Twilight of the Goddess (Tygara)

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Elincia Alanis"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Abaigeal E'ron"]


"Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won."


The castle was finally theirs and the Banner of the Angelii had risen upon its last tower, dancing in the howling wind. Kaida rolled her eyes when Elincia screamed as loudly as her lungs would permit her.


"Wing Leader Zar, would you kindly pull her down?" Her tone suggested that this was clearly not a request. And so Elincia would suddenly find herself lifted off her feet and pulled into the air by an invisible hand, before she was slowly levitated down until her feet touched the ground.


A healer would quickly be on the spot to see to her. "I guess that ends round one," Kaida said dryly as she looked upon the ruins, along with the corpses and cadavres that were strewn across the broken ground. The Xioquo had fought to the death. No quarter had been given and the Eldorai had not been inclined to take prisoners. There was a foul stench in the air, that of death.


Looking to the Angelii, her eyes fell upon each of them, exchanging no words but her helmet met the eyes of each Eldorai. Something passed between them, but it was unspoken, encouragement without grand speeches and elaborate gestures. "Tirathana expects every Eldorai to do her duty. Get the heavily wounded onto the transports. Patch up your wounds, stock up on ammunition. The fight's not over," she ordered simply. And that was that. Her whole body seemed to ache and her hand was shaking.


However, as she was about to walk away she felt Askari's hand on her shoulder. It was an insistent tug. "That goes for you as well, Lady Seraph. Healers are waiting," the Host Leader said bluntly.


Beneath her helmet, Kaida glowered at the woman. "I'm fine. Go see to your unit and inform Lady Alcori the fort's taken," she stated gruffly, feeling more than a little peeved at being contradicted.


"Ma'am, you look like hell and I should know. You get yourself fixed up, or you'll be deader than doornails and endagering your battle sisters. So for the love of the Goddess cut the crap. With all due respect." Ice-cold looks passed between the two Angelii, before Kaida felt a sharp pain in her chest and had to lean against a pillar to keep herself from falling over. Her legs felt like jellie.


"Fine. We'll address about your insubordination later. Find out how Tempest is doing."


"Yes, Lady Seraph. Now let a sodding healer look at you."


Kaida, who at this point needed help walking and was probably about to fall over, soon found herself in the care of one before she could make an acidic retort. Meanwhile, Tempest's comm beeped, as the Seraph's 2IC tried to call the Firemane assault team.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Abaigeal E'ron"], [member="Elincia Alanis"]


A bridgehead had been established and the Firemane forces made their entrance alongside the Angelii. Before them lay a broad, series of caverns, almost extensive enough to count as a maze. A river that looked most foul, as if the malevolent presence of the dark side had corrupted it, flowed through it. Siobhan looked just a bit tense when her boat rode across the waters, for they were far too tranquil for her tastes. Deceptively so. One could only guess what sort of abominations might lurk beneath it, ready to be spat out and unleashed upon the invaders.


Darkness engulfed the caves. This was no trouble for the Xioquo, for they had been adopted and moulded by the dark. In this situation Siobhan found herself missing her cybernetic eye since it would have given her sight with no trouble. So she switched the settings of her helmet's vision mode to infrared. Firemane soldiers fired tracer rounds to provide some illumination.


"I'll take the east bank. See you on the other side," she said simply. Fortunately her companion, the Grand Seraph, was a woman of few words. "Solveig, you know the drill. To the shore. Deploy Aurek, Besh and Zeta. Advance the droids first, " having said that she pulled the Force into her muscles, then suddenly leapt into the air. Propelling herself through sheer willpower, she shot across the river like a human-sized boulder fired from a catapult.


The Xioquo army had rallied and set up defensive emplacements across the river bank that put the Firemane boats under fire. A hailstorm of bullets came shooting her way, but like hail of stone they simply bounced off her armour. Muskets belched smoke and lead, but to no avail. Even their most modern guns, self-loading rifles, proved useless against her. Xioquo cannons fired, vomitting out a double-shotted volley of a cannonball along with grapeshot, but the Force wrapped itself around her like a protective cocoon.


Telekinetic energy exploded from Siobhan in a massive wave that scoured the very sand from the ground and made the ceiling tremble. The rippling wall of telekinetic energy, commonly referred to as the Force Repulse power, carried enough power to unleash a blow comparable to a giant's back hand.


The surge of telekinesis swept across the shore, causing carnage. Cannons fell silent as they were blown through the air or simply broken, Xioquo were crushed. While strong winds came into being around her, the demigoddess landed upon the shore. The ground beneath her shook and trembled slightly when her boots touched down upon it. Clouds of gas blossomed into being when Firemane troops began shelling the Xioquo, causing many to choke or be knocked out.


Landing boats hit the shore, and Firemane soldiers spilled out. Mobile barricades were rolled out and set up, behind them e-webs and heavy bolters. Tracers were shot into the air and bolters roared. It was, in many ways, an unfair battle. A semi-immortal in almost impenetrable armour against natives armed with primitive weapons. Gas shells and bolter fire rained down upon the Xioquo as they sought cover. The charge was led by Firemane battle droids. Inured to pain and immune to most of the Xioquo's weapons, they could take the brunt of the assault. Their mechanical nature also scared many Xioquo unused to such devices.


