The Gathering Storm (Undead Event Part 1)

Bethany grinned at Aristorath. "When we get to Novaris, I'm going to kill you again." She promised. And then a pair of hands braced her shoulders. "Forgive me, but your path does not end here." Bethany looked over her shoulder questioningly. "Kairi what-" There was a blinding flash and Bethany cursed as Kairi wrapped her arms around her. "Kairi no!" She said, but it was to late as Kairi had turned and threw her into someone's arms. That someone did exactly as ordered, carrying away Bethany who was kicking, screaming and cursing Kairi for her stupidity.


After the blast hit, shaking the forest violently, Bethany struggled her way from Aether's grip, shooting him a glare she'd apologise for later, and sprinted desperately for the center of the blast. She expected nothing but a crater and some ash,   the only thing left of her best friend, but instead she found an unconcious Kairi surrounded by a yellow glow from the axe she'd been given by Rowan lying in the bottom of that crater. Bethany jumped in, grabbing Kairi by the shoulders. "What the fuck were you thinking!" Of course, Kairi didn't respond with more than a groan, but Bethany continued to rail on her. "You could have died, you idiot! Seriously, stealing peoples sacrifice play is just bad manners!" She scooped up the unconcious woman into her arms. "Looks like you owe Muscles a thank you." She said, eyeing the axe. There was far more to that story, but it was Kairi's job to find that out.


Not long after they'd gone into the forest, a host of undead appeared, a necromancer in the lead, and a seperate battle began. Rowan rallied the towns folk, promising them that today was not the day they died, and charged into the frey, cutting a swath through the undead with his greatsword, doing his best to thin the herd before it reached the defenses. Tristan and Nichol backed him up from afar, and when Rowan made it to the necromancer it wasn't him who landed the killing blow, but Nichol, who's well placed Arrow found its mark. With that, the undead were expected to lose cohesion, but they did not, meaning someone was still controlling them, and more were pouring out of the forest.

Screams broke out along the makeshift barricades, as undead surged over them. Rowan fell back, but found himself swamped as the undead around him became more aggressive. He swung and swung and swung, but they didn't stop coming. Something big surged through the masses, and hit him from the side, and knocked him prone. With a growl of rage, he surged up but took a heavy blow to the head that sent him reeling back over. The thing raised massive arms to smash Rowan into the ground, when a flash of red shot past, and a powerful kick took the creatures head. Vala landed next to him as the thing toppled back. "Get up old man, what would Fayla say if I let you die." Vala said, offering him a hand. But Rowan wasn't worried about himself. "The villagers!" He asked, accepting the hand.

"One of the barricades fell. Tristan and Nichol handled it." They were still in the shit though, but Rowan was back on his feet, and with a firm grip on his sword he told Vala to duck, then spun, unleashing a wave of cold from his sword that cut down the zombies around them. "Nice. But they're still coming." Vala pointed to the forest. "There must be more necromancers, or..." They had severely underestimated just how powerful Aristorath was. And then the ground shook, and a shockwave knocked the leaves from the trees as a massive explosion erupted in the distance. Half the undead around the area dropped instantly, leaving the rest to ramble idly. Curiously a trickle of them moved back into the forest, but no one was paying enough attention, as all eyes were on the blast that had just shook the forest.

"What the fuck was that." Vala said, but all Rowan could think was, Oh no.


After the explosion, they cleared out the rest of the undead, and waited patiently for the away team to return. Rowan wasn't sure what to expect, or why he felt like he'd eaten rocks, but as three people walked out of the fores he felt genuine worry. When Kairi wasn't among the people, he felt his mind lock down the former cold and calm Eldari took over has hope died. But then he realised Bethany was carrying someone, and as he realised who he ran forward to meet them. "What happened to her?" He demanded, taking Kairi from the tired Asentari. "She bloody well nearly got herself blown up. I had it handled too." She said. "Good thing you gave her that axe, the enchantments on it saved her life." Rowan looked at the axe, still hanging from kairi's belt and frowned. He'd known it was enchanted, but in all the years he'd held it he'd seen it activate only once, and that was the night Kaila died, when it had activated to heal his wounds.

