NationStates Jolt Archive

Malevolent fire whirled high into the night sky, consuming all that it touched.

The world of Seneschal rippled, reality quivering at the touch of the Sovereign. Lives were burnt out in instants, making no distinction between those who served and those who did not.

The Guide's corpse was thrown against one wall, and then another, finally drifting out the side of the burning ship, and drifting towards the broken planet below.

The fleet of the Sovereign had withdrawn, for the Sovereign could not be contained, even by his servants. Seneschal was a world that had been most carefully constructed, as so to contain the Sovereign's power indefinitely. Runes had been etched in the very bones of the earth, ancient seals ensuring that the hole between two realities had remained untouched.

It was undone, now. The foundations of law upon which the planet sat were being undermined, tearing the first great rent in what should have been left well alone.

The ground quivered, as though heat were passing in front of one's eyes, and then-

Shift.

Thousands of bug-warriors swarmed from a hive, fighting desperately against even stranger creatures, who drifted in and out of reality, slaying as they went.

Shift.

A book lay on a table, and a low chant was taken up by priests standing around it. Argent lines of force restrained a horror to great to name.

Shift.

Soldiers stood side-by-side, preparing to fight an enemy that had chased them from time to time, from reality to reality, so that it could be be chained once and for all.

Shift.

Ten thousand computers whirred in unison, calculating the needs of an entire fleet.

Shift. Warriors died, gore splayed across their bodies. Shift. The book burst into flame, whirling across the room until the priests were dead. Shift. The chain was forged, and made to hold, and yet the enemy laughed. Its laughter echoed across the ages, and the chain was broken. Shift. The fleet lay burning and ruined, the fleet of computer-run ships no more. Shift. A child's scream. Shift. A legion of corpses, strung up on great metal trees. Shift. Fire. Shift. Death. Shift. Sta- Shift. Ha- Shift. Shift. Shift-shift-shift-shift-shiftshift

The world cannot remain still, the senses made as nothing as madness consumes the minds of all who look.

Pain.

The planet below is no more. A iridescent nexus remains, sensation and reason traduced by power.

After two long millenia, the Sovereign has returned.

In that strange layer of reality which is inhabited by the gods, three female forms stood together, staring into a pool [which refused to stay a pool, becoming from time to time a mirror, a monitor, an orb, a hologram, and many other things associated with seeing that which would normally be unseen] in numbed shock.

Sister, how did you not see this? Mornther, the Eldest Fate, consort of Acidam of Order, charged with dominion over the past, spoke
Why did you not warn us? Vurshin, the Middle Fate, she who governs what is and ensures the continuation of life in all it’s forms in their proper places, continued her sister’s thought
I do not understand! It was not so, but now it is… Shineer, the Younger Fate, last of the gods of this realm to come into existence, consort of Stelni of Chaos, charged with dominion over the future, responded, panic evident in her every motion and tone trace it’s line, sisters, you shall see I am right, it has had no now before now, and thus no past either
You are right. But for it to become so without the knowledge of the youngest fate, of she who controls that which is to come…
The cause must be beyond our reach
But would not even that have been within my realm where it intersected with that which is?
Yes, so one would think… and would not Brother Time have been aware of this?
Not if it’s source were also outside of his realm…
Something has changed.
Something in other worlds
It must be so.
We must inform the others
They may already know
With something such as this, the risk cannot be taken, however much you fear reprimand if it is something you should not have missed
Indeed, it is so
Whatever it is… it is …dark
In a way not even the competition at the worlds beginning was, for there, at least, there was some hope of reward for the fallen and the victorious alike. This … this is…
Nothing but an ending of life. Of existance. Perhaps even of us.
Our Family… no. it shall not be so. My Lords! The Fates willed it, and their surroundings Moved to their needs.

Lord Time started as something in the workings of reality… shrieked. A human would, perhaps, have interpreted it as the sound of tortured gears, the smell of burning wiring. To Lord Time, it represented something far, far worse. Someone, or something, somewhere, had just seriously Damaged the fabric of reality within his realm. Something that the workings he had set up before the dawn of time, for time started when Time had set those workings in motion. This is not as it should be. He extended his reach towards the damage, thinking to set it to rights and punish the cause of it… and recoiled what new horror is this? My Lords! He cried out, and withdrew at all speed, calling the other gods of the reality that was his home as he went.

Lady Death, second daughter of the gods of Order and Chaos, collector of souls and ruler of the afterlife, was, perhaps, the least sensitive of the gods to changes in their reality outside of her responsibilities. Deaths, she noticed, and magics calling for her aid, but little else. A sudden spike, however, drew her attention. Several million sentients, all at once, dieing. Not on the focal world of this reality, but still within her jurisdiction. Such an event, so suddenly, was unprecedented. Even in the greatest of the wars, nothing near so many had perished in the same instant. ‘moving’, in as much as an omnipresent entity moves, at least, to the location to investigate, she discovered something so… powerful… it repulsed her. Some of her smaller minions, who had come to assist in speeding the task, simply disintegrated. Functionally, they were replaceable, but they were individuals, they represented the only act of Creation Lady Death had a hand in since the beginning. This made them something of a personal loss. Still, she could not even move towards whatever was causing things. It…

She stopped for a moment…

It HURT. A goddess, especially one of death, was not supposed to feel physical pain. Was not supposed to be ABLE to feel physical pain.
Fathers!
She fled, away from that point, towards the gathering that was now taking place around the focal world.