Those who put up the most resistance were the janissaries. A torrent of crimson lightning sliced through the air and impacted upon Siobhan. The crimson-crowned demigoddes staggered slightly as she felt the dark power strike her and felt a stab of pain."She is mortal!" Then telekinetic power crunched down upon the janissary's heart and crushed it, ending her life in a most messy, gory way. Blasts of burning, scalding heat swept towards her as sorceresses tossed streams of flame her way, but Siobhan pushed herself into the air. Flames kissed her armour and seemed to envelope her, but then the Force screamed through her and a torrent of electrical judgement quite literally cooked her attackers. Here she could let loose with her power and so she did. Screams of pain and agony filled the area, no doubt her doing.


Some Xioquo warriors, many of them children or old people, were throwing down their weapons and raising their hands in surrender. They cried out words in Xioquo or in heavily accented Qadiri to make themselves heard.


Suddenly Siobhan's eyes fell upon a young girl, still a child, even younger than Galina. The obsidian skinned girl had sought cover beneath some rocks and was dressed in armour that looked far too big for her and an expression of terror was written upon her features. Perhaps Siobhan should have been more cautious, but it was a child. "Friend. I will not hurt you. Safe," she spoke gently, summoning her rather limited command of the Xioquo language. She stretched out her gauntlet-covered hand towards the little girl.


Hesitantly, the girl took it, letting Siobhan pull her up. "Got food," Siobhan added, seeing how dangerously thin the emaciated girl was. The little drow smiled thinly, then suddenly Siobhan felt a scream in the Force, but it was too late for her to act when the girl dropped a primitive grenade to the floor. There was a loud boom and Siobhan was caught right in the explosion when the explosive detonated.


While everything went dark for Siobhan, there was movement inside the waters. There was a terrible shriek, then walking, decomposed corpses and skeletal beings suddenly arose from the river. However, they did not only come from there, but from deep within the caverns. Xioquo soldiers who had been slain only moments earlier, suddenly got back up, some of them looking grotesquely mutilated. Frightening blue lights marked where their eyes had once been. Grabbing whatever weapons was at hand, they threw themselves at the Firemane soldiers with reckless abandon and the fury of beings possessed by a vile demonic spirit.

 

[Darth Libertas]

((I'm foregoing a Tarissa post, so feel free to skip her. Done all my posts for this round))


[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"The Lady is down!"

"Get a medic!"

"What the feth?! Zombies!"

"Shut up and form square, maggots! Buckshot and APE. Short, controlled bursts."


Everything seemed to be happening in a blur. Kerrigan was taken out by an explosion, then a horde of zombies swarmed them. Upon being attacked from all sides, the Firemane soldiers formed a square like soldiers of old from another time. Bolters spat out explosive bolts and buckshot, screams were heard, undead fell. But some Firemane soldiers had been unlucky. Xioquo whom they'd slain only moments before suddenly pounced upon them. Others were dragged down into the river. Taking heart, the janissaries and Mystra younglings rallied and charged.


That is why I don't brazenly lead the charge, Sumiko thought to herself grimly. An undead Xioquo suddenly grabbed her leg and she brought down Souldrinker to cleave the zombie's arm off. A Force imbued javelin shot towards her through the air and she was lucky enough to see the attack coming and redirect the spear, throwing it into the nearest undead and running it through its stomach. Perversely, the beast got up again to charge a Firemane soldier.


But her luck did not last. The quietest of whispers in the Force was her only warning before a zombified Xioquo struck her with a halberd. She managed to sidestep, but she was slowed down by her duraplast armour. Fortunately for her, the armour took the brunt of the attack, though there was enough force for the still-sharp weapon to slice into the Atrisian's side, perhaps about a centimetre. Pain and anger blossomed inside her, and she carved a hefty chunk off the beast's head.


It was time to show the Xioquo the true power of the Dark Side. So Sumiko pulled the Force into her, summoning all her power and rage. Here, inside the Underealm, the darkness was strong. Its power was palpable, fuelled by centuries of tyranny, blood sacrifices and murder. It was like a massive fountain. A dark will directed the undead, willing them to rise and attack, as if pulling the strings of puppets. In her mind, she could see the strands of power connecting them. They were simple beings of hatred and hunger, easily swayed. Thus she sought to imprint her will upon them. She felt the eldritch power resist and pain surged through her mind as a battle of wills was fought.


"Bend to me. Your mistress has starved you. You hunger, I can give you sustenance. Attack the Xioquo. Feed on them. Kill them all. Obey me." The voice of command echoed through their minds. Bit by bit, step by step, she peeled away at the layers of resistance and forced her will upon the creatures, blotting out the battle around her. Her grip around Souldrinker tightened as she sunk deeper into the Force. The blade seemed to glow in the darkness, for it was delighted by the slaughter that was taking place and the promise of things to come.


A Mystra youngling grabbed a discarded bolter from a dead Firemane soldier and fired. Sumiko did not notice the attack fast enough. Fortunately, the boy's aim was poor and the explosive bolt impacted far from her, but she was still struck by shrapnel and knocked down. However, then suddenly a zombie close to the boy turned and pounced upon him. Anguished screams were heard when it tore the child soldier's throat apart. "Hungry!" Across the shore, undead were falling under the witch's thrall and turning on the drows, falling upon them with a fury.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

With each passing second, the blue blade bit through the stone creatures body, the knee began to buckle and weakening and it took Abaigeal all concentration to stay on the beast. It was not easy with it moving around violently not only fighting but trying to shake her off. Tempest was blasting the thing with all her might and power, which added to the beasts aggression and pain. Thrashing about wildly, Abaigeal only just managed to avoid a sweeping hand in her direction trying to swat her off.

Eventually, they had succeeded, the body of the beast began to fall and she knew it was time to get out of there. "Tempest! Jump!", she yelled out but did not know if she even heard her or would have time. Abaigeal rolled off the creature as it hit the ground, her body scrapping along the ground cutting her skin, on her face and arms. When she finally came to a stop, she looked around for Tempest, and for a while she could not see her.

