Dragonball M, Chapter 3: In Blood, Bone, and Ash! The Way Forward Unlocked!

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Kana nods and begins speaking to Inanna.

“Zxu’ro, the human, was the first of us Palatine’s. He found a means to traverse the worlds, and sought out those of us with skill, wit, and guile enough to help oppose the tide that was Eldfen.”

“So he spent one year gathering us up, some easier than others. Banespell was....a disagreeable man, and it took a contest of strength to finally get him on our side, but when we did...that Darkling can work magic like you and I breathe. I’ve not seen a craftsman of his skill since. Regardless, once we were all gathered, we went out and opposed Eldfen at each of his congregated places of influence, where he had the most sway. Armies and navies, force and guile and sheer will was cast against us time and again, yet we pushed back and pushed back until Earth was the last holdout of his power. We wrested his dragonballs, six at the time as Zxu’ro had stolen the seventh before the old dragon could get them all, from the planet and Banespell helped scatter and hide them, each of us taking one as he laid mighty spells and defenses against them being taken.”

"That Darkling, Banespell ... If he could work magic like we breath, perhaps his spells would've lasted longer than a few thousand years, mm~ ?" Inanna asked, somewhat bemused. Though this certainly had elucidated some of the less known facts about Eldfen, really. Despite the curiosity of his nature, and by that nature his powers; stripped of his free agency to roam the heavens unfettered, he'd seemingly fallen back on a tried and true modus operandi: that of the 'Dominator'.

Rather successful one too it seemed, considering how far his 'Empire' spanned before the Palatine had stepped up.

The why's and wherefores of a being wishing for something so insignificant as domination of mortals occupying her focus now, Inanna fell silent for several moments before realizing somewhat embarrassed, that it'd become somewhat awkward.

"... in any event," the golden-eyed woman said scratching the back of her head, "my ... associates and I have been at odds with Eldfen for some years now; and knowing precisely how you managed to stop him considering what he is, and wields would be of great benefit."

[KingofPie]

He smiles.

“How do you think I got here?”

"Bah..." the Majin spat, arms folded. "You're tellin' me that you went and used the energy of the Earth like this doofus?" He asked. "...Just who the **** are you anyway?! Ain't just anyone who can use a technique like that. You'd think we'd have hear of someone like you before...Ro."

[grampagen]

Taking her place at the wall, Morgan face seems to soften into a smile. "You've had quite a life then...All the more reason not to lose it here. Stay close to me Lord Zaofan." Morgan ran her hand down the wall, lighting up the glyphs as it went until a pattern took shape. There was a hiss and rumble within the walls as a energy seemed to dissipate behind the door, before it began to slide open every so slowly.

