3. Ikurus Darkrune "Bloody Tears"

Ikurus Darkrune "Bloody Tears"


  • _Female voices.

    "And then the crimson blood will flow, to compliment the show, maybe now you will know, what you were meant to do. Come in and see us, come in and taste us,
    come in and play with us, come in and nibble on us…."

    "Urghh… The hells...?"

    Female voices in his head.

    "Maybe now you'll finally stop being such a jerk, maybe now you'll think before you act, do you know how you should act? Maybe we should tell you how to act… You need to see them, dear. You need to find them, cutie. You need to taste them all"

    "Nghh… I need some peace and quiet, that's what i need..."

    Female voices in his head telling him what to do.

    "A gold ring will not suffice, Ikurus dear. Why don't you try giving your fiance a nice nibble on the neck, Ikurus dear."

    "She ain't my fiance, not anymore." He snickered and spat on the floor, a small taint of dark red in his saliva.

    Female voices in his head telling him what to do, what to do to redeem himself.

    "She wasn't a very good fiance, was she, Ikurus dear? She beleieved him over you, didn't she, Ikurus dear? She wouldn't want to believe you, even though you were telling the truth, right, Ikurus dear? You must really hate her now, don't you, Ikurus dear?"

    "…Heh... Not really... Erevaine is much better then Lilly... Erevaine more then makes up for Lilly's lack of -Nghhh.. -Trust..."

    "What aboute Penny, Ikurus cutie?"

    "The hells with Penny, she's crazy… Plus she's with the tree man. Plus she wasn't very helpful to begin with. She caused me more -nghhh... -Grief then anything else..."

    "That's right, Ikurus cutie. Penny is just as mean as Lilly, Ikurus Cutie. Penny needs to be tasted as well, don't you think, Ikurus Cutie? I think penny would want to be Tasted, Ikurus Cutie."

    -"Oh, me too, Ikurus Cutie. I also think she would want to be tasted." The second voice giggled.

    -"Me three, darin'. I think that'd be a grand idea.".
    The third voice giggled much like the second. Then the first voice came back
    "What do you think, Ikurus cutie? Would Penny like to be nibbled?"

    Ikurus rubbed his chin casually, shifting his weight slightly. The passing guard giving his a strange look before shrugging and continuing his patrol.

    "I don't know… I doubt she even tastes good."

    "What's wrong Ikurus-love?" The voice sounded pouty. "You don't believe us, Ikurus-love?"

    "N-no, don't get me wrong…" He rubbed his right eye and yawned slightly before continuing his phrase. "I believe you, it's just i don't really..." He trailed off.

    The second voice spoke up. She sounded extremely sad and disapointed. A mix of melancholy and despair.

    "I don't think he believes us…" Just like how Lilly wouldn't believe him way back when…"

    He scoffed.

    "I am not so foolish as to be blinded of the truth like Lilly, I believe you."

    They all giggled then said at once "Oh, good! Tee-hee!"

    "If you would excuse me, now, I need some sleep to recouperate my strength and survive another day…" He closed his eyes and eased himself against the wall in a somewhat comfortable position.

    "Oh, but Ikurus, dear, hun, love…." As he closed his eyes he heard the first female voice once again. He responded casually, with his eyes still closed.

    "Yes…?"

    "A big strong man like you doesn't need rest…" The first voice giggled before the second one kicked in.

    -"A big strong man like you needs something else…" A small tee-hee at the end of her phrase, then the third voice made it's statement.

    -"A big strong man like you needs blood to survive, not sleep…"

    "Seriously, my eye lids are so heavy right now, i need sleep…" He sounded weak as he groaned out his words.

    ...

    "Hello...?"

    ...

    ...

    "Ladies...?"

    ...

    ...

    Good.

    They were gone, for now. He would finally get his well-needed rest to survive another day._


  • _He was in a purple colored room. Lights dancing in, out, around and through his head. A dazed look on his face, accompanied and complimented by a glaze in his eye. He couldn't think clearly, he was in an ignorant bliss.

    Good. He was in perfect condition to defend himself.

    "Ikurus Darkrune, you ~are hearby convicted of ~the follow crime: Plotting against the city of ~Peltarch, arranging and conspiring ~against a robbery on the seafarer's guild, orgnaising and leading a group linked to shady acts and criminel activity ~known as the ~crimson tide, plotting~ to distribute illegal drugs throughout ~the city of peltarch in an attempt ~to make sums of money, questionably for other more sinister deeds. Do you~ have anything to say in your defense?"

    "Uuuugh…."

    He looked at the gigantic figures in front of him. They were all standing so high above him, looking ~down at him. The figures of ~demons, malevolant ~angels who's faces were hidden by there large ~hooded cloaks ~that cast ~an eerie shadow upon there faces. He could only see there thin purple l~ips Moving up and down slowly, giving him his ~sentance.
    "You are ~hearby sentanced to ~eternity in prison, ~without blood, ~without friends, ~without the shackles of ~sanity. May ~You learn your lesson well, ~Ikurus Darkrune, we'll be watching you, ~watching you tear through the ~binds of clear thought. Watching ~you rip apart ~any common ~sense that is in your feeble mind, watching you destroy yourself and~ we will… We will Take~ great pleasure in it, Ikurus Darkrune. May your ~Eternity be, although we doubt it, a peaceful one. ~Thus is your ~sentance. Take ~him Away."

    …

    "Ughhh....nnghhh...." He shifted his weight, shutting his eyes tighter a moment before finally opening them. The torchlight pierced through his pupils right into he retena.