Reaching out through the force, to find Tempests presence, she turned to find her laying on the ground. Abaigeal jumped up and ran to her, and when she got by her side she noticed Tempest was not moving. Abaigeal checked for life signs, a pulse was there, which was good and she was breathing but clearly knocked out. "Tempest?", she asked her gently at first. "Wake up!".

Although not waiting for a reply, Abaigeal arms waved furiously for the combat medical units to come to her aid.

​

[member="Tegaea Alcori"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Elincia Alanis"]​

 

[Elincia Alanis]

As she stood on the big tower waiting for help to get her down, she looked at the scene, now silence of the peace, and only the sounds of the wind were the sole rulers in the lands once was ruled by bloodshed. She was feeling poetic now, if that wasn't obvious. Well, maybe the closeness to death made her a bit more mature, now that she had seen the other side was so close to them. Nah, probably not. She was tired and her mind was clouded, that was all. Anyway, as she was watching the world from an upper perspective, she didn't expect to be pulled suddenly from the tower, as a reaction, she did what she always did, and shouted in shock without watching for the words. "What the kark?!?" Well, that was her "help", maybe. Or maybe she just lost her balance and fell down. Well, the first option seemed more likely at this point since she seemed to be floating more than falling. So, she took a breathe of relief. A couple of seconds later, she was back on the ground. She had no fear of the heights, but her half broken ribs didn't like the oxygen in there. Oh, and if the Wing Leader was waiting for a thank you, that was a big nope. Instead, she said. "Well you almost killed me with a heart attack." Anyway, before she would get more salty, a healer came to see her wounds and wanted Elincia to sit down. Probably a good thing for her.

With an eye roll, she did what she was asked. The fight seemed to be won, but the war still continued, it seemed as the ice lady spoke, oh and she was alive and well too by the way, the woman was indeed a strong one, with so many hits Elincia would become food for whatever was in the soil. Well, she had more chances to die, so she still had that possibility, but that was besides the point of course! Anyway, before ranting for a long time in her mind again, she just enjoyed the calm moment and let the healer do her job for now as she examined her surroundings. She was still in one piece after all, and this moment was a good chance to appreciate that before everything went worse again, which, she guessed, would be pretty soon.

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Elincia Alanis"]

It had been a long time since they’d let Aeda go into the forefront of battle. Oh, she had been there for skirmishes, but the Grand Seraph did not just join every battle, much to her chagrin.

But now she was here she was going to make the most of it.

The west bank of the inner lake was quite wide, but numerous passages and tunnels led off, far more than the large ones marked on the maps.

To this end, the Grand Seraph had organised her forces into tactical assault groups, each specialising in certain skills or elemental powers. These were named for the gems which the Eldorai loved so much; Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire and Diamond.

First the pyrokinetic Ruby teams would send scorching waves of fire into holes, roasting or smoking out anything inside. These would be met by a volley of lightning from Diamond teams, and finally Emerald would move in and bring down the passages to prevent them being used to flank the invaders. Sapphire meanwhile had their own special task; groups of them would freeze and thaw water from the lake, raise mist and impede enemy movement with ice.

The main phalanx of the Angelii advanced. Enemy defences were haphazard; no one had ever gotten this far after all, and most barriers were to prevent those inside leaving.
The Angelii advanced in closed ranks, their Taegis overlapping to form a tight barrier which the weapons of the Xioquo struggled to penetrate. Behind the first two lines came the elementalists or bolter armed battle sisters, shooting down any enemy who emerged from cover.

Across both sides of the lake, the remnants of the once proud Xioquo navy lay. All the ships which had been seaworthy were already gone, but some old hulks remained. Those cannons proved troublesome though, the sheer firepower enough to blow gaps in the formation.
Aeda, spying one of these vessels, summoned her power and unleashed such a lance of burning energy that the ship detonated with such an explosion that the very walls shook.

But then, zombies! Swarming from tunnels ahead, from the water, even dropping from the ceiling.
“Rekani!” one Angelii called.
“Hold!” Aeda ordered. “Engage in pairs! For the Goddess!”
The zombies stood little chance before the sarixi and sarzmigar of the Angelii. The problem was numbers. Every zombie ‘killed’ merely meant there was another, and another. However, severing the head was an effective policy, but here and there an Angelii might be pulled down. Before they could rise again though, her battle sister would behead the fallen warrior. Bitter hatred formed among the Angelii for every time they had to desecrate the body of a noble sister.

However, the tide turned, and suddenly the zombies were swarming their erstwhile allies and tearing them apart. Aeda sensed Sumiko and knew it was her.
‘Return the dead to their rest when they have slain the Xioquo here, please,’ she communicated to Sumiko. The Grand Seraph was a woman of few words, and not given to much sign of emotion, but the undead angered her for their perversion of the natural cycle of life. Though by no means devout – and besides knowing the truth about her people – Aeda had a clear idea of the natural order, and this wasn’t it!

A few civilians had come forward, and a few crazed fanatics, but the Angelii made them line up at a distance, and one warning before being terminated.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

When the gentle approach didn’t work, being yelled at certainly did. Tempest opened her eyes and peered up at her friend.
“Aba? Where…what? Did we? No…”
It was soft under her…but cold. Snow!

Memories floated back gradually. “So…the statue’s dead?” A medic was soon joining them. “Hi, Kena,” she said in a lightheaded way before drifting off again.

Kena shook her head. “She should have been wearing her helmet. Are you hurt, Master Jedi?”

