Chapter Text
The Green Sun shone above the gathered assembly. Gods, Demons, Exalted and Green Sun Princes. Anger and shouting, violence restrained only by [Oaths of Sacred Hospitality].
Hatred and the cycle of violence, kept in check only by the desire to protect one’s assets. A diplomatic summit in hell.
A plot meant to ensnare the world had been unmade at the last, most desperate second by the hands of humanity’s best and the reemergence of unlikely allies from the world of Authcthonia.
The collateral damage was catastrophic, regardless of the fact that the gates to hell were still locked.
But the world, Creation, was now united and vigilant. Well, there were a large number of defensive pacts, to empower the Wyld Hunt and grant them the authority necessary to hunt down the demons and the Green Sun Princes. So, to the Demon City Malfeas, that was basically the same thing.
The summit was a farce, a pretense for the demons to gloat in the face of the gods, and for the gods to assure themselves and their followers that the Yozis remained trapped. In the end, the gods will depart, content that the menace posed by the Green Sun Princes was kept in check.
The Great Reclamation will have to take on new forms, go to new places, hatch new plots and schemes. The world of Creation was far too vigilant, and so, new worlds must be tapped, from lands far beyond reckoning.
And at the edge of the assembly smirked a handsome man, fangs and black, razor sharp nails gripping an umbrella to protect himself from the light of any sun. Black is the new black. Everything is his fault.
Or so he would have you believe.
It was 80% of the way there to an honest statement. He did a lot of wheeling and dealing.
He grimaced as he beheld his most hated rival, the Sun. Not the Green Sun, the Unconquered Sun. Above the petty squabbles that surrounded him, he hated him, and had from the moment he was born, from the moment he took up his spear to defend the world and [pledged to serve the creators of causality].
The Unconquered Sun was perfect. The perfect warrior, the perfect general, guardian, lover, teacher, diplomat, detective, judge, lawmaker. At every endeavor, he succeeded.
And even he fell to jealousy and greed, to turn to usurpation and betrayal.
And The Ebon Dragon loved him, when he decided to betray his father, betray all the creators.
Until he got his dick chopped off, and forced into swearing [Oaths of Surrender], alongside the rest of the creators that the Exalted Host didn’t murder.
Trapped inside the Demon City rankled him beyond words, and on the uncommon moment he wasn’t testing the boundaries of the [Oaths of Surrender], he was making his irritation other people’s problem with curses, lies, and disasters.
His spite was infinite, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel other things in his hollow-non heart. Boredom. Pettiness. Hate. From time to time, they flickered out, and so, The Ebon Dragon talked to the sun.
The Unconquered Sun did not respond or acknowledge him in any way.
He whispered taunts and lies over the course of several days. Threats, and promises of information.
No response.
“Cecelyne and I want to open the Saigoth Gates.”
And that got all the gods shouting, and even the Unconquered Sun glanced in his direction.
The Ebon Dragon departed through shadows, leaving the Endless Desert to face the brunt of the outrage alone.
“Not even the Yozis want those gates opened!”
“He’s bluffing.”
“The collateral damage alone…”
~
The Sun was alone as the summit was in its final recess. He placed a veil down, a barrier to protect an area of shadows.
“[The Ebon Dragon, appear before me.]”
And The Ebon Dragon [obeyed].
“You will not open the Saigoth Gates.”
“I want to open the Saigoth Gates.”
“I will not permit this.”
“The Surrender Oaths don’t expressly forbid us from ordering the Green Sun Princes to do so.”
“You want something other than to open them, The Ebon Dragon. I see right through you.”
“I want to play a game, and I am willing to sabotage Cecelyne as she argues before the rest of us.”
And the Unconquered Sun steeled himself.
“What is your game?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple, really. I want you to pick out my next Green Sun Prince, my next diplomat, my latest Fiend. Creation is currently quite secure from us, for the time being, and so, we shall turn our attention to new worlds. There’s this nice, beautiful world calling itself “Earth”, and I want you to be the one that causes its biggest disaster. [If I am happy with your decision, I will sabotage all efforts to open the Saigoth Gates.]”
And The Ebon Dragon left behind a crystal ball, leaving the Unconquered Sun alone, so that he may agonize under this choice. To save the worlds from the troubles that great gate protects from, or to give The Ebon Dragon the satisfaction. From a moral standpoint, objective good and evil do not exist.
From all other standpoints, The Ebon Dragon is evil. And he chooses to be evil.
Yet, there was no great deception at play, the Unconquered knew with certainty. The Ebon Dragon just wished to force him to make a moral compromise yet again, forcing him to choose between two evils, to protect others while being forced to leave others behind to suffer and die.
It was no mere scrying device, but a potent portal to a place beyond the Wyld. The Unconquered Sun looked.
~
“[The Ebon Dragon, appear before me.]”
“Have you made your decision?”
“I have found my chosen Fiend. In a few weeks time, they will betray a promise, and it will doom them. They are petty, spiteful, abusive and manipulative. They have been betrayed so senselessly, and they will most likely never recover from the pain and uncertainty that this caused. They will almost certainly become the monster you truly desire all of your Green Sun Princes to be.”
“You are the Unconquered Sun. Since when do you deal with “almost certainly?” If you aren’t dealing with me in good faith, then be prepared for the opening of the Saigoth Gates.”
“[I am dealing with you in mostly good faith.]”
And The Ebon Dragon laughed. “Oh this will be good!”
The Ebon Dragon brought out a terrified serf, a Mantis headed man, who hadn’t exploded when the Infernal Exaltation binded to its message bearer.
“Naneke, your purpose is to find the Yozis a Champion, so that they may be made anew as a Green Sun Prince. Now, Conky, who did you choose?”
The Unconquered Sun brought out the crystal ball, and chose.
The newly named Naneke, of the Naneke, stepped through the portal.
Through the aperture, the Unconquered Sun beheld the world.
Bringing up his spear, he SHATTERED parts of the veil, that was protecting it from the incursions of Raksha and the influence of the Wyld.
And The Ebon Dragon could not stop laughing.