Dean_the_Young
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Mazera Mega Story Thread
- Thread starter cypher132
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I am a dragonmancer now ... how kindly for you to notice this. ... ^_^
Diamondeye
So Happy I Could Die
Spoiler The actions of a madman, pt. IX :
Dean_the_Young
King
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OOC: Apologies: I had meant to write the arrival and immediate departure last night. In my mind, they already arrived.
---
If anything, Flauros's impatience grew ever more when they entered the city outskirts, and it wasn't the Serpentine who grew more alert: the village guard turned with hands on sword as they passed, and the war horses kept inside faced him as they would face anyone who might end up under their hooves. A flash of black inside a much sturdier barn suggested other creatures were aware as well. He didn't blame them: he gripped the veins till his hands turned white, he looked down every turn for the expected release, and he was failing to keep his fangs small.
But impatience was salved when they entered the garrison and he saw what he had been waiting for: a horse, decked for travel, enchanted horseshoes and aides alongside it. Two, actually: one held a lean man of Hippus upbringing, and he looked half as ready to leave as Flauros did. Flauros looked to Mouar expectantly, and she nodded to him and said one word.
"Go."
He didn't bother to dismount. He simply lept to the prepared horse without meeting the ground, a move which alarmed the Guard but earned an impressed nod from his assigned traveling companion. As he mastered the horse, he gave her a final look.
"I will remember this," he promised, "and I will keep my word."
She simply nodded and moved her horse out of the way, silent permission for him to begin galloping out of the city. Melusine was right behind them.
As they left, a Serpentine brought his mount close to Mouar's, even as the garrison guard came out to greet them.
"My Lady," he began, "are you sure that was wise, to let him go and assist him as much? Without even negotiating?" He hadn't liked the vampire's presence, and had been on guard himself, but for the good of the Grigori...
She didn't turn her head, still watching them fly off, but she did answer.
"Yes," she said. "Did you see him? If we tried to keep him here, he likely would have broken out and stolen a horse for himself. That is not a man to be delayed, and I feel that helping him out of this city is for the best, before he started a riot. Certainly worth purchasing the enchanted shoes on my own name, even if my father can't reimburse me. Flouras already seeks to act in what would be our best interests, and besides," she said, and a small smile of personal memory came to her lips, "Melusine isn't going to let him go without paying a suitable price. He was Hippus, after all."
Shaking her head, she reoriented herself and her horse towards the garrison.
"Now," she said, looking at her guard, "bring me to this man that brought us here in the first place."
Dean_the_Young
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And, in other news, I've been asked to write occasional pieces for Os-Gabella's Sheaim.
Tremble!
---
This was a good time in the world of Os-Gabella. Particularly because the world was making one step after another to its destruction.
The East... the East was where the End would come. Oh, they focused on the West, where the Infernals had made their island-fortress of the Fane of Lessers, where Tebryn fought for the deadlands. But those were just rocks, annoyances. The Grigori were right to understand that they could be bottled up and stuck on their own islands, that they could be kept back and eventually defeated. Tebryn already relief on the Plague she provided to make his advances.
But they were so focused, they neglected that on the other end of the continent existed another bastion of evil, one that they could not sail to.
Who stood in the East?
The Legions of D'Tesh. The Sheaim. The Cualli vassal state. And most impressively, the Calabim.
And who alone stood against them? Who could hold them back?
The Austrin, collapsing under the force of the Calabim's Ashen armies? A joke. Already they fled to their weak leader with the Sidar.
It may well be worth asking: how long until the Sheaim should enter to divide up the corpse?
The Mazatl, and their lesser Wyrm? Oh, Abashi could repel that one. But once the Calabim and their Cualli vassals overrun the Austrin, they would be strong enough to make it as no difference. The Wyrm alone could not turn back their demonic allies, and the Mazatl were still rebuilding after their last war.
Their swamps would be hard, but they too would fall.
The Kuriotates?
Damn them, they were the obstacle. The Golden Dragon still rested, still recovered, but it's mere presence prevented Abashi's rampages. Her spies were on constant alert for His movement to the front: the breath of his purifying fire could easily burn away many of her magical armies and allies from the Gate. All knew that, if it came to that, Abashi stood little chance. Oh, they could kill Him: over Sheaim lands, her mages could support their hero and strike down the Golden Dragon. But the cost would be too great: not in lives, of course, but in their future means for ensuring the End.
