The Owl.
30th of Ianua, 1492.
The Rharian, Kasian, Chaulort Tri-Point. Archie's Hut, Basement Level.
7:50 AM.
***
All stories must end. The realms over knew that as a cardinal rule. The unspoken rule, however, was that stories, in order to be great, must have lessons to learn.
Robin Morgan stated, 'Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny, camouflaged as humility.'
Archibald Weisenheimer was no exception to either the rule or the quote. Hoarding, Archie was, keeping knowledge that could spur a medical revolution to himself. Hiding his data, Archie was, even from the Owl.
But of course, it was to be expected. For one such as Archie, so… entitled to greatness, could not stand being denied the chance to put his own flair on his benefactor's designs. And so, he did. And so, the Owl, after not so much time waiting, went to work.
A human who'd made a bargain for his legs to be regrown soon found a few doors uncannily left ajar. That was the only prelude to the story. It began slow, with the fortunate man running out of the hut and running to the hills as far as his new legs could take him. Which wound up being quite far indeed. Yet, he still stopped. Not for rest as one would normally need. But to throw warnings to the winds about the cruel witch in the tri-point, experimenting on people.
He saw it! With his own eyes, he saw it! Orcs and goblins and humans and elves. Every creature one could think of, he saw them being tortured with strange contraptions, given strange potions, and experimented with on a daily basis. It was a sheer violation of all things just and moral within and far outside the boundaries of the Witch community. That meant the only option was the complete destruction of this abominable practice.
More, it warranted overkill.
Recruiting a party for the cause was almost effortless. His wails rallied 3,309 soldiers, militia, and angry witches from Chaulort in only a couple of days. Soon after, word of the plagues in Rhar came filtering back and days later, they were joined by 4,672 rangers, soldiers, and druids from Rhar. And of course, that attracted war band after war band from the Kasian Empire that wound up totaling just under 7,000. All rushing Archie's Witch Hut for a sole reason.
Blood.
Of course, with him being occupied with his personal experiments, Archie didn't take heed to the Owl's warnings until it was too late.
That which was above was like to that which was below; that which was below was like to that which is above. But what often went ignored was the essence that lie between. The rim. The border. The edge. The line set between all things of a dual nature.
Orcs. Goblins. Elves. Gnomes. Dwarves. Halflings. Humans. Tieflings. Those above attacked the hut and its witches with magic, fire, blade, bolt, and ballista while those below beckoned their experiments to fight in their stead.
Deeper below, however, was Corym's present to Amun. The party of devoted unicorn lovers who saw fit to self-destruct like cowards rather than be raised as undead like everyone else. They had been sprinkled with a few odds and ends to add a little razzle-dazzle to their suspended combustion before being transported here, where they were waiting for the coveted moment.
"What do we do?" Archie frantically paced and continued as such when the Owl appeared.
"Alacrity unchecked has blinded you to my words, Archibald." He paused as the words left the Owl's beak to offer a face of betrayal. "You have not listened to my and your associate's repeated mentions of the failsafe."
"Ah!" He breathed in relief. "Where is it, again."
"The head-"
"My bust! Got it!"
I needn't follow him as he rushed through the compound, not even seeing the many witches and patients rushing about as he made his way to his office in the underground quarters. I could see it just as clearly as if I were scrying through the shadows.
Archie slid on his knees to halt himself before his office. So eager was he, that he slid past the door and scrambled inside, nearly toppling the bust over so that he could stare into his likeness and suffer a dark laser reading the contents of his soul.
As above, so below.
From the perspective of those like Amun, on the far side of the mountains to the north, they would see only the rising sun blinking in and out of existence. Depending on their distance, they would feel anything from a deep groan of the earth to an ear-shattering shockwave.
Those from Brybs, Chaulort, Kasia, and Rhar, however, saw the sun rise for a second time and grow to mirror the ball of fire peering above the Mortal Plane. Those attacking the Hut saw a bright light before they simply… vanished. Those further beyond saw a pillar of fire tear a blanket of earth from the bedrock before they too were blown into nothingness. Those as far away as the Chaulort Capital or the Sacred Forests of Rhar saw a great mushroom of fire and smoke rise above the land before the winds swept them off their feet and the sound deafened their ears; or, in some lucky cases, struck arcane barriers or other protective wards.
