Retribution
An Angel is born.
"Imperius, move!" A single axe went spinning past Imperius's head, and buried deep into the neck of the Angel behind him, taking it off its feet and out of the fight. Imperius turned, pulling his spear from a Demon's throat and threw it, launching it into the guts of the large horned Demon that had thrown the axe. The Demon was thrown backwards, the spear jutting four feet out either way. "Vile scum!" Imperius roared. He rushed at the creature as it tried to pull itself off the ground, barging past Demon and Angel alike. Not caring what he hurt. The Demon came up with a roar of its own to answer Imperius, sending globs of spit down its bloody fangs. The creature was easily nine feet tall with black skin and hulking shoulders. An animal, born and bred to kill. With long ripping talons and a thick skull, it looked barbaric in comparison to the elegant Imperius. The Demon tore out the spear with another roar and tossed it aside, where it landed in the watery mud. Grabbing the land with its huge hands, it launched itself at Imperius with ferocious strength. Hot blood spilled out of its chest and steamed on the ground, and pieces of bone jutted out of the hole in its chest. But it seemed to pay its injuries no mind. As it gained speed and its feet dug into the earth, sending lofty plumes of filthy water up behind it, the Demon's mouth came agape, as it screamed its wordless rage at the Angel. Imperius answered with deadly silence as he ran at the monster at full pelt...
A crackle of energy could be heard humming through the High Heavens. It was a feeling of warmth in the air, a certain movement of the clouds, and a sound of rushing wind climbing the high peaks of the Arch that pervaded the city of Angels. It had started when Tyrael took the aspect of Wisdom over Justice on the day of Diablo's destruction. As he ascended, a feeling of imbalance had swept through the Heavens, along with the restoring light, and had now become centred around the Arch. It had been of great interest to the Angiris council, who now circled around the Arch warily. They had felt the change first as it spread throughout Heaven, and had been drawn to this new power with a sense of excitement and dread. The first to arrive at the Arch was Itherael, who had been drawn by a vision. The second had been Auriel, who had felt a burgeoning in her soul that this was the place to stand. The third was Tyrael, who like all wise men had sensed where power was being drawn, and hastened to observe its progress. The fourth, Imperius, had deemed finishing off the demon armies that still spilled into Sanctuary was more important than seeing the Arch. A strange idea, the other Councillors thought. Without the Seven, the demon armies had become little more than raiders that scavenged where once they could have taken. Intervention by Imperius was surely no longer necessary. As the Nephalem who had slain Diablo seemed quite adamant that the Angiris Council not take any more interest in human affairs. Though he had not said anything at the time, Tyrael felt that the Nephalem unspoken message was that he would rather Imperius not take any interest, as relations between the Nephalem and the Archangel of Valour had been strained by Imperius's rash temper...
"Pathetic creature." Imperius mumbled, shrugging off the splintered sack that was once a demon. It sagged to the ground covered in dirt and blood. Drawing his spear from its abdomen with a quick tug, Imperius looked out over the plains to observe the battle from his vantage point on the hill. What he saw pleased him. The demons had stood strong as the first wave of Angels carved into them. Some had even acted as leaders. They had rallied the others around them and formed a core that had seemed strong at first. But on the second wave they had shown how far they'd fallen. As the next wave swept in, the thick lines of demons were pierced. The core of leaders was quickly and ruthlessly killed and the battle turned to cleanup as the rest of the demon host retreated up the mountainside, leaving their backs vulnerable, and the slow left to die. Now Imperius watched as the Angels roared up the mountain, cutting down the fleeing demons as they turned to fight. It was a slaughter. Somewhere in the depths of his soul, Imperius could feel a fierce joy spread through him. Battle was all that he loved. It was the place he was created to be in. Imperius laughed. It was a strong throaty laugh. It tore his head back to stare at the sky as the laugh became a roar when the last of the demon host was being hacked apart as they tried to run. Let them flee, he thought. They will find that wherever they go, I will follow! Without Justice, only I stand to pass judgment. Imperius's roar became a scream as his back arched and light poured off him. "I judge you all guilty and sentence you to death!"
Something was stirring in the mists of energy that surrounded the spire. Like a boiling sea of fire they rose as the waves of infinity to slap against the sides of the Arch. Some would pass through as though intangible. The others would leave a burning scar that gave the Arch a battered appearance. The golden lights had become a pool of molten metal which threatened the Council's position, forcing them to move back or be consumed by the raging heat. However, if the base was impressive, if was nothing compared to the tip.
