over to the corpse inspecting it carefully.
The amulet. I'd be strong if I had that amulet.
Again, the troll thought it was his own voice, for he was too stupid to recognize the differences, and so he reached down and picked up the amulet, but the moment he touched it, the voice faded away... or perhaps it combined with his own mind. Either way, he felt compelled to wear the amulet, and so he slipped it about his neck and then wandered away, not thinking a thing of it.
-----
Elsewhere, the chieftans of three Ogre Tribes were meeting:
"Bonecrusher lose..." The ogre stopped to count on his claws. "Bonecrusher lose FIVE to hu-mon!"
Another ogre nodded toward the being calling itself Bonecrusher. "Me lose many. Me not count that high... hogolin me ask say is tweety. Dey Slaves!"
The third looked at the other two and punched the dirt in front of him with all his strength, crushing a few rocks to dust. "Who-mans bad! Skullbreaker kill! Bonecrusher and Hearteater help!"
The other two nodded vigorously toward the one calling himself Skullbreaker, and the one dubbed Hearteater spoke up. "Me get friend help. Me know orc!" He nodded vigorously once more.
Bonecrusher then let out a primal scream, and then shouted. "WE CRUSH HU-MONS! WE GET ALL OGRE!"

The three continued like this well into the night, until they all returned to their respective tribes to prepare for war.
---
In the imperial capital no one suspected that there may be a 'revolt' in the making, and they simply continued about their lives as normal. The nobles attended parties, the slaves slaved, and the mages cast spells. All was as it should be, except for in one particular thief's guild bar, where a glamoured faerie enjoyed spending his time.

"Well looks like I win again, guys! I'm just on a winning streak tonight!" Jareth grinned as he pulled a sizeable pile of gold coins toward him. The other men at the table didn't look quite so happy, however. Even a casual observer would get the idea that they had figured out Jareth was cheating, although they couldn't prove it yet. Jareth decided it was about time to lose a few hands and then go.
As the dealer threw out the cards, Jareth waved his hand about under the table, glamouring each one to appear to be the card that he wanted it to be. He gave himself three aces, another person a royal flush, and few others some pairs of twos or fours. This was exactly how he had won every round up until then. No one there expected he knew magic, much less that he was a faerie capable of glamour... they all just assumed he was an eccentric noble.
From there, Jareth just stayed in until everyone had folded except himself and the Royal Flush. When it came time to lay down the cards, he, of course, lost, and the man who had gotten the royal flush grinned widely.
Jareth continued this playing until he was still a good amount ahead, but no one suspected him of cheating any longer. He then stood up and waved to the doorman on his way over. "Goodnight Cal!"
"See you cleaned out our customers again Jareth. I thought I told you to knock that off!" Cal faked anger but a grin was apparent in his eyes as he opened the door. Jareth was popular at that bar... he may dress like nobility, but he acted like a thief.
Jareth returned the grin in Cal's eyes with one on his lips. "I didn't clean them out too badly... but I've gotta go. Things to do, people to terrorize." Jareth waved again as he walked out, looking for a little bit more trouble to cause. After a few moments of wandering about he decided that the Seelie faeries were always amusing when he pulled a few of his pranks. They're always so uptight... I can't help but toy with them a little...

The Seelie Court was as oblivious as the rest of the world. Why should they worry about anything? They were above and away from everything else...

The music from the ballrooms could be heard throughout the Seelie palace. Renesival couldn't escape it- the music too beautiful for mortal ears, the sound of laughter...She had fled the ball early tonight, hidden herself in the atrium at the center of her palace...well, as hidden as one could be wearing a heavy, ornate gown spun from starlight, peacock feathers, and unicorn's mane, decorated with hundreds of pearls and diamonds...

She sighed and stared down at her reflection in the lake, almost wishing she could fall into herself, trade places with it. Her train of thought was cut off by the arrival of a voice and the knight it belonged to-a handsome golden haired faerie with yellow eyes and armor like the sun.

"Why, lady, you are staring after the wrong direction. The stars are beautiful tonight, but is not the real thing so much better than a distorted reflection?"

She turned to him and cleared her throat, hands folded over her skirt.

"I..." Did not want to see the real stars? No. "...I was only checking my reflection. I do believe my hair was disheveled in the dance."

The faerie man laughed a bit and crossed the mossy path to stand before the Seelie queen.

"I can understand being caught up with something so beautiful, but, my Queen, your subjects are missing you. Why did you quit the ball without so much as a word to any of us? Is something amiss with my Lady?"

"Worry not, Nephamael. I am but a little exhausted and overheated from all the dancing, and so retired to the garden for a bit of air. I shant be long," she replied. He knelt before her, waiting, speaking.

"Please see it is so, my Lady, for it is unfair of my Queen to withhold her presence from her servants."

She nodded and dismissed him, turning back to the lake. She glowered at the surface a bit before picking up a pebble and hurling it into the lake, making the reflections shatter, ripple, and bleed into each other. Without another thought to it, she turned to the exit.

