Foreword

This book is not a work of historical accuracy. It is, instead, a work of
fiction. In the world in which this book is set, the events of Project Cosmic
Hope transpired in a radically different fashion than what occurred in actual
historical fact. As such, this book is meant to be a glimpse of what might have
been, for better or for worse. It does not reflect my vision of a perfect world,
nor do I advocate all (or, indeed, most) of the viewpoints espoused by the
various characters within. That being said, it is my sincere hope that my
readers find something worth contemplating in these passages in addition to an
entertaining narrative.

---

It was the seventh decade since the Divine Emperor had ascended to Godhood and
the most holy day of the year by Imperial Decree, but this did not mean that
Koruk n'Vishi was given the day off. As a grunt, his life was strictly
regimented and controlled by his Drill Sergeant, ur'Marshal Barughyu Kuurui.
Today, she had him marching the twenty-five mile path around the edges of the
n'Rotri estates in Malcoda. He was currently some seven miles beyond the East
Gate of the city, with another ten on miles remaining on his march. Koruk did
not mind, however, as the grass was green and the breeze was cool on his
slat-grey skin.

Back in Magnagora, there would be a fabulous festival to celebrate Ladantine's
ascension and victory over Kethuru so many years ago. Koruk was a mere
twenty-seven years, too young to have ever seen an Ascension, not even General
Saverian's, a scant thirty-one years previously. Because of his duty, he would
not attend the festival either. This did not bother the young Orclach. For all
his life, he had been regaled by tales of the Vernal God Urlach and his undying
armies of the Death Guard. To join their ranks, to become such a mighty warrior,
was his life's sole ambition.

Koruk's family was a minor merchant house in Magnagora. His father bought grain
from Acknor and carried the shipments by wagon into the city's market-places.
His mother was a clerk in the office of the Grand Vizer. He had two sisters and
a young brother who was still an infant. Both sisters were married, the elder to
a young nobleman whose family had lost much of their wealth during the fire
several years back. The younger had taken a fancy to a lovely Orclachi squire
from Celest and moved to the Isle to be with her.

Soon enough, the grunt came to the end of his march, weary and ready for dinner
and his bunk in the City Barracks. He walked along the streets, his boots
clicking on the cobblestones. The street was full of garbage from the
celebrations and those too drunk to return to their homes, but none seemed to
mind. As long as one kept to the good parts of town, where the Constabulary
patrolled, it was perfectly safe on the street at any hour. Once Koruk arrived
at the barracks, he had his dinner of cabbage stew, washed away the sweat and
dust from Malcoda in the public bathhouse and soon retired to his bunk. He
needed his rest; on the very next day, his class would be taking their final
initiation before they would become Troopers in the ur'Guard.

---

A gorgog! A gorgog of her own! Her first gorgog, newly created, the last of its
brood of four. Tliynthi had just obtained the rank of Elementalist in the Order,
and with it, permission to command her own gorgog in battle. She was eager to
train the beast, eager to command its power against the soulless demons that
lived outside of the four Forest Conclaves. Oh, how she relished the day that
she would be allowed to sleep in the Hall of Warriors, Dreamweaving as she
commanded the newly created Elemental in battle. But she had to be trained, so
that she could walk the Dreaming without drawing the attention of the Dream God,
Ladantine, upon her. No mere mortal could stand before the Vernal God in the
Dreaming and live. This lesson, the Order had learned bitterly, during the early
days of the Great War.

Tliynthi had been training within the warded halls of the Tower of Eyes,
learning to Dreamweave with the needed stealth. No practice ever took place
outside the Tower. Lined on every side by uncountable jade eyes and magical
sigils, not even the Emperor, undisputed master of the Seal of Dreams, could
gain access. It served as a safe haven from His power, and a staging ground for
attacks against the Isle of Celest within the Crimson Sea. The other forest
conclaves had their own fortifications, with their endless totems and Great
Trees, but the Conclave of Arysia relied upon the Tower and the aid of the
Kelpies to keep their kelp forest secure.

