Dark lion. A big furry animal with a regal mane, dark eyes, and magically-enhanced defenses that include a minor resistance to elemental magic. On average, it takes a patrol of three slayers and a caster to take one down.

Dead.

Manticore. A vicious furred creature with a tail that spits poison, two wicked claws in front, and two wings with massive lift. On average, it takes a patrol of four slayers and two casters to take one down.

Dead in seconds.

Pride of Dark panthers. Cats with deadly claws, keen intellect, and the ability to melt into the shadows and turn invisible. On average, non-military patrols can’t take them down, and even those patrols take at least five slayers and three casters. Terrifying to most.

But most aren’t me. Ripped into pieces, and those pieces then used as projectiles against the manticore.

As I fought off another enemy, this time a grundelwethin, these big scaly things with wicked clubs, I contemplated. After killing a few dozen monsters, I was beginning to calm down, and I could think things out logically.

Such as the best way to dissect a grundelwethin in such a way that it causes excruciating agony, but not causing so much pain that it passed the pain threshold and entered the bliss of numbness like my pain blocking spell gave me, which I always used in combat so I could focus purely on making them suffer and hurt and scream while I laughed and tore into them.

Okay, so maybe I still needed to work off some of that aggression. Though, as I found a new victim to torture, it did help me think about why I wanted to become the Champion of Darkness.

As with many things, my reasoning had layers. Like ogres, onions, or a good dip. Mmm… grundelwethin dip and manticore chips…

Right, concentrating. So, one of the big reasons I wanted to get involved in the military at all was… I was just too good. I was too powerful, too skilled, and it made fighting monsters boring because they didn’t put up a challenge, they just died. I wanted to be in a fight with real stakes, where the wrong move could end my life, but the right move could cause untold suffering on a hundred elementals. I wanted to murder other elementals; hurt them, break them, beat them, tear into them, leave them as ravaged wrecks, and them rip them apart and cut up the pieces.

Some would call me a sadist.

To those people, I have a very large, very rusty knife with your name on it, perfect for causing pain that will last for the rest of your very short life. I mean, I am most certainly a sadist, but it’s very rude and stupid to insult someone with a large knife.

Of course, there are more reasons to be the Champion than a love of violence. If that was all I was after, I would just sign on with the military, get involved in a campaign, and then ditch my commanding officer to wreak havoc.

No, I had some long-term goals that play into the role of Champion. Goals involving statues in Raven’s Shade. Goals involving ruling over my fellow elementals, letting them know once and for all that I was not a fellow, not an equal, but a superior. A queen. An empress. A goddess.

Goals involving- ooh, that was a lesser drake! Those things were wonderfully deadly, and they made nice boots.

Concentrate, Shadow!

Right, right. Goals involving the conquest of other worlds, seeing my enemies driven before me, and those that fall behind made into my slaves. Ruling over all the elements, having mortal enemies bow before me in obedience.

To be a goddess is the most wonderful thing in the universe. And that, truly, would have to be my biggest goal.

However, the short-term really was just killing things. Competent enemies I mean, not those lazy gargoyles. To my pleasant surprise though, as I thought that something came charging out of the bushes, a new and exciting enemy.

A minotaur. Horns, bull’s head, elemental body with goat legs and cloven hooves, and carrying a wicked axe. Clever, deadly, near-immunity to elemental damage. On average, takes a party of eight slayers, and a caster for auxiliary support since magic doesn’t usually hurt one.

This was going to be good.

The minotaur initiated the conflict by charging straight into me, knocking the breath out of my lungs and shoving me into a tree. I heard a bone break, I think somewhere in my leg.

I laughed, then flipped over the minotaur and wobbled a bit before launching a salvo of darkness at him, hundreds of pins and needles of inky black energy impaling themselves in his back. He roared and turned around, seemingly unharmed by the attack, just pissed off.

I darted to the side as he charged again, thinking I’d tricked him. Instead he threw out his arm and sent me tumbling to the ground, though I managed to roll to my feet. I figured that trick would work even worse if I tried it again, and the next time I tried it the minotaur would use his axe. So instead, when he came back in a charge I summoned a mass of darkness and slammed it into him to stop his charge.

Instead, the darkness just sloughed off him and what little remained simply added on to the hurt I received from being slammed into a tree. There went another bone, possibly three. So, brute force and direct damage didn’t work. Time for trickery. I leaped to the side, steadied myself with a wince, and called the darkness again. The minotaur came charging- and rammed into a tree, having passed through the illusion I had created.

Before he could recover this time, I sent a blast of darkness scything through the upper level of the tree, causing a big section of log to come tumbling down onto the minotaur, stunning him further and forcing him to the ground.

With him pinned, I quickly got busy, sending out tendrils of darkness to various spots around me, gathering things together. In minutes, I had what I wanted: a scythe, made of purely natural materials, now sharpened to a razor edge by the darkness. I theorized I could hurt him by using indirect magic. I could have just used my sword, but that would be boring and easy.

I tested my theory by slamming the scythe into the hand that held his axe. In a lovely turn of events, it worked, and he screamed in agony as his hand fell off. Laughing, practically cackling, I set to work chopping him up until he died, and my thoughts turned back to my current predicament, that of not being the Champion.

