Tag: chaos

#Lore24 – Entry #202 – Supers Month II #21 – Go Forth and Seek, my Minions!

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

It is finally time, my loyal servants!  Now that the planar bridges have been restored, you will be able to traverse freely into the realm and to this little world known as Earth!  It is a pathetic little mudball to be sure, but the souls we’ll be reaping there have a deliciousness all their own!  But first, we have other business to conduct as the crop matures and ripens, for old contracts are coming due, and we’ll need a bit more chaos in the land before we make our move. 

I seek three ancient relics scattered upon this world, all of which were created by one of this realm’s most famous magi, called Scheherezade, a staff, a pair of bracers, and a ritual dagger.  Hundreds of years have passed since they were known by their true names, and if our previous invasions have taught us anything, it is that humanity has an uncanny ability to forget things with their miniscule lives, and to generally make a mess of things all over.  Your task may not be simple, but I have every confidence in your abilities to get the job done.

Bear in mind that those who bring me the relics I seek will be rewarded most handsomely!  Oh, you didn’t think I would reward you, my loyal followers, for your hard work?  Perish the thought!  The rewards will be great, I can assure you.  And if you’ve been feeling particularly neglected, this would be an excellent opportunity to earn my favor anew, or to prove yourselves capable after any particular mistakes you might have made that led to me being angry with you.

Feel free to sample the crop while you’re upon this world, though I warn you, they aren’t very ripe just yet.  Show a little patience if you can, but if not, I understand completely.  Just don’t do anything stupid that will bring attention to our actions.  As pathetic as the magi of this realm are, they are not an insignificant danger to my plans, and I wouldn’t want them to realize what’s going on too soon.  It would spoil the surprise, you see.

Now go forth and seek the prizes I desire!

#Lore24 – Entry #201 – Supers Month II #20 – I’m in a Resurrection Kind of Mood, but Let’s Spice it Up

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

Feeling more talkative now that I’ve loosened your tongue, my delightful pet?  I certainly hope so…then again, perhaps not.  The sounds you make when I’m having my fun are so very delightful, and the suffering that trickles down our bond is like a fine, soul-filled wine.  You simply can’t comprehend it! 

Now, tell me more of your world, of these “relics of great power” that you mentioned before.  With the flow of magic resumed, it’s only a matter of time before there is enough that I can begin my work there in earnest.  I’m feeling in the mood to resurrect a particular soul, to finish up that little pittance of a contract, but I’ve got something else in mind to spice that business up.  Something someone like you can surely help me with.  Speak, my pet, speak of these relics which hold the very essence of creation or destruction within them.

Oh, still defying me, hmm?  That’s why I adore you, my pet.  Don’t tell my other pets, though; they might get a little jealous.  Fine, I’ll humor you a bit; you know, I’d better be careful, or I’ll simply spoil you, and wouldn’t that be terrible?  Why, I’d have to punish you for such behavior!

I intend to create a living vessel for this soul which I’ve contracted, you see, so that I may have another loyal minion, one that is more familiar with your world and whom seeks vengeance upon a particular order of magi that saw him destroyed a few hundred years ago.  Yes, that very one!  So astute you are!  To do this, I fully intend on using those relics you mentioned before, for I need objects of great power to channel my energies and make them work in your realm.  I’m sure you have a ritual in mind already for such a thing, don’t you, pet?  And surely creating a vessel for a soul is child’s play for you, is it not?  Oh, he’ll be delighted to be returned to life after all these years, but as I said, I intend to spice it up a little.  I doubt he’ll approve of the form of the vessel, but that’s not really his call, is it? 

Let us begin our preparations, my pet.  Yes, that’s a good girl.

#Lore24 – Entry #200 – Supers Month II #19 – Bursting a Dam

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

I think it’s far past due that your world have a magical revival.  It’s just such a dull place; I know I’m repeating myself, but what of remark is there to comment on but for the flavor of the souls upon it?  Why was the font of all magic closed to your little mudball, anyway?  Did your rather unimpressive arcanists and dark sorcerers do something to draw the attention of something they couldn’t hope to deal with, perhaps?  A great magic-eating plague that would have surely seen the death of the entire planet, maybe?  Surely it wasn’t a natural phenomenon, though at least that would be rather an amusing twist of fate, wouldn’t it?

