Descent of Nightmare (Chapter Forty-One)
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saladloveChapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
Map of Kaldriel: https://i.gyazo.com/332b0c0172dcc60acb46
Rough map of Hatu: https://i.gyazo.com/ea4f9f51b9dc7b9d8b86
Chapter Forty-One
Shielded
Rath’s Forge, Fifth Circle of Hell. November 17, 2277. Time instance 842N.
Cataclysm did not like being in Hell.
He had avoided it like the plague for as long as he could, and as far as he could remember he hadn’t stepped within since he had broken free from Edme, aside from brief moments as he passed from hellgate to hellgate. That had been… gods, had that been thirty years ago? Time was beginning to blur and he didn’t like the implications of that. He was over sixty, around the age that human minds started to dull, and he shook off whatever worries clung to him. He wasn’t human. Not a single percentage of him was anything but angel and demon, and amalgamation creating… whatever he was. Now that there was more than one of his kind, perhaps they could use a specific name…
A demon racing past pulled him out of his thoughts and he growled, spreading his wings in a slight threat that they didn’t see as they sped by. He shook it off and carried onward, clutching the obsidian tightly and peering down occasionally at his map. He was in the right area, he knew, and when his eye locked upon stairs marked with identical glowing letters to the ones on the obsidian he knew he was here. He shoved the map in his pocket and descended the stairs.
Every step down seemed to raised the temperature by several degrees, and by the time he had reached the bottom it was almost unbearable. His wings felt brittle, his feathers itchy, and his clothes stuck to him in ways that made him grimace in disgust. The area was lit with the fiery glow of magma pools, next to which sat a forge made of unfamiliar hellish materials. Several workbenches and tools lay scattered about, as well as stone chests and bags, many of which were half-opened and messy, if fairly organized.
A faint blue glow surrounded a trough next to the forge. Faintly shimmering water sat within, glowing the same blue and reflecting the light oddly, at angles that it shouldn’t but Cataclysm couldn’t explain why. Two odd weapons, almost like swords, rested against the trough, finished and stained a deep red. They were old, he could tell, as their sides were scratched, cosmetic damage and nothing more as anything structural was long gone, kept in good repair by their owner.
Cataclysm’s eye finally found the smith, who was standing at a workbench and hammering at a sheet of black metal. He was short, shorter than even Cataclysm at around 4’11. His skin was a reddish brown and his hair was black, long enough to reach halfway down his back but tied into a bun. His red claws were cut and blunted while his horns, enormous for a half-demon, pointed up and hooked down a few inches into cruel points. His eyes were deep, dull red, focused entirely on his work. He bit his tongue between his sharp teeth, red wings half unfolded behind him as all thoughts strayed entirely away from keeping them in order. He lacked a tail completely and he wore black shoes over his feet, leaving the possibility of toe claws in mind but out of sight.
He did look remarkably like Xela. All of his soft edges, of which there were few, looked like her, as did the focused look in his eyes. Cataclysm could imagine, if Xela had wings, that she would hold them like he held his, allowed to hang loose as all attention was diverted to the task at hand. It was easy to believe that they were half-siblings and Cataclysm was willing to bet that Rath was just as sharp and intelligent in his area as Xela was in hers.
Rath’s voice was a low growl, rough with a constant note of annoyance. It sounded like it often went unused, interrupted by periods of constant shouting and frustration. “You’d better have a damn good reason for walking in here when I’m working.”
“The Queen sent me with this.” Cataclysm held up the obsidian piece, shifting his wings slightly. “She wants you to make me armor.”
Rath stopped what he was doing and looked over, an eyebrow shooting up. “You’re an interesting one, aren’t you?”
“One of three- erm, I guess, four now, not really-”
“Okay, okay.” Rath put down the hammer and stepped over to him, taking the obsidian and looking it over. “I gave this to Talmarian,” he said softly. “He must have given it to the Queen and she sent it with you.” He looked at Cataclysm a bit more critically, tossing the obsidian into one of the boxes with barely a glance in its direction. He circled him, once, stopping in front of him and peering up with a flash of annoyance at their height.
