By: Lucien

“Lean into it more while twisting your torso!”

A satisfying crunch rang out in the training room as the bloodied human fell face first into the soft dirt. Kamri smiled to herself holding her coiled, demonic bo-staff tightly. The dazed human struggled to get back on his feet.

“Impressive, Kamri. Now finish him off,” the cloaked man spoke, looking on from the deep shadows of the chamber.

Kamri walked over to the fallen human. The built man looked up in sorrow, raising his trembling hand in submission. Without hesitation, Kamri released an extremely heavy blow across the man’s face, smashing in the side of his skull. The man collapsed into a motionless slump. Kamri bit her lower lip in twisted rejoice. The cloaked man clapped his hands slowly in congratulation, emerging from the shadows and into the beam of torchlight spilling down into the fighting pit chamber.

“Very good. Your skills are improving, Kamri. Yuldasha and her Court will be pleased,” the dark man spoke.

“Thank you, Master Neicul.”

Kamri bowed before him in her newly adorned Kazdruk attire and a more appropriate overall Kazdruk look. Kamri now hung her darkening hair pulled back with an under shave, leaving  loose wild strands dancing across her face. The top was pulled back in tight braids, while the rest of her hair hung behind her head in one long, thick twisting braid that reached her ass. Her fiery orange eyes glowed a steady deep pulse, perfectly outlined in smokey eyeshadow and black liner. Black war paint framed her eyes and ran off to the sides. Long, spindly, runic-like tattoos ran up her jaw line symmetrically. The black spear patterns streaked up her cheeks before stopping at her cheekbones. A thick armored collar hung around Kamri’s neck followed by two tilted crescent shaped cups. The black shadow armor hugged her supple breasts tightly. The smooth demon metal wrapped around her chest like a horseshoe, clasping behind her. The cup’s lack of a bridging gore exposed her sternum, further accentuating her soft breasts. Her entire lightly toned stomach was exposed, glimmering softly in the pit light.

Sleek, twisting ebony vambraces, rerebraces, and couters ran up the length of her arms, stopping at her exposed shoulders before flaring out to either side. A deep, ‘V’ shaped black thong rested on her wide hips before plugging low, stopping right before her pubic reign. Textured, angled black leather thigh-highs ran down her powerful legs, smoothly blending into her armored footwear.

Kamri

Neicul was a mysterious, dark, and tall humanoid Kazdruk with broad shoulders. His large hood covered most of his face. Most times Kamri meet with him was during training; she could only make out his lower half of his face. His eyes glowed a soft steady pupil-less white. He usually wore a black, leather armored, sleeveless vest layered in thin, overlapping draconic scales. Each scale varied in shades of black and void-like nether. Intricate engravings swirled and twisted along the strips of leather. It reminded her of some kind of malevolent perversion of Northern elvish textile and decor. It was lined with a pair of large curvy Kazdruk combat knives; dark and deadly, elegant but twisted.

The vest hugged his muscular frame tightly, sometimes appearing as if it were painted across his upper body. Kamri could see every muscle flex and tighten under it as he spoke and moved. Black swirling and chaotic demon runes ran up his powerful bare arms. His skin was ashy and tan, much like Kamri’s. From what she could tell by the way he moved and spoke, she guessed him to be around thirty to forty;  it was always troublesome to determine any demon’s age. Ebony gauntlets wrapped across each wrist, rounding off over the top of his hands. His vest tightened around his waist leading down to a long dark leather battle-kilt. The piece stopped around his knees; it was lined with small polished reptilian black claws. Simple form fitting smooth black leather pants ran down to heavy black boots.

Neicul approached closer and looked her over head to toe. Kamri thought she saw his extended canines when he grinned – similar to her own vampiric pair – but the torches dancing overhead casted a lot of strange shadows that tricked the eye. She could sense him as he drew closer to her, a side effect of her transformation that she assumed every demon here possessed. This feeling reminded her that every day she felt stronger and grew more attuned. Her hunger and animalistic tendencies grew as well while her control over them strengthened.

His scent hit Kamri first; it was spicy and laced with coal and smoke. The sweet smell of his leather and Kuzdruk metals enveloped her. She could sense his demeanor. He radiated a complex wave of aggression, militancy, dominance and mastery overflowing with lust and arousal. He hid all of it behind a cool and collected wall of ice and secrecy. She could sense his inner conflict as he held himself back. Knowing he could sense her, Kamri attempted to remain as stoic and neutral as possible.

He was about to say something, then paused for a moment as his eyes flickered and took one step back.

“Not too bad Izz suppose,” a woman’s voice suddenly spoke out above the fighting pit. Kamri looked up and saw Jelthra standing beside a torch, leaning on a bone railing looking downwards.

