Fiction:Darkest Before Dawn

Prologue
Following the war at Talmyr, the mad pyromancer Xacutus had returned to his own territory after his alliance with the Legion of Shiarchon came to an end. Sitting on his golem throne, the skeletal Ondarei Mharinis attempted to ease his frustration by shooting flames at his own servants, for while he did not admit it, the entire incident had left him severely insulted. Smeevers flew across his throne chamber as he blasted them with little impunity, though it failed to amuse him.


 * Xacutus - Why, I NEVER! To be beaten by some sort of yellow people and then be DENIED of my slaughter! I am ten kinds of salty!

Whilst sitting upon his throne, a trail of insects befell upon it, crawling its way down the side, some passing over the pyromancer's shoulder and arm that was resting upon it. The room suddenly went icy cold, and a shadow grew across the room as the fiery light of the island was blanked out. As he noticed the changes to the environment, Xacutus's eyes narrowed and he screamed in anger, his inner fire growing more intense and blasting itself across the room, creating light and heat to rival the dark and cold and incinerate the insects crawling on him.


 * Xacutus - What EVEN?!

The remainder of the insects travelled to the centre of the hall, directly in front of Xacutus as they all collided on top of each other, eventually melting down into a viscous fluid, and slowly forming out of it, was a creature. Though not as tall as the pyromancer himself, it was significantly taller than a Shiarchon, verging on a giant's height. Its body was a cross of armour and warped flesh that melded together at the joints, and the most significant feature - its mask, was fused to the rest of its head with claws digging into its sides. There was a black abyss behind it; no eyes were visible, and its unnerving talons wrapped around into a fist. Xacutus's Vulcanus Men, who guarded the chamber, growled and hissed at the entity as they approach it from behind and the sides, while Xacutus himself rose his hands up and created a sphere of flame which appeared nearly thrice his own size.


 * Xacutus - Die!

The creature breathed in, sending a vaccuum of power across the hall, until the sound of it reached its loudest. Bursting a wave of blackness across the room, a similar fluid like substance submerged the Vulcanus Men present, petrifying them where they stood. Xacutus showed little regard for the deaths of his own servants as he launched his fireball at the entity, appearing not to be interested in it. The fireball collided with the being's armour, though, whilst exploding, it was slowly absorbed into the creature's being, the flames liquidating into its armour as it slowly composed itself back from the impact. Realizing the creature was not dead, Xacutus grunted and held on his own head as he stared at it.


 * Xacutus - Oh, what now? You must be ANOTHER one of THOSE lots.

The creautre began to speak. Unlike many of its kind, the creature spoke with a whisper, serpentine almost as it carried a unique sense of terror in its voice.


 * ??? - ...Is it wise to attack...a Night Lord when he comes with an offer?
 * Xacutus - Like I know what a Night Lord is. What even are you? One of elf-boy's lackeys? Tell him to STOP bothering me.
 * ??? - ...I have no ties to the Legion...I am far more than the mindless instruments of a mortal king turned slave.
 * Xacutus - Eh. Then who am I speaking to?
 * ??? - The ancient world knows me as Antecursoris. The . The Master of the Night Lords...
 * Xacutus - Hmmmmmmm no, don't think I've heard of it.
 * Vanguard - The will of .
 * Xacutus - Okay, THAT name I remember. The other spoiled child of the Adversary. The one with the NIGHTMARES and whatnot.
 * Vanguard - I have long since plagued this world...filled the mortal world with terrors in their sleep. But now, events have fallen into place where we now...fill the mortal word with terrors everywhere...
 * Xacutus - And why should me, the great Xacutus, care? I don't think you realize it yet but I hate your type.
 * Vanguard - Peculiar...that you dislike us...when your goals and thoughts are much like our own.
 * Xacutus - I am NOT like you! You follow your pagan gods everywhere! I do what I do out of my own will!
 * Vanguard - That is where we differ....that is where the slave-king differs.
 * Xacutus - I take something happened to the elf boy that you're not a fan of.
 * Vanguard - Our goals are simple. Knowable to every being from the Chaosphere and above...the slave-child's goals are not our goals...

Xacutus leaned forward on his throne, which walked closer to Vanguard.


 * Xacutus - Go on.
 * Vanguard - The One Lord...is a God that demands loyalty...and the Imperator is disloyal.
 * Xacutus - I find that difficult to believe. Last time I spoke to him, he was ALL OVER his god.
 * Vanguard - ...Is that so? Then why does he rule Talmyr...and not destroy it?
 * Xacutus - Well, he's incredibly boring, prefers CONQUERING rather than DESTROYING it. Which is why I planned to betray him but he kinda got me first, I LEFT BECAUSE I WANTED TO.
 * Vanguard - You left...because the Imperator issued a sentence upon your life if you did not leave...though now I offer a sentence upon returning to Talmyr...
 * Xacutus - Hmmm. You want me to go back there? But why? You both follow the same god, shouldn't you be BEST BUDDIES?
 * Vanguard - The Imperator is disloyal. Stubborn...has the ideals of a child with instruments far beyond his reach...no...the Imperator must...learn his place in this universe...

Xacutus suddenly teleported out of his throne into the front of Vanguard, his arms crossed as he spoke loudly.


 * Xacutus - For a chance to GET BACK at him, I will do so! What am I expected to do?
 * Vanguard - ...Whilst we...apprehend the Imperator, do what you wish with Talmyr...burn it to the ground if you must...kill everyone. Dalmiric men. Shiarchon. All that live in those walls...
 * Xacutus - I like you a lot more than him already! I'm sure this will be an ACCEPTABLE partnership.
 * Vanguard - There is one circumstance that we cannot allow you to deviate from...
 * Xacutus - And that is?
 * Vanguard - The Imperator must not die...the Imperator must live...and I must be allowed to take Talmyr for myself.
 * Xacutus - I don't know what you plan to do with a dead scorched wasteland, but that's fine by me. Xacutus has no interest in conquest. Only DESTRUCTION.
 * Vanguard - Then an accord...has been made. We are to join with two others in this goal...one named ...the other named .
 * Xacutus - So be it.

