Page 1 of 1

Darkness Falls (Part 1)

Posted: Tue May 28, 2024 9:53 am
by Aegis
Image


Glade 45, 105, Evening

The catacombs beneath the Temple of Light were a beloved holy place. They housed to ashes and monuments to nearly every Dawnmartyr that had died during the Graveplague, as well as those of any believers that wished to be housed there. It was believed that to be placed there would allow one's soul to go to Arcas' holy sanctuary in the afterlife. The catacombs themselves were beautifully built of light colored marble, quartz, and limestone and were a warm and comforting place for any who came to seek knowledge, hope, or help.

Even now, the catacombs continued to help even as magical bombs thundered against the shields of the temple overhead. The light that emanated within was warm, inspiring hope, even now when it seemed that the Imperium was about to smash the final hold of the Dawnmartyrs and wipe their order from history. Another bomb smashed overhead, sending spirals of dust down upon the tents and shelters that now formed a shantytown in the holy mausoleum. People were tired, hungry, scared. Rations were running dangerously low, and nearly eighty percent of those down here were civilians that called the island home. They weren't warriors, most were farmers and fishermen. Many were children.

The rest were a mix of Dawnmartyrs and Ecithian warriors. Their numbers had been cut down heavily since the war began three years ago, shocking the entire world. The story was that the Imperium was hunting down the Dawnmartyrs as a terrorist group, responsible for orchestrating multiple attacks against the Imperium. This was pulled from the lips of several captured Imperial soldiers before they were sent back to the darkness. Ships of steel came in the night, somehow eluding the sight of the Seers and Galetira herself, and unleashing deadly salvos on the coastal village of Ailos, quickly forming a blockade.

From this position of strength, ships began to seek out coastal cities and villages of Ecith and bomb them as well. Several villages were completely destroyed. Dratir was in ruins. And now there were boots on the ground in Ailos, the temple and all escape routes surrounded. The Dawnmartyrs were on their own right now, Ecith was out of reach, cut off, and no help came from anywhere else.

And Arcas was still dead and it seemed that would not change.

There was a council going on between the highest ranking members remaining of the Order, overseen by Grand Marshall Raikon. The group consisted of Raikon and Knights-Marshall Si'uvi Tikor, Allbright, and Ounfriar'uv, as well as their direct reports, Torchthief, Tukor, Shiryo. The meeting was open to anyone who wished to attend, there were no secrets among those in the catacombs in these days.

Raikon showed a barrier that was around the temple above them. "Ounfriar'uv, how much longer will our shields hold?"

The Orkhan man looked exhausted, the shadows beneath his eyes deep and dark. He and every other mage had been pouring every drop of aether into the defenses of the temple. The man sighed, "The salvos keep getting stronger. My best bet is that the primary shields will fall tonight. The inner shields protecting these catacombs the day after. We're drained dry, all of us are walking around with hallucinations and double vision and nausea. We've pulled from every dragonshard so much they are all cracked and unusable."

"Allbright?"

"There's around half a million souls on the island and another half more in the waters around us. We are less than three hundred combat capables left, and most of us are exhausted."

"But."

Allbright nodded, "But there is a thinner spot in their lines. It is from where they resupply their forces at Dratir."

"Tikor?"

The elf woman considered, "We have seven hundred civilians here and rations will be gone within two weeks, but the defenses will fail before then. There is only one course of action here, and it is extremely unlikely to succeed." She waited, "We take the majority of our forces north, through the center of the island, where the Imperial leadership is located. Loud, fast, and hard, we hold nothing back. As they turn their gaze on us, the remainder head south, punching through the thin spot in the lines, and make for the mainland."

Raiken nodded. "Then the choice is simple. We fight in the light of day and give a chance to those who came to us when we were needed most."

Speaking to the group, "Allbright, get everyone prepared and mobilized. Ounfriar'uv, you and the other mages drain our inner shields and take what you can from these catacombs, and hold our shields until dawn. Tikor, come with me, it is time to open His Tomb."

He stood up from his chair, "Go."



Re: Darkness Falls (Part 1)

Posted: Thu May 30, 2024 9:50 am
by Laveriel
Image
Veriel.

Ryo’s gentle nudge inside her mind was enough to rouse her. Veriel opened her eyes slowly, just in time to see him crouching down as he entered the tent. Despite the exhaustion and hunger, everything felt a little easier at the sight of him. It had been more than a week since they had the chance to be in such proximity. Veriel and the other warforged were busy keeping the Imperials out of the temple while Ryo was deep in the catacombs, reinforcing their wards.

“Is something wrong?” the siltori asked, voice still thick with sleep.

The avialae gave her a tender smile and the rundown of his meeting. As Ryo spoke, Veriel could not help but take in everything about him. The bags under his eyes were darkening with each passing day, the hollow of his cheek becoming more pronounced. His gray wings seemed dull and they sagged behind him. His blonde hair was unkempt, both from whatever tasks Knight-Marshal Ounfriar'uv assigned to him and Veriel’s inexperienced hands when she had shorn them two weeks ago. These past three years had aged him faster than the last century ever did.

