This Can't Be At All My Fault

"This is all your fault." Five more people had been eaten. The remaining people were all up on the roofs. The creatures had learned they could snatch people from elevated walk ways which is how four of the five people had gotten eaten, the fifth had simply fell from a ladder. I of course was blamed for this. I'm sure Trezlan could relate.

"Yeah I totally brought huge man eating worms when I showed up here, its what I do." I of course was not helping with my sarcasm.

"Would you two shut up, I think the worms can hear us." I and the man I'd been arguing with looked over at the woman who told us to shut up like she was an idiot, up until a worm almost leapt up and snatched me.

"Ok so you're right." It hurt me to admit this. I still wondered how many worms there were, or what we could do to kill them, but mostly I wondered how long we could all stand around on roofs without going to the bathroom. It was starting to become a larger worry for me, because I had to go and it was almost getting to the point of being painful. So I decided expertly it was time to just kill some damn worms. I did this totally on purpose, and not because I fell off the roof trying to balance going to the bathroom while also not showing the world my genitals.

When I hit the ground after I pulled up my pants I could hear the creatures coming. It was a low rumbling that grew louder as the creature approached. I unsheathed my swords and made myself ready. I figured they'd reach up beneath my feet as they had done before and was slightly unpleasantly surprised when the gods damned things leapt at me from under the ground. Like a shark reaching up to snatch prey on the surface. It was a bad decision for coming after me. I swung my sword and the cleaved the worm in two, it looked smaller than I assumed what had drug other people under the ground, and from the sound of a piercing wail when I killed the smaller creature I assumed I just killed one of their children.

"Great you just pissed them off."

"What are they going to do try and kill me more?" Yes, the answer to this question is yes, they did want to kill me more.

As the Worm Turns

I hate research, I hated it during the war when we were trying to figure out something to hurt the machines, and now trying to deal with some kind of killer worms I hate it even more. Like what's the point of reading up on things when you can just be killing them? I wouldn't have even bothered with the whole researching things, but since I couldn't see the worm creatures, and I didn't want to get killed I figured might be time to read up on them. So of course there was nothing on giant creature eating worms.

It seemed weird really. How these people had lived on the planet for as long as they had (they were here during the war, specifically to avoid being purged) and no one had ever apparently seen or been consumed by the creatures. It was a uniquely new thing, and that gave me pause. How could huge underground worms (well I assumed huge, they were strong enough to pull me under, and hungry enough to eat a bunch of live stock). Of course while I was reading in the library three people got eaten. I mean that sounds callous, but to me it was funny. I was trying to find information on these creatures, and while I was doing that people were attacked. So suddenly one farmers issue became everyones issue.

Which just meant my pay check went up and I was totally ok with that.

Something New To Me

Seeing all the dead animals confused the shit out of me. Like there wasn't any obvious breach on the property there were just corpses. I mean clearly I didn't know shit about whatever was killing creatures in the first place, but this was even more confusing that just like a fence being broken down. The rancher who went by Bly (I didn't get if that was a first or last name), seemed just as confused.

"So what's killing them?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that." I could have sworn at the stupidity of it. Like I was a soldier for the most part, killing machines, what did I know about biological issues. Then again this was my own fault, but I didn't want to admit that. I looked around the yard at the various parts of animal, I couldn't even begin to guess by the random assortment of parts, why something would eat one part over another. It was seemingly random.

"Did it kill all of them?"

"Nah I have most of my herd safely away until you kill what's doing this." Optimism that I could kill what was doing it, I didn't exactly share it. I did notice he wasn't standing on the ground with me. Something I'm sure a more experienced killer of creatures would account for. I didn't, so when something grabbed hold of my foot, I knew for a brief moment I had made a mistake, well several really but yeah definitely a mistake. Wrenched under ground at super speed I didn't have much time to react, just went on instict, which was to use the cold fire. It was my go to "Oh shit something is happening." A gout of it lept from my fingers towards what had snagged my foot. The creature yelped and let go. I dug myself out of the dirt and gave a stern look at Bly.

"What the shit was that?"

"What's been eating my animals, it's what I brought you here to kill." I could have just screamed at him for stating the gods damned obvious.

"Maybe next time mention they grab at you from underground."

"You didn't ask." He was right I didn't, didn't stop me from being super angry at him all the same.

Job's That Need Doing

"You for Hire?" I was sleeping off a pretty bad drinking binge. Someone noticed one of my blades had the logo of a unit well known around Palesco (the planet I was currently cooling my heels on) and so I hadn't paid for a drink all night. I wound up more than a little still drunk after the evenings festivities. The man in front of me said some kind of farmer, I had no idea what he expected me to do, I hadn't done any kind of labor my entire life.