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


It was probably a testament to Firemane training and discipline that the soldiers maintained order and fought on even after their commander had gone down. Then again, contrary to the depiction in many novels and holovids, the backbone of any army are the NCOs, not the commissioned officers. Moreover, they had heavily armoured battle droids on their side. It was convenient that machines were immune to being transformed into the undead. However, they were still beleaguered.


Every zombie slain merely meant that another one took its place. Then another and another. Salvoes of bolter fire mowed them down by the dozens, flamethrowers incinerated them. Here and there, a Firemane soldier might be grabbed, mauled and bitten. Before they could rise again though, they were decapacitated. When a direct frontal charge proved futile, the zombies tried to get canny and surprise the Firemane force by dropping from the ceilings and coming from the water, but where there was a breach in the firing line, the droids filled it.


Then the tide seemed to turn as the zombies swarmed their former allies. Perversely, some of the suddenly friendly undead were Eldorai or Firemane soldiers who'd just been turned. The grotesque spectacle was brutal and a bit disquieting. Sumiko watched with a somewhat morbidly detached expression as the zombies caused havoc. The screams of janissaries and Mystra younglings echoed across the caverns. Kerrigan had gotten squeamish when the Xioquo threw children onto the battlefield, but the Atrisian had no such moral qualms holding her back. Some considered these creatured a desecration of life, a perversion. The former Inquisitor was fairly indifferent to what people considered the natural order. However, it was a struggle to maintain control over the savage horde and keep them from falling upon her allies.


Her eyes were wells of nothingness, twin obsidian orbs, as the Dark Side swelled inside her. Her breathing intensified as they pulled upon the invisible strands that connected her to the primal minds of the beasts. She felt their seemingly infinite hunger, their hatred for all living things that suffused them. The rage was almost contagious.


She felt every act of violence perpetrated by them, tasted the copper taste of blood on her lips when they sunk their fangs into a Xioquo's throat and a primal rush when they ripped someone's limbs off. It took much of her concentration to avoid losing herself in the frenzy and be subsumed in the collective of hungry fiends.


Finally, she drew upon the bond and sent a psychic onslaught surging through their primitive minds. It was like their brains had suddenly been fried when she cut the connection, and they crumpled to the ground like headless puppets whose strings had been pulled. At last, their spirits were at peace and could move on. By the time the mighty Mag'ladroth walkers arrived on the battlefield, it was all but over. The shore was littered with corpses, the air rank with the smell of death, rotten bodies and charred flesh. The wrecks of the old hulks floated through the corrupted waters, many of them having caught fire. Feeling exhausted after her exertions, Sumiko stumbled, though luckily a soldier caught her before she could hit the ground.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"], [member="Tempest"], [member="Elincia Alanis"]


"You've got three broken ribs, a wound in your forehead and your leg is a mess. Would you please hold still, Lady Seraph?" the healer asked, or rather demanded, with a strong note of irritation in her voice.


Kaida probably felt even more annoyed. "Hael, just get a move on and bloody fix me up," she grunted, sounding rather gruff. Her phrik armour had mostly kept the Xioquo's primitive weapons and the beasts' claws from penetrating her flesh, but blunt trauma was another thing. Same applied to the terramancer's magnetism assault.


She winced in pain when the healer worked over her shoulder. "With that kind of attitude, you'll be heading for an early maiming. Now, for the love of the Goddess, let me do my job or I'll have to sedate you."


If looks could freeze, Hael would have been turned into an elf-sized popsicle. Fortunately, Kaida did not have the energy. "You're too afraid of me to try that," she spoke icily. She turned her eyes to one of the Angelii, who was standing there rather awkwardly. "Any word from the Firemane strike force?"


The soldier shook her head. Her face was obscured by her helmet and her voice modulated by an electronic speaker. This was good because she looked like she really wanted to be somewhere else. "No, ma'am. No response yet."


"Then call again." Then she suddenly felt a needle pierce her flesh and began feeling rather sleepy. "You...."


"Sorry, ma'am, but you're being unreasonable," Hael said matter-of-factly. A rather angry Kaida pulled the syringe out of her neck, but then fell unconscious.


While Kaida was being a difficult patient, Askari had decided to pay Elincia a visit. "You did well, kid. Ashira is with the righteous," she said, giving the girl a slap on the shoulder. She was more personable than Kaida, but also the pious type.


"Drink up. Savour the peace and quiet while it lasts and we get tossed into the breach again." At that she passed a flask over to the young Angelii. Needless to say it contained water instead of alcohol. The latter did not agree with Eldorai since they got drunk easily.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


War, destruction, slaughter. Explosions, the lamentations of the wounded. It all turned into a blur for Siobhan when the child soldier dropped the grenade at her feet and blew herself up. Siobhan had not possessed the time to doge, flay away or summon the Force to shield herself. Thus she was gripped by the shockwave and knocked back hard before her armoured form was slammed into the ground. Beskar armour was remarkably tough. Thus the detonation would not blow a hole inside her suit. However, it was vulnerable to kinetic damage.


The scared, misguided, brainwashed drow girl had been ripped apart, another victim of a barbaric regime and a brutal war. Siobhan's vision blurred as she felt pain surge through her. Her leg was in bad shape and it was guaranteed that she'd sustained internal damage. A jostled rib sufficed to muck up your lung by puncturing it. Dust and sand coated her crimson armour.


A moment or two passed before she came to. Medics were hovering over her. The roar of bolter fire abused her ears when troopers fired upon zombies trying to swarm them, putting them down before they could hurt the Lady. "W...happened? What's our status?" Her mind had been thrown in a bit of a daze, but she still had to think of her troops.