And the insufferable boy King knew it as well. He never sent his Hero to her lands, content to let Abashi harass the front while He recovered, but at the same time he turned aside her envoys for peace. He knew what she would do if she did not have cause to fear him. Abashi would run rampant over the Austrin, Abashi would drive the Wyrm back, Abashi would force the Kuriotates to stand alone against three of the most powerful nations of Evil, and even the Kuriotates would fall before that.
The Boy King would not tolerate that. He was not a fool. He would not tolerate Evil's advance. So why, knowing that, was Os-Gabella pleased? Why was she not furious?
Because the Calabim would conquer the Austrin. Then they could conquer the Mazatl, who would surely try and intervene. And as long as the Sheaim kept Abashi, the Kuriotates could not send their Golden Dragon to stop the advance from the South.
Os-Gabella did not need to destroy the world herself. She only desired it destroyed at all. And if was the Calabim who led to the end...
So be it. She might even help them.
But once the Kuriotates fell, the East would become the Fortress of the Veil. The Infernals could be kept on their island, the Deadlands could be won or lost, but the East...
Once the last three piece fell, the East would be only the Veil. And nothing could stop their victory then.
Tremble!
---
This was a good time in the world of Os-Gabella. Particularly because the world was making one step after another to its destruction.
The East... the East was where the End would come. Oh, they focused on the West, where the Infernals had made their island-fortress of the Fane of Lessers, where Tebryn fought for the deadlands. But those were just rocks, annoyances. The Grigori were right to understand that they could be bottled up and stuck on their own islands, that they could be kept back and eventually defeated. Tebryn already relief on the Plague she provided to make his advances.
But they were so focused, they neglected that on the other end of the continent existed another bastion of evil, one that they could not sail to.
Who stood in the East?
The Legions of D'Tesh. The Sheaim. The Cualli vassal state. And most impressively, the Calabim.
And who alone stood against them? Who could hold them back?
The Austrin, collapsing under the force of the Calabim's Ashen armies? A joke. Already they fled to their weak leader with the Sidar.
It may well be worth asking: how long until the Sheaim should enter to divide up the corpse?
The Mazatl, and their lesser Wyrm? Oh, Abashi could repel that one. But once the Calabim and their Cualli vassals overrun the Austrin, they would be strong enough to make it as no difference. The Wyrm alone could not turn back their demonic allies, and the Mazatl were still rebuilding after their last war.
Their swamps would be hard, but they too would fall.
The Kuriotates?
Damn them, they were the obstacle. The Golden Dragon still rested, still recovered, but it's mere presence prevented Abashi's rampages. Her spies were on constant alert for His movement to the front: the breath of his purifying fire could easily burn away many of her magical armies and allies from the Gate. All knew that, if it came to that, Abashi stood little chance. Oh, they could kill Him: over Sheaim lands, her mages could support their hero and strike down the Golden Dragon. But the cost would be too great: not in lives, of course, but in their future means for ensuring the End.
And the insufferable boy King knew it as well. He never sent his Hero to her lands, content to let Abashi harass the front while He recovered, but at the same time he turned aside her envoys for peace. He knew what she would do if she did not have cause to fear him. Abashi would run rampant over the Austrin, Abashi would drive the Wyrm back, Abashi would force the Kuriotates to stand alone against three of the most powerful nations of Evil, and even the Kuriotates would fall before that.
The Boy King would not tolerate that. He was not a fool. He would not tolerate Evil's advance. So why, knowing that, was Os-Gabella pleased? Why was she not furious?
Because the Calabim would conquer the Austrin. Then they could conquer the Mazatl, who would surely try and intervene. And as long as the Sheaim kept Abashi, the Kuriotates could not send their Golden Dragon to stop the advance from the South.
Os-Gabella did not need to destroy the world herself. She only desired it destroyed at all. And if was the Calabim who led to the end...
So be it. She might even help them.
But once the Kuriotates fell, the East would become the Fortress of the Veil. The Infernals could be kept on their island, the Deadlands could be won or lost, but the East...
Once the last three piece fell, the East would be only the Veil. And nothing could stop their victory then.
Diamondeye
So Happy I Could Die
Spoiler The actions of a madman, pt. X :
TC01
Deity
I was waiting to write more stories until after I received my economic data and stuff via PM... cypher, have you forgotten about that?
Dean_the_Young
King
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TC01, how would YOU like to help end the plague?
Just send assistance for the Tower of Alteration to 555-GRIGORI, and you too can take part of the benefits of the Tower of Alteration, which is this world's best hope for defeating the Plague.
