On the 1st of The Scales of Judgment Ichabod is in Aurcaele, making efforts towards breaking the first seal and beginning his tasks. He is in the Esper Wood, where many herbs grow, including Pennyroyal - his growth of choice. Pennyroyal is an abortifacient, and he is brewing a tea for a ‘troubled’ young girl.

As he picks Pennyroyal in the wood, Ichabod speaks to Diassei, his mother, in his own mind. Kikuriku stumbles across Ichabod in the Esper Wood, the echoing of Ichabod’s words making it difficult to ignore his presence. In fact, Kiku almost feels lured in by the sound of Ichabod’s echoes. Finally, Kiku sees Ichabod, who does not see him, and decides to use his Ajatar talents to meld into the shadows. Pretending to be some kind of spirit of the Esper Wood, Kiku calls out to Ichabod, asking who he might be talking to.

Ichabod wonders if this is a spirit, or if it is someone (or something) hidden in the trees. He observes somewhat, leaving his basket of Pennyroyals as he wanders. He then asks the voice that if there is no soul, who is speaking to him. Kiku claims that he is the Spirit of the Esper Wood, and that Ichabod is taking from it’s home. Kiku demands Ichabod to identify himself, and his reasons for coming.

Ichabod enjoys this response. He feels chosen by the spirit, which honours him. He had been to the wood four times, and had taken forty-nine strands of Pennyroyal, and he wondered if the numbers were significant to the Spirit, or if it were just exhausted of his robbery. Ichabod offers to the spirit a bardic tale in exchange for the Pennyroyals. Kiku accepts.

Ichabod tells a story in the form of a poem, speaking in short sentences that echo splendidly through the Esper Wood. He tells a story about an echoing valley like the Esper Wood, where a boy and a man both hear a whisper. The boy listens while the man does not, and the boy follows the whisper. He tells of a cave in the valley, where the man (who is wise) has visited before, while the boy only sees it now. The boy in the story rushes into the cave, hears a hello, and he responds. He hears the cave say ‘come’, and so he does, because boys are foolish. And the man, in the cave, eats the boy. Adding a small twist to the ending, Ichabod then tells that a woman enters the valley, and she hears the echoing whisper of a lost boy saying ‘come’.

The story spooks Kikuriku somewhat, but he maintains his facade and calls the story amusing. He then decides to peg Ichabod as a demon, and asks his name. Ichabod finds this more proof in the spirit’s validity, and introduces himself as Ichabod. With this, Kiku tells Ichabod to take the Pennyroyals, and warns that he will be watching the bard. In reality, Kiku is looking for an opportunity to leave the wood, before Ichabod could discover his little ‘prank’.


Ichabod gathers his flowers and prepares to leave, his Mother chiding him and telling him he is a blind fool. Ichabod retorts that he is not, and that he now had a fan. (Harvesting Supplies)

On the 2nd day of The Winter Storm, Ichabod’s tasks in Aurcaele are complete. He finds himself in a grove of green willows, and sits with Mallory - the pregnant girl, and subject of his first task - beneath one of the trees for her to give birth in the eyes of Ayniea. Mallory believes she is keeping up the tradition of giving birth in the eyes of her mother, who died many years ago, and whose tree the two sit under. Ichabod goes by the name of Jonathan with Mallory, and acts as her doula.

Mallory doesn’t realize that the pain of her childbirth is abnormal, Jonathan insisting that this is the pain of bringing new life. However, for Mallory, her child is dying, and is killing her from the inside and attempt to survive. Meanwhile, her body was trying to kill it in defense. And all because of too many Pennyroyals.

As Mallory fights through her unsuspected miscarriage, Pelagia Xista walks through the grove, the only other person present at this early hour. Following the sounds of screaming, Pelagia finds the scene, making Mallory believe that she is Ayniea. Pelagia assesses the girl, realizing that she is going to die. She comforts the girl, acting as Ayniea, and finally as the girl dies a gust of wind blows around them.

With Mallory dead, Pelagia turns to the man with her, demanding an explanation. Ichabod tells her that ‘A woman and her child died with one another in Ayniea’s gaze’. He notes how much Pelagia seems an image of Ayniea, and how perhaps it was she who broke the seal, and not the trees.

