Spark

Fear. An unfamiliar emotion for her. But it was one of the only emotions she felt at the moment, fear and utter disbelief as the blade plunged deeper into her chest.

How could it have happened? A mere human, such a pathetic creature, had managed to break into her domain. All her servants slaughtered. And this human was now threatening her life. It couldn't be possible. As her vision blurred she glanced up at her assailant and let out a low hiss. As the man in front of her drove the blade deeper and she no longer had the strength to keep her eyes open, she only had one thought in mind - she couldn't let her life end here.

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Lithilina's eyes opened and she immediately sat up upon experiencing the unfamiliar (and frankly uncomfortable) feeling on her back. She was on the ground in an alleyway. Where exactly she didn't know, the streets, the architecture, and the overall atmosphere felt completely different than what she was used to.  This was not her home, she knew that much. Even though there was barely any light shining into the dimly lit alleyway, it still felt far brighter than it should ever be in any of the nearby towns. Not to mention the massive towering buildings within this city that seemed to stretch for miles. They, and indeed the city itself, were far too large to be one of the towns.

As Lithilina pushed herself up she became keenly aware of a burning sensation in her throat, along with several peoples' footsteps in front of her. Looking up the girl noticed three men, all of whom were poorly dressed and had a very suspicious look to them. She recognized their kind, common ruffians. Before she was able to react to the men approaching her Lithilina had found herself thrown against a wall.

"Look ya little girl," one of the men barked harshly as he grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up, "If ya wanna live yer gonna give us all the money ya 'ave."

Lithilina coughed and she opened her eyes, meeting the eyes of her captor and gazing deeply into them. "Let...me...go..." she hissed, the burning sensation in her throat caused her voice to sound far more primal and uncouth than she would have liked. But it didn't matter that much to her when the man suddenly released his grip on her neck and took several steps back. And when the other two approached the man with curiosity, wondering what had caused him to suddenly release the girl whom they were planning to kidnap. The man turned around and swung a fist at another, and it quickly turned into a brawl between the three men as Lithilina watched with wide and hungry eyes.

When the fight was over Lithilina approached the last man, who though beaten and bloodied had managed to be the (unlucky) survivor. She picked up the man by his cloak, glaring into his eyes as she spoke. "What is this place?"

"Slate Street..." the man managed to choke out, "...Ravnica..."

"That's all I need to know. You're no longer useful."

Moments later Lithilina stepped into the streets. Her steps were quick and dainty, as if everything was perfectly fine. Behind her in the alleyway were the lifeless bodies of three men, one lay against the wall with his skull caved in and two faint but still visible puncture wounds on his neck.

 

Soon after Lithilina stepped out of the alley a woman's scream resounded through the street, followed by the arrival of four guards as well as a crowd gathering around the entrance to that same alley. The bodies were discovered fairly quickly, but with her having left no real signs or evidence it was highly unlikely that the guards would be able to trace the murders to her. Even if they did she could simply do the same to the guards that she did with the common ruffians, in fact it might be better for that to happen. The burning sensation in her throat had not dissipated. She was still thirsty.

When a cloaked figure approached from behind her and slowed down to her pace Lithilina only turned her head to glance at the man as he spoke. Then her gaze returned to the path in front of her. "Perhaps I am. Perhaps I'm not." Lithilina replied with an airy tone of voice, "You don't appear to quite fit in either. You're rather crudely dressed. More crude than the other commoners around, in fact." As she spoke her head did not turn toward the man. Her clear blue eyes were fixed in front of her and her heels clicked in perfect rhythm, her steps never missing a single beat. This man here was odd (and oh-so droll), to say the very least. Usually everyone would immediately flock to a murder scene and stay until guards had pushed them all away. But this man came from the direction of the alley yet did not loiter to gaze at the grisly spectacle as the others had.

