//------------------------------// // I've been swinging so long, they call me the hatchet man // Story: Der Azurblaue Ritter des Betrügers // by SwimmingDalek98 //------------------------------// Der Azurblaue Ritter des Betrügers I've been swinging so long, they call me the hatchet man "Uh… Need… food…" I wheeze out, and I stagger along, trying to find my way to a meal. My throat is still sore, and the fact that all these girls have to dress me in is a few clothes that are a little too large isn't much comfort. Apparently, they were stolen from the nearby town, and I presume the same to be true of the food. I stagger around until I reach what must logically be the kitchen, and reach for a cupboard. My hand shakes, as it slowly edges towards the cupboard, which I draw open, and I'm greeted with the sight of… bread. I grin joyously, and slowly try to lower the loaf onto the counter, and notice out of the corner of my eye some butter. "Hey!" A high-pitched voice interrupts my carefully calculated and fragile thought processes, and I jolt in fear, dropping the bread. I look to the origin of the voice, and see one of my 'hosts', for lack of a better term. Yellow hair, and matching eyes, tied into twin tails that resemble drills. Drills. I know I shouldn't be surprised, with what I've seen, and more importantly done, but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the absolute weirdest things I've seen. I mean, how much gel is necessary for that? I return to reality, and note that she's dressed rather casually. Simple slacks, a dark yellow shirt. I look at the bread, now on the floor. I turn to her, and barely whisper, "So… rry…" I lean down to pick it up, but feel myself collapsing. As I drop, she quickly grabs me, and tries to steady me. My now blood-red hair falls around me, and I gaze past it straight at her. Her eyes are filled with warmth, and kindness, and the smile on her face brings forth memories of my own mother. She chuckles, "Careful now. You're still not up to full strength. Just tell us if you need anything, alright?" I nod slowly, then point to myself, "N… Night…" I find myself lacking further strength to speak, so she silences me with a finger. Her soft smile removes the irritation I would've otherwise had at my own weakness. "You don't need to strain yourself. Talk when you have the strength. You can call me Mami." She slowly carries me to my room, before laying me back on the bed. She smiles, before walking away. slide into my covers, and place my hands on my chin, pondering about my current situation. How long was I honestly asleep? Where has Soul Edge gone? Who are these mysterious five women? Why are they helping me? And why is it my body is so weakened? I cannot truly have been that dependent on Soul Edge's power, could I? Maybe I shouldn't be giving myself so much credit. I was running around in that for seven years. Maybe I should quit worrying and eat the food Mami's given me. Porridge, buttered toast, and tea. I look up to her slowly, with an expression saying 'are you serious' plastered to my face. "You're too weak to eat any big meals just yet. For now, just try to keep up your strength. Trust me, I'm a nurse. Or, I was, anyways…" She gives off a soft sigh, before placing a bell on my nightstand. "Use that if you need any of us." I nod, and slowly begin eating the porridge. I notice how slowly my hand moves, and internally groan. By the great Nyarlathotep, this is going to be a long recovery. 2006 Years Ago, Equestria Castle, Everfree Forest Many a merry laugh echoes through the mead hall. The people joyously drink and dance and sing all around, with Airy leading the charge. Her magic illuminates the hall brighter than the surrounding lamps, leaving me able to watch from the shadows. I sit in the corner, stroking Soul Edge's scabbard, a habit of mine which I developed during the year's passing. Solaris stands up, and calls the merry-makers to attention, "May… may I have everyone's attention, for a brief moment? Exactly one year ago, to this day, a stranger arrived in my custody…" A few laughs and hearty chuckles went around the room at that, "But had it not been for him, we would not have won the battle today!" A strong cheer follows that, and a few people top off their mugs. "Nightmare, come out from the dark." A round of applause fills the hall as I walk forwards. Solaris drapes his arm over my neck, "Take that damned helmet off, ya twit." Laughter fills the hall, and I slowly unbuckle it. As I remove it, a long set of blood-red hair falls from it. Over the past year, my continued usage of Soul Edge has died my formerly raven-black hair the color of my power. Luckily for me, the rest of the revelers are unaware