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Setting the Board: The Beginning

An invitation to Eclipseon. That was all the missive slipped under her door had offered. She had almost ignored it, but Devaena was one to keep her ears to the whispers of the street, and when the locals all started talking about Eclipseon, then Dev had really started to listen. Information was the best resource available to her, so with a few coins in the right hands and questions in the right ears she had found herself sitting across from one of the Unliving.

"Suppose I told you that there is a key, an object of some importance tying you here to this place," the shriveled hag rasped. "Would you care to retrieve it?" Devaena thought to answer no, but the truth was such a token would have to carry power. If that power could be used against her then she had to make sure it was safe in her own hands, and if it was a power that she could use to strengthen herself? All the better.

"I wonder what it would be, your token?" At first nothing readily came to mind, but then she remembered a time during an early promotion when she had almost been revealed until she convinced her pursuers that the man who led the hunt was the real fiend. Convincing them that it would purify him, she then executed the man by pouring molten silver down his throat. Devaena had later taken his silver tongue as a trophy. It was the perfect representation not only of her ability to bend the truth, but also of the despicable things she was more than willing to do.

"You will need the help of the Planesborne to enter the final chamber once you've acquired the keys," the crone had told her.

"I trust I have your faction's support, then?" Dev replied and received a nod before they parted ways. For this she would have to prepare well. Counting on one faction was not enough, so she arranged meetings with members of each of the other factions and deftly persuaded them that helping her was in their best interests. She then hired several of the brawlers who'd shown potential when she'd been out fighting for coin in the streets. They would remove the other Outsiders from the equation. The tests she would deal with on her own, she had no doubt she could accomplish that. She knew if she wanted to succeed and survive she would have to rely on her cunning and foresight as much as her sword and strength. There were other options available if needed - her 'loth underlings if they could be summoned here and the subtle, deceptive magic she did command - but she knew there were still areas of weakness. She lacked offensive magic and a mage's frost would sear right through any fiendish protection she had, but that was nothing she couldn't overcome.

What Devaena didn't realize was that her arrogance would prove as much a weakness as any magic.

Playing the Game: The Middle

Upon reaching Eclipseon Devaena and her assorted band of mercenaries were faced with a room full of archways and the first of the princes. "You are late," he intoned. "Your challenge awaits."

"Where?" Devaena asked receiving no reply. She would do this her own way then. "Spread out, bring me that key," she commanded and then strode forward into the center archway. She could hear the sounds of fighting as she withdrew her sword and stepped cautiously down the hall beyond, but as she turned the first corner she swore for a moment she was somewhere else entirely. It took a moment to process the double vision she was seeing. The smoky hallucinogen made her eyes water and she could feel it trying to warp her conscious mind, but if she held her breath and focused she could see past the illusory smoke to some device in the corner creating it. She could also see that she wasn't alone. The other man swiped at figments that weren't there, and that was when Devaena had an idea. She stepped closer to the device and found the control switch. It was risky, but if she turned the device up instead of off she could tip the scales of their encounter to her favor. With barely another thought she ratcheted the device to its highest setting, held her breathe, and followed the wall until she found the exit. She heard a scream behind her and smiled over her shoulder, but when she looked up again the hallway was gone leaving only a stairway ahead. In fact all that remained in the room was the archway she had stepped through and the solemn figure of the prince who studied her for a silent moment before tossing her a small metal key. "Pass."

Confused and with no other options, Devaena continued up the stairs to the next level. Her men, gone just like that? What trickery was this? She had to keep going though.

She stepped through the doorway at the top of the staircase and was greeted by a bleak, grayed out landscape. "Impossible," she breathed, but this, she knew, was home. For a moment she almost felt a sense of joy, until she looked down. Her dergholoth abdomen was weighted down by a matured larva swimming around furiously inside. A sharp pain shot through her as it heaved against her chitenous shell and for the first time in a long time Devaena felt dread. Anything but this.

You must relive your worst to progress to your best, a voice whispered.

"Once was ENOUGH!" she yelled back. There was another sickening crack and she felt ichor oozing down her shell.

For a long, tortuous moment her mind worked frantically to find another way. Could she change things? But they had said to relive. Endure. Getting the token was too important. Was this their test? So be it. A voice reminded her that would mean cutting herself open again. It would mean leaving herself vulnerable again. It meant Askovan was nearby waiting.


