-Cimex create Iron weapons such a arrows, axes, and varying sizes of spears. -Special poison created to thin human blood and rot skin. -Cimex create miles of tunnels extending as far as the Uri Realm.
Just like the humans and Uri were, the Cimex were planning and preparing for war. Although the humans and Uri had a coalition in the works, the Cimex had themselves to rely on. This is exactly what the Cimex did. After observing the humans all these years, they incorporated weapons into their arsenal. With the evolution of hands, the Cimex began to forge iron axes, making this one of there major weapons, both one sided and two sided. Apart from the Axe, the Cimex incorporated the spear, this would be key to some of their battle plans. Bows and barbed arrows were incorporated, and would be used for the Flying Cimex Army.
After incorporating such weapons into their arsenal, they sought to find an advantage over the human. At this point, the Cimexians made weapons were just as strong as the humans, without Wi, and own their Cimexian armor could withstand their blows. Zek'Ri had all Cimex forge weapons dipped and soaked in poison, the substance would effect their opponents in two ways. The bacteria on the blade would rot the skin that is cut, even if it is a small cut. After the, the poison, the second effect will take hold if the cut is bad enough, it will thin the blood, then force the humans into a state of shock. The Cimex made sure that they themselves were immune to its effects.
This Cimex did not stop there, an army had been created specifically for tunneling. Over the months, hundreds upon hundreds of tunnels had been created. These tunnels extended throughout Cimexian Land, and miles into human land, but none touched Uri Land. This made the mobility of the Cimex impeccable, but they are extremely really careful to keep this a secret. It is well guarded, making it almost impossible to find out, even the corrupted Cimex do not know of it.
This Cimex then waited, even in the darkness of night, caution and patience was the best defense for now. They would defend the humans attack, force them to fight there terf, if the humans were afraid, the Cimex would take matters into their hands.
-Invidia slays a dragon using incredible Master Yoda-esque skills -Invidia almost dies to Sauranath but is saved by Escre -Escre incarnates and becomes Mortemulta Escre, his combat forme, and stands off against Sauranath -Escre calls for other gods who would judge Sauranath for his actions
-=-=Invidia, the Liaison=-=-
Only a few steps away from the doors of the summit now, Invidia sensed that something was terribly wrong. He opened wide the eye in his chest, and though its normal vision was obscured by his robes of brown, its magic vision pierced cloth and cloud alike to witness the visage of a god. For a moment, Invidia could not believe its eye. Terrifyingly close, a monumental form, winged and fanged, bore down on the building with murderous intent. By the time that the others around him, those of mundane sight, were able to see the fifty-one incoming dragons, Invidia had slipped an item from his robe and attached it to the head of his cane. No longer a mere walking aid, the implement now clutched by the outsider was a war axe, its blade a bony chip of the Planet Core, and the greatest of all mortal-made axes. There was no time to call for aid, no time to organize a defense, and no time to pray...every second the Liaison had left would be used to fight.
But first, Invidia dove to the side to avoid the incoming lunge of a being his eye marked as the dragon god. He watched, not daring to challenge a High One, as Sauranath landed on one of the men who'd been at the delegates, apologized with cruel sarcasm, and tore him apart. Invidia hadn't long to dread, however, as a skeletal dragon bore down on him for the kill. A crunch of red in the hero's hand was the only signal that an extra-large blood sponge had been consumed. Shrieking like only an outsider could, Invidia sprang into the air straight toward the bone dragon, who'd mistaken the predator for the prey. The Liaison, fueled by rushing blood, swung his war axe and cleaved the head of the dragon in two. Its weak spot obliterated, the body fell apart, and Invidia returned to the ground in a shower of bone and blood.
At that moment, however, the streets turned to fire.
Invidia fell back from the roaring dragonflame, leaning on his war axe to keep himself standing. The pumping of his blood had accelerated the Anju venom within him, not enough to cause permanent harm, but enough to hurt abominably. Not knowing that the great tree Orabil would momentarily wipe away the scourging fire, Invidia cried out, feeling for the first time fear, the fear of dying once again. ”Great Spirit, save me!” No sooner had the words resonated from Invidia's head than the ground around him cracked, and from the seams spewed a froth of lifeblood that formed a bubble around the outsider to keep him safe. Minutes passed, the Liaison shielded from fire but unable to see or hear beyond his barrier. Then, finally, the blood ebbed, and Invidia saw that the world had changed.
Darkness covered the landscape. The stars twinkled fitfully in the vault of heaven, and the sun was gone. Looked out over the torched ruins of Orabson, Invidia sought in vain the great tree Orabil, beacon of life and monolith to time. Instead, he found only a smoldering husk, identifiable only by the flames that coated it even now, and something inside Invidia broke. It didn't matter that he knew the Sanguine Communion could survive on lifeblood, or that any one of the other High Ones could restore light to the world. What caused a single tear to form in the outsider's scarlet eye was the fact that the universe could host beings who lusted after nothing but thoughtless destruction, the annihilation of life, peace, intelligence, and prosperity. That tear dribbled down across Invidia's carapace and stained the blackened soil.
The lamentations of the world were heard loud and clear
Across the sky, light began to dance. A stream of particles, white and purple, rushing through the air—a glorious aurora. It was no sun, and it was no great tree, but this Empyrean Flow thrummed with the same brand of power that dwelt deep beneath Galbar's surface, where the heart of the planet beat. Under their nourishing gleam, crops would be able to grow even at night, and the darkness would diminish almost enough to be called twilight. It could give mankind a chance.
For now, however, the Empyrean Flow deviated. A portion of it struck off from the sky and wound around the ruin of the great tree, coalescing and exhuming and forming patterns ever more eldritch. A sound crept across the earth, a haunting tune. It grew in fervor and pitch just as the Flow picked up speed and strength, faster and faster and stronger and stronger and wilder and wilder and no less cosmic, no less horrible, and no less lethal to the pathetic creatures that called themselves gods as to those they had carved and labeled as less!
And then there were two.
Across from the great dragon, so resplendent and savage in his cataclysmic conquest, another being stood, more quiet than death and far larger than life. In the perfect silence, only a single tune beat in time to the pulse of the colossal figure's light: thump-thump....thump-thump...the heartbeat of the planet. But who wasn't to say that it wasn't the heartbeat of all creation?
The titan stood, ominous and fearless, for its was an eternal force. The shroud of darkness blanketed Galbar grew weak above its head, and an otherworldly luster shone down upon its gargantuan form. “You have disobeyed Their purpose,” it resonated.
”Let those assemble who judge this one unworthy.”
Might 8 MP – 1 MP spent to create the Empyrean Flow. 3 MP spent to incarnate Mortemulta. 4 MP remain 2 FP – 2 FP remain Inherent powers used to protect Invidia
-Arguis contacts Vestec and Undasis -Undasis ignores him at first, and keeps thinking about biral manipulation and alchemy. After a while, she respondes and comes to the meeting, and Vestec shows up a few moments later. -Undasis and Vestec argue about corruption
-Arguis asks Undasis and Vestec to help save the Cimex, by allying their people with his -Undasis makes a speach about how the humans cannot be allowed to wipe out too many of the Cimex, but he will not aid the Cimex until many of them have died. -Vestec refesus to ally Garakai with the non-corrupted Cimex
-Arguis and Kraken leave Vestec just sitting alone in the water
Arguis watched as the situation in Galbar grew more and more tense. The Cimex planed an extremely coordinated plan, one that would involve them utilize the earth. And the ocean. The ocean was a territory that was still iffy for the Cimex, with the accession of the Mer, it would be difficult to swim about their waters all willie nilly. Not only that, the Uri and the humans would strike an alliance together, which would in turn, affect the Cimex greatly. Arguis looked to the north, Vestec's people had some Cimex, dragons, and an human army ready to attack the Cimex when they attack the humans. The odds did not look good for the Cimex. Arguis teleported to the ocean, Arguis remembered it's beauty from his last visit.
"Undasis, Vestec, would it be possible for us to talk?" Arguis communicated to them telepathicly. Maybe some divine interference would do some good for the Cimex.
-*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*-
There was but one altar in the spacious City of Concentus: the Great Oceanic Temple, a massive construct designed to hold thousands of worshipers to Undasis within it's shining marble halls and pulsating, mult-coloured walls made from biral.
Biral is a rainbow-shaded magical substance found rare and alien to anyone other than a select people- namely, the Mer. This deceptively simple material has dozens of potential uses, but perhaps it's most shocking quality is this: biral is alive. Like a plant or a fungi, it grows naturally and without mortal aid, spouting forth from the sand and coating the seafloor. Unlike a plant or a fungi, it is susceptible to all sorts of Wi, spiritual, and mystic manipulation. At the moment Undasis formed Mer from the dying souls of humanity, Aestus taught his newfound brethren to channel their inner being and shape the biral as they saw fit.
A practiced wielder of magic could use biral to create heat and light like a fire, form buildings as strong as stone or weapons sharp as steel, or even devour it as a substitue for food, water, and sunlight. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ultimate multi-purpose tool, if you are one of those very, very few with the divine gift of "biral manipulation" or "alchemy". And this, indeed, was a lucky few- only one in five-hundred were born with the ability to use these powers, and even less could do so well.
When Undasis was contacted by the Knowledge God, she had been studying with this very substance. Woman of the Water had found herself consumed with curiousity; she desired to know if biral could be improved upon even further, so that it's magical properties could form a replacement for all the things underwater life lacked: fire, easily used electricity, available heat source, and so on.
Upon hearing Arguis's request for conversation, she had an idea. "Astarte, may I see you later? I've found something most magical, but I don't think I'm capable of unlocking it's full potential. If there is anyone who can,it is you." She said, "Oh, and, uh...sorry about the ants. Guess I got a little carried away with the thought of sealife. If it makes you feel any better, they aren't all dead."
Kraken's voice suddenly rumbled to life. "Do not waste your time with such a mundane affair, now. Astarte and her spells can wait. There is another in our oceans, his essence infecting it like a disease. Arguis has no reason to be here, deal with him now."
Kraken was right. She shouldn't ignore Arguis, simply because they were preoccupied with something else. "I see you have once more ventured into my glorious oceans, God of Knowledge. Sorry for the slowness of my responce, my mind was elsewhere. Tell me, my guest of the waters, what does your omniscience tell you of this strange object which has stolen my passions, this 'biral'?...Ah, nevermind, it's not your concern nor your territory. Sorry. Yes, I will meet with you in a moment."
The body of She of the Waters suddenly dissipated into sea-foam, and she reformed in beauty at Arguis's side. "Something you need?" Her dark eyebrows perked up in curiosity. He was in the ocean, so she could feel a bit of his intent through a mix of telepathy and intuition. He wanted something to do with one of his creations...probably intelligent ones...the Uri, no...the Cimex, maybe...but that was all she knew.
Vestec appeared next to the two gods, his rapidly flashing colors illuminating the darkness all around them. "My, my Undasis. You really let Kraken go didn't you? It's all doom, and gloom and terrible fish monsters." He giggled, idly corrupting one of the Terrorfishes that drew too close.
A bolt of hot liquid surged from Undasis's body and exterminated the corrupted fish.
Vestec giggled again. "What? You don't want some of my creatures down here? You were happy enough to take my sea ants."
"I have no quarrel with you, but Kraken is cautious about such creatures. I'm sure you understand, I doubt you would be too pleased if a creature of mine swallowed the leaders of Garakai. Likewise, our Mer are in a delicate stage of devoplment. I do not despise you, but I must be paranoid of foreign influence for the time being. Later I may relax."
"That's right...you made a race. A nice, orderly, uninfluened race. I'll make sure to visit them at some point. And besides, if you swallowed Viscardi or his brothers, you'd get indigestion. They're all rather tough and chewy, being ancient immortal humans." Giggling, he turned his gaze towards Arguis."So? What is it that you want God of Knowledge? I have a terrible war that will cost thousands of lives on all three sides to watch and interfere with." His gaze sanpped towards the surface. "Damn that dragon. Waking up now of all times? After so long slumbering and doing nothing? I'll have to make another example."
"Oh? My people aren't very orderly in their emotions, and that's precisely why I must be wary of you, for now. Perhaps another time I can allow Vestec and your chaos into the sea with open arms, but not now." Woman of the Waters was not truly angry with Vestec- he was only doing as his nature forced him, after all- but she knew how easily corrupted the Mer would be, as frivolous and flippant and childish as they are. She hoped to keep Vestecian influence out of her home, at least for the time being.
