Subject - War in Balifore

It is 12 o'clock am, Day of Thunder, 17th the Month of the Ancient Darkness. There is a rumble in the distance. Each second that passes, the rumbling continues to grow. Kender are stirred from their sleep. Suddenly, explosions ring through the air. A massive war cry is felt more than heard. The lone Kender guard peeks over the cities gates and to his amazement, there is a huge army advancing on his gate. He sounds the alarm and quickly turns back to watch, his eyes glazed with childlike wonder. Then, out of the trees, just as the army approaches the gates, flights of arrows come bursting towards the army. The cavalry and knights drop behind there shields, a protective barrier to their mages, healers and archers. The first melee went off with no casualties. Then the Marauders begin to fire their flaming arrows into the trees. The mages begin to wave their arms and several trees burst into flames. Several screams are heard through the trees as bodies fall like the leaves in autumn. All of a sudden, more arrows came flying out of the trees from across the path, cutting through the Marauder's archers unprotected backs. The knights of Marauders turn, catching a glimpse of the retreating Kender archers. The charge begins. All the while, several troops begin to push a giant log, laid upon some wheels, towards Balifore's gates. A summons goes out, a signal to all who have pledged allegiance to Balifore. Now is the time for action.

Subject Baliforian War People scream in pain and anger. A valiant Yinn, named Syghh comes running out of a burning house carrying with him a Kender mage. He then drops the Mage and runs his sword across the mages neck. The mage slumps down, and Syghh turns to find the other mage. Find him he does, as his fur bursts into flames from the mages attack. Syghh realizes his death is upon him and lunges at the mage, smothering the mage his burning body, the mage joins him in his fate. The militia fights hard and long but it is to no avail. The marauders and their allies finally wipe the militia out. Seeing the lack of hope, the allies and serving Kender of Balifore, make for the forests. Balifore has fallen.

Canoes carried this army to the beach where they snuck silently into the thick forest near their homeland and prepared to surprise those who had kept them under their control for so long.

Tamrinith walked into the Kender city to scout the Marauder troops stationed there only to find them removing Balifore's stash of food and supplies. An overweight Sergeant of the Marauder army was yelling orders while eating a chicken leg.

"What we can't carry, we burn! Solestri said we are to starve these creatures out!"

Tamrinith walked directly in front of the ordering Sergeant and drew his attention.

"What do YOU want?" The Sergeant blared being obviously more angered by Tamrinith's intrusion.

"Not much sir. I was just curious why you were removing our food? I mean, if most of your soldiers are as fat as you are, we should be stealing your food." Tamrinith smiled innocently at the Sergeant only to get a glare in return. Tamrinith's eyebrows squished as he began to speak again. "In fact, the last time I saw something as fat as you, it moo'd at me. You're so fat, I bet if you go to war and get cut that hog grease comes out of you. You're so fat, I bet you sometimes stare at other people and wonder how they taste. You're so fat I bet your nickname is DAMN. You're so fat I bet women have to roll over twice to get off of you. You are SO fat you have to roll down your pants to get into your pockets!"

The Sergeant put down his chicken and picked up his sword. "Another word, Kender, and I'll be finding out how YOU taste!"

Tamrinith grinned. He knew that he had him right where he wanted him. "So I guess I should not mention that you are so fat you fell in love and broke it. Or that you are so fat the Gods could not light the Planet until you moved. You are SO fat you wake up in sections! You are so fat that when you jump in the air, you get stuck! You are so fat animals at the zoo feed you! You are SOO fat that when you lay on the beach, the elves try to roll you back into the ocean! You are SOO fat..."

The Sergeant screamed a war cry that shook the camp and charged at the Kender swinging his sword 2-3 swings per second. Tamrinith duck and skipped and parried with grace and style. The sergeant quickly ran out of energy and collapsed onto the ground, his face red and his gasping for every breath like it was his last. He placed his hands over his heart while making a sound similar to "WEUUUUUUGGGGGHHH, WEUUUUUUGGGGGHHH!" This sound caught the interest of most nearby Kender as they all stood over the Sergeant pointing and smiling obviously very excited to see what would happen next.

