Corrution and Detoxification, Invite, Request

[-Raghnall]

After the meeting with the Alpha of Anur, Jerrick knew something was wrong. His skin seemed to crawl throughout the meeting, and afterwards whispers began to work their way into his mind, saying nothing at all but not allowing him to concentrate on anything.

When he got back to Ultimatum, he felt like he needed to wash up. When he stripped his armor off, he noticed the blackness that began to spread from the right side of his chest in a web of veins. It was then that he knew the Book had changed him, and not for the better.

As he climbed the stairs of the tower, the book seemed to be dreadfully heavy. With every step, he felt himself getting weaker and weaker, and the stairs seemed to be growing in number. The sweat poured off his body as the mental noise that had been plaguing him occasionally became more constant and fierce. Before he knew it, he was on his hands and knees. Now, he could see the place where he first let that Wretched Book in.

He dragged it up as darkness clouded his vision. His sweat began to sting and burn... Wiping it away, he brought his hand close to his face to see the green tint that immediately started to eat away at his palm... Acid.

He finally drug the wretched thing up to the top floor, and as soon as he did, it drug him to the center. The walls were coated in glowing white giant ribs that crossed one another to form a solid barrier between him and the outside world. Light was completely vacant in this place as darkness filled every square inch...

And that's when the nightmare began.


((Jerrick looses consciousness at this point. His eyes roll back into his head, he becomes pale and clammy, and his fever shoots up well over 100. He is surrounded by a pool of dark goo that seems to be oozing from his mouth. The book floats on its own towards the other side of the room. The Darkness is still spewing from it. The rest of this post is all in his head.))


He could only see a few feet in front of him as chains made of bone chained his hands on the book, which seemed bolted to a podium in front of him. He struggled against the constraints, but there was nothing he could do. The pages slowly turned black, and seemed to swirl in front of him... And then glowing orange eyes appeared. A boney arm blasted from the book and grabbed Jerrick's jaw, shoving four of his fingers into the angel's mouth. The foul taste and smell of death filled his mouth and nostrils, and he almost wished he could vomit.

A dark being started to push its way out of the portal a top the book, lifting the poor man off the ground, breaking the binds to the book as he suddenly threw him back. Jerrick slammed against the bone wall, feeling like he had broken some ribs. He felt brittle, weak, and defenseless. He tried to stand, but before he could move the dark shadow was a few inches away from him, lit up in the darkness by sparks of flare. Suddenly, it's hand was around Jerrick's neck, lifting him up the wall that seemed to grow spines and skin his back as he was grinding against it. He felt his larynx collapse against the thing's immensely powerful grip.

The thing itself... It was undead, that was sure. About half rotten and decayed, splotchy in appearance. Gray fur covered most of its skin, and its long ears seemed like they were still more or less intact. It's large teeth were halfway exposed, and its glowing orange eyes burned with aggression and anger. Its gender was completely indeterminable... Until it spoke.

"You think that you can just leave? What a fool. I granted you power, and you would throw me aside? Absolutely not. We could have had a nice deal. You feed me souls, I grant you power, but no. No, you've decided to go your own way. That doesn't work for me. So now We'll start a new arrangement. You're going to be my bitch. My vassal."

The Dark Viera stood at least 7' tall, but he was thin and wiry. And apparently strong, because it flung Jerrick across the room again. This time, he was impaled on a bone-spike protruding from the other side of the room. He screamed through the pain, vomiting blood soon after as he looked down, seeing the long spike sticking out of his abdomen about two feet. He reached out and grabbed the end, pulling himself off as the Book's incarnation made its way over to him, getting there just as he fell off the spike, hitting the floor. It reached over him, breaking the sharp object in half, holding it like a dagger.

The Viera raised it over his head, and before he dropped it, time slowed down for Jerrick. Some of his strength and skill returned to him, and he sidestepped. As the dagger missed him by inches, he moved by instinct, redirecting the blade and ripping it from the hands of his attacker and turning it on him. He was able to ignore the pain of his injuries for a moment to shove the bone spike through the Viera's rib cage, pushing the Dark One back as Jerrick fell again, the pain returning.

The Viera stumbled back, stunned. He grabbed the spike, and it deteriorated in his hand as he regained his composure and looked at his latest host.

