Shadow Bands

I. Path of Totality

 An inferno roared throughout the manor, laying ash wherever it could. Embers flew high and with purpose. Black smoke engulfed whatever light decided to shine that day. The crackling of burning wood was like a chaotic symphony of death and those who danced within those flames fell to the ground where they would become no more.

Hiding, a man watched as his brothers and sisters were slaughtered. The leader of his House beheaded and paraded through the crumbling inferno of a house. Pleads for their lives were never heard but rather laughed at, as if the grinning faces of their evil was the last thing they wanted to see before they died.

Seizing the opportunity of escape, the man broke out of his hiding place and jumped out of the nearest window. Despite the burning he felt in his lungs from the smoke and ash, he ran for the hills. With his speed, he soon found the skies to no longer be black but a normal red. A crime done in broad daylight, for all of the Houses to see and yet no one came to help. He stopped suddenly, digging his feet into the ground allowing his momentum to dissipate as he slid into the dirt. The man looked back at what he called home for the last time. Feeling his sadness wash over him it soon became a tidal wave of anger.

The man quickly made his way to the council that laid deep into the heart of the Underworld's capital. His feet ached and his legs felt as if they were on fire, a now nightmarish feeling. But his head was still focused on revenge and justice. Upon entering the outskirts of the capital, he grabbed a cloak and threw it over himself, concealing his identity. Shoving citizens out of his way and hurrying between convoys, he made it into Nasherux. Though the sun shined bright in the sky the tone of red in the Underworld was not spared here. Staring at the array of large buildings only one stood out. It was a half pyramid with a great portion of it cut out in the middle with pillars supporting the top half. Stairs could be seen going up both sides . He could see the council's building from where he stood, easing the pain he felt in his heart. The man began to run again but tripped, landing in the mud beneath him. Paying no attention to the embarrassment he just displayed, he hurried towards the council building.

Standing at the steps, the man looked back, checking his surroundings. He couldn't see any eyes staring at him or feel them. He took one quick look at the size of the building, probably the largest he's seen in all his life. He began to run, picking up speed until he was skipping steps. 

As he crested the flight of stairs he saw two guards standing on each side of the door. Their armor was covered by dark blue cloaks; the only pieces of armor he could see were their white helmets and gauntlets, and wielding halberds taller than them. Their stances changed and their weapons lowered to defend as the man charged at them. Knowing they wouldn't let him through, he swiftly disarmed one guard and drove the blunt end of his halberd into the other's chestplate, pushing him away and knocking him down. Buying enough time to get through he bursted through the doors and found himself in the main hall. 

The ceiling was high and the windows had glass that turned the red skies into radiant soft white as if it were an illusion. The floor's marble matched the walls and the pillars, mostly white with a smoky red paused in the middle of its spread. Intricate designs were carved deep into the pillars and paintings of a lost time were hung on the walls. Black and red flowers hung from high shelves and the tall ceiling. Sconces of variable horns kept the shadows in check throughout the building. Stairs were placed on both sides going up into a singular hall and just below it was a long desk with people dressed in uniform. Just beyond them were various hallways that stood about ten feet tall and went as far as the average eye could see.

People stopped to look at him. Some in disgust while others lost interest.

He rushed towards the reception.

"Where is the council room?" He asked with haste.

The receptionist looked at him with shock.

"I don't understand, do you have business with the council?"

He looked around and saw the guards beginning to communicate with each other and look at him.

"Just tell me!" He demanded.

The receptionist jumped and pointed down the right hall. "Down that way and the big doors to the right. A meeting is in progress so I wouldn't disturb them."

The man tried his best to act inconspicuous but the guards were already on to him. He began to storm down the hall until he eventually reached the large doors. He looked down the hallways only to see the blue cloaks of the guards closing in on him from both sides. He knew he had to make this quick for he doesn't have much time to plead.

He quickly slipped through the doors and heard the council's booming voices making a verdict on the acknowledgement of a new house. Their voices stopped once he represented himself to the council.

"Please!" He begged, "hear my plea. A great crime and evil has been conducted. My House has fallen." The council began to mumble upon themselves. "All I seek is justice and solace from those who hunt me down."

The man took the chance to walk to the center of the large room. The light from the ceiling was bright on him. He could barely see the walls beyond the ring of sand he just realized he stepped into. From what he could tell the marble was the same as the main hall. Large pillars erected as high as the ceiling.

The council room was silent for a moment.

"House Aurur has fallen due to their weakness and incompetence!" A council member shouted.

The man tried to hear where the voice came from but it echoed making it hard to pinpoint. It didn't help that the council members were covered in shadow.

"To serve," the sibilants of its words were held out when this counsel member spoke, "the Grand Prexxy and all of his interests do not concern itself to the weak!"

"This was no battle!" The man screamed, "this was just an act of power!"

"Enough!" A voice bellowed. The silence of the room fell, like being plunged deep underwater. The ground barely shook when the council member walked out of his shadow. A bull-like humanoid with great horns on both sides of its head. Its eyes a piercing yellow and golden rings up and down its ears. "The council has spoken and the senate soon to follow," it began to walk towards the man. "You will die alongside those weaklings."

"No!" The man screamed, "this isn't fair!"

Guards began to pour in from the door and surround him with their weapons pointed.

"Fair is a law the strong get to uphold."