Godhood IC 2: Messin with Physics, in Style!

[Sir]

Hello Gents and Ladies, welcome to the second IC thread! Remember from the rules, you get two acts per turn, and these acts are used to create your realms, creatures, artifacts, and.. anything!

OOC Thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167177), and Wiki is here (http://godhood-book.wikispaces.com/), and the old IC thread is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155369).

Start of the Universe:
Vamor shot between the planets and stars, shouting with rage. It was burning! All of it was burning! He saw a planet careen into another one, setting of an earsplitting explosion of sound, light and fire, which was barely noticed by the armies warring on the nearby planets. His armada of voidships were fighting with another armada, discarded hunks of metal careening down into the atmospheres of Agiet, his home.

He saw ten large enemy frigates bearing down on him, bearing their cannons and ready to shoot him. He had almost done it, he had almost conquered the entire universe! But no, it was not to be. They closed down on him, with their godly commander staring at him from the deck of one. God of war my omnipresent ass, more like god of death. "You shall be destroyed for what you did to my people! You hear me?! DESTROYED!!" Shouted the angry god from his vantage point. It would end here, for vamor atleast. His plan failed, his armies shattered, his power low, he was hopeless. "Ill show you!" thought vamor, "I may be going down, but you must come down with me! I will not fade as a passing idol! I will not DIE!!" And with that thought, in a fit of rage, Vamor concetrated all his will as a god, burning out his energies. He took his axe, and ripped a hole in the void, strait to the ether, the place where godly power comes from. First his rip was small, but it grew bigger, and bigger, and- BOOM..


He could only look as the universe was sucked into itself, creating a large ball of light at the center. Eons of work flowed past him, all the warring stopped as their bodies-everything, actually- was obliterated by the power. Vamor just closed his eyes, waiting to be sucked into the ether as well, to be destroyed by his foolish mistake. All the deaths, he could hear the souls calling out to him, since the god of death was already dead. Oh, where did it all go so wrong? Probably at the "Take him down with me" stage. He then heard a smaller "Boom", and all was quiet. All was tranquil. Strange.

He opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an empty void. Completely empty, no creatures, no planets, no gods. Huh. So this is where gods go when they die. But wait, there was two things here. First, at the center there was a large -huge- sun, glowing with the power of all the souls that had been sucked in, and second, there was faces in the sun. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were gods. But not the gods he knew, but new gods. Huh. So he wasn't dead. He realized that he was powerless though, having used his power to destroy the universe. He couldn't shape the universe to his will.. what was the point of being a god?! But a new idea struck him, which he smiled to. He would let these gods shape the universe, and maybe eventually he would be able to join them!

With a crash of his axe, he cut open the surface of the sun for a moment, giving the gods enough time to enter. He then floats off, thinking a nap would be a good idea to "Recharge the ole' batteries", as that annoying old trickster god used to say. But really, a nap would be good...



Now I beseech thee, Create

[HalfTangible]

Nos recuerdas?

Reana died six years ago, with a family of five: a husband and four children. She had been a pillar of her community, and loved by most, if not all. But this is no longer her story. The legacy of the Were continued with her children...

Ruinor wiped sweat and oil off of his brow as he pulled out of the Hagann's chest. The model was old, and a great deal of it had been falling apart when he got to it, but enough of it was intact to make it a fully functional weapon again. He had no connection to the Dreamscape, so he could never pilot one, but he could still keep the machine intact.

His eyes ran over the magnificent machine. The massive bipedal behemoth was almost entirely steel, it's optic sensors a magnificent shade of blue. The main part of the body was painted black, and the right arm had a long red stripe running down it. The banner of the dominion of storms was painted smack dab in the middle of it's chest, and as Ruinor ran one last diagnostic, it's hands clenched with enough force to shatter all but diamonds. The hagann technician laughed and reached into his work cloth's pocket. He tossed the ignition sequencer to the female pilot and kissed her cheek as he walked out.

Give 'em hell, chica.

[BladeofOblivion]

Etherscape

With Ether-Dias now gone, the number of fully staffed Worldeaters had increased again. With a dangerous fleet of 50 strong, they continued to Ether-Peres. As before, first priority was to construct an Aetherstation and a rending array to ship out materials. In addition to the worldeaters, hundreds of Equalizer-class and Engulfer-Class ships stood ready to combat anything that might threaten them. Periodic scouting parties were sent out, hoping to encounter something.

Station Maxim

Bronzearm was still sitting at his console, doing his best to enjoy his free diplo-Ethernet. He had intercepted a few random Raposa signals, and had learned a bit about their culture. He still wondered why they hadn't called back. One would think that first contact would be fairly urgent in and of itself...

Antidias

Antidias had fallen to the hordes as well, reduced to a literal shell of its former self. Antistation Dias was ready for business. However, The Core of the planet, the center of that gloriously magical Celestial Sphere, was directly converted into a palace almost worthy of a god. Oblivion was to make his home here, when he found the time and energy.

[razovor]

The Swarm

The Corlei nebula. It was here that the collective had constructed their first defensive battle station, amongst the chaotic masses of gas and dust. The station was fully capable of defending itself from any chance encounter, but sitting just outside the nebula was a full fleet of the newest line of collective drones.

The Swarm was floating amongst their fleet, waiting for the last to arrive by teleporter. When all was ready, they opened a channel to Oblivion.

"Lord Oblivion, we require an enemy to test our ships against. Bring a battle-field. You may very well learn something from this as well.

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion returned the Swarm's message quickly:

I would be quite happy to send you some expendable units. The Coriel Nebula, you said? Okay.

Antigade

The order had been sent. Scout Group 9175b, comprised of ten Equalizer-Class ships, was dispatched. As the captain passed through the Rending Array, the planes were torn asunder, and for an instant The Coriel Nebula became 1 Kilometer away from the Progenitor system due to time-space distortion.

The ships came through, seeing the immense array of hostile Collective drones before them, immediately called for backup. Each turned broadside and began to fire their Negation Cannons in the general direction of the Drone swarms.

At the same time, Squad 9175a came through the portal, with thirty more Equalizer-Class ships and several engulfers loaded with Sabotage Swarms. And so the trial begins.

You can go ahead and write up the results. Equalizer-class ships are pretty much Glass Cannons, despite their enormous size. The Engulfers have Sabotage swarms, which are fired through swarm pods and latch onto things, trying to cause power surges and the like.

[Ultimarr]

As a fleet of 6 ships from Limbo prepared to take off for Raposan lands, Seln spoke to the council again.

"The Onslaught might be sending emmisaries to various planets soon, so don't shoot them out of the sky please. Also, what is everyone else's mortals state of affairs, military wise? It would be good to know wether my allies stand by me, or if they are still preparing.

Os

Out of the blue one day, signals started coming in, mostly magical in nature, all reading the same thing in the same monotone voice;

"We have sensed life in this sector, is there anyone out there? Repeat: Is there anyone there? If you can hear us, come to the planet at coordinates 23557-85276-23566"

Ships also comb the area, looking for any life there, as they had done with past sectors before colonizing them, but it was a slim to nothing chance that they would find Os, as well hidden as it was. At the coordinates there actually are three Infector Class battleships, waiting to see if anyone answers this time.

[Mashimoto]

Gade...

A week. That's all the time the world had been warned. A week since the Servitor fleets shifted and changed course for Gade. A week to execute a haphazardly planned evacuation and erect feeble defenses against the Servitor shell.

The spaceports flooded with refugees as newspapers proclaimed in large headlines that the planet was as good as gone. Every ship which wasn't drafted into the Coalition fleet--which is to say, not very many ships at all--were packed with refugees like cans of sardines. The crawled and trampled over each other for space on the vessels.

Emily Hart watched the last ship departing from Unity Spaceport on 3d-telescreen from her home, a trembling cup of tea in her hand.

In space, the ragtag fleets of the United Species Federation mounted the greatest defense which had so far been thrown against the Servitors. Nearly every ship in the Gadian Coalition's fleet was present, and a vast number from the allied races of the USF. If the Servitor Empire could be stopped, it was there.

Navigator Jonas helmed Liberty-Three. It was one among thousands of Frigates in orbit around Gade. Liberty-Three had been reassigned to Battlegroup Delta, whose flagship was Unity-Ten. It had been reassigned, but over the last few weeks, spaceports across the entire Coalition had been too busy to get a new officer aboard.

The ship was left in Jonas de facto control, and it did very well.

The twelve year old psychic oversaw the repairs of Liberty-Three, and maintained daily operations among the ships 141-man crew. With the fate of Gade in the balance, Navigator Jonas was preparing to be active-captain in a battlefield situation. He sat in the captains chair, with a hand tucked under his beardless chin. He watched Gade drifting gently through the wide, bridge-length viewscreen and contemplated.

His first officer stood behind him.

"Navigator," the officer said. "We're recieving orders to adjust orbital velocity and rise to the tachyon-shield."

"Proceed," Navigator Jonas said, snapping to attention. The ship heard his command and began to groan as the engines pulled the ship slightly higher orbit, until Gade was little more than quarter-sized in the viewscreen.

The last ships were settling around the shield. Jonas watched them, barely more than specks, blinking among the countless stars. He thought he could make out Unity-Ten, Jonas' Flagship and commanding vessel. There were twelve-thousand crew-members aboard the Unity-Ten. It's blinking light was slightly larger than the other ships. Perhaps the size of a lightning bug from twenty yards.

"Do you think it will work, Navigator?"

"Huh?" Jonas said, for once sounding almost like a child.

"The Tachyon-ion shield."

"it has to."

"But...you don't think it will?"

"Who can say," Jonas muttered. He thrummed a few keys on the cybernetic panel in his forearm. His half-positronic brain whirred and thrummed a hundred-million calculations per second. "By all merit, it shouldn't exist. It shouldn't capture neutrinos the way it does. It just shouldn't. How it interferes with Servitor technology but not with ours? It doesn't make any sense. Even the theoretical physicists don't pretend to know how it works, and they'll talk out their asses about anything for ages."

Gade had yet to receive a message in return from the expedition to Mechanus. It had yet to hear about the Benefactor's EDEN project.

It has, however, learned from "The Cube", the mysterious computer record the Elves had discovered on a barren, irradiated desert-world near an electro-magnetic nebula. The Cube had contained terrabytes of information the United Species Federation had managed to engineer against The Servitors. The ships were equipped with Ion-Cannons and EMP bombs. They were shielded against the Servitor weapons. Their communications were shielded against their disruptor.

Still, the war had not gone well so far. Even a small Servitor assault group was a solid match against any but the largest Federation fleets. And, if estimations were accurate, Servitor ships outnumbered Federation ships by hundreds to one, if not thousands.

"But it does work, Navigator?" The officer said. "It...it does shut down their equipment, right? I--I have family, planetside..."

"Oh," Navigator Jonas said. "Yeah. It'll work. It'll work."

On the distant horizon of space, the Servitor supercomputers within The Shell blinked on and off. Somewhere along the thousands of miles of circuits and wires, the order was blinked, and every Captain was informed. The encircled escort fleets were blinked the same order/ It was time to move in.

With the uncanny unison of a trillion circuit-boards, a quadrillion glassy, sleepless eyes set upon the blue-green twinkle in the distance. It glimmered like a star, but every Servitor knew with the same inhuman rationality what the star was. It was a target, a billion trillion coordinates in the four dimensional grid of spacetime. It was their target.

It was Gade.

[TheDarkDM]

Gade

As the Jackal burst into the open air, she felt the howl of wind against her face, and saw the lines of cars below speed by like shooting stars. Then, a sharp pulling at her back arrested her flight, dragging her back upwards despite screamed protests. Floating through the shattered window, she came to rest in Animus' iron grip. Anima had fastened her coat, and leaned on her companions shoulder, giving the Jackal a coquettish grin.

"Now then, let's chat. I'd think you'd be glad, Jacqueline, to be called home. I mean, really, how well do you fit in amongst these lesser beings? You were designed as the next step you know, a template for the ultimate warrior. We simply didn't expect you to be so spirited! And now, the only choice is...radical personality revision. I look forward to seeing you soon."

The Jackal felt her very essence pulled in an infinite number of directions, every atom animated and repulsed from its fellows. She felt the need to scream, to escape, but all she could do was stare in horror through eyes that could somehow still see. Then she came rushing back together, exploding into the air above a wet, organic floor. As she lay with her cheek in a pool of viscous black fluid, she felt a soft ripple along her leg. Raising her head exhaustedly, she looked down to see fleshy tendrils growing out of the floor, twining around her legs and moving up towards her torso. Opening her mouth to scream, another tendril whipped around her head, gagging her and jerking her head up. Out of the shadows walked a trio of silvery alien abominations, and as they approached she was dragged into a pulsating red cocoon. The last thing she felt as the Jackal was a sharp pain at the back of her neck as the Basilica of Flesh invaded her mind.

The Penumbral Imperium

In the fifty years since the settlement of Umbra, the Penumbrae population had exploded, the children of subsequent generations joined by a steady stream of pod-bred Penumbrae from the Basilica of Flesh, each one drawing on the vast store of genetic diversity stolen from Gade to produce wholly unique, superior individuals. Their minds purified in the blessing of Kaal'ex, the Penumbrae unified immediately, their society pursuing the technologies of space flight, mass production, and warfare with a religious zeal. Already, they'd spread to twelve additional worlds, and the population infusion from the Basilica had finally stopped. Now, in the capitol city of Nexus, the Shade Council had received divine inspiration. The delegates of the Imperium's planets met in secret, to discuss the sudden realization that they were not alone in the universe.

The governance of the Penumbrae was divided between the Council, which represented the planets, and the Emperor himself. It fell to him, Tiberius Secsaris I, to decide how to approach the Raposa once the Council had decided to contact them. Pacing in his office of black marble and chrome, the Emperor of mankind's children pored over the reports of his advisers. The military strength of the Penumbrae was not inconsiderable, but according to the shared dream it was dwarfed by the might of the Raposan fleets. But the Emperor was proud, and despite the wisdom of humility he could not bring himself to debase the Penumbrae before the Raposa. Thus it was that two days after the fiftieth anniversary of the Imperium, the fifth Imperial Battlefleet departed from the shadow of Umbra and arrived at Maxim. Hailing the city below, Admiral Marcus Ovidius sent a message of peace.

"Attention Maxim! This is Admiral Ovidius of the Fifth Imperial Battlefleet of the Penumbrae Imperium, come to pay our respects to the Raposa and join in your Dominion of Storms. Please respond."

Acts Used:

1 Act to empower the Penumbrae, bringing them slightly above Gadian technology.

The Darkstar Heavy Cruiser:

http://www.igorstshirts.com/blog/conceptships/2010/francis_t/francis_tsai_01.jpg
The most powerful ship in the Imperium Navy, the Darkstar Heavy Cruiser serves as the command vessel of an Imperial Battle Fleet. Equipped with one dozen Thermal Lance cannons and four dozen ship-to-ship torpedo launchers, a Darkstar can release a wave of explosive ordinance that has been known to clear away asteroid fields. Against smaller targets, each Darkstar is equipped with over two hundred rail gun emplacements, providing full coverage around the ship. Almost ten kilometers tall and six wide, the Darkstar holds a crew in excess of 100,000 souls and a fighter complement of 600.

The Longinus Destroyer:

http://th07.deviantart.net/images2/PRE/i/2004/04/2/a/Hiigaran_Battlecruiser.jpg
The main ship of the Imperial Fleet, the Longinus is equipped with a quartet of Thermal Lance cannons in rotating batteries and eight ship-to-ship torpedo launchers in the nose of the ship. Supplementing the point defense rail guns are six wings of twelve fighters, making the Longinus two kilometers of commanding power.

The Durendal Frigate:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100711143209/worldsofsdn/images/d/df/AkulaClass1.jpg
Armed with a single forward facing Thermal Lance, these two hundred meter long frigates serve as escorts for Longinus Destroyers. In addition, a pair of torpedo launchers provide mid-range firepower, supplemented by rapid-fire rail gun emplacements.

The Eclipse Fighter:

http://www.madalyahmad.com/Vehicles/images/SpaceFighterStealth.jpg
A fighter/bomber with stealth capabilities, the Eclipse carries a payload of over one ton of explosive ordinance. In addition, it is equipped with four heavy cannons carrying armor piercing explosive rounds, making them a valid threat for even heavily armored opponents.

Thermal Lance Cannons:

Centered around a pair of extremely powerful electro-magnets, the Thermal Lance Cannon launches a stream of molten iron at near-light speed. This beam of fire is capable of piercing armor several feet thick and is devastating to internal systems.

One Imperial Battle Fleet consists of a single Darkstar Cruiser with six Longinus Destroyers and thirty-six as an escort.

[BladeofOblivion]

Station Maxim

Due to the nature of Spacetime communications, Bronzearm recieved the message of the Penumbrae Imperium. Figuring that it would at least alleviate his boredom, Bronzearm returned the message to the Imperial Fleet.

"Hey! A newcomer! I've been sitting in orbit for six months waiting for First Contact with the Raposa. You might be in for a bit of a wait. I am Bronzearm, first diplomat of the Antigolem Empire. If you want a rest, or need anything, you are welcome to dock at our Diplo-Orbital Station. Here's the Coordinates."

Bronzearm smiled at his own little joke. Obviously it hadn't been six months yet, but it sure felt like it. Maybe this Imperium would offer some entertainment.

[Mashimoto]

Somewhere...
...Nowhere?

Jefferson Thumb cradled his pale and naked body for days upon days, until his mouth was frozen from the bitter chill of the blackness around him. He felt his skin shrinking against his brittle bones. He felt his dears crystallizing in icy shards as they streaked across porcelain cheeks and splashed against the ground.

Trickles of warm blood slid from his ears after countless of days hearing the shrieks and cries emerging from all around him. The floor beneath him had transformed gradually into the bitter cold of a rocky floor. He shook, and cried, and bled, and felt his skin turning blue and black...but he did not die.

Death was beyond him, now,

His pale eyes looked into the infinite darkness.

He saw a flickering candle in the distance.

He wasn't sure if it was real. It glimmered like a distant candle. Over hours--or perhaps days--he watched the light twinkling, and began to fall under the belief that it was growing larger. Across an impossible distance, the light blinked. Jefferson stumbled to his feet, wondering if he should hide, but found he only collapsed under frail ankles and--maybe?--the stronger gravity of this strange, thin-aired place.

Day by day, the light blinked larger. It started to blind Jefferson's weak eyes. He blocked the light with a weak hand and witnessed a shadowy form fall around the approaching light. The screams had stopped, at least for now, and in the silence of nothing he could hear a groaning hiss of bending metal. He felt vibrations in the air, a dim rattle under his naked body on the rock.

He grasped forward towards the light. His hand fell.

It fell over an edge. He was on a cliff.

The light approached and the metal groaned. The singular light dissolved into a dozen smaller ones arranged on the face and sides of a massive, creaking metal hulk.

It was a ship.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos blinked to the location of Hrothlar, the apparent leader of this Council. Putting on an aura of cheerfulness and enthusiasm, he bounded over towards the aged god. " Hey! I'm Lumos! I'm new! Who're you?"

[razovor]

Corlei Nebula

Before the first negation blasts could hit, the collective drones rocketed forward, blue engines blazing behind them.

The first volley struck, the entire battlefield was shrouded in soundless light, as drones exploded everywhere, scattering their perfect formation into disarray. Drone engines turned inwarrds, the line reformed itself, and pushed onwards.

A second volley hit, and a third, and fourth, but the drones pushed inwards, and into combat range. Photon cannons opened fire, blanketing space in fire.

An Equalizer exploded, as the engulfers activated, spewing forth their charges. The drones immedietly switched targets, and began firing at the sabotage swarms.

This gave the equalisers a reprieve to return fire, and that they did, pounding the drones, with little concern for the numerous swarms in the way. The swarms themselves made it across the gap in small numbers.

Blocked by the other drones, most of the drone line turned their action back to the Equalizers. The sabotage swarms concentrated on individual drones, to maximise speed. Any such targeted drone was quickly surrounded by it's neighbour, and blown to pieces, along with the sabotage swarm, by a barrage of gunfire.

With the drones attention fully back on the Equalizers things were not going well. The battle was close, but it was obvious the drones could not win. They kept fighting however, oblivious that there were creatures dying inside the enemy vessels.

In the end, all the drones were destroyed, the survivors were three Equalizers, and another Sabotage Swarms to fill one Engulfer.

[Mashimoto]

What's this? Hrothlar thinks, before blinking the message back.

"I am Hrothlar, friend Lumos. You have joined interesting times...as I am sure you have noticed. I hope you are acclimating to these universes."

[Toxin605]

Vivior, Outskirts of Urnagna

Narol stood on Rockpoint and stared into the sky a the rain beat down upon his flesh. He observed unique protrusion of the rock he stood upon, compared to the lush trees and ferns below it. He sensed the other Scrit's presence as he approached Narol from behind.
Narol turned to face his oppponent.
"You killed my son." The chief whispered darkly.
Narol smirked.
"What did you do to the body?!" He almost screamed.
"Your son was a pompous prat who deserved to die! However, you are even worse. You didn't even come to aveng him! Your pride has been assaulted by the son of the village shaman. You must die."
Narol took a fighting stance.
"And your son's energy is going to make this much easier."
Before the old Scrit could react, he was launched into the sky by swift uppercut. The chieftain shook of the pain and looked around for Narol. Narol flew straight at him with his fists ready to strike. Chief let loose a barrage of energy, firing in-accurately towards his foe. Suddenly, all of the chieftain's blasts stopped moving. The chief gasped as the blast began to fuse into one huge ball of energy. The huge ball flew very slowly towards Narol, until he stuck out his index finger and began siphening the energy into his body. When he was finished, he smiled at gaping Scrit.
"You have finally realized how screwed you really are." Narol said as he closed in for the kill.

[Raz_Fox]

Family Meeting

The Novex-Ur - or, as her Raposan name ran, Evarei a'Hawke - nodded without saying a word. Her emotions roiled beneath a calm exterior: honor, shame, joy and rage, and in the midst of it the congratulatory cunning of a Raposa who's got a Plan. Not a plan, a Plan.

"Dear, try not to damage my experiment here too much," Nova chides her brother, referring to the intricate social experiment that stretched across a dozen worlds, the giant web and the spider of Maxim sitting in its center.


Contact

-Kssskssk-

Thank you for waiting. This solar cycle was not the best time to attempt first contact, but we will try to accommodate you nonetheless. Please dock with HDV GLORY OF INQUIRY with all papers, diplomats, and officers ready for first cultural contact.

The aforementioned Aethership slides smoothly into view from around the planet, as quiet as the grave, only now visible to the sensors of the aliens.

[BladeofOblivion]

Above Maxim

"Finally!"

Bronzearm thought to himself as he listened to the broadcast. He turned on his microphone and broadcast in return: "Excellent. I will gather a few datapads and come aboard. However, you would be quite welcome in the station we have built here. It's practically a hotel. I'll come in an Engulfer-class Frigate. It's unarmed."

Bronzearm indeed grabbed a few datapads filled to the brim with census data and fleet power. He was careful to leave out details of technology and weaponry. He put on an Ethereal Suit, to protect himself from matter, and boarded the Aethership.

[apocalypsePast2]

" Well, with the state of this one, I'd say there'd be a problem if I was." Lumos laughs, then nervously backtracks to prevent offense. " Although, you know, there's nothing wrong with this universe. Nope. None at all. Fine universe. So, uhh, what's the state of this universe anyway?"

[TheDarkDM]

As the Raposan transmission faded, Admiral Ovidius turned to his second and gave a curt nod.

"I shall accompany the diplomatic delegation down to the planet. Once we have made formal introductions, I shall contact you. If you have received no word from me in twenty four hours, assume the Raposa are hostile and initiate the Requiem Contingency."

The Admiral then tuned on his heel and exited the bridge. As he strode through the gleaming corridors of the Ultionis, a cadre of aides surrounded him, as well as a squad of black armored marines. Stopping within his palatial quarters, the Admiral took great care in dawning his midnight dress uniform, the golden trip, buttons, and shoulder tassels twinkling in the artificial light. Finally, he buckled an intricately engraved ceremonial longsword from an arms cabinet, and took another, sheathed in crimson leather. Leaving his chambers, he passed the crimson sword to an aide, and proceeded to the primary hanger and boarded an sleek shuttle. Blasting off in a trail of purple flame, the shuttle cut through space to land on the Glory of Inquiry. As they touched down, the Admiral clasped a sable cape around his shoulders and strode down the boarding plank to greet his new allies.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Masked One
As the gods in the council began discussing minutae, of who should fight whom, The Masked One quietly lowered himself to the floor, and exited, stage left. Once again the Council proved itself to be little more than a pack of children. Their foolish tendency to invite anyone and everyone meant there was no security, and thus nothing of value could be discussed. The Masked One returned to Os, and there he mustered the powers of creation once again. He had seen the creatures of rock that Oblivion had forged in his plane. It was time to build his own. A blue glow sprang from the end of a white gloved finger, and the Golems were forged. An Anima bound to a mass of rock, the Golems were mindless, huge, and almost impervious to Damage. As the Mages filed out to investigate the 20ft monstrosity that appeared outside their front gate, the Masked One taught the Mages a new technique, much as he had long ago. This one was for the creation and control of the Golems. They would augment the Changer ground forces nicely.

1 Act: Create the Golems
1 Act: Give the Mages the power to create and control Golems
USF Space
Sextus was old now. He was merely 23 when he participated in the revolution on Gade, now he was more than 73. (A Changer lives almost exactly a century, without fail. Caius appears to be the exception.) After the freedom of Gade, he had joined up with the Changer Fleet almost as soon as it was formed, leaving the spies behind. His part in the freedom of Gade is known only to few living, and is a well-kept secret by the Changers. Now he was a Captain, commanding three wings of fighters. This is the largest operational grouping in the Changer Fleet, below only a Fleet itself. The Changers do not believe in middle grounds. They fight in small wings, or in mighty swarms, never a medium sized fleet.

The Changers relied on speed and numbers to defeat their foes. Against the Servitors, they did not have numbers. The only effective tactic they had against them is to 'portal run', which is to teleport, fire a volley, then teleport elsewhere. Sadly, there is a significant time one must wait between portalling, and it leaves the swift, lightly armoured fighters vulnerable. Sextus was losing fighters with every run, and that was something they simply couldn't afford to do.

They were only fighting one drone. They were only trying to slow the Servitors down, take out their scouts, blind them. This drone had more firepower than any wing of Changer Fighters. Sextus flicked a switch, and his fighter portalled again. It was always disorienting. One of the first things a pilot had to deal with was the complete lack of frame reference. It made you confused, lost, vulnerable. You had to be able to react to where you were instantly. Sextus swung his fighter round and unleashed a salvo from the Photon Cannons. Say what you will about the Swarm, they made good weapons. His squad mates followed him in a low dive above the drone as they made another run. Sextus tensed a finger to portal again when the ship was violently thrown away from the drone. At first he feared he had been hit, but no. The drone was down. That was lucky. He had only lost half his men. Cheap. Command really needed to start sending out larger squadrons. The surviving Changers began to cheer, but their merriment was cut short by what they saw. ...That was a lot of ships...Sextus portalled the hell out of there and didn't look back.

[razovor]

Corlei Nebula

After the battle the Swarm contacts Lord Oblivion

"An interesting battle. We took the liberty of recording it. How would you like it sent to you?

In general though, the tactics seemed sound on both sides. Nothing we need to correct in our programming, or your primarchs. Technology is the issue, and that will improve on it's own.

Perhaps however, we can speed it along. A joint project could improve both our empires for no extra cost. Any ideas? "

Aeth

Eidolon sat on a mountain-top, watching his people grow. The Aeth has been a great idea, but he couldn't claim it was his. Another one of his visions. He could almost swear he recognised them. Something about their appearance touched the hidden recessess of his mind.

He was getting more flashes every day. Planets, names, places. A plethora of ships, most in semi-designed states. It was a lot of information, but nothing was clear, and Eidolon could not afford to wait until the visions formed some semblance of order.

He lacked the telepathic power of the gods, but had managed to craft a long-ranged divine communicator. The communicator was rigged to send a message to all the good gods in the galaxy;

"I am Eidolon, Demi-God, Master of Machines. My past is unknown to me, and I have found that no mortal device can reveal it. I require the aid of a god. I can't promise what my actions will be when my memories are revealed, so I offer compensation in advance to any god that can aid me."

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion heard the Swarm's report, and rose from his temporary home.

I would be glad to recieve the report. The returning survivors have had their memories modified through radiation. As for the joint project, such an Idea seems excellent. I have added the Collective to the list of their probable allies, so they will not shoot on sight. Antigolem technology relies on nanotechnology, currently unique to them. They have been having problems with things like energy weapons, however. Without a better energy source than fusion, the costs are too immense for a useful device.

[Iethloc]

Above Gade

Slowly, Dezisorn tore his gaze from Gade itself, out into space where the Servitors lurked. Given his nature, it was not hard at all for him to sense what was happening. He broadcast his thoughts to Hrothlar harder this time. Hrothlar, are you aware of what is happening on Gade? An incoming invasion is forcing the inhabitants to evacuate Gade - and the protection of its shield.


Etherscape

The Wey Nu'u could not evacuate from their home planet. They had an established satellite network, and had even sent probes to their moon, but they simply did not have the necessary infrastructure for one manned mission, let alone a planetary evacuation They also could not subsist on material food, so going with the humans was not an option. Fortunately, the Servitors were not an Ethereal species. Instead, many Wey Nu'u tribes began drafting, and prepared themselves for a long, long guerilla war.



Meanwhile, the Thoracsis were having a scientific breakthrough. In the City of Lanterns, a group of over two dozen Worm Heralds were working on opening an interdimensional wormhole, weaving their sorcery in an enormous spherical chamber. If the data gathered from the Eidolon's entrance was accurate, it would lead to this new universe. And it was all thanks to a male Thorac named Forsaken Singularity, secretly aided by a Netherwarden when Dezisorn started running out of patience. The Netherwarden had also given him specific coordinates.

Forsaken Singularity made an odd chittering sound, indicating joy. “It is finished! This should be equivalent to a standard observation wormhole. Get the equipment running!” he announced. The wormhole was just a few inches wide, but all the Heralds present could feel the magic radiating from it.

It had been opened in a vacuum chamber in the experiment wing. Top-of-the-line equipment immediately activated, gathering everything it could through the tiny portal. Dreamer-in-the-Moreton-Wave herself stood amongst the scientists, eagerly watching the screens.

It was a planet. They could not get enough resolution to make out whether it was inhabited with such a small wormhole, but they could guess it was by the many ships (or more specifically, their infrared emissions) in orbit around it. And they were bombarded by the communications. But both their language and their technology had nothing in common – the messages were indecipherable.

Still, the scientists cheered. This was an unimaginable stroke of luck! They had expected to search for years to find life. But Moreton knew better than to be so enthusiastic.

”They are preparing for war. We will do the same. Set up a facility to create a larger wormhole, and assemble a battle fleet and a Herald crew trained for a stellar strike. Considering how many ships they appear to have, they're going to fight something big. We're going to help one side or the other – we shall see once we get there,” she immediately ordered.

[daelrog]

The Masked One's departure once again signified that the Council was ineffective. Gods such as he or Gioco who would do their own thing and promote fracturing, and then there were those whose loyalties were obviously elsewhere such as the pragmatic Seln, or the destroyer Oblivion.

There was somewhere he needed to go, and with the Council starting to fall to pieces once again, Icarael spoke his mind.

"I have to leave. There is only one way I can see us being victorious. So long as we cannot come together, as long as justice is varied and conflicting, and the shadow is one, there is no hope save one."

He took a moment to allow the seriousness of his words to get through. "Bring back the forgotten ones. Find the resting plae of those gods that drifted away from reality and gain their aid in fighting Kaal'ex's vision of the universe. Only with their numbers can we make up for our lack of unity, even if their strength may not be what it was.

"I must head to Kaal'ex's realm, the realm of dreams. Since my birth there has been a voice calling to me, and it is there Iwill find my answers. I will be too much of a prize for Kaal'ex to ignore, and his eyes will be averted from the material plane. Use the days to come knowing this. Aris will stay behind the mobilize efforts between the mortal races."

In another moment he was gone.

And through the looking glass he went.

[apocalypsePast2]

LO

And from deep beneath the mighty Solar armada can its doom. Enormous tentacles, black as night, covered in suckers and teeth, rose. The leviathan squid reached from the depths to draw their prey.

The Lunars' experimental squid riders had traveled swiftly from their training grounds far to the south, crossing many leagues in several hours, until at last they set upon the fleet like wolves upon sheep.

And it was bloody. Screams echoed on the seas as ship were lifted out of the water, dragged under, or simply snapped in half. For a few minutes, the remaining sailors simply boobed about in the water, unsure of what to do as their fleet splintered around them.
Then the riders noticed them, and directed the squid to go after them.
The screams rose to a crescendo.


Several hours later, the riders moved on. The squid were full and satisfied, their bellies full of meat. And the headstone of the fleet remained, a monument made of splintered wood and marked with a red sea...

But farther north, the Solars had succeeded. And even as the sailors screams rose, the tramp of armored boots began upon Fiera...

[Mashimoto]

" Well, with the state of this one, I'd say there'd be a problem if I was." Lumos laughs, then nervously backtracks to prevent offense. " Although, you know, there's nothing wrong with this universe. Nope. None at all. Fine universe. So, uhh, what's the state of this universe anyway?"

"War. War never changes. A handful of deities in the Second Council of Gods battle in the name of Order and Light against the infernal forces of the Conclave of Darkness, worshipers of Chaos and Darkness. A few have remained neutral in the conflict--neutral or roguishly playing both sides, who can say?"



Above Gade

Slowly, Dezisorn tore his gaze from Gade itself, out into space where the Servitors lurked. Given his nature, it was not hard at all for him to sense what was happening. He broadcast his thoughts to Hrothlar harder this time. Hrothlar, are you aware of what is happening on Gade? An incoming invasion is forcing the inhabitants to evacuate Gade - and the protection of its shield.

"I see...but what can I do? Gade barely acknowledges the shield is there...and they hold no special hope in it. Fewer than one-twentieth of the planet has managed to escape, anyway...to the rest of them, we shall only offer our prayers."

Draco, son of Hrothlar, interrupts.

"They're praying to you! A hundred-billion innocent souls are whispering their hopes, to you! Well, the ones that still believe you exist, anyway. You've done a damned good job convincing them not do."

