Nekromanteion

An ancient Greek temple of necromancydevoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. This site was believed by devotees to be the door to Hades, the realm of the dead. The site is at the meeting point of the Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus rivers, believed to flow through and water the kingdom of Hades. The meaning of the names of the rivers has been interpreted to be "joyless", "burning coals" and "lament."

Fortunately for the pair, there weren't that many people to contend with at the archaeological site. A few men and women excavating and cataloging the various artifacts they found. 

On any given day, Crouch would've slaughtered the entire site without a second thought. He even caught himself planning how he'd do it. Either cave them in one of the more useless ritual chambers, or just a quick series of killing curses. Or a display of fiendfyre would be impressive.

But this was not any given day. The risk of discovery was far too great to leave behind any bodies. "Lukas, do you think you illusions can help make us more inconspicuous?"

"That's child's play." Lukas almost snorted, shutting his eyes for a moment as he brought his palms together. Although nothing seemed to have changed about them, there was a tangible ripple in the fabric of the air around them, indicating that Lukas's work had been a success.

"To even the likes of stronger wizards, we should look like members of the archaeological teams here. Although, people shouldn't be noticing us anyway, theyll want to turn their heads the other way."

He felt a sense of peace wash over him, the area teeming with untapped energy. The lack of kitsune signature on the soil made his blood tingle.

Pleased, Crouch nodded in appreciation, "Good. The last thing we need now is undue attention." 

"The dark arts are powerful here. Can't you feel it's power?" To Crouch it was like stepping into the shade after a marathon. The assurance of power,  the potency, the call to take life as he saw fit, all these feelings flooded Crouch at once. Such feelings were what aurors would mistakenly or slanderously call evil but Crouch knew the truth.

Doing evil unto the true evil was the greatest good.

"I do." He admitted, allowing an almost delirious smile to grace his features. The energy was so potent, it was like a nectar when his body had been patched for months. No, none of his kind would be drawn here, considering the dark energy seduced him in a way it could not touch the benevolent Inari.

"It surprises me how... Oblivious people are to their surroundings. It makes my job easy, but I wonder why these people can't feel a thing." Like lesser beings.

"My master once told me it was the duty of the powerful to either rule or weed out the weak. And nothing epitomizes weakness like muggles."

This was one of the few points in which Crouch's views didn't fall perfectly in line with Voldemorts. While Voldemort preached blood purity, Crouch saw little value in it. He never expressed those opinions outright for fear of his master's disapproval but to Crouch, muggles were vestigial while wizards of any blood type still could serve a use. The archaic beliefs that one's ancestry had any ramifications on their abilities was woefully laughable. 

After all, he was technically the son of a former ministry worker. That didn't impair his abilities in the slightest.

"We are powerful. They are weak. They have no worth." Crouch's tone turned philosophical. "And why should we not be above them? Because a series of laws written by the corrupt say we shouldn't? Why should we, the superior, have to hide from they, the useless?"

He followed Lukas down into one of the underground tunnels, until they reached a passage seemingly sealed off by flat chiselled stone. "Beyond there..." Checking to ensure no one was around, he pulled out his wand and waved it before the stone. It receded of it's own will away from them to provide an opening to a dark series of stairs heading downward.

Judging from the spider webs, it was clear the chamber had been unvisited in hundreds of years.

"I agree; order should not be followed, because chaos stems from nature itself. In the end, chaos decides who will live and who will crumble. It is why I am estranged from my people - Most kitsunes are blinded by useless rules." He added with distaste. 

He inhaled deeply as he smelled the air, indeed confirming that the area had not been tainted by human interaction or touch. It reminded him of the simpler times when kitsune were revered as messengers of Gods, not reduced to myth by the non-believing. Any form of magic was either celebrated or demonised, leaving him a saviour or a destroyer. 

"How can we know this is not a trap? I'd expect someone so nefarious to not make this easy.." He murmured, concern gracing his usually lax features. Of course, Lukas did not want to die.

"I'd be disappointed if it wasn't. Lumos Maxima." Light flared from the tip of his wand and more came into view. Most notably a river of  black liquid. It flowed like water But upon stepping closer to it once they reached the bottom of the stairs, deep despair settled in him. 