    "Nghhhhh!..." He placed his hands on the floor and pushed himself into a sitting position. The entire right side of his face was covered in blood.

    Ikurus…

    He placed his index fingers on the wound on the right side of his face, it wasn't big enough to be fatale.

    "Gods, why must you torture me so…"

    Ikurus…

    He shifted his weight and looked at the seemingly modern puddle of blood as to which he'd made his pillow.

    Ikurus…

    Dipping a finger into it and tasting it.

    Vile.
    Old.
    Sour.

    He spat it out and nudged his way close to the cell bars.

    "Why thank you, Peltarch, for feeding me these scraps of food only to prolong my suffering…"

    Ikurus…

    He took the greasy cold chicken leg and brought it to his lips. It might not have been much, but it was food. And his stomach felt like it was about to cave in.

    "Mmmmnh…" He quickly swallowed the first bite, enjoying the feeling of it sliding down his throat.

    Ikurus…

    A mug of water was also present. He reached out to grasp it and brought it hastily to his lips, spilling most of it, letting the rest glide down to his chin, then his throat, and finally into his dirty rag clothing.

    A small smile spread across his lips as the thin cold liquid pierced his the warm confounds of his throat.

    Ikurus…

    He gagged and choked a bit, it had been long since he had eaten anything. He then shifted his gaze through the bars, to his left, to see the guards taking a breather, sitting down in a corner playing cards.

    Ikurus…

    How long had it been, he wondered, since they had locked him up.

    Ikurus…

    "Maybe one or two years? Maybe less." He rubbed his chin, pondering.

    Ikurus…

    "What is it…?" He spoke out into the darkness casually.

    Ikurus…

    "Yes I can hear you, what do you want." He lofted a brow and leaned a bit to the left, his gaze fixed on the darkest corner of his cell.

    Ikurus…

    "That's my name, don't wear it out…" A small twitch in the right corner of his lip and a brisk exhale of his breath was the best chuckle he could muster at his cunning little pun.

    Ikurus…

    "This is getting old, tell me what you want." He frowned, getting annoyed at whoever was calling to him.

    …

    ...

    "Hello...?"

    ...

    ...

    "Still there...?"

    ...

    ...

    "Finally, some peace and quiet..." He closed his eyes and eased himself on the cold cell wall.

    Ikuuuuuruuuuussssss…

    "Back so soon?" He opened an eye lid to glance around the cell. No one was there. The torchlight of a passing guard gleamed into his cell proving his hallucinations false. He was the only one in the cell.

    "Hmph, my mind's playing tricks on me."

    He closed his eyes once more, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly._


  • _Idiot
    Fool
    Imbecile
    Incompitant
    Moron
    Stupid
    Blind
    Incapable
    Scape Goat

    "Hrnghhhhh!" Ikurus shifted his weight and winced at the cackling voices inside his head.

    "Havent you realised it by now, Idiot?"

    "Realised what…?"

    "Do you not yet see, Fool?"

    "What should I see…?"

    "You are oblivious arent you? You Imbecile."

    "Just tell me!"

    "Your are nothing but an incompitant!

    "Why!?"

    "They did you over, didn't they? You moron."

    "Who did me over!?"

    "One thing you are, Ikurus Darkrune, is stupid.

    "Stupid!?"

    "Yes. Stupid for being so blind."

    "I can see just fine!"

    "And now look at you! You are so incapable!"

    "Shut up!"

    Do you know what you are to Lilly Penny, Cray , Zyphlin, Deacon, Gears , Keira, Arizima , Elor , Mirkali, Skyla and not to mention Taira!?

    Ikurus paused a moment, in his new found mania. Trying to get a grip on reality. But when the grip your trying to get is a wet smooth surfaced slope, staying put in one place can be tricky.

    "…What...?"

    "NOTHING BUT A SCAPE GOAT!"
    He heard a high pitched cackle of a wail in his mind. Taunting him. Laughing at him.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    "Aaaaaargh shut up! Stop laughing at me you bastards!" Ikurus shouted out in vain.

    "Bastards? But I'm just one person. Or am i? Maybe i'm just a figment of your imagination. Or am i? Maybe you finally realise what they all did to you. Maybe your finally realising all the SHIT that THEY are putting you through?

    Ikurus paused another moment.

    "Shut up. This isn't real. Your not real. I just need blood. That's all. Yes. Blood." Ikurus chuckled nervously, trying to ease his mind.

    "IDIOT!"

    "Argh!" He covered his ears, it didn't help much.

    "I am your better half! If it were me you wouldn't of been in this mess, hmmmnh? HMMMNH!?"

    Desperate.
    Helpless.
    Foolish was his next act.

    He quickly and hastily slammed his head against the wall he was leaning against some five times before finally blacking out, coughing out a thick, crimson liquid and falling asleep in the pool of blood seeping from the side of his head._


  • "Ikurus, you need it…" Arizima…
    "Ikurus, sit boy!" Erevaine…

    "Hrnghhh... leave... me... alone..." Ikurus held his head, crouching down in a corner in his cell.

    "Ah, sod off." Gears…
    "Um… Ikurus?" Keira…
    "Hey, boss. Highway to 'fell, eh?" Elor…

    "Why won't i just die so i could forget you..." Ikurus snarled and dropped forward on all fours.

    "You'd best watch'yer mouth…" Deacon…
    "Hey, ik. Yae want sim wine?" Mirkali…
    "Ikurus, I don't want your stupid ring!" Lilly…

    "I'm sorry lilly... I'm sorry Deacon... Just leave me alone..."

