Emptiness

by Viktor Zólyomi

  They are the most rebellious race of them all. They have great love for freedom, though only their own freedom. The freedom of other races does not concern them in the slightest. They've been known to keep slaves - human slaves - before the time of the Great War. They are keen to solve everything with force, even slight disputes among friends end up in an exchange of brutal punches. They relish in violence, to say the least. But at least they are an honest folk.

  Their violent lifestyle makes them into fine warriors that excel in melee combat and they can fight with unparalleled ferocity and tenacity. One would not expect such a race to master the more subtle forms of battle, especially magic. Yet they mastered it at a very high level thousands of years ago. Some of them can wield very powerful magics. By no means are they inferior to spellcasters of other races. Absolutely not.

  Perhaps orcish mercenaries would have been a good choice for Aaron, but the orcs stay far away from Delamar just as much as humans keep out of the lands of Ordhiar. Old tensions among old rivals still exist, and though they're kept well beneath the surface, a careful observer can see it all.

  Hiding everywhere, just waiting to erupt, to explode.

  And if Meliorath had her way, it would all explode in just a few days' time.

  But she won't. Her plan is doomed to fail. She chose the wrong man for the job. Were I not who I am, I could reach Re'Cas. But as it is, I will never get there.

  I will be stopped in Gatestown. But it doesn't make much difference for me. I will get what I want just the same.

  `Everything all right, boy?'

  Aaron has returned.

  `Yes.'

  `Good! I've taken care of everything. The remaining supplies will be here in just a minute, and then we can get moving.'

  He claps his hands and shouts to the mercenaries.

  `Alright you lot, enough of the laziness! Saddle up! We're about to depart!'

  Finally! I am eager to start off on this journey. To reach Gatestown, and let it begin as it must. As it must...

  Revelation

  In the castle of Kurt Aurach, Kh'Tal, fifteen years ago (17 years, 4 months, and 13 days before Twilightfall)

  The screams...

  The painful screams...

  I can still hear them. The screams of all those whom I unwillingly killed in demon form. I knew they'd stay with me for as long as live. I knew this ever since the first time that the demon killed such that I was aware. Aware that what I'm seeing is not just a bad dream, but the shocking reality.

  I had been staying in Aurach's castle for about three months when it happened. Aurach was very good to me. He let me stay in his castle, he even taught me some very useful things about magic, including a number of very useful spells. He made me realize how much power lies within me, and taught me things I thought I could never learn at this stage. Jenathar apparently denied me the knowledge I could have absorbed.

  Aurach suggested that I occasionally leave the confines of the castle. He thought it would do me good. For a while, it did. Then, I made a mistake.

  He told me to stay away from the inhabitants of Kh'Tal, for their sake. I understood perfectly why, and I heeded his words. I did not want to bring harm to them. Each time I heard some people nearing, I hid among the nearby trees or wherever I could. Until one day, I made a terrible mistake.

  I was walking on the road, and I heard travelers approaching. I hid by the road as usual. Not long after they passed by, I heard sounds of battle from their direction. I snuck closer and I saw that they were being ambushed by bandits. I decided to help them.

  I shouldn't have...

  I used some of the spells I had newly learned from Aurach to even the odds. The travelers welcomed my aid, and together we defeated the bandits. After the battle, they thanked me for the help. It felt good to me that I was able to help them. Then, as one of them shook my hand in gratitude, I felt the same sharp pain in my heart as before, and I fell on my knees. I told them to run, but they stayed. They didn't know what was wrong with me, and they wanted to help me.

  I told them to stay away, but they wouldn't. They wanted to help me. Then, I changed. The demon inside me had risen once again.

  It showed them no mercy. It killed them one by one. It literally ripped them to pieces, one after the other. The last few tried to flee, but the demon spat a fireball at them. They were scorched to death.

  The monster just laughed maniacally. But the laughter was not what hurt me most. It was the screams. The screams of its helpless victims. I shall never forget those screams...