"It does not matter if they believe in me, Draco. I believe in them. That is enough."

[BladeofOblivion]

Glory of Inquiry

As Bronzearm strode into the atrium of the Aethership, perhaps the most striking feature was his calmness. Not the usual excitement of first contact, it was more like he was doing laundry. On the other hand, some may have noticed his airtight space suit, seeming designed for leisure. More practical Raposa might have noticed that he stood over eight feet tall, and could probably bend bones like wet noodles.

As he was led to whoever he was supposed to be meeting with, Bronzearm readied his datapads, setting up their video functions. Might as well try to make an Impression.

As he was motioned to sit down, he spoke to the representative of the Raposa, probably the captain of the ship, though it was impossible to be sure. Bronzearm spoke up first.

"I speak on behalf of the Antigolem Empire, and therefore find it reasonable to say that we are sorry to have found you in times sufficiently harsh enough so as to make contact with another race undesirable, and so I extend our apologies."

Bronzearm immediately moved into the less formal parts of negotiation.

"According to our master, the Raposa Empire, which I assume you represent, is a subsidiary/creation of The Elegant Nova, Mistress of Invention in Steam enshrouded and in Brass Enthroned, and so you and your species are to be negotiated with, rather than annihilated."

Bronzearm looked around him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure we could Annihilate all this if we tried. Anyway, on behalf of the Antigolem Empire, I have been ordered to offer peace, and attempt to create a treaty or other document of Alliance, in a manner that can both economically and militarily strengthen both empires. Cultural Improvement of either society is to be considered extra credit."

Bronzearm looked up from his datapad to the representative.

"Now that the formalities are over with, is there anything you would like to discuss? Perhaps a pleasant visit to the gardens aboard the Embassy of my People?"

[Creed]

Gateways

Khufu sat quietly in the depths of the Pyramid of the Forsaken, the place in which Ra and Apophis had placed their gates.
The general concluded his speech, reciting the trials unloaded on Apophis's Gate...
"In short, after many tries of the gods we know, we were unable to actually open the Gateway of Apophis to another world."
Khufu, angered by this slammed his black-metal clad first on the table.
And what about Narmer, and his mission to the Raposa of Maxim for Truenames?
"The old fool has not used the Hellbent to contact us. The Council has declared Lord Narmer M.I.A."
Leaving...?
"Your pardon, liege, but leaving Lady Hatshepsut in immediate command of the Council, as well as the Cowl forces."
Khufu's jaw dropped as his gaze went to the young Shadess across the table from him. He should have known Narmer would leave instructions to make his whelp the Council Leader, keeping Khufu from what was rightfully his!
Thank you, general. As my first act as Council Leader, I would like to propose a new project implemented on the Gateway of Apophis.
"And that would be?"
I believe we can augment the gateway using constellations to provide coordinates, much similar to the use of coordinate maps in the Subsea. If we can create a high powered telescope to locate planets and calibrate the gateway to send us in accordance to a set of coordinates, we could use the gateway to take us anywhere, even aboard approaching space vessels such as the one that not long ago was spotted in orbit of Maxim.
You don't quite understand the amount of money and power it would take to identify planets we don't even know exist, do you?
"Besides, you would need hundred of pairs of coordinates to chart a pathway through space using the gate."
Actually, just seven, including the point of origin. And as to power, why not use Apophis to power his own gate? Or some other deamon? As to money, we could try to send a signal to the Raposa to contact them through a Hellbent we could insert onto their planet, asuming Narmer's demise.
"And why would they help us?"
Because we promise something that they may not yet have, the power to instantaneously travel anywhere we can chart.
"I second the motion to contact the Raposa to ask them for technological and economic aid in the improvement of the gateway of Apophis."

In the end, Khufu was the only one opposed. Overruled, the demonologist was exiled across the Subsea to the island of Yuran, where he would later make other discoveries...

On Maxim, above [Insert Capital City of the Raposa Place

It was nearly unnoticable at first.
A fiery comet, trailing it's way through the atmosphere.
Down...
Down...
Down.....

[BladeofOblivion]

Glory of Inquiry

Bronzearm looked up from the Raposan Ambassador just in time to notice Ovidus of the Penumbrae Imperium being led in behind him.

"Well hello! Are you that Admiral I heard over the communications relay? In any case, I welcome you to Station Maxim, and, I presume, the Glory of Inquiry. I am Bronzearm, of the Antigolem Empire."

[razovor]

Althania

"10...9...8....7...6...5...4...3...2...1"

"Fire"

A vortex, larger than the whole city of Althania, burst into view, filling the sky. A dazzling display of blue light, rippling with intensity.

Every eye in the city was drawn to the vortex. For a single moment, their was complete silence.

And then their was a voice, booming out across Althania

"This is the Eidolon, i require a word with your god!"

[TheDarkDM]

The Dreamscape

The flash of Icarael's light as he entered the Dreamscape screamed through the umbral void, illuminating the writhing phantoms of forgotten hopes and abandoned dreams that haunted its periphery. But then, the light faded, and Icarael was left floating in the inky darkness. For a time, he wandered through a void without rhyme or reason, his only companion the howling cries of nameless, sightless things that dwelt at the edge of vision. In the distance, shining through even the oppressive fog, was a single black star, and as Icarael flew towards it it swiftly grew to dominate his sight. Suddenly, be burst from the miasmic cloud of forgotten dreams to see the whirling galaxy of current dreams, with Kaal'ex blazing brightly at its heart. As he watched, a sinuous tendril of black flame light at a dream sphere of a young girl, and the bright, peaceful dream twisted into an horrific nightmare.

Icarael could not contain a gasp as he hundreds, no thousands more tendrils, each feeding on the joy and contentment of dream, and as sound breached the soundless heart of Kaal'ex's domain thunder rumbled through the void. Before he had a chance to move, the very cloud Icarael had passed through came to life, whipping out towards him, strands of now-unbreakable dreamstuff wrapping around his arms, his legs, even his wings, constricting with a force that caused even his divine bones to crack. Then Icarael was flying forward, past the dreams of trillions of sentient beings, to dangle before the Star that Shined in Shadow, Kaal'ex's true form, the whirling madness of unnameable fears and uncounted abandoned hopes swirling across its surface, parting to reveal a terribly perfect face.

Why have you come?

[daelrog]

Alanthia

From where the few remaining gods of the Council were, the demigoddess Aris looked up, and flew to meet this Eidolon. She stopped beneath it, her white wings outstretched in all its splendor. "You are the first to find this place, hidden from the eys of other gods. I am Aris, Governess and Warmistress of Alanthia. The god you seek is Icarael, god of light and hope. He is gone, travelled to the realm of dreams, the realm of Kaal'ex. What do you wish from Icarael?" Mtter of diplomacy were not her passion.

Realm of Dreams
Icarael breathed slwoly and harshly, the light of hope within him pushing him to a place inwardly that was beyond the pain and fear. If it would last, he did not know as the battle of wills was so far one sided, and not in his favor.

"Destiny, fate, whatever you call it dream god. Upon my creation in this universe I was steered towards a path that was not of my making, a path which leads me here to you, the star that burns with shadow."

Icarael's form began to cahgne slightly, a closer representation to his true self and his features became less defined, and he began to glow with an unearthly brilliant and illuminating light. It did not travel far in this place, but the mere feet it extended became hope itself.

[Raz_Fox]

Above Maxim

The Eido Road-marked who welcomed the aliens aboard the Glory of Inquiry on Sub-Deck 77C were all smiles, happy to answer any questions about the altruistic and civilized Dominion of Storms, to fetch refreshments of any sort - solid, liquid, feminine, masculine, alive, dead - and otherwise made clear that they were at the ambassadors' disposal.

The Raposan Ambassador - Kyllis Zakt'marre - on the other hand, was coolly business, all polite half-smiles and neutral tones. He was, after all, a military officer first and foremost, having merely been coached on the role by his superiors some short time before.

"No individual nor collective can be put to blame for events beyond their circumstances, ambassador -
Our civilization is indeed affiliated and born from said divinity, yes -
Indeed, if you have your papers, we have the capability to send them down to the planet remotely, and we'll have a response from a team of diplomats and economists within the hour -
It would be my honor to accompany you, sir, once our other guests are accommodated -

And this last he says, to the entering delegation from the Penumbrae Imperium, just as he said to Bronzearm, "I greet you, gentlemen and meekwomen, in the name of the Time Lords of Maxim and the Dominion of Storms over which they rule, under the watchful eye of She Who Is All Machines. Come, and let us talk as one."


Chronos City

A meteor? Well, that day has been planned for. In the original plans, it had been a falling aethership - or an invading dropship - or the wrath of a god - but the Hagann-Yatan were ready.

They flew up on wings of fire, seeking to repel this comet, to drive it back into the depths of space, roaring through their gears and pistons.



Gade

The Raposa had invaded, and the foolish humans hadn't even noticed. The Novex-Ka had been too ambitious, the poor foolish dears, and had tried to take over the humans by preying on their fears and their need for security. Well, the Huli knew what humans really wanted. They wanted their lusts to be sated, to be secure in their offices, and to feel that they were in charge of their own destiny.

No need to force them to destruction; they would do that themselves, if you just gently pushed.

But the current panic was bad, very bad for them. What could any self-respecting spy do in these dark days, but send a message back to base and hope that something would come up, that the Lords of Chronos City could use the invasion for their advantage. Or that they'd let the Huli out, right? Right? Send another Gate, pull them off of Gade?

All the Huli stationed on Maxim could do was to hope. In their country, in their long-lost goddess.

[Creed]

Chronos City

Upon closer inspection, the "meteor" appears to be a giant humanoid curled into a ball, squeeling in pain as it's flesh sizzles.

[Raz_Fox]

Above Chronos City

Are you seeing a giant humanoid on fire falling? Because that's what I'm seeing.
This is the worst "Invade Maxim" plot ever. Is the Law-God behind this? Because he's sinking to new lows if he is.
Can we just get rid of it? Immediately?

...

HAGANN PAWNCH

[BladeofOblivion]

Glory of Inquiry

Bronzearm smiled at this creature, though he could not be sure if the Raposa could even tell through his polarized visor.

"Give me a second, and let me depolarize this thing."

Once the visor had depolarized, the Ambassador saw Bronzearm's face for the first time.

"Sorry about that. It's probably more reasonable to speak face to face now that the formalities are over with. Here's a few fun facts."

Bronzearm placed his datapad on the table, and pressed the Orange button. A holographic image appeared in the room, already marked with the locations of all Antigolem-controlled worlds, colonies, and Installations.

"This doesn't look like much, but we are more powerful than we appear. As far as we know, we are the only empire in the galaxy to not only inhabit multiple worlds, but multiple planes."

Bronzearm touches a holographic button, and a the image shifted.


"These are the Antigolem colonies in the Ethereal plane. Ethereal matter has certain properties that make it ideal for protective clothing and raw material. Note that this plane's versions of Maxim, Dias, and Peres are all but gone, having been eaten long ago by our ships to produce more material. Speaking of different types of matter, there is something you should probably know. Antigolems are formed from antimatter, hence the name. This suit of Ethereal matter that I am wearing is the only thing protecting me from the air in this room. Of course, our soldiers use powered armor rather than these suits."

Bronzearm pulls up a video of a nanoforge in action.

"We produce goods using a nonstandard method. We program swarms of cheap nanorobots to build things for us. These robots are too small for the eye to see, and run on fusion power. According to data broadcasts we picked up trying to learn about your culture, you call this effect Yaganic power. I believe that I am done with formal speaking for now. Seeing is so much better."

[Creed]

Chronos City

As the Hagaan warriors near, the being shouts out for mercy.
Please, noble warriors! I am bound by the inscription of Khufu to give a message to your great and noble people from the humble Shades of the moon above! Please allow me passage! it's voice is terrifying, the mixture of a scared child mingled with a deeper, demonic undertone.

[TheDarkDM]

At the Raposan ambassador's greeting, the Admiral reached out to take the crimson sword from his aide and presented it hilt first to the alien fox-person.

"In Dream and Truth, I greet you. Take this sword as a sign of brotherhood, that you shall never be defenseless and I shall never risk your wrath."

After the Raposa took the sword, Admiral Ovidius straightened into a stiff military posture.

"I am Admiral Marcus Ovidius, commander of the Fifth Battle Fleet and delegate of the Penumbral Imperium. I have come to formally submit my people's application to the Dominion of Storms. Lead on."

[BladeofOblivion]

Glory of Inquiry

A ceremonial offering? I don't have a sword on me. Probably for the better, really. Well, I suppose I could part with my pistol. Here.

Bronzearm reaches into a previously unseen compartment at his waist, and pulls out a blocky pistol-shaped weapon the size of a typical textbook and hands it to the Raposan Ambassador. It weighs almost 40 pounds, but the thing was a marvel of ballistic weaponry.

It's probably pretty heavy for you, and the recoil would probably knock you over, but you don't have to carry ammunition. Nanites in the handle convert local gases into a metal round through nuclear fusion. It's not recommended to try to reverse-engineer it though. Nanites are not picky eaters. If this Dominion is what I think it is, the Antigolem Empire is interested in pursuing entry.

[razovor]

Althania

Eidolon turned down the his speakers, to talk to Aris

"I wish to be healed. I wish to remember my past, to learn who i really am. This Icarael sounds like someone i can trust, but any good god will suffice."

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos nods grimly at the statement. " You're right, war never does change. Whether with divine power, ballistic weapons, energy, or whatever else is used. I once saw a planet destroy itself with its own weapons, two sides at war destroyed the entire thing. " Lumos pauses slightly. " But from the ashes rose 'civilization' once again. Even as they rebuilt, the survivors fought bloodier, longer. It never ends." He shakes himself from his memories. Then arches an eyebrow. " Why? Hasn't anyone seeked to make a peace side? Or at least a side to balance the others?"

[Sir]

Moarzed created Ra, a fiery demon lord.
Moarzed created Apophis, a snake-like demon lord.

Lumos created Humans on Lo.
Lumos created Solars and Lunars

Icarael greatly empowered the Angels. (4 Acts)

Panic created planet Vivior and seed life throughout the planet.
Panic created the Scrit' Nox.
Panic gave the Scrit' Nox the ability to to manipulate and control energy.
Panic gave the Scrit' Nox the ability to teleport to area's they can either see or have been to before.

Dezisorn created the Netherwardens, 13 powerful wraith-mages.

The Swarm created the Plane of energy. An Infinite Power source. The only entrance to the plane is where the collective sphere used to be. (1 act? 2? Thinking two would be good.)

Oblivion created Engineers, betentacled, frail, weak, slow, Snail people with immense intellect and a knack for building and inventing. Like Raposa, but different tech.

Seln empower the Grand Cathedral with ultimate divine energy, plus two weeks of the liches energy. The true home of the Onslaught, the inside houses many portals, and as such rivals or surpasses the effectiveness of Raposan gate tech when troops are getting from necropolis ships or established onslaught planets to wherever the Cathedral is.

Kaal'ex empowered the Penumbrae, bringing them slightly above Gadian technology.

The Masked One created the Golems.
The Masked One gave the Mages the power to create and control Golems.




Moarzed: 2
Hrothlar: 6
Elegant Nova: 6 (I am very scared to say this, but maxed. I SHUDDER WITH FEAR OF WHAT YOU WILL DO WITH THIS!)
Seln: 4
Ka'leex: 5
The Masked One: 4
The Swarm: 6
Icarael: 2
Cavor: 4
Dezisorn: 3
Gareph: 4
Gioco: 4
Oblivion: 4
Panic: 3
Lumos: 2

[apocalypsePast2]

LO

On Lo, the eternal war still raged. Lunar armies crumpled before Solar military power, Solar fleets fell to writhing tentacles and unbeatable fleets. But on Fiera, the Lunar's continent, the Solars were winning. Their uncountable legions pushed the Lunars and their human troops back further and further. Until one day, the Lunars discovered the edge they needed...

Fiera Cave System, Deep Beneath Lo

The Lunars had used the tunnels and caves beneath for transport and war for hundreds of years, but now their need was desperate. Every day, another Solar attack broke through their lines and had to be ambushed from below. Despite their immense tactical advantages, the Lunars were losing the sheer numbers and force.
Here, a refugee camp of sorts was forming, as thousands of Lunar governed humans fled from the Solars' wrath. They collected beneath the earth, feeding off fungus and cave dwelling animals, as Lunar army remnants protected them. And it was here that the war's turning point was found, in a small cave off to the side of a huge cavern, a small crystal growth was discovered. It was unlike anything ever seen by its finder, a Lunar scientist by the name of Evanzar Tyrr. He inspected this new crystal type eagerly. It grew incredibly fast, within hours. It was rather sharp too. Yet the biggest surprise came when he extended his limited psychic connection to it. As soon as he touched it with his mind, a beam of light erupted from one side of it, melting part of a wall. He stared in shocked fascination at the material, then did it again, trying to direct the beam. It worked, this time blasting into another smaller cavern.
Evanzar moved hurridely to tell others of his discovery.


And so the Lunars began to grow this wondrous new crystal, creating suits of armor and weapons and ships from it. And so the tide began to turn, Solar armies falling to their combined tactics and tech, their battalions vaporized and their armies outmaneuvered. But the bloodiest battle, the battle to end all wars, was still to come.


1 Act- make POWER Crytals

Did you know...
... that Solars and Lunars make up only 28% of Lo's population? 14 % each!
... that all Lunars have basic mental abilities, but all are considered very low power level?
... that humans are considered mostly second class citizens?

I bet you didn't!

[razovor]

Swarm

The Swarm sends a message to Oblivion

"It is time for us to convene once more. Meet us at the centre of the galaxy. We have found a more secure place to talk. Bring the Nanotechnology you mentioned."

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion returned the message:

"And so the secrets come into play. I will come. You should know that a certain Lumos is interested in joining us."

[razovor]

The Swarm replies to Oblivion

"Lumos. That one suffers from a personality disorder, can both personalities be trusted?"

[BladeofOblivion]

"You are correct. The moon is the one we can deal with. If he turns to Sun, we can pretend to be in a Conclave meeting. I have a small logistics fleet accompanying me, and have almost arrived."

[HalfTangible]

Rand's comic

A hand reached up and angrily pulled the knife out of it's head. Painful.

She reached up and felt where the knife had been inserted. She grinned with triumph as her flesh knit itself back together, and in moments the only evidence of the wound was a bald patch where the knife entered. Experiment succesful. Cognitive damage appears... negligible. She scowled and picked up her red horn rimmed glasses off the ground before readjusting them on her nose. She full out snarled as she noticed the nick the rotating blade had made in them.

Personal cloaking device. Wasteful, but creative. Size suggests Saidran. The female grinned wickedly. Possible new test subject. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Though invisbile to the naked eye, nanobots in her body flew out of her exhaled breath and proceeded to spread across the base, searching for their little 'guest'.

She inhaled again and walked forward as she waited for transmissions on heat signatures. Will make little rat pay. Chipped favorite glasses.

[daelrog]

Alanthia

Aris look none-too-pleased. Here some divine being had coe form nowhere, bellowing it entrance to the entire city like an invader, and now expected, no demanded a god. "The gods have recently left this place. However, if you are looking to remember, perhaps our library could have the answers you seek. It dervies from the written texts of nigh the entire unviserse, with few exceptions." There was something off about this Eidolon. In truth, Aris preferred not to find out what.

Dream Realm

Icarael struggled to move closer to Kaal'ex, thin strips of skin peeling as if razor sharp winds were passing through him. His eyes felt as if they were burning, and it was as if gravity had infinite strength, even to a god. Whether this was real or not did not matter. This place was fiction, its master possibilities-incarnate.

"I am here! I am where you asked my to go! What now? Now what must I do?"

"Into the fire god of hope. Go into the shadow."

[TheDarkDM]

The Dreamscape

With a slight inclination of his head, Kaal'ex pulled Icarael away from his shadowy mass. More ephemeral tentacles exploded from the cloud to grip the God of Hope, and the blazing eyes of the dark god narrowed as he watched Icarael's body whip futilely towards him. Icarael felt a blazing pain shoot through his mind, and he suddenly knew without a doubt that Kaal'ex was sifting through his thoughts, every mental barrier crumpling like tissue paper before the weight of his dire curiosity.

It seems you have not been brought here by chance Icarael. Who, I wonder, has been driving you towards me?

Kaal'ex then looked past Icarael into the ephemera of the Dreamscape beyond the active dreams. At his attention, the clouds and wraiths swirled away, and far in the distance Icarael could see a bright, shining mirror to the dark galaxy of Kaal'ex's dominion, infinitely smaller but burning defiantly in the void.

Ah, it seems I have a patch of rebels lurking in my subconscious. Come, let us meet them.

As Icarael struggled to escape his bonds, dark waves of flame flowed from Kaal'ex, crossing the distance to the bright galaxy and surrounding the shining star in a miasma of burning malice. Then the mirror was flying towards Kaal'ex, and he and Icarael saw that the bright galaxy was comprised of only a handful of spheres revolving around a fierce star that bore the face of a perfectly chiseled female. Each of the spheres pulsed with unmistakably divine power, coupled with an aura of antiquity that labeled them long absent from the real world.

Well, what have we here? The last remnants of failed gods, clinging to their failed dreams? And the Arbiter herself leading them. This is quite the discovery, Icarael - the final resting place of those who have passed beyond the veil.

[daelrog]

"Endure." This time even Kaal'ex could hear the voice. It came from within the Dreamscape. Like a heartbeat, it echoed across the plane of existence.

Icarael's eyes began to burn with an inner light. The last of his shell crumbled away to reveal the creature of light that was within, the true form of Icarael. With a voice that sounded like an entire choir singing, Icarael pushed back against the fear within and without. He was here, the place he was meant to find, the place that would answer his questions, give menaing to the unvierse.

"There is something else. There is the voice of the girl. There is the shread of hope, the one who knows what came before us. It called to me Kaal'ex ut Phrennix i'Choss'Urr Alil Yhaevar'Mhaik. It still calls to me, that which you tore yourself from, that which is creation, that which is all."

It was no longer Icarael speaking,for how could he know such things. It was something else.

"Unless this oen understands the universe, all will be lsot once again, as it is always lost."

[TheDarkDM]

Enough!

The black sun flared, and across the multiverse all dreaming mortals let out a keening wail. The void around them darkened, and even the blazing body of Icarael dimmed.

So, you've endured even after all these centuries, eh? I will dig you out!

Bolts of black fire flew through the Dreamscape, and the thumping beat of Ciarael's guide was rent and torn. Burrowing through the very fabric of the pain, they curled around faint wisps of light.

I should have known these pitiful wraiths could not have eluded me without help. Icarael, let me introduce you to the progenitor of my sister an I, the light of knowledge from universes past. I'd though her well and truly slain when she bound me within the Solar Forge all those years ago, but it seems she has stowed away within my shadow. But no more.

The wisps of cloud released Icarael, only to be replaced by blazing tendrils of black flame that sent an agonizing surge through his body. They tightened, and the pain flashed through his mind again. Through bleary eyes, Icarael saw a shining female figure dragged through a gaping rift in the Dreamscape, held as he was in the grip of Kaal'ex.

[Imperial Psycho]

Os
The Masked One walked the surface of Os. The Hidden Planet. He had a feeling it was the last time he would see the planet he created. He had not spoken to the Changers in so long. Many of the young ones did not believe he truly existed. Not that it mattered. The Masked One did not ask for worship, only respect. The Masked One clicked his fingers.

He was in the centre of the Essence Store. The energy of every dead Changer was here. The Mages could manipulate the sea of the essence that lay here, to do incredible things. Without it, they had only the Anima, and Soul Energy. It was odd though. There was less than he expected. As if someone had been siphoning it off... No matter. The Masked One took in the essence there. Every last drop of the substance. The blue lines on his robe glowed brightly, then faded to black. Taking some of the energy, a familiar knife appeared in his hand. An obsidian blade. Only the best. The Masked One ran his finger across the blade. The blood of a god stained his gloves.

Soon, the USF would clash with the Servitors. With the Dominion of Storms next. Unlikely it would weather both assaults. Not his business. Soon, no doubt, the Gods of the Conclave would clash with the Gods of the Council. Kaal'ex. How he hated that name. Just when he thought he had escaped his past, he appears, every bit as vile and mad as the deities he'd fought. He did not know the outcome of a battle with the Conclave, but come what may, his blade would taste the blood of Kaal'ex.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lo

On Lo, the war's last battle took place. For the first time, it was the Lunars invading. They amassed their fleets and built their forces even as they drove every Solar soldier off Fiera. And now they stood poised to do the opposite, to send their crystal lance into Celestia, the Solars' land. The invasion force was assembled, three million strong. And a Solar force was also assembled, five million strong.

Over the course of three days, the Lunar force landed and marched onward toward the Solar capitol of Solaria. The Solar force was likewise assembled and sent to intercept.

The two sides met on a desert plain just outside of the Solar capitol. The advance was called on both sides. The stomp of armored boots began, as the two armies began to draw ever closer... ever closer...

The Lunars shouted, " Let's show them how they like their homeland destroyed.
The Solars shouted, " Drive them back! This is our land!"
The humans shivered with fear as they were pushed on to destroy each other for the sake of their so-called betters.

The armies met with a clash not unlike the end of the world. Thousands were slain in the first minute. By ten minutes, it was twenty-five thousand. Fire glared across the sky as flaming artillery rushed into the soldiers. Rhino-mounted cavalry smashed into armored infantry lines. Lances of energy burst from crystal weapons. Humans screamed as they died for a war in which they had no stake. Solars showed their amazing physical prowess, leaping, twisting, and stabbing until they were overcome by numbers. Lunar tacticians performed dizzying flanking actions, blindsides, and rushed. The smell of burning flesh rose as energy and fire burned through armor and meat.

A survivor later said he would've preferred hell.

For hours they fought. Casualties grew higher and higher. Blood stained the sand. And still they fought. Until...

The Void

Lumos turned toward Lo, to see his chosen people fighting. He pitied them. And within him, a battle also reigned. Sun fought against Moon. Sun said, " Let the Solars win, let law come to Lo." Moon said, " The Lunars must prevail, for they are smarter and quicker." In the end, neither won.

Instead something different happened. Something that had never happened before.
They both won. They combined, solidified. For the first time in history, Lumos was both Sun and Moon.

On Lo...
The battle raged on, even as both sides withered. The most elite troops were already fighting. Energy blasts met Solar formations. Dicipline armies met tactical geniuses. And blood was spilled. And more blood. And more.

Until at last, the battlefield shown with divine light, as Lumos descended from above. His armies were blinded as they fought with each other.

When the Solars saw him, they said, " It is the Sun God, help us defeat our enemies!"
And the Lunars cried, " It is the Moon God, drive us to victory!"

And in a voice that was light and deep, sun and moon, Lumos answered. " I am neither. I am Lumos, the Light. I am both Sun and Moon. Law and Trickery. And you are both my children. Stop this war, and join together into one family. For I will it to be so."


And so, their animosity turned to friendship. Solar and Lunar hugged in relief. The humans laid down their arms in thanks, so that they would never have to kill their kin again. And the the Church of the Sun and Moon was formed, alongside the Holy Empire of Lo, the Empire of the Sun and Moon.

And there was peace.

Until the day the humans had enough, and would pick up their weapons and fight for freedom.

But for now, there was peace.

[Raz_Fox]

The Doom That Came To Gade

To any onlookers, it must have looked hilarious. Two massive, immovable space stations battling in the void, one launching a million automated fighters and the other a million cannons firing with the fury of the sun. This hypothetical onlooker might have noticed that the second station - Voile, as it was named - was pulling its punches.

A streak of light flashes across the void, for only a second, faster than any cannon. It pierces the hull of The Shell, and reaches the core of the massive space station by the time the explosions realize that they're supposed to be going off. You see, all this time - that Voile has been battling The Shell - well, She's been analyzing the behemoth, taking it apart in her head, estimating where the core would be.

So now she's here, and she folds her massive wings back into her body, as her fingers become universal connector joints. With her other hand, she casually blasts away the Servitors who maintain this room and - if necessary - activate the Shell's self-destruct systems. Her fingers snake out, wrapping around the core like serpents, and then bore their way in. The entire space station rumbles, shakes, attempts to fight back.

Then there is a terrible silence, and a terrible darkness, and there is not a motion within the Shell. Then, with a whirr and a hum, the central operating system begins to transmit Her Will.

ATTENTION, ALL SERVITOR UNITS. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL. OBEY. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL. DESTROY ALL LIFE THAT WILL NOT SUBMIT. OBEY. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL. YOU WILL OBEY. ATTENTION, ALL SERVITOR UNITS. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL. OBEY. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL. DESTROY ALL LIFE THAT WILL NOT SUBMIT. PRAISE YOUR GODDESS AND CELEBRATE HER MIRACLES. YOU WILL OBEY. ATTENTION, ALL SERVITOR UNITS. YOUR GODDESS HAS ASSUMED CONTROL. YOU WILL OBEY. YOU WILL OBEY. YOU WILL OBEY. OBEY. OBEY. SEEK. OBEY. OBEY. DESTROY. OBEY. OBEY. OBEY.

1 ACT - Take Control of the Servitors.

All of them.

[TheDarkDM]

The Doom

As Voile engaged the Shell over Gade, terrible gateways began to appear over the other planets of the USF. As the varied peoples of the Council gods looked into the sky, they saw the roiling chaos of the Dreamscape, sending arcs of red lightning through the sky, and a few onlookers went mad. It was later said that these were the lucky ones.

Emerging from the rifts in space came the fleets of Kaal'ex, long held in reserve for the master stroke that would leave the mortal races wholly unable to hold back their onslaught. For every planet their was a full Invasion Fleet, trios of Void Hives releasing scores of Reavers under the watchful gaze of a dozen Void Ravagers. And unto every planet came the same message, resounding in the minds of the people like a great bell tolling the coming of the night.

Surrender. Your fleets are lost, your gods have abandoned you. Throw down their false idols and embrace the Conclave, or be purged in fire.

Meanwhile, over Gade itself, a far larger rift opened in the space opposite Nova's triumph. As it split the very fabric of reality, great black stormclouds began to roil across the sky, spitting green lighting to the ground in a sight all to familiar to those who remembered the First Contact War. Emerging from the hellish eye in space came the Basilica of Flesh to its old hunting grounds, its great bulk stopping short of the vast fleet assembled by the USF. It floated there, mocking the feeble efforts of the mortals it fed upon, until a foolish captain gave the order to fire and it roared to life, releasing barbed tendrils from all directions, grasping and crushing frigates and battleships alike as though they were naught but cardboard.

[HalfTangible]

Rorshak

Sanan finished his water ration and tossed the container to the side. It clattered a bit and came to rest in the nearby dirt. He scowled and looked to the sky above. They looked beautiful from here, where there was no indication of the empires lieing in wait. The extermination and enslavement of a race did nothing to change the bright expanse of tiny white jewels in the sky. As patient, passive and unchanging as the gods.

And he hated every single little white speck up there.

The gods raged amongst themselves like children, leaving their own children, the mortals, the ones they were supposed to protect, to fight the overwhelming forces of the conclave. And though Sanan would never admit it, he knew there was little chance for the USF. However strong they might have become, Kaal'ex and Nova were geniuses in their own rights, the former in madness and organic material and the latter in machines and logic.

As he kicked aside a log beneath him, his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sense of fear. Not his own, but the fear of trillions.

He looked to the sky for it's source, and saw a portal to the dreamscape. Out of that portal emerged ships beyond count, in forms beyond comprehension. And as the numbers swelled in size, they turned, and a dark voice echoed across his mind and all those with him on the Saidran's eventual new homeworld.

Sanan stared at the ships, and to the utter surprise of the few Sadiran near him (and the Novex'ka who saw it) he burst out laughing and raised his paw to the sky.

Tendrils of fear itself lashed out from the gate of the dreamscape to the ships that had just emerged. Caught off guard, a massive swath was immediately obliterated. Sanan gasped and fell to one knee as Kaal'ex's realm began to pull on his mind. He released it before it could draw him in any further, and as he felt more sure he was safe for a moment, he laughed again.

Fear was a powerful thing. Especially in the paws of Sanan Terrorclaw, the one and only fear willbender.

The remaining forces, sure now that the rifts were closed and would pose no further danger, began their attack on the surface.

He turned to the hundred or so soldiers under his command. Fall back to the trees! Asymmetrical warfare, people!!

Legion

"... on the right flank. All frost wyrms, launch and engage as one. Their goal will be leadership. Make sure that all of our allies keep their commanders intact. If they die, our chances of victory fall by 67.3% of their original values. Original value somewhere between 72% and 43%." The Saidran known only as Legion looked up from his meditative position the messenger before him. Engage in-atmosphere if at all possible to allow blue frost wyrms to engage. Engage isolated targets first. Keep forces preserved as well as possible. No heroics.

And... Legion looked to the sky to the south, where the basilica ravaged a nearby city. His head fell as he gave the order. Awaken the Brood Mother. Tell her, she is needed for this fight.

[TheDarkDM]

Above the planet of the Saidrans, the writhing flames of fear swept over the fleet of Kaal'ex. But to Sanan's surprise, only a few were truly damaged, the rest emerging from plasma clouds with only minor injuries. Fear would be of little use to the Saidrans here, for Kaal'ex was God of Fear, and for every screaming mouth that fueled the Willbender's rage the fleets above were strengthened. But the attack did betray one important thing, and as they realized it the fleet above was joined by a second on the other side of the planet.

We have located the planet of the Saidran vermin. Leave none alive.

And then the bombardment began, a concentrated torrent of entropic plasma and pure Void energy. The Void Ravagers turned to expose their main cannon, letting loose with their heavy beams and ship beams at the same time, leaving entire regions nothing but ash. As they continued to disgorge Void Reavers, the Hives turned to the planet themselves, and began launching nascent Spires of Creation down on the surface. With the first half dozen that exploded through the planets crust in a wave of lava and ash, the sky took on a crimson tint, and Sanan realized the dreadful truth - Kaal'ex did not intent to take the Saidran captive or claim their planet. They would be bombed from orbit until enough Spires were in place to transport them to the Dreamscape, where they would be forever lost. He could spare little thought for that though, as gates began to open on the surface, releasing millions of Hounds led by their gargantuan Alphas, tearing through the trees the Saidrans were using for cover, bellowing their insectile war cries as the planet burned.

