Fantasy False Savior [Apocalyptic Fantasy]

[TanteRegenbogen]

Plot​

The land of Narvaros was once a peaceful and prosperous empire. The empire worshipped the god of light, Attis, believing in his eternal protection. However one day, the moons turned red, the crops began failing, beasts began to ravage the lands and many priests of Attis lost their ability to heal others. Fear was that the other gods toppled Attis and the end of times was upon Narvaros. Then one day, someone who called himself the Hero of Attis appeared. He was able to use healing and light magic and ended up gathering a significant following.

However unknown to most of the survivors, the one that brought this upon them was Attis himself and the Hero of Attis, is not a savior, but is in cahoots with Attis to destroy and "renew" the world. Attis fights the rest of the pantheon in the divine world, while the Hero of Attis eradicates the followers of the other gods in Narvaros.

The other gods have granted a number of people special abilities to oppose the Hero of Attis. To the gods, they are the ones who could save this world, however to the followers of Attis, they are nothing more than demons called the Generals of the Dark Army. You are one of the "Dark Army" and possibly one of it's champions. You have been used by the Hero of Attis in the past and have been forsaken by Attis, yet when you were on the brink of death, one of the other gods reached out to you and granted you strength to oppose the forces of evil.

Factions

Hero of Attis​

The supposed savior serving the god Attis. He presents himself as a benevolent leader to his following, but in fact is a cruel and sadistic person who punishes disobedience with draconian punishments and manipulates others into getting him anything he wants. With the assistance of Attis power, he was partially responsible for the beginning of the end. Many who were mistreated by him and escaped to the dark army know his true name: Roik.

Dark Army​

Less of an organised army and more of a number of warriors in service of the other gods or even the ancients. They oppose the forces of Attis and his hero. Many use the ruins of destroyed cities or ancient ruins as their bases of operation. They are led by the "Generals of the Dark Army". Many of the generals knew the Hero of Attis personally or where used by him either as former followers, former allies or former prisoners.

Generals of the Dark Army​

The Generals of the Dark Army are people blessed by the other gods and some are even servants of the ancients. While normal dark army soldiers have nominal blessings, the generals have more significant blessings. As aforementioned, many generals gots to know the Hero of Attis one way or the other and all are out to stop him.

Personalities/Characters


Species​

Playable species are Humans, Elves and Dwarves as well as mixes between any of them. The species usually share similar culture nowadays as they have lived together for hundreds of years now. They used to live in their own respective spheres, however under the empire the gradually moved closer to each other until their cultures mixed into respective regions cultures of the empire. However usually folk from the northern and coastal regions of the empire are a little darker in appearance than those of the southern or mountainous regions with those from the plains appearing in between.

Gods​

Attis - God of Light, Evaru - Goddess of Darkness, Daevalin - God of Harvest, Inali - Goddess of Fertility and Fortune, Havar - God of War, Hrikk - God of the Dead, Vorniz - God of Elements, Beru - Goddess of Knowledge

Ancients​

The ancients are the deities of the religion that predated the current one. Their forms are often incomprehensible and they mostly remain neutral in matters regarding Narvaros. While they don't favor any particular side to the conflict, they have their own apostles traversing the lands for their amusement. While the ancients don't have names speakable by human, elf or dwarf, they have placeholder names based on what they represent: Time, Pestilence/Purity (same deity that represents two sides of the same coin), Morality, Corruption, Space, Void.

Setting

Narvaros​

Narvaros is an empire spanning an entire continent. It was a prosperous place with many large cities, lush forests and fruitful plains. There were many dungeons and hidden ruins in the land. The ruins of black towns and cities in found in deep caverns come from a culture that existed thousands of years ago when the ancients were still worshipped. Now many of the cities above ground are just as in ruin and depopulated as the ones in the caverns. So far, only some western coastal cities and generally islands have been spared of destruction, as the effects of the end are not as severe there as in the rest of the empire. In the east and north are the settlements, towns and cities following the Hero of Attis, while the bases and settlements of the dark army are in the south and in the mountains in the center of the continent.

Starting point: Environs of the Black City of Ezaru​

A lesser populated base of the dark army. Despite it's size, only a few dozen warriors occupy the city that lies deep in a cavern. Outside of the cavern, a few villages dot the area, getting by on a lifestyle adapted to the lack of light, farming with plants that can grow at night and in moonlight. Daevalin, the god of harvest, blesses the fields though his servants. Due to the strategically insignificant location of the area, only dangers it sees are beasts and occasional brigands. To the north, further into the mountains towards the lands of Attis, there is a large mountainside base containing tens of thousands of warriors. To the south, along the merchant road are villages that produce enough to supply the troops. And far to the south is Alarik, one of the main bases of the dark army, lead by Hainrich, Apostle of the goddess of darkness Evaru.


Note: Yes magics exist. They are elemental, necromancy, healing, light, dark, summoning, beast taming, plant magic, illusion and enhancement magic (as in buffing companions).