“Ah, good evening, Jelthra. And how are we this eve?” Neicul spoke out, smiling under his hood before giving an overly cynical, exaggerated bow. His voice was deep; he spoke with the typical harsh Kazdruk accent but the way he delivered his words were a bit smoother in nature.

“Anyone can fight a group of wazhed up prizoners, Neicu,” Jelthra spoke mockingly. She jumped down from the second floor landing inside the fighter’s pit in front of Kamri. “Lez us see how well you’ve really trained her.”

Jelthra
Without warning, Jelthra unsheathed her blade and slashed towards Kamri. The dark elf positioned her bo-staff vertically, blocking Jelthra’s sideways slash. Not breaking her step, Jelthra criss-crossed her attack and slashed again from the other side. Kamri swung her staff, blocking her second attack. Jelthra didn’t let up and continued her assault, aggressing into her opponent. She slashed at Kamri from every conceivable angle while Kamri gave up ground and steadily moved backward. Deflecting the human’s attacks, Kamri waited for an opening. Jelthra swung in from a high overhead strike. Instead of absorbing the strike as a simple block, Kamri side stepped and let Jelthra’s blade move with her staff, forcing her to follow through and drive her blade into the dirt. Kamri used the opening to flurry her staff around over her head and catch Jelthra hard in the side of her face. Jelthra cried out as she lost her balance and fell awkwardly to her side. She quickly regained herself and tossed her head upward in anger, a trickle of fresh blood running down her face and lip.

Jelthra rushed Kamri again with a more complex flurry of swings. Kamri dug the base of her staff into the dirt, blocking the oncoming strikes. She quickly swung up horizontally, matching every strike as if she was a mirror reflecting Jelthra. However, Kamri was losing and giving up ground again. She spun out of the approaching wall she was backing into. Kamri flurried her staff in a quick circular motion, transitioning the spin behind her back while spinning herself. As she spun, she kicked away from the wall and started her offensive. She struck high on Jelthra, setting up a diversion so she could follow through with the opposite side of her staff and strike low. The simple attack worked flawlessly – the low strike caught Jelthra in the leg, knocking her off balance, but Jelthra dove into a roll to avoid any further incoming strikes. She came up with with her sword pommel first, knocking Kamri in the face. Kamri stumbled backward before returning a spinning roundhouse kick. Jelthra ducked below the kick and rose, up launching her own kick. Kamri parried off her kick with her staff. Kamri hesitated for a moment as her mind momentarily relapsed; she slipped into the past as her head was bombarded with memories and visions of Elu. She quickly regained herself, shaking the memories free. Kamri sluggishly tried to stab her staff into Jelthra’s stomach. Jelthra sidestepped it and caught Kamri’s staff with her hand, locking it in place between her torso and arm.

Jelthra smiled before unleashing a blast of twisting energy into the staff. The purple bolts arced up the staff into Kamri’s hands, driving immense pain into the elf’s body. Kamri screamed out as her muscles seized up. In one smooth motion, Jelthra sheathed her own sword and released the bow-staff dropping it the ground. She quickly reached up, grabbing Kamri’s head with both hands while leaping upward and drove Kamri’s face into her knee. A heavy crunch rang out as Kamri fell back to the ground in agony.

“A bit disappointing Neicul, I muz say,” Jelthra mentioned with a frown. She walked towards Neicul on the other side of the chamber, calmly placing her hands on his chest as he smiled.

“I personally know yoz can do better, Neicul; dy say you are ze best.”

Jelthra lowered her voice to a whisper as Kamri slowly rose back to her feet in a daze, blood trickling from her nose. Jelthra looked into Neicul’s eyes lustfully.

“…Show me again zum time how you handle your weapon.”

Jelthra smiled, looking downward momentarily at his pants before back up to his eyes. She kissed him softly on his cheek before walking away towards Kamri. Neicul paused for a moment, watching as she walked away.

“Hey…Don’t neglect the chain of command, Jelthra.”

Jelthra ignored Neicul’s comment and only smiled at Kamri before bumping into her hard with her heavy shoulder pauldron while passing. Kamri grimaced in anger but didn’t move or retaliate. She only looked onward squeezing her fists tightly, silently seething. She calmly reached down and picked up her staff.

“Go clean up and meet me in the great library in one hour,” Neicul spoke coldly.

Kamri bowed softly.

“Yes of course Master…”

Neicul began to turn and leave.

“… I’m sorry for my failure this evening master. I will do better next time.”

Neicul froze in his steps before swinging back around in anger. He lunged out at her neck, grappling her throat and pinning her against the stone wall.

“Listen to me! Do not apologize, Kamri! Those empty words will change nothing. Your performance just now was disgusting. What the hell happened out there? Your skills are a direct reflection of me, do you understand? Yuldahsa selected me personally to train you… but I’m starting to wonder if this is some kind of punishment, or sick joke. You will do better next time!

Neicul loosened his grip and let her go.

