As the stranger rose from the shadows, the chief's eyes widen, his body trembling. He expected to see members of the dark army, even a high-ranking officer… but he didn't expect to see her. He utters, "what have you done..."

The mysterious woman struck a menacing form. Seven feet in height, arms like snakes, and long slender legs. She has long nails that look as if they could cut through bone. Long obsidian hair, and a pitch-black dress that seems to converge with it. Her face holds a beauty that only makes her more terrifying. Her pale skin holds a perfectly placed beauty mark below her left eye.

The onlookers didn't know how to feel at the sight of her. Somehow every aspect that was remotely normal only made her seem more inhuman.

"I don't know how your culture treats newborns, but I personally don't believe impaling them is the correct response." Her voice is calm, but it has a venom that makes the villagers shudder. "If you have an explanation, now is the time to use it." As she spoke, her hand stretches out, her long finger stabbing at Lander.

Lander was about to make a mocking remark when the chief yells out to deafen his words, "why are you on these lands, dark mistress? The treaty prevents any creature of the dark from entering anything under the protection of the army of light."

"Don't worry, elder, I haven't come to bring harm to any of your people," she answers, "and the treaty of daybreak is no issue for this occasion. I have already made a deal with the army of light, so I may handle my business without resistance."

"If it's not an issue, may I ask what that business is, mistress?"

"I have given birth to a child. While that normally isn't much of an issue location-wise, I have certain... problems that don't let me decide where the child is delivered," she responds, her hands balling into a fist as she delivers the last half of the sentence. With an exhale, she returns to a state of calm.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea to be telling all this to citizens of the light, mother?" The figure sitting on top of Lander asks.

"No need to stress Grisha, it's only natural to question an enemy in your lands," The dark mistress responds. Grisha shrugs and returns to watching the crowds with his half-closed eyes.

The shade child had moved to a nearby rock, watching how the people interact. He shifts his eyes from person to person until his gaze lands on Grisha. The young boy locks his eyes on his brother and whispers, "he looks so cool, he's like a bigger version of me!" His eyes sparkle as a wide grin covers his face.

Grisha glances over to see the shade-ling staring at him. He chuckles to himself and waves back, causing the boy to fall over in excitement.

The dark mistress turns her gaze back to the Lander. "Your time for questions is over, let's hear the response of this fallen ape."

The chief holds his staff tightly, and the villagers all stiffen up. Grisha lifts his leg enough to let Lander speak. The mistress looks down upon the man, impatience in her eyes.

"Well, you see, mistress," Lander starts, "I'm known as one of this village's primary protectors. I was named Lander, for I am a lion among men. I've killed many beasts that attempted to..."

"Did I ask for a monologue?" The mistress interrupts, smiling with fake kindness. "Why did you attack my child?" Her voice switches from a gentle hum to a harsh screeching tone.

"Sorry mistress," Lander responds with a noticeably forced voice, his fingers and toes curling. "I attacked your child... because I felt he was a dangerous threat to my people. I think you would understand the need to protect your own. So I deeply apologize..."

"Very well," the mistress replies. "That is an acceptable apology. You may all leave with your lives. I hope for both of our sakes this will be our last interaction." She turns, calling over her children to leave.

At that, the onlookers sigh heavily.

The younger shade rushes to his mother, hugging her hand.

"Finally," Grisha mumbles, "been waiting to take a nap for a while," He moves towards his family.

As soon as Grisha loosens his grip, Lander took the chance to push the shade off of him, grabbing his shovel and slamming it against Grisha's head. A loud crack resonates through the village, the shade's jaw dislocating as he thumps to the ground.

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The mistress spins around to see what happened.

Lander was about to continue his onslaught of the shade before two of the villagers grab his arms.

"I wasn't done apologizing, you ugly wench!" Lander screams, struggling to break free. "I deeply apologize for not sending that putrid imp to his grave sooner"

The elder crumples to his knees at Lander's words.

Lander starts to break free of the villagers' grasp as he continues his vicious stream of abuse. "I will not stand for your demonic kind to live your lives of vile crimes and debauchery. You filthy things should have never been created." Lander's arms flex as he tears out of the villagers' hold. "It's time for me to right the wrong of your existence, and rid the world of your evil!" He screeches, throwing his shovel at the mistress' chest.

The shovel cuts through the air as if it were a blade through curtains, but before it can reach its target, it's cut in half and clatters to the ground.

Unshaken, Lander grabs his fallen spear as he rushes at his foe, appearing like a bull seeing red. He twirls his spear, leaping towards the mistress like a pouncing tiger, the tip aimed towards her heart.

