Fantasy The Divine Conquerors - The Mollug Revolt

[StaidFoal]

BERDEN
The largest settlement in northern Mollug, save for Verruk. It is a relative backwater, but serves as a trading center for farmers across the North. Berden's been beld heavily in taxes and manpower to support Mollug's endless wars, and you can tell. Much of the town is neglected, and the markets are at their best, only half full.

​

It was an unusually warm day in the frigid city. Even with snow pelting the ground, the civilians worked up a sweat just by walking around. The part of the city this occurred in was furthest from Berden's protection, where patrols were lax. It wasn't a place that the citizens gave a second thought about.

So when Someone floated along the crude, dirt roads, it naturally caused quite a stir. Whispers spread from local to local as they stared in awe. Some ran down the road to spread news of the oddity further up Berden. That towering woman adorned in golden, holy artifacts was drifting down the street.

Eventually, She stopped in an intersection beside a well. It was the biggest open area, yet still surrounded by wooden lodgings and villagers dressed in rags. She stayed frozen for a full 10 minutes, and in the meantime was surrounded by curious onlookers. They stayed a few meters away from Her, waiting for the patrolling guards to arrive on scene. Once they did, though, the weary guards who'd encountered nothing like this hesitated to step forward.

"S-State your name!" one courageously yelled.

Silence.

Then, She huffed. She gently clasped her hands in front of her, emanating a strange glow from between her palms. The glow only enlarged with each passing second. Some of the villagers heralded the bad feeling they got and ran. Others were slower to react, unsure of what was to come.

Silence.

Torrents of wind, stemmed from Her. The forces became stronger, and it didn't take long for some roof tiles to fly off. The crowd—and the guards—all dispersed at this point. She released her clasp, extending her arms to the side.

Thousands of wooden planks shattered. Hundreds screamed. All quieted in seconds. Within a half-mile-long square, everything had been flattened or destroyed. The rubble flew past the perimeter and into the intact districts next to the square.

For Virtue, it was as if the land was now untouched by humanity.

A perfect, clean spot for the Summoning.

"Rise," she said. "Rise, for it is time to redeem yourselves in virtuousness."​

 

[YsFanatic]

The end had come. They had fought against the monsters, demons, and their corruption for centuries, but thirty years ago it had become clear that humanity would soon reach its end. And now the last city had fallen as they knew it would, all sorts of vile creatures prowling its streets and over the ruined bodies of its people. Atalanta stood alone in the city square, most likely the last uncorrupted human alive, exhausted and covered in wounds. But it was all according to plan. Once they realized that victory was impossible, her and those who monitored the Blaze of Hope and its wielders put together a plan for one final act of defiance. It was petty and spiteful, but it was all they had left.

For the last three decades she had fought with only the spear’s fire abilities, hoarding its curse energy despite the disadvantage it put her under in combat. But now, in these final moments, it had meant that the weapon was carrying an incredible amount of power, enough to rival or even surpass the ancient gods that had long since died off in their own war. And the enemy had no idea yet that their victory would be a futile one. As the creatures swarmed into the square, ignoring the bodies of those she had already slain, the woman raised the Blaze of Hope up, its tip pointed at the sky. Fire engulfed her hair, the flames quickly darkening into a black inferno as she began to tap into the cursed energy. Pulling out even more, her hair and eyes both turned black as malignant energies coursed around the spear. The demons and their minions halted in their tracks as they knew all too well what this meant, the ancient artifact was preparing to unleash an attack that could fell any one of their number, and none of them wanted to be the one to taste its wrath.

But they were not her target. It had been decided that if humans couldn’t live on this world, then neither would the enemy. Reversing her grip on the weapon, Atalanta plunged the Blaze of Hope into the ground before unleashing the cursed energy held within it and her body, every drop of power that she had stockpiled over the years since the formation of the plan. If their theory was correct, this blow would kill the heart of the planet and ensure the fiends suffered the same fate as the human race in the end. As the ground started to shake and one of the peaks in the nearby mountain range erupted into a new volcano, she couldn’t help but smile even as the monsters raced towards her in newfound rage. No matter what happened to her now, she could rest easy knowing that it was only a matter of time before humanity had its vengeance, and that was all she could ask for.