"Now you're just tempting me, my dear. Don't worry, I'll leave most of the Mer alone. But every race could use a little more chaos, don't you think? More than the Kraken gives, at least." Vestec giggled again, now ignoring Arguis in favor of far more entertaining conversation.
Undasis sighed loudly, bubbles rather than air escaping from her red lips. Clearly there was no reasoning with this fool. Kraken was growing more and more furious, but the Woman just barely managed to hold him back, for the sake of keeping some semblance of real peace.
"Fair enough, Vestec, but I ask you, from any kindness you may deign to reveal, not to harm them too much- the Mer are my dearest children. They are more than just another creation." Her eyes seemed to be feeled with a great sadness for a moment, but it suddenly pulled away. "I'm sorry, brother Arguis, I'm sure you didn't come to hear our petty disagreements. What is it you desire from us? My grace and Kraken's fury are at your full disposal, should you need them for a just cause."
Arguis waited for the two to respond, he really did not have much time on his hands. The Humans and Uri had come up with a plan to fight the Cimex, they had their plan set in stone, but if these two gods could help, it would turn the tides on the humans, drastically. Arguis was glad the Undasis responded first, he would have rather met her first the Vestec, that god angered him in ways the should not have even been possible. Arguis let Vestec and Undasis have their chat, he was not going to rush them because of his own situation. When he was given the stage, he did not hesitate.
"I cannot justify an act of war to be pure and righteous, but the complete destruction of a race is another thing. Despite they themselves insighting the war, such an army would be to difficult to take on alone. And with the meddling of Vestec..." saying that with as much venom as possible. "The Cimexian Armies are out maned now. If you really wanted an alliance Vestec you could have just asked nicely. Anyway, I have come to beseech both of you, the tribes to the North have an army what can cripple the human forces, the Mer have the sea, a beautiful yet powerful force. I wish for the Cimex to ally with the North, and the Cimex be allowed to swim in the waters of Galbar. If there Mer would be willing to help also, that would be appreciated. The Cimex have split their army into 3, the largest, the land force, the underground force, tunnerlers, and the Ocean force. Would you be willing to assist them?" Arguis said cocking his head to the side, if they wished to help the great not, the Arguis would have to take things into his own hands.
"The Cimex. I have been watching them, as you may or may not know," Undasis glanced without complete trust at Arguis- she was still fearful of his knowledge. "and I do, believe it or not, feel sympathy for their plight. It is wrong that whole race shall perish for the good of another. Humanity may gain from the death of Cimex, but likewise would not the Cimex gain from the death of humanity? By what justification can our humans save themselves, if it costs the lives of another? There is no difference between what the humans are doing to the Cimex or have long-since done to the Dyun, and what the Cimex and Dyun once did to the humans. Are they not equally wicked, now?" She stopped to smile to herself for a moment, realising this was almost identical to the logic she had used against Svieand. Perhaps the Sea God could be more reasonable than others assume.
"But make no mistake, Arguis, I fully support humanity's right to kill a few hives after all they have been through at the hands of your creations, while you have looked the other way and callously ignored their suffering. I simply do not want them to kill all the hives, because no people- even those as sometimes disgustingly violent as your own- should be compeltely extinguished. There is an immense beauty in all sentient life, and I will not, for the good of any other race, allow the beauty of the Cimex to be swallowed up."
Vestec nodded, disappointed Undasis had finally given in. It wasn't any fun when the other Gods finally stopped getting angry about it. He merely giggled when Arguis spoke towards him with venom, waving cheerfully at the knowledge God. Vestec waited for the two gods to stop speaking then raised a hand like a school child. "Why, exactly, should I have the Garakains ally with the Cimex as a race entirely? They're already going to be attacking everything south of them, and they have Cimex on their side. Albeit they're now my Cimex. The race will persevere, the main instigators of this war will merely be destroyed, and everyone is happy. Besides, I seem to have upset you by ruining your precious plans for these two races." He giggled again, tilting his head in a mirror of Arguis. "And I find that endlessly amusing."
"When you corrupt a being, Vestec, you change a bit of who they are at the core. Any Cimex you've corrupted is no longer a Cimex in the truest sense of the word, they are something new entirely. I propose that some of the original, pure Cimex must survive. You will only make corruption and chaos the new order, if you continue like this."
"That's why people like Vowzra and Escre and dear Arguis exist. They'll fight against my creations, preventing the new order from ever forming." Vestec explained. "Besides, I'll just kill them all if it gets too much for the forces of Order."
Undasis just shook her head in a disappointed manner. What was the point of causing chaos, when the chaos did not lead to anything but more of the same? Kraken's chaos, at least, had a clear purpose: create monsters to remind landwellers to fear the sea, cause destruction to those who deserve it, drown the world so that all intelligent life may experiance the glory of the oceans, create a race of emotionally unpredictable Mer-folk so that their chaos may come together for a better whole- like a symphony of disconcordant instruments, joining to make a still beautiful concert. But Vestec could not be more different. He wreaked havoc for havoc's sake, never bothering to excuse or temper his actions. A demon, a monster. It was all for his own twisted entertainment. No greater purpose, no reason.
It seemed that neither Vestec, or Undasis would provide any assistance to the Cimex. If this was so, why waste his time with them, He had the power make the Cimex a thousand times stronger, in fact. But he had came to them for strategic reasons, the Cimex would be attacked from the north, east, and south, not to mention the Sanguine's sneak attacks. Arguis stayed silent, even when both were finished speaking, his eyes were hard. He had stayed fairly passive throught the years after the Uri and Cimex were born, it looked like her could not longer ignore all this. "Vestec, I'm sure you are of the saying, 'Too much of everything is bad.' I see many things Vestec, if you aren't careful, you may end up reduced to the weak state that you experienced in the beginning. The world is a cruel place, I warn you, you cannot protect all beings by yourself, the inhabitants of Galbar will be the Mer's undoing." Arguis sighed, all and all that was uncalled for. "I apologize, calling calamity upon you both was out of line, forgive me. But I will say this, the humans will not be wiped out the Cimex."
The Woman could no longer contain the Kraken. She grew to a once more monsterous size, her smooth skin becoming rough and scaled, her eyes transforming black. "For all your supposed knowledge, you are a poorly-tounged and worthless moron. We made it clear that we will aid the Cimex if they come close to being wiped out, but short of extinction, they deserve whatever torture happens to them. And so will you, Arguis, as I will not forget this. You will never again be welcome here, get out of my waters. Now." Kraken sent a telepathic signal that made it clear he was prepared to fight if his two "guests" did not leave immediately.
Vestec stepped back a bit, out of the way of the Kraken if he charged Arguis. He giggled again, watching expectantly for the fight to break out. "If I'm careful I might end up that way regardless. Nothing is sure. You of all people should know that Knowledge God."
Arguis simply smiled at Kraken anger and discontent. Their admonition to save the Cimex when little was left, was absurd. Pushing a race even to "near" extinction would be cruel on their part. Endangering a species because if their nature, she had seen nothing, what the humans would and could do. What the Mer people to would have to do to survive, avoid the humans. Arguis smiled, they were their own undoing, if the Cimex's population lowered to the point of endangerment, the they would come back stronger, ready to fight the humans and Uri, already evolved to better combat their very strength. That, he could guarantee. Arguis nodded his head to the Kraken. "As you wish.". "Ah, no... because time is a giant killer and hence future is uncertain..... what we know for sure today may well turn out to have been an illusion by tomorrow. For the same reason, however, nothing is impossible. Hence may be one day we would know something for sure that can not be doubted ever. Who knows? All we can so is wait and see." and with that, Arguis dissaperaed.
The heat in Undasis's eyes seemed to calm somewhat upon Arguis's leave, and he turned for Vestec. "You are still mostly welcome in my domain, Chaotic One, so long as I don't return to find the ocean on fire or something." Kraken gave some ugly, deformed imitation of a smile. The Sea God vanished in a flurry of waves and wind, off to try and meet with Astarte, leaving Vestec alone in his nightime waters.
"Excuse me, judge this one unworthy? I'm the Dragon god. My job is to take naps, send the stars onto the world down below and breathe life into their souls. This is my first time on this unworthy world who seeks to massacre my children, out of terror, which is their due. However, pursuing them out of revenge or worse, sport is something that even I am stark raving justified to remedy AT ONCE!!! Your puny mortals would be mistaken if they thought they could get away with slaughtering their far betters. They are wrong. VERY wrong, and if they wouldn't have gone on maniacal genocidal sprees, I would have cared about the withering away of their precious little Star Flower."
"I am revenge against the denial of my Star Children. Who dares take them from my eyes? I should tear and rend you all asunder for the sake of all. Then this world will not belong to you. Creatures of the dark world, you are feeble little creeping things of this underworld below the stars. What right have you to hunt down my children? My sons and daughters, and seek them out for your own vain appetites and apparel with clothing. The scales, ripped off the corpses of my proud children, their hides and bones used for their foul Humanoid crafts of armory."
-Astarte responds to Undasis's summons -Undasis scolds Astarte for accepting Vestec's influence
-Undasis shows her the biral, and how it can be used for magic. She asks Astarte to unlock the full magic potential of the Mer, particularly in relation to the biral. -Astarte promises to do so, if she is given a Merman's life and his soul as a sacrifice -Undasis agrees, and they single out the most powerful Merman Wizard- Sanctus
-They appear before Sanctus, scaring the living donuts out of him -Sanctus is terrified and starts crying, but agrees to die for the greater good. Astarte promises to bless his family after his soul is taken. -The Mer gather around the tallest tower in Concentus
-Sanctus pulls out his own heart and puts a piece of biral in it's place -Walls grow around the now-floating city -Sanctus dies and Astarte takes his soul and body
"Something magical, you say?" Astarte perked up, "And what ants are you speaking of?" She stood upon the grassy hill in her plane and lightly poked a nearby mini cow with her foot. It mooed, but did nothing else. Astarte grinned at the cow. "Show me this magical thing you've found."
Kraken's eyes lit up when he heard her sudden response. Undasis had been holding a meeting with Arguis and Vestec as the words of the Magic Goddess drifted into her mind- he was still surprised at the unexpected randomness of her thoughts, but, still, they were more calming than the storm of his own (if only barely). Arguis vanished from the meeting at Kraken's threat, and he turned his fierce gaze on Vestec.
"You are still mostly welcome in my domain, Chaotic One, so long as I don't return to find the ocean on fire or something." Kraken gave some ugly, twisted imitation of a smile.
The Sea God vanished in a flury of waves and wind, off to try and meet with Astarte, leaving Vestec alone in his dark nightime waters.
-*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*-
"Yes, Astarte, something magical." The sarcasm dripping from each word was painfully obvious. "Otherwise why would I single you out, from all the gods? You can be of great help to us, we think. Come, meet me in my true home, deep within Galbar's Scar" He sent a trail with the message, so that she could follow their voice to the bottom of the massive crater, where no light whatsoever shone and the pressure was enough to crush a normal man to the size of, ironically, an ant.
Astarte followed suit and appeared right next to Undasis.
The Woman of the Waters suddenly mentally spoke. "Sorry for my counterpart, sister and friend Astarte. We had an...unpleasant incounter. He will soon retreat, and I may take dominance to speak with you. Oh, and the ants! Perhaps you've forgotten, but when Galbar was still in it's infancy- a virgin world- me, you, and Vestec experimented on making ants breathe underwater. This was a long time ago...come to think of it, this was when you and I met one another."
"Ants." Astarte said, then hummed. She spun a few times, enjoying the feeling of water against her skin, until she finally settled behind Undasis.
"One moment please, my current form isn't the best for speaking with a friend..." The horrible visage of Kraken shrunk once more into the pleasing one of the Woman. "That's better. I'm glad to see you're enjoying the waters. If I may recommend something, don't generate any light while you're down here."
"Why not? Wouldn't it be great to see the faces of whichever monstruosity you've created to live down here?" Astarte chuckled, then stared at Undasis. She could see her, even in total darkness. They could see each other even before light existed in the Universe.
"You do have an ugly counterpart, Undasis."
"And you have an ugly soul, Astarte." Kraken spoke, "You are in our waters; Vestec's corruption is clear. Once you were beautiful and whole inside, but no more. Although that change can certainly be overlooked, just be cautious who you let directly influence you, for no soul should be twisted too much, lest it break, as ours did. The two-sided creature we-Undasis- are now is not who we once were, before. Take us as a warning of what happens when a soul is made to be what it is not."
