Within hours of his becoming a demigod and obtaining a sense of self, Ull'yang had flown around the planet, gazing from above at the higher god's creations. At first, he explored the continent from where his humble beginnings started, Arguilla, as it was called by the humans. Although small in comparison to the other landmass that existed on the planet, Arguilla was different in the sense that It was filled with all kinds of life. Plants, animals and humans were not the only creatures that called Arguilla their home. There were also the insectoid Cimex, who at first glance seemed completely feral but after some observation, showed signs of intelligent thinking, as well as the plant-like humanoids, the Uri, whose intelligence and ingenuity rivaled that of the humans.

Especially with the Uri, Ull'yangs attention was piqued. He had never seen other plant life as them. Since before his ascension to a demigod, Ull'yang always thought of plants as food and nothing more, something which was logical since horses are herbivores by nature. Now, Ull'yang felt it inside of him that he no longer needed sustenance to maintain his form as he took his power directly from the sun and as such, was puzzled as to how he should view the Uri as. He did notice though that they too sustained themselves through the sun, since throughout his time spent observing the race and its people, Ull'yang had seen that the Uri don't share the same need for food as their human counterparts do.

That made him curious as to how they managed that and decided to come in contact with the race. He descended upon a small Uri village near the border of their land and the land of the humans, Garakai. At first, him appearing out of nowhere startled the small population of the village but that was understandable. No sane being would find a telepathically talking horse normal. The way they acted though, had, nevertheless, upset him too and he opted to withdraw to a small clearing inside the forest, a few hundred meters away from the village.


There he spent the next three days, waiting for the uproar his appearance caused to calm down, before he appeared again before them. What he did not expect, however, was that they would come to him of their own accord. Ull'yang felt the trio slowly making their way towards his location. When they entered the clearing, they were welcomed by the winged horse, "Do not fear, for I am not here to hurt you," he told them, his voice reverberating inside their heads. The Uri trio would feel a sudden warmth emanating from him, a warmth that was able to empower them like no other. They lowered their weapons and approached him. "My name is Ull'yang, the Sun Aspect," he told them. "I have been tasked by the Lifegiver to be the bringer of light, the sun that watches over and nourishes all life on this planet. While traveling around the world, I saw many a race but nothing quite like you, the Uri," he said and paused.

The three hunters could only remain silent as Ull'yang spoke. Only when he finished his introduction did one of them, a female, walk up to him and reach out to touch him. "Hmm, apparently, they still fear me..." Ull'yang thought as he noticed that she was trembling. He lowered his head and remained still, making it known that he had no ill-thoughts. Once her hand touched his skin, she fell on her knees, writhing uncontrollably. The two other Uri, both males, instantly went into battle mode. They pointed their weapons at him and were about to charge at him when the female one cried out, stopping them in their tracks. She had regained her strength and had stood up, albeit obviously not being able to fight anymore.

Ull'yang had an idea about the reason she collapsed but remained silent as the three Uri conversed with each other. After a while, the three approached him and knelt before him as the female spoke up, "I am Ogma, this is Cram and this is Tyl" she said, introducing the three to him. "I am sorry about my partners actions before but you must understand that they acted in order to protect me and themselves, so please, do not think of them badly," she paused and looked at Ull'yang. "As I have already said, I am not here to hurt you or your friends," he declared one more time. Upon hearing that, the males relaxed and completely sheathed their weapons.

Then the female spoke again, "we three were tasked by our village elder to track you down, find your intentions and the reason why you approached our village and, if you turned out to be an enemy, kill you. We had our doubts at first but we could not go against the elders wishes and as such, two days ago we set out to find you. We did not, however, expect that you would be a demigod. We now know that however we tried, we would no be able to lay a scratch on you. Instead, we ask that you give us a reason for your visit and, maybe, what you intended to do by visiting our village," she finished.

Ull'yang just stood in front of them, silently listening to Ogma talking. Once she was finished, Ull'yang raised his head and looked at the three that were kneeling in front of him. "Stand up. You should not kneel in front of me, for I do not care about such things. You may be yourselves around me. As for the reason why I came to your village specifically, well, it would be just pure coincidence. If it wasn't your village I visited, it would be the next one, or the one after that, or the one after that and so," he said.

As the three reluctantly stood up, Ull'yang continued. "I found your race... intriguing, to say the least. Your lack of need to eat food to sustain yourselves especially caught my attention. Just like me, you seem to be able to sustain yourselves through other means. I would like to know about those other means and how they work," he told them. The three Uri glanced at each other before one of the males spoke up, "That would be Photosynthesis," he said. "Photosynthesis?" Ull'yang repeated, "and how does this Photosynthesis work exactly?" he asked.

Like that, the three hunters gave him a deep explanation of how the mechanism worked. One question lead to another and soon, they caught themselves describing to him how they lived, their culture and traditions. They described to him the structure of their society long with its history and their relations with the other races. Ull'yang was fascinated by what they told him. Such a race existed! They lived their lives co-existing with the plant life around them while striving to advance and further their understanding of the world. Ull'yang decided that they should to be rewarded for their efforts.

"Enough," he said, interrupting Ogma as she spoke. "I've heard what I needed to hear. I've decided to give your race my blessing, the blessing of the sun. The sun will always shine the brightest on the land of Dusis, your population shall flourish and your kingdom shall prosper for many years," he declared and stomped the ground with one of his front legs and at that moment, there was a sudden burst of light from his location. The light spread to all directions, spreading the blessing of the sun to all of the Uri race and their land.

He then stomped the ground with his other front leg and again, there was another sudden light burst, heading towards all directions. This time, Ull'yang had awakened withing the very race the power of Hyper Photosynthesis. It was an upgraded form of Photosynthesis that gave the Uri the ability to call upon the might of the sun to their aid, temporarily giving them huge boosts in power and speed with the drawback of the body needing an extended rest after the ability was used. This one, though, he kept it a secret from the three Uri in front of him. They would, however, feel something like a sudden weight lifting off their shoulders but nothing more than that. He wanted for the Uri to find this hidden power for themselves. This way, they would need to spent time training it, cultivating it until they completely mastered it. He wanted them to not take it for granted, as something like that would be their end.

"My curiosity was sated, my work here is done. I shall watch your race closely to see how they will evolve with the passage of time," he told the three Uri and without so much as a farewell, he flew away, leaving them behind, completely and utterly speechless.

A feeling of pride and elation radiated from Ialu when his deal was accepted and the Dragonlord even went so far as to place under his command 3,000 dragons. This was most certainly a...pleasant turn of events. Of course, when Sauranth demanded that he "clean" his home that made him beyond enraged...not only had the Dragonlord's prying eyes violated his sanctum, he also wanted Ialu to get rid of his trophies. The promise of being supplied with more dragon scales and hides of fine quality was enough to make up for that, however. For all it was worth, this still tasted like a bittersweet victory. He did not like submitting to another, yet this was the best option.

"Very well then. I thank you for your gifts, Sauranth."

The dream faded away and the real world returned. Ialu was quick to issue out a decree that the dragons were no longer to be hunted, an order that raised some eyebrows but went unquestioned. While he waited for the 3,000 skeletal dragons and Mirtagn to arrive as promised, he sent a hundred of the Strong Tribe's warriors to march north to Garakai. He wouldn't need a larger force to reclaim Garakai and purge it, not once the dragons and himself joined those hundred near Garakai. The rest of his soldiers would remain in his own lands to enforce order and keep an eye on the Garakain men; through fear and awe he would make them stay. He needed every soldier that he had and the issue of desertion was far more of a problem that he let on.

While that went on Ialu took the time to "clean" out his cottage as asked...he buried the various dragon skulls and such that adorned his trophy hall, as well as the dead woman. The other things were untouched. Sauranth hadn't been very specific, after all, so surely Ialu couldn't be blamed if he only got rid of the grisly dragon remnants. Why would the Great Reptile care about a few deer antlers and bear furs mounted on the walls, anyways? It was said that the Dyun were now extinct, in any case. Their skulls were worth a fortune and Ialu felt no desire to remove them.

With that done, he awaited the arrival of this 'Mirtagn' that was to be Auxiliary Commander, as the Dragon God had called it. The warlord couldn't help but wonder whether he was actually going to be in control of the skeletal dragons. He remembered only too well what had happened when the chaos dragons defied his will and betrayed him.

The Crystal Dragon Mirtagn arrived, in the fully fledged form of the dragon, with all his power, strength and magical ability, he soared in front of Ialu. . . "I am ready, Lord Ialu. . . is it time for victory? I can sense a strange threat looming on the horizon, the Chaos dragons may have been augmented into a form far more powerful than they appear in the now. With your powers and my backing, we should be able to conquer them all the same, but consider for a moment that anyone powerful enough to defend even with a fighting chance against 3,000 dragons with only 4,000 Humans and some Chaos dragons, must be exceedingly clever. I recommend high caution even if the battle seems like an obviously foregone conclusion in who is the victor. We don't want to end up losing one third or more of our forces, even though these are only their bodily remains. If the time comes that their power to fight is found abundantly clearer to be far superior than it seems, I will be there in order to stem the tide. Of course, if worst comes to worst, I am not known to be a dragon who gives up."

When they had appeared in the mighty fortress Kanros could not help but admire its enormity and vastness it was like no other he had ever seen before and that was only few.

He was following his new ally Thulemiz the Mighty Lich Lord through his fortress as he gawked and stared at relics and various other items he could not help but stare at he dared not touch these valuable items though so he did not incur the wrath of Thulemiz.

He did wonder though what their plan was for he wanted to know what they were going to do in order to kill the tyrant ruler lalu and he thought countless times that they could easily gather forces from the wild from any tribe that had escaped the wrath of lalu but then Thulemiz planned to raise the dead people of the lands to become a mighty army of the undead which kind of disturbed Kanros but if that was the order of things to accomplish this deed then so be it.

@Kho

"Thulemiz I must ask what our plan of action is for the question has plagued me for a while!"

Kanros said politely to Thulemiz as they made their way through a vast hall of flagstone pillars with dimly lit torches Kanros's brow still had sweat upon it because he was all quite intimidated by his surroundings and because it was quite musty and warm in the fortress.

"I also must ask how this all happened and why this war has begun because I still no little from my time away from civilization!"

Kanros said with a slight frown.

Thulemiz did not reply until he had led Kanros into the library and sat him down. All around them, bookshelves were disappearing and entire rows of tomes. The Silent Six, barring Greyus, were hard at work transporting the precious content of the library to Sviebard where it would be safe from the their enemies. Levitating in a rather intimidating manner above Kanros, he began explaining the situation.

'This raging war began with the Chaotic One. He demanded the defeat of the warlord Ialu, and in exchange he promised to lift the Night of Nightmares which had fallen over the world with the burning down of Orabil, Vowzra's tree of light, which kept the darkness at bay,' as he spoke into Kanros' very mind, snippets of the events which had transpired floated into the demigod's mind. Kanros would be able to see with clarity Sauranath's burning down of Orabil and the return of the darkness. He would see the meeting of the gods and the weakness which Zerabil experienced thereafter. And he would also see the coming of Vestec to the weakened Zerabil, how Vestec retired to him his power and might and commanded him and the Victors to attack Ialu.

'The Chaotic One gave us his word that should the warlord Ialu be defeated, and should I, Thulemiz, be in Garakai king, then the darkness will be removed forevermore. That is why we marched against them, and that is how the warlord managed to ambush the Army of the Southern Realm of Man and crushed it utterly at the Battle of Man's Fall. Many men and women fell that day,' Kanros would be able to see, now, the horrors of that terrible battle. The vision would be see real he might even feel himself slightly empowered by Thulemiz's memory.

'And then the Fiery One, the Lord of the Forge, commanded us to seize a certain weapon in the warlord's possession. In return, he will create out of our Battle Brother, Rejys, a being suited for war and battle. Even now our Silent Brother Greyus watches the warlord for any sign of the weapon. He believes he has found it - it is in the shape of a sceptre of some kind,' Thulemiz paused and looked around at the now empty library.
'We must take possession of that sceptre, and we must march upon Garakai and take possession of that too, even if briefly,' and with that he turned away from Kanros and continued his mental speech.

'The plan is simple enough. Our Silent Brother Greyus has informed us that the warlord has struck up an alliance with the Great Reptile, Sauaranath. He has at his command a force of thousands of skeletal dragons,' he turned around and floated higher, 'it is I, the Great Lich Lord, who rules over the dead. It is the Silent Six who are the great necromancers and commanders of the dead. It is not Ialu or any measly dragon. We shall bend those skeletal dragons to our will, and we shall turn them against the warlord and his forces,' he floated ever higher, until he was just beside the great chandelier in the dome of the library, which he then started orbiting.
'You will then take on the warlord while the Silent Six and I command the dragons. Once that is done, I will come and face Ialu alongside you, and we shall seize from him the weapon before taking our forces and retreating to Garakai. There will our quests be complete. There will you and I part ways, if you so wish, or there you may renew your vow to me and come to the far off lands of the Icy One where we shall forge an empire to spread death across the world.'

With that, Thulemiz descended and levitated once more before Kanros.

Kanros saw all these images in such a short period he needed a minute before he could speak once again because of all his surroundings and the offers that Thulemiz gave him it all was so surreal and grand but it made Kanros remember how insignificant he was to the world and how unimportant he was in comparison to a god but he could tell that with that weapon that Greyus had reported to Thulemiz who had mentioned it briefly as a great tool of war that deeply interested Kanros making him think how easily he would be able to control great numbers of warriors and hordes of troops into battle he could call and army that could rival any mortals army.

@Kho

"I understand Thulemiz and I shall stand by you but I do not know what the future holds for me so I must think about your offer until we have actually completed our conquest!"

Kanros said with a slight bow to the Great Lich Lord to seem polite because he had to think the offer over he didn't know what it was like to rule over people yet so he had to wait and see what it was like to be a ruler of people until that happened he would have to push the offer to the side and pay attention to the present before him.

"And what of this kingdom?"

Kanros had had the question on his mind for a while now and so he asked.

"What will we do with it who will rule over it or will we leave it as a free kingdom or shall me let it burn in our wake although I do not wish unnecessary death to the people of this kingdom who are innocent!"

Kanros said.

------((A post was here)).

[center]Invidia the Liaison[/center

Ialu looked at the crystal dragon, Mirtagn. He laughed a little bit as the dragon spoke. Caution? Four thousand? No, that was before all of the death that has just happened...Three thousand joined my army and more than two of those thousands fell in battle against the southerners and Zerabil, cursed be his name." The giant of a man that was the warlord turned to Mirtagn, suddenly not so large next to the dragon. Still, he radiated power that revealed him to be every bit as dangerous.

"They have only a thousand men, women, and children left in Garakai, and surely not all are traitors. They will fall before us like tufts of wheat to the scythe. I'll be surprised if more than a dozen of the skeletal dragons fall. This will be an easy victory, yet you are right to advise caution. The caution must not be towards our enemy, though, so much as ourselves. We must show restraint. We will kill the traitors and the ones responsible for enslaving your kin. The rest of them and the rest of the city should be spared."

He shrugged. "It is not quite time. To maintain order I sent some of my own soldiers to fight on the ground, and it will be a long march for them. We can fly and travel far swifter than my soldiers; if we leave now we will be there too soon. We must wait a time longer to allow them to arrive. Patience, Mirtagn. I will summon you when it is time.

With that, Ialu saw to some things before retreating back into his Mighty Cottage. He retreated into the dark depths of his trophy room. He rubbed a hand over his new favorite, Thulemiz's helmet, and then suddenly stiffened. He sensed that he was not alone. He spun to face a dark figure, and spoke softly, "An intruder. Fancy my collection? Perhaps you should join them." He gestured to the sight of grisly remains: severed heads on shelves and preserved corpses nailed to the wall.

The dark silhouette stepped into the light, revealing the dark robes and wooden mask of a member of the Sanguine Communion. Had the great plan concocted at the summit held what seemed like so long ago been seen to fruition, Ialu would have likely been able to recognize that garb on sight, but for now, the heroes were strangers. Invidia stood without leaning on a staff; his wounds had healed. His axe was in parts, hidden inside his robes, but he did not anticipate needing it. "Not today. It is a shame we did not meet sooner." The air around Invidia reverberated to produce a hollow, echoing speech, given the outsider's lack of mouth. "I spoke with one of your warriors at the war summit. A pity the dragon god stepped in and ruined everything. It was a marvelous sight to see a gathering of the gods, however. Only one other mortal was present that day. But the Zerabil I knew is no more."

Ialu snorted, "And I took you for a thief. You must be the Invidia that my man mentioned. A pity indeed about that meeting. No doubt you saw the remnants of the wretched southerners feeding the crows as you came here. If only fortune would have allowed them to die fighting the Cimex instead..." The warlord eased a bit but kept a cold edge to his voice. He was not so trustful of this one.

It was some gratification to know that the mighty warrior wouldn't mindlessly attack. Invidia felt that this man, though hopelessly enthralled by his dedication to the god he loved, would fit well into his plans. "Indeed. The Cimex must have suffered their own catastrophe to not have attacked us. Regardless, it is the southerners that have caused me to seek you out. I have intelligence that their leader Thulemiz is no more than a pawn of the Execrable Chaos, Vestec, at this point. Vestec is a devil among high ones, a mere pretender at godhood who seeks nothing but to amuse himself by playing those he views as lesser against one another. I do not know about you, Ialu, but I have kept in close contact with the one that uplifted me. Escre, the Great Spirit, is fighting a war of its own in the cosmos. Only narrowly did it recently prevent Vestec from taking over the planet's core and claiming every soul for its own. Dark times, indeed, are upon us. I have come to you seeking to lend my strength, and that of the Sanguine Communion, to a fellow champion of humanity."

A set of piercing eyes stared unblinkingly at Invictus throughout his long spiel. While the darkness and his mask covered his face, Ialu didn't have to see the intent on one's face. He had a way of sensing their emotions. This one seemed to mean well. "A 'Thulemiz' is their leader now? What of Zerabil? Did I slay that one when he invaded my lands?"

The icy edge to the warlord's voice was gone, as were his provcative words and implications. Invictus seemed to be neither a spy nor an enemy, so Ialu would speak plainly. From his side he pulled out the Blade of Chaos, the scepter having been tucked into his belt. The artifact glowed malevolently and cackled with chaotic energy as the warlord twirled it a bit in one of his giant hands. In Garakai, they supposedly worship the Mighty One by the name of 'Vestec'. I defeated a great Dyun and claimed this scepter from it...though of course, it was a vicious blade when I took it...the thing has a way of transforming. That 'Vestec' gave me this weapon and sent me to slay the king of Garakai and claim it for my own...though admittedly I have of late wondered whether or not Vestec and the Mighty One are truly one and the same..."

Now that it seemed that Ialu was talking without suspicion or apprehension, Invidia felt that the prospects of cooperation were good. When Ialu produced the Blade of Chaos, the outsider instinctively flinched. Deciding that a fruitful partnership should be based off of trust, Invidia reached up and removed his mask, revealing a face without features. "You may have known, but I am an outsider. A secret race. If we are to be allies, I felt that you should know. Wait a moment." Invidia shuffled aside his robes, until his chest was beared, at which moment the huge, crimson eye there opened wide. Even without employing his real eye, Invidia could detect a devil's taint, but doing this confirmed it. "We outsiders are blessed with true sight. We can see through the machinations and illusions of gods, and recognize their signatures. That weapon is undoubtedly an implement of Vestec. It is...a truly horrible thing. It infests its wielder with malice, making them more prone to violence, debauchery, and the like. You are a mighty hero indeed to remain this sane."

Mention of 'outsiders' made sense, Ialu sometimes thought that he could sense strange creatures flitting around the outskirts of his town, almost human but not quite, always trying to go undetected. In truth, he had thought it was his own paranoia or delusion, so there was some comfort in knowing his suspcions had merit. Invictus showing his true form still took the demigod aback, though. He answered the revelation with only silence.

At the mention of the Blade of Chaos, the scepter glowed a bit brighter and some red flashed into Ialu's eyes. If only for a moment, he looked ready to kill. Then it was gone. "You are right, outsider. Even now it tells me to kill you. It sometimes drives me into fits of rage, I am not always so composed. Once or twice I promised to rid myself of it, but..." Ialu then thought of revealing the scary truth: that he was addicted to the thing and could never let it go, that he sometimes heard its whispers in his mind, even when it was far away, too far to send those whispers itself. He would not reveal that secret, though.

"...the one called Ferghus cursed me to never wield a weapon again. The Blade of Chaos is harmless in my hands, but if it was taken by another then that one might not be so resilient to its effects. I don't fancy the idea of someone using it against me, so I shall keep it close...if not because it is mine by right of conquest, then because I am best suited to be its guardian. I have found that I can no longer misuse its power, nor even use it as a weapon at all."

"As for your other question, the hero Zerabil died a while ago. Vestec corrupted him, telling him his god had abandoned him. Thulemiz is Zerabil reborn. Some of my fellow outsiders have been keeping watch, and they tell omens of something terrible brewing in the south. Magic that stinks of corrupted life. And there are rumors among humans too. They must have some new edge. I decided that you would need one too. My Sanguine Communion monks, though not incredible in number, are warriors unmatched. The lifeblood flowing in their veins, runoff of the planet's core itself, sustains them from deadly wounds and gives them power to alter their own bodies. Size, shape, power, all of it. That power...my power..." Here, Invidia raised one arm. The cloth shuddered before ripping apart, and beneath, the oil-black skin of the outsider erupted in a shower of blood. In the arm's place was the limb of a predator, long, armored in scale, and possessed of deadly claws. "...Can be yours."

Now Ialu grew very suspicious. While he longed for another weapon of the sorts that he could still use, he expected there to be some price to pay, some obligation, some form of downside. "At what price? You know, I prayed to your 'Escre' once. The Earthly Below, they called him. Eternal darkness reigned and we slaughtered a dragon in his name to receive help, but to no avail. Why does he care about our plight now? What do you and him want?"

Invidia replaced his mask, rearranging his robes and putting them back in order. "Have you looked into the sky at night, and seen a stream of light meandering across space? Escre did hear you, and it did what it could to prevent the endless night. It was the first to challenge Sauranath after he destroyed Orabil. But none of that matters now. Escre is no longer concerned with affairs here on Galbar. It is looking for different solutions. I followed its example. What do I want from you? I want you and yours to take our powers and destroy the pawns of Vestec. Wipe them from the planet's surface, so that their souls may be cleansed in the Spirit World. That is all."

Vestec. That name came up time and time again. Ialu still wondered whether that was his Mighty One. In any case, the Mighty One cared only for the strongest and would not mind Ialu proving his strength against other followers...and this 'Vestec', if that was not one and the same as the Mighty One, was not worth a thought. He had no qualms with slaying the followers of the one called Vowzra, so why shy away from those of any other god? They all seemed rather weak to Ialu.

"I would gladly hunt them to the ends of the earth. I never forget a slight, a betrayal, an attack...but I need more! Tell me all that you know of their plotting and plans; when last they moved to take me by surprise it was only through sheer luck that I discovered their ploy and managed to seize the element of surprise back into my own favor. I must know what they are doing, have time to lure them into my clutches to end their threat, to your Escre, to my people and lands....to myself. The very continuation of their existence is an insult to my power!" A tinge of anger and madness began to creep into him now, he was visibly becoming prickly.

