TBTT 49. World premier

[moonshadows]

Again their minds fly, intertwined, far above their bodies. She watches in silent awe as he bends the sky to his will, the storm forming with ominous speed over the capital of the hill region. It is significantly larger and more volatile than the one they used for practice yesterday. While he herds the clouds and whips them into a frenzy, she peers through the focus and familiarizes herself with the city below. It will be her job to strike the most important buildings with green lightning, reducing them to rubble. She understands why he is doing this, of course. Demoralization is an important tool of conquest. None of her teachers ever taught this specific application, but they also didn't have the knowledge of Kal'dorei spellwork that her Kal'shan does.

Beside her on the couch, he lets out a quiet sound of satisfaction as the storm leaps into full rage. The spell rod is easy enough to construct on her own; she sips from the copper nozzle clenched between her teeth and selects her first target.

It's showtime.

In the doomed city, the skeptical inhabitants eye the storm. Their news media had shared the Warlord's announcement, of course, but treated it as a joke. A tame demon? Really? They weren't as gullible as the sissies in the mountains. The demons had all been driven off decades ago, this had to be a bluff. The media had issued a mocking warning to stay out of the capital - which, of course, meant that everyone who could possibly be there, was. Crowds began forming in the streets when the sky darkened, and the first murmurs of doubt whispered through the city like leaves blown on the unnatural wind. Now it is silent; the doubters are quiet out of fear, and the skeptics out of unease. Surely this storm is a coincidence, right? A freak occurrence. It's just a thunderstorm, what could it possibly-

The first emerald-green bolt strikes the parliament building, as does the second, and the third. In the ominous pause after the third strike, the first screams can be heard. The silence stretches, dry wind howling in frustration as the lightning is held in check. The anticipation grates on the collective nerve of the populace.

Cra-cra-cra-a-a-akc!

Six bolts strike the parliament building in rapid succession and without any rain to keep the building wet, it bursts into flames. The screaming gets louder now as the government officials start fleeing, but this is only the beginning. Across from the now-burning parliament building is the highest courthouse in the region. Given the fierce and independent nature of the region's culture, justice is an important part of the government. The crowd is distracted by the building in front of them, and it is not until tortured brick explodes behind them that they realize the unnatural green lightning has claimed their hall of justice. Cries of despair now sound among the fear. As an afterthought, a single bolt of lightning blasts the head off the statue that has pride of place between the two buildings.

With two buildings ablaze, the panicked newscasters report that they were wrong, this was not a bluff. But it's not over yet, not by a long shot. The next building to be struck by bad omens is a towering commerce center. Not content to merely set it on fire from above, the green lightning works its way methodically down the side, striking each floor as it goes. By the time it has run out of floors, the tower is a charred wreck. The storm's fury pauses again, wind howling denial, and the city shivers wondering where the next strike will be. The answer comes finally when bolts strike every major shrine in the city nearly simultaneously. There is no question, now, that the Warlord does indeed have a demon at his command. Before anyone can come to a conclusion about this, however, the broadcast tower becomes the next victim of the storm and the feed turns to static.

Then the storm breaks.

The rain has a minor effect on the numerous fires, but serves to further fan the flames of fear in the crowds. The green lightning strikes at random now, as though the demon behind this unnatural storm had grown bored and is simply amusing itself. With no building or person safe from the unholy bolts of raw force, the entire city is quickly reduced to panic. The last target, just before the storm disperses, is the city's power grid. Soaked and smoldering, the capital goes dark. When the clouds cease their glowering and allow themselves to be torn apart by the winds, the sky that is revealed is a beautiful bright blue and the sun shines cheerfully from directly overhead. The return to normalcy serves to underscore the dreadful power of the Warlord as the people cower, afraid to leave their shelters lest he decide he wants to level the city entirely.

On the couch, she lets the nozzle drop with a sigh and leans against him contentedly. His fingers caressing her horns are all the praise she needs to hear to know that she has pleased him - which is good, because he doesn't know what to say to express his pride in her. Instead of letting her slide entirely out of his mind, he holds tight to the sense of her presence and lets her feel his emotions. He knew she wouldn't flinch at sending lightning against living beings, since he commanded it. What he did not expect was that she would be so...methodical...about it. There was no hesitation; once she had identified which building was which, she’d hurled green lightning with a deliberation that almost seemed planned.

"It was," she murmurs contentedly. "Tolzar's Order of Demoralization."

"You were taught-?" In his surprise, he releases the mind link as well as her horns.

She sits up and stretches before nestling back against him. "Young dreadlords are taught the basics of world conquest. Usually, Tolzar's goes more slowly than that because you have to wait for word to spread."

"Well, you performed admirably. No doubt the delta region is already composing a delegation." He pauses for a moment. "Are you prepared to accompany me in public, now that the world has seen what you can do?"

A light flush darkens her cheeks. "I forgot all about that. I was so excited to be doing spellwork with you-" she takes a breath. "Yes. Just let me change into my uniform and put my hair up."

It's a good thing she's going to be leaving the room with him, because otherwise he isn't certain he would be able to so easily let her out of his embrace. He chooses to not think about why he is so greedy for her presence, focusing instead on the meeting with his Minister of War that will be Tessa's first public appearance. By the time his tame demon has reappeared, uniformed and looking entirely professional, he has successfully fought back his possessive urges and donned the mask of cool, distant disapproval that looks so unnerving on his borrowed face. She flashes that brilliant smile at him briefly before she dons her own disguise, expression smoothing out into blank - but joyful - obedience.

"Follow," he commands casually, and does not look back as he leaves her apartment.