NOVEL SIMPLE The Trembling Songs and Warcries in Sama Rantha
The Trembling Songs and Warcries in Sama Rantha
First Reference, Ch. Twelve,
Tremble, She Comes!
There were stanzas in every language I knew, and multiples in a few of them. I Sang them as part of Intimidation checks against enemies in their own languages, so the song would proliferate and infiltrate their own Akashas to greater effect. I wanted my enemies singing it around their own campfires, knowing that to face me in a fight was to be ready to die!
Tremble, She Comes!
Dual duty, because the Name of my Sword was Tremble. I was only lacking it for now, but I would have my Sword, and they would know to fear when I came!
Ch. 27, talking about Minstrel Levels...
The power of Sama is coming for you… Tremble, She comes…
Ch. 28, prepping for Undead and Threnodic Song...
“Tremble, She comes…” hummed my Sword, vibrating just above my knees with palpable eagerness.
“We’re going to need a stanza for ghosts here soon.”
“In Necrus!” Tremble replied cheerfully.
“Can’t terrorize the undead without it.” Undead were nominally immune to fear, unless you jumped through some hoops. A mnecromonic Weapon that recorded everything that died to it and was Bane to them, did the job nicely. Only had to overcome the -20 penalty to affect something immune to fear. Blaring at them in Necrus while they felt the liberation of so many of their kind en vivus was enough to shake even the brainless undead.
My Intimidation modifier was maybe +15 or so right now, with Tremble in hand, so not likely to do anything to them. I was fighting crap way above my Level, after all.
“Foul in life, fouler in death, chains a-rattling with every still breath,” he began experimentally.
“That doesn’t actually rhyme in Necrus…”
“Oh. I need to learn more languages…”
“No reason you can’t have a version for all the human listeners to admire,” I reasoned, as I continued at my task.
“Oh, true, true!” he agreed happily. “Damned ghosts, a score of spirits groaning, vivus to the face, their cursed fates bemoaning…”
“Their deaths, their doom, it came at last, end of the endless, all too fast…”
“Free of pain, unlife burning, free in horror, undeath churning…”
“TREMBLE, SHE COMES!” we belted out together.
“Gotta get the notes right,” I observed.
“Right, right. But I can’t hit the right notes while in fire mode,” he crackled.
“True. I guess we’ll just have to practice while on the job.”
“So, how does that sound in Necrus?” he asked curiously.
I opened my mouth and began to croak a truly disastrous litany with a melody that sent chills up my own spine at the sheer inhumanity of it. Tremble listened with professional interest.
“Wow, that sounded like a hellhole gave birth to a constipated toad,” he informed me after I finished.
“Ghastly?” I noted acerbically.
“Argh! I hath been punned!”
“Word structure in Necrus is pretty fucked up in regards to Human, but taking liberties with it is one of the ways you really upset the undead, who aren’t big on change.”
“We’re going to make a twenty-tongue masterpiece stanza someday, just to show them all how not to fuck with us!” he promised dramatically.
I laughed lightly. “Yes, we are. Once we get out of here. What kind of accompaniment?”
“Weird flutes for humans listening. For undead, hmm…”
“Water glasses?”
“Ohhhh…” he seemed to like that. “With silver jingle bells. Ostentatiously cheerful stuff.”
“Something spritely. Just combining that with Necrus will crack them.”
We chortled together as we brainstormed a melody for the new stanza upcoming. Of course, had to add in dolorous iron bells for the Human version…
Ch. 29, Confronts a Hag...
She blinked in surprise. “You’re the child…” she murmured, her iron-spike teeth gnashing in dawning fear.
“That’s right. You made me! Hello, Auntie. I hope you enjoyed meeting me!”
I charged in. She lashed out with the staff, I swayed on the wrong arc, and she had just enough time to process that my feet were moving the wrong way as I bent aside, the bone staff howled past, and I was off the ground and coming in at her chest with calm death in my eyes, and Blooding on my blade.
Spirited Charge, with Valor newly minted on my Sword, doubling charge damage, stacking for quadruple damage.
“Tremble, She comes!” I whooped, and we were so on.
Ch. 30, during fighting
“Tremble, she comes!” Tremble snarled in Necrus, and my Whirlwind sheared out, riding the Attacks of Opportunity of them being dumb enough to use a magical ability in range of my Sword, and four banshees exploded in vivic fire. I ended the Cleave with a Sharding into my next target, spinning into her and the middle of three others at the same time, daring them to scream.
35, The Grimm Stanza
“Oh, that’s because of the other side of the equation. I killed three hundred and twenty-nine of you pissants before you got too terrified to come out anymore!” My voice rose, and Tremble’s drone had an awful, ominous beat, even as the grimm froze.
