"There I was— in an abandoned house—in the middle of my own summoning circle—On my knees! At the mercy of a sinister eldritch evil deity… begging for power and legacy beyond my wildest dreams!"
A tall, ominous young man with wavy black hair and dark robes stood shouting within his private sanctum—a lavish chamber befitting a wizard with great ambitions.
The room was elegant and eerily quiet: the furniture carved from rich crimson wood, walls painted black and aglow with the soft flicker of reddish-orange braziers. Intricate carvings danced in the shifting light, casting strange shadows across shelves lined with magical tomes, globes, and glass beakers.
Preserved creatures floated in jars beside star charts and arcane spell sketches.
Herbs, rare metals, and peculiar minerals lay neatly organized on the workbenches—evidence of countless experiments and obsession.
High above, a tall stained-glass window filtered the moonlight into fractured hues—violets, crimsons, and pale silver shards drifting across the room like wandering spirits.
The shadows in the room were deeper and restless where he stood. His own vast shadow loomed large in the moon's celestial light, dwarfing the rest.
"Would you believe it Vultyr? It gave me everything."
He shook his head in disbelief and laughed hysterically.
Who was he talking to? His trusted and fated companion— a bird.
In response, Vultyr let out a shrill, metallic KRAA-RAAAHH!—a sound so sharp it seemed to rattle the glass jars along the shelves.
The creature was perched upon a wrought-iron stand—a majestic bearded carrion bird, its feathers a storm of black streaked with crimson that shimmered like burning embers in the low light. Its eyes glowed a fierce, intelligent gold, and its hooked beak was dusted with faint traces of dried blood from recent feedings.
He finished laughing and straightened out his robes—sleek, black, and sharply fitted.
A high collar framed his jaw, and dark metal clasps sealed the coat down his chest. His new house crest—an all-seeing eye encircled by three eldritch tentacles within an ouroboros—was embroidered over his heart in faint crimson thread, glowing darkly with eldritch luster. His sleeves narrowed at the wrists, and the heavy coat swept around his legs with an inner lining marked by dim, ember-red sigils.
"Yes. You heard correct my fine feathered friend. Everything…"
He walked up to Vultyr with his hand out. Vultyr lowered its head obediently as Mirus reached out, his pale hand brushing along the curve of its dark beak. The surface was cool and smooth like polished obsidian, ridged and serrated faintly near the tip.
A hollow, tremulous croon escaped its bearded throat — a strange blend of reverence and contentment, the sound of a beast loyal only to him.
"I—Mirus Asmodeus Dharma of nowhere, now possess—Lineage and power beyond my wildest dreams…"
He paused for a moment, brushing the feathers on Vultyrs head back affectionately. A wicked smirk forming on his face.
"beyond your wildest dreams..."
Looking Vultyr in its golden eyes—
"Come here…"
Mirus tightly wrapped one arm around Vultyrs neck and brought its head into his chest. Vultyr accepted his aggressive embrace without protest or hesitation, having complete trust in its master.
"Forgive your master Vultyr. This… this will hurt."
Vultyr said nothing, it could not saying—it only jerked its head up and snorted hot air out of its beak as if saying, "I'm ready."
I thrust my hand into Vultyrs chest, its avian bones cracking like dry twigs beneath my despotic touch as I pierced through and seized its beating heart.
KRAA-RAAAHH!
Vultyrs body jerked violently and it let out an ear piercing screech before fainting limply in my arms.
'Now, I will create an abomination!'
Mirus thought to himself—madness beginning to swirl in his eyes as he looked down at Vultyr.
"You see Vultyr, the deity had killed itself upon giving me the entirety of its legacy and power. It had grown weary and tired of living for eons… Believe it or not, I choose not—
Mirus paused, shrugged his shoulders and crushed Vultyrs still-beating heart in his hand.
it wanted to die."
I looked back toward my desk where a large black grimoire now rested amongst other things.
Its cover was bound in layered sheets of leathery monster skin, stitched and sealed with strips of sinew that pulsed faintly in the light, as though it still breathed. In its center, a slitted, monstrous eye rolled beneath a thin membrane, tracking Mirus's every movement with grotesque intelligence. Along it edges, jagged teeth of bone jutted from between the covers, grinding softly as the book stirred—hungry for knowledge.
A quill lifted from the desk and drifted toward me, guided by my unseen will.
Then I commanded the grimoire to fly towards me as well and it snapped open with a wet hiss, pages fluttering until it settled on a blank sheet—waiting, hungry for what I would write next.
The quill poked Mirus's finger and began to inscribe his thoughts in his own blood.
'The eldritch deity bestowed upon me 14 impossible innate abilities:
Supreme Dominion of Flesh and Soul — Alteration and complete subjugation of the mind, body, and soul of all living and dead creatures.