    "Hey darlin'…" Penny…
    "Oi, mate." Cray…

    "SHUT UP! THE LOT OF YOU!" Ikurus shifted his weight and slammed his fist against the wall with whatever little strength he had left.

    He opened his eyes wide, snarling slightly, listening to the constant hiss in his ears. It had been too long since he embraced the sweet taste of the crimson liquid of life. Too long had he spoken to someone other then the guard who hardly ever even said anything.

    He sobbed, gripping his dirty clothing on his ribs. He could have won the trial. He knew what he could have done. He could have avoided this hellhole. He could have been free. Free instead of caged like some dog.

    It was all clear to him, now. Or so he thought, anyway.

    "Bromley must have messed with my mind, yes, that's it..." He thought to himself, wide eyed.

    "Bromley MADE me think I organised the Crimson Tide, yes, that's it..." He shifted his weight and bit his lower lip curiously.

    "And then, to avoid lying, he cleared HIS OWN mind to make sure his lies werent detected, yes, that's it..." He held his thumb close to his mouth, biting it, drawing blood, then sucking on it.

    "Mmmmnh...." His own blood was not as sweet as Ari's or Erevaine's, and it was tainted and he knew it. Or did he?

    He didn't know anything for sure anymore. The fact that someone had the power to mess with someone's memories, there thoughts, there past, made our young prisoner very uncomfortable.

    What if Ari never even gave him blood?
    What if she wasn't real?
    What if NOTHING was real?
    What if this was all a dream?
    What if the only thing keeping him alive, the need to see his Mistress, was in vain?
    What if his Mistress didn't even exist!?

    "AGH, SHUT UP!" Ikurus gripped his ribs harder and breathed a few staggered machanical breaths.

    He was losing himself.
    Losing his touch with reality.

    One thing was real, one thing was keeping his heart beating. The fact that all he could think about was his mistress' blood. He didn't care where he got it, whether it be some random elf or a dear friend. He wanted it. He needed it. He would do anything to get it.

    He then drifted asleep with his lust for blood present the whole time, hoping the voices would stop, hoping he would forget about his friends, hoping he would either wake up sane or not wake up at all.


  • One Last Betrayal before Redemption?

    Sitting in his cell, after the trial, Ikurus Darkrune stares blankly to the wall.

    His face, without expression.
    His eyes, blank, gazing out into the emptyness right through the wall.

    Memories of his trial flowing back into his mind…

    "Could you please list me the witnesses held against me..." Ikurus asked cooly.

    It was his trial, he was cool, casual, cold, calculated. Far from his usual self. He had just recieved a document from some random courrier, with details on how to win the trial. It was in the bag, he had it.

    At least, he thought he did.

    "Very well, Ikurus Darkrune..." Magistrate Evendur was the judge. Ikurus found him fair enough, if only a bit snippy. Everyone was there, everyone exept her.

    Or should i say them.

    Erevaine had an excuse not to be there, she was wanted. Ikurus frowned at the thought of his mistress getting cought.

    Ari, however, had no excuse. She should have been there. Why wasn't she there to support him? Ikurus was lost in thoughts for a moment, he quickly regained his awareness and listened to Evendur continue.

    "…Lilly, Penny Lane, Arizima Sepret…"

    A flaming dagger through his heart. A heavy blow to the head. A shot in the ribs. A sword slash in the back of his knees. Any of these would have been better then hearing that name, that one name.

    Betrayed

    The others, he shrugged off. The others, it wasn't there fault. The others, didn't hurt.

    This one did.

    Ikurus cleared his throat, neverminding the next names. He gathered every last ounce of strength in him to ignor it. Yes that's what he would do, ignor it. That would fix everything. Ikurus paused a moment. If there was one thing he was good at, it was masking his emotions in a time of need.

    "I call miss Lilly to the stand…" Ikurus was going to prove the fact that the evidence put up against him was at least doubtable, if not false. Most of it wasn't anyway. He didn't care.

    ...

    As the memory of his trial faded away slowly, the thought of Arizima came back to mind. Arizima had betrayed him, she was only giving him what he wanted to suck the information out of him like some sort of parasite, a leach. A vile tempress, dangling a man's desires in front of him only to get what she wants.

    Amusing, the thought was, of how much money they had given her to do such a selfish act. They had to have given her quite the sum to put on that kind of show.

    Selfless, he thought she was, giving him blood.
    Generous, visiting him all the time.

    False, now, was his opinion of her. Selfish, doing it for money, most likely, he thought.

    Every single burning, sick, twisted desire was being pushed back at the thought of her smile. Every single need to drink the warm, sweet essence of life that is blood, was hidden behind her smile in his mind.

    Was hidden behind her smile in his mind.

    Deacon was right, she was untrustworthy. "I should have listened to him" he thought. "Then i wouldn't be in this shit bucket of a situation" He rubbed his chin, shifting his weight.

    …

    Funny, the usual pounding needs to drink blood we're fading away. He hardly had any more fits. He hardly ever heard the hissing.

    He was kidding himself.

    The hissing had become less loud, sure, but it was constant, always present, even if it was softer and less aggressive.
    An ever-lasting reminder of his addiction.

    The burning, pounding thoughts of slow, seeping blood faded a good deal, however they were present at every moment of the day.
    An ever-lasting reminder of his addiction.

    The images of, voice of, feelings for his mistress had become an obsession.
    An ever-lasting reminder of his addiction.

