Jute shook her head at the Grynixia. ?No, I think I?ll keep wandering for a while.? Confused, the flying creatures left, bickering about which one of them had made her want to stay. Jute, on the other hand, had forgotten about them immediately. She felt something much more interesting and deadly occurring. A war between gods had broken out and she felt that this was the perfect time to act.
Meanwhile, from deep in the inferno, Jute?s crystal heart let out a small burst of energy, completely unnoticeable to all but those who were specifically searching for it. (This led one of her old minions to tell Nylia of Jute?s existence.) Jute felt a new presence on her throne, a new usurper, but this was of no concern to her. What was most important was the other presences that she had felt throughout the three realms. War was obvious but so was sloth. Jute felt the need to stir up action. She began walking for a time, headed in the direction of Trelas? swamp.
As she traveled the other gods were rounding up and punishing Kreios. She grinned with malice at what she hoped would torture that god who had dared to usurp her throne. She entered the realm of Trelas and a large stone creature with a dark cloud surrounding it assaulted her. She deftly dodged away from its large fists. This creature seemed to be defending its territory. It also seemed to be mindless, so the next time it struck she became invisible and dodged, letting it think it had killed her. She grinned as it left and continued on her way. She approached the now fully reformed Trelas with a malicious smile.
_____________
Elsewhere, Acanthus had finished his books. Every single one of the gods that he had met had been summarized, and given a special symbol. Even Aspestis and Korterra had been tabulated, as several Prachians had left the area of Aspestis? home dreadfully ill but strangely pleased about that fact and others had had telling nightmares and visions. As he looked, he noticed that there was a space missing on the shelf. Surely, he had made just enough room to fit all of the gods in the world? But of course, he had! It was just large enough for one more god, but that space was empty. Another god existed and he hadn?t written about them because he had never even heard about them. But who? And why?
___________
Trelas grinned back at Jute, he nodded to her. She had promised that songs would be sung about him for all eternity if he went along with her plan. She was so sweet and innocent too, he couldn?t help but agree. Jute nodded and left, smiling the darkest smile that was ever smiled. As she walked away, Trelas exploded into a cloud of black mist that spread over the swamp. All of his creations began changing into terrifying and strange shapes as the land itself began to change under their feet. A dark arrow twitched and writhed at the corner of Jute?s mouth. She was deadly pleased with how smoothly her plans were going.
The world would be hers, and it would be easy to take it. Jute then appeared in the demesne of Korterra. The terrifying creatures there demanded she leave. It was the last words they?d ever speak. Jute walked into Korterra?s home grinning wildly.
_______________
The gods were finishing up their trial. Kreios was to be sent to the Inferno again, post haste. Nylia grinned as she closed his box and put him in the lowest part of her twisted prison. The trial had been decided, the gods adjourned to their respective territories.
_____________
Acanthus gasped as he saw Trelas? book disappear. He looked up at the roof of his library. A new constellation had appeared that wasn?t there before. It was in the shape of a lute with an eye inside. What had happened? He sent out a calling using all of the Prachians at his immediate disposal.
?Gather the gods here! Quickly!?
The Prachians left as soon as they could, hurrying to all of the gods. They wasted no time, even breaking into Paradise to find them.
_______________
The labyrinth sunk into the ground as Jute stepped outside. She now had dark, leathery wings attached to her back. She lined them with spikes and grinned. She let out a small burp and giggled, a little hysterically. ?Fear,? She said as she grew to the height of a young woman. Her hair was now blonde and her eyes were yellow. Her bare arms were lined with snake tattoos. ?What an interesting flavor.?
_______________
Lyandra, Kylian, Foteea, Braun, Sanguine, Miurcrost, Ulmo, Nylia, Craigin, Mathias, Adarani, and Aspestis had all gathered in Acanthus? Hall, brought mostly by the urgency in the voices of the Prachians. Acanthus took neither the time to greet them all nor introduce himself to any of them. They all murmured amongst themselves until he waved his hand at the head of the table. He had brought out the bookcase with their books on it. He cast a spell at the roof of the Hall that made it like the roof of his library.
