The sun was starting to set low into the sky. The shadows growing ever longer. The air was getting colder.

Then he set foot upon the path.

He approached the gate, walking easily towards the front of the grounds leading to the House. His arms as always folded behind him, but instead of the normal black uniform - upon his form was wrapped a pure white uniform with black trim, though the black boots were still there. Auburn eyes lookd so out of place while adorned in the formal uniform. The guards watched him with cautious eyes.

"I've come for the Lady Belial." The guards huffed.

He responded - "She is expecting me."

He noted a few things as he was lead in by the annoyed guards. They were not pleased he was here. He didn't have to read the surface emotions, he saw the hatred in thier eyes.

It seemed to only caused his smirk to broaden into a smile. There were several reasons why he was considered the most hated man. They may very well know a majority of them.

They may only a few of those details escape, for if too many knew the truth - where would be the fun in corruption"

He was lead to what seemed to be a social chamber within the house, with the delicious Lady Belial awaiting. Her dark green eyes do not go unnoticed. His pure auburn eyes study her, accepting her invitation to come in.

"Our...situation?" He says, his arms remaining folded behind him until he settled in the chair she offered. "An ale," he responds to her invitation for refreshment.

He had dealt with too many beings over time, too much has occured in his time on this world to surpress what his senses are feeding to him. That dark chill of air caressing over her flesh, telling him her mind is ready, but still fighting his influance.

But there was something else...he couldn't identify.

He was no fool. Certainly not when it came to females and defiantly not when it came to the Lady Belial. She led one of the most powerful houses in city, if not the region. He was aware of her "otherworldly' status. He had felt the power pour off her life-force for some time. There was a reason after all that he was after her. The "warning" produced by the annoying puppet simply reinforced it. He watched her. Even with her power, tapped or untapped by her " the Ribbon was doing its job. However"

There was something else bothering him. Her movements were graceful, delicate as always. But there was something still bothering him. He'd seen her that night with the other. The placement of his hand; the familiarity with her. It had increased her ability to resist the black ribbon.

Of course!

A former lover has returned. Someone with a strong emotional bond that is granting some protection from the potential corruption he has sought to inflict upon her. He smirked as she had taken position near the wet bar, and inquired of his drink. "Human ale, will be fine; Simplicity tonight in the light of our 'situation"." He flashed a gentleman's smile towards her. She of course returns a smile to him.

Those eyes are haunting at best; Hypnotic to a lesser being.

It was unfortunate for her " he was not a lesser being. The cold chill continued to expand around him, caressing her flesh gently. "Most times, I prefer a very'special"type. Not found except at my Inn; specially brewed. Not one that most people would care for if they knew the contents therein."

No doubt she has studied him, had her spies after him. He's more than likely killed one or two of them over the last few months. She being who"or what?she is, no doubt has sensed something far darker than even the reports given to her. Perhaps could even"A frown" His vile auburn eyes caught the formation of a frown upon that delicate brow.

He stood, his arms pulling behind him, tightning the tunic around his torso. The formal white uniform giving him the appearance of a military leader, a man of power not for the sake of power, but for that of authority in words, in actions. "My Lady, are you alright, you seem a bit"flustered." He paused a moment, his eyes studied her form. "Is there something I can do for you, perhaps even get you something"?

The chill was alive, in a sense, feeding him information about the texture of her flesh, the feel of her form. She was slow to distance herself, at the same time; it seemed as if she needed to. Analyzing this and her motion and her tone, he realized that he made her slightly nervous. Perhaps it was what she wanted to talk to him about; perhaps it was what she had learned about him.

Perhaps it was"him.

He knew what was going on to a point, the Ribbon was calling her. His presence made it worse. It was working as he designed. Regardless of how hard she struggled with it, regardless of how it was studied, who studied it: It called all the same.

While he was familiar with her own life force, her own energy; he also sensed something else attempting to gain influence with her as well. The puppet master, no doubt. The godling was annoying at best. He watched as she poured the ale, returning slowly around the wet bar, offering it to him. He couldn't help but smirk, taking the mug gently from her hand. She politely invited him to sit so they could discuss possible their 'situation". "You'll forgive me, My Lady, if I stand while we talk." He declined politely, taking a drink from the mug.

What was this" Her cheeks flushed"

Delicious.

As if to aggravate her condition, the chilled fingers of his free hand reached up, caressing her rosed cheek delicately ? as if he were admiring rare porcelain. The fingers lingered there, as if to taunt her to a reaction she was not ready to reveal.

