Tanith

A/N: Tanith, quietly seething: "Oh yeah, we believe in the strong prevailing here Tarnished, so good on you for killing our Lord and all."

-x-X-x-

By the time the Tarnished returns from the depths, Tanith is much more… composed. She will admit, she was a little bit hysterical there at first, saying some questionable things, at a very questionable volume. No doubt, even Bernahl down the hall heard her. Not that it would have mattered if he hadn't. Patches had still been standing right in front of her, watching her with wide eyes as she'd ranted and raved.

Perhaps it was for the best, however. Even if she'd calmed herself down by this point, the words she'd spoken during that moment of pique were not inaccurate. The Volcano Manor WAS over. Their family had come to an abrupt and terminal end. With Lord Rykard gone, there was no point to any of it anymore.

Still, she blamed herself more than anyone. More than even the Tarnished who had done the deed. As such, when he finally comes before her, wielding a massive, blood-coated spear, she is… calm. Calm, and composed. Or rather, she likes to think she is.

"You… it's true then, isn't it?"

She swallows past a sudden lump in her throat.

"You've defeated our Lord."

The words are spoken with a sense of finality, as the Tarnished watches her, not answering one way or another. Not even with a nod, as was his way. He's just staring at her, and Tanith can't help but shift from side to side in her chair, feeling judged… and by a higher power at that.

She should have known better than to send the Tarnished who had claimed three Great Runes on to meet with their Lord. She should have known better… and yet, would it have mattered? Thanks to Zorayas, he'd already discovered Volcano Manor's secrets. Did he even NEED her help to reach Lord Rykard, or was he just humoring her? Showing her the futility of her… of their actions?

"No… no, I must thank you. Our Lord was yet weak, and you have taught us much."

As much as she was internally berating herself, Tanith refused to show weakness in the face of this man, this Tarnished. Already, a plan is forming in her mind. There is a way to recover from this. Volcano Manor is finished, there's no doubt about that… but her and her Lord's time together is just getting started. Unable to help herself, she smiles ever so slightly behind her porcelain mask.

"Defeat is not the end, after all. Our Lord is immortal and will one day rise again, stronger for this experience."

She's hoping to startle him at least slightly, to see him surprised or confused by her words. It's petty and Tanith knows it, but she can't help but be a little enigmatic. Unfortunately, it doesn't get the reaction she's hoping for. He just continues to gaze at her, as if he's seeing right through her. It's unnerving, but she senses no animosity or malice directed her way. Did he even understand what she'd been trying to do, by sending him to her Lord? No matter… no matter.

"Until that time arrives, I must stay the path and do my part."

With a wave of her hand, Tanith hurries onwards, obfuscating her true next steps behind a smokescreen of sorts.

"I will leave the Volcano Manor before long, as will the others. I suggest you do the same."

And then, because she finds to her surprise that she actually means it, Tanith leans forward, peering at the Tarnished.

"… I find I will miss these encounters. The champion who walks the tainted path shines all the more. In the end… I suppose I am an admirer."

She's not lying, either. As much as his actions have turned her entire life's work on its head, Tanith has always believed the strong must rise at all costs. She… she was not strong. She was like a leech, clinging to one who was strong, serving him to the best of her abilities.

Who was she, to disrespect one even stronger than her Lord? Even if he had taken her Zorayas away from her. Ah… Tanith could only hope that the Tarnished would continue to show her daughter that unfettered kindness that had so pulled Zorayas away from her side. She could only hope that in the end, the Snakeborn girl would be happier with the Tarnished, wherever she ended up, than she was here in the Manor, with all its secrets.

She thinks all of this… but she does not say it. Instead, her final words to the Tarnished are what they are, what they HAVE to be.

"This is farewell, Tarnished. Perhaps we will meet again, along the path."

Still, he does not nod or acknowledge her in any way. His eyes linger on her for a moment more, before he turns and leaves her presence. Tanith watches him go, back ramrod straight and lips thinned out into little more than a line. What did he know? What did it all mean? No, in the end it mattered little. She KNEW her purpose now. She knew what her next step had to be.

She waits until he's actually gone, of course. Not that she believes she must hide what she does next from him or anything. But… it's better, this way. He takes the time to speak with Patches and Bernahl before finally leaving, and soon after, they depart as well. The last Recusants of the Volcano Manor have gone, leaving just her and her Knight behind.