of that. They just think I'm a really pronounced redhead. With a damn handsome face, if what I've heard from my fellow soldiers is correct. Solaris chuckles, "You have won us so much over the past year than we have in the past four. I am proud to call you my brother in arms…" He steps away, and dramatically turns back, pointing, "and it is my great pleasure to name you my fellow knight-captain!" At this, a loud cheer deafened all other noise in the room, even drowning out Airy's song- an extremely rare feat, to note. I chuckle in response, before stepping forwards, and silencing them with a wave of my demon claw, "A year ago, I was found in the forest. I was scared. I was alone. I was confused. And in need of a drink. But as time whittled away, I found myself not in the company of random faces, but of a new family. Of warriors, and loyal soldiers..." I wave to the guards in the room, who nod and smile at the attention I redirect to them, "Of children, kind and innocent…" I notice a Seraph boy trying to watch in the rafters above, and I bring him down slowly with a lightweight spell, "Of friends, strong and trustworthy…" I reach over, and knock Solaris on the shoulder, "And of a home. So now, I am taking that much needed drink…" As the crowd chuckles, I grab a mug, filled with ale, "And I make a toast. To this damnably crazy country. To Equestria!" "TO EQUESTRIA!" Airy spins about in air, and casts a large amount of light spheres, and the noise dies down as she prepares another song. I look to Airy, who nods in Solaris' direction, before continuing to sing. I look to him, and then I notice that he's deliberately averting his gaze from Artemis. A grin grows on my face. So far, it's basically become common knowledge among the guard that Artemis' affections aren't entirely one-sided. Which, honestly, makes this a whole lot more fun for me. So far, over the past four months, the two have been making this into a romantic comedy for me. Heavy emphasis on comedy. "Of course, our definition of comedy is a little different compared to most people's." Shut it before I get out the barrels. "Not the barrels! Anything but! I'll shut up now!" His voice disappears from my mind, and I breathe slowly. I notice that Faust is waiting at the door of the back room, motioning for me to follow. I down my mug, set it on a passing waiter's tray, and join her in the war room. I slide on my helmet, and notice her roll her eyes. "What?" "What's with you and that damned helmet?" "Makes me feel safe. Never know when an arrow might be coming at your head..." "… Cute. I have a paranoid knight-captain." "And I have a queen who lets said knight-captain keep his position." "Fair enough." "I'm certain you didn't call me back here so we could stand around and trade insults. Who do you want dead?" This is the relationship I have with the Queen. The title I made a year ago has come to reality. I'm a merciless hunter, striking from the shadows and consuming all of my master's prey. All enemies of the queen are mine. Be they brigands or one of our own. Think Black Butler, only without the butler, and even more demon. And less homoerotic scenarios. Well, there was that one accident... "Solaris. Pretty sure you know what's his problem." "He has quite a few, m'lady." "Well, the one with my daughter. That's the one we're discussing here." Cue inner shipper going 'squee'. "Ah. That one." "Well, a few nobles have also noticed it. They deem it a problem to their own successes." Oh, crap. "They'll all notice it sooner or later. Now, do you plan for me to kill my own best friend?" I raise Soul Edge, and plant it on the table, raising an eyebrow at her. "No. I, for one, am doing this for my daughter. She loves him. He loves her. Simple mathematics. Only a few actually are trying for the throne. So don't go getting all of them. These are the ones I picked out." She unfurls a scroll, which contains a small list of names. "Ah, yes. The ones which hired and slipped in the goons that almost got Solaris a few weeks ago. So this is why you wanted me to wait. Should they look like an accident? Or just make it look like brigands?" "Well, a few of them may be a bit harder to take out than just that… Look closer." I take the list from her hand, and analyze it a second time. One entry turns my blood to ice. "Nocturnus. The one dabbling in dark magic... His magic is far superior to my own sorcery." I draw my hand to my chin, attempting to get a bearing on the problem. Inferno begins hissing and raging, "That's the one! That's the one! It knows of us! It knows who we are! It toys with us! I feel its dark wizardry even from Astral Chaos!" "I understand that you are a little hesitant to deal with him, but I