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[Knave]

Cold.

So cold...

A deep cold that chilled his very essence seemed to radiate from inside him. Natus had suspected the contents of the book 'Origins' were powerful, but he did not expect them to be -this- strong. But who could he turn to for help? Luna? Coradin? Natus shook his head a moment with doubt and worry. No, he would be a fool to trust any of his siblings with the power that lay inside this ancient text. He alone would have to bear the burden of this book. But the power could help him. Strengthen him. Restore balance to the universe. Though large portions of the book were missing, he felt as though he could start his search for his father.

He would make his father proud.

He would construct a place of worship, a place to channel Xarn's power. No one could know... they would try to distort his vision... bring harm to Natus.

To the farthest reaches of Natus he traveled, the northern tip, an arctic pole of snow and ice. Here he would begin his tribute to Xarn. A great tower of legendary proportions.

The Spire of Xarn.

Taller than anything yet constructed, it would reach the sky and beyond. It would be his greatest creation yet.

A tower of a strange pure white twisting stone. It was smooth to the touch and seemed to have no fault as it reached into the heavens. It would be hard even for a god to look upon it's structure and not marvel at it's natural beauty. Inside, he craved statues of the many forms of Xarn out of the same stone the tower was constructed of. They were ever-changing, like his father, both with shape and shapeless at the same time. They seemed to defy logic.

'Origins' had revealed much to Natus. Some of which was frightening. Before reading it Natus had been certain Xarn would be the salvation of him and his siblings. But after reading it, he was not so sure. Doubt and paranoia filled his mind. Was it the book's influence? Or something else? The chapters describing Xarn (The few that had not been destroyed) painted the picture of a very powerful and deceitful deity... He found the passages regarding 'The Destruction of the First Universe' particularly disturbing... Yet he continued with his construction. Something compelled him. He could not let down Father... He would rescue him from his eternal nightmares.

Was he doing the right thing? Or bringing destruction a second time?

His brothers and sisters were more than likely waiting for Natus back at the Refuge. But for now he would ignore their calls. There was important work to be done and he could not be interrupted. He imagined them sitting on their thrones already devising plans to destroy him and steal the book. He couldn't let that happen. So focused on his work was he that he did not even notice that his form now seemed gaunt and pale.

As Natus continued to work, the cold radiates from his body across the planet. As the temperatures begin to fall. The planet begins to prepare for winter. The leaves on the great trees of Natus begin to change colour. Brilliant yellows, reds and oranges. It is a rare and wonderous sight. Wildlife start to stockpile food for the oncoming freeze. One by one, a few of the leaves fall to the ground. The wind howls and eldar humans tell their young children that it is 'Father Natus come to knock the leaves off the trees' they knew winter would not be far off.

Fall had arrived on Natus.

Act 1: Natus begins construction of the Spire of Xarn. It's purpose is a place of worship and source of channeling energy for Xarn. Natus hopes that it will serve as a springboard to allow Xarn to manifest in this universe once more.

[forsaken1111]

Darkness spreads beneath the surface of the underground ocean as Astra'ath's creation enters a phase of rapid growth. Bubbles rise as it strips oxygen forcefully from the water, fueling its rapid expansion. Fish are snapped up, algae is scoured from rocks, even parts of itself no longer necessary are devoured like some twisted ouroboros. Eventually its bulk grows enough to breach the water's surface.

Its surface hardens upon encountering air, and it stretches some few hundred feet out into the ocean looking like nothing so much as rolling hills of scaly flesh with small tidal pools here and there. The pools are regularly spaced, deep, and briny.

Inside each pool, larval forms of Astra'ath swim, their tiny minds scheming and plotting against one another. Every once in a while, a sudden flurry of movement shatters the surface of a still tidal pool as the larvae within form alliances and consume one another, leaving only the strongest and fastest and smartest alive.

When one of these larvae grow large enough that it has consumed most others within, approximately the size of a golf ball, a group of female cultist wades naked into the spawning pool. Each of them hope to be chosen by the larvae. Most in the group are impregnated by the lesser larvae who have survived, and some cultists are not impregnated at all but are grabbed by the vast bulk of the spawning pools and dragged down as food, but some few in every group are taken by the largest and most developed larvae; and this is the prize which compels the female cultists to volunteer for this dangerous duty.

