Lord Nightshade

The moment that terrible force hit us, we dropped to our knees, gasping for breath as the shields around us flickered dangerously. The suffocating aura permeated the air, weighing down on all of us - even the Greater Dark Elementals seemed a little affected by it. 

The fact that even our material shields were shaking despite this being a purely mental attack spoke volumes about the prowess of the being we were facing, not to mention that it seemed to be an indiscriminate assault rather than a targeted one.

Fortunately, we soon realized this was not due to an enemy, but rather a darkness that shadowed the stars. The Dark Lord, which had returned from its battle. The wraiths bowed towards the epicenter of the darkness, from which emerged a strange being. I perceived it as a hooded figure carrying a scythe fashioned from a lightless material, ethereal tendrils of obsidian-black matter drifting away from it into the surroundings. The starlight itself seemed to flee from the lightless being, who overshadowed the wraiths that paled in comparison.

However, my instincts told me that the Dark Lord was something far beyond my comprehension. My waking mind had fashioned it into a form I could barely understand, but the truth was likely that it was a thousand times greater than what I could truly fathom. 

Casually raising a hand, it poured darkness into the surroundings, which quickly covered all of the Greater Dark Elementals. It took a few minutes before the smoke faded, leaving reinvigorated ghosts, who now looked even darker than they had been before the battle had begun.

At this moment, it glanced at us. I stopped breathing - literally. While its gaze was on us, I was completely unable to draw in breath, dying just from its gaze. Yet I couldn't look away from it, eyes drawn magnetically to its presence.

It tore its gaze away and air rushed into my now working lungs. I watched wide-eyed as it motioned one of the Dark Elementals to us. A moment later, one of them bowed and drifted toward us. 

Speaking in a disembodied voice which somehow still managed to come off as somewhat friendly, it stated, "Lord Nightshade wishes to express his apologies for harming you, not knowing that you could not stand his gaze. He had not expected humans below the rank of Archmage to make it to this place and compliments you on your courage and ability. He hopes you will accept his apologies."

My gaze drifted to the Dark Lord, which was now looking a little to our left, clearly to avoid killing us. It - no, he - inclined his head a little in an apology of sorts. I was stunned that he even cared for our lives, much less that he would think of our safety or apologize for harming us. 

Turning to the messenger who was patiently awaiting our response, I replied respectfully, "No apologies need to be made, though we would accept gratefully if Lord Nightshade so wishes. We would thank him and you, as well as your comrades, for saving us from the Light Elementals as well as his care he has shown to us." 

The Greater Dark Elemental nodded before responding, "Your wishes will be conveyed. Lord Nightshade cares greatly for his allies, as Dark Elementals do, so your gratitude need not be so excessive. It is a matter of course." 

After seeing so much indifference from the Life Elementals and the outright hostility from other Elementals, the frank and protective nature of the Dark Elementals was a beautiful thing. I wished that I could repay them in some way, but with my pitifully weak abilities, it would be a miracle if I could even survive another battle.