A New Order Rises

[virgillius]

Evander was standing on a hill overlooking Tamasha. The sun was shining brightly and a light wind blew on his face. It was a beatifull day and he hated it. A long time he was thinking of this moment. He was plotting this day from the very beginning of his life, so long ago. Evander was planning this since the moment his sister gained the high seat of the spirit council. The seat that was his by right... The power of life. And he, Asatar the oldest spirit of all, was cursed to be the spirit of death. His younger sister was praised by all... the mortals, the spirits even the demons. And he... he was an outcast, hated for what he is, for what he does. But not for long. When he snuck out of the spirit world, into Valaer, the other spirits banished him and casted him from his own seat placing his son as replacement. They didn't know that they did what he wished for.

After searching for centuries in Valaer he finaly found what he was looking for. Two bracers left behind by the his own kind. They were the key to his plans succes. If he would unleash his full power, his mortal shell wouldn't survive the stream of energys and he would destroy himself. But with these bracers he could fully release his power and the stream of energys that would destroy him would be absorbed.

For to long he was neglected! For to long he was hated! For to long he was a servant! It was time for a new supreme ruler. Slowly Evander let the power of his magic flow through his body. The soil around him became charred and corrupted everything that was near. The plants lost all their colours and died. And there was no sound of the animals that lived there.

Dark streams of corrupted energies sprouts out of the charred ground, reached for the heaven and darkend the sky. He raised his hands. "Come to me, my servants. Unite and destroy those who opose our new order. No longer shall this world be ruled by the living. Valaer belongs to the deceased, the soulles and the damned."

Shortly after his words, ghouls, ghosts nightmares, spawns and liches rose from the ground, creating a mass of undead. Evander pointed at the village of Tamasha and his army of the damned charged forward at high speed aproaching Tamasha as a cloud of corruption. " Tamasha will fall today and the rest of Valaer will follow soon. Enjoy this day, mortals. it shall be your last." Evander smirked under his dark hood. "The purge has begun..."

[Silvarn]

Silvarn could have almost laughed out loud. This petty merchant wanted to charge how much to repair his robes? The fact that he wanted money from Silvarn at all was humorous.

"Oh? You are serious? You want me to pay for this?" Silvarn asked.

"Damn right I do. I know your kind. You're one of those mages. Think you're so high and mighty, too important to be concerned with trifles like paying a poor tailor who needs to feed his family." the tailor shot back.

"You have no idea who I am." Silvarn replied coolly. With a suddenness liken to lightning, the planeswalker had the tailor up against a wall, threatening to collapse his windpipe if the wall did not collapse first. Thick, heavy grey mists began to pool around Silvarn as his eyes and face took on a dark hue. "I can crush you like an insect."

"Go on, I'm not afraid of you!" the tailor literally spat in Silvarn's face.

"I shall crush your mind then. Scorcahr!" Bruise-yellow rings appeared around his grey irises. "Do your worst." the planeswalker whispered.

The rings disappeared. The old man's breath became heavy and faster, beads of sweat forming on his receding hairline, a panicked look in his eyes. All the while Silvarn held his gaze, unwavering, unforgiving, merciless. Finally the man screamed with unadulterated terror. The stopped short when the man's heart beat did. Silvarn threw the carcass to the floor.

"So, what did you use on him, Scorcahr?" Silvarn asked to what seemed nothing.

The classic. A sneering voice in his head answered.

"Nothing wrong with a classic, is there?" Silvarn's small smile faded as the man's body picked itself up. "Scorcahr, is that what is supposed to happen in this plane?"

I know not, why not tell me? Scorcahr cheeked. But I am leaning towards "no."

"Excellent." Silvarn made a dismissive gesture with his hand and the reanimated man vanished into mist, joining the rest that collected around the planeswalker. "That means there is an outside force at work."

Silvarn rushed outside in time to see a horde of undead, horrors, and other assorted nightmarish creatures. The grey mists flowed outwards as their master groaned, "Fantastic."

[virgillius]

People were yelling, children were crying. The city was burning and streets were covered with corpses. Evander smiled. His creatures were doing their job well. He looked around him. The corpses of the dead mortals started to move again. Evander raised his hand into the air.

"Rise!" he said. The body's rose up from the ground without any recognizable mortal looks. They were undead now, horrors from the underworld. Evander chuckled. "The living will soon the deceased and then my world will be created. A world without grief, suffering and eternal agony." Evander looked up to the sky. The corrpution reached it and completly darkened it. "It is a good day afterall."