She knew the history of Cosmic Hope and the Pact of Crystal by heart, for
Tliynthi's teachers had drilled it into her a dozen times over.

The Order, seeking a way to cleanse the Elemental Planes of the Taint that the
Empire had brought into the world, founded a settlement on the islands within
Bondero Bay. There they rebuilt the Imperial College of Magi and the planar
instruments used during Project Outreach, and, with them, reached the Crystal
Meadows. The devices there were rapidly restored and access to the Elemental
realms of Sarye, Terae and the rest was re-established. The four Elemental
Ladies bound to the Crystal Meadows had, as it turned out, resisted the Tainting
of the Elemental planes. Their realms were pure, uncorrupted by the Soulless
Gods.

Envoys were sent to the Forests and, with the blessing of Queen Maeve of the
Fae, the Pact of Crystal was created. The Magi of the Pure Waters would be
granted a Seed from the Tree of Trees, one which would sprout into a vast shoal,
filled with kelp and coral. At the heart of the forest, the Tower was built, a
new Nexus, built in imitation of the legendary Coral Spire of Glomborolum, its
planar rifts intersecting the Crystal Meadows and the Sphere of Pisces on the
Supra Plane.

Recently, the Magi had been splitting into two factions. The first, of which
Tliynthi was a member, commanded the Gorgogs. Though they were Dreamweavers
after a fashion, they did not stray far from their bodies and only acted through
their Gorgog minions, created to do battle against the Tainting of the Elemental
and Cosmic planes. They drew their power from the Four Elemental Queens and the
Queen of the Fae, Maeve. They practiced the science of Astrology, and were the
principle spiritual leaders in the Conclave.

The second faction, however, had turned away from Elementalism. They studied
with the Druids, and called upon the Kelpies, summoning forth ethereal strands
of kelp, making Demesnes like the Druids did. They hid in the Dreaming,
sheltered from the terror that was the Dream-God by some unknown force. Tliynthi
had once asked how he performed such a feat, but the mage-cum-druid replied with
a shrug, stating only, "The Father of the Seas has His ways." and refusing to
explain any further.

---

Koruk awoke. He was ready, or so he felt. Today, he would face some unknown
challenge set by the Commandant. If he failed, he would forever lose his chance
at becoming an ur'Guard. If he succeeded, however, he would return to Magnagora
in the highest of glories, his every hope and dream fulfilled. He had not been
told beforehand what the test was to be initiated, for the Commandant had
ordered strict secrecy. Koruk did not quite feel nervous; such feelings had been
beaten out of him early on. He did, however, feel anxious to know what his task
would be.

It was just before dawn and the streets were still uncrowded. He hurried along
to the office of the Commandant, where he would be given the full details of his
task and one last chance to back out without it tarnishing his record of
service. Not that he had the least inclination to turn back now, of course.

He soon reached to Commandant's office at the Headquarters. He was informed
that we would have to wait for the Commandant to arrive and that, until then, he
was to wait outside with the other grunts who he was to be tested with. Koruk
went out and found his group. There were four of them, two Orclach, a Taurian
and a Clangoru.

The pair of Orclach were off by themselves, discussing some topic. One was
pointing furtively at the Clangoru and whispering something to her companion.
The other orclach was almost identical to his companion, down to the off-green
skin and dark eyes. The only difference was that one was a head taller and the
other was a man. Brother and sister, Koruk thought.

The Krokani sat on the steps, polishing a pair of steel maces with an old piece
of cloth. He did not look up when Koruk approached, seemingly unworried about
his fellow grunts as well as the upcoming challenges. Only the nervous way he
gripped the cloth gave away his inner tension.

The Clangoru herself, somewhat taller than Koruk suspected, was watching people
pass by on the street. She had golden armour of the finest craftsmanship,
engraved with scenes from the first era of the Vernal War and the Sealing of
Kethuru by the Nine. On her hip, she carried an axe, and on the other, a flask
studded with jewels. Her hair, dark red, was ornamented with a golden coronet.

