There was a massive spike of energy to the east.. bigger than anything Reiuji had ever experienced.

Suddenly, the energy diminished - just by a little. Only a little.

--

Dundabladin, God of Mathematics and General of Osiris-Ra, spoke calmly, passion restrained. He had not expected this.

"Lord," he said, prostrating himself. "Forgive me for not coming immediately. I was hunted by those who would see you fall.. and your Cult had not passed on the message, so to speak. The numbers, however, were right. I can see that now. The black equations had been weighed. You have returned. My heart is filled with joy."

"Indeed."

Dundabladin could not imagine what expression was behind that iron, scowling mask, but he had witnessed the death of Sura, once his greatest friend.. and he was terrified. His stomach was hot. There was a reason for this, but one he was not trying to think about..

"I can have the Legion of the Starving Eye ready in twenty four hours. I will sound the gong that sings the song that will end the world. I can have them in Tuthmuthut within two days, three if there is further difficulty. With them, of course, I will bring the gong. I have acquired.."

His voice was perfectly restrained, a little calm.. a little desperate.

Osiris-Ra's, of course, was cold.

"Yes. Forgive me, General Dundabladin, Lord of the Legion of the Starving Eye, if I seem a little brief. There is an unknown visitor in Tuthmuthut.."

"Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. I will deal with them. Roses at your feet. My sword will be the song that spills the blood of the intruder.."

"No. You are unfit. The Legion of the Starving Eye will go to Sura, perhaps, or to Blaine or Ristarte or to someone more deserving. The gong is no longer yours.."

Desperation, now. The calmest voice of the rational God of Mathematics was desperate, a pleading whine that knew..

"Lord, please, forgive me. What have I done? How have I angered you? I promise, promise, I promise that I'll make up for it, promise that I'll work.."

Osiris-Ra slapped him, a vicious swipe that left blisters across his face, blinded the eyes..

"It is the technology taped to your gut. The listening-device. For the new League of Divine Right, perhaps, or for Isuban. I do not care."

"No, Lord, I had no choice oh please I had no choice please.."

He was crying now, sobbing madly.

"You mastered the Invocations of the Sun. You understand the penalty for treason. Eternal death. You will be stripped of whatever lives remain."

A scream, and the God of Mathematics was forever sand.

Osiris-Ra walked, almost jovially, towards the intruder. He was in a murderously good mood, despite the cases of ineptitude and treason. More blood would be spillt.

He had all day, after all.

An immeasurable and endless plain of sand stretched out to the horizon in all directions, utterly featureless for as far as the eye could see. A place that was utterly devoid of all existence and had been in that state for aeons, a place filled with total tranquillity due to the absence of anything to disturb it. Yet now, a trail of massive footprints had appeared within the formerly pristine sands, starting in a growing sliver of twisted silver metal that lay somewhere within the desert and leading to a towering figure that marched endlessly through the sandy plains, heading towards some strange white protrusion in the distance.

This figure was Chalybis, the God of Industry who had felt Himself attracted to this strange place for a reason He did not know. He despised the desert, filled as it was with abrasive sand that ground between the components that made up His body. Apart from this inconvenient and annoying inevitability, His arrival had been extremely uneventful - a pleasant change compared to the welcomes He had received in all other realms He had visited until this point - with absolutely nothing but sand anywhere near Him.

However, something had been gleaming near the horizon, a large white shape which protruded from the desert sands. At this distance it had been impossible to make out what it was exactly, but as it was the only feature He could see in any direction, Chalybis had decided that it was the place He should be going to. He had embedded another silver lance within the sands below Him before He had gone on His way, inserting His own corruption into the infinite desert so that this infernal place might eventually - after countless years had passed - serve as something more useful than itself, as well as granting Him a beacon of influence which He could trek back to if the white thing turned out to be nothing but a figment.

After that, He had started to walk, slowly progressing through the dunes of sand as each of His steps sunk deeply within them. He was not suitable for wandering around in deserts, and He despised it because of that. Fortunately, He could march on forever despite the sweltering heat and hostile sands, steadily making progress towards the white object that lay ahead of Him...