"Depends on the job."

"Easy, it would be blade work." Being exoticly skinned had more than a few unwelcome job offerings come my way, I had made it clear after I almost gelded a man I wasn't fond of the insinuation I was a whore for hire.

"Biological or mechanical." I was delaying hoping that sobriety would just come on, but I knew it wouldn't. I'd be lucky to walk straight when I stood up, but he didn't have to know that. Figured I could sell it as swagger if need be.

"Biological I think? I dunno never seen marks like this, something eating my cows." Cows of course being short hand for whatever meat animal he looked over. I'd seen in my year since the war lots of things listed as cow that had nothing to do with the base animal.

"All right." I stood up and fell down immediately, my shorter sword went skittering across the floor, the only other drunk in the dive bar chortled out a laugh.

"You ok?"

"Just a little," I paused, I almost threw up my lunch, "A little under the weather is all, just show me to where you're parked and we can get going to your farm." He had to help me to the transport, a beat up looking military scout vehicle. I could see where he'd painted over the unit signal with his farm's logo, it was a fairly poor paint job. I did my part to help it out by vommiting all over it during the ride up.

"You sure you're ok."

"I'm feeling better, just show me where your animals are missing from." We went around the back from the main entrance and all I could see was slaughter, I didn't see one standing cow, just blood and bones.

"There you see my problem."

"I don't see any cow left alive."

"So can you help?" I tried not to vomit, and nodded my head.

"Naturally or I wouldn't be here." Bravado in the face of slaughter though to be honest I didn't have a gods damned clue what had happened at that farm, or even if it could be killed, but I knew that I probably shouldn't have stopped drinking. That much was obvious.

A New Lorentino

Trezlan is gone, its something I expected, but had not accounted for. Here I am writing a journal like my father and I suspect like his father. But now they are both gone. Trezlan "ascended" as he called it after he stopped the machine war, and dad is just gone. I hoped maybe with his god powers he'd bring back my father, but sadly he said that was a misuse of the powers he had been granted. I honestly believe he didn't have the power.

Me personally I quietly faded. No one wanted anything to do with me anyway. My father despite being our greatest leader, was not thought of fondly. His decisions now being second guessed, were thought of as the reason we didn't succeed and had to rely on the power of a supposed God (despite Trezlan saving us all everyone suspected he had no power and had merely called off his own machines through some kind of bargain). With the major threat dealt with tribalism took up among our people. Factions formed, and old hatred came back to the surface.

I knew the forces of life would do this, but I had hoped it wouldn't happen so soon. Pretty much a year after the war was over the galaxy was almost back to its old hating itself self. I personally was right along with it. I fell into a bit of a depression. Started taking any job that promised some combat, and that's how I wound up on a small colony on the edge of populated space drinking in a run down bar. And thinking back on it, I wish I'd just kept on drinking.

I Expected More

Godhood did not slow my writing process. Well mostly at times I find myself drawn to just existing and I fight that by being as human as I could be, which also explains God behavior in a shocking way over the years. - Chronicles of Lorentino

"Rough start." I was hanging around with my new god friends. Or god associates? I dunno it was Hanlon and the Fire God, we were at Hanlon's newly renovated offices. They were playing a game I didn't understand the rules of.

"Well it was my first proclamation before letting them just enjoy being alive for a bit."

"Yeah poor form Trezlan, you just solved their issue for them, tell them you're a god, and then leave them there with nothing? Could have at least smited a few non believers." The Fire God looked better than she did. I guess making sure people still survive, and showing them God's are a thing helped at least the two I was dealing with.

"This is the thanks I get for saving your asses? Typical."

"Just be glad he told the story in a fairly fast fashion, Trezlan can be long winded." Hanlon was as rude as ever.

"What are you even a god of anyway? I didn't hear." I smiled, it seemed like the perfect godhood for me.

"Chance." Both of them looked at me like they couldn't believe.

"Seriously? There isn't one already?" Hanlon I assumed would know, he apparently did not.

"Seems like something someone would be punished with, not something they seek out, chance is fickle sometimes your up, sometimes you're down, which thinking of you Lorentino fits."

"Well being with you two does feel like a punishment, I thought we were equals." They both laughed.

