NationStates Jolt Archive

((OOC thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=11511957#post11511957)))
Main Characters-House Kilarn, Drow of the Return (VotG) Quilavyr Kilarn (Secondboy, Weapons Master), Neertrin Kilarn (Matron Mother), Elkqualyn Kilarn (Elderboy and House Wizard. Corrupted by Chaos (SIC for now)), and Laelstra Kilarn (Eldest Daughter, High Priestess of Lloth)

It was a rather gruesome scene to watch the Orks and the Human Imperial Guards fight it out like this. The Humans fought valiantly, but the Ork clans had defeated even the Space Marines sent to defend the planet. The Marines claimed to still be defending the planet, but they simply didn't have the men to actually send them down. It was now to the local Imperial Guard forces to defend the last Human spaceport on the planet, and now the Orks were slaughtering them. The Drow Council had conversed on what to do with Arach-II, which had been colonized by Humans long ago. The local Drow promised not to raid or manipulate such a power, and kept their promise. But the Drow of the Return had finally tracked the key to releasing Lloth to Arach-II, a world mostly known for its thick jungles, deep caverns, and giant spiders. Neither the Humans nor the Orks knew of the secrets the planet held below their feet.

Arach-II had the largest Underdark within the Drow Empire, which shared planets with the Humans, and the humans were oblivious to their presence. Drow had always inhabited Arach-II up until the banishment of Lloth, at which time the Drow on the planet simply disappeared due to unusual Warp activity. Drow scientists had explained the anomaly long ago, but not those answers were being questioned as the clues pointed to Arach-II. Somewhere within the numerous seas underneath the surface, which boasted storms just as fierce as the surface seas, only in more numbers as Underdarks are usually much warmer. But a few decades ago, the Drow recolonized the planet, and then a couple of years ago, an Ork Clan made the planet their home, too. A settlement discovered the Underdark, but the Drow manipulated rivals into fighting each other before wiping out both sides themselves. Despite the loss, the Warboss pressed on a war with the Humans, which had finally came to this. Matron Mother Neertrin Kilarn ordered Quilavyr and Laelstra to help the humans and stop the Ork's "WAAAAGH!” as the Orks would put it. Stupid things."

Quilavyr was curious at why their brother, Elkqualyn, hadn't joined them in this fight, but understood why he and his sister had been sent. He was the Secondboy of his House, a skilled warrior, and the Weapons Master of the House, and a highly respected one at that. He looked at his sister, Laelstra. She was younger than he, but, as all females, was bigger and stronger. She was also a High Priestess and the oldest female of the House, eager to help her position with the Yolchlols that desired their Queen's return, and securing an alliance with the Humans, however brief, would aid their search on Arach-II.

"Sister, should we not attack the Orks? The humans are being slaughtered," Quilavyr asked. He knew it was out-of-turn and would usually end in a whipping, but Laelastra knew his position as second-in-command and his skills with the gun and the blade, as well as his commanding ability. She watched as an Ork Mecha Walker ripped a human Commissar to pieces. She nodded.
"Fire the artillery."
Loud booms could be heard as the Drow Heavy Artillery tanks, double-barreled behemoths with anti-infantry capabilities, fired their huge shells at the Ork mob's back lines, which were just Orks waiting for their companions to get killed so they could move forward. Confused, the Orks just stood there as they were blown to pieces, until a Squiggoth took a blow to the head and collapsed on many of the Orks, crushing them.. The Orks behind the lines were now frightened at the foe they could not see as the artillery strikes continued. The Orks at the front had no idea what was going on behind them, though, and kept their minds on slaughtering humans. As the Orks behind them fled, Warp-Spiders teleported behind them and began to slaughter the Orks from behind. The Orks soon realized that they were being attacked and turned their efforts to the spiders. The humans, seizing their good fortune and the unknown allies, or at least enemies of the Orks, and began to regroup. Drow Warriors teleported into the battle and began to cut down the Orks from both sides.
"You littl bastards can't even kill a few bloody humies!" a rather large, mechanized Ork shouted. He was not the Warboss, but a powerful Ork nonetheless. He grabbed a Drow and snapped him in half, but watched in horror as a Priestess casted a spell and the Drow stood back up, this time on Spider-like legs. He had no idea what a Drider was, nor did he know of its abilities. He stood there, petrified from fear as the Drider's aura infected him with fear. The priestess smiled at her handiwork. A Fear Drider was a powerful spell, as were summoning Driders from fallen Drow. She knew the Yolchlols were smiling upon her, especially as a Nob took a swing at her, but her senses told her to dodge, and she took no hit from the Nob. She swung her mace and crushed its head in.

