Corruption
"Illthian, if you keep up this attitude, we may have to insist you go."
Hi, my name is Illthian. I'm probably the closest thing you are going to find as a mechanical genius in the world now. I can build anything so long as I have the right things. Hell, I am even rich from it. My name is everywhere and I wish I could tell you that it was all because of my superior intellect. But no....something happened that changed my life forever, and not in a good way.
Two doctor looking dragons were staring at a thin earth dragon that seemed to be in an argument with himself, as he was shouted and drawing attention to himself while he argued about something that they didn't understand. The dragon instantly broke off his argument and looked sane again, acting as if nothing happened. He held perfect eye contact with the doctors, who looked mildly unnerved at his eyes. His right eye had a pupil in it, while the other did not. They were a light green color.
His horns went back and instead of simply going on and ending in a point like most dragons, his curved downwards before forming into something like a ram's horns in terms of it was a circle shaped. Black in color, his horns resembled wood. The same went for his claws, while the color passed onto his under scales and wings. However, not made of wood, his wings looked like they were made of black leaves.
Starting at his skull, a large bushy mane made of various plants traveled down his spine and ending at the tip of his tail. The tip was of a bladed leaf with the 'veins' ending in something like a saw's. It was very useful to this dragon. Around his wrist was a silvery band that seemed to be reflecting all sorts of light and glowing ever so slightly.
That's me in all my glory. I suppose I should rewind a bit to show what really happened. Let's see...oh yes, it was when I was bored and felt like ripping off a fox.
"Pick one, will you?" Illthian asked a fox who was taking quite a few moments to pick something he wanted to buy. He was in his shop which was stock full of machinery and other things that he had clawcrafted in his spare time. Yes, he could have had his workers do it, but this was his passion and he wanted to have every moment of it.
If there was any downside to this that he did not enjoy, it was trying sell the different things as the customers lacked the brain cells needed to understand what something did. He was losing time to devote to his precious creations as well as gold thanks to this idiotic fox. He had half a mind to just have one fall on him and say it was an accident. However, he would have to explain to the media about his creations and he really did not enjoy dealing with the media.
They were standing in front a pair of robotic wings. There were multiple models ranging from black ones with razors on the edges to plain metal ones that all they could do is fly. They were quite easy to make, actually, and they sold for more gold than an average worker gets in six months per. He was actually more profitable because he didn't use fire or gasoline.
'It's better for the environment,' he had announced in a press conference, 'No longer will we have to rely on harmful materials to improve our lives.'
The news had gobbled that up, even though he didn't mean a damn word of it. He knew that they would swallow it as soon as he announced it. He was well hated by others because he ran them right out of business. Especially when Illthian had said that he simply didn't care and went on to show off his 'superior' designs.
"Y'know, for one who supposedly had the patience to build all of this, I expected you to have some with the ones who are willing to pay you," The fox responded as he looked at the plain metal wings. Made of various alloys and leather, sparked to life through electricity and his own element, they were ready to use as soon as they were hooked up.
"I expected you to move faster. Sheesh, you move as soon as my mother while shopping," Illthian held a claw to his forehead and shook it, "They all move the same speed and will get you somewhere. The models are just for the 'badasses' who think that they will get them laid." Sad part is that it is completely true.
"Fine, I'll take the plain one. Seems like the cheapest," he said as he selected it.
After selecting it, He and Illthian negotiated the price, settling on 3,000 gold. That was about two hundred and fifty thousand more than it had cost to build but hey, he wasn't going to let him know. That and this was in fact the slowest model of them all and moved about half the speed of the black one he saw. Deliberately set, of course, but he should be grateful that he would be able to fly. When he left with the wings attached, he smirked to himself and tossed around the bag of gold.
As his employees started to flood into the work station, he immediately started to move away, not wanting anyone to pester him with tips or what his secrets were. It was bad enough when the news decided to take a surprise visit to his factory and start pestering him. Just to shut them up, Illthian would falsely answer most of the questions.
Controversy came up within his workers and a few times they had spoken out but he really didn't care. All he would do is spin in a chair or whatever they gave him to sit in and not pay attention.
Walking between two pairs of armor, he reached a wall and made sure no one was looking before pressing his claw to it. A small glowing light appeared under his claw as a laser scanned him before part of the wall moved to the side. Swiftly, he darted inside and shut the door as lights started to turn on.