    Or was it? No, Ikurus wasn't just addicted to Erevaine's blood, he loved his mistress. He loved everything about her. He loved her hair, the way she walked, the way she smelled, her cheery attitude that she only showed when they were alone.

    Yes, his mistress was the only person he could trust.

    "Five years..." He thought.

    Five years, he would stay in this prison.
    Five years, he would wait the day where he would see his mistress again.
    Five years, he would fantasize about the thick crimson liquid.

    Five years, better then death.

    "No visiters alowed..." He remembered magistrate Evendur's words.

    No visiters, no blood.

    Ikurus chuckled at the sick irony.

    He would rather die then go insane because of his addiction.


  • "Uhm… E-erevaine sends you these.."

    Memories of his friend's voice, Keira, managed to slip into his head out of the blue.

    Keira had brought him two bottles of Wine filled with his Mistress' blood before Bromley had issued the no-visiter policy. He had forgotten this.

    "Yessss…" Ikurus said to himself before he had lunged to the spot where he remembered stashing the second bottle away.

    He eyed the bottle warily.

    Should he?

    Ari said he could beat it.

    Ari said he could beat his addiction if he would only slow down.

    Where was Ari now, when he needed her. Where?

    The fact that Bromley had issued an order to prevent visits slipped his mind, just at that moment.

    A sick twist of fate was the cards the gods were playing against him that night in the Peltarch Jail House.

    She was no where. She wasn't helping him. Without her there, why should he restrain himself? He shouldn't, no. He shouldn't, there was no reason to anymore.

    His eyes widened with anticipation, his crooked, disturbing smile widened, showing his white teeth. He uncorked the bottle hastily, tossing the cork to his side, not giving it much regard.

    He threw his head back and brought the bottle to his lips, lifting it high.

    "Mmmmmmmmmnhh" Ikurus drank down the blood slowly, enjoying every last drop. Making sure not to spill any of it.

    The vision of his Mistress smiling happily to him, pounding into his head, with every gulp of the hot red liquid.

    "Mmmmnhgghh...." Ikurus dropped to his knees, grinning a disturbingly wide grin. A line of blood trickled down the right side of his lips. He dropped the empty bottle on the floor with a cling.

    His hands would soon join his knees on the floor, as he dropped down to all fours, watching the drops of blood trickle down to the floor.

    The anticipation in his wide eyes soon became concern, a small look of despair.

    His wide crooked smile soon became a small opened mouth, wondering in awe of what he had just done.

    He should have been enjoying it.

    He was enjoying it, the feeling of young elven blood seeping down his throat.

    Was he, really, enjoying it? He wondered as he stared at the few drops of blood on the floor, he then stumbled back and crawled over near the bars.

    "All you have to do is be strong..." Ari's voice lingered back behind all the images, all the sick twisted desires of blood, all the needs that had overcome him.

    Then, they stopped. For some strange reason, all of the desires he felt simply stopped. He swallowed, tasting saliva and not blood. He remembered Ari, remembered it wasn't her fault she wasn't there to help him. What had he done? He remembered falling asleep, holding her gently through the bars. He remembered having let her go, having to watch her walk away, she promised she'd come back.

    Simple and Clean
    Was The way that
    you     Were making me
    feel     That night it was hard to let it go

    He shouldn't have let go. He should have held her tight, held her gently. He should have froze in that one moment, he should have relished it, dwelled in it, absorbed it, become one with it.

    He should have obssessed over it, held it like life itself. Which, was ironic, because that moment…

    That moment.

    That moment would help him get through this.

    Would it?

    He had a newfound hope, but he didn't yet know what it is.

    Whether it be the burning desire to drink his Mistress' blood and please her, or the lingering need to see Ari smile.


  • _"Sit down, and be quiet, Ikurus"

    "Ikurus, shut up, sit down"

    "Ikurus, why don't you just let me do the talking."_

    The lack of blood was getting to him.

    Memories of his mistress' demanding voice were pushing there way back into his mind. One after another, a never ending parade of happy times.

    Were they?

    Yes, they had to be.
    His mistress had always loved him.
    He knew it.

    "Ikurus, get the girls there new clothes"
    "Ikurus, I'm making a donation on your business."

    She always talked business with him. Always put him down.

    Did she?

    He had a hard time remembering his mistress.

    His beloved mistress.

    "Ikurus, are you alright?"
    "Ikurus, tell me what's wrong."
    "Ikurus, your hurt."
    "Ikurus, if you would have just bit my neck hard enough, you would have tasted it sooner."

    Yes, he remembered her sweet, caring voice.

    The memory of her voice carressed his weary mind like a mother slowly rocking her child's crib.

    Oh, how he missed his mistress.

    How he missed the smell of her hair.

    Erevaine…

    How he missed the look on her face when he tried to speak elven.

    Erevaine…

    How he missed her sweet, kind smile.

    Erevaine…

    How he missed her gracefull walk.

    Erevaine…

    How he missed anything and everything aboute her.

    Erevaine…

    How he missed the sweet taste of her elven blood.

    Erevaine…

    She always spoiled him with it.

    More and more memories easily found there way into his mind.

    _Rawlinswood. Lilly left him, she was there. Helping him.

    The boarshed inn. He was drinking. She sat down and talked to him.

    The rock near norwick, the goblin shaman had attacked them. She healed him and took care of him. She stroked his hair and smiled at him sweetly._

    Oh how he missed his mistress, how he wanted to see her again.

    And how he wanted her.

    Sitting there, alone, a broken man.

    Lingering in memories.

    Waiting for either Ari to return, for Bromley to let visiters back in, or for the trial.

