Meanwhile in the Land of Nifl
Meanwhile in the Land of Nifl.
A dark host...more of a rabble if one were trying to be honest about it...was gathered in an undulating mass of thousands on one side of the nothingness. Opposite them, was gathered a bright host...organized most naturally into neat columns made up of straight lines of glowing beings.
A voice most foul rang out across the nothingness. "What news of your envoy? Did he pierce the veil? Has he returned?" The question was punctuated by screams and howls from the dark host. Mad laughter...and screeches of pain or pleasure...or both.
When quiet returned to the nothingness, a clear melodic voice answered from among the bright host. "He did punctuate the veil...but he was killed and will not return." This answer was followed by the beautiful singing of an orchestral choir sung in perfect harmony.
The foul voice called out across the gap between darkness and light. "Did the King himself kill him? Was it his Deacon of Decay...or perhaps his Bishop?" Again, the sounds of madness from the dark half of this gathering rang out into the nothingness of Nifl.
An answer was sung in return, with perfect tone and rhythm. "No...he passed the veil unnoticed. Humans killed him...with users of magic among them." As the choir sung a figurative chorus to the answer, it clashed with cries of rage and frustration from the dark host. A combined song that was at once beautiful and awful rippled out into the great void from this meeting of great powers.
When everything settled, and the oppressive silence again returned, it was the foul voice that rebelled against the quiet once more. "We have both succeeded and failed. But, discord brings knowledge. Failure births inspiration. We will be denied our proper place no longer."
And the Dark and the Bright intertwined, as the world-breaking sound of a thousand thunderclaps, ringing out all at once, filled the vast emptiness of the Land of Nifl.
