[centre][color=black][i][b]Grandmaster Thulemiz, Son of the Celestial Above, Champion of Chaos, Lich Lord 
Level 30 Hero, 65 Khookies[/b][/i][/color]
&
Aztoc, Lord of Dragons
Level 18 hero, 19 Khookies[/centre]
 
 
The moment Thulemiz and his forces disappeared into thin air, the reappeared in the great crater where Garakai used to be. Some of the Silent Brothers looked around in confusion, wondering where the city had disappeared to, but Thulemiz had fallen to his knees, the vapours swirling around him and slowly getting thinner as he lost his powers and his body solidified. Greyus watched this happen, and for the briefest of moments the Outsider reached for his blade. But then the Execrable Chaos appeared before them, and the five still living Outsiders - and even the now lichified Alfid - backed away in disgust. They could hardly bear being so close to the corrupted Thulemiz, let alone the Chaos god in all his chaotic glory. Before their very eyes the weakening Lich Lord was reinvigorated once more, whatever curse Sauranath had placed upon him being removed.
 
"Ialu wins again, it seems. And...it looks like someone took away your powers. Here, let me fix that...there we go! Good as new! Now, perhaps your Victors can be made better this time. Here's all their souls. See you at Garakai!" Vestec said, and Thulemiz's aura became notably colder. Before he could respond, insisting that he had in fact been victorious and thus accomplished most of Vestec's task, the god threw an orb towards him and swiftly disappeared. Silence reigned for a few moments as the Lich Lord explored the orb, and he could not help the cold laugh which escaped his deathless mouth as he realised what this was.
 
[color=black][i][b]'Thine Brothers have been returned to thee, Victors,'[/b][/i][/color] he said simply. The Silent Six did not respond, though it was quite clear that they were anything but ecstatic at this news - the very last thing they needed was an elite force of undead beings marauding across Galbar. Crushing the orb, Thulemiz absorbed the souls, storing them within himself where they were far safer. He would have uses for them all too soon.
 
'It would seem that the city is above us, Grandmaster,' came Alfid's voice. Thulemiz looked towards the newly risen Lich, all too aware that with time it would grow in strength and his control over it would be challenged. He would have to be very careful.
[color=black][i][b]'Then let us be go-'[/b][/i][/color] just then Thulemiz sensed the fading throbs of a spirit not too far from their location. It was not so much the fact that there was a spirit that attracted his attention, but rather the strength of it. The others seemed to notice too, but he signalled for him to leave, telling commanding Alfid alone to follow him. As the five necromancers and Kanros teleported to the city above, Thulemiz and his minion Lich explored the area, honing in on the soul.
 
It was a small child, no older than three or four, sobbing most bitterly but making no sound. Prodding it with his Wi, Thulemiz quickly discovered that it was injured, its throat having been meddled with and distorted quite horrifically to ensure it made no sound. The Great Lich Lord could feel the unmistakable mark of a divine being on it, though he could not tell which one exactly. Lifting the child in a skeletal hand, he turned to Alfid and all three of them very quickly disappeared, to appear almost immediately before Aztoc.
 
The Lord of Garakai, much to his credit, didn't jump as two liches, a child, another human, and four Outsiders appeared in front of him. Vestec's Avatar spoke up, confirming his suspicions. "Oh look, there he is now."  
 
Vestec's Avatar, as Aztoc immediately knelt to the knowledge god and listened to his price and offer, began to giggle almost insanely. Indeed, the Avatar's body shook with amusement, balanced precariously on the wall as it was. Aztoc, of course, wasted no time. He took the pencil and signed it, practically feeling the chains bind into his soul. 1304 names appeared in the book beneath his, and it disappeared, the Morello-Nomicon appearing in his hand.  He could feel his power of Dimok increasing far beyond his limits. What had been merely a dream with this power was now a reality. Demi-Gods and Gods could still resist his attempts at control with ease, but heroes, Heroes would have to fight him. 
 
Aztoc's gaze shifted from one being left in front of him to the other, the Morello-Nomicon tucked beneath his arm. "Which one of you is Thulemiz?"
 
Beneath them, the Cimex, Barbed Uri, and Iron Legion were all spreading throughout Garakai, preparing defenses and analyzing supplies. The Chaos dragons were helping where they could, but primarily flew out to strip out any chance of a stealthy approach for Ialu's army and generally make the surrounding terrain inhospitable. 
 
