#atacedayne

[theillmindofvale]

"Everybody want to see the monster until they see the monster."

[theillmindofvale]

Truth

[theillmindofvale]

We all know what it’s like when we lose hope, put it out in front of us or go home.

[theillmindofvale]

All the way live and every night the bullets flying. Even if you ain’t dying you a traumatized survivor. When you grow up in a climate of overriding violence. You will never get beyond it it’ll always alive inside you. And death just surrounds you. Fallen friends ghosts haunt you. Crime just calls you cause you look at what you walk through. Ain’t certain if you’ll make it ain’t sure you even want to

Ed and Atace

[theillmindofvale]

"Turns off the lights. For now everything just seems so right. And how you make the darkness seem so bright. I'm feeling like things are going to be alright."

J-Cole (I hate relating meh rap to my characters..but this is fitting Ed and Atace pretty well.)

[theillmindofvale]

To Orr and Back

Vale Dontess-

You may of never even guessed that this ship was heading for Orr.  By the looks of it, this had become a merry band of men that were sailing to some location looked forward to.  The Merry Susan was full for the first time since they had stolen her from the port of their old employers and put her to the sea.  That had been mostly the work of the trips benefactor.  A mysterious sort of man that rarely spoke to anyone of the ship or her make shift crew that had little to no experience working together.  It had become a motley arrangement that nearly promised half of these souls would never make it off the risen continent.  Simply though, they pay had been to large to look away from.

Pipes, drums, and fiddle made joyful sounds on deck.  These harmonious noises mingled with the stamps and claps of those that didn't have the talent or the equipment to join in proper.  The amber eyes of "Captain" Dontess scanned over those at their merry making.  "Fools.."  He had mouthed softly to himself.  All he could think back to though was his beautiful blonde standing at his side in his mind.  This had been the longest they had ever been apart, and all the while his thoughts drifted over her nude form in the moonlight the night before he had set out on this "suicide" mission.  "Know I love you.." He spoke to the wind.  Eyes drifted from lantern light to gaze up at the moon.   He hoped against hope that some where, she was staring at the same moon.  "I'll be home soon.."

That was when the man that had said barley a word to him stepped up besides him.  As of this far, he had no idea what to make of the Lord Dayne.  He carried himself with an uncanny precision and never showed a flicker of emotion or gave hint as to what was behind those eyes.  It made him near impossible to read, and for Vale that was something he was not used to.  Gathering information at a glance had been how he survived, but this trips sponsor had thus far eluded them all but completely.  

"Captain."  Lord Dayne's tone was formal, lacking the comfort of familiarity and friendship.  "I trust the winds are fair and will arrive on time?"  The two spoke without looking, Vale's head bowing softly.  "Aye, Lord Dayne.  If this wind holds, though I suspect it not to be so easy south of Sparkfly.  I have counseled these men as best I could, but only the first fight will let us know how they fight and work together."

It was at that point that his eyes drifted over the giant human that seemed to be the bridge that spanned the two Lord's to working together.  It was not like the Butcher to be quiet for very long.  When there was music and booze to get in on, you could normally count him as one of the first to join in.  Yet there he was, leaned on one of the rails, staring at a flat, magical stone in his palm casting out some projection he could not make out in the darkness.  

"Alls well Butcher?  Token from some lady love?"  Vale called out, thinking he understood something about what the big man may of been going through.  "Something like that.."  The man spoke in a huff, then pushed himself to stand, letting the stone slip into one of his pockets before his armor less frame strode over to meet them.  "Expect it to be half a bitch to get them the way you want them to fight.  Half will die, the other half that remains of that will run.  Two of them may fight with any merit.."  The large man crossed his arms over his chest and the three at the same time turned their gaze over the lot they had "put in" with.

"It's going to be a rough one, isn't it..?" The Lord Dayne asked in a way that suggested that they did not need to answer, but as if practiced, Vale and the Butcher spoke in unison.  "Yup."  

[theillmindofvale]

The Man in the Orrian Mask

Atace had left the wine festival on a high like he had never felt before.  Such emotion coursed through his veins, lifting him to highs never expected or through possible to a man that had known only deep pits of despair.  "Fei Yen!  My betrothed."  The words were spoken over and over again as he nearly waltzed through the streets of Divinity's Reach, much to the entertainment of light hearted folks that looked on.  Some knew that to be a man in bliss, others would simply think he insane.  Maybe he was a bit of both, but for a single point in his life, he thought his life to be on a path that he wanted.  Some where in the cosmos, this span of perpetual ill fate was coming to an end. 

