Many stories have been spun to frighten children and adult as the fearsome tales of the nightmarish creature known as Ghoukas spread across the myriad cultures of the world. Shadows that moved in the night, sounds carried on the wind, the odd and mysterious traces of animals crossing the lands…all attributed to the power of Ghoukas.

Deep in his hoary realm of dank ruins and darkened halls Ghoukas waited it was said, for the day the gates would open again, the day when he would burst free to reclaim the lands of dreams…to reclaim what he had lost.

Seated upon a vast obsidian throne the creature known as Ghoukas reached forth with a massive taloned hand. The bright yellow lights that emanated from where eyes should be, hidden under a billowing wrap, sliced through the gloom and landed upon the great cudgel that waited for blood to course along its form, for it hungered to taste pain and suffering again. A deep, echoing voice carried it through the shadowed chambers, "Soon we shall feed both of our hungers...soon we shall walk the among the light again...soon"

Slowly the grim lord stood, the great figure stretched, as it did so the hood fell back, exposing long, thick horns that pointed forward. The dark coloration blended from a deep crimson to the darkest black. One massive cloven hoofed foot touched the floor, as it did so wisps of smoke swirled around the hoof, the weight of the nightmare caused even the solid stone to groan as it protested the movements that proceeded across it’s surface.

With a sudden swiftness that belied the size of the nightmare come to life, Ghoukas lifted his war club, as a great exhale of breath escaped him, filling the air with curls of smoke. Narrowing his eyes, Ghoukas began the long walk to the gates. A wicked smile crossed his lips, this time he would escape. Woe unto the Dreamers that had locked him away.

Gradually the footfalls slowed and finally ceased to echo around the ruined realm. The great Ghoukas stood a moment as the gleaming eyes studied the massively constructed gates that had held him for eons, time having slowed to a crawl as he only grew in hatred. The power that coursed through his veins, laced with that black hatred and the desire to avenge itself upon the eight worlds.

Ghoukas smiled cruelly, a wisp of smoke escaped his lips, it curled and blew away when he snorted. The vast club that the Lord of Nightmares gripped reached forward and tapped the mighty gates that held him. Eyes narrowing slightly he licked his lips, the blackened tongue, almost serpent like as it traced the outline of the twisted mouth.

His power slowly extending as the Nightmare That Lives realized the time was nigh on hand, he reached forward, his siren call of power flowing slowly through the grand gates and seeking his minions, "Prepare for the Devourer of Worlds is coming."

The swirling miasma that surrounded the form of Ghoukas writhed and lashed out as if a living thing, the tendrils of arcane power seemed to tremble with anticipation of the darkness that would soon spread across the worlds. The Nightmare Lord sniffed the chilled air of his tomb; the rancor that surrounded him had been his comfort for so long, once the first gust of air washed over him he would inhale as deeply as he had ever done so.

The taste of freedom washed down his mighty throat, fueling the rage and hatred that had grown and infused his very being. Ghoukas had waited for such a moment when he would be free to visit upon the worlds the black malevolence that coursed through his veins. A large clawed hand touched the hated gates, feeling the immeasurably cold metal that had been his bane. The great eyes flared and flashed, the azure light cast from them lit upon the barrier, slowly tracing the hewn edges, the battered frame where his might failed to batter the gate down.

The weakening of the gates rushed through the dark form of Ghoukas, the intense spiraling of his barely contained rage flooded from him, washing over the landscape on the other side of the gate. Closing the great yellow eyes, Ghoukas allowed his power to reach out to his minions, embracing them, infusing them with an aspect of himself, a single thought hammered their minds, “I AM RELEASED!”

With the first steps through the gates, Ghoukas felt the static remnants of the power that once held him fast. The flash and spark of blue-white energy washed over his body, causing the darkly scaled skin to illuminate for an instant before being snuffed out by the unspeakable daemonic energy that reside within Ghoukas. The darkness that flowed from him was as a living creature, moving and engulfing all that was around, washing the world in a poisonous cloud of fear that only amplified the visual impact Ghoukas had upon the fragile minds of those who saw him, shattering their sanity as the living nightmare began his conquest of the worlds, seeking his vengeance upon them.

Ghoukas began to laugh, a chilling morbid laugh that carried on the winds flowing through the world that had imprisoned him.

A small city, several dozen miles north of the doorway freshly opened by the Lord of Nightmares himself, the people worried themselves with the enigmatic creature that had been staying in their home for what seemed like months now. During his time there he had done no harm, nor had he expressed any wish to do good. In fact, they couldn't figure out what he was doing. For the past month or so he had begun traveling in and out of the city, returning to the same position every day. Every time he returned with a rock, quite large in size and always the same color. A deep grey with a thin layer of red clay on the bottom. When he returned he placed them upside down on top of eachother, then twisting his hand around to fuse the clay together with the rock above. Every day he only stacked one rock, he was up to forty-nine rocks now and the tower was getting incredibly tall.

The people of the city were confused to say the least, but they weren't stopping him, not for lack of trying I might add. They tried to stop him from entering the city by putting up a barricade of metal. I bet you can imagine how that went. The titan simply walked through it, tearing through it as though it were no more than a sheet of paper. This is sort of how they found out that he was non-aggressive, because even after they had tried to stop it he just continued his seemingly meaningless stacking.

Every day that he stacked a rock he sat down on the ground before his stone pillar and stared at the sky. Tilting his head unnaturally far backwards to get a perfectly flat view of space. Never saying a word, never looking directly at the people of the city. It was meaningful, but nobody could discover the meaning. People poked and prodded at the lumbering beast, asking it questions about why it was here. Was it some sort of god or monster. Whether or not it wanted to kill them. Every question was met with silence and a continued stare at the heavens above.

