What Dragon was part of Yusei's Deck Zero Deck? If you said "Tri-Horned Dragon", you were successfully able to Name that Card!
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This chapter is kinda short, so I'm posting it early, and once it finishes, I've included a bonus.
In this story and the previous one, I've made references to a group of elemental beings known as the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. Who are they? Stay around, and you'll learn their whole story. Because when fighting the forces of Chaos, Yumi needs to know who her allies are.
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Seto Kaiba was a great duelist. Not even his rival Yugi Mouto would deny otherwise.
Having the only three copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon in the world wasn't the only thing that made him great. He was cunning, resourceful, crafty, and could think of a strategy for any situation. When one looked him in the eye while facing him, you could almost see the wheels turning.
One selfless act was all it took for a representative of Heaven to recognize his potential, and choose him as one who would protect the Mandate of Heaven, a responsibility he willingly took. He ultimately gave his life fulfilling this responsibility. His legacy fell upon his chosen heir, his nephew Siegfried.
Sadly, Siegfried made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Mandate too… But not before siring an heir of his own.
I am that heir. I may not be able to formerly claim the name Kaiba, but the blood of this duelist runs in my veins. I've tried all my life to make him proud.
I never thought I'd face a challenge for the title…
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CHAPTER FORTY
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Legacy
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"What is going on, Daala?" asked Vita. "Just who is that?"
Daala chuckled.
"So many questions…" she said, with a pleasant sigh. "Keep watching, Vita, you'll see soon enough."
Vita started to struggle against the bonds holding her.
"Give it up…" chuckled Daala. "I've used those things to hold creatures far more powerful than you."
Vita sighed, and hung her head.
Then she lifted it. A shimmering light was starting to appear in front of her.
"Just watch what's about to happen," said Daala. "You may find it amusing."
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"Hiroki, what the Hell is this?" shouted Sam. "Why are you here? And what are you doing wearing my uncle's clothes?"
"Huh?" said Ren.
Then he realized what Sam meant. Hiroki's outfit was the exact same sleeveless white coat and black shirt and trousers that Seto Kaiba had worn during Battle City.
"This guy has some nerve…" added Chelsea.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" asked Hiroki. "Introduce your friends to your brother?"
"BROTHER?" shouted Yumi, Erik, Ren, and Chelsea at once.
Sam bowed her head.
"Sam, that's impossible…" said Yumi. "Siegfried Kaiba was killed just after you were conceived… He didn't have any other children…"
Sam let out a long sigh…
"Hiroki is my half-brother…" she muttered. "His dad has custody, and they live in Hiroshima most of the time. His dad and my mom… They were old business partners…"
"It wasn't a planned pregnancy, huh?" asked Ren.
"It wasn't even a planned relationship!" yelled Sam.
She turned to Hiroki.
"Hiroki, what going on?" she asked. "We may not see each other much, but we've always shown each other a modicum of respect…"
"Yeah, well," said Hiroki. "Frankly, I was getting sick of living in your shadow."
A very fancy Disk appeared on his arm, one where each space on the Monster Zone was a curved blade.
"You were a big name in the dueling world, while I was content to stay hidden in the background… You were dueling in the finals of Duelatopia, and where was I? Watching it at home on satellite TV!"
"What did you expect, Hiroki?" shouted Sam. "You can't duel worth squat! Lord knows, I tried to teach you…"
"Well, I got a better teacher," chuckled Hiroki. "So what say we settle this right now, between brother and sister?"
"Are you mad?" asked Sam. "This is Xanadu! Do you know what happens here if you lose a duel?"
Hiroki glared at her.
"Sam, baby, no!" shouted Erik. "Don't duel him! I'm getting a very bad feeling…"
The spirit of Blockman appeared behind him.
There's something powerful in his deck, he thought, I just know it… This is what the vision I had meant…
Hiroki gestured, and a metal portcullis shut behind him, sealing the cave entrance.
"Huh?" said Sam.
"You want to get into Leichter's castle?" he asked. "I'm the only one who has the key to that gate. If Sam doesn't duel me, your trip here is going to be a big waste."
Sam sighed again. Her Disk activated.
"Fine," she said. "If that's the only way I can drive some sense into you…"
"Game on!" they both shouted.
(Sam: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Hiroki: 8,000)
"I have a bad feeling about this…" muttered Atticus.
