Chapter Seven - Blinded in Deep Darkness
"I am sorry, what how does a spider loose its ability to contact its own network?" Frustration as there been a major cut off. All communications across the world all had been wiped out, fired or over saturated in electrical capacity. Even those of 'nature' were seemingly broken by this reliant of information trade. All major petal cities had fallen, populations of humans were lost in pocket villages. Everyone was cut off. Not even vampire, churches, or the divine are able to continue their mouthy words with the lack of safe communications. Everyone was out to start fend for themselves.
"Lords and sires of the chamber! We come baring likely reason." So many spies in bow, all of them for different queens and there was no choose in trying to stab anyone now. Even their communication was broken.
"The eastern mountain was spray of green flames. Not of any work of any known gods." the few who knew what that meant all stood and ran to the windows. It was completely right, there was a massive melted crystalize surface of where what used to be a mountain that blocked the sea flood from eating land mass here. Everyone stand in gasp of such power that completely erase land mass like that.
"The butcher?" the twilight prince being confused of this name cropping up, "I doubt the scale dragons would have attacked the one mountain with their own race trapped there. Especially in how that guy was so important to them." He holds the spider in his hand as it spot in tapping a leg on him, being a communication in morse code. He frowns even more, "That would mean someone of the church had meddled in god artefacts and given the on going war, there has been no candidate for that." it hissed and rattled with back legs creating that sound, putting unease. It stomped a few words, "I guess they would. You're right." setting the spider to his shoulder, "I wonder what god is under that influence." even the spider was doubting if a god had a play in this at all.
"Explain things, now." The king pointed at the young noble prince whom clearly held the most valued information in this entire room. Even the fact the few remains of human nation leaders were present and clueless meant he held the highest cards.
"The wipe out of the eastern mountain means two things." Stepping to the spotlight and posed exactly as he was taught in addressing world leaders and valued members of societies across many races, "In four minutes, we will receive a communication with a previously silent and removed race of beings from our political stance. It will be from Dragons." gladly everyone here was on the same page of mythical knowledge but it comes with fear and unstable heart beats. So many swiftly being ready to defend against scaled flying monsters - already declaring these beings as a threat, "The once imprisoned dragon of the eastern mountain has been release. Only gods know what he will do. Given that we are in the midst of both war, world natural extremes and the consuming being a wildly spread. It's likely just another for the fodder for the armies of the undead. It will not matter if you human armies go out of your way to kill this loose dragon, its corpse will come to burn us all." He sees the unease this puts everyone, "The second most important turn of this event is that this was proof someone with divine scripter is acting against us. All of us. I would even argue this was an act against the divine above. There is no great certainty that this is an individual or a group of them that been under our collective noses. Given that two thirds of this room spends literal weeks in argument about the vampiric vessels of gods. We can are know which direction of which we can point fingers at. But is it really themselves or someone else?" He checked over his audience. This was the make and break. This was the moment he will know who will be his allies, "What if this is the beginning of something new? The only way we are going to survive the darkness around us is to uncover light in all its spectrums. Make hands with claws alike. Because, clearly the twilight are just as much victims of darkness as both vampire and humans are. Now we know they are real. That wolves, golems and demons are breathing creatures as us. We should take this moment to consider a new pledge. A pact even. A truce out weighing the last." He extended hands in notion of this being a gloried idealist deal. It is met in all these faces of mix terror and curiosity. The ones whom stand against him were painted clear in those expressions the failed to hide from him. He was another bloodline like that of the grandmasters, but his ability of pecking order was different method then the grandmasters. He is not even using his own hands, this body was a servant clothed in acting like him.
He had all this compelling physical proof that he hid from them, he followed his dream crush since the day he seen her. That the spider had someone so precious. When he looked into her history, found her enslavement contract that was between the sun pope and the head of grandmaster house. The seal with a added term, hand written by the red devil. He knew exactly who she was. She one the 200 that the old farts here were prattling in fear of being weaponized to wipe them out. He looked into the duties and followed her shadow as she crusaded trapped by the goddess as this so called Saint Jasmine. He knew from the instant of the Eastern mountain being vanished, it was because of her.
