"Come away faerie child..."

Taking their child was the gravest mistake they could have made, these weren't rational people, hell, they weren't even really people. As a hostage, she would have been cared for, raised as a ward, and married well, it was politics, this should have been understood. Their second error was raising a hand to their beloved little beastie, because she let loose with an ear splitting shriek, that melted into a long wail, and ended in heart wrenching sobs. Moments after her cries fell away to whimpers and she clutched her cheek, music could be heard encroaching, was that...'Black Betty'? A black storm moved unnaturally across the landscape, bringing snow and lightning, and a deafening silence that let the music echo across the land and sky. A black figure dotted back and forth over the landscape, cutting throats and disemboweling bellies in time with the beat. As it moved into the thick of the city, mere gestures sent crowds and battalions flying leaving a path of bloody smears as it approached. It couldn't be, it was supposed to be dead or missing, but it...it looked like the Praenomen. Fuck. There were no screams now, all had gone deathly quiet, even the music, looking away from the supposedly dead Imperial Assassin, their troops and civilians alike were being unequivocally slaughtered. Horrid formed vampires, crinos, things that looked stitched together, demons, shifters, faceless things, and slews of horrors spilled forth from every realm, destroying his people to a man. Not even the buildings were left standing in their wake.

Quite suddenly, the sobbing turned to giggles and clapping, "Mama! Daddy!"

Oh. Shit.

"You done fucked up boy," Elvis said, striding into the room, gently scooping up his daughter, and kissing her sweetly on her tiny reddened cheek.

He cradled her to his chest, shielding her from what was coming. Cold swept the room, Frost crackled across the glass, his remaining men fell over in bloody heaps, and seemingly from nowhere, the Praenomen stepped in front of him. He was alone in the room now, with the child, her father, the gurgling sounds of his men, and the Praenomen. He defended against the first strike and the two figures burst into a blur of motion, as Elvis sung 'Teddy Bear' to his baby girl. The kidnapper shouted protests of the Praenomen's death, as if that fact should have vanished him. The duel lasted longer than it should have, as the Praenomen toyed with him, relishing in inflicting as much pain and terror as it could. The torture would have endured until boredom set in, had Elvis not called out, "Calamity. Enough darlin'," before returning to singing softly.

The Praenomen sighed, letting the fool hit the stone floor and allowing her Visage to melt away, when he looked up, there was no Praenomen, only Calamity. She leaned in close, so close he could taste her, then smiled her father's smile, and whispered,"...everyone is more useful alive," before his world went black. The next thing he knew, the only thing he would ever know again, was the agony of having his soul twisted, burned, and hammered into shape, an eternity of pain.

"And that's how come my dagger screams. Mommy says to use it to stab first and ask questions later. Mommy's funny."