eldritch mask part 3 back up

The Primal Shadow:

  To the Kuhrai empire it is regarded as an Eldritch being that exists naturally in a primordial Hell and serves one of their three transdimensional goddesses; the goddess of chaos.

  The Ju-el empire likewise considers it an eldritch, however as per obtaining records for the Society of Sorcery while they regard it as an unknown entity as if to remain neutral on the matter; the Dimension Police have classified it as a living organic being; labeled an Omega level cross dimensional contamination threat.

  "I have heard this before," states Rhulan sitting across the table from Xin, "when I was with the Ju-el it was listed among eldritch abominations; that's how i got my target list in the first place. That it is listed significantly higher a threat level than either Og'daga or Yip-Palu is disconcerting; and they never mentioned any mask or other item being required to summon it. In fact they mentioned it just showed up at random on worlds high with magical power and tended to either behave so subtletly as to be mistaken for any number of other supernatural beings, or became an immediate and noticable threat like taking out an entire kingdom and spreading these vampire and monster producing infections."

   Rhulan pauses, "The Suihrai however regard it as a goddess, one and the same with their creator goddess; or in the least part of her, a many levels avatar system where each god or goddess in their pantheon is an aspect of another; this one being second from the top. I've seen what they called the Sea of Chaos and the massive tangle of black vines and branches that are under the Tempest Sea...indirectly granted. Not sure why the Dimension Police would think such a thing is anything but an eldritch...or how the hell a mask even plays into this at all."

   Xin seems to contemplate for a moment, "Well the Dimension Police are convinced its a Suihrai weapon, like they made it and the worshipped it; their descendents not knowing any better. I mean they would know, they've set up systems using Bio-androids as gods just like that on a bunch of worlds; the fact Suihrai tech has the same aesthetic and energy signature as the Primal Shadow doesn't help. As for the mask, its something new, even the library of the Timeless Land can only trace back its personal time as a few thousand years; it seems to move from world to world and across time and realities...not by a will of its own, but like it is tethered to something,"

   "The soul of this kingdom's princessss," Rhulan's words hiss as her tongue temporarily forks.

   Xin *chuckles*, "yeah, looks like it. My best guesses either one of her previous incarnations summoned it and made a contract with it, a previous incarnation was cursed, or the Primal Shadow is really a powerful demon and marked her as its pet and keeps hunting her down."

   "Hmmm," says Rhulan, "I doubt that last one, from what i researched they generally go after the souls between lives to claim them in that case, not slowly haunt around them; the first two...an unfocused due to badly worded contract summoning, or an over the top curse make more sense."

   Rhulan stretches her arms, "In either case our job is to remove the mask from this planet, thus making the murder attempts by the Dimension Police utterly meaningless, and lock it away. I get the feeling destroying it won't work, and as much as I'd love to lock it in a supreme soul catching crystal, I doubt this mask is the main body and probably just an offshoot piece...definetly too high level an eldritch for this to work."

   ******

   -Hours later-

    "The Dimenion Police are simple minded," had said Rhulan before leaving the castle, "they like to think of themselves as champions of Justice; remove the mask and their justification for murder vanished with it; they might even pretend like this was their plan all along just to regain some standing with locals who opposed their methods."

    She had said this to Col, the heir to the throne and father of the Princess, Rhulan had kneeled down and spoke words of comfort to the princess, the look in the princess face was at first one of confussion and then a strange smile like she had just recognized a long lost relative and to everyone's surprise hugged Rhulan and said, "thank you," as Rhulan left, using the Odin's Eye spell to locate the mask her mind drifted back a room of comfort, couches, electrical light, a shaggy bearded man and a young girl; her own daughter; Jihanna; had been about this girl's age when Rhulan had to leave for the Bio-War; not seeing her daughter again till Jihanna was a grown woman.

   "Leaving the Princess unguarded?" asks Harl as he appears from a portal behind Rhulan in the cave, not far from the castle, and just sitting on a stone ledge is a white mask.

