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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Reader mode
Is it possible for OL to construct a replacement lantern in this dimension? I forget if he can do it on less than one charge.
 
So did the Illustres asks or found out why and/or how his doppelganger died? Or was he not interested?

If the Dark Elves were trying to resurrect him, I would assume he was their ally or something.
 
Aw, lookit you go, Paul. Making new friends. Hope he gets to keep 'em when he's done with this place.

Though it is decidedly rather odd that there's a Heroes of Might & Magic arc in the mainline story instead of an omake.

Given how much he seems to have played the game, perhaps the spell did something wonky and brought a simulation of the world to life based on his memories?
 
Sooo... since I didn't see it brought up before now, if they have cast any sort of preservation magic on him the local Paul isn't *really* dead. What we call dead is really "beyond our ability to resuscitate", at least until the body is sufficiently decomposed. For example, cut someone's head off and people will tell you they are dead, yet experiments during the French revolution found that the severed head continued to blink for 15-30 seconds.

Now, if someone is what we consider "beyond resuscitation" it's almost entirely due to the halting of biological processes leading to cell death, which itself is really the buildup of toxins, background chemicals becoming the wrong concentrations, and the denaturing(think broken car, not destroyed car) of proteins necessary for performing life functions. It's not until the bacteria *really* get under way that tissue is actually destroyed to a significant degree. If we had the ability to reach into each individual cell in a person's body and repair the damage + reset the chemical gradient that would "return them to life", although really it would be "stop them from dying" at a point beyond our normal maximum.

I think I remember it being established early on that a soulless but sapient/sentient clone of Paul couldn't be made in the DC universe due to it being antithetical to the rules of the setting (and the existence of souls also preventing this kind of extreme healing from working after the fact on other characters, or at least not on its own) however in this case we have the original body with what sounds like minimal damage, so it should be possible for OL to give his other-self a second chance at... whatever it is he was up to in this setting. Getting stabbed for annoying people, at a minimum.
 
Lazurman said:
Aw, lookit you go, Paul. Making new friends. Hope he gets to keep 'em when he's done with this place.

Though it is decidedly rather odd that there's a Heroes of Might & Magic arc in the mainline story instead of an omake.

Given how much he seems to have played the game, perhaps the spell did something wonky and brought a simulation of the world to life based on his memories?
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You just wait to see where he's going next.
monochromaticPrism said:
Getting stabbed for annoying people, at a minimum.
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When you're as vulnerable to magic as he is, even spells like Slow can do nasty things to your insides.
 
Changing Lanes (part 8) New
18th August 2013
10:14 GMT -5

Yeah, it turns out that the War of the Sixth Eclipse was every bit as distasteful in reality as I remember if from the game. What happened to Queen Isabel is just horrific. Her wedding interrupted by a demon invasion, her betrothed killed, the kingdom resisting her rule, the wizard who claimed that he was able to resurrect her husband raising him as a vampire who immediately tried to eat her, the man who killed her husband getting her general on side to overthrow her, her getting kidnapped and raped by the Demon Sovereign…

I mean, I assume raped. They had a child. But I suppose the child could have been created through a ritual?

And whatever happened resulted in her soul getting ripped out, so a demon took her place in the Empire while she happily went off with the man who killed her betrothed… And then Arantir eventually released her soul, wrecking the demons' spells and causing her to come to her senses… At which point she renounced the throne and… Went back to the man who killed her betrothed, because… I guess Stockholm Syndrome exists in Ashan?

"Is Raelag an expert in mind control magics?"

Lushun looks a little awkward. "Not according to any account I have heard. I admit, the former queen's conduct does seem a little… Strange. But men with no real grudge against one another may slay each other in times of war. If Clan Chief Raelag nursed her through her… During her time of hardship, it is not so unthinkable that genuine affection might develop."

Valdrieth the Vampire just nods. "I always assumed that her soul never went back to her body. If it went to Elrath and her empty body simply agrees with the last thing it heard, it makes far more sense."

"Then Arantir tracks down the son of Kha-Beleth and Isabelle, who's a teenager. The teenager then fights his army and then him, and kills them all. And if Arantir hasn't gotten up again by now then he's probably not going to."

Valdrieth shrugs. "Not in the short term. His return would put an end to…" He looks out across the armies arrayed across the swamps of Heresh. "This. As it is, soldiers and demon cultists from Stonehelm hold much of the interior of Nar-Heresh."

"Including this building?" He nods. "So why are you still here?"

