The Codex of Whispers, Part 3
On this night, the Dreamer arcs his wing away from the planes, and turns instead to the winds of time, returning to a memory forgotten. We go to the Diaspora, threading past asteroids both large and small, until we arrive at a relatively miniscule rock, which is completely dominated by the stone fortress built on top of and around it.
The House of the Void.
Ferro pulled his sword from the cultist, dark blood splashing onto the black floor. The next came without pause, his dagger covered in green fluid, which joined his hand on the ground after a swift slice. All around him, men and women in midnight robes danced on the tips of their feet, the sound of their breathing modulated by vocoders, ready to overwhelm with their numbers.
Or, at least, that had been their plan.
Over a quarter of them lay dead before Ferro, and behind him, an equal pile marked Tera's domain, her gun still smoking in her hand. Despite this, the cultists came with the fervor of the mad, content to die protecting their master from harm. Mikhael was in here somewhere, hiding among the sea of unknowns, hurling spells when they were weakest. And on the other side of their ring, Alexander Marcus led his convocation, entoning an eldritch spell around a book written in blood.
The Codex of Whispers roiled with fetid magic, Wither weeping from its spine and onto the floor, stealing bits of reality as it fell.
Ferro: "We don't have time for this!"
Tera dodged a beam of laser fire, and shot the source of it between the eyes. The cultist was replaced with another in a flash, a sea of unending madmen -- a waste of life.
Tera: "We've only got the one left! We need it for Marcus!"
Ferro took a step back, the edge of a cleaver making a neat scratch in the paint of his armor, beheading a feminine form with the song in his blade. In that moment, his arm extended to its maximum length, one of the shifting cultists loosed a warp in space and time, which narrowly missed Ferro's skull. The Gorgon slid back into the crowd before Tera could fire, readying himself for the next attack, all while more cultists poured in, and Alexander began to shout -- the ritual chant now echoing off the walls.
Ferro: "I don't think we have time to hesitate."
Tera: "Fine! What do you propose?"
Ferro: "Old Man Nova!"
Tera: "The hostages are too close! Dragon Keeper." Ferro and Tera switched places, the gun in her hand bubbling up from a pistol to a grenade launcher, and the cultists on that side dived for cover. At the same moment, the Gorgon came sailing out of the crowd, his wicked knife parried by Ferro's sword, and then the vampire slipped back into the pile of robes. Ferro: "Think bigger! Something new!" Through the link, their minds raced, accessing the vault of spirits granted to them by the Outer Gates. They had so little energy left... Just one chance, one moment of greatness, to destroy the House of the Void and save them all. Their answer came like a thunderclap. Two forces joining together across the threads of time, a name crammed into their minds. Sparrowhawk. The wispy light of the Outer Gates exploded from them, their fingers entwining to become one. Tera called forth the staff, and passed it to Ferro. She took on the soul of an old hero -- a man filled with a hatred profound, a wizard with no magic. Ferro leaned towards the harsh but gentle touch of a mother, a chain of light gathering around his neck, ending in a sparrow. The staff came alive in his hands, responding to the prowess of the practicioner, hungry to defend the mortal realms. Alrond Hawkeye and Rowan Terris stood where two Guardians had been, strangers in all but their purpose. Alrond Hawkeye: "Odium."
Rowan Terris: "Time." To the cultists, it was as if the two had manifested, only to be frozen in place. Then a whirlwind of shapes exploded out from them, a titan with ebony skin and pale eyes ripping his way through their number, magic exploding around him but passing through -- as if he were not only immune to magic, but sat in a place outside it. With no vulnerable allies in range, Rowan threw her absolute worst into the crowd, a wry cackle digging into their minds, staggering them long enough for Alrond to get into range. With no cover to hide behind, the Gorgon slid into melee range, his knife flashing along Alrond's hide, but unable to pierce the adamantine Odium. Rather than retaliate with his fists, Alrond clapped his arms around the vampire, turning to Rowan, whose sparrow necklace exploded into a halo of wicked light. At last, Alexander Marcus took notice, as the dust of the Gorgon's corpse slid out of Alrond's arms, and two heroes sauntered into the circle. Rowan continued her screaming laughter, the ritual spell fading as the cultists fell to their knees, attempting to hold in the blood oozing from their ears. Only Alexander was unaffected, taking the Codex into his hands, continuing the chant as he worked up another spell. Alexander Marcus: "--so we shall follow in your empty steps, and Walk towards oblivion--"
Rowan Terris: "Get the book." Hawkeye leapt, seeming to glide along the ground as he flew forward, hitting Alexander's force shield and bursting through it. With the eldritch magic of the Codex in his veins, the technomancer was able to block the incoming fist with his own hand, but went sliding back and into the wall, the breath knocked from his lungs. Rowan lanced out, fingernails burning black as her wrist twisted, the sound of breaking bones absorbing all others. The energy of the ritual shattered. Alexander Marcus: "No!" Alexander howled with rage, narrowly avoiding Alrond's fist as it punched elbow-deep into the wall where his head had been, but not before a second fist swatted the Codex from his hands. The tome landed with a harsh thud against the stone... An incorporeal hand wrapped around the spine, and pulled it out of sight. Rowan seethed. Rowan Terris: "Centurion!" A far-off laughter was the only reply, pulling their attention just enough for Alexander to rush towards a corner, and into his own shadow. Rowan attempted to send a lightning bolt after him, but staggered over her own feet, grey energy steaming off of her skin. Alrond became Tera again, and Rowan became Ferro. Ferro: "Damn it!"
