And then, it was over. With Munsuraisa taking the Hateling’s head, and Taiyo no Tsubasa embedded in the skull of the final wolf, I caught my breath, and looked at my HP. 1434/3680. It was a hard fight, but from the start I’d been fighting against larger numbers. My cheat stats made my attacks hit hard, and made it difficult for the enemy to strike me, unless they were more powerful. For a group of mobs at or below my level, without any real resistances to hinder me, this was within my skill level.
The two Iqnoras finally unfroze, and looked over to me, shocked. As one, they said, “You have broken the decree of Fate!” And then their figures blurred, and rushed together, the two individuals merging into a single person, now dressed in resplendent robes, and carrying a staff. I quickly checked her with Observe.
Iqnora the Red
High Elf Female
Level 140 Fatespinner (Diviner) / Dragonfire Mage (Flame Sorceress)
Titles: Seer, Undead Bane, Guardian of the Realm, Destiny’s Child, Temptress of Fate, Sacrifice, Broken One, Thrall, Devoted
I chuckled, and said, “I make my own fate.”
Iqnora sighed contentedly, and nodded. “Yes, Master. It seems you have saved me. After all these years tormented by the Terrors that threatened our world, I am free.”
I looked over to the third setting, where the possessed Iqnora remained, and said, “And the last one?”
“That is not me, but the Terror that attempted to claim me as I tried to find a way for my people to survive the coming darkness. The first scene would allow one to claim my body. The second allowed them to free my soul. The third was a trap by the Terror to claim a new victim. You have freed both my body and soul, and left the Terror trapped in this web of fate forever. So now I pledge myself to you, both body and soul.”
Iqnora the Red is now your Thrall.
You have passed all three challenges on this Trial of Ascension!
You have gone above what was needed in order to succeed in this step, and will receive additional rewards!
Willbreaker, Lash of Torment
Type
Whip
Rank
Legendary
Damage
100 – 120
Damage Type
Charm
This whip is a terror in the right hands. Made from leather tanned from the skin of Hellions in the lower planes, this weapon radiates powerful magic, and saps the will of those who feel its bite. This whip cannot kill a foe outright, but can leave them a drooling shell of a creature, their mind shattered by the torments it unleashes. This weapon attacks the mind, not the body, and thus ignores physical armor and physical resistances. It has no effect on creatures of the Plant, Ooze, or Construct types, or on mindless creatures.
Attack +100
Target cannot fall below 1 HP. Targets reduced to 1 HP are rendered Helpless for 1 Hour. Continued attacks may make the Helpless condition permanent.
50% chance to stun target for 30 seconds.
Creatures struck by the whip have a cumulative -5% resistance to Charm effects for 30 seconds. Each hit resets the duration.
Enchanted: Manavore – HP damage dealt by this weapon is also dealt to the creature’s MP. A creature reduced to 0 MP in this way is Paralyzed for 30 seconds.
Legendary Weapon: This weapon is a Legendary weapon, and may display other abilities based on the wielder’s abilities and level. Damage increases with wielder’s level.
Cool, another legendary weapon, and this one I actually can use! That was as far as my thoughts got before pain erupted within me, and caused everything to turn to blackness.
Chapter 53 – Results of the Trial
When I awoke, I was back in my bed at the inn, and it was morning. Also, a big blue screen was hovering over my face.
Hellspawned Drake (Incubus Base)
In ages past, the Dragons, immortal creatures of magic, sought to create servants from lesser races. These servants were granted great power and long life, but were magically bound to the dragons they served. The dragons intended for this servant race to be sterile, to control their population.
The servants, known as Drakes, had other ideas. Legend states that, during a time of great strife, not unlike the recent Scourge, that the Drakes imbued themselves with wild magic, and rose in revolt against their masters. The events of this primordial war have been lost to history, and are even now only in living memory of the very oldest dragons. What stories the Dragons pass down of this time are not shared with the ‘young races’.
What is known is that, following this conflict, that the Drakes were no longer irrevocably bound to Dragons, and could now bear and sire children, but at the cost of losing much of their former power. While no True Drakes remain in the world, the descendants of those early Drakes bred with various races, producing a wide variety of Drake subraces.
Descended from Drakes and creatures of the lower planes, much as Incubi and Succubae are descended from the pairings of elves and such creatures, a Hellspawned Drake is a powerful force upon the Material Plane.
Advanced Racial Traits (Cumulative with Base Racial Traits):
+10 to All Stats
Immunity to Hellfire
Immunity to Dragonfear
Dracoform
Dragonblood
-25% Resistance to Light Spells
Dark Spells ignore 25% of enemy resistance
I was already immune to Hellfire from my Familiar, but it was nice to see that I had a backup in case anything happened to her. The last line made me smile, as well. With gear and other bonuses, it was plainly possible to get over 100% resistance to certain damage types. I’d wondered about that, until I started seeing things on the forums. After level 40, there were ways to ignore resistances, basically the same idea as overcoming Damage Reduction or having Armor Penetration in other games. I quickly checked out Dracoform and Dragonblood, to see what they were about.