"Easy, ma'am. You've suffered quite a blow. Don't worry, you'll be fine. The enemy is retreating," the medic reassured, giving a signal to her comrades to try and get the Lady out of the fire zone.


"Good. What happened to the girl?"


"Blew herself up. Look, don't strain yourself now. You probably lost a lot of blood. Alright, girls lift her up."


"Barbaric...poor thing...want all Xioquo nobles and priestesses shot." Siobhan decided to pass a Commissar Order while she tried to maintain consciousness. "Get me a status report from Aeda." Her head hurt like hell and her ears were ringing.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

It was with much relief that Abaigeal greeted her friends face with a smile when Tempest finally responded. "Yes the stone monster is dead, and it stinks as well", the whole area now smelled of rotting seaweed and fish. "Just lay still, and let the medico see to you will you? and don't be a bad patient like Elpsis". She teased her more.

As Kena spoke of the necessity to wear ones helmet in battle, Abaigeal could not say anything to add to it, instead she looked sheepish guilty of the said same thing. "Yeah well, sometimes helmets get in the way. Just take good care of Tempest will you?". Abaigeal leaned down and kissed Tempest forehead. It was at this point, she finally heard the comlink beeping and a voice demanding status reports.

"This is Abaigeal E'ron, Tempest is incapacitated at this moment, but she will be alright", she looked at Kena who nodded affirmative. "Who is this?", she asked.

​

[member="Kaida Taldir"] | [member="Tempest"] | [member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Elincia Alanis"]​

 

[Elincia Alanis]

The silence was indeed what Elincia needed right now but what she didn't want. Since in a battlefield silence was not a good thing. Anyway, they, as she understood, were waiting for someone. And that someone wasn't responding. Another bad thing. She rolled her eyes in an annoyed expression. But her thoughts were cut immediately with a pain she felt. "Oww be a bit careful will you?" She said as the healer applied some weird liquid in her fresh wound, and it started to burn. "Well it's for your own good. You don't want the wound to get infected." Infected wounds, sounded gross. But a burning wound sounded more gross. And, Elincia was the "I am right and you are not." kind of person. "Well you hurt much more than an infected wound right now." She said with an annoyed tone mixed with a grunt as the healer continued to apply that weird liquid. "Just hold on for a minute or two, alright? And let me do my job." She said, as annoyed as her. She let out a sigh, and tried to think about sunshine and rainbows as her healing process continued.

A minute or two later, the healer was still doing her job, and Elincia wasn't that amused. "Isn't it done yet? You told me a minute or two!" She said, still annoyed mixed with pain. The healer didn't say anything then let out a sigh, still continuing whatever she was doing. Before Elincia could say anything however, a familiar figure appeared in front of them. The healer bowed to the Host Leader, and Elincia smiled without a bow, being the rebellious teen she was. "Thanks, fire lady!" She had that huge grin. Yep, pretty original there Elincia, good job! Also she totally disregarded the Ashira part. It was her doing, Ashira wasn't there with her to be credited! "What you did there was VERY cool! I thought we were done for and you came and you burned them all! I mean, wow!" She must've sounded very excited right now. She was weak against seeing cool things. Oh, also... "You know, I didn't know you had such a beautiful voice as well. You big people always seem so serious and all." Trying to flirt with the Host Leader was maybe a pretty stupid idea, but who knows! Elincia didn't care at all, if it was right or wrong.

Anyway, she gladly took the flask that the Host Leader offered, and started to drink the water. From the adrenaline she didn't realize how thirsty she was! But of course, her joy was cut by the healer again as she touched her chest. And she had many broken ribs from the first fight. So, she spat most of the water down the healer, totally not intended of course, because of the immense pain she felt. "What the kark are you doing!" Elincia shouted with pain. Now, soaked in water and feeling "a bit" humiliation, the healer got angry, a lot. "You know what that's it! That's it! Stay like this, I don't care!" Then the healer got up and moved away in rage, well it was fun! "Fine!" Elincia shouted as well, not that much angry as her but still angry a lot. Then sighing, she turned back to the Host Leader. "Can you believe it?"

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Tempest"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]

The gateway was as ominous as any gateway could be. Dark and forbidding, it stood before an area of cleared ground. Though space was a premium in the Underealm and Xioquo were packed in everywhere there was an inch of space, here a large area was left alone. Everyone, not just those with the Force, could sense the presence behind the door.

However, this day the area was packed. Slaves of all races and states were herded into a ring surrounded by armed warriors. There were hundreds, thousands even. Some, perhaps sensing their doom, tried to fight back and escape, but chained and feeble, they were cut down without warning if they stepped out of line.

The warriors stood around a ring of obsidian runestones erected for the occasion. Watching all from a tall platform of iron was Taal’Xioas in full regalia. Around her were all the surviving priestesses and mages who could be summoned.

“When all is ready, we will begin,” she stated.

Watching this was Qual’Ixtar from a small distance off. She could not use the Force, and even if she could she would likely not have been invited to the platform. That suited her well though. Once the ritual was complete there would be no going back. If there was to be action, it had to be now….

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


"Mistresses, sisters, the final hour is at end. We stand upon the brink. Our barbaric enemies seek to unleash a holocaust on us. Ere the day is over, our race will either face complete extermination or rise from the ashes in triumph. But fear not, salvation is at hand. Myrou will rise and smite the invaders. Bring forth the slaves and begin the sacrifice," Taal'Xioas declared dramatically.


