Hell's Teeth: Apocalypse
"Light and Darkness ever mingle
Stars in dark skies ever twinkle
Life’s an ever whirling wheel
New life grows, hope spins the circle
Past and future we can feel:
Somewhere Now has been foretold."
Song of the Star Seer Akilia of the Lindar"The wrong that I unleashed far outweighed the little good that I did. War perverts the kind thought and the well-meant act. Truly the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
from Adnab's apology to the Snake Cult"He raised a tower of stone.
Held up by Gravity alone.
But when he met his end,
To Gravity it returned."
from the Ballad of Minastan, by Glîrwen, Cleric of PAREL"I would fain have a great gemstone that would act as a beacon for My Creed, and might be infused with a modicum of My power - like My Father’s diamonds or My Mother’s moonstones. A topaz it should be – My birthstone, and speaking of Wisdom and the Mind."
RAYLIT, in Commune at The High Temple in Taur-Galen"Lawful Kings should be careful in the oaths that they swear and in the titles that they take."
Wisdom of the Shell"How do you kill a thousand mighty Paladins? Put them under the command of King Dválin."
from Adnab's diatribe at the Shining Caves"She had na p'ud a nut, a nut, A nut but barely ane,
Till up started the Hynde Etin, Says Lady, let thae alone"
Ballad of the Hind Etin, Guardian Dryad of the Sacred Heart of the Hazel Kingdom (traditional)"I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread"
The Song of Wandering Aengus, W.B. Yeats, 1899"If you can really call down Stars, that could have some interesting results. Especially this month, with a second Full Moon on the 26th. That should be a propitious night for doing something really Chaotic."
"Stars don’t always do what you expect, but it sounds a fun thing to do."
Conversation between the Hellish Troublemaker Miranda and Darion, Estender 2504"Some thought the Apocalypse had passed, but it is only just beginning."
Radino, Chaos-Beast, at the Devastation of Kovik
Thráin V, King of All The Dwarves, sat upon the Adamantine Throne, gazed out across the Great Hall of Gabilkhazâd-Dûm, and contemplated his father's heroism and folly. King Dválin XXIII had never really recovered from his ordeal in Hell, after being carried off unconscious from the battlefield of Second Garf Lea by the Balrogs. He must have undergone dreadful torture at the hands of THE BALROG KING, though he refused to speak of it. That was the start of the War on Heaven and Hell, as Thráin joined with his elder brother Dáin and younger brother Náin in leading their fellow Dwarves into the Dungeons to make war on the Forces of Evil that had taken their father and were taunting them about it. But Dáin was a crafty one, and he negotiated the ransom of their father. One million gold, payable in weapons-grade mithril, was a high price to pay (Thráin winced just thinking about it), but the brothers planned to take it all back, and more.
King Dválin's first act upon being restored to the Adamantine Throne was to promise SARAN that he would drive the Gods of Evil out of Heaven and liberate it for Her. The brothers were somewhat taken aback at this. Their father had never lacked hubris, but now he was consumed with rage against the Evils. Dáin had planned a diversionary attack towards Heaven whilst his real objective was the Hellish mithril mines, but now they were obliged by filial loyalty and their oaths as Paladins of SARAN to commit fully to the attack on Heaven. Miraculously, Dválin actually pulled it off, and achieved his finest moment with the Liberation of Heaven.
But Dválin was still obsessed with THE BALROG KING, Who had wisely stayed out of his way in the Battle of Heaven. So it did not take much prompting for Dáin to get him immediately to declare an attack on Hell. The Forces of Evil seemed in disarray, and the Dwarves were flush with victory. Initial progress was swift. But the Princes only ever intended to seize and plunder the mithril mines. Unfortunately their father went and promised SARAN that he would take Hell for Her, just as he had Heaven.
This was now putting all their gems in one basket. They tried to open a second front overland through the Underworld, using captured Evil/Lawful orcs as their footsoldiers against the Evil/Chaotics. But although the Trikāf campaign gave useful experience of using Teleportals for rapid deployment, they could never afford to commit sufficient dwarven forces to give it a realistic prospect of success. With the orcs' superiority of numbers and the dwarves' superiority in one-to-one combat, fighting them in the narrow corridors of the Dungeons was always more effective. Trikāf therefore became the diversion. Of course, as far as the brothers were concerned the 'Cleaving Axe' offensive through the Dungeons was also a diversion to hide their more limited aim of taking the mithril mines, but they had to follow their father.
