Dritanys's ship had been back in the corner of the galaxy generally considered the "Nexus" for some time now. Things had changed since the last time her mighty vessel had flown through this part of the black wasteland, but things had remained the same as well. Her people had infiltrated many of the planets of the natural dimension again, and some had even found their way into a few of the unnatural ones, too. A few brought dragons back with them, proving that the ways of bonding were still prevalent in this sector of the universe, but Dritanys-sul-Raduskal initially held off on setting her Seekers to their duties. Dritanys was never hasty, so she was satisfied simply to have her spies spread across the worlds and reporting back to her what they found.

The time had come again, however, for the Seekers to venture out and bring back the individuals they found acceptable for her needs, whether they came by choice or by Choosing. Dritanys had a task to fulfill, and the one who had tasked her was not a creature to be scorned.

She called herself Anathema Scalesbane. She was not the most physically imposing beast Dritanys had ever met, but she had made her presence known upon the tycharis's ship in a manner that would not soon be forgotten.

The corridors of Dritanys's ship had long been stalked by a fearful being of insanity that the inhabitants called At-Shulihukratirev--in common tongues, the Red Demon. Where it had come from and why it had stayed was something no one, not even Dritanys herself, held the knowledge of. It appeared at random and vanished with the same unpredictability, and regarding its appearance there was only one word of advice: run. For reasons as mysterious as its very existence, the Red Demon never ventured--at least so far--into the true rooms of the ship and only dragged its bloodstained bulk through the corridors and open caverns. Anyone who took shelter in their room when the beast appeared would be safe, but those who crossed close paths with the entity rarely survived.

Anyone who chose to seek the Red Demon out in its established territory was clearly mad, and that was exactly what Anathema Scalesbane had done.

Dritanys had been in her chambers when Anathema had arrived, corrupting the magical wards of protection on the ship so that they allowed the intruder to pass, but the tycharan mage had been quick to learn of Anathema's appearance for she had not been subtle in her entrance. She had materialized in a burst of twisted green fire in one of the corridors of the cavernous Inhabitants' Deck, and those who saw her arrive reported she'd done so with an ear-piercing screech that had echoed for miles among the tunnels.

The Guardians of the Deck had responded as was their duty, accosting the fiery intruder with all the weapons at their disposal, which was no insignificant amount. Anathema had proved herself a vastly powerful being, then, turning spells, blades, and bullets aside with her innate corruption even as she started to stalk the corridor, calling out for the monstrosity who sometimes dwelled there.

How Anathema had learned of the Red Demon, she had not deigned to say, but it had not taken long for the beast to react to her presence. The corridor had quickly grown dim, not at the onset of an encroaching darkness but as if the very light ran from the thing that drew near. Those who had seen Anathema arrive and tried to confront her fled as the sickening scent of blood and rust that followed the Demon assaulted their senses. Even the most stalwart of Dritanys's warriors knew what fear was when they heard the shriek of the Demon's heavy sword scraping along the ground behind him.

Anathema and the Demon had clashed, then, in seeming battle. Baleful screams met the howls of a voice that spoke in madness itself, and it was to this bedlam that Dritanys at last arrived on the Deck. In the dim of the Demon's presence she could see the neon flames and luminous red-green eyes of the then-unnamed intruder, and Dritanys had instructed her gathered Guardians to hold back as they watched and waited for the conflict to end. There was no one on the ship who was a match for the Red Demon, so why should this intruder be any different?

It was when the confrontation was not soon resolved that Dritanys realized it was not a fight that was taking place. Oh, it was violence, but not driven towards the death of one or the other.

Ouros, the ever-watchful Sentry of many heads and eyes, had laughed with voyeuristic delight. "I can't even tell which is the one having their way with the other!"

Dritanys had then instructed her warriors to withdraw, to leave the monstrous entities to their...business. There was nothing to be done about it.

Nevertheless, the tycharis remained on the cavernous deck until the clamor died down. Eventually the corridors grew un-dim and the Red Demon receded, the screech of its sword on the ground indicating its departure as the foul odors of rust and blood went with it. Dritanys had dared to approach the intruder then, the Rune-Brands on her skin feeling hot with their protective magics.

Dritanys had not been given a chance to accost the intruder. The draconic being had turned her head at Dritanys's approach, and though she seemed sated, the gaze that fixed the tycharan mage had still been fierce and alert.

"I will return," had been the first words from the intruder's fanged mouth. "I will take one of your Caverns as my own and then we will work, you and I, on the eggs I will lay."

"And who are you, to invade my ship, accost the Red Demon, and demand such a thing?" Dritanys had asked, not in protest, but in a mix of suspicion and admiration. The fiery creature had already proven enough that she was powerful, and for now, at least, Dritanys would not fight her.

The intruder leered unpleasantly. "Anathema Scalesbane, Goddess of Balefire and Queen of Corruption. We will meet again, mortal."

Then Anathema had left, departing in another burst of green flames, and that had been several months ago. Now the self-named goddess was back, attended by a trio of creatures who were vastly different in physical form, but were similarly ablaze with green fire. As Anathema had promised, she had delivered several spherical eggs of a sickly green-white hue onto the red sands of the Forward Cavern.

"You will create what I have corrupted," Anathema had charged Dritanys and her lab-mages. "You will assist me in begetting a new breed and sowing them among the worlds. In exchange...well, I'm sure you'd much rather have me working with you than against you."

There was no room to debate. No point in debating, either. Dritanys did not trust the so-called goddess, but she did not yet want to run the risk of having the powerful creature as an enemy. So Anathema's handful of corrupted eggs had been moved to the mage-labs, where Dritanys's mages worked at increasing their number.

Now all they needed were minds to bind them to. That, too, was part of Anathema's agreement. She wanted her children to bond to souls as corrupt as their own, so as to further spread her influence.

It was time for the Seekers to make the Twisted Fate known to the world again.