He wanted to think about what that meant, but instead he turned and started walking. "We need to hurry to marie." He said, doing exactly that.

Kairi's head swam as her surroundings shifted quickly in a blur. Voices and shapes were lost in the haze as the Knight of the Sun flirted with semi-consciousness, and she wondered if she was destined to remain a disembodied spirit trapped in a broken vessel.


Until recent events, Marshall Evaline Raynard would have scoffed at the idea of undead soldiers and necromancy. Sure, she had heard stories of the magical expertise of the Eldari, as well as the primal might of the Heanta and the draconic heritage of the mysterious Asentari, and her experience in the Mondolin military had presented her with many strange things, but unnatural magic on the level of being able to reanimate dead bodies en masse with increased strength and speed was beyond her imagination. However, as she clambered over the combination of a collapsed barricade and piles of still-writhing undead creatures for the second time in a week, Marshall Raynard was now a believer in anything.

Raynard navigated the fighting area, trying to concentrate her ragged militia forces around the vulnerable areas of the village - namely the town hall and the healer's house. The town hall was currently the de facto emergency shelter for the children and other non-combatants, while the healer's house currently housed Fayla. Their plan was for the militia to maintain its formation around the two buildings and deal with the rank-and-file undead, while the Order soldiers struck at any necromancers or other tough enemies. Much like the Calixto's first encounter with the undead forces, the barricades did not hold long. The battle instead came down to Raynard's leadership, and the militia's willingness to defend their home. It required all of her experience to not only hold her troops together, but to fight through the serious wounds she had sustained.

Raynard beat back a pair of undead over another barricade, before the barricade collapsed entirely and undead began to swarm in. Raynard braced herself for the onslaught, before a barrage of arrows shredded the oncoming force and allowed Raynard to organise the quick rebuild of the barricade. She waved in gratitude to Tristan and Nichol as they moved off to deal with other situations. One more brushfire put out, but the situation as a whole was grim. An explosion from the forest rocked Raynard from her introspection, however, as she looked towards the source. A bright light was subsiding in the forest, and the undead assailing the village immediately broke off. A majority of them ceased functioning immediately, either collapsing altogether or idling randomly. A small few retreated into the forest, but Raynard was more concerned with the immediate development. She grabbed a militia member and gave him an instruction to alert the townhall that the day was won.

Within moments, Marie and the other healers emerged from the town hall and began to treat the survivors. Marie herself moved to assess Raynard's wounds, and the Marshall made to push her away.
"I'll be fine, treat the others first." Marie had other plans, however.
"The other wounded are being looked after. Don't go being a Kairi on me." Marie began to treat the serious gash in the Marshall's left arm, when Raynard spotted the figures emerging from the forest. She frowned with concern and nodded towards the forest.
"Speaking of which, you might be needed urgently on that front." Marie saw Rowan taking the custody of the body Bethany had carried from the forest, and rushed off to meet the Eldari as he approached the center of the village.

Marie gestured Rowan into the healer's house and pointed at the spare bed near Fayla's. He had been accompanied by Bethany and Vala into the healer's house, and the two stood with attentive concern as Marie went about treating their fallen comrade. As Marie studied her patient, she asked a couple of quickfire questions to Bethany to ascertain what had happened. She paused once she got the full picture and stared at Bethany in disbelief.
"You're telling me she was in the middle of that big boom? She should have been killed." Then she noticed the glowing axe at Kairi's belt that was casting a warm aura around her body. She looked at it for a moment before looking to Rowan.
"Isn't that axe yours? It seems it has some very useful enchantments on it. Not only did it protect her mostly from the initial blast, but it seems to be healing her. From what I can see, it was only the force of the blast that knocked her out." She closed her bag as Marshall Raynard entered the house, still cradling her wounded arm and being led by young Katie Raynard.
"How is she?" But Katie was having none of it.
"Never mind that. Miss Elenesta, my mum keeps avoiding the healers. Can you fix her arm already before she bleeds everywhere?"