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

It was a normal day in the area around the Black City of Ezaru. The sun was mostly blocked out by a mysterious miasma as always and it was slightly chilly outside. At this point, it was optimal conditions for the crops the people had become accustomed to. On the fields, there were crops that could grow even with very little light. Due to the conditions and change of diet, there had been subtle physical and psychological changes in the populace over the years. Things like change in skin or eye color and more resilience against winter depression and the effects of having to live with so little light for so long.

Having been part of this ordeal for some part now, a woman named Nenelia, did her best to help the community and keep them safe from the followers of Attis as some zealots occasionally strolled into these lands to spread the word of their lord. Nenelia was known by a couple names and titles: Apostle of Pestilence and Purity, Lichqueen, Nenelia of the Black City were the three most common ones. Those more familiar with her simply called her by her name, while others referred to her as "My Lady", despite her not being a ruler but simply a higher ranking member of the dark army. Nenelia wasn't regarded as a general yet. Rather she was the rank of a major and just two ranks under the garrison commander.

She was sitting on a wall, enjoying a crimson apple when three men carrying glowing staves caught her eye. They were approaching the village she was enjoying her food it. Nenelia assumed the three men could be more missionaries of Attis. It had been possibly a month since any followers of Attis had lost their way here. It was always the same with them: They would harass villagers and tell them to repent or start preaching and someone from the garrison would either kill them, arrest them or scare them off. It seems it would be her turn to deal with them this time.

"Repent and Attis will bless you. With your penance, you will be spared by the Hero of Attis!" One of the men exclaimed towards the villagers and Nenelia. One of the missionaries took note of Nenelia's gear and said: "You! Warrior or mage! Attis will destroy the souls of those wicked enough to fight for the dark army!" Nenelia chuckled and replied: "Have you considered that you may have it wrong and that we might actually be the good guys and you the wicked ones? Attis has been overreaching to my lord's dismay. Gods should never encroach on the domains of ancients." "Pah! A follower of the ancients! Such foolish creeds are something of distant past!" One of the missionaries spat.

Nenelia tapped her staff on the ground gently and immediately the missionary of spoke ill of the ancients began to cough up blood. "I will not tolerate anyone mocking my lord." Nenelia said now with a more stern voice. One of the other missionaries then said: "When did this harlot cast a spell? Such spells aren't a problem for the power of Attis. Heal him." The other missionaries tried healing the one coughing up blood, but to no avail. The missionaries began to become more frantic. "What is this trickery? Why will our healing work?" One of them said. Nenelia smirked and said: "Gods only mimic the power of ancients, while the ancients are the power itself! My blessing permisses me to wield the powers of my lord. You are in luck though. Your last moments will be that of witnessing the might of my lord." She tapped her staff on the ground again and the one coughing up blood violently vomited before falling over dead.

The two remaining missionaries began to run away. Nenelia tapped the ground harder and one of the remaining missionaries began to rapidly age before falling over dead too. The last missionary turned around and pulled a short sword, intending to attack Nenelia in a suicide attack. As he approached closer and closer, Nenelia said: "I know my way around a blade as well." She unsheathed her blade from her staff revealing that her staff was basically just a sheathed greatsword. The blade was slightly wider than that of a katana and nearly as long as she was tall. With a single swipe, not only had Nenelia shattered the missionary's short sword, but also sliced the man in half with it only becoming obvious after she sheathed her sword again.

"That was underwhelming." Nenelia said. The villagers cheered. Nenelia decided to head back to the Black City to make a report and see if anyone needed assistance with anything.

Nenelia walked into a cave and down a long pathway before reaching a large cavern full of massive black buildings lined with a mysterious blue illumination. She headed to the garrison headquarters. In an office type room, she approached a scribe and said: "Please take note for the commander that I have neutralized three zealots of Attis in the Penedos village. Judging by the lack of skill they possess, I assume they were either rookie missionaries or grunts." "Note taken." The scribe said and saluted. Nenelia saluted back and left the premises.

Finally in a type of courtyard, she sat down and pulled out another crimson apple to snack on. Maybe someone interesting might pass by.

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne kneels down onto the ground, digging her fingers into the soil to pull potatoes from the ground. While many plants now need magic or special care to grow, roots and tubers don’t seem to mind the lack of sun. Sure, they come out a little tougher, and they tend to be on the small side, but they’re perfectly edible, which is what counts. She firmly grabs and yanks them out, throwing them into a sack on top of several others. Satisfied with the weight, Jehanne ties it up and tosses the sack onto a wheelbarrow, now nearly full. As an afterthought, she reaches into a pouch and sprinkles new seeds onto the soil. With a brief utterance, they glow a deep green and germinate suddenly.