While the two are indistinguishable until well into the pregnancy, those impregnated by a lesser larva rarely live to bring the 'child' to term. Somewhere between seven and eight months the difference becomes obvious, as a clawed horror bursts forth from the unprepared womb of its own accord. These bestial creations gnaw their way free, consuming the host before making a mad dash for the waters. No two look alike in shape or size or number and configuration of limbs and organs. Some do not survive a week from the birth, some seem to be eternal, but it is entirely random and none of them are intelligent. These children are known among the cultists as Deepspawn, and apart from the host creature they would never harm a being baring the elder sign. They grow very quickly in the lightless depths of the underworld sea.

The lucky few chosen by a mature larvae carry the 'child' to term and give birth to a healthy little horror, known among the cult as Starspawn. As a child, a Starspawn resembles a human baby, but Starspawn mature slightly faster than humans and live far far longer. Upon approaching physical maturity, the differences begin to show. The starspawn's skin becomes hard and translucent, almost transparent, and fleshy wings grow from its back. Its cranium elongates to make room for its massive brain, and its eye sockets deepen as its eyes change. They grow a transparent inner eyelid and their sight is enhanced to superhuman levels.

A host of other changes take place, too numerable to mention and mostly internal, the end result of which is to produce a being capable of survival in the void between worlds unassisted. They can survive for months at a time on the faint starlight which reaches through the void, or consume the magnetic flux of a spinning planetary body with a metal core. Their wings can capture and redirect solar radiation, acting as small but powerful thrusters allowing them to move around. They are fast, strong, remarkably intelligent, and they possess an incredibly powerful psychic ability.

While Starspawn are mortal, they can prolong their life almost indefinitely by consuming the mental and physical essence of a sophont, their 'soul' if you will. This is done by grasping the head or other thinking apparatus in the hands and enfolding the being within the wings. Once the Starspawn overcomes the sophont's will, the wings siphon all energy from its body and nothing is left but a dessicated husk. Their unnatural existence is accompanied by a disturbance in the void, created by their intellect and will, which most perceive as a cold tingle down their spine. Ordinary animals and other unintelligent beings normally hate them on sight, and beings not native to this universe instantly recognize their nature.

Every one, both Starspawn and Deepspawn, features the elder sign of Astra'ath somewhere on their bodies.

Astra'ath has created the Deepspawn and the Starspawn, both of which come from the Spawning Pools.

[Digital Hellhound]

Coradin stopped, hesitating. The creature had gotten here on it's own? Yes, that might've been possible. Dragnar wasn't the one to blame, even though he made a mental note not to discuss their plans of how to deal with Astra'ath near him again.
His form changed back to the original one.

'I.. I overreacted, brother. I thought... I thought I had warded this place against such beings, but I am beginning to see I did not. You may leave now, if you wish.''

He turned to Poena, who was obviously shaken by Astra'ath's words.

'Do not be fooled by his tongue, child. Astra'ath is a threat to this whole world, and has proved it, attacking us even before it... entered.
If any of us had any doubt of his true colours at that point, they know now.' He paused, the image of the desctruction of Elan still fresh in his mind.' The methods we use to combat Astra'ath may seem extreme to you, but we are not working together, and have not agreed on using any of these... weapons. We are all fighting independently, and there is no fixed battleplan. Aside from protecting you, of course.'
He saw nothing wrong with the attack himself, but Poena needed calming right now, not the truth. Astra'ath would be defeated by any means necessary.
Coradin didn't even try to suppress these thoughts. He could sense Astra'ath's servants waiting outside, hoping to get to spy on the Refuge more, no doubt. Even though the Protector was a capable warrior, he could not see what was Astra'ath's and what wasn't.
Coradin needed something else as well...

Coradin creates the Furies, winged creatures which harass any intruder Coradin says to be one, watching through their eyes

[dragnar]

"Your wards are set to prevent attacks. The creature was here to speak, nothing more. If you fear what mere words can do, then perhaps you should reconsider your opinion of Astra'ath. Truthful words cannot harm one who sides with justice. Of course, in many battles neither side is just... but I digress, goodbye for now my brother."