This day was no different, Erde left the city at around sunrise and returned at high noon, an enormous rock in hand. Carting it around as though it were as light as a beachball. The titan held the boulder in one hand and laid the other on the ground, a pillar of stone rose upwards where his feet were, carrying him high high into the air. And then he reached the top of his tower of stones, planting this one in the same fashion as the others. His hand twisted and the clay wrapped around the stone above it, squeezing the water out of it and drying into a natural cement. The stone beneath his feet sank back into the ground as his task for the day was finished, Erde placed himself bottom down on the ground and tilted his head backwards. Staring at the sky, wordlessly, a few drops of water dripping onto the ground behind his head.

On this planet he had a lot more limestone in his body, he had chosen this to keep the plants alive. Without the natural filtration of limestone they would certainly be dead by now. And of all the strange things that Erde does, he cares for the plants growing on his body. The water that dripped from him was as pure and clear as it would be on earth, and it evaporated every time it touched the ground.

Ysolda surveyed the situation. She was in a strange land. The air smelled, the earth was dry, the plants were twisted, and even the sky itself seemed to indicate that this world was somehow tainted. On this unknown world, she would need to be ready for anything. Channeling her essence, Ysolda focused on maintaining her health and well being. The energy that she used would cause her body shine brightly for an instant, and dim just as quickly. Known to her as "Body-Mending Meditation", the ability would accelerate her healing should something cause her harm. On a planet that seemed as tainted as the Shadowlands of Creation, one could never be too careful.

The Charm would assist her for the next few hours, at least. Until more substantial measures were needed, it would suffice. Now to the more pressing matter at hand. While the air was thing but safe to breathe, Ysolda had no clue about the flora and fauna. It was time she found some sort of civilization. Not far away, in fact, she saw the silhouette of a small city. "As good a place as any to begin, I suppose." said the Exalt as she made for the city at a brisk pace. There were creatures that attempted to attack her, small things resembling a dog crossed with a lizard. Each was shot with a blazing arrow of energy that exploded radiantly upon impact. A few of these and the rest of what seemed like a pack of the things... backed off and let her run in peace.

After about two hours of jogging, Ysolda came to the city she had seen. However, she was only met with more confusion. The inhabitants seemed to gather around some large... golem... thing. After a few inquiries, she found that none here could understand the language of her realm. However, it appeared that this the thing stacked the large rocks on top of one another. If that was true, it had at lease a semblance of intelligence. Either that, or it was controlled by a very bored sorcerer. "Oi. Creature." Ysolda's Caste Mark flared brightly once again. It took but a single mote of energy for her to cause this, and she did so in an attempt to draw attention. This had the unintentional effect of mixed awe and fear among those around her and this colossus. This could be bad, should the people here somehow be associated with the Immaculate Order. But she had not survived for nearly seven centuries by fleeing before potential danger.

"If you can hear or even understand me, I ask you respond somehow. I am a stranger here and know nothing of this place." Risky, talking to such a large being without knowing if it was friend or foe... but Ysolda could handle herself if things got hairy. "What are you? An elemental? A giant? A golem?" Question after question bombarded the thing, and Ysolda would continue for some time if she was unanswered. Her curiosity was sparked, and that was rare for one who had seen as much as she had. In this moment she felt like a young girl, curious and hungry for knowledge. However... she was still a living being, and needed both food and water. A few large drops were seen falling from the creature when she first questioned it. Perhaps those would slake her thirst.

"Pardon my intrusion, but I'll take a sip of..." a single drop fell from the creature, and Ysolda caught it in her hands. This one drop was large enough to fill an average drinking glass, and it splashed in her hands. It was as crisp and cool as any water she had ever seen in Creation, and quenched her thirst as if she had drank an entire lake. The droplets that got on her face and neck from the splash similarly rejuvenated her, as she was cool and refreshed despite her recent long jog. And immediately, she resumed questioning the creature. Some of the other sentient beings tried pulling her away, some seemed angry with her, and others seemed to simply ignore the woman as they walked past and went about their days.

After a few more minutes, she simply sat on what passed for the creature's shoulder. "You're an interesting one, my silent friend. You have a feeling about you. Not like this place... somehow different, pure. I've lived nearly seven hundred years and never encountered a creature similar. Are you lost here as well?" She didn't expect an answer, but it was nice to have someone to talk to... even if they didn't talk back. The villagers didn't speak her tongue, the land was blighted, and the sky was scorched... but at least here Ysolda found a small measure of comfort.

(Motes spent: 15 Personal. Time elapsed: Approx. 3 hours. Motes regained: 12. Total Motes remaining: 27/34 Personal, 80/80 Peripheral)

When the woman took a drink of the water he dripped from his head she had grabbed his attention, a being that wasn't from this place obviously. The water was filtered and unhealthy for the creatures on this planet, this one was able to drink it without issue so this was important. Erde's head spun on his shoulders and where eyes would be locked onto her position. The slow drip of the filtered water flowing from his mask. The small one questioned him asking if he could hear or understand her. He could. Asking him to respond to her. He could respond vocally if he wished so, he did not wish so. She claimed to be a stranger to this world, which he could relate to. But Erde was willing to bet that there were many more out there who could as well. She thought he was a golem, elemental, a giant. None of these were quite right, but none of them were very far off. A bit of time passed by and the woman ascended his form and climbed onto his shoulder, he didn't mind.