Pelagia is not satisfied with this explanation, and makes further demands of Ichabod, encircling his throat with her hand. Ichabod chides her for being mean, and his Mother shifts his body to stone, protecting it from damage. Stalactites grow from his body, moving until they vaguely threaten Pelagia’s chin. His Mother gives him the woman’s name, and he uses it happily. He then suggests she ask him more kindly.

Pelagia responds by pushing him harshly into the tree. She then casts a spell on the willow, having the branches wrap around him and pull him off the ground. Thorns try to break his skin, but the stone doesn’t budge. She then asks if Ichabod would rather she send him back to Ephilroa, and Ichabod shouts and laughs, insisting he would just crawl back out if she were to send him to Ephilroa. She has he hand radiate with holy magic and she wills him to speak, this threat being enough to have him let on a little bit of his knowledge. He explains that their ideals are aligned, and talks to her about the twelve seals. His goal is to get rid of them, which will rid the world of it’s rules, which he insists Pelagia should want as well. Pelagia admits she does not know much about the seals, and then insists that the land he is in belongs to her.

His mother takes great offense to Pelagia’s declaration, Diassei believing of course that all of Fortuna belongs to her by birthright. Ichabod however, finds it entertaining. He tells Pelagia that he has made her goal of owning all of Aurcaele far easier, and his continued work will allow her even more power. Suspicious of his intent, Pelagia asks for him to explain what he knows of her task.

As if to show her power over him once more, Pelagia burns him with holy energy - which only serves to make him angry. His eyes turn to emeralds, which then shift into rubies, and his face reformed itself into rough sandstone. Ichabod seethes that Pelagia is no God or Deity, just an aasimar - a memory of an avatar long since ascended. He teases that he has broken Ayniea’s protections over the land, weakened her grip, and shake her roots - and as he does, his stalactites grow and destroy many of the branches wrapped around him.

He tells Pelagia that Ayniea’s throne is empty, and she needs a new avatar, but she is too weak to create one. He explains that as the chains of the world weaken, so do the seals on her power, and she could have strength to offer Pelagia if he is able to complete his tasks. He touches her, attempting to impart his gluttony in her - but she resists. Her magic is too strong. Pelagia grasps his wrist near her face, and generates holy energy, burning the hand apart and leaving him with a sandy stub. As she does, stalactites grow in their place, cutting into her hand - but she heals herself swiftly. She then insists that he finally tell her his name.

Ichabod spits at her, claiming to owe her nothing. His eyes went from rubies to obsidian, and Diassei worked to rebuild his destroyed hand. He tells her that she merely offers threats, which mean nothing to him. Pain means nothing to him. Killing him would mean nothing to him. He tells her that the power of his Patron can be shared with those who have something of worth to offer, and those that he deigns worthy. He laughs, and his body quakes and cracks, iron breaking through and leaving the branches to shatter to splinters and he drops to the ground with the thump of solid rock. He tells her that he spits on her name, and that he knows her fate is to suffer eternally in Ephilroa. The iron spikes that grew out of him melt over his body, melting iron spitting out of his mouth as he speaks, offering an equal deal or nothing at all, as he is not a mortal’s tool.

Pelagia is not impressed, and treats his act like a tantrum. She waves a hand to fix the damaged tree, and then agrees to a deal, as it seems clear that he wants something she has to offer. Ichabod is enraged at her, at the idea that she has been the pinnacle of decorum and he has simply been acting out. Mother tells him to leave, but Ichabod can’t resist the idea of twisting a pious woman like Pelagia into a deal with a demon. Nothing could destroy her eternal soul faster - and so he insists that his Mother tell him what Pelagia wants. As Pelagia’s desires are aligned with Diassei’s domain, this is an easy task.

Once he receives the information from Diassei, he confirms with Pelagia that she had found a method to usurp her Queen, which she confirms, though she states he does not need help with the method, and he still hasn’t told her anything. Ichabod realizes then that she is a villain in her own story, doomed to die as even he, and all other villains are. He tells her that he wants her to accept his aid, that with his travel and his bardic talents that Pelagia’s greatness and her Queen’s weakness would be ensured to spread throughout the world, leading to her celebration. She does not know it, but lies like this becoming the truth are precisely what another seal of his requires to be undone.