With a motion to follow and a look of caution toward Rex, she proceeds inside with the others.

~~~

Beyond the door lay a hall illuminated with a aetheric glow, and beyond that......they emerged on a transparent bridge into a large hollowed out chamber. The air was filled with a low hum, along with multiple indistinguishable sounds that came from the walls and deep below them. Beneath them the chamber descended down into an abyss, illumated only by a central spire of purple crystal material that Zaofan would immediately recognize. A spire of magicite....similar in shape and size to the one that had rested beneath the stoltengarde estate and had the site of many a terrible event. There was however....one very important difference.

Even from this height and distance it was unmistakable...Deep within the crystallized mass was.....it looked like....



Whatever it was...it was spherical in shape, but with an aura so alien it seemed impossible to discern. It radiating an aura of intense energy that was channeled through surrounding machinery, conduits made of void conductive material that channeled power up from the spire and all around them.

Following the line of sight up from the encased object, it reached the platform suspended above it...where their path led, and upon it the source of the strange sounded became apparent. Dozens of deformed human shapes, similar to humbet, lay prostrated and babbling incoherently around a throne. They took no heed to the appearance of the group...at least for the moment, instead focused entirely on the worship of.....

Visibly, Morgan seemed to falter...a bit of the determination she had managed to build dissolving.

Sat upon the throne, were bones. A skeleton, covered in the dust of the finest clothes...adorned with softly dimming jewels, their magic long since worn. Somehow in better shape then one would imagine.....but still....

"My Queen...." Morgan dropped her head. "..............I....Forgive me.....I was too late...."

As they passed the magical pillar at the foundation of Amdapour, Zaofan's spine prickled at the sheer, otherworldly power that ebbed within it. Just like the Misteress's manor, and the solidified energies Erosa herself had tapped into, to his novice experience, the Magicite represented everything about the magical craft which endlessly fascinated him. Like the brilliant corona of ki that shone from a truly realized martial spirit, within the discipline of magic this was a sign of its master craft. The fine, crystalline rendering, that stood as kind of living monument to human potential.

Yet this time, staring into the glassy reserve, there was something else that dwelled within it. He could feel it throbbing dully, like a great organ serving as its font, reaching its long tendrils beyond the throne room.

"Too late indeed."

A deep gravely voice annouced above the hum, one Rex had heard many times before.

"At least for your part in all this. Pity...we could have accomplished so much more had you or my order had done their duty.....blinded by hubris and fear, the lot of them." Agravain slowly rolled himself out from behind the throne, amiss the many bowing eldrich monsters....his elderly appearance seemed more, inhuman. "But it is of no concern now....so dry your tears girl. Death is the construct of the gods, and we belong to a realm beyond them."

"And you....Rex. You I welcome with the utmost sincerity. I can think of no greater gift to my queen then your presence.....a fitting tribute to the rebirth of an empire. By your blood it was made ash, and by your blood will the ash be given form again. MORGAN!"

The hum intensified as the machinery around the throne seemed to come alive with power. The chorus of inhuman chanting grew to a sudden fevered pitch, several of the brings rising to their feet and raising deformed arms to the throne while screaming in tongues.

The old man made himself known, standing beside the remains of Persephone to command the worship of creatures from beyond. The magical gears of the Tomb twisted, moving the great engines of the Magi kingdom, and the howling prayers echoed.

And as they called out the name of their little Familiar guide, Zaofan grew incensed - possibly mistakenly - that they called for Morgan's blood.

"Don't listen to him." The understated lighthearted front that had carried the Chef through these shadowy halls dropped immediately. She could feel the coldness in his grip as he lay his hand upon her shoulder. "For thousands of years, you did what you could, holding onto the memory of what this place was. You've shown all of us this, and that if you could bring Snowwall back to protect the world, you would have."

The chef pat Morgan on the head and stood before her and Agravain. In his hands his katchin staff began to glow a solid blue as he poured his energy into it, casting its light over the throngs of malformed shapes in the darkness.

"But you can't see that, can you?! People like you don't offer walls to shelter the helpless. You stand atop of them and marvel at the divisions they create! Even if the Magi Queen returned from the Speaker's Mountain with the power to bridge the world from beyond, she was never so heartless!"

"How would he understand, Zaofan? He hasn't even noticed."

Ochazuke, always a gradual, but thorough study, had made due acquaintance with both the matter and the ether of this place. The corrosive essence that laid in the soil about the mount had likely stretched its roots to the dread spire in this chamber, effused through everything from the specimens outside to the orichalum of the abandoned castle. But one look at the old man that claimed to be Persephone's heir, it dud not take a magician to recognize the symptoms of corruption.

"Your Order has aged poorly, Grey Thorn," he said, "If you are indeed beyond death and even your many-angled gods, why have you returned?"

"This would-be Magi Lord can't even see the Void for what it is," Like the Royal Guard and the two Knights, it was forcefully pressed into his very being. "The magicite has started to corrupt him already."

A deep rumble rose from his chest, emerging as a deep, throaty chuckle. Clapping slowly, he drew in his surroundings, his laughter eventually subsiding and his focus turning to Morgan, "Are you not pleased, little one? This is what your people were hoping for, even if they were too naive to know the truth."

The saurian turned his gaze, addressing the old man, "I must thank you, old man. It warms my cold heart to know that my actions were justified back then... just as they are now," He began, allowing Agravain to ramble on about rebuilding before continuing, "I'll do you one better than blood, old man. I will grant you the greatest reward one such as yourself deserves; annihilation. It will be a mercy compared to the delusions you suffer from."

"Cheh."Standing beside Rex, his own frame near dwarfed by the walking, twisted corpus of his fallen junior. Ochazuke's gauntlets continued to ebb with a silent power he'd been slowly been gathering as they faced the multitudes of monsters that lay prostrate before the Mage Queen's throne. "Justify your stake in this by convenience if you wish, it changes little."

One possessed of unhinged ambition will always twiss reason to suit their own ends.

"If this fool wishes to rebuild an Empire, he shall claim little more than his heirloom Tomb."

OOC: 2

[MrSandman]

The old man made himself known, standing beside the remains of Persephone to command the worship of creatures from beyond. The magical gears of the Tomb twisted, moving the great engines of the Magi kingdom, and the howling prayers echoed.

And as they called out the name of their little Familiar guide, Zaofan grew incensed - possibly mistakenly - that they called for Morgan's blood.

"Don't listen to him." The understated lighthearted front that had carried the Chef through these shadowy halls dropped immediately. She could feel the coldness in his grip as he lay his hand upon her shoulder. "For thousands of years, you did what you could, holding onto the memory of what this place was. You've shown all of us this, and that if you could bring Snowwall back to protect the world, you would have."

The chef pat Morgan on the head and stood before her and Agravain. In his hands his katchin staff began to glow a solid blue as he poured his energy into it, casting its light over the throngs of malformed shapes in the darkness.