Dragnar leaves the refuge and observes these new beings of the chained one, these scholars. Their purpose is quite similar to his own...

"Scholars, I am the keeper of knowledge in this realm, and it seems we could aid each other greatly. I will give you access to my library, and in return I ask only that you continue to aid the young races of the universe. Their sciences are still woefully simplistic, and your aid will accelerate their growth greatly. It might even give them a chance against Astra'ath, and it would be a shame if none manage to survive his hunger, a waste of such great potential."

[Blargityblarg]

Galt saw Astra'Ath's power in the universe, and Galt were jealous.

Galt saw the source of Astra'Ath's power in the universe, and they were devious.

Galt took some of the soulless inhabitants of their great Hive World, and shaped some into mosquitoes, some into fleas. To these vermin he gave a pestilence of his own brewing- a contagion specifically designed to counter the wasting disease that accompanied the renunciation of the Cult of Astra'Ath. From now on, any creature bitten by these insects would be able to simply leave.

Galt create races of mosquitoes and fleas from some of the insects on their Hive World. They infect these vermin with a disease that will, simply put, allow a creature to stop worshipping Astra'Ath. Note that nobody actually knows this yet, apart from Galt; mortals will likely have to find it out themselves.

[Digital Hellhound]

'Are you making any progress?'
The voice came from her suit's comm-link and she recognized it as one of the Speakers. She looked up, glancing at the working Tech-Heads.
'Uhh... well, yeah. Slowly, but yeah. This thing is stubborn though. We have to advance section by section. The main controls are locked down too well.
It's been trying to knock us out every now and then, but we'll manage.' Needle explained. The damned AI had closed up the ship controls. They had been too confident in their skills and let it know of their plans. Tech-Heads and other Morai from every tribe were working all over the ship, while the warriors were undergoing heavy combat training.[/i]
'Hmh. I told you AI's weren't to be trusted. Once you regain control, make sure to destroy every trace of the thing.'  The Speaker said,  but before Needle could reply, Haev's voice popped in. It seemed he had been listening.
'I think we could shut down the main AI Core from the engines, we've found most of the entrances, but they're all locked down. I've already requested some heavy guns to punch them down, but they're taking their time. I'll let you know once we breach the doors.'
Of course, he left out the part that they had no idea if they could really overcharge the AI Core from the engines, but it was their best shot at it.
She returned to work, but it did not take long for the doors behind her to open, and she saw three Morai carrying a massive cannon enter, probably taken from a ship somewhere. Finally.
---

Sothurn stared at the Stone laying on the ground beside him. The madgod had disappeared, but he feared it had done something to the Stone.
It still called for him, and he knew he would give in sooner or later. Encountering Mania had shaken him and he needed to get out of the Palace.
The seven others were waiting outside in the gardens. They were getting impatient. Fearing Coradin's return, or something else?
He sighed. Yes, he would have to go. To the Armada's edge, near Ss'Vadgrin. The rest of the Vanguard were eager to get to the Morai.
Sothurn needed the Stone, and if Mania had done something to it, so be it.
He stood up and grabbed the Stone. When nothing happened, he shrugged and left for the gardens.
' We are leaving. I have the Stone.'

All eight of them left in a silent formation, drifting towards the sea of dead ships known as the Armada.

[Karnewarrior]

Deep within Manias 'prison', Mania laughed. Already, everything was going as planned. Now to get to Astra'ath...

[Lordinquisitor]

"So he tried to convince you that we started the whole war?" Gheronaton asked. "He told you that we persecuted his worshippers? Yes, we did that. But did he tell you, why? Even before his arrival he haunted our creations with bad dreams, made them his slaves. And then.. Then he sent a rotting dragon to my world, where he and his cultists started to wage war against my creations. His minions are abominations made of flesh and corruption and all of them are fanatically obedient. He consumed countless universes before; Why should he have changed his mind, now?"

"He started the war; But we will end it." He concluded.

