Edge of the World

Even though they were a great many miles away from where he currently found himself perched, the ruins of the Medius area were still a prominent and dominating feature on the landscape. The current vantage point provided him with a great view of it all, as the edge of the forest was elevated within itself, the great northern forests seeming the be elevated in a plateau of sorts. How long it went he wasn't sure, but it definitely served a useful purpose at this time. From where he was he squinted, attempting to re assemble the broken city using the ruins he saw. No matter how he assembled the scar upon the surface, it always came together as an even more imposing feature than the ruins were. He could only imagine how tall the structures were, or how many people were there.

It wasn't until he'd almost lost himself in his own thoughts did he feel a familiar presence. It was one he hadn't run into for several months, and a being he'd wondered how they'd gotten along after their meeting. To confirm his suspicion, Lethe laid back, his head touching the top of the boulder as he arched his body. Sure enough it was the spirit he'd met in the forest ruins, and she had yet to see him. He supposed that the boulder he'd gotten atop was an interesting feature within itself.

Pushing off with his legs, Lethe flipped from the top of the boulder and landed behind Zaiaku gracefully, firstly landing in a crouched position and then rising to his feet. "Zaiaku, wasn't it?" He asked, giving a respectful nod to the woman.

EXP: 305
PWC: 305
Other: +1 TEXP (June 11, posting in 2 threads)

Well, she remembered his name. That was a good sign all things considered. Friendly meetings were always much better than the alternative, which move often than not ended up with one of the parties slain. This was especially true with demons, but he had no reason to not trust her. Then again, he had no reason to trust her either. Always funny how one has to walk a fine balance between the two. Lethe gave a polite smile and nodded his head in acknowledgement that she'd gotten his name right. As for her question, well, he was pretty sure he could have asked her the same thing. From his time spent with Iskra he knew that demons had their own realm they typically stayed in, but it seemed as if they liked this realm more than their own.

That wasn't a bad thing, though. He rather enjoyed company. Lethe slowly walked to the side of the boulder, and motioned to the landscape before him with a slow sweep of his arms. "I'm here scouting the lands." He began, seeing no reason why he shouldn't fill her in. "To put a long story short, I have my own people, and I want to expand their lands. A seat of power, if you will. And to do that I have to be aware of those that would be obstacles - like Medius." Lethe looked towards the large scape ruins and folded his arms across his chest. "I want it at some point." he concluded.

But where were his manners. He'd been talking all this time and hadn't given her a chance to speak. "Hm? And how 'bout you?"

EXP: 291
PWC: 291
Other: +1 TEXP (June 12th, posting in 2 threads)

It was always interested to Lethe to run into abnormal beings. In this case abnormal wasn't an insult at all, and was actually a compliment. In this world being normal wasn't anything to be proud of, and often times meant that you were either weak and unnoticeable, or held no power or potential for it. So, he himself was abnormal as well, as was Zaiaku. Besides the fact she traveled these lands alone, there was also the fact that she was a demon. Under most circumstances he wouldn't have been able to see that she was, but Samael's outspoken nature ensured that he was aware of that fact the first time they'd met, when Samael had begged him to try to kill her.

Considering the circumstances he was happy to be rid of that unstable possession.

"Heh, you could say that. Though most dreamers don't have the power to actually do it." Lethe responded in a confident, as-a-matter-of-fact manner. It was clear by the tone of is voice that he held no qualms about his ability to conquer this land. It was more of a matter of time rather than if he'd be able to. "Purpose isn't too hard. It's just what you make of it." Lethe slowly began to walk over to her, his eyes washing across her body in the process. It hadn't occurred to him before, but he was pretty sure he knew what kind of demon she was. That could be useful.

"I could always use an assistant ..." His words trailed as he came up behind her, stopping and folding his arms across his chest. It'd be interesting to see if she was interested in such a proposition. Conquering the lands alone would be time consuming, but with someone else under his banner it'd be much easier. Well, mostly faster.

EXP: 332
PWC: 332
Other: +1 TEXP (June 15th, posting in 2 threads)

So it seemed she was interested in what he had to offer. That was good considering he was hoping she would well receive his offer. He was positive that there was more than one way to use a demon like her, and had no doubt that she would be an asset to his cause. However, she spoke of certain terms that would come along with gaining her talents. Lethe knew he'd have to be quite careful from here on out, as negotiating the terms of one's services was often a tricky task where one would often times try to set themselves up to double cross the other later. Hopefully it'd be much more civilized than that.

"Oh?" He merely said aloud as she finished. Demons were tricky people. Iskra was one of the most cunning beings he'd ever come across, and while her assistant Jack was a pompous ass, he was quite powerful. Of course, Lethe was more powerful than Jack, but that was a story for another time. For now, he merely focused on the busty oni before him. "And what might your terms be? I wouldn't want to agree to anything before I know the details, obviously. Things could get ... " He chuckled lightly, " ... messy down the road for me, I'm sure."

EXP: 230
PWC: 230
Other: +1 TEXP (June 17th, posting in 2 threads)

This was one of those moments where Lethe wasn't sure if he was to believe what she said, or if he was supposed to laugh at it. Besides the fact that he didn't actually need her help to conquer anything other than to expedite the process, asking for someone's soul was an extremely high price considering what he was asking. Then again, Zaiaku would have a hard enough time actually getting the soul even if he did die, so on those grounds alone he was compelled to agree to the terms. Whether or not he should make her aware of the secondary conditions to getting his soul he wasn't sure about, but once he thought about it he figured a forewarning would bode well as a show of good faith.