Oh, and for some motivation...
---
Plague Spreads
The Plague continues to spread, no measure able to stop it.
As of this update, more nations have been infected: the Chislev have been infected do to their war with the Grigori, the Jotnar have also been struck, and the Cualli have been hit hard from their Ljosalfar neighbors. Also among the victims, and who were spared the worst of the plague last time, are the Illians. The Illians, due to a general lack of world trade and contact, had been thought safest from the Plague, but their war with the Amurites, and Amurite POWS captured, has given a patch of infection. Their is some suspicion that the Amurites let infected soldiers be captured specifically for this cause.
Just send assistance for the Tower of Alteration to 555-GRIGORI, and you too can take part of the benefits of the Tower of Alteration, which is this world's best hope for defeating the Plague.
Oh, and for some motivation...
---
Plague Spreads
The Plague continues to spread, no measure able to stop it.
As of this update, more nations have been infected: the Chislev have been infected do to their war with the Grigori, the Jotnar have also been struck, and the Cualli have been hit hard from their Ljosalfar neighbors. Also among the victims, and who were spared the worst of the plague last time, are the Illians. The Illians, due to a general lack of world trade and contact, had been thought safest from the Plague, but their war with the Amurites, and Amurite POWS captured, has given a patch of infection. Their is some suspicion that the Amurites let infected soldiers be captured specifically for this cause.
TC01
Deity
Well, ice and cold is a sterilizing force, right?
Any knowledge the Illians gain from this process, we will gladly share with other nations... for a suitable price. (Feel free to contact Auric).
Spoiler Sterilization :
Any knowledge the Illians gain from this process, we will gladly share with other nations... for a suitable price. (Feel free to contact Auric).
Dean_the_Young
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Not even Ice can stop the Plague. Tis magical and biological. The Amurites had the right idea: the more magic it can feed off of (divine or mundane magics), the stronger and faster it spreads.
So, in trying to freeze it... you just made it stronger.
The Tower of Alteration works on a different principle.
So, in trying to freeze it... you just made it stronger.
The Tower of Alteration works on a different principle.
TC01
Deity
I know. That's why all attempts to lower temperatures magically would not work.
That's also why Auric is struggling to keep Stasis working efficiently- he is limiting the actual magic but trying to increase it's effects. The plague is still spreading, even though time has stopped, because magic was used to do it. But because Auric has removed as much magic from the process as he can, for now, the plague's spread has significantly decreased.
When Auric looses control (which he will because he's trying to pump less magic into something to make it work better) basically everyone with the plague in the ice chamber will die, because the magic will surge there and the plague will feed off of it, killing all those exposed to it.
His hope is that the Illian Priests of Winter can get as much information as they can from the plague currently. He doesn't care about the sacrifice of the diseased in the cold chamber as long as they help stop the disease in the long run.
Does that fit? I can change the story slightly to make it work if I have to.
That's also why Auric is struggling to keep Stasis working efficiently- he is limiting the actual magic but trying to increase it's effects. The plague is still spreading, even though time has stopped, because magic was used to do it. But because Auric has removed as much magic from the process as he can, for now, the plague's spread has significantly decreased.
When Auric looses control (which he will because he's trying to pump less magic into something to make it work better) basically everyone with the plague in the ice chamber will die, because the magic will surge there and the plague will feed off of it, killing all those exposed to it.
His hope is that the Illian Priests of Winter can get as much information as they can from the plague currently. He doesn't care about the sacrifice of the diseased in the cold chamber as long as they help stop the disease in the long run.
Does that fit? I can change the story slightly to make it work if I have to.
Dean_the_Young
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That might be good. The Plague is something not even the Gods can/will stop, or else their priests would be able to heal through divine blessings. But they can't, and Auric isn't close to being a God (yet), so no amount of 'stasis' will stop it. By the hazy-methods of the Plague, it can also spread by and through both conventional and magical means and connections, so whoever is casting the spell is opening himself up to the Plague as well. So Auric probably doesn't want to be doing it himself in his own palace.
Yeah, pretty much magic. Besides, power over Time is strictly in the control of The One. The Sphere of Ice can freeze things in the ice, but it doesn't stop time.
Unless Cypher interjects, the only way to stop the reborn Plague this time is through the Tower of Alteration, which will work on a fundamental level to nullify the plague (And even then, it can and will come back, it will just be curable again). Everything else is just capable of slowing it down (slightly).
