Remember Me

[Alistair]

Ashan 61, Arc 719

For as long as he had stood outside the gates of Agaperos, few had acknowledged him and none allowed him entry. The mage and his two thralls - Phorcys and Jericho - awaited a dignitary from the realm, hoping it would be the Argonis bringing forward the terms of their surrender. Yet they did not approach the one-man siege garrison that he had left outside of their walls. The guards atop the battlements did not even appear to notice his presence, despite the peculiarities of his appearance and the overwhelming power he had already made evident.

Beside him were two illusions, crafted by Arsinalia. His chest was consumed by the magical breastplate of Mage Heart, with an impressive set of Star-Metal or Malorite clawed gauntlets adorning the ends of each arm. The majority of his arms, however, were exposed save by a narrow golden weave akin to a fishermen's net. His legs were protected by nothing save for a tunic skirt wrapped by a sash, and caligae sandals as he typically wore since moving to the archipelago.

He continued to wait.

And wait.

He observed as men slowly moved objects across the battlements; wooden racks, pillars of the same materials... surely they were objects of defense and of war. The men of the 'city-state' were planning something, and only pretended to ignore him as a stall.

But Alistair did not intend to abide by their rules. It had been a long haul from where they had found it, but Alistair's six marrows dredged a great and lengthy boulder out from the soil through their relentless excavation. They hauled it from the outskirts of Agaperos, slowly dragging it across the drylands to seat itself alongside the Paragon. And behind the mage, in the distance of the horizon where the sun began to set, their forms could be seen dragging that mass of stone closer and closer to where he was, each of the Marrow's arms lighted by a gleaming Rune of Strength that amplified said attribute by twenty times. Alistair commanded them mentally to stop, the six moving into a still formation where they clasped their hands together. Jericho turned to face the boulder, and then back to the Agaperian walls.

The Paragon stepped forward. While they had been planning something, he had too.

"Let us be honest," the Paragon announced. As per his Rupturer's spark, his voice traveled far and it was dark and intimidating. All of the men upon the battlements immediately turned to face him as he spoke, seemingly awe-struck by the compelling yell.

"Even I -- by my lonesome -- could kill every last one of you within trills. I could leave Agaperos defenseless and do all that I wish to the people beyond these walls; they were built during greater times, before the populace of these Isles fell beyond recognition. This 'city' is weaker than you project. I have heard you only have a hundred men capable of fighting, here -- that will never be enough. Not even for a single one of my Revenants."

Was it a falsehood? Perhaps. With Runes, the scales would shift. He did not doubt Jericho, covered in Runes, would not be able to defeat a small retinue on his own.

"But," he continued, "I do not wish to hurt anyone. You will all serve a great purpose in the challenges we will eventually face -- in enmity with the Guilds, with the Corruption, with the Nobility of the Broken Land. And I value your lives; I value the dreams you all carry for you are all inherently dear to me. Allow me to lead you to a brighter future, rather than felling you upon these walls. Please."

[Alistair]

There was no answer at first. A door opened, the exit to a small barracks and armory along the walls. Through it, four men stepped out all in colors of crimson, and they greeted him with vicious stares.

The Argonis. They had to be.

The answer finally became clear, as their hands rose and the guards upon the wall began to hold their bows and nock their arrows within their frames. A large catapult slid sideways along the circumference of the battlements, drawing ever-nearer to the front gate so that it might face him. They were unwilling to allow him in.

"I am an Argonis," he yelled. "You would attack me at your doorstep? By the laws of this land, it is sacrilege to attack a member of the Games--"

"You do not decide the laws of this land, Lord Alistair. We do," Menelaos interrupted. "And you have come as a conquering warlord, rather than a player willing to honorably compete. You will not play your games with us. You, Broken Lander, are an infection . . . seeking to take root within our culture and destroy what it means to be Helian. You falsely claim to be Arsinos but are in truth a mortal man. We know what you are, Your Lordship. A Mage of incredible power seeking to frame his changes as divinity. Do you think we are so blind as to not recognize your manipulations?" he asked.

Alistair rolled his eyes. The Argonis had certainly spoke accurately -- he had successfully called out all of Alistair's manipulative claims. The mage had almost allowed himself to forget that Helice had spawned from Quacia; they were well aware, the more educated of them at least, of the intricacies of magic. He could not maintain his farce for long.