“Yuldasha has big plans for you Kamri, but if you can’t fight then you are worthless to her. NOW GO CLEAN UP!”

Kamri remained silent and simply bowed. Neicul swung back around in anger and left the chamber.

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Inner Flame & Ritualistic Combat.

Scripture: 7

…The inner manifestation of energy is drawn from within as well as externally. A caster’s spell is only as strong as his or her inner demeanor, but can be supported by sustenance and environment. Let the inner emotions flow like a fresh river of blood. Focus your senses, and in time, calling upon energies will be second nature…

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Personally, I’ve never been the one to rely on sorcery, Kamri. It seems to take more then it gives. It will be up to you on how much you use. Regardless, you should still study those arts. Take what you need, absorb what will give you an advantage in combat. Meditate, train, then train some more.”

I did as I was told and met Neicul in the Library. We usually came here after training to read up on techniques and tactics. I felt better after cleaning up and changing into my heavy acolyte cloak. The library was filled with parchments and aeon-old bound books. Red waxed candles glimmered lightly in the musky chamber. I couldn’t help but glance at all the strange artifacts and statues that filled the room. Every time I came here, I’d noticed one I hadn’t before. Multiple levels of books encircled the chamber, perfectly organized. I sat off to the side reading ancient scripts on combative sorcery. Reading the Kazdruk language was strange the first couple days, but the more I read it the more natural it became. The scripts had a way of talking to you. Neicul seemed to have cooled off, but he remained distant and lost in deep thought.

“Master Neicul? May I ask you a question?”

“No.”

I fumbled my lower lip in frustration and kept reading. He was a complex individual; I wanted to know his story, what his deal was. He was far from charismatic or sympathetic, yet somehow strangely admirable. Perhaps it’s because he’s been the only one to give me purpose or some form of help, though I’m sure he would not hesitate to kill me if ordered to or provoked. Something boiled inside him – his soul was frigid. Something about those qualities drew me to him. I wanted to see his face in full, I wanted to obtain the impossible.

I let out a small sigh of frustration. I was starting to loose focus. I must have been reading for at least an hour. I kept sensing Neicul, his body radiated strength.

“That is enough studying for today, Kamri. You are dismissed unless you wish to stay and study.”

“Thank you, Master. With your permission, I wish to stay and finish this passage.”

“Permission granted, Kamri. I shall see you at tomorrow’s dawn then; meet me outside.”

>><<

The morning sun hurt my eyes; it was early still but I didn’t dare show up late for training. I did as I was told and traveled outside along the outer edge of the Spire. The blood red sand danced in the morning wind, hissing softly as granules brushed around. The sand’s twisting sounds meshed against the howling winds. The large sun rose on the desolate and charred horizon, slowly creeping into view. Yuldasha’s mental link still beat strong. The invisible tether coiling around me, always slightly nagging at the back of my neck.

Neicul was nowhere in sight – very strange for him to be late. I continued walking along the soft red dunes looking for him, wondering if I had been mistaken. Perhaps I was supposed to meet him in the fighting pit again? Something felt slightly off. My hairs stood on end and my heart began to race. Adrenaline flooded my body as all my senses flew into motion. I turned around just in time to see a wood staff coming down towards me violently. I rose my own staff up and blocked the strike mere inches from my face. It was Neicul! His black cloak rippled in the desert wind as he advanced against me. He struck hard, solid blows towards my face and shoulders. I quickly blocked each strike as we danced across the sand. Each blow was stronger than the last, but he struck in patterns.

“Morning, Kamri.”

He swung on viciously. I copied every strike he made and blocked them. Sand and dirt flung upward as our feet tipped around in a devilish dance. We slowly danced away from the Spire, dueling in the larger dunes now. The clacking of our strikes bounced out across the hot sands. Neicul jabbed a quick low kick, catching me in the calf. The kick was so strong that it swept me clear off my feet. I fell back before tumbling down a sand dune, my staff tumbling down the opposite side. Neicul stood at the top and removed his black cloak and tossed it to the ground, exposing his arms and face. With his back against the rising sun, all I could see was his solid silhouette moving closer. He lept into the air swinging downward; I rolled to my side, just barely missing his strike. He now loomed over me and did not let up. He attempted to strike me while I lay down on my back. I torqued my upper body side to side dodging his powerful strikes.

“Truly pathetic, Kamri.”

He swung at my ribs, but I blocked his strike with my wrist. My dark vambraces absorbed the strike that surely would have broken my arm. I grabbed his staff and counter swung with my free arm, snapping his bo-staff clean in half. Before he realized what happened, I leg swept him off his feet. He fell backward, landing flat on his back. I lept onto my feet and lunged on top of him, straddling his chest. I laid into him hard with quick strikes. Laying on his back he managed to block most of the strikes. He caught one of my strikes with his large hand and began to twist and crush my hand through the hand-armor. He twisted my entire arm before yanking me in closer. I fell forward and was met with a head-butt. All I saw was stars and fell to my back.

