CHAPTER 1
At the furthest reaches of the charred councils domain everything seemed to become far tamer. The ever present overbearing heat and smog had shifted to more of a half hearted suggestion than an actual presence, and the seemingly endless fields of stalactites turned mountains had also given way to immense black rolling hills; which had been the product of vast ancient lava flows that had cooled and solidified. Attop one of these hills, overlooking a bottomless ravine that might as well have been the gullet of the world itself, stood a great colosseum, from which, the cacophony of battle could be heard over the sound of distant volcanic eruptions like a discordant soundtrack.
In this coliseum, Vengeance, garbed in a midnight blue cloak stood locked in combat with another figure made of a grey, rune encrusted and age pitted stone, which would have easily doubled him in height if it were not for the fact that it was slouching from what seemed to be its own tectonic weight. Its right arm; which hung almost to the dirt floor of the arena, bore a great jagged claymore which was as long as the horseman was tall. It swung this great sword in an overhead chop with a lumbering swiftness which might have looked graceful, if it had not been blocked and actually knocked back upward by a black bladed sword spear held by the smaller figure with an oddly subtle clink, almost like cutlery being taped together. In blatant mockery of the Newtonian laws of motion the horseman had not rocked back against the blow, instead he stood steady, as though he had struck nothing but air. However, at the point where the two blades had met, the edge had bloomed a deep cherry red, as though someone had taken a blowtorch to the exact spot on the black steel, the only indication that the transaction had occurred on the horseman's side at all.
Vengeance, never one to let an opening in his opponents guard be wasted, leapt forward so swiftly and silently that one might have thought that the horseman had simply appeared just inside his opponents guard. With an oddly mechanical motion, Vengeance plunged his blade into the vaguely shimmering gap that was the left knee of the stone behemoth, the strangely muffled sound of stone grating against steel echoing around the mostly empty arena. With a vicious twist and a rather out of place sounding pop the leg was neatly separated from the shin down, like two magnets being pulled apart by a child. The construct, which had been still reeling from the earlier exchange, found itself crashing to the floor; a ploom of red dust rising from the impact. Before it could get its bearings or even make the attempt to rise to its… foot, the horseman was upon its chest driving the tip of his blade through the featureless grey mask that was its face. For an instant the runes which covered the limbs and torso of the construct flared a bright orange with magic as they struggled to compensate with the fatal damage, before the body went limp and the glow faded.
"Another dead, honestly this has just become too easy. " Vengeance thought whilst gazing distractedly at his new blade which he had pulled from the now defunct construct's head; the point of impact now fading back to the immaculate onix that was the natural pigment of the steel.
This blade had been a recent, and much to the horseman's wounded pride, necessary gift from his masters almost a week ago, once a glaring weakness in his admittedly unintentional design had fully reared its ugly head. Vengeance was as light as a feather. The seemingly endless strength, speed, and constitution that he had been blessed with, hardly mattered when even the smallest and weakest of creations many dangers could send him flying with the same energy they would use to swat an annoying insect.
Since his creation two years ago Vengeance had done his absolute best to compensate for his strange handicap. He would try to dodge or deflect any strike that he could, and it had in all honesty made him far more nimble than anyone would have expected of the small being. This constant conditioning made him able to dart into and out of an opponent's guard before the foe was even aware of him, but it wasn't enough, more often than not an opponent would get lucky with a direct hit and he would have no choice but to take the full brunt of the blow, and while it wouldn't usually decide the fight, it was something that could easily be exploited. That fact alone had swayed the council into giving him Voids Edge.
Voids edge had been christened well, the obsidian black blade itself, which was about as long as the horseman's arm, was polished to what would have been a mirror shine if not for the fact that it seemed to not reflect light at all, but rather seemed to swallow and actively pull in all light around it, leaving a vaguely sword shaped hole in reality at the end of it's long hilt, and was in all likelihood one of if not the most powerful blade the council had ever commissioned, for one simple fact. It's primary ability was that It absorbed any form of energy directly applied to it and passed it onto whomever it was bound to. It made Vengeance, who was already a force to be reckoned with, into the stuff of horror tales. Something which the angels of heaven and the demons of hell would come to fear and respect in equal measures in the millennia to come.
The light clanking, like dry antlers being tapped against one another drifted across the coliseum from the edge of the arena, snapping the horseman from his drifting thoughts and drawing his gaze to its source. There he saw a familiar tall and spindly being he knew as the Vulnerasti standing just beyond the combat circle who for the past two years had been both the horseman's mentor and, save for one, only real friend. The Vulnerasti was a strange being, standing at almost four meters tall and clad only in a ragged loincloth to keep himself decent, he was a mass of almost elegantly curved chitinous insectoid plates the color of lightly charred bone, which were segmented at the joints from which a deep red molten light poured out, almost as though the flesh beneath those plates were liquid rock. These plates were almost completely unmarred, save for a single puncture in the right side of the chest plate which had cracks spider webbing out in a painful display across the ancient beings torso.
"Nicely done horseman." He said with a voice that was stilted, and sounded almost as though someone were attempting to speak around as well as choking on a mouthful of gravel.