   Harl points his sword at the mask, "See it, it appeared here just the other day. The magical mercenary we brought with us placed the seals you saw...and destroyed, along the cave entrance. That thing has been sending psychic whispers to the princess. Before long the child would have wandered off on her own, come to this spot and found that cursed thing; bringing the tragedy with her; you accuse of being murderers. What about all the people that mask kills? It twists innocent after innocent into something resembling its original summoner, then it infects people, animals, plants; that thing acts like an infestation or assimulator class world ender no better than the Dah-hoth or Pha'loo. and you and Xin would have us hand over that weapon to you?"

   "If the mask has no power," says Rhulan coldly, "till its chosen soul claims it as you are clearly implying; officer; then why kill them? Why not just take this and lock it away in some Dimension Police vault?"

   "Its not that...wait!"

   Rhulan waves her hand, glowing blue, over the mask summoning a brilliantly glowing sigil under it, the mask sinks just a little into the sigil when its eyes light up like blue suns and the cave is filled with light and the sound like a banshee scream.

   When the light clears Rhulan finds herself standing on chunck of smashed concrete and steel rods sticking from the chunks amid black waters, a ruined modern city of skyscrapers, dark rolling clouds above; and in the distance what appear to be massive tentacles rising and falling from the water. She is not alone however, not far away Harl is standing on another such chunk of land, with him are the monk and the two swordsmen.

   "Where are we?" asks one of the swordmen, "That cat demon...caught us trying to,"

  "No," says the monk pointing at Rhulan, "that idiot tried to remove the mask of the Primal Shadow by force; as before; as with so many unfortunate others; it pulled her into its dark domain."

   "Why us too then?" asks one of the swordsmen.

  The monk pauses, "good question, Harl and I were at the cave, I waiting to ambush her outside...but not you two."

   Harl shouts, "Sorceress! Do you know where we are? This is your tomb, the world of the Primal Shadow, the dark waters beneath the oldest Hell; the fate of all who try to take possession of the Primal Shadow's mask."

   "Morons," says Rhulan stepping onto the surface of the water.

   "Im...impossible," stammers the monk.

   "It is just water walking," says one of the swordsmen, "and enough talk!"

   His feet glow blue as he leaps into the air.

  "Wait!" shouts Harl as the swordsman lands on the surface of the water, sword drawn, however in an instant hair like black tendrils shoot up from the water, impaling the young man through his feet, legs, arms, neck, head.

   Harl puts his arm out preventing the other young adventurer from going out, "He's already dead,"

  The young adventurer is pulled beneath the water.

  Rhulan is unphased by this and looks about and *shrugs*, "For people who claim to know sooo much about me, they sure don't seem to know about the time I embarrassed the dimension police by reclaiming a mech armor from this very same dimension for the Ju-el. World of the Primal Shadow! Hah! This is the Tempest Sea you fools!"

   There is an explosion to her left as a twisting column of black hair like tendrils erupts from the surface on its end a white mask forms. It bends down, glowing blue discs in the eyes.

   Rhulan speaks, "Rokonaka, Suihrai Ohn Fabra"

   The twisting entity retreats slowly beneath the waves.

   "Is it my imagination," says the young adventurer, "or did that mask look kinda like her own face?"

  "Suihrai," whispers the monk, "Sir Harl, clearly the dark waters do not react to a dragon as they would a man, and one that speaks the language of the Suihrai no less. We have to leave immediatly."

   He summons his sparkling blue and white energies but they are sucked into the waters, he falls to his knees.

   "There is something here," says Rhulan, "you are right, the Primal Shadow summoned us to it, before when I came here, my footfalls cleared up the water; but now, it doesn't look that way because just beneath the surface there is a massive tangled mass of black threads. A sleeping entity lashing out at tiny insects crawling on its slumbering body, and feeding on any energies like that little spell of yours. It would seem this is your tomb not mine, I am free to leave..."

   Rhulan raises a brow as another portal appears and two women in white shrine priestess robes appear from the portal, they land on the water and like Rhulan can safely stand on it; however they do leap back to some stones juttig from the water a moment later.

   "What are you doing here?" asks Harl.

   "Saving your sorry asses," says one of them.

   The two look at Rhulan and back to the men, "The dragon sorceress Rhulan, Onmor the monk, Harl of the Dimension Police, and....some kid, we are the Sacred Twins!"