Several Marauder soldiers ran to the Sergeants aid. ((THWWWWOCK)) Arrows burrowed themselves into the chests and neck of the approaching marauder soldiers. Dark Elves hidden in the brush that outlines the city loaded and reloaded hitting their targets with an accuracy that only elves could display. A Marauder Corporal ordered the unit of infantry to advance into the woods. The remaining soldiers that did not receive fatal blows from the archers either had to deal with the Kender army that appeared from the woods, the citizens of Balifore that had picked up arms or the Animated Hoopak that the Dark Elf Enchanter Calinde has created and sent after the soldiers. The battle did not last long. The lone survivor was the overweight Sergeant, who had regained his breath, but not his strength.

Tresletop looked down at the Sergeant curiously. "Well, you didn't explode like I bet you would. Tell you what, if you make yourself make those WEUUUUUUGGGGGHHH sounds again, and if you do blow up, I'll share my winnings with you. Please?"

The Sergeant's face turned red again in anger but was interrupted by the King of Balifore's presence. Tonious spoke. "Soldier, thank you for what you've done or us. I'm sorry that this was the only way things could be resolved. We are declaring ourselves as free from under your reign. Go home and ask your people never to bother us again."

The sergeant was given a horse (yes a stout one) and was helped by many Kender upon it and rode off. Balifore celebrated into the night.

As I flew over Arkane I focused on a large Minotaur gathering civilians to reclaim their city from the hands of the Marauders. As interesting as that was, it was not today's assignment. Today, the ocean was calling.

Just as I passed Arkane's western wall, one event of notice occurred. One if you do not count the Ogre shouting "A balanx, a balanx, look!" before shooting a quiver full of arrows at me. It seems a rather large force of Marauders were heading away from the city northwest. They were looking for the crippled Arkanian troops no doubt.

As I reached my destination over Roully Bab Binb, there sat the victorious Marauder light cruiser, commanded by Admiral Douji. They were sent back to this very spot of the Arkanian Great Galley's sinking to search for something to salvage. They will have no luck.

The crew has suddenly took their battle stations. Ah, there they are. Three Heavy Cruisers from Balifore have approached firing their cannons. Another war. Yes Raije, I can feel your pleasure. These 3 Balifore heavy Cruisers are commanded by Dupla, a Tinker Gnome, Quillath and Faldyr Fortunefinder, two Kender. Douji has instructed his ship to seek an escape course while slowing the heavy cruisers with return fire. Alas, his tactic was failed as he has taken 3 damaging direct hits. Quillath has pulled her ship up next to the Marauder vessel and seems to dumping crates of fire dust upon it. The Marauder upper deck is slimy manned due to the already harsh blows. I see now, they are moving away and intend to ignite... Oh! Dupla fired too soon, the Marauder ship is in pieces but Quillath's ship has taken grave damage too. Douji didn't look very content as he used that teleport spell to avoid being kept prisoner. It looks like this battle has belonged to Balifore. I will move on to my next assignment now.

(Two Hours Later)

There they are; the Marauder patrol. I sense they will find their target. What is minutes to me must seem like an eternity to them, especially at times such as these.

Hmm, I must have wondered off in thought. The battle is already over. Raije will not be pleased. I focus back in time and record the events.

Grokh's Marauder Calvary spotted the Arkanian army. There was one unit or Archers led by Morin, and an infantry united by Remus. The Arkanian archers open fired upon the Marauders, but the attack was unsuccessful due to the density of the forest. Remus and his infantry were quickly defeated by Captain Chroak army. The Marauders were by far superior in this battle bringing about various types of troops and outnumbering the Arkanians greatly.

