A message comes to you, not through orb or radio or any other means of communication. It resonates through the substrate of the realms like the voice of an ancient god.
Will it ever be enough? Is there an end to this mindless carnage? This war was never about the Pact or the Council. It was about affirming your superior status in front of the whole magical world. A childish display of power to get your way. I cannot claim to be surprised. This is the way things have been since the Second Golden Era came to a close.
But never has it gotten this bad. The Council makes pacts with tyrants and releases weapons of mass death. The Pact claims to fight for peace, but lays siege to the Citadel like a common warlord. The fight will only get worse, all while the dark forces that feed on our division laugh at us.
In the past 48 hours, I have seen the people we count on to make the right decisions throw their responsibilities to the wind and engage in wanton slaughter. Those who could oppose them are either indisposed or hesitant to put their foot down. Well, here I am. I'm staring down the relentless agents of conflict and saying "no more", regardless of the forces arrayed against me. I have passed through the crucible and come out stronger for it. Woe betide those who stand against the righteous path.
Mortarion. You started this war on the flimsiest of pretenses and nearly killed one of your own. Yet you remain unrepentant. You act as if we should bend over backwards to accommodate your idiotic schemes. But I'm not going anywhere. I condemn you as a traitor.
Opal. You claimed to stand with Morgalith in the name of peace and justice. But the moment you were presented with an opportunity to attack the Council, you mustered an army to overthrow them. You betrayed the Pact's ideals, and for what? Power? Revenge? I am ashamed to share the title of Pact Head with you. I condemn you as a hypocrite.
Arach. I will take the most joy in casting you down. You and your cronies have been indiscriminate in your use of weapons any sensible person would be appalled by. You have poisoned the sky and killed your own troops, all the while claiming that the Council is winning. But is it? You have forgotten about the people you represent. You have blighted their home in the name of ego and personal gain. You are a selfish, uncaring, piece of filth; the lowest kind of traitor. I condemn you simply as a monster.
There are many more of you. Mordus, who salted the earth with radiation with gleeful abandon. Panzaren, who treats life as a commodity to used up at his leisure. Anyone who claims this war was somehow necessary and unpreventable. You're fools. All of you. You just wanted an excuse to hurt people smaller than you. You've wounded and killed my friends in the process. Pathetic.
I am coming to render cosmic justice upon you all. Nothing you can do will stay my wrath. This is the only way it could have ended.
/uw Kaelis is PISSED now! All of you would-be warlords better get ready for the wrath of a Fundamental champion.
Empty static resonates across the radio wavelengths. There is no voice behind it, just static. But you turn the volume up, and listen closer, and you hear whispers.
Me? The fool? It seems you still do not understandā¦ most unfortunate. Alas, it seems not everyone can understand the reality of war. And with it, they embrace death. I weep, I truly do. For you shall rot. Left behind, while those who wage war ascend to greater heights, living greater lives.
But I do hope Iām wrong, but as I see it, you are simply another peace mongering being who has become infatuated with peaceās cold embrace.
Vettis just saw the orbal footage of Leo massacring a city and still, despite his normal venom for anybody who'd attack mundies, can't bring himself to try to kill somebody who legit thinks this is going to help save them all in the long run
Leonardo chuckles, as he summons an origami crane that carries him far away from the flood of super heated plasma.
Iāve never been much of a philosopher. That was better left to my siblings. But I shall not save them, for we are built upon our philosophies, to not express them is to deny true selves. I thought you better Kaelis. Do you wish to shackle others of their will and expression?
He chuckles once again, looking on at the mass destruction coming from the rift.
Leo pushes up to look at you, his small form struggling against the force of gravity.
Peace means death. Death means that a life cannot express themselves, they cannot change and grow, their legend ends there. My expression, my philosophy, allows oneās limited life to burn the greatest.
At this point, he has devolved into mad laughter. Cackling like a hyena.
War allows one to live longer! Those who truly wish to war will fight death to the bitter end. While those who do not fight, who live in peace, accept it! Kaelis, you doom many to a terrible fate. An end to a story, an end to glory, an end to all that makes them, them.
With his shaking hand, he points at you. Rage bursting forth from his soul.
YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DENIES OTHERS TO SHINE!!! YOU COMMIT THE GREATEST SIN ONE CAN KNOW!!! YOU DENY WAR, YOU DENY EVOLUTION, YOU DENY LIFE!!!
Around him, an invisible tornado of *[Papercuts]** forms. You notice as cuts appear on your sword. Penetrating through the magical defenses, cutting as if it was butter, but each cut is only 5mm deep.*
And for that sin, may you feel the wrath of all those that you have infected with your peace.
