Jazmee27 
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From what little we can piece together, the events of that night were as follows: two young men in their late teens or early twenties somehow gain entry into the palace, and sneak into the corner upstairs bedroom where the twins are sleeping fitfully. They snatch up the one boy, who wakes immediately and begins to struggle. One of the two abductors, obviously a wizard, subdues the toddler without laying a hand on him, and the three make the journey to Chendorri Dorsevahrtren’s lair. It has been suggested that Chendorri himself might have been there, perhaps disguised as a younger man so as to evade detection.
Once at the old palace he’d comondeered as his own, Orehlio was stripped and somehow wound up outside, where the second person involved in his abduction, now revealed to be Chendorri’s nephew Julian, began using the toddler for “target practice.” It has been suggested that he used nonmagical implements because he had no Powers to speak of. Why his uncle didn’t lend a hand is open to speculation, but we suspect that he wanted to give his nephew some “hands-on experience” as it were. So Julian swung a mallet through the air, missing the three-year-old initially, but as Orehlio tired, his aim was more accurate. Several people remember hearing the agonized screams of the victim, but they were afraid to call in a report because this was the middle of gang territory. Who knew what could happen if they intervened?
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Reply #1221. Jun 26 12, 3:38 PM
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Jazmee27
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Apparently, Vincent Cobeyra told the other sect of Cehrvanakavreyda about Ohrelio, and that he suspected the other gang might go overboard and kill “the target.” So, the leader, Bizanti Cannelahra, ordered his group to the streets. “Keep your eyes open,” he commanded.
Meanwhile, the three-year-old was no longer even trying to escape Julian’s furious swipes. He lay flat on the ground, his hands covering his face, howling for all he was worth. The louder he got, the more infuriated Julian got, and the more rapid the blows to the child’s head. Blood flew everywhere, sticking to everything, and Ohrelio’s screams soon died down. Unaware of this, or perhaps uncaring, Julian continued to pound out his fury and frustration on this helpless boy.
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Reply #1222. Jun 26 12, 3:40 PM
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Jazmee27
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Suddenly, two of the rival gang were there, shouting at Chendorri and his nephew to “leave the kid.” Julian, of course, knowing nothing but rage, grabbed Ohrelio with one hand and proceeded to strangle him. One of the gangsters hit the young man with a magical blast, causing him to stagger back and loosen his grip on the boy. The other gangster managed to catch Ohrelio before he fell to earth and cracked his skull open. The young man then made the mistake of climbing to his feet and going directly into attack mode. The two gangsters, though similar in build to Julian, were tougher in their moves, and soon had him crying and gasping for breath. Bizanti then used a silent hand gesture to tell his associate to stop, and informed Chendorri that they most certainly could, and would, continue unless they handed the boy over to them. “I come in the name of Vhoteyra,” he added, “who names this toddler as his.” After a brief hesitation, during which he contemplated his position, Julian’s uncle relented. It was then that the gangsters straightened up, moving away slightly to reveal a young woman standing some distance behind. “Go see to him,” Bizanti said quietly, and she did as she was told without uttering a single word.
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Reply #1223. Jun 26 12, 3:41 PM
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Jazmee27
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EYQI QAVRAHNIS
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Nobody’s sure who first found the Qiryntian village of Ehqi Qahvrahnis. What is certain is that the area is haunted. Just look to a place’s name, my daddy used to say, and you will learn everything you be wanting to know about it. In this case, “Place of the Blood Sacrifice.” A rough translation, but close enough.
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Reply #1224. Jun 26 12, 3:46 PM
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Jazmee27
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Legend has it that a little boy was nabbed in the middle of the night, and his body cut into quarters for some freak ritual. Near the end, a sizable amount of blood was spilled and collected in tiny jars, then sprinkled in all four directions. They say a number of plagues came about from just that one night. I don’t know. But what I do is, everyone’s afraid to step foot near, or even speak of, that place. In fact, I’m likely cursed from writing it down, and should probably go throw this manuscript in the river Motekahryo to be cleansed.
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Reply #1225. Jun 26 12, 3:47 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE CRUSHER 1
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The air hummed loudly as gears clicked and whirred, squeezing an object between them. Every now and then, a crunch could be heard as something resembling a bone shattered. The only other sound that could be heard, if one listened carefully, was the labored, tortured breating of some person or other. Whether it was male or female couldn’t quite be determined, just the vague outline of a human being. Then, as the device continued its crushing action, the figure grew more and more unrecognizable, until it was no more than a discarded pile of skin and bones held together by the components of the machine.
