The Empire’s lands had been ripe with plants the young male had never seen in his life, rare and exotic flowers and herbs with medicinal uses he couldn’t even begin to fathom. There was one flowering tree however that had caught his attention most of all, not for its beautiful and long dangling flowers, but for the constant lack of life surrounding it. Birds refused to perch on its branches, and animals refused to sleep in its shade, it was strange to him, but most of all it was intriguing. He wondered if any of the other wolves in the empire had taken note of the tree that creatures seemed so keen on avoiding, but hadn’t gone out of his way to ask them. Instead he had coyly gained the attention of one of the primates trooping about the castle, and enlisted its help in discovering more about the strange tree. The two walked side by side to the garden, Rain smiling and joking with the monkey as it chattered noisily. The monkey had been sufficiently charmed into following Rain, heedless of the potential danger, mostly because Rain was after all quite small and unassuming particularly compared to the other wolves in the empire. When the monkey became aware of their final destination however he became instantly more hesitant. “Well? Aren’t you coming?” He asked, seemingly heedless of his companion’s wariness. “Angel’s trumpet.” The monkey simply responded, his voice quavering as it paced back from the tree. “This tree? What about it has you so scared?” He asked, cocking his head slightly as he asked a kind smile lingering on his features. The monkey seemed greatly discomforted at his question, and it was then that he realized the creature was afraid for him, rather than himself. Looking between the wolf and the tree the monkey hastily scampered toward the base and returned holding a seedpod delicately in front of him. “Bad things.” The monkey said gravely, holding the seeds out for Rain to inspect. “They just look like seeds to me.” He said, eyeing the thin coating of dust along the sides of the pods, then feigned a wary sniff at the monkey’s paw. “They smell quite good too.” He said with an innocent smile. The monkey looked down at the seeds in his black palm and sniffed them gingerly, shrinking back instantly and slapping at his face. Rain watched curiously as the monkey batted at its nose and eyes and chittered with fright. “Calm down!”Rain cried, and the monkey, instantly came to a halt. Rain drew back, surprised and examined the monkey closely, his pupils had dilated to the point that his irises were simply gold rings around the massive black pits  and even at a distance Rain could hear his thunderously beating heart. Not calm at all, but he had frozen when Rain commanded it. “Put those down.” He ordered cautiously and the monkey emptied its paw with a deft flick of his wrist. “Come here.” He ordered and the monkey obeyed. He found himself grinning in earnest now as the monkey heeded his command. “Clean your paws.” He said and the monkey began to lick his paws clean, his heart thundering louder as he tasted the faint dust that had clung to the seed pods. It gave Rain an idea. “Go stand under that tree for me.” He said and watched with glee as the once hesitant creature obeyed him unwaveringly. The monkey knew there was something dangerous about the seeds but not exactly what it had been, with a flick of his ear Rain sat and told his companion; “Pick up a seed and put it in your mouth.” To his astonishment the monkey obeyed. “Take a bite.” With a crunch the monkey bit into the seed, and for a moment he awaited further instruction, but then his chest began to heave, inward and outward rapidly. The monkey’s knees buckled and he gripped his chest as a scream of agony tore through him. He convulsed wildly and writhed in pain, until he was completely still, his mouth hanging open as his crumpled form laid beneath the deadly tree. Rain was exuberant, just from a mere sniff of the seedpods the monkey had become completely entranced and had followed his every desire, forgoing all instinct and danger. The seeds themselves he had discovered the heart rate to elevate and, he found, in great quantities, could cause an instant and painful death. His grandmother had believed that studying the ways of herbs could only be used for mending and  healing, but Rain had discovered a far greater use; mind control and death. The giddy thought of inducing the seed dust onto his father entered his mind and he found himself unable to help but laugh just at the mere thought. He wouldn’t need to outsize his father or grow stronger than him, not if he could force his father to fling himself from a cliff, perhaps even into the flaming mountain the lightning king had once called home. The power was overwhelming, he felt dizzy with it, intoxicated by it, and then, suddenly it all came crashing down around his ears. How would he gather it? How would he treat it so it could be safely carried and used? His ringed eyes lingered on the prone frame of the monkey, and he suddenly knew then the wisdom of having a companion. The question now was could he be so cruel? To lure another monkey to certain death? No. Not even for all the power in the world. He would find a companion that could aid him, but would find a method that prevented his chosen friend from succumbing to the effects of the deadly herb. He would find a way, and slowly, such an answer began to form in his mind.   "Talk" Thought Others

