@Dealdric

---

Dirka was successful in one thing. Ragnagedon stopped as he had passed the blue wave. Around him his dragons looked frozen. However he could feel their essence. They were alive, more now than ever before. This was the first time most of them were challenged by something worthy. By something that could actually kill them and it only fed their bloodlust. Now frozen, they were seething and raging deep inside. Desperate to break free and sink their teeth in the black dragon. If Ragnagedon could smile, he would’ve done so. Dirka’s preaching he ignored though. What could a wretched goddess like her offer him other than her life? And it was quite clear she wasn’t going to surrender that. He turned his attention back at the black dragon. That thing had to die though.

With the same zeal as before he continued his pursuit. The circling and chasing made his smoke trail create a darkened cloud around him and his supposed sister. All the while he snapped at the black abomination again and again. He was sure he’d break its toughened skin with a single bite. He was sure he’d grab it given just enough time. Dirka he entirely ignored. He just wanted the black dragon dead.

@Legion02

Dirka immediately after the smoke set in teleported Terzotz away to the Rift. "Dirty trick, for one who speaks so high of himself. I'm trying to give you a prime target, as well as strengthen your dragon army, in return for your cooperation." she said while drifting in the air by magic, also sending the smoke away. She looked at her brother with a smug look. "I have a counter for everything you do. You are predictable, and slow. Agree to my terms or don't. Give me a yes or no. I care not. But tI know where you're headed. Just know if you attack her, I'll attack you. Two versus one...I like the odds. Do you?" She floated around him, circling him in weird patterns. "Come now, don't be a clown! You are strong, I'll give you that. One of the strongest and fearless gods there is. Join me and Anu, and we can help you prove it. I don't wish to control you, far from it, but to empower you. Aren't you tired of the other gods treating you like trash? Like leftovers? I sure am. Join my little confederation, and I'll help you in all your endeavors. Except destroying the whole world. I help a little, but not the whole thing. I rather like my Teeth of Madness existing thank you very much." She floatedin front of him and made a platform to stand on. She pit her green saliva on her hand and held it out. "Do you bet your teeth I'm lying? 'Cause you'll loose them quicker than you ca say Binitrogen Tetrasulfide!"

Cob, the Wandering Dwarf
@Dealdric - Deruga
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The dwarf paused for a moment, "I suggest turning around, and going back home. Nothing good comes from even getting close to magic." he said, poking the rock he was tending to. After a few moment, "But no, I haven't seen nobody. And I won't be dumb enough to stick around here if I saw a magician."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ferron
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ferron had rallied the dwarves, and begun the preparations for the formation of a militia. However, the fear spiral still posed a lingering threat. It had reached deep enough in the earth to influence ore, however he was not sure how deep that the aura descended. This situation required further investigation, however he was still required at the village and a dwarf was ill-suited for the task at hand.

Using his power, he pulled mercury from the earth, and with a name, gave it purpose, "Bishop." It was an amorphous blob of quicksilver, designed to easily traverse even the deepest depths of the earth. He gave its instruction, and it went out achieving them.

It sank into the ground, and began to move towards the fear spiral, guided by divine purpose. Once it reached the divine spiral, it purposefully avoided entering the aura, and begun to descend. It went deeper, and deeper until finally it had reached the core of the earth.

Bishop then reached a part of its formless body into the aura, and began to reach its senses into the aura, and imprinting it on the liquid metal. The afflicted area of its body then broke off from the main mass, and turned black, and began to rush away from the aura. As it did, the main mass engulfed the smaller mass and then brought it back to its creator.

Once it had returned to the colony, it handed Ferron the fear-touched mercury. It then proceeded to form into a ball, and began to expel whatever afflicted material it had accumulated from its journey that was otherwise unaccounted for, until it was once again pure metal-aligned mercury.

Ferron examined the corrupted mercury, and begun to see what the construct sensed. He pushed his way passed the fear essence, and began to form a mental picture. At first, he believed that the spiral had reached down to the core itself, which was a major concern, however then he realized something even more troublesome, that the spiral was growing from the core itself. The material of the spiral was the same as that of the core, and they seem perfectly fused together. After realizing this, he then desperately searched through the material to see if there was any trace of another divine signature, but found none. However, that could be as a result of the fear auras capacity to alter the nature of those within its aura.

Ferron took all of the afflicted pieces of Bishop, and gathered them together and placed them in a lead pot that he had created for this purpose. He would need to see if the process of corruption was reversible.

@Dealdric

---

Ragnagedon was searching restlessly through the smoke-filled air as Dirka’s words fell on deaf ears. All words, except for a handful. Ragnagedon gave no sign of understanding her but he did. If the goddess of magic and devilry were joined then he truly stood no chance. He might be raging but he wasn’t suicidal. The unity of the gods always threatened his plans. Apparently, it still did. Soon thereafter he realized that the abomination his supposed sister had created was no longer around. The coward fled. He stopped and hovered amid the smoke to observe the aerial battlefield. The handful of dragons that had followed him were still suspended. Their rage and hatred burning brighter every time they saw Dirka pass them. The power Ragnagedon had given them was overflowing.

Dirka kept talking and balking. Ragnagedon saw it as the vain belief that she thought she could get through to him. The Fire God knew his supposed siblings well enough. They’ll lie to him. Use him as some hound to release upon the world. Only to chain him up again. Who would trust a mad divine? Ragnagedon continued to ignore her. Instead, he was clearly more concerning with his own dragons.

He flew passed each one slowly. Observing them. He could sense the utter hatred only growing as they were forced to seethe. Hatred for Dirka but also hatred for him. Their slit eyes tried to follow him towards every corner. Their might was expanding as his essence within them was growing. They were becoming more than just carriers of his fire. They became the flame itself. Which manifested itself in physical changes too. Their scales grew and sharpened. Spines pierced their skin and rose across the ridge of their backs. Wings grew even larger as a second set of talons grew over the back of their paws. Each gained new horns but these horns were pointing forward. Ready to skewer whatever was in their path. The fire within manifested in a bright, red glow piercing through their scaled hide.

But Dirka kept talking. She now stood on some platform with her hand out. She really didn’t get it. Ragnagedon had no interest in her deal. Still, it seemed like she expected some response. So he gave her one. In a swift move, he flew towards her. A beam of pure, blue fire came out of his opened jaws. A flame so powerful, so hot, so devastating with so much hatred poured into it that it could melt rock and evaporate flesh. That was his answer and he wouldn’t ponder on it much longer as he flew over her back towards Verzak. Leaving his new creations hanging in the air. He knew that if they were strong enough, they’d come back to Verzak to kill him. For now though, he had to forge other plans. The gods still seemed too united.

@Legion02

Dirka erupted from the flames three times her size with anger literally fuming around her with a burn on her left hand. She grabbed her brother by the tail. "You ripe bastard! I gave you a chance, and you literally spat on me. Well, let's see how the great moron of fire likes water!" She attempted to throw him into a far off storm she saw. Whether he got there or not, she cared not. To ensure she had time, she added a gale behind her throw. Then she turned to the dragons and she blasted them with a deep purple lightning, and the three that got away got chained and manacled with magic. Those blasted weren't dead, rather stunned, but not other three. They fought and struggled, but she overpowered them, and killed them one by one. She shrunk to her normal size and opened a portal to the rift. She grinned madly. "He may not have joined, but I still got what I coined! three beasts, three sins! Now my sister will have more time to build her power. But first, I need a victim of her curse." She had the portal go over her and the corpses and they were gone while the beasts she left were stunned and do whatever they decide to do. Never underestimate madness at it's strongest.

---

Dirka and the beast's corpses were in the Rift now. She had them in cages of electrified water. One zap would put them into paralysis, but they were meant to deter intruders. She now was playing music whilst she waited for who she wanted to arrive. They were in her garden, the heart of the Rift. Glowing flowers of blue, purple, green, and orange filled the secluded glade. They covered tables and alters, as well as pedestals, which were all made of floating grey-blue stone.
Two crystal golems made of purple and blue gems came into the glade magically, dragging a man with torn black tribal attire. His raven black hair was long and greasy, and it covered his face. He was skinny yet muscular, and had pale grey skin, seem-ably with claws instead of nails. She stopped playing, then walked forward. She smiled the entire time, then snapped her fingers and the golem sentries went away. The man slumped on the floor and bowed. "My lady...You asked for your most loyal servant?" he raised his head, revealing his wolfish grin, and glowing blue orbs for eyes. Dirka plucked him off the ground, making him stand straight up. She scowled, then hugged him. "I've missed you. Why did you leave!? Did you know how worried I got! What of the other gods found out about you? Huh? What then?" The man pushed her off, which was difficult. "Geese, mother, if I knew you'd do this to me, I wouldn't have gone exploring." She pouted with a scowl. She then hugged him again, this time with a smile. "It's good you're back, my little bastard, but now I need you to do something." she said releasing him. He gained a questioning look, but shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, what do you need?" She grinned madly. "I need you to get me a man or woman under Aunt Anu's Sin Curse. It's for a present for her." she said while giving him a bracelet. "Why don't you have dad do it like normal? I know he still thinks he's a normal human in your domain, but he's better at his than I am. Plus, I need new clothes." She shook her head. "Because he's going after a thief who stole my most sacred artifact given to the humans." Her son got wide eyed. She laughed. "Don't worry I gave him the mimics, and a charm that lets me know when he finds the man." She snapped her fingers and her son's clothes were repaired and cleaned up, and it was covered in blue gems and good cloth. She made him a portal and he walked through. "Come back safe, Rescoreje." and she went back to playing.