It was not long after that Vanguard was expecting the three to meet in his fortress of Uirzanarxaarek; the first of the Void Fortresses rebuilt on Koldenwelt since ancient times. The surrounding landscape was highly reminiscent of the old world; for miles upon miles, ashen wasteland surrounded the fortress as a nightmarish energy emanated from it, causing the sky above them to warp in plumes of cloud and lightning. Vanguard himself was upon his on throne, crafted from a blackened ice, with organic appendages crawling all over the throne and the room itself. Xacutus manifested in a blast of fire, cackling as he appeared, while a hooded figure entered the chamber, promptly removing what covered his face to reveal a human skull, a pair of red lights shining at his eye sockets which shifted around the room rapidly. Behind the skeleton, a figure twice his size entered also, with huge lumbering footstep. Unclothed at the torso, and wearing an encumbering helm, it was the Shiarchon known as Leviathan.


 * Xacutus - You must be kidding with me, Vanguard. Our allies happen to be a MERE HUMAN and a SHIRTLESS MAN.
 * Vanguard - Tibias is the highest authority of the Lympharian Cult before his masters...and Levathian is an instrument of the One Lord Himself...a loyal one.
 * Tibias - Appearances can be deceitful, my fellow skeleton. I am Tibias Merrow, Master Apostle of the Lympharian Collective.
 * Xacutus - What kind of NAME is that?! Should it not be MARROW?
 * Tibias - No. Merrow. With an E.
 * Xacutus - But you are NOT a mermaid.
 * Vanguard - Enough...
 * Tibias - Indeed, we are not here to talk about names. We are here to discuss the problem with the Shiarchon Imperator. He has been naughty and needs to be punished.
 * Vanguard - Indeed...though the One Lord has invested great power into him...and I know that with our force combined...the Imperator remains too powerful to apprehend without irrelevant and uncoordinated cataclysm.
 * Tibias - What is our plan then? I would rather not waste my bones against the Imperator.
 * Leviathan - We must weaken the Imperator, rather than face him with our force.
 * Tibias - Easier said than done.
 * Vanguard - ...Not necessarily...you are all aware of a presence on this world that names itself ...
 * Xacutus - I am not.
 * Tibias - Janos is a reincarnation of the One Lord, though not one with as much magnitude as the Gods of the Chaosphere. A powerful one.
 * 'Vanguard - Janos is our tool to use...and with its use...it shall benefit us.
 * Tibias - You want to pit Janos against the Imperator? I have my doubts.
 * Vanguard - As of now...it would be an unwise course of action to do so...though an empowered Janos...will be...dangerous.
 * Tibias - In that case, I assume we are willing to sacrifice Janos to weaken the Imperator.
 * Xacutus - Or they could KILL EACH OTHER and save me two problems.
 * Tibias - You shut up.
 * Vanguard - ...the Imperator cannot die...as I have stated before...though Janos' sacrifice is irrelevant...the composition of Janos' being...can be delivered back to the One Lord Himself to do with what He desires.
 * Xacutus - And how are we supposed to empower this Janos person? FEEDING him PROTEINS?
 * Vanguard - Feeding him...yes. With the necessary souls and pieces...
 * Tibias - We must not waste time then. As a head of a religious cult, I find the thought of the Imperator commiting apostasy absolutely distressing.
 * Leviathan - And it is why we must take him to the One Lord Himself, to show him the error of his ways.
 * Vanguard - We will begin...by searching for the Shards...find as many as we can...
 * Xacutus - Shards of...?
 * Vanguard - You are not aware...of the Scorn of the Void?
 * Xacutus - You all keep assuming I know everything and that I'm one of you. I am NOT. I HATE the Void.
 * Vanguard - A weapon...of infinite destruction...carved from the very chest of the One Lord...shattered by the Enemy.
 * Tibias - It's a sword, Xacutus. The meanest sword in the universe.
 * Xacutus - FINE. I will search for shards of a broken sword.
 * Vanguard - We will then...search for orphaned Void Matrices...
 * Xacutus - These I am NOT putting my hands on. Elf boy showed me one once and it nearly sucked my soul out.
 * Vanguard - Instruments of the soulless...to be wielded by the soulless. Akharavzund has two, and possesses a Colossal Void Matrix...
 * Tibias - I could request the aid of the Harbinger to gather these Matrices. Even though I serve the Mad God, a soul still inhabits these bones. And I'd rather keep it that way.
 * Vanguard - We have our goals...and we have the knowledge of the location of one of these shards...
 * Xacutus - Where would that be?
 * Vanguard - It is in the possession of a mortal...that is part of the Enemy's efforts to foil our goals...
 * Tibias - We shall kill two birds with one stone in that case.
 * Vanguard - It will be difficult...they are protected. By many enemies...Isiris...Aúr...Nalashtannylor. We cannot strike them at their heart...
 * Xacutus - Bah. What then?
 * Vanguard - We lure them out.
 * Xacutus - I should have EXPECTED that.
 * Vanguard - Find that shard...and then find the rest of them...we will not meet again until we have found what we need.

The Map of the Stars
It was the mid-winter on Koldenwelt. Much of the inhabitants of Dar-Nahalant had been searching relentlessly for weeks upon end, searching for ancient scripts or even items within the fortress to acquire means to fight the Shiarchon in Talmyr. So far, they had found little knowledge of anything that could grant them safe passage into the region, and as the nights were drawing in sooner and sooner, it felt as if there was no saving the north from Kaicaiusarin rising from underneath the Mountain City. Sitting within the hall, the team had many piles of books brought over from the libraries that Septimus often locked himself in, though now many of them were contributing to the effort of trying to find any mention of assistance. It was only by magical intervention that the others could read these books, as they were written in a language that had not been spoken for over twenty thousand years.


 * Pelagrios - All of these glyphs look the same to me.
 * Sea Witch - If I have to read one more sentence of this sausage language, I'm gonna be very upset.
 * Alfgund - Gah! Hope loses me, for our dilemma appears to become even more useless, useless, useless with each passing day and night!
 * Norrigan - Back at Visonia, we had scribes for jobs like these.
 * Longinus - Unfortunately, dear human, there is only one here that is able to veritably read this language.
 * Sea Witch - We could ask Mortium or Zran Kar to do it for us, but nooo, "they might destroy everything and not just the enemy". Silly details.
 * Khadya - A shame that for such a diverse empire, the scholars of the Orichalcum Elf Imperium did not think to publish copies of their documents in foreign writing for their vassals.
 * Longinus - This fortress was built long before cultural diversity. Cultural diversity in the Imperium was not introduced until shortly before my birth.
 * Lekren - Besides, I doubt it that other races were of importance to the Imperium's rulers one way or another.
 * Hachi - Man, you guys could have at least put pictures in these things!
 * Clothovera - Please tell me anyone has an idea or something. We're not going anywhere so far.
 * Alfgund - Of course you'd not an idea, young girl. Your book is being held upside-down.
 * Khaadun - I cannot read Common Tongue. Old elf tongue is nightmare in itself.

