Origin of Evil

By Sinistral

 

 

Part Two: Dark Nexus

 

Chapter One: The Demon Realm

 

 

Menas felt as if he was floating, drifting through a void of utter nothingness in complete darkness. He had no sense of time or place. All was black and empty. At first he wondered how long it would last. How long would he be trapped in this non-existence? And more importantly, where was he? His surroundings were determined to keep him in the dark. How had he come to this? What had he done to merit such a desolate predicament? Question after question filled his mind but answers were nowhere to be found. He was alone and blind. After what felt like decades he lost consciousness entirely.

 

When he awoke he found that he was lying on a cold, dark surface. It felt like rock but somehow it had a strange warm, organic feel to it. Within moments he stood up, with a little difficulty. His muscles were stiff and his thoughts were clouded. He tried to remember what had just happened. All he could recall was darkness, interminable darkness. He gazed upwards. The sky was an unusual dark purple, with stars that glimmered, to his amazement, a florescent green. The moon was full and shone bright white. However, there was absolutely no moonlight. The peculiar landscape was shrouded in shadows, unflinching and undeterminable. He was most definitely not in the Spirit World.

 

He shook his head, trying to dislodge whatever was blocking his memory. He was certain that there was something he should be worried about. Then it suddenly hit him with full force. He drew in a deep breath with much vigour and released it with a tremendous gasp.

 

“Osiris! The Supernova!” he cried. “Yes, I remember it all now! I had almost won before that wretched Book of Creation decided to act on its own initiative. But where in Ra’s name am I?”

 

Overpowering curiosity dominated any feelings of despair at his failure to depose Osiris. He decided to explore the strange world he was in. Hopefully he could find someone to help him, help him return so that he could seek his revenge upon those that had banished him to this miserable place. As he walked on he noticed certain things about the environment. There was no plant life to speak of. In fact, there seemed to be no life at all. Just strange textured rocks and boulders.

 

Finally he noticed a building of some sort on the horizon. As he got nearer he spotted some creatures moving about around what looked like a small fort. The creatures were large and bulky in appearance, with a foul light green skin and dark green hair, out of which protruded small brown horns. They were dressed in rags and each carried a longbow and quiver of arrows over their shoulder.

 

Menas decided that he had better address one of these creatures and boldly approached them. When they saw Menas walking towards them they jumped up in alarm, shrieking, and ran inside the fort. Menas did not understand. Presently he entered the fort. It was even darker inside than out. He could see the creatures cowering behind tables and doors.

 

“I mean you know harm,” he said. “I am Menas and I demand to be taken to someone of authority.”

 

At the mention of his name the creatures shrieked and cowered back even more. They were determined to keep as far away from Menas as they could. Eventually one of then plucked up enough courage to speak to him and it gradually walked in the direction of Menas. When it was at a safe enough distance it addressed him in a gruff, emotionless voice.

 

“Master upstairs,” the creature said, trembling slightly and pointing towards a staircase that supposedly lead to an upper level of the building.

 

The creature lead Menas up the long spiral staircase until they reached a landing. At the end of one dark corridor was a large wooden door. The creature gestured towards the door before running back down the stairs. Menas walked slowly towards the door, not knowing what to expect. When he reached the door he knocked several times.

 

“Enter,” called out a deep distinctive voice.

 

Menas opened the door to be greeted by the strangest looking creature he had ever laid eyes on. It looked like a large dark green-feathered bird with the body of man. It had light green angel-like wings and, rather bizarrely, four arms. It looked at Menas with a stare that revealed it was contemplating something deeply.

 

“To whom am I speaking?” asked Menas.

 

“I am Zaxx, squire to Rosencrantz, the Archmage of the Demon Realm. What is your business here dark-haired stranger?”

 

“Did you say Rosencrantz and the Demon Realm?”

 

“That is correct,” replied the avian creature. “Now answer my question.”

 

“I am Menas, brother to Osiris, King of the Sprit World.”

 

“Menas!” gasped Zaxx, falling to his knees. “Of course! You carry the notorious Dark Destiny! Forgive me please. We were not prepared for your arrival my lord. For centuries we have waited. Now that you are here a new era shall begin.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Archmage Rosencrantz knew that you would one day arrive here in the Demon Realm. It was part of an ancient prophecy that spoke of someone who possessed evil above and beyond all others. The prophecy stated that this particular person would arrive here to rule this dark kingdom for all eternity. That person is you. Surely Noxious has told you this already. He is not with you is he?”

 

“He was destroyed by Osiris.”

