38th of Vhalar, 720.
Though the common people of Rharne might not have known it, what seemed to be another normal day in Rharne might soon become the most important time in the history of the city.
Vega's discoveries of the underground networks beneath the Watchtowers had sparked a flurry of activity behind the scenes with the Lightning Knights. Snowflakes had been shipped in advance from Scalvoris via the Eclipse Portals, and black powder drawn from the dredges of the city, carted through the street by the wagonful. Though they had done their best to keep things as quiet as possible, all too aware of their enemies eyes and the lengths of their intelligence networks, the buzzing of activity around Rharne was an unmistakable electricity in the air that even the uninitiated could feel, even if they did not know exactly why.
The Lightning Knights of Storm's Edge, under Vivian Shiryu's express orders and carrying out the plan concocted by her, Vega, Elisabeth, Varlum, Gennadiya and Praetorum, met at the base of each Watchtower assigned by the map they had been provided with. Horse-drawn wagons filled with supplies followed, with regiments segmented under superior officers, each armed to the teeth with platemail and tower shields. This was to be the closing battle; they could leave absolutely nothing to chance, and their strategem had been reinforced in triplicate knowing that no expense could be spared. Upon the signal and not a moment later, they smashed through the veil that separated the surface world from the Gateways and charged.
The tunnels were not abandoned. Flameborn caught by surprise were soon punctured with spears, hewn by axes and bludgeoned by all manner of blunt objects to push them back. The creatures fought back, swarming, Inferno Worms ambushing from within the walls. The attack was not without casualties. Yet their mission was not to eradicate the infestation; only to reach far enough into the depths of the tunnels to plant the explosives, and light the fuse. In this simple-minded goal, pushing the hordes back for just an instant, equipped and prepared as they were, armed with all the cumulative knowledge of Rharne's best and brightest... they had a chance. And they ran with it.
They made it just in time. It started as just a rumble, a sound like distant thunder. Then, as the shockwaves grew more pronounced, those of Storm's Edge began to feel the ground shudder and groan beneath their feet. Even many miles away, the denizens of Rharne city soon felt the slightest shudders, enough to rouse the sleeping from their rest and shake mall objects from shelves and tables.
The Stormwastes were collapsing. Somewhere deep beneath the surface, unseen caves and caverns collapsed on themselves, hidden chambers churned and drawn under as the tunnels and scaffolds that supported them were themselves undermined. Even the Inferno Worms that scurried around deep inside could not survive such intense pressure from all sides, the churning of soil and rock mangling their bodies beyond recognition; the magic stone altars responsible for the creation of new Flameborn buried well beyond the eyes or hands of those who would ever use them again, and those with the power to wield them soon crushed themselves, or lost in tiny pockets of air, forgotten and forlorn. There was a small chance that scant Flameborn themselves would later rise from the wreckage, hordes that they were and buzzing with the incandescent rage of a freshly-kicked hive of hornets... though little did they know they would soon find themselves starved and abandoned under the eyes of Ilaren, Qylios and Xiur.
The ground did not so much split as a result as it did noticeably sag. As if the air had been let out from a balloon, it creased and rolled with the new indentations, reshaping a landscape hundreds of days across in only a handful of bits. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that left many with their jaws hanging. The Siege of Storm's Edge had been broken.
And then, he was there. So were they. But where was there? Who knew.
Rhaum looked to his accomplice yet the Purveyor looked as perplexed as he did. Neither of them could understand why they were there, and of course, neither did they. Whether the work of an Immortal, Lovalus themselves, or something else entirely unknown, for whatever reason - it all hardly mattered now.
For just the briefest of moments, there was calm, and silence. Then, Rhaum sighed. "I see that you will not allow me to escape alive. What a cowardly, undignified end you've chosen."
Though the common people of Rharne might not have known it, what seemed to be another normal day in Rharne might soon become the most important time in the history of the city.
Vega's discoveries of the underground networks beneath the Watchtowers had sparked a flurry of activity behind the scenes with the Lightning Knights. Snowflakes had been shipped in advance from Scalvoris via the Eclipse Portals, and black powder drawn from the dredges of the city, carted through the street by the wagonful. Though they had done their best to keep things as quiet as possible, all too aware of their enemies eyes and the lengths of their intelligence networks, the buzzing of activity around Rharne was an unmistakable electricity in the air that even the uninitiated could feel, even if they did not know exactly why.
The Lightning Knights of Storm's Edge, under Vivian Shiryu's express orders and carrying out the plan concocted by her, Vega, Elisabeth, Varlum, Gennadiya and Praetorum, met at the base of each Watchtower assigned by the map they had been provided with. Horse-drawn wagons filled with supplies followed, with regiments segmented under superior officers, each armed to the teeth with platemail and tower shields. This was to be the closing battle; they could leave absolutely nothing to chance, and their strategem had been reinforced in triplicate knowing that no expense could be spared. Upon the signal and not a moment later, they smashed through the veil that separated the surface world from the Gateways and charged.
The tunnels were not abandoned. Flameborn caught by surprise were soon punctured with spears, hewn by axes and bludgeoned by all manner of blunt objects to push them back. The creatures fought back, swarming, Inferno Worms ambushing from within the walls. The attack was not without casualties. Yet their mission was not to eradicate the infestation; only to reach far enough into the depths of the tunnels to plant the explosives, and light the fuse. In this simple-minded goal, pushing the hordes back for just an instant, equipped and prepared as they were, armed with all the cumulative knowledge of Rharne's best and brightest... they had a chance. And they ran with it.
They made it just in time. It started as just a rumble, a sound like distant thunder. Then, as the shockwaves grew more pronounced, those of Storm's Edge began to feel the ground shudder and groan beneath their feet. Even many miles away, the denizens of Rharne city soon felt the slightest shudders, enough to rouse the sleeping from their rest and shake mall objects from shelves and tables.
The Stormwastes were collapsing. Somewhere deep beneath the surface, unseen caves and caverns collapsed on themselves, hidden chambers churned and drawn under as the tunnels and scaffolds that supported them were themselves undermined. Even the Inferno Worms that scurried around deep inside could not survive such intense pressure from all sides, the churning of soil and rock mangling their bodies beyond recognition; the magic stone altars responsible for the creation of new Flameborn buried well beyond the eyes or hands of those who would ever use them again, and those with the power to wield them soon crushed themselves, or lost in tiny pockets of air, forgotten and forlorn. There was a small chance that scant Flameborn themselves would later rise from the wreckage, hordes that they were and buzzing with the incandescent rage of a freshly-kicked hive of hornets... though little did they know they would soon find themselves starved and abandoned under the eyes of Ilaren, Qylios and Xiur.
The ground did not so much split as a result as it did noticeably sag. As if the air had been let out from a balloon, it creased and rolled with the new indentations, reshaping a landscape hundreds of days across in only a handful of bits. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that left many with their jaws hanging. The Siege of Storm's Edge had been broken.
***
And then, he was there. So were they. But where was there? Who knew.
Rhaum looked to his accomplice yet the Purveyor looked as perplexed as he did. Neither of them could understand why they were there, and of course, neither did they. Whether the work of an Immortal, Lovalus themselves, or something else entirely unknown, for whatever reason - it all hardly mattered now.
For just the briefest of moments, there was calm, and silence. Then, Rhaum sighed. "I see that you will not allow me to escape alive. What a cowardly, undignified end you've chosen."