can arrange for another, indirect way of disposing of him." Inferno and I practically jump for joy at that, "Name it. Anything but dealing with that warlock head-on." "I plan on setting up an expedition to the far north, past the mountains." She unfurls a map, and shows an unknown area past the northern mountains. She taps it twice, "We can arrange for him to come along as… a diplomatic representative, so to speak. If they somehow get past the dragons, I predict that they won't survive the wendigoes." I look up to my queen, "Wendigoes, m'lady? I believe I've never heard of such a thing." "Creatures of ice. They feed off of hatred. They freeze you alive, then eat away at your soul through your very rage." "That just gave me several ideas." Me, too. "That… that could work. I've heard tell he's spiteful of his servants. That should be enough to lure the creatures more to him." Faust looks up to me from the table, "Then, you can take care of the others?" "I've already got at least four different ways to get rid of you, nine for you, oh, I've got over three dozen for this guy." I chuckle to myself, pointing at the various names on the list as Faust walks out. "It's party time." Two days. I've waited two days for this assignment. My target is Count Mott, of House Ceruleus, and he's now sitting in his estate, quite a ways from where everyone else is. The queen has actually decided to give me the chance I need by having a personal 'chat' with the man. Most of his guard have been let off for the night, and Her Majesty's own have also taken leave, due to a 'miscommunication' on my part. Needless to say, I'm more than a little happy at this opportunity. The remaining guards are mostly asleep. I'm not. I cast a few spells, and send the local wildlife into a frenzy. The rabid barking of dogs, and the mad flying patterns of birds covers the noise of my armor as I dash up to the side of the building, and the guards frantically wave their hands at the creatures. I grin, and cast a spell, unlocking the window from the inside. I aim Soul Edge inside, and let it look around. It notices a single maid walking down the hall, trying to ignore the noise. Her back is towards me. This is too easy. I jump in, and roll, before sliding right behind her. On spell later, she's unconscious. "I swear, it's like he WANTS to die..." I keep stalking the halls, cautiously avoiding as many servants as I can. As easy as it would be to simply magic them all to sleep, I do like to act with some finesse. It helps keep me in shape, too. "But is crawling along the ceiling really necessary?" … Shut up, it's fun. I drop down in front of Mott's bedroom door, and have Soul Edge scan the interior. Wow. Only Mott and Faust's inside. Should we play with it before we eat?" Of course, you imbecile. I step back, raise my foot, and then kick open the door with as much force as possible, "Boom, baby!" Mott, to my surprise, doesn't leap back in fear or anything of the sort. Instead, he acts as if I'm not even there. Not a hair on his blond head twitches or moves. "Hm. It looks like you need to put a tighter leash on your mastiff, Your Majesty." He scoffs, and simply takes a drink of wine. Faust merely smirks, "I would prefer that you not refer to a knight-captain as if he were some lowly beast, Count." Her tone indicates no irritation whatsoever, and neither does her body language. She turns to me, and motions that I sit down. "Hmph. "Ah… She wants information from the prey. She wouldn't stay us unless there was something she needed." It's not like I couldn't bleed it out of him. Nonetheless, I sit. My, this seat is really comfortable. I can feel it through my armor. I take my demon claw, and stroke the soft fabric. As I do, Mott's eyes practically boggle, "Your Highness, that couch is rather costly. I would prefer that your pet not leave any marks or stains on it." He's trying to not act out of line, but he does NOT like me where I am. Okay, you're now on 'the list'. I glare at him, and grasp Soul Edge by the scabbard. I turn to Faust, who shrugs, but still gives me the 'hold' signal. "Count, I do find that your continued referral to a knight of the realm as a mere animal is rather annoying." To this, Mott merely laughs, "Why should I not? I refer to those below us as what they truly are. You cannot deny that we rule over a land of beasts, Lady Faust. And, in fact, I-" He's cut off by my blade at his throat, and the harsh, animalistic growl that emanates from it. "Your continued audacity in the presence of the Queen, and towards her own people no less, is an offense I cannot afford to let stay. You have offended this country's honor, as well as Her Majesty's. Now, the normal route would be for the