What shall my legacy be,

what shall people remember of me,

perhaps a lasting final image,

stronger than any carnage?

 

The Mountains of Madness, Earth.

 

210 years after the Coming of Estarra.

 

Kalliel Ignotus Harmon was a brave man. Back when he had been a paladin he had trekked to the horrific depths of Nil itself. Slaughtering demons at the behest of the Supernals, the warrior soon came face to face with the Duke of Inescapable Damnation himself. Despite all his friends either dead or beaten back, he stood his ground, never faltering or running away. Faced with rage and terror, only the calm of the Supernal's love stayed his courage.

 

In the face of the Earth Plane, however, even he hesitated to roam its eviscerated remains. Back then he had heard stories from the old folks about how the plane of Earth had boasted euphoric, shining examples of the Basin's earthly beauty. Crystal geodes reflected light into an endless rainbow, spanning the myriad of flowers that lay like a blanket over the purest soil.

 

But that was before the Taint came and ravaged it. A force of pure destruction ripped the bedrock open. Like a tremendous wound in the skin of creation, it belched forth horror and destruction. Atmospheric allure vanished instantly, reduced to nothing but a chunk of rock brutalised by a cruel uncaring God. His mind warped and revolted against his willpower while Kalliel stood amongst despair and disaster. Water, Air, Fire, the other elemental planes had laws and rules in their composition, outlined clearly to better assimilate and boast to anyone who would listen of the gorgeous visage that was Creation harmonious.

 

Not Earth though. No, the ways were treacherous and manifold. In their search they saw the changing landscape first hand. A mountain taller than any in the First World rumbled upwards range of their mortal ken before splitting down the middle. Before they could begin to comprehend it, a larger monument of the earth's strength had erupted from below. Faced with unimaginable forces, the mountain became a rock slide, carving jagged lines and deep wounds into the image of Earth. Rocks shifted and mountains split apart over and over. They didn't know what would happen next, or where they would end up. The three of them had almost lost Samael to the vast Sea of Soot and oil.

 

Twice now Kalliel, Samael and Kukri, those three who had come to this desolate and cursed place, had found themselves flung apart, separated by treacherous landscapes.

 

Even Nil had a shape. But not this eldritch land.

 

Beside him, Samael panted and traversed the ground beneath his feet carefully. "You didn't have to come" spoke Kalliel for the second time, and Samael rolled his eyes. He was a few years younger than Kalliel but no less devout or strong. Powerful muscles flexed from beneath large armour; both a gift from his mother. He looked at Kalliel's face, expression and thoughts hidden by the winged helm. An infamous rogue, Kalliel the Mercenary had established himself as an advocate of justice without peer or doubt. The question was whose? Nobody knew for sure.

 

Samael had heard the story, as all loyal Celestians had done. Once the Lord General of the Paladins, a bastion of the Light, Kalliel had lost faith in Celest after a Magnagoran who had slaughtered his family was permitted into the city. Forgiven and accepted against Kalliel's pleas, slowly this stalwart figure began to break. It likely wouldn't have been that as the lynchpin to seal his disillusionment, but when the person in quest won an election and became Prince of Celest, Well, what would you do?

 

That might be changing, however, with the current rumours going around that discrepancies and shady dealings were happening as high as the Star Council since Kalliel's nemesis had taken the position. People were saying perhaps Kalliel had not been so paranoid as everyone else thought. He left the city then, wandering around the Basin and trying to find his faith in the Light and Celest again. Although the city never fully redeemed itself in Kalliel's eyes, Celestia was a different matter. His selfless devotion to the Supernals teachings had reached them, and they felt sorrow for this brave champion. With the blessings of the Supernal, the city allowed him to keep his skills with an unanimous vote. He could go out and preach the Light to the basin, but Kalliel was not a preacher. He was, and always would be, a soldier first.

 

For justice.

 

"It has killed eleven. I remember their names, as I'm sure you do. Among them is my sister, Light bless her, and needs to be stopped" replied Samael finally, both climbing further up the cliffs. They had tried to follow the pathways in the rock, but the confusing nature of the plane had stumped them both. The last path tread by them extended from a stone wall and came to another stone wall, the path leading nowhere in its curvature. Every now and then it would seem like they could see the face of a lost soul, an illusion of those taken from them, or even still living but worse. Once or twice, Kalliel had even thought about running, a primal fear gripping his mind.

 

The two warriors looked back at their third companion, an experienced kephera named Kukri Thundersting. Grandmaster of Discipline within the Tahtetso, he held fast and true to the beliefs of his race and guild. Centuries of battling the psionic ravages of Illith and her spawn had given him some immunity to the latent psionic backlash that infused everything around them. He had even managed to explain it to them; how the archway on Earth was telekinetically contorted, tearing and warping the mages which dared to make a connection with this damned locale. 

 

"This smog is not natural." Kukri tried not to speak too much if he could help it, a trait which had earned him admiration, but now, especially he had to focus and hold his breath. The tainted and harmful smog around them made it necessary, and was it his imagination, or did the miasma of taint seem to actually increase in volume as they got higher? "I think something is creating it."

 

A loud rumbling and cracking noise interrupted their thoughts as the earth below them seem to shake. Crashing and banging noises preceded a gigantic iron vessel trundling up the side of the mountain as if it was the most natural thing ever. Known as the Train, the three watched it vanish over the top of the mountain. The only one existing, it roamed the Earth Plane eternally as a home for Victor von'Lochli, one of six who had managed to come back from a dark future.

 

Recovering from the experience, the group finally came to a landing in the middle of the mountains that allowed them to take in the full grasp of their situation. Samael wore hooded robes of sparkling blue, coral staff helping him walk.

 

Kalliel stood in plain grey armour inscribed with gold and blue. Metallic plate provided protection for his joints and the shield beheld the image of Lady Raziela, smiling with her arms outstretched. It was a leftover from his time in the Paladins, his heart aching for even a brief touch of the Supernals or the Light  to help them.

 

Kukri took out his tahtetso staff, and now they were deep enough into the mountains of madness to prepare the rest of their weapons. Samael drew his swords just as a loud roar seemed to reverberate. A gigantic shadow fell over Samael who didn't even have time to scream as the thing landed on his shoulders with two great hairy feet. His armour crumpled like paper from the thing's weight, instantly pushing him into the ground and crushing him to death in an explosion of organs and skin. Kalliel and Kukri stared in horror before they shook their heads andrushed in, but not before vitae returned the Aquamancer to full health and the beast whirled around with a gigantic fist to connect with the merian's skull.