The battle raged a little while longer, with the last of the human Marines, armed with sniper rifles, picked off fleeing Orks. The only Ork left not dead in the spaceport was the large mechanized Ork, who was staring at the Fear Drider and unmoving, despite the large yellow puddle at his feet. The priestess dismissed the Drider to the afterlife, as a Drider staying too long will have its Warp influence corrupt it and the creature will become unpredictable and dangerous as Chaos wraps itself around it. The Drider legs disappeared and the Drow torso fell to the ground, with an expression on its face of both pleasure, from being able to serve his House, and pain, from becoming a Drider.

The Marine Scouts approached Laelstre. She looked at him with disgust. A male. How weak.
"I don't know how to thank you for your assistance," the Marine said, "but I'm sure the Emperor will be happy that you have helped his children as you have."
This was the first the Drow had heard of the Emperor, and while they had known the Humans to be an Empire, they had not heard what they called their leader. Laelstra, fighting back the urge to rip the man's face off from speaking to her, nodded and forced a smile.
"We are glad to assist the humans against a common foe. In fact, we were looking forward to making contact with you. It is unfortunate that the Orks chose to wage war at this time, so vital to our mutual defense. Our own builders will construct defensive structures for you so powerful that the Orks will take a while before wiping them out, more than enough time for Human or Drow reinforcements to arrive. If you will, we would like to relocate our Heavy Artillery Tanks to your base as our workers build these structures. Do you accept our aid?"
The marine hesitated. This was a Xeno, one he had never encountered before, and was quite possibly the first one to make contact. But he looked back at the spaceport, which was devastated by the battle, and his forces were thin. He knew reinforcements weren't likely for at least a while. He turned to the Drow and nodded.
"But only until Imperial reinforcements arrive," he said, "And then I'll leave this up to the Inquisitors, Librarians, and the Generals."
Laelstra nodded. She held her hand to her long ear and pressed it twice and said,
"Sila l' Izznarg Orbb Chath in'loilen wun."
The marine had no idea what that meant, but probably had something to do with the deal they had just made. He could tell these creatures were more than just friendly neighbors, but what they wanted was something bigger than simply killing Orks. And he could tell from her face something was troubling her deep inside.
"What are you called anyway? I need to give my superiors a name."
Laelstra hesitated.
"We are the Drow. Remember the name, fear it, and above all, respect it," she said. The marine nodded. After seeing the Drow fight and wipe out a large mob of Orks, even without the ocean of Orks behind them, and take such few casualties, he knew the Drow were not to be underestimated. They could prove to be a dangerous enemy or an invaluable ally.

((Bump for one of the RPers to hop in.))

The Planet Killer moved swiftly through the abysmal miasma of the warp. Its gargantuan form, impossibly large, moving in infernal majesty and dwarfing all other ships in human space.

Abaddon the Despoiler hissed evily as his concentration was disturbed by a weakling cultist.

"What do you want?" He screamed, his face twisted into a hideous scowl.

"My lord! Forgive me!" It pleaded. "We are nearing where we must exit the warp."

"Excellent," He hissed. "Bring the fleet into normal space. We shall kill again."

The Drow were quick on setting up defenses on the Planet. The local Imperial Gaurd and Arach Defense Force were eager to help out, being heavily shaken from teh fight. None of them seemed to really mind the Drow, as if a Xeno was freely giving aid in such a time, finding whatever betrayal they may be preparing could wait.

