On the Heights

[Ascendancy]

Nikolai shoved the dropped paper aside with the toe of his shoe before he approached the deadpan Valdir. There was a dryness etched into his expression as he gazed upon that lax face. Hard to imagine such a figure seated upon the throne of a god. As Nikolai circled, judgment cemented itself in the recesses of his sympathy. Briefly, Nik's gaze flickered toward the silent audience seated so calmly around the living room. Valdir's violence was only a danger if he could not be controlled. It was with the same prudence that Nikolai gathered Alric and now Michael to his sides. Both wielded power with titanic might, and with webs of scorching Flame and silvered Essence encoiled their prisoner's body, he was all the more reminded of Michael's successful compliance.

Valdir roused and those very webs dug deeper into his flesh. His eyes flared open only to find himself suspended in midair. His writhing only exaggerated the pain, so he curled in upon himself, like a child in the fetal position, and buried his chin to his chest. To his credit, he neither cried nor begged, but he clearly did not understand what was happening. Nikolai waved a hand for Michael to decrease the intensity of the man's suffering while he spoke. They quite effectively had the man's attention, and Nikolai was not a sadist.

"Mister Schenzek," his tone swung sharper than the points of steel tapered near his eyes. "I am Nikolai Brandon, your Ascendancy."
He lifted the point of the man's chin. Pain-wrecked eyes locked upon his but there was little identifiable recognition. Nik couldn't tell if Valdir knew who he was or not. He continued. "You have an amazing gift. One that we can help you control. Yes, you know of what I speak."


Valdir licked his lips to cast a hungry gaze at the members of his family. Positioned like dolls, they watched on.

"Yes. Them. You did this to them? Why?"


Valdir must have a damn good reason to have done what he had. Whether or not it was justified, Nikolai cared less, but he needed to know the reasoning. Was there a shred of potential in Valdir? A glimpse of sanity?

[Michael Vellas]

Nikolai demanded answers, and he was not to be disappointed.

Valdir was eager to speak of his family. Michael stood back and watched the Ascendancy at work.

"My family!"
Valdir exclaimed. "Yes, one is a human. My daughter, she is a half-breed though."
The pride in his voice as he beamed at the little girl was sickening.

"The other humans, they couldn't accept her,"
he frowned, trying to gather his concentration. Michael lit a spark of pain that subdued him once again. "They tried to kill us. Just because we are demons!"


It was a strange thing. The man's words were insanity, but his eyes were not fevered like a madman. His insanity was not unhinged delusion, but a cold hammer-thrust of circumstance. And why not? Nikolai thought he was some kind of god, a demon was probably more plausible.

"The humans ran away, but I kept my daughter with me. Her mother wanted to run as well. She used a kitchen knife."
His sad voice was patronizing. "I had to teach them. My daughter, she will learn from this, just like I did. The ritual is painful, but I believe in her."


Michael glanced at the child. Her chest did not move. Madness indeed. It was so bizarre any residual fire in his heart leaked away leaving him hollow.

Valdir's head snapped up, drawing Michael's attention. "You're a demon as well!"
he cried out at Nikolai. "You're not here to take her away? I won't let you! This is my domain, find your own!"


Edited by Michael Vellas, Oct 21 2014, 12:05 PM.

[Ascendancy]

"I am not interested in your daughter."
Nikolai responded sharply, disturbed by the very accusation. Valdir fell quiet as a result, but the defensiveness in his gaze did not fade. He was staunchly protective of his child, and Nik could sense the man's madness was bred rather than inherent. What sort of man was Valdir prior to the arrival of strange powers? Nikolai might have asked the same question of himself, but the paths of what if were a fool's road to take.

Valdir scoffed, ordering Nikolai and Michael to depart. Nik couldn't stand to let the error go uncorrected. "Little do you realize your domain is an insignificant piece of my kingdom."
He spoke as one demon to another. Valdir's sneered.
"Then you're the king of hell, Nikolai Brandon!"
Valdir struggled against his bonds, but Michael quickly curled a fresh wave of pain through the man's body. "Leave me to my piece of it!"


Nikolai tore his attention from the squirming demon in his midst and circled toward the pair of seated women. Valdir was annoyingly defiant. His sanity was questionable. His penchant for violence was deplorable. He was a pathetic waste of power. Such potential. Wasted.

He stood behind the daughter, seated like a porcelain doll. Nik curled his hand over her shoulder like a fond grandfather. Valdir's soul practically screamed. The test affirmed Nikolai's assessment. He could not be controlled. His temperament was brittle as dead bones. Sadly, he was too volatile to leave unguarded.

Nikolai sighed. He had his answer.

He drew upon Flame and Firmament and with them crafted a molten core of power. When it churned like the center of the Earth, he pulled Essence through Valdir then siphoned it through the core. He felt the man disintegrate like sand poured through the palm of his hand. Such a waste.

Valdir's soul drained out of his body, and Nikolai came out from behind the body of Valdir's preserved child, blandly watching his craft at work. Valdir's went stiff, his silent scream hovered on the edge of his face like an afterimage. Then he fell limp, extinguished.

Nikolai let the design fall aside as Valdir crumpled to the floor. Bored, or perhaps disturbed that he'd wasted the night, flickering lights on the television screen drew his gaze. Fireworks were exploding behind St. Basil's. The year had clicked forward in Moscow.

He glanced at Michael. "Happy New Year."

[Michael Vellas]

Valdir was unfortunate in his delusion, but Michael did not lament the fact.

Nikolai was not impressed as he caressed the motionless girl. Michael intensified the pain he emitted through Valdir's mind to prevent him from tearing the room apart.

The need to do so was short-lived. Nikolai spun a stark web of fatal disintegration. Within seconds Valdir hung limp like a marionette held up by his strings.

Michael retracted his now useless net and the lifeless Valdir thumped on the floorboards. Michael spared a thought for the unfortunate victims of Valdir the Demon before returning his attention to Nikolai.

He saw no remorse in the man's eyes, but he could not be sure of anything when it came to the Ascendancy. Nevertheless, Michael approved. They had no time to waste on a volatile murderer like Valdir. Perhaps in time he could have been rehabilitated, but the Atharim - the world itself- did not wait on his actions.

Turning to the celebration displayed on the television, Michael noted the Ascendacy's double waving to cheering crowds amidst fireworks. If nothing else, he had discovered a portion of Nikolai's acumen, which was far from lacking. He expected nothing less. After all, the man ruled half of the world, but it was reassuring to see it first hand.

"Happy New Year,"
Michael responded in turn. In a much softer tone he spoke to himself, although Nikolai would likely be able to hear if he tried. "May it be a herald of a new era."