My great thanks to TodaBruh, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
Glyu-Uno, homeworld of the Dragon species, the Emerald Dream.
Ysera, newly blessed leader of the green Dragonflight, stared at her army on the march with grim determination, if slightly undercut by the heavy thoughts weighing upon her mind.
The blessing she received was something that she was still marveling at, her connection to the Dreamlands and nature stronger than it ever was before. She felt stronger than ever before, her eyes glowing with the spark of divine might given to her.
Of course, that blessing was not given without due cause. The evil that threatened her people, indeed all of dragon kind, was strong and cunning. The lesser Demon Lord Xavius, once subordinate to the Demon Lord Baphomet (before his recent True Death at the hands of the Commander of the Fifth Crusade in distant stars) was by no means less powerful than before his Lord' death. If anything, the ensuing power vacuum in the ranks of the Abyssal armies had allowed him to seize even more power for himself.
And now, those legions were all aimed right at her people. Thousands upon thousands of demons and cultists, gathered under one monstrous banner in the name of evil and cruelty.
Her new blessing, along with the information given to her by her new gods, let her feel the growing might of demonic power from the Emerald Nightmare, along with all of their plots.
Sacred grove under threats of corruption, assassination teams against powerful druids and members of her Dragonflights, and much, much more… she knew of it all, now.
She already had to dispatch hundreds of her best teams to various locations to counter the plots she had been made aware of, to say nothing of having to deal with hidden spies and traitors amongst her people.
Starting a military campaign of this scale by a purge of her own ranks left a bitter taste in her mouth, but better the rot be removed before it can be turned into a dagger aimed at her back.
It was hardly like the Lord of the Emerald Nightmare didn't know they were coming. Even with the unexpected help she had received, hiding the Green Dragonflight marching to war would be all but impossible.
Though that didn't mean they couldn't make it as hard as possible on the other side to know what exactly was headed their way.
"Lady Ysera."
Speaking of… "Report."
The pale-skinned humanoid woman who suddenly appeared, looking somehow both inhumanly beautiful and yet intrinsically disturbing to her eyes, with a helmet covering the upper half of her face, hiding her eyes (if she even had any) from view, bowed her head slightly in respect towards her… though it was a shallow bow, as they were allies, nothing more. Ysera had no illusion that only the will of Azathoth and her new King had moved this woman and her people to their help.
"My battle-sisters have successfully slaughtered the demonic patrol guarding the entrances of the Emerald Nightmare. We are free to proceed, Lady Ysera."
"Good. Keep up the good work, and keep me updated about your progress about the next set of objectives." Ysera replied with grim satisfaction.
"As you wish, my Lady."
Another shallow bow later, the woman disappeared from her view entirely. Ysera tried to not let the fact that the only reason that she could track the woman at all was her new blessing, otherwise she would be utterly blind to the woman's movements… Or, for that matter, utterly blind to the squad of her fellow battle-sisters hiding masterfully nearby, keeping an eye out for any demonic assassins and tractors who might try to kill Ysera.
As it turns out, the personal spies and assassins of Lady Azathoth herself were very, very good at what they did. Which was to be expected, true, but it was one thing to intellectually understand it, another to see the truth of it with one's own eyes.
"I have to admit, when Lord Aeon said he would give us help, I didn't expect it to be quite so spectacular."
Ysera glanced at her daughter, Merithra, who was staring with no small amount of awe at the other two additional allies they had been gifted with:
Gugurshaguastghuug, Dog of the Goatswood of a distant world, servant of the Mother of a Thousand Youngs, perfectly hid amongst the cover of the deep forest they were in. The only reason they knew where he was at all time was a spell casted upon him which would let them see him, in order to actually be able to coordinate their effort.
And then, not far from Ysera and her group, the Elder Goddess Thaghhu'una, She Who Rides, looking much like a female centaur wielding a bow and arrows, stood head and shoulders above most of the people present. Her eyes darted around, always at the ready to deliver death in a blink of an eye in the case that demons tried to ambush the moving army on the march.
So far, it had not proven necessary, the terrifyingly skilled spies and assassins of Lady Azathoth easily slaughtering everything in their path, but Ysera had no doubt that the moment a demon appeared, they would die less than a blink of an eye later.
The Goddess exuded a sense of primal danger that sent shivers down Ysera's back, the instinctive knowledge that this being could easily kill you if she were to ever consider you a worthy prey.
Her bow and arrows glowed a bright purple, magic so thick as to be an almost physical force coming from both bow and arrows. Ysera had yet to see her use them, but just by the feel of it, any arrow shot at a target would all but easily obliterate whatever stood in its way.
Ysera didn't know much about the goddess, though by what she was able to gather, there was no worry about the goddess finding it beneath her to help her people. If anything, she had seemed downright eager to test her might and skill against the Demon Lord Xavius.
Though honestly, even had she been an arrogant, cold-hearted monster, Ysera would still have gladly welcomed an Elder Goddess on this campaign. She would have to be a fool to not make use of a literal deity's might against the Abyss.
"Halt." the goddess suddenly spoke, her voice so sharp and full of authority that even Ysera froze in place instantly. "We have arrived at the borders of the Emerald Nightmare… and we are being watched."
"Indeed, my lady, though we mean you no harm."
Ysera blinked at the sight of the three dozen cats who appeared from behind various trees, the oldest amongst them stepping forward to bow at them all. "Greetings. I am Purrr-Brightly, and my clan and I welcome you, and wish to offer our well-wishes on your campaign. We have helped the agents of the Great Sultana, praise be her name, to discover and kill the patrolling demons. Beware however, for the land taken over by the Emerald Nightmare has a mind of its own, and it will not welcome you and your people peacefully."
"We thank you for the concern, noble hunter." The Elder Goddess replied, nodding respectfully at the old cat. "Still, our duty is clear, and the hunt must go on. We will venture forward, no matter the dangers ahead. If you have any information that you can share with us about our hunting grounds, we will gladly welcome it."
