Round Three

A Most Evil Deed - Taking the World by Storm

“So we are agreed?”
“Certainly… Hey, what’s that?”
Huh? … Oh it’s you! Do you mind, this is a private conversation! Oh very well, I keep forgetting you’re only here to watch. What did you miss? All in good time my dear, you’ll find out soon enough.

Now let’s see. First plan of action, get those wretched Sorcerers out of the way. They’ve been a growing problem lately… who are they, I hear you ask? Oh it’s a long story, but to be brief they’re random people blessed with the powers of the Goddesses. Only the seven, since Shada’s been with me since the very beginning, but seven is far, far too many, especially since one of them is the Goddess of Light. Since I’m constructed of dark matter that is the biggest thorn in my side, although thankfully that “accident” her Sorcerer suffered several years ago has reduced his powers somewhat. Although a little bird tells me he’s grown in strength since our last meeting, so we really do need to act now.

Oh look, there he is, the blond Paladin himself. I can see this all looks rather confusing to you, allow me to explain. The flame-haired woman is the “little bird” I mentioned earlier, she’s been very helpful. She used to be your average human, but with Shada’s help she’s now very adept with fire. We had her working with her former friends for a while, an undercover agent if you will. The fallen men are father and son; the latter lies unconscious after foolishly pursuing his father, my essence working its way through his veins. It will be the ultimate test of our Light Sorcerer friend there known as Joe, but that’s no longer important. It’s Daddy I came for, he’s a crucial part of the plan. His name’s Fero, and he thinks he’s one half of twins. Safely out for the count, he’ll remain that way long enough for me to get him back home, and there’s even some time for a little banter with Joe. Still a confused little boy at present, let’s see if he ever realises his true potential. As fun as it sounds though, hanging around to watch isn’t the wisest of moves for me, I’d better leave.

Your timing is terrible, you know that? Missed all the fun again, tut tut. I suppose I’d better enlighten you this time, especially since what was discussed in there can be very misleading… the more the better. You see, Fero and his “twin” Franz are actually two halves of the same person. At the time he was conceived, Shada grew concerned that, if left alone, he’d become a threat to us later on and, while he was developing in his mother’s womb, she took it upon herself to separate him into two different people. Too late for them to be twins in the accepted sense of the word, and even then it seems she slipped up somehow. I don’t know the details and I don’t care to, although the fact it made both their lives miserable as they grew made for some light entertainment. The deception comes in how the two can fuse back together. Oh it’s possible, but for that to happen one of them needs to “die”, thus allowing the other to merge with the other’s body. Now, these two are over a hundred and twenty years old. They’ve lived a long time, experienced a vast number of events. That makes for a lot of memories, and that’s just for each person. Memories are like the files in the old filing cabinets; those of the “dead” half would be placed into the drawers of the living half as part of the fusing process, and with this many that will be the most time-consuming part. It will take over a decade for it to complete, maybe even two, and that’s the idea. A little reverse psychology, convincing him we need him alive, knowing full well he’ll go against that and attempt to kill himself. His friends won’t leave him here, and no doubt they’re already on their way to rescue him. With any luck it will be too late, and with Franz being out of action they won’t abandon his fallen body. They’ll retreat to the underworld with it and watch over him. The point in all this? That, my friend, will be phase two.

I need to be careful here. There are mind-readers present; thankfully Shada and I make good actors. As far as he knows, his father killed himself and we’ve already disposed of the body. Let his friends and him keep thinking that, it’ll make things a little easier. What’s actually happened is similar to our teleport spells – I noticed the beam of light as his essence departed from our quarters; the body has disintegrated, seeing as there’s no more use for it. Franz isn’t here, which perhaps is just as well. Wherever he is now, he won’t be going anywhere for a long time, not by himself at any rate. Unconscious would be an under-statement, although I don’t know the finer details without asking Shada, seeing as this is all down to her. I had no hand in that at all, believe it or not, apart from influencing her train of thought.

Ah, there they go! My appetite’s building already… best to still it for now however, there’s no rush. Narthania is a big place, one can’t rush these things. First things first – consult the atlases and the history books. No one dines at a restaurant without first reading the menu, after all. Unless you already know what to expect, as I did with a secluded island. That’s another story, although I can say that’s where my fiery friend hails from. That was a mere starter however, now I’m ready for the main course.

Have you guessed the main objective yet? No? Considering the hoops I’ve had to jump through so far, it’s ridiculously simple. My hunger never fades, it only grows stronger with each soul I consume. The right entities will add extra power to my own, making this task more easy – that to clear my plate. Yes my friend, I intend to make my way round this world and feast to my heart’s content… if I had a heart of course. With those Sorcerers and their friends safely tucked away for the next decade or so, I can move at a leisurely pace.