 

“Noxious was by far the most powerful of all Rosencrantz’s servants. How can it be?” said Zaxx, with a look of amazement.

 

“Osiris has a powerful ally and protector, the Book of Creation and its alias, a great benevolent weapon called the Supernova. It was the Supernova that defeated Noxious and I. It is the reason I am here in the first place.”

 

“Then we must make haste to the court of Rosencrantz. He will tell you everything you wish to know. He abides in Mageforce Castle, which is not far from here. I am always near him as I am his personal aide. This is one of the thugron garrisons, of which I am in command of.”

 

“Thugron?”

 

“Thugrons are those degenerates you encountered outside a few minutes ago. They are creatures that Rosencrantz created to serve as subordinates. They are strong fighters and workers but are rather low in intelligence. However, they have an acute instinct. They can always sense evil.”

 

“Perhaps that was why they were afraid of me?”

 

“Precisely. They could sense the large quantity of evil that surrounds you.”

 

Zaxx stood up and moved towards the door. He opened it and then beckoned for Menas to follow.

 

“Come. Let us travel the Castle and I will introduce you to the Archmage. He will be very interested to meet you. After all, he has been waiting for a very long time.”

 

 

 

 

Menas followed Zaxx up a steep path that led towards a dark mound. When they reached the mound the path evened out and Menas discovered that they were at the summit of a small hill. Behind them was the small garrison; ahead was a large, intimidating castle. Above its black walls were battlements and turrets that reached high into the dark starlit sky.

 

“That is Mageforce Castle,” said Zaxx. “Rosencrantz has been expecting you.”

 

“How can he be sure that I am the one?” asked Menas.

 

“He knows, believe me. The prophecy does not lie. You have the Menas-Rouge on your chest. That is proof enough.”

 

Menas nodded and they continued walking towards the castle. He was not sure what he would do when they reached the Archmage. All he knew was that somehow he had to find a way to avenge himself.

 

“Who is Rosencrantz? How did he come to be in this land?”

 

“Rosencrantz’s family goes back a long way. His ancestors have always been Archmages. It was his progenitor, the Archmage Durgen, who signed the Treaty of Sin many centuries ago. That changed everything.”

 

“What was that?”

 

“Rosencrantz will explain everything. Look, here we are now.”

 

Menas had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he had failed to notice they had arrived at their destination. The Castle was much bigger than it had looked from the mound where they had been standing before. He looked up to see thugrons patrolling on the battlements. Menas and Zaxx walked towards the grand entrance where two thugron guards admitted them without questioning.

 

Once inside Menas was surprised at the lack of decoration. They Castle’s interior was rather gloomy and drab with colourless draperies and rusty weapons displayed on the walls. They eventually reached a pair of large wooden doors. Zaxx simply pushed them open and they walked in. Inside was a strange looking chamber. It was a large hall with no windows. In the centre of the room was an enormous cauldron, which was bubbling fiercely. At the far end of the room was a dais with a throne. Upon the throne was seated a tall middle-aged wizard. Zaxx walked up to the wizard and stood at his side.

 

“Faithful Zaxx,” spoke the wizard, looking towards Menas. “You have brought me someone.”

 

“This is the one, my master,” said Zaxx. “He has finally arrived.”

 

Menas walked across the room towards the dais. Rosencrantz looked at him and frowned, stroking his beard. Then his eyes fell upon the Menas-Rouge on Menas’s chest. His eyes shot at Menas like flaming arrows.

 

“So you are finally here. Welcome to the Demon Realm, Dread Lord Menas. I am Rosencrantz, the Archmage of this domain. You must have many questions to ask?”

 

“Yes I have,” answered Menas. “First of all tell me about the prophecy that foresaw my arrival in this realm. How is it that I am the one destined to rule here?”

 

“The origin of the prophecy remains unknown. It has been passed down through history. All we knew was that this day had to come. It was inevitable. The prophecy stated that the one who was destined to rule would be marked in a certain way, after being bitten by Noxious, of course. The mark, known as the Menas-Rouge, would reveal the identity of the one. You bear this mark and so are the one.”

 

“But that seems so arbitrary,” argued Menas. “Noxious could have bitten anyone and proclaimed them the one.”

 

“Don’t you understand?” said Rosencrantz. “You are the one. There was no chance evolved. Noxious was the very creature to determine your identity. He was to find you and sacrifice his life for you. It was all prophesied. Besides, do you not notice the coincidence of your name being that of the mark you bear? The point I am trying to make is that there is no coincidence. You, and you alone, are the rightful ruler of the Demon Realm and I hereby offer you my services as your chief advisor.”

