Post by Unknown on Apr 16, 2008 18:54:48 GMT -5
Before the War of Shadows::
"Yes, my lord," Giada, servant of the Unknown One, bowed to her lord before leaving his side for a moment to grab a book from a bookshelf in an adjacent chamber in the winding, serpent-like Chamber of Serpents, Unknown's head quarters and ancient dwelling. The Society was preparing for their major assault on the school tomorrow, and Unknown was preparing for his departure and assured death.
But, before he was destroyed, he would have some things to take care of.
His destruction he knew would come, even if he never even faced Scorpius. If the Count destroyed the palace, or if Scorpius destroyed the Chamber of Secrets beneath it, Unknown would be destroyed. It was a silly, silly Unbreakable Vow made hundreds of years ago with an old dying wizard. A vow made with Unknown's only friend since his creation.
He opened the book, a large dusty tome straight out of any fantasy novel ever, and flipped through the old rotten pages with purpose, his pale fingers causing some pages to turn to dust with a mere touch. For nearly an hour he sat and searched for the page he was seeking, a small foot-note made by himself nearly two thousand years ago.
"Aha," he proclaimed, finding the old sharp hand-writing at the bottom of the page on the human soul, "Perhaps... Bring me my ring, Giada."
The short and delicate woman, long black hair and girlish features, left the room again only to return shortly after, holding a ring box from a jeweler in Britain. Unknown took the box from her and opened it, removing the gold band from inside and examining it in the torch-light of his study. With a wave, he dismissed Giada.
When she was gone, he closed the door and shed a single tear, the last one he would ever shed, for the woman who was supposed to have the ring all those years ago. Moving the the center of the round chamber, he placed the ring on a pedestal of solid black marble. Touching his wand to it, he muttered a single word, one too dark to repeat, and part of his soul was taken from his body and transfered into the ring.
But he felt no pain, for Unknown had long ago broken his soul, shattered it into so many pieces he couldn't count.
Present Day Spain::
Deep beneath the lowest grave in the Crypt of Salazar Slytherin, deep beneath even the deepest burrowed animal, had appeared a structure of ancient stone and marble. It moved silently and with no grandiose magic. It simply appeared there one day morning, around 7AM. Instantly, though, it had its first occupant.
In the High Chamber of the twisting structure a skeletal figure wrapped in torn and dusty old dress-robes a clutching a wand appeared with the tell-tale pop of apparation. The undead being moved slowly to a throne made of what seemed to be large fangs. Once there, he sat down and the robes were replaced with more appropriate garb: A black shawl made of a fine, whispy cloth. It wrapped around the entire undead body and covered every inch except the skeletal hands.
The thing's wand disappeared, also. He would no longer need it. He stretched out a long dead arm and wordlessly called forth his old pet. Out of a hole in the center of the round chamber came the body of a large basilisk, so large that it took up most of the huge chamber itself. The bony hand reached out and pet the serpent, lovingly, before coming to a rest on its forehead.
The serpent cried out in pain as the claw like hand dug into its scales and began to suck the very life and magic out of it, feeding on the power it had retained. The giant serpent was reduced to a large pile of bones in a matter of seconds. Then, the bones themselves were devoured by the hungry thing in the throne. He devoured every last bit of magic and life in the ancient beast.
"Oh poor Noxxrami," came a voice from where the things mouth was, "you fed your master."
But he was not satisfied. He needed more to survive. The power created by Muryllis' failed experiment was fading rapidly, and the undead body would not hold it in for long. He would need to replace the magic as efficiently as he could, and he needed some of the power to follow through with his plans.
The Unknown One had died, yes, but he could never truly die. He had been shattered, destroyed, long ago. His soul lived on in other vessels, and only required energy to get to working again. This rebirth, however, was unplanned. His soul had been reborn by accident, given the power to survive but not the vessel to hold him. So, now, he was left feeding on his pets.
He called out to his old scrying orb, a ball of pink glass the size of a grapefruit, and it came to him, laying in his lap. Then he used it to find his old apprentice, Tobias Selther. After calling to him, he observed the world at large and then called for another pet.