Uddenly he felt a sword pressing in his back. "Don't move, necromancer." a voice said. Evander raised his eyebrows. "Necromancer? How dare you to compare me with such weak beings." Evander turned around. The man that had his sword raised against Evander was one the town guards. "I told you not to move!" and the guard trusted his sword towards Evander's heart. The sword stopped an inch in front of his chest and the guard widend his eyes with fear. "What are you?" Evander smirked. He simply laid his finger on the guards forehead and he simply fell down on the ground, dead. "I am complicated." Evander laughed with a cold tone in his voice

[Silvarn]

"This is not good, Scorcahr." Silvarn had a tint of worry in his voice.

And you expect me to know what good is? Scorcahr sneered.

"I expect you to know what to do! I could very much use your help!"

Oh, that is nice. I could very much use a stiff drink and a succubus. And a pouch of angel's flesh to smoke afterward. Got any Clear Steel in those sleeves?

"Shut up and find a way to kill these things without using Twilight!"

Scorcahr growled, then Silvarn's mind became oddly silent. Since Scorcahr -- or more specifically, his mind -- had become trapped in Silvarn's, the planeswalker had quickly learned not to let his mind go astray. Scorcahr had a habit turning that train of thought down a dark and spooky track.

You were correct; there is an outside force at work. I suggesting cutting off the source.

"I meant dealing with the problem at hand! These undead creatures look ."

This outside force's mind and willpower are great. I could not get close enough to glean any information from his mind. Had I, he would have been alerted to our presence.

"Perfect. There is hardly any energy to be collected from the undead. The mists will not last long. Any suggestions?"

You could just give up. Or...Or...I doubt inciting hysteria would work? You could hide and wait for the source to come to you, you know.

"There will be too many of these things to deal with, then. I need to take care of this now!"

Then I would strongly suggest not getting caught.

"Thanks." Silvarn then stepped out of the tailor's shop. A burning city and a sin-black sky greeted him. "I had better hurry. The light has gone; darkness is here. Perhaps I can turn back the hands of time and bring the twilight of this day back."

Summoning two orbs of Twilight, Silvarn began hurling them at the horrors, drawing what little magical energy they did possess back into his mists. "Damn," he mused, "why do I always end up being the hero?"

[virgillius]

A beast with a torso black as the night. A slim neck that connected on a head that looked like a skull and under the torso was nothing but a black mist. Two long arms that ended up up with hands with claws that had the same size of a human arm. This was called a shadow fiend. One of these horrible servants of Asatar (Aka Evander) was ripping open one of the civilians with its sharp claws until he sensed a strange power. The beast dropped everything and hasted to the source of power. There he saw a mortal fighting the waves of undead. The fiend apeared behind the waves of undead.

"Hero?" it said with cold, dark, rasping voice. "there wont be any heros, foolish mortal. The master will make you cry for mercy! He wil torture you for a period that will seem an eternity for you and even afther you will not be granted the peace of death. You will join his ranks of doomed soldiers." The fiend laughed on a sinister tone. "Asatar will make this world his, the death shall rule." With these last words the fiend dissapeared in a dark mist.

Evander was enjoying himself. Everything went according to plan. Tamasha will soon be under control of the death. Evander looked up the sky and raised his fist. "Can you see it, little sister? How does it feel to see your creation be destroyed by me? Your brother! The one you said it wont be a risk to banish to Valear. I told you i would get my revenge! Now i am here making my own world and you..." Evander laughed. "... you are STUCK up there and cant do a thing! It is a new order, little sister!"

Evander laughed with his usual cold voice. Then a shadow fiend appeared and told him the news of a mortal that was fighting his troops. Evander chuckled. "Thank you for your help, my servant." the fiend took a deep bow and disspeared again. Evander snapped his fingers and he appeared where the shadow fiend said where the mortal was. Evander saw him a little further. "Y'know." he started. "It isnt polite destroying other peoples property. I almost had to concentrate to create all these." he said on a sarcastic tone. "Who are you, mortal?"

[Silvarn]

"It is not polite to destroy other's property?" Silvarn reiterated as he slammed a fist flaming with Twilight magic into the face of an undead, the creature exploding into mist. "It might be immature, but I will say it, anyway." He paused to roundhouse kick a skeleton in the face, adding it to the mists. "You started it!"

The mists were beginning to wane. Silvarn needed something a little more potent if he was going to stay in the fight, especially against this new, slightly authoritative being.

I think this new one is the source. But it looks like you are starting to get weak. I shall see if there is anything around here with a little more "meat" on its "bones." Scorcahr vanished from Silvarn's mind.