When I came to and regained focus, Neicul was straddling my chest this time. I looked down to see his twin daggers criss-crossed across my neck, the sharp edges just slightly resting on my skin.

“Dead again, Kamri.”

Neicul dismounted me and rose to his feet. As he sheathed his daggers I got a good look at his face for the first time. His face was surprisingly human looking with hard features. His squinted white almond shaped eyes were topped with thick black eyebrows. His ears came to sharp points, and like many of his fellow Kazdruks he adorned two black horns that protruded from his forehead, though smaller and more reserved. The horns angled up over his short black hair.

“The hell you looking at? Get up.”

His comment caught me off guard, and I quickly got back to my feet.

“Yes, Master.”

We practiced more routines for most of the day, using primarily bow-staffs and hand to hand. I had personally requested the bo-staff at the start of my training. I had been trained with a few different variants and lengths. Some were wood and others made of twisted Kazdruk metals. Neicul said I was crazed and idiotic for choosing such a weapon. Most Kazdruk preferred something sharp and more lethal. He accepted my decision and even though he disliked the weapon, he was still extremely disciplined in its form, usage, and art in combat. He trained me well with it.

We returned to the Spire at dusk. Exhausted, I followed Neicul back to the fighting pit. He told me I was dismissed and left the chamber. I removed my rerebraces and vambraces and laid them down. The cool air felt good on my now exposed arms.

“So you’re Neicul’s new pet.”

A low female voice spoke out of the dark shadows along the edge of the pit – the voice was very deep and unmistakably Kazdruk. I looked around along the wall of weapons and shields that hung on the dark wall.

“Who are you? Show yourself!” I commanded.

I suddenly caught movement to my left. A very tall female figure emerged from the shadows between two tall stone columns. I used the columns to try and gauge her height; she looked at least three meters tall, if not more. She was broad and built like a Kazdruk ballista. Her powerful legs carried her with a smooth, yet extremely intimidating grace. Although very muscular, she still retained her curvy feminine hourglass figure. Her large tits bounced behind her heavy black engraved chest armor. Her exposed stomach was a wall of defined abdominal muscles; they looked as hard as stone. I became lost in her plunging cleavage for a second before looking up at her large biceps. They rode into her thick trapezius muscles. Her face was smooth and beautiful, her azure lips popped against her tan skin. The demon’s attractive features were set off by her white predatory eyes, lined in a deep red liner. Straight raven black hair fell past her shoulders and waved with each step. Two massive twisting black horns erected themselves out above her long elvish like ears. She carried a massive black Halberd with one hand.

She approached closer. Now towering over me, I became lost in her shadow. I stood my ground and looked up into her eyes. The demoness stopped in front of me before cocking her head side to side, cracking her neck.

“Hmm, Kamri right?” Her voice was powerful and aggressive. It reminded me of a harsher, more rugged version of Yuldasha’s voice but about one or two octaves lower.

I nodded but remained silent.

“Aww how cute, here to play soldier?”

I remained silent, holding my ground and looked on in defiance.

“Ah well, would we look at that! A mute as well.”

A small laugh came out behind the large demon. I caught movement behind her. As I focused, I saw Jelthra leaning against a pillar looking on with a smile.

“Rezember waz I told you Luzella, no remorse!” Jelthra yelled out.

“I’ll go keep Neicul diztracted,” Jelthra teased before leaving the fighting pit.

The demoness Luzella tossed her Halberd to the ground and took a step forward with her large cloven foot.

I took a step back and began to raise my staff; she simply reached out and palmed the end of my staff and pulled it from my hand. She examined it for a moment before torquing it upward with both hands. Her arm’s muscles bulged and flexed. The bow-staff snapped in two as if a twig. The demon smiled, then reached out with both hands and shoved me hard against the wall, pinning me in place. I struggled in place as Luzella smiled. She threw an uppercut hitting me hard in the stomach. It felt like a timber tree railing into me. I fell to the cold floor, gasping for air. Before I could rise to my feet she kicked me hard in the ribs. I fell over in pain rolling over onto my back, grasping my ribs. I looked up to see her removing her top chest armor and toss it to the ground. Her heavy tits fell free, bouncing side to side for a moment. Black twisting tattoos danced across her shoulders and chiseled back. She approached me closer and stepped on my neck with her heavy hoof. I reached up and tried to block her hoof but she was too heavy. Her powerful thighs flexed as she applied more weight onto my neck. I squirmed violently, trying to get out from under her. She stood their nonchalantly smiling and removed her bottom battle skirt, revealing her large, soft, sheathed demon cock. Her heavy balls swung back and forth as I tried desperately to push her off…