Deaths of note: Morin was killed when his head was crushed under the blow of the Marauder macemen leader, Executioner Zaratal. Remus was stuck by a crossbowmen's arrow in the shoulder and narrowly escaped with 2 of his infantry soldiers.

This battle could not have been more one sided. The Marauders suffered no major injuries or deaths to any of its officers and only a few of their soldiers perished. They must be pleased.

Today's events were pleasing to watch. Perhaps not for those who do not understand the ways of Raije, but I found today most pleasurable. If only these armies only knew what awaits them soon. By then, I shall be most busy.

-Balanx of Raije.

(OOC: Sorry for the quick matter of fact type history, I didn't have much time and didn't want to keep everyone waiting. Regardless, this concludes ALL events of day two. I will be looking for events from day 3 Friday evening)

"Sent me? No one sent me! I was just minding my own business when.." Andinyre's sentence was cut short by a sudden backhand from a large Minotaur known as Palleon.

Blood dripped from Andinyre's mouth to the floor. The Minotaur grinned and glanced at Teilk for permission to strike again. Teilk nodded. Palleon closed his first and struck Andinyre hard in the center of his face. You could hear the crack of Andinyre's nose breaking from the next cell. Andinyre screamed in agony before giving in to the pain and blacking out.

Palleon seemed disappointed at Andinyre's low tolerance for pain. Teilk had to remind him that pounding on his head would do nothing to help wake him back up.

A cold splash of water woke Andinyre up. The blazing pain shot through his head like an arrow through its target. Andinyre looked up to see two blurry figures before him.

Teilk grabbed Andinyre by the back of his hair and pulled his face up as to make eye contact. I do not of a joking nature. "When I give you my word, I keep it. You will tell me all you know or Palleon is going to beat you with a wooden club until your head cracks at the bone, and your brains spill onto this floor. He's done it before. It's not a pleasant way to die, I assure you. So again and for the last time, who sent you?"

Andinyre stared blankly at the wall for a moment. "Do what you must."

Teilk nodded at Palleon.

Palleon picked up a medium sized wooden club. It was thick and short, much like a hammer's handle.

Andinyre closed his eyes and prayed.

Palleon beat Andinyre all over his head and face repeatedly, beating him far beyond death. Teilk kept his word. Andinyre kept nothing from within his head.

Suddenly, a Marauder guard burst through the door.

"Highlord Teilk!!! " he said as he gasped for air. "An army is approaching the south gate and it is quite large. Arkananians, Baliforians, New Thalos troops, the Althainian army..." Again he gasped for air. "They have come for Arkane my lord."

(ooc: Day 4 history comes tomorrow)

The army was large, and considering that it was composed of 4 kingdoms only made it more impressive that they moved quickly, orderly, and without hesitations.

"All units halt and prepare for battle!" Vangar shouted. As commander and future potential King of Arkane, Vangar had the burden of stress and responsibility. Regardless, his face showed no worry, only strength.

The armies all re-equipped themselves, the only delay being a few units looking for items the Balifore Archers found interest in.

On command they marched in formation towards the Arkanian Southern gate. The Marauders guards sealed the gate and rang the alarm. From a distance, the Coalition units could see the Marauder troops atop the Southern walls of Arkane. All standing still, all waiting for their arrival.

The battle began with the coalition forces attempting to set up a Catapult only to picked off by marauder sharpshooters. To counter this tactic, the Arkanian and Baliforian archers fired back only with less accuracy. Eventually they were set up and began assaulting the gate with Boulders, launching one in every 3 at surrounding wall to weaken the wall as well. Walls made of lumbered trees were placed as a shield for the catapult team providing them good protection.

Many hours later following a direct hit on the gates edge, part of it fell.

"Battering Ram Team, form up!" Vangar yelled. An Arkanian unit of infantry grabbed the battering ram with one arm while holding a shield with the other. A massive Minotaur who led this unit seemed only mildly annoyed when a Marauder arrow caught his arm. Under a barrage of arrow fire, the ram pounded on the damage gate.

