overlordoftime
Chieftain
Who are Buboes, Stephanos, and Ars Moriendi?
"i am unborn of flesh, untouched by death, the enemy of peace and rest. That weakness in a sword yet unbroken, that would fail its wielder in battle and cost his life, or crack that will form in the capstone under to much pressure and cause the house to crumble."
"in that age any thought of the gods was mirrored in creation. Trees were sucelluss green musing on the golden pillars of heaven, butterflies the scattered whims of gentle amathaon. But these gods knew fear as well, and even their fear became manifest. I am their fear of war, of the battles, rage and pain that even they are victim to."
"bound and hidden, as is their fear, i am still a part of creation. And if unbound i will act out their fears upon the land, and erebus will crumble under my sword."
- buboes
Parih stood unmoving, surrounded by the chaos of the battlefield. The screams and clash of weapons were only distant echoes to him. Soldiers fought and died for the ground he stood on, but he did not budge. They pushed through him, and he could not feel it.
His broken body lay before him, covered with blood and indistinguishable from the corpses of enemies that lay around him. The Hippus had appeared so different to him, like another breed of men, before now. A lifetime of stories meant to turn hearts against them, extolling the differences in their culture and history. But now they looked the same, battered and bloody.
The world faded around him, it would be as if Parih's vision grew worse except he felt so real and the world seemed to be nothing but a dream. The sounds of battle were replaced by the whispered prayers of the soldiers. A few requesting protection, most asking for the death of their enemies, all scared.
"Are you prepared for death?"
The words reached into Parih, seeking the answer, touching every dark thought he maintained. A man on a pale horse rode toward him and though Parih felt evil from the man he was unable to lie.
"I'm scared."
"Do not be afraid of death, you have been dead before. Do you believe that time began when you were born? Do you believe your soul to be immortal?"
Parih was unable to answer. The demon smirked.
"You are not the catalyst of creation, flesh is an unfit and temporary vessel for a soul. If you know that your soul exists after your life ends, shouldn't you believe that it existed before your birth? And if your soul existed in a place before your birth, why would it not return there after your death?"
The demon paused, reading Parih's thoughts, making sure this was the correct moment.
"Take my hand mortal and I will lead you to the afterlife."
Parih reached out and took Ars skeletal hand. In that instant the memories of his life were lost and he was reborn as one of the mindless Mane legions of hell.
"That soul was not yours to claim demon!"
Ars turned to see a Valkyrie with her weapon drawn. She paled when she recognized him, instinctively stepping back even though he hadn't made any move towards her.
"I am unbound, and claim any I choose."
He rode forward and the Valkyrie moved out of his way.
3 of the 4 hoursemen of the Apocalypse. The other is Yersina.
Buboes-War
Stephanos-Conquest
Yersena-Pestilance
Ars Moriendi-Death
The 4 hoursemen are the fears of the gods made manifest. I'm pretty sure Magister will be able to explain further.
So would this mean that people say who worshipped Sirona would be pretty much untouchable to demons and the like until the world was well and truely up @#$%creek already? (In which case mortal veil worshippers would probably have already lopped off their heads or something more fiendish) Or are lesser demons less constrained than arch-angels?The Avatar of Wrath could have come back to Erebus at any time, but he chose to stay out of things until mankind was corrupt enough for its innocence to no longer protect it.