Tyrael cast his gaze upwards in awe. His mouth opening slightly as he stared at the fantastic sight above him. If he was to describe it, he would call it a ballet of light and magic where reality was constantly in flux. A display of the infinite that no mortal could ever hope to comprehend. A shining example of heaven in its most chaotic and perfect form. At the same time it was beautiful and terrifying to Tyrael. His eyes would not flutter for a second in case he missed anything. His mouth would not close as he knew it would only open again a second later. It was a shattering of light that rang with a choir of heavenly voices. A pressure to watch, to observe, was felt by all, even if it was not all consuming like it was on Heaven. Even on the most barren desert, the lowliest of all life was caught in its grip. Eyes turned skyward, looking for something they could not possibly see.
"Come to me, Demon spawn. Come and be vanquished by your tormentor!" Imperius's voice carried over the sounds of the harsh sounds of battle, and was joined by the roar of his angel vanguard as they cut deeper into the last of the demons, who roiled in pitiful annihilation. "Who dares now stand against the might of Imperius? Come on, which one of you has the guts?" A large demon with yellow eyes and dripping fangs hefted his blade at the angel, who dodged with balletic grace and thrust his spear through its screaming mouth, cutting through the back of the head and sending its lifeless body to the ground. "Not you, then." Imperius laughed hard. Caught in the music of battle, he was a whirling light of death that danced through his enemies. Moving forward, he shoved another demon off its feet and plunged his spear into its chest. Whipping around to see another run at him, he dodged left with a spin and cut the muscle in the demons leg, sending another to the ground to be finished off by the vanguard. "Can no one challenge me?" Imperius asked with a laugh, "You try!" Imperius pointed his armoured finger at a snarling slab of muscle and mucus. "Come on, you have a go!" The demon didn't need to be asked. Much as he hated and despised everything about them, Imperius was never left dissatisfied at their violent stupidity. Sending a roar at Imperius, the creature grabbed a sword that had been left in its arm, and slid it out of its flesh. To Imperius, it sounded like the noise of oil being run down a sword with a cloth. It sounded like an interesting fight. Imperius moved fast, pounding his feet into the ground, he launched himself into the air in a plume of dust and dried blood, aiming to end the fight in a single blow to the head. The demon had other plans. The monster was surprisingly quick for its bulk and ducked below the first strike, swinging its sword in a upward motion that Imperius easily parried with the back of his spear. The monster launched another strike with its fist, that caught Imperius in the chest, sending him backwards with a grunt. The creature was a better fighter than Imperius had thought. His arrogance was costing him ground. With a snarl the demon came again, pressing its advantage with several aimed strikes. The first was meant to dig into Imperius's shoulder, but he backed away, leaving the sword to swing uselessly away. The follow up was much closer, clipping Imperius's chest under the defence of the spear, it left a short scratch down his chest that healed almost instantly. Nothing short of a fatal blow would bring him down. Imperius widened the gap between him and his vicious opponent with a few steps backwards. He needed the time to outthink this animal before his own arrogance hurt him...
The light had formed into a massive golden sphere at the tip of the Arch that dripped molten metal down the side, into the City of Angels in long rivers of gold. The clouds that overlooked the Arch had turned black as a coal and struck lightning down upon the platform. Each strike was like a hammer blow on the body and the mind. Sending waves of power into the Arch where it exploded into sound and physical fury that scattered the angels like leaves in a storm. Tyrael and the council had watched from a distance as the sphere grew in size from a pinprick of light to a gleaming star that dwarfed the sky and swallowed lightning as if it were nothing. Even Itherael, who could be counted upon to give answers, was speechless as the sphere reached its full size. In the moments he had alone, whilst the others were off consulting with various other angels for answers or questioning, he had taken to questioning the Scrolls of Fate. They had only one thing to say: Retribution, Retribution, Retribution. Line after line, the word had repeated into infinity until Itherael had grown exhausted just looking at it. He had not been able to glean anything particularly useful for the others to hear, so he kept to himself what he thought. What he thought was that if the foreseeable future contained only retribution, for who or what was the retribution intended?
