Valla wants more than just vengeance (the_nephalem) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-06-12 15:21:00 |
|
|||
Li was definitely scared of what could potentially happen to her, but what scared her the most was that she didn’t know what exactly would happen to her. She knew everyone who fought the forces of the Burning Hells suffered terrible ends, and those ends tended to be varied. Zoltun Kulle had been driven mad by his lust to defeat evil. Her teacher had been murdered under highly mysterious circumstances. The first hero to defeat Diablo eventually became Diablo’s vessel when he returned a second time. Even Malthael, the Archangel of Wisdom had become corrupted and eventually came to be the Angel of Death. So not even the angels themselves were safe from evil’s corruption.
The history of Sanctuary was littered with tales of heroes who eventually fell to gruesome ends. Many of them became the evil they sought to destroy before they died. Others simply died horrible deaths. Li couldn’t begin to guess what her fate would be, but she was going to take steps towards protecting Orange County from herself as much as possible. She knew she couldn’t permanently put off whatever may happen, but she would damn well try to postpone it if she could. Anything to buy them more time to prepare.
So she was meeting Freya to go over the possibilities of what could happen and see what options they had. Li had some scrolls from her dreams that she brought in the event they could potentially help. Of course, they were written in a language that only Li could read, unless Freya knew a spell that could translate all languages. Once they were in the attic, Li glanced around at the set up, approving of it.
“So, where should I start? Lore about what’s happened to others that fight evil in my dreams, lore about the demons or talking more about my magic?” She wasn’t certain what would be the most helpful starting place, so it was giving choices on the matter.
Freya was concerned to say the least. While her brother would prefer she not focus her energy on every crisis that hit Orange County to conserve herself… well, he didn’t seem to grasp that in protecting the county she was thus protecting her family - unkillable vampires or not. That and it was just the right thing to do. So Li’s concerns? They worried her. Still, at least they were trying to find a way to help before anything happened.
The easiest place to meet was her attic given it was sanctified for her magic specifically. Plus there was less chance of people just walking in and disturbing them.
“Why not in that order. Why the concern and that lore, then more about the demons and then how it ties into your magic since that will be necessary to understand for making something specific to you.”
Li nodded a bit. “In my dreams, I crossed paths with the spirit of a man, a Nephalem, who had lived long ago. His life’s work was to fight the demons, but he ended up going insane. The things he did were barbaric despite being for the greater good. Experiments on people, other inhumane things. Eventually he was hunted down and killed by the others in his order because he was going to so many extremes. A couple decades before my dreams began, there were heroes that stood against Diablo and the forces of the Burning Hells. They defeated the evil, but they all suffered terrible fates. One turned into a demon eventually, and she in turn was killed by another hero later on. Another became the vessel for Diablo’s return.”
Though she paused momentarily. “The man who became the vessel for Diablo had been the one to strike the killing blow and trap Diablo’s essence within his soulstone. In my dreams, there are seven Lords of Hell, three of them are called the Prime Evils, and the other four are the Lesser Evils. Each of them had soulstones forged to contain their essences. So if I turn into Diablo, it is entirely possible for a soulstone to be forged that can trap his essence upon his death.” It would do nothing to help her, but it would be one way to ensure that no one else was subjected to becoming Diablo’s vessel.
“My teacher was one of ones who fought against Diablo and his brothers the second time he came around. She died under extremely suspicious circumstances. I also had to fight an angel who had become corrupted by the evil of the demons. His name was Malthael, originally the Archangel of Wisdom. He disappeared for a couple decades, and when he resurfaced, he called himself Death and was bent on purging the entire world of demon essence, which given humanity are the descendants of the offspring of angels and demons, all humans would have died because of the demon blood they carry, even though it’s dormant and many generations removed, for the most part. It has been said that demons are left in the wake of a demon lord, and their corruption is complete from all evidence I have.”
As Li explained the nature of her Dreams, the fight against evil and corruption and the consequences there of, Freya remained silent and just absorbed what she was being told. It was certainly a lot to take in though she was pretty sure that could be said of any particular Dream set to those who didn’t dream of it themselves. Well and those who did dream of it though in different ways.
“And you’re concerned about turning into Diablo yourself. I’m guessing you will want me to find a way to create a soulstone?” Depending on the magic it probably wasn’t too different from the amulet Dahlia had made her. Well, for their bloodline that allowed the soul of someone it was spelled for to enter it until a body could be healed or an empty one prepared to place the soul into.
“From the sounds of it though, it seems inevitable to you that something will occur from fighting Diablo. I’m going to take a guess and say Diablo showed up back in August and you had to fight him then so it’s more than just potential crossover from the Dreams?”
“A soulstone would probably be the easiest solution if I go and turn into Diablo. Though you should also be aware that there is something called the Black Soulstone. Zoltun Kulle created it, and while it was probably born out of his insanity, it was for the greater good that he made it. It was created to hold the essences of all seven lords of Hell. This soulstone is here in Orange County. The Magic Guild has it, protected by spells and locked away and I have the only key to it. If I turn into Diablo, he will go after it to become the Prime Evil once again.” Li explained.
“But yes, I am concerned about turning into Diablo, and I do believe it is inevitable that something will happen to me.” She just had no idea what, and that was part of her reason for even being here. Contingency plans for various scenarios getting put in place would set Li a little more at ease. “Yes, he was here in August. Only a couple of us fought him, but after the experience of my dreams, the corruption would take hold in me above anyone else.”
