Lords of Creation - What Shall Be (IC)

[Shmee]

The Skull Knight, Syamxia

The Skull Knight had in fact retreated deep into the twisting corridors within the Necropolis of Symaxia, not too far from where the dark ritual which originally created the foul armour. He was furious that he had come so close to defeating Solaron, only to be caught unaware in the last possible moment.

"Curse him... curse him to the Abyss! I shall come up with new ways to eternally torture the souls of his followers... I shall make him regret sparing me..."

In his rage, the Skull Knight is unaware of Michrael's appearance above Symaxia. If Michrael wants to confront the Skull Knight, he shall have to brave the darkness of the Necropolis.

Spoiler

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OOC

The Freiherr
Transfer 1AP to the Skull Knight

The Skull Knight
AP2= 4-2, Gain Domain: Darkness
AP0= 2-2, Gain Portfolio: Horror

[planswalker]

Michrael - Symaxia

Michrael enters Symaxia, ready to strike down any undead that dares oppose him. He makes his way to the central tower of the city on foot.

[Shmee]

The Skull Knight, Symaxia

The Skull Knight was in fact deep within the catacombs of the Necropolis, deep underground. As Michrael approaches, the Skull Knight feels his presence and turns around.

"No sooner are you released that you wish to forfeit your soul once again, Marshall of Angels? I defeated you once before, and only lost to your master because of unforeseen circumstances... now you seek to fight me within unholy grounds... fool... this time I shall destroy your soul..."

Unsheathing the Blade of Radiance, the Skull Knight lunges at Michrael.

Fury

The army of Fury was now mustered and fully prepared for the task at hand. For too long the Genasi abroad Fury had suffered at the hands of the god-lovers, now Fury itself would strike back repaying the god-lovers for every single of their crimes.

The Generals of Fury had prepared their plans, and now they waited for everything to start. Back on Progress, in the pitch darkness of night, several Genasi commandos upon reaching the city of Neid, commenced the operation by sabotaging important infrastructures. Over night, lines of communication were cut, rail-roads leading in and out of the city were destroyed, weapon storages were raided and important locations were seized.

As the night progressed, the Genasi launched the second part of their plan. Within the Seat of Fury, the Steel Veil was worked into overdrive, launching a massive electric storm over Midgar, knocking off all electrical devices in the country off, and denying them their greatest asset, their technology.

Finally, as the Sun started to dawn over Progress, residents of Neid look up into the sky at an unbelievable sight. Genasi airships making their way through the city, unopposed as paratroopers began landing and take over key points. Over by sea, the ocean is filled with Genasi warships, as the main invasion force begin to land and systematically secure Neid in the name of Marcoism and the Motherland.

By mid-day the Palace of Neid was completley over-run by the Genasi invaders, and having managed to capture the ruler of Midgar, she is given a choice, to read a letter to all citizens of Progress, in which she denies the gods and embraces Marcoism, or be executed as a criminal. The choice was hers.

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OOC

Fire the Steel Veil against Midgar's technology.

[Selinia]

Progress

"This is an OUTRAGE!"

Councilor Anderson, speaker for the Alliance, rasped into the microphone in a tone equal parts rage and genuine grief. He was a native of Midgar... rumor had it that when he'd seen the Genasi propaganda broadcast - executing the nation's queen on a charge of "Conspiracy against the State." - he'd hurled a chair through a window.

It would have hardly been the most extreme reaction. The papers were printing nothing else. The networks were talking of nothing else. The word on the street was turned to this with every conversation. And now, twelve hours after the Genasi's broadcast, the emergency meeting of the Allied Nations had reached a unanimous verdict.

"This day - the day we we, the allied nations of Progress, were subjected to a brutal and utterly unprovoked attack by those with whom we had wished only peace - will forever live in infamy. Lets us never forget this hour. For this day... the alliance declares unconditional war on the cruel and senseless aggression of the UGGC!"

The crowd erupted in cheering, as the politician slammed his fist onto the podium, roaring to be heard.

"We will not rest, will not fall back, will not cede a single acre of our beloved lands to these monsters! And when the last of their soldiers is driven from out shores... we will chase them all the way back their capitol, and crush their machines of war once and for all!"

*****************************************

As the day wore on into night, one could almost hear the gears of war grinding to life. Speeches were made. Army bases were overflowing with volunteers. NNHIS pledged limitless credit acceptance and the full production of their industrial machine - more formidable now than ever with the massive shipments of raw material being hauled in from Conviction.

Each day in the cities saw new armored battle-groups forming up and rolling out north. The universities put up massive commissions for those with the skills to help design the next generation of fighting equipment. The capitols, became military strongholds, patrolled by destroyers on the coast and air patrols in the sky. Along both coasts, great fleets took position at the southern edges of the genasi-seized territory. The dojos were emptied as their students and teachers alike were called away to train the influx of new recruits.

For the first time in history, the saerites were going to war.

Northern Coona, Progress

At last after a few feverish weeks, their forces assembled, the Allied Nations Army launched its counter-assault. Whatever else could be said of it, the army was a truly awe-inspiring sight. Hundreds... perhaps even thousands of armored vehicles roared across the open terrain with frightening speed, rolling over the hills of northern Progress like an avalanche of steel. Faster, lighter mechanized infantry were dispersed throughout the countryside, vigilant for enemy presence, but is was here that the hammer would fall.

Overhead, there was a dull roar as flights of Naussica IIs escorted the much bulkier, higher flying bombers. The mission here was one of shock and awe - to daze and demoralize the enemy. Speed was imperative, and so artillery would be left behind, but the bombers would fill the role quite nicely.