 

Samael was flung off the cliff, and Kalliel thought, with some small comfort, that he had escaped a fate of broken bones by dying at the point of the punch's impact. Sliding his hammers out of their holders he saw Kukri dart across the ground dextrously and throw his weapon at the beast. It staggered back and roared again. Kukri spun, foot digging into its chest and both ends of the tahto staff hitting it twice. Thrown against the cliff wall, Kukri's attack allowed Kalliel to see the beast fully.

 

Beast was an appropriate term. A great and hairy body rippled with oversized muscles and gigantic limbs. It easily towered over the two fighters by six feet, the single red eye in the middle of its face denoted its race as Krokani, although the supple tendons and speed seemed to deny it a name as simple as that. It had moved extremely quickly.

 

Black veins throbbed with an eldritch ochre hue. Hunched over, it gave the impression of a beast despite standing on two legs without problem, and seemed more likely to bite off your head than clobber you. It moved like a monkey and batted away the kephera's attacks. Kalliel tensed his hammers, letting Kukri unleash the full force of his attacks in a style he called Precision Rage. Chaotic and wild, it balanced erratic movements, intense discipline and strength to create a new skill.

 

Despite that, Kukri had not been able to get past its guard or cause any serious damage. To a Tahtetso like Kukri, however, it was not just damage but vibrations that he needed. His staff trembled and shook, quivering with a primed elasticity. Kukri let his body move fluidly with the sensation, letting staff and wielder unite. It was time to cause some serious damage.

 

He thrust forwards and the trembling forces manifested within the beast's chest, pummeling internal organs against each other. The beast roared and swung out a hand to smack Kukri away. As the Kephera flew back he gave his staff a final kick at the beast. A direct hit to his cranium, the brain rattled and the beast swayed.

 

Kukri groaned as he hit a wall, thankful he hadn't been tossed down the cliffside, and caught his rebounding weapon. A cracked rib ruined the moment but he was just getting started. His staff thrummed with power still and he spun it, batting the creature away. Kukri spun twice and stuck it into the ground. The earth rumbled, the beast stumbled, and Kukri went for the killing blow. He'd pulverise the thing's heart and end this. Rolling with unnatural agility, the beast reached down abruptly and grabbed the vibrating stick. Pure strength halted the staff's shaking before it broke in half, the beast yanking the two pieces away from its wielder with an attempt at a sneer.

 

Kukri cried out at the destruction of his oldest treasures. Losing his emotional calm, the kephera summoned the power of his psionic training in preparation of blowing this thing's head wide open. However, his psychic attacks were almost ineffective. Either it was too primitive or something eldritch inside the animal's mind was protecting it. Changing tactics, Kukri focused within, unlocking the potential of his mind and awaiting the beast's next strike.

 

Psychometabolism. Odd and esoteric for a branch of Psionics, it allowed for a stronger defence and powerful abilities that improved the user's body. The kephera clenched his fist, bones hardening to resist the next punch.

 

His skeleton rattled from the titanic blow, and he responded by punching the beast with his reinforced body. It was pushed back, wildly flailing the broken pieces of tahto. Each time he saw a piece Kukri got more angry and trembled with the fury. He flexed his muscles and punched with both hands, increasing his pain output by twofold. The beast bellowed and Kukri caught a whack with his own staff, incensing him further.

 

That was the last straw. Kukri decided to go all out, and ignored Kalliel's yell of warning. He'd show this beast the legacy left by the great Primal God Keph!

 

Tensing the bone again, an electrical charge built itself within Kukri's body. Calling upon everything he knew about psionics and psychometabolism, the kephera made himself a solid and unbending wall. Keeping it all focused, he looked at his opponent and got ready to unleash a world of hurt.

 

Kalliel watched in despair as the beast took both broken ends of the staff and stabbed each one into the kephera's eyes, the remaining fragile part of the impenetrable defence. Kukri screamed and lost his concentration, allowing the beast to punch through his chest and grip the pulped heart. Pulling it back, it let Kukri fall forwards, the Kephera dead instantly. The corpse dropped to the floor lifeless, tahto pieces sticking out of both eye sockets in some sick display of brutality. Kukri refused vitae so his soul went on without hindrance.

 

Tears gathered in the rogue's eyes but he wiped them away, steeling himself for the thing's next attack that would surely be aimed at him. Hammers readied, Kalliel saw it turn and sniff the air, almost brooding. The blood of his comrades still stained the palm, and he thundered forwards. A hairy fist swung out like some hideous bludgeon and met Kalliel's swung hammer. It forced the limb to veer in a different direction, and the ex-Paladin followed with a swing from his second behemoth of iron.

 

This one went into the thing's ribs, and it howled even as it remained standing. Shaking the bludgeons off like a dog got rid of water, it snarled. Kalliel dropped one of his hammers and held the other with both hands, swinging it around in a wide circle and thrusting. The beast grabbed it and pulled. Familiar to the move, the Paladin leapt with the attack and sent the blunt weapon into the creature's face. Blood ran from its nose, and it knocked the hammer away with ferocious strength. A hand grabbed Kalliel's, and squeezed. He screamed, and stuck two fingers in the thing's eye. It dropped him, foot coming out to kick him in the stomach. Kalliel collapsed, wheezing while he cradled his broken hand. Staggering up, he threw himself to the side. The fist cracked the ground with it's strength; definitely not a lightweight.

 

The beast turned around, its eye already healed and thrumming with power. A hairy fist backhanded the knight who dived down and stuck a dagger into its leg tendons. With a bellow the beast went down on one knee, and Kalliel seized his chance, raising one of his hammers high. With tremendous speed it suddenly dropped to all fours and bull rushed the merian.

 

Kalliel waited for the attack and dodged so it hit his shoulder. Although painful, the attack gave him momentum, allowing the paladin to spin his body around quickly twice. Kalliel picked up the second hammer, arms threatening to tear themselves out of the sockets, and swung once more. Confused and shaken, the beast's tiny mind made it go for the simple option. Two trunk sized arms extended and gripped for Kalliel who placed the sides of the hammer together. Summoning up all his power reserves, he slammed both weapons into the creature's body.