Purr-Brightly seemed amused. "We have rarely deigned to hunt demons, for while they are amusing preys, their taste is… vile." a few hisses and grumbles echoed from the other cats, muttering about "Bad food not even having the decency to taste good." and "tasty rats much better than foul-smelling demons."
The matriarch's tail waved once angrily at the others speaking, and all the other cats promptly fell silent.
"Still, their hubris has to occasionally be kept in check." She huffed, smug condescension dripping from her voice. "Those blood-soaked demons who dare think themselves hunters believe they are greater than us. Us!" she hissed angrily, the other cats hissing insults in the background about "dumb demons not knowing how to give proper worship. And tasty fish."
Tilting her head upwards, the matriarch's tone returned to smug condescension.
"So naturally, we fully approve of you all coming to rid these lands of those fools." she sniffed haughtily. "I wouldn't even give them the honor of feeding me a juicy fish. Not unless they appropriately grovel for a few hours first."
"Juicy…" "fish!" muttered two cats in the background, a second before the matriarch's tail cut through the air angrily once more, and two dull smacking sounds followed by twin yowls echoed.
The Elder Goddess didn't even blink at the entire speech, and instead merely smiled. "Of course. Fear not, I will point out good hunting grounds for both fishes and rats in rewards for your help once our own hunt is over."
The cats froze, even the matriarch's tail freezing in place for a second.
"Juicy rats…" muttered one cat. "Fish. Smelly, tasty, fishes…"
"Yes, tasty, tasty food…" hungrily purred the matriarch, her eyes glowing for a second. "Fatty rats and delicious, wondrous fishes, I can almost taste them already-" she froze, staring at the gathered people before them with a quick flash of panic before she straightened and tried to regain her air of authority from before.
The way her tail was waving in the air in clear hungry anticipation and happiness kind of doomed her attempts to failure, though.
"That is to say, your tribute is acceptable. My clan and I will eagerly look forward to the tasty fishes- I mean, the news of your victory. Obviously." she declared, looking smug once more.
"Of course. If you would excuse us, we shall go on our hunt. I shall come to uphold my words as soon as I am able, noble hunters." respectfully said the Elder Goddess, and the matriarch nodded magnanimously.
"Very well. Go then, and teach these demons about respecting their betters." the matriarch sniffed haughtily. "They don't even have furrs, the wretched things." shaking her head, the matriarch left, followed by the rest of her people, muttering hungrily about all the tasty food they were going to hunt.
Ysera and her daughter stared at them, before glancing at each other.
"Cats." Ysera with amusement.
"Cats." agreed her daughter with just as much amusement.
Honestly, sometimes it was hard to remember that they were one of the most terrifying species in the entirety of the Dreamlands, each of them able to devour the souls of most eldritch beings in existence besides the very gods themselves…
Merithra, daughter of Ysera, leader of the Green Dragonflight, kept a watchful eye on their surroundings as their army went deeper into the Emerald Nightmare.
Despite herself, she still couldn't help but glance at her mother from time to time. She had always felt like her mother was a larger than life figure, glowing with life and authority… but in the past, she wasn't literally glowing.
Now, she very much was. Her soul shone to her senses like a burning star in the dark, pushing away some of the corruption of this foul place without even trying. The Dreamlands, even as corrupted as they were here, seemed to almost bow before her, the ground evening out and roots sinking into the soil to allow easier passage to her mother.
The lands of the Emerald nightmare were full of deadly, corrupted plants and animals, made bloodthirsty by the Abyssal corruption running rampant here, and yet neither corrupted fauna or flora dared try anything anywhere near her mother. As Ysera led the front of the army, it meant that their path forward was shockingly peaceful so far… at least for the frontline.
Reports made it clear the center of the army, and especially the rearguard, were under constant attacks by the corrupted land and its inhabitants, but the total lack of attacks on the frontline meant that they could afford to reinforce the rest of the army by taking away champions from the front.
Of course, it could all be a trap meant to weaken the front before hitting it with a hammer blow, but Merithra doubted it. Not when she could feel the light of her mother's soul soothe the land and purge corruption with every step she took.
"They won't let us keep moving forward like this for long. We're moving quickly towards the center of power of the Demon Lord, he can't afford to face us at our strongest." warned her mother, her new glowing eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Merithra nodded. From what she knew, the original plan of the demons involved making use of subtle corruption to cause chaos amongst their forces and territories. With that plan crushed by the intelligence given to them by Lord Aeon, and with the God's presence blocking off reinforcements from the Abyss, the Demon Lord of the Emerald Nightmare was now on the backfoot… and with the blessing her mother received proving its worth already, the demons had to-
She paused, as did her mother, at the sight of a blue butterfly coming closer to them.
In a land of twisted trees, darkened soil glowing with red Abyssal corruption, and a sky covered in dark clouds, the sight of the brightly coloured butterfly was unexpected, to say the least.
And more importantly… Merithra and her mother recognized what it was… and who it belonged to.
Merithra gasped. "That's-!"
"The butterfly goddess… Lady Desna." muttered Ysera, her eyes glowing brighter as she looked at the messenger from the Heavenly goddess.
Raising a hand, her mother stared at the glowing blue butterfly as it came to a stop on one finger, before tilting her head slightly, as if listening to a voice.
Then her expression hardened, and she nodded at the butterfly, who took off and began flying around Ysera instead.
"Mother?" asked Merithra.
"The Demon Lord Xavius has negotiated the help of various monsters from the Dreamlands, in order to try and get around the lack of reinforcements from the Abyss." her mother explained with a grim look, before a spark of cold satisfaction burned in her eyes. "However, Lady Desna intervened, and now those reinforcements are bogged down in fighting off attacks from her followers. We've got half a day, more or less, before the demon lord's reinforcements actually join him."
Merithra pursed her lips, thinking deeply.
"Half a day isn't much… though it might also be all the time we need to win." she sighed. "It depends on the battle ahead."
Her mother put her right hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently, but firmly. "We will win, my daughter. Have faith, for we are more ready to triumph over the Emerald Nightmare than ever before. Now, more than ever, we must strike, and hold nothing back."
