God Rising

Chapter 106

Written by: AtheistBasementDragon

Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots

AN: Well you wanted to see a few Black Paladin abilities, I trust you'll not be disappointed. I look forward to your thoughts. :)

...Prart...

Neia watched with great pleasure as Remedios ordered the advance. "Come and get me! You hear me over there?!" She shouted as loud as she could over the empty ground, her sword was out and high in the air, while Skana walked the walls as archers took their places. Her steady footfalls and one good eye falling on those who seemed on edge, a touch from her to their shoulder to reassure them, a few brave words, and she moved on.

"Loose!" Skana shouted, and the gray goose flew from countless bows, arching over the walls and landing on those who came to kill them, warriors fell screaming or silent, but more came in to replace them. "Pick your targets! Fire when ready!" Skana shouted, moving up and down the line still, looking for weaknesses beyond the wall and on it.

Neia waited until the first ranks of men with ladders and ropes were near, then and only then did she use her voice in earnest.

"Prart will not fall again!" She shouted, "You who come, come to your deaths! We who stand, will fight like the god we serve!" She stood firm and sheathed her sword, then drew her bow and sent arrows flying as fast as she could draw them.

"Come here! Come here and die!" Neia snarled out, her evangelistic voice thrilled her allies and cowed her enemies, but those paladins among the enemy ranks countered with 'lion's heart' and drove enough of their soldiers forward, and soon they were climbing. Soldiers atop the wall cut the ropes and sent men falling to the ground, ladders were pushed off with the same effect, but more came on, soldiers were coming close.

"Switch!" Skana shouted, and bows were replaced by swords.

Neia switched as well, and began to run the length of the crenelations, stone to stone she ran along the edge, her green armor and terrible eyes struck fear into those who faced her. It reminded her of the siege she'd endured against the demihumans, only now? Now to be equal to a common paladin was a step down, her sword flashed and she laughed with monstrous glee, she felt something shift within her, her muscles felt like steel and her fingers harder than the stone she defended, an unfortunate soldier happened to be coming up the ladder in time for her to pass, and she saw him kill one of the defenders. The sight of her soldier's blood sent her into a fury. "Kill all! Spare none! These are not the hearts of lions! These are the hearts of SHEEP!" She snarled as a ravenous wolf as she activated a martial art. [Undead Strength] She shouted and grabbed the neck of the soldier she'd witnessed commit the deed. She held him over the battlements for a moment. "Is this all you've got?! Send me something other than prey you bitch!" She tore away her visor and met the soldier's gaze, he met her eyes, and screamed as he understood just what had grabbed hold of him, terror emanated from the Black Paladin, terror raw and visceral and it spread like fire on a spilled lamp oil. She squeezed, his scream died, and she threw him bodily from her wall.

Remedios looked to Yuri and Suchala from where they stood, the voice had reached their ears, their horses nickered nervously under them at it's echo. "She's stronger, but she can still die."

"Not if nobody will go close enough to kill her." Suchala said and pointed to where Neia stood on the wall. "See?" He asked, nobody wanted to come near to her.

"Shit." Remedios said, "Someone told me about this."

"What?" Suchala asked unhappily.

"She was the last one standing on the western wall, she wiped out demihumans that killed paladins, everyone else with her died, but she killed so many and so fiercely that she got the nickname 'The Mad Eyed Archer'. I only know about this because there were peasants down below who watched her fight like a demoness. The demihumans killed her, but it was a very costly effort, those soldiers there?" Remedios gestured to the ones avoiding her, "They haven't a chance, especially if she's stronger now than she was back then, and she definitely is."

Demihuman reinforcements and elves began to make their way up the tower stairs to reinforce the first ranks of Skana's archers, the wall had been cleared and the survivors withdrew under shield cover, though the fighting had been fierce at the ramparts, it was clear that this had only been a probing attack and they'd had enough.

Neia however, had not had enough. She took out her bow, and sent arrow after arrow through the necks of the withdrawing ranks. "If you want these walls, you'll have to do better than that!" She shouted, and jumped back down from off the stones and onto the walkway, storing her bow.

Cheers rang from the wall as Neia approached her wife. "You did well over here." She said.

Skana gave her an enormous and smugly satisfied grin. "I could've told you that."

Neia laughed, "And I'm sure you would have, which is why I said it first."