The Drow used unusal rifles, but not so unlike the Bolt Guns used by the Imperium. They were called Talon Rifles, because when one was hit with a Talon Rifle, it created a gash that looked like that person was struck with a powerful claw from a bird or something. They also had a blade on the top of teh gun, which was used to get the first strike in a melee fight, which was then followed by the drawing of their primary melee weapon, which was deadly itself.

A few Orks straggled into the Spaceport, but the humans watched in enjoyment as the Drow's Plasma Burners fried the Orks, leaving behind a hot residue that the other hapless Orks stepped in, only to find themselves being cut or gunned down by Imerium or Drow forces.

Teh Spider-Fire Tanks were huge, slightly larger than a Land Raider. They had several machien guns on them and Drow were usually found hitching a ride on the hover-treads. The massive guns awed several of the Servitors and those who worked in the Machine Cults and Mechanized Commands. The Spider-Fires were a sight to behold, and heavily armored and heavily defended to boot.

But what more people studied were the structures the Drow were building. Some were being built by short, gray people who tunneled underneath the ground and popped up a building, while others were Drow builders, and other times Wizards would simply pop up one of the buildings instantly, although waited a few hours before doing so again. The Drow turrets used heavy Talon guns, and a few had smaller turrets beneath them that fired out a sticky webbing that slowed or stopped anything that touched the ground.