Looking up into the glowing eyes of her mother, shining with unyielding determination and the absolute belief in their victory, Merithra smiled and stood tall.
"I understand. I will make you proud, mother."
Ysera's stern expression melted into a loving, gentle one. "You always have, Merithra. You always have."
Her cheeks darkening and the tips of her long ears waging slightly in happiness, Merithra looked away, trying to appear the confident Heir to the Dragonflight that she was supposed to be.
The sound of her mother chuckling in amusement didn't exactly make it easy, though.
Then her mother's head turned sharply towards the distance, her expression immediately hardening again.
"They're coming." Her mother's voice echoed with power as a quick spell made it carry across the entire army, who stiffened for a second before training took over and they all began to march forward, beginning the lengthy process of taking battle formation.
Merithra and her mother exchanged a look conveying a thousand words and emotions in face of the battle to come, before shape-shifting into their true dragon forms and taking flight.
There, in the distance, a great dark mass was coming forward, stalking on the ground as much as it was flying through the air. The legions of the Demon Lord Xavius were finally coming to offer battle, thousands upon thousands of demons howling and screeching and cackling malevolently as they sought to feast on flesh and souls alike.
Behind Merithra and her mother, more and more green dragons took flight, ready to finally go to war and exterminate the blight upon the Dreamlands of their world once and for all.
On the ground, Druids and Treants stood side by side with more mortal soldiers, armors gleaming as they readied swords, spears, magic staffs and more.
Neither army had tanks, planes or even artillery. In the Dreamlands, trying to use such technologies tended to cause spirits of fire, metal and more to show up by the hundreds and cause havoc, as much on your own side as it did on the enemy side.
So instead, magic and the power of nature and Dreams were what was weaponized when war came, and one look at the opening moves of both sides showed that. Instead of focusing on the offense, the first thing both armies did was warp the terrain to their preferences.
On the side of the Green Dragonflight, a thick, healthy forest bursted from the ground thanks to the will of countless druids, unnaturally green flora spreading out all around the army and beyond, the very air becoming heavy with the scent of countless flowers. A crystal clear river came out of the ground on their right, the waters ready to turn deadly and drown any demons that might try to flank their forces by that side.
On the side of the demons, dark, twisted trees and roots came out of the ground instead, deadly poisonous and sharp red thorns longer than some swords covering the trees, ready to be set flying with terrifying speed and accuracy at the mortals facing them. The flowers were all either poisonous or carnivorous, some of them growing big enough to potentially try and eat dragons, so massive they were. On the side facing the new river, a similar river was made, except for lava instead of water. Both rivers met in the middle of the battlefield, steam rising as magically empowered water fought a war of its own against demonically tainted lava.
For a long moment, neither side truly made the first move. Both armies instead took positions, erected wooden fortifications, built defenses and traps, while druids fought demonic magic users and divine priests fought unholy ones as the energies of purified nature fought demonic corruption. At the center of the battlefield, where both magic fought for supremacy, a war was waged between plants controlled by the druids, and the ones controlled by the demons and corrupted mortals. Trees, roots and flowers came out of the grounds at seemingly every second, nature unleashing its fury upon itself as deadly thorns were sent flying back and forth, the poison in them potent enough to melt even the most powerful corrupted or magically empowered trees.
Entire areas turned into ever-shifting masses of roots, both corrupted and not, fighting in a never-ending war of conquest over the other. It was a war fought by the sharpness of the thorns, the deadliness of the poison, the toughness of the roots, and the sheer creativity and power of the mages, druids, demons and unholy priests controlling the entire raging mess.
The Elder Goddess who joined the Green Dragonflight on their battle stood, unmoving as a statue, upon a ridge from one of the fortifications created by the druids. Her sharp eyes were the only thing moving, her gaze easily discerning valuable targets despite the distance between both armies as she mentally cataloged army commanders and powerful demons for swift elimination.
Nearby, the leaders of the mortal forces of the Green Dragonflight barked orders, message spells created at seemingly every second to send orders or receive updates about the deployment of the army. A woman by the name of Tyrande stood by the side of a druid named Malfurion, their faces locked in grim expressions of determination.
On the other side, Demon Lord Xavius stood surrounded by his servants, most of them demons, though there were also representatives of the mortal followers of the Dark Gods of the Abyss. Two of the demons were even children of the late Demon Lord Baphomet, who had thrown their lot behind Xavius out of personal ambition, believing that there was great power to be gathered from taking over the Dreamlands of this world. The Demon Lord himself stood tall, the space around him crackling with raw, demonic power… Far in excess from what the Green Dragonflight was used to in their enemy. It took only a moment for the leaders of the Dragons to understand the grim reason for why he was holding so much power: If the Goddess of the Abyss couldn't send demonic reinforcements, she could still empower what champions she had on-world… As was obviously the case here.
And there was no doubt that the Demon Lord had received a boost in power. His mere presence was glowing like a red star of pure malice, hatred and might to the senses of all attuned to the spiritual and magical, a baleful star of pure evil that sought to twist and corrupt the entire world. The area around him rippled unnaturally from the raw magic he casually released, his every breath sending clouds of Abyssal corruption deadly to any mortal into the air. His red eyes glowed with power enough to twist the very fabric of Reality at will, and a single look at him was enough to make it clear that, despite the set-backs the Abyss had received by the intervention of the new God-king of the Eldritch, the dark ruler of the Abyss was not going to admit defeat without using every tricks she could think of to pull off a win. As it was, while the Demon Lord was not on the level of an Eldritch deity, he was far closer to it than he had ever been, a testament to Queen Slann's desire to achieve victory in this war, no matter the cost.
The armies of the Demon Lord were constituted of literal nightmares formed by the corrupted Dreamlands, mortal cultists of the Abyss and its Gods, and demons that he had, through persuasion or coercion, convinced to take up arms under his banner.
There were even several regiments of Abyssal Crusaders, made of mortals and demons alike who had sworn an oath to spend the rest of their existence waging war upon the realms outside the Abyss in the name of its glory. Hardened warriors, they were unusually disciplined by the standards of the Abyss, and tended to be the last to retreat even in lost battles as the shame of losing a battle to the enemies of the Abyss was a sign of weakness they fundamentally hated. The Abyss did not tolerate weaklings after all, and neither did they.
