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The Infernal Subjugates looked out upon Bloodland and saw that its people
were less than entirely joyful. The rule of the Devils was harsh and cruel for
a mortal race, even one with such remarkable talents as the Druas. Druas who
defended themselves against the attentions of the Devils were punished severely
(death by torture was usual). Those Druas whose mental powers were most
extraordinary were often forced to fight each other in gladiatorial
confrontation.
Dey wuz not chuffed.
Asmodeus was further concerned when one of his lieutenants, Balaal, asked
to see him. "We got to rub out dem Druas scum before dey get too big for dere
boots. I mean, dey don't know how to hurt us yet coz dose Infernal Subwhatsits
have got dem too damned scared to try anyting. But dose hunters from across da
sea know - and some Druas turkey will see dem at it one day. Dey's getting a
shade restless right now anyway: if dey had a weapon dey'd try and total us
before we got to dem." (Balaal was an admirer of the Cosa Nostra)
"Thankyou for alerting me to this most regettable state of affairs
Balaal. Since you seem to be quite au fait with the situation I shall assign
a section of infantry to you and you can go off and deal with things. But
please be discreet - these spirit beings the other Bridlanders worship are
becoming increasingly meddlesome, and they are also considerably stronger
than I had anticipated when I first started ... intervening. It was most
likely the 'gods' that taught those hunters you are so worried about how to
damage our souls.
"However, curses upon you in your endeavour. Go spatter their ungrateful
hides with their own blood."
As Balaal consulted with his sovereign, the very thing which he had
feared occured.
A hunting party of slightly less bloodthirsty adventurers than usual had
landed in Bloodland about a fortnight earlier. This group took the enlightened
view that although the Devils were unremittingly evil, their Druas aides were a
victimised and enslaved race. So they would only kill those that attacked them.
The result of this (at the time) bizarre attitude was the capture of an
ancient Druas woman. She saw them hunt down and destroy a honeymooning Devil
couple. She wasn't too impressed by the moral rectitude of her captors, but the
techniques they displayed were very interesting.
These people waving religious symbols about and invoking their gods were
flinging psychic bolts of extreme energy and coherence. They didn't know what
they were doing: they thought it was the power of their divine patron come down
amongst them. But for whatever reason, they were linking their minds and
working in perfect consonance. Since there were no strong minds amongst the
party, they would only ever be able to fry the cortex of a small devil or two -
but it was far more than even the strongest Druas could hope for.
When the party let the old lady go, she carried her tidings to friends,
laying her mind open for scrutiny. They were astounded, not only at the results
but also that they had never thought of it before. It all came down to trust in
the end: ever since their inception, one Druas had never been able to trust
another - not fully. And for the mindmeld to work properly all the beings must
have complete faith in each other.
But now the Druas had their weapon. They hid it from the Devils, even
restraining themselves from attacking each other with it. Eventually the group
of mind-melders were forced to tip their hand: the Devils had declared war on
their creations.
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