As a compromise: your process can work, but only, only, on an individual level, and it'll be fraught with danger for everyone involved. The Illians as a whole are still being hurt, and your Priests will be as well. About the only way to mitigate the effect on any scale is with the Plague Potion of the Medicos, but that's so rare that not even the Grigori government gets any (it goes straight to Medicos working in Plague hospitals).
(If it makes you feel better, the Medicos are being devastated by the Plague themselves. It'll be a point later on.)
TC01
Deity
Unless Cypher has any other points to make, that's a fair compromise. I accept. Just one point: by "stop time" I meant "the effects of Stasis + the Slow Spell", which seem to be the nearest people outside of the One can get to messing around with time. Maybe phrased that a little badly.
cypher132
Emperor
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The plague is resisted by the Cualli and Mazatl and the Archos resist it slightly, but it is still deadly in all three nations. This plague could be cured some other way, but it's incredibly difficult to figure out as Dean has to come up with it.
Also, I must insist that everyone who regularly posts in this thread use the #erebus room. You'll regularly find me in there.
Also, I must insist that everyone who regularly posts in this thread use the #erebus room. You'll regularly find me in there.
Dean_the_Young
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I'm guessing I have to write the decisive finish to the Chislev before you move our boundary at all, don't I?
I've only been razing their forests all week...
On to it, then. Indirectly, of course.
---
Chislev Gathering for Counter-Offensives
After falling back before the fires of Operation Salamander, the Chislev are organizing for a counter-offensive to turn the tide. Knowing that they can't hide in their forests as they burn around them, the Chislev are preparing to come out, and with a 'bang.' Maniac intensity is spreading, and increasingly important Chislev officials have been caught cackling at what their foes will suffer.
Bannor and Grigori armies, expecting such a counter-attack to a successful Operation Salamander, have taken care to bring forward pre-prepared fortifications. The Chislev, while reduced and weakened outside of their forests, are fierce warriors to the extreme. Just how far they might go to throw their enemies back in disarray remains to be seen, but no one wishes to retreat across the miles of burnt forests.
Dean_the_Young
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It took awhile for the Garrison commander to agree to let her see the man. The security was ridiculous; liar or not, what sat across from her was a blind man. Not even an experienced blind man, used to his body and weakness: he had the awkwardness of a teenager growing used to his own body, and the clumsiness of someone who had lived with sight for their entire life. But also a sense that he used his ears and the rest of his senses as well.
The form across from her... she had never seen it before. But the presence, the air... she knew it. Or she thought she did: she wasn't Messa, who could simply tell such things.
"I am here," she greeted. If he was who he claimed to be, he knew who she was.
"Mouar? Is that you?" he asked. "No... it is you, isn't it? I can't see you, but that voice... it is you." He sounded hesitant at first, but increasingly sure of himself until he was convinced.
But it didn't necessarily mean anything.
"You asked to see me," she said. "But you asked me under an unbelievable alias. Cabal Tenhare has been dead for months now."
'Cabal' lost his air of confident optimism.
"You don't believe me either, do you?" he asked. "I can't see your face, but I know your expression. You think I am a fraud."
"I knew Cabal Tenhare," she said. "You look nothing like him. You show up half the continent south of his death place, you claim to be him, and you knew the leader of the guard who found you. To claim all of these, you must be very stupid or think of us as trusting fools."
'Cabal''s face darkened more in desperation. "No matter what I say, no one believes me. I've been interrogated since I got here, every thing I have said has checked out, and yet no one will believe me. My brother can't come because he is at the front. Tell me, Mouar: what do I have to do to convince you that I am who I say? I am Cabal: I don't know how I came to be here, why I'm blind, or why I am not in my own body. But I know who I am."
"Or who you think you are," she countered. She took a step back, pulling small and thin chain off of around her neck, a match for one she wore around her finger. On it was a plain and simple ring, it's only beauty in its simple elegance of smooth and polished wood. Holding it by the chain, she deposited the ring in his hand.
"If you are who you say you are, you will know this," she said.
He felt it, his fingers traced over it. And then he remembered.
"A small wooden ring," he said. "Part of a set. Bought for a gold piece on a whim from a Ljosalfar trader, before their fall. The trader said it was made from a branch of the Ygdrassil itself. It is simple and brown, the only ornamentation being smooth lines spiraling around it. A light brown color."
"Anyone could tell you the color. Why did you give it to me?"