Among the followers of the Dark Gods were beasts of Lamashtu, Dark Goddess of Aberrance, Madness, Beasts and Nightmares, Hags of Gyronna, the Dark Goddess of Hate, spite and extortion, and the bloated, disease-riddled forms of the followers of Ghlauder, Dark God of Diseases, parasites, insects and stagnation, and the Archenemy of Desna.
At the sight of the Beasts and followers of Lasmasthu, a change suddenly occurred upon all who had decided to join in the worship of Aeon, the new God-King of the Eldritch. At first shown by all of them freezing in place, to the concern of their fellows, their expressions suddenly twisted with unnatural hatred, snarls of pure fury leaving them as even the most gentle of souls were suddenly taken over by a primal rage so great that it left no place for even the slightest shred of mercy or hesitation within them.
Then, as one, their expressions turned blank, only their eyes showing the pure murderous fury still bubbling within them. Under their breath, as all of them gripped their weapons with a white-knuckled grip, they all whispered "A Hunter must Hunt." before falling silent, the hate burning in their souls shackled by a cold clarity of purpose that left them able to think clearly in spite of their rage.
And within their eyes, flickers of starlight could be seen, as if distant stars suddenly shone upon their souls with benevolence, encouraging them to deny the Evils before them with all their strength.
Entire formations of the forces of the Green Dragonflight turned silent like that, all of them standing with unnatural focus and fury as they stared at their enemies. Officers amongst their ranks spoke curtly, with voices carrying so much cold hatred that it was a wonder to all listening that they could speak clearly at all, though despite that none had any issue hearing their words.
And up above in the sky, Ysera herself was the most affected. Her mind suddenly turned as sharp and cold as a blade, while underneath an ocean of hate stronger than she had ever felt burned in her soul. She could still feel love for her daughter and people, and if she wanted she could push both the cold focus and immense hatred away at will, but right now she didn't want to. Every pain inflicted upon her and her people flashed in her mind, every horror and suffering, and the hate that now burned in her soul felt righteous. Any doubts and fears she had were crushed under its weight, leaving behind only the cold, absolute conviction that this battle deserved to be fought. No, it deserved to be won.
The closest she could describe her feelings were as "Divine clarity of Purpose." Her God approved of this battle, approved of her people fighting this war, and he was letting her know that this was the right thing to do. Mortal weaknesses such as fears, doubts and hesitation were swept away. She could still second-guess herself, but only in as much as to come up with the best strategy to win the coming battle.
At last, the demons were done preparing. Legions of flying Quasits, stalking Babau demons and more flew, ran and slithered forward with demonic shrieks of glee and hatred, seeking only to bring death and suffering upon all.
Unholy priests teamed up with archers and mages to throw as many deadly projectiles and spells at the army of the Green Dragonflight as they could, along with all the corrupted trees launching volley after volley of deadly poisonous thorns.
The army of the Green Dragonflights replied in kind, turning the air between both armies into a deadly maze of flying death, with green dragons roaring battle-cries before flying above the deadly exchange to meet flying demons in the middle of the battlefield. Ysera herself roared the loudest, the usually kind and gentle woman for once burning with a righteous fury that saw her charge at the enemy with a savagery unlike any who had seen her fight in the past recognized.
On the ground, the armies of demons began meeting the armies of the Green Dragonflights in vicious melee, blood and gore quickly coating the ground as the screams of the dying mixed with the screams of rage of the living.
The only ones who said nothing were the new mortal followers of Lord Aeon, who fought in unnatural silence. No battle-cries were uttered, no mocking taunts, instead they met the armies of the Abyss with pure, utter silence and deadly, inhuman focus, especially where followers and beasts of Lamashtu were.
If the mortal followers of the new God-King met the demonic armies with utter silence, they also showed shocking brutality towards all those associated with the Goddess of Beasts. So great were the viciousness of the warriors, so complete their hatred of their foe, that even the soldiers of the Abyss wavered in the face of it. Soldiers who lost limbs still tried to keep fighting, even outright tearing the throats of the demons and cultists fighting them with their teeth if necessary. Mages on the brink of death detonated their magic and turned themselves into bombs, and more than one priest used their holy books to crush the skulls of their enemies, all of it without uttering a sound. Only their eyes full of hate and fury showed their emotions. So great was the unnatural passion of these soldiers that even those who had been gutted proceeded to use their own hanging intestines to strangle their killers to death with, allowing themselves bloodied smiles on their lips before blood loss and shock finally killed them. Few of those soldiers even cried out in pain, and when they did it was only for a few seconds before they gritted their teeth and proceeded to keep fighting.
Their own allies watched all of this with a mix of shock, awe and fear, but the demons themselves were not immune to the sight of this brutal massacre. Seeing others of their kind brutally murdered, choked to death by their or the mortals' own intestines, brutally maimed and slaughtered in vicious killing blows so cruel that it made even demons blanch in horror, and ultimately left broken in pieces upon increasingly blood-soaked soil, it took the Demon Lord sending the Abyssal Crusaders to face them to mitigate the damage to moral upon the demonic army this grim, brutal army of insane mortals was causing.
Now faced with a foe just as hateful and unbreakable as themselves, the part of the battlefield where both forces clashed began to more closely resemble the frontline of the Blood War in its sheer horror. Fanatical demons and mortal cultists fought grim, vicious regiments of soldiers who fought with a brutality and hatred matching their own, and more than a few of the people making up the rest of the army of the Green Dragonflight lost their lunch at the sight of the bloody slaughter taking place before them as both sides messily tore into each other.
The rest of the battlefield was not any less worthy of horror however, as the other regiments fought their own battles against one another. Without the divine influence impacting the other mortals, their screams of both rage, fear and pain echoed along with those of demons and cultists as they clashed against one another. Heavy infantry met and fought with heavy infantry, while archers played a deadly game of accuracy against those of the opposite army, bodies falling as more and more projectiles found their marks. Cavalry (or the equivalent for both sides) met and clashed for supremacy, while champions took to the field and specific heavy units began tearing bloody paths through enemy ranks to face each other.