Meanwhile, just outside the village a portal formed and deposited three figures. The Human male, Andreas Toral, looked around with profound sadness.
"We're too late. The village must have been attacked again while I was gone. I only hope Lilian got the Hold alright." The Eldari women he had arrived with, Yavanna Elbereth and Mariel Shor, scanned the village before Mariel put a hand on the Knight's shoulder.
"Fortunately, they seem to have prevailed regardless. We must hurry now. Where did you say Fayla was being treated?" Andreas led the way to the healer's house, where inside they found Marie presiding over two patients, while Rowan, Valatrix and an Asentari woman looked on. Andreas knocked as they entered and gestured to the far bed.
"Fayla is in that bed, Councillor." Mariel nodded with a smile to Rowan and Vala, Rowan being one of her oldest friends along with Yavanna, while Vala was Fayla's best friend for many years also. She bowed politely to the Asentari woman, then approached Marie, who looked up and beamed at Mariel's approach.
"Councillor Shor, your presence couldn't come at a better time. Your magics might have better luck with your daughter than we have had so far." Mariel nodded and moved forward and began her tried and tested routine of healing spells. While she did so, Yavanna gestured to Rowan to follow her outside.

Once the two were outside, Yavanna gave Rowan a playful punch on the shoulder.
"What part of write me every so often did you not understand?" She eased her mock anger then, her expression changing to one of concern.
"So fill me in. What has happened here before we got here?" Once Rowan had explained the situation to her, she nodded solemnly. "I feared as much. When one of our patrols picked up Knight Toral, he was being assaulted by some nightmarish creature we have never seen before. It killed some of our troops before Andreas managed to destroy it with one of his... rather unique creations." A gasp from inside the house broke their conversation, and they ran back inside.

Fayla awoke with a start and sat up, head pounding and sweat matting her hair to her face and her clothes to her body. She stared wildly around at the people in the room before her panicked gaze settled on Mariel.
"Mother? What happened? Where am I?" Rowan and Yavanna entered the room as Mariel stroked her daughter's cheek and settled her back into her bed.
"It's alright Faylandrea. I'm here now, and you're going to be alright. Now tell me, what did you see in the forest?" Fayla's eyes closed as she struggled to remember the moments before she was attacked.
"I was exploring it, while I was waiting for Vala. I found Undead massing at a camp. There was a wizard there..." Marshall Raynard piped up.
"You mean that Aristorath guy that Kairi and the others killed just now?" Fayla nodded, before noticing that Kairi was unconscious on the bed nearby.
"Kairi? What happened to her? Is she alright?" Mariel nodded and placed her hand on Fayla's shoulder.
"She's going to be fine. Now, was that all you saw?" Fayla thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Hmm... no. There was another... a woman... an Eldari?" Fayla went on to describe what the woman looked like, and her mother turned pale, while Yavanna glanced nervously at Rowan. Mariel looked at her daughter seriously.
"Are you absolutely sure, Faylandrea?" Fayla nodded, and Yavanna was the first to speak.
"But that's... impossible. Liliana? Here and now?"

Aether saw Rowan, and latched onto his side. There were others that came in, Eldari from the looks of things. But also waited outside. After the gasp, he rushed in with Rowan and his Eldari friend. One of them paled at the young one's description, and the other put out a name. Liliana? "Soooo for those of us not in the know, who is this Liliana lady? If she's the one making these undead, we need to alert everyone and marshal their forces. And quickly too. Who knows how long we have before she'll make her move, and replace any lost casaulties from the slain." He normally didn't like to rush things, but it felt like time was not on their side.

Nichol returned to Arthur's side and stayed there. Silent as the night.

