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"Mistress?"
The Red Lady came out of the portal almost immediately as soon as she went in, turned around, just as before. The only difference is that this time she came out running, moving far too fast for the guard.
"Oh, I could kiss you!" the Red Lady embraced the guard, almost knocking him over. The red chitin covering her forelimbs clicked and clacked against his yellow carapace as her mouthparts wiggled about wildly in front of his face and her antennae caressed his.
"Mistress, Mistress!" he pleaded, "My purity! You are filling my head with unholy desires! Please do not test me, please! I do not wish to soil your pure image." He knew that you do not deny the Red Lady, but all the same, he was doing his best to push her off of him, as gently and firmly as his four forelimbs could manage.
███████, remembering herself, backed off. "Ah, yes, you passed the test, and your purity shall guarantee you remain sacred in Scarabas's many eyes." Yes, it was a test of faith and will imposed by a giant holy red beetle-woman, not a homesick goddess-in-the-(human)flesh. Thank goodness that illusion was permanent.
"All the same, I will have to pray and fast for several days to purge myself of impure thoughts," he said.
"Are you complaining about having to pray?" all four of her forelimbs cross in front of her prosternum and one of her foot claws started tapping on the cave floor.
"No, mistress, it is a joy to pray and fast!"
"Hmmm..." she gives him a skeptical look. "You know what will also work? Ridding this world of a few meatbags and stealing their bones."
"But mistress, such contact with humans will dirty our souls!"
She shakes her head at him, bringing a claw up to her head. "Haven't I taught you, haven't I revealed to you Scarabas's will? You will never be pure until there is nothing but us scarabites on this planet, for everything else in creation has rejected Scarabas's wisdom. They crave interaction, they fall into sin, even with us. We alone crave isolation, even from each other, as it is through isolation that we are enlightened. Yes, we sully ourselves with their blood when we kill them, but it is necessary. By killing them, you plead to Scarabas for future strength, so that when the world is pure, your sanctity will be greater, and enlightenment shall be your eternal reward. It is better than sitting alone with your thoughts, your memories of me and what I did too you, how I tested you, how I tempted you toward sin, and how I will tempt you, I will tempt you relentlessly, until your soul is heavy with your own lust and your indifference, so heavy that you cannot even dream of enlightenment anymore."
He swallowed hard. His head was awash in terrible thoughts all at war with eachother. The Lady had a frightening ability to make those she disliked to condemn themselves to their own personal hells of guilt. Her words were prophesy. "What can I do, mistress?"
"Gather up a party, we go hunting tonight."
It is nearly midnight when ███████ and a contingent of insectoid assassins reach the ruins of old Carrallangar via an ancient spell. Carrallangar, fortress of her old foe Zaros, destroyed by her new foes after he fell. She spits at the ground, disgusted by his memory.
"We hunt dragons and those that hunt them," she says as she leads them to the south west. "Of course, the dragons will breathe fire at you, but the hunters will probably have antifire gear on them, usually a just a shield, sometimes potions as they usually travel light so they can pack a lot of loot on their trip back. Kill them or steal their shields away from them and let the dragons take care of them."
The assassins followed in her footsteps. In her human footsteps. To bring up the impressions the Red Lady left on the ground was heresy. It was a test of faith which she knew her followers could pass. The humans were not so easily convinced and the lady had to cast magic upon their eyes and upon the dust of the ground in order to walk among them. This was Doctrine.
They reached a rift, and climbed down into the Chaos Tunnels below.
Before the Sun climbed into the sky to grant the gift of new life to His Lands below, the Red Lady and her assassins had made their way back home to the caves below Pollnivneach, carrying bags full of bones. Complete skeletons of both dragon and human, defleshed by the red Lady's purifying fire. The bags were brought into the Holy of Holies, where only the Red Lady would pray.
Along with a fresh supply of marrentil.
As the scent of the fragrant herb wafts over, ███████ has to suppress a shudder. It has been so long. "Thank you, my brothers!" she says to the gathered assassins, their yellow, chitinous exoskeletons covered in dust and blood. "We have done a great thing tonight, in Scarabas' eyes. But Scarabas demands perfect purity, and in doing his will, we have sullied ourselves. However it is a minor stain compared to the larger one that would have remained on this beautiful world because of our inaction. Go then, purify your selves, and I will pray, I will pray for forgiveness for each of you and for our continued strength. I need to be alone, as do you."
With that, the assassins skitter off into their individual nooks and crannies of the cave to be alone, to become clean.
███████ draws the curtains closed on the Holy of Holies and buries her face in the fresh marrentil, taking in its intoxicating aroma for the first time in a whole month. Trembling, she takes two leaves and places the in the incense burners at either side of the altar. Feeling the bones were too far away, she brings the bags in closer to the altar, but frustration and anticipation soon overwhelms her. On the altar was a golden statuette of a scarab, its claws raised up toward a sun disk. No... this isn't for you. It will never be for you or any of the inferior godlings Father brought up out of the dirt! The scarab falls and skitters off the altar, crashing to the ground as ███████ approaches.
A silver ankh appeared in her right hand and a stand appeared in her left. Where the golden scarab once was, ███████ props up the ankh, upside down. The burners spark and smoke, and the world outside the Holy of Holies fades away, replaced by bones, mounds and mounds of bones. As marrentil smoke fills the air, ███████'s eyes roll back. "Nn..not yours, not my brother's, not my faAAther's, nnNnno one. MMmmine... all mine. Guhh!"
In ecstasy, ███████ collapses on the floor.
