DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES...
duel of the duo...


Oscuro fled from the Phoenix, and Nightfire pursued, endlessly. Across space and time, their fight, lasting for ages.

Their battle, beyond years, seemingly endless. Time and time again, Oscuro would take flight. Little did the Phoenix know, that he just bided his time. Waiting, for the perfect chance to strike. He was a cautious one, was Oscuro, son of Boadicea & Argent. Though it had taken years beyond measure, Oscuro knew when his time to strike was. A full planetary alingment which wouldnt be seen for hundreds of thousands of years; Moons eclipsing suns, planets eclipsing planets, planets eclipsing moons, not only in this planet system, but in all planetary systems. A cycle in the gears that had been building for time out of mind, as if only - waiting for this moment. .

Nightfire, a shrill cry of vengance, ear shattering, deafening, attacked with talons of flame. Oscuro, now enshrouded within his dark aura, reached his arm back, and struck into the very heart of the meddlesome beast which had pursued him. The beat screamed louder, siezing the moment, attacking with a pained fury.

While the phoenix was gravely injured, and had fought more bravely still, Oscuro, was still after all, a god, and one did not mess with a god, unless one knew what was best for ones self. Oscuro had triumped, the moment had come. He reached out, and seized it, and being the cup half full type of person that he was, he drank it in, bathed his body in it.

Oscuro, smirked as he thoughtfully eyed his now dieing opponent. He smiled moreso, with each passing second, upon witnessing his victory sink into Nightfires eyes; daunting, the defeat. His tasted the firey blood of his opponents still beating heart sink into his god-like teeth.

An the explosion tore through the very fabric of the universe, time stopped as Oscuro tasted his savage victory. When Oscuros blood turned to fire, time still held (Therein lay the problem.). Oscuro himself screamed, though it would do him no good, as the flames all-consumed his godly, though relatively mortal coil. The last of the void winds from Nightfires wings scatters their collective, intermingled ashes, across the entirety of the world, as the fate-bound pair drifted, down to the earth, their bodies consumed by flame. They burned up before the impact. For a time all was silent.

From the core of the planets crust, lay the ashes of both Oscuro and Nightfire. Their ashen remains had settled like a volcano's cloud fall upon the entirety of the world. There very black sands, gave birth to the dark one, This Deadsoul; the Oscuro Phoenix, whom ruled over the emptiness of the barren and deceased planet with a proud majesty that only a diety could loathe and pleasantly enjoy at the same time. In this Deadsoul's void filled wake, did time cease: no voice did echo, no star did move, nor a fire flicker, nor did the wind whistle through the ashes.

For years, this abyssial tranquility was un-disturbed except for the voided beating wings of the black bird of fire. The Oscuro phoenix flew the skies, patroling his domain for years, a dead world.

His attention, grabbed by a sentinentnence to the north. Its wings teetered left then right, and Deadsoul sailed off to the north, to the realm of black ice. It sensed danger within this sentinence, something which threatened his claim, his inheritenance.

Though ashes did cover the worlds land, and water had disappeared; the planets crust did rattle with an earthquake as the bodies of Anubis and Kyuss returned to the home world. Even the small rain cloud, which hung silently, cautiously in the air over the mesa, was taken back a bit by the impact this immortal pair had upon this world. Connected they were, this trio; Mother Earth, Anubis, and Kyuss the chaotic, the cloud knew it, the grass knew it, even the burnt and broken soil knew it.

They had arrived, home, be it ever so battered and broken, or ever so not even remotely humble.

The Mesa upon which they landed teemed with life. A risen plane of earth which rose hundreds of feet off the ground, this plane which was only half a mile wide, by a full leage far; lay home to lush green grass which grew up to Anubis's knee's, though it half covered Kyuss, who was always much shorter of the two. At the center of the Mesa, does a tall oak tree stand in bloom, while a gentle summer-like rain drizzles down upon the risen earth. There is a peace here, a newly restored peace, but a tranquility of holiness none the less.

On blackened and charred wings of flames, did the Oscuro phoenix flap through the air, curious as to why these 2 could still move in this frozen moment. More curious still was the trek of land below which supported life. How dare they, even though he knew of them both, and knew of their powers, how dare they indeed! Deadsoul holds itself up aloft in the air, majestic fire as a sygil in the sky. Anger and annoyance flare up in the beasts blue eyes. With a foul shriek, it rises up in the winds and flies to attack the the duo before him. This was his planet, he had claims the planets soul, his talons around her moltem heart. Deadsoul wished this planet to stay dead, and stay dead it would. This life must die!

Around his fire consumed neck, Deadsoul wore the cracked scales of balance around his black flame enshrouded body as a medal of valor and conquest. A token of his triumph, over both good and evil. A point against all karma. Something it had taken Dogmatic mutation to conceieve and to shatter.

Anubis appeared less then amused with the entire affair, and strong was he from his years of feasting upon the souls of the entirety of the universe. Vexxed was the Keeper of the Dead, who merely snapped his fingers in annoyance. His eyes black as the deepest opals, might have smiled, had not his stale face given up the tolerenance for happy apathy eons ago.

Deadsoul blinked his fiery eyes, as millions of beasts and creatures, appeared instantly for leagues in every direction around the mesa. Some beasts he knew, others he had heard of, but most were from planar dimensions not even he would dare to tread ground upon (even odder, some of those dimensions didnt even have ground to stand upon).

Foul demons, stumbling dwarves, legions of Elves and Humans by the score. Anteaters, birds of a rainbow of colors, raptors, a variety of lizards from the small in size to the towering monsters whos feet were the size of the mesa, Scores of avian flying creatures, bipedal humanoids, of all decents, quadrapeds by the score of shape and side, to the fierce, vile critters with 8, 16, 64, 128 and 256 legs. Beasts of such foul monstorous nature, and beings of sainted power, creatures of humble origins, bastions of forgotten experiments and failed creations. If it had lived and died, Anubis was in control; for all beckoned to the call of the power of Anubis, Keeper of the Land of the Dead, harvester of lost souls, and now, gate crasher of dead worlds.

