Syele.
***
"Well, that was easier than expected." I giggled.
"Indeed." Opal nodded at the horde of devoted, standing in a mob before us.
It didn't matter that they were mostly goblins and orcs. We all wanted the same thing. But most of us wanted more.
Like the warrior goddess, Lana, I looked at Opal, Zakira, and even Elijah with both awe and envy. They were forever in a perfect state. Nonfluctuating as a result of too much or too little food, sleep, or whatever other needs of the flesh that made us mortals suffer.
Nay, they had no need for such things at all. They never hungered. Never tired. Never feared. They could devote every ounce of their energy towards their goals without rest, something that, after just over two decades of slavery, I yearned for.
Many of the orcs and goblins and humans before us felt the same way. They saw Amun as a terrorist, rather than a savior. Or indeed, we all saw him as both, but to varying degrees, for that was the tenet of Duality in the Black Plume. We were all heroes and villains to someone.
But he was different. Amun was the Elven Devil. A powerful one at that.
And like all powerful devils, there would be many who would sell their souls for a taste of that power. Far more than who worshiped him as Mani.
We, who worshiped the Elven Devil- we, of the Black Plume- numbered in the thousands. Within a year, it was easy to imagine us with thousands more. And tens to hundreds of thousands more in the years and decades to come
"There's enough for my company as well," Opal smirked, then closed her eyes to clutch her pendant to her chest before opening them again, revealing a soft golden glow encompassing her bulbous orbs. "May the shadows of dusk obscure falsehoods. May the light dawn reveal the truth. May the owl's eyes guide me."
The soft muttering of her prayer sent the powers imparted onto her by our God into her fingertips, which then turned about to dance across Opal's face, leaving tiny motes of twilight to sink into her brow and eyes.
With her guidance, she reached a pale finger out towards the crowd to pick out six humans, two orcs, a goblin, and a Svirfnebli woman to name them as the sergeants and lieutenants for her platoons. Except for the deep gnome, Zima, who would continue learning and practicing to become an engineer for the Black Plume.
"Adda." She then turned to an orcish woman with dull gray skin, flowing black hair, and menacing tusks to mutter the prayer of guidance and pass the wisdom along to her. "You are my first sergeant. Leader of those you see before you. Find those who will hunt and cook for our journey. And later, those who'll build or farm or do whatever else needs to be done once we arrive at our destination. Then send them to procure equipment and materials."
With an elegant bow, Adda turned to mimic Opal and her picking and choosing the best of the crowd until she turned back to us, eager to complete her next task. But Opal had already faced about and turned her gaze to the light-rimmed sphere of darkness above.
To Amun's home.
After a nauseating instant, we found ourselves within the multi-layered sphere. Within the core. A round and dark expanse of towering stalagmites and looming stalactites, deep ravines, dank caverns, and collapsed pillars or walls that strongly resembled the architecture of the duergar stronghold.
"How do you feel?"
I couldn't yet see where he stood- God. But I felt in my heart his words were aimed at me. The words rang against my soul like a gong. Soothing my mind and spirit enough to bring a wave of relaxation across my body.
"I've never felt so…" alive. Powerful. Wise. Knowing. There were many changes I had yet to even acknowledge since we left the sanctuary. I knew little, if nothing, of the divine power granted to me. Other than that it was, "amazing. Thank you."
He bowed at the neck in response, giving me a smaller sense of gratitude before a larger feeling came from him looking upon Opal's chosen with proud eyes. "To the Black Plume's devoted," he said. "I introduce, Elijah."
Opal's thrall appeared as regal as always, dressed in a suit of crimson and black silks and leathers that belied his upraising as a knight. He looked every bit the royal that Opal was as he silently bowed with the utmost grace.
Yet another benefit to vampirism.
"Due to our classes and other things, I've decided to move the Plume in a different direction," Amun said as he stared absently at the center of the gloomy room. "But, as always, the final decision will be yours to make."
While the others looked to us for support, Opal and I- having the utmost trust in our God- nodded for him to continue, already knowing we would agree with the changes no matter what they were.
"The Black Plume will remain as a cult that worships both Twilight and me as the Elven Devil. But the overall purpose of the cult would be to damn people. The reason is this." He waved, and my senses lit up all at once, spawning memories that my mind and body never experienced.
It didn't take long to realize I was looking at life through God's eyes. Numbers and dials and words littered his field of view from top to bottom, detailing the temperature, the directions he was facing, and other things. The room around him, a round hall of reclined chairs, shifted from the normal colors associated with light to a strange field of vibrant colors before shifting back to the seemingly pale browns and blues of the hall.
I felt waves cascading against my flesh that I knew, somehow, to be variations in mass or energy. I could… feel how immensely distant those things felt- and anything else I gazed upon. I could sense… everything in what I perceived to be the entirety of the universe.
But demanding the focus of my senses were glowing words that appeared just before me- or rather, before God. They told of him being a Rogue Devil. A Soul Mastermind who was branded and charged with bargaining with an ever-increasing number of souls and increasing the ranks of his devil-kin.
Naturally, that didn't matter to us. It only gave the faithful one more thing to devote ourselves to. However, I was surprised to see how fast Opal made amendments to what was already decided on.
I and many others learned about the sanctuary from Amun's dark twin months ago, though I was one of the few dozen humans to accept the teachings. As such, the goblins and orcs never found a system they could agree on. And the Svirfnebli could never muster up the courage to impose their fantastic ideas on either of them.
