It had been a bit of time since Beira had discovered what her true heritage was: an Incarnata created by the Old Ones to do their bidding, as opposed to a descendant of the first Utgardian emperor, Hrim the Old, who interestingly, had been created by the Old Ones as well to be their puppet of war, though evidently, things did not necessarily turn out as the Old Ones had hoped, and Hrim had thrown off the shackles of the Old Ones and gone on to found an empire. Beira, for her part, was not keen on cutting out a territory in the lands and establishing her own kingdom, but if there was anything she wondered, it was why the Old Ones had not learned their lesson with Hrim. Though she had never met her ancestor before, Hrim was the only other Incarnato she was aware of, and if the both of their track records could be compared, it seemed Incarnati were not very good at being, for lack of a better word, domesticated. Like her ancestor before her, the Utgardian maiden had kept resisting all attempts to force her to obey the wills of hidden puppeteers in the shadows, a thing she did not take very kindly to. As she got stronger, however, Beira had begun to have a say in the running of her own life, and a lot of unexpected results were conceived, the most unexpected being herself in Fiore, when her actual timeline was supposed to have been thousands, if not millions, of years earlier.
Beira, for her part, had learned to take it all in good stride. Though she had been initially quite shocked to learn that she wasn’t even Utgardian, as far as genetics were concerned, Beira had gotten over her shock and decided that she would never really fit in, whether in Utgardr, or in Fiore. In a way, that had helped to make her cope with the terrible difference between her Utgardian culture and that of Fiore. In fact, Beira had ended up reveling in the fact that she was different from everyone else. As a matter of fact, she often found herself amused by the antics of Fioreans who saw her culture, majorly her manner of dressing, as shocking, or barbaric, or improper. That had given her cause to laugh on a good number of days. Fioreans were such hypocritical prudes. They seemed to take outrage at people who, like herself, were not “properly” dressed, and yet could strive to make babies with a total stranger, someone they’d just met. Who had the moral high ground, then?
In any case, Beira had never felt freer in her life. And still, there was the feeling of being watched, a sensation that, in spite of how good she had been feeling, everything would be lost sooner than she could expect, because not only were the Old Ones still somewhere out there, they knew where she was, and when they felt the time was right, she would awake to their cold, shadowy hands constricting her throat. For this reason, Beira was quite interested in finding who, or what, was responsible for making her feel watched, and excise it in any way possible, seeing as she had always been a staunch believer in the expression of personal freedom. But how would she go about finding the Old Ones’ spy glass and breaking it? The Old Ones, with their extensive usage of the witchcrafts that modern people referred to as technology, could be using anything to spy on her. But then it would have to have some connections to them. Fortunately, there were very few things that Beira could say had any associations with the Old Ones, and thus it didn’t take long for her to be certain that nothing she currently possessed was a means by which she could be spied upon. So what could it be?
The answer fortunately was not long in coming. Beira realized that, even when she was in the Librarium Obscuri, she felt watched. That was strange, seeing as she was practically cut off from the material world when she was in her personal sanctum, and still, in this strange ethereal world, she felt watched. She only needed to think about this to get the answer: Uaggool. Uaggool was an Old One, one who had been worshipped in Beira’s age and time as a dark god, a god of subterranean abominations which people called, in the common tongue, mindflayers. It had been the mastermind behind most of her ordeals so many years ago in Utgardr, and had attempted, perhaps as a final insult, to eject her mind from her body, which it would possess permanently. Of course, Beira had felt very displeased about the arrangement, and had not cooperated so well. This resulted in a protracted battle in which Uaggool attempted to fragment Beira’s will throughout the limitless spaces of the astral plane, but after what passed as eons in the material world, with her body in frozen slumber, Beira had managed to draw her will back together, had faced Uaggool, and thanks to the taint in her magic, had defeated it. That had been exhilarating and relieving. Beira didn’t think that possessing tentacles on her mouth, like all mindflayers did, would be a very pretty sight. Blond hair, blue eyes ad tentacles. Heavens above, no!
All the same, Beira knew that her defeat of Uaggool was temporary at best. The monster was still in her mind, lurking somewhere. Perhaps today, she would get rid of it. To do so, she would attempt to call Uaggool out into the material world, just like she did when retrieving materials from the Librarium: focus on what she wanted, and will it out. So, one beautiful day with blizzards in it and a lot of inclement shenanigans being pulled by the weather atop Mount Hakobe, Beira walked far into the storm, found a deserted open space, and meditated. As she did, she focused on Uaggool’s presence in her private realm, and with as much willpower as she could muster, strove to expel it. The effort was intense, but soon enough, a rift in space materialized, and inky black mists flowed out, coalescing to form a shadowy humanoid shape with glowing red eyes and smoky tentacles for a mouth. Uaggool. Evidently, the shadowy creature did not seem pleased to be out in the material world, and turned its gaze on Beira. ”Why did you remove me from my abode?” it asked in a raspy voice. ”Do you not know you have need of me?”