Inevitably Dválin the Unstoppable burst out into the Seventh Circle of Hell with an elite strike force of Paladins of the Royal Bodyguard on 17 Oscow. His sons were amongst them, but their loyal lieutenants were busy ensuring as much mithril as possible was stripped from the recently-captured Hellish mithril mines. (Thráin allowed himself a purr of satisfaction as he thought how much profit had been made over the inital ransom, especially if one took into account what they allowed the men to share in - although AINI's cut was a bit steep.) Here in Hell itself THE BALROG KING at last put in an appearance. Dválin and He promptly killed each other.
King (as he now was) Dáin had carefully avoided personally swearing any oaths that would have obliged him to continue the attack. The brothers conferred hastily (just in case it might actually be possible), but it was clear that Hell was much more strongly defended than Heaven ever had been, their casualties had been too high in getting this far, and the Gods of Heaven were not going to Intervene in a lost cause. Dáin sounded the retreat.
But then Dáin was himself killed as he personally commanded the fighting withdrawal back to their Teleportal points in the Dungeons and the defensive positions around the mithril mines. Survivors said he went several rounds against six-armed STRAMMASCH, Demigodess of Violence, before he was eventually cut down.
So Thráin was now King. He and Náin withdrew as many of their troops as they could through the Teleportals, protected by the Angels of SARAN and pushing as many trucks of mithril ore as they could. The more fanatical of the SARAN Paladins made a last stand in the mithril mines, which bought them more time. Their families were richly rewarded.
Despite the glory, the experience and the profit, the cost in dwarven lives had been high, and the Hill Dwarves and Gnomes in particular had become almost mutinous towards the end of the campaign. King Thráin now had to secure his realm against the spread of unrest. He returned to Gabilkhazâd-Dûm, where he summoned the Hill Dwarf King and the leading Gnomic Elders to swear fealty to him. They replied that they were busy securing their own territories. Thráin had to admit there was probably some truth in this, but the delay was now becoming insulting - if not rebellious. He would have to take action soon, or his authority would be undermined.
His brother Náin had taken command of Gathol-Dválin after the withdrawal from Hell. He completed an orderly withdrawal of the rest of the Army from the Dungeons and redeployed the surviving Hill Dwarf units to the defence of Heaven and Dwarf Hold itself, whilst most of the Mountain Dwarf units returned to the Mountains of the Dwarves to help the King restore order.
But just over a month later, at the beginning of Lastra, a new threat arose, with a Starfall and outbreak of the Starweb Chaos-possession on Kyr. Náin led the Dwarven Paladins in support of King Zorgar and the Valdrean Noble Paladins. This was a particularly serious outbreak of Chaos, as it appeared that Planists were infected, and were spreading the Starweb to other towns, amongst them the Hill Dwarf towns of Tumunzahar and to Barrakizdîn (where security had always been lax). Thráin quickly offered his aid, but Borin, King of the Hill Dwarves preferred to send in his own Hill Dwarf Paladin veterans to restore order. At least it was keeping their minds off rebellion, and would have softened them up a bit for when Thráin had to reassert his authority.
"We are the Star-Shell-Apocalypse-Wolf-Terror-Deathtothelawfuls-Web. Bright are the Stars as they fall to Earth. Shiny is the Chaos in the hearts of men. Strong is the Song that the Shell sings in our minds. Terrible as Dismal DAELOTH is the Fear that we shall bring to the hated Lawfuls. Black are the Wolves that we shall ride out of our Red Forest of Fire into the bellies of our enemies. Many are the Tendrils that we shall spread throughout their lands. Chaos rides across the Planes on the wings of star-treading wolves, and Radino shall live ever on in the song of the spinning Shell."
********************
Report of Field Marshal Thorgrim Bloodtaster to Crown Prince Náin, Supreme Commander of the Dwarven Anti-Chaos Expeditionary Force, 19 IX 2504
"Your Majesty, the Chaotic threat is contained here and the noose tightens every day. The Teleport Blocks are in place, and we advance with fire, axes and the Power of SARAN to cleanse the Chaos from the land and the infected people. The last remnants of the recent breakout have been hunted down and destroyed, and whilst Chaos can of course never be predicted, it does not seem that the surviving elements hiding out in these hills and forests are capable of mounting another serious attack.
"However, we must not be complacent. The Teleport Blocks do not prevent the trick they refer to as 'Chaos Walking'. Despite claims and propaganda to the contrary (much of it the work of DALA, no doubt), there is still no confirmed report of the death of the Chaotic leader, Radino. The problem is compounded by the hive-mind caused by the Starweb possession, and the shape-shifting ability of the infected bodies. 'Radino' is not so much a person as an idea, and as such will be difficult to eradicate.
"I have therefore prepared the following contingency plans for Your Majesty's consideration.