Deadsoul stared at the two immortals atop the Mesa, and shrieked a fury of hate filled thought at the pair within his imminent domain. It shrieked and attacked, flying fast through the air, quickly dividing the time between him and the duo of immortals. .

A feeling of quaintness to the Oscuro Phoenix, to see the Dwarf, standing there in the grass, upon his decaying ash world, holding nothing but a small gray ball within his hands. To see him caress the globe, nurture it with his fingers, not even slightly concerned with the prominent, incoming danger. Oscuro was seeing an epiphany here, but he could not grasp the nature of the treat. Still the Dwarf, Kyuss, looked up at him, and fondled the clay within his hands, no look of worry crossed his furrowed brow, no blink of stark fear etched his his cheeks or face. Just concentration.

Blind was he, Oscuro, to the nature of the threat which he faced from all sides, so intent was he upon the iethrorialal (dwarf gan [either or all]) which stood before him.

Kyuss, the Dwarf, sometimes called Onuris, one of the last of the Gan Masters was speaking now, to the air, to the clay, to the very world of the weave of magic itself. His gaze though, stared Oscuro directly in the face. His eyes, like nothing encountered; they glittered, they shimmered, they smited you to stare, but fear to look away, for fear of looking away would lead you back in, to stay in, to be in that chaos once again. Short in stature he may have been, but by repute, he was a worthy foe. Deadsoul merely couldnt comprehend the duo he would duel. What was it about the clay again? He flew on, for the kill! Something stretched, at the back of his mind, remembering the thought of another. A second of terror, as he realized. Captivated had he become, on the short one with the clay ball. So enticed was he, to fail to notice the prominent blue aura which casually, yet instantly infected every one of the hosted legions of Anubis. A blue aura which could have instantly been noticed for leagues in any direction, by even the stupidest of creatures, yet so intent was Oscuro on Kyuss, that he was lost, lost in the clay. His name, bound, in a spell, so calmly cast, the intent stated.

The thought how ever important it might have been, was tragically lost. Those called forth by Anubis, were granted new found, god-like powers of magic. Kyuss, and his shaped clay, made it so. Deadsoul could have sworn he saw a smile of pleasure vainly try to attempt to etch itself upon the worn face of Anubis of the Dead, who stood, arms folded, as excerising the largest of patience. An engima, both of them, he thought. It was like being forced into playing a different game, in which you didnt know the rules, and the rules were so out of place, and unorthodox, that they worked, but you sure as hell didnt understand it, let alone all of the rules. He knew then, Deadsoul understood, that his two opponents, these two Immortals made all of the rules of this cosmos, thats why they understood all of the rules. He knew then that Anubis was playing a rule he didnt understand; he was turning a table, playing his hand, one of karma.

Deadsoul cursed the pair, he cursed his arrogance, he cursed his blind sight. How had he fallen into a trap, one so carefully prepared.

Oscuro screamed, rage and pain, as he was blasted by magic from millions of entities at once.

He could die, the words raced across his mind in big bold letters.

Deadsoul, the Oscuro Phoenix once again knew pain, it rocketed in spirals through his body, wracking him. Once again, he intementaly knew fear. Deadsoul realized the epiphany of this Irony. This life must die! The Pain, must flee! His indecision cost him.

Deadsoul followed Anubis's gaze, upwards to the heavens, to what lay beyond. In his immense, damaging pain he tried to grasp what He of the Dead, was so intenty staring at. Then it hit him, he saw it, rocketing across the cosmos, another of those rules he didnt understand, sped towards him, fasters then light, a collection of stone, rock, metal and gasses.

Then the comet struck him. He couldnt even curse in his mind, let alone shriek through the mouth of the Phoeni, so fast was he struck, it was was near instant, a FOOMP, which left casual fiery feathers floating in the air in which he had oh so recently flown.

The impact, catastrophic, the Mesa of Martyrs untouched by the blast, except just enough force for the blades of grass at the frayed edges fall down off the side, and land down below upon the ashen ground. Within moments, the grass sprouted, and began to spread upon the limitless trek of the planets surface.

The cloud smiled, as the winds of changes blew, expanding its cloudy, raining girth, to cover the expanse of growing green grass below.

Deadsoul, mortally wounded, could only flee, from the Power of the Immortals, who were at home on his world, but he also knew it was their world as well.

On his flight away, far to the south, Deadsoul, the Oscuro Phoenix, let forth a curse, upon the tree, that one day, he would see it fall.

Powerful emotions had ruled these lands before, and they would do so again. Those who had done foul deeds, or achieved the most righteous of glories, would eventually walk again here. Greatest goods, and greatest evils, each would undo each other in the end, by all life is a cycle. This is the life we forge, our cycle. The sacrafice of Lumina would never be forgotten, the vain, would be remembered again, the caring, the intelect, the daring, the disrespect. All had a place in this world. These are the things which had shaped the clay, and the gods who shaped the clay, and kept over the dead. This was their karma.

At Deadsouls flight, Anubis and Kyuss both nod respect to the wraith form of Lumina, who watched, in a pale silence atop the mesa; that of a deaths shade spectre, she viewed the whole event, with much distaste for the death phoeni, of what her brother had evolved into, of what the bueatiful world had become. She blessed them both, for they were all that remained as a hope, for all that remains of this grim spectre of a world. One day, she would find a way to thank them, to truly thank them for their deeds through the years, those deeds of light and hope.

The cycle forge continues....




email: kell.sims@gmail.com 11/14/2008