Only once she's sure it's just the two of them on the premises… only then does Tanith finally stand from her chair, hands folded together in front of her.

"… Come along, my Knight. We must not dally any longer."

Lifting his Greatsword off of the floor, her Knight follows her as Tanith descends into the depths of the Manor, facing down it's… darker side. She must travel on foot, for her Lord's magic is gone and Tanith was never more than his instrument, his tool, a pretty face designed to put those who came to Volcano Manor at ease.

It was her Lord's power that she utilized to bring Recusants to him, and as such, she cannot reach him easily any longer. Instead… she must take the long way around. Luckily for her, the Tarnished has cut quite the swath through this place. Even luckier still, she has her Knight at her side, and he at least remains loyal and steadfast. The denizens of the Volcano… do not.

In the wake of the Lord's death, they are wild and mad. Perhaps they were always wild and mad, tis not as if Tanith spent much time down here. For all that the Tarnished killed many of them on his way to finding out the Manor's secrets for Zorayas, there are leftovers here and there that her Knight has to protect her from.

They move, carefully and cautiously, until finally they reach the Lord's Chambers. Tanith can only swallow thickly, as they step inside of the massive chambers. Immediately, she looks to her Knight and places a hand on his chestplate.

"Faithful Knight… I ask that you continue to watch over me… but no matter what happens next, do not interfere. Am I understood?"

Her Knight hesitates for only a moment before giving her a slow nod, an incline of his head that is almost a bow. Smiling at him, Tanith turns… and begins making her way across the chamber. She can see it. Her Lord's discarded carcass. His flesh is vast and will not be easily consumed… but someone must do it.

This was what she had no told the Tarnished. She had hinted at it perhaps, but in truth, he did not need to know the reality of Lord Rykard's immortality. By consuming Lord Rykard's remains, she could only hope that her Lord would find purchase within her. She would be his vessel of flesh, to grow anew, into something that might one day devour the gods altogether.

Striding forward, towards her ultimate fate, Tanith sets aside hesitation and disgust alike. She pushes down the bile and gorge that threatens to rise up in her throat at the thought of what she must do. She walks with her head high and her back straight. Perhaps she was little more than a dancer when Rykard found her, but she is the Lady of Volcano Manor now, and-

She's still a few dozen paces away from Lord Rykard's carcass when HE steps out from behind it. The Tarnished takes one look at her, his face solemn and withdrawn, and then pulls back that spear of his, pointing it at Lord Rykard's remains. A moment later, he thrusts forward and a massive beam of power lances out of the Great Spear's head, tearing through the last of Lord Rykard's remains, scattering it into so much ash and destroying the final remnants of her Lord.

In that moment, Tanith's dreams come crashing down, as her Lord's remains are annihilated. She slowly collapses to her knees, even as the Tarnished so easily blocks her path. Was this too her fault, was she responsible for drawing the Tarnished down here with her taunting? No… no, he had always known, hadn't he?

Stepping up to her, the Tarnished drops to one knee and reaches out, placing a hand under her chin and lifting her face. After a moment, that same hand reaches up and brushes a tear from her eye. She hadn't even known she was crying until then.

Before she can even begin to react, her Knight steps in. She'd told him not to, told him to remain out of it and not interfere no matter what… but his loyalty to her apparently goes beyond his obedience. He tries to interpose himself between her and the Tarnished, and though he's able to drive the Tarnished back… the following fight is the work of moments as her Knight is dismantled, his armor and sword nothing in the face of the Tarnished' skill and power.

That incredibly quick fight, too fast in some parts for Tanith to even keep up with, is enough to let the woman know just how he'd defeated Lord Rykard so easily. Indeed, as her loyal Knight falls to the ground, slumping motionless and exhausted, Tanith cries out.

"Wait! Please! Don't kill him!"

To her surprise, it works. The Tarnished listens to her and does not deliver the killing blow. Instead, he straightens up and looks at her expectantly. It's in that moment, that Tanith understands what she must do. It's in that moment, that she finds a new purpose… her new path.

"Brave Tarnished… I have one last request for you, as the Lady of Volcano Manor. Will you hear me out?"

He peers right through her with such ease that Tanith feels a chill run down her spine. And yet… he nods all the same, bringing a smile to the woman's lips. Perhaps there is something to be salvage of this situation after all…

-x-X-x-

"Yes! Yes, Tarnished! Give it to me!"

