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Abyssal Road Trip - 561 - Vanguard
🕑 Added 2025-10-21 00:00:05 +0000 UTCAmdirlain’s PoV - Outlands
After Kadaklan left, Amdirlain stayed by the wellspring, enjoying the waters, the music of the forest and the drifting souls. Among the older souls that pre-dated her involvement with Qil Tris, a scattering disappeared to be reborn, while the others continued to drift and dream. Her depleted reserves from the planar restructuring had set deep aches throbbing through her body, and she relaxed into their music, listening to the lives they’d lived. New souls coming in carried their views of her, and the waters in the wellspring brightened. Amdirlain held in the groan, aware that its position in the Outlands might eventually be untenable.
Just because I’m good to you doesn’t mean I’m that way to everyone. However, I have tried to avoid hypocrisy over choices and creation, so you get the truth of those elements.
“Are you alright, Mother?”
The name Sáraid sluggishly came to Amdirlain without having to resort to Analysis, but the slowness heightened Amdirlain’s awareness of her worn state.
Attired in the silvery silk pants and loose top, Sáraid had green ribbons in various shades braided through her azure hair. As she slipped between the shrubs, a pair of sleek, golden hounds trotted behind her, sniffing at everything with playful curiosity. When she made the grassed edge of the wellspring, the larger of the male hounds darted up beside her. He playfully shoulder-bumped her thigh, only to receive a laugh and an ear scratch in reply.
“I pushed myself a little too far, but I’ll be alright. Did you get yourself some pets after all, Sáraid?”
“No, I was exploring the grasslands and sniping at the demons hiding there when they adopted me. I don’t know what brought two celestial hounds to the Outlands, and they don’t want to share their tale.”
Both the hounds tilted their heads away, suddenly fascinated by the sunlight through the canopy, undertones of embarrassment beneath their feigned indifference.
“They obviously had good reasons.” Amdirlain suppressed her amusement as she regarded the two. “Otherwise, they would have simply retraced their path.”
“Obviously.” Sáraid nodded firmly. “Must be some top secret Celestial thing, or perhaps a custom of their species.”
“We shouldn’t pry. Be sure to let Sáraid know whenever it’s time to go home, okay?”
The second one peeked out from behind Sáraid and gazed at Amdirlain solemnly; both kept a respectful distance from the wellspring’s waters as they accompanied Sáraid to her side.
Overhead, Aetos Kaukasios screeched and flexed his wings, swooping across the top of the Domain and startling the local birds.
Sáraid rolled her eyes.
“Of course, Aetos has to kick up a racket,” Amdirlain noted. “You're a silly bird.”
He screeched again and turned on a wingtip before buzzing back across the Domain.
“Yep, I wonder if he’ll stay to hunt the demons when they get closer,” Sáraid dropped beside Amdirlain. “What idiots thought they could creep up on us?”
“Most of them are still millions of kilometres away. Once more troops come in, they’ll test our responses to see what allies we have to draw on,” Amdirlain explained. “I dislike the favour trading that goes on, even among heavenly powers. As much as I understand everyone has their own agenda and priorities, my idealistic side finds it disappointing.”
The second hound nervously crept around to the far side of her and tentatively sniffed Amdirlain’s hand. As the hound belly-planted beside her, the scent of her pain was unmistakable in his mind. Distressed, he gave a sharp whine in the back of his throat.
Amdirlain wrapped concealments around her to wash the odour away, and the hound started in confusion.
“I’ll recover soon, puppy,” Amdirlain murmured reassuringly, presenting her fingers so he could sniff them, then scratching his ears when he edged closer.
“Will you be staying here a while?” Sáraid asked.
“There are two avatars here at present,” Amdirlain laughed in protest.
“With three of you, more of us could talk to you at once.”
“How about this?” Amdirlain tapped her chest. “I’ll be here for a while during my recovery, and my avatars will venture off to check on things.”
Sáraid straightened eagerly. “What do you need them to check on? We could handle errands for you.”
“Seeking a greater understanding of my natures isn’t something I can delegate.”
“Oh. Where are you going to send them?”