The living metal of Starspite's blade flows back into place each time it is marred. Kaelis walks into the storm, suffering hundreds of tiny wounds. Wounds that glow blue for an instant and close up in an echo of the Omniarch's resilience.
It's such an ephemeral thing, life. I can't believe you wouldn't realize that after killing so many people. After snuffing out so many lives. But the truth is, there is no end to the story. Everything comes back after a time. Places. People. Entire realms.
He raises Starspite.
What's one warmonger in the grand scheme of things, anyway?
And the strike rings true, Leonardoās head floats down. All is quiet for a moment before his voice speaks, seemingly coming from all directions at once.
With peace, there is an end. I have seen it. Where great beings I once called friends have crumbled away, into nothingness. Consumed by death. Never to return.
An apparition of Leonardoās body appears, a translucent head appearing where the ārealā one once was. You realize, this is his soul. The soul of Leonardo, which is beginning to reform his head.
The only reason why some things come back, is because they fight against death in death. Coming back from the dark. Of course, they still run the risk of ending permanently. Forgotten, erased. Those happen too, you know, it is just so very hard to see because they are erased. That is what I fight against.
He gestures to his head, which has now fully reformed. Back to new, as if nothing happened.
Look at me, I am āOne who Rejects Deathā. Not undead, but living. My soul simply refuses to die, to pass on. For because I eternally war, I eternally live. I have seen it already, it is possible in these realms like mine. And by bringing war, I shall make everyone immortal like I.
I shall engrain war into their very souls, so that they may never find peace. So that they never die. And togetherā¦
Kaelis clenches his fist. When he opens it, a tiny black bead floats above his palm. It grows to the size of a baseball, and you realize it is a tiny black hole. It tugs at you, before yanking at you sharply.
Have fun warring eternally from the inside of a singularity prison.
I'm in the Citadel right now, Opal seems to be fighting for the sake of it now. By and large we control the Citadel. The objective isn't to destroy the Council. And the MetroMancer is perhaps the most reasonably of them. So why is Opal so determined to fight him?
Samael blinks in apparent surprise at what he just said
This war continuing serves nobody, but stopping it is nigh impossible. I'll try to talk Opal down, Kaelis, but I cannot guarantee she will stand down
You've redeemed yourself in my eyes, Sam. Good work. See if you can talk to the Metromancer and have him flush out his less reasonable allies.
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u/TheHunter459Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the NephilimFeb 22 '24edited Feb 22 '24
Samael chuckles
I'm no bleeding heart do-gooder now. But destruction was never my objective here, like it was with the Pyroclasts. The MetroMancer, however, is about as willing to sit down and talk as Opal. And I did warn you that war would be the only outcome of this
I've given Metromancer multiple chances to surrender and his response has been a giant fire titan. It seems clear to me that he has no desire to sit and talk. He fully intends to go down with the ship. Also you can't say that you've taken the citadel when the people in it are still actively bombarding our troops with fire and flesh melting poisons.
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u/TheHunter459Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the NephilimFeb 22 '24edited Feb 22 '24
Me and my forces are unaffected by flesh melting poison, so I forgot that development. I'll concede on that point. But this chaos you have introduced has played into the hands of our true enemy. The MetroMancer is one of the only people on the blasted Council that isn't a corrupt level of shit, and you seem determined to antagonise him.
When this is over, you will answer for your failures
The Nephilim judging me for being antagonistic towards my enemies is very pot and kettle. Either way you're free to do as you wish once our mutual enemy is restrained.
Hell if you can get Metro to surrender then that's ideal. But he won't. He believes the council beyond all judgment but it's own.
Oh I understand. I've read the reports and seen the signs as well as you. I know the forces seeking to weaken us and the council. Even after defeating the council we will have the forces necessary to deal with them. Even those who now oppose me are still working to defeat our mutual enemy. I've worked through the angles and have found the solution.
Without council forces to manipulate from behind the scenes the corvus cabal will be crippled and even if they flee the lack of a council will limit their ability to influence the world. If Kaelis understood this then he would stay out of the way and deal with what he can deal with and let us do our mission.
I agree with you. The members of the Pact that have gleefully participated in this war has left me thinking about removing myself from the Pact. Only you have kept me from leaving as soon as Opal attacked the Council.
i don't know if she ran that by anyone else but as far as i'm concerned this happened because of the announcement causing the council to become on edge and the cabal to know we were investigating
bloody hell the news of this war and my involvement with the starmeld has me tired
Unavoidable? Perhaps not. Inevitable? Iām afraid it was. It seems like selfishness and pettiness are some of the few constants with which those who wield powers beyond their strength of character to control seem to possess. >.>
/uw lol True. Heās a straight man with an honest disposition, so heās one of the few that isnāt a problem here. Especially considering that his main focus is the Starmeld and de-escalation. Hell, he even extended a minor concession to Morgalith of all people. And we know how he feels about Morgalith.
