"Let me know when you are done chit chatting and maybe we can get some work done" Said Degark with an expressionless face.
"Don't worry Rahz you'll get use to him, Shadowknights lose all their feelings... even you know where...sad...very sad". Chimed in Giant Blade
Rahz was a little confused but even before he could processed what Giant Blade said, another remark came from the person in the throne, "Since you have the time to joke around, then you have time to do some work"
The moment those words were uttered an undead with a couple of daggers at his waist, materialized behind Giant Blade and quickly took the Ale from his hand, " Ke Ke Ke".
….
Rahz quickly found out that Degark Harbinger was not as ruthless and savage as people described him to be. The main problem was that the path Degark chose to walk on was that of the Shadowknight which used Undead Energy to vanquish their foes and overtime this type of power filled with resentment and despair push them closer and closer towards the very beings that they could control.
Harbinger was a Level 50 Dread Lord and had immersed into this role for more than 500 years and that created a passive skill that stopped him from feeling overwhelming emotions. In many occasions Degark's subordinates thought that they were going to die for sure after joking around in front of their boss but then relaxed after seeing an undead materialized and laugh to showcase the feelings of the master.
Degark's quirkiness was only seen by the closest people to him and everyone understood that it was a matter that could not be talk about outside Blackrock Castle.
"HA! You can have that one" Said Giant Blade while taking out a leather pouch filled with booze.
Degark stop paying attention to the gnome and focus on Rahz, "I hope you are worthy of my help, the lost of the Avatar Set Pieces was my fault and the cost for my mistake was my best friend's family. I placed too much value on the teachings of those 'Good Alignment Gods' and never thought that they could betrayed us. According to our spies in less than 20 years the Dragonkin should be ready to cross the scar and I am sorry to say that with the quality of warriors we have this time around we are doom to be slaves".
"I don't care about the reasons behind this 'war' but something tells me that if we want to survive against the real enemies to our way of life then we need to have you in our Ranks".
"I want to make another deal with you Rahz, I have a great treasure from ancient times that could help you overwhelm your foes and survive this War, however, you must promise to help us anyway you can in the war against the Dragonkin".
Rahz didn't answer right away, he didn't want to lose his freedom for a piece of equipment and after careful consideration he said, "I Declined".
The answer came as a bucket of cold water that stop the meeting in its tracks.
Everybody present in the room turned to look at Degark's expression with fear but when they didn't feel any fluctuations coming from his body they were able to relax a little.
"May I know why?"
"I am honor that Lord Degark wants to help me survive this war but I think that I have a different opinion on who the real Enemy is".
"It is not the first time I heard those exact words but to be honest I never thought I would hear them again in my lifetime… so tell me Rahz, who is the Real Enemy?"
"The GODS"
Gasp!!
Many of the people present in the room wanted to scream Blasphemer but all it took was for Harbinger to release a little bit of his aura to restore the order in the hall.
"Are you a member of the the Temple of the Rising Sun?"
"Temple? As far as I know I am from a village and not a temple but the name does sound familiar" Rahz search through his memories but couldn't remember anything regarding that place so he decided not to worry about it.
"I see…Are you not willing to help us in our struggle then?" Degark had a similar conversation with one of the monks in charged of the Temple of the Rising Sun many years before and the answer he got that time was not favorable. The monks didn't want to get involved in the struggles created by the gods through their emissaries and stated that the fighting would hurt the realm even more than quietly submitting to the Dragonkin.
In Harbinger eyes the person in front of him might be of the same opinion but Rahz answer made him pleasantly surprise.
"I think that in order to fight against our true enemies, we have to unite the Realm and in order to do that a confrontation with the Dragonkin is unavoidable. As you can see Lord Degark, I am still pretty weak and my role in a war of Avatars capable of forming the Shattering Scar is laughable to say the least. I need to get stronger my own way, I can't promise to help right away but I will stand on the alliance side when the time comes".
GOOD! Said Degark while nodding.
"Looks like you have a good head on your shoulders...here" Degark toss a ring towards Rahz and the moment it was airborne he felt a tingling sensation from Apocalypse who said,"An artifact made by the Gods".
Rahz felt apocalypse wanting to pop out of his body and devour the ring but he struggle to keep his weapon in check.
"Relax… this is not the time to consume"
Rahz grabbed the ring and with a smiled on his face vowed towards Lord Degark.
"Is an Investment" Said Degark while shifting his attention to the Coercer who started going over the next topic in the agenda.
Giant Blade was right on cue and walked Rahz out of the tent to join the others while talking about how busy Degark was and to not take the abrupt ending to the meeting to heart.
Rahz shrugged it off and actually thought that it was quite normal for somebody of Harbinger's status to be super busy and was just stoke that he got to meet a legend.
After they exited the tent, Rahz also got his rune and now they were ready to rumble.
The last few weeks before the start of the confrontation passed by in a flash. The team decided to operate on their own at the beginning of the War and try to snipe some kills while gathering as much information from the enemy as possible without being too flashy. The War was a marathon and not a sprint competition and the worst thing they could do at the beginning was to call attention to themselves.
In the Deva's side, the people belonging to the God of Justice were being briefed about their target for the War, the Demon Squad. Omega was the leader of the meeting and there were at least 50 people including Sigfrid and his team.
"The main target for this war is this bastard named Rahz but he goes by a couple of other names such as the Behemoth, the Vengeance Headmaster, and the Sword Devourer among others. Even though his Level is not too high, DO NOT BE FOOL!!! He is extremely vicious and will have level 40's defending him at all times".
A lot of the people present at the meeting started whispering and this upset Omega that thought they were talking about his fiasco during the mission in Naas and so he snapped.
SILENCE!!!
….
"Make sure to study the information and be ready to move out the moment the Zone is open. If you manage to kill him, do not forget to get his weapon or you will be punish by Lord Odos himself...That is all…"
Once the meeting was over, Sigfrid walked over and put his hand on Omega's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we will kill him this time"
Omega nodded towards Sigfrid and walked out the door.
The war that would make them famous or infamous was starting and the expectations were incredibly high, however, thanks to their God they had a nice hidden Card.