 

Menas looked carefully at Rosencrantz. The Archmage seemed to read his thoughts.

 

“Yes. I have seen all that has passed in the Spirit World. Osiris, the Book of Creation, the Supernova, I have seen it all. Your plan was never going to work. Noxious knew of this but he must have figured that if he was going to be destroyed ether way it would not make much difference.”

 

Menas began to contort with rage. He could not believe what he was hearing.

 

“Noxious knew and did not tell me! I do not believe it! I wasted all that time planning my revenge just to find out that it was all going to be for nothing!”

 

“No Menas,” said the Archmage. “You are destined to overthrow Osiris and rule the Spirit World as well as the Demon Realm. You will unite the two kingdoms and evil will prevail.”

 

“How?”

 

“It is a later part of the prophecy. But we must wait for the proper time, for the coming of the Unholy Quaternity.”

 

“What is the Unholy Quaternity?”

 

“The key to your success. Your sons.”

 

“I have no sons,” said Menas with an angry sigh. “What exactly do you mean?”

 

“Your wife, Charmian, will give birth to quadruplets. These four sons of yours will grow up to be just as evil as you. They are known as the Unholy Quaternity or, more commonly, the Spirits of Evil. They will aid you when the time comes to exact your revenge.”

 

“How can Charmian bear my sons? She is dead. I saw Noxious poison her.”

 

“Your wife was bitten by Noxious, yes. But although this would normally kill within a couple of hours, your wife will last out until she has given birth. The venom from Noxious’s bite will enter the womb and infect her unborn children. This is how.”

 

“So Charmian was pregnant,” he started. “She never told me of this. I have one more question on the subject.”

 

“Very well,” said Rosencrantz.

 

“How will I know when the time is right to exact my revenge?”

 

“You will be able to monitor the situation from here in the Demon Realm. My cauldron is all seeing. I used it to view your progress in the Spirit World.”

 

Menas walked over to the cauldron in the centre of the chamber. He looked into its waters. They were now calm and steady, unlike how they had been when he had entered the chamber.

 

“How do I make it project the images that I wish to see?” asked Menas.

 

“The cauldron will know what you are thinking of,” reassured Rosencrantz.

 

Menas looked into the cauldron. A vision suddenly appeared. It was Osiris, standing in all his glory, holding the Supernova.

 

“Blast him! I can no longer bear to look at his sanctimonious face. Be gone foul image.”

 

The waters of the cauldron began to shift and the vision dematerialised. He then turned to Rosencrantz once again.

 

“Tell me of this Demon Realm. Tell me everything. I must know if I am to be its ruler.”

 

“Of course,” agreed Rosencrantz. “My ancestors have always been Archmages here. I do not know when this dominion was initially created but I can tell you certain things about this place.”

 

“Zaxx spoke of something called the Treaty of Sin, signed by your ancestor, the Archmage Durgen.”

 

“Yes. That was the most significant event in the history of the Demon Realm. Many centuries ago the fabric of time and space became incredibly unstable. Pathways to thousands of dimensions were opened. The Mystic Void was becoming a hazardous world of dangerous beings from different times and places. The Mystic Void is the timeless dimensional corridor between all the different dimensions. One of these dimensional doorways opened here in the Demon Realm. It lead to the darkest and foulest dimension of them all, the loathsome Netherworld.”

 

“The Netherworld?”

 

“The Netherworld is a place of evil and misery, a thousand times worse than this place, and it contains creatures you only thought existed in nightmares. My ancestor, the Archmage Durgen, decided that he could use this to his advantage. He approached the boundary between the Demon Realm and the Netherworld and entered. He was at once confronted by a terrible figure, a person so horrifying that I cannot describe him. It was Tartarus, the Lord of the Netherworld, also known as the Dark Lord of the East. What happened in the next few minutes changed the destiny of the Demon Realm forever. Tartarus decided to cooperate with Durgen and a treaty was signed that benefited both parties. Tartarus promised that he would aid Durgen by providing him with creatures of destruction and detestation so that he could terrorize the good. However, this promise came at a price. Durgen was to give Tartarus twelve of his greatest scholars and a young maiden to seal the transaction, so to speak. That was the Treaty of Sin.”

 

“What did Tartarus demand?”