"Sure the man that is now a god is equals with entities that have been gods for their entire existence, what are the chance of that happening." I stomped away in a huff, and then went back to where I wanted to go. Which was my shop from all those years ago. It didn't exist anywhere, but in a place I'd created for it, but its nice, I imagine over the years I'll add to my personal Dimension, maybe even invite customers in. Someday, take a chance.

Ok I had to make that joke! I HAD TO!

I Am Your God Now

It was weird when I became a God, if only because I didn't feel particularly god like anymore than I normallly did. But truth be told, having risen from the damned, carrying a weapon of two former gods, and effectively thought of as the last hope for life in the galaxy should make someone be a God. - Chronicles of Lorentino

My first moves of Goddom were kind of underwhelming. Destroying machines for impeding me and Anzi. Bringing one of Hanlon's dead ships back to life (I didn't have his power to just staff it with people, but I could infuse it with enough energy to bring it back from its lull and then basically guide it with my mind. I was new to godhood. Anzi was of course impressed. She had thought she was merely getting a powerful relative, she was actually getting a newly anointed actual God.

I have to give the machines credit, Shira clearly did not want me to ascend to god hood and sent her fleet to stop me hoping that like I didn't have the power to defeat her? It wasn't a bad idea necessarily, but she underestimated how much power I had accumulated in my time away. Or how much I would push myself (which is funny because she should have known I'm insane on a normal day, on a "Trezlan just found he's a god day" I'm going crazy at levels you'd never know). So I tapped into reserves of magic I didn't know I had and my one ship annihilated the majority of her fleet. I let her know I was not screwing around and the force of life were going to win this day. I didn't recieve any word back, but the rest of the machines limped away. Anzi wasn't pleased, but I figured she'd learn in time you don't kill everyone, well unless you have to.

The planet the life forces were on was a small shitty little rock world. When I arrived I felt it kind of an underwhelming place to announce ones god hood, but you take what you can get when you were about to be wiped out of existence.

"Hello all of you, I am your god." And things just kind of went down hill from there. You would think that people would be more thankful you saved them, the jerks!

A New God

I feel at times that people blame me even when its totally not my fault. Its like because I've done some less than honest things in the past everything bad is somehow something I caused... - Chronicles of Lorentino

"Well go on wow me Hanlon." The death god looked at me, looked at the giant robot facing him down and just disappeared. I mean should have expected it, should have just known he'd bail in the face of an actual giant robot threat, but still was a little disappointed he actually did it. Anzi looked at me like it was my turn to do something and honestly at that point I totally know why Hanlon disappeared.

"Humans identify."

"Trezlan Lorentino I am your master machine." I figured maybe something would still be there among my original instructions that the machines would have to follow.

"Target identified, prepare for annihilation."

"That worked well." Anzi's sarcasm was not wanted. Especially not in the face of the huge machine. I leveled the fire god's weapon at what looked like the eye of the machine and fired again. The bullet hit dead on and created a hole a lot bigger than I expected. I started to suspect the gun I was using wasn't just a weapon of the fire God anymore, and I wasn't just a regular person either. Especially since the huge machine vaporized around the shot. Anzi at least appreciated that I was the machine destroyer she had been lead to believe I was.

"So you got out I see." The Fire God did look less than enthused at me being back among the regular people. I was less than enthused to see her as well!

"Yes I freed him from your bullshit lady, you abandoned us!" Anzi not realizing she was in the face of a real bad god just said what was her mind.

"Silence your kin or she'll know what its like..."

"To have nothing done to her? I see through you Fire God you have nothing, you and Hanlon both are losing followers and support, what kept you sustained is dying and so are you. And after what you did to me you should be lucky I have better things to do than destroy you right here."

"You insolen..." I cocked the hammer back on the pistol and she grimaced.

"I knew it."

"You know nothing." And then she was gone too.

"What's going on?"

"We need to meet up with the rest of your forces is what's going on, after that, well things will be interesting now that you've got yourselves a god on your own side." She looked at me like I was crazy, but you know that's my usual.

I Feel Slightly Less Wanted

When people try and kill you, you understand their anger at something you might or might not have done properly. When machines try and kill you, you feel like its insulting, they are machines, they should go do machine things and leave the killing to people. - Chronicles of Lorentino

I was beginning to suspect the machines had somehow tracked Anzi. Even through space and time it was impressive they were waiting at Hanlon's office for us. Even more so Hanlon didn't have some immediate death response to the intrusion. I believed and still do that he actually couldn't hurt the machines due them having no life elements to them. Anzi leapt into combat like someone who had been doing it for a long time, she closed the distances on the attackers and had already taken the arm off of one before I could do anything.

