"What... is this?" Vania asked, tilting the vial first one way, and then another, watching the darkness within swirl and slide with the motion.

"Power," Rand'din replied simply. "Pure, unadulterated power, extracted from the essence of a demon. A very powerful one." He sighed. "The demon's name is Zaleez, and he's the king of his realm. The way demons choose their king is a brutal, bloody affair that makes all our wars combined seem petty and small. So, the fact that he's on the throne and has held the crown for several hundreds of years proves how much strength and power he has and also how ruthless and cunning he is. Dealing with him is foolhardy at best; lethal at worst. However, the sheer amount of his power is enthralling to those who seek such things. So, a summoning was attempted. He easily could have ignored it, or even destroyed the spell and all the casters. But, instead, he—" Rand'din broke off. After a moment of silence, studying Vania, he asked, "I'm sorry. Let me back up. Are you familiar with warlocks?"

"I've heard of them," Vania replied tersely, crossing her arms.

"Enough to know where their powers come from?"

"It's said they make deals with either devils or gods to gain power," she answered. "I suppose you'd like to explain it?"

"No. You know enough. I apologize if you thought I was belittling you, Elite Enforcer Nahalora; since you're not a magic user yourself, I wasn't sure how familiar you are with the various classes of magic users."

"So, you're saying the Dark Eaters is a group of warlocks who made a deal with this demon king? Is that it?"

"That's the short version, yes," Rand'din replied, nodding once. "However, that explanation is hardly satisfying, given what some of the members have put you and others through, is it? Allow me to elucidate for you."

"Very well." Vania looked at the vial of darkness again, frowning. She set it on the table, eyes catching on the silver circlets still resting beside the seal charm and the recording crystal.

Rand'din noticed her gaze and sighed. He held out his bound hands. "I suppose you need to put those back on me now."

Vania reached over and plucked up the circlets with her long fingers, thumb rubbing the smooth edge as she turned back to her former coworker. His eyes were closed, and she listened in silence to his carefully measured breaths. She looked down at the circlets in her hands again, her mind recalling yesterday and how he flinched as they were placed upon him. She set them back on the table.

"As long as you keep your word not to do any further magic, I won't need to until this interview is concluded."

He opened his eyes and looked at her, asking slowly, "I will do as I promised, but do you trust my word?"

"No," she replied. She glanced down at the circlets, frowning, then looked back up at the wizard. "But I don't believe in torture."

Rand'din drew his hands back into his lap, sighing softly, head bowed. "I thank you for this mercy, Elite Enforcer Nahalora. It is good to be able to think clearly again."

"Just don't make me regret it," she replied, still frowning. "Now, you were going to tell me about the deal you and the other Dark Eaters made with that demon king."

"Honestly... it wasn't my pact. I wasn't even part of the group at that time. But, yes. The explanation for how they came to be."

The room was silent. Vania sat, watching Rand'din. She cleared her throat.

Finally, Rand'din spoke again. "I apologize. I was simply gathering my thoughts. You have no idea how jumbled your mind becomes when your powers are blocked."

"Does that mean you're rethinking telling me everything you know about the Dark Eaters?" Vania asked, frowning, eyes glancing to the silver circlets on the table before returning to the wizard. "Now that you're thinking clearly?"

"No. Not at all. I will still tell you everything."

"Good." She gestured to him. "Begin whenever you're ready. I'm listening."

Rand'din sighed. "So, the original group of wizards attempted to summon the demon king, Zaleez. And, despite the power he wielded and the ease with which he could've destroyed them all, he decided to answer the summons. They were delighted. Quite foolishly. They may have known who they were dealing with, but they didn't really understand. If they had, we wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"If you disapprove so much, why did you join them?" Vania interjected impatiently.

"By working for them, I gained the benefits of what power they're willing to share, without beholdening myself to the most powerful demon in existence." He looked down at his manacled hands in his lap. "I had my reasons." Frowning, he looked back over to the elite enforcer. "If I may continue?"

Vania simply gestured to him with a hand.

"The deal was deceptively simple. On top of the standard power for life energy deal that is the hallmark of a warlock's pact, Zaleez also demanded they help him with a small problem he had. See, demons and deities hate each other. So, a powerful deity is naturally the enemy of a powerful demon. Zaleez told the wizards he needed their help tracking down two deities known to frequent the Mortal Plane. He figured mortal wizards would be able to sneak up to attack and abduct a deity, where a demon would have to rely on sheer force; in the resulting cataclysm, our world would be destroyed."

Vania snorted. "If he's really that powerful and evil, would he even care if he destroys all of us, as long as his enemy dies?"

"Truly? No, I'm sure he doesn't care one wit about any of us. But, that was how he made his plea to the wizards, to garner their assistance. And it wasn't even his enemy they were to seek. It was his enemy's family—the wife and son. They were to find and capture the wife and son of this deity, when they came to the Mortal Plane. He supplied the wizards with the means to subdue and hide the deities, so their husband and father wouldn't find them. He came once a year, around the time of the Ice Masquerade, to evaluate their progress."