For once, it was clear that the Woman was in complete agreement with Kraken's words. "My "ugly counterpart" may speak harshly, but he does so out of worry, not hatred." She paused for a moment. "Still, it is not my job to tell you how you treat yourself. I'm sorry."
Astarte huffed, crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, "Vestec doesn't think I'm ugly."
"I'm sure he doesn't, but take no offense, for none was intended. As for your question: light is forbidden here, the eyes of our creations are far too sensitive, and there are many gathering around you at the moment" She chuckled. "Here, I have a gift for you." She waved her hands over the Magic Goddess's eyes, and a gust of air spread over them, giving her the power to see even in these depths.
What Astarte saw was... Magnificent. A common mortal would have found it terrifying and traumatizing to suddenly realize she was surrounded by dozens of creatures. Some huge, some small, but each of them was monstrous. There was what looked like a shark, only ten times larger and with teeth as big as Astarte's torso.
She moved up to the gigantic shark and touched its fins. "They feel so different from surface beings!" For a moment, she felt like touching the shark's huge eyes or its teeth, and she would've if another fish hadn't bumped into her back. She turned around and stared at the fish, eyes narrowing and mouth curling up into a wide smile. The fish was quick to understand the message and swam away as fast as it could.
The Woman laughed in apparent joy. "That's a baby Mighty Shark, only a year old. By the time it is twenty, it should be about..."[/color] She stopped to consider a form of measurement Astarte would understand. [color=00aeef]"...one-hundred-and-fifty pine trees stacked on top of eachother. A little more than what Vowzra's humans may call a 'mile'."
Astarte whistled her appreciation and then swam to Undasis, "Now, what was it you wanted to show me, Undasis?"
"Look beneath us, what do you see?"
Below their meeting place, the very floor of Kraken's Crater was revealed. This was, of course, the first time any foreign god had seen the place where Kraken's strange imagination was allowed freedom.
There were a myriad of terrors swimming, fighting, and crawling over one another. It would take a century to describe the revulsion one feels at their first sight of these...things, but suffice to say, there were a few who stood out from the crowd: One creature, the Nasus, had a vaguely human appearance. Such was appropriate, as this was the fate of human sailors who failed to appease Kraken through prayer before their journey. The waves sunk their accursed ships, and now they will spend eternity serving the very god they refused worship, as mockeries of their former selves. The two divines looked forward and saw it swallow whole a smaller fish, only to have the baby Mighty Shark that Astarte frightened devour the Nasus moments later.
Another fish monster, claiming absurdly large eyes and propulsion through natural air-jets attached to it's back (there are no fins whatsoever), opened it's humongous mouth to show row after row of flexible, moving, wiggling teeth.
Before their guest could get any more lost in observation, Undasis spoke up. "Ignore the monsters, as difficult as that may be. Look past them and you will see that, growing on the seafloor like so many colourful plants, there are these little gems. I'm certain that you, of all people, can already feel the raw magic radiating from them. The plant-gems, which I have named biral, seem to be capable of manipulating the physical realms in extraordinary ways. My chosen champion Aestus has already built me a temple by manipulating them into an unbreakable wall, and I can feel they have more potential...but I'm unable to unlock it on my own. Life in the sea is not always easy, my friend, and my Mer children struggle at times. If they could all learn to use biral to complete capabilities, the effects could well be amazing to even us gods."
"Hmm..." Astarte caressed a non-existent beard as she cooked Undasis' request over in her mind. "I can unlock the Merfolk's full potential. What would I get in exchange, though?"
"Does friendship count?" The Woman smiled hopefully, and then sighed. "I guess not. Half a moment!". She suddenly dived down to the full depths of the ocean, reaching the biral-coated bottom effortlessly. Reaching out a long arm, she gathered up a few dozen of the fist-sized gems into her hand and once more levitated up to the Magic One, who had started to swim and flip and spin around once more.
"Beautiful, aren't they? As Undasis held the gems out to their guest, the seemed to change colour at random. A moment they would be as blue as the sea, then yellow like the sun or green like grass or orange like fire. "These can be fashioned into almost anything you desire. I could easily have my hero make something of them for you. As it stands, Aestus is one of the very, very few Mer capable of shaping them- about one in fifty. All others stay caged outside of magic."
Astarte raised an eyebrow upon laying eyes on the gemstones, "Are you sure Vestec didn't create these things? He likes color changing stuff." She grabbed one and sniffed it, then bit it and then put it to her ear, "They smell different from anything I've ever smelled."
"It's not impossible. Vestec hasn't been down here much, but the gems are undeniably chaotic when exposed to magic. Did you notice how they didn't change colour until they came close to you? I've been experimenting. I noticed that they stay in a stable, balanced state until they are forced to interact with any form of magic, and then they become volatile and unpredictable. Under normal conditions they are just plants."
She thought for a moment, before a grin suddenly broke onto her face and she rapidly closed the distance between her and the Woman, ending up a mere three inches off her face, "I want one of the Mer to sacrifice his soul to me. One of your best Biral manipulators, to use his ability until there's nothing left of him, and I want his soul to be put into one of these stones, which I'll wear in a crown made of the finest, shiniest, whitest, strongest seafloor rock-" Astarte spoke quickly, her voice overflowing with excitement by the end, "I. Want. His. Soul."
"Give me that, the crown and permission to visit your oceans, and we have a deal. And don't worry, I'll make sure the sacrifice's family is one of the strongest families, if nothing else."
Kraken sent off spiritual waves of approval, while Woman frowned slightly."A worthy death for a great Mer alchemist and Biral manipulator, if a gruesome one. I know who will be sacrificed." The Sea God's voice was grim and determined. "Aestus has told me much of one man taking up residence in Concentus, he says this is the one who first mastered the art of Biral, and who taught even Aestus secrets he had never before grasped. He aided in the construction of my temple, built the roads of Concentus with a few massive spells, and has impressed even I. He will make a truly worthy offering. The Merman's name, I've been told, is Sanctus"
She lifted out a hand for Astarte, who took it.
"Do you want to come with me to demand our sacrifice of him, or should I? He is worshiping in the inner-sanctum of my temple as we speak."
"I will accompany you. It is only just. I also want to see his expression!" She squealed in delight, but ultimately suppressed her growing excitement. "Let's go at once--We shouldn't leave my sacrifice to wait for too long."
-*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*-
Sanctus knelt before a diamond and marble effigy of the Kraken. Even in inanimate imitation, the onyx eyes of Kraken struck fear into his worshiper's humble heart. The robes Sanctus proudly wore had been crafted from shining white and black fish-scales, mingled with cloth (which he had personally blessed to be waterproof).
As he came daily to pray, he fell into a pattern of words he would mumble before the altar: "Oh, mighty Kraken, protect the sailors of this fair city, lend them your grace and your power, defend us of our enemies and forgive us our debts..."
"No debt, dear child, is simply forgotten. But blood can cover all things."
"What?" Sanctus suddenly rose from his stance. "Who goes there? This is a private worship." For a moment all was silent. "He-hello?"
"Your blood. Your thick, red and pretty blood." There was a laugh, which echoed through the small hall.
A chill of cold water ran through the hall, and seemed to run down his spine, as well. "O-out! Ge-get out! I know magic, I'll...uh, I'll turn you into a stone!"
There was another cold chill, this time like ice. A voice spoke behind him. "We know you are a magic one, my child. That is why you have been chosen."
He turned to see the origin of the strange words, and behind him stood a most beautiful woman. She seemed to be made of seafoam? And her dress was cut from water and wind. He knew immediately who she was- if the divine presence was not enough, he had seen and prayed to a hundred statues of the very same. He fell once more to his knees. "She of the Waters!" The way he fell reminded Undasis of Zerabil, and Aestus before that. The goddess felt a sudden pang of sympathy for what she must do.
"And..." Another woman jumped out into the hall from behind Undasis, long lavender hair flowing behind her and silky white dress struggling to follow her energetic movements, "Astarte! Goddess of Magic, the Summons, the Ranges, however you prefer to call me. I'm like this woman's sister." Astarte chuckled.
"I know who you are..." His voice still held reverence, but also, now, much more fear. Undasis could sense that he was beginning to catch on. He was smarter than most.
"Do you remember the prayer you said to me that one night, three moons ago? The one you cried out with tears in your eyes?" "Yes," he said "I asked for all the Mer to be gifted as I am. So many struggle and urge themselves to learn the magic arts, but none comes to them. Astarte does not hear our prayers for the Gift, or, at least, so I thought."
"Aw, that's so cute!" Astarte cooed with delight.
"I will do anything I may to gift these people with magic. What do you desire, goddesses? What have I, a simple servant of greater forces, done to deserve such a most wonderous visitation?"
"There are no gifts. Gifts are a myth. All things come at a price. Astarte has heard your pleas, and she demands sacrifice. Namely, she demands your life." The Woman leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know how difficult this must be for you, but your life will forever be remembered among gods and mortals alike."
"I demand not only your life," Astarte began with a smile and friendly eye contact, which slowly dissolved into a predatory stare, "but your soul. Once you leave this plane, I will take your soul and I will cram it into a small gem which I will wear on a crown. You will never see the Astral Home, the place where souls are sent to live once more. Your soul will be mine. All mine." Astarte chuckled, each laugh dripping with venom.
Tears welled up in Sanctus's eyes. He turned to the Woman of the Waters for mercy. "My goddess, I have served you faithfully all my days. Is there no other way?"
"You have done well in life, but you will serve an even greater purpose in death. You will be renowned as the one who allowed the gift of magic to come to all your people."
"Ve-very well. I will accept my fate."
"Oh, don't cry!" Astarte rushed to Sanctus' side, forced him to look at her and gently wiped his eyes, "I am not a soul eater, in fact you're the first one I'm doing this to, so I'm very excited. Don't you just love the idea of carrying a pure soul with you wherever you go?" She smiled and looked at him with a twinge of admiration in her eyes. She put a hand on his neck. Then she dug her nails into the soft skin.
When she retrieved her nails, the four gashes sealed and left behind four scars. "Your fate is sealed. I have placed a curse upon you. When you exhaust your soul of magical essence, the curse will dissolve your body and I'll take your soul." She stepped away from him and clapped her hands once.
"Gather up as many Mer as you can. You'll demonstrate everyone what you're capable of in the best demonstration of magic the Mer have ever seen, and then the exhaustion will kill you. After your death, every Mer will find they can use the very abilities that were your undoing. Your family will be one of the strongest users, due to your sacrifice."
"My daughters...alright, for them, at least. I will do as you ask. Now, forgive my presumptuousness, but I'm a man on his last wish- please leave me be, now. I need to think and rest."
"Very well, you've earned some peace. Shall we go, sister?" She eyed Astarte forcefully.
-*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*-
The wide, black eyes of two-thousand Mer were all trained on one spot on one building- the peak of the Tower of the Undasis Temple.
The temple itself took up at least a quarter of the already massive city, but from the northern end of the temple rose a spiraling tower, reaching higher than would be possible on the surface. This meant little to the Mer, however, as any could just as easily swim upwards, if they wished. What mattered to the Mer was its sheer room- it was also ridiculously wide and burrowed deep beneath the sandy ground. It was built on the order of Champion-Prophet Aestus, so that it may serve as housing for the poor and homeless of their kind.
Above the tower swam the Great Mage, the Holy Wizard, the Alchemist- Sanctus. He curled his long tail underneath him, letting gravity pull him into a resting position atop the lengthy structure. Although it would be simple to do so, those watching him- out of respect- did not dare attempt to go above him. He looked out and saw himself surrounded on all sides by the expectant watchers.
He held in his hands a single biral plant, and a knife. On his right was a pile of extra biral, whose purpose would soon be made clear. On his left sat a simple clay dish.
Two days before, when the Goddesses appeared to tell him his destined fate, he had begun devising a grim plan; he knew it was not possible for a being such as himself to perform any act that would truly be pleasing to one such as Astarte. He could think of no beings powerful enough to do so, in fact, and he was far too weak and too low on time to search for one.
Therefore, it stood to reason that his only available option was to alter himself. Biral was, as much as he could tell, the most inherently magic substance in the universe. For several years he had been researching and forming a radical theory that proposed it was possible to physically imbue oneself with biral, thus forming an eternal and constant link with the very essense of magic. But considering how likely one was to die in the procedure, Sanctus never once dared to test it.
Until now. He tentatively lifted the knife. "Undasis, please" he spoke aloud, "my last prayer to you is this: allow me to survive for just a moment longer." There was no response but he felt certain he had been heard, at the least.