She looked down the length of her wall. "Rank swap! Next on the wall, Kedyn! Seems you've got a reputation for holding walls, show Prart what you've got!"

The cheers she heard could only have come from the massed ranks of Kedyn's professional and militia volunteers. A moment later Ulthis was saluting Neia and Skana.

"Ready?" Neia asked him in the voice of a battle hardened commander.

"Yes." He said bluntly, his red vampire eyes meeting Neia's eyes of terror, and drawing from them courage, confident that none would stay near the walls for too long.

"Good. Now remember this is combat, not a meal time. Finish them first, get drinks later." Skana said with a laugh and slapped him on the back.

"Har... har... har." The vampire priest said with a roll of his eyes as Neia's elites withdrew for a brief respite and were replaced by fresh troops from Kedyn. "You staying up here?" He asked.

"Hell yes." The two women said at once.

"I swear, you two sound like a married couple or something." He said humorously and winked at them as they rolled their eyes.

"Is there something about being undead that makes them terrible at telling jokes?" Skana asked with a serious look at Neia.

"Maybe, I've never heard one tell a good joke, I'll have to ask Fluder, or perhaps His Majesty." Neia said scratching her head in mock seriousness.

It was Ulthis' turn to shake his head, "Uh huh, just take your places, looks like another attack is coming our way in just a moment."

Neia rushed to her side of the wall.

"What does Kedyn do?" She asked as loudly as she could as the next advance came on.

"We. Hold. Walls!" They shouted again, and again, and again.

"Prove it!" Neia dared, and the resolve to stand or die filled their breasts.

"Draw!" Skana shouted.

"Loose!" She called out as the ranks came on again, this time under cover of archers. However the wall had the high ground, and could hit the archers before the archers could hit the wall. Here and there, a soldier of Kedyn fell, but the toll was worse on the archers of the Slane Theocracy and their allies.

In this way, the shielded ladder bearers reached the wall and began to climb up again. [Courage of Unlife] Neia shouted stilling all fear within her forces along the wall.

There would be no retreat.

An enormous man was the first atop the wall, he killed two soldiers of Kedyn as they tried to push the ladder away, and this drew Neia's attention. She drew her bow and fired several shots in a row, they hit his armor like hammer blows, but he did not die, he was clad in plate mail and carried a large, two handed sword. He swung it wildly to clear space for the soldiers following behind him. He would be a problem.

As she drew closer, the ranks of Slane Theocracy soldiers climbed up behind him, only to start dying when their heads simply 'exploded'. Neia grinned savagely as he looked dazed at what was happening. "Ahh CZ, don't ever change." Neia said happily and finished her rush in with a sword, she slid past as the sword came down and hit where she'd been. [Jephthah's Fire] She shouted as she jumped to her feet and leaped towards his back with her sword over her head and brought it down against him, a pillar of black flames engulfed him, he screamed like a stuck pig... for a moment, until he was burned away to ashes.

Skana, on her end, kept the archery fire going as long as she could, then shouted to those on the ground behind the wall, "Seventy yards! Scatter shot!" That was when the mangonel teams dumped baskets full of rocks into the load position, and then set the ropes to the seventy yard position, and loosed. Stones flew over the walls in great numbers, and Skana watched with satisfaction as they began to strike the heads and bodies of the archers of the Slane Theocracy and their allies.

It was several more minutes of heavy fighting before the next probing attack was done and the soldiers who had been trying to take the wall, lost the will to fight and fell back.

It was going to be a... very long, long day for those who defended Prart.

...Robel's Expedition...

Robel and his army were well fed and very enthusiastic. It felt good to be heading west, advancing instead of retreating, fighting instead of hiding. As he moved, he sent out scouts to various villages informing them of his advance and the elimination of Astraka's eastern expedition. There was not a single army left between himself and Hoburns now that Astraka had gone west, and though he very much wanted to introduce himself to the man in person, well it was easier to rob an empty house. Suffice it to say, those members of Black Justice who had been in hiding and waiting for the opportunity to strike back, found that chance in his ranks. His numbers grew by a hundred with every passing hour it seemed.

There was nothing that was going to stop him but some nasty walls and well... the lack of siege equipment, but a message dispatched the day of their departure resulted in assurances that he would be given help.

All that put him into a very good mood until a very fine, bright morning when he was in the middle of a march, when the sound of thunder echoed from the ground ahead and threw up a cloud of dust. He and his front ranks shielded their eyes as best they could, and when the dust settled, there in front of them a most unexpected sight.