A distant boom shook the forest, and work stopped around the camp as curious minds turned to wander at what was happening. A light vanished in Liliana’s mind as that explosion took place, and she knew that she had been failed. Opening her eyes she stood, turned to look in the direction of the blast, her mind questing out. She found a host to watch through, an undead who was cut down a few seconds later, but she had time enough to spy the faces of Aristorath’s demise before its destruction. A frown creased her lips as she reached out towards the village, where Aristoraths remaining undead were being routed. She took control of several, ordering them back into the forest without drawing attention and watched the humans and their help from the order of the sun as they cleaned up the stragglers.

Liliana hadn’t expected them to be so much trouble. But that's what she got for not handling the problem herself. She watched until the people who had fought and defeated Aristorath emerged from the forest, letting them all gather in their pathetic village, before cutting the connection. Liliana ripped open a rift with a vicious swipe of her hand, and stepped through, appearing on the edge of the forest, to see the village with her own eyes. She raised a hand, prepared to summon her horde with a single gesture, when a portal not of her making opened, and a pair of eldari along with a human emerged. She vaguely recognized the silver haired one, but the other was none other than Mariel Shor. Liliana dropped her hand.

There was no doubt she was stronger than Mariel, but with her arrival, wiping out her enemies in one fell swoop was no longer possible. She also knew it was only a matter of time before she woke up the girl, and the news of her return spread. Liliana ripped open a second portal, emerging at the crater left by Aristorath. What remained of him was scattered about, mostly bone and chunks of meat, cracked remains of the crystal heart. “Your death is a hindrance, but your work isn’t done I’m afraid, for I need a champion.” Liliana said. There was a surge of magic as she held out her hands and began to focus on the crystal heart, pulling all of the flesh around, the remains of zombies left to rot by her enemies towards the crater, congealing them into a mass of death around that heart.

Pouring more and more magic into the spell, the God Chain around her waist providing more power than she or any living being could dream of possessing, she put her will behind the spell. The ground shook, and power erupted upwards, a beacon of purple black light igniting the evening sky as the spell took hold. A pulse of energy shook the trees around her as the light vanished, and in the crater knelt a hulking form, a monstrosity born of Aristorath, his soul bound to it and irreversibly loyal to her. “My Lady..” He spoke, a voice of nightmares. “How may I serve?”

Liliana opened a rift and returned to the conduit, the hulking Aristorath following her. She surveyed the camp before finally answering. “My enemies know I have returned, and they will not delay in striking. Neither should we. March on Mith Silvanus, tear the kingdom of Mondolin’s capital down stone by stone. Kill its people and enslave their corpses. Take the horde. I will finish the conduit myself. Now, go.” She ordered. “Yes, My lady.” He said, and without a word he turned and began to march. Undead rose from the earth or stopped what they were doing and began to follow, a trickle at first, it didn’t take long for it to turn into a torrent. The living watched in awe, some looking at her questioningly, some not even waiting before following their great leader towards the next step of his great plan.

She no longer needed them, so she did not protest. The conduit was almost complete, nothing she couldn’t handle with magic. It was almost time for her own plan to come into effect, and secure her position as the ruler of this world.

Rowan followed the human healer as Bethany gave a full, annoyed, rundown of what had happened during the fight's climax. They entered he healing house, Rowan placing Kairi where Marie asked and stepping back quickly. He remained outwardly calm, but worried after Kairi. She looked mostly ok, but he'd seen people who looked mostly ok die from shock or internal wounds that healers could miss. Even so, Kaila's axe was still glowing, and he reasured himself that it didn't miss anything. It still puzzled him that the enchantment was even active. He'd had it for years, and it had only done that once. Marie commented on it and he nodded. "It is. I loaned it to her, in the off chance she might need a second weapon.. I've only seen it do that once, and how it stopped that blast I've no idea.." He said. Marie frowned at the weapon. "How can you not know its enchantments?" She queried and he shrugged. "Its a long story and not relevent to the matter." He replied and she nodded. "Indeed." And then Miss Katie interrupted them, ordering Marie to take care of her mother. Rowan smiled at the child, needing to escape the room. "Come little one. I may be a big brute, but you'd be surprised to know I'm capable of some healing magic myself." He said, and followed the injured Marshall and young Katie out of the room.


