Even though the first event is about to begin in the arena - some kind of pushing contest between Grantorla - Talona, in one sentence, has secured my undivided attention.
***What do you mean by you "found them"?***, I ask her. ***Their base of operations? Their leaders?***
***Nothing quite so decisive***, the half-demoness replies, ***but something maybe a lot more valuable - their secrets.***
The Grantorlas clash head-to-head, in a fashion reminiscent of a unique regional wrestling style on Earth, but I barely register anything beyond the start. ***Stop drip-feeding me and get to the point***, I growl at Talona.
***Myr'aa told you about The One-Thirteen?***
***She did.***
***I was able to track down a research facility run by members of The Darkening***, Talona explains triumphantly, ***and the One-Thirteen were able to secure it for me. Its secrets are now mine - and they can be yours, too.***
***But there's a price?***, I enquire.
***Not exactly - more of a suggestion, and idea I'd like to put to you***, comes the answer. ***I propose a two-pronged assault - one force flushes the quarry into the open, the other makes the kill...***
***Your "One-Thirteen" are the hounds, whilst I'm the hawk?***, I venture.
***Very much the arrangement I had in mind***, says the Mistress of Shadow City. ***It appeals to you?***
It sounds like Talona's people are doing most of the work, so yes, it very much appeals to me... ***I'd be willing to take part***, I tell her, ***but I trust your "hounds" can flush out their quarries quickly...?***
***You have somewhere else to be, my friend?***
***My universe is rather... turbulent at present***, I reply, ***so my free time is more limited than I would like.*** A truth, certainly, but not the whole of it...
One Grantorla loses its footing, and is pitched back and over by its opponent, momentarily distracting Talona. She doesn't question my response in any way - and Darkhawk's secret remains safe for a while longer.
***Our knowledge of The Darkening's activities is at present limited***, reveals Talona as she relaxes again, and the stadium prepares for the next pair of Grantorla, and the first round of a contest that will see the smaller, "younger" Aeriane in one-on-one pursuit races around the arena. ***One of my operatives is currently decoding the research base's information library, and already some interesting things have been uncovered.***
I have never met, or before now even heard of Jaenuu, but he or she certainly has a memorable ShadowPet. Before Talona can share any of these "interesting things" with me, Jaenuu's Grantorla not only manages to almost drive its sprawling opponent into the arena floor in a single lunge, but it also shakes the stadium twice, once with a victorious roar, and again when it rears up on its back legs, and smashes its longer, more powerful front limbs, ending with great, stubby-toed paws, down with such force that even our high balcony shakes.
The applause is almost as deafening as the roar...
"ShadowPets have come as something of a double blessing", Talona states, for all to hear. "They give their owners something engrossing to do, and entertain many of the rest. Of course, the Shadowfolk don't have much of a history of bringing animals into our homes - that was more of a Tall Ones idea, trying to convince themselves they were superior by dominating wild creatures - they even tried to keep some Shadowfolk as pets" - she glances at Touchstone - "but the Wraiths put a stop to that."
The Aeriane are released from their starting enclosures, each on opposite sides of the arena, and their race draws the eyes of most up to the level of our balcony. Talona feigns interest, but while her eyes follow the two birds, her mind is elsewhere as she shares some of The Darkening's secrets with me.
Like The Myriad, the "private club" that they broke away from, The Darkening do not seem to aspire to conquer, or rule over large regions of space, but recently there have been "changes at the top", so to speak, and as well as some distinct shifts in general policy, there now appears to be a single leader - one "Lady Darkening" - who seems to wield considerable power over the organisation and its activities. Those very activities don't always sit well with everyone - something Talona is keen to exploit - but at least there is authority to make everything run more smoothly, and make things a little more difficult for us.
Or perhaps that should be "challenging"...?
***Before we turn the whole organisation upside-down***, says Talona, ***we should try to get someone "on the inside", someone with access to knowledge we can't gain any other way, someone we can ideally cut loose at a moment's notice. Now I know that kind of talk probably turns your delicate little stomach...***
***Far from it***, I declare. She already knows I'm far from being some faint-hearted, weak-minded kitten...
***...but hunting is a dirty, and bloody business, like it or not - be in no doubt that you'll be a properly blooded huntress by the end of this.***
***So, what exactly do you have in mind?***, I ask.
***For some, the culture they've embraced or been born into looks disapprovingly upon any fleshly pleasure, and in that soil, seeds of guilt flourish***, Talona clarifies. ***I do not judge - how hypocritical that would be of me - but then again I never ignore a weapon that is so unwittingly offered to me. We have gained access to personal data on a number of influential individuals - a private collection of... weaknesses that was included in the research base's records - and it appears that we have a perfect candidate for our first hunt. Or, more properly, your first hunt, for you, my pretty falcon, will be required to bring down this prey alone.***
Talona shares with me the information about one Gleru Vapresil, a member of The Darkening who was a major supplier of raw materials to the research facility. He has a taste for being dominated by beautiful women, but its not that that makes him a weak spot in The Darkening's armour - his weakness is, like many whose pleasures differ even slightly from the accepted norm, is that, above all else, he fears being discovered, exposed and judged, and although I feel rather uncomfortable even considering it, that gives us a valuable means to manipulate him.