The bulk of the invading force had been spotted ahead... having consolidated their power in Neid, the Genasi were capitalizing on the element of surprise, hoping to strike directly into the heart of Progress before their enemies could react. They would contact within minutes. The armor would punch through their lines, their fighters would clear the skies, and their bombers would rain down death from above. All the while, the mechanized infantry would be moving to cut off withdrawal or escape.

And in the rearguard... if logic failed and all seemed lost... there was always the trump card. The Ashcroft Foundation did not normally supply weapons of war, but in this case, an exception could be made. The nature of the weapon was... unreliable, and the generals would rather not use it, but if things got unpleasant, it was there.

Victory was assured. The genasi offensive would end today!

Spoiler

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OOC: AP!
Klashanna AP: 19 ; 19 + 9 (Final Rollover) - 4 (Bless Progress - Patriotic Fervor) - 1 (Teach Populace - Bombers) - 1 (Teach Populace - Shock and Awe tactics) - 3 (Bless Progress - Trade with Conviction providing nigh-limitless supplies of high-quality raw material for manufacturing)
Sequence AP: 21 ; 19 + 2 (Final Rollover)
The Unbound Spark AP: 17 ; 13 + 4 (Final Rollover)

[Shmee]

Progress

As the Armed Forces of Fury landed on Progress, the Genasi consolidated their hold on Midgar, installing a puppet government as the army prepared for phase two of the invasion, the push towards Coona, Capital of the Alliance.

However, the Alliance had reacted faster than the Genasi Command had anticipated, and soon the march to Coona was bogged down as the Alliance began to unleash its technological superiority. But where the Genasi lacked in technology, they made up in experience. Countless years of conflicts ranging on all continents, and from all sorts of enemies, mortal and divine alike, if anyone in the world knew of combat, it was the Genasi... and there were not alone.

To the Alliance surprise, the Genasi generals responded by simply sending in more cannon fodder. Scores of Genasi would be killed before they even knew what hit them, but yet they continued to press on the attack with a zeal that the Alliance had never seen before. For the Generals it mattered little, as long as the objective was captured. As the Generals watched the Alliance Airforce pound their position, the Genasi turn to their ally. Amongst them and several heads shorter, a small Goblin, representing the Goblin Invasion Task-force, Field Marshall Screechy simply grins

"They do with fire, play huh? So we give them the idea of war ... Garden-style!"
"They want to play with fire do they? Very well, let us give them a taste of how war is done... Despair style!"
Giving the command, thousands of Goblin missiles, dubbed "Screechy's Organs" due to the sound they make are launched, salvo after salvo. The Alliance air force finds itself surprised as the Goblins, used to aerial combat began to fight back.

Any Iron Gnome fighting would recognize these tactics from the G.G. Wars which had raged on Despair against the Gnomes and the Goblins. This would defiantly be something to worry about, since wars on Despair were fabled for the wide spread destruction that was left in their wake, and if anything, the introduction of the Kythid Plaguebringers, meant that the Genasi were intent on giving the Alliance a taste of the wars they faced on Despair.

Despite the massive casualties, the Genasi were able to slowly push back the Alliance defences, until the UGGC forces were within striking distance of Coona. However, the Genasi dug themselves in, as they awaited reinforcements from Fury.

[Rizban]

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As a reminder to myself...
Minrhet
AP 24

Martu
AP 15

Namtar
AP 15

Martu and Namtar, off the coast of Progress

"Ah, it seems as if the combat has at last begun in earnest. It seems as if the time has finally come for us to intervene."

Martu looked to Namtar as he spoke then replied, "We have not yet received orders to move in. Lord Minrhet would not be happy with us if we acting on our own in this matter."

"Bah!" A puff of angry smoke erupts from Namtar's nostrils. "Are we to always do nothing save when he expressly commands? Did he not give us minds and wills that we might make our own decisions? I say we attack now and drive the Genasi back."

"We are to wait for now as he have been for awhile. It is not our place to act yet. Perhaps he is merely testing our resolve."

"You are a fool. If he is testing us, then it is to see if we have the strength to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. I say we wait no longer."

"No, Namtar, we must wait until he has decided the time is right."

[hr]Minrhet, Conviction after the fight with Skull Knight

Minrhet stood waiting, holding the Elysium in his hands. It seems that not only had his brother not needed him in this conflict, he had even forgotten him. Never before had this bothered him, yet for some reason, this total dismissal during what was his brother's most fierce internal struggle yet infuriated him.

Had he not always been loyal? Had he not always done what was asked of him to the best of his abilities? Had he not always looked after Solaron's best interests no matter what? Sure, he had done his own things too, but it was always to further the overall goals of his brother. Even the dragons were for his brother. They were created based on Solaron's ideas, shaped to suit the fulfillment of his goals, and sent to eliminate the worship of Dark gods that his brother's Light might shine ever brighter. Now, in his brother's darkest moment, Minrhet was cast aside, forgotten. The heat drained from his being, and as surely as glass cooled too quickly, his heart broke.

Minrhet whispers quietly to himself, and only the dragon perched upon his shoulder hears his words. "Very well then, brother. I see how valuable you consider me to be. I am but your tool, a tool which is now no longer useful. I had never suspected you could be so heartless. This useless tool is no longer beholden unto you. No, it shall go forth and do things as they should have been done from the very beginning. You may have lost sight of things, but I know what must be done..."

The heat of his fury flooded through his being, pouring out until it became uncomfortable for the dragon perched upon him. Taking flight, the red dragon flew to Namtar to deliver word of these events. The heat from Minrhet continued to build until it scorched the very earth beneath his feet. His minions fled from him, those too slow being consumed by his wrath made manifest. The ground around him began to crack and ooze, the stone melting in the intense heat, and still it built. Soon, the Burning Caverns were no more, as the roof collapsed in on itself, adding to the boiling lake of magma which now dominated the eastern shores of Conviction. Great jets of steam poured forth from the ocean on Planet as the magma slowly poured through the veil and into the seas.