Or, perhaps, was it that the humans found upon this world were so terribly repugnant that the other realms simply couldn’t stand to deal with your kind anymore?  Perhaps your kind bored them into leaving?  Wouldn’t surprise me, honestly.

Am I wrong?  Then do enlighten me, pet.  Why did the magic fade; why the dam at the font, hmm?  I’ve seen the like, certainly, but such wardings were meant to keep my kind out, not magic itself.  I can sense no lingering taint in the trickle that remains, and even now the threads are tied so very firmly.  Why, I would say this blockage would last nigh on eternity, insofar as your kind’s limited lifespans could understand it.  I’m sensing your touch here as well, my pet.  You are quite impressive in your creations, but even so, you were not solely responsible for this one, for I can sense the touch of many more here as well.

Still not willing to tell me?  That’s fine; you know I have many much more enjoyable ways to loosen that tongue of yours.  Let us conclude our business here then and let magic flow into your little world once more.  This is going to be so very entertaining!

#Lore24 – Entry #199 – Supers Month II #18 – A Vast Power

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

How did I find out about your tiny little mudball, you ask?  Quite simple, really.  Some of your kind, those with an eye for progress and the willingness to use their power, sought me out, dealt with me and those beneath me in, swearing their souls to me in return for more power.  It’s a tale as old as time, one repeated far too often, but what is a demon lord to do when a soul is freely offered, hmm?  I simply couldn’t refuse such requests.

Mind you, this was hundreds of years ago; after that period you call the Dark Ages, I’ve heard hardly anything from your little world, at least, no calls for power that were of any serious nature.  Stupid children calling for forces they didn’t understand in poorly conceived rituals in the local graveyards, usually.  Oh, I allowed my minions to handle the requests, as I said, how can I pass up a soul, after all, but the results were so minor as to be nothing.  I think what’s truly plagued your world is a lack of imagination, now that I think about it.  It’s just so very dull.

Where was I?  Oh, yes, that question of how I became aware of your world.  Well, my pet, there was a particular arcanist of some power during the height of your Dark Ages that actually managed to impress me with their abilities.  Well, as much as one from your dullard of a world could, anyway.  What was their name?  Hmmm…must have not been particularly memorable in the grand scheme of things…oh, yes!  Shadowmere, Raeshima Shadowmere, that’s it!  But Shadowmere?  Sounds kind of like something you’d name a horse, doesn’t it?  I suppose given your kind’s lack of creativity, it was the best he could do at the time. 

Hmmm, that does remind me, though.  The deal I worked up with him hasn’t been completed yet.  There is an entirely separate clause that hasn’t even been invoked.  Suppose I should probably look into completing that someday…perhaps sooner rather than later.  Yes…yes…why, I do believe that I’ve just had a wonderfully fun idea!  This will get very interesting, I think!  Oh, your world simply won’t be able to handle this surprise!  And I think I’ll be having a little more fun at the expense of that lovely arcanist whom I contracted with, too!  Oh, this will be so much fun!

#Lore24 – Entry #198 – Supers Month II #17 – A Dreadfully Dull History, and a Solution in Sight

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

I find your world so dreadfully boring!  Humans are generally the most chaotic and unstable of the races upon the worlds I’ve visited in the past, probably due to their miniscule lifespans; they’re more like pets, really, but even with having them as the lone population upon the planet, you’ve barely managed anything amusing!  You call those events you spoke of wars?!  Those weren’t wars, those were minor quibbles!

You know what else I find amusing?  Just how isolated and small-brained the people of your world are!  Barely looking beyond your own world, preferring isolation in this little corner of your vast universe, even when you’ve had the ability to open portals to new realms and explore?  I begin to think that your kind are the dregs of another lost civilization, the dullards who were rejected by those of far greater interest and ability.  You speak of the religions of this world, of the gods and spirits that are worshipped here, and yet there is no divine power being wielded!  Your kind simply must be defective.

Still, having sampled the fruits of your world, I see potential.  Not very much, mind you, but it is there.  Oh, I could just sweep in with my forces and overwhelm your world, but where would the fun be in that?  It’d be like facing a newborn in mortal combat!  You know…I feel that it is my duty to advance your kind and your world, to spice things up a little.  What do you think of a little experimentation?  A little demonic chaos spread throughout the world, hmm?  Give your pathetic race some real power to play with, to see what you might do with it? 