"But you can't see that, can you?! People like you don't offer walls to shelter the helpless. You stand atop of them and marvel at the divisions they create! Even if the Magi Queen returned from the Speaker's Mountain with the power to bridge the world from beyond, she was never so heartless!"

"You presume much, boy....though more of your friend then of me. She is a puppet, like the others....no matter what authority was bestowed upon them, they answer to the Queen....and I speak on her behalf, as is the authority bestowed upon me." He briefly flashes a icon in his withered palm. So close to the throne, not even the mindless ones are ignorant of it....they know to whom they serve, even now."

The man flashes in a withering smile. "She would never be heartless you say.....perhaps if you survive, you may ask of her yourself."

"How would he understand, Zaofan? He hasn't even noticed."

Ochazuke, always a gradual, but thorough study, had made due acquaintance with both the matter and the ether of this place. The corrosive essence that laid in the soil about the mount had likely stretched its roots to the dread spire in this chamber, effused through everything from the specimens outside to the orichalum of the abandoned castle. But one look at the old man that claimed to be Persephone's heir, it dud not take a magician to recognize the symptoms of corruption.

"Your Order has aged poorly, Grey Thorn," he said, "If you are indeed beyond death and even your many-angled gods, why have you returned?"

"This would-be Magi Lord can't even see the Void for what it is," Like the Royal Guard and the two Knights, it was forcefully pressed into his very being. "The magicite has started to corrupt him already."

A deep rumble rose from his chest, emerging as a deep, throaty chuckle. Clapping slowly, he drew in his surroundings, his laughter eventually subsiding and his focus turning to Morgan, "Are you not pleased, little one? This is what your people were hoping for, even if they were too naive to know the truth."

The saurian turned his gaze, addressing the old man, "I must thank you, old man. It warms my cold heart to know that my actions were justified back then... just as they are now," He began, allowing Agravain to ramble on about rebuilding before continuing, "I'll do you one better than blood, old man. I will grant you the greatest reward one such as yourself deserves; annihilation. It will be a mercy compared to the delusions you suffer from."

Agravain chuckles. "To mistake power for corruption is a fault of youth....you do not understand what you see, so you dismiss it as dangerous. But I am no unwilling host....I CHOOSE to wield this power." With effort, he grips the handles of his wheelchair and slowly pushes himself up.

"And you Rex....you continue to paint yourself as the victor, that all of this was but your will triumphing over this realm. For a lord you truly are the easiest to lead....we all believe what we want to believe, even if it goes against what should be." He flexes his arms, spreading them wide...dark aura gathering around his extremities as his form begins to visibly shift. "....Avalon could never die.....for it, like its ruler, exists beyond the concept of death. Those who serve its cause are blessed.....I am the authority and voice of Queen Persephone. Bow before me and you may live to receive the judgment of our queen.....perhaps she will have as much mercy in her heart as your foolish friend believes."

His body seems to putrefy, a black viscus aura taking hold...yet with each step he moves quicker, stronger.

"....though one exception can be made.....I'm sure whatever compassion she could muster will not be shared with you, Rex. So I will make your death a mercy."

The Mage begins walking, slowly and methodically, towards Rex....his deformed face twisting into a horrifying grin.

[Yun Lao]

Agravain chuckles. "To mistake power for corruption is a fault of youth....you do not understand what you see, so you dismiss it as dangerous. But I am no unwilling host....I CHOOSE to wield this power." With effort, he grips the handles of his wheelchair and slowly pushes himself up.

"And you Rex....you continue to paint yourself as the victor, that all of this was but your will triumphing over this realm. For a lord you truly are the easiest to lead....we all believe what we want to believe, even if it goes against what should be." He flexes his arms, spreading them wide...dark aura gathering around his extremities as his form begins to visibly shift. "....Avalon could never die.....for it, like its ruler, exists beyond the concept of death. Those who serve its cause are blessed.....I am the authority and voice of Queen Persephone. Bow before me and you may live to receive the judgment of our queen.....perhaps she will have as much mercy in her heart as your foolish friend believes."

His body seems to putrefy, a black viscus aura taking hold...yet with each step he moves quicker, stronger.

"....though one exception can be made.....I'm sure whatever compassion she could muster will not be shared with you, Rex. So I will make your death a mercy."

The Mage begins walking, slowly and methodically, towards Rex....his deformed face twisting into a horrifying grin.

"I grow tired of all of this posturing..."

BGM: "Religion Is Flawed Because Man Is Flawed"

If Agravain's change disturbed Rex, the saurian hid it well as he took his own steps forth, the air around him growing dense with the distant whispers of emotions long since felt.
"You may think my will predictable, but it has already triumphed over your "Undying" kingdom at the peak of its power before. Just as you have tampered at things you can not comprehend, childishly believing yourself to be in control, so too have you blundered by making a show of this confrontation."

A fanged grin crossed his lips as the whispers grew louder, one of which Morgan and Agravain might have recognized; it was the Queen's. The echoes of anger, misery, and regret imprinted upon the immaterial veil between life and death stemming from Persephone witnessing the siege upon her people, the destruction of her kingdom, and events that brought her to her desiccation upon her throne still rang has strong as the moments she has expressed them.

"By delivering me into the heart of your abortion of a civilization, I have all I need..."

Rex's ki signature could be felt pulsating upwards, sending faint waves of force that rattled objects and stirred up dust. He was feeding off of this.

"I have changed my mind, old man. Mercy would be wasted upon one such as you, so I will slowly tear down everything you hold dear until you understand the only truth of existence: Only the Strongest survives."

[grampagen]

"You presume much, boy....though more of your friend then of me. She is a puppet, like the others....no matter what authority was bestowed upon them, they answer to the Queen....and I speak on her behalf, as is the authority bestowed upon me." He briefly flashes a icon in his withered palm. So close to the throne, not even the mindless ones are ignorant of it....they know to whom they serve, even now."

The man flashes in a withering smile. "She would never be heartless you say.....perhaps if you survive, you may ask of her yourself."

"No, you're wrong," Zaofan said. "Puppets can't make choices of their own. Even though by all rights she was afraid to lose it all, she faced everything that she feared together with us to find her answers. To remember the truth of the authority bestowed upon her to carry forward in the name of Avalon. You're after the throne? Well I have bad news for you, pal! Her duties came to her directly from the Queen, and as the head of the Order of the White Petal the only one who can speak for Morgan La Fay, is Morgan! And that's that!"

In addition, Angravin's own account of servitude did not go unnoticed by Ochazuke*, who silently kept his right hand bound in a fist as he concentrated.

Agravain chuckles. "To mistake power for corruption is a fault of youth....you do not understand what you see, so you dismiss it as dangerous. But I am no unwilling host....I CHOOSE to wield this power." With effort, he grips the handles of his wheelchair and slowly pushes himself up.