"Don't step in the water." He cautioned his ally as he looked where the river flowed and saw three pairs of red eyes glowing in the distance. 

It made Crouch chuckle, "He sure took pains to mimic Hades didn't he? The River Styx and a Cerberus to guard the way..." The only means he saw to cross was a decrepit wooden boat. In it, an inanimate skeleton held on of the paddles in the water.

Amusement lit up his features, clearly unfazed by the water as he decided that water was not his strong point anyway, being a fire kitsune. "Oh, Rook would find this hilarious." He commented, trying to lighten the mood as he inspected the skeleton.

"Do you think it was someone foolish enough to come alone, a weakling or a corpse that's gonna reanimate and make us drown?" He wondered, preparing to get into the boat as he conjured a small flame in his hand, weaving it between his fingers with ease.

"I believe it's merely the ferrymen..." He waved his hand in front of the skull.

Upon no reaction after several seconds, he mounted the boat and took his seat...

And yet nothing changed. The boat remained stationary.

"Hmm something is wrong..."

His flame grew brighter, burning an unusual copper colour as he peered around the cavern, as confused as Crouch was. "Do you think it's reacting to me? Maybe i should get out."

Lukas stepped back onto dry land, unseating the small niggle of unease that has settled in his stomach at not being in contact with the earth. Whilst not being afraid of water, Lukas would avidly avoid the substancer wherever he could. After all, it was the opposite of his nature.

"I don't know..." Just then he noticed a body on the dock. Judging from the decay of the bones, it had been down here for many generations. Only things left of him were his robes and anything the gathered rats and maggots didn't find appealing. He stepped out of the boat and approached the corpse. "Excuse me, hope you don't mind." He muttered to the body as he began to dig into his pockets.

He pulled out a fist full of coins, but not just any kind of coins. These were antique coins, ones from the days of ancient Greece. More telling as to what happened to the man was a knife in his skeletal hand.

"Well now buddy... the despair of the water got to you I'm guessing? Oh well, can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs." He callously pocketed the coins. "Sorry, we'll talk later I promise." He patted the skull with a laugh and flipped one over to Lukas.

"Put it under your tongue. I have an idea!"

Lukas tried not to glare at him like he was a madman as he placed the rusty coin on his tongue. The taste of copper was not unwelcome, but he sincerely wished the metallic taste came from blood instead.

"If you're doing this to make me look like an idiot then you're succeeding." He mumbled through a heavy tongue.

Crouch put his hands up defensively, "Look, I'm not the man who decided how the fares for the ferryman of the underworld work." He put his own coin on his tongue and sat back down on the boat. This time, the skeleton became animated. Getting itself into a position to paddle, the stiff bones creaked audibly as it turned to face the kitsune.

"Coming Lukas?" Crouch inquired as he looked on ahead into the dark tunnel.

"Sure." Without hesitation he seated himself into the boat, still mumbling as the coin sat on his tongue. "But this is still really weird."

His flame danced in his palm as he tried to peer into the darkness, expecting something bad to happen.

The ferrymen rowed them closer and closer to the growling three eyes in the distance. Crouch however didn't seem worried. "I don't know, I kind of like this guy's style. Very grand, very impressive. We probably would've been good friends!"

He turned his head to face the three headed Cerberus. He cracked his neck and pulled out his wand as the boat came to a halt. "Ready?"

Lukas jumped out of the boat with ease, also seeming less fazed by the creature as they had drawn closer. In all honesty , Lukas did not believe any mythical creatures existed except kitsune and demons, and he was hoping that wouldn't change now. 

"He wouldve made a great nogitsune, for sure." The flame licked at his palm, eager to be fed and grow.

The ferocious monster bellowed at them with all three heads and lunged toward the pair. 

Crouch smiled insanely at him, "Come on little dog. I've got a nice bone for you..." He pointed his wand at the snarling creature, "IMPERIO!!" 

The cereberus seemed momentarily confused but nonetheless went to bite at Lukas. The spell did take hold though. If it were distracted Crouch could take command of it.

