The road outside the Palace

[Zuo Ci]

A simple road that connects the Palace Gates to the rest of the city. Thousands of people walk this road each, but strangly, it is deserted, save for a single white crane, which lands gently to the side of it. The crane begins to preen itself, but it's eyes never leave the gates.

[Mortiss]

*The road was indeed empty, save for one man, if you could call him a man. He was savage, untamed, uncontrollable, a berserker from the darkest regions of the earth, spawned from hatred, jealousy, malice and blasphemy. A product of the harsh society he was raised in. Despised by his fellow generals, scorned by the rulers and feared by the people. A true loner, a wolf with sharp fangs all rotten and bloody. He thrived on the revulsion, havoc and chaos he brought with him no matter where his travels took him. It was the Champion of Wei, a title he gave himself, was he the most qualified to take such a prestigious title? possibly not, that did not concern him, in fact not much did concern the venom that was Mortiss*

*He was alone as always, walking as he did with those long strides, his back hunched forward, his dirty, filthy, dirt ridden dread locked black hair hanging over his face. His clothes worn away to nothing more than teared rags, muddy Black boots, ripped on the soles, his toes sticking through showing off his fetching yellow unclipped toenails. His swords were already drawn, those Blades of Dysfunction, crafted with only one purpose, to maim, kill and destroy. They were always soaked in crimson blood, they were never cleaned, so many souls had been impaled on them, so many lives lost, so many stories ended. Those blades were even more infamous than the venomous Berserker himself. No mercy, no remorse, nothing but mayhem, whenever those swords were drawn it meant a trail of blood and misery would be left behind.*

*He stopped on the path his head still facing the floor, the day was sunny and pleasant enough, but it soon got bitingly cold as if the appearance of the maniacal, crazed, deranged lunatic had some how altered the mood of the weather. He stood silent lost in thought for a few moments, suddenly he lifted his head back fiercely his hair following until his face could feel the sharp air on his blue war painted face. Those black eyes matching his black heart, how much death, pain and suffering had those eyes seen? How much of it was caused by Mortiss himself? He looked around him for a few moments before his attention was caught by the white crane*

"Whats this all about?"

*His voice was calm yet filled with venom*

[Zuo Ci]

Two things happened quicker than Mortiss could have blinked. First, no longer was a white crane staring at him, but instead there stood a tall, old man, dressed in simple white taoist robes with his hands held, palms together, in front of him. The man's age was impossible to tell, and though he seemed ancient, he held himself up with the form of a young man. His unbound gray hair flew wildly behind him as a firey gust of wind blew past him.

However, most of these details were lost to Mortiss, because he was suddenly fascinated with the images around him. No longer was he standing on an empty road, with a gentle sun beating down on him.

Just as suddenly as the air had chilled at the apperance of the savage Berserker, it had flared up to near blistering heat at the apperance of the mystic. Everywhere Mortiss turned, there were great fires. Along the sides of the road the grass burnt. Behind him the Palace of Ye was fully engulfed in flames. Even above him, the sky itself seemed to be burning, and the sun was a huge ball of red, low on the horizon. All around him was the cackling of hungry flames licking along every surface, but above that arose a song. A chorus of woe and misery. People cried out... some in agony, some in fury, and some in sheer lunicy.

Through the flames, Mortiss was able to make out people. Some stood over the fallen and impaled them over and over. Others, soaked in blood, were holding on to screaming women and rocking back and forth as they took part in their own blend of horrifying pleasure. Still, others ran with torches, spreading the all consuming fire even further... keeping it lit; throwing in bundles of wood, valuables, and bodies (both dead, and those of the living).

After taking it all in, Mortiss' gaze finally fell back onto Zuo Ci, who had been patiently watching him.

"What is it that you see before you, Mortiss?" He asked calmly.

[Mortiss]

*Mortiss was shocked to say the least that the white crane had transformed itself into the shape of an old man. This was not something that Mortiss had encountered before. Black magic, a lost art, a forbidden power, he had heard rumours of men who could manipulate the world around them, indeed Mortiss himself had limited powers to change, the sound of voice had been known to cause fear, he had been known to change warm days into cold ones, but this was something far greater than Mortiss could ever have hoped to accomplish. This man was a true sage, a rare find indeed.*

*He had no time to ponder as the flames grew and grew, unbearable heat surrounded him, in an instant Mortiss was left defenceless, not even a veteran fighter like him could have predicted this strange turn of events. Screams of anguish and agony, a great pain that could not be described, lunacy in its purist form. Faces of the people filled with torment was a horrifying sight to behold, stained in blood, It was a picture from some demented nightmare. Mortiss turned to the sage not sure what he had just seen, he replied angrily to the Sage, he did not trust the black arts no matter who was controlling them.*

"What is it I see before me? Is this some kind of sick joke you are trying to pull? I will not be fooled by your magic old man! You wish to torture me with images of death and misery, is this some vain attempt to make me feel some remorse? I have no remorse! I have no regrets! Now tell me what you are doing before I remove that head from your frail body!"

