Lineage

"Lineage" is an EU thread.
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
=== Part I ===
The Empress: “Nyarlathotep blast it.” Zol uttered a curse upon her carriage the world hadn’t heard for a few thousand years. The axle of her carriage had sheared in half on the road as she was in pursuit of her quarry. A member of the family she was chasing was growing closer with each town she passed through, the memory of them fresher in each town and village. 
But this could put her days behind, and she couldn’t leave her provisions behind. There was a wealth of oddities and treasures tucked away that would be scavenged the moment she left. All she could do was await the arrival of more travelers.
The Demons: The thundering of hooves drew her attention up ahead, and a faint cloud of dust marked two horses sprinting down the road towards her. The two panicked men widened their eyes and pulled up with difficulty, their steeds’ eyes rolling as they sidestepped nervously. “You should watch out, miss!” one of them cried. “Turn around! There’s a great beast attacking the town up ahead! We barely escaped with our lives!”
“A vicious devil if I ever saw one!” his companion agreed in between his heavy panting. “Leave with your breath in your body while you still have it!” And with that, the two sped off again to retrieve backup and warn any more incoming travelers.
The Empress: Well at least a town is nearby.
 She dug through her caravan, retrieving a pack filled with supplies and a small sheathed blade. Taking one last glance around Zol decided to leave the rest. 
I at least have the luxury of time to track it back down again. If it goes missing. 
She muttered a spell under her breath as she closed the door behind her, hoping it would at least deter any would be thieves. She took the yolk off of her landwyrm, before mounting it and heading off in the direction the two men came from.
The Demons: The village was not far off, and from a distance one could hear the screams of civilians and a see few lines of smoke from overturned forges and campfires. The ground quaked occasionally now and again, rather like someone quite large was hitting it with an enormous hammer. A good number of the townsfolk were hovering nervously on the outskirts, discussing rapidly among themselves what there was to be done. There was a particularly enormous crash and across the main Street, a blurry circular form raced by, making the bystanders cringe and duck.
The Empress: If I’m right…
Zol dismounted from her landwyrm and began walking closer to the source of the conundrum.
…Then the saying “the apple does not fall far from the tree,” really applies here.
She quietly mused to herself as she sidestepped debris flying by every so often. 
The Demons: The people watched her with wide eyes as she walked casually to the center of town, where the most damage was being done. The main hall was in shattered ruins, timbers strewn across the cracked flagstones, and parchment fluttered across the ground in charred strips. There was a deep, bellowing warble and from Zol’s left thundered the same rolling monster, nearly fifteen feet high and covered in thick, dusty scales. It barely missed the woman and slammed into the building to her right, smashing the wall in a cloud of dust and flying shrapnel.
The form thrashed and flailed for a moment and finally got to its feet, which were huge and flat, and lifted it’s skeletal head. Its entire body was stout and thick and churning with muscle; it was little more than a round reptilian body on two huge legs and an enormous, flat tail that crushed tables and counters with a few agitated smacks. The bone-covered head swing back and forth, snuffling and growling. It sensed something, something more than the tiny human in front of it. It began to walk forward slowly, a deep, garbled language rumbling from its throat.
The Empress: “Fl ihn’b ihgmj’vlg… al nb f’gnjv je rmga he oep…” [Be still child, I won’t hurt you]
Zol strode forward, outstretching her hand and stopping a few meters in front of the beast. 
“rmh m’gl oep denjv, ro m’gl oep rl’gl?” [What’s are you doing here? Why are you destroying this place?]
The Demons: The beast paused, ears shooting upright in recognition of the daemon tongue. The tiny lights of white pupils flickered inside his eyes and he bent down and turned his head to inspect Zol, alert and curious. Ni gh’d…kw'q…oeg, he rumbled in a slow, gravelly voice. They are fun to chase.
The Empress: “Hrlo m’gljh zeg s’rmw’njv, mo srnb’d… Oep an’vrh vlh rp’gh nz clw hr’ni pw…” [They aren’t for chasing, little one… You might get hurt if you keep this up.]
