CHAPTER 4 – THE CHAOS OF VIOLENCE
Labyrinth of the Shade – The Lagoon
***
The War Queen Sleshra had jumped at the chance for vengeance, a lifeline to save what was left of her honor and her people. Her Sister had been slaughtered in some Tutorial by some newly integrated fool and hadn’t even gained that which she promised. The Naga had finally taken their home in her absence. Sleshra, who had always coveted her Sister’s Crown, had it now but ruled over nothing, no beautiful lush reefs, only a rag-tag group of survivors living on the edge of the decaying bones of a dead shore.
She had just finished killing the last of three subordinates who had attempted to overthrow her rule when the System had sent the Quest Alert. It had taken her but a moment to grab it and her five most loyal followers. It had been a last straw of a last hope. She knew if the Naga or arbitrary creatures of their world didn’t kill her it would be the remnants of her own people that would get the job done. It hurt to have their power reduced from Bronze Rank all the way down to Peak Copper for her subordinates and Early Iron for herself but the prizes, the prizes offered would turn everything around. It would give them a City Stone along with two Epic Upgrade Stones in addition to one Growth Item of their choice. With that in hand along with the vast swathe of Experience offered she would lead her people to a new future, one where she was the War Queen of all she surveyed.
They should have the tools to take one newly integrated fool still in Copper. Their power might have been reduced but not their experience and she still held her Sub-Class and the extra Slotted Abilities and Skills that came with it. She lifted her golden hued trident. It was her prized possession. Its power had been limited like her own but still it was a Soul-Bound Growth Item, not sentient like the rarest of the rare were but deadly in her hands and it still held its Ability [Wave of Nemia]. Like most Queens her Main Class was a mix of Martial and Spiritual, [Spirit of the Violent Depths], a Rare Ranked gift to her Path [The Road to Spiritual Hunger] which amplified her Strength and Body the more she was hurt, a ‘B’ Ranked Path.
She did diverge a bit in her Sub-Class taking a pure Martial Class, [Trident of Brutal Shores] which knocked her Trident Skill up a whole Rank by having a duplicate Class Skill in both her Main and Sub-Class. It made her a terror with her favorite weapon. She preferred physical combat over any use of magic though she was not above utilizing any weapon to hand to see herself victorious. Her Affinity in Primal was 74%, second highest to only her Sister when she’d been alive. And no one in Troglodyte society would survive ever choosing an Intellectual Class. It was the worst offense a Troglodyte could make. If it wasn’t the strength of their might or channeling their ancient ancestors in spirit, it was considered worthless.
Her two War Captains followed her choices, all of them friends since they’d come out of the shell, Putrari and Osiena, Oseina even going so far as to have a pure Martial Main Class like a lowly male. The War Queen secretly envied her for the choice. One of the three Males she’d brought was her own Son, Degrel the Everblade, named after the two handed scimitar she had gifted him on his Class Day, his entry into the System when he’d turned fifteen circles of the Sun.
He was as stupid as most males but devious and had a certain low cunning. He slaughtered his own brothers to show her his prowess and it had and still did impress her. He did it in ritual combat face to face as opposed to the usual assassinations that were chosen by most. He impressed her at every turn, at least for a male. She could admit to nothing else within their society. She had unfortunately never been blessed with a daughter as of yet, in three clutches. It was one of many things that had led to the assassination attempts in recent months, the whispers she could not create an heir.
They had just finished the ritual feast before the hunt that was a prerequisite within their society, one she would change when they’d established a true territory once more. It wasted time they’d could be hunting but pushing new concepts hard when they were on the edge of starvation and dissolution, not even she would do or could get away with. She had to admit the fish the System had put in the waters here, were delicious. Sleshra grabbed one of the remaining few she had brought into the hut with her after the feast. She ripped into it with her sharp teeth and then slurped the guts out. She’d heard some lowlander elves upon her world gutted fish before cooking them. It seemed barbaric to her as those were delicacies.
War Captain Osiena pushed through the hides that were the door to the System created hut. Her shell armor was freshly polished and in her hand, her infamous bident, a weapon that had shed the blood of Naga and traitors alike in rivers. Her barbed net lay hooked to her waist. She was a large specimen slightly taller and bulkier then Sieshra herself and was her War Queen’s weapon in all but name.
