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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The_Universe" data-source="post: 2372649" data-attributes="member: 8944">Interlude I Punishment His eyes burst open as the voice smashed through his dreams, driving his own thoughts from his sleeping mind. “I will arrive soon, my friend. Yet, the docks are practically unharmed.” He was honored and terrified at once – he knew that few would be gifted with such direct contact with his Master, though no creature could resist the pull of the Master’s words. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of his quarters, reading the darkness as readily as light. He had not always been able to do so. He had his Master, and the shadow path to thank for that. His breath slowed. The message must have been no more than that. He was wrong.  The voice came again, ringing inside his skull, racing over and through his every thought and memory. It was unavoidable, irresistible. But it had been worth it. He knew that it had been worth it, and he thanked the Lady of Shadow every day for the opportunity to be so close to the Master’s will.  “You assured me that you had sufficient resources to complete your tasks. What went wrong?” his Master continued.  He whispered his answer into the empty darkness. “I don’t know, my Lord.” Silence, though he thought he could feel his Master’s displeasure through the link of their thoughts. Stuttering, he continued, afraid that disappointment would result in his dismissal. “Some-some-someone sank the Skyracer before it could reach the docks. I know those ships were un-crewed, or nearly so – but someone sank her! I swear, my Lord – it should not have been possible!” Silence.  “Do any suspect the truth?” the voice inquired dispassionately. “Of course not, my Lord. None could. No bodies were left in the harbor, and my own agents have remained silent as to their actual purpose. All of the harbor guards were killed – no alarm should have been sounded!” A moment stretched for an eternity, as he felt his Master clawing through his naked thoughts. It was a strange ecstasy, to feel him so close; a violation of his mind that left him nauseous but strangely sated.  The voice answered, “Find those who delayed us. I would observe their movements. Even if they know nothing, something more than luck must have drawn them into our path.” “Yes Master,” he sobbed, thankful for the unrelenting pain of his Master’s presence in his mind.  Somewhere deep within himself, in a place walled away years ago, a man remembered that things had not always been this way. That man clawed at a prison of his own making, pounding on the walls of madness, his screams echoing through what remained of a human soul. Darkson turned a deaf ear to his ever-fading cries, breathing a sigh that was both relief and terror as his Master’s touch relented. He would find them. Then, he would watch, and they would lead him to whatever light had guided them against his Master. He would find that light, and extinguish it. John Darkson smiled, and the smile grew to laughter. Whatever was left of his soul screamed. </blockquote>

Verification