"The Ice Masquerade?" Vania broke in. "That was when Du l'Tagne was kidnapping women!"

"Yes," Rand'din agreed quietly. "He was one of the most proactive of the hunters. His problem was he couldn't tell a deity from a mortal—he kept abducting mortal tydring women. His foolishness and repeated failures annoyed Zaleez and angered his fellows because it was bringing unwanted attention to the group. Honestly, if you and Nahlstrom hadn't killed him, one of the others in the group would have. It was only a matter of time."

"But some of the women he targeted didn't even have children!"

"Yes. We both know he wasn't very smart about things. He was an arrogant, vain, idiotic man who barely could be called a wizard. It's no wonder he picked a fight with the wrong tydring." Rand'din looked at Vania. "Though, when he went after you, at least he showed a little knowledge—you at least have a strange aura, different from the others. But, you're still no deity. It was probably just dumb luck on his part."

Vania scowled. "Okay. Du l'Tagne was an obnoxious ass. We knew that already. But, there had to be a reason why he focused solely on tydring women."

Rand'din nodded. "Zaleez had told the wizards that the woman they sought usually looked like a tydring woman. But that was the only description he said they could count on, aside from her magical power, which would be immense. She also typically had dark blue hair and red eyes while walking on the Mortal Plane, but if she chose to expend the energy, she could change that."

"Red eyes, blue hair, and immense power," Vania whispered, going pale. Bloody scraps of a purple dress with golden stars flashed in her memory, with the keening song of a man in mourning. Lineia. She swallowed, barely finding the voice to ask, "Did he also describe the child they were seeking? Or say what was to be done with them?"

"So, you must recognize that description?" Rand'din asked. Before she could answer, he continued, "And, no. The child was never described. Just that they'd be together. And he promised to teach the one who successfully caught them how to gain power through them."

"Was... Is... a woman named Caylis a member of the Dark Eaters?"

"No." Rand'din paused, then added, "She was an annoying friend of Du l'Tagne's, though. She was a demanding, self-righteous bitch. Had Vay'yer wrapped around her finger, too. We were all laughing behind our hands at him—it was obvious she was just using him to gain status, and he was clueless. Thankfully, once you and Nahlstrom offed Du l'Tagne, she stopped coming around."

"So, when Caylis killed Lineia..." Vania whispered.

"And that brings us to why they're not the threat you think they are, and also could potentially be worse," Rand'din said, leaning forward, elbows balancing on his knees while his manacled hands clasped each other. "None of the group has successfully made contact with Zaleez in months. The demon used to reach out magically every other week and deliver the power he promised. So, they haven't received any new inputs of that power," he nodded at the vial of darkness on table, "in months. They've almost used up their supply, and it looks like they won't be getting any more. They've lost their power source. The problem is, some of them, those who used it recklessly, too frequently, and too much, have become addicted; they are desperate. And desperate people do stupid things. Those are the ones you need to worry about. The rest of the group? They'll just go their separate ways and move on."

"Do you know how many of them are addicted enough to be dangerous?" Vania asked, studying the wizard closely.

"Yes. And they've turned to someone new."

"They made a deal with another demon?" Vania asked, swallowing.

"No. This time they've thrown in their lot with a local temple. That new goddess—Calliastra. They claim she's offered them more power than Zaleez ever had." He chuckled, shaking his head, "For what it's worth, I doubt the temple itself is the threat. But, their desperation is, and if she plays off it by promising them things to get them to do her bidding... well, she's just gained a small army of wizards to do with as she pleases."

Vania winced as her head throbbed. The voice in her head laughed and said scornfully, "Storytime's over." Vania groaned, fighting against the dizziness as black spots filled her vision.

"Vania?" Rand'din asked. "Vania, what's happening?"

Propping an elbow on the table and leaning onto it to maintain her balance, she asked, "If we give you paper and ink, will you write down every member of the Dark Eaters?"

"Yes, of course," Rand'din replied, nodding. He reached out his manacled hands to her shoulder. "But, are you all right? The power coming off you right now feels... unstable. Very chaotic and unmanaged. Dangerous."

Vania swallowed loudly and pushed herself to her feet, pausing to lean on the back of the chair. "Enforcer Bucktin or Commander Aleira will bring you paper and take the rest of your statement. I... need to go."

She managed to stumble to the door, vision rapidly fading.

Eddin caught her as she tripped across the doorway into the hallway. "Vania! Are you all right? Did he—"

"No," Vania replied quickly. "He did nothing. It's her again. Please, get him some paper and ink and monitor him... and help me get somewhere quiet."

 Eddin glanced back into the interrogation room and locked eyes with the captured wizard, then pulled the door closed. "Right. Isolation room and Derry for you. Paper, quill, and ink for him." He lifted her as she stumbled and carried her down the hallway.