Taking a break from AV3. It's a seriously insane chunk of the fandom, I tell you. Too deliciously creepy for my own good. And... back to AV1 to strengthen my grasp on my own ideas on the matter.

So. Story. A rewrite of my old AV1 AU fanfic. That story was conceived to be "lulz on crack, masquerading as a coherent story". I figured that I should actually make it a proper, sensible story, now that I actually consider it my personal canon and that everything ties in with "the future" (AV2, AV3, and beyond). Hopefully this makes more sense than the old one.

Current title is subject to change, just because I can't find a suitable title for it. Much as it would be funny to call it something like "The Darkthrop Saga, Book xxx", it would be dumb, even though it's fully appropriate (really, I could tell the entire story I need to tell using random members of my whackjob Darkthrop family tree).

I hope all the spoiler-bound concept stuff I've been throwing around didn't deter you from reading. Peace.


Table of Contents
- Prologue
- Chapter 1

Prologue

40 years earlier

“Oracle, it has been more than five hundred years. Is it wise to let this continue?”

“We all know it would be nothing for you to intervene.”

The oracle looked at the two druids before her. The druid of darkness looked agitated, almost to the point of madness. The druid of light was not as frantic, but worry was evident in his expression. She sighed. She understood their dilemma, but what could she do? There was only so much she could tell without breaking the rules of the universe – her own rules and she can not break them at all cost.

“Rashnu, Akoman, I'm afraid I cannot do anything,” she told them.

“Oracle – ” Rashnu began to say, but she held up her hand and stopped him.

“Listen to me carefully now,” the oracle said quietly, “This is the most that I could allow myself to say:

Born of the two worlds, protected by the sun
The bearer of the light is the key
The two courts shall have their peace once more
When the two swords are united against darkness

It is not much, I admit, but to reveal more would spell disaster.”

“The two swords?” Akoman asked, frowning, “You don't mean...?”

“That is nigh impossible, oracle!” Rashnu exclaimed. “Is there not another way?”

The oracle shook her head. “I only speak of what I have seen. All you can do now is wait for time to tell the truth.”

She could tell that neither druid received any consolations from her words, and it saddened her heart. Rules are rules, after all. As she watched the two depart her temple, their minds still troubled, she let out a sigh.

"Prophecies, without action, are just empty words. It is that action that truly determines the course of fate. I can only hope you make the right choices when the time comes."
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Like it? Hate it? Needs more work? Too much dramatics? Too much purple prose? Comments are very appreciated.

ETA: The druid of light is another name for the Sun Guardian, just in case anyone was thinking that I made up a non-existent druid for this story. Go check your quest list in-game if you don't believe me.

Like it, needs no work. Amazing <3 it.

I like how you write this it's full of meaning

Chapter 1

Being summoned was something Agas had never experienced, but he quickly learned that it was not a pleasant experience.

For one, it was completely unpredictable. He was fortunate that he was only working on his reports when he was summoned. He did not want to think what it would be like if had been summoned when he was, say, taking a bath. Humans tend to forget that some demons do, in fact, take baths. Not that the summoner had any way of knowing what the demons in question was doing at the point of summoning.

The other problem with the summoning was that it had felt like he had been swallowed whole and then spat back out. It was uncomfortable, and he was unable to breathe through the process. He was glad that it didn't take long. While he was quite used to suffocation – he constantly had to deal with that every time poison problems broke out in Nanghaithya and Tawrich's družstvoi, and that happened very frequently – nobody liked not being able to breath.

He had momentarily panicked when the air around him seemed to solidify and crush him, but he remembered the other daevas' accounts on it and soon realized what was happening. Agas relaxed himself as best as he could. He had no idea who could be powerful enough to summon a daeva, but he would not let himself appear flustered.

Barely moments after his feet finally touched solid ground again, he saw a jet of light shoot towards him. He instinctively tried to dodge, only to find that he could not move. The light hit him on the chest, and for a split second he was surprised at the lack of impact. The next moment he felt heavy weight encircling his wrists, as if someone had put manacles on them, although there was nothing there.

“It's the binding seal,” Agas thought, before he suddenly the dizziness sank in him. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and he couldn't think straight.

Somewhere amidst the haze, he heard someone say, “Welcome to the human world, demon. Do you recognize my voice?”
~*~
Ahriman studied the daeva he had summoned, trying to see how much damage the binding seal had caused. There was one thing Ahriman didn't like about summoning, and it was how the binding seal worked. The seal serves as some sort of a contract for the summoned being to obey the summoner. However, whatever magic the seal did to the being also caused them to lose part of their mind, and with that some of their power and intelligence. This Ahriman knew from first-hand experience. He was thoroughly convinced that the reason he lost to a bunch of useless slugs many years ago was caused by the control that idiotic prince tried to exert on Ahriman. It was like being put on a leash and Ahriman's powers were greatly reduced by the binding seal.
Stronger demons could resist the effects of the seal to an extent, but there was no way of knowing how much of it they could curb. The daeva did not seem affected much by the seal, but one cannot be too sure.

“Welcome to the human world, demon. Do you recognize my voice?” Ahriman spoke.

The daeva looked at him – or at least he assumed the daeva was looking at him, as its eyes were covered – and replied, “Yes, Lord Ahriman. What do you require of me?”

Ahriman nodded. The daeva still remembered, and that was good enough. "You are to go to the Dreamland and kill the guardian of dreams," he said. "Do not return before she is dead, understand?"

When the daeva made no reaction, he asked again in a louder voice, "I assume you will be able to make your own way there?"

The daeva, however, still made no move to acknowledge the questions.

He frowned. Had the daeva been affected by the seal that badly? Does that mean that this particular daeva was weak?

Just then, the daeva finally spoke, “I understand, sire.”

“Then make haste and do it now!” Ahriman shouted.

It nodded, and without another word, Warped away.

Staring at the spot the daeva had just been, Ahriman found himself already starting to have doubts about its capability. The binding seemed to have taken a worst toll on its mind than he expected. It should at the very least be able to complete this mission. After all, the daevas weren't lords over Ashth Pereth - the Demon Realm - for nothing. However, a severely-handicapped daeva would not be of much use to him. He would need to be prepared for the worse.

Perhaps he should try to get in touch with that young sun guardian very soon.
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Another shorty. I decided not to force myself to write long chapters if I don't have the time and energy to do it.

No, Ahriman referring to Agas as an “it” is not a mistake or typo. Just in case you were wondering.

I... Well, I admit this is a rather weird place to start the story, but I thought I'd expand a little on the opening sequence of Av1. Starting with Talia being chased around is a tad over-rated. Something tells me that this scene sounds rather filler-ish, though. Comments?

One comment and one question
First of all, brilliant story. I love your work
Question. Is the prophecy prologue before Chapter 1? As in, in the timeline

Er, yeah. Obviously. Isn't "40 years earlier" clear enough? Should I have had it say "40 years before Av1"?

I suppose "druid of light = Sun Guardian" wasn't something people notice too much either. In-game, the Sun Guardian is also referred to as the "Druid of Light". Since the druid of light isn't Dameon, well, it obviously had to be before or long after AV1.

nice story

*Having difficulty writing Agas' trek in Dreamland*

Sorry, I was a little over-ambitious. There's too much fanon material here and I really want to get 'em all out.