A Gathering of the Wicked.

[Vesper 707]

[FONT=Garamond][FONT=Garamond][box]Sidona, The Lord of Vanity[/box][/FONT]
The Lord of Vanity must, by his namesake, exist in two, overlapping, realms: his reality and his mind. So, while he sits in a throne room of the former, he stands in the darkness of the latter, naked before a tall polished mirror. Whispering, fidgeting, writhing, cooing – never blinking.

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[COLOR="#0f0818"]Vanity, you know that I cannot do this.[/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I][COLOR="#ff3366"]My love, you can, and you [B]will[/B] –[/COLOR][/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[CENTER][COLOR="#0f0818"][B]NO.[/B] You cannot mean for me to swear such words. Why – why have you brought me to this purpose?[/COLOR] [/CENTER]

[RIGHT][COLOR="#0f0818"]We must leave at once.[/COLOR][/RIGHT]

[CENTER][I][COLOR="#ff3366"]Innocent, faultless boy, you cannot go.[/COLOR][/I]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]Why?

My love? Where are you?

Where have you gone? You – you mustn’t leave…[/CENTER]

You mustn’t leave me here. [/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I][COLOR="#ff3366"]The Lord Ruin will kill you if you leave now without swearing allegiance.[/COLOR][/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]Allegiance?! Of all the world’s unsightly creatures – to the Black Queen? Allegiance to that sow? [/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I][COLOR="#ff3366"]Sidona, he will kill you. He will kill [B]us[/B].[/COLOR][/I] [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]But, my love, how can I swear allegiance to anybody but [B]you[/B]? [/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0f0818"][CENTER]My love. My darling. My only equal in this world. [/CENTER][/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0f0818"][RIGHT]You, my creator, you know that I can love nobody else. [/RIGHT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]You rebuilt me, gave me purpose – you alone know that such an oath – and, to that Black Demon of Orisia– that such an oath is the acid that burns through my polish and tears our souls apart.

You know this to be true.

My love, don’t abandon me.

You go too far. I [B]cannot[/B] make the oath.

We will die together and face Ruin. [/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="#ff3366"][I]Sidona. My most beautiful creation.[/COLOR][/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I] [COLOR="#ff3366"]I have your undying trust?[/COLOR][/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]Yes.[/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I][B]The Black Queen is your true equal.[/B] [/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

[COLOR="#0f0818"]Equal.
[CENTER]She is equal?[/CENTER]
[RIGHT]My equal.[/RIGHT][/COLOR]

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][I][COLOR="#ff3366"]Yes, Sidona. You will soon meet with her and know this to be truth.[/COLOR][/I][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]

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Sidona gazes at Sidona, who, in turn, gazes back. He rests a beautifully chiseled porcelain hand against the cold, glassy reflection of his own face.[COLOR="#0f0818"]

“I will love you.”[/COLOR] Sidona whispers to his mind’s mirror.

And in that moment, reality and mind truly overlap, for Sidona’s words are simultaneously voiced from his place in the throne room, albeit slightly twisted.

[COLOR="#0f0818"]“I will love her.” [/COLOR]It is a sufficient oath from a lord of vanity.[/FONT] Edited July 17, 2013 by Witch

[The Vindicator 65]

With dawn came the fiery warmth of the sun, stinging the pale flesh of the Erevez ever-so-pleasantly as he cast his gaze from on-high. Below in the courtyard meandered several underlings he'd wrought in the night, preparing everything for Izael's journey. From flesh to stone and mortar to bone, they were a testament to Ruin's necromancy with innate knowledge of what was expected of them. Slipping away from the warmth of the balcony, Izael made haste toward the bottom of the castle. There was no need to address his brethren on his way out. His own pride led him to believe that none of them would contest his plan, perhaps a weakness he'd yet entertained. A sharp, menacing caw pervaded the quiet valley from a beast low on the horizon. As Izael's boot left the cold castle floors for the dirt of the courtyard, the creature honed in on its destination. As if a storm had come to pass, dirt and debris were displaced under the heavy buffet of the monstrous creature's wings. Denizens of this world would call it something akin to a black wyrm, or perhaps even a dragon, but to Izael this was his guardian, his nameless friend. A cacophony of snarls, wings, and claws brought the courtyard to life as the beast came to a rest several dozen yards in front of him. Without fear or hesitation Izael's underlings scurried to harness the beast with a saddle and reins much to their dismay. The wyrm gave resistance, knocking them to-and-fro violently several times to their Lord's amusement. Izael stymied the beast to permit the unscathed yet disheveled minions to rein the creature in and prepare him for flight.

