The Chronicle of Heroes ~ Of Fiends and Shadows

[The Midgard Times]

Pasted here from previous posts, for better organization. The new part of the story is named "30 days". It can be found after the already-posted stories.

Somewhere in one of the Dark Allegiance's safehouses...

"Our HQ is in ruins, our forces are terrified of him, and Kushiel just escaped from prison. Another attack on us is imminent."

"No need to recap, I know what's going on. We need to set up a better temporary base somewhere where we can train our troops."

"We had the best people guarding our Headquarters and they're either dead, or missing limbs. We need someone that fears nothing, and can at least match his destructive magic power."

"I'm not going to fight him."

"Nice display of modesty, but I'm referring to someone long gone."

"I don't follow, Rajnish."

"Lady Hel lives somewhere in Niflheim... I'm hoping we can make some sort of deal with her to bring back one of our more powerful members..."

"Absolutely not! I will not have those old zealots disturb our order. Kushiel's enough of a threat as it is!"

"But Melot, with each passing day... Kushiel plots our destruction. We have to take decisive action! Someone like Mystra could easily do away with him like she did with Eudoxie!"

"My answer is no. That's final. And don't mention that name."

"... The Dark Allegiance has grown weak because of you."

"I do what I've done recently to protect the Allegiance and Midgard... There's some things I cannot tell you... Just know that a certain peace must be kept. If the world is destroyed, who will be left to receive Erebos' teachings?"

"Erebos taught us that only the strong survive. Yet you cower here while our men die protecting you."

"And hundreds more will die until we defeat Kushiel! We do not need ghosts of the past or weapons ahead of our time to win this war. We will show the world we stand stronger than ever in the face of adversity, and once Kushiel is dead... We'll be proud to say that nothing can crush the Dark Allegiance."

"..."

"Close the door on your way out, please?"

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Chronicle of Heroes ~ Of Fiends and Shadows

Deep in the dark Niflheim forests, a group of warriors journeyed forward into the unknown. Leading them were Lord Matthew and a limping Rajnish, who, in a hushed tone, discussed the latter's plans.

"I hope this plan of yours works. She's not fond of me being de facto mayor of Niflheim Town." Lord Matthew grumbled...

"So long as you keep your temper in check and let me do the talking, everything will be alright. She can't deny us a thing, with what we're offering her." Rajnish replied, looking back at several crates their followers carried.

After fifteen more minutes of walking through the forest and fending off all sorts of spirits and creatures, they made it to a castle, much bigger than the one northeast of Niflheim that once served as fairy Lucretia's residence.

Once the two bony figures guarding the castle entrance were shown the contents of the crates, they let the dark siders pass.

"...That was easier than I thought." The crimson lord knight commented. Rajnish snickered, shaking his head. Two more guards opened the way to the room where the castle's owner was located. The dark siders walked in, and bowed quickly, as directed.

A woman's voice boomed across the room. "Well, well, if it isn't Lord Matthew... come to make my castle yours?"

Rajnish looked up to speak to the woman he could barely see. "Lady Hel, we've come to make an offering, in exchange for a small favor..."

"What kind of favor would I be doing you...?"

"Our world is threatened by a powerful spellcaster... We were hoping you, who rules over all spirits of this planet, could return to us one of our own..." The stalker replied, submissively, before being interrupted by Lady Hel.

The woman scoffed."What could you possibly have to offer that would persuade me to do such a thing?"

Rajnish motioned his followers to step forward with one of the crates. They opened it, revealing large violet crystals inside. Lady Hel, intrigued by the offering, stood up from her dark throne and stepped forward into the more illuminated part of the room. She had a light tan skin color, and lumbered over the men. Her hairstyle's defiance of gravity was... impressive, to say the least, and she wore deep purple robes adorned with different runes.

"This is certainly quite the offering..." She commented, entranced by the crystals.

"I've been to the great library northeast of Lutie... I know you're interested in these crystals." Rajnish replied.

"I only keep a few in case I might ever have a use for them, but someone I know would do anything for these refined stones..." Lady Hel murmured... "They have been futilely invading a certain land for ages to get an enormous crystal of this type."

"So, do we have a deal?" Rajnish spoke up, rather politely.

"Who do want me to bring back?" Hel asked, looking down at the human.

"Mystra will do..." Rajnish smiled sinisterly, as he thought of what awaited Kushiel.

Lady Hel laughed, as if someone had just told her a joke. "You think she is in this planet like any other desolate soul? Hah, I wish!"

Rajnish and Lord Matthew's expressions changed from eager to completely disappointed. They went against Sir Melot's wishes in vain.