  Those light steps carried him into the Salma District.  After his brother had went through the troubles of freeing his betrothed from Seraph custody, he half figured the pair of them would of retreated to Beetletun to hide away until the dust had settled.  That would of been the punctuation point on a perfect evening.  To be able to sit in his own presence and replay the evening in his mind.  To let vivid imagination recall her scent and the feel of holding her smaller frame against his own.  When a swooning Atace entered the dark mansion, he tossed his coat to the far side of the room.  He had just been about to head up the stairs when every torch in the room suddenly burst to light at once, revealing the frame of his brother sitting in a far chair.

  "Drahmin, what are you doing here?  Where is Lady Rochan, were there problems..?"  True concern in the sweet lads voice caught his brothers ears, but nothing seemed to shift the older brother icy stare.  "All is well, for her.  Not for their family though."  That did make him smile.  It was one that Atace knew all to well.  It was the sort of smile that made his flesh crawl and started him taking a step back towards a wall that offered no escape.  "Wh-what do you mean?"  Atace some times stammered when he was nervous, and he was nervous because he had a feeling he knew what that meant.  "You are going to hide in the hold of their ship.  Tomorrow evening, when the ship is well away from port, you are going to kill everyone on that ship.  Men, women, children..everything that could live to tell the tale.  You will be their escort to death, Atace.  For dishonoring not only my name, but your own..and that of the future lady of our house."

  Something about Fei Yen's words earlier in the evening had emboldened him.  His foot planted firmly into the ground, his back went straight and for a moment, the man didn't look as if he was going to shrivel.  "No.."  Drahmin's eyes went wide at that.  It would appear that he was not used to such a strong posturing from his younger brother.  "No?  Did you just tell me no?"  Drahmin pushed to his feet.  Atace didn't back down, instead he seemed as if he was even more emboldened by it.  More than once the two brothers had almost came to blows only for Atace to back down.  Not this time, he had purpose.  He had a betrothed he wanted to be better for, murdering innocent women and children was in no way part of that plan. "No!" 

  Drahmin's lips curled into a sneer.  "That little Canthan who..."  Before he could even finish, Atace was reaching for his sword belt and closing the short distance towards him with murderous intent in his eyes.  For all his cunning, a straight out fight with Atace was a poor choice for even the stoutest of warriors.  That was why there was an ace in the hole.  One thing that Atace feared above everything else on this earth.  Drahmin stepped back and wrenched a blanket Atace had not noticed before away from the couch.  The sight of that ancient, ornate box not only stopped Atace in his steps, but started him reeling in reverse.  Despite his superior balance, panic caused him to stumble a single step, and that was when Drahmin struck.  Green lightning raced up both arms and arced from his finger tips in a brilliant display.  Tendrils leapt into all different directions, yet all converged on  Atace's form, snaking through the metals of his vest.  For a brief second, a bolt so strong shot through the younger brothers flesh and illuminated the room as if it were day light.  A loud "pop" echoed before the lightning died and the smoldering form of Atace dropped to the ground with a thud. 

  He was still conscious enough to hold his head up.  He could see his brother stepping over to the couch to grab the box that had been sitting on the couch.  Every muscle in his body tensed as if he was going to run away, yet nothing would respond.  All he could do was lie there and twitch.  "You insolent little fool..I gave you every chance to sway those xenophobic fools.  I gave them every chance..pointed every finger to show them the snake in their midst slowly pulling them apart and making them dance to their tune, but those slanted eyes can't open wide enough to see the forest through the trees."  He knelt by his brother, placing the box directly in front of his field of vision.  Atace face arose from the floor to protest, to defend the honor of House Lu, but Drahmin's closed fist met him in a fierce blow that smashed the other side of his face into the floor.  "She is his.  She belongs to him..as he he belongs to her.  They will be together if he chooses to be with her.  That fool of a Chang will see to it.  You are worthless..no one will love this..broken husk you call yourself..so stop.."  A second closed fist reigned down in the same spot, causing Atace's eyes to lid, darkening the world around him "lying to yourself.  This was a farce..you were their play thing.  The only bed you belong in is the one I tell you is yours..and that bed..with that deceiver is not where you will be.

