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[h3]The Corrupter[/h3]
Level Three God of Perfection (Corruption)
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[color=blueviolet][b]Halazael[/b] of the Heavens, Level 1 Hero[/color] 
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No more than a few moments after their agreement had been reached, his brothers had already scattered to the wind in chase. Both of them knew where to go, yet Larwen had already departed this place and his whereabouts were not so clear as those of the two other two demons. So Halazael remained in place for a few moments as he contemplated how to begin.

A gentle thrust lifted him even higher into the Celestial Sphere, so high that even the clouds were leagues below his dangling feet. This was a start, for it had been his plan to observe Larwen from afar and remain at a height so great that detecting him would be nigh impossible. Yet below him and the clouds there was only a vast expanse of oceanic blue and a sprawling carpet of green. There were no signs of the demon that he sought, at least from this high. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting; nothing short of half the world set aflame would have revealed the Corruptor's presence to his sight, but there were other ways to find a god.

When he closed his eyes and reached out to brush the fabric of the heavens with his bare hands, there were ripples and tears that he could feel along its seams. One such streak of turmoil and twisted magic led to the east; Halazael suspected that he had found the demon's footprints. They trod a path across the great sea and back around to the other side of the great landmass from which the journey had begun, and looming over the coast were the shadows of great mountains that jutted upwards like spears. In the middle of the range was one twisted spire that stood above all the others as a sort of standard, and even from the stratosphere above Halazael could sense the corruption within Mount Pervanon. It sprawled outwards from some cavernous depths within, creeping to consume the surrounding lands. Naturally, Halazael was apprehensive about approaching it.

Though his brothers were more prone to speech, their words carried less meaning. Whereas they had been carried away by their own tasks, Hala never lost sight of his purpose, and so he reported to his master. [color=blueviolet]"Larwen has settled in a range of mountains near the shore. Corruption spills forth from his lair beneath the largest spire. I am in position to observe the area from outside."[/color]

Even spoken with the softest breath amidst the howling winds of the Celestial Sphere, the words found their way to Promus' ear. The air did not carry back the god's response; it merely echoed in Halazael's own mind as clearly as his own thoughts. [i][color=skyblue]'You have done well. I bid you continue your watch, but beware the peril below. I remember the tragedy of a people called the Icarids, a people who I witnessed in my youth as they crafted wings of wax; they became as gods, yet flew too close to the sun and were returned to the earth by their hubris and impulse. Larwen's touch and that mountain are as the sun to the Icarid that is you. You must not draw too close in your vigil.'[/color][/i]

The Watcher passed many minutes in contemplation.  [color=blueviolet]"My feet shall never so much as touch the ground."[/color]

Out of an abundance of caution, he concealed himself within the clouds by day and glowed as one of the distant stars by night. There were not yet any beings on Galbar so familiar with the heavens to notice another light join the constellations, so his brazen camouflage was perfect and it enabled him to draw close enough to the earth that he could witness the happenings within the demon's demesne. To his horror and alarm, he saw monsters emerge in the night to seize whatever beings they could find and carry them back into the vile mountain for nefarious ends.

When a small band of Zalsarix had surrounded a stray party of Sullied and sought to grab at the fae, Halazael took action and gifted the witless creatures below with one of the stars by his side. Propelled by the magic of his words, it fell from the Celestial Sphere, and when the meteor struck it killed fae and Zalsarix alike. It was his mercy.

[i]A better fate than capture, or a tortured existence as one of the demon's slaves.[/i]

As the night went on, and one after it, there emerged more Zalsarix. He had thought to similarly smite them, but then he remembered that he was a simple spy, not some champion of the light. He thought ill of risking the demon's attention, so he was content to merely watch as the Zalsarix did what they would. The fates of those unfortunate fae and other creatures were of little concern in the greater scheme of things and far from valuable enough to warrant risking his own life for theirs. Halazael suspected that his master would agree with such an assessment.

As it turned out, they did not need him to be their champion. Others emerged; he witnessed the demon's confrontation with Lasis. The goddess played with fire as she erected a fortress right in Larwen's face, but she was far from the only one. He also sensed an unfamiliar, weaker presence sneak into Pervanon. When it made its escape and Halazael witnessed Telum's frantic flight from the labyrinths below, he could not help but shake his head and wonder at what sort of defect could cause bravery to reach such a point of foolishness.

