"You are not safe here," a soft, almost inviting voice called out in the hallway outside the door where the young Eira was watching from. The voice seemed to come from nowhere but everywhere at the same time, as if it manifested from the very air that surrounded the girl. "Please, Eira, you must leave," the voice spoke again with a strong caring tone.<br/><br/>Back inside the room, Dardanos shook his head slightly as the Queen requested the reason behind this meeting, "I know the history between us is not the greatest but I did not call you hear to break the peace we have been enjoying for quite some time now. In truth, I have a more personal matter to discuss with you, one that will determine the very future of our kingdoms and the entire world." He paused for a moment, thinking about how exactly to explain the situation he has found himself to be in, "As you know, when my kingdom was destroyed I lost control of myself and the darkness that was inside of me came out and caused great damage to the lands around here. But to be honest, and you may very well know this too, since the ritual that turned me into the vessel of darkness I have become, I never truly had control of myself."<br/><br/>He looked down at his hands that hovered slightly off the table the two sat at, the flesh decayed and rotten as darkness crawled over his skin, "This...darkness...is more than just some power given to me by your ancestor that I can wield recklessly. It's something entirely different, something...alive. It is something that lives inside of me, driving me mad, consuming my essence unless I devour souls to sustain it." His hands are placed palm down onto the table as he looks up at the snow queen, showing a face of genuine fear, "If it were just me that this thing wanted, I would surely give myself to end this torment that I have endured but I am afraid that it demands more. If I were to allow myself to be consumed by it completely, it will spread until it finds more hosts to consume and then more after that. The only thing that keeps the darkness at bay is my devouring the souls of anyone that I can."<br/><br/>Dardanos leaned back into his seat while trying to read the face of his guest to determine if she was willing to accept what he had to say as truth before continuing on, "But I fear the situation we now face is one that I alone cannot stop. The darkness that lives inside of me has declared its intentions to me. It plans to take over this physical vessel completely and extend its power beyond just my kingdom and no amount of souls I have taken have changed its will. It is becoming stronger and harder for me to control and I am sure that soon I will not be able to control it and all the world will be doomed."<br/><br/>The dark lord sighed heavily as he looked out the doorway, eyeing down the young Eira that was hiding in the darkness to let her know that he knows of her being here but looks back at the Queen without uttering a word about it. "The reason I called you here, your highness, is to warn you of the events that are on the horizon for our lands and prepare you for the inevitable war that will come from this. I wish I could say I have the power to stop the darkness from bringing this about but I don't. As much as I have tried to avoid it the destinies between our kingdoms, the destiny between your daughter and myself, are set in motion. The darkness will take over and it will come for you and Eira as she is the key to truly stopping us. Until that time comes where she will face the darkness and I in battle, you must keep her safe and you must find whatever weapon she must use to kill us." The tone in his voice could not be any more genuine and serious as Dardanos struggles to keep the darkness in check even now.<br/><br/>Standing up from his seat, he places both hands on the edge of the table and looks down for a couple seconds, "Your ancestor bound me to this darkness and I must serve it as my master, I have no other choice. Even though I do manipulate the forces of darkness as if I am its ruler, in truth I am just the physical vessel for the darkness to do its bidding. This very moment I am using all the power I have to stop it from taking over and lashing out at you," he quickly looked up and into the eyes of the queen, his own eyes completely black from the darkness within, showcasing that he is indeed struggling with it, "but do not worry, for I have control of it at the moment," he declared this but for the first time in centuries he was not certain of whether or not this was actually true.