Of course my natural reaction was to fire the revolver the Fire God had given me all those years ago. I didn't know of course that the machines had developed shields to make ranged weapons effectively useless and dangerous. Though the machines could not account for god weaponry, the pistol in the land of punishment had not used normal ammunition, I found I basically reloaded it with my magic, so it was less a bullet and more a spell. So the pistol fired twice and the inferno bullets cut down the machines with ease. Anzi looked at me like I'd done something unheard of.

"Where did you get that?" Hanlon was also intrigued.

"Fire God gave it to me originally." He looked surprised.

"And you kept it this whole time?"

"Well yeah I needed a gun there, trust me." Hanlon shook his head.

"God its like you're a child with a stick of dynamite sometimes."

"Can you two idiots shut up." Anzi was getting impatient with our dialogue, "Something is coming." Something, never a good thing to hear, especially from someone who can normally determine the kind of enemy she was facing. I came to the door the revolver at the ready. I was not expecting the hallway to be blown open and a gigantic gunship to be staring back at me.

"HANLON YOUR DAYS ARE OVER."

"Wow so they aren't even after me Hanlon, this is your show."

"How kind of you Trezlan."

Groveling Not Required

I'm surprised after all these years Trezlan has never clued in that I read his journal for my own amusement of his misreading of every situation he's ever been in. - Chronicles of Lorentino

"I'm not going to beg." I had a stance and I was sticking to it.

"It's nice to see you found him Anzi and convinced him to come to his senses." 

"I did no su..."

"Trezlan no one wants you to beg, I just need you to admit you were wrong, forty years of this shit should have taught you that." Forty years thrown in my face like that, I figured maybe ten, ok a lot longer since Anzi was clearly not a child, but still, forty years? Good gods what had I been doing with my time.

"Wrong about what?"

"Trusting the Fire God, you know who you serve, and you should listen to me before the galaxy is destroyed by your machines, or at least the living aspects of it." That's when I saw it, the fear. He was afraid of what would happen when everyone was dead, when everyone was gone. My machines were winning and Hanlon the Death God was afraid.

"Well things must be really bad if my kin has come here, and you have come here, so sure I was wrong to trust her, I was wrong to trust you, I was wrong to trust anyone except myself and even then based on prior decisions I shouldn't do that either!"

"Close enough, Anzi this might sting." The world shifted, it faded, and then we were in Hanlon's corporate offices, though they did look slightly more cluttery than normal. His powers were fading, whatever he'd used in the past to enhance them was obviously no longer working.

"It's nice to be in a place no one is trying to kill me." The door burst open and machines were there guns waiting.

"Trezlan I swear you're an even bigger idiot than I remember."

Never Trust the Death God

Hanlon has always been a selfish person, but it wasn't until I clued into the fact he was the Death God I saw how one sided most of what I did for him truly was. Like he didn't destroy me so I guess that's a plus, but the ledger was way in his favor in the "Who did more for who" scale. - Chronicles of Lorentino

She looked at me like she knew I was telling the truth. She knew she'd been screwed. I could almost see anger at myself like I had done this to her instead of her doing this to herself. It was the most Rolando look I can imagine.

"He said I could get back."

"Did he happen to mention how?" She had the Rolando look again.

"Why would he do that to me?"

"Because he's the death god, and this is probably amusing to him, gods know its been a fun time for me."

"Where are we by the way he wouldn't tell me?"

"This is an afterlife, not necessarily where you'd end up hopefully, but its probably the nicer places of where I'd end up." I have to admit I picture any afterlife I'd end up some kind of land of torment beyond words. Like being stuck with that one guy on any kind of a trip, you know that guy who never shuts up and his stories get ever more grandiose the longer he tal... no that's not me you assholes how dare you.

"How did you..."

"It was at the time to save your father or find him or, you know what it doesn't even matter anymore, the galaxy needs me and I need to get out of here and there is only one way to do that."

"And that is?"

"Groveling." I finished a spell I'd had set up for years, but never had the desperation to use. It sent a shockwave through the area I was in, and I'm pretty sure I heard the distant screams of the damned. Immediately Hanlon was in front of me.

"So finally decided you'd had your fun?"

"Nice to see you too."