I had an epiphany, inspired by the fight: trickery and deception. I used deception to beat the beastie, what if I used it to claim my rightful place as Champion of Darkness?

Yes… if I engineered a situation that displayed my leadership ability, using some plants in the audience that will cheer for me automatically, and ensured I had total control of the situation. I could convince the Council I was a skilled leader, and thus they would make me Champion! I would rise in power and one day kill all of them in creative ways as vengeance! The perfect plan!

Aside from the lacking an actual plan part. But hey, still progress! Giddy, I picked up a chunk of minotaur meat and began chewing it as I skipped along back in the direction of Raven’s Shade. I had some evil planning to do!

Gleaming spires towered above the city, resplendent in their dark glory. The streets were paved in cobblestone patterns evocative of the monsters, the hidden things, the secrets in the shadows.

It was a city of darkness, but more than that a city of Darkness, a city filled with elegant design and morbid architecture, of somber streets but welcoming buildings. I had to admit, the city was beautiful. Especially with that lovely murk dimming the lights and softening everything. A shame there were so many lights though, I’d always hated our dependency on them.

My name is Shadow, and on that day I was in Raven’s Shade, the capital of Nyx, my home world. Ah, Nyx. A world that, like all others, reflected its inhabitants. Misty forests, a dark sky so often clouded, and of course home to my fellow Darkness elementals. I’ve always thought that Darkness was just a little bit better than the other five elements. Perhaps a bias on my part, but Darkness did produce the greatest elemental to ever live.

That would be me, by the way.

Of all the dark gods and goddesses, of the majestically caliginous lords and ladies, of the elegant slayers and the magnificent casters resplendent in terrifying glory, I stand as the greatest. And yet I walked in the streets like a common elemental, not like the goddess I was destined to become, no matter what others might say. Commoners, merchants, guards, they all walked beside me as if they were equals, unaware of my true wonder, my unquestionable superiority.

One day that would change. One day soon, if I had anything to say about it.

But for now, I showed respect to those who had earned it, stopping to let a group of guards past. I nodded to the captain, and gave a few tilts of my head in acknowledgement to the guards, and they did the same to me, recognizing my outfit as being unique from that of a commoner or merchant.

A few commoners noticed my show of respect to the guards as they passed, and attempted to get involved by making ridiculous bowing motions and silly gestures they had no idea how to perform properly. As was my right, I sneered at their idiocy.

Turning back to the guards, I noticed that they were all slayers, something very rare for Darkness. Glorious as we are, we have a tendency to produce more casters than slayers.

I suppose I should explain this system we have, or at least touch on it. As far as I can tell from espionage reports, all elementals use the same military and educational systems as we do, likely having copied it at some point; a year after forming from one of the nexuses, an elemental will enter school, where they learn basic knowledge, abilities, and so on, and are tested to see what academy they will advance into once they are nine. These range from the Academy of War where slayers are trained, or the Academy of Magic for the casters, or the Academy of Arts for all the creative types, or whatever else there is for the leftovers. They graduate at fifteen, as full adults.

The military thing is pretty simple. A slayer slays, a caster casts. Slayers fight in melee, while casters fight using spells that manipulate the elements, like physical darkness (which is like inky black energy, by the way) for the elementals here on Nyx.

Of course, I was a bit special in that area, but that will come up quite soon, and I’d rather not have to say it twice, despite allegations that I’m in love with the sound of my own voice. I suppose it is a better sound than most other things in this world though.

Once the guards had passed, I strode forward confidently with a mocking smirk still plastered on my face, which was as midnight black as the rest of my skin. I shook my mane of dusky violet hair, and my amethyst eyes glinted with ambition and the promise of destruction, change, and power.

From the hours I’ve spent starting at myself in the mirror I know I look intimidating, especially when I walk with flair and emphasis. This is very intentional, considering most of my outfits are designed to give off one of two feelings; an urge to bow before me as your new mistress and goddess, or a rakish sense of adventure that inspires you to serve under me as a fellow adventurer.

Sensing a pattern yet?

The outfit I had chosen for this meeting was one of my more memorable ones. As always, it combined style with functionality, featuring a high collar and flowing cloak contrasted with sensible leather boots, trousers, belt, and tunic. All in shades of purple, dark in some areas and light in others. My sword was strapped to my belt, along with a small journal containing various notes about casting, psychology, and politics, letting me manipulate and manage things with greater ease.

Having assessed my appearance and found it adequate for putting fear into the hearts of those that would deny me my rightful position, my gaze returned to the city itself, that murky wonder that so entranced me. The architecture, the colours, the image, everything about it was beautiful. Of course, I couldn’t help but feel it was missing something.

