Apostles of Doom

“Well, you rather amazingly found me, and extremely quickly after fourteen hundred years. I should not think it to be that hard,” Sir Samwell said.

“Yes. Well, to be honest, I was not privy to the techniques your fellow Oorstemothians used to locate you,” Barabus lied. He knew full well that the Oorstemothians had not even been aware of Sir Samwell. However, that was not a conversation that Barabus wanted to deal with. “We believe that we should be able to locate our Knight Rampant due to the fact that as an adherent of Tiernon, and a recent arrival, he should stand out.”

Sir Samwell raised an eyebrow. “Well, I am not completely sure he would be the only one, and the Abyss is rather large…” He shrugged. “So what is with all the cross-collaboration?”

“We need additional mana resources. We were cut off from Tierhallon when we entered the Abyss; this dramatically reduced the mana we had available for searching. We are thus working on a way to harness ambient mana levels to charge mana pools attuned to our priests, which we can then use to power our searching rituals.”

“Interesting.” Sir Samwell twisted his mouth in appreciation. “I hope it works. How long will it take to get sufficient mana?”

“We are hoping to try a first pass later tomorrow,” Barabus said.

“So obviously, you will rescue your knight. What exactly do you propose to do with this greater demon? As I’ve mentioned, it’s very difficult to kill someone here. Are you simply going to arrest him?”

Barabus grimaced. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Tierhallon

“Your Dream Sending was quite useful, Hilda, and with the names and information you were able to get, we have been able to confirm what Verigas told you,” Baysir told Hilda and the rest of the group at their working lunch meeting.

Sentir Fallon shook his head sadly. “This is incredibly not good.”

“Does their action break the Balance?” Hilda asked.

Beragamos shook his head. “No, mortals cannot break the Balance. However, if one of us were to go after them — were to enter the Abyss — that would break the Balance, even as a demon traveling to Tierhallon would break it.

“I am sorry, I know I studied the Balance, but could you refresh me on its implications?” Stevos asked.

Beragamos smiled gently. “The Balance is quite complicated, and often misunderstood; however, at its core, it is simply a treaty between those of us in the Outer Planes and those below in the Abyss.”

“So is it Five Sibling specific? That is my understanding. Other pantheons are not bound by it, correct?” Stevos asked.

Moradel shook his head. “No, it applies to almost all pantheons, or at least those of the Concord of Conciliation.”

“I think I may have missed that chapter in saint school,” Hilda said.

Beragamos chuckled. “It rarely comes up. The Concord of Conciliation is basically the agreement that governs the interaction of various pantheons throughout most of the multiverse. And the Balance is a treaty between the Quintenal Cabal and the Concord of Conciliation.”

“In short,” Moradel said, “the Balance comes down to an agreement that no gods nor their avatars will enter the Abyss, and no demons will enter the Outer Planes.”

“And the demons obey this?” Stevos asked skeptically.

“In general, yes, and vice versa,” Beragamos said. “There have been infractions, which have been dealt with.”

“Who enforces it?” Hilda asked.

“Ultimately, in the Abyss, it is Lilith and Sammael. In the Outer Planes, the Concord of Conciliation maintains a tribunal, or council, made up by a rotating membership of the most senior members of each pantheon,” Beragamos answered.

“So then,” Hilda said, bringing the issue back, “the Balance is fine as long as none of us pursues this Inferno into the Abyss to rescue them.”

Sentir Fallon nodded in agreement. “Correct.”

“So what happens to them?” Stevos asked.

Sentir Fallon snorted. “Well, unless they wise up and leave, they will probably be destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” Stevos asked, alarmed. “That’s a lot of our people!”

“Indeed,” Beragamos said sadly. “However, the Balance is quite clear. Any mortals of ours who venture into the Abyss are completely on their own. We are not allowed to aid them in any way; nor are we allowed to take retribution on anyone who harms them. Basically, the demons have a right to stand their ground.”

“But if they are captured by someone, we might be able to negotiate,” Sentir Fallon said and Moradel nodded. “Depending on who captures them.”

Tierhallon: DOA + 5, Late Fourth Period

Tiernon was sitting in the chair behind his desk, staring at his recent acquisition in his right hand, when he felt the presence of his brother, Torean, requesting entrance. He granted permission and his brother materialized in the left chair in front of his desk. Tiernon nodded to his brother with a tight grin of acknowledgement.

“So, brother, what have you learned about the blade?” Torean asked.

Tiernon sighed. “Well, for one thing, it is currently very positively polarized.”