Grim Ruination, Birth of a Soul (On Hiatus)

The Summoner

Tempest weakly smiled as they all began up the stairs. Through the top of the stairwell showed the night sky, twinkling with hundreds of stars like small diamonds in the black sky. As they crested the top of the stairs, they entered the top of the temple. Several crumbled pillars stood on the edges of the large flat platform. At one point they might have held up a roof, but now they held up nothing but the sky. At the end of the platform was a large stone statue of an elven woman with a crown, hand outstretched towards the sky, holding up what looked like the cosmos in her hand. The statue was covered partially in moss and half of the woman's face had crumbled away. At the statue's feet, was the man responsible for the demonic incursion into the material plane.

It wore a simple dark silk cloak with the hood down. It didn't have skin, rather scales made of jagged emeralds and a dagger-like tail slithering out from beneath him. Its clawed feet scraped against the stone as he stepped about, finishing up a large and complex summoning circle made from his own blood.

Finishing his magnum opus, the emerald being stood to his feet and turned toward the 3 adventures before him. His face was that of a slim wicked dragon made in green gems. His eyes dimly glowed a sickly dark green. He grinned at the sight of the three warriors approaching him, his thin lips like a crack in the ancient stone around him. His smile spread even further, revealing his toothy maw. His teeth were jagged like obsidian knives, and shimmering scarlet flecks speckled his fangs. A long scar on his lip and cheek crackled as he smiled, as if it was an expression he hadn't made in a very long time. When he spoke, his voice was deep and gritty, but somehow also sounded young for something that looked so ancient. His voice invoked the sound of gravel scraping against smooth stone, causing the adventurers to slightly grimace.

"Ah, no wonder the demons seemed more excited than normal. What a lovely surprise.. A group of heros have come to stop the apocalypse." He calmly spoke, his words dripping with caustic sarcasm. He gave a few sarcastic claps. Then he spotted Tempest and his smile widened further than what seemed possible. "Well well well! Could these old eyes deceive me? Farinir, what a surprise for an old friend to drop by." Tempest's eyes widened, a breath trapped in his throat.

"Xarterim.. Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Tempest said, taking several steps forward. The dragonborn chuckled. "What needs to be done, of course. You of all people should understand. After all, you're the one who wanted to summon that devil. What a massacre, it's a shame you had to go and sacrifice your pathetic soul to try and kill us all." He said, violent green light shimmering across his eyes.

"Enough!" Tempest shouted. He thrust a hand forward as liquid jet flames erupted from his fingers. The fire streaked across the air, quickly surrounding Xarterim in a web of flames. Tempest closed his hand and the streaks of flames imploded onto the summoner with a loud blast.

However, once the flames dispersed the emerald dragonborn was unharmed. A thin sheen of magic then dissipated from around him. "My my, Farinir, you've actually damaged my soul barrier." He chuckled. "Impressive. You've grown so much in the past few years."

"Well, I'd love to stay and fight; unfortunately I've completed my work here. But fret not," He made an exaggerated and ostentatious bow. "I still have a lovely parting gift for the three of you. An old pal of yours just begged me to see you." In a flash it looked as if the blood from his body burst from his scales, then wrapped around him and tightened. Then the scarlet shroud shrunk down and vanished.

"What was that? Who was that?" Isak asked, gesturing to the scorch marks where the summoner had stood.

"Before I was Tempest, my name was Feinir. But I've long left that name behind." He answered. Then Darris spoke. "You're the one who summoned the devil to kill the people you'd spoke of?"