Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands
In the days that followed, Amdirlain tracked the steady progress in teaching magic on Yorubi and Yúla. After the impact of unlocking Paragon affinities for both Bakari and Imani, she taught the others to meditate and attune through an Affinity crystal to unlock their connection. While on the primitive Yúla, after the twins' success, more children and adults on Yúla had connected with the earth and water. She and Azadi were now running two meditation sessions each day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Between them, they had worked out how to turn the locals’ elven reverie into a bridge to reach towards sensing a single energy.
Meanwhile, her third Avatar kept a distance from mortals on other worlds and reinforced the bridges of faith to provide better guidance to her priests.
Yúla, I’ll have to stay on longer than any of the other worlds, but Sarah’s unlikely to complain about a few centuries of a quiet life together.
I wonder if Tingeth will take my bait and dig for information on Nüwa’s chains. If I get into Hell and release her, Maker said he’d deflect her to my training realm. Though the next stage of that plan requires her to embrace significant change, and after the billions of years held static by the chains, it’s a big ask.
Weeks turned into months as she recovered her essence. Throughout the wait, she used True Song to create concealed emplacements with traps and weaponry ready to strike beyond them. While she’d crafted the strongest of them from True Song Crystal, their presence was primarily to draw attention away from the hard-to-detect hazards.
Once she fully healed and recovered her essence reserves, Amdirlain started a series of targeted expenditures of essence. Each added a patchwork of fortified defences and traps before the domain’s edge, established to ‘seemingly’ channel foes into deep layers of traps. Behind the walls was where the real fun waited, and the spells to detect True Song creations showed nothing of the enchantments she created in that fashion.
She’d been working for months when a divine energy sparked beyond the grasslands boundary, and she felt a male Demi-God arrive. The well-muscled elven figure carried a short polearm with a long-bladed head that resembled a bardiche but lacked its heft. Clad in earthen tones, his attire provided suitable camouflage for the forests of many worlds. His skin was olive-toned, and he had short, inky-black hair. He crouched low in the wild grasses, his emerald gaze roamed over the crystalline towers built to draw the attention of invaders.
Amdirlain appeared off to his right, the light from her eyes washing over the spot where he’d crouched to watch her daughters raise new towers. “You’re awfully close to my Domain. Might I know your name?”
Though he swallowed at the white and black flames swirling in her gaze, he didn’t give ground. “You should leave this place. You’re drawing trouble to the Outlands.”
Amdirlain smiled. “That might be so, but the Outlands suits my nature. If you want to be a concerned citizen worried about the domains of others, why don’t you move to Elysium?”
“It’s my sister’s Domain that is threatened by demons seeking you,” the Demi-God snapped. “I can feel the newness of your boundary, so you should move where you’re not endangering others. I’ve recently found three different forces of demons near her Domain, and they had images of this place in their minds.”
Since the demons and devils already know I’m here, it wouldn’t hurt to make a few allies, or at least be on speaking terms.
“Again, would you care to introduce yourself? I’m Amdirlain. The first time I lived in this realm, I dwelt among the Anar.”
He swallowed. “They’re a myth.”
They must be a young Pantheon.
“I’m not a myth. Might I know what you’re called?”
“I’m Bornaith,” he replied curtly. “Are you going to move your Domain?”
Well, I tried to be polite, and he’s still being pushy.
“You could try politeness.” She ran through a series of analyses and smiled reassuringly at Bornaith. “Shouldn’t the nature of my enemies tell you something about me?”
Bornaith’s lips thinned. “If only someone’s foes were a clearer sign.”
“I’ve friends who believe you can know someone by fighting them.” Amdirlain grinned. “Would you care to spar? A friendly exchange to first blood.”
“Normally, it’s whoever loses their weapons first.”
“I fight with my hands, or turn my body into a weapon. It’s hard to lose them,” Amdirlain advised. Her right arm grew forearm spurs, and her fingers turned into bladed claws.
“That’s not our custom.” He twitched back another step. “You’re not really an elven deity, are you?”
Amdirlain’s weapons melded back into her body. “Pity. As for being an elven deity, no, I’m not an elven goddess. However, I’ve many elves following me. Are you sure you wouldn’t care to spar? I really would like to judge my progress outside of sparring with my solars. You could use your polearm, or the shorter blades where you have greater proficiency.”