 

Ribs cracked, piercing organs and flesh while hairy limbs shook. The beast went down like a sack of grain. Kalliel let the hammers drop then, groaning at the strain they had put on his arm. Bonecrusher was a useful and lethal skill, but it was not meant for merians unless they were incredibly strong. He gulped down health, and rolled to avoid a swipe from the creature's claws. He gathered his breath back, then picked up a hammer. Reaffirming his grip, Kalliel moved in to deal the finishing blow.

 

"Halt!" called out a deep voice suddenly, and from above Kalliel saw a human's lithe figure up at the top of the mountain. Its body seemed misshapen in some way, but he couldn't nail down why. It leapt down in the same fashion as the beast had done and landed with just as much force. Steam hissed from joints that sounded more machine than man, allowing the new arrival to stand up unhindered by broken bones.

 

"Trespassing on Earth is forbidden for your kind, Celestian. Leave at once" ordered the Geomancer, for Kalliel saw no one else stand and weather Earth so confidently than the tainted mages of Magnagora. Taking a closer look, the misshapen parts appeared to be either broken bones or jutting metal. A mask of pure gold shaped like a female face concealed his opponent's face. A sleeveless leather coat glowed with charged runes and he wore a tunic of thick leather. With his hands in his pockets, the Geomancer looked casual but dangerous. Two odd metallic objects jutted from his back, appearing like tanks with some hideous contraption attached to it. Kalliel had never seen such a thing before. The mercenary thought about clarifying he wasn't a Celestian anymore, but felt the man didn't really care.

 

"Greetings, Geomancer. I will leave when I have killed the beast. It has slain eleven to this day, and must be put down." Kalliel gripped his hammers tightly, ready for a surprise attack from either of them. The Geomancer chuckled, looking at the tensed muscles and braced weapons of his opponent. How he loathed Paladins. So full of righteous and useless fury, devoid of honour yet judging others for it. He took out a hand from his pocket and lifted his mask to scratch at his chin slightly, thoughtfully. "You can leave it with me and I will make sure the beast is properly punished."

 

"Forgive me for not trusting your word. Are you claiming you were unaware of the beast's victims prior to this month?"

 

"Why I had no idea, Mr. Celestian. I just let him roam free, cavorting with the gargoyles and partying with the stoneghasts. You know how it is" laughed the mage mockingly, and Kalliel gripped his weapons tighter. "But he killed people, you say? Bad boy. Very bad boy" he chastised, turning around and bopping the beast on the head.

 

Oddly enough, this action seemed to cow the beast, primitive eyes darting from Kalliel to the mage and trembling with fear. Kalliel even heard it whimper, obviously afraid of this man. Who the Nil was he?

 

"No more eating people, OK? Bad boy. People are not for eating, they are friends, not food" snickered the mage, and laughed at his own joke. The beast continued to cower, and the Geomancer turned with a hidden face. "On your way now, Celestian. This is a Magnagoran matter."

 

"They were all in the Northern Alliance, plebeian. It is a matter for us, and we have decided it must be killed, utterly. I don't see why you'd care, anyway, about something like this. Do Magnagorans have feelings now?"

 

"Tut tut. Is that any way for a Paladin to speak? I ask you, they've really gone downhill-"

 

"Oh shut up, I'm tired of your talking. I will slay the beast, and you will get out of my way, or you will be next. The abomination deserves death!" exclaimed Kalliel walking forwards.

 

"Now, is that any way to talk about my nephew?" tutted the Geomancer, and Kaliel's shock at that information gave Marcus d'Lardick the opening he needed. Quick as lightning, a foot shot out into Kalliel's stomach, breaking two ribs. He wheezed, and then the pistons inside the legs tensed. "Have a leg up." The hydraulics within pumped and impacted the limb Into Kalliel's chest. The merian stumbled  across the ground and lost his footing, insides battered.

 

He tried to fall forwards but began to slide off the edge, taken aback by the surprising revelation, pain and the weakening influence of the their surroundings. One hammer managed to dig into the ground, and then the other stopped his fall further. Both dug it into the earth next to Marcus' feet and Kalliel used them as handholds. He got a good grip on the weapon and debated what to do next. Above him stood the Geomancer, a confusing look on his face. Somewhere between amused and irritated. "Stay there, worm, while I deal with this family matter" spat Marcus, demeanour changed.

 

On the ledge, Marcus turned and kicked the beast in the stomach. It howled and whimpered as Marcus shouted at him. "Stupid worthless thing! Look at me. LOOK AT ME, VEDAS! How could you let this thing defeat you so easily? PERHAPS I SHOULD CALL YOU USELESS!" He beat the beast again, and it snuffled on the ground, whining and looking up at the geomancer for some semblance of mercy. From its throat came a low grunting noise, and finally it spoke the only word it knew.

 

"Enginseer."

 

Marcus looked at it in disgust. "Yes, Enginseer. Lord Enginseer Marcus d'Lardick, you dumb brute, and now i must clean up your mess! Oh, phooey, just stay there you and I will-"

 

"How could you treat him like that? No, how is that thing your nephew?!" demanded Kalliel, curiosity overriding his panic for a moment. His mind worked overtime as he listened, genuinely interested. Marcus knelt down at the ledge and looked Kalliel straight in the eye.

 

"I guess you've earned that much by your survival. My sister was exploring the out-lands of Lirangsha years ago when she found a lost child on the ground. Nobody seemed to know where it had come from, nor who its parents might be, but my sister was an unusually caring soul. Taking pity, she adopted it as her own and brought it back to us. In a year, he had grown from a toddler to a full grown man, and continued even then although he was still a child. Then she fell ill. Usually, we undead, and viscanti undead in particular, are immune to any disease, but for her it was lethal, and incurable. The doctors and priests claimed the child was stealing her essence, and that its existence was poison to her and those in its company. It stank of Soulless energies. They implored her to kill it, but she refused, even though it might very well save her life."

 

Two years ago.

 

A crowd gathered around the grand four poster bed. Men and women squabble and plead with a figure lying in the middle. The door behind them opens, allowing two imposing figures into the stately room. "Lord Marcus, Lord Janus, please, speak some sense to Lady Dromedia!"

 

Marcus strides forwards behind Janus, the Archmage of the Geomancers. A crown of rock sits on his head while in his hands is a solid staff of petrified wood. Robes sweep across the floor, a stark contrast to his brother's suit and coat. "What do you mean, is your medicine working or not?" demanded Janus.

