Chapter 35: Kinship

Chapter 35: Kinship

Vernburg.

He was dreaming of Vernburg.

Valdemar never went to this place, but the dream around him fit Mariannes description to the letter. Crumbling old houses surrounding the well under a ceiling of stone. Was this the false village that Valdemar had dreamed into being or a mere mimicry?

Whatever the case, it was slowly falling apart. The villages houses collapsed one by one before sinking into nothingness. The ceiling above the summoners head cracked like an egg as thin red lines spread in the very fabric of the dreamscape.

Its him, Valdemar realized as he looked at Lord Bethor. The Dark Lords magic poured out of his spirit like lava, his power dwarfing that of the Liliths. The creature that had led Valdemars spirit astray so easily was now at his mercy. His mere presence destabilizes the dreamscape.

This is not a dreamscape, Lord Bethor said as he restrained the Lilith with the mere power of his mind. This is the other side.

Valdemar shivered as he looked up through the cracks in the sky. He peered at the biggest rift and gained a glimpse of the universe beyond. A red light shone through it, and the roars of the Qlippoths echoed from the other side.

The Outer Darkness.

No wonder Valdemars link with Ktulu felt so weak. Multiple planar boundaries separated them.

It seems that when you closed yourself to the Primordial Dream, you instead strengthened your connection to your progenitors nightmares, Lord Bethor said as he telekinetically moved the Lilith above the well. The creature wearing the face of Valdemars mother struggled against her binding, something crawling beneath her skin as if threatening to burst out at any moment.

My Painted Field prevented me from dreaming and created a mental buffer, Valdemar put two and two together, his eyes fearfully gazing up at the fragmented ceiling. Instead of manifesting in the material plane, this place reformed on the other side.

And by doing so, Valdemar had left himself open to psychic attacks by Qlippoths. Damned if I do, damned if I dont, the sorcerer thought before glaring at the Lilith. She had lied about being unable to influence him, all to make him lower his guard and fall into a trap.

Even though Lord Bethor choked the life out of her, she was grinning ear to ear.

Lord Bethor, we have to go back to reality now, Valdemar realized as the cracks spread to encompass the entire ceiling. This place, whatever it was, kept the Qlippoths outside at bay for the moment but not forever. If I dont wake up

You will, but not before we get what we came for. Answers.

Tendrils appeared behind the Lilith, binding her legs together and expanding her arms. The sight of his mother being crucified like this sent shivers down Valdemars spine, though he quickly suppressed this feeling. This wasnt his mother, just a monster copying her.

Will you kill her? Valdemar asked the Dark Lord.

It wont stick unless we destroy her personal vessel, Lord Bethor said dryly. But I sense a connection between her and a dark force at this demiplanes core. We can at least find out what it is.

A demiplane? So this was indeed the false Vernburg. Even as this false reality fell apart, the well remained undisturbed; the evil within scared away even the Qlippoths. Since Liliths were the handmaiden of the Nahemoths

Dont you want to know who is at the wells bottom? the Lilith had said the first time he dreamed of her. He is in great pain, my prince.

The creature sealed in the well was obviously a Nahemoth, but the way the Lilith spoke of it a doubt wormed its way into Valdemars mind.

The illusion of his mother tossing him into the pit flashed in Valdemars mind like a dire warning. The secret inside would hurt him, maybe even destroy him. Something in his subconscious told him to look away from a truth he was never meant to know.

But Valdemar had gone too far to back out now. He gazed into the well, and found the pit deeper than anything he had ever seen. It made him dizzy simply to look at it, and his eyes couldnt see far past the darkness at the bottom. Symbols covered the stones, though most had become blurry and indistinguishable.

Wards.

Valdemar recognized some of them, having used similar inscriptions in his summoning circles. A few of the symbols, representing eyes, stuck out from the rest. They were in my grandfathers diary, Valdemar thought as he recognized some of the runes. His True Sight had revealed them on the pages.

But not all of the runes were meant to keep summoned creatures imprisoned. Others were wards against the undead and corrupted ghosts. Why would anyone use them to bind a Nahemoth?

As Valdemar asked these questions, he heard a crack above his head and the noise of shattered glass.

And as he looked up from the well and watched the ceiling collapse entirely, the sorcerer finally got a good look at the Outer Darkness

As it turned out, it wasnt dark at all.

A swirling vortex of crimson light swallowed the dreams ceiling and covered the skies as far as Valdemar could see. It was a whirlpool of magic whose eye was a blistering nuclear chaos, a burning abyss of light and flames. Countless Qlippoths, from the lowly Gnawers to mightier Collectors, emerged from this cradle of nightmares and floated in the void above the demiplane. They roared and screamed as they descended towards the well, crossing the impossible distance separating it from the abyss.

But it was the vortex itself that made Valdemar stare in shock.

For it was not made of water or blood, but of souls.

Countless hollowed husks were joined together in this mad sea of stitched flesh. Humans, Dokkars, troglodytes, and all the children of Ialdabaoth were gathered in this macabre abyss. They tried to crawl away, fighting and screaming and begging but they couldnt escape the nuclear chaos irresistible gravity. The souls were dragged into the central furnace, and the steady stream would keep it alight for all eternity.

There were millions of them.

This is hell, Valdemar whispered in horror. An afterlife for corrupted souls.

Oh my prince the Lilith whispered even though Lord Bethor crushed her throat. You are wrong. This is not an afterlife.

Her tongue morphed into a tentacle as it licked her lips.

This is all there is.

They all returned to the Blood. Innocents or sinners, they all returned to the Blood and their dark fathers jaws. Mother, grandfather Valdemar froze in fear as he peered into the burning abyss. Everyone

Focus! Lord Bethors voice was sharp as a blade. She is deceiving you!