?Thank you for coming. I?m glad this many of you could come, and I fear for those who did not. On this bookshelf lies a book for each and every one of you. I have spent much time detailing the history of the world on these books and I have finally finished the magic of names. However, when I had finished, I noticed something incredibly disturbing.?
?Um, Acanthus?? Mathias raised his hand, studying the bookshelf, ?Where?s Trelas? name? Did you leave it out on accident??
Acanthus shook his head, a tear in his eye. ?No, my dear brother, ?twas not me that removed his name from this shelf. I?m afraid that Trelas has been murdered.?
The room burst into an explosion of chatter as they all reacted to this news. Mathias, Nylia, Braun and Kylian had stood up at the injustice of it. Ulmo stroked his beard in thought as Foteea shook her head in disbelief. Miurcost took this time to tell a story about a young mortal who had vanished while nobody really paid attention. Craigin remained silent while Aspestis, Adarani, and Sanguine voiced confusion. Acanthus tried to calm them down but was greatly distressed himself as he looked at the group. Kylian pointed at the bookshelf ?Look!?
Another book vanished from the shelf. Korterra was now just a constellation in the sky.
________________
Kreios looked up at the person standing in front of him. ?Who are you? Do you wanna punish me too?? He watched as she grinned at him. ?Don?t you recognize me Kreios? Not that same child you used to be?But then again, neither am I.?
Jute grinned as Kreios? face gradually changed into one of recognition and confusion and then into abject horror. ?Oh good, you do remember. Are you wondering how I found you? It wasn?t hard, if you know the right places to look. Or are you wondering what I?m going to do to you since you stole my throne? But no need to be afraid. I don?t want to kill you. In fact, I need you.?
__________
The gathering had erupted into chaos again. Everyone was talking at once, even Craigin seemed a little unnerved. They didn?t know what exactly had happened to Korterra, but it was obvious to all that the god of fear was deceased.
Acanthus raised his hand for silence once more. ?It is obvious that there is another god among us, one who has already slayed two of our kin. But for what purpose? Who could it be?? All thoughts of the mysterious empty space god had vanished with these new threats.
Kylian stood. ?It?s Genocide! He wanted to fight us from the start!?
Mathias and Nylia looked at each other and spoke together. ?Kreios.?
____________
?So, that is how you can get back at those meanies.? Jute said. ?Do this and I?ll give you as many toys as you?d ever want to play with.?
Kreios nodded. ?I don?t really care about toys right now, but what I do care about is getting revenge on my punishers. I?ll do it.?
?Go to the mists Kreios.? Jute said. He nodded and turned to the nearest wall. He slashed a hole into it with a curved blade and jumped through.
___________
Acanthus nodded at the two. ?It may be.? Then a knock came on the door. Acanthus waved it open and in the doorway stood a Prachian. It was struggling to stand. Adarani ran over and put her hand on the creature, restoring it with life. It healed but immediately seemed as if to waver in and out of existence. ?The Senri.? It said, its mind seemed to be pulsating. ?They?re monsters.?
With that it began to change into a silvery liquid that Adarani dropped from her outstretched hands. The liquid hit the floor of the hall and melted through it, travelling downward towards the base of the mountain.
Aspestis looked around. ?Brothers and sisters?Are any of you confused about this too??
They all nodded in shock.
__________
Kreios looked at all of the deformed monsters around him. Their corruption was like an echo of his own. The madness of Trelas was physically manifest upon the world and Kreios was there to command it. ?Jute gave me an army. Now I?ll get back at those traitors. And first I?m gonna start with Genocide because he left me alone in the inferno.? So he charged towards the home of the War God and as he did the crazed deformed beasts followed him. The land itself began to change and whirl under their feet as they passed over it. All they left behind them was a swirling realm of pure chaos.