Tha-thump, thum-thump!
“From the shadows crawled the grimm,
Full of vigor, full of vim.
Venom, hate, fat on sin,
Mocking claws, a coward’s grin.
They struck from the rear,
Hunting pain and fear…
And were gutted, shattered, jaws split wide,
Fed to the Land, and cast aside.
Every day, a grimm to slay,
Until they dared not come to play.
TREMBLE, SHE COMES!”
Ch. 41, the Erlking Stanza
“Because powerful fey dying in Dream broadcast their deaths to their fellows. You’ll probably recognize it, because I Sang it as I killed those erlkings and their armies and their Ladies.”
I saw his finger twitch. Dream was not a concept realm to the Fey. It could be said they were born in Dream and came to the mortal realm from it. Death in Dream was not just words.
“What song is this?” he asked softly, dark eyes narrowed in his pale face.
Tremble began to beat. Tha-thump, thump thump! Tha-thump, thump-thump!
“Came the crows, black on wing,
Heralds of doom lead the erlking.
Stack the carrion, pluck the eyes,
Burn the homes, weep the skies.
Nature’s fury, forest’s wrath,
Chaos reaver on a bloody path.
Crush the winds, break his wings!
Rend his armor, cold iron sings!
Curse his wounds, break his pride,
Snap his sword and gut his ride!
His bloody horde falls to ruin
Victim of a mortal’s doing.
Look in his eyes and scream your Name,
Feed the Land with fey feathered flame!
Tremble, She comes!”
Ch. 43 Erlking Again
I drew Tremble as he tried to muster outrage in his eyes.
Tha-thump. Thump thump. Tha-thump, thump thump…
“Tremble, She comes…” we sang together, and Tremble lit up, an awful Banelight reflecting in his eyes, the hue of Fey blood. HIS blood. “Came the crows, black on wing…”
Greater Soulbound. Bane to Fey. Enmity to Samsaran. Courageous. Blooding. And just for him, Bane of Legends, since he was one of the great powers of the Fey.
The Greater Magic Weapon he had on his carved wooden sword paled at the ringing hunger in the beat and chime of what was effectively a +15 Weapon screaming for his blood and soul.
“Heralds of doom lead the erlking…”
Like I said, I had no problems Intimidating him. His every advantage was nullified, Anathema to everything he represented howled in my hand, and I came for him in a Wardancing charge that looked like a liquid whip unfurling.
His Sword was split like a bokken against a katana, the magic puffing out as it faded, and Sundering Cleave drove the point straight towards his throat.
He indeed evaded with everything he had, fear charging out and destroying his confidence, but he was slow now, and I was very, very fast, even him beating his wings frantically couldn’t outrun me. The point of Tremble opened his cheek effortlessly, and ruby blood too bright to be human painted the rocks.
He had nothing to attack with now, a swordsman with no sword. He tried lashing out with hands that suddenly grew impressive talons, and chik-chik, he cried out as I opened his palms across the edge of my sword.
“Stack the carrion, pluck the eyes…”
I twisted, and robe-cut him. His fancy wooden breastplate, carved with forest scenes, leaves, and inset with topaz and black sapphires, was cloven cleanly in two, and the slender, well-muscled chest with feathery body tufts gained a wound from his right shoulder to hip at the same time.
He hit the ground as somehow my foot found the back of his heel, and down he went, cushioned by his wings.
He found himself looking down the chisel-point of my Sword, just barely drawing a bead of blood on his prominent nose.
“Burn the homes, weep the skies…”
He looked up along the length of the Sword that I was shaking to keep back from him, that was hungering for all he was, as I finished the stanza, and he couldn’t even gasp as I buried everything in his gaze. I wasn’t a human girl in his eyes anymore.
I was Sama Rantha. I came, and he trembled!
Ch. 47 – Swords and Dragons
“Kreshken Mrog, Spewing Death,” Tremble said, with just that little bit of terrifying hum under her voice as I lowered her point down to that Sword. “Shall we compare Names? Mine… is TREMBLE!”
She shifted to Sundering mode, and I hacked her into the base of the hand-wide Blade, carving into the tainted demonic steel savagely, knocking it over and down to the ground, where she impaled it and nailed it to the earth.
Demonic flames danced around the Runes carved into it with a terrible light, but I could see the metal shivering. Vivic flames and Banefire to Demons started feasting, and Tremble began to sing a heart-shivering Song she had made up for precisely these moments.
“Ill-wrought metal, pitiful moldering steel,
Come, come to me, come and let me feel
Your power, your might, your Name.
Your useless rage and bloody thirst,
Your reaping of souls, innocent and cursed.
Death and Ruin, all just a game.
Tremble, and know fear!
