3Chapter 1:
The Greatest One They Ever Had
Sy'Naria looked down at the unconscious elf lying in front of her. Her eyes scanned the young elf, and then rested on her stomach. Suddenly, she realized something: her stomach was larger than it needed to be, it was twice the size that it needed to be for one child. A wonderful thought came to her mind, though she disregarded it and figured that since the creature within her was a creation and not a pure creature, it needed more space to develop.
A drow warrior flew at a wall, and made a loud crash as he hit it. He slumped down to the ground, a bloody hand shaped mark on his chest. He groaned in pain, as a dark shadow loomed over him. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, which now showed his teeth in a grimace of pain and fury. A deep voice slowly growled at him from his opponent.
"Care to try again?" Syn mockingly said to the downed drow.
The other drow simply stared at the half dragon as threateninglyas he could, then slowly began to stand up. He winced as a wave of pain surged through his body, and he nearly fell back to the ground. His crimson eyes narrowed as he heard Syn chortle while he watched the warrior struggle to his feet. He fell back to the ground, and nearly tried again, when he felt the sharp pain cause by Syn's Choker's Hands pierce his shoulder.
"Don't even bother…you couldn't possibly even hope to defeat me," stated the half dragon as he walked away from the wounded drow.
The drow watched Syn go with bitter hate in his eyes. One day, he thought, one day I'll beat him. Though even as he thought it, he knew it to be nothing short of a fantasy. For Syn was the greatest warrior house Bor'Nathian had ever seen, and one of the most dangerous ones that the entire city of Tel'Norrathain had ever seen walking its streets.
Sy'Naria stood next to the elven maiden who bore their creation. She never moved, for Gor'Lath had damaged her brain with his strange abilities so that she was alive, though unresponsive. From the size of the woman's stomach, Sy'Naria could tell that their creation was growing rapidly. She smiled at this thought, for it showed that it was even more of a success. Once the child was old enough to hold a weapon in its hands, they would remove this part of it, so that it grew at a normal rate. Otherwise, the child would be old before it would have any use to the Bor'Nathians. Though Sy'Naria knew how delicate this procedure would be, and how hard it would be for them to complete it. Though it had to be done. But first, the house had to be prepared for it arrival, so with a swish of her robes, she set off.
The entire Bor'Nathian household was in a complete panic in the days that followed the ritual. For all who knew of the ritual (which wasn't many since these rituals were supposed to be secrets that only the highest members of the family knew of) were aware that soon they would have a child on their hands who would have unnatural powers, and wouldn't be able to control them for many long years.
Special chambers were added onto the main house which were enchanted so that the creature wouldn't be able to transform within their walls, for the enchantments disabled the use of all magic within them. Not even Gor'Lath would be able to cast spell within those walls, though his psionic abilities weren't hindered by the enchantments for they weren't magical abilities, they were his innate powers.
Sy'Naria had tried to express her feelings that when the baby would be born, its transformation powers wouldn't be magical, and they would be innate like the half mind flayer's psionic powers. Though Matron Bor'Nathian would hear nothing of the matter, for she truly believed that the baby's abilities would be magical since that's how it was created. Though Sy'Naria had the feeling that their magical barriers would prove useless against the creature, and would only hamper their ability to stop it if it ever began to rebel against the Bor'Nathians. Though the new high priestess had to remain quiet about her thoughts, for on more than one occasion Matron Bor'Nathian had threatened her with a day with Syn (which usually meant the half dragon would do as he wished with the captive person, and almost always ended killing them) if she dared think against what the Matron thought. All that Sy'Naria hoped was that the Matron would be right and that the creature wouldn't lead to all of their demise.
Deep within the bowels of the Underdark, a shadow lurked inside of a mighty cave. Its pale green eyes scanned the chamber until it seemed to find what it was looking for. It stood transfixed in one spot, until its arms began to rise into the air. The creature's long black fingers, which bore a slight amount of dark purple hair, stretched out as its hands began to move in looping curves as it traced a shape in the air. Suddenly, the shape began to take a more definitive form, and started to glow a light blue. Then the glyph flew to the wall that the creature was staring at.
The creature's lips curved into a smile, revealing many sharp pointed teeth, as the glyph began to pass through the stone. It didn't leave a single mark on the stone as it continued through the Underdark to it destination, which was what the creature saw through the stone. With a flap of the creature's cloak, it dashed to another chamber to set another glyph on its journey.
Syn slowly stalked down the halls of House Bor'Nathian, looking for a warrior to battle. Though he knew that no warrior inside of the house could even hope to wound him. So instead he searched for several promising warriors to battle. That way, it'd be slightly more of a challenge for the half dragon. He happened across a group of warriors battling each other in a large chamber which was used exclusively for fighting.
There were five warriors inside of the large round chamber, testing their skills against one another. Syn's dark eyes surveyed the warriors as they attempted to beat each other. Though they all clearly had fought together many times in the past for they seemed to know each other's moves by heart, and for a long while none of them scored a hit. When suddenly a slight yell broke the sound of metal against metal, and one of the warriors fell down to one knee. He was clutching his side where a maroon streak was showing through his hand. The wounded warrior's eyes closed, and his hand began to glow blue. Suddenly, he stood up again though his wound was gone.
Syn realized that the warriors who now began fighting in front of him once more, where House Bor'Nathian's famed Life Stealers. They were elite Bor'Nathian warriors who had the ability to take the life from any living entity. Even plants could be Life Stealer targets. By stealing the life from another creature, they could heal their own wounds in a flash. Though they could also give their life to another creature or use their own life force to heal their wounds. Syn's yellow fangs became exposed for his lips had turned into a mighty smile that showed his desire to battle the Life Stealers.
