[h1][center][color=gold]Underground lies the treasure[/color][/center][/h1] [h2][sub][center][color=gold]Galaxor and the Outer Gods[/color][/center][/sub][/h2] [h3][sub][center][color=gold]Is the Underground, a thing?[/color][/center][/sub][/h3] [center][b]I[/b][/center] By the Cat, why did it always have to be him that got the absolute worst jobs? It was bad enough that his mate turned out to be a witch, but for her familiar to be one of the Shades? Ridiculous. He sighed. Step after step. That was all that mattered now. All that had mattered for the past billion days, according to his inner clock. “Rah is stupid isn’t he?” Rah nodded in response to his own comment, adjusted his backpack’s straps so that it would stop bouncing with each step down, and simply carried on. [center][b]II[/b][/center] Rah licked a deep scratch along his left forearm, grimacing a bit at the taste but powering through. It was moments like those that made him glad his mate was a Witch, for it was only her that knew how to make saliva-disinfectionator potions. As soon as he finished slathering his wound in saliva, it glowed a deep purple and sewed itself back together in front of his eyes, leaving behind a subtle scar. “Stupid bug thought it could eat Rah.” Rah scoffed, looked to his right at the dead ant beetle and broke off one of its thick legs. He slurped up the slimy flesh on the inside. It tasted like vomit. [center][b]III[/b][/center] Rah panted. He dragged his feet. He brought his waterskin to his mouth and tipped it fully, and groaned when not even a single drop of water came out. Yeah, it was the right idea, not bringing anyone else on the way down. Having more people with him would result in the two of them going through supplies faster, and would increase the chance of them catching the attention of bugs and worms and bats and demons and whatever else was in these godforsaken caves. And the last thing that Rah wanted was to see one of his family members dead. So yeah, coming down here alone was the right idea. Even if it would be the end of him. No water, no food for the last 2 days, a broken knife and a missing claw. Yeah, things didn’t look good. [center][b]IV[/b][/center] It was very hot. Nearly as hot as his mate’s brewing room. He couldn’t believe it, but he actually missed her. Her annoyingly smug face, her soft and slow way of speaking, her thick white hair. Rah flicked his ears in thought. Suddenly, in the distance, a grand pair of doors appeared. He froze in place for a moment. Sparks flew in his brains. “Those are the doors.” Rah said, squinting, before chuckling, then laughing. After a few seconds, he was laughing so hard that he nearly slipped down the carved staircase, but he caught himself on a loose stone in the cave wall and took a deep breath. Then he roared. “RRAAAAAHHHH!” Dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling. The walls vibrated with the strength of the echo. He broke out into a full on sprint, and crashed through the large ornate gates, passing by the queues of novices who screamed at him as he ran. He came to a stop at a staircase just past the entrance. It was hundreds of metres tall. Shelves, filled with many shiny rocks and not-so-shiny rock squares and other things, were everywhere. Rah didn’t care in the slightest. In fact, he grabbed the nearest thing, a big book, and threw it at the outraged crowd of nerdy goblins just outside past the open gate. “Rah hates all of you! Freaks, why make it so hard to come down here?! Rah will never deliver for Goblins again!” Rah roared. The short novices just cooed and fought amongst themselves to grab the book he’d thrown. It was then, before he had a chance to gag at the novices, that a group of larger goblins ran up the stairs towards him. Each of the guards wore a mix of leather and diamond-encrusted iron pieces accented with splashes of purple, the colours of the Library. “[Color=purple]Halt in the name of Galaxor! [/color]” they shouted almost in unison. “Slaves! Tell Galactor that Galactor has horrible tast-” Rah froze, the hamsters in his head turning. After a second, he sighed and relaxed as much as he could. Which meant he was still snarling with bared claws. Goblins, humans, beastkin and some elves, all dressed in loose clothes with purple accents looked at him with furrowed brows and scrunched up noses. Soon, a goblin from outside followed Rah. He wore long purple robes and his face was covered by a hood. The goblin was short with yellow skin and as he approached Rah, he put a hand up towards the guards. “[color=gold]Welcome seeker. [/color]” he said in a monotone voice, as if he said the same words hundreds of times already. [center][b]IV[/b][/center] Rah was pushed hard. He pretty much flew and landed on his side a few meters into the largest study he’d ever seen. Compared to Kah’s, this study must have been at least a hundred times the size and a thousand times more unnecessary. The panther-kin coughed up a few droplets of blood and dragged himself to his knees, then to his feet. It wasn’t very fast, but it could have been a lot slower considering his shackled wrists. After a moment, one of the guards that had pushed him threw his backpack into the room as well, before shutting the door. He was left waiting in that study for a long time… So long, in fact, that at one point he had even tried to figure out what the books in the shelves were