OoC: Well... holy crap. I outdid myself. ^_^
*Slowly the fog clears, revealing the Throne room of the entire Rhurikian empire. The sits on his throne, emancipated and ancient looking, but with a sinister red glow to his eyes and a dark aura that pulses around the room. Three figures stand next to him. The Marlin Brothers flank the King himself, each glowing with an aura that beats a devilish counter-point to the King's own. Darz stands behind William a bit, looming over the King's shoulder with a sardonic grin. A spark of light flashes from the arm of the King's throne, a crystalline hourglass stands near his hand with the sand magically suspended at the top and a small figure seemingly wandering endlessly across a desert in the bottom. (Ryu should recognize Tsukin`asu's form but cannot sense her, more on her prison at the bottom) As the scene plays out for the heroes as the file into the room, a dark shape wriggles across one of the walls, catching May's attention before it disappears.*
King: Welcome heroes, I commend you for making it this deep into my castle.
Giles: But that stops here, your end is now.
*May turns her attention to the figure, or rather, figures that are flickering across the walls. Still paying attention to the conversation.*
Darz: We are the Shadow Guard, the Black Soldiers, the Elite Shrouded in Darkness. And we have called you here to fulfill a purpose in the grand sceme that will determine the outcome of this world.
*Ryu glances at Darz, doubt mixing with the hate in his eyes. Had there been something in that? It almost seemed as if Darz had been chanting or intoning something, not speaking with...*
Ryu: May!
*At Ryu's cry May suddenly realizes what had been nagging her about the room. The black figures burst into abyssal spell script that whirl across the walls and feeds on the dark energy that permeates the room.*
May: It's a trap! The whole room, no, the whole castle is a trap! Ryu get us out of here!
William: Too late dearest, your time is now...
*He turns and finishes the spell*
William: Darkest night and deepest hell, brightest light and highest heaven. Forces of the ying and yang infuse this spell with power beyond the gods and create the tomb in which the forces of destiny shall clash for all of eternity!
*Before anyone can move the world explodes in a riot of color. Not just darkness, not just light, but an array of color so abstract, omnious, ancient, benevolent, fantastic, and unreal that it cannot be described in any language know to man or god. The forces that make up the universe pull apart for a few moments to draw upon the bindings of fate and allow mortals to do the impossible. The hundreds of thousands of soul enslaved by the Rhurikians in their undead armies cry out as their physical bodies are sacrificed in spell that allows men to do the work of gods. Your minds scream and black out, not having been meant to comprehend the enormity of what has been released. The world fades into chaos that penetrates even your unconsious mind, and then there is nothing...*
*May awakens*
*The world has become comprehendable once again, but no more sane. She stands upon a field of purest white, steching in all directions forever. There is no change, just May, and the light. Suddenly, she becomes aware, as if she had never looked directly behind her in all her searching, she just becomes aware of what lies behind. Slowly she turns, only to look upon the darkest of all nights, the blackest eternity, a color so black that no light can seemingly escape it's grasp.*
*But it does anyway*
*May stands in a world of an eternity of black and white. Each side in it's purest form, each obviously straining for what the other has. For in this world you can feel the strain. The white wants everything to be white, it yearns with all it's being to cleanse the black just beyond that line. The black has the same yearning, to envelope all that is white just beyond that line. Yet neither moves, the line seperating the two colors is a beginning and an end. A perfect and flawless division that never moves. For in this place there is nothing but black and white, without one the other may not exist or it may. In this place there is nothing but black and white, or at least that's how is was before.*
*William stands directly opposite May, in the same position in the black zone. He grins... and raise his hands with a barrage of needles at ready.*
The game is winner take all, shall we dance dearest?
*Ryu awakens*
*A cool breeze blows gently across his face as the dragonoid stands atop what seems like the highest mountain in existance. Yet he can see perfectly in all directions and breath easily. No pollution, haze, or even cloud would ever mar this place. For Ryu knew this place, knew it in his very soul. This place was so beatiful it could hurt the eyes, yet it didn't. So vast that he knew that if he entered flew into the mountains they would never end, and yet the entire range seemed less than a few miles long. He knew for a fact, that if he flew across the endless sea of green grass waving gently in the winds on the rolling hills that surrounded the mountains that he could fly forever without a change in scenery, and yet arrive back at the mountains in a few minutes.*
*He knew he was not alone*
*He didn't need to see the large man standing directly across from him on a similar mountain peak to know he was there. He didn't need to see the man's distinctive features and massive weapon to know that it was Giles. He didn't need a past experience with this man to realize that something lurked below that fragile body that could cut through adamantium in a single stroke. He didn't need to know the rules of this place to know that this was a duel to the end, these two being would fight until one lost, and that one would be the victor.*
*This place was built for them, built for their kind, built for the battle that has been fought endlessly since the beginning of time and yet would only begin in the here and now. This was home, this was not. This was the end, but also not.*
Welcome Ryu, to the homeland. Prepare yourself for a battle of the likes you have never experienced before!
*With a roar Giles explodes off his peak, massive wings and sword to match tear through the air in violent fury as the gigantic man rushes towards Ryu with lethal force.*
<The hourglass that holds Tsukin`asu is a variant of the Glass of Entombing
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20020921a Differences are as follows. None of the communication time has been used, if the sand fills the glass from the use of that time the person inside dies, there is no owner of the glass so anyone can communicate with it but the person inside will not be released when the brothers or the King dies. If you break the glass or try to remove the person by magical means the person inside is freed but their mind is destroyed and they lose 4d6 Con and Dex permenantly.>
OoC2: Wow, I'm saving a copy of this. I'll now pass the ball to BAMtheDOC who will be writting his own playground for Darz and Tiamat (If he wishes) to deal with the rest of the PCs/NPCs/Minions. The planes that the other four are on will not allow any being no matter how powerful in or out until on side has won and the other has lost their respective battles. This includes Trias in May's gem and certain gods that may be inclined to save their choosen. (glares pointedly at plushie Bahamut and the female dragon god who's name I can never remember) Telepathy is barred too. We're on different planes for Mike's sake.