offended party to challenge the offender to a duel for their honor. But since the Queen cannot do such a thing, I shall take her place. I, the Azure Nightmare, hereby challenge thee, Count Mott of House Ceruleus, to a duel." I swing Soul Edge around, before tossing it in the air. I hold up its sheathe, and the blade lands perfectly, releasing a ghastly hiss. Mott stands shocked, before trying to regain his composure, "Your Majesty… this behavior by your pet is absolutely-" "Shut. Up." Both of us turn to her at that. Even Inferno quits toying with his souls in response. "M'lady, such-" The sound of a powerful 'SLAP' echoed through the halls, with Faust looking legitimately angry. "Such rage… such delicious anger… I've never seen it before on that one… ooh, it's delightful..." I silence Inferno, but find myself unable to disagree. Indeed, I have never seen her enraged. it's almost… enticing. It's like a train wreck, or a shoggoth cock fight (don't ask): It's absolutely horrific, but you can't look away. "I have heard enough out of you. You insult my people, you ridicule a knight-captain who has proven himself a worthy warrior, and ever since I've gotten here, you've been speaking of MY daughter as if she were an item to be bought or sold! Sir Nightmare may not be a nobleman by birth, but he IS a captain, which means he is more than capable of challenging you to a duel of honor, like any of his rank!" "The lady's anger is intriguing… but the look on the prey's face is even more delicious..." Y'know, for once I can't disagree with you. His face does this weird stretchy thing. "Tch! Y- Fine. If playing a game with your dog will silence you, so shall it be." He turns, and begins to walk outside, with Faust and I close behind. I lean in and whisper, "Should I wait until he tries to use a fatal blow? Or finish him right from the start?" Faust doesn't even bat an eye, "There are still some guards watching. If they see you flat-out cut him down, they might talk. If he doesn't try for one, do whatever's necessary." "Can do." "Okay. Now we're out in the cold. Are we going to get this out of the way, or not?" Mott's horn and hands glow a pale, icy blue, and I let myself be coated in the fiery red of Soul Edge. "Indeed. Let's go." I fling a burst of shadow magic at him, which he repels with a single barrier. He was supposed to. He flings a spell back at me, and I whack it away with my claw. He throws another, which I sidestep, and another, which is avoided with a simple duck. Mott grinds his teeth, and propels another spell at me, which I stop with another spell of equal force. Mott hisses, and throws another few at me, each of which I continue to out-maneuver, or simply stop. I continue to use this to close the gap between myself and him, until there's not even a meter's worth of distance between us. I raise Soul Edge to his neck, and he slowly raises his hands to surrender. "You wanted this out of the way, so I got it out of the way." I lower my blade, and turn away, "Be warned, next time such a transgression occurs, it will be a lot louder… and the witnesses won't be just a few of your guards..." I motion to the guards watching the event, who try to contain their glee. "… You… dare to… say such things… against me? You… MUTT!?" I feel a wave of magic smack me in the side, and knock me ass-over-head. I hit the ground hard, and slowly pick myself up. "You dun fucked up now." I stand up, and wave my claw, its dark magic forming a circle around Mott, who reacts with fear. "Wh-what is this?" Suddenly, glowing, red-hot chains leap out, and bind him down. I wave my hand, and the guards drop to the ground, unconscious. Mott turns to the Queen, who merely watches the surrounding animals, now calmed down from my spell. "You have just assaulted a knight of the realm. You dealt what would be a lethal blow, after a fair duel. The punishment is death." I walk into the circle, and then snap my fingers. The entire spell is replaced with a flash of light, and we disappear. "Gyagh!" I toss Mott down into a small ravine, and he lands in a river. He gasps, and drags himself from the shoreline, "Wh-who do you think you are? How DARE you lay a hand on me, dog? I will have your HEAD for this!" "Y'know, I must honestly thank you for this, Mott." I snicker, and watch as he heaves his waterlogged form from the river. "For what? Your swift and imminent DEATH?" He snarls, and tosses a spell at me. I catch it in my claw, and to his surprise, crush it completely. Then I let myself descend into demonic laughter. His expression goes from one of anger, to one of astonishment, to one of pure fear, all in an instant. "Heh, heh, heh... No… No, it's for something far, far more exhilarating… A