A young man, no older than 16, approaches Jehanne, giving a quick salute before carting the wheelbarrow off towards a storeroom. "Thank ya!" she calls after him, before promptly turning her attention back to the farm. Potatoes, carrots, and the like are a one-and-done deal when it comes to magic for them to grow, but that can’t be all you eat can it? Since the outpost has to feed a couple dozen soldiers, it was decided that soups and stews would be the main dish most nights. It could be prepared in large amounts easily, and it was both filling and nutritious. And so, even though it is a little more difficult, Jehanne is attempting to grow a variety of magical beans. Not the grow into the clouds kind, mind you, simply ones that grow a little more for a little less. It still isn’t an easy task, though.

Every single day, Jehanne goes plant by plant, and through her magic gives them that little boost they need to keep on growing. While each stalk is negligible on her mana stores, the entire ordeal adds up, taking about half her mana daily. After around 3 hours of nonstop casting, and 6 hours of mostly mundane farming, she is done for the day. She started around dawn, or what was once considered dawn, so it was likely 3:30, or just about. She couldn’t exactly check to be sure, since all of that miasma is covering the sun. Either way, Jehanne stretched briefly as an opossum that had been napping does the same and jumps on her shoulder. Now all in order, she begins her way back to the Black City.

Not too far on her walk, she’s stopped by a lone old man by the side of the road. “Help!” he yells out, fallen down next to a tipped over cart, his ankle clearly facing the wrong way. Jehanne rushes over, kneeling down next to him to start work on the injury. “Oh no, you poor dear! Are you okay besides your ankle? Did your horse run off?” she asks as she plants a seed into the ground, pouring magic into it. Instantly, it grows into a pure white healing herb. As she grinds it up, she feels a knife against her throat. “Oldest trick in the book,” says the assailant from behind smugly, “Now hand over all you’ve got and we might let you live.”

"Now, now, there's no need to resort to violen- Mister Sir!" she calls out, and the oppossum takes the bandit by surprise, biting his face and clawing out one of his eyes. The bandit stumbles back, falling on his ass, blood gushing out of his wound. "It's not very nice to pull tricks like that." scolds Jehanne, now on her feet. "Fuck you!" "Language, mister! I want you to say you're sorry." "Eat shit!" he yells, Mister Sir gnawing on his nose. "Say it and I'll tell him to back off." "Bitch! I'll kill you!" "Last chance, mister," she says as the bandit tries to stand back up, but she slams her foot onto the ground, causing vines to grow and wrap around him, tying him to the ground. "Say it." "Fine! I'm- I'm sorry!"

She whistles, and Mister Sir lets the bandit's nose free and climbs back onto Jehanne's shoulder. "See? Now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" she pets the oppossum as she begins to walk away, "Are- aren't you going to let me free?" "Hm? No, you need to think about what you've done." she reprimands, and continues her journey to the Black City.

Soon enough she arrives, passing by the black buildings lit blue by something or another. She should probably ask sometime. Either way, she continues down several corridors, exiting into a courtyard of sorts. She sits down onto a bench, pulling some berries she had picked earlier out of a cloth bag, popping one into her mouth and another into Mister Sir's. "You did good today, Mister Sir. You're a very good boy. Yes you are~" she praises, petting him and feeding him some more berries, seemingly not paying any attention to the woman she so rudely invaded the personal space of.

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy lumbered and limped through the the foggy streets of the Black City...

He was lucky enough to stumble into one of the worst parts of town - more dead bodies and corpses than usual. Normally he would find more bandits and crooks in the 'safer' areas but here one would find more murderers, killers and kidnappers. This place is known by some to bring out the worst in people but Lucy saw it as a place where one can reveal their true nature. Often he would see innocent civilians selling goods at the market, only for him to see them again, making shady deals in the dark and shrouded alleyways - anything from drug- to organ-selling. These are all heinous and unforgivable acts but even though they are immoral, Lucy believes that this is the only way people can survive in the shithole of a place. Like in the animal kingdom, 'eat or be eaten', he knows only the strongest survive. A little barbaric way of thinking but that is how most of city is run, according to what Lucy has learnt over the years. He has quickly adapted to this harsh lifestyle since waking up here and has become one of the many inhabitants of this godforsaken City.

"Watch't, punk!"a merchant yelled as Lucy passed by, dragging his feet through the mud and almost dirtying the expensive goods being sold. He grunted in response but carried on moving, cursing under his breath. He isn't much of a detective but he knows a few things about that specific trader and his merchandise. A month ago he coincidently saw him walking into the stables before leaving with a whole carriage of new stock . Out of curiosity he waited a week before he came back for another full carriage but only after paying a few shady men, brandishing bloodied swords - a telltale sign of a bandit.

Lucy determined that this 'merchandise' was stolen off the corpses of noblemen or at least people who were well off, considering the quality he could see from what the trader was selling. He also noticed him entering a single building after ever week, somewhere in the upper district of the city. Strangely enough, the trader wasn't taking his profits to restaurants or boutique's - instead he took this blood money into a large building, walled off to deter people like Lucy. Other than this, any more information would cost more effort as the roof tops in the slums weren't high enough to see much - only the street leading up to the building itself. Scaling higher buildings would be difficult and falling could be fatal.