"Ladies first, I always say," said Hiroki.
"Then I draw," said Sam.
She drew a card. She looked over the cards in her hand.
"And I end my turn."
"WHAT?" shouted Chelsea.
"Sam, are you crazy?" yelled Erik.
Hiroki laughed.
"Bad opening hand, sis?" he asked, drawing a card. "Well, I guess that can't be helped…
"I summon Kaiser Sea Horse!"
In an aura of shining light, the armored fish-man holding his spear appeared. (1,700/1,650)
"Attack her directly!"
Kaiser Sea Horse charged at Sam, and stabbed her in the torso with its spear. Sam staggered backwards.
Then she grinned evilly as she held the wound.
"Thank you…" she chuckled. "You fell right into my trap, sucker!"
She threw a card on her Disk.
"Since you attacked me when I had no cards on my side of the field, I get to Special Summon Messenger of Hades – Gors!"
A bonfire of black flame appeared on the field, and Gors stepped out, holding his nasty zanbatô aloft. (2,700/2,500)
"Erk!" gasped Hiroki.
"And his effect activates too," continued Sam. "I get to conjure up his partner, Messenger of Hades – Kaien."
In another burst of dark flames, the fallen angel appeared, garbed in her battle dress and Spartan helmet, holding two swords.
"And Kaien's Attack and Defense Scores are equal to the amount of damage I took to summon Gors."
(1,700/1,700)
"Okay, sis, I'll admit that was clever," replied Hiroki. "I have to end my turn."
(S: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 8,000)
"Seems Sam played him like a piano," laughed Ren.
"Yeah," said Atticus. "But… I wonder why Hiroki summoned Kaiser Sea Horse?"
"I'm trying hard not to think about it," replied Yumi.
"First, I draw one card," said Sam, drawing. "Then I sacrifice Kaien to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des!"
Kaien vanished into grains of light, and with an explosion of black smoke and flames, the ruler of the Underworld appeared. (2,450/1,600)
"Hmm…" he growled, looking at Hiroki.
"You said it," said Sam. "Gors, attack his Kaiser Sea Horse!"
Gors leapt at the Sea Serpent, and made a slash with his blade, smashing it to pieces.
"Ha Des, attack him directly! Stygian blast!"
Ha Des formed a ball of flames in his hands, and then hurled a steady stream of the dark fire at Hiroki. Hiroki didn't move in the least, even when it hit him.
(S: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 4,550)
"He didn't even flinch!" shouted Ren. "He just stood there like a statue!"
"Something is seriously wrong here…" added Chelsea.
"I take it it's my move?" asked Hiroki.
He drew a card. Then he took one from his hand and placed it in his Disk.
"I'll drop 800 more Life Points to play Premature Burial," he said, as he glowed with a red aura. "And since I only have one Monster in my Graveyard, you probably know what I'm summoning with it."
In another blast of light, Kaiser Sea Horse reappeared. (1,700/1,650)
"There's a legend behind this card, sis," he said. "In Japanese myth, after living for a hundred years, a seahorse turns into a dragon…"
"Wait just a minute…" started Sam.
"But in any case," continued Hiroki, "you likely know that when Kaiser Sea Horse is sacrificed to summon a Light Attribute Monster, it can count as two Monsters.
"So I'll sacrifice it…"
Kaiser Sea Horse vanished, and the sky darkened. Thunder started to rumble…
"To summon… This!"
In an explosion of energy, a Monster appeared that everyone present knew shouldn't have been there. They knew that no one, least of all Hiroki was allowed to have it…
But before their eyes, the impossible was happening.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a mighty roar. (3,000/2,500)
"No…" gasped Sam.
"Hiroki!" shouted Yumi. "What the Hell do you think you're doing! My father's edict specifically forbade those cards from ever being used again by anybody!"
Hiroki glared at Yumi.
"And what right did your father have to even make that edict?" asked Hiroki. "Those cards did not belong to him! He didn't have the right!"
"Uh, Hiroki, I hate to tell you this, but yes they did, and yes he did," replied Yumi. "Siegfried's will bequeathed the cards in his deck, the three Dragons included, to Yugi Mouto Jr. That means they were my father's legal property, and he was free to do with them as he pleased."
Hiroki glared at her angrily.
"Fine…" he snarled. "Legalities aside, he didn't have a moral right. The Blue-Eyes are too powerful for their talents to be wasted. They don't deserve to be locked up in some museum.
