Necropolis Ritual Chamber

You see the following people here:
Zalana, Ravlok, Tzara, Lokinov, Trasse, Urath, Lan, Nymerya, Majirt, Gondread,
Tanelorn, Laura, Shuko, Kahazul

Kahazul stands before the bare altar, hands clasped firmly
behind his back and raised hood obscuring his features. His head is bowed in
reverance as he waits for those gathered to arrange and silence themselves.

You say, "Hile, Nihilists. Hile, fellow citizens of the Empire. We are here to
pay homage to the Demon Lord Gorgulu; Devourer of Souls, Mouth of a Thousand
Hungers, Keeper of the Den of a Thousand Abominations."

Kahazul takes a few steps back and positions himself behind the
altar. He reaches forward and clasps either side of it with his bony fingers,
leaning forward to gaze at those in attendance.

You say, "Many overlook Lord Gorgulu in their day-to-day lives. Some think him
somehow less important than the other Demon Lords, taking his silence and
supposed lethargy as signs of weakness. Furthermore his followers are deemed
mad, and given a wide berth... what shred of sanity could escape my Lord's
gaping maw, after all...?"

Kahazul trails off, releasing his grip on the altar and
kneeling down to collect several objects from the floor. Rising, he places a
tome in front of him atop the altar, with a wickedly curved knife beside it.

As Kahazul speaks, the pages on the tome casually flip a few pages and then
settles itself anew.

You say, "Whether or not we are sane is a matter of no importance. Sanity is a
purely subjective condition..."

Kahazul casually flips through the pages of the tome, scanning
them lazily until he finally comes to the correct passage.

You say, "Power, however, is not! Power is real! You can wield it, perceive it.
Power is truth. It is your ability to exert your will upon reality. If you wish
it..."

Kahazul snaps his fingers, and a flickering blue flame
materializes a foot above his head. It dances in place for a moment before
extinguishing itself with a 'hiss'.

You say, "...then it shall be done. The path of Gorgulu is the path to power,
not by any narrow or specific means but by any means at all. From the blatant
subjugation and consumption so often associated with my Lord to clever
manipulations bested only by Baalphegar himself."

You smirk.

You say, "Lord Gorgulu guards more secrets with his silence than a thousand less
beings could, even with all their riddles and mysteries."

Kahazul clears his throat and raises his arms, pulling back the
left sleeve of his robes and displaying the striped flesh of his forearm for all
to see. With his right hand he lifts up the dagger, eyes moving over the pages
of the book.

Gondread shifts his eyes suspiciously from side to side.

You say, "Thus, a ritual to pay homage to my King! All those in attendance who
wish to show their respect to Lord Gorgulu, stand and step forward now! There
will be an opportunity for you to show your devotion."

Kahazul crosses his arms and sweeps his gaze over the audiance
patiently, waiting.

Elicitor of Excruciation, Trasse steps forward.

Gondread stands up and stretches his arms out wide.

Majirt stands up and stretches her arms out wide.

Kahazul nods and begins to chant, his eyes darting to and fro
over the pages. He begins the invocation softly, reciting by rote a mishmash of
syllables from a variety of languages.

You say, "Gar har, vinidictus, myrrlius, f'ai weeirot, gar har, vindictus,
myrrlius, f'ai weeirot. Foh rah b'ur cahn, foh rh b'ur cahn. Injunctus conjuctio
lassairus..."

Kahazul convulses as his muscles tense, eyes rolling into the
back of his head. His voice grows deeper and his chant fades away into a low,
hungry growl, right arm jerking to the side and plunging the knife tip into the
opposite forearm. He begins to carve away at himself with spastic cutting
motions, bloody runes growing visible upon him.

You snarl, "Gar haaRRRRGHHH. ViniDDDRRRAAGH. MyrrRRRGH. FFFEEEROT!"

You snarl, "FFFOOOOH RRRAAGGHH CCCCAAAARRRGH FFFOOOOH RRRAAGGHH CCCCAAAARRRGH!!"

Gondread gives a pained sigh.

Majirt giggles happily.

Kahazul continues to slash the runes messily into his arm,
inscribing his prayers in blood, the knife now possessing a life of its own. His
head tilts back, features distorted in agony, his chanting losing all meaning as
he lets out a bloodcurdling roar.

You yell, "RAAAARRGH!!"
Kahazul lurches forward involuntarily, a loud cracking noise
echoing throughout the chamber as his jaw comes unhinged. As it falls to hang
against his neck the gaping abyss of his throat is revealed, no longer that of a
Viscanti but instead a bottomless tunnel that drips with the pus from the
multitude of burst tumours that line its insides. Row upon row of diseased
yellow fangs spiral downward, filling the unreal expanse between his lips.
3520h, 3730m, 3520e, 10p ek-

Athana arrives from the north.

