The-Halfangel

The emperor smiled but didn't answer back. Instead, he got up and went to serve himself a new glass of wine, facing the vast panorama of the city that was nearly completely fallen in the shadows of the night. As he kept standing, he then spoke, without looking at Nasir. - I've been called many words during my rule, Colonel. I've been said ambitious, tyrannical, authoritarian, sneaky, generous. Some call me now senile. But the most accurate description I've heard of myself is the one that commander Sered did to King Ozymandias one day, and that has been later spread by rumor. Do you know it? Nasir winced. - He said you were like a spider in

The counsellors got up without discussing it and bow deeply towards him while he painfully got up by pushing hard on the heavy table. Nasir imitate them. Zurvan offered his arm to the emperor but this one stopped him. - Thank you, my friend, but Colonel Nasir will accompany me back to my apartments. Zurvan bowed again and Nasir, surprised of that request, hurried to help the old man. Xerius leaned firmly on the forearm of the officer and they got away from the table under the respectful eyes of the counsellors who scattered as soon as the emperor got away. While they were about to enter a corridor, they were caught up by the sorcerer who d

This time, Nasir had to explain to the guards the reason of his visit before the great bronze doors open in front of him. He went up the great alley bordered with palm trees and fountains where groups of dignitaries talked while walking and unmount at last at the foot of the great ziggurat.  Entrusting his horse to a page, he was welcomed in a labyrinth of corridors and arrived in a large room where the only furniture was a long wooden table where six men sat. A fat man, his hairless face glowing with sweat, draped in layers of clothes and wearing a nearly ridiculous turban, was talking. - I'm just saying that, in the event the conflict brea

Relationships between Parsh and Aegup have always been turbulent. This is not surprising when one knows the history of Aegup. The "Kingdom of the Chosen Ones" is indeed born after the fleeing of Amon, a slave from Parsh who, after three years of errands in the Great Desert, had on the Isle of the Gods a revelation that would made him the prophet of a new religion and the first king of a new kingdom. He quickly gathered around him a crowd of followers, fleeing slaves who had reached the Iteru delta, blue nomads and men from the White Island enthusiastic about the new faith and the promise of a free and prosperous kingdom, away from the clutch

He nearly died of fright and swore loudly. Right in front of him, the gaping jaw full of teeth of a huge creature faced him. Jek held his breath, hoping the beast was more curious than famished. Behind the open jaw, he glimpsed at a reptilian nose and a pair of big terrifying eyes. Further, the imposing mass of the body of the beast could be seen in the darkness, covered by a large pair of wing and equipped with a huge scaly tail. Jek couldn’t understand what he had in front of him. It was impossible. Dragons had disappear for millennia!  How come one of them would be here, buried under the town? Of course, himself had never contemplat

He quickly extended his arm towards the priest and with a whistle an object got stuck in the throat of the latter. Streams of blood flowed at once and the man collapsed in a sinister gurgle. The worshipers then panicked, rushing with frenzy towards the corridor by which they came in. Jek, more surprised than afraid, made his way to the still trembling corpse and look at the fatal object that was still stuck into the neck of its victim. It wasn't a blade, but what seemed a playing card, carved into metal, and whose borders were as sharp as a razorblade. It was in fact a tarot arcana, one of the twenty-two figures used by the fortune tellers, m

Back in the street where he assaulted the man, Jek got rid of his own cape and put on the coat before cautiously placing the mask on his face. He then got moving again in the night. After a complex path in the labyrinth of the High City, Jek arrived before a little wooden door that opened on the side of a palace in a not very pleasant alley, one of those doors that only the servants were meant to take. He then took of the coat and turned it over entirely before putting it back on. He was now entirely dressed in scarlet. He then approached the small door and knock a very specific sequence of knocks. A peephole opened. - What do you want? a v

People from over the sea worship a complex pantheon of gods that are linked to the powers of nature and the elemental domains their wizards handle. To say that nobody in Esine is dedicated to the cult required by their traditions would be exaggerated, but one must recon that those gods are not much honored any more, other than in traditional ceremonies or popular expressions. The High City, that is the center of aristocracy and upper middle class of the city, lives to the rhythm of the countless feasts and balls given by the Duke and the Council of Five that rules the city. This population lives a high lifestyle, fed sometimes with a title i

Facing her, a ghostly figure stood. IT was a perfect replica of herself, as if she was watching herself in a mirror, but it was translucent and shrouded with a slight blue aura. Kaïleena held back a scream. The thing stood still. - Who... Who are you? The ghost opened its mouth and spoke. Its voice reverbed as if it echoed in the whole palace, and yet the princess knew she was the only one that could hear it. The apparition had the same timbre as her, but troubled as if it was speaking through water. - You called me. - I didn't called anybody. - You summoned me. Suddenly, the young woman understood. She looked, incredulously, at th

Kaïleena broke herself from the admiration the superb weapon had caused even in her and leaned on the much more modest, but as finely worked casket that waited in front of her. She slowly lifted up the top, waiting (not without pleasure) for a precious jewel. She was puzzled a moment. The bottom of the casket only contained a tiny copper oil lamp apparently very ancient. - A lamp ? she asked, surprised. - It's a djinn lamp, Azad said. A very rare and precious artefact. The merchant certified it was authentic. The disapproving look of Nizam made the princess understand he didn't believe a word of it, and that he had troubles digesting