"You asked for it," he said. "I had returned to the Palace, and you were admiring it and asked to have it. And so I gave you both."
"And what did you tell me to do with the other one?"
Cabal smiled at the memory. "I told you to save it for the one you really cared about. And then I had to stop you from giving it to me."
He heard her arms move before he felt her arms encircle him. He was more surprised at the feeling of wetness against his neck, and realized they were silent tears.
"I'm glad you're alive," she whispered. "When we found your ravens, and the bloody roof..."
"I'm glad I am to," he said, returning the embrace. They held there for a moment, and then she stepped back.
"Much has happened since your murder," she said. "It changed a lot of things."
"Ostil?" he asked, and she nodded before realizing he couldn't see it.
"Everyone, even Cassiel, was furious," she said. "He's learned to not work in our lands," she said.
"I bet he still does," Cabal muttered. "Just where no one can listen."
Mouar laughed, but the tone made Cabal listen that much harder. "I suppose we will have to pretend to be one of those deaf mutes, then, so that no one might suspect us" she said.
Cabal looked at her, trying to decipher her meaning. He was even more alert when she audibly checked that no one but her own guard was outside the room.
"Cabal," she whispered once she returned, "would you like to be a Laughing Man?"
The form across from her... she had never seen it before. But the presence, the air... she knew it. Or she thought she did: she wasn't Messa, who could simply tell such things.
"I am here," she greeted. If he was who he claimed to be, he knew who she was.
"Mouar? Is that you?" he asked. "No... it is you, isn't it? I can't see you, but that voice... it is you." He sounded hesitant at first, but increasingly sure of himself until he was convinced.
But it didn't necessarily mean anything.
"You asked to see me," she said. "But you asked me under an unbelievable alias. Cabal Tenhare has been dead for months now."
'Cabal' lost his air of confident optimism.
"You don't believe me either, do you?" he asked. "I can't see your face, but I know your expression. You think I am a fraud."
"I knew Cabal Tenhare," she said. "You look nothing like him. You show up half the continent south of his death place, you claim to be him, and you knew the leader of the guard who found you. To claim all of these, you must be very stupid or think of us as trusting fools."
'Cabal''s face darkened more in desperation. "No matter what I say, no one believes me. I've been interrogated since I got here, every thing I have said has checked out, and yet no one will believe me. My brother can't come because he is at the front. Tell me, Mouar: what do I have to do to convince you that I am who I say? I am Cabal: I don't know how I came to be here, why I'm blind, or why I am not in my own body. But I know who I am."
"Or who you think you are," she countered. She took a step back, pulling small and thin chain off of around her neck, a match for one she wore around her finger. On it was a plain and simple ring, it's only beauty in its simple elegance of smooth and polished wood. Holding it by the chain, she deposited the ring in his hand.
"If you are who you say you are, you will know this," she said.
He felt it, his fingers traced over it. And then he remembered.
"A small wooden ring," he said. "Part of a set. Bought for a gold piece on a whim from a Ljosalfar trader, before their fall. The trader said it was made from a branch of the Ygdrassil itself. It is simple and brown, the only ornamentation being smooth lines spiraling around it. A light brown color."
"Anyone could tell you the color. Why did you give it to me?"
"You asked for it," he said. "I had returned to the Palace, and you were admiring it and asked to have it. And so I gave you both."
"And what did you tell me to do with the other one?"
Cabal smiled at the memory. "I told you to save it for the one you really cared about. And then I had to stop you from giving it to me."
He heard her arms move before he felt her arms encircle him. He was more surprised at the feeling of wetness against his neck, and realized they were silent tears.
"I'm glad you're alive," she whispered. "When we found your ravens, and the bloody roof..."
"I'm glad I am to," he said, returning the embrace. They held there for a moment, and then she stepped back.
"Much has happened since your murder," she said. "It changed a lot of things."
"Ostil?" he asked, and she nodded before realizing he couldn't see it.
"Everyone, even Cassiel, was furious," she said. "He's learned to not work in our lands," she said.
"I bet he still does," Cabal muttered. "Just where no one can listen."
Mouar laughed, but the tone made Cabal listen that much harder. "I suppose we will have to pretend to be one of those deaf mutes, then, so that no one might suspect us" she said.
Cabal looked at her, trying to decipher her meaning. He was even more alert when she audibly checked that no one but her own guard was outside the room.
"Cabal," she whispered once she returned, "would you like to be a Laughing Man?"