Slowly the prone form of the red-haired woman stirred to life, a tired groan coming from her lips as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Atalanta could feel the familiar pressure of the Blaze of Hope being stuck on her back, and as always it felt like the weapon was trying to hug her, but the fact that she could feel it, or really anything at all confused the warrior and left her concerned. Slowly climbing to her feet, she brushed strands of hair out of her vision allowing her to clearly see the nearby devastation. "What happened here?" she wondered out loud, not yet noticing Virtue's presence or that of any other Summoned that may be around.

 

[Solirus]

Henry
​

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon" Henry said nervously, for the past 20 years he had been stuck in a dimension filled to the brim with technology and bad music, however the dimension was special as there were no worlds but simply cities upon cities in space all stuck together, how this happened was beyond Henry and was never questioned by the residents due to that being the common thing. Speaking of the residents of this dimension, they didn't really like Henry due to his rather different look to them and as such he had been hunted down by a police military force. "Just a little more c'mon" Henry had trapped himself in a boring and Stoney room with nothing but a bed, a desk, and a barred in door. In the desk Henry had set up a device of unknown technology which seemed to be altering a crystal Henry had found and was to be his key to get away.

His panicking soon rose as the police force began attempting to break through the door. "Shit!" Henry shouted slamming his hands on the desk from the thought of being stuck any longer in this dimension. Finally, the machine made a cheerful ping with the crystal beginning to glow, "Jackpot" Henry said being interrupted by the police force finally breaking through. Without a second thought Henry grabbed the crystal and took of his hat running to the other side of the room. In the quick moment Henry placed the crystal in his hat and reaching inside his hat, Henry pulled out a weird looking pocket watch with 4 distinct arms. Quickly opening the pocket watch he aligned all arms to be aligned with each other before swallowing the pocket watch making him slightly transparent and allowing him to phase through the wall like a ghost. Coming out the other side with the effects disappearing and landing on top of some guy's unfortunate home.

Seeing no better time than now as the Police were shocked and distracted, Henry reached in again into his hat and pulled out the glowing crystal. Looking at it for a second he hesitated, inspecting it quickly. "Oh you've got to be shitting me" he mumbled to himself before finally jamming the crystal into his eye. As the crystal dug deep into his eye Henry screamed in massive agony alerting everyone nearby, however once the crystal was fully inserted it quickly disappeared and soon a portal opened up infront of him, jumping in and abruptly closing getting Henry out of that wretched dimension.

"AHHHH Goodness me that was horrible" he said to himself drifting between a dimensional stream, "I thought I was making progress but that place was just a death trap!" he exclaimed spinning around in the weightlessness of his travel, "Well then... where to next-" Henry was cut short as he saw a shining light approaching him, it was nothing like he had seen before, "Hey, you got any idea what that is?" he asked to his reluctant companion, "Hey don't tell me to go figure, this could be dangerous and you know what-" before he could finish the light had approached too quickly engulfing him and granting him a feeling of nothing...

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​

Henry woke up, feeling the grass under him. He didn't remember being in grass, grass was actually rather new compared to the mess he was in previously. "What's the smell... that feeling?" Henry quickly stood up, it was a mess with wooden debris everywhere and two individual nearby, a seeming warrior with a very problematic looking weapon, and another person who looked exactly like a sort of goddess troubling Henry immensely. "C'mon, you got any idea what is going on?" he mumbled to himself asking his companion, "... you don't know... but you know something's wrong? ... ok" Henry looked around further before overhearing the warrior speaking, "What happened here? Well I'm sure that ominous looking Goddess over there has your answers" he said pointing at Virtue in a sort of calming way, when in reality he was absolutely not calm or in any way in control.

StaidFoal YsFanatic

​

 

[YsFanatic]

"Goddess?" The response from the man had surprised Atalanta, both because the idea of any divinity still alive was shocking and because she had failed to notice the man was even there to begin with. This entire situation should be impossible, but she couldn't deny that it felt very real, and thus she was going to treat it as such. Turning towards the floating figure, the warrior cautiously spoke up, wary or any signs of danger. She had never interacted with a divinity before and had no idea what to expect, if this was indeed a goddess of some kind. "You, do you know what caused the damage to this town?"