    Or was he waiting for something else?
    Erevaine…

    //OOC EDIT

    Mind you, this is all from Ikurus' point of view, if anyone feels objected or scammed or think that i'm changing facts of character descriptions.

    //


  • "Ikurus, wake up" A familiar soft voice managed to pierce through his sleep.

    His sleep, now, was empty. Black. No dreams.

    He liked it better this way, better then dreaming of his freinds hating him, better then dreaming nightmares.

    Better to feel nothing then to feel something that hurts.

    He blinked and looked over to his cell door.

    "Hey…" She said again softly.

    It was Ari.

    He smiled.

    "Hey there…" Ikurus had begun to pull himself up and walk towards the cell bars.

    "Stop, miss. I'm sorry but i cannot let you visit him, per orders of senator Bromley." The guard stepped up behind her.

    "WHAT!?" Ikurus hastily made his way to the bars and put his head in between two bars, holding then tight.

    Ari turned to the guard.

    "Why?" She asked curiously.

    "It's for his own safety" She said bluntly.

    Ikurus snarled.

    Deprived of freedom.
    Deprived of fun.
    Deprived of good food.
    Deprived of blood.
    Deprived of his mistress.
    Deprived of everything ever precious to him.

    And now this,

    Deprived of his one frequent visiter. His one friend he could talk to, share his problems with. Deprived of the person he was begining to love.
    **This couldn't be.

    Something was wrong.

    Something HAD to be wrong.

    Ikurus didn't want it to be right.**
    "Why not!?" He shouted to the guard. The guard didn't even flinch, she remained her back turned, resting her spear casually on her shoulder.

    "I have my orders." She said, once again in a flat, emotionless tone.

    Ari turned and put her face close to Ikurus'. She smiled a small smile, obviously trying to encourage him.

    "I'll go see the senator" She said before leaning her face closer for a kiss.

    Ikurus gave the guard a desperate look.

    He tilted his head sideways, closed his eyes and gave Ari a slow passionate kiss. He would have to enjoy it, because soon he wouldn't have any visiters.

    No one to talk to.

    No one to smuggle him blood.

    No one to see.

    Ari backed away from the kiss and forced a smile on her face. Ikurus watched her turn her back and leave.

    Saying goodbye, once again.


  • Ikurus woke up, dirty and musty. The scraps on his thighs had scarred, he hadent even noticed they were there thanks to the pounding throbs in his waist. His ribs felt like they were constantly being crushed.

    "Nghhhhh…" As he managed to pull himself to his feet, he had to fix his shoulder himself. Thanks to Sterr, it had been dislocated.

    "Nghhhaaaaaa!" One last shower of pain before he could start healing. He popped the shoulder back in with a bloodchilling scream that echoed throughout the halls.

    "Mmnghhhh..." He managed to stagger to the bar doors.

    Food.

    Water.

    A rag.

    Ikurus plopped down, leaning his head on one of the bars.

    "They piss in yer food, you know…" A memory of the guard's small chuckle, Lucia she called herself, struggled it's way back in his mind.

    Ikurus spat on the chicken, he may have been a broken man, but he would not deprive himself to eating and drinking piss. He would wait until Ari came once more, he would eat the food she brought him, not this alleged urinated chicken.

    A hint of perfume in the air blurred a few memories of the Nars and the charm witch, Yolande, into his mind.
    "Gold, lot's of gold!" Her pretty face looked over her robed shoulder.

    "You wench.." Ikurus muttered to himself. A prisoner turned and looked to Ikurus, who had begun to talk to himself.

    _"Did you know you had the prettiest hair?" Ikurus said as he trudged next to Yolande up north of the Nars in trance like fashion.

    She giggled. "Oh, stop it, your embarrassing me."_

    "Your hair is vile, dirty. Your hair is a thousand snakes, you Medusa witch." Ikurus mumbled to himself.

    _"Your eyes are so deep i could fall into them and never land, and i wouldn't care, I'de be happy because they'd be your eyes…" Ikurus gazed over to Yolande, who was walking next to him, once again in the nars.

    She smiled. "Why thank you, Ikurus"_

    "Your eyes are bloodshot, red, fuzzy, and full of veins…" He snarled ever so slightly as the memories flushed into his mind thanks to the perfume.

    _"You have the prettiest smile, you know that?" Another image of himself walking behind Yolande like some kind of lapdog.

    "Oh, many people tell me… We're almost there, can you wait until we find all that gold?" She looked to her left to Ikurus, smiling._

    Smiling at the fact that 1000 coins would soon be hers.

    "YOUR SMILE IS WRETCHED AND VILE!" Ikurus clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, slamming one hand onto the wall he sat and leaned on.

    Another of the prisoners blinked and turned to Ikurus to watch him talk to himself.

    Hating the memories that the perfume brought back to him.

    Pain.

    Once again he felt horrible pain, flowing through his hand.

    "Nnghhhhhaa!" He held his hand hard and breathed short staggered breaths.

    He managed to calm the pain, holding it and looking at it with his dirty, bloody, face.

    Lilly.
    Penny.
    Mirkali.
    Cray.
    Sterr.

    Laughing at him.

    Laughing as they walked free.

    "Laughing as you walk free…" He murmured.

    ...

    Lilly

    No, It wasn't Lilly's fault.

    She said Bromley had messed with her head.

    Penny

    No, Bromley had done the same to Penny.

    Mirkali

    Mirkali either, he was going to help Ikurus defend himself in court.

    Cray

    Ikurus was the one who got Cray involved. Cray had no reason to take the fall.