    "Hmm," says Rhulan, "well while you are all trying to escape I will be claiming that mask."

    *Who is there?*

   A woman's voice comes from the surface of the water its self.

  "Okay, that was creepy," says Onmor, pulling out a talisman card that glows blue, quick as a flash a tendril stabs from the water through the card and pulls it down, Onmor barely managing to let go and take a step back.

   "A spawn of the Primal Shadow," says one of the twins.

   A splash can be heard from another concrete island over to Rhulan's right, something very tall walks up onto it from the water as if walking up steps. At first they see only waves of black hair, then a white mask; unlike the one before or the Primal Shadow's mask, this mask looks a little different and is decorated with black lips and black swirls around the eyes. The entity is a giantess, standing nearly 12 feet tall with long slender arms as white as snow, wearing a white elequent dress. Her hands are claws held in white gloves. Her large bosom heaves as she slowly walks, her dress movement revealing a toe to heel graceful walk.

   "Dollies," says the entity. Its mask sits on shadows, no sign of a face underneath save for blue points of light in the eyes and a neck underneath nearly obscured by the black wavy hair. It looks over at the men, "Ugly dolls,"

   The entity points at the two priestesses and cocks its head, "Dollies? No...princesses."

   "That again," whispers one of the two, the other responding "definetly a spawn of the Primal Shadow."

   It looks over at Rhulan.

   "The Doll Collector," whispers one of the priestess as they *zip* over to Harl and his men, "when it goes after that sorceress, the two will distract each other so we can,"

   "Mommy!" shouts the Doll Collector surprising them as its body suddenly whips into the air, twisting about like white fog and shadow mixing spinning around Rhulan, placing the part that would be its head against her breasts, rubbing what would be its equivelent of cheeks in this ethereal form against them *purring* "mama, mama, mama"

   "That's new," whispers one of the priestess, "no matter, hold still."

   They chant and a sigil appears under the men. They fall into it as if falling down a hole, the two priestess watch as they slowly sink, Rhulan timidly, clearly confused, petting the entity wavy black energy mane like head.

  ******

   Back in the cave Harl mutters, "Why are you two even here?"

   The priestess walk over to where the mask still sits, "You used to call on us when the Primal Shadow would appear, we had a sure fire spell that always sent it back to the darkness."

   "Until it didn't work," says the monk, "the priestess who wore the mask, that sorceress that murdered my kingdom."

   "The first apperance of this mask," says the other priestess, "you people believed it was a reaction, a defense response to our spell; its obviously just sealing magic...unbelievably powerful, no way mortal hands could have forged this, sealing magic."

   They point twin accusatory fingers at Harl, "and you tempt that seal, tempt the rage of the Primal Shadow every time you sever its link. The link needs to be raised to harness this power, guided; we will do that."

   "You are too late," says the monk, "there is more than one way to kill someone. Xin is watching for magic, so I used mundane poison, something a creature like Xin would never even think to detect. That child will grow sickly, slowly, over a period of years, it will seem like a normal disease, but she won't live past her twenties."

   Harl raises a brow, "You were supposed to use a quicker poison, why, and why are you telling them any of that?"

   "I...I..." blood splatters from the monk's mouth as a black tendril erupts from his throat, holding his tongue like a claw, his body explodes, Harl and the young adventurer fleeing back as a black wet mass like a massive writhing hairball  squirms about on the floor until dark waters appears under it, waters that slither like a serpent to the mask as it levitates.

   A voice whispers from the mask, "Murderers,"

   "Sir...sir Harl," stammers the young adventuer, "th...that voice."

   "How are you talking through the mask?!" demands Harl, "dragon sorceress!"

   The twin priestess stand back as the black mass meets the mask like a serpents neck desending the floor through a portal of dark water.

  "Murderers," whispers the mask, "where is my princess? Bring me my princess."

  "Answer me sorceress!" shouts Harl.

  "What are you talking about?" practically growls one of the priestesses, "that's the Primal Shadow's voice, always has been."

   Harl turns pale, "Suihrai...dragon, what."

   A portal appears behind the mask and Rhulan steps out, "Had to sing that kid a lullaby, nice entity, thought I was its mommy."

