Ω
In preparation for his ascension to, and inevitable domination of, the Mortal Realm he'd begun to take on a more mortal appearance; so what if it just so happened to be that the Chimera were a mortal race. A hand played at a tuft of white hair while the other moved slowly down the contour of his well defined abdomen. The humans would be throwing themselves at him in a matter of minutes, and in weeks time they'd be praising him as their new god. A sudden quake shook Omega of his thoughts while causing the mirror he'd conjured to fall and shatter into thousands of minuscule pieces. Once the quake subsided Omega heard a familiar voice call out to him, the old dragon had finally ended his silence. 'Weak god, another has earned my loyalty usurping your position. The union between his Engine and Chaos is unlike anything I've experienced before. I warn you only because of the great battles we once shared Omega. Do nothing against this one's cause, or you'll find yourself swept away by his wrath.'
Melevar's words still lingered in his mind when a new presence pulled at the fount of energy with s strong a pull as his own Engine. Still in a slight state of shock Omega sent out a telepathic order for the Basin of Sight. While waiting for the order to be completed his mortal shroud began to fail at the edges, and by the time two fearful looking Chimeras brought in the ethereal bowl filled with crystal clear liquid the skin on his face was peeling off. They were silent about their father's condition for fear of what they'd wrongly assumed to be his wrath: Had Omega been a lesser god they'd have sensed his apprehension towards looking in the Basin. The water showed him an image that brought a single thought to his mind, that perhaps this one was truly his child.
The boy was standing in a bloody arena surrounded by a horde of demons, but he wore a dark armor reminiscent of the one he'd worn during his first years as a ascended being: The only variation between them was that the boy lacked Omega's grotesque eyeless mask opting instead for an open collar with small teeth like spikes protruding from it. Where his armor spoke of his father's influence his eyes were exact copies of Xerilla's when they'd first met. He held a dark crimson ahlspiess wreathed in tongues of purple flame which Omega knew as a sign of Melevar's influence. The horde surrounding him however were too young, or in such a blood frenzy that they ignored the obvious difference in power between them. The lesser demons charged at him from all sides, but the boy ignored them all as his arm pulled back while his sights set on the large demon bashing away at a young human. Once he threw the weapon a fount of the purple flame erupted from the shaft as it was flying through the air.
Melevar's flame incinerated most of the demons stampeding towards the boy while the others ran back to the portals they'd spawned from in terror. The large demon was smarter than Omega had assumed, and upon sensing the danger coming from behind it lifted the human by the aura surrounding him before quickly turning to use him as a living shield. It had been a wise decision seeing how it had little time to avoid the attack completely, or it would've been had the ahlspiess not stopped in the air centimeters from striking the human. Melevar's flames however didn't stop with the weapon, and instead they'd enveloped human and demon alike. The flames only extinguished once the boy's hand had closed around the weapon's shaft revealing a charred four armed corpse holding onto the human who remained unharmed.
When the two greater demons saw how easily their compatriot had been killed they looked between themselves and the distance between the portals before fleeing. The boy seemed ready to let them run away, but Omega saw that Melevar wasn't as merciful once a mighty dragon covered in scales darker than a starless night descended from the sky. The dragon had crushed a human standing on a pedestal in his descent, but the two demons he consumed in a single bite before raising his head. Once the dragon had caught sight of the boy it raised its head letting out a roar that Omega couldn't hear physically: In the back of his mind however he heard the dragon's thunderous roar, and it sent a chill down his back.
Omega waved a hand at the image disturbing the water, but that was when he noticed how his right arm had turned into a withered dead thing. While attempting to hide the limb from the Chimeras attending him Omega gave them a single command to postpone the invasion until the other gods Below agreed to join him. 'Let Melevar have his fun, and the First Realm's gods can deal with the boy's wrath for now.'
Oro Lightbringer
The god expected little action from his Chosen's first weeks in the South there's been a peace reached between the mortals. Discovering the Starlight child had been the farthest thing from his mind, and the Daughters of Fate had told them the child would arrive much later in the season. Oro hadn't known the boy was in Astoria yet let alone that he'd be among those chosen to die in the arena. Once the boy had revealed his power Oro had been preparing himself to go down to the Second Realm to subjugate him, but then Melevar revealed himself stopping any thought of attacking the boy alone. Oro heard his Chosen's call for aid as they were confronted by the rogue god, but he closed his ears to the Chosen's cries as he sped towards the Golden Citadel to inform King Rhestus of his discovery.
He found the King absent from the court that day, and in his place where Lady Vyva and the King's many children. As the her lavender irises looked over him Oro felt a disturbing chill slowly crawl down his back: Vyva had been born mortal, but she'd caught King Rhestus' eye easily enough. Oro had barley started to report on his sighting of the Starlight child when Vyva held up a golden skinned hand to stop him from speaking. "The King had taken his yearly rest to recuperate from the wounds he suffered for us all." When she spoke Oro could almost believe the sincerity in her voice for her beloved King, but court rumors of the few children among her brood not belonging to the King kept him suspicious of the intent behind her words. "I will allow you to take three battalions to...apprehend the rogue god, and failing that you will bring his corpse back so We may show Xerilla the folly behind her choices."
