To Rule In Shadow

Adrian shut the door behind him with a thought. He had the Hall connect to the entrance of his apartment. Although he didn't really feel like sleeping, it was getting close to dawn and he wanted to be in top form for today's activities. Judging from the number of messages on his phone, his absence had been noted, and he would need to come up with a decent alibi.

Still, it had been a rather productive evening. He'd laid the groundwork for future enterprises, and with a few more steps would be fairly close to developing a self-sustaining cycle to satisfy the Hall's cravings.

Walking by the mirror in the entryway, he took a moment to go through his usual evening ritual of figurative unmasking. He concentrated on relaxing, taking the pressure off of his adopted persona-

He slammed his hands onto the wall on either side of the mirror, taking deep breaths in and out. A slight tremble passed through his frame as his face split in a malevolent grin. Tendrils of eldritch darkness withdrew from his mind, waiting nearby for when he needed them again. He felt weak in the knees, but couldn't help laughing.

"Interesting." Said a young female voice from the kitchen.

Adrian reacted quickly, summoning a shard of darkness and whipping it towards the sound, however, he only hit air. The speaker had casually stepped back, narrowly avoiding decapitation by the thinnest of margins.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?" He demanded, while taking a moment to examine the interloper. She was dressed in ragged jeans and a simple hoodie. Strands of black hair could be seen sticking from the hood, which kept her face in shadow.

Unfazed, and seemingly ignoring his questions, she placidly walked over to him. "Interesting indeed. I wonder if the accounts were lying."

Frowning coldly, Adrian spoke in a low, threatening voice. "I don't know what you are talking about, but you need to leave." He reached out to grab her only to come up with air, as she casually dodged around his grasp and slipped behind him. He whirled, readying strike at his infuriating target once more, only to find her standing close enough for their breath to mingle.

He found himself staring down at a pair of bright green eyes, which were currently crinkling in amus.e.m.e.nt. "You're still in there, aren't you? I thought the Hall was supposed to, you know, hollow its owners out and wear them like a meat suit. In the figurative sense."

"What do you mean?" he asked, while taking a step back.

The woman shrugged, before pulling a small card out of her pocket and throwing it at him. "The Chief wants you to visit. Address is on the back."

The click of a latch dragged his attention back to the person in front of him, and he glanced up in time to see his front door close.

Dashing out into the hallway, he looked in both directions, but the woman had already disappeared. If not for the events of the last twenty four hours, he would have thought himself crazy or haunted. Examining the card in his hand one more time, he stepped back into his apartment and closed the door.

Suddenly overcome by an intense fatigue, Adrian shuffled back to his room while mentally reorganizing his schedule for the day. Figuring out the mysterious intruder and whatever organization she represented could wait. For now, he needed to concentrate on much more pressing matters, like how comfortable the sheets felt.

A nagging sensation in the back of his mind told him that he was forgetting something, but it didn't seem important enough to remember.

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Miranda slammed a fist on the snooze button of her alarm clock, before checking her phone again. The blank notification screen told her that Adrian still hadn't texted her back. She briefly considered sending another message, but felt that it would seem overly desperate considering the long list of unanswered texts and voicemails currently on display. Resigning herself to waiting patiently for him to reply, she stood and went about her normal morning routine.

When the time for their meeting had passed, Miranda had immediately called him. Adrian has always been punctual and considerate, missing an appointment like this, especially without letting her know ahead of time, was out of character. His phone had gone straight to voicemail, signaling that it was either off, or out of range.

There was a strong possibility that Adrian was in some kind of trouble. She frowned in the shower while considering scenarios. If he'd been killed or taken care of in some lasting fashion, it would be inconvenient. She'd already invested quite a bit of time and effort into building a connection to the Veldts through him. Miranda supposed that she could try transferring the focus to one of his older brothers, but it would difficult to make much headway in that regard.

