Asa Lunae

        May hell pity the soul of any weary traveller that wandered through the gates of Og-Narathk on that strange mid-winter's night.

         Haze hung over the narrow cobblestone street outside of Asa Lunae. The old, decrepit bar looked like it had been standing for untold centuries. This late at night, women and children didn't dare to leave their homes. The city belonged to those who braved the darkness - And they were a strange crowd.

         This old, run-down part of Og-Narathk was not under the jurisdiction of the Black Talon of the Emperor. If you wanted any justice on these streets, you would have to deliver it yourself. Many of the patrons of Asa Lunae were bandits. They felt right at home in this lawless neighborhood, and they were free to do as they pleased.

         Rough, cruel-eyed wildmen that smelled like sweat and blood entered the bar from time to time. Sometimes they came in pairs, but more often than not, they came alone. A particularly vile-looking man approached the doors. Worn-out dragonskin boots clanked against the ground with every step he took. His gnarled red hair came down to his waist, and there were bits of leaves and sticks tangled into it. Anyone brave enough to approach him would notice that he smelled like rotting meat. Numerous knives adorned his belt. He owned a wide variety of weapons - From tiny daggers to long, curved scimitars with jagged blades. This man made no effort to hide his weapons, and wore them proudly in plain view. A weathered cape hung down his back. It was attached to shoulderpads adorned with dragon-talons.

         He reached out to grasp the door handle. It was a true work of art. A dragon with fiery eyes of the finest gems stared back at him. The bottom of its jaw was forever unhinged, forming a door knocker. The bandit didn't bother to knock. He pushed the door open with a clawed hand and entered the bar.

         It had been many years since he last set food in Asa Lunae. Among his kind, this place was well-known. Many bandits had won gambles here for treasures beyond their wildest dreams. He had friends that had died here, getting drunk and foolish enough to pick a fight with the wrong man. He slowly gazed around the room with his cold grey eyes. What he saw almost brought a smile to his face. Though he hadn't been here in a very long time, nothing had changed.

         At a table to his left, a group of young boys cheered on a pale, sickly looking fellow. His eyes were half shut, and he looked as if he was about to pass out. His hand gripped a huge, overflowing mug. It looked like he was having trouble supporting it. They egged him on and hollered at him to down the drink, but finally he slumped back and spilled it all over the table.

         The bandit scanned the huge room. He was searching for a quiet place to sit, but tonight was a busy night. Even the far corners were occupied. He began to make his way to the back of the bar. It was so noisy in the room that he could barely hear himself think. He almost tripped over a silver-haired, scantily-clad woman passed out on the floor. A group of men were huddled around a huge pile of coins at a table to his side. They were staring intently at their cards, clutching them in their hands as if they were a precious treasure. They were so focused on their game that they didn't have any other cares in the world.

         A few tables away, a wrinkled old man had his arms draped around two gorgeous women. They were wearing tops that were so low-cut that they didn't leave much to the imagination. One girl was dark-skinned and appeared to be from the far north. People of her kind didn't come to Og-Narathk very often. The bandit was jealous for a moment, but he had to hide a grin when he saw the old man slip a few coins into the girl's hand.

         Two men shoved their way in front of him as he made his way between countless tables. Everyone was in a hurry, and they were all caught up in their own hedonism. He found himself eying a young waitress who carried a tray of drinks towards a nearby table. All the girls who worked here loved to show off. Scanty clothes must have been an unspoken requirement for the job, because no waitress that dressed conservatively lasted very long here. This beautiful specimen wore a jeweled headband in her short blond hair. She had on a tiny dress that revealed her fantastic cleavage. The dress appeared to be made of some kind of animal skin. It clung to her body and accentuated all her curves, and ended far above her knees.

         He was nearing the back of the bar now. This area wasn't as densely populated as the rest of the room. Two lovers clung to each other, filled with lust. One of the women was strong and muscular, and her counterpart was dainty. The stronger woman held her lover in a tight embrace that looked like it was borderline uncomfortable. The countless glasses cast aside on their table explained their lack of modesty. At the table next to them, two young boys gawked at them. The slack-jawed grins on their faces implied that they were having the time of their lives.

         In this place, it seemed as if everyone had a companion. Even the brutal, sociopathic wildmen that arrived alone had found themselves a woman or a group of guys to play cards with. Everywhere he looked, people were talking and laughing and forgetting all the troubles of the outside world. Asa Lunae was like a little universe, separate from the rest of Ryuuxalar and all it's anguish. The bandit was in the far corner of the bar, now. The noise had died down, and he decided this was a good place to settle down.