'A mother shouldn't have to see her child's lifeless husk; her grief might be enough to destroy us all. Lightbearer instead I urge you to lead the wayward god toward a different path. Give him passage to Ivrena's domain, and the gods will worry no longer.'
The quiet voice had interrupted his thoughts, but once they'd invoked the name of a Daughter of Fate Oro swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat. Lady Vyva glared down at him from her throne as she waited no doubt for him to thank her for her "generosity" but Oro simply offered her a polite bow before he left to go collect his three battalions. There'd be plenty of time to make on decision on how he'd deal with the god, and no matter which path he took Oro wouldn't take the rogue lightly. 'If not for his strength now then maybe only for the sake of his heritage.'
Yes, he'd take two battalions from the Destroyer companies with him, and a single from among King Rhestus' personal Slayer companies. No quarter would be given, and if they fought back a life would be taken: They would be too dangerous if they escaped.
Hex Starlight
Escaping from Dragon's Maw arena had been easier with Melevar's assistance though I hadn't planned on Eranna leaping from the balcony to grab onto the fleeing dragon. She'd almost fell off the dragon's back as he flew into the sky, and a small part of me would've been glad to see her fall had Arturio not reached out catch her. The boy was surprisingly altruistic for someone his age, but if I continued to let him travel with me Eranna would use that against him. Though she'd returned my 'armor' to me Bygone was her benefactor, and the old god had fed me to whatever remained of Below shortly after meeting me. Damien suggested killing her after Bygone had helped me find Xerilla, but Pixie was against murdering her at all. I couldn't go against her after I'd heard her strain to speak in a weak voice that brought the image of a faerie with shredded wings to my mind's eye.
Melevar finally landed in an empty plain after we'd flown for some time, for so long in fact that the sun had begun to set. A small hill with a single tree rising from it obstructed my gaze of the pink sky: The tree was eerily similar to the one at the center of Bygone's Forrest. Eranna was the first to approach the tree for shelter, and after a wave to show my approval Arturio followed after her leaving me with Melevar. The dragon stood so much taller than me that if his head weren't resting on the ground I'd have to strain my neck, or step back a good distance. His scales were so dark that they seemed to pull all the light around them inwards: The deep purple orbs that stared with inquisitive intelligence seemed both comforting, yet frightening. Outwardly the only noise Melevar made
'Do you keep the company of such weak creatures to feel superior young god? Surely not that'd make you too much like your progenitor: Omega would rarely show mercy like you.' Though his voice only passed like a thought in my mind I could feel the slightest hint of disappointment behind them; truthfully I'd felt the dragon's emotions since he first came down from the sky. "She's assisting me with locating the Abyss Watcher, and the boy..." I stopped when the excuse for Arturio's company never came to my mind. There was a clear lapse in judgement with bringing him further, but thankfully Pixie spoke for me: Perhaps it was for herself in truth. 'The boy has been adopted into Lord Hex's faerie family, and they will remain soul bound until the finalization of the contract.'
Though this was new information for both Melevar, and myself Pixie had given what seemed to be an acceptable excuse for him. 'I have seen stranger choices, but give your imp the blood now for our time is short and you are far too ignorant as you are now. Omega could sense your blatant use of the Engine if he could the Heavens have, and I guarantee you they've sent their best.' The anger I felt at being called ignorant was surprising at first, but a sudden prick in my right arm took my attention away from the arrogant dragon. A small faerie covered in tattered black rags held up a had to keep me silent while golden blood poured from a wound they'd opened down into a small wooden chalice.
"The dead dragon is right Hex you need to learn how to properly use the power you've got, and Pixie won't be able to keep the boy alive until she's rested." Damien spoke in a matter-of-fact way that I knew there'd be no use arguing with him, and once he waved a hand the wound began to close. With another small gesture the chalice gently lifted into the air following Damien as he flew away gesturing with his small middle finger towards Melevar. Melevar lifted his head then and blew a small fount of purple flame towards the retreating faerie though it fell short of putting the chalice in danger.
[ AOE (see system index) >Melevar's Trials< has been activated! The Player's gifts and abilities have been negated until the AOE has been completed. ]
The notification came as a surprise while I'd been curiously staring at the purple flame that burned the small patch of grass it had fallen on without burning it, or spreading farther when I turned back towards the dragon to see a maw full of teeth the size of greatswords opened in my direction. Before I could protest purple flames engulfed me and I screamed as pain from the intense heat crashed into my mind all at once: However long it took for my consciousness to leave was too long.