Xêvioso and Lêgba are honored guests in the secret city of Top. If not for Lêgba, though, Xêvioso would not have interacted at all with the Ascendant who inhabit the city. Lêgba is curious about the technology of the Ascendant and he drags Xêvioso around when Ogi spends time probing the multiversal structure in an attempt to locate the source of the fearsome Descendant and the Pito, servants of the nameless horror who is immense enough now that it can sense an entire reality in which only one being utters its name. Ogi does this at Xêvioso’s insistence. When he learned about the similarities between the nameless horror and its minions, and Ogi and the Ascendant, he was skeptical to say the least. As a show of commitment to beating the nameless horror, Ogi was doing what it had not dared in a long time, it was looking for the horror that would raze the entirety of the Paradise existence to nothing once it turned its attention to it. But the Vodun brothers inspired a confidence in Ogi that it had not felt in a very long time and it knew that the only hope of stopping the horror existed with the effort the Vodun had mounted from their existence. Ogi wanted to contribute, and it was worth the risk to Paradise.
But Xêvioso was impatient and Lêgba knew that there were enough wonders in the Paradise universe to keep him occupied while Ogi did its work, so he dragged him to the different laboratories of the city where the Ascendant have been manufacturing weapons and other technologies to oppose the Descendant and the Pito should they break Ogi’s defenses and come for their existence. The Vodun sent regular packages back to the Smiting Chamber in their existence that included details of the work that the Ascendant had amassed to oppose the enemy, so Xêvioso knew that this trip wasn’t a complete waste, but he knew that locating the source of the enemy was the most important thing that Ogi could give them and he was eager for that to be done. It worried him that Ogi’s search exposed Paradise to the very enemy they were scrambling to form a response to, and he wanted it all to just be done as soon as possible.
“Seeing all this should make you feel better,” Lêgba said to Xêvioso as they perused a weapons factory that was experimenting with napalm on the cosmic level, capable of shooting waves of fire clear across a galaxy.
“If fire was effective against them, then Gu would have been more successful,” Xêvioso said.
“You’re being short sighted,” Lêgba countered. “I’m sure there is something that will hurt them and it can be made into a substance to shoot across a galaxy, that is the take away here.”
Xêvioso shrugged. “I do not doubt that we have extremely powerful allies here, and you are right, I am relieved to know that there exists so much powerful opposition to this enemy across the multiverse, but I know it to be true that if we do not root this thing out from the source, it will not matter if we can best the Descendant and the Pito because they will just continue to come. And once we know where it is, we will apparently have a short time to study it and build a force to travel there to destroy it. Once we see it, it will see us and it will be ready.”
“Then maybe it was not the best idea to pressure Ogi to search the thing out now,” Lêgba said.
“Oh, but I disagree, brother,” Xêvioso said with a chuckle. “Ogi will be the distraction we need in the Smiting Chamber to give us time. I spoke to Gu recently, he has received the weapons of the Ascendant and is incorporating their designs into his work. He said that if we play this battle right, the enemy will not even see the coordinated effort against it. Of course, if it does, we are likely all doomed, but the mission to Talj is important for many reasons. We are curious if the enemy will realize that we are reinforcing the natives of Talj. If they do not, then this will be the second battlefront of our campaign.”
“So you and Gu want Ogi to be identified by the enemy and for Paradise to be attacked?”
“Yes,” Xêvioso said. “From what we have seen in Talj, the heroes there have lasted decades in their battle against the Pito, and even though it is a losing game for them, it demonstrates a big weakness of the enemy. It is as slow as it is powerful. Ogi can keep them out initially and when its defenses break, the Ascendant and other heroes that we can send here and the ones already in this realm can hold off the Pito and Descendant, hopefully drawing all of the enemy’s defenses away from the source that we send our biggest hitters to attack. That is why I am so eager for this to happen while we are here, before we need to get back at the conclusion of the mission to Talj. I want to go back to the Fonlands ready to put the pieces in place for the end of this conflict. If Ogi can’t then we just have to spin our wheels and decide if we will respond to realms in distress or focus our efforts on finding the source.”
“That is a wise stratagem,” Par-Cell 77 said, interrupting the brothers who had stopped their slow stroll of the weapons factory and were standing in a hallway. The Ascendant had been moving past them casually, but neither of them noticed the Ascendant Par-Cell or the young, mostly human woman with her. “We were told that you were inspecting this factory and we came to introduce ourselves. I am Par-Cell, this is Sarah.”