She lives up to her vampiric bloodline; the grand scheme master of them all. But he also knew she been leaving crumbs of why she was doing what she does. When he was listening to the court battles about the items stolen, the so call holy relics. He had insider knowledge of the sun cathidral attack and release of trapped demons. He is in touch with the demon oath order whom are the smarter scale of demon kin, knowing full well she had a contract among them that tied about these relics of forgotten times. The books she left laying around the forbidden basement, he managed to pull threads and read for himself. Well attempted to, he cant read the many languages she can and wasn't immune to holy energy as she was.
No, clearly she has a scheme that meant something bigger then them. He just doesn't know what she trying to result in all this work. It's why he took over being the owner of the black market, she clearly needed the movement of illegal trades for something. It had to do with the many relics stolen. The massacre of the pent chain house. That case isn't even finished yet, all the evidence and investigation is struggling on such event. To many big names were killed in the pent house event, so it being treated gentle as possible.
"You think that some fallen god is the cause of the plague massacre?" A human began to laugh and shed tears. Arrogant, "What a bunch of demon clouds, shapeshifters and now these scaled freaks got to do with religion?" But the human has outed himself. He slipped up and what he laughed in joke now made many other turn to each other in being confused.
"The undead doesn't care what you are. Demon. human. Dragon." The second hand to the vampire king is the queen of the Western petal. She more like the vampire protector of the mountains between the western and northern way. She a sort of speaker for demon kin of that land, "But what is odd is that the undead are afraid of the darkness." Another point to take into account, "Contracting the darkness plague called the consuming is been the only cure to reversing the undead back to a stable state. A report that was only among upper leaders like us now this."
"It also means that the consuming isn't on the same wavelength of the undead. They are two separate things." the vampire king nods, "Coming together as more varied hands and eyes might help us. There is some knowledge among demons that could return the fallen human cities back to us. Recover the human populations that been consumed by the plague but not by the undead. Our prince is very cunning these days. For someone that doesn't attend report meetings in trade of chasing shadows. This is truly excellent work."
The ones who are against this stood to leave. It comes to no shock among those who do. A grandmaster of the main blood. There as a human leader that owned a western city that hasn't been impacted by the world problems and has been furthest to feel the affect of world war. There was a blood army general from among the newly named 'peacekeepers'. It was stunning to see the red devil's phantom snarl and hiss. His leave was the most interesting, as it wasn't to do with the prince's words. The phantom had been distracted and in waiting for something for a long time, and with the mountain fall - this was the moment it left.
The few that were in the know for the event unfolding, the four grand blood vessel children sat among windows. Waiting for the moment they knew to act. Just as the entire top half of the mountain erased itself in green energy, each child made this moment to take a choose of which god spirit to interact with. The smartest child of the four took the god that manipulated time itself, or at least that's the fed lie. No, this child like the other three felt that these gods aren't as they seem. Just as dragons are smart wise creatures and not the monsters in bible study. The second leading child went a step further, she didn't choose a human based energy god. She picked a god that demons use. The third child settled for a convent type that will make do with sliding himself among the churches. The last child was the scariest one. The child dug deep and choose a energy of god that none of them considered an option. This child creaked the code, and is taking influence of the planet itself. It was from how these four then worked together looked up to their elder sister in example. She after all is the very one whom shattered the communication silence between all these gods. She is the soul who brought the mirror to the gods themselves and broke them into internal strife of war. In her foot steps, these four children knew what she does. And through these four, her work to make star ships fly and convince the populations to flee into said ships. She no longer working to save the vast lives alone. She will continue being the villainess that the world will be to focused in draping blame towards. They will make the magic, and pull the carpet under the unsuspecting feet.