StaidFoal Solirus

 

[StaidFoal]

=THE MEN IN BLACK=

​

• Prologue
• Intervention

• 
  It was a grotesque creature of grey, trudging forward with its captors. From its mouth, a sole upper jaw covered by strands of wrinkled tendrils down to its chest, saliva slobbered across the pearly white tiles. Its eyes, black and beady, scanned the room they had brought it into. It was small, only having a dimly lit table in the center. Cold chairs were placed at opposite ends, welcoming the party. The agency personnel sat the alien across the table, and two Men in Black followed in. Their bowler hats cast a shadow over their pale faces. They faced the alien motionlessly, then taking their seats in unison.
  
  The Man in Black to its left brought out a radio. "Subject 162 is in the cell. Play Audio-005." On cue, a blaring orchestra—Percy Faith's Swedish Rhapsody to be precise—pierced the silence, bouncing around the confined space.
  
  The alien shut its eyes, slightly bobbing its head. "162 appears to be experiencing lightheadedness; possibly nausea. Low effectiveness," the other Man in Black noted.
  
  "Play Audio-004." The orchestra became deafening gusts of wind, billowing through metal pipes. It was a clip of Hurricane Ike's ferocious winds, caught from inside a building. Comparable to a train whistle, the noise only increased in volume.
  
  The alien planted its chin on the table, grimacing. "162 displays signs of agitation, nausea, and headaches. Moderate effectiveness."
  
  "Play Audio-008." After the horrendous winds played an atrocious cacophony; a mix of instruments, horribly meshed and mixed. The broadcast of the Backwards Music Station never waned.
  
  The alien slammed its head into the table, leaving puddles of slobber. The Men in Black did not finch at its abrupt movements, instead eyeing the discoloration in its saliva. "Pause," the first man said. "The Hertz threshold of species Theta Lambda is discovered. Continuing interrogation." As the alien gradually raised itself to eye-level with the Men in Black, they laid a smooth, black stone before it. Etched into the rock were markings of the alien language. "We know your species is planning an attack on planet Earth. Tell us the day and time it is to take place." He motioned at the slate, having learned the language himself over the years.
  
  The alien kept staring at the two. "Resume Audio-008," he ordered, and the speaker sounded up again. The alien squirmed and banged its head again, writhing. It almost toppled out of the chair if it weren't for the intervening government agents. They sat him back in seat as the audio died down for a moment. "We know your species is planning an attack on planet Earth. Tell us the day and time it is to take place."
  
  The alien perked its head up. It gurgled softly.
  
  The Men in Black grimaced. A strange occurrence, for they were designed to be emotionless. "What did it say?" one of the agents asked.
  
  The Men in Black rose. "It's been an honor serving you all," they said in unison.
  
  "Who's the Subject talking to?" the supervisor asked.
  
  "No, gentlemen. It's been an honor to serve you." As they repeated their words, the supervisor felt a knot twist in his stomach. One glance around the room, and he knew the menial agents got the memo as well.
  
  He sighed. "What did the Subject say?"
  
  The Men in Black turned to him. "Now."
  
• 
  "One." Their superweapon... did it fail? "One." He knew he was lying on the cold, hard ground, just by twitching his fingers. Was Earth truly spared? "Wake up." That was an order. The Man in Black, One, widened his eyes to see his identical partner, Two, laying him out. One sat up, almost robot-like. They were no longer in Area 53; the air was fresh, and not a trace of their technology was here. He noted the rubble he saw a fair distance over, jumping to his feet. Two followed suit.
  
  "Status," One requested.
  
  "Healthy."
  
  The two Men in Black redirected their attention to other... 'unique' individuals around them. "Goddess," as they called the floating woman with the most presence. More likely an extraterrestrial, they figured. The two agents thought the same thing: a superior alien race had interfered. How, they did not yet know; the most they could do was stand still and wait for Virtue's explanation.
  

Spoiler: For Light Mode Users

It was a grotesque creature of grey, trudging forward with its captors. From its mouth, a sole upper jaw covered by strands of wrinkled tendrils down to its chest, saliva slobbered across the pearly white tiles. Its eyes, black and beady, scanned the room they had brought it into. It was small, only having a dimly lit table in the center. Cold chairs were placed at opposite ends, welcoming the party. The agency personnel sat the alien across the table, and two Men in Black followed in. Their bowler hats cast a shadow over their pale faces. They faced the alien motionlessly, then taking their seats in unison.

The Man in Black to its left brought out a radio. "Subject 162 is in the cell. Play Audio-005." On cue, a blaring orchestra—Percy Faith's Swedish Rhapsody to be precise—pierced the silence, bouncing around the confined space.