   "Where is my princess," hisses the mask, "murderers, poisoned her, slow death."

   Rhulan looks at the mask and blinks, "Oh for crying out loud, no wander that girl thought I was her mother, you're her mother....mother. You hypocritical bitch!"

   Rhulan points her finger at the mask.

   "Mother," whispers Harl, "oh that can't be good."

   "Spawn of the Primal Shadow," says one of the twins.

   "I prefer daughter of chaos," says Rhulan with a smile.

   "She does look like them," says one of the twins.

  "Not those...whatever," says Rhulan, "I'm guessing she progenerated them too."

  "Where is my princess?" whispers the mask, "poisoned, they said."

   "Hold up," says Rhulan, "What is she talking about?"

  She turns to the mask, "and why are you talking like you're drunk? Every time you show up in my mirror its like some goddess on high, not this slurring hissy mess you sound like...I did as a dragon...so this you sleeping, interesting."

   *BESIDES THE POINT*, suddenly Rhulan's eyes glow with an intense blue as she and the mask speak at the same time, *THE DIMENSION POLICE HAVE CONFESSED, POISONED OUR PRINCESS!!!*

   The ground shakes violently,

  "Flee the cave at once!" shouts the twins as they run from the cave, Harl and the young adventurer right behind them.

   From the castle Xin stands with Col, the old king, the queen to be, the princess, and a number of soldiers watching as a column of black flames erupts from the nearby forest. When the cyclone of dark fire disperses Rhulan is floating there, wearing the white mask. A smile creeps across Xin's face as she whispers, "this world is so screwed, this is going to be awesome."

   Rhulan's cape split and shifts into dragon wings, her hair grows long and black, twisting and sprouting thorns becoming long black vines. Her arms extend and harden like black wood, her fingers into pointed thorns for claws, a row of thorn like spiks on the dorsal side of her arms. A black wood like armor forms over her body. The eyes of the mask light up blue.

   Down on the ground Harl's sword glows blue as does the young swordman's.

   "Dragon's Bane blades," says one of the twins, "you thought to fight a dragon but this..."

   She narrows her eyes, the twins looking at each other, "The mural."

  Rhulan raises her long right arm and points at the sky, the sky turns red, rolling waves of darkness and a phantom like images of massive black thorn covered vines appear.

   The twins stand and sing, the song is melodeous, strange, alien, a sound that pierces the very soul of the listener. Xin far away the castle her ears prick up, "what the hell," she teleports in a cyclone of sparkles leaving the royals and their guards behind at the castle.

   In the clearing in the woods where the cave once existed Xin appears and sees Rhulan slumping over, the light in the mask's eyes flickering, her body returning to normal along with the sky. Landing she barely stays on her feet as the mask falls off her face.

   "Twin, princesses," whispers Rhulan as she collapses to one knee, "echoing, like a faint dream."

  "Well shucks," says Xin surprising them, "and here I thought we'd see..."

  There is a scream and shouting coming from back at the castle, quick as a flash a man appears at the clearing, his vest, denim jeans, yellow spikey hair with red tips giving away that he is the DP officer Suranaku, in his hand however he is holding the princess, an arrow in her back and tosses her lifeless body to the ground by the mask.

   "Ba...bastard," growls Rhulan weakly.

   "I didn't kill the kid," he says glaring over at Harl, "I was here for the S-class criminal Rhulan."

   He aims his hand down, "but I'll dispose of this trash too,"

  "No!" shouts the priestesses as he unleashes a chi blast at the body of the princess and the mask beside her right in front of Rhulan.

   However it is absorbed by a flickering forcefield around the girl and the mask. Rhulan's eyes glow blue and her voice echoes in everyone's heads *The archer will suffer, you will suffer, this world will burn*

   Blue flames erupt from the mask, contained in the forefield, they spiral and vanish. When they clear the mask and the girl's body are gone.

   "Fuck," growls Rhulan through gritted teeth.

  Suranaku aims his hand at Rhulan, "Now,"

  Xin steps between them just as Col and a group of soldiers are rushing the clearing.

  The twin priestesses step to the sides of Rhulan and look at Suranaku and the others, "There has been enough tragedy for one day."