Not long after Rowan was done healing the Marshall and receiving a hug from a grateful Katie, there was a crackle in the air, and Rowan's senses tuned to something happening outside. He stepped out of the house to spot a portal open in the courtyard. He turned returned inside to inform the others, and Lilian lept from Fayla's side to greet her father, practically tackling him as he opened the front door and just about managed to direct the people following him to Fayla. "You're ok! I was so worried!" Rowan smiled at the family reunion, and waved as Mariel and Yavanna stepped into the house. Mariel went straight to Fayla, and Yavanna gestured for him to follow her outside.

Outside Yavanna playfully punched him and he pretended to topple to the side. She questioned him about his lack of letters and he chuckled. "Actually I did. You should receive a letter with 'Yavanna, Zombies!' Followed by a second letter I sent this morning that says 'Yavanna! Seriously! Zombies!' you know how slow letters are though." He said. Then he got serious, and explained what had happened at the hold, and how Valatrix had protected Fayla from the first wave before they arrived, and everything after. "For a heanta, she's not a bad kid." There was a gasp from inside, and they both rushed back in.


Vala watched Mariel as she approached Fayla. She stepped forward. "Mariel I swear I did everything to help her, I'm so sorry." Bethany put a hand on Vala's should. "Perhaps you should step back a moment, and let her work." She said, and Vala did. The order's healer Marie also stepped back and closed her eyes, as if she were trying to sense what the elder healer was doing. And then Fayla shot up, alert and awake. Her eyes locked on Mariel as she asked what had happened. Vala did her best to not tacklehuggle her best friend then and there, and noticed Lilian watching on with relief and yearning too.

Rowan and his silver haired sister of battle returned from outside, and silence fell as Mariel carefully reasured Fayla, and carefully asked her what had happened. She told them about a wizard, and Marshall Raynard wondered if it was Aristorath. Fayla nodded but Vala interjected. "It wasn't Aristorath, it was another necromancer. I knocked him out right before I grabbed you and ran.." She said. Fayla finally noticed Kairi and asked after her, but Mariel reassured her, asking if she'd seen anyone else.

Fayla went on to describe a woman, another eldari of eldrich beauty with black hair. Vala hadn't seen anyone like that, but apparently Mariel, Rowan and Yavanna knew her by their reactions. Mariel asked if Fayla was sure, and she nodded. Yavanna let out a gasp of shock, mentioning that it was impossible, before mentioning the name. "Liliana who?" Vala asked, echoing the blonde human who'd come in with Rowan. Rowan looked between them. "Liliana Kor'vesa. One of the first age's greatest healers and potentially our most powerful magi. It was theorized she was nearly a match for Dalrodir shor. She led the Eldari in the battle of the blackspire pass against the heanta, after her family was killed." He explained. Vala chimed in for context. "Blackspire pass was one of the heanta's greatest losses. Right after one of their most vicious slaughters." She said. Rowan nodded. "Right. Roughly three years after the Kishin Dola's attack, She went berserk in Gildaron and was put down by Merlin. It was announced that her advanced age and past trauma had been to much, and she'd simply snapped, but there was a few who believed there was more to it."

"Like creepy dark magic that creates zombies?" Lilian asked. Rowan nodded. Marie looked at Mariel. "She was your greatest healer... Then, is her magic some perversion of healing?" She asked with a shudder. "I think the question of how the hell she's even alive if this Merlin character killed her is more important." Bethany pointed out. Rowan looked at Yavanna and Mariel. "She was one of the most powerful mages of our time, and we never found a body. It was believed she was incinerated in the blast but...." He paused. "If she was born in the first age, she must be near death. Eldari only live a thousand years or so..." Lilian said. "What, hoping she'll drop dead of old age?" Bethany asked. "You never know."

