NationStates Jolt Archive

It was always a nice place to think and relax, here in the Hall of the Fallen. It was here that so many heroes of the War of the Burn were laid to rest and remembered. Grandmaster Sumerisle, in his daring attack on the Hellgate at St. Paul's Cathedral in London to buy time for humanity, Lord Arphaun for calling off a disastrous attack by a foolish Lord and in helping to begin the end of the invasion. The boots of his power armor left off a soft tink with every step, as he moved down the hall past the many statues and crypt entrances, until he finally came to stop before the most reversed hero of the Knights Templar.

The Unknown Templar.

His name and identity were unknown, since any records of him were strangely lost in fires and attacks, and he vanished after successfully destroying one of the Eldest, Sydonai, who was leading the attack on London. With him went Emmera, one of the great Cabalist evokers of her time. She, too, was lost. It was a great day of mourning, but of celebration. It was shown that the demon could be beaten, that if sufficient faith and might were put into the equation, the demons could be forced back. And so it was, after several decades, they had finally closed the last Hellgate, in London no less, and set about reclaiming their world. As he turned, he could see the softly moving fields of grass outside the Hall of the Fallen, with the great white pillars holding up the building the sunlight glinting through the clear blue sky to reflect off the shining armor of the Seraphim guarding the Hall.

"Decades ago, this very scene is what we fought for; for a chance to see the Earth green and blossoming, to see a clear blue sky instead of a smoke-filled, hell-created sky." He turned to face the Unknown Templar one more time. "And thanks to him, it was made possible. We are all indebted to you. May you finally rest in the Long Oblivion our Lord has granted you." Turning, he exited the Hall and began to head for a large building some blocks away. He was greeted by a large, armored vehicle, a Panther-class APC, as he came down the steps. Getting inside, he set his helmet, the panels on the indents glowing blue and closed the door.

"Take me to the Council; we have matters of great importance to discuss."

The Templar driving the APC nodded. "As you wish, Grandmaster Dalphon." The APC growled as the driver shifted gears and then with a slight jerk, the vehicle began to move. He wondered what the other Council members would say about their latest find. He had been in the middle of his morning prayer when he had been interrupted by an urgent communique from the field. One of their scouting fleets had discovered something, a possible lead on the strange increase in Nether activity. Dalphon shook his head. It made no difference; God would see them through any trial and it was their divine duty to ensure that wherever the demon stepped into the mortal realm, they were there, ready to bring swift justice to their corruption and canker.

Setting his gaze on the blue sky again, the Grandmaster of the Templar Order, and the leader of the Seven Lords of the Seraphim, Dalphon once again lost himself in the depth of the blue sky, something which most had already taken for granted in the current generation.


***********

Jake Stevens sighed, running a hand through his black hair and shifting uneasily in his military dress uniform. He really hated the damn things; why did he ever agree to allow such a horrific thing to be shoved onto his soldiers? "Oh that's right, to stop the bitching between Kara and Dalphon. One wanted to go straight out nuts with it, the other wanted some religious monk BS. If I hadn't put forth my own idea that they'd approve, I could be wearing some scratchy wool thing or some flowing robe. Ugh. That's even worse." He shook his head. Those weren't the kind of thoughts he needed right now. Everyone, including himself, knew he was the glue that kept the Council together, and that the Hunters under his command were the glue that kept the entire nation together. Being a General was not easy, being part of the Council of Three leading the entire nation was even harder, and keeping the three factions working together...damn near impossible.

tink

Jake nodded. "Greetings, Lord Dalphon. I see you have chosen to wear you're customary attire this time around."

A chuckle sounded from behind him. "Indeed, General. I see your hearing is as apt as always." Jake glanced at him. He wore his personal set of Templar armor again, one handcrafted for the Grandmaster upon his ascension to that rank. It was superbly made and was quite capable of even fighting the higher demons in the Primus caste, as many occasions had shown. For him to wear this, it would have to be a serious situation. Then again, what Task Force 34 Beta had discovered warranted such a reaction. The reason the meeting was even being called was to decide what to do with what they had found.

There was the slightest whisper and Jake nodded. "Nether Sister, welcome." Dalphon grunted and turned to see the third and final member of their circle come from the shadows of a wall and sit down in her chair. Kara Harthin wore a concealing black robe and hood that kept all her features out of sight. She carefully let down her hood, showing her purple hair, reddish, feline-esque eyes, and Nether runes that glowed down her face. She nodded at Dalphon and Jake.

"Greetings. Shall we cut the formalities and get down to business?"

Dalphon raised an eyebrow. "You're very straight-forward today."

Kara glared at him. "I don't see why the situation doesn't warrant such a response."