At this moment, Earath entered the hall, carrying a box of some description in his hands. The box was made of a wooden frame with shells of some sort, coloured in the ancient Orichalcum shades of gold and blue. It appeared to be of some weight, and the size was great enough that even in the Orichalcum Elves' hands, it was to be held with two hands. Earath struggled on his feet as he threw the box on the floor.


 * Earath - Hell... what do you people put in these?
 * Alfgund - You know not what a box is?
 * Earath - Don't taunt me, human.
 * Longinus - Careful with that! That is possibly older than Vixaatus himself.
 * Earath - I found it and thought it could help. Since it looks important and about as old as the books you're reading.
 * Hachi - Heh, would not surprise me if just opening that thing unleashed another global threat into the world, what with our luck.
 * Norrigan - A solid plan, friend! They will cancel each other out! Praise Isiris!
 * Mhor - Cancel...each other out? You know...I am not going to argue on this one.
 * Longinus - A rather unusual looking container. Where did you find it?
 * Earath - Well, I tried going down, to the floors below the prisons and found some... urm. I think they're meant to be storages or treasure rooms? Anyway, it was in one of those. It seemed like the most important thing down there.
 * Alfgund - Behold as Longinus becomes engulfed in rage for invading Dar-Nahalant's grand treasury and laying young hands upon his possessions, along with those of his ancestors.
 * Norrigan - Nonsense, friend. We all know this place belongs to the dragon.
 * Longinus - ...Regardless...you must have found that within the vaults.

Longinus took the box into both of his hands, and in one swift movement, placed it delicately on the table in front of Pelagrios. It was clear that the box had a lid on top, held together by tethers of rope that miraculously stayed together after twenty millennia of disuse. Somewhat nervously undoing the knots that kept the lid on the top, he slid the top off and leant it against the side of the box, revealing what appeared to be a large blue orb; vaguely translucent in quality, not too much unlike quartz.


 * Pelagrios - That...must be expensive.
 * Lekren - Most definitely...
 * Earath - What's that meant to be?
 * Longinus - I am rather uncertain.
 * Septimus - It appears to be some kind of orb.
 * Longinus - Astute observation, your majesty.
 * Sea Witch - Heh. Still, it must be important. Try using your sun hocus pocus on it.
 * Khadya - Knowing our luck, it shall be a bomb.

Longinus cradled the orb in his hands, examining the object with narrowed eyes. Septimus looked at it in similar manner, though he himself possibly had a better idea as to what it was than Longinus did. Pelagrios looked upon it with amazement, resisting the urge to snatch it out of the Orichalcum Elf's hands on the basis that he did not want to be disintegrated.


 * Septimus - I believe I might know what that is.
 * Earath - Do tell.
 * Septimus - If our legends and stories are correct, that very well may be a centerpiece to an ancient mechanism.
 * Hachi - You mean, like an ancient, giant Orichalcum Elf golem that requires a dedicated pilot in order to drive it around and destroy giant, evil monsters?! That's awesome!''
 * Ndrhthryr - ...The kid has an imagination.
 * Sea Witch - That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!
 * Norrigan - ... Actually, I think a species of fly people at the Sovereignty have something like this.
 * Septimus - No. The mechanism is some sort of...orrery. A map of stars.
 * Longinus - You speak of the orrery in the east? Hmph. Many of my predecessors spent years upon trying to unravel its secrets.
 * Septimus - Which is why I believe that this may be it.
 * Sea Witch - Okay, well, explain very slowly to the elderly lady what the hell an orrery is.
 * Septimus - It is a mechanism that displays space in one continuous map. The stars.
 * Hachi - Eh, that does not sound anywhere near as exciting as my idea. You guys should have made giant golems in your time.
 * Longinus - You do not remember the automatons I activated within the Golden Necropolis, then. However...
 * Clothovera - So, some sort of super map? You think that could help us with the Shiarchon?
 * Lekren - Not just any map, miss. A map of astral patterns and pathways. According to the ancients, the stars and their patterns were the language of gods themselves.
 * Septimus - ...I do not know what to say about it...though knowing it was locked within the deepest recesses of Dar-Nahalant...it may contain certain histories and knowledge of things unwritten within these libraries. Things perhaps Keleivel and his predecessors wished not to be used.
 * Sea Witch - Things that should not be used are generally good against giant forces of evil.
 * Khadya - Makes you wonder somewhat why they would not use them against evil in the first place if they work so effectively against it.
 * Sea Witch - Because elves are stupid.
 * Septimus - In whatever case this reason was...well. Whatever this may reveal may turn the tide against the Legion.
 * Earath - Let's get it started then.

As the group were beginning to conclude their discussion in regards to the contents of the archaic container and what their next course of action may be, their ears were met with a rather peculiar sound which echoed through the wide walls of the hall they sat within; deep, bellowing snoring coming from the far side of the room, sounding out from a stout figure with a bushy, decorative beard of fiery red and dressed in little more than soft cloth and robes. A sleeping had taken a seat at a table some distance away from the one the group were sat at, while another of his kind, dressed in a suit of semi-heavy dwarven armour and carrying a large greataxe at his side, sat on the opposite side with a large mug in hand, glancing at the group with a faint smile on his face. They had not made themselves known to the group until now, but it seemed clear from the dwarven warrior's expression that he had heard their conversation.


