It had been many countless years since anyone had heard any news of interest from inside the Empire, for it had enjoyed the fruits of a long and unexpected peace. It had embraced free market Capitalism and its interests shifted from war to trade, a victory its foes of old could claim as their own. Though the barbarism that tainted the pages of Imperial history was still present, it was only in the most extreme of cases that the Old Ways were manifest. Even the magick that the Freekish people could feel all around them began to diminish over the decades. The supernatural was a way of life for the Empire, but as years fell from the calendar the veil of the unexplained faded and all but disappeared. The Death Dealers had slowly retreated from the public eye, their whereabouts unknown and little concern given to their absence. The permanent black clouds that hung like a canopy over the Forbidden Isle had lessened in their menacing fury, though still none dared to venture onto its cursed shores.
And perhaps the most infamous and blood stained locale in world history, The Halls of the Dead, had too succumbed to the decline of the energies that flowed across the lands. The massive underground torture chamber was the site of many gruesome and unspeakable executions, some long forgotten, but others living on through the ages in infamy. It was also in this hellish dungeon of nightmares that a gateway to another dimension was discovered but kept strictly under wraps by the highest authorities. It was here that the legendary Damien Dreadfire communed with the dark energies to which he owed much of his strength and unnatural endurance, and rumors of what occurred in the deepest and darkest chambers of that cursed pit were still silently whispered in taverns and around campfires to this day.
The dictator who brought the Freeish Empire into fruition and onto the pages of history had been many years dead, felled at the hands of a Kravenite bullet on the shores of Atraeza. It was a legendary death for a legendary man, but one that brought with it a power vacuum within Gholgoth that has not since been filled. A gargantuan statue was erected on a small island near the center of the region shortly after Lord Dreadfire was slain, its magnificence towering higher than any building within The Alliance. It was there that Damien was laid to rest, though theories had been circulating for years that a secret Dreadfire cult had been attempting to resurrect him. These theories are, however, routinely dismissed as any common man within Gholgoth can lay their eyes upon Damien, for his body lay perfectly preserved in a glass case near the feet of his colossus.
But for some, the quest continued. It was within the deepest chambers of the Halls of the Dead that activity began to stir once more. This time the screams of the tormented were replaced by the buzzing and whirring of machinery, giant contraptions that sprawled across the dank passageways and into what some consider the epicenter of all spiritual activity within Automagfreek, the Tomb of the Mutilated. In another time this chamber would have been inaccessible, but with the absence of the chaotic spiritual energies that kept outsiders at bay, these areas that were once forbidden could now be explored. It was here that members of the Dreadfire cult began attempting to open a portal to another dimension. The complexities of the particle colliders and computers were well understood by the well learned men who operated them, though none in society would suspect these mild mannered folk of such nefarious deeds.
Their repeated attempts ended in failure, but one night their persistence had finally paid off. The event coincided with a strange alignment of the planets, and on this occasion the thin boundaries between worlds had given way ever so slightly. The computer processors began operating at great speeds, and the mechanisms of the gateway machine began to spring to life. Energies were drawn from the earth and compressed within the mind numbing array of equipment, and soon the gated platform at the center of the room began to hum with electric vibes, and flash and pulse with a dark blue light. The dozen or so shrouded men within the chamber were taken back for but a moment, glancing at each other as their mad experiment began to bear fruit for the first time. The ringleader of the cult stepped forward as the machine began to swing into overdrive, its aura expanding and illuminating the room.
"To any and all who hear these words, I summon forth the spirit of Lord Damien Dreadfire. Let him present himself and be manifest, and let him walk the plane of the living once more!"
A great wind began to gust from the center of the blue light, which had now expanded and consumed the entirety of the central platform. A violent shaking could be felt beneath their feet, and several of the cult members were beginning to panic, but were quickly put in their place by the most fanatical of those present.
"We need more power, we need to sever the veil." The ringleader exclaimed, his excitement building as the giant machine began to groan in protest from the severity of the energy coursing through it.
"You must not, you don't know what may pass through that gate!" Another protested, though his words went unnoticed.
The lever controlling the power output was thrust forward into its maximum setting by the overzealous mastermind, and in doing so a near sonic boom emanated from the center of the fluxing ball of energy, and those present were cast down to the floor in a violent manner. The near deafening noise subsided, leaving only a gentle hum as the light faded from a dark blue to a near purple. The cult members picked themselves up slowly, and all looked on with chills running up and down their spine as the solid black form of Damien Dreadfire's massive hulking frame materialized at the epicenter. The seven foot shadow stood motionless on the platform, but then spoke. His voice seemed to come from all around the cult members, prompting some to frantically search about the room for its source, their eyes wide with terror at what they had just done.
"Who dares to disturb my slumber?"
"It is we, your loyal followers m'lord. We have waited for this day for so long... we wish to give you life once more, to walk with the living as you once did."
The shade still did not move, though its voice grew in volume and intensity.
"I have found my peace among the Gods, and I have shaken off the burdens of the mortal realm. I seek no return... and you would be wise to leave this place. Disturb not that which rests... Heed this warning, or seek out your destruction..."
The ominous figure then turned abruptly and began walking further into the manifested void which soon collapsed upon itself, leaving only the fading hum of overheated and ruined machinery and a cold chill in the air. Those present looked at one another in disbelief at what they had just done.
"Do we have all the data? Make sure it is not lost..."
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OOC: It's been 2 years since I retired from NS. I'm not returning, but for some reason I felt creative today and decided to post this short story. I'm not expecting it to go anywhere, but feel free to post however you want if you so choose. Hope you enjoyed it.