The Clangoru introduced herself, speaking with a clear, noble voice, "I am
Ulenna Varrim, Sister to Ethilwen Varrim and the youngest daughter of the King
of the Clangorin Kingdom." She gestured to the pair of Orclach and to the
Krokani in turn. "May I introduce you to my fellow trainees, Hiulg and Baoa
Gruurk and Lavegein Paavik, grandson of Baron Paavik in the Grey Moors."

Koruk saluted and then attempted a clumsy bow, uncertain what to say to a
Princess of the Clangorian Kingdom. "I am Koruk, another grunt here to be
initiated." Koruk finally stammered out. She was elegant, graceful, and, above
all, more powerful than any person Koruk had ever met.

Before they could acquaint themselves further, one of the Comandant's aides
stepped out into the street where Koruk was waiting. "It is time, Grunts. The
Commandant has arrived." he informed them. The five ur'grunts stepped inside,
not knowing the dangers they would face over the next few days.

---

Tliynthi dreamt, walking the Dreaming, and her Gorgog wandered the world. They
sought the office of the Commandant of the Ur'guard, on a routine spying
mission. Even though the offices of the Commandant were warded with eye sigils,
this did not stop Tliynthi. Her Gorgog allowed her to pass the sigils,
unhindered by them, unlike the Imperial Magi. She watched as the doors opened to
the Commandant's office.

A troop of five young soldiers filed into the office of the Comandant and stood
at attention as he entered. Gathunele Inalai was pale for a merian, with the
reddened eyes of one of the Ur'Dead. Tliynthi knew from previous scouting
missions that he had became Commandant as a reward from General Severian after
the insurrection lead by High Prophet Ghani before he had fled to the Conclave
and the Tower of Eyes. This had upset many of the more experienced Ur'Guard, but
Commandant Inalai proved his worth to the Empire in battle and soon won the
respect of the rest of the Guard.

The Commandant began speaking. "At ease, grunts. You are the first set of
Ur'Grunts to be given their examination today. There is still time, if any of
you wish to back out. You know that you only get one chance and it will not be
held against you if you feel you must train and attempt next year. Step forwards
if you will not take this last chance to back down."

None did.

"Good, this year's crop has got a bit of guts, I see." He chuckled. "What I
tell you now is not to leave this room. Understood, grunts?" The Commandant
stated, waiting for all five to nod their heads before continuing. "In order to
prove your worth and training, you will be sent to infiltrate the Clangorin keep
of Rockholm and assassinate an enemy of the state."

This was important, Tliynthi knew. The Order had a few agents in Rockholm. If
they were targeted, she would have to warn them, and insure that they can escape
before these killers would reach them.

"Your target will be the priest Degur Othag. He is a member of the heretical
Redeemptionist cult. Soulless worshipers. You are to execute the priest and any
followers at the chapel. You are also to locate and destroy the shrine their
cult has constructed in Rockholm. Any questions?"

Tliynthi felt relieved that none of her allies had been the target, but, at the
same time, shocked. Soulless worshipers in the Clangorin Kingdom? How would King
Varrin allow such a thing?

"What sort of resistance are we to expect?" grunted the tall female solider.
"Guards, statues, heretics in the population?"

"We have sent a group of Imperial Magi ahead of you to disable the statues
surreptitiously and provide a distraction for the guards using their illusions.
Imperial agents will be working to interrupt the cult's work and lead the
loyalist factions against the Cult's militia. You must enter, complete your
objectives and exit quickly without being mired in the fighting."

The wealthy looking Clangoru spoke up. "How will we enter the Keep? The sigils
there are embedded into the walls in order to prevent them from being easily
disenchanted. Teleportation will not be an option so long as the sigils are
intact."

The Commandment smiled darkly and replied, "Who said you were teleporting?" He
reached into his pouch and withdrew a scroll bearing an imperial seal. "You will
pose as merchants, sent to negotiate a trading agreement for Rockholm's
platinum. By presenting this pass at the gate, you will be allowed access to the
mines, where the chapel is located."