  The latches on the box were popped with one deft motion.  "I will find you a bride.  Someone pretty that will pretend to love you as long as I pay her to.  That way you can live the lie you so desperately long for.  Who knows, maybe she will wish to control you like I do..you were meant to be controlled.  You are nothing more than an animal anyhow.."  When the lid of the box was opened, he could see into the dark eyes of what he feared most.  That ornate mask with it's green and black sunburst pattern and the ancient glyphs still as visible as they day they were carved.  Daze feared filled his eyes long enough to watch one hand lift the mask just before the other fell upon his cheek again and sent him into a world of darkness

  -----

  Eyes fluttered open into darkness.   "I..what?  Where is thi.."  His voice stopped short noticing the muffled trait it held.  Both hands raced upwards to feel for his face.  To his horror, he felt that all to familiar piece on his face, hiding his handsome features from the world.  "No..please Dwayna.  No not this.."  Words of his brother flooded back to him about what he was to do.  It was about that time that the subtle rocking of a ship at sea caught his attention.  Darkness was all that he knew down here.  Looking above between the planks was enough to tell him that the moon was out, not the sun.  That made sense, as this mask did not see the light of day lightly.  He had been leaned against the wall, so as he leaned forward to push himself up to his feet, his hands brushed over an object that shifted, then clanked with the sound of steel on steel.  Just the weight of it in that brush was enough to let him know that it was one or both of his blades.  As he found footing, he carefully felt for their hilts and lifted them.

  Weekly, he trudged through the dark towards a hatch that was left open to the upper deck.  "Where is everyone..why is there no sounds?"  All he could hear was creaking wood and the rolls of waves against the ships hull.  Upon reaching the hatch, he took not that it was just not open but broken from the inside.  Both doors that closed shutter style were not on their hinges.  If that omen was not ill enough, perhaps the moonlight directly above shining down on a thick, almost black liquid trailing down the steps would do the trick.  "No.  No.  No no no no!"  Atace vaulted up the steps, taking them three at a time, once nearly slipping on a pool of blood to send him back down to where he started. 

  When he hit the top step, his foot caught on something that this time did cause him to stumble.  Both blades went sprawling out across the deck as the rest rushed up to meet him.  Now free hands worked in tandem to catch himself from falling crashing too her, stopping him instead with only a minor bump that took a bit of the wind from his sails.  The pain of that seemed minor to the sting his heart felt when his eyes arose from the wood.  A woman's dead, wide eyes stared into the eyes sockets of the mask, her jaw slightly parted as if to accuse him with a word that would never come from her again.  Atace's feet scrambled over what he had tripped on.  As he looked back to see, it was a far younger body that his feet had caught.  It's light weight vanishing over the edge into the hull to go sliding down the few slow steps with a dull thud..thud..thud.  "Please..please no.." 

  His head whirled about.  Every where he looked there were bodies, gore, blood and items strewn about the deck.  Musical instruments and banquet foods.  Cups, forks, knives, weapons from the armored guards that had came to protect this family and failed.  "Lord Rochan..oh gods no.."  Tears welled in his eyes as he finally pushed himself to his knees.  He felt as if he was going to be sick.  Did he do this?  Could he of done this?  He dare not let his stomach expel for fear of vomiting into the mask he could not remove as he had done in situations like this before.  The wind picked up just slightly to catch the loose sails of the drifting vessel.  No sea birds feasted on the corpses, no land in sight, just Atace on a ship a drift to no where that was now full of bodies. 

  In the moon light, he got the answers he looked for.  His battle attire was caked in blood.  Some of it from an open wound at his left arm, yet most of it came from the obvious sources laying about the deck.  "Why do you do this to me..why?"  His backside stayed in the air as his masked forehead pressed into the deck, tears that had welled starting to fall free from their hold.  "Monster.."  A single, familiar voice began in the wind.  "Monster, monster, monster, monster."  The number of voices grew, causing the volume to raise above whispers and swirl into a crescendo that echoed loudly through the mans ears.  No one else could hear it, even if their was another living soul aboard the ship.  That was the nature of this mask that spoke in his nightmares.  Like he had just been cut himself, Atace fell onto his side to listen to the voices repeat their horrid chant over and over as heavy sobs racked his body.  Knees curled towards his chest with fingers curling through his shortened strands to try and press over his ear to attempt in vain to block out the accusations felt as if they came from within his own mind. 