 

"It would, if she killed the child. But she is adamant we do not, Lords. Please, persuade her otherwise, we could not bear to lose the Lady… the people-"

 

"Will survive. Enough snivelling. Everyone, out. Now!" demanded the Lord Enginseer Marcus d'Lardick, gesturing with a scarred and burnt hand to the door. Everyone left in a mad palaver, and Janus snapped his fingers, closing the door with a gust of wind. A moment later ice formed around the handle. Both men walked to the bed and looked down at their decrepit sister. Her hair, usually so long and auburn, was falling in patches. Her face, a vision of beauty, seemed to fall apart before their eyes. Silky skin, lithe muscles, all gone or macabre.

 

Janus cried out, going to his knees at the sight of the figure. Marcus just stared, lifting up his mask to get a better look. "I won't" muttered a weak voice

 

"What?" asked Marcus curiously, Janus looking up.

 

"I won't let him die" clarified Dromedia in a stronger voice. "I want him to live, brothers. Promise me you will help him live!"

 

"Are you crazy? I have a mind to kill him myself, and end your suffering! People already think we're bad with what happened to our parents, now you want us to let you die?" objected Janus, standing up and wiping his eyes. "You're worth far more than some abominable orphan!"

 

Marcus looked on while his siblings argued. After several minutes he moved forwards and pushed Janus aside. "Two things, Jan" interrupted Marcus, and held up two badly damaged fingers. "One, this is our sister. You know how stubborn our family is. Two, she obviously has a good reason. Dromedia dying means also that the Lord Legion loses one of his strongest and most faithful followers. You know how much she loves Him, like how we love the Enchantress. On a third unmentioned note, she is the smartest of us you know."

 

Janus shook his head. "Nobody is discounting that, Marc, but I don't want to lose our sister along with our parents!"

 

"Let your emotions die down a little. Drom, tell us why you want the child to live."

 

She nodded gently, smiling softly at her wise and passionate brothers. She could leave them in charge of the family. "There is a reason… a glorious one. Come, hear, then you will promise me what I have asked."

 

When she had explained it, both brothers promised without reservation, impressed and touched by their sister's devotion to the twisted truth they all adhered to.

 

<><><>

 

"In the end, she died in agony."

 

Kalliel felt himself touched, despite his better judgement. It was quite a heartfelt and sad story. Reading his expression with a glance, Marcus smirked. "Don't be fooled" he snarled, and stamped on Kalliel's fingersf, threatening to kick him off; he didn't feel so sympathetic then. "It was not out of some altruistic feeling nor self-sacrifice for the greater good" clarified Marcus, Vedas sitting up slowly. His body had healed considerably on Earth, but with a grimace the Enginseer saw it wasn't enough.

 

"She saw it as a perfect agent of destruction. The Lord Legion glorifies in chaos and disorder. Thus, when society dictated she should have gotten rid of the child to save herself and others, she chose to do the opposite. By letting it live, using even the principles of Celest our own hated enemy, her sacrifice gave birth to pain, suffering, despair and death. Look at how my dear nephew has caused all this. Look how he smashed your friends to pieces, and now you are at our mercy. It was her revenge on the world which had done this to her, a world too weak to look after itself. She killed herself because of people like you, who resist and risk it all once more!" shouted Marcus and brought up the instrument attached to his back, aiming it at Kalliel's face.

 

A jumble of tubes emanated a ghastly aura, the inside cracked and decaying. "Her revenge continued after death, contained within a small vessel of life. Death to allow life in order to create death and destruction. A cycle that continues to this day, that is why I protect her legacy. He is our legacy, rather than my nephew, although he can be both!"

 

Kalliel grimaced and decided enough was enough. If he waited much longer, the beast would be repaired.

 

"Then your legacy ends today."

 

With a grunt, Kalliel kicked off from the wall and flipped his body over, the hammers keeping him anchored to the ground. Surprised, Marcus fired too late, the blast of shrapnel and fumes narrowly missing the mercenary. As he landed back on his feet, Kalliel pulled the hammers up with a monumental effort and brought them both down on Marcus' shoulders. He was pushed to his knees, but Kalliel felt the tremor along his arms as both hammers hit solid iron. Marcus leapt up, pushed the hammers aside and then . "Are there no depths you people will not sink to for your destructive agenda?!"

 

"How about yours?!" exclaimed a Marcus hungry for battle. The Enginseer twisted to let the hammers fall past him and slammed both hands into the sides of Kalliel's neck. He choked, fighting for air from the crushed windpipe, and kicked out, inverting Marcus' knee. He swore and backed away, Kalliel applying mending to the damage while Marcus brought the weapon up and flipped down a nozzle. He aimed it at Kalliel's face and grinned. "Say hello to the Fates!"

 

The merian ducked, swearing as he felt the top of his scalp scraped by the attack. His left hammer swung up, stopped only by a shrapnel covered shield that Marcus had whipped out from nowhere. The other one came down on the fragile part of his head, but Vedas suddenly lunged into the fray and batted it away. Cursing at the distraction, Kalliel was hit by Marcus' shrapnel blast. A hole in his clothes showed burnt and scarred skin, the warrior gritting his teeth.

 

That had been incredibly painful. Super hot steam made way for tiny bits of shrapnel. He wouldn't survive more of those attacks. He spun and kicked the beast back, spinning more and letting his hammers build up momentum. This time they smacked into the shield and sent Marcus to the floor from the sheer weight. The Geomancer grunted and grabbed a hammer with one hand to stop the death blow.

 

Vedas snarled and swiped at Kalliel's back. Pain tore through the merian's body, so he kicked Marcus away and dropped his hammer. His feet came up from in front and grabbed onto the beast's shoulders. Exerting all his strength, the mercenary brought Devas' head down, smashing it into the tempered metal of the weapon. A loud crack echoed around, the beast moaning distressingly from a broken skull.

 

Marcus cried out in disbelief, launching himself up as Kalliel wielded the hammer again and smashed it into his jaw. The Enginseer was flung back through the air and hit the wall opposite. Smoke and smog billowed out from the Geomancer's back now, a thick cloying cloud that warned away the warrior even as Marcus seemed to walk about in a daze. It smelt horrible, and from just one whiff Kalliel felt the effects of the earth plane multiplied tenfold. For a moment he even saw his dearest friend wanting to kill him, and the jeering looks of even the Supernals.

 

He took the time to apply some healing and called upon the power of Gedulah. Kalliel's mind cleared and he saw everything with a deeper clarity. Cutting through the fog of despair, the sphere's influence made him sharper and focused. Sensing more of his power back, he even chanted the name of Geburah, strength filling his entire body. Kalliel ran into the space between the two hulking figures that moved through the smoke now, a beast and its master.