She finds there is no reason for a deal if they want the same thing, and he finds it entertaining - her refusing his offer of no strings (that she could see), instead demanding he ask for more. He decides to ask, as she insists, that she gather information as Queen to locate objects of interest for him. The staves of the Thirteen Sorcerers of Nisequois legend. He also, believing the deal to be sure, reveals his name to be Ichabod.

She agrees that this is well within her power, and agrees to make the deal. He tells her that all she must do is pledge he acceptance, which could forever form a bond between them. She does so, and Ichabod knows that she cannot feel the same hum he feels through his body. He feels their bond physically, to her - it is nothing. It is the way demons do business.

True to his word, Ichabod tells her his secrets then, informing Pelagia that Queen Fabelle had made her own deal with a demon. He tells her that she laid with a demon for a female child, and that her eldest is demon through and through. He then goes on to explain that from this deal, she gained fertility that lead to her purely female children. Pelagia is delighted by this information. With the deal set, Ichabod makes his departure, bidding Pelagia farewell. (The First Seal)

Following his time in Aurcaele, Ichabod travels to by airship Malscure, selling Pelagia’s lies all along the way. He travels to Aarunia by horseback until close, and then kills it and eats its flesh. Once sated, he enters the village and goes to The Potter’s Tavern. Diassei tells him that he will meet a man in the tavern, and so he waits. While he waits he talks to the barmaid who tells him the tale of Aarunia, a story he knows well, but enjoys either way. He charms her, and she promises to show him the face of the woman in the Potter’s Tree - and he agrees, if only he can show her his room, to which she agrees. Of course his plans are to kill her and eat her, but she need not know that.

As Ichabod relaxes in the bar, a tiefling arrives, all red and devil-horned. The man is Xalen. He attempts to simply get himself a drink, but other bar patrons begin to pester him and threaten him into leaving. Xalen calls them on their bluff, noting their desire to merely prove themselves for the female patrons. He then introduces himself, and warns the leader of the men to go back to their table and leave him alone. Xalen turns his back to the man, and Ichabod lays his hand on the drunk man’s shoulder briefly - imparting his sin of Gluttony. Moving back, Ichabod observes. His Mother warns him not to ruin this, and he simply tells her that he’s testing the tiefling.

The drunkard, imbued with Ichabod’s touch, stumbles towards Xalen and lunges to take a bit out of him. Before the man could close his grip on Xalen, the tiefling disappears. In a moment, he reappears, and slams the drunk’s face onto the bar, following it up with several more powerful strikes. The owner of the bar, Chandra, names the Tiefling, the two knowing each other. He tells her he knows not to leave blood, and also confirms that he won’t kill the man. Using his necromantic powers, Xalen drains the man’s life force, leaving him alive but unable to move for a while. Satisfied with this, he sits down and asks for another drink. Ichabod is disappointed at the tiefling’s restraint, but his Mother is pleased. The only thing keeping Ichabod happy was the idea that when the drunk awoke, he would still be hungry. He would eat until he was killed, and Ichabod could only imagine how many men, women, children, and pets would fill his belly.

Ichabod then joins Xalen at the bar, offering to purchase Xalen’s next order, admiration for a man who would defend himself so well. Ichabod introduces himself to Xalen then, and Xalen is somewhat surprised at the hospitality. He shares his own name, thanking Ichabod for not assuming he was there to ‘deflower virgins’ or ‘devour the unborn’. Xalen then asks what brings Ichabod to Aarunia, and Ichabod is candid in saying that he came for Xalen - or at least, his services. The details however, are too delicate to discuss in such an open setting. He asks for Xalen to meet him at the Potter’s Tree, and throws some precious emeralds onto the bar to further entice Xalen.

Xalen does indeed attend to Ichabod at the tree, and Ichabod gives more detail. He needs two people dead, with particular requirements. He then asks if Xalen knows who Tristan Cowell is, and the tiefling doesn’t answer. Ichabod gets frustrated at Xalen’s silent denial, and leaves - though gives Xalen a way to contact him, should he change his mind. (A Hell-Forged Alliance)

By the 7th of the Winter Storm Ichabod has traveled from Aarunia to Cobblelight, leaving chaos in his wake. The drunk man from the Potter’s Tavern had awoken with a hunger for flesh, had violently killed the cleric attending him, and then attacked his wife, who managed to kill him - but not before she was left invalid. In addition, Ichabod had killed and eaten the barmaid, and so he had needed to leave town to ensure they didn’t start pointing fingers at the kindly stranger.

