Book 3, Chapter 33
The obstacles were initially easy to overcome -
They were simple things like a path of raised ground
Or the continuous beating of a drum,
Which caused most of their group to look around.
That was eventually easily dealt with by a spell to muffle magical noises.
After that, the obstacles got far more difficult.
The first sign of that was the voices -
Each voice was different and each was magnificent.
That was, of course, the problem.
The voices were convincing, and they were giving out instructions.
An additional thing that wasn’t helping was the column -
The column that was blocking conscious thought and deductions.
The voices caused doubt - attacking personal insecurities.
The mad emperor heard many unique voices that spoke of contradicting things.
One attacked him, arguing that his reign was filled with impurities
And that his arrogance would destroy his empire, meaning that he had betrayed his ancestral kings.
Another whispered that he was nothing more than a hallucinating madman
(And perhaps that was his inner doubt, finally given form by his own delusion).
Its whispers were convincing, and they began
To make even enlightened Dristar question his beliefs and his great conclusion.
(Perhaps that was the last moment that he could’ve been saved -
Maybe that was the last chance the Romano-Mongol Empire had to remain.
If so, the final tragedy was engraved
Then - not after the Final Pain.)
It was the last voice that was the most beautiful and glorious,
And so it was that voice that Dristar heeded - even to his own undoing.
It appealed to his own vainglorious
Nature - it encouraged his lone wolf tendencies that had been brewing.
It whispered that he did not need these sorcerers and gods -
After all, their pride was why his trip was necessary in the first place, was it not?
No, it was their foolishness - their stupidity - that caused wads
Of enormous tragedy. Thus, Dristar was trapped in a spider’s web - or at least caught.
Author's Note: I feel like this storyline has been going on for a long time. It'll end soon enough - perhaps in a way that surprises you... regardless, I'm kind of curious if you guys want more supernatural shenanigans or if you'd prefer I got to the end of Dristar and his son's desperate (but doomed) attempts to save the empire (that is, Book 4). This isn't official in any way - just curiosity (and a desire for commentary and concrit).
They were simple things like a path of raised ground
Or the continuous beating of a drum,
Which caused most of their group to look around.
That was eventually easily dealt with by a spell to muffle magical noises.
After that, the obstacles got far more difficult.
The first sign of that was the voices -
Each voice was different and each was magnificent.
That was, of course, the problem.
The voices were convincing, and they were giving out instructions.
An additional thing that wasn’t helping was the column -
The column that was blocking conscious thought and deductions.
The voices caused doubt - attacking personal insecurities.
The mad emperor heard many unique voices that spoke of contradicting things.
One attacked him, arguing that his reign was filled with impurities
And that his arrogance would destroy his empire, meaning that he had betrayed his ancestral kings.
Another whispered that he was nothing more than a hallucinating madman
(And perhaps that was his inner doubt, finally given form by his own delusion).
Its whispers were convincing, and they began
To make even enlightened Dristar question his beliefs and his great conclusion.
(Perhaps that was the last moment that he could’ve been saved -
Maybe that was the last chance the Romano-Mongol Empire had to remain.
If so, the final tragedy was engraved
Then - not after the Final Pain.)
It was the last voice that was the most beautiful and glorious,
And so it was that voice that Dristar heeded - even to his own undoing.
It appealed to his own vainglorious
Nature - it encouraged his lone wolf tendencies that had been brewing.
It whispered that he did not need these sorcerers and gods -
After all, their pride was why his trip was necessary in the first place, was it not?
No, it was their foolishness - their stupidity - that caused wads
Of enormous tragedy. Thus, Dristar was trapped in a spider’s web - or at least caught.
Author's Note: I feel like this storyline has been going on for a long time. It'll end soon enough - perhaps in a way that surprises you... regardless, I'm kind of curious if you guys want more supernatural shenanigans or if you'd prefer I got to the end of Dristar and his son's desperate (but doomed) attempts to save the empire (that is, Book 4). This isn't official in any way - just curiosity (and a desire for commentary and concrit).