If Invidia had a mouth, he would have smiled. "Then it is agreed. I will continue my reconnaissance on the enemy and report back here when I have the information you need. I will send my monks to join your forces. It is no use splitting them up; once the foe learns of our alliance, they will attack the tabernacles. In the mean time, take this." The Liaison produced a large wad of blood-soaked sponge from a hard case and handed it to Ialu. "Crush the sponge to release the lifeblood. It will soak into you. Your strength is already legendary, but with this infusion, you will begin the path to invincibility. Hail to you, Ialu." With that, Invidia turned toward the door, bound to depart.

Ialu held the sponge, the slightest bit of the lifeblood within seeping into him. He already possessed an unnatural ability to heal, but as the liquid touched him he felt it enhancing even further. It would be useful. "Good hunting, outsider. My men already march north for Garakai. Soon myself and some of Sauranth's dragons will depart as well; Aztoc has made many enemies. Perhaps your monks should join us, as he does worship this 'Vestec' after all."

The outsider paused before nodding. "I'll lead a contigent myself." Then he was gone.

Much work is to be done, yet so much time. Unfortunately, in is not wise for a god such as myself to be lazy. Arguis thought to himself exasperatedly as his eyes rolled over Galbar's surface. He had races to protect, to bless, and to enlighten, it was time to get to work.

First thing was first, he had to reverse Vestec's corruption, and reaffirm order. Arguis looked down at the Cimex, their constant in fighting blinded them from their true goal. He teleported from his place in the stars to the dense jungles that the Cimex claimed as their own. Arguis called upon Order, the bane of Chaos in order to reverse it's negative effects. From were Arguis stood a wave of Golden light spayed forth in all directions, healing the Cimex. Slowly but surely the Cimex begin to reorganize, reestablishing their place as one of the most feared Races in all of Galbar. But Arguis was not going to stoop their, he increased their population tenfold, having them reproduce at rates unimaginable and impossible by humans, and lessened the time it took for one to mature.

Arguis looked upon the humans, seeing as they had rideable animals, why not give the Cimex such beasts? He looked upon the animals of the earth, and picked two, the Gorilla and Komodo Dragon. He enticed them into intercourse, and of course utilized magic to make it possible. Within days a baby was born, a beast with the body of a gorilla and the agility and power of Komodo Dragon. Some he gave the wings of the eagle, giving them the ability to fly, just as the Cimex could. Arguis named this beast Chimera, and he raised there numbers tenfold.

Arguis appeared in front of the beasts and led the them Chimera to the Great Hive to meat Zek'Ri.

"What is thiss?" The Cimexian King bellowed, lurching forward in his throne in surprise. Arguis simply bowed low, showing respect to the King.

"This, is a gift." Arguis said, gesturing to the thousands of Chimera out side.

"A gift? From who, the humans, Uri?" The Cimexian King said, interested in the beasts origins.

Arguis shook his head and gave the king a knowing smile "No, the Gods. Arguis replied, pointing to himself.

"Gods? And what are you?" Zek'Ri said, skeptical of the boy's words.

"Thats is of no concern, but I am here to give to insight on the things to come. The Chimera, the beasts outside, are yours, for you army, they are powerful and ferocious beasts, their mouths produce poison that can kill a human or Uri in seconds. Utilize them to you pleasure.

The Cimexian King began to speck, but Argius held his hand up to interrupt the Cimex.

"Within a few days, volcanos will burst forth from the earth, each underneath the largest Hive's, worry not, the gods are with you. You are to utilize this to your advantage, and worry not, the god of Knowledge, your creator, will give you the wisdom, and guide you.

And with that, Arguis suddenly disappeared from the view of the King. He had left the Cimexian Lands all together, and left to Duisis, checking on one of his newer peoples. A Civil war still raged on, mostly due to Vestec's meddling. Once again, Arguis would have to utilize Order to fix things, but in a different fashion. He created an Uri avatar claded in a black cloak and hood, and touched down in the Grand Palace in Duisis. Arguis walked through the Palace, invisible to the hundreds of guards that roamed it's grand halls. He quickly made his way to the Kings inner chambers, and found the King in his study, years of stress weighing heavily upon his soul.

"You seem to be contemplating life." Arguis said appearing suddenly before the King.

The Uri jumped in his seat, looking at Arguis's Avatar with wide eyes. "Guards!" He yelled, his voice carrying his frantic tone.

Arguis grinned, "No guard will her you tonight King Duisis.

The King looked at Arguis with disgust, but as the seconds rolled by understanding could be seen in the Kings face, no one was coming for him.

"My time has come, the Counsel has finally won." The King said solemnly.

Arguis raised his eyebrow. "No King Dusis, the gods are ending this war. Neither side will win or lose, but King, you must die. Arguis said, walking over to the balcony, letting the cool air of the night wash over him.

This Kings eyes were wide. "The gods, but why, what have I done?"

"Your death will symbolize the rise of a new Dusis, the people will recognize the rule of another when you are gone. Arguis said looking back at the King.

"If the gods will it, will my soul be led into the after life?" The King said as he came to a stop next to Arguis, looking over Dusis with Arguis.

"Don't worry, your soul with join the River of Souls, I swear to you. Arguis said, smiling at the Kings finding out what his assassin really was.

"Before I die, could you tell me who you are?" The king said, looking at Arguis with a peaceful, calm expression.

"Unfortunately, I cannot. Without much of a warning, Arguis summoned a blade and plunged it deep into the kings stomach, his blood spilling all over the marble floor of the balcony. Arguis dissaperaed, and the kings body was found in the morning. The Counsel member were framed for the killing, Arguis having given the people the false knowledge about the killing, saying that and an assassin hired by the Counsel killed the King. The whole Counsel was executed, and Quay soon took the throne. Quay funded and established The Temple, a hub for Soul Weavers, a place for them to learn how to use this power, and with the discovery of Hyper Photosynthesis, Quay is teaching all those in the Uri army how to utilize it.

Arguis looked upon Galbar with approving eyes, so far, things were going good, his work was almost finished. It was time to start in his main task, Arguis teleported over to the ocean, and began to raise another continent, about a quarter the size of Arguillia. But the Continent did not stop at the surface, it grew past the surface, and into the air. A cone shaped land mass floated in the air, about 2000 feet above the water. Upon its surface, Arguis created a beautiful garden, filled with almost every flower in existence. Cheery Blossom trees and oak trees dotted the landscape. In the middle, Arguis created a beautiful library one radiating holiness that could be felt for miles. It's walls contained shelves for books, hundreds of thousands of books could be stored there. Arguis then created 'Librarians' better known as Toren, blessed with a wealth of knowledge and power, they guarded this sanctuary of Knowledge.

Arguis sat on the floor of the large building, admiring his handy work. Seeing that the work was good, he began to pull from the wealth of knowledge. The Toren sat around Arguis, pen and paper in had, and began to write down all the Arguis said to them, about, everything. The first thing that as written down, was the name off this holy place, Alma'Toren.

Aztoc, level 18 hero

Aztoc, current ruler of Garakai, wielder of a secret magic, Lord of Dragons, knew when he was outmatched. Or, more accurately in this case, completely fucked. Reports had been coming in for days about how Ialu was still alive. What's worse, The tyrant still had most of his force left and was gathering more. Vowzra's Victors indeed. More like Vowzra's failures. Aztoc thought bitterly, brooding on his throne. He had only roughly 30 enslaved dragons to serve him, and no fighters. The townsfolk had long ago flocked to friendlier places, namely the Cimex and Uri that served Vestec as well.

It was just Aztoc and his hall. He had all he wanted. The throne he had long coveted. The kingdom he had long yearned for. It was all his. His empty throne. His kingdom of ash. Never thought I'd miss Viscardi, or Cassios.

Still, he didn't intend to die without a fight. Alone, with his dragons, he would be destroyed. Even if he sent them against the mages and Ialu himself Ialu's remaining loyal hordes would simply bring them down, if Ialu himself didn't. There was one last thing he could try, however. One last desperate ploy.

His feet followed the well worn, muddied, path through the snow. The capital city of Garakai, the Empire's namesake, was reverently quiet, as if it too waited to see what its fate would be by the end of this battle. Will it's walls remain, tall and proud? Or will it be reduced to rubble, a forgotten empire whose bones will serve as the foundation of a new era? Aztoc wondered as he entered the temple to the Gods. He didn't go to any specific shrine. He knelt in the center of the temple, his prayer going to any god who would listen.

"Gods of Galbar, I will not lie to you. I am a evil man, by anyone's idea of 'evil'. I have lied, stolen, murdered, enslaved, conquered, and betrayed. All in the name of power. And I regret nothing. I do not throw myself at your mercy, do not pray and beg, to have my life spared. My choices have brought me to this situation, and I will accept my fate. I pray to you to give me the power to fight my enemies. To leave my mark on them before I die. To let the future know that the last true Lord of Garakai did not go quietly into the night. That I did not die cowering behind my walls. That I fought with my dying breath and my enemies knew fear. I will pay any price demanded from me. Just give me this one chance to make Garakai's memory be that of an Empire and not of a hovel."

Viscardi, level 23 hero.

Vestec's island had been changed through Viscardi's busy effort. A rough house had been crafted from stone, a small garden set up as best he could. The Former Lord of the North was clearly no architect or gardener, but he tried. As Roxan appeared laughing maniacally, Viscardi stepped out, for once in normal clothes rather than his armor. The sword was in his hands, however, ready to be used in a heartbeat. "Roxan!" He spoke, a smile breaking across his craggy, wrinkled, face. "It's good to-" He stopped as he saw the two eggs in the Demi-Goddess' hands. "Timeless one above, please tell me you didn't steal that from a dragon and I should be putting my armor. I just got done building this terrible hovel and I don't want to have to rebuild it."

Neither completely sleeping nor awake, Vowzra let the prayers of the world wash over him. They were a constant companion, these prayers, though one could often brush them aside or silence them. It was pleasurable to float through the myriad of pleas and requests at times, just to gain an insight into the state of creation - the ant's single-minded desire for the growth of the colony, the Cimex's desire to adapt, the lion's desire for food, and so on it went. In the beginning there had not been many requests - Mankind had only one wish, and that was to be one with the Celestial Above. But times changed and they grew, and so too did their needs. And so too did their plight.

'Oh lord, if you're up there, have mercy on me soul,' came one elderly voice of a woman in Garakai.
'Oh Celestial Above, Father of Man, save me from the wrath of this warlord!' came another, of a Garakaian man marching with the warlord.
'Aid me in this hunt!' came the demand of an Orabakhian hunter.
'Please lord, return to me my love and the father of my children,' came the prayer of a Sviebardian woman who had lost her husband in the night. Vowzra heard them all, those prayers directed at him.

He did not answer them all, of course, for there was no benefit in the long term in so doing. But there were some occasions where he saw it fitting to interfere, and the one which now reached him was one such prayer warranting answer. Aztoc's words reached the god of Time.

"Gods of Galbar, I will not lie to you. I am an evil man, by anyone's idea of 'evil'. I have lied, stolen, murdered, enslaved, conquered, and betrayed. All in the name of power. And I regret nothing. I do not throw myself at your mercy. I do not pray and beg to have my life spared. My choices have brought me to this situation, and I will accept my Fate. I pray to you to give me the power to fight my enemies. To leave my mark on them before I die. To let the future know that the last true Lord of Garakai did not go quietly into the night. That I did not die cowering behind my walls. That I fought with my dying breath and my enemies knew fear. I will pay any price demanded from me. Just give me this one chance to make Garakai's memory be that of an Empire and not of a hovel."

The man's words did not move Vowzra into action, if anything they were rather dissuading. But Vowzra could see that if the Eternal Night was to end, Garakai needed to survive, if even temporarily. There was no possibility for victory over the warlord - indeed, the warlord's Fate was to conquer and rule - but letting Garakai survive a little longer would quite possibly be better for Mankind and the world at large. The Eternal Night may have been ended by the Chaotic One temporarily, but the only permanent cure to it, even more permanent than Orabil, was to have Vestec himself remove it. That required Thulemiz to accomplish the mission, and that mission would be easier accomplished with Aztoc on the Garakain throne.

'You shall receive my aid, Aztoc of Garakai. All that you must do is take the enemy of your enemy as a friend and overlord. When Thulemiz arrives, give him all he needs,' and with that, the earth trembled around Garakai and the city found itself lifted from the very earth, along with some surrounding farmland, leaving a giant crater in its wake. It rose high into the heavens, stopping when it was a good half mile above the ground. A force-field grew around it, which would prevent missiles and magical attacks from entering, and hinder anyone trying to get in or leave. Unbeknownst to Aztoc, Vowzra also placed within the man a small vein of Time energy. It was only temporary, but he would heal much faster and his enemies would slow around him, and if he was hit with a critical blow he would be cast through the fabric of existence and deposited on Vestec's island, for that was where those closest to his heart now dwelled.

'Your duty is to survive. Your duty, in this final act of defiance, is to serve Man; then only will you be redeemed and cleansed.'

Ialu marched down the dusky path at the head of his procession of warriors, rehearsing their orders and amusing himself with idle chatter. He was as vain and prideful as ever; the compliments and worship of those that followed him were visibly pleasing, and he much preferred the company of his own hunters to those of his newfound allies. Invidia and his monks were no doubt somewhere nearby. They didn't seem to like travelling in plain view on the well trodden paths, though that was fair enough. He wouldn't complain about them scouting ahead, as he assumed they were doing. Mirtagn and his horde of skeletal dragons were somewhere behind but they would be catching up soon, his forces being all grouped well before they got far into Garakai's wretched lands.

The traitors were treacherous and Ialu fully expected some sort of devious ploy or ambush to be in wait. Aztoc surely knew that his master would return to assert his dominance once more, shortly before slaughtering the chaos dragons and putting their entire pit to the torch. Perhaps he would put any surviving members of this ill-fated rebellion inside the dragon pits when he set them ablaze. He wondered if Sauranth would approve. And so Ialu plotted the demise of his foes in his mind. All the while, however, his foes were at work - and from where he may not have expected.

Not too far back, the contingent of skeletal dragons flew, beating their empty wings in flight. It was certainly not the bones keeping them in the air, but that inner spirit of dragon-kind - so very different from the souls and spirits of those creatures imbued with souls by Escre. Thulemiz knew this, for he could sense it personally as he glided down towards the great undead beasts, flanked by five of the Silent Six and Kanros further behind.

These souls were certainly unlike those of the CimeXenos, and they were nothing like those of men or Outsiders, or even Uri. He could feel the power radiating from them, and his necromantic energies seemed to almost purr at this undead treasure, his for the taking. They would do very well as a distraction.

'Prepare thee all,' he commanded the Silent Six, his deathly voice echoing in their mind. He had sensed, over the days and weeks he commanded the Outsiders, that they were very reluctant servants. They certainly did not follow him out of any particular loyalty or love, it was truly nothing more than the prospect of forever ending the Chaotic One's curse of darkness. He wondered what would happen once that was done...
Shaking off the thoughts, he synchronised his energies with theirs and began weaving his magic. Carefully at first, so as not to disturb or alert Mirtagn or the other undead. One by one the dragons were plucked away from the fragile control Mirtagn had over them. Thulemiz knew he would have been capable of accomplishing the feat alone, but he did not wish to over-extend his new powers lest they fail him, so he allowed himself to lean on the support of the five Silent Brothers.
With the dragons completely under their control, he transferred those he had captured over to the Silent Six, commanding them to keep the skeletal dragons behind their 'leader' until he signalled them to attack.

With that, Thulemiz took his leave of them and descended further down towards the ground.

Since his first hunt, Invidia had always lead his monks down the less-traveled path. Despite the new alliance between the Sanguin Communion and the forces of Ialu, they seldom traveled together. Normal men had something of a giveaway presence on them. Those attuned to magic could sense them in one way or another. All outsiders, for instance, could faintly see the outlines of humans past terrain, detecting the signatures of Vowzra upon them even now, long after their creation. Escre heard and felt the beat of any soul in miles. Invidia was not that lucky, but with the organic augments gained from his Lifeblood infusion, he had gained a sense of smell.

The same was true for the other monks, but in a wooded area like this, with so many smells, it was difficult for mere humans to detect those they weren't familiar with. Still, all shared an uneasy feeling, and increased their levels of caution. Brown robes blended in with the sea of trunks, and footsteps softer than a puppy's fur made no noise. Ialu had told Invidia about his misgivings, and the outsider had agreed that this would be the perfect place for an ambush. Still wary of the enemy's unknown magical edge, the monks kept a close watch as they drifted through the trees like ghosts.

In any case, Ialu's paranoia of some sort of ambush kept him on edge. Even as he boasted to Ryak about his past feats in some old skirmish or battle, his mind probed outwards as it was ever in search of hidden enemies. With a small startle he sensed something and immediately fell silent. Those nearest to him looked at him funny; it was usually impossible to shut up the warlord once he took to bragging about some conquest, though it wasn't as if anybody ever dared to silence him. "Is something wrong?" a warrior asked. "Enemies?"

They were met with nothing for a few moments. In a casual tone, their God-King broke the silence, "Do you hear that? The frenzied heartbeats and ragged breathing of a coward? Prey hides somewhere near; I can smell its fear.

He silently gestured towards a nearby tree. Understanding what he meant, several men drew their weapons quietly and began to creep forward. "Nevermind, we've wasted enough time here, he said. He could literally feel the wave of relief coming from the Garakain that hid behind the tree. It lulled him into false relief, tricking him into staying put rather than running for his life. Too bad that was only a ploy.

The unfazed soldiers crept on knowing their warlord's words to be empty. Suddenly they were upon the Garakain deserter with weapons in hand, dragging him out before he could run away. They pinned him against the tree. Silently Ialu approached and with a snap of his finger severed the man's right arm. Blood spurted over the men that held him steadfast, though that was nothing new for the grizzled veterans.

"We really don't take kindly to deserters.

The soldier howled in pain but somehow still managed to choke out pleas for mercy. "I-I b-beg of you, king! I have a family, in the name of the gods-"

Ialu dragged a finger across the deserter's stomache, his Wi slicing it open and eviscerating the coward. From the gash in his clothing entrails cascaded out. "YOU WILL REFER TO ME AS GOD-KING!" Ialu bellowed like a wounded boar, clearly enraged by the smallest of things. His warriors stepped back; when he got angry it was good to stay out of his way. They had all heard horror stories about what happened when he was only agitated, and right now his mouth was almost frothing...

"...and do not presume to mention the gods. I AM A GOD. The others seem content to be pathetic puppet masters or cowards hiding in the sky...BUT I AM HERE GRACING THIS LAND WITH MY PRESENCE AND I DEMAND RESPECT!"

With another flick of his wrist Ialu severed the man's other arm then finished the job by crushing his skull. Even Ryak seemed somewhat aghast. One of his more ruthless warriors tried to break the uncomfortable silence that followed and gauge the warlord's mood. He guffawed, "Too bad he just didn't get that you're now in control of this land."

"He does now. Nail his arms to a tree and have the fingers bent so as to point back to the Garakai; he seemed to have gotten lost out in those woods. Best not let any other deserters lose their way..." Ialu let out an unsettling laugh, his hand straying to the scepter at his belt.

"Ryak...you look rather pale. Come now, you've seen far worse than this! Do the dead frighten you?"

Silent and concealing his presence, Thulemiz watched as the deserter was given a short speech before being ruthlessly killed. If Thulemiz had a face - and maybe he did - he would have smiled at Ialu's words to Ryak. If the dead did not frighten him now, he would certainly learn to fear very soon. As Ialu and his men walked away, he plucked the soul of the poor deserter from the air before it could escape to the Astral Home. Ialu had crushed the man's head and severed his arms, but healing a corpse was nothing for Thulemiz.
Slowly, the nails dug themsleves out of his flesh and the holes closed. Severed arms reattached themselves and bones snapped into place, blood leapt off the ground and returned into the body and brain matter righted itself and the skull fit back into place. Before Thulemiz lay a body as perfect as could be - there was nothing so perfect as death. He slowly guided the soul back into its body. The eyes flew open and his arms flailed around for a few seconds before he sat up and looked around, dazed. Intelligence returned to his eyes and memories, and his death flashed before his eyes again and again. But there was no fear.

'Rise, Bjorn son of Dahud, thine time is not yet come, thine existence is yet needed,' and with that, Bjorn rose to his feet, feeling for the first time the inescapable need to obey everything his master dictated, 'go and teach them to fear the dead.'
Stumbling forward in nothing but a cotton shirt and breeches, he certainly did not strike a very frightening figure. The real terror would be from realising the man was not dead, Thulemiz mused to himself. It would be quite funny to see how they reacted. Keeping himself concealed, he moved silently and swiftly from tree to tree, watching as Bjorn approached the first of Ialu's men. Would they notice him? How could they miss him was the question. They would certainly notice him when he fell upon the first of them and bit at any exposed area with sharp teeth and extraordinary strength.

After Ryak responded by making some japes about Ialu being the craven (something that only one very close to the warlord would dare) the demigod at last regained track of time and ordered them to fall back into formation. So it was that they resumed their march down the road for a ways, some of them ambivalent to or even delighting in the savagery that had just occured, while some of the squeamish tried to avoid thinking about it. Better that man than them as far as they were concerned, and deserting your brothers in arms was worse than mere abandonment; it was putting them all in danger. It was only a few minutes later when they heard scuffling from behind and the warriors, Wi users all, sensed something approaching.

Spinning to see some sort of wild man dressed in only light clothing charging at their rear, training kicked in. There were a hundred Strong Tribe hunters and they could all make a man's heart explode; it was easy to send someone crashing to the ground face first. Naturally, even with some being slow to react Bjorn didn't get too close. "Another deserter, eh?" asked one as he approached, using magic to flip the writhing man onto his back.

"See what we did to your friend just a little way down the road? Not find yer courage 'til his screams stopped?"

They laughed and one readied a spear for a quick execution next time, but then it sunk in. They realized that this man was dressed just like the one before, and looked like him too...it would seem that the dead man had a twin! Ialu would like this. Which one would he get to scream louder?

'Friend? Didn't see nobody down the road mates. I was jus' tryin' ta catch up with ya is all,' he attempted to get up, but their Wi kept his body down, 'if I'd 'eard 'is screams I would found'ja all sooner, no?' he laughed and tried to look up at them, maybe they'd share the joke.

"You peasants ne'er learn...desert the army then think o' yerself a hero?" the soldier spat back. Seeing that the men had stopped and hearing an unnacceptable amount of chatting and laughter, a rather aggrevated Ialu was making his way back there.

'Oh no no sir! A hero? Me? I'd never think meself a hero sir, no,' he said, 'I seen many heroes in me time and none o' them looked like me. I think they looked more like..' he tried looking up but could not get his head very far up due to the pressure, 'I think they looked more like you sir, but I wouldn' know 'cause I can't bloody see ya can I?'

"What is the meaning of this? came out a low voice, one that Bjorn would surely remember. It was the last one that he heard, after all.

"Looks like another deserter, m'lord."

Being referred to as a mere lord was starting to become insufficient; were that not one of his own men, Ialu might have pressed the issue...as is, he was done wasting time. He would make this quick. The hunters back away and released their hold over Bjorn as Ialu walked right up to the man. Mortals would quiver with fear at such a sight as the mighty warlord in all his ire.