“Hello,” the young woman said with a wave. “I heard that you’re Vodun from another universe? My dad used to tell me stories about the hounnongan heroes of the swamps who protected it from the minions of the darkness. They all got their power from a Vodun. I used to think those stories were made up, but I recognize both of you even though I’ve never seen a picture. You’re Lêgba, of the crossroads, and you’re the lightning tamer Xêvioso.” Sarah bowed and elbowed Par-Cell and she bowed as well, though she didn’t seem to understand why it was necessary.
“You honor us,” Lêgba said and both he and Xêvioso returned the bow.
“We didn’t intend to eavesdrop on your conversation,” Par-Cell said, “but overhearing it, I do believe that Xêvioso and the other Vodun have devised a strategy that can work. And you are right, we can fight the Pito and the Descendant for centuries before this entire universe is lost to them. You should know that you are now in the presence of one of this universe’s greatest heroes. Sarah here is part Rycoian, she is a supercharged human, capable of generating electricity through her basic biological function. Her power exceeds that of the Ascendant, though our technology makes us a formidable foe to anyone. The Rycoians have very strong heroes on their home planet of Rycoia.”
Xêvioso smiled at Par-Cell, then he knelt on one knee so that he was eye level with Sarah. “You are a master of the lightning, indeed, but you have much to learn. If you will return with me to the Fonlands, I will help you to unlock your full potential so that you can lead the charge against the enemy here in Paradise.”
“That would be amazing,” Sarah said eagerly. “Of course. Can Par-Cell come, too?”
“Definitely,” Lêgba said. “It would be good to have an Ascendant in the Smiting Chamber.”
“Then it is settled,” Xêvioso said and he rose again and talked to Lêgba. “We should go and speak with Neu-Brosme and Ogi. Hopefully they will appreciate Gu’s plan as much as Par-Cell here does.”
“Will they succeed?” Agbe asked. They were on an island of black sand of her Disc and they were all sorting through cards from the enchanted decks of their respective colors.
“They will,” Jo said. She also had the enchanted Yellow deck so that she could pull interesting cards for Xêvioso to consider when he and Lêgba returned from Paradise.
“What is success?” Agê asked.
“Coming back alive,” Jo said. “We will be monitoring everything and the most important thing to be gained is more knowledge of our enemy.”
“Then I agree, they will succeed. I just hope that there aren’t many casualties. Are you all sure that Agbe, Sakpata and I shouldn’t send anything?”
“Yes,” Jo said with exasperation. “We don’t want to show the enemy everything in our arsenal just yet. Besides, the four of us lost so many times to that Doom Deck, we are all dying to see how accurate the Chamber is at evaluating the enemy. Maybe it was overcompensating and calling you all in was unnecessary.”
“Fingers crossed,” Agbe said, “but I would like to summon some of these beings. They are so interesting.”
“I know!” Agê agreed. “But I’m hoping things wrap up easily there and we have another peaceful reason in the future to assemble beings of the multiversal structure.”
“Oh,” Agbe said like she had just remembered something, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Didn’t the Arcana Master take an enchanted Purple deck to Owuo? Is he choosing champions from the multiverse as well?”
“Like a Vodun?” Agê asked, seemingly disgusted by the prospect.
“Yes, like a Vodun,” Jo said. “If it doesn’t go well in Talj, we will need a purple faction to win this, I know it. It will take all of us, but particularly you Agê, Xevioso, and Owuo to destroy this thing.”
“Why are you so sure of that?” Agê asked.
“Because the enemy has Death magic, and Death is not any of our purview. We are weak without him. Fine, Owuo isn’t a Vodun, but who else is capable of putting together the most powerful deck of Death magic users?”
“I have Death Witches at my disposal,” Agê said.
“A Death Witch at most,” Agbe corrected. “Jo’s Azizas and your Mmoatia have scattered them to the ends of the Fonlands. Do they even wield power anymore?”
Agê shrugged, “Who knows. But there is Death on every Disc.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Jo said, “Owuo refused the game with the Arcana Master. He is on Lêgba’s Disc portaling beings from the multiversal structure. I will do everything I can to get him to do it, but I think he is refusing now just to be spiteful.”
“I will try my hand at a purple deck,” Agê offered. “Maybe we won’t need Owuo afterall.”
“Let’s hope not,” Jo said.
PRL Serials 