Lament of the Fallen

At best of times, Mneventh was rather anti-social, even for a dragon. He preferred being left alone, and many a dragon had suffered from his ire when they made the mistake of bothering him. That was when Mneventh was in a good mood. Now he was far from being in a good mood. In fact, he had been outright irascible for the last few decades. The other dragons had generally been smart enough to steer clear of him all this time, but now the bothersome Aspects had called for him. In fact, the tone of their message had almost seemed like an order. They had not become stupid enough to actually try and order him around, but perhaps it was once again time to remind them why trying something like that was not a good idea.

That idea only got more attractive as some of the younger Aspects threw contemptuous looks at him as he pushed his way into the heart of the Queen’s Mountain. Perhaps they had forgotten. Or perhaps they were too young and stupid to know better. It had been a fairly long time since he last reminded them of their place. “Well look who crawled out of his hidey-hole. The famous Mneventh finally decides to grace us with his presence.” One of the youngest and smallest dragons present stated with foolish bravado. Smallest in this case was relative as even that silly dragon was over a dozen kilomels from ‘teeth-to-tail’ as the saying went.

‘He’s going to be the first one I maim.’ Mneventh decided darkly. “Who invited a hatchling to the meeting?” He asked with a mocking snort, causing the young dragon to growl in indignation. Apparently, the young dragon was not used to being mocked. That was the problem with new Aspects. They thought they were at the top of the world and nothing could harm them. The older ones knew better. As a clear sign of that knowledge, most of the other Aspects were smart enough to laugh at the quip, even if they didn’t find it amusing. They knew that a small gesture like that was a small price to pay.

“Leave the idiot alone. He’s too young and too drunk on his easy success to understand better.” One of the only Aspects Mneventh somewhat respected tried to placate the situation. The platinum-colored Aspect of War was even older than Mneventh. And not just a bit older either. The ancient wyrm had been old when Mneventh had hatched.

“Why am I here in the first place?” Mneventh decided to let the upstart Bronze Dragon go for now. At least until he got pissed enough to actually do something about the matter, which generally didn’t take much. “While you are annoying enough to send me invitations to these little gatherings, this is the first time in a while you were actually stupid enough to demand my presence.” He addressed the old Platinum Dragon directly. He and the azure colored Aspect of Strength were two of the four dragons he bothered even acknowledging. The other two were not present, of course. The other Aspects could all go and get themselves killed for all he cared. Not a great loss.

“There have been…developments lately. All of the Aspects have been summoned to discuss the issue. Your expertise with the Assembly is needed as well.” The female Azure Dragon stated in a more even tone. She was the only dragon present larger than Mneventh, and probably the only one who could rival him in a fight. He would still win eventually, but it would not be easy or quick. Thus she had earned the right to speak however she damn well pleased.

“And you were the last Aspect to arrive. As expected from a notorious hermit.” The same Bronze Dragon made the dumb decision of expressing his disregard once again. He on the other hand not earned shit, and Mneventh was not far from proving that point. He was still too curious to do so just yet though.

The other Aspects shot the stupid dragon scathing looks, and Mneventh looked at the Bronze one with a look promising death. Even the Bronze Dragon was smart enough to keep his trap shut after that. “Seriously, who invited a hatchling barely old enough to fly to a meeting between Aspects? Surely the already low standards for an Aspect have not fallen low enough for him to qualify?”

The Aspects were considered to be the de facto leaders of the Eternal Dragonflight. The Dragon Queen was their true leader, but she had been asleep for the last who knows how long. She usually woke up about once in a century for a short while, but even that rare occasion had not come to pass for several hundred years now. Even the destruction of the hells, which Mneventh had played a key part in, had not been enough for the Queen to stir. There had even been murmurings that the Queen would not wake ever again, and that perhaps it was time to pick a new ruler. The older Aspects had quashed those plans rather quickly, to the amusement of Mneventh. Amusement and a bit of relief. If the dragons did pick a new ruler, there was the off chance that he would be picked.

Perhaps a little conveniently, that left the Aspects in power. The Aspects didn’t want to be associated with the other participants in the War in Heaven and refused to form a council for leadership. Instead, each part of the Dragonflight was led by one of the Aspects, who then ‘conferred’ on occasion. Yup, definitely not a council. At least the demons had been bold enough to go their own way in that respect. Perhaps it was the natural progression with beings as powerful as them to form ruling councils to avoid internal struggle? Or perhaps everyone was just too much of a coward to really find out who was the strongest.

