text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, dystopia, fantasy]
  
  In for a silver, in for a sack as they say. If this spell is going to protect you from the Emperor, you'd best stick with it and worry about Semra's intentions later. Though at this point you don't even feel any pain on your side of things, but maybe that's because you aren't trying to hide anything from her.
  
  Your life has more or less always been an open book. You've never really hidden anything because you've usually come clean eventually anyway. You're not even going to be hiding your desires to kill the Emperor pretty soon. If Semra's hoping to learn something to use against you, she's in for disappointment.
  
  She already knows most of your combat techniques having taught most of them to you. She already knows your mindset well enough that she has more influence over you than you'd like. She already is well aware of your feelings towards her. There is quite literally nothing she is going to find out that won't give her any advantage that she doesn't already have.
  
  Yet you can sense she STILL wants more, its almost as if she's insecure about not having total control over you. You sense a lot of that actually. She can't comprehend why you can have a sexual desire for her, yet not desire her in the way you did with Alison. She's at a loss on what to do about it. And that confusion is a big ball of anger, frustration and pain.
  
  Suddenly you see the image of a young svelk girl. You aren't sure how old, but by human standards she would definitely be considered a child. It's Semra and she is holding the hand of an adult male svelk though you can never quite make out his face.
  
  They are both in a city where a large crowd of svelk are gathered having a good time throwing what looks to be sveld babies against a nearby wall which has a big target on it. Semra looks very happy and cheers whenever one splats into a bloody mess in the center.
  
  It would seem that Semra's entertainment preferences didn't change much for her. Several images of her enjoying similar activities with the same adult male flood your mind. You can only guess that the adult male might be her father, but Semra must be blocking you from confirming that.
  
  In any case, the idea that she was once a child is bizarre, but then everyone starts as one at some point right? She had a twisted childhood to be sure, but she had more of a childhood than you ever did.
  
  Just as think you're starting to see more images of a personal nature, the contact is broken off and Semra pushes you away.
  
  "There. It's done. Let's get this over with." She remarks while rubbing the sides of her head. She also starts rubbing her eyes and is sniffling a bit.
  
  You're silent for a moment, just staring at her. You know that she must be hiding loads of whatever unhappy memories she does have. And she certainly can't have you seeing them, she can't trust you enough to believe you wouldn't mock her in some way or exploit a weakness.
  
  "WHAT?!" she shouts when she notices you staring.
  "Nothing. Keep your secrets. Like you said, let's get this over with."
  
  As you make your way to the door to the Emperor's chamber, you do feel the connection of your mind to Semra's. Its not like you can read her thoughts, but its rather a sixth sense kind of feeling. You're curious how this will play out during battle.
  
  After speaking the password, the door opens and you both enter the Emperor's chambers. You look at each other, simultaneously cast your magical shield spells and spread out. Almost immediately you hear the voice of the Emperor, though he hasn't made an appearance yet.
  
  "So it's come to this has it? After all I've done for you. After all I've given you. You turn traitor for a piece of svelk tail?"
  
  The Emperor steps out from his bedroom.
  
  "Son, I am disappointed." He says and then just stares immediately in your direction. You feel a slight pain in your head, but its muted. Semra's shielding spell must be working.
  
  The Emperor looks genuinely shocked. Its an expression you don't think you've ever seen before on him.
  
  "You...you let this...creature into your mind?! Have you gone mad?!"
  "Probably." You remark and cast a lightning blast at the Emperor, but he easily deflects it back at you causing it to hit your force shield and knocking you to the floor.
  
  Semra casts a spray of acid, and while it sizzles and melts objects within the designated direction, the Emperor's own defenses absorb it. Realizing he can't just explode your brain, he casts a spell, which starts to turn the room very cold. You're reminded of the time you cast this spell on Cyrus' crew and you immediately cast a ring of fire around yourself in the hopes the heat will be enough to keep you from freezing. You follow up with a volley of small fireballs, which set the many bookshelves in the room ablaze.
  