"And besides, this is Xanadu. Daala really doesn't care about any rules that your father sets forth.
"As for how she was able to duplicate them, usually, it's hard for her to duplicate unique cards. Her attempts to duplicate Jesse's Crystal Beasts and Aster's Destiny Heroes have thus far ended in failure.
"Fortunately, Seto Kaiba was a gloryhog who never stayed out of the public limelight for a second. Information on his cards was well-known and readily available, so downloading the information was easier. Not easy, mind you, just easier. It took months for Daala to program this deck."
He chuckled.
"Joan can duplicate the Destiny Heroes in a day… She likely could have duplicated Kaiba's Dragons in an hour. She was a fool not to."
"She had more respect, Hiroki!" shouted Yumi. "Seto and Siegfried were martyrs who died to protect the Mandate of Heaven! Using the cards that represent their souls… It's a blasphemy!"
"And I want to know why," said Sam. "WHY are you stealing my uncle's cards?"
"Because you're doing a poor job fulfilling his legacy," said Hiroki. "It's up to me now."
"YOU?" shouted Sam. "How much Kaiba blood do you have? NONE! You're my half-brother, and you aren't related to the Kaiba line at all!"
"A technicality that won't matter soon," said Hiroki. "Blue-Eyes, annihilate Gors with White Lightning!"
Blue-Eyes roared, and blasted a bolt of pure, white energy from its jaws. Gors screamed and shattered onto black shards. Sam cringed and shielded herself.
(S: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,750)
"This duel might be like my annual physical," muttered Ren. "Painful, and short."
"It's your move…" said Hiroki.
Sam's hand trembled as she drew a card.
"All right!" she shouted. "I play… Graceful Charity!"
She played the card, and quickly drew three cards.
She looked at her hand, and then discarded Opticlops and Archfiend Soldier.
"Now, I play Silent Doom, AND Monster Reborn!"
She played both Spell Cards, and the two Fiends appeared on the field, kneeling and crouching in Defense Mode. (1,800/1,700) (1,900/1,500)
"Now, I'll Special Summon Dark Queen Per Sephone."
In a burst of darkness, the fiendish beauty appeared, kneeling and shielding herself in Defense Mode. (2,200/1,200)
"And Ha Des moves into Defense Mode too."
Ha Des knelt and shielded himself.
"That's all. You may have a big, bad Monster, but you'll have to crash through my defenses before you can get to me."
Hiroki laughed as he drew a card.
"So this is how the Kaiba legacy ended up…" he muttered. "Cowering behind Monsters in Defense Mode and unable to fight back…
"And as for having to crash through your defenses, I think not…
"I play the Spell Card, Burst Stream of Destruction!"
"Oh no!" shouted Atticus. "I know about that card!"
"With at least one Blue-Eyes on the field," said Hiroki, "this card works just like Raigeki."
Blue-Eyes exhaled a mighty blast of White Lightning, and all four of Sam's Monsters were atomized.
"No…" gasped Erik. "She's completely defenseless…"
"Don't worry…" added Atticus. "Blue-Eyes can't actually attack on the round he plays that card."
"Look who knows so much," said Hiroki, playing another Spell Card. "I play the White Dragon Ritual. Now, by offering a Level Four Monster as a sacrifice, like my Vorse Raider, I can summon my Paladin of White Dragon."
Another of Seto Kaiba's trademark cards, the Dark, axe-wielding Beast-Warrior, appeared on the field. Then it vanished into grains of light.
Another Monster appeared in its place, a knight in armor, holding a lance and riding a white dragon the size of a horse. (1,900/1,200)
"Sure, my Blue-Eyes can't attack, but who cares? I have someone else who can do it.
"Attack her directly! Sonic lance!"
Paladin of White Dragon flew at Sam, and blasted a beam of pure sound from his lance, striking her in the chest. She cringed and fell over.
(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,750)
"Now I activate my Paladin's effect," said Hiroki. "I sacrifice him to summon someone else. Give you three guesses who it is…
"And the first two don't count."
Paladin vanished, and in a flash of light, a second Blue-Eyes appeared next to the first. (3,000/2,500)
"Two of them?!" shouted Ren.