And then Opal came along.
She appeared with the vast majority of the Plume's inner workings laid out, making us devoted to following her, simply by telling us of the vast underground sanctuaries we were to build and connect across vast distances through the use of shadow portals and high-speed rails.
Everything from the slow and haunting music to the dreary or gothic art and architecture and any other rituals, sacrifices, or events had been organized by Opal and laid out to us shortly after our meeting.
I, of course, felt it to be perfect a perfect display of divine intervention and felt utter satisfaction by the fact that now, few things needed revising. And as before, Opal came up with fantastic solutions for the things that did almost immediately.
Solutions, so great, that I couldn't help but agree to them the moment they left her fanged mouth.
"We will undoubtedly be considered evil," she said with an uncaring wave. "Thus a military force will be necessary. I-"
"Put a pin in that for later," Amun quickly said. "And add on the need for inquisitors."
"Very well." Opal calmly bowed, completely unbothered by the interruption.
She went on to name how the organization would be run in accordance with the new goal. Stepping into the void, as the faithful called it, was still the final goal for us. Sacrificing oneself and being born anew as a vampire, a blessed shadow, or now, as a devil. Thus, unsurprisingly, our hierarchy would resemble that which the devils lived by, with Amun at the top followed by Opal, the first cleric, and me, in an equal but dissimilar position as the Wing Feather of the Black Plume.
Two of the humans chosen by Opal- Perry, and Rita- would be trained to recruit acolytes and show them the glory of Twilight. Grotto, a hulking orc, and Mika, a human, were in charge of ritual sacrifices. The human, Limy, and Grooshk the goblin were to take care of all other rituals. Leaving the last two humans, Kele and Art, to stand near Elijah.
Then Amun went on to the next order of business.
Dozens of pale blue and golden yellow motes appeared throughout the space, opening windows that gave views of fiery lands, vast jungles, and snowy expanses. From them, out stepped the renowned Captains of the Legio Noctis. Eccentric though they were, coming from many races, realms, and backgrounds. But they were as regal and powerful as the God they followed.
We of the Darkworld heard tales of them all. And saw in the many taverns within this realm their numerous encounters and hardships in the land below. Like Nyella, those tales and illusory moving pictures- and the visions from God- led me to seek Opal out.
But they- the other Captains of the Noctis, were not a part of our clergy. Though they were indeed blessed by Moonlight and Twilight.
That knowledge made the apprehension on their visages apparent. For they knew, like I, that God was letting our anxiety rise until he revealed something that had the potential to flip the Mortal Plane upside down.
"This looks like a dragon's lair." Zarzok, the regal tiefling who fueled himself on pride, chortled dryly.
Amun only smiled knowingly before chortling back. "Ever perceptive are you, Zarzok."
"So, you didn't banish it?" Scarlett Bombyx, the innocent-looking druid of silk and moth asked with pain hidden in her voice.
"That was a partial truth," Amun softly reassured her. "The truth is. The young red dragon, Cononthoth, agreed to a deal. We struck a bargain."
A roar of incredulous gasps came from the Captains and those of the Plume behind me. But Opal and I silently offered a prayer to our God to exclaim our humility in response to such a revelation.
"The deal was that first, I'll invest in her hoard in exchange for historical or arcane knowledge. Second," Amun raised two fingers, "that I'll accelerate her growth until she's ancient and keep her from growing older in exchange for her company while I travel. And third." Amun grinned evilly. "That I'll give her the power of darkness and grant her dominion over the Darkworld.
"Oh, yeah. And she can try and eat me whenever she wants." Amun declared with a careless wave, and then those behind Opal and I erupted in zealous prayer. "Though her transformation is complete, she explores the Shadowfell, honing the changes brought to her body. This." Amun swept his arm across the room. "Is the core of her lair. A hub meant to link the domains she's to create across the Mortal Plane.
"She is now the Shadow Dragon, Cononthoth, the Exalted Gloom!" Amun declared with a dramatic wave and a wicked grin. Then gestured to the vampire standing off to his side. "She and her followers will be one of the denominations of The Black Plume. And you, Elijah." Amun appeared by his side in an instant, his comparatively small hand grasped tightly around the vampire's shoulder.
"You, are her first." He shook him gently. Or tried to, winding up shaking himself more. "You will be one of the few without wickedness to stand under the Exalted Gloom's wing, as her envoy to the surface. And simultaneously." He turned to Opal and I. "You will be the Plume's link to the surface."
After giving Elijah a final shake, Amun suddenly turned on the Captains. "I summoned you here to declare this. Anyone who wishes to meet the Exalted Gloom is openly invited. I'll send word when the time comes. But I warn you." He turned his cold eyes over the crowd. "I do not control her. Per our deal, she is unable to attack my subordinates. But that rule does not apply to me or our material possessions. I don't want her breaking our shit. So, be on your best behavior in her presence."
"I knew you did something crazy. But to make a shadow dragon." Roheisa, the barbarian princess capable of ruling the underground- the stretch of magma and rock between the surface and the Darkworld, shook her head in disbelief. "The Necro King will be furious."
"What he doesn't know won't hurt me." Amun carelessly shrugged, and I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of anyone hurting God.
No matter how aloof he was.
"Anyway." Amun waved dismissively, conjuring another field of motes and globules of light in the same motion.
Far bigger ones than before. Ones that released massive constructs of wood and steel to float before us in unbridled glory. "Here are your vehicles.
"Expect bigger and better ones later."