The First Lich Lord

Chapter 154

I caught the dagger out of the air when Raven tossed it to me. I held the priest down on the altar. The powerful death energy contained within beginning to leak through the ritual. Nothing had fundamentally changed. Id hope somehow the altar would absorb the death energy.

The bishop struggled, becoming aware of what was going on. You monster, he snarled.

I brought the dagger down, pouring mana into it to activate the swift sacrifice in total sacrifice abilities. The dagger slammed into his chest punching through the robes with ease and penetrating his heart. The priest gasped as the final dregs of his life were ripped out by the dagger. The remnants of his lifeforce poured into the altar as he died, his eyes full of horror and hate. I guess I didnt blame him.

Nothing happened at first. Though something definitely had stabilized within. I tentatively placed my hand on the altar, trying to figure out what was going on. A window popped up after a moment of concentration.

Profaned Death Altar

This is an unclaimed altar.

The power of this altar was changed forcibly with the application of divine energy and death energy. Its nature was then further twisted and altered when the high priest of its temple was sacrificed on it. The altar now emits a powerful death aura, and weak souls that venture too close will be doomed to die.

A revenant is bound to this altar. The priest who died refused his death in such a means that a fragment of his soul remained behind and has become a revenant that now haunts this altar. The only way this revenant will be tamed is by the altar being claimed by a dark god or by being purified.

As a member of an order that serves a god, you can claim this altar for your god. Do you wish to do so?

Y/N

I out of instinct hit yes, having forgotten that the Order of Equinox was technically speaking, a religious order. There was a pause and then another notification appeared before me.

Your god has declined control of the altar.

Thanks, but no thanks. I dont really use altars. In particular, this is not my style, sacrificing a high priest on his own altar, yikes man. Then again, Olattee is a little bit of a dick anyways. Keep up the good work.

Ekwin

Somehow, I wasnt surprised that the god of balance didnt want a profaned death altar. I would have to remember to send a message back to Vito. I was certain this new death priest he was creating would be able to send someone to take control.

Zeke, Im going to get out of here, Raven said. I dont feel great.

Of course. Id forgotten that she would be affected by the altar. I tossed her dagger back to her. She had resistances to death magic, but death energy was a different thing altogether. Abdon, take the prisoners out of here too, I dont want them dying.

Abdon nodded in acknowledgment and he and the others gathered up the members of the temple that had surrendered and hurried them out. As I stepped back from the altar, a shadowy figure rose out of the body of the high priest, the revenant.

It swiped at me with etheric black claws, I didnt bother to stop it. It tore at me, but the only thing it could hurt would be my soul, which was not easily done. The death magic and energy contained within the revenant was meaningless against me. More shadowy figures began to rise from the fallen, spirits. They were no threat to me but nonetheless I left the temple, it would no longer be a problem.

I left the captives under the guard of a platoon of bone guards and remounted Shadow, heading to the fortress with my squad. As we approached, I heard Maxwell playing. Coming around the corner I saw him. On the back of Snappy, a small stage had been built out of bone for him and his skeletal band. Around Snappy and the stage floated different sound nodes emitting music. It was the tail end of Bodies by Drowning Pool.

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***

Colonel Demetrius! A voice stirred Igerna Demetrius, commander of Fort Ost, from a restless sleep. Hammering on his door followed.

This better be good, Demetrius snarled, checking a magical time keep he had on the wall. The sun would be rising in a few hours. Then he heard it, the alarm horns blaring across the city. That sped up his movements. He grabbed his sword and threw on a chain mail shirt and helmet, he didnt have time for his armor.

Whats the situation? Demetrius demanded as he burst through his door.

A fog bank rolled in, and with it we were attacked by an undead army, the lieutenant informed him. Demetrius thought his name was Padre, but he wasnt certain.

If they arent already up, get me Lieutenant Colonels Sagerious and Conse, Demetrius ordered and the lieutenant scrambled away to follow those orders.