  When I finally changed back, I burnt their bodies much like I had burnt Carrie back then. I just couldn't leave them there for the scavengers...

  Upon returning to Aurach, he read it all out of my eyes. We didn't say a word. He just looked at me sadly, and I stared at him with an emotionless, empty gaze.

  He knew.

  *

  The following day one of Aurach's spirit servants came to me early in the morning. It said that its master was expecting me in the laboratory. I rushed there, curious of the reason for urgency.

  He was standing beside the largest pentagram of the laboratory, clad in that magnificent enchanted wizard robe I'd seen on him when he triggered my transformation. He must have been doing something difficult.

  `Jason, you are awake! Splendid!'

  `Is something wrong?'

  `Well, not as such, but I fear I have only disturbing news for you...'

  After the previous day, I couldn't imagine what would be so disturbing. I had no idea...

  `I asked you here now,' he continued `because I will soon need to go to rest. You should hear these spirits while they are still bound here. I would prefer not to need to summon them a second time.'

  `Spirits?'

  `Yes. They are bound here temporarily by my spell. I shall invoke them for you one by one.'

  Spirits. He meant: souls of the dead. As a black magician, he has the power to summon the soul of any deceased creature, be it human or of any other race. As long as this soul is in the world of dead souls we call Afterlife, and this soul is not too powerful to resist, a black magician can summon it and bind it to the place of summoning temporarily. During this time, the dead soul has no choice but to answer each and every question of the summoner. It is forced to speak the truth.

  They say Jenathar banned black magic from Ess'yer specifically because he was afraid that much of his dark secrets could be brought to light with this method. Only black magic has the power to summon and interrogate the dead.

  `These spirits I have bound here shall tell you things that you must be aware of. When they are all finished, you will fully understand what you are, and how and why you became what you are. Are you ready to hear them?'

  I wasn't. I know best that I wasn't. But I wanted to know the truth.

  `I am ready.' I told him.

  He nodded, and looked towards the pentagram. He didn't speak, nor did he even wave his hand. A few seconds later, a ghostly image appeared in the pentagram.

  In his life, he was an elf man. He was of average height, with short hair and no beard or mustache. He was wearing a robe of sorts, and carried a ceremonial curved dagger hanging from his belt.

  `Spirit! This is Jason Vogan.' Aurach told the robed spirit. `Answer him every question he has, and speak true at all times.'

  `As you command...' the spirit replied. Strange, I thought to myself... I had expected his voice to be less lively, but he spoke like he was still alive. He looked at me with genuine interest in his eyes.

  `Who are you?' I asked.

  `My name is Meythei Nefou. I am honored by your presence, Jason Vogan.'

  `Honored?' I asked.

  `Yes. It honors me to speak with you.'

  He wasn't lying. He was unable to lie. But I didn't understand what he meant.

  `What do you have to tell me?' I asked.

  `Your new Master has asked me about the tale of my death. Do you wish to hear it?'

  `Yes.' I answe
red, although I didn't understand what it was all about.

  `I shall tell you then.' he said. `Know that I, Meythei Nefou, was the high priest of the sacred order that worshiped the mighty Th'Mesh, the Destroyer. The all powerful Lord of the Hellish Planes.'

  `Th'Mesh? Who is Th'Mesh?' I asked Aurach.

  `Th'Mesh is one of the Demon Lords of the Hellish Planes.' Aurach replied. `He's quite powerful. One of the two most powerful demons in existence. Fortunately he cannot simply enter a Material Plane.'

  `Yes, my former Master could not break down such barriers.' Nefou continued. `Not by himself, that is...'

  `Continue, spirit!' Aurach commanded him. Nefou resumed.

  `I was the leader of the Cult of Th'Mesh. That I had been for over fifteen years. Until that fateful night when my death occurred. It was some twenty-odd years ago, in a well hidden part of Ess'yer. We had been preparing for the ultimate ritual. We summoned our Lord to Ess'yer on that night...