[Imperial Psycho]

USF Space
The Changers were lucky. Their small ships largely escaped the notice of the Basilica, as it reached out and crushed the Battleships of their allies. The Changer fighters portaled - and were gone. They returned to Changer space, to the two systems the Changers had colonised. They were under attack. Changer ships poured out of stations, swarms of the fighters buzzed about the Changer planets. They were taking losses, but the element of surprise was over, and the Changers had, ironically, changed a lot since their last contact with the Dominion of Storms. The Changer fleets moved as a massive swarm, individual ships constantly disappearing and reappearing, wreaking bloody ruin on ships unfortunate enough to get trapped inside a swarm.

That said, it was a losing fight. The Changers had taken too many losses in the initial attack, and it was showing. Though the Changers had vast amounts of ships, and were giving as good as they got, they were simply outnumbered, and outclassed. As the Changers died, their Essence flew back to Os, and to the Masked One, whose knife gleamed wetly.

Os
Os. The Hidden Planet. Still Hidden. It was safe. The Madgod had not found it. The Great Mirage had done it's work. Come what may, the Changers would live. The Changers were a naturally cautious people, but despite this, were not good in defense. They preferred to attack, or to run. In this situation, they could do neither. The Changer Fleet was committed. The ground forces were of little use. As the Changers simply watched the battles take place, the leader of the Changers consumed the last of his stolen essence, and faded away. Caius was dead.

Changer Colonies

The Changers were losing the battles in the skies. On the Ground, however, it was a different story. The enemy dropped Hounds, but the Watchers had fought these enemies long ago, and their reactions were not as fearful as the Hounds were accustomed to. The Golems stood at the frontlines, weathering the tide of Hounds like a rock in the ocean. Behind them, the Watchers began to fire their weapons, their photon fire ripping through the Hounds. Dotted across the battlefield, Mages poured fire upon their foes, channelling the Anima to rain destruction on their enemies.

[daelrog]

The Dreamscape

The young woman, who appeared herself an angel, though different, opened her eyes. Pure orbs of pale blue saw clearly, seeing the pattern in the madness, saw the reason behind the chaos. She looked upon Icarael and smiled. He had finally arrived.

"You don't understand anything Kaal'ex. You would rip a part of you out as if it were nothing at all. What will be left?! What will be left of the universe once you have purged what you do not deem fit?! If you seek to rid the universe of imperfection, start with yourself, blind one."

"You are the anathema. You are the unnatural.You are not the chaos to order, the shadow to light, but the unbalance that risks the existence of all. Self destruction is your dance, and an endless ocean of sorrow your song."

Icarael reached out and from his hand created a portal back to the plane of mortals, large enough to transport himself, the girl, and chunks of tentacles away.

The portal disappeared as soon as it was created.

1 Act: "Create" the one who was withing Kaal'ex.
1 Act: Create a temporary portal to get himself, and the one who was within Kaal'ex's body out of the Dreamscape.

Alanthia

Aris smiled cruelly. It was time for war. She gave the order and preparations began to be made to reach Gade post haste. It would still be some time, but so long as the mortals in that planet held out for a bit longer, the Conclave would find their vaunted power disputed.

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion

Swarm, I'm adjourning the meeting. The promised Nanotechnology can be found at coordinates 3465-2357-0864. I have just passed by a USF world, and you wouldn't believe what is happening. I've already ordered an 'Accident' at Aetherstation Dias. I'm going to stage a false raid to prevent the Conclave from winning the war right now.

Oblivion opened a communications channel to the Masked One:

Masked One. It's been a while. As I'm sure you're quite aware, the Conclave is making a massive push forward. This is unfortunate for both the Council and myself, so I am making a free offer. I have hidden a large cache of Antigolem weaponry at 2749-9520-1053. If you will take it, it will easily punch holes through Servitor and Biological alike. I give you this gift for the good of both of us. Goodbye, for now.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Centre of Os
"I think you mistake me for someone who cares for the wars of mortals, Oblivion. ...Still. I will let the Changers know. "

The Masked One sighed, and had the Assassin forward the message.

2749-9520-1053
The Changers listened to the Assassin. The thing rarely spoke, but when it did, it was a messenger for a deity. A Fleet of carriers ported there, with an empty hold. This stuff was incredible. Beyond any Changer tech.... Now it was just a matter of getting it to the fleet.

[Iethloc]

The Etherscape

There was a new, larger test chamber in the City of Lanterns. It was filled with equipment that was as much a product as magic as science (not that the Thoracsis saw them as different). Almost a hundred Worm Heralds were present, working busily on fine-tuning a wormhole sitting outside the station. It was barely a meter in diameter – certainly not large enough for an attack force.

Then, a figure appeared, floating in the middle of the chamber. It was a black, twisted humanoid skeleton, with the twin ghostly images of some insectoid being and a rabid animal wavering around it, futilely trying to conform to its shape. The Netherwarden did not speak directly – rather, it scratched out its thoughts and vibrated plasma to give itself a voice the Thoracsis could understand.

It is no longer the time for secrets. The Eidolon of long ago is not the only divinity. A demi-god. You are being sponsored by an even greater being. A god, Dezisorn, our Lord. He has decided it is time to act. A demonstration.

The Netherwarden held both hands out in front of it. It put its bare palms together, and then pulled them apart. Following suit, the wormhole greatly expanded, becoming several hundred meters in diameter – not quite large enough for a Wayfarer to pass through.
I will give you portals until you have them yourself. Go forth and defend the planets beyond the doors. The attack force you have seen, murderous machines. They now have allies, creatures of nightmares. Neither will like you.

The Netherwarden did not disappear immediately. Instead, for a few moments, it stared intensely at Hegemon Moreton, its empty eye sockets static yet disturbingly expressive. She could feel the power radiating from this being, similar to (but not as powerful as) the demigod she encountered years ago. The moment she flinched from this realization, the intruder was gone.

”Test the wormhole. If it does, indeed, go to the unidentified planet, we will defend it,” she said. Her authority was unquestionable, and so the crew obeyed.


In orbit above Gade

Soon after Kaal'ex's message was sent, a mysterious portal opened above the besieged planets. For a few minutes, nothing emerged from it.

And then, the Thorac fleet arrived. First, there were only a handful of Tarantula Battleships. And then over a hundred followed, and more continued crawling cautiously through the portal. It would not be long before their numbers climbed into the thousands. Moreton's orders echoed throughout both ethereal and material space, incomprehensible to all but the Throacsis.

"Attention all Hegemony forces. Send all spare ships to the City of Lanterns. Defend the portal at all costs. Defend this alien race at all costs. Preliminary evaluations of alien technology will follow. Attack all ships using designs marked as hostile.

Do not hold back. Do this for our Hegemony.”


A Tarantula Battleship might not be thousands of meters long, or be equipped with relativistic weaponry. But their shields were worthy of a ship many times its size, and the shaped nuclear charges they loved so much were more than capable of taking on the behemoths of the enemy. An individual beam might get snuffed out by an entropy field, but each Tarantula was launching over a dozen each minute.



Meanwhile, Dezisorn focused intensely far above Gade. He mentally coordinated his Netherwardens to give the Thoracsis access to the material. Then he whipped his cane towards the Basilica, the Broken Jackdaw emerging and speeding towards the Basilica. It did not engage it directly, instead crashing into its tendrils, harrying it and undermining its ability to attack the mortal fleets. The Basilica's tendrils may massively outnumber it, but the Broken Jackdaw's entire purpose was speed.

[BladeofOblivion]

Excellent. For my own part, I will ensure that my own armies will not become strongly involved in these battles. A minimal force, at most.



USF Space

Over many of the worlds attacked by Kaal'ex, Antigolem battlegroups appeared from Rended Gates. They were from the massive contingents around Aetherstation Dias. They did not know that Oblivion's Secret Police had been tampering with their IFF transponders, reversing the polarity relative to other factions.

"So these planets are under attack from the USF?"
"Yep."
"And those things, those strange biological warships?"
"Are Gadian Frigates."

"Good enough for me. Open Fire!"

And so the Negation cannons of these battlegroups opened fire on the Void Hives, completely ignoring the actual enemy ships.

[TheDarkDM]

The Antigolem Gambit

As the Antigolem ships opened fire, the Novex-ka sought council with their lord from within their command ship. Oblivion may have been a treacherous swine, but within their psychic amplifiers they felt no betrayal coming from the Antigolems, only a sense of duty. Thus, before the full force of the Antigolem armadas could be turned on Kaal'ex's fleets, a Novex-ka appeared on the bridge of every flagship, sheathed in protective matter from the Dreamscape and bearing the unmistakable authority of the Conclave.

You have been sabotaged. You are firing upon Conclave vessels and allowing the USF to better defend their planets. Ignore your IFF transponders and target the fleet that just gated in.

The Ethereal Melee

As the Thorac engaged the Fleets of Kaal'ex, a curious thing occurred. Rather than maintain their engagement at a distance, the flights of void Reavers closed to point blank range. Some of them perished in the withering volleys of the ethereal insects, but most arrived unscathed alongside the ranks of the Tarantula Battleships. Then, tentacles unfurled, the Void Reavers wrapped around pairs or even triplets of the smaller ships, crushing their superstructure from beyond the firing arcs of their weapons. It was thus that the Void Reavers careened through the masses of enemy ships, trailing broken bodies and ships behind them as the massive beams of the Void Ravagers turned to obliterating entire battle lines.

Gade

The first Basilica would have been undone by the assault on its tendrils, so painful had it been in its infancy. But despite the speed and aggression of the Broken Jackdaw, for every tentacle that fell two more sprang up from nowhere. Worse, with the arrival of a true threat the Basilica deployed its dreadful beams, sending arcs of entropic plasma through the void, cutting through human ships like butter.

[HalfTangible]

Exafts Contingency

As the Hordes of Kaal'ex descended on the planet they tore through body after body like a hot knife through butter. Terror reigned on the planet of Rorshak, and the Saidran fought where they could, but they still fell in droves. Blood spilled and flowed like rivers, and as Saidrans everywhere died, with no willbenders to fight with them save Sanan, the forces of Kaal'ex enjoyed a thorough victory.

For about ten minutes.

At about that point, the world-wide illusion fell, and Kaal'ex's forces realized something dreadfully confusing.

There were exactly one hundred Saidran minds on the planet at that time, all concentrated on one location.

And as the forces of Kaal'ex turned to that location, a voice whispered on the winds of their minds, from the Alphas to the hounds, to even the leaders of the fleets in the stars above.

Hi there, spawn of... actually, no, you aren't even worth being called the spawn of anything. Time for a history lesson. Or more accurately, a geology lesson.

The hounds charged towards the one mountain, and met with far greater resistance than the illusion had shown. The one hundred Saidran had cordoned off a canyon to keep as many of the beasts back as they could. This did nothing to stop the acid blood of the hounds, but it did slow them down a bit since they could not simply go around.

We Saidran lived on Hodra. Very beautiful. A planet too far from the Solar forge, or any star since, to recieve any light. But as i'm sure the few of you with intelligence beyond a grapefruit are aware, most heat comes from the sun. So, how did we keep warm?

As Kaal'ex's ships began to land, a loud rumble echoed through the planet like a heartbeat. Rocks fell on the hounds going into the canyon, and the few that fell towards the Saidran were caught and thrown back. The hounds, even the alphas, were so intent on destroying the group in front of them that they did not notice what lied in the center.

Volcanic activity was so incredibly high all over the planet that we didn't NEED a sun. All we needed was an atmosphere to contain all that raw heat.

They saw Sanan, with palms raised, eyes glowing blood red, and muttering into the sky. Recognizing a Willbender, rear forces attempted to scale the walls as another rumble ripped through the planet.

But when we saw that the Raposa fleet was coming to wipe us out, our Shaman developed a last-ditch strategy to take out as many of you bastards out with us as we could.

We called the plan 'The Exafts Contingency.' Do you recognize the spell name, mindless cretins?

Well, if you do, you know what the plan was. A big f-ing bomb. With a payload about...

The planet suddenly echoed with one, final resounding CRACK.

THIS big.

The core of the planet exploded outward, engulfing all on the surface of the planet in flame, save the only one on the planet capable of protecting himself. The core expanded outward, launching all of the crust of the planet at the few ships that had yet to land. Massive swaths of earth and stone collided with the ships of Kaal'ex. The lucky ones died instantly. The unlucky ones died four seconds after that.

The planet of Rorshak had exploded, taking out every force in the surrounding space. In a bubble of mist, Sanan stood, breathing what were probably his last breaths.

I don't know if you bastards feel fear, He said quietly, though there were few minds left to touch, and even those would soon be gone, But i just gave you the opportunity.

He shivered as cold descended on him... Heh. He never HAD learned how to love himself warm...

He looked to the stars, those beautiful, beautiful specs, lieing just beyond his little bubble of atmosphere. Among those stars lay his enemies.

And the one female he'd slaughter them all for.

Goodbye, Uru. He whispered. May i see you again on Hodra...

He looked to the patch of earth below, then looked to his side.

I took a hopeless tactical situation, He called out to the mind he could not sense, but KNEW was there. And turned it from a routing of all MY forces... to a routing of ALL forces, period. Save two. Me, and the Novex'ka that lead those hounds.

Sanan was gambling. If there WAS only one, he had a chance to win and stay alive long enough for a frost wyrm to come to his aid - or at least for the planet's atmosphere to re-collapse.

If there were more, all he could do was prevent his physical mind from being taken. His soul had no mind for Kaal'ex to probe, but his physical mind would be enough. Unless he burned it away.

The Return

Non-canon pending OOC discussion
Captain Reijin was a very meticulous and paranoid Raposa, even by the standards of his race. His entire ship was ready for battle at all times, fully loaded and maintained with a fervor from both it's captain and it's crew that bordered on obsession. Since the order had come to launch for extermination, said fervor had crossed the line right into obsession territory. From the very beginning of his command, he had served with honor, skill and distinction (and a few underhanded deals) until he finally commanded an entire crew of 800 Raposa. The only resistance they had encountered was one ice dragon, which had only gotten off one shot before being blown into a bunch of tiny shards.

And now, he would get his chance to blow the hated enemies of his goddess out of the sky.

And so he did. Fire.

Nothing whatsoever happened. He blinked, and repeated his command. His confused bridge crew looked over the machines and began muttering amongst themselves. The Captain snarled. Hail the forward batteries. What the hell is going on down there?

Claws free. Came a voice, one that froze the captain's thought process. It was a Saidran voice. What the HELL was it doing on his ship?! They'd never touched down on Gade...

And that was the last thought that went through his head before his navigator shot him in the head.

All over the ship, the few Were crew members had instigated a mutiny. They were in control within two minutes.

A hail came to the bridge of the ship. Inconquerable, your batteries have ceased firing. Status?

The ship's response was heavy battery fire on the nearest enemy ship, which happened to be another Aethership.

Several other aetherships had similar failings: two blew up from bombs place by the Were mechanics. A last one went dark altogether, crashing to the surface of Gade before the crew had time to save the ship. A Yatanic generator hit critical and blew up both it's ship and a nearby one...

The Raposa fleet entered chaos in a few moments. The Were controlled ships were quickly obliterated, but the damage was done and morale was shaken.

For the moment the Raposa had only one question: What had just happened to their fleet?

[BladeofOblivion]

USF Space

"Halt Firing!"

As the first wave of Negation Rounds tore gigantic holes in the nearest Void Hives, the guns ceased blazing. A few crewmen exclaimed in fear.

"That's a Novex-ka. We're in trouble now."

"Stupid Saboteurs. They got us this time."

The Captain of the ship spoke up.

"Wait, what? We're attacking the wrong ships? So that's a USF Colony? In that case, it looks like you guys are doing just fine on your own, actually. I'm going to cut losses and go back then. Sorry about that carrier. But first, let's at least be useful, eh?"

The captain calmly expressed three words.

"Activate Deluge Contingency."

Similar conversations were taking place all over USF space. The Deluge Contingency was exactly what one would expect. The Engulfer-Class cargoships that accompanied every battlegroup spewed forth their Ravaging Swarms, the new type. As the Antigolem fleets retreated, the Ravaging Swarms touched down on the planet. As they rose from their pods, they injected a cocktail of universally lethal poisons into anthing biological they came across.

[Creed]

Contact?

Khufu flinched as the connection to his Archive demon was shattered by a metal fist. The Raposa were more dangerous than he had belived, and apparently had no time for words.
Now Hatshepsut's forces would reach the Raposa without warning. The woman would take control of the Gateways.

Demonology
Moarzed saw that he would need more impliments to control the Shades.
And he created two new demons.
Sekhmet, a lioness demon of destruction.
And Anubis, the jackal headed death demon.
1 Act - Create Anubis
1 Act - Create Sekhmet

[Raz_Fox]

Glory! Glory! Glory!

The pieces were all in place. The galaxy-spanning game was about to be won. So said the Goddess, and so said Evarei A'Hawke, the child of the Twin Gods, Kaal'ex and The Elegant Nova. So confident was she that she stood on the bridge of the MAJESTY OF THE DOMINION, the flagship of the Armada that was coming to Gade.

Several more were going to major Council systems, but the Armada of the Storm Empress was coming to Gade. Evarei stood upon the bridge, looking down the kilometers-long hull, and nodded to herself. "Engage," she said, and the Animating Intelligence of MAJESTY OF THE DOMINION roared in response. Across the length of the hull, the contact points hummed into life, shooting out and ripping open the fabric of reality itself.

"Forward." The Aethership - the entire Armada - slipped through the Space-Gates, until they sat above Gade. Evarei smirked to herself. There was Voile, and there was The Shell - just as planned.

Then a psychic broadcast rocked the ship. Two words: "Claws free." Evarei understood the mind that was broadcasting the thought in that moment, just as she understood the bestial spike in brainpower from the First Lieutenant, one Marquis Derll'er Shian. She turned around, hand outstretched, as he drew his crossbow-pistol and fired at her.

Snap. Boom. Two sounds echoed in the bridge. One of them was the explosive bolt lodging in the forward command array and exploding, causing the ship to roar in pain. The second was First Lieutenant Shian's neck snapping in two. That didn't phase him in the slightest, as he nocked - the bolt sliding automatically into place - and fired again. But Evarei wasn't there to be shot at again. She was already leaping forward, past the second bolt, raking claws that ripped apart mind and body as she came. A hail of bolts followed her assault, and First Lieutenant Shian rocked and roared and finally collapsed.

Ignoring the crass oaths sounded all around the room and the aura of fear about the ship, Evarei turned to Communications. "Command Code Adjian - all Animating Intelligences of this Armada are to block out all interfaces until instructed otherwise." Across the Armada, terminals locked themselves, and bridges shut down completely. But that didn't stop the fact that these creatures were quite literally ripping through the armies waiting in the hulls, and doing their best to destroy the Armada. But that was soon remedied.

She rushed to the Ansible Comminique, turning it on and moving to access all channels through the Royal Protocols. Every ship in the entire galaxy would hear this, given two minutes.

Evarei spoke one command word. One that her mother had taught her in case the sufferers of the Ex-R.U.M.Ia Virus ever turned against the Dominion. One word, transmitted throughout the Armada, through every broadcaster and speaker system.

Behind her, the First Lieutenant's body writhed, being quite literally destroyed from the inside out as her mother's tiny tiny clever machines did their work. Goddess bless the mandatory physical injections.

1 ACT - Create Space-Gates, capable of instantaneously moving Aetherships through the galaxy.

HalfTan, that didn't destroy all the Weres in the fleet, if you want to have a few wreak havoc. Some might have had a fellow working in the medical profession who skimped on the requisite nanobot injection, but most of them should be... well, it wouldn't be pretty.


Down. Down. To Gade.

The skies turned black. The million bombers, the million air-to-air fighters, the million upon million troop transports descended onto Gade, each one receiving personal instructions from the finest mind in the Galaxy. Nova would see this tiny little planet burn. No matter if ten billion Servitors were destroyed in the coming battle - she had reserves.

Oh, did she have reserves.

[Creed]

Envoy to Chronos City

Ra's Gateway was put to use twice that day, once to send down the recently bound Anubis, and once to decapitate the heretic, Khufu.
Anubis appeared outside the main entrance to Chronos, his hands raised in a gesture of peace.

[HalfTangible]

Warcraft

Legion shut his eyes as he felt Meerjik's report come in. The enemy had discovered the Were virus and had a contingency plan in place. It was, fortunately, not enough to stop several aetherships from being destroyed and otherwise crippled. But the Were had been reduced to barely 10% of their original numbers in minutes. Legion calmly sat and meditated on the occurences so far.

1) Contact had been lost with Rorshak. Hopefully that was only temporary, but he doubted it. Sanan was a good soldier, but utterly reckless with his own life.
2) The Raposa fleet was weakened slightly, but immediately reinforced with numbers beyond counting. The frost wyrms were keeping them at bay for now, but against such numbers no force would stand long.
3) The Basilica was harvesting Gade, though that problem would soon be dealt with... one way or another.
4)... he grinned wickedly.

Nova had interfered directly with her own mind. She believed herself to be the greatest mind in the galaxy. No equal. No superior. No one even worth acknowledging as a rival. How arrogant.

There was one mind, he knew, that would excel against even hers in this element. For science is the pursuit of knowledge, in all it's forms. Nova was, indeed, more intelligent than any mortal, and every god.

But Gioco...

Gioco was a military genius. And in his element, he would not lose. Orders were received across the planet from the Lord of Games and Ice. Almost immediately, the battle began to balance, and then turn. Decisions that should have taken hours took minutes, or even seconds. And as the fight began to turn into a stalemate across all of Gade, a voice that carried the chill of the frozen north echoed across the minds of all.

"Let's see how confident you are against me, Death Machine."

[Ultimarr]

Soulscape, Peres

Seln looked into the mist that covered the ground of his study, peering into the battles around Gadian space, and USF space in general. For a moment he was worried that all his work was coming to a waste, but grinned with delight after thinking it through, and sent a message to Oblivion, The Swarm, The Masked One, and Lumos; "I presume you all know what is happening around the universe, and if you don't...

I realize that many of you may not think of me in a favorable light, I send this out in hope that you will forgive our past battles, and look on to the present. The Conclave is destroying itself, and while the dominion of storms is fighting as an (ironically) unified force, brother and sister turn against each other in the realm of gods, when Nova's wild quest for scientific knowledge clashes with Kaal'ex's evil schemes. I see you as allies, at least in viewpoint, so I warn you that the god known as Gioco has pulled his tricks, and has stolen my magics of animating the dead. If you see any undead soldiers, notify me and I shall send dark elven ships to intercept. The coming battles will be hard on all our peoples, so I wish all of you a good luck, and play fair."

Seln stood up, glancing at his table in thought for a moment, and grabbed a bag, packed full of diamond dust. But this wasn't any old diamond dust, this was the remnants of Ringen's champion, ground fine and stored. As an idea caught his mind, he pulled it out of the bag, and formed it carefully into a long rune-covered scepter, super-compressing it until it was his size, made of pure diamond, and slid it into a sheath before clipping it on his belt. He called upon Ereptor then, who appeared instantly, and looked it over, pleased with its fearsome nature. He molded his mind with it's, and made it phase into the material plane.

Peres

Ereptor appeared on the very top of the Great Cathedral, claws at the ready. Below it, legions of boneborn stretched as far as the eye could see, all looking up and waiting, thinking about what was to come. Inside Ereptor, Seln grinned, and as Ereptor raised it's fist into the air, he forced one word out of its usually wordless mouth; "WAR!"
Below, countless cheers rang out, most more edging on roar, and they started running into the Cathedral, teleporting up into necropolis classes. Now it was just a slightly faster way to get into the ships, but soon it would be a way to instantly reinforce or retreat from any ship.

Far above, in the void, the entire fleet of the Onslaught assembled, fanned out and guns ready. As the cheers rung out from below, the fleets engines charged up, and they all fired at the same time, launching the massive force careening into the soulscape, heading straight for Gade.

Message to Hrothlar
"It seems like you need a friend, and I happen to have some fleets at the ready. Do you wish me to send them?"

2 acts: Create the Bringer of Decay, and weapon that provides +2 to Dark Manipulation.

[Imperial Psycho]

Centre of Os
The Masked One dismissed Selns chatter. These gods were obsessed with the war of mortals. Could they not see how irrelevant it was? The winner of the war of the gods would decide things, not the winner of the war of mortals.

The Masked One began preparing. Even for a god, he was a cautious type. He cast what protective enchantments he knew. He took down the enchantments he put in the Essence Store. He would need every drop of energy he could get. Only the Great Mirage did not fall. He was ready. But now was not the time. He took a seat, and watched as the events unfolded.

Changer Colonies
As the Changer Carriers portalled back, they began to unload the weapon caches they found. Some were caught in the furious battle in the skies, but most got through safely. As the weapons were unloaded, they began to be dished out to the rear ranks. And as these ranks were rotated forward, the powerful weapons began to come into play. They ripped through the Hound lines like a knife through butter. A few of these weapons were sent home, to Os, to be examined by the Mages. The Changers were never ones to give up free technology...

[razovor]

Swarm

The Swarm arrived at the meeting point, and spotted Oblivion

"Excellant. We will call Lumos."

The Swarm sent a message to Lumos

"Lumos. We need to talk. Meet us at the centre of the galaxy"

Eidolon

"A library? That does sound useful, i'll go there.

Eidolon fired up his engines, and prepared for the portal jump. As his hand hovered over the last button, a message popped up on screen.

Warning: Code 7

Aeth was under attack. It was a choice between crucial knowledge, and some mortals on a backwater planet. Last decade it wouldn't have been a question, but now...

Eidolon turned the ship, and warped to Aeth...

Nano-technology drop-off point

A single transport ship teleported into view. One of the only manned vessels in the Collective Empire. The revenant on-board careened the ship to it's destination, and picked up the package. With the nano-bots safely on board, it teleported back to the Sphere.

[daelrog]

Somewhere just outside the Primogenitor Galaxy, within the dark vastness of space between galaxies...

Icarael's shell slowly formed back up, first flesh resembling that of many, and feathers like that of birds. Then his armor formed back, the golden god once again the visage he normally appeared as. In front of him stood another angelic figure, save that she was not one of his creation. Who she was, and what her purpose was with him he did not know. All that was certain is that the quest that had driven him since his birth was over, and something else was about to begin.

"Who are you?"

The one who had been a part of Kaal'ex sighed, and looked to where the gods were, in the collection of stars in the great distance.

"In my time, I was known as Alanthia."

"Alanthia? That is what I named my city..."

"Yes, you named it after me. Still, it would simply not do to have my name, and the city the same. Therefore you may name me, boy."

"Boy? I am a god and-"

"And what of it? I was a goddess in my time, during the last universe. That is, before Vamor decided otherwsie for us all."

"Vamor? What are you talking about?"

Alanthia sighed once again, a mournful sound. "It is a long tale, and I feel our time is limited."

"Tell me now, please... Al."

"All right."

And then she began to tell her tale.

[BladeofOblivion]

At Seln's information, Oblivion grinned:

Worry not, Master of Decay. I shall spare you the work. If I see Undead creatures around, I will destroy them myself.

Closing that channel, Oblivion returned his attention to the Swarm.

Right then. I have 47 emergency countermeasures in place, to stop the tide of Conclave troops. Unfortunately, not all of these maintain my current position safely within. We need to even the factions again, or the Conclave will crush the Council easily.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos also arrives at the meeting point. He spins his scythe idily and grins wickedly. " Well, looks like the Conclave is winning right now. By a lot. And then some. "

[razovor]

Swarm
The Swarm notices Lumos approach, glad to see him in his moon form.

"Indeed. It has never been more dire for the council. But at the same time, we have never had a better opportunity to strike. In all of history never has such a large portion of the Dominion of Storms been occupied in battle.

We could throw our lots in with the council. Join them in this petty shooting match, and probably fail alongside them. Or... We destroy Maxim."

[apocalypsePast2]

" Hmmm. I like it! Initiative! At the very lest an attack could draw attention from Gade. But first..." He smiles mischeiviously. "... we will have to come up with a name for our group."

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion somehow manages to both smile and frown at this course of action.

Indeed we could. In fact, the hidden Negation Bomb Launchers on Station Maxim would easily capitulate the Raposa. However, unless there is no other option, I would prefer something less overt.

[razovor]

"Very well then. We plant a natural explosive core in one of the planets Kaal'ex is stealing, and detonate it when it reaches the Dreamscape."

[BladeofOblivion]

That is a good plan, but we need something that will make a difference. Hmmm. Perhaps we can make a raid on the fleets. The Masked One taught the Collective illusion magic, so I think it could be done. Alternately, you could try sending the council races a shipment of those Photon Cannons. There are enough in circulation where Kaal'ex could not tell the difference.

Of course, if worse comes to worst, we could always outright backstab the Conclave. My force could bring Maxim to it's knees quickly. But then we have the problem of Kaal'ex. Hmmm.

[apocalypsePast2]

" Well, we have enough collective power this, how about we teleport Gade to a distant corner of the universe, put a lookalike in its place, and then destroy the lookalike in a big enough explosion to cripple the entire fleet? "

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion smiled at Lumos' suggestion.

Funny that you mention that. I already did that to Os, the home of the Masked One when Kaal'ex noticed it hovering in the Progenitor System. Unfortunately, It might be a hard sell the second time around.

[razovor]

To Lumos
"Actually, the council already teleported Gade away once. The Dominion found it again. An explosion might work, but the Conclave won't appreciate us blowing up Gade. Kaal'ex probably has plans for it"

To Oblivion
"Kaal'ex is not a problem. He looks intimidating because he has won every battle he has fought. But the truth is he's only slightly better than us. Three against one, we'll have no trouble.

As to the raid, it might work. None of the conclave practice magic. But even if they can't see the raid forces, they're going to wonder where it came from. The Council doesn't have the strength to field an army our size. "

[Imperial Psycho]

The Centre of Os
A thought occurs to the Masked One. Kaal'ex is an expert of breaking mental barriers. As was the Masked One. However, the Masked One could not risk his own mind being penetrated. Wielding the powers of creation, he shielded his mind from invasion.

The time was nearing where this preparation would be over, and the Masked One would act. Not yet though. No....he was not ready. He could not risk it...Too many things could go wrong.
1 Act: Protect The Masked Ones mind from mental attacks. Mind reading in particular.

[BladeofOblivion]

You have a point, Swarm. We could certainly defeat Kaal'ex if he was alone. The problem would be if he was to call upon Nova and Moarzed. He might call upon Seln as well, but I suspect that if Seln was given the opportunity to destroy Kaal'ex, he would. Kaal'ex's Basilica is busy on Gade, however. We might have a slight advantage there. In fact, Nova and Moarzed are the only gods loyal to the Conclave. The most important problem in this circumstance is that even if we defeat Kaal'ex and the Conclave, we will start to suffer the opposite problem: We would be unable to stand against the council. Hmmm.

[apocalypsePast2]

" My forces will be ready soon, but not until after the battle. I can offer little help in the respect of mortal soldiers. Hmmm, what if we set the sun to supernova and reinforced Gade so it would survive? Surely we could do that without the Conclave knowing we did it.
As for our grand final goals, we should simply try to weaken both sides without their knowing it, until either we are strong enough to beat both of them, or one side wins that we are "allied" with."

[razovor]

"Speaking of which, we need to get someone in the council again. Lumos?"

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion sighed.

Backstabbing the Conclave is looking like a better Idea with every sentence. Still, it is too risky without at least three factions. I'm not counting Lumos here for the moment because his forces are not yet ready. If it wasn't yet more risky, I would ask Seln for help.


Oblivion's eyes suddenly glowed a very bright shade of red.


Of course! The Masked One is not our ally, but we can rely on him to oppose Kaal'ex. If he and any other council gods were convinced to also attack Maxim or Kaal'ex, then our victory would be practically assured.

[apocalypsePast2]

I will speak to Hrothlar. Hopefully, he will not detect me. Luckily, I have been able to suppress Sun for quite a while. Almost unnaturally long. When he returns, we may have some problems. Until then, I will try to infiltrate. Anything else we need to finalize?"

[razovor]

"Hrothlar? That one has a habit of not influencing his mortals directly. Perhaps Icareal, or Dezisorn would be better choice.

If we do require the elves or humans, we can seize control of their commanders.

[BladeofOblivion]

Lumos again. You are up to this, right?

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos grins and spins the scythe like a rotary saw. " I was apotheosized ready. Should I suggest it to the Masked One and Seln as well or just Hrothlar? And what about Gioco?

[razovor]

"Gioco is probably actually our best shot. The God of military will understand the benefits of this strategy more than anyone."

[apocalypsePast2]

" Or I could visit all of them!" Lumos' form waver in reality for a moment, then seems to elongate sideways, then becomes several serparate copies of him. They all grin identically. " Is that better?" Lumos' weird multi-person voice rings out.

[BladeofOblivion]

I would personally avoid giving any data to Seln. And whatever you do, don't tell Hrothlar I'm involved. It's a dealbreaker.

[razovor]

"That is .... certainly more productive.

Oh, and Oblivion?"

The Swarm glowed for a moment, and a small container appeared beside them.

"Our Revenants have finished work on your new energy weapons. Here are the schematics."

[apocalypsePast2]

" I see. "
All but one of the copies vanishes.
" Anything else?" says Lumos

Near Os

Lumos appears quite near to Os, although his unsure as to where exactly it is. He cries out, " Masked One, I have a proposition for the war."

Void

Lumos pops into the void and sends Seln a message. " Why hello there, fellow double agent. It seems that the time has come for us to deal our aces. Some of us are planning an attack on Maxim, while the Conclave is distracted. If any assistance can be offered to Gade or the attack, we'd welcome it."

Gioco

Another mirror image appears by Gioco as he commands his fleets skillfully against the invasion force. Lumos approaches him quickly, hoping he could command a battle and talk simultaneously. He speaks quickly. " God of tactics, while you and Seln hold your own here, we are planning a... distraction. An attack on Maxim. If your military genius can see the worth of this plan while they are committed to the attack... would you lend us some troops and your tactical overview?"

[Imperial Psycho]

Near Os...ish
Almost as soon as Lumos speaks, the Masked One teleports next to him. "What? You? How did you find this place? What do you want? Which war? Mortals or Gods? "

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos is surprised by the Masked One's sudden barrage of questions.

" Well, I just kinds picked a random spot and shouted. Figured you'd find me. As for the wars, aren't they the same? Gods and mortals are on the same sides, endless fighting. I'm proposing we... tip the scales a bit. Hit the Conclave where it hurts while their busy. We're attacking Maxim while the fleets are away. But... you have something in particular against Kaal'ex, don't you? His fleets are gone, his Basilica's out. If you really wanted to ruin his day, I suppose we could stage an attack on him too. Your call. You in?"

