[center][h1][b][u]Dakari[/u][/b][/h1][/center] [hr] Dakari smirked. These past two decades had been nothing if not good for him. He had gathered allies, and led his people to victory. Elsewhere, he had heard that other Neiyari were having difficulty, but not him. He had carved out a section of the Luminant for himself, and one day, he hoped, the entire region would be his. He had kept faith in both Cadiri and Neiyara, as was owed, and that faith had been rewarded. “I give praise to you, Cadiri and Neiyara,” Dakari had whispered during his morning prayer. “I have led my people to victory, destroyed my foes in battle, and held true to both my promises and my threats. All in your name. I will continue to do so, until the Luminant is mine.” [color=violet]“No,”[/color] spoke a familiar voice, [color=violet]“you won’t.”[/color] Dakari’s eyes widened. “What?” [color=violet]“Grim news, I’m afraid,”[/color] Cadiri spoke apologetically. [color=violet]“Oraeliara has placed a curse upon you and your people. Never again shall your women bear children.”[/color] The news struck him like an arrow. “She… did… what?” he whispered, slowly and quietly. [color=violet]“You’ve all been made infertile. Without some other way to perpetuate your race, your extinction is all but assured.”[/color] The God spoke in a disapproving tone, clearly thinking Oraeliara had gone too far. And she had. “That… that [i]bitch…[/i]” Dakari cursed, as the severity of what had been done to his people began to sink in. “This… this cannot stand. You must reverse it!” [color=violet]“Easier said than done,”[/color] Cadiri replied. [color=violet]“This happens to be her specialty. And I would thank you not to make demands of me.”[/color] “I… forgive me, but my people have been sentenced to extinction!” [color=violet]”A pity,”[/color] the God agreed. [color=violet]“Rather unsporting, too. You were doing so well for yourself, and to lose it all without a single battle fought…”[/color] “No!” Dakari shouted, before lowering his voice. “I will not go quietly without a fight. If they have taken my people’s future, then I shall take theirs! I will sweep across the Luminant. I will burn their homes, slaughter their wives and children, make them all suffer. I will not stop until-” [color=violet]“Enough,”[/color] Cadiri cut him off. [color=violet]“Think of the long-term. Even if you succeed, you will gain nothing from such a move.”[/color] “Oraeliara removed the need to think in the long-term the moment she put that curse on my people!” Dakari argued. “We will die, and we will leave nothing behind. We can either die fighting, or we can die old and helpless.” [color=violet]“And what if you didn’t die at all?”[/color] Cadiri asked. The Neiyari Warleader blinked. “What do you mean?” [color=violet]“I cannot restore your fertility, but I can take you and your people to a place where you will never age, and never want for anything. In exchange, all I ask is for you to pledge yourself to me further. I have a need for a flexible group of warriors, made for battle, who will go where I tell them to go and fight when I tell them to fight,”[/color] the God offered. [color=violet]“A fair deal, is it not?”[/color] “What of Neiyara?” Dakari asked. [color=violet]“You’ll still give worship to her, of course,”[/color] Cadiri said. [color=violet]“And I’m sure she will be pleased to know that her creations are being preserved."[/color] Dakari considered the offer. It seemed cowardly, to leave the Luminant - his home - and his enemies behind, when there was still such a great wrong which needed to be righted. At the same time, however, Cadiri had been good for him, and had just offered his people eternal life. He also suspected that rejecting the god’s offer now would earn his ire, which was the last thing he needed right now. Dakari knew enough about power that an ‘offer’ or a ‘suggestion’ from someone of sufficient authority was as good as a command. Besides, if they no longer needed to worry about death, that gave them all the time in the world to plan their revenge against Oraeliara. “Very well,” he said. “I accept.” [color=violet]“Good. Gather all those who wish to follow you, and tell me when you are ready to depart.”[/color] [hr] In the end, only a little more than three hundred Neiyari of fighting age were willing to follow, along with their children. Many had refused, with some even going so far as to call him a coward, or to challenge his leadership, claiming they should be avenging this insult against them instead of running away. Those people were dealt with swiftly and mercilessly, for Dakari would brook no challenges, threats, or insults even now. Others had simply quietly walked off, and Dakari had let them go. He would take only those who were truly loyal. “Lord Cadiri,” he prayed, “we are ready.” There was a long silence, and for a moment Dakari wondered if his prayer had even reached the god. Then there was a sharp [i]crack![/i], as reality itself was torn open, and a glowing purple portal materialized before them. Steeling himself, Dakari stepped through. [hr] He emerged on a vast, flat, grassy island. In the distance across a sea, two other islands could be seen; one with a black imposing imposing fortress, and the other with a colourful village. A tall white-haired figure stood before him, clad in golden armour, and when Dakari realized who it was, he quickly knelt. Those of his people who followed in behind him quickly did the same. Cadiri simply waited patiently, as the Neiyari entered his realm. When all were in, the portal finally closed. [color=violet]“That’s all of you?”