"This is bad," muttered Chelsea. "I have a feeling that his deck may be an exact copy of Kaiba's deck… And as we all know, only one duelist has ever been able to beat that deck without cheating…"
Everyone looked at Yumi. She shook her head.
"My turn is over…" said Hiroki.
Sam started to sweat. She slowly drew a card.
She played it, and the Pot of Avarice appeared on her side of the field. Gors, Ha Des, Opticlops, Per Sephone, and Archfiend Soldier slipped out of her discard slot, and she reshuffled them back into her deck. She drew two cards.
"All right, Hiroki," she shouted, "I'm done playing!
"I play my own Ritual! Curse of the Masked Beast!"
The card appeared on her side of the field, and the sinister altar rose up around her.
"Now, I offer Belial, Marquis of Darkness as a sacrifice. Begone!"
The Fiend lord appeared, and was consumed by the flames. Then, the altar exploded, and the immense form of The Masked Beast appeared. (3,200/1,800)
"Go!" she shouted. "Attack the Blue-Eyes on the left!"
The Masked Beast lifted its cudgel and charged. It slammed its weapon into the massive Dragon. Blue-Eyes roared, and shattered.
"Yeah…" said Ren.
(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,550)
"So…" said Sam. "What do you say to that, dear brother?"
"I say," said Hiroki, "it's my move…"
He drew a card.
"Hmm…" he said. "I'll admit that your attempt wasn't bad… Blue-Eyes can't defeat The Masked Beast in a head-to-head battle…
"So I'm just going to have to get rid of it another way. I pay Soul Exchange!"
A Spell Card appeared.
"This Spell lets me use one of your Monsters as a sacrifice to summon one of mine. So I'll use The Masked Beast…"
Sam gasped as The Masked Beast vanished.
"Then I'll summon Different Dimension Dragon."
A new Dragon appeared on Hiroki's side of the field next to Blue-Eyes. It was a small, wispy Dragon that seemed to be sculpted out of pure light, with two sets of wings and no legs. (1,200/1,500)
Different Dimension Dragon? thought Sam. Uhm… It sounds familiar, but…
"No…" gulped Erik. "She's defenseless again…"
"Don't worry," said Atticus. "He played Soul Exchange. He can't attack at all this turn. And he has no more cards in his hand."
"He's right…" muttered Hiroki, with a shrug. "But it was the preferable option. So I guess I'll just end my turn."
Sam looked at the last card in her hand. It was The Bistro Butcher.
This guy can easily take down his Different Dimension Dragon, she thought, and I have to do so before he uses whatever nasty effect it's hiding. Clearly, a Level Five Monster with Attack Points that low has a powerful effect. But he'll get to draw two cards.
This next draw had better be my best ever…
She made a draw.
Her eyes lit up.
"I play a facedown," she said, as a facedown card appeared. "Then I summon The Bistro Butcher!"
In a burst of dark energy, the diabolic chef appeared, holding his cleaver. (1,800/1,000)
"Slay his Different Dimension Dragon!" she shouted.
The Bistro Butcher flew at the smaller Dragon, lifting his cleaver…
But when he swung, the blade passed through it as if it wasn't there.
(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 2,950)
"What?" said Sam. "It wasn't destroyed?"
"Different Dimension Dragon is able to exist simultaneously in our dimension and the Different Dimension," said Hiroki. "As a result, it's hard to hurt. Monsters can't destroy it unless they have more than 1,900 Attack Points, and it can't be destroyed by card effects that don't specifically target a Monster.
"However… Since I still took damage, I get to draw two cards due to your Butcher's effect…"
He made two draws.
"And since you're the one with no cards left to play now, it's my move…"
He drew a third card.
"I summon Kaibaman," he said.
"NO!" shouted Sam.
Before Sam's unbelieving eyes, it happened. The Monster that her uncle had designed himself appeared… The one modeled to look just like him, wearing a helmet shaped like the head of the Blue-Eyes. (200/700)
"You have some nerve, Hiroki…" growled Yumi.
"I'll take that as a compliment," said Hiroki. "Anyway, he won't be staying long… Because by using his effect, I can sacrifice him to summon his servant…"
Kaibaman vanished.
"You see, Sam, as Chels already guessed, I copied your uncle's deck perfectly, so I have three copies of Blue-Eyes!"
The third Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared. (3,000/2,500)
"Seems all you have protecting you is that facedown card," he continued.
He took the last card in his hand.
