Chapter 58

Blazblade- Probably. Guy doesn't exactly know when not to get angry when it comes to dealing with failure.

Hunter19941- You'll see it probably.

Acknowledgement to Konsilisto for helping in writing a section in this chapter.

Tzeentch and Khorne

Let it be said that the Four Chaos Gods, despite all of them vying for the conquering, corrupting, or destruction of all things, were allies. No, to say such a thing at all was to be ignorant to their very nature and that of Chaos itself. All four Chaos Gods were at each other throats. They do so with one other Chaos God, specifically their rival God, then the other two, but they all try to jeopardize or usurp their fellow gods' position in their great game so they can gain an advantage in the game. To have superiority over their brothers and make them submit to their superiority. To become the ascendant God in the Great Game, their influence spread throughout the entirety of the Chaos Realm and Mortal Realm. To become the ultimate influence of Chaos.

That being said, there have been times in history when the Chaos Gods have made temporary truces or pacts between one another. Such pacts were rare, but when they occur the impact was usually severe. The most well-known of these pacts was the coronation of each Everchosen of Chaos, who have brought corruption and chaos whenever they come to be. There are, however, cases when individual pacts between two Chaos Gods occur. Cases where two of the four major Gods of Chaos form pacts that benefit both of them. Though the Chaos Gods often, with the exception of Khorne, try to sabotage or undermine the rewards given by their brother god or try to take advantage of loopholes and technicalities in these pacts, especially Tzeentch, these pacts are often devastating enough to the Mortal Realm that they can bring disaster to all when they occur. And such a thing will occur again it seems. This time between the Chaos God of war and bloodshed and the Chaos God of deceit and magic.

"What I have done to your Exiled Bloodthirster is gift him a powerful gift. One that comes from another world, brother." Said Tzeentch, surprising Khorne a bit. Not just because of this "gift" being from another world, but that his brother was actually being straightforward. Though his rival was the Chaos God of ecstasy and pleasure, Slaanesh, Khorne also despised Tzeentch for many reasons. The main ones are his heavy usage of magic to win his battles and his ways of trickery and deceit.

To Khorne, deceit and magic were not the way of true warriors. A warrior is a person that used his natural strengths to win his battles. To train. To hone his skills to the point that his entire purpose in life was to kill and spill blood. If they must lose their minds to achieve this grand goal, then so be it. It's a small price to pay to become a grand killing machine in the name of killing and blood. Even those that are trained in the ways of the bow or rifle, such as those found in the Empire of Man, were accepted by Khorne. Unlike the fools that thought Khorne would scorn such weapons, the Blood God did approve of such weapons.

To him, the bow or rifle was simply an extension of a warrior much like a sword or hammer was. Like one must do in order to become an expert swordsman, one must train and practice to wield such weapons effectively. To become a skilled marksman. Even artillery spotters for things like cannons and artillery are respected by Khorne. So long as one must train and devote their life to the art of warfare, any weapon has Khorne's approval. The same cannot be said for magic.

Magic was, in the eyes of the God of Blood and Warfare, a tool for cheaters and those that wish to earn the favor of the Chaos Gods through something that they were born with. Not because they earned it. Why train to be a warrior or even earn their rewards at all if they can simply use magic to win their battles for them? Not with their own merits or skills. Just something that they were born with. It enraged Khorne that people gain the rewards of the Chaos Gods through the prowess of their magic capabilities. Not through their own merits and skills. Just their magic. Such pawns were not worthy of such gifts and thus none of his followers held any magical prowess at all. Those born with the gift to use magic either had the gift taken away from them, most of the time through brutal means, or killed by other followers of Khorne for having, what they deem, as a tool of cheaters and unworthy.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Khorne despised Tzeentch. For his brother not only condone the use of Magic, he practically gifted all his followers the usage of magic and that angered Khorne greatly. He also despised Tzeentch for his tendency to lie and his usage of trickery on a daily basis, things that the Blood God despised a great deal. Even the simplest of tasks or plans were made needlessly complex by Tzeentch, who practically thrived in such things. So, it was a surprise to Khorne that the Chaos God of Sorcery and deceit was being straightforward. Having been long used to Tzeentch's tricks, Khorne can see that he was actually being straightforward for once. Cautious in case this was yet another of Tzeentch's schemes, Khorne spoke up.