The green flash shines bright, and so many eyes glazed in terror for such act of gods. Now there was religious out cry and begging to be saved. The plague, the undead and now the gods were erasing the very soil that foundations their existence. If loosing your faith in the face of terror, this was the the tipping point that turned many to seek reality. Entire villages replaced church halls for a hospital grounds. The taboo was now open topic, sure as asking vampires why they work the way the do. Curiosity of why and how the bodies differ between different race. Experimental human test subjects were now on the black market with ticket prices that over turn nations. But human nations pay this price willingly, as these superhumans are now the driving to keeping the undead out of living spaces. Peacekeepers were to above the clouds to save pitiful lives. Well rather, the days of being unpaid hunters was being served back. Hunters aren't helping because to many hunter lives were wasted and under appreciated before now.
The most unexpected dramas are from those that aren't being watched. The one who was once locked in silver chains and unceremoniously bathed in holy water. This lady of soul passage has appeared as if summoned to his side. The ex-enemies were now glued together. The newly born vampire mistress was restrained and constantly held at his side. Over turning the entire foundations of the grandmasters and the reputation. They clearly stood against the traditional lead of the family and stood as more exile or estranged. But because this is the most power flexed vampire bloodline that stand higher then even royals, they had to still be 'family'. No one had a doubt now that the suddenly appearing children from the slave market were mostly the fault of these two. Even great uncle Winchester was sickened of the lover constant acts. It seems there these two although appearing from thin air, were needing some space and a smack of common sense back into them both. That the mother of all these children needed to make herself the best vampire mistress. Who knew she would out play even Winchester at being the perfect lady for the job. But only time to will tell after the lovers were done doing stupid things.
The sun pope was mysteriously replaced and without announcement to the rest of the church. He had been reborn, aged backwards. He became a vessel of the goddess he fell for. His obsessive nature to be immortal has paid its due. Now the goddess whom felt that the child the left behind, would a upgrade then being trapped in this prunes body. She was easily convinced that taking him in as her immortal vessel would undo all the sins she fell from grace with. But instead, this was poetic sinner's punishment for looking down on the underdog. The goddess suffered more in him, implications into thinking this was ok and was constantly convinced he was the only one for her. She felt the dirty sins in the way humans felt temptation in doing them.
The other gods whom mock her, only laughed even harder in rolling around the floor. They showered the sun pope reborn status to show he to had turned into a vampire. So this turned the sun church to attack itself, as internal factions questioned the rights of things. The pope is still a powerful man and his highest order were gifted a part of his power too. So they were going to stick around a lot longer then any granddaughter of the red dawn will bring. The defying setting their downfall. The idiot was using nanotechnology to achieve his immortal perfections. The more he used it the more darkness will creep and snatch the light. Snuffle out the souls consumed in the technologies soulless grasp.
Another interesting turn of related events was the confusion among dragons. They stood confused of watching their own island change before them and shoot the green energy that wiped out the entire mountain off the main land in the distance. The mass finds itself as a new miniature island off this archipelago. Followed that of hearing an elder snickering his whelps for being confused of remote access action. The butcher being quick in computer talk was able to help the system understand how to best heal the ailing ice queen. He learned by his computers of what was the cause of the failure of the ice queens ability to hold back the undead. No surprises here, she became infected with the nanotechnology that needed metal and became just another having any iron or other minerals being leached right out of her. One the nanotechnology was fed the ingredients to stop attacking her, then removed out of her since it was unsuitable to her race's ability to use it. All this from command codes typing in his portal hut house, aka jetted command pod.
He was making the flight return back to the other dragons to talk of star ship repair plans. But this soured as the dragons didn't want to allow him back among them, that he is still an exile among them. It puts delays to making star ships, but if he can earn a spot among them. They will serve to help him through this.
"Sorry. I hope you can delay the end of the world long enough." The butcher prays in lost thoughts in-between moments. Once they got into old friends greetings, he was a washed with trying to return by traditional means. Putting aside the relic mission.