As the pressure removed itself, Bjorn got to his knees and looked up at the man who had killed him. He remembered very clearly what he had told him before he killed him.
'Really dunno how you can let 'im speak to you like that me God-Emperor God, sir,' he blabbered, 'really don' think it very nice of 'im at all God sir. You's here after all, gracin' us all wiv yer divine presence'n'all. Really think ya deserve more respect than jus' bein' called 'm'lord' m'God sir,' Bjorn managed a slight smile before bowing his head in respect. He really would have liked to stand up, but that part of him which was still very much alive and wished to stay alive told him that it was far better for him to get on Ialu's good side than otherwise.

The moment that the meaning of the idiotic man's burbling became clear, the soldier that had spoken out visibly began to shake in fear and nervously back up. The warlord was in a foul temper and he had just butchered a man for calling him king, how would he react to one calling him a lord after that display? But Ialu didn't even focus on the meaning of Bjorn's words, he merely stared closer. The wording did sound familiar, though. Then it clicked.

"No, you fools...not another deserter, but the same one!"

They all instantly saw it now.

'Wha- wait what? Deserter? Same one? I ain' no deserter! I was comin' back. Got lost is all. Why's everyone callin' me a deserter?' Bjorn looked quite visibly crestfallen and afraid - though that was understandable given the fact that Ialu himself had just accused him of being both a deserter and a man he had only just killed.

He wasn't answered directly; those with half a brain that might have jeered at him for getting 'lost' halfway back to Garakai were very confused now, and the more intelligent hunters were getting rather nervous. Ialu used Wi to grip the man by the throat and suspend him in the air, wracking his body and creating what would cause a great deal of agony.

Ignoring what was just said, he voiced the thoughts of many of his men, "I do not know what sort of black magic this is, but you shall tell me! Mixed in with the usual cruelty and rage in Ialu's eyes were a few of the demigod's more rare emotions...confusion, perhaps? Maybe a bit of panic? Most likely just some form of morbid curiosity.

Upon being lifted into the air Bjorn let out a terrified scream and the memory of the pain Ialu had wreaked upon his body returned to him.
'No! Please, it hurts! It hurts!' he wailed in terror, 'please Lor-Lord God, I don't want to huuurrr...' his voice slowly quietened down and he looked around himself in shock. There was no pain. Before he could say or do much more, however, a great shadow fell across the land and the unmistakable body of Mirtagn appeared, followed by his undead horde. Bjorn looked up in awe, for he had never seen so many beings in flight, let alone deathless dragons.

The undead dragons suddenly ceased flying above them all, merely hovering where they were, and Mirtagn stopped too. Perhaps he was confused as to why his dragons had suddenly stopped, perhaps he would put it down to Sauranath's will - for that was Ialu down there, would it not be wise to stop and join up once more with the great warlord?

Hidden in nearby underbrush, a pair of monks watched. These partners had been the closest to the head of Ialu's forces from the beginning, and had witnessed, if not fully understood, the entire ordeal surrounding Bjorn. Though neither were outsiders, deprived of those magic-attuned eyes, the monks could sense a discrepancy surrounding the 'deserter'. Some sort of strange smell wafted through the air, and after Ialu's sudden observation pointed it out, the members of the Sanguine Communion made the connection. Only their order presided over bodily regeneration, and Bjorn had, with most definitive certainty, died. It took a different, abominable sort of magic to restore life after death.

When the dead dragons soared overhead, the monks were already moving, darting through the underbrush to share their revelation. As they ran, they shifted into predator forms, spraying blood across the leaf litter and ferny plants, to cover more ground. In short order Invidia had been alerted, and the knowledgable outsider thought it a very real risk that whatever force reanimated Bjorn could also potentially return the undead dragons to their living state, transforming a massive host of allies into a devastating armada of adversaries. Recalling its scouting parties, the body of Sanguine Communion monks made a beeline for Ialu's position, hoping that it would not be too late.

Ialu grew visibly enraged as the man pleaded for mercy, refusing to answer the question, and then...nothing. The pain that would have brought a giant to his knees weeping did nothing to this one. A glimpse of the sudden stop of all the undead dragons and appearance of Mirtagn was relieving for him, though he did wonder whether Mirtagn or Sauranth would approve of this. Bah, he had more important things to worry about! This seemingly immortal man was concerning; what sort of dark powers had the Garakains been hiding from him all of this time? Ialu slammed Bjorn back to the ground with his Wi, still awaiting an answer.

Even as the Sanguine Communion raced to warn their ally, the undead dragons descended ever so slightly. Amongst all those powerful souls, if one were focusing, the undeniable presence of something even more powerful wafted down. Something neither human nor dragon, nor even dead. The presence grew stronger and a mighty roar reached all below as Kanros descended to the ground, a great comet of war spearing towards his rival. Bjorn was blabbering even more now, something about his mother's ring being lost in the river they crossed and how he had simply been looking for it. He was no deserter, not him! It was quite clear that something was afoot, and whatever it was would not be good for the warlord and his allies...

At this point Mirtagn began to speak, "Ialu, it is good to regroup with you, though I cannot approve of whatever it is that you are doin-"

The sudden presence of something powerful approaching made both Ialu and Mirtagn look up to see some fool bellowing as he rocketed downwards with a longsword in hand. Was that Aztoc? It was hard to tell, but Ialu supposed he might never know. There wouldn't be much left of this one! Mirtagn suddenly snapped his neck upwards and opened his maw to reveal countless jagged teeth, each one of the great dragon's canines like a sword. Ialu immediately released his hold on Bjorn and grasped at Kanros to hurl him straight at Mirtagn. Did dragons actually eat people? Ialu supposed that he would just have to see if Mirtagn spat out whatever was left of this one. Unfortunately, Ialu would never quite find out, because just at that moment, all hell broke loose - perhaps quite literally.

Skeletal claws were suddenly seizing upon Mirtagn while more of the undead dragons above descended, more swiftly than before. Some rocketed down for a physical collision with the earth, where their masters had commanded them to rip into their foes, while others would hover above, breathing black necromantic fires upon forest and men alike. Kanros felt the other demigod's attempts to force him from his furious dive, but he met the other's energies with his own and merely accelerated, preparing his blade to skewer the tyrant upon collision.

With Ialu distracted, Bjorn found himself suddenly free. He let out a whoop before realising that the danger was not over and quickly looked around himself for an escape route. For someone dead and enslaved to the Lich Lord, he felt oddly free, and so decided to dash for the forest while he could. It was rather shocking for poor dead man to find himself running straight for Ialu.
'What? Wait, nonono!' he shrieked, panic gripping him completely. Without any power to stop himself from disobeying his master's command, Bjorn leapt upon Ialu, and held on like his life depended on it.

'Uh...' he looked up at the warlord and smiled sheepishly, 'just...just givin' me favourite God a-a...a hug?'

Ialu was bewildered for a moment, but then acted on instinct. Seeing Mirtagn being attacked by a hundred of the skeletal dragons that were supposedly theirs to command, combined with those dragons bathing everything in some sort of black flame that caused everything to wither and die while the crazed flying man was still coming, instinct kicked in. Thinking of his men first, Ialu's thunderous voice roared, "Withdraw! Withdraw!

His tribesmen having already been in a tight formation, it had been easy for them to create a near impenetrable shield around their small platoon. From there they had easily fended off the one or two dragons that immediately dove towards them. They knew how to fight men, dragon, Cimex, and anything to walk Galbar, yet this was too much and they knew it. They were all too glad to maintain their shield and flee further down the road. The trees provided little cover with the black dragon-breath decaying them all to dirt and ash within seconds.

Ialu made no attempt to retreat, moving to kill the one diving down on him. Aerial attacks were always foolish, leaving no way to backpedal. You could only land to the side of a prepared foe and waste your time, or skewer yourself as they raised their weapon to impale you as you came right down and did the work for them. In this case, however, he suddenly found something clinging to his back and pulling. Ialu elbowed backwards with what would be enough to break half of Bjorn's ribcage, then reached back to drag the insolent deserter off of him...

His hand never made it, for as Mirtagn struggled to fend off the skeletal brood, the elder dragon wildy breathed his crystalline breath. The stuff obliterated any of the flying sacks of bone that came close, though as he thrashed about a wave of the breath accidentally washed down upon both his friends and foes alike. The crystalline breath simply disintegrated Bjorn. Ialu was buffeted and sent backwards by its force, staggering and barely managing to stay on his feet. It was impossible to een see from within the blinding flames, so he knew not what became of the fiery, diving swordsman, though he hoped that the wretched flames had done him the favor of at least handling that one. Ialu's hopes would be crushed however, for the diving swordsman erupted from the flames, his speed and own fiery aura acting as something of a shield. However, Mirtagn's fires had their effects, much of the demigod's flames had been consumed and his face had been charred, and even as he descended a tail of Mirtagn's own flames ate at his feet. His cape was no more and his largely useless leather armour was melting about him, leaving him almost naked, with the stench of burning skin and leather wafting about him. His furious descent continued however, the battle which had begun already empowering him.

Ialu himself had not went unscathed; whereas normal dragonfire left him unmarred, this hand rended his flesh and flensed some of his muscle clean off the bone. The warlord fumbled with both empty hands. With one he clutched the sponge of lifeblood Invidia had given him and squeezed with all his strength. The other hand grabbed out his scepter from his belt. One hand clutched his salvation and the other what would most likely be his death, but he would not submit. When the flames abated, Ialu's eyes were bloodshot with rage and he was in the mood for slaughter.

At that moment, reinforcements arrived. A platoon of brown-robed warriors, unclad in armor but bristling with axes, pikes, and crossbows, erupted from the treeline. Once out in the open area, they immediately became targets, so they wasted no time in engaging their powers straight off the bat. Blood fairly exhumed from the Sanguine Communion ranks as dozens of them transformed, some shifting to vicious and powerful predator forms, and some simply growing several times their own size. As the new wave of ferals and giants surged forward to challenge the undead dragon turncoats, either leaping from where they were, scaling trees to get a mid-air attack, or clinging to them when they swooped down, Invidia himself stepped out into the battle.

He spent a moment assessing the situation. This, he thought, was an equal fight in terms of power, if not numbers. For now, in accordance with their orders, the monks were clearing the immediate area to secure it for Ialu and nearby warriors. They took severe damage whenever they tangled with one of the enemy, but as always, the blood sprayed across the earth and the monks fought on barely hindered. As the outsider watched, some of the dragons attempted to disintegrate his monks via degenerative breath. Such an assault forced any monks subject to it to cower down, paralyzed, all energy focused on counteracting the degeneration with healing. Fortunately, not all of them could be breathed upon at once, and the largest monks were the ones with the best healing. Invidia decided, however, that an edge was still needed to end the immediate skirmish quickly.

The Liaison doubled over, the air around him resonating in a toneless thrum. His robes ripped apart, with huge, finlike wings sprouting from his back, and one of his forearms exploded outward in size, growing larger than his torso. Invidia, the air around him now resonating in a menacing, guttural shriek, leaped into the air, beating his wings. A dragon spotted him and moved to snap him in its jaws. Instead, it found its jaw dislocated by a superhuman punch, splinters of bone showering the clearing. Invidia grabbed the beast's skull and threw it into the ground, where its skeleton cracked, broken long enough for the others to end it. Another undead monster loomed over him, but it soon met a second end to the hero's poleaxe. A couple of moments later, this little part of the fight had been concluded. Invidia drifted to the ground, his wings never designed for sustained flight anyway, and the monks regrouped around him. Ialu, empowered by both lifeblood and the Blade of Chaos, had not been idle during the skirmish. Due to the efforts of him, his nearby soldiers, and the Sanguine Communion monks, the phalanx of dragons attacking this area had been decimated. "Now is an opportune time to flee."

Just as the words left the monk's mouth, a great tremor shook the earth and a great crater appeared where none had been before. Dust and bits of rock rose up like tidal waves, and surge after surge of energy burts outwards from the crater, knocking any men down and causing anyone with greater power to lose their balance slightly. Before the dust had fully settled down, Kanros ploughed his way out of the crater, his battle fury leading him right towards his target. Red and white energies whirled about him and his eyes burned a bright red, and even his skin had a slightly red hue to it and was swelled up slightly, veins bloated and spittle flying from his mouth. Though an almost naked man was a most strange sight on the battlefield, there was no doubt that underestimating him was not an option.

His speed was bizarre, and he was upon Ialu in no time, thrusting his sword at the warlord with fervour and cataclysmic strength and precision. Ialu may have been a demigod whose skin was impenetrable, but it would take skin even greater than his to stop this blow.

Ialu's skin didn't stop the blow, yet it came across as more of a blunt trauma. The mundane steel blade had its edge fold in upon itself completely unable to cut the warlord's skin, and then the sheer impact shattered the bastard sword like glass. The amount of force the demigod of war had put behind it was enough to leave an ugly bruise and drive Ialu back, but that minor injury was nothing.

Lifeblood from the sponge dripping down Ialu's hands as it was absorbed into his skin, all the damage from that blow and the dragon's breath were rapidly healed as the substance augmented his own regeneration abilities. Casting that sponge to the side, Ialu leapt backwards and squeezed two more from his side to give him additional strength. As he did so, he taunted his dapless enemy, "I know not what fool would dare stand against me! I am the scourge of man, Dyun, Cimex, and gods alike, diamant and undefeated! I shall break you, nameless warrior, much like your sword.

Ialu raised up the scepter that he clutched so dearly in his left hand, and as he did so it began to glow and the very air began to sizzle and hum with chaotic energy. Though Ialu might have enjoyed bombarding a foe with pure chaos, his the Blade of Chaos could not do that, at least not in its current form. It was no weapon and could not harm Kanros, though it could certainly empower Ialu. With the power of the scepter's unadulterated chaos, the sacred lifeblood, and his own wrath all surging through his veins, Ialu opened his mouth and let out a draconian roar.

A wave of destructive magic spewed forth from the warlord's mouth just as the crystalline fire did from Mirtagn's. The empowered warlord and his combination of malice made manifest and raw magic were unrelenting in destruction. The magical flames had a life of their own and bent to pursue Kanros, to wash over him and wreak utter havoc on his body. A mere mortal would be destroyed by the mere heat and aura of the flames, though the most powerful of them might have their physical forms survive the ordeal if barely. As a demigod, however, Kanros might be able to weather the storm or perhaps even counter the deadly attack somehow. With his aura of red and white flames growing as the battle around them intensified, Kanros threw away his useless blade and clenched his fists, and when Ialu roared, he responded in kind.

Raising his right foot and smashing it down upon the ground, Kanros loosed his own howl, and the energies around him intensified as he drained even more of the battle energy all around.

All around, those of Ialu's men and those of the Sanguine Communion who had been felled began to slowly rise once more. They bumbled to their feet, confused and uncertain, but soon enough the commands of their masters kicked in. The dragon breath had flayed them and many were walking around as grotesque effigies of what they were in life. Most of these simply ran off after Ialu's retreating forces, though a few of them turned to the one figure who had stood his ground and attacked him. Ryak would find three of his former-comrades running towards him, giving low moans and groans - they would have talked were it not for the fact that the dragon breath had completely destroyed their tongues and most anything that would make them recognisable.

The some hundred warriors now numbered perhaps a dozen less. A few had fallen in their haste to erect a magical shield, but with that done and them working in a cohesive group, fighting them would prove far more difficult. Those in the center of the spear block used Wi to repel attacks from above, while those on the corners hacked to pieces anything that came close using both Wi and weapon. In the face of this onslaught their retreat was quickly halted, their best bet seeming to be simply digging in and enduring. In any case, while they remaiend nearly untouchable in this defensive formation, they still managed to take a fair few of the dragons out of the skies.

Ryak, meanwhile, recalled the Vistoc users that had been present at the last battle. Though he had never liked the Garakain ilk and thought the mages to be cowards afraid to face a man where he could reach them and fight back, he had taken the time to learn their strange magic. That came in handy now. The three charging at him had no flesh or organs to tear apart with the Wi, and simply obliterating three charging skeletons was beyond the power of any save Ialu. So Ryak simply summoned three great spikes of earth to skewer the things in their tracks from below. Drawing his sword and quickly decapitating the three immobilized wights, he suddenly felt a great whoosh of wind and turned to see one of the skeletal dragons. Adrenaline fueling him, he used strength that he didn't even know he had to tug on the great beast.

Normally bringing down a dragon single handedly was a near impossible task for any in the tribe, but this one's bony and rather light form helped, as did the fact that its dive already brought it low to the ground. Suddenly crashing and tumbling on the ground, bones splintered and broke. While the damage to its body was enough to bring rest to the undead dragon, the heap of bones still managed to tumble towards Kanros, though the flames surrounding him made short work of it.

Many of the undead dragons also chased after the retreating forces, both by air and on land - the further they were from Ialu, the easier it would be to get the weapon Ferghus had demanded. And all the while what remaining dragons flew above continued to battle with Mirtagn and with the monks of the Sanguine Communion who fought just as ferociously in air as they did on land.

Mirtagn signaled with one clawed, reptillian finger for what seemed to be invisible guards in the sky to soar down on the carnage that was already reaping havoc on the armies below. But there were undead dragons all around him and they prevented his signal from reaching its destination. One of the skeletons slashed towards Mirtagn's right wing, attempting to damage them and make him fall. Mirtagn was a Crystal Brood Dragon, one of the oldest, a brood which is superior to just skeletal remains of a dragon, even with their breath weapons. So the slashing attack was far less effective than normal. Mirtagn, as a wizard and the best of his Brood, also possessed protective magic, which warded off the slashing blow.

However, the Ancient One known as Mirtagn was getting annoyed. This wasn't the first time, or third, he attempted to alert his allies to come down on the assault which ravaged the battlefield. So, Mirtagn sighed, taking in clouds within his nostrils, and soared with his massive wings absorbing the power of thunderbolts, known as lightning, in scientific terms. He soared upwards, spinning as he went, through scores of the nightmare creatures, and finished his summit.

His eyes glared towards the Brood City known as Erstakh, and one hundred Crystal Dragons, one hundred Golden Dragons and one hundred Sapphire Dragons made their way towards the battlefield with their mystical power over teleportation. . . Finally, the last to arrive were the Storm Dragons, who traveled like oversized lightning bolts to the place of battle. Mirtagn smiled. This will be much harder for the enemy to fight now.

With enemy reinforcements having arrived, many of the undead dragons took to the skies where the great living dragons and the skeletal ones clashed against one another. Many skeletal dragons were crushed, but so too did living ones also fall, only to rise again as undead monstrosities to fight against their allies. Those down below would find skeleton raining down upon them and blood and scales.

Mirtagn himself found himself suddenly assaulted by an undead Storm Dragon from above, its lightening breath bolting towards him as its claws ripped at him. Storm Dragon's claws were much harder than a skeletal dragon's piercing and ripping attacks, and while even a Storm Dragon's claws could not cause instant death, this assault was strong and fierce enough to pierce through scales, but not through sinew and muscle or bone. Mirtagn retaliated by lowering his majestic neck and biting off the monster's entire head with his snapping jaws. And so the battle in the skies went on, Mirtagn ferociously destroying the undead in his way, while skeletal dragons and living ones alike fell to the strikes of one another.

With all this carnage about him, Kanros could not help the power which filled him, and even as he howled at Ialu, his body grew in size and the fires around him grew even brighter, until they were blue and crackled with a life and desire of their own, whipping out towards anything within Kanros' immediate radius. Thus when Ialu's flames lunged towards the demigod of war, his own flames found a target and leapt at them.

It was a most bizarre sight to see flames consume flames, but that was exactly what occurred. Ialu's flame would not find an opening except that Kanros' own closed it off and penetrated elsewhere, and so it went.

'You list your conquests with great pride, Tyrant Ialu. But the true warrior is not he who forges his name through battles and wars and conquests. The true warrior is he who does not lift his weapon except in defence of the weak, the one who is truly strong is he who can contain his greed and desire despite being capable of taking it all,' he stepped forward and raised a fist towards the warlord, 'you have been weighed, Tyrant, you have been measured, and you have been found most wanting indeed! Now, prepare yourself!' and with that, Kanros leapt through the flames, his own eating at and beating aside Ialu's own - just barely - and the warrior was soon upon the warlord once more, this time swinging a punch with the full weight of conviction behind it.

It was easy for Ialu to banish his fear and shut it out; he had a lifetime of experience in fighting, and in any case while he was wroth and avaricious, he did not allow his other emotions to get the best of him. Now was not the time for that, though. Fear had its uses.

As he witnessed the skeletal dragons down several of his men only for them to return as undead, and he saw his own opponent break through his attack and surge forward, some fear crept in. He harnessed it, and when Kanros threw a punch, Ialu let it land. It would do more harm to Kanros than him, anyways.

The moment that body contact was established, Ialu was able to bridge himself into his enemy's thoughts with some effort. Though he only had an instant before the contact would cease and with it his power over Kanros' mind, he only needed that one instant to seize the opportunity. With a surge of weakness and crippling energy, Ialu transferred all of the fear and anxiety that had built up in him into Kanros, using his own magic in a bid to increase its intensity tenfold. That would be only a seed; any such insecurities within Kanros would only add to the damage. The man's talk of 'true warriors' was pointless and laughable. If that was what a 'warrior' was then Ialu was no warrior at all; he did not fight fair, and he did not fight for others. He fought to kill others, whatever that took. While Kanros had no such insecuirities - he was a man of morals and upright character, and his conviction left no space for doubt or hesitation - the flood of paralysing fear and anxiety which filled him was rather debilitating. It grew within him and overwhelmed him with its ferocity, causing him to freeze in place and for his flames to die down as he attempted to work out where this fear had suddenly come from. It did not help that the panic was making it rather hard to concentrate. He could not help but feel, however, that the fear and panic and anxiety were not his own. He felt them, surely enough, but it was as though he was a man across a glass wall, staring at something completely foreign to him.

Reeling backwards from the force of the blow he had just suffered, Ialu suddenly snapped back into the real world. Hoping to take advantage of a dazed enemy, he sent a fist crashing forward at Kanros' face, causing Kanros to stumble a good few steps back, though the blow was not enough to tear the fear out of him. Ialu then reached out with another hand in a half-hearted attempt to gouge out an eye, but Kanros' still unstable legs meant that the warlord misjudged and ended up hitting Kanros' forehead instead. With what little guard the Warhound could muster in such a state most likely being used to get Ialu's hands off, the warlord did a third and final attack: simply unleashing a blast of pure concussive force, the telekinesis strong enough to propel somebody backwards. With that, Kanros found himself thrown completley off his feet and through the air. He smashed into a few monks before landing and rolling a few times before he was still. He lay there for a few seconds and the fear within him slowly began to fade away as the energies of the battle seeped back into him and the fires of his battle-rage began to consume the fear and heavy anxiety.

His attention once more drawn to the skies, Ialu hoped that the pest that had just bothered him would remain incapacitated if only for a brief time; while death would be ideal, he was beginning to see that this was a hardier foe than he had first thought. It was strange that he had never heard of this man before. His thoughts of Kanros were quickly cut off as a particularly large dragon descended upon the warlord, breathing its noxious, necromantic flames upon him. Until now whoever it was that was commanding the damned beasts had not appeared. Was it possible that this was all the work of that warrior? How powerful was he to command such a large number of undead while simultaneously matching up against the warlord? It was a frightening notion indeed...

Yet then Ialu remembered the cryptic words and warnings of Invidia, whose spies told him that Thulemiz had magic that reeked of death. All doubt was banished; this was not the work of the damned fool that had attacked him. The very thought of losing a battle to the pretentious fool that had already claimed half his army was nauseating. It was preposterous, infuriating! Whether through his own temper or the work of the Blade of Chaos or even Kanros, Ialu was once again in a fit of rage that took him to the brink of being berserk. He would not take this affront to his power lightly; he would hunt down Thulemiz like he had hunted down so many animals, even if it took a hundred years!