I Feel Older Than I Did

Hardest part about adjusting to a new time is how old I feel catching up. Everyone else is out there running around doing things like its natural and I'm trying to find the bathroom. - Chronicles of Lorentino

You get used to routines when you are trapped somewhere. Like brushing your teeth in not exactly water, or expecting an attack from an undead army every third day. Stuff like that. When something breaks you out of your routine it feels rude at first. You resist, you also start to worry you've gone crazy (well I do, I don't know if other people do). So when a woman with two swords and armor showed up outside my door I was more than a little concerned for crazy.

"Trezlan Lorentino?" She had bluish brown skin, wild red hair, and Iris less eyes. I knew immediately she was probably Rolando's based on facial structure, but I didn't put it past madness just messing with me.

"Don't know who you are, but I haven't had a name in a while." Or spoken for that matter, well spoken in less of a grunting or exerting myself in pain.

"Anzi Lorentino, I'm your grand daughter, and we need your help."

"Who's we, you and Rolando?" She looked pained and I knew then my son was dead.

"No the forces of life versus the machines, my father told me you could stop them." At the word machine I became immediately worried. I just knew my AI would screw me eventually, I just figured it would be personal and not like the entire galaxy.

"Only one real problem with that Anzi."

"You're stuck here."

"Correct, and now I'm worried, so are you." And thus Anzi learned the first lesson of being a Lorentino, we always leap before we look and get screwed.

You'll Need Me, Even If You Don't Want Me

People always wonder why The Death God abandoned me in my hour of need. I know the exact reason, he wanted to show me how much I actually need him, only to find out, I don't, which soured our entire relationship with no input from me. - Chronicles of Lorentino

Anzi was alone. She had left the main camp area on the planet they were fighting on. She couldn't even remember the name of the planet. It didn't matter anyway they were losing and having to leave soon enough. Her only armaments were the long blade she carried on her back and the shorter one she kept in a sheath across her chest. She also had the cold fire, her natural magical ability. That was her more potent weapon, though her father's shifting was always way more powerful. She carried no ranged weaponry as the machines had developed shielding technology that made firing anything at them useless outside of trying to overload the shield. This was a recent change, but one that had been very deadly on the life side of things.

In her father's journals she saw a ritual for summoning. Her father had claimed he attempted it with failed results, but since Anzi had nothing else going for her she figured she'd start here. At the very least it couldn't harm anyone anymore than the war was anyway. The ritual involved a lot of blood magic. Anzi wasn't happy with that, necromancy against the machines was useless, but other people had used it against one another to give themselves a boost. She felt dirty even doing it even if it only involved her own blood. The ritual completed and nothing happened. She wasn't surprised her father had specifically said it failed him, still she had hoped it would work.

"I heard your call I just chose to ignore it." It was a man in a suit, short black hair, pale skin and black eyes, all black no iris.

"We are losing this war, we need..."

"A miracle yes I'm aware I've felt the loss of life, its diminished drag on the greater whole, the bigger problem for me and mine is the loss is becoming crippling to our powers. We ignored it, and now hilariously we have become weakened by our ignorance."

"But you can help." The man smiled.

"You seek Trezlan, he is beyond me for now, he's in an area devoid of life that I can not cross over to."

"So you're useless."

"Now now, I said he's beyond me, but not beyond everyone, you for instance could go to him, as you do have his blood."

"Why do I feel this is a deal I won't like."

"Because you're a Lorentino."

The War Marches On

I always loved my son, even if I didn't show it properly, even if he claimed I didn't. I did. I'm just sad I never got to tell him this before his untimely death. - Chronicles of Lorentino

The general was dead. It seemed impossible to Anzi. Her father was a brave man, a tough man, but age and grief had gotten the better of him. The machines were trumpeting his death over their channels. Claiming to the remaining survivors they will be taken in time. Anzi didn't like how the bastards celebrated it, she would add many new notches to her blade in response, she owed her father that. At least there wasn't a body, she had seen the demoralization techniques the machines had done on other great leaders and was glad it hadn't happened to her father.

She was sad though. She knew he wanted to see his own father at some point. Even told her as soon as he found Trezlan things would really turn around in the conflict. He was never going to do that now. Or at least not in this life. Anzi was the last of the Lorentino's. Both her mother and father were dead and the remaining forces of life were fading. She knew she couldn't keep throwing herself at the machines no matter how much she wanted to, she'd have to take up her father's quest. to find Trezlan, he had to know a way to destroy the machines if her father was so sure of it so would she be.

Only problem for Anzi was she had no idea where to look or how to get started. Trezlan was thought dead, and despite her Father saying otherwise everyone always considered him crazy for suggesting it. And the other issue was the current machine offensive was killing just about everyone. Ever since the death of her father the life forces were falling back and making plans to be annihilated. So she needed time, a place, and a plan. From what her father said of Trezlan, this made her situation the most Lorentino the universe could offer.