Faelson, a half elven officer, leader of the New Thalos Knights looked into the sky with sudden interest. "By the Gods.... Look at the clouds!" The sky had suddenly turned dark and clouds of black rolled over the city. Lightning shot through the sky at an amazing pace. The wind blew over the Coalitions wood shields that protected the catapults. To make things even worse, Dragon fear overtook the coalition troops and two Great Wyrm Reds circled Arkane.

Getting over the initial fear of the dragons, the coalition forces went into a defensive formation. The battering ram crew went back to work on the gate eventually removing it from its place.

"Hahahaha! We have the gate removed!!!" Fraga shouted back to Vangar.

Just as he finished, a large fireball from above consumed Fraga and most of this unit. Constance stood from behind the gate with a wicked smile, obviously very proud of her fireballs damage.

The mages victory was short lived. One of the Reds swooped down into the gate.

(((CRASH))) Pyros' sides removed several feet of stone surrounding the gate as he flew down hard into Constance. Constance was knocked back unconscious. Pyros watched as the Marauder troops behind her stood in both fear and confusion. A smile crossed the Great Wyrm's face as he violently thrust his great jaws down upon the motionless Constance snapping her body in two pieces. Pyros quickly feasted and then jumped back into the air and resumed flight among the other Great Wyrm Red.

The coalition troops wasted no time charging the gates wide opening. The battle had started with all units engaging from the outside the South gate into well within the city. The surge on the Marauders was working well. The coalition had a red dragon to thank for that oddly enough.

(continued in next history note)

Admiral Douji had volunteered to lead a macemen unit for the Marauders. Feeling embarrassed, he sought to reclaim his honor by fighting viciously in battle. He certainly earned the respect of the men under him. Who knew a sailor could fight on land with such skill and aggressiveness. Douji never seemed to tire.

Wiervian with lance down yelled a battle cry for the Coalition and charged at Douji. Douji stood calmly waiting for the mounted leader of cavalry to approach and with one swift move he ducked and rolled aside forcing Wiervian to miss his charge. Wiervian turned his horse to charge once more on a new target but he received a surprise as his mount turned. Douji had ran to the mount and crushed the side of its head with a swift and powerful mace blow to the side of its neck. The horse fell and Wiervian's leg was stuck under it. Douji grinned and raised his mace high above head preparing to crush Wiervian's skull. From nowhere the co-leader of this Althainian cavalry unit charged Douji. Denis made perfect contact to Douji's chest with his lance knocking him several feet back. Douji had lost his mace in the blow and had received a huge dent to his chest plate armor. The breath had been removed from him and all things blurred in and out. Denis unsheathed his sword and leapt off his mount to strike Douji with a final deathblow. Denis sword came straight down at Douji's heart but missed due to an instinctive reaction by Douji. The blade pierced Douji's left shoulder. Denis violently pulled the blade out and prepared for another strike. Another miss of the heart but again the blade pierced Douji's right shoulder. Denis changed position and swung his blade down in a chopping motion as to remove Douji of his head. His chop was cut short by a flying tackle by Klintauk. The force of this blow made both men drop their weapons.

This hand to hand combat was no contest. Klintauk being a Minotaur had a clear advantage over Denis the human. Within minutes, Klintauk had left Denis bruised, beaten, and unconscious while he went back for his weapon so that he could continue fighting.

The coalitions forced gained the upper hand after a half hour of continuous battle. Almost all of their forces had moved within the city. The dark clouds above moved with an uncanny fury. Something supernatural was above and it seemed only the two great wyrm reds knew exactly what. Gliding in circles the two reds sneered at each other, both wanting to outdo the other but neither came down. It seemed as if they were waiting for a command. Lighting struck in a violent ancient pattern and Sear swooped down. He inhaled a great breath and shot fire from his mouth and nostrils. On the ground a unit of Baliforian archers burned alive. Sear swooped low enough to take 2 Kender up into the air as if to show Pyros his prize. Upon reaching a high enough altitude, Sear bit the heads off both Kenders and shot them then down to the ground ablaze with his fire. Two streaking fiery heads collided with Vangars mounts knocking the Arkanian commander from his mount. Sear roared in delight as Pyros sneered. Swooping down low, Pyros place a single finger over one nostril and blew a stream of fire out the other. He had cut the last few Coalition forces out of Arkane. The Dragons roared in delight.