You're an interesting one, my silent friend. You have a feeling about you. Not like this place... somehow different, pure. I've lived nearly seven hundred years and never encountered a creature similar. Are you lost here as well?" She was old, quite old apparently. Youthful in appearance. Likely she was a sorceress of some sort, not unlike those who had cursed him. The concrete and stone in his chest twisted, tightening around his core in an impulsive reaction. Erde's eyes cast towards the sky once more, his gaze pierced through miles and miles. And yet he could not see anything, the sky black as pitch and thick as tar. His hands dropped to the ground and he began to swirl them around and round, two spirals of stone began to rise upwards from where he had placed his hands. The titan's hands went back to their resting position but the two spirals continued upwards. They would eventually reach the clouds, but it would take days. Perhaps if he penetrated the filthy black sky he could filter in some proper sunlight.

Through this entire ordeal Erde's body had not moved an inch from its static spot. And anyone who wasn't looking directly at him would have missed his movements. Again, everything he does has meaning, but figuring it out may not be an easy task. The titan, who had once been a titan of every aspect of earth, knew that clouds which covered the sky were usually within six thousand feet of the ground. Which was well within his area of influence, so if he reached upwards into the clouds and somehow could push them away, the sun could shine through. The twin spirals were unrelated to his pillar of boulders, the pillar of boulders served a completely different purpose. Which will be revealed at a date that Erde sees fit. For now, however, his plans were to remain mysterious.

The wine leaked down the Archbishop’s chin like blood, coincidentally very symbolic.

“I’m sending you and your student through the portal first, you will be joined by others later, do your duty.”

“Yes, Father.”

Jack Alder, or Father Alder as he was referred to by most of the clergy of Denius, stalked the wasteland of Necropoli lost in thought. He and his student, Mercedes Kane, had been the first of the Order to enter the strange portal that had materialised in the middle of a village thought to be a coven for all manner of monstrous creatures. They were sent to identify any threat it posed, and eliminate it, as well as to hunt down and destroy the three vampires which had escaped into the world beyond. Jack was finding it troublesome, as he surveyed the dark lands around him which seemed untouched by sun, that nothing living as of yet had passed him. He was also certain more than a day had gone by, and still the sky spoke of night. He was far out of his comfort zone, and his lungs tingled uncomfortably, like he was having trouble breathing. Fortunately, he had a blessing for just such an inconvenience. He had bestowed it upon himself and Mercedes a short while after entering the dark world; hopefully it would protect them from whatever evil lurked here.

He bent and surveyed another set of tracks, his black cloak rustling around him as his wooden staff pierced into the ground and stood upright. After a brief glance he looked over at his apprentice, a lithe woman armed formidably with crossbow and cutlass, another warrior of the Order.

“The Vampires have passed here, Mercedes.” He warned her, standing quickly and surveying the dark horizon. He paid special attention to a small hill to which the tracks seemed to lead; he was able to be certain they were the Vampires because they were the only human-esque markings he had seen since he had arrived. Another brief interlude of hiking set him atop the hill, and looking down on a decrepit American-west-style town (though he did not know it), highlighted in the strange dim light of Necropoli. He looked down on it with caution.

“That would be where they have hidden from our Lord’s justice.” Jack intoned quietly, almost as if in a prayer. “Mercedes, you know what to do.” He knew she would be stealthier alone, surveying the town for their prey; he would wait on the hill for a signal or come down after ten minutes of silence.

Mercedes arched her back and took in a deep breath, visibly straining to inhale as much oxygen as she possibly could. Low to the Earth as she and Father seemed to be, the air was as thin as upon a great mountain. Fortunately, through both the training she had received under the guide of the Order and the holy charm placed upon her by Father himself, she was spared from suffocating in all its emptiness. Lifting her shades over her head, brushing back waves of hair, she glanced down at the tracks and swept a gaze down the hill road and into town. It was a short distance, and though wary of trekking it alone (the place was more unfamiliar than anything else it seemed, given how it was by way of arcane portal), she resolved her heart and went forth.

"I will whistle if the town is safe," she notified Alder, breaking into a slight jog down the hill, her boots kicking up ashen mud and dirt. Keeping her hand trained on the rapier jingling on her hip, she darted her eyes through the decrepit and dying trees, hostile to most any form of movement she could detect. A few shuffling figures deep in its depths concerned her, but for the moment they seemed to fear her more than she them. They kept their distance, and she did not care to take pursuit; they were not vampires, that was for certain, and as such were not her targets. Mercedes did not consider even for a moment that upon entering town and finding it safe that whistling to Alder would be dangerous. If she could make her way down the hill safely, she had no doubt in her mind Father could do it all the same.

Careful not to burst straight into the heart of civilization immediately, Mercedes took to the dark rear ends of houses and shops in the peculiar village, darting from shadow to shadow in avoidance of the gaze of its inhabitants. Eventually she found her way to the roof of a short wooden house, skillfully quiet upon its surface despite the numerous objects and weight she carried. Crawling to its edge to overlook the town center, she found herself watching a strange scene unfold, and one altogether surprising. No vampires were in sight, but she supposed even they were wary of revealing themselves so easily. No, she saw only -what looked like- common townsfolk... and a large golemn of some sort.

Unsure of how to proceed, she moved back into the dark and let out a long and loud whistle mimicking that of a bird, easily able to convey to Father Alder that he was safe to enter town as well.

In the town, shadows moved and swayed with evil intention, macabre and grotesque creatures lurking along the dark alleyway, each lurching with an inhuman gait as they hunted for food.

Long dormant they rose from the fecund ground, the Lord of Nightmares called to them, urging them to rise.

***

Ghoukas ripped the air with a cruel laugh as two creatures moved towards him. They appeared as translucent beings of shifting darkness, their powers as potent as ever. The swirling miasma of lights flowing from the eyes of the great beast changed from the red-orange to a brilliant blue then a violet. Swirling around him the winds roared and a peel of thunder echoed around the landscape.