Tliynthi weighed her options. She could report this news back to the Order, and
risk loosing the trail of these Ur'Grunts, or she could follow them and act on
her own to make sure that the Order was secure from what was to transpire in
Rockholm that day. She knew she could do it, she was certain of it, but the
Elders would not approve. They thought her too young, too inexperienced. She
would prove them wrong.

"No further questions? Dismissed." said the Commandant.

---

The door to the Rockholm chapel swung open. Redeemer Degur Othag stepped
forward, his white-robed form flanked by two attendants. When Thane Thoril
welcomed the Church of the Almighty into Rockholm, the Redeemer was one of the
first converts. The Church had gained much popularity in the mountain holm,
largely due to his missionary efforts and sermons. Now Degur was to be fully
anointed and proclaimed as a Reckoner of the Faith, a great honor. The Thane sat
in the front on the chapel, next to the three red-robed priests who would
announce the Redeemer who would replace Degur. Behind these four, the rest of
the converts sat on long pews, staring forwards unflinchingly.

Degur took his place before the altar. The Reckoner sent to perform the
ceremony stood behind Degur, its face covered by a blank iron mask and its body
shrouded in a blank white robe. From within the Reckoner's robes, an iron hook
held out a finely-wrought steel klangaxe to one of the attendants, and a scroll
to the other. The Reckoner nodded its head silently, signalling that the ritual
could now begin.

The attendant read from the scroll and then spoke, "Redeemer, it is the will of
the Almighty that you be elevated from your lowly status as an individual and be
made one with our Lord and Master. Do you accept the will of the Almighty
Kethuru?"

To which the Degur replied, "I accept this as the will of the Almighty."

The attendant recited from the scroll, "The Reckoner needs no sight but that
granted by the Almighty. Do you willingly give up your sight so that you may be
granted the Visions of the Lord?"

Degur replied in the ritual fashion, "I accept this as the will of the
Almighty."

In a blur of motion, the Reckoner jabbed the eyes from Degur, plucking them
from his skull with unnatural skill. No blood was spilt, nor was any hole left
by the brutal strike. Where Degur's eyes once were, blank skin remained. Only
Degur's screams stood as proof that he had truly had his eyes ripped from the
sockets.

The attendant waited for Degur to cease his screaming, before reading from the
scroll, "The Reckoner needs no voice but that granted by the Almighty. Do you
willingly give up your tongue so that you may speak the Will of the Lord?"

To which the Degur replied, "I accept this as the will of the Almighty."

The Recknoner pierced its hook through Degur's tongue and ripped it from the
Clangoru's mouth. Degur wailed again, the sound of bloody gurgling mixing with
his pain. A gesture from the Reckoner cut the muffled sound short with unnatural
quickness. The attendant holding the axe stepped forwards and began stitching
Degur's mouth shut with a steel needle of strange design. When he stepped back,
is was as though Degur had never had a mouth.

The attendant recited from the scroll, "The Reckoner needs no hand but that
granted by the Almighty. Do you willingly give up your hands so that you may
become the Hand of the Lord?"

Degur nodded gravely, unable to speak. He placed his hands onto the altar, just
as he had when he gave his sermons. The axe came down swiftly, severing them
from the preacher. Once more, the stumps showed no sign of injury, as if they
had been severed and the wound left to heal on its own. In the place of his
hands, iron hooks where screwed onto Degur's limbs, identical to the Reckoner's.

The attendant recited from the scroll, "The Reckoner needs no instruction but
that granted by the Almighty. Do you willingly give up your hearing so that you
may hear the Voice of the Lord?"

Degur made no reply save to bow his head down onto the altar and allow his ears
to be sliced from his head. He did not flinch, nor scream when the axe sliced
through his flesh, deafening him to all but the Voice of Kethuru. He simply rose
up and, with sudden ferocity, began slicing the skin from his face. Reddened
peels flopped onto the floor with a sickening splat.

