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[Grignag]

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The chanting that emanated from within the caverns of the void islands continued its drone as the soft tinks of chisel against stone echoed across the expanse of the starry void that separated the lands of Umbra and the empire of Sanctus. Several heavily armored soldiers patrolled the islands, darting in and out of Sanctus lands probing for activity as the casters within continued their duties.

Izrem watched the efforts closely, even as he himself carved the symbol of the Eye into several stone surfaces around the first island of the void pass. The Kabar'gan kept an eye out for scouts or indeed any sign of activity from Sanctus, but nothing showed itself. It seemed the first step of their coming invasion would be completed without harassment... or even discovery. The other Necromancers and Lorekeepers continued their work till at last Izrem called them together again.

With the symbols completed, Izrem gathered the spellcasters and began the ritual to seal the strange symbols into the stone. The process was no different and no more complex than any of his previous works. No more so than Cult of Morgaz holdings, the buildings in the Stygian Grove or his secret work in Nu'jelm. The ritual was completed quickly and without fail as the Kabar'gan continued its watchful vigil over the proceedings.

As the members of the Order departed, the carved symbols began to glow a pale green as quiet whispers echoed through the lone island. The symbols of the Eye burned brightly for but a moment before fading away once more, occluding the carvings from ease of sight, the whisper dissipating to nothingness once more.

From somewhere in Charnel Hill, the Order now watched and prepared. The next step would begin soon.

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(Here's an idea of what the carved symbol looks like. It is an ASCII drawing, as that is about the limit of what I can draw out using UO game mechanics, but it is good enough. If I get around to it, i'll draw out the symbol in full and post it later. Or not)


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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Grignag]

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Izrem gathered the faithful once more as he continued his plans for the rituals to be carried out against Sanctus. For the merest moment, Izrem paused to wonder why he had chosen Sanctus to be his particular target. They hadn't done anything in particular to rile him. Perhaps he simply sought an enemy to unite and focus the faithful against? His drive to create a singular purpose in the Order had been going smoothly, quiet though it was as he moved in the background, rather than the forefront as the other Ancients did. But, despite his knowledge, power, arcane capacity, experience and position, he was still given to the chaotic nature of a follower of Entropy. Perhaps he had chosen Sanctus simply because he couldn't think of a reason not to do it?

But that was immaterial and largely irrelevant now. Members of the Kabar'gan had arrived and their numbers looked promising. Azuroch and Benjamin Fyrd, two upcoming and high potential acolytes were present, along with Izrem's primary disciple, Ceinwyn ab'Arawn. They would be sufficient...

Taking the collection of deathknights, soldiers, mages and... Keaira to the void islands that divided the Order of the Ebon Skull and Sanctus, Izrem rolled out a scroll and instructed the members of the Scholomance to carve the sigils therein onto the walls, using naught but their finger and mastery of mana.



While the dark adepts and necromancers worked, forward scouts managed to locate the operations of the Order and returned the reconnaissance to their superiors in Sanctus. An hasty force was collected in order to determine the nature of the "visit". By the time they had arrived, the arcanists had completed their work. Izrem knelt and began the incantations as he ordered the others to assist the Kabar'gan. A battle exploded as Izrem's words echoed off the walls, competing with the clash of steel, the screech of the deathknight and the war call of the Sanctan. Outnumbered, the Sanctans were forced to withdraw, the Kabar'gan giving chase.

Izrem continued to chant, his now layered and reverberating tone creating the only noise within the cavern. The young girl, Keaira, continued to stand by, watching, as Izrem completed the first portion of the ritual, the hissing and whispered echoes of the Stygian tongue carrying out onto the starry void. But it was not done yet.

The battle continued to rage, though the Sanctans still found themselves outnumbered. By the time the raid came to the end, Izrem had collected the last component for the ritual. Blood. Enough to defile the cave and complete the last step of his work that night.

Returning to the caves, Izrem ordered his acolytes to take the vials of blood and anoint the "X" over the eye with the blood they had collected. Returning to the center they spoke in unison, completing the ritual.

"Mana recoils and order breaks.
The sight is blurred. The eye is shut.
We close their eyes that we may walk in shadow.
None may view our craft."

As the final words were spoken, the blood anointed irises began to weep blood of their own. A eerie and and stifling silence fell over the cave as sight and sound fell to muted levels. The last word to be heard from the cave was a mighty "Etheng!" as the faithful of Oblivion gathered themselves together and departed.

As Izrem left, his thoughts turned towards Sanctus. They lacked the arcane capacity to undo what he had done here. Furthermore, with the occluding wards in place, they could use no form of divination to see what they had done or were doing. Sanctus was a military power, not an arcane one. There was no issue... except for one.

Izrem had noted the one named "Davaran Skyfire" amongst their number. The man was a mystery to Izrem. He was certainly a skilled mage and a "sage" by some reckoning. Izrem had often dismissed him as a kook. But then again, so was Brother Azunda. And he was a man whose true capacity was often hidden beneath his strange external appearance. There was no reason this Davaran would prove to be any less surprising. He would continue to watch. Sanctus had been unable to stop them today, but they might return to try and figure and probably undo what Izrem and the Order had done. And on their own terms. For the second time that day Izrem wondered, "why Sanctus?" And for the second time, he found a simple and easy answer.

"Why not? Blood is blood. All ends in Oblivion. Let our dark crusade begin its murder here."
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.