#Lore24 – Entry #346 – Sci-Fi Month IV #11 –Pinnacles of Power, Destruction of a Demon Lord

Transcribed From the Personal Recording Implant of Andra Ganim, Chronicler of the Codex Infinitum

AG:  “What were your observations about the state of the world leading up to the destruction of Suzu’reitani, as you saw it from your position above and away from most of the major players in these events?”

RV:  “I saw potential for great things, or absolute destruction.  I would not sit idle during this period, for I was quite busy preparing myself for the worst outcome, either another Cataclysm or a renewed surge in the demonic forces upon Andyllion.  While they had been struggling to survive, Suzu’reitani had found a way through the planar rifts, just as I had, and was slowly bringing more of her kind onto Andyllion again, their very essences at least, if not their physical forms, which she implanted with the mazoku and certain others within the Imperium, notably the line of Emperors who ruled the land, and many of the kerryn slaves themselves.  She was actually hiding within one herself, the “favored slave” of the Emperor, in fact.  And the slave knights known as the Stellae Illustris?  Each and every one who attained full membership were possessed by a demon, completely loyal to the demon lord.  It wasn’t the emperor they were letting see through their eyes, rather Suzu’reitani herself.

In the area of Arcavarlon, and that side of the world, things were much less chaotic, which is why I was able to devote so much time to my research and preparations.  Though there was plenty of political strife, I would urge those below me to maintain a mostly neutral stance, keep things as stable as possible, while we waited for the situation to further develop within the Imperium.  I would also encourage the spread of propaganda against the Imperium on our side of the world, focusing as much discontent as I could there.”

AG:  “Would you say you wished to see the demonic hold upon the Imperium broken, the demons driven from Andyllion?”

RV:  “Absolutely, yes.  Their very presence would eventually lead to a corruption upon the entire world, as had started before the Great Cataclysm.  And of course, they were the final major blemish upon the history of the Elvish Dominion, and my own in particular, that I had not managed to erase.  It had become something of a personal wish to see them eradicated, mostly for my own satisfaction, though I would not become involved too obviously, of course, lest my involvement in their original summoning be revealed.  I suppose enough time has passed since then that I can say such a thing.  I’ve certainly built up many more things people would hate me for over the intervening years.”

AG:  “Did you witness the final battle between Shibaru Sukimono and Suzu’reitani?”

RV:  “Indirectly, yes.  By the time the final battle loomed, any plans that I had implemented were finalized, as were those of Marcon Shadowmist.  We actually watched the battle together from his manor house within his swamp, sipping on wine and sampling a rather modest assortment of foods, much as one would watch a video stream today, though through scrying instead.  I have every confidence that had he applied himself, he could have ended the situation on his own, but Marcon is bound by a non-interference pact with the gods, or something to that effect.  Nothing direct, mind you, and nothing too obvious, just a subtle nudge here and there, though that trick he pulled with Lila Darius and the divine essence of Saressh, that skirted the line, I’m sure.  Not the only time he’s done something like that, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

I have to say, for one so young, Sukimono handled herself magnificently in that battle.  I suppose that’s something of her past life as Shibari Sukimori coming through, for she was very nearly as instinctually aware of the nature of magic as I am, even without my advantages.  Maltizar fended off the demon lord’s top general in the body of the Emperor at the time, as well as any others who tried to interfere.  I could sense Suzu’reitani’s desperation growing, but then Sukimono made her fateful feint, taking the demon lord’s spear into herself to guarantee a killing blow.  For all of Suzu’reitani’s superior ability to read mortals, she didn’t see Sukimono’s final maneuver coming.  It was entirely an aerian trick, sacrificing yourself to take out your enemy.  They are such a fatalistic people…

Anyway, we were on the edge of our seats at this point, as Marcon’s vision shifted beyond the physical realm to the spiritual realm, where the battle continued in the very demi-plane that had served as Saresh’s prison. I couldn’t predict who was going to come out on top then.  But, we know the outcome now.  I can say proudly that I’m one of the handful of beings who witnessed the utter destruction of Suzu’reitani, her very essence seared from this reality.”

AG:  “What did you witness upon Suzu’reitani’s destruction?  What was the immediate aftermath?”

RV:  “Most immediately was the release of Saressh from her bonds and the destruction of that prison, which freed the entirety of her power and ended the blood curse upon the kerryns.  All of those who were possessed by demons at the time were immediately freed from their influence as the goddess’s Soulfire burned through them and seared their very essence from Andyllion.  Sukimono’s spirit was returned to her body then, which was healed by the goddess, and I suppose you could say it was a happy ending, however bloody an affair it was.  Oh, there would be decades of fallout and tumult as the kerryns learned to reassert themselves as a people on that part of the world, the aerians starting breeding programs to see to it that their race was restored to its former glory, that kind of thing. 

Another momentous occasion had come and gone upon Andyllion and I remained quite well off, free to continue my research into my own nature and that of dragonkind.  It was a rather…boring time if I’m being honest.  The power of the Elvish Dominion would wax and wane, as would all great empires, but the influence of the demons had ended.  The mazoku themselves would remain, for they had become a race unto themselves well before this time, though a lingering suspicion would always remain about their nature and intentions. 

With the end of the demon lord, Andyllion could finally move onward.  I suppose I could have stopped the world from advancing for a while longer yet, to maintain the Dominion’s control in a more tightfisted manner, but my eyes were far beyond Andyllion in the centuries following Suzu’reitani’s demise.  My research had reached a dead end, you see, all that I could learn of the dragons upon Andyllion had been learned, and that meant that I must travel to other worlds.  I would do so myself, of course, using the methods I had used for ages by this point, but I could not hope to find all that I needed on my own.  For that I would need help, and for that, Andyllion as a whole had to seek the stars and the countless worlds that lay amongst them.”