"What do you mean it came from another world? Is this yet another of your tricks?" Demanded Khorne as he glared at his brother. Instead of answering, Tzeentch brought out a boney hand and revealed the soul of Vidaldus. The soul that he had taken from Earthland by the Everchosen himself.

"Take it, brother." Said Tzeentch as he offered the soul to Khorne. "Take it and you will see that I speak true. Take it and you will see the bounty that is ripe for our taking without our rivals getting in our way." Looking at the soul provided by Tzeentch, Khorne at first suspected this was a mere trick of Tzeentch, but discarded it immediately. This plan was far too simple for Tzeentch and he wouldn't dare use a simple soul to attack him, not when he was this close to him. Thus, Khorne took the soul with more force than necessary and began forcibly taking what he desired from it. It's memories and past life. What Vidaldus was in his childhood and adulthood. What led him to become an assassin and what led to his death. All was taken and witnessed by the Blood God.

The soul of Vidaldus screamed throughout the process of Khorne's brutal interrogation. Unlike Tzeentch, Khorne cared little about preserving the soul and thus the soul was reduced to mere dust after Khorne was done. Vidaldus was permanently dead. No part of his soul was salvageable after Khorne's brutal extraction. Processing what he had all witnessed, Khorne watched as the dust of Vidaldus' soul flickered into nothing before looking at Tzeentch.

"It appears you spoken the simple truth for once in your existence, brother." Said Khorne upon realizing that Tzeentch spoke true. The power that empowered Skarbrand did in fact come from another world. A world filled with, much to Khorne's anger and disgust, magic. That anger and disgust, however, was dulled by the revelation of where their 13th Everchosen was. "Yet you failed to mention that our next Everchosen is present in that world. Why?"

"Patience brother." Said Tzeentch as he retracted the boney hand back to his robes. "I have yet to reveal everything brother nor have I revealed what my proposal is. One that benefits the both of us, I promise you."

"Your promises are nothing but wastes of words." Said Khorne, glaring at Tzeentch. "You forget that I have witnessed your plays and false promises over the millenniums. I will not fall prey to another. Not when the Everchosen is found. If you wish to have my cooperation, you will adhere to our ancient rules." Khorne then summoned forth a massive dagger from his belt. One made of bronze and stained with blood. He then stabbed his own palm, causing blackened Ichor to spill on both the dagger and the ground beneath his feet. He then pointed the dagger at Tzeentch, glaring at the God of deceit.

Tzeentch, seeing the dagger, knew what Khorne desired. He wanted a blood oath. A blood oath that forbids either of them from lying or attempting to hide certain facts from the other. It was something created as a way to prevent the Chaos Gods from deceiving or subverting the others to acquire gains for a single Chaos God. One does not need to be particularly intelligent to know which Chaos God caused such an oath to be created.

Seeing the blackened dagger, Tzeentch surprised Khorne a bit when he presented the same boney hand that gave him Vidaldus' soul. Seeing this hand, Khorne first tried to sense if this was just a trick of Tzeentch. When he found out that it wasn't, he immediately stabbed Tzeentch's hand with the dagger before Tzeentch could do anything. Tzeentch's own blackened Ichor of blood was spilled on the dagger. When it did, the mix of blood from two powerful gods caused the dagger to glow black and red in power. Khorne then tossed the dagger into the ground. When the dagger reached the ground, it was destroyed, shattering into a thousand pieces and those pieces began to form a circle around them. Said circle began to glow a blackish-red color as the circle went around them was completed. Now not only was the oath completed, but now Tzeentch had to tell the truth and the full truth. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe to the Chaos God of deceit. That being said, Khorne was now convinced that Tzeentch was telling the truth about everything. For there was no possible way that Tzeentch would so willingly allow this oath to be created unless the entity before him was a mere puppet of Tzeentch or that Tzeentch intended to be completely honest and straightforward to him in this meeting and he had already checked to see if this entity was a mere puppet of his brother or not and he was absolutely certain that this was Tzeentch himself. Thus it was the latter and, though Khorne will not say so to anyone, that unnerved him more than his brother being his typical self.