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Reply #1226. Jun 26 12, 3:48 PM
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Jazmee27
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The young man who’d come upon the horrific scene stopped and stared in open-mouthed horror as, with the sound of metal grating on metal, the jaws of the beast clamped down on each other and the device switched itself off. A few fragments of tissue hung limply to the circuitry of the device, intensifying the gruesomeness of the scene. Without thinking what he was doing, the young man knelt down on the ground, so as not to fall over, and was violently sick.
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Reply #1227. Jun 26 12, 3:48 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE CRUSHER 2
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The machine purred to life, trapping the young man’s limbs in a vicelike grip. He inhaled sharply, his blue eyes darting frantically around the controls. “Don’t bother,” a voice sneered, “there’s nothing there.” The young man’s chest constricted, and he promptly lapsed into unconsciousness.
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Reply #1228. Jun 26 12, 3:49 PM
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Jazmee27
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It was a combination of noise and pain that woke him. He struggled to form a coherent thought, to push away the overwhelming sense of helplessness, but he could do nothing but lay there, listening to the sounds of his bones being crushed to a fine powder. Again, blackness enveloped his mind, and he surrendered gratefully.
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Reply #1229. Jun 26 12, 3:50 PM
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Jazmee27
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The second time he awoke it was to the absence of sound. At first, he thought this meant that he had died, but then he realized that then he wouldn’t hurt anymore. “What’s it mean then,” he wondered dazedly as he once again slipped into the realm of unconsciousness.
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Reply #1230. Jun 26 12, 3:51 PM
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Jazmee27
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REALM OF NIGHTMARES
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Not as well known as Xaitora, but more feared, Loqiyvos Morkravyn translates to “The Realm of Nightmares.” In fact, there are two such places, although one is located in Xynor and goes by the name Beiytahno Qormahdyx. Another difference between the two, apart from dwelling on different planets, is that the Xynoran Realm, the last one I named, has a meat factory on it. The former, Morkravyn, is more devoted to the most frightening psychological traumas imaginable.
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Reply #1231. Jun 26 12, 3:52 PM
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Jazmee27
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WARYN'S VENGANCE
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The 12-year-old slumped against the wall, bored out of his mind. How he wished he didn’t have to wait for “the right time.” So many things would be easier if he could just track his father down now and kill him. “Blasted Prophecy,” he muttered darkly. If not for that, if his father were some unknown, he could act tonight. It would be simple, and his mother’s death would be avenged.
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Reply #1232. Jun 26 12, 3:54 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE SURGEON'S ASSISTANT 1
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Silvia Hawthorne manipulated the weapon with a skill that belied the three days she’d spent training to assist te demon known as Surgeon. So far, the operations had run far more smoothly than she’d expected. Then again, she shouldn’t be surprised, for her patient happened to be one of the most stubborn individuals alive.
She smiled slightly at the moans emanating from the table where her patient lay, fully conscious and bleeding from several deep incisions on his face and chest. “What a great thing magic is,” she murmured loud enough for the boy to hear.
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Reply #1233. Jun 26 12, 3:56 PM
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Jazmee27
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Ontario Gonzales tried to lay still, he really did, but the pain was so intense he often couldn’t help himself. “How much longer,” he wondered dully, “until I finally black out?” For all he knew, the answer was never—he’d been asking the same question since that demon had brought him here. Where was “here,” anyway? Some sort of hospital or—He inhaled sharply at a stinging pain just below his right eye. What was she doing? They’d already removed both his eyes. What else—The boy cried out as the realization struck him, closely followed by a mind-numbing blackness.
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Reply #1234. Jun 26 12, 3:56 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE SURGEON'S ASSISTANT 2
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The male and female demon worked silently, strapping the young man securely to the metal operating table. He couldn’t have been older than ten years, and his blue eyes reflected a great trauma. He was conscious, but just barely, and each breath rattled in his chest.
His captors were cold and calculating, their movements careful and measured. The older of the two was named Aleksandr, and was known as The Surgeon. His “specialty” was the brain, but he dabbled in other areas, particularly involving organ extraction. His assistant was named Silvia Hawthorne, and considered the acquisition of “the patientA” long overdue. At long last, her countless years of tracking his family would come to an end.
