Rebirth Cycle
Cylus
Trial 1 – As darkness falls upon the land, people begin to hallucinate flashes of imagery, unnatural occurrences that used to be confined entirely to their frightful dreams. Some claim to see deceased relatives, others unknown abominations of the Creep, and still others things that are beyond easy comprehension. Trial 4 – There is a bristle in the air, the snap of wintery change, a chill that can be felt in the soul as somewhere distant, something terrible opens. Snow begins to fall upon the land, and the working of the Creep begins to slow.
Trial 5 – A body is butchered in horrific fashion, left in the midst of one of the city’s many streets. Written upon the gruesome scene, carved into flesh and written in maniacal repetition are the words, “I want to wake up.”
Trial 6 – Further bodies are discovered throughout the city, each marked with similar words and phrases, claiming that they desire to awaken from their living sleep. The psychopathic murderer is unknown, but both the Dragoons and the Tribunals begin to intensify their efforts in locating the fiend before he can perform further crimes.
Trial 8 – The renewed intensity of searching for the killer uncovers a series of Immortal-worshippers who had been hidden among the populace. The Tribunal begin to strip those who they suspect in search of Immortal brandings. The darkness of Cylus is lit up with the fire of Anathema.
Trial 9 – Off in the distant darkness, there is a band of lights which flow into the world unlike any known before. They seem to move almost as if corporeal throughout the countryside, in enough number to draw the attention of the city’s leaders.
Trial 10 – Scouts are dispatched to observe the strange light radiances. When they return to the city, they describe entities of impossible anatomy, whose very parts and pieces seem to float without contact with the rest of their bodies. They are things of light who seem to flash incessantly to one-another, and to any who draw near. One scout is brutally executed when he wanders too close to the entities, but while efficient in their slaying, they seem too pre-occupied to pursue the others. Accompanying the band of lights are nearly two-dozen Frackers, cerulean beings whose eyes themselves are a color which cannot be perceived.
Trial 12 – It is observed that the light beings and their Fracker escorts are in nearly constant combat with Creepborne throughout their expedition. A fearful sort of sympathetic paranoia begins to arise in the populace as they consider assorted theories of what the light beings are.
Trial 13 – During a routine patrol, a pair of Dragoons are bombed with an alchemical device. Both are killed almost instantly by the explosion, and the resulting fire draws the attention of a great many Heaps. The implications that an enemy exists somewhere in the city with the capability to easily kill Dragoons are enough to frighten officials.
Trial 15 – Due to external shipments of wood to the city, the usually prized luxury becomes something of a commodity. This lasts only for a single Trial, however, as the Guild of Raw Materials quickly begins to seize purchased pieces of wood, and stockpiles of wood owned by private parties and set them aflame so that they may maintain their monopoly. Surprisingly, they are not punished for this ordeal.
Trial 18 – Rumors of a scarlet-garmented creature which stalks throughout the city in search of heretics and unbelievers continue to intensify. There are whispers that the Sleeping Man; the serial killer who has plagued the city throughout the season, should be brought to justice by such a fellow.
Trial 20 – In response to the plethora of Immortal worshippers who were slain throughout the season for their criminal heresy, Condemnation begins to perform full-body searches on those who wish to enter. Business begins to slow from the process, and nervous-looking persons begin to linger around the docks, or else to refuse to exit the city by means of the gate. They are subsequently found and interrogated.
Trial 24 – The smuggling of the Vicemen begins to increase in quantity and quality as those whose sympathies lie with the parasitic gods of the world begin to seek their services for entering and exiting the city in lieu of Condemnation.
Trial 30 – As the darkness begins to fade once more from the land, and the presence of the Others grows more difficult to observe from afar, Edmund II announces that due to recent threats, a third Division of the Dragoon Garrison will be formed to serve wherever they are needed, lacking in some of the specialty of their peers, but making up for the increase of threats with renewed numerical superiority. Brutish and brawny men and women throughout the Kingdom begin to sign up, and many minor nobility see this as an opportunity to further their own power, sending their children off to fight for the lord’s army.