Her words were filled with fervour, but also fear. Terror was what bound the assembled Xioquo together. Qual'Zyanya did her best to remain composed while hundreds, thousands of slaves were herded into the ring by the janissaries. They were Xioquo, Qadiri, Vashyada, even a few captured humans and Eldorai.


Some of them were her own household slaves, men and women who'd served her for years. She was fond of a few. A bit like you might be fond of a pet. This is madness. Her hands were shaking and she clenched them to get this under control. She could not risk showing the true cause of her anxiety.


"Afraid, sister?" one of the priestesses. The question was seemingly innocent, but Qual'Zyanya knew better.


The aristocrat shook her head in denial. She preened herself, trying to look as arrogant as you expected a drow noblewoman to be. "No, no. Not anymore. She's coming. They cannot stand against the Queen. She'll grind them into dust!"


"Indeed. No one can. She'll destroy the invaders...and then there'll be a settling of accounts with the worms in our midst," the priestess spoke piously, though with an undertone of malice.


Does she suspect anything? No, she cannot. She may be angling for me to forget myself though, Qual'Zyanya thought to herself. "You're speaking my mind. Our armies were defeated because they were led by cowards and traitors. That's the only explanation. Myrou will set things right."


"Their life for the Queen's! Sacrifice and rebirth! One people, one nation, one Queen!" The priestesses and magi began to chant. Their voices rose to a crescendo that seemed to shake the very foundations of the temple. Sickly yellow and green light emanated from Taal'Xioas and all the other magi. The tendrils swam gracefully through the air like snakes, crossing the distance to the slaves.


Every noble house was expected to have at least one representative take part in the blood sacrifice to show their commitment. So Qual'Zyanya added her own, though rather modest power, to the sacrifice, calling upon the energies of the Dark Side. The chanting was soon blotted out by the agonised, blood-curdling screams of thousands of helpless slaves as their life force was literally torn out of them, leaving behind desiccated husks. For every slave that died, another one was led into the ring.


Every death would feed Myrou and bring her closer to rebirth. The concentration of Dark Side power was so intense that Qual'Zyanya was getting a headache and starting to feel nauseous. Then she felt a telepathic brush against her mind, coming from a loyalist janissary. The bomb had been planted. It was already ticking. Briefly she looked around, then slowly began to sneak away. There was a massive crowd and everyone was focused on the ritual...

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

This was a new form of warfare the Xioquo had not experienced so far. Their military was not built for total war. They were used to conducting lightning fast raids on their neighbours. Never to hold territory, but to acquire slaves and booty. The self-destructive infighting between the drow matriarchs impeded any long-lasting campaigns. But now their enemies had done the unthinkable and broken down the gates to Underealm. Their war engines, beasts and magi had been unable to prevent Nemesis from arriving.


Spearheading the advance into the tunnels was the venerable Mag'ladroth walker. Bipedal, fix metres tall, made out of duranium reinforced by Graphite Mesh and piloted by one soldier, the hulking war machine was a sight to behold and a terror on the battlefield. While it was appallingly slow compared to most walkers, it was more than a match for the Xioquo's few war machines and impervious to most of their weapons.


Xioquo warriors died like flies in a hailstorm of bullets pumped out of rotary shattercannons or were roasted by the walkers' flamers. Their screams echoed across the caverns. The ground itself seemed to shake and tremble with every step of the mechanical monstrosities. Advancing behind the walkers were ranks of Qadiri infantry, covering them against enemy ambushes. Morale was high amongst the Qadiri, for their hated enemies were on the run.


Driven to desperation, the Xioquo were forced to resort to guerilla tactics since elf wave assaults only produced casualties en masse. Child soldiers, brainwashed into believing their deaths would be for a higher cause, tried to sneak up on walkers and blow themselves up, detonating concealed explosives. Xioquo magi went so far to collapse the tunnels above the invaders. Here and there, a walker was brought down by a suicide bomber and buried under rubble. Fortunately, the Qadiri had terramancers amongst the Anusiya and they were soon busy using their powers to clear a path for the assault force or keeping the ceiling from caving in.


Any motivation to try and spare Xioquo was soon abandoned. No warnings would be given, their warriors would be shot on sight. Seated upon a tank, the Duchess watched the progress of her forces, seemingly unperturbed by the violent tremors and explosions. "Your Grace, the Qadiri are taking heavy losses from ambushes and traps," one report came back.


Tarissa wiped some sweat from her face with a handkerchief. Their enemies were getting desperate. But she knew from experience that a cornered animal was the most dangerous. "Our enemies have willpower, I'll give them that. Don't pursue their partisans. Get our terramancers and drop their own tunnels on them. Two can play the same game. Leave them to starve."


"Ma'am, we've received news from Lady Kerrigan. The Angelii have broken through and the enemy is in retreat. The Lady was hit by a suicide bomber. Her orders are to execute every single Xioquo noble and priestess," an aide spoke up.


Tarissa shook her head and sighed. "Silly woman. I told her to be less brazen, but I suppose she can't listen. Her order is understandable, but fuelled by emotion. If we kill every highborn Xioquo, who'll rule them then for us? It'll give them less motivation to lay down arms."


"With all due respect, Your Grace, they're mass murderers and slavers. And you know how...capricious the Lady is."


