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[h2][color=662d91]Gremju the Challenger[/color][/h2]
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[color=saddlebrown][b]Makaizael[/b] of the Earth, Level 1 Hero[/color]
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It was not hard to find the challenger. The trio of Watchers had agreed upon their respective quarries even as Gremju's large mouth saw him embroiled into a disagreement with Orfai. So it was that Makaizael immediately moved to observe Gremju's doings from afar while his two brothers had been made to search for the whereabouts of the demons called Larwen and Kikoquatl.

The youngest Lord of Civilization steeled himself in silent loathing as he overhead Gremju's justification for having sown the seeds of madness; the demon had corrupted every mortal that would ever be from this dawning time onward, and had nothing to offer save a grotesque lie, [color=662d91]"I have given some the chance to take a glimpse outside of their cage!"[/color]

His omnipotent father's wording had somehow failed to convey the depths of depravity that these 'demons' lurked in, but Makai understood the brevity of the situation now. His orders echoed in the canyon of his mind for the thousandth time: [color=skyblue][i]Go unseen...Merely observe.[/i][/color]

So it was that he flew after Gremju, low, low to the sweet ground that was sheltered him from wary eyes. In the naked sky the Watcher would be easily seen for there were still no birds quite so large as his sturdy form nor bestowed with six wings; however, low to the ground and as far back as he could go whilst keeping the devil in his sight, Makai proved elusive indeed.

So it was that he shadowed Gremju all the way back to a waste called the Plains of Madness. It was a craggy place covered in desolate and lifeless sands with a few sparse clusters of some strange crystals, though it seemed that the demon was determined to see that soon change. Makai whispered a word of power to the sand and had it wreathe him so fully that he was invisible amidst the bleak landscape, and then he watched for days as Gremju fashioned some manner of corrupted trees that grew upon the odd crystals and rose from the land like plague boils. Some time later, there was another god that came: [i]Kap Gam.[/i] That elusive, quiet one that had been there at the very moment of his birth, and yet had slipped away and become a mere ghost of a memory since then. [i]Was she his mother, or was it the Earth?[/i]

Confused meandering of the mind gave way to piqued interest as he witnessed her steal one of the crystal trees before fleeing as quickly as she had come, probably none the wiser about him having witnessed the act.

He was left again with the sand for company as he stalked a demon from the crevices of its own lair. As the days passed, there came much more movement. Small feet shuffled through the sand, marking the birth of Gremju's imps. Makai noticed that they preferred to stay close to the center of the waste, where the otherwise sparse 'trees' congregated into a glade that seemed to be Gremju's favorite place.

But sometimes they would grow bored and wander off, as the one before him had done. The small creature seemed to be milling about aimlessly even before the oddly-shaped pile of sand before it, but then it bristled. It turned to where it felt Makaizael's gaze falling upon it, and though it did not immediately see the Watcher's eyes peering out from behind the sand, the Lord of Civilization knew then that his guise was gone.

So before the imp could cry out, Makaizael instinctively projected an aura of order and calm just as his father had done to the mortal centaur, yet Makai was not so powerful as his Promus, and these imps had a natural turmoil within their hearts and were not so easily pacified as centaur.

Piop had been wandering around as he usually had, there hadn't been much to do since their creation other than eat and sle-oooohhh whats hiding under that mound? The imp felt a strange sensation wash over him for a moment before he let out a strange sound somewhere between a scream and a cackle. The imp's scream thing caught the attention of several nearby imps who began to approach the mound and Gremju himself, who had been lounging around on the central deposit of Grem crystals.

There was the soft and quick utter of some incomprehensible word, and the sand piled around Makai instantly sloughed off his form so thoroughly that not a single grain clinging to his flesh or many wings. He could perceive the imps' palpable surprise and their curiosity that was perhaps muddled with fear, but it was their master that concerned the Watcher. The thought flashed through Makai's mind to take to the wind with all six of his wings and to flee as fast as his might allowed, but that would spell bad intentions. Perhaps there was a better way. His racing heart began to ease with the realization that his father's attention was only a word away.

