Introduction
One year ago, to this day, @lex-zaiya wrote Part 1 of Mortis Custos on a Sunday and posted it in the afternoon.
So it is with a very happy and proud heart that I say Happy Birthday to Mortis Custos! I would also like to thank Lex for her determination and masterful skill of the written word!
This story has taken its twists and turns and has come out to be a pretty good story. We have a few people who are reading it and enjoying the story.
Once we are done with this storyline, Lex and I intend to polish and smooth out the rough edges and to check any inconsistencies or items we would like to change to make it better and then likely publish it as a completed fiction book.
It will take some work, but I am determined to get it to work.
95 parts in a year, a part every 3.8 days. Sometimes we could not post when we wanted to, but mostly @lex-zaiya and I have settled into a pattern of posting 2 parts a week! A pretty consistent way to get a book written!
Let's get into the story with part 96.
The last part of the story is here: Mortis Custos Part 95 by @lex-zaiya.
To start at the beginning of the story please see the links provided at the end of this post!
Viewer discretion is advised due to gory violence! Undead! Swords! Death! Beware!
Part 96
The Avatars stood still. The tension in the air seemed to seem out from this confrontation and the undead hordeds ceased their advance on the walls. Those that were still in range of the walls were crushed and burned.
The ghouls and lifedrinkers took up position on the walls again with the wounded Derric delivered safely there.
The humans had run out of targets to attack and the Blaze Knights, now without an undead target, were looking at the lifedrinkers. The Queen ordered men to direct the Blaze Knights to take up position around her where she could keep an eye on them.
The seige came to a standstill.
Only one person was still moving at top speed, heading for where the massive monstrosities stood before the Royal Twins and their protector.
The two massive creatures regarded one another. Each was an aspect of their God, but not their God. They would be representing the interests of their God. They spoke for their God.
They regarded the twins for a moment and then squared off on one another when the Burning one could no longer stand still. "A tempting proposition!" The Avatar cried, swinging his shrieking polearm. Magna could see there was a ripple across the steel. It was like a face was swimming there along the edges of the blade. The screech of the blade was that of a man at the climax of a long torture session just before death... and yet the shrieking continued without release.
"However... it is so tame... so bloodless." The Burning One complained.
Finally the Undeath Monstrosity managed to utter a sound. The voice of the aged necromancer boomed out in an advanced way. "Better to have an order to these things. I feel that we can resolve this without further... randomization."
"Yet. There is still a chance I rip you to pieces and take both!" The Burning One said.
"Or you could lose both!" The Dead One retorted.
"Better they both perish then!" The Burning One yelled and the spear was drawn back and cast to the Twins. There was nothing Mortis could do but watch, his focus was completely on the energies of his spell. The randomness of the Avatar of the Burning One was not something that he could have anticipated. The Burning One was, in a sense, more an agent of Chaos than Order and thus would choose the fiery and brash approach. Unlike the Dark One, who would have negotiated, the Burning One made a move.
The massive spear arched through the air. Adiran thought of using his shield but knew that the enchanted Glaive would likely cut through him and his shield with ease.
There was a flash of yellow and gold light new to Adrian. A slash of a shield had sent a veil of energy towards them that intercepted the Warglaive perfectly and the cursed weapon went flying through the air and down into the battlefield.
"In the name of the Lord of Light, I shall not let you do this!" The Cleric Robert came sprinting to stand between the twins and the Avatars. "You shall have no prizes on this plane you Demons. Go back to whatever hell spawned you!" The man pointed his rapier at the Avatars.
The Dark One laughed openly. "Isn't this one of yours?"
"Stand aside whelp!" The Burning One said irritably. "I am the Avatar of your God! I am the one who commands you! How dare you stand in my way!"
"You represent nothing of my God, Demon!" Robert yelled. "I serve the Lord of Light. The Bringer of the Sun!"
The Avatar laguhed cruelly. "You dare judge your God? Yes. Lord of Light. Banisher of Darkness. Bringer of the Sun. Bringer of the Flame. Devourer of Souls! I could go on. But there really is no point." The Avatar pointed at Robert with a finger. "You, mortal, and your ilk decided what you accepted of our Lord. You, in your human hubris, decided what of the Lord you accept as true and turn a blind eye to the truth."
Robert's mouth worked soundlessly. He seemed unable to move.
"Your original scriptures were burned into the walls of the First Temple, by ME!" A bolt of orange and yellow arched out from the Avatar and struck Robert in the chest. "It is not I that have been corrupted, but you Humans who have corrupted the divine truth of our Lord. Thus I gift you with a part of the Lord's truth, that you may better understand... the TRUTH!"
Robert was flung far away from them by the Avatar. Magna could not see the man any more. She glanced to Adrian, who nodded. He was on the same page. They needed to lure the Gods in.
"Burning One!" Magna called. "Your truth resonates with me!"
"Dark One!" Adrian intoned beside her, his voice as meticulous while her's was passionate. "Your order brings stability among the chaos!"
The Avatars had looked a moment away from mortal combart when they turned. Magna opened herself up towards feeling the wild abandon of fire, the consuming chaos of entropy.
Beside her Adrian was experiencing something similar, but different. An calm reordering of the world's imperfect physical laws seemed to come to mind. A semblance of stability that would be... pure. It was without warmth or soul.
Their states of mind drew the Avatar's minds closer to their own. Not to attack, but to merge and know. They were to wholly focussed on the twins, they did not see Mortis coming.
The Ancient King ran forward, his massive ancestral blade in both hands. A blue and purple light coated the sword. The Orange light was between Magna and the Burning one, the deep darkness spread between Adrian and the Dark One.
The twins held up their artefacts, Magna's sword and Adrian's shield. Mortis touched both at the same time with his massive sword. Energy arched through the blade from both sides, through the twins and into the Avatars.
The God-shards screamed in agony. Their energies were opposing and thus were as poison to the other. Mortis held the sword, the power coursing through him. He stepped forward, pulling the energy loop out from the twins, that they mere stood there. Magna and Adrian collapsed to the ground. They were no longer part of the spell, but they felt weak.
Mortis began walking forward. With every step, he grew in stature and the Avatars seemed to shrink. He drank energy from both of them until he become collossal. The earth split under his tread as he stood between the two, his sword still holding the two Avatars in place.
The connection broke and Mortis stood, towering over the Avatars.
"Ancient King." Wheezed the Dark One's Avatar. "You seek to make a dire enemy."
"I do not." Mortis said resolutely. His voice seemed calm and yet it boomed across the enture landscape.
"What you have done it forbidden!" Shrieked the Burning One, now much diminished.
"I care not." Mortis said. He raised his sword, it seemed to be as long as three or four men tall. "I am King Magnus, first of his name. Father of the ancient lineage of Drakenspoort. I am Mortis Custors. The Death Guardian. The Eater of the Dead. And this..."
The massive blade was swung, it sliced across the Burning One's chest and carried through to the Dark One and wounded it the same way, but a little lower.
"... is your reconing!"
Wrapup
And I shall end it there! Again! A happy birthday to Mortis Custos today!
Enjoy @lex-zaiya!
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