Let’s find that dam that’s been blocking up the magical flows into your world, shall we?  Let’s find it and blow it to pieces.

#Lore24 – Entry #165 – Wild West Month #13 – The Red Fang Tribe

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

Shameful are the Red Fang tribe, for they bring disgrace to all Kerra-Kerra and disappointment to the Great Mother Saressh.  I do not like to speak of them, for the very words taste foul upon my lips.  Though they are the youngest of the many tribes of Kerra-Kerra, with the spread of the Peoples from Beyond the Great Walls to our lands in recent times, many younger Kerra-Kerra who know not what they do have flocked to their tribe, for they battle those who would seek to take over our lands with their Howling Steel Chariots and Laws.

The Red Fangs are violent and brutal warriors who strike without fear, but also without honor or mercy.  They raid the places claimed by those who come from beyond the Great Walls and steal their cattle and horses and food and weapons.  If the gods and spirits are merciful, they will simply slay those who oppose them.  More often than not, the Red Fangs will butcher the settlers, leaving a clear message to those who would follow, often taking trophies and eating the hearts and organs of those they slay to take their power. 

Their ways are a corruption of the True Way, and they revere the most powerful and dangerous of the Spirits.  They do not follow the beliefs of the Great Mother Saressh, and so are lost to her embrace.  They believe in the cruel, unforgiving nature of the Bitter Frontier itself, that the strong will prosper while the weak shall perish to sustain the strong.  Their totem spirit is that of the great crimson wolf, and it is like a swarm of starving wolves that they sweep in against their enemies.  They often ally with the Orc Peoples of the Frigid North and have taken to raiding the Howling Steel Chariots alongside them.

This has caused much trouble for the Kerra-Kerra, for those from Beyond the Great Walls do not take time to learn of our ways and the markings of our tribes.  Many who come to the Bitter Frontier see one Kerra-Kerra just the same as any other, and the stories of the terrors of the Red Fangs spread much further and much more clearly than those of us who seek to live peacefully as we always have.  And so it has become dangerous for us to come too close to those who come from Beyond the Great Walls without making clear our peaceful intentions, and even then, some may not recognize the Sign of Peace.  More and more of our people are slain out of fear thanks to the Red Fangs, while others are taken captive and held within prisons of stone and steel or forced to labor against their will under the Peoples from Beyond the Great Walls.

Many troubling times lie ahead for our people, and the many peoples of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons.

#Lore24 – Entry #164 – Wild West Month #12 – Followers of the Sister Goddess Lashana

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

It is told that during the Great Uproar, when the spirits of the world were still angry after they freed themselves and us from the Devil-Wardens, that chaos was everywhere.  Our ancestors who survived this chaos say that during the early days, when the land was still not settled, there were those who sought ways to bring order to the chaos who were not of the Kerra-Kerra.  These were the followers of the Sister Goddess Lashana, so called because she is as a sister to the Great Mother Saressh.

Great Sister Lashana called her people to the far eastern shores, beyond the Great Walls that would stand through the Uproar, and it is there they would gather the survivors who were agreeable to their faith to work together to survive.  To Great Sister Lashana, there must be order, and to have order, there must be laws, and so it is that those who are most faithful to her, the Justicars, try to spread law to the lawless and hunt down those who would break it. 

We rarely see the Justicars in our lands, though as more moons pass, their numbers have grown more common.  With the coming of the Howling Steel Chariots, those who the Justicars seek have spread to our lands, and so too have the Justicars who hunt them.  The Kerra-Kerra people handle those who wrong us in our own ways, though some tribes have taken to capturing the chaos-bringers and turning them over to the Justicars.

For now, we see the Justicars and those who follow the Great Sister Lashana as allies, though in recent times, some have disagreed with the ways of our people, and some no longer recognize that our goddesses are as sisters.  Siblings do squabble at times, so perhaps it is to be that our peoples too will squabble, though we hold no special hatred for them.  In the Lands Beyond the Great Walls, their laws are supreme, and here, we live free.  Freedom is as chaos to some, and so there will always be disagreement.