Zol reached forward even more and ran a hand along the skull. Her voice caught in her throat as a faint trickling of familiarity ran through her. Her irises flashed purple.
The Demons: The demon relaxed its stance, nudging the woman’s hand, and a deep hum permeated the air. Rw i’ch vg’eq aeh…Nyctyph, iur ny’d. Aeh…py’w ynbr. My brother Nyctyph watches me, he went away. I miss him. He made a dejected sound, slowly plopping down on his bottom with his tail sticking out between his legs. His mind spread outwards, nudging against various other consciousnesses, looking for the familiar colors of his brother’s essence. The people watched fearfully from the fringes of the village, still expecting Zol to be gobbled up by the monster. 
The Empress: She shook her head, clearing the nostalgia. “Hrlj l nb ilmg’sr zeg rna..”[Then we will search for him.]
She gave him a faint smile and beckoned for her landwyrm. 
I can make a good guess where Nyctyph was heading.
=== Part II ===
The Empress: Zol rode further South following the road, having Shi’Pai stay on the outskirts of towns while she went to gather information. It seemed the newest quarry wasn’t far ahead of them and she hoped to catch up soon. She pushed her wyrm and the demon as fast as they could take her. until they reached the largest city on the Eastern reaches. 
This place will either be a boon or a bust on finding this Nyctyph, I’m hoping for the former. Although it would help if I knew what they looked like.
She went to the central market and began to ask around for any clues, Shi’Pai staying in the woods to the North with her mount. Not daring to reach out with her magics, her essence might cause a stir in the world she didn’t need to deal with now.
The Demons: The Caesar had no such boundaries; he kept erratically contacting her with excited queries and helpful hints (He is tall! Like mountains! And houses! And tall grass!) and had to keep reminding himself not to chase the exciting humans and horses, eventually wandering away into the trees and sitting himself down, staring very hard away from the city.
But within the maze of buildings, something suddenly grew alert and lifted its head. Something powerful was coming, something possibly dangerous. He had to stop it. A spindly figure detached itself from the shadows of an infirmary and strode into the back alley, causing muggers and drunkards alike to steer clear.
The Empress: Hel blast this demon, a thousand times over, stop your hiding. 
Zol wandered more, daring her essence out every so often hoping to find Nyctyph. It was exciting honestly, this was the most fun she’d had since the days of old. She mused over the idea of finally encountering this young demon, playing it out in her mind. She had trouble resisting the urge to add a little flare to it every time it played through her head. 
Eventually she stopped in a nearly deserted alley, they were close. 
The Demons: One of her searching tendrils was suddenly lashed at by a blazingly bright snap of energy, and Nyctyph whipped his head around at the contact. He broadcasted his mechanical astral voice out to a wide radius as he quickly moved out of the shadows: Show yourself, demon. The meager sunlight hit his tall, skeletal form, his masklike face and halo-shaped crest shining he same dull, bone-white as the Caesar’s own skull. Six hooked appendages unfolded from his back and he crouched slightly, six narrow eyes sweeping the alley back and forth, trying to pick out the intruder from among the now-profoundly-afraid rabble surrounding him. 
The Empress: “You know, it is fascinating, really, how much of her essence I see in you now. This close at least.” Zol stepped between two mortified vagabond-like characters. Her eyes sparked orange as she drew closer to Nyctyph. “You can drop the act, child. Unless you want me to have to go through the trouble of explaining to her the idiocy of her descendant.” She smiled through the pain of the memories bubbling forward.
Her hand rested on the hilt of her dagger as she took a defensive stance.
The Demons: The Viceroy widened his eyes, limbs trembling for a second. He hadn’t expected her to come forward—or to use such language and threats.
Child? he sniffed, raising his head. You come and hunt me down in nothing more than the feeble body of a rotting mortal, pathetic demon. You should consider yourself lucky the hunters have not arrived yet. Who are you, and why do you speak of my mother as if you knew her? If you answer, I may let you live.