His Mother had insisted he board a boat and travel to a new land, but he had wanted to take a personal day. In Cobblelight, he watches as two men collide with one another and each pull out a wand in an attempt to fire off a spell first. When Ichabod sees one of the men’s clothing melting to his skin from a painful fireball, he decides that he wants one. He finds a wand shop, and begins searching for the perfect wand.

While he does, Solana Heiralei rides by horseback into Cobblelight. As she arrives, she feels the obsidian crown on her head weighing heavily, and her horse reacts in a terrified way to what seems like a purely human man - Ichabod. She calms the beast, and then decides to follow him into the wand shop.

Ichabod has noticed her, as well. He doesn’t watch her, but smells her, attempting to decipher why her scent has so many mysterious notes. He flicks a test wand loaded with a gust spell, further rustling the mysterious Solana’s scent to his nose. He leaves the wand and crosses the shop, innocuously standing next to her to get the last of her scent. Pine, lilies, soil, sand, and death - that is what Solana Heiralei smells like. He reaches around her to grab a wand he has no interest in, brushing arm to arm with her to infect her with his sin of Gluttony, and tells Solana that this is the ‘one’ that he has been seeking. Solana immediately feels her twisted hunger settle in, and she has an intense desire to bite into Ichabod’s neck. Still, she resists. Instead, she grabs Ichabod by his throat and pushes him against the wall, causing wand boxes to clatter around them, and Ichabod laughs. The attendant at the shop doesn’t think twice about running. She then questions Ichabod, asking why she wants him.

Ichabod offers that he could tell her just who he was, or… He pulls his collar away from his neck, offering instead for her to taste. She does, latching her elongated teeth into his neck. His blood to her tastes like a drug, and she just wants more, and more, and more. It takes all of her effort to pull back off of him. Ichabod’s Mother thinks he is making a mistake at first, but realizes that this woman, this Solana - might be useful.

Ichabod raises the wand box he had grabbed, bringing it between them to break up how Solana presses against him, and he shakes the box before pressing her off of him and moving to the exit. Before he leaves, he turns partially towards her and tells her to follow him. Then, he drops some coins on the floor for the wand he is taking, and leaves.

Solana resists at first, her pride making her wish to refuse his request as a matter of principle, but her curiosity wins out, and she follows him. He leads her through the streets, no particular destination in mind. Eventually he stops before a small home, sitting only a few houses away from the end of the town. He chooses it because he can see candlelight from a side window, a single letter under the door - not a personal letter, but a letter he can only assume is for the purposes of raising taxes or collecting in some way from the owner. The letter and candle tell him that the occupant is alone, in the house, and in life. He would normally not choose someone so pitiful and boring, but he does this time to test his new friend. He ducks into the alley between the house and it’s neighbor, and he leans against the wall there in the shadows, Solana doing the same on the opposite wall.


Ichabod tells her he wants to know what her hunger is, why it is different from what she seems to be, and offers that she can tell him, or he can taste it himself. She asks his preference, but knows he means the second as a threat. She shows him the scar of a curse on her left arm, crooked and black. She tells Ichabod that she knew a boy, and killed the woman he loved, and as revenge he tried to kill her with a curse blade - which in the end, gave her under lamini-esque powers.

Ichabod is disappointed by this story, feeling that it is too short and to the point. He prefers excitement. He handles it, however, and then asks her if her curse is contagious, closing much of the distance between them. Solana closes off the rest, and gives him the answer he doesn’t want: No, it isn’t. She lets that answer settle in him, anger him. Even when she tells him that she stole the cursed blade that gave her the powers, his frustration at her lack of truth shows in his transformation. He turns to rock, his hands to stalactite, and he slams into her. One rocky hand crashes into the wall on either side of her, his face sandpaper pressing against her’s. In the end he turns back, laughing, and scolds her for teasing him. He then touches her, inflicting his hunger into her body. In response, she bites into him hungrily -- but manages to pull herself away.

