Roughly every 100 years a necromancer tries to raise a berserker from the dead, and for the next 99 years every tome is updated to warn against this. But as the knowledge gets lost another necromancer tries yet again.
Here lay the sundered remains of the Bedamned Champion of Oletheron, Who-Revels-In-Blood, who struck down the Towers of the Faithful, slaughtered the Exalted Builders of Oikodion, and razed the lands to the horizon.
May it molder and wither in death. Incapable of peace, let it rest in silence and separation until all memory of it fades into eternity.
--from ancient runic carvings in the First Tomb of Ruin, believed to have been left by Episone, the last survivor of the fall of Prodomine
~*~*~*~
To: His Imperial Majesty, Keizen, Sovereign of the Regal House of D'Entaelin, King of Galathin, Protector of the Mid Reaches, Defender of the Faiths, Shield of the Arcanic Colleges, et al
Sire--
The job is done. The Bedamned Champion lies dead once more, at great cost, numerated below.
- 3 complete Imperial Legions, the 3rd, 7th, & 8th. (Their standards are in my keeping and will return to Galath with me.)
- ~80% of Logistica for the above. The Reveler did not discriminate in its victims.
- A cohort of Bellicon League warriors. (The lone survivor, Tiran Soldat, returning with this missive.)
- 9 Archmagi of the Conclavum Arcanum.
Diviner Teicari tells me that The-Reveler-In-Blood was raised from its eternal rest at the behest of Beryl-Eye. The only saving grace is that B-E was the Reveler's first victim after he raised it. Apparently this only required returning its head to its body, whereupon some devil-born magic began the restoration of the Reveler's body to life.
The head is inside the locked adamantine box, impaled on an orichalcum spike. Tei tells me this will inhibit whatever magic animated it, but as destroying its skeleton has proven impossible, the best choice for preventing the Reveler's resurrection is keeping its remains separate. Court Archmage Abedin should know what to do with the head.
It will be some weeks here putting out the fires, literal and figurative, before I can return to Galath. Honor demands I at least begin the restoration work here in Elandor.
Lastly, if I may, Your Majesty-- forgive my frank words, but I WARNED YOU. Beryl-Eye was too dangerous to be left alive, no matter if Abedin and the Conclavum had stripped him of all of his magical power. Tei believes that B-E forged a pact with some profane patron to regain some measure of power. Exactly which entity he contracted, Tei isn't sure yet but suspects it may have been Oletheron. This all could have been avoided if you'd had him executed to start with.
Your faithful servant I remain,
--Andro Victor Bravis, Lord General of All Imperial Legions, Militus Primaris
~*~*~*~
"Sorry, your study concerns what, again? 'The Ruiner?'"
"That's right. Or it might be under 'the Leveler?'"
"Follow me, I'll take you to the books we have about the subject."
"Oh, there's multiple works? That should help--"
(chuckles) "Something like that. Tell me about what you know about the Ruiner?"
"A demon, or as close as you can get to one without actually being from the Abyss. Some kind of beast sent by an Abyssal god or something like that. All the stories I've heard say that it's been the monster used by every necromancer that's gotten it in their head to try to conquer the continent."
"Yes, nearly right. The Ruiner, Who-Revels-in-Blood, was one of the worst, most vicious warriors the world has ever seen. Even before they were named Champion by the war-god Oletheron, the Ruiner was unbeaten on the field of battle. And then the Ruiner was made virtually unkillable through the god's blessing."
"And the other gods weren't able to provide a counter to such a blessing?"
"No other god could empower one of Their chosen to the same degree. And Oletheron couldn't undo His blessing without reducing His own power. Look, it's a thorny issue, even the priests won't push the issue when beseeching for answers. Anyway, here we are."
"...That's a big bookcase. Er, which one should I start wi--"
"That one. Top shelf all the way on the left. Read through it, then go through the next, and keep going like that until you get to that one, bottom shelf all the way on the right."
"And this will tell me everything you have on the Ruiner?"
"This will tell you everything about why you don't resurrect it! You read through the entire bookcase, you come back to me. There will be a quiz about this, by the way."
"I'm just doing resear--"
"Research. Yes, you said. That's always how it starts. You're not the first Conclave mage to come just looking to 'do research' about one of the worst continual calamities the world's ever seen. As you can see, we've had to take great pains to impress on you lot why the Ruiner needs to just stay dead."
"Isn't that overkill?"
"Once you finish reading through those tomes, you'll understand a little better. Best get started, boy."
--from an exchange in the Prime Library of the Conclave Arcanum, between Keeper Belibol and an arcanist
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