Chapter 23 -- The Fires of Chaos

Sitting atop a wooden fence, the black cat known among his peers as Rat-crusher (and less impressively known among the two-legs as "Hey, kitty!") used his raspy tongue to clean his forepaws as he watched the last of the villagers follow Daeme Azzhir out of the town, taking nearly everything with them. After his forepaws were sufficiently clean, the cat jumped off the seven foot fence (landing feet-first, of course) in search of a tasty rat. Orkus broke the three way link between his own mind, the eyes of the cat and Wyrdaxe’s thoughts. Fading into the background, he smiled as Wyrdaxe was released from the trance. "Whiteclaw! To me! We ride for the witch’s tower!" He shouted as he grabbed the axe his forces had found glowing among the other treasures hoarded by Balkoth’s minions before their defeat at the temple of Orkus. Within a few hours, Wyrdaxe had arrived at the witch tower and library. Passing through room after room of scrolls, he found the old witch with her nose buried in a musty piece of parchment. "What do you want?" She asked bitterly "You are disturbing my concentration." "I seek explanation of this waking dream I had." "Yes, I know. You saw the village of Rayaat Tokar through the eyes of a cat." She spoke knowingly as she turned to face Wyrdaxe. "You simpleton, it was a vision from Orkus." Chagrined by his failure to realize the obvious, Wyrdaxe tried to bluster his was out of the situation. "Yes, yes." He began with a dismissing wave, "but why should I care, witch, about some village leagues from here?" "They have resources you will need. Gold, gems and of course, ale. Without them, you cannot keep your armies paid and entertained. Daeme Azzhir knows this, that is why she took the village. And with a little help from me, she did so without bloodshed." "WHAT!" Wyrdaxe bellowed. "YOU AIDED AZZHIR?!?! I WILL KILL YOU F...*erp*" Crushing a few herbs between her fingers, the witch uttered a quick spell, silencing Wyrdaxe’s rant. "Listen well, Wyrdaxe. You were chosen for your brains and brawn, but I was placed here to ensure your brawn did not replace your brains. Your army, while growing, is still too small and inexperienced to cover the entire domain of Chaos." Struggling to speak at her insult to his army, Wyrdaxe was able only to mutter a small *gurgle* through the restrictions of the spell. "In time, Wyrdaxe, the villagers of Rayaat Tokar will return to the fold of Chaos. For now, they serve Orkus best as warriors of Fire. It IS better that they serve fire, rather than say..... Order, is it not?" With that, she released him from the spell of silence. Gasping with indignation, Wyrdaxe muttered fiercely, "In that light, yes. It is best my brothers serve Fire before Order. I thank you for your wisdom" he spat as he turned to leave. "Your thanks are not necessary, for I serve Orkus, as do you, Wyrdaxe." As she turned back to her musty scrolls. ……… "Shadehawk!" Wyrdaxe growled from his throne. "Yes?" The huntress inquired. "Round up as many cats as you can and send them outside the city." Confused by this strange order, Shadehawk began to ask "Um... but why?" "You wouldn’t understand." Wyrdaxe said. "Just do as I say!" "Yessir!" And with that she slipped into the shadows of the throne room and made for the thieves quarter. Once there, she spread word among the other thieves to do Wyrdaxe’s bidding and by midnight, a dozen black cats had been sent outside the city, each in a different direction. Wyrdaxe watched in satisfaction as Shadehawk managed to get the command straight. "Sometimes they understand, sometimes they are as dense as an ironwood tree." Wyrdaxe noted to himself while tearing a lug of mutton from the carcass before him on the table. Surrounded by his favored warriors of the day, Wyrdaxe let his mind wander as he ate amid the confusion of the feast hall. Moments later, images began flashing in his mind from the eyes of the black cats. Overwhelmed by the twelve separate images, his mind shut down, sending his body into a faint. The warriors surrounding Wyrdaxe took one look as his unconscious body fell into the table. Face first into a mug of ale. The hush that fell across the feast hall was broken a second later as a hundred drunken voices shouted with laughter! It was the talk of the evening, how Wyrdaxe couldn’t hold his ale...... Waking hours later in a pool of drool and ale, Wyrdaxe found himself surrounded by the snoring figures of his hundred greatest warriors. Luckily, he