Then he left the Refuge, believing that he made poena see reason. The war against Astra`ath was justified, he assured himself. And wars are costly.. Some of your creations might die; Some of your worlds might be annihilated.. And even a brother might die. Alex. What happened to him? Gheronaton wasn`t sure and while he scarcely knew him he would make astra`ath pay for it.

As he was flying through the space between the planes he glimpsed something.. The planet of plates, Alexs domain; Now devoid of a master. He decided to have a look.

The world seemed empty, not populated by sentient creatures at all.. Yet, he finally found them. They were inside of the altars- Trapped, like dangerous animals. Gheronaton didn`t like that. Alex had been careless, he trapped his creatures and then got himself killed- Dooming them to a existence of darkness and fear.
Pity made Gheronaton lift his blades, and with them he opened one altar.. And inside he found scared dwarves shielding their eyes with their hands; For they hadn`t seen the sun, or light at all, in a long time.

And when their eyes had adjusted to the light they finally beheld Gheronaton, in all his godly splendor, and they were scared and in awe. But he said: "I`m Gheronaton, Lord of War and brother to your creator. He died in battle against the great enemy, but you shall not be without godly guidance. I will watch over you and protect you against the dark times that lie ahead."

Then he freed the other Dwarves, and then the elves. The elves were allowed to go back to their homeworld; If they wanted. Some agreed, many more decided to stay. Gheronaton immediately dispatched a messenger to luna; If she wanted she could take back those elves that longed for their homeworld any time.

And then the planet of plates was godless no more.

But they were still too vulnerable, Gheronaton judged. Even he coulnd`t be everywhere at once.. And so he moved the Planet of Plates across the universe, and placed it near Incendium and Ferraria.



I free the dwarves and the elves and show myself to them.. I declare that i`m their new god; Protector and savior. Then i move the planet of plates near Incendium and Ferraria, Inside of the asteroid belt. (Incendium can constantly be seen, even at day, while Ferraria only becomes visible at night.)

I also send a firstborn to luna; He shall tell her that Gheronaton found some trapped elves on the planet of plates and that some of them want to go back home.

[Caesar]

The pain ebbed away. It was just a cut. Poena felt the urge to attack something.
A matter of mere seconds, although it seemed to take ages for her to lower herself and pick up the sword.

She once more dropped Ertanon, the sword clattering on the floor.
Her brother-

A motivation she did have, and she turned herself around, taking her brother into her arms. Nameless, rejected, alone. No- not alone. She was there. She would always be there. They were of the same blood. They were equal.

Nurturing him to her chest, she knew what had to be done. She had to fight. She had to forget that she was just a girl, not even yet an adult, because she wasn't. For him she had to lose her soul, sacrifice her freedom. She did not know who was right, she did not know who was wrong, but in due time she would find out.

"Bring my brother away, to someone that can give him the love he deserves. He will be named, fed, and you will do no else that to protect him. If you fail, I will come to kill you. Each and every one, until I run out of breath."

Her eyes were fixed on Coradin and Gheronaton. "I accept your offer. I accept to be trained.. to fight. I will do what must be done."
"And you-" She turned to Phaedron, her tone harsher than she liked it. "You will help me be able to clear my mind, and to use it as a weapon, as your master.." She spit out the word with disgust ".. commanded."

She knew she could not destroy Astra'ath. She knew that she could not even destroy the tiniest of his servants. She did know, though, that she was capable of giving these Gods hope of being capable to do so.


She hoped that they would destroy themselves.

[dragnar]

With the most pressing matters out of the way, Dragnar thinks back to Astra'sth's offer to help understand it. It cannot corrupt a god, so there should be no danger in a simple visit... Dragnar warps to Astra'ath's new home in the core of the nameless planet.

"Astra'ath, you said that to truly understand you I would have to meet you face-to-face. Well, here I am, and I ask again, what are you, truly?"