[hr]Martu and Namtar, off the coast of Progress

Martu and Namtar watch Conviction in the distance as great clouds of steam build, obscuring sight as the ocean along the shore boils. A lone red dragon flies hastily in retreat towards the group. Mentally relaying Minrhet's words to Namtar alone, the red joins the ranks of the Dragon Army.

"You wanted a sign, well there it is. Now, we move."

"I do not know what this is, but it is certainly not a sign to attack. We wait."

"NO! We attack. Now. There can be no more waiting."

"You are wrong..."

Namtar turns and flies towards Progress, the chromatic dragons peeling off from the remainder of the Dragon Army to follow their god into battle, and oh what a glorious battle it will soon become.

[planswalker]

The Skull Knight, Symaxia

The Skull Knight was in fact deep within the catacombs of the Necropolis, deep underground. As Michrael approaches, the Skull Knight feels his presence and turns around.

"No sooner are you released that you wish to forfeit your soul once again, Marshall of Angels? I defeated you once before, and only lost to your master because of unforeseen circumstances... now you seek to fight me within unholy grounds... fool... this time I shall destroy your soul..."

Unsheathing the Blade of Radiance, the Skull Knight lunges at Michrael.

Michrael - Symaxia

Michael parries the Blade with his own. Though not as powerful, it is still a divine weapon. Shining with crimson light, the blade clashes against the
bright one. That and a careful sidestep cause the blade to catch air.

Spoiler

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ap: 5=8-3(create battle artifact: the Sword of Crimson Light)

"You have been bested once, and now I am about to end your days. Your own weapon has prophesied your undoing."

With that, Michrael delivers his own attack, a broad slice at the Knight's torso.

Solaron - Conviction

Unaware that his brother felt slighted, Solaron attends a celebration in honor of his Re-Dawning, as the prismatic kobolds call it. He introduces them to the concept of parties, and the festivities quickly devolve into a night of revelry.

The next morning, Solaron realizes that Minrhet never appeared with the Elysium artifact. He sends out Orange to ask his brother what the trouble is.

[Rizban]

Minrhet, Conviction

The ground melted and gave way. All fled before his wrath, except for one lone Shimmerling. Orange carefully approached, suffering through the heat which flowed from Minrhet as the ground flowed away before him. Calling out to him, Orange manages to gain Minrhet's attention for a moment.

"Come on behalf of my brother, have you? No! I will not allow him to stop me anymore. My whole reason for being is the same as his: to drive all Darkness from the world. He has lost sight of this and has even forgotten me, his strongest tool, his greatest ally, his own brother and closest friend. He thinks of me only as meaningful when it suits him and instructs me to hold off on my plans, which are planned for his glory and his benefit. All I have done, I have done for him, and he has forgotten me. Now, I do what I do for the Light Eternal. He is the god of light, but he is not the Light. I must obey my duty to Light, and so I must turn from my brother as he has turned from me. This world will have the Light, and no one, no one, will stop it. Are you with me, little one? I have need of friends such as you have been and allies such as you can muster. Join me that Light may shine Eternal."

[planswalker]

Orange - Conviction

Indeed, these words struck a chord in Orange. He had always found that he liked Minrhet's methods and means of getting things done.

"Solaron greets you and bids you come to him, that you may partake in his Joy at being freed from Solkiran" Having delivered his official message, Orange then speaks for himself.

"I do indeed believe that you are correct. My Lord has struggled with his own internal darkness so long that he is blinded to the Light. He has lost his purpose. Mahaps it will be that seeing you fulfill at last the purpose for which we all exist will re-ignite the Light within him."

The shimmerling gives a bow, momentarily crossing his wings over his tiny form in respect before resuming his flight.

"I am not a god. The oaths I have sworn to my Lord cannot be so easily broken, but I do not need to do so in order to follow you. Let me go forth and gather his children, that we may aid you in your quest. Soon the world will know of the True Light. Hopefully, when that Light comes, Solaron himself will realize how far he has strayed and join you once more."

"If I may, I will go now and gather up those who are true to the Light Eternal. we will join you wherever the Darkness tries to hide."

[Rizban]

"Join him in his 'freedom?' No, he asks that I join him in finally shattering himself. He is now only half what he was in the beginning, and I will not celebrate his debasement of himself. His 'internal darkness' was not true Darkness. It was the slightly shaded part of him which existed so that he might recognize the Dark when it appeared. I fear that without that, he is likely once again as naive as at the moment of his birth, perhaps even more so.

Inform those who would join us that I do not betray Solaron. I am following that task which was given to both of us in the very moment of the death of the Sun Which Was. It is he who has strayed from the path, abandoning me to accomplish that which should have been his by right of birth. Ask them to join us in reclaiming Solaron's birthright so that he might be drawn back to the Light and join us once again on the path that is narrow which leads to Light Eternal.

He has abandoned me, but I do not abandon him. I will walk the paths which he fears to walk. I will tread in Darkness where he dare not venture. I will work to complete that great task from which he flinches. Light will shine forever in the world that we will create, and when Solaron realizes how far he has fallen, we shall welcome his return. Then, and only then, shall I join in the celebration for his freedom, for then he shall truly be free."

With that Minrhet turns his gaze beyond the borders of Conviction and slowly he lifts from the ground, leaving the blasted waste which was once his home to cool and harden into a fractured sea of obsidian.

[Shmee]

Michrael - Symaxia

Michael parries the Blade with his own. Though not as powerful, it is still a divine weapon. Shining with crimson light, the blade clashes against the
bright one. That and a careful sidestep cause the blade to catch air.

Spoiler

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ap: 5=8-3(create battle artifact: the Sword of Crimson Light)

"You have been bested once, and now I am about to end your days. Your own weapon has prophesied your undoing."