They ran towards the realm of Genocide, faster than any mortal might normally run. Genocide lifted his great sword towards the army on the horizon. He called the Krul to battle with a grin on his face and called forward the army of cretins that that girl had created for him. The two forces collided with great power and the cacophony of war began.
Genocide swept through the turmoil with his great blade, laughing as the deformed creations were swept away by his might. The Krul and Cretins fought well and hard holding their own against the beasts. Kreios began to get very angry. Be calm. I have this under control. Jute said in his mind.
Suddenly Genocide stopped swinging the sword. He struggled against it as it hung in the air. He pulled as hard as his bulging muscles could pull, but it remained stationary. It would no longer work for him. He released it and it flew off into the distance as if shot by a trebuchet. Genocide laughed maniacally, he would not go down without a fight. He began attacking the beasts with his gauntleted hands, punching and slinging he ripped many of them to shreds. But more kept appearing on the horizon and many of the Krul were beginning to become deformed themselves. The Cretins were still holding their own when Kreios heard a snapping sound.
All of the Cretins suddenly turned to dust as Jute cracked each and every one of their right kneecaps with the force of her malice. The tides had turned. The chaos beasts were overwhelming the Krul and adding them to their own number. Genocide continued to deal out punishment even while several of the beasts attached themselves to his armor. They began to rend the metal and the red flesh beneath. Genocide ripped one last creature in half before the rest had eaten away all that was left of him.
Then Kreios turned his eyes to the north.
_________
?It has become chaos?? Acanthus said thoughtfully. The others looked at him, many different emotions flashed across their faces. He turned back to the hall and gasped for the third time that day. Another book was gone. In the sky there was a new constellation, one of a bloody sword. Genocide was gone.
They heard a loud sound that shook the ground around them. They looked in the direction of the noise. Malus Dou Makakhan?s great maw was visible even from such a long distance. He was screaming. Those that focused their vision gasped. Dragons were flying around attacking an army of small creatures that had climbed upon the flanks of the world destroyer. Even as they watched the great beast let out another scream and fell over. The ground quaked from the impact of his fall. The gods didn?t need to look to know that his book had vanished and that a new constellation had appeared.
Everyone gathered had grim looks on their faces. They looked at each other. The time for discussion was over. Now was the time for action. Adarani looked towards the fires that were the remains of Malus. She cried in despair.
?The Vitaiim! They?re under attack!?
___________
Jute sat in a dark place, watching all that was going on. She had helped Kreios in the first battle, but with his numbers bolstered by the new additions of the chaos-changed Kruls, Kreios was able to defeat Malus on his own. The dragons themselves became beasts of chaos and madness as Kreios? army became even greater. It seemed to be absorbing even the animals into its ranks.
?Kreios,? She whispered into the god?s ear. ?Will you thank me when all of this is through??
Kreios sounded angry as he replied, ?Thank you for what? I was the one who did all the work. You just sat there and watched. This was all me and I?m not thanking you for any of it.? With that he severed the connection that she had made with him.
Jute grinned, all according to plan.
__________
The gods erupted from Hl?radr. Braun gave a great leap and ran at his full speed when he landed at the base of the mountain. Lyandra, Nylia, and Kylian all flew at speed towards Adarani?s islands. Miurcrost teleported with a ?Sounds like the lass?ll need my help!? Mathias began to glow as he floated down from the top and ran with Braun. Craigin cracked his neck and turned towards the Ossi, he would ready them for war. Ulmo looked towards the sea, ?I must return to my home. I will gather what strength I can.?
Acanthus looked at the two that remained. ?Sanguine, Aspestis, what will you do??
Sanguine grinned, its mouth seemed to grow even more teeth as its head seemed almost split in half by its mouth. ?Eat.? And it ran off towards the islands on all fours.
