CHAPTER V: EMERGENCE
At that time, Baphomet gathered some of the Gatekeepers and sent them to fulfill a special task: they were to design and build a great technological facility above a natural fissure in the crust of Hell. Maybe it was for this reason that this factory was named "The Chasm." You remember it, marine. There were many times you nearly fell from those treacherous thin walkways...
I was not among those who were building it. A few of the other Gatekeepers and many of the Hell Knights and the Barons of Hell were engaged in the assimilation of the stolen technology, and the construction of the site. I also knew that there would be immense feasts and pride with the memorable victory, but I could not be there. I had a more important mission, a mission that will intrigue you greatly.
It was at that time that a primitive civilization emerged. That civilization played a crucial role in the history of Hell and you know very well who they were.
The humans.
Your appearance in the Universe was expected and the result of many events from a very distant past. Unexpectedly and quickly, your people started developing their primitive society, and formed the first real empires on the face of your planet.
At that time, you had several mighty civilizations scattered throughout your continents. The one that caught our attention was an ancient people that inhabited... uh... South America is it? Yes, their name was the... hmmm, I never really learned it, human names are not that important to me. Those people had an inclination towards the worshipping of demons and their infernal home. My mission was to visit them, in corporal form, and ultimately bring corruption and darkness unto them. My first special assignment. So Baphomet morphed me and cast me down into your young world.
I had the freedom of exploring your species and learning of your strengths and weaknesses. Your civilization was at a low stage in those years, and I knew that I could easily make you obedient through the demonstration of power. Intimidation and rewards for the loyal would be the perfect tool for me to manipulate the primitives, and having these thoughts in mind, I entered your world, seeking to meet them.
Those ancient people were not quite polite with me at first, but soon they were afraid of me, after I demonstrated my power by burning one of them alive. Their High Priest realized that I was the "Promised One" – the emissary from Hell that would have to come and give them great knowledge and the dark power. Thus I set on to give them evil knowledge.
I taught those helpless people many things. Necromancy, human sacrifices, demon summoning, mutilation of the flesh, corruption of the soul and more... They devoured everything with surprising joy and naïveté, falling deeper into the darkness that I had prepared for them. By their help, we now had a steady flow of evil human souls that were to be Hell's greatest asset. I was the ruler of those people together with a chosen council of the most powerful necromancers. It was them that created the first of the new type of Hell soldier – the Former Human. Those undead servants were relentless warriors, and we could raise even more from the bodies of our slain victims. It was an age so dark, and your tiny–brained historians suspect nothing about it. And if they knew, they would wish they never found out about it – humans do not accept easily the thought that they had been manipulated by greater beings from the Beyond.
Under my guidance, those ancient people were to build the greatest outpost of Hell's power on Earth – the Temple of Darkness, the same temple you passed through yesterday before you encountered me. A great temple of black marble it was – surrounded by fortifications of bone and flesh. And the trench around those fortifications was filled with human blood – preserved fresh by my powerful spells that stay even today (the meat was still juicy, was it not?). It was in this temple that I conducted my experiments, and created the Blur Orb – the artifact that allowed you to become partially invisible when you used it. Yes, that same Blur Orb... Baphomet was excessively pleased with my discovery and gave me even more power as he saw the strength of my loyalty. Artifacts and arcane knowledge were gathered and stored in the Temple, the city around it grew, and more people came to bow before me, and Hell's darkness, every day.
The Temple of Darkness itself was a huge compound of buildings, a tower and a huge underground network of crypts and caverns where I stored the infernal artifacts I had brought with me, and kept archives of many secret dark things that would remain, waiting for the day demons would return and conquer the planet. That temple was the foundation of something greater that would be built in the future – the coming age of chaos of purification that would change existence itself forever. The ornamentation of the temples was something unseen on your planet and filled all who would see it with awe and admiration.
The great cities and dark temples that we built instilled fear and reverence in the ignorant human tribes. They told tales of powerful magi and the deadly spells that they could wield to raise the dead and send them to battle against the innocent villages, many of which were already in ruins. The jungle itself, as if infected by a foul force, was spreading and consuming all traces of human civilization in its path. The rumors of a creature "from beyond" that ruled that evil empire kept the locals from attempting anything against us. I enjoyed inspiring fear in the primitive humans and made sure the darkest rumors were carefully distributed all over the continent. Still, there were many adventurous fools who tried to sneak into the Temple of Darkness and witness its secrets – those individuals were slain by the fanatical sentries who kept vigil over the dark tunnels.
This age of darkness lasted for long... but it came to an abrupt end. Powerful tribes from across the ocean, the Atlanteans I think, came to challenge us. There was always something strange about those humans – it was after a long time that I found out what it was. I will tell you when the time comes... For now, I will only describe them and their peculiarities. They had mastered the use of potent magic that was unknown to me. They also had powerful devices and the support of mighty battle beasts. They wanted to conquer all of the Earth and rule it. Your scientists know nothing about this? What kind of useless science do you, humans, have? I always thought you had the passion to delve in your past and study it, yet your knowledge about it is erroneous and incomplete.
War broke out. Terrible battles that lasted for years. Both sides lost much and the land was ravaged, torn asunder... it had to come to an end – Baphomet's will was that Hell's influence on the Earth remained secret. Still He wished to destroy those Atlanteans as they sought to rival the power of Hell itself. Thus my Lord gave me instructions. Instructions for a powerful spell of destruction... The spell's nature will remain hidden to you, human, but the result – it is obvious. Atlantis was destroyed and forever lost under the ocean – the end of a whole chapter in human history.
I was exhausted. Baphomet felt this and decided that we had enough knowledge of the Earth already. And the flow of vile souls was steady... So I left your world. I summoned demons to eradicate all who knew me – the tribe that I ruled. Their cities were destroyed, the Temple of Darkness buried deep under the soil. The necromancers' bodies were locked away in a secret tomb – you passed through this tomb early in your quest to find me. We locked them in the tomb so that one day, should I return, their power could be used for Hell's purposes.
I returned to Hell, where Baphomet gave a week–long feast in my honor. He was pleased with what I had done and gave me rest – a long "vacation" I spent in Inferno, contemplating on what I had done... I was glad that I had the opportunity to learn much about the nature of humans – about their fears, strengths and weaknesses, abilities, and ways to be manipulated. I got excellent experience as a ruler and overlord of armies that brought me many victories and loot. My confidence in myself was stronger than ever, and my brethren looked at me with growing respect.
Ah, you wanted to know more about the technology – yes, when I returned to Hell, the Chasm was already complete. And now I will tell you all about what was produced inside...