And with that final prayer, he plunged the knife into his chest and began to carve. He cut a grotesque circle around the place he felt his heart frantically beating, like it was aware of what was coming. It was odd, he thought, how easily the section of flesh protecting his most vital organ slid out like a puzzle piece, exposing the pumping heart and gushing blood into the clear waters.
He reached his long, gangly fingers into the cavity and began to pull and yank fiercly, all the while screaming in terror and agony. It was impressive how firmly lodged his heart could be. In other conditions, he may have praised Undasis for making them so eloquently.
But now he was no longer able to maintain coherent thought. As his still-beating heart left his body, it was as if his soul went with it. In a state of total shock he dropped the heart onto the clean plate, bloddying it's shining surface. He lifted the biral plant and forced it into his chest and, like the scars claiming his face, healed quickly. Make no mistake, the gaping wound was there, but now his veins were attaching themselves to the stony plant as a surrogate heart.
He realized he had stopped breathing, and when he opened his gills to inhale, no water nor air entered in. Instead, he felt the magic come in it's place. His entire being was sustaned, at this moment, on pure magic. He was undead.
He swam to an upright position, his body already wrinkling and withering from the mystical strain.
"Now!" He shouted in a surprisingly vital voice. "the Great Sanctus will perform his final trick, ladies and gentlemen!" He lifted his right hand and the extra biral floated telekinetically. Each bit of it dripping some thick, red liquid.
He spread his arms wide before the city and the twenty biral stones were suddenly cast out to the corners of city, miles away in some cases. Sanctus felt them strike down like meteors in a perfect circle around Concentus.
"Let it begin" He whispered that only to himself, but it seemed the biral heard him. Had anyone been able to watch it all at once, they would have noticed that exactly half of the biral suddenly vanished in a puff of black smoke, while the other half stretched out and begin to form a sort of wall. A few seconds of nothing passed, in which the crowd of Mer sat in awe and stun.
Then the city began to float off of the earth it had been so crudely anchored to, and somehow lifited itself several hundred feet off. At the same time, the wall of biral stretched into a wall of meshed white and black, as hard as diamond and as smooth.
The walls became a sort of semi-circle, stalwartly protecting the entire bottom and sides of the city, with the exception of metal, marble, and wooden gates at each cardinal direction, the Northern one being the most extravegant and detailed; it even possessed carvings of Astarte and Undasis meeting, and Sanctus giving his own life.
A metallic substance issued out of the top of the walls (still only covering the entire bottom-half of the floating city) and formed something like a very, very hard chain-link cage to cover the entire top half of the city- so that sunlight could still get in, but enemies could not. The city floated higher still, until the uttermost top (directly above Sanctus's head) was sticking out of the ocean.
It would be almost impenetrable.
Finally, Sanctus placed his hand on the Biral Heart. He knew he had not long left- he was already looking at least fifty years older. This was his last few moments alive.
"You want my soul, Astarte?" He laughed, and with each chuckle the ground shook. "I give it to you freely. Take it." He pulled the biral from the hole where his heart would be, and threw it forward. In a flash of brilliant light, it shaped itself into a marvelous crown encrusted with a diamond between a ruby and a sapphire
Darkness creeped into the corners of his vision. This was it. He closed his eyes for the last time.
-*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*-
Immediately after his death, Sanctus' body and the crown disappeared with a bright flash of light. Only the clay dish, the heart and bloodied knife were left behind.
At first, there was a single gasp of surprise as one of the Mer in the audience cast forth light from his fingers, then another, and then another... In no time, all Mer were frantically exploring their new power.
And so Astarte clapped her hands in joy, did a quick flip and spoke to Undasis, "You have great talents here. I'll visit them again, that's a given." She then snapped her fingers and the crown materialized in front of her. She grabbed it and put it on as casually as one could, as if she had always owned it.
"Oh, uh..." Astarte clicked her tongue, "Just to confirm, Sanctus' soul is completely mine from now on." She mentioned as she gave the crown a playful flick of her fingers, innocent smile included.
Undasis, unlike their guest, did not seem wholly please. "Of course it is. Do not treat that fact too flippantly, he was perhaps the greatest Mer ever to be born, even greater than my own Aestus."
"I found it so cute when you revealed he cried while praying to you!"
"How so? He was a spiritual man, and my edicts and teachings seemed to hold great sway over him. No other man would have done what he did for his people."
"Yeah, yeah, I understand. Now, I must go about my business. Keep an eye out for Garakai. I have a surprise cooking for them." Astarte chuckled, and the following moment she was gone.
Astarte: 1 Free Point used to curse Sanctus' soul and body, leading to his death. 1 Might used to unlock the Merfolk's magic potential. 1 Might used to increase the magical potential of the Merfolk. 1 Might used blessing those with blood ties to Sanctus to be exceptionally strong Magic users, capable of learning any Magic in the world. 9 Might and 2 Free Points remain
Vowzra, Level 5 God of Time 13 Might 3 Free Points
Vowzra responds to Escre's call
Vowzra rejuvenates Orabil
Vowzra gives Sauranath a long lecture and tells him to go back to his sleep
From a very distant place, yet not distant at all. Galaxies away, a universe apart, yet so close as to be atop the source of the sound, Vowzra Heard with an Ear and he Saw with an Eye. He wondered if this was worthy of his interference. He had saved the world from the darkness before, did this not mean that Fate had willed that the darkness should be? Nevertheless, the voice of the Guardian of Life called to him, and Vowzra felt compelled to respond to his brother-who-denied-their-brotherhood.
'I come...' his voice echoed in the minds of both Escre and Sauranath, and as it echoed a gap in the fabric of existence appeared between the two gods and tentacles crackling with a most terrible energy ripped out. The desecrated earth below withered even further, even the twilight died around them and not even the Eternal Night could fill the emptiness which surrounded them. It was true nothingness, like the emptiness of pre-existence, and it was a most terrible thing for existence and pre-existence to be so savagely brought together. It was a display of power and might from Vowzra, such is my power, was the implication to all present, fear and heed.
The rest of the Timeless One followed, and with him came more of that void from pre-existence. It surrounded him like an aura. Behind him the tear healed itself and he stood between the two, terrible and mighty. He was The Master of the Hells of Time, and rightfully should all fear that most frightful place. It was clear that this place on Galbar, once sanctified and most pure, would never be the same after witnessing the unadulterated presence of three gods in all its potency.
'I come...' he repeated, his voice still echoing in the minds of the others, 'to ensure the peace and continuity of the timeline.' Around him, strange green things floated, like enormous human brains, except they were all a glowing green and with roots extending into the air beneath them. They rose up around Vowzra and the crackling green energies rippled from one to another, from Vowzra to them.
'It is most unseemly,' he said, 'that a mighty god such as you, oh Great Reptile, should come down upon the world and wreak havoc.' Vowzra was stood between the two, but he faced neither. Instead, his right shoulder was towards Escre and his left towards Sauranath, so that he gazed far off into the distance as he spoke, with the one yellow hole in his head which must have been an eye. 'We gods are above such self-humiliation, we are far above being angered by mere mortals. We are far above bringing our incomprehensible power to bear in all its might and and destructive glory against creatures so weak and pitiful...it makes one wonder...' and with this, he slowly turned his head towards Sauranath, 'if the Great Reptile is in fact a far Greater Coward who enjoys torturing beings of lesser power than it.'
Vowzra raised a tentacle and an orb rushed up them, within it was an Outsider. Within the orb, Invidia was protected from the presence of the gods. 'This creature which you have brought suffering has never hunted a dragon,' another orb appeared beside the first, this time an armoured Zerabil was within it, 'nor has this one, whose home you so callously destroyed.'
Where the charred Orabil stood, the burnt wood began to twist and turn and grow once more. Its roots rippled with life once more and its bark rose up into the heavens, taller than before and thicker still. Around it was an aura protecting it and keeping. And its light returned, purer and greater and grander than before, and its green eyes opened and it sighed a mighty sigh. 'Nor did that one which you burnt. Those who killed your dragons were a rare few, but those dragons who preyed upon Man, Uri, Cimex and Dyun were numerous and far-between. Your children were terror and taint upon the world, and hundreds of souls were sent to the Astral Home after their bodies were charred and impaled upon vicious claws.' turning his head away and looking at the two tiny orbs before him, Vowzra spoke once more to the Great Reptile.
'So excuse us, should we not find you unworthy? We are Life and Time. Our duties are to those far higher than you or we. We keep the stars which you send unto the world so they do not stray from their Fated paths. We are the creators of this world you find so 'unworthy'. This world which you in ignorance claim seeks to massacre your children - though they are not yours, they are ours, sustained by our Eye and Heart. If you they are pursued for sport, then they have found themselves prey amongst predators. Your interference in mortal affairs is something that we are stark raving justified to remedy at once. These 'puny mortals' proved themselves mighty indeed, and they will get away with slaughtering their...'far betters'. Such was it Fated, so shall it be. Orabil, which you destroyed and I have given bloom once more, is not their Star Flower, it is my beating, breathing, living vicegerent upon the earth. It is the beacon of Life and monolith of Time; the Fount of Wisdom and bastion against the darkness.'
'You are indeed revenge against the denial of our Star Children, but it is Fate that dares take them from your eyes. If you find issue with the Will of Fate, then we shall find great issue with your eyes. You shall tear and rend none asunder. This world will not belong to you. The creatures of the dark world, who you think are feeble little creeping things of the underworld below the stars, have proven themselves with their sweat and toil. They have toppled the stars. What right have you to deny those who work their due? The scales, ripped off the corpses, the hides and bones used for Man's needs are all the due of those who work. The conquered were conquered, and the victors were victors, such was it Fated, thus it was. We have seen it and we shall keep it as such. Now return to your sleep Great Reptile, I shall not judge you unworthy, for I see with an Eye unlike that of the Guardian's, and I am loath to make an enemy of you who would most surely serve Fate better as our ally.'
1 Might spent on creating new form: The Master of the Hells of Time 12 Might spent on rejuvenating Orabil
The insistent tirade of Sauranath, though most brutal to a logical mind unbiased by emotion, went unanswered by the titanic wraith. It new that, among all the gods, it could rely on one to find answers where a less creative mind could not, and to preserve peace when all Mortemulta Escre could do was ensure calamity.
When Vowzra arrived, clad in a combat forme both splendid and terrifying, Mortemulta Escre felt validated. It appeared that the stranger did not, at least, stand alone. When the Master of the Hells of Time spoke, Escre listened eagerly, wishing to learn as much as it hoped Sauranath did. The Great Spirit's Judgment hinged upon every word, deviating only to sweep the bubble containing Invidia toward it when his example had been made. Never before had the outsider beheld the High One that had created him, but he did not fall to his knees, or wail piteous cries, and Mortemulta Escre desired them not. Oddly enough, the stranger felt that this was a more proper arrangement than those that covered the planet. It was an undeniable fact that it, as a god, even one so different, stood above the likes of Invidia, but that did not mean that Mortemulta Escre, or any divinity, deserved adoration and praise. Such concepts appealed to already-inflated egos, and were born of foolishness in the first place. Did a being that could raise a land one day, and obliterate it the next, deserve worship? Did a being that twisted flesh for fun, or inflict endless winter out of spite, or turn living souls into gems deserve to be admired and upheld? Mortemulta Escre did not think so.
As such, it thought even less of Sauranath, the blunt instrument among the gods, the most egotistical and the most savage. A beast did not belong in the company of kings, no more than a stranger did. But as Mortemulta Escre listened to Vowzra's proclamation, it could not help but be moved to pity, if only for the sake of balance. On the surface world, the dragons and the other races had come to a somewhat balanced state on their own. The dragons, too fierce and too many, were hunted down, until their numbers were proportional to the other races. Sauranath had thought that balance a gross insult, and had wanted -no, lusted after- a greater lot for his chosen race. By the time Vowzra had finished, and the wondrous light of Orabil shining again, Mortemulta Escre had come to a conclusion of its own.
“You have been judged,” rumbled the massive, deathly being. “But more than one sentence awaits you. To return to your sleep would only delay your wrath further...it would not remedy the issue. You have awoken only in body, and not in spirit. I propose that you take on a journey of understanding. Travel the world, with eyes rather than fangs bared, observe the life upon it and commune with every god. Then...you may think differently.”