---

@Leotamer

Deruga took some offense to the comment about magic. "Well that's rude! How do you know you're not talking to one right now? You don't, because a magician look like any other man, it's his behavior you gotta watch! Like, his eye twitching..." His eye twitches "doing random acts..." flicks his own ear "and wearing tribal attire or robes!" his robes open a little showing his tribal attire. He walks on, but turns to wave. "Well, thanks anyway! Bye!" and he walked off. The mimics started laughing, but Deruga shushed them. "Yes master...I mean Deruga" one said. The main one was a lizard and smacked that one with it's tail. Deruga thought this strange, but shrugged it off and went on.

Cob, the Wandering Dwarf
@Dealdric - Deruga
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Cob paused for a moment while the magician spoke. He immediately understand what the fool was trying to say with only a quick glance behind his shoulder. He began to scrap the moss from the rock, and halfhearted shouted to the man, "Perhaps I am overly frank. But I think you misunderstand me. Magic is dangerous to everyone, especially its wielder."

He began to mutter to himself, though loud enough for the magician to hear if he was listening, "How much do you have to give, for something that can be turned against you at the whim of a fickle god." and then almost instinctively, he said, "It is better to build a hovel on solid foundation, rather than a castle in the scorching sands."

As he said it, he kicked the rock he was trying to grow moss from. He picked up his pickaxe, and began to stumble away in the opposite direction. A part of him knew that talking to a magician, much less provoking one, was a bad idea. However there was a bit of a curiosity about the stranger, not because he knew magic, or at least claimed to know magic, but because he was the first human he encountered. However, there would be other humans, and perhaps ones with a better discernment about their worship.

The Abyssal Fields seemed to be unusually calm and empty, despite the creatures that ran about it and did their daily tasks and activities. The only sounds most could make out were the occasional birds chirping, creature grunting and murmuring, and the rivers flowing about. Baina did not interfere with this natural order, instead observing from a cliffside at the majority of life, in the guise of Attiza, its vulture form. Even in such a small form, it could see oh so much of the trees and nature that was under its control and its influence. Its head cocked to the side, left and right, to see if any new beings had infiltrated the realm, but it seemed as though none would. It seemed that this land would remain under its thumbs...or tentacles? For another day, anyway. Though it made it wonder of the fate of its siblings and what they might be up to. Perhaps sister Oao found something new in the blackness that some not dare venture? Iva’Krorh could have new nuggets of information, as a god of knowledge ought. The younger gods in general might be fun to play around with and see what is going on in their somewhat new lives.

With a loud creak and crack, the form of Attiza was dropped as Baina went into its usual multi-armed form. Its tendrils waved in the air as it looked up. The lands that belonged to its siblings would, more than likely, belong to only one of them, hopefully itself. Getting to know the lands better always seemed the best idea and learning in general was always such a treat for it. The different parts of their home so different and varied, yet always seemed so interconnected, to the point where there always seemed to be something new even in something that it already was well-versed in. Its hand taped its head as it looked towards the familiar tower of black that was in the horizon. “Given enough time, would they enjoy the joys of learning about the surrounding world as well? Maybe them absorbing is somewhat like them learning in its own way...I did learn quite a bit from them myself.” It couldn’t help but wonder. Well, eventually time will tell if that’s the case, no? Wait...there was something wrong. It failed to realize it earlier but now it seemed a little more apparent.

Baina was bored...Perhaps not bored, though? It did love thinking about all the little bits of the world that were laid out before it, so maybe it wasn’t bored. No...It was anxious. Anxious for something, though it couldn’t quite put it into words. The siblings might know though, yes? They seemed plenty intelligent so maybe they knew something that it wasn’t even considering. And if not, who knows? A new god could also be born today for all it knew, so it might be meeting a new piece of the family to help it understand why it felt this way. It gave a long stretch of its arms, each hand open with the fingers spread out. Its tendrils and cloak did the same before they all finally settled as Baina floated upwards. “Let us take a look.” It thought before it slowly flew off. But in mere seconds, it went from simply flying to soaring quickly through the sky.

It had been some time since it began its flight and not much had seemed to be buzzing about, at least anything that truly interested it. Strange that? Usually the god found something in short time to be enamored and wanted to observe to learn more about it or how it interacted with the world that was around it. But instead? It was merely the usual birds and wolves and bears that it had seen rather often and, for some reason, they didn't spark much curiosity. But throughout the days of travel, it did come across one piece of news that may just be of some interest. A flight of dragons were seen flying across the sky, and the description of one in particular was obviously that of Brother Ragnageddon. Probably just another case of him setting nature ablaze. It would be so much more interesting if he hadn't done it so often. However, a thought occurred not long after it heard this news. Likely, the other gods would try and intervene in his efforts. So, it'd stand to reason that maybe a large battle is going to break out. Baina was still worried about one thing it knew from past Ragnageddon sieges.

There was a very likely chance that the events here would return to the status quo. Maybe a razed village or forest or two, but besides that, the gods would go about their business afterwards with only a few things differing. All that excitement would be for nothing. That would be disappointing...

Well, if things won't change, may as well see if it can lend a helping hand to make a change occur, hmm?

That thought resonated in Baina quite a bit actually. Yes...If life refused to change, then why not try to make it change with the two hands given to you? Or, suppose, 4 hands given to you. 6 or so in its more monstrous form. It raised a hand, trying to remember just what direction they said the dragons were flying in. Ah yes, that way. If its face could properly due it, it would have quite the large smile plastered on its mug. It still felt the joy though, so what did it matter? And with that joy, it floated off again, in the direction of where the dragons were said to be going.

The flight was shockingly nowhere near as anxious for Baina as it was for it earlier. This time, there were so many new activities the creatures partook in and even a few new species it saw on its way. A tribe of werewolf-like creatures were even making plans on invasion towards their enemy tribe, seemingly in a decisive move so this could be an interesting sight for later. But now, finally, the scene unveiled itself before the lord of conquest. And, honestly? It was a better sight then it had even imagined. Dragons flew one after the other to try and slay Dirka and the dragon she rode. Ragnageddon obviously was putting quite the effort in that task as well. Their 3 headed brother and Sveiland were busy with the dragons as well. It was an all-out brawl once again, was it not? It was such a sight to see this battle so high in the sky...That Baina did not even realize as one dragon went and snapped out its mouth closed on it. It was one gulp and a swallow as it was suddenly now in the creature's mouth.

It was unfortunate that it decided to make a god its meal.

In one swift attack, the dragon soon found the comparatively smaller creature suddenly out of its body, a gaping hole now through its back as it screeched in rage and pain. Without hesitation, Baina then flew right back within the hole it made, popping out another side, now straight through the neck. The pain was stunting it severely, delaying its reactions. Another movement inside the hole it made, and it popped out another, though this time, it was not as fast. There were struggles under the skin, gurgling and tears filling the air. But it was soon too late as the god bursted out through the creature's skull, with it covered in bits of bone and viscera. And with it, the dragon was quickly slayed as its corpse descended down. It barely registered what it had done, but once it realized it, it turned over to its siblings and decided that its presence was now known. And if so? It might as well confirm which side was to be deserving of aid.

"Apologies for the dead warrior brother...After it bit at me, I simply went on autopilot, feeling the need to slay it to leave its body. Now, which side desires victory during this small war?" It said, not caring of its smaller side in comparison to some of its siblings. Let alone caring that they were in the heat of combat.

@Dealdric @Legion02 @jetipster @Lmpkio

Sheltered from Hyperions light in the shadows of the trees her surrogate form was undisturbed by his divine radiance. It bent and swayed with the motion of the light just as the shadows did, a living gap in his presence. She ignored the presence of the messenger for now as greater priorities gripped her attention. It was a curious creation but she ill trusted it's purpose.

"This isn't of my creation." Her gentle voice spoke in hushed whispers from the shadows cast by his very subjects as they stood in the path of his light.

"Look, brother." She left him to stand against the growing power of the divine essence of fear that the spiraling strands exuded. She gave him time to see Anu'Varr, Naswaru and Iarus attempt to brave the crater, each to a different outcome.