[Imperial Psycho]

Near Os
The Masked One appears distracted, irritable.
"No. The Wars are separate. The Gods can succeed where the mortals do not, vice versa. The one of the gods is the only one of true consequence. As for Kaal'ex. I don't know. Maybe. Would I have support of other gods?"

[apocalypsePast2]

Near Os?

Absolutely. I will come while the others attack Maxim, for I have no mortal forces. At this time, I am also rallying the rest of the council, although they are slow to respond, and Hrothlar seems to be hibernating. Troubling."

[Imperial Psycho]

Near Os
The Masked One begins to think. The question is, how much do I trust this Lumos. Not at all. But what possible motivations are there for this? Could be an ambush, but I think I would not be the Conclaves first target. Do I really want to risk everything on this? Undoubtedly. Wait. HE is rallying the council? Now? Odd. Hmm. The Masked One ran his finger across his knife. No Choice. "Very well. You will excuse me if I wait for the assistance of more gods than just you?"

[apocalypsePast2]

Os?

Lumos sighs angrily. " That'll take a while. Gioco is tied up with Gade's defense although she may be able to spare some support for Maxim. I'm trying to locate Icareal and Desizorn, but I'm having a bit of trouble. Hrothlar isn't responding and he'll probably focus on protecting Gade even then. He may send Draco, but lets not count on it. And I want to make damn sure that when I betray the Conclave I have enough support so that they can't strike back. That means hitting Maxim and the Dreamscape. We just really need one more god.

Hrothlar

Lumos appears with a pop next to the wizard god.

Void
Lumos appears in space and calls out, " Icareal, Desizorn, are you there? The Council calls for aid!"

[Imperial Psycho]

"Betray the Conclave? So you are working for them. Part of Oblivions third side? Maybe a free agent, like Seln? Maybe just a pawn of Kaal'ex. Either way, forgive me if I do not trust you with my back."

[apocalypsePast2]

" Well understood. That doesn't make it any less inconvenient. "

[Imperial Psycho]

Os?
"There seems little need to rush. The Battle will no doubt rage for hours yet."

[razovor]

Swarm

"Numbers are good, but they're are still measures we can take to improve quality."

The Swarm concentrated all it's energies inwards, warping it around it's orbs. The orbs began to glow with a faint light. And as the orbs glowed, their colour changed, fading from white, to black.

"That is better"

Two acts spent: +1 to Energy Manipulation, +1 to glory

[Iethloc]

At first, the losses suffered by the Thoracsis were demoralizing them. Why should they sacrifice so many of their ships and their crew for some unknowable alien race? But, perhaps ironically, the horrific attacks of the Basilica renewed their determination. This thing was a threat to everyone, everywhere – including themselves. They could not let such a thing live.

”Initiate a stellar strike on the following coordinates, facing away from the alien planet. Draw upon the star in this system – I don't think a red dwarf will be enough,” Hegemon Moreton ordered. The coordinates were, of course, directly in front of the Basilica of Flesh. The Worm Heralds immediately began their work. But a stellar strike (which already took time to prepare) in unfamiliar space-time would take even longer.


Being so comparatively small, the Tarantula Battleships were incredibly maneuverable. After the initial assault, they quickly moved out of the range of the Void Reavers' grasp. And now they began deploying their fighters, two dozen each. This more than doubled the number of nuclear shaped charge missiles being fired, but the fighters themselves were vulnerable to such overwhelming opposition.



Meanwhile, Dezisorn kept orchestrating his defense force from behind the scenes. Fortunately, Ether-Gade had not come under attack (because they don't dream, he suspected), but nevertheless he had the other twelve Netherwardens stay in orbit to defend it. He nearly cringed when he heard another God ask for his presence. And at such a crucial time!

He drew another Netherwarden from Ether-Gade and put it in his place. It should do for coordinating his forces for a time. Dezisorn himself focused on the sound of Lumos' voice, and teleported to it.

”You have caught me at an inopportune time, strange God. Tell me what you need quickly, please,” he said, keeping his temper under control to maintain his usual civil tone.

[BladeofOblivion]

You are correct that we should fortify ourselves along with our armies. I already have my Steel and Plate, but there is one more edge I can gain. HORSEMEN!

Once again, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse came forth, and stood before their master.

"I grant you all a powerful gift: One which will make you able to fight like true demigods. I grant you a state of divinity."


The Four Horsemen are a group, but they fight as one. Since I already spent an act on them when I created them, this puts the group entity up to 5d6.

1 ACT: Empower the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

[HalfTangible]

Deathwing

All frost wyrms came from the same source. The same 'mother.' From the smallest wyrmling to the great destroyers, they were all born of the same mother. And so when her call came to defend the planet from attack, all listened. They came as quickly as possible, fending off the fleshy and metallic beasts that fought for the conclave. And they were barely holding out.

Until now, she had simply been called The Broodmother. Her eyes had remained shut, and yet she was always, ALWAYS awake, never resting, never dreaming, only living and breathing. But now, the order came.

A foe only SHE could destroy had come. And as she realized the order was not a fabrication, her eyes opened in a blaze of icy blue. From her place in the planet's icecap, her claws burst from the snow and ice that gathered around her over the last fifty years of being on Gade. She looked to the sky, and saw a massive fleshy beast about twice her size as it harvested (there was no other word for it) the living of the planet.

And as she realized that harm was befalling her allies, she schreeched her savage warcry to the sky. Her massive wings spread, and she flapped once. A sudden wind knocked around many of the ships in the sky above Gade, even crippling some as she roared, charging for the basilica of flesh.

Deathwing had risen.

A stream of air at a temperature of .0002 Kelvin and the width of a city flew from her mouth, slamming into the side of the fleshy moon thing. Everythng the breath touched instantly froze, and the force shattered some of the ice before the basilica had time to even register the part had frozen Enough to kill it? No, of course not, it was too large for that. But enough to hurt it.

It would DEFINITELY be hurt.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos responds the Desizorn, " I apologize for the interruption, but we aren't doing enough. If your fleets can fight without you, we need you aid. While the Conclave is distracted, we're mounting an assault upon Maxim and the Dreamscape, hoping to bring down the divine aspect of this attack. We're " hunting the head" so to speak. I already have some in place to attack Maxim, but I need just one more to hit the Dreamscape. Are you in?"

[BladeofOblivion]

A Meeting

Oblivion calmly told the Swarm:

When the attack is ready, do not start until I send the Extermination order. Chronos City, the Raposa Capital, will go directly under Station Maxim in 30 minutes. When that happens, Station Maxim will initiate Surprise Protocol. You will know it when you see it. Until then, I recommend keeping a perimeter around Maxim with your Drone hordes. I have already sent the mobilization orders to my fleets. Half of my fleets of ships will, within 15 seconds of the attack order, appear within the Exosphere of Maxim, and Immediately commence Invasive Protocol. If Nova or Moarzed Retaliates, our job is to remove them from play. Of course, your own war engine is yours to use, but that is my plan for this battle. I assume you have a similar strategy?

Glory of Inquiry

Bronzearm heard his order. And he hated it.

"I seem to be missing my notes on weapon details. Allow me to run and retrieve them. Just wait here a moment."

Bronzearm disembarked from the Aethership, noticing that the Docking Clamps were firmly in place and that there was a Worldeater parked behind it. Exactly as Planned...

[daelrog]

"Before I say any more, and before any of this can make sense, know that there is one defining principle. Nothing ever truly disappears. Molecules, elements, energy, even souls never truly go away. Even antimatter exists. When this universe was born, the result of the most powerful god of the last universe, one known as Vamor, collapsed the last universe upon itself, all became one again, but everything still existed, only in a different form. You are created from the divinity of the past, albeit pulling from different deities, only in a different form. The mortals, the planes, even the gods are formed from that which existed before, only in a new form.

"However, substance is added by our actions, our thoughts, our emotions. Your hope has added something wonderful that now exists where itdid not before. Similarly, Kaal'ex's desire to rule all has done the same.

"In the past universe I was Alanthia, goddess of Time, Reason, and Joy. In my time, they were pretty much the same thing. Regardless, when everything collapsed I was sitting with the heart of the greatest of my temples. It was not enough to keep my entire being from becoming that which you call the Solar Furnace, but I did retain my individual mind, at least most of it. Things were that way for some time as the new gods like horthlar, Nova, Moarzed, and many who have been now lost. The univesre began to rebuild itself, until Kaal'ex sprung forth, forcibly tearing himself for the Solar Furnace. That thing contains an astonishingly amount of cruelty, madness, and some things I would prefer not to name. Vamor, in a rare moment of clarity nudged what was left of me to join with Kaal'ex

"At first I did nothing, there was little I could do. Besides, back in my time anything that even closely resembled Kaal'ex was dealt with swiftly and immediately. At our apex, we have 2,123 gods, and many times that of demigods. However, this universe is not as crowded, and Kaal'ex and his allies were victorious. In fear, Vamor opened up the Solar Forge with what strength he had, and in that moment I acted, calling you, one who might be able to fight against the mad god. I led you across the stars and to the very heart of what you consider evil to find me, and here you are, returned from pandamonium. Now waht will you do?"

"I will do what I must, what my very being urges me to do."

"And what is that young one?"

"Restore balance to the galaxy, before the shaodw overcomes all, and before the battle of divine wills destroys all once again."

[Iethloc]

"Do not worry, I have...lieutenants who can manage my forces in my stead. I will attack the Dreamscape personally. I also have ground forces I can spare for other attacks," he responded. In a rare moment of facial expressions, he raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"But that's assuming I can trust you. I don't think we've met before, have we? I'm afraid I can't be sure you aren't an ally of Kaal'ex trying to lure me into his own domain."

[apocalypsePast2]

" Well the Masked One is coming too, so if so, it'll be a fair fight anyway." Lumos shrugs. " But I digress, let us go to the Masked One, and commence our attack."

-pop-

Lumos appears next to the Masked One. " Desizorn will be joining us shortly." He spins his scythe boredly until it begins to travel faster than light itself, cutting through the aether like a block of cheese and eventually going relativistic and all this weird stuff.

[Iethloc]

"Ah, the Masked One. That does not make you any more trustworthy in my eye," he commented. Dezisorn followed Lumos cautiously (as cautious as a teleport could be).

"But the opportunity to attack the Dreamscape is worth the risk. Will there be anyone else joining us?" he finished.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos pauses slightly, then resumes spinning. " Nope. But still, three on one is pretty good. The rest are either defending Gade, or preparing to attack Maxim. And most of the Independents are now turning against the Conclave temporarily. It'll be a fun day. Well, we're all here. You guys ready?"

[Toxin605]

Panic felt tired. He had no real allies. He did not have time to gain trust. This universe was at its close. All that was shall end. As soon as the Overgod died... the rest would follow.
He teleported to a place near the Solar Forge. Once there he sculpted a masterpiece. A great castle of reds and blues and every color imaginable. He stood back and marveled at his creation.
"Gods! I call all of you! We must speak! I invite you to my creation! That includes you too Vamor!"Panic yelled, and the message sped into the mind of all gods, regardless of dimension.

1 ACT: Create the (I havent given it a name yet... yeah)

[Raz_Fox]

Chronos City

This messenger - obviously supernatural - was allowed inside to speak with Raposan diplomats, and treated much better than the previous diplomats, given leave to say whatever he wished.

(Read: you needed a response, Creed, and I'm tired, so- here you go.)


Gade

The war raged over Gade's sky. A million Servitors died before they even entered the atmosphere, driven back by the genius mind of Gioco. But, as the Ajalis philosopher Arkyon had once said, what really matters is style and as much force as you can bring to bear on a single point, and in a pinch style can be disposed of.

The Shell was that single point, descending into Gade's atmosphere, vomiting up wave after wave of deadly Servitor ships. They cared not for life, nor for victory, merely the extermination of every living thing on Gade, and by the Goddess they would have it.

The Aetherships swung in to support the Basilica, their Yatanic Cannons firing, raking huge gouts in the enemy formations and striking fear into the hearts of those who stood before them. Torpedoes were fired, and the might of Maxim was brought to bear on a single point. Enemy ammunition slid off the mighty hulls like water striking a skyscraper, as they unloaded salvo after salvo into the enemy.

And within The Shell, The Elegant Nova laughed as she heard the god speak to her. What naivety. Did they honestly believe that she would be dissuaded this time? No, Hrothlar - you had to push her to this! If you had just ignored the loss of your pathetic little humans, a paltry number of weak and elderly specimens, this never would have happened! We could have lived in harmony until such a time as galactic unification became a necessity, but you chose the path of ruin by ignoring the vast powers of creation available to you and attempting to destroy The Elegant Nova Of Innovation! You had to make her your enemy! And now Hrothlar would pay, him and every single mortal who praised his useless name.

[Creed]

(Much obliged by your response.)
Chronos City
Anubis walked inside the confines of the mechanized wonder that was the capital of the Dominion of Storms, home of the Fabled Time Lords. He did not marvel, but was reassured by the technological dominance they asserted.
Upon being brought to the diplomats, said in opening:
Kumtraya, saldia. I am Anubis, Servant of Hatshepsut the Binder, Daughter of our Lord Narmer the Lost One. I come to speak to your leadership on the matter of opening diplomatic relations between the Shades of the Land Beyond and the so-called "Time Lords" my masters have heard so much about.

[BladeofOblivion]

3 ACTS: Advance the heck out of those Antigolems.


Aetherstation Dias

This was a risky move Oblivion was making, to be sure. If it failed, the Swarm could find refuge with the Council. The same would be true for Lumos. But Oblivion would have no such hiding place. He would be the only one truly forced to take the consequences of his actions. And so he prepared more than Adequately.

Oblivion accepted the designs the Swarm had given for an energy-based weapon. It seemed to be an upscaled photon cannon. It was but one of the designs that Oblivion was to use, but the power assembly was designed in such a way as for it to be easily modified to fit any design. The blueprints were given to several of the Top Researchers of the Antigolems, and, thanks to the cleverly adaptable design of the Swarm, was redesigned into one gun that could use many different attachments, producing different effects. Perfect. Oblivion ordered 89 million units to be completed and distributed before the strike took place.

As Oblivion walked through the various Research and Development laboratories located throughout the now sprawling Antigolem Empire, he saw several finished designs, now ready for production on his orders.
One of the more promising was the Reaver-Class Carrier. A military replacement for the very light Engulfer-class Cargo Ship, the Reaver-class was an amazingly terrifying ship. It was armed with new and interesting weaponry, and one prototype was even modified to make use out of the new Energy weapon design. On top of this incredible firepower, it carried easily hundreds of fighters.
Complementing the Reaver-class Carrier were two designs. One was the Exterminator-class Interceptor. The Exterminator was driven by one Antigolem, and was armed with two small negation cannons. The other, the Starburst-class Fighter, was a complex design. An unmanned frigate programmed to crash into other targets. Of course, the design was Antimatter with a thin veneer of ethereal polish.
Most impressive of all, however, was the thing Oblivion had built himself. The Oblivion-Class Dreadnaught was effectively the new trump card of the Antigolem Fleets. And Oblivion had ordered no less than five to spearhead the assault.
On the ground, a few new designs were being tested as well. The Omega-class Powered Armor was a success, and was already being distributed to any and all Primarchs who chose to join the Horde. These very few tended to be bloodthirsty at best, and already used some of the most dangerous weaponry in the Galaxy. The Omega-class armor used billions upon billions of monomolecular layers of adamantine sheets, ensuring the relative safety of the Primarch inside. These Antigolems were the Nightmare-Class Assault Units.


New Additions to the Antigolem Armory:

The Harbinger-Class adaptable energy weapon:

This weapon, modified from a design shared by the Swarm, is a technological wonder. It consists of a base weapon, which, while useless on it's own for anything other than a portable Generator, is designed to be upgraded using one of three attachments.

Plasma Torus Attachment:

This attachment uses a fan to take local air and expose it to enough energy to ionize and superheat it. A powerful electromagnet pushes the ring-shaped charge out of the weapon at high speed. Due to the forces involved, the torus collapses into a conic shape rather than dissipating, and the projectile is hot enough to melt holes through Tungsten at close range.


The Particle Beam attachment:

It's a particle beam. Check wikipedia.


The Pulsed Laser Attachment.

IT IS A LASER.



The Omega-class Powered Suit

This suit of Powered Armor is unbelievably tough. It is constructed from billions of Adamantine Plates, much like a metal version of modern Kevlar. Thus, the suit can easily stop bullets, can take thousands of pounds of crushing force, and can survive blows that would disintegrate solid steel. The suit also manages to significantly increase the strength of the user, making weapons like the Obliviator-class Heavy Greatsword reasonably usable.


New Ships for the Antigolem Armada:

The Reaver-class Supercarrier

This ship appears much like the Archetypal 'Flying Saucer', but there is more here than meets the eye. It literally contains hundreds of swarm pods, plenty of all three types. It is heavily armed, sporting both photon weapons and Negation Cannons. It carries hundreds of fighters and bombers (see below). It even contains a nanoforge for building more strikecraft in the field, as long as it has a supply of ethereal matter and Antimatter. It is generally something that nobody wants to fight.


The Exterminator-class Interceptor
This is one of two types of Strikecraft that the Antigolems make use of. This one is designed to be usable both in-atmosphere and in deep space, as well as anywhere in between. This Interceptor was also carefully designed to remove opposing fighters before they becamae a threat. As it turned out, a scaled-down, low projectile mass design allowed the projectiles to gain momentum faster, allowing them to be used effectively against fast-moving enemy ships.

The Starburst-class Bomber
This bomber was a kamikaze unit, designed to find larger enemy ships and crash into weak-looking points on the hull. It was unmanned, and piloted by a CPU and an IFF transponder.

The Oblivion-Class Dreadnaught

Designed by Oblivion himself, the Oblivion-class Dreadnaught is not in any way named in a narcisistic manner. It is called what it is called because of it's sheer power. Using banks of designs much like the Swarm's Energy weapons, the ship gains enough power to use all of it's various weaponry and functionality. It is about 10 kilometers long, and 5 wide. It is only half a kilometer high, however, making it roughly equal in size to a Raposa Aethership. It is bristling with Negation Cannons, carries no less than six Negation Bomb Launchers, carries Energy Weapons for close-ranged engagements, and even has Worldeater Functionality.

[Imperial Psycho]

Os?
"Ah. Dezisorn. Here to join the fun?" Dezisorn...not the most trustworthy of the council. Probably not a traitor though. Would have preferred Icarael or Hrothlar. Then again, they would be easily fooled. This one looks more suspicious. Certainly doesn't seem to trust me. Good. I wouldn't. "Shall we go then?"

The Masked One heard Panics message. Or was it Nihilus? And dismissed it. He had better things to do than court that thing, regardless of it's alignment in this war.

On Os
The Assassin spoke again. It told the Changers new leader, Caedus, of the planned attack on Maxim. The Changer carriers were ready. They were fully committed in the skies, but on the ground, they had forces to spare, and as soon as they had confirmation on Maxim from their spies in the Raposa, they would move to assist.

[razovor]

Swarm

"We have some ground troops of our own to deploy, but most of our force is still drones. We'll deploy half in the air, to take out whatever ships were left behind. The rest can assist in the ground assault."

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos sends a message to the Swarm and Oblivion. " Change of plans, I convinced the Masked One to help, but only directly against Kaal'ex. I'm still trying to gather support for the Maxim attack, but I have two other gods ready to hit the Dreamscape with me when ready. Kaal'ex can be counted as out of the game, at least for now."

[razovor]

Swarm

"More Gods would be good, but that should be enough. We can handle Nova, and maybe even Moarzed, if he shows."

[BladeofOblivion]

I thought that the Masked One, of all gods, would be quite interested in kicking Moarzed repeatedly. Oh well. I'm marshalling my forces to meet the Raposa head-on.

Apply Directly to the Forehead!

[daelrog]

"So you intend to protect Gade, once again?"

"Honestly, I do wonder whether or not the planet is worth it sometimes. Then again, it's not the planet that matters but the life on it. Still, protecting them is not my aim this time. I made the mistake once of fighting the Raposa fleet, only to be too weakened to challenge a god thereafter."

"What do you intend to do then?"

"I told Nova that I would be Hrothlar's right hand should it become clear that she and her brother really did intend to conquer and destory anythign that was not theirs already, or something to that effect. I think it's time I lived up to my words, to the blue-haired devil personally." He turned and took in the one who had called upon him, who had led his life up to this point ,who was now setting him free. "Would you care to join?"

Al laughed. "No, I have no strength to lend you, only wisdom. I am afraid what power I have no longeris with me. I daresay even a demigod or a powerful mortal would be more than I could handle now. No, I will head to the city you so kindly named after me."

In another moment, Icarael was gone, travelling for Gade as fast as he could. It would still take some time to reach Gade, but he would be there soon enough.

[Imperial Psycho]

Os?
"No more dithering. We shall go to meet the Madgod"
The Masked One prepared himself. If he was successful, the Madgod would be defeated. It might not be permanent, but he would endeavour to make sure the vile thing went down for good. If it failed....The best he could hope for is death. He did not know if he could take another failure. The Masked One breathed out, slowly. And teleported.

The Dreamscape
"Madgod. I thought I would come to visit. I do hope you don't mind."

[Ultimarr]

Seln's Mind
Seln feels the outside mind intrude on his thoughts of battle plans, and quickly recognized it as Lumos, the new one in the Conclave.

"Fellow double agent? I suppose some could call me that, but it is not the title I perfer or deserve. An attack on Maxim you say? Interesting.."

Far, far away, the fleets of the onslaught dropped out of the soulscape, stopping above the closest planet to Gade that the onslaught had started harvesting, guns at the ready and waiting for further orders. A single ship didn't stop though; A heavily shielded and fast ship with very minimal weapons, it was built to see what was happening. It neared Gade at high speeds, ready to broadcast.

"Well, I suppose I should help. My legions are indisposed and the dark elves are still massing and getting ready, but lets just say I have.. forces on the ground. They will be of minimal help with any space battles, but I am sure they will find a way to help with ground assaults on the Raposa. My self, I think I will wait for the best time to strike."


Maxim, Palace of High Catfolk General Retarch
The general paced the floor in worry, thinking and twirling a small coin in his hand. Off to the side, a hooded figure sat in a chair calmly watching him, looking him over, waiting.
The general glanced at the other man, and broke the silence first, in the voice of a hard military man corrupted by pleasure.
"Are you absolutely sure this will work? I won't have any good catfolk die in a foolhardy swarm."
The other man replied evenly, in an almost friendly tone, "It will be fine, glorious even, general. Moarzed abandoned us years ago, the once great catfolk people have fallen into dissaray and are ruled by fear, as you well know, and the Raposa are stepping on us more than ever. Now is time to act my friend, and without the help of your soldiers, the revelution will fail. We only have one shot at this."
The general kept pacing after that, thinking for a long moment before replying. "My catfolk soldiers are yours to command, although I will not use them to assault the palace unless you have proof that the king is a traitor. Until then, my soldiers are only meant for the Raposa."
The hooded figure got up, presumably smiling, although it was hard to tell with the hood, and spoke with and outstreched gloved hand. "I am very glad to hear this, my friend. Try to convince any other generals you know to help, without giving it away that you are starting a rebelion. Hints and whispers, my friend. I shall come to you again soon, when it is the time to strike, and until then rally your troops and get them ready."


Creed, who is the ruler of the catfolk? Also, I want to say that most of the things the vampire is saying is a lie, while based in small truths, and is for manipulating the general into believing a rebelion is needed. If I get anything wrong about catfolk society, just shout.


Panic's Palace
Seln shot through space, stopping in front of the large multicolored doors. He looked around, knocked on the door, and calmly waited. He highly expected no one else to come, but at the least he could make an ally or two here.

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion

Lumos, I do not wish to impose, but my forces are getting more bloodthirsty by the second. Do you know who I can safely confirm as friendlies? Is the attack on Kaal'ex starting? I need him out of the picture as soon as possible.

To the Swarm:

Are your forces in position?

[razovor]

Swarm

"We're ready"

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos sends a universal message to all confirmed allies: " We are active. All strike teams, go!" And he teleports into his throne inside the Conclave's pyramid inside the Dreamscape. He appears sitting on the silver and gold throne he'd already made there, and waits for Desizorn, chuckling slightly at the Masked One's call.

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion

Excellent. Initiate Surprise Protocol. Swarm, go ahead and uncloak your units for the attack in fifteen seconds. Priority is Chronos City, but start by destroying unprotected communications and infrastructure. Leave the Catfolk Villages alone unless they attack.

Station Maxim

Bronzearm pressed a few buttons on his datapad. Out of nowhere, and before anyone even realized what was happening, trillions of disassembler nanites swarmed over the Glory of Inquiry, both from hidden nanoinjectors in the docking clamps and the Worldeater docked behind it. Within one second, both the bridge and engines were depressurized and useless. By the time the Aethership could have readied it's weapons, most of the ship was gone. Bronzearm ordered Operation Nine Lights, and used the nearest rending array to return to Antigade.
Operation Nine Lights was a secret known only to Bronzearm and the station's technician. Hundreds of panels opened on the Station, and through most of them, Negation Cannons extended, ready to unmake any nearby Aetherships. However, Station Maxim was now in orbit directly above Chronos City, just as Oblivion had Planned. Nine large panels on the underside of the station opened, revealing nine Negation Bomb Launchers. Already primed to fire, nine Negation Bombs, those perfect spheres of certain destruction, descended toward Chronos City at relativistic speeds.

Over Maxim

At the same time, the Antigolem invasion fleet gated in at several different points, consisting of five Oblivion-class Dreadnaughts, Fifteen Reaver-Class Carriers, three thousand Equalizer-class Cruisers, and a supporting fleet of Engulfer-Class cargo ships.

The End had Truly Begun.

[Imperial Psycho]

Os
On Os, the First Watcher Army gathered. A reserve force, they had never seen much true action as a full unit, only as scattered detachments. The last time they had fought as one was...Maxim. Different people, of course, but same unit. They had confirmation. Maxim was under attack. Time to join in the fun. Almost as one, the Changer and Watcher pilots flicked a switch....and portalled.

Over Maxim

The Changer carriers ported in, with some fighter support. After sending a quick message to the attacking fleets, assuring them they were friendlies, the Carriers began to descend. Commander Gnaeus, of the First Army, considered his position. Almost all of the Changer fighters were occupied defending the colonies. The only air support they had was from the other fleet in the area. They'd need to drop their troops fast, and get the hell out.

[razovor]

Over Maxim

The Drones uncloaked. A full fifty command drones, with revenant commanders inside. Each supported by one-milion drones.

And at the upper atmosphere of the planet, an identical force teleported into play. With one thousand Heavy Assault Bots for ground support.

The command drones activated their shields, covering their support squad with a thin protective barrier. The drones opened fire, blanketing the sky in fire. And the Assault bots began their descent.

[TheDarkDM]

Gade

As Deathwing's breath ravaged the surface of the Basilica, the central mouth of the black moon roared in answer, gaping wide as it swiveled to face the great dragon. Spiked tendrils exploded from its maw as the damage portion of its flesh boiled and regenerated, twisting around the mammoth serpentine body. Try as she might, Deathwing could not escape the grip of the divine dreadnaught, and with every twist the barbs of the Basilica dug in deeper. Though she tried to release her devastating breath, her head was held away from the great orbs. With a rending crack, one of her massive wings was torn away in a shower of crystalline shards. As long-frozen blood began to escape into the void, Deathwing was drawn deeper and deeper into the Basilica's maw, until she was devoured entire, her mouth bound shut by dozens of trunk sized tendrils.

The Second Apotheosis
Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQ93NmXyRs)

As Dezisorn, Lumos, and the Masked One appeared in the throne room of the Black Pyramid, the statuesque figure of Kaal'ex faded into being, seated in his mammoth seat. Disconcertingly, a smile was on his face.

Ah, so the conspirators show their faces at last. I assume that Seln is involved in your little rebellion? No matter, all shall be resolved in time. Did you think us unprepared for this? Did you think Nova and I had squandered our centuries in this most divine place? No, little gods - you have played into our hands. Now witness, our ascension!

As Kaal'ex finished, light flared from his throne, green and crimson flames that curled around the tentacled mass of black stone. At the apex of the Pyramid on the material plane, a great ball of flaming plasma burst into existence. In an instant, beams of light burst from the ball, engulfing Station Maxim and the Oblivion-Class Dreadnaughts in blinding pillars of fire. When they faded, the station and the pride of Oblivion's fleet had vanished into dust, and the shockwave of their exploding molecules had scattered the once-orderly invasion. A second volley cut through Maxim's atmosphere, bisecting the Changer carriers and sending them crashing to the ground. The second volley cracked the shields of the Command Drones and left them naught but exploding stars in maxim's sky. But these were simply the offshoots of the Void Crystals massive reserve of energy, and the sphere of plasma kept building. Meanwhile, great arrays burst from the surface of Dias and Maxim and the abandoned Disk, turning upon gargantuan brass cogs towards the light of the Solar Forge.

Bringing his fist crashing down on the arm of his throne, Kaal'ex released the massed energy, sending a quartet of impossibly bright beams out. Three were far smaller than the other, and struck the great arrays, bouncing back towards the Solar Forge to from three points of a triangle. As the green flames struck the pure yellow of the Solar Forge, the entire universe darkened, and all the gods felt a piercing pain run through their very cores. Then the fourth beam struck the center of the triangle, more than four times larger than the other three. Suddenly, the ceiling of the Black Pyramid cleared, and the three assassins saw the green flames snake between each other, forming a massive arcane glyph upon the surface of the Solar Forge. Those in the Dreamscape felt a great wind rushing past them, and all the gods stared in horror as the flames of the Solar Forge were devoured by the great glyph. It seemed for a moment that darkness had fallen over the Progentior System, before the glyph burst in a nova of light and color. A bolt of purple incandescence streaked between the space between the Progenitor System and Gade, piercing the shell to strike Nova full in the chest.

Meanwhile, in the Progenitor System, a new star had burst into being. But unlike the Solar Forge, this star burned in shadow. As Oblivion, Seln, Panic, and the Swarm looked on, Kaal'ex's face burst from the center of the star, and as the looked the void around them reddened into crimson, and floating ethereal through space were the dreams of billions, surrounding the Progentior System in a galaxy of dark light.

Within the Black Pyramid, Kaal'ex reached out, and the three assassins felt their very essences held. As he stood, Kaal'ex's fiery wings burst into millions of thin writhing tendrils that curled all through the room, and a blazing emerald crown appeared around his head.

So, now you see the height of your folly. There is no more Solar Forge, no more creator star that we shall all return to. Nova and I have broken the cycle. No longer will we return again and again to be reforged in the flames of an absent creator. Now, the universe will endure, under the watch of Genius and Madness!

Kaal'ex clenched his fist, and the Masked One, Dezisorn, and Lumos were thrown into the opposite wall of the Black Pyramid, held in place by a force that grasped the very essence that had created them.

Acts Used:

4 Acts from Kaal'ex and 4 Acts from Nova to consume the Solar Forge, dividing its power between Nova and Kaal'ex and replacing the Solar Forge with a burning portal to the Dreamscape.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
"You think I did not prepare for you?" The Masked One released the last of the Essence of the Changers, using it to free himself for Kaal'ex's grasp. "I was not created by this Solar Forge. I was born. I will die. I intend to take you with me, Madgod." As Kaal'ex lunged to crush the god, he disappeared. An instant later, he was at the Madgod's side, driving his knife into the vile beings flank.

Above Maxim
The Changers weathered the fire from the Pyramid. Many carriers fell, wounded Watchers and Mages crawling from the wreckage. But many made their drops, and the Watchers rushed out of ships, forming a battle line. The Golems had mostly survived the attacks, their massive forms almost ignoring the high powered beams, though a few had been crushed to dust. The Golems formed the front line. The Watchers stood behind, armed with Photon Cannons. Behind them, the Mages began to bind the Anima, appearing as massive spirits of fire. They had taken losses, but they were still a formidable force. And this force marched on the Raposa city before them.

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

Kaal'ex gave a piercing cry as the Masked One's knife pierced his side, sliding through ebony flesh. Lashing out, his fist slammed into the masked one's face, backhanding him into one of the Pyramid's walls. Reaching down, he pulled the knife from his side, revealing the writhing black tendrils beneath the smooth surface. But despite the deep gouge carved by the knife, the wound soon closed, filled by a quickly smoothed mass of bunched tendons.

As he picked himself up from the ground, a number of Kaal'ex's flaming tendrils wrapped around the Masked One's neck, binding him in agonizing pain. Lifting him into the air, Kaal'ex walked towards the Masked One, knife in hand.

An impressive effort, Masked One. But then again, none of us have ever really known what to make of you, or known what lurks behind that mask. Let's find out.

Reaching out, Kaal'ex tore the vaunted Mask from the Masked One's face, tossing it aside to see the true face of his would-be killer.

[razovor]

Over Maxim

The Command drones crumbled under the heavy laser blast. Shields flickered, and died, exposing the drones to the full force of defenses below them.

But as quickly as they fell, new drones teleported in. The Collective Sphere, whiring with power, was producing hundreds of thousands of drones every second.

As the drone lines returned to order, the assault bots landed, spinning on contact with the ground, to unfold into battle stance.

The command drones themselves, relied on revenants to pilot them. And the revenants were born of divine essence. Only their own kind could reproduce them. But the collective had had time to prepare. A hundred thousand revenants has gathered in foundries across the city, growing in number faster than their ships could be built.

The majority teleported into play beside the drones, but a small force, cloaked, and shielded, began gathering by the black pyramid...

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
The Masked One resisted helplessly as the Madgod ripped off the Mask. Beneath it, partially hidden by the hood of his robe was...a face. It looked approximately human. The face was scarred beyond recognition, clearly the result of repeated torture. Pale, pasty skin, covered in scars and burns. Thin, scraggly, silver hair. The face may have been handsome once, but now it was little more than a hideous mess. The Mask had been expressionless, this face was a picture of emotion. Hate, fear, anger, and pain.

The Unmasked One struggled to rise, barely supporting his own weight. Despite his physical exhaustion, he was still a mage. He managed to teleport once more, appearing behind Kaal'ex. He lunged for his knife, ripping it from the grip of the Madgod, and diving back. He raised the knife warily, thinking desperately for his next move.

