ENGINEERS CREATE THAT WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN

Ulrik was moving north again, the first time he had returned since Kri had so kindly removed himself and Cassiopeia from the snow. He had found the trip delightfully dull, but Kri had been almost pleasant, especially compared to the shit-for-brains unicorns that called that desert their home. On his return, he had managed to stumble upon a kindred spirit in black who had asked to be entertained. And entertain he did. The charcoal stallion had told a myriad of delightfully funny and dark jokes, and he return, he had been given some sort of orb.

Curious, he had stayed and watched the orb until after two weeks, it hatched into this bizarre pup with much too long of legs and much too big of paws. What fascinated him the most though is that he could feel this hellion inside of his own mind. Something.... someone with which to share his inner most thoughts? Perhaps? Ah, he would have one follower for the glorious call to make them all whole.

Make. Them. Whole.

It repeated like a mantra in his head until the tiny, tumbling ball of bones and fluff howled with the same cadence. Ulrik grinned. A mad grin.

Together, he and the shrimp traveled north. He called it Kirchoff, the name of his great grand-sire who had also been rather... gifted like he was. The presence in his mind was male, which was excellent because having a female entity in his own mind would have resulted in him culling the bitch. Ah, but the little male was sharp, and very interestingly colored, almost like himself with little tendrils of grayish smoke pluming from his marking, paws and eyes.

What did that mean, he wondered?

Ulrik was pulled from his trance-like state of wonder by the movement of another heading north. Mauja, the Ice King was taking a pegasus north, presumably to the Basin. Why? The black beast reached down and gently picked up the pup in his mouth, resting the creature on his back for safe measure. A journey to the snow at his pace may result in damage to the hellion's growing body, and Ulrik would not disrupt the beautiful machine of nature as he did his work.

The black beast stayed far behind the pegasus and the Frost Heart, stopping every now and then to introduce the hellion to a new concept. He assumed that the creature had to eat, so he sent his metal wolf after small prey, feeding it to the live one soon after. Once Mauja had crested the narrow path, Ulrik followed, his cloven hooves easily helping his massive, muscular figure navigate the icy surface. His long, leonine tale acted as a balance, swaying behind him to counter act his height. After picking his way down into the valley, he heard the fury of the doctor reach his ears, and the engineer smirked before the expression fell away, returning to madness.

Ulrik strode into the fray and then gently placed the scrawny baby on the ground to play, perhaps with d'Artagnan's little wolf creature. His bronze eyes then slid to the pegasus, his gaze tracing every contour and flow of the creature's body. Perhaps this would have been sexy if not for the mad glint in Ulrik's eye, promising more pain than he did pleasure. She did not have much to her, as she was skinny and dark, almost like a starved dog looked when emerging from the water. Compared to his sheer, muscular mass and imposing size, the mare was almost... child-like.

The stallion's smile curved his lips, saying nothing but not removing his gaze from the creature. All he could see was a metal spike sticking out of her skull, blood pouring between her eyes. The taste of her screams almost reached his mouth... almost.