"Well now what exactly do they say? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I was born fully mature as one of these Star Children, and these creatures were shaved down to as low a number as the rest of the others. Not exactly that bad if some disease went across them. Pretty horrifying anything could compromise the endurance of a dragon, but the vast majority of these fearsome beasts eat animals and creatures on the ground, trees, plants. They can speak in other languages, and often do during battle. Why are they hunted down like walking meals and harvest crops to be eaten? Why are they sometimes torn apart? Do your people hunt each other down to torment as if they are pure evil because of your mass murderers? The secret, horrifying things of the dark that one purely dark creature among your mortals do, does not necessitate the extermination of you and yours, why should it happen to us?"
From behind Orabil, Astarte floated up and toward the three arguing Gods, stretching her limbs and fixing her disheveled hair. The crown upon her head nearly fell until she pushed it into balance with a hand. She was rather late on answering the call for Sauranath's judgement, but at least she arrived.
"Sauranath, right?" Astarte began, pointing at the Dragon God. A tired, goofy smile crept over her lips. "So it was you who set the greatest tree in Galbar on fire. I should've known!" She floated up to Sauranath, stopping just in front of him and petting his nose, "Some humans say that dragons calm down and may even befriend you if you pet their noses. Do you feel better now, Sauranath?"
She grinned for a moment, before pulling away from the dragon and toward the two other Gods and putting her hands behind her back, still looking at Sauranath. "See, this plant here is called Orabil, 'Nath. It lets light reach the world at day, vanquishing any Nightmare that came into existence the night before. If you destroy this tree, every creation, including your dragons, faces great danger." She shrugged.
"The Star Flower should life again. It's not a star, but I doubt that it makes much difference to the world down below, Orabil." He sighs "Okay, listen, I respect you all as equals or near so, far more than dragons are capable of doing to their own. I love them better, for they are my children. I love them and shall always see them as my sons and daughters, now, if you people are sincere, I will respect your wishes. My gaze will be on all the people on the world." He sighs. . . and a gout of flame bursts forth unexpectedly from his nostrils. "Please, listen dearly to me, anything as great and powerful than the Dragon's will for his Brood to thrive undisturbed is extremely dear and precious. Do not make it fragile, or when I die in my ravenous hunger to sate my mourning for the children, the very Stars themselves may cease to shine. So shall the Moon cease, and there will be no escaping everyone's doom."
"Feel free to receive me at your leisure, yet I go now unto the Stars".
The itching was back again. It started as Vestec left the ocean, drawn by the conflict that was brewing above Orabil. Something else was desiring to be released. By this time the God of Chaos was used to the itching, and simply increased his power as he moved towards the conflict. He watched, an ant among titans, as the gods argued amongst themselves. Then Astarte arrived, and Vestec laughed aloud at her actions. Then Sauranath backed down. Well. That won't do. Still giggling, Vestec grew in size until he was as large as the other three gods around Orabil. "Oh, it appears we've come remarkably under dressed to this occasion, Astarte." Vestec turned his gaze to Invidia, and he giggled again. "I do hope you've met my children, chosen of Escre. They're certainly looking for you. And I believe they've found several of your kind, judging from the screams I've heard."
He commented before turning his attention to the Dragon god, his erratically changing colors beginning to slowly edge into a steady red color.
"I for one, am surprised Sauranath, despite me agreeing with Escre and Vowzra. Your children are murdered, hunted down like rabbits and butchered like cattle. When you come down to extract rightful vengeance upon their murderers, to let the world know that such cruelty will not be tolerated, these two stop you. They have the gall to claim that your children are not yours anymore. That they have taken your place. They tell you that it is perfectly fine for this to happen. They basically order you to stop your vengeance, that their butchers are in the right and you are in the wrong. They mock you, Sauranath. They tell you to shut your muzzle, and serve Fate. And what do you do? You back down. The mighty God of Dragons, cowed by a few words."
He walked over to Vowzra and Escre, heedless of what was beneath his feet. He put his arms around the two titans, in a far too friendly fashion. "You're a coward Sauranath. You fear that we will do to you what countless others have done to your children, and will continue to do so after you've returned to your slumber. Go, God of Cowards. Sleep and rest easy knowing that Escre, Vowzra, and I will continue to exterminate your children until all that there is to be remembered of them is their meat in our followers bellies, their claws on our followers weapons, and their scales on our followers armor. The God of Life has no emotions, so he won't feel any remorse for it. The God of Time will cower behind Fate, repeating 'It was destined by Fate, It was destined by Fate, I had no choice!'. Me? I'll be honest here, Cowardly One. I just enjoy it. Now leave, and go back to sleep. One of us will fix the tree, and we'll get back to business as usual, safe in the knowledge you have no courage to save your children."
Undasis patiently awaited Vestec to end his rant on the Dragon, before appearing in the form of a fine mist descending from a cloud.
It was not the fair, kind Woman of the Waters who stepped forth from the mist, however, but her hideous cousin. He held a wicked grin stitched about his face, which held a new form. He was now a great, dark serpent, his eyes glowing red with hatred and his anorexic arms dragging his body like a fish out of water. "For once, it seems me and the Chaotic One hold some semblance of an agreement. You, Sauranath, are the God of Dragons, but you have behaved like the God of Worms, bowing to the words of others simply because they speak not in emotion. Do you see what their pathetic creations, these "humans", have done to your beloved children? I would never allow the dragons, had they been my children, to have their skin and scales used as armour- it is henious and disgusting. Should you desire it, I will gladly aid you in a quest for vengance, such as you have the right to. Anyone who's creations have been slaughtered deserves to demand a blood payment, just as Vowzra and Escre demand that Cimex be killed because the Cimex once almost wiped out all humanity.
If they have the right to demand blood of the Cimex for harming the humans, have you not the right to demand blood of the humans for harming the Dragons? Do not let them apply a double-standard to themselves, they are sinners just as well.
Do you know, Escre is not as fair as he may seem? He once guided me to sink an island, simply because the people on the island learned to sail-which lies in my domain of Water, while he taught his own discples the magic of Cold- which lies in the domain of Svieand. I did sink the island, but not for the reasons he offered. Do not listen to the God of Life, he has allowed bias to cloud his once-clear judgement, and poison to tip his once-trusted words."
Kraken gazed at the God of Life with a look of undisguised mistrust. "I used to trust you, but you have become unbalanced, a puppet of Vowzra, dancing to his tune and singing to his deaf song."
But he turned away in something that resembled a residue of the respect he once held for Escre, and slithered on a tail like a snake to the blood-shaded bubble that Zerabil still sat in, among all these gods. "Greetings, blessed of Undasis." The Wicked grin once more regrew, and he turned his head slightly to the side. "Is that not what you call yourself these days? How do you feel now, to see the other side of your fair lady? Impressive, no?" He laughed. "Your God of Time is not a wholly evil or foolish one, my child, but do not go blindly into his guidance, as he has into Fate's. Trust no one, not even Vowzra or I, with all your soul. There are no gifts," he echoed Undasis' words from the sacrifice of Sanctus, his voice now growing to a sinister whisper, "gifts are a myth."
He withdrew from Zerabil without breaking gaze, and sat watching the fools who argued for the Dragon God to enter another wasteful calm.
The gargantuan wrath stood respectfully quiet, a monument to the power of spirits, as Astarte and Sauranath had their say. Mortemulta Escre, though somewhat flummoxed by the goddess of Magic's demeanor, was grateful for her arrival. It had not yet gotten a chance to meet and speak with Astarte, ever since her simple word of wonderment has encapsulated the resplendence of the cosmos, back when all had first begun. Mortemulta Escre hosted its fair share of plans and schemes, and one of them would hopefully involve a lesson in imaginative breadth from her.
Then the Execrable Chaos appeared.
It took some restraint not to lash out immediately when Vestec made his way onto the scene. Mortemulta merely had to content itself with a mental image of Vestec impaled through the head and writhing his last, while the real god of Chaos swelled in size and taunted the Great Spirit's Judgment's hero. In reply, Escre moved its fingers, and the bubble containing Invidia floated upward until it orbited Escre's head. At first, the Liaison was terrified—was its creator raising it up toward the adversary to be stuck down? After a moment, though, Invidia realized that Escre was giving him a chance, not only to speak, but to defy. The voice of the hero resonated through the bubble and through Mortemulta Escre's body, audible to every god gathered. ”Though we appreciate you helping our kind reproduce, I'm afraid that the tables have turned. Your soulless monsters are the hunted ones now, and they scream, too, even as we mount their heads on our walls.”
Unfortunately, Vestec had only just begun. When his stream of odious lies finally declined to a trickle, Mortemulta Escre was the first to respond. ”One whose purpose is to inhibit the ability to others to create would not understand the difference between cowardice and wisdom. No member of the Sanguine Communion has ever killed a dragon. It is undeniable that the dragons command greater power and greater magnificence than the humans, and far more than the outsiders. That I freely admit to you. That is why for there to exist a balance between humans and dragons, the dragons must be outnumbered. Their numbers have not yet dwindled past the balancing point, and if so, I would have intervened on their behalf. I lay no claim to your offspring, and demand no tribute. The bravest thing for a being of strength to do is to put faith in reason and caution. It would take but a fraction of our combined power to make dragons into creatures not to be feared, but to be venerated, and then the hunts would cease. I urge you not to put stock in the lies of Chaos, who seeks not to aid you but to enrage you, so that he may feed off the tumult.”
A semblance of surprise passed over Escre as the Kraken appeared. It had not expected the beast to take interest in such affairs. Even more so, it had not expected the beast to bellow out a string of unmitigated antagonism, directed for the most part at the Great Spirit's Judgment. “A...puppet. An artifice devoid of substance, of self, of creed, of thought. You, Kraken, are mistaken indeed to assume me entwined with Vowzra, and an unabashed fool to think me his subordinate. I have worked with him because it suits me. Though I respect him, there is only one rhythm to which I resonate: my own. And there is only one race for whom I've the slightest personal regard. The humans intrigue me, but if they proved a threat to the balance, or sought to eliminate any other race, even dragons and Cimex, I would exact judgment on them as well, and as the Execrable Chaos says, without remorse. The fragment of cold that I remembered from my slumber was a reprehensible overlook on my part, and I have since made my peace with Svieand.”
“For your accusations, however, I do not blame you. My mind works differently than yours, and it may appear that I've been acting out of turn. It is a pity that you have decreed any connection between us dissolved. Fortunately, I do not require your trust to persist in my duty. If the existence of dragons is threatened, I will help to save them. If humans threaten to overstep their bounds, I will erase their spirits from existence. If the Cimex seem poised to go extinct, I will save them. Only Chaos, manifested for the sole and petty purpose of hindering and defiling others, is my permanent foe. Instigators will be punished, losers spared, and winners reminded. Those...are promises. If there are any gods with personal grievance to my actions, you need only find me at the Astral Home.”
The clouds overhead began to lighten, and the purplish glow from beyond died out. Light all over Mortemulta Escre's body were dimming, and the enormous form on the whole growing indistinct. Escre was preparing to leave.
"It only appears to be a lack of backbone because of our solitary nature, I'm a dragon, In fact, I have finally found a mate, just now, after many years without. Dragons rarely exist in Broods more than forty at a time. As for Astarte's words, please be cautious. . . I am not a mere creature like an ursine mammal in Galbar that sleeps in caves during the Winter. I need not slumber. . . I can be as raucous in my anger as much as I am maddening in my power. Yet, you do have rightful perceptions. I should think that after all I have seen on Galbar , that there is much promise in this world for them. They will yet grow like weeds. They are organizing themselves into larger societies. In the future, now that they are garnering fertile Broods, there will be far more. Launch your campaigns against them, but do not think to continue the atrocities which threaten their whole species ever again."
He laughed when Invidia shouted against the Chaotic One. "Ha! This mortal is either very brave or very foolish, to cry out against the decree of a god!" But then he sensed something unusual, something different about this...human? No, this was a poor facade of a human being.
Kraken sped ahead in a blur, reaching the strange creature like a bolt of lightning. He saw through it's feeble disguise with the eyes of a god. "You are no human. I can hear your thoughts now, that I am close to you. An...outsider...interesting. I will be keeping an eye on you, Servant of Life." He winked. "Don't worry, it is not a threat, it is only a curiosity, although I doubt you understand what that is. Your god never thought to gift you with such feelings, did he?
If you are ever near the sea, don't be afraid to submerge yourself or drop a bit of blood in to stain the blue beauty, for I will be there. I know the idea of meeting me face to face must not sound pleasant now, but in a time of desperation, where you feel that all other gods have abandoned you- remember my offer, outsider. Remember. For I promise such a time will come."
