- I KNOW THE THINGS THAT HURT THE MOST.

THE NIGHTS WHERE ITS DARKEST.

THE LITTLE KNIFE THAT PIERCE DEEPEST....

THE LOVE THAT BETRAYS ALL.....

I KNOW!! I TELL YOU..... I KNOW....

FOR T'WAS WHAT MEN SOUL ARE MADE OF.

- RAVINGS FROM A MAD PRIEST OF BALANCE.

Urghut walked behind the warlock into his tent, stepping through the open flaps, his ears experienced a - "pop". The interior of the tent was hundreds of times bigger than what was seen outside, it was like stepping into a new world. The space was filled with red mist, cutting visibility down to a few metres, arching shadows suggested various hidden furnishings, the ceiling was not visible, for above roiled red clouds, with faint beating of leathery wings echoing in the red haze. The ground was covered with mist, and was warm with a cloying heat, it undulated like a slumbering beast. The hooded figure carelessly picked a spot on the ground and sat, urghut followed.

Urghut leaned forward, “ You know i have better spatial converging tools right? The ones that don’t leave your guest explosively venting out organs through their orifices”.

The robed figure clapsed his hands, “ your prices are high collector. Spending on only selected goods on your vast repertoire is the wisest of choice, besides it weed out guests too weak to garner my attention”.

“ shame, i recently acquired the hide of a star beast”

the hooded figure paused, “ what variant?”.

“ a sun swallower”, Urghut grinned.

The breath of the hooded figure paused for a second,“collector. I will have to empty our coffers from the last ten cycles to buy your goods, but they shall be worth it.”

The figure gestured to the floor and a bowl floated up, filled with spirit Rikunuts.

He chanted rhythmically “ he who brings gifts of Riku. Brings life"

Urghut stretched out his hands and took a few, he and the hooded figure ate in silence.

Creases from urghut forehead slowly eased.

Few still followed the old ways, for its restrictions were quite binding.

The warlock gestured to the floor again, a jug of wine floated up...

“ He who brings wine. Brings life"

Urghut was more brisk with this... unstopping the jar, he brought it up to his bulbous nose, sniffed and his eyes brightend, then he promptly emptied the content down his throat, coming up for air when the last drop rolled down his tongue, he looked up, expectantly at the warlock.

With a sigh the warlock bought out two more jugs. laughing loudly, Urghut said, “the best of my wares will grace your sights today" he shifted his posture to sit more comfortable, shook his robes and spoke:

“ as is the tradition of Urghut the collector I present to you five goods from five principalities “ and a sixth Urghut paused for emphasis, “from the Herald coffers"

The hooded figure became still. And a burst of terrifying force emanated from his being.

“ you have a relic of the Herald?”

“ Not a relic. A soul, touched by the Herald machinations"

The hooded figure laughed. “ are you finally going to peddle yourself as wares collector, after all your soul is the most valued of your possessions, 'Herald touched!"'

Urghut grimaced, “ very funny, warlock.... my soul is meant for the Heralds. Let’s avoid delay, this new world should have many untapped resources, I will scour through them before the vultures descends.”

Urghut twisted the only ring on his six fingered hand and a black shawl materialized on his palm, unfolding it slowly, he draped it on the ground between them, waving his hand over it, a simple brown bowl appeared. He cleared his throat:

“ from Tanat, the Principality Of Balance, an incense holder, it has held the prayers of a hallowed priest of balance for thousands of years, and the tears of a seraphim has watered it. It possess the ability to thoroughly shield the mind of the holder from all external mental abilities ranging from chaos battle fields to mental attacks of minor orisha.” Urghut turned the bowl catching the light from various angles, he continued, “ As always it can be exchanged for an equivalent item or for world jewels.. its price is twenty world jewel”.

Urghut patiently waited as the warlock bent his head in thought, “twenty world jewel will buy a minor plane. collector!"

Urghut grinned.. “the items I am presenting today will all be unique,and will be geared toward offense and defensive aspects, you should have noticed the growing unrest amongst the planes, frankly if I hold on to these items a little while longer, it’s won’t be strange for the prices to triple in value. So my dearest friend, what will be your choice?”

The warlock snorted and replied, "you wield the title of friendship at your discretion... greedy creature "

Urghut performed a broken heart gesture, " you wound me, dearest friend" I have other richer patrons I could run to. The Ashanti Matriarch of the spider enclaves, the Ancient Dragons with their inestimable hoards, the....

“Enough...collector, twenty world jewel it is.”

“Good choice my friend, now for the next item".

An eleven foot long spear was summoned from the black shroud.urghut drew it out pole first, a red tassel attached at the base of the blade, a sanguine aura poured out from the weapon, as a thick taste of blood was perceived at the back of the throat. Vision of fields littered with bodies that continued to the ends of the horizon.

A giant made of bone holding a spear eighty feet long, standing among the fallen, the faces of the dead......smiling. It was their honour they died to this weapon.

