Aether - Castle Vaash

Keena looked down at the lands again, her heart screaming for her to listen. But the anger and pain would not let her. Finally in cold tones she answered the powerful being by her side. "Yes. I have never seen my life with Zain so clearly until now. He has always taken off, never even asking if I wished to join him, always just expecting me to stay and wait." She clenched the hand not on his arm.

"I am a Fey! I am not a pet to be told what to do, Fey are to free and proud for that and I will be damned if I will be blind to it any longer!"

"Good, good." Siah started walking down the semingly endless stairs - spiralling down to his destiny.

"Come with me and let us prepare." Siah looked over his shoulder, "There is a chance Zalon will suspect trickery. But then again I may be just one poor old demon with issue." Siah laughed, he laughed for real. He laughed aloud and it echoed through the empty hallways of Vaash.

Keena looked at him as he laughed and smiled. "I could believe the issue thing milord." She joked as she joined him by his side walking down the stairs.

"Er-I do have one question. Where am I to stay milord? I expect it is not with you every moment."

Siah looked at the lady beside him. He lead her to a large chamber in the centre of the castle. In it was a pillar of Obsidian so black it absorbed all light. Siah motioned for Keena to approach the pillar. He walked to a corner and picked up some very large and ancient looking chains.

The succubus entered the room and stood against a wall, looking on.

Keena glared at him and stepped away. "I will not leave you, I give my word on that."

She had agreed to help him and now he would chain her to this pillar like a lowly animal. She sensed the succubus and turned her fire filled eyes on her, daring her to touch her.

Siah walked right up to Keena, his face inches away from hers. Keena stood between him and the pillar. There was no shred of emotion or any evidence of deceit on Siah's face beneath his helm.

The succubus shrugged and looked at the ground in front of her.

Siah, holding the chains, looked intently at Keena.

Keena's anger grew. He was no better then Zain, expecting her to do whatever he wished. She thrust her wrists out and turned letting her hair fall over her face to cover the tears she could not hold back. She had been born it would seem to merely be a slave for all eternity.

Siah dropped tha chains. He took Keena's hands in his own and moved her backwards towards the pillar. The chains levitated in the air following the demon and the Celestial. "Now take the Kriss of Ages in your hands." He said softly to Keena. "Please just do it, Keena. We have little time."

She did as he said, even her curiosity was muted. She felt too crushed to care at the moment and just wanted to be alone to feel her pain. She took Kriss and held it firmly in her hands, feeling the warmth and power flowing through her hands into her body. So into her thoughts was she, she did not realize he had used her name in something other then mockery.

Siah moved her arms behind her and the chains wrapped themselves around the pillar and the Celestial. They tightened themselves just enough so as not to pinch the skin. Siah smiled.

He raised Keena's head with a finger under her chin. "Lift your right arm."

She looked at him, trying to search his eyes through the armor. But unable to do so she gave up and raised her right arm. While doing so though she wondered why he never took the armor off, surely he had a form under it.

As Keena raised her arm tha chains snapped as if made from paper. They fell to the floor and Keena was completely unbound. Siah chuckled. "You must learn to trust, I need you to leap into the battle when the perfect oppertunity arises." Siah closed his eyes and the chains wrapped themselves about the pillar and Siah's 'captive' again.

He looked towards the succubus and she left the room. A glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

Keena looked at him. "I shall work on it." She said a little tightly "But why the chains again milord?"

"Is Zalon going to rescue you if you're here of your own free will?" Siah looked at Keena with a smirk on his face.

A dull rumbling could be heard in the distance. It sounded as if large rocks were tumbling to the ground and crashing onto each other. "The succubus is closing the portal I used to transport my army. The sound will be heard for many miles in Haven as well as here. She will take her time and will seal it forever once Zalon has entered Aether. Now we ned to let him know that you're here." Siah bowed his head and the roof of the castle began to crumble.

Keena watched him closely and then when the roof started to crumble she began to worry. "And what good will this do if we are crushed Siah?!" She called over the noise, trying to duck her head afraid of being crushed. She didn't like feeling so helpless.

The crumbling rocks and stone floated aimlessly as they approached the ground. There seemed to be no gravity above Siah. Slowly the floor began to shake ever so slightly. Just enough to be noticable. "This is my Realm, my home. Its does my bidding as I will it to be."

Siah raised his right hand and the floor rose into the air about 6 feet. He didn't even look like that took any energy.
The rocks and stone from the roof parted and fell to the ground some distance away. "The only danger you need concern yourself with is my battle with Zalon." Siah said to Keena.

She nodded to Siah. Then a thought came to him. "Why is this the only way you can have immortality?"

Siah looked questioningly at the Celestial.

He looked up at the sky and placed his feet a shoulder-width apart. With a mighty effort the entire floor of the giant chamber rose into the air up and up... hundreds of feet.

Siah lowered his head. "I need to leave Aether and Haven, I tire of war and this existance is far worse than the void. So you send me to my death, to the void, after my fight with Zalon. There I'll be forgotten, I'll be as normal and average as everyone else. I no longer seek endless power, as I have it now... I have it already."

Siah now stopped the platform from rising. He walked around its edge. Slowly, but with great care, boulders from the remains of the roof formed floating stairs around the hovering platform.

Siah smiled. "We're almost done. One more thing and we're ready!" He reached out his arm and approached Keena.

Keena shook her head, "I do not understand milord. You wish to kill Zain, but then have me send you to the void, why go through all this trouble just for that?"

Siah cupped Keena's cheek in his hand. "I've done so much evil to so many peop-" He stopped, there was something strange in his voice. He turned away from Keena and her chains fell to the ground. The Obsidian pillar behind her went flying hundreds of feet off into the distance. Siah spun around and pointed his hand out to it. He made a fist and the pillar shattered into shards.

Siah held out his arms parallel to the ground at his sides. He was silent and looked like a statue. "I do not deserve death, let us forget this. Come, you will return to Haven this day!" He said to Keena.

Keena looked at Siah and shook her head, feeling his pain and sorrow. She walked up to him unafraid and took both his hands in hers. She then rose on tip toe and placed a kiss on the forehead of his helm. She then lowered and stared at him, her own tears spilling slowly down her cheeks.

"I can sense the human part of you. It gives you a soul, when the demonic half would not. There is good in you Siah, but you have never been able to show it because it would be a sign of weakness." She removed one hand from his and placed it on the chest of his armor before walking into him and embracing him.

"But you have showed it to me. Please let me stay with you Siah, if only to prove that you deserve the peace that death can bring."

His arms outstretched, Siah ignored Keena. The massive platform began to descend and the floating 'stairs' fell to the ground with cacophonous crashing. Siah stared ahead the whole time.

Eventually the platform landed with a slight thump, and Siah stepped back from Keena. He looked at her and motioned with his head for her to follow. Turning around, he moved towards the giant gateway. The succubus was removing rocks causing them to fall with loud crashes to the ground.

The succubus turned to face Siah who was approaching her at the portal. "Return to your Realm, fiend, I have no further use for you." The succubus walked off into the distance.

Keena sighed and followed Siah as he wished. She now knew there was nothing she could say or do to change his mind and frankly she was tired of trying to change everyone's mind. She was alone again as she had been when she was created, perhaps it would be best if she returned to her mother's forest and staid away from everything.

Siah stepped through the portal. His footsteps disappearing as the red liquid enveloped him. He enjoyed travelling through portals, this would be the last one he would enter he felt sure of it.

She followed him into the portal, indeed sure that she would just return to her mother's forest. A bath in her mother's lake and she would be purified again, but she would always keep in mind the things she had learned here in this demonic realm.