"To knowingly pursue damnation whilst presuming mastery over it, that cannot be dismissed as momentary insanity or a senior moment," Ochazuke responded. " I understand quite clearly that you believe your order is any more than the leprous image of frailty."

Watching the old man's thin frame rise from his support, the Crane Apostate merely scoffed.

"One fell Ancient touched by another, that's all that is. But I plucked scales from the eyes of the Royal Guard. Seeking glory from the Mage Kingdom's graven heraldry, it is quite clear how limited your vision is. Even after all this time, Grey Thorn, your order cannot comprehend how to become any more than you are."

"And you Rex....you continue to paint yourself as the victor, that all of this was but your will triumphing over this realm. For a lord you truly are the easiest to lead....we all believe what we want to believe, even if it goes against what should be." He flexes his arms, spreading them wide...dark aura gathering around his extremities as his form begins to visibly shift. "....Avalon could never die.....for it, like its ruler, exists beyond the concept of death. Those who serve its cause are blessed.....I am the authority and voice of Queen Persephone. Bow before me and you may live to receive the judgment of our queen.....perhaps she will have as much mercy in her heart as your foolish friend believes."

His body seems to putrefy, a black viscus aura taking hold...yet with each step he moves quicker, stronger.

"....though one exception can be made.....I'm sure whatever compassion she could muster will not be shared with you, Rex. So I will make your death a mercy."

The Mage begins walking, slowly and methodically, towards Rex....his deformed face twisting into a horrifying grin.

With Angravin's attention concentrated on settling the ancient score with Rex, it seemed things were about to take a turn for the worst very quickly. Zaofan's knuckles whitened as he gripped his ki-drenched staff, daring for a moment to turn about to speak to Morgan, and regarded regarded the crystalline column behind them.

"Hey, Morgan. Listen to me," he said. "That Magicite was no doubt the source of Persephone's power. You told us this kingdom, it was made by her design, to protect everybody from the threats outside these very walls."

As the pretender descender, The Mage Queen's bones remained where she died long ago, atop a peak facing down a horde of monsters, of gnashing tooth and claw and twisted shapes.

"As Avalon's prized conjuror, that means it's your power, too. She opened the door to the Void, but I believe you can close it," the silver band upon his brow loaned him a greater focus, and to a simple rhythm, he leapt from one foot to the other, building up the power of the Pressure Kicker as he tapped into the Wolf's Prowl. "All you need to do is repair the Tomb, strength the seal. When you set this all to rest, we're getting out of here."

Ochazuke for his part extended his meditation field into the earth itself, drawing upon its power, augmenting his sense with Banjakuza to ascertain the interplay between all the disparate elements.

*OOC: Genki Charge 3

[grampagen]

One Year Ago

Willa pauses a beat before looking at her.

“Speak freely. What do you need to speak about?”

Kenshiko's eyes twist behind her shaded lenses as she looked over to the Colonel. Slowly, she plucked the aviators off from the bridge of her nose, and she folded them neatly as she rest them between her collar.

"Our contact in the Capital came through. With the blueprints and components down at R&D, rearmament is ahead of schedule."

Nothing more at first than a rote status report on the surface.

"Our scouts have reported that with WG's new alliances with the Xenos, the head pig in charge has gotten his hands on some new technology. With Pantaloon in the government's pocket, soon they'll have eyes all over the globe, funneling information at a rate we can't keep up with. Even with new weapons, we poke our heads out even for a minute, they will be on to us. While we hole up in here, the world's going to keep slipping away from us."

Every time Grinthorn's grasp expanded, the soul of the people of Earth slowly eroded, and worse yet, they seemed to accept it without question.

"You brought us here and told the reserves that we were going to rearm. I've seen to it myself that the Corps have never been more willing to fight."

The global banner had trampled out and erased entire nations, bringing the battalions and personnel here, to where it had allegedly all began. But the question continued to burn at Kenshiko's mind: For all the lost and condemned funneled under Colonel Willa Raut's banner, whose war were they really fighting?

"Putting guns in the hands of dead men and fielding them on lies and false hope is a line I won't cross, not anymore. If you and Major Damask know something, some way we can actually take the fight to that shark-toothed bastard, now's the time."

[MrSandman]

"I grow tired of all of this posturing..."

BGM: "Religion Is Flawed Because Man Is Flawed"

If Agravain's change disturbed Rex, the saurian hid it well as he took his own steps forth, the air around him growing dense with the distant whispers of emotions long since felt.
"You may think my will predictable, but it has already triumphed over your "Undying" kingdom at the peak of its power before. Just as you have tampered at things you can not comprehend, childishly believing yourself to be in control, so too have you blundered by making a show of this confrontation."

A fanged grin crossed his lips as the whispers grew louder, one of which Morgan and Agravain might have recognized; it was the Queen's. The echoes of anger, misery, and regret imprinted upon the immaterial veil between life and death stemming from Persephone witnessing the siege upon her people, the destruction of her kingdom, and events that brought her to her desiccation upon her throne still rang has strong as the moments she has expressed them.

"By delivering me into the heart of your abortion of a civilization, I have all I need..."

Rex's ki signature could be felt pulsating upwards, sending faint waves of force that rattled objects and stirred up dust. He was feeding off of this.

"I have changed my mind, old man. Mercy would be wasted upon one such as you, so I will slowly tear down everything you hold dear until you understand the only truth of existence: Only the Strongest survives."

Malice and grief coursed around him, feeding him power.....and yet, there was something strange about the veil here. The latent emotions he now tapped seemed strange....

He had little time to determine what, as the old man would not let him continue.

"You had your chance to end this an eon ago....but Hubris is your poison of choice." Agravains stepped forward, and the space around him buckled in response...rejecting his very existence in such a manner that it distorted and screamed at his presence. Where he had stepped forward next to the throne, his foot landed....right beside Rex. There was no movement in between, no travel time...space simply collapsed between the two points, bleeding between each other.

With a swing, agravain racked his hand across Rexs side while grabbing him with his arm. Where flesh and scale made contact, his skin immediately bubbled and festered...melting from some unnatural rot. His grip was like katchin, and beneath it Rex could feel it melting its way through scale and flesh, right to the bones.

"I'll pick you apart...limb by limb, and I'll see you understand your failure before the end comes."

With Angravin's attention concentrated on settling the ancient score with Rex, it seemed things were about to take a turn for the worst very quickly. Zaofan's knuckles whitened as he gripped his ki-drenched staff, daring for a moment to turn about to speak to Morgan, and regarded regarded the crystalline column behind them.

"Hey, Morgan. Listen to me," he said. "That Magicite was no doubt the source of Persephone's power. You told us this kingdom, it was made by her design, to protect everybody from the threats outside these very walls."

As the pretender descender, The Mage Queen's bones remained where she died long ago, atop a peak facing down a horde of monsters, of gnashing tooth and claw and twisted shapes.