One of the Life Stealers sat slumped against a wall with one hand clamped on his chest, the other around a plant that he kept in a jar. The hand on his chest was glowing blue while the one on the plant was a deep red. The plant began to shrivel up, as the Life Stealer stole its life and used it to heal himself. But before the process could be done, a mighty hand clamped onto his throat. He felt the sharp pain of hundreds of small pointed triangles piercing his neck. His body slowly left the ground, until he was eye to eye with Syn. The half dragon had clearly beaten all other the other Life Stealers into submission, for he couldn't see them anywhere. Syn's face bore a wide smile, as he raised his other hand which was clenched in a fist.
Suddenly, the Life Stealer's right hand grasped Syn's outstretched arm, and began to glow red. His left hand was pressed against his chest once more. Syn's face lost its smile right away, for the Life Stealer had found a bare patch of skin on Syn's heavily armored arm. He felt his own life began to drain away so he tried to shake the drow off. He tried to release him, though he couldn't. Syn let out a roar of pain, and slammed his head forward. His forehead smashed into the Life Stealer's head, and sent him sprawling away. The half dragon stalked over to the drow, and raised his foot, intending to end his life. When a loud rumbling was heard throughout the house.
The half dragon nearly lost his balance, for the entire building seemed to be shaking. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, and began running to Matron Bor'Nathian's throne room, to see exactly what was going on.
Sy'Naria's eyes slowly opened then began to focus. She firmly planted a hand on the ground, and then began to stand. She rose to her feet, and surveyed the scene around her. Something had caused the entire house to violently shake, throwing many of the drow inside of it to fall to the ground. Sy'Naria had been one of these drow. She had toppled to the ground when the house began to shake, and had cracked her head of the stone beneath her. She had awoken in the same chamber, though she immediately realized that she was one of the lucky drow in that room. For sections of the ceiling had fallen into the room, and had crushed several of the other drow underneath them.
Sy'Naria looked at the crushed forms of the other drow, though had no time, or the desire, to help them if they were still alive. She ran from the room, hoping that the elven maiden was still alive. If she had been crushed by a falling rock, or if someone managed to sneak into the house during its moment of weakness and killed her, Matron Bor'Nathian would be most unpleased.
Syn pushed the heavy doors leading to Matron Bor'Nathian's throne room open, and then strode inside. His suspicions were correct: the entire house had been rocked instead of just the room that Syn had occupied. His dark eyes scanned the room, though no one was still in the throne room. Then a thought occurred to him: what if the shaking was caused by a mage from a rival house that kidnapped Matron Bor'Nathian or worse, what if they killed the elven maiden who carried their creation. The half dragon spread his massive wings, and then flew out of the room, wanting to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.
"What happened?" shrieked Matron Bor'Nathian to all who would listen.
"We don't know; no one saw anything…it just happened," Sy'Naria calmly responded.
"And you haven't tried to discover anything?" the Matron shrieked once more.
"Of course we have. No one was seen near here anywhere near the time it started to when it ended," Sy'Naria replied.
"And you didn't think to look for any rival house mages who might have been within casting range?" the Matron yelled, her anger rising.
"Yes we did, my Matron. No other house mages were within casting range," Sy'Naria said, trying to calm the enraged Matron Mother.
"I say we double efforts to find anything suspicious…" drawled Gor'Lath.
Matron Bor'Nathian and Sy'Naria all nodded in agreement. Then all of their heads turned to the elven maiden in front of them. Apparently, the experiment wasn't what whoever caused the house to shake was after. They all watched her nonmoving form, all thinking the same thing: If not the experiment, then what?
Suddenly, a loud bang resounded throughout the chamber, and Syn appeared in the doorway, his great wings folding behind him. He slowly stalked over to the table, and saw that the elf was still alive, and apparently the experiment was too. He surveyed the few faces around him as they slowly went back to their own private thoughts. Though it was much too quiet for the half dragon.
"Any-," Syn began when Matron Bor'Nathian interrupted him.
"No. We don't know anything about what happened," she said then the silence resumed.
"What if the attack came from the Underdark?" Sy'Naria voiced.
"That's a possibility…" Gor'Lath slowly drawled.
"Someone should go find out if that is indeed where it came from," Matron Bor'Nathian snapped, her eyes drifting to Syn. Gor'Lath and Sy'Naria's eyes went to the half dragon as well.
Syn could tell that they all wanted him to go so he simply nodded his head, then slowly turned and left the room.
A pair of pale green eyes pierced the dark once more. A heavily cloaked figure skulked through the Underdark, knowing that the house it had attacked had sent out a mighty foe to find their assailant. Though it had other plans. The foe that they had sent out was known to the creature, very well. It knew all of his strengths and weaknesses, and it desired to destroy him. Instead of running farther into the Underdark, the figure ran straight towards its foe; intending to end its long hatred for the half dragon once and for all.
Sy'Naria looked at the hole in the ceiling above her. She pondered what could've possibly caused such a quake, though couldn't think on the matter long for the ceiling needed immediate repairs. She raised one of her arm, and traced an intricate shape in the air. It began to darken and solidify until a pale blue glyph hung in the air. The glyph flew at a hole in the ceiling, and stopped when it reached the hole. She then stepped over to the pieces of rock that had fallen from the ceiling, and traced a glyph on it. This glyph matched the one suspended in the air above her. Suddenly, the rock shot up into the hole it had come from, the two glyphs meeting and binding the rock in its place.
Sy'Naria was the only drow in the entire city of Tel'Norrathain who possessed the power of these glyphs. She also possessed a slight amount of magic that high priestesses possessed, though she found casting a spell to be much too slow for combat. Thus she hadn't learned how to use all of the spells that high priestesses used. In their place, she used her glyphs for they only took a second to trace in the air and they didn't require any praying to Lolth to use them. This made her a highly revered and respected drow.
