Darkness descends on Arnax

[EdTheKet]

Far away in distant Arnax tendrils of darkness begin to emanate from Tower Vereor. It starts at night so most people do not notice the blotting out of some stars.
The night feels eerily quiet, which is strange for the city of screams.

When the horizon starts to brighten by the impending dawn, early risers are the first to notice the now thick tentacles of darkness that now seem to grow out of the tower.

Around noon, almost half of the sky is dark and before the afternoon is out, the artificial night has fallen.

The Cult forces surrounding the Tower have been at high alert ever since the first tendril was soon and are waiting for what will happen next.


Then an angry red pulse bursts from the top of the tower, adding a menacing dark glow glow to the blackness.

All remains quiet.... for now....

[EdTheKet]

A couple of hours later another pulse bursts from the tower, intensifying the menacing glow.

Then a couple of bright spots appear in the sky. Some initially think it's the stars shining through, but soon they realize they are becoming bigger.

Four massive fireballs hurl down towards the city and to some posts of Cult soldiers in particular.

As they hit, the massive main doors of Tower Vereor open. Darkness spills out, followed by a veritable wave of unliving.
It seems as if any creature that was ever killed within the tower has returned in animated form.

Cult forces prepare against this group, but seem rather unfazed by the host of skeletons and zombies that lumber their way. They draw their weapons and prepare.
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In the mean time, another force thunders through Arnax's main gates. Its guards too afraid to bar their way.

Ravens of Corath, mounted on the stuff of nightmares, charge through the gate making their way through the main streets preparing to charge the Cult forces. Their cry, "WE ARE DEATH INCARNATE!"taken up from a Raven commander earlier that day, strikes fear into the heart of citizens that are huddling in their houses.

About a mile from the tower, several sewer grates open up and about four dozen Ravens emerge, led by a Raven with a  cruel great sword strapped to his back, that emanates a dark crimson glow in its thirst for bloodshed. Silently, he directs his group towards the building that houses the Cult commanding officer.

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Back at the tower, the unliving have engaged the Cult but they prove no real match for them. At that point though, Noceo run out of the temple's gate, joining the fray.

Out of some side entrances of the Tower, Sancti emerge, accompanied by some Oraculi. They ensure that unliving that have fallen rise again. Severed skeleton arms reach out to grasp Cultist feet. Chopped off skulls bite into ankles, refusing to let go.
These prove to be no more than mere annoyances to the Drachs however.

More Oraculi appear near the doors, the man some call the Mad Doctor amongst them. The Oraculi start to summon beasts from the Pits to join the fray.

Cult forces are pushed back a bit by the onslaught, but are still holding.
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A roar is heard from the sky as the dragon that was also guarding the Tower swoops down from high above.

As if waiting for this to happen, the doors of the main balcony of Tower Vereor, located high above the main entrance open.

A female form, wearing a white skull emerges. Whatever she was in the past, she is no longer, as she has four sets of arms, one bearing vicious claws, blood dripping from underneath the skull. Her voice can be heard across Vereor square even though she does not seem to be shouting.
"You will pay for your insolence and serve us even after death."

She turns her head to the approaching dragon and points. "Mortis Mentins, hear your Sanctus, let your will be known through me."

A burst of black-red energy speeds towards the dragon. Even before it hits, two dozen men and women in fiery crimson red armor storm out hurling magic and fire at the dragon.

Collectively they chant" "In the name of the Destroyer, we consign the abomination to ashes and oblivion."

As the unholy burst hits the dragon, it takes a plunge downwards. It seems to be able to stop its crash into the square and land on its feet, its chest smoking.

The Pyrtechonites charge it, while the forces of the Bone Lord engage the other Cult forces.

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The Battle for Arnax has been joined......

[EdTheKet]

The battle rages throughout the night.

Slowly but certainly, the endless pressure of unliving, the battering of magics, and the beaks and talons of Pit Dwellers slowly but certainly weaken the Cult's forces.

The Raven cavalry hit the Cult in the flank, while the Raven group on foot managed to capture the command post, yet at great cost. The Raven captain who commanded this group survived, reputedly roaring "WE ARE DEATH INCARNATE!" at every kill.

The dragon battled the Pyrtechonites, who managed to utterly destroy it, calling on the fiery might of their god in the process, calling the dragon an abomination. Eye witnesses were even saying that blurbs of lava were seen to hit the corrupted beast, destroying a part of Arnax in the process.

There may be some truth to this as a slowly cooling pool of lava is seen in one of Arnax's outer districts.

Many citizens surely perished this night, but as dawn approaches, the last of the Cultists is killed. The streets are covered with bodies, unliving still stumble through the streets, but the unholy alliance clearly won the day. Or rather, the night...

Some also say that dark robed figures examined the corpses, some even taking samples, pieces or even entire corpses into the temple.

Two hours after daybreak, the Sanctus Mortis summons Queen Maillard to Tower Vereor. She was seen leaving again around noon...

[Pibemanden]

*Hearing the news from Arnax as they reach the now troubled east coast of Dregar Storold mumbles to himself* Good to see that faith can conquer the Cult, sad though it is the faith of our enemies and not of our own ranks....