Perhaps make the city more imposing? Yes, add some spikes here, some towers there, and darken the colours even more. But that still would not be enough. Perhaps make some of those buildings more grandiose, more impressive? Yes, add a few levels, some new colours to provide better contrast, and perhaps a balcony here or there. Good. But not enough. It was missing something, something only I could provide…

Ah, that was it. Not enough Me. When I looked around the city, I saw coffee shops, blacksmiths, merchants of all varieties, housing, even homeless shelters built recently for the truly stupid and useless after Darkness’s recent string of defeats in war, but no statues of the goddess Shadow, she who is Darkness incarnate. That would have to change. If I tore down the homeless shelters, I could build statues in their place. A lovely change to the city, and it would encourage them to join my legions of soldiers, to better destroy my enemies. Yes, the homeless would make excellent cannon fodder.

After a few minutes of mentally designing statues that accentuated both my grace and power, I found myself at my destination; the Council Hall. Every element has a Grand Council that rules from their capital city. It is composed of a Common Council representing the interests of the common elemental, and thus formed from those elementals, and the High Council, the truly elite, wise, and powerful.

I don’t like the Council. They make it harder for me to kill things and take power by having all these laws and restrictions, and guards to back those laws and restrictions with deadly force. Not that those guards were any real threat to me. The guard in front recognized me, and let me in without a word. I cruised through hall after hall, before reaching the main chamber, where the Council meets to discuss matters of boring import.

I swept into the room with a magnificent flourish, and loudly announced to the gathered mass of elementals, “I, Shadow of Nyx, do hereby accept the role of Champion of Darkness, and swear to do my absolute best to lead our people in the war against the other elements.”

The most vocal member of the High Council and my most ardent opposition, a bitter old man named Fitzdonald, said, “Now it is all well and good that you show devotion to the elementals of Darkness, but we have not announced that you are the Champion yet. Don’t you think accepting it is a bit premature? Almost arrogant, really.”

“Not really. I’m awesome, beautiful, glorious, powerful, awesome, intelligent, awesome, and pretty awesome. I’m the only logical choice. Plus, I’m really humble!”

This earned a snicker from a member of the High Council, who was immediately death-glared by Fitzdonald. She shut up, but still smiled. Thanks Renessa. That should undermine Fitzdonald a bit and downplay the gravity of the situation. I should thank you out loud later.

“As ever, you display to us that ‘almost arrogant’ is an extreme understatement. Kiana Vessian, the Council has voted, and we have decided that you are not the right choice for the position of Champion of Darkness.”

I twitched at the mention of my old name, which I had made clear on many occasions I did not use anymore. It was the name given to me when I was formed from one of Nyx’s three nexuses, but I had discarded it years ago in favor of the name ‘Shadow’, which inspired fear and respect, and fit as the name of a Champion of Darkness.

“Got any reasoning for not picking me? You know I’m the best caster on this whole wretched rock.”

“I am well aware of your history, Kiana. You graduated the Academy of Magic at the age of thirteen, spent a year at the Academy of War, and spent the two years since then going off on adventures and acting all together quite unruly. You have ambition, intelligence, and incredible power that you openly display any chance you can get, but power is only half of a Champion’s domain. A Champion is a front-line fighter, yes, but she is also a leader, one that can look out for the elementals under her command. And you do not work well with others.”

“Hey, I work great with others! What about that one mission I led, where we killed that grakker pack?”

“You mean the mission where you sacrificed your entire team so that you could exterminate the pack and their neighbors?”

“…at least the mission was a success?”

“It is obvious, even to you, Kiana, that you are not a leader. You are a warrior. Consider joining the military in its next campaign, as a special operative or a member of the Champion’s retinue.” Fitzdonald smiled coldly, knowing what my reaction would be.

I spluttered, and I almost killed them all right there. Don’t let him press your buttons, don’t let him press your buttons, don’t- “Member of the RETINUE!?!? Seriously? Shadow is not a retinue member, she is a goddess, a Champion, a leader, a great being of incredible power! I will be Champion, even if you are determined to undermine your own military trying to spite me! This is not the end of it, you hear me Fitzy? This is not the end!”

With that, I stormed out of the building in a rage, darkness swirling around me in a subconscious reaction to my anger and hatred. Once out of the building, I gathered the darkness around me, flew into the air, and began flying toward the wilderness to the west.

I needed to work off some tension.

Furious hatred, seething rage, and calculating intelligence. A being of power and might so vast as to consume reality.

A being imprisoned in a place where reality itself means nothing, an empty void containing a terrible being constantly reaching out to escape.

But it’s not a prison of substance to be destroyed, or a prison of energy to be subverted. It’s a prison that denies the being any way out. There’s nothing there but the void and the chaos.

The chaos, the wild chaotic energy with both sentience and malevolence constantly yearning to escape, constantly trying to free but never able to. A chaos imprisoned for millennia, since almost the dawn of time itself when it was cast out of reality by impudent mortals that could not destroy the chaos, only contain it.

But the chaos left them a gift. And it has waited thousands of years to finally see that gift fulfill its purpose.

Soon the seething Darkness and the blazing Light will meet in the place of balance, and that which has kept the chaos in this void will be shattered. And then they will all pay for the actions of their ancestors.

But first the plots must come together. A long violent struggle that will seem to those involved like just one of many in the past thousands of years. A war across all worlds.

Untold deaths, marking the changing of the old guard for the new.

And at the center of it all, a remarkable girl with a talent for destruction and domination.

The end has begun.

The chaos is ready.