RuneScape Forum Archive | The Weapons of Destiny

Dantalian

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The army of Zaros had split into small groups. Dressed in light leather armor, and bearing packs where their heavier plate armor had been stored, they moved through the jungle and a medium pace, managing to avoid both the heavy Deva garrisons guarding the roads, and being shielded from the watchful eyes of the Deva soldiers patrolling the skies.

The plan had been drawn out by Amatsu, and had won him Orcris' respect; with the army in small groups it was much harder to detect, and even if a group or two were caught, it should at least not prevent the majority of the army to be to cross, and at best would be able to mislead the border guards into believing that they were only a scouting party.

The decision to have the men remove their armor so as to not make as much noise had been unpopular with the troops at first, but a few hours of crawling through a jungle in the stifling heat had quickly convinced the dissenters to be thankful they were doing this without their armor adding to their discomfort.

Once across the border, the Zarosians would be splitting into four groups; Thomas would get a smaller army with which he was to, in Amatsu's words “Cause as much havoc as possible on the populace.” (A duty which the warlock was pleased to accept.) Orcris would lead another group on a forced march to the road between the capitals of Stork and Harrier territory, and block all reinforcements and communications between the two. Dantelion would lead a third force to the capital of Stork territory, attack the walls furiously for a few hours, then appear disheartened and retreat, drawing the Deva troops into the jungles, where he would separate and destroy their overconfident forces. While this was going on, Amatsu would arrive at the Stork capital with his force, and take the city. After Stork had been dealt with, Dantelion and Amatsu would lead their forces to meet with Orcris' and march onto the Harrier capital, where the final battle would be fought. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:16:01

Dantalian

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There was only one potential problem with this plan; Dantelion had confirmed that the Arch-Asurenda Kutheostra was in Muspellhiem. Currently she had taken up residence in the Harrier Capital (this was a major reason behind attacking Stork capital first.) But it was possible that she could move before the attack on the Stork Capital. If such a thing happened, the entire plan would fall to pieces.

Wars amongst Deva were almost civil; two armies met in the field (sometimes giving each other advanced notice), exchanged blows, and either retreated or surrendered when the battle went bad. Prisoners were taken liberally, and rarely mistreated, then were released at the end of the war. Due to this prescribed formula of war, Deva rarely thought of the actual strategies and tactics of the war, and as such could be tricked into doing something foolish.

The Asura were the exact opposite. Being the race of darkness, they were prone to deceptive tactics and cunning strategies. They were quick to seize advantages on a battlefield, and simultaneously suspicious of enemy intentions. If Kutheostra were to see a large army attack a city, then retreat when that attack failed, her suspicion would immediately be aroused, as she knew that even if a large army cannot take a fortified city it can always pull back, block off the roads and lay siege until the city either surrenders, or its defenders are forced to leave the safety of the city walls and try to break the siege.

Furthermore, the fighting style of Asura forces and Deva Forces are entirely different; A Deva always salutes his enemy before fighting, then fights honorably. If his enemy loses his weapon, the Deva points his blade at that enemy's chest and requests he surrenders. If the Deva loses his own blade, he surrenders. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:16:29

Dantalian

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As for an Asura, the closest thing to a salute that they will give an enemy is a knife in the back. While fighting an Asura tends to use poisoned weapons and will be quick to give the enemy a groin kick if she sees an opportunity to do so. Any enemy who loses his weapon whilst fighting an Asura is quickly dispatched. And if an Asura loses her own weapons (and indeed, they will be more then one, for every Asura going into battle carries at least one hidden and poisoned dagger) she will fight with teeth and nails. In fact, there are only three words in the Asura's native language which approximate the English word “surrender” the first of which translates to “Get close enough to stab in the back” the second of which means “We lost, let's leave” and the third of which means *That idiotic thing the Deva do.” (it is the opinion of many scholars of the Asura language that this last word is fairly new to the language, coming about only because during the last war between the Deva and the Asura, the Asura needed a word to communicate that the Deva had thrown down their weapons and wanted to be taken prisoner.)