He would have liked to open his eyes to the Sight and search the battleground for his true enemy, but there was far too much chaos. The sunlight was blocked by the thousands of skeletal wings overhead, the heat of Mirtagne's breath was setting what remained of the nearby forest aflame, and the dead walked freely. It had to end. It would end. He would make it so!

First there was his great bellow, "ENOUGH! What followed was a throbbing in the head of everyone present, a shaking and humming in the air as it trembled with saturated magic, and a horrific cracking sound. Ialu raised his arms in the air and called upon his Wi, using far beyond his normal reserves or that of any man's comprehension. He gripped all of the skeletal dragons as one and pulled, pushed, smashed, and tore. They cracked to pieces, crumbled to dust, exploded, or fell crashing down. Whatever the case may be, each individual dragon was pulverized within mere moments by the demigod. The sheer pressure of the force that he used to bear down upon them was so crushing that it brought nearly everyone to the ground.

Mirtagn's wards, the crystal dragon's wards, and the Sapphire dragon's wards, along with the Golden Dragon's wards, shielded the living dragons from the superior assault of Ialu's Wi reserves, which were powerful enough to assault demigods and utterly demolish nearly any foe on the face of Galbar. The creatures swerved, even as they hoped their wards could preserve them. While Storm Dragons were the quickest among the four broods on the battle fields, the others relied also on their Wards, while the Storm Dragons had no wards. However, the broods could also simply attempt not to get stung by the obscene power wielded by the might of Ialu. While the living dragons had magic and great power to help them avoid the brunt of Ialu's magic, the undead were not quite so lucky. If they did, indeed, have magic, their masters clearly did not have them use it - after all, controlling three thousand dragons was no easy task for the Silent Six without Thulemiz's support. And so the undead fell all around, unable to resist the might of the demigod.

Even Ialu's knees had begun to buckle, but when the task was at last done, he let out a triumphant cry. Bones crashed down upon the combatants and the forests, with the Strong Tribe barely managing to maintain their shield and go unscathed. With their main adversaries downed, they finally began to resume their hasty retreat. One might have thought that Ialu would be exhausted from such an impossible feat of magic, but that was far from the truth. It had invigorated him. Calling upon the reserves of divine energy that he had thus far left entirely untouched, the feeling was beyond words. He was intoxicated by his own power, but that wouldn't stop him from obtaining the joy of slaughter and the sweet taste of blood.

He opened his eyes to the Sight, scanning the battlefield for his hidden foe. His enemy seemed too cowardly to face him a second time, but that did not matter. He would be found, and he would be cut down! Ialu roared out, "Your petty tricks are nothing; your power but a mere candle before mine which is like the sun! Show yourself, Thulemiz, so that I can finish what I began last time. Kanros was not the only one that could empower himself through blood; the anger building up within Ialu was beginning to have noticeable effects. A malevolent crimson glow emanated from the warlord's eyes, and the already giant man seemed to loom over his lessers ever moreso with so many bones and corpses underfoot.

The phenomenal feat of power whipped the fear and anxiety completely from Kanros' chest, and the deaths - if the dead could die - of thousands of skeletal dragons at once filled him with power at a rate faster then he had ever experienced. So great was it that he found himself lifting from the ground against his will and the very air around him shimmered and shook with barely restrained energy. It was far too much and he had to find a release, but even as he thought that the energies only built up. His body bloated and his veins rippled and his eyes glowed a bright blue. Those same flames from before, now even a lighter, even more blistering blue, whipped around him and grew, leaping towards unlucky monks around him and eating ravenously at their flesh faster than they could hope to heal.
Trembling with the energy, feeling it overpowering him, Kanros let out a long groan and closed his eyes. Then all was silence for the briefest seconds, all sound melting away completely.

The ear-piercing roar which followed - was it truly a roar or more of a thunderclap? - caused the very ground around Kanros to fall apart, but it was the surge after surge of energy waves which subsequently rippled from Kanros that caused the real damage. Trees cracked and the earth uprooted itself, and even the mighty monks of the Sanguine Communion would found themselves flung into the air like dolls. Even Ialu would feel the power of the waves, and he would sense the permanent increase in the other demigod's power.
'You dare challenge others while I still stand?' came his rumbling voice, 'you have indeed reached a level of pride and arrogance something grand,' his words would echo within Ialu's very soul, and those who heard them would feel themselves brim up with a desire to follow and serve the strange demigod of war; to die for him if he wished and to do him no harm.

Around the Warhound, everything calmed and the fires dissipated, though his eyes still shone a piercing blue.
'I am your opponent, so face me!' he landed upon the marred earth and prowled forward towards Ialu, like a panther making its way towards its prey.

Such was Ialu's hubris and singular desire to find Thulemiz that he had nearly forgotten about Kanros. When he came prancing closer like some sort of cat sneaking up on a bear, Ialu surged forward like a bear. Brute strength, unnatural speed, and savagery were his philosophy. He did not intend to disappoint. "I GROW TIRED OF YOUR GAMES, LITTLE ONE!" the warlord bellowed, effortlessly deflecting a punch and then moving to smite his enemy. He raised his scepter and swung down with all his strength. The Blade of Chaos struck Kanros with all its force, and for the briefest moment Ferghus' curse seemed to understand Ialu's intentions and weigh the scepter down. That only made it come down harder.

Unfortunately, the Blade of Chaos truly wasn't a weapon, though Ialu in his wrath had certainly forgotten and tried to use it for such. That turned out to be a foolish and shortsighted move, as the scepter simply cracked and splintered over Kanros' skull before exploding. A godly amount of raw chaos was unleashed in the blast, propelling several of the artifact's shattered pieces outwards while the scepter's handle remained firmly rooted in Ialu's hand. The blast itself created a small crater and the energy destroyed anything in the immediate vicinity, while mutating and twisting the bodies of anybody too close. Those fortunate enough to have kept their distance would merely feel sick, though the chaos would leave its mark on them too. On no one did it leave a mark as much as it did on Kanros, however. Having been the target of Ialu's strike and received the brunt of the explosion, the pain which ran through Kanros was unimaginable. Not only was it physical - indeed, the phsycial pain was only the tip of the ice-berg - but it was also mental pain, pain on the level of the soul. The powers of the chaotic blade ravaged his body, tearing on skin and burning flesh, but it was at his mind that it clawed and at his soul which it tore most terribly. Even when the explosion subsided, Kanros could still feel the voice of the Blade whispering in his mind and tearing away at his sanity, he could feel the corruption and decadence seeping into his quintessence and attempting to grip on any semblance of corruption already rooted within him. It was a terrible thing indeed, and so great was his focus on combatting the Blade's attempts to corrupt him that he could not see or in any other way sense his surroundings.

The seemingly ever-invincible, dauntless warlord was closer to death than he had ever been before. The energy had been mostly directed towards Kanros, but what rebounded was enough to tear the flesh off Ialu's bones. Being exposed to a great deal of chaos and being rather chaotic by nature meant that his mind was rather unaffected, but physically he was near death. The nine foot tall paragon of strength collapsed onto his knees charred beyond recognition, bones exposed with some bending outwards or splintered in unnatural ways. Barely breathing, he was in a pathetic state.

Mirtagn felt the Chaotic energies form against him, and the blade of Chaos was broken. . . he retaliated by forming it into a storm to barrage any enemy survivors. The Six Necromancers fled to the forest, and Mirtagn followed after them as the storm raged, lashing out at the half dozen creatures that called themselves Necromancers as they fled. Mirtagn found one of them he grasped the creature with one clawed hand. "You are to be taken prisoner". But even as the great dragon spoke, the armoured Outsider disappeared within his grasp, only to reappear beside its five Silent Brothers - for Greyus was with them now.
'I do not think so, Lizard,' came a deathly voice from behind Mirtagn, 'thou hast erred greatly in coming here after us. Consider thyself lucky that I do not make of thee a pet for me,' Thulemiz's concealment disappeared and his deathly aura burst out with all its cold and merciless pressure, actively challenging Mirtagn to attempt anything foolish. Even as he did, the Silent Six disappeared.

"Well now. I just don't know what to say about that. Just that you should have learned that a conjurer as old as I am has far more than a few tricks up my sleeve." Mirtagn vanished as well. Sauranath, Avatar of the Arch Dragon Lord appeared in Humanoid form, as the dragon god of death, he wore the scales of a Crystal Dragon on his armor, he wore a helmet made of dragon's scales and he took out a sword, all were just magical forms of his natural body. He drew his sword. "You're not getting away that easy Thulemiz. I have a contract, but I'm no longer into indiscriminate, wanton violence. Come under my jurisdiction as prisoner and we can accept your terms of surrender. If not, my power is greater than Ialu's, and you've seen what he has done."

Even as Sauranath spoke, forty of each dragon Brood among the living fell from the sky. Storm Dragons can easily survive if they avoid any such assault from the enemy, and they were quick and alert enought to do so. Sauranath cringed at seeing his Brood family fall to their deaths, but he felt no ill will towards Ialu. At least not quite yet, and it most likely wouldn't be severe enough for betrayal. He looked to Thulemiz. "You have respectable power among the residents of the world of Galbar, but I suggest you come quietly".
Thulemiz was quiet for a while as he considered the Great Reptiles words. He had certainly not expected a god to show himself on the battlefield, and he knew his limits. A god was not something he could hope to combat.

'I understand not thine logic, Great Reptile Sauranath. Thou dost ally thyself to a human and givest him thine children that they may die for him. Look, even now they fall to their deaths thanks to his uncontrollable rage and emotions. What in him dost thou see that makest him worthy of thine children's deaths? Didst thou not return the Eternal Darkness to this world to avenge the killing of thine children? I have never a dragon killed - if anything, I have returned them to life. Why is it that I am thy foe and he thine ally?' Thulemiz levitated towards the god and looked at him closely, awaiting a response.

"Necromancer, you are losing my approval of your continued existence." Sauranath spoke. He curtly and concisely ended the conversation. Thulemiz cocked his head slightly, his cloaked head moving to the side.

'Kanros did say to me that thou art a being better than I had at first concieved. I thought he may be right and that thou art indeed simply misunderstood. I see now that Kanros was mistaken. Thou dost disappoint me greatly, Great Reptile,' and with that he floated backwards and a Silent Brother appeared beside him.
'We shall meet again, though I hope that thou wilt have seen reason by then,' and with that, the air around the Great Lich Lord shimmered and he was gone.

He appeared almost immediately around Kanros and Ialu, his skeletal hand extended and the shattered pieces of the Blade of Chaos whirling towards him. He did not touch them though, not wanting the taint of chaos to corrupt his deathly purity anymore than it already had. Kanros was still reeling from the blow and Ialu would undoubtedly be shocked by the chaotic explosion, but Thulemiz yet had his wits about him.
'Hand over the Blade, Warlord, and I will leave thee be,' even as he spoke, one the the Silent Brothers was upon Kanros, steadying the demigod, and another kept an army upon the Great Lich Lord. Anything funny from Ialu, and they would all disappear, having acquired some of what they needed.

Ialu had collapsed into a great heap and tumbled to the ground. Despite being ruined, he clutched onto the handle of his scepter for life. Even as Thulemiz appeared a few moments later he was unable to stand. No words came out of his mouth and his eyes saw nothing. Still, he finally sensed Thulemiz, and so his blinded and bloodied face still stared at the lich with a look of utter hatred. He shuddered then went still. Thulemiz watched coldly as the great warlord let out his final breath and his soul began to slowly leave his body. Thulemiz looked towards his Silent Brothers, even he surprised at this turn of events. He had certainly not expected that this little encounter would see the great warlord dead, it was rather pleasing; it was only fitting that he bring back this powerful rival as a servant in death - he had much to redeem himself for after all, and an eternity of servitude should redeem him. Thulemiz reached for demigod's soul, ready to wrench it out completely.

Ialu might have had the last of his life fade away, but even in death he was stubborn. His soul resisted being plucked out and he fought with all his willpower to burrow back into his body. A streak of blood ran down the end of the fractured scepter to touch one of his lifeless and burned fingers. Shattering the thing over the Warhound's head had drawn a fair deal of blood, and upon contact with even the lifeless husk of the warlord the divine energy in that blood empowered him. Ialu greedily devoured that as well as his own to strengthen himself, then easily broke the necromancer's attempts at dragging him out.

While that happened, Ryak had been watching having survived the ambush thus far against all odds. The sight of Ialu dying seemed to drive him wild; in a fervor, he lowered his spear and charged the necromancer that held Kanros, aiming to run the point clean through the back of that particular one of the Silent Six. Alfid sensed the wild charge immediately and turned to ward off his attacker, bringing his naginata to bear. With speed and agility impossible for any human, he batted the spear point aside and sent a an armoured foot upwards towards the man's jaw, hoping to knock him out and save them both anymore pain than absolutely necessary. Alfid was here to save Mankind, he did not want the blood of any more men on his hands than necessary.

Before the inevitable blow struck and the blackness settled in, Ryak managed to barely utter a curse and summon his Wi. He twisted Alfid's leg unnaturally to the side, using the Wi that Ialu taught him to disjoint the outsider's other leg and break it. It would fall to another to finish this crippled enemy, as the kick still landed and Ryak fell down to accept the defeat and fade into unconsciousness. Falling to the ground, Alfid was silent. He looked towards Thulemiz, hoping that the Lich Lord would quickly heal his broken leg, but he was too busy attempting to harvest Ialu's soul. Wincing, Alfid dragged himself away from Ryak and stayed put, keeping an eye out for any other surprise attacks. He had been foolish in going for a physical attack, a simple bit of Wi would have been sufficient...

Though the wounded outsider looked in every direction, his confidence in the grip of his necromancy prevented him looking up, and so when Invidia fell from the sky atop him, he had all the time in the world. The distorted figure landed upon the other outsider with all his weight, and hoisted Alfid into the air by his throat with his enlarged forearm. "And here I thought that the outsiders corrupted by Vestec had become Anju. No, they've turned far worse. They side with and use a magic that defiles life and spirit, doing Vestec's bidding, and for what? If you're not simply his mindless servant, then you think that the devil will play you straight? You are a fool, traitor, and you deserve to die like one. I am glad that your demonic Thulemiz will bring you back after I kill you; the Astral Home does not deserve to be tainted with the twisted spirits of the six who have betrayed Escre." Even as those accusations rained down upon him, Alfid made no response. It seemed that his choices and those of his Silent Brothers had not only made them outsiders to other races, but they had made them outsiders even to their own. He regretted nothing, for he knew, within whatever heart he had, that he had served Man faithfully to the very end. Invidia swung his axe, cutting straight through Alfid's eye, before tossing him to the ground and taking off again. The sight of a being so unrepentant almost made him sick with hopelessness, but it would not pay to remain in the enemy's line of sight for long.

Sputtering back to life, Ialu's lifeblood and natural regeneration began to resume their work. Warping and twisting, his muscles seemed to flow like water as they wrapped back around bare bone and skin quickly formed around them. Crawling on all fours at first, then stumbling upwards and shambling forward, he made his way closer to Thulemiz. His vision was blurred to the point of barely being able to see and he saw only a smear of unholy black as he looked upon the Lich Lord, but he was undeterred. His glazed eyes still burned with malice.

Thulemiz gave a disappointed sigh, causing a wisp of black vapour to fly into Ialu's face. It was harmless, of course.
'Look at me not with those hate-filled eyes, Warlord, for thou hast known the cold of my touch upon thy soul. Admit thine fear and thy defeat; hand over the Blade,' a cold hand reached for Ialu's face, an icy finger trailing down his cheek.

A rattling sound emanating from somewhere inside of the warlord's destroyed innards was the only answer; it would seem that he was letting out some sort of agonized chortle. At last he spoke out telepathically, for he could form no words. "I will never forget...I will destroy everything that you know and leave you alive to suffer it, even if it takes a thousand years!"

His promise made, he continued to shamble closer. Feeling something touching his face in the black mist, he somehow tightened his grip on the scepter even harder and used his free hand to conjure a stream of pure wrath; the malicious fire that Thulemiz had wanted more of in their last encounter. He would give the Lich more, for he had no shortage of anger to call upon and manifest as flame. In this moment, he wanted only to see the world burn and simmer as his anger destroyed it all. Thulemiz flinched away from the flames as they came for him, though he was not quite fast enough. They licked at his fingers and clung to his smokey cloak, and once they had a grip on him, they grew with frightening speed. It was not just the flames, however, for it seemed that Thulemiz's body was particularly vulnerable to flame. The slightest spark clung on and grew quickly, and before long the completely black-clad Thulemiz had erupted into a tower of deep red and purple flames.

The Great Lich Lord made no sound, though his body continued to move away from Ialu's attack. As suddenly as they had latched onto him, they began to recede, his black cloak seemingly consuming the flames, before what had initially took hold of the Necromancer leapt back to join Ialu's assault. A black mist surrounded the Lich and he summoned his Silent Six to him, the dead Alfid leaping to his feet all of a sudden and leaping upon Kanros, where both shimmered and disappeared.
'We shall not meet again for a long time, Warlord. But I shall not forget, and for thine soul I shall return,' with that, he too shimmered and disappeared along with the remaining Seers, and even as he left he felt his powers depart from him as Sauranth's curse fell upon him.

From the shadows behind Thulemiz, there came a sigh, and Invidia strode into the light toward Ialu. "Curse my body...I wasn't fast enough." Overhead, the aerial brawl between dead dragons and living had long drawn to a close, the reanimated ones destroyed by Ialu and now also deprived of their overlord. The scattered and diminished forces of Ialu were beginning to regroup; the only problem now was the warlord himself. Invidia watched the seething, half-regenerated mess distastefully, watching the flames of wrath dancing furiously about him as the once-great Ialu beat the ground in his mindless rage. "This one will require much healing." The outsider said boredly. He pulled a wad of bloodied sponge from his robes and tossed it into the inferno, where it immediately burst and evaporated, the bloody fumes mixing with Ialu's aura of rage.

Over the course of the next hour, the maelstrom of fire subsided, its living core hastily regenerated, and the Sanguine Communion, whose dead from the fight could be counted on a single hand, took all of the wounded into their care. With Ialu and his close friend Ryak disabled, the remainder of the hordes could only follow the cabal of strangers, trusting in their pledge to bring their human god back to health. But they would not restore the god-king exactly. This time, Invidia thought, there would be no might-obsessed, rage-filled Ialu, at least not all the time. The perfect being, Invidia could hypothesize, would represent a balance of emotion and logic, human and outsider, heart and mind, intense yet intelligent.

Mirtagn Teaches The Ways Of Steel
Mirtagn was an all around scholar, not just a mystical conjurer who spent his time learning magic and lore. He noticed the Brights had access to barely steel quality of iron, bronze, wood, hay and stone, and sure, they were powerful for mere Humans, but although life was prosperous for a community such as theirs, they were still little more than bare bones communities with one settlement of a few thousand and the rest of the people spread in and nearby the Brightwoods. These people celebrated with each other and had abundant harvest seasons. They were one of the few people who could boast of being both fat AND strong at once, for life was not easy, but it was a piece of cake compared to other societies. Mirtagn decided that the metallurgy of people around the whole world was very lack luster, and that the Brightwood could certainly use his knowledge and innovation for protection against enemies.

Mirtagn brought with him a library, made himself a house, which is really a Palace just between the Serpent Men's land and the Brightwoods, and invited the wisest elders of the Brightwoods into the Palace, and taught them the chemical processes of high quality steel, but most importantly, the Steel known as "Mithril" Steel, far superior to any steel, this sort of steel could be made so sharp, durable and mighty that a full motion swing through castle walls would slash straight through, and a few motions of the sword could easily make a door way into a stone fortress. The armor could even with stand blows and sharp slashing and piercing weapons made from dragon bones, and later, even as crossbow bolts would be invented, it would take many hundreds of years to damage any armor made by Mithril Steel. Even master pieces made in the Era of firearms would have difficulty piercing through Mithril Steel made armors. Mirtagn also could tell the people lacked in the ways of preserving their abundant food stores.

Irastakh, however, would not wait so long. The Crystal Sage expanded his Palace into a much larger Archive, and City. In the normal language of the people Irastakh, was called "Archive City", for simplicity's sake. Archive City was one massive library, so huge that it contained all the known languages, knowledge, magic, mystical methods and scholarly examination in the world. Knowledge on traditions, customs, and normal science and all things already known, and a great many things people don't know about yet also remain standing as a place of learning. The Librarians there, Serpent Men, Crystal Dragons and Brightwoodlanders guarded the Archive as a treasure trove, and that's exactly what the Archive is.

All knowledge is held here, but Mirtagn, Sauranath or others would need to expend their powers in order to make the letters in what is now incomprehensible gibberish legible. However, what was already now to give is perfectly preserved in abundant quality to be done.



Sauranath:
Sauranath looked down from the stars, and looked around the sky, noticing the eggs, and the other Stars made by the others. He laughed with a deep bellowing laughter, a laughter which may have caused the Eggs yet to hatch to feel giddy with a baby's laughter, trying to be like their father. The Arch Dragon Lord looked around himself once more. . . He was pleased with his work. The Dragonkindred would remain the most powerful kindred of their world for a very long time, possibly forever, since they grew in power with age.

The ancient dragon mused on this, but his work in other areas than the Dragon Kindred only existed in the creation of the Bright Woodsman and the Serpent Men. He thought for a moment. Sauranath smiled on the existence of the night skies. The day was so much more alive, the night had it's own power over the souls of mortals. Sauranath had made the first stars, and much of his power revolved around the existence of the most ancient stars, pre-existent. If only he could see the stars of the next age, or the age which came before, or somehow both.

Sauranath inhaled. . . the lives of all his children flashed instantly before him. . . the spirits and souls of all that he ever created, Dragons, Serpent Men, or Humans included, touched him into his inner core, where he could not resist the love of making them all. He looked around the world's children. They were all precious and great. He was not a god of love or family, but he could see that it was his duty to be an agent of holiness and goodness towards the people of Galbar, or Orabil, as dragons called it. Sauranath deeply breathed in, letting out all his power and arcane strength seem to flash across the world like a soundless lightning bolt. The Star Eggs were far brighter, perhaps negating the need for Orabil the World Tree, perhaps not, but Sauranath wasn't going to destroy it again.

Sauranath looked towards the world, "The world is bestowed upon by benevolence. See the world as having gained my favor". The Arch Dragon Lord looked across the small number of people. "The World has seen too much war, like a babe who has learned how to walk being given a dagger and sent off to war. The People of Galbar are bestowed upon a great and Mighty Day, once a year, to enjoy upon my behalf. Behold, in the center of the year, all folk everywhere shall enjoy a portion of my very spirit. The time shall begin now, there shall be two of these special days this year, and all shall see their unique gifts of honor flourish within themselves".

Vestec reached out to touch Astarte's mind, picking up a soul and examining it as he corrupted and tossed it back in to the Home. Have you ever wanted to enter Escre's Astral Home, maybe find a few more Souls for your crown? I happen to have gained control of it, if you'd like to visit. Besides, who knows what fun we can have being at the center of where all mortal souls are sent and reborn? He was unable to hide his pleasure at the thought of meeting her again, and found that he did not care if she knew.

