.^^ Frigga/The Horn ^^

— Frigga —

I breathed deeply, controlling myself, as the Sorcerers around me began to count the crowd that had just come in, and then call Seth. They pulled me onto the platform, as demons began being summoned, far more than I could possibly fight, but my fingers twitched towards the sword I wasn't wearing, anyway.

The demons turned to Ashe, and one of the Sorcerers laid a hand on my naked chest, muttering in Aramaic. I fought the urge to rip his head off for touching me, and watched as chains appeared, surrounding my body, immobilizing me entirely, then soaking into my skin, invisible and undetected.

I breathed deeply again. 'According to the plan... good... hold out... this is all to destroy a Greater Daemon... this is good... the Sorcerers here Follow Seth, and though Seth is a prick sometimes, he's good people... the ones dying are evil, the killers of children, little girls raped and eaten in alleys and high-priced hotels. They deserve this type of death, like cattle to a slaughter... and I will be providing the means, with my second death, if need be.'

A gigantic portal opened, and Seth stepped through, as a giant bipedal dragon, then nodded. "Let's get this party started..." he chuckled.

'Are you alright? Any second thoughts about becoming the cage with which we capture or kill the Horn?' He asked in my mind.

'I am fine. Continue.' I breathed again, and closed my eyes.

He nodded. "All those of my own, leave now, or go into the Office... this ritual is not one for you to see."

They bowed, leaving through the exit, though three of them stayed in the office, the ones I recognized as the new leaders, from the three sections of Chicago.

Then, Seth began using a silver needle to prick designs, all over my body, one limb at a time. It stung, being silver, but I gritted my teeth, and toughed it out. I lost track of time, but he worked his way across my entire body, blushing a bit as he hesitantly tattooed my ass, chest, and thighs, which was a nice bit of amusement, in the midst of the whole terrifying process.

Then, he placed a hand on my shoulder, and healed the tattoos, leaving one letter unfinished, and started on a second layer, which looked like chains, from what I could see, without moving my head. I could feel the chains around me tighten, almost restricting my breathing, and then the feeling spread, the chains wrapping me like a mummy.

He even shaved my head, which I did my best to glare at him for. "It'll grow back quickly." He murmured assuringly.

'It better, or you're dead.' I snarled at him mentally.

He chuckled, and continued, finally finishing, and laying me down on the altar, wrapped finally in a thin silk robe. "And the final Letter... brace yourself." He murmured again, and then tattooed the last Sigil, over my heart.

Instantly, a rip opened above us, the Veil opening and a surprising face peering through. I had expected... ugliness, I suppose. It wasn't pretty, by my standards, but by a Dragon's, perhaps. The face was symmetrical, the horns and scales following a distinctive geometric pattern, the eyes a burnished gold, the scales a deep red, mixed with small veins of blue that pulsed and turned the scales around them purple to the tune of her heartbeat.

She gazed at me, and my heart stuttered, at the sight of her eyes, peering into my soul. 'Ahhh... a tribute... I do miss those... and Briar, as well! Ooh, my lucky day...' the face turned to mist, or smoke, and flowed down, touching the Sigils on my body, and gliding into them slowly, like a woman sliding into her favorite dress.

As soon as the rip closed, Seth slit his wrist, pouring the golden blood over the secondary Sigils, and activating the Chains, which were magic so far above my comprehension I was almost impressed.

The feminine voice hissed gently. "How rude... locking a Lady in a Meatsuit... Briar, you've gotten kinkier, and I can't say I don't like it..." she giggled.

I growled, and activated the Solomon's Trap with the magic word he'd taught me, and she growled at me, trapped inside my heart. 'I could turn you into sushi, little Meatsack, if you continue to vex me so...'

'Suck my dick.' I grinned, and activated the Solomon's Gate, with Seth's Blood, as he turned and vaporized the sacrifices, and I held my body still through sheer force of will.

She paused, and my body moved anyway, looking at the empty room, then back at Briar. "How Rude, darling. Those were mine."

He smirked, and sat on the altar casually. "Yeah, well, I needed a way to make you stay in that body. I'm getting really tired of you screwing with my people, so a few decades in a Meatsuit, following the orders of a testy human woman, should be punishment enough."

She hummed. "Oh, is this about me trying to take your land?"

"It is, lovely. I said 'last warning', didn't I? You should've listened. Now! Say hello to your companion for the next few decades, Frigga! She's a bit mean, but she's got a heart of... eh... what's a step under gold?" He grinned.

"Fuck you, Seth." I frowned.

"There She is! Wonderful... sorry, gimme a mo, gotta go do something real quick!" He disappeared, through a portal I hadn't seen him create, and then came back, almost immediately. "Ahh... nice. Beautiful, really! Now, that was me going and eating the power you had to leave behind in the Ether! You are now, and forevermore, an ArchDaemon, not a Greater Daemon! Good for you!"

She paused again, and reached into the ether... finding nothing. "Oh... now that's just not nice." She growled, and I felt horns begin to grow on my forehead.

'Hmm... should I let her tear into Seth, or rein her in...'

'I know what you're thinking. Rein her in. Proclaim dominance.' I heard Adelaide in my head.

