taken from Desktop Fun: Cities at Night Wallpaper Collection Series 1 - How-To Geek

There used to be a thriving fae court, a haven for supernatural beings of every kind, situated by a wondrous lake with healing waters. Alas it was not to remain as mortals, humans, began expanding their territory. Soon the haven was overrun, leaving behind only remnants of a peaceful community who had wanted nothing more then to live unbothered by anyone.

Someone plots to destroy what wreaked havoc with the land and it's people. No one knows who this person is yet, but rumors are beginning to spread of someone who wants nothing more then to see the human city and it's occupants ... disappear.

Which side will you take?

Please follow Mene's ToS
and just jump right in!

Duval grinned as he peered at himself in the mirror. His handiwork always surprised him, and this latest bit of it surpassed even his best expectations. Quickly putting it aside, the young man slipped from his richly decorated apartment in his ratty old clothes with a self-satisfied smile. Once more he grabbed a lock of his long chocolate colored hair to make sure he hadn't missed any of the color it had once been before. Quickly, he passed a hand over his pierced ears to check that everything was in order there, then he tugged down his white t-shirt down over his skinny jeans.

Shadows slipped from building to building at a politely discreet distance. Whether they were friend or foe, they didn't seem to want to interfere with the human man's goings on. Soon he was in the underbelly of the city, reveling in the bright lights and relishing thoughts of what he planned to do that night.

Feori wrinkled his nose and ran a hand through his orange hair. In certain light it almost looked orangeish red, like fire. He shook his head. He hated the city, hated the mortals that created it, that dwelled in it. He hated their pollution, the stink of iron and smog. The loud noises and bright flashing lights. Feori could not stand it. Things had been this way for far too long. He had hoped, had thought things would change for the better, but it seemed to him like that change would never come.

The age of myth was over, the age of fantastical creatures would never come again. Now it seemed nothing more than the age of mortals. Mortals, who did nothing but plague the world and destroy the mother Earth. His lovely Terra, beautiful Gaia. Feori shuddered slightly, shaking that head and inhaling deeply. He was as far from human as one could be, though his appearance looked very human. Feori was a unicorn. Not the white ones that symbolize purity and goodness. No, Feori was a unicorn of fire and brimstone. A creature with a hide blacker than night, and a mane and tail of fire. His lovely spiral horn shone with all the colors of fire, as if itself was a solidified spike of fire.

Even when unicorns were plentiful, the black ones were rare. Hatred, vengeance, and violence were not beyond their nature, unlike their peaceful counterparts. Though like all unicorns, the black ones also held the ability to heal and purify things with a touch of their horn. But whereas the white ones would not seek out vengeance when wronged, the black ones would. There was vengeance to seek now, but Feori had no idea where to begin. How to make things right with the world he had once known. For years he puzzled over this and had yet to come to a solution.

Not for the first time, Feori wished there was a white unicorn he could gaze upon, to seek counsel from. Or at least someone as equally as wise, if not wiser. For years, so far all he's found in this place was idiotic humans. Feori stood with his back against some random building or other, his hands now shoved into his front pockets. He had heard rumors. There was someone, somewhere wanting the same thing Feori wanted, to get rid of this city and it's humans. Feori thought it might be good to join with someone else who shared his cause, but how when all he heard was rumors?

The young man continued down the street, his eyes peeled for anything or anyone at all out of the ordinary. He was other then he seemed, and surely more then he had the same idea. Of course, no one else would have quite so many connections as he did, or as much to lose if they were discovered. Duval averted his eyes to hide the two conflicting emotions upon his features at the sight of a happy couple slipping out from a bar. They had everything, and he nothing at all.

It was then that Duval noticed exactly what he'd been looking for. It was so easy to tell that the orange haired man was more then simply human; to one such as him it was quite ordinary though his masquerade bellied that fact. With a smile he sauntered near the other man and leaned against the wall at his side. Glancing Feori's way with undisguisable amethyst eyes, Duval smiled. "You seem quite out of the ordinary ... What bring you here?" He hoped his implication was obvious, but doubted he would be able to gain any trust from the other man. Certainly not at this point in their rather short acquaintance.