"Your terms are acceptable." Lethe began with a shallow nod of his head, "However." There was always a catch to things, and considering that he was offering her a position in his coming Empire at no cost than assistance, and she wanted his soul in return, the catch would equal out the deal. "I can't necessarily guarantee my soul when it's not even mine right now. You will have to convince Iskra to give it to you upon my death, as I swore a life debt to her. I was informed this would include the afterlife as well, but who knows? Additionally, she would no doubt have her eye on my lands ... and inheritance if you will, upon my death."

Lethe shrugged, unsure if what he'd just said would scare her away from the deal. "I'll be dead so I'll have no true say. Just know you'll have to go through her for both of those things. But, if you can convince her to give them to you or take ther down, you'll be one of the most powerful Onis on the entire planet. Just be mindful that regardless of it all, in the event you attack me our agreement will be null and void. So, what say you, Zaiaku? Will you serve under my banner and under my command?"

It was an interesting proposition. After all, he was one of the three most powerful beings on this planet by his own measure, so if she were to ally herself with someone, he would be the best bet. Iskra and Jack would probably --- well, they definitely would turn on her when they could, while Lethe was an honor bound warrior that would never do such a thing to disgrace his name. She may not know that, though.

EXP: 450
PWC: 450
Other: +1 TEXP (June 18th, earned 250 EXP)

It was probably an easy enough request in her mind, but in his it was probably even more radical than asking for his soul. After all, taking his soul was something she'd have to do once he died, and he was confident that he wasn't going to die anytime soon. Teaching someone all of his techniques, however, would be something that would negatively impact his combat abilities against her and anyone else she made aware of his moves. He supposed that if she made herself useful enough that could be arranged, yes.

"Hmmm..." Lethe gave a quiet mumble though, still mulling over the choices in his head. In his mind there was only one way to go about this. "You drive a tough bargain, my friend. However, I cannot simply teach you all of my moves without results. Therefore, I have three options. First, you will be allowed to learn one of techniques for every 10 miles of land we conquer. Or, you can take option two, which is to become my personal apprentice, and I'll tech you one technique per five miles we conquer." He explained. Five mile radius blocks may not have made much sense to her, but it did to him for whatever reason. It was a good rounded number for expansion. "Or, if you cannot accept either of those, there's option three. In which case I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means no."

"So, which shall it be, Zaiaku?"

EXP: 269
PWC: 269
Other: +1 TEXP (June 20th, posting in 2 threads)

At first, Lethe simply looked at her hand and the now dancing chain moving upon it. What sort of magic was this? There had to be a catch. In some way it was probably not that great of a thing for Lethe to be so suspicious of people as to think everything had malicious intent behind it. Of course, considering that Zaiaku was an Oni, for all intents and purposes he had good reason to be suspicious of what she was doing. All of the time he had spent with Iskra had taught him the ways of the Oni, but an interesting side effect of that was a resistance to their magics.

Wait, what reason would she have to attack him? It's not as if she was going to get his soul, and if she attacked him he wouldn't be able to teach her his techniques, so she'd gain nothing from this. She'd also never been aggressive to him before, and if she was to become his apprentice he'd have to have some degree of trust in her.

So, without any further apprehension, Lethe extended his hand and firmly grasped hers, sealing the deal. Another being to his cause, and this time an oni with a potential for great power. "Consider it sealed." Lethe remarked with a sly grin.

EXP: 234
PWC: 234

So, it appeared as if Lethe's mistrust was misplaced. What she did, while it was nothing he'd ever seen in his life, wasn't anything he perceived as a threat and she was right: it was pretty cool. It reminded him of a tattoo, minus the needle, ink, and other things involved in one attempting to get one of those. It was quite stylish, of all things, and in a way would go well on his right arm, which was the one that held his massive claymore in battle.

"That it is." He responded with a smirk upon his face. Truth be told he was quite impressed that she knew such a technique. But what other kind of abilities did she have? If he was going to place trust in her to assist him in his land domination, he wanted a short display of what she could do. "So, dearest Zaiaku." Lethe began, taking his claymore and planting it firmly in the ground. "I'm sure this will be the start of a productive relationship, but! I must ask before we go pillage and plunder: what kind of abilities do you currently have? What is it you're good at?"

EXP: 207
PWC: 207
Other: +1 TEXP (June 21, posted in 2 threads)

"Interesting." Were the only words that immediately rolled of Lethe's tongue as he pondered the advantages and disadvantages of her having such abilities. The disadvantages were plainly obvious, as she should at any time attempt to use such abilities on him. There may be no great ability than controlling an opponent's mind, at least in the sense of being deadly. Why go through all the trouble of actually fighting someone when you could warp their mind to make them impale themselves on their own blade? Lethe couldn't think of any situation other than sexual ones where he'd want a technique like that being used on him. He'd have to keep his guard up, at least mentally, at all times around her.

The advantages ... now there was an interesting opportunity. Her ability to control minds would make negotiations with the more primitive tribes that much easier. "And very useful." Lethe finally added with a smile. "No doubt that'll be nice to have whenever we have any negotiations with other people. Or if we want to cause a little turmoil and plant some seeds to discord." Lethe picked up his blade, letting it drop behind his back like normal, and motioned for her. "Well, then! Let's get to work. I've had my eye on land in the north near where I started. It belongs to a tribe, I'm sure we could strong arm it out of 'em, eh?"

EXP: 267
PWC: 267
Other: +1 TEXP (June 23, earned 250 exp)

Sent to uyb