 * Hathgar - Venturing east, are we?
 * Sea Witch - Aaaah! Beards on legs!... Oh wait. It's just a Red-Shield dwarf.
 * Earath - Hm. Seems like Father brought us more manpower.
 * Norrigan - Well then. I know this dwarf!
 * Khadya - ... Hathgar?
 * Hathgar - Ah. Norrigan, Khadya, good to see you again. Seems you two have made plenty of friends since we last saw each other... what, two, three decades ago?
 * Norrigan - Yes, back when you were young, naive and our orc friend had a better sense of decency.
 * Hathgar - ... That's an arguable case on that last point. In any case, it pleases me greatly that we are once again travelling together, although I'd have much preferred if it were you coming behind Khargrimhold's walls to find me and not your dragon friend. Gave me a great fright, he did.
 * Lekren - A fellow denizen of the depths, it seems. - Lekren bowed respectfully to the dwarf - One of the noblemen of Khargrimhold, I presume?
 * Hathgar - Great-Captain Jalaric Hathgar the Third, First Heir of Khargrimhold, friend. Practically a prince, let alone a nobleman.
 * Sea Witch - Mind the dragon, he's kind of the boss of the group and does what he pleases. If he brought you, it's probably because you can take a few hits. Which'll be required for the job.
 * Pelagrios - Or a good deal of luck.
 * Sea Witch - Yeah, or that. You'll get along nicely. You're all beards on legs who love booze.
 * Khaadun - Must find star map place, then. Where is it?
 * ??? - Don't forget about me!

Running into the chamber was the young soldier, who ran at their direction before she tripped and fell flat on the ground. Once she got back up, she immediately ran up to Earath and hugged the Merovar, causing him to stumble in place for a moment. Alfgund passed a glance towards Lyra as she came into contact with Earath, raising his brow in some form of confusion, while Hathgar heartily chuckled from the Hikamera's fall.


 * Lyra - Earath! It's been so long!
 * Earath - Oh! If it isn't my favorite elf friend again. Indeed it's been a while.
 * Clothovera - ...Hey, I remember you. You called everyone weird and stormed out last time you were here.
 * Lyra - Yeah but the dragon ensured me I'd not have to work with that Erylia half-blood again, so I'm back.
 * Longinus - I would appreciate it if Vixaatus informed me of this.
 * Ndrhthryr - You're the housemaid. You don't need to know.
 * Alhazred - Regardless. Where is the star map?
 * Septimus - The orrery was once located within a city named Orem-Os...on the coast. I am not sure whether Orem-Os survived the floods after the Adversary's defeat, but if it has, there is a likelihood that the city has since been rebuilt and re-inhabited.
 * Sea Witch - Well, the coast is really freaking big. You're gonna have to be a little more specific.
 * Hathgar - Well, the giant elf says this... orrery is both located to the east and resides within a city upon the coast. That narrows our query somewhat, at the very least.
 * Alhazred - It may have been rebuilt by these dwarves. That, or it is now part of Khensu's province. Or it has become infested with Merkan.
 * Septimus - Is there any city or ruin within the territories of your kind that is of Aurelian origin?
 * Hathgar - Within our territories officially? No. But there lies a great city that is probably of Aurelian nature that lies beyond our stretch of land south of where Dagdharal once stood; we do not travel there because the last time we attempted sticking our noses into Aurelian business, we regretted it a fair deal.
 * Sea Witch - As long as it's not at the Duskwoods, all is well. That place is bad juju.
 * Septimus - Very well. You know where this place is. We would have you lead us to it.
 * Norrigan - Onward to the unknown!

Hathgar stood up from where he was seated and proceeded to lay a hand upon his dwarven companion's shoulder in order to wake him from his sleep. His accomplice, younger by more than a decade and absent of hair other than his proud, fiery beard, stirred and raised himself up, rolling his shoulders as he adjusted himself while Hathgar finished off his mug of ale.


 * Eirik - We are leaving so soon? I had my eyes closed for barely twenty minutes.
 * Hathgar - Hah, you can sleep when we're dead, Eirik. We've got work to be doing.
 * Norrigan - An arguable statement, friend.
 * Alfgund - ... Why is it only the one dwarf who wears the armour and carries the weapon? The other seems as vulnerable as our dear companion Septimus... No offence.
 * Septimus - The youth of this age never cease to amaze me in their lack of modesty.
 * Sea Witch - Must be the guy who gets to carry all the heavy loot. Anyway, who cares, let's get going.

A Nightmarish Scenario
Travelling towards the coast of the Tropical Lands, a half-sunken ruin had laid in dormancy for many years as the jungles had overtaken whatever remained of the old city of Orem-Os before it was plunged underwater in the cataclysmic floods. To where they were going - the orrery - was underground, and it seemed that the deluge that wiped the city clean five millennia ago had removed any access to the orrery from above ground. Somewhat luckily, access to the vast network of cisterns underneath the city had been exposed bare as the city's foundations were torn in two from the disaster. From what Hathgar had mentioned before, it was possible that the underground complex leading to the orrery was accessible through the ruins. The dwarven commander headed the group while his companion Eirik carried some of his belongings and essentials upon his back, seemingly untroubled by the weight within the pack that was strapped to him.