The human cities are just infected plague of the consuming, which is preventing them from being undead. There is only the northern petal that all the settlements are lost cause, all turned into undead. The consuming that has taken over the central forest was cure able, but it be the wolves that could attack her for disturbing their peace. The drought has ended the farmer harvesting yield to make demands in food providing in the south. Meaning the once many variations of fey had moved to the next petal to take it over with plants. Given the east petal is gone. Fairies whom aided crop growth and food yields have moved to take over the western city petal. They will have those plants devour the metal city and provide harvest once again. It also makes more sense, plants eat carbon and that city is the manufacture capital of over spilling toxic carbons the most. Even the worst of chemicals are a cocktail of many plant varieties.
Our lady of the spider threads must make things right with the race that felt abandoned by her. She will make it right, if even it meant bloody hands. Sure enough, the exact being she needed was this demon or Orix that is considered a god vessel. It is a member among the hunter association, considered a top peacekeeper. It will have close work with the Undertaker, her master that abandoned her.
Its strange for that everything that has happened, and all those churches she stolen from. The deaths from script casting. The many bounties she took under the name saint Jasmine. All those deaths, prisoners and suffering. She cant help but still feel powerless to the vast odds she will be needing to over come. She at least had nice armour fitted in thanks to the Butcher. He gifted her a lot of things before they parted ways. She will need to find her old stashes of things before she continues the bone raids, relic raids and continue reading the forbidden collections of the five compass churches. Hoping that most eastern relics were going to surface among the moved populations. But the god trails of the east are null void for now. Still, she feels weak. There isn't a way for her to return among society as she did before.
"I am glad I picked the right train." She carefully inspected the off being across from her, but in going about those clothes. She spoken to them before. She knows exactly who they are, "We missed you."
"I am sorry that I been acting strange. I preformed the divine enforcement and that goddess. Well. I read the news. She belongs with that pope." The spiders pose hand on her shoulder, leaned forward to touch her. She wasn't afraid of them, even if she knew that this was an army of deadly spiders sent around to kill fey and beetles, "I am sure you could guess it. I am who freed the butcher of the eastern mountain. More then that, his a good friend of mine."
"And that he didn't eat you is more the miracle here. He eats vampires a lot more then humans or other types." she smiled at that, knowing all to well. She leans with the trains push off and lost in her thoughts once more. She didn't mind her company at all.
"You made a deal with demons." the spiders burst thought quick with that.
"I did. It was to help move relics. I warned ahead of time that if I acted out of the deal, it were due to outside interference."
"Now that you came back from not being ate, you no longer are influenced by goddess. So this means you back on track?"
"I guess so, but a few steps backwards. I became weakened and undertrained in my time being imprisoned in my own body." the mass moved really close up around her and she only tilted in minor concern, "Trust me, I am not worth the taste." She sighed as they did so anyway. But she being injected of things, not ate. It paralyzed her and they crawled about her, take her as a external puppet. They placed on a strange mask relic over her face. Captured by the strange again.
The spiders look like the ones from earth, but they are more. There is more varies and dangers in dealing with feral ones. Gladly there is a top crème of the crop that keeps it all in order. They call themselves by mistranslation, arachnids. To themselves, as long as they are a more then six legs and have a deadly feature. The higher lot must have an blood that calls back to the planet they came from, but generations of adapting will have altered this. Just as vampires bloodlines have weakened since being stuck here, strength of the original blood has its own internal struggles. The society of spiders isn't a human way of things, and thus there aren't fitting concept translation of their internal works. They are a network just as trees are, but the connection between them is not biological or a technology concept. A little sort of pheromonal like ants but magnetic fields bend and change their network patterns of long distance connections. They do have a percentage of metal within them, so crushing the larger arachnids is met with being a difficult task. It also means they are a targeted by the consuming, but the purity of the metal in the arachnids and the type of chemical make of this metal is less worth then demon kin, Orix.
The most important part of today's spider lesson is that these spiders have the same abilities as the Shaman and wolves. This is to implant and or imprint memories into chosen creatures. Only the best of spiders will have to be sacrificed for such lower then good chances to successfully print memories into a victim. This was once an advantage against the beetle's. Putting proper gander of bad naming beetles by this method. It does have a draw back of not being always compactable to the victims under the process and is a double edged sword in term of reputation. So poisoning isn't the only thing that a spider assassins are sent to stir.