[h3][center][color=C0C0C0]Mortemulta Escre – the Great Spirit's Judgment[/color][/center][/h3]

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.  [i]”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.”[/i]

Unfortunately, Vestec had only just begun.  When his stream of odious lies finally declined to a trickle, Mortemulta Escre was the first to respond.  [i][color=C0C0C0][b]”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.”[/b][/color][/i]

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.  [i][color=C0C0C0][b]“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.”[/b][/color][/i]

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.