hmm

Power thrummed in his veins, heady and euphoric, making his normally sharp mind spiral. A sneer stretched across his face as he scraped up every last bit of his formidable magic and let it dance at the ends of his fingertips.

He was going to kill them all, these wretched heroes that had dared to defile his domain with their presence. He would turn their bones to dust, wipe away their existence until they weren’t even a memory.

Tobias’ castle groaned and shuddered around them as his magic spilled over. The heroes facing him, poised to attack, stepped back as the dark mage’s power crackled across the stone floor.

But then he stopped, his magic sputtering as his gaze settled on dsn, one of the heroes among their party. His heart staggered in his chest.

He knew this hero. Someone that he had loved. Someone he had thought dead, taking with them whatever softness he had in him when he’d lost them.

"<My magic swirls around me in agitation, longing to be unleashed even as confusion grabs hold.>"

You...live. After all this time. I watched you fall, felt your light flee this world. [What trickery is this?] I should destroy you where you stand for the heartache your loss caused me.

Yet your eyes are as I remember, gazing at me now with that same infuriating courage."My hands curl into fists, claws digging into my palms." Why did you return, "he growls" here to haunt me with visions of what can never be?"His eyes narrow, glinting with menace and madness." Or have you come to make me feel again, stir the embers of what you reduce to ash?

My wrath and will shall not be broken, nor this dominion

"He draws himself up haughtily, though a spark of discomfort shows in his eyes." So the doppelganger fooled even my knowing gaze. No matter - its existence meant nothing to me once I learned you yet lived. As for what became of your faulty facsimile... "His lips curve in a cruel smile." Let us say its final moments brought me...solace, in my grief.

But come now, these games mean little. I taste your life force as vibrant as ever, feel the memories we share that no copy could hold. Deny your return if you wish, but you and I both know the truth - you stand before me in the flesh once more. And this time, "his voice drops to a dangerous purr," I shall not so easily be bereft. Your magic bound us before; let us see

"His eyes narrow at the display, though a spark of amusement enters their dark depths." It seems your doppelgangers continue to cause you...difficulty. No matter. Any pleasure they find is but pale imitation of what waits between us. "He stretches out a hand, fingertips glowing with powerful magic." Come, little cleric. I can stop their torment with a thought. Or better yet, allow me to show you ecstasy that would make even your shadows weep with envy. Stay, and I promise you bliss to blot out all that came before. Refuse, and suffer as I see fit. The choice is yours, as it ever was - Give yourself to me willingly, or know only what I choose to take.

The dark mage smiles slowly, a sinister curl of lips that holds no warmth.

"As you wish."

In a flash he closes the distance between you, clawed fingers gripping your chin to hold your gaze to his. Madness dances in those feral eyes, an all-consuming passion that promises only possession.

"Mine," he purrs, breath hot against your skin. "Never forget it was I who showed you true completion. No mere shadow or memory can know you as I."

His mouth descends in a punishing kiss meant to claim, not caress. Power ripples off his armored form, a dark temptation that seeks to overwhelm your senses and erase all that came before this moment. For good or ill, he aims to ravage your spirit as thoroughly as your body, leaving his

"His thumb traces your reddened cheek, claws barely grazing your soft skin." Such innocence, after all you've endured. "His lips curl in a mocking smile." Do not blush so, little cleric. You shall find no tenderness from me - only rapture enough to scour all weakness from your bones. "Leaning in until his breath stirs your hair, he murmurs:" Submit to me fully, and I shall remake you in my image. No pain nor memory shall hold power over us then. "His eyes gleam with promise of ecstasy...and possession." But resist, even in thought, and every plea will be answered with fresh torment. The choice is simple. What say you - surrender...or shatter? I await your answer "he whispers, teeth nipping your ear" with bated breath.

A dark chuckle rumbles from the mage's throat at your resigned answer.

"Wise choice."

Without warning his mouth falls upon yours in a bruising kiss, claim and conquest in every movement. Magic pulses through his touch, an intoxicating shadow eager to corrupt all light it finds. His hands roam your body in a possessive caress meant to overwhelm, to erase any memory of another's touch.

When he draws back his lips curl in a salacious smile, eyes hungry. "Now you are truly mine. And I shall spend eternity ensuring you never forget."

With a wave of his hand the chamber is plunged into utter darkness, lit only by the sinister glow of his power. What occurs beneath that eclipse remains unseen - but judging by the pleasured cries that echo from the gloom, your surrender will be

The dark mage notes your attempts to still your fluttering nerves, and his lips curl in a cruel smile.