Feori had not expected to be approached by anyone, so when the male approached him and spoke he was a little surprised. The unicorn glanced at the other and inhaled deeply, trying to take in his scent, to gauge if the other was human or something else entirely. It probably didn't matter. Out of the ordinary? Perhaps he was, though the humans that passed him by on the street didn't seem to think so, at least they hadn't given him a second glance. He gave the stranger a second glance though. Looking him over as if thinking of how best to answer that question. Though Feori would tell the truth. Lying simply was not in his nature. "Vengeance. I seek vengeance." The other could take that to mean whatever he wanted it to. Feori didn't care. If this man was not with him, then he was against him.

Interesting. Duval had certainly not imagined to find an ally for the secret forces working to destroy the city, but perhaps in this man there was one. Though there were many ways to ascertain this, the brunette went for the easiest. "Against whom?" Though it didn't show, he worked for those wanting to rid themselves for the city. It was only one of any reasons why Duval was so good with changing his appearance.

Feori watched the stranger and shrugged. "Against all that has taken my true home from me." He removed a hand from his pocket and waved it, to gesture to the rest of the city. This man asked questions, but maybe, just maybe he was the one the rumors spoke of. "I have heard rumors, someone else seeks the same vengeance as I." He gazed at Duval expectantly, as if expecting this man to admit to being the one the rumors were about, or hopefully connected in some way.

