Chapter 4: Embrea's Fall
Calythé, Ramisse, and Monavelle sat in a circle in their base, discussing affairs.
"I hear you translated that message," said Ramisse.
"Yes," said Calythé. "It was rather cryptic. Shall I recite it?"
"Go ahead," said Monavelle, and she kicked back on her cushion and crossed her legs.
Calythé cleared her throat, and in a deeply sepulchral voice she intoned:
The land of blood
And the shadow-place
To end the war
Must be erased.
Cthulhu's rise
Will increase his might
And create an eternal
And consuming night,
unless she who is green
and he who is blue
Unite to defeat the god,
Cthulhu.
But beware, beware
Of the shape he will take,
The red beams and magical flame
He will make.
So if emerald and sapphire answer not the call,
The mad god shall create Terraria's fall.
They all sat and thought about that a moment.
"Ocram, that's confusing," said Monavelle. "What do you suppose we do?"
"Wait?" suggested Ramisse.
"Yeah, I'd say we wait," said Calythé, with finality.
Emi was just putting on her nightgown when a series of loud, urgent knocks sounded at her door. She spun angrily, clutching her nightgown to her chest, and cracked it open. "WHY ARE YOU HERE AT THIS HOUR?!" she screamed at Topaz and Saffa, who were on the other side of the door.
"It's Embrea. She's… she's in trouble," stammered Topaz, yellow eyes wide with fright. Saffa nodded, his head barely reaching Topaz's waist.
"Then let me at least get my robe on," said Emi. She closed the door, put on her green robes, picked up her staff and rushed out to them. Together they ran down the corridor to the entrance hall, the gems and metals flashing in their staves. Emi shoved open the door and held up her staff. What she saw shocked her. Embrea stood in the clearing, the ruby in her golden staff lighting up the night, her hair and eyes flashing red. Before her stood a zombie even taller than the Magicians' Guild. Its brain spilled out the top of its head and it had one enormous, bloodshot eye. Emi could see that Embrea, powerful as she was, was faltering, her legs quivering as she held her stance and her red bolts weakening as they emitted from her staff.
"Cthulhu," she said.
There was no time to lose. Tiny Saffa held up his staff and the sapphire at the top winked blue. Then, with a wild yell, he let loose his mana power and a blue bolt coursed down the silver rod and blasted the zombie in the eye. Both Embrea and Cthulhu turned to them incredulously. Then Cthulhu charged, and it looked like Saffa was done for. Just at that moment, though, Emi and Topaz leveled their staves and sent blasts of green and yellow energy at the monster. Even Embrea joined in, sending her powerful red bolts shrieking out of her staff. But Cthulhu was strong. Finally, all four magicians had exhausted their mana power and the gems in their staves grew dull. Cthulhu, weakened but still menacing, let out a booming, terrible laugh.
"I am Cthulhu," he said. "None can defeat me! I shall live forever once I achieve my mightiest form!"
"You are evil," said Embrea. "You will destroy all of Terraria in your mightiest form."
"Exactly," said Cthulhu. "I will harvest you to fuel my avatars. And once my avatars are created, all of Terraria will be in ruin!" Cthulhu threw back his head and laughed again. "Oh, but it is good to be alive again! The sixth dimension is a nasty place."
"YOU SUCK!" yelled Saffa from down near the monster's foot. Cthulhu blinked and looked down. Then he chuckled.
"You there! You're a witty one. I think I'll kill you last. Right after I kill her-" he waved casually at Embrea, "-and them-" he gestured to Emi and Topaz, "-and him," he said casually, pointing to Thunder, who had materialized out of nowhere.
Then he said, "Wait a second - HIM?" Thunder glared at Cthulhu from his one remaining eye and raised his platinum staff. The diamond on the top shone.
"I know you," Cthulhu growled. "You're-"
Cthulhu didn't get a chance to finish the sentence, because Thunder's staff glowed and an enormous silvery-white bolt erupted from the end. It hit Cthulhu's brain right between its lobes, passed clean through his head, and burst out the other side. The god howled with pain, already shriveling to a tiny size. "You've not killed me yet!" he screeched. "I will return! I will return! I will reeeeeee…" Then, with a loud pop, he was gone, sending a wave of foul-smelling air through the forest and a slight bloodstain on the ground.
Embrea was standing nearby, but she didn't look so good. Instead of proudly standing up straight, she was hunched over, leaning heavily on her staff like a cane. Her breathing was a little more labored than usual, and her hands shook a little. Her normally blood-colored hair was turning pink at the tips. Her bright red eyes had grown milky with cataracts. Around her eyes, several wrinkles had deepened into her usually perfect skin.
"All my years are catching up with me," she wheezed. "I don't feel too good."
"You don't look too good, either," said Topaz. "Let's get her to the guild. Thunder, help me carry her. Emi and Saffa, go to Embrea's office and send a message to the heads of the Warriors' and Archers' Guilds. Tell them to get ready for battle. We've got a god to slay."