"LaaAAAaaar-ga,"an incoherent voice murmured. "Go back to sleep...Nothing happened yet."
"LaaaaAAARr-gaaa!"It hissed in response. Lucy groaned as he turned to his infected arm, eyeing the monstrous, fanged mouth calling his name.
"What must I do now? Put myself in danger again!" he scoffed as he threw his head back.
"DAAR'GI - DAAR'GI!" it growled, spiting an acid-like mucus on his cheek. Lucy grinned as he spat back, sending the thing into a wild panic.
"Daorgue waaato staaaarg?" it gargled as Lucy's head slumped. Almost on command his stomach rumbled, filling himself with a mixture of dread and hunger. Annoyed, he slowly pulled himself to his feet and stared anxiously at the building in the distance.

"They better have enough for food..."he groaned as he dropped down into another alleyway. Yet again he dragged himself through the mud until he entered a courtyard that was mainly deserted - only 2 other people were present.


(also sry for late rply, was busy for awhile)

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

(Sorry for the wait)

Moments after she had sat down in the courtyard, an elf woman had taken seat in the courtyard too. The woman seemed to be a gardener or farmer from the point of view of Nenelia. Said woman had short curly hair. Nenelia rarely saw her and only remembered her from occasional appearances. As Nenelia stood up to approach the woman, another person who entered the courtyard had caught her interest. An inner feeling told her the man was possibly another follower of the ancients. Apostles of the ancients seemed to naturally know certain aspects of like faithed individuals.

Nenelia however first approached the elf woman and would maybe approached the man thereafter or find a way to include him. "Greetings. I am Nenelia. I have seen you here from time to time. I am naturally interested in meeting new faces and people I may have seen, yet don't know." The lich strangely addressed the elf woman. While Nenelia loved meeting new people, she was often kind of awkward in the approach. She also looked over to the man and said: "You awaken my interest too. We are possibly of similar creed. I am a follower of .̶̢͍͕̭̳̠̜̩̺̰̤̠̟͕͔̤͓͉͇͆̃̒̓̓̑͊͜.̵̨̗̦̳̗̠̈́͛̈́͂͛͌́̇̒͊̉͜.̸̧͖͙͍̰̭̠̤̦͈̞͇͓͚̳̳̼̲͉̑̓̂.̸̨̲͎͈̪̘̰̺̜̖̬̏̀̄̂̏͌̈́̓͂̓͠ͅ.̴̘̖̠͇̞̲̭̠̤̑ͅ.̶̤͕̬̞͎̰̣̹̬̔͑̒͗̇̌͗̂̎́̀̾͂̍̇̾̈̊̕͝."

When Nenelia said the name of her master, due to the unspeakable nature of the ancients names, what came out of her mouth was less of a sound and more of a distortion in spacetime that could be felt to the bone by normal mortals. "Pardon me. I mean pestilence and purity. I am their apostle, Nenelia. Who might you be?" Nenelia said, to not leave out the elf woman. "Are you both here to relax as I had planned for myself?" Nenelia inquired.

 

[PenutTheGhost]

A minor headache developed as soon as Lucy caught sight of a 'noble-like' woman in the courtyard he lumbered into. Of course anyone who wasn't dressed in rags and tattered clothes was noble-like to him but the mere presence of someone more 'well off' in 'these parts' was rare and often not a good sign. Lucy had heard of people being kidnapped and dragged away from their homes, and because poorer folk didn't have any family or title to protect them, they were either forced into slavery or became toys for the rich.

This plagued his thoughts as the woman spoke to an elvish girl who also looked somewhat out of place. She didn't look as well off as the first woman but she didn't look as poor as him either. From the animal on her shoulder and her demeanor Lucy assumed she was from the countryside - not that he had ever seen the light outside the dark, hell-hole of a city.

Lucy's stomach turned yet again after being stuck in thought for so long, reminding him of his hunger echoing through his bowels and intestines. Because of this he blurred out most of what the noble woman said until he heard a name that sent a cold shock throughout his body. It was incomprehensible and oddly enough he didn't recall ever hearing it before.

All he knew was that it felt weirdly familiar, intimidating even that it's mere mention woke his infected arm, hissing and laughing under the cloth and bandages he covered it with. "Pestilence and purity" she said as Lucy felt his whole body tense up. He didn't understand what was happening to him nor the being she apparently serves, but he knew he couldn't possibly walk away now.

Questions needed to be answered first.

With a sharp breath he unclasped his lips to finally speak and entertain her attempt at conversation.