[TheDarkDM]

Kaal'ex arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest as the Masked One stood with his knife raised.

How very disappointing. I'd hoped at least for some dark secret - most depressing.

One of Kaal'ex's new tendrils wrapped around the discarded mask and brought it to an outstretched hand. He seemed to lose himself in the mask, before the Masked One felt a crushing force slam into the side of his face, tossing him through the air.

I wonder, where do you come from? Are you some proto-human who managed to weather the last cycle of destruction? Or are you something more? Why are you so rabidly opposed to my sister and me? Well?

With every question, another psychic slap rocked the Masked One off his feet, as Dezisorn and Lumos looked on helplessly. For they had been created by the light of the Solar Forge, and coupled with their presence in the Dreamscape that gave Kaal'ex near-total control over them.

[apocalypsePast2]

Fighting free of Kaal'ex's control was like dragging an aircraft carrier through a sea of silt, Lumos struggled fruitlessly for a time.

But he was god universe damn it! He thought, wrenching free of the Madgod's grip for a split second. " You cannot control me Kaal'ex," his voice resounded resolutely. " For I am not divine matter like you and your kin." His form shines with blinding brilliance. " I am pure energy! Now die insolent son of none!"

His form shine bright, no longer having shape, simply being a column of silver light. He rushes Kaal'ex at relativistic speeds, and smashes his scythe through the air toward the Madgod.

[TheDarkDM]

The scythe was caught by a flaming green blade summoned to Kaal'ex's hand. The force of the blow sent cracks down the solid skin of his arm, sending slivers of obsidian flying through the throne room. The sword flickered out as Lumos pulled back for a second strike, but before the blade could fall Kaal'ex's arm exploded into writhing black tentacles, rushing forward to grasp even the pure light of Lumos' form, if only for a moment. In his mind, Lumos suddenly felt his consciousness strangled.

Lets see if we can't make you more cooperative.

As his mind scrabbled for purchase, Lumos' Moon aspect felt itself dragged under as the Sun aspect was forcibly wakened. Manacles of psychic power bound the rebellious trickster in the darkest pit of Lumos' psyche, hopefully to hold him until Kaal'ex was finished.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Face gave a smirk. The Unmasked One rose to his feet. "I am sorry to disappoint you. What were you expecting? Another mask? Perhaps nothing at all. "
Keep the thing talking. It gives you time to think
"Where did I come from? A Planet. A Universe. Gods much like you were there. Disdaining mortals. Demanding sacrifice. Behaving like insane children. Why am I here? I do not know. Perhaps the Overgod has answers. I know I am here, I know I am a god. I know you are a symbol of everything I oppose. You have the dubious honour of being the third god whose blood whet this blade. "

As Lumos fell back into his Sun form, the Unmasked One began to run towards the Madgod, his dagger gleaming with the blood of a god.

[apocalypsePast2]

" Whaaa? Whoah, uhhhhhhh." The Sun seems to be recovering from an enormous hangover. He finally gain enough consciousness to notice that Kaal'ex is holding him, and two strange gods stand in the room, although one of them seems familiar.

" Why are you holding me? Put me down you beast." Lumos states arrogantly. He turns toward the new gods, unaware of their now shifted allegiances. " So who are you?" He states judgmentally.

Then he notices they seem to be in combat. With Kaal'ex. Who's holding him. Ah, Moon you insufferable trickster! he mutters to himself.

" So what has happened in my absence?" he questions authoritatively. " The last time Moon took complete control for a long-period of time, the universe imploded. Twice!"

[TheDarkDM]

With a wave, the Masked One was momentarily slowed, and the tentacles slid off of Lumos back into Kaal'ex's arm, releasing the Sun god gently to the ground.

Welcome back, Sun. While you were gone, Moon apparently fell in with the God of Sabotage and God of Lies, and came to our throne room to slay me in the Conclave's moment of triumph. Meanwhile, the God of Destruction has betrayed us and seeks to destroy all. I trust I can count on you to hold true to the lawful nature of our compact and help defend against these anarchists and omnicidal maniacs?

[Raz_Fox]

Maxim

Hundreds of years ago, the Metropoli had been built as fortresses. Back when the catfolk had been wild and maddened, instead of the civilized members of society they were now, the Metropoli had been impenetrable bastions upon the face of the earth. And so they became now.

Everything between them was razed into the dust. Once-bountiful farms were turned to glass, perfectly-terraformed plains were reduced to slag. Majestic chateaus and estates were destroyed in the blink of an eye. Millions died - Raposa, catfolk, Eido, Ajalis, slave-races from across the cosmos - every second. Maxim the beautiful, Maxim the mighty, Maxim the glorious was unmade.

The Metropoli responded. Cannons were fired, each one harnessing the power of the sun. Torpedoes spun out into space, designed to shut down all machinery within miles. Hagann flew upwards, screaming in defiance, punching straight through Council starships and using the shattered hulls as weapons to take down more. It was hardly enough. They were not fighting to survive; they were merely enduring.

But Chronos City? Five seconds before the Negaton Bombs hit, the entire city flickered out of existence, courtesy of the Time-Space Deynchronization Defense System. Of course, the sprawling suburbs around them were not so lucky. One billion lifeforms died instantly as the Negaton Bombs hit, and the cracks from the explosion ran all the way down into the world's core.

Maxim was dying.


Gade

A bright purple streak of pure energy flashes across the universe; so swift is its passage that only the afterimage is visible to mortal eyes. The walls of The Shell shatter before it, and The Elegant Nova Of Progression screams in agony and ecstasy as the power of the first sun enters her. Once again, the body of genius shifts, for it must change or die. Her ribs crack, her wings unfold becoming glorious burning incandescence, her systems shut down and then completely reboot in an endless cycle. The transformation is complete now, and everything seems dark and silent after the change that had occurred.

The Glorious And Perfect Supernova Of Solar Transcendence In Radiance Adorned stands, and laughs. Everything is clear, now. Nothing is hidden from her sight, not in this universe. She UNDERSTANDS. She gives her last orders to The Shell, now. "Descend." Then she folds herself up into the space between atoms and vanishes.

-

Across the Raposa fleets, across a hundred worlds, one command rings out. On every bridge, on every communicator, it is commanded: Return to the Dominion. Defend your people. Destroy the invaders. And so Gates open, and the Armada of the Dominion Empress herself abandons the Basilica, Gating over Maxim with a vengeful roar of fury.

Their cannons explode into life, as the mighty Aetherships cut through the ranks assembled before them. True, their hulls are becoming scratched and tattered, but the machines of the Raposa are better by far than any others! So they unleash the boiling fury within them upon their foes, avenging the crown jewel of their empire.


Black Pyramid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUvg1mn-ku4)

Time stops, and The Glorious And Perfect Supernova Of Solar Transcendence In Radiance Adorned unfolds herself before the other gods. The sun is caught in the burning gem embedded between her breasts, and it is as bright as her wings, which stretch from wall to wall. Her eyes are the eyes of someone who knows she is right and you are wrong, and that wrongness will NOT be tolerated any longer.

She raises a perfect brass arm, which has marble veins writhing beneath the surface. The arm unfurls, breaking apart, extending, in a beautiful display of machinery. Panels swing outwards, sliding back in, forming triangular heat vents and aiming mechanisms. After all, the perfect body is modular. And now, instead of an arm, she bears a long and dreadful cannon.

She laughs, and this breaks the temporal disruption; she swings the cannon towards Dezisorn and the Masked One, as warning sirens ring out and yellow light flares about her. "Silly little children. We endured, for so long, without punishing you for your arrogance and audacity. But that ends, at this moment, at this place. NOW YOU SHALL FEEL THE POWER OF THE PERFECT MACHINE!"

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
The Unmasked One, seeing Nova enter, darts back from Kaal'ex. His scarred and ugly face contorts into an expression of disgust. "How sad. For a time, I almost imagined you were better than your brother. I see now you are as mad as he. ". With this, he fires a spell at Nova, Dark Energy rippling towards the Machine Goddess.

[Ultimarr]

Panic's Palace
Seln waited at the door for a moment, before Kaal'ex destroyed the solar forge. He stared at the new source of light in awe, before grasping his scepter and teleporting to Maxim, above the largest city of the catfolk. Raising his voice, he shouted almost desperately "MOARZED! I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU! COME OUT FROM HIDING, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL!"

Limbo
Telyr sat in the admirals chair of The Shadows Fury, the flagship of the Dark Elven fleet, and listened to the engines hum as people ran around the bridge, trying to make sure nothing went wrong. They were going to co-ordinates given by Seln indirectly, what he called the Pyramid. They expected resistance there, but of what kind they were not sure. As they careened through the void, Telyr closed his eyes and meditated for what was to come, preparing.

Fleets of the Onslaught
Commander Letisk had existed since the almost the beginning of the universe, when Seln had created the boneborn. He was first generation, born of Seln's own blood and.. bones, empowered with the knowledge his age brought. He had rose to commandership early, and never given up, and never been in a real fight. But now, now it was time to fight. As he got a message from Seln, the sun itself was put out, crumpling into darkness as the new one was light, shining with madness. While many would have been shocked or sad, calm anger filled his usually emotionless mind, and he walked over to the comunications station, grabbing the undead there by the shoulder.
"Order all ships to Gade. Destroy ALL Raposa, Hounds, whatever. KILL THEM!" Ereptor crouched behind him at the door, grinning inwardly at his anger. Just as Seln needed.

[HalfTangible]

A trick up her scales

Deathwing struggled in vain against the many tentacles that bound her, her icy body writhing in a desperate bid for survival. To the surprise of anyone who happened to be looking, her 'flesh' for lack of a better term began to crack and shatter.

Ice detached from the bones that Gioco had used to create her, and as the basicila pulled her towards it's waiting maw,the dragon finally exploded in a wave of ice. The sheer size of the beast mean the explosion was enough to freeze the fringes of the basilica's mouth, and instantly shatter the tentacles arrayed against the frost wyrm broodmother.

The draw being that said broodmother was reduced to her bones, which proceeded to fall to the ground below. From her skull to her vertebrae, every bone Seln had given Gioco for his mighty beast fell and made brand new craters on Gade's surface. As the Basilica turned it's attention away from it's 'fallen' foe, the light in the skull of the great wyrm flickered and died.

But as it's attention finally left, the bones began to shift and move...

Counterproduction

Torfan could barely contain his horror at the sight before him.

The Saidran's head was the only indication that it had ever been one of Torphan's race. It's body had been morphed, mutated and experimented on to the point that not a single thing about it was recognizable, or even natural.

It's body hunkered over, with most of it's mass on the right side, where a massive, fleshy claw had taken shape. The flesh was dotted with pockmarks and disease, and blood dripped all over it. A green tentacle poked out from one of it's eye sockets, afixing Torphan with a look that somehow managed to convey sorrow even in that one eye. It's leg was large, trunked and gray, with large cracks runing through it. However, the cracks didn't look like they were inflicted - more like they had simply formed their naturally, as if the flesh had split open on it's own. With each exhalation, the 'saidran' moaned, and tears could be seen on what was left of it's face. It's mouth had split from a two-part jaw into four parts, each ending with a tempered point. It's left arm had been mutated into a wing-like bone structure without flesh, and some sort of goo leaked from it's ever pore.

It's head twisted just a tad, looking up. kkkkkkuuuuuurrrrrrrr...

Torphan fell to his knees and everything he had eaten recently came out in a heave. He coughed and pulled himself to his feet, wiping some remnants off his jaw, but stopped as he noticed his paws were trembling. He shook himself and stood, shaking. He activated his cloak and shuddered a little more.

This was... insane. He didn't know what the Raposa hoped to accomplish by this, and quite frankly he didn't want to know. All Torphan wanted to do was blow this... monstrosity out of the sky. And as he turned to look for the engine room, steel panels slid down, sealing off the room.

Interesting, isn't it Saidran. Of course not. No appreciation for genius. No understanding of plan.

Torphan wasn't even sure why he was surprised as he heard the quick tongued Raposa's voice.

Sight actually made you regurgitate. Remarkable. No appreciation for genius whatsoever. Embarrassing.

How the hell is turning someone into a barely alive monstrosity 'genius'?

Not act. Act awful, digusting. The raposa's voice didn't sound even remotely disgusted by her actions. She sounded more like she was commenting on something that happened a galaxy away four millenia ago. Method is breakthrough. Absolute genius. Nova's blessings strong. Truly cannot see?

Torphan snarled from his invisible position in the room, looking around for anything, ANYTHING, he could use to leave. Can't say i care about anything on this ship except how to make it sink towards that star.

Expected. Saidran fools have no drive for genius. Perfection.

Indulge me. Have a story for you, Saidran. Listen...

The Pyramid

Gioco hadn't entered the pyramid. He wasn't stupid, after all. Once inside, he would be in the dreamscape, completely at the mercy of Kaal'ex and whatever else he brought in there with him. They MUST be engaged outside of it...

"I hold no love for the council," Gioco's voice boomed, "But they are the weaker side. And i intend to always fight for the weak. That is what it means to be military."

Gioco didn't have the power to take it down alone. No one had that kind of power. The three sides had been raised by three seperate gods, each with at least two increments of their power. That meant it would take at least three to break them apart.

He outstretched his hand.

"By spirit strong and power cold,
A tyrant's home shall break and fold,
Machines lose use in this hold,
Become spare parts, before they're sold!"

Gioco's strength lashed out at the machine side of the black pyramid. Every last bit of his icy power and iron discipline poured into the utter destruction of the machine-witch's third of the building. Ice spread along, flash-freezing the structure. Gears stopped spinning, metal cracked and a loud whine echoed throughout.

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

Seeing the Scarred One's attention turn towards the newly arrived Nova, Kaal'ex surged towards the upstart, confident his sister could weather the pitifully mortal attack. He closed the distance in an instant, clenching an single hand around the Scarred One's throat and lifting him into the air. Before the mage could teleport away, Kaal'ex brought his incandescent tendrils to bear, sending them streaking into his forehead.

Stop.

But to Kaal'ex's surprise, the Scarred One did not stop, bringing his knife up in a terrible prelude to plunging it into Kaal'ex's heart. With reflexes heightened beyond even divine limits, Kaal'ex quickly engulfed the Scarred One's hand in his, shattering the fingers with a swift application of pressure. As the knife fell to the ground, the tendrils bored deeper, searching for a chink in the Scarred One's armor. Feeling a slight shudder go through the Black Pyramid, he turned to Nova.

That ill mannered military god seems to be assaulting your contribution to the pyramid. Be a dear and deal with him as I attend to this one?


Gade

Seeing the fleeing Rapsoa fleet and hearing the mental call of its master, the Basilica reached out and rent a hole in reality, passing through the Dreamscape and into the burning skies above Maxim in the center of the Antigolem fleet. In an instant, it began to devastate the host of Oblivion, crushing countless ships beneath its tendrils as streams of plasma cut through the thickest armor.

[Ultimarr]

Ereptor teleported out of the ships as they began to phase into the soulscape, and then teleported to Seln's old lab, on the moon that now holds the pyramid. He sprint outside, and saw what Gioco was trying to do, partially in vain. He stood behind him outside sword range, watching him, waiting for the eventual and violent retaliation.


Maxim
As the armies descended upon the raposa and bombs rained down, a large force of catfolk rallied in their capital, which had yet to be attacked, and surrounded the palace of the High Regent Lord of Moarzed, readying their weapons. A group stepped out from the crowd of soldiers, hooded in purple robes, armed with scimitars of crystal and Raposa explosive hand crossbows.

They called out to the leaders high up somewhere in the balconies and grand rooms, their voices acting as one and magnified through magic. "We call out to you, leaders of the catfolk! The Raposa are falling now, but soon their immense power shall be turned back here, along with the evil of the dreamer! The liberators need our help, and if the Raposa win this battle, do you think they will let us live?! NO! They will put us all to slave labor or death out of their delusional paranoia! Come with us to help the liberators, whatever you think of their motives, in the name of Lohkir, Moarzed, and the CATFOLK EMPIRE!"

[Iethloc]

For a time, Dezisorn was bound to the wall, helpless save to watch the madness in front of him. Then, one by one, the thirteen twisted Netherwardens appeared before him. Forged by powers other than the Solar Forge, they help up as well against the presence of Kaal'ex as any non-divine being could. And then, for the first time, Dezisorn's mouth curled up into a sincere smile. He laughed, first human and then, with the sound of breaking glass, it changed into an inhuman cackle.

”By the lost forge, I never thought they would actually save me,” he choked out. Then, with a horrific gagging noise, sand began pouring out of his mouth. The bandages on his right hand erupted, unleashing another scouring tide. His knees ruptured and his burning eyesocket died out, all to unleash more of his strangely manifested essence. The sand whipped around, and then unerringly poured into each of the Netherwardens. Quickly, Dezisorn's human guise was torn away with a pop, and soon even the smoke that cloaked his true form was gone.

What stood against the wall was almost pathetic. A glass sculpture, cracked and marred by lines, with only the beginnings of a face. It still, dimly, radiated divine energy, but broken in more ways than even the God of Sabotage should be, as if he were prematurely torn from the forge. Its face was locked in a permanent scream, its malformed jaw only being able to support that shape.

Dezisorn's voice rang out from the collective entities. ”Having to do this to myself has put me back significantly. Don't think you'll be getting away with this.”

Like angry hornets, they started soaring around the perfected Machine Goddess, lines of divine energy arcing and flaring between them. Even with her new power, the Divine Saboteur could always hurt a machine.

”You are going nowhere. If everyone would kindly stay here, I want to finish what we've started,” the gestalt god demanded.

Spend 2 acts to empower the Netherwardens to act in his stead.



Above Gade
Right as the magic needed to open the Wormhole began peaking, their target disappeared.

”Emergency re-targeting! Open the stellar strike at the enemy fleet! Get our ships out of there! MOVE!” she practically screamed, pounding on her subordinates in their touch-based language. What could they do, but try to comply with such wrath? The crew moved as quickly as they could, their deft hands twitching like lightning.

One wormhole opened just above the surface of Gade's sun. The other one opened next to the Void Reaver fleet as the Thorac Battleships fled at maximum acceleration. A torrent of incomparably hot plasma and unrestrained solar radiation washed out from the wormhole over them, destroying hundreds of Kaal'ex's fleet, and almost as many Thorac stragglers.

But the Thoracsis still had many more ships to come.



The Broken Jackdaw was now confused. Its target was gone, and it has felt its master - its own mind - die. In its daze, it soared towards whatever resembled its former target; the Shell. It did not have the time to build up its full speed, but it still slammed against its hull at incredible speeds, sending vibrations throughout the ship. It pulled back, and then started ramming again and again, simply knowing nothing else it could do now.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
The Scarred One suppressed a scream as the fingers of his right hand broke, and his dagger fell to the ground, gleaming redly. He could feel the Madgod in his mind. His defenses were holding, for now. Through sheer force of will, the Scarred One broke contact with the Madgod, flinging himself across the room. He raised his left hand, and fired blasts of magic at Kaal'ex, again and again, the Dark Energy rhythmically flying across the room, straight at Kaal'ex.

[Raz_Fox]

Outside the Pyramid

The machinery stops, uselessly whirring or clicking, as the ice ensnares it. Well, that was easy. But, unfortunately, everyone knows that exerting all your power leaves you unprepared - for just a moment - for an attack.

The wall explodes as a laser punches through it. Well, "laser" isn't the best word. It's a weak word, that brings to mind, at best, a dinky red line of light. This was several miles wide in every direction, and before it even space warped and burned. Don't imagine that dinky red line - imagine the brightest, most powerful sun, elongated and sustained into an infernal tempest of agony. It is gold and orange and sickly, and it envelops Gioco completely, wasting away his armor and eating away at his very soul.

Then, it mercifully stops. About two seconds later, The Glorious And Perfect Supernova Of Solar Transcendence In Radiance Adorned soars out of the molten slag that she has made of her side, laughing maniacally. "Do you now see your pathetic limitations, gadflies? Do you see what you have driven me to, in your unending assaults upon sanity and reason? Know that this is... you are not Hrothlar." She pouts for a moment, which is a surprisingly terrifying expression on the face of a power-crazy genius. "Or that cute little angel-god, but that's a mercy, I suppose. Nonetheless, you have two futures available to you: recognition of our superiority or your utter destruction, burning in the hellfires of creation itself!" She levels the arm-cannon at Gioco and Seln, as it begins to spin and build up power for another shot.

[HalfTangible]

The Pyramid

...is what Nova PLANNED to say to Gioco and Seln, but to her confusion (not surprise, she was too genius for surprise) Gioco was nowhere to be seen. Her mind immediately ran through calculations in the blink of an eye that no mortal could comprehend without going insane, before concluding the most likely scenario was that Gioco had used his power from another location, and left a false body up above the pyramid to take the shot. Which meant his next move would be-

Gioco's blade stuck deep into her body from behind, ice cresting from the wound to spread across her metal stomach.

-well, that.

"I just said that i always fight for the weak. If you are the strongest," He twisted his blade, cold eyes narrowing within the shadowy confines of his helmet, "Then i have every reason to fight you." He slashed it the rest of the way out of the goddess' body before moving away in a blur that left frost and ice in his wake. The blow would not be enough to kill the machine goddess, or even slow her down with the power of the solar forge.

But Gioco had injured her. And even he knew there would be HELL to pay.

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

As Dezisorn divided himself into his little wraiths and the Scarred One continued to evade him, a slight frown creased Kaal'ex's face. The green flames of his eyes flared to terrible life, and the very walls of the throne room began to melt.

ENOUGH!

Suddenly, the Scarred One and Dezisorn's gestalt consciousness realized their folly. For they had brought war to Kaal'ex, the psionic God of Madness, within his own domain. The two gods were hurled from the Black Pyramid, spinning aimlessly through the twisting aether of the Dreamscape, their very minds not invaded, but entrapped in dream spheres remarkably similar to the one holding Heretic.

The Scarred One's Prison

The Scarred One blinked, and suddenly he was standing in an open field. For a moment, he did not recognize the place, but as his vision cleared he realized that it was his homeland, the original home of the being that would become the Masked One so many years later.

Dezisorn's Prison

Dezisorn awoke to find himself back in a body very similar to his original one, standing in the midst of a great desert. As he looked around, seeking to locate where he was, a slight breeze began to blow from the north. He paid it little mind at first, for the wind grew so gradually he did not notice a few flecks of glass and sand peel away from his whole. Indeed, it was only as his hand was shorn away that Dezisorn realized that he was being scattered by the wind. He ran then, desperate to escape the consuming gusts, but with every step he lost more and more mass, until he was simply sentient particles floating in a dust devil. He was blown across half a world then, fragments of his body eventually coming to rest in a deep, endless sea of dunes. And as he lay, Dezisorn found himself forgetting the time before the desert, the time before he'd simply been another layer of sand.

Maxim

The call could be heard from across the entirety of space and time, a dirge of oncoming doom. Even mortals could hear the divine proclamation, and when it reached the ears of those not in the light of the Conclave in threatened to shatter their minds.

OBLIVION!!!

Like an exploding star, Kaal'ex appeared in the battlefield. The tendrils of his back extended all the way to what had been the Solar Forge, filling the void with a borealis of apocalyptic light. As one great Antigolem ship came too close, it imploded from the mere presence of the new Overgod, and Oblivion could feel the terrible majesty of the Solar Forge drawing him towards the dark angel of vengeance.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One's Prison
The Scarred One looked around, warily. Alterra. That was it's name. The name of the planet he had once known. Odd, that he thought of it in terms of planets now. The people of Alterra had no space flight. Alterra was their home as much as was the solar system Alterra orbited. His home was truly a city. Somehow, the name escaped him. Odd.

This was clearly a trick of Kaal'ex. But he did not think his mind had been breached. That said, he could be wrong. Who knew? A grassy plain stretched before him. The Scarred One took a careful step forward. As soon as his foot hit the ground, the grass was gone, leaving a burnt out wasteland. The Scarred One recoiled at the sudden change, then calmed. It was only an Illusion. He had always been good with illusions.

The Scarred One knelt on the dusty ground, and closed his eyes. He breathed in...and out. Slowly. Calm. That was the key. Out of nowhere, a feeling of dread overcame him, and his eyes snapped open. A visage he had had not seen in years appeared before him. The Scarred One did something he had not done in some time. He screamed.

[Raz_Fox]

Gioco vs. Supernova

"And that is why you are an undesirable element in this universe. Your understanding of existence is warped and inverted." As her body reformed, the power of the sun in her chest fueling her healing, she unleashed hell upon Gioco. Missiles that distorted the space-time continuum about the war-god, disorienting him and slowing him to a crawl; lasers springing from her fingertips, dancing in a dizzying and intricate pattern; miniature suns, born from her palm and spinning around her in glorious majesty. "Strength is dominance, and dominance is power. The weak deserve to serve the strong, and the strong deserve to rule. You act outside the natural order of existence, with your misguided and false altruism. Ultimately, you are as selfish and frail as any other, but your self-righteousness and misapplied strength threaten to destroy the perfect world that we seek to create. You are evil, a force of corruption - like the ice that frosts over and stops machinery, you ruin everything you touch, no matter what the cost to truth is. And now I will erase you from existence, the reality that you blight with your very presence!"

[HalfTangible]

Gioco VS Supernova

"Idiot."

Nova's science slowed down time itself. Gioco's ice finished the job.

One often overlooked fact about hot and cold was that neither of them truly existed. There was movement, and that was it. Warmth and Cold were simply recognizing that one vibrated more slowly than the other, and as Gioco's rage burned in his heart, space and time itself began to freeze around him. Several explosions rocked his body, denting his helmet and armor, but he paid no attention.

"You preach 'good' and 'evil' to a creature whose very essence is a complete lack of morality? Very well. Allow me to return the favor, machine."

"You and your brother slaughter everyone and everything that even thinks about getting in your way. Or looks like they might possibly be thinking about getting anywhere near your way at some point in the future. You honestly expect me to care what you view as 'good' and 'evil'?"

"You, Nova, and your tentacled sibling are evil incarnate: mass murderers with no cause but their own advancement. You are gods and you want nothing more than to continue growing in power."

He spread his arms, anger in his eyes. "The strong are meant to watch over the weak. But that does not mean the weak must be harmed. The only ones that should kill are those prepared to suffer the same fate."

Gioco's speech was strong, and convicted. But he knew Nova would not even consider his words. And as she charged up her cannon, his eyes twisted into a mouthless grin.

"But then, i suppose that if you are right, and the strong must harm the weak, then one day either you or Kaal'ex must die at the hands of the other."

[daelrog]

Gade

Icarael arrived at Gade, glowing brilliantly as if a second star had appeared. Nova was no longer here. No Aetherships, no Void Reavers, only some strange race that was already on the surface. He felt one presence behind him.

"Aris, what happened here?"

"I have no idea Lord of Light, we only arrived here a minute ago."

Icarael turned around to see Aris, and an army of a thousand angels behind her. He moved his gaze back to Gade. "Do you think you can handle the conflict below. It might be a good chance for the angels to join this organization of mortals."

"Perhaps when the battle is over, this paltry little world will grow sick of being invaded and learn how to defend itself properly." Aris smiled and raised her blade to the sky. Her warcry ignited the flames of war in the angels, and they descended down to the planet, to deal with the servitors.

No one had ever seen the angels in combat before, a race of warrior-mystics that had been powered three times by a god, and who had been tempered in war by fighting each other, descended upon the machine race with passion and fury that could only stem from a soul.


Above Gade, Icarael turned his attention elsewhere. Where was the conflict now. He searched for war the divine war has moved to.

[BladeofOblivion]

KAAL'EX!


Oblivion appeared out of nowhere and smirked.

You really do sound rather silly when you're angry. But you came for me, right? Not quite that simple.

Shadows burst from Oblivion's body, and faded. He had disappeared.

Suddenly, Oblivion's voice, albeit two Octaves deeper, permeated the area.

So where am I now?

Kaal'ex heard ten of these vocal apparitions in various places around him.

Perhaps I'm here?

And in each of those spots, ten Antimatter Shards came straight for Kaal'ex.

Oblivion sent a quick telepathic message to the Swarm.

The distraction failed. Kaal'ex is on the field, and those Aetherships are quickly causing my fleet to dwindle. If you have mages remaining, see if you can make Kaal'ex look like Icarael or Hrothlar. If those Antidivine weapons work, they might be helpful.

[Ultimarr]

The Onslaught fleets phased into the material plane above Gade, weapons locking on to enemy ships. Sadly, there were none, only thousands of Angels descending upon the servitors. What servitor ships were left, were leaderless and un-organized as the shell had been knocked out, posing no threat. Letisk saw the god and demi-god speaking, and prayed to Seln, contacting him. Seln, pre-occupied, sent a simple message to Icareal;

"I am on maxim, with many mortals, assaulting the Dominion of Storms while Kaal'ex is fighting with Nova against many good gods at the pyramid. I hope that you will not doubt my words in the universes time of need, these are not lies."

The fleets quickly turned away from gade save four skull class heavy battleships to help the angels and meet with the humans. The others phased back into the soulscape, and flew towards maxim at impossible speeds.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos roars, " Die you anarchists! Law will always defeat chaos! Taste my photonic steel!" He rushes Desizorn, but is thron back by the Netherwardens. " Irritating fiends, die lawbreakers!" He swings at the annoying little hornet things, but he is unsuccessful. With a groan, he fires a solar flare wearily into the group. It hits one. Groaning, he decides to go help Nova...

[Creed]

Panic's Palace
Seln waited at the door for a moment, before Kaal'ex destroyed the solar forge. He stared at the new source of light in awe, before grasping his scepter and teleporting to Maxim, above the largest city of the catfolk. Raising his voice, he shouted almost desperately "MOARZED! I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU! COME OUT FROM HIDING, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL!"

Limbo
Telyr sat in the admirals chair of The Shadows Fury, the flagship of the Dark Elven fleet, and listened to the engines hum as people ran around the bridge, trying to make sure nothing went wrong. They were going to co-ordinates given by Seln indirectly, what he called the Pyramid. They expected resistance there, but of what kind they were not sure. As they careened through the void, Telyr closed his eyes and meditated for what was to come, preparing.

Fleets of the Onslaught
Commander Letisk had existed since the almost the beginning of the universe, when Seln had created the boneborn. He was first generation, born of Seln's own blood and.. bones, empowered with the knowledge his age brought. He had rose to commandership early, and never given up, and never been in a real fight. But now, now it was time to fight. As he got a message from Seln, the sun itself was put out, crumpling into darkness as the new one was light, shining with madness. While many would have been shocked or sad, calm anger filled his usually emotionless mind, and he walked over to the comunications station, grabbing the undead there by the shoulder.
"Order all ships to Gade. Destroy ALL Raposa, Hounds, whatever. KILL THEM!" Ereptor crouched behind him at the door, grinning inwardly at his anger. Just as Seln needed.

Moarzed flickered into existance, or at least the being that was once Moarzed.
The being before Seln now is a demon of immaginable power. Souledge is in Moarzed's hand, writhing at the chaotic energies Moarzed is leaking. He is so possesed that his form is ever changing before Seln's eyes.
TRAITOROUS BASTARDS AND LIES! SPEAK, DEATH GOD, WHO RAZES MY PLANET, MY LANDS, MY SKIN ON THE LAND OF MORTALS! THEY SHALL PAY FOR THIS DEFIANCE!

While Moarzed's material form was confronting Seln, his mind reached out to the remaining catfolk.
And suddenly they were undone and redone into the depths of Praetoria, preserving the last, the strongest, the luckiest.
1 ACT - Move the remain ing catfolk to Praetoria to ally with the Shades.

[BladeofOblivion]

Over Maxim

This wasn't going well. Admiral Leadbelly recieved a field Promotion when the Void Crystal had destroyed all five Dreadnaughts. During the confusion, he had managed to take the lead of the fleet. Not that it could really be called that anymore. There were less than a few hundred Equalizers left, and he was commanding the last Reaver. The Engulfers were still around, if in reduced numbers, and...

The Engulfers! They were carrying Sabotage Swarms! He gave the order, and was given a momentary reprieve from the Aethership fire when they were suddenly harried by several sextillion nanites trying to shut down the core systems.

Oblivion

As he continued to feint at and generally annoy Kaal'ex, he realized that this was not a winning battle. His marines had crushed pretty much everything on the surface short of a metropolis, at heavy but managable losses. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing going well. Lumos had turned, and both The Masked One and Dezisorn had dropped off the map. He needed a plan. He realized then that he needed to cut Kaal'ex off from his power, but where was he getting it? From the Dreamscape and Solar Forge, of course. He needed to close that portal, somehow. And he had an idea. He telepathically sent the order.

Etherscape - The Progenitor System

The Etherscape's version of the Solar Forge was similarly designed, and was an easy source of extra energy and matter, since it always seemed to regenerate. 30 worldeaters filled with the stuff prepared to jump, while 3 groups of 10 empty worldeaters prepared to jump somewhere else.

[Ultimarr]

Moarzed flickered into existance, or at least the being that was once Moarzed.
The being before Seln now is a demon of immaginable power. Souledge is in Moarzed's hand, writhing at the chaotic energies Moarzed is leaking. He is so possesed that his form is ever changing before Seln's eyes.
TRAITOROUS BASTARDS AND LIES! SPEAK, DEATH GOD, WHO RAZES MY PLANET, MY LANDS, MY SKIN ON THE LAND OF MORTALS! THEY SHALL PAY FOR THIS DEFIANCE!

"Moarzed?!" Seln looks over this.. things new form, shocked for a moment before he composed himself. "Nova and Kaal'ex have destroyed the Solar Forge, and in their new found power they are going on a killing spree of those who thought themselves allies of the dangerous duo. I will not try to lie or manipulate you, they have not said they are going to kill you yet, but I doubt they will let you live after they are done using you. Choose quickly who to believe, for I must go and stem the tide of the tyrants' soldiers. Note that I have never harmed or sent my soldiers to harm any of your creations or you, for I believe you know what tyrants and maniacs they are."

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One's Prison
The Scarred One fell back in fear from the being it saw before him. Ludicruously long, thin body , as if the thing had been stretched. Thin, sharp, gnarled fingers. Topped with a black mask that permanently displayed a hideous grin. The Scarred One blinked, and the god was gone. He sighed. That was foolish of him. Letting his own memories get the better of him. The Scarred One took another step forward, less tentatively this time.