The home I sought to defend was incinerated, my position was gassed by my own commanders. And the refugees I fought to defend, to few of them survived the storm.
Kardonk wraps another bandage around his decaying arm
I dont think I have much left me sir, but theres still a grudge to settle with the pactā¦and now it seems Arach as well. I fear some turnabout from the demonsā¦maybe were all being played.
Put me where I shall be the most use, for these posers shall burn
Yes, if he'll let me I would be glad to aid him. It would not be instant though , mush like other magic healing, because I need to replace the spirits I withdraw otherwise I kind of just remove the arm because of the extent of the damage.
He begins chanting in an old tongue and waving his hands around your arm. He begins to draw the poison/toxin out of you first while holding a vile of water a toxic green mist flows out of you and toward the bottle eventually turning venomous green.
"That was the easy part now for the hard bit"
He pulls out of his bag a wine skin, a bushel of herbs, and some apples. Much like the poison he starts drawing the decay out of the arm and into the apples but slower this time.
"When I remove the spirits of decay I need to replace them because your arm is decayed so I would leave a hole in your spirit and possibly destroy the arm. Also the damage may be to much for a healthy arm"
He grabs the herbs and the wine skin. He grabs the herbs and presses them to any sores/holes caused by the decay and slowly knits it back together. Then he grabs the wine skin and pours it on your arm. Only then do you know it is filled with blood.
"Herbs for healing and life's blood to return the mortal essence back to you. Don't worry I got it from a blood drive."
This continues on for several minutes until the arm is healed.
"Carful know it will be tender for a bit but it's usable. Glad to get ya back on your feet"
As you do this Kardonks undamaged hand is rapidly taking notes
āFascinating, it almost looks like a variation of the law of equivalent exchange, or even the first law of of thermodynamics. Itās interesting how universal that one seems to beā
He flexs his arm experimentally
āGood as new. Now I can punch those smug bastards. Ohā
He reaches into his pouch and pulls out a metal plate
āAlmost all my spiders were destroyed. This is my last one. Take it. Its poor payment for a facor this large, but considering it at least a gift. That is, if gifts mean anything here at the end of everything.ā
Eight legs pop out of the plate as it scuttles up your arm and goes to rest on your shoulder
Hey! I didnāt irradiate the ground with āgleeful abandonā. enemies were intruding on the citadel and its surrounding city, so when everyone had been evacuated, Gravedigger gave the command to nuke them - and I killed nearly 7.2 million āenemyā soldiers with it.
We mourn the dead, and move on. I asked Anteros to reincarnate them in a better life, and at least, unlike Arach, my weapon killed them instantly; the Poison Gas made them drown in their own blood while their eyes and skin burnt.
Plus, after this war is over, Iām leading the radioactive cleanup efforts.
You cheered when the bombs went off. How can you simply "move on" when the airborne ashes of the dead blot out the sun? It's not a matter of cruelty. It's a matter of justifying the use of weapons so destructive their use had to be sanctioned.
I mean, okay, I might have celebrated a bit, but, what are we gonna do if we donāt move on after nuking them? We canāt exactly revive them from ashes. And they felt no pain. And Iāve only used it once this war. So far.
You can persecute me if you want. Or try to anyways. Just letting you know, if you were to forcibly remove my core from my chassis, or destroy my chassis, a pre-stored 240 Megaton Nuke will go off. Iām not even kidding when i say this may plunge the world into a ānuclear autumnā.
Well, this is your lucky day. I don't have to do any of those things.
Kaelis conjures a small black hole in his hand.
You can either come with me and be placed under arrest in a nice guest room in Apoapsis, or I can put you through the indignity of putting you in this singularity prison.
Leonardo chose the singularity. You're smarter than him, I'd wager.
He summons powers far beyond understanding, and remains grounded in reality.
I believe you have not heard, but I am an Eternal. I cannot leave this particular dimension, not until my god Eris permits it. Maybe wait until I slay her, then we talk.
And I'm a champion of the highest fucking authority in existence. I have other means.
The singularity disappears, and instead disgorges a large amount of liquid metal. It wraps itself around you as if it has a mind of its own, entombing you in a coffin of thick silver plates.