"And I am Cadalthor. I forbid any executions without my explicit permission. The Truthseekers will assess high-ranking captives. We'll separate the wheat from the chaff and the the Xioquo upper class will be forced to bend to us if they want to save their skin. We can always purge them later." Clearly her Lawful Evil tag was well-earned.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Elincia Alanis"]

Aeda, during a pause in battle, was contacted by a Talon of her forces.
“Grand Seraph, a status update requested from Lady Kerrigan.”
Aeda turned her blank mask on the woman. “You know the status, Talon. Update her.”
“Yes, ma’am. She…uh…has ordered her troops to execute all highborn and priestesses encountered.”
“She may do so in her theatre, but I will not countenance this for those under my command. Enemy combatants are to be slain, civilians are not to be.”
And so the Talon went to give a slightly smoothed out version of events to Siobhan. “Lady Kerrigan, the Grand Seraph sends her regards. We have reached our day one objective and are making camp and erecting defences. We are rotating troops out and bringing up reserves. Our second day objectives will be to meet up with the Qadiri forces and neutralise the beast pens.”
Suffice to say, the Talon had a good understanding of the situation and was trusted to disclose it to Siobhan.

XXX

Day one was over. Night fell…or at least in the outside world it did. In the Underealm the light never changed once left the narrow confines of the entranceway.

Outside engineers, logistics and medics were already working. Xioquo bodies and those of their monsters were buried in mass graves whilst those in the Coalition who had fallen were taken back to be buried by their respective groups.

Large aid stations had been established for the wounded to triage those who could be helped and forward on the more serious injuries to proper hospitals.

In one such station, Tempest came to with a throbbing headache, but otherwise feeling fine. Seeking out Aba, she gave the Jedi a hug.
“Thank you, Aba, you did well with the statue,” she said feelingly. “How is Kaida? I should call her.”

Before she could though orders came. Tempest read them and sighed. “We’re being moved up to the front, you and I, along with fresh troops. Enjoy the stars whilst you can, Aba, I’m guessing that we won’t be seeing them for a few days!”

XXX

Similar orders were dispatched to Elincia and Kaida, provided they had recovered from their injuries sufficiently. The next big push would require the best. There was still a long way to go.

XXX

On board the Phoenix, Tegaea got little sleep. She was moving forces in and out of the battlezone, sending orders, enabling supplies and reinforcements. It wasn’t as dangerous or glorious as being in the front rank, but it was still vital work.

“Any news on Lady Kerrigan?”
“She is recovering, ma’am,” an aide said.
“Hopefully this is her requisite wounding for the campaign and we won’t have it again,” she said. It was meant as a joke, but it was even more a deep hope.

“What’s the update on casualties?”
“Thirty-six Firemane troops killed, eighty-four wounded, most of them lightly. Angelii casualties are unknown but similar. Qadiri have suffered several hundred casualties.”
“It has to be done. To free the poor souls and to bring peace.” Again, was she convincing herself? Either way, she’d have a lot of condolence letters to write.

“Tomorrow, the Angelii link up with the Qadiri and neutralise the beasts. Firemane liberates the slaves. That area will be a temporary processing area for all disarmed civilians until the battle is over. The Qadiri will seize the barracks. In three days this will hopefully all be over. Get some sleep, all of you, I fear tomorrow may be even more grim.”

Tegaea didn’t sleep much though. There was much to be done, and if she was no longer able to share a trench with her troops then she would do her absolute to give those troops the weapons, supplies and support needed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


The first day of the great campaign was coming to a close. Night had descended upon them, though you would not notice any difference deep in the Underealm since it was always dark there. Firemane engineers were setting up a Forward Operating Base that would serve as Siobhan's command post for the time being.


Large aid stations were set up for the wounded, Xioquo dead were buried in mass graves. Many of the beasts were simply tossed into the sea to speed things along. Soon it was running red with blood. Soon new Firemane boats arrived at the shore, bringing tools, ammunition and reinforcements. Many had perished, but they still had a long way to go before they could declare victory.


Siobhan had taken well to painkillers and bacta. She was in a medical tent when the Talon arrived, reviewing reports. She seemed to see through the fact that the report had been smoothed over, but did not make an issue out of it. "Convey my compliments to the Grand Seraph. You'll be receiving reinforcements. I'll assign a squadron of walkers to support your advance. Firemane will be going for the slave pens. Goddess be with you," she spoke.


At this moment Sergeant Solveig entered the scene. She snapped to attention and saluted crisply. "Ma'am, the wounded are being seen to. Couple serious ones, many should be combat capable again soon. Captured Xioquo grunts are being processed. We nabbed a couple nobles. A fire team's been set up."


"Good. I want to oversee things personally. Thank you, Sergeant. Make sure the common grunts are treated well," she got to her feet, though the effort to stand made her wince in pain. Freya knew better than to tell her boss to take it easy. "Any news on my daughter and Captain Tempest?" There was a note of anxiety in her tone.


"Both are alright, Lady. The Captain got injured fighting the colossus, but she's recovering. Their strike force will be moved to the front line and join our advance tomorrow," the aide reported after consulting a datapad.


"Thank the Goddess." It had become a habit of Siobhan's to invoke Ashira despite not being a believer. "Send them a message. Tell them I'm fine and to be careful. Anyway, let's get going."


With some help Siobhan managed to walk out of the tent. She was brought to the edge of the base. Runes covered the walls and skeletons lay about. A couple highborn Xioquo officers and priestesses had been bound and restrained. Their expressions varied, some conveying fear, others defiance. "The Karishzar," one muttered when Siobhan stepped into view.


"What happens here is because I commanded it," she spoke. Her words were for the benefit of the Firemane soldiers. "We're here to bring peace and liberate the slaves who suffer under the yoke of tyrants. Monsters like those before you." Her tone hardened, becoming cold.


