Le Sigh
Lord of Microsoft Paint
One Month Ago
It was night, and the stars glimmered in the sky like small gemstones. Their lights glimmered off of Glassdome, bathing the surrounding woods in a soft, balmy radiance. Soft rain pattered on the structure, making a sound that brought bells to mind as it struck the roof. Vines crept over the cracked crete that made up the base of the structure, and an overgrown dirt path ran south for several leagues before being swallowed up by the verdant vegetation of the forest.
It was on this path that the scavenger Nergull ran, swiftly approaching Glassdome as she had been doing ever since discovering the structure a couple of months ago with her former team. The sprite-like elf darted her head back and forth, making sure there were no threats in the immediate area before darting under the entrance piercing the crete base. Dew glistened on ever square inch of her muted green cloak, and she pulled down the hood and let out a shaky breath, running her ring hand through her spiky blonde hair. After a moment of catching her breath (it had been a long run through that cursed forest, with its many dangerous forms of plant life), she continued onward down the old hall, lighting a torch as she walked.
When she and her team had first discovered Glassdome, it had been full of all sorts of unsavory monstrosities, which had been swiftly cleared out by the team's magic-user. There had been so much loot that they had to take several trips to bring it to their base, about a week's away by cart. Even after the first month they'd only cleared out a fraction of the ancient (and priceless) artifacts that lay within. Damn, even one of those smaller trinkets that made the pretty lights could've earned the seller one-and-fifty gold nibs, or mayhaps even a full plat! However, after an argument over who got how much loot that ended in the magic-user blasting half the others into dust and causing part of their base to collapse on them, Nergull had been on her own. She'd only recently decided to go back and get some of that loot for herself, but only because she was in the area and low on coin - that trek through the cursed forest was one Damnation of a turn-off.
Eventually, the scavenger reached the central chamber of the complex. The flagstones here had been heaved up by sprouting trees, and rainwater falling through the cracks of the dome made minuscule rivers and ponds. At the center of the chamber, an upraised platform held symbols of an unknown magic lay. Nobody could figure out its purpose, not even their prodigy magic-user.
Nergull had crossed the chamber to go to one of the rooms that still held some of the magical artifacts when a loud humming noise sounded from behind her. The elf whipped around, dagger and yew wand drawn. The old platform with the runes had begun to glow. And not just that, either; all around, dormant pieces of the once-grand structure began to warm up and return to live. Bright blue luminescence appeared in geometric patterns on the flagstones; old cogs and gears turned in the exposed panels of the walls walls. Large, mechanical arms covered in ancient blue sigils came out of the walls, disintegrating any trees in their way, to form a series of levitating rings above the platform.
A female voice sounded in the Old Tongue. Nergull knew enough to understand that something was coming just as one of the stars in the night sky became a lot brighter. Thinking quick, the elf ducked behind a corner just as the world erupted into blinding light and searing heat.
The ensuing explosion could be seen for leagues in every direction. The plants in Glassdome were vaporized instantly, as well as the titular feature which had given the place its name. The area around the structure would become blackened from the ash, and small fires would start in the nearby verdant forest. Nergull had been saved by her quick thinking, but harsh blisters boiled upon her skin, and she screamed in pain.
Then, it was over. Nergull collapsed, rolling around on the ground in agony. Her cloak had been burnt to a crisp. Her skin was red as a medo, and covered in harsh pustules. After a moment, a metallic voice called out, "Are you well, Sycophant?"
Slowly, the elf woman opened her eyes. On the platform before her floated a featureless humanoid figure with skin like steel. Its blank mirror-like face was disquieting, though the sound of its voice was oddly soothing. The starlight glimmered off of it much as it had with the former dome - or perhaps the light came from the being itself. Something inside of her mind nagged at her - this being was familiar, but in what was she was unsure.
"Who... who are you?" Nergull rasped, slowly getting to her feet and wincing at the sharp spikes of pain coming from the boils on her skin.
"I am an Imperion," the being purred in its grainy yet soothing voice. "I have returned to the world my brethren and I had built. I fear that in our absence, our creations have fallen to barbarism and-"
"What?!" Nergull cried, her injuries temporarily forgotten. She stumbled back, trying to distance herself from the being. It tried hovering towards her, but she only ducked further back. Finally, she recognized this thing - its descriptions did, in fact, match up with old statues, sculptures and reliefs of the Imperion she had seen. Her face shifted from fear, to anger, to surprise, to disgust and back to fear. "You- no, you can't be. You- you betrayed us!" Finally choosing to stick with anger, she straightened her back and pointed a finger at the Imperion before her. "You left us in our hour of need, left our world to rot, and now- now you just expect us to let you take it back?!"
"Good Sycophant," the deity said once again, and this time she attempted to resist the strange, calming effect its words had - to no avail. "I apologize for what my brethren and I had to do that fateful day. Our reasons were sound, and if we were to stay then the entire world would have perished."
Nergull shook her head. "I don't care if your reasons were sound or not! You could have at least told us, or... or taken us with you!" She stopped a moment to cough, spitting out blood. Her voice was still gravelly, and it was beginning to hurt to speak.
"I do not expect you to understand our reasons for leaving," the Imperion said, and this time when it moved closer to her, she did not run away. "I truly wish we could have taken you with us, but... well, now I am back, and I seek to return this world to what it once was."
"Don't even bother," Nergull rasped. "Most people have forgotten most everything about before you left. Lots of folks have turned to atheism." She laughed, then coughed up more blood. "'Course, I guess you being here proves them wrong, don't it?" She sat down slowly then, taking deep, grating breaths.
The Imperion kneeled before her. "I understand the strife that the sight of myself would cause, and so I will require a person to act as my... pope. Or perhaps missionary is a better term. Yes, missionary. I require someone to go out into the world and speak of my return." The deity then scrutinized the elf, looking her up and down. "You will do."
"Me? ME?!" Nergull couldn't help but laugh, even though it threw her into another coughing fit. "I'm just some scav bitch the world spewed out. Who would listen to someone like me?"
"I see great potential in you. You will come far in life, if you follow me. Allow me to enlighten you on what I mean." The Imperion then placed a metal hand upon her blistered brow, and the Church of Renewal began.
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