He leaped out of the way, his fireball surging in size as he launched it in the direction of the creature. He aimed for the left head, wondering if it would be weaker than the other two. Inhaling deeply, his veins appeared to glow orange, as if magma now flowed through them instead of blood. It rendered his whole body alight as he embraced the familiar warmth of having his energy literally at his fingertips.

Aware he'd be searing to touch, he kept his distance from Crouch but did not move far. "I can be a distraction , a glowing ball for our pet..." He suggested.

Crouch kept up his attempt to invade the creatures mind. It was becoming more clear though that the resident of this tomb clearly had trained his monster to resist these influences. A simple imperius curse would not be sufficient. 

He needed a way to assert his will without it. And as he looked at the fading scar on his left arm, it became clear to him what he needed to do. "That would be ideal, but don't kill it. I have other uses for it."

"As you wish." The fire seemed to consume his whole being, merging and melting the sinews of his human body as he became one and the same entity as the raw power he possessed. 

"Come chase me creature, I'm quite tasty!" He hissed, darting around the creature with as much agility as the kitsune could muster. He knew he would be boiling to touch, but he hoped the monster would take his bait. If not, he would have to aggrivate it with fireballs.

Crouch admittedly had never seen Lukas using his full power. It was quite a sight to behold, akin to a glowing god. 

The cerberus chased after Lukas, it's three heads snapping at him in rapid succession with jaws powerful enough to shred a muggle car into a chew toy. 

One of the heads opened it's mouth and shot a ball of fire the size of a boulder at the kitsune. 

Crouch needed to act quickly. He recalled a time many many years ago when the dark wizard Adrien tried to compromise his loyalty to the dark lord and rule by his side. Killing him was an ultimate pleasure, a memory he cherished on days when he was feeling downtrodden. But today, it seemed that fool was not without his use.

Adrien had made a mark on Crouch to coerce his obedience. Many a night did Crouch spend in research to remove it. While unsuccessful until he'd learned of Adrians former friend (Kiara?) he had learned how to make similar marks. He'd had no use of them, until exactly now. 

Thank you Adrian, your failure is now complete. I hope you hear that from the layer of maggots feasting on you now.


Waving his wand downward in a half circular motion, an air current rose from under him and propelled him up toward the creature's heads. Pointing his wand at the center head as it reached out to take a bite of him, he grinned crazily and a black spells hit it right on it's forehead.

The creature howled in agony, and the other two heads turned to it inquisitively. Then black seared flesh formed into a pattern on it's forehead. 

A dark mark. Crouch could've made it into anything he wished but he was a Death Eater down to his very soul and even the death of the mark's maker wouldn't cease his use of the proud symbol. 

He performed the same curse to the other two heads, branding them as his servants upon their foreheads as well. Crouch allowed the air current to drop him and as he landed, the creature got down on it's knees and bowed their heads before him.

ooc been away from home so havent been able to get on forum!

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Like a quenched flame, he immediately let his human form seep back into position, as if the flames themselves had been exposed to a waterfall. Breathing out, a cloud of vapour escaped his lips as he finally looked like his normal self, sharp honey coloured eyes watching the subdued creature with vast curiousity.

"That is.. amazing." He admitted, keeping a fair distance from the creature in case it struck. After all, Lukas had never seen this magic before, and didn't want to sabotage his friend by accident.

"What did you do to it? It's like you bound it to your will, like I would with my contracts.." He mused, head cocked to the side.

"Necessity is the birth of invention, Lukas old boy." He told him in an upbeat philosophical tone. 

"I took the concept of the dark mark and brought it up a notch. This big beastie now listens to me instead of his dead master. I don't know about you, but I can see some utility to him..." He grinned deviously at his friend, "Were I not so bound by secrecy, I'd let this puppy loose on Greece and see what happens!"

He laughed heartily, chest rumbling as he considered the disaster they could unleash unto the surrounding muggles. Those fools couldn't sense what was just below their feet...

"So we'll send the beast on first? I can't imagine it was the last barrier to our quest here." Lukas was still peeking around, sharp eyes trying to catch any sort of trap or cage.