Izael turned to face the castle where the other Lords surely remained. He'd given them the night, and while he'd not counseled them individually, he had no doubt the Collective held intact. After all, while each was different with respect to their newfound hosts, the Lords were connected in a much darker, ancient way. Relative to a hydra with one body and many heads, the Iniquitous Six were bound inseparably to a common goal, rebellious as they may be.

With the last flicker of his eyelids against the surreal valley, Izael spoke loudly for those even still within the castle would hear.

[color="#00ff00"][i][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]"Lords, it is time! Our time! At this hour on the morrow, the Lords of Iniquity will be on the Queen's doorstep. Summon your minions and your lieutenants, my brothers, reunite them with their masters. All who do not accompany me will be warranted for death. To forsake the Order is to condemn oneself!"[/SIZE][/FONT][/i][/color]

His voice echoed for what seemed miles. Metal, leather, and mail disturbed one another as he placed his feet within the wyrm's stirrups, seated firmly in the saddle. The creature took posture, stretching its vast wingspan to once again consume the decaying gardens with debris. With a final cry from the beast, Izael took flight not to be seen until they'd arrived in Versillia, the home of the Black Queen. Edited July 18, 2013 by The Vindicator

[Diremast 562]

[imgalign=right]http://imageshack.us/a/img832/1875/la2m.png[/imgalign]
The night went by fast, and soon the dawn broke once again as its lights claimed the land in its awake. Acanthus had not slept for even one moment. No, he had found himself too excited of the events that would come ahead. It was true that he had not very much enjoyed the thought of going into servitude of some unknown [COLOR="#000000"][B]Queen of Black[/B][/COLOR]. But the more he had thought of it, the more he became more and more intrigued by this woman and this land. It was something uncanny about it. He could sense an untapped essence lurking within the land itself. Something acient and by many, forgotten.

[B][I][COLOR="#000000"]But he had seen what most others did not realise even exsisted.[/COLOR][/I][/B]

He had moved across the many halls of their new home, exploring every corner of the acient structure that would house this new order. They would do what others did not stomach, because it was in their nature to be wicked anyway. He did so enjoy taking life and watching his prey turn in despair before his wretched gaze as he would stoke their skin with his warm breath under the midnight sky. But even he saw the pointlessness in taking the life of common people as he had many timed watched their corpses pile up before him.

He lusted for excitement, and slaying these petty people did not cut it anymore for him. He would drench the roads in the blood of the wicked and damned, and the people would both love him and hate him for it. They would fear his wrath as he would lay down judgement by the delicate stroke of his blade, and they would become one of him.

[B][I][COLOR="#000000"]They would join his legion of corpses.[/COLOR][/I][/B]

He heard their chosen Patriarch speak as he entered the main hall where they had dined earlier the evening before. After their leader had departed he turned to the other presence within the room as he walked across the room with gentle and playful steps. He halted just before he would reach the main entrance and turn in an extravagant fashion to face the others within the room. He would gesture with his arm before he would speak.

[B][COLOR="#FF0000"]"And so the damned would rise from the hollow depts of the earth..."[/COLOR][/B]-- He took a second before he would continue speaking, as such was his way of speech as he would recite poetry from the top of his head. [B][COLOR="#FF0000"]"... In order for the innocent to remain excluded from the burden of sinful actions."[/COLOR][/B]-- He then turned to face the thick iron infused doors as they stood not quite open, but not quite closed.

[B][COLOR="#FF0000"]"As life is given to some, life must be taken away from others as such is the nature of our existence."[/COLOR][/B]-- He spokes as he began slowly taking steps with the intent to leave the room. In the last second he turned his head to give one last remark.

[B][COLOR="#FF0000"]"But I have to admit that I do enjoy taking life so much more."[/COLOR][/B]-- As he went out of sight from within the room all that would remain was the hollow echo of his sinister laugh that that would reside within the hall for a few moments even after he had left. As he continued taking steps down the mountain from which he had come from the day before Acanthus turned his gaze far away into the distance as his usual smile appeared upon his face.
[B][I][COLOR="#000000"]
What a beautiful sunrise it had been.[/COLOR][/I][/B]