Single chapter, no continuation.
Path of the Hellwalker
The war room was noticeably disorganized yet not impractical. Several armored men and women gathered around a large circular table in the center of the makeshift tent. Several arguments were flying throughout the room; an aged man in golden armor waited patiently for his comrades to cease their various tactical arguments. The wind blew softly into the tent, moving a few papers, but then... a messenger rushed into the tent before the guards outside could stop him.
?At ease everyone!? Shouted the golden plated officer, he walked up to the clearly tired messenger, ?report soldier.? The young soldier lifted his head to meet the officer?s eyes, fear expressed clearly to his message: ?The Hellwalker has found us!?
~***~
The sky had turned blood red and bell sirens pumping furiously as the streets of Port Llast were cleared of non-militant activity as quickly as possible. Columns started to form when suddenly a large ball of fire levelled one of the buildings near the command tent.
?The Gods have abandoned us!? Shouted one of the guards, ?still your tongue recruit and look sharp. The devils are known for their trickery and the Hellwalker would not just fire balls of fire at us without some other piece to the puzzle. Rally the troops, every fighting man and woman is to report to the town gates!?
?Yes milord Nasher!? Saluted the soldier as he hurried off to find more people. The man Nasher ? former lord of Neverwinter, reduced back to the role of general. No worse than that, he was a rebel in his own homeland. For many years now did the Hellwalker?s armies simply play cat and mouse with the rebel factions across the distant lands of Faerūn, were it not for Aarin Gend?s spy network they would?ve been finished already.
?Tyr. Aid us in the cause of justice. This is our darkest hour.?
Staring at the red heavens though proved to be no avail. The battle horns of the descending army could now be heard with clarity. And blood was to be drawn once more.
~***~
?Are we through with toying with my precious Lord Nasher, Hellwalker?? The wraith like Blackguard Aribeth implored, but expected her lover?s usual response, it was always the same anyway.
A dark armored figure, tall as any human man yet now powered by the infernal powers of the eighth and tenth Hells of Baator turned to his two companions ? the cowled drow woman, Nathyrra, and of course the darkly armored half-elf Aribeth. Long had these two accompanied him, but for today they were to sample the true treat they had craved for...
?No, today Nasher meets his doom upon the Red Moon.?
Hellwalker?s infernal eyes turned to Nathyrra, who grinned at the prospect of a new assignment. ?You wish me to be his killer?? she asked, he nodded, ?you are to kill him, yes.?
?What? No way, Nasher is mine! He took everything from me including my life! I demand satisfaction!? Aribeth?s sudden protest quickly grew to a whisper as the Hellwalker unsheathed his blade, the eerie glow of the moon made the blade?s aura appear bloodier than before, were the blade not black surely it would disappear.
?She will kill his spirit, you my dear Blackguard shall have your prize. Do not quarrel however, should you fail ? you shall be replaced.? The two women blinked for a second then nodded to each other, leaving without another word.
~***~
?This was once MY army! Yet he... the master he enslaved me! Ha. No matter, perhaps today I shall have my chance.?
~***~
Pushing past his lieutenants, Nasher could only fit one description to the fearsome army that was the Hellwalker?s. ?Ragnarok.? He stated plainly as the devil army marched slowly forward, already deploying thousands of undead creatures, from lowly spirits and skeletons to mighty dracoliches.
Looking at the rebel army, they were outnumbered and outmatched, even with the most powerful arms of the elves and dwarves to support them, the remanets of the Lord?s Alliance barely made a tenth of the encroaching army.
?That tall figure is likely Mephistopheles.? Pointed out one of the junior officers standing with the former lord of Neverwinter. Sure enough, the archdevil still stood taller than any pit fiend he had ever seen in a lifetime, and still wielded vast power yet subdued by the power of his True Name, or so the rumors say.
?The gods smile on us even in the face of utter annihilation ? dispatch word to all in the rank and file, the army must hold the high ground for as long as possible.? The messengers nodded and were away.