In any case, the Aspects were the current rulers. To become an Aspect, one had to be the strongest or most skilled member of the type of dragon you represented. You also had to have sufficient level of attainment in the field you were to become the Aspect of. Obviously there could not be two Aspects of War or Strength for example. Of course, there was also a ban against two Aspects coming from the same dragon type. Otherwise, the Aspects would mostly come from among the Platinum or Azure Dragons. Or Fairy Dragons. Those little buggers could get savage when they got serious.

As a result, if you wanted the position, you had to kill the previous holder of the title, or the previous holder had to die by other means. If a previous Aspect died, one didn’t automatically take their place as the new Aspect of that dragon type. You had to earn the honor first. For example, Mneventh noted that the aforementioned Faerie Dragons still hadn’t gained a new Aspect, despite the last one dying over two decades ago. Or they had and the new one had died as well, which was equally likely. Even he stayed away from those lunatics. He didn’t have any issue with bloodshed, but the Faerie Dragons killed just about anything as a mere joke. Amoral fuckers.

“Never mind that.” The Platinum Dragon once again brushed the young Bronze Dragon aside. “We have actual matters to discuss.”

‘That’s why the young ones get uppity. You don’t put them in their place.’ Mneventh thought but didn’t bother voicing his opinion. The old Platinum Dragon had been stuck in his ways before he was even born.

As the Aspect of War, the Platinum Dragon was naturally in charge of the war efforts of the Dragonflight. He explained the general situation with the current hostilities with Assembly. The war had not really in full swing yet, so Mneventh was pretty sure the war was not the reason he was forced to attend this meeting. Besides, they had been in a war for a long time. Just that it had become more heated lately. Finally the old dragon seemed to be getting to the point. “So as you see, the world of Io is now open for a large-scale attack, which would open a path to the heartlands of Assembly controlled worlds. If we strike with enough force, we can inflict heavy damage before the Assembly forces manage to push us back.”

“It’s a trap.” Mneventh stated simply, not bothering to explain further despite some of the other Aspects asking for his reasoning.

The old Platinum Dragon just looked at Mneventh and considered his words before continuing. “This is why I wanted you here. You know the Assembly the best, and you have always had sharp senses about such things. I would still want to hear your reasoning though.” Mneventh’s ties to certain parts of the Assembly were well known, even if that relationship had soured pretty badly after the fiasco with Selvaria.

Mneventh grunted. He thought it would be easier in the long run if he just explained himself. “I don’t know how much more obvious a trap needs to get. They had enough defenses to hold a strategically important world, and now those defenses are suddenly gone? I don’t think so. The Assembly is many things, but stupid is not one of them. One of the advantages of smashing so many races together is that some of them come out less stupid than the general populace. One of them would have noticed the obvious problem. Granted the world is a little remote, but it’s not so out of the way that we can’t simply surge through, which is what they are expecting. I would assume the Assembly is prepared to close the breach behind our forces, thus trapping any forces we send within a prearranged encirclement.”

“So you think we should avoid attacking?” The Azure Dragon asked with slight disappointment in her voice. She had been rather eager about the whole thing.

“No, I mean we should attack with enough force to smash this trap. A trap is only dangerous if you step in unprepared and unawares. Once we know of the trap, we can make sure they bite off more than they can chew. Really though, I have no idea why I was even called. I might have had more interactions with some members of the Assembly than most, but you should have already figured this out Qazarass.” He used the old Platinum Dragon’s name for emphasis. Few others even knew the old dragon’s name. Before now of course. Now the word would spread. For old dragons, the Aspects were terrible gossips sometimes. But this was Mneventh’s revenge for bothering him.

The smile the old platinum dragon gave let Mneventh know that the old bastard knew something he didn’t and was savoring the knowledge. “I guessed, but it’s always nice to have a second opinion. The reason I called for you is that I got news of the beings defending Io previously. Two in particular are of great interest to us. A particularly foolish Gold Dragon got into a fight with one of the two on a different world they were supposedly sent to reinforce. According to that Gold Dragon, while the being was dressed like one of the Assembly Lords, she also revealed her true form when the Gold Dragon was cornered. Mostly due to luck, the Gold Dragon managed to escape and bring the news to us.”