Many drow who were jealous of her powers had tried to force her to teach them how to use the glyphs. Though try as they might, Sy'Naria never gave in to the other drow. In fact, she had only taught one other person how to use them, but she had been killed when Sy'Naria was still fairly young.
When the new child was born, Sy'Naria was to Join Syn and Gor'Lath in his training. Syn would train the child how to fight with weapons, Gor'Lath would strengthen the child's mind and would teach him some simple wizardly spells, and Sy'Naria would teach the child how to fully use the glyphs and, if it was possible, a few simple spells that high priestesses used.
Syn's mighty hand released the creature which had just met an untimely demise. It hit the ground with a thud then lay very still. Its long puma-like body was broken a bloodied, its two long tentacles that sprouted from its shoulder blades had been forcefully torn off, and its great cat like head looked as though it had been thrown forcefully against a wall. Its six legs were crooked at awkward angles and some of them looked as though they were broken in multiple places.
This displacer beast had clearly challenged the wrong creature, for Syn had dispatched of it in fairly short order. A task that would've taken a normal drow, if it could manage it, a very long while; though it had been hardly a challenge for the half dragon. Though he still found it interesting how the displacer beast had seemed to seek him out tried to kill him. Displacer beasts usually only killed, or tried to kill, what entered their territory, or if they were looking for a meal. This one had simply charged at Syn from out of no where. Though he knew that he hadn't been anywhere near the creature's territory and it certainly didn't want to eat him. No, this displacer beast had simply come after Syn to kill him. But why?
Syn continued along through the Underdark, with hardly any battles along the way. If he did fight a creature, apart for the first displacer beast, he had killed it simply because he had gotten bored from walking around.
The half dragon continued along, which began to bore him once more. Rounding another bend, he encountered a small tribe of kobolds. Even though they would hardly be a challenge for him, Syn rushed into the room, and bashed the closest of the kobolds with his mighty Choker's Hands. It flew to the other side of the room; its body seemed to simply shatter when it hit the stone wall.
Though Syn hadn't slowed as the first one had been launched away. The half dragon had continued across the chamber, swatting the poor little creatures with more strength than was necessary. He dashed across the room, until he reached the opening on the other side. All of the kobolds had met a gruesome fate before Syn marched through the other side of the chamber. Those who had somehow managed to survive being bashed into the opposite wall, died shortly afterwards because of the many wounds the flight had given them.
The half dragon turned to face his gruesome handiwork, and then with a small chuckle, he continued on his way.
Even though Syn couldn't see the form of the creature he was hunting, it saw him. Its pale green eyes had seen him senselessly slaughter the innocent kobolds, though it hadn't expected anything different from the bloodthirsty half dragon. The creature's dark purple furred black arm drifted to the creature at its side. It stroked the creature's massive head, and then slowly retracted back up. As silently as they had appeared, the pair of creatures disappeared, silently following Syn, preparing to kill him.
A pare of milky white orbs stared down at the still form of the elven maiden. Slowly, a long spindly finger gently pressed against the elf's bloated stomach. Suddenly, a great wave of pain and sound coursed into Gor'Lath mind. He reeled backwards, and nearly toppled to the floor. He grasped a nearby table for support and steadied himself. He looked back at the stomach and the creature growing within. His face clearly showed his amazement at the loudness of the creature's voice. He was also shocked at how many thoughts the creature was having. It seemed as though there were a great deal of babies in there, not just one. Then he realized: the baby was created through magic which sealed a large amount of souls into one body. Though why did they all still have thoughts; why were they all still able to think? And why did it seem as though they were only two different voices? It made sense for there to be one voice since there was one being inside. So why were there two completely different voices?
Suddenly, Gor'Lath's eyes snapped wide. An idea which seemed virtually impossible came to him. Even though it seemed impossible, it also seemed incredibly likely. Though why would such a thing happen? A better question was: How did it happen? His mind filled with questions, Gor'Lath hurried out of the room.
Matron Bor'Nathian began to digest what she had just been told. Her mind flipped it over and over, trying to find a hidden meaning lost within what Gor'Lath had just told her. True, it was simply his suspicion, though she never doubted his suspicions, for they were usually right.
"Can you be positive?" the Matron asked, interest bubbling up within her.
"No, that is impossible; though I can try to confirm my suspicions. Until the child is born, we shall not know the truth," Gor'Lath slowly drawled.
"Then I give you my permission to try and discover the truth by any means necessary," Matron Bor'Nathian stated firmly.
With a low bow, the half mind flayer hurried out of the room, excited that he had been given the opportunity to use any means necessary to prove or disprove his suspicions.
Syn's dark eyes slowly surveyed the room before him. They slowly darted from one rock to another, trying to discern where his prey had gone. He slowly crept along, when suddenly he heard it: a low growl issue from behind him. He spun, Choker's Hands leading. The moment he stopped, he found that his foe wasn't anywhere nearby. In fact, it was dashing from the room. With one mighty roar, he dashed at the fleeing creature.
The half dragon burst from the room, and spotted his prey dashing into another chamber. He spread his massive wings, in an attempt to catch up to the fleeing creature. As he darted around another corner, he finally saw the creature steadily getting closer. Slowly, he extended his arms towards the creature. With one mighty swing, the Syn slashed open the creature's side. It howled in agony and, with a loud bang, vanished. Syn's vision was suddenly clear so he saw the wall in front of him. His mighty wings stopped beating, and he tried to stop. Though he had gained far too much speed, therefore he had no hopes of stopping. With another bang, Syn crashed into the wall.
