[damontcs]

Author's Note: I'll be posting more of Eviscera's background story over the following couple of days. This would be my first AoC roleplay story, so comments and constructive criticism is more than welcome. I hope you enjoy reading it.

ENTRY ONE

The high priest asked me to write this, so I feel obligated to do so. Or more correctly, I need to do so, or I will most likely be put down.

I was never a good person. I wasn't a good daughter to my parents, and I wasn't a good peer to the other kids my age. In fact, I got in trouble one too many times, and decided it would be easier to make it on my own, rather than having to deal with expectations, so I left home to make it on my own. I was 10 years old.

So I grew up on the streets. I took refuge in the abandoned places of Old Tarantia, and found a gang that looked out for me in exchange for picking pockets for them. Didn't get caught either, at least not by the city watch - and I was able to fast talk those to did catch me into letting me go without further consequence.

I got older, and I matured. When I was thirteen, a thug tried to have his way with me. Didn't get far though, as I first cut off his appendage, and then showed him what his insides looked like. Killing was easy, and it was a rush. So I moved up in the ranks. The thieves guild had taken notice of me, and I was not above doing their dirty work, for plenty of coin. No-one dared touch me - Not only did I have the protection of the guild, I also built myself a reputation. I was a killer, a murderer, and everyone knew it.

ENTRY TWO

Years passed, and my reputation served me well. The jobs I received were well-rewarded, and I could live in relative luxury in my appropriated home in the Commons of Tarantia. Then I got it, the job to end all jobs. The big score. If I did this, I could retire, at the young age of 19, and I would be set for the rest of my life.

The target was the High Priest of Mitra, at the temple in Tarantia. Not an easy one, and one that would require a lot of planning. So I watched, waited and schemed. For two months, I watched the rotation of the guard, how the priests moved about inside and outside of the temple, and figuring out when I could strike, even managing to infiltrate them as an acolyte - After observing them for so long, I could blend right in, and they believed my lies. Could you believe me as a priestess of Mitra? Hah! What have the gods ever done for me?

I finally found the perfect opportunity. After the summer solstice, the High Priest would be alone in his chambers, praying, while the rest of his priests would be participating in the festivities. I made my way to the temple, poisoned daggers concealed in my robes, and watched the ceremony that went before the feast itself. When the High Priest sequestered himself to his chambers, I followed him, silently.

I opened the door to the High Priest's chambers and snuck in. There was no guards or other priests to be seen, all of them seemingly forgetting their charge to protect the head of Mitra's church. I heard silent whispering from a chamber in the back, no doubt the priest chanting to his god. I entered the chamber and saw him sitting, cross-legged in the middle, with his face turned upward to the window, and the moon beyond, his back facing the door. I struck, plunging the two daggers into his back, at strategic points along his spine. Even if he survived the initial strike, he would be paralyzed, and the poison would get him soon enough.

The false image of the priest flickered and disappeared before my eyes.

[damontcs]

ENTRY THREE

He had been waiting for me. Despite all my efforts, he somehow knew that I was coming, and he had prepared. He spoke a single word of power, and I spun around to see him standing behind me, by the door to the chamber. That was all I had time for, before I collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The word was still ringing in my ears when the guards picked me up and dragged my paralyzed body through the streets, to the city watch. The priest had not said anything other than that one word.

When we were almost at the watch building, I started to regain my ability to move, but I kept up appearances, knowing that this was not the right time to act, what with the escort of 12 guards that were following. They chucked me into a cell, and left me there, thinking me helpless. Fully aware and in control again, I waited for my moment.

It came when one of the guards decided to press his luck and have his way with me. He had just finished undoing his belt when my first kick snapped his knee into a very unnatural angle. As he began to scream, I jumped to my feet, and used my momentum to smash his head into the wall. A satisfying 'crack' resounded, silencing the rest of his scream. The back of his skull shattered, and his brain greeted the cold stone wall. I quickly grabbed his weapons, and ran for it.

ENTRY FOUR

My dash for freedom was unfortunately stopped when I arrived at the harbor. Somehow, the guard was waiting for me there, and this time they had brought crossbows. As the first poisoned bolt pierced my flesh, I saw a familiar blue-robed figure standing in the distance: The High Priest. More bolts hit home, and for the second time that night, I fell, unable to move.

Bolts still lodged in my body, this time I was dragged through the streets, and to the Iron Tower. They put me into a windowless cell, and slammed the door shut. When the darkness of the cell engulfed me, I finally gave in and lost consciousness. I awoke later, barely clinging to consciousness. How long I had been out I don't know, and how long I sat there, waiting, and dying, I don't know either. There was nothing to help me count the passing of time. When they finally opened the door, even the faint light of the torches the guards were carrying nearly blinded me.

[damontcs]

Author's note: This one is kind of long, so I'll just post this one today - the last two will be posted tomorrow. Following these initial postings, I plan on expanding this character's story with more journal entries, which will also be posted here. Thank you for reading.

ENTRY FIVE

Again, the blue-robed figure stood before me. 'You are going to die', he said, 'If not from the bolts still lodged in your body, then in your execution for trying to murder me'. I ground my teeth and grinned at him. I knew he was right, but I refused to let him get the satisfaction of seeing me suffer. 'It doesn't have to be that way', he continued. 'We can make it so that you won't die, now or ever. But it comes with a price.'