"You think I am a man because you have not seen what I am capable of doing," The Paragon yelled back. "This is your final warning, Kyanós. Surrender Agaperos to me or you will all be killed. You are correct; I do not yet decide the laws of this place. But in my realm -- which Agaperos is soon to be a part of -- you bear no special protections encoded into law. Perhaps I am a conquering warlord, but you are my enemy. There is no sanction that will keep harm from you if you do not fall onto your knees and take heed to my words."

Menelaos laughed lowly, his eyes glimmering with a pitying enthusiasm as he mentally mocked the mage for his arrogance. "We refuse," he said, as with a flat palm he lowered his arms. The archers began to fire at last, and the first great stone was flung from the catapult aimed directly at him.

His Gaunt Kingfisher, Phorcys, quickly moved forward and raised himself above Alistair to shield him, acting as an umbrella to the arrows and the heavy blow of the catapult. Hunkering down as much as the beast could, it appeared almost to meditate, resisting incoming blows with ease as most of them bounced from the creature's thick shell. Virtually no arrows managed to pierce the Kingfisher's hull, save for the ones that lodged into the small gaps of Phorcys' thin tendons. Even so, his wounds regenerated nearly instantaneously and the arrows that lodged were promptly pushed out.

Alistair was a distraction. He did not matter. What mattered was the Marrows, stepping forward through the sands towards a Gateway that Alistair had opened. A wide, and most notably tall portal in the typical shape of a raging white-gold vortex but with a glossy, crystalline texture. It shimmered in the light and though it demanded attention from the archers' eyes, they did little to oppose its structural integrity -- and from the distance they were at, how could they?

They continued to fire, aimlessly. The damage done to the thralls was quickly undone by their regeneration, and the supplementary assistance of Alistair's regenerative aura. It appeared the Paragon's wall was truly unbreakable.

[Alistair]

And finally, the tip of the long boulder pierced through the entry of the portal, which beckoned it in. The other end - certainly seen by none for its shrouding within the beaming light of the sunny sky - was thousands of feet into the air. As far up as the eye could see on a clear day. Alistair had the ability to cast portals beyond a hundred miles of one another, and he took advantage of this innate mastery to create a large enough gap to produce resistance and speed.

"Push it through," he commanded his thralls. The Portal began to pull the structure inward with immense force, and as it did so it only required trills for the remainder of the boulder to press within its boundaries. On the other end, a large rock could be seen at first dipping from the entrance of the Gateway before being pushed forward with immense propulsion by Pushing, the inverse of his initial ability upon the Egress of the portal.

And with that burst of force, the boulder - like a meteorite - quickly picked up velocity.

And more quickly, and more, as it fell thousands of feet through the sky.

And before long, that velocity was terminal. It was descending so fast that the eye could scarcely perceive its fall.

Then, in trills, it made its impact. The immense object struck at the center of Agaperos, its force washing outward and instantly killing all of those who stood within proximity. The men on the battlements fell, or lost their footing. Many - particularly the archers who had nothing to hold onto - flung off the edge of the wall, descending to their deaths upon the grounds below. Though not all immediately died upon impact with the soil.

The boulder landed where Alistair wished for it to land; within the core of the Kyanos estate. Around it, the nearest houses had lost their integrity and collapsed, and any unfortunate enough to have glass windows within Agaperos would have witnessed their shattering to the immensity of the wind.

In all likelihood, a hundred or more died from the initial impact. And immediately after the 'city' was met with this sudden calamity, Alistair blinked onto the battlements and began to massacre the bowmen, leaving a mess of blood and sundered limbs around the Argonis who had collapsed against the floor and only now began to rise. Valsis quickly drew a blade from his waist as he did and attempted to slash at the Paragon, only for the mage to splinter the weapon and subdue him with a rapid strike of his fists.

He continued to slaughter men against the parapets, though after around two dozen had fallen he quickly pointed his blade at the bewildered Argonis and demanded their capitulation. "Do not become blinded by your pride," he said. "Your systems of rulership have collapsed. The people of Helice turn en masse to my authority. Surrender, and name me your Lord."