"The oath is complete, brother." Said Khorne as he looked at his brother. "Now you cannot use your typical tricks. You must tell me the truth in its entirety. Otherwise, you know what will happen." Tzeentch, as much as it pained him to admit it, knew that Khorne was correct. There will be severe consequences for him if he dares to break the oath. Repercussions that even vain and arrogant Slaanesh would not dare wish to befall on them. Fortunately, Tzeentch had no reason to trick or deceive his brother. No, for once in his life, he intended to give him the truth. The full, straightforward truth.

"I had no intentions of deceiving you, brother. Not this time." Said Tzeentch before getting down to business. "Now, as you now know, the Everchosen is in a different world altogether. One that our presence is absent yet is filled with magic. Magic that none of us know of or have seen before. It's a land of peace and beauty. A land of…opportunity. For the both of us. Not only to gain more power for ourselves but also to gain an opportunity for us to manipulate the Everchosen to our side. To manipulate him to favor us over our rivals. Such an opportunity can not be ignored, brother. We must seize this chance to finally defeat our rivals permanently and secure our positions in the Great Game." Khorne hummed as he processed this.

A chance to finally put Slaanesh in his place was enticing enough alone, but to have a new world to influence was almost as enticing. Not to mention, the Everchosen, wrongfully taken from them by the Wood Elves, whose wrath was set upon constantly by all four Chaos Gods, their displeasure still raw even after all centuries have passed since then. However, he failed to see why Tzeentch did not attempt to withhold the location of the Everchosen from them and attempt to exert his influence alone on the Everchosen, giving him an advantage over them when they eventually learn of the Everchosen. Then there was this new world. Why would he tell him this when he could hide it for as long as possible so he can establish a strong presence in that world? One that can make it difficult for them to conquer or even establish their own presence in that world. It made little sense to the Blood God. Tzeentch must have seen the confusion because he soon spoke.

"No doubt it is confusing to you brother that I would reveal this to you when I could simply take advantage of this information to advance my own power and mine alone." Said Tzeentch. "However, it is precisely that reason is why I'm telling you this. If I keep this from you all and establish a powerful presence in that world by myself for a period of time, you all will grow jealous or displeased at this. Enough to halt your aggression toward each other to focus on my own holdings for several reasons. One, because I keep this world from you all, and two, because of me corrupting the Everchosen for my own gains. To become superior over all of you through him. I will admit that I had originally intended to keep this information all to myself for a time, but I realize the consequences of doing this. It was then I thought, why not share this power with the one brother that displeases me the most? Why not work together and form a pact that benefits us both? To not only protect each other for a time against our jealous brothers but also to become superior to them as well? To become powerful together and rule whatever we wish from the Chaos realm. Is that a sufficient answer to convince you of my intentions, brother? To make you form a pact with me?" Khorne simply growled at Tzeentch before replying.

"Somewhat." Said Khorne. "But you realize brother that eventually we will fight against each other, yes? It's our very nature to want more. To control everything and not share it with anyone. Not even our fellow Gods."

"Indeed, but we have made temporary pacts with each other in the past, and I believe this situation calls for one of those, brother." Said Tzeentch. "Make no mistake, we will eventually fight against each other. Whether it be during our attempts to conquer this new world, corrupt our Everchosen, or after all that, it matters not. We will be preparing for the inevitable breaking of this pact and proceed to fight amongst ourselves like we always have done. However, until then, is it not wise to set aside our differences once again and combine our forces to conquer this world? To use its resources and people for our own ends? The gains will be well worth the investment, would they not?" Khorne, processing Tzeentch's latest honeyed words, went into deep contemplation.

On one hand, his brother was right. A brand-new world for them to conquer will give them resources and power that will give them a major advantage over their other brothers, Nurgle and Slaanesh. Both in terms of raw resources and souls. But on the other, this investment may backfire on them. It may weaken their own holdings in their current world. Enough that their rivals will sense weakness and try to capitalize on it. Or worse, become ascendant in the Great Game, further weakening their holdings in their current world and there was nothing that Khorne hated more than Slaanesh becoming ascendant in the Great Game or winning against him over anything. But still, this new world and it's bounties. It was ripe for war and slaughter. It was filled with so much unspilled blood and skulls. Not to mention the almost intoxicating feeling of wishing to test his legions against something new. Something powerful. Something that can prove the mettle of his legions. Eventually, he spoke.