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Reply #1235. Jun 26 12, 3:58 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE SURGEON'S ASSISTANT 3
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Her concentration was intense as she bent back the layer of skin with one hand and manipulated the scalpel with the other. Her patient moaned softly, but she ignored it. Nothing could interrupt her careful work. One misstep and she could kill him.
She was operating on one of the most delicate areas now. “Stay still,” she hissed at her patient, who had begun to thrash. Slowly, deliberately, she laid one hand on his chest and the other on one arm. “Dark Power, hear me,” she whispered as she pressed downward with both hands. She felt his body stiffen under her hand and looked down to make sure she hadn’t overdone it. His chest rose and fell, which made her smile. He was breathing, but couldn’t do much else on his own.
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Reply #1236. Jun 26 12, 4:00 PM
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Jazmee27
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Silvia resumed her work, meticulously removing first one crystal blue eye, then another. She ignored the fluid oozing from each socket. All that mattered to her was he stayed conscious throughout.
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Reply #1237. Jun 26 12, 4:00 PM
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Jazmee27
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THE SURGEON'S ASSISTANT 4
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There are just some things that, at the same time it horrifies us to watch, no matter what we just can’t seem to look away. Neither can we do something productive, like stop the ghastly scene from unfolding. All we can do is stand there, transfixed. It’s almost as if there’s a sort of fascination in seeing horrible things done to a person. We’re talking the most demeaning of things, the most barbaric. Far more cruel and inhumane than the worst image most of us can conjure. The kind of thing which just doesn’t happen anymore because it’s been outlawed for centuries. Yet, there it is, and there’s no denying it. You can’t shut your eyes because your body’s too traumatized to work properly. Your breaths are coming in short bursts, your hands are shaking, your vision’s blurring, and at the same time you can see perfectly what’s going on in front of you. You want to do something, but your brain won’t quit whirling around and around like a vortex.
That’s how I felt the day I saw the kid strapped on the operating table. At first, I just thought it a little odd. He was only here to have some routine procedure done, right? So why secure him to the operating table? No one was there yet, just the patient and me, and I didn’t think he’d talk as his eyes were scrunched closed. After a while, though, he whispered a question. “Who’s here?” I could tell he was really scared, so I rushed to explain it was just the two of us, though I was curious to know what he was doing in the Center. “I’d give anything to know that myself,” he muttered darkly, and his lids fluttered, revealing the clearest blue eyes I’d ever seen. Like a shining crystal, I thought. He took in as much of the surrounding room as he could, then fought briefly against his restraints. “No use,” he said at last, closing his eyes wearily.
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Reply #1238. Jun 26 12, 4:03 PM
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Jazmee27
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I was about to reply but the door opened, and in walked the surgeon. Aleksandr Ardeko’s black eyes met mine, and my words fled like that. “Boy,” he snarled, “come here.” On trembling legs, I did. “I need you to hold my instruments,” he told me bluntly, thrusting a handful of implements in my direction. I was about to protest, but the look in his eyes made me hesitate. From behind me, I heard the patient murmur something that sounded like “best do as he says”. This I did, wishing fervently that I’d never come to this dark place seeking employment. Had I not, then I’d not have been forced to do something I’d rather not. Then again, had I not come I’d not have met the boy who lay so still on that table. I vowed, in that moment, to help if I could.
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Reply #1239. Jun 26 12, 4:05 PM
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Jazmee27
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Unfortunately, things happened so fast I had no time to think of a strategy. Looking back, it seems plain my mind had already shut down, and I was just going on autopilot. When he wanted an implement, I was powerless to do anything but hand it over. I was all numb inside, awash with the horrible knowledge that I was standing in the presence of a true monster.
The door opened again, and in walked this beautiful-looking demon. I know, contradiction, but as far as hideous evil beasts go this one was lovely, with an angelic voice and eyes. “What can I do,” she asked as soon as the door had swung closed behind her. Aleksandr introduced her to me as Silvia, and handed her the scalpel he’d been holding. He then turned to me and asked for the serrated knife to my left. I handed it over, cringing inside as I tried to visualize what these two were all about. This was not, in any sense of the word, a routine procedure.
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Reply #1240. Jun 26 12, 4:06 PM
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