In the distance, he could found that he could see a great host of Unsullied approaching Pervanon, led by some king that radiated power. 

[i]I predict that they all die.[/i] 

He wore an empty visage and mulled to himself for some more time, but then Pervanon was suddenly alive as though it had been a mound spilling forth legions of raging ants. They sallied forth to meet the crusading fae that had come to challenge their master, and by this point Halazael found himself actually hoping that the demon would make another droll appearance on the surface even as his armies marched off to do their foul bidding and challenge their untainted brethren.

The Watcher's perverse wish came true. In a flagrant manner similar to Lasis, Regulus arrived and tried to make a stand against Larwen. He displayed some rabble in a show of force, though the fool seemed rebuffed with his grandstanding having resulted in nothing.

All of this he reported to Promus, who seemed impassive about all save for Regulus' intervention. The taste of his father's displeasure at Regulus' failed attempt briefly crept into the Watcher's mind, though not the rationale behind such emotion.

Perhaps he had simply hoped that the two gods would have killed one another. That might have been a favorable outcome, what with the demon gone as well as a foolhardy, rival god of civilization that doubtless would lead mortals astray. 

[hr]

As Larwen returned to his great mount after the bout with Regulus, he was tired of his siblings' interventions into his plans. From wretched rebellion to a failed attacks upon his life, he was fed up with it all. There was little hope it would ever stop however, being how they could never understand what Larwen wanted. They failed to see that perfection only had one form, and it was his. Beauty unfounded, and in order with his will. There was no other way for this. 

Eventually Larwen reached the Forge of Purity, where his Zalsarix now meandered about, licking their meager wounds. it was the perfect opportunity to see how their numbers fared. He had sacrificed one to the pit, leaving the rest unscathed, but Larwen had counted three missing, but before he could have investigated further, Telum had decided to reveal himself, then the Fae challenged him, and then Regulus. So many excuses, but no longer. 

His count had been true, three of the Zalsarix, his children, his first born's, they were missing and not by his own hand. He also doubted the Fae had anything to do with it either. No, something else was afoot here, and Larwen would find the truth. Whether it be unruly siblings, or a nefarious being yet unheard of, Larwen would make them pay. He slipped out of Pervanon in great haste, the Zalsarix in tow, for they would help him find their lost siblings. 

The Zalsarix were made from him, his might and energy, it was easier then he had thought to locate them, or what remained. The Zalsarix huddled around a large crater, and Larwen stood in the center, touching the earth. Another disappointment it seemed, but how? A godly smiting? No, he would have felt the energy of the culprit if that was the case. Had it simply been a product of the universe, sending down a meteor to cleanse the Zalsarix? Unlikely, yet.. Larwen gazed up at the sky for the first time since he had arrived in the mountains, seeing nothing, but paranoia filled him. What if a winged thing had caused this? A servant of a god, or a god them self? The questioned needed to be answered, and Larwen needed something that could fly.

[hr]

There was nothing lurking above for Larwen to observe even if he had possessed eyes capable of perceiving Halazael. The Lord of Civilization had already descended low to the ground and neared the entrance of the hollow within Pervanon, for the demon had left his lair and it had seemed as though he had similarly ordered out all of its inhabitants. The place was truly unguarded, and a burning itch in Hala's mind longed to see what sort of horrors lurked within...just out of curiosity. It would be so that he could report it all [s]to his father[/s], to Promus, of course.  

A muttered word of power had melded his flesh with that of the starstuff from which he had been wrought, rendering him nigh invisible as he moved through the black tunnels as nothing more than a patch of the dark void that lurked in the gaps between stars. Then with the fortitude of his mind to act as a shield against the dark presence of Pervanon itself, Halazael traversed the tunnels. His eyes perceived every detail even in the darkest corners, such was the power of his nature.

He found himself descending downwards into the deeps, and with the passing of every increasingly twisted sight he thought that he must be nearing the end. The end never was around the next corridor though; the tunnels twisted on and on into the very roots of the mountain. It was not until several hours had passed that he found himself before the Pit that had birthed all of the corruption; he knew instantly that this was the source of the shadow that had fallen upon the land. It glowered in a sickly green light and burned with unholy fire, yet was gelid and flowing as if the strange liquid had once been the fiery blood of the earth before Larwen had touched it.

