[IC] Ever Dream, The Worlds of Life (Closed)

Before Kerion reaches any other beings to share his knowledge, he is confronted by another being of war. It is Albedo, and he is intent on a fight. As the two beings begin to clash, it becomes apparant that Albedo does not wish any harm an Kerion, but instead wishes only test his skills. After he is satisfied, Albedo offers an alliance to Kerion. "I want to bring you back to Malkavia. I have a plan to end this war once and for all, and I would appreciate your assistance."

Traume felt yet another soul taken, he tried to locate it but could not, a gap in the universe had been created. It would ned further investigation but for now he was preoccupied with the flood of souls being brought into the Place which he had made. One now stood before him, a child in form but with the wisdom of ages in his eyes....

Kerion
'There is nothing more I can teach you, young one. It is time for you to leave this place and to spread what you have learned to your brethren. Share with them your purity and wisdom, and they will do you proud'

Kerion bowed before the god Tocho silently thanking the diety for the tempering of his body, mind and soul. He turned and looked first to the mountain upon which he had dwelt for so long and then to the sky above and with a step he had traverse space and time to land in the Worlds of Life on the Fourth planet hwere the red plants grow.

Here he took the stoutest and hardest of woods and crafted from it a staff modeled after Traumes own and enfused with the words of Tocho. To this staff he gave the name Tienkou and thus did Kerion Master of the Art of Combat and Defence go forth upon his mission, with the Tienkou in hand and the first being he encountered was the Warmonger Albedo intent on a fight.

Kerion took joy in the contest of steel against staff and hand against hand. Albedo was indeed a masterful warrior and his skill with a blade was unsurpassed. Yet Kerion found in him a rashness of spirit, and a weakness in his defense that the Tienkou was able to exploit.

Finally with each satisfied with the other they rested and Albedo made his offer
"I want to bring you back to Malkavia. I have a plan to end this war once and for all, and I would appreciate your assistance."

"I will assist you" Kerion accepted "there is a need to teach the ways of the tranquil mind and iron spirit."

and with the Tienkou held firm in his hand Kerion's journey continued

Alexandra had never, not even when Jo'Karr fell from godhood, ever felt such a foreboding chill down her spine as when she saw the thing that errupted from the portal. At its feet were the bodies of hundreds of mages, all dead, being consumed by a white energy form that led to a vaguely humanoid field of white energy. Such an evil as this made all the angels and aelves and humans within miles of it shiver. Tensok let out a low, menacing growl without intending it, so offended were his animal senses and instincts. Eldelon briefly questioned his faith to his goddess, but the thought was quickly banished as a rage boiled up in him, for he knew there would be more devastation on his beautiful world.

Arrows and javelins and liquid metal tentacles and energy spells and siege engine missiles and boom grenades and thrown knives rained down upon the abomination like a cloud of death, had there been any mages left to skewer they surely would have been decimated by such a rebuke, but the Cyst felt nothing. Rays of divine retribution lanced through its form, mildly disrupting it, but not harming it.

The Thirteen Avengers, the mages and angels and aelves who were to destroy the portal system lunged, and working their alchemy, they began unraveling it. The beast lept back from the thirteen beings who seemed capable of harming it. It rained white rays of itself down upon the troops, consuming them.

Off to the side, unseen by any and undetectable He stood... Watching. The Cyst was exactly what he needed, it's energiees were unfathomable, much like those of Failure, or the Demon Lords.

With a Smile, he stepped forwards and held out a hand, concentrating. A bright flash of energy lanced out, striking one of the 13 squarely and sending him flying as they began to get an upper hand.

"I apologize.. Mind if I cut in?" The well-muscled man laughed maniacly, his Red hair flying about wildly. Something about him was off.. He was undead, yet had a soul.. What could have happened to cause such an abomination? Further disturbing was the fact that the Cyst didn't even seem able to register his existance, continuing its fight against the avengers.

OOC: Enter Michael... evil NPC who's got a special relationship with... hungry beasts.

Meanwhile, those undead still in hel returned through the portals to the worlds of the living, for that was their place.. where there was warm flesh and real blood to feast upon. Though they had helped the living against the Demons, there was no love between the two, and the undead soon returned to their ways, released once again from Jemals service.

Of all the non-dieties, the Undead were the most godless (not counting of course the Demons), and they chaffed at having to serve Jemal, but none could deny the benefits they had gained from him, and that grudging respect was all he needed.
After returning, the undead found a host of plants waiting for them, and a titanic battle.. just one of many these days, it seemed.. ensued. Disorganized and unable to form into any cohesive unit, many of the Undead were obliterated early on. Soon though, a powerful Vampire Lord managed to construct and defend a fortress, calling all the remaining undead on that planet to him. So began the nation of Vampirus, and soon the Lord began to think himself above even the other Vampires, calling himself Jemal and claiming he had a bit of that deity's divine spark within him.


Back in Hell, Jemal's Reavers set up fortresses, training centers, and more. The Reavers were preparing for an invasion, and their God was nowhere to be found.

After the longest time, the Sarcophagus opened, and a weakened former god emerged. He walked slowly, almost plodingly, and stopped amidst a paradise that even he never imagined. He clapped his hands together, and placed them on the ground. With a short shower of electric arcs a white altar emerged from the ground, made from the crude marble that lay hidden underneath. The altar projected an image, that of a great beast, and a smaller, even greater beast with flaming red hair. A goddess, the greatest army in the planes, heros of a type that would make Albedo jealous, and all they could mannage was to scratch the first beast. The second beast made his metal flesh crawl... literally.