Confusion showed in his gaze, and he increased their separation and switched to holding his polearm with both hands. “You’re guessing.”
“Really, are you sure about that?” Amdirlain grinned. “You are the youngest son of Glawaron and Calithilwen. Your parents are, respectively, the sun and wisdom god and the moon and fertility goddess of your Pantheon. You’re only a relatively new Demi-god in your Pantheon, only seven centuries. Would you like me to tell you something else?”
Her use of their names drew his parents’ attention to the area, and Bornaith tilted his head at their presence. “You didn’t conceal yourself from them?”
“I have no grudge against your family, so figure out if you can remember your manners. The demons you encountered, did anything you picked up from them indicate I was a dark power?”
His expression shifted from determined to uncertain. “How do you know so much about me?”
“Consider it an advantage of my age and origin. You’ve lord rank in polearms, and prince rank in short blades. Would you like me to tell you the name of the world where you’re worshipped? Or when someone from the Titan’s forge placed its sun? Though the mortals credit your father with creating it, he does at least keeps it clear of planar threats.” Amdirlain caught the theme of his communication with his parents and smiled. “Your folks are welcome to come visit as well, and we can discuss matters. Consider this an invitation or offer of hospitality, whatever suits your needs. On the condition that you don’t attack me or anyone friendly to me, I offer to do my best to protect you from any attempts at harm while here.”
Glawaron and Calithilwen appeared, flanking Bornaith. Though neither had a weapon at the ready, their higher rank as deities provided significant protection.
A well-endowed, blue-skinned female Elf, Calithilwen had white hair and wore a form-fitting black dress that accented her curves. Unlike her husband and son, she oriented all her class selections around the arcane arts. While Calithilwen’s theme synchronised with the Outlands, Glawaron was from a Plane connected to Elysium. Glawaron wore whitish-gold chain mail over a matching set of white gambeson, shirt, and pants, all edged in gold thread; his olive-hued skin and black hair matched Bornaith. He carried a long blade sheathed at his side.
“You seem to have us at a disadvantage, Amdirlain,” Glawaron said. “Might we know why your Domain has attracted substantial attention from demonic forces?”
How much do you consider substantial?
“If you think the Anar are a myth, then you probably won’t understand why.”
“You could at least try, since my daughter isn’t the most able to protect herself.”
“You’re aware of the Titan?” Amdirlain asked.
Calithilwen nodded, her expression serene. “The principal of the four or five creators of the realm, depending on whose tales you heed.”
“Father is a skilled crafter, but I was better at designing.”
“There is no mention of a daughter in any of the tales shared with us,” Glawaron said.
“I didn’t want to meet with anyone coming into the realm, and he only referred to me by his nickname. When I was a child, he enjoyed my singing while he worked the forge.”
“The Titan’s Songbird,” Calithilwen whispered. “You’re real? Yet you seem far weaker than I would expect.”
“I set my power aside to live Mortal lifetimes. I’m refining my natures again,” Amdirlain said. “Does that explain why so many forces are looking to seize me? They doubtless seek to harness my abilities to further their goals. Others are perhaps more interested in a measure of revenge for some damage I’ve already inflicted on the Abyss and Hell.”
If that news reaches Tingeth, it might seed her with so many doubts.
The parents stiffened.
“I think any matter you’re involved with might be beyond us, even if we ask our kin,” Glawaron said, yet he drew himself up and met Amdirlain’s gaze. “Yet I would oppose darkness if you have need.”
“Father!” Bornaith protested. “We don’t know whether this is true.”
“The truth of her claim is unimportant. What matters is that dark gods are moving forces from the Abyss into the Outlands, seeking to gain an advantage.” Glawaron shook his head. “It is for each of us to decide, so I’m not offering anyone else’s aid but mine, Bornaith. With the heavens themselves recently shaking, this is not a time to sit back. I believe a good person should seek knowledge and act with integrity, not bury their head in the sand. Whatever advances the aims of the darkness doesn’t benefit the rest of us.”
“Your offer is unexpected. Would you tell me about the forces that appeared near your sister’s Domain Bornaith?” Amdirlain asked. “I can act to protect her.”