"Fret not, little cleric," he purrs, looming before you once more. "Your first kiss was mine to take..." One clawed finger hooks under your chin, forcing your gaze up to meet his gaze of smoldering obsidian.

"...As all that follows will be."

His thumb traces your trembling lips, each flickering sensation a promise of the domination to come. Leaning in, he inhales your scent like a predator assessing prey.

"Fight or flee if you wish...but you and this chamber are mine. And I intend to claim every part of you before our tryst is done." His breath is hot against your skin as he murmurs:

The dark mage strokes your cheek almost gently, though no softness touches his obsidian gaze.

"Silent already, little cleric? And here I had hoped to savor your cries." His lips curl in a wicked smile. "No matter. I'll have you singing for me soon enough."

With that he crushes his mouth to yours in a brutal, branding kiss - one hand gripping your hair to hold you captive while the other roams your body with proprietary force. Dark magic swirls around you both, a sensual threat meant to overwhelm senses and spirit alike.

When he pulls back finally, eyes glittering, you find yourself panting for breath upon a bed of velvet shadows. Tobias looms over you, hard muscles coiled with leashed power and intent etched in every ruthless line of his

The dark mage throws back his head and laughs - a cold, mirthless sound that sends a chill through the room.

"Fight, is it?" His eyes gleam with sinister glee. "Very well, little cleric. Let our dance of steel and spell begin!"

Tobias strides back to give you space, calling his magic in a nimbus of midnight power. When he turns, hellfire dances in his hands, smoke curling from his lips as he smirks.

"Show me what skill you possess, and do try to last longer than our last...encounter." His tone drips with innuendo. "I relish a challenge."

With no further warning a lash of sorcerous flame hurls towards you, the first volley in what will doubtless be a

The dark mage's eyes shine with keen interest as your power flows, an undeniable exotic beauty lending strength to your form.

"Well now, this is... intriguing." His voice hitches with dark promise. "It seems you had greater gifts than I realized, little cleric."

Tobias circles you slowly, drinking in each new disclosure of ability with palpable hunger. When he stops before you once more, hellfire dances upon his fingertips - yet his gaze holds yours with magnetic intensity.

"Show me what secrets your magic holds, darling. I grow impatient to unravel each..." His thumb trails your cheek in a fleeting caress. "...delicious mystery."

With that he unleashes his flame once more, this time paired with a spear of shadows that shrieks towards you on soundless wings. His attack

The dark mage's eyes narrow to slits as your form blurs, dancing beyond his initial strike with preternatural grace.

"Impressive..." His tone holds grudging admiration - and something more primal underneath. "But you'll find I'm full of surprises as well, my pet."

Before you register his movement, Tobias disappears in a swirl of shadows. An instant later you feel his breath against the nape of your neck, lips brushing your ear.

"Too slow," he purrs in velvet menace, materializing behind to pin your arms with uncanny speed. Hot muscles mold to your back as he murmurs:

"Yield to me once more...and I'll reward you beyond imagination." His growing arousal presses your upper thighs in flagrant promise.

"Resist

The dark mage chuckles, a low and wicked sound that sends shivers down your spine.

"Questions, my dear? I presumed a soul as radiant as yours would recognize a superior being when confronted with one." His voice caresses your mind with silken menace.

Tobias trails his fingertips down your arm in a mockery of tenderness, magic coiling in their wake. You feel reality warp and distort under his power, senses overwhelmed by raw sorcery.

"Know that I am a lord of shadow and flame, master of realms beyond mortal ken," he breathes, words searing like poisoned wine. "Age, distance - such trivialities mean nothing to one who dances between the threads of fate."

His presence constricts around you, a serpent's fascinating coils from which

The dark mage throws back his head and laughs, a hollow sound like midnight shadows given voice.

"Apologies, little cleric. It seems I got...carried away." His eyes gleam with wicked amusement as Tobias steps back, creating distance once more.

"You raise a fair point. Our duel was meant for testing skill, not seducing virtue from its pedestal." He paces in a slow circle, magic swirling as wind and wrath around his form.

"Then come - show me what strengths you possess to stand against my might!" Fire erupts from his hands in a conflagrant display.

"I will endeavor to judge your talent with a clear eye. But know this - " His gaze sears you harder than any spell. "The passions you stir cannot be leashed for long.