 

The man really was a crude commoner, being from a small forest village and all. She had heard many stories of forest dwellers, almost all of which turned out to be filthy, uncouth mongrels afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy. It wasn't a very uncommon thing to be honest, and those poor mortals were really not to blame for it. Not everyone was fortunate enough to have the chance to live a life of luxury like herself and her kind, and many humans who are presented this chance quickly threw it away in a delusional pursuit to sate their unquenchable thirst and bloodlust.

As the man spoke of finding a more open space Lithilina allowed her pace to slow down until it reached a stop. And she simply stood in silence for a moment before nodding. "Very well. I don't feel inclined to stay in a street filled with common garbage anyway." She stated bluntly, slightly motioning behind her toward the citizens gathering at the alleyway. Though with her petite body and unfamiliarity with the act she would not be able to climb she had other ways of reaching higher locations. Without any words Lithilina willed herself upward and her body obeyed, lifting itself up into the air. It was slow at first but the rate at which her body rose into the air quickened until she was a good foot above the cloaked man where she came to a halt. "Lead the way." Lithilina spoke, her tone of voice unchanging as she glanced down at the man with her body suspended in the air.

 

Flight was far quicker than climbing the towering building due to not having to worry about finding one's way or dealing with its inhabitants. But Lithilina still decided to float upward at a slow, casual pace. She was in no hurry as even at this rate it would take the man far longer to ascend the tall tower considering how many flights of stairs it must have. And as always she was right. When she landed upon the rooftop and her heels made a light clicking sound the man was nowhere to be seen. She looked around for a location to sit and rest but found none upon the rooftop, so she simply stood motionless as she waited for the man. With her petite body, gothic clothing, incredibly pale complexion, and the complete lack of either motion or expression she looked like a porcelain doll. Only when the man finally reached the top of the building and introduced himself did she even move a single muscle, she gave a slight curtsy. Though her expression still remained the exact same, indifferent yet with a very well-hidden gleam of malicious intent. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Lithilina responded only out of politeness though she kept her inner distaste for the man hidden. There was no real pleasure in meeting such common garbage, but perhaps he could be useful to her in some way. "My name is Lithilina, Baroness of the Markov bloodline."

 

Good, now that he's realized who she was and her position hopefully she would start getting the respect she deserved. Lithilina paid no attention to most of what the man then said afterward, dismissing it as useless bits of information. Instead she gazed out toward the horizon. The city, this Ravnica as it were, was indeed massive, much larger than any settlement she had ever laid eyes upon before. The city itself seemed to be very diverse as well, with one street appearing to be a complete wreck as if a howlpack had ransacked it, while the next street over was in perfect shape with patrolling guards mounted atop massive birds of prey.

"Very well." Lithilina responded when the man suggested they head toward the large tree off in the distance, "Since I suspect I won't be returning to my estate anytime soon I will indeed need a second home." As she spoke her body began to rise in the air once more, suspending her in midair with her dress fluttering in the wind that blew at the top of such tall buildings. "Let us be off. I'm quite hungry and parched and I would not like to waste more time than I have to." Normally even just speaking to common rabble was a waste of time to Lithilina, but this time was an exception. For whatever reason this man didn't seem to want to leave her alone. Perhaps it was a sense of duty due to her child-like appearance, or perhaps it was some other reason. Nevertheless his devotion to her would make him a valuable first piece on her board.

 

A woman's scream.

Joseph paid no heed to the sound as he was not one to trifle in such matters. He was the type of person to let the crimes be committed. He believed that there was a purpose to everything everyone did, and he wouldn't like it very much if he were the one who would be interrupted while he was performing his tasks. He was wearing a full suit of armor, and he carried himself as one of regality, when in fact he was just someone new to this place. He knew that he was not quite in his home plane, or so he thought, as his surroundings were completely foreign to him. He did not know which way to go, which stone to turn, what language to speak... There was quite literally nothing here to guide him... and he was fine with that.

