The covers began to stir, then, with a jolt, the large figure sat up. Yellow catlike eyes with dark pupils shaped in slits stared straight ahead at nothing for moment. A snout like a pig’s with two small tusks protruding from his lower jaw completed the unearthly features of the half-demon, half-man monstrosity.
The seven-foot beast of a man jumped out of the bed and drifted toward the window that was nothing but a square hole carved into the rock of the wall, as there was no glass or shutter. Dragot patiently held out one finger, and within a few seconds a large blue parrot flew to him, hovering in front of his pig-like snout momentarily before finally perching on the offered finger.
“A beautiful day, is it not?” came the soothing, calm, articulate voice as the monster stroked the feathers of his pet with his other hand. With a little flick, the bird left its perch and flew back out the window and into the heavenly oasis. Dragot glided across the smooth marble floor and entered a large walk-in closet. He returned with a golden helmet that had three green stones embedded in the forehead and two golden horns on the very top. The nosepiece split his face and fit perfectly over his snout. A long, flowing, gold-colored robe with stripes of green and black completed the outfit. Gray, gnarled bare feet seemed completely out of place, given how exotic the rest of the outfit was.
Leaving the room through the heavy, thick wooden door, the demon clasped both hands behind his back as he gracefully glided down the long, spiraling stairway. The winding stairway wrapped around the tall cylinder-like room. There was no banister at all on the left and nothing but gray stone, lit torches, and the occasional tapestry on the right.
The beast slowly traveled down the narrow steps with a smile on his face. Dragot was in no hurry this day, or any other day for that matter. He had lived a thousand years and was all but guaranteed to live a thousand more. The creature never felt rushed, but that is not to say he was not driven toward his goals. Soon the world of humans will be at an end.
At the bottom of the stairs was yet another doorway, leading into a long hallway with no ornamentations of any kind. Lit torches lined both sides of the wall as he strolled through with his head held high and hands still clasped behind his back. The hallway emptied into one of the largest rooms in the tower. There, splitting the room lay a long red and black carpet with white lace on each side, leading up five steps and right to the base of Dragot’s huge throne.
The mighty chair was gold-colored, with red cushions attached to the seat and back. The entire top trim was encrusted with jewels of all different colors. The two largest were red, but most were green, with a few black ones. Fifteen-foot tapestries hung on both sides of the walls, which were not the same gray stone seen in the other rooms, but jet-black marble exactly like the floor.
Little servants with brown hooded cloaks scurried around the room, seemingly trying to look busy with the entrance of Dragot. One moved quickly across the floor on all fours, pushing a small rag back and forth as he went. Another began frantically wiping down the already sparkling great throne that surely didn’t need it.
He ignored them for the most part and slowly glided toward his throne as the briggit bolted away with a series of clicks. Taking a seat while surveying the room, he pointed to one of the hooded creatures that appeared to not have a face at all, but just a black void under his hood. “You there, go down to the cells and bring me that human. The one chained to the wall,” he said in a rather soft, kind voice. The creature just made a series of clicking sounds as it scurried away.
Dragot just leaned his chin in his hand and slouched down in his great throne, appearing to be a bit bored as he rubbed his fingers across his knee. His thoughts began to wander around in his head—thoughts of that inevitable day when the plague called humanity was no more. He allowed himself a small smile at the pleasant thought.
Then the little creature returned along with two others. One was pulling a chain attached to a metal collar around the neck of a skinny naked man who was pulling back, clearly terrified and crying for them to let him go. The other two were pushing against him as they clicked angrily. It was obvious they were not very strong, seeing as how it took three to pull a half-starved slave into the room, but the briggits served their purpose. They were little more than servants, although they could also be used as spies when sent into human cities.