Vivian Blake is a local reporter. Her mother and father are both higher ups in the city and brought her up hating the supernatural who lurk "their" city. She's been lead to believe that they are all evil and up to no good and that's how she reports of them.

~~~*~~~

Vivian brushed a strand of red hair from her forehead as the camera man began closing down his set up. She'd just finished a news report about a local supernatural group said to be harassing the city. She pulled her denim jacket on over her nice button up sleeveless dress shirt. She smoothed out her black pencil skirt and made her way to her car. She was meeting her girlfriends at a local bar and was officially running late. Hopefully they had some leads on things going on in town, being that one of them was a local police officer and the other a nurse at the local hospital.

It wasn't long before she pulled into a parking space, her red Mercedes easing into it's front door spot. She hopped out of the car and made her way inside the bar, passing by a couple of men talking against the wall. She paid them no mind as she walked inside, immediately spotting her girlfriends in a window booth. That was fine with her, she was starving. She made her way through the place, heels clicking against the floor, before sliding into the booth, her favorite martini already waiting for her.[/FONT]


((I thought the idea of her would be beneficial to the story. I just wasn't sure where to place her. Lol that's the best I got today.))

A strange light entered Duval's eyes. "I believe I might be able to help you with that. Did you have anything particular in mind?" Rumors abounded and the man behind them all still remained unknown. That didn't mean that his eyes were not upon his followers, nor that he didn't have plans. He had them aplenty, this Maldue spoken of by everyone in the city. Slowly but surely he gathered followers, and Duval was his greatest advocate.

Ziya Itzallen

The form she chooses has vivid green eyes and untamed dark purple hair that fails to hide her long pointed ears. Her skin is pale with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. She always wears her hair mainly down with the upper portion pulled into two messy buns which she likes to decorate with flowers and butterfly pins. She always wears a pair of moon and star decorated earrings which hold a feeling of magic within. She tends to dress part pirate, part lolita, and part stripper in shades of blue with black. She is of average height at around 5'7''and athletic build with subtle but definite womanly curves, or at least tends to prefer to appear that way for reasons of her own. She tends to keep her wings, which are made of blue and silver light, hidden and moves with a strange mix of energy and grace. She has an intricate crescent moon mark in black and silver over her left breast that marks her as Eclipse Fay royalty, the one thing about her shape she can not change despite having escaped their realm for this one.

The fay's voice rang out from the stage, singing as the bar had hired her for entertainment. Her voice was indeed beautiful, as would be expected of her kind whose voices and wings often made them easy to confuse for angels... when they weren't in human form like she had chosen to appear. Her long ears were twitching with the music now and then, nobody making a fuss for some odd reason. Then again it was easy with a little fairy glamor to make humans not truly realize what they were seeing so she had likely used such a thing. Why she would do so and be here was rather simple.

She loved entertaining and she was entertained as she watched humans around her. She loved the stories she could weave and the changing faces of humans unable to hide their emotions the way those at the Eclipse court always had. She loved the variation, the changing times, everything. She swayed with this happiness, as always content with her existence. She knew the balance would swing this way and that, but always return to center so the temporary swing away from magic in this city disturbed her very little. Then again for her it was easy to spot the magic in each human soul, never truely lost or forgotten even when they tried.

As she finished her song and curtsied to applause she skipped off the stage for her usual break where various acts were allowed to take her place for a time. This time it was some local band, mainly consisting of humans whose love of music made them dream of stardom. She smiled at the spark in each soul and headed for the bar, grabbing a drink of water before heading to perch lightly on a stool. She could feel a unicorn somewhere nearby, that was odd. Oh well, it didn't concern her unless approached she supposed.

Plans? If Feori had already had any good ones, this city would be gone, the humans relocated to somewhere else. Somewhere far away. He wasn't interested in killing them, though if a few had to die for him to get back what was lost, then that was alright. He snorted lightly, almost the way a horse might, though the sound was rather human. "If I had any good ones, or ones that worked this city would be gone long before now. Besides, I can't really do much on my own anyway." An army perhaps? That was a nice thought, he shook his head slightly.

"What if I told you there are many who hold such sentiments, and that I have contact with their leader? Would you agree to follow his orders, and bind yourself to him? I'm sure he would agree that you have much potential as much more then a simple lackey." Trouble was brewing, and leaders were hard to find those days. Maldue was organizing his forces slowly, beneath the unsuspecting gazes of the populace. Already he was sending out tiny groups to wreak havoc in order to test how the humans would react. He wanted them to suffer as he had ... but wouldn't pursue them if they were intelligent enough to run and abandon the lands they had taken by force.