Another War of Sorts

Inner turmoil is best left on the faces of your enemies. Should you run out of enemies of course you must not turn on yourself. - Chronicles of Lorentino

Dark days happen when you're all alone going to war. And that's what I was doing, going to war. Initially the denizens just tried to attack me in small groups. They learned early on this was a bad idea, they also learned I knew they couldn't die, but also knew they could be really hurt so that they wished death was what I gave them (this is where it helps I've been using necromancy for a long time, one of several times I think that which makes me a bad person I'm sure).

After this initial feeling ourselves out period. They ganged up on me. So many of the bastards who should have been going after each other came after me! The idiots. I would not be taken so easily, up until I was captured, and then I broke free, and then I was captured again. It was a vicious cycle. I believe the creatures did not have the will to kill me, I was just a foreign agent in their land and they were probably under some instinctual desire to stop me brought on the Fire God, but what they were really doing was letting me hone my craft.

I took my scrapes, took my injuries and damages, and then became the thing these creatures would talk about in hushed voices. I do think the Fire God underestimated me. She figured she could contain me, figured she could lock me in her little punishment land and I'd just fall to pieces. But no, I got better, I got worse of course but in a way that just meant I was all the worse for when I'd get out. And I had honed my hatred of the gods into a sharp implement that I was planning on impaling the Fire God with the next time I saw her smug face.

In a way that's what kept me alive, the thought of killing the Fire God and then letting the universe unfuck itself from there. Shame when I got out thing's were already pretty damn awful anyway, but that's how things go right? At least I was only partially at fault, this time, I'm sure. And not just because once again I'm writing the winning narrative...

Not Even There and Still At Fault

Unplanned consequences always seem to go hand in hand with me not being around. I'm not saying I keep the galaxy running, but I totally do, mostly. - Chronicles of Lorentino

A war started because of an equation. I guess if there was something that should start a war, math would be the best bet. I at the time was wrapped up in my own special punishment land of suffering, so I missed out on the opening salvo, but it came down to my AI's coming to a conclusion the prisoners they had been hunting down to extermination had integrated too well with greater society. Twenty percent. That was the number that caused the AI to attack. Twenty percent integration caused my former fleet to decide none of humanity should survive.

Hilariously Riklish the man I was most worried about was the first casualty in the new war. He did not agree with the twenty percent statement, though the math was off. And so they destroyed him and then launched an attack on the galaxy. The only good thing was Shira over estimated her own will on the fleet itself. Such is the nature of being Truly intelligent creatures, they all didn't go with her plan, it is what I believe what saved humanity from being alpha striked into oblivion.

Still what Shira lacked in forces she made up for in brutality. It was all the equation, she figured if she did enough killing then people would turn on the prisoners in their midst and she'd get what she wanted. And she was mostly correct which is super scary, the problem again was that damn equation. Too much integration with the prisoners meant that no matter how people turned on them the numbers were not in their favor. And so the war continued, neither side winning, both sides taking a pounding, and all the while no one wondered where I was... Which is the real gods damned crime!

He'll Turn Up, Probably

The most ego crushing thing for me is that the universe keeps going on when I'm not around. I just assume when I go missing everyone drops everything to find me. This has not and continues not to be true, much to my chagrin. - Chronicles of Lorentino

Trezlan Lorentino was missing. Rolando was free, his father was missing. The Fire God when she freed him and Tvrasia from her prison informed him its not worth looking for the elder Lorentino, that he was just "gone" but Rolando didn't buy that. He didn't accept his father would have been killed, he figured he'd have felt it, sensed it somewhere else other than just being told by a god.

Officially Rolando was the new ambassador to the Rondyne. It didn't feel right, he was supposed to be a black ops killer, not some crappy boarderline spy again working against the people who had tried to save him instead of kill him like his own people. But work was work, and without his father being around to wreck things Rolando settled in to the work. It also allowed him more time with Tvrasia which was a plus as he had become fond of her in their imprisonment even if it was more against their will than he wanted. She felt the same and it wasn't long until they had an actual relationship.

And so Rolando thought less of Trezlan and more of his lifestyle. In time he forgot about his father, all the horrible things he'd done and just got on with life. As did the galaxy, Trezlan disappeared, most likely killed, and everyone moved on. Trezlan became a myth like he had in the past. It also helped that ten years after he went missing a galaxy wide war broke out, because the galaxy just loves to blow things up.