The Empress: “Adorable, really. Flailing his powers about and making empty threats. But I am curious about these hunters, are they as daft as you?” She laughed. “She would get upset at me for being so cryptic now. But straight answers just take the joy out of these verbal parlays.”
Zol stepped forward, “I’m curious though, Nyctyph, why did you abandon poor Shi’Pai to make such a mess of a mortal city?” Motes of light emanating a rainbow of colors began to fall like dust in a trail following her motions.
The Demons: Shi’pa—The wires and tendons in Nyctyph’s body coiled and tensed with an audible sliding sound. I’ve been looking for that oaf for days… He stepped closer in response to her movement. Surely you lie. You do not know Mother, and he would not have told y—
A familiar, thunderous sound echoed down the alleyway, and the Caesar himself came barreling down the street, head rolled into his tail and feet tucked in at his sides, like a loose wagon wheel. He bounced upright behind Zol and danced from foot to foot, making the buildings tremble, and let out a happy, very loud warble. Brother! I found you! The nice Zol helped!
Shi’pai, what did I tell you about running away like that!? The Viceroy was twitching at the joints now; he swept past the strange demon and stood protectively in front of his brother, glaring at her. The name he’d just heard…it was so, so vaguely familiar…or perhaps it simply reminded him of something similar. Answer me, demon; we have little time now for such games. Who are you?
The Empress: “As far as I know, I have all the time in the world for games. And you already know who I am, I’m Zol.” She strode forward again, releasing the grip on her dagger. She stepped uncomfortably close to the Viceroy, examining his body “Is she nearby? Your mother, that is.”
The Demons: Nyctyph snorted again, tucking in his limbs delicately under her scrutiny, but refusing to back down. Zol, he muttered under his breath, struggling to remember. She is not. She lives on the west coast of the Wastelands. I do not see why it matters; do you plan to threaten her as well? She is not one to be trifled with. Shi’pai had lost track of the conversation and was happily sniffing the onlookers, who were still distinctly wary but unwilling to miss a demonic confrontation. 
The Empress: “No, far from it. I think after all these years it’s time for us to talk again. It’s been far too long.” Zol withdrew her inquisitive gaze and looked directly into his eyes. “And you would do well to respect your grandmother, Nyctyph.”
The Demons: Had nobody been watching the Viceroy beforehand, they would have thought he had been a statue all along. He stared unblinkingly at the woman’s wrinkled eyes, noticing the slight shift in inhuman colors, remembering the ancient strangeness he felt when he had initially come into contact with her essence. Finally remembering the name that had been escaping him for the last ten minutes.
H’zola…
The new knowledge made him shiver. The Caesar looked up inquisitively at the change in atmosphere, but the Viceroy continued to stare at the wild woman before him. consciousness scrambling. Nala had told them her mother had disappeared hundreds of years ago, that she had left Bloedrest to ruin out of grief, that she had left her children alone. The bittersweet tinge of his mother’s voice carried into his own as he finally murmured, Impossible. 
The Empress: “I wonder what you truly know of me, youngling. How her stories of me aged and obfuscate how you see me now.” H’zola smiled wide. “But I come back to the mortal realms now and I wish to see my estranged daughter and her kin now.” She twisted past him and went to stroke Caesar along the jaw. Running a finger along admiring their forms. “I especially would like to meet whoever crafts your bodies now, they have a style that Igl would have enjoyed.” 
H’zola patted Caesar on the shoulder. “Did my wyrm follow you?”
The Demons: Shi’pai wagged his tail up and down. Wyrm follow! Wyrm slow, but wyrm follow.
Nyctyph gave a rattling, metallic sigh. He will be eager to meet you as well. He studied Igl’s records in great length. All of my siblings will have many questions, as a matter of fact. His six eyes narrowed one pair after the other. Including myself.
The Empress: “Then ask away my dear, we’ve a long road ahead of us and plenty of time to talk.” She began walking back pulling a rattle out of her satchel to call her mount. “That is, if you plan to guide me to where Nala is. I would like to see her sooner than later. And the rest of your kin, of course.” 
Category:The Empress
Category:The Caesar
Category:The Viceroy
Category:Legacy