“So I’m to make you some custom armor, am I? Hmm. Come here.” Rath walked through his workspace, behind the forge, and pulled out a couple of chairs. “Sit.” He took a seat and waited for Cataclysm to follow suit before continuing. “Tell me why our dear new Queen wants me to make you armor. I don’t hand out those tokens to just anyone, you understand. I don’t give them to people lightly. If she’s using it on you, you must be something special. Sure, you’re one of three or four of your kind, but that doesn’t explain shit.”
Cataclysm sighed. “Okay. I’m not really sure why, but I have an idea.”
“I’ve got time. What I was working on is a personal project anyway. I don’t sell my services to war so much anymore so I’m not as busy as you’d think.”
“I used to be an angel,” Cataclysm began, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. “I wasn’t anything special, but my brother threw me into Hell and directly into the talons of Edme.” Rath shuddered and made a face, earning a nod. “Yeah. She turned me into this, taking my eye and my identity. I escaped with the help of a demon named Mela-”
“Mela?” Rath interrupted. “Mela Stinng? Edme’s cousin?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
Rath barked with laughter. “She’s a good friend of mine. Might let her know you’re still around and moving up in the world.” He waved a hand. “Continue.”
“Anyway, Mela helped me escape and I ended up with Kyir and Corvus- Kyir’s the father of my younger brother’s daughter, also, don’t know if you knew tha-”
“Oh, you’re that asshole. Yeah, Xela told me a bit about you. Not much. Cataclysm… Calyon, right?”
He nodded. “That’s me.”
“Okay, okay, I think I see where this is going. You’re friends with Kyir and you were one of the primary revolutionaries. What makes you so special to the Queen?”
“I don’t know,” Cataclysm confessed. “There’s a lot going on right now and she and I have never really been close. I’ve ended up with two kids- sixteen and twenty- created in a lab by aliens and now my…” He searched for the right word for Emma, remembering the ring that Nathan had given him and cringing awkwardly. “...my girlfriend and I are also going to have a kid and it’s really fucking stressful and I’m worried about her and the other two and the damn third one dying and we’re fighting angels and I know some of these fucks-”
Rath held up a hand, stopping Cataclysm’ tirade and making him realize how ridiculous and desperate he sounded. He was stressed, he knew that, but he hadn’t expected to go all-out on a stranger. “I understand. Okay. I don’t claim to know the Queen well, but from what Xela’s told me that’s probably half of it.” He frowned. “Don’t tell me you’ve been going into battle dressed like that.”
Cataclysm glanced down at what he was wearing- a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans. “Um. Maybe?”
Rath swore viciously. “Gods above, man! You have two kids, a pregnant girlfriend, and a bunch of really important friends while you yourself are kick-ass and you fight dressed like that? I’m not surprised she wants you in some armor! You dumb fuck!” Rath jumped to his feet and motioned for Cataclysm to do the same. He rummaged in a box and pulled out a tape measure and a clipboard with gray, fireproof paper. “I’m going to be taking a bunch of measurements and then asking your preference on a lot of armor-related stuff. Material, heaviness, flexibility. You’re an agility fighter, right?”
“Yep. Used to be an Avenging angel. Sword in each hand.”
“Do you fight that way now?”
“No. I mostly use magic or my claws.”
“Would you like swords?”
“I-” Cataclysm blinked. “I haven’t really tried them in awhile,” he confessed. “When I first tried using swords after I lost my eye, it didn’t work out so well. Haven’t tried them since.”
“I’ve got some lying around you can practice with to see if it’s worth making you some,” Rath offered, motioning for Cataclysm to extend his arms and taking the measurement. “Material preference?”
“On the swords or armor?”
“Either.”
“I’m not familiar with most materials at your disposal. I know Kaldriel materials and those found in Heaven, and that’s about it.”
“Dammit, man. Okay.” He took another measurement. “We’ll go over that in a bit. How strong of a flier are you? How heavy can your armor be before it starts to weigh you down?”
“I can carry Emma with me without much issue. She’s around 5’7 or so.”
“Good. You’re not a shitty flier.” Rath measured one of Cataclysm’s wings and tugged at a feather. “Ever tried getting these through armor?”
“Yes, back when I was an Avenger. I’m good at it and standard-issue Avenger armor was easy to get my wings through, even without customizations.”
“I don’t suppose you have exact measurements for that?”