Sy'Naria slowly stalked down a corridor that lead to Matron Bor'Nathian's throne room. The information she bared, though seemingly impossible, would be of great importance to the Matron Mother. When she heard an odd voice. She stopped in mid-step and surveyed the corridor. Her eyes scanned the adjoining corridor, though not a soul was in it. Then, the voice came again. This time she could almost understand what it said; but not quite.
Disregarding her current path to Matron Bor'Nathian's throne room, she followed the sound of the voice. She passed several other corridors, though passed them for the voice was coming from a much different part of the compound. She stopped again, and listened. Once more, the voice spoke. Though this time she heard the words clearly: Bring me your soul…let me empty you…allow me to free your immortal soul from its mortal shell…simply free me…then I shall free you…Sy'Naria's eyes widened as she heard the words, but instead of turning back, she hurried on even faster, intent on finding the source of the words.
She continued dashing forward, turning abruptly every now and then, as she followed the creature's voice. By now, she had entered a part of the compound which she had never seen before. In fact, she had no idea where she was headed. When she suddenly reached a dark stairwell. The voice called out once more, this time it was very loud; she had to be close now.
Disregarding all personal safety, Sy'Naria dashed down the stairs, as the voice grew steadily louder. She kept running, until she ran into another creature. The sudden stop in movement caused her to fall from her feet, and look up. Standing in front of her was what at first appeared to be another drow. Though its eyes were blank and white instead of crimson. It also had spikes protruding from multiple places on its body.
Instinctively, Sy'Naria raised her hand and traced a glyph in the air. A second later, the creature was tumbling down the remaining stairs to the bottom. She heard it hit the ground, and slowly continued downward. The voice echoed out once more, though it was as loud as if the creature was shouting to her. Her feet took the steps one by one, until she saw the form of the creature she had blasted with her glyph. It lay face down and appeared to be very dead. Though to simply be sure, she etched another glyph which attached itself to the motionless creature and began searing a hole through it. Then, with one mighty flash, the entire creature was engulfed in flame.
Stepping over its ashes, Sy'Naria continued towards the voice. She rounded one last corner, when she saw a room which appeared to have last been used many centuries ago. It bore several long tables, some of which had the remains of various creatures strapped to them. Behind each table, there were strange devices placed on smaller tables. She came upon one creature, which still bore one of the devices in its torso. The device had a blade which would have been buried in the creature's heart and the other end bore what appeared to be a small bottle of some sort. Then, what resembled spider legs were hanging limply where the creature's skin would've been. Though what intrigued Sy'Naria the most was the part of the device that would've been flat against the creature's chest. It had small metal gears, all of which were interlocking and appeared to be used to drive the blade into the target creature's chest while the "spider legs" would have been used to hold the device steady. Then, upon closer inspection, she noticed a small hole on the tip of the blade. She decided that the hole must lead to the bottle on the opposite end. But what was it used for? What was this room? Many other questions flooded her brain, until she heard the voice once more. This time though, she knew exactly where it had come from. She followed the sound until she came to a blocked off passageway. Holding up her Bor'Nathian House Talisman, the false wall slid away, revealing heavy metal bars blocking in what at first appeared to be a lump of flesh wrapped tightly around bones. She nearly disregarded it, until she saw that its eyes were focused on her.
Syn's eyes slowly opened and focused. He vigorously shook his massive head, and then began to stand once more. His eyes scanned the room, and his last thoughts came back to him. With a mighty roar, he punched out behind him, expecting to feel his fist come in contact with the creature he had been chasing. Instead, it simply hit the solid stone wall. He slowly spun and faced the stone. He took a step back, and surveyed it. Apart from the massive crack his head caused, Syn didn't see anything except for a stone wall. There had to be a way around the barrier, he just knew it. But how? The creature had simply gone through it, why could he? And what was that creature? And how did it manage to outrun him so easily? The enraged half-dragon banged his fist against the wall in frustration, when he heard a voice behind him. He spun, his Choker's Hands at the ready.
What greeted Syn came as quite a nasty surprise. Standing nearly ten feet away from him, was the entity that had attached the Bor'Nathian compound. Though what startled him, was the creature at her side. It was nearly twenty feet long and nearly ten feet high at the shoulder. Its six powerful legs were all tense, as though it was ready to pounce. The two tentacle like tails protruding from its shoulder blades only made it longer. Then though, Syn's eyes went to its head, though what greeted him made his eyes open even wider. Standing in front of Syn was a giant, mutated two headed displacer beast. Its gleaming teeth were barred as it let out a low growl. Syn's gaze went from the creature to it's seemingly owner. Though something made his gaze go back to its pet. He gazed into its dark green eyes then scanned back to its owner, and there he saw two pale green eyes. Truly different, yet unmistakably close.
"Hello Syn," the creature slowly cooed.
"Enough chatter! Come here and let me kill you!" Syn bellowed.
"Now now, that's no way to talk to me. I knew you before you were as confident as you are now," the voice slowly drawled.
"What do you mean, before I was as confident as I am now?" the half dragon yelled.
"Come now, you can't tell me you don't recognize me? I am one who knew you since you were just a tiny little warrior," the creature slowly said.
"How do you know me?" Syn bellowed at the creature, causing the two headed displacer beast growl even more.
"Syn, Syn, Syn, why must you always be so foolish? I have known you for many years, and you have known me! You have known me since the day I was born! You helped me learn how to fight! Though I was cast away before you could fully teach me!" as the creature's voice began to rise, Syn heard what sounded like a growl escaping along with the words.