Perhaps the most impressive view, however, came from the hot springs not too far away. Anyone there with a particularly keen eye would have witnessed two flashes of light. A burst of silver came before the fire to bless their structure, protecting it from damage and more.
Lastly, the Owl saw souls. 15,090 souls swarming around like water swirling down the drain that was the Owl's perch.
Not even charred bits remained from the results of the pact insidious formed with Archie. No radiation, lingering death, or even a mana signature littered ground zero either. All that was left was a vastly wide and immensely deep pit that would first fill with snow and compact with ice before the same processes in the hot springs turned it into another tourist destination.
With the completion of this phase of the Owl's work, came the coveted moment. With a final look around to ensure all was well, the Owl departed to the Shadow Realm to sort through the souls before the arcane words appeared to detail the perks of the evolution.
A twofer, as Amun would say.
The souls, however, took precedence, as only a fraction of them- a few thousand at most, were bargained with and added to the Cursed Well. Thus leaving thousands to be infused into Lore Skulls and Satellites or some other thing.
It took only seconds, indeed. But such volatile things shouldn't be left to fester. And I finished just in time to see the gold-lined black letters write themselves onto reality. Thus, after conducting the summing ritual to reunite with Archie, the spined devil, my immediate goals in this region were complete.
---
[Rogue Devil, Soul Mastermind. Step 4: Devil's Intrigue. Task: Complete.]
[Reward: Passive Skill - [Assist] From a distance of 30 meters, assisting a comrade in battle will force Cursed Mana into the target, making the assisted attack more effective.]
[Reward: Passive Skill - [Wicked Mind] Cursed Mana has taken root in your mind, making it impossible for others to use magic to intrude upon your thoughts, charm you, compel you to tell the truth, or determine if you are lying; unless you allow it. Through a force of Cursed Mana, so too can you present nightmares or false images to the intruder's thoughts.]
[Reward: Active Skill - [Devil's Disguise] With Cursed Mana, you can disguise yourself or anyone into any humanoid or fiend that you've ever seen.]
[Rogue Devil, Soul Mastermind. Step 5: The Network - To continue down the path towards being Unbranded, you must build a fiendish intelligence network to facilitate the making of your deals.]
Three perks that yielded no pain and more or less useful abilities. By far, both the Owl and Amun coveted [Assist] above all. For, with the budding Troupe, it would surely come in use. [Wicked Mind] would also prevent a repeat of the mid-year encounters from arising. Although, the Owl couldn't help but imagine giving the Seven Stars of Polaris nightmare fuel in return for spying.
[Devil's Disguise] on the other hand, was another skill that would be used more for the team than for the Owl or Amun. We did not hide ourselves unless the mission called for it, after all, no matter how much our appearance was to change.
As we had come to learn, that change- the altering of our appearance, was painful. The Owl experienced it just as Amun did. The Owl saw the words just as Amun did. The Owl's body was shrouded in an egg of darkness, just as Amun's was. For hours. Minutes. Days, it felt like. Changing. Morphing. Feeling our bodies be crushed and condensed. Screaming from our teeth being pulled from our gums. Bowling over from the pain in our bellies. Until… it faded. And we were born anew.
And so came the next task. Casting Fiendish Familiar over, and over, and over again. Only, now with assistance from my second devil, Archie.
***
Amun.
1st of Duotra (2nd month), 1492.
El-Did Province, Shujen Kingdoms.
8:25 AM.
[Prestige Sorcerer: The Path of Zefroth, Step 2: The Flesh. Tasks: Complete.]
[Reward: Evolution - [Void Devil's Stomach.] With the stomach of the Void Devil, you are able to eat and digest the flesh of the dead to restore your health and empower yourself, much in the same way a demon does with emotional energy; with carrion having the greatest effect.]
