Chapter 359 The Desolation (1/2)
Kaleesh reached out and grabbed one of the bottles of wine that stood on the table, pouring both hilass
”Since I already paid for the wine,” he said, ”it would be a shalass, and as he tasted the deep-red liquid, a look of surprise crossed his face ”Better than I expected You should have some”
Arran, however, had no interest in wine, and he gave the captain an impatient look ”You said you'd tell me about the enemies we'll face in the Desolation”
”And so I will,” Kaleesh said ”But first, I s about the history of the Imperium”
”History?” Arran asked flatly While the I, he was far more interested in the eneetting straight to the point
The captain laughed ”No need to look so impatient The Imperium's history is inexorably linked to the Desolation and the Blight”
Arran did not reply, instead taking a sip of his wine as he prepared to hear Kaleesh's explanation
”As the priests tell it,” Kaleesh began, ”the Darian Ireatest power in the world As wealthy as it was large, with lands so wide it would take a lifetinificent cities than one could visit even in a thousand years”
Arran raised an eyebrow ”That sounds iree” Kaleesh nodded, then continued, ”But this is how the priests tell it, and although they are given to exaggeration, there is no one who knows more about Darian history than they do So listen closely, but take what I tell you with a grain of salt”
”I'll keep that in lory did not last? What happened?”
”The Imperium was attacked,” the captain said ”By a horde of vicious demonic creatures Supposedly, they were human once, but their bodies and ain, the priests' words — until only monstrous abominations remained This horde of creatures is what the Darians call the Blight”
”The Ireatest power in the world, but they couldn't fight off these attackers?” Arran asked, unable to keep a skeptical frown fro on his face
”Supposedly, the Ienerations when the attack caed ”Either way, they suffered defeat after defeat for thousands of years, their lands dwindling further with each passing year”
”The war lasted for thousands of years?” Arran asked He could barely iine a war that lasted centuries, and he wondered whether this was another of the priests' exaggerations
”That is what the priests say,” the captain said ”And as the Darians fought, their society was slowly transformed to one focused only on war — a society of warriors”
At this, Arran finally began to understand the nature of the Darians' strange society ”And that's how they brought their enemies to a halt?”
Kaleesh shook his head ”It wasn't as easy as that Even as they grew stronger, they continued to suffer defeats, losing even e of breaking they beseeched their Gods to help them — and their plea was answered”
Arran instantly recalled the strange creature he'd ht themselves Gods ”What happened next?”
”The Gods went to war,” the captain replied simply ”And they did what the Darians could not — they drove back the Blight in a devastating battle, the powers they unleashed so great that the land was ruined for thousands of miles around This ruined land is what the Darians call the Desolation”
”But if the Gods defeated the Blight,” Arran asked, his brow furrowed, ”why are the Darians still fighting it?”
Kaleesh laughed ”Clearly, the Blight wasn't defeated It was driven back, but ultimately, the Darians' Gods lost Few of theravely injured, on the verge of death And as the Gods lay dying, they shared their blood with the Darians, granting thely face ”That doesn't make sense,” he said ”How could Gods be defeated?”