The black clouds dispersed with a sudden and magical effect and the two dragons flew west towards the ocean and out of the battle.

(part 3 continued in next history)

The cut off units had little time to complain. From the southern forest ran in 2 units of Marauder axe wielders. They wasted no time in slicing through the archers. Pyxen, as all Kender, felt no fear and he approached Cromlek. Pyxen aimed his crossbow at Cromlek with perfect accuracy. With quick reflexes, Cromlek parried the arrow with his great axe. He followed the parry by raising the axe behind his head and lunging it into the skull of Pyxen. This Kender was sent on his final adventure.

The axe wielders defeated the archers and crossbowmen with little resistance. The two units then ganged on the sole Coalition unit remaining outside the city gates, an Arkanian infantry unit led by the Kender Pepe.

Unusual for a Kender, Pepe was skilled with the sword. Many times he narrowly avoided the swipes of axes and countered with skilled thrusts of his blade into the sides of Marauder men. One by one Pepe's unit was falling. Pyros's flame had burned down quite a bit and the battle outside the city walls was visible to the fighting armies inside. Cerias, a marauder axe wielder cornered Pepe with a combination attack of two small axes. Pepe's blade parried the strongest swipe, but his blade shattered into peices. Pepe knew it was his time to die. Without fear he watched the axe of Cerias raise up above him.

The loud neigh of a mount hurdling the flames caught Cerias's attention. His reaction to this event was too late. The New Thalos Knight Faelson had leapt on his mount over the flames. With sword drawn to his side he slashed Cerias in the front middle of his throat. Cerias died choking on his own blood.

The axe wielders surrounded the Knight and Pepe. They could not defend against them all. Luckily for them, Althainian Calvary led by Epyon and Lenith came to the rescue. Aside from a few mounts with missing limps, the Calvary rode through the axe wielders ending their domination.

The forces rejoined the other inside the Arkanian south gate and full battle was restored for many more hours. It wasn't until an hour after nightfall that the Marauders forces were forces to retreat to the northern part of the city. The hurting Coalition did not pursue and both sides made camp well equipped with scouts and guards. For the remainder of the night, this city was to be divided.

Under the night sky, not a cloud was in sight, dark or white. The only thing to be seen was the bright light that seemed to grow brighter from the heavens each day, and a white and red moon.

(End of Day 5)

Out of nowhere the doors along the sides burst open and a unit of Marauder pikemen charged out catching the coalition cavalry unawares. Over half the cavalry were slaughtered before they had a chance to fight back. Nihknor yelled orders at his pikemen and they closed ranks and began to assault the remaining cavalry. It was a bloody battle but closed in on both sides with no place to turn and no room to build up speed all advantage of the cavalry was gone. E'lun called for a retreat and the pitifully remaining few charged into the rear line of pikemen. Nihknor and Skeler congratulated their men as the four surviving coalition cavalry raced back the way they had come.

As the morning wore on the skirmishes continued all across town, neither side really gaining an advantage. Towards noon things had begun to look like they might remain slack for the remainder of the day. The heat had begun to get to Tobii and his unit of infantry. It was all they could do to keep their post and not go seeking a shady place to relax. A noise down the way caught Tobii's attention. Around the bend halfway up the block a unit of knights came into view. The Baliforian infantry unit charged to meet those screaming battle cries and taunts. The knights led by Captain Chroak and Brox met the infantry with determination and hatred burning in their eyes. Tobii fighting his way through the men met came face to face with Brox and engaged the knight's second in command. The battle was heated and the outnumbered knights fought well. Around them lie scattered the bodies of fallen infantrymen. Brox tripped over one of the corpses at his feet and sprawled backwards on the street. Tobii leapt over him and the down stroke of his blade nearly cleaved Brox in half, or would have if Captain Chroak hadn't stepped in and stabbed him through the heart at the pinnacle of his upswing. Their commander fallen, the infantry redoubled their efforts. It was to no avail. The knights slaughtered the remaining infantry in a matter of minutes.

