A tale of Itharia
A man with the head of a stag sat upon a throne of carved ivory. About his head fluttered five diminutive cherubs, each engaged in nameless sins. Five braziers encircled the throne, crimson flames flickering in a breeze that was not there.
"And who are you to violate the sanctity of my house?" the stag-headed man demanded.
"I am Tacullu," said the intruder, his countenance hidden by a cloak of light blue. Behind the throne was an open portal filled with shadow, and from that tunnel came the hideous howl of something damned.
"Do you hear the cry of the Beast, human?" asked the man on the throne. "It hungers, but not for your flesh or the marrow in your bones. It hungers for your existence. When the Beast feeds, true obliteration follows. No man can slay it. Indeed, no man can even face it."
"I have not come for your Beast, demon," replied Tacullu softly. The man on the throne growled in response.
"Mind your familiarity. I will not brook insolence. Nor should you presume to name me when you cannot even understand what it is I am. You are in the home of the Redspeaker, and only my will holds the Beast at bay. Your life was forfeit upon entering my house, and you would do well to remember that." If those words phased Tacullu, the cloaked man did not show it.
"I have come for a speaking," Tacullu said. "Reveal the red path that lies ahead of me." At this the demon laughed.
"Speak and be done with it, is that it? Oh-ho little man! What power you may possess over mortals means nothing here. Do you think your trickery can work? I can see beneath your cloak, but ah... I see the form you take beneath that cloak is but a disguise as well. It is no matter. I can strip away even that layer to see..." The demon paused. "Very clever," it admitted. "It would seem you are the onion unending. Every layer I pull away is replaced by another. A good trick. But a trick nonetheless. You are still a mere human." But now the demon did not seem so sure. "Or an elf. Yes, your trick stinks of elves."
"Malgennon." Tacullu spoke the word loudly, and the demon screamed in terror. Its hands clutched the arms of the throne, and its body contorted as if its bones were breaking. The stag head leaned backwards, its eyes watering and rolling. "You are Malgennon and so I name you." The cherubs that encircled the throne made squealing noises and fled into the portal.
"How?" it gasped.
"Why I read your mind of course. Did you not know demon? I am a master of minds."
"But..." the demon struggled, "I have... no mind."
"Behold my industry and despair," said Tacullu. "You now have a mind, for such is my desire." Malgennon howled in rage and fright. From behind the throne the ghastly howl repeated itself.
"The Beast!" snarled the demon.
"Is no concern of mine." And Tacullu slipped from his cloak. Malgennon's eyes went wide and it screamed at what it saw. "A mortal I may have been, but long ago I shed that skin. Your Beast will find naught in me save its own death, for I know the secret of the demons - you do not exist. You are slag - cast off energy from some long-dead source. But mortals believe in you and therefore you manifest, but you are nothing more than nightmares given form. And as soon as mortals no longer believe in you, you shall cease to be. And now Malgennon, you shall show me your face. Your true face." The demon's hands involuntarily went to its bare stomach, and there they clawed inward and pulled back the flesh to reveal the nightmare within.
"Release me," the true face begged, mucus and gore dripping from its cavity.
"After you have revealed the red path."
"The Bender Empire shall fall," said the face. "A man plots against it, but he is no ordinary man. I can see him, he wears... many shapes. He... is you."
"Yes," Tacullu confirmed. "Good. The wheels are in motion."
"But why?" asked the demon. "Why scheme against the empire you serve?"
"I serve it as it furthers my purpose, but my purpose goes beyond the paltry desires of men and orcs, the living and the dead. Now tell me of the risks that lurk upon my red path."
The true face rolled around inside of the stomach, then said, "I do see another. She knows nothing of your plans, but her goals run counter to your own. Yes, she is very strong. Under the right circumstances, she could be your undoing."
"Who is she?" Tacullu demanded. And the demon gave Tacullu a name he knew all too well.