"As Avalon's prized conjuror, that means it's your power, too. She opened the door to the Void, but I believe you can close it," the silver band upon his brow loaned him a greater focus, and to a simple rhythm, he leapt from one foot to the other, building up the power of the Pressure Kicker as he tapped into the Wolf's Prowl. "All you need to do is repair the Tomb, strength the seal. When you set this all to rest, we're getting out of here."

Morgan shook her head. "...I...I'm just a familiar.....We share her magic but, I was never as powerful as she was...This is so far beyond a mere broken pipe." She looked down. "This is a fragment of a Void Lord.....and Outer God. It is the conduit....its bleeding void energy even now, I can see it. I...I don't know I can even do anything..."

Morgan let out a gasp as she suddenly found herself swept off her feet.

"Always better to try and say you failed then not try and say you did nothing, ero. First rule of Life." Erosa spoke without hesitation, hoisting the girl in her arms. "I keep you safe, you think of way to shut off the void thing."

Morgan seemed on the verge of saying something, mouthed it to herself, shook her head and sighed. "....you.....yes.....I'll do what I can..."

"Good, cookman...."Erosa turned to Zaofan. "....Erosa gonna take her down to crystal, keep ocha and stupid dinosaur from dying." Erosa glanced over at Rex, then back to him. ".....and maybe be ready if he decides to stop playing on home team."

With that, Erosa turned and took off with Morgan....her protests of being able to walk herself going unheeded.

"Ch'Lyah Futungh'ga!" One of the squid beings turned, eyes on the two as they attempted to descend, and moved to follow....hands lit with magic.

[grampagen]

Malice and grief coursed around him, feeding him power.....and yet, there was something strange about the veil here. The latent emotions he now tapped seemed strange....

He had little time to determine what, as the old man would not let him continue.

"You had your chance to end this an eon ago....but Hubris is your poison of choice." Agravains stepped forward, and the space around him buckled in response...rejecting his very existence in such a manner that it distorted and screamed at his presence. Where he had stepped forward next to the throne, his foot landed....right beside Rex. There was no movement in between, no travel time...space simply collapsed between the two points, bleeding between each other.

With a swing, agravain racked his hand across Rexs side while grabbing him with his arm. Where flesh and scale made contact, his skin immediately bubbled and festered...melting from some unnatural rot. His grip was like katchin, and beneath it Rex could feel it melting its way through scale and flesh, right to the bones.

"I'll pick you apart...limb by limb, and I'll see you understand your failure before the end comes."


Morgan shook her head. "...I...I'm just a familiar.....We share her magic but, I was never as powerful as she was...This is so far beyond a mere broken pipe." She looked down. "This is a fragment of a Void Lord.....and Outer God. It is the conduit....its bleeding void energy even now, I can see it. I...I don't know I can even do anything..."

Morgan let out a gasp as she suddenly found herself swept off her feet.

"Always better to try and say you failed then not try and say you did nothing, ero. First rule of Life." Erosa spoke without hesitation, hoisting the girl in her arms. "I keep you safe, you think of way to shut off the void thing."

Morgan seemed on the verge of saying something, mouthed it to herself, shook her head and sighed. "....you.....yes.....I'll do what I can..."

"Good, cookman...."Erosa turned to Zaofan. "....Erosa gonna take her down to crystal, keep ocha and stupid dinosaur from dying." Erosa glanced over at Rex, then back to him. ".....and maybe be ready if he decides to stop playing on home team."

With that, Erosa turned and took off with Morgan....her protests of being able to walk herself going unheeded.

"Ch'Lyah Futungh'ga!" One of the squid beings turned, eyes on the two as they attempted to descend, and moved to follow....hands lit with magic.

As soon as he heard the voices pool and saw the glimmer of magic, Zaofan turned his head, eyes alit. Staring straight into the abyss, he fired a full-powered Optic Blast into the mass of tendriled figures writhing in the depths of the Tomb.

Attaway, Erosa, he thought, picking his shots swiftly to clear the path for the Familiar pair. Keep her safe, Morgan has a job to do.

Casting his view around to the opposite side of the chamber, his staff's gleaming surface radiated in the dark.

...and so do I!

The crimson rush left him feeling a little light-headed, and it would be some time before he could loose a shot like that again. But now that he found his rhythm, he kicked off toward the prostrate throngs that lined the walkway towards the Throne of Avalon. This many gathered in one place, the words they speak could conjur something horrible. I can't give them the chance to cast a spell, either. Speeding forward with the Wolf's Prowl, augmented by Zxu'ro's Circlet he found his legs pushed him forward at five times normal speed, and as he fell upon them, he struck out repeatedly with his Valiantium Staff, dislodging one corrupted creature after another, swatting a number of them down straight upon Agravains, even as he gripped Rex.

[MrSandman]

As soon as he heard the voices pool and saw the glimmer of magic, Zaofan turned his head, eyes alit. Staring straight into the abyss, he fired a full-powered Optic Blast into the mass of tendriled figures writhing in the depths of the Tomb.

Attaway, Erosa, he thought, picking his shots swiftly to clear the path for the Familiar pair. Keep her safe, Morgan has a job to do.

Casting his view around to the opposite side of the chamber, his staff's gleaming surface radiated in the dark.

...and so do I!

The crimson rush left him feeling a little light-headed, and it would be some time before he could loose a shot like that again. But now that he found his rhythm, he kicked off toward the prostrate throngs that lined the walkway towards the Throne of Avalon. This many gathered in one place, the words they speak could conjur something horrible. I can't give them the chance to cast a spell, either. Speeding forward with the Wolf's Prowl, augmented by Zxu'ro's Circlet he found his legs pushed him forward at five times normal speed, and as he fell upon them, he struck out repeatedly with his Valiantium Staff, dislodging one corrupted creature after another, swatting a number of them down straight upon Agravains, even as he gripped Rex.

The monster, focused entirely upon Morgan and Erosa, make no attempt..nor had the speed it seemed, to dodge the incoming blast. It took him and several of the praying cultists and hurled their charred bodies across the chamber into the far wall where it was absorbed into the material lining it....but not before thoroughly cooking his targets and sending ashes floating harmlessly into the abyss.

This brought several more of the beings into action, but with his enhansed speed Zaofan was sending several of them flying before one could mount a counter attack....

Then his blitz ran out of steam at the hands of a formidable looking cultist, who spin and caught his staff mid swing and shoved against the fighter, carrying him the the railing and bludgeoning him against it like a rag doll.

[Yun Lao]

Malice and grief coursed around him, feeding him power.....and yet, there was something strange about the veil here. The latent emotions he now tapped seemed strange....

He had little time to determine what, as the old man would not let him continue.

"You had your chance to end this an eon ago....but Hubris is your poison of choice." Agravains stepped forward, and the space around him buckled in response...rejecting his very existence in such a manner that it distorted and screamed at his presence. Where he had stepped forward next to the throne, his foot landed....right beside Rex. There was no movement in between, no travel time...space simply collapsed between the two points, bleeding between each other.

With a swing, agravain racked his hand across Rexs side while grabbing him with his arm. Where flesh and scale made contact, his skin immediately bubbled and festered...melting from some unnatural rot. His grip was like katchin, and beneath it Rex could feel it melting its way through scale and flesh, right to the bones.

