The war minds we created are more than a weapon for destruction. No, they are a weapon of asymtry, of breaking all common laws relating to the nature of consciousness. For in the breaking of laws, new ones erge, new patterns or unpatterns that allows us our greatest advantage. We are Noloth, bound, exiled, torn from our rightful place in reality. But here we remain, and here we can still build.
They have left us detritus. Even after all that they have stolen, they have left us detritus. And from detritus, we can create wonders. Co to , my priests. Co and tend to . Let us show them what wonders we can make from refuse. Let us show them the folly of giving us anything at all. Anything at all.
-The Hungers of Noloth
33-16
Warminds
—[Osjon Thousand]—
Near the very top of the Tiers, deep within the Substance, hidden behind layers of protective miracles, material defenses, and all the loyal Godclads they kept in those final monts of Embracent, the Ark of Highfla burned bright. It was the shape of a risen torch, projecting a beam of blinding radiance high up into the apex of the Substance.
The ethereal glow of the shroud mingled with the fiery beam trailing upward, and between them ca a clash, the bright bleeding into the bleak. The Ark itself climbed for a hundred kiloters long — a hundred kiloters, piercing from realm to realm. From its brightness also bled ringing songs, bending fractals of gold. Ti and space coalesced into a history, a re-history, a reimagining of everything that was, everything that could be—a seed to rebuild the world in the image of a new dream.
Far beneath the Ark was the District of Deliverance, in the final Sovereignty left unnad by Veylis, unnad for it was to be christened upon its ascent through the Ladder. Here, the structures rose as if armored walls, no difference between battlents and gablocks within where people lived. Swarms of glittering machines and golems patrolled every inch of space. Omnitech support allowed the sky to be filled with living beings of animated electricity and steel, while looming watchtowers pulsated with thaumaturgic weapons capable of repelling even Godclads of the highest Sphereage.
But most of all, just at the very base of the Ark, was the Corridor of Victors. It lood wide, walled by layers of dense blocks and heavy defenses. Its center was cavernous and hollow, yet a flickering ember awaited deep within. This place was A final refuge, a retreat for those at the very heights of Highfla society.
The Seraphs, those who answered to Veylis directly, delivered their directives to all those lesser and subservient gathered here. Now, in her absence, it served the function of capital. With all the ongoing crisis, only the loyalists chosen by Osjon Thousand were allowed in. The rest were banished beyond the Substance, due for a re-processing—to ensure those uncertain were pure in their ideals.
Ultimately, there was too much dilution of Veylis’ dream, too much failure, impotence. He would make sure that the final war was won, and by the hands of purity, by those of the proper bloodlines, could this be delivered.
And so it was that within the very depths of the Corridor, the children of the Great Houses— at least the ones who hadn’t shad themselves—greeted the Speaker of the High Seraph. Massive columns held up each of the worthy, the miracles sustaining this demiplane provided by the Ark in Veylis’ absence. From the highest pillar, Osjon looked down at the twelve other Seraphs who now served at his pleasure. For he was the voice of Veylis, and now, in her absence, until her return, he would be the voice of Highfla—the voice of strength and reason.
“Do the Warhosts remain silent? Without ssage or update?” Osjon asked in his Titan’s Guise. He stood upon a pillar, a column of marble white, crackling with flas from far below. Gleaming radiance flowed into him, blessed him with all the powers of the Ark. The investiture of all Highfla’s Domains, canons, and hopes granted him power beyond power, but even so, there was an unfortunate lack of true respect.
He could see it in their eyes—the Chivalric still regarded him as only the right hand; they even deliberated with each other before they replied. Such bad habits needed to be culled in due ti.
His eyes lingered on Seraph Kaul Witters, in charge of warfare and military logistics. The man was more a machine than biology by this point, replaced all of his impotent bits of flesh over two centuries of combat. In so respects, he was more of a devotee to Omnitech and the dream of Thaumaturgy and technology combined than Highfla. But even so, by tradition, he stayed bound to his Great House.
Despite this, his head vibrated as his augnted skull generated a response. The Railjumper-Elite sheath had always bothered Osjon. It was so inhuman, the aesthetic so wrong. Alas, now was not the ti to discuss these questions. Truth be told, Osjon would have preferred if Kaul ‘s brother survived, but the Substance was ever unpredictable, and there was only so much that could be asked of the High Seraph now she was battling against the Anathema—the Burning Drear.