I sighed, and grabbed the chain that I imagined, wrapped around her throat like an attack dog, and pulled her back in slowly, into my chest. 'Sorry, Love, while I'd love to see you tear Seth to pieces, you belong to me, now. And that means you don't come out of your box unless I Say So.'

"Who is this human that thinks she can-"

I silenced her, and slammed the door shut, activating the Solomon's Trap. The chains sank in even further, latching into her soul and body, piercing into her bones, all over her skeleton.

Suddenly, I could move freely again, and I cracked my neck as my body started to shift slowly, gaining muscle mass, and ligaments crackling as they densified, with my skin hardening, and plates of scales forming under it; my body becoming as close to a Dragon's as was possible in this form.

Seth hummed. "You good?"

"I think so..." I nodded.

He held out a bone dagger. "Cut Your hand with this Dragon Bone Dagger." He commanded, staring at me suspiciously.

"Won't that poison me?" I asked.

"Not if she's in control." He shook his head.

I grabbed it, and cut my hand slowly, bracing for the hellish pain that began arcing through my body like lightning.

He nodded, pouring a vial of Essence of Death onto the cut, then down my throat. "Good. You're you, and you're going to be hungry. Here." He held out a small energy bar.

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"It's made of Dragon Ashe and Coffee extract." He said dryly, pressing it into my hand. "Eat. Trust me."

I nodded, and took a bite, recoiling at the bitter coffee flavor, but then I paused, and scarfed the rest down mindlessly, as my stomach began to writhe, moving within my body and changing places with my heart, which probably should have worried me, but the hunger was what I focused on, the hunger that nothing could feed, if felt like.

He set a platter of the bars on the altar, and backed away a few steps, allowing me to see them, and then dive for them.

"Frigga? You wanna calm down a bit?" Diana asked, leaning against the altar.

"Sorry... hungry. Hurts." I shook my head, and continued.

"She'll need to eat a good hundred of those before she's alright to stand up. My first meal was 2,000 Sorcerers, five or take a few, and I was still starving for days. Luckily she still has the energy to stand. God knows I didn't." Seth chuckled, and placed a few more in front of me, as I finished the platter.

I stood up slowly, my joints screaming in pain at the movement, and I gently took them from his hand, chewing slower, and calming down by sheer force of will.

"Then again, fuck my expectations, she's clearly worth fifty of the original me... well, physically at least. Mentally, I hold the upper hand." He shrugged. I glared at him, and he grinned widely. "No argument allowed. I held back the Briar at full power, with no protections whatsoever. I win, hands down."

I tilted my head for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, I'll give you that point."

A soft voice tried to make its way through, and I looked inward. 'Hmm? You wanted to say something?'

'Hmph! I am not sure how this is possible, you overpowering me like this, but it must have something to do with Briar eating the rest of my power!'

'No, I beat you before he did that. It's simply mind over mind, and I won. Call it what it is, doll, you lost, now take it like a woman.'

She hummed. 'I am a Daemon of Passion, little girl. I don't accept loss. I avenge it.'

'Avenge this.' I closed the door again, and looked at Seth, who was staring at me. "What?"

"Inner conference? You were standing still for about five minutes." He hummed.

"Five minutes? No way."

"Greater Daemons have a slight control of Time, especially inside a controlled space, like your mind. I'll add some protections against it." He grabbed my bald head, and whispered a few words, a spell of some sort.

I felt a new band of chains wrap around the imprisoned creature, when he finished, tickling my bald scalp. "Speaking of! My HAIR!" I growled at him.

He shrugged. "Grow it out. Right now. Just do it, don't think too hard about it."

I frowned at him, but thought of a full head of silver hair, and reached up, feeling a prickle on my scalp. Already, I had a full head of hair, military short, which was lengthening steadily as I ran my fingers through it. It reached past my eyes, as glossy and silver as a newly minted quarter, and kept growing, until it reached the middle of my back, when I stopped it, and tied it back.

"Alright... you're forgiven." I nodded.

He grinned. "Good. And hey, now I can create super-powered Lich's to rule each city's population of Briar, Thorn, and Horn Sorcerers, Lich's who don't utterly lose their marbles the moment they're created! Very efficient, that is." He nodded seriously.

I shrugged. "So long as they're on the proper leashes, Sorcerers can be useful."

"Exactly! Now, let's go relax, this was a hard day's work." He nodded, and was about to lead me off the stage when the rip opened again, and a deep, shuddering voice echoed out, which apparently only He and I could hear.

'And yet another Victory for my most Interesting Champion... you amuse me yet again, with your methods and actions... so, I grant upon you the Horn's Lands, Followers, Holdings, and possession of her Immortal Essence, as well as the Essences of The Briar and The Thorn. They are yours to command, so long as they exist. Do with them as you wish, but do make it interesting... Seth, my child, you are the Silent One, the Greedy One, the Hungry One; the Valiant, Ignoble Child and Champion of the Abyss; Lord of the Realms of Ice, Fire, and Storm; Master of The Briar, Captor of the Horn, Slayer of The Thorn; the Dark Prince of the Realm of Man; the Rose of the West, and, now, the King of Shadows... so many titles for such a young creature, but you have earned them, and you will earn many more, I believe. So go forth, Conquer! Amuse me, my champion... for I am Watching. I am ALWAYS Watching...'