Kraken turned his gaze towards the Outsider's master.
"You can expect my company in that Home of yours. I do not hate you or despise your actions, but they have became skewed. No longer do you see with a desire for life, but a burning towards it. Perhaps you do not understand what I mean, but I hope that you will, dear Escre."
Vowzra was a disdainful god. He was not one who acted out of sudden fleeting emotions or moments of inspiration. He was one who acted and struck as Fate willed. He had known that this was a moment Fated - for the gods gathered, one after another. Not all of them, this was true, but most were present before him. First had been Astarte. He remembered that long ago time in pre-existence when he had felt the strangest feeling of hostility towards her, but had batted that away. He now understood. It had always been her Fate to turn towards the Chaotic One. She was not an enemy, but he knew most certainly that she could never be an ally. Perhaps circumstance would see them side-by-side when Fate willed he allow chaos to wreak its havoc on the world, but she would not be a permanent ally.
Then her Chaotic One arrived. It was not too surprising, truly. Where Astarte went, the Chaotic One could not be far behind. They were, whether they realised it or not, linked beyond their ability to undo. They would be forever together. They would be forever by each other's side. She would love him and none beside him. She would delight in him and none beside him. They had become truly an item. Thus was it Fated. Then Chaos spoke, attempting to weave the discord he had amongst the creation now among the creators.
'...Your children are murdered, hunted down like rabbits and butchered like cattle. When you come down to extract rightful vengeance upon their murderers, to let the world know that such cruelty will not be tolerated, these two stop you. They have the gall to claim that your children are not yours anymore. That they have taken your place. They tell you that it is perfectly fine for this to happen. They basically order you to stop your vengeance, that their butchers are in the right and you are in the wrong. They mock you, Sauranath. They tell you to shut your muzzle, and serve Fate. And what do you do? You back down. The mighty God of Dragons, cowed by a few words.'
With these words, the Chaotic One found his place between Vowzra and Escre, placing his arms around the two before continuing his poisonous tirade. 'You're a coward Sauranath. You fear that we will do to you what countless others have done to your children, and will continue to do so after you've returned to your slumber. Go, God of Cowards. Sleep and rest easy knowing that Escre, Vowzra, and I will continue to exterminate your children until all that there is to be remembered of them is their meat in our followers bellies, their claws on our followers weapons, and their scales on our followers armor. The God of Life has no emotions, so he won't feel any remorse for it. The God of Time will cower behind Fate, repeating 'It was destined by Fate, It was destined by Fate, I had no choice!'. Me? I'll be honest here, Cowardly One. I just enjoy it. Now leave, and go back to sleep. One of us will fix the tree, and we'll get back to business as usual, safe in the knowledge you have no courage to save your children.'
The Outsider, Invidia, was the one who responded first, and then Escre spoke:
”One whose purpose is to inhibit the ability to others to create would not understand the difference between cowardice and wisdom. No member of the Sanguine Communion has ever killed a dragon. It is undeniable that the dragons command greater power and greater magnificence than the humans, and far more than the outsiders. That I freely admit to you. That is why for there to exist a balance between humans and dragons, the dragons must be outnumbered. Their numbers have not yet dwindled past the balancing point, and if so, I would have intervened on their behalf. I lay no claim to your offspring, and demand no tribute. The bravest thing for a being of strength to do is to put faith in reason and caution. It would take but a fraction of our combined power to make dragons into creatures not to be feared, but to be venerated, and then the hunts would cease. I urge you not to put stock in the lies of Chaos, who seeks not to aid you but to enrage you, so that he may feed off the tumult.” Vowzra chose this point to respond to Chaos also.
'The Star Children are neither murdered nor are they hunted down like rabbits and butchered like cattle. I see them in their tens of thousands, the most numerous of all sentient beings; the Godless One hunts them, but his people have only slain two dozen. It is hardly a thing worthy of extracting this 'rightful vengeance upon their murderers'. There has been no unusual cruelty towards dragon-kind, they live most prosperously and hunt wherever they wish and whomever they please. It is only you, oh Chaotic One, who has deigned it fit to interfere with them, as you have deigned it fit to interfere with all - is it not you upon whom any vengeance should be extracted? What is it to the race of mighty gods who dwell beyond whether creations should slay each other or not? 'Tis their life and their doing and 'tis as Fate decrees. You say we have descended to stop the Great Reptile from exacting revenge, I have come to prevent a horrendous mistake and keep the peace. I have come for this Fated moment of the meeting of the gods - so who of you will deny that the working of mighty Fate is in play, who has gathered us here whether we wished or we did not?' his eyeless head moved, as if gazing upon these others, many of whom he knew denied the might and glory of Fate. It was most saddening, he felt like a mortal prophet calling his people to truth, but they, like people, are most adverse to truth but a few.
'We have not taken the Great Reptile's place as progenitor of dragon-kind, just as Chaos has not taken the place of Time and Life as the progenitor of Man; but just as Vowzra's Children are no longer simply Vowzra's Children, dragon-kind is no longer simply the progeny of the Great Reptile, they are, like all things in existence, ours. And we are theirs.' to whom Vowzra was referring he left unsaid. Those who knew the truth would understand, he could not tear out of darkness and ignorance those who gouged their eyes and pierced their that they may neither hear nor see.
'No follower of mine has slain a dragon. Even had they done so, and they have not, it would not have been my place to step in or prevent it unless Fate so willed. I do not cower behind Fate, I only look upon all that could be Fated and tread the path of Time along any Fated route; it is not the place of the pawn to question the paths ahead, simply to choose one and follow it. It is not your place to question, oh Chaotic One, when you do as I do but in ignorance do it.'
Then the Weeping One arrived, and its darker side spoke in support of Chaos.
'...Do you see what their pathetic creations, these "humans", have done to your beloved children? I would never allow the dragons, had they been my children, to have their skin and scales used as armour- it is heinous and disgusting. Should you desire it, I will gladly aid you in a quest for vengance, such as you have the right to. Anyone who's creations have been slaughtered deserves to demand a blood payment, just as Vowzra and Escre demand that Cimex be killed because the Cimex once almost wiped out all humanity. If they have the right to demand blood of the Cimex for harming the humans, have you not the right to demand blood of the humans for harming the Dragons? Do not let them apply a double-standard to themselves, they are sinners just as well.' with this, the Weeping One descended into a diatribe on why Escre was not to be trusted. Little did it realise that with this it was only revealing to all its perfidious and duplicitous nature - this was the Weeping One for all to see, it heeded your advice one day and sunk its treacherous fangs into your back the next.
'Do not listen to the God of Life, he has allowed bias to cloud his once-clear judgement, and poison to tip his once-trusted words.' with its diatribe done, it turned upon Zerabil within the orb.
'Greetings, blessed of Undasis.' it said, grinning at the man who worshipped and honoured all the gods, 'is that not what you call yourself these days? How do you feel now, to see the other side of your fair lady? Impressive, no?' He laughed before taking on a high and wise tone, 'your God of Time is not a wholly evil or foolish one, my child, but do not go blindly into his guidance, as he has into Fate's. Trust no one, not even Vowzra or I, with all your soul. There are no gifts,' then he murmured in a far more sinister tone, 'gifts are a myth.'
Zerabil looked upon the god before smiling most widely and lowering his head in respect. ]'It is not I who dubs myself as blessed, oh He of the Waters, but it is you who blessed. Is it wrong for one blessed to not be thankful and declare this blessing far and wide? Most certainly I would be an ungrateful slave if I did not sing praises to those who gifted and rained upon me countless blessings and asked for naught in return.' he paused before speaking again. 'I do not think gifts are a myth, oh mighty one, this fragile body and this fragile life of mine were a gift from my Father. Am I myth? And this,' at this, the Morning Sword appeared in his hand, 'was a gift from my most beautiful and honoured lady, She of the Waters, and it is from you too, a gift and a blessing. You may cause me to suffer in future in an attempt to prove to me that gifts are myths, but your testing will not break my belief, mighty one. The kindness and mercy of those up above is many times greater than their cruelty; this a thing I shall believe even if the world shall constrict around me and I find no saviour or friend among any of you whom I so honour and love. I shall trust you a complete trusting, for I am at your mercy always, if I do not trust you than who beside you can I trust?.'
Vowzra cocked his colossal head at the words of his Son. There was a great naivety in his perspective, and there was a purity and innocence which had not been sullied by battles and death. There was no hatred in him, he had steered himself, subconsciously, away from those things his soul knew to be repulsive, yet his mind still honoured the very ones who created hatred and and who delighted in sullying the pure. Vowzra knew he would grow and there would come a day when he no longer honoured all the gods so much. For Vowzra saw with an Eye, and all the paths of Fate he saw dictated this to be an absolute truth. Zerabil's days as a prophet of all the gods and a true lover were numbered. He did not entirely understand the sadness that filled him at this. It was clear to him that just as creations were quick to take for granted what they had been granted and given, so too were the creators quick to take for granted those who truly honoured and respected them for no other reason than their love for those who created and sustained them.
The Guardian then took on the Weeping One's words:
“A...puppet. An artifice devoid of substance, of self, of creed, of thought. You, Kraken, are mistaken indeed to assume me entwined with Vowzra, and an unabashed fool to think me his subordinate. I have worked with him because it suits me. Though I respect him, there is only one rhythm to which I resonate: my own. And there is only one race for whom I've the slightest personal regard. The humans intrigue me, but if they proved a threat to the balance, or sought to eliminate any other race, even dragons and Cimex, I would exact judgment on them as well, and as the Execrable Chaos says, without remorse. The fragment of cold that I remembered from my slumber was a reprehensible overlook on my part, and I have since made my peace with Svieand.”
“For your accusations, however, I do not blame you. My mind works differently than yours, and it may appear that I've been acting out of turn. It is a pity that you have decreed any connection between us dissolved. Fortunately, I do not require your trust to persist in my duty. If the existence of dragons is threatened, I will help to save them. If humans threaten to overstep their bounds, I will erase their spirits from existence. If the Cimex seem poised to go extinct, I will save them. Only Chaos, manifested for the sole and petty purpose of hindering and defiling others, is my permanent foe. Instigators will be punished, losers spared, and winners reminded. Those...are promises. If there are any gods with personal grievance to my actions, you need only find me at the Astral Home.”
Vowzra then proceeded to respond to the Weeping One's unfounded proclamations - did this Weeping One think Sauranath truly so ignorant as to believe his blatant lies? 'Man has done nothing to dragon-kind which dragon-kind has not done many times over to Man. Humans are the creations of Time and Life and we have allowed great strife to come upon them - thus was it Fated - it is neither heinous nor disgusting. The Great Reptile has no right to vengeance against anyone, and you shall not incite or aid it upon such a course. None have a right to a blood payment. Life and Time have not demanded that Cimex be killed, these are merely mortal developments in which we have had no hand. The only sinner here is you, vile and reprehensible speaker of deceit. How is it that the Guardian of Life should be my puppet when it is I who responded to his command that I come? What puppet commands its master? Begone and let she who speaks truth rise from the crushing depths of your perfidious soul.' with that, Vowzra turned upon the Guardian before it left.
'If Man sought to eliminate any other race, I shall exact judgment on all who directly interfere. It is not the place of gods to mould the world against its nature - if the Cimex are weak enough to be exterminated, then they have exterminated themselves with their weakness. If dragon-kind cannot protect itself, that is no reason for gods to descend upon the earth and wreak destruction. If Man himself were to find himself cornered and on the brink of extinction, as he has been on so many occasions and found no helper or saviour among the gods, then I would pass judgment against any who attempt to directly interfere.' it was no threat, Vowzra knew that Escre understood the mutual respect that ran between them, but he had to understand that Vowzra saw with an Eye and the Guardian saw with another. It was inevitable that they would clash, but it did not mean they could not depend on each other when the true, greater balance was at risk.
"Think for a moment before I mention my wrath before you. There seem to be a lot of your little kids running around wearing the Star Children's scales. I did indeed react harshly even for an angry father, but try to think for a moment. . . it is my children I speak of when I looked to this World Down Below, there was nothing here but many little children, comparatively speaking. . . destroying, yes, farming, fishing, hunting, eating, doing all the good things of life. Of course, destroying as a good thing of life is sardonic. You are the creatures who rule all other creatures besides me. If you only make clock work for your sons and daughters, they are glorified toys, nothing wrong with having some toys to speak with, although I would rather enjoy a nice giant mammoth steak."