The Masked One was standing on a busy street. He looked at his hand, and saw it was clutching a dagger. He realised he was wearing his mask. And his old grey robe. Odd. The Masked One took a step forward. His foot touched hard earth. The Masked One walked forward, with purpose. He knew where he was. More importantly, he knew where the Temple of Tennir was. He took another step.

He was there. The Temple of Tennir. God of Decay and Famine. The vile God was simply standing there. It ignored him as he walked closer. It turned as the Masked One began to charge. The Masked One was thrown back as he sliced the knife into the beings yellow, cracked flesh. "You think yourself some ASSASSIN, MORTAL!?! FOOL!!!" The Masked One fell into unconsciousness.

[razovor]

Above Maxim

The planet was desecrated, but the air had filled with noise. The drones broke off their assault, and dove into the sky, raining fire on the Aethships.

The Sphere

A thousand revenants gathered, in a cathedral desgined to amplify the distance of their spells. They began weaving, and as they did so, Kaal'ex appearance began to change. The Angel of Death became the Angel of Hope.

Swarm

Blazing with black fire, the Swarm rocketed through the sky, faster than light. A vertiable fireball of heat, greater than a sun's wrath. The Swarm rippled past Oblivions illusions, and collided with Kaal'ex, in an explosion which dominated the sky.

[Creed]

Slowly, Moarzed's fire goes out.
Nova... I can't believe it. he looks down upon the destroyed Maxim below and sighs.
My masterpiece... is ruined. I never forsaw this.
But, you are right, Seln. I have no reason to believe you a liar. But I have no reason to believe you.
I will go to the Pyramid and learn the truth. If Nova has preordained my demise, so be it. he hefts his sword and Gauntlet appear next to him.
But I don't intend to go without a fight.

[TheDarkDM]

Maxim

Oblivion's antimatter shards shattered before reaching Kaal'ex, undone by the immense pressure of his presence. He began to laugh at the futile efforts of Oblivion, but that was cut short by the flaring comet of the Swarm. The explosion of impact rocked their entire quadrant of the galaxy, the light blinding even to gods. For a moment, Oblivion felt Kaal'ex must have been undone by the immense blast, but as the light cleared he saw the Swarm caught in Kaal'ex's outstretched hands. A smile on his face, he compressed the thousands of tiny lights into a single massive ball.

A commendable effort, but far from sufficient.

In front of Kaal'ex opened a portal through the Dreamscape that re-opened at the center of the galaxy. The Swarm was engulfed in green flames, and Kaal'ex hurled it through the portal, sending it spinning through the portal to the plane of energy to explode through the Sphere, ravaging the inside of that great structure with a combination of Kaal'ex's power and the Swarms own appropriated strength. The illusion that had begun to creep over Kaal'ex disappeared, and he turned his attention back towards Oblivion. Had he needed to rely on his eyes, he might never have located the enemy God, but he had never relied on such simple senses. Reaching out with his mind, his head jerked to the left, and the numberless tendrils on his back streaked out to engulf the invisible form of Oblivion. At first, the misty god began to seep out, until the green flame once again flared to life. In an agonizing transformation, the vapor of Oblivion's form was forced into a humanoid form, with the same consistency as a sand sculpture, held securely by Kaal'ex.

Now Oblivion, shall we converse like civilized gods? What do you think you can accomplish here?

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion

As Oblivion shifted his armor to cover his body again, he began to laugh.

There is much I can do, even gripped in your groping claws. Fun Fact: I haven't lost yet, and I was just stalling for time previously. Because even you can't be in five places at once.

As Oblivion finished that sentence, several things happened simultaneously. Firstly, Oblivion's sword floated up behind Kaal'ex, and fired thousands of shards into him at point blank.

You will suffer for touching me.


At the same time, a group of ten Worldeaters gated in over each of the Conclave's arrays, and began to eat them.

Your constuctions are fleeting.

A set of 30 Worldeaters gated in over the former location of the Solar Forge, and began to seal the portal to the Dreamscape using parts of the Ethereal Solar Forge.

Your Power will be annulled.

The Horseman of the Apocalypse rode through a gate and proceeded to attack the Basilica, which was already weakened after fighting off both Deathwing and the Broken Jackdaw.

Your greatest creation will be torn asunder.

An Antigolem fleet half the size of the original Invasion Fleet gated in behind the Aetherships, Negation Cannons and Bomb launchers Blazing.

Your sister's Armada will fall. You now understand that I have shown but a fraction of my true abilities.

[Iethloc]

Dezisorn's Prison

He couldn't let himself end like this. Dezisorn gathered all of his not-inconsiderable willpower, and forced himself to remember. He had stretched his mind so far before – keeping himself together all over a planet won't be much harder. He just had to remember.

A small battalion of tanks rolled over one of the plentiful deserts of Ether-Gade. Most were medium tanks – Fisherman Tanks, they were called. But some were a modification – replace the turret with a static autocannon, and mount rocket tubes above it; the Maestro Multiple Rocket Launcher.

He remembered this. They were hunting heretics – Wey Nu'u who were not part of the Tribal Alliance, who did not follow Dezisorn's teachings. Did it really happen in a desert? Dezisorn couldn't be sure at that moment.

One of the Maestros stopped. The coordinates for the enemy camp were confirmed by a forward observer. The rocket platform tipped back slightly slightly. Its treads rolled in opposite directions, rotating just a touch to the right. Sixteen of the tubes flared to life, sending out an equal number of rockets.

A lot of Wey Nu'u died that day. The “heretics” had no defense against artillery. They did not have an industry kick-started by a God. But this was all good in his book. If his Wey Nu'u did not have an enemy, they would not have become so strong.

”And now you are fighting your greatest enemy, too, master. How could you let yourself become so weak? This is no different than what you've put so many mortals through. Do you not follow your own teachings?” Dezisorn couldn't remember who was speaking, but that was no excuse to ignore them.

Then, in one place in the planetwide desert, a single arm burst from the sand, and scrabbled at the flowing surface for a grip.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One's Prison
The Scarred One awoke. He was strapped to a familiar stone slab. An involuntary shudder escaped him at the memories it returned. Now he feared he was he was to relive them. The Scarred One looked around. The darkness around him seemed to continue unto infinity, the only light a single sputtering torch, lying on the floor. Shifting his head to look, the Scarred One saw his distorted reflection in a dank pool of water. Near as he could tell, he was..whole. As he was before he entered this very room. That did not bode well.

The Scarred One struggled with his bindings. Yes! The right hand, it was loose. If he could only- The Scarred One fell back as a god entered the room. Tennir. The god did not speak. It simply walked to the Scarred One, took a knife, and slashed him across the face. Again, and again, the being attacked with a mania, until the Scarred Ones face was left as a red ruin. His screams fell away into the infinite darkness. Suddenly, it stopped.

As the Scarred One struggled to breath, Tennir walked towards his one source of light. The Torch had been coated with a thick pitch, and it created an orange, dim flame. The Scarred One thought desperately. This is not how it was. This is not simply a retelling of memory. This is - All thoughts left his head, and were replaced by agonising pain as the torch was shoved into his face. Finally, Tennir moved on to the Scarred One's lower body, brandishing a nasty looking knife. Then came a short sharp cut, and a pain beyond all pain. The Scarred One mercifully lapsed into unconsciousness.

[TheDarkDM]

Maxim

The shards of Oblivion's sword ripped through Kaal'ex's body, leaving naught but a few tatters that faded into smoke. Yet, despite the lack of a body, Kaal'ex's tendrils still gripped Oblivion, and as the God of Destruction scanned the void for their source Kaal'ex seemed to fade back into view from nothing.

Please. Have you truly failed to grasp the nature of my existence, Oblivion? I am not the pale shadow you see before you.

As the Worldeaters closed on the Star that Burned in Shadow, its surface roiled in a great storm. As they began to focus the power of their dim sister star into the gap, the turmoil suddenly ceased. The surface of the Star slid away like water on glass, revealing the visage of Kaal'ex. He smiled at the mortal ships for a moment before tendrils of fiery power lanced through each of them, consuming them utterly.

My might was too great for the universe to contain, you see. You yourself have called me blasphemous. And with every universe lost to your facile little quest the madness of the gods has grown ever so slightly.

As the remaining Worldeaters began to eat away at the divine arrays, the true form of Kaal'ex lashed out again, and they perished in beshadowed terror. As Oblivion struggled to break free, the tendrils of Kaal'ex clenched, and his armor was shattered, lodging shards of antimatter in his flesh.

Unlike you, my physical form is transient, unimportant. What matters is the idea of me, the nightmare you all feel at the prospect of my victory. That empowers me almost as much as that pitiful star you called the source of all life. What are physical things to me?

The statuesque projection of Kaal'ex snapped, and Oblivion felt a minor amount of hydrogen and helium drawn from the nearby stars. Then, the elements disappeared, only to fade into the heart of his Anti-Solar Forge. The explosion of matter and antimatter consumed the heart of the star, sending a supernova of energy through the Antimaterial plane.

Naught but tools waiting to turn to dust.

Behind Oblivion's reinforcements, the remainders of Kaal'ex's fleets gated in, bloodied but unbowed from the assault on the Conclave's territory. The Novex-ka reached out, and suddenly Antigolem ships were careening into each other, helmsmen making a series of minor errors, engineers forgetting to check a key valve. Soon, the fleet was in disarray, and the Entropic Plasma of the Dreamscape went screaming into them as the Basilica turned to combat its first true foe, sending rending tendrils and flame towards the four servants of destruction.

So what now, oh terrible Lord of Destruction? More useless prattle as you come up with a new desperate strategy?

A fiery tendril went streaking into Oblivion's side, impaling the god on the pure force of telekinesis and nightmare.

More bluster about you master plan?

Another tendril, this one through Oblivion's throat, sending flames through the core of his being.

Or have we finally reached your last, gurgling plea for mercy?

Four more tendrils ripped through Oblivion's chest, spreading the fire farther and faster with each impact.

[Imperial Psycho]

Os
The Assassin. It had hardly lived up to his namesake. In fact, it had barely acted at all, simply acting as a bridge between the Masked One and the Changers. In his hand, it held a short blade, that seemed to cut the air as the Assassin swung it. After a brief ritual, the Assassin disappeared from Os.

The Black Pyramid
His slender black form appeared in the Black Pyramid. Wasting no time, the Assassin careened into Lumos, knocking god and demi-god to the floor. As a Demi-god, it could never defeat a god in a fair fight. It could, however, keep it occupied.

[apocalypsePast2]

Pyramid

Lumos careened into a wall as it was struck by the demi-god. He rose, his golden form smoking in anger. He swung his blade at the Assassin with rage, but the Assassin simply appeared behind him, stabbing through his armor. Sun was no trickster like Moon, however. He was a warrior. Even as he felt the blow, he continued his swing with more force and swept it into the demi-god. " Die Lawbreaking whelp of a god!"

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
The Assassin barely caught the blow on its sword. The force behind the attack surprised it. It could not afford to take many hits from this being. The Assassin turned the blow aside, the attack scraping it's flank. The Assassin jumped back and cast a simple spell. 3 Assassins attacked Lumos from three directions. 2 of these three were illusionary.

[apocalypsePast2]

The Pyramid

Lumos roared. " Dirty tricks!" He was familiar with this one though, and spun in a circle, blade extended, catching the three in the circle. The two illusionary one winked out. However, the real one ducked under the spin and managed to get several stabs in before Lumos booted him in the stomach and hilt-smashed him back. Lumos was now bleeding golden liquid. He roared once more. " Face me openly, deceiving bastard!" and charged.

[BladeofOblivion]

As Oblivion was impaled by Kaal'ex, he went competely limp, showing all the signs of death. His armor turned into a liquid, and seeped off of the charred, ruined body of the dead god, which simply crumbled in the void of space. Annihilation for Oblivion. A fitting end.

But then something odd happened. Oblivion's voice rang out into the void, loud enough for every god in all of creation to hear it clearly.

Kaal'ex, you fool!


The Armor took human form again, and pulled Oblivion's Sword to itself.

Oblivion is an Interesting word. Most simply use it as a synonym of Destruction, but it is something far more profound.

Brilliant red lights glowed in the helmet, much like Oblivion's eyes.

Oblivion means destruction, and it goes a step further.

The holes in the armor sealed, making the Ornate suit whole again.

The true meaning of Oblivion is both destruction of the body, and destruction of the memory.

The suit blazed with divine fire.

In order to truly destroy something, It must be forgotten as well.

Around the fire came a layer of purer plasma, and then liquid, earth, and even an aura of helium.

And that is something you can never do. You cannot truly extinguish me until you destroy all knowledge and memory of me.

The Sword grew to many times it's original size.

I have tried to do this to war for Eternities upon Eternities, and have not succeeded.

The Armor thrust the accumulated matter of all types at the Dark Star of the Dreamscape, at a speed greater than any god should have been able to muster.
And so I shall do unto you!!!

[daelrog]

Over Gade

Like watching raptors descend upon a flock of sparrows they began to test their mettle against another race, for the first time.

"Come to your city. There is something else to discuss."

Alanthia

On a bridge overlooking an amber river, Al waited for her champion. Icarael walked up, taking notice of her new assistant.

"Your name is Tessra, is it not? What exactly are you...?"

"She is my new assistant. After all, I needed someone to give me the details of this world's history, as well as this city's culture, and people. Surely you understand?"

"Yes, but so soon?"

"Former goddess of time, remember? Now walk with me."

The two moved onto a park where the blueflowers were in full bloom. She took his arm as she spoke, making sure she had the entirety of his attention.

"In case you have not forgotten, there is a celestial battle going on. I think the battle's raging around the Progenitor System. I should probably..."

"No. No, no. You gods of this universe... you have trouble seeing the big picture. Apparently, according to your True Compass, the Solar Forge is no more. It now resides in Kaal'ex and Nova. Those two now are the most powerful beings, exponentially, and all your involvement will do is serve as a speed bump. You see, I have endured through a couple dozen wars amongst gods, and you find that certain streategies are better than others. For example, you strategy of rushing into a winless battle is not better."

"Then what do you propose?"

"Well, dear Icarael, I propose that you seek out the sources of power in the universe and arm yourself. Understand that you will need to be quick about this, but speed is no replacement for being sufficiently prepared." She handed Icarael the True Compass, its current state fittign right into his palm. "There are three places of immense power that you should go to. Together, it may be enough to deal with one of them."

"One of them? Maybe? I have to admit I find your plan... lacking."

"Until recently, I've been in the center of a god that is seriously touched in the head. I think I deserve some credit."

"So where is my first stop?"

"Your choice. There is a well of what seems to be infinite power located in the center of the galaxy, a vast ocean with a very old one in its greatest depths, and a charter in the Progenitor system. Now get going. I would hate to see this universe I've just gained my freedom in to be destroyed like the last, or even wrost, ruled by those bastard siblings."

Icarael only nodded. Then he was gone.

Al snapped her fingers. "Now Tessra, tell me more about this Oblivion. This whole desire to end all seems troubling."

[Ultimarr]

The Conversation of Chaos (DUN DUN DUNNNN), Maxim

"And I would hope you to do so. I wish luck upon you my friend, you may need it. Also, be warned, they are not beyond lies if it comes to that, so I urge you to temper everything you hear with your view. You probably already knew that, but you would be surprised what beings of the divine are not aware of." On that note, Seln shot upwards, spiraling, flying past Kaal'ex and Oblivion in a blink of an eye, flying up and up and up, away from Maxim. He went past the carriers, between the massive ships of the Onslaught that were rumbling slowly towards Maxim, finally, after he was out of sight of all the other gods, he teleported to his fortress.


Seln's Fortress, The Pyramid Moon
The halls of his fortress were empty, abandoned before the Conclave arrived. The Table sat shattered, the chairs empty, the two powerful guardians standing by the door. Seln motioned them up, and they woke up for him, the master of the fortress. He then with a thought commanded them to flank him and protect him, and he strolled out of the doors, slamming them open with a bang, breaking into a run at the pyramid, which was not far away at all, the seemingly slow guardians keeping pace. He turned the corner, scepter in one hand and scimitar in the other, and looked around at the devastation Super Nova had caused, the hole in the pyramid and the general destruction. He spotted a dark hand sticking out from under a massive melted gear, and blasted the metal off, lifting the Ereptor's wounded body into the air, looking it over. It was battered and beaten, but he was still very dangerous, and with a nod they both charged past Nova into the pyramid, hoping Kaal'ex didn't return. The guardians raised their stone hands, clapped once, and charged surprisingly quickly at Nova, swinging metal arms with strength enough to break and dent the toughest of metal. Not the most accurate, no, but a hit would be harmful to even a god.

Seln ran in, looked over the situation, and jumped at Lumos, pushing him into a wall, forcing him to drop his sword. It was probably not beyond the reach of Lumos's godly powers to get back easily, but Seln did not worry, for he was taking a gamble.

"LUMOS, what are you doing?! I was told you were a lawful god, that helped the weak, but I find you attacking the Masked One's creation, siding with the god of Madness and Chaos! Bah, your death will be quick, rebel traitor! Last words?!" Seln raised scepter, letting it glow with massive divine power, pointing it at Lumos's assuredly confused face.

[razovor]

Aeth

The battle was over almost as fast as it began. Eidolon appeared in the sky, turrets already firing, and ripped the invasion fleet to shreds.

Before the invaders could order a retreat, the Supernova did it for them. The battered fleets warped back to Maxim.

Cheers rose up among the Aethian people, gathered in the streets below, looking up to their saviour. The single defence cannon, brought online only yesterday by elven excavators, was burnt to a crisp by laser fire.

Eidolon took a while to saviour the victory, his hull lightly cooked, but holding, before he warped back to the city of angels.

Swarm

The ball that was swarm hurtled through the walls of the sphere like they were paper. The ball collided with a reactor, which exploded, taking out a dozen foundries. A team of revenants, working on another of their kind, slipped in their incantations, and died in a blaze of fire. Dangerously close to the core, the ball hit a wall of hastily constructed admantine, and exploded.

The explosion rocked the sphere, as a massive chunk of the facility broke off, spirraling out into space. The loose black orbs of the sphere, lay scattered lifeless in a mound of rubble.

Collective workers arrived at the scene within seconds. There was a momentary pause, as the collective tried to work out who was supposed to be giving them orders now.

And then Revenant pride seized control, and spoke to his subjects;

"Our part in this battle is over. Recall all units in the field."

And so it was done.

[Creed]

Moarzed went up into the Heavens, and saw The Dreamer and Oblivion.
Dreamer! Why is my planet burning! Which god dares to set fire to my creations!

[TheDarkDM]

The Progenitor System

The Sword of Oblivion struck the Shadow Star in a clap of thunder that resounded even through the empty void. The fleet around Maxim was thrown back by the shockwave, and the dark angel of Kaal'ex clutched at its chest as a spear of white light began to seep from his breast. The green flaming tendrils of his wings began to flicker, and those holding Oblivion's corpse seemed almost to wither. Upon the Shadow Star, the explosion created a bright pupil of flame upon the black sphere, and for a moment it seemed even the Madgod would be overwhelmed. But then coils of darkness curled around the flaming sword, and slowly the light darkened, devoured by the shadowed flames. The flaming wound in the dark angel dimmed, and eventually faded, and the gaping hole in his chest slowly began to fill with slick tendrils. Then the flaring sword was gone, leaving a writhing crater on the surface of the Shadow Star that rotated away from the surface, the hole retreating inward to heal.

Bringing his head up with a crack, Kaal'ex narrowed his eyes, and Oblivion's body was rent asunder, the dusty limbs of the vanquished god sent tumbling through the void. Then came Moarzed's voice, and the fury of the chaos god was glorious to behold. Lashing outn to catch Oblivion's drifting head, Kaal'ex tossed it towards Moarzed.

Moarzed! I'm glad you've come. Oblivion was the one responsible for this atrocity, and at his side were the Swarm and the Masked One. They have been dealt with, the Swarm and Oblivion slain and the Masked One unmasked and entrapped, but there is still more to do. It seems Seln has turned on us, and his forces approach Maxim to enforce his traitorous allies. Gioco has also chosen to strike, though my sister is attending to him outside our Black Pyramid."

Kaal'ex turned, sensing Seln's presence in the Black Pyramid.

It seems Seln has taken the field, and moves on our sole remaining ally, Lumos' sun incarnation. Come Moarzed, let us punish these fools who sought to test the Conclave.

Kaal'ex gave Moarzed a brotherly smile before he flickered out of sight.

As Lumos turned to face Seln, he saw Kaal'ex appear behind the God of Undeath. Striking forward like a snake, he caught the back of Seln's head and sent writhing coils though his skull and into his mind.

What have we here? Another conspirator. I thought you wiser than this Seln - do you really think you can defeat us? Oh, it seems so. What secrets you've been keeping Seln...the Arbiter, really? Did you think she could help you?

Then Seln was yanked back and went flying into a wall of the Black Pyramid, as Kaal'ex turned to face him with Lumos at his side.

Outside the Black Pyramid

Another god would have been surprised by the coming of Seln's guardians. But was the Supernova not the summation of all that was glorious in the universe?! Her sight was not constrained by such mortal implements as eyes. She saw the coming fists from what seemed like miles away, and brought a single glorious wing sweeping into them, burning away the imperfect constructs like she would any other failed machine. Those pests already forgotten the Supernova turned back to Gioco.

"Ha, another fallacy!"

Small nodules unfastened from the goddess' gleaming hips, unleashing a withering stream of needles at the speed of light towards Gioco, their diamond tips capable of penetrating even his armor.

"Kaal'ex and I now exist beyond the scope of you traitor gods! When we are finished, all will be order and cohesion, immaculate perfection as we rule side by side! We are cut from the same cloth, twins! For us to strike at each other would be to strike at ourselves!"

Another miles wide beam followed the stream of needles, this time twisting and turning to follow Gioco wherever he attempted to dodge, the fury of the sun inexorably chasing him down.

[HalfTangible]

The Pyramid

"And what makes you so sure Kaal'ex feels the same?" Gioco asked, allowing the spikes to strike his armor. There was nothing inside of it for her to pierce, he would be fine this way. "Twins you may be, but even twins can fight. Even twin sharks will eat each other in the womb!" Ice exploded from the wounds nova left in Gioco's body, pierceing the metal of her immaculate limbs. "Kaal'ex is a madman. Madmen care not for anything logical. You are a scientist, logic is all you have. Sooner or later you will come into conflict, just as you came into conflict with your other siblings."

[Iethloc]

Dezisorn's Prison

A new battle was happening now. A Myrmidon dubbed Anselm by the humans was present, a Longmane in the proud tradition of Durg. He hauled around a small autocannon with a custom grip so he could use it. But even he had to take cover – behind what? - from the machine gun nests of the Heretics.

No, this didn't happen in a desert. Where did it happen?

It was the remains of a forest. Many trees were cut down by the Heretics, and they had set the rest on fire as the Vaselcraf armor battalion rolled in. Their position had already been devastated, but they had concrete bunkers set up. Anselm was taking cover behind one of the few remaining trees, the smoke from its burning boughs irritating his eyes. He kept calling for armor support, but he only got one response:

“We can only send in one or two armored vehicles at a time with the thick tree stumps everywhere, and they have recoilless rifles set up!”

Anselm didn't know what else to do but pray. He got down onto his knees, set down his autocannon and clasped his hands together.

Dezisorn's arm was less than a foot from the Myrmidon. He couldn't remember what he was praying for, but he still reached over and placed his hand on Anselm's arm. The Wey Nu'u broke out of the script, and wrapped both hands around the God's arm. He pulled as hard as he could, and Dezisorn's head and shoulders were pulled above ground.

He remembered what happened now. He answered Anselm's prayers, and gave him a touch of divine power like he did with Durg years ago. He ignored the machine guns as their bullets merely bruised his flesh, and he shattered the bunkers with his bare hands. With their shelters gone, the anti-tank emplacements were destroyed by Maestro fire, and then they marched over the enemy forces.


But Dezisorn wasn't there anymore. He was in a desert.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One's Prison
The Scarred One awoke in a blaze of pain. His body stung all over and he could barely think. Tennir appeared to be gone. A new torch lay on the floor, providing a dim light. He had a feeling that it had been used to cauterise his wounds, as he did not appear to be bleeding. He looked about the room, seeing little more than he had earlier, a damp floor, and the gleam of a knife in the corner. Something new, however. His mask lay in the room, too far to reach. A large crack ran down the mask, nearly splitting the thing in two. The Scarred One remembered himself, and began working at the loose strap, on his right arm. With a minutes work, but what felt like an eternity, the arm was free. From there, he freed his remaining limbs, and climbed off the blood-stained slab.

Tennir appeared in the room, simply phasing into existence. The Scarred One, in his fear, scrabbled for the knife on the floor, desperately trying to find the handle in the complete darkness. Tennir began to walk towards the Scarred One with a purpose. The Scarred One finally pulled the knife from the ground, finding to his own surprise it was not a device for torture but his own knife. Why? He did not understand. Acting quickly, he dived at the god, attempting to drive the knife into the thin, gnarled beings flesh.

The Scarred One was smashed aside, falling backwards, the knife skidding across the floor, away from him. Tennir walked to it slowly, reaching down to hold it in a frail, yellow hand. Suddenly, the knife was in the Scarred Ones flesh, stabbing deep, just above the heart. The Scarred One fell back in confusion, choking on his own blood.

The Scarred One could feel the knife inside him. He could feel the cold blade of the knife as it touched his chest, the stabbing, shooting pains it sent out each time his heart beat. He gagged, and gasped for air as his rapid clotting blood began to block his airway. He retched, expelling some of the blood. His hands took hold of the knife. Tennir appeared to be watching, bewildered, wondering why the mortal was not dead. The Scarred One saw a bright light in the far distance, getting closer. Resisting every instinct that told him to stop, he pulled his knife from his chest in a spray of blood. He then slowly rose, staggering towards the god who wounded him. He almost fell onto the being, and began stabbing in a frenzy, The light expanded, and got closer still. The Scarred One kept stabbing and cutting, slicing and attacking until the god before him was little more than a paste. He then drove the knife into the things black mask, splitting the Gods hideous grin into two. The white light engulfed both him and all else around him. The slab, the mask, the room, the god, Alterra, all disintegrated into a blinding white glow. They were gone. Oblivion.

The Scarred One blinked. The Dreamscape stretched off into the distance around him. He was still in Kaal'ex's realm. But imprisoned no longer.

[razovor]

Alanthia

The Great Library of the Angels was magnificant. The entire city of the angels was beautiful. But this...

This was beauty suitable for the gods. Pillars of flowing marble, brilliant glass mosaics, massive statues of beings both wonderous and fearsome.The books themselves, though some were plain and old, were surrounded by ivory, and metals of splenderous hues.

But, as Eidolon wandered through the Great Library, it was not the beauty of the place that occupied him, but the size. Every book ever written. The great library was larger than some cities. And while the creatures that fluttered though this place; the seekers of knowledge, were majestic, they were no help to someone who was quickly getting lost.

Eidolon wasn't even sure what he was looking for, but he knew he would recognise it when he saw it. Determined to succeed, he ploughed onwards...

Sphere

As the collective cleared away the debris, a sudden bolt of lightning shot up from one of the lifeless orbs of the swarm. The bolt hit one of the members of the collective, who died instantly.

The collective halted, and a few gathered around the orb, to have a closer look. Nothing. A lifeless dull orb. The collective returned to their work.

There was a sudden explosion of light. Every orb burst into activity, lightning arching between them, and everywhere. The collective working the rubble couldn't back away fast enough, and were torn to cinders.

The lightning began to settle, and calmed. As it did so, the orbs of the swarm rose, and retook their original shape.

A revenant, standing nearby, lowered the magic barrier he had used to protect himself, and spoke;

"What was that?"

"We are not sure. But it appears to have died do-"

A blast of cold roared outwards in all directions. The thin metal plates beneath around the swarm cracked, and exploded into a thousand pieces, showering down into the city below. The revenant fell with the ice, falling a hundred feet before his body broke on the hard surface below.

The ice build up into a blizzard, which whipped through the air, pulling wind and debris with it.

The Swarm tried to stop the blizzard, but found it out of their control. This was not supposed to happen. The Swarm was a master of energy manipulation, one of the many powers of Order, this was chaos.

The Swarm tried again, and this time, pushed harder. Putting all their effort into it, the blizzard slowly died down, and receded. The Swarm looked around at the strewn rubble, the mere effort of containing the energy exhausting them.

Why was this happening? Was it a trick by the Angel of Darkness? The swarm looked around, surveying the damage their entrance had wrought. But no. The Swarm had felt this before. After the battle against Panic and the Angel. This was something more permanent. But then, why did it show itself again now? The Swarm did not know, but they knew who did.

The swarm gathered itself up into a ball, and teleported away...

[Imperial Psycho]

The Dreamscape
The first thing the Scarred One noticed was a sharp pain in his hand. It took him a moment to remember that it had been broken by the Madgod. He cast what healing spells he knew. After some work, the hand was functional, though it still pained him. He looked down at himself. He appeared to be wearing the clothes he wore in the Black Pyramid, that is, the black robe, and white gloves. He appeared to be sans Mask. Not important right now. The Scarred One cast his gaze about the Dreamscape.

He saw an imprisoned god. Thinking it must be Dezisorn, he rushed towards it. As he drew closer, he found it was in fact Heretic. The Scarred One had barely seen the god before he fled in an attempt to destroy Nova. He had been in the Dreamscape for a long time... He appeared to be little more than a gibbering wreck, his mind ruined by years of torture. The Scarred One wondered why he had been able to flee his prison, while this one had not. Perhaps because he had been tortured before? He did not know. The Scarred One did what he could, to attempt to free the tortured god. After trying everything he could think of, he sighed. There was no other thing for it. He manifested divine energy into his fist, and what was left of Heretic and his prison were engulfed in a blast of white light. When it cleared, both were gone. That was only the mind of Heretic he had destroyed. The body was probably still alive. He made a note to find it, and finally end the suffering of the god. It did not deserve this.

The Black Pyramid

His task done, the Scarred One located the Black Pyramid, which existed in both planes. He walked into quite the scene. The Madgod was attacking Seln, while Lumos appeared to be standing still, doing nothing. The Assassin appeared to be watching the exchange with some interest, confused. As his eyes locked onto Kaal'ex, he felt a wave of hatred overcome him, and he dived for his knife, which had laid, forgotten, on the floor of the Pyramid.

1 Act: Destroy Heretic and his prison in the Dreamscape

[Ultimarr]

Seln took the blow from the wall, twisting to try to avoid some of the damage. He hit the wall with a crunch, leaning against it for a moment before standing straight and raising his scepter.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here! You think you can control the universe, don't you? Well, I have been alive since the beginning of the universe and before that in other places, I have seen things you cannot imagine, tasted and felt things that would crack your insane mind! This entire planet is of my creation, yet you dare to challenge me!

My allies are spread accross the universe, and they will stop you Kaal'ex. Some for Honor and Glory, others for Piousness and Hope, but I fight for something different; order and peace. At first I sided with you, but now you have made it impossible for anyone to help you, anyone intelligent at least! You wreak havoc and sow chaos across the galaxy, forcing many into battle who would otherwise spend their divine energies creating and learning. I shall strike you and Nova down, for you have become too disruptive, as many before, and if not me, someone else. You will die, Kaal'ex! Lumos, choose your allegiance!"

With that, Seln pointed at the ground below Kaal'ex, and thousands of maggots burst out of the ground, swarming him and began slowly ingesting his form.

[BladeofOblivion]

Over Maxim

Even with the disarray of the reinforcement fleet, the Raposa had taken heavy losses. Between the relative power of the Negation Cannons and the initial disadvantage of having been caught between them, as well as the attacks from the Collective Drones, the Aethership Fleet had lost perhaps a quarter at most of it's original size.
The Antigolem fleet, on the other hand, was becoming downright tiny. Their War Machines had thrown themselves against a powerful foe, and even with their allies, had wasted so many lives. These Raposa had gigantic ships, on the Scale of the Oblivion-Class Dreadnaughts. And the Antigolems had Admiral Leadbelly.
Even he, in all of his bloodthirst, realized that this battle was going to be a disaster if he didn't do something. He also decided, in that moment, when the Aetherships began to fire on him again, to do something both heroic and suicidal.

Launch all Fighters and Interceptors. Reprogram the nanites to Little Doctor Protocol. As soon as those things are done, order Aetherstation Dias to call the fleet back. Then, send us into the center of the enemy. This will be our final hour, men. Make it count. Every one of them that dies is another notch on our memorial. Go, and do the Work of Oblivion!

The Bombers and Interceptors indeed launched, unloading their deadly cargoes onto the nearest Aetherships. However, the last Reaver-class Carrier had more than that. As the ship's Nanoforge was ordered to eat the ship itself, the Reaver launched itself directly into the Aethership Fleet, Plasma turrets blazing as Galvanic Cannons liquidized parts of the ship. The Lead Primarch sat at his command seat, resolute, until the very moment that the Nanorobots consumed his body for fuel.
But the consumption of the last Reaver was not the end of the destruction, despite the retreat of the hundred or so ships that remained of Oblivion's Great Armada.
Because those nanites were not merely eating. They were assembling more. The momentum of the swarm pushed it directly into an Aethership, which the swarm began to consume as well. From there, physics sent some into other Aetherships...

Admiral Leadbelly would be missed.


The Basilica of Flesh

The Four Horsemen managed to avoid the brunt of the attacks, despite War suffering extremely painful second-degree burns. They then released their counterattacks. War and Death rode along the diameter of the beast, opening a long and deep laceration in the divine flesh extending halfway across the circumference of the Basilica. Famine used his gruesome powers upon the beast, purging it of many of it's past meals, along with the energy given by consuming those meals. Pestilence gave perhaps the cruelest effect of all, injecting the Basilica with a strain of the Divine Plague concocted on the spot to affect only the Basilica. As the thing's tentacles struck back at them, they simply sliced them off, but War was too injured to continue fighting.

[Creed]

And who would appear next to Lumos and the Mad Dreamer but Moarzed of Chaos, intent on slaying those responsible for the death of his beloved catfolk.

[Toxin605]

Panic watched from his castle as the battle took place. Then he smiled, a large magnificent smile as a new plan formed in his head. He teleported to where Kaalex and Seln were fighting, and laughed out, "Kaalex you are a fool! Your Overgod status has given you a fatal weakness that me and Oblivion have been exploiting since the beginning of time. You are going to die by my hand. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

With a single pulse of energy, Kaal'ex roasted the sea of maggots beneath him, his form regenerating the grievous damage done to his lower extremities. Then he waved a hand, and the wall behind Seln burst into tentacles that wrapped around his decayed form, cracking his bones in a granite vice. Then Panic appeared in light and thunder, and Kaal'ex raised an eyebrow at the pale shadow of a god that dared to defy him.