"And since you asked so politely," Silvarn swept his arm sideways, disintegrating the front lines of the undead in front of him, "My name is Silvarn."

[virgillius]

Evander took a small bow. " Nice to meet you, Silvarn. I have many names. For the mortals i am known Evander, for my ... shall i say family i am known as Asatar. But you will very soon, as any other mortal, call me Master." Evander looked at the undead that were charging Silvarn. He raised his hand. "Stop! Go to the other side of Tamasha, leavenone alive! I will deal with mortal myself!" The undead bowed and dissapeared in a black mist.

Evander rose his forefinger and a small black flame started to appear on the top. When he was about to launch it a couple of guards interupted him. "Stop right there. We have you now, your little creatures are gone and you are outnumbered." The guards started to laugh. Evander only sighed. " There is one thing that keeps me suprising about mortals. Their stupidity!" One of the guards lunged forward with his sword. Evander simply blocked it with his left hand. Suprisingly the sword made no cut. "Youre little toys cant destroy me." He rose his finger and the black flame flew towards the guard. The flame exploded a few inches in front of the guards without any sound. The flames went trough the guards and when the embers were gone the only thing left were the ashes.

" I aplogize for the interuption, Silvarn. Apparently i did something that the guards dont like so they just keep following me around." Evander just raised his shoulder. " Very annoying, especially when you are trying to have a conversation. Don't you agree?" Evander smirked

[Silvarn]

"Here we are, discussing the matter of mannerisms. There is one thing that keeps surprising me about immortals, for I assume you are: Their hypocrisy!" Silvarn backflipped and when he touched the ground, a pool of Twilight collected and he sank through it.

He reappeared somewhere else in Tamasha, rising out of the ground like some demon. He folded his hands into the sleeves of his robes.

"Are they hiding?"

One of them has camouflage magic. They are by that fallen tree. Scorcahr informed the planeswalker.

"Come out, I mean to help you." Silvarn called out

"We will trust you," three mages suddenly appeared near the said tree, "the others would have killed us outright had they known where we were."

"You want to help us?" a second mage asked.

"In a sense," Silvarn stated cryptically. Twilight mists enveloped the mages, their magic powers draining from their being and into the mists. Silvarn inhaled deeply, and when he exhaled, wisps of Twilight trailed from his mouth. "That is more like it. Are there any others?"

Yes, but they are dead.

"No use to me, then. Are there any alive in this village?"

None that I have found.

"Damn. This being is strong. Perhaps too strong for me to handle. Had I been given a year longer, perhaps I would have enough power. Wait a moment..."

If I were you, I would not think too loudly...we have a headache.

"The liches. Undead magicians. If I can consume their power, perhaps it will spread to the undead who follow them. It would be a great help."

Hmm...it could work. Hmph, and they call me the "Thunder-Mind."

"We will have to be quiet. I do not want to attract that immortal's attention."

This would be much, much easier if they were alive and actually had a brain to manipulate, but I will see what I can do.

"Right. Keep an eye out for the liches. They may be our only hope."

Need I remind you that I lack an eye? Or a body for that matter?

"Oh, shut up."

Make me.

[virgillius]

Evander smirked when he saw Silvarn dissapearing trough the ground. He snapped with his fingers and four shadow fiends appeared from the darkness. They bowed deep and asked Evander what their task was. " Find that man. Follow him and don't harm him. Just stalk in the shadows and find out what you can about him. Report back after that." The shadow fiends bowed again and dissapeared in the black mist.

"Daha!" Evander yelled. A lich, dressed in black robes appeared. "Yes Master Asatar? Prepare the spell. This city is purged and it will make a fine capital necropolis." The lich bowed. " Ofcourse, Master Asatar." The lich turned away and walked towarads a cirlce drawn on the ground. Four other liches were standing around the circle and looked at the mortal lying inside the circel. Daha nodded at the others. " It is time. The blood of this mortal shall be sacrificed." The other liches sat down crossed their legs and started to sing an incantation. The area around Tamasha started to shake. " It won't be long now." Evander said on a calm tone.

[Silvarn]

He sure is not wasting any time, is he? Scorcahr asked rhetorically.

"Just keep those dark things away from us." Silvarn ordered.

I think it would be much more exciting if they found us, do you not agree?

"No, I do not. Not at all..." Silvarn stopped as he watched four of the "dark things" creeping past.

"We have him now." One hissed. "He is completely oblivious, brothers." Another added.

The fiends slinked away from where Silvarn actually was, disappearing into the burning city.

"Good work, Scorcahr."

I try.

"What is this rumbling throughout the city?"

I would guess it is our immortal friend.

