It was night. Stars glittered in the sky like diamonds thrown onto black velvet. The waves of the ocean caught the rays of the full moon, and turned to silver as they crashed against the sandy shore. No birds called in the night, for they were all asleep in their nests, waiting for the morning to come.
A crab scurried along the sand, finding tiny sea creatures to eat in its claws. A mother seaturtle crawled back into the ocean after laying hundreds of eggs in a hold on the beach. Life continued on, even though the world was shrouded in darkness.
Shien walked slowly along the water's edge, breathing in the salty sea air, and enjoying the feel of the water as it lapped against her feet. She wore no shoes, as they would have been soaked through and uncomfortable by now. She had her long black skirt tucked up into her belt, so that the ocean's waters would not dampen the hem.
This was her first time walking along the beach. She had never been to this part of Imythess, and was reveling in the feel of the night. She looked overhead at the moon sailing by, and marveled in its beauty.
Why am I changing? I used to revel in causing fear, and destroying humans. Now I rarely do anything of the sort. I am most comfortable sitting alone in the library, or walking alone along the beach. I treat people with respect, and I am courteous. Why have I changed so much?

Incubo could not see anything and he had an instinct he was underwater. He had a sharp, throbbing pain in his left shoulder and a burning cut along the right side of his neck. He was being tossed over and under the waves mercilessly. Finally it ended. A last wave pushed him head first into the sandy beach. The sand got around that cut in his neck, making the pain even worse. He put he used his right hand to touch a long, slender, wooden shafted arrow in his left shoulder blade. He tugged at it, but the only result he got was a piercing red pain down his whole back. He let out a muffled yelp as it surged through his body. He put his right hand on his neck. He saw a blue glow before him and he witdrew his hand. It was now covered in deep red blood. He used Heal on his neck, but all it did was remove all the sand, salt water, and bacteria out of the wound. The slice was still as long and deep as it was before. Using the rest of his energy, Incubo put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. In a matter of seconds, Renor came sprinting up to him. He licked his face, imagining it would cure him. Incubo pushed him away gently and spoke to him weakly.

"I'm afraid this it for me, my loyal companion. Take care of yourself and show no mercy to those who threaten you." He smiled at his worg and his head crashed to the ground, like it weighed 1,000 stones. Before his eyes shut, he saw the silhouette of a female sitting on the beach. He hoped she had noticed him and would save him from a disgraceful death.

As she wandered deep in her lonely thoughts, Shien heard a strange sound coming from farther down the beach. It puzzled her, as most creatures were quiet at night. This, however, sounded like no creature she had heard before.
She turned her head towards the sound, and allowed her eyes to focus on the scene spread out before her. They widened, and Shien gasped as she saw the figure of a man laying on the beach. A creature was standing over him; it seemed as though it was attacking the man. Her hand flew to her mouth, stifling most of the noise. Before she knew what she was doing, her feet had carried her swiftly down the sands, racing towards the man and the creature.
She skittered to a stop, and grabbed a stick of driftwood. Not wanting to kill the creature, she started beating at it, trying to drive it away. Surprisingly, the creature danced out of the way of the stick, and stood a short distance away. Shien figured it would eventually go away, and turned her attention to the man before her.
He had been attacked. There was an arrow in his left shoulder, and a long gash on his neck. Most of the sand and saltwater had been removed from the wound, and it was bleeding freely. The sand beneath him was stained an ugly red color as the life slowly drained out of him. Shien began to panic slightly. She couldn't Heal. She had never learned anything like that!
She reached for her skirts, and ripped a long piece of the black material away. She placed it over the wound on the man's neck, staunching the blood flow for the moment. She left the arrow alone, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him there.
As she was placing the makeshift bandage over the neck wound, she looked at his face to see if he was still conscious. Sir? Sir! Are you awake? Please sir, let me know that you are still with me!

Incubo's chest was heaving up and down, takeing large breathes. He didn't know how long he'd been unconcience. He turned his head so incredibly slowly it took him at least 3 minutes to do. He looked up at the blurred woman and nodded slightly. He felt her warm hands wrap something around his neck. It felt like a thin piece of cloth.

"The arrow..." Incubo whispered weakly. "I need that out now, forget about my neck."

Incubo lay their dizzy from the blood loss but he might make it. Then he had another vivid flashback. It was just him and his one ally fending off a hoard of Elves and Light Sentenials. Incubo was in a rampage and was destroying anyone in his path. But he was ambushed, as an Elven arrow pierced his left shoulder blade. Incubo was now back to reality. This arrow was in the same spot the other one was in. Pain was pulsating through his body with every beat of his heart.