"If you stay... If you remain..." She couldn't help but come to a halt in her soft dulcet cautioning as she found herself affected by the influence of the strands herself. She could distantly feel the growing fear through the dancing ribbons of darkness where light no longer remained like sensations across a phantom limb. She could feel as though it were watching her, staring through the darkness itself and gazing upon her naked pale form through all obstacles. A great unblinking eye which threatened to consume her by the mere act of simply witnessing her. It was faint but all the more terrible for the thoughts it stirred, the discomfort which built upon itself.

"It will consume you." With that said she removed all but her sense of hearing from the shadows which occupied the night stricken area around him. While she held some concern for him her intentions had changed since she had begun speaking. Though it would bother her little if her cruel sibling was transformed into something much less caustic to her very being she couldn't have him glomming onto this power. Seeing Iarus's own essence twist before her very eyes she saw an even greater fear realized in that instant.

A fear of losing agency over her fears.

_
Since her birth in the beginning of the era of gods she has always been slave to her fear. Her terrors have driven almost every choice made in her lifetime. She was it's slave but her fears were always hers to heed. She believed that she was largely acting with her own safety in mind, that she was right to believe these phobias which poisoned her every thought. There were times when she felt the weight of this burden well, times where she even began to doubt just how much she was even in control of herself. This, however, was different.

She knew now that if another deity were to become the sole inheritor of all fear then she would be at terrible risk. If Iarus alone controlled fear then he alone might very well control her. Fearing what she did of the other gods and their attitudes towards her her very fears could all be realized were he to tamper with the very fears that protected her. He could very well manipulate her through her fears or worse yet remove them. Without fear she would lose the very reason she hid. She would emerge from her caverns into the light of day.

They would descend and rend her apart in their hatred and greed.

No. She was already a slave to her own fears. She would not become the slave of another god. She would not let herself be victimized, not without a fight.

She simply continued to watch the spire with interest. The twin strands were changing, spinning faster around one another now. The land no longer rose as the field had reached the crest of it's expanse. It seemed to hover at a stable radius at this current junction in time, the crater having developed into a full on hole which descended all the way to the center of the world all around the twisted black spire. At the very tip of the spire the black color which infused the very material was starting to recede. As the color fell from the spires form it revealed a dull grey stone which seemed to crumble apart, the small debris breaking off in the wind as the black force left the material. It was little more than the tip for now but though slow in it's descent it showed no signs of stopping or even slowing.

She watched every second of it, a new terror holding her leash now: The fear of losing control.

---

@Lmpkio@Rune_Alchemist@ReusableSword@Lord Zee@Archangel89

---

Slowly Anu regained her senses, shedding most of the fear that plagued her heart of hearts. It was a difficult process to overcome, but Anu’s domain called for it. It compelled her after all. She was the Goddess of Devilry, not some wretch like Oao whose fear was all crippling. Whose very fear compelled her to live in darkness, avoiding everyone as if they were a plague. This did not suit Anu, for she was the Devil! And she would not be confined by her fear!

She stood up, her red eye’s now gleaming with hatred as they gazed at the spire. She wanted to destroy it, to make it cease from existence. It would be futile in the end she realized, for fear would always exist no matter the shape or form it took and the power to destroy the Spire she had not. Perhaps several of her siblings could do so, but not all of them were here.

Anu turned her gaze away from the spire, to look and see if any of her siblings fared better. She saw Hyperion, a bastion of all that was holy, standing tall in the thick of it. Why he was there, Anu did not know. The minute she had found of his existence, Anu knew she would always hate him. Trying to eradicate a fundamental aspect of the universe was pointless. You cannot have darkness without light, for powers beyond her dictated it.

Next her gaze fell upon Naswaru, he stood upon the edge of the pit just as she did. His form changed a little, his skin a grey like her own. It seemed he too had stepped into the sphere of influence and rejected the power within.

Then she saw Iarus, and her mood soured further. The Father of Lies, God of Deception, was bathing in the fear, letting it consume him. His alteration was apparent, Anu could see he had openly embraced the new power before him. She had never been particularly fond of him, but because of this, she would hate him for all of eternity. A God of Fear was going to be a nuisance for her, and all her siblings, she could feel it. Something would be done about it, this she would make certain.

Having seen quite enough of the Spire, Anu ripped reality apart and stepped into the portal before her. Realities fabric resealed itself, and Anu was gone from the spire. She found herself in her throne room in an instant, before her the Succubus were having fun with Elaria. They turned to Anu, looking at her new body with shocked expressions. She instead ignored them, grabbed her bone goblet and walked over to the blood pool. She paused when she saw her reflection in the crimson.

She was so mesmerized with her appearance, that it took Calli’s voice to break the spell that held her gaze.

“Mistress! Please answer me!” Calli pouted.

Anu turned her head to look at the Succubus. Calli wore an expression of concern. ”What is it Calli?” she said at last.

“Anu, what happened? You’ve been staring at yourself for a long time now. We though something might be wrong.” Calli said softly.

”I am fine. The Spire altered my appearance, that is all. The power it wielded… I could not control it. It would have consumed me in the end I think.” Anu mumbled.

“This is good to hear. You were always beautiful to us Mistress, now even more so. I especially enjoy your eyes my Lady, I feel as if I could swim in them forever.” She whispered.

”Mhm. Very good Calli, your words please me after the events of today. Shall we retire to my chambers?”
Calli blushed, shifting her body like a giddy child. “I would enjoy that mistress but there is something you should see first.”

Anu titled her head, another surprise?

---

Anu was led down flights of stairs, to the very entrance of the castle by her small entourage of followers. The succubi were giggling as ever, and Elaria had elected to continue her divine mission, so had left them.

Calli had explained a group of lesser Demons had interrupted their fun with Elaria to bring them some news. A strange winged creature had shown up before the Gates of the castle, screeching very loudly. Almost like a baby bird wanting something to eat. They had deduced it wanted to see her, and every attempt to get close had met with a hiss.

Though her followers were fearsome, it seemed they had been bested. It was almost sad really. The black gates were open, and as Anu gazed down at the creature from the top of the steps, it was a strange creature to be sure. No face visible either, which was most interesting. She told her followers to stay the top, and Anu floated down the steps to meet the creature.

In its hand, it held a scroll. A piece of parchment she could only assume was for her own eyes. Now within a few feet of the creature, she held out her hand, waiting for the letter to be delivered.

---

---

As the flaming god's wrath left the smoldering area, a new feeling would suddenly take its place. The bitter air begins to chill the surrounding area and smothered out any remnants of fiery rage left behind by Ragnagedon. If Dirka had remained within the battlefield for just a little longer, she would've bore witness to the mighty golden wings that emerged from the spiraling clouds above. Drakairós had followed the scent of their fiery brother for the past hour and were hot on his pursuit. However, they were not alone in their endeavor. Behind their radiant form, four other dragons emerged from the clouds behind him, screeching and howling with a ghastly grimace, as they followed their new master to battle.

They bore the frame of Raganagedon's Verzakian dragons, but at the same time looked very much to be different entities. Their bodies surged in blue energy and their newborn spines became crystalized into place. No longer do they bear the fiery essence of their original master's flame. No longer did their eyes glow in wrathful fury. No longer do they even breathe fire. Thanks to Seviand's help, the two gods had created a new race to challenge the fire dragons.

The ice dragons were on the rise.

For the previous hour, since the God of Ice departed, the God of Weather and their "son" had been out purging other fire dragons within the nearby area and freeing them from being Ragnagedon's slaves. The battles were intensely fierce, with the three headed hydra fiercely protecting his creations as if they were his own children, making sure that none would perish to their blazing fires. Upon subduing the fire dragons, Drakairós would leave the "purification process" to their antithesis, who effectively replaced Seviand as they blessed them within a cold embrace. It was difficult at first, considering they were still perfecting the process, but they all caught on quickly. They were only able to find three more fire dragons before they caught wind of Ragnagedon's essence coming from elsewhere.

But as they approached the area, they could quickly tell that the Fire God was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is this rage-inducing nut-case..." growls Rós as he observes the battlefield below, "We're going to show him the~"

He'd pause briefly as he detects several fire dragons down below. Yet upon closer inspection, it would seem as if they were all frozen in place. Not frozen as if they were frozen in ice, but rather they simply just stood there like airborne statues.

"Oh? Well this is interesting." he chuckles gleefully, "Stuck in place and unable to run. The perfect opportunity to purify them, don't we say?"

"Indeed." answered Dra as they make their way down to the frost-covered ground.

As the dragons land, the golden hydra waddled his way in between the frozen fire dragons in place. As they looked at them closely through the howling blizzard, they could only see their eyes following their every movement. Their joints were locked in place, yet their eyes and mind were still very much aware.

"You poor, poor, things!" hissed Kai with a cackle in his breath, "You should be destroying everything around you not standing around like dumb pieces of goat shit!"