"Very well, brother." Said Khorne eventually as he looked at Tzeentch. "I will agree to a new pact between us. One that will halt all transgressions between those under my command and yours. At least until we have this world for our own."

"I recommend not halting all aggression between our forces. That will only draw the attention of our lesser brothers." Said Tzeentch, making Khorne huff in amusement, but also in agreement. "Even though Be'lakor will soon commence a cataclysmic event with the Kislev God, Ursun, it is best we try to fight against one another to throw off suspicion. Plus, I suspect our followers will be drawn to whatever plan Be'lakor has with Ursun."

"Indeed." Said Khorne in agreement. Though the motivations and plans of the First Daemon Prince are hidden from them, even Tzeentch, they are waiting in anticipation of what they could be and how they could take advantage of it. "Focusing back on the task at hand, I will require some things from you brother. Much as it pleases you that I agree, I will rescind if you do not cede to my demands. You will obey them or else I will inform Nurgle and Slaanesh about what you told me, then you'll be forced to confront the both of them by yourself."

"I suspected you will try something like this, brother." Said Tzeentch, a bit annoyed at his brother, but ultimately conceding to his demands. "What are your demands?"

"Unlike Slaanesh, I'm fair in my demands." Said Khorne before telling Tzeentch his requirements. "First, I want whatever material you used on Skarbrand as well as some of your followers. I know you have more. You wouldn't have wasted it all just to have an audience with me."

"Agreed." Said Tzeentch, finding this demand reasonable. And, to be frank, he cared little. He could always acquire more from the new world, which seemed to have this material in abundance, much to his delight. He hadn't studied the material much, but what he already gleamed filled him with much joy. "You shall have more than enough to supply tens of thousands of your followers, both daemon and mortal, with the substance. Is there anything else you would like to demand of me?"

"Yes. Second, I want a blood oath between you and me that prevents either of us from tricking or sabotaging one another until this new world belongs to Chaos, specifically us. Nor will we try to keep information from each other. We tell each other everything as straightforwardly as we can possibly. I care little if it annoys you, brother, I will not make this pact if you do not adhere to my rules." This new demand annoyed Tzeentch a great deal, but ultimately he bowed his head to the demand. The next and final one was a demand that both stunned and intrigued Tzeentch. "And finally, I want one of your fragments. One that will be kept in the Brass Citadel until the pact is done between us."

"What?" Tzeentch asked, shocked but intrigued at this demand. Khorne was truly being thorough it seemed. It was something he rarely saw with his brother, who often left much to be desired when it came to thoroughness, but when it came, it was devastating.

What Khorne was referring to was the fragments of Tzeentch, fragments of power and knowledge that are actually small pieces of the Chaos God Tzeentch's himself.

Long ago, Tzeentch was the most powerful of the Chaos Gods. He ruled over his brothers with his magical might until eventually they banded together and usurped him. Breaking into ten thousand pieces scattered throughout their current world. These fragments would either form back to the Chaos God himself or become the very spells that the mortal races of the world use or have forgotten ironically using the very essence of Tzeentch to fight their battles, even those against the Forces of Chaos. If the Empire of Man ever found this out, then their precious Colleges of Magic will face severe backlash from the civilian populace of the Empire along with their so-called Witch Hunters. Over the years, Tzeentch has been recovering these fragments, growing ever stronger with each fragment recovered. He even created two Blue Horrors of Tzeentch, the Blue Scribes, to find every spell, both old and new, in existence for their master. If they complete their task, then Tzeentch will become as strong as he used to be, perhaps even more so, and all of creation will tremble at the restored might of the Chaos God of Sorcery. He already was strong now, those that knew his previous strength shuddered at its possible return, no matter how unlikely it was.

And now Khorne was demanding one of such fragments to be kept in his citadel. A demand that both shocked and intrigued Tzeentch.