Fifty feet from where he stood, was a gold skinned buxom demoness with very sharp fangs, curved horns, and solid black wings. He immediately yanked up his horn and blew a halt to the formation. With a two step motion, the army halted. He turned to Ba and said, "If anything happens to me, you take command." The bafolk warrior nodded grimly, and Robel approached her. She simply waited until he came within courteous speaking distance, and then she said in the most cheerful voice he'd ever heard, "Hiya. I'm Vanysa, pleased ta meetcha." He caught a look at her eyes, storm cloud grey and as intense as those of the absolutely mad.

"Ah... Hello. I'm Robel..." He said, scratching his head uncertainly, so dazed he could think of nothing else to do but introduce himself in response.

"I know, I've been lookin for yah." She said, then tapped her cheek and looked up thoughtfully, "Well, not really lookin for yah, I knew where yah was, ah just had to get to yah. Anyway, doesn't matter, came tah tell yah ye..." She said started to say in a very sweet but somehow menacing voice, until he interrupted her..

"You're a demon to stop me! Astraka summoned you, didn't he?!" Robel snarled, responding more to the bizarre tone and situation than to anything she actually said, and drew his sword, as did those who stood behind him, only for the demoness to raise her hand to give him pause.

"Nah, ah ain't gonna stop yah..." She said simply, only to be interrupted again.

"You think you can bribe me?" Robel asked in disbelief.

"Baaaah!" Vanysa said in a frustrated voice and grabbed her horns as she shook her head with her eyes closed tight. "NO! Astraka didna send me!" She sighed heavily and looked at him again, "Not at all. Will yah stop interruptin me b'fore ah tear mah horns out! Ahm tryin ta tell yah..." She paused, he didn't interrupt her again, "I'm yer help. Yah sent a message askin fer help with Hoburns, an that lines up perfectly with what ah gots planned."

"What you've got planned?" He asked. "Wait, you're my help?" He asked further, his voice becoming more incredulous.

"Aye and aye. See the guy what calls 'imself 'King' he's mine, ain't lettin no one else have 'im. But b'fore I take im, ah wanna take everthing he's got, an that includes 'is pretty chair he done so much bad ta get. So I'm gonna help yah, but yah gots ta promise ta leave Astraka to me afterwards, yah can stay there in tha city if'n yah want, or go out, but he's mine, got it?" She explained patiently and emphatically, putting her hands on her hips, a gesture that belied her patient tone.

"No deal, I want him to suffer." Robel said angrily.

The mad eyes into which he stared went clear as the blue sky above.

"No problem, I'm an expert at suffering, I daresay I'm at least the third best at it, in some ways, maybe better." She said cheerfully as if she was announcing clear weather after a storm.

"And... so? I think I can..." He began, only for Vanysa to interrupt.

"Nope, I'm a Tisiphone Fury, I exist as I am for no other reason than to punish the guilty." With the madness was gone from her eyes, he saw a deep well of cold, calculating wrath. As she held up a hand palm up with her talons pointed towards the sky, she laid her other hand upon her breast and said with absolute confidence, "Believe me, falling into your hands would be his dream come true, you could make him suffer for an hour, maybe two, a full day if you work really hard. I will make him suffer till the children you've yet to create with the woman you've yet to meet, die of old age."

Robel's mind staggered, yet somehow he couldn't bring himself to doubt the terrible beauty.

"Moreover, the Sorcerer King has expressly given that man to me as my prey. As you serve that divine ruler, you must accede to my wishes and his will, however..." She said as her talon pointed at him, "you can aid in his suffering by simply trusting me to help you when you get to Hoburns." She smiled viciously, baring her fangs.

"We've never worked together... and I don't know you. It doesn't sound like you plan on being with us during our travel, so...?" He asked tentatively, not finishing the sentence as her face turned angry with a deep scowl. She clearly did not like that he had a heavy air of doubt around him.

She thought for a moment, "I suppose I can spare one, you want to know I'm properly motivated, that's fair." She took out a scroll. She quickly used it, and came close enough for her breasts to graze his chest, she met his eyes with hers, sharp and clear now, but with a deep well of pain behind them. "See why you can trust me, this... was what he did, to an innocent girl who didn't even know him." She whispered, and placed her hands on the sides of his head, and touched his forehead to hers. All of a sudden he watched as a whirlwind of horror passed before his eyes, and he watched the events play out for the poor blonde in the vision, until the moment of her death. He couldn't move until the memory ended, then he flung himself back onto the dirt and looked up at her in horror.

