[Be Gone] Ch 24 – Discussions III

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“Creating one big interplanetary community?” Korbald wasn’t dumb, and the benefits were obvious.

            “Never get those in fantasy stories,” I mused knowingly. “More to the point, you might not be able to go back home, but that doesn’t mean your descendants can’t visit.”

            He fell silent for a time, the movement of his eyes and cheeks indicating he was /chatting with others over his Allegiance ties. I could sense the magic at work on Divination wavelengths.

            “Obviously you don’t plan to stay here,” he said slowly, with mixed emotions. “So, I’m going to make a leap and guess you already have plans made. If you don’t mind sharing them?” he prodded me politely.

            There was no way I could deny him in this situation, of course. He was a Monarch, and I was in his domain.

            “I would like to spread the Marks and get you a leg-up on things. Marks contribute heavily to broad, low power, as they help people reach Four, which means they can reach Six and test the First Ceiling.

            “Bringing you into Alliance, even if just as a formality, creates a community between our worlds that could develop into something very positive. Constant contact with our akasha would only help you out, for instance.”

            He nodded slowly at all those points.

            “I have no desire to interfere with your authority or political situation. You are the boots on the ground here, and I’m not going to be giving you orders from a world away.

            “I have to re-establish my Matrix. I don’t know how long that will take, but I’m hoping the fight against the demons will do so. I’ve been dumping slivers of Death Curse magic into my Wand and Wrath usage, so burning through a lot of that will be a thing.

            “Once I do that, I intend to build a Pyramid, shut down the dimensional conjunction forming this Shadowlands, burn the whole damn place in vivus, use that to fully power up the Pyramid, and use the Pyramid to Jump away and start on the road back home.”

            His eyes widened despite himself. “You can DO that?!” he asked, stunned.

            “The primary conjunction zone is only seventy kliks across; everything else radiates out from it. A Pyramid can totally Interdict that large an area. I keep random Gates and Portals out of Michigan using the same method.

            “Once it’s Interdicted, the Sin supply is cut off, the thing feeding won’t be drawing any more energy out of it, and won’t stick around too long. The oni coming in will find it much, MUCH harder to do so, unless directly Summoned.

            “If we get enough of a charge, we can burn the Heaven right out of that thing feeding there, too.

            “Then it’s just a grind to Burn the rest of the Land clean.”

            Korbald drew in a long, heavy breath. “You realize I’ve been fighting the Shadowlands longer than I lived on Earth, and now you come along and make it seem you’re going to sweep this up and roll right over it.”

            “Sure. Just like we just up and rolled right over seven billion undead at home. Just a snap of the fingers.”

            Despite himself, Korbald grimaced as he glanced at Mortus Dius. “And that dead world you invaded...”

            “Pantera.”

            “An entire world lost to undead...” his voice trailed off.

            “One of a great many. Potentially tens of thousands of them.”

            He fell silent again, but his chi was rippling around him. At last he murmured, “That sounds like a very good high-Level playground.”

            “Yeah. And the big thing is that it is invisible to the Divine. The only ones who can fight that battle are mortals.”

            Korbald’s eyes popped open despite himself. “For real?!” That was... both alarming and incredible.

            “Yes. The Celestials and Angels we brought along with us for the fight lost all memory of the Shroud after it collapsed. The Divine have no idea what happened to Pantera, it was like it materialized back out of nowhere in ruins.

            “The Shroud is a Legendary spell woven so powerfully that it can affect a Pantheonic Head like Aru,” I told him. “Mithar Himself retains no knowledge of it, or any of the worlds lost under it.”

            “How do you know of its scale, then?” Korbald asked reasonably.

            “Because the original Shroudworld is a moon in orbit around Terra-Luna. It had twelve Deathgates leading out of it. Pantera has five, but is four generations down from the original world. We thus assume the Shroud is working on the fifth generation, of which Terra was meant to be one.”

            He did the basic math, and winced. “Gods and demons. The implications...”

            “Yeah.” I could only trail the word off.

            “So, the Shadowlands must, in scale, look pretty small...” he realized after a moment of thought.

            “Regardless of anything and everything else, the Oni are extraplanars intruding upon the mortal realm. They have huge vulnerabilities here, whether they like it or not, regardless of their own great personal power.

            “Wake up the Land with a vivic feast, and they are going to be munchies.”

            He considered that viewpoint, and could only nod agreement. The Land was certainly bigger than any oni, regardless of what they thought, so much so that it was basically ignoring what was going on.

            “So... you’re looking to retire and go after the worlds under the Shroud,” he reasoned after a moment.