"I am not here to relax or lounge around. That is a luxury for people like me. Instead I would like to ask a few questions…milady," he sighed, as he tried to bow and show her at least some form or respect for whatever title she had - not that he cared really…

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne smiled brightly at the young woman who walked up to her, still petting the opossum resting on her lap. She couldn’t quite remember if they had interacted before, but luckily that was answered quickly. “Well hello there, it’s nice to meet ya Nenelia. Name’s Jehanne, and this here’s Mister Sir.” she greeted, gesturing at the marsupial with her head. Curious of the new figure, he stood and sniffed at Nenelia. “Aw, he likes you! Didn’t bite you or nothin’.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a shambling man making his way into the courtyard. She opened her mouth to greet him, but was instead interrupted by an incomprehensible sound that rattled her to her core. She cringed and covered her ears, waiting a few seconds for the ringing to stop. “Wow, that, um… certainly is an interesting name.” she commented, trying her best to not be rude.

Distracted by the strange noise, it took her a few seconds for her attention to fall back on the person standing before them. He just stood there for a few seconds before speaking up, but she didn’t pay much mind to his words even when he did. “Hey there, I’m Jehanne! What’s your name, kid?” she asked, entirely ignoring the question posed by Nenelia. “Come, sit down. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘someone like you’, but there’s no harm in taking a breather.” she said as she patted the bench. “Have you two met? You seem to recognize each other.”

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy's nose twitched as he pulled his eyes off the lady to glance at the other girl next to her.
Up close she looked like one the famers he usually passed in market, selling and buying various types of fruits, vegetables and other produce. The difference between her and them though was that they didn't look as young and healthy as her and only a few had animals with them - none walked without a leash that is.

Because of the possum, Lucy had to stop his arm from freaking out at the presence of the creature. A long time ago, after waking up with the mysterious infection on his arm, he had to survive off rodents like it and of course old habits die hard as he found himself looking half disgusted and hungry staring at it. To calm himself down he turned and slumped down next to a tree by the bench the two were sitting at.

"Luscious..." he finally answered. "And no, I have never met this 'woman' before...The name she mentioned seemed familiar though," he said at he turned his attention back to the elegant woman, waiting for her to speak again.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

The woman identified herself as Jehanne and also introduced her pet opossum Mister Sir. This Jehanne made a pleasant impression on Nenelia and Nenelia wasn't one to judge appearances. It was due to her original upbringing to become a priestess as priestesses of Attis had to even attend to the poor and even outcasts, therefore farmers were of no worry.

When Jehanne said that the opossum apparently liked Nenelia, Nenelia smiled. "Adorable. It is pleasant to become acquainted with with you. It is unusual for pets and companion animals to take interest in me. Most of them cower in fear and hide behind their masters. Sad, really. I find a lot of animals adorable. Yet, due to my nature only crows and ravens ever take interest in me." Nenelia said. She didn't want to mention that the reason was that she smelled of death and was ultimately still undead, despite not looking the part anymore.

Earlier, when Nenelia said the name of her master, she took note as the other person who yet had to introduce himself tensed up for a moment. Yet, after mentioning he had questions, the man mentioned his name "Luscious". Jehanne had then inquired whether Nenelia and Lucy know each other to which Lucy denied.

"We aren't acquainted, however I can sense he has some kind of connection to the ancients in a way. I am not sure if it may be as strong as my connection to them, but I can still sense it. Anyways, Luscious was it? Everyone needs a break from time to time. And if anything ails you, I can help with that. And regarding questions, I'll see what I can answer." Nenelia replied.

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne beamed when Nenelia didn’t call Mister Sir gross or weird, rather calling him adorable. People are always so rude to him, but he’s the cutest things Jehanne has ever seen. “If ya want, you can hold him. He might nibble on ya a little, but that just means he thinks ya smell tasty.” she offered, holding up the opossum. He dangled in her hands and gave an odd smile, along with a clicking sound. “If he does, give him a lil’ smack on the head and he’ll stop. Not hard, though, you don’t want to hurt him.”

She saw Lucy eyeing Mister Sir looking ravenous, but didn’t put two and two together. “Hungry, are ya? Here, just a second.” she said, pushing Mister Sir into Nenelia’s arms whether she intended to accept him or not and dug into her bag. “Let’s see here… I got some berries, an apple, a lil’ bit of bread left… Ah, there we go!” exclaimed the elf as she pulled out a bag of dried meat. “Got some jerky here. Not sure what kind, to be honest. I think either beef or buffalo. Maybe venison. Slight chance of pork. If you want something fresher, though, I can grow something right quick. What kind of veggies and fruits ya like?”

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy jumped to his heels when he saw the piece of meat in her hands. It had been roughly a day since he last ate something...edible. On better days he would be able to steal a fresh loaf from a trader at the market, but most days he have to suffice with the old, moldy and expired kind to survive. Seeing good meat was a rare sight in the streets as most of the butchers had shops only outside the slums of the city. Meat was also expensive to come by as there had been a shortage recently - something about a disease being spread among the livestock. For that reason, traders couldn't even think of selling them in the market in the slums because it wouldn't make a profit whatsoever.

