Joint Intentions (Book 9) (26 page)

The ghoul realized begging for mercy was a pointless exercise. Mercy was not a trait Reiculf embraced. If Baannat was to survive the encounter, he would have to convince the great beast he could still serve.

"How will that change you? I know of what you are. You consume demons at will. That has never allowed you to overcome the barriers which restrict you. You will remain trapped in your domain, unable to reach the delver. I am not restrained in the same manner. To consume me will mean the loss of an ally."

"I will not consume. I will absorb. There is a difference, ghoul. I have learned how to mix my magical essence with others. I was once able to reach beyond my realm by combining my core with the cores of others... spell casters who chose in the past to open their essence. This time I will go beyond magical energies and cores. I will combine the full essence, the complete consciousness. You will become a part of me in a way you cannot imagine."

For one of the few times in his twisted existence, Baannat knew staggering fear, the kind of terror which brings something beyond mind numbing confusion but rather definitive clarity.

"This is not meant to be," the ghoul whispered.

The daokiln disagreed.

"Your fate is now mine. I can do with it as I will."

Ansas saw even further into the daokiln's evil heart.

"It's not just the ghoul, is it?" the sorcerer questioned. "You can't just combine your essence with his based on his willingness to make a foolish bargain. You have to work with something else, something deeper."

"Quite astute, aren't you?" Reiculf congratulated. "And you are correct. I can't just claim his essence and meld it into my own. I will need to absorb your essence as well. Your connection to Baannat is deeper than mine. You took the hollowness of his energy and tried to claim it as your own. That's what allowed him to claim you. The connection between the three of us is part of our collective history, and it is magnified in my realm. All I have to do is will the three of us together and it will occur."

"This is not possible," Baannat hissed in opposition.

At that very moment, several primevals dared to enter the center of Demonspawn. They would never challenge the ultimate master of all demons, but their existence was tied to the daokiln. They had staked out their individual claims within Demonspawn during the realm's infancy. They had been the first to fall under the beast's rule. The reward for their brutal existence was conditional dominion over those who would follow.

As demons continued to breed within Reiculf's domain, the primevals took up the roles of taskmasters and overseers, demanding homage and obedience from each foul creature born within their midst. They maintained both order and chaos in the layered realm of demons.

They themselves transformed from their original forms into massive mounds of twisted depravity. Their power grew throughout the ages, but even combined, their strength could never match the raw brutality of the realm's sole tyrant.

The primevals always understood their place. They might squabble amongst each other as they ruled ruthlessly over their territories and minions, but they always acknowledged that there was only one master of all Demonspawn.

None ever dared challenge the daokiln. They would not even approach the beast. To enter the center of Reiculf's sanctuary would mean immediate obliteration. The beast would consume primevals as if snacking on nuts and berries.

Still, they understood the will of their lord. Even as past transgressions trembled through each fiber of Demonspawn, Reiculf's desires and edicts rolled through the realm carried on the stain of every sin ever committed. As Reiculf prepared to alter his existence, the primevals came to watch. It was their right, and even the daokiln would not rage against their arrival.

"Not possible?" Reiculf questioned. "Look upon the primevals and tell me what is not possible. They enter my sanctuary, not out of boldness, but out of an understanding they possess and you lack. They will bear witness to this most important transformation. This
will
happen."

Without another word, Reiculf took hold of both Baannat and Ansas. A deafening screech rattled the entire realm. A circle of dark magic erupted from the sorcerer's core, not by his will, but by that of the daokiln. Baannat's insubstantial form meshed with the other two as they became a thrashing mix of bodies pulled together into one chaotic entity. 

Ansas' magic of transformation blended with Baannat's unique composition. Existence and nonexistence swirled together in a powerful ring of alteration to become a new reality. As Reiculf's dominion over the past pulled their histories together, a new existence shattered both Baannat's domain of nothingness and Reiculf's kingdom of demons.

The two realms were forced together creating a new dominion, one that broke free from the dark lands and became a new home for both demons and the damned. To the dismay of all, it was a dominion of even greater hate and torment.

