A Crusade of Catastrophe [6-A word with the woods]

Dread continued to reflect on his recent battle as he made his way through the forest in the direction of the Darkness. He had no reason to spare them, as he was fully capable of destroying whatever meager forces they may have.

He took a moment to go back over the new achievements he had unlocked at the **** on the light. There had been a decent list, mostly involving his means of ****, though there was one or two that were from something else.

Achievement Unlocked: THIS IS SPARTA!

Kill a creature with a single kick

Reward: Physical attack +50% for kicks

Achievement Unlocked: An Acquired Taste

Kill a creature by biting or eating them.

Reward: Physical attack +50% for bites/consumptions

Achievement Unlocked: Bone Spurs

Kill a creature with your own bones

Reward: Skill: Bone Growth (passive) (GROWTH): You gain the ability to grow your bones at a rapid rate. This can be used to form shields or weapons, but commonly damages the user when used.

Dread was not quite sure what there was left to acquire in the way of achievements from killing. He had a feeling there was something more to get, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He decided he didn't much care in the end, as long as there was something, there was no reason not to try and get it.

Thinking about it, he wasn't much sure of what to expect out of a darkness base. Would it be some monster hoard in a cave, or perhaps a gigantic nest of some type of mutated beast? Whatever it may be, it would probably give him the fight he needed.

Wandering through the woods, he decided to take it up in a conversation of sorts. There was nothing wrong with getting to know your senior coworkers, after all. It took him a moment to think about what to say first, but he decided in the end.

"What do you know of our Lord?" The woods went into a silent contemplation for a second, causing him to pause at the sudden lack of their guidance. They answered in a confusing manner, a feeling of the familiar, yet something distant.

Dread took a moment to ponder that response, "He is of... somewhere else?" A sense of fulfilment, this was true. "Then, where? What was our Lord in the place he hailed?" A much more complicated feeling. The where was somewhere far, a distant that made it inconsequential to their home, but still, yet he had arrived. What he was, was fear, was frightening, was something of power that demanded respect. But, not the same kind of respect as he did now.

Dread decided to take a moment to rest, his forward movement seemingly halted regardless by this conversation. "What of kin? Has our Lord any kin?" At first a quick sense of defeat, no. But then, hesitation. The woods was unsure of the answer. It responded at last, no blood, but kin.

Dread leaned his head against a large tree, "If not blood, what kin did he possess?" A sense of kindness, of comradery, of... brotherhood. "He had brothers of creed?" A yes, not as confident as the others, but it seemed that was the best answer.

Staring at the leaves, he asked a question he wasn't sure if the forest could answer, "What of these brothers? Could you describe any?" Hesitation, then affirmation. One was young, brash, frequent to trouble. A feeling of mourning accompanied its thoughts, this brother was gone. Another, was cold, collected, more skilled than he could comprehend. This brother had a sense of homesickness with them, they had been separated at some point. A third, intelligent, with knowledge of the human body to put clerics and healers all over this realm to shame. This brother had a strange feeling, it was loss, but unknown loss, perhaps their Lord was unaware of their fate. The forest then spoke of one last brother, this one with a feeling he could not comprehend. The final brother was beyond him, possessing some knowledge or skill that the other brothers could no understand, but knew the power of regardless. This brother, was missing... In more ways than Dread could know. There was no place were they could be found, yet they were not truly gone like the first brother. Dread did not understand, but the fact remained regardless.

Dread pondered this, his lord had such great kin, yet all were missing or gone now. He could not begin to comprehend the loss his lord must have felt for them, yet somehow his Lord could remain this great in the face of two powerful forces.

He swore with his very soul, he would serve his Lord until unable to, with every fiber of his existence, every strand of his soul. While he stood, none would live to bring defeat or despair to his great master. Moged-Ruun would know no further hardship, of that he would make sure.

Dread thanked the forest for their lovely conversation, to which he felt a warm feeling in return. He returned to his feet, proceeding forward once more towards his new objective, the forest guiding his path once more towards those he would bring to heel.

The only question that remained, was what form of beast would he need to show the dominance of his Lord?