"Slavery, child abuse, blood sacrifices, sadism. Those are their crimes. The only punishment can be death." So far she'd spoken in Basic, now she switched to the Xioquo language. Her command of it was heavily accented, but the natives ought to understand her. "I am the Karishzar. The Destroyer. I will destroy your Queen, crush all armies you send against me with fire and blood and give your people a better future without parasites like you." She made a gesture to the Sergeant leading the fire team.


"You heard the Lady. Soldiers, take aim," the sergeant bellowed in the timeless tradition of NCOs. Some soldiers looked eager to inflict punishment, others seemed to have doubts or felt they were doing wrong, but went along with it anyway. The Camaas Convention probably had rules against murdering POWs. "Fire." Blaster bolts spat out of their rifles and captives died. Siobhan stood there rigidly and watched them get gunned down. Here and there, a captive did not die immediately because the shot had missed or struck her in a non-lethal area. In that case Firemane soldiers walked up to the pile of bodies and fired with their pistols. Siobhan stood there as still as a statue and watched till the last captive had been shot in the head. Then she turned away.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


The distant sound of blaster fire echoed across the caverns, adding to the background noise caused by Firemane staking its claim upon this sector. Prisoners were being processed, wounded taken to the medical centres, people were being executed.


Sumiko was largely indifferent to the background noise. I am amused by the tremendous hypocrisy on display here. That ignorant Dark Jedi loves to moralise and speechify, doesn't she? In my time, she would've had the decency of getting herself a Darth title instead of pretending to be something else, Souldrinker spoke into her mind.


"Different time, different delusions. Sith make friends with Vong, Jedi are pals of Dark Jedi. Let Kerrigan delude herself into thinking she's righteous and not just a woman with a massive ego and a god complex," Sumiko retorted.


And what do you have in mind, oh great mistress? Perhaps something more thrilling than being another one of her toy soldiers? There was no better companion than a snarky, untrustworthy sentient sword animated by an evil spirit. It words dripped with sarcasm and superiority. Surely you have an audacious scheme.


By now she'd moved far away from the Firemane FOB. No one seemed to pay her much attention, which was no surprise because the soldiers had more important things to do. On first sight, she'd reached a dead end. A couple skeletons were littered across the ground and so bones crunched beneath her boots. However, Sumiko approached one of the walls and ran her hand across the stone, as if looking for something.


"There," she finally said. For a moment she closed her eyes, concentrating. "Ungoliant." Crimson energy crackled across her hand when she spoke the forbidden word. Power swelled up inside her aura. One of the stones glowed a fiery red. Then suddenly a portion of the wall gave way and opened, revealing a dark, foreboding passageway. "To answer your question, no, I don't intend to spend this campaign as Kerrigan's little footsoldier in her rankid empire. It's time to profit." The door closed behind her after she vanished in the darkness.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Elincia Alanis"], [member="Abaigeal E'ron"], [member="Tempest"]


Host Leader Vaena Askari watched the exchange between Elincia and the healer an expression that shifted between amusement and exasperation. She was a bit less straight-laced than her commander.


Finally the medic left in a huff. "That wouldn't have happened if you'd been less of a brat," Askari said matter-of-factly. "Go get some rest, kid. We're moving in to the city and joining the Grand Seraph tomorrow. You can look forward to more death and explosions."


Her tone was stern, but she still patted the girl on the shoulder. "You got skill, girl. Tone down the attitude and you'll get into less trouble. Anyhow, we'll have more time to bond after we've won," she smiled slightly. Was she flirting with her? Perhaps. For the time being they had to pay tribute to Valora, Goddess of Battles.


Having said her piece, she turned away and departed. Like all the other grunts, Elincia would be guided to a bunk to sleep in. Like their Firemane comrades, the Angelii had set up their own small base.


xxx

Meanwhile, Kaida awoke in a medical station. Alas, she was plagued by a throbbing headache. "Where is Hael?" she growled angrily. "I'm so going to end her." Clearly she was a big ball of sunshine. Fortunately, before she could get even more vexed, new orders came through. Kaida read the message and then put the datapad away. "I want the Company ready to move tomorrow. We're paying the beast pens a visit, so make sure the girls stock up on ammo and heavy weapons" she told one of her subordinates.


Night had fallen when Kaida emerged from the station. She just stood there in the ruins and looked upon the stars. She would probably not see them for a good while. Back on Kaeshana, before Phylis Alince, before the Arithdae Codex and Omega Pyre, she and Lavina had spent many times on the roof of the Citadel just looking at the stars, wondering what lay beyond their homeworld. She sighed at the thought of her lost sister and felt a stab of regret. Then she produced a comm and hailed the Dahomian. "Nice to hear you and E'ron are alright. We're heading out tomorrow. By the way, you owe me ten dati."

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"Thanks, so did you. Even though a little rash in your actions", she said this to tease her friend, and of course, the Jedi was seeping through. While Abaigeal fussed with her friend and made sure she was looked after and tucked up in bed, Tempest received a message for their deployment come the morning. The fight was only just beginning, that much was apparent in the message. Abaigeal nodded her understanding. "Then we both must get some rest if we are to be of any use tomorrow".

"I am not sure about Kaida, I hope she is alright", not that Abaigeal got on well with that girl, she is way to aggressive without cause sometimes and holds little regard for anything save herself. At least that was what their last encounter had given her. But regardless Abaigeal did not wish ill on the girl.

"Now come on, try and get some sleep", easier said then done but at least rest in any form would help. She leaned down and kissed Tempest on the forehead to say good night, before going to find an empty triage bunk in which to sleep. The call to battle would come soon enough. And they all would face a test in one form or other.

​

​

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Tempest"]​