The alien shut its eyes, slightly bobbing its head. "162 appears to be experiencing lightheadedness; possibly nausea. Low effectiveness," the other Man in Black noted.

"Play Audio-004." The orchestra became deafening gusts of wind, billowing through metal pipes. It was a clip of Hurricane Ike's ferocious winds, caught from inside a building. Comparable to a train whistle, the noise only increased in volume.

The alien planted its chin on the table, grimacing. "162 displays signs of agitation, nausea, and headaches. Moderate effectiveness."

"Play Audio-008." After the horrendous winds played an atrocious cacophony; a mix of instruments, horribly meshed and mixed. The broadcast of the Backwards Music Station never waned.

The alien slammed its head into the table, leaving puddles of slobber. The Men in Black did not finch at its abrupt movements, instead eyeing the discoloration in its saliva. "Pause," the first man said. "The Hertz threshold of species Theta Lambda is discovered. Continuing interrogation." As the alien gradually raised itself to eye-level with the Men in Black, they laid a smooth, black stone before it. Etched into the rock were markings of the alien language. "We know your species is planning an attack on planet Earth. Tell us the day and time it is to take place." He motioned at the slate, having learned the language himself over the years.

The alien kept staring at the two. "Resume Audio-008," he ordered, and the speaker sounded up again. The alien squirmed and banged its head again, writhing. It almost toppled out of the chair if it weren't for the intervening government agents. They sat him back in seat as the audio died down for a moment. "We know your species is planning an attack on planet Earth. Tell us the day and time it is to take place."

The alien perked its head up. It gurgled softly.

The Men in Black grimaced. A strange occurrence, for they were designed to be emotionless. "What did it say?" one of the agents asked.

The Men in Black rose. "It's been an honor serving you all," they said in unison.

"Who's the Subject talking to?" the supervisor asked.

"No, gentlemen. It's been an honor to serve you." As they repeated their words, the supervisor felt a knot twist in his stomach. One glance around the room, and he knew the menial agents got the memo as well.

He sighed. "What did the Subject say?"

The Men in Black turned to him. "Now."

---

"One." Their superweapon... did it fail? "One." He knew he was lying on the cold, hard ground, just by twitching his fingers. Was Earth truly spared? "Wake up." That was an order. The Man in Black, One, widened his eyes to see his identical partner, Two, laying him out. One sat up, almost robot-like. They were no longer in Area 53; the air was fresh, and not a trace of their technology was here. He noted the rubble he saw a fair distance over, jumping to his feet. Two followed suit.

"Status," One requested.

"Healthy."

The two Men in Black redirected their attention to other... 'unique' individuals around them. "Goddess," as the two others present called the floating woman. More likely an extraterrestrial, they figured. The two agents thought the same thing: a superior alien race had interfered. How, they did not yet know; the most they could do was stand still and wait for Virtue's explanation.

 

[StaidFoal]

=HAZEL, JOY JUMPYMUSE=
​

He was flying; feeling the soothing breeze against his skin. He peered from above the clouds, just barely able to make out the Lost Boys waving up at him. The floating land itself, shrouded in greenery and beauty, was lit up via fireflies summoned by Cedar. It was a celebration today; today, which had a very special announcement from Cedar himself. Hazel couldn't wait to discover what it was about. But first to soar through the skies. There was a special feeling that only appeared in serene flight. He wished Cedar was with him, but they were understandably busy setting up the festival. In a minute, he had to go down to help or else he'd never hear the end of it. But being able to fly around a beautiful sky like this... he wished it would last forever.

"Hazel!" someone called out. It was a high-pitched voice. Maybe one of the fairies had come to get him? "Fairy Headbutt!" it cried, and he felt something like a small pebble hit his chest. When he looked at the impact area, however, no fairy was there. "Fairy Headbutt!" There it was again, and this time his eyes were on the impact zone. Odd, he thought. But, when he peered down at Neverland, all the Lost Boys vanished. The lights went out, and the beautiful forest now fell to darkness. "Hazel!"

The Lost Boy rose with a startle, almost clotheslining the glowing fairy. Panting, he glanced around himself, and not a single one of his human friends appeared. He remembered, now. How Cedar left Neverland; his prison disguised as a haven. How the Lost Boys wanted to find him, but never came back. How, when he found Cedar, he quickly knew he wouldn't ever return. It wasn't uncommon for a dream like this to pop up. Every time, he had to discern it after waking. "Joy?" he asked, now wondering about her fearful tone.