You thought you’d slaughter and reap,
Now your Name will forever sleep,
Tremble, I am here!
You drank of blood and souls
Stink of bitter, twisted goals.
Tremble, and learn!
Feel your Name now falter
For’er lost on Heaven’s altar.
Doom has come to Death,
To you who ended breath,
A meal in passing, a fitting end,
A fool’s mistake that I now mend.
Tremble, and burn!
Ch. 50, Knights in Nightmare
“Brave Knights of the Rose,” I winked at them, shifting forward, and they stepped back urgently, blades raised on the defense. I smiled, as that just opened up their legs to me, which I had no problems reaching. “Your duty is about to end!”
“Tremble, she comes!” my Sword droned out in crystalline pure notes, right on cue.
Ch. 64 – Stand is added.
Stand had always been the name of my Shield in game, and Tremble immediately started adding new stanzas to our Song of ‘Stand and Tremble, She Comes!’ I made it as a buckler, then a small shield, large shield, and even a tower shield. Its first Slot was Soulbound, so it was tied to me, and freed up room in the Hilt Chamber for more shards of metal to be added to it.
Ch. 80 – Profiting from Demons
“Horagraezshar came from afar, brought to the scene by his petty queen!” Tremble sang out triumphantly. “Gave his throat to her blade, the wrong choices he made, leading to death with his last breath, “Tremble trailed off, and the demon looked even angrier… but didn’t leap to attack again. “Go kill him now, I guess?”
“Yes.” I skated forwards, feet and body not moving the ways they should, skating left while moving right, graceful as a curling wave across the bloody ground, and the gallu lifted his Axe to wait for me. He had a couple feet of reach on me, at the very least, even if my Blade was hurting his eyes to look at with the anathemic energies wrapped around it.
I slammed Tremble against his Axe, sparks and metal flew, and his taloned feet shifted quickly as he moved with the blow, shocked at the force behind it… and the huge gouge taken out of his Weapon. He certainly didn’t expect anything my size to be hitting so hard.
He tried to take off, but only bounced a couple feet before landing awkwardly, unable to fly, and I was flowing in on him again.
He struck, knowing that any solid blow would rip me right in two, tear through flesh and chop through bone without problem. His Axe swirled through figure eights as lightly as a baton, poised to arc down on me from any angle required.
He was exactly one Tier stronger than me. I had his reach down, and he was hitting the arcs and vectors with wildly precise motions, innate chaotic MAB on full display, no form at all, just what was good at the moment it was needed, instinct gone large instead of training and conditioning.
Still, that meant he couldn’t be in two places at once. He’d probably try to be, however, thinking I was a sucker and would just be watching the dance of his Axe.
High MAB is heightened combat awareness. Everything is moving in slow motion, gives you time to notice things, think, and respond to them. As your MAB increases, your ability to respond to those things in real time increases, but never quite catches up, you’re always seeing faster than you’re moving.
Stand came up and smashed the Axe high as I dipped down to go under it.
His wing came over and under like a bat, smashing me in the direction the Axe was going, setting me up to bring it down on me and finish me abruptly.
I was already rolling over, and Tremble chopped down, the end of his wing flopped free. I continued the spin, the ground basically a frictionless surface under my Vajra. Stand reached out as I was upside-down, and Doc planted itself firmly behind his knee, sending a jolt of energy through me to heal my calf wound.
His wing was out of position, or he could have jumped high enough and far enough fast enough to evade what was coming next, as I did full splits, stopped my slide against his legs, and thrust straight up.
His skin-codpiece and girdle shrieked in protest as I drove Tremble in full length, and wrathfire roared for an extra three inches in all directions, really making a mess of things on many levels.
“The Defiler of Queens lost his means!” crowed Tremble triumphantly. “Alas, a lass made a pass, and it was his last!”
Ch. 92, Meets Emperor Korvus in Dream
It took him two long minutes to realize that I was toying with him and enjoying the sparring, letting him test himself uselessly against my defenses, and then made him defend himself madly against the crushing power of my attacks, always getting faster, faster, exploiting every opening he had. All the while, Tremble was chanting “Tremble, She Comes!”, and as my momentum built, so did the speed of his chant.
Ch. 98, In Leng vs serpent-men...
I reached down to the dead Priest, snapped off one fang, lifted it to my lips, and sucked on its poison before their disbelieving eyes, circling it around my lips like a cigarette.
“TREMBLE, SHE COMES!” whooped Tremble (in Aklo, it sounded much more domineering), and I hit them, blood spraying.
Ch. 102, The Krovboynyar
Perhaps I am your Nightmare...
Spears slammed down, boots slammed counter. The lads fought to keep smiles off their faces, thank heavens for closed helms in the front lines.