never heard their laughter, or many would have never woken from their drunken slumber. Staggering to his feet, Wyrdaxe shuffled away from the table to a wash basin in an alcove. Splashing the stale water on his face, he was refreshed enough to recall what had happened. Snorting to himself, he stepped outside the feast hall into the moon-lit night. Staring at the moon, he tried once again to open his mind to his "scouts". This time, focusing only on one cat at a time, ignoring the images form others. After a few minutes of dizziness and blurred images, his mind figured a way to make it work. The cat was stuck high atop a great tree, hundreds of feet from the ground. Pressing harder into the cat’s mind, Wyrdaxe traced back the steps that led to the cat’s predicament. Just before nightfall, the cat came across a large dog and was chased into the tree. Fearful of heights, it had remained there. Unable to coax it down Wyrdaxe move on to another cat. This time his luck was better. He found himself looking up at a great fiery woman who was stroking the cat’s ears absentmindedly as she spoke to someone nearby. Concentrating harder, Wyrdaxe used to cats hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation. "....our actions against Rayaat Tokar and Pasifan were great successes. The entire village of Rayaat Tokar caved in without a struggle..." Growling in mixed anger and respect, Wyrdaxe missed the next few words, but calmed himself in a minute. total destruction of Pasifan. We recovered nearly four score barrels of ale, two score gold and numerous gems, a good haul from the elven village..." His head hurting from the strain of the link with the cat, or from too much ale, Wyrdaxe broke the connection and shook his head to clear the animal’s senses from his own, just in time to see Shadehawk as the huntress emerged from the pre-dawn darkness. "Wyrdaxe! We need to combat, da soljers grow restless." She said, slipping once again into the semi-intelligence exhibited by most Chaos warriors. "Quite a frustrating trait, this random intelligence." Wyrdaxe thought. Aloud to Shadehawk "Do not worry, with the dawn we will rouse the army and set forth." With that said, Shadehawk nodded in mute acceptance and disappeared once again. Wyrdaxe returned to the feast hall for some cold mutton, his stomach growling. ……………… The spreading light of the morning sun spread across Mount Chance, warming the chill dawn air. The sunlight caused more than a few Chaos warriors to grunt in pain as their half-sober eyes adjusted to the searing bright light. Looking over the ranks upon uneven ranks of his followers, Wyrdaxe felt the battle-lust rising among his army, a near-palpable sensation. For lack of better words, he settled on a mighty "WAAAAAAAAAAAA ORKUS!" to lead the troops in motion. Known for their stamina, his army set forth at a good pace. Hundreds atop their legendary war horses, the beasts varied greatly in color, but not much in height. Often mistakenly called "Steppe Ponies" by outsiders, the followers of Chaos know well the abilities of their mounts. Bred exclusively for their stamina and ability to handle the rugged terrain, the "ponies" stood about 14 hands in height, yet could carry the greatest Chaos warrior for an entire day at a decent trot. In battle, the horse can gallop at a pace nearly equal to the thoroughbreds of Kentuke’. Those Chaos warriors unable, or unwilling to ride had little trouble keeping up. By marching at a steady pace and thanks to the natural conditioning of high-altitude life, they could put nearly 20 leagues of the mountain range behind them in a day. Their destination was an old cave that served as the tribal home of the Wildcat Beserkers, one of the fiercest tribes in all the lands of Chaos. Their cave chosen as first to recapture after their victory in the inter-tribal challenges held in the pre-dawn hours of the preceding day. Lasting all day, these challenges consists of wrestling, running, swordplay and a team competition called "Ball in barrel". The ball in barrel competition pits the top two tribes against one another in 5 man competition. A ten stone weight rock is wielded by a team trying to throw it into an upended barrel, guarded by the five opponents. The Wildcats had won this competition two years straight, and their victory was expected. Reaching the cave, Wyrdaxe simply raised his arm for his men’s attention and swung it in an arc, ending with his axe pointed at the cave entrance. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" He shouted as his army spilled into the cave. Caught off-guard, the small band of renegades holding the cave fell quickly to the masses of Choas. As did cave after cave over the next week, as the army made it’s way across Mount Chance. Within two weeks, Wyrdaxe had split his army into two hosts, with his most experienced warriors split among them to bolster the new recruits flocking to his banner, brought in by the tales of his army’s conquests. Once all the caves had been cleared of the renegades, and returned to the rightful tribes, Wyrdaxe recalled his two armies to Chay-Domazh for a great feast, and to have his lieutenants pass along their battle knowledge to newer recruits through the ritualistic battle held in the barracks and among the huntresses. "A mighty horde!" Wyrdaxe screamed from atop the palisade as he watched the last of his troops enter Chayt-Domazh. "With these men at my back, I am a force to be reckoned with!" "Yes, you are." The witch said as she "blinked" into existence beside him with a small "boom" from the air displaced by her instantaneous arrival. Startled by the sudden appearance and loud clap of thunder, Wyrdaxe could only stare. "The time has come for you to make a decision, mighty one." "And what might that be?" Wyrdaxe queried as he recovered some of his composure. "Will you stand alone, or will you seek a strong ally?" She clarified. "I will not go begging for assistance, yet if a strong one comes to me, I may consider that option." "That will do." She replied as she once again "blinked" away, presumably back to where she started. Thinking of the witches strange desire to see his army allied, Wyrdaxe once again focused on his feline scouts. "Maybe one of them has stumbled into something good." He mused as his vision blurred…….. and cleared. "….represent Lord Gilgamesh, Giver of Life. You speak for the Lord Reisz of Order?" "Yes, Qar'Sela. I am Burke, head of this small scouting party. My words are those of my Lord." The cat heard as it wandered closer to the smelly two-legs at the bottom of the slope. "What news have you of an alliance between our faiths?" Qar'Sela peered at the human. "Reisz would like nothing more than to ally himself with the vast strength of Life. He has the full backing of all Order worshippers, you can be sure…" Frustratingly, the cat wandered on beyond the range of the conversation, intent on some small field animal it had spied crawling through the grasses. Without the fine control to required to steer the cat’s path, Wyrdaxe tore himself away from the view, as he murmured to himself. "This bodes ill, for my army. Such an alliance would no doubt frown upon my growing strength and reputation for unpredictability." He spoke aloud, to no one in particular. "Curse those dam#@$ Order flunkies. They couldn’t stand one more month of the split faiths." Assuming an erect stiff posture in imitation of an Order soldier, he continued "Sir, Yes sir! As you wish sir! No dissension among the ranks, sir! All troops accounted for, sir! No undue revelry last night, sir." To complete his mocking imitation of Order, Wyrdaxe shot his right arm into a crisp salute at his forehead. "Sir, that is all I have to report, sir." Dropping the guise, Wyrdaxe mumbled to himself, "Stiff-arsed, legitimate sons of a married mother! How in Orkus’s name can they ever get anything done with so many rules and regulations? And why would the free-thinking elves of Life choose to join with Order?" Continuing his rant as he headed into his hovel for the evening, he failed to see the look of wonder and mirth plastered across the faces of some of his troops who took it upon themselves to report their lord’s behavior in drunken fashion to their drinking buddies. By dawn, Wyrdaxe’s reputation had grown from that of one who couldn’t hold his ale, to one of even greater hilarity, for he was now taking on the likeness of an Order "Yes man", as the Chaos troops often called the soldiers of Order, among other slurs like clone-warriors, mindless sheep. In their drunken state, they even invented a new word to reflect the common (boring) nature of all Order worshippers,….. Communists! To a man, his troops mused over countless mugs of ale how glad they were not to be chosen by Orkus to lead the tribes, for Orkus’ power made good men turn crazy! On into the night they reveled, unaware of the entrance of a small Firebat (Imp), as it flittered to the rafters above them, amused at their uninhibited revelry.