As they continued observing the others, Rós quickly issued several guttural chuckles towards the ice dragons, who lifted their heads to listen at what their new master has to say. They instantly recognized what it meant. Quickly, three of the dragons approached their respected fire dragon and began to purify them through their cold breath. The three would soon join the growing army after a mere minute of rapid exposure. Yet as the Hydra and the remaining ice dragon approached the last two figures, they soon realized that these were no ordinary fire dragons. They were somewhat larger than the others, their very skin bursting in a fiery red blaze, and their claws and horns were sharper and more prominent on their bodies. Their essence alone was already way more prominent, surely representing alpha leaders of the pack.

"Such power... such strength..." cooed Rós as he carefully inspects their powerful frame, "The perfect candidates for our growing army."

Another guttural growl commanded the last ice dragon to attempt purifying it, as it slowly approached the paralyzed dragon.

"Make haste with the operation." Dra replied hastily, "The longer we remain here, the less time we have in chasing down Ragnagedon. Or worse, he might even~"



Just then they could hear the faint sound of screeching coming from the south. Curious, Drakairós turned their heads to the direction of the noise, listening closely from what's approaching from within the clouds. It was the unmistakable sound of incoming fire dragons and all three heads began issuing a toothy grin. More units will be approaching their cause. Yet the more they listened, they soon heard the noise to become louder and more chaotic. Their grins began to falter as they became genuinely more concerned. This wasn't the sound of one or two dragons. When they finally showed up, the God of Weather saw a massive swarm of these dragons coming their way.

"Oh lookie lookie!" cooed Kai with upmost glee, "Here comes the grand cavalry to avenge their fallen comrades! I smell a delicious slaughter coming our way!"

Dra and Rós wouldn't share the same enthusiasm however.

"They've brought reinforcements." Dra said ominously.

"Shouldn't they be going after their Fire God leader?" Rós asked curiously, before suddenly realizing something.

He turns around to see the two large dragons beginning to shake violently in place.

"Oh. Never mind, I think we know the answer..."

---

As the radiating god slowly makes his way through the cascading darkness and fear, Hyperion would suddenly find himself being hailed by the one person he despises. While his curiosity lingers towards the direction of where Oao's voice came from, he made no plans to stop his advance forward. The men behind him could also hear the strange voice from what seemed to be coming from everywhere. If only they knew that she lurked right within their shadow...

The voice claims to have no part of the spire's erection, something the vainful God of Light doesn't believe in for one second.

"Yet the darkness here swirls around like a runaway plague." he booms vocally, "What plans do you have lurking beneath it's morbid surface?"

Oao would then give him a vision into the eyes of three other gods that had braved the darkness of fear momentarily, before all forced themselves to escape its corrupting grasp.

The first vision he saw belonged to Anu'Varr, the heretical Goddess of Devilry. At first, it seemed that she laughed within the basking gloaming of within the darkness, even as her appearance began to change with her hair greying, her eyes turning a dark crimson, her horns sharpening, and her hysteric laughing growing ever more. Yet her laughter soon turned into horrifying screams of pain and agony, fearing for her life, as she seemed to wither away from the growing void.

He then found himself within the vision of Naswaru, the honorable God of the Hunt. He tried speaking to the darkness, in a hopeless attempt to call for Oao's guidance. His form too began to shift and transform into a horrifying half-man, half-draconian abomination, as he reeled in utter torment before he too fled from the void.

The last person he found himself seeing was that of Iarus, the slithering God of Deception. He seemed to also revel in this fear, similarly to Anu herself. But like all the others, he too was forced to dive out of this hell and recalculate his strategies.

Oao's voice would then return to Hyperion once more warning him about the consequences he risks for staying in this vile darkness. If he stays, this vile substance will consume him too. He too shall recount for all his fears and phobias, just like the others who had fallen before him. These gods, like him, were curious about the origins of this spire and what purpose it served and, through their curiosity, they were afraid of what they've seen. Yet there was one they all seemed to lack, or overlook, one crucial element that they should've kept in mind when approaching the void.

The will to face and overcome their worst fears.



Hyperion had faced his fears countless of times through his endeavors of the Old Crusades, even till prior to this event. In the long battles between his divine shining light, against the vile gloaming darkness, he had ruthlessly slain all forms of heretical obstacles all in order to eradicate his opposing opposite. Yet no matter how much corrupted blood he shed, no matter how many heretics he slain, darkness always was one step ahead of him. In his slumbers, he had come witness to countless nightmares of his antithesis swallowing up the entire realm of Tabrasa and ultimately drowning it in a pool of shadow. He saw his men being corrupted in horrifying methods and turning into a corrupted mirror image of himself. A slave of darkness, with armor black as void, leathery brown wings tattered like those of a dragons, long twirling horns rising above his helmet, and his eyes burning red in fury, all as they attempt to uproot at all his achievements in peace and order into a world of tyranny and chaos.

For centuries has he bore this fear of darkness taking over everything he valued. Yet it wouldn't be until years after his last crusade did the God of Light began to slowly understand of his purpose within this realm. He, along with his comrades, forced himself to understand the fact that he will not be able to eradicate every single portion of darkness upon the land. His duty is not to paint the entire world in light, but rather to maintain it and eliminate those who oppose it. Because without darkness, there would be no light. By all means does he heavily dislike this thought. He hates it with all of his guts, his unchallenged vanity always trying to tell him that it's wrong. But yet he's forced to accept for what it is. Even as he finds himself reliving these nightmares as the darkness punctures briefly into his divine shield, and even as his men began to grow slightly fearful of their predicament, he keeps the fact that as long as he stands - as long as he holds dominion over his god-given power of light - he will stand strong against all who oppose him.

He will be the flame that will light the world's darkest hour.

"No." he pronounces confidently towards Oao as he hastens his advance.

As his light grows ever brighter, Hyperion can vaguely see the outline of the spire through the thick fog of darkness. The source of this madness was still somewhat far, but certainly not out of reach. Yet the chaos continued to intensify the deeper he went. The world started to seemingly collapse right before his very eyes, the crater descending deeper and deeper into the center of the earth, swallowing everything into the void below. Even the spire began to slowly crumble by the tip, and whilst Hyperion couldn't see this with his own eyes, he could feel like the climax of this event was drawing near. If he failed to stop this creation now, the world would be at great risk within it's fearful mercy.

The God would then stop deep within the chaos spiraling around him and look up at the spire with meaningful attempt to halt its ominous advance. He looks back at his mortified men, loosing their minds over this anarchic atmosphere, yet as long as they basked within the divine radiance of their god, they bravely pushed on. It was the perfect time for a short moral-boosting speech.

"Brothers." his imperatively thunderous voice echoed through the heads of the angels and the howling darkness, "Hear me and hear me well. We've marched within the depths of chaos. Surrounded all sides by the fear and despair that threatens to deconstruct what it means to be an Angel of Light. Yet your training has prepared you for this very moment. You've molded your mind and body to become the best warriors the realm has ever seen. A warrior who acts out of courage and seeks out honor cannot fail. Darkness will never prevail against us, never shall we fear it, no matter how hard it attempts to."

The god slowly raises his golden lance, pointing it's shining blade straight towards the spire itself.

"You are soldiers of Light." he chants as a shimmering light begins charging from the blade's tip, "You are the fist that smashes with the force of a Legion. You are the blade that pierces through heresy's hide, no matter how thick. You are the radiant dawn that mortals look up to every morning, the light that provides them hope. With courage and honor, you cannot fail. You will not fail. And you will push on till your last breath."

The light begins to glow steadily brighter and bright until it reached it's maximum charge.

"For you are the end to all who stand against the light of truth and justice. Let none dispute your ranks, as Harbingers of light!"

And just like that, a beam of purifying light bursts from the lance's tip, puncturing through the darkness like a knife through butter as it speeds towards the spire in an attempt to cease this madness once and for all. May the gods prove his efforts to be fruitful.

Location:
Wall of Hlakth, Interior

---

"Wow this place is...big." The inside of the cavern, was massive. In fact, by all accounts it couldn't have been shaped like this. It defied all logical thinking that something this big could be contained within something like the wall. Well, she wasn't going to overly question it. All she had to do was keep moving. Cresting the top of a set of stairs carved into the ice, Lahzria placed her hands to the sides of her mouth and made a funnel. "Helllooooooo!" Her voice echoed lightly off the walls.

"This place is massive..." Bryyre, trailing along behind Lahzria replied, finally catching up to her. "I can see why people get lost. No landmarks, so many passages. It's almost impossible to tell where you are. You'd need some way of tracking your progress."

"Well if I had the time and materials I could probably make a map!" Lahzria replied brightly. "Not that it matters, I think we're going the right way."

"You think?"

"Yep!" Lahzria continued, hopping down onto a nearby ledge. Bryyre had to catch her arm before she went tumbling right over the edge. "W-woah that's...a long way down...uh anyways, yea, probably going the right way." The human continued walking, taking out a small parchment with some notes on it. "Our chances of finding something just by walking alone is pretty good. From what I've read it seems there are multiple portals to the library here. Not to mention the markings on the walls."