Aspestis seemed more confused. ?Dear sibling?should I protect my own home? Or do I go to the islands and help? My dear sister Nylia might not enjoy my presence there?? It continued to mumble to itself for a moment before floating towards its home.
Acanthus shook his head and looked back at the now empty hall. ?Such a waste, all this extravagance is too much for one old man.? He looked over the world on the top of his high mountain and took a deep breath. He forced the Hall into a pinprick of light and absorbed it back within himself. Then he sent out a calling to all of the remaining Prachians. The guardians were to bring him his magical items and then go with the rest to war. Genocide would have been pleased.
__________
Ulmo entered his underwater throne. All was peaceful under the sea. A yellow serpent with black arrows on it twined its way behind the great throne of Ulmo. It whispered into his ear as he rested on his throne, having forgotten why he had even returned in the first place. ?Ulmo, sssleep. Trussst me there isss nothing to fear. There isss no danger here. The sssea is calm, you ssshould be alssso.? Ulmo began nodding off. All was fine. He needn?t worry about anything.
He didn?t even feel it when the great serpent sank its deadly fangs into his neck. After that dreadful bite, he would never wake again. The serpent left the home of Ulmo and slithered onto the shore. It immediately raised its head and began to sway in the air. It grew legs and stood. Jute cracked her fingers and toes. ?That was fun.? She said, turning to look at the chaos of Kreios? war.
___________
Kreios saw the gods coming for him and split into many blobs of clay. He called forth his corrupted soldiers, now children no more. They led the great army, running on water that swiftly became grass, then sand, then stone and back under their feet.
The Vitaiim fought as well as they could but none of their martial arts techniques could incapacitate the abominations. The few that could fight were aided by the ones that had grown claws. The previous looked down upon mutation had become a sort of saving grace. The cast spells of protection around the monasteries that hadn?t already been invaded but it was unclear as to how long those spells might hold out.
Mathias became angry. Righteous fury broiled through him as he saw Kreios clearly disobeying the punishment that had been given him. Justice shouted through him, ?CEASE AND DESIST!? and for a second the battle stood still as Kreios seemed to waver. ?You will stop this battle at once!? But Kreios looked at him and grinned.
?No. She said that I don?t have to listen to you anymore. She said that I?m allowed to get back at you for what you did to me. So I will!? Kreios said and as he screamed his frustration, all of the chaos beasts did too. Then Mathias started to glow as Justice overtook him. His eyes streamed a white mist as the spear became longer and sharper. Mathias began hacking his way through the beasts towards Kreios. But the Kreios he was heading towards had disappeared.
?He?s made more copies!? Mathias bellowed to the other gods.
The warriors all brandished great weapons Nylia had her club, Lyandra and Kylian had swords, Mathias had his spear, and Braun himself seemed to be battering the beasts with a large tree that he swung like a bat. Sanguine arrived and simply began to eat as many of the chaos creatures as he could.
Adarani sent wave after wave of healing paradise energy out among her people but nearly cried when she saw ones that were healed just recently begin to mutate and become chaos beasts. She called her people to her and focused an extreme blast of healing towards them. The ones touched by the energy began to glow golden and seemed to be immune from the chaos that came from the beasts.
Lyandra and Kylian were fighting together, slashing and hewing the chaos dragons as they flew through the air, untouchable. Many of the dragons fell from the sky and one of Kreios? clones looked up at the sky with anger. It shot two small pellets of mud at the two gods and as they fought their movements became slower and their appendages began to stick together because of the goo. The dragons were now hitting many times, as the two just couldn?t block their blows. Just when they went to make their hardest attacks, Kreios snapped his fingers and the two got stuck together. They both felt something touch them and in the heat of battle, with fatigue fogging their minds and sweat and blood in their eyes, they swung their blades and slew each other. They landed in the midst of the battle and the gods that were left cried out in fury.