"I don't like it, so I'm getting rid of it…
"I play Stamping Destruction!"
He played the card, and one of the two huge Dragons slammed its foot down. A shockwave tore across the field, and Sam's Bark of Dark Ruler was blown to pieces.
No… thought Erik, as he watched with terror. The Monster I couldn't see in the vision that she took the attack from… It was that thing…
"Blue-Eyes number one," ordered Hiroki, "annihilate The Bistro Butcher!"
The Blue-Eyes blasted its mighty breath, and the Fiend was blown to particles.
"Second Blue-Eyes, attack directly! White Lightning!"
The second Blue-Eyes blasted its breath directly at Sam, and she screamed…
She fell to her knees.
(S: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 2,950)
"SAM!" screamed Erik. "Sam baby, no!"
Sam looked up, and started to sweat. Smoke rose from her body.
"Sorry, baby…" she gasped. "I guess this is as far as I go…"
She started to fade.
"Give Daala a good one for me, huh?"
Erik ran up to her, but she vanished into globules of light before he made it to her.
"She… she lost…" gasped Yumi.
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Daala chuckled.
"Part one is complete," she said, getting up. "Well, Vita, what do you think of…"
Then she was surprised to see that Vita was gone. The Holding Arms and Holding Legs were lying on the floor, along with a card.
She picked it up.
"Mesmeric Control?" she muttered, looking at. "It must have put those two restraints to sleep…
"But Vita couldn't have played it herself, her hands were bound… Some ally of hers must have gotten past my defenses and done it…"
She thought for a minute.
"I'll worry about it later… We have to continue the current plan. Hiroki's job isn't quite done, and I have to see if Leichter got the process right…
"We can't screw up this time…"
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"I'm gonna kill you, Hiroki!" screamed Erik.
"And I'm gonna kill you again when he's done!" shouted Yumi.
Hiroki sighed, and crossed his arms.
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," he muttered. "You folks had best stop threatening me and start listening to me. Your girlfriend is a prisoner, Erik… If you ever want her back, you'll do what I say."
Erik stopped short.
"Want her back?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" asked Atticus. "Daala has never been willing to release a prisoner for any terms…"
"We've never had one that we could use as a bargaining chip," replied Hiroki.
He pointed to the fortress above him.
"Sam is up there, and let me tell you, she isn't very happy. However… You ever hear of a little thing done in times of war called prisoner exchange?"
"Huh?" said Atticus. "You want to trade Sam?"
Hiroki nodded.
"For who?" said Atticus with a scowl. "Joan doesn't have any prisoners! Any members of Daala's army who are taken prisoner turn into defectors once Joan shows them a mere glimpse of her side. That should tell you people something, you know?"
"It's not who Daala wants to trade for," said Hiroki. "It's what."
The gate behind him opened.
"If the four of you will just follow me, Leichter will conduct the negotiation with you in a more proper setting."
Atticus sighed.
"We'd better do it guys," he said.
"I said, the four of you," repeated Hiroki. "The Big Kahuna is certainly not welcome."
Atticus glared at him.
"Hiroki…" he said, in a cheery voice, "tell me something… Have you ever seen me angry?"
"Frankly, no," said Hiroki. "I don't think it's possible for you to get angry."
"Oh, it's possible for me to get angry," chuckled Atticus. "It simply takes a LOT to get me angry.
"And when I am angry, it's not a pretty sight…
"You, my friend, are getting very close to reaching the precipice where that might happen…"
"Nonetheless," sighed Hiroki, "you stay outside."
"You'd better wait out here," whispered Yumi to Atticus. "If there's any chance to save Sam, it depends on doing what he says for now."
"Don't tell me you actually trust Daala," replied Atticus.
"No, frankly I don't," said Yumi. "But we can't abandon Sam if we can help it."
"All right…" he replied. "But I don't like it…"
He watched as the four of them followed Hiroki into the cavern.
"I don't like it at all…"
Then he dodged out of the way, just as a ball of flame shot at him from behind. The fireball burst on a rocky ledge next to him.
"Like this is a surprise…" he growled.
He got up, and looked at the assailant. It was a woman dressed in a blue toga, golden jewelry, a headband, bracelets, and tattoos on her arms, with an exotic hairstyle dyed white.
"Hello, Atticus," purred the Lady Assailant of Flames with a sweet smile. "Remember me?"