“Well, there are also five other worlds that Danu shared my name on, so I need to check on how they’ve picked up my tenets. They’re more advanced than Yúla, but nothing high-tech.” Amdirlain took over the mental conversations, which were focused through her avatars, and the pair hopped away to investigate suitable rifts. Thousands of additional Enyalië, who’d been waiting their turn, felt a querying mental nudge.
The cheerful notes of her sisters drew a grin from Sáraid. “You can’t speak to too many of us at once; after all, we have work to do.”
Against the backdrop of her Domain’s calm, the twelve succubi who had been slaughtering Tingeth’s hidden forces executed the last group. As the echoes of the fighting died, they escaped the underground caverns via Planar Shift.
I wonder what Naamah will try to charge me for their help. Or is she just looking out for me since I said I’d help her break her stagnation?
“The preparations are important, but it seems like others are going to take the edge off the enemy forces.”
“Then I’ll sit beside you while I contribute to some towers,” Sáraid responded. The notes of True Song that rose from her were inaudible to the surrounding creatures.
While she relaxed in the sunlight, Amdirlain chatted with her daughters and listened to Sáraid’s songs. Amid other conversations, Amdirlain caught Gideon’s mental touch.
“The Formithian Pantheon is having trouble avoiding being dropped into Hell,” Gideon advised. “They’re turning on each other.”
What about the celestials and souls if or when they plummet?
“When that occurs, they’ll have to decide whether they’ll remain loyal to their oaths. Most of their celestials are too weak to become Fallen, so they’d better bail if it happens.”
Hell would gain their corrupted essences as devils.
“Given how many are single-minded about the hive, the betting is expecting most to accompany the Domain into Hell. The fate of those who end up breaking free will vary depending on their involvement with mortals.”
How did it throw them out of the heavens already? It should have taken lots of nearly arrived souls in Judgement to have any impact on their status.
Gideon’s contact bubbled with delight. “They were never quick to retrieve souls, as individuals don’t matter to Aogruco’s hive, and they always had ‘bigger’ concerns for their celestials.”
Should I be worried about retribution?
“Some have a personal history with you, so who knows? As far as your repayments go, there is one Celestial quite determined to ride out the wave of disturbances by Aogruco’s side. I’m sure you’d recognise his name.”
The last time she’d seen Rhithri, the Formithian Celestial who had led Torm’s group, flashed in her mind.
The sense of contact from Gideon faded.
After hours of singing, Sáraid rose, but only one hound got to his feet; the other wiggled closer to rest his snout against Amdirlain’s thigh.
“He’s worried about you, Mother,” Sáraid noted. “All the pain that you can comfortably ignore made his nose itch, and he doesn’t trust its disappearance.”
“My body is still recovering from the strain of sealing up a higher-tier Primordial,” Amdirlain admitted, before she rubbed the hound’s nose. “Go on, I’ll be fine.”
He grumbled and rose to give a vigorous shake before he trotted over to join his brother.
As she returned to her meditations, recent deaths delivered souls to her wellspring. Some arrived from one of the more advanced worlds on which Danu had arranged worshippers for Amdirlain. Their memories revealed some of the dangers the world Yorubi possessed, and an Avatar she’d sent off shifted to studying the rifts connected to that world.
She had been looking into memories of their cultures and battles against giant insects when Danu appeared at the Domain’s boundary. The patterns of colouration across her naked form resembled wood grain, and her amber gaze was lit with glee. As she approached the Domain’s border, her awareness touched on the demons and devils Amdirlain was monitoring. A pulse of force swept from the Fey Primordial, and Amdirlain felt it energise trees over every remaining staging site. Millions of empowered roots plunged through the earth and bedrock to slaughter demons and devils in droves.
Now they’ll start with a different approach, and I don’t know what that will be. I can only hope I catch it in time. I guess my attempt to hide the Domain’s location from her was pointless. With all the trees in this place, I wouldn’t place a bet on how quickly she could shatter the boundary if she really wanted to.
“Come in, Danu. I’m at the wellspring.”
The Fey Primordial stepped out of a nearby tree and glided forward to sit beside Amdirlain.
“You’ve thrown so many residents of the heavens into disarray, Amdirlain. Though I’ve only heard of the Formithian Pantheon’s position in the heavens being threatened.”
“Me? Surely I couldn’t have anything to do with that outcome. I’m a tiny Primordial in a bottomless ocean.”