"Markings?"

"What? Haven't noticed?" Lahzria paused for a moment as the hallway began to enlarge, the walls, the floor, everything expanding outwards as they walked. Lahzria paused, frowning lightly. Coming to another ledge, Lahzria paused and observed the impossible drop before her. The massive Cavern's floor seemed to have given way to a large pit below. Across the chasm she could see...a structure of some sort? Seemed to be made of stone, from the look of it and was some sort of door and other mechanism. It'd be easier to get up the other side it seemed - the ice had been cut in various places that seemed easy enough to climb. "Uhm...anyways, there have been small markings carved into the ice occasionally. I can't really read them, too worn or faded and I don't have anything to try and make them...but they have to be leading us somewhere...This place is massive."

"How do we get across?" Bryyre frowned, observing the room. There was no obvious path to the other side. The walls were smooth ice, making climbing the way across impossible. There was no bridge, just a pit of spikes.

"No idea." She replied in a happy, completely unhelpful manner. "Could make a bridge, maybe? Or if we could fly, perhaps."

"And how do you think we should do that?" The old hunter questioned. "No wood or rope."

"Well, we do have rope..." Lahzria scratched her head, observing the area before her. This was quite the problem, wasn't it? She did't have the time to actually construct a bridge. By her own estimations, it was nearing or a little past midnight. She just needed to be creative with what she had. Stone hunting knife. Rope. Lots of rope. Food rations. Extra furs...Bryyre had his spear. And his muscles. "...hey Bryyre, think you can lift me?"

"...I'm not going to try tossing you across that chasm."

"Bwahaha," Lahzria laughed cheekily at the suggestion. "Whaaa? Okay, just because I thought of it and thought it'd be fun, doesn't mean I'm a complete idiot. But can you lift me?"

"You weigh about as much as a snow hare, and I wrestled a bear once."

"Okay, okay, I get it mister." It was well, a somewhat crazy idea and she didn't know if it'd work. But she needed to get down there somehow, and since there was no obvious way she had to somehow scale a sheer cliff made of ice. Was this an exercise in teamwork? She didn't know, nor cared too much. For now though, she simply grabbed the rope from her satchels and began tying them into complex knots, using the extra fur to make a bit of extra padding. "Hey, give me your spear will ya?" Obliging, Bryyre curiously looked on at what Lahzria was doing.

She snapped the thing in half.

"Lahzria!"

"Hey, don't worry don't worry! I know what I'm doing. Sorta." Taking the sharpened stone head of the spear, Lazhira untied it from the wooden pole, before making a new notch and securing it so that it was perpendicular to the wood and tying it firmly and giving it a firm tug. Good, nice and secure. Probably. With the makeshift harness and axe now completed, Lahzria tied it around her.

"Great, now lift me down there."

"What?"

"The rope! This thing should hold most of my weight. Should just have to hold it and lower me down." Bryyre rubbed his head, shaking it lightly. Well, there was no use in telling the girl no now so he'd just have to go with it and make sure she didn't hurt herself.

@Lord Zee
Anu'Varr

---

It had been growing impatient. It was delaying in its tasks, Lord Iva would not be pleased. As it waited for the mistress of the castle to show herself, the black winged creature began pacing, eyeing the succubi and other demons idly. It had no business with them, so for the most part it ignored them unless they had come to close. For then it would screech, flaring its wings as a warning. It seemed that finally however, its target showed herself. As soon as Anu left the castle, the creature stood straighter, holding its wings closer to its body as if showing respect for the Goddess of Devilry. Bowing, it presented Anu with the scroll, letting her take it quickly and waited for her to read.

Iva's Sigil was painted delicately on the top, making the identity of the sender fairly easy to guess. The letter was fairly long winded, with a few tangents and more than half of it was likely just rambling of the mad god.



The letter seemed to make a proposition and Iva's intentions clear. He was likely going to join the assembly in some fashion, and would then feed information to Anu of its activities if she didn't want to join. In return, he simply wanted to open a branch of his library there. It also informed her of Gammaton's flies that were to act as both of their eyes and ears in the world. Assuming of course, he did stay in this assemblage. It was likely he had some other plan as well, though it was probably difficult to tell at this point. Once Anu had finished with the letter, the black creature flicked its tail impatiently, seemingly waiting for her reply.

@Duoya
Hayim

---

The creature, seemingly aware of Hayim's presence immediately backed away slightly, flapping its wings and taking a step back, observing the small God of Health. Play? What was this play? It hadn't a clue, but what it did know it was here on Iva's behalf to get Hayim to come to the Library. It produced the scroll, rolling it open and laying it on the ground.

Assuming that Hayim looked, he'd find a rather bright, if childish drawing of Iva on the front of it. It showed the god of knowledge sitting next to a pile of grass, wearing an over exaggerated frown. An arrow indicated the next part of the story, one where Hayim arrived on the back of this black winged creature, causing the drawing of Iva to look up, doing a happy pirouette. The third and final one showed Iva pointing to the grass, with Hayim having planted and caused a number of plants and everything to grow.

Of course, Hayim was free to ignore the sheet and do what he did best - heal. But could he truly heal this abomination? Would it want to be healed? It seemed fairly content with its life, for the moment and didn't seem to be in any pain. Perhaps mildly impatient. It might not take kindly to being 'healed' either, but perhaps such thoughts didn't cross the god of Health's mind.

@thewizardguy

Dirka stepped out of a portal in a forest. She looked around and scratched her head. "Sommler! Where are you, my favorite brother? I have a way to ease your mind and a deal to make with you. Brother?" She continued to walk through the forest, which had a mysterious aura around it. Fog was thick, and the dusk sky made it worse. She thought about summoning something like a wisp, but decided not too, thinking it might scare Sommler off. "Sommler?"

---

@Lord Zee
Deruga now entered Anu'Varr's territory. He had found tracks with a dark magic trace to them, so he knew he was still on track. He made sure to steer clear of Demons, even if he knew about Dirka's recent alliance with Anu. They had too much hate in them, not enough madness for a magician's liking. He followed the trails and the mimics turned into desert animals to assist. A coyote, a scorpion, a snake, and a lizard were with him. They trekked far, but they constantly hoped that Anu's servants of lust didn't notice him. That's one thing he truly had no desire to see in his life. "May the lady help us, or we're demon toys..." one of the mimics put so positively.
_{(that was sarcastic)}

---

He had watched this village long. Very long. Two hours really sucked to Rescoreje. He lay on a tree branch, it was night where he was, and it was beautiful outside. There were many stars here, but only due to a god's taste in night skies. He watched the village, waiting for one more light to go out on it's own, before he made his move. He wasn't as strong as his mother by any means, and his father had experience, even if he thought he really didn't at the time. He remembered seeing his mother's hand have a cook burn on it, which surprised him, but after thinking, it was most likely Ragnagedon who caused it.
Poof, the last light was out. "And another one bites the rocks. He hah." and he jumped down and charged into the village. He went to the sage's hut, where the afflicted were held. Sages being magicians focused in healing herbs rather than spells, he had some leeway talking, but Sages answered more to Hayim than Dirka. He entered and the sage sat on a stool watching him. "I've been expecting you, boy. What do you want?" Rescoreje grinned his toothy smile. "My mother requests that man for something big. Will you comply?" The sage thought for a moment then sighed. "Why should I? I am a man of healing, not cheap tricks. Give me an honest answer, boy." The son of magic had little patience. He produced a minor aura of anger and madness. "I may not rhyme like my mother, but I'm just as much of a bother. Give him to me freely, or I'll take him by pocus!" The sage sighed. He bowed and got out of the way. "I will warn you, those of mortal flesh are likely afflicted by those with the unholy disease." Rescoreje smiled. "Anything made by a god is holy, and I have just enough god blood in me to be resistant to it. Plus, who said anything about touching him? Sorfesta Guhast!" and the afflicted man rose from the straps. A portal opened up, and the man went in. Rescoreje was sweating from the amount of energy he used, but he would be fine. He entered the portal and it closed.
The sage sat down with a huff. "Demigods, pfft."