"I can't teleport far enough to get down, and I'm not well-fed enough to survive the fall." He looks down over the edge. "I was considering climbing it, but they have imps, and arquebusiers at the windows."

"Right. Do you want to be dropped off anywhere in particular?"

He shrugs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving Ashan. Lushun?"

"How could I not come with you? It's an opportunity for unparalleled learning!"

"Fine, as long as you understand that I can't bring you back. Valdrieth?"

"No, just leave me at the siege lines. None of the claimants will take issue with my former loyalties."

"As you wish. Three two one."

Our surroundings flicker and the next instant we're surrounded by mud and dying trees and armoured vampires.

"Good luck!"

Another flicker and Lushun and I are back in the air.

"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"I wouldn't-."

"There he is." Our surroundings flicker a third time as we appear in front of the duo, and I raise my left hand in greeting. "Excuse me!"

"-be so.. sure."

Xana the succubus immediately conjures fire into her hands, while Sareth-.

I'm not sure what he's doing, but paying the main character more attention seems like a good idea. The staff is on his back, while his hands hold a bastard sword and a pistol bow. Their horses stop-.

Oh. So that's what -2 morale feels like. The Cloak of Death's Shadow is one of my favourite items with any hero, and now that I take its pushed back position into account… Yes, that's it.

"I come in peace!"

Xana's eyes narrow. "Oh really. Then why are you wearing a dead man's face?"

"Ah. You… Met my doppelgänger. That's… Complicated. As far as I understand it, he and I are both equal continuations of the same life… I'm not totally certain how I came to be on Ashan, while I… Assume that he arrived a few years ago? His ring-" I hold out my hands, rings glowing. "-wouldn't have had much power left by now, if-."

"A copy." Xana lowers her hands slightly, glancing at Sareth for direction. He… Appears to be considering me. "And what do you want?"

"Death's Embrace." She perks up slightly, the fires in her hands intensifying. "The set of magic items. I don't want you to try and kill me."

The fire dims again. "What for?"

"The Staff, to aid in my attempt to leave Ashan. The rest, because as I understand it they're designed to work with the Staff." I look around. "You don't appear to be leading an army. Might I ask your intentions?"

Xana sneers at me. "I want to take command of whatever demons are left on the surface of Ashan and establish a kingdom for us to rule. But my beloved Sareth wants to visit his mother's homeland. He is the heir to the Greyhound Duchy after all."

"Ah. Okay. And Arantir's equipment? If you're not trained as a necromancer, it won't do you much good. And I imagine that the priests of the Holy… Unicorn Empire will recognise them after all that time Markal spent using them."

"He could just destroy them. That should earn their favour. If he wanted it."

Lushun looks worried. "I wouldn't recommend that. Destroying the Staff might well tear open a passage to the void, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

"As an alternative, I can offer a cart filled with gold and jewels, some really high quality swords and suits of armour, a device to conceal your… Demonic appearance, and a high quality pistol. I'll take the artefacts with me when I leave Ashan so they won't be a threat to anyone still here."

"A cart? On roads like these?"

"Alright, a cart with thick pneumatic tyres made of rubber and incorporating a spring suspension system. I can't promise that it won't get stuck, but it should handle the conditions better than a cart with solid wooden wheels. And I can carry you to the Greyhound Duchy and drop you off, and you can witness my departure for yourselves."

I look directly at Sareth and raise my hands, palms upwards.

"Or is there something else that you'd like? I'm open to negotiation."

He continues looking at me for a moment, and then nods. "I think that there is."
 
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Mr Zoat said:
"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be to hard to find."
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'too'

That was surprisingly easy. Was he already nearby, or was he just unwarded? Or did Oh El just do some sort of massive optical scan of the continent?
Mr Zoat said:
You just wait to see where he's going next.
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Maybe Oh El will be 'Changing Lanes' between multiple fictional settings?
 
Mr Zoat said:
18th August 2013
10:14 GMT -5

Yeah, it turns out that the War of the Sixth Eclipse was every bit as distasteful in reality as I remember if from the game. What happened to Queen Isabel is just horrific. Her wedding interrupted by a demon invasion, her betrothed killed, the kingdom resisting her rule, the wizard who claimed that he was able to resurrect her husband raising him as a vampire who immediately tried to eat her, the man who killed her husband getting her general on side to overthrow her, her getting kidnapped and raped by the Demon Sovereign…
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Sounds like a right conga line of trauma. Just one hit after another... Still, good to know his metaknowledge is accurate to the course of events here. So he won't be operating in unknown circumstances.