~***~
?Excuse me Hellwalker, I must insist we have a word.?
The Hellwalker turned to face Nathyrra, his second love. ?Nathyrra? What are you doing here? I ordered you to??
?I?m sorry milord, but I fear we have a problem. The gods... they?ve played their hand.?
At that moment several large beams of light descended from the heavens, a vanguard of celestials and avatars sent to clash with the infernal powers of the Hells. Forming a gap between the two opposing armies.
?So... that is how they intend to stop us is it? Nathyrra... you do realise your precious Eilistraee may be one of them.?
?I realise.?
?So where do your loyalties lie? Are you still with me??
Nathyrra silently pondered the question, for once though she had to admit that after five years of conquest this was the first time around the Hellwalker she no longer feared for her life, or feared for his, or even more feared on being outdone by her rival Aribeth.
The Hellwalker silently watched his drow concubine. ?I could just kill her... I have done worse things before. Yet... she needs not her True Name to hold sway over me, perhaps in time history will be set right.?
He disregarded the thought, of all beings the drow before him held him powerless, even when he knew her True Name and more. More than anything though, history needed to be remade. Not in his image, no, only a fool tries that. Instead they must be prepared, and this climatic battle is to be that. All that awaits now is a reason to fight it.
~***~
?Damn you traitor!? Aribeth cursed, ?of all the times! He ambushed me so close to my final revenge!?
?Traitor?? the archdevil laughed cruelly at the fallen blackguard as she lay almost dead on the ground. ?Really my dear, you betrayed me by siding with your precious Hellwalker. Now that my own enemies have joined the fray this campaign is doomed to expire. It is time to remove the evidence.?
?Then hurry it up you pathetic dropping of a celestial!?
Mephistopheles snarled and plunged his trident into the Blackguard?s tiny frame, he felt a grim satisfaction at finally killing something out of his own free will for the first time in a generation.
?Now all that remains is--- earrrrrrgh!?
The world collapsed in pain for the archdevil... his sight robbed and pain his only friend... and foe. His last sight, a human figure of a maimed man. His blade thick with the devil?s blood.
~***~
It is told...
That the final day of Faerūn climaxed at Fort Llast, the mortal ruler of the eighth and tenth hells, known only as the Hellwalker confronted the unified armies of the Lord?s Alliance of northern Faerūn.
It was on that day the skies of Toril opened and for the first time in many millennia did the gods themselves violate the will of Ao the Overfather to combat the devils and their undead lackeys.
Meanwhile the infernal gods such as Bane and Cyric contested for control of the Throne of the Tenth Hell, the city once known as Waterdeep. It is said that as the Hellwalker confronted Tyr, slayer of Mephistopheles, did Bane trick Cyric into opening a rift to the Abyss, allowing the demons to engage the mighty devil stronghold.
As for the outcome of the battle it is unclear... the Hellwalker?s army disappeared when Ao himself entered the scene of the battle, recalling all deities to return to their respective planes, and banishing the devils and their servants back to Baator. The Reaper is said to have been controlled by Ao in turn by his True Name, rendering the ?slave collar? forged previously by Mephistopheles and the Hellwalker useless to them.
The fallen deities were revived, and commanded to aid in the reconstruction of Faerūn through their respective churches, direct interference was prohibited.
As for the fate of the Hellwalker himself... it is unknown.
~***~
Earth, 2008.
?I can?t believe they threw me out simply because I had blue skin, can you believe I got called a Dungeons and Dragons geek simply because I look the way I do??
?Shush Nathyrra. These ?humans? will learn soon enough... now about those drow techniques.?
The former Red Sister looked at her companion mockingly, ?don?t despoil me with your drooling jaluk!?
?Can?t blame me for trying.? The Hellwalker sighed and went back to the newspaper.
~*******~
Fin, and no it?s not meant to make sense.