The fairy flew at him, clinging to his arm. "Thank goodness..." she muttered through choked sobs.

"Joy, why are you—" When Hazel looked around for a second time, he knew what had her in a rut. "What happened...?" he whispered, rising to his feet. Gone were the settlements constructed by the Lost Boys. Gone was the magical forest that surrounded them. Gone was the gloomy, grey mist that replaced the Lost Boys' presence. Instead, he counted several... outlandish looking individuals. Two of which reminded him of what people dressed as outside of Neverland. "Why aren't we in Neverland?"

Joy choked up again. "It's gone..." Hazel felt his heart drop. "Because of the absence of the Lost Boys..." she sniffled. "And the other fairies disappearing, Neverland was losing its magic... It was disappearing... It got totally destroyed now..." Joy broke out into tears, trying to dry her eyes with her sleeves.

Hazel lent his arm to her, letting the fairy dry her tears on his clothing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Joy glanced up at him, face red from the crying. "You looked as happy as you did back then..." she sniffled. "While you were maintaining their tents..." Joy climbed up his sleeve, sitting on the Lost Boy's arm. She twiddled her fingers, staring down at her lap. "I didn't want to take away your happiness, but I didn't think it would be destroyed so soon!" She collapsed on her side again, bursting into tears.

Hazel bit his lip. Everything was so sudden. Neverland was gone for good... He wouldn't ever be able to relive his memories with the Lost Boys and Cedar... Hazel felt water travel to his own eyes, but he blinked them away. If he was to cry now, then nobody could stop Joy from blaming herself. "It's not your fault that Neverland is gone," he barely choked out. "You had your reasons... You did what you thought was best for me..." The fairy glanced up from her wailing in awe. "Thank you, Joy."

"Hazel..." The fairy flew at his face, embracing it in a hug. "Hazel..." she muttered again, this time crying from gratefulness rather than guilt.

"Now, now, Joy!" he said with a solemn chuckle, picking her off his face. Hazel looked at the floating woman, who, going by the stares of the other strange individuals, was most likely the one who brought them here. Wherever "here" was. The sooner she explained everything, the better for him and Joy.

 

[Pai Chan]

Xandria & Vincent
​

The sound of men fighting could be heard outside of the throne room double doors. Xandria quickly prepared a spell. The time it took to get it ready was long. Too long for her liking but Vincent offered to make more of it by fending off the intruders. The people from his old kingdom had tried to take revenge on the couple after the assassination of their king. The siege proved futile as Xandria easily wiped out enough of the approaching force that they doubled back and retreated.

Now, they were back and with allies and a fully prepared army. Just the sight of them would make one think they were going to clash with another large force, not a couple in their palace and a few dozen servants.

Word got out that Xandria was a bloodmage. The practice alone held the penalty of death. And the woman had used it against humanity. Something that no living creature would wish on anyone. Because of this there was no safe haven. No mercy. And no quarter would be given to make sure she and her beloved, Vincent, were put to death. Only the few loyal servants that were awestruck by her power instead of fearing it, remained.

Most of them were mages looking into the practice on their own but Xandria assured them the power they possessed was too little. Many found out the hard way before the bloodmage’s warnings were finally heeded. She had to strike down many corrupted mages that were either possessed or turned into abominations, twisted by the power they looked to control.

More banging on the door as Vincent stepped through and quickly closed the large doors behind him, before barricading it.

“I’ve done all I can. They have all but taken the palace. Our mages only merely delayed the enemy’s progress by moments.” Vincent quickly joined Xandria. Crashes came from the doors that made the throne room shudder. Xandria barely even acknowledged any of the events that had just happened. Her focus on the large circle that she kneeled in the middle of.

Another of the forbidden magics. More than just a teleportation spell. Highly dangerous to even attempt. Previous endeavors resulted in either explosions or backfires. And no one knew where a successful venture would entail. Maybe it sent them to the underworld or to some place that only resulted in instant death. The pit of a volcano or the heart of a star.

At this moment Xandria didn’t care for the destination. They were dead if they lingered any longer, either way.