"You fucking madman!" Eros spat, his jaw shaking as his words were lined with still-brimming rage. "Why would you do that?!" he yelled. Tears filled the core and edges of his eyes.

A new tick mark appeared upon Alistair's back, crossing through the previous four to make a fifth. It was black-red and scarred into his flesh.

"To save you all," he stated, as his brows sympathetically clung closer to his eyes. He looked like a man drenched in sorrow, only not for the atrocity he just committed. But for the ignorance of those who had refused to accept his rule.

"You... fuck--"

"Eros, enough," Panos interrupted. He drew no weapon, and compared to the other men who all stood in a defensive stance, the Helian stood straight and tall. "We cannot win. Whether he is a mage or a God, is it not clear to you that he is beyond our power? This man -- he has the potential to level this city. Even Delias would not be... we -- can't resist. So for the sake of your life, do not."

Panos eyed the younger Kyanos, hoping that he would see reason. And, though he appeared disgruntled by the chiding words of his companion, Eros fell into line and the aggression he demonstrated was significantly reduced.

"Drop your weapons, all of you," Alistair commanded, taking advantage of their hesitation.

...and they did. Steel clattered with the stone of the battlements, with all of the Kyanos save for Panos staring lowly with defeat in their expressions. The mutilated bodies strewn across the floor had already spoken for them, and had already died in the attempt to resist the warmongering ideals of the mage who had affronted them. The Argonis knew their place.

"Good," he said, with a smile utterly pleased. Perhaps, to some, sinister.

"What am I, nameless Kyanos?" the Paragon posed to Panos, who had not yet made clear his identity.

"You... are..."

He hesitated on his words. No matter what he said, Panos would create tension and animosity. He did not have the lone power to declare Alistair as his Lord, which he understood to be the answer the Paragon sought.

But Valsis, through the silence, spoke in his stead.

"If you wish to be our Lord, Alistair, you have made your intention clear. Do not play these games of loyalty; you will never have our favor. Do you wish to rule over Agaperos? Fine. I grant that to you; none of us have the heart or the power to further fight. So go, then. Move into the realm that you failed to ever offer words of treaty. To organize a vote -- to speak with on equal terms, and compassionate ones. See how the people feel of the man who murdered their brethren."

Alistair's expression was utterly stoic, and flat. "I thank you for the honor, Valsis. That is your name, correct?"

The man only nodded.

"They will come to love me through time. I will not fail them as you have."

[Pig Boy]

So the oblong boulder dropped from such a height as to achieve terminal velocity. However, it did not fall with it's full mass, for that would surely have leveled the city. By the time it hit the center of Agaperos, it had broken into a few shards, the size of lawn darts. Yet even these, at the proper velocity, were enough to utterly destroy the section upon which they fell. All around people panicked as the explosion rocked the heart of the city, killing more than just two hundred. At least five hundred civilans lost their lives in the attack.

The sky had fallen, the world was ending. What could desperate men really do?

What could those in charge say to calm the people under their protection?

Protection they had failed to provide?

So while many of those men upon the walls laid down their arms, who had a front row seat to Alistair's power and conceded to his terms of lordship over the city, there were roughly a thousand citizens who would not surrender. The people of Agaperos had endured challenges from exterior forces for centuries. Their people were proud and would not be so easily governed by a lone, invading Tyrant.

In the midst of such destruction, they could scarcely govern themselves.

So as the men upon the battlements laid down their arms, they were nonplussed by the chaos that was unfolding behind them. People rioted in the streets. While their leaders tore their hair and threw down their weapons in a rush to surrender to Alistair, the people would not be so easily calmed, not when one in four of the people they had known had been incinerated by the impact of the kill vehicle that had been dropped on their city, and it's heart burned with smouldering chaos.

Meanwhile, one of the commanders spat these words out to Alistair with a snarl. "Your commands, my Lord?"

OOC: This is a one-off mod bomb. Feel free to play with this as you will. Once you've come to a resolution of sorts, feel free to tap me and I'll review.

[Alistair]

The boulder did more damage than initially measured - or expected. As he turned to face the core of the city from atop the battlements, many of the parapets beside him having been flung towards the soil below, Alistair stared quietly at the utter carnage he had caused at the city center. He saw... death. As many as he'd ever killed in all of his life, likely, replicated in death in a single moment. The mage felt four more tick marks inscribed into his back as he realized the true measure of damage he had done with his maneuver.