 * Septimus - So. Eirik. Assuming by your choice of clothing, you are a holy dwarf.
 * Eirik - Correct. I am an Adept of the Bheldaral Monks - a sect of the Disciples of the Hammer in my home-hold. I have even had the honour of serving to protect the Hammer Throne in the Eastern Plains and the Thunderous Hammer himself.
 * Sea Witch - And here I thought dwarves only worshippped beer gods.
 * Pelagrios - Hence why I like dwarfs.
 * Eirik - I need not carry weapons or armour like my dear friend Hathgar. My faith in the Hammer Throne is what shall protect me upon our ventures to come, as it has done until now.
 * Clothovera - You'll not say that when a Shiarchon sends his sword down your head.
 * Longinus - There is more than what meets the eye to that dwarf.
 * Lyra - Anyway, where's the thing we need?
 * Hathgar - Far beneath the earth under our feet, girl. I do hope you have brought a swimsuit, otherwise you shall have to start digging if you do not enjoy the idea of possibly getting wet.
 * Ndrhthryr - Underwater? Hmph.
 * Sea Witch - Underwater? Good. I was getting sick of being surrounded by either sand or snow.
 * Earath - ... Merovar can't swim.
 * Ndrhthryr - Neither can I. I'm two-thirds of a ton of gears and metal.
 * Hachi - Hehe, how convenient that the girls shall have to venture near water to get to this orrery thing. Wouldn't want their clothes getting wet, now would they?
 * Taihadrae - It's been said before. You're a pervert.
 * Lyra - Who's this creepy rabbit thing?... Not you, Kanna.
 * Kanna - No offence taken. Do not mind Hachi, he has little self-control and is not exactly straight in the head, but if you wish to lash out at him then feel free. He recovers easily.
 * Lyra - Good.
 * Clothovera - You will not smash my boyfriend's head with that mace!
 * Lyra - '... Oh Gods, ew!
 * Eirik - As a man of celibacy, I know I have little word to offer for those who do partake in such activities, but... I had no idea elves were that liberal a people.
 * Septimus - Tarquinius, you and Eirik should become friends.
 * Longinus - I am not particularly aware whether that is a genuine suggestion or an insult.
 * Norrigan - Why are we still standing around? Onward, I said!
 * Hathgar - As the spectre said, we should not dilly-dally if we can afford to. Giant elf, you shall have to guide us to this orrery, as I am afraid my knowledge of this place only extends to the exterior and the region surrounding it.
 * Septimus - I only know of entering this place through the actual entrance. Entering through a cistern is not a common method of entering places.
 * Sea Witch - Expect resistance, because screw having a good and easy day.
 * Esulus - Well, there is the other alternative. Draining the whole place.
 * Hathgar - And make things easy for us? Hah! ... I shall leave the decision to you. I've no complaint to either suggestion.
 * Alhazred - Draining the place would allow all of us to venture into the ruins. Otherwise, we will be left without our full group.
 * Eirik - That aside, it shall also erase any threat of sharktopi schools that reside within the flooded ruins.
 * Mhor - Getting me hungry, over here.
 * Sea Witch - That's something I've not done in a while. Roasted Khrokar. Gotta get around to that later.
 * Esulus - Right...now to actually drain this place.
 * Lyra - Uh, how do you plan to do that?
 * Esulus - Well...I take it there's three ways of doing it.
 * Lekren - Which would be?
 * Esulus - Manipulating all of the water out of there...boiling all of the water out of there or finding a drainage system.
 * Eirik - To risk not potentially damaging the insides of Mogthurim, we commit to draining the water traditionally. ... Ores-Om, my apologies.
 * Septimus - Orem-Os.
 * Lekren - This would not require explosives. - Lekren sighed - How unfortunate that the most interesting and illustrious means to the end are forbidden for us.
 * Sea Witch - I could manipulate the water out, but depending of how big this place is... it might take a while.
 * Lekren - Or I could apply one of my solutions to the water. A specifically enchanted sponge would do the trick.
 * Sea Witch - A sponge. Alright then. Get two thousand more and we can talk.

Hathgar groaned as he slammed the metallic butt of his greataxe against the earth and turned the group, frowning somewhat as he exhaled deeply, appearing somewhat agitated.


 * Hathgar - We need to make a decision or it shan't ever get done.
 * Sea Witch - If you have nothing to add then shut your face.
 * Hathgar - Giant elves, where would one find the draining system within a coastal settlement of your kind?
 * Septimus - Within the cistern. You would need to find a lever in order to open the drains.
 * Hathgar - How deep would you estimate the water would be within the cistern?
 * Sea Witch - Aren't we at the cistern's entrance already? If you had said that earlier, I'd have already gone up there. I can breathe underwater, you know.
 * Septimus - Considering how far we are into this cistern and the size of the orrery in itself, the orrery would be another...forty metres underground.
 * Hachi - ... Sea Witch, you start manipulating the water out of this place. If the orrery is as large as Septimus makes it out to be, and if it had survived all this time, then I don't see the harm in being a little reckless.
 * Sea Witch - Or I could go over to the lever and drain the water. It's like you people are ignoring the fact I'm a master hydromancer.
 * Eirik - Just take caution. We've no means to know what lies ahead. ... But yes, we shall leave this task to you, Sea Witch of the South.
 * Sea Witch - Excuse me. You're not leaving it to me. I'm merely volunteering. You should all be very thankful for it.
 * Kanna - Do not take it to heart, beardy. She's like that with all new people.

With this, the Sea Witch entered the cistern, shapeshifting into an octopus as she made her way through the water to look for the draining lever. Her destination was through a lengthy shaft that was located at an intersection in the cistern, roughly fifteen metres under the submerged surface of the tunnels.


 * Lyra - ...Earath, where did you find all these people? They're all weird and rude and slightly unsettling.
 * Earath - You'll grow on them eventually, Lyra. Just don't actually hit anyone with your mace.
 * Lekren - Rude? Me? How disrespectful.
 * Lyra - Hey, I'm not giving names. if you think it fits you, it's your issue.
 * Hathgar - Oh, worry not, elven girl. I've travelled with people far stranger and ruder than our current bunch. ... Did you not know that I was good friends with Daithelen himself?
 * Lyra - Never heard of.
 * Khadya - ... You've not heard of one of the greatest rangers the Sovereignty has ever seen?
 * Lyra - No? Why should I? I'm not a ranger.

Once the Sea Witch arrived to her destination, she used her octopus tentacles to pull the levers she could find. It was difficult to shift at first - millennia of corrosion and the weight of the water upon it meant that even one as strong as Ndrhthryr would have struggled at first - though the booming sound of the lock sliding itself free as the intact drains that were walled-up upon the coastline released the water from the cistern, the water level lowering rapidly. The Sea Witch initially found herself getting drained as well before she teleported back to the group, falling from the air, still as an octopus, into Hachi's head. The young Lagosi screamed as he fell on his back and had somehow managed to accidentally get his arms tangled in the Sea Witch's tentacles, all the while blushing a little.


 * Hachi - Aaaaahhh! G-Get off!
 * Sea Witch - Stop screaming at my ear, kid!

The Sea Witch eventually returned to her normal form, letting Hachi go as she cleaned her robes from the water.


 * Sea Witch - Anyway, I did the thing. It should be good to go now.
 * Eirik - We made this far more difficult than we needed it to be.
 * Hathgar - I did not bring you along so you could complain, Eirik. ... My apologies, I overreacted a little.
 * Eirik - No, no, it is fine.
 * Sea Witch - Yeah, whatever. Get in the damn cistern already.