“Which is why I brought you some food. We might not have another chance to eat,” he announced, picking up the bowl he had placed beside him and offering it to her. “It tastes amazing. Thrain outdid herself.”

Veriel leaned in for a closer look. It was an actual stew with meat in there, which really was a treat. Most of the time, they had broth made from boiled bones scavenged from whatever small game could be caught. This was the closest thing to a proper meal that she had seen in weeks.

Yet, her stomach already heaving at the slightest whiff of it and Veriel instinctively recoiled. These few days her guts seemed to find most food sickening. She could tell that it was something that shouldn’t have bothered her under normal circumstances, but it seemed like the state of her starved body was messing up her senses.

Ryo’s blue eyes darkened when he noticed. The weight of his worry was palpable through their bond as he asked her for access. Veriel pondered not letting him in, but that would only make him nag even more. “You’re sick. I told you not to overdo it. You were taken out of the field to heal and rest, not hand out magical painkillers.”

The siltori shrugged innocently. In her defense, she did go to the healers to get her arms bandaged up. It was just after that, instead of resting, Veriel found herself needing to do something as she watched dozens of people groaning and crying out in pain around the healer’s camp. She had gone around planting minor afflictions in the injured. Veriel couldn’t heal them, but it would alleviate their pain for one or two days. “I was sleeping just now, that counts as resting.”

Clearly, the answer didn’t satisfy him.

“You don’t need to look at me like that,” Veriel continued. She patted his cheek gently and gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s just because I missed the last meal.” He had never been the hovering kind - neither of them could be, not with their lifestyle - but this past week she noticed that he kept reaching out across their bond to check on her. “You know I don’t ever get sick. I just need a moment to fix this.”

To prove her point, the siltori straightened and made a show of closing her eyes, as if she was meditating. It took her only a few seconds to draw in her own nausea into a small, tightly knit ball of aether inside herself. It would have been better if she had a dragonshard to place it into, but resources were scarce. And just like that, the sickening feeling dissipated and she breathed in the smell of the food again. Ryo was right, it smelled amazing. “See, all done. Easy.”

Ryo rolled his eyes and let her hold the bowl herself. He said nothing as he watched her eat. His eyes never left her, as if he was drinking in every inch of her. As if they were about to never see each other again.

When Veriel finally finished her meal, she placed the bowl on the ground between them. This could be her last meal for all she knew. From what Ryo had described, it seemed like even the Grand Marshal figured that they would most likely fail. They would die and all they could hope for was that their deaths would buy enough time to get the civilians out. “At least this will all be over soon.”

“Don’t say that,” Ryo said sharply, his voice harsher than she expected.

Veriel gave him a wry smile. Their Order had made its mission to help everyone who needed it. But now that they were on the brink of destruction, it seemed like they had to face it alone. “No one is coming to save us and we’re supposed to go against what? A million Imperial soldiers with three hundred people?” Everyone knew they were in no condition to fight against what the Imperium was throwing at them. They were outnumbered and outresourced. Three years they had been fighting for their lives… it was a miracle that they had even lasted this long. “I know we’ve always gone against terrible odds and won, but this… I don’t think it’ll work this time.”

“I thought we made a deal to start a new life after this,” the avialae said sternly. “What about our plans? I have prepared a five-page speech for my proposal to you once we get out of here. Surely, you don’t want all my effort to go to waste.”

That day, that talk, felt like a million years ago. She didn’t want to say it out loud in front of Ryo, but bit by bit her hope shriveled with every passing day. Instead of answering, the siltori scooted closer to him until she could rest her head on his shoulder.

At least if we die, we die together, right?

Veriel…

She didn’t know what else to say and it seemed like he didn’t either, so they just stayed like that for a while. Veriel wished they could simply stay there forever, but of course not. After pressing a kiss on the top of her head, Ryo slowly pulled away. He was still a knight-commander, after all. The world might be ending, but he still had his duties. “I need to go check the primary shield one last time, make sure it won’t fall sooner than it should.”

“I’ll join you,” Veriel declared, grabbing Ryo’s sleeve as he started to rise. Can’t I stay with you for a bit longer? she asked silently across their connection. She knew it was a selfish thing to want when every few minutes, the ground above their heads shuddered from bombs the Imperial kept dropping. They had spent more than a century together, but it was not nearly enough.

Ryo’s features softened. She could feel his longing for her was just as strong. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep for a few more hours?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to.” When he didn’t answer immediately, Veriel could see the gears in his head turning, weighing his options. “The primary shield won’t last much longer, right? We can plant afflictions to trigger when they try to enter, to buy some time before they reach the catacombs. It’s something more useful for me to do compared to sleeping.”

The avialae’s eyes glinted with pride as he finally held out a hand, which Veriel quickly took before they slipped out of the tent. “Always so devious, aren’t you?” He gave her a light squeeze. “Alright, we’ll report to Si’uvi and Ounfriar'uv before we go.”