Thulemiz, upon not being recognised as the clear Grandmaster and powerful Lich he was, visibly darkened in colour and allowed his deathly aura to grow. The vapours beneath him writhed like a storm and he rose upon them. Whether having a child in one arm added to his extraordinary levels of creepiness or not, he did not know, but he was certain that this show of dominance and power would ensure that Aztoc knew full well who Thulemiz was.
[color=black][i][b]'And who may ye be? Thine aura is most familiar indeed. It is almost identical to that of...'[/b][/i][/color] he paused for a few seconds before stating the name, [color=black][i][b]'Cassios.'[/b][/i][/color]
 
As Thulemiz rose, Aztoc quickly fell to one knee. "Forgive me for not recognizing you, my Lord. News travels slowly to the North, even without war hosts walking throughout the land. I had only heard of you yesterday. I am Aztoc, current ruler of Garakai, your vassal." The man didn't display any surprise or joy at the knowledge that Cassios was alive merely smoothly continuing. "It should be, my Lord. He and I are brothers, along with the now dead Viscardi." Vestec's Avatar giggled, but didn't speak. Thulemiz turned his cloaked head to the giggling god, wondering what knowledge he hid behind that blank face of his which warranted laughter. But then again, did Vestec require a reason to laugh? He doubted it.
 
[color=black][i][b]'Do not grovel,'[/b][/i][/color] he said to the king of Garakai, [color=black][i][b]'I am not here to take from thee what is thine, and it brings me no pleasure to see thee humiliated, bowing before me. So rise. We are all...'[/b][/i][/color] he glanced at Vestec momentarily, [color=black][i][b]'[i]equals[/i] here, after all.'[/b][/i][/color]
 
He did not stop there though.
 
[color=black][i][b]'Thou dost know the reason for my coming here, however. The Chaotic One has commanded me to take Garakai, and here I have done so. Ialu was brought to death's door and barely survives even now, and I am in Garakai supreme,'[/b][/i][/color] he turned away from Aztoc and faced Vestec, [color=black][i][b]'I believe I have come through on my end of our agreement, so wilt thou come through on thine? The Eternal Night ends for now and forevermore,'[/b][/i][/color] he hoped Vestec would not pull anything. He was certain that Ialu's forces would arrive soon, and he wanted to survey Aztoc's forces and aid where he could. It would not do to gain a vassal only for them to fall so soon.
 
Vestec's avatar tilted it's head, as Aztoc rose. "True. You are in control of Garakai now. And I did promise to remove the curse if Garakai was in your hands. Or something like that." Another snap, and then it nodded. "The curse is lifted. No more eternal night. Still monsters every night though. Can't have everyone getting [i]too[/i] comfortable. About Ialu...he's being healed, and likely manipulated, by the Sanguine Communion. Probably using their lifeblood." Vestec's Avatar giggled again, a malicious sound. "You know what would be funny? Turning their greatest gift against them. Acid lifeblood sound good to you? It sounds good to me." The Avatar snapped it's fingers once more, cursing the Sanguine Communion.
 
 "There we go. Now if someone uses that lifeblood after this point, they'll turn all the lifeblood in their body into a terrible acid that'll eat them from the inside out. Can you imagine it? They'll just start screaming rather than turning into weapons, and try to use more lifeblood, only making it worse..." Vestec's avatar descended into a fit of giggles.
 
 Aztoc took over. "Ialu is coming. I have five hundred Cimex, five hundred Barbed Uri, many of whom tell me they have new powers granted by a Demi-god, Ull'yang, 50 Iron Legionnaires, 200 Chaos dragons, and 20 Anju infilitrating Ialu's ranks. They are yours to command."
 
  While Thulemiz did not have anything in particular against Invidia and his Sanguine Communion, they had proven themselves true pests in the last encounter, and anything to hindering them was not going to receive any protests from the Great Lich Lord.
 
[color=black][i][b]'No, Aztoc. They are thine to command. I am finished with the Warlord Ialu; he is no longer of any concern to me. Garakai, however, must not fall,'[/b][/i][/color] he signalled for the king to follow him and floated away from the others, [color=black][i][b]'I notice that thou hast a most powerful barrier surrounding the entirety of this airborn city. It is without a doubt the working of Vowzra, I can feel it all around. The very air betrays his meddling, for I am well attuned to his presence,'[/b][/i][/color] he finally reached a balcony, wherefrom the Great Lich Lord watched the preparations. 
 
Chaos Dragons flitted around in the air, patrolling the skies around the flying fortress, prepared to unleash hell upon Ialu's forces when they eventually came. To the eastern and western wall the Barbed Uri had split up into two contingents of 250 and were fortifying the walls, while the Cimex did likewise and were fortifying the northern and southern walls. The 50 of the Iron Legion had taken up positions at the gate in the south, prepared for any enemy assault. It was a good force, probably capable of holding off the enemy for a good while, but it would not bring victory.
 