[Reward: Evolution - [Void Devil's Jaws.] The Jaws of the Void Devil are made to sink into the soul and rip either a piece of or the entire soul from the host, allowing souls to be ingested into the Cursed Well without the need for deals.]
[Reward: Transformation - Void Imp Consular.]
[The Path of Zefroth, Step 3: The Mind of Night - To continue down the Path of Zefroth, you must learn from your Fiendish Familiars, the innate art of infecting the minds of mortals with nightmares, then use your newfound knowledge to corrupt a mortal soul.]
***
"Why are you crying, Daddy?"
"Ah." I looked away, hurriedly wiping my eyes. "Just remembering some old friends." I breathed heavily. Far too late.
By the time I could turn, Iris had already walked forward to lean against my leg in the way that children often did, looking down as she fiddled with her hands. "You can't bring them back like Auntie Lana?"
'Ah, kids.' I sobbed internally, fighting back the memories that surged and surged since they were unveiled to Elurial and increased tenfold as I looked into Iris' vibrant blue eyes. "Not these ones, I'm afraid." I smiled weakly at her.
She wrapped her little arms around me as tightly as she could, releasing the cap on my bottle of pain, if only just a little. "Don't be sad, Daddy. I'm sure it makes them sad too."
"You're right." I stifled a laugh and hugged her back. "Thank you, Iris." I smiled wide after she pulled away, then turned to grab a box from my shadow with renewed vigor.
"We'll be at our destination by nightfall," I said, placing the box between us. "So, how about we play a game?"
She bounced up and down in agreement and sat cross-legged opposite from me. "Oh yeah." She suddenly said, pointing up. "What happened to your hair?"
Stress and trauma, I wanted to say. But instead, I just leaned forward and smiled. "I evolved. Sort of like you. See?" I took my fingers and hooked them in my mouth to force a silly smile, showing the pointed teeth that grew from the jaws of the Void Devil.
"Woah!" she gasped and quite possibly began designing new teeth for herself. But I stole her attention before she could speak on it further by placing a small snow-globe-like object on the table. A globe that produced a holographic 9x9x9 grid filled with a multitude of labeled shapes and icons.
"It's called Space Shogi," I told her excitedly. For it was indeed one of the most popular games in the Asian and Middle Eastern-influenced Saturnian Empire. But of course, this version had its differences. "As you can see, each player gets three sets of pieces. One for the military. One for the civilians. And one for logistical assets. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are the rules."
Her eyes lit up as the information traveled through the Net and within seconds, she was as eager as I was to play, going as far as to set up the board before I could.
It was a lesson imposed upon her for the future, sure. But it was also a bonding experience that I cherished greatly. As the days went by, I began looking at Iris as my actual daughter. As Blude, Sam, and Redd as my little cousins. Thus I was quickly becoming proud of everything they accomplished, no matter how small the deed was. Every perfect punch in training. Every fine cooked meal. Every successful heal or crafted thing.
Every board move.
"Hey, are we gonna train or- what the fuck?"
"I'm surprised it took you this long." I snorted at Blude and the girls, frozen at the entrance to the cockpit before my words caught up to her. Then she shifted on her feet while looking away sheepishly.
"I was busy." She murmured, approaching to yank and pull on my lips to study my new teeth. "Is that gonna happen to us?"
"No." I laughed, being careful not to bite her on accident. "But you three will be getting transformations."
She hummed to herself and sat down near Sam and Redd. And for the next several hours, they watched and learned as me and Iris played, joined in for a bit, talked, ate, argued, and all the other things a dysfunctionally happy family did.
It made me happy, knowing I was finally in a position- and in a world that allowed my morals to raise children. Albeit adopted children. But I would have children of my own someday as well. With Zakira, of course. Among… others.
However, this… happiness also made me fearful. It made me paranoid about going through the pain of losing those I loved all over again. Necromancy or not. Eotrom or not. It was something I would not stand for. Thus, on that night, as I sat around Iris, Blude, Sam, and Redd, I swore I would make them and everyone else who looked up to me- who loved me, just as powerful as I was.
Including the one we were soon to meet.