Giant trees met demonic beasts taller than houses, and dragons fought giant demons in vicious battles. Acid and poison was used liberally by both sides, turning entire areas of the battlefield into deadly swamps where no life could survive without melting into horrific slurry in seconds.
On the right side, elementals of water were now fighting for supremacy against corrupted elementals of fire, both sides seeking to consume the other before sweeping to the side on a flanking maneuver. Steam elementals were born from the clash, some of them falling to the control of the demons, others to the Green Dragonflight, and others still remained free and only added more chaos into the giant melee as they fought all sides equally.
Where the forest areas was thickest, the screams of demons and Abyssal cultists echoed as Gugurshaguastghuug, Dog of the Goatswood, used his natural ability to camouflage himself inside forests to ambush and slaughter the hordes of Abyssal monsters that came into his hunting grounds. Unholy fire was called in staggering amount by powerful demons to try and burn down the forest and draw the servant of Shub-Niggurath out of hiding, but the forest, empowered by the Eldritch servant, regenerated faster than it took damage, leaving all the damned souls who foolishly entered the woods to disappear, never to be seen again as the plant elemental wielded the powers of nature with horrific consequences.
The Elder Goddess Thaghhu'una, She Who Rides, stood on the ridge she had taken for herself and shot glowing arrows of purple light, flying so fast as to be more like a continuous stream of lights than anything else. On the other side of the battlefield, blood red explosions tinged purple could be seen as each arrow found its mark, slaying cultists leaders and the more powerful demons at every second.
The Demon Lord, seeing that something needed to be done to stem the tides of death, growled and barked an order to follow after him to his servants, a second before he opened a portal, smashing through the magical defenses preventing teleportation and portals within the ranks of the Green Dragonflight, and rushing through, the other demons and mortals doing the same, with the exception of the Demon Lord's right hand who remained behind to command the greater battle.
The Elder Goddess reacted instantly to the opening of the portal, shifting around and unleashing a swarm of purple arrows towards it in less time than a blink of an eye. Despite that, the Demon Lord managed to push through, a glowing red barrier protecting him and those behind him as he rushed towards the Goddess with a hate-filled expression.
Unleashing a red-black inferno of unholy flames at the Elder Goddess, the battle between champions began in earnest, as unholy warriors fought the Elder Goddess, who was quickly joined by nearby members of the Green Dragonflight and its mortal soldiers. Merithra, noticing the sudden clash of divine and Abyssal energies, quickly left the aerial battle between flying demons and dragons to her mother to oversee and swooped down towards the battle, her breath melting a powerful Hag before she hit the ground and roared a war cry, followed by lunging towards the nearest demon, her maw wide open as she tried to bite him in half.
The battle shifted, a third of the unholy strike team turning to face the new threat while the others kept their focus on the Elder Goddess. Demonic curses flew like bullets towards her from the Demon Lord, while a constant stream of purple arrows was shot back at him and his servants.
The screams of the mortals soldiers of the Green Dragonflights who couldn't escape the rain of curses that the Elder Goddess was dodging echoed full of agony and horror as their flesh melted, their souls twisted under unholy corruption and their minds shattered under pain curses strong enough to make gods know fear, but the remaining defenders did not break, grimly hardening their hearts and doing all they could to support both the Elder Goddess trading blows with the Demon Lord and the daughter of their leader as she tried to carve a bloody path amongst the ranks of the high-ranked servants of the Demon Lord.
Priestesses of Lasmasthu summoned horrific beasts into existence to do battle in their Dark Goddess' name, or unleashed terrifying curses that turned mortals into mutated abominations against nature, each more foul and corrupted than the last. Priests of the Dark God of disease and parasites summoned horrific plagues and buzzing swarms of demonic insects who tore the flesh off their victims, while the remaining hags threw curses that sent mortals into fits of madness or let out unholy shrieks that shattered their minds, leaving them into sobbing, broken messes easily slaughtered.
On the other side, Priests of Desna manipulated the very nature of the Dreamlands to change and shape the battlefield to their liking, while priests of Azathoth banished monsters and insect swarms back from whence they came, gave unnatural toughness and vitality to the defenders, and occasionally warped reality to displace attacks or move people away from harm. The single priestess of Oedon from the ranks of the mortal followers of the Green Dragonflight, who found her calling when visiting the stronghold of the Red Dragonflight and who met the Goddess of Blood there, shouted prayers that healed the diseased and summoned flying weapons made of the Blood of the fallen to attack the Abyssal warriors.
As for those followers of Lord Aeon present, they were divided into two groups: those who charged the enemy, the symbol of their new God almost glowing over their armors, making them physically and magically equal to their foes if they weren't already. Even the Demon Lord found himself unexpectedly on the defensive as a result of the unnatural power of each of those warriors, who stared at him with cold hatred and not a shred of fear. The most noticeable however were those who charged the priestesses of Lamashtu, as they almost glowed with a fury that would put most berserkers to shame. With spells, blades or prayers, they tore into every beast on their path with outright maniacal zeal, neither the risk of pain nor death slowing them down any. Immune to the terror-inducing screams of the hags, seemingly uncaring of diseases, shrugging off madness-inducing curses like they didn't even exist, each of them that fell in battle made their enemies pay dearly for it, leaving trails of broken unholy corpses in their wake.
The other followers of Lord Aeon curiously enough seemed to gravitate towards the lone priestess of Oedon, defending her with grim determination from both magic and blades alike and letting her more freely go about her work of supporting all others on the battlefield. Working with unnatural coordination, they bared the way to all evils seeking to get to the priestess with a fanatical devotion that refused to yield to anything.
The priests of Lord Aeon, their eyes glowing with starlight, called upon the Cosmos itself to stand with them… and the Cosmos answered. Holes in the very fabric of Reality appeared above either the priests or their foes, unleashing stars of Arcane magic upon all that had earned the wrath of the Lord of All Things. Explosions reminiscing of stars dying bloomed on the battlefield as demons and cultists alike were blown to pieces or outright turned to ashes.
