It had appeared to you in dreams. In nightmares. Some start with it, some end with it. Sometimes, it is barely noticeable, other times, the dream revolves around it. A ball of flame, roaring at you, astounding you with the sheer power contained within its flickering form. An arm of steel, not a gauntlet, not a glove, but an arm, melting away, turned red hot from the fire. The arm is long, made out of steel shards, joined together by some sort of thin, silvery thread. Some of you dreamt of picking it up, and you could see the strings held the pieces of metal together incredibly tightly, so much so that you could not even slightly move the plates apart. Others dreamed of being revolted by it, and stomping on it. The metal did not break. Others threw it into the flame, and heard it scream, the thread melting away, the shards trying to fall but already liquid metal by the time they reach the ground. Some looked around, and saw that there was nothing else here, but the flame, the arm, and you. You. Who are you?
You awaken and you remember. The first time you had that dream, others did too. And these others were visited by the Fiery Rider. A man, who they say had been a priest of Smelt, but who became so engrossed in his godly duties, his body was taken over by Smelt’s might. Now he rides, naked, coal black of eyes, ashen of hair, his skin aflame. They say the reason he rides exposed is because the flames burn his clothing away, but when you see him, you know it is because of a different reason. Regular people wear clothes, for they are bound to their laws and customs. Gods don’t have to. Gods are beyond such things. When you first met him, he said but a single phrase, spoken in the language of the stars. You knew not a single word, but you felt as you had heard a hundred thousand ones you did, and remembered each one. Through that terrible phrase, the meaning behind what had occurred came to you. Like the Rider, Smelt had taken residence within you. Unlike the Rider, your every action is not guided by him, but the connection is strong enough for you to see what he sees, if only in dreams. As the Fiery Rider rode away to find others, you thought of what you now knew. That lord you had heard of, the one waging war in a far off county, trying to rise beyond his position as a lowly lord? The arm was his. It is less a true prosthetic and more an idol to his god. Steel. The foul demon who would destroy the world if he had a chance. That man worshipped him, as did others, but this man chose to not merely worship the demon, but to summon it too. The arm would be what he used to summon it, and from what you know of the scriptures of Smelt, that would mean the end of the world. Steel is what wars are fought with, and if the being for which the metal is named came, there would never be a day without a war. But the words of the Rider told you something else. What you saw would come to pass. The Arm would be smelted by his flame, that was inevitable. But as you had the vision, you must have some sort of connection to that event. The Fiery Rider came only to tell you this. You will be involved with the Smelting of the Tyrant’s Arm. The question is, how?
Hosted and narrated by:
Koldun
Started 03/02/17.
Scenes played: 0
License: Community License