"Anyway, with my dietary intake somewhat out of the way, please pray that your people's mothers never see their children worn for a nice, handy, burlap sack. They might go on knife cleaving rampages, chopping people into many pieces, including bystanders, and maybe, if crazed enough, other people's children. Not that I want that. . . Ahem. Now please, take out your frustration on the people who are less assertive than I, folk like Astarte who would dare put it's, at least, I think her, or him, um. . . your Gender, please? Anyway, before you answer that, your letting YOUR creations endanger themselves. The numbers certainly aren't anywhere near proportional, and my dragons have already began to organize in much higher numbers."
"If you could please refrain yourselves from being my judges, I will make better changes on Galbar."
Vowzra suddenly felt the strangest emotion overcoming his senses and he reverted back to his previous wooden form. Zerabil in the orb disappeared - surely returned to his people who must be fearful at his disappearance. He had always known that between himself and his siblings would be an insurmountable veil, a gap. Even Escre who was much like him was across the veil, and Vowzra knew he had an insurmountable veil of his own between hims and the others. Vowzra had never intended to walk this timeline, but it had appeared to him suddenly in that moment. They timeline he had thought they were treading was not it. They had strayed and he had helped in causing their straying. But it was all as Fate willed it, even if within him he disliked it all. So Fate willed, so it was. What was he?
Looking around himself sadly, he reached into the spaces before him and tore open a door. 'I shall go now...' he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. With that, he disappeared into the fabric of existence and the tear closed behind him.
Was this how it would turn out? All his hard work to steer the world away from catastrophe suddenly disappears before his eyes like the mirage it always was. The pains he went to in order to maintain a semblance of balance, teaching his creations, protecting them with Orabil and restoring it when it had been defiled. Was this it? His work was of no significance? Fate would do as it willed whether he chose one timeline or another. If that was the case, then so be it.
The god of Time, who had always been somewhat disdainful but never cold or unkind, never needlessly cruel, wished that he had been. He knew, however, that he could not. In that moment, however, he decided that his disdain would grow ever greater. He would respond to none, he would shower his mercy on nobody, he would withdraw his blessings and ignore this world. What did he need with it? What did he want with his siblings? It was better this way.
Soon enough, the capabilities of the restored Orabil would become clear: though it had at first shone greatly, its light soon faded, leaving the tree surrounded in the twilight of Escre's creation. Zerabil would feel himself weaken and his powers wane, and his great knowledge would fail him and disappear. Vowzra's wrath had not descended, but his mercy had most certainly been lifted.
-Ialu goes to Garakai and encounters Roxan. -After a brief conversation with her, he fights Viscardi like he came to do. -In the middle of their fight Orabil is destroyed in a place far, far away. The darkness comes. -He wins, although Viscardi's sword actually manages to wound him...a lot. -Roxan goes nuts and attacks Ialu before leaving. -Vestec shows up (still claiming to be the Mighty One, though Ialu is suspicious), gives Ialu command over Garakai as promised, then takes Viscardi's sword, body and soul. Then he chases after Roxan. -Ialu drinks from blood that Vestec left for him, which empowers him greatly. -Ialu passes out once they're all gone.
In truth Ialu knew not where this tribe to north was, but the trails of golden light, the Sight, led him true. Through river, wood, and plains he ran. Motivated as much by the golden path before him as his ambition and the spear's bloodthirst, he made good time. It was not long before he had made it to the hinterlands of Garakai.
Slave and overseer alike turned their heads to see a strange sight: a giant of a man clothed in some sort of strange black armor, wielding a vicious spear in one hand, walking straight down the path to the gates of Garakai. He looked beyond determined, and his ferocious manner was enough to let him approach unchallenged. Upon nearing the gate, a guard cried out from the walls above. Ialu halted, not because he cared about the orders of some puny guard, but because he needed to get this tribe's attention.
Before he could even finish his sentence, the gatekeeper found himself choking for air. Suddenly he did not feel the sturdy stone of the wall beneath his feet, and he looked down to see himself hovering in the middle of the air. He was dangling loosely, utterly at the mercy of Ialu's Wi. Most masters of the Wi would struggle to perform such a feat from afar, yet this one seemed hardly strained.
Loud enough to be heard by the gatekeeper and all the slaves tilling the fields and masters holding whips, he boomed, "I challenge your king to a fight to the death! Let him face me here, or be hunted like a deer."
A young woman, dressed in black leathers pulled her wings out of her back and ran along the branch of the huge tree she had been lurking in, curious as to see what was causing all of the commotion. She leapt, freefalling for a few moments before pulling great big black wings out from between her shoulders. She reveled in the feeling of the muscles working to keep her aloft. The black of her feathers seemed to suck in all light as she soared over to the mighty warrior, just in his line of sight.
"What business have you here, mighty warrior?" she asked. "Careful of the pathetic little male's windpipe. Much as I love to see the death of my foes, tis not the time for this one." She crossed her arms, relaxed in the air.
With a grunt Ialu propelled the limp man through the air and to the other side of the wall, within the village, before releasing him. The fall would surely hurt, but the man would live. He had to live in order to bring out the wretched chief of this tribe, so that Ialu could slay the man and be done with it. Ialu turned to direct his fierce stare at the source of the voice that had called out to him.
He cocked his head to see a woman with wings black as those of a raven, effortlessly floating in the air. Admittedly he was taken aback, for he had never seen such a being before. She also had a deathly air about her, and the black leather armor that she wore was not so different from his own. Most men would find her intimidating, he thought, but Ialu knew no fear. She had even called him a mighty warrior, and that appealed to his pride.
Intrigued yet suspicious, he called out, "The Mighty One, God of Gods, has sent me here to prove that I am the strongest of his champions. I have come to fight the chieftain of this tribe!"
He looked Roxan down and entertained the notion that she might be chieftess. Suddenly leveling his spear to point it at her in the sky, he demanded, "And who are you? Are you the master of these lands?"
Roxan snorted, but grinned. Her, master of these wretched lands? She liked the idea, however untrue it may be.
"Nay, sir," she replied, barely hiding her disgust for the true master. "I am not master of these lands, although," she tipped her head to the side. "I do like that idea. I am the Daughter of Death to most, but you may call me Roxan." She studied him. His strange black armor and vicious spear appealed to the blacksmith part of her, while her warrior side wanted to see if there was anything to be learned from fighting him.
He was not one to be trifled with, she decided. She had an idea, "What say you to not impaling me with your spear if I were to land before you?" Her right wing popped and she grimaced. "I have a...complaint with the chieftan as well."
Her malice towards the chieftan was undisguised, mismatched eyes glittering with intent.
Daughter of Death? That was an interesting title, Ialu thought to himself. It never occured to him to take the name literally. Reluctantly he twirled the spear in his hand and buried its point in the ground. He would not impale this 'Roxan' unless she struck first, though he was admittedly still suspicious. His eyes only left her to dart towards the gate to the village, and his muscles were tensed in preparation to fight. Whether he would fight her, the chieftain, something else, or nothing at all remained to be seen.
He wondered why she seemed to hate the chieftain, but then again, he also wondered why she had wings and why she called herself the Daughter of Death. He voiced none of these questions, though, preferring to wait in silence for his foe to make an appearance. His mind was on the fight to come, not pleasantries.
Roxan soared over to him, slowing her wings as she stuck out one foot for balance, then the other and landed gracefully. Her wings shuffled, folding, before being pulled into her back, disappearing. She took off her gloves and shook her hands out; she hated wearing them all the time, but until she learned to control her death touch, she would have to keep wearing them.
She regloved her hands before turning to Ialu. "What, pray tell, is your name?" She would say this one last thing before going silent.
Viscardi strode through the village, illuminated by the torches, the sword Ferghus had made for him clenched in his hands. We already have enough problems. We do not need this fool. He thought.
Viscardi opened the gates, and walked through taking in the weaponry that his wouldbe opponent had. He bowed to Roxan before even acknowledging Ialu. "Roxan, Daughter of Death, Child of Vestec. It's an honor to have your presence here." He turned to Ialu, tightening his grip on his sword. "And who might you be, to travel through these monster filled lands only to kill me? More importantly, why? Let me guess. I killed one of your loved ones? Enslaved them? Both?"
Roxan felt a stab of satisfaction as Viscardi opened the gates and walked through, bowing to her before he even acknowledged Ialu."Roxan, Daughter of Death, Child of Vestec. It's an honor to have your presence here."
Her mismatched gold and silver eyes shimmered with respect as she bowed at the waist, her right fist over her heart, her left one behind her back. "Viscardi, Lord of the North, tis an honor to be here. Although I had come here to fight the chieftain originally, I believe I have gotten the two tribes mixed." she paused. "I shall not fight today."
She flashed a mental message to Viscardi, Be wary of this warrior, Lord. It would be a shame to escort your soul to the afterlands.
Ialu had opened his mouth to declare his name to Roxan, but in that moment the gate began to open. His gaze and attention immediately shifted to that, and he shut his mouth. He would not be seen gawking at his adversary's arrival.
The moment that Viscardi came into view, Ialu's piercing gaze examined every bit of him. Ialu had had the unmistakable eye of a verteran warrior that had sized up a thousand foes before. The man was a full foot shorter than Ialu, though his armor made it difficult to determine whether he was any stronger. Ialu doubted hat any human was stronger than him, and he knew that his lighter armor would certainly make him quicker than Viscardi.
Viscardi had thick, black armor, but armor was worthless against Ialu's unholy spear. His armor would be equally useless against magic. Ialu contemplated merely ripping his foe apart with the Wi in that insant, but in the end he decided otherwise. It was dishonorable, and the Mighty One would want more of a show than that.
Upon approaching the strange duo that stood outside the gate, Viscardi began a short spiel and demanded to know the identity of his challenger. For a moment all was silent, but then a wolfish, bloodthirsty grin began to creep onto his face. Answering both Viscardi and Roxan, he declared, "I am Ialu, king of a mighty realm to the south. My tribe has butchered dragon, Dyun, and Cimex alike."
He grabbed the shaft of his warspear with a crushing grip and pulled its head from the ground. Immediately Viscardi would see that this was no ordinary spear; it was twisted and savage, cackling with chaotic energy and a mere look at it was enough to know that it wanted for blood like a parched forest thirsted for torrential rain. However, it was not so magnificent with mud from the ground caking its point. Ialu pointed it at a nearby tree and unleashed a bolt of pure chaos. The raw energy disintegrated the mud that defiled the spear before crashing into the tree and vaporizing it as well.
That display of power done, Ialu began to menacingly draw closer to Viscardi, having completely forgotten about Roxan by this point. "My tribe is mighty indeed; yours is the only one that comes close to being its rival. Yet two cannot both be strongest. There is room for only one, and so I have come to slay you and conquer your people. Our common god has declared this my sacred mission."
Ialu was now alarmingly close to his foe. He couched his spear and tensed up, his muscles rippling visibly even through his armor of dragon hide and scales. He would offer Viscardi the chance to charge forward, though if his foe did not make the first move he would, lunging like lightning to strike anywhere that Viscardi did not guard. He cared little for finding any sort of weak spots, for he knew that his spear had the unnatural ability to pierce through solid metal armor as if it was nothing was but cloth. Failing that, the spear seemed capable of simply unleashing a blast of chaotic energy and boiling an opponent in his own armor, so Ialu certainly had options.
Viscardi took in the display of power, calmly, and nodded in acknowledgement to Roxan. Well, that's one thing to look out for. Then he spoke to the aggressive man. "Congrats, Ialu. You came here to die." A solid spike of earth shot up beneath the challenger's feet, intent on impaling him.
The sudden spike of earth grazed Ialu's leg before he could move out of the way, though his dragonhide leggings took the worst of it. He staggered forward for a moment after losing his footing, then tripped and found himself sprawled on the ground. Angrily, he decided that he would bring Viscardi down with him. Channeling all of his Wi, he tugged at Viscardi's body like a puppet and tried to slam to the ground face first. He then sprung back to his feet and snatched up his spear, intent upon quickly finishing off his hopefully downed foe.
Viscardi slammed his sword in the ground, moving his stance and using it to keep himself propped up despite the pressure on his body. As it lessened he stepped backand drew lightning into his hand, throwing a bolt towards Ialu.
Ialu braced himself and faced the lightning head on. It surged through him, causing plenty of pain as it tightened his muscles and made weakened him, though of course Ialu showed none of that outwardly. Laughing, he taunted, "I have bathed in the flames of a dragon's breath. Your magic is like the bite of a flea!"
