Interlude XIV

The Story of the Yaga

There have long been tales of ancient monsters. Creatures so fearsome that their legends cause even the most stalwart of listeners to shiver. Even those that never faltered would hesitate when saying the name of the Yaga. The original monster of legends. A monster so old and powerful that its true form has been lost to time. Some say she was once a great wizardess, someone who delved deep into the perverted arts of soul magic. The stories go that she delved down the perverted arts to bring back a loved one. These stories are of course untrue, for a being so old and ruthless could never feel love. No, this creature is a spawn of the world, a failsafe to ensure that life on the planet will prevail, even if the gods and heroes fall in their quest.

The Yaga was a perversion of natural energies. Natural energies that were corrupted by cancerous qi brought in by extraterrestrial invaders. The qi corrupted the very nature of the world, but the world was alive, the world fought back. How does a planet fight back, you might ask? Simple, it broke its own rules. It divided its power, realizing it was losing control of the elements to qi, it began delving out the sacred arts of storm calling the very inhabitants it had groomed through countless generations. With the gift of weather craft bestowed to her most prized inhabitants, the world began alternate methods to save itself from inevitable qi corruption.

One method was to seal off the part of its very soul that had been corrupted by qi. In so doing, it lanced the infected limb from itself, letting all the cancerous qi form into one dense ball. Unfortunately, the Yaga was not the last time the world went through such drastic measures to save itself, but it was the first. As the first being born, the Yaga grew and understood things. Since it was the first, it had memories of before her split from the great mother. She also remembered the great mission she had been given upon her creation.

The mission, the overarching goal was simple, Find and Kill all Titans and stop their spreading of qi. That goal had been her mantra. From the shadows, Yaga worked tirelessly, creating rules into place that would eventually form the old-world laws. She was also the one that helped ensure that mages grew in power generation over generation. She was even present when the first Gods, mere mortals at the time, learned how to fuse their spirits like she had with qi to ascend their mortal coils and become gods.

There was of course a cost to the ascension, one the spirit of the world already paid. See, Yaga realized that by shedding part of herself, the world was giving up part of her immortality. Immortality that could be taken by those Yaga found worthy. Immortality that could be granted to those who, like she wished to rid the world of the Titans.

At first Yaga had offered this to everyone, but she was betrayed. One of her most trusted generals at the peak of immortality grew tired of fighting and sought to broker a peace treaty. Then, when they were fooled by words of honey, the general’s chosen soldiers committed the most egregious of sins. They opened pandora’s box and let the monsters out to play.

The monsters of course were dragons, horrible flying qi-filled creatures of destruction. Then to add insult to injury, the chosen soldiers built their home over top of the very cause of their sin.

This led to the purge.

A time when adversaries who had no reason to succeed began to rise in power and prominence. The weapons and abilities that the chosen soldiers, the High Wood Elves, were known for began to be countered. Then Yaga gave a part of her own immortality to ensure a new god arose to unforeseen heights. The new God was one of the first and most ancient ancestors of the Azani. This is why the god of the Azani is so active, that was part of the pact he made with the Yaga, for a portion of her immortality.

While her sacrifice had meant a lot, it had been worth it. Through her own sacrifice the God of the High Wood Elves was cast out of the heavens and forced to roam the lands as little more than a powerful spirit of nature. Her chosen people were broken and scattered to the winds. And their ancient home, the very source of the world corrupting dragons was abandoned. The language of the High Wood Elves was cursed and forgotten by all.

That was until the final few tribes of believers banded together. The believers prayed for a thousand years, each day praying to once again be accepted by their fallen god, now turned forest spirit. Never once realizing that the reason they were forced to suffer in disgrace for so long, was due to their own god’s actions. A god who forgot what their true mission was. A god who turned their back on the pantheon and sought to broker a peace treaty with the very monsters who still seek to destroy the world.

When the High Wood Elves returned their god to life, breathing the faintest semblance of life into the ancient being through countless years of prayer and devotion, they remained hidden. Their only way to remain alive was through remaining hidden. The great forest spirit had learned from their original folly, they used the thousands of years of obscurity to cloak the great forest with veiling magic. Magic that prevented the all-seeing eyes of the Yaga. Magic that used both Magic and Qi in perverse amalgamations of energy. Amalgamations that resulted in one legend rising to the lips of all. A legend who spoke of his humble roots, and how he was taken in by the High Wood Elves during his time of need.

It took time for the words and deeds of the ancient enemy to reach the Yaga. When they did, she was nearly delirious with rage and fatigue. Still, she had a goal, to first get close to one who could impact the hero of the High Wood Elves. This was found in the body of Princess Larela Philipon, the youngest daughter of King Philipon, the leader of Sidhertha.

From there she managed to orchestrate many travesties. The first and foremost act she did was expel the one who touted the High Wood Elves with such praise. Casting the former hero out at his lowest moment. From there, it was a small matter of orchestrating events to lure the young princess out to look for the long-lost home of the High Wood Elves, all in preparation to meet her lost love. The very same scorned hero.

Once she was in position, Yaga did exactly what she had planned. She did exactly what she swore to do. Orchestrate an event where the princess would meet her fallen knight. Using the last of her energy Yaga found the body of a mentally weak High Wood Elf. There were many to choose from. In the end she chose a body of one of the warriors, one Commander Reyna. With the body of the non-magical commander under her control, Yaga was able to guide the body to the deepest recesses of the Titan’s labyrinth. Once there, she set into motion the self-destruct sequence.

A sequence that would do multiple things. First it would have destroyed the labyrinth for good, and hopefully the slumbering Titan along with it. However, there was a problem. The Titan awoke early, slaughtering the body Yaga was in, while quickly moving to redirect the blast away from the dungeon proper. From there, the Titan used the emergency exits to leave the control room.

While the Yaga had failed in destroying the labyrinth, she had succeeded in her mission of destroying not only the home of the High Wood Elves, but also managed to kill the order of High Wood Elves that still dared to worship the fallen one.

The entire ordeal had been long and taxing for the great Yaga. Just before she closed her eyes to sleep once more to regain her lost energy, she witnessed a miracle. The outcast knight came but had been tempered beyond Yaga’s wildest dreams. He had lost all access to wielding mana, but rather than this limiting him, he was now stronger, more complete.

Better still, he had become a leader of labyrinth slayers. Under his wing was a new girl who could traverse the ancient ruins with him. It seemed that during his time away, he also found a mate.

Seeing this, a wicked smile formed on the Yaga’s lips. He is no longer under your corruption. Yaga thought, as she beamed her intense hatred towards the fallen god whose name has been lost to time. A fallen god who once again lost their sacred followers and would only be referred to as the great forest spirit.