The Reckoner glided forwards and affixed the mask to Degur's head. Two
Reckoners left the chapel that day, indistinguishable.

---

They had delayed their travels for a short while to receive blessings from one
of the Shallmarines after Commandant Inalai had dismissed them. The priest had a
black hood, his, or her, face obscured. The voice made her think the priest was
Mugwumpi, but Tliynthi had been born in Arysia and knew little about
non-merians.

The priest chanted a profane liturgy, something about service and death that
Tliynthi did not quite catch, and pressed its robed hands onto the breastbone of
the grunts. A dark, yellow light glowed around the Shallamarine, like flames
that had been carved of tarnished amber. Once all five of the troopers had been
'blessed', the group marched out of the city gates, headed north towards
Avechna's peak but then cutting east along the Emerald Road into the mountains
to avoid the Ackleberry forest and its patrols.

Tliynthi drifted invisibly behind the grunts as they marched from the city. Her
gorgog was dissolved so that it could travel stealthily, as mist and soil. At
first, she had allowed it to simply burrow behind them, but the Krokani kept
glancing behind himself, eyeing the ground suspiciously. Unwilling to risk being
caught, she forced the gorgog to hide itself more carefully, even if it meant
that it would not be able to respond if there was trouble at the mine's gate.

So far, the grunts were keeping up a steady pace, not so fast that Tliynthi
could not keep up, but not so slow that they could not make the journey in a
single day. The spoke as the travelled, discussing tactics and each other's
past. For the most part, there was not much of interest to be heard, but there
were a few important details. The Orclach named Baoa was the younger sister of
Hiulg. Both had been in training for three years and finally were prepared to
graduate and become ur'Troopers. It seemed that Baoa, by dint of being oldest by
five years, would be the de facto leader of the party. The other Orclach, Koruk,
he went by, was not related to the other two, nor of noble blood like the
Krokani or the Clangoru. He seemed to keep to himself, uncertain of what to say
to the others.

Tliynthi was shocked to discover that the Clangoru was of noble birth. A
princess, in fact, King Varrim's very own daughter. The circumstances the
Clangoru described were strange; King Varrim had sent his daughter to the
Ur'Guard to seal a pact with the Emperor. The King would retain the autonomy
that their kingdom had traditionally possessed and all of its sovereign rights
to the Mountains as long as the Clangoru King forbade the practice of Soulless
worship in his kingdom and refused to trade with Forest Enclaves or the
worshipers of the Soulless Gods. Now that Thane Thoril had refused the King's
edict, a show of solidarity had to be made. Tliynthi knew that the Elder Council
would need to hear of this development, but she could not return from her
scouting mission without first insuring that these ur'grunts would not disrupt
the Enclave's works in Rockholm.

Tliynthi soon noticed something was awry. The Clangoru was missing. Tliynthi
was certain that she had not seen her fall behind, yet, Princess Varrim was not
there. Lavgein called out her name, "Ulenna, where are you? Ulenna, Avechna damn
it, we can't go on without you. Get back here." But Ulenna made no response. The
grunts stopped their march, and began searching high and low for their missing
companion. She was not found until two hours later, pale and sickly looking.
When questioned, she said she had fallen behind and gotten lost.

Lavgein growled, "You didn't fall behind, we would have found you. You were off
doing something and you'll tell us what it was. I may have one eye, but I know
the truth when I see it." Baoa agreed with him, noting that Ulenna did not look
like herself, saying she was walking differently, with a bit of a stagger and
lisping where she had not before.

The Clangoru refused to admit that anything was wrong, and just said that she
had needed a bit of strong drink and she would be fine. She offered to share,
and Baoa declared that under no circumstance was she accepting such a lack of
discipline. Hiulg quickly took a swig from the flask as soon as his sister
turned her back. Koruk pretended not to notice while Lavgein muttered under his
breathe about the pair being worthless drunkards.