     Having heard some rumor about this dreaded place and being informed as to how to get here, Desafon portals over to this location, blades drawn as he comes in search of some adventure. Once he sees it is Desert, however, he frowns. "I'm seriously going to be missing an ocean at this point. Why doesn't this realm happen to be an Ocean?" He grumbles, complaining to himself. He looks around to see if there is anybody nearby. He makes a pose that tries to show himself as a swordsman of some renown.

Max stepped out of  a glowing white portal, closing it behind him. His blade was in it's sheath.

Why are we going here?

Just humor me. I'm pretty sure a protagonist hero like yourself will have an interesting role to play.

Sighing, Max glanced around and saw nothing but sand.. and Desafon. He waved to the swashbuckling god, smiling.

Reiuji remains motionless, except for bringing her third leg up and pointing it infront of her. She waited for the energy spike to drop back to normal, and she would wait for as long as she needed. Unless something else happened.

For such a place, there was surprisingly little wind. Not exactly a problem for Crailek, just a bit of a hindrance. The shadows of the dunes, hills, even the individual grains of sand seems to dance and waver a little as he passed through. The shadows of each person heading towards the city rippled and paused in odd and contorted shapes, as though regarding them, for only a moment each before heading to the next.
The last god to be regarded was Max, as he was the last so far to appear. His shadow contorted and changed quickly, until it became the shadow of another. For a moment it did nothing that a normal shadow wouldn't, but quite abruptly pulled itself out of the ground, and standing up quite calmly, looking Max up and down, as Max's shadow returns, and Crailek's appears and moves about in no particular way related to his own movements.

He stares silently at Max, glancing over at Desafon occasionally.

Reiuji

Reiuji was in the outskirts of the city. Ancient white stone surrounded her, still ruined, as if once a part of the great city. The stone was worn down, but an adequate place to hide. The patch of ruins might be a streak of luck.. she felt the spike of energy come closer, slowly, towards her. Her heart was filled with fear, even if she did not succumb to it; it was an unnatural terror.

The energy came closer..

Chalybis

Soon, Chalybis saw the huge white shape ahead for what it truly was - the ancient city of Tushmuthut. It was a menacing site, some of its towers larger than those in Niborkerese, and the stone had been crafted in a fashion that sparked deep admiration in Chalybis. Everything fit.. every piece had its place in the great architectural design of the thing, like clockwork. Like a perfect machine.

He thought he saw figures ahead.. dark figures, wandering about the hallowed streets, dressed - despite being in desert - in heavy black robes and wielding silver blades.

Max & Desafon & Crailek

It was hot. Stiflingly hot. The sun was a great sphere of fire, almost close enough to touch, dominating the azure sky. To Crailek, he felt deeply disturbed - at this hour of the day, even as it was in late afternoon, with the proximity of the sun most figures did not cast anything more but a glimmer of a shadow. The place was unnatural and made his skin crawl. There were still the shadows of the hills, dunes, scrub... but it was minimal at best. The light made things tricky.

As the darkest, deepest shadow ripped itself out of the ground and manifested in front of Max and Desafon, they were both rather surprised. The man stared silently at them. Max knew, despite his casual demeanor, that this city was a bastion of great evil - evil that had been vanquished in the past many times by heroes even greater than he. It would be a struggle, yes, if he were ever to rid the land of that evil.. a struggle he looked forward to.

Desafon was also struggling in the deep heat. It was like the finest beach, stretching eternally, with no water in sight.. deeply disquieting. The desert was a new concept to the God, and not one that he accepted easily. There did not seem to be even the most pathetic of oases about - the place was a white wasteland. Here, under the harshest rays of the light, Desafon felt the twin Blades of Efficiency vibrate with a strange need to be let loose. There would be blood spillt here, they knew, and they wished to be as ready as possible - so that the killing might be as efficient as need be.

The three were within a few meters of each other - the pirate, the boy hero, the ancient shadow. Was it destiny that brought them together.. or simple dumb luck?