Behind him, the front ranks of his army began to respond, he quickly raised a hand to stop them, when they did, he got to his feet. She was standing in front of him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Good enough?" She asked. He nodded numbly.

"I didn't know that could happen to anyone, I never imagined..." His voice was low with disgust.

"Well it can, and he did it, as an erinyes, it is my job and my pleasure to punish him, he belongs to me. I will get you that capital, all you have to do is show up. However, I'll need a few days to make Astraka suffer more."

"How long?" Robel asked in a hard, clipped voice.

"I have already begun his torment, for several days now I have gradually taken away from him, absolutely everything. He's suffering mightily even at this moment as every gaze at his back is filled with contempt or loathing. I made him kill his best friend, he thinks he killed his lover, his soldiers think he abuses children, and that he's a coward. The entire army thinks he's responsible for shortening their rations while he eats like a glutton. I made him pass out by being publicly drunk, and he fell face first into a latrine pit, and his manhood was so insulted I doubt he'd be able to use it for years, even if he got the chance." She giggled with wicked glee as she depicted a handful of her torments.

"He... deserves everything you do to him, and more besides." He said coldly.

"He does, and I have not yet finished with him, not until he has lost all that he loves and longs for. When his ambitions are ashes, his dreams are reduced to dust slipping through his fingers, his hopes are reduced to one more hour of life, and he wonders 'how did this happen to me', only then will I reveal myself to Astraka as the architect of his misfortune." She cackled happily and said, "Already his nights are nightmares of his wrongs come back to haunt him, he suffers what he inflicted on a helpless girl who never did him any harm. Her torture and death condemn him more than any other single act, though the desecration he heaped on her corpse and which he strives to continue to this day, do not help him." She let out a low, furious growl as she gritted her teeth.

Then she took a deep breath and explained, "The girl he had tortured, he also robbed. Leaving a girl who had almost nothing, who lived with bugs and filth, who had already lost everything once before, with absolutely nothing but the humiliations and terrors he inflicted on her when he had her trapped in his power, therefore it is fitting that he loses everything as she did. You have an army, you can take it from him, but only if you do as I say, and march there slowly." She said sweetly.

"Well, that sounds great." He said, "I have no siege equipment, will you be bringing some?" He asked.

"That won't be a problem." Vanysa said happily, clapping her hands together like an enthusiastic child.

"All you have to do is show up, I'll make sure everything goes well. I'll even do you one better, what if I bring one of the leaders of Black Justice to you, to officially take back the place, and hand it over to the Queen in person, how does that sound?" She asked.

"I'd say you drive a hard bargain, but... that is the best deal I've ever heard." He said and approached the demoness, he then stuck out his hand and she took it gingerly, taking care not to injure him with her talons. "But can you really get the Queen and someone like Neia or Skana to show up for this?" He asked in disbelief.

"Sure can, Neia knows I work directly for the Sorcerer King, and I'm the one who got Blue Rose to go from Kedyn to Prart, so all the other important ones over there know me too, by reputation if not by face. All I have to do is show up, and don't worry, I'll have it all taken care of. Just take your time getting there, don't rush yourself, and when you arrive, you'll get the best damn reception of your lives, courtesy of 'King' Astraka." Vanysa said sadistically.

"OK, we're going, what about you if you're not coming with us?" He asked.

"First I'll get things ready, including a person or two for an 'official hand off', then... I'm going to make sure we have what we need to throw the biggest party Hoburns has seen since the liberation." Vanysa said cryptically.

"I'll be ready." He said, "One more question though, he did all this to some poor helpless girl who'd never done anything harmful to him, what did he want her to do, that he was willing to go to such lengths with her?" He asked, baffled.

Vanysa stared into Robel's eyes with an undying merciless hatred and said, "He wanted her to betray the faith and trust of the Sorcerer King."

"He will be crushed." Robel said with equal hatred in his voice.

They traded smiles of mutual understanding, and the demoness took to the air and was gone from view shortly thereafter.

"New plan!" He shouted, "Who wants to drink the capital dry?!"

The cheers of the army warmed his heart, as they slightly altered their line of march to a longer route.