"That fancy toothpick of yours has more than evened the odds. You break them faster than this one can fix them now, pretty soon you will be spending more time in the archives waiting on this one's hands than in the arena."
Turning to speak to the old warrior, Vengeance brought Voids Edge around and slung it on his back with no visible means of support, it simply stuck there… because Vengeance wanted it to.
"Maybe not old one, this fancy toothpick of mine as well as some of the rumors I've been hearing from the archivists seem to be hinting that they are finally planning to send me on an actual mission rather than having me play courier."
The smile on Vengeance's face turned slightly bitter. For the past two years Vengeance had done almost nothing but deliver messages to either the generals of the white city or to the lords of hell. Usually the messages consisted of cease and desist orders or responses to arrange some meeting or trade of some kind. Beside the fact that they had actual designated messengers this wouldn't really have been a problem for the horseman, if creation were at peace and there had been no threats to the balance, but it hadn't been. In fact, for the past hundred thousand years or so heaven and hell had been in all out war, a war which had in the past hundred years or so reached a brutal crescendo and had seemed to not show any signs of de escalating, in fact, it had shown the opposite. In the last two years alone there had been no fewer than a dozen incidents that had threatened the balance in one way or another, threats which had required the council's intervention, and yet he had been commanded to remain in the world that was the council's domain. Either training in the arena or reading in the archives, essentially left to twiddle his thumbs while creation seemed to make its best effort at tearing itself apart.
Segmented and sliding plates in the old one's jaws and face, gave the impression of a sympathetic smile. Before his whole attitude shifted to that of someone who was about to deliver good news, though the casual observer might have mistaken both expressions for pained grimaces, his face did not contort well.
"Well then horseman it would seem this one brings good news rather than cause for more childish exasperation" he paused with another still wider smile at the glare the horseman shot at him.
"The masters sent a message requesting your presence in-" The Vulnerasti was abruptly cut off by the horseman's excited shout.
"Really did they say why!" The horseman's face seemed to glow with a wide eyed almost childlike excitement, despite the old one's previous jab.
"No" said the old one flatly in an attempt to coerce the younger being to show some modicum of formality or even reverence at being summoned by arguably the most powerful beings in creation, save for perhaps the creator himself.
"The message was merely a summons with a note saying that they expect you within the hour" At this the horseman's attitude somehow brightened further still, seeming to not hear or to flatly ignore the elder being's subtle admonishment.
"Alright then, I'll expect a challenge when I get back, seeing as how you'll have time to construct more of those toy soldiers for me to break." Before the Vulnerasti could reply, the smaller figure turned and began swiftly walking towards the arena exit almost skipping as he went. Without pausing, Vengeance gave a high piercing whistle which seemed to reverberate through the spirit, and though nothing was seen to answer that call, something nonetheless did.
Shadows seemed to pool, condense, and then wisp and billow upward from a spot naught twenty feet before Vengeance like tendrils of smoke rising from an unseen flame. After a few moments the horseman reached the spot and an immense warhorse which appeared to emulate the blade of voids edge, unnaturally composed only of varying gradients of shadow and light itself rose from the earth, the only certainly solid aspects of the beast being the two shining pearl orbs that were its eyes. The edges of its form were indistinct, shifting and shimmering like a heat Mirage. Not for the first time that week, Vengeance idly wondered if the council had requested that Void Edge's appearance be tailored to match the creature-Spite in an attempt to keep to an aesthetical theme before dismissing the thought as likely yet unimportant.
With a practiced motion the horseman gripped the saddlehorn and pulled himself into the saddle Which was a black leather; the bridal, a silver chain with blazing white runes etched into each link, looking almost comically too small to ride the smoking and shifting beast. Glancing over his shoulder at the Vulnerasti with a smile and a quick two finger salute he gave a swift flick of the reins. With an unnaturally silent, yet nonetheless strong and triumphant whinny Spite broke into a full gallop out of the arena and onto the rolling pyroclastic hills, to do the bidding of the charred council.
After a few moments both rider and mount were beyond Vulnerasti's sight and hearing; the old one still standing where the horseman had left him, and where one would have expected annoyance or exasperation to be written on his unusually stiff face there was none, instead his brow plates had pinched together into an unmistakable expression of deepest worry.
After a few moments the old one tore his gaze from the blasted hellscape with visible effort and strode out into the center of the arena and began to collect the pieces of the recently defunct stone construct; hoisting the main bulk over his thin shoulders in a fireman carry with an ease which was at complete odds with the spindly spider like build of the Vulnerasti, muttering just under his breath to himself all the while.
…
"You summoned me?"
Vengeance said, kneeling before the triple idols, his face hidden in the impenetrable shadow of his hood; His body twitching occasionally with repressed excitement, and though not visible, a smirk occasionally played across the horseman's face.
"INDEED WE DID VENGEANCE, AS YOU HAVE NO DOUBT HEARD OF THIS MATTER FROM THE ARCHIVISTS THEMSELVES, WE SHALL BE BRIEF" The leftmost idol seamlessly picked up where the center one left off.