She hissed through her mandibles plunging her claws deep into her shell. The jagged line she cut caused her to shriek in pain, but given an escape the larva calmed and slithered from the incision. Fatigue dragged her from her feet. She felt defeated and foolish all over again. Somewhere nearby Askovan was cackling as he left her behind, and to top it off her spawn was squirming closer, eager to eat her alive, so she began the long, arduous process of dragging herself across the Gray Waste to the nearest portal.

She finally heaved herself through the portal and was almost grateful to find herself back in that damned tower. The second prince said nothing as he offered the key. With a spiteful glare she took it and hauled herself to her feet to proceed.

She would have thought by now that nothing they could throw at her would surprise her, but what she saw next stopped her cold. The room was empty except for one lone man restrained in the middle. "Ast?" she said without thinking. He looked up at her, eyes swirling a bright white-gold with hope. She couldn't move. Perhaps she was afraid to, unsure if this was reality or another game of the Princes. The spell was broken as a voice called out to her. "The final test. Face your weakness."

Devaena schooled her face and scoffed. "How is he any weakness of mine?"

"Because you care," the Prince replied. Devaena pressed her lips thin. This was why she had tried so hard to bury it all, to erase the strange emotions that had plagued her since he had left. She'd tried everything to purge herself clean of these foolish notions, but still they persisted.

"A decision," the Prince continued. "Kill him yourself, overcome your weakness, and gain your final key."

Her three hearts pounded in her ears. Devaena had never hesitated once to kill when it furthered her goals. She had even threatened Ast before with his life at one time. But that had been HER choice, HER rules, HER terms. This was different. She looked back at him. He was afraid, but she knew it wasn't death he feared. It was her.

Her sword left its sheathe. "There is a saying in Gehenna," she began even as he silently pleaded. "If your heart is holding you back, cut it out rather than let your enemy use it." She forced herself to be cold. No regret, no remorse. This was who she was, who she had to be. "I warned you I couldn't afford weaknesses," she said pulling him close and thrusting the sword through his chest.

He gasped in pain, then slumped against her as his mind called weakly, Why?

"Why couldn't you just be as meaningless as the rest?" she hissed in answer. She held him a moment then let him fall to the ground and stepped past, forcing herself not to look back.

The Closing Moves: The End

Devaena was still shaken as she arrived at the final door, but dogged persistence carried her the final steps where, bloodied sword still in hand, she began trying the keys in the triad of locks on the door. There was just one problem. None of the locks were opening. Persistently she tried to turn it with more force thinking perhaps it was stuck, but the key broke off in the lock with a resounding snap and Devaena yelled a curse in her native tongue. She hissed in irritation and drew back her blade. She would reveal herself and hammer this door down with her bare fists if she had to and it showed on her face. She refused to give up, refused to let this all be a waste, but most of all she refused to admit defeat or that she had been played.

A soft, amused voice stopped her. "I wouldn't waste your energy."

Devaena whirled to face the voice, but relaxed when she saw it wasn't an opponent. No, this must be the planesborne of the five who actually took her offer. "So, you finally arrived. I've passed your tests and acquired your worthless keys," she spat, throwing them at the planesborne's feet. "Time to hold up your end of the bargain."

"Bargain?" the bell-like voice replied. "Oh, I see. So that's who was waiting here for you. Clever tactic I'll admit, but why ruin the fun?" Devaena immediately felt ill at ease again, tightening her grip on her sword. "So, you already know you need a planesborne," the mysterious woman continued. "Question is, do you know what else you need?" Devaena perked an eyebrow, but said nothing. "I know, but I'm not telling..." the planesborne added with a giggle.

It was enough to make Devaena snap. She grabbed the mysterious figure by her robe and pinned her against the door, leveling the sword against her throat. "I am not in the mood for your games, woman. How do I open this door? HOW?"

The woman just laughed bell-like in response. "Why do you care, fiend? You could never pass the last test. You would never be able to make such a sacrifice."

"You would be surprised what I would do. What sacrifice?"

"You would have to lose what you value most, the ultimate personal sacrifice. I wonder what that would be for a creature like you? Would you become what you hate? Maybe you would give up your precious lies and only tell the truth, that could be entertaining. But no, I think Eclipseon would demand something more."

