Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

Deep below ground, surrounded by compact stone, formed into perfectly smooth walls, ceilings and floors- Magnificent pillar twisting upward to support it all, each pillar adorned with statues and decorations of impressive beauty, though wide walls, great amounts of various kinds of stone, ores, gems and the likes were being hauled in all directions, pulled by eyeless burden beasts, accompanied by their masters who hailed from various different sapient species…

Every way seemed to lead to mines of some kind, the clanging of pickaxes against hard rock, the sharp sound of shovels piercing dirt, and of course, endless songs, the miners making for an impressive choir as they happily swung without slowing down, only stopping when a loud bell rang out echoing through the many tunnels, signalling time for a pause, time to sit down and eat something before going back to work.

To those not in the know, the vast underground might appear like a hellish place where people were endlessly worked to the bone, forced into digging without ceasing, but that could not be further from the truth.

This was the underground continent of Durter, and here, mining and digging was a religion, extracting ores and the likes from the earth was a form of prayer, and apart from taking breaks to eat and rest, there were also plenty of times during which all work came to a halt, and the miners would instead begin praying to the rocks and stone around them.

Indeed, Durter was a theocracy at its core, which was why its leader was the Hierophant-Queen.

Durter was populated by various species greatly attuned with the earth and the sacred acts that accompanied their work, dwarves of various kinds, intelligent goblins and humans of the deep, mole and rat beastfolks…

They all coexisted, sharing the same faith for the earth surrounding them, all under the rule of their benevolent leader, Artratac Dursol.

Whilst the common people either worked in the mines, performed work in the cities or simply went about their day, a council had gathered inside secret chambers, gathered around a large, rectangular table that had been carved from a huge piece of diamond, its surface perfectly smooth, appearing to sparkle.

All of the people around the table were dressed in robes, their specific attires leaving no doubt that they were high-ranking members of the church, one of them, with the size of a young child, but the appearance of a decrepit old man, spoke first, his voice rough and coarse as though he ate sand and dust as his meals everyday.

"Archbishops, we are once again gathered here today to discuss various matters" he said, his sunken eyes shining with intensity, raising his chin as he looked at everyone present.

Immediately after, another one, of a much more imposing physique struck the diamond table with his fist.

"Forgive my outburst, but despite our repeated demands and please, the Hierophant-Queen still refuses to reduce communications and cooperation with the undeads! That gravelord was here again just yesterday, am I the only one who is starting to suspect that there is something happening between Lady Dursol and that Vwoldtnir?!"

"Calm your anger, Doloctkar…" a female archbishop whose entire body and head seemed to have been elongated spoke with both hands on the table "...It is a bit too hasty to come to such dire conclusions already, don't you think?"

"Alaghul is right, unfortunately, we do not have a say in who Lady Dursol wishes to meet or spend time with, the gravelord comes often under the guise of inspecting the handful of undeads here, but I do agree that it is concerning how trusting Lady Dursol is of that ghoul, it's almost as though she forgets that the Undead Empire keeps on trying to expand their territory!"

The supreme archbishop soon spoke up again.

"Lady Dursol is focused on the divine, the undeads that were sent here are exceptional miners who can keep going without stop, in her eyes, that is a sign that they are touched by the divine, the same is true for the gravelord, he is an excellent digger, therefore Lady Dursol trusts him…" he explained before sighing "...As you can see, her piety is indeed overwhelming to the point that she does not consider anything else"

After these words, the rest of the archbishops momentarily quieted down, glancing at one another- What were they supposed to say to this? That the Hierophant-Queen should be less pious? It would be madness to imply that their holy leader should be so faithful!

"The undead do not know fatigue, they are efficient workers despite not possessing our faith, Lady Dursol views it as a sign that of inherent goodness- That is a problem, the Undead Empire is nothing but a mass of warmongering, bloodthirsty monsters, their only goal is to massacre use all"

"Gravelord Vwoldtnir is attempting to convince us, and the population that undeath is the next step to be closer to the earth, to becoming better miners that can commune with the earth without pause… I think we can all agree that this is nonsense, yes?" Talactuum looked at the other archbishops, and none raised any counterpoints.

"We need to stop them from settling their toxic roots into our continent, any suggestions?"

Silence filled the secret chambers for a few moments.

"The people wholeheartedly support Lady Dursol, she used to be the chosen saintess and since her rule began, we have been flourishing without stop like never before, we can not gain the support of the people to convince Lady Dursol" Doloctkar, puffed warm air out of his bull-like nose, emitting the sound of scraping rock as his face scrunched up into an ugly scowl.

"Should we just take control by force?" on the other end of the table, a dwarven man with a blindfold covering his eyes emitted his own idea.

Nearly everyone present sunk back in their seats as they looked back toward the Supreme Archbishop, veins visibly protruding from his skull.

"Pardon me, Kalestop, but are you perhaps suggesting that we, the archbishops, overthrow the Hierophant-Queen?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Of course, the undeads, and the gravelord in particular are breaches of security, that Vwoldtnir… You must all have felt it, his power is enormous, at any moment, he could slaughter thousands upon thousands of our people! What is a threat to the population, is a threat to our faith and to the underground itself! If Lady Dursol is complicit in allowing such a risk, then is it not only natural for her to step down?" the dwarven man doubled down, leading to the pressure in the room to increase.

"Listen closely, we may have powers, and we may need to take strong measures- But Lady Dursol is absolutely off-limits! She was chosen from birth by the underground, her blessing has done nothing but grow continuously, taking any action against her would be spitting in the face of what we worship, are you willing to become a blasphemer, Kalestop? Answer me now"

The dwarven archbishop lowered his head as the pressure increased.

"O-Of course not, Supreme Archbishop…"

"I would hope so"