---

Terzotz flew around the Rift without a care. He had no worries of height, wind appeared when he needed it, and he never felt hungry. The sky was a blueish purple, as it always is this time of day. The ground below, covered in stone structures and glowing forests. Wisps flew here and there, delivering messages and scrolls, each for a ascended mage or a construct of the great lady. She made the place, and she made sure it would't burn out. It ran on both her divine energy and the energy the people used. Just how any madman would like it.
Terzotz saw the crystal sentries here or there, and he heard rumors of new floating mountains and isles would be added for energy focuses. Although he remembered being a fire dragon, it paled to the sheer peace alone being one of magic brought. He feared nothing, needed nothing, and cared little for the mortal plane. The only thing that lapsed was his sanity. His thoughts flicked here and there, to seem-ably unrelated things, yet he could tell you the ties they have in common, making them linked. He had issues speaking as he used to without making a pun or seem-able insult that's actually a complement. He started fidgeting, twitching and making weird noises. And every day it got worst. He could tell something was a miss with what little sanity remained, but it was like water rushing through a river. No matter what you put in it's path, the water will find a way, and no barrier could last forever.
It terrified him, yet he felt a comfort in it. He accepted the inevitable total loss. Things were funnier, more light hearted, and enjoyable. Dirka told him this when he asked her about her madness. And she ended with this:

~ 8 Hours Prior

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

Drops of toxic substance drip from a dirty rusted needle, hitting the stone-cold floor that echoed through the dark chambers. Within the dreary gothic laboratory, a mad scientist was scuffling around through the different vials of liquid within them. He grasped one with a poisonous purple hue, labeled crudely as "liquified wolfsbane", and shook it around briefly. The substance began to bubble and fiz slightly before dying down. No, that's not the one. He picks up another vial of pale blue color, labeled "cyanide", and did the same. Nope that wasn't the one either. He continues picking up the others and repeating the process. Where did he put his latest experiment? He really needs to organize his workspace because this is ridiculous.

Outside his office, a row of barred chambers lined perpendicular to his own. Within them, prisoners of all shapes and sizes, genders and sexual preferences, young and old, were huddled separately as they awaited what was coming. Some simply sat quietly, bug-eyed and shivering in the cold damp cage, others be wailing and whimpering, with some demanding their freedom, and some just lied in a corner within a fetal position, and sucked their thumbs. There were even a few so vicious in their endeavors to escape, that they were chained up to the wall, with metal clamps clapsing their wrists and/or ankles. Many knew what was going to come in one shape or another, but no one knew how it will transpire.

Within several minutes of waiting, the office doors open to see Nerplaguis, clad in a dark robe whilst wearing a beak for a mask, as his lanky form slowly walked towards the nearest cell before looking both hallways at everyone else.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" he announced in a muffled, yet somewhat cheerful tone that could be heard throughout the long hallway, "Girls and boys? How are you all doing on this fine evening we have here today?"

Most of the prisoners remained silent, save for a few who attempted to jeer him psychotically.

"Wonderful!" the scientist exclaims as he claps his hand thrice in glee, "Glad the day has went swellingly for ya'll."

He then turns to his right as he walks up the hallway, looking at all the different prisoners in his possession.

"Now," he begins in a slightly more earnest tone, "You might all be wondering why you've managed to find yourselves here. What possessed me, Nerplaguis, to knock you all out with sleeping gas and drag your lifeless unconscious corpses here? Have you done something bad to upset the gods? Have you sinned?"

He pauses as he gives a few seconds to have anyone answer him. Not a word.

"Well," he continues, turning the opposite direction and walks down to the left, "Perhaps some of you sinned. But do not worry! You were all selected randomly in a fair, unbiased, lottery. And I don't even know what 'lottery' means!"

He began snickering at himself for a few short minutes before regaining his composure.

"But I digress," he states somewhat more seriously, "You are all here to be witness to my newest experiment."

He quickly reaches into his cloak's breast pocket to reveal a sickly black substance, a thick liquid that bubbled like molten tar and seemed to have the aroma of death encapsulated within. Some of the prisoner's closest to it began to feel sick, with a few already throwing up slightly at just the mere sight of it.

"This." the mad scientist states as he lets everyone look at the blackened vial, "This, is my newest concoction. Just so happened to have finished mixing in the last few ingredients and now it's finally ready for testing. I call this masterpiece... the Bubonic Plague. But you will know it as... the Black Death!"

He giggles manically as he slowly walks back to the corridor intersection, with fearful eyes watching him move while terrifyingly still.

"And today," he says softly as he cocked his head to his left, "We're gonna play a little game with it."

The scientist slowly walks over to his right and pulls a stray lever. It would open up a small tube extending from the ceiling and into each the prisoner's chambers. Some of them looked at it with wondrous curiosity, with most scuttling far away towards the corner of their cell with a mortified expression.

"Here's how the game goes." Nerplaguis announces as he faces everyone in the hallway, "Above you is a tube. It will pump out the plague that I've just shown you into your body. You will have to live with this coursing through your blood for about... oh, ten days or so. If you are still breathing and conscious by then, congratulations! You get to finally go home! But if you die, well... I'll send brother Azhriel my condolences."

With that he slowly walks back towards his office, with the crowd beginning to panic immensely. Nasty jeers were thrown at Nerplaguis, along with terrifying screams of terror and intense wailing. But the mad scientist didn't care. For by the time he entered his quarters, it had already begun.

"Have fuuuuuuuun!"

Once the creature had given Anu the letter, she immediately noticed the seal of Lord (or Lady) Iva. She opened it hesitantly, one could never be too careful, but the letter was just that: A letter. She read it, ingesting the words like a ravenous dog. It seemed much was happening, much indeed. She barked an order for something to write on, and blood.

They waited for but a moment as her materials were brought to her. A human’s leathery hide, and blood. She dipped her finger in the blood and wrote her reply in an archaic script.



Anu then signed the letter with her seal and a blood-stained kiss. She gave it to the messenger, leaving the winged creature to its own devices as she walked back into Osarion. It was time to rest, the events of the night were surprisingly taxing. For now she would retreat to her chambers, and regain some lost power. There was much to be done in the coming days, she still needed more demons and devils to join her ranks for war was brewing.

---

Venturing into the corrupt lands of the Devil was certainly suicide. Animals avoided the area like the plague, plants that grew were warped and twisted by the perversion of the Mountain, and humans only went their to die- or worse. Now a misguided man, accompanied by a group of animals that by all rights should be afraid, had been followed the moment they entered her domain, by Lesser Devils. The small horned fiends were far more clever beyond what most saw on the surface and they knew the lands of Anu better then even the Flesh demons, their hated rivals.

They were curious as to why a human entered so willingly and still walked without killing himself. It tried their patience, for they were hungry now and both animals and man were mouthwatering. With a sudden howl, the magician and his mimics would be surrounded by a small band of Lesser Devils, who wasted little time in attacking!

Naswaru The Relentless.

Still reeling from the shock of almost being torn apart. The huntsmen stayed where he was against the tree breathing deep. Trying to come to mind and figure out what he just went through. The monstrosity that landed next to him didn’t even make him flinch compared to what he just felt. It shook him to his core, yet somehow he could feel something else. Fear was a great motivator.

The fear he felt was something he wasn’t entirely aware that he had. However, now that he felt it he knew what he had to do. He had to continue his work and work with his children to become stronger to keep evolving and adapting. He just wanted to wait till the end of this spire and see what becomes of their brother of deception before heading home.

The beast next to him seemed impatient even as he grabbed the parchment from its hands. He read the parchment quickly before tossing it into the aura of fear. Naswaru watched as it mutated and shifted just inside the barrier before flying off into the dark forest. He could only wonder what he just did. Looking back to the creature he spoke to it. “Tell my brother that I am curious of this meeting, but I am busy. If I am able to come, I will be late to his gathering.”

The large god wasted little time turning from this creature and moving through the trees towards the dark shimmer he saw earlier. Looking for his dark sister was something he was always interested in. he wanted to see why she pulled herself away from her realm just to come here. When he finally found the moving shadows in the trees he stopped and found a place to sit. Watching his brother be torn asunder in the light of the spire.

“It is good to see you Oao. I thought for sure you locked yourself away in that cocoon of yours for good. Although we never really talked much I’m glad to see that you took a risk, perhaps you could grow from this and join us in shaping this world?” He never really had any ill will towards her. She was older than him but in his early years of god hood he would find comfort in the embrace of her shadows. Whether she meant for that to be the case or not he wasn’t sure. “What do you think of this thing? Its power is different yet it opens one’s mind to the truth of their being.”

@Rune_Alchemist@A Lowly Wretch

Quill
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In his endless wandering, Quill found himself in the frozen north, dressed appropriately in heavy furs. He did not need to dress for the weather, however there was always something that felt right about dressing for the environment. There was a practical reason, it allowed him to more easily blend in with humans, however there was also something about wearing the same thing constantly that grated on him. He appreciated the variety.

After awhile, he had found a good spot and stopped. He decided to take a moment to absorb the scene, there was a some thing appealing in the simplicity of a snow-covered land. However, there was something about the stillness, while the visage was nice, there was something unsettling about how motionless it was.

It was at the point he decided to devote himself to bring more motion to the north, however he then just stood there for a moment to think about how to go about doing that. He begin to mutter to himself, "A snowstorm. To fleeting. A bird. Not here."

’The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.’





The overwhelming presence of fear filled Iarus with such an awesome inspiring sense of power, he could feel the very earth beneath him tremble. The fear of all life became connected within him and if his will had been any weaker he may have been consumed by such a connection. As the God of Deception he was always lurking in shadows conspiring against those who dwelled in the light but now...now he was the shadows. The unknown thing that even the gods feared, as if all his deepest desires for power had come true. It was then that he noticed the other gods around the Spire.