Devaena considered for a moment, and then she realized exactly what would be demanded of her. She would be forced to stay, to remain here in this place where everything she did amounted to nothing. Where she had no real power, no prestige. Everything she had done, everything she had accomplished, now and in the future to come...would be meaningless outside of her own world. She would have to give up her very purpose. She would lose everything. Perhaps somehow she already had, for if Eclipseon was her only way out and yet demanded that she give that up, then she was damned no matter what she did.

There had to be another way, something else she could do to be restored to her rightful place in the multiverse, and she told the planesborne as much to her surprise. "You refuse to make the sacrifice then?"

"Of course I do! Why would I when doing so would defeat the purpose? Do I look a fool?" Devaena asked angrily. "No, there has to be another way."

"Perhaps," the planesborne replied cryptically.

Devaena eyed her shrewdly as she set her down on the ground, sword still at hand. "Tell me."

"You are a woman who knows the value of a contract. Of, how do you put it...great risk for great reward? So I will make you an offer. Champion our cause in the Senate, argue our case and argue it well. Do this for us and we will do what we can for you."

Devaena couldn't deny it was risky. She would be leaving her token and she still didn't know the extent of how it could perhaps be used against her, but for the moment she was left with little choice.

"Very well," she finally assented, hoping this wouldn't be a mistake she would regret. "You have your champion."

Prompt Two:

Due Date: Saturday Night (Late: Sunday Noon PST)
Note: The initial prompts are going to have more time between them so everyone can settle in.
One we get moving though, there will be less time between prompts.

Rulings:
Everyone: Please assume your character has boarded the skyship and it has undocked from the Common Plaza launch area and is moving up and forwards toward the Greater Platform and the Court.

Description of Skyship:
The skyship is a metal beast, similar in shape to a shuttle with wings - pretty futuristic looking. Shiny, smooth and sleek. It has several levels to it, like any ship... but importantly it does have a deck where the nautical stuff goes on. The upper deck is open with huge shield like siding about 20 feet away from the edges of the deck. Anyone can jump off... there are bays for two smaller skyships near the back of the launch deck, doors leading below deck.
Everyone is on the upper deck.

Jalil: Your character was unable to find Laresh before boarding the skyship.







The Skyship: Elysian


The assembled on board the sky ship, Elysian, were a quiet group. The captain issued orders to his crew, and his men stood ready for any command. All of the Outsiders the Lady and the Faction Leaders had requested were shuttled on board - Laresh wasn't sure how this had been accomplished, but he doubted it had been eventless. He would get the report from Xalite later.

Tension. The air was thick with it. Below the gracefully moving Elysian, the city spread out beneath. All around there were still pockets of violence in evidence - plumes of smoke and the smell of fire or magic carried on the winds. Through his resources Laresh had confirmed that the shyship would be attacked and the Outsiders the target. His mouth pressed together firmly as he recalled his argument with Ros... she had given him nothing. This was serious. But he would be neutered and caged before he snuck his charges in through a backdoor like a cringing squealer.

Let it come, his men were ready and Lady Luck would see him through as always.

When the first rumblings of activity began, Laresh tried not to show his anxiousness to his men. On the edge of the city, huge bursts of dust gathered and erupted into billowing clouds of red tinged smoke. Something very large was happening over there.... the first screams from the city could be heard. They were far off and distant, and only their combined voices made them audible.

Suddenly, out of the smoke burst several quick moving forms - small sky ships which shot off several rockets with thundering roars before turning and speeding straight for the Elysian. Just as they turned, another rumble sounded from the distant cloud, and then a loud crack ripped through the air, so loud it made thunder sound like a gentle patter in comparison. The awesome sound was so deafening many of the crew on board clapped hands to their ears or flinched backwards. Laresh could not even begin to imagine what could cause such a noise. Fortune's Dice... It had sounded almost like the platform had been torn and he half expected to see a piece of the city go careening off into the skies - but all it did was seem to shift and shake as if being inundated with a fierce energy current.

Motioning to his men to keep the Outsides from making any sudden moves... Laresh barked a few orders to the crew and then yelled, "Starboard and Hard!" There was no way he was running straight into that thing. It was time to move. Being a coward was one thing, being stupid was another. There would be a fight, but it would be on his terms.

As soon as the ship began shifting upward and right, another explosion rocked the platform and more smoke spirals upward.