Within a blink of an eye, Astarte found herself within the Astral Home. She hadn't even finished fully processing Vestec's words when she spoke, "You've actually taken the Astral Home for yourself?! I thought that was just Escre being whiny, but wow!" Astarte giggled as she touched and smelled everything there was to touch and smell within the place. Everything smelled off and otherwordly.

"Guess the reason Escre's such a bore is living in such a strangely smelling place for so long..."

And then she finally processed Vestec's words.

"Oh, me? Put more souls in my crown?" She shrugged, "I'm not interested in already dead souls, I believe those should be left to rest." For a moment, she stared at a passing soul, expression vacant, and then she snapped back to reality and flew over to Vestec. She poked his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you have in mind for fun? Preferably something that doesn't warrant the attention of other Gods, I expect. They're boring. Except Ferghus. And Undasis, maybe."

Vestec's colors stopped and turned pink once more as Astarte arrived, as was apparently destined to become his unconscious habit. He chuckled as she practically flew about the place. He shrugged as she stared at a dead soul. "Your choice." He tilted his head as she asked what he had in mind, thinking. "I would say go interfere with a battle, but it's already over with. We could find more mortals to have fun with. They've spread so much across Galbar I doubt any god will notice if we take a handful. We could even take them back here so that if they expire their souls don't have too far to travel. What do you say?"

"Hmm... Sounds like a plan. I recently spoke to your daughter, by the way." Astarte said, a bit of annoyance present in her voice, "She's polite."

"I would imagine so. She doesn't want to irritate the only non-boring God in all of existence, does she? Did you go to her or did she go to you? If it's the latter, what'd she ask you for?" Vestec asked, not reacting to the annoyance in Astarte's voice.

"She came to me," Astarte studied Vestec's shifting shades of pink, "and asked me for a dragon. I offered her one of Tesvec's eggs."

If Vestec had had an eyebrow, he would have raised it. As it was, he simply paused and took a moment to process the name. He laughed, a happy rather than mocking sound. "I'm flattered. Should I be warning the North not to shoot a dragon with my daughter on it's back?"

Astarte stood confused for a second, until she realized the reason of his laughter, the Dragon's name. She blushed and smiled sheepishly in response to Vestec's laughter. Her hair also prickled slightly, giving off an unintentionally dangerous aura. "Maybe, she did not seem entirely sold onto the idea."

"..."

Astarte whined as her blush intensified, and she forcefully whipped Vestec around and grabbed him to keep him from turning. "Don't look at me while I'm embarrassed--!"

Vestec smothered his chuckling as she blushed, letting himself be whipped around. "As you command." He replied, laughing lightly. "As for Roxan, it'll be her choice and her loss if she doesn't take my, I'm sorry Tesvec's eggs. Dragons are fun to have on your side if you're a mortal, I've noticed."

Astarte huffed at the mocking of her dragon's name and tightened her grip. After a few moments, when she put her face under control, she released him and crossed her arms. "They must be. Humans are very weak compared to Dragons. One can only imagine how exciting it must be to have something stronger than you bend to your every wish." Even in the midst of her embarrassment-induced apathy, Astarte couldn't help the glint that came to her eyes upon speaking the last sentence.

Vestec turned around, tilting his head in curiosity before shaking it slighty in disbelief. Regardless, he continued. "As for the mortals, shall we just grab a mixed handful or would you prefer a specific race?"

"Anything but dragons is game." Astarte nodded, "I already had enough fun with Tes, dragons are not in my scope anymore." She relaxed her stance and brought herself to look at Vestec again.

"Do you have any preference, Ves?"

"Humans are delightfully malleable. Every other race has a mindset or skillset that they must overcome to do certain things. Humans, humans can do anything and learn anything with the right nudges and blessings. Of course, when you start having fun with them all sentient races are the same insane in the end." He held out his hand. "Shall we go collecting?"

She put her hand on his and nodded. "Yep. I know of one human mortal who might be of interest to us. He's old, and I'm sure close to his death, so we'd be doing him a favor if we visited him. I'll save that for last, though. You start."

Vestec chuckled, and in a flash they were off. He didn't pick the mortals in any order, just grabbed them as he found them. A couple Cimex, a few Uri, a handful of humans. Soon they had a small group, large enough to have some fun for at least a while(or so Vestec deemed). Quickly they were back in the Astral Home, dropping the mortals off with them. "Shall we go get your human now, or after we've had our fun with these mortals?"

Astarte's gaze floated over to one of the humans. a teenager, from what she could see. His mind was weak, and his body showed it. Unconsciously, he was broadcasting his weakness and frailty for everyone to see. The human beside him appeared to be his father, since he was standing tall and wide with his chin up. His facial expression betrayed him, of course. Fear dripped from him too.

Astarte breathed deeply -- taking in the scent of living beings and fear -- and smiled warmly at them, before turning toward Vestec. "First one's yours. I wanna watch you in your element." She winked.

Vestec bowed. "Your wish is my command." He moved to one of the Cimex gently placing a hand on the insect's head. "As I'm sure you've noticed, mortal minds are remarkably easy to interfere with, no matter who creates them. One little push can convince them that they're in agony," The cimex began to scream, writhing as it felt agonizing pain flare across its body. "push them into terror," Suddenly the Cimex curled into a ball, making chittering sounds of terror. "send them flying into a rage," The insect leapt to it's feet and rushed to the nearest human, mauling into a gore pile with a fury filled ease. "or even kill them." The Cimex fell over, a lifeless husk.

Astarte clapped in entertainment, a lazy grin on her face.

"That's not even considering what they'll do for their own. Especially their children." Vestec turned his gaze to the father, before easily selecting another human female nearby with an even smaller child. "You and you." He pointed the two of them out. "Fight to the death. Winner gets to leave with their child. Loser obviously dies, their child following them."

The woman spat on the ground. "I wo-" Vestec lazily gestured. Her child screamed in agony, and soon the woman was on her knees trying to get the pain to stop. "Okay! Okay you son of a bitch!" Vestec let it continue for a moment longer, then stopped the pain. "A simple reminder." He said mildly, conjuring two blades for the combatants. "You may begin."

They were both truly terrible fighters, holding the blades inexpertly and cautiously. By the time they actually clashed blades, they had both nearly tripped over their own feet and impaled themselves.

"Woo!" Astarte yelled.

In an attempt to keep the fight going for as long as possible, Vestec helped one or the other deflect a strike that turned a killing blow into a wounding one.

"So, which one do you think will win? The father's protectiveness or the mother's wrath?"

"Huh, I genuinely have no idea." Astarte responded, "The Father's somewhat cute, so I'll root for him. Then again, the Mother is fierce--" She shivered in delight, "I like fierce."

Vestec chuckled. "So I've noticed." The fight was almost over. Both of them were flagging from blood loss and exhaustion. With a last burst of energy the mother managed to bat the other's sword away and impale him through the chest.

Vestec looked at Astarte, his shades of pink on his face moving into a vague impression of a grin. "Looks like ferocity wins." True to his word, the mother and the child both disappeared to where Vestec had found them. The mother was still terribly injured and bleeding from her wounds, of course. Vestec hadn't promised to heal them after the fight.

The remaining child was wailing and crying and Vestec gestured to him. "I leave his fate to you."

Astarte raised an eyebrow upon hearing Vestec. Leave his fate to me? She thought. She straightened herself and moved over to the boy's side. He was crying, sobbing and hunched over his father's body. When Astarte put her hand on the back of his head, grabbed him by the hairs and pulled him up to look at her, his face was half covered in blood and half covered in tears and snot.

"Silence."

The kid did not obey.

"Silence, or you'll go mute."

The kid did not obey.

And then he coughed, and coughed, and coughed. At a moment, he choked on his spit, and then he spat out blood. Then no more wailing came out of him. Only pitiful little sobbing as he held his throat and looked at his dead father.

"Told you. I don't lie." Astarte said, "And please, by all things fun, stop looking at that corpse. The longer you look at it the more traumatized and useless you'll be later in life. Move on." She let go of him, and he quickly went back to holding his father.

"Pathetic," Astarte snarled at him and turned toward Vestec, "Return him to where we took him from. This little mute does not deserve to be in our presence any longer."

Vestec lazily waved a hand and the child disappeared, leaving only a sad corpse behind. "Maybe he'll get a startling desire for vengeance and do everything in his power to oppose us and avenge his father's death. He'll become a great hero, and then I'll corrupt him to be the opposite of everything he stood for. It'll be fun to watch him become exactly what he hated. However, I believe it is more likely he'll become a sniveling wreck. A mute, sniveling wreck. Such is life, full of disappointments like him."

"If he does become a great hero, don't corrupt him. The world needs some strong-willed individuals to keep it a fun place. After a while, it becomes way too easy to break things." Astarte said non chalantly.

Vestec nodded."This is true." He looked at the remaining mortals, cowering from them. "Now. What should we do with you?"

"I say whoever manages to entertain us without our interference, earns a free passage back to their lives."

"You heard her." Vestec said to the remaining mortals, five all together(A Cimex, two Uri, and two humans). "If you can entertain us without our interference, we shall let you live. If we have to entertain ourselves using you...who knows what might happen?"

There was a long few moments of silence as each of the mortals looked at each other. Just as a human cleared her throat, presumably to speak or sing, the Cimex acted. With a scream of fury, it fell upon the two Uri, blades whirling and dicing. The two of them went down in a shower of blood and gore. The humans backpedaled away from the monster, one tripping on a rock. In an instant, the insect was tearing her apart as well, and too the sound of her screams the remaining human grabbed the blade left next to the Father's corpse. He held the blade straight out in front of him as the insect leapt, his scream of terror matching it's scream of rage. The insect impaled itself, but it didn't die quickly. Using it's last moments, it savaged the human who had killed it.

"Well then. That was certainly exciting, even if it left us with no one to get a free passage back."

Astarte sighed, "I really wanted to hear them sing or see them dance. Damned insect." She shrugged, "Guess the Cimex are as violent as some of Garakai's humans, huh?"

Vestec shrugged. "All humans can be violent. It just so happens Garakai creates some of those who are best at it. Take that giant of a man Cassios. He's brutal, murderous, and vicious with his axe. Few men can stand against him, and he's from Garakai. It may not be the home of the very best warriors in the land, but it is the home of the best soldiers in the land. Regardless, enough about my little empire of Chaos in the north. You said you had someone we needed to visit? An old man?"

She perked up and nodded, "Yup! You'll be surprised by him--He's certainly different from most old men." She said, taking Vestec's hand.

And then they were within a wooden hut.

----------------------------------

It was a humble home, with some bedding near a corner, a table, two chairs and some dishes and utilities on a shelf. There were no windows, and the entrance was an empty doorframe covered by cloth.

Astarte let go of Vestec and set up two cups. When she snapped her fingers, the cups were filled to the brim with a crimson liquid. Astarte was quick to grab a cup and take a sip, cooing in delight after she'd savored the liquid. Then she offered her cup to Vestec.

"Try it, it's quite splendid, darling." She said in a mock posh tone.

Vestec looked around interestedly, his pink colors illuminating the hut. Quickly however his interest faded at how spare it was, returning his gaze to Astarte. At her command, his mask quickly changed into a human face, taking the cup and sipping, giving a grin to Astarte his tone matching hers. "I must say, my dear, this is the best drink I've ever had!"

Astarte smiled at him, took the cup and placed it on the table again. Just before a man, an old man, looking to be in his sixties, stepped in. He saw the two Deities and for a second, stood still. Then he went on to grab a book off one of the shelves and started to walk out again.

Astarte stomped on the ground like a little girl and pouted, "Human! I trained you not to ignore your betters."

"You certainly did, Miss Astarte, and you failed." The man replied, his back to Astarte. A moment later, he turned and showed Astarte his grin. "I'm joking, of course."

"Good, now, I've brought Vestec, God of Chaos, here. Why? I forgot, but I expect you to impress him. You're my favorite pe--Friend, after all."

"Certainly." The man said, and turned around once more, heading for the exit. He left the hut, and a moment later, he popped back in, exasperated expression on his face. "Vestec, follow me." He commanded in a gentle manner, and threw a look at Astarte that made her huff and sit down cross legged on the floor.

"So? Go go, Ves, don't keep him waiting, he's scary if you make him wait."

Vestec watched the exchange with an amused smile. He would have thought that Astarte would have smited anyone for toying with her. As the old man popped his head back in Vestec grinned, glancing at Astarte. "On my way. One question though. Corruption, or no corruption?" He headed towards the door, still looking towards the Goddess of Summoning for an answer.

"Absolutely no corruption." She replied as Vestec exited the room and she was left behind. The man led Vestec out of the hut and down a dirt road that went through the forest. During their walk, he spoke.

"My name is Kuro. I assume Miss Astarte brought you here because she wanted to brag. See, she thinks I'm her property. Seems like she believes I'm worthy of godly attention. I'm merely an old man, Mr. Vestec."

In the distance, maybe a hundred metres away, the dirt road showed a village. It was as humble as the old man's hut.

"Vestec is just fine. She seems to think everything is her property. You may be just an old man, but she seems to find you sufficiently interesting to be a favourite of hers. " Vestec noted, his mask returning along with his normal colors as they left astarte behind.

"Why, I wonder? She gets bored easily, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"She bores easily? Why, my experience has been the opposite. She's been a lovely girl, I assure you." Kuro smiled.

They walked the rest of the road in silence. Eventually, they reached the village. Most people were working in one thing or the other, and kids instinctually knew to steer away from Vestec. Though they were curious as to what Kuro was doing with the strange being.

They passed by the Chief's hut and entered an equally big one. Inside, the floor was polished wood and there were various sets of equipment. Only one other person was in the hut at the moment, and she was sitting down cross legged in the middle of it. Eyes closed and in full meditation.

"See, Vestec, this is one of the things Astarte finds interesting. The Trut, short for Training Hut. I train the young and the dedicated how to defend themselves with their own bodies and how to lead good lives despite the world's worst intentions."

"She is very lovely. But yes, I am curious to what you have done to keep her interest this long."

Vestec looked about interestedly, giggling slightly as kids went out of their way to avoid him. It was nice to know that they avoided him because of what he was, not for anything that he had done..yet.

Walking into the Trut, Vestec brought his attention back to Kuro. "With their own bodies? I assume that means no weapons. Forgive me, but I have yet to see anyone but the Sanguine Communion successfully do that, and even they create weapons from their own body."

"Oh, you'd be surprised what quick reflexes and a solid dominion over the Way of Wi can bring you. We may not use weapons, at least not normally, but we do use Wi extensively." Kuro said as he grabbed a nearby bandage and threw it at the woman meditating. Without opening her eyes, she grabbed it and began bandaging her knee.

"Thank you, Master." She said.

"Years of teaching have sharpened my eyes to the pains of my students, Kari. Even stoics like you." Kuro then turned back toward Vestec, "Would you like to try your hand at a friendly spar session with my student, Vestec? Surely, you must allow yourself to be as vulnerable as us."

"And those godly reflexes and magic are a no-go either." Kari, the student, intervened with a chuckle as she stood up.

"Aww, and here I was hoping I could just stand here and shift just enough for you to miss." Veste said, visibly dimming as he made the necessary adjustments. He walked in front of Kari, returning her bow.

He waited for Kari to make the first move.

Kari was patient. She got into position, her left foot forward and all of her weight on it. A wider stance, closer to the ground was all she needed to be in perfect balance, and her gaze was fixed on Vestec's upper chest.

She looked at his face. Then she threw a punch to his stomach. "Hia!" She shouted. Vestec tried to block her punch, but on the wrong spot. He had tried to protect his face, misguided by Kari's glance.

He was sent backward and put off balance by the attack. Kari chased after him. When in range, she threw a sideways kick toward his stomach once more.

Vestec, his speed only like that of a normal human, couldn't get his hands up to block the unnatural Wi enhanced (or so Vestec assumed) speed. A grunt was drawn for the God of Chaos as he tumbled backwards, scrambling to his feet. He turned a blood red color, and gave off the distinct impression if he had had a face he would have been grinning.

He pushed the offensive, keeping in with a normal human's speed and strength, jabbing at the woman's face.

Kari kept calm. Vestec's attacks were predictable, such as those an untrained human would perform. She deflected the jab at her face with her right arm in an upward strike. As the fist flew over her head, she threw her own left fist toward Vestec's vulnerable ribs.

Crack Vestec's decidely human rib broke under the blow. From there it was an even more one sided fight. Try as he might, with only human reflexes Vestec couldn't block the strikes, kicks, or knees. Bones broke and Vestec's mask even cracked. It didn't take long for Kari to win the fight, knocking the God of Chaos to the ground.

As the fight cancelled, Vestec picked himself up, returning his body to it's godly state. The crack was healed, along with all his broken bones.

"That was impressive. I can see why Astarte is so interested in you. Though what I'm curious to know is why she hasn't made you her hero and immortal already." Vestec said, already thinking how to use this power to help his followers.

"Miss Astarte, she..." Kuro began, he walked over to Kari and checked her wrists and ankles, "she hasn't mentioned any of that. One can only guess." He then slapped Kari's right wrist, and she winced.

"Yeah yeah, bad form Master, I know." She said with a roll of her eyes. Bad form led her to hurt her wrist.

"The Trut is open to anyone who might be looking to live like us and learn what we know. Many don't adhere to our philosophy, though."

"So I imagine. The world is filled with violent people, Kuro." He watched the old man interact with his student a few seconds more, and then spoke again. "Tell me, what would you do with immortality?"

"Live." Kuro shrugged, "Now Vestec, if you'll excuse me I have to prepare the Trut for my next class. Do you mind finding your own way back to Astarte without me?"

Vestec stretched a hand out, and pressed a finger against Kuro's forehead. After a moment, his hand returned to his side. "Have fun with it. I don't mind at all, it'll be interesting to see how many avoid me again." With that, he strode out of the Trut.

It didn't take long for him to reach Astarte again. "Truly, I am impressed. Did you teach him that, or did he discover it on his own?"

"I've taught him nothing, really. All he knows, he knows because of his own efforts. Now-" Astarte took a deep breath and stood up. She walked over to Vestec, and slapped his face, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Vestec?! Giving immortality to my pet without my permission! Who knows what that's going to do to him!" She groaned and turned away for the God.

"Intere-" Vestec's mask turned to the side, turned with the force of Astarte's blow. For a long moment he was quiet. "I was keeping your favorite pet alive. He doesn't have much life left in him. You and I both saw that. He won't be changed. In fact, I believe he'll use this newfound power to fix the world's problems. He'll still be the same. I was trying to help."

Astarte huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fix the world's problems? I don't think he's even interested in that," She said as she stiffened her back, "but anyway, it doesn't matter, I suppose. God of Chaos and all is supposed to change stuff. You've even changed me."

"Oh, I suspect the world's problems will force him to try and fix them. Ialu isn't going to leave someone with his power be. The Sanguine Communion certainly will take note." He took a hesitant step towards Astarte. "Not too much. I just...freed you from certain restrictions. If you don't like it that much I'll take it back, and turn him into a regular human again."

Astarte kept silent. She shifted her body's weight to her right foot and flipped her hair. Finally, she spoke, "No, leave him as he is. He might just cope well with it." She sighed, still not facing Vestec.

"I'm sorry for not asking permission, Astarte. It's not something I'm familiar with, as I'm sure you've noticed." If Vestec had had a mouth, there would have been a self deprecating smile, as it was, his pink colors simply returned. "I didn't mean to offend you. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

"Well, there is one thing." Astarte relaxed a bit, "I've seen lots and lots of humans do it when they're with others of a different gender. I think they call it a date. Or meeting, I have no idea. It seems fun." She turned around to face him.

"Either way, I'll let you know when to meet. You'll have to wear something better, as will I. I got a few ideas you'll like." She smiled.

Vestec bowed. "It's a date then. I look forward to your summons." His head tilted as Escre spoke in his mind. Immediately the Chaos God's senses went to the Astral Home, only to find it being cleansed by a power he didn't even bother trying to stop. "Well, that'd be no fun. It seems my little claiming of the Astral Home has set every living being on course to be corrupted. What's more, Escre seems to have gotten help from our creators to purify it. Tsk. All he had to do was tell me I'd be making things boring."

Vestec held out a hand again. "I need to go back and collect some things before I fully leave. Would you like to come along?"

"I'd like to, but I can't. I have to go meet with a human on the other side of Arguila." She said, and with a small whirlwind of air, which knocked some books off the shelves and broke some dishes and cups, Astarte disappeared.

"As you wish." Vestec said to the empty troom before disappearing himself. He reappeared in the Astral Home, glancing distastefully at the purging light. His own colors returning to their chaotic state he spoke to the purging light. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Calm down. I just need to grab some things that belong to me." He reached into the never ending pool of souls and pulled out the entirety of the Dyun race, those Anju that had died, Vowzra's Victors, and a few thousand more souls. Using his inherent godly powers, he dumped all of them but the Victors in his personal plane, blessing(also with his inherent godly powers) them to return there upon death.

He cut half of the Visceral Seeps from the lifeblood the planet, saving them from the purging light, using is inherent godly powers to make them self refreshing. "What else...oh yes!" With a snap of his fingers, Vestec removed his corruption from the remaining half of the Visceral Seeps(the other half remaining firmly corrupted.) and the Astral Home. "There. Happy now?" With that, he disappeared from Escre's inner sanctum. He left his defenses up, of course. Escre had only told him to leave, not to let it be able to entered by others(except Astarte, Undasis and himself of course).

Days later..

He appeared next to Thulemiz, tsking. "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 there souls. See you at Garakai!" Leaving the Souls of Vowzra's Victors in a small ball in Thulemiz's hands, the God of Chaos disappeared.

Aztoc, standing on the walls and looking down on the earth that was suddenly very far away, jumped at Vestec's voice. "My, my. Your castle of sand is crumbling beneath you Aztoc. Well, it will be when Ialu arrives." The current lord of Garakai turned to face Vestec's avatar. "He's coming with Mirtagn, Sauranath's hero, Invidia, Escre's hero, a hoa, Escre's hero, an army, and the Sanguine Communion. You know, those nasty fellows who have a habit of not healing themselves and turning into monsters. Oh! And possibly Sauranath's avatar."

As Aztoc visibly paled, Vestec's avatar giggled. "Buuuut, let it never be said I didn't help out my followers when they asked for it." With a snap of it's fingers a small army populated Garakai's courtyard. "You have five hundred corrupted Cimex," The Cimex in question were covered in a pure black chitin and had glowing red eyes. "I don't know why, but they thought that was the appropriate color scheme to take." Vestec's avatar commented, before getting back on track.

"Five hundred Barbed Uri, as they call themselves." The Uri were more colorful than the Cimex, but each was covered in a thick layer of thorns and barbs. "You have 50 Legionaires of the Iron Legion, as they call themselves. Corrupted Sanguine Commuinon, if you want to get technical, but they don't need life blood crushes. They're essentially ograns surrounded by a living armor they can mold to their will. You have most of their strength."

The other twenty are trying to make more of themselves. The Visceral Seeps under my control tend to kill more than they adapt, I'm afraid. And it's kind of eating away at their remaining bodies. In another ten years, five if they use their bodies a lot, they'll just be metal statues. On the other hand, they don't need to crush life blood against themselves, and are even harder to kill than the Communion."