A beautiful city made if glass stood proud in the distance, piercing cries rose from the city of glass, as a river of blood poured from the battlefield and drowned the magnificent city.

Blinking away the vision, Urghut handled the weapon with care, a look of distaste on his face

“from Menhit, Principality Of war. The spear of his fallen champion. This nameless weapon has tasted the blood of gods"

Peering up at him, the warlock exclaimed, “ I have heard tales of this fell weapon. All its wielders went mad with blood lust. Even the champion of war, turned its blade against his master, War itself...... unless”. He seemed to have come to a realisation, "The Bowl of Tanat!"

“ Yes my friend. Urghut smiled, all the benefits of this powerful weapon, with none of its drawbacks”. Urghut lifted his shoulders in pride, a comical look for the stout dwarf.

“how much?”

“fifty world jewel, this weapon is peerlessly sharp, nigh indestructible and most important drains life-force, memory and essence from the unfortunate souls pierced by its blade. Until everyone around is dead, the user is practically invincible, a note of warning though, the holder of this blade will encounter increasingly difficult calamities until they perish, of course this is a weapon only to be drawn at a moment of despair for only the mad will keep this weapon by their side”.

Greed pulsed from the warlock “ I want this weapon"

“It is yours"

Next a dried set of parchments were unfurled, golden scripts were written on it that drew the eyes, for they wiggled like snakes, faint chants were heard from it, and a clarity of mind was bestowed to the seated. the warlock drew in a breath.

“ Can this be?....”

“Oh yes, a key to the arcane enclaves, there are only four spots left... this is among the last four”, Urghut gestured to the parchment, "even if the keepers vault is yet to be found, the auxiliary use of this key is inestimable, containing the breath of Isis, this will rapidly boost the comprehension of spells to an amazing degree... and also gives additional mana when bonded to an owner up to two times the mana pool of the user, that can grow with them.”

The warlock was shaking with barely concealed excitement, in a strained voice

“How much?”

“One hundred world jewel"

“ you.....” sigh.... “I will take it “

“hahaha....Good choice, the next is sure delight you.”

“Please stop collector, your selection are really of the utmost quality, but I fear I won’t be able to purchase your crown jewel.”

Urghut smirked, “ wise decision warlock, no pockets is deep enough for my items. Except". He squeezed his face in a weird mix of distaste and longing, " those dragon on slumbering hoards ten thousand mile deep, and that mad King that could drag treasures from across time and space." He frowned, clearly he had a love-hate relationship with the ultra wealthy powerhouses of the universe.

Urghut cleared his throat, ” along my travels I came across a special soul that was fused with an orisha"

“ what happened to its fused counterparts? “

“destroyed and consumed"

“ a soul once merged with a god holds incalculable knowledge”..... urghut whispered__ forbidden knowledge. Now that the god is dead, there is no possibility to arouse the anger of the divine. But if this was all to this soul it won’t be worth my time, even if it was Herald touched." Urghut paused for a while.

The warlock shifted in anticipation, fiddling with hands that drew reds lines in the air that reeked of blood. Satisfied he had an enraptured audience, Urghut continued “Even though the tales of these souls have been wiped away from all records of both the celestial and demonic halls, with all other powers agreeing to bury all their legacies.... You should have heard mention of the plague that swept through the universe three million cycles ago. In the dark circles of your spire, I believe extensive records were kept.”

The warlock went still and in a trembling whisper said “ The union between light and dark, the holders of chaos and order, the fallen ones – An Absolute Soul!" He paused and muttered under his breath "Nephilim."

Urghut smiled and brought out a sealed container, inside floated a green burning soul, it’s light casted on the red fog Painting it with a luminescent glow.

The warlock lifted his hand towards the soul, “ I sense so much pain and sorrow from this soul” he retracted his hand “but no legacies, or runic imprints, it has been cleansed. but the flames of the Herald is still burning. it’s in constant pain, only the absolute nature of it’s soul keeps it stable.... What offense did this being commit to warrant such torments”.

Urghut snickered “ say what you will about the Herald, but do not deny the utility of this soul, I know of the vast weapons of war that fell race left behind, even rumors of your esteemed Red Tower rooting itself in the bones of their patriarch. It has no legacies but maybe it is a key to drive your research forward”.

The warlock contemplated for a while

“State your price!”

A few moments later Urghut emerged from the tent, smiling widely, a short while later he was a dot on the horizon.

A loud call was heard from the tent, and in a while various minor warlocks and acolytes streamed in and out of the tents, there was a sense of anticipation in the air, as the muted whispers of the camp became gradually heated.

Suddenly a loud thump was heard and more sounds of mini explosion kept sounding in intervals.. A sudden massive explosion occurred that swayed the entire tent. A scream of rage resounded within

“ WHAT IS THIS BETRAYAL. THIS..... THIS IS TRASH!!!”