Solana comments that she likes him better in his demonic form, but Ichabod is more focused on her blade, asking her if they should test it. Her smile is enough of a response, and so he goes to the back door of the house he had been so interested in, slamming the door open with ease. He follows the sound of panicked breathing in the floors, torturing the resident with stomping and a teasing intent. Solana is more silent, and slides the boards Ichabod has broken away to reveal their victim, armed with a kitchen knife.

Solana is gentle with the frightened woman, using her enthralling gaze to convince the woman to come out of the floor. The woman, a worshipper of Sriae, trusts the beautiful Solana and does so, leaving behind her weapon. Solana tells the woman that her and Ichabod are their victim’s gods now, and Solana draws an ‘X’ onto the woman’s skin with the sharp of her cursed blade. With the deed done, she tells Ichabod that their victim is going to be very thirsty.

Ichabod finds a chair for himself, and readies his lap for the girl. She stumbles and crashes over to him, latching onto his neck like feeding from a mother’s teat. Of course he knew that she could not feel full from his blood, only hungrier - but that was the point. Finally, deciding she has earned it, Ichabod tells Solana his name, and she gives him her own - and then asks what payment she receives for making the creature devouring him.

Ichabod removes Solana’s creation, their victim from him, and ponders Solana’s demand. He believes that their desires are aligned: chaos, power, and control, and tells her that even a blank cheque would be asked too little. He then offers her the chance to demand precisely what she wants of him for this first act. She demands to know why he, a demon, is interested in infant vampires. Ichabod answers that he, like all demons, has a need to stir the pot. He gives her more honesty than that, however, telling her that he plans to reshape the fabric of the world, insinuating his plans to adjust the veil between life and death.

Solana thinks he plans to make himself a King, or a God of this new world, and he likes the idea - though Diassei is quick to remind him his true place. Ichabod chooses to ignore her in his head, and instead ponders with Solana about how the deities made mortals in their image, and that with their new vampire creation, they might be closer to godhood than it seems. He invites Solana to travel with him to Dirys, and she accepts, but asks what they are planning to do with their now-ravenous victim. He gives Solana a touch of hunger, and tells her that both she and their ‘child’ need to eat. The two separate, planning to meet at the now abandoned home once sated. (Personal Day)

By the 10th of The Winter Storm, Ichabod is in Dimant, Dirys. He finds himself unimpressed with the place, despite it being his Mother’s land. She mentions to him that only Colony remains true to her influence, the rest of Dirys having fallen by the wayside. When he asks her if he can go there, and receive aid from his brothers and sisters, but she tells him that he is the only one of his kind. Ichabod is disappointed by this, wanting to take “a break” - but his Mother shows him this is not possible, as his next task is before him.

That task is Edgar Vanros. Edgar has his own reasons for being on the streets of Dimant related to his work, readying to meet with a new contact. He mistakenly believes Ichabod to be that contact, and Ichabod rolls along with it, knowing that his Mother has chosen Edgar.

Edgar assigns Ichabod the name ‘Irving’ - the man he was intended to meet, and introduces himself. Ichabod plays along, and invites Edgar to somewhere more private for their business, which Edgar agrees to, asking ‘Irving’ to lead the way. Ichabod does so, but requires direction from his Mother to determine which way to lead. As they walk, Ichabod engages Edgar in small-talk, asking about his family. Edgar only tells Ichabod about his father, Zota, and his upcoming expedition. Edgar attempts to smalltalk back, asking about ‘hot-spots’ in Telon for ‘crops’, but Ichabod ignores the question, instead refocusing on Edgar and his cufflinks: symbols of Ansilaro. He shares his own religious symbol, pulling free a Pendant of Diassei from his shirt. He does not tell Edgar that Diassei herself coached him how to make it. The pendant is a metal ring with an ancient coin suspended within it.

The two enter passageways under the city, and as they walk begin to meet with half-melted candles and old, worn and eaten portraits. Ichabod then asks Edgar about his father’s expedition, and Edgar explains that his father is planning something in the Jewel Shore that Edgar calls “Silly”, and “A treasure hunt” -- Ichabod is bored by it, but his Mother plies him to ask more, and so he does. Ichabod reveals, with information from Mother, that Edgar’s father is not the only one searching at the Jewel Shore - which Edgar finds interesting.