Cataclysm held his hands out a certain distance then switched them to indicate height. “That’s all I’ve got.”
Rath grunted. “I’ll see what I can do. Fold your wing.” He took another measurement. “Would you prefer metal links or plates?”
“Links. More flexible that way.”
“Mhm. Usually, unless it’s made specifically otherwise. You don’t have a tail you’re hiding anywhere, do you?”
“Nope. No tail.”
“Your horns are gonna pose a problem. I’m not going to be able to put anything protective below them unless I do some hoopty shit or put in, like, a hinge. Mind if I measure them?”
“Not at all.”
“They weirdly sensitive or anything?”
Cataclysm blinked. “No? Do some demons-”
“Not many.” Rath took the measurement, frowning and doing another for the total length of the horn. “There have been mistakes before, though. Anything else I should know when making your armor?”
“I use a lot of fire and ice magic and hang out with lightning users. I can use darkness abilities although I don’t often.”
“It should protect from directly damaging magic but it shouldn’t hinder you at all. Gloves or no gloves?”
“Will they be grossly uncomfortable?”
“Shouldn’t be. Hold up your hand and extend your claws fully.” He measured the width of Cataclysm’s claws. “These don’t do anything too weird or unusual, right?”
“Nope.”
“Good. You’re not really goddamn weird.” Rath took a few more measurements, noting them all down on the clipboard, before setting his tape measure down. “Okay. I’m gonna grab some materials for you to look over for your armor, and then we’ll do some fucking around for your sword. Depending on the material, it’ll take me two or three days to finish it. Fewer if I skip sleep. We’ll discuss that when I’m ready to get started.”
Cataclysm nodded. “Thanks, Rath.”
“Hey, no problem. This’ll be fun.”
~~~
When Emma awoke, it was to glowing purple eyes watching her in the darkness. She had fallen asleep on the couch at some point, accidentally, and now there was a form perched on the armrest on the far side. Watching.
She shrieked in surprise, scrambling back and almost falling off the couch. The figure howled with laughter, almost falling as well, holding herself up by grabbing onto the back of the couch as Emma calmed down and glared at her.
“Dare,” she growled softly, “why are you in my house and watching me sleep?”
Dare grinned smugly. “I think I’d know,” she parroted, sliding into the seat next to Emma and shifting over to lean against her. “Say it. Say I was right.”
“Fuck off, Dare!”
“C’mon! You thought you’d know! And you diiidn’t~!” Dare grinned through her singsong voice, nudging Emma repeatedly with her elbow and shoulder. “I was riiiight~!”
“Go away, Dare!”
Dare giggled and jumped to her feet, patting Emma on the head. “I’m so excited to see what they look like! Ooo, do Kyir and Corvus know yet? What about Jase?”
Emma groaned. “Yes, unfortunately. Kyir started laughing, Corvus rolled his eyes, and Jase immediately started lecturing us on protection.” She crossed her arms. “Where have you been, anyway?”
“Busy,” Dare said vaguely. “I was visiting an old friend. Specifically, an old friend of Gali’s.”
~~~
“That’s not fair!” Gali protested as Jimmy flew circles overhead, giggling. “I can’t fly!”
“You should get wings, then!”
Gali crossed her arms and pouted. Jimmy frowned and landed, folding her wings against her back. “Gali?”
“Ha!” Gali tackled her, making her shriek as they fell and hit the ground. Jimmy screeched with forced laughter as Gali tickled her mercilessly, flailing in an attempt to get her off. “Say you’re sorry!”
“N-never!” Jimmy’s wings flapped helplessly against the ground as she pushed vainly at Gali’s arms. “I’m never sorry!”
“The tickling will continue!”
“Gaaaaliiiiiiiii!” Jimmy howled and flailed wildly. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Stop, stop stop stop!”
Gali sat back, grinning and allowed Jimmy to stand up. She got up as well, smiling sweetly.
“I’m sorry,” Jimmy repeated, and mischief entered her eyes. “I’m sorry I have wings and you’re a butt!”
Gali’s jaw dropped. “Why, I never-”
“Gali?”