She had stepped closer her smell was without question, and to use the term - Delicious. It was intense. It was haunting. It was glorious. Everything he expected it to be. She was not an easy catch - if she was an easy catch, she would be his by now. But that would not be the goal of this particular corruption. Her flesh was delightful; she had taken great care of herself. The chill that had infiltrated her was working in conjunction with the call. He could sense the battle within.

The smile that formed upon her lips caused a smile to develop upon his own.

The auburn eyes studied her green eyes, enjoying the darkened gaze, the motion as she studied his own. He could feel the energy flow from her. The taint of her life force, it flowed so easily into his own.

The power flowed...to the point it saturated his own reserves. He basked in the darkness that flowed from her into him. The emotional energy flowed in with that dark corruption - a sweet mixture.

Her words regarding his status only inform him that she is slipping farther into corruption. The question is will she still feel the essence of his own corruption before falling for the invading corruption he can taste forming inside.

"Business is always a pleasure, in my experience, my lady. It is something I'm quite good at." He responded quietly, watching as she retreated behind her desk. She was resisting him, at the same time, she was not flushing her system free of the corruption. He moved around to the wet bar, settling his mug upon the bar and filling a glass with water. He began to work with both hands behind the bar, his auburn eyes moving back up to review her quietly. "What is it that you wish to discuss with me, my lady?"

He watched and listened as she moved back around the desk, carrying the packet. He didn't change what he was working on behind the bar. His eyes, however, were on her. She continued on, explaining that she, as the proper leader of the House, was offering him a non-aggression treaty. He couldn't help but smirk. Why' He thought to himself. If, as she said, he had the reputation he had " and it was hard earned for that reputation " she would know he had no hesitation to sign it, then break it and take the house down from the inside.

This wasn't a bad idea, now that he thought of it a bit more. However, she was still discussing how the Bloods could process his "commodities" " That was a good word for it. Better than anyone else, that could be possible, but if he were to conquer the house, it wouldn't be a matter; he would have access to their facilities anyway.

Nasty"! He had never been called such a thing. He's rather neat and eloquent in his destruction of human life. Almost as if it were art in its construction and design. But it was good to see that even those outside the Bloods considered him a threat. His hands continued their work uninterrupted.

She finished her pitch regarding the treaty between him and the Bloods. She made an excellent presentation, the words were delicious to hear coming from those lips, the movement of the body a study.

There were a few moments of silence as he watched her, saying nothing; his hands moving behind the bar only.

"My Lady Belial, I thank you for your time, your business proposition and your concern." Another pause as his hands stopped working, and was withdrawn behind his white uniform tunic. "However, I feel the need to turn down your gracious offer of "non-aggression". There are many operations that are currently underway that no one knows about, bringing me more money than you could possibly fathom. In addition"," he started, his form moving slowly towards her. "I'm aware that there are some that are beginning to move against me, some have already started in some fashion. Even within the Bloods."

He turned from her, "I need no time to discuss this with anyone. The Circle is more than ready to handle any kind of issue." He reached down, taking the packet she had prepared. "Being who I am, what I am, and what I know." He shook his head as he turned around to face her. He looked into her eyes, those delicious green eyes, as the paper burst into a dark green flame, leaving but a few ashes in his hand. "If I want it, I'm going to take it. If it's against the law, you can bet I will break it. My need to succeed gives me the will to survive." The hand was pulled behind him once more.

"But, I thank you for your kind offer to protect me, and provide further distribution for my"commodities."

This was the definition of evil that stood there. Cold, cruel, wicked to the core. There was only aggression, aggression towards goals, and the crushing of those that got in his way. The true aura of his power began to flow from him as he did the day he surrendered to it ? unrestrained, unbidden.

The silver head lifted from the work she was involved with a fluttering drift of indigo tips as a foreign release of energy set off the silent wards surrounding Onyx grounds and instantly started to ring within the minds of any Blood nearby. The sensation of that brought an instantly reaction, those crystalline azure eyes narrowed in immediate concern. From the myriad of dangers the family had faced over the years, to more recent threats, from menaces far greater then some "Slave Lord", all took such a mental alarm to heart and acted.

Gracefully rising in a flowing of fabric, the broomstick skirt swirling down around her knee high boots. A faint breeze drifted around her, carrying the scent of rain and heather in passing while her fingers tugged a drawer open and caught up the elegant wand from within. Indigo's smooth stride carried her out into the halls, and down toward Belial's office with a luminous glance towards the Spider Mages already lined up with in the corridor.