   "Where is my daughter!" shouts Col,

   Suranaku turns, "Dead, and her body and soul claimed by a devil."

   He floats in the air emitting a brilliant golden light.

  "Fucking asshole," mutters Rhulan trying to rise to her feet.

  "You can't fight," whispers one of the priestesses, "our spell seemed to affect you to a certain point as well, we are sorry for that."

  Suranaku vanishes in a brilliant flash of light, Harl and the young adventurer vanish as well taking advantage of the distraction.

  "Where," whispers Col.

  Rhulan points to the scorched ground, "We failed," her mind drifts from the princess to images of her own daughter from so long ago, "I...I am no good as the good guy,"

   Col falls to his knees on the spot, "the archer...just as..."

   Xin *sighs*, "One of my amulets detected a mundane slow acting carcinigen in the princess. I gave her an antidote but...It looks like the Dimension Police...had back up plans for their back up plans."

   "Heartless bastards, you'r witches, sorceresses, can't you do something!?" Col has lost his composure in tears on the ground.

  Xin shakes her head, "I can't not without a body."

  The priestesses shake their heads, "We tried to prevent this, the cycle of tragedy that is the mask of the Primal Shadow continues; we pray her next life is happier."

   "Unless," growls Rhulan, "you stop the Dimension Police, that won't happen now will it? and that hardly comforts this man, or the girl's mother and grandfather."

   "There will be war," growls Col, "The archer was with the guild, this was a job no doubt from a nearby kingdom."

   "We leave now," says Xin waving her arm, sparkles surround her, Rhulan, and the priestesses. When they clear they are no longer on Parana but another planet entirely, a rocky landscape with oceans and strange green algae like masses floating about with thin tendrils like this world's version of jelly fish.

   Rhulan opens and close her hand a few times, "I am regaining strength quickly."

  "It was only a sleep spell," says one of the priestesses, the other saying, "a very special one, even a spawn of the Primal Shadow shouldn't have been so directly affected, but she did possess you and turned you into the likeness of Rokonaka."

   Rhulan's eyes narrow, "two questions, who are you and what are you talking about?"

   One of the priestess proudly pushes out her chest showing off its larger than her sister's, "I am Yukiko," the other speaks, "and I am Fukiko, we were once the priestesses of the shadow shrine. The duty of our shrine was to guard the sleeping body of the goddess Rokonaka, in truth a giant black and blood red flower deep inside the temple all curled up that legend said had a sleeping body inside. The chant was used when the flower stirred. One day those so called champions appeared and attacked the temple, they told us it wasn't our goddess but a weapon...it awoke and killed everyone, its main body...looked how you did when it possessed you. The chant worked, it vanished, as did all the giant vines and monsters it summoned. The Dimension Police approached us and we were called from then on everytime what they called the Primal Shadow appeared. Thanks to them granting us immortality we've fought and encountered the Primal Shadow and the beings it creates, what we've dubbed the spawns of the Primal Shadow, for centuries."

   Yukiko cuts in when Fukiko pauses, "but then that mask appeared, the Primal Shadow only showed up when it did, and the chant stopped working. The Primal Shadow had become completly unstoppable...except for its summoner, its only weakness. They stopped calling us and...well you know what their solution became."

   Rhulan looks at Xin, "I wander, given this and what I know, if this Primal Shadow is who I thought it was...or perhaps just her shadow, some splinter or cutting...that or the name is so vague that similar beings have been called the same thing. I am given to thinking this mask is indeed someone's attempt to seal its power more permanently...and has backfired on them and their future reincarnations thanks to the Dimension Police and its own wild nature. Either case what happened back there...didn't seem so much a possession as being overwhelmed by emotion and a singular goal imprinted on the mask, not like there was any actual entity inside it to battle wills with like..."

   She remembers when she was transformed into a girl and became more the subconcios whispering in her own amnesiatic head, but chooses not to disclose this information.

   "Powerful artifacts," says Xin, "react to powerful individuals in odd ways. Sometimes compatable powers overly attracting, sometimes repelling to the point that no matter how powerful you are you could never get near them."

  With that Yukiko and Fukiko bid their farewells opening a portal to some forest while Xin opens a portal to the grassy fields of Misaline's domain.