"SOME TIME AGO A STRANGE VISION BEGAN TO PLAGUE THE SEERS AND MYSTICS OF ALL RACES AND FACTIONS OF CREATION, AND IN EACH REPORTED CASE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN UNANIMOUSLY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A VISION FROM THE CREATOR HIMSELF." The center idol paused in an uncharacteristic flair of showmanship and continued in a deeper, almost reverent voice which reverberated across the planes just as much as through Vengeance's mind, body, and soul, causing the horseman's heart to give an excited flutter.
"IT ALWAYS RUNS AS SUCH. TWO FACELESS ARMIES STAND AT OPPOSING ENDS OF A BATTLEFIELD ONE OF LIGHT AND ONE OF DARKNESS. THEY STAMP THEIR FEET, SHOUT, AND CRY AT ONE ANOTHER IN HOARSE VOICES, CALLING FOR EACH OTHERS BLOOD. FROM THE DUST THAT DRIFTS FROM BOTH SIDES A THIRD FACELESS ARMY IS FORMED BETWEEN THE TWO, IT IS SMALL AND THE SOLDIERS WHO MAKE UP THIS ARMY ARE THIN, GREY, INSUBSTANTIAL CREATURES WHO ARE UNARMED AND UNCLOTHED. THE THIRD ARMY TURNS TO BOTH AND BEGINS TO PLEAD FOR PEACE IN FEEBLE VOICES WHICH DO NOT REACH THE EARS OF EITHER ARMY." With a pause the rightmost head continues in it"s gruffer tones.
"WITH A FINAL WARCRY, THE ARMIES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS CHARGE ONE ANOTHER AND MEET WHERE THE GREY ARMY STANDS, FOR A TIME THE BATTLE IS OBSCURED BY AN IMPENETRABLE DUST, WHEN IT SETTLES THE ONLY ONES STANDING UNTOUCHED ARE THE GREY ARMY LOOKING DOWN UPON THE OTHER TWO WHOSE MEMBERS EITHER LAY DEAD OR ARE KNEELING IN SUBMISSION OF THE GREY ARMY."
"While it does seem fairly obvious what the vision is implying my lords, what do you suppose it means?"
"THAT DOES NOT CURRENTLY CONCERN YOU HORSEMAN, WE HAVE MERELY TOLD YOU THIS TO GIVE YOU CONTEXT TO YOUR TRUE MISSION."
Vengeance felt his disappointment and frustration rise up his throat and settle just behind his tongue, though he fell well short of giving voice to these feelings.
"AS SOON AS NEWS OF THESE VISIONS REACHED US WE SENT WORD TO THE FACTIONS WITHIN BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL THAT HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR PEACE TALKS, WE SENT THAT WE WISHED TO PARLAY WITH THEM IN A NEUTRAL LOCATION, TO DISCUSS BOTH THE VISIONS CONTENT AND IT'S POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS ON CREATION AS A WHOLE. THEY BOTH SWIFTLY AGREED TO MEET OUR EMISSARIES. HOWEVER SAID EMISSARIES HAVE JUST NOW REPORTED THAT THEY ARRIVED ONLY TO FIND THAT A SMALL NUMBER OF HEAVENS REPRESENTATIVES HAD ARRIVED AND THAT THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY WERE ASSAILED BY AN UNKNOWN FORCE AND THAT MANY OF THEIR DELEGATES WERE TAKEN."
Vengeance looked up sharply enough that his hood fell back from his head revealing a look of confusion on his face.
"Unknown? It wasn't a demonic incursion?"
"NO, WHO EVER THEY WERE THEY WERE NOT DEMONS OR AT LEAST NOT ANY KNOWN SUBSPECIES OF DEMONS. YOUR MISSION HORSEMAN, IS TO MEET WITH THE ANGELS WHO WERE ATTACKED, DISCERN WHO ATTACKED THEM, FIND THE ATTACKERS, KILL THEM, AND IF POSSIBLE RETURN THE ANGELIC DELEGATES TO THEIR PEOPLE, IF THEY STILL YET LIVE. TIME IS SHORT HORSEMAN, GO FORTH AND LAY LOW ALL WHO WOULD DARE STAND AGAINST THE BALANCE."
With a start at the sudden dismissal Vengeances rose to his feet in an uncoordinated rush before replying.
"As you say my lords, it will be done."
With that the horseman turned on his heel and strode back out onto the blasted hellscape kicking up soot with each step. After a few moments of swift walking he reached the spot where he had left Spite her two white eyes giving him a quizzical look.
"Well Spite, as far as "real" missions go, finding a group of lost angels for our first one isn't the worst thing I expected."
Spite huffed at that and gave her ears an annoyed flick, the look she gave Vengeance seemed to scream "really!?". Reaching up Vengeance gave Spite's nose a comforting pet, his fingers vanishing beneath the black void and finding an actual horse beneath the shifting exterior.
"Yeah yeah I know, it's not the best either but it's what we got."
The horseman looked down for a moment in silent contemplation before pulling himself up into the saddle and giving a light flick of the reigns. Without any fanfare or even a discernible sound both rider and mount wheeled about and crossed the barriers between realms, the only trace of them having been there at all being a slight disturbance of ash and soot where they had crossed.