He could feel the spite of Anu'varr, the righteous indignation of Hyperion, and the sweet delicious fear of Oao. It was Oao that he saw clearer than any, her fears projected across distances to show him the manifistation of her fears beyond the veil of shadows. As he was in studious awe of what his eldest sister's fears looked like his awe was cut short by the appearance of the stone atop The Spire. The structure was coming down, a most unfortunate thing.

Then as if a ghost of the past he saw himself standing before him in the light of the Spire. The gold expressionless mask that once covered his true essence gazed back at him and there was almost a sense of begging from behind it.

'You realize that this will make you an enemy of ALL your brothers and sisters. You will become the antithesis of every living thing.’

Feeling his face where his own cold mask rested, for the first time Iarus felt the need to remove it. As he removed the mask from his face and hung it at his side the new visage of the God of Fear took shape. The features of his face were sharp and angular but somehow smooth and enticing, no hair graced his head but the addition of ears which took a drastic and knife-like shape jutted from the side of his head. It was the eyes however; blank and seemingly soulless which stared back at Deception that really set the tone for Fear,

”We we're already their enemies dear brother, I simply am embracing the title that you skulked around and hid from. We had always planned on taking what was rightfully ours... you were too weak to obtain it on your own.”

And with that last affirmation Deception faded away from existence. Feeling his Divine Cord washed of all traces of Deception the new God of Fear stepped back from the Spire and turned to see the world at large. His cloak which once hung loose and made it easy to conceal himself became tighter leather look the flowing coattails now hanging just below his knees. The clasps on his chest shone with an unnatural red and looked as if eyes rested in them always searching around. Around his right shoulder hung black unknown fur which lead into a layered metal gauntlet which reached from fingertips to shoulder.



As he gazed around and saw the assembled gods and goddesses a small and terrifying grin crossed his face,

”Greetings dear brothers and sisters, allow me to introduce myself... I am Iarus, the God of Fear…

Location:
Wall of Hlakth

---

Making her way down the sheer cliff was both exhilarating and nerve wracking. Bryyre was certainly strong, no doubt about that. But a single slip and she'd probably die, which was kind of just a tiny bit bad. Lets see, she also needed to get Bryyre down, but how? There were no handholds and ice was pretty difficult to work with in any capacity. She had that pick thing she made - which she was going to use to slow her descent if she fell, but it looked like Bryyre had more or less had the idea.

"Hmm..." She didn't have any more rope, and she didn't feel like leaving Bryyre behind. If there were just some footholds or something he could climb down fairly easily, but what could he use? Well...if you didn't have something - you made it. "Hey, hold up a minute!" The rope lowering her jerked to a stop, causing her to nearly drop the tools.

"What is it, Iw'an?"

"Just...making some foot holds for you!" Lahzria grunted. Well, technically she only had one possible candidate and she wasn't even sure if it'd hold. With a bit of effort, she took the pick she had fashioned and began hammering it into the side of the wall. After a few attempts, she had managed to work the stone object into the wall of ice. Giving it a tug, it seemed to hold well enough...but what could she do? "Alright, keep going!"

Not long later, her feet touched the ground below and she looked up at Bryyre.

"...Hmm...hey! I'll unhook myself. Wear the harness yourself! I made a small handhold for you, but I dunno if it'll be enough! You still have your hunting knife?" She asked.

"I do!" He shouted back down to her.

"Great! Uh...hm. Okay, idea! You'll need to lower yourself down! Try grounding the knife in the ice then tying the rope around it! It should hold! Should!" The next part she was even less sure about. It would have probably gone better had he someway to manually stop the rope from moving somehow. Perhaps a system or something that could let him control how much rope he had, but for now all he had was his hands and probably a bit of rope burn. Thankfully though, it worked. Bryyre lowered himself down carefully, only slipping once. The knife seemed to hold itself well enough once it was lodged in the ice, and the foothold she made helped him catch his fall after the rope fell, too. Once he was down, Lahzria gave him a grin.

"Well I'd say that was a success!" She laughed excitedly.

"My hands would disagree..." Bryyre grunted, wincing at the new case of rope burn across his hands.

"Well come on! Discovery awaits!" She was getting more excited the longer she was in the place and the more progress she made. Walking up the slope to the other side, the two eventually reached what could only be their destination. A large, central chamber of some sort it seemed made of stone and ice. A large stone portal had been built into the ice, frozen over in places after the passage of time. On the floor was a stone basin of some sort, in the center of which was a stone pedestal.

"This is..."

"An entrance to the Library! It has to be." Lahzria gleefully gave an excited squeal, running over to the pedestal. "Ooh, this is great! We're so close!"

"But how do we open it?" Bryyre questioned, walking past Lahzria and towards the large stone circle.

"Well lets see...this pedestal has some old script on it..." The young human brushed some frost off of the pedestal. "It's old and worn, but I think I can make it out."

"Once we traveled, looking for mysteries unraveled
Over frozen seas, barren tundra, and lost forests breeze
Friends, brothers, for the longest time
to hate each other, what a crime!
But the pursuit left us wanting, our friendship tested with knowledge taunting
Alas! How sad, poetic, pathetic and dire!
Friendship has no place, amidst desire!
Once we traveled, looking for mysteries unraveled
Now I travel, where the knowledge causes the minds unravel
Alone, never to atone

"...a poem?" Lahzria frowned, unsure what to make of it at first. She brushed a loose strand of her brown hair from her face, staring at the stone tablet. She'd like to take her time and consider her options a bit, but she was on a time crunch. What she could discern however, it told the story of two people in a fairly short and likely glossed over manner. Two people traveled in search of knowledge. Friends from the look of it. Then somehow, one of them died or they separated. This poem obviously had something to do with it, didn't it? But if so, what?

...

It...couldn't mean that, could it? But that's why she was here to start with. To get away from something like that. If her theory was correct, then one of them killed the other for access to the library. Was that what she was reading? To her knowledge that also lined up with a small tale of one of the pilgrims that made a trek here before. Twins. Only one ever returned, and he was quite mad according to the legends. Spent the rest of his days living in the forest until he died.

She inhaled.

Bryyre was like a father to her. He raised her after her parents were killed in an accident. He had always looked after her. Him and Yvur both. There was no way she could do it...right? But if she wanted to gain access to the library...she would be great, wouldn't she? All that knowledge at her fingertips. Anything she could possibly want to know. She could...finally not be treated like a child all the time.

"...Bryyre, come here for a second." Her own knife felt far too cold in her hands.

---

Location:
Cy'Lathak

Swiftly, the two who had received replies returned easily returning to the Library. Iva was still in his lab, working away at his maddening creations. A severed limb here, a still beating disembodied heart hooked up to some contraption there. A few brains in jars. Quite the fun, macabre appearance. Most wouldn't have dared to bother him in such a state, but the servants were on a strict schedule. The two returned to the depths of the experiment halls.

"Ah...so Anu wants to see me! Hee! How rude. I'm quite busy..." The Illuminator hissed, grabbing a human head and some nearby threads from a nearby table. "And Naswaru says he'll make it if he's not busy. Hmhmm...Little La-Zha is making good progress though, heehe! Oh I wonder I wonder, if she'll go through with it." Iva hoped she did. There would be no getting to the library without a sacrifice and a lesson of some sort. Hers? Well, she had to learn a harsh lesson all those in the pursuit of knowledge needed to learn.

Anything for the sake of knowledge. All else was meaningless.

"You there. Take this to Sveiand, and you take this Apolios. Hurry hurry! And don't bother me until you're done!"

He'd need to make time to visit Anu. Ah, she even sealed the letter with a kiss. How scandalous. Expected from the devilishly dark mistress.

"Hmm...maybe I'll bring her some flowers."

At the spire

---

The Aho'Nohg remaining at the spire watched with interest, forgoing its mission of delivering a message to Oao. No, this was far more important for its master to know of, so it watched. Watched everything. Hyperion, Naswaru, Oao...Iarus. This was information immediately pertinent to everyone of them. Gammaton would also likely want to know, but the creature wasn't heading back without a full report to either of them.

So it continued to watch and wait events unfold.

---

Niflheim
@jetipster@Leotamer

The one tasked with finding Sveiand was not prepared for the chilling winds of the north, but it lacked the ability to care or even feel the intense cold of the north. It landed upon the shore, having to walk the rest of the way for otherwise its wings would have frozen over entirely with ice from the air. The cold air and fierce blizzards buffeted the creature, slowing its progress considerably, and eventually it was forced to land to rest its wings.

It was then, the creature became aware of a smaller humanoid creature seemingly in the same position that it was in. Initially it showed no interest in the small humanoid, and instead merely looked curiously out over the vast frozen expanse next to Quill, seemingly contemplating the same things he was contemplating.