*Mortiss' eyes had turned from black lifeless holes to an angelic white, flashing with determination, illuminating with passion, radiating with anger. He spun his blades round and round in circles with his wrists as if he was ready to fight the old man*

[Zuo Ci]

Seeing the berserker ready his weapons made Zuo Ci smile for a moment. Oddly enough, he almost wished that this savage man would charge him. Zuo Ci had not tasted the bitter cold of steel in a long time. But, the amusement was gone from Zuo Ci's face almost as soon as it had appered. He gently extended his left hand, palm forward, and casually moved it slightly to the left. As he did this, the flames seemed to lower. The screams grew more distant. The heat quickly dropped to that of a warm summer's day, and Mortiss was able to concentrate easier.
"It is because you have no regreat, no remorse, that I am here. This is not an attempt to punish, or some vain being trying to teach another what is right or wrong. Who is anyone to decide that? No, Mortiss. I do not come to harm. I do not come with ill intent." Zuo Ci paused for a moment, gauging Mortiss' response. Zuo knew that this man's mind was delicate... nearly unpredictable. That alone made this a great risk... but it was also the reason Zuo Ci had come here at all.

"You do not trust magic." he said simply. "No matter who is controling it. That is your feelings, yes?" His left arm, which had still been extended to his side, now moved back to meet with his right arm, with the two palms meeting along Zuo Ci's sturnum. The world was no longer muffled and quite. The fires no longer cackled in the background. Everything returned as it was, and all the bodies and crazed men had disappeared. It was Zuo Ci and Mortiss, standing alone on the empty road.

"What if it was you, who controlled it?" Zuo Ci tipped his hands forward towards Mortiss, and the swords, which were still pointed dangerously at Zuo Ci, began to glow red. Then, slowly, flames began to envelope the blades. The handles would not heat up, nor would the fire itself be hot enough to bother Mortiss, but his swords were now on fire none the less.

[Mortiss]

*The rage that had built up inside of him slowly faded as if responding to the intense heat of the fierce flames that had engulfed around them. His eyes turned back from the piercing white of his anger filled state to the calm yet cold black holes. Once again the area was calm and Mortiss followed suit and subdued his rage for the moment. He listened to what the Sage said carefully, he did not trust any wielder of the forbidden arts, especially a man such as this that could manipulate magic in such a powerful way. Mortiss did not fear much, but the unknown made him uneasy and magic was as unknown to Mortiss as anything else in the world. His blades still pointing at the Sage suddenly and without warning erupted into flames, he did not cringe or jump back in surprise, this was not Mortiss' style however it did come as a shock, he half expected his hands to burn to leave him defenceless allowing the Sage to conjure some force to destroy him. However this did not happen, he had flaming swords and the handles were cool. With a look of astonishment and awe Mortiss began to wave them in the air back and forth in a slashing motion getting a feel for them. They did not restrict his movement at all and they packed more ferocity and power than ever before. With a venomous grin plastered onto his face he looked back at the Sage with added enthusiasm, however this soon turned back to the mistrusting glance he once had, surely the Sage would not allow him such power to control, not without good reason*

"Do you take me for a fool Sage? I have heard tales of the Arcane! What task would you have me complete in order to gain a power such as this?"

[Zuo Ci]

Zuo Ci mearly shrugged his shoulders.

"There are things that you want to do, and these same things would benefit me and my own purposes. Ensuring that you have the power and distinction to complete these things is therefore in my best interest. If you do not trust me, then simply desire the fire to go away, and it will. If at any time you want it to return, however, the swords will feel your inner fire, and will relight their own. In return for this option, I request nothing more than that you do what it is that you already want to do."

and in a blink of an eye, Zuo Ci no longer stood on the road. Instead, a white Crane began to flap his way off of the ground.

[Mortiss]

*Mortiss watched as the old man transformed himself once more into the white crane that had first greeted him upon his arrival. The swords were still erupted in the blazing fire, Mortiss took note of what the Sage had said and using the power of his mind the raging inferno was extinguished almost instantaneously. He watched as the Crane began to leave an evil smile appeared upon his gruesome face. He could not help but let out a loud cold, harsh, malicious laugh, the sound echoed across the quiet landscape.*

*Mortiss studied his Double Swords of Dysfunction, paying close attention to every little detail, the blooded blades were razor sharp, On the sides saws were grafted into the blades allowing for an even more painful strike. A thrust from Mortiss' sword would not only impale the body but also the juicy innards would be caught on the saws, a retraction would not only leave the body skewered, but guts would be pulled out as well. Mortiss designed these unique swords himself and he was proud of his handiwork. Now however another dimension was added, he closed his eyes and sure enough the fire sparked once more. He had never trusted magic, but now he had been given the gift, and in return all he had to do was continue to spread his mayhem.*

*He raised his flaming swords to the sky, reaching toward the heavens, he crossed them in an X so the two fires were touching, his tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth, he was breathing heavily. He no longer wielded the Double Blades of Dysfunction, from this day forward he would wield the Double Blades of Inferno. A new dawn had risen, the age of fear, chaos and panic was about to begin, the age of Mortiss.*

"Have no fear Old man! In exhange for a gift such as this I will be the sole tormenter in the new age of terror!"

*Mortiss cracked his neck from right to left, the fire was extinguished and he sheathed them across his back. He turned his back to Ye and slowly walked away, his triumph was obvious, he walked with even more confidence and ferocity than he previously. The only thoughts running through his twisted mind was how best to unleash his Hells fire and how best to get about systematically destroying all of cilvilisation*