”On the contrary, it is you who needs me. You cannot survive long in the material plane, yes?,” Beira replied, locking her gaze with the shadowy creature. ”And to answer your first question, you weren’t paying rent.” The shade of Uaggool made a rasping sound, which Beira suspected to be laughter. ”Foolish child, perhaps you do not know that I am a part of you. You cannot get rid of me so easily. And don’t think about using your wretched ice. It has no effect on me.” So saying, it rushed at Beira, who created a wall of nether rime, through which it flew, cackling insanely. The God Slayer thus decided to concentrate with all the willpower she could muster to keep it from entering her mind, and wrestling telepathically with Uaggool. She knew a lot of things about psionic energies, which mindflayers controlled, and since she had a mindflayer soul, she was sure she could keep the shade out of her mind, as she was calm and well rested. The plan was to keep Uaggol wrestling with her in the material world, till it faded away, due to its inability to exist on the plane, and she would finally be rid of the shade for good. Beira was initially successful, but then Uaggool changed tactics and made a gesture, and Beira felt the tingling sensation she felt when passing between dimensions. She was in the Librarium Obscuri. ”How did I get here?” she asked in surprise. The shade laughed again. ”I told you, I am a part of you. I simply pulled you into the Librarium, much like you would enter when you wanted to travel long distances.” If there was anywhere Beira wasn’t interested in wrestling with Uaggool, it was in the Librarium. The first time she faced Uaggool, it was here. But then, it was her mind, not her body that had faced it. Seeing that Uaggool had pulled her in here, it probably had an ace up its proverbial sleeve. It would be best to deny it by escaping the Librarium. Willing open a portal back to Hakobe, Beira leaped through it, back into the frigid area.
Something, however, was wrong. Sure there was snow all around, and the blizzard seemed to have increased in intensity, but she was on a plain, and there was a strange, yet very familiar, squat- looking building close by. It was half-submerged in snow, but she could have sworn the architecture looked Utgardian. However, it had no door, just what looked like a small window. A sudden chill hit her, which was odd; the Winter Goddess felt no cold. ”Welcome to Utgardr,” Uaggool’s voice whispered in her ear, just before a telekinetic blast, most definitely from the shade, smashed into the God Slayer, sending her through the building’s open window. She made a quick flip, expecting to roll onto the floor of the building, instead she plunged into what seemed to be an abyss. Recovering from her initial shock, Beira used her control of nether rime to break her fall by hopping downwards on the air, until her feet touched something solid. It took a while before this happened, and Beira realized that somehow, she was indeed in Utgardr. The building she was in was most likely an educational center. Such buildings were often about ten stories high or more, which meant that this building had, over the ages, sunk so deep into the earth and surrounding snow so deep that what seemed to be a single stone hut was the top of a twelve-storied tower.
Beira had tried countless times to return to Utgardr’s geographical location, but she had always failed. Now she realized that this was because Uaggool, who could control the Librarium just as she, would always misdirect her when she tried. She realized that the shade had brought her here so that she would be mentally imbalanced when faced with her home from so long ago. An imbalanced person was easier to dominate mentally. She could hear Uaggool’s voice around her, mocking, asking her if she realized where she was indeed. It was the remains of her childhood school. Attempting to calm herself, she reached out with her sixth sense. She could not detect Uaggool, however she knew it was close, too close for comfort. Beira cast her Beneficat spell to create light, and saw the shadow just inches away, before another telekinetic blast sent her flying into the wall. There seemed to be a bag lying on the ground, her senses told her. Surprisingly curious in the face of impending death, Beira attempted to pick it but it disintegrated due to the wear of eons of time, spraying something something powdery over her hands. Though there was no light, immediately she knew what it was: primal matter, an Utgardian fabrication that, when mixed with liquid, could be molded into just about anything, and based on what you did to it, could develop all sorts of properties. Touching the primal matter seemed to trigger something inside her, a dormant power, the power of one her souls: the Demiurge. She knew suddenly that she needed no liquid to fashion this primal matter to work for her.
Beira held up her hand, and the primal matter swirled round her, crystallizing rapidly. Uaggool saw this and believed she was trying to shield herself from it, so it rushed at her, realizing that there was no time to attempt to whittle away at her mind before possessing her. It could not last long in the material plane, both of them knew that. If she managed to shield herself from the shade, its doom would be sealed. ”What new sorcery is this--?” The shade struck an almost invisible wall which suddenly folded round it and formed a sphere, trapping Uaggool inside it. Clutching the orb, Beira did a quick teleport to reappear on the snow outside the building. Then she studied the sphere in her hands. It was made of diamond, with Uaggool’s dark form writhing within. She would savor the time, keeping her eyes on the shade as it grew more and more frantic, realizing its death was swiftly nearing.