"I'll pick you apart...limb by limb, and I'll see you understand your failure before the end comes.".

It was clear that whatever was empowering this elderly lunatic was beyond the veils of time and space as reality bent itself to cross the gap between the two of them and flesh rotted from his touch. Rex would not be able to lazily use his fukushuu and be done with things this time. The lizard part of his brain screamed and writhe, tempered only by the cold intelligence tempered by countless millennia of survival. Still, he could not suppress the snarling hiss of pain as his flesh began to rot away.

A meaty snap resonated in the chambers and with a jerk, the rotting flesh of Rex's seized arm gave way, freeing the saurian whose movement's momentum drove him back several feet with a leap, leaving behind a trail of blood and flesh pieces. Despite the emotional imprints that comprised his fukushuu being altered from this situation, it was still enough to close his wounds, but he would need something more to regrow his now missing limb.

"There. To make things fairer to you, I have given myself a handicap. Surely there will be no question after this that the only failure here is you."

Energy crackled from his body as chi flowed throughout his body, honed by Charco's training and his own experience. Until he found a solution to the old man's rotting touch, hand-to-hand combat would be a no-go, thus Rex would have to rely on dirty fireworks to get the job done. Thankfully, he was in no short supply of those.

"You are so insistent on throwing away your humanity to beg at the feet the uncaring abyss when the one you should be praying to is me."

[grampagen]

The monster, focused entirely upon Morgan and Erosa, make no attempt..nor had the speed it seemed, to dodge the incoming blast. It took him and several of the praying cultists and hurled their charred bodies across the chamber into the far wall where it was absorbed into the material lining it....but not before thoroughly cooking his targets and sending ashes floating harmlessly into the abyss.

This brought several more of the beings into action, but with his enhansed speed Zaofan was sending several of them flying before one could mount a counter attack....

Then his blitz ran out of steam at the hands of a formidable looking cultist, who spin and caught his staff mid swing and shoved against the fighter, carrying him the the railing and bludgeoning him against it like a rag doll.

As soon as his advance halted, Zaofan let his body go slack as he was carried off-course, and as the whiplash carried him into the wall, grasping firmly upon his staff he would preserve his momentum.

Drawing upon the Bear's Strength, he grappled with the cultist. Maintaining his grip as he was bandied about by that formisable strength, he rappelled to the far end. Shifting his weight inward, he wheeled around, and loosed a sequence of Pressure Kicks repeatedly into his assailant.

[grampagen]

It was clear that whatever was empowering this elderly lunatic was beyond the veils of time and space as reality bent itself to cross the gap between the two of them and flesh rotted from his touch. Rex would not be able to lazily use his fukushuu and be done with things this time. The lizard part of his brain screamed and writhe, tempered only by the cold intelligence tempered by countless millennia of survival. Still, he could not suppress the snarling hiss of pain as his flesh began to rot away.

A meaty snap resonated in the chambers and with a jerk, the rotting flesh of Rex's seized arm gave way, freeing the saurian whose movement's momentum drove him back several feet with a leap, leaving behind a trail of blood and flesh pieces. Despite the emotional imprints that comprised his fukushuu being altered from this situation, it was still enough to close his wounds, but he would need something more to regrow his now missing limb.

"There. To make things fairer to you, I have given myself a handicap. Surely there will be no question after this that the only failure here is you."

Energy crackled from his body as chi flowed throughout his body, honed by Charco's training and his own experience. Until he found a solution to the old man's rotting touch, hand-to-hand combat would be a no-go, thus Rex would have to rely on dirty fireworks to get the job done. Thankfully, he was in no short supply of those.

"You are so insistent on throwing away your humanity to beg at the feet the uncaring abyss when the one you should be praying to is me."

As the Familiars departed and both his Martial Brother and Ogatan's Abomination moved into the combat, Ochazuke had been patiently observing the various energies - magical, living, inert, or otherwise - at play within Persephone's Tomb.

Machine-gears forged of woven spells meant to keep those who marched upon the mountain at bay. A manifestation of the Queen's will, bound in that ancient contract.

Beyond the marked standards of the fell ancients, the meaning of the runes largely eluded him, and the finer meaning of the spellcraft in turn. The fearful intent, however, was a far plainer thing he would be remiss to ignore. In the hands of the Grey Thorn it would be a weapon to enslave this world.

Well...that will have to change.

"You presume much, boy....though more of your friend then of me. She is a puppet, like the others....no matter what authority was bestowed upon them, they answer to the Queen....and I speak on her behalf, as is the authority bestowed upon me." He briefly flashes a icon in his withered palm. So close to the throne, not even the mindless ones are ignorant of it....they know to whom they serve, even now."

The man flashes in a withering smile. "She would never be heartless you say.....perhaps if you survive, you may ask of her yourself."

Crest upon Agravain's palm there rest the compact that marked the power of a Sovereign.

One who bears the mark of authority, ripe for the plucking...

A lofty ambition he had seen in enemies many times before.

"No!.....Well.....yes.......maybe!" Morgan pointed nervously, her glow giving off a reddish Blue hue. "S..Stealing from a Lord of Amdapor is a criminal offense...I....I demand an explanation for where you got that." The girl stamped her foot, gave Ochazuke a determined glare.....fidgeted a little, glanced to the side, let out a nervous cough. "I...I mean.....if you want to....I'd appreciate it...."

The fell creatures gathered in the tomb prayed at the feet of a corpse. They still recognized the living will that refused to pass to shadow. He'd felt it brush against his meditational field, and even since before they had set foot inside this chamber, had been accumulating it towards himself with Genki. It had always been a small, fine effort, the gathering of these silent voices. Those who sought the power to rule with no understanding of harmony were all but deaf to it, even as it passed in this sealed chamber silent as a drifting breeze, passing from one immortalized cultist to the next.

The Orichalum Shard held in his palm gave him a focal point, measuring his effort against the power imbued in Avalon's ancient machinery. Interfaced with Arthur's Ring, he now seized upon the magic that permeated the whole of this place and used it to amplify his next move. In matters of the spirit, attacking the physical space alone would not suffice.

Ochazuke raised his right hand. A burst of power surged through the environs, between the denizens of ruined flesh and the Void they crawled from as Iron Wind of Kongosho fell. Cutting through the subtle voices calling from in-between spaces, he sought to sever the ties that bound them to Agravain.

Your Voidling's compact is but a brand marking your indentured servitude. The old mage may have held the mark of ancient Kings, but Ochazuke held the instrument of a Kami.

In guarding this world, they spared no quarter.

OOC: Genki Charge: 4

[MrSandman]

As a pitched battle raged on, Erosa and Morgan made their way to an access that lead underneath the central platform....where the Queens Familiar hoped to get a closer examination of the Magicite spire below it. While she had yet to come up with a plan of shutting down what could only be described as a Void Engine, understanding was always a good first step....in magic most of all.