I mean, I assume raped. They had a child. But I suppose the child could have been created through a ritual?
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Or a magical disguise. She was probably so emotionally and mentally broken by that point she'd clutch to anything happy.

And whatever happened resulted in her soul getting ripped out, so a demon took her place in the Empire while she happily went off with the man who killed her betrothed… And then Arantir eventually released her soul, wrecking the demons' spells and causing her to come to her senses… At which point she renounced the throne and… Went back to the man who killed her betrothed, because… I guess Stockholm Syndrome exists in Ashan?
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...Wow, okay... That is a right effed-up timeline.

"Is Raelag an expert in mind control magics?"

Lushun looks a little awkward. "Not according to any account I have heard. I admit, the former queen's conduct does seem a little… Strange. But men with no real grudge against one another may slay each other in times of war. If Clan Chief Raelag nursed her through her… During her time of hardship, it is not so unthinkable that genuine affection might develop."
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I get the impression Raelag is not that nice a fellow.

Valdrieth the Vampire just nods. "I always assumed that her soul never went back to her body. If it went to Elrath and her empty body simply agrees with the last thing it heard, it makes far more sense."

"Then Arantir tracks down the son of Kha-Beleth and Isabelle, who's a teenager. The teenager then fights his army and then him, and kills them all. And if Arantir hasn't gotten up again by now then he's probably not going to."
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Heh. Their theories sound like forum-goers offering possible explanations for clearly insane actions.

Valdrieth shrugs. "Not in the short term. His return would put an end to…" He looks out across the armies arrayed across the swamps of Heresh. "This. As it is, soldiers and demon cultists from Stonehelm hold much of the interior of Nar-Heresh."

"Including this building?" He nods. "So why are you still here?"
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Ah. He's stuck there, unable to fight his way out down the stairs, and...

"I can't teleport far enough to get down, and I'm not well-fed enough to survive the fall." He looks down over the edge. "I was considering climbing it, but they have imps, and arquebusiers at the windows."

"Right. Do you want to be dropped off anywhere in particular?"
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...Could definitely use a lift, then.

He shrugs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving Ashan. Lushun?"
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And given the common knowledge of the world, that must sound a little bit insane.

"How could I not come with you? It's an opportunity for unparalleled learning!"

"Fine, as long as you understand that I can't bring you back. Valdrieth?"
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Heh. He seems a promising fellow. Wonder if he'll stick with OL back on Earth Sixteen, or seek other sources to learn from...

"No, just leave me at the siege lines. None of the claimants will take issue with my former loyalties."

"As you wish. Three two one."

Our surroundings flicker and the next instant we're surrounded by mud and dying trees and armoured vampires.
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Most of whom are probably jumping in surprise at the sudden appearance. Then reaching for weapons until they recognise the vamp.

"Good luck!"

Another flicker and Lushun and I are back in the air.
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Well, one more sidequest completed. Pity OL is too high-level to get XP for this stuff.

"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be to hard to find."

"I wouldn't-."
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If his theft was recent enough and he didn't have teleportation magic, he'd be somewhere nearby. A horse can only travel so far and fast before needing rest and feed.

"There he is." Our surroundings flicker a third time as we appear in front of the duo, and I raise my left hand in greeting. "Excuse me!"

"-be so.. sure."
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Ah, easy as. His Rings making short work of travel times, I see.

Xana the succubus immediately conjures fire into her hands, while Sareth-.

I'm not sure what he's doing, but paying the main character more attention seems like a good idea. The staff is on his back, while his hands hold a bastard sword and a pistol bow. Their horses stop-.

Oh. So that's what -2 morale feels like. The Cloak of Death's Shadow is one of my favourite items with any hero, and now that I take its pushed back position into account… Yes, that's it.
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Interesting. A fear-causing effect that debuffs morale. If Sinestro got his hands on stuff like that, his Corps would be greatly enhanced...

"I come in peace!"

Xana's eyes narrow. "Oh really. Then why are you wearing a dead man's face?"
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I'd say he has no choice in the matter, but there are necromancers about. A face transplant doesn't sound all that unlikely...

"Ah. You… Met my doppelgänger. That's… Complicated. As far as I understand it, he and I are both equal continuations of the same life… I'm not totally certain how I came to be on Ashan, while I… Assume that he arrived a few years ago? His ring-" I hold out my hands, rings glowing. "-wouldn't have had much power left by now, if-."
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Why do I get the feeling they killed him, and have his Ring?

