Fear Incarnate

Fear Incarnate Portion 18

The Queen did not face Innoak as he entered, curiously there were no guards around. Queen Angella, once noticing him, began to speak. "I assume you have learned dark arts from wherever you come from?" she said, words cold and hard. "You could say that." Innoak replied, unsure how to explain the warp techniques he commanded. The Queen turned and cocked her head, urging him to go on. Clearly she had time to spare. "Very well, but I will keep this short; The warp is like clay that surrounds everything, some can see it and others can touch it. Mold it. Manipulate the clay for their uses, but the clay is heavy and often contains dangers. If you take too much to mold you will find its weight to be too much, and what lies behind its colorful veil will find you. It is different here on Etheria, the clay is...placated. Almost as though the aura that surrounds Etheria repels daemons. But that is not your question, I do not know "dark arts" I only manipulate the clay to form things that could be interpreted as "dark." Though in the end my objective remains the same, the protection of the innocent and the purging of the unclean. Luckily for you, this world is surprisingly sanitized." the Queen did not seem reassured, in truth Innoak doubted she ever relaxed. "I need you to protect Glimmer at the ball." she said finally, and said it like the words caused her pain. "Fine. I did want to see the myriad royalty of this world." Angella stiffened at his statement, "Why?" she said, eyes cold and searching. Innoak felt her attempt to enter his mind, and he brushed it off. "tsk tsk Still don't trust me? Not wise to show that to the person supposed to protect your last family." The Queen sighed and drew back, she had obviously expended too much energy attempting to infiltrate Innoak. Innoak did not need to use his psychic powers to see the great strain and fatigue gradually overtaking the Queen. These last weeks had been tiring for her, and he saw humanity in the pale purple skin of the mutant sorceress. "Why?" Angella repeated. "Why would I not want to meet the royalty of my new home?" Innoak responded, carefully measured and restrained anger frothing up. 

"Will you protect my daughter to the best of your ability? Will you assure that she doesn't come to harm?" Angella looked into the orange eyes of the giant and hoped for the best. Innoak sighed and nodded, the gesture was threatening with the power of a superhuman behind it. "I will, though I doubt anything will occur at the ball." Innoak said it with the air of a predatory animal completely uninterested in current affairs. This unnerved Angella greatly, well...EVERYTHING about the giant warrior unnerved her. The things she had shown him, the way he talked about "daemons" and the mere fact that there were many more of him somewhere out there. Angella had tried to brush away the fact that far away was an empire capable of cracking planets and crushing them beneath their heel. Without even noticing the millions down there. An empire completely bent on extinguishing anything not purely human, while utilizing armoured monstrosities. "Ouch, words...or should I say thoughts, hurt! I am truly offended by such insensitive comments!" Angella froze, in her thought rambling Innoak had entered her psyche. "Though you aren't wrong, the Imperium would look at your planet and see it as such a hub of heresy it would be annihilated within seconds. Maybe a mechanicus team would investigate the ashes for a while but that is only a possibility." Innoak had a humorous tone in his voice, one that did nothing to assist Angella's fear. "Please, your majesty, I don't mind much. I'm quite used to people thinking negatively of me. Now-" Innoak clapped his immense hands together in the matter of a merchant, the humor in his voice never dropping "To the topic of your daughter."