Under the cover of darkness in a cave.
Metal scraped against rock as a pick was held by a black and purple gloved hand. The carving was done very carefully, precision in every stroke and every chip at the rock. The rune being made into the rock, was it elven? Or was it something else? Wooden masked face barely seen in what little light he had, switching from looking at the rune carving to the parchment he had that held the very exact symbol he was carving. Parchment ripped from a book originally not his with a sword originally not his. After he carved the rune out he would run a finger that glow both blue and purple along the carving, smoothing it out and causing the rune to glow. As he took his hand away the rune continue to glow for a brief moment longer then it did not, magic was still there however.
He turned to look at his companion, voice muffled from the mask as he spoke, “Well then, shall we get moving? A lot more work has to be done!” His voice, despite what he wore that most would assume he was a necromancer, was a very cheerful one.
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The same day in the darkness below the village...
“You there! Come here! Now!!!” The shrill voice of Saluras was heard, his voice like a knife piercing into ones ears. Everything he had been through as he stood in his damaged lab, everything was destroyed. His work? In shambles. It was all a horrid mess, and for others a horrid nightmare. The man he was calling to was an average height individual, long black hair and sporting a five o’clock shadow. He wore much of the same garb as most of the Eastern Shadow members wore, cloak around himself and armor as black as night.
His voice was a low, “Yes, sir?”
Saluras grinned at him, showing those blood stained teeth, “I have something I need you to do. Your name is... Edgar? Right? Listen, this little package over here is going to save your life. The life of everyone here in our family. I do not get to see it, as I already know what is to happen to me. In three days I want you to deliver the package to where it is... well... addressed... the name of who it goes to is already on there. Understand?” The package he referred to was stained in blood on the outside and rather burned up a little, the contents were intact though.
Edgar opened his eyes. Leaning against the wall in that still ruined lab. Still a nightmare as the ones he remembered. However that one? That wasn’t the worst of his nightmares from this lab... that was a regret. His eyes looked over as other members of the Eastern Shadow were cleaning up the place, the lab workers trained by Saluras starting to set up their old labs and everything being repaired or tossed out for scraps or... permanently tossed out. Blood permanently stained the floors, death and smoke permanently stained the air.
Edgar called out to everyone, raising his one arm, “That is enough for now. You are all on break for the moment. Those of you on the clean up crew that is.” He rubbed his temple, “Make sure none of the new initiates see down here unless it is critical... this place is a mess. In more ways than just the debris.” An Eastern Shadow member bowed her head and proceeded to her break with the others.
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When the commander of the Eastern Shadow would enter her primary makeshift office in the manor she would find someone already sitting in there. Red and black leather armor, and long white hair and beard. His blade was stabbed into the floor as he rested on the hilt, his voice was pleasant and calming as he spoke, “You know, I never thought much of you when I first saw you. In fact, I thought you could have easily just been an ant that was part of the enemy.”
His face looked up at her from just looking at the ground as he smiled, “I am proud however, that someone is taking care of this family. It wasn’t them who were the problems, it was myself. None of you had a clue what I was guarding did you? None of you knew what would happen... and I only knew about you truly... once it was to late.” He went quiet for a moment as he stared at this new commander, staring for awhile before he spoke again, “You don’t know if I am a ghost... or just in your head. Do you?"
When the commander would close her eyes or look away... this figment of the past would be gone. Gone as if he was never there... but he had been there before. Been in this very room. In this very manor. In this very same cursed village... since the beginning.