(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

Of course, they underestimated my magic. Shimmering blades of air made it
almost too easy.
Finally, each footstep bought with blood, we ascended the staircase to the
upper levels.
Beneath the stink of blood was the dry, brittle smell of bureaucracy. Perhaps
it was a proud city, long ago. Once-lavish blue marble was set in the floor,
now scuffed and scratched. A ceremonial gong stood covered with dust and
dented. Faded banners, once heralds of the city's pride, were now stained
with streaks of blood: the final indignity to Curst.
A dying guard lay moaning on the floor. His armor had been thoroughly
savaged, the flesh underneath it looking as though it had baked in the heat
of a thousand suns. He gasped up at me from the ruins of his face, "The
deva... is strong. Do not enter... until you can... defeat him." He died quietly,
before Grace could reach him.
The heavy iron door crashed to the ground, smoldering and dented. I
lowered my hand and we approached Trias, weapons drawn.
He gazed out over the expanse of the city, the small guttering battles dying
out like the embers of a passing forest fire. Once from these peaks you could
see a blue and cloudless sky draping over desolate desert sands. Now a
dome of red and black smothered the jagged landscape of snaggletoothed
peaks, stones dry and cracking as if they were waiting to be wetted with
new blood. The acrid stink of the air, like a hot grease fire, stung my nostrils.
And there, pristine and pure and ringed with a storm of opalescent light,
stood Trias. He was an island of cold serenity, divinity made flesh. All that
marred the perfection of his form was the dead clatter of his wings,
yellowed bone rattling in the noxious wind. He made no move to
acknowledge us as we approached.
"What do you hope to accomplish here?" Trias' voice resonated as he looked
out over the city. The fires of the damnation below flickered hot in his eyes,
like the light of forge-flames on a blacksmith's cheeks. "Much good you have
done in such a short time, mortal. It shall not be enough to keep these
traitors from realizing the depths of their folly."
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