"First, we find a suitable body. The original body of this Radino would be best, if it still lives and has not escaped the siege, but identifying it may be problematic. We then publicly cremate it, and announce the death of Radino. It would make a martyr of him, but better that than a figurehead for rebellion. The problems with this approach are (as Your Majesty will no doubt have discerned) that it might be considered a lie, and that other 'Radinos' are bound to appear in future, which we may not be able to discredit.
"Secondly, we announce that Radino has escaped. This would give us a hate-figure to pursue and keep awareness of the Chaotic threat alive. But it would make our efforts here look ineffective, and would denigrate the glorious efforts of the noble Paladins who have fought unstintingly to save the World from Chaos.
"Thirdly, we say nothing about this Radino. We announce the job is done here on Kyr and warn people to be ever-vigilant against the threat and lies of Chaos. If asked, we say it has been impossible to identify the many bodies. Whatever rumours they seek to spread, they will not then be able to accuse us of a lie. 'Radino' will reappear in some fashion whatever we do, like 'Xudar' does from time to time in the Valdrean Empire. All we can do is downplay the Terror threat, and refuse to give it any credence.
"Your Majesty is wise, and your humble servant awaits your decision."
Drums beat across the Jungle. Hearts beat as they hear the call. The beasts within men have awoken, and they will feast upon blood.
In a clearing a wardance jumps and cackles, shaking spears at the Totems. Proud They snarl down upon the men who caper in their bloodlust: ZIMBA the Jaguar, GANCHA the Elephant, PIRANHO the Piranha, YSSA the Snake, UNGOL the Spider, KAROK the Crocodile, GRYPHO the Condor, SKARZ the Scorpion, VAMPIRUS the Bat, RATTUS the Rat, URSO the Bear and BAARLO the Malevolent Screech-Monkey, growling, hissing and screeching Their encouragement as the tempo of the drums increases, the swirl of the drugs becomes more intoxicating, and the frenzy of the Crown takes hold.
The headhunters of O'Boro lead the chant, as the bloodlust takes hold. Too long have the men of the Jungle been downtrodden and ignored. Today the spirits of the Beasts within them have awoken. Their thirst will be slaked. No longer will they be afraid of the white men from the West or the green men who came from the South. The heads of those who have sought to oppose them are displayed, and offered up to the Totems. The drums beat faster still.
O'Gorro Gorro stands in the centre of the Circle. The crown of thorns cuts into his forehead as he incites his followers to ever-greater extremes. He sees the Totem Beasts standing just beyond the edge of Reality as he goads them ever on. Those who have opposed him will pay for their arrogance and complacency. The Beasts within men are strong, and blood will flow in rivers down Their ravening throats.
Krartz gave the signal and the crossbows let fly upon the Elvish horsemen. Dressed all in white they made easy targets. Not only that, but they bore valuable trade goods. The trouble was, they were damn difficult to kill, those elves. Still, he had plenty of men in his band, and if he lost a few there would just be more to go round for the rest. He had no need to give a signal for the men to close in for melee. They were as vicious as LIAKA, and were already shouting warcries as they leapt into the attack.
********************
The Ninquiroqueni lowered their shields from their heads after the initial flurry of crossbow bolts and spurred their warhorses forward to meet the charge of the bandit rabble. Gurdor was a lawless place, and it seemed there was no end to those willing to have a go at attacking them. Lintemacar led the charge. This was what the White Riders of the Calaquendi did: protected travellers and kept the trade routes open. It had been decreed that the old Elf Road to Gurdor would be re-opened for trade, and he was not one to question an order. Slaying bandit men was easy enough, but there did seem to be a never-ending supply of them. A few good elves had been lost. He just hoped that the trade and political benefits justified their effort. Lintemacar parried a vicious swipe from an enemy axeman and lopped off the man's head with his broadsword. Would these people never learn that elves were not to be trifled with?
Gilin and the Council of Elders of the Keragund of Flerrig stood in the Dark Cave and contemplated the Totem paintings on its walls. To some these scenes, daubed with blood and other bodily substances, of Organisms consuming dwarves might seem shocking. But the Elders understood this was part of Nature too, and must be given due respect.
