[h=2]
Stolen Land: Part 2
Dante[/h] As the group gathered around the fire at the camp, Dante found he had no appetite. It wasn’t just that he had already eaten the last radish he ever wanted to see, it was mostly the events of the past few days weighing down on him.
Dante had fought men before. He had bloodied them in combat. But before the Thorn River bandit camp, he had never killed one. He had seen plenty of carnage. Skydd and Barry went for the jugular every time they attacked. But there was something different about killing a man with your own weapon. When he killed the leader of that camp, he could feel it down his hand and arm, into his very core. He felt the hammer tear through muscles and tendons, and shatter bone. He could acutely feel his insides as he watched the life leave that woman’s eyes.
He had been in a bit of a daze after that. Far less talkative, and with little appetite. Seeing Meric’s family murdered like that made it worse. This wasn’t anything like he thought it would be. That woman had a potent aura of evil about her. She had murdered before and would certainly murder again. She had to be stopped. But He didn’t feel like a hero.
He had lied to the Swordlords when he told them he was eighteen. He knew they would never grant a charter to a sixteen year old. He thought it didn’t matter, that he was a grown man and ready to face anything the world could throw at him. He was wrong. He suddenly felt like a child who had more growing up to do.
He laid down to sleep early that night, hopeful rest would bring him some peace.
Dante awoke to a bizarre sight. Instead of the star filled night sky that he gazed upon before falling asleep, he saw an inferno. As if off at some indeterminable distance, the very air burned. He sat up quickly and noticed his companions still nearby, asleep. The immediate vicinity of the camp appeared undisturbed. But as he looked off into the horizon, he saw the soft rolling plains of the River kingdoms had been transformed.
The landscape was a random mix of both familiar terrain and a hellish landscape that could only exist in nightmares. Jagged rock formations, devoid of any trees plants or grass dotted the terrain. Off in the distance he could see the tree line of the Narlmarches still intact, and the Thorn River continued to flow near the camp, but now dropped off the edge of an impossibly deep canyon that now existed nearby. It was as if some hellish plane had invaded the world and the two dimensions fought to a draw, leaving a scarred and insane hybrid of the two.
Before he was able to react, he realized that perhaps 50 feet from him hovered a being in gleaming gold plate armor. Large white wings spread from his back. He was perhaps 9 feet tall, and radiated goodness that calmed his nerves despite his unease at the situation. Suddenly he noticed a creature enter his field of vision across from the angel. It radiated evil of an intensity that Dante did not think was possible. It stood taller than the angel despite the fact that the angel hovered several feet off the ground. His body was red and large bat-like wings extend from his back. A constant plume of smoke rose from between them. He held a massive sword in his left hand and an equally massive whip in his right. Both were wreathed in flames. The demon spoke.
[Demon] “You are far from Celestia Uriel.
[Uriel] “The path to the prime will remain closed to you Severik. Tell you master he risks the full fury of the Host by continuing this course.”
[Severik] “Do we ordinarily see only your partial fury? Do you hold back a bit in every engagement against us? “ The demon’s grotesque face appeared to form a smile. “The hordes of the abyss are infinite, and your wrath, however mighty, is finite. Why don’t you tell YOUR master that?”
[Uriel] “You will not take the prime. Your kind was driven from it eons ago and the gods will not yield it to you now. Go back to the pit that spawned you and make war on each other for all eternity.” The angel’s face turned from stoic to what could almost be describe as amused. “It would be more productive.”
From above Dante could see a flock of birds…no not birds…monsters, circling above the angel. From both sides of Severik appeared demons of numerous types. Each more vile than the last, all palpably evil. The angel stood utterly alone.
[Severik] “The boundries have weakened. You are attempting to hold back an ocean.”
[Uriel] “The response to such an incursion will be far beyond anything your master has considered in his machinations. Cascades will commence in his domain, his defenses will lie in ruins, and his legions will be scattered where not outright annihilated.”
[Severik] “You could empty all of the Heavens and not be able to successfully hold even a single layer of the abyss.”
[Uriel] “Occupation is unnecessary. How many minutes after the host retreats will your master’s enemies in the abyss wait before converging to claim what is his?“
The demon appeared to pause. The flames that surrounded his body intensified in response to the rage that stirred within him.
