Chapter One: Avernus.
I was woken to the low rumbling of rolling thunder, and opened my eyes to a sky made of red, I could smell the charred earth all around me, and my body ached; the rubble abrasive against my unclad skin. In a flash a fire ball erupted in place of what could only have been lightningÂ….Aww hellsÂ…..I didnÂ’t know how true that statement hit home yetÂ…
“I’m dead…and my god forsake me” The shadow lands, my great green pastures, or rather gray and shaded, were out of my reach. This was a land of perpetual war, where the strong lived and the weak crushed under foot, It became painfully clear.
“Baatezu….Hahahaa…heh…I am, everyone was right.”
The red din suffused everything in a hopeless haze, in the distance was the methodical thudding of an army on the move, each step in perfect unison, a well oiled war machine of the DevilsÂ….oh godsÂ….This is the first layer. In a panicked frenzy I scrambled across the rocky ground, finding a large outcropping, as a fire ball flamed and exploded over head. My fingers digging into stone, pulling myself up just to view what cage I had put myself in this time.
There it was, in all itÂ’s glory, the littered bodies of both Baatezu, and Tanar'ri alike, and the river Styx runneth over in red.
“Avernus…” I heard myself gasp out, trembling unable to grasp what horror was welling up quite yet.
“My my, what a scared little bird walks these lands….you disappoint me”
Shutting my eyes tight I slowly turned, to face a voice that sounded like honey and silk, looking up and facing what I have seen my whole life in glimpses wreathed in fire and ash, the voice of promises and secrets, and all things that I secretly craved. I wont lieÂ….I want vengeance on all those who wronged me, I want them to suffer slowly, in humiliation, the irony in calling me a monster as they nailed me to a tree to die a slow painful death.
“I’m sorry” I mumbled in supplication. The sky streaked with brilliance, a flame ball hit the Styx sending a torrent of water and steam all around, a powerful hand gripped my shoulder, nails cutting into skin beading up blood on me like fine lattice work, He pulled me to him, and great wings covered me, shielding me from what waters would touch me.
“ Hah…you owe me yet again, I give and give, yet you return with nothing of value, why should I let you live?”
Spreading his wings and sending the water cascading off his crimson skin, he holds his arms open, he is vainÂ…he thinks himself master, yet in the end I was always just his thrall, the soul that filled the comely doll shell.
“You…I am not done with you yet, your birth was a master piece, a picture painted to perfection, even if the whipped one claimed you, in a way, she served me, and now you are home. Welcome to the first layer, and the site of the blood wars, watch them…as they rend each other in brilliant battle. Demons…Devils locked in utter hatred while they charge stupidly, we plan, scheme. Avernus is our chess board, and you are just a pawn.”
Looking up at him, I saw him as he was, tall, eight feet possibly nine, large wings and skin the colour of red wine. Large curling ebony horns wreathed his head like a crown for the damned, and held with him a dark elegance. I knew his name, even without the hellfire licking at his heels and the trademark ranseur in hand.
“But even a pawn, can become a queen…welcome Magadan to your harsh lesson in politics. You will learn…you will learn or just become currency to the soul traders.” Sneering he continues extending his hand like a gracious host, the haze lifting showing a great bronze fortress city rising up to strangle the red sky.
“Mortals taught you a valuable lesson….at our core we are all selfish monsters, even that Ilmatari the so called bearers of suffering did not care, even after taking a few arrows to the back, blinded by faith that’s what they are, sheep milling about, waiting for the hand that guides them. Don’t be fooled…Fiends, we know good, compassion, mercy and love…they are weaknesses. But you knew this, your world would be one, that no one got something for nothing. You can love your mortal all you want, but claim your power, and take what you will…make the second layer and I will give you more, you thirst for truths and answers, I will slake that and fill your cup till it over flows, serve me, love me…fear me, and you will be a general of my armies.”
He continued to smile arrogantly at me, my only defense was to curl my tail around me in some pathetic attempt at modesty. Thunder continued to rumble, and the screams and sounds came in from behindÂ…abyssalÂ…infernal, both languages mixing into a cacophony of battle, of blood shed, metal on metal, claws into flesh, and teeth breaking bonesÂ…the cry of a Styx dragon, snapping at a few who fought to close to the deadly waters. It melded together, flowed through me, each mind a sliver trying to break free of their own torments, mortal souls, thralls to the powers they served in life.
So this was it thenÂ….I can die here or I can rise up and take the mantle I was born to, the choices were thereÂ…death, or to become a full blooded Devil.
And here I was alone is a sea of battle, my benefactor gone, and a long road before meÂ….I wish I had some pants.