Her arms were long and muscular and her scales shone and shimmered a dark mottled green. She would never be considered a beauty, somewhat of a heavy overbite and her legs a bit stubby. She was also slow in the water compared to most but the sheer power she brought into combat and her viciousness made all of it moot. The War Queen croaked her query.
“So the feast has been made and consumed. Take my son and the other males War Captain and scout the surrounding area. Be cautious War Captain. I know it is not our nature but there is too much on the outcome of this venture. We must regain not only our honor but also our place upon our world. If we fail here that will be the end of us, period. We were told by the System there are other hunters. If you can, find their spoor and their bases. Do not engage War Captain. Get me information then return. When we fight, we will do so in force and I will take the field from the start.”
The War Captain hissed. That was unseemly in Troglodyte society. War or battle always began the same way. Send in the males as fodder to test the veracity of the enemy then if they were worthy, the War Captain females, then only if it was a true test of strength would the War Queen enter the squall. Slesrha was not in a position to follow an archaic tradition. It was following that tradition that had seen them routed again and again against the Naga. Their males were slaughtered as they held back their strongest fighters so by the time the females entered they were going against long odds. She imagined it was also what led to her Sister’s downfall. One of her worst foibles was her Sister had been a deep rooted traditionalist. Sleshra would not make the same mistakes.
“You heard me War Captain. Do not disappoint and do not see my son killed. If you are attacked you shall enter battle immediately. Do you hear me???!!!!”
Another hiss but a nod. Osiena’s loyalty was always absolute. She gave a heavy nod of her muscular body and left. The War Queen took the last piece of fish and gorged her hunger and her nerves. Everything was balanced on the edge of her tines and she had to make a strike that brought her victory.
***
Labyrinth of the Shade – The Demon Pit
***
The spiked mace came down on the War Table and split the stone in half, the recently drawn maps of the immediate area flying all over the pit. They were in an enclosed half-circle of red and black stone with a fire pit in the middle already lit with red and black flames. It was a good fifty yards in diameter and had hanging hammocks to sleep in if required. Lord Bashek Gulrok of Damanse, a small Fortress City on the outskirts of the Viridian Empire on the planet Ulle, a major transportation hub for the Abyss Faction in the Neruda Sub-Sector/Galaxy, seethed.
At this moment the hulking nine foot lord inundated in fury was attempting to yank his weapon out of the stone of the floor and when it didn’t immediately release its hold on the earth he took a step forward, grabbed it with all four arms, and yanked it out with several jagged pieces of stone flying. His Second pulled his tower shield off his back and let them ping off the shield’s surface. The Lord’s voice was a growl.
“We are here less then half a day and our only Mage is dead. Hell’s Fury!!!! Dead!!!! Add into it he was my Wife’s Brother, the only one she had left!!!!! I didn’t want to come here to begin with but when she gives me those eyes and demands her Brother be avenged, what is a Demon supposed to do? Then she saddles me with the last Brother she has left and what does he do? He dies within half a day of arriving to rats!!!! Hells Fury!!! Rats!!!!”
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His Second was also his childhood friend and not the smartest Baraleth to ever draw breath but he was loyal and in a Faction like the Abyss, worth more then a mountain of Infernal Steel. His friend looked blankly at his Lord to the point Lord Galrek just stared at him. Best friend he might be but Vord was thick as a woman’s ass after Feast-Day.
“Lord. He was a Mage, weak like all Mages. He decided to go explore the nearby hallway by himself in only battle robes. There were over twenty Shadow Rats. He was dead within moments. Scout Talze says based on the evidence of the scrap he didn’t even defend himself, just cowered and died. Guard Buzil is now guarding the entrance after killing the offending rats. Scout Taize and Scout Linka are now securing the cavern itself in case any of the rats are also within.”
