As Procan seethes over Dagon's interference in what he considers his domain along the south coast of Ulek, he gets a surprise visitor to his plane who offers an alliance.
A muscular titan with blue green skin armed with a great
trident sat on a throne made out of mountain protruding from an ocean gone mad.
Surrounding the mountain island was a naval war of colossal proportions,
hundreds of ships fighting each other in a mad chaos with no obvious goal
except for the destruction of each other. Sailors falling into the ocean were
faced with further madness as ferocious aquatic creatures of all sorts battled
beneath the waves.
Upon closer inspection, the scene became even stranger. For
the sailors thrown overboard did not drown as they were submerged in the
turbulent water. Instead they pulled out knives, axes or even used their own
teeth to join in the undersea battle against sharks and other predators. With
no need to breath and seemingly without feeling any pain, the sailors fought on
until death claimed them.
But the otherworldly strangeness did not end there. As a
sailor died, they appeared on a stone bench carved into the island mountain
where the titan sat. Seemingly at random, some sailors appeared on benches
higher up the mountain and others lower. The bottom benches already beginning
to fill whereas the top benches had few, if any, returned dead.
As the battle raged on, the onlookers and the titan would
cheer or jeer at the actions of those still fighting. Although the ships were
made in different times and different models, the onlookers extolled each one
as if all fought for the same inscrutable goal.
To add to the madness, the weather itself was in turmoil. In
some places the ocean was placid, whereas others a storm raged with huge waves
for the ships to contend with. The storms would sweep across the battlefield,
sometimes stopping in one location for some time and other times it would
dissipate for no apparent reason. The sky itself was a chaotic mix of light and
darkness, storm clouds and clear skies. And all around the mountain island,
nary another piece of land was in sight.
With all this chaos going on, an onlooker could be forgiven
if they missed what happened next. A bright sun appeared in the sky and moved
towards the mountain island. Instantly the titan stood, a breastplate made of
leather and shells appearing on his torso. The corals of his trident glowing
green, the titan prepared for battle.
“Hold Procan. I am
here but to talk.” the bright sun revealing itself to be a well-muscled man of
golden skin, riding a ki-rin.
“Entering my domain unannounced is a challenge Pelor. Speak
and convince me that I should not attack you.” Responded Procan.
“Answer me first, why do you build a new fleet? Who do you
intend to go to war with that makes you pit your followers in battle to select
the best warrior to man that fleet?”
“I do not intend to battle any of the other gods if that is
what you are here to find out. I but seek to send the fleet to the Abyss to
teach someone a lesson.”
“Would that be the 89th layer?” asked Pelor.
“How do you know that Pelor? Have you spies on my plane?
That is beneath the lord of light!”
“No Procan. Your followers on Oerth are in my temple.
Although the temple was corrupted decades ago, an avatar of mine still resides
there and he sees them. One of them spoke the name Dagon and my avatar heard.”
“In that case YES! I intend to send my fleet to The
Shadowsea and teach that pesky obyrith what it means to come to my sea and
infest it. It is bad enough that I must contend with Osprem and Xerbo, at least
they are gods. But to have MY realm challenged by a demon lord! That I will not
have. And if you try to stop me, I will not stand for it!”
“Quite the contrary Procan. I came to offer assistance. Your
followers on Oerth are weakened. I can sacrifice my avatar to help them defeat
the demon lord’s thralls in Ashenport.” Stated Pelor.
“Generous of you Pelor. What is the catch.” Said Procan
dubiously.
“I would like you to do something for me afterwards.
Something that I know you would enjoy. My church in Ashenport needs to be
cleansed. Since you have followers there, if they succeed in winning, I want
you to have them call upon you.”
“Call upon me to do what Pelor?”
“I want you to flood my church on the hill. Cleanse the
whole village. Bring the wrath of the sea onto land and destroy it all.”
“What of any surviving villagers?” asked Procan.
“They are all worshippers of Dagon. I am the god of light,
not the god the of mercy.” Said Pelor coldly.
