THE DARKEST OF BEGINNINGS

THE FORMATION OF THE KNIGHTS OF EREBUS

Ever since the creation, the world lost has its collective knowledge throughout its existence from the burning of the Lighthouse of Alexandria to the destruction of the innovations, Roman sciences; along with the cultural respect and solidarity. Once the dawn of the Dark Ages began the world crumbled and led into its bleak descent into sickness, hatred followed by willful ignorance.

The world was simply content on the current explorations, while their desire to progress was met on need alone and not one wonder.  This would change the shrouded order of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria wanted the world to have a unified sense of order. Or was it that a little bird… A Cardinal… whispered in her ears…  She called for a revolution of the mind. Though, when proposing this idea to many countries she was met with hostility and mocking. Instead of accepting the offer of peace and coming together as one under different rulers, the world chose to stay divided each wallowing in their own devices and spurring war not only with themselves but with other counties.  Disgusted with the collective decision of the world, the Queen took the matter into her own hands.  She would form her own coalition that would not only cater to the state of the world but would hold its own information shielded from the public in regard to the world’s advancements.  Queen Victoria sought out members to represent each major country to be unified with the purpose of advancement. They would be the watchers over the free world.  Two parties equal in power and likeness but with their own approach under one rule.   Queen Victoria would come to have The Order of Erebus and the Order of Gaisma.

The dawning of the two orders was indeed a task unlike any had seen before.  But it was under the advisement of Cardinal Daffin, that the those within the Orders were first selected.   For the Knights of Erebus, Marcus Grey and Akira Ishii would be the recruiters of what would be known as the First Generations of Knights.  They scoured the world in search for those that were unique but like minded individuals that would join them in reforming the balance that was once lost.  Darkness and Shadows would bind them together tighter than blood and thicker than any thief.  They swore not to the Queen but to the idea of freedom and free-thinking.  From their shadows, they would drag down the disparate forces of the world. 

The Knights of Gaisma, didn’t need to search for their members.  It seemed that the contradicting Order of Light was already in place. No one questioned the curiousness of this.  For it was Cardinal Daffin, the First Knight of Gaisma that handpicked Marcus Grey. This Order of Fire and Light was not pristine and holy as they would like to believe that they were. Their allegiance was to Queen Victoria and her words… until she passed.  Then too did they follow suit in keeping the world free.   Though, they held secrets of their own.  Darker than any shadow that would or could be casted by their counterparts, The Knights of Erebus.   Hidden in their prideful eyes, a destructive and ancient secret danced around always there.  It began with a word… a true name.  Librams…. 

Two Orders.

Both equal in status and equal in power to service as protectors and reformers to shape the world from then on.

Once the first generation of knights of each order was in place, soon came their gifts.

To the Knights of Gaisma; they would wield the authority of fire and light.  They had the ability to conquer flames without a source of ignition and the seemingly divine light could oust any darkness that crossed their paths.  To each Knight of Gaisma came a weapon personalized to each one in a fiery manifestation that only they could summon and wield.

Onto the Knights of Erebus were given the supremacy of shadows and darkness. They could harness the darkness molding it to their own will snuffing out all manner of light.  They not only could form a blanket of blackness but Knights of Erebus make every shadow a weapon.  Where the Knights of Gaisma’s abilities seemed divine, The Knights of Erebus abilities were appeared as they were breed from an ancient eldritch source. 

The illusion wasn’t far from the truth

The Knights of Erebus possessed great abilities though there were to be as equal as Knights of Gaisma, it was so much more.  The Erebrans were giving their powers from a source of darkness that was tolled over in secret, lunacy, and death.  There is a place that few knights know of, the Queen recused herself of knowing full knowledge of where is hellish pit sat, in fear that she would suffer from the unnatural fixation of the place.   This place was set a name the Ganzer Ashme

Far beneath the Hall of Cinder where the Tribunal Thrones are set lays the Ganzer Ashme.   A vast garden of blackened trees and bushes.  It’s offspring; the seeds, the fruits, vegetables and the leaves were so opaque that it absorbs light.   A viscous liquid seeped from the trees and the petals unto its roots.   This garden needed no tending because it feed off of itself and it flourished in the gloomy pit.   Tales have it that initially there were sacrifices made to something beyond their understanding of malevolence.   There were tales of the Chaos and Void in which spewed forth this… loathsome vastness of vegetation.

But what power grew forth from this obscurity.  What ungodlyabilities were gained from ingesting just the petals of the flower.  What great nightmarish aptitude was granted from the fruit.   The Knights of Erebus were abominations in the cover of human flesh… Could that be called even humans anymore?There was a name for the power that Ganzer Ashme gave them.  A name for the power over atrocities, monstrosities and darkness.  It bound them together as brethren and wove them thicker than blood. 

The Lama Kiri….

THE FORMATION OF PANTHEON AND THE DIRE KNIGHTS

In the 1950s, a young man by the name of Augustine Dagenhart had taken over the post of Clement Jefferson in America.  Jefferson, had met an untimely demise in Germany during his mission to take German intel some five years earlier.  Jefferson’s death was very clear and cut to the Order of Erebus.  Though, it was something much more sinister.  No one would come to know the how much blood Augustine had on his hands.  He wore that crimson in secret, with sorrow and with pride.  Jefferson having no heir to pass down his knighthood nor apprentice to take his place, Augustine Dagenhart was taken from his British post and placed in America.