Li paused for a moment. “I am also a Nephalem, half-angel and half-demon and stronger than both. I was not aware of this until after I began my journey to defeat Diablo and his brethren in my dreams, but part of me wonders if the demon blood in my veins is contributing to this corruption. Sometimes I can hear Diablo whispering to me, and I could not tell you if it was just my imagination, or if I am actually hearing him. Or maybe I’m already starting to lose my mind.” Which if she was, she was at least cognitive enough to even put forth the notion that plans needed to be made in case she turned evil in some way.
Black Soulstone, and it was here. Well that would make it a bit easier, especially as it was in the Magic Guild. Li having a key to it was also easier than Freya having to magically locate it and potentially having to use brute force magic. She did have to wonder how smart it was for Li to have the key in case she was taken over and wanted to destroy it. But that was something they could fix now. “I’ve helped to reinforce the wards and protections of the Magic Guild, so I know where that is.”
“It could also simply be a matter of different rules for people based on their dreams. So while people here fought Diablo, they’re at less risk because of their specific dreams unlike you.” After all, there were different types of vampires here and Freya had a feeling that if they people were turned, it would be based on the rules of the vampire who turned them, not a universal situation. Still, it was something to look into.
She nodded at the comment about the half-angel half-demon information. Honestly, it took a lot to phase Freya. “I could see that, it’s hard to say….. Either way though, I can definitely help you and find something that will stave off your concerns, as well as ways to handle the worst case scenarios.”
Li nodded. “Good. There is a containment spell on the Soulstone itself given it...whispers and I did not wish to risk it going unprotected. There’s also a spell on the door of the room it’s in to help stop people from getting in. That, I cannot undo as my magic is not geared towards it.” Which was the failsafe so that Li couldn’t take the Soulstone herself if she turned into a demon. She could unlock the door, but she wouldn’t be able to get through the magic protection on the door. But she would be willing to give Freya the key, considering what they were talking about.
“True. Everyone has different dreams and different versions of things. The demons of my dreams are not the same as demons someone else may dream of, and the laws of my world do not apply to those who do not dream of it.” Or were from it, it was difficult to tell on that front, really. And she wasn’t going to sit there and theorize either, that wasn’t her strong suit.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” Li said, visibly relieved. “I just...I also need to make sure that there’s someone who is willing to strike me down if I turn into a demon, be it Diablo or something else. I’m not sure my fiancée would. And despite my explaining that once someone becomes a demon their soul is lost, I don’t think she believes it and will try to turn me back to myself. I understand where she is coming from in that belief, but I do not want her risking innocent lives by trying to save me. The instant I turn into a demon, my soul is destroyed, and I am dead anyway.” It really pained her to say that, especially when she was still very young, but it needed to be said.
And Li needed to know that someone would understand if she turned into a demon, there was no coming back from that, no redemption.
Well that answered Freya’s concern about Li having the key to something she probably shouldn’t be able to access if she turned into Diabo. However it did sound that she would need to use brute force to get to it. Oh well. Brute force it was going to be then, so she just gave a nod to acknowledge what she’d been told as there was more that they needed to figure out. Even if seeing the Black Soulstone led to Li losing control, Freya would be able to stop her if it became necessary. She’d just make sure to wear her pendant so that she could access the stronger magic she’d had when linked to Dahlia or with the power of the ancestors. She was still strong without it, but given the way magic worked in her own world, that grounding mechanism would probably be required.
“Of course.” At least Li did seem to relax some. Though what she said next was enough to cause Freya to quirk a brow - the only real sign of any sort of strong reaction. It did make sense though from what she had been talking about. And she could understand why Li’s fiancee would struggle with that. Especially if she was as young as Li appeared.
Besides. What was another death on her hands?
“I’ll do it if it comes to that.” There really wasn’t all that much to say about that. She’d just look into her spells and see what was best as she figured out a spell to help stave off the darkness for Li as long as they could.
Going to the Black Soulstone would be something for another time, given they had other things to work out. Besides, Li wanted to prepare herself for getting close to it. She didn’t think it would have an effect on her to a large degree, but the thing whispered and pulsated, the demon lords within it obviously straining for release. It would also be something she’d tell Freya more details about later with the whole whispering thing and so forth.
Li was young, she was only twenty-one currently, would be twenty-two in August, provided she lived that long, of course. But she did tend to feel much older than that given the experience of her dreams, during which she was only nineteen years old and basically defeated the champions of both Hell and Heaven without much trouble. Of course, she had quite a few scars to show for it, the worst being the burn scars, but those were hidden beneath her clothing. The only visible scars were on her arm that seemed to suggested she’d been swiped by something with either large teeth or very very thick thorns.
“Thank you. I would much rather be dead than to be responsible for innocent people dying.” She knew Ahsoka knew that, but sometimes when feelings were involved, one couldn’t always do what was necessary in the moment.
Feeling older than one was wasn’t all that uncommon. Freya had always appeared older than her age because of being the oldest sibling of seven and the work she did. Add in a thousand years of history thanks to the dreams and well…. It happened. It still didn’t change the fact that Li was very young to be engaged. But it wasn’t her place to say anything. Especially with such pressing matters at hand.
“Of course, I can well understand that.” Or having to be the one to handle the difficult situations because of complex feelings where her siblings were concerned. Someone had to be the big sister and make the difficult choices, Freya was simply putting that forward to someone else given how high the stakes were.