 

Kalliel grabbed the abomination and stuck a tahto staff half in its glaring eye. It howled and he pushed it in further, moving around briskly. Blinded, it thrashed around, unable to sense him. Perhaps the smog impaired its senses too. Making sure the eye was well and truly ruptured, he darted from the smog.

 

"Devas? Devas what is wrong? Speak. you mute bastard!" yelled Marcus angrily, and turned a minute too late. Kalliel grabbed the magnum and tore it off the Enginseer's tanks, hurling it down the mountain. Roaring, Marcus responded with a roundhouse kick that hurt Kalliel, but an elbow staggered the mage forwards. They grappled in and out of the smoke. Hammer blows rained down on Kalliel's back, but Geburah helped him resist. He just had to find the right time. There!

 

Marcus struck, Kalliel ducked. His foot came out, unsettling Marcus and then he grabbed the stumbling foot. Pulling it with all his might, Marcus was uprooted from the ground and Kalliel began to swing the mage around. Feeling a build up of malevolence and anger, he let go of the flailing Geomancer who flew into the smoke. He heard a thud, a crack, and a fresh howl of pain.

 

Bullseye.

 

In the storm of pollution and contaminated air, Marcus wheezed from ploughing into Devas' body. "Bastard…" he muttered, and tore off his mask. He hurled it to the ground and grit his teeth. "BASTARD! Who do you think I am? I'm the bloody Enginseer, Lord Marcus d'Lardick of the Geomancers! And you would throw me?!" shouted Marcus, and kicked away Kalliel's second attempt at a surprise attack. "You think I don't have other tricks, skills that make yours pale in comparison?"

 

Marcus reached into thin air and yanked out a myriad of runes. Yelling angrily, the Enginseer threw them out as one gesture. Taken aback, Kalliel felt his entire body erupt into pain. The mercenary fell back, paralysed, weakened, drained, confused and cold. "Stay still, while i abuse the Fates you love so much and foretell your death."

 

"Trueheal!" Yellow light flooded Kalliel's body, hurling him upwards onto his feet. Revitalised, he turned to look at the Enginseer who began throwing more and more runes with reckless abandon. He dodged and cured the ones which hit, then something from the fog leapt at his back, taking both to the floor. In that moment, Marcus snatched a single thought from Kalliel's mind: his name.

 

"Good, Devas, hold him there! Come, Fates, I foretell the shadow of death upon Kalliel!" incanted Marcus reverently. "So I have seen it, let it be done!" The runes around him turned black, and the first one struck at Kalliel, making him shudder. In his mind, Marcus saw the runes arrange themselves in the optimal pattern, the order that would would spell the mercenary's death. Around them, the air was thrumming with an electric aura. A cold presence fell over the mountains as the Fates turned their focus to the three combatants. Their dark intentions were at odds with the memories all adventurers had.

 

The next one flew at Kalliel, making him feel pumped and charged, ready to do anything. But no, that was recklessness, not that he couldn't do anything about it though. The third rune hit, and that covered him in ethereal fire. Not so bad, really, but he saw the two runes left, and recognised Othala.

 

The killing stroke.

 

"Coward! Can't kill me by yourself?" taunted Kalliel, feeling nothing but reckless abandon now.

 

"I could, but this is quicker. Don't worry, it will be over soon."

 

"Agreed" spoke Kalliel in defiance, and rolled sidewards on top of Devas, the creature howling. Geburah still filled him with power, and it was easy enough to break the weakened beast's arms. The final rune hit the earth, magical influence bracing his skin. Damn it, he'd still die if hit by othala, and looked around as he got off Devas. Darkness had fallen like a magician's cloak over the scene. Only Marcus was visible in the darkness, surrounded by twirling runes that glowed malevolently like a shield.

 

"Othala, find your mark!" crowed Marcus in anger, countless runes flying at and around Kalliel. He swung his hammer around, shattering the runestones and dodging as many as he could. "It's pointless! You don't know which one will kill you!" They continued spinning and Kalliel decided to chance it. Reached down amongst the blackened runes he pulled up Devas' limp body and threw it. Marcus yelled "No!" as the single Othala rune struck at Devas, weakening him.

 

Twisting his body around, Kalliel slammed his hammer into the ground just as the two tainted creatures turned on him. Stolen away like a valuable jewel, the darkness was whipped away leaving only the cold and fogged remnants of their battle ground. Cartwheeling into their midst, Kalliel brought down the first hammer then used the momentum to swing the second one up and down. "Devas" had his skull caved in twice, and fell with a crunching noise.

 

Marcus howled in rage, even though still the beast tried to stand up. "What the Nil are you?!" yelled Kalliel, and slapped a hand onto the animal's chest. Calling upon the Holy Supernals he pierced the thing's aura.

 

Or tried to.

 

Excorable energy flickered inside, repelling the powers of the heretic branding. Something other than Soulless energies were in him, something that suggested to him of the cold of the Void. The mortal would have no idea what that meant, but the Divine spark within remembered. It despaired, and Kalliel missed the fist flying at his face. The merian felt his jaw break and teeth spill out. Spitting the useless pellets out, Kalliel channeled the pain into his casting, using his other hand to place the mark of the Infidel alongside its brother. Marcus came charging out of the smoke and Kalliel stopped his attack with a kick to the shin. Marcus stumbled and the shield came around, causing him to duck. Avoiding another swing, Kalliel placed both hands on the creature's chest and chanted. The merian's eyes glowed a luminescent yellow and his soul opened the thing's aura finally.

 

A moment later the full might of Celestia's divinus energy manifested, Kalliel's body a conduit for their power. With eyes glowing yellow, Kalliel embodied all the righteous fury and determination within Celestia. It sapped the strength from his bones and drained the rest of his power. The beast called "Devas" opened its mouth in a scream that never left its body, the entire vessel for the thing's soul scorched to nothing, releasing it from the confines of mortality. A yawn echoed across the plane, making the weakened Kalliel confused. Not even the thing's soul remained, but perhaps it had never had one to begin with. Definitely something in there he did not recognise. No, rather something that did not belong in this world. Kalliel staggered back, cuts opening on his body, and felt a gash open in his side from a successful swipe of Marcus' shield.