With that, Michrael delivers his own attack, a broad slice at the Knight's torso.

The Skull Knight takes a quick step back, dodging Michrael's attack and quickly proceeds to counter with an attack of his own.

"Useless!" Shouts the Skull Knight as he unleashes a wave of necromantic energy towards Michrael, his powers increased several times fold, due to the fact that all around him, the Necropolis was built with Raw Frehernite.

[planswalker]

Michrael - Symaxia

Unable to stem the total tide of necromantic force from the Skull Knight, it is all Michrael can do to remain standing. His faint red aura begins to intensify onto a crimson corona.

Even still, all that he manages to deliver by way of response is a single jab.

[Shmee]

The Skull Knight

As Michrael goes to jab his opponent, the Skull Knight grabs the naked blade with his hand. Having forsaken his fleshly body, he feels no pain, nor is the Sword of Crimson Light powerful enough to penetrate the foul armour. Gripping the sword tightly, the Skull Knight all of a sudden pulls it, forcing Michrael to release it.

As the Skull Knight throws the sword away, far from Michrael's reach, the Skull Knight prepares the Blade of Radiance for the final blow.

"I told you... in the end... it all matters so little..."

As the Skull Knight thrusts his sword, all of a sudden, Michrael, expecting to once again feel the blade go inside him, realizes that the blade itself has halted its path, refusing to do the Skull Knight's bidding. The furious Skull Knight continues to muster all of his willpower to overcome that of the Blade of Radiance, but where once his willpower was unshakable, his recent defeat at Solaron's hands had shaken his self-confidence, allowing for the Blade of Radiance to deny the Skull Knight.

"Curse... you... you will... obey me..."

[planswalker]

Michrael - Symaxia

At once seizing upon the fated opportunity, Michrael reaches for the Blade of Radiance and wrenches it from the Knight's grasp. After unbalancing the Knight with a blow from his shield, Michrael takes up his sword and says, "Thus is your darkness cleansed." right before the blade is plunged through the knight's armor.

[Shmee]

The Skull Knight

The blow seemed almost effortless to Michrael, as it was mostly the sword leading his arm, rather than the other way around. As the sword peirces through the foul armour, the Skull Knight begins to stumble backwards as the most holy of blades begins to exert its holiness upon the Skull Knight.

However, just as the Blade of Radiance is holy, the Skull Knight's armour is its exact antithesis, and thus instead of simply reducing the unholy one into ash, the sword and armour begin to nullify one another, the armour losing its strength, and the sword losing its radiance.

As the Skull Knight clutched the Blade, trying in vain to take it out, his helmet looks at Michrael one last time as he gives his final threat

"This is... not over... as long as there is evil.... the Skull Knight... will ride... once more..."

With that, the hateful flame from the Skull Knight's helmet is extinguished, and the armour crumples unceremoniously upon the wall, still clutching the sword in his chest.

Should a fool ever pull the sword, then the words will come true, and the Skull Knight, liberated from the effects of the blade shall return to this world.

[Selinia]

Coona, Progress

The initial assault had been a victory... on paper. The casualty ratios had been almost laughably absurd - dozens of genasi fell for every life they took. But still, the Alliance generals were frustrated time and again by their enemy's insane - nay, outright suicidal - tactics. The genasi's lethal rocket artillery, while lacking the range and accuracy of alliance guns, could devastate large swathes of land through repeated barrages... and it was quickly made clear that the Fury army would gladly fire on a mass of their own troops for even a chance of crippling of destroying alliance tanks.

So despite the relative success of their battles, the alliance was forced into a bitter fighting retreat. Their greatest asset remained their air power - the rocket barrages were too slow to prove more than marginally effective against Naussicas, and lacked the altitude to deal with the bombers. Not to mention that being entirely mechanized gave them the ability to run figurative circles around their enemy, harassing the genasi every mile of their trek.

It was a dismal testament to the sheer size and determination of Fury's military that here they were, crossing the border into the heartlands of Progress, still a lethal military force. But it had been decided that here would be the Alliance's stand - any further, and the risk of the genasi diverting to an Allied city would become too great. The field was ideal for the saerite's methods of war - a sprawling, open region of plains, where their superior range could be brought to bear in the most vicious manner possible. The few hills present were fortified with armored trenches... and upon them, the one element of the allied military that had not yet been brought to bear lurked.

Once the genasi were safely in range, the thunder began, and the saerite artillery joined the fight at last. Under cover of the shelling, the armor advanced once more - a smaller force than had been present at the initial engagement, but still one to be reckoned with.

It became immediately clear to the genasi that this was no skirmish - the Alliance was done falling back. They would hold here... or they would fall.

*************************

ACK!ACK!ACK!ACK!ACK!ACK!

The operator covered his ears as the AA gun let loose another devastating salvo, knocking another genasi airship from the sky. He braced himself for what came next... surely enough, the unbound air elemental began blazing towards his position, trailing the bits of wreckage from the ship it had animated. Closer... closer...

"Now!"

Right on cue, a salvo of fire blasted the creature from an entrenched position. Giving a quick nod of appreciation to the small squad of dark faeli sorcerers attached to the crew, he began searching out a new target... when something very strange caught his eye on the radar.

"I... patch me through to Command... good... Command, are those our fliers?... no? They don't match the flight patterns of any of our machines, nor the genasi's... right, thank you Command, relay that..."

Grimly, he informed the crew of the findings - a large number of slow-moving fliers had popped up on radar sets all over the region. Visual contact had yet to be confirmed, but it seemed that a new player was about to enter the conflict...

The Solar Ring

Klashanna thought for a long moment on Mumbles' words. Of what they could mean for Planet... and she realized that she could find the truth, if she wished. Reaching into her satchel, she grasped the Library Key, and partook of Sordend's greatest gift... knowledge.