I thought about it you know, just diving into the Styx and letting go, call it an unselfish act, but then whatever I had of a soul, would just find more endless torment, or maybe even oblivion, who knows. I huddled naked, scared; eventually I stopped caring. I was caught between a rock and a hard place (No pun intended for the record) This was my shield from the endless battles that waged on. When an odd sense of calm came over, normally with the arrival of a giant ball of sky fire, I took the chance to run, from large rock to rock, like hunted prey. To be honest I have no idea why I even cared so much about modesty, not like I wore much in my temple service, and hells if Demons and Devils wore much. And kind of silly of me, I mean I could have picked up a weapon, started stabbing randomly and fit right in.
But no, I knew my goal, that city in the distance, A structure of worked bronze, it was fast becoming my glittering safe havenÂ…because even in hell, there are markets, and if there are markets, IÂ’m sure I can rob some stupid plane walkerÂ…if heÂ’s bartering in baator he deserves to get pinched. The sky flashed and I darted to the next set of rocks, the bottoms of my feet being scraped raw by the jagged rocks under foot, and the trail of blood caught my eye, one more lead for a hunter, no, I would fight if I had to.
I looked around and found what I wanted, it was no masterwork piece of gloriousness but it would work, a small dagger sized rock, it cut my hands gripping it, but it would cut a throat even better.
This blood thirst, this panicked drive on instinct for nothing more then survival, itÂ’s something I have not felt in a long long timeÂ…Phantom, he dulled my senses and in an odd twist of irony, made me feel more human then I probably ever was, I hope that Ilmatari bleeder kicks herself when I tell her she was what threw open the flood gatesÂ…if I ever got that chance that is. The sky flared and the thunder rolled to what was my heart beat, I donÂ’t care how lame you think this poetic monologue isÂ…But I ran full speed as fast as I could go, and into the battle I dashed. A claw came down over head, and here I was weaving and dodging creatures my size to the size of a very large building.
“Hells” I thought (No the irony was never lost on me, let me tell my story) I had to cross the river…I was on the side that slipped into the Abyss, that delicate line where one plane meets another. And then it hit me, Screw it I was dead either way, and maybe just maybe…I watched as that large Styx dragon threw it’s head up tossing a demon in the air and crunching down with a sickening sound, think…Obese man with some pudding. I weaved up around a wayward flail thrusting the stone makeshift dagger into one of a creatures many eyes, I’m sure the scream was surprise not pain.
Fifty meters, forty fiveÂ….who would stop a crazy devil running to the maw of a dragon? Not sure but soon enough as I had that though an arrow shot me in the back, it hurtÂ…oh did it ever, it was barbed and I was lucky it poked out the other side, would be much easier to remove later, but for now, I was sky high off fear and adrenalin.
The dragon lashed about in the waters sending a spray to some nearby combatants, they stopped their actions to mill about, lost confused…oh look! A mouth. “What am I even doing?” Why was I even pondering this now…twenty meters. I bounded up landing on the back of something chitinous Demon? Devil? Who cares I stabbed at it and drove the rock into my own hand.
Now let me take a small break in telling this, you have days when you wake up and everything has gone to hellÂ…I know, IÂ’m a real comedian but hey some stories never have happy endingsÂ…oh But Moxin your telling the story you say?Â….yes well IÂ’m still in hell and it still sucks.
But here I was arrow in chest, sharp rock through my handÂ…and playing leap frog off the back of fiends, it finally happened something in my mind had to have broken, yet every meter that city in the distance looked less like brass and more like gold, if it had a taste it would have tasted like rainbows IÂ’m sure of it.
This was it, things around me slowed, in my head I saw events fold out as how they should have been, gruesome death, or even just lost memories forever cursed to walk around a mindless doll. Each time my foot hit the ground I heard it pound like the sound of a war drum, even the battle and clatter complimented the drive I had in this very moment, The edge grew near, the dragon released a gas cloud of green on the other side, his tail lashing aboutÂ…few more meters. The pain of the sharp rocks on my feet, no longer were a hindrance, but sent jolts up my body. I felt drugged and this was a revelry and I was dancing to their beat. My feet left the ground, my muscles tensed, my tail whipped back as I balanced myself in the air, and with a heavy thud, and the feeling of thick slime, I hit my mark, digging my fingers under a dragons scale.
“Damnit! This was a mistake” My thoughts became fuzzy, yet my heart kept pounding, reminding me, I clawed my way up this beast, shifting it’s head to gaze at me with a murderous stare, a mere mortal having the gall to use him as a bridge across some water? Yeah…I know I must have impressed Tymora that day, I clawed myself forward still, trying to get to it’s head, long serpentine body, slick with slime and the waters of the Styx. By some miracle it lunged to bite me…and bit it’s self. My fingers found their mark! I gripped his eyelids for everything I was worth.
Word of caution donÂ’t grab a dragon by the eyelids, it makes them angrier.
((Word of caution, this is the story of how Moxin became what she is now, if it doesn't make sense now it will as it gets done, Deals with devils tend to backlash in horrible horrible ways hehe...and I love torturing my characters it seems))
A Baatorian Sunset