With a shout, the Demon Lord slammed his staff on the ground, the twisted magical construct so unholy that merely looking at it could drive those of weak will to go mad from the power of the Abyss. A shockwave of unholy energy spread out from him, corrupting everything on its path, strengthening the demons and cultists and sapping at the strength of the defenders-
Only for an answering shout to echo in the air with the purity of nature, Tyrande and Malfurion, leaders of the mortals armies of the Green Dragonflight, finally arriving at the site of the all-out battle between the champions of both the Divine and the unholy.
With a snarl of hatred on his face, the Demon Lord raised a hand, and unleashed his next, even greater spell upon the entire battlefield: Using the total amount of Death and corruption that these lands had just seen, he turned it into a sacrificing spell that empowered him and his legions.
The Green Dragonflight recoiled at the sight and feel of the growing strength of the unholy forces, but then two things happened almost simultaneously that helped the forces of Good. First, the followers of Lord Aeon found their own strength bolstered to match, much to the surprise of the demons. Then, the Elder Goddess tilted her head back and let out a scream that echoed across the land.
RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!*
It was a wordless scream of primal fury, but also an invitation to all listening. A Hunt has been called and prey were plentiful. The scream echoed in the souls of all present, calling upon their inner hunters, their desire to prove themselves superior, to test their skills and show themselves greater than their foe. At the sound of it, mortals and dragons alike felt a second wind bolster them, renewing their determination to fight, a slight but noticeable boost to their capabilities helping all present bridge the gap with the empowered demons… or stacking with the boost in power granted to them already by Lord Aeon.
And then the Elder Goddess fixed her gaze upon the Demon Lord, and her message was clear: one of them was going to die here, and she had no intention of being the one found lacking this day.
The Demon Lord sneered hatefully at her, but didn't hesitate to reply in kind to her challenge by resuming their battle, even greater spells being exchanged with even more powerfully enhanced divine arrows as both sides ceased to hold back their strength and decided to throw everything they had at each other.
So great was their battle that all others began to naturally avoid them, as the ground around both became death incarnate for anyone who was not quick enough to get out of the way from deadly spells or glowing exploding arrows.
Thaghhu'una, Elder Goddess of the Eldritch Pantheon, looked coldly at the Demon Lord Xavius facing her, her arrows just barely missing the damned Satyr as he kept dodging her shots, while she focused on dodging his spells.
She took some satisfaction in the fact that he was clearly weaker than her, for all that he was unquestionably worthy of his title of Demon Lord. She was still an Eldritch Goddess, even if only an Elder in power. Though she would give her foe that much, he was far from incapable in battle. His spells were as vicious as they were powerful, and the speed of his casting was something few mortals could ever hope to achieve. Still, she did see a certain lack of creativity in him, as for all his power many of his spells were designed to cause as much pain and suffering along with death as possible. His skill in battlefield control however was somewhat lacking, as he clearly prioritized dealing with an enemy directly than use more subtle means of taking them out.
The only times he had tried to change the battlefield had been to try and create a swamp underneath her that would be both poisonous and full of grasping roots eager to drag her down and drown her in the muck. Not a bad tactic, but easy enough for her to account for and avoid.
Thag herself had been focusing on learning all she could of her enemy. His speed, his strength, his agility, and more. And the longer this fight went on, the more information she had to create a plan to kill this prey once and for all.
She was a Huntress, after all. Always had been. To learn the ways of her prey and use that knowledge to better kill them was second nature to her.
"Your death will give me great renown." snarled the Demon Lord, even as he threw five curses that would rot her flesh if even one of them hit. "I will be Xavius, the Eldritch Slayer! The God-Killer!"
"You will be a corpse, and one cleansed in fire." she replied coldly while shooting five arrows in less than a heartbeat. If he wanted to banter, so be it. She would see if he could keep his attention on the fight while wasting his breath.
The Demon Lord sneered, a wave of his staff turning a hundred meters of ground around her into a putrid melting pot of acidic ooze.
Shattering space and Time slightly, Thag got out of the area before she could take more than cosmetic damage, her next arrow curving through Space in ways utterly impossible by normal physics.
Her prey tried to dodge, and to his credit actually got nothing more than a thin red line on his right arm. Of course, that was enough for her purposes, along with all the others she had managed to create since this fight began.
Almost there… she thought with anticipation.
"What are you even doing there, fool?" questioned the Demon Lord with a slightly confused stare. "There is nothing of worth for you in this world. Your kind hardly cares about the conflict between the Heavenly Realms and the Infernal ones, and even less about the fate of mortal creatures. So why come here, now of all times?"
"Lord Aeon requested me to Hunt. I hunt." she calmly answered, her arrow hitting one of his spells and causing a massive explosion that would have liquified the bones of any mortal caught nearby.
The Demon Lord sneered at her. "I hunt. Worthless drivel! Nothing more than a mindless pet told to play fetch. I'm sure your master will give you a treat after you're done. To think one of the vaunted Eldritch Gods could be so utterly disappointing. No matter. Lady Slann, Dark Ruler of the Abyss, will reward me with riches beyond even your comprehension for presenting her with your skull!"
"It is you who is naught but a fool." she spat back, ignoring the slight burn on her right side from one of his latest spells. The poison was trying to melt her flesh, but being an Elder Goddess meant it was struggling to push too deep into her bloodstream. At least she got him in his right calf in exchange. Almost there… "I have stared into the eyes of the Lord of the Eldritch. I have seen his might. Your ruler might be mightier than I or most Eldritch Gods, but even she is small compared to the full power of the Lord of Azathoth!"
"And yet, he sent his pet to do his dirty work!" the demon lord spat back.
"I don't see your ruler here either!" she shot back.
"Queen Slann has no need to be here to deal with the likes of you!"
"You mean she's too much of a coward to challenge my King!"
"Gurk!"
"Gah!"
Both of them flinched back as they got hit, their distractions making them fail to avoid their next attack, a spell piercing her left side and an arrow blowing a hole in his right shoulder.
