Icarus was no more.  There was only darkness left in this shell of a man.  He had once been a proud warrior doing all he could to fight the evils of more than one world.  Now, however, he could be thought of as a wraith of sorts.  The flesh was still alive, though all that had given life to his form had faded.

The taint that had afflicted him had been pure in its infection, silencing the one that stood the greatest opposition to its very existence.  Across years of battle, Icarus had slain countless demons, saved lives, failed miserably to save worlds, and seen everyone he had ever cared for die one at a time.  The damage on his psyche had at last given the misery, the gloom, and the nihilism the edge required to overcome him.  Physically, no evil entity had been able to overwhelm him despite the many attempts and close calls.  His mind, on the other hand, had made him susceptible in a way he had never thought.

After seeing visions of his past, feeling the memories of what he held dear being torn from him, and facing his first death once more, his soul was rent into fragments that could never be rebuilt. He was gone and the beast walking, using his flesh as a mask was no more than a minion of the damned, the Black Swordsman.  In years prior, the beast had freely walked in a symbiotic relationship with its host, turning the wrath of this beastial incarnation into a fine blade, honed to cut through the horrors that stalked men. 

Without the presence of the man that suppressed it, the beast stalked the world, eventually bringing him to the maw of the Tenebrim Dungeon, a cavern the likes of which existed nowhere else upon the continent of Canelux.  Word had caught Icarus' ear in the past of the site and it seemed that the creature that remained simply functioned off instinct, tracking down the location.  As it stood there momentarily, it breathed a ragged breath, shifting the mask from its face and uncovering the blackened eyes and salivating teeth that had taken over the features of a once-attractive young man.  

"Mine… castle… orcs die," it said in a voice that belonged to Icarus and did not at the same time, almost guttural in its nature.

Drawing the blades at its hips, it sprinted forth into the dark, to kill all in its way and claim the castle that lay at the bottom for its own, to ends unknown.

"F*ck! Damn this place and those mad orcs! How do they even DARE to ATTACK us!?" Exclaimed Silanus, outraged. 5 people were with Tacitus Silanus: a little 11 year old girl, 4 armored men and an orc. 

The child was, of course, no warrior; instead she was there to carry food, water and other supplies that would help the explorers. The orc, a loyal ally of Silanus, had an orichalcum great sword and thick leather armor, while the troopers all had matching steel armor, sword and shield. Their red plumes on the helmets proved that the soldiers had a high rank among Silanus' people.

Tacitus Silanus, commander and leader of the Fratis faction, had the same armor the troopers have, but with a long red cape on it's back. They all had blood on their weapons, Silanus continued talking: "They killed Junius and Marius too, damned orcs…! Very well, men, keep your guard up and keep exploring, if any treasure lies here, it will be ours!" The inspired soldiers raised their weapons and kept walking deeper…

This was… odd… Dead orcs were laying in the floor, their bloodied corpses seemed to be fresh… Was somebody else there…..? A trooper asked his people: "Do you think there are traps here? If so, we should be more than careful…" As soon as he finished talking, the soldiers saw a figure in the dark… It seemed to be human, perhaps another intruder? 
Silanus walked towards him and exclaimed: "So we are not alone, then? Another explorer came before us? In the name of the Fratis, future rulers of the known world, we ask you to leave! This place is too dangerous for you, also, all riches will be claimed by us… Be gone! Or we shall make you leave!" All the soldiers waited for an answer, while Cassia, the child, walked away in fear…

The Black Swordsman had pressed far into the maze of tunnels, following the patrols of orcs and bringing darkness upon them to drain their essence.  It was not a physically imposing beast, rather, it fought without form, in an instinctual, almost preternatural means that others found unreadable in its nature with unnatural movements. The mask covering its face did little to suppress the darkness emanating from its being as the essence which fueled its body spread over the tunnels while it added the life it devoured to its own power.

A warning came out from behind it, words that held no meaning.  Rulers of this world held no significance when the Lord of Darkness, End of All Life, Obelisk, came to call upon the world.  They could keep their words and titles as all would be purged into the unending absolution of oblivion when the Black Swordsman finished its work and prepared the path for the master to come into this reality.  It still had much essence to acquire and if they should be so inclined to oppose the beast, it had no problem acquiring their essence as well.  The orcs left a poor taste in its being and perhaps human essence would serve as a palette cleanser.

Glancing back, it turned around, allowing its essence to flood the tunnel and blackening the area it stood in, slowly inching the darkness toward the group of intruders as it walked toward them.  Before it could judge if it wished to feast on them immediately, it wanted to gauge their resolve.  It sent shadows, illusions of horrors through the darkness and toward the party, coming within feet of them before dissipating like haunting visions before the Swordsman turned away and teleported further, leaving no trace of its presence behind.