Gremju stared at Makai for a moment, looking mildly confused before his mouth broke into a grin [color=662d91]"Ohhh, another visitor? I must be getting popular, eh?" [/color] The challenger cackled at his own joke before hoping down from the hill of purple crystals to meet his visitor face to face. Well, not quite face to face as Gremju barely stood taller than the imps never mind Makai [color=662d91]"So, what brings you to my happy little corner of the realm?" [/color]  he asked, a great grin still on his face.

[color=saddlebrown]"I have come to bear witness to your works."[/color] It was not a lie so much as a...less [i]abrasive[/i] truth, or at least that was how Makai justified his answer.

Gremju giggled [color=662d91]"Well, what do ya think? I'm quite proud of my imps and the crystal root trees. I still need to breathe some more life into the Plains though. It still seems ehhh, dull." [/color]

[color=saddlebrown]"The foundations for a civilization seem to be in place,"[/color] he could answer truthfully, [color=saddlebrown]"but it shall be a most peculiar one, without the manner of order cultivated by my father that the mortals can achieve greatness. What purpose do your works here serve?"[/color]

Gremju waved his hand dismissively at the mention of order. [color=662d91]"Order, laws, structure, bah so boring. The less of 'em the better as far as I'm concerned. My imps will have one job which is to protect these trees from intruders, hopefully none as strong as my dear siblings of course. Other than that I plan to little the little fellas free to roam the world and do as they wish, put on shows, share what they know about the Plains of Madness and maybe entice a few explorers to visit, maybe they'll just decide to cause some mayhem frankly they have my blessing as long as they spend some time here protecting these trees. Eh, thinking about it I probably need 'em to communicate so they can sort out a schedule for it or something..hm, reckon you could help me out?" [/color] the imp father asked, seemingly forgetting that Makai had been spying on him several moments ago.

[color=saddlebrown]"The power of Speech is held by Promus, my father, and he did ordain me and two others with the power to bestow His Gift among other things. Your request is one that is easily granted, though I have questions of my own: why would you spurn order and structure and yet hope also for the boons that it bestows? Do you think that Speech alone is enough to make these 'imps' more than mere beasts if they will reject all other aspects of civilization?"[/color]

Gremju shrugs at Makai [color=662d91] "Does a mortal need to waste away their life to an arbitrary system to be considered intelligent enough for speech? These plains will act as a store of their history while I guide them along but they will only be bound to this place every once and a while. I hope they'll have plenty of time to learn and educate their kids while guarding these trees. I get they need a tad of structure but that's all I'm going to impose on them,  you can let them speak and let me deal with the rest, right? You don't need to look at these fellas ever again if you think their way of living is wrong." [/color]
 
[color=saddlebrown]"It is not my place to deem a race worthy or no. All fall under the grace of Promus unless the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, or he himself denounces them. I will give unto the imps Speech and Civilization, and at the end it will not have been I who held them back."[/color]

Even as the demon no doubt rolled its eyes upon the Watcher's back, ignorant to how its own corrupted design had tainted the imps and the influence of its flawed philosophy would shackle them forever, Makaizael turned to the lowly creatures. [color=saddlebrown]"I bid ye Rise! Rise above your station and be learned in Speech!"[/color]

Gremju watched with satisfaction as Makai did his work. After several moments one of the nearby imps blinked and said [color=662d92]"Bloody hell this is weird innit?" [/color] the challenger cackled as his imps spoke before saying to Makia [color=662d91] "Brilliant! You've got my thanks. Tell ya what, I owe you a favor now I suppose eh? Call on me when you want to call it in although don't expect me to take on one of my siblings or something extreme like that right? [/color] Gremju turned to the imps that had gathered around him. [color=662d91]"Right then, I want you all to get into groups of twelve alright? You'll be expected to work with that group at the time I tell you to guard the Crystal Root trees from potential threats. Rest of ya can do what you like, got it? Now scram and sort your gangs out, last group to sort themselves has to guard the trees first. You'll hear me in your mind when it's your turn to come here" [/color] with that order the imps began scampering around, talking awkwardly but quickly to each other as they attempted to sort themselves into twelve groups using a tongue they had only gained the use of several moments ago. Gremju giggled as the imps ran about the glade trying to sort themselves.