         In the coldest, darkest corner of Asa Lunae, a young man drank alone. His table was covered in old glasses, and it appeared that he'd been here for quite a while. Something about this stranger caught the bandit's eye. It was unusual to see someone sitting in solitude in a place like this. The man didn't look very old at all. His face was void of wrinkles, and his complexion was immaculate. His long black hair was well-maintained and looked soft to the touch. He displayed all the telltale signs of youth and wealth.

         Everything about this man was dark and gloomy. He was dressed entirely in black. His clothes matched his hair perfectly, and the only thing about him that wasn't black was his pale skin and his eyes. Even from a distance, his purple eyes stood out. The man in the corner didn't acknowledge the bandit as he approached his table. The bandit didn't even bother to greet his new companion before he pulled out a chair across from him and sat down. Finally, the depressing man looked up. He appeared uninterested. It was obvious that he wasn't going to say anything, so the bandit took the initiative to talk.

         "Greetings, stranger. Are you from this town, or are you just passing through?" The bandit's voice was gruff and deep. It was a bit horse, because it had been a while since he had last talked.

         The young man stared at him for a moment. His purple eyes were so vibrant, so piercing. The bandit almost felt unnerved, as if the man was staring straight through him. Finally, the stranger decided to speak.

         "I was born in Og-Narathk and I've lived here since then." His voice wasn't very deep, but at the same time, it was very masculine. It had an air of sophistication to it. He pronounced all his words very clearly.

         "I could have guessed that." The bandit chuckled in response. He already knew the answer to the question before he asked it, but he wanted to break the ice and make conversation. Anyone would have known that such a well-groomed, finely-dressed man was no wanderer. "Well, what's your name?"

         The man bowed his head down a little, but still maintained eye contact with the bandit. "Marduk Aethir Darkwing."

         The bandit's eyes grew wide with shock. Surely this frail-looking, lonely little man couldn't be the son of the Emperor of all Ryuuxalar. The Emperor's son would never waste away in a place like this. This was just some pathetic kid that drank more than he could handle.

         Marduk sensed his doubt. His gaze was unfaltering, and he had no trouble reading the bandit's emotions. He didn't blink for a long time.

         The bandit's doubt quickly changed to fear when he realized he couldn't look away from those menacing purple eyes if he wanted to. The noises of the surrounding room slowly began to fade away, and his vision suddenly developed tunnel-like qualities. He could only see straight ahead. Everything on both sides of him became a blur, and his senses were betraying him. All he could see was the man who called himself Marduk. He wanted to scream, but it felt as if his throat had closed up. He heard a strange ringing in his ears. All he wanted was to stand up and get away from this odd man, but to his dismay, he found he had lost all control over his muscles. He couldn't stand up if his life depended on it. He was rooted to his chair, at the mercy of those creepy purple eyes. They were all that he could see, now.

         In his head, he began to hear noises that he knew were not coming from the bar around him. The cheerful, upbeat room seemed to be a million miles away. Instead of hearing excited cheers and drunken conversations, he heard guttural screams. People were crying and begging for their mortal souls. Children were shrieking and pleading to die. Explosions rang throughout his mind, and populations of entire cities wailed as they died forever. He saw fire, now. Black flames licking at ruins of what used to be empires. Corpses charred and worms crawling out of half-eaten, fleshy limbs. The stars were falling, and a thousand suns burned out forever and took entire galaxies along with them.

         Now all he could hear was laughter. Cruel, maniacal laughter ringing across the empty cosmos. Then a voice overpowered his mind. "Do you believe me now?"

         This was not the voice of the meek, pathetic man he saw drinking his misery away before him. This was the voice of a deranged demigod, someone whose nightmare would never end.

         The entire universe was spiraling away uncontrollably. It was too late, and everything was dead or dying. Every empire that ever was and ever will be fell all at once, and the hopes and dreams of every sentient being that ever lived went up in smoke. There was no mercy, no regrets, no pity - Only darkness and maniacal laughter.

         And as soon as it had started, it all came to an end. There was a deafening boom, and the bandit's vision returned to normal. Instead of hearing destruction and sorrow, he heard the joyful musings of drunken fools again. There was no more terror, no more misery, and all was right in the world again. He found himself staring into the piercing purple eyes that nearly drove him mad.

         "Do you believe me now?" The bandit nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Marduk's voice again. It sounded soft and refined, as it had before. But it scared him more than anything had in a very long time.