The Demi-god remained silent, and his parents turned their attention to him.
“Bornaith,” Glawaron said reprovingly after his son remained silent. “You scouted them, correct?”
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“If I tell her where they are, she’ll be close enough to sense the Domain.”
Glawaron looked at her apologetically. “Amdirlain, I would apologise for him, but he’s old enough to need to do that himself. Did I pronounce your name correctly? That’s the name our son provided us, yet it seems he isn’t paying proper attention to what people are saying today. I hope he’ll come to his senses before one of us needs to jar his brain into action.”
“That’s the correct pronunciation. It’s alright, I’ve dealt with stubborn individuals before, including myself.”
A waft of Mana from Calithilwen created an illusion of a heavily forested mountainous region to one side of their gathering. The map included enough details that it would be a suitable focus for a midair teleport.
“Now that Amdirlain has seen the region, provide the details of their lairs, Bornaith,” Calithilwen ordered firmly.
“Mother,” Bornaith protested.
“You’ve said enough. You came here to insist someone move their home and that of their faithful, when the danger lies closer to your sister. Yet your very request makes no sense. There are limited unguarded connections between the lower planes and the Outlands, so demons will use whatever pathways they have access to for infiltration. Thus, it doesn’t matter if Amdirlain’s home is here or on the far side of the Outlands. “
“We should include Uilosdis in this discussion,” Glawaron said. “It is her people’s home that is at risk. You invited us, but may we extend that invitation to her? Or would you prefer to gather elsewhere?”
“That’s fine, but we’ll stay out of my Domain since I don’t yet know any of you,” Amdirlain replied. “Since we’re talking about how to handle this situation, I’ll have a couple of others join us who’ve been involved in the planning already done.”
Bornaith spat. “You knew they were hunting you.”
“They’d been staging closer until the recent changes,” Amdirlain advised. “It set my planning back that all the portals they’d been using popped out of existence.”
They found new portals fast, and larger ones at that. I wonder if Kháos or Kairos meddled to let them find new ones so quickly, or if Nexus did. Depending on which infernal allies these forces align with, it will put different pressures on the plotting in Hell. I’ll ask the others to be restrained.
In response to her quick messages, avatars of Mars and Sarah appeared, while Livia came in person.
Sarah was in her lean human form, wearing red leathers, but her weapons and arcane items were all hidden from view in Inventory. Attired in a black and silver Wu Shu uniform, Livia’s blue crystalline gaze, along with her snow white skin and hair, stood out. The ladies wordlessly moved to flank Amdirlain, and Livia shoulder-bumped her.
Clad in his metal centurion garb and red-crested helmet, Mars cut an impressive figure. He shifted the pilum he carried to his left hand and clasped Amdirlain’s forearm. “Good to see you in person again, Amdirlain. I hope we’re closer to having foes to smite together.”
“You brought the Avatar,” Amdirlain noted. “At least one of mine has been around to visit.”
“You didn’t tell me you were fully here,” Mars protested. “Are we going to get to have some fun today?”
“We’ll go smack some demons later,” Amdirlain motioned between her guests. “Once Uilosdis arrives, should I introduce you all, or shall we have each of us take turns to announce ourselves?”
“Whatever you prefer,” Calithilwen replied.
“Formalities vary between cultures,” Mars grinned. “I’ll throw myself into this trouble and vote for individual introductions.”
While he spoke, a bronzed female elf in scuffed grey and green leathers appeared, dark green hair pulled back in a tight braid, matching the colour of her eyes. Eyes flickering over the gathering, she waved casually as she grounded her recurve bow.
“I agree. I’m Uilosdis.” The nearly empty quiver that angled across her lower back refilled as she unstrung her bow. “Demons are fun to shoot. Why has Bornaith got everyone in a twist? Not that it isn’t nice to meet you all. I keep trying to make time to meet other deities, but then I end up sticking my nose in someone’s business.”
Calithilwen’s lips twitched as she regarded Mars. “Would you continue?”
“Mars, god of agriculture and soldiers on several worlds.”
“Darn, I needed more formality,” Uilosdis drawled.