“My grief, my fright…” the cascading hues changed again, the violet morphing into a glaring red, “My sinister, my unspeakable reach….” Before Ghoukas finished a great snarl escaped his black lips. His great head twisted, the twin-protrusions seemed to slice the very air itself. Massive clawed hands clenched and unclenched, a growl, bestial in nature rumbled from the chest of the Lord of Nightmares.

With a wave of his hand, the hellish winds ceased their movement, all sound stopped, only the deep, horrific growl continued. Without looking at his minions, the living nightmare stepped down from his dais, the cloven hooves causing the ground to smoke and smolder, one hand pointed to the far horizon, the other grasp the great black handle of his club.

“They have come…The believers have arrived. I can feel their strength…their power…” The great miasma of lights flared as the Lord of Nightmares focused on his minions, “Our armies were conquered and fell in the end. ‘Lo so I have lain in the dark prision of the Dreamers, vast new worlds have sprung to life, their glory a mockery. Their gods fallen none have succored them, and they have become complacent. It is now our dark light that they will awaken too, there will be no forgiveness.”

Pulling the mighty club from the scarred and dying ground, the gleaming cylinder dripping with a black viscous liquid; it was the hatred that burned in Ghoukas, manifest as a deadly poison. When he spoke again, the sound that emanated from him held an absence of emotion; it was a chilling command to his minions, “Their forests and deserts. Their rivers and seas, their mountains and valleys…nothing shall remain. You are the hand of destiny; you are to unleash your darkest desires, embrace your dark sins, the song of sorrow is your macabre music now.”

Slowly the great beast, the Lord of Nightmares lifted the wicked rod and pointed it in the direction of the small village, “Their saviors stand before you, they stand against your power, such heroes will turn the worlds against you if they are allowed to gain their strength. Let this end, let their worlds lament their passing, let them fear the Darkness that descends upon their light. I loosen you my dogs of war…”

A low whistle, echoing from the town below, Father Alder lifted his head to track the sound. He began to move down the hillside with quick, purposeful strides. Never seemingly afraid of losing his balance, or even seeming to slide at all on the loose sloping ground, the aging warrior of God made his way to the outskirts of town and turned, skirting around to fall directly in line with the small house the sound had emanated from. With each step his staff hit the ground with a dull thud, a sound which many a monster and villager alike had grown to fear more than the plague. He himself was not entirely oblivious to this aura of fear; it wouldn’t serve him too well here, yet…

He walked directly to the rear of the house he sought, noting the shambling shapes far from his path he had yet to acknowledge anything within the town itself. He saw three crates, stacked in a convenient staircase to bring him up to arm’s length from the rooftop, and so skipped atop them with nimble grace for an older man. One hand clasped the lip, and the other joined it after pushing a staff forward, he hoisted himself up grunting quietly and pulling himself to his feet with his staff in hand.

He took a quick breath, easily blaming the harsh environment around him for his exertion. It was always easier to find excuses.

“Child” He announced his presence in a quiet voice. “I assume you’ve not seen the Vampires, then?” He stepped past Mercedes, looking over carefully into the town itself, seeing the scene she herself saw, he began to chant under his breath.

The creature did not really respond to Ysolda's questions, but it DID to something unexpected. The thing created two steadily growing stone pillars after merely touching the earth. That settled it, it was definitely some sort of earth spirit or elemental. And just as she went to hop off of it and see if she could figure out a way to communicate with the locals, she spied an odd sight on a nearby roof. An indistinct something-or-other skulking about like some sort of Abyssal murderer. From her vantage atop the Elemental's shoulder, Ysolda saw that same figure slip back into darkness and out of her direct line of sight

While she had not been in this land long, she knew that this figure was different from the dog-like creatures that had attacked her on her way to this town. But just as the Solar was about to hop down and head over to investigate, another roughly human-sized figure approached the same area. Barely visible from the vantage point that Ysolda had, she could not tell if it was a man or a woman. What she WAS able to see was that this one was also different from the locals, much like the other that she had seen moments before. Time to get their attention, she figured.

Reaching behind her back, Ysolda unclipped her small golden-colored bow and arrow. Drawing back the string without knocking an arrow, some would call the woman crazy... but just as she finished pulling back the thin metallic wire, a glowing projectile was conjured as if from nothing. This was known to her as the "Phantom Arrow Technique", and it created an arrow out of her essence. Letting loose the bowstring, the arrow of light flew straight and true to its target... an area not far from the two (or more, as she couldn't see all that well into the darkness that the woman had crept) beings. This was clearly not so much an attack as it was an attempt to shed light on the situation in both a literal and figurative sense, and the two beings would soon reveal themselves to her, like it or not.

Not even two seconds after the arrow hit, Ysolda tried to communicate. "Oi. Any chance you can understand me? Probably not, but worth a shot." This would likely be the same situation as with the locals and the giant elemental... more people that couldn't understand her language. Luckily she had made sure to aim her arrow far behind where the two known figures were, and the light showed that there were no others. Hopefully the large gap between the people and the light arrow would show that she meant no hostilities with her action.But just in case, she kept the bow at the ready... however, it was not drawn back in attack position. "If you understand what I'm saying, then come on over. And don't worry, I won't attack unless given a reason."

This was a gamble, but a necessary one. She could feel something... wrong. Having lived several centuries, Ysolda had more years of combat and survival experience than most humanoid beings had years of life. She wasn't sure WHAT was going to happen, but her gut told her it wasn't good... and whatever it was would happen sooner rather than later. If she was right, she'd need allies... or at least people she could somewhat rely on. "You still not ready to talk, big guy?" she said quietly to the silent elemental. "I might need a bit of a hand if things get hairy and you might, too. What do you say?" Still keeping her eyes on the area where the arrow had landed, she sincerely hoped that this wouldn't erupt into something unpleasant. However, with the short time she had spent on this world... she knew that at least a fair portion of its creatures were inherently hostile..