General Ha'thorne and Cromlek were discussing the best way to hold their position. Behind them Lynader was directing the infantry in fortifying the street as the crossbowmen under Velkyn's watchful eye took positions behind overturned wagons piles of crates. Suddenly a massive fireball slammed into the building to their left. From around the corner stepped a Kender mage who had begun chanting another spell. Ha'thorne and a few of the quicker reacting infantry charged towards Calinde just as the war cry of a brigade of knights led by Faelson came rushing in from behind the crossbowmen. The crossbowmen turned and began firing into the knights as they came within range. The knights pushed forward until the first of their ranks reached the rear of the crossbowmen. At these close quarters the crossbowmen were forced to use melee weapons and were greatly outmatched by the knights. The infantry, led by Lyander, turned and charged into the battling knights and crossbowmen. General Ha'thorne ran at breakneck speed toward Calinde, as she was finishing the words to her spell he threw his full weight into her body. They slammed together into the wall. Calinde crumpled as Ha'thorne stepped back and fell to the ground as she desperately fought to refill her lungs with air. Stepping away Ha'thorne swung his blade back and hacked into Calinde repeatedly. Behind him the last of the crossbowmen was cut down by the knights and his infantry were in bad shape. Lyander called a tactical retreat and was surprised as the knights didn't press their advantage. Ha'thorne and Lyander led the men down side streets and alleys until as evening was falling they reached the fallback point.

A human dressed in a dull black armor shook his head. "I don't get it, Jardon. This is supposed to be the Prince of Darkness and he sits looking at the sun set as if he's some lost romantic soul. And why in Necrucifers name are we worried about mere Kender anyway?"

Another man looked at him puzzled. Jardon was a much older soldier with aged lines around his eyes and a bushy blond mustache above his lip. "Are you stupid or something, Michaeled? He's watching the sun go down because we attack as soon as it's good and dark. The Abhorrants can't summon their miserable Horrormongers during the sun light. And I'd be very careful not to let Malachive hear you say he is "supposed" to be the prince of darkness. Have you not heard what he's done to the doubters? Do not even think thoughts like that around him. He can see your thoughts you know!"

Michaeled froze and almost panicked. "You do not think he heard me now, do you?"

Jaron sighed. "You best hope not. As for why the kender, I can tell you why I think its so. The Abhorrants armies, the Horrormongers are shadow wraith like beings and they get their power in two ways. The darkness and peoples fear. Kender do not fear. And so Deathmeere has ordered them to be exterminated and so they shall."

Michaeled grinned slightly. "They don't even have a town guard posted. This will be easy pickings."

"We are just here to engage reinforcements in case one of their nosey neighbors decides to come to the rescue. The Abhorrants will do their own dirty work this night. After all, it is not like they can die. Let's get into position, its dark now."

Malachive and Deathmeere watched the last hint of sunlight leave the Roully Bab Binb Ocean. Turning, Deathmeere joined the two other Abhorrants who were sharpening a scythe that had an eerie dark green glowing effect about it. They handed the scythe to Deathmeere and the three glided off towards the Balifore city limits.

Michaeled was gathering his arrows and felt an odd feeling in his stomach. He turned to notice Malachive staring at him. Malachive's hollow yellow eyes looked into Michaeled as if he were reading his very soul. Michaeled could not help but stand there frozen.

"Michaeled, where is those arrows? Hurry up...." Jeron yelled before turning to Michaeled only to see a pile of burning ash.