"I have never known anybody with green eyes!" though even as Syn said it, he remembered. It all came flooding back to him now. Visions of other chambers of the Bor'Nathian House, which hadn't been used in many years suddenly, came rushing to his mind. Then he saw her. He saw her birth, he saw her begin to grow, and he saw her eyes. But then he remembered: the day she was cast aside. She was thrown from House Bor'Nathian simply because she wasn't what Matron Bor'Nathian had hoped. She had been thrown aside, with only a basic understanding of how to fight and use glyph magic. Then he remembered her name: Ith'Tra.
"It's come back…hasn't it?" Ith'Tra asked Syn.
"But…you were cast out…you hardly knew how to fight…how'd you survive?" Syn asked breathlessly.
"Very true, but my ability to communicate with the displacer beasts has helped me to survive," she slowly answered. Syn also remembered watching her bring displacer beasts into the house without really meaning to. Something which cause Matron Bor'Nathian great distress. At first, Ith'Tra seemed perfect to the Matron, until her views changed. And they were forced to throw her out. Syn's eyes scanned her from head to foot, and took in the heavy cloak which was clearly designed to hide her appearance, which Syn couldn't blame her for. Since no drow would accept her, rather they'd kill her on sight simply because of her looks and what she really was.
"Why did you attack the Bor'Nathian House?" Syn slowly asked, though he knew the answer.
"Why do you think? I wanted to kill that old fool! I wanted revenge! And I especially wanted that new…thing slain before it was even born!" Syn knew she was talking about the new hybrid creature still growing inside of the elven maiden's womb, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to. He had even had thoughts of killing the creature before it could get too strong.
"I understand your feelings, though it is because of Matron Bor'Nathian that you or I even exist!" Syn yelled at Ith'Tra.
"Do you honestly think I want to be this way? Do you?" she yelled back at the half-dragon.
"Of course not! But you still owe her your creation!" Syn bellowed back.
"Do you think Gor'Lath feels the same way? Having to hide behind that obsidian mask whenever there are any visitors to the Bor'Nathian House? And you! Haven't you ever once wondered what it'd be like to be simply a normal drow?" Ith'Tra asked. Though this time, she had hit a nerve. For he had indeed wondered what it would be like if he was of pure drow blood. Though he very much enjoyed his half-dragon qualities. Nevertheless, he didn't like it when people knew more about him than he told them. So, with a mighty roar, the half dragon charged at Ith'Tra.
Sy'Naria gasped at the sight of the creature before her. It seemed as though it had been left there many years before, discarded and left to die. Though something had kept this disheveled shell of a creature alive for all these years. Her eyes tried to discern what kind of creature it was, though she could come to no conclusions. It appeared to be a human, though it had eyes which bore a crimson pupil and a dark blue iris and what appeared to be a withered pair of wings. It also bore what seemed to be horns coming out of its skull. This broken creature before her had to be a fey'ri tiefling. But why was there one locked deep within the Bor'Nathian House? And why had it been let expire so badly? Why hadn't anyone released it from its prison? Furthermore, why was it imprisoned in the first place? All these thoughts flooded her mind, until it spoke once more. Please…help me…I've been trapped down here for many long years…please release me…Sy'Naria then realized that the tiefling was speaking directly to her mind. She gazed at that once great creature and scanned its body. Its form was decrepit and looked simply as though a thin layer of flesh was stretched over bone. But the creature's eyes were perfectly intact. Those unblinking red and blue orbs. They were locked onto her eyes and they instilled a sense of great fear into her body. Though she didn't dare break his gaze, for fear that something terrible would happen if she did. Suddenly, she heard the voice once more. Please…set me free…I don't want to be trapped here any longer…finally, Sy'Naria drew herself out of her trance, and responded.
"Who or what are you? And why are you down here?" she asked, as calmly as she possibly could. The creature's eyes studied her for a moment before it responded.
I…was once called Vytar…though after all these years…I am not sure if it is truly my name…I was born from a elven mother and a demon father…shortly after my birth…my father killed my mother and left me to die…that cursed Bor'Nathian wench found me and trapped me down here…she wanted part of me…a part which usually can't be taken from a creature…Sy'Naria stood rooted to the spot, desperate to hear more. Using her dark from of magic…she tore my soul from my very body…leaving me a mere shell of my former glory…little did she know…in doing so she gave me the ability to drain a person's soul over a period of time…this is how I've lived all these years…beckoning helpless warriors down here…then slowly draining them of their soul…though I can continue this no longer…please…I beg of you…release me…give me my soul back…Sy'Naria stayed quite for quite a long time, before she finally managed to compose herself to form words.
"Why did she take your soul? And if you can live off of souls, why haven't you begun draining mine?" she asked, though both questions rushed out in one fast sentence. After several long silent moments, she heard the creature's voice in her thoughts once more.
My soul? That is a very good question…one that you should ask her yourself…for I know not the answer…as for not draining your soul…I cannot sustain myself any longer on souls…I need mine back…please…there's a door…open it…find the bottle bearing my name…then bring it to me…Sy'Naria stood very still for a moment then decided she still had more to know before she helped him.
"How did she remove your soul? And why do you have a sealed cell?" she asked, as her feet slowly began moving towards the door behind which Vytar's soul resided. At first she thought that he wasn't going to answer her question when suddenly his voice filled her ears once more.
The way that she removed my soul was done in quite a grizzly matter…in fact…it was an incredibly painful experience…she placed me on one of those tables and sealed me to it using her dastardly glyph magic…At this Sy'Naria's eyes widened for Matron Bor'Nathian couldn't perform glyph magic. Therefore it had to be the previous Matron. Then she placed another glyph on my chest…mind you…it was different for each newcomer…but the glyph began to sear my very flesh away until there was a hole large enough for a dagger to be jammed through…then she impaled me and slowly drained my soul using one of her soul stealing devices which you see behind the long tables…then the founder of The Life Stealers came and made sure that all of my soul hade been removed…thus why I can no longer use my body…as for my cell…she knew of my newfound ability to drain those around me and therefore I was sealed away in the hopes my telepathy couldn't reach outside ears…
"But why not just finish you off?" Sy'Naria interrupted.