A wicked and unnatural rain storm erupts over the village, flowing in a cascade from the far mountains.

Along the edges of the gathering storm dark misshapen figures, vaguely canine leaped and bayed causing tremendous thunder to echo and reverberate across the skies. Their shadowy claws rend the very air itself as they charged across the skies of Necropoli, the speed at which they traveled caused those who witnessed the maddening sight felt a rising fear in their very souls, draining the hope and will to resist as the baneful howls carried and intermingled with the thunder.

The black hounds snarled and gnashed their teeth, lighting raced away from them as the roiling miasma of clouds gathered over the small village. A believer, a small girl stood in the center of the western style village, near a statue of a village founder, her eyes flared as she inhaled deeply, in her small fist a silver rod her grandmother, a wise woman had given her long ago. The child was told it was a ward against the night haunts, against the nightmares, against Ghoukas. Standing alone in the swirling winds and torrential down pour the child held forth her rod and shouted in defiance, "I rebuke you evil of the abyss. I defy you and your powers, I send you back to the place you come from, spirits of the air come to my aid to defeat the evil that is Ghoukas."

The pack of slavering hounds paused as they listened to the words that rang upward, words that held conviction and belief, a belief in the Guardians. The leader of the pack rose up and snarled; great teeth gleamed in the flashes of lighting. Its howl that of thunder as it echoed and shook the thatched buildings of the village. A malevolent gaze locked on to the small child, wet and shivering from the cold, her silver rod held skyward, defying the might of He Who Should Not Be. As the shoulder hunched up and the shadowy fur roiled as the muscles tensed, the others of the hellish pack paced back and forth in the sky, their eyes never leaving the small child.

With a snap of great jaws the leader leapt downward towards the child, the others in the pack yipped and snarled as they tore after the leader, straight towards the child and the village. Great flashes of lighting rippled across the skies as the pack charged the child, her eyes a glow with faith as she whispered, "I am not afraid to die…."

She continued speaking, but something else was itching at the back of his mind. Though his attention was dragged back to her when she loaded and fired an arrow, assailing something in the area. A black creature, as though it were made of shadow had emerged. It was as Erde felt in his core, something was in fact here. Something evil and had full intention of further corrupting the land of this planet.

There was a foulness in the air, in the earth, as though something powerful and corrupted was nearby. A deep thrumming, like the sound of a bass-line string quartet started to come from within Erde's chest. It elevated to the sounds of war horns, as though an army of men was ready to wage war within his body. Erde's hulking form twisted upwards from its sitting position, unnaturally rotating parts of his body to better position him. The ground began to rumble and the horns began to sound like screaming, the screaming of a thousand men and women. A primal roar of the men and women of war echoed outwards, the sound was quickly followed by a tremor emanating from beneath Erde's feet. His influence zone was being infected with a disease, a pestilence. Like a virus his body began to defend on its own. The ground that obeyed his will began to shake, waves of stone and dirt pulsing up and down like the water of the oceans.

For the first time in two years and three months Erde spoke, and his voice boomed with a powerful certainty. No hint of fear, no hint of overconfidence. A simple warning to those who dare infect the ground with unnatural presence. "Evil powers fear. Holy light beware. You are in a neutral zone, and the very ground you stand on will stop you." The twin bronze boots that are his feet dug downwards, accelerating the growth of his twin pillars. Sending the two earthen spires twisting upwards at nearly three times the speed that they were moving at before. By sundown they would reach the sky and tear apart the clouds. It would take a few more days to properly show them the sky, in fact it might prove more difficult than it seems. With the emergence of this rancid presence Erde had no idea what to expect.

Though there were dark forms standing behind him, possibly dangerous, but there was something else. And Erde's eyes scanned the horizon before him, searching almost frantically for the source of this intrusion into his influence zone.

"Nay," Mercedes replied, still scanning over the village, "and strangely I feel as though vampires may actually not have passed through here. There seems to be something more beyond." Turning back to face Father Alder as he chanted, she continued on with her ominous feelings. "The golemn is one thing, but there are aspects here that do not smell of vampires. What I sense..." she paused, looking to the sky as it began to rain, "is something altogether more evil and unnatural." When the rain turned into a storm, and lightning followed, Mercedes understood instantly that there was something coming. No longer caring of keeping herself concealed from the villagefolk, she stood herself up and brought her crossbow to bear.

And there they were -werewolves, if she could guess at all- headed straight for the village. And yet, they gave off an air of being something different than mere werewolves. It was because of this that she did not charge in steadfastly. Horrible as it was, she wished to see what they were capable of. Their speed, their ferocity, their murderous nature and how far it went. Nevertheless, she kept her crossbow trained on the one at its forefront, the largest of them all. But as they encircled upon a young girl, Mercedes would wait no longer. With agility befitting of a monkey in the trees, Mercedes hopped upon a taller roofline nearby and ran across its shingles to the town center as hastily as possible. With a single leap and a following roll, she found herself in the very heart of the charging pack, and by the girl's side.

Without even asking for permission or a word for that matter, she scooped up the girl in her arm and aimed her grappling gun back to the very roof she jumped from. Almost as soon as she had jumped into the fray, she was out once again, barely missing the talons of a few Ghoukas. Yanked up onto the two-story building, she let the girl stand back upon her feet, a worried look upon Mercede's face.

"What were you thinking little lady!" she admonished.

“No, I think you may be right, something else, something evil, is at work in these parts.” He cut off his chanting to reply, suddenly noticing that the girl in the centre of town stood alone. The howls… they were the first sign.

“Werewolves?” He asked quickly, staring out into the perpetual night. They approached quickly, though they resembled more hound than wolf, they still reeked with the same menace. They encroached on the town perimeter, charging the girl in the centre, the Father’s chanting intensified as he prepared to jump down, but a quick look from his student halted him.