Time stopped as her mind wandered the corridors of the Library. Books of aeons past fell through her hands, their meaning absorbed with but a touch. The Librarian himself was nowhere to be found - at his customary desk was a simple tome, blank of cover and on every page. But her search bore fruit, and as she opened her eyes and returned to the world, she gave Mumbles a look of new-found understanding.

"You speak... truly. After a fashion. Darrmoon has long since stolen the Heart of Tarsif, but it could well do as you say. It is within your power to help me... you can give me the heart, and free the mortal races once and for all."

The unspoken question lies heavy in the air.

Will you?

[Lady Tialait]

Mumbles

The Dark Jester grinned widely.

"I knew I came to you for a reason. How can one bring about a Dark Carnival? Full of joy and wonderfulnessment to the mortals if all the Gods are running about mucking it all up? The question is not quite loaded.

What do you want? Your request will be fullfilled."

The Jester starts laughing louder and louder, then silence.

"Make your wishes."

[planswalker]

Michrael - Symaxia

Having ended the Skull Knight's evil for now, Michrael sets about making sure his threat can never come to be. Taking back up the Sword of Crimson Light, Michrael leaves the room. Once beyond the threshold, he seals the place with powerful wards. None may enter that accursed crypt, save the wielder of the Sword alone, for it is the key to unlocking the prison.

Spoiler

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ap: 3=5-2 to seal the Skull Knight's crypt, allowing nothing in or out unless it has the Sword of Crimson Light, a LG artifact.

How's that for a plot hook? Michrael will of course lose this blade in the course of the NGE angels war. Making it a hidden artifact somewhere in Planet.

Having completed his personal vendetta, Michrael returns to Conviction, only to find that his home has gone up in the flames of civil war.

Orange - across Conviction

Orange delivers the message back to Solaron, saying. "Minrhet does not wish to speak with you at this time. He has an important undertaking to accomplish and does not feel in the mood to celebrate."

Fortunately for the herald, right at that moment another figure walks into the sacred dias at the top of the kobold temple which distracts Solaron's attention away from the rude and cryptic response. A half-dragon woman with a rather round stomach enters the chamber. Upon seeing her, the Golden Lantern dismisses his herald with a silent command and attends to her. Uninterested in whatever she wants, Orange leaves to go about his great work.

He begins by talking to the commanders of the angels. He who controls the Legion controls the vast majority of the military might in Conviction. Most of the paragons who harken back to the days underneath Aevum remember being forced into the shadows and heartily agree that the time to purge Darkness is at hand. However, a third of the paragons are younger than those times. They are the reborn spirits of the most devout aasimar soldiers who achieved great honor in life. They remained loyal to Solaron's will and would not act outside of what he would clearly wish. Orange leaves the elder angels to sort things out amongst themselves, confident that in time the Legions will unanimously come around to his way of thinking.

Next up, he pays a visit to the aasimars in the Shining Councils. A rift has emerged between the Planwal Order and the Minrhethi, two of the largest and most powerful factions. The Rizbanathi feel slighted over the Planwal Order's presumptuous authority, and are talking about leaving the Radiant Scholars altogether. After a few days of negotiations between the two groups, with Orange mediating, the two come to an accord that for now, the threat from Fury outweighs their petty differences. The Selenic Dynasty has been pushing for the Convicts to come to Progress's aid for weeks now, and take this chance to seize leadership away from the Drakenites. Together, the four major factions among the aasimars in the Shining Council prepare to aid the war effort in any way necessary. Being a scholastic organization, though, their primary contribution is that of research and development. Although their industrial engineering would be considered pathetically backwards by Progress standards, they began reverse-engineering Saerite technologies and implementing them to be able to generate some basic munitions for the war effort.

Spoiler

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I hope you don't mind if the aasimars learn a bit of the tech from you, Selenia. They'll not go higher than about middle industrial age production, but be able to supply some of the bits of modern technology that the Legions will now need to keep their gear functional. Nothing so great as to rival Progress, or even be more than a supplement to the trade between us, but enough to help speed up reaction time as trade with a war zone may be uncertain.

With the Burning Sands a molten pool of magma, Orange's next destination is the Order of the Pure Ones. They are a small sect of prismatic kobold extremists who feel that the world should be purged of all evil and impure beings. They are rather easy to talk into agitating for war against Fury, whom they consider the second worst pit of darkness, just below the Abyss, which at least is somewhat related to the Big Glowing One and Symaxia, the antithesis of all life everywhere.

Between Orange lobbying the high priests with a divine mandate and the Pure Ones working on the general populace, the various orders of priests accede to the demands and declare holy war against Fury. The Prismatic Children begin the preparations to open a temporary gateway to the edge of the Steel Veil.

Once things were underway, Orange proceeds to the last significant people group on Conviction: the Aectic Faeli. That is were the blackwater entered the well, as the saying goes.

These primitive people had the audacity to not only refuse the Call, but they used powerful ice rituals to force the herald out. It seems that someone working against him and the Burning Lord's agenda had come here ahead of him. The Pure Ones seized this opportunity to have a contingent of Mystic Thurgies go and make those tundra fishermen heed the call. Unfortunately, the Faeli had warning ahead of time and proceeded to cast powerful runes of warding around their villages to keep the kobolds out. A third of the contingent died of hypothermia before they gave up. This caused quite a stir in the regular populace, who began to question the rightness of the Pure Ones. The High Sun Priests used this scandal to start a coup against the Pure Ones. The coup was unsuccessful and every priest of the largest order of priests was banished from the Kobold Jungles. infighting began when they were being forced out, and now an open war is being raged between them.

The kobold population, however, is large enough that the rest of them continue war preparations.