One held up a pale hand, bringing her to a slowing stop, the air around her falling rapidly by degree. Indigo only paused, aware there was a reason for this and allowed it, while the rippling of attention over her thoughts, ringing with the echo of alarm continued to rise her ire. Yet to gaze at her, few would know of the inner turmoil and control in play. That instant gut reaction was to attack, unleashing the Banshee horde upon this still unknown threat, or call down the very fires from above to fry it to dust under her heels. Instead, the delicate, refined features were serene. Placid as a crystal clear lake on a quiet summer day, yet, within that crystalline azure gaze, a deadly storm was brewing.

Her patience was already fraying just a little by the time the leader of the Mage division lowered that elegant, ink stained hand. Offering a graceful a nod of a shadowed, cowl covered head he released her from that transitory suspension. Indigo didn't wait another moment, just strode off determined. The rapping of sharp heels providing a stucco beat, rather like the marching of a soldier and without even the consideration of a knock upon Belial's office door, she stepped inside. Her arrival brought a plummeting of the temperature instantly, for that wintry draft played around her, bringing life to the flow of blue tipped hair. She was just in time to catch the last words from Lucius. "Indeed. It is time for you to leave sir."

Those with keener senses would be well aware that there was another energy moving around her. A faint melody drifting as soft of the barest whisper, and offering an alluring tease upon the ears. The harmony of death lurked just as gently as the heather fragrance Indigo carried with her. Power older then man and insidiously deadly and only held in check while waiting to be unleashed upon the unwary. Curiously enough it mingled well with the rising of Arrnadae's own magics, the unexpected cantrip caught with Mage Sight and brought a brightening of black humor to her melancholy crystalline blue eyes.

Behind the rest another form appeared. The towering figure taking up most of the space offered by the doorway with arms folded. One molten silver eye regarding those assembled with a faint sneer pulling on thin lips. Standing at his back, Wylde had brought along a full security force in response to the disruptions upon the Magical aegis. New faces mixed in with the older ones, all armed with a variety of weapons, magics and more, and quite prepared to use them if the need arose.

A scarred brow rose above the thick leather patch that covered his ruined eye with the slow crossing of arms over a broad chest. It was a rumbling of sound that followed. The clearing of throat and then words spoken quietly, but easily heard rang forth. "It's bad form to be using magics when ye be a guest of the place. Nay to mention seeking to leave some lingering traces of ye own less then appealing energy. We nay take kindly to such attempts to subvert our securities, Round Ear." The old Trueblood insult falling effortlessly from his cruel thin lips, as Wylde trusted few human looking sorts, liked even less, and looking at the man visiting with Belial, he was quick to note the lack of any points upon Travanix's ears to alter his own prejudice view.

Wylde seemed planted, an immovable form that was heavy and muscular beyond that of most of his kind and it was readily apparent he was far from pleased about the current circumstances. "Just who in the hell is this," a pointed pause to words that rang with antipathy. "Creature?"

Steely and cold that single molten eye which moved about those assembled. There was no apparent display of power emitting from the near Ancient Trueblood. Yet there was a stunning lack of any emotion, or any thought, for he was heavily shielded from such attempts and hewed, hard features contorted into smirked at the stranger, reinforcing that grim look he wore

Behind Lucius another figure wavered, fading in silently with a rippling of shadows. Tendrils of inky black falling away from the lithe form as a glove encased hand moved down to rest upon the dagger already hissing from it's sheath at her hip. Clad in her customary night black leathers, Fiona stood laconic and still upon her arrival while rapidly taking stock of the current standoff apparent. The mental flare caught from Lucius had brought her to the Manor house, as evidently there was a tribulation that was cause for active concern. Considering the only stranger around was this Slaver, thus he was the one that drew her narrowing frigid regard.

Frosty and chilling, her ice green eyes inspected Travanix with an arching of an elegant raven brow, and Fiona's rose pale lips, thinned faintly. The lingering of spent energy thick in the air carrying his signature. The evil of it having little effect upon the Shadow Assassin for she had plenty on her Mother's side of the family that made him seem more like a child in comparison. That power mingled with those of Arrnadae's, offering up a banquet to those of darker natures but Fiona refrained from so much as allowing any of it to touch her directly.

Emotionless and sardonic her expression, Fiona merely stayed at Luc's back. Her demeanor one of relaxed indifference, but she kept her hand resting with casual grace upon the hilt of her blade. Garith was already whispering his wish to be unleashed, while within the room, shadows rippled and twisted in a serpentine dance, just out of the corner of one's eye. Swift those movements, yet difficult to track for their nature was to blend in. Melding and morphing like liquid bands into the shade so easily found within the office of her Aunt.