"You only delay the inevitable. You are nothing here."

[-Davina]

Evangeline had just settled in for the night, just allowed herself to relax when the alarms in her mind went off. Something dark and nasty was in her castle and it was... Attacking? Something was very off about the aura, not quite the sickly aura of Death but something just shy of it. She got back up, not bothering to dress and probed the air, her mind searching the quiet for the voice just under the dark, interestingly enough she found Jerrick's signature under the black.

She didn't bother with a robe but strode through the door with purpose, she was going to take care of her man even if things were strained. There wasn't much between her room and the ones assigned to him and she didn't bother with knocking, instead she almost knocked the door off the hinges as she slammed her way in and sighed when she saw her man slumped on the floor. She could only sigh but closed the door behind her and opted to sit, she was pretty sure he wasn't going to thank her but...

She linked into his mind and shoved at him. Jerrick She made the tone ice and command even as her hands went gentle to check his corporal body for injury.

[-Raghnall]

"Not exactly."

The voice that responded was certainly not Jerrick. A face swirled through the darkness, somewhere between rabbit and wolf. It harmlessly snapped at her, disappearing as its jaws snapped.

When Eve had broken through the Unholy Armor door the darkness had begun to disperse, leaving the top of the room slightly more visible than the rest. In truth, the Dark One was now in trouble. He had just sucked enough energy from Jerrick to deal with -him-. Not his "Lady" as well. The Viera knew exactly how strongly Jerrick was tied to Eve, and so he had worked feverishly to sever that tie so that this exact thing wouldn't happen.

"Why do you come here?"
This would come from a figure halfway formed out of swirling darkness behind her. It wasn't actually there...

In its panic, it had made a dreadful mistake.



Inside Jerrick's mind, he heard Eve call his name; or rather, say it with a sort of determination. Her presence cracked the walls, allowing light to pass into this... Whatever it was. The Viera turned, and his eyes glossed over. Jerrick took advantage of the situation. His wounds suddenly felt lessened, and when he brought up his fists he noticed the armor that now covered his body.

His armor had always represented duty. The one he was now trapped with had already hindered his ability to serve her once, and yet, in his clouded mind, he had allowed it to stay. Never again. Naturally, he reached for his waist. By the tension in his arm as it crossed his body, he could tell his muscles were back. Wonderful.

Somehow, a broadsword was waiting for his hand. As he drew it, the Dark One snapped back into this particular body. He quickly brought up a sword of bone that formed around his hand, but he could barely stand up to Jerrick's strike, and the second cut through the conjured weapon and the Viera behind it, causing a great amount of damage.

"I hear you, Eve!"
He roared it, and even his voice had regained it's youth and power.

He would kill this Dark Being, and return to her. That purpose drove him as his grip on the sword tightened.

He was not a mage. He was not a psychic. He was a knight. The Dark Bolt. He struck the enemies of his deity with speed, power, and ferocity. This Viera would feel this one today.



The soft message, slightly scrambled and oppressed, would reach Eve, along with fleeting snapshots of the battle for Jerrick's body and mind that had turned when she arrived. When Jerrick sliced across the Dark resident of the Book in his reality, the effect spilled over. The dark figure that had formed behind Eve dispersed, and the muscles on his body began to contract hard. It was as if they would tense up, then soften. As they softened, however, they would not grow smaller. This occurred again and again, as his skin was pulled into its previous youthful form. Even his hair, and especially his wings, grew back to how they had been before the book ever touched him.

[-Davina]

Eve linked in, invaded then felt the welcome and understood that what haunted his dreams haunted her now too. Her lips quirked up a little, giving just a hint of the nasty thought to the blackened shadow she shook her head and flicked her fingers at it. "Fuck off coward." He got heavier as she tugged his unconscious body and she had to put effort into getting him onto the bed then perched on the edge of it.

Enough playing with it Jerrick.

She didn't allow the niggle of worry to come more than just into the back of her head before she considered his mind again and then rose. "You have no rights here." She spoke to the shadows still, her eyes never leaving Jerrick's face but her power built and small metal spiders poured from under the door and down the wall in the direction of the book that still leaked darkness.