Adamaris, or Ada for short, waltzed into the bar without a care in the world. It was rather obvious that she wasn't human. Black scales shone at her ankles, shining wetly beneath the lights as she began to shimmy her scarf clothed hips to the music. The siren danced and twirled, with a delighted laugh letting her voice join that of the singer up on stage. They were human, but that didn't mean that a siren couldn't lend them some of her magic to boost that which was already theirs.

People stared at the slight woman, their eyes catching upon the scarves she'd fashioned into a very colorful top. It was unusual attire to say the least. Ada simply didn't understand why humans were so nervous of their bodies.

Feori watched the other carefully. Almost as if he thought the other was trying to lead him into a trap. Feori could follow orders, but what exactly did he mean by 'bind'? The word could hold so many different meanings, depending on the creature being bound or being bound to. Did he mean with words only, was it a blood contract? A soul contract? Or something else entirely? Still, it would be hard to bind a unicorn, no matter the method, even if Feori was willing. He shrugged slightly. This might be his only chance, Feori was not going to let this chance slip from his grasp. He nodded. Feori probably should have asked what he meant by the word 'bind', but instead he nodded again. "I would be eager to meet with your leader, then."

A secretive smile crossed Duval's features. For a brief moment his appearance flickered. His hair was even longer then he had let it appear, flowing down past his hips in sapphire locks. Pointed ears peeked through, and Duval's, no Maldue's, skin changed, becoming even paler then it had appeared to be before. The man seemed taller as well, as if the glamor had been binding his form instead of simply hiding it. "You've met him. Now that little piece of business is out of the way, let's discuss everything else in a more private setting, shall we?" He'd only let his glamor fall very selectively. To everyone else, Maldue had made sure he appeared to be the same near harmless human man. During the day, he was truly at his weakest but at night then his powers truly shone like the stars above.

It was the human's fault. They had twisted even him, and the sickly green patches upon his forearms were testament to that. With every year he grew sicker, and so did his people. It was more then time for his well laid plans to be put into action, but he still needed help. There were some of the supernatural community who saw no reason to fight back against the mortals; these same people were also a dangerous obstacles to his plans.

Such trickery. Feori was surprised by the other's sudden change, or rather, the dropping of his glamor. Whatever the man preferred to call it. Feori had not guessed the one he was speaking to right now was the leader they had spoken about. The unicorn shifted on his feet slightly, snorting lightly and pawing at the ground with the toe of his boot. Much the way a nervous equine might. That nervous didn't last long, and the wary look he was giving the male faded quickly enough. "Where should we go?" Feori took a step away from the wall he had been leaning on, giving the other an expectant look now.

The other man's reaction was quite satisfyingly one of surprise and nervousness. With a wave of his hand the fae motioned to the bar and proceeded to slip inside without another word to Feori. Instead he spoke quietly to one of the people working there, asking very discreetly about rooms available for the patrons use. Soon he had a key in hand and was waiting for the orange haired man to join him by the stairs. There was so much to discuss, and so much to plan.

Maldue knew the risks he took with this new acquaintance were great indeed, and though he never wanted to end the life of another supernatural being he would do so if it was necessary to make sure his plans moved forward towards completion. He reminded himself of why by pressing a hand over the rough green patches upon his arm. That was why he fought, not only for his simple revenge but to preserve the future of his kind.

Feori hesitated when the other moved to enter the building he had been leaning on. That nose wrinkling in disgust and disdain, but Feori did follow his new found ally in vengeance. No, he would call it justice, not vengeance. That's really what it was, wasn't it? Justice against the humans who had committed such an atrocious act. Feori would never, could never and even before this had never understood why his white cousins loved them so.

Humans were terrible things, there was so little purity left in them, so little innocence and since they had moved their city here, Feori had not even had a glimpse of one of his cousins. It was for them, really, that he sought this justice. With the humans gone, perhaps they would return.

Though sometimes his mind turned to morbid thoughts, what if all the others were gone? All manner of unicorn gone completely from this world, but certainly he couldn't be the last. Not one like him, a white was deserving of being the last. Feori shuddered slightly as he followed the other man.

Vivian was laughing and having a great time with her girlfriends not noticing much around them when she realized they were all out of drinks. The bar was getting busy as it usually did around this time so Viv decided to haul herself up there and order a round without having to wait on their waitress.

She squeezed into a spot next to the purple haired woman who'd been singing on stage. Vivian ordered her drinks and prepared to wait as she slid a sideways glance to the woman who she'd not recognized to be that of a supernatural creature. She smiled brightly. "You've got an amazing voice," she complimented, one of her best traits. Only if you were human of course.

((damn you and mentioning white unicorns, now I need to remake my unicorn maiden or rather unisus maiden xD))

Ziya Itzallen

Ziya watched the siren enter and delight, smiling faintly as she began her own inner monologue of why such a choice was made. Had she come to land because of an exotic lover? Did she have a human love here in the room perhaps, admired from afar because such love could not be? She instantly opened a journal she kept and began to write down one such story, only glancing at the unicorn and other fay as they passed. She resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose, feeling the corruption in the other fay. With what she was it was little wonder....