[Spike]

The sickening sound of steel rending through flesh filled his ears. With a smile he steeped back to examine his handiwork. The pile of corpses had a new arrival; a tattered and bloodstained banner to the Dark Lord, which flew proudly from its base of death, a testament to a night filled with bloodshed.

He moved quickly through the wreckage of the former command post, passing dead cultist and Raven alike. After a few minutes of searching, he spotted his goal, the battered and broken body of the cultist commander, still clinging to life through shear fear of what lay after. He moved slowly to the body, pausing only for a second to slam his great sword through the chest of a badly wounded cultist, sending a scarlet spay over his already gore splattered armour. He bent over to grab the commander by the neck, dragging his weakened form into the air. The commander’s face turned purple, his eyes bulging out of his skull as the life was strangled from him. Vainly he beat upon the hands that were choking him, whilst spluttering out a sentence.


“The Queen... said. *cough*... Why?”


The commander’s lifeless body was dropped to the ground with a dull thump. He pulled out a short sword, and went about the grisly task of extracting the commander’s skull. It would make a fitting new death mask.


“Suffer not the Indigni to live.”

[Polak76]

The Mad Doctor, hastened through the ranks of Ravens that were spilling themselves against the cult.   Every now and then he'd pause to touch the bones of fallen skeletons and zombies whilst uttering words of dark magic.  "Awaken my children", he beckoned them almost affectionately.  The brittle bones of fallen skeletons and hacked corpses of zombies stirred back to life and immediately joined the Ravens in melee.
A cluster of lesser necromancers followed his every move, pausing here and there to maintain the continuous flow of undead.  "Stipatio", one bellowed suddenly, giving Alandric pause. "This is futile.  The Cult is too many and we weaken maintaining 'His' children".
Alandric cast him a threatening glare but sensed truth to his words.  His Oraculi were visibly weakening from the toil of constantly raising the dead.  Soon they'd be spent and utterly useless.
Suddenly a group of Cultist burst through a line of ravens and charged the Oraculi.  Alandric snapped to his senses and immediately uttered powerful words of Necromancy, motioning at the rapidly approaching Cult.  From the shadows a Banshee rose, bellowing her mournful wail across the battlefield.  Some of the cult dropped immediately to death, her shrill being too much for their hearts to contain.  The others stood frozen, shaken from her outburst.
Ravens immediately seized the opportunity and made short work of the frozen cult members.  "Not all of them", Alandric yelled.  "I want prisoners!"
One of the Ravens stopped short of dealing a killing blow to one of the cult.  "This one still breathes Stipatio".  He and his comrades then turned back to the main force without reprieve.
Alandric turned to his Oraculi "You two drag this one back through the portal and wait for my return.  The rest of you cease tending to 'His' children and assist the Raven.  Enhance their weapons and armour and join them in battle."
They immediately followed his orders and Alandric suddenly found himself alone behind the lines of Ravens.  His blood was flowing fiercely and the scent of dark energy enveloped him from all angles.  The sensation was intoxicating.  He breathed in deeply and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge.  A tremble of delight reverberated down his spine.  He smiled.  He had his own orders as well.
Alandric selected a position that was devoid of corpses and prepared to cast a powerful spell.  He closed his eyes and began weaving the dark magic to open a portal that would summon a greater demon.  Before long a grand monstrosity with flaming wings and brutal greatsword answered his call.  It spent only brief moments challenging Alandric, trying to find a flaw in his control but was parried by an adept summoner.
"What is thy bidding master?" it finally asked reluctantly.
Alandric smirked, "Go my servant.  Fly into the midst of the cult force that attacks the Mad Ones armies.  Wreak havoc, tear them apart, spill blood until you feet pool in crimson to your ankles.   Your time here is short.  Go now and take the memories of victory with you."  
The creature's mouth pulled back into a bestial grin revealing rows of canines dripping with blood-lust.  A sudden wing-beat propelled it into the air.  Its flaming wings accented against the artificial darkness like a burning phoenix seeking its prey.  Suddenly it banked sharply then dove into the midst of Cultists in an explosion of both flame and death.
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Later during the battle the Mad Doctor was seen sifting through the corpses, taking samples in various glass canisters.  His cloaked hunch form was seen scraping the remains of the dragon, the prize he sought most.  Eagerly he filled his vials with various samples then moved on seeking other targets to sample.

[miltonyorkcastle]

The news of the battle in Arnax gives Steel pause. In this pause, he smiles, and in a moment, that smile turn into a cackle, and finally into a full fledged guffaw.
The laughing runs its course, finishing with a few claps.

"Well done. Well done. I do enjoy it when things go my way."

[Spike]

A few days later heavily armed and armored Ravens begin to march north from the city on their demonic steeds. Whispered rumors state that the forces of the Mad One and the Destroyer are descending upon Holar, though these words are of course unfounded. What is obvious however is what is left in their wake. As far as the eye can see, stretching from the cities gate along the northern path, crucified cultists line the road. Though their dieing moans of agony can be heard for days after, their fate is a pleasant one compared to those who were taken within Tower Vereor itself.

A message is being sent to those who would seek to claim what is not theirs to trifle with, cultist or otherwise.