Changing of the Guards

Fragile, with a delicate health, Vincent needed to rest often, but he would not have missed the meeting for anything. He had heard the news of the new head death eater, Thoarson Elldir, and wanted to hear what he had to say at the meeting. He was either their fourth, or fifth leader in the past 18 months, he couldn't say exactly, but he did know that their leaders were falling like flies, and he doubted that Elldir would last long either. Unless he was far more cunning then his predecessors.

The death eaters had lately been a disorganized bunch with each member looking for some share of the power, with most members looking for the head position. As much as this amused Vincent, he did think that the Death Eaters would serve his goals better if they could get organized, which was why Vincent placed so much of an interest in their new leader.

Apparating to Malfoy manor, Vincent entered from the door he had entered so many times before and walked towards the meeting room. His entrance was not a surprise to any of the older members, they knew that he was one of the most important members of the group and usually attended all the meetings. His position in the ministry and contacts with key ministry and hogwarts officials was something that had always been important to the Death Eaters, and he was sure that Elldir would keep that in mind. As for some of the newer members, they might of been surprised that the ex-headmaster was part of the Death Eaters.

His presence in the death eaters was not a result of his beliefs or that he wanted a share in their power. Just as the group made use of him, he made use of the Death Eaters to further his own ambitions. Vincent was sure that the others were aware of that, for he rarely hid his contempt for the group. As it happened, now was one of those times, for he had to make a good impression on the new leader. Passing past all the members without so much as a second glance, he took his place at the table.

Thaor watched as one by one, the Death Eaters entered the Manor. Remy, join us at the table. Thaor said, as he saw her lean against the wall. Tonights meeting would prove to be interesting, that was for sure. Tonight, would set the pace for his run as Head Death Eater. Naomi, sit down, you are allowed to be here, Act like it.

Thaor smiled as Draco entered the room. Draco, nice to see you, remind me to talk with you after we're done here tonight. Thaor said, turning his attention to the rest of the Death Eaters. Vincent, take a seat right here. Thaor said, motioning to the seat directly to his right.

Thaor decided enough people had entered the Manor to get started. As many of you know, Caelani has, for lack of a better term, abandoned ship. I don't know the exact details as of yet, and I may not find them out. Thaor said, standing up.

Now, I have several important changes. Firstly, Malfoy Manor will no longer play host to ANYONE unless specifically invited by Draco or his family. We will continue to hold meetings here, but that is the extent of us using this house. Secondly, many of you must realize by now, I am on the wizengamot, and I helped convict Felix Barker, let Felix be an example to the rest of you, draw unwanted attention to us, and you will be punished, if not by me, then by the dementors of Azkaban. Thaor said with a fierce look.

I will not tolerate fighting amongst ourselves. We have better things to do than deal with fighting with ourselves. Any questions?

Sandra apparated just outside the iron gates of Malfoy manner, sighing impatiently as she waited for the magic to recognize her. The gates swung open and Sandra walked onto the grounds impatiently, grinding her teeth together.

They had to do another one of these things?

She opened the door of the Manor and walked inside, taking her seat at the table with the other Death Eaters, early enough to at least catch the tail end of Thaor's speech. "I have a two part question," she said, raising her hand. "One, do we really have to go through all of this again? It seems like there's a new leader every week. I'll bet the Order doesn't have to sit through all these damned meetings." She paused, considering something. "Also, does anyone have anything to drink? Preferably something that burns going down. I just had the worst whiskey in the world and I do need something to erase the taste."

Thaor's eyes narrowed into a sharp stare when Sandra walked in. She was one person he wished wouldn't show up. Although, he could use her expertise.

If you're jealous of the Order because they aren't organized, then why don't you join them? Thaor said with a laugh. He of course, knew she wouldn't, but found the thought entertaining.

And don't you take that tone with me. Morsomnium Thaor said, pointing his wand directly at Sandra's chest. He couldn't have people walking all over him, he needed to make it clear from the beginning that he was in charge, and wouldn't tolerate insubordination.

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Spells Cast
Sandra - Morsomnium - A curse that makes a victim fall into a semi- paralyzed state and suffer terrible nightmares for as long as the caster makes him/her.

As soon as Thaor pointed his wand at her, Sandra knew this was more trouble than it was worth. She had time to roll her eyes defiantly before the spell hit her.

She recognized the spell of course - it was one of her favorites. Morsomnium, the nightmare spell. Sandra did so enjoy watching them squirm. Though she wasn't really enjoying herself currently.

She found herself in a dark hallway, only half aware that she had just fallen asleep. Doors lined the hall, and Sandra opened one tentatively. It opened into nothingness, an empty room devoid of light or sound. Sandra shut the door and opened the one next to it, only to get the same result.

"Oh I suppose this is metaphorical is it?" Sandra asked the walls. "Perhaps I'm looking into my soul?" She tapped her foot impatiently. "What the hell is going on?"

And then the nightmare started.

Something grabbed Sandra from behind and she screamed, wheeling around to find the Dark Lord, moving but very much dead, gripping her shoulder with inhuman strength. He was half decomposed, his eyes completely gone and parts of his skin slagging off. His hand was cold and brittle to the touch, and when he spoke he spoke in a low hiss, like a snake sliding across smooth stone.

"Faaaaaaiiiiled..."

Sandra screamed again and stumbled back, breaking his grip only to fall into another one. She looked back and was presented with her father, who was in much the same shape as the dead Dark Lord.

"Faaaaaaiiiiled..."

This time Sandra reacted, kicking the corpse in the shin. Instead of connecting with anything solid however, the foot just flew through her father, and a moment later everything burst into dust.