There was a sort of ambient noise around him, not just from his ears. He could hear voices in his head, just as animated as he could hear the people in the buzzing town around him. He could listen to peoples' minds just as clearly as he could hear their voice. That didn't always mean that he could understand them, but he could. Joseph knew a lot of things, so much so that people often relied on him to get them out of situations that required thinking prowess. Not that he really cared about other people. He just wanted to make sure that he could do what was best for him, to make sure that he got the best of anything he did. That was just his nature.

As he was watching the crowd of people, one in particular caught his attention. There was a girl who was floating high in the air. She was going towards the top of a building. Directing his brain, he made sure that no one was looking directly at him before he collapsed himself into an infinitesimally small space and he began moving up, up, up.

Soon he stopped on a tall building across from where the girl had landed. He noticed a second person now, giving an exchange between the two of them. Joseph voyeuristically watched the two with no real expression in his eyes. Perhaps this girl would be of some use to him. Perhaps she knew something about this place so that he could find a way to make his way to somewhere familiar, somewhere other than this.

From the looks of it, it seemed as if he were in Ravnica, but he could not be entirely sure.

 

Lithilina watched with slight amusement as the man channeled magic into the vines along the building, a smirk playing upon her delicate lips. He was able to manipulate plants, as evident in the vines growing in response to the magical energy they received. The only beings she had known to be able to manipulate nature like that were the dryads of the Somberwald. As the man climbed down the vine Lithilina willed her body to carry itself down as well. She flew fairly quickly this time, not wanting to be left behind by the man's faster pace. He was the closest thing she had to a servant here what with her being in a completely new place without her entourage with her so the man, who happened to be a lowly elf rather than a lowly human, would be kept close for now.

Lithilina's body lowered itself and she landed daintily beside the elf when he stopped in front of a large bonfire. The baroness didn't  need to look around to know that this place was filthy and savage, much like the home of those mongrels stalking the woodlands. She turned her head and looked up at the elf expectantly. "What is this? Do you really expect me to live here like an uncivilized brute?" She inquired with her eyes narrowing, "I'll have you know the only things that live in these savage and uncouth conditions are forest-dwelling, flea-ridden, feces-eating mongrels called lycanthropes. And I refuse to even consider taking up a way of life that is even remotely like theirs."

 

Good, so he wasn't planning on leaving her in this uncivilized dump. But coming here of all places in order to earn respect was an odd idea. Respect usually wasn't earned by visiting the homes of those filthy mongrels. She opened her mouth ever so slightly to protest but there wasn't time for her to ridicule the elf as a small pack of angry, deformed, green-skin midgets swarmed toward them led by a much larger and apparently much more angry (not to mention ugly) monster. These things claimed they were in territory belonging to this Rakdos guild, whatever that may be, and then began to yell gathering the attention of an audience that had seemed to gather from nowhere. "Well, why not both?" Lithilina responded with a light giggle.

Without warning Lithilina's body lifted up into the air once more and she carried herself toward the massive monster, her flight much quicker than before as it would be imperative for her to avoid the monster. Its strength would most likely be proportional to its size and even though she was far stronger than a human would ever be in their lifetime the monster would undoubtedly be stronger still. However it seemed to be quite the simpleton, its head empty and possessing no knowledge of any spells. This would make Lithilina's job much easier.

As she flitted around the large monster trying to swing and make a grab at her Lithilina's face carried no emotion aside from a smirk barely noticeable on her lips. She was quite enjoying herself while the monster on the other hand seemed to grow more and more frustrated with each missed swipe until it let out a loud roar as Lithilina stopped right in front of it. "'Ey! Stop moving!" It yelled and brought both its arms up, bringing them together in an attempt to crush the girl between its palms. As the monster's large hands came within inches of grinding Lithilina into a fine paste they suddenly stopped and the monster let out a low grunt. Its arms immediately lowered and fell to its sizes and it ceased all movement and sound completely, instead only staring at the girl it had just tried to crush.