 

“These people came from the capital city of this Demon Realm, Recalcitrant. The twelve scholars were to be his dark disciples. They are known as the Black Brethren, or the Sorcerers of the Netherworld. The young maiden was to be his bride. The maiden in question was known as Nefari. She was the most beautiful woman in this realm and Tartarus wanted her more than anything. Some believe that it was Nefari alone that allowed Durgen have his way with the Lord of the Netherworld. Tartarus would do anything to have her. Nefari carries the title of the Netherwitch and she commands the Black Brethren. The Black Brethren provide us with access to the many evil powers the Netherworld has to offer, the perverse mystique of nether lore. Their base is here in the Demon Realm. They reside in the Nethershrine, which is quite a distance from here. The temple is built around the gateway to the Netherworld. Nefari transformed this gateway into a mirror through which creatures from the Netherworld can be summoned.”

 

“I still fail to understand the occurrence of these self-opening dimensional gateways?”

 

“After the Treaty of Sin was signed Tartarus revealed that the disturbances in the Mystic Void were his doing. He had captured the old Dimension Master, Corriarmandu, imprisoned him in his mighty fortress, Deathanox, and stolen his sacred Time Staff. Tartarus perverted the power of the Time Staff to wreak havoc in the Mystic Void by opening doorways between dimensions. The staff was eventually handed over to me.”

 

“You posses this Time Staff?”

 

“How else do you think I was able to transport Noxious into the Spirit World. The Staff can open portals to countless dimensions. However, the Staff’s power is mighty and must not be abused or it will become overloaded. Once that happens, the portals left open will not be able to close. Then who knows what could happen? Tartarus was not concerned with this, however, but I managed to persuade him to hand the Staff over to me. Tartarus agreed, largely against his will, but admitted that his lust for power could sometimes be dangerous and that if I was to be custodian of the Time Staff, its powers could not be overspent.”

 

“Where is it now?”

 

“In a safe place in this castle. I only use it when it is absolutely necessary. It is a delicate and unstable device.”

 

“I must have it!” shouted Menas. “Give it to me or I will take it by force!”

 

“I must advise against that, for your own sake. If you launch an attack on Osiris now you are sure to fail. As I said before, we must wait for your sons to arrive and when they have, we must make it our business to nurture their evil. Do not get ahead of yourself Menas. Your tenancy to rush into situations will be your undoing.”

 

“Don’t patronize me old man! I am the ruler here, not you! You speak to me as if you are my superior!”

 

“The prophecy must be fulfilled Menas. If it is altered even slightly then everything is lost. You will never have ultimate power and good will triumph over us. I implore you to think before you act.”

 

Menas was about to bark back a reply when a thought struck him. What if Osiris won again? No, by Ra, that could not happen!

 

“Very well Rosencrantz,” he grudgingly agreed. “I will defer my vengeance until the appointed time.”

 

“A wise decision my lord.”

 

“While I wait for the appropriate time to seek my revenge, I think it is time that I consolidated my power here in the Demon Realm.”

 

“What do you propose?”

 

“Now that I am in charge here, I wish to take full command of all operations. That includes the transportation of material from the Netherworld to the Demon Realm. Is Lord Tartarus aware of my arrival as well?”

 

“No, not yet. The prophecy did not concern him much.”

 

“Then it is about time that he learnt some respect. I will travel to the Nethershrine and speak with him personally.”

 

“It is not wise to threaten the Lord of the Netherworld,” warned Rosencrantz. “His powers are undeterminable. The truce that was signed all those centuries ago must be honoured.”

 

“I intend to honour it. However, I must inform him of my plans for the future. They go well beyond my crushing of Osiris. He must swear to help me in my struggle to eradicate the good.”

 

“Lord Tartarus will give you his allegiance as long as you honour the Treaty of Sin,” assured Rosencrantz. “I would insist that you also spoke with Elder Uraeus.”

 

“Who is that? Another wizard?”

 

“Elder Uraeus is the leader of the demonite people of the Demon Realm and a direct descendant of Lady Nefari, the Netherwitch. Uraeus and the demonites have nothing to do with the Nethershrine or me. They keep to themselves in their city of Recalcitrant and have no interest in magic. I am a demonite myself, as is Lady Nefari. But we few have broken away from the demonite community. Elder Uraeus and the Netherwitch will tell you more. Perhaps you can persuade Elder Uraeus to cooperate with you.”

 

“He will cooperate or feel my blade,” said Menas bluntly.   

 

Menas began to walk around the chamber, noting everything he saw. He looked once again at the cauldron in the centre of the room. Then he looked back at the dais where Rosencrantz sat. Menas’s eyes shifted from the Archmage towards his feathered lackey.