---

Terratoria
@Archangel89

The second headed in the opposite direction, moving towards the warmer lands of Terratoria, the lands of Hyperion. It had a vague idea of where it could find the god of the Sun, but didn't have an exact location. It only headed towards the radiant palace of light - yet once it got to the barrier, it stopped. Halting in its tracks, slowly circling around the barriers exterior. It could not enter without receiving major damage from this security system, and it wasn't quite sure if it could survive the entire ordeal.

So the black winged creature gave a loud, mind creaking shriek before landing atop a rocky outcropping near the edge of the field. It would only attempt crossing should its cries not bring the target of its message to its target. It was a being of chaos, after all. It could not cross such a barrier so easily.

"Yet the darkness here swirls around like a runaway plague. What plans do you have lurking beneath it's morbid surface?"

"None. This power cannot repel light and darkness both." She insists, her voice not really audible over the howling winds that blow from the spire, air trying to escape the aura while more is forced in by the outside pressure. He never trusted her and she didn't expect him to start. Despite the evidence of his very eyes however he still refused to accept what she had confirmed.

Fine She sulked in silence. I care not if he winds up losing himself to the fear.

She glowered in her shadows, watching on as he pressed into the now increasingly thin cliff that fed into the great pit that surrounded the spire. There was much eye rolling had as he gave a loud tirade in an effort to inspire his men, speaking of darkness as though her vessel wasn't within a leisurely power-walk's distance of them.

Then he rose his lance, leveling it at the black spire as light gathered at it's tip. With a great burst of power a beam of divine light erupted forth, surging in a narrow line at the spire. With all that great power behind such a blast it was rather underwhelming when the beam was harmlessly reflected by the black color's impervious gloss. His shot went streaking out into the night, a radiant flare disappearing into the sky's endless dark.

_
She could see the predator god hustle up to her whilst she watched the results of Hyperion's prolonged exposure to the fear. As he clung to the shadows he was ever the more visible to her, wearing her domain like a form fitting cloak around his body. He was well and far from catching her off guard as he kept behind cover from lit open spaces. He proceeded to pester her with talk of shaping the world, something she had little care for.

"You mean in shaping it's surface... I have little need for light's realm." She spoke as much as she ever had, hardly much at all and at little more than a breathy whisper at that. He asked of the spire and she turned her focus back onto the events that were transpiring, trying to best read the situation. She couldn't let them steal away the twin strand's power. She only needed wait and seek her opportunity to approach without succumbing to it's power.

"It must not belong to neither Hyperion nor..." She watched Iarus who seemed previously torn as he forced himself towards the spire turn to them, transformed by the aura's power into a new state of being.

"Him."

His words rang hollow. She cared not what he announced for the spire had her undivided attention at that very moment. The color had continued to recede, pulling downwards whilst leaving the grey top of the spire bare. As the color pulled away it left the spire's true substance to be seen by all: Mere stone shaped into a smooth yet unnatural formation. All the while the white and grey strands seemed to dance ever tighter, winding together not unlike fibers of wool being spun into a single thread.

The ground was trembling but not out of fear. The aura was now beginning to recede. What earth was backed up so tightly now yearned to force itself into the gap, the weight of the soil pushing the ground back into place with each inch the aura yielded. Due to this shifting in the earth below the surfaces above were in turmoil. With the ground churning many things were being shaken, thrown down or even dragged beneath it all. Bushes and even trees could be seen and heard crunching and rustling as the earth dragged them both forward and down in answer to the loss of fear they all once held.

Oao's concern for this was little as her manifestations form was neither important to lose nor particularly land locked. Those who depended upon the earth to bear the weight of their very feet however may have found themselves in fair trouble however.

Even if the shortening of the aura allowed light more purchase to shine near it the darkness inside the spire itself was still known to her. With the center still a fair hot zone of divine aura however she was still certain that extending her reach into it would affect her no less negatively than it was for her siblings.

---

@Lmpkio@ReusableSword@Archangel89

---

The beam of light confidently shone through the darkness, quickly making it's way towards the spire. With such power, it should've clearly shattered it upon impact and leaving the god of light victorious over darkness again. So imagine when Hyperion and his men looked on to see that it was harmlessly reflected by the black glossy surface and speed effortlessly into the night. There was a slight pause as the golden-plated god looked on with inquiry, followed by an overwhelming sense of dread that fell upon the entire army of light. The fear fog wouldn't have needed to penetrate them anymore to fill them with fright, for this on it's own was most heretically a rare occurrence. The angelic soldiers were already beginning to panic.

"I-It didn't go through?" angel Aeneas asked shockingly as he gripped his spear in his hands.

"Unbelievable..." Develius breathed appallingly as his eyes widened, "No form of darkness could've deflected a blast of that caliber!"

"This is an outrage!" another angel shouted in the back, beginning a clamor as all the other angels tried to figure out what was going on.

Hyperion definitely couldn't have believed it himself. That should've disrupted the darkness right there and then. After all, darkness is naturally disrupted by light itself. How could it have just bounced off so effortlessly? Really there was only one answer for this. Whatever this dark matter was made of, it wasn't just darkness alone that was powering it. Perhaps, and dare he admits it aloud, Oao did have some merit to her claim regarding this spire. If she was utterly repulsed by this, chances are that her opposite other would eventually have trouble himself.

But that wasn't the end of it. The twin strands that circled the spire began to recede back into it, as if they were sucked in by something. One could've seen this as finally the end of this madness, but unfortunately for the optimistic, it would certainly not be so. Forming on top of the spire, Hyperion could see a familiar face. And that face utterly terrified him.

”Greetings dear brothers and sisters, allow me to introduce myself... I am Iarus, the God of Fear…"

So he didn't retreat as Oao's visions claimed after all. He somehow was able to masquerade his appearance and through some power-struggle he threw out his old title of Deception and turned himself into the embodiment of Fear. Hyperion never liked him in the first place, but he would've at least been able to deal with him affectively if need be. Now as he harbingers fear within him, this threat was already beyond heresy itself. The angels behind him stood as firm as they could, but they were rattling in their boots, their wings rustling, and their eyes watering. They were fearful for what would happen next.

Suddenly, the bubble failed for a short few seconds, bombarding the God of Light and his forces momentarily in their worse fears. A montage of the horrid crusade flashed in Hyperion's mind, followed by the darkness corrupting everything it touches - every man, woman, child, angel, and everything in between. It was vile and ruthlessly chaotic. The protective bubble would eventually reclaim it's position and shield them once again from the rapturing fear essence, but it's already became clear to Hyperion for what he must do. Their will to brave the darkness has been broken.

"This is no ordinary darkness..." the armored-God proclaims ominously, "We've heavily underestimated this substance in it's entirety. The God of Deception has become fear incarnate, with his abilities more vile then the last. No one would've been prepared for this."

The ground below them began to tumble and churn wildly as the aura finally began to recede. Whilst this would've been a sure morale booster for a more oblivious army, the army of light would be foolish to continue descending towards the black spire.

"Make haste towards higher ground." Hyperion orders bluntly, "We cannot engage the spire nor the reincarnated Iarus in our current state."

Upon his permission, he blesses the angels with their own temporary bubbles, lasting just enough for them to get out of it's radius. They would all fly away from the void and head towards the nearest mountain, perching themselves on the cliff edges and regaining their bearings. They would not retreat back to Terratoria just yet, but if the spire wouldn't halt in it's current state, it would be fruitless to continue advancing forward.

But as they left the shadows, they would fail to see an armored figure who also happens to be slowly heading out of the spire's radius as well.

---

---

~ Present

Lurking within the woodland hills, the God of Disease was watching the entire event carefully. He happened to be walking in this area around the time the spire erected from the ground and, upon briefly putting his head into the radius, soon realized what he was dealing with. And it gave him an idea... a very nasty idea at that. For that to be achieved, he quickly opened a portal back to his lab and pushed out one of his vile plague sentinels. These mindless automatons would be perfectly capable in braving the horrid void, their personalities and emotions being virtually sucked out prior to activation. They do not know fear, nor pain, nor pleasure or happiness. Nerplaguis sent one out into the void and waited for it's return, having witnessed Hyperion's fruitless attempt in shattering the spire and the birth of the God of Fear. For him, this was quite the spectacle.

And then the hulking sentinel began stomping out of the void, rattling with every step as it's blade continued seething in decay and sickness, whilst holding a glowing lantern in its other hand. Nerplaguis watched with glee as his servant brought back just what he needed. He grabs ahold of the lantern and very carefully opens up one of the glass panels. He would find himself momentarily feeling a frightful vision of a certain giant crab before quickly closing the lantern shut. Instead of feeling more dread however, he began to chuckle ominously once more.

"Ho ho!" he chuckles gleefully, "This would make a valuable asset to my next project... hehe, they won't know what'll hit them!"

And with that, he proceeds to make another portal back to his laboratory. He'll need to begin experimenting with this substance immediately.