In a way, Makai's failure had been utter and complete; where he had come to witness the demon's evil from afar, he had been discovered and even made to aid Gremju in his devices. Yet in another way, uplifting the imps was among the wisest things that could have been done. It was true that they worshiped the demon as a King of Imps and Patron of Madness, but now they also had a Lord of Civilization.

The answer was made clear, then; he had to choose the most worthy of the imps, those who were the calmest and possessed the least aptitude for mayhem and madness, and to them he would offer give freely gift that they would take. That one band could craft a rudimentary civilization whilst their brethren wandered as nomads or wallowed in useless squalor, and in leading by example they might eventually raise all of the other imps to a higher station. But until then, they would be his Chosen among the imps and the ambassadors or Promus. The imps themselves could be the spies that kept watch on Gremju, if only they would submit to Makai's godly authority and embrace the guidance of Promus.

It seemed unlikely that the demon would even forbid such an arrangement, so Makaizael went so far as to ask for his blessing in the endeavor, [color=saddlebrown]"The imps speak, but they could do so much more. A tree should not be content to merely flower when it could bear fruit, and likewise there are many more gifts that I could bestow upon the imps. You need only permit me to stay longer, and in time this holy place could be guarded by an entire kingdom of imps rather than a few lazing guardians."[/color]


Gremju paused for a moment to consider the request, after a moment of thought he pointed at the imps as they continued their struggle to form twelve groups, [color=662d91] "Alright, if you can find enough imps that are orderly enough to make a stable civilization, go ahead. If you can get them to become a power to rival the other mortal races that will eventually rise up then I'll happily allow them to live with my blessing and I can only assume the blessing of Promus. Buuuut as a catch I'm gonna have to test 'em myself when they've progressed enough. I'll give ya two days with the twelve groups assembled to try and find the imps you want, after that they're leaving to wander the world while you try to civilize my creations. That sound good to you?"[/color] the challenger asked after stating the offer. [color=662d91] "Oh and no fancy magic to bind them or change them, that's cheating and I'm not a fan of cheats." [/color] he added.

[color=saddlebrown]"Then the deal is made."[/color]

[hider=Summary]
Makaizael is one of the three heroes of Promus that got sent on a quest to spy on the 'demons'. He's stalking Gremju.

He witnesses the argument between Gremju and Orfai.

Afterwards, he flies low to the ground and avoids detection as he follows Gremju all the way back to the Plains of Madness.

He commands the sand to hide him, then waits for a long time. He watches as Gremju makes the strange trees that grow upon crystals, then as Kap Gam steals one, and then as Gremju later makes imps.

Eventually his cover gets blown when one of the imps stumbles across his hiding spot. Gremju investigates the visitor and Makai claims to have come in order to see Gremju's works and watch the imps. There's a short argument when Makai complains about how the imps are crippled and held back by their own nature and by how Gremju refuses to promote some sort of order, but Makai still has hope for the imps even if he half-secretly thinks Gremju is a monstrous demon.

Makai gives the imps the gift of speech (-2 Prestige) and Gremju says that he'll repay the favor sometime.

Gremju has the imps divide themselves into numerous groups; his plan is that at any point there will be some imps in the Plains of Madness to defend the trees, whilst the other groups are free to do whatever they want.

But to further his original mission of keeping an eye on Gremju and to attempt to slowly raise up the imps, Makai decides that he will choose some of these imps and do his best to civilize them. That group will be able to act as agents of Makaizael and Promus, always in a prime position to keep tabs on Gremju and also to slowly civilize and convert their wilder brethren. Gremju tells Makai to go ahead and try civilizing some imps, provided he doesn't use some sort of magic to bind or fundamentally alter them. But he also promises that the chosen 'civilized' imps will be challenged and tested, in due time.[/hider]
[hider=Prestige]
Makai started with 14.
He gets 5 for this post (base 2, another 2 for collab, 1 for following quest)
He completed his quest, which took 3 turns including the one on which it was assigned. +2 for that.
But he spends two to create impseak for the imps.
He ends with 19 Prestige.[/hider]