But while the humans were thin here, they still had their commanders. A Commisar, who had assumed command after his Colnel was slaughtered in a scout party, had recently arrived with what was left of his party. He approached Laelstra, who had taken up residence in a small house she had constructed.
"Honestly, I do not like the idea of allying ourselves with you. I believe those Scout Marines were acting out of their boundaries while conversing with you."
"I understand. I'm not too thrilled about the idea, myself. But we are not evil, and we have learned that betraying one's allies leaves you with two less arms to alonside you. Once your reinforcements arrive and establish your own defenses, we will back up and leave your spaceport."
"How can I trust you? Why shouldn't I kill you right here? I have heard reports of your dead getting back up. I have never heard of such feats. How do we know you're not just simply agents of Chaos?"
Laelstra's face scowled at the suggestion.
"You think us agents of Chaos? Do you realize what Chaos has done to US? We were hardly a species after our Age of Chaos. Do you realize what that was like?"
The Commisar shook his head.
"We summoned Daemons of unimaginable power. We worshipped the Chaos Gods and did their every bidding. And yet, our Inter-House wars continued. We are a Fuedal system, and we are only tied to one another by our faith. We conquered every foe on the ground that we faced. And yet our faith to the Chaos Gods betrayed us. Our Daemons spawned without our summoning them and they slaughtered our people. Our Horrors burned our cities and our planets. Our soldiers were possessed and uncontrolled and ripped apart our military from the inside out. Do you know who finally gave us a fighting chance? The Eldars. They came to wage war on us, but were met by the denizens of the Chaos Realm. Instead of fighting us, they fought the forces of Chaos. But it was Drow that saved ourselves. One Drow in particular. Her name was Lolth. She was a Matron Mother who was in her last dying breaths as she faced the most powerful Daemons Chaos could send at her. She led her entire House's military at them, while a Chaos-affilitated House ripped her home to pieces and then began to gnaw at her forces from behind. The Daemons inevitably killed her entire force, but she was able to crawl to the Warp portal and hurled herself into it. The Daemons all perished and sudenly we were all Drow again with no enemies to fight but one another. But then Lolth, who should have died when se hurled herself into the Warp, returned as the Houses were rebuilding. She appeared before a collection of Drow Priestesses who were looking for a place to put their faith. Lolth appeared before them and promised a time of great prosperity would come about as soon as the remaining Chaos Houses were eliminated. Lolth lent her new powers to the faithful Houses and we wiped out the last of the traitors. And indeed, a time of prosperity came after the First Drow-Chaos War. But Lolth was still fighting as we relaxed and thrived. Her own minions in the Warp and her Handmaidens, the Yolchlol, were busy fighting Chaos in the Warp. Soon Lolth found herself fighting the Chaos Lords themselves, and the Chaos Lords unleashed their minions once again on the Drow, starting the Second Drow-Chaos War. But Lolth once again made a sacrifice for her people. In the last battle, the Chaos Lords tried to imprison her, but it didn't work. SHe fought on, and while the Chaos Lords were weakened from the attempt, they still overwhealmed her again. They tried again, and this time she went willingly, knowing the incredible strain the Chaos Lords would face. but as she was imprisoned, hundreds more of her Yolchlol spawned and secured the Drow's safety. And since then, Chaos has not bothered us. Yes, we use powers you would call unholy, yes, we use Daemons that take Lolth's place as our Goddess. Many of the Yolchlol have convinced our bretheren that Lolth is still with us and resisted the Chaos Gods and retains her power, but we know better. We know that the key to unleashing Lolth once more is here on Arach-II, a planet wiped clean of everything but bateria in a warp storm that happened the moment Lolth was banished. We returned a few years befre you colonized it and replanted the forests and introduced our Giant Spiders, which thrived. Since then, my House, House Kilarn, has thrived here as the dominant House on the planet, and we have not stopped trying to find our lost Goddess. We have suffered greatly to Chaos. While your Emperor leads you in your struggle against Chaos, we must do it with only her Handmaidens to empower us. Our abilities are driven as much by Faith as they are by the Warp. Our control of the Warp is unmatched, to our knowledge, so you have nothing to fear from our summons, lest you decide to turn on us. But we are as willing to fight your heretics as you are."
The Commisar was rather stunned. Their history was not too unlike their own, only with much more internal conflict.
"Your Lolth is not so much unlike our Emperor," the Commisar said, "We will keep your aid, but I will have to request the Inquisition."
"Bring them. We will-"
Her head snapped upwards.
"The Forces of Chaos have arrived."
The Commisar's pale face became paler.
"What?"
"My Matron Mother and my sisters have found their presence. They are orbiting the planet."
"What should we do?"
She shook her head.
"They are here in numbers. My mother believes they are here simply to kill and have fun. Your Chaos Space Marines are not aware of our exsistance, save for a few of their Sorcerers and Chaos Lords. Should they find us and survive the conflict, we will have more of a common foe than before. There is nothing you can do, but we can request aid from the Council. They will come in greater numbers than Chaos has and drive them from the system. But when they land and corrupt the planet, we are in for a fight. I just hope the Orks find them before we do."

Deep within the turmoil of energies comprising T-Space the Imperial City drifted, seeming following its own path through the dimensional space. The towers reached upwards from the main body of the edifice as if they were fingers trying to claw their way upward in an attempt to reach the highest point possible. Dimensional energies crackled harmlessly against the energetic barriers erected to guarantee the safety of the Imperial Palace nestled within their enshrouding folds.

The largest structure occupying the center of the megalopolis was literally painted with layer upon layer of energies. Errant magic flashed in spectacular displays across the ebon walls. Gilded sigils adorned the walls themselves, writhing as if they were alive (and in some cases they were). The Eldritch Seals of Power provided a barrier of abjuration energy that would even detain a daemon prince from admittance.

An ever-present swarm of activity accompanied the great structure as it traveled through the Aether. Fighters and other ships of the military patrolled the surrounding areas keeping the Ebon Throne of the Empire safe from attack.

Within the Hall of De’Harn there were many servants rushing to make the room set up accordingly to their Master’s wishes. The great table was set to occupy five guests, four along the sides and one at the head of the table. As the appointed time arrived, four individuals silently appeared and took their places, standing near their chair in silence, waiting.

An ancient clock somewhere began to chime, marking the arrival of the hour. As the last of the echoes died away, the four was startled by the noise of the fifth attendant seated at the head of the table.

“Sit, we have work to do.”