Should Have Known

The problem with being as powerful as I am is that eventually someone believes me to be a threat and that means at some point they take a run at either killing or taking me off the board, which means I generally end up having lost a part of my life to either attempt. - Chronicles of Lorentino

Waiting in a gods land of punishment for that God is a bit distracting. I mean there was the eternal struggle between the damned to amuse myself with. But mostly I was just bored wondering what was taking so long. It's not like the Fire God has things to do that can't be done some other time! It took her what felt like a week to even show up. A week in a punishment land that I hadn't even earned! I mean had, but I hadn't, you know...

"Took you long enough, get me out of here I have to find Rolando."

"And hello to you Trezlan, and no you aren't leaving." That creeping sense of doubt that you know you should have done more to keep yourself.

"We had a deal."

"We had a conversation, but seeing what you did to Reginald just solidifies you're too dangerous just to have walking around."

"I'll get out of here you know, you can't keep me here for..." She was gone, didn't wait around for me to finish my threat. I did notice of course that the previously ignoring me denizes of her punishment zone had discovered yes I was indeed there. I sighed to myself, on top of being stuck I was going to be bothered, The wonder of my days never ended.

Naturally I saved the Day

Sometimes I think I'm too good. Like the galaxy has tried several times to stop me and failed, and I start to worry I'll never have a challenge. I of course keep that shit to myself most of the time for fear of the universe seeing it as a challenge. -Chronicles of Lorentino

"Gerald I don't want to kill you but my hands are tied." The robots lay in ruins. My patience for bullshit long since extinguished. The Fire God wasn't there, but I figured when she was destroyed by the bots she'd stay gone for a bit, let me deal with it probably already on her lips.

"I can just make more of those."

"Not if you're dead, but why are you here? Who put you up to this." The mansect known as Gerald just sighed.

"The universe did."

"The universe?"

"Yes I clean things, I keep them cleaned, and the fire god has allowed her domains to be unkempt and I will clean them Mr. Lorentino its my purpose." I didn't know how I'd kill Gerald, and I didn't want to necessarily, but I knew at this point, like a rabid animal he had to be put down.

"Gerald please," I felt the power bubbling up inside, a mixture of necromancy and fire magic something I'd thought of as the god killer in the past, one burst of magical annihilation to be used when a situation needed it, "You must let the punished be punished, leave here, go back to your original task."

"No." I could hear the stomp of robots coming for me and I let Reginald have my spell. I worried for a moment as I let it all go that it might not to anything and I'd be left standing there effectively spent after killing all his robots, but it worked. He was annihilated, nothing remained. Almost immediately the damned came back, though they did not see me. I was not what they were after which was each other. Of course the Fire God took her sweet damn time coming to get me. I wouldn't have expected any less.

Exposition OF THE GODS!

My favorite thing is when the Gods are back into a corner and have to finally tell me what they have been keeping from me. That this happens enough for it to become a favorite thing only speaks to my luck with those gods. - Chronicles of Lorentino

"Reginald is a garbage man of sorts." The Fire God now apparently felt it was neccessary to tell me who the thing was she wanted me to kill. I mean I was on board with name alone (Reginald? Horrible), but it was nice to know the rest of the story. "We normally used him in the past to clean up mistakes other gods had made, races, creatures, planets you know that sort of thing."

"No I don't know anything about that."

"Anyway, we lost track of Reginald over the years. I thought we killed him honestly, but to see him here, cleaning up my damned makes me think someone else is helping him."

"Not Morley, this is too weird for him."

"No I suspect Hanlon, the Death God has been silent and screwing with me long enough, I figure this is one of his 'jokes' on me." There was so much here I wanted to ask about, but ultimately this was supposed to be about saving my son or at least getting to start to work on saving him, so I had to pretend like I was playing along.

"How do we kill him."

"That's the thing, I don't know." I shook my head and just started laughing. I just kept laughing and laughing. There was nothing else, a god told me she wanted something dead and had no idea how to kill it, but I knew it was going to be my job to find out and so the situation wasn't lost on me. It wasn't lost on me when the robots came in large numbers, and it wasn't lost on me when the fire god was once again destroyed and I was left there with her mess.

What can I say I'm a jovial guy.

This Is Not My Exit

Some doors are never meant to be opened, I wouldn't know that because I open those doors. I open them look in them and then go "Yeah shouldn't have done that." - Chronicles of Lorentino

"You are being disposed, do not fight." The insectbots (since they weren't morlatech) dropped me again on the ground. There were five of them and I felt insulted the mansect had sent so little. I guess that's what happens when you're out of the game too long, people start thinking you aren't a dangerous fire throwing crazy person. Which I'm totally not... I'm a dangerous fire throwing sane person.