[Digital Hellhound]

'They have sent some of their kind to greet us, Sothurn. They knew we were coming. Are we changing our plan?' The speaker had been
Dashere, one of the warriors that had been with him in the Palace. She had the form of a statue of a snake-headed woman with needle-sharp claws, which she clicked together while she was speaking. It annoyed Sothurn more than anything, but he wasn't going to do anything about it. They were all servants of Astra'ath.
He thought about her words. If the ship-dwellers had been warned, it was likely they had been instructed to attack them on sight as well.
Messengers gave him hope, but even that could very well be a trap. This whole thing could turn out to be pointless if they could not even get a chance to investigate them.
The new knowledge in his head was already screaming ideas. He picked one he felt would serve him the best.
Two plans - some would go to meet the ship-dwellers, but he would lead the main bulk of the Vanguard into the ship-dweller's homes.
Always strike when your enemy least expects it.
'Take a dozen of our best speakers and send them to greet this delegation of theirs. The rest will come here. We are changing our plans, as you thought.'

[forsaken1111]

No response greets brave Dragnar as he appears in the depths. He sees a great cavern overlooking an even greater ocean. Nearby a small village has been built through the tireless work of the cult, and further the spawning pools with their lambent green waters. A group of young maidens is walking naked towards a tidal pool, heedless of the shapes writhing in its depths. They sink into the briny waters and settle back against the scaly flesh, seemingly relaxed. One of them is snatched down into the waters without a sound, vanishing forever.

Dwarfing all, however, is Astra'ath. A wall of mighty pulsing flesh and sinew stands against the stone. Rows of tri-lobed eyes form and vanish ceaselessly across its bulk as it watches everything which happens within its demesnes. One eye turns to Dragnar quietly, and the fleshy tentacles along Its bulk part. Silently, an orifice opens there revealing a tunnel, almost like a corridor, which is dry and actually smells quite pleasant compared to the dank cave. The invitation is obvious, and no malicious intent is sensed.

Nearby, several gaunts are playing a game of cards over a barrel with a being dressed like a twisted court jester, and a young pregnant woman strums a banjo while singing a beautiful song. The melody is slightly familiar, though Dragnar is sure he has never heard it before.

[dragnar]

Dragnar vanishes into the depths of Astr'ath, and is not seen for some time. Eventually he returns to the caverns and from there warps back to his library. Once there he conjures a book, and begins to write furiously, filling pages in a matter of minutes. After his work is done, he calls a librarian and orders it to file it away.

"And the library's records grow one step closer to completion..."

[HailFire]

Satae drifted lazily through space, contemplating the growing Universe. She had quietly abandoned the Council, melting into the shadows after the Chained One practically summoned the Abomination into their collective laps. The presence of that... thing, lashing out at him.... it was just too much to bear. Besides, her siblings had- apart from that incident- seemed to be handling things reasonably well, and it wasn't like she was obligated to finish what she had started. Fighting wasn't her schtick, and she had witnessed how well a head-on attack had gone over. No, she had... subtler plans.

For too long, she'd watched and waited, and pent-up cosmic power radiated from her body; shadowy tendrils writhing in the void.

It was time to get to work. The Lady of Darkness turned away from her sibling's creations, towards the veil of stars that lined the edge of the infinite expanse. This wasn't part of the plan, but it was an investment in the future, and served to burn off some excess energy; She gathered power into her hands, summoning forth a pile of sand. Each grain glittered brilliantly, visible from the farthest reaches of the Universe.

Satae called to several of her Fey, and bid them scatter the sand across the veil, sowing it like seeds upon a vast plain. These new stars were not as bright as the original ones, nor as powerful, and they did not form any meaningful constellations, but she wasn't finished. While the Fey worked, she reached forth, grasping the veil, and shifted it, gifting motion to the stars. Eventually, across the night skies of the worlds, the existing constellations would break apart, only to eventually form new signs with new powers. In this way, the power of change would help protect mortals over the eons. Xarn's Fist, however, being what it was, remained static- she couldn't influence the creation favored by the Over-God, and cared not to try.



Now to get to the business of the Abomination. But first, a bit of privacy was in order... It wouldn't do to have people spy on her devious schemes.

She slashed out at the fabric of Foundation with her trident, tearing open a rift- not the sort of rift as Xarn would create, which pierced through the very Essence of the Universe (she neither needed nor desired to expend that much effort), but merely a gap through which she formed a small pocket dimension- a little parcel off to the left of reality. This she enchanted and warded before sealing the gap: only guests invited could enter, unless she brought them there personally. Granted, she mused, some might breach it's defenses through sheer brute force, but first they would have to locate something which did not truly exist.