    Sterr

    Sterr had screwed him over, beat him up, threatened his friends, talked trash behind there backs and worse. Ikurus had no desire for Sterr's money or Sterr's protection anymore.

    Wait.

    There was one more person he was thinking about spitefully.

    Yes!

    Yes now he remembered.

    The witch who'm was plaguing his thoughts just recently.

    "Your so pretty, But uhm…" A memory of Ikurus looking down to the ground in the nars with Yolande, ashamed and shy.

    Once again the idle smell of Yolande's Perfume was bringing back memories of his capture.

    "But what? You don't want to help me find the gold anymore?" She pouted and looked worried. Ikurus wondered why.

    "It was because you were afraid to lose yer thousand, wasn't it? You sick twisted wench." Ikurus spat it out spitefully, more and more prisoners looking to him ever since he had started talking to himself.

    "N-no i just… I never got your name..." Ikurus said, meeting her boots with his eyes, always standing there, shy.

    Standing there like an idiot. Just standing there. Why didn't he run?

    Wait.

    The name.

    What was her name?

    He had to remember.

    What was her name?

    She giggled her cute little giggle.

    Her wretched sinister laugh.

    "Yolande, you silly goose!" She smiled her cheery smile.

    Her vile, imp-like smile.

    Yolande.

    Ikurus remembered her name, now.

    "Yolande" He murmured softly to himself, looking down at the floor tiles sourly.

    He stared at that dirty, blood stained floor for hours.

    The other prisoners went back to minding there own business.

  • Y

    Yolande found herself down by the docks. She didn’t particularly know why she was there, but she couldn’t sleep, and her morning walk through Peltarch had simply carried her to the sounds of seagulls.

    As she stood there, unmoving next to the creaking of wood and lapping of waves, the city began its life around her. A vendor selling roast nuts that steamed in the cold morning…A woman wrapped in little more than a cloak hustling north…A guard beginning his morning patrols, nodding politely to her as she passed…someone crying out in pain…

    She closed her eyes, and whispers of thoughts echoed at the periphery of her mind. With a deep breath she forced the weave around her, her will rippling through it like the waves of the lake next to her. She sensed their thoughts, rattled and confused. She was dimly aware of shouts of anger, fear and confusion. She calmed herself, the ripples ceased, and moments later the whispers quieted.

    A trace of a smile caressed her face before she turned and headed to the jail.

    Inside, she felt suffocated. For all the noise of the prisoners, the echoes of the guard’s boots, and the clang of the heavy door, the absence of the voices provided a disturbing illusion that she was alone. Here, her touch of the weave was disconnected.

    Her footsteps took her around the corner, and there ahead of her Ikurus Darkrune lay sleeping behind iron bars. She walked up to the grate, and gazed down at him curiously. She had pushed aside his will there at the south fire in Norwick, and led him astray through the Nars with promises of gold and riches. Upon seeing the guards, he had panicked briefly before she had reached out with her mind, and disconnected all thoughts from his voluntary muscles, paralyzing him.

    A man’s life destroyed, simply by effort of will. For one thousand gold.

    She dwelt on that as she turned delicately on her heals and went outside, a trace of her perfume the only evidence of her presence there.


  • He was never really a fan Racheal the night guard in the jail.

    He remembered his last time there, watching her with the other people down there…

    She never tried her shit with him, she knew better. Prisoner or not you don't screw around with the Magistrate...

    That didn't stop her from doing her normal games with those around him though...

    He thought back to watching those things...

    But more so he thought back to the flog marks on the back of someone he once loved, the horror stories he heard of the depraved nights in jail...

    He watched as the woman let sterr into the jail. Ikurus deserved to be behind those bars, he deserved to learn a bit of a lesson for what he did, and then once he learned it be given a second chance...

    What Ikurus didn't deserve is what he witnessed happening to the mage...

    He watched them leave the cell, laughing as they walked away...

    He watched as she threatened him, laughing ,spear near his throat...

    He watched Ikurus float off to sleep and Racheal made her night rounds as the only jail guard during that late of night...

    He watched her come into the store room for a smoke as she was prone to do, knowing her superiors or anyone else wouldn't be in for some time...

    All this he watched from the shadows, until he crept forward...

    He felt her tense as the blade of the dagger went against her throat...

    He felt her reach for her spear, but it was no longer near her side...

    He felt the rise in her body temperature as she realized that her life could end at any moment...

    He spoke quietly, his voice easily masked from his normal...

    "I will be watching. Insult him again, touch him again, let another touch him again...you will never find yourself taking another breath."

    The blade pulled back, crimson replacing where metal once was, a scream unable to escape her now sliced throat...

    The pommel of a rapier came down hard on her head, stealing her consiousness....

    She awoke later, blinking in suprise as she gasped for air. She quickly felt to her throat and found there nothing but a scar...a reminder of his warning to her

    She picked up her spear, ready to head back out, but stopped. Walking over she grabbed a plate of chicken and a mug of water before heading out into the cells...

    Perhaps it was a bluff, but she wouldn't take the chance to find out...

    She slid the food and mug through Ikurus's cell, along with a rag to clean up, and then continued her rounds silently in thought, always looking towards the shadows....


  • "Ikurus, you have got to keep yer woman on a tighter leash" His voice was stern, imp like.

    Ikurus was leaning on the wall, resting and fighting his addiction. He looked up, it was deacon.

    Standing there, all smug. Covered in gold chains, that stupid silver cane of his. He grinned, looking down his nose to Ikurus.