Jake quickly stepped in before it could go any further. "Indeed, and why don't we look at the situation." He pressed a key on the pad in the table and a screen popped up showing the message from the task force. Data scrolled down the side. Steepling his fingers, he began to talk. "As of eight hours ago, Task Force 34 Beta found a strong signal indicating a large amount of demonic activity. They thought it was simply being diffused by the large amount of distance, as nothing of this magnitude had been felt before. Their arrival within the best detection range proved that wrong. There is a large nexus of Nether energy gathered around a large cluster of systems. The aura was so strong that the Cabalists in the fleet had to go into warded rooms to prevent themselves from fainting. It gets worse, however." He tapped a key and the screen changed to a planet and information on it scrolled.

"This is the planet Anagonia, once formerly part of a nation with the same known. It had been home to an advanced civilization whom had expanded and were fairly peaceful. We gave them a wide berth, to keep ourselves hidden in case a demonic invasion showed up. We were correct in that an invasion occurred, but not the one we imagined." He pressed again and an image of a Wanderjarian Chaos fleet laying waste to Anagonian ships above the planet. "This was taken three days ago; these...Wanderjarians appear to be humans whom have utterly embraced the power of the Nether and appear to worship four great demons. The Cabalists have indicated it is possible they are a few of the Eldest serving the First. They have laid waste to Anagonia and its surrounding systems, as well as corrupt large swathes of the world. It is obvious they are in league with the demons, if not part of the invasion itself." He turned the screen off and faced the Templar and Cabalist.

"Which leaves us with the question...What do we do about it?"

Dalphon snorted. "Do? Isn't it obvious? We need to organize another campaign to stomp out the demonic infestation!"

The Cabalist leader shook her head. "It will not be as easy as before. All the battles before we surprised the demons and they had not had much time to get entrenched. Here, they are well defended and growing in number every day. Not to mention that the demons they worship could quite possibly be on the planet. I do not know about you, but I am sure that there are few who could even hurt an Eldest, much more kill one."

Dalphon narrowed his eyes at her. "Do I sense fear in your tone, Nether Sister? Do I feel cowardice in your words?"

Kara's eyes flamed. "Speak not of which you do not understand, Templar! The forces of the Nether are far more powerful than you know! For them to be able to effect veteran Cabalists at such a range implies that we should be more careful about this!"

"She is right, Dalphon." The Templar turned to face Jake.

"And what is that, General?" His tone was dangerous and low.

"She is right in fearing them. This will be, if we choose to fight it, the first crusade that will test our might like never before. The armies of these traitors are massive and while I am sure we can overcome them, it will take many bodies, many battles, and many deaths before we can hope to drive them out. We cannot rely on the Anagonians for aid, they are scattered now. If we do this, we must do this expecting a long, drawn-out campaign and an exponentially high rate of deaths, even for the Templar."

He gazed at Dalphon. "We have to be utterly serious and careful here, Dalphon, we risk much if we intervene."

The Templar glared at him and grudgingly nodded. "I see...your point. Very well. General, what do you have assembled so far?" Jake smiled and winked at Kara, whom nodded with relief. It was obvious they intended to intervene but they had to head off the battle lust Dalphon had with his Templar. Lives would be lost but not as much as there would be in his plan of things.

"Well, we currently have two full battle fleets, 24 ships in all. We also have two full Seraphim Legions, the 2nd and 4th Armies, and an entire Cabalist Circle and entourage to aid our endeavors. By the end of the week, the fleets will be armed and fueled, we will have the 5th Army joining us, fully prepared, as well as Kara as ourselves and our bodyguards. Then, we will begin the initial pushes into their space. We have to find out how they will react to our skirmishes and then plan our attack plan off of that. For now, we must secure Anagonia and make it into our main base as we continue this attack into their own territory. Any questions?"

Kara nodded. "Yes, when do we begin?"

Dalphon smiled. "It has already begun."

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? - (Revelations 6:1-17)

The scene was laid barren. Vast crater holes pock marked the landscape. Immense skyscrapers, once towering majestically over the world had fallen and now they lay in ash as they smoldered against the great fires which permeated the horizon. The very sky itself was bleeding. The taint was spreading with great haste, invoking its unnerving evil onto the world as rain drops of blood and iron fell in great torrents to earth. Corpses filled ancient streets, laying lifeless and twisted, blasted apart from bolter fire and scorching.

A woman lay dying amidst the ruins. Within a bombed out shelter of what had been a florists shop, she lay gasping for breath and holding in her spilling innards. That thing, God only knows what it was, had simply risen from the ground in a flash of purple light, and lashed out at her with massive claws of ivory! It snarled and tore bodies to shreds, and unleashed torrents of flame into a fleeing crowd. In agony she had crawled behind her desk and hidden. Now the world lay in darkness, illuminated only be the ghastly scarlet sky and the yellow-orange flames of ruined streets.