Without two flying gods the Vitaiim started to drop from the sky faster than the other gods could protect them. Adarani, overcome by the amount of deaths that she could both see and feel, gathered the closest Vitaiim to her. Most of those that could fought their way to get to her but many fell in the process. In the end she had just three families of four, she took them with tears in her eyes, and opened a portal into Paradise.
__________
All of Kreios? clones laughed as the flyers died and their healer left. The tides had turned. Even the gods were being pushed back by the beasts. The clones did their best to harry the gods wherever they could. Some were caught and destroyed but Kreios used the corruption of the chaos beasts around him to make more clones.
Mathias looked around, trying to get his bearings on what was happening. He watched as Sanguine, who was now engorged beyond all sense, ate several more beasts. Once it swallowed those it seemed to shiver and then erupt into an explosion of acid and red flesh. The beasts nearby were dissolved by the acid of the now dead god.
?That?s it!? Mathias cried, ?Fall back!? Braun, Miurcost, and Nylia finished off the rest of their nearby enemies and headed towards Mathias. The beasts had taken many casualties but there were still so many, the others were disheartened. They retreated back to the mainland and ran eastward. They would see what Acanthus would do about this.
_____________
When they crested the last hill before the mountain, they gasped. A large army of Ossi stood before them. Several ranks of werewolves could be seen flanking the army led by white werewolves. The army all had weapons as black as night, made of Foteeum. Then from the North came Prachians, at least two hundred strong, shapechanged, casting spells of protection and divination, and magically preparing for war. Among them walked venerable giants of the same race. The protectors of the ruins had come to fight in the war as well.
Then Braun brought a large horn to his lips and blew it with all of his might. Thunder could be heard rolling over the fields. Then the ground began to quake. Over the hills came running thousands of Centaur and hundreds of Minotaur. Such a gathering of mortals wouldn?t be seen again for centuries.
When all the mortals had gathered and prepared for war the gods met in a large tent. They each had a few great leaders of mortals amongst them. Craigin had two Ossi with him, one was obviously the current leader of their army, Tri'huin Hri, but the other was a young, beautiful maiden who looked as if she had just recently gained adulthood. Craigin kept her by his side at all times but would not explain her presence.
The war meeting had begun and they began to discuss the minutia of battle.
______________
Kreios watched as a small lump of clay. The army was large indeed. The rest of the clones took this time to spread the chaos creatures all over the abandoned lands of the gods. The only land that would remain when they were finished would be the mountain Hl?radr, now surrounded by a sea of pure chaos. The only island of the Middle Realm was the last bastion of hope for gods and mortals alike.
Jute saw all of this as if she were there. She laughed maniacally. Everything was boiling down to the end.
______________
The gods had finished their meetings. The army was battle ready. They created a large swath of dirt and waited for the chaos beasts to come.
The chaos around them began to bubble and gurgle. It washed up onto the ever-changing shores like a sea of molasses. The army got into formation, a semicircle around the base of the great mountain. The gods remained on the front lines. Even Aspestis and Foteea had gathered their mortals to fight. A new disease ran rampant among those that would accept it. It made warriors stronger and changed their skin into the consistency of stone while still allowing movement. Foteea had the Grynixia take to the skies and flew up into the air herself.
Nylia unsheathed her mace, grim determination set upon her face. Craigin twirled his branch faster and faster, trying to remain calm even though most of the wilderness had been destroyed. Braun crunched his fists together, cracking his knuckles. Acanthus raised his staff and began to mumble incantations. Miurcrost was less jovial than usual and actually seemed angry. Mathias returned from paradise, having put Love'lyn Joye and his own mortals there with Adarani, who was unable to cope with the grief of losing most of her mortals, and the remaining Vitaiim. He shared a knowing look with Craigin and then brought his spear out.
?Remember,? Mathias yelled to all of the warriors, great and small, gathered there. ?This battle will determine the rest of history! We will not go quietly into the night! We will not be extinguished without a fight! We will take back the Middle Realm! We will quench this madness! WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!? The great army roared with him.