[color=blueviolet][i]I should not have come this deep.[/i][/color]

[i][color=skyblue]'No, you ignored my counsel and have drawn too close to the sun. Do you feel it? The wax already melts. I had thought better of you. Even now Larwen will be returning to his pit of despair; effect an escape if you sti-.'[/color][/i]

He closed off his mind to Promus' bothersome prattling. He needed no such warning, for the foul vapors rising from the Pit were enough to make his skin crawl and he dared not linger lest the corruption find a way to take root in him. But he had seen all that there had been to see, and now for good or ill his purpose here would come to an end; he had no intention of returning to watch the outside of this mound for another moon whilst the demon's suspicions were aroused, so his vigil was over.

But if rousing Larwen's attention would soon be of no concern, he may as well leave a parting gift. He turned his sight towards what Larwen called the 'Forge of Purity' and uttered one syllable of power: [b]fade.[/b] Like the light of a distant star that was stretched over the incomprehensibly vast voids of space until it fell upon Galbar's night sky in a form as close to nothing as something could be, the corruption spilling out of that well quickly began to wane. Soon the sickly green would dry and cool and the fount of unholy power would become as nothing at all, unless Larwen returned in time to reverse the process.

One could hope.

With the silent speed of a shadow on the wall, Halazael began to flee.

[hr]

On his way back to Pervanon, Larwen felt something most profound, the Forge of Purity was waning in strength. He let out a terrible scream, and raced henceforth back to Pervanon. In his arrogance, he had thought no one would venture into his mountain, so he had foolishly left it empty. A most fatal error, less he arrive back in time to find the intruder and fix the Forge before it was too late. Leaving the Zalsarix, Larwen reached Pervanon and entered its depths. Upon his way down, he felt a strange presence lurking in the shadows, one vaguely reminiscent of his perfection but the Forge was his priority, so he raced on.

When Larwen entered the chamber, his fears turned true, the intruder had done something to cool the pit down. It would take time, but Larwen began to fix the damage before it became too severe. While he worked, Pervanon echoed with his whispers, [color=maroon]"Unwanted guest, you will pay for what you have wrought. This is the promise of a God."[/color]

[hr]

The crisp and refreshingly sweet air outside greeted the Watcher when he found his way out, but Larwen's echoing threat was not far behind. As he once more entered the stratosphere and traversed the Celestial Sphere, he had a moment to contemplate what he had just done. Somehow he was fazed by neither the imminent threat of his master's displeasure nor that of the demon's vengeance.

When he was above an empty expanse of water and in the middle of the ocean, he deemed the distance safe enough and cast off the shroud of darkness that had been hiding him thus far. It was with a shock muddled by heartlessness and apathy that he then noticed a blackened hue to the formerly pale skin of his right hand. With his left he prodded at the grey flesh, finding it toughened and gnarled. He drove a nail into a tender spot just barely deep enough to draw blood, and for a moment he thought that he saw the reflection of the Pit's green flames shine in a lonely drop of his blood that fell down into the ocean below.

[hider=Summary]
Halazael, the hero of Promus, tracks down Larwen to spy upon him. 

Promus feels the need to recount a tale of warning to Halazael and tell him to stay far from the mountain. Halazael agrees.

He watches Pervanon from outside for a long while and reports to Promus what's been going on.

At one point, he sees a group of fae being assaulted by some of the Zalsarix and kills them all with a meteor. It's his gift of mercy, to both the Zalsarix and their victims.

Then he realizes that there's no point in trying to save the Zalsarix's victims and decides to not risk anything like that again.

As time goes on, Halazael begins to act uncharacteristically inpatient and impulsive. When Larwen comes outside searching for the missing Zalsarix and his corrupted fae are out facing the crusading host, Halazael sneaks into Pervanon.

He eventually finds the Forge of Purity and curses it (-3 Prestige for the sabotage).

Larwen senses what happened, and he comes to quickly stop the damage as Halazael flees. He calls out a threat, but Hal gets away.

Once he's safely away, he realizes that both Promus and Larwen are going to be livid. He doesn't care very much.

But then he looks at his right hand and sees signs of corruption.
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[hider=Prestige]
Halazael 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.
He spends 3 on cursing the Pit.
He spends 2 on calling down the meteor that kills several Zalsarix and fae.
He ends with 16 Prestige.
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