Jormungand was in a tree. He was well hidden his great weight evenly distributed amongst the branches of the oak. It was a bit cold. He hated the cold. He was tracking an unnatural migration of orcs through the forrest. He knew he should report it soon but he needed to find out where they were headed. He smelled smoke nearby. An Ogre jostled the tree he was in as it passed. "Little orcs late." The ogre said. "Get lost in woods?" he asked patronizingly.

<What are the orcs doing with the ogres.> He scowled from his perch.

"Just show us to the warchief." One orc said. The ogre led them. Unknown to them silently Jormungand followed slithering from branch to branch. He came to the edge of the large army encampment.

<The orcs and Ogres have allied and are massing for war.> He thought as he looked at the hidden army camp. He turned and began to head back to the stalker outpost. he noticed the guard tower moment before it noticed him. He whipped out his tail catching the lone guard by the arm and pulled him from the tower. a second later he had crushed the guards ribs impaling his lungs on broken bone. He left the twitching orc in the oak as he continued to make his way back to base.

(OOC: IHMN/FZ... I don't really have much for you to do for a little bit, but you could introduce your characters [do your normal day to day things... whatever], and Ecurt can do his escapee bit or introduce us to his [unfortunately, NPC] owner. [mental note: next time make stuff like this backstory and jump straight into the ogre attack])

Jareth grinned as he teleported himself directly into the Seelie Palace. He had been there a few times before to toy with the populace and he used the teleportation spell constantly, so it was easy for him, despite the palace being in a magical realm.
Once he arrived in a deserted hallway he removed his glamour, allowing his ears to grow pointed again, and his wings to become visible. He then walked around a bit until he stumbled into a maid, whom he scowled at, doing his best impersonation of a holier-than-thou seelie faerie, and addressed.
"You there. Servant girl. I'm looking for Lord Snatynoobal. Where is he?" Jareth chuckled inwardly, although his outward expression remained grim. Snooty Noble was the first thing that came to mind when he tried to think of a seelie lord. He hoped the maid didn't pick up on it, however.
And, luckily for him, she didn't. "Umm... I don't know that name, Milord... but most of the nobility are at the ball. It's down the hall there. I could escort you and help you find him, if you wish, Milord."
Jareth shook his head, said, "That will be fine. I'll find him myself," and then stalked off down the hallway.
Once he was out of sight of any maids or servants he grinned mischievously to himself and reached into his vest looking for a surprise he could deliver to the Seelie at the ball. Within a few seconds he pulled out a small vile of a light pink, nearly see-through, liquid marked 'essence of faerie dragon.'
'Hah! Purified faerie dragon saliva... ten times stronger than their breath. This should turn most of the ball goers into giggling morons, I just have to get it into the food and drink...'
He held it in his hand and glanced around, making sure no one was looking, before casting a simple invisibility spell over himself. It wouldn't be enough to keep him hidden from anyone that was on the look out for invisible intruders, but the Seelie didn't guard their ballrooms all that well. He silently half-teleported and half-walked to the ballroom, teleporting about a dozen feet down the hallway mid-way through every step.
When he arrived at the ballroom he silently teleported himself to one of the refreshment tables, and uncorked his essence of faerie dragon. He then placed a finger over the opening, so that only a little would sprinkle out, and shook it over all the food and any open beverages. He repeated this process at every table and then found a corner no one was watching, in which to put the potion away and draw himself out of invisibility, to watch the fun.
If he were doing this anywhere else, he'd have kept his invisibility spell on, but the vast majority of seelie faeries were too self-absorbed to keep track of the other nobles of their realm, much less the nobles and ruling family of the Unseelie Court.

OOC: K, just wasn't totally sure what to do. I had an idea, but it won't be a long post at first, I'll develop the idea in later posts.

Zalbag was in the library of the Order, studying through books on ancient artifacts. There were rumors that an artifact had been found in the mountains, (OOC: Not the major plot amulet of destruction, some minor amulet or something) and according to reports, it was strong in magical power. He had been to restive as of late, sitting in the library studying up on old spells and practicing his craft, but not really doing much. This would give him a chance to head back out and travel for a bit... and maybe be rewarded by his efforts by finding this new atifact and seeing what it could do in the hands of a capable pyromancer...

"There he is!"
"Get 'em!"
Greg tried to escape the people chasing him. He had accidentally wandered into a human camp while tinkering with a new invention. He sighed. Almost had it finished, I did. Solar-powered flashlight, what a great idea! Greg's legs were starting to tire. He was getting bored, too. Tossing a small explosive behind him, it created enough time for him to get out of sight.

It did not take long for several of the Seelie nobles to fall under the effects of the tainted food. Their uncharacteristic behavior was quickly met with disgust and puzzlement by the rest of the court. Nephamael, the Queen's best knight, quickly went on alert, scanning the ballroom. His eyes fell upon the Unseelie king and widened. He quietly turned on his heel and strode out of the ballroom, dashing down the corridor towards the atrium. He intercepted Renesival on her way out, kneeling before her, his yellow eyes fierce.