His mind wandered in many different directions. Even possessing the intellect of a God, his plans were so complicated and precise that his attention was drawn in an infinite number of directions. It was due to these various thoughts that he barely sensed the presence of the Abhorrant before he began scaling the hillside towards Malachive. This momentarily lapse in awareness caused him great irritation, for he knew even as in control as he was, the Abhorrant were nicknamed the Godslayers for a reason.

"What is it, Deathmeer?"

"I merely await you orders, Malachive. The kender city has been lain to waste for months now and we have progressed no further. We hunger for more blood and will satiate our thirst one way or another."

"You will act when I command it, Deathmeer, and not a moment before. There are pieces to this plan, beyond your comprehension, that must be put into motion before we can proceed further. You will continue to hold."

The Abhorrant sneered and turned to leave, glancing back at Malachive as he disappeared into the night.

The Dark Son watched him go, further annoyed at this most recent challenge. Deathmeer was becoming more and more aggressive.

Suddenly a pillar of flame erupted from the ground mere yards away from Malachive, subsiding as quickly as it came to reveal the form of a massive, hulking minotaur.

Malachive seemed undisturbed as he looked on. "To what do I owe this honor, Mencius?"

"Blessings, Dark Son. Your Father sends his greetings," he growled out roughly.

"Indeed. Tell him to send something I can make use of."

Mencius snorted and shifted about impatiently. "It is I who brings you something you can make great use of, Malachive. I have watched your interaction with the Godslayer ever since you brought them back into this world. You are not as safe around them as you think and with your attention as scattered as the populace of Balifore, you are vulnerable on top of being mortal. You cannot lead your armies and protect yourself at the same time. You know this."

Malachive was careful to response, keeping his eyes locked on the God of Rage.

"I am the Son of Necrucifer, Mencius. I can do anything. I have the infinite power of the universe at my disposal and nothing in this world or the next can cause me any harm."

Mencius reached behind his back and unstrapped his gigantic war axe, slamming it deep into the ground inches away from Malachive.

"Dammit, Malachive, you are still a boy in my eyes. You may be the Son of Necrucifer but you have not been around as long as I. I survived the first war between the Abhorrants and the Gods and you need not open a history book to know there were more Gods before the war began than after! They all possessed the same powers as you and they still fell before the onslaught of these creatures. What kept the remaining eighteen of us alive was strength and the knowledge that we could be beaten unless we prepared ourselves."

Malachive's eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here, Lord of Rage."

"Because I come to prepare YOU, Malachive. You were borne without the consent of the other Gods and if you die, the dark pantheon's advantage dies with you. Necrucifer and Drakkara cannot create anything like you again. You are the future of darkness and I have come to insure my place in that future."

"You are in need of a guardian and a General. Someone who can keep the Abhorrants in check, someone who can lead your armies with cold and calculating precision, and someone who possesses the rage and power to wreak havoc upon those who would stand against you."

"Who could I possibly trust that would provide all that you say? Who possesses such abilities?"

Mencius simply smiled and glanced towards the heavens. Thunder clouds were rolling in and lightning could be seen in the distance.

Grakaris scampered through the bowls of Hell with speed and agility. Past the burning flames, the screaming souls and the frozen wasteland that made up much of Hell's infrastructure. Further down he traveled, past the bloody carnage, the ferocious deziens, and the tempted succubae. Grakaris feared his ultimate destination, a rarely frequented pit of Hell buried particularly deep and isolated.

He finally reached the rickety rope bridge that led across a pool of lava and fire to a single obsidian-constructed cube. Inside was Hell's most recent addition and feared monster. Grakaris quickly closed the distance between the bridge and the cube's entrance. Pushing open the large door, he crept inside cautiously and gulped before he spoke. The room was totally dark. "The... The Lord calls for you immediately. You are needed to serve once more."

Mantaroth's red eyes burned through the darkness like a scythe.