Chapter V: Power (Part II)
YOU TOY WITH MONSTROUS ENERGY, ENOS; DRAWING ON MY POWER WITHOUT END.
I struggled fiercely against the unceasing tidal waves of magical energy spliced into my body by unseen conduits from beyond this temporal plane. My left arm rippled with crackles of electricity, which leapt up and down my fingers and forearm with growing rapidity; My right hand distorting the movement of timespace and warping the very air around its mass. I could intrinsically feel my body humming with the magnitude of two-dozen Chaos forges filled with the primordial vigor of an ancient and long-forgotten god.
I could feel my very presence slowly disassembling the nearby landscape, reshaping and forming new cracks in an ever-increasing radius around me. Power teemed at the edges of my extremities, and I was beginning to feel as if I, myself, were on the precipice of being obliterated into pieces.
Yet even the tacit warnings of an antediluvian deity proved insufficient to stifle my wrathful onslaught; with hawk-like precision, I veered my eyes across the forward group of Orks gathered in front of the pithy slave camp, analyzing their combat strength and appearances in detail.
As my gaze struck upon the forwardmost and biggest Ork, I felt a momentary synapse connection from years ago. The sight of Greenskins and beastmen pillaging my home village, slaughtering and devouring everything in their path. I remembered him. I remembered this Ork.
He was the one that decapitated Hilford, the village head.
I REMEMBERED, YOU ROTTEN PIECE OF SHIT.
"We are so fucked." Otto mumbled, falling to his hands and knees in utter defeat. He and everyone else in this slave group had very clearly heard the words bayed deafeningly by the 'Man Ork' that had torn the skies asunder and quaked the ground itself. With only mere moments before all hell broke loose, the camp exploded into a frenzied pandemonium.
"RUN!" "THERE'S NO HOPE!" "Whyyyyy?!"
"To think my life would end like this…" "THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!" "Where do we escape in this hellish place?!"
"IT'S THE END!" "AAAAAAAAAA!"
"SIGMAR HELP US!"
The screams of the various enslaved races trapped within the camp rang out as boldly and conspicuously as the sheer havoc of the denizens losing their minds within it, accompanied by the random acts of vandalism and arson that followed the loss of cohesion and order.
"Otto, ya daft cunt, get off tha floor and take the Elven betch far an' away from this upcomin' blast-fest!"
Otto felt himself propelled to action by the Dwarf Gronric, who pushed him into movement. The first thing Otto did was grab Ilse by her hand and pull her in the opposite direction of the imminent fight.
"AAAAAAAAAAA!"
Otto tumbled over as Ilse shook with violent ferocity, both of them collapsing to the ground. Otto raised himself from the ground, but found himself simply scared by Ilse's state. Her body convulsed as if she were caught in a jitter of the mind (seizure), her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. Otto tried desperately shake her back into a sane and conscious state, to little avail. Just as he was about to scream listlessly for help-
(Music: "God Rays", by Crimson Child)
"I've seen this once before. The Winds of Magic have been hijacked."
Otto's gaze was broken from Ilse by the words of the Cathayan woman; he whipped his attention to her, only to see a ghostly-paled face and trembling body to match.
"Of all these slaves, I expected fear the least from you, Cathayan!" Otto spat coarsely at her, incensed by peaked emotional turmoil at Ilse's catatonic state.
"Henyu Gao- that is my name." The shivering woman proclaimed. "And you, Otto, are a fool if you cannot see the danger ahead of us by sight alone!"
She hurriedly crouched beside him and simply shouted four words in his ear.
"TAKE HER AND RUN!"
At the very end of her sentence, beams of stark-white light shot out from Enos' eyes and mouth, cowling his face and body in a spectral aura- a sight that could be witnessed by everyone in a half-mile radius. His body rose into the air, propelled by forces unseen and powers unspoken. Lightning and earth coalesced around him like a sphere of protection, and heralded the start of something monumentous. As if the camp's populace weren't already shocked enough, and the Greenskin militia called to defend the encampment weren't already fearful of their foe-
"GOODBYE!" Otto shouted out loud for no reason other than to alleviate the feeling of abject terror rising in his mind, and without another word he grabbed Ilse roughly by her waist and sprinted with every drop of energy he had.
BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
"HOLY FU-"
BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Massive pillars of stark-white fire beamed down through the dark clouds, piercing the veil of darkness momentarily to wreak devastating destruction across the landscape around the encampment. Like massive floodlights with the concentrated energy of looming stars, they torched massive patches of the landscape into pure sand and glass, leaving trails of haphazard and unpredictable annihilation in their wake.
BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
The band of Orks that had met with Enos in open battle were among the first to be erased into bare atoms, as even while sprinting for their lives they were near-instantaneously wiped from the air they once stood by these heaven-borne columns of cosmic-blazing fire.
And as quickly as they had appeared to thrash the landscape with its haphazard decimation, they dissipated within a few seconds, closing the gaps in the clouds and once more fully clouding the region in gray, rumbling wrath.
Only serving as a preface for the next onslaught. Enos' arms outstretched toward the skies, clenching his fists as if commanding its obedience without question. His eyes and mouth were indistinguishable from the intense, glowering orbs of the purest hue of white emanating from his body like an imminent nuclear explosion. Enos knew he was on the verge of self-immolation, and chose to channel this over-surging power into his next attack. Feeling near-omniscient and desiring subservience from those in the slave camp, Enos demonstrated his immense power and sensation through a bombastic declaration:
"BEHOLD!"
Without a moment's relief, hundreds of small meteorites had formed in the atmosphere from minerals and metals, then proceeded to plummet from the clouds, giving way to a dazzling display of oncoming and imminent ruination; and soon followed by multiple larger bodies of atmospherically-formed boulders which slammed into the surrounding landscape and annihilated everything within the range of their shockwaves; collapsing the region with massive chunks of dirt, sand, clay, mud, trees, and structures flying in every direction.
Debris and shrapnel from the nearest meteorite implosions were sent flying through the pathetic walls of the encampment's fortifications, embedding themselves into the ground, rock, merchant stalls, tents, and the occasional unfortunate passerby. By this point, the entirety of the camp was finding a place to hide under or behind to avoid the destruction being wreaked by a singular human; there was no fighting a maelstrom of wrathful devastation and chaos.
And yet, that second attack came to be the end of Enos' power-trip. Soon after the peppering of meteorites across the area around the encampment, an act which he had managed to control of his own accord to avoid annihilating the denizens inside the camp, Enos plummeted to the ground like a ragdoll; Morglor, Snik and Strosk all moved with lightning-speed to catch the falling unconscious boy while Azur Wurrzlag waved his wand wildly to conjure a phantasmic net for Enos to fall in, but before he could reach the ground-
(Music: "Hades", by Garcons)
WHOOMPF!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
AAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
All at once, the mind-paralyzing cacophony of several millions of wailing screams inherited the air, and dissipated completely in the next half-second. Yet the effects kept their hold on all those able to hear such an infernal symphony of noise; those in the settlement, those in Enos' army, and all the living creatures in between had crumpled to the ground in a temporary concussive state; some did not get back up.
In the air and moments before meeting the solid ground, Enos' body seemed to move on its own, righting itself and slamming into the ground with his legs; as the plumes of smoke and dust cleared, Enos was without a scratch on his body, his skin awash with a luminescent and indescribable hue of white and black lights. And yet, as his small army gazed upon his face, they recoiled in a screaming fervour as if bearing witness to a most haunting and vicious sight.
Enos' features remained the same physically, but any mortal that glimpsed his face in that moment would have seen the most vivid visage of a different face entirely; that of a grotesque black-and-white horned beastman, with an animal skull that was unlike any monster in this world; ears that curled backwards like a jester's shoe; and onyx spikes jutting out the back of his head just underneath the massive horns that protruded opposite of the apparition's snarling rows of fangs.
Yet worst of all these monstrous and otherworldly features was those glowering, milky-white orbs in its empty sockets; spiraling like white dwarfs in the outermost darkest regions beyond the sky; hinting at incomprehensible, mind-splitting, immeasurable power within its bare essence.
"FASCINATING."
The being spoke in the body of Enos, but with the voice of a primordial being, whose very utterance of words radiated like a shockwave across the entire region; able to be heard clearly and absolutely within a mile radius. The being turned Enos' head towards the settlement, staring at the shivering inhabitants with piqued curiosity.
"KNEEL BEFORE ME, OR BE SOLDERED INTO DUST."
