Betrayal. Tanek had been so used to it by now that it never should have bothered hir as much as it did. Shi had not even an inkling what was going on behind the scenes inside of hir own mind for all of these years.

Malice, an entity shi attributed to hir older brother, Knazarath, had been plotting for some time between them. Not even Knazarath knew Malice' secret truth..That Malice was not just within him, but within Tanek, only Tanek had been the stronger, spiritually, of the siblings, more pure of heart, harder to corrupt. Malice had taken root early on in Knazarath's life, the boy having been more susceptible to suggestion and selfish desires than Tanek had been.

So Malice waited, biding his time, trapped completely within one mind, locked away by the goodness in Tanek's soul, barely more than a whisper for so long in hir mind that shi all-but-ignored, and in Knazarath's mind, able to control his body when the large felinid slumbered due to a more symbiotic relationship.

But Malice knew that the time had come..That Tanek could no longer ignore his voice, growing louder over the years in hir mind, until, after being betrayed by the last person shi'd ever expect, Malice overcame hir, and took over. No longer the clumsy, almost complacent person Tanek was, Malice made hir into a ferocious vessel, all of hir training and cunning flooded to the surface, and hir darker desires became hir only drive...Vengeance, power, control over everyone, and everything, in hir path, and death to anyone who opposed hir. Hir hatred overcame hir.

Hir loyalty betrayed by those shi loved, they became hir first targets...

Malice now had the both of them under his sway, and it would only be a matter of time before the siblings would seek each other out, and Malice would return to his full glory. The Realm would once more fear and tremble at his very shadow...the shadow of Nigellus Mortis...in the common tongue..he is simply known as The Black Death.

The Realm would never be the same. ----

Knazarath Xavier, Tanek Xavier, Lord Malice, and Nigellus Mortis AKA The Black Death are all © William Luke AKA The Triforce Kid, AKA Tanek Xavier.