She looks up, fear on her face, as the spear pierces through her chest.

Lander rolls onto the ground behind her and jumps up to his feet, his face stern as he turns his glare to the child.

The villagers cheer, their gloomy demeanor brightening.

Before he can approach the shade-ling, a shriek echos throughout the area, as blood shoots from his mouth. He slumps his head, finding a blade stuck between his ribs. "How... I saw the spear hit you..." Lander questions, his voice whimpering.

The mistress whispers into his ear, "if any brute with a spear could kill me with such ease, there would be no need for a treaty." Her voice snarls as she pulls out her blade, blood dripping from its tip. She throws Lander behind her, his body thumping to the ground.

Weakly, Lander looks up to see what his spear hit. His eyes widen as he sees a figure, just like that of the mistress, dissolve into shadow and his spear fall to the soil.

"You.. damn... monsters..." Lander mutters, the light in his eyes dying out.

The gloom expressions return to the villagers, their morale only getting lower as they glimpse the Mistress's blade.

The blade absorbs the crimson red that soaks its length, as the liquid drains into the many eyes that cover the surface. The mistress waves her hand over the eyes of the blade, and eyelids shut around them. The blade pulls into the palm of the mistress, the skin of her arm bulging with its outline before it disappears into the darkness of her dress.

"Any wounds that may cause problems, Grisha?" She asks, the shade's form appearing behind her.

"Na, didn't feel like fighting, so I just played along," Grisha responds.

The onlookers tremble at the sight of the perceived fallen creature.

The mistress, ignoring them, remarks sarcastically back to her son, "Making your mother deal with such a violent creature, how cruel." She dramatically covers her face.

Grisha chuckles in response.

Turning to her younger child, who lies on his stomach, watching the action with a look of awe on his face, she smiles with a serene kindness. "Are you OK, Little one?" She asks, gently placing her hand on his cheek.

He thinks for a second, then nods excessively.

"I'm glad," the mistress purrs, before turning back to the villagers to address them. "Now then, I believe we must discuss what just happened. Before I begin, do any of you have something to say."

"Something to say?" The chief's daughter-in-law yells back, tears streaming down her face. "Of course we have something to say. You murdered my husband!" She picks up a spear knocked to the ground by Grisha, and calls to her fellow villagers, "can we just let this witch kill our people and leave without consequence? I'll admit, my husband's words were harsh and he could be quite the narcissist. But I've known ever since I first met him, in his heart he was kind. Shouldn't we die to avenge the man who protected us all these years? Or would you all prefer to let every beast and murderer that walks into our lands slaughter us and leave without opposition?"

Her speech breaks through the crowd's fears and aroused their anger. The mob grabs the weapons scattered across the ground and surrounds the shades once again.

The elder gripped his staff tightly, his head slouching. "What should I do? What can I do?"

The mistress lets out a deep sigh, "They never let me talk." She glances at Grisha, who nods in response. She enters a state of meditation.

Seeing something is up, the elder yells to the crowd, "wait! Let us not get more of our people killed. Even if we succeed in killing her now, dozen will die in the attempt. We should wait until we are better prepared."

"You coward," his daughter-in-law shouts back. "When will we get a chance to kill her again? Do you think she wanders around unprotected all the time?"

Not deterred, the elder desperately tries to reason with her, "has being around Lander caused your sense of reason to weaken? Our people have little to no combat training, we need support. We can alert the army of light. With trained men by our side, we have a much better chance of avenging Lander."

"When you first tried to persuade against attacking the fiend, I thought you were trying to protect your people. But now I see that you're only trying to save your own skin," She cries, agony in her voice.

The chief falls silent, while the widow's words fuel the flames of wraith in the hearts of the mob.

The widow walks to the front of the mob, her eyes red. "Anything you have left to say, Mistress?" Her hand tightens with such intensity, her nails pierce her skin.

With her eyes shut and a smile across her face, the mistress responds, "how nice of you to allow me to speak before you set your hounds on me. Sadly, my trust that you won't try to kill me before I finish isn't exactly at its peak." As she finishes, her arms press together, thrusting up.

Startled, the widow cries to the crowd, "she's up to something, stop her!" She charges at the shadowy woman.

Before anyone can reach the mistress, Grisha grabs his brother, disappearing into a dark circle, and the dark mother's arms slam into the ground, creating a large crack.

A wave of dark mist bursts from the crack and overwhelms the villagers. The waves flood the entire area, clouding the village in darkness.