T
The Jest
Guest
-
Kain watched as the man started up his ritual, constantly looking back at the ones who are ready to kill them all for their crimes. As they grew closer to this place, he prepared his sharp claws for a battle; If he is to die here because this cultish summoning fails, and in his mind he bluntly believes it will, let it be known that he took as many of these humans down to hell with him. There's not much credit to be given for killing slaves, humans deemed as insignificant even to those of their own species, but it was better than nothing.
As if to counter his lack of faith, however, the light of the moon shined on him, on all of them, and the smell of iron stretches across the building. Kain looked over and stared in awe at what he saw.
In an instant, it was like the on-coming crowd never mattered in his mind, as he focused on the swirling vortex in the sky that the pillar of blood from shot out into. As the First called out the name of the one he was summoning, Kain watched the tendrils of fire and brimstone coming out of seemingly nowhere...no, they were coming out of that vortex, from whatever nightmarish place it leads to, and in the center, as if the center of a blooming black flower, came a woman.
Much to Kain's dismay, it was, of course, a human woman. Though like with Shebna it's different, this creature clearly only looked human, but in reality was far from it. She was something beyond the humans, superior to them. As the souls were devoured by this goddess, he couldn't help but stare at her in awe.
Then she gave them all a drop of power, pure, raw power that took shape within their bodies, as if in exchange for the souls she has already gained. Kain could feel the power within his body grow. The fire within his body igniting to an intensity he has yet to reach on his own. It was small boost, but it was certainly enough. Then he heard her voice, Beautiful and yet as menacing as the demons of hell, demanding more 'love' from them. It wasn't hard to tell what it meant; this woman had gluttonous appetite for souls and demands it to be satisfied.
If this power, the wrathful flames within that would, if only momentarily, compare to that of a pure-blood dragon, was the end result of giving this goddess what she wants, then there is no reason not to obey. He then looked at the slaves and guards around heading for the group, and slowly began to smile, his eyes glowing a bright firey orange, brighter than when Shebna saw it.
"...Move." He simply said to no one in particular. One would guess he was referring not to the slaves, but the people he is now forced to call his allies, and more specifically one could say he was saying it to Shebna before he went to attack the other slaves on his own.
Feeling stronger in every fiber of his body, he stretched out his wings and began to breath in, sparks flaring up from out of his mouth. He then opened his mouth and breathed out, but what was once air, now was a burst of burning flames, a wave of fire that any pyromaniac would see as a stroke of art. It wasn't particularly big, stretching about a couple meters in length, plus the buildings in the way made it not be very wide either. But it was more than enough to burn alive the slaves and guards in front of him, as the weak slave humans cried in agony as they tried to put out the fire on themselves, while the metal of the guards' armor became red hot and searing into their skins, killing some who had metal helmets almost instantly, while others were not so lucky. Some of the buildings around them, and the very sand itself caught fire, further roasting his victims until they succumbed to a slow and painful death.
Kain could not believe what he was seeing, not because of the pain and cries, not because of the agonizing deaths, but because of just how powerful his flames became just at a drop. It was still not even close to the legendary breath of a dragon, but it was still stronger than what he had before. However he could not stop there, just a bunch of people in front of him were not enough. With this in mind, he flapped his wings and flew through the air, making fire rain down from the sky as he breathes, beginning to kill as well by swooping down and slashing his sharp claws through the guts of unsuspecting slaves.
It wasn't just for this goddess. After what he had to put up with, after everything he's been through he needed a way to vent and lash out. He was a being of a higher calling compared to these humans, now was finally the time that he could prove it. -
As they got closer, the group of slaves that Sacada was among immediately stopped in their tracks when the pillar of blood risen up into the air. All of them, Sacada included, watched in sheer fearful awe at the goddess that descended upon them.
"By the gods...What...What is that?"
"A face of such beauty, yet it feels as if we are into the eyes of Reshkold himself"
The slaves started talking to each other, trying to compehend what it is they are seeing. One of them however, the one that found and 'helped' Sacada instead focused his attention towards her as she just stares at the creature like the others. The difference between them and her, however, was clear: Everyone in the group was shaking in fear, their eyes filled with shock and awe, their mouths unable to be kept close. They all looked as if this had to be a dream that they want to wake from.
But she was different, not even a glimmer of fear, only some shock in her eyes, which immediately recovered, instead giving out only a hint of sorrow.
"Sacada?" The slave asked.
"...I...I didn't know." She simply said.
"...What?"
"...When I was a child, I've read every bible, and studied every god that was said to have made this world. The stories of Sahlyncirle, his children, and Reshkold, it was something of an obligation I had to learn about them all, but I also was just fascinated by what I've learned. Theology and mythology were quite important where I was from, as it helped form a healthy relationship with the Church. There is no god I haven't at least heard about therefore, or so I thought. I thought that, assuming if he even could, that madman would be able to summon one of the beings who gave this world its existence. But this..." She said to him.
"What are you..."
"I never told you my full name, did I? ...My name Sacada Delmont G'haethrane." She said to them.
"Sacada...G'haethrane!?" The slave asked shocked.
"The Queen of G'haethrane? The Queen of the Abandoned Throne? THAT Sacada G'haethrane?" Another slave asked.
"...So even after that day, it seems my reputation of neglect precedes me still." Sacada said in response.
"I, don't understand, what are you all talking about?" The first slave asked.
"You mean you don't know? This woman's the queen that neglected her responsibility to her throne. From what I remember, her prosperous kingdom of G'haethrane was being ruled until recently by some tyrant king that ruled the entire domain with an iron fist." One of the slaves said.