“Please, the changes in the heavens have your marks all over them. Holding the powerful accountable for their misdeeds and exposing sickness from twisted lies and self-justification.”
“Technically, I did none of the holding to account. Their worshippers held them accountable,” Amdirlain corrected. “It also won’t strip their status as deities from them, merely send them somewhere suitable if they don’t change.”
“Do you know what impact this has on their blessings?” Danu queried.
“I know the blessings of dark powers have an unpleasant feel, but I expected nothing to shift until they left the heavens.”
Danu nodded and sat beside Amdirlain. “On worlds where our forces are fighting, my priests and servants have witnessed their blessings feeling soured in mid-battle. A nauseating hint gurgles at the back of the throat, and acid itches the formithians’ scales. They tore their own priests limb from limb; their blood fed the ground we reclaimed.”
“I feel sorry for their priests,” Amdirlain sighed.
Her amusement died, and she looked at Amdirlain. “Why would you ever feel sorry for an enemy that has killed so many?”
“The individual is not the whole. The Pantheon broke their oaths in so many accords, but they’d lied to their people as well,” Amdirlain nodded to the white clouds overhead, the visible border of Judgement. “For many, their whole lives were a lie, controlled until their arrival in Judgement provided them truth. So I blame the Pantheon, not the individuals fooled by them, nor do I take pleasure in their suffering.”
“I’ve seen so many worlds fall to this scourge that I find it hard to separate the individual Formithian from the deeds of the whole,” Danu said.
Amdirlain met her gaze, and the weight of years in her gaze surprised the Fey. “That’s also very understandable. Yet do you also blame me for creating them in the first place?”
“No, I remember what they were like before the current Pantheon gained dominance over all the hives,” Danu replied. “You’ve changed.”
“Close to a million years of memories of memories relived will do that to a person. Shall we work towards restoring the balance they once had?”
“When you’re young, a million years seems like a lot,” Danu allowed. “I felt your assessment at work through my faithful coming from Judgement. Is there anything hidden from us? It seems strange that the formithians were hit so hard.”
“While nothing is hidden, I don’t control it, rather the Aspect of Truth. I would say it’s not a black-and-white set of rules, as it makes allowances for cultural differences and misunderstandings among followers. While it applies to all, it will primarily hinder deities who falsely portray themselves as benevolent. If a deity wants to exist in the heavens, then they will need to hold themselves to higher standards. The speed in this case is because they’d neglected to collect souls for so many years.”
Danu shook her head reproachfully. “The forest holds the cycle of life, but I still cherish the faithful that come to me. Your Domain is so new that in the time we’ve spoken, arriving souls have brought a crisp freshness to the waters. Will your Domain be able to remain here?”
“I’m not pretending to be benevolent. While I’ll make good things and happily help people, I also need to make the creatures and monsters that will kill people. How long have you known where my Domain was?”
“The moment you established it. Your Domain might extend beyond it, but a large part of it is within this forest. You might consider yourself a tiny Primordial, but your significance to this realm is not minor.” Danu kissed her cheek. “I look forward to what other things you address with your rebalancing.”
“I have nothing more planned for now. I’m trying to get various dark forces to stick their noses into a trap.”
Danu grimaced. “Did I scare away your prey? I thought I was heading off trouble for you.”
“I’m not objecting to your locking a few million demons and devils on their home planes. Those staging sites are useless now as they are no longer connected to portals after the shifting of planes.”
“You feel stronger than when we first met, but growing to the upper tiers takes more progress each time. Some find it frustrating, even if progressing in a stage provides far greater strength than the one prior.” Danu stood and gently trailed her fingertips through Amdirlain’s hair. “I remember you slaying so many of the Fey when the autumn and spring courts attacked. You should be more thorough with the enemies you’re making and ensure they can’t come back at you.”
“It’s a matter of balancing forces, Danu. If all my enemies were dead, who would I hone myself against?”
“Sometimes our greatest enemies are within,” Danu replied.
“I hope I’ve learnt enough painful lessons for a healthy mental balance.”
Danu vanished across the planes.
Aside from my paranoia about the realm being abandoned and dying, these sorts of drop-ins are part of why Patér sealed the forge. I hope he doesn’t get grumpy with me when they can start visiting again.