<i>I know this guy.. Crailek or something. Despite appearances, he's trustworthy. Just don't get on his bad side- even with the DMS he'll be very difficult to defend against.

Max smiled at the shadow, extending a hand. "I'm Max of Xi, descendant of Maccus. It's nice to see some shade in the wasteland." Max said.

He glanced at Desafon, and blushes. He remember their earlier meeting..

This city was unlike any Chalybis had visited before - the fact that He did not immediately feel a strong urge to destroy it, turn its remnants into steel, and then rebuild it into a mechanical entity meant a lot - and there was something about it which felt rather disturbing to Him. It felt as if He was not alone in this place - not counting the mortals that were undoubtedly around but far beneath His notice - but that there was a large congregation of divine creatures - or just a single very powerful one - somewhere within this place. This was an issue, for He was not intent on getting into a serious fight here, at least not before He had discovered a method to deal with the hostile environment here.

The sand around Him was grating between the components that made up His body, slowly wearing away their edges and points as they moved around, clogging pipes and tubes where they seeped into the fluids therein, and generally making a mockery of the fine machinery that churned deep within Him. Although this decline would not be fatal and could easily be remedied afterwards, it was highly annoying and slowed down His already sluggish movements. This place was simply not suitable for Him, so whatever lay in the city ahead would have to be of great importance to keep Him here.

Chalybis continued to make His way to the city, sinking deep into the desert sands with each of His steps, but never diverting off His perfectly straight path towards it. When He came closer, He slowly became aware of the mortals that inhabited the city, starkly contrasting its white with their black clothing. Somehow, they did not appear to be bothered by the discomforts of the desert heat and sand, and as they were undoubtedly related to the divine power that had created this city, Chalybis decided to let them live - for now. He simply went on until He had reached the gates of the city, and awaited there, letting His gaze pass over the strangely clad mortals beneath Him...

Crailek gives a small, unseen smirk at the pun, and shakes Max's hand firmly. "I am afraid I will not be as much use here as I might somewhere else. But my talent's shan't go to waste, all the same."
He turns and looks off towards the city quietly, watching to find any sort of change forming in it.

"Yeah.. you don't really have that much to work with in all this light. Still, a shadow is a very quiet thing. C'mon shadowman, let's go talk to the Pirate."

He began walking over to Desafon, expecting Crailek to follow.

Still new in the world, but the whispers of memory and the heart cannot go unheeded especially by him. He walks through the sand following the steady beat of his own heart which was now held in his hand in this case a silvery ring with a single gemstone. It was a engagement ring at one time long ago, but it had been forgotten through time and through the dark sands of fate. He would not shed a tear for this loss, but he still felt it bitterly. A sharp pain in his heart when his eyes meet with the dark figure he knew all too well. His hood would cover his face mostly in shadow, but the god would more then likely know him already.
..._crailek...

     Looking at Max as he notices that he's here, Desafon points at him. "AHA! I know you, boy! You hurled an insult at me as you ran like a rabbit through a portal. That was definitely not being a good sport. You can't just issue a challenge and run through a portal expecting a man to follow. No, there are rules to dueling. Rules that must be followed. An what's more negotiation and deliberation as to what those rules are." He says, looking at the boy, though not drawing his blades just yet. "Though if you wish to continue with this confrontation, I will no doubt honor the attempt you might make with blades."
     Otherwise, he looks around, "I don't know exactly what is going on other than the fact that some great evil is here. And that's what this place is: evil. I think someone should bring rain and tons of water to cure this place of its insidious plague of heat and dry sand."

"My friend is a god of mist, my other a god of words. With the help of a competent water and life mage, no doubt this place could become a paradise with the proper ritual.."

Max smiled at the Desafon."But that is a thing for the future. I would like to apologize for my insult; I did not mean them. I knew that you were a man of honor, and hoped to draw you back into my realm.. you see, I was under attack by a fierce beast, and knowing of your skill, I hoped to gain an ally in the fight. In my distress, I forgot that a simple request for aid would have met with a far better response."