"You have twenty Anju too. They won't be much help in the actual fight, but they'll be scattered amongst Ialu's armies, causing discord and the deaths of key people." The creatures were already shape shifting into various flying animals, and heading into the sky towards the approaching Ialu. "Hmm, I think that's about it...oh! And two hundred Chaos Dragons. I'll even get involved myself if Sauranath meddles again." Vestec' Avatar smirked. "Think you make a defense with all that and your secret magic?"

Aztoc fell to one knee. "Yes, God of Chaos. I do believe I can." He couldn't keep the glee from his voice. Glee that quickly fled at Vestec's Avatar's reminder and warning. "Don't forget to kneel to Thulemiz like you promised. Also, don't rely on any one thing too much. Ferghus wanted me to pay him for the two Arma Igna I corruputed, and I believe my time is up. Not that I was going to pay him anyways. What ever happened to those two anyways?"

Aztoc thought for a moment. "The Twins went with the Garakain's heading to the Barbed Uri." Vestec's Avatar nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Filling up a library ten times larger than any mortal could build is a chore even for a god. Arguis sighed, pausing from his current speech about the Secrets of Wi and it's different denominations. A fascinating thing really, he would have to experiment with it sometime. The Toren, who patiently waited for Arguis, placed their writing utensils down, and began to talk amongst themselves.

Arguis' mind began to wander, deciding to take a break from the writing. As he mind wandered, he began to hear the prayers of mortals, although most of them did not interest Arguis, one stood out amongst them all.

"Gods of Galbar, I will not lie to you. I am a evil man, by anyone's idea of 'evil'. I have lied, stolen, murdered, enslaved, conquered, and betrayed. All in the name of power. And I regret nothing. I do not throw myself at your mercy, do not pray and beg, to have my life spared. My choices have brought me to this situation, and I will accept my fate. I pray to you to give me the power to fight my enemies. To leave my mark on them before I die. To let the future know that the last true Lord of Garakai did not go quietly into the night. That I did not die cowering behind my walls. That I fought with my dying breath and my enemies knew fear. I will pay any price demanded from me. Just give me this one chance to make Garakai's memory be that of an Empire and not of a hovel."

Arguis no doubt was impressed by the 'evil mans' truthfulness and frankness, but he was much more interested in the fact that he was willing to pay any price. "Aztoc huh." He mumbled to himself despondently and he stood up and began to pace, his excitement for the situation growing. The Toren watched Arguis quietly, no expression shown on their face, it could have been described as a deadpan expression.

"Take a break, I will return soon." Arguis proclaimed to the Toren before dissaperaed in a flash and teleporting to the wall that Aztoc stood upon, actually not to long after Vestec's appearance. Arguis looked over the wall at the ground below, nodding in approval at the Vowzra's handy work.

"Seems that you've been visited by many gods. Arguis said glancing around at Aztoc's Realm, frowning at the corrupted Cimex and and Uri in his Armies. "Im going to have to ask Vestec to stop messing with the Uri, their population is to low already, having 500 of them disappear is not doing them any good. Arguis said exasperatedly.

"Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about my dissatisfaction towards the soldiers in you army. Arguis summoning a large leather-bound book, it was surprisingly light for how large it was. The cover of the book read Morello-Nomicon, the book itself producing an aura that chilled the very soul of those standing around it. It was a book of Arguis' imagination, drawings of monsters that could be called demons, hundreds of ferocious monsters ready to do their masters bidding. The book was about 300 pages long, 250 pages of the book were the same picture, it featured Drakon, humanoid Lizards armed with Halberds and Axes. Their scales just a tiny bit stronger that of dragons, their blades capable of damaging dragon scale armor, they wield advanced fire magic, capable of utilizing Blue Fire, which is much hotter than the normal red. Along with this addition to his army, Arguis provided him to Wraiths, phantom like beings that can possess other sentient beings, Aztoc had a total of 20 under his control. That meant that 270 pages of the book were just powerful summonable additions to his army. The other 20 pages were incantations, capable of summoning natural disasters, and controlling it, although that would prove very difficult to do, and cam be very draining. The last of the book blessings, are it's unnatural ability to significantly boost Aztoc's Unusual power of Dimok, pushing it beyond its original limits as long as the book is in his hands.

The second the Morello-Nomicon touches his hands, all this information would be thrust into his head. Arguis kept the book away from his grasp, smiling and pacing around the man. "As does everything, this power comes with wires attached, a catch, a price. It's simple, something within you power to do. Arguis said, shrugging nonchalantly as he paced around him. "Everything in Garakai, every soul within the country, and everything on the land itself and the land, will now become the property of King Dusis II and me. That includes you." Arguis said pointing at Aztoc. "After the battle, weather you, or your enemies win, this place with belong to the Uri and me, and worry not, what Thulemiz asks for, it will be given. All you must do is sign this." Arguis said, summoning another book an opening to the first page. The book floated in front of Aztoc and pencil appeared next to it. "When you sign this book, everything, and eveyone in Garakai will belong to me." And with that Arguis dissaperaed, the floating book would follow Aztoc until he sighed his name, the second he did that, everything and everyone's names will be written in the book, their souls bound to the book, and it would automatically travel to Arguis, and Morello-Nomicon would then appear in Aztoc's hands.

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.

'Thine Brothers have been returned to thee, Victors,' 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.
'Then let us be go-' 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.
'And who may ye be? Thine aura is most familiar indeed. It is almost identical to that of...' he paused for a few seconds before stating the name, 'Cassios.'

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.

'Do not grovel,' he said to the king of Garakai, '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...' he glanced at Vestec momentarily, 'equals here, after all.'

He did not stop there though.

'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,' he turned away from Aztoc and faced Vestec, '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,' 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 too 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.

'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,' he signalled for the king to follow him and floated away from the others, '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,' 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.

'Where dost thou keep the dead?' 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.

'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,' he turned to Aztoc, '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,' 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."

Ialu... Vestec's croon echoed in the demigod's mind. Ialu...are we awake now? My, my. It seems like Thulemiz did quite the damage to you while winning that battle. Tell, me you do realize you're being manipulated, correct? You are aware of what you're being used for, right?

As Ialu was weakly being dragged away by the monks of the Sanguine Communion, he was only too lucid to brood about his near victory and feel the crippling pain. His outer body was certainly not pretty yet it had been mostly repaired, yet his more delicate innards were damaged. Had he been a mortal that still relied upon such organs, he would surely be dead by now.

When the voices began echoing in his mind he had to question himself whether he was merely hallucinating, but soon enough he responded. What better things did he have to do while he was in such a pitiful state? Regardless, he wasn't about to plead, grovel, whine, or otherwise give the tormenting voice any satisfaction.

"Thulemiz did nothing. It was your Blade of Chaos that failed me and did this."

"Failed? The blade, scepter I should say, did exactly what you wanted it to do. You used it as a weapon to destroy an enemy, and it could only do one thing with Ferghus' curse. Explode. If it makes you feel any better that warlord, Kanros I think his name was, is in just a terrible state as you are. Regardless, that's not why I started talking to you. Manipulation. You recognize it when it's happening to you, correct?"

"The Life God's minions will help me kill the ones that I hate and that you allow, probably even order, to challenge me. I will play their game, they will aid me in forcing the rest of the world unto their knees, and then it will be only them and I that remain standing. What do you think I will do when that happens?" Ialu weakly laughed to himself at the thought, though it came out as more of a hoarse cough. A bit of blood dribbled down his face.

Vestec laughed. Not his usual giggle, an actual laugh. Malicious and mocking. I don't have favorites, Ialu. Aztoc leapt at an opportunity without my orders or nudging. Even I was surprised. Speaking of him, we both know what would have happened had you simply flown back to Garakai and confronted him. He would have either knelt and begged for forgiveness, upon which you would have killed him, or desperately tried to fight you, upon which you would have killed him.

"But now, now you've backed him into a corner. You've given him time, Ialu. He has prayed to all the Gods, offering whatever we desire in return for our aid. Most of us have answered his prayers. He is no longer a cornered rat. He is a lion, with claws and teeth and a willingness to fight. And who convinced you to merely march to Garakai rather than dealing with Aztoc yourself? Invidia. The monk. The outsider. What's more, you're letting him heal you. He is going to do more than heal you, I'm afraid.

Break down what you are, turn you into something more...obedient. How to put this in terms that won't enrage you as badly...you're going to become his little dog. 'Go Ialu, kill my enemies for me!' 'Heel Ialu, Aztoc can wait we need an army!' 'Remember Ialu, even though Vestec gave you his blood to give you your powers, he is your enemy!' Aztoc wasn't your enemy. He wasn't even a threat. It would have taken you a couple days to fly to him, and a few seconds to kill him. Perhaps you can resist what is coming, but I doubt it. Oh! Don't let yourself be inducted into the ranks of the Sanguine Communion. It would be...painful." Vestec giggled in sadistic anticipation.

Ialu looked over to the figure of Invidia, mere feet away. He briefly contemplated taking the monk by surprise right then and there and killing him. His body was in a horrific state yet his Wi was strong...given the element of surprise, he could do it. But he wouldn't; Vestec had spoken of manipulation in the very same breath that he attempted to manipulate.

"The scared little mice cower in the darkness of my deepest cellars and survive; the lions with claws and teeth have their pelts on my wall. If Aztoc truly is a lion now, then I will merely make his death all the more horrific for his defiance. Then all will see that pleading with the gods will spare them none of my wrath. The world and my reputation shall be better for it!"

Notably Ialu did not so much as address the talk of Invidia. The monk sang one song and Vestec sang another, while Ialu was quickly losing his trust in both. Was it not odd that the one claiming to be the Mighty One was worshiped by others as 'Vestec', and that he called Ialu by name rather than as 'son'? Bah, the warlord was in no mood for thinking, so he simply stared. He stared at Invidia with a piercing, unfaltering, perhaps even eery or threatening gaze. He was not so sure that Vestec's concerns about him being changed were true, yet he would be wary nonetheless.

As the Sanguine Communion hauled Ialu along, its leader was lost in thought. Invidia had thought that he and his soldiers were the deciding factor in the war. He had thought that whomever the chosen of Escre sided with would tip the scales in their favor. Looking at the situation now, it seemed that he couldn't have thought more wrongly.

Just as with most wars, as Invidia was beginning to realize, this one had no winner. He had known from the start that the entire conflict had been orchestrated by Vestec, a puppet show to entertain him with vainglorious mortals who each imagined themselves the masters of their fates. Now, with Thulemiz forever tainted, his blight strong enough to make even outsiders the most infallible of servants, and Ialu nearly obliterated, Invidia knew that his assumptions had been wrong. Even if his monks had made a difference, what then? Vestec would arrive and defile them as well. Maybe they already had. There was no destiny where opposing the devil would ever pay off. Wryly, Invidia marveled at the hidden wisdom of Escre: there was no winning, and the only way to avoid losing was to not take a side.

The outsider glanced at Ialu and found the wounded warlord staring at him with a surprising and ominous intensity. Invidia almost flinched; he knew that gods could read minds, but could demigods share the same trait? Could he know what Invidia was reluctantly planning? It made the outsider worry. In older times, there had been heroes, but now...from what Invidia's crimson eye had beheld in the last battle, Ialu, Thulemiz, and even Kanros and Mirtagn no longer stood at his level. Though he had been among the first, Invidia was now the weakest. Bitterly, Invidia applauded the fact that he hadn't fully developed a sense of pride. It would have been injured indeed to realize that despite his best efforts, he was most likely powerless to affect much of anything. Even his trump card, calling upon Escre, would not avail him with the Great Spirit otherwise engaged. What if his planned treatment failed? If Ialu didn't kill him immediately, which was certainly possible now that he himself had lifeblood, Invidia would become merely an accessory to the insatiable thirst for conquest within the warlord. The brute would never understand that Invidia's actions would be a service for him. Ignorance, Invidia supposed for Ialu, was bliss. "Halt."

The procession stopped. Invidia met Ialu's gaze. If the outsider had a face, it would have been mournful.

Ialu suddenly used his telepathy to communicate with the hero and make a strange and perhaps alarming inquiry, "Invidia, tell me more of Vestec. What game does he play?"

For a moment the outsider was startled, but he was willing to oblige. "Vestec has chosen the role of the devil. If something exists, he is compelled to exert his influence on it. Think of a child with a paintbrush, and a neverending supply of rancid, black paint. Now give that child the power to do anything, and the overwhelming urge to paint everything. Other High Ones create. He only contorts and destroys, and not in a petty manner. A bad god would kill a hero that opposes him. An evil god would egg that hero on, filling him with corruption and violence and hatred and desire, until he was everything that he originally opposed. And then he would giggle, like a pack of mad hyenas swilled with venom, and move on to the next victim. There are no friends, no sanctuaries, no orders, no countries, no planets, no gods, and no men for the Execrable One. There are only toys. The game he plays is the universe."

Vestec chuckled. How flattering. He's wrong though. Not everything in this universe is a mere toy to me. And I do create. He just wasn't alive for the Dyun. Nor has he met the Vork or the Bodi.

Ialu retorted mentally to Vestec, "Yes, your Dyun were truly a gift to the world. The only fond memories of them that I possess are of smashing their skulls in."

His stare towards Invidia at last relented, only to drift towards the Blade of Chaos. Or at least what remained of it, the handle of the broken scepter that remained in his hand. Violently and without warning, Ialu stabbed it into the ground. He then used it as a lever to rise to his feet unaided by the monks nearby. He looked towards Invidia with the same gaze as before, even more imposing when he stood taller than all around. "And what game do you play, Invidia? I know that you seek to do more than merely heal me.

Ialu conveyed only certainty in his telepathy, though inside he knew not whether Vestec had lied to him or not. He would act sure of his accusation though. If Invidia was innocent he would deny it vehemently, and if he were guilty, he would surely perceive some sort of stammering excuse as futile and admit only truth.

It seemed that Invidia's fears hadn't been speculation, but reality. Invidia resigned himself to coming clean with his plan. "You are correct. I had thought, if such a thing were possible, to try and bring you back better than before. There are some tasks that take a little more than rage and muscle, and I had hoped to share with you some of my insight and intelligence. I had also hoped to cull your undying thirst for conquest, or if I could not, make sure that when your conquest is complete that your rule would be a benevolent one. But I am observant, and I've seen that I am the least of the players in this game. I'm not even sure my plan would have worked."

No doubt Ialu's rage was mounting. Invidia did not care so much if Ialu killed him; his was an immortal soul, and the Astral Home would ensure his incarnation as per Escre's decree. The Liaison of the god of Life, after all, would not be tainted with the second-rate undeath haphazardly strewn together by Thulemiz. So Invidia continued. "I was created for the purpose of informing Escre of the goings-on in the world, but the world is more complicated than I imagined. And Escre has gone to find a solution to the problem of rampant gods, so I am alone. In my solitude I have labored for the only purpose I know: to make sure life goes on. I do not know yet if you are the man who will enslave the world, warlord Ialu, or the man who will unite the world. I wanted to try and push you toward the latter."

The monks around the two were silent, but clearly distressed. They knew that their leader had a bond with the god of Life, but this? They had not dreamed of it. And yet, they knew that they shared in Invidia's purpose. They too were guardians of life. But would Ialu see the same way?

Most times Ialu's eyes glowered with a fire that betrayed his intentions all too easily, but now they were the blue that he had once had before his ascension. They were like dirty slates of ice, concealing more than they showed. Perhaps a great rage was indeed creeping up and he was about to obliterate everyone within his sight, but at the same tme, he had a deathly calm about him. As he continued to stare in silence, his men began to file in. They outnumbered and surrounded the monks, unsure of what to make of their leader's silent stare. For now they remained unthreatening in posture and such.

After a long time seemingly deep in thought, Ialu replied at last, "Your deceit incenses me and harms your cause more than it helps. Yet Vestec is also deceitful in his dealing with me and I have begun to question whatever loyalty to him that I once held. He does not sound much like my Father, the Mighty One.

No doubt you will have heard of how I spat in the face of Ferghus himself. So why not Vestec as well? Invidia, know that I wield more than strength and hatred, yet know also the truth in your words. Such traits drown out my intelligence and cunning, debilitating me and ruining my potential. The chaos in my blood is what makes me wroth and instinctive. It is a strength but also a weakness. I will permit you to attempt to remove the chaos and turmoil within me and heal my wounds, but no more than that!"

Vestec giggled for a long time in Ialu's mind, absurdly amused by the turn of events. I suppose I couldn't keep the charade up much longer. No, I'm not your Mighty One. I am merely the God of Chaos, and what a fine chaos you have created my friend. The Chaos in your blood is your godly blood, I'm afraid. I will help Invidia though. When he removes the Chaos, it will willingly separate from my blood inside of you, leaving you a Demi-God...and perhaps more. I need someone to oppose this chaos now that you and Thulemiz are heading towards not fighting anymore, and Invidia simply isn't the leader of men I thought he'd be.

There was once a time when Ialu would have seethed with rage or even went into denial upon hearing Vestec admit his lies, but it was nothing that he hadn't expected. In any case, the demigod fellt only exhaustion and a grim determinatino to see Aztoc dead. He could only fantasize about taking his revenge one day, but that day would be many years to come.

Following his giving of what was surely a surprsing answer to Invidia, Ialu limped closer to Invidia and then struggled to sit back down upon the ground. From below he could look up to Invidia and perhaps begrudge the Liaison some respect. He was more powerful and more important than he gave himself credit for, but Ialu would voice no such thing. It was humiliating enough to require healing from the monk; he would not give the appearance of any further submission or groveling on his part.

For the first time in a while, the Liaison felt alright. Perhaps there was the ghost of a chance of things turning out alright after all. If Ialu was willing to be expunged of Vestec, then there was finally a side in this conflict that was 'good'. As the warlord seated himself, Invidia bowed. "That is more than enough. I will remove Vestec's touch from you, but I will not attempt to put Escre's in its place. You will be free to stand on your own. Until then, take this." Escre removed the handle of his axe from its place on his belt, and placed it before Ialu. "It is not befitting of a warrior to be dragged along the ground or leaning on another's shoulder. This is the Fulcrum. It is part of my war-axe, but before that, it was an item that I used to move when my body was wounded and ill thanks to one of Vestec's assassins. It represents the determination to keep moving when the body would rather be still." With the offering, the tension of the surroundings lessened somewhat. Invidia began to turn away, for the convoy that contained much of the group's supplies and equipment was hidden nearby, but thinking of something else, he had one more thing to say.

"In a short time, you will have the means, the mind -one free of chaotic influence- and the mission to potentially unite the world. If anything permits the ascension of a demigod to godhood, it would be such a thing. I wonder over what would you preside, Ialu...?"

Ialu responded to Invidia, "Does your eye not tell you all that you need to know, Outsider?" After that cryptic comment, the warlord couldn't help but laugh a bit. The agonizing chortle made him cough up blood, which soon fell to the ground and began to sizzle and writhe as if boiling. A foul black vapor wafted up from the stuff, a reminder that there was still all too much chaos within the demigod.

This proceeding was all very strange to the freshly arriving hunters. They could not hear their master's telepathy, but the one called Invidia had a voice that resonated clearly enough. He spoke of removing the touch of Vestec? This very confusing indeed to many of the hunters who revered the Mighty One and thought Vestec to be merely another name for that exalted being, but then again, in times more recent the tribe had noticeably shifted towards worship of Ialu as much if not moreso than the demigod's father. In the end, some were still uneasy, though they dared not speak out or challenge their leader. His policy of terror might not have held Invidia's deceit in check, but it seemed effective enough on most humans. Aztoc being the exception, of course, though he was more worm than human in the eyes of the warlord...

Ialu wordlessly released his hold on the broken scepter and accepted the Fulcrum. Using his Wi, he wreathed the broken Blade of Chaos in a great deal of magic. The air around the thing shimmered and then it was gone, teleported somewhere safe and far away from the warlord. In its current state it would do him no good and only debilitate his purging of the chaos within. Perhaps in time he would return for the artifact and reforge it into something that obeyed his will without attempting to poison his own mind, but until that time, it would remain far from the hands of him or any other. Many times the warlord had struggled to cease his usage of the Blade of Chaos albeit without ever succeeding for long. This time would be different, though.

Vestec spoke in both the hero's minds this time, amusement and anticipation practically radiating off of the mental voice. Do your work quickly, Invidia. Aztoc awaits. Also, if either of you can swallow your pride long enough, a prayer for my aid would be answered. I wouldn't just give you victory, of course. But perhaps I would bring Aztoc to the earth, or lessen the horde that stands between you and him, or maybe even give you an army of your own...Remember, I don't have favorites. With another giggle, the God of Chaos fell silent.

Soon after, the envoy arrived at the convoy, and the procedure began.

Eroneus the Birdbrother: 4 Might

A small tribe, the Aerodians, rest on a plateua that had been steeped into the side of a sheer, snowy mountain. They remained mostly untouched by the outside world, their isolation and the great wall that were the mountains barred warring invaders. They lived a peaceful existence, reaping a small amount of crops, ones that could survive the cold, while gathering frozen berries, and hunting snow foxes. It was a meager life style, one that could not afford many people, never allowing the tribe to grow. But these were humble people, and they were thankful for their circumstances. They had never been assimilated into another warring tribe and by an insane stroke of luck, they had been left mostly untouched by the gods. But all that was about to change.

A Snow Owl perched on a branch, hooting loudly. It's shrewd eyes watched the Aerodu tribe intently. With a loud hoot, the Owl fluttered off into the sky.

---

Eroneus golden wings flapped forcefully, kicking up dust particles as he lowered himself into the center of the Aerodian village. Gasps and mummurs rippled the crowd that had amassed like a stone dropped into a pond. The demigod's burning blue eyes surveyed his chosen people. Silence made it's way through the people, as they watched in awe. A man made his way through the crowd, the tribe leader, a man named Gorrum. He wore a grey headdress, fashioned from the feathers of local birds and snow owls. He carried a simple oak box, and he gingerly offered it to the Birdbrother, as a peace offering. "All the gems we've found over the years. Please, take these," offered Gorrum. Do not offer me your only mortal riches, I do not see it fit nor do I see it fair. Worry not my disciple, the Aerodian people are my chosen people. For I am Eroneus, the Birdbrother! Bow before me mortals, and reap my rewards," replied Eroneus, as the tribe bowed before him. He reached out to the bowed head of Gorrum, placing his forefinger atop the headdress. The grey colors of the feathers were now gone, suddenly turning flush pinks, greens, and other exotic colors. "I will be back in five days time. I hope for a shrine in this spot. Succeed, and I will bless this village for ultimate prosperity, fail, and I will damn it." And with that, he ascended to the skies once more.

Result: +1/2 Might per turn due to worship (?)

Ialu brooded a bit upon being offered Vestec's help and looked quizzically at Invidia, though the outsider's blank mask had nothing to offer. So the warlord weighed the merits of the offer to himself and allowed Invidia to silently go about with his healing. True to his word, Vestec helped to remove the chaos. After hearing the tales spun by Invidia it was tempting to suspect some sort of sabotage on Vestec's part, yet that never happened. It was yet another reminder to be wary of trusting anyone's words.

Ialu had always been volatile by nature and the chaos had only exacerbated what had always been, so by the end of the process he hardly felt different. His implacable and cold demeanor remained, yet deep down there was also a fiery anger that he knew could still be tapped. That primal rage would be more fleeting though; it would come when needed and be easily reined in when it wasn't. At all other times the warlord would remain icy and cunning; though Invidia wouldn't realize it, giving the demigod more control over his powers and thoughts might have been a terrible mistake.