The thunderous voice, and the screams of Qlippoths descending towards them like a flock of bats, snapped Valdemar out of his paralysis. Yes, thats a lie, he thought. Its a lie!

And as his mind cleared, Valdemar suddenly noticed an anomaly in this chaos. But even from this sea of chaos, an island of order had risen. A gray spot was growing far away from the maw of the abyss, a cancer of metal rather than souls. Familiar pylons grew out of this surface, the lightning erupting from them zapping the Qlippoths whenever they got too close.

Something didnt add up.

Look down into the pit before it is too late! Lord Bethor ordered as his magic coiled around the captive Lilith like a serpent. Let there be light!

The Lilith shrieked as the Dark Lords spell took effect. The voice turned from that of Valdemars mother into an inhuman, gargled sound that banished the darkness.

And for the briefest of seconds, Valdemar glanced at the thing at the bottom; at the monster that gave birth to this nightmare, the creature that shared his dreams.

A detail bothered him. Who put in those wards in the first place, in the very heart of the demiplane? Valdemar muttered. I saw the runes in my grandfathers diary.

You answered your own question, Marianne said softly. He was trying to protect you. To prevent you from becoming the cults tool.

Valdemars jaw clenched in frustration. Why did she keep defending his grandfather? My grandfather couldnt cast spells.

Marianne mulled over her answer, before asking another question, Could your mother?

The words hit Valdemar like an arrow to the chest. His mother, using magic? That was absurd! She died a sick madwoman, unable to distinguish reality from delusion. Valdemar had never seen her cast a spell before her death.

But he couldnt forget the horrible memory of the black blood taking a hold of his mother and twisting her. Now, he understood that this violation had caused her depression and illness. But could it have given her powers too?

The illusion of his mother tossing a child into the well

But you cannot die.

Like conjoined twins.

Dead like Crtail.

He is suffering, my prince.

An ugly picture formed in Valdemars mind. Ktulu sensed his distress and held onto his arm, his tentacles wriggling in concern.

As Valdemar remained silent, Marianne sensed his unease and changed the subject. The Lilith only appeared recently even though Shelley spent twenty years praying, she pointed out. Nahemoths represent Ialdabaoths creative impulses, so we can assume that the one in the well manifested her. This may be a sign that the wards are weakening.

Shelley was trying to disrupt them, Valdemar whispered as he remembered his childhood nightmares and the rats haunting them. He tossed corpses into the well in the hope that it would feed the Nahemoth as if it were a living beast. He was never trained in magic, so he made assumptions.

Since he thought you dead, he probably believed that he could salvage the cults ritual by creating another grail, Marianne guessed before glancing at Lord Bethor. How long do we have until the wards break?

Enough time to find a solution, the Dark Lord replied dismissively. I cannot say the same for the planar anomaly in the Outer Darkness. Whatever the derros are planning, we shall investigate it at once.

We? Valdemar and Marianne asked both at once.

Yes, we. You have trained enough to become passable battle mages. I was already planning a punitive expedition into derro territory for their recent raids, and you shall come with us. Prepare yourself to leave on a moments notice.

Not one to waste words, the Dark Lord teleported immediately afterward, leaving Valdemar alone with Marianne and his familiar. The sorcerer petted Ktulu beneath the tentacles, the alien child squealing in happiness. Someone had to rejoice here.

How do you feel? Marianne asked with concern.

Terrible, Valdemar replied before glancing at his Painted Field. He would have to tear it down to dream again and let the nightmares return. I can say goodbye to sound sleep.

Marianne seemed to hesitate about making a proposal for a moment, before mustering her courage. I could help with it, she said. Maybe.

Valdemar raised an eyebrow in skepticism. How so?

I I am better at defending my dreams, but I do know the basics of Oneiromancy. I could Marianne cleared her throat. I could enter your dreamscape and help you strengthen it. Like a dream bodyguard.

Valdemar processed her answer for a few seconds. Was she offering to enter his subconscious and patrol his innermost dreams?

Mariannes cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Im sorry. The proposal was inappropriate, I shouldnt have

I wouldnt mind, Valdemar interrupted her.

She blinked in surprise. You dont?

I let Frigga in, the sorcerer admitted. I trust you far more than her. Besides, youre right. I have notoriously terrible mental defenses, so any help on that front is welcome.

I thank you for your trust, Valdemar. Marianne cleared her throat. I know most people would balk at letting someone else inside their dreams.

Well, there wont be much to see. He had offloaded the worst of his nightmares to the Nahemoth. Its just a barren wasteland.

Good, she said, that should make it easier to defend.

Valdemar glanced at Marianne, trying to see if she was making a joke or truly serious. Whatever the case, that wasnt the answer he had expected.

Truly embarrassed, Marianne broke the awkward silence and changed the subject. Valdemar?

Yes?

Why did you say who? she asked with a concerned voice. You said who was at the bottom of the well, not what.

Of course she had been perceptive enough to pick up that detail. Valdemar gathered his breath, as the vision of his mother throwing a child in the well and the creature looking up at him blurred into one.

You remember what the villages Qlippoths told you about a certain Crtail? Valdemar asked her. A very special child that was always hungry?

Marianne squinted. It wasnt a false name for you, was it?

No. The name belongs to someone else.

Dead like Crtail.

Lord Bethor said it himself. We are spiritually conjoined twins from birth. The Nahemoth is, was, a human once. The wards included protections against restless spirits.

She never wanted to have you.

I wasnt the first, Marianne.

But you cannot die.

The thing at the wells bottom is Crtail, Valdemar whispered. My sibling.