For a moment, they both stared at each other with hate in their gaze, clutching their wounded side, before their expression darkened even more.
"Let's finish this." the Demon Lord growled.
"Agreed." she hissed back.
"In the Name of the Abyss!"
"In the Name of the Eldritch!"
""DIE!""
In an instant, she activated the magic she had been carefully setting up. Every single hit she landed upon him, no matter how small, suddenly lit up with purple light. All knew of her skill with a bow… But a good Hunter knew the value of a trump card, and few indeed knew of her talents with Eldritch Runes. And now, with the right amount of hits required for her magic to work, his doom had come.
Only she had no time to appreciate her soon to be victory, as her own wounds suddenly lit up with pure agony, and Thag choked back a scream as Abyssal magic suddenly bursts into life within her.
"Hnnnnng… Gaah!"
"Guuurk… Hnng!"
Both sides stumbled, looking at each other through hazy vision as their trump cards went off and caused them both to taste blood upon their tongues, before they fell on their knees and spat mouthfuls of thick, almost black blood.
Thag suddenly remembered the fact that Xavius used to serve Baphomet, a Demon Lord known for his cunning, and by the feeling of the magic inside of her…
A poison that conceptually attacks the very metaphysical existence of its target, she thought with grudging respect. And it doubles as a cognitohazard to boot, infecting its target with Abyssal taint and deeply engraved loyalty to the Abyss, so that even if you survive it, you'll become a slave of demonkind… And let's not forget the pseudo-intelligence it possesses on top of that, to make it even more deadly. Vicious thing...
If she wasn't an Eldritch Goddess, the second would probably not even have been noticed, so well-hidden it was. She had known that Xavius' preferred method of dealing with enemies was slow corruption, but this was beyond her expectations… And beyond anything he had shown in the past, as far as she knew.
But then again, trump cards were called such for a reason. And it was entirely possible that the Queen of the Abyss was the one who gave him that magic specifically as an unholy surprise to use against any powerful foe standing in their way.
Looking up, her eyes met the Demon Lord, and she could see the horror in his gaze as he saw his death come, along with the satisfaction that he would take her down with him. The magic she had used had done its work, wracking unrecoverable damage upon his body, and he had at most seconds left to live.
She let out a mental sigh, then bowed her head. My apologies, my Lord, I underestimated him… and overestimated myself. But I won't repeat that mistake.
With her remaining strength, she withdrew a long vial of a black as night liquid from a pocket, starlight glinting within it.
I should have accepted your offer from the start… but I'll just have to learn from this and do better.
With that thought in mind, she put the vial to her lips and drank deeply.
As the Blood of the King of the Eldritch hit her tongue, her eyes glowed, followed by the rest of her.
To be a Hunter of the Dream is to have the Blood of the Good Hunter in your veins. She had arrogantly denied him that, eager to prove herself on her own merits…only to let arrogance almost get the better of her.
A lesson in humility well-earned, and well-learnt.
As the Blood spread through her body, beginning to cleanse the poison from her with casual, almost contemptuous ease, Thag gave a last, bloodied grin to a stunned-looking Xavius as he watched her wounds begin to heal.
And then the toll of the battle proved too much at last, and they both collapsed face-first on the ground… though only one of them remained breathing.
The Hunter's Dream.
I twirled the red wine within my glass, before taking a sip and sighing contentedly at the taste. My Treasure Vaults automatically filled themselves with some of the greatest treasures any multiverse I was connected to possessed, and this multiverse was full of countless wonders… And that included literally divine wine.
What kind of Frenchman would I be if I didn't use my phenomenal cosmic power to get the best wines in existence?
Now, all I had to do left was to create the best wine in existence, and I'll have made all of my ancestors proud.
"So, have you given any thought on what we talked about?" I asked the human-sized deity in the seat facing mine.
Cthulhu, master of R'lyeh and one of the most famous Eldritch Gods in existence, nodded his tentacled head, red eyes looking at me with a mix of [GRATEFULNESS] and [EAGER ANTICIPATION.]
"I have. I'll take you up on your offer to create a plane of existence specifically for R'lyeh. You are correct, it would be the best way to make sure something like the fall of my beloved city never happens again. To say nothing of your accurate concern that Earth, and the star it orbits, might not last forever. Better to have a plane of my own that I can attach to other parts of the Material Universe at will, that would make moving to a new world and star system much easier when combined with the rituals that you taught me to connect my new realm to different planets."
I smiled. "Great! Well, that's one matter dealt with. Raising R'lyeh back to Earth would be possible, but there was no way it wouldn't have had consequences on the rest of the world."
Especially since what was considered "R'lyeh" was something the size of Australia. Something like that popping up on Earth was not going to be subtle, even with a shitload of magic thrown in to try and make Humanity ignore the place.
Better, then, to just create a new Divine Realm for Cthulhu and his people, connect it to Earth, and contain the psychic backlash from the rise of R'lyeh by the dimensional walls of said new realms.
It might limit the connection between Earth and R'lyeh a bit, since going to Earth will require going through specific portals across the planet, but on the other hand it will also make R'lyeh far more secure against spies, enemy armies and more.
A potential concern, considering the threat of the Abyss.
I took a sip of my glass of wine, Cthulhu doing the same with his own, his psychic presence humming with approval and pleasure at the taste.
"And about my other proposal?" I asked, keeping my voice deliberately neutral.
Cthulhu seemed to smile wryly, even as his mind pulsed with [GRATEFULNESS/DETERMINATION.]
"Yes, as well. It is, frankly, the least I can do in return to all I and my people will owe you for bringing back R'lyeh." he waved a hand. "To say nothing of the fortune's worth in investment you'll sink into helping my people rebuild our economy, the public services, and… everything else we'll need to create from scratch or fix once R'lyeh is back."
I shrugged. "I have all the money I could desire. Honestly, I already invested enough into the multiversal market to make any economy other than that of the Eldritch Kingdom's look small. Helping your people will not even be a rounding error in my monthly financial report. The gratitude of your people and the political goodwill I'll gain from doing this, though? That'll be invaluable."