"Yeah," said Atticus, "just like I remember having my wisdom teeth taken out."
His Duel Disk activated.
"You want a fight, bitch? I'm just in the mood for it…"
The Assailant smiled sweetly and activated her own Disk.
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"JOAN!" screamed Sheena. "You gotta do something! My baby is in the hands of that madman, and she might…"
"Calm down, Sheena, calm down…" said Joan.
She was working the controls of the special mainframe inside the temple.
"Ms. Arachne…" she said. "As hard as you may find this to believe, there may yet be a silver lining in this dark cloud."
"What do you mean?" shouted Sheena. "One of my children has been captured, and another one has turned traitor! Why would Hiroki do this to us?"
"I can't speak for Hiroki," muttered Joan. "But listen carefully…
"We know for a fact that the Realm Lord of the Flaming Peaks is Leichter now, as Hiroki freely admitted it.
"Now, for some unknown reason, Samantha has neither been moved to Daala's regular prison, or to wherever Leichter keeps his own prisoners. She's being kept in some restraining device right in the middle of Leichter's control room, where his own mainframe is kept. Since Sam is not being kept under the same security as most prisoners, I can still keep tabs on her. For now."
"So?" shouted Sheena.
"I think I can use her as a beacon of sorts," said Joan. "Use her as a focus… To sabotage Leichter's computer, and from there, Daala's whole network.
"Remember when I said that in order to get a message to Domino, we needed to create an opening in Daala's system? A blind spot? Well, this may be our means to create a huge one."
Sheena paused.
"How will that help Sam?" she muttered.
"Yumi and the others will have to do their best to help Sam, Sheena," said Joan. "We'll just have to pray that they are able to do so before Sam is moved somewhere where she cannot be reached. Hiroki claims he wants to conduct a prisoner trade, but Daala has never complied with the Rules of Engagement before, and I doubt she intends to now.
"For now… Sam's loss will not be in vain. You must try hard to work through your tears. I'll attempt to use Sam to sabotage Daala's system…
"And when I give the word that I've succeeded, you must be ready to make an attempt to breach Daala's barrier and get a message to your allies. If Daala's invasion takes Domino by surprise, many others may suffer the same fate Sam is facing now…"
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I know, this was a short chapter. So next chapter, I'll just have to make up for it with a long one.
Coming up next, as Yumi and company confront Leichter, the deadliest member of the Big Five, they finally learn the reason why Daala forced them to come to Xanadu. Leichter forces Erik to make a choice, dropping all curtains of deceit and secrecy. Now it's time to tell the truth. What is the mysterious Key?
Oh, and Nicholas and Olga might show up again too.
It's all coming up in a chapter called "The Key", coming soon.
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The Legend of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa
The following story is told in The Book of Origins: A History of Planar Races. One copy is known to be in the library of Meltiel, Sage of the Sky.
Long ago, before Shogarr was powerful enough to be the threat that he is now, the Abyss was ruled by his race, a type of demon called the Obyriths. Unlike modern demons, obyriths were chaotic first and evil second, and had forms so seeped in Chaos that no mortal could look upon them without being driven mad.
The most powerful obyrith of the time was the Elder Evil known as the Queen of Chaos. Like Shogarr would one day plan, she yearned to flood the universe in endless Chaos. So she set about building an army. She recruited most of the other obyrith lords to this cause. Some of them refused, and when they did, the Queen forcibly recruited them or killed them. Obox-ob, who then held the title of Prince of Demons, was one who refused. The Queen killed him personally, and bestowed his title on her consort, Miska the Wolf Spider.
Shogarr, not yet known as the Dread Emperor, was another who refused. But his power was great, even in that ancient time, so the Queen decided to leave him alone and not waste her energy in a battle that would weaken her.
The Queen decided to take a different approach than Shogarr eventually would. She would wage war against the mightiest representations of Law in the universe, hoping to prove the superiority of Chaos. And her first target was the then-numerous race of elemental beings called the Vaati, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa.
At this time, the Vaati ruled a vast empire that spanned many dimensions, which was governed by the power of Law, and their population numbered in the millions. They lived in cities that formed perfectly symmetrical streets, with buildings constructed in perfect shapes. Nowhere in the universe was Law closer to perfect than it was in the lands of the Vaati… It is with little wonder that the Queen of Chaos chose them as her first target.
