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Micosil -> Empire of Beasts (2/2/2015 17:15:51)
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Upon his tower, surrounded by piles of disorganized papers, the wizard tussled his hair. He was young, maybe thirty or fourty years old, but he had the wrinkles and white hair of one who'd lived through much longer, signs of the kind of life he'd led. He was sitting on a bed, nothing more than a dirty cot that hadn't been used in years - and yet right now he felt the siren song of sleep tug at his mind.
Sleep! That thing he hadn't needed since the pact. That thing that he'd lost when he'd gained his magical powers. Every single time he'd had to sleep it was because the pact was weakening, and he'd needed that... creature... to come and renew it. He shuddered, patting his hands on the tattered robe. He was sure it was out to get him. Everyone was, and that creature definitely was no exception. If anything, it was out to get him more than everyone else, and he didn't trust it at all, but what could he do? As long as he wanted to retain his powers, that horrible thing was in control. If anything, he could only be happy that it hadn't hardened the terms of their agreement over time.
Still, right now he needed that thing to come by, and he needed it to come before the creatures in his grounds broke free. He could already feel them tugging at the spells that bound them, but for now the enchantments, the runes held. And how hard it had been to use those runes! Magic was not and had never been his thing, at least the magic that they taught in the academies. But he knew that the academies were holding out on him, that there had to be an easier way that they were not telling him - and eventually he found it in the creature, but while his magical power soared up to levels he could have barely imagined before their meeting, the arcane texts were still as incomprehensible as always.
A soft tap on his shoulder made him leap forward, stumbling on the ground and turning around, a lightning bolt bouncing from his fingers and scorching the wall. A giggle, once more behind him, made him sigh in relief. "Oh, good grief, it's you. You scared me!" The relief spread to his whole face as his eyes landed on the creature that had tapped him and then mysteriously appeared behind his back once more - at first look, it would be the sitting figure a young girl, maybe eight or nine years old; white skin framed by raven-black hair and an equally black, plain dress, legs kicking in the air from atop the desk. Glowing red eyes betrayed the creature's nature, as did a grin that did not fit with the girl's soft features.
"Of course its me." Angelical young voice, ageless arrogance. "You were wishing I'd come anyways, weren't you?" A single nod by the wizard, while he snuck a glance at the window - still closed, not the way she'd come in. "Your magic is running out, and you need me to renew it." She giggled again, and something in that giggle sent a shiver down his spine. Girls should not sound so... evil? He didn't like her, he didn't like how she controlled him, how she acted so superior. She was the only person he couldn't threaten or outright kill to get what he wanted, and it made him angry, but he needed her.
"Y-yes, that's right." He admitted. "Can we... get around to it before the monsters break free?" And so that she would leave, but he didn't word that, simply extending his hand in a gesture he'd repeated throughout the years. But she shook her head. "Nope." Her smile widened, more than it should've. "I'm afraid I can't renew the pact anymore." She stood up, walking towards him slowly.
Something was wrong, and he knew it. Fireball and lightning came to his call, but they were mere sparks and embers, and she batted them away without losing her smile. A shove, and he hit the floor, back propped up against the wall. With every step the little girl's figure became more and more threatening, the lights in the room dying out slowly, his magic refusing to respond. She grabbed his collar, pulled him close, demonic eyes staring into the terrified man's.
"You see, I've no further interest in you. You've already given me all of your soul, after all. Pathetic, really, that all I had to do was to give you some magic powers to toy with and you would sell yourself for eternity for that price." She giggled again, an ill-fitting sadistic grin on her face. "I will enjoy tormenting you forever, believe me."
In the depths of an abandoned dungeon of the wizard's tower, sealed in by now-weakening runes, Gestalt stirred. The protections weakened and with that his area of influence grew. His power grew. He drank deep from the wizard's despair, but soon he had to get into action. With the wizard gone it wouldn't be long since the monsters started fighting each other, and he wanted to be on the winning side of this fight.
Projections slipped out through the ever-growing cracks of his magical cage, taking a humanoid form that Gestalt loved: human enough to be recognizable, but with the proportions altered so that it was clearly not - Arms as long as legs, long fingers, a bony torso and a complete lack of head, all framed in shadows. Such were the emmisaries he sent to a select few monsters, the ones he thought would best fit in his plan.
"The wizard falters." The projections whispered to their chosen targets, waking those that slept in the middle of the night. "The cage shatters. Our fates entwine. Follow." And, with that, the shade slipped away, slowly guiding the monsters to the front of the abandoned dungeon if they chose to follow. And, if they didn't, the psychic abomination didn't care much - neither him nor them needed each other, but they could all use a hand. When they reached the small, squat building covered in runes that used to be the entrance to the dungeon, the shadows would regroup, forming a single, larger entity with the same appearance.
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