Then the chaos beasts came out of the great swirling mass of chaos. They erupted like bees from a hive, from every direction they came maddening to all of the senses. The creatures ran as fast as they could towards the army. Kreios exited from the pooling chaos himself, fully whole. He grinned maddeningly.
The army collided with a great cacophony of swords clashing and teeth rending. Magic bolts hurled from the side of order into the chaos. Great earthquakes resounded as dragons fell from the sky. The screams of those who had been bitten and changed by the chaos beasts could be heard over even the roar of the armies. The gods tore great swaths through the ranks of abominations but they kept coming from the mire. Miurcrost made one too many teleports and landed right inside the muck. He underwent several changes before he became a pineapple and sank into the chaos. Foteea sent fireball after fireball into the fray as her mortals raked their metal claws along the backs of the dragons.
Kreios himself focused on confusing and disorienting the gods while corrupting their mortals. He tried to stick Foteea?s body but as soon as the mud hit her it sizzled off. He screamed and changed some nearby chaos into water. He changed that water into murky ice and slush and threw it at Foteea. It hit home on her back and she screamed as the raw heat was sucked from her. The murky mud inside enveloped her and she fell to the ground, a shriveled mass of blackened tar.
Braun saw her fall and yelled with all of his might. Losing all clarity of mind he started to wade into the battle destroying as many of the creatures as he could on the way to Kreios. When he got there he punched Kreios with all of the strength he could muster. The mud exploded and splashed everywhere. The battle paused, was Kreios defeated. Then the chaos beasts charged the lines again. The startled army watched in gaping awe as the huge body of Braun seemed to slump to the side. The mud had tuned into long sharp spikes that had punctured every square inch of the god of strength?s body. He slumped to the ground and Kreios reformed with an evil grin on his face.
Their numbers had fallen again and the rest of the gods were struggling to keep up with the large amount of monsters crawling from the primordial ooze. The army began to falter; it had collapsed in upon itself several times as its numbers shrank by the second. Acanthus pointed his staff towards the mountain and a beam of white lite shot, disintegrating all of the beasts but none of the mortals in its path. ?Towards the mountain!? He cried, his voice hoarse and sounding very old indeed.
The army retreated and the chaos began to envelop the land around the great mountain. Acanthus began preparing a spell. Mathias and Nylia took over the command of the troops while Craigin stated to lay several plant traps behind the army. They began backing up the side of the army as mortals began dying on either side. Kreios? laugh could be heard all around them but the chaos had even cut off the sky and he couldn?t be seen. The gods looked at each other, was this the end?
Jute appeared behind them. ?I can stop him.? The little girl said in a very cute voice. ?I know what drives him.?
?A new god? Now?? The others said in surprise. They divided their attention between shoving the beasts off the mountain and conversing with her. ?What is your name? How can you defeat him? How are you even here??
The girl reeled back from the questions but kept her calm smile. ?I?m Laska. (Here the others gasped at the feeling of peace and grace that flowed through them) He has never felt peace. It will stop him. I have just formed now, I think.?
When the gods were as satisfied as they would be the small girl stepped forward, the chaos beasts ignored her as if she wasn?t even there. ?Kreios!? She called, ?Come out!? And he did. He looked like a demon next to the purity of the little girl. She pointed a finger at him and he began to convulse, crying as if in pain. Light shone from every orifice as he seemed to explode into a burst of white light.
The chaos beasts trembled and shivered as if scared as Acanthus raised his staff. ?My spell is complete!? He yelled. A blinding white flash disintegrated all those nearby who weren?t of divine blood as their lives were consumed to power the spell. A dome of light spread from the mountain and pushed back the chaos. The land began settling as order and creation flowed through it, taking solid or liquid forms respectively. Acanthus fainted after he had pushed the spell as far as it would go.
Laska had disappeared.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/PnrMYpQkF6I/viewtopic.php
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