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As I opened my mouth to speak the bitter tang of the air hit my dry mouth, filling it with a taste of ashes that left me able to do little more than cough weakly. The choking fumes were visible, I dimly realized, as a thin gray miasma that lingered about the entire room, save for the space of a few feet surrounding my sister. A shaft of emerald light pulsed upward around her, seeming to repel the dreadful effluence which itself issued from a circle of scarlet radiance before her. The words my sister spoke seemed to echo endlessly within the empty confines of the room, shaking me to the core of my being even though they were uttered at hardly more than a whisper. The chant seemed to be an incantation of sorts, voiced in a language completely incomprehensible, but the stunning intricacy and timeless perfection made the nature of the words only too obvious. My sister was speaking in the tongue of gods… and of demons. Each word caused a pattern to flash on the floor before her, a sigil or rune undoubtedly also etched in that immortal dialect, and as I watched each one alight in turn, it became obvious they had been drawn in a perfect circle. The flash accompanying each word brought on another pulsation of the ruby light, which seemed almost to strain against the jade luster that arose steadily to meet it. Lhradrul paused for a long moment before slowly turning her gaze to regard me. The dark vapors seemed to be sapping at my vitality, making it harder and harder to find the strength to stand, but I willed myself to find my feet nonetheless, if only for the sake of meeting her eye to eye. Her lips twisted into a cruel smile at seeing me rise. "Awake so soon… how fortunate, the preparations are nearly complete. You wouldn't want to have made me delay the glorious moment on your account, would you, little sister?" "Why?" the question arose seemingly of its own accord, as I tried to puzzle out the barrage of thoughts and questions buzzing through my brain, "Why do you want me here?" "A fair question," Lhradrul replied, producing a vial of purple-red liquid from an invisible fold in her robes, "And a very simple one to answer. You see, sister, my mentor has reached the limits of what he can teach me from beyond the boundary of this world. To manifest on this layer of reality, and by extension to grant me the secret of immortal life, he requires a body...." "You would exchange me for a demon?!" The indignation washed away my weakness, giving me the will to push forward in preparation to confront my power-mad sister. I only managed two steps before an invisible force sent me hurtling back through the air, pinning me helplessly against the wall by my wide-spread arms while the rest of my body dangled several feet from the ground, hanging limply in supernatural bonds. "The first rule of the drow, little sister. There is no such thing as sympathy. If a woman can grasp greater power at the expense of others, then it was their own fault for not protecting themselves better." Lhradrul flicked the vial's stopper away with a dismissive gesture, pouring the viscous liquid forth into the circle before her. As the dark fluid met the garnet-glowing ground there came a low hiss, and oily black smoke arose to join the gray smog hanging over the room. |
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