Gali froze mid-step, halfway through going to tickle Jimmy again. The voice struck a chord in her memory, pulling at her heart and ringing a bell in her soul. She hadn’t heard that voice in years, not since before the invasion, not since-
She turned, shaking, to address the voice, all previous thoughts completely gone as she locked eyes with Scorp Allvaer.
He looked just as she remembered, although worn from age- short brown hair slowly losing its color and friendly green eyes that had darkened in the past twenty-five years, their energetic light dulled to a quiet flicker of joy. He was paler, almost grayer, than she remembered, and he looked tired, his smile lower than it should be even with the look of disbelief and wonder on his face. His piercings were still there, although the specific metal pieces were different, and the brown patches at where his jaw connected to the rest of his skull looked rougher than they had. His fingernails were still long and slightly browned, tapering to slight points as they always did. He held his scorpion tail lower, but it was raised slightly, stinger curved inward, a sign of interest but not hostility. His laptop bag- the same damn laptop bag, now beaten, stitched, and torn with age- hung off of his shoulder, its colors dulled from the vibrant hues they had been when she met him. A blue mask, identical to her own except in color, hung off of his bag by its straps, its meaning lost to the casual observer.
“SCORP!”
Gali took two steps forward before throwing herself at him, almost knocking him over. She hugged him tightly and just started sobbing, barely registering when he hugged her back.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Gali. I’m here. The last of the Varnic is back together.” He was shaking, she realized, or maybe that was her. Maybe it was both of them. She couldn’t really tell. “I thought... I thought you were…”
“I thought you were dead,” Gali mumbled, and she stepped back, looking up at his face. A scar she didn’t remember being there, faint and almost invisible, ran from below his right eye to his mouth.
“Yeah. I thought you were, too.” His voice was nearly the same, more tired and weathered but still lively and Doravian.
“Gali?” Jimmy’s voice was quiet and Gali turned around, tears still in her eyes. “Who-?”
“Jimmy, this is Scorp. He was our- the Varnic’s fence. I... I told you about him…?”
Jimmy’s eyes lit in recognition. “Oh! Oh, wow!” She stepped forward and shook his hand, grinning. “Well, I’m glad you’re alive even if I’ve never met you before! I’m Jimmy.”
“Scorp, but you knew that.” He grinned. “You two are…?”
“Girlfriends,” Gali answered, smiling at him.
“Aaah. I thought demons freaked you out? Just a little?”
“I’ve been a demon for two days,” Jimmy said cheerfully. “And she doesn’t mind them.”
“I have a lot of demon friends now.” Gali grinned and hugged him again. “I’m… I’m just… you’re alive. But...how did you find…”
“A half-ra’kara showed up at my door,” Scorp admitted, scratching his head. “She said her name was Dare and that she knew where an old friend of mine was. I wasn’t inclined to believe her until she mentioned that this old friend used to be part of the Varnic. I took off immediately.”
Gali frowned. “I never told Dare about the Varnic.”
“Dare knows Xela,” Jimmy reminded her. “Xela probably knows.”
“Oooohhh. That would do it.”
“How did you survive, though? I saw an entire building fall-”
“I don’t know. How did you, when Vess and- and Leo…” Gali gulped a few times. “That’s my middle name. Did you know that? I’m Gali Leo Fred.”
Scorp’s eyes shimmered with tears threatening to spill and he swallowed a few times to keep them under control. “You never were good with names.”
“Your name is Scorp.”
“I bet you’ve heard all the scorpion puns,” Jimmy said glumly, crossing her arms.
“Believe me, I have. Between Gali and Leo I never got any rest.”
“Where have you been living?!” Gali demanded.
“Kesron Minor, where I figured I belonged. That building with the old Varnic base beneath it survived, and I live there now. For old time’s sake, you know?”
Gali nodded. “I’d… I’d like to go back there, sometime, when this angel war is over.”
“I’d be happy to let you in. What about you? Where have you been staying? What have you been up to?”
Gali’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been in Akrar the whole time, really! I was with the Black Market, one of the first people in the revolution that took out the Mainframe! We kicked a lot of ass and I would have returned to Kesron Minor if most of my friends and Jimmy hadn’t stayed in Akrar.” She frowned. “Also, we were friends with one of the aliens and never knew it, but he took blood samples from everyone so now we have a kid created in a lab that’s four years old but actually sixteen. Her name is Korrah and she’s great.”