"Your rule over him is finished, your time of freedom in my castle is done." It was a simple thing really, and the words didn't need to be said but for some reason Eve said them anyway. "He is mine and what's mine I protect." She brought an old chant to mind, one her mother had once used.

"Девять стал Noththe, сестер, а затем девять стали восемь, и восемь стали семь, и семь стали шесть и шесть стали пять и пять стали четыре и четыре стало три, и в трех стали два, и два стал, и один - нет, так что найдем ее!"

Her accent thickened as she spoke in her native tongue, her voice went dark and smokey as her eyes narrowed and the book was slowly overtaken and encased in metal. Take it's balls off and let's get this over with.

[-Raghnall]

With her words, Jerrick brimmed with strength, both inside and outside. With firm resolve, he tore through the spirt in his mind. He moved faster and struck with more ferocity than he ever thought possible. Electricity came back under his command, something that had been stripped from him long ago. As he merged with it, over and over again, he tore the dark being to shreds in his mind, rending it more times than ever he could count. Soon, he was tearing through the walls, now fighting to get to Eve. Then his eyes snapped open.

When he came too, he almost threw Eve away from him, stopping himself when he saw that he was back in the real world. The darkness seemed to screech as it pulled away from the two of them, collapsing back into the Book. The form of a Viera could be seen behind it for only a moment before it was overtaken by the lance, sealed off. The Dark One had overstepped... It had not the power or the will to fight the two of them without a host to work through.

After the dark presence was completely sealed away, Jerrick turned his eyes back to Eve.
"I... Am sorry."

His voice almost broke as he spoke. He was ashamed that he had allowed any presence come between him and his commission.

"Never again."

His exhaustion caught up with him, and he could barely remain conscious, much less speak. By now, he had transformed back into what he was before; a powerful knight with the willpower to overcome even the most intense of restrictions to serve his Lady.


((Class change: Primary Warrior, Secondary Static Alchemist
Acclimation: Holy, Armsman, Unstoppable, Engage, Watersilver net, WE: Boon, Aura Blast, Xenophobe, Guard Crusher, lvl 4 Static alchemy boosted to 5 by Boon))

[-Davina]

Eve waited to see that Jerrick slept, looked again at the book that sat on the floor and sighed before pulling up a chair. "We all have our demons to fight, it's part of being free Jerrick." Her voice was a whisper in the dark, she doubted he could even hear her. She waited, watching what was hers and what possessed him until the light of dawn broke through the window.

She watched him sleep for a few more minutes, let some of the stress relax as she studied the stronger looking man. She may still have to kick his ass, depending on the resolution but it was good to see him as he should be, not the broken looking old man who Natalia had been afraid would shatter with the first blow.

[-Raghnall]

The Next Day...


Jerrick found the largest, fasted, strongest men the Ultimatum force had to offer, and began to train with them. Between the angels and the humans, Jerrick had spent the entire morning in intense, hand-to-hand combat. He had started off in armor, but as the day went on he shed the layers until he only retained a tight, thin shirt and basic pants. He found himself to be stronger and faster than he had ever been before, and the newfound strength was compounded by a new, unbridled force of will.

The angels were glad to see him back in shape, and the men recruited from Ultimatum were completely astounded to see General Jerrick mixing it up like he was with the men. At first, they laughed, thinking that the Angels were only toying with them, and that this new man, handing their asses easily and reapeditly, had to be someone else. Eventually they figured it out, and the questions were obvious, but unasked. The angels knew to basically leave him be, though a few were forced to get invovled when he wanted to preactive ariel combat. Besides that, they allowed the humans to take most of the pumbelings.

Finally having his fill of combat, Jerrick was wiping his face off with a towel, lest the sweat fall into his eyes. Before he would see Eve, he'd have to bath and get his proper armor on. It had been a while since he could even carry full plate...

[-Davina]

She watched for a few minutes, blending with the shadows in a long hooded cloak while she considered making her presence known. He did look better atleast. She hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to him while he had served under Dalv but she sized him up now and figured if she demanded it he'd atleast give her a run for her money. Better to have him as he was now in her mind, in fighting shape rather than the sickly looking man who she was compelled to ask if he was okay.