They've moved back to the Manor Proper, with its intact décor and actual furnished bedrooms. While she has no doubt that the Tarnished could have 'roughed it' quite easily so to speak, Tanith herself was a bit… softer then that. Fornicating on her back atop a thin layer of cooled lava wasn't exactly her idea of a good time. Hell, she'd burned her feet just walking the length of her Lord's Chamber, before they returned here.

The pain is a distant sensation right now however, as she lays there beneath the Tarnished, and he penetrates her deeply again and again. This was the ultimate solution. He refused to let her take Lord Rykard's essence unto herself, but what sort of servant would she be to her Lord if she did not find SOME way to be a vessel for power?

And so, she had brought the Tarnished back upstairs, to her bedchamber, and spread her legs for him. And he, shedding his armor and setting aside his weapon, had climbed up onto the bed and mounted her. Even now, Tanith cries out as he fills her with his mast. His length is thick and throbbing as it pushes in and out of her, and her body is MOST welcoming to it.

She was a dancer, before her Lord found her, and with that profession came a certain amount of physical fitness. Alas, it has been many years indeed since she danced, and Tanith could admit to herself that she'd let herself go a little bit in the time since. Indeed, her body was softer and fuller in certain ways, as a result of the decadent lifestyle that she'd been afforded as the Lady of Volcano Manor.

Still, all she has to do is lay back and let him claim her. Really, he's the one doing all the work. That, however, does not stop Tanith from clinging to him. Her arms are wrapped around his shoulders, her fingernails digging furrows into his muscular, toned back. Her legs too, do not remain idle splayed out on the bed, but instead come up and wrap around his waist, clinging to him for dear life.

The Tarnished is neither gentle nor kind about it. He fucks her with a relentless fervor that Tanith can barely keep up with, and that draws a particular kind of voice from the Lady's lips. She moans wantonly, she cries out in an ugly fashion, and she… she climaxes upon his shaft, as it pistons in and out of her sex, driving up into her core.

She is embarrassed by her own reactions to him, but… it's better this way. She'd told him down in the Lord's Chamber that he would either have to kill her or bed her, or she would never stop searching for a way to bring Lord Rykard back.

Needless to say, Tanith is quite happy that this is the choice the Tarnished made. She was ready to die for her convictions, but this… this is the better path. There was only one way forward for her, after all. Either she did everything in her power to bring her Lord back… or she did everything in her power to serve the one who had proven stronger than him.

And so, Tanith gives of herself to the Tarnished… and in turn, he gives right back to her. When all is said and done, and he has spilt his seed inside of her, she finds herself panting and covered in sweat, her body quivering and shuddering beneath him, until he drags himself out of her and pulls away. Laying there, staring up at the ceiling, Tanith finds the strength to speak regardless of her exhaustion.

"T-Tarnished Hero. Please, if you would but listen to one last request from this weak, fragile woman."

He looks to her, silently, listening.

"Please… do me the favor of looking after my Zorayas for me. I know I was not good for her… I know I deserve no place in her life. I will not dare to try and return her to my side again. Her path and mine… have diverged. But please, promise that you will keep her safe?"

Solemn, but with a fond smile on his face, the Tarnished nods… and Tanith knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will do everything in his considerable, impossible power to do exactly that. A shuddering breath of relief leaves her lips at that, and she smiles up at the ceiling, even as he puts his clothes and armor back on and departs.

It takes her… quite a bit more time for the feeling to return to her legs enough that she can get up as well and put her dress back on. She limps her way back downstairs, and stumbles more than once before finding her seat in her usual chair as Lady of the Manor. Standing there, silent and unmoving, in HIS usual spot, is her ever-loyal Knight. Why, looking at him, one wouldn't even know he'd suffered such a humiliating defeat.

Tanith knew, of course, but as she adjusts her posture, wincing a bit and trying to find a way to sit in her chair that DIDN'T aggravate her soreness down betwixt her thighs, the Lady doesn't mention it. Instead, after a moment, she sighs.

"We will leave on the morrow, so that the Volcano Manor's enemies do not find us and take advantage of our weakness. We will go as far as we need to, to escape their reach."

She glances at her Knight for a moment, even as one of her hands subconsciously goes to her abdomen, right above her womb.

"Are you still my Knight, even now?"

Thump-thump.

She smiles at his answer, the tip of his blade thunking against the floor an obvious enough response.

"Then we both know our duty. Good. Very good."

-x-X-x-

A/N: Tanith and her Knight will return in the Bonus Chapters~

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