    "Deacon… We need to talk." Ikurus pulled himself up from his feet, as he rose he saw Deacon's new crew.

    The female, Katjana, standing there, casual like.

    His son, Arran, soon-to-be enemy.

    The corrupt guard standing behind them all, grinning her wicked grin.

    "Ikurus, ~friend~, whatever about?" Deacon sounded arrogant, cocky, he sounded like a downright asshole. He grinned.

    "You threatened Ari, Deac'... that's not cool." Ikurus was dirty, dirt smudged across his cheeks, his outfit dusty, musty, and mixed in with blood. Not to mention torn.

    The girl, Katjana, spoke up.

    "This sure is a change of when i last saw you..." She said casually.

    "Oh, really?" Ikurus turned to her, not giving her words much heed.

    "Last i saw you you were surrounded by three near-nude women at the rawlins south fire." She resumed her phrase.

    Oh, yes...

    He remembered, Yolanda, Keira and Erevaine.

    Back when he was himself, the fun-loving sorcerer, the life of the party.

    Rawlinswood.

    Norwick.

    He hadent seen that place for an eternity.

    He had been locked up in this hell of a prison where law didn't exist ever since he can remember.

    "You threatened her, don't follow up on your threats, please, Deacon..." Ikurus pleaded and leaned his head in between the bars.

    Deacon snarled, reached up to his collar and pulled him to the point where his shoulders felt that they were about to burst.

    The 'guard' woman who was supposed to watch the visiters and make sure that the prisoner wasn't harrassed just grinned a familiar sinister grin.

    "Listen to me, ~mate~..." He said "Yer wench talked bad tae me, she will die, nothin' you can do about it." He glared and let Ikurus go.

    "Nghhhh, no please... You have to let her live."

    Deacon had become a monster. This was not the Deacon Ikurus once worked for. The old Deacon would have understood, the old Deacon would have given him a chance. The old Deacon was a chummy, charming pirate. This Deacon was a cold-blooded entity of evil.

    "I think it's time he had his congigal visit..." The guard spoke up, opening the cell doors and shoved Deacon inside, grinning her sinister grin.

    Deacon looked to Ikurus and cracked his knuckles, grinning a wide crooked grin.

    Ikurus backed up a few steps and looked to the guard.

    "P-please, what is this...?" He pleaded.

    The guard folded her arms and grinned, the corrupt wench just gave him a smug look.

    Arran didn't say a word, he watched, grinning the whole time.

    The girl, Katjana, watched as well. Not flinching once, as if enjoying the soon-to-be horrific scene.

    "Time to teach you a lesson, Ikurus."

    Deacon stepped forward, grabbed Ikurus by the neck, slamming him against the wall.

    "Nghhhh, please mate, i'll do whatever you want j-just don't hurt ari!" Ikurus pleaded.

    Deacon shoved him harder, taking him and slamming against the oposite wall. Then he punched him in the stomach.

    Deacon's son Arran, The girl Katjana, and worst of all, the guard grinned watching them.

    "You'v done it now, Ikurus! I keep tellin' you not to take womens sides over mine!" He choked harder and held him against the wall.

    Deacon's son Arran, The girl Katjana, and worst of all, the guard grinned watching them.

    Ikurus gagged, and winced. Closing his eyes shut. The peltarch jail was a no-magic zone, he couldn't defend himself.

    "Nghhhhhh! I'm s-sorry mate!"

    Deacon's son Arran, The girl Katjana, and worst of all, the guard grinned watching them.

    "You'd better let me do things my way you ingratefull idget of a spokesman!" He threw Ikurus across the cell, letting him skid, watching the floor tear into his clothes right into his skin.

    "Nghhhhhaaaa!" Ikurus screamed in agonny as Sterr threw him accross the floor.

    "J-just leave her alone, p-please Deacon!" Ikurus staggered to his feet, holding his ribs with one hand, the other not moving, probobly broken.

    Deacon's son Arran, The girl Katjana, and worst of all, the guard grinned watching them.

    Deacon walked over to Ikurus, and dusted him off violently.

    "You can't pull strings from inside or out, i can do both" He whispered into his ear in a more then threatening manner. He then shoved him aside, and walked out of the cell, the guard holding the door open for him, smiling.

    Ikurus was in extreme pain, his vison blurry, all he could see was the guard walk into the cell, grinning her sinister grin.

    Deacon stood by with his crew, watching the guard with a grin.

    "I hope you enjoyed yourself, Ikurus…" The guard said, walking closer holding her spear out, always grinning.

    She held the spear close to his neck, Ikurus felt the cold steel touch his adam's apple.

    "Behave, fool." She smiled and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

    Deacon, arran and Katjana walked out along with the guard.

    Betrayed once again, this time by the monster of an ex-boss, Deacon Sterr.

    Even the guards wouldn't help him.

    Ikurus stumbled to the ground, leaning on the wall, breathing heavily, holding his bruised and broked ribs with one hand, the other dangling awkwardly to his side.

    Can't live obeying the law.

    Can't live disobeying the law.

    Why live at all?


  • _Pointing.

    Laughing.

    Taunting.

    Hating.

    The figures of everyone he knows or had ever known gathered around him, looking down on him.

    Pointing.

    Laughing.

    Taunting.

    Hating.

    What had he become, he couldn't resist and now he was a monster._

    "Wake up…" A soft voice managed to break through the laughter and screaming.

    You smiled at me

    "Ikurus, wake up." Ari reached in and shook his shoulders gently.

    "Wah! Shut up!" Ikurus blinked and jumped up, covered in sweat and breathing short breaths.