The young Dagenhart was given the means to create his own bioengineering company that would go by the name of Pantheon. Pantheon specialized in many branches of bioengineering such as medical, agricultural, bionics, biochemical, human-factor, environmental health, and genetic engineering. The company held a strong hand in weapon manufacturing and engineering. However, this would be lesser known to the world and only utilized for the Knights of Erebus rather than openly shared.  Though, many military powers were no stranger to the advanced weaponry and would come to know Pantheon, they knew nothing of the organization’s more sinister nature.

With the company’s growing success, Augustine Dagenhart’s mind often went to worry about his future. He didn’t fear for the fall of his company, because he was at the time a Knight and the Knights were in place all over the world and across many facilities and government offices to ensure the stability of the world. What he worried for was his legacy.   He didn’t want the same to happen to him that had happened to Clement Jefferson.  He wouldn’t have that same fate… Then again, Augustine knew that his presence was unmovable force thanks to what he created.    The steps he would take to ensure his legacy would be secure; the move was drastic however it was much needed.

Cloning was still in its initial stages during that time… The young Knight’s methods would be perceived as madness.   He didn’t simply want a clone; he wanted a family unit of his own design that was capable of not only carrying on his legacy by surpassing him in ways that he could yet to imagine. Augustine would spend months in the depths of his laboratory.   These beings would be crafted not only from his DNA, the arcane that had been gifted to him by the Lama Kiri and something rather unique.  They would be crafted too from the DNA that held prominence on the Dagenhart coat of arms… Wolves.  

His design of his newest family would be… tactical to say the least.   He didn’t want them to bare any real resemblance to himself.  He feared that it would make them a target in some fashion either by resentment or by the literal sense. Merely, they would have his personality and they would all share one common trait in regard to their visage.  Bright golden eyes. There would be three that he would create two men and one woman.  He would call them his Dire Knights.

Ares was the first created more or less of a test to see that it could be done.  From an artificial embryonic sag came the fully developed man whose DNA was sculpted from that Dagenhart’s plans.  Ares was a tall bearded man much like his name sake. Since his creation, he had taken to weapon and vehicle manufacturing with a love of aviation, Ares would Head Engineering for a time.

After seeing the success that Ares had become, Dagenhart decided to create a perfect pair for each other.  Their names would be Phonoi and Moirai.  The Knight was doubtful that they two would be able to reproduce due to their creation however he did hope for the best.  Phonoi was just as tall as Ares.  His hair was dark as night and when he laughed it seemed like the room shook. His strength was immense, all of them had such a feature but Phonoi more so.  In this Phonoi would find himself Head of recruit training and lead of many excursions.  Then there was Moirai.  She was the only female from the creation process and had proven to have extremely high intelligence. Her eyes were golden like the sun.  She was as skillful in the laboratory as she was in the conference room and out on the field.  Her versatility had earned her a very close spot in Dagenhart’s heart.  Moirai’s skill with genetic mapping and her innovations for getting information from those that were considered tight lipped would grant her the title of being the Head of Genetic Engineering and Interrogations.

Augustine Dagenhart had his Dire Knights as his legacy should the time come for his untimely demise or when he was to gracefully fade into his retirement. They were perfect humanoids in appearance however they did tend to take on the characteristics of the creatures that were used in their creation. Their transformations were monstrous though they were nothing that they couldn’t revert from on freewill.

Many years Pantheon was one of the leading and more forefront developers in Biotechnology under the watchful eyes of the Knights of Erebus.  The Knights of Erebus shadowed the future of the world ensuring that new order would be in place embarking on a new revolution. They had the aspirations of placing a new age of enlightenment, scientific explorations and cultural revolutions.  However, as time passed it proved that there were some Knights that did not wish to share their equalities or rights with the rest of the world.  These knights thought that it the new age shouldn’t be global but only fit for a single group.  The Tribunal found those that disagreed with their core principles to be extremely dangerous, thus calling for their elimination of their individual companies and their assassinations.   

One of many Knights charged with the duty of dispatching them was no other than Dagenhart and his Dire Knights. Those that opposed the Tribunal fled into hiding, others took the fight to plan sight.  War was never what the media portrayed it to be.  It always rooted back to those that were against the Orders  Once powerful businesses collapsing not wholly because of the economy but because the Knights had managed to take away their financial standings.  Political party’s disputes, scandals, and resignations were all the puppets of the Knights of Erebus or those that opposed them. 

THE COMING OF ERIS

 During the Cold War, Dagenhart was requested to drop troops on the ground during the Invasion of Grenada.  He wanted none other than Moirai to be front runner for her night capture tactics and it would give her the opportunity to seek out those that had made themselves hostile targets to the Knighthood.  Moirai however declined the order to go for her personal safety.  To this Dagenhart was purely shocked. Usually his Dire Knights were willingly the first one on most scenes because they felt that they could accomplish most missions on a solo basis.  Taken aback by her answer, he furthered inquired her reasoning. 

Nervously she simply replied. “Because, you’re going to be a grandfather.”

He stared at her letting it all sink in and when her words finally hit him Augustine Dagenhart was moved to tears. The family that he had created was growing and he couldn’t have been more pleased.  What he didn’t know was… He had been a grandfather before…  He would never come to know this unborn child’s sibling.  Nor would Phonoi.  This child was conceived and lost in the year that Moirai and Ares were stationed away from Phonoi.    The small creature would never come to know a birth name.  It would never come to know its parents but it would know life somewhere far from them….

On November 29, Eris was born to Moirai and Phonoi.  She was born without any complications even given the genetic makeup of her parents. Though, there was concern, for a few moments as she was born deathly silent, then as if on cue she screamed ensuring that her lungs were filled with air and life. Dagenhart would recount the story and tell many that the tiny child only wanted to make sure she had everyone’s full attention before she said anything.