The door burst open and Vincent covered his partner just as arrows rained down. Her concentration was still unwavering as the encryptions that made up the circle started to glow. The light so intense the approaching enemy paused to shield their eyes. This gave Vincent the chance to turn towards them and stretch out his hand. A wave of invisible force knocked back the whole front wave back, into their comrades. Others that were unwavered charged forward to try and disrupt the spell but were swiftly cut down by Vincent as if the arrows he had taken early did nothing to weaken him. More and more filled the throne room and Vincent knew there were, once again, too many. This time the people joined together and rushed forward at once, following another volley of arrows. Vincent closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Accepting that, at least, he wouldn’t have to live a moment without Xandria by his side. That they would meet again in the afterlife and truly have a home there.

------------------------------------------

It wasn’t until a few moments passed that he realized everything was unusually quiet. The sound of a siege and thousands, upon thousands, of angry soldiers bearing down on his home. Vincent opened his eyes and looked around.

A barren field with the exception of a few others with similar, confused, expressions on their faces. Vincent quickly turned to see if his lover had also made the journey and nearly sighed with relief to see Xandria standing while looking around with a questioning gaze. But her eyes widened once they focused on a single person.

Then a person spoke. Asking, likely, what was on everyone’s mind. Some mentioned the word goddess and just like that, everything clicked into place for the mage. She wandered to the floating woman and Xandria dropped to her knees and bowed her head upon her hands that rested on the ground a few feet from Virtue. Vincent wordlessly followed and took a knee. He didn’t exactly understand what was going on but trusted Xandria’s judgement and choice.

“Oh, great goddess,” Xandria spoke. “You are the one answer to my constant prayers. Without your aid me and my beloved were, surely, doomed. And for that I shall remain ever faithful to only you.” Vincent hesitated for a moment before bowing his head. He refused to go any further than a knee. Where he came from taking a knee was the greatest show of respect while Elves were a bit more theatrical in their forms of worship. But Xandria’s assumption seemed correct, at the moment. They were surely at death’s door and in the blink of an eye a powerful goddess stood before them surrounded by a foreign land.

Vincent looked about taking note of the many strange people that also surrounded the goddess. Were they also taken from distant lands? Did they also initiate a magical portal? The confusion of their faces made Vincent assume they were likely brought to this place without their asking. The situation was very curious, indeed, but still a far cry from what potential fate they were moments from meeting, before. And just for that Vincent was in agreement with Xandria and in the goddess’ debt.

 

[Dystopianist]

The Enemy of Another History​

“Rise.“

Rienna woke up.

Looking around her, all she saw was forest… and then she remembered.

Her eyes half-shut, a trail of sparks had blazed to the west. The enemy had been here.

Was this his doing? No, Rienna, thought, there had been something else. Something darker, heavier, she could feel it despite only the crinkle of the wind in her ears and the smell of pine around her.

Picking herself up, the empress reoriented herself in her newfound surroundings.

Pine. Ash. Alderwood. One a species of the north, another of the south, and yet another of the islands to the east. Was this some strange test of her powers? No place in the world had these plants together, unless…

With a jolt, the rest of her memories came back to her. There was a gap in her memories. It wasn’t a gap in the sense of time lost, but in moments where her senses simply hadn’t functioned. It wasn’t the darkness of one’s own eyelids or the hum of a silent room, just a simple… lack of information. All but two figures.

Jolon Makatar, the enemy. Makatar and another, brighter, harder to comprehend in any way.

“Three virtues. Three sins. Bevarine, Therjina, Jajirell,” It had said, to both of them. The moment they heard those names, they both knew exactly what the entity had meant.

The thing had turned to Makatar. “Redeem yourself. Pyrrhic victories are hollow virtue. Take what is given and not what is lost.”

And then it had turned to Rienna. “Try and stop him.”

And then… and then… there was nothing. Nothing, and then the flicker of sparks to the west, and here she was.

“No,” She said quietly, “No, no!“ Rienna had almost defeated the enemy. After all the death and destruction he had produced, she had almost saved her empire. What would her people do without her? The political system was in shambles, the war had made sure of that.

She would grieve later. For now, she needed to find allies. She needed to stop Jolon Makatar. And she needed to get to the town she now spotted on the horizon.

It was early daybreak when she finally saw the single figure dwelling in the ruins of a village.

---

“Blackpeak?”

”Confirmed. Our target?”

”Wonder.”

”Confirmed.”

“Code Thunderdown?”

”Permission granted. Iron Protocol is to be executed.”

The scrying relay closed with a hiss, and the Dark Lanterns moved out.

They would collect these Summoned, whether they liked it, or not.