"It sounds like something is happening. Something bad."

Oh, good!

"Did I not tell you to shut up before?"

Before what?

"Find that immortal! We have to stop him if we want to survive."

Why not just run away? We can escape the city before anything "bad" happens.

"Because..."

It reminds you of your home, does it not?

"It does not matter! Find the damn immortal!"

Fine.

[virgillius]

Evander waited patiently till the liches finished their incantation. The quakes trough the city got stronger and on some places the earth showed some cracks. The mortal in the center started to get restless, started begging for her life. " I am so sorry, my dear." he said with false compasion. "But a sacrifce must be made and considering you are the only one left..." Evander made a gesture that it wasn't his fault. " But find yourself lucky. You won't suffer like the others." He started to scratch his chin, thinking. " Ok, maybe a little." He said on a false tone.

The circle started to glow with a green ghostly aura. Soon a giant pillar of the same light stretched out to the sky, cloaking whole Tamasha in a green glow. Evander smirked. "It is finaly here. The green light became darker and eventually turned black. When the light dimmed away it revealed a giant structure in the sky. An obsidian black pyramid. Under the pyramid was a big green stone that radiated with magic. Four giant chains shot out of the ground attaching themself at the pyramid. Uncountable skulls were in the obsidian stones. "My necropolis has finaly arrived." Evander smiled evilish. The ground changed into a black sand, turning everything in a wasteland. Black obelisks rose from the ground. The undead that were walking the streets of Tamasha started to change completly. They became stronger, faster, fangs started to grow, some even got wings. Others became more insect like.

Evander called Daha. The lich that appear before him wasn't the same. He was larger than the average human. He had long skeletal arms, from his skull head grew two large tusks, he was dressed in a blue robe and a cold aura surrounded him. "Master Asatar, what has happened to us." Evander only smiled proud. "Only the power of the underworld. Send a message to the other villages. They have premission to start the invasion." Daha bowed deep and disapeared. Then some of his shadow fiends reappeared. They were completly different. To the most people they looked as black shadows with red glowing eyes but Evander saw them how they truly were. Black fur on their entire body, large claws and fangs, Strong arms and legs and a large tail with a poison needle on the end.

" The mortal that we had to follow is coming this way." Evander nodded. " What do you know about him?" The shadow fiends looked at each other. " Not much, except for the fact that he seems talking to himself all the time." evander smiled atthis news. "Well well, that is good news. I already know how we can place that to our advantage. You can go now." The shadow fiends bowed and returned to the shdows.

Evander was humming a song. Nothing could go wrong now.

[Silvarn]

"What in the Blue Blazes just happened?"

Watch it...you leave my home out of this.

"But what just happened?"

I would say that something "bad" just happened.

"See if anything besides the landscape has changed." Silvarn suddenly hacked as a cloud of black sand hit him in the face.

It reminds me of home. Just need blue fire springing up here and there and a touch of anarchy and it would be perfect. And a scantly-clad succubus here walkind around. And some demons...

"Home? Your home?" Silvarn's breath and heart rate increased dramatically.

Careful, or you will get your undergarments in a bind. Oh, right, you do not wear any...

"Can we discuss my fashion choices later? We have slightly more pressing matters at hand."

The monsters have become monstrous, the horrors more horrific,

"Get on with it!"

And there is much, much more magic within each of them

"You are completely certain?"

Yes. Whatever that green light was, it infused an enormus amount of magic into making the creatures, as you would say, "worse."

"Perfect. This immortal thinks he has created more of an opposition. Ready for some power to go straight to you?"

...I do not follow.

"That expression? Power going straight to one's head?"

Oh...As long it either makes your head explode or gives me enough power to make your head explode. Either way, I feel this is going to get messy.

"We have to move quickly. Find the nearest bunch of those undead things."

Are you certain you want me to?

"Are you certain you want to question me?"

Done.

"What?"

I have found them.

"Well then, tell me where!"

Right behind you.

[virgillius]

The creatures surrounded Silvarn, waiting to strike but however they seemed to hesitate. They stood there, not being sure of what to do. Then a black Shadow appeared. Its red glowing eyes looked at the undead creatures and it started talking with a hissing voice. " Master order... mortal... not harmed." The undeads looked at disbelief but then decided to turn away and disappeared in the black sand. Then the shadow fiend turned to Silvarn. "Master... wants you... speak. Has... offer... for mortal." The fiend pointed at the necropolis floating in the air, keeping at place with four giant chains. " He... necropolis. You... go there. My kind... will not... attack." With these last words the shadow fiend disappeared into the black sand. The only being left in Tamasha was Silvarn.

