Masquerade of Madness: Insanity

"This world has become rotten with weaklings above us, while we are stuck in a city of decaying roots. We need a better life, a better way to live. Why should we have to worry about our young wandering into caverns, becoming lost, or worse, cave-ins?" Their queen-to-be addressed the vast gathering of Nards in the great assembly cavern.

Although short in stature, she had no trouble exerting her strength and power over them.

Her vivid purple hair, cropped short in spikes, only added to her royal appeal.

Grunts, groans, and growls of the Nard language echoed down the passageways, through the network of tunnels and caves that made up their underground world. Some

Nards made noises in agreement, while others stood ready to devour a king they considered old and weak.

The King of the Nards just sat back on his throne, listening to his future queen. She exerts much influence in our world and with me, he thought, reflecting on his affection for her and their history together. He had seen her once when she was young, standing behind her mother, the Casalyian translator who understood Nard. It was during the treaty months, he remembered it well, like yesterday, when his only son was born.

The king grew sad, as he frequently did when he allowed himself to drift into thoughts of his son – he would be about sixteen now. But he had no idea where his son was or even if he were still alive. The king shook his head as if to break that chain of thought.

"I say let's send two or three Nards above and let them explore and wreak as much havoc as possible," the queen-to-be continued her tirade.

The Nard king barely stood up before the woman rushed to his side. "Do not overdo it," she said, pushing him back on his throne. "Some of your race wants to devour you, as it is. If not for me, you would already be dead." His tongue slid out of his mouth, and he lovingly licked her hand, emitting a few choice growls and grunts. "I understand," she replied.

She turned back to face the Nard gathering. "Your king has spoken. He told me that one of you who is going must be pregnant and successfully raise your young one on the surface. That is all." She immediately had the king escorted back to his chambers. She left the gathering, following the tunnel that led passed holding cells filled with the bones and leftovers of Nard meals. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the putrid smell.

She had no memory of her life before the king rescued her and brought her into the Nard fold. He found her above, wandering, starving, near death. The only clue to her previous life was a ring with the inscription "Mininna is begotten to Vincent Angelus." She wore it on a chain around her neck. This Vincent must be hers, but she couldn't remember, and she was quite happy with her life as it was now.

Suddenly, a Nard roughly pulled Mininna into a side chamber and began talking to her in the Nard language of grunts, groans, and growls. "Leave the king?" she repeated to him. Her eyes displayed her anger. "So you could murder him! What you are saying is treason." Her hand glowed light blue as lightning seemed to twist and intertwine between her fingers.

The Nard's grunts, groans, and growls took on a pleading tone.

"Understand you? You say you only want what's best for your race? No, I don't understand. What you're talking about is wrong. Therefore you need to be eliminated!" Mininna lunged forward screaming,

"Electrisa!" The Nard's ugly face froze in horror as Mininna shoved a ball of electricity into his stomach. As he fell, his blood spattered her dress. Guards immediately appeared, guided by the smell of the fresh blood. She faced them, demanding, "Devour him and clean up this mess! I must attend to the king."

[Electrisa is a ball of electric energy that conducts from the tips of the fingers. After the conduction period, a ball of electric energy forms, covering the whole hand.]

Mininna hastily made her way to the king's chambers. Opening the massive set of doors, she ran to his side. "Love, I am sorry I took so long. Can you forgive me?"

"You smell like blood." The king spoke in the Human tongue, the only living Nard that could speak Human. rather than the Nards' language of grunts, groans, and growls.

"I am sorry, another attempt has been made."

"Come here and lay beside me."

"Yes, sir."

"You know you are not the first Casalyian I have bedded, but I sincerely love you."

"What is Casalynn like?" Mininna asked, anxious to learn more about herself.

"A very brutish place with its council and rules. They have monsters as pets, monsters like Nards, yet they seem so tame compared to us. Sometimes I wish my race would be more civilized, but it seems that we lost all that when this monstrous curse was flung upon us . . ." Again lost in thoughts of the past, the king's voice trailed off.

"Do not worry, dear. Sleep, and we will continue our talk another time." She watched over him as the king drifted into a deep sleep.

Mininna gazed around the lavish chamber, black with age. The bed was new; she made sure of that. She had gone above and purchased it herself with jewels from the king. Her mind wandered back to their conversation. Was the king suggesting that she was Casalyian? Preposterous, she thought. She understood the Nard language of noises, so wouldn't that make her one of them? She could not absorb all this right now. She had to prepare the three Nards for their journey to the Human world above.

Quietly slipping out of bed, she left the king's chambers and made her way down the dark caves, back to the great assembly cavern. Dim torches, fueled by their many oil reserves, lit her path. A guard met her at the entrance. He had urgent news for the king and quickly informed Mininna.

"So a Casalyian has descended to the Humans. Then we must capture him."

The guard nodded in agreement.

"Go ahead and send two more Nards with the others. But their task is simple. Bring the Casalyian to me at the Temple of Salvation."

The guard bowed deeply, already treating her like royalty, even though that day was not here yet. His deep affection for Mininna was apparent. He promised himself that one day when she is not around, he would devour his king and make her his.

The guard hurried to do the future queen's bidding. He found two Nards fighting each other, biting, clawing and thrusting. One was missing an eye, the other an arm. These two were militant and criminal, the fastest and most cunning of his race. Reluctant to intervene, not wanting to risk their wrath, he waited against the clay wall of the tunnel until they grew tired and the fight wore down.

Each warrior now sat on opposite sides of the tunnel, licking their wounds. The guard took his chance to approach, hoping they would not find a second wind. He explained the future queen's bidding.

The warriors argued the waste of time they considered the capture of the Casalyian to be. They wanted to kill him outright. But then they recalled the screams of Casalyians when their wings were ripped out, so they agreed to the plan, as long as they got to kill him when their queen was done.