 

He was so tired, the next two blows didn't register much, only the pain he felt before he could right himself. Raising his hammers, he couldn't even swing them, and when Marcus brought the shield across again he just let it happen. Blood and tendons separated Kalliel's head so that it flew into the air. The body fell forwards, then disappeared as it rebuilt itself to create a refreshed and revitalised Kalliel. "You… you… my legacy. My LEGACY!" He swung and missed with a punch then bellowed in rage. Froth gathered at the corner of his mouth even while he attacked like a mad man. Pumping out smoke and fumes, he seemed like a demon of vengeance and destruction.

 

The fumes invaded Kalliel's olfactory senses and his eyes watered painfully. As his throat burned for the cure he didn't know, a metallic fist ploughed into his chest. Before he could catch his breath, a knee slammed into his chin. "He was an innocent! He was beautiful! Why do you Celestians only destroy!" Something came at him once more, and his instincts kicked in now. He'd just died; he couldn't let it happen a second time.

 

The shield sliced off his scalp but Kalliel leapt back, performing another flip to turn in the air and run down the mountain, Marcus hot on his trail. "Yes! Run! Feel the fear!" laughed Marcus and called his magnum back to him. He blinked away his Geochemantics and slid into the ground. As Kalliel ran down, he felt the last remnants of his sanity trickle away. Only his mental fortitude kept him from running scared, instead instincts guided him safely down. Something erupted out of the ground suddenly and reached for him.

 

Kalliel jumped, grabbed Marcus' head and twisted around above him. His neck snapped, Marcus cried out, and Kalliel tumbled down the mountain. Getting back his footing, a trickle of blood fell into his mouth. Well, you couldn't fall down a mountain and come out unscathed.

 

Above him, Marcus grabbed his head and twisted it back to normal. "That's not enough to kill me!" laughed the Geomancer, sinking into the ground again. This time he resurfaced while still moving within it, the ground parting as easily as water. Kalliel saw a crack head towards him suddenly and jumped down. He had to find the cave, he'd stand a chance. He almost fell again, this time jumping to avoid a blast from Marcus' staff.

 

In any other situation Kalliel would marvel at the mastery of earth Marcus displayed, but now it terrified him. Walls of earth erupted from below, one almost breaking his leg from the speed it shot up. Oh gods, why hadn't he run when the beast was dead. Now he had to face an angry Geomancer who had mastered his skill in a way he had never seen before. Still, the next wall allowed a reprieve, his hands coming up to stop his tumble and he leant against it, hammer coming up and ready. Geburah filled his body with strength once more, and then he almost fainted.

 

Low power reserves. Damn it. Still, he stopped the shield that sliced at him and parried the staff swing. They briefly duelled, Kalliel with his back to the wall and Marcus attacking with a focused rage. At the next swing, Marcus grabbed the hammer head and tightened. It shattered and the ground hummed. The lodestone smacked Kalliel straight into the ground, along with his weapons, and Marcus moved in for the kill.

 

Thinking of only one way to avoid this, Kalliel grabbed the Geomancer's staff, pulled it forwards and swung him into the wall with enough force to break it. He finished with a punch to the mage's head, skull cracking while the Geomancer hurtled through debris and vanished down the mountain slope. Looking around for a tell-tale hint of steel, he found the remaining hammer and picked it up. A blast of something foul erupted over his back, and he fired a burst of divinus energy at Marcus's top half sticking out of the ground. It slid off his bone lacing like water, his face contorting into a grimace.

 

Leaping up to higher ground, the merian flipped himself back and spun through the air. Hammer loosed, it spun around to catch Marcus in the crotch. He went down gasping, and keeled over. "Earthquake" squeaked Marcus, and everything shifted. The mountain was now on its side, gravity warping and twisting itself. Sores heaved cloying mist, lodestone thrummed and the ground shook. From above, a rain of stones battered the merian's body; he wished he had thought of carrying a shield.

 

Slowly, Marcus was standing up, and then a gigantic piece of rock slammed between them, breaking the surface and sending them both down. This was going on for too long, thought Kalliel. He needed to escape. Could he let himself die, maybe, and hope the Fates were kind? Or should he just run away and wait for help to come. He had Trueheal after all, although that would use the last of his power.

 

He heard a dull thunk, followed by a clump as something hit the floor. Kalliel realised it was the sound of them both. That hurt, so much. Marcus coughed, rolling on to his front and cracking the ground. Tainted steam and polluted fumes erupted from gas pockets within the earth, filling the cavern once more with a blinding corrosive smoke. "This trick again? I just want to go home!" Rushing out of the smog, he saw the Enginseer dazed. Taking back the hammer, he rested it on the ground and scowled at his opponent. He had never seen the likes of him before. He brought down the hammer and felt nothing but iron. In return, something launched itself from Marcus' lower body and covered him in a foul smelling liquid.

 

Kalliel spluttered, backing away while tainted smoke swept across amidst small sand particles. The fumes around Marcus dissipated, and something else rose up in their place. He was a horrified sight. His skin was torn open, one eye lost to reveal only an empty scorched socket. With the mask off, Kalliel saw now that white streaks fell down his face like tears; no doubt the remains of his eyeballs. . A skull that was half iron and half bone glared monstrously as teeth clacked togethertogether. "Supernal scum! How dare you force your beliefs on an innocent, how dare you presume to judge him y your standards!" raved Marcus, and pumped more smog into the air, harnessing the putrescent and decaying fog naturally around them. They could not see each other now, or so Kalliel thought, but a barrage of boulders blasted him abruptly.

 

"He killed people! I didn't care what he looked like" replied Kalliel, stalling for time as his power regenerated, what little remained of it anyway.

 

"A lion kills prey, a spider eats flies. Nature takes its course."

 

Distract him. That seemed the best way. "Then I am a lion, who killed my prey. It is in my nature.. You shouldn't care he's dead!"

 

"He was my nephew of course I care!"

 

"You abused and beat him. At the end you made no attempt to save him, instead letting live only for your own sick agenda. Is that what Magnagora calls caring?"

 

"No, that's what Magnagora calls -family-. I sneer at aristocrats who pamper themselves, who presume to order me around! Family is there to toughen you up, like a guild. We celebrated the death of one of our Warlords because he was such a terrible person."

 

Figures. Try to have a rational conversation with a warped mage. "That's not family! Family takes care of each other." Marcus clawed the air, whipping up a dust storm that scraped Kalliel's skin. Standing up now, the ugly and visceral magus sat on his backside and manipulated the elements calmly. Psionic energy permeated around them both, the shattered remains of Kalliel's hammer floating in the air and flying at him.

