Turpis knelt by the silvery pool as it refilled once again with the changing of the seasons. This time he did not wait for the others as he had the two years past, but dipped his hand in it directly.
"This I do to seal a peace between the Firelord and the world of Nitomushul; a people of His own that live within it, that He has reason not to extinguish it in totality, and a link between His realm and those of Wayock's people, to symbolise their agreement to this pact."
Turpis drew three silvery threads from the pool, emptying it once again. He opened a gate to the ruins of Ynoclia and wove two with divine skill, shaping them into webs and patterns in the lives of mortal men. Then with the last he wove threads in the fabric of the Halfway House, drawing open two of the archways; one to a searing realm of equal fire and darkness, another to a different hidden realm beneath the earth.
Garbed in his robe of shifting shadows, Turpis stepped into the fiery domain of Rhuax and received from Him the two artefacts of power to transfer to the Wargod. He passed through the flames that would consume any mortal that lay at the heart of that God's domain, then returned to the safety of the Halfway House, travelling thereafter to the city of the Ger. He presented the Crown and the Sword to Wayock's avatar, completing for now His role in the proceedings.
Create Hub Portals: Ger City, Istamoshur [1AP, Pantheon Pool, + 1AP personal]
Transfer Crown of Maia from Rhuax to Wayock (Free)
Transfer Sword of Flame from Rhuax to Wayock (Free)
Nezzedin stood a distance back from the muscled, scarred human dressed in rich and ragged purple robes. The Firemaster, as he had become known, had in the last six months accomplished what years of squabbling amongst the survivor clans could not; unity amongst those left in Ynoclia. He raised an arm to the chorus of nearly a thousand gathered beneath the ruins of the great tower where he now made his base.
"Hail, Rhuax!" he called. "Hail Rhuax, for His might, His purifying flame has burned away that which ailed us, and brought us once again to glory our people deserve!"
"Hail Rhuax!" came the resounding cry. "Hail the Firelord!"
Giving his final blessings to the throng, he retreated from the balcony into the private chambers where Nezzedin sat. The nezumi studied the half-sandy, half-glassy goblet in his hand, sipping at the water within.
"You say this is 'sandcrafting'?" he asked.
"Yes," said the Firemaster, "though the mermen never passed on its secrets."
"Though you held other secrets of your own," Nezzedin mused, picking up a small fruit from the bowl on the salvaged table by the Firemaster's spartan bed. "For one, you say you can produce a regular, steady supply of these each year? Without having to forage extensively?"
"It is simple agriculture," replied the Firemaster, puzzled.
"Simple to you, perhaps. Still, I do hope you are enjoying your position."
"Indeed," the Firemaster chuckled. "Hail Rhuax."
"Very droll," said Nezzedin, shooting him a dark look. "Do not forget whom you truly serve, however. My master pays more attention to purely mortal affairs than the others, and you may rest assured that He collects on His debts."
"Perhaps," the Firemaster mused, casting an evil eye at the nezumi cleric. "Or perhaps not. I wonder how He would react if I were to have my guards kill you here and now." Nezzedin sipped at his water, apparently unconcerned.
"He would withdraw His patronage, I imagine. Remember whose servants provided you with your information, whose spies gathered the locations of your enemies and planted agents in their ranks. Remember who coached and trained you to be the leader of these people. He has given you all that you desire and in return he asks only your service."
There came a heavy knock on the door. A human guard pushed through, saluting with a fist against his chest to the Firemaster. He gave a barely disguised look of disgust at Nezzedin, who continued to sip at his water.
"Firemaster," the guard said, "there is someone here who wishes to speak to you. A foreigner, she says she is of station amongst the Elven Empire." He signalled to another pair of guards, who escorted in a youthful elven woman, garbed in carapace armour and bearing several scars of battle. Nezzedin immediately stood up, placing a hand on the copper dagger at his belt.
"Leave us!" he snarled to the guards. The guards glanced to the Firemaster, who nodded his assent. They filed out, leaving the three alone in the chamber. The elf kept her hands away from her chitin axe and cautiously Nezzedin removed his from his dagger.
"Who are you?" the Firemaster asked.
"My name is Immerel," the elf replied, "daughter of Nas and one of the leaders of what was the Elven Empire."
"What brings you to Rhuaxia?" the Firemaster asked quickly, before Nezzedin could interrupt him.
"He does," Immerel replied, nodding to Nezzedin. "His God does, at any rate. Though if I am to understand Velik Broj's assessment, this will likely involve you as well." The nezumi flinched instinctively, a hint that loyalties to his old master might still be present.
"What does Velik Broj wish with the Firestarters?" Nezzedin asked. "And with me?"
"Your father shattered the Empire, and with it scattered all of Velik Broj's people. This has purged corruption from us and taught us harsh lessons, but it has made us weak. We seek to forge a new Empire, Illicturi."
"'One of All'?" Nezzedin snorted. "Will it hold true, though? We will not be slaves again."
"You need not be," Immerel said, though she cast a subtle glance toward the Firemaster that Nezzedin did not miss. "We accept the nezumi as equals, you have proven your strength. It would be better, would it not, for there to be one mighty Empire than two struggling and divided?"
"Perhaps it would," agreed Nezzedin, "though I shall have to commune with my God on His thoughts there. I warn you that I have shed my links to my family, though. I cannot use my influence with them to get what you desire." He could see Illicturi's face fall; clearly she had been searching for just that.
Do not forget the resources you have at hand, then, came a thought to his mind. A smile curled on Nezzedin's lips.
"Yet perhaps there may be aid to come." He turned to the Firemaster. "You may be relieved to know that we will be calling in our favour sooner than planned, Firemaster."
"Is that so?" the human leader asked.
"Indeed. Bring the aid of Rhuaxia to Immerel's faction, lend her the power of the Firestarters to help reunite the Empire, and it will ensure Rhuaxia's place within it. Consider, the structure and magic of the Elves, the craftsmanship and tactics of the Nezumi, and the power and skills of the humans of Rhuaxia combined. What glory that might bring, glory that you would play a key role in."
"And of myself?" the Firemaster asked suspiciously.
"Not only will Rhuaxia's future be ascertained," Nezzedin promised, "but your contract with us shall come to an end. Your soul will be freed from our bargain and allowed to pass on to the rewards that Rhuax will surely shower upon you." The Firemaster's lips spread into a hungry smile at the promise of freedom from his fate. Nezzedin's own calm smile matched Immerel's; both knew the implications of the contract he had offered far more clearly than the human did.
Create Nation: Rhuaxia (from the survivors of Ynoclia)
Create Prestige Class: Firestarter [2AP from Pantheon Pool, 0 left in Pantheon]
In the cool dome of the Halfway House, handfuls of adventurous Ger had already begun to build small hostels and houses, and the more independently-minded Heliophagii dared brave the cool of the dome to trade items of heat-resistant wrought metal from the craftsger. The limb of the tree of light had been replaced by a tiny extension of the portal to Istamoshur, from which the shining light of Rhuax's realm provided constant illumination to events.
It came as a surprise to all such inhabitants when two more of the great archways rumbled and flickered to life; one to a grassy plain, the site of a great battle where trees had been burnt to the ground; the other to a craggy and dark cliff of molten glass by a shallow sea, where a spire rose amongst blackened ruins lit by ever-maintained fires.
Create Hub Portals: Rhuaxia, Genedos (surface) [0/3AP left]
[Edit: Balance Reasons]
Author
Topic: Third Lords of Creation (Read 28389 times)