“And why should I care?” Mneventh asked without interest. This seemed unimportant after all.

“The true form of that being was a hybrid between an Abyssal and an Astral Dragon. She was young but extremely powerful, and there was no way the Gold Dragon could mistake her appearance.” The Platinum Dragon was clearly savoring the moment. “Also, that young hybrid was accompanied by an apparently self-aware mountain surrounded by a halo.”

Mneventh started cursing silently. ‘Selvaria that bitch! You would keep this from me and rely on Xinglong of all dragons instead?! I’ll have my revenge for this.’ Outwardly he remained calm but the look in the Platinum Dragon’s eyes showed that the old bastard knew it was a facade. “This could be a great asset for us. Don’t touch that young hybrid. She could be extremely useful to us. I think we can bring her around to our side, and having a spy among the top ranks of the Assembly could be a great asset. And if what you say about her strength is correct, then it is inevitable that she will reach those top ranks at some point.”

Mneventh had a good idea concerning the young dragon’s identity, and he had good reasons for his assumptions. Even though Selvaria had not advertised her new protégé to most people, Mneventh had naturally found out as he too was part of why the demons were in their current situation. Selvaria had been rather proud of her new ‘child’ even though she was not sure how to deal with her. He had assumed that child had been trapped inside Selvaria’s pocket dimension as well, but now that seemed less likely. The combination of an Abyssal and Astral was unlikely enough that it didn’t take much for Mneventh to make the connection. Unfortunately he was too agitated to notice that his words had suddenly caused a previously uninterested Bronze Dragon to suddenly become very interested.

All of them were interrupted by the arrival of a messenger. Dragonkin were very rarely tolerated in this place, so the Aspects were less than pleased. Still, the messenger was in a hurry and went to whisper to a Silver Dragon that had kept quiet so far. After listening to the whispers for a while the Silver Dragon exclaimed. “What?! How many? Forty and still counting? Are you sure? And there have been no dragons among the losses so far?”

While the Silver Dragon was loud due to lost composure, the Dragonkin was not. And the one-sided conversation was getting on everyone’s nerves. Mneventh was already surly by nature, and the current situation was not making him any less so. He was the first to snap. “What is so damn important that it can’t wait?”

The Silver Dragon was among those that rightly feared the black-scaled Aspect of Anti-Magic, so she rushed to answer. “Well, many here might not be aware that Champions of the gods get informed when another Champion falls under certain conditions. In this case, over forty Champions have fallen in a very short period of time, and all at the hands of the Champions of Umbra and Lumen.”

The dragons didn’t like being servile even to the deities so they didn’t have that many Champions or even blessed individuals among their number. However, there were certain draconic deities of course, and the Champions of those deities almost always came from among the Silver Dragons. Their lack of blessings didn’t mean that the dragons paid no attention to divine politics though. “You mean to say that the Champions of Lumen and Umbra joined hands and have started a massacre of some sort?”

“No, we’re now fairly certain that the two Goddesses have picked the same individual as a Champion. Otherwise there would be some difference in who killed which enemy. One of our priests prayed for an explanation, and one of the deities we serve explained that there’s a power struggle happening between the strongest deities. And Lumen and Umbra are cleaning the nest so to speak. As an interesting side note, apparently the Champion killing all the others happens to be a hybrid between an Abyssal and an Astral. I doubt there’s two of her ilk around.”

Mneventh growled in anger. Perhaps it was time he started taking a more active hand in matters after all. Selvaria might be an asshole for trusting the prissy Astral over him, but he was not about to stand by and watch this disaster go further. And if he managed to help this young dragon, then it would be all the more sweet to watch Selvaria grovel in apology as she realized all this could have been avoided if she had simply trusted Mneventh instead of the prissy Astral. Perhaps it was time to lean on some deities and make them remember who they owed and just how badly. Then he could throw that favor in Selvaria’s face as well and mock her fiercely for the next three decades. Centuries. Centuries sounded much better.