The Red Lady came out of the portal almost immediately as soon as she went in, turned around, just as before. The only difference is that this time she came out running, moving far too fast for the guard.
"Oh, I could kiss you!" the Red Lady embraced the guard, almost knocking him over. The red chitin covering her forelimbs clicked and clacked against his yellow carapace as her mouthparts wiggled about wildly in front of his face and her antennae caressed his.
"Mistress, Mistress!" he pleaded, "My purity! You are filling my head with unholy desires! Please do not test me, please! I do not wish to soil your pure image." He knew that you do not deny the Red Lady, but all the same, he was doing his best to push her off of him, as gently and firmly as his four forelimbs could manage.
███████, remembering herself, backed off. "Ah, yes, you passed the test, and your purity shall guarantee you remain sacred in Scarabas's many eyes." Yes, it was a test of faith and will imposed by a giant holy red beetle-woman, not a homesick goddess-in-the-(human)flesh. Thank goodness that illusion was permanent.
"All the same, I will have to pray and fast for several days to purge myself of impure thoughts," he said.
"Are you complaining about having to pray?" all four of her forelimbs cross in front of her prosternum and one of her foot claws started tapping on the cave floor.
"No, mistress, it is a joy to pray and fast!"
"Hmmm..." she gives him a skeptical look. "You know what will also work? Ridding this world of a few meatbags and stealing their bones."
"But mistress, such contact with humans will dirty our souls!"
She shakes her head at him, bringing a claw up to her head. "Haven't I taught you, haven't I revealed to you Scarabas's will? You will never be pure until there is nothing but us scarabites on this planet, for everything else in creation has rejected Scarabas's wisdom. They crave interaction, they fall into sin, even with us. We alone crave isolation, even from each other, as it is through isolation that we are enlightened. Yes, we sully ourselves with their blood when we kill them, but it is necessary. By killing them, you plead to Scarabas for future strength, so that when the world is pure, your sanctity will be greater, and enlightenment shall be your eternal reward. It is better than sitting alone with your thoughts, your memories of me and what I did too you, how I tested you, how I tempted you toward sin, and how I will tempt you, I will tempt you relentlessly, until your soul is heavy with your own lust and your indifference, so heavy that you cannot even dream of enlightenment anymore."
He swallowed hard. His head was awash in terrible thoughts all at war with eachother. The Lady had a frightening ability to make those she disliked to condemn themselves to their own personal hells of guilt. Her words were prophesy. "What can I do, mistress?"
"Gather up a party, we go hunting tonight."
It is nearly midnight when ███████ and a contingent of insectoid assassins reach the ruins of old Carrallangar via an ancient spell. Carrallangar, fortress of her old foe Zaros, destroyed by her new foes after he fell. She spits at the ground, disgusted by his memory.
"We hunt dragons and those that hunt them," she says as she leads them to the south west. "Of course, the dragons will breathe fire at you, but the hunters will probably have antifire gear on them, usually a just a shield, sometimes potions as they usually travel light so they can pack a lot of loot on their trip back. Kill them or steal their shields away from them and let the dragons take care of them."
The assassins followed in her footsteps. In her human footsteps. To bring up the impressions the Red Lady left on the ground was heresy. It was a test of faith which she knew her followers could pass. The humans were not so easily convinced and the lady had to cast magic upon their eyes and upon the dust of the ground in order to walk among them. This was Doctrine.
They reached a rift, and climbed down into the Chaos Tunnels below.
Before the Sun climbed into the sky to grant the gift of new life to His Lands below, the Red Lady and her assassins had made their way back home to the caves below Pollnivneach, carrying bags full of bones. Complete skeletons of both dragon and human, defleshed by the red Lady's purifying fire. The bags were brought into the Holy of Holies, where only the Red Lady would pray.
Along with a fresh supply of marrentil.
As the scent of the fragrant herb wafts over, ███████ has to suppress a shudder. It has been so long. "Thank you, my brothers!" she says to the gathered assassins, their yellow, chitinous exoskeletons covered in dust and blood. "We have done a great thing tonight, in Scarabas' eyes. But Scarabas demands perfect purity, and in doing his will, we have sullied ourselves. However it is a minor stain compared to the larger one that would have remained on this beautiful world because of our inaction. Go then, purify your selves, and I will pray, I will pray for forgiveness for each of you and for our continued strength. I need to be alone, as do you."
With that, the assassins skitter off into their individual nooks and crannies of the cave to be alone, to become clean.
███████ draws the curtains closed on the Holy of Holies and buries her face in the fresh marrentil, taking in its intoxicating aroma for the first time in a whole month. Trembling, she takes two leaves and places the in the incense burners at either side of the altar. Feeling the bones were too far away, she brings the bags in closer to the altar, but frustration and anticipation soon overwhelms her. On the altar was a golden statuette of a scarab, its claws raised up toward a sun disk. No... this isn't for you. It will never be for you or any of the inferior godlings Father brought up out of the dirt! The scarab falls and skitters off the altar, crashing to the ground as ███████ approaches.
A silver ankh appeared in her right hand and a stand appeared in her left. Where the golden scarab once was, ███████ props up the ankh, upside down. The burners spark and smoke, and the world outside the Holy of Holies fades away, replaced by bones, mounds and mounds of bones. As marrentil smoke fills the air, ███████'s eyes roll back. "Nn..not yours, not my brother's, not my faAAther's, nnNnno one. MMmmine... all mine. Guhh!"
In ecstasy, ███████ collapses on the floor.