Hathgar gestured with the arm clenching his greataxe to move onward, walking ahead of the group while Eirik carried his supplies behind him, humming quietly to himself as he walked barefoot through the cistern. Hachi grabbed onto his drooping, soggy and sticky ears with a mildly disturbed and disgusted look on his face, Kanna laughing at him all the while, as Alfgund eyed the two elven girls from behind curiously, admiring the heavy armour and mace carried by Lyra. The air became noticeably more open the closer they reached another corridor, in parallel to the cistern they had been walking through. Passing through it, they found a small archway that lead up a narrow staircase. It itself had led to the waterlogged orrery- the floor and the seating, much like an amphitheatre, coated in the dampness of it being drowned for over five thousand years.


 * Earath - I'm guessing we gotta put that orb somewhere.
 * Hachi - Eugh, this place feels and looks really... moist.
 * Hathgar - Advice from my father springs to mind now that we are actually here: be cautious about placing it in any random opening, for you may regret the results.
 * Septimus - I would assume we would plant the orb upon the pedestal it is intended for.
 * Sea Witch - Get going then, you have the thing.

Stepping towards the pedestal - upon a high walkway that was at the very centre of this room, the pedestal in itself remained intact due to the craftsmanship of the Orichalcum Elves on such an ancient artifact. Septimus himself hesitated for a few moments, though he gently placed the orb upon it, fitting perfectly in its nest. Some minutes later, the orrery began to start whirring, though not without strain as the dome-like shape of the structure became illuminated. A beam of light appeared within the pedestal itself, and passing through the orb, projected the map of the stars onto the ceiling. As the group looked upwards towards the astral map, Eirik pulled a notebook from his belt and began to pen down the details and imagery he could see onto the pages in a concentrated fashion.


 * Septimus - Fascinating. So the orb itself was the map. It would explain as to why this place was never truly used.
 * Hathgar - ... Now that it has been drained of water, I am certain this place shall make for a great dwarven hold. I can imagine it now; Jalarichold, founded and rebuilt by I!
 * Longinus - As long as we maintain ownership of this orb, then do what you will. Is there any thing upon this orb that reveals anything?
 * Eirik - Astronomers and astrologers alike each have their own interpretations of the tellings of the stars. Giant elves, what do you make of what the stars have to tell us?
 * Septimus - I am not an astrologer. Alhazred, your knowledge of the stars may be greater than mine.
 * Alhazred - Hm. By what I can see, they do not match the stars of the sky.
 * Ndrhthryr - Eh?
 * Hachi - How is that possible? You mean, is this like a picture of some fairytale land, or did somebody just screw up drawing the constellations that badly?
 * Septimus - I can only think of two conclusions. The map is incomplete, meaning there is a second orb or perhaps a focusing crystal...or this orrery was not built by Aurelians.
 * Hathgar - Or both.
 * Eirik - I shan't lie when I say that I do not like the implications of this.
 * Septimus - If it was not built by Aurelians, then I would assume that this was designed for another purpose than a map of the stars.
 * Earath - It was at the Dar-Nahalant vault. It was either made by you guys or you stole it from someone else. And I'm not really sure who else lived back when that fortress was mde.
 * Khadya - Longinus said earlier that cultural diversity was not present within the Imperium until some time before he was born. I am willing to believe that the Imperium was responsible for separating this orb from the orrery as an act of war or some such.
 * Longinus - If that was the case, then explain how this orrery was designed with Aurelian architecture.
 * Hathgar - Then it means that either the orb is not for the purpose of viewing the stars, or we require a second instrument to make the map clearer to us.
 * Eirik - Or, whoever mapped these stars happened to be viewed... a different sky to our own.
 * Pelagrios - I've got an idea. Has anyone here got an...otherworldly artifact?
 * Kanna - Oh, now that you mention it, yes, I do. Let me just go back to my wagon where I leave all of my otherworldly and supernatural items and see what I can find for you.
 * Lyra - Kanna is still as obnoxious as always.
 * Alhazred - I theoretically count as one.
 * Pelagrios - I was stabbing in the dark there. I was talking about the Aether Emerald.
 * Clothovera - Oh! I have that!
 * Pelagrios - My thinking? That orb is blue. That emerald is...blue-ish. They might be able to talk to one another...or something of that effect.
 * Earath - ... We may as well try.
 * Lekren - Ah, genius thinking, human! Scientific study never gets anywhere without experimentation, no matter how ridiculous such projects may appear at first glance!
 * Pelagrios - I'm half-human, thank you very much.
 * Lekren - See? Even you are a product of two otherwise volatile substances coming together to create something... not "wonderful", but intriguing to say the least, yes!

Clothovera took her Aether Emerald from her bracelet and approached the orb, touching her jewel against it softly. Perhaps out of Pelagrios' oblivious thoughts or inventive nature, the orb began to glow further, as the light projecting out of the orb began to alter, revealing a more structured shape upon the ceiling.


 * Riad - Now how did you think of that?
 * Pelagrios - Usually, when things are blue they generally tend to work together.
 * Sea Witch - Bit of a stretch but it works well enough. What do we have here now?
 * Hachi - ... I'm blue, the Sea Witch is blue, Clothovera's Aether Emerald is blue... That dwarf guy has bright blue eyes... By the Gods...!
 * Pelagrios - My eye is blue as well. See? ...Hm. Now that you mention it, I do see the flaw in the logic.
 * Alhazred - Keep your eyes to the ceiling.
 * Longinus - Now that is interesting. That appears to be the earth as it is.
 * Lyra - So. A map of the world.
 * Septimus - Yes. I wonder what it might reveal, however.

At this moment, a voice rattled through the drenched ruin of the orrery, carrying a great atmosphere of terror about it. It was sibilant to some degree, crawling on the walls and up the spines of the group.


 * ??? - That is a secret you will not find out.
 * Norrigan - Who is there? Reveal yourself, foul creature!
 * Hathgar - Oh, good, I was wondering when the previous tenants would show up!
 * Ndrhthryr - ...That's not a previous tenant.

