Erudax, the Duke of Below, stared into the lava pool at the back of his chamber. Babysitting dragon eggs wasn’t exactly stimulating and he found that as he stared into the glowing orange plasma his imagination would form shapes and stories to entertain him. The sudden scream of Dragonkin broke his attention and he turned around to find himself facing a Naga woman.

"You call yourself 'Duke of the Below' do you not?" she said.

"Actually, that title was given to me b... WHO WANTS TO KNOW?!" Erudax answered irritatedly.

The Naga shot him a venomous look and said, "I am Lady Naz'jar and the depths are my domain. Relinquish your title or be destroyed, minion!"

"I am not your minion, sea witch!" Erudax thundered towards Naz'jar and yelled out, "The darkest days are still ahead!"

"You will not interfere with my plans!" Naz'jar yelled out before casting Fungal Spores at Erudax, which he proceeded to steamroll over.

He brought his fistacle into her face and hit her with an Enfeebling Blow, causing her to crash into the wall. She could feel her head spinning and it seemed as though shadows were closing in around her but the quaking of the ground beneath her reminded her of the danger. She quickly dashed away from the wall to give herself some space when Erudax yelled out "F'lakh ghet! The shadow's hunger cannot be sated!"

The room suddenly darkened and a gigantic swirling shadow appeared covering the floor, assaulting Naz'jar as she moved. In panic she noticed that the shadows seemed to be emanating from a single spot and in desparation she moved to it. She had found the calm within the storm and decided to act on it. Again she casted Fungal Spores on Erudax who had ceased moving cackle maniacally . The green cloud formed under his feet but so enrapt in his channeling was Erudax that he failed to notice the deadly toxins seeping into him and neither did he notice when Naz'jar started casting her Shock Blast.

The spell hit Erudax like a ton of bricks in a hundred tons of trucks. He fell to one knee, more enraged than ever before. "You will pay for that, you slithery wench! Come, suffering... Enter chaos!" and as he yelled a portal opened up at the front of the room and two giant Faceless emerged, moving swifty towards the eggs that lined the walls. Erudax rushed towards Naz'jar, seething fury. She dodged towards the center of the room and without thinking she casted Water Spout, surrounding herself in a wall of water. Erudax raged and began pummeling Naz'jar, having little success in getting past the barrier.

All of a sudden three Naga jumped into the room and began attacking the Faceless relentlessly. Erudax paid them no mind, preferring instead to beat on Naz'jar until her wall of water gave way. Then the twisters came.

Twisters of water began shooting out from Naz'jar's barrier. One of them hit Erudax and pushed him back. Others hit his Faceless minions, picked them up and spun them until they hit the wall. In frustration Erudax yelled out, "Be bound by shadow!" and watched as his spell disappeared harmlessly in the swirling waters of Naz'jar's wall. With a squeal his first Faceless minion fell dead and he watched as the Naga turned on the other. He quickly cast Shield of Nightmares on his minion which could not save it but also served to destroy its Naga attackers.

Finally Naz'jar emerged from her water barrier to find a weakened Erudax before her. Quickly she casted Vortex in front of him. He trudged slowly towards her, rage the only thing keeping him on his feet. "I am Duke of the Below!" he yelled, "And I will not be beaten by a slimy sea snake like you!"

The water Vortex beneath his feet erupted, sending him flying into the wall.

Naz'jar laughed and looked Erudax in his eye. "Erudax, you are Duke of nothing," she hissed. Once more she casted Shock Blast. It struck Erudax mightily in the chest and he collapsed in a cloud of dust and ash. He was dead. "I am Naz'jar, Lady of the Depths. The deep, below, underfoot. No matter what you call it, it is mine. No matter where it is, be it sea or stone, it is mine. Let this be a lesson."

And with that, she was gone.

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