The armies of the Abyss took the Wind Dukes by surprise, and swept like a dark tide over their lands. The Vaati were mostly pacifistic by nature, and had few warriors. Those that they had tried to fight back, but they were no match for the near-infinite hordes. One by one, their cities fell in ruins, and they were slaughtered by the hundreds… Then by the thousands… The air was full of their screams and the Queen's wicked laugh.
After a year of this onslaught, the unfortunate Vaati were close to extinction. The survivors fled to their ancestral birthplace, the sacred Vale of the Aaqa. They knew it was pointless. The armies of Chaos would quickly overrun it as well.
They wept… And then they prayed. They called to the sky, begging the gods above for aid…
And apparently, some divine force took pity, because their prayers were answered… At the exact same time, knowledge was implanted in the heads of seven of them, seven Vaati craftsmen.
Hardly knowing what they were building, they hammered metal into shape in seven forges. Seven short rods were the result. As the metal was tempered, the energy of the spirits of the survivors infused the seven artifacts, enchanting them with the defining moral concept that the race was so dedicated to. And when all seven of them were brought together in one place, all seven fused together, forming one long rod…
The ultimate weapon of Law… The Rod of Seven Parts.
Handing the weapon to the greatest Vaati warrior who had survived, they waited as the Queen's army came to invade the Vale, ready to stand for the last time. But as she did, the battle went differently then before. The warrior held aloft the Rod of Seven Parts, and its incredible light burned the flesh of chaotic spawn.
With the surviving Vaati strengthened by its light, they found strength they never knew they had, and cut through the hordes without mercy. Miska the Wolf Spider tried to rally the demonic troops, and the warrior faced the Prince of Demons, and struck his head clean off with one blow from the Rod.
Finally, he faced the enraged Queen of Chaos herself, even as her army was fleeing in fear. The fight was long and brutal, but finally, the Elder Evil was impaled by the weapon, and was no more.
The Rod of Seven Parts was broken into its component pieces in this last act, the pieces scattering to the far corners of the universe. Since then, many have claimed to have found one or even two of the pieces of this great weapon of Law, but it has not been whole since.
When Shogarr learned that his people had been decimated, he knew that his decision to reject the Queen had been the right one. And he vowed never to make the same mistakes she had made…
The Vaati were victorious, but at terrible cost. While they had once numbered in the millions, their race could now be counted in the hundreds. But they now had a new purpose: They would end their pacifistic ways, and become stronger… They would become hardier. And they would fight the forces of the Abyss wherever they showed their vile heads.
The Vaati are immortal as a race. The typical Vaati is over 5,000 years old, and most are much older than that. But their birth rate is incredibly low, with a child being born perhaps once or twice every century. Sadly, their race will likely never recover from the Queen's attempted genocide.
The Vale of the Aaqa is hard to find, and even harder to enter. Once inside, a visitor will find a virtual paradise, with manicured fields and gardens, and stately pavilions surrounded by exquisite rock gardens. In the entire valley, there is not a single blade of grass or leaf out of place. The valley could easily support ten times more Vaati than currently reside there, and most of the pavilions stand empty.
To most observers, the Vaati seem stiff and over-concerned with formalities. They are excruciatingly regular in their routines and they have rules governing every aspect of life. They are quick to criticize any lapse in etiquette. Other beings of Law often admire them, but others find them annoying.
Still, even one who finds them the most annoying would rather have them on his side when facing the demons of the Abyss. Since the great battle where the Queen of Chaos was slain, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa have become one of the most powerful forces of Law ever to take arms. Until the war between Law and Chaos has a definite victor, they likely will continue, never forgetting how the forces of Chaos once desired their extinction. As immortal creatures, their memories are long.
And in their free time, they endlessly search for news and information on the whereabouts of the seven pieces of the weapon that they used to defeat their enemy. They know that if the Rod of Seven Parts were ever made whole again, whoever used it might be able to turn the tables completely, and tip the balance of the universe towards Law. Possibly, because a universe dominated by Law would likely be as unpleasant as one dominated by Chaos, the weapon was made fragile on purpose, and cannot be reassembled. Still, the Rod of Seven Parts serves as a symbol of the race's power, even if it must remain a symbolic one.
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Name that Card!
Level Four Monsters with 2,000 Attack Points (or more) and some sort of liability have been around for a long time. This Monster was the first. Can you name it?