As the voice's figure came to be viewed in the light, it was a horrendous amalgamation of flesh and armour, with crawling abominations seeping through the openings of the plating. It was signifcantly taller than most of the group, with a spiked helm that appeared to be clinging on to the head by a mass of tentacles coming from the neck. The eyes were a complete blank, almost as if one were looking into the abyss. The very form of the creature caused Pelagrios' face to go completely blank. Norrigan manifested lightning on his sword while Earath, Lyra and the Sea Witch all stepped back, intimidated by the entity's appearance. Hathgar twirled his greatsword as lightning shot through it and his armour, while Eirik also stepped back to analyze the threat that now stood before them. Hachi had taken to hiding behind Kanna, who in turn was hiding behind the Sea Witch. Alfgund reached a hand to clasp Khadya's shoulder for assurance.


 * Sea Witch - What the hell is that?!
 * ??? - I...have seen into all of your minds and your memories...your thoughts as you sleep...all of you know me. All of you have seen me...before.
 * Hathgar - Must have been pissed at the time because this is the first time I've seen a mug as ugly as yours, fellow.
 * ??? - I...am all of your nightmares...in the flesh. I herald your worst fears to torment you...as you sleep.
 * Eirik - Giant elves, this entity appears to show some form of affiliation with this... Kaicaiusarin deity you speak of, for it tells us of nightmares and nightly hauntings.
 * Septimus - ...I-It's...the...V-Vanguard...
 * Alhazred - ... We must flee! He is beyond your capabilities!
 * Vanguard - ...Not without what I have come here for.
 * Norrigan - Filthy enemy! I will purge you!
 * Hathgar - I advise not doing anything stupid, Norrigan!
 * Norrigan - I don't fear nightmares, friend. I have not slept in 86 years!
 * Kanna - No wonder why he's mad.
 * Vanguard - The half-elf...has something I need. Give it to me...and I will spare your lives for now.
 * Clothovera - G-get away from me!
 * Eirik - We've two half-elves...
 * Kanna - Yeah, but why would anything like this find anything of worth on Pelagrios?
 * Vanguard - He...has a Shard.
 * Sea Witch - Pelagrios has a what now?

Pelagrios reached into his pocket, and out of it, came a shard of what appeared to be impossibly black glass. Pelagrios had never thought much of the item in his possession, though it was the source of his inhuman stamina and endurance.


 * Pelagrios - What, this thing?
 * Alhazred - ... What?! That is... a shard of the Void's Scorn! Where did you even get that?!
 * Pelagrios - Just found it somewhere. What is this Void's Scorn you're talking about?
 * Alhazred - It's the sword of the Adversary himself! Shattered into 7,777 pieces which were scattered across the world.

Pelagrios' eyes widened, and his pupils becoming not much larger than that of the head of a pin, throwing it in a chaotically random direction as he screamed at the top of his voice.


 * Pelagrios - Aaah! Get it away from me!
 * Hathgar - Are you an imbecile?! Do not let this thing have it!
 * Sea Witch - Yes. Yes he is. But that's why we keep him with us.
 * Clothovera - Do we really need it, though? Can't we just give it to the nice... uh. Nightmare monstrosity, so it can go away?
 * Eirik - Granting a shard of the Adversary to one of its servants? That is precisely why we must not allow it to fall into its hands.
 * Alhazred - It would be unwise to challenge the Vanguard in battle. He is the greatest servant of Kaicaiusarin. It would take more than what we have to rival his power.
 * Hathgar - If we give it the Shard, will it leave Jalarichold-- I mean, Orem-Os and us alone?
 * Vanguard - ...I shall never leave this place...nor you alone...though you will not die today. You will see me again...under much less comfortable circumstances.
 * Hathgar - Damnation!
 * Norrigan - Hmpf! How distasteful.
 * Eirik - Now is the time to consult and measure our options, my companions. Bestow the Shard to the Vanguard, or not?
 * Alhazred - The Vanguard is to Kaicaiusarin what Imperator Kalarah is to the Adversary. We give him the Shard, or we die.
 * Vanguard - Hah...Kalarah...what fruits he bore in Talmyr shall wither eventually.

Lumbering forward, the lengthy and gangly arm of the Vanguard scraped the Shard off the floor, looking upon it with great determination.


 * Vanguard - We shall cross paths again...and there is nothing in your power to stop me.
 * Sea Witch - Gee, thanks. I look forward to it.
 * Hathgar - And to think, before I embraced this venture I had wondered why I had ever given up on adventuring. My question has since been answered for me.

Crawling back into the shadows from whence he came, Vanguard dissipated in a swarm of shadowy serpents, along with the Shard. Longinus and Septimus let out heavy sighs, followed by Mhor, though Khaadun appeared mostly unfazed - perhaps due his helmet, he was hiding utter astonishment rather well. Norrigan let out a displeased grown as he sat on the ground, while Clothovera, who was still intimidated, hugged Hachi tightly. The Lagosi cuddled back, looking unnerved towards the shadows, while Hathgar slammed the metallic end of his greatsword against the tiled floor in frustration. Eirik, meanwhile, merely exhaled quietly and erased any hint of fear or anger from his expression. Alfgund let go of Khadya's shoulder, proceeding to wipe his hand on his coat now that the Vanguard had returned to whence it came.