After that was done and a time had passed, a great pounding of wings was heard and Mirtagn appered nearby shortly after. Being a crystal dragon of venerable age and equally great power, Mirtagn had been able to use his magic to look upon Garakai from afar. Disturbingly enough, the dragon was able to confirm what Vestec had already said: the Gods had indeed bestowed many gifts upon Aztoc to help assure his victory. It would seem that to those wretched creatures that claimed themselves divine, it had been more tempting to answer the prayer of one evil slaver of a traitor than those of countless thousands that had cried for mercy and an end to the eternal nights.

This all meant that an assault was essentially impossible. This didn't spare Aztoc though...it only meant that he would die to a knife in the dark rather than the blades of a hundred men charging into his hall. Ialu looked over his soldiers that were amassed around him. There seemed to be more than he remembered having, but perhaps it was just a fault of his memory. He banished that nagging thought and spoke aloud for the first time since the ambush, "It seems that Aztoc has made preparations and now has the advantage on us. But that is of no matter: we will merely infiltrate Garakai and kill him before his little horde of monsters can stop us. Of course, with stealth imperative we cannot number so many.

Ialu continued, addressing his hunters, [b][color=Gold]"Return to our lands and spread the word of the moving dead. Your aid thus far was appreciated, but it will not be necessary for what is to come."[color][/b] Without another word, the platoon of soldiers formed up and marched back to their home.

Invidia, having heard the news as well as Ialu's proclamation, had gone into meditation. He reached out for the ethereal tune of the Great Spirit, seeking not to converse or beg a favor, but to share knowledge. From the outsider's inception, he and his creator had been a team, one relaying information. power, and more to the other. Invidia gave no second thought to requesting aid from Vestec. The most irritating thing about the devil was that he wasn't always dishonest: when it meant sowing rifts or setting up future conquests, he would display nothing but truth. Instead, Invidia sought help from another source, one higher than man but lower than god. New knowledge seeping into the meditating outsider, and he found his answer. "Ah-ha." he said, rising to his feet and turning to Ialu. "Escre has been making miracles. Two new presences have arisen on the side of life. The demigod of air, and the demigod of light. As a favor for his creator, Ull'yang, the Sun Aspect, will assist us."

Ialu might have scoffed, but he showed uncharacteristic restraint. That was new for him. "I have never heard of this creature. How will it assist?

Glancing around as if waiting for something, Invidia replied, "Ull'yang's blessing will make light pass through us. I don't know how informed you are in the subject of eyes, but we see things because light hits them. If light doesn't hit us, then..." The outsider paused, expectant for a demonstration to punctuate his explanation, but for a few seconds nothing happened. "Hm." He had tried to get too dramatic, evidently. A moment later however, the phenomenon occured, and Invidia's body flickered and vanished. "Ah, there we go. Invisibility. Yours should kick in a few seconds from now. With this gift, the two of us will be able to infiltrate Aztoc's defenses. Furthermore, his outsider minions will remain ignorant, for we can only really penetrate godly illusions. The machinations of demigods do not register. It is why my outsider spies had trouble pinpointing Thulemiz. Still, we must be cautious."

The talk of optics was worthless drivel, yet the warlord would be a liar if he said that invisibility was not intriguing. Ialu quickly called upon the power of his Sight to show him where Invidia was, and the golden light revealed the outsider's hidden figure where he had just been standing. True to his word, Invidia seemed to be merely invisible. Before he too vanished, Ialu looked to Mirtagn. "Mirtagn, a distraction will serve us well. Hundreds more chaos dragons now take to the winds searching for us; summon your brethren and put an end to the misery of your corrupted kin. Then see about razing Garakai itself; the city is worthless to me now, as are the lives of all the cowards and traitors within."

Mirtagn gave an affirmative roar and took flight once again, ready to do his part. Those other living dragons that had survived the recent ambush followed after.

The air around Ialu shimmered for a moment and then the warlord disappeared from sight. Content in the knowledge that none would see this prayer that insulted pride, reason, and dignity, Ialu kneeled. He thought out to Vestec in prayer, "God of chaos, I would pray and ask of you a small favor. One sure to cause mayhem everywhere, yet still aid us in our task. Bring back the utter darkness and the nightmarish monsters, if only for an hour. Then Garakai will be distracted and Aztoc will not see us coming."

Aww. No brutal charge into the freshly brought back to earth castle's gates, it's defenders numbers dwindled? That can easily happen, you know. Just change your prayer and have Invidia pray to me too. You already have Mirtagn fighting Chaos Dragons. Two hundred and thirty-four, to be specific. How many surviving dragons did you send with him? A little less than two hundred? Not enough. Certainly none as dedicated and built for war as Chaos Dragons are. Not to mention the mages. They're getting beat up quite a bit, because it's essentially five hundred undead mages, two hundred and some extra Chaos Dragons, and a little more than a thousand ground troops with some range capabilties, against a little less than two hundred actual dragons. They won't last long, I fear. Not even with their hero. Ooh! Have you seen what a concentrated dosage of spells does to a dragon?

I have. It's slightly painful to watch. And every dragon that dies, that dear old Outsider Thulemiz left is ressurecting them to fight agai- well this is irritating. Here I am, just watching the battle, and one of them tries to attack me. Me! I think I'll let him scream in agony for a few days. Sorry, getting off track. Have you agreed to my advice? No? Very well then. Watch your head. The skies are gonna get filled with a lot more dead dragons. They have nightmares too, you know.

Ialu considered Vestec's words, but though to himself, The chaos dragons are spread all over the place looking for us, and besides, Mirtagn alone was enough to nearly destroy my village. No, there will be quite a bit of destruction when he appears on the horizon and his breath incinerates half the city before the mages can do anything to stop him. He wouldn't change his prayer; bringing Aztoc to the ground or destroying his soldiers would make no matter. This was a task of stealth now, after all.

Looking to the sky, it soon began to unnaturally darken once again. Allowing a rare smile on his chiseled face, Ialu looked to Invidia. He could still see his ally with the Sight's golden light that illuminated all, and no doubt the outsider could still see him with its one eye. "Aztoc cannot hide from me. Nothing can. I will lead the way, you need only follow."

The crimson eyes scanned the darknening horizon. A familiar uneasiness began to churn within Invidia. This is not a natural darkness. Vestec must be attempting to belay us with his nightmares, now that we've spurned his aid. No amount of fear will save Aztoc. That, however, triggered a new thought. Vestec has already shown an ability to bring back the dead. This entire operation may prove pointless if he will simply revive his pawns and ensure endless conflict. Never mind...it will be entertaining at the least.

Without another word the invisible demigod began to soar through the air skywards and to the north, making for Garakai. It was a strain to ask the Sight to show him multiple things at once, so he merely sought out Aztoc and trusted that Invidia was following. There was no need to strain himself merely to be able to look back and check back on his ally.

Nightmares began to fill the sky, abominations that the dragons feared. On the ground the fears of the Cimex, Iron Legion, and Barbed Uri began to manifest, hampered by the thousand undead walking around. Chaos reigned as defensive formations were made, and the undead fought the nightmares. All the mortals aside from the Iron Legion retreated further indoors and barricaded themselves in, preparing for the assault and listening to the dragons fight outside. Alfid quickly commanded the Magickers forward, pinning down the strange nightmares Uri and Cimex minds were capable of coming up with. Surprisingly, many of them were in fact undead creatures. It seemed that the sudden rise of the Wights and Magickers had truly put the fear of death into the poor Cimex and Uri. As a result, Alfid had something of a party causing the nightmares to destroy themselves, while the more random ones were quickly dispatched by the powerful Wights. Alfid did wonder why the Eternal Darkness had suddenly reappeared, had they not fought so hard and lost so much so that it would not return? Alfid cursed the Execrable One, knowing even more than before the treacherous nature of the Chaos god; he truly could not be trusted. And here he was, a terrible, ugly, unnatural Lich. What for had he made the ultimate sacrifice?
The Lich Lord would pay...
For now however, it was best to keep a low profile and do as Thulemiz had commanded. When the time was right, he would get him. They would all get him and rid the world of his unnatural presence.

Aztoc, in his throne room alone, idly flipping through the pages of the Morello-Nomicon, looked up at the noise and stretched out his newfound powers of Dimok. Sensing Mirtagn and his dragons, the ruler of Garakai snorted in contempt. And then he just made a slight adjustment to their perspective. Mirtagn was suddenly no longer their leader, he was their enemy. For a moment, he just marveled at the power the book gave him. Over a hundred dragons, subjugated just like that. Mirtagn was left untouched, as that would require effort. Effort that would be needed for Ialu. The Chaos dragons with their newfound allies, attacked Mirtagn and fought off the creatures of their nightmares.

As Mirtagn and his dragons carved their way through the spread out chaos dragons and approached Garakai itself, something strange happened. Mirtagn was suddenly alone amongst a sea of his enemies, with even those dragons that had been at his side moments ago suddenly turning upon him. The massive elder dragon easily dispatched a few of his smaller kin with his claws, then began to breathe out crystalline breath wildly and to all sides. His breath was sheer death: it vaporized anything that it touched, saturated and electrified the very air around, and quite easily sent the other dragons skirted away to avoid it.

In this manner, he kept them at bay for a short time as he rapidly closed in on Garakai. He couldn't keep the hundreds of other dragons at bay forever, especially as more and more chaos dragons found their way to fray. He would only have time for one, maybe two, flies over the enemy's city. After bellowing out a roar that would make the denizens of the flying city quiver in fear, he opened his gigantic maw and unleashed hell. He had just bathed an entire street in his crystalline breathe and flew through the city carving a line of fire through the middle. No doubt dozens of the defenders perished in those flames, and the unnatural heat would soon begin starting fires. That was good; it would be yet another distraction.

Craning his head back, Mirtagn saw an alarming amount of enemy dragons giving chase. Looking the other way, he was then suddenly bombarded in the front by several magical attacks. Shrugging off the one or two projectiles, he then noticed the hundreds of mages inside Garakai. Combined with the other dragons, there would be no way that he could fly over the city a second time and survive. I hope that this will serve you well enough, Ialu, the crystalline dragon thought, and then Mirtagne began to ascend. He rocketed skywards, retreating back to the safety of his star.

Ialu meanwhile was continuing to approach Garakai, though in his case from far above even the flying city itself so as to avoid the dragons below. The air was thin from such a height but he didn't worry for himself so much as for Invidia. He still couldn't afford to look backwards, though. He would trust in his ally's will and fortitude and hope that Invidia made it into Garakai as well. If the monk was nowhere to be seen, the demigod could find the invisible outsider using the Sight and regroup. Failing that, he entertained the possibility of facing Aztoc alone. Without an army to cower behind, the dragon tamer would find himself hopelessly outmatched.

Looking down, Ialu witnessed a several flashes of light and witnessed Mirtagn's approach. The flashes were a result of mirtagne's bursts of breath that were staving off the crazed hordes of other dragons that attempted to close in on him. Oddly enough, both the chaos dragons and Mirtagn's own allies seemed to be swarming the elder dragon. It was all that Mirtagn could do to keep them at bay long enough to do one pass over the city and burn a street, then retreat.

Many thoughts flashed through the warlord's mind. He cursed Mirtagn's cowardice, yet he qlso realized that the hero of dragons had managed to do more than Vestec had expected. He eyed the rather meager destruction, but then saw fires beginning to take root and spread while the defenders were still trying to fend off nightmares. This would indeed keep them occupied.

Finally, he began to question why the dragons had turned in the first place. It would seem that Aztoc had been growing in power as of late. He was the sole dragon tamer that Ialu knew of, and yet he had managed to turn so many dragons against Mirtagn and seemingly tame another few hundred chaos dragons in the short time that Ialu had been away.

This cast a small doubt in the back of the warlord's mind as to whether this fight would truly be as easy as he imagined, but he did nothing to dispell the doubt. A little fear was useful. Ialu eyed a small dark alleyway that would be the ideal spot to wait for Invidia, but then he noticed several odd-looking Cimex cowering there. He didn't question what was wrong with the bugs or why they were there, quite accurately assuming that some god had given them to Aztoc as aid.

Ialu took hold of the small amount of fear and doubt within him and manifested it as a black, shadowy fire in his palm. He breathed into the flames and fanned them for a moment, then hurled the stuff at the cowering Cimex. In a near invisible explosion of dark fumes, the fireball imbued raw terror into the Cimex and sent them running out of the alleyway. The Cimex clicked rapidly in what must have been their sort of scream, and flailed their limbs about wildly and uselessly. Running as fast as they could, they were still quickly caught and dispatched by a few of the nightmares roaming the streets.

With the alleyway cleared, Ialu landed in it and waited for Invidia. As it turned out, he had little time to wait. Invidia had been tailing him steadily, doing his best to trace Ull'yang's signature and mostly failing, having resorted to following Mirtagn and Ialu's wind trail instead. Now, with Mirtagn waylaid by his own allies thanks to the enemy's interferance, the task fell to these two alone. The Liaison touched down in the alley, having grown batlike wings some time ago to navigate the airways. Still invisible, he removed his axe from his robes -now, with Ialu in possession of the Fulcrum, just a battle-axe- and quietly resonated confirmation of his presence to the warlord. "I am here. It is time to end this threat."

Ialu found himself nodding before realizing that invisibility made such gestures pointless. Regardless, he was pleased that Invidia had not taken long. He whispered, "Good. I will locate Aztoc now.

The trail of golden light that his Sight conjured revealed the most direct way to Aztoc, and so Ialu ended up weaving through both dark alleys and the main streets at times. Surprisingly it was easier to negotiate the main streets; while fires and fighting raged in those places and undead prowled everywhere, there was plenty of room to move around them. The narrow confines of the allley were filled to the brim with nightmares that proved harder to avoid.

There would have been a time not long ago when Ialu's ire would have made him zealous enough to slaughter any enemy in his path, but that did not happen now. He was more cautious and realized it was best to conserve his energy. This new thinking was probably at least in part the result of the chaos within him having vanished. For once the warlord found himself grateful. This new calm was indeed proving to be more of a strength than a weakness.

It was not long before Ialu found his way to the building that Aztoc was within. To avoid guards he went around to one of the sides of the building. It will be droll to see Aztoc's surprise at enemies coming from within the storage room or whatever is just behind this wall. the warlord thought to himself. Yes, it seemed safer to hedge a bet on being able to breach through this wall and go undetected as compared to simply knocking down the front door and fighting through any guards.

Ialu began to use his telekinesis to start crumbling the bricks in the wall so as to create a hole. He did so as quickly and quietly as possible, yet there was still no stopping the sound of bricks cracking and a few pieces falling to the ground before they could be reduced to dust.

Grimacing at the noise, Ialu could only hope that the sounds of fighting and such drowned it out. He eyed the hole that had been created so far and knew that it was not quite big enough for him, but perhaps Invidia could contort himself to fit through. The warlord whispered out to the empty air around him, trusting that his ally was close, "See if you can get through. Assassinate any guards if they start coming." The outsider nodded, and squeezed his slender frame through the aperture. His initial attempt failed, given the breadth of his wings. It appeared that he could not advance further and keep those particular appendages as well. Sparing the action no thought, Invidia receded his wings into his back. Immediately, a burning sensation took root in the Liaison's spinal area. Puzzled, but not yet particularly pained, he tried again, and this time gasped at the caustic feeling now pervading his body. He stumbled backward, straightening up while leaving his axe on the ground, trying to right himself. What was going on? Instinctively, to numb the pain, Invidia called upon his lifeblood to counteract whatever was causing this to him. Instead, a fresh surge of agony flowed throughout the outsider, and the air around him resonated in a wordless vocalization of pain. Invidia tore off his robes, hissing, "Ialu! I'm hurting badly. My powers aren't working; they're making it worse. What's wrong!?" He turned his back to the warlord, showing a spitting, bright green fluid bleeding from his back around the wings. As Invidia tried again, the acid ripped through his skin, and a horrible resonation bounced off the walls. Invidia collapsed into a pool of acid mixed with his own blood, a steady moan filling the chamber in which the two infiltrators resided. "Aaaaah! Damn devil! What is he...doing to me!? Make it stop!"

Ialu looked down upon Invidia with no small amount of disgust. Green fluids oozing from his back, and this sudden weakness? He was just as bewildered as the outsider and briefly contemplated simply leaving his ally behind, but for whatever reason he didn't. Perhaps it was out of gratitude for Invidia's help, or merely because he wanted the Liaison's help further down the line.

Regardless of his reasoning, his first reaction was to reach out with his Wi and pull out whatever green fluid was oozing out. In battle he had seen the Sanguine monks bleed red like anybody else, yet he still found himself hoping that this green fluid wasn't blood or some other thing vital to the outsider's continued life. But even if it was, judging from Invidia's screams causing him death would be a mercy.

Pray to me, Invidia. One little prayer, and I'll stop the curse on you. Vestec giggled in both of their minds. On the other hand, Ialu can sell his soul and servitude to me and I'll stop it that way.

"Rotten scourge! Ialu will complete this mission without me. Warlord, finish the fight. Remember that Vestec destroys all who come in contact with him. I was not immune, and you are not immune. As long as you two interact, you are his toy. He honors his word only to drive deeper rifts and prelude future conflicts. Ahhh...! It's time my spirit sheds this mortal coil. But I will be back. If you deviate, it'll be you lying in your own juices next time, Ialu! Whether by my hand...or not." With that, the crimson eye slid shut, and the outsider's body melted into chunks.

Well. That was boring. Have fun Ialu!

Ialu spat on the ground, realizing that he stood alone now. This 'Invidia' had more pride than even the warlord it would seem, refusing to play Vestec's game if only to achieve his own ends. Perhaps he just didn't like to tempt luck and play with fire, though with that threat he had certainly done as much. Whether by his hand indeed, Ialu thought as he chuckled to himself and redoubled his efforts to crumble the wall.

Suddenly, the sound of Mirtagn's flapping wings, and the wings of others flapped relentlessly. Mirtagn conjured mysteriously appearing Kamodo dragons, Crocodiles and venomous King Cobras out of thin air, along with the East Tropical reptillian creatures called the Qoatls, who could naturally fly as snakes with silken white wings. Three thousand of these reptiles now fought on Ialu's side on the ground. They were sure to wreak havoc on a scale that normal land forces could not. Venomous bites, iron crushing power of the Croc's strength, and Qoatls who could skirt enemy ranks and lay their venomous biting power upon the enemy, avoiding blows, arrows and the like with ease now attacked every where there was an enemy.

In the air, Mirtagn returned with the Avatar, Sauranath. "I never miss a contract. Never". Mirtagn smirked. "I wonder why I needed to conjure the reptiles. It's not like they have a
chance against an Avatar." Mirtagn stated. Sauranath took a deep breath and landed in the city of Garakai. He transformed into Humanoid form, while the rubble had useless effect to harm him through the weight of falling objects or even scrape him with any sort of flying metal. Sauranath took his sword, which was actually his own claws, formed into an anthropomorphic weapon, and took charge against any rival of his on the ground.

Ruby Dragons were notoriously strong willed and disciplined, in some ways equal to Crystal Dragons. So the only dragons Mirtagn took as his guards for now were of the Ruby Brood. One hundred Ruby Broods came with him this time, a full Guard division with dragons specifically powerful against mental domination and interferance of the mind. So the Ruby Brood sent forth fifty of their warriors, with claws and mighty sinew, muscle capable of tearing their way through Mithril Steel in one swipe of the claw's swing, now descended on the Chaos Dragons, and Mirtagn once again conjured Wards, this time he actually took effort into shielding these Chaos Dragons with a powerful spell, an incantation was used, taking strength from him, but he still possessed strength far beyond a normal dragon.

His crystalline breath resumed, tearing enemies to shreds, and vaporizing enemy targets. This was not fun, this was war, this was precision, this was serious, and above all, this was a contract. Sauranath, the Avatar clove through enemies with his two handed sword weapon as if they were nothing more than a very large litter of kittens. Even Chaos Dragons were beheaded, or found a sword inside their heart in one slice or thrust of arms. Sauranath never believed he could find it in himself to fight his own Brood. His eyes glew like the stars.
Yet even as newly arrived dragons slew their way through their brethren, and even as they too were slaughtered, all those who died rose again to fight anew, attacking Mirtagn and Ruby Dragons alike with necromantic vigour and power they could never wield in life.

"Thulemiz! You will not escape now!" As Invidia and others were making their way towards the monsterous beast known as Aztoc, horrifying man that he was, Sauranath was already inside Thulemiz's inner Sanctum, "Because of you, I have had to sacrifice my own CHILDREN! My eyes are the very fury of wrath!" His eyes shined very brightly, and fire, as if from the stars themselves, would have blown into Thulemiz'es skeletal body. "Your body will feel the fire as if it were flesh, you shall feel the burning of a thousand life times for every breath a dragon has ever taken. You shall suffer so, as if you were to die, should you live, you will beg for a release, and there is only one way out of that agony!" Sauranath took out his sword from it's sheath and waited for Thulemiz to ask. He suddenly discovered however, that the skeleton before him was another target, and he needed Thulemiz.

But what stood before was simply Alfid the Outsider, a lesser Lich Lord. Drawing his viciously curved sword, Alfid pointed it towards the Great Reptile and all around him the air shimmered gold. The souls of all the undead dragons which had only moments before been fighting outside suddenly appeared. Alfid slowly melded them into each other, over one hundred souls, two hundred, three hundred, more. Before their very eyes the souls became one. Alfid knew he would not be able to control it, but at this point he did not care too much for that. One thousand two hundred and twenty eight dragon souls, all those that had fallen when Mirtagn arrived with Sauranath, became one. Among them were some extraordinarily old and thus powerful souls, and Sauranath's Avatar alone would certainly struggle against so many old and powerful souls now united.
With that, Alfid released the Great Dragon Wraith and disappeared into thin air. The monumental wraith released an ear-piercing shriek of a roar and leapt upon Sauranath, its hatred for all things living urging it on. Sauranath hissed as he transformed into his draconic form. . . A massive Ruby Brood dragon and breathed fire hot enough to scorch like rays from the Stars themselves. I have a contract, Sauranath thought. He would regret harming souls, but this was useless trying to passively conquer this conjured morass of dragon souls. He would have to take them to the stars through violent force.

As Sauranath released his terrible breath, the equally terrible Wraith released its own necromantic fumes. Upon contact with the god's flames, the fumes began to seemingly feed on the flames, and as they fed on them they grew even larger and more powerful, gaining a life - or unlife - of their own. Arms of necromantic fire leapt out in all directions, some heading for Mirtagn while the majority headed for Sauranath. It was clear that these flames fed on fire, and perhaps even other things. Breathing more flames at them, it seemed, would merely strengthen them.

Mirtagn, saw stone flying from a building he had not been paying attention to far down below. Suddenly he was nearly struck with necromantic fire targeting him from the building. Mirtagn now knew he had a new concern. He could naturally sense that the fire made for him was so powerful it could even destroy him, easily if he let it. Mirtagn was glad he had strengthened the ward with gutteral strength, rather than just using a common ward. He soared far down below, seeing the confrontation. Sauranath breathing golden fire, the monster, the Dragon Wraith was more powerful than even the avatar! Even as the avatar himself struggled, the building crumbled around the combatants. Yet Mirtagn breathed from a far off distance of his own, his own fire, Crystalline Breath, attempting to cut and shred down the Wraith until he would dissipate.