"Do not worry for her. She is with whom she wanted to be with."

"Who the hell are you going to bring back if Mystra's not available!?" Matthew, infuriated at their failure, murmured to Rajnish, who simply shook his head.

"Lady Hel, I don't suppose you can give us Ostellos...?"

Hel nodded. "That fiendish bastard, I can give you. Which of your men's souls are you going to trade me for him?"

"What!?" Matthew questioned, in awe. His followers began to mumble amongst themselves, in fear of what would happen.

"He needs a body, and Ostellos will just destroy the other soul. I might as well just have it." Hel explained, with an exasperated sigh. It seemed she really didn't like the Lord Knight.

Ultimately, Rajnish grabbed a scholar and pushed him towards Hel. "Just take that one, he'll be comfortable in a professor's body."

Hel nodded, and leaned towards the whimpering scholar. One of her bony guards walked into the room. Its hand was stretched out, with what could best be described as a swirling pitch-black mass of energy hovering above it. The guard stood by Hel, who clasped and waved her hand to extract the scholar's gray-tinted soul.

A disturbed Lord Matthew watched as Hel placed the dark mass above the soulless, comatose scholar. It entered through every pore of the man's skin, making the body have a seizure-like reaction. Rajnish watched, not even cringing at the sight.

"That's all." said Hel, gesturing as if presenting a gift. "Now, get out of my castle." she quite bluntly added, going back to her throne.

The scholar stood up, with some trouble.

"...Ostellos?" Rajnish asked, curiously.

With an eerie smile, the scholar looked back at the stalker.

"In the flesh."

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The Chronicle of Heroes ~ 30 Days

Day 1:

The group of insubordinate darksiders left Hel's Lair through the front gate after having just revived Ostellos. Rajnish and the reborn man walked in front, while Lord Matthew and the rest quietly trailed behind them.

The professor looked at his fist as he opened and closed it. Noticing this, Rajnish spoke up. "Getting used to the body?"

Ostellos didn't indulge in the small talk. "What does the Dark Allegiance want from me this time?"

"Straight to the point, huh..." Rajnish commented, chuckling. "Well, there's this light sider named Kushiel threatening to destroy the Dark Allegiance, and we've been thoroughly throttled each time we've faced him. You're the only other person I know that can defeat him."

"If he's bested you all more than once, you all deserve to be destroyed." The professor snapped back. "But, I guess I can help, as thanks for reviving me."

"Oh, and before I forget... You can't reveal to anyone who you are." The stalker informed, worried.

Ostellos scoffed. "I guessed as much, Mystra and Melot wouldn't exactly give me a warm welcome."

Lord Matthew, who'd gotten closer to hear what the two talked about, decided to clarify some information. "Mystra's... not alive."

Ostellos' smirk denoted his grief, or obvious lack thereof. Rajnish stopped to remind the men and women that assisted them today to keep their furtive mission today a secret. "... If the council finds out, heads will roll!" were his last words, before Ostellos interrupted.

"Council...?"

"Ah, yes. Shortly after Eudoxie's 'antics', a council was established to keep the dark side united." Rajnish answered.

Ostellos gave a look of sheer disgust. "How... appalling."

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Day 3:

After resting in a safehouse, Ostellos was finally taken to the temporary Dark Allegiance Headquarters, located in Lighthalzen.

The professor was given a quick tour of the building. During this time, he learned of what had happened during his absence.

"After your death, Eudoxie was killed by Mystra, who decided not to close the gate to Muspelheim. Now, there's a permanent opening available every monday when Muspel's second star aligns with the planet..." Rajnish explained, as he and Ostellos walked through the hallways.

Ostellos smiled. "Good."

Rajnish shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, some time after, Satan Morroc was revived. It laid waste to Morroc, but the Light and Dark Allegiances teamed up and sent him running."

"Let me guess... The Dark Allegiance tried to beat Satan Morroc by itself and failed."

"... Yes."

"I'm sensing a pattern here."

"Since then, there's been peace between the two allegiances, until Kushiel decided to go about blowing up buildings and blaming us for Satan Morocc's resurrection."

"The Dark Side didn't revive him...?"

Rajnish gave Ostellos a surprised look. "No, we're not like you, that seeks constant destruction to bring about a new world order. Our beliefs and ideas will be spread via lawfulness and organized recruitment."

Ostellos sighed, facepalmed, and carried on.

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For heroes' reference to these old characters suddenly resurfacing:

Eudoxie and Mystra's Story

Ostellos' First Appearance in heRO's RP