Nevertheless, Gilin was concerned. For this was the entry point used by the Evils for their attack upon the Keragund Sacred Site of the Shining Caves on Day 134 (8 Jerem). Whilst the Keragund had been helping to deal with a wargrider raid that turned out to have been a diversion, the Forces of Evil had attacked the Big Brothers' fort of Camp Amá, the Bairguba prison camp and the Shining Caves. Ghosts had burst into the Caves, supported by human Snake Cultists of Kargen (seeking revenge for the massacre at Issa), orcs from Trikāf (seeking revenge for the invasion of their land), and a few monsters. Fortunately, there were KOROS Clerics in the Hill Dwarf garrison stationed at the Caves, and the Keragund Druids out in the field who had dispersed to the other Sacred Sites in protest at the garrison were swiftly recalled. Putting aside past disputes, they worked together to dispel and burn the attackers, and the Caves were held. But many fine Organisms were lost, and much damage done to the most Sacred Site of the Keragund Cult. Worst of all, most of the Elder Organisms had been killed by the attackers and apparently turned into Spectres. The Elders found this puzzling, as Ghosts do not usually concern themselves with Nature. But the life force was strong in the Elder Organisms, and Gilin suspected that those behind the Evil attack (maybe even Hooded PHANTOM Himself) had deliberately targeted them.
A number of Spectral Elder Organisms had been Dispelled or destroyed, but the Elders could not account for all of them, and feared that some had disappeared with the retreating Evil leaders. There were therefore two concerns for the Council to address. First the Dark Cave, although cleaned up with the rest of the Caves, remained a potential vulnerability which must be guarded, as it could not be closed off without upsetting the Balance. Secondly, somewhere out (or down) there were the remaining Spectres of the Elder Organisms. Gilin looked at a Totem painting of a Black Pudding devouring a gnome, and knew in his heart that he had not heard the last of them. The Keragund had made their peace with the Snake Cult, and the Dwarves had withdrawn from Trikāf, but the Ghosts had darker motives. Maybe by Communing with the Dark Totems the Council could learn something of their intentions.
"NOTICE TO ALL TELEPORTERS
"With effect from Dawn of 12 Lastra 2504 extended Teleport bans are in effect throughout The Valdrean Empire, The Kingdom of the Dwarves, The Kingdom of the North, The Kingdom of Kyr and The Island of Kuntax. Any form of Teleporting (including Clerical Recalls and Druidic Transports) to destinations in those countries other than official Teleport Gateways is prohibited until further notice, on pain of death. The ban will be enforced by Paladinic Follow and Strike Teams and by Reset Location Spells. Demon Summoning will be used to track offenders, and SARAN has granted a waiver to the Valdrean Empire to allow it to use the services of third parties in this respect. The purpose of the extended bans is to control the spread of the Chaotic Starweb threat. The Southern Cities and Lands of the Elves are establishing Teleport Gateways of their own, the use of which is strongly advised.
"By Order of the Emperor, Kings and Merchants' Guild."
"Oh this is rich!" cackled JAKK, the coyote-headed Demigod of Wickedness, waving a copy of the Proclamation. "Just think of the resources they are tying up hunting down a few Chaotics, and the inconvenience to their Planists!"
"Shame You can't claim the credit for it", snarled BARRL, the monkey-headed Demigod of Malevolence, as He placed black wooden blocks carved with animal shapes on the map of the Jungle. "That was CORNUTUR's work."
"All Wickedness is My work", asserted JAKK. "If I let the Arch-Troublemaker do My work for Me, that is even Wickeder!"
"It is a response to Terror", sneered DAELOTH, the wolf-headed Demigoddess of Terror, as She smashed down multi-coloured wooden blocks on Hapral, Tumunzahar, Barrakizdîn and elsewhere. "Those pathetic Overworlder countries are being Terrorised by the Teleporting Chaos-Werewolves."
"You can claim as much credit for it as JAKK", mocked LIAKA, the rat-headed Demigoddess of Viciousness, as She sharpened more black blocks to surround the white blocks on the maps of Gurdor and Zarmator. "Just because Terror results, doesn't mean You had a hand in it. Still dear, at least the instigator didn't spurn Your gifts..."
At this point LIAKA had to duck a throwing knife hurled violently at Her by STRAMMASCH, the tiger-headed Demigoddess of Violence, Who up to now had been engrossed in sorting out the pile of fallen blocks on the map of Hell.
"Cause and effect are unimportant", continued JAKK. "Results are what count. If We can get others to do Our dirty work, or They happen to do things that enhance Our Aspects, the outcome is the same as if We had done it Ourselves - and less risky for Us. Hell has been defended, and the Good / Lawful Alliance are riven by conflicts. I count this a success for the Hell's Teeth."
"And the Ghosstss will rissse..." whispered PHANTOM, the darkly-cowled Demigod of Ghosts, as He moved to place some oddly-shaped silvery-grey blocks.
Players should now submit their plots for the month of Numist 2504, to be run by the end of February 2006.
For the latest news and all the detail from the Season So Far, remember to visit the rumourmonger.
© P.R. Wild, 1 January 2006
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