Damatorum

Moskov wasn't one to charge in without a plan, that was for sure. His vulnerability and the chances of being outnumbered was high beyond comprehension, specially since he was to do this mission alone. He found himself hiding amongst the barrels that were placed in the spare house of the village, so far what he got was little to know use. This Eveister person knows his security measures well, with guards awaiting each door and entrance to the house he inhabited, the walls were cobble and wood, three windows at the second floor and two windows on the ground floor, all of which were lit with candles. The Village itself was small, with tall oak fences surrounding it for extra defense and spikes that protruded from the ground to keep the predator animals away, yet it was bustling with life despite it being so late in the evening, he could still see a few people walking out and about which made his work harder. he nearly got caught two times already because of some rowdy young ones running towards the river to catch the fireflies there.

He moved swiftly when a man came into the store house to get wheat from one of the barrels, lurking in the shadows and teleporting out the back. The Damatorum was no where to be found after she was was forcefully shoved inside of the house, he could only guess on what they have done to her all he could hope for was if for some miracle she was still alive, Alice could use another ally to annoy with her missions. He moved closer, checking to see if anyone was in the vicinity before disappearing into the wall. Almost immediately he heard voices and lots of them.

The room was big and cozy, with maroon walls and brown floor. torches lit up the area and a chair akin to a throne sat against the wall opposite to the fireplace"Chief Eveister, we found a Damatorum sir!" one of the three guards from earlier chirped, dragging the poor creature closer to the chair. For a second, everything was quiet, then came the eerie sound of blades dragging across metal, making a continuous ringing sound that gave everyone goosebumps, everything went still even the Damatorum stepped back, her face filled with a mixture of fear and hate. "A Damatorum you say" a gruff voice started, then followed by a dark and ominous chuckle. A figure started to walk from the shadows and into the light in the fireplace, his back against the guards, the sillhoutte resembled a shape of a man with ominously long fingers, it looked like sharp blades only these were not limited to only five fingers but multiple numbers poked out from his hand"Yes sir! it seems as if you haven't driven them all out after al-aak!" the second soldier was cut short by a slap on the head from his comrade, the room became deathly silent. "It would seem so" Eveister slowly said, he turned around to face the people in his room and finally stepped into the light. Moskov's eyes widened at the figure before him, his stomach doing a slight flip at the disturbing image he was presented with.

Eveister was a buff man, with eyes black as night and auburn hair, his golden armor was lined with copper and silver, the chest plate was pure iron and engraved on it was the symbol of a skull with a broken horn. But that was not what made him look creepy, it was fact that his arm was covered with the same feathers that of a Damatorum, black and shining against the light, with the blades sticking out surely used as a form of weapon. His back was covered with the feathers, all shoved in to stick to his armor like a feather cloak atop his shoulders.

The Damatorum screamed, disturbed and filled to the brim with anger. She started to kick relentlessly and wriggled her wings in an attempt to break free as the three men tried to restrain her once again. "You monster! you horrible ruthless bastard! you will pay for what you've done to my people!" She screamed, grunting in annoyance as Eveister cackled, the sound s"What? you don't like my handy work? that's a shame, it took me five years to complete such a promising weapon." He mocked, caressing the blades on the feathers he had forcefully taken from a once healthy Damatorum. "Tell me the wretched name of which they call you" Eveister started, walking ever so slowly towards the struggling creature "A Damatorum's name is their life, what makes you think i will give you permission to take it?!" she screamed, yanking the rope hard but she was set in place to no avail "Ah but you must tell me, either way even if you choose not to, your fate stays the same" he gestured to the feathers in his arms and cackled once again.

When he laughter died down Eveister advanced towards the quivering Damatorum, he raised her chin with a finger, careful not to let the blade sink into the girl's throat "7 years of isolation and now you emerge from the darkness to show yourselves to the world once again, how daring of you" The buff man paused, he began to put pressure of the blade against her neck though it was shallow it drew blood, the crimson fluid trickled down her throat and staining her white shirt.

"Though i must thank you for your carelessnes, when i heared that your kind had perished i had grown bored over the years, sometimes questioning my existence and purpose" He paused and moved to carress her wings delicately "When you creatures disappeared so did my motivation to conquer the world. But now-" Evesiter smirked and cackled, he spread out his arms like a raven in front of her "My purpose has been given back to me!" At the realization of what that meant the Damatorum screamed once again, wings wriggling intensely "I will never tell you where my people are! Never! " and just like that she was taken away into a room.

Moskov let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and quickly teleported back out towards a nearby cave just below the house. He had to think of something and fast, this was no ordinary "kidnap the leader and be done with it" he was dealing with a far more sinister person than he had anticipated, looks like Alice was right on the need to kill this guy as quickly as possible.

