Sweeping the Trash, Part IV: Chaos
As the war between Spinesreach and a staunch alliance of Kobold, Ophidian, Djeirani, and Imp proceeded apace, the Theocracy began to realise they did not possess the troops to keep their hold on the Sanguine Fist and subjugate S.W.E.E.P simultaneously. The middle days of the war saw their occupying forces rallied and ordered to march across the realm to intervene in S.W.E.E.P’s attempt to capture Spinesreach’s primary trio of holdings. Brutal battles held the line for the first few weeks, ensuring time for Spinesreach to recover and formulate a long-term strategy. Still, several days of strategic combat had allowed the Undercity sellswords to properly acclimate to coordination with their employer’s military movements, allowing them to grant S.W.E.E.P’s specialised forces a rest as the hired adventurers took sole control of the front line.
Driven to set aside all but their vision of victory, Spinesreach entreated their budding Chaos realm to provide the forces they needed to strike out. Speaking on behalf of the city, Whirran asked General Aredra, one of Labyrinthine Chaos’ Lords, to marshal all that could be spared. The General pledged to gather what they could and began to cajole Theocratic gremlins into gathering into large vexations, though he informed those gathered that not only would they require a catalyst for the summoning, similar to their work in Mournhold, but that the General was unsure what could be provided. The conclaves agreed that anything gained would be a boon and began to deploy agents to create a ritual circle within Rock Bottom, hoping to make a gate for the gremlins to rush through. With any luck, the Dragon’s military officers theorised, the gremlins would tear the town asunder, kicking a leg out from under their foes and buying time for the city to strike down one of their rivals. Relying on prior experience with magic on this scale, Spinesreach once more employed canisters of fae blood pressurised by elemental air, allowing their operatives to spray portions of the circle in a clandestine manner.
When the day arrived, the Conclave of Magic checked the circle’s integrity. It informed the city that the operation was ready to begin, prompting Spinesreach to prepare to take advantage of the chaos. An ominous sanguine glow then mingled with the coruscating colours in the sky above the western Liruma Scrubland, and a complex ritual symbol began to manifest above the Ophidian Empire’s sovereign territory. The dreaded radiance flared to brilliance, creating a labyrinthine depth that unfolded to the mortal eye like a flower in infinite bloom, carving a road through the Prime Material’s delicate fabric. Transformed into a window through which Labyrinthine Chaos could be glimpsed, the sky bulged and twisted as it strained to contain a multitude of crazed Theocratic gremlins that lingered upon its twisted horizon. As one, the little demons pushed at the final layer of Primal integrity, their tiny claws eager for the blood of civilians and soldiers alike.
It was then that one Kobold’s curiosity threw another wrench into the Theocracy’s grand design.
“OOO, IS THIS JAM?!” the youngster wondered aloud to the entire realm. Oblivious to the great danger that roiled overhead, the effervescent Kobold youngster dipped one eager finger into the gory foundation of the Chaos ritual, smudging its painstakingly precise arrangement – an act that left an opening in the once-closed shape laid by Spirean schemes. The little Kobold child lifted his finger to his greedy lips and sampled the taste before promptly spitting it out and blaming his Impish friends for tricking him again.
No longer a closed circuit, the wild ritual energies tumbled into Rock Bottom to serve as a terrifying example of cause and effect. The milling demons upon the horizon wheeled and smeared together into one long, distended stream that evacuated the boundaries of Labyrinthine Chaos in a frenzied surge, forming a hideous amalgam of gremlin bodies. Countless gleeful ululations filled Rock Bottom’s streets as the horrifying monster took its first step upon the Prime, together in lockstep in every sense of the word. Sewn together by sorcerous mishap and a Kobold’s curiosity, the towering pile of individuals became one misshapen Lord that loomed over the Ophidian Empire, its architecture captured in a flurried infinitude of swirling, tricolour eyes.
The nightmarish fusion of screaming gremlins lurched forward to begin wreaking havoc. Ophidian warriors fell in the line of duty, throwing themselves between it and their beloved Empress Agra. In tandem, others leapt to protect Emperor Pa’akth in kind, paying the ultimate price for their sovereign. Ophidian bystanders slithered out of the way in panicked, serpentine trails, their strong arms grabbing up short-legged Kobold citizens in a patriotic bid to seek safety as one united nation, defying the crazed conspiracy theories that had brought this war to fruit. Those guards who still stood gathered into disciplined units and pressed forward, weapons bare and ready to hold the beast back until the Empress and her people could be evacuated.
“PROTECT THE ROYAL FAMILY! GUARD THE SURVIVORS!” called out the captain of the guard, his serpentine syllables cutting through the battle din. It was then that countless adventurers from across the realm flooded into Rock Bottom’s borders, intent on taking the Spirean monstrosity to task if only for self-preservation. Though countless warriors from every city-state fell in defence or assault of the vile being, it continued without a care, its wailing and gnashing bringing woe aplenty to the Ophidian Empire.