Soon, the group reached the gates of Rockholm. They presented their passes and
then travelled down into the visitor's quarters of the mine. It was explained to
them that they would have to wait here until morning to conduct their business,
as they had arrived so late in the day. Soon after, Tliynthi saw that their
contact, one of the Imperial Magi, slipped in to inform them that the attack was
to occur at sunrise the next day. Tliynthi could not wait that long, so she
reported back to the Elders.

The grunts rested in dreamless sleep, alone.

---

It was midnight and Ugnuoghehu was no more. She was Ulenna now. She bore
Ulenna's face, her name and her armour. Ulenna did not even recall being
Ugnuoghehu, so strong was her training. Her face was deathly pale but her
movements had gained a new and unnatural grace. Her armour was blackened. She
had to rub out the symbols on it; the Vernal Gods were still a bitter memory to
the Mother and Her children.

Ulenna smirked. Her mission was a complete success. The four remaining grunts
were asleep, the fifth dead hours ago. Ulenna Varrim died upon the mountain that
day, never to rise again, through vitae or in Undeath. Her nekai took care of
that, with its lich-slaying poison. It was a carefully blended mixture of toxins
extracted from the beasts of her native caverns and the tainted parasites of the
Supra Plane.

Now she would slay the four grunts in their sleep. The one called Hiulg had
already drunk the venom. He would be first to die. He was asleep, suspecting
nothing. Ulenna placed her nekai at the Orclach's throat and, with a flick of
her wrist, his throat was cut. Blood seeped into the pillow Hiulg's lolling head
rest upon. He never stood a chance.

Ulenna turned to his sister, Baoa, drawing the envenomed dart. A sudden gust of
wind send her sprawling and threw the needle from her soulless grasp. She cursed
and spun around, seeing nothing. The Emperor's slaves were awake. Baoa screamed.
"Hiulg! Holy Light, Hiulg! What happened to you!?" She had found the body.

A cacophony of voices called out from the aether, "Kill her!", screamed a
shrill woman "Soulless demon!", cried out the voice of an old man "Die
traitoress!" said the third. Ulenna's feet were grasped by stony hands reaching
from the ground. She couldn't break their grip, nor writhe free. The three
surviving grunts, Baoa, Lavgein and Koruk, drew their weapons. The two Orclachi
hacked away at Ulenna's elemental captors, but Lavgein, that vile Krokani,
shoved them aside and ripped the mask from her face!

Ulenna hissed, her leech-mouth flared wide open in a snarl, but it was cut
short by a deadly blow from a spiked mace. Lavgein struck hard, splattering the
Illithiod's soulless brains upon the gray stone floor. Blood and bits of gore
dripped down the former Princesses armour, staining the defaced work with
Ugnuoghehu's vile ichor. It sizzled as it struck the floor, burning little
pockmarks in the ground.

The unseen voices were in an uproar. "Kill the soldiers! They are traitors!"
screeched a female voice. "No, Elder! Spare them!" replied a young woman. "We
cannot risk detection, Tliynthi. All three must be eliminated." ruled a stern
old man. "That is final!"

Cruel laughter from the elderly matron and Tliynthi's wailing echoed throughout
the hall as two of the gorgogs moved in. A wall of flames sprung up around the
grunts, protecting them from their attackers. Back to back, encircled by flames,
they fought brutally with the gorgogs, sword blades flashing and twin maces
shattering stone like so much glass. None noticed as a tiny worm slithered from
the corpse of Ulenna.

---

Darkness. Endless, cold, darkness. This was what Degur, or what was left of
Degur, felt around him. Not silence, however. Regularly, every few seconds, he
would hear a terrible crash and then a bestial, unnatural screaming as the
Almighty flung Himself against His prison, then reeled away in mindless pain.
Sometimes it was wet, like a dead fish slapping against a chalkboard. Sometimes
it was skittering, like a thousand mountain-sized insects being crushed under an
equally massive boot. Other times, the sound of Kethuru's escape was made of
mind-melting noises that made sense in no reasonable, sunlit world, sounds that
should have never existed.