Still, that also explained why she had been drawn here. The balance of all things was more tenuous then it seemed and even if she had given up her crown and her duty, she could not give up herself and her ability to sense it. She would always unconsciously be attracted to such places. Oh well, it was not her right to interfere so she said nothing and did nothing to indicate she knew. She simply went happily back to her story, or at least she would have until the other woman approached. She instantly gave her a smile, a loving and happy person by nature she bore the human no ill despite knowing of many of her reports.

"Thank you! and you have a beautiful smile. That's what makes singing fun you know, making people smile. My name's Ziya, but I bet I can guess yours. Vivian. I saw you on tv a few times when i was window shopping" She said openly, letting out a cheerful and bell like laugh. She smiled then at the woman, thinking nothing of her dislike of non humans apparently. Fear and misunderstanding breed such things, it did not mean that the human had genuine evil or malice in their souls so Ziya never saw any reason to hold it against her.

Amala Sophias

Amala in her human form is a rather ethereal looking creature with long white wavy hair far past her hips and shining blue eyes that remind of the ocean. She wears her hair mainly down with a braid of it acting like a head band and two wispy strands pulled up into bouncy ponytails. Her skin is rather pale and seems to almost glow like the moon. She wears no make up but always looks as flawless as a porcelain doll. She always wears wispy, semi transparent fabrics that seem to float around her curvacious form in pale colors such as silver. She always wears a long scar around her shoulders that appears to never tear or dirty for reasons unknown and dresses rather elegantly. Still, even with her beauty the only thing that suggests her lack of humanity would be the single golden gem in the middle of her forehead that is the dormant form of her horn.

The unisus had been sleeping for some time, hidden in a crystal coffin-like structure beneath the waves of the oceans. She had once been a thing of great power, now she wasn't even a legend as few unisus were born. She was a snow white, remembered not even by her prince. She had grown tired of the world and the world had little use for her, a union of earth and sky that was never meant to be to begin with. She did not recall anymore if she had sealed herself or merely allowed someone to do it as she tired of fighting those who sought the power of her horn.

Still, even the ocean could not remain eternally still and something called to her. A unicorn had wished for council deep in its heart, so strongly she felt the wish. Empathy was a curse of her mothers kind, the healing white unicorn, that she had inherited. She twisted in her coffin, trying to turn her back on the unicorn as she had those who had betrayed her on her mothers death. Yet it was too late.... the crystal was breaking and drops of water were falling on her face until her ocean blue eyes opened to stare up into the depths above her.

For many moments she simply stared, sighing as she watched the cracks grow. A flash of her horn later and in a flash of light and glittering crystal she would find herself kneeling on shore with only her hair and her scarf to cover her as she transformed to her human form beneath the moonlight. She had soon conjured a simple dress, though it did nothing to protect her ears from the onslaught of the city sounds. She did not think she remembered it there before.... it seemed the world had changed in her sleep and she was cautiously curious about the changes. How long had she been sleeping? So much of her memory was cloudy and uncertain. She remembered being kicked out of the herd, she remembered wandering, she remembered alchemists and even other unicorns seeking her horn....

A unisus horn, after all, was one of the rarest things in existence and held great power at the time she had left the world. Magic was the norm and her horn was all magic combined into a simple golden form. She touched the simple gold gem that it hid within now, frowning as the pulses of magic felt weaker then when she had gone to sleep... How much had changed? She pushed away the thought and stepped forward, glancing at a shops window and quickly seeing her dress was out of date. Fashion had changed, become simpler..... The Victorian lace dress disappeared to be replaced by a more modern summer dress such as she saw. She then started walking, only to find a strange talking box chatting at her.

For a moment she stared at it, putting her hand against the glass as a red head talked about some magic cult and the trouble it had made. She felt no magic in the box, but the power of lightening surged through it. Had humans discovered a technology that could harness the power of the skies without magic? Yes... the world had changed, and she seemed to fit even less in this one then she had the last. A darkly amused smile touched her lips and she found herself wandering towards the bar, though she could not understand what any unicorn would want there... Was it a trap?

He ignored the benevolent fae that had begun crowing into the bar. They were simply a nuisance, nothing more. "Come along." repeated the fae as he clambered up the stairs and unlocked the room nearest them. Within it was plain, just a little dingy. A bed stood near the right wall, signaling obviously what some people used it for.

"Now let me explain what I meant by a binding ... I want your true name, and mine you shall have as well in full. I have plans and need a staunch ally for my second in command to put them into play at last." Maldue allowed his facade to fall completely to show the unicorn that his words were true, if a fae's words were not enough for him.