Scorp blinked a few times. “I think I’ve missed way too much involving you,” he mumbled. “I just dealt with the whole ‘being enslaved’ thing as best I could. Stole what I felt like. Got thrown in prison and broke out a couple of times. Made some friends, lost some friends. Nothing like the Varnic, though.”
Gali smiled at him. “I think you’ll like the old Black Market people. We were a lot like the Varnic.”
“Yeah?” Scorp grinned. “I’d love to meet them all.”
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Date: 2017-04-07 11:15 pm (UTC)Nephalem as opposed to Nephilim?
Cataclysm’s eye finally found the smith, who was standing at a workbench and hammering at a sheet of black metal. He was short, shorter than even Cataclysm at around 4’11.
Huh....how did I forget that Cata was short? I always picture him as tall...guess that's down to his powerful presence.
“Okay, okay, I think I see where this is going. You’re friends with Kyir and you were one of the primary revolutionaries. What makes you so special to the Queen?”
“I don’t know,” Cataclysm confessed. “There’s a lot going on right now and she and I have never really been close. I’ve ended up with two kids- sixteen and twenty- created in a lab by aliens and now my…” He searched for the right word for Emma, remembering the ring that Nathan had given him and cringing awkwardly. “...my girlfriend and I are also going to have a kid and it’s really fucking stressful and I’m worried about her and the other two and the damn third one dying and we’re fighting angels and I know some of these fucks-”
Rath held up a hand, stopping Cataclysm’ tirade and making him realize how ridiculous and desperate he sounded. He was stressed, he knew that, but he hadn’t expected to go all-out on a stranger.
Sometimes venting to a stranger complete removed from all of your bullshit you have going on is the best thing to do.
Dare grinned smugly. “I think I’d know,” she parroted, sliding into the seat next to Emma and shifting over to lean against her. “Say it. Say I was right.”
“Fuck off, Dare!”
“C’mon! You thought you’d know! And you diiidn’t~!” Dare grinned through her singsong voice, nudging Emma repeatedly with her elbow and shoulder. “I was riiiight~!”
“Go away, Dare!”
I love Dare's "I told you so" moment, but if she's not careful Emma's going to lamp her....likely with a lamp...
“SCORP!”
Gali took two steps forward before throwing herself at him, almost knocking him over. She hugged him tightly and just started sobbing, barely registering when he hugged her back.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Gali. I’m here. The last of the Varnic is back together.” He was shaking, she realized, or maybe that was her. Maybe it was both of them. She couldn’t really tell. “I thought... I thought you were…”
“I thought you were dead,” Gali mumbled, and she stepped back, looking up at his face. A scar she didn’t remember being there, faint and almost invisible, ran from below his right eye to his mouth.
“Yeah. I thought you were, too.” His voice was nearly the same, more tired and weathered but still lively and Doravian.
Genuinely teared up at this :')
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Date: 2017-04-08 02:10 am (UTC)Cata's so little it's cute
SCORP IS AN AMAZING CHARACTER ALSO PLEASE NOTE THE LAST NAME
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Date: 2017-04-08 07:14 pm (UTC)XD
Scorp Allvaer....ok....noted....
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Date: 2017-04-09 03:23 pm (UTC)Asphodel "Seven" Allvaer, Elysia "Sheva" Allvaer, Everex Dramonallvaer, Twelve Dramonallvaer...
Scorp is REALLY OBVIOUSLY PART VISPER,,
MAYBE THEY'RE RELATED
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Date: 2017-04-09 05:10 pm (UTC)I'm really hoping that Scorp is Seven and Sheva's uncle or something like that and they refer to him as Uncle Scorp, I don't know why but that thought amuses me greatly XD
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Date: 2017-04-10 03:47 am (UTC)-- If you remember, Scorp mentioned some cousins of his being born, and he went to go see them before coming back. That would happen to be Asphodel and Elysia. --
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Date: 2017-04-10 03:16 pm (UTC)Interesting, I wonder if Scorp will recognise Seven and go "Hey, what's up cuz!" and then pull Seven into a big hug while Seven squirms and says "Who are you? Please unhand me from this display of affection that I do not understand." XD