Without a moment's hesitation, practically the entirety of the encampment flooded out of the main entrance to scrape at the boots of the transformed human's avatar; following by the dozens and made up of every kind of race, including the Greenskins that had been luckily assigned to the interior of the camp. Even the entirety of Enos' army, though not directly ordered, knelt obediently by the bare words of power spoken alone- all of them aside from Morglor, whose knee was barely scraping above the ground; taking all of his willpower and strength to prevent himself from adhering to the imbued words which this beast spoke.
"YOOZ AIN'T WHOO OI'M FOLLOWIN'!" Morglor bellowed, sweat pouring down his face as his body screamed at him to comply with the entity's bidding. Enos' avatar narrowed its orb-like eyes ever so slightly as the uppity Black Ork took its attention.
"KNEEL."
A second and concentrated wave of magical essence drowned Morglor's will in a tsunami of energy far beyond his understanding, and the Ork eventually fell to his knees in utter helplessness- his face pinched inward with such ferocity that his body partly caved in the ground where he knelt from his efforts to resist.
The Avatar of Enos gazed at its surroundings, clenching and unclenching his hands while peering at the landscape like a surveyor.
"THIS WILL SUFFICE."
He brought his immense gaze upon the kneeling masses before him, raising his hands in a ceremonious manner as he flatly addressed the crowds in a blistering and low growl which nearly wrought their minds in twain; his words able to reach and be understood by the minds of even the most illiterate and unknowledgeable.
"BEHOLD, YOUR SALVATION FROM SHACKLES, BRINGER OF AMBITIONS, THE TERRIBLE AVENGER AND HERALD OF CHANGE."
As if possessed in mind and thought, memories of battles long fought flooded through the minds of all those who beckoned the command of the antediluvian numen; the crashing waves of thousands of rage-filled combatants slamming gracelessly into each other with violent gusto, tearing each other apart with the brands of innumerable factions; projectiles of bright-hued colors blasting apart cohorts of legions amidst the packed hordes of armies pushing against one another in a mindless struggle for dominance; beasts and sorcerous creations storming the battlefield in a rampage, decimating ranks of gritty veterans and fresh recruits with careless animosity.
"ENOS, THE MAN-ORK, HOLDS KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLECT WHICH SHALL PROVE GAINFUL TO YOUR ENDEAVORS BEYOND WHAT YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY IMAGINE."
Visions of the distant future flew through the heads of the bless-ed listeners; Gilded architecture of epic proportions spanned across entire mountain ranges, valleys, plains, tundras, deserts and even the indomitable Chaos Wastelands; machinations and mechanoids of futuristic technology dominating the skies, the sea and the land; beasts of long-forgotten eras flocking to a singular messiah amidst a sea of broken lands and hellfire raining from the skies; travel beyond the atmosphere, glimpses at the uncountable cosmic bodies lying beyond the insignificant particle this world represented.
"NO MATTER YOUR ALLEGIANCE, RACE, OR CONVICTIONS; UNDER HIS BANNER, YOU SHALL SEE PROSPERITY. THROUGH YOUR UNWAVERING TRUST IN HIM SHALL GOOD FORTUNE COME TO PASS. STRAY, AND BE ANNIHILATED IN THE WAKE OF HIS CAMPAIGNS WROUGHT UPON THIS EARTH BY ITS OWN FAULT."
In finality, premonitions of the near-future eventually gained hold of the listeners, fragmented and incomplete-
Dozens of leaders from different nations, seated at an ornate table amidst their amassed followers-
Tides of greenskins, washing over the Badlands and southern territories of the Old World, led by Grimgor Ironhide-
Skaven and Enos' forces leading subterranean campaigns against mountain strongholds-
Chaos demons amassing beneath a banner of Chaos Undivided-
And all at once, the visions ended. Hundreds fell to their knees and stomachs in mental exhaustion. The Avatar of Enos stood over their huddled masses, peering with satisfaction and expectation through its celestial eyes.
"TAKE CARE OF HIS BODY- IT REQUIRES UPKEEP."
And just like that, Enos' body was vacated entirely by the otherworldly presence, leaving a spluttering and coughing Enos forced back to consciousness and left hacking up blood onto the hard soil; his body shivering fervently and huddled against the ground as if yearning for heat. Silence filled the air after the fact, leaving everyone present in a state of grim silence. Nonetheless, the objective had been achieved at last.
The camp of Rokwork was taken.