about, which was impossible due to the language. And also the fact that he couldn’t read at all. “Books full of scribbles… Goblins are so weird. Pictures are better.” He said to himself. Attracted by the noises made by the guards and the Great Sage asking him for advice on what to do with the first person to ever try to break into the Library in such a bold manner, Galaxor teleported into the room with a flash of golden light. Wearing his usual attire but with a book in his hand, he looked at Rah and nodded at him before returning to his book. “[color=gold]Panther-kin. I’m Galaxor, the god of this place. Any reason why I shouldn’t teleport you back on the surface for breaking in? [/color]” Galaxor said, his tone sounding bored, as if he didn’t want to be there at all. Rah sucked in a breath and squinted at the God, “I am Rah of the Plainstalkers.” After another second, he continued. “I have a delivery for Galaxor. Sent by Wakeful Presence, the Shade. It is in my pack, and I cannot open it with my hands shackled.” At the mention of the Wakeful Presence, the book Galaxor was reading disappeared and the shackles that held Rah too. Locking Rah in his chrono-eye. Rah had no doubt the deity was doing something unsavoury. “[color=gold]Very well, mortal. Show me what you have. [/color]” said Galaxor before a powerful glowing hammer flew into his hand, growing in size until it became almost as big as his arm. Rah said nothing, he merely walked up to his pack, opened it and pulled out the package. It was small and was wrapped in several layers of cloth and leather. Not even Rah knew what it was, and he wasn’t supposed to either. So he just offered the bundle to Galaxor. Every member of his family knew how dangerous deities could be, so not saying anything was perhaps the wisest choice for someone like him. He hadn’t survived for close to three decades by just being strong. Sometimes, a little bit of tact was needed when facing something that strength could not beat. Galaxor approached the package very carefully and started unwrapping the cloth and leather. Before he could remove the last layer, he looked up at Rah. “[color=gold]If this was all you had to do, I’ll teleport you out, Rah. Unless you want to learn more from the Library. [/color]” said Galaxor, as suddenly a few large diamonds and two bottles of RALK appeared inside Rah’s backpack. Payment for a job done. [center][b]V[/b][/center] Rah was gone. Silence coated every part of the study, and after a moment’s contemplation, Galaxor removed the last layer of cloth covering his delivery and beheld the precious item beneath. A collar. Thick, heavy, and most importantly, made of the metal of the gods. Pure Divinium. It was made up of two halves, connected by a hinge to one side and a clasp on the other, with miniscule writing carved on the rim in an out-of-this-world script, proclaiming the wearer as ‘Guardian, Maintainer and Slave of All That Lies Below’. Inspecting the collar from all sides, Galaxor frowned at the miniscule writing. Determining it doesn’t represent any immediate danger, he touched the collar and heard a voice. “Hey, hey!” A rogue thought flashed into his mind, followed by an undesired grin and a fist pump, as if the voice was using his body to express itself. “You took care – of that cute old Egrioth, didn’t cha – We found it oh so entertaining!-- we thought we’d give you a little something to congratulate – And what better reward than – huh? Wear the collar – allow our stay in this cramped, musty head of yours – and you can enjoy having control – all that lies below.” And just like that, the voices disappeared. Puzzled, Galaxor took his hand away from the collar. Putting it back, nothing happened. The voices were gone but it didn’t take much to figure out what they were. Outer Gods and they were impressed by his valour in battle. Days passed by as Galaxor thought out the offer. It wasn’t as if they could [i]do[/i] anything to him. Sure, they could spy upon Galbar but that was only if he wore the collar. After a few more days of thinking and considering all the possibilities, Galaxor took a deep breath and put the collar on him. Almost immediately power surged within him and it felt like the whole underground world of Galbar responded to his command. Better than before, he could sense every living being, every rock, diamond and gemstone. Everything. Suddenly, besides the color, an earthly aura appeared around him, melding with the golden-blue-purple-ish colours from before. Taking the collar off, the aura and the sense of the underground disappeared. [hider=Summary] Rah, a pantherkin and courier goes underground at the Library to deliver a mysterious package to Galaxor personally. He tries to run past the guards, is stopped and shackled by them. Galaxor comes over to see what’s up and hears about the package. After he sends Raj back up, he opens up the package to find a collar from the Outer Gods. Once he touches it, he gets a vision of an Outer God that offers him dominion over the underground. Spending some time in thought, Galaxor decides the risk is worth it and puts on the collar. [/hider] [hider=Domain - The Underground] The Domain of the Underground encompasses mastery over the hidden realms beneath the surface, delving into the mysteries and resources found in subterranean environments. Anything that lives under the earth is under Galaxor’s power. [/hider]