“Tremble, Tremble, She comes…”
---
I sniffed, and Tremble calmed back down. With one thunderous final stamp, the stomping behind me faded, although the men were still humming softly under their breath, spears flashing in time, pulsing and fading as the chant rose and fell.
Tremble, ohhhh Ohhh oh tremble, She comes…
“I am Sama Rantha, the Sage of Swords,” I informed him disdainfully. “What do you want, Bone-Taker? My tea grows cold.”
Ch. 108, Tusk Annie in Nightmare...
“You’re NOTHING. You have no power over me, I’ve taken it all away! I’m going to get out of here, and than I’m going to hunt you down and butcher you like you deserve! Go on, cackle about giving birth to me and all my power, when I shove my Sword into your skull and roast you in True Death!”
“Hag who thinks it all a game, darkly ever denies her blame;
Play the witch, be the bitch, scratch the itch, but mind that twitch;
What goes around, comes around... and now, you Hag, she’s coming around.
Tremble, she comes!”
She was incredibly fast, as powerful as a Cloud Jotun, skin like iron, girt in foul magic, nasty and experienced and loaded up on Health Qi.
“Wail, oh wail, you pitiful thing, there is no mercy where we Sing.
Lies and delusions to which you cling, let clear and pure the truth now ring,
From the deadly light you’ll crawl, down, down, to that cold grim hall
Where judgement waits, your time has come,
Your soul of filth, of rot and scum.
Your Fate, your Doom, come all too soon
Your hate, your gloom, a useless tune
Sung to despair and long-shirked blame
At last now comes your end of game.
Tremble, she comes!”
Ch. 110, the final fight in Nightmare...
Tremble lit up, and the demons, who had been about to advance, paused again.
Gold Soulflame. Harder, sharper gold Soulflames. Gold-black Banefire to Evilborn. Electrum-chromatic Enmity to Evil. Pulsing, ready Bane of Legends.
White vivic flame...
+X ‘You’re Going To Die Forever’ stamped itself onto their eyeballs.
“Tremble, oh oooh oh, Tremble, she comes...”
The Song rose, and the twenty-five hundred Ironblood who’d survived took up the chant.
And I was off.
Ch. 231, Just before meeting Wayfair... and more grimm.
...“And were gutted, shattered, jaws split wide,
Fed to the Land, and cast aside.
Every day, a grimm to slay,
Until they dared not come to play.
TREMBLE, SHE COMES!”
Ch. 260, final fight with Tusk Annie
She had seven things to hit me with: four tentacles rippling with space-tearing edges, her bite, and her claws, all of which could come into play at any second. It was a totally fearsome lineup which could devastate any unprepared opponent.
I lowered my AC by four to set up the Karmic Strike exchange, adopted Thorned Stance, proceeded to Lock her Down, and Tremble and I Sang and laughed in anticipation.
“Hag who thinks it all a game, darkly ever denies her blame;
Play the witch, be the bitch, scratch the itch... but mind that twitch;
What goes around, comes around... and now, you Hag, she’s coming around.
Tremble, she comes!
Wail, oh wail, you cursed thing, there is no mercy where we Sing.
Lies and delusions to which you cling, let clear and pure the truth now ring,
From the deadly light you’ll crawl, down, down, to that cold grim hall
Where judgement waits, your time has come,
Your soul of filth, of rot and scum.
Your Fate, your Doom, come all too soon
Your hate, your gloom, a useless tune
Sung to despair and long-shirked blame
At last now comes your end of game.
Tremble, she comes!”
-------
It was all openings to me. I executed Seven Ripping Dragons twice in six seconds as she tried to step back, Health Qi bloomed all around us, dotted with little stamen from my missile fire, which had never let up.
“Tremble, She Comes!” we howled at her.
Outraged at being unable to retreat, she unloaded on me again, and noticed the Blood Rose too late.
“TREMBLE!” It was a scream of ecstasy, of culmination and anticipation, of saying Fuck-You!!! to Fate and Chance and all her machinations, and putting this rabid bitch down.
The Blood Rose ignited, and that crazy warped insane flesh-twisted hate expression of hers took a real turn as she suddenly read the change of Luck, and didn’t realize that she should have stopped attacking... probably because she had realized earlier that with my glowing Swords, trying to play defense just wasn’t going to work at all, and had just gone all out.
Fourteen Sword crits went off, and eleven ranged crits helped them along. My Halo Crown became a light in a sea of fountaining bloody Health Qi.
“TREMBLE!!” we screamed at her. Eat an Intimidation check at 70, bitch! Let me see all those eyes shrinking back in fear! Let me see you seeing Doom coming for you in every possibility! Oh, right, THERE’S NO POSSIBILITY FOR YOU!