The primevals gazed upon the creature that would rule their new existence. The massive form of Reiculf had been transformed as well. What stood before them was a dreadful mix of man, ghoul, and daokiln. Its eyes simmered with a cold grayness even as its face twisted and contorted into one horrible expression after another. When it spoke, its voice rumbled like an avalanche of boulders tumbling into an open quarry, and it left no doubt as to its purpose.

"I rule this new realm... this realm of Demonsheol. Let no creature question my authority, let no soul escape my grasp. This domain is not of shadow or of emptiness. It is larger than pain, wider than fear, and greater than despair. Demonsheol is the absence of hope and the entirety of torment."

And just as Demonspawn and Baannat's realm had been transformed into Demonsheol, the three individuals had combined into a new creature as well. Reiculf, Ansas, and Baannat all ceased to exist. They had become something new, something horrible. The beast revealed its new existence to those it would rule.

"I am no longer Reiculf. I am now Rul Saattan. I remain the lord of demons, but I am no longer bound by the errors of the past. The emptiness of nonexistence becomes full in my hands and turns into pulsating venom. I have evolved beyond being the contradiction to virtue. I am the absolute essence of damnation and I can reach into any realm I choose."

"What has happened?!" Holli demanded of Vraya.

The sorceress did not answer. The transformation she unmistakably felt was so monumental in scale, it overwhelmed her to the point of shock. Holli's question barely reached the petite sorceress' ears as the air itself vibrated viciously from the wake of Reiculf's actions. Sights and sounds blurred into a dreadful sense of agonizing upheaval.

Even after the portal to Baannat's realm disappeared, the black energy of the dark realm continued to shudder and pulse with the throbbing cadence of massive change. The disjointed waves in the energy trembled with such instability, Vraya felt as if she had been plunged into the unsteady swells of a churning sea. She had to fight off a growing sense of dizziness just to remain upright.

As she stood over the precipice of the rock tower, she stared down upon the blighted lands below. She knew without question that Demonspawn had been removed as part of the region, yanked away in one immense flash of transformation. The mysterious curtains which separated and isolated Demonspawn from the rest of the dark realm were no longer necessary. Reiculf's domain was gone.

To her absolute horror, Vraya understood that Demonspawn was not simply obliterated, a scourge removed from existence. Reiculf's unthinkable deed did more than just combine the daokiln with the sorcerer and the slink ghoul; it merged the foundations of two separate realms. The gray shadows of Demonspawn had coalesced with the empty hollows of Baannat's domain. The merging of boundless nonexistence with billowing hate blazed through her mind with absolute clarity. She could not deny the truth, no matter how painful.

It was a transformation which would define an era, the start of a new age. It was the liberation of demons; not from a tyrannical master which ruled them with ruthless malice, but from the barriers which restrained them, kept them from freely roaming the planes of other realms. Reiculf had not simply changed himself. He had altered the boundaries which kept chaos at bay.

Alteration linked the past, the present, and the future, and Vraya could not ignore the consequences of Reiculf's horrifying decision. Uton had already faced enough turmoil from the invasion of malicious creatures of the dark lands. Massive suffering had become almost common. But that was the past, and as bleak as it was, it was a subtle twilight compared to the midnight darkness of the future.

The creation of a new realm where full demons could venture without cost or penalty into Vraya's homeland revealed a new and frightening outlook. She wished to shield her eyes from the entire event, but the ebony magic at her core forced the undeniable reality into her awareness. Change had indeed come to the dark lands, Uton, and all the planes of existence.

The sorceress might have heard Holli's question, but the elf's words were inconsequential to the much larger plight swelling through all of reality. Even as Holli repeated herself, Vraya did not respond.

The elf guard did not share in the sorceress' perception. Holli had seen the portal disappear along with Ryson's body, heard the shrieks below reach a pitched level, and sensed heightened alarm in both the sorceress and the elder wizard. She knew catastrophe had struck, but she could not define the cause.

"Vraya! What is going on?!" Holli shouted.

Still, there was no response.