The crystalline flames soared towards the Wraith, causing its left wing to dissipate slightly, but just as soon as the flames had passed, the ethereal golden wing burst back into being and the Wraith erupted forth towards Mirtagn with tremendous speed, a claw full of the tormented screams of Mirtagn's brethren ripping towards the hero. Sauranath sighed in relief. It's distracted. Sauranath grabbed onto the monster, hoping to grapple with it, even as the Dragon Lord bit down with all his might onto the Wraith's neck. . . flames be damned, even as an Avatar, his warding powers as a Crystal Brood dragon, superior than any dragon's should keep him fine, even as he attacked with enough sheer force to snap Mithril Steel like a twig. Mirtagn breathed his crystalline fire at the same moment. . . with strategy and tactical analysis, anything was possible.

But faulty analysis could only lead strategies doomed to failure. While Sauranath's bite was indeed something terrific, the Wraith was no physical being whose neck could simply be snapped. The Great Reptile's bite merely passed through the Wraith, and it turned upon him with speed even as Mirtagn breathed upon it. Ignoring the temporary damage caused by Mirtagn's flames, the Wraith snapped viciously at Sauranath's exposed neck. While Sauranath was surprised at the creature's invulnerability, he knew that his lesser, Mirtagn could harm it. . . he quickly snapped backward and breathed down, this time with his own crystalline breath, magnitudes more powerful than Mirtagn's breath. The huge Wraith attempted to shrink back, but it was too late and the crystal breath engulfed its head and neck, eating away at its ethereal body even as it managed to send out its necromantic fumes to consume the flames. They were clearly not as effective against crystal breath as they were against fire, but they gave the Wraith time to regenerate and to slip away downwards under the cover of the black flames. Without alerting Sauranath - indeed, he would have just thought that the black shape beneath him was simply more of his foe's flames - the Wraith leapt upwards and clawed right into Sauranath's exposed belly, its claws aiming to tear him from one side of his belly to the other.

Yet Sauranath had every benefit from every Brood. The Crystal Dragon's scales, the greatest Wards of any dragon. Mirtagn breathed down his fiercest Crystal breath onto the Dragon Wraith, Sauranath glared deeply into the monster's eyes. . . "You poor wretches! Your power to avoid physical harm is now useless! I know how to destroy you!" Sauranath's glaring eyes began to transubstantiate the Dragon Wraith's monstrous body into something physical. . . Mirtagn immediately soared down and conjured poisonous glands to appear inside his mouth, even as he bit down on the Wraith. Mirtagn would be shocked to find that the Wraith's physical body was layered with a disgusting, deathly liquid which was undoubtedly a most terrible poison of some kind. As the Hero bit into it, he would immediately feel the liquid latching onto his teeth and squirting upwards into his mouth. Its effects would be very quick. Mirtagn head would go numb, and then his throat, before his very lungs and hurt would begin giving out unless he was saved. Shrugging off the hero like it was nothing, the now physical Wraith let loose a huge breath of necromantic fumes towards Sauranath in order to hide its sudden burst forward, in an attempt to gore the Great Reptile once more.

Meanwhile, Mirtagn was dealing with the terrifying high poison. Yikes. Mirtagn thought. Ikes that. Mirtagn fell down hard onto the Earth. Mysteriously however, the monsterous wise scholar got back on it's feet as if nothing had happened, it's eyes glaringly bright in a flash of light that obviously gave the fact that a powerful spell had just been wordlessly cast. Sauranath was concerned with Mirtagn's fate, so to avoid the monster's bite was easy. However, a poisonous body was useless against Sauranath since Skeleton Broods were indeed a part of his repertoire of abilities. No poison could harm this Avatar. . . he breathed fiercely into the Dragon Wraith even as Mirtagn did the same, but Sauranath also bit into the monster equally as viciously. Its fangs bit from the neck, tearing through the chest area and ripping out the heart. . . as Mirtagn breathed his crystalline breath on all the monster's wounds.

With that, the now physical Wraith suddenly burst horrifically, burning and terribly scarring anyone within its radius as the tortured souls of one thousand two hundred and twenty eight dragons exploded outwards, screaming their pain and fury into the heavens as they crossed continents and seas within seconds to return to the one who had imprisoned them eternally. Eternally would be so less eternal than it was before that it would become "temporary", Sauranath thought. The deity himself, not the Avatar, would see to it that the souls would return to their rightful stars.

Meanwhile, Ialu had at last crumbled the section of the wall before him. He was now able to stride through the opening. The giant warlord, for all his size and brutality, was able to prowl through the halls and rooms like a wraith and avoid combat most of the time. Many great hunts in which he had stalked animals had left him with a surprising affinity for stealth. He made his way towards Aztoc.

Serpentine creatures were now close to the structure that Aztoc inhabited. Some had already began to attack the defenders, and they bared their fangs, some with venom, and others were just huge and strong, as strong as great warriors. It would not be a good idea to let the creatures anywhere near the open structure. Dozens charged straight for the doors in an attempt to swarm whatever guards Aztoc had, whilst a few others managed to go around the sides and find the hole that Ialu had created. Going through that breach, they began to prowl through the palace in search of victims. While this might prove a useful distraction, the sudden chaos within the palace might also make the two warriors have an even harder time at remaining undetected as guards began to run about looking for reptiles. Nevertheless the beasts were there. . . King Cobras curtly spat their venom at guard's eyes. Crocs bit into weapons and shields, and the Qoatls flew with their wings into enemy faces. Serpents coiled around legs and searched for narrow openings in armor. They were deceptively intelligent, partially because for one day they were given the intelligent to think like Men but to have their body of animals. For some odd reason, no matter how many Garakain Guards in their black armor fell shrieking and howling, their numbers never seemed to shrink. They remained constant, despite the corpses piling up.

"Enough!" Aztoc snapped. He reached out with Dimok once more and found each and every reptilian animal in his capital. And then he broke their minds. Crocs, Cobras, Komodos, Qoatls, and any other reptiles, they all fell to the ground staring with blank eyes. As they did so, all the Garakain guards and corpses disappeared, nothing more than illusions.

"Ohhh! Do I get to play now!?" Vestec's Avatar called excitedly. He had been content to watch Sauranath's avatar battle the Lich Outsider's creation, but now it seemed things were getting boring again. The Avatar's eyes began to glow a blood red and Violence stepped took control. "I believe if the flying coward can summon aid, I can too." The draconic and mortal corpses that littered the ground suddenly stirred to life once more as Vestec drew souls from his personal plane and threw them in the bodies. The battle for the skies was far from over.

"Dragons, Dragons, come to fly," Vestec's avatar sang, chaotic energy crackling in his palms. Aztoc looked around, face growing pale as he felt the mass amount of energy building. It would be sensed by any hero or God, but finding and stopping Vestec would be too late. "Dragons, Dragons, time to die!"

As Vestec released his gathering Chaos energy, Garakai was suddenly illuminated by a wave of energy, all different colors, soaring across the sky and through the castle. It would have been beautiful, if it wasn't for the screams of pain and the explosions of gore. The God of Chaos put only minimal effort into keeping friendly fire from not happening. Only Ialu, Invidia, Aztoc, and Mirtagn were fully spared from it's effects. Everyone else had a 50% of dying. Unless you were a dragon. Then you definitely died.

Dragons fell shrieking from the sky, wreathed in chaotic energy that ate their bodies, simply exploded into a shower of gore, or just fell from the sky dead if they were lucky. Uri, Iron Legion, Undead, and Cimex weren't spared either, varying amounts of their numbers being subjugated to the same fate. Vestec's avatar appeared before Sauranath, idly sidestepping a screaming dragon as it crashed into the ground next to the Chaos God's avatar.

"I'll give you one chance, lizard. Leave now and I might not trap all these precious souls to my will too, and you can save them all. Fight me, and I assure you I will use them for my own purposes. Truth be told, I would really prefer if you just attacked so we could cause untold devastation and death and probably kill everything in all of the north. Oh would you shut up!" Vestec's avatar grabbed the screaming dragon, who was still covered in Chaotic energy, and ripped his head off in a shower of gore.

Turning to face Sauranath's avatar again, covered in blood, Vestec's Avatar smiled. "Mirtagn, if you attack me I assure you, you will die. Painfully. Agonizingly. Don't bother Ialu and Invidia and Aztoc either. Just fly away, and you can live."

"Oh, how cute it is to watch a pretender sit down in his throne while his people are being slaughtered." A voice rang out from behind Aztoc's throne. It was soft and bitter at the same time, and it was Astarte's. "Well, it's not that cute actually. It's pathetic." She shrugged and walked around the throne until she was face to face with Aztoc.

"Your enemies will bust down that door any moment now, and once inside, you'll die. I'm here to offer you immortality. Nobody will be able to kill you nor the men and women under your command, should you accept."

"Astarte. As beautiful as Vestec claims, I see." Aztoc replied, rising to kneel to the Goddess. "I always knew this battle would end in my death. I simply requested that it be a battle and not a slaughter." As a screaming dragon, covered in Chaotic fire, crashed through the roof and landed nearby, Aztoc looked back at the Goddess. "As you can see, it is quite the battle. The Execrable One has gotten involved. Regardless, who am I to refurse the aid of a Goddess of magic? I accept."

Astarte smiled and clapped her hands. A thousand humans appeared in the streets of the town. They were armed to the teeth and experts in their fighting, and they fought everything in their path. Everything, including Aztoc's other troops and whatever unlucky civillian still around. Hatred burned in their eyes.

"And now..." Astarte muttered and put her hands on Aztoc's head. her grip was so tight that her nails dug into the thin skin, drawing blood.

And then a brief flash of light enveloped Aztoc and each of the new soldiers, and it was done. She retracted her hands and looked at her fingers. They were covered in the filthy human's blood. She licked one in curiosity and shuddered at the bad taste, and flicked her hands clean for the rest.

"Your corpse will die when Ialu himself comes in here and defeats you, but you will survive, and so will the one thousand soldiers I just gave you-" Astarte said, looking at her fingers before staring at Aztoc. "They're kind of xenophobic, and they won't realize when they've died. You'll get to enjoy an eternity with them. You won't be dead, but you won't be alive either."

"All the feelings you know? The ones you're feeling now? You will lose them."

The pounding of heavy footsteps could be heard, though Ialu's invisibility meant that there was nobody to be seen. That was until he willed Ull'yang's blessing to disappear and showed himself, mere feet away from Aztoc. He had heard enough of this exchange.

"Deathless, are you? I hope you're prepared for an eternity of torture, Aztoc," the warlord laughed, glancing towards Astarte once but largely ignoring her. He might have had more of a surprised or violent reaction had Vestec and Mirtagn not warned him of all the gods coming to lend aid to his enemy. As it was though, his only thoughts were of vengeance. He approached the dragon tamer with a look that was beyond menacing.

"As you say, Goddess of Magic. Consort of Chaos." Aztoc gave a slightly bleak smile, before turning to Ialu. "I'm impressed Ialu. This is remarkably subtle for you." He murmured, flipping through the pages of the Morello-Nomicon. Another dragon crashed through the roof, this one simply dead.

"But not too subtle. Did you hope for such death and devastation to be inflicted upon the people of Garakai? They're already gone, I'm afraid. The Chaos and Dragon Gods are merely fighting in the bones of a city now. Welcome to the city of Garakai. Capital of the Empire in the North. The City of the Dead and the Damned."

He reached the Wraiths in the Nomicon. "I wonder if this will work." Five wraiths appeared around the Demi-God, and attempted to possess his body. Aztoc was contradicted by the voice of Sauranath behind him. "Okay, avatar Sauranath is someplace else. I'm myself right now, in the literal meaning. I had a contract to fulfill, and this obligates me to appear here. Invictus and Fate would not enjoy the fact that we are here in violation of unseen cosmic laws of the universe just because we feel like it.

" I sent my avatar first, but this is ludicrous. Astarte, you are insane, as Vestec, only in a more cold, viscious manner, Warlock Woman of the Gods that you are, you violate the very sanctity of the world coming here and making another pet dragon, this time of Aztoc. Were it anyone else doing the same thing I might consider letting them, but since you have foolishly been indulging in such evil behaviour for a long time, I find this extremely more than distasteful and far more than wicked. You are an evil beast as much as Aztoc, he's just a dog on a leash. I will conquer you and your consort and call on all the gods to do the same in person. This is all STUPID and this is enough. The civilians of Garakai have no place to come home to."

" Vestec, has massacred the rest of the dragon folk in the skies, along with his consort, Astarte cheering him on, no doubt, even if in wordlessness. I demand that you put an end to this, Astarte, but if you do not, I will bring forth the fury of the gods on you. More than that, the world will fall to nothing, all of it, if you keep up with your utter insanity. "

"Oh, screw you." Astarte muttered and rolled her eyes.

Ialu resisted the efforts of the vicious wraiths at possessing him, just as he had defied Thulemiz's earlier attempts at stealing his soul. Beyond angry, he approached Aztoc only to be both surprised and interrupted by the Dragon God's sudden appearance. After listening for a moment, the warlord dismissed the speech as directed to the other one in the room, some Goddess he'd never heard of. While they played their games he would play his.

Using his telekinesis, he forced Aztoc to his knees. "Before I incinerate both you and your worthless book, I have half a mind to ask why you betrayed me. For the drollness of it all, and so that next time I will be able to flay the hide off a traitor before he shows his true colors.

"Aztoc", Mirtagn interrupted. "We can make better use of him, if you would ask for an even higher boon, I have asked Sauranath what would happen if he would find someone this competent as a defector to our side. I suggested straight to Sauranath that you receive a higher boon for handing him over. Would this be acceptable for you?"

The warlord laid a hand on Aztoc and threw him onto the ground before turning to Mirtagn. At first he had a look of fire in his eyes and was clearly enraged, but then that flush began to fade...it was replaced with a deathly calm. Ialu quietly asked Mirtagn, "You see someone that has enslaved hundreds of your kin and attempt to save him? To enlist his aid? Fine. Though I demand a great boon indeed in exchange for this one's life...remember that he once belonged to me, before all of you," Ialu waved his hand to gesture at the gods surrounding him, "attempted to aid his rebellion and claim his life for your own."

Sauranath quickly interjected in the conversation, "I was once the divine version of Ialu. Anyone who was in my way, cut down, ate, burned to ashes or somehow destroyed. I was great and all that mattered were my Brood and myself. I eventually learned by observing the world below that the suffering of the people of the world, that they were just as much people as my Kindred. This is why I enchanted one day of the year for people of all Kindreds, Tongues, and Peoples to enjoy as miraculous. Ialu, what I am trying to say is, there is more to life than "victory". You can be victorious over yourself as much as you can over others."

" As for me, yes. . . I am beginning to grow tired of the world. Yet if I leave, I could wane in strength. Now, I will do four great boons for you. First, Mirtagn is your Lieutenant for now, and for a significant time, he shall serve you as he serves me. Second, you shall see Mirtagn expend his strength on your behalf, to make your power his and his power yours. Thirdly, I shall grant what I have already been requested to do. "

" Finally, for the last and final power I shall bestow upon you, shall come from Invictus and great Fate themselves. I am growing weary and tiresome of the world. Even as it grows exciting and of great adventure, it is useless to resist the siren call for the Stars above. This is why I must petition Fate and Invictus. Fate and Invictus are as far above us as we are beyond you. Ialu, if you spare your pride, and leave your enemy be, I shall grant you a portion of the boon or boons that The Fate and Invictus bequeeth. What say you?"

Ialu was in no position to refuse, but this was truly a great deal worth more than any petty vengeance. It would seem that Sauranath was generous indeed. Smiling, Ialu answered by using his Wi to pick up the downed Aztoc and move him towards Sauranath, forcing him down onto his knees once more, but this time facing the god. "A fair deal indeed! He is yours, Sauranath." While he spoke, Ialu found himself thinking of these beings known as 'Fate' and 'Invictus'. He had never heard such names before, yet the god spoke highly of them. Perhaps they were merely metaphorical? Regardless, something about them rang familiar.

"No Ialu. I can hear your thoughts and I know them. Invictus and Fate, they are as real as the gods, even if not one of us. Nevertheless, I grant you a partial gift free of any of the boons already requested. Aztoc, for your punishment of betraying your master, and for being a cruel defiler of your fellow mortals in ways that make even some very bigoted dragons cringe and sob dearly for hours."

Ialu meanwhile watched and listened in amusement. He listened with awe at both the descriptions of Fate and Invictus, as well as the Dragon God's sudden speech towards Aztoc. It would seem that the traitor would be punished after all...this was a glorious day indeed. Content to watch the menagerie of gods bicker and quarrel, Ialu stepped back to observe.

"Okay, okay, now stop right there, Sauranath-" Astarte intervened, glaring at the Dragon God. Sauranath snapped with his jaws as a serpent man, loudly, but he quipped. "You are going to like this Astarte, hear this." Seeing as Astarte acknowledged. Sauranath turned around to Aztoc. "Aztoc, you are to be drawn and quarted, but you shall survive, you shall be emasculated and left for the insects and animals to dine, as you are caged like your slaves. Then only will you be acquitted for your many crimes. You shall be healed and completely restored but with one important change. You shall be changed into a woman. With. All. Memory. Of. Your. Past."

"Well, seeing as you lack the common courtesy to listen, lizard..." Astarte reached out to Aztoc's heart and brain with her Wi and squeezed. The man just went limp. She threw a fireball at the body, and it was burned unnaturally quickly. From the ashes, Aztoc's ghostly form rose.

Astarte then looked at Ialu, "No human should have the power this dumb, mad lizard is trying to give you." Sauranath was crossed. "You fool! Astarte. Your hypocrisy is maddening, and it is most perfidious you would take my dragon, even one, and have your filthy attitude of life in my presence, a haughty look in my face. You will not pass through this day unscathed, creature of the darkest night!"

Astarte brought up a magical barrier, the entire throne room shaking once Sauranath crashed against it.

Vestec quite literally crashed through the roof. Violence was in full control, as evidenced by his complete and utter blood red color, and a very dangerous rage radiated off of the God of Chaos. "I would suggest, Sauranath, that you leave while I still let you. Your threats are quite empty, and quite annoying."

Ialu smiled at Astarte as she slaughtered Aztoc on the spot. He hardly could have done better, but it was a shame that the death had not been drawn out more. An invisible yet very tangible extension of pure Wi manifested itself in the warlord's hand; he moved to use it to take the traitor's head as a trophy, only to be stopped by the fireball that promptly incinerated the corpse. To top that insult, Astarte's words only further provoked him.

"No whore should seek to pass judgment," he spat out without thinking. Fully expecteing some sort of retaliation, he suddenly ducked down to sever the charred skeleton's head from its body.

Vestec's Avatar appeared next to Mirtagn, still covered in blood. "What did I tell you? Just leave. And here you are, bothering Aztoc and Ialu. Enjoy painful death." A cage of Chaotic energy, created by a god himself, appeared around the dragon and slowly began to close around Mirtagn. The second it touched the Crystal dragon, agonizing pain would start as it ate away at the hero.

Vestec's Avatar walked over to the ashes of Aztoc's body, and picked up the Morello-Nomicon. "You won't be needing this anymore, and I think I've a few plans for it." The book disappeared to Vestec's personal plane.

"As for you, Ialu." The Avatar turned to face the Warlord. It's tone was deceptively calm. "Such arrogance. Such pride. I must say, I liked it when it was in check but insulting Astarte was a mistake. I think you need to learn a lesson in being humble. I curse you with failure, Ialu of the Strong Tribe. You will lose your battles, any attempts at negotiation will fail, any romantic pursuits will turn to ash, and your attempts at an empire will crumble. You will be betrayed by your allies, beaten by your enemies. Your prayers will fail to reach the Gods. What Godly might you possess will not obey you, your magic will not obey your commands, and your strength will flee from you. So I curse you, Ialu."

At this Ialu guffawed, brave to a fault as usual. In a mocking and spiteful cadence he retorted, "So, 'Mighty One', I seem to have struck a nerve. You and Astarte both made a dear mistake by calling me 'human', and I am more than capable of striking back! Like allowing a snake to gorge until it becomes large enough to swallow you, you have given me more power than you ever should have, Vestec. So let us see if all my negotiations are truly doomed to failure, then! Revoke my curse at once or I will return the favor in kind!"

The warlord knew that he tempted fate and was straying dangerously close to fire, but he was calling no bluff. As the Chaos God could read minds, he would be able to sense the myriad of ideas brewing up in the demigod's mind, as well as the truth in Ialu's claims that he too could inflict curses. Perhaps the worst thought stirring up in Ialu's cruel mind was the idea of cursing Astarte in Vestec's place, since he seemed to think so fondly of her.

Vestec's Avatar didn't need the curse's urging to ignore Ialu's attempt at intimidation. His voice was soft in Ialu's head as he read the Demi-Gods intentions. I am willing to fight the Dragon God. What do you think I'll do to you? You are but half a god, and cursed with failure. Perhaps you should show that you have indeed freed yourself from my Blade's influence, use your head, and leave.

"Brave words from a mortal who can't even cast a spell now." Vestec's avatar noted aloud while Astarte snickered.

Snarling, Ialu attempted to use brute force to break the curse upon him, but predictably that failed. The curse did cause failure, after all. But he would not be so easily foiled...The warlord merely cast a look in Sauranath's direction and spoke, "Aid me in breaking this curse and shall have both my gratitude and aid. Of course, the demigod's aid would not amount to much against two gods, but he would still be sure to inflict a rather horrific curse upon his assailant before making a retreat.

Sauranath took Ialu in his arm and disappeared, even as he caused Mirtagn to disappear with an act of magical will, so that when they appeared in the Star of Sauranath. . . a living place. To Ialu it would appear like a thousand wives, a thousand of the best wives put into one. The mysterious, ephemereal nature caused Ialu to be even far more intelligent, sharp of understanding and aware with all his wits more than intact. "The stars are where dragons incubate as an egg, where they arise from, and if they die, where they return. It takes centuries to incubate, but if the oldest dragon dies, they arise from a star again. This is their pre-life, their after-life and their destiny. It is a disgrace to see Ialu in this state. Especially since we had more than a deal. I was to aid you in your times of disgrace, your times of victory, and your times of need. Yet that might be over! Say it is not so."

"You are in the position to do something no mortal or even mighty heroes can do." He took a breath. "You can help a god. Pray that Invictus and Fate build us up, grant us power, wisdom, and the hope for our ways to be fuilfilled."

Ialu looked around in both wonder and bewilderment until the god explained where he was. To think that he had somehow managed to defeat creatures of such majesty to dwell in places like this...ironically, that thought was more humbling than any curse Ferghus or Vestec had inflicted.

"It need not be over, Sauranath. I will aid you. Shall we both pray to Invictus and Fate together, then, asking them to intercede?"

"Ialu. . . Mirtagn has supplicated me to end his life as an offering to both of them. Fate and Invictus may indeed pay heed if I give him over, the only Lieutenant I have on the world of the Galbar. I require time to think on this. Three days in full. For you, the utter bliss and harmony of this place will be like thousands of years of the best days of any mortal's life. There is no need for a war here, so the curse of failure shall not harm you. From this beauty of life you shall receive inspiration for the prayers to Invictus and Fate. Of course, Mirtagn has three days to change his mind. . . I will not let him destroy himself for my sake."

"Actually, Ialu, one last thing. Perhaps you should simply live here for the next three days. Far less evil shall happen to you here while you are under the curse. I suggest that it might be a good idea that you indulge in the good things that may not be available to you until we find a good fix for you. If the curse should effect your requests to Invictus and Fate, I shudder at the consequences."