On top of all this, the Asura had one final advantage in combat; during extreme situations, such as being cornered, or seeing a loved one in danger, Asura entered a state they called “Marajna”, a type of trance-like state in which their power, stamina, and agility drastically increased. According to Amatsu, there were also secondary effects that varied depending on the sub-group of Asura. He hadn't bothered to go over the varieties, instead just making it clear that it would take the full might of their army to take on Kutheostra's, and therefore not to provoke a fight with her's if possible. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:17:47

Dantalian

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Reaching the assigned meeting place for his regiment; a large clearing near the main road, Orcris motioned to his group to halt. Wordlessly, the troops began unpacking their armor and putting it on so they would be ready for the march. While his own group was doing this, Orcris looked around, gauging the number of troops that had already made it. From his quick calculations he estimated about a quarter of his soldiers had already arrived. The prescribed plan called for him to wait for a few more hours before quickly setting out. Looking toward the road, he noted with satisfaction that his elite archers were watching while concealed in the undergrowth. They had orders to kill on sight, no one was to know about Orcris' troops until they were fortifying the position between the capitals of the two Deva territories.

Satisfied that all was in place, Orcris laid back against a tree and allowed himself a brief rest.

Unbeknownst to the Zarosian commanders they had not entirely escaped notice. Kutheostra had stationed several patrols throughout the jungle, ignoring Lady Stork and Harrier's protests that any army would either march down the main road or sail across the sky on a fleet of airships. Kutheostra knew that a standard Deva army would do as the noble ladies had said, but like most Asura, was too paranoid to take anything for granted. These patrols had caught a number of odd “scouts” bearing full armor. And had quickly come to the conclusion that an enemy force was slipping through the border defenses to launch an invasion. Of course, they did not guess at the full scope of Amatsu's plans, but by informing Kutheostra and the two Mahadeva about the army sneaking in, ensured that they would not be totally unprepared for the impending invasion. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:18:27

Dantalian

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Another also noticed the Zarosian troops; a lone person standing on a hill not far from where Thomas' forces gathered. He possessed the feathered wings of the Deva, but his wings were not simply white like that of most Deva; they literally radiated their own light. He wore the armor of a knight, armor which was a brilliant white which reflected the light of the twelve suns, and therefore shone like a beacon.

This man looked at the forces of Zaros and sighed. He had long seen the beginnings of war in Muspellheim, and with the arrival of this alien force, knew that it was only a matter of time before the land was awash in blood. Still, there was hope. A way to end the war quickly and with little bloodshed had caught this man's attention, but he was unsure if it would work. Still he would take up residence in Erebos' dark abode before he let go of any hope, however small, of saving Muspellheim from an all out war. He had even considered going down to the Zarosian armies and fighting them alone. However, he was quick to notice the warlock Amatsu with them, and knew the collateral would be grave if the two of them dueled. It had briefly occurred to the knight that he should call upon one of “the others” for help, but his pride forbade it.

“Well look, our first prey.”

The knight smiled grimly as a group of Zarosians reached the summit of the hill. Eying the knight's armor with undisguised greed, they drew their swords.

“Leave me,” said the knight, “I have no love for your kind, but will nonetheless allow you to keep your lives if you leave immediately.”

“Confident, aren't we?* asked one of the Zarosians, apparently the captain, “Get him boys! The one who lands the killing blow gets half of the loot.”

Smiling eagerly at one another, the Zarosians spread out, surrounding the lone knight. The knight scowled under his helm at their cowardly tactics, and drew his blade. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:18:58

Dantalian

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The knight's blade shone with a brilliance that overpowered the light of all the twelve suns of Muspellheim. The light emitted from it was so powerful, that for miles, people saw what appeared to be yet another sun resting on a hill. The Zarosians attacking the knight were first blinded, then utterly obliterated by the light. All except the Zarosian captain, who intuitively realizing something was amiss, had called on Zaros for protection the moment the knight began to draw his blade, and even he had to avert his eyes until the knight sheathed his sword.

Looking at the knight, the Zarosian drew his own blade, expecting to do battle, and began shouting hymns to Zaros, calling upon his god to afflict the knight with curses. Ever willing to aid his followers, Zaros obliged. The knight felt Zaros' formidable power as if it was cobwebs brushing against him. Now truly irate, the knight reached toward the source of that power, on a far different plane.