Hearing was not his only sense; Degur could also feel touches and, worse yet,
feel pain. Deep within his body, a change was taking place. It felt as if there
were squirming eels under his skin, with dozens of barbed legs and blood-stained
fangs. They had been inside of Degur so long, he knew not how he had survived
except through the will of the Almighty Kethuru.

After an undeterminable period in darkness and agony, "light" flooded his eyes
again. Everything was stained a red, bloody hue and the shadows were as bright
to his new vision as the lighted areas once were. He saw everything. He saw
himself, from the third person, gliding down the halls of Rockholm. He wondered
if the parasites within him had finally snuffed out his life. If he still had
eyes in any conventional sense, he might have shed a tear.

He saw his body tear open the doors of a guest barracks, ripping the wooden
frame out and snapping the steel hinge. He had no control over what he did, he
was but a puppet now. Less than a puppet. An observer. Degur was filled with
despair. When he had became a member of the Cult of the Almighty, he had been
promised that he would be united with Kethuru, that he would become an aspect of
the Almighty rather than being destroyed. He hadn't thought that his body would
be consumed while his soul remained fettered to it, suffering all of the pain
but feeling none of the power. Degur would have felt remorse for what he did,
but he found that he could not muster such an emotion, no more than he could
command his own body.

His body glided into the hall, head bobbing in each direction like a crow
searching for food. In the center of the room, a Krokani and an Orclach did
battle with a pair of giants made of melting ice and boiling stone. Beyond the
giants, three ephemeral imagines were seen, a young Merian girl, no older than
Degur himself, an elderly Merian man, skull-fins pale with extreme age, and a
smirking Dracnari who urged the statue nearest her onwards as it fought the two
soldiers.

Degur's corpse launched into swift, bloody action. A feral growl, tainted with
the unearthly sounds from within Kethuru's prison, escaped from the now
worthless throat that once belonged to Degur Othag as the deadly iron sickles
that were now his hands did their violent work on the first of the two gorgogs.
Its 'head' came clean off of its 'body', both collapsing to the floor in pieces.
Degur had known that the claws of the Reckoners were enchanted with great power,
but he had never known their full destructive content. At least until now.

The spirits and the two soldiers had just noticed him. The Dracnari hissed
something, but her words were drown out by the sound of a vast tentacle slamming
against an impenetrable barrier in the back of his mind. His claw ripped through
the dreamweaver's throat, mangling it horrifically. Her corpse, a hundred miles
away, within the Tower of Eyes, screamed in pain out before maggot-filled blood
gurgled from a hole rotted into her neck. She was dead and her corpse decayed
into an oily black dust within the hour.

Degur did not know this, nor would he have cared. The carnage brought him an
unnatural satisfaction, forced upon him by Kethuru's monstrous will. Not even
his thoughts were safe from the Beast, now that he had offered his soul up to
it. The second ghost fell just as quickly, this time with a blow to the chest.
With the attack, the second of the two gorgog collapsed into dust and vapor.

A shrill, chittering laugh seemed to come from within Degur. It could not have,
for he no longer had lungs. Only parasites and ragged scraps of uneaten flesh.
Degur felt an abhorrent feeling, something like pleasure, at the death. It was a
sick parody of true joy, twisted and stained crimson by Kethuru's evil. Degur
had no more control over this than he did over anything else. He could not so
much as close his eyes, for they had been ripped from his skull.

The laughing was stopped by a powerful blow to the back of Degur's skull. His
brain burst like a grape before him, freeing his soul from the shackles of the
flesh and transporting him back to his body for the few fleeting instants before
he died. The back of his skull was missing, but he found that he was somehow
able to speak despite the missing portions of his skull, lack of tongue and
fused lips. He choked out the formal words of the last rites, "I, Degur Othag,
thank you for granting me peace and consigning my unworthy soul to the Light.",
before the blood gurgling in his throat finally cut off his capacity. If Degur
still had a face, he would have smiled.