Cthulhu laughed, the sound echoing as much in the bright, clean air of the Hunter's Dream as it did on the psychic realm.
"You, my king, are a very direct person." he smiled, red eyes glinting with amusement. "It is not a bad thing. Though there will be those who will try to make use of such things for their own purposes." he warned me.
"I am aware. Dealing with the God of Hell will be interesting, whenever we finally meet one another." I mused, looking thoughtful. "Still, don't worry too much. I have some experience in intrigue. I know what words to say to both speak the truth and yet hide the most important information."
A glint appeared in my eyes. "I did not become a god without knowing quite well how to deceive, when necessary."
The Moon Presence certainly never saw its death coming until it was far too late. Thanks again for all your gifts, you old bitch. It would have been much harder to triumph over Bloodborne without all the advantages you so carelessly gave me.
I shook my head, a smile returning to my lips. "Still, I do appreciate it. Having you officially proclaim your loyalty to me and full support of my rise as God-King of the Eldritch, on top of you being my personal representative and de-facto Ruler of Earth… at least for the Eldritch side of things. That will help smooth my claim to the Throne when I go for it."
Cthulhu's expression softened.
"Queen Azathoth herself declared you her Beloved, my King. You do not need to play such games to earn the loyalty of the Pantheon. We are the Eldritch Gods, we have our own way of doing things."
"I appreciate the sentiment, Cthulhu." I said gently. "But you are not naive enough to genuinely believe that politics aren't a part of the Eldritch Pantheon and Kingdom, whether you like it or not."
Cthulhu fell silent, before letting out a long sigh. "No. Indeed not." he said softly, almost looking sad at the admission, his tentacles visibly drooping in sadness.
I nodded at him. "There are those who believe the Eldritch Kingdom is perfect as is, and who are against changes of any kind. There are those supporting more aggressive expansionist moves. There are those supporting diplomatic expansionist moves. They are those who believe we should focus inwards, instead. And much, much more."
My expression twisted with bewilderment. "Like that group who believe that pink is the greatest color in the omniverse, and made that into a political party… followed by those believing the same of red, and then yellow, and…" I trailed off, muttering to myself about the sheer, occasional utterly incomprehensible oddities of the Eldritch Politics.
"Ah, yes. Those." said Cthulhu with amusement. "Watching them brawl with one another at each gathering of Queen Azathoth's Court while shouting the names of their chosen color is quite something."
I let out a groan. "Eldritch."
Cthulhu, the ass, merely laughed again.
For a time, we kept sipping our wines, and talked about the strange, bizarre, or downright absurd oddities of Eldritch Politics.
Including something about several Eldritch Gods petitioning Azathoth to have a restraining order against a certain human man shouting about his "wee-men!" while carrying a shotgun.
Funnily enough, those Eldritch Gods included Nyarlathotep.
Then the topic of conversation once more turned serious when Cthulhu asked me about something that I had, honestly, been deliberately ignoring since coming to this Reality.
"And what of the Gods of Earth, my Lord?" he inquired curiously. "Do you have any orders for me about them? From what I know, you have empowered that one former Eldritch Goddess who became fascinated by Humans and married a human god, but little beyond that."
I sighed. "For now, nothing in particular. My focus is on the Abyss, Earth and its people do not require my personal intervention at this point. Moreover, I have yet to claim my throne. Any dealing I have with them cannot be fully recognized until I do." I raised a hand to stop his next words. "I know that, with Azathoth declaring me her beloved, I am already King in the eyes of the Eldritch. But Earth has its traditions, and I will not ignore them when simply proving patient will work just as well."
Cthulhu stared at me with his red eyes for a long moment, before speaking again.
"There is more to it than that, isn't there?"
I fell silent… before giving him a half sheepish, half amused grin.
"Look, I used to be a mere mortal. Now, I'm an Outer God in my own right. Excuse me if I want to be able to show off as much as possible when I finally meet the divinities I spent my entire life hearing about! If I'lm going to meet them all, I want to meet them in style, dammit!"
Cthulhu blinked at me.
And then he threw his tentacled head back and roared in laughter.
I grinned. Now, if only I could find a way to T-pose over all of them to establish dominance in a way that doesn't make me look crazy, everything would be perfect!
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Love Azathoth!
Cats in the Lovecraft Mythos are actually meant to be pretty powerful. At least in the Dreamlands. But even powerful cats are still cats, so appropriate tribute in rats, fish and petting will quickly get them on your side. Thankfully, demons aren't exactly smart!
Also, Slann's new plan for trying to win the war: empower what demons she already has on-world, in order to try and win it all. Quality over quantity! Needless to say, that isn't the go-to tactic of Demons at all, but when need must…
Also, Lamashtu. Just… in the category "Dark Gods which will trigger Aeon so hard the omniverse will spin", she's definitely somewhere in the "I hate everything about you!" category. That absolutely reflects in his followers. By a lot.
Seriously, dark goddess of Beasts, support women giving birth to more beasts (willingly or not), support bloodthirst, hate, malice, and, well, beasthood in all of its forms. The Good Hunter, needless to say, is very, very unamused.
Also, the Demon Lord Xavius didn't last long, but to be fair, he's fighting an Eldritch Goddess of the Hunt. In single combat. While not being an overtly powerful Demon Lord by Abyssal standards. Had it been Baphomet, the guy would have probably managed to escape. Xavius… isn't the thankfully dead Baphomet. That he did as well as he did is frankly a testament to how much Slann is carrying in the background.
Finally, some Eldritch politics! And by that I mean Aeon helping Cthulhu, because Cthulhu is a bro like that. The guy could have wiped out humanity after recovering from the fall of R'lyeh, but nooo, he decided to keep taking a nap instead to prevent the psychic backlash of the rise of R'lyeh from killing everyone. Praise our Lord and Saviour, his great tentacled head Cthulhu, for actually taking care to not crush the ants all around him…
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, more dragons, more demons, and Aeon and Slann making rude gestures at each other while on the planet everyone is busy killing each other.