Role

Chapter 1

A sense of unease passed through the Thera. Woodland creatures
became agitated with no reason at all as their keen senses
were disturbed by the sweet scent of blood carried in the
winds. A blood red moon rose in the sky as a single command
reverberated in Kharnial's mind.

BLOOD

It had been a week since he last participated with the occult
coven deep within the cellars of Udgaard's palace. The last
blood he drank tasted better than before, almost as if it
were a mixture of various magical essences. The ecstacy
he felt as he edged closer to the Dark Marquessa's realm
became more surreal. Like the nightmares that plagued him
in his childhood, there were times when he became part
of the Dark Marquessa's realm. The silent screams were
silent no more, but whispered seductively of insanity.

Answering the summons of the Dark Marquessa, Kharnial
swiftly and silently passed through the commoners of his
hometown and traveled deep below Udgaard where the portal
to the Eshval's shrine lied. The jaettes gave the semblance
of ignoring the bastard child of Udgaard Loke, yet he sensed
fear and terror as he passed by. A gate forged of iron and
layered with blood rose to met his haste - yet, unlike
other times, when the gates were merely of metal, thick
streams of blood spread across it, almost as if beckoning
his hunger. His blood red eyes gazed intensely at the gate.
He began to utter the words scripted with glowing crimson
upon the gate.

"I seek the Cour..."

Before he could finish his speech, a dark presence swept
him away. As before, he caught the glimpse of the leader
of his coven, yet this time, he sensed an aura of reverance
and acceptance. The spectre that carried him winked at him
as it grinned slightly. As it dissolved back into the
shadows in a mist of blood, there was a moment where the
silent screams that he witnessed during the rituals welcomed
back one of theirs. A moment where he reminesced about the
dark presence that guided his nightmares when he was a child.

These curiousities and thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he
gazed into the hypnotic and seductive eyes of Eshval. She
slowly swirled around him, not only caressing his body, but
the blood that boiled within and the soul that writhed in
in her grasp. Menacing presences seemed to claw out of the
shadows and grab at his life, slowly draining it away.
Kharnial was paralyzed with terror, anticipation, ecstacy,
and lust. The enchanting voice of Eshval resounded across
the shadows encompassing his body.

"You have not earned anything, Kharnial. You are no servant."

Agonizing screams emerged from the shadows as a pulsing blood
red jewel was swiftly thrusted into his heart, followed by
the Dark Kiss of the Nightborne Queen. A growing sensation of
bloodlust filled his mind as his eyes adjusted to the dark
haze surrounding him. All around him were wandering spectres,
souls screaming in ecstacy, and creatures of magnificence
unseen in all of Thera. He felt himself transform as the
dark jewel binded itself to his soul.

Kharnial had transcended being a servant of Eshval Ulraith.
Instead, he had become what he always knew - a creature of
Her domain and a place within Her Court.