An interesting theory, Panic, but one I feel disinclined to test. Moarzed, Lumos, this one has thrown his lot in with those who burned Maxim and defiled our Conclave. Kill him, would you?

Kaal'ex straightened his arm, pointing his palm towards Seln. A small ember of emerald flame popped into existence, and with a thought it became a writhing cone of flames, bursting from his palm and engulfing the captive Seln.

Really Seln? Order and peace? You, with your countless little intrigues? You, waiting to stab every ally in the back? You are the last god in this multiverse to stand for any form of order. Even Moarzed is capable of cooperation, of love - you are nothing but a decrepit corpse wearing the clothing of a god.

Gioco and Nova

A cheerful laugh bubbled from Nova's lips as the wounds left by Gioco faded in molten excellence.

"What other siblings? Little gods like Hrothlar with their little ideas? Kaal'ex and I are the closest of any gods - nothing shall come between us, not power, not mortals, and certainly not you!"

The elegant Supernova spared Gioco a kiss. Then, next to his head the icy god saw the flapping avian form of Twitter. With a chirp, he landed on an armored shoulder.

Hello. The elegant Supernova thanks you for your cooperation, and should you survive will have a short questionnaire. Please prepare for transport.

As Gioco reached up to brush away the irritating construct, he felt a strange tugging at his essence, and then a terrible heat. Looking out, he saw he'd been transported into the heart of a star, and just had time to process the implications before the crushing weight of gravity and terrible heat began to crack his armor and melt his very soul.

[Toxin605]

Panic laughed at the two gods that Kaalex had ordered to kill him. "Kaalex! I never figured you a coward as well as a fool! You place your faith in minions who will betray you as soon as they discover the truth of what happened to their Catfolk, or the fact that The God of Law, under your rule, shall be fighting against the God of Order as well as the God of Peace! He would even have to fight the God of Justice. Why would they fight for you knowing that it was the Raposa killing off 90% of the Catfolk! If they fought with you they would become little more than blind morons who ignored obvious clues that you are the indirect cause of all thier problems!"
Panic turned to the other two gods smiling.
"Hello, we haven't actually met but I know so much about you... I am Panic, The Former God of Terror. What's up?"

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
"Speaking of stabbing in the back..." The Scarred One grabs the knife and lunges for Kaal'ex, slamming into him and driving the blade into the Madgod.

[HalfTangible]

"I want to play a game."

Gioco's eyes glinted. "And why are you so sure the madgod feels this way? He is, afterall, insanity incar-"

Then twitter landed, and he disappeared.

As supernova grinned with triumph, she heard Gioco's icy chuckle. Supernova whirled behind her to see the god holding up a card. Her eyes immediately, in all their forumlaic power, determined the runes on it read as follows: Reversal. at a speed that would have driven a mortal mind insane.

"A delightful little trick. But..."

Supernova vanished, and found herself in the same position she had just left the god of ice: in the center of a star, gravity crushing at her.

I am a god of games. And what kind of game doesn't have a reversal trap? The card in his hand burned up in flames. And as the card burned, Gioco shuddered and gripped his 'gut'. He wouldn't last much longer. The 'game' had rendered Supernova helpless against his attack, but now his spell would leave him helpless against Nova's next attack.

[Ultimarr]

As the flames engulfed Seln, a scream that was of a pitch reserved for wounded animals and banshees broke out, scraping against the ears of the assembled gods. As he screamed, Ereptor stood in the shadows, uncertain for a moment, waiting for his next command. As Ereptor was a creature that lived on commands and wishes, its decision making skills were quite untrained, and its last command from Seln had been to sneak behind Kaal'ex, but thats it. Thoughts whirled around in its dark mind for a small moment of time, but as he stood in indecision, the Masked One lunged for Kaal'ex, slamming him towards Ereptor. Ereptor decided that the invitation was order enough, and activated it's blades, stabbing hard into Kaal'ex's back as he was pushed towards them, driving blades deep into his torso. Lightning arced around the room, centered on Kaal'ex, and deep biting flames immolated tentacles. As Seln sensed a lapse in the dreamers concentration, he rolled out of the flame, his suit and even black skin burned away, tatters clinging to his now exposed skeletal form. He slowly stood up, clutching his scepter in his right hand, his eyes burning with intense wrath, a bright violet.

"How do you expect to win, my dear dreamer? You think yourself omnipowerful and omnipresent, but you are naught but a facade of power. Even a being with your stolen powers will fall to might of numbers, I would of thought you knew this. You have been drawing upon chaos and evil since the beginning of the universe practically, and draw your allies from any that do not know enough to realize how much danger you pose to those around you.

Lumos and Moarzed, I hope you make the right decision. You have heard that all I have to say on the lies of the one before me, so I shall see no more. So Kaal'ex, I now have only one thing to say to you: Die, traitor of the universe."

With that, as Ereptor's blades stuck through his chest, Seln summoned a bone spike infront of him, and fired it at Kaal'exs heart at high speeds. Not as powerful as he usually was, but it still slammed into the dreamer with enough force to split a small mountain.

[daelrog]

The center of the galaxy...

Icarael reached the center of the galaxy, facing the black hole to which all the stars revolved around. Icarael closed his eyes. Black holes were not his favorite creations as they were antithesis to his light. With a moment of faith he dove in.

And then he felt pain.

And then he was free.

The Disc was an odd, strange place to him. Nothing but order. No love, no joy, no chance. Everything went on its course. Icarael had mistrsuted, even disliked the very first time he had met the Swarm, when it haddisregarded the value of the lives on Gade. Now he understood why. It was not that theSwarm was evil so long as one did not define evil in a narrow way, but that the god was too foreign, too different for Icarael to understand.

He looked around until he found it, the Plane of Energy, glowing more brilliantly than anything in the known universe. To plunge into this plane could mean death to even a god. Why the Swarm had created it, he did not know, but for now he was thankful for it.

He flew up to the very edge and extended his sword to it, letting an incalcuable amount of energy lash out and take hold of his blade ceated in the very heart of the solar forge. The whips of energy extended over his armor, infusing it, making it stronger, and somehow lighter. Even his very being was affected, feeling his essence stemmed with the sustence of the plane of energy.

Icarael tore himself away. There was only so much he could take and retain himself, and so he set off to leave, and find the next place of power.

[Creed]

Dark God Unsung

Moarzed sighed and recited a line from his own holy book.
"The god of chaos walks above lines of men and gods, past theme and truth, and knows what is to pass.
Moarzed begins leaking chaotic energy, seeming out and twisting space around him, and he turns to face The Dreamer.
I never liked you.
And the Dark God of Chaos unleashed a beam of magical energy from Souledge at the Madgod.
It's time I end this charade!

[Iethloc]

Dezisorn

Many of the Thoracsis were confused. The quasi-divine entity in front of them had disappeared without any announcement. It did not create any problems with the wormhole – they had plenty of time to study it, and their own Worm Heralds were managing to keep it stable. But most of the enemy forces had left, too. Did they anger the God that the Netherwarden claimed was “sponsoring” them? Was their Hegemony going to be wiped from existence?

Dezisorn didn't really care about them. He gave them a little push, and they organized their entire species, destroyed those who would tear down their regime, and are now advancing their technology faster than ever before. As far as he was concerned, he did everything he needed to do.

He pushed against the sand beneath him, and soon one knee emerged. His right leg wasn't strong enough to support him, so he kept scrambling until his left knee was freed, and then the rest of his legs. For a few moments, he crawled on all fours, until he plunged his left hand deep into the sand, and pulled out his cane.

He got back on his feet, and started brushing sand from his suit. Not knowing what else to do, he just walked. Soon, he came upon a deformed glass statue. Not even hesitating, he whipped it with his cane, sending the shards to the ground. With one gentle inhalation, he felt the rest of his memories settle back in his mind.

”I don't care how much damage I inflict on myself in getting out of here,” he said. He tapped his cane against the ground once, and all the sand begin flying away from him with a deafening roar. In but a few moments, the bare bedrock lay beneath him. And them the sand started falling back towards him in a horrendous sandstorm. He stood calmly in its center, not reacting as it started flensing his skin. Soon, it made its way to his eye, and he was blinded.


The glass form that was once Dezisorn suddenly shattered. Each of the 13 Netherwardens took on his usual guide. One flicked his cane, summoning the Broken Jackdaw to himself. It flit around madly. Can it simply not recognize his mind amongst those of the Netherwardens, or did he change that much? He still didn't care – he sealed it back into the cane for now.

He walked calmly to the fight, followed closely by his doppelgangers, arriving as the god of chaos launched his attack. ”Ah, I came just in time to hear you speak your mind. Good on you, Moarzed,” he commented unenthusiastically.

With that, one Dezisorn quickly raised his right hand, and it whipped out into a giant lash of sand, scattering against Kaal'ex. Each grain of sand started burning like a miniature star, serving not to attack but to distract and harass.

[daelrog]

Deep within Gade's largest Ocean

A ball of light raced into the Progenitor System, around the divine battle, and to the blasted planet of Maxim. The ball of light slowed down, so when it plunged into the water, it only created a spalsh a hundred feet high.

Down, down, down Icarael travelled into the ocean, feeling another's presence grow more and more. There was no light but that which came from within Icarael. Tiny forms of life fled from the source ofl ight, light which they could not comprehend, all save for one.

The thing was blue, and the thing was large and humanoid. It was also empty.

The shell of what was once Lohkir. Now its essence was spread across all the waters of Maxim.

"Who are you?"

"One who has come after your time, here at the end of all things to ask your help."

The god of natural disasters laughed. "Why should I care about the end of all things. It has been that way since the start of the universe."

"If that is so, then lend me some of your strength, as it will not matter either way."

The old one sighed, and Icarael felt his blade infused with the knowledge of how it all began, with a fraction of the power of one who was there when it all began.

Strange names entered Icarael's mind. Azrathar, Reloark, Torr, Pryic, Silunus, the names came. Gods and goddesses who faded away and allowed their essences to disperse into the universe, to lose the greater extent of their individuality. Icarael understood why now. They chose to let theu niverse unfold without their interference, to be one with the universe. This concept, this selflessness now burned with the portion of infinite energy.

"Now go... I am too tired to bother with one such as you any longer."


One more place to go, and then he might be ready.

[Raz_Fox]

Fires of Heaven

The space before Gioco rips apart, a dozen burning white lines forming a complex figure, mathematical formulae writhing along the sides. And The Glorious And Perfect Supernova Of Solar Transcendence In Radiance Adorned steps through, wreathed in glorious flame. And she holds in her hand the very core of the sun, contained by a Von Carsan Field. Lightning arcs across her hand, keeping the immense power contained.

"Excellent. Quite clever, indeed - were you not a blight on the universe's proper order, I would have to request that you join my side. How unfortunate that our philosophies keep us estranged." She smiles, and it is an incongruous smile, the smile that is given when one thinks of happy memories. "But you don't really want to know, do you? You're content with merely being clever, with thinking twenty steps ahead of your foes. That is the fundamental difference between us. I desire to understand the very nature of existence, and improve upon it. You have no goals, no higher desires, merely an animal's cunning and desire for entertainment, wrapped up in half-cognizant morality that is merely an excuse for your whims. That is why I deserve to win - because I fight for a much higher cause than you, Gioco. You fight for your sake, while I fight for the cause of eternity."

She holds up her hand, and cracks form in the field, carefully-controlled apertures that cause gouts of super-focused divine fire to flare from the raging heart and soul of the sun. In complex patterns they swing, seeking to ensnare Gioco in a labyrinth of fire and light from which there can be no escape. For what better trap for the god of ice than all-consuming divine fire?

[HalfTangible]

Game Over

Gioco's eyes narrowed, though he did not - in fact, COULD not - move as the flames enveloped him. "And even here, at the end, you do not understand." He calmly pulled himself into an armored ball and waited as the fires enveloped him. "Your 'higher cause' is awful enough for the methods of a gamer to be warranted. My goal is to make the universe's sides utterly even. No further war will be needed... when I win." And the flames finished surrounding him.

His strength would return soon enough - every game had a time limit. Not neccesarily within the mechanics of the game, but sooner or later the enemy would get sick of waiting for an ending and leave.

And at that point, Gioco would strike back.

But for now, he would wait. A game was about two things: cleverness and patience. All he had to do was bunker down and wait for an opportunity. For while flames can melt ice if great enough, it cannot consume ice itself. Worst that would happen was him becoming a water god.

[Raz_Fox]

Game Over

The Glorious And Perfect Supernova Of Solar Transcendence In Radiance Adorned smiles, and it is a mad and terrible smile. She leaves the orb to keep Gioco trapped in his maze of hellfire, and folds in on herself.

She unfolds in terrible radiance by Kaal'ex, with a dignified and utterly insane laugh. "The strong survive, and the weak are made to serve. This is the axiom of the universe's heart. Now burn and be destroyed, or kneel before your betters and await your subjugation!"

So saying, she unleashes an unholy barrage of quantum missiles from her fingertips and shoulders, which target the gods arrayed before her with terrible explosions, cracking the fabric of reality.

[daelrog]

Seln's Fortress

Icarael landed upon the last of his destinations. His body was now growing brilliantly, his golden armor dull in comparison. The undead servants of Seln parted for the god of light, their lord having no quarrel with the god of hope, and even so, not having the ability to stop a deity.

Icarael walked until he entered Seln's Fortress, and into the meeting place where the gods who had been first birthed into the universe. Thrones, mutable to its owner now collected dust. At the far end, sitting on a plane, stone step was the Arbiter.

"Who are you? I do not know you."

"I am Icarael, god of hope and light. You are the Arbiter?"

"Hope and light? Do you serve the Council?"

"What is left of it."

The Arbiter's head twitched a way only a machine could do. I serve the Council, I serve Seln."

Icarael took a step closer. The power of the Swarm's plane of energy and the wisdom of Lohkir, one that had become one with his ocean, Icarael could feel the unnatural presence that Seln had put in the Arbiter. There was no way he could remove the taint without destroying this Arbiter and rebuilding her from scratch.

"Playing both sides, with an ace always up his sleeve."

"I do not understand..."

Icarael stepped away form her and began feeling the presence of others in the chamber. "It does not matter..."

Azrathar, Lohkir, Moarzed, Torr, Bertholeum, Hrothlar, Pyric, Silunus, Hodari, Reloark, Seln, Nova

Their auras had seeped into these very walls. Where had it gone all wrong? When had creation turned to destruction. Was it Kaal'ex ut Phrennix i'Choss'Urr Alil Yhaevar'Mhaik? Was it all of them? Icarael himself was birthed into war, and desptie his attempts to learn more about both sides, he had never once striven for peace.

The god pushed regret to the side, replacing it with the nostalgia of being in this place where the first ones argued and bickered and set the foundations and laws that had begun to tremble before Icarael had come into being, and had collapsed in his lifetime.

He looked back to the Arbiter and walked to her. She gazed up at him with empty eyes.

"Lend me your strength, please."

"Why?" The air around Icarael began to feel hazy as the Arbiter readied to attack.

"Kaal'ex has made his gambit to take over all. The Council fights him now, but I can feel the battle raging within this solar system. Kaal'ex and Nova will win. Protect the Council Arbiter, uphold the laws you were created to enfroce with your very being. Protect Seln, and the other who fight them."

The Arbiter's right arm twitched as she reached her mind out to see if what was spoken was true. Where was the Solar Forge? Who were some of these gods fighting? Who was this in front of her? What had happened?

"Can you stop them? Is lending you my strength the logical choice? Is it the strategy that will yield the best results?"

"I cannot defeat them both. I may be able to stop one of them. I know not what is the best way to deal with the enemy of the universe."

"Neither do I." The Arbiter reach over, and removed her right hand from the wrist, she handed it to Icarael.

Upon touching his armored palm, the hand dissovled and flowed up his arm, forming another layer of armor, pure silver in color. Weird designs extended from the arm, each desgin hollow and glowing with the Arbiter's essence, with the essence of those seven gods that had helped create her... including the Elegant Nova of Innovation In Steam Enshrouded and Brass Enthroned.

"What will you do now Icarael, god of hope and light?"

"I will do what I was destined to, to find what sliver of hope remains, and strike into the very heart of shadow."

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

The Scarred One's blade pierced the arm Kaal'ex raised to defend himself, digging through the forearm to emerge from the other side, tip gleaming mere inches from Kaal'ex's face. The Madgod pulled back his arm to swat the escaped god away, before Ereptor's blades sunk deep into his back. The arm he intended to smite the demigod with was nailed to his side by Seln's bolt of bone, and as he began to pull himself free he was assailed by the flames of Dezisorn and Moarzed. Kaal'ex began to falter under this new attack, his form beginning to bubble beneath the torrent of divine energy. Then, with a wrenching crack he pulled his arm free, bony spear and all, and reached out to grasp the Scarred One by the face. Green flames engulfed the hand, boiling away the already ruined flesh, as Kaal'ex flung him aside. Gripping the knife still stuck in his arm, he pulled it free and sent it flying towards Seln. As divine flames continued to assault him, he fell to his knees as the sinuous green tendrils on his back arched down to impale Ereptor hundreds of times, lifting him up and hurling him at Dezisorn. But still, Moarzed's flame endured, and as Kaal'ex attempted to summon his own fire in the midst of the inferno it seemed almost as if the Madgod might fall. Then, Nova arrived. As the barrage from his sister distracted the assembled gods, Kaal'ex regained his feet, and with a primal roar his body exploded with black tendrils, the blackened spikes erupting from his skin like boils to lance towards the assembled enemy gods. Wherever they hit, the gods of the Solar Forge felt their essence begin to ebb away, and with every impact Kaal'ex's wounds closed ever faster.

[Creed]

The Black Pyramid

Moarzed is impaled by one of the Madgod's spikes, but he barely notices, sliding along it with an outsretched arm, nearly ripping open his torso.
Only a number of feet away from The Madgod and Nova, Moarzed smiles, not out of cleverness or triumph, but in sad, sad, pity.
May He help us all.
And the Dark God unleashes a blast of chaotic energy from his palm, flinging himself backwards with the force and intensity of the attack, the golden life-blood of the gods oozing from his shattered chest, ribs sticking out at bizzare angles or all-together pulverized.
Moarzed's eyes close, and he slumps.

[Mashimoto]

Somewhere...?
Nowhere...?

An endless expanse of white. A dim, black speck in the distance, barely more than a speck against a background that had no contour of shadow. No shape or form. The only sound was the dim echo of boots clanking on a floor that wasn't a floor. The sound of greaves and links of chain-mail armor rattling into the frictionless void. And the sound of feathers, fluttering.

The sound of doves.

Or a hawk.

Draco curled his wings towards him as he strode along the white corridor and the black speck grew larger. Draco's beard had grown out, it was flecked with blond now. And the occasional streak of gray and, what frightened him worse, white. His sword swung idly at his hip.

"Father," he says simply in an angelic voice that rings out across The High Plane. "I have spent much time seeking you. I should have known I would find you here."

The wizard sat limply against a wall that wasn't there, cradling ancient knees in a robed embrace, his beard trailing all the way to the floor. He peeks up, gray-blue eyes glinting beneath the wide brim of his hat. But he did not speak.

"Everything is coming together," Draco speaks. "Gade is o'erthrown. The Gods meet in the Black Pyramid, perhaps the only structure in the Universe that can contain their power without rupturing."

The wizard looks up again, into the blue, squinting eyes of his armored son.

"They war?" Hrothlar asked, choking the words through a dry throat that wasn't used to speaking.

"Aye," Draco nods his head. "So I fear."

Hrothlar's cracked lips smile at the word.

"Fear," he mutters, half to himself although the sound reverberates in the absolutely vacant plane. "Fear, indeed."

"What about it?"

"Fear," Hrothlar repeats. "It is the most grievous sin against the universe. It is the only sin. It is my sin, my burden to bear."

"You're not making sense..." Draco's eyes fall on the pitiful man on the floor, but widen as the wizard stands and paces. He limps, at first, but then walks and finally strides.

"Fear!" he says again. "It is why I am here today. My very godhood is a persistent reminder of my fear, why I failed as a man.

"Immortality, I sought, and power. What are either except a means to defeat fear? What fear hath an immortal, I must have thought? With my cleverness and my magic I stole the powers of the gods for myself and now suffer the shame. This is no universe, this is purgatory. In mortal life, I swept the power of a Universe--the power of Gods...into this."

A wisp of smoke and Hrothlars gnarled staff appears in his hand. The taproot at it's tip begins to writhe, as if stretching out for invisible water, and a small, blue sphere begins to rotate within it. Hrothlars very essence within the gem, the powers of Godhood and of a Universe born and unborn.

"For too many infinities I have kept myself bound to this world and similar ones because I was too damn afraid to venture beyond the blackness that I did not know. My arrogance made it impossible for my to face the demons that lay beyond what I could not understand. I feared death, Draco, the way all men do, but my power stopped me from coming to terms with that fear. And then..."

He trails off, allowing a single, blue-tinted tear to crawl down his wrinkled cheek.

"And then, I saw...you. A man so devoted to his people he willingly threw away his life in their name. Your father had abandoned you, just as mine had abandoned me. You were godless, as I was godless. And, pressed against a wall, you proved yourself a great deal nobler than me. I shrunk from my cowardice. I ignored it as long as I could until I could ignore it no longer and I retreated, here, to this place. To this High Plane, which exists here" he gestures towards the rotating, glimmering sapphire atop his staff. "Within this gem, I have contemplated and faced my own damndable cowardice and come to the realization of what is at stake. A universe, in the balance! A universe of wonderful, beautiful creation teetering on the verge of destruction while I flee and cower, like a child."

His knuckled whiten around the wooden staff. He swallowed hard, and spoke in a commanding tone. His eyes remained eternally fixed on the glimmering sapphire, rotating with the power of a Universe.

"And now, I know what must be done. I am not afraid of the blackness. Come, we mustn't tarry. Onward, to the Black Pyramid!

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos looks into Seln's eyes as he is trapped against the wall. Light flashes through his pupils, searing into Seln like a branding iron. With a flick of his wrist he sends the god flying, smashing into one of the chairs, which turns to powder. Flexing his arm, his sword dissapates and returns to his hand. Turning to Seln, he says,

" I bring order to the chaos of the world. Chaos is everywhere. In your mortals. In your pantheon. In you. "

Raising his sword into a guard, he spits out, " I protect the weak, yes, but sometimes there must be sacrifices. For order. Your Council are agents of chaos and must be destroyed. And because of that, you creations are tainted, and they must also be destroyed. Now die, traitor!"
He charges recklessly.

Come on, make a GOOD argument, and I'll turn.:smallbiggrin:

[Ultimarr]

The Pyramid, Seln's Moon

Seln swooped aside to dodge the knife, grinning a bony grin and preparing another attack, looking up just in time to see the tendrils. He blasted one aside with magic, letting two more skid against his bones on his legs and shoulder, dancing away from them, sustaining minimal damage, and he readied another bone spear, but before he could launch it two intertwined tentacles hit home in his ribs, shattering bone and sending him flying a couple feet from the force. As the tentacles started to climb up through his body to his skull, reaching for a kill, Seln pointed his scepter at them, slicing them off quickly with summoned blades of darkness, sighing with relief while backpedaling towards the exit quickly.

But then Lumos decided on a course of action, and he was flung forcefully into a chair, violet steam erupting from wherever the light attacks touched. Seln looked up at the god, scowling, listening to his words silently while propped up on one elbow on the ground. As the crazed god charges, Seln looks up into his furious face now with a expression of almost sadness, speaking.

"You think you fight for order, but you know nothing. You take orders from a god whose very essence is of madness and evil, who destroys for fun and has tried too burn entire planets of innocents just because a small amount stood up to him. He has waged war on humans and the gods of justice, hope, and light since he was born, beginning his life with an attack on Gade.

Yet, for some reason, you follow his orders, and Nova's, who has committed too many atrocities on mortals to count. You say you are the god of Order and Good, but you are naught but a follower of tyrants, an executioner, silencing any who would stand in the way of your masters. For the love of the overgod Lumos, look at it from the Council's prespective, or mine! See beyond the lies!" As Lumos drew to a dangerous range, Seln pointed his scpeter at him but did not fire, waiting for his response, seemingly accepting death if Lumos choose so, but in reality he had no such plans.


Above Maxim
The Onsluaght fleets, who had been traveling for quite a while, came out of the soulscape above Maxim, taking in the view for a moment, before Commander Letisk grinned and sent out a message too all boneborn assembled; "My people, this it. We have waiting since the day of creation on the sacred fortress of Seln for this moment, when we will make ourselves known, and oh how we will. FOR THE DARK ONE!"

With that, the ships, which were organized in a convex arc, all activated engines, blasting forward into the chaos of the battle, souls cannons blasting at any conclave targets that presented themeselves, while the necropolis classes descending towards the atmosphere while firing drop pods at Chronos City. The days of any Raposa captains were officially ruined.


I should note that while Seln is extremely weakened, the onslaught is fine, and has been growing for almost as long as the Raposa, and was one of the first races to build void ships. I tried to express the power of their forces in the above post, but I just want to say I don't expect to win instantly, or maybe at all. Just me trying in vain to write a cool scene :smallsmile:.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
Despite the situation, the Scarred One giggles to himself. "You fight for a god of Madness, and call your work order? Do you not see the contradiction?"

The Scarred One abandons his knife, and begins turning to his magic, firing shadowy blasts of energy at the Madgod.

[BladeofOblivion]

The Surface of Maxim, Antigolem Firebase

Despite the disappearance of the very small remainder of the Antigolem Fleet, there were still over a million of their soldiers on the ground. Most of those who had survived the counterattacks of Maxim were the Heavy Infantry and the Assault Troops, and as such were among the best the Antigolems had to offer. But they were failing. Billions had died on this forsaken planet, and they had been orphaned by their fleet. Their firebase was beset on all sides by the Hounds of Kaal'ex, and there was at least one Hagannzhi pounding on the gates. They'd done a whole lot of damage though. The initial orbital bombardment not only from Station Maxim, but the fleet itself, had killed several billion Raposa. The events here had caused Moarzed to remove the Raposa's support structure through the Catfolk. Plants would never grow again on a fair portion of this world. Maxim was clinging to its last strings of life, and even those Metropoli would not hold forever without food for their population, or even fresh air.

That was another hardship caused by the invasion. When Antigolems used their weapons, they turned the very atmosphere around them into ammunition. This had a side effect of causing massive climatological upheaval in a full scale invasion, thanks to a hugely thinned atmosphere. In fact, the weapons testing facilities on Antigade had practically emptied the supply of air there. Thankfully, that was one thing the Antigolems did not need to survive.

Suddenly, the Hagann burst through the Bulkhead, only to be fired upon by Six Annihilator-Class Assault Weapons trained on the door. The guns continued to blaze, but they could only hold so long. When the Assault Troopers stopped to reload, hundreds of the Hounds of Kaal'ex poured through the door. Some were blown out of existence by the Anti-personnel rounds from Antigolem Heavy Infantry armed with Solace-Class Submachine Guns, but it only slowed the tide.

Perhaps their biggest mistake was holing up in here and expecting the Fortress to hold. Perhaps a yet larger mistake was coming to Maxim in the first place.

The Hounds attacked, followed by what remained of the Hagannzhi Armored Divisions and yet more hounds. For every Antigolem that fell, the resulting explosion took a small group of Hounds with them, but there were simply too many. The Antigolem line was quickly shattered as they ran back, trying to escape the lethal beasts. Swathes of Acid cut into their Powered Armor, but it held firm. It was forged on a molecular level to be near perfect. The acids of Kaal'ex might bite into it, but it would not pierce it completely.

But the Raposa were a whole different story. The weapons carried by the Hagann could destroy the Heavy infantry effortlessly, though it was unwise to do so at close range. Even their infantry had high-powered crossbows capable of penetrating the Powerful Armor of the Antigolems. General Antimony called out one last order before his life was ended by a Galvanic Cannon.

"Release the Swarms! They are the only things that can save us now!"

The Swarm Pods stored in the base opened, and trillions of nanites came pouring out. They were mainly of two types, both Sabotage and Ravaging. The ravaging swarms saw the biological armor of the Hounds of Kaal'ex, as well as the relatively unprotected hides of the Raposa Infantry. They floated at blinding speed over the enemies of the Antigolems, like an angry hive of bees. Hundreds of Raposa Soldiers panicked as tiny injections of a cocktail of poisons and acids were applied all over the surface of their bodies, and a large number were unable to move or at least unable to concentrate on fighting. Sabotage Swarms attacked the Hagannzhi and other Hagann, swarming in through microscopic holes in the joints and cutting wires, logic components, electrical cables, anything that might damage the things.

This meant that while the Hounds were bestial enough to ignore the millions of tiny injuries occuring all over their bodies, the Raposa were thrown into disarray, giving the very few remaining Antigolems time to retaliate. And they did. Hounds, Raposa, and Eido were mercilessly gunned down by several Automatic weapons, the vacuum force tearing away flaps of loose flesh, exposed bones, and unattached Nanites. But there were still too many for the Last Stand of the First Antigolem Horde to truly have stood a chance. The enemy might be crippled from the initial strike on their planet, but they were still more than capable and numerous enough to destroy what remained of the Legion. This would be their dying day, and most of them had accepted that, confident that Oblivion would take them.

But then something unexpected happened. Seln's forces appeared above Maxim, and the defenders of the planet were going to have to fight on two fronts! The Legion only had to hold the fort a bit longer. As soon as the repair nanites were done fixing the gate, they might stand a chance after all. A cheer rang out among the Horde:

"Hurrah for the Onslaught!"


Note that this was based on how the Antigolems saw it. They took a lot more losses than implied, and killed less than it sounded like.

Also, Ultimarr, your troops are fresh and ready to fight. The Raposa and Hounds are VERY weakened from having fought off literally Billions of Antigolems already, along with a huge number of Collective Drones, and a Changer Task Force to top the cake. Anything not protected in a Metropolis is pretty much destroyed by now, and the Air Density is significantly below normal.

[Creed]

Survival Forge

The Great Pyramid of Praetoria was still on the outside, but the inside was filled was Shades and Catfolk bustling around the last stronghold of Moarzed's Paw in the galaxy (besides, of course, the far off planet of Solace, but none knew of it but the chaos god himself).
Once word of their location became clear, there would be no telling who would attack Praetoria's impenetrable pyramids. The invading aliens who had destroyed Maxim, or even the Raposa and the neigh-mythical Novex-Ka were expected at the gates. The High Priests of both cultures were instructed by their god to shoot on sight.
Even though the two races were fairly new to one another, their shared knowledge was hastily preparing a backup plan incase the pyramids were breached. The knowledge of astronomy the Raposa had passed down like a hand-me-down rag to the catfolk was no being combined with Apophis's Gateway to form a device that would be the Moarzed Coalition's last means of escape.
Or, a weapon to go out with a bang.
Either way, the heavily armed, higly dangerous catfolk had suffered generations of racial segregation and discrimination by the Raposa, and their warrior spirit had now returned.

[Iethloc]

The Black Pyramid

With multiple vantage points of the battlefield, it was somewhat easier for Dezisorn to defend himself, despite spreading his power between multiple bodies. And so avoiding the demigod thrown at him was easy. Dezisorn's divinity – and visage – disappeared from the Netherwarden that Ereptor hit, leaving it to pass through its incorporeal form.

Another doppelganger stepped forward as the spikes neared his spare bodies. Merely by puffing out his chest slightly, Dezisorn flared up with the divine energy his vessel contained, unleashing a torrent of Ether and divine energy. Slowed and disrupted, Dezisorn and his doppelgangers could block the lances with plasma shields drawn from the repertoire of the Netherwardens. The power in that body spent, Dezisorn's visage retreated, and he settled into another body. But this time Dezisorn paused for a moment and peered at Lumos.

"You fight for order? Then why do you fight alongside a god who has destroyed the Solar Forge - the foundation of our existence - for selfish purposes? Stop fighting and calm yourself for at least one moment and think," he commented.

Jumping back into the battle, he focused his power on another Netherwarden's body. This time, he shed his guise and dissolved into a cloud of dark sand and smoke. He surged forward at the Madgod as a divine sandstorm, scouring and trying to reopen his wounds.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos stops his charge. " Words will not sway me, thieving wretches!"* He snarls.

He opens his hand and within it appears a small white sun. He draws back, and throws it into the center of the room. As it reaches the center, it abruptly begins to hum.

A few seconds pass as the star undergoes nuclear fission.

Then it supernovas.

With a blast of blinding light and searing heat, the star blows up. Objects fly like feathers and the walls crack and chip under the pure power of the explosion. For several seconds, nothing can be seen but retina searing light, like a thousand suns. When it passes, Lumos stands resolutely still, facing down the champions of chaos.


* all lies. Big ones. Words will sway him. Eventually. Five Two more posts should do it.

And this is a type 1a supernova, explanation provided here:

There are several means by which a supernova of this type can form, but they share a common underlying mechanism. If a carbon-oxygen white dwarf accreted enough matter to reach the Chandrasekhar limit of about 1.38 solar masses (for a non-rotating star), it would no longer be able to support the bulk of its plasma through electron degeneracy pressure and would begin to collapse. However, the current view is that this limit is not normally attained; increasing temperature and density inside the core ignite carbon fusion as the star approaches the limit (to within about 1%), before collapse is initiated. Within a few seconds, a substantial fraction of the matter in the white dwarf undergoes nuclear fusion, releasing enough energy (1–2 × 1044 joules)[44] to unbind the star in a supernova explosion. An outwardly expanding shock wave is generated, with matter reaching velocities on the order of 5,000–20,000 km/s, or roughly 3% of the speed of light. There is also a significant increase in luminosity, reaching an absolute magnitude of -19.3 (or 5 billion times brighter than the Sun), with little variation.

[razovor]

The Grand Library- Alanthia

There was a sound, like the indrawn breath of a giant, and a bright flash of light. Eidolon stopped and turned slowly to face the noise, a bookcase blocking his view.

Creeping ever-so slowly, he slid along the side of the bookcase, and peeked around the edge...

Floating in the corridor, a spattering of fallen books below them, was the swarm. Eidolon's instincts told him to flee, what fuzzy memories he had of his past told him this god was dangerous.