 

“You there,” said Menas, looking at Zaxx. “Where do you originate from?”

 

“Rosencrantz created me using his powers mixed with nether lore, revealed to him by Lord Tartarus,” replied Zaxx. “I was once a demonite from Recalcitrant myself.”

 

“My powers combined with those of Lord Tartarus are unlimited, so to speak,” continued Rosencrantz. “Imagine the force of your evil power combined with his. It would be unstoppable.”

 

“And this was the same way you created Noxious?” asked Menas.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“And those repulsive abominations?”

 

Rosencrantz looked puzzled. Menas glanced at Zaxx.

 

“He means the thugrons,” said Zaxx.

 

“Ah yes,” said Rosencrantz with a smile. “They stem from a different source. In fact, the same source as you.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“They were once peaceful creatures from the Spirit World. I thought that instead of just crushing them, I could put them to good use. So I commanded Noxious to transport them here.”

 

Menas suddenly realised the depth of the Archmage’s cunning. The wizard was smiling strangely at him.

 

“You understand now, do you not?”

 

“So that was what Noxious meant when he said you needed the seraphs. I thought that Noxious was destroying them?”

 

“He was, from their world anyway. Seraphs are immortal so the question of afterlife was pointless. Noxious changed all that. He took their immortality and sent them here, where I mutated them into my thugron army. Ingenious, no?”

 

Menas then faced the Archmage and Zaxx. A thought had entered his mind and was rearing its arrogant head.

 

“If I am the most evil individual, as the prophecy states, then my powers should exceed yours?”

 

“Never! I can easily crush you!” snarled Rosencrantz.

 

The Archmage let loose a bolt of green lightning towards Menas. Menas quickly drew the Dark Destiny and let loose its power in a flash of red light. The power of the Dark Destiny reached Rosencrantz’s lightning and turned it back on the Archmage. Rosencrantz was knocked backwards on to the floor. Menas advanced on him with his dark weapon. Zaxx leaped in front of his master.

 

“It’s alright Zaxx,” said Rosencrantz.

 

The wizard got up and, to Menas’s surprise, began to clap enthusiastically. Menas blinked. He was beyond the realms of confusion by this time. Had the Archmage lost his head? There was absolutely no explanation for his sudden behaviour towards him.

 

“Well done! That was excellently handled. You showed the true signs of greatness. I am at your service my lord.”

 

“You mean you were just testing me?”

 

“Of course. I stood no chance against the Dark Destiny. Remember that I created that weapon. Menas I must be honest. You do posses great strength and intelligence, and at times wisdom also. But you have certain fundamental weaknesses. You are often too impetuous and this causes your plans to fail. You have the ability, no denial. But you must learn to control your feelings, whether they be anger or love.”

 

“Perhaps you are right wizard. I do value your judgement for Noxious spoke highly of you. I admired his loyalty, even if he was keeping the truth from me.”

 

“Noxious was the most powerful creature of my entourage and I am sad to have lost him.”

 

“Sympathy is not an emotion that befits an evil heart,” said Menas. “I displayed such weakness when faced with the ordeal of disposing of my wife.”

 

“But you were able to overcome such feelings. The evil within you deleted the love and compassion you once possessed. With an ability to control such feelings you should have no trouble in succeeding next time. Let us look towards the future.”

 

“Yes, the coming of my sons and the final triumph over Osiris and his righteous followers. But for now I must secure my position here. My first order as ruler of Demon Realm will be this. Rosencrantz, you will stay here and monitor the situation in the Spirit World from your cauldron. I will travel to the Nethershrine and seek an audience with Lord Tartarus. I will need a detail of thugrons to accompany me.”

 

“As you command, my lord,” answered Rosencrantz deferentially. “Go with him Zaxx. He is as much your master now as I am.”

 

“As you wish,” replied Zaxx obediently. “The Nethershrine is some distance from here but as you know that is of little consequence to one who commands all the powers within his reach, and beyond.”

 

“My reign of terror begins!” cried Menas. “Beware all who are good and virtuous for you shall be eliminated!”

 

Menas walked briskly out of the chamber without looking back. Rosencrantz watched him go with a smile. Zaxx looked worried.

 

“Are you sure about him?” said Zaxx. “He seems a little, well, brash, wouldn’t you say? I don’t care much for his spontaneous eruptions of vigour.”

 

“I do find them rather superficial myself,” laughed Rosencrantz. “But do not worry about the Dread Lord. He may seem arrogant and reckless on the outside but underneath is a creature blacker than the dungeons of Deathanox itself.”

 

Continued

 

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