No one was sure how long had passed since the monster's silence, it could have been several minutes, or it could have just been a few seconds. But the moment Lithilina moved to the side of the creature it spontaneously sprung into action raising both its hands and cupping them together above its head. The small creatures beneath the monster had no time to figure out what was going on (not that their intelligence would've allowed them to) before it swung its arms down. They had only a few seconds to scatter, and most of them did manage to escape from the crushing blow. But there was a very unlucky creature who, when the monster lifted its arms back up, had been pulverized into the ground.

"So, how do you feel now?" Came Lithilina's voice. She had perched herself in a seated position upon the giant creature's shoulder and she wore and expression of amusement.

"Ugh..." The monster started, as if trying to find its words, "Me...me serve...pretty lady..."

"Glad to hear it." Lithilina giggled as she turned her gaze down at the elf as well as the smaller creatures, her eyes glimmering with malicious intent though one could not tell if it was directed at the elf or the green-skinned mutants.

 

Joseph, however, had seemed to have missed the greater part of this echange. It was something that was not necessarily bad, just something rather trivial that he could afford to miss, seeing that all this journey was for was his entertainment. He wanted to watch the girl and all she did. She pleased him, and at the moment, there was not much else that he could really do. She seemed to possess a certain air of mysticality about her... something about that girl just spoke to him, and he felt a strange desire to investigate. Pursuing this urge, Joseph warped down to the floor of the building as he watched the two proceed into a different direction.

He needed to satisfy his desire.

So he followed the girl and the elf that she had been exchanging with. The elf looked like someone who was used to rugged conditions, and while perhaps not attractive, there had to have been something else to keep the man's attention as he had. There was something about him, something about him as well, something that Joseph could not place withiout discoursing with the creature. Perhaps there was a simple spark of life within him that caught his glare, but without further investigation, he could not go anywhere.

The two arrived at the entrance of another section of Ravnica (if that was really where he was). A guarding troll had stopped them in their tracks, and now he was within listening range of the two. He first heard the elf tell the troll guard that they had their own business to attend to, to mind to his own. Not quite wise, but the job got done. Then he heard the mysterious girl speak. It was like a sweet honey glaze. In addition to this, though, he felt a certain tug on his mind, as if there was something else at work that was not within the physical realm. The elf did not look as if he had the capacity to wield mental power, even if that race was very magically gifted, so he suspected that this girl was doing something out of the ordinary. Something about her... Wow.

At the moment that he was watching the situation unfold, the troll had gotten irritated, but as time went on, that changed. He seemed to get more and more docile. What little mind it possessed was now becoming the girl's. Joseph smiled.

That was not really a challenge, though he had to admit that not just the average creature could wrest another's control away without sheer will and determination, with a bit of learning in that specific discipline. This was going to be fun. He liked people who could rival him, especially ones that seemed to not to be able to detect him. He had suspected that the two could feel his aura behind them as he followed them, but obviously, this was not the case, as there would have been some sort of interaction between himself and the two strangers.

These two were not ordinary creatures. By all means, he suspected a larger power within both of them, something that was no longer common from anywhere he could tell. Something about them was supernatural, perhaps they would be able to traverse planes, as he suspected he had. Perhaps he would be able to use them and get himself home... but before he could do any of that, he had to introduce themselves.

Obviously they were entirely oblivious to his presence otherwise, so it was only proper that he do this.

"My, my, what have we got here?" The small smile that Joseph had on his face had now all but disappeared, and he was back to his cool demeanor. There was work to be done here. "Quite impressive, if I do say so myself. Trolls are known to have a huge will, and it must take quite a bit of skill on your behalf." At this moment, he was ignoring the elf simply because he was not the object of his curiosity. This girl was all that mattered at this point in time. "My name is Joseph. That is all I suspect you will need, as I am sure you are intelligent enough to peer into me and find all else. Now tell me, what is your name?"