They tried that…they simply couldn't destroy me…for reasons they cannot explain…now please…fetch my soul…and without another word, Sy'Naria had dashed over to the door and thrown it open. The sight that greeted her was awful. There were hundreds of thousands of soul filled bottles. Each one labeled with the "donator's" name and species. Not only were there thousands of different names but there were also thousands of different species. It seemed as though there were souls from goblins to giants and anything in between. Why had the Bor'Nathians collected these souls? What were they used for? And why hadn't Sy'Naria been informed of this place's existence?
She ran up and down the many shelves until she finally found the V's. Her eyes darted from bottle to bottle, desperately trying to find Vytar's soul. She began to lose hope when she found Vytar. And there, sitting next to Vysar the hill giant, was Vytar's. She snatched up the little vial, and dashed from the room, wanting to learn more about Vytar once he had his soul back. She reached the bars and found him looking exactly as she had left him.
Open it…then set it on the floor…then back away…those were his only instructions. Sy'Naria carefully opened the small bottle then gently placed it on the floor. Immediately, the contents leaped forth from the bottle and sped into Vytar's mouth. Instantly, the tiefling began to return to life. His skin took on a more healthy tone and his muscles began to return, which allowed him to have a normal appearance once more. His massive black wings regained their strength and after a mighty stretch, folded behind his back. Sy'Naria gazed into his rejuvenated face, trying to grasp words. Though none came. She simply opened and closed her mouth, trying to find words to describe what she had just seen. Standing in front of her, was a tiefling whose soul had been torn from his body then used for some horrible experiment. Though why had all this happened?
"I thank you…Sy'Naria…" came Vytar's cold voice.
Gor'Lath's eyes suddenly snapped open. His meditative trance had been broken abruptly by a sudden surge of power from somewhere deep within the castle. It was as though an incredibly powerful creature had suddenly awoken from a long slumber. Though where and what was it? In a flash, the half-mind flayer left his quarters to inform Matron Bor'Nathian.
Syn lashed out with his right arm, narrowly missing Ith'Tra's side. As quickly as Syn's attack had come, Ith'Tra launched her own arm out at Syn, spiked gauntlets leading. The half-dragon blocked the attack and sent his other arm around. As Syn had done, Ith'Tra blocked the attack. As her counter attack came at him, Syn launched his arm out and caught her arm by the wrist. While he held Ith'Tra's right arm immobile, Syn lashed out with his free hand, intending to hit his foe with the palms of his Choker's Hands. As though she had expected the move, Ith'Tra kicked Syn hard in the chest with her right leg, causing him to release her arm. But not before his gauntlets had managed to tear open a portion of Ith'Tra's arm.
Syn stumbled backwards and looked down at the place where Ith'Tra's foot had hit him and he saw a small trickle of blood trailing down his armor, clearly her feet had spikes as well. His gaze turned from the small wound, to his foe who was also checking the wound Syn had given her. After making sure that she could easily still fight the half-dragon, Ith'Tra turned her gaze to her foe. Syn let out a vicious roar and charged at his opponent. As he charged, Ith'Tra charged back, emitting what sounded strangely like a growl.
The two combatants met, fists lashing out at one another. Every few attacks, one of Ith'Tra's legs would lash out at Syn, trying to catch him off guard. Though he had known her techniques far too well to be caught off guard. For he was the one who had given her a basic understanding of how to fight. He was the one who had created the foundation for her fighting skills. She was just thrown out before he could build on that foundation. But clearly, she hadn't needed anymore help. For she was easily keeping up with Syn. Though for how much longer? The dragon blood pumping through Syn's veins gave him much more endurance than the common drow. Then again, because of what Ith'Tra was, she also had more endurance than the common drow. Still, Syn would most likely become tired far after Ith'Tra had already collapsed from fatigue.
"What do you mean: something awakened?"
"It seems as though a powerful creature has awakened which has been slumbering deep within this house for many long years," Gor'Lath slowly drawled to Matron Bor'Nathian who was both infuriated and intrigued. He had just finished telling her what he had felt deep within the household. At first she was interested in this new creature's awakening, though after Gor'Lath had told her he had no idea where or what it was, she had grown quite angry.
"What kind of creature?" snapped the Matron.
"I…I don't know. Though a truly powerful one," Gor'Lath stammered.
"Could we control it?" the Matron asked her excitement building.
"I doubt it. It is far too powerful," the half-mind flayer slowly said.
"Find a way to tame this creature," came Matron Bor'Nathian's curt reply. And with a low bow, Gor'Lath swept from the room.
"Just give up! You cannot beat me!" Syn roared to Ith'Tra.
"I will never let you win, Syn! Not after what you've done!" Ith'Tra growled back. As her last word escaped, Ith'Tra launched her right fist at Syn's head. Though, as she had hoped, he caught her arm. Faster than even Syn could follow, she launched her left arm forward and etched a glyph in the air. She saw Syn's face contort with rage, until he was launched across the room. He skid to a stop, and rose to his feet when another glyph collided with his chest. The glyph caused his entire body to lock up, to the point where Syn could hardly breathe. Then, another glyph attached itself to the ceiling of the chamber.
"Now Syn, you shall pay for your," Ith'Tra paused, a slight laugh escaping her lips, "past sins."
