Chapter 13-360: Words of Destruction (1/2)

A balefire eye studied Legion intently. -You stink of angels, lilitu,- the dragon /rumbled suspiciously.

-My mortal host is very unusual. I should also burn of the infernal and bear the sweet scent of the dead and damned.- They corkscrewed lazily, long tail flaring with the unmistakable branding fire unique to the lilitu, displaying their erinyes and angel wings. It did not stop the wide smile on their eyeless face. -This one bears the Elder no ill wishes. If this one is beneath you, by all means dismiss her. This one is in something of a hurry as it stands.-

The dragon grumbled at nothing in particular. -I am Grobriundlarsh of the Abyssal Maws. Ask your question, succubus queen. If it aids in bringing down the suppression which binds me here, I may answer you.-

-The Elder is wise. Has the Elder visited the surface world as yet?-

-The means are tightly guarded by powerful forces, and I had no true need to be seen in more places.-

On the other side of the planet, Commander Haru’Ara harrumphed. “If he had showed himself in the outer world, he would have been hunted down and killed without delay!”

-Well enough. The Elder and this one are confined to this world by a deity-defying effect called The Shroud. It severs the living and the dead from the rest of reality under its Shroud, trapping the souls of all that live and die here.

-We should all be undead by now, slaved to the Hierophant which brought the Shroud to this world, but the World-Angel sacrificed himself to stop the effect and curse the hundreds of millions of undead born with its arrival to return to their place of origin with the sun, and so they have been unable to spread and conquer.-

-Ahhhhh,- the burning dragon rumbled, a sound like a furnace fueled by bones burning them to ash. -The black zones.- His head turned up and in a certain direction forward. -You have seen the Wight in his little mountains. The mummy in his desert is that way.-

-This one thanks the Elder,- Queen Rayeti /said. -That is not the question this one has. This is about Destruction.

-An Aberrant has come here. This one believes it conspired to bring in a soul who had knowledge of the vivic fire, which it has spread among the mortals here, and so they have been able to wipe the native undead slowly, using it to burn down the scattered Shroudzones thoroughly. If they can do so to the invaders, then inevitably the mortals will eventually destroy them, and free this world from the Shroud.-

The wyrm’s burning eyes narrowed. -It will seek to act before that happens. It will seek to break the Curse of the World-Angel by force... but a Death Curse from such an entity is no small thing.-

-This one believes that is also the intention of the Aberrant, but does not know how the creature would be able to do so, given that calling upon greater Powers is impossible... and it is certainly manipulating the undead.-

-The Aberrant do not have clear motivations. Do you know what this one might be after?- the dragon /inquired after a few moments of thought.

-It has lost a great deal of power. It may once have been a world-eater, and its might was savagely consumed by the Mazakeem.

-Thus, this one is concerned that it will give the undead Hierophant a means to destroy this whole world in one fell swoop, thus breaking the Curse and completing its Shrouding of all on this world... and it will attempt to use that means to regain its own power.

-This one wonders if the Elder might know what manner of destruction the Aberrant would use to work its will here.-

The rumbling of burning ash and charcoaling flesh deepened as the two of them glided along underneath the sullen orb of the molten sun and nearly empty layers of cloud tiers above them. Legion stayed silent, unafraid of the dragon.

After all, they BOTH could fly at this Tier. By the powers of magic, that basically acknowledged them as equals in some ways. The dragon was a brutal engine of destruction of great size, however, and lilitus, while known for deadliness, were not known for their might.

They would probably truly surprise the dragon if it came to a contest of strength right now... and they had already proven they could move much, much faster a-wing.

-Guiogg, the Corpse of the Moon, The Devouring Moon,- the dragon /ventured at last, probably with false confidence, yet it was obviously informed. -Know you of it, succubus queen?-

-One of the Elder Evils, a World-Ender,- Queen Rayeti /responded quickly, getting help poring through old memories heard in passing in Demonium. Demons, like many innately telepathic races, were incessant rumor-mongers and gossips. One reason demons were so well-informed was the sheer speed and variety of information that was batted back and forth constantly about them.

-The means of Calling it are known only among certain Doomsday servants, and the Aberrants it is a member of. One Summons it to come down from the darkness between the stars and kiss a world, draining it and all that lives upon it of life in one fell moment of annihilation, leaving only the cold corpse of a world behind.

-If it could be interrupted in that process, and the energy redirected to another, I believe that would serve the desires of this Aberrant you describe, especially if it was also a thing that ate worlds.-

-This one understands. This one also wonders, would the Elder happen to know a way to set that whole process on fire? This one would punish the thing that seeks to eat this one, and the Elder may deign to let it know it is not all that.-

The dragon’s eyes opened slightly, burning brighter. This was more something up its alley! -Without the actual ceremony itself, I can do nothing. Bring to me the details of the Ritual, and I can make some... adjustments,- the wyrm /replied, with a mild undercurrent of anticipation.

That would doubtless create a very big boom, indeed. If it didn’t kill all involved, and possibly a good chunk of the planet, too.

Commander Haru’Ara just nodded in the distance. The planetar had taken his Spellcraft to 21 Ranks as well, and had much the same opinion. If the dragon devised something, he could in turn adjust it to a more interesting and appropriate outcome.

There only remained to find that Ritual, and nail down the specifics, and then somehow make the alterations.