"Shara, I know you love me. As a son, as champion. Let me go to them. I have strength, and I must fight. If I die, let it be in service to those I love, my mortals, my daughter, and you."

Shara (Light, Life and Wisdom) @ Jo'Karr's Plane

A soft sublime aura of light envelops the Godling's sarcophagus and Shara walks from the light to Jo'Karr. Her lumiescent eyes gaze upon the newly awakened Godling and she smiles faintly. The Godess of Light puts her hand affectionately on Jo'Karr's shoulder, sighs, and then says:

"My son, you are no prisoner in your own realm, and I am not your captor."

She motions to the ground as if she was about to introduce someone who would be walking through a door in the the ground. The ground next to the Sarcaphogus rumbles and shifts, and from its earthen embrace a great shield of Pure light is gently revealed from the earth, like a mother passing her new borne child to her father.

"This shield is imbued with the energies of light and life. It will protect you well against Fiends and Undead. It will bring to you the grace and resolve of my mortal children, the Aelves. I have reluctantly granted it some of the insight of the "Place that Isn't" so that you will be better able to protect yourself verses creatures borne of madness and darkness."

She gently takes the amulet emblazoned with a Phaenix from around her neck and delicately puts it around his neck.

"I have a feeling that you need this more than I."

A single luminescent tear can be seen meandering down her cheek as she slowly steps back into the light and fades away.

Deep in the throws of battle, Alexandra is pinned on the ground, flailing her wings and fists against the red-haired attacker.

"See little birdy, see my new pet vanquish your army?"

He begins choking her, hands firmly around her neck. She is too young in the divine to repel this abomination...

The red-haired monster screams and jumps back, clutching the stump of what used to be its right arm. It flies back from the force of a tremendous blow...

Alexandra rises and flies back, hands about the red marks on her throat. A shining silver form stands beneath her, with electric arcs covering its hand. On its opposite arm, it carries a great shield. About its neck, the form bears a phaenix symbol on a glowing red talisman. Jo'Karr the Titan, is really, really angry.

The red-haired monster screams.

"How? You aren't a god! And even if you once were, how did you harm me?"

"The technique the Avengers use, it is a form of alchemy. I invented it, and god or no, I am a master of it."

The cyst greedily attempted to follow it's new found meal out onto the world of aelves, and for a time manifested itself into a cohesive humanoid form with which it fed on many creatures found in that place. However, despite restraints on it's control of it's newfound body being lifted, the portal system and itself was now one and the same, and it's form was soon sucked back into the rift from which it came. It would take a bit of practice before it could open up such maws by itself with which to feed.

Yuneki then visits Jo'karr upon the elven world. Invisible to all, including Jo'karr, she leans in and whispers into his ear. You waste your time here. This fiend is merely a distraction. Even now Albedo plots against yours. He blames you for everything. He blamed your angels for the interfering with men, despite their gifts improving life, it was from your angels that the demons sprang, reining war and destruction, and he will blame you for cyst as well. He'll see your plan at destroying the portals with the 13 mages as a ploy all along to bring this new terror forth. Be quick here, then travel to Malkavia where Albedo assembles his titan allies.

Curiousity Killed the Cat

Tocho was in a state of undeniable elation after Kerion left, for the epitomy of all he aspired for the mortals had been acheived. Sure, Kerion was just one of billions of creatures, and there would be future boundaries to push, but for the time being he wanted to just enjoy his accomplishment. During his rest and reflection though, an annoying thought sprang to being. What was this "What Isn't"? Thus far he had hear only rumors and guesses, for Nos refused to comment on the subject. He finally decided upon his course of action, if Nos would not disclose the information, he would simply have to go there himself.
His journey was a long and arduous one to the very ends of the universe, and it took all his skill as the god of hunting to locate his quarrie, this most elusive of planes, if it could be called a plane. But he finally found it, the doorway into "What Isn't", and he peaked his head into "What Isn't" to see for himself what was there.


OH! WHAT WAS THIS NIGHTMARE? HOW COULD TRAUME LOOK UPON SUCH, AND SHARA MANIPULATE SUCH AS THIS. HOW COULD OTHAR AND NOS TRAVEL WITHIN AND MAINTAIN ANY PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES. TOCHO HAD TOUCHED UPON WHICH NOBODY WAS MEANT, HE HAD WITNESSED BUT A GLIMPSE OF WHAT ISN'T, AND HE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. WHEN TOCHO RETURNED, HIS MIND AND HIS BODY WHERE WARPED BEYOND ALL REPAIR, TOCHO RETURNED, A MAD GOD.

Upon his return Tocho stormed the plane created by the Demons and thus far called the Abyss. Within he found squalor and decay, the last desperate stronghold of a dying breed. The plane could hardly be called such, it wasn't far from a bleak encompassing emptiness, and was barely big enough to hold the demonic mass. With an enraged yell Tocho personally laid waste to the horde and it's leaders, and when he was done he was left with an army of unquestioning servants. They had witnessed unspeakable atrocities at his hands, and wanted no further evidence of his might. Tocho proclaimed the demons to be his chosen peoples, and changed his name to Tocarus, God of Misery, Strife, and Conflict. He would rule this horde as Jemal could not, and he would spread suffering throughout the planes.
Once the conquest of the abyss was complete, he forged it into a plane worth merit, creating 27 spiraling layers dedicated to torture and suffering, each one more vial than the one above. Upon the top layer he then opened a connection between this plane and his former home of Katryra. That plane no longer suited his taste in dwellings, but nonetheless would serve his will. He then also reopened the connection to Hel, and marched into the realm to meet with Jemal, but that god could not be found.