During her childhood, Eris was given unusual care.  She was educated privately for security reasons.  Even though she was privately educated under not only Dagenhart’s supervision but also under the Knights of Erebus.  Augustine had no trust to have her in the presence of the Knights of Gaisma.  He wanted to immerse her into what it meant to be an Ereban. The young girl did have some interactions with children her own age.  Many of them she found boring or idiotic.  Eris was surprised to find that many in her age group weren’t on the same intellectual level as her.  She had little patience for them and often was quick to anger.  Her grandfather offered her a piece of advice that would serve her for the rest of her life. “Not everyone can be your equal especially in intelligence.  However, letting them believe that they are your equal will gain you more power than you can imagine. Even if you have the higher intellect and power in your hands, never show it. This way not only is everyone happy, but you will always have the upper hand in more ways than one.”  A piece of advice she would take to heart even into her adulthood.

Eris received many facets of training from her childhood onwards into her adult life. Since she was barely able to walk Augustine would take her to the Tribunal meeting.  It gave him a chance to show off his granddaughter and it was the start of her exposure to Knighthood. This was his unconscious way of providing her with the tools she would need.  Eris would grow to be his chosen stand in. The decision was met with curiosity rather than opposition.  Why would prefer this child… his granddaughter to squire rather than his children?  At the age of ten, Eris was sworn in by the Tribunal as a Squire of the Knights of Erebus. She was young but not the youngest to enter the knighthood.  During the ceremony, she would be joined by another child her age.  Eris had never meet the other girl before and found herself taking a liking to her.  Christina Amura Eris Dagenhart-Klytemnestri. Dire Knight by birthright.  During this time, her education consisted of biochemical technology, bionics, nanotechnology, military strategy, and tactics, along with other basics that were needed for her to be the picturesque Knight of Erebus but also the Chairwoman of Pantheon.   Her parents and Ares taught her the essentials of their duties as well.  Eris quickly had taken a liking to interrogations.  The apple hardly fell from the tree.

Often when her parents were away she was left in the care of her grandfather and if not in his… then Waverly.  Waverly, too a Knight of Erebus, had always been a constant in Eris’ life.  Waverly took to the small girl and Eris took to him.  When he first met the bright smiling Eris he told her from that very moment.  “We’re going to be thicker than thieves and cause twice the trouble you and me” That has rung true till this very day.   Waverly had become something of an older brother to Eris.  Often, he would stop by the Dagenhart Estates just to deliver gifts and to check on his little sister.   His role in her life as a surrogate brother entitled him to be her protector.  That he did until she was old enough to protect herself and yet he still calls himself her first knight.   He kept a watchful eye over her.  Though, it was never clear to whom he was trying to keep away from her.  Augustine has his suspicions but he didn’t want to believe that one of his very own would harm his granddaughter.

Dagenhart’s company and life would run smoothly for the next few years, until tragedy stuck.

In 1998, Dagenhart had taken his granddaughter to a Reykjavik, Iceland. During their periods of darkness, the aura Borealis was a beautiful sight.  Raising his children and his grandchild, he noticed how much they loved the colder climates and were in awe of the night sky; especially Eris.   He would catch her gazing at the night sky in wonder.  At times muttering to herself in a language intangible to his ears.  Many times, he questioned what she was saying.  She would simply reply to him, “If you talk to the dark in its language it replies.”  There was something disturbing and delightful that etched itself across her face.   At the time, he only assumed it was her imagination and her love of the night.  It wouldn’t be until she got older she would learn that those forgotten moments would mean so much more.

The senior knights and tribunal were meeting there to discussion the following economic changes and what could be done to change it not only for their favor but for the rest of the world and set for a detailed plan on removing certain heads of government worldwide to ensure the stability of the public. Back in the States Phonoi, Moirai and Ares were carrying about their daily task when there was an attack launched on the Pantheon; not only were knights caught in the whirlwind of death but too were the civilians that were employed there.   Floor by floor was raided by gun wielding operatives shouting expletives on how the world would not be dragged into an age that it was not ready for.  Many were frightened and didn’t understand the insane rhetoric.  The Knights knew exactly what they meant and who it was directed towards.  Their first objective was to secure the information within the building as well as protect those who could not defend themselves.

Pantheon was not the only area subject to attack.  Hotel Borg was being swarmed in the process.  Eris found out via a news break on the radio.  Augustine wanted Eris to stay close to the helicopter away from the location in the event that something was to happen.  This was the first moment that Eris knew that something was amiss before listening to the radio.  The older man said that he had felt uneasy upon their landing.  Augustine never left his granddaughter with the helicopter.  He proudly brandished his legacy amongst his peers.  This day he wouldn’t do such a thing.  Maybe it was a paternal nature that alerted him maybe it was his battle worn instincts…. Whatever the reasons, it didn’t sit well with Eris and placed her on guard.   Then she heard it… death and carnage that echoed behind the voice on the radio calling on all private channels for aid.

This was the first moment that Eris could recall the feeling of terror… yet that fear was overshadowed by a sense of duty. Eris told the pilot to proceed to their location.  However, the pilot wasn’t keen on going to the place that was currently under fire in a secluded location.  The young squire reminded the pilot that it was his duty to rescue the Knights and if it meant his death then he would have served his purpose and proceeded to remind him of his vows. “If you are subject to death here it would be less drawn out then once your offenses are to be presented to the rest of the Tribunal.”