It is extremely rare for a god to enter a single world completely. As sixth dimensional beings, they can simultaneously have part of themselves in several worlds at once. Even when a god is said to be in a world, that god normally only has a part of itself in that world. It is akin to if a human were to stick his finger through a knothole in a wall. (This, incidentally, is how the Dorgeushuun crossbow “attacks” a god, it begins to force the dimensional hole to close, making the god inclined to remove that part of itself from the world he is “being attacked” in.) The majority of a god normally exists on a sixth dimensional world created by either it alone or with the help of allied deities. This is preferable because it only puts a part of that god at risk when meeting with enemy gods. Since only part of both gods is in the same world, they can do only minor damage to one another. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:19:37

Dantalian

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It also has another benefit; the language that the gods speak is an eternal language which perfectly communicates exactly what the speaker is thinking. Since even benevolent deities keep secrets, it is common for the gods to converse in lower planes using a less perfect language when they wish to speak to one another. As such, it is very rare for two gods to meet in entirety.

Zaros was a solitary god. His ambitions made him wish to overcome all the other gods, and therefore he was not well thought of by his brethren. As such, his realm was empty except for him, and he spent most of his time looking out into the other worlds, listening to the prayers of his followers, and granting them favors. Like many of the godly realms, his was an isolated sixth-dimensional realm, secreted in the infinite expanse of the eternal, seventh-dimensional world where the First God and Akyros abide. Explicitly, Zaros' realm was in the Void, Akyros' portion of the seventh-dimension, which existed on the fringes of the rest of the realm.

Under normal circumstances, one god cannot find the realm of another, however, in order to answer prayers, a god must send his essence to the world the prayer is coming from, this act creates a stream of divine power which another god of sufficient power can follow.

By allowing his curses to fall on the knight, Zaros had unknowingly provided just such a path. Thus it was to his utter shock, that Zaros found his realm bathed in an endless, relentless, and painful light. The light pierced through him, illuminating every one of his plethora of secrets. Zaros immediately recognized the god that had invaded his realm, and let out the divine equivalent of a gasp, for he was in the presence of one of the primordial gods; particularly, Aither, god of light, and the primordial god was clearly displeased. For the second time since he came into being, Zaros was fearful. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:20:46

Dantalian

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Zaros was powerful, certainly one of most powerful of the Gielinorian gods, perhaps even the most powerful. But Aither's power surpassed even that of the elder gods. Zaros was no fool, he knew that he could not match Aither, at least not now... maybe sometime in the distant future when his worship had spread from Gielinor and across the universe, but not now.

Speaking in the language of the gods, Aither made it very clear that Muspellheim was his territory and he expected the other gods to stay out of it unless they had explicit permission to do otherwise. Zaros was quick to agree to Aither's demands, and immediately left his followers in Muspellheim to their own power. Still, he did not relax until the last speck of light had left his realm, leaving him alone in the vast emptiness of the Void once more.

Though shaken, Zaros was somewhat grateful that he had answered the prayers of his followers while they were in Muspellhiem. He knew that eventually his forces would enter Niflheim, the land which Erebos, the primordial god of darkness, claimed as his own. Unlike Aither, who became angered easily, but also calmed down easily, Erebos was a vengeful god and probably wouldn't have simply let Zaros off with a warning, especially since Zaros had no doubt that the god of darkness was displeased with Zaros for trying to kill his chosen; the child of darkness.

Calming himself a bit, Zaros let the captains of his armies in Muspellheim know that he would be unable to answer their prayers until they returned to Gielinor, and turned his attention to the mortal realms once more. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

03-Feb-2011 07:21:06

Orcris

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No aid from Zaros eh. Guess we mortals have to step it up. Be ready, keep alert, and a sharp mind. Need a plan B if attacking the capital does not work like that. Time for the chess game to begin.

~Est sularis oth mithas~

04-Feb-2011 06:00:05

Eno Remnant

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Indeed. Loving the add, too!

Hate to sound pushy (Though I often do), but you haven't visited my story in quite some time.

~When choosing between two evils~
~I always go with the one I haven't tried before~
~Dogone143-Eno of the Trificix~

05-Feb-2011 00:07:01 - Last edited on 05-Feb-2011 02:47:10 by Eno Remnant

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The Weapons of Destiny