<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Ang'tran Tsaerg Vic'valeth<br/>~Personal Chambers~</strong></span><br/></div><br/>For the first time in a long while, Ang'tran found himself in a state of total lucidity.  The massive Draegloth lay curled up upon his bedding, a mountain of crimson cushions and shawls that nearly managed to envelop even<em>his</em>considerable girth.  It was almost disconcerting to look at such a frightful creature in a state of repose, layers upon layers of sinuous muscle flowing elegantly beneath benighted flesh, muscles that were normally in a state of deadly tension.  His monstrous head looked considerably less frightful that way, his long muzzle smooth, his jagged teeth hidden away from sight, and his bloodshot eyes half-lidded with contentment.  It laid snugly in the crook of one of his larger upper arms, while the smaller set hugged themselves tightly to his pectorals.  One would almost mistake him for some lavishly spoiled guard dog, though to consider him as nothing more than a mere beast would be a dire mistake indeed.<br/><br/>A woman, or something resembling (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/rcburner/Horrible%20Things/MurderWoman.jpg) a woman was huddled up beside him like some garrish doll, her pale green skin shining morbidly in the low light of the room, and her solid silver face reflecting the dying flames of the candles hanging overhead.  She her knees close to her chest, occasionally rocking back and forth.  She said nothing to Ang'tran, and he said nothing to her.  The strange woman seemed perfectly content to simply stare at him with unseen eyes, as though he were her entire world.<br/><br/>Other shapes shifted silently in the encroaching darkness, blasphemous things that would have seemed nightmarish in the world far, far overhead.  Two arachnoid behemoths (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/rcburner/Horrible%20Things/EttercapSpiderCreature.jpg) stood guard at the entrance, grooming their mandibles mindlessly and waiting for their master to issue further commands.  The door itself was already opened, as though Ang'tran fully expected someone to materialize before it at any moment.  Indeed, the great Draegloth's ears were twitching and turning as some familiar presence drew ever closer.<br/><br/>Ang'tran exhaled, and a great shudder went through him as every limb tightened and flexed on instinct.  There was little time to rest in the City of Spiders, least of all for something of his nature.  Though he did not realize what was to come, there was an unsettling feeling in the air.  It was a feeling he had felt several times before over the course of his unfathomably long lifespan; the feeling that everything could simply<em>end</em>at any given moment, an apocalypse so quick and devastating that history and memory would be erased by its coming.  He exhaled slowly, but it was not a begrudging sigh.  It was a release, a preparation for the arduous times that were swiftly approaching.  Regardless of the horrors that loomed in the future, it was his sworn duty to ensure the well-being of the woman and the House that he was currently bonded to.<br/><br/>A slow smile spread across the monster's face.  Let the End Times come.