What he meant were the scouts were off in a corner drinking and probably fucking. He knew he shouldn’t have taken the two but they were the best scouts he had and both Rare Classes and with their Levels being shorne by the System to fit the Tutorial or whatever in Hell’s Fury this place was, he had no alternatives. They were a part of his own hunt pack and lethal in a scrap. He knew he should have said something when he found out they’d started fucking a few years back but they were demons, fucking was half of what they did for fun, that and killing. Losing their only Mage was a heavy blow even if the man was worthless. Very few chose the field in a society where Martial Strength was what moved circles. The only thing worse was choosing a Spiritual Class which was a death sentence.
At least Mages still fought with their own power. If you could not kill things through your own efforts, whether muscle or magic, then you had no value in their world. Relying on Spirits or Gods to fight for you was anathema to their entire societal structure.
He sighed as he planted his huge spiked mace head first into the ground and leaned on it. It sometimes did not pay to be a Minor Lord of a Fortress City out on the edge of the Empire. The Abyss did not reward mediocrity. In fact it usually led to death in ever expanding gruesome ways which was a big reason he’d stayed on the outskirts where he was less in the spotlight and lower expectations were a given. So boon and bane as was most of life. His Wife’’s Brothers aside he’d truly taken this sojourn for the prizes offered by the System which were insanely good. Vord cemented that fact.
“Lord. I understand the challenges losing the Brother might cause with your Lady but they were somewhat worthless, both of them, both Mages.”
He emphasized the word ‘Mages’ with utter disdain and Bashek did not necessarily disagree with him on the matter but still his wife was the most beautiful demon one of his station could have ever hoped for, from an ancient lineage and whose Family ruled over a Fortress much closer to the center of the Empire. They would not look kindly on him losing two of their sons. If he could win this, kill the fool who’d irritated the System and get the prizes. Vord’s voice brought him out of his night dreams of his imminent rise.
“Lord, I’m confused. I thought you said the Brothers was just the excuse to get your Lady all hot and bothered but we was really doing this to get the prizes then we’d get to take over a Fortress closer in to the Center, more riches, women and all that. I mean, that’s what I thought you said.”
Hell’s Fury was Vord thick!!! It’s a good thing he was a beast in a scrap and loyal to a fault.
“Yes Vord. That is the reason but how about you keep it to yourself and quit shouting our damn secrets to everyone who decides to listen. Just keep following my plans and we will get what should be ours. Did I not pull us out of the literal gutters of the Pit? Were we not just fodder on the front lines when I dragged us both into ruling a Fortress by the time I was done?”
The idiot just kept nodding his head with a big grin on his face, hand tightening on his huge fifteen foot pike he used as his weapon. Bashek could already see his simple brain conjuring images of all the lady demons he’d be fucking once they secured a better Fortress City closer to the lanes of commerce. If Bashek wanted to make those dreams come true it was time to salvage the loss of their Mage and get the Hunt Pack doing what they do best.
“Get everyone ready to hunt. We will go forth and destroy anything that stands in our way. If we come across our competitors they shall be fodder leading us to our quarry. Have those worthless scouts earn their keep and burn out the damn rats as we move.”
Vord slammed his Pike on his shield and moved to do his bidding. Lord Bashek Gulrok had his own imaginary dreams of women, one in each claw. He loved his lady but a demon had appetites after all.
***
Labyrinth of the Shade – The Bastion
***
This entire debacle was so far beneath a Grand Inquisitor, T’Shek V’Bors, still repudiated himself for succumbing to the political pressure that brought him to this dingy cave system or whatever it named itself. The Labyrinth of the Shade, indeed. As soon as they arrived they were accosted by several packs of vermin which said all there was to say. The righteous wrath of the Sanctum eviscerated the rodents with only slight injuries. Since then he’d had the Light Priestess L’Nasa keep her AOE [Light of Purity] Ability active, ridding him of the vile darkness of the space. Only under the Truth of Light shall the Righteous Truth of the Almighty Aasinar be revealed.
He pulled himself from the parody of a throne that he’d been sitting on while contemplating the strategy that would see this farce finished as soon as he could manage. He was a Silver Ranked Grand Inquisitor, Second only to the fool who had sent him all because of some imbecilic Nephew of his had gotten himself killed in some newly Integrated Tutorial. He’d never liked either one, both political sycophants but the Grand Inquisitor knew when he’d taken on the position as the insipid fool’s Second, politics would be par and parcel. A feminine hand clasped over his own from behind him and he sighed.