She let out a slow exhalation and turned her attention to the Avatar slipping through a select rift onto Yorubi.
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
(Avatar) Amdirlain’s PoV - Yorubi
The rift onto Yorubi delivered her atop a frozen mountain peak amid a monster-infested mountain range. The local star, a yellow dwarf, resembled Vehtë’s sun, but Yorubi’s orbit put it slightly further out.
While the most advanced of the worlds that Danu had spread her name to, the places’ technology currently sat below that of medieval Europe. There was a clear separation between their devices and the use of magic, with enchantments ranging from wands to storage devices. There was a mix of races reported by Analysis, including dwarves, elves, ontaritus—a long-limbed, bipedal species—and Lizardfolk, along with the more typical monstrous species to challenge them.
All the sapient species had variants of red skin that blended with the local flora. In contrast, the various predatory and monster species had a black and yellow colouration, and were mainly insectoids, ranging from massive wasps to poisonous ants. Most of the world's sentient inhabitants lived in the temperate regions south of a gigantic mountain range that was over nine thousand kilometres long. The pressure of the giant continental plates had raised some peaks higher than Everest.
The limited perspective her Avatar managed still covered half the mountain range and ran to the sea from where she stood. In its reach were a few elven forests, dozens of dwarven and Lizardfolk tribes, and eleven Ontaritu agricultural nations that spread along the southern side of the mountain range on which she stood.
Only the dwarven clans reached into the foothills, positioned in a series of forts, and underground complexes whose passages they’d lined with blessed stone. Their communities were tribal based mining only for their own needs, and didn’t possess a culture of high-level metalwork or artificers.
The eight million dwarves among those compounds were nearly as fertile as humans, despite their longer lives. Though curious about their limited population, Amdirlain restrained herself from investigating for now. The adults ranged in height from one hundred to one hundred and thirty centimetres, and they possessed broad-shouldered, heavily muscled frames, even without specific classes to provide greater strength. They possessed a warm mahogany skin tone that blended with short toffee-hued hair and black gazes. The vigorous weapon drills attended by all ensured even the youngest Dwarf with a Class possessed at least the Knight variation of the Fighter class.
Within the Ontaritu nations, which stretched south across the plains, the largest settlements were all placed on the west side of the many rivers that flowed from the mountains. Between settlements, they had regularly positioned circular watchtowers along every road; their bases had a wide circle of chest-high stones and bollards forming an erratic obstacle course around them. Among their nations, solid-wheeled travois transported most goods too heavy to carry by hand. The common draft animal resembled an African elephant with outspread horns, similar to those of longhorn cattle.
The buildings within settlements were all spaced out and featured the same circular formation of stone sheathed in beetle shells, with the entryway zigzagging into a central common chamber. While individual rooms lined the outer walls, all featured arrow-slit windows with racks of arrows or bolts beside them. When buildings had multiple levels, stone or hardwood grills enclosed the stairs that ran around the curve of their inner chamber. The rooftops all had merlons with a covered screen above them to protect against flyby attacks. Their undulating streets had fences of stakes to keep any non-biped from entering the secondary thoroughfares. The roads possessed no open stalls, and every wide area was ringed with roof-mounted weaponry.
The physiology of the Ontaritu differed from other races she’d met. Bald and gangly bipedal, with ruby-hued skin, their height ranged to the same degree as humans, and their torsos supported twin sets of arms. While two sat positioned like human arms, they had their second set below an inflexible cylinder of ribs. The flexing of the abdominal muscles that supported the lower arms drew in air through gills located just above their hipbones. Bellow-like arrangements drove it upwards past nodules that extracted oxygen while waste gases exited via another set of gills on either side of its throat. Their large obsidian eyes sat above a sharp beak, though their fingers and toes now lacked even vestigial talons. Their blood would eat through human tissue.
The elven settlements were open by comparison, though they cultivated thick canopies and plants whose pollen and sap seemed a toxic deterrent to the larger insects. Trained strangle vines and muskwood creepers preyed on wasps and giant beetles that tried to fly beneath the branches or scuttle up the trunks. Tree houses were the only form of dwelling the elves used, and they utilised ground-level buildings for hazardous crafts that required a solid foundation. The deep burgundy skin and hair blended perfectly with the shadows beneath wild grasses and plant foliage.