 

Kalliel felt the chunks of metal cut his skin all over, but he swung out with his fist, batting them away like flies. His armour was useless, the shrapnel getting everywhere to leave deep cuts and small lacerations. delivering countless lacerations to his bruised skin. Blood dripped from numerous wounds and one eye was just a bloody mess. Marcus laughed in triumph and walked across the ground, magnum against Kalliel's head. "Any last words?"

 

"Just two: Great pentagram!!" shouted the Paladin. Light exploded from his body to create a shimmering impenetrable shield. At the edge of it, Marcus felt the impact throw him into a wall, the sand within falling to the ground. Kalliel smiled triumphantly and collapsed.

 

'Just some rest' prayed Kalliel. 'Please, in the name of Raziela, just let me rest. Or send me help, I beg of you.' As the mercenary quietly prayed, Marcus hit the shield with everything he held to no effect.

 

That was it then, the last of his power. He called for help, and only one person replied. It would be a while. He checked the protection, hoping it extended in a bubble so he couldn't tunnel under. "Do you even know what that thing was?"

 

"What did it matter?" cursed Marcus, hitting the pentagram and stalking around it. "It was a machine of destruction, unhampered by morals or laws. Why does it have to be given a name, why can it just not be an unknown?"

 

"Why don't… why don't the secrets of the world, no, the universe, scare you? Unknown entities and mysterious dangers lurk outside. Things we have no idea about, abominations not even the Divine comprehend. Even different worlds! Yet you dabble in the unknown, and reach places forbidden."

 

Marcus scoffed. "Forbidden by who? Celest? Stop with the arrogance. Just because Celest thinks something is bad doesn't make it so. It's all opinion and morals, which all shift!" challenged Marcus, and sent a spear of stone from above. It passed through, narrowly missing Kalliel, and Marcus smiled softly. "Cave in!" laughed the Geomancer as he began stamping on the ground. A rumbling deafened them and great chunks of rock fell through the shield. "Help!" he cried to his city, his guild; to anyone who listened. Out of nowhere, a small zeppelin appeared suddenly. Its small hand punted a stone at the paladin, who looked it over and felt the power inside.

 

"What is… what is that?"

 

"A power stone! Thank you!" laughed Kalliel as the zeppelin coughed once and vanished. It wasn't perfect, but he could use it for some effects. He could use it for his feats, but that would require much effort. He didn't have any to spare, for outside the cage Marcus was just staring at him. If he had to guess, it was like he was telepathically communicating with someone. Now he thought about it, it was weird the Geomancer hadn't called for backup.

 

"Stay there if you want. You'll die eventually now that Victor knows you. Your shield is tough, but I doubt it can stop the pure force of a train weighing over a metric ton. You'll be squished like a bug!" giggled Marcus. Kalliel heard a steam whistle, and everything seemed to belong in a nightmare. He put a mouth to the stone and sucked in with all his might. The excess energy of the stained stone plunged into his power reserves; the equivalent of eating an ice cream in five seconds flat.

 

A sensation not unlike brain freeze filled his mind, the power raw and alien. The whistle got closer, and Marcus was laughing more now. The earth quaked, everything rumbled, and the terror came. Time seemed to slow, Marcus jumping up to land on top of the train just as it burst through the wall at breakneck speed. Kalliel lifted the vial to his mouth and drunk one drop.

 

The impact, aided by high g-forces and ludicrous speed, smashed through the barrier and crushed Kalliel utterly. Marcus let out a whoop as the train sped on, leaving only a red smear on the ground. "Woot! That's how you kill someone!" he yelped delightedly and was soon gone from sight, letting out a whee sound as the train sped on through tainted earth.

 

A few moments passed, then a skeleton appeared above the red stain. Slowly flesh and sinew filled the bones, a body rebuilding itself back to perfect health. A skeleton appeared above the red and was filled out by flesh and sinew. For the second time, Kalliel returned to life, and with a splitting headache. He had not managed to bring back the bodies, but… perhaps it was better. Their souls had moved on, and their bodies were in a cantankerous state. Any others along would just provoke a stronger reaction from Magnagora.

 

'Are you ok?!" asked the voice in his head, and Kalliel almost laughed.

 

"I am fine, except I just got run over by a train and I've drunk vitae twice in hour. Just get me out of here."

 

He tried to ignore the guilt, but failed. He'd avenged the beast's victims, but gotten two of his best friends killed. He doubted Samael would return from the fates; he'd died a few times too often.

 

<><><>

 

Two funerals, for two different beliefs. Despite their differences, their personalities, two men had become friends under the banner of the Light. A sick agenda? A path to destruction? A delusion? Perhaps the skewed in Magnagora saw it like that, but to him he saw the goodness. The Light accepted anyone, and even though some still felt prejudiced against illithoid or viscanti, they were still welcomed, but placed under restrictions.

 

Most of it was likely superstition and yet more good than harm came from being cautious. The prejudice, even to a Celestian viscanti, however, was a sign of how far Celest had gone from the Light. It did the talk, it walked the walk, defended the innocent, but nobody really appreciated the stuff beyond it.

 

The Supernals took care of the weak, and if they were a little bit addled, who could blame them? In a messed up Basin like this, perhaps a little crazy was a good thing. Hadn't he himself left Celest but kept its skills? Turned his back on the city, but not the Light, who saw Celest as its beacon?

 

"Today we say goodbye to Sir Samael Percival Wilmly. He lost his life on the Earth Plane and was a true Celestian to the end. We should not feel sad, but rejoice, for he has attained glory and recognition in the Light's name. Future citizens will look back on Samael and his peers, saying 'I want to be like them'. Legacy is what we stand for, and legacy is what they have received."

 

That word again. Legacy. Who would imagine even Magnagorans had a concept for it despite their warped viewpoints. But Samael's legacy was hope, inspiration and wisdom. The one Marcus spoke of was of death and destruction, a selfish person obeying a selfish God. Not just any God, but one of the Twelve Traitors.

 

Legacy. It made a difference, and a change, to those who come after it to uphold it. Well, he thought so anyway.

 

As more people stepped up to say some words, Kalliel dipped his head in acknowledgement at the commemorative statue, and walked away. He felt he had no right to say words, considering he had been instrumental in the man's death. Sure, Samael himself had said not to let him feel guilty, but damn it, that was just how he was. Nobody saw it, however, and instead assumed it was merely my own selfishness.