This was Illthian's private workroom. Large in space, but it seemed very cluttered thanks to the various pieces of machinery and tools everywhere. If there was one thing about Illthian, it was that he was very eccentric and even though this was a mess and many would yell at him to clean it, he knew where everything was and if he organized it, he would never be able to find it. Luckily, this was safe from prying eyes and only a few have ever seen this, and even fewer came in on a regular basis.
Walking over to a table was a medium sized (well, medium to him, as it was the length of his front limb) E.A. that was mostly built. E.A. stood for Elemental Amplifier. It was mostly used by Anthros, or creatures that stood on two legs, as they could not use their elements naturally. It was a double barreled 'shotgun' as some call it. It was lightweight and as he held it in his claws, he marveled the forest green look it was starting to gain as it attuned itself to his element. The handle became wooden while vines grew all along the length.
The attunement was caused by a special crystal inside the E.A. that picked up elemental waves. Being a 'Nature' dragon (One of the two classes of Earth dragons, the other being rock), it was only natural for plants and other things of nature to grow on it. It was a part of his pride and species that he could communicate to certain types of plants.
Picking up a small socket, he cracked open part of the E.A. and inserted it next to the green crystal. It seemed to form around it and in a small glowing light, the two melded together. What that did was make sure that the crystal didn't get shattered and that it was forever bound to him. He had placed a scale inside the socket and it had now merged with the scale. Only he could use it now unless it was removed completely.
Picking it up, he stood on his hind claws and aimed at a useless piece of machinery that laid half finished and smirked, pressing a talon to the trigger and was about to fire when someone spoke.
"Put your toys away, we need to talk," a female voice said.
The voice surprised him so much that he accidently fired. A light green beam came out and blew a hole into the machinery. As a result, Illthian was flown backwards by the force and landed in a pile of scraps, having it fall down and bury him.
"It's supposed to do that," his muffled voice came from underneath it as he poked his head out.
"I'm sure," a yellow dragoness with three small crystals on her shoulder said. Her horns were shaped like lightning and violet in color. Violet was also the color of her wing membranes and claws. Violet stripes also went down her back and forming lightning patterns on her shoulders and thighs. Her wings had a sort of stormy look to them and were purple. Her eyes were purely white and the fact that she wasn't exactly looking at him suggested she was blind.
Her tail ended in a spike that was as zigzagged as her horns and were crystal-like with her shoulder crystals. Her underbelly was purple. She looked very lean and beautiful, but as she was painfully reminded by everyone who saw her and Illthian, she couldn't see her beauty. Her other senses had taken over and she could at least tell where he was or where a wall was if she was close to it.
"What do you want, Jincea?" he asked, trying to free himself.
"Let's see, you spent quite a few gold on some things that I can't even believe you even need," she responded as she opened up a list. The lettering on it stood out a few millimeters and she began to trace it, "Let's see, Lightore (which is waiting for you upstairs), Grivial Alloy....pornography magazines!? Illthian!" she snapped as Illthian was quietly going for the door, having just freed himself.
"Hey, I need them. Someone like me has to have something to look at when he is bored. Building my machines is one pastime, but y'know..." He pressed a few buttons on the wall. A loud 'BEEEP' echoed through the room, instantly making Jincea look at him and causing him to scowl.
"Are you seriously trying to escape now!?" she shot a bolt of lightning over his head, "I am your assistant for The Savior's sake!"
"Actually, you are only my assistant because I pay you. You'd still be in that place if I didn't take pity. I am twenty-two years old and I need some release. I mean, you rarely help me with that anymore," he suddenly appeared in front of her and took her claws into his own and made her stand on two legs as he started to move her in a dancing way.
"What the-?" she growled in surprise, leaning against him in attempts to stabilize herself.
"You are in your electric form today. You look beautiful," Illthian complimented her out of nowhere. She loved being complimented and it was the only way to get her off his back.
"Yes, I decided electricity. I should have chose fire because now I am extremely angry at you," her claws tried to push him away but he held her close as they slowly went in a circle.
"But you are not pissy," he noted. Jincea bared her fangs at him, "You only go fire when you are in your heat or just pissy in general. I studied you that well."
"Oh, nice to know that my seemingly uncaring boss studies me to know my moods and other private things. I should not have slept with you that first time, but I blame the drinks," she sighed as her memory burned with that incident two years ago.
