User blog:Iro: Spirit of Iron/Trial of Iron Preview-shaped Thing

Silence on Kehtyva was not a strange thing. There was much to be done on the island fortress, but the leader of the faction called the Head of the Spear requested that the walls be made soundproof, while his followers were not to interrupt his thinking. Due to the fact that his followers were four Makuta and one Atreu, noise was never an issue, as Krevt usually tended to his own base of operations in the Terra Quematha, and the rest simply preferred silence.

His name was Ulreq, the faction’s leader. He was rarely seen outside of his throne room, yet he seemed to know exactly what was happening not only on Kehtyva, but on all of Uteara. Methenor speculated long ago that he had more agents than the Makuta were aware of monitoring the continent, though Ulreq had denied this. He claimed to be close to Uteara, that he knew how it worked, and that his essence could sense a disturbance when one appeared.

He was quite a towering figure, one could say, standing at about twelve feet in height. No commoner would see a being that tall on a regular basis. He was dressed in a suit of glossy ebony armor that was decorated with dark rubies. His armor was rather basic in appearance, somewhat mimicking the appearance of a Toa’s suit. He was not coated in spikes, and his mask was not exactly frightening such as Krevt’s or Tora’s, but an eerie aura around Ulreq made him rather imposing. He wore a helmet over his head, a majestic and simple shape. It was ancient, and its design was not from Murtua, but he claimed it as his own. Behind his mask were two dull yellow eyes that glowed in a rather sickly manner, looking somewhat diseased, and very much unhealthy.

Moments ago, he had stopped the Toa named Netruhl from attempting to destroy Tora out of rage. It was amusing, as the self-proclaimed Shadow Lord knew that the now-corrupted hero would have probably been able to. Everything was going according his plan, even after Vraal’s little accident.

That Makuta had went through a series of experiments that were meant to remove every trace of light from his body. It worked, but it also created a separate entity with Vraal’s appearance that had no trace of darkness. It had escaped its bonds and headed straight for Uteara. Needless to say, Vraal was tasked with subduing the creature so that it would not become a potential annoyance.

After a moment, Ulreq started. He quickly rose from his throne, his eyes widening. His connection to Uteara sensed that something had happened. One Toa had died, but in his place were five new ones. The Shadow Lord was prepared to storm out of his throne room and announce their creation, but stopped himself. That was not the course of action he was to take, and he knew it.

The Head of the Spear was continuing with their quest to conquer Uteara, despite the recent leave of Vraal’s. Krevt was to defeat Ujama and bring him to Kehtyva to be corrupted. An agent of his, the Sansta-Skakdi of Plasma named Promethius, was sent to cut short the lives of Toa Xinlo and Toa Kara. The only other Toa that had been existence for a good amount of time was Iro, and he had disappeared. The fact that Ulreq could not sense where he was gave reason to believe that the Toa of Iron was dead.

''Yes, it would make sense for Pothyn to create a new team of Toa for the purpose of defeating us. I allowed him to escape this fortress because I knew that he would die before he made too many aware of our existence. However, these new Toa – Toa Liiri, as they call themselves – could prove to be a small thorn at my side. I am too intelligent to leave them active. No, they must be brought to Kehtyva, and they must be either corrupted or eliminated. Perhaps my new ally is able to be of some assistance....''

“What is it?” a sharp voice growled. “Has something happened?”

The sound came from the being that had been standing to the right of Ulreq’s throne. He had a tall and muscular build. He was covered in emerald scales that acted as a layer of protection, though his torso and limbs were partially coated in green armor at certain places that could be considered weak points. He had four arms, the lower two ending in claws that were similar to those of a crab. They were also flexible enough to fold behind his back when not used. Jutting out of his shoulders were two large wings, though they appeared to be meant for gliding as opposed to actual flight. The most noticeable thing about this being, however, was his serpentine head. It was scaled, like the rest of his body, and when he spoke, two long fangs, similar to a cobra’s, were clearly visible. Atop his head was a green crown of sorts, though Ulreq did not care enough to find out what it meant.

