Apostles of Doom

“Indeed.” Leighton grinned. “Our forces are elated that for the first time in millennia we shall have a full contingent of avatars from all Five Siblings! I think the commanders are still in shock that Dashgar and Inethya themselves have graced us with their strength; and that Fassbindr, Prophet of Torean upon Nysegard, will also be here with two saints, in full measure with Saints Hilda and Stevos of Tiernon.”

“I have to admit my own pleasant surprise,” Timbly agreed.

“There are rumors that Ashnea Brightfeather may show up; have you heard anything?” Teragdor asked Leighton.

“I am praying so!” Leighton shook his head. “While intimidating to be in the presence of both Torean’s and Tiernon’s prophets, having Krinna’s own prophet here would be something truly beyond any dream that I might have conceived of!”

Timbly chuckled. “I suspect that once the prophets of two of the Five Siblings show up, there is increased pressure on those of the others.”

“Indeed.” Leighton grinned. “The rivalry of the avatars of the Five Siblings is nearly as great as that between the siblings themselves.”

Teragdor chuckled. “With all this divine power, I suspect the Storm Lords are in for a surprise.”

Leighton nodded with a smile. “For once, we shall have a decisive advantage over the Unlife.”

Nysegard, Approximately Thirty-Three Leagues from the Citadel: Midday

“You have to admit, they have very impressive logistics,” Ramses said to Exador, who was sitting beside him on their private flying carpet. They were returning to the tower, where work on the Dark Apostle’s lore was being conducted. This morning they had received a tour of the Storm Lord’s preparations.

“I grant you that. It’s no Abyssal Switch, but…” Exador said.

“You do know what would happen to their army if you did an Abyssal Switch on it, yes?” Ramses asked with a chuckle.

“If one does not take the proper precautions? I certainly do, which is why I always keep one ready to go whenever I deal with necromancers, in the event of an out-of-control undead army,” Exador said, chuckling as well.

“Do you still have any necromancers left?” Ramses asked.

“Actually, one did survive Lenamare’s little blast. Technically, he should be dead, but his skills are keeping him going,” Exador said.

“That’s impressive,” Ramses said.

“I have to admit, I was impressed.” Exador nodded. “He now gives off a soft blue glow in the dark. It’s a tad disconcerting.”

Ramses shook his head. “You mean he glows without wizard or demon sight?”

Exador nodded. “Exactly. The blue glow does not seem to be magical in nature.”

“So sort of a ghostly soft blue?” Ramses asked.

Exador shrugged and then shook his head. “I know what you are thinking, but he’s completely solid. His flesh is what seems to glow; it’s not like the aura some revenants have.”

“So are you going to bring him to Nysegard?”

“I don’t think so.” Exador shook his head. “Given that he survived, he’s getting powerful enough that I don’t really want him picking up too much more information from the Storm Lords. Remember, necromancers tend to live a fairly long time as it is, and the half-dead ones even longer. I’m betting he’ll be around for another sixty, seventy, maybe even a hundred years. I do not want him going lich on me. They are all megalomaniacs.”

“That makes sense. I’ve never been super-fond of liches — our allies excepted, of course. In fact, of all the undead, I prefer mummies. The embalming and bandages ensure you don’t have all that rotting flesh falling off on the carpet,” Ramses said.

“Yes, but I hear they attract dust mites,” Exador said.

“Better that than maggots,” Ramses observed.

Exador shrugged, turning his head to watch another ghost ship carrying undead troops float towards one of the docking platforms.

“Given the traffic, and what we’ve been told, they must have over five hundred transport ships,” Ramses said.

Exador nodded. “That’s just the flying ghost ships. From what I’ve been told they have a similar number of more traditional sailing ghost ships.”

“These folks in the Citadel are in for a very unpleasant time,” Ramses noted, shaking his head.

“They are indeed. Between the surprise we are working on and the vast array of forces they are deploying at such a rapid pace, they are going to be at a severe disadvantage,” Exador agreed.

Oubliette: Early Fourth Period

Everyone had left the TPCC after class except for Tom, who was messing with the AII’s settings, and Phaestus and Darg-Krallnom, who wanted to run a few quick checks on the systems.

Tom finished up and saved the AII settings even as the other two finished their tests. This led Tom to ask Phaestus a question. “You recall our conversation yesterday on reincarnation and the Phoenix Cycle, yes?” he asked.

Phaestus chuckled. “I really only have trouble remembering things more than a few hundred thousand years ago; I can still remember yesterday.”