She heard footsteps coming from the back of the shop, heavy, clanking, the sound of iron meeting concrete stone. She held her breath, her eyes darting to where the sounds were coming from. In the attack, bombs had blasted her shop apart leaving only the front in semi order, though large bullet holes formed parallel lines streaking across the expanse of the ceiling. She heard a wretching sound, a strange, deep voice emitting.

“Move out and keep searching for survivors!” the voice called, there were several electronic sounding voices which acknowledged and her heart raced. Her mind prayed and hoped against hope that these were Anagonian soldiers, who victorious against the demonic forces, would rescue her and end this nightmare. She coughed loudly and whimpered as the blood continued flowing in riveretes from her wound.

“What was that?” One of the voices queried, “I heard a noise.”

“Investigate it!” The non-mechanical voice demanded. And with that the footsteps drew nearer. They entered through the blasted rear entrance and into the front. Her eyes widened with horror as she gave full witness to what was before her. It was a man, but…not. He stood almost seven feet tall and wore massive armour covered in dark painting and horrible symbols which made her eyes burn at their very sight. Even in the darkness she could see his flesh was pale and cold, but the eyes burned with a yellow-red fury which held no love, no compassion…just hatred and contempt for all life. She wanted to scream, to cry out, but she could not muster the strength. It was then that is eyes focused upon her and he gave an evil, needle-tooth grin.

“My Lord,” he said, fixing his helmet back on, the voice becoming instantly metallic again, “We have a survivor.” The helmet’s eyes, a burning, piercing red, would be the last thing this harsh reality would grant her before her terrible, painful death as the Wanderjarian Marine lifted its heavy boot and brought it down swiftly onto her skull.


***

Anagonia. The very planet was burning and Lord Malachai of the Wanderjarians was reveling in it. Blood Thirster demons scoured the streets, annihilating what last few forgotten pockets of resistance remained. Marines actively sought out unharmed survivors,oh how few there were, and brought them back to drop ships to become slaves to the Wanderjarian War Machine. Massed lines of them were marched single file onto these ships, all the way under the glares and unmerciful laughter of the chaos forces. They could see legions of Predator Tanks, Defiler Walkers, and even the horrific sight of the Titan Legions marching across the landscape, burning everything and slaughtering those who made feeble resistance.

“My Lord,” one of the Legion Captains approached Malachai, “The last of the Anagonian soldiers has been executed. I’ve also been informed that all ships not destroyed have been evacuated by the Core Worlders.”

“Excellent,” Malachai snarled gleefully. “Are the slaves in order?’

“Yes, my Lord,” He replied with a nod. “They’re being brought to the ships and sorted out into various parties of slave labour for our forces.” The Chaos commander nodded. With that, the Captain bowed slightly, and went off to continue his duties elsewhere.

Malachai then set out to return to his own devices. The invasion had concluded and they had erased yet another weak people from existance, though some had fled thus proving their lives to be unworthy. His feet left great tracks in the ash beds which had become the soil of this world. The iron which it held from the blood rain and dead left the ash a dull crimson rather than a normal blackish gray. He continued walking in the direction of a great palace which Blood Pact Guardsmen were looting with vigour, when he heard, “My Lord!” A voice cooed from behind him. Malachai turned.

“What do you want, Sorceror?” he spat, snarling at the magician before him. Everything within him made Malachai distrust the treacherous magics which his kind utilized, yet he could not deny the creature’s abilities or their usefulness.

“It would appear that I have found an object which may be of some interest,” He smiled beneath his velvet hood, shifting weight against his powerstaff. “It is a series of ancient runes laying dormant within the caverns deep below this world. It appears that when we arrived their energies were activated.”

“Go on,” Malachai asked, not hiding his intrigue.

“Well, I should be able to unlock their secrets with enough time and the right litanies. I’ll simply need time.”

“Very well then,” Malachai nodded. “You’ll have your time sorcerer. It would appear then, that we’re not getting off this damnable rock after all.” And with that, the Sorceror returned to his works.


***


As he approached the runes, he rubbed a robed sleeve across the face, removing dust from the ancient stone tablets. He smiled as a glowing red light emitted from the runic text inscribed across it. He felt the miniscule power it was allowing to be released, teasing him and sending vibrations of universal energy to transfix itself throughout his body. He spasmed briefly with the orgasmic shock cooed to him. He stepped away, and nodded.

“We have found our new weapon. Bring me the Book of Shadows. We begin the litanies at once!”