And yet, guiltily of this most disturbing fact, Alistair felt... pleased. The amount of damage he could cause with such a simple measure was - satisfying. What if he flung a larger boulder through, at a larger city, through a larger portal - such as a Gateway? Or even a much larger stone, through a Rend? Alistair... could destroy cities. Raze them to the ground, flood their interior with corpses and rubble.

He could already see the havoc caused. It did not end only in the deaths of the ones he'd slain - no, others began to riot and rebel. Of course, to riot in an insular city surrounded by walls and none of the occupants of their enemy-turned-Lord meant that they were only damaging and looting their own belongings.

Alistair had no intention to resolve things in the way that anyone might have expected. Rather than remaining in the city and painting whatever residence he occupied as a target for their conjoined malice, he would conquer and then divide.

Your commands, my Lord? asked Valsis.

The mage stared blankly at him. There was no smile upon his expression, nor indication of any particularly strong emotions. No sorrow nor joy, nor fear or anxiety. The death of these people was as the blowing of the wind - unspectacular and barely noted, as they were a message to the other settlements of Helice. With their passing the remainder of the Isles would certainly fold, to the man who had lodged deep splinters into the heart of their most treasured city. A man who - at any moment - could do the same to their settlement. Who was looming not far away; who swept through Koros and Tyros like a storm.

This was all necessary. And Quacia's casualties, when he inevitably came to it, would be far worse.

"You will remain here and enforce my will. My men from the remainder of my dominion will reinforce you and act as your guards - and Arios will oversee them. You will dole out punishments and you, as well as the remainder of the Argonis, will be the ones to issue public executions... for you are their trusted representatives, are you not? You are certainly the most suited to keeping order in this place," he said.

And of course, they were - in a way. The people of Agaperos had the decision of falling in line, or targeting their own most beloved citizens. Either way, Alistair's venture would be successful. If they became peaceful then it meant he could retain stability until he managed to phase out the Kyanos entirely, replacing them with more loyal vassals. If they continued to revolt then they would become divided among themselves; those who still found the Kyanos endeared to them versus those who would challenge Alistair's rule and trample any blockade in their way.

"Jericho will also be present," he said, in reference to his Revenant. An incredibly powerful asset that surpassed even the most legendary of assassins and spies - stationed right in the midst of them. A blade in their back if they conspired against the man who they would begrudgingly call 'King'. He could think of no better solution, and he knew that he would not be far away. His eyes could open from many different fixtures, near and far. He could watch and know... and be certain.

Yes - Alistair believed that these accommodations would be suitable to perpetuate his rule. And once the Kyanos were informed of his laws, universal to each and every settlement, he would leave with the impression given that his authority would be kept and strengthened or it would bear again down upon this city.

[Pig Boy]

Comments

Oof, this thread makes me want to invest in a adamantite umbrella.

Good writing as always, but try not to ruin any other cities. Also, it's rare that a portal will become big enough to carry a boulder larger than the one you did. A good rule of thumb is a carriage-sized boulder. Even so, a small projectile traveling at terminal velocity will do some serious damage to ancient infrastructure.

As stated in one of the knowledges, next time you try this, you may find it breaking up entirely, or not at all and destroying a continent. It's not a very precise technique in any event, and without the proper physics knowledge/skill you likely won't be able to predict or coordinate the exact amount of damage you can do or want to do. Consider this a fluke that happened to go your way this time.

Even so... damn.

Points

15/15 points may not be used for domain magic.

Knowledge

Blades: Skewering
Blades: Butchering someone while they're down
Blades: Blades are good for quickly removing limbs
Rupturing: Gateway: Can fit heavier and larger objects
Rupturing: Boulder-Bomb
Tactics: Utilizing Rupturing to perform catastrophic feats of destruction
Physics: Boulders break up on reentry with unpredictable results.
Philosophy: Is blood and fire worth its weight in chaos?
Politics: Letting a vassal to bring order in a city in your absence.

Loot

nope

Wealth

nope

Renown

20 for ruining a city. People will remember the destruction if they don't remember the name of the man that rained it down on them.