Barlowe, Wayne - God's Demon

"You will truly thank me in a moment," the Demon Major said, raising a hand. It glowed with a small but intricate glyph that shot out and touched Hannibal upon the Burden. For an instant, more pain seared through his already-weakened body, but it subsided quickly, replaced by a growing feeling of lightness, and when he looked down, shaking, he saw that his chest was covered with a thick, black liquid that flowed more profusely as the orb began to dissolve. Moments later a large deforming cavity was the only evidence of the cumbersome Burden he had carried. His collapsed head tilted unnaturally until the flesh and bone began to fill in, and when he was completely mended Hannibal, mouth agape, eyes round, knelt before the demon lord almost as one reborn. At Hannibal's feet a large puddle of malignant blackness had pooled and begun to congeal.

Valefar stepped forward, turned to one of the attending winged demons, and indicated the pool that had once been Hani's Burden. Light-headed, Hannibal heard him say, "Have that jarred and returned to the Wastes with the proper ceremony."

Sargatanas lowered his hand and silently looked the trembling soul up and down. Satisfied, he turned quickly to resume his review, his burning robes trailing a thin, rising vortex of steam. A messenger approached him, and Hannibal could not help but hear their conversation.

"Lord," the trooper said breathlessly, "I have just now come from the border. Lord Astaroth has launched a massive attack on our western margin."

"Is there any evidence of support from the Prince?"

"No, Lord."

"Our losses, so far?"

"Demolishers are eating away at the buildings on the edge of Zoray's Thirty-fourth Ward. Lord Astaroth's reconnaissance was good; with no true resistance there he has made substantial gains."

DEMOLISHERS - (acrylic on Gessoboard) - Part of the vanguard of Dis' army is its intimidating force of various engineering "vehicles". Demolishers are among the largest soul-constructs found in Hell, each massive creation composed of hundreds of compressed souls. So heavy that they need supernatural augmentation to move, they are lumbering, building-crushing tanks capable of chewing their way through soul-bricks and natural stone alike. Only the thickest-built archiorganic structures can withstand the Demolishers which is why each is commanded by a powerful Demon Minor wise in the invocations necessary to further weaken them.

Part of a private collection, this commissioned piece seemed, at first, impossible. As there are no vehicles or real machines in my Hell, I was confounded when the buyer asked me to invent a Hell-tank. The only solution that satisfied my world's internal logic was to riff on the concept behind Agares' steed as depicted in the INFERNO book. In that painting, the demon is seated upon a mount that is entirely composed of mashed-together souls, their multiple legs providing the locomotion. Once I licked that conceptual problem the painting was fun to execute. As I had just recently finished GOD'S DEMON and there was a scene involving Demolishers, this painting provided me a rare and serendipitous opportunity to envision a kinetic battle scene in Hell.

Sargatanas waved the trooper away and then turned to the massed soldiers.

"Legions," he shouted, his voice like a pure trumpet, "the first move in our campaign has been made for us! We are at war!"

And Hannibal heard a martial cheer spring from thousands of inhuman throats and rise to the heavens, a cheer as he had never heard before.

After conferring for a moment, Valefar turned away from his lord and looked back at the soul. The Prime Minister was shaking his head, an expression upon his bone-plated face that seemed amazed.

"The fruits of your boldness come sooner than you could have imagined, soul!" he shouted through the cheers. "Hannibal Barca, you are now a general in the active service of his lord Sargatanas, Brigadier-Major of the Armies of Hell, Lord of Adamantinarx!"

Chapter Fifteen

ZORAY'S THIRTY-FOURTH WARD