Meanwhile, the Lizardfolk held the coasts, with settlements that had submerged entrances, even at low tide, that led into tunnel arrangements similar to beaver dens. Their trade catamarans kept to the shallow waters as they flitted from one harbour to the next, avoiding deep waters where the krakens fed on giant whales and sharks. Their scales ranged from burnt orange through to vermillion and blended with the shifting ocean sands.
The large Ontaritu settlement she picked was close to an elven-occupied forest, but showed no significant difference in its layout. North of the village, beetle shells bigger than a horse lay in the sun from a slaughter the previous day. Chemicals inside cured and hardened them in the day’s warmth. A building situated close to the largest open space housed over a hundred maimed soldiers, with missing digits and limbs, recovering from the conflict. They were attended by a Life Affinity Wizard and several priests, one affiliated with Amdirlain’s faith.
Three lines of traffic entered the town from the south, but the guards only charged those leading beasts of burden, freely letting foot traffic enter after simple queries. Though the guards wore grey leather with breastplates of chitin or steel, the normal villager wore cloth or leather in various hues.
Amdirlain changed to match the local elven appearance but wore Wu Shu robes in crimson embroidered with gold phoenixes. She started in a position concealed by the forest’s outer trees, and from there walked along the fields’ borders at a Mortal pace. She didn’t stop until late afternoon when she joined the end of the line of those entering on foot. A young Ontaritu farmer leaned against his animal as he fed it dried fruit slices. Catching the motion beside him, he looked over at her, only for his eyes to go wide as he took in the phoenixes. His throat gills puffed out as twin sets of vocal cords formed his trilling words. “Are you one of Amdirlain’s wanderers, Elf?”
Links to her faithful in this world showed dozens of elves working for her outside the forest, teaching magic and crafts.
“I wander, tending to things where needed.”
“If you are in a hurry, teacher, you can walk down the gap left for guards. I’m sure none would insult any of you by insisting you wait.”
“I’m in no hurry,” Amdirlain reassured. “I’m travelling to meet some wizards.”
“They’ve got a few in this town. I know their healer has a clinic in the town’s core.”
Amdirlain caught an image of the building where the wounded were located, near the heart of the town’s walls. “That’s appreciated. I’ll start there.”
“Happy to be of service to the teachers. There was an attack yesterday, so they’ll be busy.” The farmer grunted and eyed the gap that had developed ahead of her in the line while they’d spoken.
Amdirlain strode ahead, barely having to slow down as the people she was following spilled into town, each spreading their arms and nodding respectfully when allowed to pass. The guard raised his lower limbs when the last person ahead of her crossed the gate’s threshold. His gaze brushed across her attire, but he assumed the unfamiliar embroidery symbolised her affiliation.
“Greetings, teacher.” The words rumbled from the gills on the side of the Ontaritu’s neck, their deep bass far different from the farmer. “You’ll find the travellers’ lodge north of the town core, and they’ll have unspiced meat you can eat. Please refrain from experimenting with our food. The last thing any of us wants is to explain your poisoning to the forest elders.”
“I’ll keep that firmly in mind. Are there any wizards in town?”
He drew himself up proudly, his shoulders snapping straight. “We have a healer in the town’s core, and two water casters in the east region. I’ve not worked with them, but you can get directions from the guards or locals in that region.”
“Am I allowed to speak with them and trade spells?”
“None would stop a teacher. Whether they will see you is up to them, but there are no laws against such exchanges.”
Amdirlain nodded in thanks. “The Ontaritu laws change faster than ours, so I appreciate the confirmation. Where can I find the shrines?”
“They’re within the town core, though we’ve only two of those who elves also follow.” He spread both sets of arms in a gesture she duplicated as they exchanged nods.
Formalities addressed, she crossed through the gate’s shadow. The scars of recent fighting with beetles crisscross the stake fences, and blood marked the streets and the buildings’ stonework. As she wandered along the undulating course, she drew many gazes and passed buildings whose centres provided access to various shops. Removable signboards that swayed by the exterior doors presented colourful advertisements with pictures and script of the shops within buildings.
Comments
James Skinner
Thanks for the chapter!
Plateworm
Tftc