She moved through the small crowd and threw the hood back knowing that all would see the hair then the face and smirking when several stumbled back. She was dressed for "Lady" duties today, a dark blue robe with a heavy looking silver chain around the waist and the black cloak to ward against the chill. "General, a word if you've finished trouncing my men." It amused her to watch a few suck in their guts as they stood to attention.

"Ladies, get better, an old man shouldn't be kicking your asses so handily"

[-Raghnall]

He heard her voice and turned quickly to see Eve standing amongst the group of men who had gathered to watch the proceedings.

"Of course, Lady Evengaline!"

He quickly passed the towel over his upper body, suddenly feeling modest.

"I apologize that my dress does not match your own. I was planning on reporting in in about an hour or so."

He threw the towel holding his musty smell over the face of a nearby soldier standing at attention, who considered allowing it to sit out of discipline but then decided that that would just be silly, and removed it as Jerrick chuckled.

"Dismissed, get back to whatever you're supposed to be doing."

As the men dispersed or started training again, he walked up to Eve with a new sort of confidence and assertiveness, probably the result of getting his strength back. His eyes were bright, and he wore a smile like he hadn't in a while.

"Lady?"
He motioned his hand towards the door, and offered her the other arm.

[-Davina]

"It's no bother, I wanted to catch you off guard." The smile didn't reach her eyes but she threaded her arm through his outstretched one as manners demanded and allowed him to lead her inside. They had much to discuss and more to finalize before she could allow him in again, if she allowed him in again.

She waited until they were around the corner and into the office before she unclasped the cloak and tossed it across the chair then she turned to face him and folded her arms over her chest. "So, what are we going to do from here Jerrick?"

[-Raghnall]

His eyes fell and he sighed as she asked him where they were going... It weighed heavily on his heart, and only his sense of pride kept his eyes from watering.

"I... I want to make things... Better."

He struggled with words, something he didn't usually do.

"Restraint, respect... These things are new to me. I've never had to make a conscious decision to follow someone. My will has never moved contradictory to my deity. Self control was irrelevant, because my every instinct was always in line with the will of my leaders. Imagine going from literally never being wrong in the eyes of your leader and vice-versa, being a literal physical manifestation of every choice, decision, whim... You never have to hold your tongue or stay your hand... Then just getting total freedom. Please understand, I don't mean to blame you for giving me freedom... It's just... Difficult."

His frustration showed on his face as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"But I would like to try, if your Grace would allow it. I've been watching the humans from Ultimatum; watching how they respond to orders they don't like. I've been learning from them. And I'm trying. Please believe me, I am trying."

[-Davina]

Eve measured him, noted the signs of frustration and fatigue and her lips twitched when he brought up the struggle to adjust to freedom. He didn't know, she considered it, weighed out speaking her mind verses ruining his image of who and what she was and opted to let it lay as it was. No need to shake his world any further than what it was just now. "Jerrick, all good things come with both time and struggle, anything easy is wrong." She wasn't sure how to explain that statement better than it had been stated but she wondered if he could understand just yet.

"I've found that good leadership needs to be questioned... I need to be questioned on occasion, need the thoughts and wisdom of those around me so that I can make balanced decisions. I have a great many things the rest on my shoulders, a great many people who rely on me to make sure that their very lives run smoothly, I require those who don't run without thought at my every whim. This is part of why I offered you freedom. Do you understand this?"

[-Raghnall]

"I know just enough to know that no, I don't understand completely. But I think I'm beginning to."

Perhaps just that was a step. Honesty, and not false, forced reality.

"I know that I can learn, though. Your humility is inspiring, m'lady."
He gave her a slight bow the tops of his massive wings tipping in honor. While a symbol of power, they could also be inconvenient at time. He didn't do small rooms very well. And with a 25 foot wingspan it's not easy to stretch. On top of that, they were nearly four feet across at the longest point. Eve's wings wrapped around her body, and when the Book had corrupted his form he could pull that off, too. But no longer.

"Is there anything you would have me do, Lady Eve? I understand that perhaps I will need to earn trustworthiness again. I am wiling to do whatever needs to be done."

Men always wanted to -do- something, didn't they?