That isn’t the only thing though. This land is far too green, it needs dulling out a little… with any luck, the monsters rising from the empty corpses will help to make this world as bare as the one I left. I’ve been feeling more than a little homesick of late, I must admit.

Ah, that’s better. So delicious, the smell of death. I’m not done yet though, oh no. Dessert is waiting, that which is several hundred miles below my feet. Remember I mentioned the underworld? Yes, that’s where I sent those trying to put a stop to my plans. Nothing I can do about that by myself, however I have let alone Shada’s fellow Goddesses for a very long time. I will need them to help me in the final phase fairly soon, that of conquering underground. First things first though. Tyler’s ship is still sitting where I left it, just beyond the forest of that first town… well, city now. At least it was a city… it still is I suppose. A city of the dead!

Round Two

Evil Never Looked So Good

Magazine Cover



Scary Mugshot



Damsel in Distress



Home Sweet Home



Mini-task - Traveling Light


Teleporting - the only way to travel

Round One

The Root of All Evil

I have no idea how or when we came into existence, but I know it was many centuries ago, on a world no one had heard of or even cared. Not until some foolish travellers had happened by at least. They thought that, just because our world was able to support life, they had the right to colonise it and claim it as their own. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before they discovered otherwise, but of course by then it was too late; one by one they fell to us, helping us feed on others before we consumed our hosts.

Yes, we. What, you thought I was alone? On the contrary, there were a good number of us last time I checked.

That, my friend, is our true form, for want of a better word. As I said before, beings without substance. With every rotting corpse about us degraded beyond use, there was nothing more we could do than hang in the air as we did before, waiting. For what we didn’t know, but at some point – no idea when, we had no means of measuring time – our next potential victims arrived. These were smarter however; on looking about them they realised very soon that this was no place to fulfil whatever needs they had. They swiftly turned tail and were already heading back to their vessel, and with one man so close I knew I could waste no time. Even if only one was claimed, that was all any of us needed, especially with use of a craft such as theirs.

Just as I’d hoped, his friends took him aboard where he remained unconscious. During that time I was slowly merging with his spirit, and with now easy access to his memories I indulged in a leisurely rummage – there was no rush, he would be out for a good while. It was then I learned of his origin, that he was sent along with his crew to find a place for his fellow humans to flee to, as their home world was dying. It was their own fault, but that was of no concern to me. I was merely licking the proverbial lips at the thought of all these other creatures following in their footsteps, not to mention whatever I would find on their next port of call.

I was far from disappointed. By the time Tyler awoke, this world of Narthania had been picked up by their navigation system. I was able to conceal my presence, allowing him some degree of control so as not to arouse suspicion, so he could continue to lead the expedition. I knew that if they were to find a native of this world, or any other they touched down on, they would bring them inside for routine questions, but the young man brought inside shortly after our arrival far exceeded my expectations.

He was but a boy; he and his world were only eight years old or thereabouts, yet he resembled a teenager. He told us his people aged very quickly, yet with their regenerative make-up they would never grow old. A five year old would look ten, a sixteen year old would be fully grown, but what I liked most about him was his strength. An immensely powerful being, who could survive an impalement on his spear, change shape and with extra-sensory perception… So much potential they could offer, so useful they could be… I had to have him, but how could I go about it?

It wasn’t that long before I found an answer. This man I inhabited was a scientist, all I had to do was draw on his knowledge and concoct a serum of some description, but only half-disguising it as an experiment as I was unsure of the outcome myself. I used a sample of Tyler’s blood – it had to be his as by now I was flowing through every part of his being – and tampered with the testosterone levels in the hope of making him that little bit more aggressive, and thus more helpful to my cause, as these creatures were naturally more placid than humans, except when threatened or needing to hunt for food.

I had also included a sedative to play safe, and while he slept I left the ship to take a look around, not venturing too far but enough to survey the scenery. We had landed in a clearing; some trees had broken as the ship descended, but I could still see the forest just ahead. I idly wondered what lay beyond, what kind of town this young man known as Kai’yan had left behind in his search for food. The sweet aroma of life energy wafted through the branches of the trees, teasing my senses. A smile played upon Tyler’s lips on my behalf in anticipation of what waited for me behind that thicket.

A little while later, I detected the faint sound of a scuffle from within the ship, and frowned in puzzlement as I wondered what could be happening. Perhaps Kai’yan was awake? This was confirmed when I heard a now familiar, deepish voice speaking in his native language, which in turn was translated by the device he’d procured from inside.
“There you are!”
I turned to face him as he approached, allowing Tyler’s personality to shine through as I used his vocal chords in order to speak.
“Ah, Kai’yan,” I acknowledged, “I wondered when you’d recover.”
“Recover nothing!” he snarled, walking right up to me, “What’ve you done to me??”