------

Despite her string of victories, Dee looked ragged. The fights that followed the first challenge had not been as easy. Part of that was because she couldn’t go all out, a problem that her enemies did not share. The enemies waged a war of attrition, and it was having a certain amount of success. Her experiences in the elemental planes had taught her a lot about fighting endless battles, which helped a lot. The problem was that the Champions all came with weird abilities that required a different level of concentration and effort to deal with. A powerful elemental might be a worthy foe, but Dee had usually gathered enough resistance at that point to have a large advantage. The elementals had usually fought in a very straightforward fashion as well. These Champions were very different. And they were all dangerous in their own ways even if many of them didn’t even qualify as proper enemies against her. They were still Champions of the gods and could stake their all in a single attack if given a proper opening. Cornered animals and all that.

Order had apparently given many of his subordinates high-ranking angels as temporary Champions, so the deities were not careful at all about throwing them away. That said, a large number of deities also used their own Champions as a matter of honor. Or they had other reasons that Dee was unaware of. Be that as it may, the end result was that Dee was slowly being cornered. On the other hand, she had also gained a lot of power during the whole ordeal. It would have been even more if she had the time to properly meditate between the battles and make that power her own, but the current situation forced her to waste some of it.

Her weapons and armor had mostly been destroyed or at least damaged at this point. She had used all of the weapons stored in her shadows and was now forced into using just her fists or weapons made of psionic energy. The latter suited her just fine. The problem was that she had also lost several of the dark beads she so liked using. A couple had been outright destroyed while others had simply been damaged. The things were sturdy but not indestructible. She lost them in a fight against the only deity that had stepped forward after the forty-fifth Champion had fallen. And now another deity was stepping on the arena again. Luckily it seemed that the gods willing to throw their Champions away seemed to be coming to an end.

The situation had taken a turn as soon as the deities realized that she was not only the Champion of Lumen but Umbra’s as well. Many of the deities felt that while taking on a fading deity like Lumen was alright, picking a fight with Umbra was not. The two might be allies for now, but with the Champion of Umbra being involved it became much more serious. The original group of gods willing to participate had shrunk significantly. On the other hand, those that were still willing to pick a fight were willing to risk their own lives to do so, as they feared the inevitable retaliation if they failed. That’s why the current deity was willing to face Dee personally.

Dee raised her hand and signaled for Lumen to approach. The deity refereeing the proceedings might have been biased, but not to the extent of completely throwing away his role as a deity of fairness. Dee had not called for any halts in the proceedings so far despite the enemies clearly trying to wear her down, and if he didn’t allow this small reprieve, the neutral deities would make sure he suffered the consequences.

“What is it? Can you not go on further?” Lumen asked a little worried as soon as she approached. To her, it looked like Dee still had enough leeway to deal with several fights, but she couldn’t be sure, especially if the enemies would be mostly gods from now on. She hoped the opposing gods would give up once a few of them died.

“I can, but I’m not sure I should. So far I’ve only killed the Champions of deities hostile to you and a single deity, but if I start killing several gods the situation will change drastically. I don’t think there has ever been someone who killed dozens of gods without being branded the enemy of the entire universe, and even the neutral gods will carry a grudge against one that has killed so many of their kind. Fighting one or two gods is one thing. Even becoming the enemy of Paradisia I can deal with. Becoming the enemy of the forces of Order is something I’ve come to terms with. This is something very different however. It’s time for you to step up and do your part. I will not carry the ire of everyone for you. You’re a top-ranked deity, so act like one. Use your own influence. If Order can pull strings, then so can you. Besides, if I do have to fight these gods, I will have to do so by using extreme methods and I’m not sure I can stop. This whole endeavor is also reaching a point where it’s no longer worth it to me. I’m your Champion, but I’m not a fanatic willing to throw away everything for your glory.” Dee was pushed to the point that she considered using the Authority Selvaria had left her. That would help her gain victory, but the Authority had come with a rather stern warning. Using it against the deities might not be the best solution.

Lumen realized that Dee was correct. The gods had been spooked by Dee killing just one of their own, and she had already killed another deity, albeit a minor one. If she killed more, even the gods that were not supportive of Order would start to turn against Dee. And she was also right about another thing. There had been immortals strong enough to kill several gods before, in fact, there were several immortals currently that had the power and just didn’t use it. Those that had used that power had been viciously hunted down as common enemies of everyone.