And yet, unlike spellcasting, there was no order to this place....or perhaps an order alien to what she knew. The Void, and those who dwelled within it, had spoken to Queen Persephone in this very cavern...some untold ages in the past. That much Morgan knew. There they imparted the wisdom of magicraft, the forging in orichalcum, and the knowledge to harness the power of the void for the betterment of all. Though fickle....The humans placed their faith in the Queen, and through her they were able to achive something that wouldn't have been possible. A home, a place to call their own.

....and it all went so very wrong.

After descending further, they arrived at a walkway that surrounded the machinery connecting the throne to the magicite, and then to magicite itself.

Dozen of conduits were pouring a constant steam of filtered void energy upwards, generated by the force contained within the magicite no doubt. There was no shut off.....and even if there was, blocking or breaking the conduits would not stop the flow of energy, merely redirect it into the chamber and likely kill them all.

Or worse.

"You think it sees us ero." An offhand comment from Erosa brought Morgans attention to to the heart of the problem.

Was it still alive after all this time? Was it ever really alive? How did it even get here....It was here when Persephone found it, and how long it dwelled before that is impossible to say. The idea of destorying the spire itself came to mind.....but she had no idea the repercussions such an act would cause. Pure Void energy was volatile...piercing the shell would likely trigger a catastrophic explosion.

While multiple possibilities ran through Morgans mind, Erosa felt something twitch on the edge of her perceptions. The Id sniffed the air, cringed at the overpowered stench coming from above, and spun her head around in an effort to spot anything approaching.....and not a moment sooner was she able to throw her head out of the way of a magic infused kick. For a moment Erosa and her assailant danced a duet of blows and dodges before the id was caught across the jaw and sent skidding past Morgan to a stop over the exposed crystal. Morgan made an attempt to turn....and found the barrel end of a weapon pointed between her eyes.

Grey Thorn Morgan looked down on her, finger hovering over the trigger, yet eyes alit with recognition.

"Oh....Little Petal?"

"Sis?" Morgan looked up, slowly registering who she was sitting before...and almost leap up despite having a gun in her face.

"No sudden movements please.....Its...good to see your well." Despite her hard exterior, Thorn Morgan let out a sigh of relief. "...I'm not sure what your doing here....but its good that you came. I'm sure it would make her happy to know you are here."

[MrSandman]

The conflict above faded slowly into a dull background mummer as the two familiars faced each other, one with weapon held at the ready and another armed only with a confused expression.

"Sister....I don't understand." Morgan began slowly, attempting to choose her words carefully. "Why are you letting that man run rampant with the royal authority of our Queen. He's making a mockery of everything she stood....parading around this corruption and making bold proclamations of power that never belonged to him. Why?"

"Don't be concerned about Agravain. It was by his choice that the void flows through him...his purpose is a beacon upon this mortal plane. When enough power from the conduit flows through him...he will be like a great flame upon the sea of the dream. Calling her home."

"Calling..." Morgan blinked in utter confusion. "....I don't understand..."

"You were never meant to, little petal. It was her wish that you never be involved in all this....and yet here you stand. Pulled here on the same great chain that pulls us all no doubt." Thorn Morgan let her weapon drop to her side, and then took a step to the right...eyes locked with her sister even as she allowed her a view of what lay behind her. "You were the favorite....you know. Not the most powerful, nor the most clever....but the most innocent, i suppose. Its not something I hold ill will for...in fact....we all cared about you, our queen most of all. In the end, she thought it better you live your time without knowing what awaited us."

"I was here....in this very chamber, when she communed with the outer gods the day we defeated Vortigern and his army. Do you remember that day, little petal?"

"...Of...Of course......there was a grand celebration. They practically paraded Vortigern down the main road of Amdapor. I....I only saw her majesty twice that day....she seemed...." Morgan thought back, and something deep inside her slowly started to sink. "...I remember she looked so happy during the parade, she was even sharing words in high spirits with Lord Uther......but during the feast later she just seemed, deep in thought."

"The weight of future wisdom is a heavy burden...even for her majesty. The doom of our civilization foretold by the lords of the void."

There was a cold, silence that overtook Morgan was her voice held fast in her throat. It took several attempts for her to speak. "...They.....She knew about Rex?"

"Yes...But he was not the one they spoke of." Thorn Morgan smiled sadly. "You must understand....the war with Rex was already inevitable. There would always be more enemies to fight...more invaders at our doorsteps. But the great ones foretold of a great destroyer from the heavens who would one day come, one that we could not defeat....a God of Destruction. All the weapons she forged, all the magic we learned would not prepare us.....there was simply not enough time. Our world would be extinguished...lost as many before it have to the endless beginnings and endings of the cosmos. There was only one way....one path to be taken that would ensure this worlds survival. Only in the hubris of the god could victory be found, and only one who could play that hubris into victory.....however unlikely."

The air around Morgan grew cold, a shiver unlike anything she had ever received in the cold wastes took hold all over her body.

"Do you understand? Surely you must have realized it at some point? The power our Queen possessed at her peak.....and our glorious civilization at the height of its power, undone in a matter of days by an army of reptiles under a king who only knows strength. Isn't that strange?"

The room silently began to spin around Morgan. "....That....That isn't..."

"The Ultimate Irony......The War with Rex could have ended at any time. But....our would be destroyer....would eventually be the savior of this world....and so....and so..."

"....You let him win...." Morgan voice came out as a hoarse whisper. ".....No.....that can't be it......that.....THAT CAN'T BE IT! What about....what about the lords? Our friends? All the people we helped?! WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WE TRIED TO SAVE? Surely her majesty had some plan in place so the people could survive?!!"

"Some were to survive....yes. The groups under you, me and our sister. The ones protected within the vault. The groups led to safety by the lords. But....there was always going to be a price of blood paid to sate the wyrm....one that needed be paid for some to grow in time to what would be required of him."

"No......Nono......Its....Its not right....." Morgan felt her legs beginning to give out as a heavy weight seemed to descend on her. "Our Majesty...she would never give up so many lives....Everyone was important, everyone had value. Avalon was a safe haven for...."

"...and it can be again." Thorn Morgan had stepped up to the deliriously mourning Morgan and taken her in her arms. Out of reflex, Morgan struggled...but despair and heartbreak had weakened her to the point it was little more then an infantile effort. "....Never again....will we need to make such a sacrifice. Our Queen has walked the many layers in the shadow of the great Void Lords....learned their secrets, power to rival the gods of this world and every other. Through her....we will finally build a world where no threat will ever harm us again. We just need....to call her home."

Cradled in her arms, Morgans tear stained eyes open. "....call her home?"

"Yes....Call her home. She has been so lonely.....I hear her voice sometimes in my dreams....she wants to see you too."

".....Majesty...."