Michrael - the Angelic War Camp

Upon closer conference with his generals, the situation was not as bad as it first seemed. Minrhet's destructive tantrum was understandable, if regrettable. Orange was definitely more of a warmonger than a peacemaker. However, his cause was just. Solaron had lost sight of his true purpose. It was to spread Light, not Joy or Forgiveness. Michrael agreed with his fellow survivors. At the command from their god, the younger angels obeyed. They had been given the chance to express themselves, but their superior had decided otherwise. Now it was left to them only to obey their Lord's commands. The guilt for this rebellion now lay only on two shoulders, one large and bathed in crimson light, the other miniscule and glowing faintly orange.

Solaron - the Jungle Temples

All of this scheming happened around Solaron without him even being aware. All this time, Solaron was devoted to one person and one person alone: Surna, the mother of his child. He filled her days with her every desire, and enjoyed the simple joys of a mother-to-be with her.

She herself just could not quite come to feel the same for a golden lantern that he did for her, but he was very calming and made the idea of being pregnant a lot more bearable.

Over the course of time, as is natural in these things, Surna gave birth. The healthy young boy was name Minrhelion, after his uncle. Once she bore the child, Surna remained in one of the Kobold temples where she was pampered the rest of her life. Nothing was beyond her desire, such was the reverence given her by the kobolds for giving their god a child.

The boy himself was tended to by the most nurturing aasimar nurse available. Solaron was with him every day, already taching the tiny being about the legacy he had inherited.

[Rizban]

Namtar, Progress

Namtar and his Athasians swoop down from the skies above the genasi armies. Opening with their various breath weapons, large swathes of the battlefield are cleared of genasi and goblins. As rockets fly through the air, the chromatic Athasian Dragons twist and dodge to avoid them, pausing in their flight only long enough to unleash powerful magics enhanced by their psionic prowess.

Soon, the Searite armored divisions were without an enemy to fight. As they closed within range to attack, a dragon would swoop through and slaughter the enemies first. Those few times the artillery got off a shot, the attack did naught but scatter corpses. The battle still waged, but these great dragons had quite obviously turned the battle in the favor of the Alliance.

As Namtar soars through the skies laughing with glee at the destruction wrought by his children, he pauses in midair to gloat.

"Foolish little creatures, you will all die here! None can stand before my chil"*BOOM*

A sudden flash of light, a small cloud of smoke, and Namtar vanishes from sight. Perhaps he merely stopped in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps a gust of wind appeared as if from nowhere. Perhaps one of the Searites was just tired of not getting any kills. Or perhaps Fate played a role in that moment which none had foreseen as that stray artillery shell impacted with Namtar's shoulder.

A sudden hush fell over the battle as all nearby watched the smoke where the demigod had hovered. Distant gunfire and the occasional cry of agony the only sounds to break the silence as even the goblins halted in fear.

Slowly, the smoke cleared, revealing Namtar floating in the air not speaking, not moving, perhaps not even breathing. His head turned back to face those he had come to protect, the corner of one lip curled slightly upwards to reveal his razor teeth, a dark gleam in his eye of pure hate.

Spoiler

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Namtar
AP 13 = 15 - 2(2x Pestilence on the genasi and goblin invaders)

[Selinia]

Coona, Progress

Strangely, the dragons seemed to be friendlies... more or less. They obviously lacked radio equipment however, and the SorCorps was having trouble reaching them with Sendings - it seemed that in the heat of battle, they were bringing their full and formidable resistance to magic to bear against any spell that winged its way towards them... even harmless ones. Or perhaps they thought the Alliance forces of so little note that their communications were unworthy of attention.

Either way, the fact was that the unexpected intervention of the dragons had turned the battle in the favor of the Alliance... even if they were causing numerous headaches for the artillery crews. The blasted creatures kept swooping directly into designated kill-zones - it wasn't like there wasn't plenty of genasi to go around! More than once spotters had desperately called off a barrage as a flight of dragons veered to bombard a new area with magics - it would be a miracle if none of them got hit...

The Solar Ring

"I want..."

Klashanna closed her eyes, took a deep breath...

"I want... no more gods. I know how to do it, all I need is the Heart... so that's my wish. Give me the Heart of Tasrif, Mumbles, and you will have gone further towards freeing the mortals of Planet than almost any before you..."

There is hesitation in the goddess's voice, but the expression on her face is one of quiet conviction.

[Lady Tialait]

Mumbles

The clown snickered a bit. He then reached into his mouth and pulled out a large gem. It glowed with pure power. A single crack in the gem poured out the energies of creation. The jester chuckled.

"There you have it. It is yours. The power of Tasrif, the power to end the age of Gods and start the Age of Mortals..."

The jester's hand flicked and the heart dropped to the world below.

"Oops."

The Dark Jester fell over laughing and rolling around on the ground.

[Selinia]

Planet

Free! Free at last after all the centuries of slow digestion!

The Heart of Tasrif was not a thinking thing - but it had will. Powerful will. So when it fell to Planet, it was not to fall in some obscure ocean, to never be seen again... no, it fell precisely where it wanted to.

It fell through air, and when it landed, it kept falling. Down... down through the earth, to an ancient place. A secret place. The Heart of the World, where Tasrif had stood as he shaped the world around him. The Heart of Hearts' last refuge - here in this most ancient of places. It would be safe here. None remembered. Safe until the day the Mind returned to reclaim the Heart and Body... and this painful, nasty world ended. Or so it believed.

The Solar Ring

Klashanna futilely lunged for the Heart... but such a thing could not be caught so simply once released. She watched in frustration as it fell through her grasp and onto Planet... out of her reach. True, she was no worse off now that she had been before Mumbles' arrival... but she had come so close.

Even so... it was but a delay. The Ring would find it, eventually. Nothing could hide from its gaze forever. Setting it to its task, she turned her gaze upon the Jester, still wracked by bouts of mad laughter. Shaking her head in disappointment and confusion, she muttered one word.

