Deep in the heart of the fortress-city Merciless, capital of the Thousand, the First and Forsaken Lion makes his domain.  In this cavern of darkness, the party gathers in one of its dungeon throne rooms to receive their first mission.<br/><br/>Freshly Exalted, the group waits in the cold air of the stark metal chamber, gazing upon the spiky metal throne of the Deathlord, and bathing in the reek of unidentifiable body fluids spilling from the chambers above and below.  The citadel Merciless is a world for the dead, not the living.  Every part of the soulsteel plated fortress screams with the cries of the forsaken, while its grisly architecture strives to eliminate every vague hope that might find its way into the victim garrison of the fortress.  Like a terrifying leviathan, the very core of the fortress is hollow, a vast space dedicated to the construction and awakening of the Lion's ultimate weapon:<em>Final Maelstrom</em>, a battlecruiser rivaling the power of First Age directional titans.<br/><br/>After an excruciating wait of several hours, the Lion finally strode into the chamber, resplendent in the soulsteel armor which is forever his prison, dragging along with him all of his power and fury.  In his armor, he stood 12 feet tall,  causing some to mistake him for a small warstrider.   In one hand, he dragged his least favorite yet most keenly lusted after possession: Princess Magnificent With Lips of Coral and Robes Like Black Feathers.  The pale, proud woman proudly strayed at the end of the Lion's soulsteel leash, while the souls restraining her cried out in agony as each link in the infinitely fine chain was tested, adding just a little more pain to the eternal torment of the forsaken souls which now held at bay Princess Magnificent, the Black Heron.  As she strode into the dungeon, her feathery shawl whipped about to show a tantalizing glimpse of her naked form, bathed in unearthly beauty even as it belonged to the mad gods at the center of the world, and further to the First and Forsaken Lion.<strong>"Sit."</strong>The Lion commanded his deathlord slave, yanking her chain to try and pull her to the ground as he did so.  Yet the Black Heron stood defiant, and the Lion's hand turned into a fist.  With a force that would shatter the face of a mountain, the First and Forsaken Lion struck a blow, and the Black Heron sank to her knees, smiling softly while her eyes radiated a hate so pure it could cut through the walls of Heaven.<br/><br/>As a network of bruises and bloody cuts expanded over the body of the Black Heron like a painter starting a masterwork, the First and Forsaken Lion stood before his throne, still holding Princess Magnificent on his leash, and addressed his newly appointed circle.<strong>"My slaves.  You have been chosen to serve me, for the cause of oblivion.  Your course is set, by the agreement you have made.  Now stand and receive your orders, which you will obey."</strong>The Lion said gruffly, his deep yet genderless voice reverberating through the entire chamber, making the entire place shake.  His voice was not the voice of a man or woman, but the chorus of oblivion; the sound of doom.<strong>"My fellow deathlord, the Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears, recently lost her finest warstrider to the ignorant historical re-enactors at Lookshy.  I want you to go to the city of the foolish, and discover why, and how, my companion could fall prey to such incompetence.  If you cannot find an explanation in Lookshy, go to her personally."</strong><br/><br/>The Lion turned around, and punted the Black Heron into the air, where she gracefully spiralled before landing on his shoulder, some disconcerting fluid running down the back of the Lion's soulsteel armor.<strong>"Those are your orders."</strong>The Lion grunted, his massive back still turned to the assembled group.<strong>"Any questions?"</strong><br/><br/><br/><br/>The Fortress of the Thousand:<br/><br/>(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/houseofpictures07/castle_darkness.jpg)<br/>(http://www.hp-lexicon.org/images/rj/rj_castle.gif)<br/>(http://sites.google.com/site/immauk/TowerOfDarkness.jpg)<br/>(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss355/Brannigan71/despair.jpg)<br/>(http://www.softpicks.net/screenshots/3D-Dungeon-Screensaver.jpg)<br/>(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/3531352879_cd9f993150_o.jpg)<br/>(http://www.mattdemille.com/images/Pic%20Fortress%20of%20Ultimate%20Darkness%20greathall%20lightning.jpg)