Moskov sighed and settled against a rock, placing his spear close to him. he stopped for a second and stared at the clouds above, the moon graced the land with it's silver glow and the winds blew to give off the familiar night chills that he loved ever so much, this is where he belonged, though he was alone he knew who he was and what he was destined to do, he wasn't as strong as his fellow marksman back in the abyss or even the ones from the Moniyan Empire, he hardly ever got any good allies to help him, the only one being Alice who would most likely tuck tail and run the moment things get sticky. The thought itself led him to think of the same comrades he had before he failed them, before he felt responsible for each death, each captured person and each soldier who surrendered themselves to The Khan. His heart once again tightened, the though of vengeance reeling him awake from his supposed slumber, "Someday" he thought "Someday he will pay for his sins" the ever torturous thoughts swirled in his head until the early hours of dawn where eventually sleep overtook him.

The sound of a crowd cheering was what pulled Moskov out from his slumber, he reached out and clutched his spear close and sank back further into the shadows. He examined the area and found it empty, the scream must have come from the outside. The abyssal creature stepped lightly and peeked from the corner, The people were gathered in a small area in the center of the village, it was a small podium decorated with freshly picked sunflowers and daises. on the podium was the Chief Eveister who looked like any normal person. Moskov scowled, the chief looked nothing like the creature he did the night before, to his people he was a saint, he was a kind hearted man who carried the burden of leading them, taking care of them. But behind closed doors Moskov knew the sickening persona he had. "My people! Rejoice for i bear great news! " he paused looking over at the crowd of people before him "The Candelan Clan has decided to form an alliance with us, through this alliance we will be stronger! both in defending our village and attacking neighboring clans. Let us prepare a feast for our brothers and sisters will grace us with their presence" the crowd roared in delight as several people began to hurry into their homes to prepare.

And that was his cue.

Moskov moved to teleport inside the dimly lit house, this was his chance to infiltrate the base and maybe find ways to get in and out without being noticed. The main room was where he appeared, this time it was lit with the sun's warm rays making the room seem a bit more homey than a monster's lair. He slipped past two guards surveying the area and passed two women dressed in black bodice and white skirts. From the outside the house looked small yet as he passed numerous hallways and rounded corners he knew it was going to be hard to find another way in.

"That blasted creature drives me insane i tell you" A man's voice resonated from his left. Moskov rounded a corner and pressed his back against the wall, he peeked around the corner to see two guards who exited from a dark wooden door with a brass handle, the door fell shut behind them as the second guard scowled "I hope Cheif will be done with her soon, i'd love to see that thing go. absolutely bonkers man" As the voices faded Moskov advanced towards the door and teleported in to avoid noise.

a set of stairs leading downwards was what greeted him, the pathway lit by torches leading to another door at the bottom. Moskov acted fast, making as little noise as he could and upon reaching the door, he teleported in and instantly pressed back against the wall.

the area was dark but his eyes adjusted almost right away, it was filled with small rooms with iron bars almost like a dungeon with numerous cells. Most of the cells were empty, with the exemption of a small wooden bed and a cat flap at the bottom, probably a way to bring food in.

After Moskov was sure that there were no guards he walked silently, checking cell after cell until he came across an occupied one.

He peered inside to find the Damatorum curled in on herself, her wings still tied together. Moskov clicked his spear against the iron bars and earned an immediate reaction, the Damatorum shot up and jumped back, the pupils in her eyes turned into narrow slits as she frantically looked around for any intruders.

"Hey calm down, it's just me" He stepped back and observed, she was shaken, Yes, but then a sudden look of realization hit her eyes and she relaxed instantly.

She turned to look behind him and around them before slowly walking towards the iron bars "You're the man i saw in the forest. Why have you come here? " she inquired.

"I came here on a mission, i didn't expect to run into you or any other creature for that matter" Moskov explained, he drew his spear back as it disappeared from his hand. "I came to take Eveister away, my companion wanted to rid of him"

She scoffed in a light hearted manner "That makes the two of us" a brief silence fell between them as she settled on the wooden bed, it didn't even have any matress just a frame which made it uncomfortable to lie on

the silence was broken when an idea popped in Moskov's head "I have a proposition for you" he started, she perked up,gazed at him and waited for him to continue "I need to be able to do this as soon as possible, since his armor is something unfamiliar to me maybe you could help me in finding a weakspot and we can take him down together" He offered.

She looked skeptical, she darted her eyes away and bit her lip. A look of uncertainty, Moskov was used to it, it really is hard to trust someone like him, specially since he looked the way he is. With a stitch across his face, and a giant slash across his chest that looked like it had no intentions of healing anytime soon, not to mention his blank golden eyes that glowed softly in the dark. And the spikes that emerged from his back, all of these came when he awoke in the abyss.

It didn't bother him though and over the years it became a normal occurence.

"How can i trust you? " Ah and there it is, the famous question he is always asked.

he smirked and as always the same answer came out of his mouth everytime the question is asked "You'll know soon enough".

Suddenly, three voices simultaneously speaking sounded from where he came down the stairs, he moved back and looked at her one last time before moving into the darkness.

"Wait!" She called out, prompting Moskov to turn around, his eyes were all she could see in the dark, golden and glowing softly, like a small ray of hope.

"What's your name? " She asked.

a single answer was heard

"Moskov"

and in a blink of an eye, he was gone, but something told her that he would be back soon enough.