Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

The absolute darkness which flooded the elongated nights of Belliste was chased away by rays of sunlight, piercing through dark's hide as the luminous star appeared at last, having been missing for a hour longer than expected, and indeed, the brilliance was dimmed, palish and frail, as though its presence- Its existence was holding onto a mere wire carrying far above its strength.

Irlke Combuscrus had been awake since before that, his guts telling him that something was of the order today, simply lying in bed as he prepared himself for whatever it might be that his instincts were warning him about, even though Irlke already had a clear idea of what this might be.

There was no point doing anything specific, the thing that could calm his nerves the best was lying in bed with him, well, lying on top of him actually, all of those incredible strides and advances made in developing pyromancy to the next level thanks to that deal had somehow made Hylop even more ravenous that usual, she had never been one to sleep much when in bed but as he remembered from their humble beginnings, growing the flame within had always had this effect on her. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

It was a sign that their progress was bearing fruits, running his hands over Hylop's bare back, even without looking, he knew where to find the small burns all over his lover's body, but there were few new ones now, their feel and shapes a fun activity to discover, especially as it made her squirm in sleep, making the cutest of noises.

Eventually, he wrapped both arms around Hylop, placed a light kiss upon her forehead, right on a particular burn scar shaped in a circular manner as he gently spun around, laying her on the side and freeing himself from that delicious hold.

Combuscrus quickly dressed himself, the cloak made from wolf fur slung over his shoulders as he took hold of the tall glaive propped up against a corner of the small hut, then moving to wrap his burnt face in bandages as per usual.

"Is something the matter?" asked Hylop from behind, chin held in the palm of one hand, her eyes still a bit hazy from waking up.

"I think it's going to be today" he responded, fastening the last of the bandages, by now, he knew exactly how to do so without obstructing his field of view, the red glow slipping in between a crack resembling that of a helm's visor.

Silence filled the cabin for a few seconds, then, with small smile which presence could be attested by Combuscrus just from the sound of her voice, Hylop spoke up :

"You don't need to win, dead or alive, as long as our fire does not fade, the north and our people will remain" slightly turning his head toward her, Irlke felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders.

"You are right, we are pyromancers, only the flames matter" he responded, if Hylop did not care for how he would perform, then Combuscrus had nothing to fear, she was the one he sought to satisfy the most after all, if win or loss did not matter to her, then it would not matter to him either, the people might see it differently, but it was a fact, it was fire that fuelled the Northern Swamp, not life, not death.

Without apprehension, the warking stepped to the outside, the sun still rising over the horizon, his fellows were also beginning to move, they went to start their days, but there was no mistaking it, everyone was feeling it, something was coming and it did not make the north wait for long, as though having been standing by for Irlke to step out, a line of pure dark manifested upon the air itself, as though forcing open the fabric of reality itself, giving way into a landscape of naught but eternal darkness, many figures walked out from this space.

The first did not look like what the warlord remembered, but there was no mistaking it, Loimos was there, at the head of this grim procession, accompanied by his lieutenants and many of his followers, an entire cortege of decay and putrescence.

Indeed, it seemed like all of the other regions had already fallen, kneeled under the weight of Loimos's conquest.

First, the Eastern Peaks with the strongest and most brutal warriors individually.

Second, the Western Cliffs, elusive and uncatchable until now.

Third, the Southern Shores, the region with the largest army, one organised and incredibly well-equipped.

Right now, at this very instant, the Central Plains were being subjugated by overwhelming numbers, the many little warlords kicked off their thrones as they and their subjects were being taken away, leaving nothing but empty homes and buildings behind.

The Northern Swamp was all that remained, protected until now by a treacherous accord, the pyromancers had accepted to cooperate with the undead, and even as Irlke Combuscrus was not aware that this vow had already been rendered null, Death's Chosen Champion came to honour it anyways.

However, for the occasion, he had uncharacteristically switched garbs, his putrid skull covered in mounds of rot, lined up with incredibly pointy teeth was revealed to the outside, without the typical cage-like helm covering it, showing the defined features of the undead, much to One's pleasure.

All else was covered in a wide cloak, but from the sound of it, his skeletal feet were bare as well- Also indicating that he had deliberately chosen to not wrap himself in pure silence too.

"Irlke Combuscrus, Warking of the Northern Swamp" he greeted his opponent of today, right as Hylop moved outside as well, many of the living onlookers feeling like dropping their knees instantly as these few words spoken in the pale tongue reached them.

"Loimos, General of the Vanguard" the living returned the salutations, pointing to the side with one finger.

Over in this direction, a platform had been created, made from stacked up mud that had then been dried and hardened by fire, a wide strip of land meant specifically to be the arena that would house their upcoming clash.

It was a fair distance away from the village, a narrow path leading up to it.

Both combatants silently made their way to its center before the skeleton spoke again.

"I assume there would be no problem in deploying a barrier of our own around the arena?"

"Of course not" Combuscrus acquiesced.

With one gesture from Loimos, an undead fiddled with some sort of small pyramid, forming a barrier of the same shape over the area, fashioned from natural, ambient mana to ensure that no fool play was in action.

"Were you pleased by the assistance provided?" the undead asked as he positioned himself a reasonable distance from the living.

Somewhat creeped out by the odd talkativeness, Irlke respond truthfully.

"It had been years of stagnation and small achievements until that assistance, so yes" and indeed, thanks to the insight of undead mages and scholars, as well as all the resources they were given, they had made leaps and bounds, demonstrating to the pyromancers that this was exactly what they had lacked until now.

"This was but a sample of what our empire can offer, let me show you"

The duel began.