His arrogance was seeping through. He knew that he would let out just a tad bit that would look as if his entire soul had been laid bare before her, but in fact, the sheer volume of material within his skull was simply to voluminous to pore over all at once.

Poor thing.

 

Lithilina giggled once more as the elf complained of not having a chance to show off his skills. But this was the most efficient way of doing things, taking down the obvious leader and the rest of the pack were sure to follow. These creatures seemed to follow that rule just like those forest-dwelling mongrels. Of course like with everyone Lithilina enslaved this monster would eventually outlive its usefulness to her. At that point the creature's life would be of no concern to the baroness. In fact the monster would most likely be killed by Lithilina's own hands, and of course just before its death Lithilina would break her enrapturing spell just so she could see her victim's terror-stricken face as it experienced its final moments.

All of a sudden Lithilina sensed the presence of someone quickly approaching, someone who gave off a very powerful psychic aura. She noticed a figure in the distance coming closer, it was of a male with gold hair and light blue eyes, though they were a tad deeper than her eye color, dressed in a rather regal fashion. He appeared to be of fairly high standing. His expression was largely unreadable and when he introduced himself he seemed to have willingly opened his mind for her to peer into. Not many people would do this, Lithilina thought to herself, Don't mind if I do.

As if knowing exactly what she would order it to do, the monster raised its hand up to Lithilina before she even so much as opened her mouth to speak. The girl hopped off its shoulder and onto the palm of its hand with a childish skip then was lowered down to the ground where she stepped off the creature's hand.

"Pleasure meeting you Joseph," Lithilina started, giving a slight curtsy as she had done with the elf's introduction, "My name is Lithilina." She approached the boy with elegant and delicate steps, spacing the time between each of her steps perfectly so that the clicking of her heels never missed a beat. Her movements were graceful and regal, even more so when she came close enough to the boy that she raised her right hand and placed it upon his cheek as she peered into the boy's mind. "Why thank you." Lithilina cooed sweetly as her hand tenderly ran down the boy's cheek and the side of his face, "Even if that was all just flattery you're very sweet."

Lithilina skimmed the boy's mind. She only needed the most basic information about him, nothing more for now. She also took away the knowledge of a spell or two from the boy, however they were only minor spells which he probably wouldn't even notice that they were gone. Of course as a gift she left behind a mark. It wouldn't have quite as strong effects as the spell she placed on the monster but the boy would still be enthralled by her mere presence.

 

Joseph felt the childish touch pick his brain. He smiled a bit and let out a small moan; this was quite pleasurable, really, which is why he was so eager to offer a space of his mind to the girl. She seemed thirsty from what he could tell. He was ready to relieve some of the tension in his skull, seeing that she seemed to need a bit of what he had. When he felt the mental grope, he allowed to let some of it be taken, taking care to catalog the fingerprints she left behind. If he were ever to oppose her, this would be crucial to her analyzation, and ultimately her demise. That felt good enough, though.

As the hand receded, he opened his eyes and looked at the girl. He felt an arousal deep within his gut, but he knew from long years of experience that prepubescence was not something he was willing to get into. He had to resist the charm, which albeit was a little more difficult with a clearer mind, but he was sure that he had the mental capacity to avoid mere infatuation. His master would be displeased with him if he were to succumb to mere mortal things. After all, that is not why he was apprenticed in the first place. He should not be just ready to give in to desire. He was better than that.

With the small smile on his face that he wore into the introduction finding its way back onto his face, he began to speak again, in the same tone as he had before, though internally he felt miles better than he had. He would not allow this satisfaction to be easily had, however. No, sir. "I try to be on my best behavior when I notice individuals who are exceptional in comparison to others. You just shone like a beacon in a moonless night. I did not expect this, and so I felt drawn. But now that this exchange has been completed, perhaps I will be on my way."

He really wasn't sure whether or not he was going to be let go so easily, but at the end of the day, he knew that there would be some matter of parting discourse, which he was eager to hear.