"A copy." Xana lowers her hands slightly, glancing at Sareth for direction. He… Appears to be considering me. "And what do you want?"

"Death's Embrace." She perks up slightly, the fires in her hands intensifying. "The set of magic items. I don't want you to try and kill me."
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Got to watch that phrasing in a world with legendary artifacts around.

The fire dims again. "What for?"

"The Staff, to aid in my attempt to leave Ashan. The rest, because as I understand it they're designed to work with the Staff." I look around. "You don't appear to be leading an army. Might I ask your intentions?"
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I wouldn't be surprised to find it also makes a quite fetching set of vanity armour. Wouldn't be surprised if lesser necromancers copied the look.

Xana sneers at me. "I want to take command of whatever demons are left on the surface of Ashan and establish a kingdom for us to rule. But my beloved Sareth wants to visit his mother's homeland. He is the heir to the Greyhound Duchy after all."

"Ah. Okay. And Arantir's equipment? If you're not trained as a necromancer, it won't do you much good. And I imagine that the priests of the Holy… Unicorn Empire will recognise them after all that time Markal spent using them."
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And naturally suffer significant diplomacy maluses towards the wearer. The kind that make you start at 'kill on sight' status.

"He could just destroy them. That should earn their favour. If he wanted it."

Lushun looks worried. "I wouldn't recommend that. Destroying the Staff might well tear open a passage to the void, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."
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Especially if it allows some form of external entities to invade... That might make the creator goddess doing something drastic to the region to undo it.

"As an alternative, I can offer a cart filled with gold and jewels, some really high quality swords and suits of armour, a device to conceal your… Demonic appearance, and a high quality pistol. I'll take the artefacts with me when I leave Ashan so they won't be a threat to anyone still here."
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That would be a crazy encounter in an RPG. Clearly-higher-level being pops up after you loot a boss, asking for items from their hoard. And in return, he offers loot of equivalent quality. I suspect some kinds of parties would be tempted to attack him to gain his stuff... Even with the DM going 'Are you sure? Are you really sure?' 😤

"A cart? On roads like these?"

"Alright, a cart with thick pneumatic tyres made of rubber and incorporating a spring suspension system. I can't promise that it won't get stuck, but it should handle the conditions better than a cart with solid wooden wheels. And I can carry you to the Greyhound Duchy and drop you off, and you can witness my departure for yourselves."
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I wonder if they even understand what those things are, but the tech level of these worlds tends to be a little scattered.

I look directly at Sareth and raise my hands, palms upwards.

"Or is there something else that you'd like? I'm open to negotiation."

He continues looking at me for a moment, and then nods. "I think that there is."
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Oh boy. Bet there'll be something involving his mother, the former Queen.

OL wasting little to no time on sidequesting with his Rings' mobility. Need to be somewhere? Bam, you're there. I assume any loot he's offering would come from local villainous groups, which would take little to no effort on his part to acquire. Still, sometimes people want things that aren't so easy to get...
 
Mr Zoat said:
The sheeda may have been breeding spine riders in the swamp… Though that could have been Queen Gloriana Tenebrae's faction, Melmoth's faction, or just some sheeda who were left over from the last Harvest. Or maybe Zor had them as pets." Hm. "Yes, actually, they got out after Sargon fought him, so that's more plausible. According to Sargon's report, Zor was just doing evil for the fun of it. Which makes no sense to me, but…"
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Went down a bit of a rabbit hole on Wikipedia. Apparently Solomon Grundy once used Green Light from repeated battles with a Green Lantern (Alan) to return to Earth from the moon. We know Grundy could have a connection to the Sheeda, and Zachary Zor's page notes they've been affected by the same factions before... Angel magic, OL, and Mazikeen on a new world with demons... It's possible Zachary Zor, who previously worked with angels, tracked down the Basanos. He might even be the tarot deck's host.

Boss Smiley can't be an angel, or Heaven would have known SOMETHING..I'm pretty confident that mentioning Boss Smiley's name is part of why this adventure is happening, but the actual cause eludes me. It's possible that... Okay, Paul submitted a list of sites to check up on a long time ago. Along with a list of artifacts to keep an eye out for, since villains stir up trouble with those. We know that The Light obtained League files when they mind controlled them. We know that the Light knows about Paul's death during the angel invasion, as well as his Lazarus pit experiments.