Dracoform
Like all Drakes, you have the ability to change shape into a dragon approximately your size. All clothing, weapons, and armor, as well as any other worn items not suited to the new form are magically subsumed in the transformation, their effects suspended for the duration. They return in their proper place when the transformation is reversed.
Cost: 1000 MP
While in Dracoform:
Winged Flight (4x Land Speed, Average maneuverability)
Dragonfear – When attacking or using dragon abilities, creatures within 30’ that are equal or lower level than you are must resist a Fear effect (strength based on your CHA).
+30 to all Stats
Natural Weapons
Hellfire Breath
-25% resistance to Silver weapons
Dragonblood
While not a true dragon, you carry draconic blood in your veins. Because of this, you can be affected by spells and effects targeting the Dragon type.
I checked my status, and saw that I’d managed to get to Level 41 during the trial. I distributed my points, and then tried to get up, only to realize that I was being weighed down by something. That, in itself, wasn’t unusual, since I usually had at least one of my girls in bed with me, but looking down, I saw horns and two heads of hair. It seemed that Kylana and Iqnora both appeared here with me after the trial was over.
Looking around the room, I noticed several other interesting things. Everyone else was back from their trials, as well. Even Kylana seemed to have advanced, probably due to her bond with me.
Kylana
Greater Hellion Female
Level 41 Fleshshaper (Transmuter) / Conjurer
Titles: Corrupter, Sadist, Masochist, Scholar, Familiar
Kylana’s curves, hidden under that robe, were more pronounced, and I noticed that her horns were longer, and a darker color. Oh, and she now had batlike wings sticking out from her back (the magic robe apparently shifted to allow them through). Very interesting.
Della Smith
High Human Female
Level 41 War Priestess (Pries
tess) / Ice Mage
Titles: Slave, Sadistic, Undead Bane, Devoted
Della, on the other hand, looked much the same as she did before, except there was a more noble air about her, even as she slept. Her skin almost seemed to be glowing, as though she were too good to be a ‘mere’ human.
Severa Rex
Shadeling (Human) Female
Level 41 Duelist (Rogue) / Battledancer
Titles: Slave, Heartseeker, Shadow, Undead Bane
Severa looked almost the same as normal, until you realized that the paltry shadows cast by the sun coming through the window nearly hid her completely, even from my sight! While she was still sleeping! Clearly, her new race allowed her to blend easily into shadows, a perfect choice for a rogue.
Kiyabu Yukiko
Ninetails (Kitsune) Female
Level 41 Mejikira (Samurai) / Dark Paladin
Titles: Slave, Devoted, Unholy Blacksmith, Undead Bane
Yukiko had gotten her wish, it seemed. She was now a nine-tailed foxgirl. Her hair had turned snow white, to match her new tails, and it seemed as though she’d grown more appealing to the eye. I’d have to ask her about the details of the ninetails form later.
Nithroel Crana
Dark Scion (Half-Celestial Elf) Female
Level 41 Fallen Angel (Blackguard) / Priestess
Titles: Genius, Fallen One, Slave, Broken One, Masochist, Undead Bane
Nithroel had the most extreme change, her once white wings now turned to black, with what appeared to be a blood red color at the trailing edges. She had gained a pair of short horns that stuck up through her hair, just over her brow, to further signify that the corruption had taken hold. I’d need to find out more about this, too.
I sighed. While it was nice having a bevy of beauties all around me, including two lying in bed with me, there wasn’t time for such things just now. We had to get going, and claim that keep, for the good of the guild, and all that jazz. Oh, and to see if there was any loot in hidden treasuries and the like. Never hurt to check for hidden loot… or secret quests.
Reaching down, I pinched Kylana’s rear, causing her to shriek awake. Which woke everyone else up. Smiling at them as I proceeded to get dressed, I said, “Well, as we’re all awake, we should get a move on, yes? We’ve got a journey ahead of us to claim the keep and the townlands around it. Oh, and meet my familiar, Kylana, and our new companion, Iqnora the Red. If she agrees, I’ll be naming her my Seneschal so she can handle the running of the keep. We’ll have Athtar act as her aide, I think.” I turned to look at Iqnora, and said, “That acceptable, my dear?”
Blushing not only due to finding herself waking up in bed with me, but also to seeing the ‘quality’ I surrounded myself with, and then hearing me call her ‘dear’ gave her cheeks a cute rosy hue. But when she spoke, her words were firm. “Yes, Milord. I would be honored to serve you in any capacity you see fit.” A fit of giggles from Yukiko and Severa brought the blushing to such extremes that it nearly covered her entire head.
I decided to rescue her, by introducing the girls to the newcomers. “As you may notice from their ‘accessories’, these women are all my property, and are my inner circle, as it were. Most have been with me almost since I first came to this world.” I paused, and then said, “It will still take a while before we can leave, with breakfast and organizing the train. Nithroel, if you would be so kind as to fly over to the palace and pass word to the Princesses about Iqnora. Tell them that, while we cannot delay setting out to the keep, they are welcome to join us on the journey, should they wish to speak with her.”
