Posted by Graham on November 30, 1999 at 14:28:01:
In Reply to: Dioxide. I vote this be put in the Archives. posted by Daryl B. on November 30, 1999 at 13:34:26:
> > Brimstone and smoke filled his nostrils, causing this assassin to cough roughly. Flexing his wings, he found this part of the cavern more constricting than the earlier part of the tunnel, unable to even fully expand his feathered arms to their fullest breadth. Stygian blackness surrounded him, hiding features from even his divine sight. > > “This had better be worth it.” he muttered angrily, “There has to be more to the afterlife……” > > “Must there?” A hollow, amused voice echoed behind him. > > Whirling about expertly, the assassin saw torches and a stone wall replaced what had been an open cave. Two torches barley provided enough light to view a black, humanoid form sitting upon a simple wooden chair. Squinting at the small gap left by the hood, the assassin suddenly gasped. > > “You! But… but…you’re dead!” > > “Well of course I’m dead, silly. We can’t very well have the Lord of Necromancy and Lichdom gallivanting about with flesh attached willy-nilly to his bones, now can we?” > > “You know damn well what I mean.” The assassin snarled, angered by this sarcasm. > > “Yes, yes I am dead, as you now.” The Lich looked outward, contemplatively. “You know, this paradoxically proves that all, everything, is meaningless and vanity. All paths, power, even my beloved cult has no real point or goal because all, even the Lords of death themselves, succumb to oblivion.” > > His head bobbed shakily. Was he chuckling, the assassin asked himself? “Beloved cult, now THERE is Irony. Let me relate….” > > “Be silent!” the assassin said in a commanding voice, “Am I doomed to listen to your pointless philosophy for all eternity? Is that my fate?” > > Angry forms coalesced into existence before him. From all races, ages, and guilds wraithlike entities hovered at the edge of his sight them moved dangerously closer. Shortly he could make out faces, recognizable faces, but what brought fear to his throat was their clothing. > > Dragonplate glistened as though newly created. Golden weapons of every imaginable sort were wielded in angry, vengeful hands glowing with holy might. Sweat formed on his brow and trained hands trembled uncontrollably as he gazed into their hollow, dead faces of these Ghost-Knights and found one thing etched upon them. > > Hate. > > “Believe me, you have NO idea how hard it was to arrange this little re-union.” Picking some offending dirt from his skeletal fingers he continued absentmindedly, “The Maran amongst them proved especially hard to coerce, until they found out exactly whom they would be with for eternity. After that, they willingly gave up their paradise with Shokai to come here. Brutal thing, Honor. Almost as brutal as Betrayal.” > > Upon the utterance of the word Betrayal, a low, angry moan echoed throughout the cavern, building in intensity until it sounded like a battlecry. As the circle around him tightened, the assassin knew something he had not known in millennia. > > Fear > > “Have fun, you sanctimonious bastard!” The Lich grinned, contorting his unnatural face into something horrible. Pointing an accusing finger at the assassin, he continued, “Know now, the mercy you showed unto others. Know now, the compassion and love you showed unto your devoted followers who cast away their precious lives in your name, yet were punished for petty, petty infractions” > > “But most of all,” the Lich said happily “enjoy your……ETERNITY!!!” > > A howl of damnation and hopelessness erupted from the assassin’s throat as hordes of souls set upon them, flaying Immortal flesh that would never die, spilling Immortal blood that would never run out, and causing unbearable, unholy pain that would never, ever cease.
> >
> > “Why, of course not.” The Lich said dangerously, “I’ve brought some of your beloved friends to share eternity with you, oh Lord of Honor.”