***Convince him to help us***, says Talona. ***It wouldn't hurt to lay the blame on The Myriad, if you need to - without them as a foundation, our individual troubles would never have happened. Be creative, and you should do fine - but should you need to be more blunt... well, you already know how to use a whip, and if you're willing to accept the advice of one with many years of experience in the field of sexual domination...***
I'm expecting some kind of lurid sex manual, but instead I telepathically receive a lengthy, almost academic document, a veritable thesis on the practical application of dominance techniques. Sprinkled with examples from Talona's career before her rise to influence and power, it could almost be seen as an instant education for the aspiring dominatrix.
At the very least, I'll have a new career option open to me once my mind has finished "digesting" all this...
The show is divided, like some sports, into quarters, and so there's a shorter intermission before the main break, and the debut of the new ShadowPet, which I'm eager to see. On this occasion, Glitterthorn invites me to one of the lower levels of the arena complex to see the marketplace that's been set up, in display areas under the banks of seating, by those who've taken advantage of the growing ShadowPet phenomenon.
The invitation is, of course, only an excuse to get me on my own. He could more easily "get me on my own" telepathically, but for him, that's simply not good enough. For security's sake, we keep any private discourse totally telepathic, only occasionally exchanging anything verbal purely for appearance's sake, and I take this opportunity to let him know what Talona has in mind.
***Sounds intriguing***, says Glitterthorn as we stop briefly at a merchant's stand displaying exercise equipment for Mireets. ***Possibly dangerous, too - are you sure you want to do this?***
***This is not something I can be talked out of***, I tell him. ***It's another step towards finding out who had Mariella killed...***
I feel the telepathic equivalent of Glitterthorn's shoulders dropping. ***Don't you perhaps...?***
***...think I'm going too far with the death of Mariella Da Silva?***, I finish for him. I'm disappointed - I'd thought he'd understand. ***You think I'm obsessing over it? You think I should just let it go, that it's just one girl?***
***Obsessions can be dangerous***, he says, cautiously - he's desperate not to say the wrong thing, but he's equally anxious to keep me safe. How sweet. ***If I'd known this would be the result, I'd have told my people to pass on that particular reality and look for something less... complicated.***
***I made it "complicated"***, I insist. ***I sensed the girl's potential, and I changed the scenario so that I could try and get her to access her dormant abilities. I played along with everything she suggested - she ended up wearing my boots, whilst I danced naked for her and her friends, then there was that "hooker" game of hers...***
I haven't told anyone exactly what happened before - and unknown to me, after - the monster Kyrsaath was sent to crush Mariella's head flat under his boot-heel by one of The Darkening. I hope Glitterthorn appreciates my openness - I'm sure he knows that I'm far from helpless, having faced, and escaped, gods, monsters and invading aliens.
The Overlord smiles, and sighs almost inaudibly. ***Nothing I can say is going to change your mind, is it?***, he asks, in a way that tells me he already knows, and reluctantly accepts the answer. ***You will, at least, allow me to put certain security measures in place...?***
***What - a leash?***
***I will have Danshu make you a special warning beacon - something easily concealed, easily activated. Turn it on, and I will come running to your aid.***
***How noble***, I remark, a smile creeping across my face.
***Common sense***, he responds. ***After I tell you my news, perhaps you'll better appreciate my reasons for such a precaution. You see, Talona isn't the only one with a secret mission for you.***
***A real mission, or some game that you hope will end with me dancing naked for you?***, I enquire.
***Oh, very, very real***, he assures me - and he doesn't follow that with some sly suggestion that the dancing would be a very welcome bonus. ***Tell me - what do you know of the phenomenon of sharding...?***
...to be concluded...
Posted at 23:37 on 12.02.2008
~ o O o ~
Previously...
Mane-of-Night And The Watcher From Beyond - Chapter 1 - 21.06.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 14 - 17.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 13 - 15.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 12 - 13.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 11 - 11.05.2009
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