 

Kalliel walked through the streets of Celest, hobbling a little. He'd pushed himself further than recommended in that last battle. Marcus d'Lardick.

 

From speaking to the originator of Aquachemantics, he heard about the dark history, the dark future, and the world such unique skills had come from. There must be a reason Marcus had chosen it beyond destruction and fighting.

 

Right?

 

Chanting from the gardens to his left reminded him about Kukri's funeral rites, although they were very different. He teleported to someone outside the room, deep within the Undervault, and stood silently as they read out his list of achievements, and spoke over an empty carapace. Any flesh was returned to the earth, joining with Nature.

 

"Kukri lost his life fighting the Tainted. Sir Kalliel, if you wouldn't mind?"

 

This was the uncomfortable part. The last person to fight side by side with the deceased was called on to explain his last moments.

 

"Kukri Thundersting was a dear friend. I listened to his counsel many times, and he died a true warrior death. He fought an unknown beast, his feet and hands moving faster than I had ever seen. He never gave up, never surrendered, and gave it all he could. Alas, he was brutally mutilated for his efforts. I won't apologise for bringing him there, and insult his memory. We all make our own choices, and he made his own. To die for the good of the Basin, against the dark forces which twist and threaten to destroy us and all creation."

 

The small crowd in the chamber applauded, and Kalliel gave a slight bow before moving off. It had helped. In the end, they had made their own choices, and now he'd make a new one. To take down Marcus once and for all. They only fought once, but he knew the mage would be unrelentless. The d'Lardick family was influential, and to take him out… well, it would cause quite the chain reaction. He focused his thoughts back on the rites, and lowered his head sombrely.

 

<-<-<->->->

 

He was still alive. Damn it! The Fates had really decided one such as him deserved another chance at life What more proof did he need they were insane and not to be trusted? "Bah!" he cried, and stalked through the streets of Magnagora. An urchin dropped down silently from the rooftops, creeping up and reaching into a pocket.

 

The barbed tail whipped out and stabbed through the child with lightning quickness. He gurgled the blood in his throat, and Marcus withdrew the limb without looking back. Nihilism was… an intriguing choice, for sure. He had exerted and abused his implants quite a lot. Moving through the ground continuously had also strained even his reinforced body. It felt good to feel the power of an Archlich running through his body.

 

The Bonehoard finally arrived into view, and Marcus gave a curt nod to the undertaker, Lacquin Amaranth. He had been there for who knows how long, and was rumoured to have helped found the Ninjakari itself. Deeper and deeper, down into the tunnels, past the crypts of the minor houses and into the vaults of the Greater ones. A heavy stone door inscribed with the symbol of a scorpion against a white flower lay in front of him, and Marcus pushed it open without effort.

 

Marcus paused to take in a deep breath. Musty earth, decay, dust, all made such a lovely panoply for his senses. In the middle of the room stood a large marble scorpion holding a lotus petal within one claw. The d'Lardick insignia. Looking around for the right effigy, the Enginseer strolled through the mausoleum casually, at home amongst the dead. A robed figure knelt down beforehis sister's coffin; his brother had heard about Devas' death too. The grand stately robes of an Archmage starkly contrasted his black suit and trench coat.

 

"You let him die. You let her legacy fail" whispered Janus d'Lardick, barely holding in his rage. Tears dripped onto the floor, the Archmage prostrate before the sarcophagus of their last immidiet family.

 

"No. Her legacy is intact, he killed eleven people."

 

"So what?! I killed eleven people a few days ago! He was a colossus, he was going to prove something, but instead he died, and will be forgotten! It was your bloody idea to go along with her, and now look what happened. BOTH ARE DEAD!"

 

He leapt up and smacked Marcus in the face with his staff. They could have fought there and then. Instead, Marcus moved his head slowly back and let a single bloody tear fall. "All of us have our time. To be fair, we still have no idea where he came from. I thought that would help, but instead it just confused us, it made us lethargic. But brother, do not despair."

 

Marcus put a hand on the Geomancer's shoulder, turning them both to Dromedia's coffin. "He inspired fear. He became a legend, a terrible story. People will whisper about the great beast Devas, or the Abominable Earth Man. They will know that the Earth Plane hides many things, and fear it, as they rightly should. Her legacy is intact; it just… has faltered."

 

"So now what?"

 

"We continue her legacy. As those still alive when the best die are destined to do, it is our job to continue their paths and bring their dreams and thoughts to fruition. Why do you think the Earth Lords exist at all if not an example of how memories and experience can shape itself and take on a life of its own?"

 

Janus blinked a few times, then nodded slowly. "I just miss them, Marcus. Its only us two now as the first generation of the modern day d'Lardick. Our parents, gone, swept into the stream of unknown. Our brother, and now our sister, thrown to the winds of decay and time."

 

"Quite poetic. Buck up, we are still alive, and I have learnt from this experience. The power of legacy. I will work to improve and build on my own legacy. Some day down the line, perhaps a child will help me, but for now I must work on myself. I refuse to let that Kalliel bastard get away from me again."

 

"Take revenge, then. Continue the cycle of destruction and circuitous chaos. That will make up for your blunder here."

 

Marcus shrugged, but smiled. He turned to the sarcophagus and bowed deeply.  They both stayed there for a while, admiring what their sister had done. "I must talk with Victor. See you around brother."

 

"You got it." They clasped hands, and Janus left. Marcus waited until he left, then sat down on the stone chair in the middle of the chamber.

 

"He killed many, sister. He also killed those who came after him, a smelly insect and some noble fool. He fought bravely and never backed down. Heh, he even took the tahtetso's own staff, broke it in half, and stabbed him in the eyes! It was hilarious. Before that, he crushed the weakling to nothing, then punched him off the mountain! Oh boy, you were so right, sis. What a riot that was! Still, I'm glad he's gone, truthfully. Who knows what might have happened. On the other end, it might be fun."

 

He pondered this for a moment, then shrugged again and leant back. 

 

It was good to relax after a long battle. The tail came around and he stroked it, feeling the bumps and nerves through the scaled skin. Yes, if he used the right combination of Magnagoran skills, perhaps it would be possible to create a more powerful weapon and skill set. More studying meant more death, more death meant… Celest, and Kalliel, that bastard. Ruined their plans, came in, threw his weight around and fucked up the entire plan. Subtlety. That was what he needed.

 

It was coming. A time where the crucified corpses of Kalliel and his comrades would litter the Basin as far as the eye could see.

 

This he promised.