 * Septimus - ...I did not think that the Vanguard was real.
 * Alhazred - Vanguard, the master of the Night Lords of Pavor. He is very real. Kalarah, Praenuntius and him make up the unholy triumvirate of the Adversary's servants.
 * Esulus - Pavor?
 * Septimus - The realm of nightmares. In the Old Tongue, 'Pavor' translates to 'Terror'. Many believed that to have a nightmare was to have your soul dragged into Pavor itself.
 * Hathgar - My great-uncle suffered from night terrors. ... If this "Pavor" place is where souls wander during nightmares, I cannot imagine the horrors he had seen.
 * Alhazred - We are in dire danger. If the Vanguard seeks to hunt us down eventually, then we must prepare for it. But of us, the only one I can see standing a chance is our Phoenix friend, who is still at Midnight.
 * Septimus - Then let us hope that if this orb is an artifact of the Phoenixes, that he left us behind something that could get us into Talmyr. I may have discovered something.
 * Alhazred - I also fear for the implications of him seeking out a shard of the Void's Scorn. Is he planning to rebuild it?
 * Septimus - My brother has sought to rebuild the Void's Scorn for five thousand years. From what I gather, the shards do not speak to him in the way it speaks to the Vanguard.
 * Hachi - ... You have a brother?
 * Sea Witch - Stop being stupid.
 * Alhazred - You mentioned you found something?
 * Septimus - I have. I believe it is mentioned here as an Ethereal Vault.
 * Sea Witch - And what would that be?
 * Eirik - From the name, a vaul--
 * Hathgar - Don't you dare.
 * Septimus - I believe the Hikamera Elf and Pelagrios remember the focusing room that they used to enter Hypocrite's Rest with.
 * Lyra - Oh yeah, I remember that. That other dwarf nearly broke my hand because he got scared.
 * Pelagrios - I miss Clamak.
 * Hathgar - So do I... So do I.
 * Ndrhthryr - Well, Pelagrios, at least you have my wonderful face to keep you up at night.
 * Septimus - Focus. From what I gather...an Ethereal Vault has a similar purpose to the focusing room, except it is unable to traverse the planes of the Simulacra. Instead...I think Ethereal Vaults are used to traverse the minds of others...some of us of which are not new to.
 * Hachi - Ah yeah, I remember when I was inside of Clotho's head. That was an interesting experience, to say the least.
 * Khadya - Are you not, in some way, inside of Clothovera's head every night--
 * Hathgar - By the Hammer Throne, learn some manners, girl!
 * Lyra - What is wrong with you people?!
 * Longinus - Mortals.
 * Septimus - ...As I was saying...Ethereal Vaults are used to traverse the minds of others. Using this, we may be able to...enter the mind of Julianus.
 * Kanna - Oh great, I can see it now. We will venture inside of the Praetor's mind and we will be met with Abyssus II: Firestorm Boogaloo.
 * Khaadun - Booga-what?
 * Septimus - Despite being able to enter Julianus' mind...where this Ethereal Vault is might make it impossible for our minds to stretch as far as Talmyr.
 * Lyra - Where is it?
 * Septimus - Not too far from here, from what I gather.
 * Hathgar - ... An Ethereal Vault on the southeastern coast, trying to stretch outward into a mind located in the far northwest... Yes, I can definitely see the flaws in this plan.
 * Longinus - I dread to hear the rest of the explanation of this plan.
 * Alhazred - It is prefereable to try this instead of charging head-on into Talmyr.
 * Septimus - In order for us to stretch into Talmyr, some minds may have to bridge the gap.
 * Eirik - Meaning... what, exactly?
 * Septimus - Some of us will have to be open to having our minds entered. Most likely...while we are asleep.
 * Clothovera - Well, since you healed mine, you could get into my mind again.
 * Septimus - I do not think I could risk it. Should Vanguard find his way in...
 * Lekren - Bah! So cowardly, too cautious! No scientist ever got anywhere without a lick of courage and self-confidence! No reason to start doubting before we even try!
 * Septimus - We would need only the strongest and most free of minds in order to be free of Vanguard's manipulative powers.
 * Earath - I imagine Father would be willing to let us into his mind. He's strong-willed.

Eirik sighed, closing his eyes as he folded his arms while Hathgar looked back towards him, his brow lowering as he watched his friend begin to speak up amidst the discussion.


 * Eirik - I am willing to lend my service should it help you rid of this... Julianus person. I do not feel as if I could bring myself to personally invade another being's mind either way. As a monk of the Disciples, I feel my mind is steeled enough to ward away from evil.
 * Septimus - Very well. We may need one more.
 * Sea Witch - I would suggest Arcturus but I bet he's super interested in looking inside his brother's head.
 * Septimus - For Arcturus I have another idea...though I am yet to decide whether he will accept it or not.
 * Hachi - Ooh, ooh! Me, me! I could do it!
 * Norrigan - Well. You are somewhat stupid, little friend, but you are definitely strong-willed. It should work nicely!
 * Septimus - That appears to be our plan, then. I will imagine that Vanguard will manipulate your dreams and memories in order to cast you into an endless sleep...with our own minds in your head. We must be strong in order to repel his torment.
 * Sea Witch - Yeah, I don't want to get stuck inside someone's literal sea of sorrows like we did in Clotho's head.
 * Septimus - Should our minds be strong, Vanguard will find it more difficult to invade their dreams.
 * Alhazred - We should be relatively safe inside Vixaatus' mind. But Hachi's... will probably be the most dangerous.
 * Hachi - Hey!
 * Septimus - And what is it that would make his mind so dangerous to venture through in his sleep?
 * Ndrhthryr - Tentacles.
 * Alhazred - That, and he's young and unaware of the world's true dangers. Plus he has been haunted by Simulacra. A prime target for corruption.
 * Hachi - Uh, hello? I've been through about as much danger as the rest of you guys have! If anything, going through what I have should make me even harder to corrupt!
 * Sea Witch - Yeah but you also wet yourself when we went to the elf kingdom place. Knowing our luck, we might get stuck inside Hachi's bladder needs.
 * Pelagrios - I don't know whether you would want to go through my head...things have happened to me. Also, I have a feeling you'd get lost in there.
 * Alhazred - You are definitely not strong-willed enough to survive Vanguard's attacks... Actually, you are not strong-willed period.
 * Pelagrios - You'd be surprised. I did survive Shiarchon torture for ten days...makes me shudder thinking about it.
 * Septimus - The Shard will have left your mind open to Vanguard...let alone the Adversary. Very well, Hachi.
 * Alhazred - Let us prepare ourselves. This will be no easy task.
 * Septimus - The other detail is Arcturus...his task I place almost too much trust into someone the likes of him.
 * Sea Witch - Oh boy, here we go. What is it?
 * Septimus - If he is willing, Arcturus will assume a disguise of himself returning to Talmyr...with us as prisoners. Once we reach Julianus' mind...we should be able to wake up within Julianus' residence and confront him personally.
 * Earath - Uh, I see two problems there. One, he could turn on us. Two, how do we leave after that?
 * Ndrhthryr - Rings.
 * Earath - ... Wow. I should know this better than anyone. Still, my first point stands.
 * Septimus - That is my concern. Though we must trust that Arcturus is in fact just of heart. We have no other alternative.
 * Sea Witch - Trusting my life to a Shiarchon. Next time, we should arrive mounted on Lympharians.
 * Eirik - Assume not by the blood in his heart, even if he is a Shiarchon. Assume by soul within it, instead.
 * Taihadrae - Well this turned out to be a real nightmare.