”I didn’t think I would say this, Uaggool, but thank you. Thank you for helping me unlock this power, and for bringing me home. In return, I shall wait here with you until you die.”
Before she returned to Fiore though, she was going to do a bit of exploration, and test her new powers with this primal matter. Now, that would be fun.
WC: 2194 words
Beira, for her part, had learned to take it all in good stride. Though she had been initially quite shocked to learn that she wasn’t even Utgardian, as far as genetics were concerned, Beira had gotten over her shock and decided that she would never really fit in, whether in Utgardr, or in Fiore. In a way, that had helped to make her cope with the terrible difference between her Utgardian culture and that of Fiore. In fact, Beira had ended up reveling in the fact that she was different from everyone else. As a matter of fact, she often found herself amused by the antics of Fioreans who saw her culture, majorly her manner of dressing, as shocking, or barbaric, or improper. That had given her cause to laugh on a good number of days. Fioreans were such hypocritical prudes. They seemed to take outrage at people who, like herself, were not “properly” dressed, and yet could strive to make babies with a total stranger, someone they’d just met. Who had the moral high ground, then?
In any case, Beira had never felt freer in her life. And still, there was the feeling of being watched, a sensation that, in spite of how good she had been feeling, everything would be lost sooner than she could expect, because not only were the Old Ones still somewhere out there, they knew where she was, and when they felt the time was right, she would awake to their cold, shadowy hands constricting her throat. For this reason, Beira was quite interested in finding who, or what, was responsible for making her feel watched, and excise it in any way possible, seeing as she had always been a staunch believer in the expression of personal freedom. But how would she go about finding the Old Ones’ spy glass and breaking it? The Old Ones, with their extensive usage of the witchcrafts that modern people referred to as technology, could be using anything to spy on her. But then it would have to have some connections to them. Fortunately, there were very few things that Beira could say had any associations with the Old Ones, and thus it didn’t take long for her to be certain that nothing she currently possessed was a means by which she could be spied upon. So what could it be?
The answer fortunately was not long in coming. Beira realized that, even when she was in the Librarium Obscuri, she felt watched. That was strange, seeing as she was practically cut off from the material world when she was in her personal sanctum, and still, in this strange ethereal world, she felt watched. She only needed to think about this to get the answer: Uaggool. Uaggool was an Old One, one who had been worshipped in Beira’s age and time as a dark god, a god of subterranean abominations which people called, in the common tongue, mindflayers. It had been the mastermind behind most of her ordeals so many years ago in Utgardr, and had attempted, perhaps as a final insult, to eject her mind from her body, which it would possess permanently. Of course, Beira had felt very displeased about the arrangement, and had not cooperated so well. This resulted in a protracted battle in which Uaggool attempted to fragment Beira’s will throughout the limitless spaces of the astral plane, but after what passed as eons in the material world, with her body in frozen slumber, Beira had managed to draw her will back together, had faced Uaggool, and thanks to the taint in her magic, had defeated it. That had been exhilarating and relieving. Beira didn’t think that possessing tentacles on her mouth, like all mindflayers did, would be a very pretty sight. Blond hair, blue eyes ad tentacles. Heavens above, no!
All the same, Beira knew that her defeat of Uaggool was temporary at best. The monster was still in her mind, lurking somewhere. Perhaps today, she would get rid of it. To do so, she would attempt to call Uaggool out into the material world, just like she did when retrieving materials from the Librarium: focus on what she wanted, and will it out. So, one beautiful day with blizzards in it and a lot of inclement shenanigans being pulled by the weather atop Mount Hakobe, Beira walked far into the storm, found a deserted open space, and meditated. As she did, she focused on Uaggool’s presence in her private realm, and with as much willpower as she could muster, strove to expel it. The effort was intense, but soon enough, a rift in space materialized, and inky black mists flowed out, coalescing to form a shadowy humanoid shape with glowing red eyes and smoky tentacles for a mouth. Uaggool. Evidently, the shadowy creature did not seem pleased to be out in the material world, and turned its gaze on Beira. ”Why did you remove me from my abode?” it asked in a raspy voice. ”Do you not know you have need of me?”