With those last words, Ith'Tra dashed from the room, cackling as she went. Syn attempted to move, for the entire chamber was beginning to shake violently. Stalactites had begun to crack, and plummet to the floor. Suddenly, Syn heard a mighty crack above him. He cursed his luck as another crack resounded above him. How could he have let her fool him? She had only fought Syn enough so that she could use her accursed glyphs to launch him under a stalactite. Why hadn't he seen it before? How she kept shifting her weight, allowing him to gain ground then pushing back with all her might. Why hadn't he predicted this, and fought against it? Was it because he had known her from the day of her birth? Was it because he sensed something that reminded him of a younger version of himself within her? Suddenly, the stalactite broke free and began hurtling towards the ground.
Gor'Lath rushed through House Bor'Nathian's dark corridors, intent on finding this unknown entity that had suddenly manifested within the walls. Though as quickly as the surge of power had happened, it had vanished. It seemed as though the creature had simply vanished from the compound. This, Gor'Lath thought, wouldn't be such a bad thing at all.
Vytar's cold eyes stared down at Sy'Naria's prone form. He shouldn't have expected her to remain conscience throughout the teleporting; few could. Though he had needed to teleport them from the compound, for it was only mere minutes before they were discovered; Vytar had felt their presence growing closer. Thankfully, he had recovered enough of his soul to be able to use a large portion of his old abilities. Unfortunately, the rest of his soul remained locked away in his mighty sword: Necros. Though where did the blade lie? He had managed to recover his old equipment such as his bladed gauntlets, though his sword had proved harder to locate. He must find it, before the part of his soul which was once more in his body faded away. Though how could he find his sword when it had vanished several hundred years ago? Suddenly, the tiefling was drawn from his thoughts as Sy'Naria began to awaken.
It was as though tight ropes were holding him to the spot. He heard the stalactite begin to fall from the roof. He heard it come whistling through the air towards his prone head. He struggled with all his might to break free of the accursed glyph Ith'Tra had placed upon him. Though try as he might, he could not break that bond. Until the last possible moment. A deafening crack resounded as Syn's powerful arms managed to break the bonds of the glyph. In a flash, he had his now free arms above his head. He felt the weight of the massive stalactite enter his hands. His arms bent to the point where the tip of the stalactite was nearly on Syn's head. Then, with one massive effort, he threw the giant stone aside.
Figuring that his entire body had been freed of the glyph, Syn attempted to take a step forward. Though his entire body was still frozen; except for his arms. By now, the entire cavern was shaking so violently nearly all of the stalactites adorning the room had fallen. Using his last resort, Syn swung his arms back and forth, causing him to begin to rock on his frozen feet. With a loud thud, the half-dragon fell flat on his face. Using only his powerful arms, he began to pull himself towards the exit. For he had no where near enough time to release the rest of his body from the glyph. Another loud crack resounded through the chamber, and Syn's head broke free of the glyph. Immediately, he twisted his head around so that he could see where the exit was, and if a stalactite was above him.
Continuing his crawl once more, Syn pulled himself closer and closer towards the exit. Suddenly, an earsplitting crack resounded through the chamber, and the floor began to split in two. Straining against the glyph, Syn tried to move his legs as the crack headed towards him. Then, he heard the tell-tale crack that happened when he had broken the bonds of the glyph once more and his legs swung free. In a flash, he was on his feet. He nearly stumbled for neither his wings nor his chest could move. Though once he found his balance, he set off at a run towards the exit. It loomed closer and closer, when a massive boulder came crashing down atop of him.
Ith'Tra's eyes darted around the passageway, searching for Syn. Then, a wondrous thought occurred to her: what if she had managed to kill the half-dragon? But, she had heard the tell-tale crack of her glyph's seal being destroyed. Or had that crack happened because Syn was slain; therefore the glyph had nothing to hold in place, which would have caused it to dissipate. Deciding it would be better for her to investigate; she began to stalk towards the entrance of the cavern, where the earthquake that she had caused had stopped.
Peering around the corner, a truly wonderful sight greeted her eyes: the entire cavern had been blocked off by falling boulders. Syn had been crushed. There was no doubt about that. For even if he had managed to break the glyph he wouldn't have had time to escape. And yet, there was a creeping feeling in the pit of her stomach that Syn had indeed managed to survive. Though this feeling was quickly drowned by her glee at finally destroying the one creature she hated more than Matron Bor'Nathian.
Suddenly, a soft purr issued from Ith'Tra's side. She looked down, and gazed into the eyes of her two headed, as some would call it, pet displacer beast. Ith'Tra lowered her left arm to stroke the creature's heads, having to switch between the two every now and then so the other didn't get jealous. A low purr escaped the right head, and Ith'Tra looked down at it.
"What do you mean? How could he be alive?" Ith'Tra asked the creature. Another purr followed her question though it came from the left head.
"I see. But Arkoh…he couldn't have survived. The boulders in there would have crushed the life out of him…or else the stalactite I sent down upon him would've impaled him!" Ith'Tra yelled, addressing the left head. Arkoh began to respond, but the right head cut it off. Ith'Tra took in what it said, then responded slowly.
"Hithzar…you have always advised me…but I do not believe that he could have survived. Though you are right, he has survived many truly fatal happenings in the past…but I do not think that even the mighty Syn could have managed to escape from this one alive," was her calm response. Both of the two heads looked up at her and began "speaking" at once. Slowly nodding, Ith'Tra began to understand.
"Sadly…you make perfect sense now that I think about it…we must strike the Bor'Nathian House while he's out of the picture. Because, as you say, he just might come back…" came her voice as the pair dashed off towards Tel'Norrathain.