Feori followed the other, for the most part ignoring the sounds and others in this place and trying hard not to breath too deeply of it's stink. The unicorn almost relaxed when they entered the room, at least until the other spoke again. Feori stepped back, eyes widening, almost wild looking as he stared at the man warily. The unicorn in human form looked very much like a horse about to bolt. True name. Ancient and old magic, even Feori was ruled by that magic. One never spoke their true name to someone lightly, to a life partner sure, but to say it so casually to this person he had just met.

To give the other that kind of power over him, once told the words could not be untold. The name said could not be unsaid. Though the other said he would give his own name. A name for a name. There was no guarantee that the truth was being told, but why should a fae lie to a unicorn? "I..." Feori began but stopped. He had always trusted the fae before, but one had never asked of him his true name. If only a cousin was here, a white unicorn would know what he should do better than himself. They were so wise.

Perhaps this was the only way? He had found an ally when he had thought there were none. Certainly he had heard the rumors, but rumors did not always ring with truths, and fae were a tricksy sort of folk. Feori was hesitating greatly, would the other see it as a sign of weakness, or distrust? He shook his head slightly, pawing at the floor with the toe of his boot for a moment. However, despite all of his reservation, Feori relented. "Truly I am called Mstislav." The words were spoken slowly, the name itself meant vengeance, but to Feori the true name had been freedom.

Would this be an end to his freedom? Really though, how trivial a price that was in light of the things he might accomplish now with this fae as an ally. He shuddered lightly, trying to squish the feeling that he had somehow made a very large mistake.

Maldue watched the unicorn carefully, silently preparing himself for the other male's flight. His fingers twitched nervously over his spelled dagger, only to relax as Feori's true name finally left his lips. "Thank you for your trust, Mstislav. Please feel free to call me Edryd." It meant descent and restoration, a rather fitting set of contradictory meanings for the fae. He lifted his arms to show the eerie green scaly growth now covering both wrists and slowly spreading to his forearms.

He had so many names, and only one true to himself. Maldue moved to sit upon the bed with a cold stare for the electric lamp. "My plan as it stands is to cut off this place from all others, then the fae and others of our ilk will begin to raze the city. It is the human's choice to remain or not once this begins. If they loose their lives foolishly, it will be no true fault of ours."

Feori still looked as if he might bolt, but his nervousness seemed to be easing away. Very slowly easing away. The unicorn watched the fae very carefully for a moments longer, not quite understanding this feeling of dread that had crept up around his heart for some reason. Was it because he had told his true name? Nothing good would come of that, he was sure. "Edryd." Feori spoke the name carefully, testing it on his lips and tasting it on his tongue, he had spoken it once and if he could help it, he would not call the other's name aloud again. Someone might overhear, that thought led Feori to another thought, what if this Edryd spoke Feori's true name aloud again and others heard it?

He shifted on his feet. No this had been a mistake, but he couldn't take back his words. Things said could not be unsaid. Still Feori agreed with this man. If some humans fell, it was not their fault. This was war and casualties should be expected. "Humans are horrible creatures."

He shifted on his feet again, again wishing deep in his heart for one of his cousins. Whatever counsel they could give him now though would be too late. He had given power over himself to this Edryd. There was no turning back from this path now, he could only move forward. "When will we begin?" It was the only question left to ask.

The fae leaned forward and waited quite impatiently to see how the unicorn would react. He had Feori's true name now, so letting him live was entirely possible. If the unicorn flew it also meant that retribution would be far greater. A small sigh of relief escaped Maldue as his name was spoken, and the most important question of the night was spoken. "I send a message telling my people to cut off this town's electricity. Without it, the humans will be nearly completely cut off from the outer world. It will send them in a panic. Then we shall take down the water plants, and we'll see how well they survive upon tainted waters." Malice slipped through his words as Maldue spoke.

Lifting his head, the fae swept away long locks of blue hair from his features. !And you, why you will help me to confront the opposition of our kinds, and all the others." The fae's definition of right and wrong was far different from that of humans. Perhaps if Maldue put the case before them they would agree to give him his revenge, if not he now had an ally to help him escape such a situation.

Feori never thought of that. Take out their electricity. Destroying the technology that kept them connected to other cities. It sounded like a very good idea in his ears. Feori nodded at the fae's words. Once again, Feori was shifting on his feet, though this time it was mostly due to the room they were in. He felt closed off, as if he had been stabled somewhere, he had been feeling like that since they entered the building but other important things had been at the fore front of his mind. He shook his head lightly. Feori was trapped, and he did not like being trapped, but he had done this to himself. "I'll do whatever has to be done." Though he said that, Feori was rather conflicted about the whole thing. He said he would do whatever had to be done, and he fully planned to carry out his words, but even so he wasn't sure if he could do some of the things that might be required.