[/color] he asked. [color=violet]“Very good,”[/color] he said, without waiting for anyone to answer. [color=violet]“Hm. You’ll require lodgings, I suppose.”[/color] He waved his hand, and an entire town materialized behind them, with uniform but marvelous marble buildings. [color=violet]“Now then, why I brought you here. You are to be my warriors. When I require it, I will send you to Galbar to fight in my name and see my interests fulfilled. Between battles, you will spend your days here, alternating between luxuries and training. A generous offer, yes?”[/color] Many of the Neiyari nodded. Cadien smiled. [color=violet]“Good! Now then, to business. You’ve proven yourselves capable warriors, but you need more discipline. More cohesion. You all favour different weapons and have varying amounts of armour. No more.”[/color] The God of Perfection waved his hand, and a black arch sprouted from the ground in front of them. He pointed to one of the Neiyari. [color=violet]“You. Girl. Step through it.”[/color] The Neiyari rose to her feet, and with a stoic demeanor she stepped through the portal. At once her clothing fading away, replaced by a full suit of midnight-black armour, complete with a helmet, and holes in the back for her wings. She stared at her new equipment in awe. [color=violet]“The rest of you,”[/color] Cadien ordered. [color=violet]“Go through it.”[/color] And so they did, each one receiving their own custom suit of black armour. And they each alternated between looking reverently at their new armour and at Cadien himself. [color=violet]“Very good,”[/color] the God smiled, once the last one had been equipped. [color=violet]“However, I suppose all that armour might make it harder for you to fly, won’t it? You’ll need a new way to move swiftly, I think.”[/color] Another snap of his fingers, and hundreds of beasts materialized in the open field before them. They were a dark grey with black manes on the back of their neck, standing on four hooves, and each had a sharp golden horn jutting from their forehead. These creatures were made to be ridden, with leather saddles and stirrups that were part of their very body. Unlike most natural creatures, they did not look upon the Neiyari with any sort of fear. [color=violet]“You will tame these beasts and learn to ride them,”[/color] the God instructed. [color=violet]“They will serve as your mounts. Only then will you be ready to go into battle.”[/color] His smile returned. [color=violet]“Now, then. Get to it.”[/color] [hr] [hider=Post Summary] So we get to see how Dakari has been doing ever since Cadien blessed him. Turns out, pretty good. He’s managed to expand his territory, acquire allies, and keep the Oraeliari out. Then Cadien contacts him and lets him know about Oraelia’s curse. Dakari is understandably pissed off by this development, and wants to genocide every single Oraeliari, which is uh… a bit less understandable. Anyway Cadien talks him out of it and convinces Dakari to come join him in Meliorem instead. Some of Dakari’s people refuse to come, so he either kills them or lets them go. Anyway they reach Meliorem, and Cadien is like: “Okay so it’s time to turn you lot into actual soldiers.” He builds houses for them, gives them some cool armour, creates a new species of special mounts, and gives them a number of other powers. Thus, the Black Hussars are born. [/hider] [hider=MP Summary] [u]Cadien[/u] [b]Beginning MP:[/b] 5 [b]Beginning DP:[/b] 5 -1MP to teleport a bunch of Neiyari to Meliorem. -2MP and 2DP to create a monument: the Armourer of Meliorem. This Monument will outfit an individual with a perfectly-fitting set of black steel armour. The armour consists of chaimail, cuirass, gauntlets, greaves, pauldrons, an open-faced helmet, and a purple cape. -2MP to create an extraordinary beast: Shadowsteeds. These are basically dark grey unicorns. They are quite fast, have a lot of stamina, and feel no fear. -1DP to create the title Painless I: Members of this Holy Order are more numb to pain, feeling just enough to let them know when they are injured but never enough to seriously affect their ability to fight. -1DP to create the title Fearless I: Members of this Holy Order are more resistant to fear and terror. -1DP to create the title Disciplined Mounts I: Members of this Holy Order will maintain perfect formation in a cavalry charge. [/hider] [hider=Prestige Summary] [u]Dakari[/u] [b]Beginning:[/b] 5 +4 for 7500+ characters [b]Ending:[/b] 9 [u]The Black Hussars[/u] [b]Beginning:[/b] 0 +4 for 7500+ characters [b]Ending:[/b] 4 [/hider]