I glared at him, and tried to speak. 'Don't waste my time priest.' The last word was spat out along with drops of blood. The bolts had hit deep, and bleeding was internal as well as external. 'How, and what is your price?' The priest smiled. I thought that he looked kind of nervous, jumpy almost. Then he composed himself and answered: 'You are something unique. My god told me of you a few years ago, and I have watched you since. You are a cold-blooded killer, a murderer with very little conscience, but you are also... pure. A virgin. Nothing external seems to have corrupted you, and yet you have competed with the filthiest, most corrupt people in this city, and you have survived. This combination is unheard of, especially in these times.'

The priest cleared his throat and continued: 'We have need of you. A dark threat looms to the south, threatening to destroy not only Aquilonia, but all of Hyboria. Thoth-Amon is his name. We have tried to fight him by regular means, but his army of Acheronian-enhanced soldiers have tipped the balance in his favor. It's time to tip the scales, and to do that, we will need to use... distasteful tactics.'

'We have discovered a means to make you immortal, to compete directly with the accursed army. But in order for it to work, we need someone who is pure of body, and strong enough of mind to control the power given to them. You meet these requirements.' The priest paused long enough for me to ask a question: 'So, priest, you are offering me immortality. What's the catch?' The exertion of even speaking was beginning to weaken me further. Blood trickled slowly from my wounds, draining my life away.

'You will work for us, and you will do so until Thoth-Amon is defeated. Once he falls, your servitude will end, and you can spend the rest of eternity as you see fit. I see your life ebbing, girl, so answer now, or I will leave you to your fate.'

'You win, priest, I agree.' I smirked at him, stopping my own sentence to spit a gob of blood at his feet, 'Or should I say 'boss'?'

[damontcs]

Next two entries are up, more coming tomorrow =)

Hope you find it interesting.

[Venia23]

Looking forward to some more!

[damontcs]

Entry 5 is up - The final parts, 6 and 7 will be posted tomorrow. As always, comments and criticism are more than welcome!

[damontcs]

ENTRY SIX

I was immediately carried to the lowest level of the Iron Tower, where a circle of blue-robed priests stood ready, as if they had anticipated what my answer would be. The otherwise barren, round room had all the furniture cleared away, and a large summoning ring was on the floor, painted in blood. Around the edges of the room, several guards stood, holding torches that illuminated the walls of the chamber. Towards the center of the room, the torchlight seemed to fade quickly, almost like it was being repelled by the symbols on the floor. The bloody circle had its own eerie light, bathing the faces of the surrounding priests in a red glow. The guards carrying me dropped me there, in the middle, and quickly headed for the stairs.

The ritual began immediately, but it lasted for what seemed like days. I lay there, unable to move from the wounds that were slowly killing me, I was certain that this would be my end. It was not. What they summoned was a thing too terrible for words to describe. They dragged it, kicking and screaming, from the Dark Beyond, and channeled it into my body. The pain was excruciating, like nothing I had felt before, or have since.

As the entity entered my body, I started thrashing, screaming madly, wounds bleeding profusely, my blood mixing with that of the symbols on the floor. The High Priest spoke his word of Power and paralyzed me once more. Two of the priests entered the circle and began to tattoo something onto my arm. Through the corner of my eye, I could see their exposed arms blackening and disintegrating as they worked. Serenely, they continued despite the obvious pain of what was happening to them. When they completed the tattoo, composed of protective and binding words of power, their bodies gave way completely, turning to black ash and then collapsing to a heap in the floor. The ritual was complete, and everything was still.

However, inside my head, IT was screaming, expressing it's boundless rage at being summoned, and at being bound to me. The fury was deeper still, when it realized that it was not in control - I was. This dark, unnatural being was powerless, being but a spectator along for the ride, while my body fed off it's eternal power. I sat up, the priest's word of power no longer effective, and pulled the bolts out of my body. My wounds began closing immediately, but as they did, I felt a desperate hunger. A hunger that needed to be sated. A priest of the circle fell as I drained his life force. While the new energy healed my wounds completely, I stood up and turned to face the High Priest.

ENTRY SEVEN

'How do you feel?', he asked. 'Starving, different, but otherwise alive and kicking.' I replied. That was only half the truth. I was RAVENOUS, my new desire for life force dominating my thoughts. I also felt very powerful, much more so than before. 'Good,' the Priest said, 'But remember, that the spell binding the being to you also binds it to Mitra, and therefore to me. Should you abandon our deal, the mark will be removed, and it will be released, and free to seek its revenge, should you even survive the seperation. You work for us now, until your duty is done. Understood?'

I nodded. 'Yes, I understand. Besides, a deal is a deal. I just hope you hold the same principles, or I will make sure that my last deed before this damned THING takes me, is to condemn your soul to oblivion.' The priest nodded. 'We will keep up our end of the bargain. Now then, you are free to go - Familiarize yourself with your newfound immortality, Dark Templar of Mitra. I will call on you when we have a task that needs your... special talents.'

I grinned, bitterly, and glared around at the guards present at the edges of the room. They took a step back when I did so. I stepped towards the winding stairs leading upwards. As I reached the first step, I turned to face the High Priest one last time: 'I have a name, you know. Back when I was a kid, after killing my first man, I got a nickname. Use that.' The priest asked: 'What may I call you then, Templar?'

'Name's Eviscera.'

Author's note: This is the end of Eviscera's background story - further entries will reflect things that have happened to her in-game and will follow her development as time passes. I tried with this story to create an 'unusual' Dark Templar, in that the basic principles are still the same (bound to a demon, feeds off life force, etc.), but having the circumstances be a bit different. Also, I thought being a DT in the service of Mitra could be interesting. I hope you've enjoyed reading her story so far.