Evander was waiting at the necropolis, talking into a crystal Ball. " How are the situations there, Commander." Suprisingly a human appeared in the ball. " Everything is going according to plan, Sir. The villages were already weakend by the disease you spread in the drinkwater so there weren't much difficulties to deal with." Evander nodded. "How many souls are already collected?" The man turned away to reappear a few moments later. " The wizards say we are around eight thousand, sir." Evander started to smirk. "Excellent. I already got word from the other forces and they are almost done. When you have ten-thousand souls you have premission to start the ritual." the human bowed. "Yes, Lord Evander. And when we have done our part of the deal, when are you gonna do yours?. Evander faked a smile. " Do not worry Commander. You will get the reward you desirve soon enough." And Evander broke contact.

Daha appeared behind Evander. " Excuse me, Master Asatar. But why are we using mortals? We just could have used some of our forces to attack the smaller settlements." Evander putted the crystal orb away. "Because, i rather enjoy seeing mortals killing each other. And because i need some support of the mortals else there would be rebellions for a very long time." Daha nodded in acknowledgement. " The shadow fiends have given the message to the mortal." Evander was looking at the necropolis above them. "Good, now lets see if he takes the bait."

[Silvarn]

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

You have a bad feeling? I had a bad feeling after eating an old woman with too many cosmetics applied. You call this a bad feeling? Any worse and I think you will expel me when you vomit.

"It said the creatures would not attack me." Silvarn then clutched his head as someone knocked on it from the inside

There is a brain in here, you know, not just a demon. Use it! This immortal is obviously evil, and I know evil! Stop being stupid! It is obviously a trap.

"Obvious, yes. But perhaps advantageous."

Oh? In what way?

"That shiny green crystal beneath the pyramid looks to be teeming with magical energy. All I need is enough power to..."

...to infuriate the immortal into a rage and have him disembowel us while you breathe?

"The thing said the undead would not attack us."

But...?

"This is a gambit, but we will have to take it."

We? You mean you. Listen to the voice in your head for once! This is a stupid idea. I refuse to say "a bad idea" because...well, actually, it is. Betraying a host's trust and taking the ancient pact of parley and shoving a sharp stick...

"That is enough."

On second thought, I rather like this idea. I think I am finally making an influence on your choices.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

A bit of both, I think.

"Whatever." Silvarn called his mists to him, let them collect and meld into his cloak. "Now keep a watch for the undead and that immortal. This could get messy."

I already said that. Oh, and there are no other beings, living or dead, here except for us.

"What? Damn it...Looks like we will have to indulge our host. For a time, at least."

The mists absorbed into his cloak, and he trudged through the black sand towards the pyramid the fiend had indicated.

"What do you think this immortal wants from us?"

Us? You mean you. He does not know about me.

"Fine, then. What does he want from me?"

You mean besides your undying love and affection?

"Scorcahr..."

Yes, soon-to-be slave boy?

"Shut up."

[virgillius]

Evander was talking in his crystal ball till he felt someone approaching. He turned around and saw Silvarn. " Ah, Silvarn. Seems you got my message. Let me be the first to welcome you in the new world. In front of you see you see centuries of planning and the powers of death itself." Then he pointed at the pyramid floathing above them. " That thing there is the crown jewel. A necroplis summoned right from the underworld. Only requirements were ten thousand souls." Evander smirked. " But ofcourse. I didn't call for you just to show our new world. I offer you a choice. I can be very powerfull but i can't be at two places at the same time. I need someone that can keep everything in order. Dealing with rebellions and all those other things. If you do that i will give you power, perhaps a plane for yourself to rule." Evander waited a moment to let the words take its effect.

" You are not forced to accept, Ofcourse. " Evander said with an evil smile on his face. " If you decline my offer still stands but NOT for you. " Evander pointed at the head of Silvarn. " My creatures told me that you talk alot to yourself." Evander lowered his arm. " Where i come from talking to yourself is very serious. That is the first step into madness. But i have seen beings that talked to themselfs but weren't crazy." Evander stepped closed towards Silvarn. " Demons can be so annoying, Don't you agree? You should know better than me. You have one with you all the time. " Evander laid his finger against the side of his head and than lowered it. " My offer stands for him. I think he would be tired of being stuck inside that small head of yours. So i offer him the choice. I give him his own body back, more power than he ever imagend and i make sure he will get the plane that he wants." Evander crossed his arms. " If you decline you both will die, right here. Your corpse will rot in the sands and both of your souls will be fed to my creatures. What do you say. I don't think it is to difficult."