Eris armed herself with a sniper rifle and a sidearm while the pair were in midair.  She went to radio Pantheon to the situation at hand, however her call was met with one of distress as well.  It was her father and mother that was other end, “Someone sabotaged the meeting. Don’t come back here until it is safe, you understand me?”  Her father spoke. “We’ll see you when you get back.”   Phonoi’s tone at the latter was nearly solemn and calm. 

“We love you, okay sweetheart. Be brave always. We’ll be here.”  The voice of her mother came through.  What she didn’t know was that her parents werelying.  They pair had secured an exit separating themselves between where the civilians and where Ares were.  They instructed Ares to assist in making sure everyone was safe and far enough away from the area.  The told their brethren that they would provide cover fie but this was something else altogether.  Once Ares confirmed the safety of everyone, Phonoi forced the older Dire Knight through the door, but not before telling him to make sure that his daughter was cared for.  Phonoi shoved Ares through the steel plated door.  Ares couldn’t do anything but watch and slam his fist on the door in horror of what was happening on the other side of the room. The operatives charged through the door being met with an arsenal of weapons and explosion.  The sound drowned out Ares’ cries and screams of sorrow and rage.

Before Eris had time to respond to her parents, the helicopter was struck in back with a missile sending it whirling to the ground roughly a mile away from the location of the rendezvous point. The crash instantly killed the pilot and left Eris wounded and near dead.  Eris wasn’t sure how long she was there laying in the snow surrounded by flames and her blood coloring the snow in crimson. The sound that caused her to come to was that of wolves attempting to drag the pilot’s half-burnt corpse from his seat.  She scoffed a bit at the irony.  No matter what the poor man had done he would have died a painful death.

Eris looked up and was face to face with one of the wolves; without much thought at all she muttered in the forgotten tongue the words she spoke into the night sky.  For what seemed like an eternity their glances never parted. Then finally the wolf went on with its pack feeding on pilot.  The healing aspect of the Dire Knight’s had run the course that it could.  For she wasn’t healed complete, the damage she obtained would linger.  There was nothing around except a flame coming from the far distance. That was where her grandfather was. Eris had to secure her wounds enough to that she wouldn’t cause an active blood trail.  Eris didn’t possess the abilities of the Knights of Erebus; she couldn’t use the shadows to accelerate her movements but she could only use them as cover from her assailants.    She took to the thicket of the woods to give her cover however she would find that she would be alone for long. Several of the wolves from the crash site that hadn’t had their fill followed her.  They moved through the darkness as one pack.  Eris no longer had her sniper rifle but however she did have her sidearm and the knife that was torn away from the burn body of the pilot.  In her mind, this is all that she needed to push far enough until she gotten a hold of more efficient weapons. 

It wasn’t long before Eris had gotten to the compound.  A few of the assailants were standing around the edge of the woods. The squire could take out one and take his weapon but it would have been nearly impossible to take them all out without being noticed.  As she pondered her strategy, the wolves instinctively charged those that were standing post.  Their gargled screams filled the darkness.  Eris was able to slice the throat of one of the men standing guard taking his weapons and moving forward. Once inside, Eris opened fire causing them to be thrown from their current plan of actions.  What she ran in on was a display to the likes she had never seen before.  The Knights and Tribunal member called forth great and loathsome shadows and abominations to aid them dispatch the barrage of bullets that descended upon them.  Such carnage and blood shed … felt… correct to the young girl.  It felt natural.  Without another moment’s hesitation, she started in and opened fire where she could find a living target.   She found herself back to back with Waverly.  They both let out an untimely laugh as they both chanted “Thicker Than Thieves.”

The ordeal was long pressed however, the dusted settled and the shadows receded back to their natural states.  A bloodied Augustine finally met up with an even more so bloodied granddaughter. Battered but elated, Eris told her grandfather that everyone was waiting for them at Pantheon and was sure that her parents and Ares had handled the situation.  At this Augustine had broken down to tears as he knelt before her.  At first Eris didn’t understand; she knew there would be some rebuilding but it couldn’t have been that bad.  Augustine had told what Ares had reported.  “Your mother and father saved a lot of people. They took out most of attackers if not all of them according to Ares. This I don’t doubt. My sweet girl, I am so sorry.”  The frigid night in Iceland had gotten that much colder at the deliverance of his news.

For ten years, Eris had undergone extreme training both physically and mentally to prepare her for the next chapter in her life.  Eris as she grew stronger she too grew colder. There was a darkness that stirred within her… She had little tolerance for sloppy work nor behavior in business or during deep concerns of the knighthood.  She executed each task with precision matched by no other; though she was humbled by those that could do something better than she could.  She applauded them; knowing that not everyone could master everything.  Eris held true to her duties despite the loss of her parents. She vowed to stamp out the threat that faced not only Pantheon and the Knights of Erebus but she vowed to find out who sabotaged the Order. There was a growing threat from within.  No one spoke of it but she could feel it looming even without the aid of the Lama Kiri, the darkness was warning her of something murderous and foul.

 When she was Twenty-Five years old she was sworn in before hundreds of the Knights and their loyal squires as Lady Eris Dagenhart-Klytemnestri, Knight of Erebus and Chairwoman of Pantheon.  Her grandfather has since retried granting her his title over his company.  Though retired, Augustine is still an active part in Pantheon while he has taken his place on the Tribunal. Eris after becoming the Chairwoman, began putting Pantheon on a global map to the likes that the Order had never seen.  Eris found that the best hiding place was in plan sight.  The Knights of Erebus would be the benevolent hand to those that needed it and be the malicious to those that defied it. After being knighted, Eris was finally infused with the fruit from the Ganzer Ashme.  In taking the blackened fruit she knew had become acquainted with shadows, obscurity, darkness, death and the VOID.  The Void now not only ran through her veins but she became a part of it.  The Void consumed her as she had consumed it. 