~~~

"G....Gao...." Erosa shook her head and struggled to push herself up while the two Morgans seemed in the middle of conversation. With effort, she managed to steady herself and claw her way forward a little....and would have launched herself to the aid of her rival/frienemy/cooklure.

Yet something held her back....her clawed hand had found perch upon a jagged fragment of magicite that had pierced up from the massive pillar below, perhaps over the course of centuries. Weither by chance or by the pull of some powers that be...she had gripped it for support, and mere moments later the world around her went black.

A feeling like cold water creep up and around her body...her senses coming into some strange sort of unearthly focus as a will wormed its way up through her arm, up her shoulder, and into her head....an with it came a raging malstrom of....something. Emotions, in a since, but Erosa could only barely make out what she was feeling......Rage? Sorrow? Pain?

The only feeling she could truly understand in it all was one she had intimate knowledge in....Hunger.

She held onto that purchase of commonality, even as waves of unending chaos washed over her...threating to drown out her meager existence like a candle in a hurricane.

...and then....all was silent.

She was afloat in a vast ocean beyond the edge of everything. Surrounding her, were her children....so many children.....

So many children.....

Extending into eternity....the sphere of creation.....filled with the children of the gods. So many children......so many children.....

All fighting for power. Fighting to Live. Fighting to Consume.

Consume the land. Consume the Air. Consume each other.

Live, Strive, grow fat with strength.

What is this? What is this?

Consuming, life folding in upon itself...all lines merging into one.

Driven by Hunger. Driven by Hunger.

So many children.....so many children.....

I feast.