"Dardanos, my child, why do you continue to resist me? Can you not see that we are destined to become one? For eternity I have waited for just this very moment, for you to come along and bring about my reign, and now that we are finally together you are trying to avoid me. Why? There is nothing to fear from me. No, it is you that will now be the one to fear. You will be the one to become my vessel and, in time, the ruler of this world. This is your destiny."<br/><br/>A young child, barely out of his toddler years, lays upon a cold, stone alter in the middle of a grand chamber. Tears stream down his face as a woman stands above him, chanting something in a language he did not know. He looks beyond her to see a group standing close to the wall behind her, huddled together as they spectate. He tries to call out to them but a spell this woman had put on him keeps him silent and still.<span style="font-style: italic">Mother...father...why are you doing this to me,</span>was his only thought as fear dominated him.<br/><br/>"Do not waste thoughts on those insignificant beings. I am the only guardian you will need from now on."<br/><br/>The child closes his eyes as the woman that stood at him at the alter continued her chanting, all vision and thought going blank.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: green;background:green;"/></div><br/><br/>As Dardanos looked upon Neiva with his blackened eyes he could feel the darkness inside him tearing at his psyche, wanting to lash out at the snow queen that was no more than a few feet away from him but he was doing all he could to prevent such an action to take place. He nodded in agreement as she made her statement regarding Eira fulfilling her destiny, "You must be sure she understands how important her role in this world is. We cannot afford her to hesitate to act when the time comes for her to take action against me."<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>"That...thing that stands before your mother is not Dardanos," the voice continued speaking to Eira, "It has not been Dardanos since it was merged with the darkness. It is merely a shell that the darkness grows inside of and it has nearly taken over completely. I fear that the presence of both your mother and yourself are proving as a catalyst for the darkness within him. It wants nothing more than to devour you both and is rapidly breaking through the scarce remains of Dardanos' psyche. You must leave this very moment or else everything is doomed."<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>Back in the room, the master of darkness begins to feel something moving within his own body, something that he had not felt since the destruction of his kingdom. His hands quickly move to his head as he begins to cry out in pain, darkness seeping out of his eyes and moving across his face while he thrashes about violently, "The darkness," he begins to call out, "it seeks your soul, Queen Neiva, it is beginning to come out and I will not be able to hold it for long." He throws himself onto the floor as his body begins to break apart, an ink-like substance crawling out of the cracks in his skin and dripping onto the floor into a puddle around him.<br/><br/>After a few moments the puddle of black ink that formed around it's vessel began to climb back onto it, as if it is beginning to consume and take over the physical body that lay broken upon the floor. "Your disobedience disappoints me, Dardanos," a booming, low toned voice called out from the darkness that was smothering the lifeless body. Once it had been completely covered, the body slowly stood up, a dark mist forming around a mess of jet black tentacles that broke out of the skin.<br/><br/>"And you, snow queen," the voice continued as Dardanos stood upright, pointing a broken finger at Neiva, "You are a fool to have come into my domain and an even bigger fool to allow your daughter to follow behind. Now I have you both and your part in the prophecy is over."