  "You've made a dire mistake son, trusting this svelk whore. Even if you could defeat me, do you really think she'd allow you to live? She's lying to you son. She always has and I thought you were stronger than that." The Emperor remarks as sheets of ice cover the room extinguishing some of the flames.
  "And you weren't lying to me?! You had Alison murdered and you planned to kill me as well!" you shout back as you release your feet from the ice that has managed to encase around them.
  
  The Emperor sends a flash of light that blinds you and Semra. You stumble around to the left since you remember there being a solid stone table you can take cover behind.
  
  "(Sigh) Even if any of that was true my son, what of it? I was your father! Your master! Your life was mine to do with as I saw fit! Of course none it matters now. You've decided to stand against me and now your life is most certainly mine to take." You hear the Emperor say and then suddenly hear loud lighting blast followed by a yelp sound to your far right. Must be Semra, but you're still half blind from that flash of light.
  
  "Ha ha! Not as strong as we thought eh Semra? You always were an overconfident bitch. Won't be long before I break through your pathetic force shield."
  
  Your eyes clear up enough and see Semra across the room struggling to maintain her shield from a steady blast of lightning unleashed by the Emperor. Seeing that trading magic isn't going to work, you put up your own shield and try to make your way over to the Emperor to just butcher him, but the combination of your hampered eyesight and icy floor are enough to slow you down.
  
  "Ever the warrior aren't we son? Here, play with these!" the Emperor shouts and stops his attack on Semra, waves his hands and suddenly five hovering undead figures appear. You cast an enchantment spell on your sword and press forward to battle. Meanwhile Semra has taken advantage of her second wind and cast a telekinesis spell throwing a table directly into the Emperor. She follows this up with smacking him with several other smaller objects. He falls to the floor and re-establishes his own magic shield.
  
  "Keep up the pressure!" Semra shouts.
  
  You'd love to, but right now you're trying to destroy the undead creatures in from of you. While you've never faced such things before, you keep your cool and successfully cut down three of them.
  
  "You fools know nothing of the power you face! Now face the true supremacy of a necromancer!" the Emperor shouts and the entire room gets even colder, but this isn't even like the cold of ice or snow, this is something unnatural. You start to feel the tips of your fingers go numb and feel your energy starting to be drained. It's like when Cyrus touched you, but this is all around you.
  
  You nearly get your head cleaved in by one of the wraiths as you start feel dizzy. You dodge the attack and slash the thing in two. The last one is taken down with a blast of fire from Semra who you sense is feeling the affects of the Emperor's magic too.
  
  You stagger and prop yourself up on a burned lab desk. The Emperor stands only a few feet away, but he seems so far for you to do anything. You look over and see Semra staggers towards him, but collapses and begins screaming. You aren't sure what the Emperor's doing, but his eyes are glowing red.
  
  "A scared little girl still crying about her lost birthright. That's all you are and all you ever will be. You svelk think you know about pain and death, but you know nothing! I'll show you true pain and soon I'll show you death and the endless torture that can come after it!"
  
  Semra's confidence that the Emperor couldn't do anything to her mind because of her race has proven false. While he's not exploding her brain you do sense he's creating some sort of waking nightmare in her mind. She's literally crying and begging for him to stop, she even looks over to you reaching out with both hands telling you she's sorry. She pleads with you to help her and that she needs your strength.
  
  You never thought you'd ever feel a slight twinge of sympathy for her.
  
  In any event, you're not exactly doing so well yourself. You aren't even sure if you could help Semra even if you wanted to given how weak you feel. Though your chances of making a lunging attack to kill the Emperor are equally as slim.
  
  > attack the Emperor
  Semra's just going to have to suffer a bit longer because you need to kill the Emperor. Besides, if you do kill him, you will have helped her anyway.
  
  You stagger towards the Emperor and raise your sword in an effort to strike him, but it's a clumsy attack that he easily evades. He instead grabs your sword hand and you feel an even greater drain on your energy than you did before.
  
  "Tch. Tch. What were you thinking son? I guess you weren't otherwise you wouldn't have tried to kill me in the first place."
  
  The Emperor continues to drain you of your life and it doesn't take long before you see your hand shrivel and wizen before your eyes. Your entire body soon follows this sequence until your organs fail and death is instantaneous though definitely not painless.