Fiction:Fall of Talmyr

"The west is ripe for the taking. For five thousand years, the Dalmiric people have stood against me. They escaped my grasp the first time. And once I have reclaimed their lives this time, they will never be free from my reign for as long as I breathe."

The Fall of Talmyr, otherwise known as the Adravaelic Invasion of Talmyr is a significant event in Koldenweltian history; marking the beginning of a second global war with the, and the dissolution of the five-millennia old under the Shiarchon invasion.

Corpus et Sanguis
had returned.

The Chalice of Havoc was grasped with the giant's intense strength the entire journey back to Abyssus. Astride his, he caught a glimpse of the colossal demon, Nalúnt, seemingly razing Dar-Nahalant to complete and utter oblivion. Though he did not see the action itself - tons upon tons of rock and sand was thrown into the air, obscuring the Shiarchon warlord's vision. Nonetheless, his return to Abyssus was without hindrance. For much of the journey, the thoughts of the individuals at Dar-Nalahant ran through his mind - especially and. Having to report that the two were alive to the Imperator instilled fear even into Valentinianus - the Imperator's wrath was infamously destructive and indiscriminate. His presence was required at Sangua Mons however - the Imperator emphasised the fact that he was not to return to Abyssus until the Chalice was his, and this certainly included the terms of his death if it occurred. But it did not. Valentinianus dismounted his drake upon one of the high walls of the palace, not accessible normally to anyone. He was expected in the Imperator's personal chambers, where he quickly made his way to report his findings to his emperor.

Valentinianus found the Imperator in his chambers, as he predicted, wearing his more ceremonial robes as he stood in waiting for the Shiarchon. His eyes were much like the course of gravity - Valentinianus could feel the Imperator's eyes stare straight through him as their eyes met. Valentinianus bowed to the Imperator, as the Imperator made a gesture to enter the chambers. The Imperator lead Valentinianus to the deeper recesses of his quarters to reveal a pool of sorts within the room - steps leading inwards so that one was able to submerge themselves in it. It was filled with, as Valentinianus instantly recognised, blood - dragon's blood to be more precise. It was then that the Imperator offered his hand to Valentinianus, and the Praetor placed the Chalice in his hand. Valentinianus was unsure of what to expect. It appeared much like a ritual of sorts - perhaps the Chalice was the key instrument in performing it. Nevertheless, he stood silently as he witnessed the Imperator submerge himself half way into the cistern, standing in the exact centre; the pool of blood coming up to his waist. He then scooped the dragon's blood into the Chalice itself, the liquid pouring out of the Chalice unevenly due to its shape. The Imperator stood there motionlessly for a moment, looking at the Chalice as he then drank the blood from it, and then planting the Chalice on the floor.

Valentinianus jolted back as the blood in the cistern threw itself all over the Imperator, the Imperator himself spreading his arms out as the blood appeared like rope or chains that rapidly dragged him under, and not before long, the crimson blood of the dragon soon turned black, almost unnaturally so, pulling in all light no matter how dimly lit the Imperator's quarters were in this room. Valentinianus wished to utter for the Imperator's response, but he felt compelled to let the ritual take its course. The liquid then drained, through the drainage at the bottom which led out to be expelled out of the side of the mountain. The Shiarchon peered in to see whether the Imperator was there - he was, still clothed in black, though now drenched in a corrupted fluid, leaking out of his robes and out of the eye-holes in his mask. Valentinianus was rarely ever afraid, though the Imperator always succeeded in frightening him, and now the appearance of the the Imperator was beyond what he could have considered.

The Imperator himself was knelt down on one knee, breathing heavily. This was the first indication that something was amiss - Shiarchon had long lost the ability to breathe as mortals did - though the Imperator was doing so. He stood to his feet, pulling himself out of the drained basin as he flexed his fingers and hands, feeling the urge to take the bandages that covered his body off. First, it was the hands - and Valentinianus' faceless visage almost appeared to widen as he saw the Imperator's very hands - covered in flesh. The Imperator then removed much of his upper clothing, revealing an athletic and even-toned frame of a body, and then, much to the amazement of Valentinianus, the mask. The Imperator's curse appeared to be lifted.

Kalarah threw the mask to the floor, touching his own face - his jaw, and the running his hands towards his head, realising that a long flowing array of perfectly black hair now fell from his head. He went through to the main part of his quarters, to a full-standing mirror - he then looked at himself for what appeared like minutes upon end, examining every detail on his body - he remembered that his hair met at his head at a widow's peak, and that his skin was now a pale tone. He silently lamented however over the fact that there were two scars on his body - one was the dagger wound upon his neck that his brother inflicted upon him many millennia ago, and the other was a series of bite wounds that the Inatosan Wolf inflicted upon him decades back. Though they were still present on his body, Kalarah found that he retained his comparatively beautiful yet terrifying form. Valentinianus knelt down on both knees, not daring to look at Kalarah in the face, though Kalarah urged him to rise to his feet.


 * Kalarah - Rise, Valentinianus.
 * Valentinianus - Imperator...this is...
 * Kalarah - It is...what?
 * Valentininaus - ...Why?

Kalarah went over to a pedestal, carrying a jug of blood - the only thing that Shiarchon were able to drink. He poured himself a drink into a chalice, and another for Valentinianus. Whilst he confidently threw it back, he found now that the taste disgusted him, and caused him to spit it out violently over the floor. His sense of taste had returned, and it appeared that the curse of eating flesh and drinking blood was gone also. Kalarah still felt the course of immense power run through his body, though it seemed the Void's grasp on him was no longer physical. He angrily threw the chalice across the room, though regained his composure.


 * Kalarah - ...The coming days, Valentinianus. My invasion of Talmyr. The mortals of Talmyr must acclimatize to a face that they will know. There would be no sense in hiding under a helm.
 * Valentinianus - And what of the rest of us, Imperator?
 * Kalarah - There will come a time when the Dragon's Blood will be free for all...though now more pressing matters are at hand. If my predictions are correct, our invasion force for Talmyr shall be marching upon Basqan Ishgind's gates in the next three days. We must join with them, as we must address the Thirteen Kings.
 * Valentinianus - Matters of travel. A dragon?
 * Kalarah - Correct.