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More plague than person.

End of the Ninth World – Episode 3

Felling a vampyr is no easy task, and the achievement earned them a wide girth of space from Charmonde’s abhumans. None of the wild humanoids followed them to the threshold of the queen’s dwelling; a tall castle at the end of a lonely road lined by pillars. Before advancing to their objective, some of the demigods sensed an invisible wall that blocked off the road. Ghuma tested the efficacy of the wall with a swing of his giant club. Unseen energy rejected the meddling, catching the weapon in mid-air, where it stayed for a second or two, then was flung hundreds of feet back into the crowds. One of the 4 large buildings at the border of the city was the only structure that seemed to be generating power. They sought answers there, stopping to reclaim Ghuma’s club. It was buried deep in the swathes of demonic celebrants, but wasn’t hard to find. Bodies laid mutilated on the ground around the mighty weapon. Any type of policing would have been coordinated by the vampyr ambassador they had just killed. Justice was left to any allegiances the wronged may have had. The matter was forgotten in the chaos of Charmonde.

There was minimal resistance from two margr guards at the entrance of the building in question. The last room they checked was filled with inexplicable machinery. By now the demigods were out of patience for the wretched city and decided to shut the power off using brute force. Archaic control panels proved durable enough to resist an excess of smashing. Failing that, they tried interacting with some of the switches and buttons they just tried to destroy – the first ordinary looking button Herphaes pressed terminated all functions; the lights went out and so did they.

The royal chamber was cold to the point of freezing. Stories depicting the queen of Charmonde often included her 1000 beloved human servants and, true to word, there they all stood, stopped mid-ascension up a quarter mile of stairs. Queen Armalu was standing at the top looking down, surprised to see visitors, making comment on the last time she had seen demigods. Her subjects were frozen in perpetual servitude, poised with her satisfaction in mind: some held out platters of food, others offered fancy numenera, just as many were armed with instruments made for grooming or pampering. Queen Armalu was reserved but welcoming to the first signs of heat she had seen in centuries. She took steps down at them, making interesting gestures with her hands that somehow spurred reactions from the corpses. Human statues shifted and snapped at her command, following her lead. It was a show of force. Thousands of eyes now fell on the demigods, only one set was alive to ask their purpose. Ghuma, loudest among his friends, explained their quest.

Queen Armalu sympathized, but couldn’t help the humans. Not anymore. She explained that she was powerless without her daughter, the princess, who had left Charmonde with Radon as a token of the Queen’s good will. A 1000 year deal had been negotiated between the Vampyr Lord from the Beyond. At a time when demihumans and abhumans were near extinction (by the hand of man), The Steadfast was a haven for man, protected by numenera built by the queen. Armalu used exotic technology to construct a daughter in a period of loneliness caused by the death of her king. A princess programmed to care for her people. The robot heir was capable of generating copious energy similar to the barrier that blocked the castle. Somehow, her power could be personalized to effect specific races. Over night, she would give the humans the peace they were fighting for, and, for a while, it was good.

Rodan begged for mercy and Queen Armalu granted it because she believed coexistence had a chance. The Steadfast was sanctuary to humans no more. Vampyrs and Weremen finally did not have to wear the crazy seasons of The Beyond, they were free to explore the climes under which men had thrived. Space aplenty to rebuild their legacies. Enough time to assimilate with humans or plan their betrayal; in pursuing the latter option, they did not waste a second. Abhumans had no trouble whatsoever reproducing outside the Black Riage. Margr (who, for reasons unknown, were loyal only to vampyrs) amassed in numbers that overwhelmed The Steadfast within a week. Charmonde was given to the goat men as a gift and they sealed the queen in her castle with her prized servants.

Queen Armalu called it an act of mercy when she activated the cypher that froze them in a flash. She didn’t know about any goings-on outside captivity. When she looked out the windows of her eternity all she saw was the smoke from the abhumans’ pyres. Showing sign of grievous pain, Armalu admitted she did not know any information about the welfare of her daughter, but conjectured that they could find answers in Shallamas. A long time ago, Rodan had expressed serious plans for Shallamas, the City of Echoes.

Ghuma swore to Queen Armalu that he would right the wrongs of the millenia; he would return the princess to her throne. Humanity had a chance. The demigods left Charmonde and headed south.

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