He was hungry again.
"Yes, my lord," Giada, servant of the Unknown One, bowed to her lord before leaving his side for a moment to grab a book from a bookshelf in an adjacent chamber in the winding, serpent-like Chamber of Serpents, Unknown's head quarters and ancient dwelling. The Society was preparing for their major assault on the school tomorrow, and Unknown was preparing for his departure and assured death.
But, before he was destroyed, he would have some things to take care of.
His destruction he knew would come, even if he never even faced Scorpius. If the Count destroyed the palace, or if Scorpius destroyed the Chamber of Secrets beneath it, Unknown would be destroyed. It was a silly, silly Unbreakable Vow made hundreds of years ago with an old dying wizard. A vow made with Unknown's only friend since his creation.
He opened the book, a large dusty tome straight out of any fantasy novel ever, and flipped through the old rotten pages with purpose, his pale fingers causing some pages to turn to dust with a mere touch. For nearly an hour he sat and searched for the page he was seeking, a small foot-note made by himself nearly two thousand years ago.
"Aha," he proclaimed, finding the old sharp hand-writing at the bottom of the page on the human soul, "Perhaps... Bring me my ring, Giada."
The short and delicate woman, long black hair and girlish features, left the room again only to return shortly after, holding a ring box from a jeweler in Britain. Unknown took the box from her and opened it, removing the gold band from inside and examining it in the torch-light of his study. With a wave, he dismissed Giada.
When she was gone, he closed the door and shed a single tear, the last one he would ever shed, for the woman who was supposed to have the ring all those years ago. Moving the the center of the round chamber, he placed the ring on a pedestal of solid black marble. Touching his wand to it, he muttered a single word, one too dark to repeat, and part of his soul was taken from his body and transfered into the ring.
But he felt no pain, for Unknown had long ago broken his soul, shattered it into so many pieces he couldn't count.
Present Day Spain::
Deep beneath the lowest grave in the Crypt of Salazar Slytherin, deep beneath even the deepest burrowed animal, had appeared a structure of ancient stone and marble. It moved silently and with no grandiose magic. It simply appeared there one day morning, around 7AM. Instantly, though, it had its first occupant.
In the High Chamber of the twisting structure a skeletal figure wrapped in torn and dusty old dress-robes a clutching a wand appeared with the tell-tale pop of apparation. The undead being moved slowly to a throne made of what seemed to be large fangs. Once there, he sat down and the robes were replaced with more appropriate garb: A black shawl made of a fine, whispy cloth. It wrapped around the entire undead body and covered every inch except the skeletal hands.
The thing's wand disappeared, also. He would no longer need it. He stretched out a long dead arm and wordlessly called forth his old pet. Out of a hole in the center of the round chamber came the body of a large basilisk, so large that it took up most of the huge chamber itself. The bony hand reached out and pet the serpent, lovingly, before coming to a rest on its forehead.
The serpent cried out in pain as the claw like hand dug into its scales and began to suck the very life and magic out of it, feeding on the power it had retained. The giant serpent was reduced to a large pile of bones in a matter of seconds. Then, the bones themselves were devoured by the hungry thing in the throne. He devoured every last bit of magic and life in the ancient beast.
"Oh poor Noxxrami," came a voice from where the things mouth was, "you fed your master."
But he was not satisfied. He needed more to survive. The power created by Muryllis' failed experiment was fading rapidly, and the undead body would not hold it in for long. He would need to replace the magic as efficiently as he could, and he needed some of the power to follow through with his plans.
The Unknown One had died, yes, but he could never truly die. He had been shattered, destroyed, long ago. His soul lived on in other vessels, and only required energy to get to working again. This rebirth, however, was unplanned. His soul had been reborn by accident, given the power to survive but not the vessel to hold him. So, now, he was left feeding on his pets.
He called out to his old scrying orb, a ball of pink glass the size of a grapefruit, and it came to him, laying in his lap. Then he used it to find his old apprentice, Tobias Selther. After calling to him, he observed the world at large and then called for another pet.
He was hungry again.