"My Lady, our fair realm has been intruded upon by an Unseelie with ill intent for the Court."

"Prithee, Nephamael, who should dare make mockery of the Seelie and how?"

"It is the loathesome goblin king, who is spoiling the revelries and dignity of your loyal servants with an intoxicating poison."

"Then haste, and gather all the Knights, and have them find and bring me this bothersome insect. He shall not quit the realm without being punished for his wicked crimes against the Seelie Court."

"As my Queen wishes, it shall be done," he stated, rising and turning to go carry out the Queen's orders. Renesival merely turned and walked back into the atrium, in full view of the moon and stars. She held her hands out and closed her eyes, beginning to chant.

"Galantireth orfin mirya rilestalormir, hirethdae mirya wilistalir annaeda loresttil nironnay palansil. Sirethallir!"

She opens her eyes, feeling the magic going to work. Without another word, she turns and goes toward the ballroom, where she meets Nephamael and the knights outside the door.

"My Lady," they say, kneeling. Renesival just nods.

"Which one is the thorn?"

"The plainly dressed wretch in the corner, my Queen."

She nods and storms into the ballroom. All the chatter and movement halts, for she indeed looks pissed.

"Knave of the Unseelie lands, I bid you unwelcome to my home. Your intrusion shall not be forgiven, nor shall you leave here unscathed!"

In the human city of Rab, slavers from all over were meeting. Today was the monthly slave trade. Slavers would come to buy and trade their slaves, while hunters would came with new catches to sell as slaves.

Vlad was wondering through the streets, looking for new slaves. He brought no slaves though, and very little money compared to the rest of the slavers, despite being one of the richest there.

He was dressed very oddly though. He was wearing leather armor, a leather hat, leather armbands, leather leggings, and leather boots. An odd shadow seemed to be covering him as well. No one noticed though, and only saw him wearing a black jacket and black pants.

Another thing people saw were the chains wrapped around his arms and hands. On his left arm and hand were many chains. The chains led back to a large group of young, attractive women. Some were humans, others nymphs, some dryads, a couple of feles and even a neried or two. Each were chained up to prevent escape. On his right arm was only one chain, leading back to Vlad’s trophy slave, an extremely attractive nymph. What no one but Vlad knew was that she was not a nymph at all, but a enslaved faerie of the Unseelie court glamoured up.

They was also a feles male following Vlad, who also carried chains. These chains connected to men of all races though. These were for manual labor, as well as blood sports.

Coming up to a nymph hunting group, Vlad noticed a young, pretty blonde in a houses window, watering some plants. A man was in the front of that window, working on something. Casually making his way to the man, Vlad cleared his throat to get his attention. “Excuse me kind sir, perhaps you know who that fair maiden is?” He asked, pointing to the window.

The man stood up, going at least a foot higher then Vlad did. He was a very large man, and most slavers would be intimidated by his size alone. The added effect of the evil look in his eyes would scare most people away. Vlad stood still though, smiling at the young women in the window. “She’s not for sale.” He said coldly to Vlad, holding a hammer violently in his right hand.

He’s used to this question I see… Let’s see if I can… ‘persuade’ him…

“That was harsh. I only wish to met said lady. Perhaps you could go tell her that I wish to met her? You are her father, are you not?”

The man prepared to respond, but Vlad quickly cut him off. “Oh how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself.” Doing a small bow, Vlad introduced himself. “I am Vlad Frost, the land lord of N’evat, a large, successful mining town.”

The large man knew what Vlad wanted, but turned towards the door anyway. He didn’t even know what Vlad was dominating his mind, one bit at a time.

Vlad smiled and turned to the male feles. “Prepare some chains.”

The man came back out, holding the door open for his daughter. A new women also came out, older then the daughter, but attractive none the less. They both looked nervous. They both knew what Vlad wanted, and were surprised that their father and husband even allowed this meeting.

Vlad turned back to the girls, smiling. Mother and daughter… Even better…

Losing his current pleasantness, Vlad pulled out a Rastarian coin and began to flip it around his fingers. “How much for both of them?” He asked, losing his smile and grin.

Both girls looked shocked, and the man was furious. He raised his hammer, ready to strike Vlad, not knowing why he had even let Vlad get this far. Before the man could lower his hand, Vlad glanced at him, his eyes narrow. The man’s mind was shocked, and now a pile of clay for Vlad to shape.

Take them for free. Vlad sent his thoughts to the man’s head, making him think they were his own thoughts.

“Take them for free…” The man said, his voice empty of emotions, along with his face with gave off a blank stare. The girls both gasped, staring at the man that had protected them from slavery for years. Vlad was now smiling again, staring at the two girls, waiting for his chains.


OOC: Ecurt's turn.

Edit - How long can dryads and neried survive without trees/water? I assumed it was at least half a day...

ooc: Jormungand will probably crush you for that. hope you meet him on good terms, also that he doesn't get the drop on you.

OOC: Yeah, Renesival probably would be too happy for that either.