A cold smile flickered across what I could now call my lips as I eyed him. That serum seemed to have done what I’d hoped it would.
“You wouldn’t know if I told you,” I replied, and that was no lie. This world is a primitive one, I knew that even then. His response took me by surprise at first, however.
“I’ll just have to find out then, won’t I?!”
So saying, his hands rose to my temples. Not really mine of course, but I was one with Tyler, his body was now mine. I could feel the pressure placed upon his head by Kai’yan’s hands, the owner of which now slipping into a trance as I became aware of a probing feeling inside. The boy was roaming Tyler’s memories as I had done, and all I could do was let him. It would do no harm after all, he still would be none the wiser… at least I thought so at first.
His eyelids eventually slid upwards, revealing an anger burning in his eyes. Before I had time to wonder how he could understand even a tenth of what had happened, the pressure intensified to a point where it hurt. The pain became unbearable, and both Tyler and myself cried out in anguish for but a moment, before it ended as abruptly as it had started.

His skull had been crushed, and now he, like me before, had no body to call his own. To add to that, we were going somewhere. It was unlike any place we’d ever seen, with ghostly visions before us… those of our scientist friends. That commotion I’d heard earlier was of them falling foul of that youth’s strength and new aggression, not to mention anger. In the short time that I’d met him in his new state, it appeared that rage was now a big driving force. If he was capable of killing us with his bare hands, who could say what else he’d do, and to how many others?

That was of no concern to begin with. I hadn’t reckoned on this place existing that took in the souls of the dead where they would rest. I looked about me at the sight of these eight elemental female beings, who it transpired were the Goddesses of this world. The scent of power overwhelmed me, aggravating my hunger.

I sensed also that I was not welcome. Thinking quickly, as one held a hand aloft so did I, having gathered enough strength to attempt a direct “takeover”. Shada’s natural darkness made her the perfect candidate to help my cause, yet as I returned to terra firma and Tyler’s corpse it took a while before she joined me. We spent a lot of time together at first, but when we first went our separate ways I wasn’t concerned; she was sufficiently influenced for me to rest easy. There wasn’t much I could do to start with; my last meal was eons ago, so I was weaker then. To make matters worse, Tyler’s body was breaking apart, and eventually I had to leave it in favour of a fresher one. I couldn’t claim another soul as I already had a host, so my only option for now was the dead.

There comes a point when even creatures like myself can tire of such an existence. It’s so hard to feed when your only mode of transport is unstable. After the last body crumbled, I remained in the atmosphere for a long time, just waiting. I didn’t know what Shada was up to, but at that time I left on the air a message that I hoped she would pick up; that I had no body, could she please find me a more stable vessel?

She found one eventually. How it came about I don’t know; apparently the fallen Elf had betrayed her. Don’t ask me, I was just glad to have a better home. This is all I saw before I moved in.

He had use of dark powers before he died. They were gone now of course, but the remnants left behind were enough to revitalise me, giving me the strength I needed to more effectively embark on the hunt. The beings here are far more powerful than those last people who visited our world, and better equipped for the dangers here. This place is perfect; I can grow more powerful than I could have ever hoped, and with the knowledge of space travel acquired from my host, my friends and I have the whole universe at our disposal.

Mini-task - Reluctant Servant

Application Round

I am a being without substance. No name, no age, not even a body - I exist by "borrowing" those of other beings. My current host is a human scientist called Tyler, formerly a leader of an expedition that brought him and his crew first to my world, where I claimed his very soul, then to a rustic world known as Narthania. It is here on a secluded island that I currently reside, along with my "minions" if you will.

This body is not his, however - that perished over a thousand years ago. Over the centuries I have been hopping from corpse to corpse; as one decomposed beyond usability I would find another. This body used to belong to an Elven man who was dispatched some years ago. It has held out well, but there is a reason for that.

When Tyler's body died, his now tainted spirit left for the "Dwelling of the Dead", where creatures on this world go when they cease to be in the physical world. It is also home to the eight elemental Goddesses, who sensed my presence and banished Tyler - and now me - from their domain. Before leaving however, I took the Dark Goddess Shada with me - it is her who has preserved this body so that I may use it indefinitely.

It is debatable whether the spirit who plays host is the lucky one. I use Tyler's intelligence and other qualities where need be, fattening him up with my powers. That, together with whatever body I inhabit, allows me to pursue my prey - I build my strength by consuming souls; absorbing their skills, their attributes, all that they once were becomes part of me. I can't do that with a living creature, but that is easily taken care of.

My finest work would have to be when Tyler's body was still alive. The crew had not long arrived, and a young native happened along. It is standard procedure for these humans to question an indigenous creature, but I had other plans once I realised his potential. He was in fact my first experiment before infiltrating Shada - I tried to do the same with him, using Tyler's scientific know-how to blend my essence with a serum containing other surprises. That didn't go wrong so much as unprecedented - it was a happy mistake however, as he has proved useful in various ways. I would consider it the worst of my deeds not through what I did to him, but what he now does to others as a result.