Anima Genesis — The forging of souls; the power to recreate life from death or merge multiple essences into one being.
Necrosovereignty — Command over death itself; the ability to raise and bind corpses and their souls as loyal vessels.
Psychomancy — The manipulation of matter through thought alone; telekinesis in its purest, godlike form.
Aura of Profane Dread — A corrupting presence that infects all who gaze upon him with despair, madness, and existential terror.
Aetherial Dominion — Spatial sovereignty granting total mastery of gravity, flight, and teleportation.
Emotive Dominion — The manipulation of emotion and primal urges, feeding upon psychic energy drawn from others' hearts.
Eidolic Manifestation — The power to shape spiritual or emotional energy into physical forms: tendrils, shields, or weapons.
Alchemy of Suffering— The redirection, absorption, or nullification of pain—turning suffering into strength.
Hand of Entropy — The power to induce decay and corrosion; to age, rust, and rot the living and the inanimate alike.
Eternal Vessel — My body and soul have transcended mortality; death, disease, and aging now hold no claim over me. Even if this mortal vessel is somehow destroyed, my essence will reform with time—an unending cycle of rebirth through a will of my own.
Aegis of the Mind — Absolute defense against intrusion and corruption. My consciousness and spirit are encased in an unbreakable barrier of eldritch energy, rendering me immune to psychic assault, possession, or spiritual domination. Minds that attempt to touch my own are corrupted and shattered.
Transmutare Aeternum— The divine art of reshaping matter and essence at will. I can alter the nature of any substance—turn stone to flesh, blood to diamond, water to wine.
Omni-Arcana—A supreme eldritch faculty granting Mirus flawless mastery over every existing form of magic, elemental force, arcane discipline, mystic energy, spiritual current, natural phenomenon, celestial radiation, and metaphysical power.'
'Prior to this: summoning, conjuring, crafting, life and dark magic had been my specialties and means of survival. Before I could even tamper with the thought of magic— martial arts and an exceptional amount of swordplay were how I survived living in the Horrormaw Expanse for so long.'
The grimoire gleefully accepted all this novel information I was inscribing in it —its monstrous eye darting back and forth reading its own pages, its teeth grinding consuming the contents.
From within Mirus's hand—bloodvessels, muscle tissues, and blackish red essence began to coalesce and form into a brand new heart.
"I am now going to alter your very genetic composition, Vultyr! I grant you a magical affinity to fire! Corrosion! Decay! Death and dark magic! Absolute control over fire and corrosive elements and the abilities to produce your very own eldritch corrosive acid and fire! The ability to impose your will on anything and induce entropic decay and Corrosion! And the ability to produce and spread deathly miasma and avian disease! The ability to control minds of lesser creatures! You will be as gargantuan as a titan and have a puny human form!"
Mirus laughed maniacally as his essence began to seep deep into Vultyrs now twitching body—merging with its DNA, changing it forever.
"Lastly…"
A huge surge of Mirus's essence shot through Vultyrs body from his hand.
"The impossible ability to reincarnate upon death! You will be my dread phoenix! Nowwww and foreverrrr!"
Mirus gave his final command, the heart fully formed.
He staggered back, yanking his hand out of its chest.
Vultyr convulsed violently, shuddering like something newly possessed as its new heart beat with purpose.
Its body lurched upward as its bones cracked and reshaped themselves, lengthening with every sickening snap.
Feathers erupted across its frame—no longer the small, ordinary plumage Vultyr once had. They unfurled into vast iridescent plumes of crimson and black. Each feather shimmering dangerously with poisonous miasma.
Vultyrs talons burst outward, curving into wicked, metal-rending claws. It's curved beak split and elongated, now large enough to swallow several grown men whole.
KRAA-RAAAHH!
Vultyr let another ear pearling screech once the transformation was finished. Now standing at three meters tall, its wingspan was now double its height. No longer fitting on its perch, it touched the ceiling of the sanctum—towering over Mirus, looking down at him.
Mirus floated into the air, eye level with Vultyr.
'What a magnificent creature.'
I thought to myself, admiring my work.
"Stay still, we are almost done."
He said darkly as he raised his hand and slid his index finger right in between Vultyrs eyes and into its head.
Vultyrs eye widened and its talons gripped the floor.
"I now bestow upon you Intelligence! Communicate with me Vultyr!"
Vultyr began to grunt and screech trying to make out its first words.
KRAA-RAAAHH!!
KRAA-RAAAHH!!
Vultyr began to transform once again, this time it grew smaller in stature. It's voice cracked, trembling between bestial instinct and newfound intelligence.
Kraa…raa…
It's head jerked, feathers bristling as the sounds warped unnaturally in its throat.