Della snorted at that. “You just want to try and talk them into a foursome with the archmage.” That got a round of laughs from everyone, and a mock growl from me. Iqnora, on the other hand, blinked, as Nithroel slipped out of the room. “How is it that you can send one of your slaves to call upon the Princesses of this land? And where are we, anyways?”
“Ah, we are in the Wyrmwood, what remains of the elven kingdom of your time. The Scourge is only in living memory to those races that age slowly, such as the elves. The defenses you came up with were successful in saving the free races of the world from extinction, though lore says the costs were great.”
“At any rate, suffice to say that I did some small service to the Princesses, and Aravae, the elder Princess, shares with me the faith of Sharess. Through a series of unremarkable events, I became named a Knight of the Wyrmwood, and was given some few privileges in this land. In thanks for my services, the King has seen fit to give me lordship of Lithaes, with the intent of restoring the castle and surrounding lands to their former glory.”
That cause Iqnora to blink. “Lithaes? It still stands? I thought it would have been destroyed when the Terror came to claim me there.”
“Ah, so Lithaes was your home? Then you should know that while it was abandoned before the Scourge, and has, at times, played host to all manner of unruly sorts, it was recently cleared out by my party. So you’ll get to engage in a bit of a homecoming.”
Hrozne met us at breakfast. Shi, too, had undergone the trials. I couldn’t tell under the robes shi wore, but it looked like hir face was more drawn than it was before, as though she’d taken a couple steps down that road to Undeath. A quick Observe confirmed my guess.
Hrozne Bosorka
Revenant (Drow Elf) Hermaphrodite
Level 41 Pale Master (Necromancer) / Death Knight
Titles: Elfslayer, Lichloved, Scholar, Spiderkissed, Lifedrinker
A Revenant wasn’t exactly ‘undead’, but wasn’t exactly ‘living’. Given that shi had decided to go with a hermaphrodite character, this choice for her ascended race didn’t surprise me at all. Revenants were, after all, essentially to living and undead what hermaphrodites were to male and female. They combined parts of each, making something new and wholly different.
After breakfast, it took us the better part of an hour to get the train organized. Just with my own property and thralls, as well as Hrozne, there were thirty-two of us. Add in the guild, and those civilians who had joined up for adventure, or a gamble on getting ahead of the game in a place where there weren’t as many professional obstacles, and we were three hundred strong when the train of horses and wagons began riding out of town.
Aravae Liarora
Female Elf
Level 30 Priestess / Enchantress
Title: Princess of Wyrmwood, Blessed of Sharess, Demonbane
Esyae Liarora
Female Elf
Level 30 Ranger / Fighter
Title: Princess of Wyrmwood, Sniper, Sadist
Lusha Mirajyre
Elf Female
Level 30 Rogue / Ranger
Titles: Dead Ringer, Imposter, Slave, Masochist
Larrel Leokiam
Drow Elf Male
Level 30 Fighter / Ranger
Titles: Spiderkissed, Weaponmaster, Elfbane, Slave
As we got to the gates, I was pleased to see Aravae and Esyae were standing there, armored up and dressed for travel, along with their two pets, and four horses. It seemed that they did, indeed, intend to journey with us to the castle. Aravae was the first to speak, as they swung into the saddle to ride beside me. “Is it true? Did you really find Archmage Iqnora after all this time?”
I nodded, and pointed back to the first wagon, where Iqnora was sitting beside Kylana, talking to one of the guild’s mages. Esyae just shook her head in wonder. “Did you know that she was missing, and thought dead, since before the Scourge? Just what happened? How did you find her?”
I relayed the story of finding Iqnora on my Trial. The princesses were suitably shocked. Aravae shook her head. “So, seeing the Terror come for her, she managed to work a ritual that trapped them both in a web of fate? And she was caught there, tortured by the Terror for almost a thousand years until you showed up?”
“Yes. And because of my actions, her body and soul are now free of the Terror that plagued her. I was planning on naming her my Seneschal, so the Keep and to
wnlands can be looked after when events call me elsewhere.”
“You’re expecting to leave the Wyrmwood, then?” Esyae looked pensive about that, bringing a smile to my face.
“I have business that draws me to seek out the Orks and the Dwarves, as well as an expedition to the Underdark to tend to at some point. But I’ve decided to make Lithaes, and the Wyrmwood, my home base, so I’ll always return here. Besides, I’d hate to see a couple beautiful Princesses cry.” That got a laugh from the others, and two playful slaps from the Princesses.
Chapter 54 – Lithaes Village
I hadn’t bothered looking at it that much the last time I was here, but it was clear that Lithaes Village had seen better days. Better centuries, even. The only hint that a town once stood here were stone-walled buildings forming the core of the town, including what must have been a town hall, and a smithy. The only building that was reasonably intact was a shrine to the elven gods, so it seemed that the holy protections placed on the building hadn’t completely faded over the years. The roof of the shrine was damaged, and it hadn’t been cleaned in forever, but the walls were still solid, and the doors intact.
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