For all that Adrian was something of the black sheep of the family, his unclear position actually made him the most approachable and malleable for her purposes. The older Veldts were well established in their own realms, and were therefore largely untouchable. She would need to pursue them from a position of weakness, something Miranda was loathe to do. And since she wasn't quite jaded enough to go after the Veldt daughter, her best bet still laid with Adrian.

While applying her makeup, she checked the time, and considered another possibility. If she hurried, she could swing by his apartment on the way to class. If he was still alive and well, it would give her a chance to go on the offensive. If he wasn't, then she would inform her family, and allow them to pursue the matter from their end.

In either case, it would be resolved soon.

Miranda took a brief moment to examine her appearance in the mirror. Flashing one of her practiced smiles, she appraised the effects of her subtle sense of fashion.

[Perfect, as always.]

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Hulthin the Vast trembled in its sleep.

This caused a great of deal of consternation among the teeming multitude of servitors who were employed to clean and maintain the bulbous creature's body, provide a steady stream of nutrients into its vast maw, and process the flow of ichor they extracted in return.

Elric watched, amused, as a few of the hunched, grey-skinned humanoids plunged to their deaths from a shuddering mound of pale flesh, hundreds of meters high. His sharp, needle-like teeth showed from behind his thin lips in a malicious smile, while his pupils dilated at the sight of the resulting mangled bodies. It was shame that the servitors were so obedient. He was never able to enjoy subservient toys.

Elra, his sister, moved to join him on the observation platform, evidently curious about the pleasant mood she sensed from her sibling. The suffering for the servitors below inspired a dry laugh from her. "Seems we'll need to grow more of them soon. With all the trembling Hulthin has been doing, it's a wonder that any of them are still alive."

Running a hand through her spidery, silver hair, Elra chuckled at her brother's disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. "You'll have your fill of mortal blood soon enough. Have we found the cause of Hulthin's…..activity? Perhaps we need to increase his dosage."

"I have a few theories, but nothing solid yet." In truth, Elric had spent much of the last few hours contemplating just that, but had largely come up blank. The Archaic, as Hulthin's kin were referred to, were…..unusual. The rules and laws of the world behaved oddly in their presence, and it was only with much sacrifice that the First had succeeded in capturing Hulthin in this demi-realm.

"There must be a reason. Hulthin has remained in a stupor for centuries." She commented while staring hard at the rolling mat of undulating flesh that stretched for kilometers in every direction, as if she could will the answer to appear.

Knowing that his sister would be unwilling to give up on the matter unless he offered a possible diversion, Elric spoke in a hushed tone, "Indeed, but this is not the first time it has acted up. In the time of our father, a similar occurrence was observed."

Porcelain features marred in a frown, Elra turned towards him, silently urging him to continue.

"Although details are scarce, since almost all of those who witnessed it have since Departed, it seems that Hulthin was responding to an ancient enemy, then."

Pupils flaring at the import of his words, she asked, "Could it be?"

"I am uncertain, but I feel its worth investigating, nonetheless. Perhaps one of us…" He replied, knowing that his sister would snatch up the obvious bait.

A feral grin split her face, as a crackle of energy pulsed along her form. "You always did know how to divert me, dear brother." Turning, she started moving towards the portal leading back to the residential section. "I'll need to pack for a long vacation in the mortal world, it seems. No need to wait for me, Elric, I plan on taking my time with the matter. Perhaps I'll have a chance to try this 'Iced Cream' the wraiths always rave about."

He was eagerly anticipating when he could head down to the Initiation Room, once she had finally departed. One of the new arrivals had the most fascinating shade of red hair, and he wanted to find out if it matched the color of her blood.

A single thought interrupted his pleasant daydreams, however. When he'd been researching possible causes of the current situation, he run across an obscure passage from one of his predecessors. The records had spoken of Hulthin's kiel'ethor. In some contexts it meant enemy or rival, but in others had a slightly different connotation. He dismissed the thought. What were the chances of something like the Archaic had a predator?