With simple ease, Mercedes sped away and traversed several rooftops to close the distance, diving down into the town centre to save the innocent child from the hungry creatures. The priest finished his chant, and let loose a bright ray of sunlight from his staff directly into the eyes of the leading beast, when it leapt up to rend the flesh of his swiftly retreating ally. It was momentarily blinded, and fell with a squeal to the rough ground below.

The Father sprinted over to the rooftop’s edge and jumped, dropping low on impact with the ground to absorb the force. He whistled, and the sides of his lips turned briefly in a grim smile.

“Heel.” He yelled, ensuring he had the attention of the pack. Other townspeople may be in danger around him, and there was no time to waste.

The yapping and barking and howling was enough to tell him his plan was successful, but now he needed to look to his own safety. He sprinted rightwards, towards the other side of the street, the pack close on his tail. With a final leap he dived over a low fence between two houses and landed in a tight alley way, the dogs pursuing him even as he turned with his staff upraised.

The alpha impaled himself upon the protruding point of the staff, activated even as the Father was running, and yelped once as it coughed up blood. Its face was terrible up-close, undead of some form, but it could still be killed by his holy weaponry. The weight of the creature had pushed him back, forcing the warrior-priest to brace himself even as another of the dogs dived at him over the fence. He forced the corpse and its fellow back, tore his staff from the body and jabbed again, ripping half of another dog’s face from its head.

As the grisly battle continued, some of the smarter dogs peeled off to seek easier prey. However, the bulk roared in anger and massed outside the alley-way, taking it in almost orderly turns to test their mettle against Jack. The corpses were piling up, and he was almost standing atop a small hill of the dead.

“God is my shield, while I am his sword.” The priest chanted as he struck again and again, dealing lethal wounds to each dog. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a dog dived from the rooftop and collided with Jack, clawing at his body and face as they tumbled and fell from the pile of bodies, deeper into the darkness of the alley.

The flow of nightmares, flowering delirium mingling with misery encircled the world of Necropoli. He who should not be, the shadow among dreams opened his eyes as the laminations of a world reached his ears. The swirling miasma of hellish winds roared, the hideous chanting of the three shadow creaures rose and fell with a morbid rhythm, a wicked smile flashed upon the dark face, Ghoukas reached out with his considerable powers, augmenting and strengthening the feelings of despair that infused the nightmares entering the sleepers.

A deep growl, as if from the bowels of hell itself seemed to erupt from the chest of he who should not be, a crimson serpentine tongue lashed and tasted the air. "Hmm there is a disturbance, a feeling of hope…a waste that such sweet offerings must be the last vestiges of a dying people." Hissed the great shadow seated upon the black granite throne, the ruined and battered bodies of the countless Necroploians lay in a great heap around the immense chair.

Laying back the great horned head, the one known as Ghoukas inhaled deeply then reached out with a clawed hand weaving the nightmare stuff into ghoulish monstrosities, incorporeal phantoms slowly manifested before the lord of despair. Someone was helping the child who defied the Lord of Nightmares.

"Find this hope…go and find this light and extinguish it from existence. Leave the bodies as a warning to those others who dare dream of salvation that there is none…" whispered the ever shifting shadow as the whorls of energy that flowed from the eyes changed to a brilliant red.

The large wolf like animals snarled and gnashed their teeth, their hollow eyes flared and illuminated with the same brilliant red light. Their mournful howls, frightening, diabolical sounds that carried along the hellish winds, to the far edges of the world, the bloodthirsty sound, chilling the blood of those who huddled around fires seeking safety in the flickering lights.

Those who slept, dreamed of cavernous maws engulfing their bodies, consigning their souls to an eternity of torment as the horrendous, otherworldly creatures hunted them in a land of twisted trees and fog-shrouded lands. They dreamed of the last lights in heaven extinguished as he who should not be unleashed the spectral hounds to travel the world to find the power that still illuminated the darkness.

A clash of thunder roared through the sky, like a wounded beast shrieking with pain. A lone monster had entered the atmosphere. Edmund Bask, riding inside his menacing steed, Hellhound. 2500 tons of pure death and steel. Heat and force powered on at it, but it´s shielding did it´s job marvelously. Descending down from the heavens at decreasingly slow 600 miles per hour, it´s thrusters working overtime to slow it down. Oh what a sight it was, the massive bipedal mecha, a terrifying sight to behold. At the front of it´s head, bizarre metallic teeth the size of semitrailers was gleeming. Two thick club-like appendages adorned the end of each of it´s long arms. Portruding from it´s back, were four cylindrical missile tubes.

Genocide: "Genocide to operator, I have detatched from the carrier and entered the atmosphere. Touch-down in 54 seconds."
Operator: "Copy that, Genocide. Surface scans shows little activity in your sector. Head over to C-47 when you make your landing."
Genocide: "C-47? That´s miles from here. Why didn´t we drop down over there to begin with?"
Operator: "Command wants you to make a sweep of the area first. Our instruments have been going haywire everytime we´ve attempted a planetary scan. To put it bluntly, we don´t know what we´re dealing with here."
Genocide: "No issues scanning the landing sector?"
Operator: "A cakewalk."
Genocide: "I don´t like this.."
Operator: "Just focus on the mission. The contractor is handing out a lot of resources for clearing the planet of any unwelcome entities."
Genocide: "..They want us to empty the planet."
Operator: "That´s what they said."
Genocide: "A planet."
Operator: "Big payday."
Genocide: "It´s going to take a week, at the least!"
Operator: "Consider it a vacation."
Genocide: "Fuck you, man."