"Rrr…
…rr…
…m… m…"
Mirus leaned in, eyes wide. As Vultyrs beak morphed into a mouth, and her throat reshaped, the harsh KRAA warped into breathy consonants she couldn't form before.
"Speak, Vultyr."
Her golden eyes softened—human recognition flickering in them for the first time. Vultyr's feathers dissolved into her skin as her wings and talons folded inward, retreating into her shifting frame. Her flesh settled into something pale and smooth as ivory; her eyes darkened into bottomless black holes, and her lengthy curls fell around her in a cascade of midnight.
When the transformation finished, she stood before Mirus—bare, human, and utterly new.
"Mi…
…mi…
…rus…"
Her voice was strained, deep and sultry, her first words escaped finally escaped her mouth:
"…Mirus…"
Vultyr stretched her new limbs out and began to take her first steps, doing a spin in front of Mirus.
"Marvelous! I am a god!"
I shouted, an incredulous look twisting my face as the realization hit me: 'This… this is only the beginning!'
"Vultyr."
She immediately dropped to one knee, her head bowed in submission—yet her eyes lifted to meet his. Shining with absolute devotion and unyielding reverence.
"Rise my dread phoenix—Vultyr the undying."
She rose in a regal bow as her wings burst open behind her, the sheer span blotting out the moonlight. Each beat sent an oppressive shadow crawling across the chamber. Miasma rolled off her in shimmering waves, beautiful and deadly under the moon's silver glow.
Mirus snapped his fingers and he willed her blessed, slender figure into the air.
In an instant, Mirus's essence rippled over her skin and wove itself into attire—an elegant, obsidian ensemble that clung to her new form like living night.
A high-cut bodice formed first, shaped like interlocking raven feathers, each one glossy and sharp-edged, overlapping to create a talon shaped, predatory silhouette. Embroidered over her chest was the new Dharma house crest. The fabric shimmered faintly, textured like fine plumage rather than cloth.
A long, slit gown cascaded down her legs—black as a starless void—with layered feather-fringes brushing her ankles, each plume tipped in a faint crimson glow reminiscent of the fiery streaks in her former avian form.
Around her shoulders, a sweeping mantle unfurled—its outer layer a midnight black as soft as golden- goose down feathers, while the inside glowed a deep, violent red, mirroring the color of fresh embers. The cape draped fluidly behind her, splitting at the center like a pair of folded wings.
Long sleeves formed next, merging seamlessly with fingerless gloves that extended past her elbows, shaped to mimic her talons—sleek, lethal, and elegant.
Black heels formed around her feet—tall, razor-pointed things shaped like sharpened talons. Each heel arched high and predatory, rising almost like the curved claws of a hunting raptor. The glossy obsidian finish caught the light, outlining every lethal angle. They weren't shoes so much as weapons—sleek, elegant, and wickedly sharp, completing her transformation with a predatory grace.
She stood reborn, dressed in the regalia of the dark phoenix.
Mirus lowered her onto the floor allowing her to inspect her new attire. Having been a bird a whole life she was in silent awe admiring her new human body and regal human clothes. The sheer wonder of her new reality— her new future, and the feats Mirus had just pulled running through her new intellectual mind.
She owed her entire existence to her master. He gave her a new name, a new body, intelligence and power. He had sculpted her from bone and feather into something greater—his weapon, his herald, his executioner.
She would follow any command, commit any sin and use any means necessary to achieve Mirus's end. Vultyr knew Mirus had grand ambitions for world domination. Should Mirus desire conquest, she would bring nations to their knees. Should he desire annihilation, she would raze continents without hesitation.
Her purpose was simple: to fulfill the vision of her master, no matter the cost.
She dropped to one knee again, her head hanging low in subservience.
"Your heinous highness, your undying servant awaits your divine command."
Mirus stood above her like a dark emperor, head held high, moonlight crowning the edges of his silhouette.
His gaze was sharp, regal, and laced with divine authority. The gaze of a merciless god who walks amongst mortal men— a god that has already decided the fate of the world.
"Come Vultyr, we leave at once! I have already devised our plans in detail."
Mirus spun around with sinister grace, his cape rose dramatically animated by his unseen will—flaring out behind him like the spreading wings of a newborn god.
"Yes master."
Vultyr followed as they quickly made their way to the exit of the private sanctum.
"First we will conquer the nearest kingdom! Then the continent! Then the world! Then the galaxy! Then the UNIVERSE!—
He swept his arm out and pointed forward, his fingers splayed elegantly like a tyrannical conductor fate commanding the world to obey.
"Everyone! And everything! Will bow before me!"
They were headed to the nearest to the kingdom, where its king and his royal guard were in for a shocking surprise.