[-Davina]

She sat now, almost lounging but not quite and tapped her steeped fingers. She had trusted him, had given him respect and responsibility because she trusted her gut. She hadn't counted on the book, hadn't counted on him being possessed by a demon of his own. She understood that too, understood the pull of power and the voices that could and would take over at the first sign of weakness.

On a sigh she shook her head. "Darling, absolute power corrupts absolutely. What are your plans for the book?"

[-Raghnall]

"I would prefer to never touch it again."
His answer was laced with disgust.

"That being said, it is too dangerous to allow outside control of it. I never got the opportunity to use it because we usually fight in tight units, but the amount of devastation that book can unleash is... Unbelievable. On par with a Demon Gem, at least."

He almost shuttered when he considered an enemy getting their hands on the book, taking a few steps to place himself in front of Eve.

[-Davina]

Her eyebrow twitched, the only sign that she acknowledged the poke and she continued to study him. "I'll need my sword back, but I don't want this falling into hands that would corrupt with it. It seems to have the ability to sway even the most devout." On a sigh and a huff of breath she stood again, the only sign of her agitation was the quick flash of it in her eyes. "You'll need to find a safe place to store it and when you've decided exactly how you want it handled let me know. There are prisons within prisons in Ultimatum."

"Speaking of, I want to go down and see what's under us. That's for later today, I have some minor hope that Kerlock will be just sitting there waiting and I can make this fast and easy..." Her smile was sharp and her eyes were hard "Then I can just lop his head off and be done."

[-Raghnall]

"Some have lances that glow with Holy energy, and specialize in killing the Undead and Demons. I imagine that using this sort of material to create a case would keep its influence from spilling out. I've also ordered a complex locking system that requires a specific key. This key will usually be plain, the teeth only coming into being when certain people, I was thinking of coding it for the two of us, touches it. So only we could unlock it. I have already commissioned such a case to be made by our blacksmiths. It will be completed shortly. If it works, we can go from there."

He had been rather proactive in this area, at least. He was serious about not letting the corruption out again.

"If you wish to have an adventure, only let me know. I'll grab my gear and we can be off."

He smiled when Eve mentioned simply offing Kerlock.

"That was my specialty, after all."

[-Davina]

Her smile was winter cold and sharp as her blade. "He and I have had some interesting by-play and he's brought the bout of hell to my house. If I have my way he'll die by my blade, like any coward he'll beg before I end him." Something occurred to her as she studied Jerrick. Her husband had been a coward, unable or unwilling to deal with problems with his own hands instead he used people tied to serve him.

"We will leave at first light, perhaps my new court wizard would like to join us but he is currently detained. It can't hurt to have extra hands should we manage to stir the hornets nest." She moved a stack of papers with only mild disgust "We have much to rebuild Jerrick, on many levels but I want this clear, here and now. I am more than willing to be challenged, accept other options before I rush headlong into something stupid but... I will not have that happen in front of people again, you know very well that I can hear your thoughts when you wish it. Next time do so. There is no need to say anything more on the matter."

[-Raghnall]

He tipped his wings to her in a sign of submission, his eyes falling as he remembered his regretful actions.

"Understood."

He tried to bring his spirit up, fixing his face in the process.

"I shall prepare myself. I will await your call."

He turned to leave, shrugging off the discouragement and steeling himself with determination to improve, both as a follower and as a free being.

[-Davina]

His discouragement weighed on her, made her vaguely uncomfortable and that irritated her. "Jerrick..." She waited knowing he would stop. God's above it was easier to deal with command when you didn't have to worry about peoples feelings. "After... When I was put back into a body it took a long time to regain my control, not just of my limbs but of the emotions. I imagine that gaining freedom is similar to that feeling. What I saw in you when I freed you I still see in you, don't dwell on something so trivial." Her lips twitched into a full and honest smile, rare in appearance. "It's not as if you've killed my beloved kitten"

She wasn't sure she could find a way to give comfort to him but atleast she had tried damnit. That counted right?

[-Raghnall]

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as she spoke words of encouragement and empowerment. If she wasn't a goddess (like she seemed to think), she was damn close.

"Yes, Lady Evangeline. I understand."

He turned back on his way,stopping for a second when he reached the door, placing his hand on the frame in hesitation before turning again.

"I just want you to know: There is no one whose command I would prefer to be under."