"Why?"

[Lady Tialait]

Mumbles

The large smile of Mumbles continued to laugh, his face fading out with only his laughing smile remaining as his laughter echoed.

"You didn't say please."

With that the mouth faded, but not the horrible laughter.

[Rizban]

Namtar, Progress

"Burn it. Burn it all."

One by one, the Athasian Dragons drop to the ground and take a moment to focus. The light seems to brighten around them as life itself is drained and shattered, becoming material components. The grass begins to wither and decay, then larger plants start to turn brown. As the reaction continues, it accelerates exponentially. Soon, the nondraconian armies begin to feel lethargic, then sick, some passing out as their lives are drained away. Screams of abject terror pierce the silence and are cut short. Great rings of the most virulent defiler magic ever seen on Planet emanate from the Athasians, consuming everything in their wake.

Within a few short seconds, there is nothing left but inert and lifeless dust. All living beings within the area save the dragons themselves have been drained of all life force and consumed, even the most minute of bacteria in the soil have been consumed. None survive the great accumulation of power, not genasi, not goblin, not saerite.

Everywhere the genasi invaders stood upon Progess, there is now nothing but desert. The empty military vehicles of the Alliance sit lifelessly as the dust which was once their pilots penetrates their mechanisms, created an accelerated rusting process, leaving them worthless and decaying.

Even Midgar has not been spared, the genasi claim upon it becoming a death sentence. The streets now fill with dust as the desert claims it all. No civilian has been spared. The birds of the air, the beast of the fields, and even the tiniest crawling things are but inert dust. This battle is well and truly finished.

The chromatic Athasians gather the obsidian orbs of collected life energy and consume them to store for future use then take to the air to follow Namtar south to claim the rest of Progress.

Spoiler

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Namtar
AP 4 = 13 - 1(Shape Land: Create Desert) - 1(Shape Land: Create Desert) - 1(Shape Land: Create Desert) - 1(Pestilence to finally kill the Genasi army) - 1(Pestilence to finally kill the Goblin army) - 3(3x Pestilence to kill the Alliance military) - 1(Pestilence to wipe out Alliance machinery)

That's more than enough AP spent to convert the portion of Progress around Midgar to desert. In fact, it's 1 more AP than was spent to create all of Progress in the first place.

I spent 4AP each to destroy each army, which is nearly half an apocalypse each.

Short of AP expenditure or several hundred years of terraforming work, there is no way to bring life back to this part of Progress.

And finally, after setting up for this the entire game, the full destructive power of the chromatic dragons has been realized. Now, let's see what the metallics have in store...

[Selinia]

-=This post has been removed by general consensus of it sucking=-

[Shmee]

The Core of the World

Snailgosh and Corchin are joined by Helioff in their new plane as they wait for Kryokoli to return from her own mission. Things seem to be going well on the surface, as the death toll rises. This was exactly the sort of destruction that the Lords had been waiting for.

Combing their powers, the Elemental Lords begin shifting the earth all around the world. Huge caves and winding pathways resembling the Underdark which Snailgosh had collapsed began to form. The only difference, is that while the Underdark stretched from Hope to Despair, these new set of tunnels ran deep into the earth, connecting the Core of the World with the surface in several locations all around the world. In mockery of the destruction which they had caused, the Lords named these tunnels the True Underdark.

But the Lords were not done, for around the Core, the Lords began to chant, opening several portals, connecting the True Underdark with the Moon. Almost instantly, demons began pouring out into the tunnels, as they seek to reach the surface world and cause as much death and devastation as possible.

Grinning, the Lords are satisfied. The surface world would never know what hit them.

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OOC
The Lords
AP2= 4-2, Mould Land, Create the True Underdark
AP0=2-2, Open Portal. Connect the True Underdark with the Moon

Progress

As the Genasi prepared to attack, all of a sudden death began to rain down upon them in the form of the Dragons. So, it seems that the Dragons had come to the aid of Progress. How right were the Genasi when they feared that it was only a matter of time before the expansionist races of Conviction come knocking on their very doors.

The devastation was horrible, the Genasi were used to sacrificing their own to acheive victory, but this was nothing short of a massacre. So great was the damage done to the army that what ever was left of it began beating a hasty retreat back to Midgar. To their horror they realized that the city was hit as well, with only pocketfuls of survivors wallowing in the ash which covered the city. The determined remnant of the invading forces dug deep into the sand as they awaited the much needed reinforcements from Fury.

The UGGC had committed its entire nation to the war effort, and thus fresh conscripts and supplies began pouring into the ruins of Midgar. Along with them, the Genasi Godslayers who now had a chance to prove their worth in combat. As the reinforcements poured in, a new Order also made its appearance on Progress.

Following Michrael's invasion of Fury, the Genasi found deep within the Seat of the Elements, documents from the hateful Lord which imparted knowledge from the Freiherr himself, which taught the Genasi on how to steal power from the divine ones. Digging themselves deep in Midgar, the Ur-Priests awaited the fresh onslaught.

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OOC
The Freiherr
AP10= 12-2, Bless twice the Genasi (The Reinforcements from Fury count as the blesses. While they are going to be replenished, the draconic attack was a blow.)
AP8= 10-2, Create Organization: The Ur-Brotherhood; Create Prestige Class: Ur-Preists

[Selinia]

Coona, Progress

There is a saying among the saerites, that the worst of times bring forth the best of men. That in the darkest hour, the lights of fellowship and camaraderie shine brightest. And on this day at least... it proved true. Never had this scale of destruction been seen before. The genasi were foes... but they operated under understandable motivations. Greed, envy, arrogance, paranoia... not the dragons. They had arrived without warning, and slaughtered a nation.