As the rest of his family nodded politely, Glawaron spoke up. “Glawaron, god of the sun and wisdom on Návarit.”
Livia slipped up beside Amdirlain and gave her a wordless shoulder bump. “Livia, goddess of protection and families on some assorted worlds.”
Calithilwen smiled. “Two important areas to aid mortals in. I’m Calithilwen. On our world, I’m the goddess of the moon, fertility, and occasionally navigation.”
“At least when people get lost at night following my blessings, they ask Mother to intervene,” Uilosdis added. “I try to tell them that getting lost is part of the joy of exploration. You learn better through mistakes.”
“Daughter,” Calithilwen said softly. “You had your chance. Wait your turn, please.”
“Sarah, goddess of crafters and artificers. I’m also on several worlds, though not the same ones as Mars or Livia.”
“How did you meet then? Mother tells me I’ll only understand some things once I’m married, but the only deities I get on with are relatives.”
Bornaith ignored Uilosdis’s question. “Bornaith, patron of soldiers and scouts.”
“Amdirlain, primordial of a few things. I support my worshippers’ choices and try to minimise the smacks I have to give those who attack them. As for how we know each other, we all had a connection to a world called Veht?. Livia and Sarah gained their divinity while visiting other worlds.” Amdirlain nodded to the illusion Calithilwen had maintained. “Bornaith, would you share your discoveries?”
Calithilwen nodded firmly at him.
“Troops belonging to three different dark deities used portals that popped up near Uilosdis’s Domain in recent days,” Bornaith explained. “They’re bringing in about ten thousand an hour from what I can judge. They’ve dug tunnels beneath the mountainside at these spots.”
He used his spear to point out three valleys.
“It seems the shift has benefited their deployments,” Mars rumbled. “I expected them to expand their forces at the old sites, so I’ve been allowing for greater numbers.”
“I’ll take over monitoring them and strike at a suitable time,” Amdirlain said. “That’s if your family doesn’t want to deal with them yourselves. I won’t reap as much benefit from them as one of you might.”
“Why not?” Bornaith asked suspiciously.
Do I have to spell it out?
“Primordials don’t advance the same way. I could wipe out billions of demons and see no gain unless the situation provides insights into my nature. However, deities still have classes to progress.”
“What are you talking about?”
Uilosdis laughed. “Wow, Bornaith. Are you trying to progress your skill in rudeness today? I’m usually the one with no manners.”
Glawaron cleared his throat. “We don’t have primordials in any of the pantheons on our world.”
“Doesn’t mean he has to go demanding answers from our host,” Uilosdis said. “I’d prefer to kill them myself and was doing so before Bornaith came visiting and got all bothered about their presence. However, I’m willing to share the fun.”
“Bornaith’s and my concern is that your servants aren’t the most organised of combatants,” Glawaron offered.
“Organised lines aren’t always the best defence against demons,” Amdirlain noted. “Some of their commanders have aeons of experience fighting the forces of Hell. There are various options we can take, but we should determine the overall approach first.”
“You said they had been staging closer to your Domain previously. What did you have planned?” Calithilwen asked.
“Why would you allow them to gather?” Bornaith butted in, frowning in confusion. “You should strike them before they can muster in force.”
“Forces in Hell are trying to trap me, and they’ve rallied allies from the Abyss. The more they bring in, the more I’ll planar lock at once. If one of their avatars had shown up, that might have been a suitable time to strike.”
“There are three sites and eight of us. How about we use dice to see who gets to kill some?” Mars proposed.
“I believe you’re skipping straight to the attacking,” Calithilwen said. “I distracted people from Amdirlain’s question on the overall approach, it seems.”
“Many of the forces trying to get at me aren’t friendly. We expect them to attack each other before they attack any Domain,” Amdirlain explained. “However, if there are concerns about their proximity, we won’t put your family at risk for our plan.”
“I objected to that approach anyway, as it lets demons and devils get the battle experience,” Mars pitched in.
Bornaith nodded in agreement.
Lilith wanted to drag out the confrontations, but I’ve got a bunch of hotheads.
“While I understand, delays are our biggest ally in getting these forces to pulverise each other. Sealing up every hole they come crawling out of isn’t the worst thing to do, it drives them to find alternative routes, slowing their progress,” Sarah noted. “It gives time for the political infighting and suspicion to take root.”