It wished to savor this hunt, if it were to become that.  Fear was always a delicacy it enjoyed and something often devoid from orcs who knew only excitement at the prospect of death, more often than not.  It would cultivate the flavor of the party's essence, forming it to suit its tastes, and then, it would consume them entirely.  For now, however, it needed to continue pushing forth and find the rumored castle in the depths of the tunnels to build its home and a solid base for further ventures into the world in preparation for the coming of its master.

Illusions and images appeared in the tunnel, horrors and hallucinations that would scare everyone… Or not? One day, not long ago, the soldiers of the Fratis raided a town in Adeluna; this town was protected by three mages, one of them was a master in illusion spells. Silanus un-sheated his sword and stepped forward, then said: "Fear not, those cheap spells are more than common those days. You step back and watch, let your leader deal with this moron…" 

The teleportation made them flinch, they did not expect that. Once they understood that this foe had magical powers, Silanus walked towards the masked one and said: "Nice spells, perhaps one day I will learn to do that, ha-ha! Listen here, masky… I know your type." Silanus looked at his shiny steel sword, then continued talking: "You will slowly walk, casting your foul stuff and all that… Let's skip that, shall we? You got a sword, atleast a weapon? Fight with me, do it!" 

The commander walked some steps back, gave his torch to his trooper and said: "Come on, no magic, no tricks, no crying… Just you and me, entretaining the spirits of this place before WE claim it, come on!"

Calls came from behind the creature, entreaties to face one of the men, likely the leader of the group, in single combat.  The man asked for no magic, nor tricks, simple combat.  What sort of fool was he?  War was not decided by some code of honor, simply the expedient removal of opposition.  There were no such things as unfair battle when it came to the waging of war and it was a lesson only one that believed in the absolution of death such as this creature could understand.  

It had fled them before, charged previously into the dark beyond, hunting more orcs as it searched for the castle that lay beyond the series of tunnels.  If they were to continue pursuit or to cross the beast's path again, it would savor the flavor of their essence as it left lifeless husks behind. Continuing its path, it came across another group of the greenskins.  Sadly, they posed little more threat than their predecessors and the beast cut them down swiftly, taking its time in the ensuing calm to drain their fading essence one at a time.

As it finished absorbing the essence, one creature of darkness rose from the creature's back, gaining life of its own to serve its master.  The Black Swordsman willed its movement, sending it into the shadows where it would not be seen.  It would prove a nice distraction for the party that followed, perhaps even killing one or two of them in the process of hampering their progress.  The beast walked further along the path, smelling the cloying scent upon the air and realizing it was coming closer to the core of the orcish infestation.

If the fools that had challenged it survived its pet of living darkness, it would aim to wedge them between the orcs and itself at this juncture, forcing their battle on two fronts to separate the party and drain them individually, feeding on their essence.  The beast itself was a weapon, the methodology of war and death incarnate. whenever the fools revealed themselves, it would pounce, claiming them without delay.

Oh, it fled! The stranger's actions led him to a conclusion: he did not want to fight fairly. The orc said: "Next time we see him, I'll slash his skull! Damn coward, NOBODY runs away from us!" Another soldier also spoke: "Silanus challenged him to a fair duel, yet he retreats… That idiot is a dissapointment himself!" Silanus frowned, he expected a fight, yet he didn't get any; The man pointed his sword forwards and exclaimed: "Let's go, men! To punish all who mocks the Fratis is our mission!" The soldiers were surely happy about this decision.

Before they continued, Silanus looked back at his servant Cassia, she was scared, she was not trained to see death or blood. If she continued with them, she would be a burden, so he spoke to her: "One last thing… Cassia, go back home. You know the way, we elimimated any previous threat so it will be safe… Go now." Cassia agreed, she removed two apples and a canteen of water, she dropped the resources back and ran away.

The party of soldiers continued walking, they saw the corpses of more and more orcs… This thing was surely a monster. They found a chest, of course the first thing they did was opening it; but the chest was no amazing thing. It had only an orchish amulet, no big deal, so they decided to let it there.

As they continued walking, one soldier began speaking: "This place seems… Odd… Like, if somebody was watching us" The other soldier replied: "I feel it too… Stay alert, that shit-for-brains might be here, waiting the perfect moment to ambush us." 

The soldiers were in a dinning room, it had only two torches and a few candles in the large tables; many corners of the room were in complete darkness… The orc looked down at another orc's corpse, it had strange wounds."Look at this one. He has those odd marks on his body; I am sure he died in a different way than the others…" What they did not know, is that in the darkness, a maleficent creature was watching their movements…

It was only a scant few minutes before the soldiers that had followed the Black Swordsman came upon the very chamber that their adversary had deposited the elemental creature of darkness behind for them to face.  It lingered within the body of the orc the party had taken note of, having infiltrated the wound and devoured the interior of its body.  Now, the orc that lay upon the ground was nothing more than a casing to hold the elemental darkness in place, hiding its actual presence until the proper opportunity presented itself.  Now that the party was paying attention to it, the creature made its move.