chance to practice something I thought I'd never get the chance to… An old spell… A really, really old spell, to be honest. A complex summoning spell, one which brings out only the best of the beasts. And no, that wasn't a typo..." I raise my demon claw, and the very air turns dark. The moon's pure white light is tainted red, and the sky becomes a distorted array of colors from out of space. "No! Stop! I demand that you stop right this instant!" He waves his hands frantically, before launching several waves of magic. Alas, they dissipate upon getting a certain distance away. Y'AI 'NG'NGAH "I said STOP!" He casts even more bolts of magic, but the otherworldly barriers continue to prevent his attacks from even coming close to me. YOG-SOTHOTH Thunder crackles, and the winds howl. I notice the souls of animals running as far away as possible. Mott takes a page from their book, and dashes away into the forest, screaming his head off. It matters not how far it runs. 'They' shall take care of it." H'EE-L'GEB Inferno giggles as the symbols and magical circles appear on the ground. The various rocks begin to hum, as the very fabric of space-time warps. F'AI THRODOG The most narrow angles along the rock faces begin to emit a sort of strange, clear mist. A powerful series of growls, groans, and roars emit from them. UAAAH Finally, clear, glass-like heads emerge from the mist, followed by bone-like bodies. The heads resemble canine skulls, but are covered with crests. Their limbs are thin, jagged and warped, with spikes and protrusions. Inferno can barely speak, as the Eye of Soul Edge gazes in wonder and horror, "What ARE these creatures?" I chuckle, "These… are the Hounds of Tindalos... "Creatures that exist within the angles of time, while we live in the curves… It is impossible for beings of the third dimension to understand. And I do not wish to, with what I have been taught." I swing my claw out, and release some magic, to draw the beasts' attention, "Hear my voice, great Hounds! Know my power! I am the Nightmare, the Dark Blade of Equestria! You have been summoned for the sake of a hunt! Your prey lies within the forest. Feel free to do what you will to him. Now, GO!" I cast forth my magic, and it serves as a metaphorical whip-crack, forcing the beasts to move away, and chase after the Count. "Are you sure they can get him? He already has quite the head-start..." I imagine a bucket of water dropping onto Inferno, and he huffs. "None can escape the Hounds of Tindalos. They manipulate the very fabric of space-time. Attempting to run can only buy you mere seconds. And even then, those seconds might not even exist. I will show you what I mean..." I hold up Soul Edge, and use his power to cast our vision, and we lock onto Mott. "Huff, huff, huff…" Mott's running. Farther and faster than he ever had in his entire life. The Queen has abandoned him. And now, that demon of a dog is using black magic to hunt him down! 'The audacity… I swear, the rest of the Circle will find a way to put that despicable mastiff in the dirt like the beast he is!' Mott trips on a branch, but doesn't let it slow him down. He keeps running, then he stops at a cliff. Technically, it's too small to be called a 'cliff', but he doesn't really know that. The reason he stopped is because he doesn't have any other way out. "Pathetic, as always, Mott." Mott hears a curious voice. He looks up, and sees several figures on the top of the cliff, wearing hoods and plague masks. "You call yourself a 'noble Arcanus', but you cannot even win against a single brutish knight." One of the figures most to the left scoffs, and the others solemnly nod in agreement. "And now, here you are, about to be torn apart by a demon's apparitions." The figure in the center dryly tosses out, and the others practically chuckle. "My friends! What're you talking about? Why do you speak as if I am some kind of beast? Please, help me! I am one of the Circle, see?" He removes a glove on his hand, and displays a circular tattoo, which has a peculiar and unrecognizable symbol in the middle, "Get me out of here! I'm Count Mott! Not some common rabble!" "That's why we're leaving you." The color drains from Mott's face at that, "Wh-what?" He drops to his knees, and he reaches to them, "Is… is this some kind of jest?" "… No. We have heard a quote, from Nightmare, incidentally, which has changed our opinion of you amazingly. 