He then took a serious tone, which was a bit comical since he was a fifteen-year-old boy. "As can be plainly seen, you wield two blades to my one, and I can tell they are fine work- magical, in all likelyhood- as compared to my rather mundane weapon." Max smiled. "You fight with two blades, and I am trained to fight with sword and shield. Allow me to acquire a suitable defence, and I will engage in honorable combat. Is that satisfactory?"

     Listening to Max, Desafon stops to stroke his chin, thinking calmly and rationally on what was said, "Perhaps you are right, that you should have asked for assistance instead of giving insult. Much as my chieftain had offered as advise, I am not required to take the challenge and don't demand one either. Only if that was requested by you again." He bows his head though he looks towards Crailek, nodding his head, bowing slightly lower, "Desafon of the Island Chains of Perigo, Near-Master Swordsman though I have yet to see someone who is better than me in martial combat." He smiles, retaining his pose of importance.
     He looks to Max again, "So, what is going on in this land that needs the attention of a God of Dueling? Piracy is really a formality in my land, a means to achieving great mercantile enterprise."

Reiuji

Reiji suddenly sighed with relief once she realised the energy was moving elsewhere - soon, she couldn't even sense it. It was gone.

Chalybis

Chalybis rippled and felt pain as a wave of paradox hit him - suddenly, he was wheezing, clanking, burning, filled with bullet holes and rust, leaking his black blood.. the sand only complicated matters, getting into his wounds and causing more agony. He felt himself slowing. He simply couldn't reach the gates at anything except the speed of a crawl. Anything faster, and he might fall to pieces.

Damn the sand.

As he got closer to the city, however, he saw a seemingly familiar, dark-robed figure wearing an iron mask look up at him and disappear in a swirl of white sand. It was undoubtedly the ruler of this place - Osiris-Ra.

Max & Crailek & Desafon & Foun

It was a good thing that the two didn't duel. Under the direct heat of the afternoon sun, Desafon felt as if he would collapse if he exerted himself too rigorously, and Max had a funny feeling that if he did the same the boy's heart would stop. They needed to find shade, and fast. The city was the only place. Talking wouldn't hurt, but..

Desafon felt the Blades of Efficiency twitch towards Max. They wanted blood.

Crailek was feeling a little impotent as it was.

Suddenly, a dark-clad figure, sadness in his ancient eyes, approached the three. Crailek immediately recognised him as an old friend.. or was it enemy?

"...crailek..."

The beings whisper was weak. Foun did not feel good in this place. It was so unlike Utopia, so unlike the beautiful past..

Max threw up the hood of his scarlet cloak, wrapping it around his body to shade him from the sun.

"Let's go to the city, Des."

     Nodding, Desafon sighs. "This heat is beginning to get too much for me." He senses the blades' wants and needs, but refuses them for now. He keeps them sheathed, beginning to move off towards the city. .oO(Domoni, I told you I wanted calmness, not bloodthirst.)

Chalybis suffered as the inevitable but always untimely act of paradox struck Him in this place as well, the only one in which He did not have a source of metals readily available. Or did He? Even though the desert itself might be utterly devoid of all metal, He had already brought large quantities of it into existence with sheer willpower when He had created His weaponry within His own realm. Even though this was not His own realm, there was no reason for this power to have abandoned Him here, for He had already used it within another realm that had not belonged to Him - the realm of Xi - with the desired result.

A single powerful thought went out from His mind, instantly creating a cloud of strange and unidentifiable shapes around Him, every single one of them unique, but all of them made out of the same silver metal. His gaze went over these shapes with approval, noticing how His vague call for a material rather than an object had led to a group of non-objects, merely shapes that were made out of the material He desired. In several moments, He would absorb these forms into His own body, but first, He had to rid it of the grinding sand that now ran within.