The vigil for their brothers and sisters was a somber affair. In a tradition from the Days of Darkness - a thousand-thousand lights, turning the city into a massive beacon against the darkness of the outside. The night was spent in mourning... and as the sun rose, it returned to action.

The Conviction Embassy was "Visited" the next day by an International Board of Investigation team. Of course, most visits don't consist of putting the building on lockdown and storming through the front door with an armed escort... but after what the Dragons had done, the warrants were almost laughably easy to acquire.

Bellowing into the confines of the structure, the investigators demanded an explanation. An explanation of why creatures known to dwell in Conviction and answer to Conviction's leaders had just committed genocide. Whoever was stationed as ambassador would be wise to choose his words very carefully.

And all throughout the continent, assembly lines were kicked into overdrive. Those already working double shifts worked triple. NNHIS founder and majority owner Antony Redfield made waves by sinking nearly his entire fortune into purchasing new weapons for the Alliance from his own company. Everywhere one looked, people were being spurred to new heights - seemingly impossible tasks of engineering made possible by raw willpower.

But it was in an obsidian chamber, deep beneath the ground of Hoffnung, where the most noteworthy event of the aftermath took place. A small, black box changed hands, its grim payment made in full. As far as Drofiel was concerned, it had been worth the cost... it was regrettable that things had turned out this way, but one could not change the past.

The pieces were coming together. The end was drawing near.

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EDITED: To reflect my deleted post, and bring things a small step closer to endgame.

[planswalker]

Conviction Embassy - Progress

Blue was as horrified at the destruction as anyone else. She had sent a message to Green in Conviction to inform Solaron of what happened here.

When pressed to understand what happened, Blue's response was emotional, if rather short.

"We had in no way known about the actions of the dragons ahead of time. Although they and us both come from Conviction, they are an independent entity from us. One which, we will confess, were our allies in the past. If this massacre has been sanctioned by Minrhet himself, though, that status may change. We mourn with your loss. Solaron shall put every effort into finding out who is responsible for this and making reparations."

Conviction - Solaron and Green

Green found Solaron in a rather odd place for a god: on a playground, playing with a toddler. The small boy had golden curls and bright blue eyes. His skin was almost golden in hue. A faint glow of light seemed to radiate from him. The Golden Lantern, the Lord of Light, the Master of Conviction, and Follower of the Light Eternal was allowing himself to be used as a jungle gym. As Green approached, she made a small noise in Solaron's direction.

Solaron tells his son, "Daddy has to talk with the shimmerling for a moment. I will be back shortly." Minrhelion climbed off the lantern. As soon as Solaron floated away, three prismatic kobold priests brought their own children over to Minrhelion to play with him. The toddler happily started playing with his other playmates and left Daddy to attend to the serious stuff.

A few rooms over, Solaron addresses Green. "What you have to say had better be very important. My time spent with my son is the most precious time in the world to me."

"My lord, Progress has been attacked by an army of chromatic dragons. They have destroyed an entire country in a single day, killing everyone in it. Progress is so upset that they stormed our embassy in Coona and demanded answers. Blue has told them that they did not have our sanction to do so, and that we will investigate. What will you do?"

"Go back to playing with my son and his friends. I appoint you to go forth and investigate this."

With that, Solaron returns to his son and begins playing with him and his friends once more.

Completely bewieldered by her god's odd behavior, Green just hovers there in air, trying to understand what just happened. Yellow approaches his sister and says,
"You know that he has been acting strangely ever since his son was born. He has even ignored the fact that the kobolds and angels are preparing for war and have cut off all communications with the arctic faeli. Something is amiss with him, and I intend to find out what. Minrhet hopefully may know the answer. Unfortunately, this turn of events may mean that he has abandoned his brother's authority and has set out on his own path of destruction. Red should be sent to go investigate"

Agreeing to this conspiracy, Red sought out Minrhet and asked him, "Had you commanded your athasian dragons to destroy Progress?"

[Rizban]

Minrhet, The Blasted Wastes of Conviction

"Attack on Progress? No, I have ordered no such thing. Could be a good idea though..."

Martu and Namtar, Progress

As Namtar turned to head south, he was struck down out of the sky. Crashing into the ground, he looked up to see Martu, overcome by anger.

"You dare to attack our Lord's allies? You have turned from the path. Leave now, before I do to you what you have done to these others."

Namtar replies by attempting to absorb Martu's energy. However, his power is ineffective against the lord of the Avangion Dragons. In fear, he flees to the north, his Athasians chasing after him.

Still filled with anger, he looks for someone to attack. In the distance, he spots a hazy region. If someone would take the time to hide a place from view, then surely it's a place worth investigating.

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Sorry I didn't have something better than this.

Shmee, just assume they penetrate the edge of the veil to invade and react to the dragons flying around making random attacks while Namtar tries to direct them half blind from the veil.

[planswalker]

Red - the Blasted Wastes of Conviction

"I would not call it prudent to attack an ally, even if they are apathetic to the dark. Not so long as there are those who openly hate the Light Eternal, such as the Genasi. Namtar has attacked the Genasi in Progres. When he did so, he also destroyed every other form of life in the area, including his allies. They are currently raging and seek any excuse to declare war. I am not a god and do not see fit to tell you how to run your estate, but I do advise that caution dictate a more productive target."

"If the above is too forward for a herald of the brother you now hate, feel free to kill me now. I was born to serve the Light, but that has become hard to do of late. Solaron has lost all touch with Creation, spending every moment of every day with his child. My prisma has had to take over the daily operations of Conviction, as well as the Prismatic Dragons. We would still be your ally, but do not know if you will receive us, you who sent Orange to go against Solaron's explicit orders and assault that which has the Spark of Life without first individually wieghing their judgment. If my words displease you, please kill me now and have done with it. If i cannot serve my master, and you will not have me, then life as a godless herald is not worth living."