"...They rebelled against us and had him executed, and the kingdom was cast into a republic of fools while I was simply cast into this caravan as my punishment. I, of royal blood, was forced to watch my beloved king die, then simply be sold as a slave by my own people. That is when he came to me, as he came to us all, the madman responsible for the destruction your seeing before you now. ...I...I wanted revenge, revenge against the treachery against my people, revenge for my beloved king, whom I will never be able to see again. He offered us freedom and our desires fulfilled. To escape this nightmare and be able to avenge my family and love, For that I would gladly give up my life and tarnish my name." Sacada explained. She then looked up at the monstrous goddess once again.
"That aside, I have studied every god that has been said to create us. All of them value the life of humanity, need it be to cherish or use, they would put souls to good use. So it did not matter to me who that man would summon...or so I thought. This thing, this goddess, this...this demonic monster of unknown origin...I did not know a thing about her, She doesn't fit any of the description of the deities I have seen, not one. ...I do not know who she is, or how that man came to know the answer to that, let alone the means to summon her. It is clear however, that she devours the souls offered to her, and they in turn meet a fate worse than anything I would have imagined." Sacada said. All of a sudden, she was hit with a drop of raw power from Rhilmyn, the power enhancing her body to super-human levels. She looked at her hands, feeling the power coursing through her veins, as she looked back at the other slaves.
"I would rather not have to send people to an unknown fate of terror if I don't have to. So instead, I shall be merciful and give you all a chance. ...Join me, help me get out of here, let me protect you, and I will give you more than just your freedom. When the time comes and I take back my throne, I will make you nobles, grant you riches and power beyond your comprehension. I will ensure you never be sold to anyone ever again. Before even that, I will share with you the power I am given." Sacada said to them. the lot of them looked at each other, asking if they should trust her.
"Your throne? ...You mean the one you abandoned?" The first slave spoke out.
"Pardon?" Sacada asked, ultimately confused.
"You lied to us, you were about to send us to our deaths, and now you want us to join you in killing others? ...This is wrong, all of this is just wrong! Nobody can be serious in trying to help her sacrifice everyone here to that...that monster! I will not be sending others to their deaths just for my personal gain! If there's anyone that deserves to die here...It's that summoner and everyone who killed so that he could summon that, ...even, no, especially you!" He yelled out to Sacada, who had a blank expression on her face as he said it. Slowly she began to smile as she walked over to him, while he prepared for a fight.
"...For someone in such a hopeless position to have such a sense of justice. A slave like you speaking of what's right and wrong in a world like this...in a world where even someone like you and me are to be sold as things rather than people...I would love to have someone like you at my side as my new king. You're so kind, so pure, so...naive." She said as she placed her left hand on his face, smiling, as if ready to give the boy a kiss.
but all of a sudden, with the right fist, she punched the boy in the gut with the enhanced strength given to her, making him be in enough pain to drop his weapon, which she then grabbed before it hit the ground and plunged into his gut. piercing the blade right through his body.
"But what I need is a warrior." She then said to him, as she slightly twisted the blade to where its edge was the right side rather than the bottom.
She then got close to his ear, and whispering something in a foreign language, though to anyone who goes to church the words would be familiar, a prayer of departure often said traditionally in church-arranged funerals, praying to the gods the soul's safe passage to their afterlives.
Immediately afterwards, she pushes the blade to the right until it cuts through his entire side, disemboweling the slave as his intestines and blood flew out. The boy was unable to even scream in agony as he dropped to the floor, bleeding to death with his eyes open wide in shock.
Then she immediately turns to the other slaves.
"Does anyone else have an objection?" She asked. All the other slaves that were led by the boy shook their heads in fear. It's clear she would do the same thing to them if they did after all.
"Good. Then follow me and watch my back. If we're getting out of this, there's only one way to do so...killing everyone that's not on our side. I'll be honest, I'd be lying if I said I'll be enjoying this, but as it stands, it's kill or be killed. ...So let's kill." Sacada explained. -
The little girl slave watched as goddess appeared in the sky, summoned by the pillar of red and descending with tendrils of fire and brimstone. She never saw anything like this before, and as such, she could not help but stare at this ...wonderfully monstrous goddess that came down with a wide-eyed smile upon her face.
"It's...So Beautiful." She said, seeing it as a black and orange flower of flames coming into bloom, and indeed, at the center of the blossom was a fairy. Absorbing souls almost like...pollen coming into it rather than out. She reached out towards this flower as if was close enough to touch, pretend to touch and stoke its 'fiery petals'.
"Is this what souls are to you, Ms. Flower? ...Do you want your pollen back?" She asked it, naive to, or just ignoring, the fact that Rhilmyn would not answer her. Timed perfectly as if in response, however, she could hear her demands, and feel the power given to her. She smiled as she felt her body becoming stronger, more durable and faster than ever before, as slaves and guards found the girl, and, noticing the blood of her victims, carefully tried to sneak up on her. It was tough for the slaves to want to kill a kid, but this was about survival, so at the very least they should make it quick.
"Ok then Ms. Flower...I will give you ALL the pollen you want." She said, as she looked behind her towards the guards, a look of darkened excitement could be seen in her eyes. Taking her weapon in hand, she skillfully dodged oncoming attacks and countered on que, cutting through the slaves like butter and letting their blood drench her dress and body.
"Boy, Pollen is so messy. ...And smell so bland. But that's ok, all I need to do, is open the shell and the pollen will come out, like a seed." She said as she went for the others, laughing as she did.
"Ok then, Ms. Flower. ...I'll give you all the pollen you want, if it can give me the fruit you would bare." She said as she walked away, heading for another group of slaves nearby.