Soon, a brilliant line of burnished energy scythed through the air at the heart of the insidious catastrophe, its luminous glory parting like a curtain to allow the Stalwart Adherent and a pair of soldiers ingress.
“FORM UP! STRIKE AS ONE!” Itensu ordered. Rallied by the presence of the Oathsworn Peacekeeper, Rock Bottom’s defenders leapt to obey his orders. Though they sallied forth from guardposts and buildings now abandoned by civilians, they managed little more than superficial strikes that tore Chaotic biomass from the colossal monstrosity, creating new threats that held their attention away from the main threat. Flailing with limbs wrought from screaming, writhing gremlins, the giant mass of Chaos levelled entire structures. In its rage, it hammered away at the Great Rock’s southern face, creating handholds that allowed it to begin scaling the colossal landmark.
After ordering the guards to evacuate the civilians, Itensu departed with his two proteges – Dadi and Sulu of New Sehal – in tow. Conjuring a glimmering stairway from adherent magic, the Stalwart rushed towards Top Rock, eager to vanquish the abomination terrorising the settlement. The twisted horror of the Labyrinth scaled the Great Rock by way of countless grubby gremlin hands, allowing for a disturbingly fluid ascent that far outpaced the trio of heroes. At the top of the Great Rock, the monstrosity sensed a well of power untapped: a portion of Astral Chaos unknowingly bound to a Kobold religious site, its bounty left behind by the Goddess Omei and ripe for the taking.
Their boots pounding against the stone in a furious march, stalwart Itensu and his Impish comrades closed the distance with their quarry minutes later. The adherent, familiar with the fallen Virtue and the distinct signature of Her essence, threw his arm out to stop the Azudim and Tekal from overtaking him. It only took a moment’s realisation for momentary horror to visit the ancient warrior’s timeless visage – and then he mustered his usual confidence and took a knee to confer with his cohort.
Desperate to reach the maddening core of power just beyond reach, the Theocracy’s terrible monster began to hammer away at Top Rock’s floors, smearing lurid gremlin paste across the stone that refused to yield to its force. An eerie effulgence breached the rock underneath the horror’s thousandfold feet, suffusing the horrifying miscreant with an indigotic glow that spurred it to grow.
Before it could turn these newfound proportions upon Rock Bottom and Sapience, however, triune battle cries rang out from Top Rock as Dadi, Sulu, and Itensu made their move. Whirling like a deadly top, Dadi soared through the air in a twanging flurry of yo-yo string, its glowing length wrapped around weapons wrought from adherent magic. Running underneath was Sulu, the Imp’s partner in crime, his Impish longsword aglow with the same shining light. As the two made impact, the Ankyrean who remained behind thrust one hand forward – an act that intensified the brilliance wreathing every weapon around the heroic duo. Phlegmy screeches rolled down the sides of the Great Rock as the trio smote the gremlin colossus in tandem, and flares of Divine magic glimmered across a sky already riddled with chromatic wonder. Indigotic energy entwined monster and slayers alike, casting the murderous scene in eventide tones that obscure the terrible work the two Imps conduct. Itensu, Dadi, and Sulu vanished from Top Rock’s damaged peak in a swirl of bronze effulgence after one last look at the devastation at the foot of the Great Rock, their expressions hardened by tragedy – and grim determination.
Those bound to the Astral spheres felt a disturbance despite the monstrosity’s demise, inspiring panic amongst the Unforgotten Court. Even as many adventurers sought to help the wounded Ophidian Empire sort through the wreckage, a clandestine gathering of Oneiromancers conducted a ritual to divine the state of Omei’s indigotic anchor. Discovering that the gremlin amalgam had damaged the sphere’s bindings to the Prime, the Court hastened to reaffirm the chain. Though their knowledge covered an extensive breadth of ritual power, the oneironauts could not reforge the link on their own, driving them to temporary despair. Desperate for a solution, Lin beseeched the Jackal for aid, and it was only by His timely intervention that the sphere was safely re-anchored. The ambitious King of Darkness wore away the damages with raw shadow, ensuring the continued stability of the Nightmare’s forgotten stratagem.
The Ophidian Empire remained a force in the days to come, though at a severely weakened capacity for fielding troops. Wielding its riches as a bludgeon, the undercity of Djeir hired Sysaa on as additional muscle, ensuring that the mercenaries commanded enough might to dominate the field in the war’s twilight hours. Judging a defeat to be likely – and with two of their territories captured – the Theocracy opted to preserve the lives of their people and soon entered into a surrender agreement with the nations of S.W.E.E.P., bringing an end to hostilities – for now.
As mortal drama unfolded upon Sapience’s grand stage, an ineffable force stirred behind the curtain…
Penned by my hand on Falsday, the 9th of Sapiarch, in the year 8 AC.
