"Why are you just standing there and where is your uniform?! You are here to serve the demon king and we can't have someone incompetent like you, get moving!"

Initially, I opened my mouth to introduce myself, he was far from the first to underestimate me as my form was not that which most considered befitting of my station, especially beside this mountain of a demon general. However, before I could do more than open my mouth, the bellowing buffoon cut me off.

"ARE YOU ABOUT TO TALK BACK TO ME SOLDIER?!?!" he shrieked, his nose almost touching mine as he got up in my face.

So be it. This would be more fun in the end, for me at least. He should have been able to detect the aura of dark power that surrounded me, but it seemed he was too absorbed in himself to even notice it.

"I was, but then I realised my words would be wasted on an imbecile such as you"

He quivered on the spot, like a volcano might before erupting. Most would have quailed before such a sight, I merely turned and began to walk away, disinterested.

The howl of rage that he let out was most satisfactory. Knowing what was coming, I lowered my defences just enough that the following backhand blow sent me careening cartoonishly down the corridor. As I landed and rose to my feet, a trio of armoured demon soldiers came around the corner. Seeing first me, and then their general, and understanding quickly what was going on, the leader of the three quickly tried to speak.

"Sir! Sir! Tha.."

"SILENCE CAPTAIN!!!!" Roared the General "Or you too will be joining this misbegotten miscreant as a sacrifice for our Dark Lord! Now, clap him in irons and escort him to the Grand Hall. I am due to be receiving the Dark Lord there any moment now!"

I offered the captain a knowing wink. Thankfully he understood quickly, and played along.

"As you command sir!" He said with a crisp salute. With that, the captain placed a pair of iron manacles on my wrists and beckoned his two soldiers to each take one of my arms. They began to walk me down the hall behind the General, who was already stalking off to the Grand Hall.

The General barged into the Grand Hall, throwing both of the massive double doors open.

"Is he here yet?" he demanded of the assembled officers, officials and mages.

"No sir!" answered a cowering scribe "He should have been here by now but..." he cut off, seeing the guards leading me in. The monocle fell from his eye and would have shattered on the floor were it not attached to his lapel by a chain. The rest of the crowd fell silent, some looking at me in horror as they recognised, well if not me then at least the aura around me. The others stared with open curiosity at me, wondering who could inspire such horror in their comrades, who were themselves the definition of horror to most of the wise beings of the 13 realms.

The General wheeled around, his cape swirling about him grandly. He saw me standing there, now stood just in front of the guards who had lead me in, carrying myself with a bearing that suggested they were my honour guard rather than tasked to keep me prisoner. Rasing his finger to gesture in anger, he was about to speak when I cut across him

"General, you really ought to learn to think before you act" My voice was not loud, but it was layered with an icy menace that seemed to chill the very air, and freeze everyone in the room. Everyone but the General.

With a roar, he strode towards me, hand raised to strike me again. This time his hand did not reach me, instead stopping just short, as if hitting an invisible wall. His other hand flew at me from the opposite side and was stopped just the same.

I began to see in his eyes an understanding of who he was dealing with, but he seemed unable to back away from his rage, unable or unwilling to lose face in front of his court

"I grow tired of these games General, if you will not learn, then perhaps you can be a good example for your men"

The aura around me shifted, flexing, pulsing. The iron manacles quivered, and then simply fell away from my wrists as if they no longer were solid. I rose up into the air, and hovered 8 feet off the ground, my eyes now level with his. He stared into my jet black eyes, whilst I stared into his very being. Mostly it was just rage, all consuming and overwhelming, some ambition and not a little lust. But in amongst that, deep down and buried, there was a nugget of fear. Fear was something I could work with.

Smiling, I placed my finger on the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes. I drew on that fear, feeding it, stoking it, letting it grow until it was all consuming. It was subtle at first, the Generals eyes looking around from one side to the other. Then he began to twitch. I floated away from him as he began swiping at the air, striking at unseen assailants.

"Get away!" he bellowed, a howl of the purest, most primal fear. "No! Not... Nooooo!" he shrieked, unable to contain himself. He ran to the corner of the room, trying to escape the fears I had unleashed on him, but where was there to run when they were in your head? His howls became shrieks, which dwindled to sobs and then mearly whimpers as he curled into a ball in the corner, trying to draw in on himself in a futile effort to escape, but there was none.

I looked about at the assembled powers of this region, the soldiers, Lords, mages and administrators who the General had gathered.

"Does anyone else wish to challenge me? Are any of you under any delusions as to who I am?"

The silence in the hall was broken only by the pitiful wails of the once mighty general. After a long moment, one of the Lords in the front rank stepped forward and dropped to his knees

"We live to serve you, my Dark Lord"

I looked about the room expectantly, and as one the rest of the assembled demons followed suit. As one they fell to their knees and proclaimed

"WE LIVE TO SERVE YOU DARK LORD!"

"Then rise, rise my demons and gather your forces, for I have work for you to do!"