Edmund flipped a switch. The mech braced itself, and hit the ground violently. Rock and soil was blasted away, a cloud of dust shot up. Hellhound was prime, and ready for action. Edmund looked at a screen, "What´s that, girl? You picking up some movement to the east?.. Yes, you´re right, we should start there." The massive metal monster started walking towards the source of movement. A mile away, Erde and co was about to come face to face with the Beast of Paradiso.

Just as the shadowy figures ran from the light arrow, the Elemental creature reared up and moved to stand. "Evil powers fear. Holy light beware. You are in a neutral zone, and the very ground you stand on will stop you." ... it seemed like this thing's senses were just as sharp, if not sharper than her own. But just as she had thought that the real threat was to come from the shadows, she heard a thunderous explosion coming from the sky above. A meteor, large enough to level anything it struck, was screaming down from space. Rather than be taken aback by terror, Ysolda could tell that this object was... slowing down? That made no sense. Even when Gods fell from Yu-Shan as starmetal, they did not slow down. This was different.

Moments later, an intense burst of air pressure and debris would engulf the small town that she and the elemental stood in. Despite having an incredible vantage point, Ysolda was not learned in the ways of advanced visual charms and sight enhancement... and could not yet see the object through the debris. Regardless... if the elemental was braced for battle, she would be as well. "You're ready, it seems. I'll prepare as well. Please defend me for a short time while I cast the spell, my friend." And with that, Ysolda channeled a sizable amount of essence and focused it on herself. The spell, "God-Forged Champion of War" would allow her to fight on the same level as the creature she stood upon. In a short time, she would release the channeled essence... which would envelop her body and surround her in a glowing golden shell nearly three stories tall.

She spoke out in a vocal chant as the threads of essence surrounded her and raised her from the Elemental's shoulder, and it even sounded as though several other-worldly voices joined in the chant. "Pounding drums and clashing steel, our foes will soon know fear. Overbearing strength and magic, their numbers we shall shear. Weathering pain and standing strong, all shall know our might. Essence clad, we charge again... by the sun's golden light. Rejoice and shatter the chains that keep you bound! GOD-FORGED CHAMPION OF WAR!" Strands of energy seemed to erupt from various objects nearby, rushing toward Ysolda and forming shimmering plates over the golden essence lattice that was now levitating her above the Elemental's shoulder.

Then, a large cannon formed over the machine's left shoulder, along with a twelve-foot by eight-foot shield in the left hand. In the right hand appeared a massive axe born of the same golden light. Known as a Grimcleaver in her home realm, these axes were made for the sole purpose of cutting down one's enemies. The cannon, a "Warstrider-Class" Medium Essence Cannon, was essentially a huge laser cannon that bombarded foes with an intense blast of concussive energy that could rend through armor like soft butter. The shield was just that, a thick plate that could be used to deflect or block incoming attacks. The spell was coming together, but Ysolda still needed a moment to finalize the placing of the essence-forged armor... otherwise her spell would result in a glass cannon, so to speak.

Regardless, she would soon be ready for combat and to provide support to the immense creature who seemed so eager to defend the people of this odd land. The large expenditure of her internal essence caused an overflow into the energy field around her, called her anima. Her caste mark flared to life and glowed from within the shining suit she was creating... a testament to the sheer amount of power she was using to fuel the spell. "Only a moment longer, big guy. And then I will aid you against whatever comes. This world seems to have suffered enough." Her conviction set and her mind at ease, Ysolda continued to cast the spell that would allow her to fight alongside the large creature who seemed so interested in restoring the land.

( Motes Spent: 30 - 27 Personal, 3 Peripheral. Motes Remaining: 0/34 Personal, 77/80 Peripheral )

Whatever magic his recent companion was casting was negligent to his attention right now, over the horizon where he had been looking this whole time he spotted an immense ball of flame. Not a meteor, evident by the slowing of its movement before striking the ground. And then it rose, it rose over the horizon like a shadow over the world. As though a mountain had decided to rise up and dominate the skyline. But it was no mountain, it was a forged object, made from the metals of the earth below but altered with chemicals and heat. A manmade object of destruction and it was in his domain. The source of evil was not located, but it was coming from the same general direction of the source. And that was all Erde needed to know who his target was.

Beneath his feet the shaking stopped and a slab of stone blew upwards through the ground. An upside down dome of rock beneath his feet was all he needed for travel, and travel he did. Towards the colossus he was dead set on finding the source of the evil of this land, if this thing was coming from the same direction as the evil then it's either running in fear or working with it. Judging by its size it was more than evidently not scared, so the titan was clear on its intention. It was working with the evil and was an obstical to pass over.

With a twist of his right foot he pushed his rock forward at nearly seventy miles per hour, at highway speed he rocketed towards the colossus. Leaving the town and his recent companion in the dust, Erde was not something that you try to work with. You either stay out of his way, or you're going to get hurt. Erde is ignorant of the lives of those around him, he can only sense corruption and purification, and he hates them. If you're in the way of Erde in battle he will crush you if you decide to stand in the way of his onslaught.

As the titan raced across the earth his hands lowered to the soil and he ripped it upwards, beside his traveling hemisphere he started two enormous rock waves. Each of them towered over his own head and rose like a ramp, once they reached proper size they planed out and simply traveled by his side. These serve a purpose, but I won't explain it just yet. Back in the town the two pillars continued their slow climb to the sky, the spirals started to look more like spears. Why is that? Well the grooves that are drilling upwards from the ground are actually channelling dirt and gravel upwards. With this necessary material he can clear the skies as soon as the two pillars reach the clouds.