Another claw slid down Imperius's face as the monster roared spit and foam into his face. The creature had taken several deep wounds itself, from which it bled profusely, but even when he had gone through its chest, the animal had just kept coming. It's hatred of him was propelling it past death itself. An admiral trait in a warrior, Imperius had to admit. Shame this demon possessed such qualities. Despite all that he was, Imperius knew a good warrior when he saw one. Right now he was having his face shaven by one of the best the demon's now had to offer. Even with his spear in its guts, it still found the strength to hurt. That had always been the demon's advantage, he supposed. They just love pain. "Well let's see how much you can take!" Imperius dropped his spear and plunged his hands into the demons eyes, tearing at anything he could reach. Blood and matter pooled into his hands, turning them sticky with gore as they worked away. The creatures reaction was surprising to say the least. Now blinded, it reared backwards with a scream of pain and rage, and then thrust its head back at Imperius, spewing gore and bile onto Imperius's armour. The wash of bile almost fell down into his helmet, and what was on his chest now began to boil like acid. "Try and blind me, you bastard!" Imperius drew a fist back then punched with all his considerable strength. He rocked the beasts head back but it just came back again. Claws scrabbling along his armour, trying to find a place to dig into the body of its tormentor and put out that infernal light forever. But its claws could only slide off Imperius. His armour was slick with blood, and his defence was without imperfections. This fight was over and they both knew it. The lack of blood had taken its toll on the creature and its mad attack had left it on the end of a spear that burned like a firebrand inside its flesh. It was dying and so was the fight in it. With a mighty heave, Imperius used his spear like a pivot and threw the monster off him into the dirt above his head. Imperius rolled and landed on the chest of the creature with his legs clamped firmly down on its arms. Imperius looked at the creature with disgust and hatred. The blood on his armour began to boil off as his anger reached a new peak. Looking down upon the creature as it lay pathetically mewling at the ground, trying to bring its arms into action again, he could no longer think. The red tide of anger that he fought to control overtook him. Looking into the blood caked holes where the animals deflated eyes sat like a melted balloon, he dropped the spear from his hands, and put his fist into the animals mouth. The eye sockets on the creature lifted in alarm and a new wave of strength hit it. But it was too little to fight off the angel now. Grunting, Imperius pushed his arm deeper into the animals mouth, snapping off teeth that once would have had his arm, now only an obstacle to be brushed aside. He felt the weak pushing of its arms and ignored them as he went deeper. He seemed to be searching for something. Suddenly, the demon went limp and its arms stopped flexing: It was dead. Imperius stopped his search. Surprised, he drew his hand out with a pop and looked at the slime that dripped off it onto the demons body. He stared at it for a long time. Even as his vanguard disappeared into the woods to chase the fleeing demons he could not stop looking at his arm. Eventually it took the sight of his Lieutenant marching towards him to take him out of his reverie. He straightened up as he approached and beckoned him towards himself when the Lieutenant stopped just outside the scene, waiting to be invited into whatever his master was doing. "What do you have to report, Igniel? Another wellspring of demons has shown up, I assume." Igniel shook his head.
"No, My Lord. The demons have vanished through whatever gate they spawned from and have retreated back into pandemonium."
"Damn. The cowards never fight to the last, do they? Almost makes killing them not worth it," Imperius shot a glance at his still dripping arm. Almost, he thought to himself. "What else do you have to bother me with, Igniel? I don't believe you would only have come here to confirm what I expected of you. I thought you more humble than that." Igniel nodded quickly this time. He had come to tell Imperius something more important, but he had been unnerved by the way Imperius had been so fascinated by the demon. He was meant to know what his superior needed at all times. Right now he couldn't guess what Imperius needed; or why he kept looking at his arm with the slime on it. "Yes, My Lord," he said quickly, giving the arm one last glimpse. "We have received a message from Archangel Tyrael. He says that it's urgent that you return to the High Heavens at once, Sir. He says something is happening to the Arch..."
Something was happening. Something very, very big. The star had become smaller and yet brighter as it began to lower itself down the Arch atop rods of gold. And the angels found themselves pulled closer despite the risk. They could not look away, and only blind luck saved a few from being killed by the lightning that still hammered the platform they were standing on. It would hit the ground right next to them and then bolt across the floor and into the sphere, barely missing the gathered angels. Tyrael and the council had found themselves drawn the closest to the sphere as it made its slow descent to the platform. Tyrael found that even his angelic eyes could not make out any detail through the blinding light, and they could only guess that it was a sphere from the way the light seemed to reach in all directions equally. In a place of life and light, the sphere sure seemed like it knew how to put them all to shame.
"Itherael, what does the scroll say?" Tyrael did not look away from the sphere for a second, doing so would be wrong. Itherael sighed, though he too did not look away. "They will say the same thing they have said since this whole thing started. Retribution, Tyrael."
"Retribution, retribution," Tyrael mumbled. The sphere was very close to the platform now and had reached a point of brightness that made it painful for him to look at. For a moment, Tyrael wondered if it would burn his eyes right from their sockets. But there was nothing he could do. He squinted and hoped for the best. Looking away was not an option. "This sphere is Retribution, then? Retribution for what? What have we done?" Itherael shrugged. Though it seemed silly in afterthought. "The scroll was not very specific, Tyrael. Well, it isn't at the best of times, but this time it was particularly skimpy on details."