"Well, brother, you certainly are ambitious today." Said Tzeentch a hint of respect in his voice. "Tell me why I should give you one of my fragments, a part of my very being when you could use it against me?"

"You only value one thing more than magic, betrayal, and trickery, brother." Said Khorne as he glared at Tzeentch with burning red eyes. "And it's that very thing that will keep you from betraying me and that is yourself. For one such as yourself, dear brother, betrayal is as easy as breaking bones is for me. You have done it countless times against us over the centuries, even during parts that should have prohibited you from doing so, yet you find loopholes that enable you to do it anyway. Thus, making you an untrustworthy partner when it comes to making a pact with you. However, with one of your fragments in hand, you will not dare to betray me. For you value yourself more than anything else in all of existence." Tzeentch laughed at his brother's reasoning. It would be so amusing if it weren't so true.

"True. True." Admitted Tzeentch, recalling all those loopholes and exploitations he's done over the millenniums. "But what I will get from you in exchange? Surely, you don't expect me to just hand one of my fragments over without some assurance you will not harm it, yes?"

"You know me, brother. Unlike you, I NEVER break a vow. Even to one such as yourself." Said Khorne, causing Tzeentch to nod.

"Unless it's to Slaanesh. Though you may surprise me yet." Thought Tzeentch before thinking of this 3rd demand. Eventually, he conceded to Khorne's last demand.

"Very well." Said Tzeentch before a huge blue crystal flew away from Chaos God's cloaked face that soon went directly into the hands of Khorne, who grabbed it using his left hand. Clutching the crystal of Magic might in his hand, feeling disgusted at holding such a powerful source of Magic, Khorne then spoke up. Using a language that even their daemonic creations knew nothing about, black stone raised from the ground between them until two pillars that surpassed both of them significantly in height came to be formed, a small distance between them. These pillars contained the symbols of both Gods on it and held words written in a tongue so ancient that even their daemonic creations won't understand. But both Gods knew well the language and it was. It was an ancient, binding contract that they had created long ago. One is created in the most extreme of circumstances when two or more of the Major Chaos Gods wish to make a binding agreement with each other that prevented either from breaking the agreement until its arrangements are completed. And they both knew that these particular pillars were meant for.

"These stones will shatter if either of us breaks his part of the agreement." Said Khorne as he looked at Tzeentch. "It also ensures that I won't destroy your shard Tzeentch, unless you try to betray me."

"Yes, I know." Said Tzeentch. "But what of the unlikely case you betray me? Will you give my fragment back? Intact and not corrupted?" Khorne thought about it for a moment, and he laughed a little.

"If I break my vow then yes. You'll have your fragment as it was when you gave it to me. But I never broke a vow before, so you have nothing to worry about, brother." Said Khorne with confidence.

"Not even once brother?" Asked Tzeentch, feigning innocence.

"Not even once." Said Khorne firmly, annoyed with his brother. "Rest assured, brother. Your fragment will be safe so long as we don't betray one another. Besides," He then looked at the fragment in his hand. ", By keeping it, I can contact you directly, without our other brothers from even noticing. Am I right?" Tzeentch laughed maniacally at the question.

"Oh yes, brother." Said Tzeentch, amused. "Indeed, you are correct. Now, let us discuss all the finer details of our pact with one another. After all, these pillars are worthless without our blood and the rules we place upon each other and ourselves." Khorne nodded his head in agreement before the two went on to talk to one another about their pact.

Meanwhile

Lustria

The Skink known as Oxyotl stayed silent as he watched the various Skinks tend to Miao Ying and her wounds. After escaping from the lost battle, Oxyotl and his fellow Skinks took the injured Storm Dragon to Lustria, via ancient and hidden means that only Oxyotl knew. Means that enable him to be all across the world undetected and in a timely fashion. Not even the Chaos Gods themselves can see where he's going when he uses these ways of travel nor stop him from using them. He can happily go where he pleases with these means, a useful and valuable tool in his mission against Chaos. And his saving of the Storm Dragon was just another example of their usefulness. After escaping from Cathay, the group of Skinks arrived in Lustria and headed to one of their great Temple-cities. Specifically, the Temple-city Tlaxtlan, where both the Storm Dragon can receive medical aid and Oxyotl can speak to one of the great leaders there.