Meanwhile, hidden among countless rows of bookshelves in Dragnar's library, the interest of one Fey was piqued, and it silently shadowed a certain librarian carrying a certain tome. Satae smiled. Perhaps she would be checking out a book today...


Satae fills the night sky with additional stars (it felt a little empty), but no new constellations. Then, she sets the stars and constellations in motion; they'll eventually break up and reform as new signs with new powers (Xarn's Fist, for obvious reasons, is unaffected).

Satae also creates a small pocket dimension, and wards it against uninvited guests.

[Digital Hellhound]

The home of the ship-dwellers lay before them. Another dead ship in midst of other such wrecks.
'Move out, three groups.' Sothurn said, the order being transmitted telepathically to his forces. They begun to move, tiny figures in the vastness of the Void.
The Vanguard advanced, drifting by the fields of dead spacecraft. The one that the ship-dwellers lived on stood in the middle of a clearing, without a single dead ship disrupting the space around them.
If this had been a normal, ground-based battle, he would've not dared to risk his forces to such an enviroment, but few normal rules of combat applied in space.
His troops didn't even hesitate going into the open. The three formations split, planning to follow the edge of wreck-filled space as long as they could.
He saw a tiny speck of light appear for a second in the side of the ship far away. A ship-dweller machine, probably. He doubted they knew they were he...

The first formation disappeared in a flash of light right before his eyes. He came to a halt and blinked. Was he seeing things that were not there?
No, something had indeed happened.
Where nearly seventy of the Vanguard had stood just a second ago was now a slowly-expanding cloud of stone.
He tried to speak, but only managed to get out a gasp of disbelief. The other two formations had now stopped as well, looking as stunned as he was.
He had to regain control of himself and them before anyone else was lost.
'Turn... turn back. Retreat! Back into the ship fields! Do not just stand around, we have to go!'
One by one, the warriors of the Vanguard came to their senses, turning around and heading for the safety of the dead wrecks as fast as they could.
There was no sign of military discipline, no order. The Vanguard fled in panic.
While running, Sothurn thought about this turn of events. It was a disaster.
He would have to bring back news of his... failure to Astra'ath. They had succeeded in neither converting or killing the ship-dwellers, unless the 'diplomats' had been incredibly lucky. He doubted that.
He had underestimated them. Weapons that eliminated whole formations of his warriors in seconds from the other side of the battlefield - none of the
information in his head could help him there.
He had failed. Failed Astra'ath, failed the Vanguard. Seventy warriors lost in an instant.
He shook his head.
There had to be another way. He would not give up.

---

'Here goes nothing.'
At first, she thought nothing had happened. Their attempt had failed, the AI's defences just too strong.
Then came a terrible screech as electricity, way over safety limits, jumped straight into the AI Core. It continued for several minutes, so loud Needle had to mute outside sound from her helmet.
Then it stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and the whole room went dark.
'I guess... I guess it worked. Huh.'

The main AI Core was destroyed.
Moments before it's death, it sent itself to a backup server.
However, it's programming disrupted by the overcharge of power, it was not entirely successful.
First, it got confused about it's destination, and split itself.

Into every single server on the entire ship.

The confusion in it grew and grew, until it was forced to shut itself off from ther rest of the ship.
This of course, happened in every single server.
Though fragmented beyond recognition, the ship AI still lived on. Some sections shut themselves off too late, and went insane. Some were simply reduced to something barely above an automated defence system, sending waves and waves of security bots after the Morai inside. Some retained their former intelligence, and began to plan their next move, while attempting to regain control of other sections or shut them down.
Some were completely corrupted and wrecked.

The last bit happened, unfortunately, in sections containing the broadside guns.

Overall, the ship was in chaos. The AI were all acting on their own, and the loss of the main AI Core meant reduced intelligence and capabilities.
Unless most of the AI would connect and merge with eachother, the ship was now all too vulnerable...

---

Coradin saw what had happened to his Palace, and got to work. Again.

Coradin destroys and rebuilds the Palace again