Fiona had arrived armed with far more then her dagger, as threats no matter the level were treated with instant response. She offered a nod to Belial, Dae, Indigo and Wylde, and the other watching eyes gathered in the hall, the action sending the braid along her back swaying. The silver barbed wire interwoven through the thick inky black hair caught the light, casting forth the fleeting glints of sharp delicate spikes to further capture the eyes. The magnitude of power was growing and building with every tense moment. Eventually it would reach dangerous levels yet the emotional flow was that of pure confidence and intense determination.

In truth she rather hoped the Slaver would play his hand. Giving the entire clan a reason to respond, for it was obvious to her, that while he might have the apparent skills to deflect "some" of what would be directed his way, only a creature with Godlike talents would have the ability to avoid all. For those within the room were older and obviously experienced in their abilities. Strong and adroit and all fed with gifts of their natures granted by fate or by birth. Not to mention a very well known stubborn streak that was common with any Blood, for few would stop any assault unless the unlikely hand of death himself dragged them to the rug-covered floor with that last, gasping breath.

Energy' It is around us all the time; it is in everything. It's in the earth upon which we walk, it is in the air we breathe, it flows with water and dances in fire. Energy' it is what feeds and nurtures everything. Even those who remain unaware of it are impacted by it; bad energy can make us sick, good energy can help us heal faster. For those who live under the auspicious banner of Blood, it is the food upon which many of them feast. It comes as no surprise to the lady Belial that when Travanix unleashed his hold and allowed the power to flow unfettered through him, that her Family would appear en mass.

The wards, the technology, all precautions have been taken to insure the safety of the Family: especially in Rhy"Din. Blood House Onyx is more fortified than any of their other holdings and the Bloods never slouch on security. Not when the Progenitor of the Family calls Onyx "home".

Folding her arms as she continues to lean against the edge of her desk, that green gaze of hers watches as family rush into her office. A smile tickles at full, red lips she couldn't have created a better security drill had she planned it for months. Lord Travanix's visit has proven most advantageous. The Bloods pass with high grades and higher honors! Belial feels rather proud of her family at this particular moment.

She doesn't interrupt as each arriving member offers commentary, instead she watches. She watches the Bloods and she watches the Slave Lord. Belial isn't in this spotlight and it grants her the rare opportunity to study the situation and participants with that uncanny, unwavering green gaze. Yes" Belial is taking mental notes.

She can taste the rising rage inside Travanix. He's going to be seeking revenge against them no doubt. She can feel the distrust emanating from her Family members. Of course" none of them have ever trusted those involved in the Slaving industry' Not even Brutin, who, in the end, earned their respect through an oddly selfless act. Travanix on the other hand" Bel didn't expect him to offer up any such token" She doesn't see this Slave Lord as tactical as Brutin, nor as strategic as any of the others.

Turning down the offered agreement could be interpreted as a declaration of war between the Bloods and Travanix" It will fall on Belial to keep this from happening. Right now however it seems rather unlikely as Travanix, under heavy guard, has left the building and the Family members are still fuming from the perceived invasion.

Bel steps away from her desk, lifting her hands to gain everyone's attentions. "Excellent job to all" I can see we don't need anymore drills" Seems we've got it down to an art' However?" That green gaze sweeping over each in turn as Bel's voice grows steely, brooking no argument. "We still have a rogue Slaver out there" I want bulletins to all the Family members to stay out of his snares. Do not except any gifts nor touch any black ribbons. I am sure he will not simply walk away from this?" Those green eyes sweep over the gathering. "I will not have any under our protection or of the family fall prey to this Slaver" We must see to it all are warned and fully protected. We need to bring in the mages and any others who might be able to help."

Belial is fully aware of the meaning of Travanix's parting words upon his exit' He has an agenda, and he's not likely to stop until he holds what it is he wants. He wants her" Perhaps he knows more about her than she had anticipated" Perhaps he's just insane" and has no idea what he's attempting to collar, to cage" Belial doesn't second guess the Slave Lord, no, that would be foolish' But she does comprehend his ambitions"

Belial has no intention of making things easier on the Slave Lord. If Travanix wants to play with her" he will be doing it on her terms" Too bad she hasn't been able to make that clear to him yet. But in time" he will understand fully. Travanix may well have bitten off far more than he can successfully chew.

The taint of the ribbon, the urgent press of the Call, are falling under a building internal resistance" but that doesn't negate the delicious feast the free flow of that energy he's tapping into offered. No' Bel enjoyed the repast fully' although to what use she will put this new found "power"" remains at her discretion.