Chapter: 7: Kronos
The dark clouds that brewed in an angry, ever-growing storm had been roiling fully for months. Inky black masses hung as a dark omen over the frozen mountains of the far north eastern corner of the continent, never breaking into rainfall even once since they'd begun to form. The fall of Ultima and Krowaz heralded the coming storm. A chill wind swept through the old corridors of a long since ancient temple nestled amid the snow-driven mountaintops, moaning through the otherwise silent stone halls. Atop a looming tower at the center of the temple stood a single figure gazing out over the frozen landscape far below. Dark eyes hidden by the cowl of a robe were cast up into the rumbling sky to morbidly appreciate the grim, heavy clouds overhead as they hung ready to descend at any time.
"A tad pre-emptive in announcing the master's return, weren't you?" came a sneering, feminine voice from behind the figure. With his contemplative gazing disturbed, the robed man turned and scoffed at his identically garbed cohort.
"Hardly. Letting the children of El Morad and Karus know of Pathos Cypher's eventual return was meant to put some fear into them." the man replied in an airy tone, dismissive of the other's smug remark.
"Really now? It doesn't seem to have done much at all. Only a few short months have passed since Krowaz was banished back to his domain and the denizens of Carnac hardly seem to remember it at all."
The two shared a harsh laugh over such a notion and strode one after the other down the tower's narrow stairwell, spiraling tightly down into the depths of the temple below. Once clear of the winds that whistled through the exposed halls, both swept back their hoods to reveal clashing skin beneath the flickering torchlight - a Karus and a Human, simply two of many all forsaken of their homelands and brought under a single, malevolent purpose.
"I honestly thought they would stand united for at least this long. Still, I suppose that's giving them too much credit. The rulers of each kingdom have never been able to resist their petty squabbles over monuments and treasure chests." The Karus woman sighed as she lifted a torch from the wall to carry with her, lighting the stone path ahead.
"All the better. The ever-growing chaos has only made things easier for us in the end." was the man's reply, said with a confident smirk.
Deeper in the frozen temple there were preparations being made. Robed individuals of both races, of varied ages and creeds, all hurried about with their important tasks. There was much to be done now that the rituals, the culmination of all their hard work, were reaching the height of their power. It had been nothing but constant, tireless effort since the day Ultima sacrificed himself months prior, though the fallen guardian never knew just how futile his life's work had become. The robed pair came to a stop outside a tucked-away chamber filled with the acrid stench of foul sorcery and blood that was made all the more worse when the heavy wooden door was actually pulled open. Inside was a pitiful sight - a broken Human man, chained and slumped against the far wall of tiny prison cell. He barely seemed aware of his surroundings at all, staring unblinkingly into empty space while the steady glow of magical runes illuminated his pallid face. The cluster of mages working their dark spells on the unfortunate man paused and regarded the entering pair, ceasing the work to bow their heads respectfully to their superiors.
"Hm... Kronos doesn't look too good, does he?" the man observed idly as he approached the chained young man. Even as he crouched and held Kronos' chin to direct his hollow gaze about, there was no reaction aside from a weak wheeze.
"You spend a few months having a dark god gradually funneled into your soul and see how well you hold up." snickered one of the mages, though he was quickly silenced by a glare from the Karus woman.
"No matter. His body will be empowered soon enough now that we've acquired the item. Is everything ready?" she asked. The mages were quick to affirm that everything was indeed ready for the final step. Grinning, the robed Human reached into his voluminous sleeve and withdrew a slender bauble; a mundane looking necklace, though highlighted by a glimmering jewel that held a soft, benign spark in its core.
"I was expecting it to have been much more difficult to get a hold of one of these, really. A necklace granted by Ultima himself... a tiny shard of his strength, steeped in the energies of the Bifrost for countless ages..." the man mused as he held the necklace aloft in the light, watching it gleam brightly. "To think that he granted one to every warrior who stood with him in the fight on Dragon Island and that the fools are practically throwing them away. Such short-sightedness... but no matter. This will accelerate the summoning beyond expectations."
Without ceremony or hesitation, the man draped Ultima's Necklace over the head of Kronos and stepped back. He thought at first there would be some grand display; a rush of wind, a flash of light, a burst of energy... something... but no. The gem on the necklace merely glowed brighter for a moment before it cracked with a sharp sound and fell in shards to the stone floor, leaving the chamber completely silent aside from expectant breaths of the gathered cultists. They looked to each other uncertainly, wondering for a terrible moment if the ritual had failed. Yet in mere moments they felt it. The air in the room suddenly grew dense and oppressive, causing their skin to crawl at the sensation of incredible malice that had begun to radiate from the slumped form of Kronos.
The young man's head shook gently from side to side and lifted of its own strength for the first time in weeks, casting his expression at the cultists. His once glazed, weak eyes were livid and bright with an eldritch power unlike any to have graced Carnac before. A grim smile parted cracked lips and as Kronos, the host of Pathos Cypher, let out a low chuckle, the storm clouds high above the temple gave an ominous roll of thunder that echoed down the mountainside.
TO BE CONTINUED!!
Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:04 pm by ulphrlanet