A red light dazzled on and off. Reflecting off Edmund's tired eyes. Contact. There was motion up ahead, a single object coming towards his position at high velocity.. A missile? It didn't look like it, but then again.. He switched the view of one of the ten screens surrounding him in a half-circle from showing his top-right side, to showing the feed off one of the frontal cameras. Zooming at 25x, he could tell that it was, in fact, not a missile, but some kind of humanoid clad in.. brown clothing, or mud? He was too far away to determine the exact details, and it was moving too fast to track it effectively with a closer zoom. The important part was that it was traveling atop some kind of dome-like rock construction. Was it magic? Some kind of technology? Whatever it was, it enabled the rock surfer to have two enormous rock waves travel at his side. An elementalist? Wouldn't be the first. The universe was crawling with them. He switched to thermal, but couldn't get much of a reading off the thing. The village still had some residents, on the other hand. That much was clear.

Edmund double-checked the Hellhound's systems. Weapons primed, armor undamaged, sensors fully functional, joins running smoothly, and power at optimal levels. He pressed the button on his comm and held it, as he pulled a red lever down with his other arm. Charging up the energy cannon concealed within the closed mouth of the mecha. "Genocide to Operator. I have an incoming foe. Engaging." he said, releasing the button. A short beep confirming the end of his transmission. He flipped open a plastic casing, of which there were four, revealing a small button labeled "Tube 1", pressing it. It was now armed, the upper right metallic cylinder on the Hellhound's back opened after a few seconds. By then, Edmund had pressed in it's target area. Spreading them out evenly, the six hundred missiles were designated to hit a mark 2 meter away from each other in a full circle, one of the preset missile patterns available, with the village at it's center. In war, there would always be collateral damage, and Edmund, or Genocide, as he was mostly known, was often hired specifically to inflict as much of it as possible.

'Beep' - Edmund grabbed a hold of the right stick, and squeezed the trigger. All six hundred missiles flew far up into the air, spread out evenly, and rained down upon their marks. Creating a massive field of collective explosions in a roughly 4000 feet radius, of which he was 1200 feet safely outside of. So too would, perhaps, the oncoming foe also be. The people in the village on the other hand, not so much.

It was first then, that Hellhound's pilot started changing it's pace from slow walking, to a jog, carrying it's 280 feet and more or less 2500 tons frame and weight ahead to meet the supposed elementalist head on further down the road. Assuming he got out of the blast radius, or protected himself sufficiently.

The intense golden light continued to shine brightly as the essence-machine continued to take shape. The Elemental rushed out from beneath her and into combat with the unknown foe while Ysolda finished the spell. Not a minute later, the spell took final form. The mighty Solar Exalt was encased in a glorious and golden construct capable of withstanding immense punishment and dealing out even more damage than it could withstand. The spell's completion was just in the nick of time, too. A rain of unknown armaments came down from the heavens and created an eruption of flame, debris, and air pressure less than two kilometers from where Ysolda stood. She heard hundreds of voices cry out in terror just before the explosions snuffed them out and overcame the wails with thunder and fire.

"This is... why would someone... I can't let this go on." She was in shock. Sure, she had seen death and war back in her homeland... but this was destruction on a new scale. Comparable to the mightiest of Solar-Circle spells, even. Frankly, she was lucky to be outside the blast radius. Moving at an intense pace ( 10x normal, as per the spell description ) thanks to the extended stride of her essence-armor, Ysolda rushed through the inferno and powered through the ruined area in the hope that she could assist in combating the threat. Coming to a bombed-out shell of a building, she fired the armor's shoulder-mounted Medium Essence Cannon. The blast ripped a huge hole through the front of the building and tore right through to the back, allowing Ysolda nearly unhindered passage through it.

Unfortunately, she was still about 1500m from the foe that unleashed this destruction. Worse, she still could not see the enemy... this time due to the smoke, fire, and settling debris. By her math, she was still about twenty seconds out. Good enough, she figured. Twenty seconds to think of how best to deal with a foe that was likely on par with Creation's Deathlords. There was always one option... but she didn't want to resort to that unless there was no choice. Problem was that this entity had unleashed such mayhem in such a short time... that she may have no choice in the matter. Only time would tell... and that time was growing shorter with every stride she took toward this very dangerous enemy.

The explosives ripped into the twin pillars, nearly toppling them but the dirt that had begun accumulating thickest near the bottom kept them upright. The growth corrected itself automatically to straighten back out, the timestamp drops back an hour to total growth. This, in all honesty, was all Erde cared about in the city. The single central tower had melted, made from drastically less durable stone and clay it was now an almost perfectly uniform pillar of rock. How far the blast reached was nowhere near enough to catch up to Erde, his incredible sustained speed had moved him outside of the city limits. Almost exactly two miles away from the pillars he was forging

Now, back to Erde sailing across the earth itself. The stone walls he was ripping from the ground encased his body and grew upwards like a hand reaching towards the heavens. In fact, not LIKE a hand, it was an actual earthen hand. In the palm of the hand Erde raised himself to eye level with the gargantuan mechanized warrior. The hand slowly slid across the ground, moving backwards to keep forward pace with the giant. With his right hand he touched his chest, extending a small cone outwards, effectively a megaphone. Erde spoke again, this time directly addressed to the immediate threat of Edmund. "Metal Giant your intention is dubious, you march from the direction of a foulness in this land, and you can be perceived as a follower of this corrupter. You have two options, Metal Giant." A lingering silence followed and it seemed as though Erde was not going to give the option to the man, but he spoke once more. "Leave my influence zone, take your filth with you. Or die."

The cone closed and shrank back into his hand and his arm dropped back to his side, the enormous rock hand that he was standing in shifted slightly to allow Erde some protection should the Metal Giant make the mistake of striking him. Only some, however, it would destroy the stone hand and send him flying. And disconnect from the ground is indescribably dangerous for him. So this was more for a sense of false security, something that he regrets needing, ever since his conversion into a simple stone oval.