[Uriel] “The path to the prime will remain closed to you Severik. Inform your master accordingly.”
The demon looked upon the angel with a hatred so intense, Dante feared it might snuff out his life. The surrounding demons began moving towards the angel.
[Severik] “You are far from Celestia Uriel.”
Without a word, the angel drew his bow and loosed 4 arrows at the balor. All found their mark, two striking him in the throat sending him reeling. The flying demons converged, tearing and biting with their razor sharp teeth and talons. With movements swifter and more fluid than Dante had ever witnessed, the angel continued to fire. Two of the flying demons were dead in an instant. Two others manage to drag the angel to the ground where a mass of smaller demons proceed to pile on him.
Dante was gripped with fear at the prospect witnessing this champion of good torn limb from limb by these monsters, but before he had much time to consider the scene in front of him, a holy word was spoken. Dante could not understand it’s meaning, but he sensed it was a profound statement of truth. At that moment, all of the demons within several feet of Uriel were annihilated. He rose and renewed his volleys against the horde that stood before him.
At that moment, the balor moved with a speed no creature that large should possess, and brought his blade down on the Angel. Sparks flew as the unholy blade penetrated Uriel’s armor. The wound was deep, but the angel betrayed no signs of pain. Uriel reached for a greatsword that was strapped to his back, and the two titans exchange blows at close range. The balor’s blade cut deep, the angel’s cut deeper. There was no doubt in Dante’s mind who would have won a stand up fight between these two.
The remaining demons largely stayed back from the fight, but one, a hideous woman like creature with the lower body of a snake and 6 arms, joined the fray. She attacked Uriel from behind, all 6 blades found their mark. The angel fell to one knee. The balor sneered when he spoke.
[Severik] “Heironieous has always favored you. He would no doubt restore you if I were to kill you. No matter, there are fates worse than death”
He struck Uriel through the chest with his sword, piercing clean through to the other side. He uttered a profane word that shook Dante to his very core. The Angel’s body was consumed by primal evil and chaos, and soon nothing remained but a gold ball of light, hovering dimly in front of Severik. He smiled and moved to collect the orb when Dante saw his expression change to one of confusion. The ball of light began to solidify. At first it appeared to change into a liquid, and then hardened into a vibrant gold metal. Realization dawned on Severik as he teleported away.
The ball exploded with a force that knocked Dante onto his back. Shrapnel from it flew in all directions, ripping numerous demons to pieces. One large piece flew end over end towards Dante’s head, nearly striking him. It landed just a few feet past his bedroll.
Severik reappeared. He was unable contain his rage and lashed out at the nearest demon, cleaving it in half. After a moment he controlled himself and began to cast a spell. Soon all of the pieces of the gold ball begin coalescing in front of him. Every tiny piece returned to him and reshaped the sphere, save for one long gash in the ball that was unaccounted for. The balor began scanning the surroundings for the missing piece, suddenly his eyes scanned in Dante’s direction, and he was certain the demon perceived him.
Dante awoke with a shout. As he looked out into the distance, he saw nothing unusual. He had been dreaming. But it was like no dream he had ever had before. He reached out with his power and could sense the faint presence of evil surrounding the entire area. The others were waking now. Asta spoke first.
“Dante what’s wrong?
He looked at them with a face he knew was showing obvious terror. Could a demonic army really be about to invade this realm? He feared they would think he was crazy. But he felt compelled to tell them the whole story.
After he finished, the group looked at him with what would best be described as skepticism. Meric had never completely gotten out of his bedroll after waking up. He did not seem convinced.
“With any luck the Red Mantis will kill us before the demons get to us.” He said in an annoyed tone. He rolled back over and went back to sleep. The others ultimately did the same.
Dante was too afraid to try and sleep again that night, but went to lay back down all the same. To his shock, he saw the same piece of metal he had seen in his dream, buried in the ground behind his bedroll. He picked it up and examined it. It looked like gold, but clearly wasn’t.
He glanced back at the now snoring Meric. Maybe it was best if the Red Mantis killed them. Apparently, there were fates worse than death.