"Renor Xukuth! Sevir ilta maglust!" Incubo commanded sternly, and with life. Renor laid down, head on his paws whining. "You must excuse Renor, he is not the most polite familiar to strangers," Incubo said in that same weak whisper. "Please though you must remove that arrow..." Incubo pleaded.

Shien nodded slowly at the man's words. She left his neck alone, and shifted slightly on the sand. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for the shaft. The head was buried deeply into the shoulderblade, and she was nervous about pulling out. She was afraid she would do more damage by pulling it out. But that man had been very adamant about that.

As her slim fingers closed over the arrow shaft, she closed her eyes slightly, and prayed. To whom she prayed, she knew not, but it gave her a new feeling of confidence.

She held onto the arrow with a firm grip, and began working it out. She didn't want to yank it out, for that could tear things worse than necessary. She pulled hard enough to make it move, but not so hard that it caused anymore damage.
Slowly but surely, the arrow came out of the wound. Blood flowed out of the wound, and covered her hands. She flung the arrow away from her, and ripped another piece of her skirt. She folded it, and held it over the shoulder wound to stop the blood.

Incubo cringed at the immense pain, but did not say a word. The scar from years ago was no doubt re-opened. He felt new warm blood trickle down his side onto the sand. He heard the tearing of a cloth and felt the woman's hand gently press on his shoulder to stop the blood. Although the woman was doing all she could to help him, the material was too thin. He needed something a bit thinker and absorbant. He spoke:

"I cannot thank you enough for all your help, but would you happen to have a cloak of somesort. I have one, but it is soaking wet."

He looked up at Renor to see him sleeping now. He chuckled to himself. Possible death must bore demon hounds.

((OOC: sorry for the short post :/ ))

Shien nodded, and raised one hand to unclasp the cloak from around her neck. It fell behind her, and she turned slightly to pick it up. She tugged at it, but in her haste, she had forgotten that she was sitting on it. She raised up on her knees, and pulled the cloak out from under her. It had gotten slightly damp, but she found a place that was relatively dry. She gripped it firmly in her hand, squeezing as much of the water out as she could.
She removed the already soaked bandage from the arrow wound, and placed the cloak down firmly over the wound. She tossed the rag away, and placed both hands on the new bandage. This one soaked up the blood much easier than the piece of her dress.
She turned her head slightly. The creature that she thought had been attacking the injured man was now sleeping on the beach. No, not a creature Shien corrected. Familiar. He said that that creature was his familiar. So it couldn't have been trying to kill him.
I hope this works better, sir. Shien said quietly. But how did you get like this? It is not normal for people to wash up on lonely beaches in the middle of the night with arrows sticking out of them.

Incubo twisted his face a bit as the woman pressed harder on his shoulder with a new dry material. He smiled though. This would work and he would be fine. He began to get up, but he left hand just made it too painful. He pushed up with his right hand and sat upright. It was quite distressful lieing in ones own blood. Now he got a clear veiw of who had helped him. It was a beautiful woman with long black hair. She reminded him a lot like Phedre for some reason.

"Please, call me Incubo. And to tell the story would take quite awhile. I don;t want to bore you. Plus even though it sounds simple, these wounds would take a lot of energy out of me." Incubo cringed a bit as the cut on his neck stung. He placed his hand on it as it glowed blue again. The cut was now shallower but still bled, just not as much. "In the mean time, tell me about yourself. I'd like to know the name of the beautiful woman who saved my life." Incubo smiled slightly looking down at the ground.

Shien helped the man to sit up as he pushed himself up from the sands. They were stained red with his blood, though the turing of the tides would soon wash it away. She noted the blue glow that appeared at his neck, but decided not to ask about it. She didn't want to tire him out anymore than he already was. She heard him tell her his name, and smiled slightly.

I doubt anything you say could bore me, Incubo. But we'll let that rest for now. She adjusted her pressure on the shoulder wound, and relaxed a bit. Now that he was seated upright, and was able to remain so almost on his own, she was less worried. She was flattered that he thought her beautiful, though it was not the first time she had heard such words.

To know more about me would require me delving into that which I dislike. There are somethings I keep hidden from even myself, and, for now, must remain hidden from you. But, she said with a smile, I can tell you my name. I am Shien.

She stood then, and reached to help Incubo stand. Now then, it is not healthy to be sitting in cold water such serious wounds. Let us move a little ways up the beach, so that you do not catch a fever.

Incubo nodded, showing he understood. He took her hand and stood up. He bowed his head instead of his whole torso, not wanting to agrivate the the arrow wound. He took up Shien's hand and kissed it gently, keeping his evil instincts under control.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Shien. Again, I can't thank you enough for saving me." He said walking up the sandy beaches of the coast. He pressed on the wound with his right hand. He the flipped the cloth on its other drier side. The other side was soaked by now but he could tell that the bleeding had decreased dramaticly.

