The figure stood docile, silent. A crisp cool autumn wind blew, playing with his mid length, raven black hair. His face was still, expressionless, with a masculine jaw line and features almost too beautiful for a man. All of which were carved out of ice. His broad shoulders and rippling muscles were visible under his white silk shirt that draped the man's form perfectly. Above the silk shirt was a simple black suit. The scene was a serene, peaceful place. An early autumn night in a forest only starting to remember the change of the season. The sound of water trickling, dancing, singing, over rocks could be heard close by. The wind blew stronger now, rustling the leaves. He knew it was false, but he wished he could be here forever, at peace…

          Taking a small, slim crimson cigarette from his pocket he set it in between his lips and raised his hand, index finger pointing to the tip of the cigarette. Seconds after raising his hand, a small ball of fire erupted to light the cigarette. It was an odd flame, for it was one colour, but never the same colour. Always holding a shape, that was never the same. The pure embodiment of chaos. Taking a small drag from the cigarette he watched the tendrils of smoke rise up. Following the smoke as it evanesced he finally gazed at the moon, at this time of year it was a sanguine red.

          "I hate it. I can not believe it, that I am in here." thought the man, his expressionless face breaking in frown. "I let them take me. But now that I think of it, this may not have been the best idea, no matter what she said. They pratically drooled when they put me in chains. Even the demi-gods and dragon races fear me, but she insisted that this was right, that it must happen. 'The fate of the realm depends on you, Gabriel.'" continued the man, a hint of anger in his voice. Suddenly, his tone changed. The anger, now stronger than before was masked behind a sickening grin that broke through the frown. "The Count and Countess will pay for what they've done." The expression had faded as suddenly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there before.

          The man continued his reverie. "I will make them suffer for their crimes. This war they started. Murmurs, rumours, whispers. They played their part well in this game, weaving their sweet poison into the ears of the High Priests of the two orders. The Council of Mages was in disarray. No one could be trusted after those two warmongers intervened. From bribes to 'accidents,' the Council seemed to be performing any task the rulers of the realm wished. Scuffles on the streets turned to battles. And now the war rages on, decimating the realm. And they have me tucked away in this...asylum. Not for long."

          "I am the true embodiment of chaos. Mages of the Chaos order have become weak. They've allowed themselves to become prisoners, of their minds and bodies. The beautiful, terrifying, painful void in our minds which I embrace as a lover has taken countless lives. Every night, I hear their screams, bestial howls of pain, rage and madness."

          "Let me end this farce of control. This delusion of safety they have. They’ve forgotten what they should never have, fools…"

          Smiling a cold, malicious smile, the silent man spoke a single word. The language was ancient, unknown. The word was deep and reverberated with power and rolling thunder. Following the uttering of the damned word was a shuddering, as if the building would collapse from the very mention of the word. When it seemed as if the building would explode from the build up of power, there was sudden, horrible calm, soon followed by a muffled scream, then a thud. The once beautiful scene around him began to flicker as if it was loosing power before the illusion vanished all together to reveal the truth that was his surroundings.

          A cold black metal room with one single light source that wasn’t visible, as if it came from nowhere. A single bed that looked ready to crumble and a decrepit chair. The only object of the room that actually had been replaced after centuries of use was the door. It was made of the strongest metals that could be found, and forged in hell’s fire, with the strongest guarding spells on it. And they believed it would protect the realm from him, protect them from him. The only problem with these measures was that the spells were only as powerful as their creator. There was only one mortal that could prove to be a match to him, but he did not know who, or had forgotten? The man shook himself and smiled, feeling it was almost ready to leave this prison. He might as well have fun, shouldn't he?

          Out of nowhere, a strong masculine voice sounded with the slightest hint of uncontrolled rage and fear? It said, “Gabriel, we are sending someone in to ask you a few questions. Please do not harm him like the last one.” Gabriel chuckled, remembering the fun he had with the last mage that dared question him.

          Replying in a soft husky voice he said, “Please do, I could use a playmate.” The shuddered whimper that sounded tugged a predatory grin to his face which didn’t quite reach his ears. He sickened himself, for what he had done, and what he was going to do, but there is a price for everything.

          There was a sound of soft chanting and then heavy metal locks being moved. The heavy metal door swung open slowly, grinding noisily. Through the threshold came a small weathered mage. Gabriel thought this must have been a joke. This 'man' looked older than the furniture, which wouldn’t have surprised him because the hint of blue in his long silver hair and the blue tinge to his skin marked him as part of the race of the pixies, although he seemed much taller than many of the pixies he’d seen. Possibly a half-breed. Smiling thoughtfully he asked the small mage mockingly,

          “What is your name ‘sir’?”
          “I am Suane, but I am here to ask you the questions,” the mage replied defiantly although the fear in his voice was unmistakable. Moving slowly as if he were about to fall to pieces, Suane sat on the chair and motioned that Gabriel sit on the bed. Calling a ball of white light he whispered to it. Suddenly it glowed brighter than before as it captured the sounds in the room.

          Gabriel smiled at this little toy but waited for the question. After a long minute the strangled voice of suppressed emotions came from the ancient mage. “Why do you defy the Count and Countess of this realm? Why have you committed so many…atrocities…to the innocent?”

          “What you call atrocities, mageling, I call just payment. If you bothered to study the background of each of my 'victims' you would see that they more than deserving of the acts I performed on them. Some of them did not suffer enough. If I remember correctly, your grandaughter was found raped and beaten to death in an alley way. Her murderer received just payment.” said Gabriel with an icy cold edge. The mage said nothing, but he gripped the arm of the chair in white knuckled fury. No matter how angry the mage was, his anger could never match the icy rage that burned in the cell. Its source was sitting on the bed like a mannequin. The blank look in Gabriel's eyes brought a cringe from the mage that turned quickly into shuddering uncontrolled fear. Instinctively, he began to back away and soon calmed down. Gabriel still hated himself for his deeds. The question brought on bad memories, or the ones that could be remembered, but he couldn’t show weakness, not now.

          "You seem different from the corrupt of this realm, so I will help you understand, but you won’t like what you see. And I am sorry about you're grandaughter. I am sure you will approve of the punishment her killer received"

          Gabriel began to chant in a deep, melodic voice. With every uttering, a small puff of smoke appeared above his head. The mage, intrigued by this piece of magic, moved closer as the smoke accumulated above Gabriel's head. After a long minute Gabriel stopped chanting. Suane squinted at the cloud and saw an image in it. The image showed a child.

          “It all began when I was a child, with my parents, when I had wings…”