Tera: "Ferro! Leave him. We don't have the energy to chase."
Ferro: "The book!"
Tera: "I know. But better in his hands than in Alexander's... We stopped the ritual. It's over." Ferro let himself drop to his knees, sliding a little in the carnage. A great sigh came up from his belly, but he nodded. Tera walked over to him -- over the bodies and the spell circles, ruined components and ancient foci. Years of work destroyed in a moment, all because of them. She sat down beside Ferro, wondering if it had all been worth it-- Ferro: "It was." She rested her head on his shoulder, and listened as the Stewards arrived, their flashlights brightening the dark. The vision fades...
Tera: "Fine! What do you propose?"
Ferro: "Old Man Nova!"
Tera: "The hostages are too close! Dragon Keeper." Ferro and Tera switched places, the gun in her hand bubbling up from a pistol to a grenade launcher, and the cultists on that side dived for cover. At the same moment, the Gorgon came sailing out of the crowd, his wicked knife parried by Ferro's sword, and then the vampire slipped back into the pile of robes. Ferro: "Think bigger! Something new!" Through the link, their minds raced, accessing the vault of spirits granted to them by the Outer Gates. They had so little energy left... Just one chance, one moment of greatness, to destroy the House of the Void and save them all. Their answer came like a thunderclap. Two forces joining together across the threads of time, a name crammed into their minds. Sparrowhawk. The wispy light of the Outer Gates exploded from them, their fingers entwining to become one. Tera called forth the staff, and passed it to Ferro. She took on the soul of an old hero -- a man filled with a hatred profound, a wizard with no magic. Ferro leaned towards the harsh but gentle touch of a mother, a chain of light gathering around his neck, ending in a sparrow. The staff came alive in his hands, responding to the prowess of the practicioner, hungry to defend the mortal realms. Alrond Hawkeye and Rowan Terris stood where two Guardians had been, strangers in all but their purpose. Alrond Hawkeye: "Odium."
Rowan Terris: "Time." To the cultists, it was as if the two had manifested, only to be frozen in place. Then a whirlwind of shapes exploded out from them, a titan with ebony skin and pale eyes ripping his way through their number, magic exploding around him but passing through -- as if he were not only immune to magic, but sat in a place outside it. With no vulnerable allies in range, Rowan threw her absolute worst into the crowd, a wry cackle digging into their minds, staggering them long enough for Alrond to get into range. With no cover to hide behind, the Gorgon slid into melee range, his knife flashing along Alrond's hide, but unable to pierce the adamantine Odium. Rather than retaliate with his fists, Alrond clapped his arms around the vampire, turning to Rowan, whose sparrow necklace exploded into a halo of wicked light. At last, Alexander Marcus took notice, as the dust of the Gorgon's corpse slid out of Alrond's arms, and two heroes sauntered into the circle. Rowan continued her screaming laughter, the ritual spell fading as the cultists fell to their knees, attempting to hold in the blood oozing from their ears. Only Alexander was unaffected, taking the Codex into his hands, continuing the chant as he worked up another spell. Alexander Marcus: "--so we shall follow in your empty steps, and Walk towards oblivion--"
Rowan Terris: "Get the book." Hawkeye leapt, seeming to glide along the ground as he flew forward, hitting Alexander's force shield and bursting through it. With the eldritch magic of the Codex in his veins, the technomancer was able to block the incoming fist with his own hand, but went sliding back and into the wall, the breath knocked from his lungs. Rowan lanced out, fingernails burning black as her wrist twisted, the sound of breaking bones absorbing all others. The energy of the ritual shattered. Alexander Marcus: "No!" Alexander howled with rage, narrowly avoiding Alrond's fist as it punched elbow-deep into the wall where his head had been, but not before a second fist swatted the Codex from his hands. The tome landed with a harsh thud against the stone... An incorporeal hand wrapped around the spine, and pulled it out of sight. Rowan seethed. Rowan Terris: "Centurion!" A far-off laughter was the only reply, pulling their attention just enough for Alexander to rush towards a corner, and into his own shadow. Rowan attempted to send a lightning bolt after him, but staggered over her own feet, grey energy steaming off of her skin. Alrond became Tera again, and Rowan became Ferro. Ferro: "Damn it!"
Tera: "Ferro! Leave him. We don't have the energy to chase."
Ferro: "The book!"
Tera: "I know. But better in his hands than in Alexander's... We stopped the ritual. It's over." Ferro let himself drop to his knees, sliding a little in the carnage. A great sigh came up from his belly, but he nodded. Tera walked over to him -- over the bodies and the spell circles, ruined components and ancient foci. Years of work destroyed in a moment, all because of them. She sat down beside Ferro, wondering if it had all been worth it-- Ferro: "It was." She rested her head on his shoulder, and listened as the Stewards arrived, their flashlights brightening the dark. The vision fades...
Comments