Did the Light trap such a site with the intent of catching Paul? Boss Smiley called them up and said "pull the trigger NOW NOW NOW"? I don't think this was related to Anarky's gang, although Question could POTENTIALLY rig something among Zachary Zor's artifacts to cause a reaction. Send OL off on an adventure while they pull a scheme? Maybe if they had a second magic-user. Could Zor's house react to some lingering trace magics from OL's contact with eb fake Arcane, Gamnemnae? Magicians like to protect themselves from other archwizards.

I'm stuck. This is probably a Lucifer/Vertigo comic plot, just swapping out an arbitrary dimension with HoMM's world. Mazikeen will probably learn something or gain some sort of motivation due to the demons here.
 
Duke Long said:
'too'
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Thank you, corrected.
That was surprisingly easy. Was he already nearby, or was he just unwarded?
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He was nearby. As noted, travelling long distance by horse isn't particularly fast, especially through difficult terrain.
Rebu said:
It's kind of funny that this is set after the only game in the entire franchise that I'm actually familiar with. Because I've watched A let's play.
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Dark Messiah is just about the only game in the franchise that it would be tollerable to watch a Let's Play of.
 
Something just occured to me: Do the Slaughter Swamps of other universes also have a portal/anomaly that leads to this world? If so, then that means The Renegade, The Sybarite, Tangseid or Crime Syndicate Paul might also end up here if they decide to investigate Slaughter Swamp.
 
CrazyNoVa said:
Something just occured to me: Do the Slaughter Swamps of other universes also have a portal/anomaly that leads to this world? If so, then that means The Renegade, The Sybarite, Tangseid or Crime Syndicate Paul might also end up here if they decide to investigate Slaughter Swamp.
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Reminds me of a Different Swamp.

The Nexus of All Realities, accessed via a patch of Florida guarded by Man-Thing, over in Marvel's side of the multiversal pond.

Things get a little strange down there.....even for Florida.
 
NightmareWarden said:
Went down a bit of a rabbit hole on Wikipedia. Apparently Solomon Grundy once used Green Light from repeated battles with a Green Lantern (Alan) to return to Earth from the moon.
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Huh. I knew Alan had dropped Grundy off on the Moon in one story (written in the 1940s?), but I hadn't known that was how he got back, rather than returning by dying and resurrecting in Slaughter Swamp.
 
I would love to learn more about Might&Magic!Paul, like how long did it take before he died, how did he die, what impact did he have and since said Paul's don't have souls until the figure out how to gain one could OL!Paul just restore his body and have him technically resurrected, then give him some tattoos.
 
Changing Lanes (part 9) New
18th August 2013
10:19 GMT -5

The four of us appear on the border of the Greyhound Duchy, not… Actually all that far to the north west of our former position. An abbey, burned down during the war and as yet not part of the reconstruction process. A curious choice; I know from the intro sequence that demons here have no difficulty in entering holy sites, but by that token there's no obvious advantage in performing the ritual here. Sareth's horse starts, but I turned my rings' human-to-animal translator back on to warn him before we moved so he swiftly calms down when his rider shows no concern. Xana's demonic steed has presumably been through far worse.

Xana looks at me expectantly. "Well?"

I point to the broken stone pathway leading to nearest road. Neither appear to have been deliberately destroyed -demons need roads too- but there was a battle here, and the land is blotted with blast craters from offensive magic and trebuchet projectiles.

"There?"

"Yes."

Cart design is easy enough. I've seen this sort on Themyscira plenty of times. The tires I can base on the dozens of motorcycle tires I've scanned. Sacks, Themyscira again, gold… Is gold, jewels… I've got their molecular structures stored. Ah… Neither of their horses have harnesses, so include those…

"Shouldn't matter, but the gold and jewels will have an unusually regular structure. No impurities. But I doubt that anyone will notice."

Xana guides her horse over to the cart while Sareth dismounts and walks towards… It looks like an altar, partially concealed by a pile of rubble. He kneels before it, hands clasped at his chest.

"You worship Elrath?"

"No. But I suspect that my mother's people will expect it."

"I would recommend not lying to gods. They can be remarkably short-tempered."

"I'm not lying. I genuinely do hope that Elrath accepts the soul of your other self."

"You were friends?"

He thinks, then nods slowly. "He gave me counsel at a difficult point in my life."

Xana glances over from where she's rifling through the sacks, looking decidedly unimpressed. "Surely it wasn't that difficult, my love? Still, it was good advice."