As she stepped up to face the opposition, Lumen was surprised to find out she wasn’t alone. She was less surprised to see Umbra step up but having Death join her was a bit more surprising. Death seemed to be grumbling about her plan being delayed after all, but she had joined nonetheless. What really surprised her was that several other gods had also dropped to the arena to stand behind her. Notably, many of those gods were draconic in nature, although some gods of magic also joined in. Some of those deities even had strained relations with Lumen, which is why it made little sense for them to rise up in support.

“Enough of this.” Umbra stated, stealing the limelight from the stunned Lumen. “This farce has gone long enough. My Champion has already proven her superiority and defended the honor and position of Lumen. From now on, if you want to gang up on someone, expect that you will also face multiple enemies.”

“Are you interfering with the age-old tradition of challenge Umbra?” Order asked with a smile. This course of action suited him as well. It was not as good as Dee and Lumen being killed, but it was the next best thing. In fact, he had expected this as Lumen was unlikely to just roll over and die. He was surprised at the number and identity of gods that stepped up, but his side was still at a numerical advantage. Death’s presence made those numbers meaningless if it came to a battle, but that seemed unlikely. This coming to a vote was a much more likely scenario, and in votes, his side had an advantage in. Death may sway a large number of voters with her mere presence, but clear lines like this would go a long way towards reducing that effect.

Unfortunately for Order, Umbra was not about to let events progress as he had planned. “I think you’ve already made a mockery of the system by now. You may say that it was Lumen who changed the rules first, but we all know you have been abusing the system long before that. Everything after has been an answer to your misuse of the system you helped set up.” Umbra countered.

“You can say what you want, but the rules and laws are what they are.” Order countered. As a God of Order, his faith in law and order was obvious.

“Perhaps, but unlike you, I’m not a deity of order. Laws and rules are meaningless to me. They become especially so when someone like you abuses them. We all know you are a hypocrite hiding behind those rules. I think it’s about time we institute a little more chaos. You are welcome to come to the arena to defend your opinions, but we all know you won’t.” Umbra was well aware of the methods Order used and abused and was not about to allow that to go on any longer. Besides, all these rules had been vexing her for a while now. If those rules were such a problem for Lumen, why bother abiding by them any longer?

“Are you trying to break the ties that bind us together and keep the peace Umbra?” Order asked, not liking the direction where this was headed.

“And why shouldn’t I? Those ties have felt more and more like shackles lately. I feel it’s time we try something different for a change.” Umbra grinned at her own play on words.

She had chafed under the rules set in place for a long time, and those same rules gave Order more power. She would have tried rebelling against those rules long before if she’d had any hope of success, but now with Lumen and Death on her side, things were about to change. This was going exactly as she wanted. In fact, this is why she loved chaos so much. Things couldn’t have gone any better even if she had tried planning for it. Plans and plots were all nice and everything, but as a goddess in charge of chaos, she knew the best method was to just stir the pot and seize any opportunities that bubbled to the surface.

“You’re talking about a return to the times of chaos. Return to the wars between gods.” Order was getting really grim. He had been too focused on Lumen and had not considered that Umbra would strike at the heart of his power at this moment. He could see many of the gods that had joined in the arena just now looked a bit uneasy, but for them, it was too late to back out now. They had already thrown in their lot with the other side so it was too late to back out.

“I kind of liked those times.” Umbra laughed. This was just perfect. She turned towards the gathered deities. “Listen to me gods that suffer under the current status quos! For too long the likes of Order have hidden behind the rules while gaining from our loss! This is not our way! The current situation has been forced on us, but no longer! It’s time to rise and show what we stand for! I call for the dissolution of this twisted system! Let the gods of order seek their own laws and rules in a universe where we are not so accommodating! It’s time to have the stagnant universe start feeling the breeze of something fresh! Let chaos rule for a change!” The play on words was deliberate. Change and chaos were her forte and now was the time.

Umbra’s timing was masterful. Eons of peace had dulled the senses of the light gods while the darker gods had suffered losses under the rules set in place. Such rules were against their nature, and why should the dark gods accept rules put in place against their will? The recent troubles had also shattered old alliances between the gods of light and the gods of order, and the neutral gods had been forced into picking sides for a while now, mostly against their will. With Lumen and Death joining her camp, Umbra’s words gained a whole new weight, and the blatant abuses of Order had made a mockery of the current system. Even the God of Fairness that had refereed the fights was forced to admit the twistedness of the situation.

What started as a grab for power had developed into a call for a divine revolution.