Kahazul cackles with madness, eyes rolling back to their
rightful places, though now the pupils exude a sickly green luminescence. A
slobbering tongue emerges from the pit that is his mouth, wagging back and forth
in front of him, bleeding from wounds inflicted upon it as it slithered against
his teeth.

Gondread raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Kahazul has finished inscribing his arm, and with three quick
flicks of his blade he severs the flap of skin upon which the runes are carved.
He leans forward, taking his own flesh between his teeth, and pulls it free with
a quick yank of his head. He chokes down the swathe of tissue without pausing.

You scream, "I SAID FEAST!"

You drop the corpse of a wild yellow dog.

You drop the corpse of a wild yellow dog.

Ravlok suddenly scoops up the corpse of a wild yellow dog.
Nymerya suddenly scoops up the corpse of a wild yellow dog.

You drop the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger.

You drop the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger.

You drop the corpse of a three-legged jackal.

With obvious delight, Ravlok digs into the corpse of a wild yellow dog, eating
only the choicest organs and leaving the rest for the vultures.

You drop the corpse of a hideous bobcat.

You drop the corpse of a black hairless ram.

Nymerya suddenly scoops up the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger.
Ravlok suddenly scoops up the corpse of a black hairless ram.
You suddenly scoop up the corpse of a hideous bobcat.

Tanelorn picks up the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger.

Ravlok drops the corpse of a black hairless ram.

Ravlok leaves to the north.

Majirt picks up the corpse of a black hairless ram.

Tanelorn licks the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger.

Nymerya suddenly scoops up the corpse of a three-legged jackal.

Athana eats a platter of devilled eggs with obvious gusto.

You scream, "NOW, FEED ME! COME!"

With a dark chant, you suck out the nourishment from Trasse's body.

With a dark chant, you suck out the nourishment from Gondread's body.

With a dark chant, you suck out the nourishment from Gondread's body.

Trooper Gondread, Drifter says, "Ow!"

With a dark chant, you suck out the nourishment from Nymerya's body.

With a dark chant, you suck out the nourishment from Athana's body.

Tanelorn stands up and stretches his arms out wide.

Gondread stands up and stretches his arms out wide.

You have emoted: Kahazul lets out a sickening belch, sulfurous fumes billowing
forth from his maw as he moans in contentment.

Trooper Gondread, Drifter says, "Hail!"

With obvious delight, Nymerya digs into the corpse of a monstrous gravedigger,
eating only the choicest organs and leaving the rest for the vultures.

You scream, "SUCH PITIFUL SNACKS YOU ALL MAKE. I EXPECT BETTER FOR MY KING...
LATER!"

You utter a deep, rumbling laugh.

Kahazul leans forward slowly, his laughter fading away. He
grips the altar with all his strength and forces his eyes shut, going into
convulsions as black smoke begins to pour from his mouth. As more smoke billows
out he begins to revert to his normal self, jaw creeping back upward as his
mouth readjusts itself.

Kahazul blinks and glances around, a look of dawning
comprehension crossing his face, followed by a grin.

Nymerya smirks.

You say, "That is all."

Kahazul passes a hand over his wounded arm, muttering to
himself and closing the tear with a quick spell.

You say, "You may all go. Do not forget what you have seen here today."

"Hile"? Is that like "hail/heil"?

Everyone always gets caught up on hile.

Yes, it's sort of like hail/heil.

That looks funny actually... Was it suppose to be serious?

Wicked ritual. I was bummed that I had to miss it.

And if you had read the Dark Tower series, which is only one of the best book series ever, then you would know what Hile meant, infidel!

That's the Stephen King one right? I don't read a huge variety, blah.

That was an amazing ritual, Guido.

(Even if I found it rather difficult to read and stomach... )

The Dark Tower > You

"Hile, Mia! Hile, Mother!"

So.. you're taking words from an incredibly popular book series..

That just cheapens the entire ritual, in my opinion. You can put so much effort into it... and then you flake out on something like a greeting? Sorta disapointing.

It's one word. I used it twice, in the beginning. Hell, I'm not even sure it originated in that book, I just know it's the only place I've seen it used. Always just assumed it was a rather ancient greeting that fell out of use.

So get the stick out of your ass, eh?

EDIT: Also, FYI, my main characters always have their roots in King villains. They're not based off them, exactly, I just developed a habit of associating them with them in some way, usually in the name. Guido Flagg was the most obvious. First person besides Jack to say what Can'tah means, and which book it originated from, gets 30 bonus points.

Thank the Gods for Google

Well, 30 points to Grongard. Now you all know how conceited I really am... 'little god', hehe.

Chaucer also used it meaning 'to hide'.