    "You we're having a nightmare, are you alright?" She was bleeding.

    Again, bleeding. Once again she had managed to drag herself to his cell from the nars, bleeding practicly to death. She wasn't making this easy for him.

    His eyes flickered all over her wounds, at all the red. The red he craved so, but refused to sucum to. He blinked and shook his head slightly.

    "Ari, your bleeding again" She lifted his weight just enough to scoot over to the bars. "Why?"

    She lay her head on the bars and looked at him wearily.

    "Guard… Guard! My friend is bleeding!" A female guard walked over, gave him a smug look, and continued her patrol through-out the halls.

    "Bitch..." Ikurus said softly.

    He got up and rumaged through his hidden stash. Ari managed a glimpse of the bottles she had snuck to him. Whiskey, wine, ale, none of it had been opened.

    "Your not drinking the liquor anymore..?" She gave him a knowing yet concerned look.

    "..." Ikurus paused a moment, then grabbed a bottle before walking slowly to the bars.

    "...No. It's not doing anything..." He handed her the bottle. "Pour this on your wound, it will prevent infection, I'm sure."

    Ari took the bottle and uncorked it, then rolled her gown up, revealing the bruises all over her waist, some bleeding, some not.

    Ikurus' eyes gazed at the blood.

    So much.

    So red.

    He took a deep breath and managed to pull himself away and turned his back as Ari slowly poured the whiskey on her wound.

    "Mmmnhg...mmnhhg" She started slow, just moaning at the sizzling pain of the alcohal.

    Ikurus gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, standing his back to ari.

    "Mmnghh....Nnnghhha...nghhhaaaargh!!" She screamed in pain, Ikurus quickly turned around and snatched the bottle from her hand.

    "Not too much! Your hurting yourself!" He shouted, she took deep breaths.

    She shook her head.

    "I'll be alright" she managed to say softly.

    "I wanted to ask you something..." Ikurus nudged his way closer.

    Ari looked at him with curious eyes.

    "(Thayan) Why is it you speak Thayan in your sleep" He looked at her awaiting an answere.

    "I... I don't... The father used to speak that language, i prefer not to anymore" She answered, looking down.

    "Good..." Ikurus sighed, relieved. Relieved she wasn't what he had grown to hate, a Red Wizard.

    ...

    Ikurus felt a pulse, a deep resonating pulse on the sides of his forhead. The room began to spin once again, just as it always did whenever he got the need.

    "Nnnrghh...." He groaned softly.

    He dropped down to one knee and gritted his teeth.

    The room began to spin faster, Ari's voice seemed distant.

    "Ikurus, fight it. You have to! I'll give if you need to. You don't have to quit all at once!"

    At that moment, Ikurus expected to see the familiar face of his Mistress, Erevaine, followed by the usual, teasing taste of blood just seap to his mouth just for a moment.

    But the figure he saw wasn't Erevaine's.

    He wasn't sure who it was, dark hair, pale skin, it could have been Erevaine, but, was it?

    "Nghhhaaaa!"

    Then the hissing started.

    The dreaded hissing, loud in his ears.

    The room spinning, the teasing taste of blood now gone, the usual pounding image of Erevaine's face that was burnt into his mind whenever this happened, now blurred and unrecognisable, the hissing getting louder, the pulses at the sides of his head and in his chest harder.

    "Nghhhhhhhaaaaa Shhhhut UUUP!"

    Hissssss. "Ikurus!, fight it!" Hissssss. "Ikurus!?" Hisssssss.

    Slowly the room began to stop spinning, the images fading away, his vision returning, the hissing slowly being replaced by the concerned voice of Arizima as he blinked and squinted as he looked around.

    "Ngh...ngh...ngh..." He breathed staggered machanic breaths.

    "I'm..nghh...fine..." He pulled himself to his feet and slumped over to the cell bars. "I'm sorry, I'm ruining our time together."

    Ari had a look of extreme concern on her face, mixed with a look of sorrow and despair.

    "Ikurus... Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. Your trying to fight it." She put her hand on his shoulder.

    You'r kidding me
    Too many things lately
    Your all i need

    …

    "Can i ask you a favor?" Ikurus turned his head, leaning on the wall near the bars, Ari holding the bars and looking inside.

    "Yes?" She looked to him curiously once again.

    "I want to hold you like before... yesterday, when you let me hold you and lay my head on your shoulder was the best sleep I've had in a long time." He leaned forward and looked in her eyes.

    She smiled the smallest of smiles.

    "Of course you can." She turned her back and eased herself against the bars.

    Ikurus extended both arms out from the cell bars and wrapped them around her, resting them on her waist. Then he reached his head out, tilted it and lay it on her left shoulder.

    She sighed wearily yet happily, he began to doze off easily. He was tired.

    Tired of these troubles.

    She lay her head on his and began to stroke his hair idly.

    Simple and clean
    Is the way that your making me feel tonight
    It's hard to let it go

    …

    After a few minuts of some of the best sleep in the world to him, at least in his current situation, Ari nudged him.

    "Wake up, I'm sorry but i have to go see a healer... These wounds arent going to heal themselves."

    Ikurus was begining to realise that saying goodbye was one of the hardest things in the world.

    He was begining to realise the feelings he had resented.

    Sorrow. Despair. Why was he feeeling this way?

    "...I understand. Goodbye Ari... thank you for visiting." He forced a small smile despite the fact she had to leave, then watched her walk down the wall in the same way she had done so many times before.


  • Actually, drinking blood is incredibly bad for you stomach….