In Darkness, It BOUND Them.

Eris’ skill wielding and melding with the Lama Kiri earned her the title of being the Ereban’s prodigy.  This wouldn’t go unnoticed by the Knights of Gaisma either.   They looked upon the young woman as a formidable alley …  but too worried if she could be a threat.  They did not forget themselves with the Knights of Erebus as they kept a horrible truth from the masters of monstrosities.

Further into her age, Eris had caught the undivided attention of one specific Tribunal Member, Octavian Lennox.  A man who was one of the First-Generation Knights, one who Marcus dubbed, The Red Death.  He recalled seeing her many times.  He could recall looking over her progress but most of all he could recall how she smiled and how her eyes were brighter than the moon and burned like the sun.  It was when she spoke to him that he had fallen for her.  He had never before been quaked by another presence nor had another presence quailed his when he was in the room.  To Octavian, Eris was something close to spiritual thus he addresses her as Divinity….    Eris found herself smitten with the advances of Tribunal Member.  She enjoyed his admiration and honesty.   Because of his nature, she was able to learn from his abilities.  Their Lama Kiris feed off one another becoming stronger and interwoven.  So much so in a way that even without the other present the other’s shadow ego would appear in times of distress.

Not long after the pair married and were dedicated to the Order while looking to have a family all of their own.  However, they found within the Order of Erebus a good of like minds that called for a New Order.  They were a part of a cycle and that cycle needed to be broken. They started to see where things did not simply add up.  It was a small group of them and they kept the idea and knowledge to themselves as more was uncovered.  They greatest discovery would be The Kisher Amah… The heart of darkness…

This place, the Kisher Amah, held answers to which the likes of their minds have not thought to ask.  It would be Eris, Octavian, Augustine and Waverly for now to taste the true Void.  Eris’ lips were tight on the discovery until she could without a doubt trust their other brethren with what had been unearthed…

Darkness bound them

The Lama Kiri guided them

The Kisher Amah evolved them…..

Derangement…  Utter insanity was falling around the House of Wolves, The Dagenharts and the Crimson Wave.

Where the Knights of Gaisma had taken no interest before-they were now involved.  Under the cloak of night, the Knights of Gaisma and the Primordial made a devastating pact. Annihilation of those not in their legion.  The hammer fell down and the hunt began.

Unity… was a beautiful and terrifying thing.  The umbrae danced around the light that they hurled into offices, into homes, in the bodies that stood in the way- shielding those that could not defend themselves.  Erebians fell protecting squires, children, humans…  from the very people that they dared called their brothers and sisters.

For those Houses, there was nothing to warn them in mass.  The Unified Eyes of the World were in perfect sync in their secrecy.  It was only by the foresight and guilty conscience that as many were saved.  

“Eris!” Agatha shouted from the gaping void.  She struggled to keep the pathway open, she had not been to the Earth plane in over 10,000 years.  “He is going to kill the children. THEY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!!”

“Gods!” Eris whispered dragging Agatha in.  Her heart raced in her chest.  All of their children had been moving-never staying in one place for too long.  They didn’t want the Primordial Night to have a chance at harming them-but now-now it was too late.   “Waverly, Gather the House of Spiders-“

“Eris…” Agatha panted. “ They are going to wipe out all of you.  They are coming…”

Ever so rare there was horror on the Exalted Knights face.  Her eyes widen and her stomach sank. Was this the horror that her parents felt when Pantheon was attacked? Was this the fear that flowed through them as a hateful fate stared them down?  Never before had she been unsure of her ability to protect her children, to ensure the survival of her House and the Houses that have followed her.

Waverly stood grim.  How many of them would perish?  How could they get everyone out? “We’ve stood alone before, we’ll do it again, and again until our last breath even if it is this day.”

“No…the Void Gods… they are coming…” She looked back to the Pathway ominously

“You don’t believe in the Void Gods.” Eris shook her head.

“Believe in me.” Agatha’s grip tightened on Eris.  “Just believe and act fast.  GO!  I’ll help open as many Pathways as I can.”

Waverly took Agatha to the House of Spiders and quickly explained that they were under attack from their own and they needed to leave the plane.  Agatha tore open Several Pathways and instructed the Elder Twins to get as many people to those points into the void and wade their way through. Humans would struggle as they didn’t have the Lama Kiri and even the Lama Kiri that they possessed may not be strong enough to wade through as quickly as they want.  They needed to preserve and go.

Eris could not get in contact with her Grandfather… he was facing down death at his footsteps in the Hall of Cinder.

“I thought you of all people would be ABOVE all this!!” Augustine bellowed over the summoning of his Shadow Hounds charging at Marcus and His Griffons. “Has the idea of power blinded you so heavily ?”

His gloves were already stained with blood as he pulled them tighter on his hands.  “No.  It’s Order.  That is the reason I am doing this.  You and your kind have created disorder for FAR TOO LONG, DAGENHART!”

There was an exchange of adumbrations thrashing the Hall, pillars crumbled around them as the two Elders fought.  From a Pathway erupted a series of threads that found their way around one of Marcus’s arms.  He scarcely notices until Margot stepped out of the void with her hand outstretched screaming.  “YOU ARE KILLING OUR CHILDREN, YOU WEAK BASTARD!!”  With a simple flinch of her fingers, there was a spray of blood that filled the room.   She had taken Marcus’s arm.   Augustine summoned spines to pin him against the wall to keep him from further attacking.  The Hall was suddenly flooded with soldiers… Knights… following orders handed down from their former brothers and sisters.