Ashan
Trial 4 – As the snow and ice begin to finally melt away from the world, the Creep begins a series of extremely violent offensives. Dozens of Ferahoms are thrust against the city itself, striking out at the gates, and forcing residents to keep an eye out for sudden ambush. Trial 7 – A pair of Oaken Trees arrive nearby the city. Travel into and outside of the city is briefly prohibited due to the presence of the monstrous Creepborne. Dragoons are prepared to battle once more against the fiendish threat.
Trial 8 – The First and Third Divisions of the Garrison are dispatched to combat the growing force of Creepborne. Purifier light fills the air and acrid smoke accompanies it as the battle is fought. Casualties are taken, especially on the part of the recently formed Division, but ultimately men prove victorious once more over the foliage.
Trial 10 – An unusually large swarm of Sangue Selvagem arrive near the recent battle-ground. They seem drawn to the presence of blood there, and grow in such number that it becomes dangerous to approach them, lest one be drained entirely of their blood.
Trial 15 – The swarm of Sangue are dispelled at last, returning to their natural caverns and stony outcroppings, having been sated by their feast.
Trial 17 – An eager pack of young children rush towards Fortress, their leader taking hold of one of the Sangue that she claims she beat to death with a broom after it snuck into her home. Of particular interest are the signs of plant-growth and physical change typically associated exclusively with Ferahoms. The implication that the Creep may now be capable of creating winged atrocities is one that is not taken well by the populace.
Trial 31 – An enterprising necromancer begins to sell Welled Golems that have taken on the shape of Gargoyles. While these are expensive, and technically capable of subversion by a skilled enough necromancer, these stony guardians are quickly purchased by members of the Nobility, serving as excellent body-guards. An increase of gargoyles throughout the city is observed, both living and not.
Trial 40 – Using The Speaker, the Voice of the Theocratum announces that due to the recent incursions of foreign threats upon Quacian soil, a new detachment has been formed with the approval of the Heralds. The Quacian Missionary Corp consists of pious and zealous Tribunals of notice, and others associated with the Theocratum who take their pivotal work to distant shores, punishing heretics who attempt to escape from the city, and ensuring that foreign plots and schemes are squashed before their implementation. Alongside these Missionary teams are typically low-ranking Devotees responsible both for the care of the agents, and for spreading the news of the Scarlet Belief in more passive and non-violent fashions.
Trial 46 – The first boat of Missionaries is sent into the greater world. Their renewed autonomy leads some to believe that they will be a scourge upon whichever city they arrive in, and that they will give a bad name to the Quacian people. More cynical observers believe that the absence of additional torturers within the city-walls is probably not a bad thing.
Trial 55 – The beings of light are briefly encountered near the city. They are still focused almost entirely on their task, and, having found what they are looking for at last, begin to make their way back towards the Deep South.
Trial 73 – Creepborne incursions continue in exceptional number throughout the season as the warmth and heat renew the beasts to action. Small gatherings of Creepborne bats are sighted, confirming the presence of winged entities, and rumors of a possibly magical Creepborne begin to circulate.
Trial 80 – The Sleeping Man continues his spree of killings, having gone completely demented from whatever torturous exercises he practices. People throughout the city continue to pray for his immediate removal.
Trial 91 – Members of the Third Division, particularly those noble sons and daughters who were sent to serve within the armed forces are noted to abuse their newly-found positions of power. A search for a capable Captain to lead the Division begins to be conducted in earnest, and tryouts are given to a number of disciplined warriors who are believed capable of putting the vermin in line.
Trial 107 – Another bombing leaves seven Heaps and two more Dragoons dead. Efforts continue in search of the manufacturer of these terrible explosives, though it is unclear whether this is the work of Cultists or of revolutionary Heap elements.