Edgar is also pleased that Ichabod - or rather, Irving - is more sociable than the usual contacts. He asks Ichabod how Cyrus found him, and Ichabod decides that now-- deep in the tunnels, far away from everyone in the city-- is the time to reveal his true self. He tells Edgar that he had never even heard of ‘Edgar Vanros’ until today, and insists he knows someone who cares deeply about his future. Edgar is not scared, but he is frustrated at his wasted time. He demands to know the imposter’s business.

Ichabod begins by tearing down Edgar’s smuggling business, his desperation to be rich and known, and then offers him a deal. Edgar rebuffs the offer, restating his need to attend to his true business. Ichabod responds that if Edgar had what he wanted already, he would not have followed a man he had never met through twisting tunnels without protection. He insists that Edgar did not have the station to survive on name alone, and so he would sully it for the chance at bettering himself. Ichabod tells Edgar that he can spend his life kissing rings, or-- He leaves the rest for Edgar to decide, and then goes to the door leading deeper into the tunnels. His Mother informed him it was a trap, and he did not open it, just stood.

This is enough to make Edgar curious, and he asks what is behind the door, questioning if it leads to not-Irving’s boss. Ichabod just smiles, moves away from the door, and tells Edgar he can make the choice himself, if he’d like to know.

Edgar accepts. He goes to the door, and pulls it open, finding himself pricked in the thumb by something. Then, beyond the door, arrows begin to fly through the hallway. Edgar continues in, finding himself grazed by fresh arrows but avoiding most of them. Ichabod follows after the trap needs to reload again. The two find a room walled with coin, and floored with piles of jewels and skeletons. All of the skulls of the skeletons face the same way, towards a painting mounted above a fireplace somehow still burning. Ichabod stops by a skeleton, moving it’s jaw and discovering how it forces its face back to the painting. He asks Mother if this is her work, but she says nothing.

Joining Edgar at the painting, Ichabod sees a man bearing a resemblance, and as the two read the plaque, he sees who it is: Arcas van Rosse. Ichabod uses this as if he already knew it had been here, referring to Edgar as Edgar van Rosse.

Edgar demands to know if the painting is real or not, and Ichabod assures Edgar that it is. Edgar tells Ichabod that he is now listening - and so Ichabod explains his offer: He wants to see a change, a return to the days of old, and he wants to see a van Rosse atop the throne. This seems like a no-brainer to Edgar, who is interested in accepting - though wants to know more about Ichabod: His real name, who sent you, why they chose him instead of his brother, sister, or father. Ichabod dismisses this immediately: He has no need for an old King. Revolutions, he explains, require youth, a vision of the future.

Edgar is resistant to that, ever loyal to his father, and insists that they use the Jewel Shore as the start of the revolution. The finding of it’s treasure, whatever that may be, leading to the van Rosse’s staking their claim to the throne. He even invites Ichabod to join the expedition, which he accepts due to his Mother’s interest. Ichabod tells Edgar that he does not wish for Edgar to betray his father, merely that the throne was for Edgar, and Edgar alone, and tells him that there is more than simply stake a claim. Still, a deal was struck, and Ichabod would do the work required, merely calling on Edgar when he needed him.

Edgar accepts, and decides to take the painting with him. As soon as he touches it, a gate lowers from the ceiling, locking them in. He demands Ichabod find a way through the gate as he works on the portrait. Ichabod only follows Edgar’s orders because his Mother requests it of him, and even bows to his mark - anything for a Seal. His Mother informs him that this trap was designed by heretics to her name, that they would want Edgar to leave behind his proof or kill Ichabod himself to get through. Ichabod however, sees metal as metal - bendable by a child of Diassei. He grasps the bars, and his Mother gives him her power, warming the bars. The bars grow orange, then white with heat, and simply melt out of his way. As his hands cool and solidify, he calls Edgar to the gate.

Edgar manages to escape before the door itself closes, but Ichabod appears not to have made it. Inside, Ichabod and Mother are shocked at how the room is attempting to close them in - she realizes this is more work of the heretics. He does not panic, however, and she saves him. She turns him to dust as the room closes in on him, and she moves her through the dust and dirt and sand to the other side. The transformation was exquisitely painful for Ichabod, like being stretched and torn, but as he was reformed behind Edgar he felt refreshed. Seeing Edgar trying to save his ‘servant’ Ichabod smiles and patters that Edgar does care.