  Of course, we had no power to create a full manifestation for him. All we could do, is create a body for him that would remain in existence for up to eight hours before crumbling to dust. That was the most we could do, and we needed half a century of preparations to do it.

  These eight hours, however, were enough for what our Lord wanted. We'd planned it for so long. We had all our willing female followers present. Over five dozen of them.

  Our Lord impregnated them one by one. We watched as he copulated with them one by one. It wasn't a pretty sight, I must admit. He was quite forceful. He had to do it fast. He had eight hours to impregnate over sixty women. He wasted no time, he spent about five minutes on each of them. An outsider would have seen it as a vicious rape, but those women were his faithful followers. They volunteered for this, they knew well what it meant to be part of this ritual. They proudly gave their bodies to our Lord, so that he may sow his seed, and that these women could give birth to his children.'

  He paused briefly. I dared not speak. It was so obvious even then, but I did not dare to say it out loud. I waited for him to carry on.

  `Our Lord vanished shortly after impregnating the last girl. That's when they descended upon us.

  Followers of the Councilor Jenathar, lead by Jenathar himself. They surrounded us and without warning they began slaughtering us. They never meant to take prisoners. They overpowered us, but I had prepared for such a turn of events. Saving the impregnated women from the slaughter was of utmost importance. I had to save them at any cost.

  I was a mage of considerable power, albeit I was nothing in comparison to the likes of Jenathar. Still, I had enough power to summon half a dozen fire elementals and send them against Jenathar's minions. In the chaos that followed, I was able to teleport all of the impregnated women outside of the circle of our attackers. There, I gave each of them a magic wand with a few charges of invisibility that I had prepared long before the ritual. I told them to flee, which they attempted.

  But one of them had other plans. As I had given the wands to over two thirds of them, someone attacked me from behind, under cover of invisibility. This person stabbed a dagger in the back, right between the shoulder blades. It was a near fatal wound that left me at their mercy. I still had strength to turn and face my attacker. I was ready to burn my killer to death with a fireball, but when I saw who it was, I was shocked, and didn't cast the spell. It was one of the women I had given a wand to already. She pointed her right hand towards me, and uttered a few magic words. A lightning bolt emitted from her hand, and hit me square in the chest. That killed me...'

  Again, he paused for a while. And again, I dared not speak.

  `This is how I died, Jason Vogan.' he said.

  I hesitated to ask what I wanted. In the end, I asked something different.

  `Tell me, what was your purpose with all those women? Why did you want to bring the children of Th'Mesh into Arghard?'

  `Simple.' he replied. `Our Lord cannot enter Arghard on his own. We can only summon him for a very short time. But his children... Half-demons bearing the essence of the Destroyer... They have the potential to grow into a full manifestation of their father. If they grow strong enough, Th'Mesh can enter our world through the body of one of his children. That is just about the only way he can form a full manifestation in a Material World. We were meant to forge him the path to enter the world of Arghard. I and many others before me have tried over and over again. Many others will try again and again in the future. Until one day, one of these demon-spawn will finally become a host for our Lord.'

  `So you are saying it has never happened before?'

  `Never. But one day it will. Then, the mighty Th'Mesh will walk the lands of Arghard, and make it his own land. Then, the Destroyer and his followers shall rule Arghard.'

  Somewhere deep inside I expected this answer.

  `Spirit, you may leave now!' said Aurach.

  `Wait!' I told him. `I have one more question...'

  `Go ahead, Jason Vogan!' said Nefou.

  Slowly I gathered the courage to ask him. Ask the question to which I already knew the answer... but didn't want to accept it...

  `Am I... a child of your Lord? A spawn of Th'Mesh?'

  `Yes, you are.' he replied. `I sense the essence of my Lord within you. You are of his blood, without any doubt.'

  I stood in silence, and did not object when Aurach once again told the spirit that he may leave. Nefou disappeared in moments.

  `So... it's true, it is as you suspected... I am a demon spawn...'