"So we know nothing about this sphere, and no way of knowing what it will do, or even if it is on our side. What do we do, Itherael?" Itherael shrugged again. When he spoke he sounded tired, as if the weight of the world was rushing out of his lungs. "You're the Archangel of Wisdom. In all aspects of common sense or questions that involve practicality I defer to you. I read the scrolls, you figure out what to do next." Tyrael smiled, and for once his dark face lit up from within.
"Well my friend," he said with the smile widening. "This time I have no idea." And then the sphere touched the ground with a single ring like a bell. And for a second, the world exploded.
Imperius was in a rotten temper as he walked through Heaven. The monsters slime had refused to be washed off by simple water and stubbornly remained on his 'Skin' a mark he would have to wear for some time. "And I thought a little water would clear me of this deed," he muttered to himself. It was a long walk to where he was going, and he did not much like going there. Certainly not at the beck and call of that bastard upstart, Tyrael. No, that one was trouble all right. First he saves the humans from rightful destruction and then he tries to usurp me on the council. Well fear not, Tyrael. Your betrayal will be repaid soon enough. When the Scroll of Fate forgets you and Hope has left you, I will have my vengeance. If an angel could smile, then Imperius's smile would have drawn some concerned looks from the other angels. If there had been any other angels that is. The vanguard had stayed behind to make sure the gate was closed, and he had no idea where the others where. Probably at the Arch, dealing with Tyrael's mess, Imperius thought angrily. How could Tyrael be so inept as to let the Arch fall into some kind of dange-A flash of light and a roar like bulls made of thunder crashed through heaven. It took Imperius from his feet, as if he were nothing and pounded him into a wall, where he sat groggily for a moment. As he struggled to stand a second wave came and cracked his head into the wall, sending him into a daze with black spots swimming in his vision and darkness rising in his head. He tried to fight against the waves of darkness that battered against him, but despite all his strength, he was swept away into unconsciousness, with the sound of Tyrael's echoing laughter following him all the way down.
Igniel was troubled by his masters dour mood. After a battle, Igniel had never found more pleasant company than Imperius to be around, as his spirits were always high after a battle. Today however Imperius had been hard company to stay around. He had been quiet and reserved as he made his way to heaven. Sometimes throwing casual insults down on Igniel as if he did not care who he insulted that day. Igniel had done his best to ignore them, but some of them had seemed more mad than sense. It had been strange when he had confused Igniel for Archangel Tyrael, and he had seemed almost...violent when he confused the two of them. And had gone back to his sullen mutterings when Igniel had pointed this out to him. No, something was definitely troubling his master. Troubling him enough to make threats towards another Archangel. However, he had more pressing things on his mind than the grumblings of an already high strung angel. He had to find where the demons where striking from in pandemonium. And that meant opening a portal straight into hell itself. All in all, it was not going to be 'fun' and Igniel did not envy the vanguard of their place. First into battle is first to die, is what he always thought. He was always right as well. The vanguard had a long and 'proud' history of having the most dead at the end of the battle. They were legion and they were tough. Given the best weapons and sung into powerful bodies, the shock troops of Heaven were not to be trifled with. Despite the high death count, they always had the most kills. They were legendary, and very, very useful. Useful idiots, Igniel thought with a quiet chuckle. Not like there isn't enough of those to go aroun- A ring of a bell. A flash of light and the world exploded.
"Excuse me, bar wench. But I believe that when I put money on the counter you're supposed to look at me, not the ceiling. Hello? Can someone explain to me what this woman is...doing. Oh." Looking around the inn at the heart of Caldeum, the adventurer could see he was going to have some trouble getting eye contact from anyone tonight. And he had so been hoping for a body to warm his bed after such a long journey. In fact, he had mostly been looking forward to just talking to someone who wasn't a Templar, a Thief or some kind of Mystic. Someone normal who wouldn't scream about skeletons on their first day together. That would have been nice. But no, it seemed everyone was fascinated by the ceiling. Well, if that was how they were going to thank him for saving the world, so be it. "I guess I'll take two beers," he said leaning over the counter and plucking two bottles from where they were nestled. "And I guess I'll be on my way." With that he turned and walked up the steps to the door which he thrust open just as a warm breeze rolled in a blew his hair back. It was getting far too long and he needed it cut. But for now, the Wizard was content with how he looked. After all, he laughed, downing one beer and opening the other, who wouldn't want to look like me?-A ring of a bell. A flash of light and the world exploded.