Edgar is shocked by this, trying to put together the strange magics that Ichabod had shown. He is somewhat impressed, somewhat thankful, but mostly he wants to ask what this strange man will get out of Edgar becoming prince. Ichabod does not answer in specifics, telling Edgar instead that he is a man of fortune, and another will be a man of great burden - and that is all he and his Mistress wish. The two near the exit, and Ichabod takes a different corner, activating a trap that puts a gate between them. He says goodbye to Edgar, and informs him they will meet again soon. Soon. (The Perfect Pauper)

Days after his first meeting with Edgar, Ichabod spends the evening with Solana. She is bored from being left to care for her vampiric creations whilst he works on his other plans, and he is willing to assent to her desires to keep her as an ally. She dresses overtly seductively, and asks him where he would prefer to hunt - though Ichabod plans to keep his own feeding a hidden secret from her.

To do that, he knows he needs to distract her, and so he gives her his touch of hunger, drifting his hands over the many revealed parts of her flesh. He asks if she merely wants dinner, or a show as well, and she asks if it’s him who will be performing. Something changes in her then, in her eyes, and as Ichabod looks into them he feels himself weaken somewhat. He feels his hunger close in on him, he feels a desire to devour her. He looks away and relaxes, able to resist the temptation of her flesh. Having resisted whatever the feeling was, he tells her that the performance will be more exciting than his could be.

The two left the alley for the streets, seeing Dimant bustling with night-life. Ichabod asks Solana to select her “star” for the performance. She finds a target, and asks Ichabod for a man who thinks he is better than all the others, wondering if he will get what is coming to him. Ichabod approves, also noticing Solana’s target, and hating him on instinct. Ichabod smiles at the man, which elicits a response from him - the idiot feels ‘invited’ to their partnership.

The drunken fool approaches the two of them, and when he is close enough, Ichabod reaches out to touch the man’s bicep, replacing his heady lust with a demon’s gluttony. Ichabod turns the man around, guiding him to the crowd behind him, and telling him that is where what he is looking for can be found. Ichabod and Solana move off to a better vantage point, and the man attacks. He lunges at someone, all teeth and fingernail claws, and begins to dine for their entertainment.

As the two watch the pandemonium - and watch each other - a child crashes into Solana. The child is obviously looking for protection, but Solana is far from a protector. She sinks down to the child and buries her teeth into her to drink the life from her body. Once she has had her fill, she turns to Ichabod, meeting his eyes, and mouths the word eat to him.

Something in Solana’s stare gets to Ichabod, and he immediately lifts out a foot to trip a woman running past him. He grasps the fallen woman by her hair and pulls her up to him, looking at her for a moment before turning his gaze back to Solana. In the chaos, this is not seen. He asks his victim what she lives for, but she fails to answer, instead begging for her life. Ichabod is disappointed in this. He pulls her through the crowd, maintaining eye contact with Solana even through the distance between them. He settles in an alley, one hand on his victim’s waist and the other over her mouth. She tries to struggle, tries to escape, bites at his hand for freedom, but none of it matters.

Ichabod grabs a rusted dagger at his belt, slams his victim against the wall, and stabs her side. He twists the blade around, enjoying her screams. He asks the question again - what reason does she live for - stabbing her opposite side as she tries to scream and mumble words around his hand. The dagger found her cheek next, Ichabod cleaning the blood with her own tears as he adjusted his victim to be clear in Solana’s view. Then he cut into her cheek, staring not at his work but at Solana. Even as the flesh of the cheek came loose, even as Ichabod leaned in to lap the flesh into his mouth to eat, his eyes never left Solana.

Solana is pleased to have seen the way Ichabod eats, and joins him with his victim in the alley. She cuts the woman’s arm deeply, and sets to drinking from her wrist thirstily. Ichabod does not quite understand why he is enjoying sharing his meal, it being so unlike him, but he loved it. He cuts away their victim’s clothing, and then slices into his favorite piece of flesh. He leaves the woman’s mouth free to whimper and grabs Solana’s chin instead, offering her the dagger into her mouth, where it could deposit the flesh he had cut for her. He holds Solana’s face still, but returns the knife to himself, licking it clean of flesh and blood. Solana eats it - and then takes what she wants more. She kisses him.