Jincea had no element of her own and was one of the first 'elemental' creatures to be made by science. The project was discontinued thanks to the many deaths and other genetic and fear related things. In her normal state, she was grey, molted and virtually ugly. Illthian had only seen it a few times, the first when he found her trapped in a cell waiting to be put out of her misery. Being fascinated by her genetic makeup, Illthian took her and ran a few non-lethal tests on her. He still occasionally runs experiments on her yet he offered her a job. It was a mystery as to why he decided to keep her.
As such, Jincea had all the same weaknesses and strengths of the element she was in, but it was not uncommon for her to have a few elemental mishaps. For instance, she had absorbed Illthian's elemental and while she turned into a nature dragoness, she still really weak to nature along with fire.
"You enjoyed it. I remember that look on your face," He said as he set her down.
"Yes, yes...I'll give you that...." Sighing, she walked away, "Whatever, just grab your stuff and at least use it-"
"Uhuh,"
"-If you don't, I'll personally make sure to burn all of your happy images-"
"Yup,"
"-oh, and we got a meeting in a few days with the prince of the West. He seems really impressed and no doubt would want to see everything."
"Ok then."
She stared at him with her milky gaze while Illthian went back to his E.A. and started to fire it, his body shuttering with ever fire. While she couldn't see his body, she knew how thin he was compared to most dragons. It's said that one of his ancestors was so frail to the point where he could barely move without struggling for his life. Then again, Illthian never really cared for his family after an incident and never bothered to check. He even slammed the door on his mother's face more than once.
Once she left, Illthian sighed and walked outside, where it was very bright and colorful. It was his personal garden and the plants here were the ones that he actually cared for. He purchased some of the rarest plants and placed them here to grow. He may even sell them if they were worth enough later on. He was a multi-billionaire but he didn't turn away any money.
While tending to a group of purple flowers which were said to have healing properties, he looked into the sky and while wiping the sweat off of his face, he noticed something odd. There was a little black spec that was rapidly growing bigger as if it was approaching. Illthian stepped back and saw that it was a comet and immediately tried to run. However, if possible, the thing sped up and hit him hard in the back of the head.
"OW!" he exclaimed, falling flat on his face and sliding a bit, nose first into the ground. The meteor fell to his side and while he was trying to collect his senses, tentacles burst from the holes and latched itself to his body. The sensation...it was a mixture of corruption and burning.
"Very supple indeed for a mortal....I like this body....and what have we here? An influential dragon? My luck has been rocketing indeed...." A voice said in his head as he silently cursed himself.
"Uh uh, I am just myself, thank you," he frantically got up, tentacles whipping around him as what appeared to be a black blight formed all over his body.
Illthian rushed inside and knocked everything off tables, shelves, and kicked tools along the ground as he struggled for dominance. His limbs would randomly jerk even though the black substance was mostly centered on his right shoulder, half his right wing, and his entire front right limb. It started to spread up his neck and was slowly reaching his face. Soon, he reached a button and he slammed it at least twenty times.
That was a button to call Jincea to him. She had a small buzzer attached in her wing that would send a tingling sensation whenever he pressed it. No doubt she would feel either angered or massaged by the feeling. However, this was the first time he had pressed it in rapid succession. It may encourage her to hurry faster.
Within the next minute, she arrived and scowled at him, "What?" she growled.
"G-get the lightore....quickly!" he called out urgently, falling to the ground as his body flung itself into a wall. The shock made temporarily blank out before her returned. Jincea had just left and he dug his talons into dismembered part of a table. It was still firmly into the ground.
Tightening his grip, he found that it was more difficult than he thought to control his violent acts as the figure inside taunted him repeatedly, searching through his memories and bringing up things to make him loose his state of mind. Some of his most dormant and private ones appeared and he gasped, trying to rid himself of them.
One terrible one came up. It was when he had his first assassination attempt and the state it left him in. He crawled back, half alive, and somehow managed to survive long enough to be brought back. When he found out who had done it to him, it was the biggest shock of his life and he never wanted to interact with those close to him again. Illthian died that night...reborn by engineering and machinery.
The plants were real though.