“It was a pleasure fighting with you Margot.  If time was kinder… I would have fought by your side at every chance granted.”  Augustine spoke solemnly as he called forth a bladed shadow staff to his hands.

“Let’s make it count then. Show these bunch of bastards what a real scrap looks like, eh?” She laughed even in the face of death.  

They put up their dark shields, just as above them came a deafening boom that quaked the Hall. A Pathway ripped above them, but none such as they have seen before.  Within their ears alone they heard the words. KNEEL AND AVERT YOUR EYES TO SIGHT OF EONS!

Together they knelt as if they were squires again taken their oaths. Neither of them closed their eyes but merely dared not to look up from their bowed positions.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!!”  Echoed several of the soldiers.  This was quickly muffled out by the sound of carnage and gyro spilling around them.  Their darkened bubbled held firm as body parts, fluid and entrails splattered around them.

“NO GOD PLEASE!” 

“I WAS ONLY DOING WHAT-“

“MERC-“

Begs and pleases turned into questions of logic… bellowing that they couldn’t exist. That what they seeing wasn’t real at all.   Margot peered at the soldiers tearing off their mask to claw out their own eyes, slitting with own throats then some just shooting themselves quickly.

Screams of terror. Gurgling death and ire soon fell to silence.  Augustine still remained silent as did Margot.  They caught small glances of a creature shifting into something humanoid…. Or at least from what they saw was humanoid feet.   “Stand, sweet children.  We’ve woken from our slumber to take our children home.  ”

They both looked upon the woman before them- her smile soothed them.  Margot thought she was looking at the very embodiment of peace.  “Who are you?”

The Goddess chuckled.  “I am Arwai Goddess of the Dark Wood and Earth of the Kisher Amah.  I will make the journey easy for you.  I and my brothers and sisters will gather all that we can.  Our strength is limited, now but our will is greater.

“ GODS SAKE MOVE!” Gawain shouted to James Grey.    “Barricade the doors, man.”  

The children were crying all around them.   James was doing his best to calm them down while walling up all he could round them.   James Grey, the abomination of the Grey House simply because he refused to use his Shadowmancy… now was using it because he had no choice.  He wasn’t going to allow his father to take the innocent lives of children.   Gawain, the only Knight of Gaisma that stood opposite of them swore never to hurt an innocent.  This war was never meant to happen.  Killing one another was never supposed to happen.  This wasn’t apart of the oaths that he had sworn to when he was just a lad.

“I don’t fucking know how to use my shadow, OKAY!!!” James screamed frantically.  “Not efficiently, I can make a shield, I don’t know how long it’ll hold.”  

“I don’t want to die!  Why are they doing this to us?” A child screamed.  

Gawain picked up the child taking him over to the other children in the back of the room.  “I don’t know, I know that you’re not going to die.   We’re here to protect you.  No matter the cost.”

No matter the cost…

The words echoed in James’ mind.  He was the weak Grey.  The one who was deemed the coward amongst titans.  The one who feared his own shadow- would gladly die protecting those weaker than him.  In these moments he found his courage.   “Gawain. How good are you at ranged attacks?”

Gawain looked up from the boy.  “Fairly good.  What do you have?”

“We’ve backed ourselves into a corner.  I’m not good at a lot of things. I can make a shield charge over and over again, but I’ll need to you pick them off one by one.  We can’t let them come to the door.  We have to open it and let them fill the hallway only half way each time.”

“I’m good at throwing bolts!”

“ I can make shadow snares!”

“ I can summon bigs snakes!”

The children all shouted what they could offer.  A part of James didn’t want them to endanger themselves.  But at the rate they were going, they needed all the help they could manage.  

“It’s the best we got.”

Once they were all in the position, their readied their attacks.  The narrow hallway turned into a cavern of traps and bolts of darkness and light.  One by one, soldiers fell as they tried to push their way through the hallway.   It didn’t take them long to figure out that they need to go around to the sides of the room.   Before they could, one of the children felt the vibration of rushing water.

“WATER!!!” Shouted a child pointing.

This through off a few of the soldiers.  They turned to see black waves crashing into the corridor.  In this waves held dreaded tentacles, finned beasts, and what looked to be a Siren walking on top of the waves. Beneath the waves, however, was Waverly and Lance ensure that thought that wasn’t devoured by the beast met their end by blade or by twine.

“What miracles is this?” Gawain laughed.

Waverly emerged from the waves dry.  He looked at Gawain and James.  He didn’t need to ask the obvious questions.  But merely placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded.  “Thank you.  Both.”  They protected their children. The weakest of the Orders- strong enough to ensure that the future would survive on.  

“Are these all your children?”  The apparent Siren dispelled the water and opened a pathway.

“No.” Waverly Muttered.  “Shit.  They’re at Pantheon!” He communicated to Eris through the shadows.  “ Get to Tower Three!!”  Waverly split open a Pathway there not looking back.  “ Lance get the children here to safety.”

“Come, I’ll make sure you’re all free from harm.” The Siren smiled with too many teeth.

“Who-Who are you?” James asked nervously standing before the children.  

“I’m Moha, Goddess of the Dark Waters of the Kisher Amah.  Come now, we don’t have time to waste.  Our powers are low- we must hurry.”  

They fought like iron standing side by side.  The Dagenhart Twins weren’t the oldest of the most highly skilled among the children that were rallied together, they were just the most in sync with their abilities.  By their side, were Waverly’s children giving them cover.  

“Oi!  Stay low!” Sarah shouted to the younger children behind as she threw grenades towards the soldiers.