Chapter 24 -- Violet Sun

THROUGH THE EYES OF AZZHIRR "The harvest has been reaped. Food will be plentiful in the markets this year." I sat alone in the Pasifan Wizard Library. I tapped the letter with my finger. Alador had been sacked. I did not need the letter to know. With the taking of Pasifan's Wizard Tower, I had finally learned the formula for creating homonculi, creatures created through a special process with the aid of an alchemist. I had already sent some of them roaming the land. They have been my eyes and ears for over a week now. I knew Alador had been sacked. I also knew Balkoth had finally retreated from the land of the Archons. Smug in their victory, they would never know that the sacking of Alador had probably saved their entire land. The move was designed to surprise Balkoth; force him to pay attention to his rear and split his force. And by distracting him with a trivial thing, cause him to lose the fierce battle with Reisz. As much as I dislike Archons, I could not just stand by and watch them fall to Balkoth's hordes. We would then border Death on two sides instead of one. I put Alador out of my mind and continued with my work. Now, I had the Lord of the Elves to contend with. The door of the study room opened and a flame berserker entered. In his right arm was a beautiful elven female, flowing honey hair and purple eyes. I motioned for the berserker to seat her in the chair in front of my desk. He left. I studied her. Unlike her mage sisters, she was not afraid to look at me. "As you know, I have ordered that all the disciples of Yari be hunted down and brought to me," I said. "I gave them all the same offer which I will now make to you. Swear allegiance to me, I will give you the title of Daeme. Lands, riches, men, power all will be yours. Your family and kin in this village will receive special privilages. I will place them in positions of authority. I can not teach you elven magic, but I can teach you how to draw upon the mana in greater quantity and quality. What have you to say?" "Great Daeme," replied the elven female,"I am not a disciple of the late mistress. She had rejected my petition for discipleship." "And why is that?" I asked. "She said I was too ambitious, too proud."said the elf. I carefully studied the elf again. "But she said I had the gift!"she added hastily. She mistook my expression for displeasure. She was a hybrid spirit, like Wildezword. Living on the borders of two lands, she had imbibed the essense of both. "Then, you wish to become my disciple? You will swear allegiance to me? Whatever happens between the elves and the people of flame, your first loyalty will be to me?" "Yes, Yes, I swear. Teach me." I leaned back in thought. Yes, the girl was quite ambitious. Almost, too ambitious. She will have to do. "Very well, I accept you as disciple. Only one of Yari's disciples chose to swear fealty. I will intruct her to teach you the spells that Yari taught her. In addition, I will guide you in the art of drawing upon the mana. What is your name, girl?" "My name is Sitari. Sitari D'Yenarra." "Daeme Sitari," I corrected,"Welcome to the ranks of flame." "Great Daeme, I have read so much about your region and culture!"she was excited. I raised my eyebrow at her statement. She continued,"I wish to take another name in your language, Akshara Al'Hathan I smiled at this. "Very well...welcome...Violet Sun."


Chapter 25 -- To the Lord of the Elves

Azzhirr sprinkled the last of the sand on the clay being and spoke the last of the magical incant. Immediately, its eyes opened as if from a deep sleep. Its body and wings erupted in fire. The new imp stretched its limbs. Azzhirr spoke,"Take this scroll case to one Gilgamesh, Lord of the Elves." "To Gilgamesh, Lord of the Elves, Greetings and Salutations. By now, I am sure all kinds of fantastic stories have reached your capital. Yes, my spies have delivered your message shouted over the entire land of Burjinese. How complacent you have become! You have grown lax being sheltered behind the strong arm of the Land of Neverending Sun! Twice, has Balkoth threatened me with annihilation for not granting passage to his screaming hordes of demons. Hordes which would have poisoned the purity of your groves and lands! Do you truly have the luxury to declare US an enemy? Frankly, I am not sure your people are worth it, Lord Gilgamesh. After all, you brazenly court the Amazons for an alliance! What have the Amazons contributed to your safety and tranquility? In the meantime, the realm of Fire is on the brink of a war of annhilition with the race of dark elves. Do you truly wish war between us? I will speak to you plainly, unlike any ambassador of Death or Water. Pasifan has NOT been destroyed. The population remains intact under my care. Regrettably, there was some structural damage and loss of life. I will speak plainly again, Lord Gilgamesh. They are HOSTAGES for your good behaviour. I do not trust you or your intentions, especially since you treat with my sworn enemies. So, under the intense pressure I am under, I have decided to take Pasifan, a small compensation for my trouble. This town had not sworn allegiance to you, but I am not intractable. If you can prove your good faith to my rule, I will evacuate this region. I have tried to capture alive as many of the elven champions as possible. As a gesture of good faith, I will release them to you providing you send an emissary for parley. You may come yourself, as I will be here for a month longer. A warning, Lord Gilgamesh. The force I have here is not insignificant. If you decide to declare war, I will have no choice but to allow Balkoth's hordes to have their way with your land. Regarding the Amazons, an outright alliance with them will be viewed as an act of bad faith. This is also subject to negotiation. Signed, Your Comrade in Lordship, Wishing Prosperity in Peace in the tradition of Bur-Jin Azzhirr, Great Daeme of Kallizsha and Custodian of the Great Temple of Penultimate Flame"