The elf felt something in the air as well, but her core was of emerald energy. Green magic was the pulse of all living things. While it represented growth to a certain degree, it was not the embodiment of change, and thus, the overwhelming wave of upheaval did not affect her as it did the sorceress.

Uncertain of the scope of the turmoil, Holli could not wait idly by for the sorceress to compose herself. She needed answers... immediately. She moved to the sorceress, took her by the shoulders, and twirled her about so she could face her.

"What do you sense?!" the elf commanded.

"Demonspawn... it's gone, but it's not gone, not completely. It's changed, changed into something worse, something horrible."

It was not news Holli embraced. She had previously visited Demonspawn and knew of its horrors. If it had somehow turned into an even greater abomination, the potential consequences could be cataclysmic.

Still, Demonspawn was not the immediate focus of her concern. Ryson was, and she would not ignore the delver's welfare. As far as she knew, the delver was trapped in Baannat's sanctuary.

"Why has the portal disappeared?" Holli questioned.

"Because Baannat's realm is gone too. It merged with Demonspawn. That's how they both can still exist, but not as they were."

"How was this possible?"

"Reiculf. Only it's not Reiculf any more. I heard a new voice. It rumbled through the ebony magic. He's become something new, something different, something terrible."

The news was so dire, Holli needed confirmation. She looked to the elder wizard.

"Jure, is this true?"

Jure appeared unsteady, grayer, older. His eyes revealed his dread.

"I heard him too," the elder wizard confessed with a shiver in his voice. "But she's right. It's not Reiculf. I don't know what happened, but something called out. It wasn't the daokiln... and yet part of it was still Reiculf's voice. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's the only way I can describe it."

"What did it say?"

"It called itself Rul Saattan, and it said it could reach into any realm it chose."

Vraya turned to look into the elder wizard's eyes. She recognized his anguish, for it drenched her soul as well.

"You heard it too. It's not just a nightmare. It's true."

Jure nodded even as he felt as if all the horrors of the dark lands were closing in on him. He could hear the screams below. They grew louder, more chaotic.

"I think every creature in the dark realm knows what happened," the elder wizard claimed through a wheeze. "If they didn't hear it, they felt it. That's why they're screaming."

Holli had sensed the devastating turmoil, but she remained uncertain to the extent of the calamity. She would not allow for such ignorance. She needed to know every available detail, and she believed Vraya held the answers. She spoke with calm authority as she addressed the sorceress.

"You must tell me exactly what has happened."

Vraya steadied herself. She could not hide from the new reality which they all faced, and with Ryson's welfare still in question, the elf had to be informed of the ominous news. Vraya peered deeply into the turmoil boiling within the ebony magic as she revealed the echoes of events rolling through the waves of black energy.

"Reiculf took hold of both Ansas and Baannat. He took them against their wishes, but there was nothing they could do to stop it."

"Reiculf has seized their powers?"

"No, it's not like he's controlling the other two. They're no longer separate. The three identities merged into one. He didn't just consume them. He forced the two to merge with his own being. He used Ansas' magic with Baannat's unstable form."

"The three have become one?"

"Yes, and no. It's worse than that. It's not like it's a sum of the three. It's something entirely different. Just like Jure said, it doesn't even call itself Reiculf anymore. It said it was Rul Saattan... a twisted mix of body, consciousness, and spiritual essence."

"And what of Demonspawn... and Baannat's domain?"

"It's the same with the two realms. They've been forced together. In a way, Baannat defined the space he carved out. And Reiculf's essence raged through Demonspawn. When their identities merged, the two different regions came together. They had to."

Holli struggled to comprehend all that was happening. If Reiculf found a way to absorb Ansas and Baannat, she knew the result would be a creature of vast power. The merging of realms, however, left her confused. With Ryson apparently trapped in Baannat's domain, the elf guard needed greater clarity regarding the two regions.

"Vraya, Demonspawn could not simply cease to exist. And Baannat's realm was nothing more than a pocket of emptiness. Emptiness can not disappear. What has happened to them?"

"They merged in the same way Reiculf merged with Baannat. They no longer exist as they once did. That's why the portal disappeared. The rift couldn't continue to exist as a gateway because Baannat's home was altered. It shifted in space, just as Demonspawn did. Both places are now part of a new realm. Rul called it Demonsheol."