I raise my eyebrows. "'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law'?"

Xana nods. "That was the core of it. Decide what you want to happen, and then make it happen."

"Xana, you hate Leanna."

"She made an excellent distraction. And you were thinking about releasing your father."

"I wanted a place in the world." He stares off into the distance, to where I can just about make out one of the Duchy's towns. "But I think that I'll prefer finding it in a world that isn't on fire."

"You-?" Lushun stares at him, shadows moving around his fingertips. "You are the Dark Messiah Sar-Shazzar wrote of. I seem to remember that prophecy being fairly unambiguous."

Sareth doesn't appear to have noticed Lushun preparing a spell, but from the tension in her wings and lengthening of her talons I see that Xana has. Lushun's eyes move to me and I give my head a small shake to try and discourage him.

"If the prophecy was unambiguous, then why did Arantir waste his time in trying to kill me?" He shakes his head, then strolls through the ruined wall into the main courtyard. "If both of them truly come from outside of Ashan, perhaps he could not see them. In any case, the barrier around Sheogh is made whole, though not so perfect as it would have been had Arantir been able to murder an entire city to fuel his ritual."

"I see." Lushun dismisses his spell, but still regards Sareth cautiously as we follow him inside. "Excuse me if I take the time to confirm that for myself."

"Be my guest. And if you encounter Arantir's shade, banish it for me."

"You left Leanna in Har-Heresh?"

"Xana's hatred is mutual, but… I like Leanna. She has an army and a fortress, and she has a portal to flee if she needs to."

"I just thought that you might be trying to pull a Kiril."

He raises his eyebrows. "Kiril? I'm not familiar with the name."

"Younger son of House Griffin during the War of the Second Eclipse. He was tricked into becoming a demon, and ended up in a long term relationship with a Fallen Angel named Sarah and… A succubus whose name I've forgotten."

Xana glares at me. "You don't need to pretend. There's more than one succubus with the name 'Xana'. I never even met him." She snorts. "Sharing with an angel. She's an embarrassment to succubae everywhere."

Sareth shakes his head. "That wouldn't be an option. I doubt that Leanna would ever fall. On the other hand, I'm not a demon."

"Your… Father..?"

"I had wondered if his intent was to leave me as weak as possible until after he was freed. Perhaps even then. Certainly, I never benefitted from having demon blood in me."

Xana coughs loudly.

"I apologise. His demon blood. Your demon magic was extremely important." She momentarily seems mollified, then he smiles impishly. "Though I must admit that I would like to hear more about this 'Kiril'."

Lushun steps closer to him. "I believe that we have met your requirements?"

"Yes." Sareth nods and takes the Staff of the Netherworld from his back. He regards the skull set into the head for a moment, and then holds it out towards Lushun.

Lushun takes it from him and holds it before himself, going into a slight trance. I assume that he's making sure that it will work as intended. "Yes. Yes." He blinks. "This will work excellently. And the rest?"

Sareth passes him the Ring of the Unrepentant, which he slips onto his left ring finger. The Amulet of Necromancy, which he hangs around his neck. And lastly the Cloak of Death's Shadow, which he pulls over his robes.

And wait for betrayal in three…

"Right." He takes the staff in both hands. "Shall we begin?"

Two…

"Opening a portal to the void… Takes a good deal of energy, but with this staff it is not complicated." Purple mists swirl around the head of the staff, and then flow out to form a vertical disc in the air. "Surviving passage to Ashan's exterior is difficult… You had best shield yourself."

I nod, strengthening my environmental shield as purple mist flows over his robes and is… Drawn into them.

"And lastly, we need some way to track your companions. Without one, all I could do is try retracing your entry and following your path back to your home-."

"Oh, that's easy. I imbued Mazikeen with a small amount of orange light before we left." I generate a mote of orange light and have it float over to him. "Can you trace that?"

"I don't know." His eyes narrow as the purple mist envelopes it. "I think… I… Yes. Yes, I can!" He turns to me, smiling broadly. "Are you ready?"

No betrayal? Or maybe he's leaving it to later. Either way…

"Yes, I am. Let's not leave them hanging in the wind any longer."
 
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Thundersmight94 said:
could OL!Paul just restore his body and have him technically resurrected, then give him some tattoos.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
He doesn't know what his brain looked like, and if he doesn't have a soul then it's... Not really much different to creating an intelligent copy of himself. He also can't do the magic tattoos that he uses because he can't do magic.
 
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