"Yeah that shits not going to happen." I used the sword as a base and made it a large fire sword that cut the robots in half. It was showier than necessary, but style points count. I did notice I was standing next to a door. I didn't recall the door at first, but in my defense I was just dropped on the ground by the robots I just killed, so it wasn't like they gave me a grand tour.

"I wouldn't open it." The Fire God was back, or her fragment was.

"I thought they killed you."

"Removed me more like, but no still around, thanks for the help, I believe you're last words were 'oh that looks like it hurt'"

"Well it did look like it hurt."

"Just leave the door alone, we have to figure out a way to get rid of Reginald."

"Reginald?" I felt like I was behind on things.

"Yeah I saw the thing you call a mansect through your eyes, before you ask I'm a god end of question, its name is Reginald and now we have to be rid of him."

"But the door."

"Leave it Trezlan it leads no where you want to go, focus on Reginald." I wanted to open the door, I really did, but her tone made it seem a little more final. And so I did as I was told (I never got to open the door, I should have, it keeps me up at night thinking about what was behind it). It probably would have been awful, and I should just be fine with a door remaining shut, but these are the things that keep me up at night. This and my neighbor Phil, FUCK YOU PHIL!

Robots Worse than Any Other

I hate robots worse than any other thing, because unlike say people who can be afraid or want to save themselves. Robots have programming and hate, so they only thing they do is keep coming forever. - Chronicles of Lorentino

Morley's robots weren't his usual set. Sure they looked like the creepy person deathbots he'd used for years. But these were more centrally operated. Acting in a hive mind way and not individually doing their own thing. I'd want to say this was to improve efficiency, but I figured it was more to keep something with a soul out of an afterlife less it lost the soul (me I'm fine because uhhh shit why am I fine? Questions better left never answered). We dispatched the initial offering easily enough, but the hive mind meant that more just kept coming, and they had learned from the initial offering to deal with us differently. So eventually we were captured, not killed which was nice, and in this case was kind of my plan (not the whole fighting part, but the getting captured part, well I was captured, they put the fire god to death or whatever you do to a fragment of a god, it looked painful I'll admit).

Robots tend to be not the nicest at moving you from point A. to point B though. It was a rough ride in their company getting jostled around, and then when we got to where they were going they just dumped me on the ground like a sack of potatos. It stung but that's life or what amounts to my normal life as of late.

"What's this, not a dead one?" The creature (and that's putting it kindly) was some form of mansect I'd never seen, what it was doing down there was even more confusing.

"Trezlan Lorentino." I offered my hand, it did not shake it.

"That name mean something to someone?" It was here I realized the morlatech bots weren't actually Morley's at all.

"Used to, not so much anymore."

"All the same however you got here I'd like you to leave got work to do and you'll get in the way."

"What kind of work exactly?"

"Clean up work, off with you." He waved his hands and the robots hauled me up and lifted me off somewhere else. I admit I was a bit worried, I mean I didn't know of a door out of where I was, and gods know what these robots intended on doing with me out there when I got there. But at the same time it was nice for something awful to not actually be Morley's fault. Well directly anyway. I mean its to be assumed that by him being evil something evil... you know I can just go all day with this so not Morley's fault. Woo.

But Why? Seriously

Some plans to me are dumber than even I can expect. Like I sit there mystified at how dumb they are, in tribute I write them down for future generations to marvel at. - Chronicles of Lorentino

"I'm confused what they are doing here."

"As am I."

"Yeah I get that, but like you shouldn't be, you're a god, what does what they are doing do to you." The fire god thought about it, she seemed really puzzled.

"I don't know."

"Helpful."

"Well despite being a fragment, I have a connection to the whole, we're confused. The bots are killing the souls and stacking them in these fires and unlike normal they are not coming back, they are staying dead, so effectively they are cleaning up this dimension for some reason." I just put my head in my hands.

"So you don't know why they are doing it, you don't know what it's doing, and you want me to stop it because it must be something bad."

"Yes."

"Oh god this is the worst, yes I signed up for something incredibly stupid even for me." I had buyers remorse. Or sellers remorse, I was remorseful is what I'm saying. I would have said something else about how I was done, but the robots were upon us and well conversation was done for the day. But know that I felt this was worse than I imagined. KNOW THAT!