For a moment , even though Lucy wasn't at all religious, he thought he was in the presence of an angel after the farmer-lady offered him the lucky opportunity to eat a slice of dried meat. He almost rushed at her like an animal but fortunately stopped himself before making a scene. Calmly, he instead edged closer towards her as he shakily pulled it from her hands. "This is enough. Thank you..mam,' he uttered as he took it apart piece by piece and chewed it very slowly to savor the taste - the almost heavenly taste.

After all of it slid down his throat, he licked his fingers before turning back at Nenelia, who deemed herself a priestess of one of the mysterious ancients.
"Ms. Nenelia..." he started." You said you'd be able to answer some of my questions. If that is the case I would like to know what these...ancients are. I do have somewhat of a connection with them as you have said but my knowledge of them is...very limited."

After he stated this, he then bowed his head lightly and awaited her reply.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Jehanne offered Nenelia to handle Mister Sir, to which Nenelia politely declined. "Thank you for the offer, however maybe another time I can hold him." Meanwhile Luscious was eyeing the opossum, to which Jehanne took notice and offered him something to eat. Nenelia decided to join in and offer Lucy some purified water. "Mr. Luscious, if you are thirsty too, I can offer you purified water. A lot of the water around here tends to be dirty or of not the best quality, but due to my abilities, I can purify the water." She said.

After downing the food from Jehanne, Lucy asked his questions of what he wanted to know from Nenelia. He asked Nenelia to explain what the ancients were as he had somewhat of a connection to them. Nenelia smiled and gladly explained: "So you wish to learn about the ancients. I would gladly answer your question. Firstly, the names of the ancients that are comprehensible to the mortal races are Time, Pestilence/Purity, Morality, Corruption, Space, Void. They have been around since the beginning of everything. The mortal races have many stories of how everything came to be and how old our world is, but only the ancients actually know that. Compared to the gods of this world, the ancients do not necessarily take sides and simply keep the world functioning. They can even be considered the creators of this world's gods. Also compared to the gods, the ancients don't need worship, yet they appreciate it when they have followers. I can say though that the ancients can be angered in the instance that someone oversteps boundaries into interfering with the ancients work, as my master has become angry at Attis. My master ended up making me an Apostle to destroy Roik the False Savior and humiliate Attis as a direct attack by the ancients could put the world or even the fabric of reality in peril. Tell me, is there anything specific you would like to know?"

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy stared blankly at the woman as she explained the history behind the ancients and their power compared to the very gods. Her answers unfortunately only lead to even more questions now filling Lucy's head like a tsunami hitting a dam.

There is no way that's possible...
Beings that made THE Gods?...
If they made the gods then who made them?...
How does she know something like this?...
Has this woman gone mad?...
Aren't the rich supposed to be educated?...
Who is she really anyway?....

As the thoughts flew rampant across his mind like a flock of angry pigeons in a hanging cage, he scrambled to string a few words togther to finally formulate a response.

"That is not possible... I may not be... religious and forgive me for my tone madam, but... I cannot believe what you are saying."He stated with deadpan stare

"Yes I have feel a connection with these 'ancients' but that sounds way too bizarre to be true! Arent the gods supposed to be ALL POWERFUL BEINGS? How could they have created the gods? Do you...take two sugars, a cup of flower and a bag of bullshit to make one?" He scoffed, trying his best to keep himself from overeacting even though he already failed the second he opened his mouth.

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne ate a little bit of jerky herself as Lucy relished in his portion, Mister Sir scurrying around on the ground once it was clear no one was going to be giving him attention. He managed to find the rotting corpse of a bird at the edge of the courtyard and began scarfing down its apparently delicious flesh. “You sure you don’t want nothing more? It’s not exactly hard, and I don’t think jerky alone makes a good meal.” she addresses Lucy, unbothered by the opossum’s actions. However, it seemed like the topic of conversation was changing anyhow, so she dropped it.

What Nenelia explained was confusing, what could be above the gods after all? If they made the gods, why couldn’t they simply punish Attis for overstepping as a parent punishes a child? They didn’t have to go all out for that and destroy the world, did they? And if they created the gods, who created them? Even with all of these questions whizzing around in Jehanne’s head, she still couldn’t entirely dismiss the idea. For some unknown reason, the notion of the ancients just seemed right somewhere in the depths of her being.

She visibly freezes up when Roik is mentioned, and she takes her words just a little bit more seriously. “I can’t say that I entirely understand what’s going on or what you’re saying, and there’s definitely some follow up questions, but anyone who’s trying to dethrone Roik is right by me. That bastard needs to be dealt with. If part of that is working with one of these supposed Ancients, so be it,” she stated, still working over this new information in her mind. “If you’re not already part of the Army, I’d be happy to induct you. And you, Luscious. What’re your thoughts on the ‘Hero of Attis’?” she asks, venomous intent clear in her voice as she said the man’s title.