”On the contrary, it is you who needs me. You cannot survive long in the material plane, yes?,” Beira replied, locking her gaze with the shadowy creature. ”And to answer your first question, you weren’t paying rent.” The shade of Uaggool made a rasping sound, which Beira suspected to be laughter. ”Foolish child, perhaps you do not know that I am a part of you. You cannot get rid of me so easily. And don’t think about using your wretched ice. It has no effect on me.” So saying, it rushed at Beira, who created a wall of nether rime, through which it flew, cackling insanely. The God Slayer thus decided to concentrate with all the willpower she could muster to keep it from entering her mind, and wrestling telepathically with Uaggool. She knew a lot of things about psionic energies, which mindflayers controlled, and since she had a mindflayer soul, she was sure she could keep the shade out of her mind, as she was calm and well rested. The plan was to keep Uaggol wrestling with her in the material world, till it faded away, due to its inability to exist on the plane, and she would finally be rid of the shade for good. Beira was initially successful, but then Uaggool changed tactics and made a gesture, and Beira felt the tingling sensation she felt when passing between dimensions. She was in the Librarium Obscuri. ”How did I get here?” she asked in surprise. The shade laughed again. ”I told you, I am a part of you. I simply pulled you into the Librarium, much like you would enter when you wanted to travel long distances.” If there was anywhere Beira wasn’t interested in wrestling with Uaggool, it was in the Librarium. The first time she faced Uaggool, it was here. But then, it was her mind, not her body that had faced it. Seeing that Uaggool had pulled her in here, it probably had an ace up its proverbial sleeve. It would be best to deny it by escaping the Librarium. Willing open a portal back to Hakobe, Beira leaped through it, back into the frigid area.
Something, however, was wrong. Sure there was snow all around, and the blizzard seemed to have increased in intensity, but she was on a plain, and there was a strange, yet very familiar, squat- looking building close by. It was half-submerged in snow, but she could have sworn the architecture looked Utgardian. However, it had no door, just what looked like a small window. A sudden chill hit her, which was odd; the Winter Goddess felt no cold. ”Welcome to Utgardr,” Uaggool’s voice whispered in her ear, just before a telekinetic blast, most definitely from the shade, smashed into the God Slayer, sending her through the building’s open window. She made a quick flip, expecting to roll onto the floor of the building, instead she plunged into what seemed to be an abyss. Recovering from her initial shock, Beira used her control of nether rime to break her fall by hopping downwards on the air, until her feet touched something solid. It took a while before this happened, and Beira realized that somehow, she was indeed in Utgardr. The building she was in was most likely an educational center. Such buildings were often about ten stories high or more, which meant that this building had, over the ages, sunk so deep into the earth and surrounding snow so deep that what seemed to be a single stone hut was the top of a twelve-storied tower.
Beira had tried countless times to return to Utgardr’s geographical location, but she had always failed. Now she realized that this was because Uaggool, who could control the Librarium just as she, would always misdirect her when she tried. She realized that the shade had brought her here so that she would be mentally imbalanced when faced with her home from so long ago. An imbalanced person was easier to dominate mentally. She could hear Uaggool’s voice around her, mocking, asking her if she realized where she was indeed. It was the remains of her childhood school. Attempting to calm herself, she reached out with her sixth sense. She could not detect Uaggool, however she knew it was close, too close for comfort. Beira cast her Beneficat spell to create light, and saw the shadow just inches away, before another telekinetic blast sent her flying into the wall. There seemed to be a bag lying on the ground, her senses told her. Surprisingly curious in the face of impending death, Beira attempted to pick it but it disintegrated due to the wear of eons of time, spraying something something powdery over her hands. Though there was no light, immediately she knew what it was: primal matter, an Utgardian fabrication that, when mixed with liquid, could be molded into just about anything, and based on what you did to it, could develop all sorts of properties. Touching the primal matter seemed to trigger something inside her, a dormant power, the power of one her souls: the Demiurge. She knew suddenly that she needed no liquid to fashion this primal matter to work for her.
Beira held up her hand, and the primal matter swirled round her, crystallizing rapidly. Uaggool saw this and believed she was trying to shield herself from it, so it rushed at her, realizing that there was no time to attempt to whittle away at her mind before possessing her. It could not last long in the material plane, both of them knew that. If she managed to shield herself from the shade, its doom would be sealed. ”What new sorcery is this--?” The shade struck an almost invisible wall which suddenly folded round it and formed a sphere, trapping Uaggool inside it. Clutching the orb, Beira did a quick teleport to reappear on the snow outside the building. Then she studied the sphere in her hands. It was made of diamond, with Uaggool’s dark form writhing within. She would savor the time, keeping her eyes on the shade as it grew more and more frantic, realizing its death was swiftly nearing.
”I didn’t think I would say this, Uaggool, but thank you. Thank you for helping me unlock this power, and for bringing me home. In return, I shall wait here with you until you die.”
Before she returned to Fiore though, she was going to do a bit of exploration, and test her new powers with this primal matter. Now, that would be fun.
WC: 2194 words