Looking at the unconscious Storm Dragon, kept sedated with powerful sedatives that can only be found in Lustria itself, the Skink saw his fellow Skinks mending her wounds with herbal medicines and bindings made out of strong, yet safe to use as bandages, and leaves. Though her wounds were severe, almost fatally so, she was not yet beyond the point of saving. A few healing spells and she was stabilized enough that they can heal her with more mundane arts of healing. The younger races would fail to see why they would not heal her completely with Magic, but the leaders of the Lizardmen have ordered this to happen. Or rather, one and it wasn't the mighty Slann, the ancient and powerful leaders of the Lizardmen.

Watching the healing of the Storm Dragon continue, Oxyotl looked behind him to see another Skink coming towards him. Yet it wasn't the same color pigmentation as him. Rather, it held the typical colors of a regular Skink. Light Blue but without the typical white underside for normal Skinks. This one also wore the ornament attire of a Skink priest, the Magic users of the Skink people alongside their Skink Oracle brethren. Holding its Magic staff, which was larger and taller than itself, in one hand, the Skink floated towards Oxyotl via a floating stone palanquin that hummed with power and held a constellation drawing on the stone backside of the palanquin. Seeing this Skink, Oxyotl looked toward them with respect.

"You have done well, Oxyotl." Said the Skink Priest as he looked upon the Skink known as He that Hunts Unseen, speaking in the language of their people. "You have saved the Storm Dragon from certain death and have slain the corrupted fool known as Mozar. Our world is saved momentarily."

"It is never safe, Astronomer." Said Oxyotl as he looked upon the Skink Priest. "The Great Enemy will never stop until they conquer this world. We must continue fighting for even if we falter even once, this world will fall and become nothing more than a plaything of the Great Enemy."

"Indeed." Agreed the Skink Priest. "That is why it is good that you saved the Storm Dragon. She will be invaluable in the times that will come. I have foreseen it and I believe you have foreseen it as well, Oxyotl. They have found their champion. The one that may or may not become the next Everchosen of Chaos."

"Yes. As I feared, they have found him and will stop at nothing to get him back." Said Oxyotl.

"The Elves made a valiant effort to hide the Everchosen from the Chaos Gods, but they have merely delayed the reckoning that will come." Said the Skink Priest. "Or, perhaps they have given us a chance to stop the next Everchosen and have given us a powerful ally instead. I do not know. The future of this child of Man is…muddled to even my visions."

"As do mine." Admitted Oxyotl. "The visions speak of the danger he will bring if he falls, but they also speak of the good that will come if he fights for Order."

"Yes, that is why we must protect this child from the Great Enemy." Said the Skink Priest. "This world he is in. It is weak. It's vulnerable to the depredations of the Great Enemy. It holds power, yes, but that power can easily be corrupted or felled by the Forces of Chaos. They need guidance. They need to be trained. They need…our assistance. Oxyotl, you know what must be done." Oxyotl nodded.

"I will take my strongest followers and depart immediately." Said Oxyotl. "But I fear I will need more if we are to succeed."

"Indeed you do." Said the Skink Priest. "I will do what I can to muster aid for you, Oxyotl, but will be on your own for some time. That should not be an issue for you, however." Oxyotl just shook his head. Having long been used to fighting on his own or with only a few followers in hand, Oxyotl was more than capable of fighting on his own. Though recent events have forced him to handle things in a more commanding style, he was still capable of working on his own.

"I can deal with it. However," Oxyotl then looked at the unconscious Storm Dragon, being tended to by their fellow Skinks. "What are your plans with her, Astronomer of the Constellations?"

"In time, you'll know." Said the Skink Priest. "However, if all goes to plan, Cathay will finally see the error in their ways. Whether it succeeds or not, is up to her. For now, though, she will remain in my care until I feel she is ready for the journey. Both in body and in mind." Oxyotl, trusting the Skink Priest, bowed his head before departing, leaving the Skink Priest with the Storm Dragon. Looking at the powerful Dragon woman, the Skink Priest closed his eyes in contemplation of his most recent plan, praying to the Old Ones for success.