[color=black][i][b]'Where dost thou keep the dead?'[/b][/i][/color] he asked, turning to Astoc.
 
The ruler answered after a moments thought. "If you mean where do we have dead, a better question is where don't we. This entire land is seeped in blood and war. Doubtlessly you crossed over a dozen battlefields on your way here. Even outside Garakai's walls, the dead of forgotten enemies and honored allies lay beneath the earth. If you mean where do we bury our dead that's easy. In the catacombs beneath. Every honored soldier we've managed to recover, every citizen whose died, every corspe we find is interred in there, beneath the city. Legions of corpses; soldier, slave, and citizen alike."
 
Vestec's avatar began to giggle again, it's eyes unnaturally bright.
 
Thulemiz raised an arm to the all-too-close heavens and allowed his necromantic energies to explode outwards, seeping into the earth upon which Garakai now rested, sensing the countless dead. To the Great Lich Lord, it was as though they were begging him to raise them all, but he would do no such thing. He felt the souls which the Silent Six possessed leaping to him and he floated upwards, spirits appearing and orbiting around him. 
There were the three thousand two hundred and three (3203) dragon souls. Souls unlike any else in existence, for they were like pieces of stars, and rather than the white and grey, and sometimes blue, hues of Escre's souls, these ones were yellow and orange and red. They were much larger and more powerful than the souls of mere mortal beings. Thulemiz could already imagine what kinds of creatures would rise if these souls were placed in a mortal's corpse... 
 
Then there were the one thousand seven hundred and twenty (1720) human, Cimex and Sanguine Communion monk souls. The Cimex souls harvestede by the Silent Six and the remaining ones from the encounter with the Warlord. And lastly were the five hundred (500) souls of the Vowzra's Victors, given to him by Vestec.
 
Siphoning the souls back into himself, he released one thousand (1000) of the Cimex souls into the Garakain earth. They clawed through it and to the tombs of warriors and Vistoc users below. Five hundred powerful Wights rose up, their power in life vastly increased in death. These bodies, which once hosted the souls of Garakai's finest warrior-soldiers, now hosted the souls of equally vicious and powerful Cimex who had been killed during their Great Discord.
 
In the tombs there also rose a host of five hundred skeletal Vistoc users, their magics interwining with the necromantic energies which had brought them back from the dead. Slowly, the undead horde made its way out of the tombs. Thulemiz called Alfid to him and handed control over the horde to him.
 
[color=black][i][b]'This is Alfid, a powerful Lich, and here have I raised for thee, Aztoc of Garakai, a horde of Wights and Magickers. Alfid shall command them, and thou shalt command him,'[/b][/i][/color] he turned to Aztoc, [color=black][i][b]'use them wisely, for they are most certainly a boon to thee. Hold off the Warlord and ensure that Garakai remains, now and forever, independent and free of the Warlord's clutches,'[/b][/i][/color] and with that, Thulemiz made his way from the balcony and disappeared with the five remaining Silent Brothers and Kanros.
 
Vestec's avatar giggled as Aztoc watched with only slightly wide eyes. "I wonder when Arguis will realize." The Chaos god spoke, giggling. "Realize what, God of Chaos?" Aztoc said innocently. "That you only signed away this floating rock. He said Garakai, and Garakai is this floating rock. After all, he meant the capital, clearly. Besides, 'The land and all on it' is just all who you can give away on this floating fortress. You don't control anything else." 
 
Aztoc held the Morello-Nomicon close. "I agreed to all his terms, as I understood them." Vestec's avatar giggled. "Indeed."
 
 
[hider=Summary]
 
-Thulemiz steals the child that Astarte had muted
 
-Aztoc meets Thulemiz
 
-Aztoc swears Vassalage to Thulemiz
 
-Aztoc agrees to Arguis's terms, giving Dusis Garakai and all the country attached to the floating city, and his soul, the souls of all under his command, to the Knowledge God.
 
-Vestec curses the members of the Sanguine Communion. If they try to use their Lifeblood to change or heal themselves, they'll turn all the lifeblood in their body into an acid that will begin to eat them from the inside out. Any attempts to use more lifeblood to heal themselves will merely turn that into acid as well.
 
-Thulemiz raises 500 Undead Wights and 500 Undead Magickers and gives them to Alfid to control. Alfid stays behind to defend the city from Ialu and Invidia while Kanros, the five remaining Silent Brothers, and Thulemiz head back to Svieland. [/hider]