[theillmindofvale]

The Falcon's Talons

In Drahmin’s eyes, there were few things that were more obnoxious than a righteous Krytan.  Those devout followers of the six with tales in their heads of heroes long dead.  Persons like this could not wrap their mind around the way the world truly worked.  They did not understand the necessity of “evil” intent as he did, and in his mind that was just fine.  The longer they sat on their knees with hands and eyes outstretched towards the sky for answers, the more pockets he clean out and expand his ever growing empire.  It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in the god’s existence.  It was more along the lines that he thought of them as deaf cunts that had forsaken this place long ago to return to where it was they had came from when they saw just how hopeless Tyria truly was.

Triskell Quay was not the “quietest” of ports in all of Kryta.  With constant threat of Krait’s attacking to increase their number of slaves, you figured Lord Rochan may of picked a better port to try and smuggle in his cargo of flesh, but that false sense of security flimsy coin purchased was enough to let the elder lord sleep at night.  Did he suspect Drahmin would ever try to over reach him?  Probably, though long after the marriage pact to his daughter was completed and he was too old to rise from the bed on his own.  By then he would have back up plans and ways of living out his life in peace comfortably, and while the man had never done anything he knew of to intentionally harm his house, he did have the insolence to ask a price to reinstate the pact, rather than understand the lone heir’s plight. 

To be fair, the man’s plan had been all but perfect to keep his operation moving along.  The only exception to that being he had the ill notion of trusting this information to his daughter, figuring his stern hand and loud voice would simply be enough to keep her in line.  There was however a new alpha male in the woods that was business and such liabilities were just enough to leave your neck exposed.  With how quick she was to give up her father, Nerissa would have to be watched at all times if this did come to pass, for what was saying that if the opportunity did present it’s self that she simply wouldn’t do the same with him.  Ambition was the most dangerous and reckless of creatures.  It would be a shame if he need show her the blade and do any damage to that young, perfected package, but if there was anything this life had taught him was that it was the pretty ones who could do the most damage.

  Lord Drahmin watched from a high hill as Seraph swarmed the docks like a tide that consumed all that stood in its way.  Even from this distance, the Jade Falcon could see the harbor master trying in vain to slow their encroach and turn them away.  Though he could not hear what, he could only assume that this man would be going down with that ship once enough investigations had commenced.  The right words in the right pious ear had given him everything he needed to take complete control of this situation with House Rochan and take everything that was theirs.  Drahmin had been smart enough to warn the lord of the house once in their first meeting, but such did not seem to sink in.  Now, was the time to force the man’s hand.

  One glance over his left shoulder showed the younger, solemn face of his younger brother, Atace.  A handsome youth on the exterior, but a hollow shell within.  Those emerald eyes seemed dulled without the life to back them.  Should he ever learn the secrets of this house, he did not know how he would react.  This situation especially seemed to touch home with the young man however.  Drahmin half turned, resting his hand on his brother’s cheek to touch fore heads with the man.  This was meant as a tender sign of affection between elonian brothers that was meant to comfort the man, though it was truly hollow when it came to Drahmin.  “I will make sure they go free, brother.  If you’d like, I will let you strike their chains yourself..”  Atace gave no answer to his brother’s words as their heads parted, Drahmin’s hand patting at his cheek before dropping back to his side.  “No word from House Lu, my brother?”  The man’s face may as well been made of stone, but this time he chose to reply, giving a meek shake of his head from side to side.  “She is not the end all, sweet Atace.  They have repeatedly offended your honor and mine so this silver haired devil may have his way with her..and every man in the Reach.  Such headaches you do not truly desire.  I promise, I will find you an even grander match should this come to fail.” 

  Once again, Atace gave no reaction.  He only stood there with arms crossed, looking down on the scene below as if to burn a hole through the hull of that ship and set all those within free.  “His ruthless aggression is on the battle field, mine is behind the curtain.  Two sides of the same coin” Drahmin thought to himself as he pulled his eyes away from his brother.  To his opposite side, a figure clad in plate armor with a helm in the shape of a demon let a muffled grunt escape as some sort of signal.  “I suppose you are right, Bruce” he mused more to himself than to anyone else.  He turned towards the “mute” guard.  “Get our house guard ready, and I will play the part of the concerned friend.  Let the mummers show begin.”  He knew Atace and Bruce would stand there and say nothing in his presence, so from here on in it would be all his work.  Lord Rochan would have no clue what had happened until it was too late.  Soon, the falcon’s talons would be wrapped too tightly around the man for him to escape, all that was left was to stride down to the harbor and deliver the killing blow.