Philiadus Loe
She was beautiful.
Beautiful and terrifying.
Beautiful and terrifying and simple.
Beautiful and terrifying and simple and atrocious.
Beautiful and terrifying and simple and atrocious and…
Prey.
His prey.
Loe was not always Loe.
Long before Khu'chev had united the Abaasy against the winged Celestials, driving them from the land and cursing Nod to an eternity of night, a race of shadows visited the lands while they lay divided by pride and prejudice. Miserable Shades, capable of little more than observing the worlds they toured, quickly learned their silent plight would earn no favor from the natives. The early Abaasy were malignant inbred abominations that shambled across the dirt with as much grace as a severed hand. The Celestials were vacuous light spheres with vaguely humanoid centers, hovering high above their treetop habitats like swarms of fiery mosquitos.
Neither race was past their prepubescence; neither understood the impact of the Shades’ stay on Nod.
Before contract Demons, there were those who drained the souls of their hosts. Parasitic dimension hoppers, long content to breed all manner of chaos and discord in their wake so long as their existence remained hidden from those they tormented. Timelines were distorted, histories were unwritten and rewritten, lives were changed, destinies were destroyed, and whole worlds were swallowed by the destruction the Shades brought. Nod was forever changed thanks to the Shades, but this wasn’t Loe’s doing. In fact, Loe wasn’t Loe when this transpired so he couldn’t rightfully enjoy the deliciously ravaged state of present Nod. Without a personal stake in the downfall of a juvenile realm, he simply existed there while there was work to be done.
Borne of these Shades, a more sophisticated parasite extended to the realms within the Umbral dimensions. If there was a Hell, it was the web of shattered realms separated from the Crossroads by countless layers of space and time. Forgotten places where Shades had annihilated all forms of life as well as stolen the bodies and spirits of the native lifeforms for their personal use. With these physical forms, they had corporeal vessels to command for the first time in their long history. No longer shackled to the will of their host, the parasites used their cunning to create bonds through promises, fulfilling the wishes and wants of their hosts in exchange for their bodies when they died. Some hosts lived for eons before coming to their end, but the wait was worth it for beings unable to create frames of their own.
Philiadus Halspun was one such individual who made a pact with a Shade. His home realm was overrun with terrible night beasts intent on devouring the population of Elves, and though Philiadus was adept in the art of magic, his ability wasn’t enough to keep the monsters at bay. Ironically, the magic he turned to was far more dangerous than roaming beasts. He knew little of what he was in possession of when he summoned Loe. A Shade summoning was unheard of in his realm; the Elves were too proud to practice the dark arts. Philiadus considered their pride to be the reason for the night beasts growing aggression and took all the chances his forefathers refused to take.
Loe came when called and did what Shades always did - it promised to help Philiadus if the man would surrender his body and soul to Loe when his life was over. Philiadus accepted as countless others had accepted, reasoning his life was worth far less than the safety of his world. The realm would be saved, the beasts vanquished, and the world would rejoice for their hero and savior, Philiadus Halspun. For the better part of a century, Philiadus lived peacefully as the leader of an entire continental kingdom, considered to be the first and last of the Vanquisher Kings.
Then he died.
Only, rather than die as Loe would hope, the soul refused to agree to the terms of their previous agreement. In fact, Philiadus’ soul insisted that they were better suited to life as a Shade than Loe was. They had done more in their short life than Loe had ever done, and it was clear that Loe needed to retire from soul stealing and leave it to Philiadus. The two argued about this for years. Centuries. Eons. More time would pass before the pair finally gave up and agreed to work as a unit if only to do something other than continue arguing amongst themselves. Perhaps this was what caused the abnormality in Loe’s state because, rather than take on a host body for a period of time, the Shade’s body changed to take on traits of something living. Incorporeal on occasion, it could hold a physical form for long periods, and rather than be a sexless creature of the genderless variety, Philiadus’ appetites carried over to the Shade.
It was in this unclear period of Loe’s existence they became Philiadus Loe, the host form of the Shade Loe as well as the Soul of the Mage Philiadus Halspun.
By the time Loe ventured to Nod to work among the Abaasy, several millennia had passed. As a Shade, Loe would still make bargains and promises to unknowing creatures, but Philiadus ensured they were worthwhile endeavors for both parties involved. Even if they acted and spoke in a unified manner, their minds remained separate, meaning Loe would always be a creature controlled by opposing natures.
Yet, when it came to Bress, both agreed that she was their target while they were snuggly stationed amongst Abaasy. What better target was there?
When he dissipated from the chambers of the Chieftains, his formless mass floated like a dark plume of smoke, briefly tracking the movements of Kysad and Jasa before floating toward the mouth of the behemoth. Hours before the Abaasy and the Ifrit would exit Khu'chev, Loe did, and he took no time making his way to Kysad’s home at the base of the Spikebacks. Slipping beneath the rock entrance, he was met with the open hollow of the cave. Where the goliath city was all flesh and living, Kysad's cavernous home reflected the death of the landscape of Nod. No trapped souls begged for mercy, as he kept none. No warped and grotesque furnishings were in sight. Instead, everything was crafted from obsidian and firestone, lit by candles whose flames flickered enticingly through the dim. The foyer was large, but the chamber it fed into was much larger, with a ceiling that stretched high and uneven. Runes were embedded in most available surfaces, archaic and amateur, yet powerful enough to keep the tide of the spectral fiends far from crossing the threshold of this place.
Loe examined the room carefully before pausing when he heard a voice humming softly. If Loe was capable of smiling, now would be the time to do so.
“Bress.”
BDRP Admin. Writer. Villain. Personal Blog.
I tried running from the memory and the mourning.
I tried running from the memory and the mourning.
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