Acidam and Stelni, creators, brothers, gods of Order and Chaos respectively, and most powerful entities in this realm, shuddered. They felt the confusion of the Fates, the controlled panic of Time, and Death’s pain. They also sensed its cause. They had heard of this being. A destroyer, a raw power so great that even ones such as them could stand against it and Fail.
This gave them pause.
“perhaps we should face it. There are two of us here, unlike many realms, and there are no factions within our family, unlike almost all others. The competition taught us better than that.” Stelni wondered aloud. A god of chaos, he none the less thought about his actions ahead of time. he knew the value of balance. It was a fundamental principle of this reality.
“I think, brother, that that would be unwise. If we face it, and lose, what then of the rest of this realm?”
“it dies quicker and with less pain, for if we face it now and lose, who else could stand against it?”
“there are many possibilities. it was… imprisoned… for a time. no… I think it is a time for heroes once more, as in the days of the competition. Not competing this time, but fighting together. Perhaps they can stop it. or, if not, perhaps they can weaken it so that the next heroes can. Or we can. Failing that, we shall Bleed it, if such a thing can be bleed, giving where ever it strikes next a greater hope.”
“and if none of these things work?”
“then, brother, we unmake this place, in hopes of trapping it once more.”
As he said this, the most powerful entities in this reality, (or perhaps they were such no longer?) shuddered, as a man would if caught in a sudden draft.

OOC: At this point, no fleets. Observations from afar are permissible. Actually entering Seneschal would instantaneously result in death at this point. If you want to suicide a ship to discover the Sovereign, feel free to do so.

IC:

Burn.

It was all the conglomerate of gods would hear before power surged from the nexus, striking at them, attempting to negate them. It was the first lesson they would learn, no doubt. The Sovereign was not subtle. Yet still, it was limited, unable to act in all of this reality as it could near the great nexus, requiring links to the world merely to act as it would.

The great seal over its prison had been undone, but the walls were still intact. After a moment, however, the wayward gods would see shimmering probes of argent power, tracing lines through their reality, and quietly dipping back in to the Sovereign's. It was searching. After a moment, it found what it was looking for.

Believers. Links to this world, that it could subvert - or destroy, if they were not amenable to subversion.



Sashiar felt force grip his skull, and he was spun around like a rag doll, to face the energies below. Though no sound was made, no message passed to his mind, imprinted on his bones was left a compulsion. To conquer for his god. To slay those who would not serve.

His nerves screamed in pain, as a single word lit up his entire body.

Power.

After a moment, he stood, and felt power flow through him as never before. He chuckled quietly, and, clenching his fist, tore a bulkhead in two with but a thought.

This was new..

But that was only a second, and then the compulsion gripped him again. He spoke to his fleet:

"This is Servant-Admiral Sashiar. We obey the Sovereign. In His name, we shall conquer."

The words had come unbidden to his lips, and it frightened him. But afew hours ago, he had fought against his god, attempting to break the oaths he had sworn to serve him. Yet those oaths had been more than mere words, and had allowed the Sovereign to command him as fully as though he were a part of it.

He whimpered as the fleet started to move. He had not counted on this.

OOC: Tag for a later post.

Death… cowered… in the protection of Acidam and Stelni’s strength. She who had had literally nothing to fear… now found herself all but lost in that state. The more… aware… souls gathered around her, seeking to comfort and protect, but confused.

Burn.

Time cringed as reality shrieked with the sound of tortured metal once more. This time the smell of electrical smoke was stronger. Desperately he tried to halt the damage without exposing himself to it’s cause. It was slowed, lessened, but he could not stop it.

His sisters, meanwhile, supported their fathers, using all the abilities they had. It was not much, but it helped.

Acidam and Stelni themselves, Lords of Order and Chaos, Creators of this world, put all of their will into preventing the destruction of their creations, and themselves.
It was a strain.
It Hurt.
But it worked.

“Daughters, go! awaken the Heroes”
“it is our only true hope for success here”
“even we cannot hold this foe forever.”

Lords, it shall be as you say the fates gathered up the Lady Death, and departed to a layer of this realm protected almost as well, though differently, as those which they normally inhabited

do we simply offer them our favour as before, allowing them to sway entire peoples?
no, they would but war again. We must commit more to this
we bind ourselves to their very souls then, sisters? If they lose… if they die..
then we do also.
Lady Death finally spoke
And when they are hurt greatly, we shall feel it.
our fathers would protect us though, would they not?
they already are. I think, it would truly be our end were we to follow this path
but if we do not…
it will be our end regardless. Come my sisters, we must do this thing if we are to have any hope. There is one consolation for you. One possible way to survive. Should the hero you are bound to live, and die of natural causes as has been the way of the world since it’s beginning, they shall pass through my realm, and I shall undo the bond. But it is the only way.

it shall be as you say, sister.

and with that, a word of command was spoken, and four heroes awakened in the world below, their souls returned from the afterlife, their bodies reformed from the hands of the creators, or at least the hands of their daughters, their minds restored from the memories of the world, and the whole bound by the goddesses themselves.

ooc: the invasion begins on the mortal plane (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13799553#post13799553)