 

[PenutTheGhost]

"Army? Hero of Attis?" Lucy sneered as his mouth curved into a smirk.
"I don't care about any wars involving you higher class folk. All we can do is fight for our lives like ANIMALS down here so thinking about politics would be on the bottom on the list of our priorities, unfortunately."

Lucy then unwrapped some of the crude bandages on his body to reveal the scars for the two women to see. "This is proof of what we have to face down in these streets, and this is what MY people have to live with for their entire lives. Our life expectancy therefore is noticeably...low because of it. Being weak down here also meant you were an easy target for the stronger. This included the elderly, young, sick and kind who were either sold into slavery or..."

The thought alone immediately made his heart sink with dread as he store blankly at his scars, almost tearing up. Luckily, he quickly regained his composure and looked back towards Jehanne, mimicking her serious expression.

"We do our best to survive, so of course not mainly of us would choose to volunteer for yer army - including me."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

The guy seemed to be baffled by the fact that there were forces stronger than the gods and that the gods themselves even had progenitors. As a priestess of an ancient, Nenelia was understanding of the confusion people faced when confronted by this fact. Religious zealots would see such doubt as heresy and religious zealots who followed the gods would view the ancients as heresy, however Nenelia had dealt with such before. "Believe me or not. That is your decision. I understand that the idea of beings stronger and older than the gods is worldbreaking for most. But I would rather say the ancients are less beings and rather forces. The gods were simply born out of happenstance." Nenelia said.

When Jehanne said that they had a common goal in bringing down Roik and that if they werent part of the army already, she'd induct them into it, Nenelia responded with: "I am already part of the dark army. I am the rank of a major. I am a li... I mean... spellsword. You know what? We are all allies here, so I will be honest with you. I am a lich, meaning I am virtually undead. I have Roik to thank for this predicament. He used me for experiments and tortured me. When I hoped for release, he prevented me from passing on and ultimately turned me into a lich. I served him only to be thrown away. Thanks to the ancients, I was given another chance to stay in this world and get my revenge. With my blessing, I can grant him repeated agony until he begs me for death. Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha!!!"

Nenelia seemed to have a screw loose after all. The bad history made her this way. Though she was somewhat aware of it and to not scare the others stopped the maniacal laugh and bowed in apology. "I am sorry about that. I can be strange at times." She said in apology.

She then listened to Lucy and replied: "The issue with the Hero of Attis is that he is the source of why the world is in ruin. With the power of Attis, he basically brought on the end of times to be able to stylize himself as the savior and for Attis to have the followers of other gods destroyed or converted. It is awful you and your people had to face such plights and I would like to offer my protection to the downtrodden. I can help destroy slavers and oppressors for the sake of the purity of this world. With me already tasked to defend the surrounding villages, I should be able to take care of issues that have been overlooked in the city. It isn't as if I need sleep."

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne raised an eyebrow as Nenelia explained her affliction; it was hard to believe she was a lich when she looked so alive. She decided to trust her for the time being, though, as it would be a strange thing to lie about. Besides, it sounded like something that bastard would do. “Well, that must’ve been real hard to go through, huh? I can’t say that torture is the direction I would go for his comeuppance, but I understand why you might think you need drastic measures,” she attempted to console Nenelia, giving her a few pats on the shoulder.

She remained silent as Lucy gave his explanation. The suffering of these people truly was terrible, and he had good reason to not want to abandon them. Survival of the fittest ruled the streets, unfortunate that may be. However, this and Nenelia’s words to him gave her an idea.

“I’m real sorry to hear that, Luscious. It’s tragic how much you must’ve suffered. What Nenelia says is right, what is happening is the fault of Roik, and we can help, at least in the short term. Along with the destruction of any organized crime around, I’m sure I can convince some people to send more supplies this way to stop the starvation at least. It’ll be far from perfect, but it’ll be a hell of a lot better. Now this isn’t a requirement for me to do this, it’ll happen either way, but if we’re successful, would you consider joining us? Of course this wouldn’t be for free, I can promise a salary and three square meals a day. What say you?” she offers, holding a hand out to him.

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy stared at the palm of her hand as every rushing thought came to a sudden halt and was instead replaced by a strange,calm emptiness. Finally after some time spent talking with them he realized something - this was the first actual conversation he has had in long time...

What was stranger is that they sounded...genuine.

Lucy tried his best to find any hint of deceit or jest in their tone but his efforts were fruitless. They spoke freely of their concerns and frustrations in front of a stranger yet nothing felt hidden or untrue. They opened up to each other and to him as if they were all comrades, which made Lucy understand how dire this whole situation was.