Seconds later, Jincea returned and found him through his growling and scratching. She placed the lightore next to him and he lunged for it. As soon as he crashed into it, the darkness had an immediate reaction to it. It seemed to recoil and move away from the parts that touched it. Illthian smiled and took a large piece, driving it into his chest. Blood burst from the wound but a feral screech echoed throughout the room, loud enough to nearly drive him insane and for Jincea to hear.
"The heck is that?" she asked, referring to the screech, not knowing that he had stabbed himself.
"Don't know...yet....lightore...will stop....long enough," he said as he stood up, the crystal pulsing every few seconds. His green life fluids dripped out and splattered on the ground. Jincea heard the sounds and tried to pinpoint the source but wouldn't allow her to feel it. The crystal was at least three inches within his chest and had narrowly missed anything vital. The blackness tried to corrupt the other parts of his body, but the crystal kept it subdued.
"Give me the hammer!" He commanded as he placed a bit of Lightore on the table, cutting it with the blade on his tail. Thankfully it was a soft metal and thus was easier to cut than most metals.
Jincea ran off to where he usually threw the hammers to the ground. Illthian measured the width of his wrist and started to cut out a shape of a bracer. Seconds later, the hammer was flung at his face and it nearly cracked his skull. Luckily, he caught it with his claw and he started to hammer out the shape of it. Jincea stood by just in case he needed her.
It was a very delicate process, as he couldn't hammer too much without risking it shattering while too little force would be like bashing a concrete wall with his skull. Every time Jincea would try and find the source of the dripping, he would swat her claw away. She got dangerously close one time and he couldn't hold out forever.
Eventually, the shape was crafted....and now Illthian needed to know how to make it less soft just in case. Illthian wasted no time in throwing it on and again, the shriek occurred and he felt his mouth start to bleed as well as his eyes and ears. It was just....so loud. Like a wailing hatchling.
Illthian hated hatchlings.
The screaming eventually faded away and he fell straight on his back, unconscious.
--
Illthian started to open his eyes when something smacked him across the face. Hard enough to both wake him up and almost knock him out. Again. His half eyes spun around, one millisecond focusing on a window the next on the ceiling. Whatever hit him drew blood but wasn't deep enough to cause a scar.
"Mind explaining how a shard of Lightore got stuck in your chest?" A voice hissed as Illthian regained his senses, realizing that it was Jincea who spoke.
"Explosion," Illthian received another slap.
"You stabbed yourself. Have you learned nothing from two years ago!?" Jincea leaned back and curled up against the wall. Despite not being able to see him, she was shooting him her version of a death glare.
Illthian took in his surroundings while he thought of a good comeback. He was on a bed of straw (he loved straw!) and an organic blanket made of plants. The room was dimly lit and he had some sort of vine bandage with some dark green blood staining it. They were slowly healing the wound. He'd be fine within a few days. Raising his wrist, he saw the bracer still there.
To make his day complete, he heard gibberish coming from his head. Fantastic, he had dementia. Dementia....he'd call the thing that tried to possess him that.
"Look, I saved myself from being taken over by some dark blob thing that hit me," Illthian explained.
".....Somehow....I am not surprised. Still not good enough excuse. You could have simply held it near you," Jincea said.
"I didn't think of that. Too busy, y'know, being driven insane by the voice. Who is called Dementia. Yeah," Illthian darted his eyes back and forth, trying to get away, "Why do you even care about your uncaring boss anyway?"
"If you die, then I'll be sent back to being executed or job hunting. Not fun," she smiled. He could see that her eyes were sparkling with tears.
He didn't try and stop her when she walked over and licked his cheek. Illthian blushed from the contact but felt strangely empty when she retracted her tongue. Was he feeling love? Bah, that was so new to him. Then again, he was a scientist. He had to experience everything.
For all he knew, this could have changed his life if he tried. Only one way to find out though...
"Oh how cute...." Dementia sneered in his head.
'SHUT UP!"
--
Yup, that's how it happened. The relationship between Jincea and myself never really took off. Things sort of went back to how it normally was. Well, excluding having a demon thing in bonded to your body, of course. As previously referenced, that never really went over well with anyone.
Sometimes, I wonder how long I can hold out. Oh well, I have Jincea to watch over me and Dementia to drive me insane and sometimes help me by disagreeing and etc. Yes, beginnings are not super interesting, nor are short adventures. I am eagerly anticipating my next adventure, whenever that is. I certainly know that I can handle whatever it is. Nothing is impossible for me to accomplish.
Right?