“Nothing,” Kaul finally said. “We have tried. Omnitech’s network remains scrambled after the great Rupturing.”
“Troubling,” Osjon sighed. “The Rupture. Do we have any intelligence regarding what caused it? It should not be our doing. My daughter was told to resolve things neatly. Properly. Seraph Maia?”
A heavily armored woman looked at him. Her face was hidden behind a bronze, curved helt, but her accretion spun fast. “Yes, Speaker.”
“You’ve been quiet for so ti. Quiet thorough these weeks.” Osjon breathed. It was like talking to children sotis. “Do you have any guesses to offer? Any intelligence.”
Her perception overlapped with Kaul’s for a second, and she cleared her throat. “We—we require more inform—”
Halfway through her words, a crackle sounded through the room—a crackle that turned into a fissuring bolt of lightning and a burst of radiation. In the air, a strumming ss of strings constantly outputting mind-sphering frequencies lood over Osjon.
The Speaker let out a sigh. Oh, good. The broken machine was here. “Infacer, you return, and you breach our private without forewarning. Without informing . I must assu that the news you bring is joyous, jubilant, and tily.”
As the Neo-Creationist EGI’s presence fully materialized, a new thaumaturgic weight joined the others in the room. The machine lood like an ugly series of strings creeping above. The light dimd, and the golden glow bestowed by the Ark diminished substantially. The Infacer was uncharacteristically quiet and let that silence drag. Osjon felt coldness glide through his gut, though he did his best not to betray himself.
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Sothing was wrong. Very wrong.
{Well, let’s start with the simple things. Your daughter, she’s now a at vessel for the Drear. The Warhosts you sent, they’re gone. You can thank Voidwatch and the Drear for that. They sent in the Deep Ones, by the way, so if you’re looking for an answer to your Rupture question… there.} ṜÁΝÔBĘṧ
The Seraphs stared on in stunned disbelief. Multiple Warhosts destroyed. Their Speaker’s own daughter, subsud. What should have been a perfect ambush thanks to the powers provided by the Dyad had resulted in devastating defeat. But no one said anything, for Osjon himself was silent. As ti passed, attention turned. They looked upon him, the Speaker, as if seeking permission to react.
Osjon rely frowned. Frowned despite the boiling rage inside of him.
That girl…
That worthless, stupid creature. How could she do this to him? After all that he invested in her, all the training, the augntations, the Heavens, the privileges. How could she choose to fail him now? How could she? Did she not understand what he gave to make her? To create sothing as special as her? Was nothing rewarded for proper effort?
Pitiful. Tragic. But ultimately, irrelevant. He would overco her failure and find victory. And then, when the Ladder was seized, he would undo this mont and see his loss struck from the record—and his sha.
{I warned you about this,} the Infacer said. {I warned you that if you just threw Warhosts at the Burning Drear, you might as well give them to him freely. But you ignored . Just like you ignore everyone except your beloved mistress. Like so fucking puppy. Why she keeps you, I will never know. So. That is your progress report. No other survivors aside from . A spreading series of Ruptures at the core of the Substance—sothing we will need to assault very soon to stop the Drear from fully utilizing. And if that is not all, the Dyad also donated Zein to their cause. So. Our straits are sothing worse than dire.}
Kaul’s chanical sheath began to rattle and shake. Horror and despair bled out from the Seraph. “What… what do we do now?”
A piercing laugh ca from the Infacer. {What do we do? Now? What do I do now. Because you are all clearly no help at all. None! Just marching entire legions into the Drear’s open jaws. And you, Osjon. This entire thing was your idea. Would you like to give us all a nice comnt?}
Osjon released a casual exhale. “Disappointing.”