“Toa are always proving to be pests,” the Shadow Lord explained, his voice sounding like the rumbling of a volcano before eruption. “You, Venom, know this as well as any of us of the Head of the Spear. It appears a new group of five has managed to form during our process of eliminating the Utearan Toa.”

“Say no more, Shadow Lord,” Venom replied. A grin formed on his face, though it lacked all traces of mirth. “I know what you want me to do, and I gladly accept. Do you want them dead or alive?”

“Do as you please,” Ulreq said. The Head of the Spear leader frowned. Despite his past, he now believed himself to be above bloodshed. “I tell you only this – do not stay this fortress with their blood; I do not wish to appear to be some sort of monster.”

Venom looked at the Shadow Lord up and down. “The being who is leading four Makuta to conquer the grand continent of the west does not wish to appear to be a monster? I am an exile from this planet, Ulreq, and in the place of my banishment, I have seen my fair share of monsters. From speaking with you for about... oh, ten minutes, I will say that you put some of them to shame.”

Ulreq chuckled. “You have not seen what I consider to be a monstrosity, then. Go, now. Be quick, and you will have guaranteed your place as a member of this organization.”

“You will not regret this alliance, Shadow Lord. I swear it; you have made a great decision by including me in your plans.”

However, Ulreq was no longer there to reply. Rather, Venom was no longer on Kehtyva. He was standing in front of a large city, the late evening sky high above him. Instantly, the former exile recognized it as Uteara’s Central City. He smiled viciously. Once, he was the protector of this place. Now, it served him as the grounds for his hunt. He was about to enter the city, when a large blunt object struck him in the back. It did no damage, but it was enough to garner his attention.

The being who had hit him was a Skakdi. Actually, according to Ulreq, it would be a Sansta-Skakdi, a member of that particular race that had full control of its elemental powers. He looked no different than any other of his kind, standing a few inches over seven feet with a bulky upper body and long muscular legs that were built for running. This one wore grey and reddish-brown armor, and had the customary outer spine of a Skakdi. Although, strangely, its spine did not extend and wrap around its upper arms. Venom supposed it was simply some sort of evolution, as the extension never seemed to have served any purpose. In its right hand was a small metal club.

“Promethius,” Venom muttered to himself. “That is you name, am I right?”

“And you would be Venom,” the Skakdi replied, unimpressed. Seeing how his quarry was only a few inches taller than him, Promethius continued. “You’re shorter than I had imagined. Anyway, I assume that you’re aware of what we’re here to do? Ulreq just told me that five new Toa were created, and that my job’s been extended to take out all seven now.”

“Are you an agent of the Head of the Spear?” Venom asked.

“No, I am the leader of a group of assassins called the Piraka. I decided it best that I take on this job, as the only other that’s qualified is up in the Ice Region, taking out the political rival of Turaga Vices.”

“Vices? Is he not the governor of the Industry Region?”

Promethius smiled conspiratorially. “Yes, he is. However, having his life threatened may have... persuaded him to sell out his city to the Head.”

“What is to happen?”

“Oh, the Industry Region is just going to provide the Head with weapons and whatever they produce that Ulreq thinks is necessary or interesting. Vices will be Ulreq’s little puppet, making laws and such that’ll make the place ripe for whoever’s going to succeed him. My bet’s on Methenor. It’s nice to think about, but I’ve my rules, Venom. We’re on the job as of... now. So, you see, we can’t get distracted. We can’t start letting thoughts of the future cloud the present.”

Venom nodded approvingly. “Well, then, let us get going. We cannot have that future without focusing on our present.”

Promethius grinned widely. “You get it. Let’s hurry it up, then. We can’t worry about the future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to get it to come to us quicker.”

---

Couple nods at Venom's story thrown in there, too. Figured I might as well. =P