"If I did work with you...how would I guarantee my own safety? How will I know I wont be used as a pawn or...become a slave?" He finally said, reluctantly.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"What I want to do with Roik doesn't suffice for all the death and suffering he has caused." Nenelia said. Even though Jehanne thought Nenelia's intended measures to be drastic, Nenelia felt that it was the best she could do. The scale of what the Hero of Attis had done, was too much for any individual to think of a proper punishment for. Even death would be too light of a sentence.

Turning to Lucy, Nenelia once again offered to take care of the local plights. "I agree with Jehanne. We don't need more suffering as is and to decrease the pains experienced by the local populace, we need to fight injustices such as organized crime and slavery. I have tried to help improve the food supply of ridding the crops of diseases such as rootrot, but harvest hasn't been so good as of late. Anyways, you don't have to worry about your safety. With me having your back, you wont suffer any severe injury." Nenelia replied.

When Lucy expressed worries about becoming a pawn or a slave, Nenelia felt slightly offended: "Pssh, for whom do you take me? I am strictly against slavery! You shouldn't have to worry about your well-being around me. I know there are bad people out there, but not every stranger you meet is a bad person."

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne wasn’t sure how to answer that question. How would he know that he wouldn’t be used as a pawn or a slave? In this broken and evil world, how could she convince him to trust her? It’s a valid concern, especially for someone so obviously abused before. Though it wasn’t by the same person, so was everyone in the Dark Army. It’s terrifying to trust someone, especially when you’ve been betrayed before. She paused for a few seconds to consider it.

“Hmm, that’s a tricky one. I could say that I would protect you, or I could swear on Daevalin, but if you don’t trust me that’d be a moot point. The Dark Army just doesn’t really do that, I’ve only seen people be treated with kindness and respect. There’s other things I could claim or promise, show you my weaknesses or give you a hostage, but I don’t think any of them mean anything real. How would you be sure you won’t be used? You won’t. It’d a leap of faith, simple as that.” she said, still holding her hand out.

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy stared coldly at the two as they answered - neither seemed to be lying.

Either I survive for the rest of my life as a stray dog in these streets or I join the freakshow and become a circus monkey...

"I'll accept your proposal... and will join this 'Dark Army' but know that my own survival is my top priority. If push comes to shove then I will do everything I can to protect myself - by any means necessary..."

 

[GumGumChomp]

Jehanne grinned ear to ear when she heard him accept, grabbing one of his hands with both hers and shaking it up and down. “Great! And don’t worry, your safety being a priority isn’t a problem. If you need to run to save your own skin, just do it. Mister Sir and I can handle ourselves just fine.” she said, the opossum coughing up feathers in the corner.

“No reason to put it off, so how should we go about this? We need to gather intel, is there anyone who might know about this underworld? A base of operations, holding cells for slaves, leaders, stuff like that. Plus, we need to know our end goal, are we killing them all or arresting them or replacing the leaders? If it’s the later two I’d probably need to talk to some people to set that up, the first I can probably handle on my own. Oh, and we can’t forget to free any already sold slaves nearby, so we’d need some info on that too.”

 

[PenutTheGhost]

Lucy almost hissed at her as she grabbed his arm. Even though it was a friendly gesture, her touch made him feel anxious because if that was the arm covered and infected in bandages...he would have lashed out at her.

"Don't get too comfortable with me," he growled, pulling his hand free. "Also there isn't a definite hierarchy down here, although your best bet of finding something similar is in the big houses of the city - large buildings north of the slums. I've seen a few big shots over there an' if that sounds like what your looking for I can lead you there."

Lucy then pointed in the direction of the building where he last spotted the suspicious trader before he droping his hand, tensing up at the thought of going northward. Its not the safest place according to the stories...

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"Yeah, if it gets dangerous, don't worry about running. We should be able to hold off enemies long enough for you to get to safety. Anyways investigating the slavers and other scum in the underworld sounds like a plan. Snuffing out the major crimes in the city would indirectly help our cause and if we get to kill slavers, it will be a few less mouths to feed and a few less people to hold our society back. And if there are enough farmers among the freed slaves, they could help us with our food resources in the future." Nenelia said.

After Lucy explained where the slavers could be, Nenelia replied: "If you know someone specific who is definitely a slaver, then just lead the way. That way we have your back and we can already get something done."

 

[PenutTheGhost]

"If that is the case you two better keep up - I don't wanna be in that part of town for to long," he groaned as he turned away from them and darted out of the courtyard.

left...up...right...left...down...Lucy sprinted, navigating through the alleys from memory as if he were in a labyrinth. Through muddy puddles and past large buildings he ran, seldomly looking back to check on the two behind. "I am not sure how long it'll take to get there but we should arrive before nightfall. The roads up here are busy so no fancy carriages or horses ladies!" he yelled as he dashed and jumped through the slowly narrowing path. As they travelled North Lucy could smell the smog odor dissipating as they soon left the slums. There were no markets, no beggars or anything resembling the slums in sight - just tall buildings casting a shadow over the area giving it the title of the Night district...