“Plus, Mrs Dragon wants to kill demons,” Mars drawled.
“Maybe. Shall we divide them up?”
Amdirlain shrugged. “I get no benefit, so I don’t want to steal experience. I can monitor the fighting and contribute only if too many of their bosses show up.”
“I can block their routes towards Uilosdis’s Domain,” Livia offered. “I have some world issues I want to discuss with Móeir.”
A die appeared in Uilosdis’s hand. “Roll to see who is pairing. Or do Sarah and Mars go together, and we split with parent and child? To ensure proper supervision of my headstrong brother. Though what do we do with the other end of the portals?”
“I’ll move the far end,” Amdirlain offered. “I’d like to leave the Outlands ends where we can monitor them.”
“That works for me,” Uilosdis said. “I’ll have more opportunities to fill demons with holes.”
Bornaith softly protested. “Uilosdis.”
Uilosdis patted his arm. “I’m glad you worry about me, but how can I ask my followers to investigate potentially dangerous places if I’m not willing to take risks myself?”
“Then let’s move closer and plan out the strikes,” Sarah said. “If things go fine, it will just be six of us fighting.”
“Yet we should figure out the signals if backup is required. I can sense underground so that spells or blessings won’t be required,” Amdirlain added.
“Are you going to ditch fighting beside me again?” Mars asked.
Amdirlain shook her head. “People are still cleaning up all the messes Orcus made, so we’ll go smack some of his generals later.”
The eight of them teleported away.
? ? ? ? ? ?
Lilith’s POV - Hell
Lilith observed the tyrant’s approach and caused the din of her city to press firmer the longer Tingeth dawdled getting to her palace door. It was a petty gesture, but then so was Tingeth. The desire for advantage over foes throbbed within the dark deity of tyranny. The seed that Amdirlain had planted was merely the freshest among millions of plots that touched on a vast number of worlds. In a way, the sheer number of places Tingeth touched worked to Lilith’s advantage.
I hadn’t suggested baiting her with Nüwa’s chain. What is that delightful child up to now?
A wave caught the attention of a Kyton envoy waiting in line to speak with her, and the delegate before her froze. Uncertainty and fear mingled across the features of the obsidian-hued elf.
“You can go. I don’t accept anyone’s worship, so you’ll have to find power somewhere else.”
Other delegates left with them, but Lilith had already gained the knowledge their desires proclaimed so clearly to her. The Succubus, acting as herald at the door of her audience chamber, smirked with malicious glee. She’d told them the same thing months ago. When they’d ignored her daughter’s advice, Lilith had continually rescheduled meetings for her own amusement.
A pair of sullen yellow eyes peeked out through the links of black adamantine chains that softly rattled as the chain devil stepped closer.
Lilith set her words for the Kyton alone, isolating them from the rest of those waiting. “Sarzath. Does your mother still desire her chains?”
“Why would you ask?”
“A proposed wager between the singer and the tyrant.”
Nüwa suddenly looked through her eldest daughter’s eyes. “If she comes into Hell to remove them, it would tilt the board. Delay until we know more.”
“The little singer offered a year? to decide, but the bitch dallied and sought other sources for knowledge. The tyrant’s only got six months left, and the first force to attack wipes out the offer.”
“Only a year? Has she got something planned in the Outlands, or didn’t you tell her how long we needed?”
“I gave her no timeline. I expected her to draw things out as long as possible, not to escalate. Still, it’s enough time to learn if it’s the first layer of a decoy. Can you get your elements into position in that time?”
“No, not without grossly tipping my hand. Treat it as a delaying tactic and draw it out for every hour it’s worth.”
“I’ll learn more. What if she actually desires for you to depart the realm?”
“I’d want to know why.”
“What value do you place on knowing what she desires from this gambit?”
The Kyton’s sullen eyes glowed as power rang through the possession. “Are you suddenly averse to claiming the former heavenly general’s head? Can you take him without me?”
Lilith’s smile was lopsided, and her gaze cruel. “His singer keeps transforming things and beings. What if you’re next on her list?”
The presence of Nüwa in the Kyton’s gaze vanished.