            “Aye.” I didn’t hide it. “Worlds are dying as we speak, and only high-Level mortals can stop them. No restraints, no limits, just Karma. It calls to me, sings to my soul...” Wrath wooshed up around my hands, and Feature’s quiet hiss filled our surroundings, with gentle echoes of a great crystalline rattle underneath it.

            “I can’t wait for the next generation to grow up, take over, and start reclaiming Terra, instead of just beating on the stuff that shows up every damn day.”

            “Is that what you spend your days doing? Just... running around the planet, fighting stuff?”

            “No. Oh, I’m on call if there’s something serious popping up... you know, like it does every week or so.” Korbald made understanding noises. “No, I make Pyramids. That’s my job, making Pyramids.”

            Korbald weighed all that, and what I’d already said. “Massive Interdiction areas...” he murmured to himself, and looked slowly around himself, at this mountain valley that the House of the Tiger had been given to occupy.

            “Yeah,” I went ahead of him. “All the currently settled lands back home had to be put under Pyramids. Then I started setting them down as border bases to operate from and hedge out incursions even further.”

            “Pyramids seem kind of... big for just an Interdiction, right? Couldn’t you make do with, oh, Argos’ Obelisks?”

            “Obelisks don’t affect areas quite so large, but sure, we use them for specific local effects. The biggest benefit to a Pyramid Power Field is the ability to once a day Cast a spell of Valence III or less that affects everything in its area.

            “I don’t know if you remember the Stages, but a Resist Disease at Ten on everyone within an eighty-mile radius saved a lot of people from the plagues.”

            “Damn!” He was impressed again, as only a Monarch looking after his people could be. “That would be so damn useful!”

            “I imagine you’d like to get some Obelisks up swiftly, at the very least. I can help with that.”

            He heaved a big sigh, and reached out to tunk cups with me again. “It’s damn nice to have you here, Ael, and not just because you’re from home.”

            “Praise Mithar, that rotter!” I replied.

            “Amen!” We both drank.         

--------

            “General Hiesetie-san, I apologize for the delay in meeting you. I was extremely busy yesterday, as you no doubt know.”

            I’d sent his messenger off with a request to meet in the morning, and so here I was, in the fortress’ main reception chamber, although the full pomp and ceremony of receiving a foreign dignitary was waived with my request and approval. There was a bigarse army of demons coming this way, and reinforcements from all along the Great Wall were pouring into the area to aid in the upcoming fight.

            He was busy, and didn’t need to waste fripperies on me. Since he was acquainted with Korbald as his vassal, he naturally wouldn’t be put off by that attitude.

            “Master Aelryinth,” he acknowledged me soberly. I hadn’t changed my outfit, just cleaned it up a little, let the threadwork shine a little bit. He naturally knew my dragon was watching me there on my head, and I was obviously looking out those silver eyes instead of the ones I didn’t have.

            He didn’t have many guards, and only the one Shugenja advisor, Xiaongmao Okomo-san, a fellow done up with white paint and dark eyes as a member of the Panda Clan. I could feel trembling Earthpower surrounding him, along with leavenings of The Green... definitely some form of Earth and Plant magic, which was unsurprising, as I’d been informed that it was a specialty of the Panda Clan’s Shugenja.

            He also could not have failed to receive the reports of the sudden proliferation of the misting white fire among the Tigers, and the excitement and energy among them, as if some barriers that had been holding them back for years had suddenly vanished.

            The Tigers, the humans, had always been extremely strong individually. Just the coming of one more human had such an effect after so long, and it was plain to him that the Daimyo of the Tigers and his Clan Lords were treating me as an equal.

            Also, I had a pet dragon. That’s always good for gaining respect.

            “In light of what is coming, I have only a few questions for you, Master Aelryinth.” It sounded like he’d been thinking over what to say. “The first and most important is naturally the white fire you have brought here.”

            He paused a moment in careful thought, and I just waited patiently for him to continue. “It is as you said. Where the demons died yesterday, grass grows where it has not for centuries. Flowers bloom where the Cobra and the Hag died, as well. The Tigers immerse Weapons burning white in mounds of Tainted jade, and the Taint is consumed, leaving them clean and pure once more.

            “Even a few of my soldiers who have been afflicted with Taint have dared bury the blades in their flesh, and felt the blackness burning away inside of them, removing the Corruption from their bodies and souls.” He sighed at the tales he’d heard coming in constantly, much to the befuddlement of all his Shugenja, who were torn between great suspicion of this foreign energy and wonder at its power.

            “Mmm. You wish to know if it is a danger to you. Allow me to give you an analogy.” I tilted my head back as Mortus lit up with misting unwhite fire, instantly earning their undivided attention.

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