High Priestess I’Sari V’Bors, his wife, made it all worth while in the end. Her fervent passion and faith made his legendary renown seem as a candle flickering in a storm. She was everything he would ever need to move forward. It was her words that told him to accept the Quest and her words that would see him taking over command of the Sanctum within the Neruda Sub-Sector.
Killing this man who already had a Bounty upon his head by the Sanctum would be but a stepping stone. Erebus must be theirs and theirs alone. It was decreed by the holiest of holy, the Voice of Aasinar himself and the Grand Inquisitor would be the one that delivered it. Her voice was honey to his ears, the melodic tone all Eldarin possessed, one of a multitude of virtues, hence why they were one of the most ancient races within the Multi-Verse, and why they were used as one of the major templates that created the spawn of elves that followed. His wife was his muse and guiding star only surpassed by Holy Aasinar himself.
“Not too much longer Love and we shall hold the reigns to what will be one of the most powerful Sub-Sectors within the Holy Order’s Empire.”
The woman could convince the System itself to be her plaything. He gripped her hand and leaned back into her sturdy form. She was much larger then he, being a Martial Class of the Blessed Soul-Pillar. She was not however more powerful. He was a pure Spiritual Class of the Inquisitorial Soul-Pillar and the sheer brutality of his Abilities were well known. Even diluted down from Peak Silver to Early Iron his Epic Class [The Hand of Judgment] would never be discounted as gentle. He turned towards her and took in all the magnificence that entailed her beauty.
Like all Eldarin, she was tall, a bit over seven feet which put her bigger then almost any female of their species and she looked like the Right Hand of Aasinar himself. Full plate with golden surcoat and silver linings, the symbol of their Faction, sword & shield in gold and red centered on the white surcoat, and at her waist her vaunted longsword, paired with the golden hued heavy shield on her back and she was beyond a terror on the battlefield. She was the epitome of what it was to be of the fold of the Sanctum. Her sky blue eyes accented her golden skin and her long golden hair braided close to her scalp finished the artistry.
She was the opposite of his slender effeminate form. He had never needed to put any Attribute points into Strength and very little into Body. His Class was focused on Will, Faith and Insight, his Free Attributes always doubling down on his Will and Faith. It gave him not only a vast reservoir to endlessly utilize his magic but the potency to make it terminal quickly. His voice was the opposite of hers, a harsh whip of harsh truths.
“Please, Love, gather the Inquisitors and the Priestess, we have a quarry to hunt so we can remove ourselves from this squalor and begin the plans to take what belongs to us and us alone.”
She nodded and graced him with that beautiful smile that made him marry her, a joy in its expression with a hint of violence and cruelty, an aphrodisiac to his mien. She took two steps towards the small wooden door to the ornate Temple they stood within. It was one nod he was thankful for in the utter hovel the rest of this place was. She stopped and gave him a hungry look as he hadn’t realized he still held to her hand. He wished they had the time to appease the carnality in that look but alas their work was never done. The unworthy were endless in the need to be cleansed of their lives. He gave her a wan smile and let go of her hand. She smiled more then turned and fell to her knees as both of them shuddered, horrific howls casting a dark pallor to the room.
His wife was a frozen statue, on knees, her body shaking as she fought hard against the intrusion. Luckily it was a minor inconvenience to himself as he just had to flex his Will to shatter the dark miasma of fear that tried to suppress his mind. The howls again reverberated through the cavern they had arrived in then he heard the screams. The howls were what was causing the false terror.
He grabbed his staff from where he’d left it and started drawing upon his Ability [Cruel Truths] that would destroy all enchantments in the area while sending riveting pain back to their source. Whoever dared attack them would learn the reality of rousing the ire of the Sanctum. Multiple lines of orange red bolts shot out through the walls as if the weren’t there as a glowing aura of energy plumed out from his body following. He heard canine yelps of agony and a smile lit his lips.
“All blessingsss to our Lord Aasinar, may his light shine upon the Universe so that they know his Truth and Judgment.”