"Is this Demonsheol still part of the dark lands?"

"No, it's separate, like Baannat's sanctuary was separate from material existence. The immaterial aspects of that realm pulled Demonspawn out from the dark lands, cut it off and placed it in a new domain. Demonsheol is as removed from the dark lands as Uton. But you have to understand! They're all in the same reality now... all resting in a similar plane of existence. The restrictions which kept Demonspawn isolated don't exist anymore. Just as a portal can be opened between Uton and these dark lands, so can one be opened between Uton and Demonsheol."

"And the restrictions on demons? Have they been altered as well?"

"I think they must have been. The curtains which used to separate Demonspawn from the dark lands are gone. They vanished just like the portal to Baannat's realm disappeared."

The mention of the portal brought Holli's focus back to the delver.

"What has happened to Ryson?"

"I don't know."

"What of the spell you placed on him, the spell of shadow? Can you trace it back to him?"

"I'm not sure. There's so much chaos. The magic within me... all around me, it's still shuddering from what's happened. It's overwhelming everything else."

Holli could not wait for the turmoil from the seismic changes to calm. She called to the elder wizard.

"Jure, is your magic still connected to Vraya's shadow spell?"

Jure took long painful moments to pick through the energies. He could still feel the loose waves of his magic, but Vraya was correct. The magic, especially the ebony energy, was in tumultuous chaos. Trying to follow the remnants of his energy to any echo of Vraya's spell was like trying to follow a single leaf through Dark Spruce Forest during a windstorm.

"It's still there, but I can't follow the spell. There's too much upheaval in the magic."

"There must be a way to find Ryson," Holli insisted. "Why would his body disappear?"

Jure believed he had an answer, but it was only speculation.

"Ryson was basically in two places at once. That was only possible for as long as Baannat's domain existed. If Vraya's right, that realm got pulled into Demonspawn. The border between existence and nonexistence faded. I can only guess that the magic of being a delver forced a reconnection, made Ryson whole again."

"But where?"

"Demonsheol," Vraya whispered.

#

Ryson experienced the total reformation of his spiritual essence and physical form in a single and surprising instant. He had heard Holli shout for him to return to the rock spire, but before he could leap into the portal, the gateway disappeared. The emptiness which surrounded him exploded with a near blinding flash of light, and he found himself standing upon solid ground.

His body and soul came together within that same moment. He felt the weight of his own complete substance, and he knew he had been restored. Despite the inexplicable turn of events, he allowed himself the briefest moment of reflection as he found the return of his body both reassuring and puzzling.

Instinctively, he knew he needed to be whole again, that if he had remained in a disconnected state after the portal disappeared, he probably would have faded into a wave of oblivion. In that, he found an ample source of comfort. He wasn't quite sure what power pulled his spiritual essence and physical presence back together, but he knew it had saved him.

Regardless of that acknowledgment, he could not deny a certain level of confusion. He had done nothing himself. He had failed to reach the portal before it closed, of that he was sure. His body should have remained on the high plateau, and his spirit should have still been in Baannat's domain.

Neither was the case. Ryson knew he was not standing anywhere near the rock tower of the dark lands, nor was he stuck in the endless void of nonexistence. When his full substance was reformed, he was placed in an area unknown to him.

He remained mostly still, only allowing for a small turn to check his flank. He may not have been as diligent as an elf guard, but as a delver, he knew the importance of knowing his surroundings.

Realizing he faced an inexplicable turn of events, his senses came alive. He could still feel the effects of Vraya's shadow spell, and he wished it could be removed. He knew everything around him was bleak and grim, but the shadow which fell over his entire being accented the dreariness of the strange grounds.

Despite the heaviness of the gloom filling his consciousness, he fought through the haze to see, smell, and hear things as clearly as possible. His desire as a delver, the will to uncover every mystery, overwhelmed the effects of Vraya's casting. Intuitively, he reached out with all his senses and grasped at any scrap of information which would help him determine exactly where he was and how he got there.