Throwing an arm forward, he summoned his telekinesis and threw the very air itself forward in a concussive blast that could knock over a horse. He would see if Viscardi could slam his sword down to weather that!
Viscardi gestured, and the wind turned around back at Ialu. "I created Vistoc, boy! The elements obey my command!" Following the concussive air, the Lord of the North sent a stream of flames, hot as dragon fire.
Alarmed when the air turned back against him, Ialu barely managed to summon another blast in time. The two gales collided and with a great clap that shook the ground, the twin forces annihilated one another. A genuine grin showed on Ialu's face the moment before he was engulfed in fire. His dragonhide resisted the flames, as the great reptillian beast whose hide had made that armor had known no such things as burns. When the heat abated, Ialu stood there unmarred, his face seeming to mockingly say, I tld you that fire was nothing to me.'
Viscardi shrugged and cast another fireball at Ialu. Then a fist of earth shot up behind Ialu and attempted to grab and drag him beneath the earth.
Ialu dove this time to avoid the fireball and charged Viscardi with a swiftness unknown to most men, moving too quickly to be dragged below the ground. At the last moment, when Viscardi would have his guard up and be prepared to counter the charge, Ialu halted and slashed his spear through the air. He willed it to conjure a massive blast of chaotic energy, like the one that the Dyun champion had used to slay thirty-two of his best hunters.
Viscardi used the earth to shoot himself above the spear stroke and subsequent blast of chaos. It destroyed the gate and a piece of the wall, not mention the pillar. He used the wind to direct his fall, speeding towards Ialu. Once again the earth rose again, and attempted to snatch Ialu from behind while he was distracted.
The earth itself grabbed Ialu from behind and began to drag him backwards, forcing him to face skywards at Viscardi as he shot downwards. Ialu quickly raised his spear towards Viscardi. If the Lord of the North did not use the wind to direct himself away, he would fall on top of Ialu and find himself impaled on the spear.
The spear. Both the sentient weapon and its wielder were now enraged at Viscardi's deftness and ability to counter and dodge all of their attacks. He grew tired of this game; Viscardi fought with no honor, and so neither would he. The Chieftain of the Strong Tribe could pull dragons out of the sky and rip asunder a Dyun's heart using just his Wi. Why would Viscardi be any different? Concentrating hard, Ialu attempted to use his tribe's twisted form of Wi to simply destroy his enemy's innards.
Viscardi drifted to the side, landing on the ground. Before he could strike and attempt to finish Ialu, he felt a pressure on his organs. Oh no you don't. He thought, pushing against the pressure with his own Wi. For a while, the two stood there, pushing mentally against each other. Then the ruler of Garakai thrust his sword towards Ialu, grunting as the pressure on his organ's increased because of the divided attention.
Ialu tried rolling to the side, but he had forgotten about the earth that held him steadfast to the ground. With a grunt he broke free, though not soon enough to stop the sword from grazing him. It raked through his armor, leaving a gash in his flesh. On the outside it was a minor enough wound, though words could not describe what it did to Ialu. No sword had ever so much as broken his skin. He had thought himself invincible, yet that blade had cut him with impunity. After one last tug at Viscardi's innards, he stopped trying to use the Wi to kill him.
Howling with rage and eyes glowering, Ialu thrusted his spear straight at Viscardi's chest where he was armored the thickest. Strengthened by a burning desire for vengeance, he would drive the spear all the way through and slaughter his adversary in the most brutal way that he could envision.
Viscardi smirked, seeing his opponent lose control, and brought his sword up to deflect the spear thrust. He misjudged how much strength was behind it, and merely prevented it form impaling him. The spear point cut through his armor like butter, sinking into the flesh of his upper arm with ease. Viscardi snarled, sending a wall of earth upwards to force Ialu back, as he himself moved back.
He waited for Ialu's next berserk attack.
Jumping backwards off the rising earth, Ialu suddenly found himself at a distance once again. The dulled stinging of his wound, drowned out by adrenaline, was quickly beginning to fade entirely. He healed unnaturally fast. Some degree of calmness returned to his mind, and his look was now more like that of an excited predator than a frenzied berserker.
He stared at Viscardi for a moment, weighing his options, when he remembered what he had seen the slingers in his village do. Spotting a small, round rock on the ground nearby, Ialu used his telekinesis to whip it at his armored enemy like a bullet. It travelled far too quickly to be flung back. At best Ialu would miss or Viscardi would manage to avoid the projectile, and at worst it would dig its way into his armor and break a few bones.
Viscard threw up a solid wall of earth the second he saw the rock levitate and disappear from view. It almost wasn't think enough, the rock gently pinging off his armor as it pierced through the wall. Enough of this. He thought, sinking into the earth. He burst from the ground, earth falling off of his armor in small cloud, and swung his sword at the challenger.
The Mighty Chieftain of the Strong Tribe spat upon seeing his opponent vanish. "Is this how cowards fight?" he roared, but then Viscardi was suddenly upon him. He quickly moved his spear's metal haft to block the sword's slash. He then pressed it forward to shove his enemy backwards, while simultaneously backing himself to regain the advantage of reach, his longer spear not being so effective in close engagements like the one that had just happened.
Viscardi pressed against Ialu, to prevent his long reach from becoming a factor again. Suddenly he stopped pushing against the spear haft, ducking his sword below the haft to thrust at the hopefully off balance Strong Tribe Chieftain.
Viscardi's ploy worked, with the sword finding its way past the spear and Ialu being forced to push the haft down to drive the blade's point away from his body, while simultaneously staggering backwards. Before Viscardi could stick him with that sword or hack him apart like a piece of meat, Ialu grabbed one of the horns on Viscardi's black helmet. Meant to be intimidating, the horn also made for quite a good grip as Ialu tried to wrench Viscardi's neck and take advantage of the narrow vision that his foe's helmet afforded.
Viscardi snarled as his head was turned, whipping his sword up towards his horns. That, of course, is when the lights went out. Immediately Viscardi jerked his head towards the town, for Ialu had to let go or lose an arm, bellowing, "Block the holes in the gates with the earth! Man the walls!" He turned back towards Ialu, grinning beneath his helm. "I hope you like monsters."
"The monsters only come for cowards," was Ialu's response. He threw himself forward, his patience and nerves both evaporated. The spear seized control of Ialu's mind and it demanded blood. He would triumph on this day, no matter what it took.
Viscardi raised his sword and prepared to lung it at Ialu. The threat of the sword did not stop the warrior's frenzied charge. Ialu lept onto Viscardi, letting the blade run him through. His spear still in hand, he found himself on top of a knocked over Viscardi. Before his foe could react, Ialu drove the spear's point clean through the throat of Garakai's master.
Ialu pulled the spear's head back out, ripping out a chunk of bloody flesh with it, and cast it to the side. Blood spilling out of both their mouths, Ialu's hands found their way to the gaping hole in Viscardi's neck. Choking the man as he spoke, he managed to croak, "I don't die so easily."
The sword still through Ialu's abdomen and sticking out of his back, he laid a bloodied hand on Viscardi's helmet. Ialu's Wi surged through the man, pulverizing brain, heart, hungs, intestines...all violently burst out of the chinks in the man's armor, spilling down in a horrific cascade of gore.
Roxan howled like a wolf as Ialu speared the Lord of the North in the throat and threw a poisoned needle into Ialu’s neck, her wings appearing out of her back, tembling with rage.The deadly demigoddess usually accepted eath, but she just could not with this one. Viscardi had never treated her with disrespect, or gazed at her with fear and contempt whenever their paths corssed, or when she came to esort the souls of his tribesmen to the Afterlands.
A sudden flash of golden light in the corner of Ialu's vision startled him. The Sight had led him here, but now he was done. What did the Sight demand he turn and face. So the deathly Ialu took his time and slowly began to crank his neck, which he realized to be a perilous mistake the moment he heard Roxan's howling from behind.
Moving too slow to react in time, Roxan's poisoned needle pierced into the scale of the very top of his collar, poking through. It dug into Ialu's neck but didn't pierce into his skin, luckily. He had kept an eye on Roxan in the very beginning, but when she didn't interfere he had made the mistake of thinking her harmless.
Roaring as he found his feet, he turned to face Roxan. This effort made him hack up blood in a fit of coughs. He couldn't even breathe with the sword through him, yet he still found the strength to stand and point the spear at Roxan. Just before he unleashed a bolt of chaos that would either obliterate either her or the acres of farmland in the distance, he heard a strange sound.
A slow clapping sounded behind Ialu. "Very nice." The same voice that had spoken in his mind after the death of the Dyun Champion said. Vestec stood there, a solid red color. He briefly returned to his normal chaotic color state to turn to Roxan and wave cheerfully. "Hello there dearie. Enjoying the fight?" He walked past Ialu, once again solid red, picking up Viscardi's corpse and drawing the sword out of Ialu's body. "Oh no you don't." It wasn't clear at first what Vestec was talking about till a third hand sprouted out of his back and grabbed an almost invisible soul, twisted and blackened.
"Garakai is yours, Ialu."
Ialu turned from Roxan to face Vestec. He somehow managed to stay on his feet when the sword was pulled from his body, even though the wound would have left any normal man dying on the ground. He backed away from Viscardi's body. Clutching the gaping wound in his chest with one shaky hand as he pulled the needle from his armor with the other, a pool of vibrant crimson began to form on the ground at his feet. Light from the torches appearing on the walls reflected in the pool of blood.
Ialu made no attempt at a response to the god's declaration. He had known that Garakai would been his; nearly worshiped by his own tribe, he had come with the notion that defeat was impossible. Still, Viscardi had not fallen so easily.
Staring at Vestec for a long time, Ialu eventually stumbled closer. He analyzed every facet of the god's red form before remembering his own dreams. In his dreams he recalled the splendor, the brilliance, the utter strength that the strange being of blinding light had emanated. Yet it had claimed to be something other than the Mighty One.
There could be nothing in existence greater than the Mighty One, and so surely it was impossible to for humans to even grasp the Mighty One's greatness, much less picture in their minds or dreams something greater. Yet the one before him, supposedly the Mighty One, seemed a mere shadow of the strange entity Ialu dreamt of, the one that had given him Sight. So Ialu snorted, and openly said in defiance, "The Mighty One is incomprehensible, timeless, indomitable. Yet you somehow disappoint my expectations. I think you are an imposter."
Roxan had been absorbed in the fight, soaking up the energy that the death of Viscardi had created though she mourned his passing), that she startled when someone clapped slowly. She looked up quickly and saw red. No, literally; Vestec was red right then. He turned back to his normal chaotic color state, briefly, waving at Roxan cheerfully. "Hello there dearie. Enjoying the fight?" For a moment, she was too shocked to say anything.
Then she snarled, her eyes turning two different shades of red. "Since when do you give a damn about whether or not I am enjoying myself?" she yelled. "And yes, I was enjoying the fight until you showed up!" She marched after him, drew one of her daggers and grabbed Viscardi’s sword as Vestec grabbed the soul. "That soul is mine, Vestec," she snapped as she got close enough to touch him. "I need to escort him to the Afterlands." She disappeared with him.
Vestec sighed, glancing at Ialu. "Daughters. Try to avoid having one if you can. Though... whether you like it or not, I am your Mighty One. Giving you a comprehensible form so I can give you your reward was simple." Vestec drew up a sleeve and held out his hand. Immediately the Blade of Chaos slipped from Ialu's grasp and into Vestec's hand where it changed form constantly. Despite this, the God of Chaos managed to make a clean cut on his arm.
His blood, as ever changing in color as his mask, pooled onto the ground. "Drink, if you want to be stronger. Don't drink if you want to be ignored. Now I have to go talk to my daughter. Without this body, preferably." With two flashes, the body of Viscardi and Vestec were both gone.
To others Vestec's blood might have pulsated and flashed a dozen different colors, but to Ialu it was wreathed in a single, aurous light. The Sight made the blood glow golden and as bright as the sun, telling Ialu to drink it, no, demanding that he do so. Succumbing to the light's beckoning, he fell to his knees and cupped a mouthful of the divine blood in his hands. Without hesitation, he gulped it down. Then another handful, and then another. It burned him in a way that no real fire ever could, though rather than leaving the warm and hearty feeling of alcohol, the god's chaotic energy surged through his body and it left him with flashes of every sort of pain imaginable.
Sputtering, he knew that he could drink no more. So he took the rest and simply forced into the gaping wound that the sword had inflicted. Not until every last drop of it was within him did Ialu collapse to the ground and fall into a sleep so deep that it might have appeared to others as death.