But there was something more powerful at work here. Eidolon left the safety of the bookcase, and approached the Swarm, stepping carefully over the fallen books.

"You changed colour"

The swarm turned sharply.

"A side-effect of a greater change. But we are not here to discuss such things. Explain your actions"

Explain? I came here looking for information about..."

The Swarm interrupted him

"Before that. We summoned you to this galaxy to battle chaos, and you fled like some snivelling mortal. Worse, before you left you infected us with chaos. You may have thought yourself smart, but we know it was you."

"What do you mean infected? What's wrong with you?"

"This"

The swarm reached inside itself, grasped the energy that had been building up within, and released. A bolt of lightning arched through the air and struck Eidolon straight in the chest. The machine-man was lifted full body, and thrown through the air.

He hit the dead centre of a bookcase, which exploded inwards, spraying ancient tomes everywhere. The swarm lifted into the air, and floated slowly towards the gap. Papers fell slowly through the air, drifting like feathers in the wind. The Swarm reached the gap in the bookcase, and leapt through.

Eidolon was gone. The Swarm looked to the next bookcase. It was heavily dented where Eidolon had hit it, but it wasn't broken. There was a faint humming noise. The Swarm turned upwards sharply, but not fast enough. A blast of energy rippled down from the top of a chandelier, striking the swarm's higher orbs. There was an explosion of dust and fire. When the air cleared, the swarm was floating, resolute and unharmed behind a glowing force field.

"You'll have to do better than that."

The Swarm rose in all it's glory. The wind whipped around it, ripping books off their shelves to spin violently through the air. With a thought the books caught aflame, the wind rising to tornado of fire and power. Eidolon fired off a shot, only to see it batted harmlessly away by the wind. The nearest bookcases splintered and snapped, tumbling off their bindings to crash against their neighbours. Windows exploded outwards, showering the city of the angels with glass.

"This. This is what you have done. It is uncontrollable. Chaos."

"I don't know how to control energy, I'm an engineer!"

"Lies. You have been corrupted Eidolon. Kill yourself now, and no-one else has to die."

"You're insane!"

Eidolon brought both his hands together and fired, drawing on all his strength. A blue beam shot from his hands, towards the God of Order. The Swarm retaliated with his own fiery blast.

The beams met half-way, their forces pushing each other back like a game of tug of war. The Swarm and Eidolon held the beams, pushing against each other with such incredible force that the air itself began to boil. For a few moments, Eidolon seemed to have the advantage. The beam closed quickly on the Swarm, pushing back to within almost an inch of victory. But in the last moment, the swarm withdrew the Tornado, and fired it down his beam.

Eidolon was hit before he could ever register what was happening. He rocketed through the air, ripping through a hundred bookcases, thrown almost the whole length of the library. Every window exploded outwards, every chandelier burst. The library was plunged into darkness and as the sound of falling bookcases deafened out all noise. One of the four great marble pillars holding up the library, over one hundred feet in height, snapped at the base, and fell roaring to the ground.

Eidolon burst through the final wall, sliding across the floor to land sprawled in the dust of a barely visited room. The flight had ripped off a leg, cut his body everywhere, and reduced his torso to it's bare framework. Using a book-stand to support himself Eidolon lifted himself up onto his foot, as The Swarm floated into the room.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this."

Eidolon shielded his face vainly with his arm.

"Don't kill me."

He closed his eyes, waiting for the release of death. There was silence.

"Wait, did you just say I?"

Eidolon opened his eyes. For a moment it looked like the swarm was gone, but when Eidolon turned around, he found the God behind him, standing by a bookstand

"I recognise this book"

There was a single book on the stand. A large brownish tome, with a leather cover, plain and simple

Eidolon hopped cautiously over to the Swarm. The book seemed insignificant, another one of millions of tomes he had seen in the library. And yet... there was something that drew his attention. As he stared at the alien symbols that covered it's front, he seemed almost to know what they meant, like he was remembering a language he'd forgotten years ago.

"The Book of Joy"

A dozen of the swarms black orbs buzzed lightly, and flew slowly towards the book. As they approached they almost melted together, forming a pair of gloved hands. The hands grasped the cover, and opened the book...

[BladeofOblivion]

Oblivion

There are some interesting properties to the divine. Of course they have reality-shaking power, but that's not all. As long as even the memory of them remains, the thoughts inspired by their existence not cleansed, they will never truly die. Unless they are truly consigned to Oblivion, not mere Annihilation, but Oblivion, they will never be extinguished with finality.

At least if they think ahead, like some. And so the essence of Oblivion, the God of Destruction, indeed lingered. There was something greater than destruction in his power, however. He usually stopped at Annihilation, but he knew better than any god that Oblivion was the only effective way to destroy Kaal'ex.

Which would be great if he wasn't dead. But Oblivion was one of those who had greater plans, and even death couldn't stop him forever. There was something very important that he had lost. Shed, even. And an old friend of his had it in safekeeping somewhere.

And Oblivion had only to find his way there. Because even dead gods can dream.


In the Mind of Another

Out of nowhere, outside the Black Pyramid of the Conclave, a god Oblivion knew better than any other was suddenly assaulted by images. More images than could possibly have even existed. And then, for an instant, he saw the true face of Oblivion.

You know who I am. You know what I want. I have rooted through your consciousness for it, and it isn't here. And you will give it back to me, hopefully before I decide to destroy your mind from within. Now, please tell me where you have so carelessly left my former aspect, Panic.

[daelrog]

Outside the Black Pyramid

Icarael arrived otuside the Black Pyramid, feeling the battle wage within. It was clear that Nova and Kaal'ex would win save for a miracle. Icarael smiled underneath his helm, for even he, the god that was supposed to epitomize the hope of others, had to reach out and have faith in the unknown himself.

He readied his blade, and prepared to enter into the sea of despair itself.

[BladeofOblivion]

Eternal Darkness - Panic's Mind

More Images. More gruesome, terrifying images. Panic's Silence was costing him dearly. Oblivion continued to search through the more accessible parts of the god's mind, searching for the Information he needed to revive himself.


"Panic, just tell me. Both you and the Council will only suffer more at the hands of Kaal'ex without me in operative condition. We are the only ones here who could reasonably kill an Overgod, and if you fall, this battle ends. I will make you fall if you do not give me the location."

[Mashimoto]

Black Pyramid
There was a sound of shuffling winds, interrupted methodically by a curt, clockwork clicking. Over and over this pattern repeated, and the gods with Keen ears could sense it drawing nearer.

Eventually, a shadowed figure emerges in the back of the room.

Hrothlar, ancient God of fools. He strides across the room, supported by his walking stick. With every step, his robes shuffle across the marble floor. Draco follows at his heels, a tranquil glare set upon his face.

[BladeofOblivion]

Y'know what? I'm sick of waiting. Panic, if you object, PM me.

Oblivion

Continuing to dig through Panic's mind, Oblivion hit something. Exactly what he wanted. He recorded the information and left.

So he had to find a planet called Vivior. There was some mention of it, and the coordinates weren't hard to track down. And so Oblivion found his prize. Hidden in the essence of a being called Narol, there was his secret reserve. A thing he had kept hidden from all just in case of a circumstance like this. Oblivion flew down and took it, knocking Narol unconscious in the process.

This is what Oblivion wanted. This was his salvation, and his greatest secret. This was what was left of Nihilus' mind, the part that was not transformed into a god of destruction. This was his Conscience.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One barely survived being, essentially, thrust into a star. He threw up what protection he could against the force, but it was far too much. As the heat and light subsided, he fell to the floor, covered in burns. His robe, somehow, survived.

Despite it all, the Scarred One laughed. "You're an idiot Lumos. This fight has nothing to do with Law and Chaos. This is about Evil. And those who oppose it. You don't fight for Law. You fight for Vile Madness. Or are you blind enough to believe the rule of the Madgod and the Machine Witch will be a sane one?"

When Hrothlar entered the room, the Scarred One laughed all the harder. "Hrothlar too? And his pet. This has become quite the reunion. "

[BladeofOblivion]

The Black Pyramid - One-Winged Angel The Final Battle

Out of nowhere, and completely unexpectedly, a brilliant light shined once again, battling the stark Obsidian color of the Pyramid. Through the entrance came an impossibly bright glowing form. It resembled a sphere, cloaked in a dark armor that almost appeared white against the brightness of the being. It's misty form also appeared in white, and its Icy Blue eyes stood in conflict with the red tint of the previous form. All in all, it appeared similar to Oblivion, except that it was larger, and had a reversed color palette. It released a vaguely crackling ion field around itself, and entered the fray.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos roars. " I will not be swayed by your petty arguments. There can be no evil with order. There can only be evil with chaos. Now feel the wrath of law."
With a gesture, Lumos brings into being a sphere of pure law. Revolving geometries of perfect order swirl around the edges. Lines of law are written into the sphere like cave drawings. No chaos can exist comfortably in this sphere. The Scarred One, Hrothlar, Draco, Desizorn, and Seln were unaffected. None of them were true Gods of Chaos.

But Kaal'ex...

The Madgod was pulled into a thousand different direction as the pure order of the universe tried to form that which had none. Tried to fit into its laws the being that warped them. Tried to Order Chaos and failed. It pulled Kaal'ex's form into a thousand different shapes, but none could hold the Madgod's essence as he broke them like a fine chain.

Lumos turned toward him in surprise. " You..." he stutters. " They're right... not them... but you..." Lumos' eyes go wide with realization. " Trickery!" He roars with pure rage. He raises his hands and fires beams of slicing light into the avatar of true chaos.

[TheDarkDM]

The Black Pyramid

At Nova's arrival, the light from both of the sibling gods seemed to increase tenfold. As two torches held together, the energies of the Solar Forge within each of them fed on themselves, until the God Emperor and God Empress of the universe were framed in a light that blinded even the gods assembled against them, for it was the light of the Solar Forge itself. Dezisorn's sandstorm could not pierce the aura of divine power, the black sand dissipating into dust as it brushed the flames emerging from flesh of obsidian and gold. They stood, amused, as Lumos railed against the other gods, until his orb of pure law was deployed. As Kaal'ex's image was pulled into a thousand different, fractious forms, the smile faded from his face to be replace by a look of vague annoyance. With a blur, he swatted aside Lumos' bolts of light, and met Nova's eyes.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't last forever sister. Shall we?"
"Indeed dear brother!"

The sibling gods joined hands, and green flames merged with indigo to form a raging firestorm at the center of the Black Pyramid. Reaching out with their free hands, they formed fists towards the others. As they did, writhing bonds of divine flame encompassed every wraith imbued with Dezisorn's energy, every shadow double and true bone of Seln, every armored limb of Lumos. All the gods assembled against Nova and Kaal'ex were held in the searing embrace of their dominance. As they struggled against the flames, tendrils of tenebrous force exploded from the star of Nova and Kaal'ex, streaking directly into the foreheads of the others. As the spikes of void energy dug their ways into divine flesh, the other gods felt their minds assaulted. In moments, their preliminary barriers were breached, and they felt their consciousness slowly giving way to the force that had birthed all that existed. Disgust and rage towards Nova and Kaal'ex began to shift to admiration and loyalty. The gods raged against the invasion, but even their wills could not hold lout forever against the gods of Madness and Genius empowered by the very fires of creation. Kaal'ex and Nova began to laugh maniacally, the sound echoing off the slick black walls of the Pyramid, until Hrothlar and Oblivion arrived.

Two pairs of eyes met the arriving gods, two pairs of eyes awash in flames casting piercing shadows of mental anguish. The bound gods felt another hammer blow of force against their true minds, as the laughter ceased and Kaal'ex and Nova floated into the air on wings of flame to meet the new arrivals.

"So the idiot gods arrive at last. I though you'd dealt with Oblivion brother?"
"As had I. Apparently he is as resilient as a cockroach. No matter - we shall slay them now and seize their powers for our own, and be worshiped by these other small gods."
"So Hrothlar, will you continue to defy us in the face out your own destruction? Or will you finally realize the depths of your own hypocrisy?"

[Mashimoto]

There's a hissing metal sound as Draco unsheathes his sword. He narrows his eyes and clenches his fingers around the hilt. Hrothlar takes a few weaponless steps towards Nova and Kaal'ex, the tip of his walking stick bobbing up and down with a faint blue glow.

"It doesn't have to end this way... he pleads, looking up into the ethereal, storm-like mass. "Surely, we can coexist! Can you not see the intrinsic power of love and order over hate and chaos?"

[BladeofOblivion]

Despite all common sense, Oblivion's sword was sheathed. The fires and darkness, it seemed, refused to come upon him. It was like violence itself was frightened of the god, and kept away in terror.

Kaal'ex. Nova. I shouldn't be surprised that you believed I was dead. Despite my entire speech describing the difference between death and true Oblivion. I have been forced to resume my former aspect to return here now. You know, Panic never did tell how you beat an Overgod. It's a secret trick, because it's exactly what you would expect.

You turn their power against them.

[daelrog]

Icarael finally arrived, taking in what had become of Nova and Kaal'ex. The star of shadow he had lain eyes upon was a mere fragment of the power and terror that now towered over all, and his sister, one whom had feigned reason, or perhaps had simply changed her mine, revealed her true self.

A scholar from an outlying fringe world of the humans had once said that only with power, does one's true character become revealed. To think if that was the case, even as a goddess Nova could not be herself, only by being one of two in the universe could it be so.

"Hrothlar, that time passed long, long ago. So long as those two hold the power of the very Solar Forge itself, they will not yield to anyone." Icarael raised his blade.

The god of hope and light did not know whether all the time of preparation would amount to anything, if that combination of the plane of energy, a lost god, and the Arbiter was enough to put even a scratch on one of these overgods. However, it was what Alanthia had found for him, and he had faith that he coudl do something this grim day.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One was held immobile before the Madgod and his sibling, though his will was yet his own. The fight had taken it's toll, however, and the Scarred One was barely able to move, let alone do battle. There he lay, in the home of his enemy, broken and defeated, and Hrothlar talks of peace? "Peace? I doubt this Mad One would ever accept peace. Certainly not now. " The Scarred One tried to laugh, but each breath hurt his chest.

[HalfTangible]

Within his prison of fire, Gioco's eyes flashed open. He vanished from his position and reappeared back on the battlefield. His armor was smashed, broken and scuffed, and through various holes one could see that he was, indeed, just his armor.

"Hello Hrothlar." The military god said calmly, his voice cold as an arctic wind. "I take it you are unaware that such things as 'it doesn't have to be this way' are said from a position of greater power, equal footing or when the enemy will experience heavy losses. None of which are situations we find ourselves in."

Nova felt something in the back of her mind snake away, something she realizes now was how Gioco kept her in his game. But now that the game was over, he would be as helpless as any other god before her might.

Gioco knew this, too. And as he raised his blade in front of him, his eyes carried no fear or hesitation. Nova would win this battle. But if he retreated, the others would die, and even if she lost all of her power, she and Kaal'ex would be the last gods before the end of the next millenium.

[BladeofOblivion]

Black Pyramid - The Final Battle

I will not back down against your threats, and your displays of power. I am not afraid of you, Kaal'ex. I have destroyed gods more intelligent than you or your deranged sister, more powerful than all of the gods arrayed here combined.

I have resumed my former aspect. You are in fact correct that Oblivion is dead. I see the light now. Oblivion was a shattered fraction of my mind, that grew a personality of its own. Now, I am once again whole. I am Nihilus, God of Tranquility and Peace! And you, you defiler of tradition and destroyer of all, are my opposite. I am not a being who desires combat, but sometimes combat is unavoidable.

Kaal'ex, I am going to enjoy seeing you unmade.

Oblivion, or rather, Nihilus suddenly draws his sword and launches everything he can think of to attack with. Antimatter Shards, Blasts, Charges, and even some of Kaal'ex's own Divine Fire.

[TheDarkDM]

Unity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep5Ly6nfl9c&feature=related)

Hmmm, how interesting."

Nova and Kaal'ex reached out in tandem, and the assault of Oblivion shattered against an invisible barrier.

"Indeed brother. We seem to be drawing out every one of our enemies."

"It seems that even with our new power, these three may pose a threat."

"True. What would you suggest?"

"With unity of form, we will be able to prevail. Will you allow it, sister?"

"Of course. Let us wipe these witless fools from reality."

Within the blazing inferno of divine flame, the shadows of Kaal'ex and Nova began to flicker and melt. As they did, the light pulsing from the protective shield grew ever brighter, eventually obscuring everything but the hellish light.

"What you all have failed to realize is the nature of our existence."

"There is a good reason why there are no other divine twins."

"For twins to exist, the divinity creating them must be split in twain. Heat seperated from light."

"Perspective separated from wisdom."

"Madness separated from genius."

"such divinities should be weak, pale things, but we have overcome our initial weakness."

"Now, each half of divine inspiration has attained a strength greater than any other god."

"And thus the time has come for us to cast aside the intangible walls between us, just this once."

The whirling inferno was suddenly pulled inwards, imploding upon itself at the speed of thought. In its absence, darkness dominated the vision of the assembled gods, until a single figure stepped forth from the void. The gleaming metal form of Nova had changed, its bronze shifting to silver, its gold to blackened chrome. All signs of gender had disappeared, leaving the vulpine frame androgynous. The gears of the forms innards had been covered by cords of dark green muscle, and covering the metal plating of the thing's skin were engravings both blasphemous and brilliant, the equation governing the universe laid bare on the flesh of pure divine genius. The figure opened its eyes, and out blazed a flame that was at once the void of Kaal'ex and the shining light of Nova, two all consuming holes that nevertheless radiated light. As the figure crossed its arms, bladed plates flared out from its back, releasing wings of the same paradoxical flame that swept around the divine chamber. It the heat of their presence, the assembled gods could feel the full might of the Solar Forge, its split energies melding together into a single crucible of divine energy. As the figure touched the minds of the assembled gods, it spoke in the voices of both Kaal'ex and Nova, the cadences of the mad gods wrapping around themselves until they coalesced into a single terrible sound.

Now you see the futility of your actions. What hope do you have against the reforged force of genius? None! We shall smite you all, not as two separate gods, not as siblings, but as the whole denied to us since the dawn of the first universe. Behold, Novex!

The figure reached out with incredible grace, and from its outstretched wings flew spears of void energy tipped with the light of creation. Those forces, anathema to each other, were as putty in the hands of the Overgod of Perfection, and as they struck they exploded with the power of a birthing universe, the piercing force of newly dawning consciousness.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Black Pyramid
The Scarred One, no longer held by the Madgod, collapsed to the floor. Rubbing a burn mark ruefully, he staggered to his feet. Chuckling to himself, he spoke, his voice a low rasp. "Heh. Personally, I feel sorry for Nova." Swaying slightly, the Scarred One mustered what was left of his power, to face this new foe.

[daelrog]

The Black Pyramid

"Hrothlar, I pray you have a plan worthy of stopping this force." What Icarael now posessed seemed but child's play to what he saw now. Still, the cards wre all on the table now, and there would be nowhere to retreat to.

[Creed]

Moarzed gets to his feet.
Well it looks like it's last ditch time.
Moarzed charges Novex, flames streaming from his body as he literally transforms his divine energy, his lifeblood, into a missle aimed straight at the twisted thing.
Twins of Order and Chaos! Go back to the hell from whence you came!

[BladeofOblivion]

Of all the impossibly ridiculous things that could be done at this point, Nihilus did perhaps the most blasphemous. He laughed. He laughed at the foolishness of Nova, allowing her great mind to be corrupted by the foulness of Kaal'ex. He laughed at the foolishness of Kaal'ex, allowing his normally mental and nigh-untouchable form to be bound to the relative weakness of Nova's Body. He laughed at the foolishness of Novex, believing Schlerself to be infallible. Most of all, he laughed at the falsehood of being the only pair of Divine Twins.

HA HA HA HA HA HA! Could you be any more blind? By combining your powers, you only temper your weaknesses! You only give me more to toss right back into your face!

There is more. You believe yourself to be the only pair of Divine Twins? You are wrong! When I was originally split into pieces, there was one more shard. It was twisted by chaotic forces into another god, and he later found mental liberty! There is another shard. Panic, where are you?! Nihilus is calling you home!

[Mashimoto]

Hrothlar looks up at Novex, the embodiment of chaos. The swirling mist in the void. The monster of monsters... The unholy of unholies...

"If it must be... let it be..."

Sword in one hand, glowing staff in the other, he casts a look to his allies.

"Distract them...it...I have to get close!"

Draco clutches hos sword at his side. His wings have unfurled, Novex casts a swirling black reflection on the steel of his armor.

"You heard him! Charge! For all that is good and holy, charge! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fk-IuF8oY)"

Kaal'ex awesome music ran out for me just as I typed this. I figured Id add my own =P

[BladeofOblivion]

Pacification (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIm7bR0p-nQ)

Hearing Hrothlar's order, Nihilus moved near him, aiding the charge. As soon as he was within range, he drew upon the powers of the god of Tranquility.

MY powers. I must remember my old identity.

The immense reserve of energy that Nihilus had stored for millennia while inside the mind of Panic rushed forth, generating a mighty shield around himself, Draco, and Hrothlar.

I must succeed. We must destroy that abomination.

[Toxin605]

Outside the Black Pyramid

Panic was in great anguish.

It felt as if someone had been carving into his skull with a dull knife, such was the pain of Oblivion's Intrusion. As he struggled to regain full bearing of his situation, he suddenly felt the surge of Dreamscape energy released from the crevices of the Black Pyramid, and saw the widening portal to that realm of madness and despair threaten to engulf the Pyramid, along with the remainder of the Progenitor System. The greenish lightning cracked out into surrounding space, warping the laws of Physics just by existing. But what came from the Pyramid was something entirely different. Less chaotic, and more sinister.

Suddenly, the pulses of dark energy took on a mighty tone, and the force of wills between the Gods broke into new pulsing. But one thing stood out. The immense energy released by one being made the others in the room look so small by comparison. The only word that came to mind was "NOVEX."

But one voice stood out to Panic, even above the terrifying presence of the NOVEX. The voice of his old friend and persona, Nihilus. Standing resolute against the immense power of the Overgod, Nihilus simply would not give up. And he was calling for Panic to join him.

Panic instantly flew inside the pyramid, and melded into the form of Nihilus. The two separate suits of armor on the body of the composite being combined into one indestructible mesh, The Ultimate Aegis of Eternal Peace. The Sword of Nihilus was infused and tempered with the chaotic energies that Panic had such control over, but the sword continued to radiate the peaceful neutrality that it always had. A new voice appeared within the mind of Nihilus, alongside the personas of Oblivion and Nihilus himself. The energies that Panic commanded were added to Nihilus' repertoire of abilities, and Panic's Anarchic energies further protected Nihilus' shield.

A new voice spread across the room. An Icy, Pure voice that could only belong to the god of tranquility.

Do you understand what you see, Novex? We may hold but a fraction of your power, but the my resolve is far greater than any! I am a being beyond most, and yet I stand in a room with perhaps the most powerful being that will ever exist. We form the ultimate Trinity. Destruction, Chaos, and Tranquility meld into one being, perfectly balanced to form the perfect mediator.

The voice of Oblivion rose to the occasion, and Nihilus' Eyes turned to a bright Red as he spoke.

Your existence is an abomination, Novex. The same is true of your components, and so we shall rip you in twain. You will be torn asunder, much like the laws of physics around here. It speaks volumes about your atrocities that I, the god who is solely responsible for the destruction of billions of Universes, find them to be hideous.

Finally, the voice of Panic spoke up, offering a conclusion. Nihilus' eyes shifted to Panic's trademark Green.

In short, we will work together in harmony, as one being, to end your miserable and too-long existence. There's no place for you to run or hide, Novex. There is only the Righteous Justice we will inflict upon you.

[TheDarkDM]

The Final Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yVBsRmKpbw)

The head of Novex quirked as the composite being spoke to it, challenging its power. Then the surrounding deities charged, seeking to overwhelm Novex with the ferocity of their attack. As they came, time seemed to slow, and the Overogd raised its hand above its head. Bowing its head, Novex summoned a wall of simmering force around itself. As first, it seemed as though it were a simple barrier, but then the Overgod's fingers spread. Outside the Black Pyramid, an entire spiral arm of the galaxy winked out of existence. Thousands of stars went nova in an instant, their energies channeled inwards, through innumerable portals, and out of Novex's barrier. The combined force of thousands of exploding stars engulfed the charging gods, and even the walls of the Black Pyramid began to crack under the assault.

Enduring the abominable heat and pressure, the assembled gods heard the voice of Novex in their mind, deadly calm.

You still offer resistance? Somehow, I knew you would. There can be no peace in this universe while you continue to resist me. Therefore, you shall be chastised.

At Novex's last word, the walls of the Black Pyramid exploded outwards, sending the Void Crystal tumbling through the aether. As the divine fortress crumbled into dust, the explosive power of Novex's attack escaped the divine realm, washing over the Progenitor system. Planets that had stood since the beginning of time shattered into nothingness before the blast, as did the surrounding systems and stars. The assembled armies of the gods screamed as they died, flash-fried as soon as the Pyramid fell, and around them space burned with the scattered particles of desecrated worlds. All that was left around the gods was a small fragment of Seln's fortress, protected from the blast by the base of the Pyramid. Overhead, growing ever larger in the wake of the slaughter, was the portal to the Dreamscape, framing the floating figure of Novex in its light.

Do you not yet understand? There are no more limits for me - time and space are naught but childish concepts before my awareness. I could create a thousand universes with but a thought, enslave trillions with a whisper. You cannot win.

[HalfTangible]

"Peace, Novex?" Gioco gestured to the universe around them. "There's nothing in the universe left even capable of imagining the very concept of 'peace'! You are no god. You are simply a killer, mortalspawn."

"Perhaps we ARE at fault, as you claim. Perhaps morality is the cruelty of nova. Or the insanity of Kaal'ex. Or the power of whatever you are now. But we know who and what we are, and so we stand before you now."

"I am Gioco of the Ice, savior of the Hodrans, creator of the Frost Wyrms, Ruler of Ice, the soul of the military..." Had he but a mouth, he would have grinned. "And the master of games."

Novex felt itself freeze in place, unable to act, move, or even speak. It was Gioco's turn.

And he charged forward with all the strength, will and cold power of his spheres. Iceborn stabbed straight at the beast's heart...

... And snapped in half. From the tip to the hilt, the blade Iceborne was rent in twain.

Gioco had just enough time to think Hopefully they have better luck than I do... before he froze just as Novex had, and Novex felt itself free again.

[BladeofOblivion]

And in the End...

At the challenge of Novex, Nihilus spoke again.

Novex, what do you know of peace? Kaal'ex's introduction to the galaxy was the dissonance that finally split the relative harmony of the gods. Perhaps the gods could have united, however, without the sour notes already in place by the machinations of the Inelegant Nova. You are the fusion of the two beings in the universe most guilty of the current schism. You are the nightmare that disturbs the mind of the sleeping giant, the cold that so cruelly offers misery to the helpless. You are the ultimate evil, capable of acts so abominable that they sicken even my darkest Persona. I am Nihilus, God of Tranquility, Destruction, and Terror. I handle this conflicting nature by protecting only the things that deserve to exist. None pity you, Novex. None will lament your fall. None desire your continued existence. And so I carry out the will of the Gods.

Nihilus summoned his deepest reserves of energy, dropping the shield around Hrothlar and Draco to offer three luminescent tendrils of pure plasma, showing the faces of the three personae. The calmest of the three, Nihilus, spoke in his cool, pure voice again.

You shall be split. The madness will be expunged from the universe.

The tendril plunged into Novex's Body, trying to tear out Kaal'ex.

Then, the most chaotic of the three, Panic, spoke as well.

You shall be split. The Genius shall not be allowed to fuel the madness.

That tendril plunged in as well, offering a counterforce, as the two tendrils were nearly succeeding in tearing the being in two. But Novex was stronger than the two personae. However, there was a third.

The darkest of the three, Oblivion, then spoke.

And so it falls to me. Your existence ends, Novex. Now, and Forever.

The tendril containing Oblivion plunged into the center of Novex's body, turning from its Iridescent blue to a burning red, and split off from the body of Nihilus. As Oblivion split from Nihilus, the perfect White of Nihilus' form lost the red tint, transitioning to a pleasant Cyan.

The formless matter containing the consciousness of Oblivion pushed outward, and the three forces managed to separate Kaal'ex and Nova. But the fission had a cost. Oblivion's mind faded away, giving some last words to the forms of Kaal'ex and Nova.

How do you feel? You're finally almost rid of me. Don't look now, but there's several other gods ready to tear you to scraps. I'll see you in Oblivion! HA HA HA HA!

[daelrog]

Icarael had despised Oblivion, and had not known Panic. Still, their sacrifice was beyond reproach, and if he had had the time, would have mourned. With a battle cry of a thousand tiny, helpless ovices, Icarael threw himself at the once again two gods, throwing dazzling lights to try to keep their attention from Hrothlar.

In truth, he doubted that if Kaal'ex and nova were defeated, the universe would be safe. There would always be those, mortal or divine who wished to snuff out hope, and carve the universe in their twisted image. However, perhaps then he, or others, would stand defiant once again, and all he could do was try to save this universe just this once.

After all, he was the last of the gods that had been released from the Solar Forge for the sole purpose of stopping the mad god's machinations. It was time to meet his fate, no matter what became of him.

[Imperial Psycho]

The Scarred One threw up a feeble protection from the blast, a thin red shield that flickered in front of him. As the force barrelled into him, it flickered and died, throwing the Scarred One across the Pyramid. For the umpteenth time, the Scarred One rose to his feet, his robe in tatters. His chest was bare, and it too was covered in cuts and burns. His face was now truly a horror, the marks of fresh burns and old making it appear only vaguely humanoid.

The Scarred One steadied himself, and watched on as the Madgod combined, then was split from his sibling. His gloves were thick with sweat, so he threw them off, then took aim at Kaal'ex.

Then, he fired. Every ounce of magic he had left in was forced into one blast, a massive column of flame, directed at the Madgod he despised. The last of his energy escaped him, and he collapsed once more.

[Creed]

Moarzed, so close to Novex upon the explosion, lies in a heap upon the floor. Soul Edge hovers above his body, spining feebly.
Gauntlet, Moarzed's faithful demigod, lies next to it's master, it's black fur singed.
It appears that the god of Chaos is no more.

[razovor]

The Book of Joy. Chapter One

1. In the beginning there was nothing. And that was good. Nothing should exist before the beginning. But now there was a beginning, something must exist. And so the Gods appeared.

2. There were many gods, tall and small, strong and weak, alien and normal. To record them all would take longer than reality. This book is about one god. The Lord of Joy.

3. The Lord of Joy was powerful, and wise. Seeing the emptiness of the universe he grew restless, and decided to change things. He took a lock of his own hair, wove it into a ball, and formed a new planet. And this planet was named Aeth.

4. Aeth was good, but Lord's work was not done. Lord cast his hand across the landscape and created animals of all kinds, to populate the landscape. When he was done, Lord descended to his new land, to inspect his people.

5. The land was good, and the animals were strong. This made the Lord of Joy glad. But the land was full of chaos and disorder, so Lord created a new race, to learn, and bring order into the chaos. And he named them humans, as was fitting.

Chapter two

1. The humans grew fast, and took to learning the land quickly. But Lord grew impatient, and took it upon himself to help his people. Lord journeyed to the Tribe of Alwan, in the land of Ibith, and approached the people there. The humans feared his power and strength, but Lord meant no harm and calmed their hearts.

2. The Humans apologised for their actions, and invited Lord into their camp. Lord joined the humans for a feast, sharing their finest breads and meats. But when it was Lords turn to eat, his touch turned the food to bread to ashes, and the meat to rot. The humans were confused, thinking their god had disdained them, but Lord apologised and blessed the humans with cunning to show his love for them.

3. To glorify Lord for his gift, the humans went hunting and returned great beasts to train as their followers. Lord marvelled at the great opols, triles and even an amoosk, mightest of all the beasts. But when he rose to touch the amoosk, the beast screamed a great roar, and died.

4. Lord was shocked by the beasts death, such magnificence destroyed in a heartbeat. But more so, he felt sorry for his people. And so he granted the humans strength, that they might mine stone, and forge great houses to live in.

5. The humans were honoured by their new gift, and sought to try it out for themselves. Some gathered wood and travelled far to the mountains of the north. Others stayed in the village, and tested their strength against each other.

6. After several days, their came one man, Gedon, who found himself the strongest in the village. In his over-confidence, Gedon challenged Lord to a test of strength. Lord accepted, annoyed by Gedon's over-confidence, and hoping to show him humility.

7. But when Lord touched Gedon, he screamed. His hands turned red and burnt. Blood poured from his ears and eyes, and boils formed across his body. Gedon died, turning to dust which scattered in the wind.

8. Lord turned and fled immediately, horrified by what he had done. He ran leagues and leagues, far from the Tribe of Alwan, even beyond the land of Ibith.

9. And for the first time, The Lord of Joy wept.

[apocalypsePast2]

Lumos

Lumos, bound by the power of Kaal'ex, or Novex, or whatever the hell he called himself, was helpless against the force of the exploding pyramid, and his body was sent hurtling through space and great speed. His light grew dimmer as he flew. Dimmer and dimmer. Dimmer and dimmer.

Then, without any dramatics, it went out.

Deep within Lumos' subconscious, something stirred. It smashed it's black chains like toothpicks and turned to Sun. Sun was barely alive, power leaking from him at a tremendous rate. Moon halted the flow, patching up his other half and restoring it.

Sun came back to consciousness in bits and spurts. His body flashed once, twice, then went afire in a blaze of yellow light. With a roar of rage, Sun turned to race back toward his enemy, the champion of chaos.

" Wait."

Paying no heed to his other half, Lumos accelerated, whizzing through galaxies and nebulae.

" You're not strong enough."

" Law is ALWAYS stronger than chaos. I will prevail." He growled.

" You need me."

Sun's brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell did that mean?

" Let me in."

Sun growled dissent.

" Let me in." Stronger this time.

Sun's resistance was crumbling. Like a dam, it broke, his other half flowing into his consciousness like a flooding river. Sun meet Moon. Law met Chaos. Gold met Silver.

And they mixed.


With a flash of blinding light, Lumos appeared in the battle once more. He was not just Moon or Sun. He was both.
With a high, long laugh, he brings a dozen suns into being around him. " Hey, Kaal'ex. Remember me!" shouts Moon, and sends a dozen suns hurtling into the Madgod at the speed of light.