“Where in the hell did you grab a grenade?!”  Marcus shouted.  

“It’s been in my bag for three days!”  

“We need to go deeper!  I’ll take the ri-“ Nathaniel's words were cut short as he was hit in the arm with the vicious flick of a Solar Whip.  Within seconds the boy was on the ground screaming in pain.  The flesh of his arm searing to the bone.

Stepping through the door was LeAndra dragging her whip that just struck the boy and Octavian.  “You’ll take nothing, boy,”  Octavian spoke clutching his hand readying his Corruption.   Behind them, soldiers flooded the surrounding offices.  “I’ve never liked you, the way you looked at my daughter… especially never liked your father.  You look just like him.”  He took steps towards the boy.  There was sneer in his face.  The only thing he could see was Waverly in the boy.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re House is buried with the dogs.” 

 Octavian released a miasma down upon him.  It was in Octavian’s rage that the didn’t see even his own children.  His malice and hatred only saw Waverly’s.  The world started to slow down as he heard Isa’ scream and she covered Nathaniel. Her scream was unintelligible.  She only knew that she needed to protect her friend and she would do anything to ensure they all survived.

She turned away from her Father readying herself for what pain would come.  Nothing came…. Nothing…  Isa looked upwards a second time and saw that she could not see Octavian… she saw only the back of her brother.

The next sounds that followed were the screams of Eris.  The Pathway opened to her seeing her only son take a fatal blow from his own father to the chest.  There was a cry that came from her chest and trembled the room.  Killing Octavian wasn’t on her mind, it was her children that came first.

What had he done?

“Dad..why this?”  Marcus muttered falling to his knees before Eris slid over and caught him.  

Before Octavian utter a word, a force that quaked in her veins that had never been there before expelled from her hands towards Octavian and LeAndra and the surrounding soldiers. Throwing them into the nearing walls and windows

The sound of Fire and Thunder traveled from the Pathway as insanity coiled out before them.  Far too many hands far-reaching grabbing soldiers, tentacles hurling balls of void light exploding the creatures around them.

“What have I done?”  He whispered as LeAndra grabbed Octavian’s arms pulling him through this own pathway before what monstrosities coming from the other gaping void reached them.  

“Mom… Isa, okay?”

Eris held her boy tightly as she could feel the corruption of his flesh curd in her arms.  She could hear his lungs gargle and fill with blood and mucus with each breath he took.  Octavian had hit him straight in the chest.  There wasn’t any way to stop or save him from the fate that was spreading.  

“She’s fine, baby.  She’s fine.” She rocked Marcus back and forth. She could feel the bones.  She could smell his flesh… he was rotting from the inside out.

“That’s good…. That’s…”. His last words were of his sister. His eyes rolled back as his cheeks became gaunt and his form further decayed.

Eris screamed holding on to only aged skin and bones. Each scream emitted a vibration.  A thing that struck the Void Gods that were now shifting from their monstrosities.  Ku-Aya the Void Goddess of Fire stepped closer to the mourning mother.  She placed to warm hands on her shoulders feeling the hunger that grew inside of Eris.

“Child of the Void, we woke for this moment.  Rise, a destroyer.  Rise, a devourer.  Show them what they dare not even dream.”  A blaze was sent down upon Eris in a cold purple and gold flames.  This was an ever-growing gift from the Void Goddess of the Black Fire.

Kara-Beh lifted a frozen Isa, guiding the children into the path.   “Wait what about mom??!!”  

“She’ll follow soon.  My sister just gave her something very special.  You all will be safe. It’ll be your new home.”  Kara-Beh waited for Ku-Aya to escort the rest of the children to safety in the Nargunal, the home, and garden of the Void Gods.

Eris rose from the ground and started walking towards the rest of the towers.  She was covered in blood and ire.  Filthy on her face and beneath her eyes and in her hair.  There was whirling of Void around her being.  Tendrils ripped from her form circling around her wildly as she called forth her Shadow Wolves.  They grew much larger than they had before they were the size of houses as the thrashed through the towers.  Carnage and bodies were expelled from the building as they ran rampant.

Her son was dead.

Families had lost their loved ones.

Oaths had been broken

And their life’s work about to be stolen.

R̯̲̤̯̰̮͝ͅE̜̯̥V̛͖̘͚̜͓̮ͅEǸ̤̘̦͙͈̱G̙E͈̲̲͈͉͞ ͈̙̹̲̜̝͙I̞̹̪͉̤̯̜S ͘M͉͈̙I͙͎̘͝Ṉ̭̥̟E͙̙͜.͔

̻̳͕͓͔͞K͔͕̜̘͇͉͠NO͉̳͉͖͉̖͕W̞͙̪̗͙̰ ͓̥͚͎̞͙W̝̬͙͓̻͍̠̕H͔̞͉ͅḀ̰͚̮̝̹T̼̩͚̻͎̼ ̟T̖̙͕̪̳̫Ŕ͇͕͓̮̘U̷̺̰̺̮̹͚̖E͔̲̟͓̤ ͙̮̜̱̹̘ͅD̲̟Ę̞̺S̤Ţ̪͈̘R̨̠͓͕̮͔U̕C̹T̛͔̱̣͕͍̣I̛O͎̪͎̗̙̹̬Ǹ͓̦͎̭͙̝̻ ̵̯̗̝I͕̟S̝͓͖̗!̳͇̦͎͓̩̟

Her voice seemed to not to be her own as she spoke the words. Outstretched were the hands that called forth the Pandemonium.  Swirling darkness and gnashing, the disembodied black hands reach and pulling all things within it.  It didn’t matter if it was flesh or concert the High Towers of Pantheon would fall.