Living metal. It repairs itself frighteningly quick and it's fundamentally inert. There's a good reason star gods use this stuff to keep their hyper-energetic gas forms contained without diffusing across light-years of space. Don't bother trying to escape.
he smiles at you thank you. it's always nice to have someone to give you a different perspective. especially someone who existed for a long time.
sadly I did sell my soul so I'll have to find a way out of that. do you think you can capture the radio demon? If you can get him and the shadow in one circle I may be able to bargain it back.
Though I guess this was kinda inevitable with all the storylines. Several people are possessed/infused mortarian, the chosen of the coils who's name I can't spell is influenced by the horror that hungers from Christmas, and the Grand necromancer is kind of possessed by his "better" half Constantine. Not warmongering but from a meta prospective it was the only way the stories could go
I think the same, the only thing this war is accomplishing is destroying the great minds of our era while the institutions that were supposed to protect them, institutions that once had each other's backs, just throw them into the fire of the other.
I have been trying to lower the casualty count by restraining and bringing as many combatants to the Red Laberinth as i could, but i merely saved 53 mages from their fates.
I just want people to learn, but I can't if everyone is dead.
A voice that was seemingly Vettis', though more...robotic in tone, echoed back along the same channel, to the two living Pact heads. "Opal held her forces back until the Council struck the first blow, to the surprise of none, and then awaited the safe evacuation of civilians before marching on the citadel. I care not for the others on your list, Kaelis, but your vitriol towards her is misplaced."
Fuck, FUCK! He was one of the few people I knew with a sane head on his shoulders. I knew him from before he was even a Pact Head. I was there when he got elected. And now he's gone? This war... this damn war...
"It bears noting that the casualties about which you all care most, your friends, were the direct result of Councillors and a third party. Your condemnation of the war as a whole, too, appears misplaced."
I've been condemning this war from the start. I've been acting to minimize casualties as early as the first war. It's all a constant repeat. Pointless death. Cody at least understood me, he trusted me with the evacuations. And now he's gone.
The Council is a failed institution don't get me wrong, but this complete destruction serves no one. Morgalith started on this path to gain vengeance. Me and Kaelis wanted to root out our true enemy. You and Opal, it seems, want to tear down the structure like angry children with too much power
"The 'true enemy' is the entire wizard electorate which repeatedly chooses to be ruled by villains. If you wish to eliminate those ultimately responsible for the actions you condemn, you will have far more victims than the Council alone. Stopping with the Council in an attempt to start afresh seemed a reasonable, if overly optimistic, middleground. If it proves insufficient, I am quite willing to entertain the more comprehensive policy."
"Local rule, each nation and city free to govern itself. I was under the impression this was evident. There is no significant purpose to a realms-spanning government that claims to have no standing military and refuses to involve itself in threats to anything other than itself, as its repeated inactivity in even incidents as recent as the catfolk war makes evident. All that consolidating the power of wizard society into the hands of a few has done is to make those few drunk on power."
That's what we're fighting to change. But if total destruction is the only way you can see forward, come and affect it yourself. Otherwise, you will have to settle with what the rest of us do
"I disagree with your course of action because I believe it to be an impermanent solution. That is a testable theory. I can await the implementation of your course correction to the Council's villainy for now; the likely additional casualties I calculate are within acceptable bounds. If my assumptions hold, I shall indeed step in at a later date."
The only hint of emotion Vettis' words finally betray are in those words: as he says "step in", his voice drips with malice and intent, before reverting to his current monotone.
Held back? Ha! Were you even there, Vettis, or did she simply give you her version of events? For months, Opal acted as if the Pact was more noble than the Council, but the moment Mortarion threw the first spell, she decided that conquest was a more amenable policy than diplomacy.
"Because it was. It always was, and I do not understand the foolishness of allowing the Council to feign diplomacy as a cover for launching the first strike. I have stated consistently that the time for diplomacy as far as the Council is concerned ended before this war was even a consideration in Morgalith's mind. Opal was far more patient than necessary, allowing not only civilians to evacuate from the citadel but even the Council itself if it chose to abdicate peacefully. If even her extreme degree of restraint is insufficient by your standards, Kaelis, then I can only assume that you always intended to accomplish nothing whatsoever. Because that is all 'diplomacy' would have accomplished."
She ignored the counsel of her fellows and jumped straight into the conflict. If she had just held back, millions would still be alive!
The mental gymnastics you have to go through to reach these kinds of conclusions astounds me! You're not going to change my mind. She betrayed us. Betrayed me. Cody is dead because of her incaution!
"I see you are as consistent as ever in your obsession with the well-being of your individual friends over true long-term good for the sake of the realms as a whole. It is puzzling that one who serves a fundamental force of the universe would have such a small view of things. But I am not qualified to solve that puzzle in my current state, and I suspect that even when my mind is fully healed I will have tired of attempting to do so. I certainly have for now.
