>>391474
> she was surprised when she awoke this time
> an inchoate sense of strangeness had haunted her in the Eternal Void
> the reason was clear the instant she materialized
> the flow of magic was more turbulent than she had seen since the days of the War at the Beginning of Time
> this chaos was a poor imitation of that madness of course, but it was still surprising
> and useful
> it had permitted her to reform far, far more quickly than usual
> she had gloated, realizing her opportunity
> she thought she did much better that time
> some of the human wizards must have sensed something horrible was coming but she was able to hide herself from them for a time
> long enough to prepare much more thoroughly
> her initial attacks succeeded spectacularly
> for whatever reason the humans lacked the unity of purpose they'd possessed before
> admittedly, their arms were better: steel at worst, magical alloys at best
> and she came to dread the efforts of mortal wizards
> still, her machines swept through entire regions before resistance began to coalesce
> she made her greatest territorial gains ever
> she needed to, the infuriating monkeys had spread far and wide
> but she couldn't crush them quickly enough and soon her forces were trapped in countless stalemates
> sun bronzed monkeys riding great lizards struck like lighting from desert sands to attrite her forces before disappearing just as quickly
> nigh invisible jägers stalked her war machines through trackless forests
> in the steppes great hordes of monkeys (on horses of all things!) overwhelmed any detachment below army strength and no army could find their ever moving camps
> monkeys encased in magically enhanced steel wielding great pikes and bows went toe to toe with her best troops in a mountainous region which made a mockery of maneuver
> she pushed her abilities to their limit to make good her losses and for a time she thought she was making progress
> she was taken completely by surprise when she felt a great disturbance in the flow of magic and a small force teleported directly into her workshop
> their variety reminded her of the last group she had fought personally, if their numbers were far fewer
> the one holding the sword this time had been little more than a juvenile
> the fight was short and sharp
> she never forgot the odd look in the boy's eyes as he struck her down
> she later learned it was sadness
> this time when she awoke she turned all her efforts to hiding herself
> she needed to learn more
> a solitary being since the War, she had never much concerned herself with the Others
> now she sought them out, but could not find them
> was she alone?
> in desperation she spied upon the humans
> now that she looked more closely she could recognize simple, material versions of the Others' sigils
> crude, bastardized versions of their names
> the humans remembered them in a way, but why?
> it took her a long time to understand the concept of religion
> she'd learned a great deal about humans along the way
> enough that when she understood the truth she cried
> she'd never done that before
> at the time it seemed a natural reaction to being left behind
> they had ascended without her
> they had left gifts and wisdom for A BUNCH OF FUCKING JUMPED UP MONKEYS AND LEFT HER BEHIND
> her rage was quiet and cold that time
> she thought long and hard on her revenge
> she wanted to hurt the others, but she'd have to settle for their heritors
> her newfound knowledge gave her an idea for an entirely new line of attack
> soon small cults were popping up all over the world
> the gifts she parsimoniously doled out to her deluded followers were more than offset by the power she gained from their worship and sacrifices
> it sickened her to lower herself to trafficking with lower beings
> but it was worth it on The Day
> they were expecting an army
> instead they found themselves fighting their own horribly mutated friends and neighbors
> their new weapons and war machines were turned against their own
> the cruel pleasure she felt at this irony was strange, devoid of her previous detached euphoria
> it felt almost… human
> that realization shocked her to her core
> shaken, she botched the follow up attacks
> her forces were defeated in detail as they haphazardly came through widely distributed portals
> in the end, it was mostly her own cultists who died
> she wasn't really surprised when she didn't face a swordsman this time
> they'd somehow figured out how to replicate the effect with a beam weapon on a massive airship
> the white light was kind of pretty