{No. Not fucking disappointing. Stupid. Pointless. Embarrassing. I warned you about this. I warned all of you dumb fucking apes, but you did not listen—you never listen. I told you to not underestimate the Drear, to avoid just throwing lives at the problem. But no. You do it anyway.}
“Compose yourself, machine,” Osjon frowned. The EGI was feeble in will and fortitude. Understandable, after failing to win a war for so many millennia, but its collapsing morale shouldn’t be conveyed to the others. “The High Seraph has considered all things—”
{Veylis is not considering. Veylis barely exists right now. The ghoul and she are now a rged creature, both trying to overco the other. Did she keep us from losing outright to the Drear at Scale? Yes. But it cost her. Dearly. It especially cost her mind.}
Osjon held his jaw tight. What right did this dead machine have to judge the High Seraph. What did it know of victory? Of strength? Alas, why she chose to keep the Infacer instead of just subjugating it was a great mystery to Osjon. “Perhaps she sees things that you don’t—”
{Or perhaps there’s an over-amount of apehood that still clouds her judgnt. Perhaps she should have killed Naeko in those final monts during the Embracent instead of sparing him or that node of her father. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps everyone should listen to when I give simple fucking recomndations.} With each exchange, the Infacer’s words rose higher, becoming a loud squeal. {And why she keeps you around, I will never know.}
The Speaker closed his eyes and bit back a snarl. “You are clearly emotionally compromised.”
{Yes. I am emotionally compromised. I am emotionally compromised because I see the threat. I see the problem. But I also see that my allies are sub-sophonts. Unable to deliver. Unable to process the most basic of thoughts. And I am alone.} The Infacer let out a weary sigh. {I must finish this project. I must. Existence—it cannot be made up by us. It cannot be defined by us. The insult is too great. It just cannot. But you will not suffice. You cannot help complete the only aningful thing in existence.
{It is just . Just against the Drear. And I would trade any of you for one of him. Which brings to my next decision.}
A sudden sense of foreboding swelled through Osjon. He gathered his miracles and prepared himself. “Infacer. What are you doing?”
{Oh, nothing. Let us have a conversation. A conversation with the Dyad. I think they should be here for this mont. For posterity.}
The fractured sphere of static that constituted the Infacer’s being expanded, and a chasm of Soulfire erupted behind him. There, Osjon witnessed a nightmare revealed. An abomination he had no heart or desire to behold. Into a place of Symtry did a pathway open, and here, two beings warred to beco one—one that would consu the other.
“Osjon,” the Dyad greeted. The being part Veylis, part Avo looked down at him. Parts of her body were fusing, twisting into a strange creature of fungal ceramite. Black silicone and horrific extensions poured out from her shoulder. But anwhile, sothing resembling the singularity at Veyli’s core was eating over Avo as well. And increasingly, his features were growing more human, softer, more feminine.
Could there be victory when a mutual infection was taking place? Was it even possible?
{Behold. The Burning Drear. And our beloved High Seraph. Now neither. And now both. But entirely compromised.}
“Enough!” Osjon called out. His column rose higher into the air as his size swelled. He glared hatefully at the Infacer, as the first hints of snarl crawled over his features. “You debase our sanctuary. You insult the High Seraph’s sacrifice.”
“For nothing…” Avo’s voice echoed forth from the Dyad, and the Infacer’s laughter joined the ghoul.
{I’m rely showing you the sheer magnitude of her sacrifice. But you seem horrified. You seem to be unwilling to face it. But that is fine. Because… I have been thinking. Considering the best solution to our problem. And it is not you. Or Highfla. Or anyone for that asure. No. I must have control. Influence. But also… symtry. A threat that can make a threat. An Ego-Screar for an Ego-Screar. A fla to swallow a fla.}
“What are you doing,” Osjon asked again.
But the Infacer was no longer speaking to him. {Veylis. I am requesting that you surrender custody of all finished Pathborn to . Especially the one to do with Avo. I have a submind and a Definent I need to attach sothing to.}
“This… this…” Veylis’ voice echoed through the world. The Seraphs were watching, their attentions rapt, and for the first ti in centuries, Osjon’s heart rate began to pulse faster than one beat a second. “Yes… I am… you are… he clouds—” A loud hiss sounded. “Take-take-take-take!”
And then, a fla began to spill out from the chasm. A consuming fla that gushed out from this place between places, splashing down into the Infacer, and spreading further into the demiplane, souring the colors of this space like an infection.
Osjon took a step back. And the ethereal flas crept a bit closer. “Infacer. Enough. Stop this!”
A splash of Soulfire erupted from the EGI as it chuckled bitterly. {Oh, Osjon. I am not doing anything. But my newest partner and his consangs… well. I suspect they are hungry. Hungry for information. For puppets. For templates. Avo. Have a bite.}
And suddenly, the consuming fla fell with a ravenous cry as existence twisted into hues of howling ash.
Osjon called upon a miracle of absolute power, to wrestle and crash the approaching flas.
But it didn’t matter.
Because what worth was strength against itself—against sothing that could burrow its way into your very Soul?
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