  `Yes, Jason.' said Aurach. `And Th'Mesh is your father. I shall tell you more about him later, but first you must know more about your birth.'

  He turned towards the pentagram and a new spirit appeared. A human woman, looking like in her thirties, wearing a mage robe. I recognized the markings of the Supreme Council on the robe.

  `Spirit, I command you to answer every question this man has to ask you, and answer them true!' he told her. He did not introduce me.

  `I will...' she replied, as she looked at me with curiosity. `What do you wish to know?'

  `First, tell me your name.' I said.

  `My name is Elaine Vogan.'

  I stood in shock. Elaine Vogan... Jenathar had told me that this was the name of my mother, who died when I was born. I was looking at my long dead mother, for the first time in my life. I knew not what to say. I did not even introduce myself to her. I just stood in silence.

  `Tell him how you infiltrated the Cult of Th'Mesh at your Master's request!' said Aurach.

  `As you wish...' she said. `My Master, Jenathar of the Supreme Council, one day came to me and told me of the Cult of Th'Mesh. He told me how they were planning to bring a powerful Demon Lord into our world, and told me his plan to rid Arghard of them once and for all. He asked me to join the Cult, and lead him to their leader.

  I did as he asked. I was among them for many years, until I became a trusted member to meet the head of the Cult, an elf mage called Meythei Nefou. I was quite surprised when just a few months later, Nefou approached me with the request of volunteering for a ritual that could invoke Th'Mesh into our world. I contacted my Master about this, and he asked me to participate in the ritual, to play along in everything. He said, that the whole Cult would gather together for this event. That is where he would strike.

  So I played along. Nefou told me what the ritual would involve. They would conjure an avatar for Th'Mesh, and then the Demon Lord would copulate with me and all the other women who volunteered. He said that the magics invoked in the ritual would ensure that we all would be impregnated, and we would eventually give birth to the children of Th'Mesh. Then they could potentially grow into a full manifestation of Th'Mesh, and the Demon Lord could be unleashed upon our world.

  I had expected Master Jenathar to interfere before Th'Mesh could be summoned, but he didn't. Th'Mesh was summoned, and Master Jenathar was nowhere to be seen. I had to endure the whole ritual from beginning to end.

  It was...

  It was a horrible experienc
e... It was... It was most difficult to endure it, to participate in it, to resist the desire to just attack the creature and its followers... It was difficult to resist, discomforting, stressing...

  Yet I resisted. I would not fail my Master. I... allowed... the Demon Lord to impregnate me, and waited for Jenathar patiently.

  He appeared when the avatar of Th'Mesh disappeared. He came with many mages, enough to slaughter every last member of the Cult. I know that it was a cruel, planned massacre... but followers of a Demon Lord deserve no better. I remained hidden, waiting for my chance to most effectively aid my Master.

  Then suddenly, Nefou summoned some fire elementals to battle my Master and his men. They were sufficiently distracted by the elementals such that Nefou could attempt to help the impregnated women to escape. He teleported us all to a relatively safe and open edge of the camp. Then he gave each woman a wand of invisibility. Eventually, he even came to me and gave me one. I knew then what I had to do.

  I used the wand, snuck behind him, and stabbed him in the back. He didn't fall though. He turned around and I saw the shock in his eyes. He didn't expect my treason. I finished him off with a lightning bolt.

  Then I rallied Master Jenathar's men to attempt to intercept and kill the women who were escaping, but we were too late. Over forty of them escaped, and we never found them.

  Master Jenathar was furious. I'd never seen him like that before. He called his men incompetent, and he seemed like he was about to kill them for their failure. In the end, he calmed down, and we all returned to Re'Cas.'

  She stopped here, perhaps expecting some response, but I remained silent.

  `Now, tell him of the child you gave birth to!' Aurach told her.

  `As you wish.' she replied. `When I told my Master what had happened to me during the ritual, he insisted that I give birth to the child. He said that the half-demon I'd give birth to would eventually lead him to the others, and then he could rid the world of them once and for all.