A small cloud of smoke flew through the rift, into Seth's mouth, then it closed solidly. I shivered, and looked at Seth slowly . "What... the fuck... was that?!?"

"You heard that as well? Creepy, huh?" He shivered. "That's the voice of the Abyss itself... sort of the God of Darkness. Very, very creepy. Anyway, let's go relax!" He nodded.

He led us all into the office, and nodded to the three Sorcerers. "Spread the word... the Horn is defeated, slave to the will of the Briar."

They looked between themselves, then at him. "Master... is it true, what the Abyss said? That you are not the Briar, but rather the being that destroyed him and the Thorn?"

Seth hummed. "Yes, it is true. I am a Greater Lich, but I was not originally one of the Four. Now I am One of Two, and the Blade is next. If you wish, you may call the clan the Rose Camp, as I have been titled the Rose of the West, amongst other things, by the Abyss itself."

They bowed. "As you wish, Master... should we tell them your name?"

"You may tell them that my name is the Silent One, the Greedy One, the Hungry One; the Valiant, Ignoble Child and Champion of the Abyss; Lord of the Realms of Ice, Fire, and Storm; Master of The Briar, Captor of the Horn, Slayer of The Thorn; the Dark Prince of the Realm of Man; the Rose of the West, and the King of Shadows. Those are the titles that were just now bequeathed unto me by the Abyss itself, and as such are unquestionable." He watched as they backed out of the room, skirting the circle, and then walked up the stairs. "That could have gone better, and also much worse... but at least now I don't have to lie anymore."

I grinned. "To be completely honest, I like seeing them scuttle away like that... like bugs. Fitting."

He chuckled. "Even as a Lich, you still hate Sorcerers?"

"With every bone in my body." I nodded firmly, then looked over at Adelaide, and amended my statement. "Well, most of them." She just grinned, and winked at me, unbothered.

We walked into the basement of his house, and he paused. "Ah! And one last thing!" He held out a small orb on a silver chain. "Wear that, if you would?"

I shrugged, and placed it around my wrist securely, feeling the silver heat up against my skin, slowly. The prison I'd had inside my mind transferred, slowly but surely, into the trinket, and then the feeling of her body inside of mine lessened to almost nothing. "What is that?" I asked, looking at the small orb of dark crystal.

"A containment unit, basically. To stop sunlight from harming you. You are now a Lesser Lich, at a glance, and that talisman will allow you to summon her Power, should you enter a battle where such a thing becomes necessary. I know you don't want to rely on anyone other than yourself, so I figured you would be hesitant to use the power, if you viewed it as anything more than a weapon you can unsheathe whenever you like." He nodded.

I nodded. "Alright... Cool. And that further protects my mind from her influence?"

"Correct. Also, your body is stronger and faster now, so you'll need to be careful about that, and re-learn your limits in a controlled space. Unleashing your limits will also be interesting, and addicting, but something tells me you can handle it." He grinned, and sat in the chair at one side of the room. "Come on, I need to inform the Horn's followers of her Fall, and service to me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Not you, her. I captured her, using your body as the trap. The Abyss was quite clear about that. Either way, that's half the Sorcerers in the world that will follow my Laws, and only hunt the Wicked... good stuff." He chuckled.

A tall man with bronze skin and white hair stepped out of the fireplace, suddenly, and smiled at Seth. "And he does it again! Honestly, I was routing for you, Seth! But one small, teeny tiny detail..."

"You wanted me to kill the Horn, not just tap her and remove all but a portion of her power." Seth shrugged.

"Bingo." The man nodded, and sat in the other chair.

"Well, she's contained, under the control of this warrior, Frigga, and seeing as I hold her Essence, I can destroy her, should she ever run wild, without harming Frigga in the process. However, her knowledge is not something I'm ready to lose, you see?" Seth folded his hands together casually.

He hummed. "See, I understand, but... the council seems to think you're building an Army to attack them."

"No, I have no intentions of attacking the Council. And you know that's the truth, Michael, because, as I'm currently depowered, I couldn't lie to you if I wanted to." Seth shrugged.

Michael nodded. "True... and you, Frigga? Any intent to destroy the council?"

"The Who?" I asked, looking between them, confused.

He raised a snowy eyebrow. "Alrighty then... there's that answered... I'll relay your answers to the Council."

"Before you go... I'd ask that you extend your earlier deal to encompass Frigga, once this is all over, to remove the Horn from her mind entirely, and banish the pair of them to the Realm of Dreams, where their dual presence would be demanded, to keep the Balance of such a powerful Realm, if all goes as planned." Seth hummed.

The man nodded. "True... I'll relay your request, and my earlier deal stands. My word is still my bond, Seth."

"Good. Take care, Michael." He smiled.

The man bowed, then stepped through the fire again, disappearing just as I saw his wings, set on his shoulder blades.

"Oh shit... was that-... no, never mind." I shook my head, claiming his seat slowly.