Chapter 26 -- To the Lord of the Barbarians

To Wyrdaxe, Lord of the Barbarians, Greetings and Salutations. My heart felt congratulations on those splendid victories which gave you rulership of the Barbarians. I have sent a small party of riders to your capital bearing my gift of goodwill to you: ten choice maidens. With them is Pai, the wife of the Chieftain of Rayaat Tokar. She will be my emissary at your court and will receive my missives. You may not be aware of events, but that fine village swore its fealty to me a few weeks past. I will reward them by giving them places of importance in my land. I have made Wrathkur, the Rayaat Chieftain, my new Leader of a Thousand. You may wonder why I trust a barbarian to be my representative to you. Lets just say that I trust we can understand each other and work with each other. Wishing Great Glory upon your Axe in the tradition of the Barbarians Signed Azzhirr, Great Daeme of Kallizsha and Custodian of the Great Temple of Penultimate Flame.


Chapter 27 -- Reisz Speaks To His People

"You've done what????" Krystin exclaimed. "We've with the Faiths of Life and Earth, lady. There is no more to it than to be announced." said Reisz. "So then, our situation is now to figure out why Balkoth has left our lands?" Sean asked. "That, and that only. I hear tale of Fire being involved..." Reisz said, grimly. "Then I shall find out..." said Sean, leaving the room for the towers. Reisz and Krystin just looked at each other and sighed. "Reisz, perhaps if Sean is going to be checking we should send out diplomatic messages...to all the current active faiths." Krystin said. Reisz pondered that and sighed. "I suppose we can after the speech....but now I must go, the Royal Mage awaits." Reisz said, stepping onto the balcony to await Sean's signal. "Followers of Order! Heed my words! Today is the start of a new day, where our purpose is not so clear. Currently, we have allied ourselves with the faiths of Life and Earth!" Silence swept over the people as they listened. "We are now mixing our ranks with those of the Bur-jin Elves!" A great cry rang out. "But I must ask, are YOU ready my people??" A louder cheer was heard throughout Order's lands. "Excellent! We move on to save Urak from destruction! ONWARD!" Reisz exclaimed, sighing mentally. 'And many of you won't live through this destruction...' he thought to himself. "All right Krystin, give me the first faith..." Reisz asked. "That would be Fire, sir." Krystin said helpfully. "Excellent...." Reisz said, proceeding to write. Followers of Fire: Though we have no natural quarrel with you, any offenses to the Lords of Life or Earth will be considered an act of war. I understand the need for action in Urak has come and that Fire has many powerful warriors and allies. But so do we. Do not tempt the archers of Bur-jin and the warriors of Order. It could be your last living act. Signed, The Lord of Order, Reisz Roudabush. "That was a strong set of words, Reisz" Krystin warned. "I know, Krystin, but I have to make a point." Reisz said. Krystin nodded and mumbled a few words to transport the letter to a follower of Fire one of her scouts had seen days before. "On to Chaos....ugh." Krystin said. "I know..." said Reisz.

On to Part 8