Malleus was cutting through the garden on his way to Cedar Falls. He'd had an idea - an experiment, if you will - and in order to try it out he needed kindling. Any old stick couldn't be used, though. It needed to burn hot and fast, and he'd decided that cedar, given its proximity to the pack and its readiness to burn, would be perfect. With his thoughts on the project at hand, Malleus could devote little attention to his surroundings. Had the monkey's sudden fall to the ground not been so out of place he might have glossed over the two figures under the tree altogether. The slump to the ground earned a glance from him, but the crumbled and motionless form made him do a double take. Malleus decided to satisfy his curiosity and take a little detour. There was still plenty of time left in the day for collecting firewood. He padded over to Rain, his eyes on the monkey at his paws, and only stopped walking once he stood over its limp body. The godling cocked his head, eyed the monkey for a beat longer, and then lifted his gaze to Rain. He quirked a brow at him, Malleus' expression a question all by itself.

“I believe the seeds are some kind of stimulant.” He said calmly, his hellish eyes remaining on the monkey rather than the dark devil beside him. “I’ll need to study the body further, but it acted…curiously before it died.” He explained, his tone even and analytical. “It seems the dust on the seeds can make the inhalant extremely prone to suggestion. The monkey had been too afraid to go near the tree before, but after it was inoculated with the dust on the seeds it not only obeyed my command to go under the tree but ate one of the seeds at my command as well.” Rain looked at the white bell-shaped flowers above him and gave a small wistful sigh.“With your permission I would like to experiment more with the seeds and other parts of the tree, but for now it’s best the empire avoids coming close to it.” It was indeed a marvelous discovery but was every bit just as dangerous. The thought of someone outside the empire using it on Malleus or any of the other Abraxas terrified him more than he was willing to admit. Speaking  Thinking You

Malleus listened to Rain's account of what had led to the monkey's death with a veiled expression. The lethality of the tree was alarming. That the Abraxas' many children had probably played under this very tree terrified him to his core. In an instant any one of those promising young lights could have been snuffed out. While he wasn't pleased with the species of Rain's victim given the Abraxas precarious (and unspoken) truce with the innumerable primate horde, Malleus was relieved it had been one of them and not one of his. "Agreed," he rumbled in response to Rain's statement about their packmates avoiding the tree. "You have my permission to experiment with it provided you keep me informed of your discoveries." Malleus eyed the monkey at their paws. He lifted one of its limp legs and gazed at it thoughtfully before glancing around to see if there were any other primates afoot. When none were seen, he returned his attention to Rain. "Examine the body further if you will, but do so where you won't be seen and don't share the true details of its death with any of that mandrill's horde." He was referring to Benkos, the dominate male mandrill who seemed to be in charge of the mixed primate horde and who all of the wolves had no doubt had a chance to see at some point. "I think it would also be wise to avoid further testing on primates at this time, at least until a decision has been reached on our..." He frowned at the dead monkey. "Primate problem." He had to give credit where credit was due. Rain's curiosity had led to a very important discovery and Malleus knew he'd be remiss if he didn't acknowledge it. "Good work, Rain. You've made a valuable discovery."

“Thank you Emperor.” He said and tipped his head respectfully. He was admittedly hesitant to go near the tree to retrieve the monkey’s body, but the promise of a new discovery was far too great for him to deny. “If I may make a small request…” He started then paused as he thought of how he would word his proposal, “I would like to have the dungeons below the castle for my own, that way I’ll have the privacy to conduct my work without the fear of prying eyes.” He paused again, unsure if he should press further or leave his request where it was for now. “I also feel that I will have the best results if I have other wolves to test on.” He added hastily, not quite meeting the black king’s eyes then lifted them abruptly and added “Not on other members of the empire of course! I would never ask that…But…If you or the others happen upon strays or find yourselves with prisoners I would like the opportunity to use them for my own purposes. For now…There are several weasels in the castle I can make use of.”   He relaxed hesitantly then added as the thought occurred to him "I think you'll find it will be convenient for me to be in the dungeons under those circumstances" speaking Thinking you

Rain thanked him and Malleus was on the verge of taking the path to Cedar Fall when Rain spoke again. The commoner's first request caused Malleus' brow to rise. The second caused it to furrow. The castle was massive and divided into so many rooms he had yet to count them all. It wouldn't hurt to Rain control of a portion of them. Of course, those cells had other uses... Malleus wasn't sure what to make of Rain's second request. He hadn't been in the Empire long and had yet to really prove himself. Promising or not, his newness was something Malleus couldn't overlook. It was one thing to give him rooms in the castle and another to give him control of slaves. His mind made up, Malleus said, "I'll give you the dungeon with one exception. Should I need a secure cell it will be made available to me. As for giving you captives to experiment on...I'll think about it." They had no captives currently, so he had time to consider Rain's request. "In the meantime the weasels will have to suffice."