Ichabod doubts in that moment that she is a mortal. He thinks he has made a mistake and that she must be a demon inflicting her own sin into him - and he does not know how to feel. He pushes her away, and spits her taste from his mouth to the ground. He was craving her, but knew that he did not crave her. He grasps her wrist, thinking for a moment what he might do, and then tells her that there is business to attend to in the morning, and drags her along down into the tunnels.

Once they are out of the streets, Ichabod turns his hand to stone, trapping her wrist in his grip. He asks her is she fears him, and asks her to show him the kind of beast she is. She denies fearing him, and gives him a chance to accept her invitation - but he does not. So instead, she offers to put on a show for him - he accepts, and all is forgiven.

They emerge onto a street far divorced from the chaos they had impacted elsewhere, and Solana finds a guard smoking a pipe. She approaches him, asking for a puff, and he assents, approaching her under cover of shadows. He sees Ichabod too late, and Solana captures him and uses her magic to shock him with pain. Then, she turns back to sweetness and seduction. He stumbles over an answer, and she gives him more pain, ending it by dropping to her knees and giving him a soft kiss. He responds finally, that he likes it, and she tells him she knows before latching onto his throat to drink. Soon she is too full, and finishes by killing the man.

Ichabod finds the act suitably entertaining. He approaches her sweetly, taking her hand, and tells her that he could hunt with her for the rest of his life, and well into his next. Solana asks about this, this next life, Ichabod’s Kingdom of Death. She asks if this man, or her other victims, will come to her for revenge. He gives her the answer that Diassei had given him once before: They would not seek revenge, they would worship those that sent them to death. They belonged to their killers, and would belong to the one who opened the door.

Before he can explain more, a voice interrupts them. A guard replacing the man Solana had just killed for his shift. The man pulls his sword out, catching a brief glimpse of something in the shadow, and advises them not to move. Ichabod looks to Solana, and asks if he should be another recruit. Solana smiles, and darts to the shadows to circle the new guard, easily admitting some role in the fellow guard’s death.

Ichabod steps out of the shadows himself, raising his hands in mock surrender. The guard warns him to stay back, and Ichabod smiles. He rhymes at the guard, who demands he stop, and Ichabod does - but he still speaks. Ichabod notices a small woven bear on the hilt of the man’s sword, and realizes this is his opportunity.

Ichabod tells a story.

He tells a story of two close children, choosing his words carefully in an attempt to key into the guard’s own truth. He tells of the children teasing and fighting, and how one wished for it to stop so she offers him a gift. He rejects it, and the relationship is left unmended. The sister dies in battle, and dies knowing her brother hated her. The proof of his accuracy are the tears staining the guard’s cheek, and Ichabod steps forward. The sword presses to his neck, but he cares not. His hand reaches out for the bear on the hilt, and rips it free. He tells how the brother finds the token, the offering, and it becomes his totem. The guard submits to his own curiosity and asks how Ichabod could know this, and Ichabod lies - he tells the man they came for him, that they care for him, that they want him to join them.

Solana strikes them, approaching from behind and weakening him with her magic before drawing an ‘X’ with the cursed blade onto his palm. With the man dealt with, Ichabod pulled free his own dagger, cleaning it with his tongue. Then, he cuts into his own throat at it’s base, where it is coloured with bruised bitemarks. With the dagger coated in blood, he offers it to their new creation.

He bit into Ichabod, and then Ichabod pulled the other side of his shirt down, revealing the clean bite marks of Solana. He offers her a hand, welcoming her to his jugular, pleased with her actions. She eats, but as he calls her a ‘good girl’, she pulls away, telling him that she is not his pet. She removes her child from his as well, tossing the creation to the ground.

He approaches her, kicking their new child as it reaches for him, and calls her Mistress once more. The child goes to the dead guard, tempted by the blood, anything to sate its hunger. He pulled her to him, and spoke whispers into his ear. He apologizes in a way only a bard can, admitting to worshipping her and her power of creation, claiming he requires a better vocabulary to describe her true meaning to him. She bites him again, gets her fill of his addicting blood. She accepts his apology, and kisses him lightly on the corner of his mouth.

Their argument settled, she summons her creation, and begins the trek back to their coven. Ichabod picks up the woven bear, and follows her, sure in himself that he would never let Solana leave him. (Deviance)