In a quick sound of snapping bone and the wet splash of tearing flesh and spraying blood, the elemental burst through the cadaver it had hollowed out, rising into the air and clawing at two of the men, slashing shields and retreating into the darkness.  The speed of the movement was like a black bolt of lightning striking across them, vanishing faster than the eye could follow.  It continued further away, using the shadows to hide its movement as it drew them further forward, directly toward the ambush the Black Swordsman had prepared.

The Black Swordsman hid, nestled away in an outcropping as the orcs proceeded forth, heading for toward the party that had followed it there.  They would be assaulted in short order and then it would be the ample opportunity for the creature to eliminate all threats, taking time to absorb the essence of all present. Its minion, the black shadow of a beast that had separated from its form, stalked them from the shadows, creating noise as it went to attract the soldiers as well as the orcs only a short distance away.  Exactly as planned, the orcs came and charged at the soldiers, bringing a sick grin to the features of the creature parading around beneath the human flesh of Icarus.

In a matter of seconds, a black light slashed the men´s shields! As soon as they readied their weapons, it was gone; whatever that attacked them hid once again. One of the soldiers looked around and nervously said: "What the hell is happening in this cursed place?! What was that thing?!" The orc frowned and looked at the soldier and, without patience, answered: "Keep your damn mouth shut! I told you people that this place could be a good base and gods curse me if it isn´t! Someone simply tried to play smart-ass and came here before us, but we´ll deal with em." Silanus, with an arrogant smirk in his face, said added: "Oh, of course, of course! That thing´s punishment will vary depending on their kind. If it´s a vampire, nail his arms and legs to a wooden cross in the evening and let´s wait for the sun to do our job, or if it´s a human simply give it pain. If it´s another kind of thing, we´ll see…" 

The soldiers were able to hear some odd, mysterious sounds ahead. Of course they walked in ahead, ready to see what it was. However, Silanus sheated his sword and grabbed one toch. They heavily suspected that it was a vampire hiding there, that would surely explain the strange wounds and the mysterious man of before. So a flaming torch would give atleast a small advantage for the troopers. Of course, Silanus was an adept battlemage, so he could cast a few spells; but that would make the things much less interesting.

As soon as they walked in, battle-yells could he heard and running orchish warriors could be seen. Those fools were charging, ready to attack them! Silanus threw his torch at them, slightly burning the floor. However, since the floor was made mostly of stone, the fire quickly faded. Thanksfully to him, he was able to un-sheate his sword before the orcs were able to continue. Instead of charging mindlessly, the men took advantage of the tight hallways and formed a steel wall with their thick, long shields. It was their most common strategy.

The four men stood in a single line with their shields up and their weapons ready, while the allied orc was behind them, as the strategy demanded. Of course, the barbarian orcs yelled some curses on a variation of the orchish language and kept charging, now that their way was clear. With blunt weapons such as spiked maces, battle axes and warhammers, the orcs hit the troopers´ long, resistant shields in what seemed to be an endless attack. The orcs mantained a short distance to avoid getting stabbed by the soldiers´ spears or swords. Silanus said to his fellow comrades: "Offense!" As soon as he said that simple word, the four soldiers ran towards the enemy with their shields raised, pushing the orcs.

While the orcs were staggered, the soldiers slashed and stabbed them, killing some of the attacking barbarians. Now that the defensive line dissapeared, the allied orchish soldier ran and fought along them. Two of the men that served Silanus died in hands of the orcs, but the remaining three warriors fought furiously until most of the orcs were dead. Now, only two orcs remained, one of them said in the orchish language: "We´ll live to fight another day, brother! Retreat!" And that was how they fled from battle, something very un-usual for an orc. 

Silanus and the other human soldier crouched to see their dead comrades, while the orc was looking at the hallways keeping an eye, just in case somebody tried to sneak up on them and attack, or more orcs came. Silanus, while standing up, said to his fellow troopers: "They died like true Fratians, in battle serving their land. We´ll conquer this place and place our flag in it. We will execute every remaining enemy in here, let´s go, men. We must leave this place and call some reinforcements, the opposition is worse than expected in here." The men stood, removed the dead soldiers´ helmets and turned back, ready to leave the place. Of course, they intended to come back, kill the orcs, annihilate the mysterious thing that attacked and conquer this land…. That´s it, if they did it outside this dark dungeon…