A few moments later Sandra found herself floating in the same void she had been looking at when the damnable dream (was it a dream?) began. She could hear and see nothing - she couldn't even hear herself think. Thoughts bubbled randomly to the surface, memories playing out in her head like a movie. Her first day at Hogwarts. Her first kill. Her first day as Dark Lady.

If Sandra could've moved she would've, but as it was she couldn't control herself. She lay still in the void, her mind wandering more and more off track. As her thoughts became more disjointed so did her sense of self - she somehow knew that if this continued for much longer she would lose herself in the void.

She began to hear things - voices, meaningless thoughts and memories of other who had lost themselves here and never recovered. And for the third time in her life. Sandra Archer truly feared.

Zara watched as more and more people came into the room, and then smirked slightly, watching as they recognized her, and then moved on. She wasn't a popular Death Eater, mostly because of her need to have fun before she killed, but she wasn't the most hated either. People didn't avoid her for no reason at all. They simply nodded and went on their way. Of course to THEM, she was nothing but a lowly prostitute, that stole things and had no conscious, if they knew that much about her at all. Zara played with a strand of her hair silently for a few moments, until suddenly spells were being cast, and a girl was being affected by the spell.

So this was how they were going to start off the meeting. Remind them all of Barker, and then curse someone. Because Death Eaters were horrible people, you made a mistake, you die, or get tortured either one. Zara smirked lightly as the girl was frozen in what appeared to be fear, and was dreaming and twitching. How exciting. She knew it was just Thaor's way of establishing order, and it needed to be done, and Sandra just happened to be the first one who had made a misstep. Zara pushed the front legs of her chair into the air and leaned back so that her knees were resting on the edge of the table.

"As exciting as this is, aren't we supposed to be having a meeting?" She asked lightly, looking at her fingernails and digging small bits of dirt and grime out from under them, not even focusing on the room in general. She glanced up and then smirked again. "Or was I under the illusion that we were having a meeting?" She asked softly. "Or is that what all of our meetings will start with? I'm not complaining, simply curious, I rather enjoy watching this curse take effect.. very... satisfying." She said lightly shaking her head and going back to looking at her fingernails, completely disinterested.

He certainly has a unique way of winning the loyalty of his subjects, Vincent thought as he watched Elldir use morsomnium on Sandra, it was clearly one of his favorite spells. Which is all okay for the common death eater, but not for me. Voldemort, Vincent recalled, used the same tactics to keep in control of his subjects, and it had worked well enough for him. Thaor was clearly imitating his tactics.

He had seen it before, he has used it before, but still Vincent wasn't quite able to watch the torture calmly. Watching the expression of the other death eaters, he again realized what kind of people he was surrounded with. The majority were watching with indifferent looks, some were enjoying it, only a select few looked a little uncomfortable at seeing Sandra's pain. Vincent, for one, kept his expression blank as he watched.

Eventually though, the torture went a little too long to bear. And he really did think that they should move on with the meeting. "This is not necessary Thaorson," Vincent said finally. "We should proceed with the meeting." His position gave him more confidence of speaking out. Thoarson wouldn't get rid of him no matter what, he was too important.

Thaor watched with interest as Sandra squirmed, and twitched, he could tell the spell was working. Thaor smiled, as he saw that his plan was working. He ignored Zara when she tried to interject, as she was enjoying it anyways. Thaor ended the spell when Vincent spoke up. He gave Vincent a piercing glance that obviously meant, "If anyone else called me Thaorson, they would've been killed. But Vincent was right, they did have things to take care of. While Thaor didn't trust Vincent, nor, any death eater for that matter. He did respect him, and knew that the Death Eaters needed him.

Thaor cleared his throat. Okay, lets talk plans shall we? Our first topic is, Hogwarts. Does anyone have anything to say on the topic before I get started? Thaor asked.

Zara sat back and smirked as Vincent made an attempt to stop the torture. It was all well and good for her, she hadn't minded being ignored, there were times and places to be known, and this was a time when she had best slither back into the shadows. Of course when the spell had ended and the fun had stopped, Zara couldn't help make a face at the first topic on the agenda for the meeting. "Are you about to tell us that we can finally use torture on the kiddies of the school Elldir?" She asked, letting her chair legs fall down to the floor, and she leaned forward over the table. Her low cut shirt obviously showing off what she had, but she didn't appear to be trying to flirt as she watched Elldir with interest. "Less homework, more... screaming?" She asked with a small smile of wickedness on her lips.

"I for one am getting tired of grading the little twits' homework... they all are horrible writers anyway." She said lightly. "Sorry, I had to interject something, I would just love to see my position in that school change something with you now as the head of the Death Eaters is all." She said lightly, a small grin calmly planted on her face. Zara was an odd person, she loved to get right up and cozy with the head of the group, especially if it was a male, but she never actually wanted the power they had. She would never try to take over, she simply wanted to help, seeing as she was never actually good at coming up with all the clever plans in the first place, she just enjoyed being the favorite and being able to help the cause.

Sandra slumped in her chair as the dream came to a sudden halt. She was breathing heavily, and sweating, and from the looks she was getting she must've put on quite a show.

I suppose you feel like a big man now Thaorson Sandra thought to herself. Enjoy the feeling while it lasts.

She waited for Zara to finish her opinion before chiming in - t let her get her thoughts together and calm her body and mind down. "Hogwarts is a shit hole," she said finally. "It was a key part of my plan and look where that got us. There's nothing there but children - and yes, children can be important. Yes, children can be valuable. But they're not the immediate threat."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If you insist on holding Hogwarts than we should become more aggressive in our use in it. Caelani had good plans. You're your own leader, but there's no shame in taking ideas from others. Experimentation is an interesting idea, and the werewolves and vampires there can be controlled by withholding wolfsbane potion and blood, respectively. We have to make sure none of them trust each other, and then we won't find any resistance.