'If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.' You, so far, have done nothing but treat your inferiors with disdain and hatred. You are useless to the Circle and its future." The figures all turn, and walk away, leaving Mott screaming for their assistance. A sudden, hissing, screech interrupts Mott's pleading. He turns, and sees… things, in the tree-line. They slowly stalk forwards, and Mott screams in horror, "No… Stay back… I SAID STAY BACK! I'M ORDERING YOU! Stay BACK!" He tosses a wave of magic at one of the beasts, which jumps away. Mott sees his opportunity, and proceeds to run past it as it leaps. Mott continues to speed through the forest, hearing the creatures as they leap and charge after him. He looks over his shoulder, and is absolutely horrified at what he sees. The beasts are charging, at incredible speeds, through the trees and plants. Worse, whatever they pass through seems to rapidly age at different rates, although Mott wasn't sure if it was merely the adrenaline showing him that or his own rapid descent into madness. As Mott keeps running, he sees a large tree in the midst of a small clearing ahead. Perhaps, if he were to climb it, he could be safe, at least until the beasts grew bored of hunting him. But his hopes quickly go out the window when one of the creatures leaps through the tree straight at him. He trips, and barely slides under it. As he does, he looks up, and sees the spot of bark that the beast climbed through. Certain parts of it seem to be growing older, others younger, at random rates and intervals. He turns, and sees the beasts now completely encircling him. He whimpers, before firing a bolt of magic, hoping to make another opening. To his surprise, the bolt goes through the creature without any harm done. "What? But… but my magic stopped it earlier! How did it not work? Unless…" 'Unless they were toying with me...' Mott drops his head into his hands and lets himself begin to cry. He slowly ups his wailing into mad laughter as the beasts close in, with one in particular sniffing him closely, and noting his loss of sanity. It then proceeds to look up at the sky and scream. I say scream because that's the only word broad enough to describe the noise it made. Not concentrated enough to be a howl, not lax enough to be a baying, and not high-pitched enough to be a screech. It was just a noise. A noise that spoke of the realm this thing came from. The realm where time and space are fractured into thin lines that intersect with themselves. The realm where the laws of casualty are null and void. The realm that the Count has just been stolen away into. "… Interesting, very interesting. It seems your hounds are more efficient than first I assumed. Now, what is our plan of action?" I now sit in Astral Chaos with Inferno, as we observe the last of the Hounds fading away. "Simple. Inform the Queen of this… Circle. A secret society… one that has moral standards… Color me intrigued." I stroke my chin, and review the footage of the figures on the cliff. A slow grin appears on my face, the one you have when you're about to do something that's to be challenging, but immensely entertaining. So, basically, what I'm about to undergo. "Couldn't we have just… eaten Mott and drained the necessary knowledge from his soul? And we wold've been saved plentiful time and resources?" My grin drops immediately. In hindsight, that WOULD have made things a LOT easier. No need for anything fancy. "Well… I already summoned the hounds, why bother un-summoning them and deny them their first really decent game in who knows how long?" I look to Inferno, hoping to gain some form of sympathy. I don't get any. "Uh-huh." "It was an unexpected development, understand? I cannot account for everything. I wouldn't have expected a narcissistic egotistic baboon like Mott to be part of anything special." "This is all you have to report?" Faust stares at me as we sit in the war room. So far, I've managed to keep my bearing, but my eyes keep falling onto the candles around the room, for some odd reason I grew a strange fascination with them in the past three minutes I debriefed her on the situation. I nod at Faust, "Yes, m'lady. The fool was approached by a group of cloaked individuals. He identified them as 'the Circle', and they apparently claimed he was of no further use to them. They disappeared immediately. I apologize for not attempting to at least capture one of them, but I was more occupied with… the matter at hand, you see." I have kept the full depths of my summoning magic to myself, if only for the sake of my own confidentiality. The Queen only knows that I get the job done, and that's enough for her. "It's alright. Mott's been removed from the equation, that's all that matters. He was one of the larger contestants for my daughter's hand. With him being gone, the threat against Solaris should decrease a fair portion." "Are we truly sure of that?" I ponder aloud, and Soul Edge rattles silently, as the candles around us flicker in the night.