Demetrius went down two flights of stairs and turned down the hallway, entering his command room. In the middle of the room was a table that had a map of the city. It wasnt a fancy magical map, but it was very detailed. In the room, Lieutenant Colonel Conse was already talking with several of his captains. They all saluted the colonel as he entered the room.

Talk to me, Cose, Demetrius demanded as he strode for the balcony attached to the room.

Lieutenant colonel and his captains fell in. Happened quick. We lost the outer city for certain, we only barely got the gate closed in time before a horde of specters tried to pour in. The magic of the gate is holding them back for now.

The mustering yard just inside of the forts gate was three stories below him, and that thick fog shrouded it so completely, he only could barely see shapes moving around below. In some places it looked so thick it appeared almost solid.

Why has this not been dispelled yet? Demetrius demanded. Its clearly magical. He was a battle mage, his skills of magic were not that of a wizard, but even he could tell it was a magical fog.

The clerics are working on it, Conse explained. Lieutenant Colonel Sagerious left a moment before you arrived to get them moving faster.

That was good. Sagerious was in charge of the magical side of his force. Send a message to him to have his clerics also activate the fort wide regeneration.

Yes, sir. Conse nodded at one of his captains who ran off. The rest of you, you have your orders, get your troops on the walls and make sure everyone is awake and armed.

How long? Demetrius asked.

The lookout on the wall reported an unusual fog bank rolling in about five minutes before the first horn sounded, and five minutes after that, we barely got the gate closed before the specters rushed in, Conse explained. I was on watch at the time, I was still processing the fog when the horn sounded.

Good job getting the gate closed, Demetrius said. Hopefully the reason they rushed the gate is that they are a weak force and needed to take us by surprise.

We know for certain this is not an undead horde that is undirected, Conse nodded along. The fog bank and the coordination seems too great for that.

Demetrius was about to respond when an eerie purple light began to shine through the portcullis gate. The light grew in intensity and power where a regular spell wouldve been cast within only a few seconds. That was something more. Get a runner to Sagerious! he shouted. Tell him to focus on defensive barriers on the gate, the blood be dammed. He wished they had the communication discs theyd been promised. He doubted the runners would make it in time, his only hope was that the lieutenant colonel would see.

The eerie purple light poured through the gate, growing brighter and brighter until the fog below him was illuminated like a lake of purple cotton. The wizards casting room was higher up in the fort and would not have a straight line of sight to the fog unless they were standing near the edge. His magical senses alerted him to a pulse of magic from above, and he swore as the fog lessened.

As if timed together, an alarm flared in the room telling him that the captain of the city guard had just been killed moments after his wizards attempted to dispel the fog. A moment after the alarm flared, there was an explosion that rocked the entire fort.

The portcullis gate was thrown across the mustering yard, slamming into the building a floor below him. Eerie purple fire spread out in a torrent. The worst part was shadowy figures now poured into the gate. Scarlet magic built around Demetrius as he began to build his own spell. Now were down to the brass tax I guess.

There were tall powerful figures striding through the purple flames, around them were zombies with glowing eyes. The tall figure in the middle looked up at him, and their eyes met for the briefest of moments. He knew the power he saw there. Eldritch power had come.

In a moments hesitation when he was caught that tall womans gaze, a death mage and two necromancers struck.

A bolt of black death lightning hammered into Demetrius, accompanied by two missiles that exploded, releasing waves of death magic across the fort. Demetrius stood at the center. His spell overwhelmed by the immense power brought to bear. He might technically be stronger than any one of his opponents, but it didnt matter when one was so completely overwhelmed.

As Demetriuss fire spell came apart, he was so encased in death magic, the spell didnt end. The black death lightning leapt from him and tore through the building, striking a soldier and jumped to another one. It changed multiple times across the fort. The flesh that the power flowed through rotted and died instead of searing.

Demetrius was barely alive, only conscious he was falling, the balcony hed been standing completely destroyed. The ground rushed up to meet him. He saw one of the figures wielding twin war hammers already swinging for his head. His corpse slammed into the far wall a moment later.