He concentrated upon the fluids that still filled Him - various types of oil and lubricants, all contaminated by the sand - and realised that they were beyond recovery and had to be replaced. Normally, this would be a lengthy process, but the 'bleeding' injuries that covered His form would make this a far more easier feat to accomplish. The power of His mind brought a stream of liquids into existence inside Him, forcing out the old filth-ridden ones to replace them with something fresh. Pipes swelled up under the increased pressure, and it was not long before the open wounds started gushing out the contaminated oil, creating a large patch of black mud beneath Him that contrasted the pristine-white desert city.

With His inner systems purged of sand - at least for a short time - He then continued to assimilate the steel forms He had created, restoring His body to its previous perfect state. This form of recovery had become an almost trivial exercise by now, and within instants His wounds were gone, allowing Him to walk again and enter the city. With the ruler gone, He would have to interact with its occupants instead, something which He was not looking forward to in the least...

Crailek at first begins to follow Max, but quite immediately stops in mid-step, cocking his head to the side. After a pause, he turns towards Foun silently. His eyes widen and he simply stares at him, trying pretty hard to process exactly what was going on in his mind.

Reiuji

Suddenly, the energy signal is back, and a darkness descends upon Reiuji. She panics, lashes out..

"Hello," growled the dark figure.

Reiuji didn't respond. Her screams were silent. She had joined the sand below.

As she dies, a whisper in her ear..

No price..

Chalybis

Chalybis, fully healed and purged of all except the pettiest amount of sand, wandered into Tushmuthut..

From the angle he had entered, things were relatively quiet. The sun still beat down furiously, but it was cooler under the white architecture of the Dread City. There was still sand, but Chalybis wandered mostly over the white stone, and didn't suffer any problems. Empty houses surrounded him, often adorned with horrific images of all manner of demons and chimera, mostly with a strange desert bent.. on every door a shining red eye had been painted. Far above him lay spires, bridges, balconies.. and far above him he heard the cry.

"Tchal Habbis! Tchal Habbis!"

Desafon & Crailek & Max & Foun

As the four got closer to the city, the vicious sunlight wearing them out, they saw the strange beauty of the place: pure arches, strange architecture, hideous gargoyles, spires that rose to the clouds..

Within they also saw a group of five or six black-clothed individuals - cultists of Osiris-Ra. They each turned to look at the four, drawing large silver scimitars as they screamed towards their foe. "For Osiris-Ra! Death under the Blood Star!"

As the cries seemed to be somewhat similar to His name, Chalybis gazed up at the spires above, trying to determine which of these individuals was doing the shouting. It was interesting to know that the inhabitants of this place knew about Him, but at this point He could not yet be certain whether or not this was something beneficial. Of course, He had just been returned to His prime state, so even if it was not, there would be little for Him to worry about in here - apart from the great divine presence that was its owner that was...

I: Which Of These Mortals Dare To Mispronounce The Divine Name Of Lord Chalybis And Proclaim It As Thus He eventually decreed upon failing to locating the source of the voice that echoed through the city. It was not that He was truly offended - who could expect mortals to learn anything significant within their diminutive lifespan? - but still wanted to know who here knew about Him. If there was only a single scholar or philosopher who knew of His existence, that could be considered an amusing coincidence, but if large portions of this city knew about Him, there might be something else going on - something of which He did not like the idea...

Max drew his blade, divine energy coursing through it; he slashed at the approaching cultists, generating a razor-sharp blade of wind in front of him; the same technique he had performed on the Harvester. The blade should cleave through all of them..

I'd expect you'd have a moral compunction against killing, hero-boy.
Evil Cultists are standard adventuring fare. They're evil, hostile, and impossible to persuade. It's actually a virtuous action because I'm defending innocents who would otherwise be harmed by them.

He turns serious quickly, Now is not the time crailek. We shall remember each other soon. Quickly pulling out the terre morte he begans his attack as well. Using of course his standard fighting style of mixed combat and teleportation moving himself within small areas quickly well slashing.

Crailek begins to walk towards the cultists, holding his hand at his side. Suddenly, a long black blade forms in it, seeming to pull in light. It flickered a bit in such light, and Crailek concentrates on it not disappearing. Once close enough, he slashes at his nearest target's shoulders, knees, and arms. He does this carefully, taking care to block whenever needed.