“Get everyone out!!” Cardinal commanded over the comms.  “ That mongrel girl down!” He made the call from Tower One.  There was horror as his eyes widened watching the sight of Tower Three.  There was a roar as glass, metal, steel, and blood caved in on itself. The building broke down and being syphoned into the gaping Hell Mouths in the skies. The rubble in the air began to clear enough for Cardinal to see a long figure hovering as chaos spurred around it.  

Eris.

From her call, the Wolves moved to the next building.  The skies darkened and blood fell to the streets below causing the city below to cry out in full panic.   Cardinal saw her hover towards the next building directing the nightmare that being to question and tug at the reigns of sanity.

“Release our GODS!!!” He shielded his eyes from the mind-melding horrors that she called from the skies about her and she continued to hover.   “CALL FORTH THE LIBRAMS!!!”

Akira acknowledged the requested- but he didn’t know what difference it would make. Towers Three and Two were gone by the time the incomplete creature were to surface, they too would be gone.  

Eris was expelling too much power all too fast.  One by one, Pandemonium was dispelling.

Octavian had escaped fate with LeAndra.  “She’s losing power.  She’s doomed.” LeAndra sneered with glee.

With the last bit of her strength, she had her remaining Shadow Wolves attack the foundation of Tower One.  The building would fall and ruin would collapse in on itself and they would gain nothing.  Eris’ eyes rolled into the back of her head.  The world was going dark.  Just as she started to plummet to the earth a Pathway opened and Aradice snatched her into the safety of the void.  The jolt from the catch was enough to bring her back into conciseness.  

Blackened tears trailed her face from her tears.  She shouted to the survivors of the Knights of Gaisma… to the survivors of the Primordial Night. 

“A͚̻̲̩̼ ̛̱͍̥͓P͎̩͕̦L̝̣͍̭̤̲A̰̭̝̩̤̗ͅG̲̯̠̻̲͚U͍E̻ ͉͇̭͔͝W̨̝̩̼̺I̷͇̗L̬̬̝̠̪̣̹Ḻ̦̦̟̪͚ ̺̹̤̯̖̬ͅF̻̦͇̞A͔L͍̰̩̫̺L͈̳͈̞̲̬ ̠̯͇͈̺̘Ṵ̥̦P̨̝̬͎͚O̷̟̠Ǹ̯̙͉̪̙ Y̧̻͔͎̪O͕̙̲̹̩̥ͅU̜̟̝!̝͖̫̜!̼̪͉̮̩̺̙!̵̼̤̜̝ ̘͇̞̤͖̺̲ ̳̻̹͙̭̠A̻̘̺̞ ̡͔̬̪͎̼͕͉PL̮͉̗͇̟A̶̫͈̫G̰̼̺͉̳̰͈̀U͓̺͖̻E҉̦̪ ͍̹̗̹͔̙W̟͍̖͇͔͜I̼̩̭Ļ̻͚̰̟̜L͓̜̦ ̵̪̫̰̩̫̩F̜̘̕A͓͟L̝̖͇͇͘L͙̹͖͕̘̜͝ ̮̘͍̩̥̤͇Ų̪͙͉̻̙̭P̠̟̥͕̜Ơ̫N̥̬̹ ̼̭̬Y̗̩̘ͅOU̺͠Ŕ͇ ̤̞̰͞C͓͎̤͉͇͝H̫̼̘̩͔I̮͚L͔Ḍ̟̘͙̠̼̹ŖEN͟ ̻̩͖̫A̟̜̟̲̬̫̱S̠̣̰̀ ͎̲̭̫̜Y̞͎̗̼͚͘O̫͍͇̼̤U҉̟̻͍͕ ̟̺͓̻̘̰H͓̦͉͝AV̴̲̺̦̟͙͇̬E̴̲ ̖̞̪̳̜̩̀S̸͈̬̤̲T̟O̧̮̥̥͍L̕É̹̖͖͉ͅN̻̞̥̳̭ ҉̤͓M̥̯I͕͈̰̱͚͔ͅN͙̖̼̲̼̻͇E͉̠͈̲̻͕̙!̢̗͚̘̹̟ͅ”̤

Aradice held her bringing her to the Kisher Amah.  He carried her bridal style over to where the children where.  His own son and daughter, Othim and Akkan, tended to the wounds all those that they could.  Agatha brought her nomads there to aid where they could.   Othim sat with a sobbing Isa with his hand on the back of her head trying to soothe her.  

Isa looked up to see her mother and ran over to her as Aradice gently sat her down on the ground.  At the moment, she hadn’t even the strength to walk.  Eris held her daughter tightly.  “Are you hurt, baby?”  Eris asked wiping away her tears.  Isa shook her head.    “Good.”

Waverly limped up to Eris.  “Eris..”

She shook her head.  Knowing what he was going to say… now was not the time she could not bear it right now.  They needed time to mourn away from all this hysteria.  “How many survivors do we have, Waverly?” She looked around.  She didn’t recognize this part of the Kisher Amah.  “Where are we?”

“You’re in Nargunal.  Home of the Gods.”  Ku-Aya stepped forward.

“Many of our children don’t step foot here.  But today, we’ve found our siblings.  Welcome home sisters and brothers.  No more than 1000 of your people survived and came here. What shall you do now, sister.”

Eris rose her arm to Aradice to help her up.  She placed a hand on Isa’s head.  Before selecting her words carefully to the Goddess.  “Make the Kisher Amah the home it was meant to be.  Realign our Oaths. Swear to a new Order.   Grow in number, become stronger… and Rain Abomination upon the Earth.”