Matron Bor'Nathian's eyes shone brightly in the dark room. The elven maiden before her was beginning to toss and turn. This, as Matron Bor'Nathian knew, meant that very soon she would give birth to her new experiment. Though why couldn't it happen now? Why couldn't the baby be born at this exact moment? Why did she have to wait several more hours for it to be born? She was brought suddenly from her thoughts when she heard a voice call out to her.
"Matron Bor'Nathian! I don't mean to interrupt, but I have grave news," came the voice.
"What?" the Matron snapped.
"It's Sy'Naria…she's missing…" Gor'Lath slowly stated.
"She's what?" bellowed Matron Bor'Nathian.
"She vanished when that creature I told you of vanished. No one has seen her since I sensed the creature awaken. I fear it took her with it," he calmly said.
"Find her! She must be here when our creation is born!" the Matron yelled.
"Yes my Matron," Gor'Lath said as he bowed and left the room.
Even though she didn't show it, the appearance of this new creature and the disappearance of Sy'Naria worried. She couldn't place it, though the simple thought of this creature aroused a nameless fear inside of her.
"How could we find this sword, when it's been missing for several centuries?"
"You tell me…you live there…"
"True, but I do not know where your weapons would be held…my guess though is that Syn would have them."
"Syn? Who is he?"
"Syn is House Bor'Nathian's weapon master…though he's also a half-dragon."
"I see…and he may have my sword?"
"That would be my best guess…he has many weapons inside of his quarters."
"You must take me there immediately."
"Why do you need this sword so badly? Why is it so important to you?"
"Don't you understand yet? I just finished explaining it to you, and still you don't understand! That blade holds the rest of my fragmented soul…I need it to return to my full strength…and, if that's not enough, I need the rest of my soul before the fragment that is inside of me fades away into nothingness."
"How long will that take?"
"Not long…"
Sy'Naria's crimson eyes observed Vytar, as he stared, unblinking, back. he had only moments before finished telling her the story of his birth, how his father had slain his mother, how he became an incredible fighter, then killed his father to avenge his mother, how he discovered the mighty sword: Necros, how he had used the sword to make him virtually immortal, and finally how he was captured by the Bor'Nathians. Though many questions still buzzed in her brain. For one, why was he captured? Also, the entire time she was in his presence, she felt as though she had met him before, and he acted accordingly. Now, he was telling her they needed to break into Syn's chambers and steal Necros back. Which wouldn't prove easy. And yet, she felt as though she must help him restore himself, she felt as though she had caused him to be the way he was. Though she knew better, for she had only met Vytar that day. Still, she couldn't seem to shake that feeling of knowing him…
"If we're to retrieve your sword, we must do it now. For Syn is not in the Bor'Nathian household, he is in the Underdark hunting an unknown assailant," Sy'Naria explained to Vytar.
"How long until he returns?" Vytar asked.
"I don't know. Though he most likely won't be gone for long; as he usually completes his tasks very quickly," Sy'Naria responded.
"Then we must go now…where are his chambers?" the tiefling asked.
"They are on the other side of the house, far from where I found you," Sy'Naria replied.
"I see…there is an unfinished addition to the compound…how close is it to his quarters?" Vytar asked.
"It's adjacent to it," as the words left her mouth, Sy'Naria felt as though a massive hand had clamped down over her chest and had pulled her backwards. Suddenly, everything went black though she still felt as though some massive hand was pulling her. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended. Her vision cleared, and she found herself standing in the middle of Syn's quarters.
A baby's screams cut through the darkness. Matron Bor'Nathian's lips creased into a malicious smile as she heard the creatures screams pierce the air. Though, the priestess who had delivered the baby didn't seem as overjoyed as she should have been. This could only mean one thing: the experiment had failed. Sure enough, when the priestess turned, Matron Bor'Nathian saw another half-breed. Though this one would have its advantages just as Syn and Gor'Lath had. For it seemed to be half drow half doppelganger.
It was nearly the size of any normal drow baby, though its limbs seemed to be strangely elongated. It truly looked as though it was a drow statue made of clay which had been smoothed out, leaving no features except for his eyes. Compared to most drow babies, it was truly hideous. Though, Matron Bor'Nathian knew how useful a half-doppelganger would prove.
"Name it…" she said curtly to the priestess who had delivered it.
The priestess looked around nervously for a moment, and then said; in a very shaky voice as though she feared the Matron would hit her if she didn't suggest a good name, "His name…is…Yxar…"
"Fine," the Matron coldly stated. She turned to leave the room, when the elven maiden who had just given birth to Yxar let out another scream of pain. Every head in the room turned to see why she was screaming once more. Though they didn't have to wait long, for another baby's head slowly came into view. Gasps escaped from every drow in attendance when they saw the baby's entire body. It had succeeded. The first child had failed, though its twin had managed to succeed.
It bore the complete resemblance to a drow baby. It possessed crimson eyes, pure white hair (though it possessed very little), and black skin. The only thing that separated it from a normal drow baby was the fact that its entire body was lined with what appeared to be glyphs. They started at the tips of his toes and fingertips then traced his entire body all the way up to his neck, where they stopped. They had finally succeeded in creating the ultimate warrior. They had merged all of the elven races, then added the most powerful demon (and dragon) blooded hybrids, and finished it off with a doppelganger. He would be the jewel in the Bor'Nathian house. He alone would be the most powerful infiltration tool the Bor'Nathians had ever possessed.
"Name it…" came Matron Bor'Nathian's voice in her usual curt manner; though she couldn't keep the tone, for she was far to astonished that they had finally succeeded. As the priestess began to respond, Syn exploded into the room, his massive frame dripping with blood.
"Its name…" he gasped, "his name…is Velve…"