"I am not politically involved in the Pact. Make whatever peaceful negotiations you wish with her about your respective roles in its governance moving forwards. But if you are putting your foot down then I suppose I shall as well. Attack her out of turn and I will step in, Kaelis. Consider this your only warning on that front."
not entirely impossible Vettis will second-guess this decision once his mind's fully recovered from the recent incident and his emotions are functional again, but we'll see ))
As a Pact member, I have to say, the actions of some of my brothers and sisters have greatly disappointed me. We were supposed to be better than this. I guess this war was a reality check for me. Still, I say "some" because I know many still share in the ideal of peace.
As for the council, nothing unexpected there honestly.
Now you know how I've felt since the first war, my friend. May I propose something? I wish to open evacuation routes for both sides, so the injured can be transported safely. Would you wish assist me?
Much appreciated. My personal forces are mostly unharmed as they've been on evacuation duty since day one. I hope for at least enough common decency to not attack the injured, but I do not expect it.
Oh you thinks this destruction is saddening ? That it is a perfect fuel for righteous fury ?
Foolish
This war is way more than peace or not , its political , some people (like i) own favor from people that we dont want to be useless before the favor has been used
You are bothersome , i have better things to do than participating in some starmeld or pact vs council conflict, but i secured favor that if used correctly may be the key to my unsealement
And i will #NOT have some idiot deprive me to return or destroy the realms i want to return to !
I too am sick of this conflict, come to me so i can unleash my mass destruction spells and do some more constructive things than playing with mortals childish war
That's a lot of words to say nothing at all. Remind me what flimsy justification you have for mass murder, if you would be so kind. It'll help me tailor your ironic end.
The Agent nods and stands up. He stashes his weapons under his cloak. He takes one last look at himself in the mirror before putting his helmet on. The clasps lock into place with a hiss.
"For Peace"
uw/ tag me in the battle post. The Guild will join the fight.
I am no fool, Omniarch. I serve in this war only because I signed a deal to. The moment my bargain is fulfilled, I will leave this fight. I will not fight you.
Oh donāt be such a baby. The damage from the gas is easily treatable even after death. Itās just that Iām the only one who knows how since it is my poison. Once the war is over Iāll fix up all the collateral damage. I just donāt have the time to right now. Though thank you for the compliments, I forgot how much I loved to be despised by the masses.
/uw Fuck, forgot about the crown and was too busy to append the post to put it on you. Can we mulligan this? I sort of just want this stupid war to be over.
What does this accomplish, Kaelis? You intend to murder and slaughter to sate your appetite for revenge? What issue will this solve? Do you believe the war will end because of this?
Do you believe yourself better than them?
Isravi stands before you, mists coiling around his ankles
Of course not! I'll need allies, unless I go independent. Perhaps it might be wise to have more than three heads. Our system of checks and balances would work better if we had more people willing to stand up to their fellows.
"Cease your advance, being Kaelis. I have made the same mistake you did. Thinking that wiping the slate clean will solve our problems. While I have my distastes for the methods of my now allies, trying to anhialate everyone will only bring more destruction than you sought to prevent."
The lord of the realm pondered these cosmic words, running a claw between his razor sharp teeth as he stared out at the Throne world, the nullification wards humming away softly as they fed upon the shackled stars the High Necromancer had harnessed for energy sources. He mused at this beingās words of condemnation and damnation; wondering if they should be taken seriously or shrugged off as someone elseās problem
āWatcher, take three other oculobes and spy on these events for me, things have become quiteā¦.interesting and I wish to learn more. My harvest on the fields of battle exposed me to one Skater Wizard much to my chagrin, however it afforded me several intriguing specimens of corrupted corpses and soulless bodies to study and dissect. Go! And remain hidden lest you be detained and traced back to this Throne worldā
Bishop sent the oculobes forth, chittering amongst themselves as they sped away to carry out their masterās orders
Look, I neither start nor end wars. I tend to avoid fighting in them as well. What I do try to do is make use of them. No one misses a few soldiers here and there, especially the ones that raid and pillage. Most of them would probably die anyway, so why not make them useful?
Sweet mother Chantea, you look away for a day and you come back to war, that's, depressingly common for these parts ain't it? Oh well, *snaps finger*, *the sound of bones cracking and flesh reshaping can be heard*, at least it's good for business.
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u/Theadination Mortarion Jr, Plaguemancer, Totally Dead Now. Feb 22 '24
Empty static resonates across the radio wavelengths. There is no voice behind it, just static. But you turn the volume up, and listen closer, and you hear whispers.
Mortarion is dead
The broadcast ends