The footsteps behing him were noticeable even in the night. As soon as he got to a nice, drier place on the beach he sat down and looked betond the vast, open sea.

"Please, sit down. I'll tell you how I ended up in such horrible conditions." He gestured for Shien to sit down next to him. He pulled up his knees close to his chest and rested his arms on them. His red eyes seemed to glow as the stared out into the black ocean.

Shien followed the wounded man up the slope of the beach. She watched carefully to see if he needed help, but Incubo seemed to be doing just fine. She glanced behind her at the sleeping warg. It hadn't moved since Incubo had said something to it in a language she couldn't understand.

She stood by him as he lowered himself to the ground. She remained standing until he was settled in the sands. When he asked her to sit next to him, she gathered her long skirts, and tried to sit down as gracefully as possible. However, all she managed was a decidedly ungraceful plop. She glanced at Incubo, and smiled ruefully. Then she became more serious.

Please tell me how you managed to wash up on this deserted shore. My natural curiosity is strong tonight, and I am just aching to know.


((OOC: Sorry I've been away so long. Holidays and such.))

((OOC: No problem))

Incubo chuckled heartily as Shien landed on the ground with a hard thump. He smiled somehow when this happened. Incubo rarely ever smiled these days. usually they would be smiles because of an evil doing or someone's terrible misfortune. But this was different. He felt a bit different. He looked from Shien to the ground and started his long... long story.

"In order for you to understand why I was attacked, I must tell you the story of the great war that plagued my realm since before I was born. It is a very long story so don't fall asleep on me," he said with a chuckle.

"It was long ago in my demon realm. I was born into a war that lasted for two milleniums. High elves, Elven warriors, Elven spellcasters, Elven archers, Celestial beingings, even some neutral Drows flooded into my realm, their eye on destroying the demon race that lived their. My great-grandfather was the Weaponsmaster for the entire realm. Along with his four daughters who were arcane mages, and one son who was a Weaponsmaster, he fought valantly for at least seven hundred years. He did, however, die disgraceully. He was ready to slay the Elven king but was struck down from behind by an Elven warrior. His daughters were never heard from for a very long time and my father went into hiding in a distant place. When he was there he realized he must continue the legacy of fighters that my family was. I had been born into the war and recieved training from my father, who was one of the greatest demon warriors that ever lived in that Demon Plane, after his father. He taught me well and soon I had over passed him. Then the day came when the horde of Elves were upon us again. My father and I fought for well over six hundred years. My father had slayed so many Elves and Celestial Beings that he lost count after one thousand. He told me the last one he would kill was the king, but he suffered the same fate that his father did. As I witnessed my own father's capture, I went into hiding as well, with the last remaining demon of the entire relm. He just so happened to be a freind of mine and a stundent of my father's. We recooperated for at least 3 years which might not seem like a long time compared to the war, but it was plenty of time. Then the Elves were upon us to finish the war. It was just me and my freind, battling together fo five hundred years. Then it was time. The Elven King was sprawled on the ground and I was ready to kill."

"You know, you are going to die the same way as your grandfather and father, don't you?"

I quickly spun around, but it was too late. The Elven warrior was coming down with his sword at my head. Then a miracle a cured... A bright white flash appeared in front of me and the Elven warrior was killed. I looked up to see where it came from, and saw one of my... what you may call aunt I suppose in this realm. But I knew her as my grandfather's daughter. She had casted a spell on the elf to save my life. But her life was ended just as quickly as the elf's. The other archer's noticed what had happened and began firing rapidly at her. Shot with well over five arrows. Before she died, she cast an apocolyptic spell that killed at least another 700 combatants. I turned around to the King and sneered at him. With one swift move I stabbed him in the throat with a mighty family sword. IT was over. I had just ended the war, or so I thought, but the Elves kept fighting like another one of their comrades had died. We showed no mercy but they were still too much. One thousand to two were the odds and we were severly injured. They eventually took us over and my freind was killed I was spared and sent to Imythess in a Norwood jail. I escaped, but I was striped of all my powers. Now here I am."

Incubo looked up to Shien to see if she still wanted to here why he had been attacked.

Shien listened in amazement as Incubo told his story. The fact that he had survived with those odds totally astounded her. She listened to every word, and was startled when he stopped.

She felt rather foolish, actually. It had been many years since she had been so excited over a simple story. It brought back many memories that she had carried deep within her throughout the years. She struggled to return them to their hidden place even as she encouraged Incubo to continue.

Please, don't stop. This is an amazing story. What happened next?