Rowan shared another look with Yavanna and Mariel. "Records from the first age aren't the clearest, but she was born sometime around the halfway mark..." Rowan trailed off. "Na'sora.. Another perversion.." Marie whispered. "Oh good, so an ancient pissed off and extremely powerful Magi is out in the forest, likely plotting revenge for us killing a ton of her minions.. Any more bad news?" And then the ground, and the house shook, as a shockwave hit the house, and magic most foul filled the room with dread. Outside, the evening sky was lit with a beacon of purple light reaching to the heavens.

Nichol had taken up residence by the window. And Aether listened intently. His thoughts being echoed by the Heanta woman. And the Asentari one. Once the ground shook, and foul magic could be smelled, Nichol popped up from the window. "You want to take a look at this." In the same monotone, but still held an air of importance. Upon everyone coming outside to see the beacon of light, it seemed things did get worse.

"I'd say it just did. If this Liliana can bring back the dead, she probably just did the same with Aristorath. If I was her, I would send most of her army to the nearest large population center. Mith Silvanus. She can grow it on the way there via the villages and towns between. We need to evacuate them and warn the Knights. Send messengers to anyone that will listen...I don't know about the Heanta nation, but it seems we already have an in with the Eldari's nation. Anyone with ties to the Asentari's?"

"Lieutenant Thorne is well respected and regarded as a friend with them. Particularly with a Rex von Broven. Supposedly the Apprentice to the Primoris Rex. Who is the top military official I guess?" The little blonde looked around questioningly. 

Aether nodded. "There we go. This has officially gone beyond our means. Anyone with objections to what I've suggested?"

Andreas entered the house and was immediately tackle-huggled by his daughter, nearly knocking him flat. He directed Mariel to Fayla before returning Lilian's hug of relief.
"I'm alright, kiddo. I knew you were going to make it so I couldn't let the side down." He looked at his daughter excitedly. "I did have to dig myself out of a situation, though luckily an Eldari patrol in Endaron came to my aid, and in the moment I needed him most, Tiny was there to save the day!" He looked around as Mariel began to aid Fayla and Yavanna took rowan outside to talk, then looked back to Lilian. "But we can deal with that later. You did get down to the Hold alright, didn't you?"


Yavanna raised an eyebrow as Rowan joked about sending a pair of urgent letters about the undead, before the conversation turned serious as he told about everything that had happened since his arrival in Calixto, as well as Valatrix's account of what had happened prior to that. Yavanna's interest was most piqued by Rowan's revelation that Vala had single-handedly protect Fayla when a contingent of undead attacked the village to try and silence the only surviving witness of what was in the forest. She smiled, partially to herself.
"Hmm. An Eldari and a Heanta as troublemaking best friends. If only Dalrodir and Ren could see this. Valatrix seems to be a good kid. Mariel speaks very highly of her, and it seems with good reason." A gasp of alarm broke them from their conversation, and they both ran back inside quickly.


"But that's... impossible. Liliana? Here and now?" Yavanna was the first to speak after Fayla's shocking revelation, before Vala asked who they referred to. Rowan explained briefly who Liliana Korvesa was, and gave a quick history of her military career. Vala then gave a quick overview of the Battle of Blackspire Pass for those who were unfamiliar, before Rowan continued. He explained that Liliana had gone berserk a few years after the Kishin Dola attack, and she was destroyed by Merlin. Mariel nodded, noting that she was one of the skeptics of Liliana's demise, along with Yavanna and Rowan. Marie then asked if Liliana's undead power stemmed from her past as a healer, while Bethany and Lilian wondered about how she could live so long, even for an Eldari. Mariel stroked Fayla's cheek as the younger Eldari slowly settled back into her bed.
"It's possible. Liliana was always an immensely driven individual. She harbored a grudge against my father for ordering the retreat after Blackspire. She was determined to pursue the Heanta into Kyrias at any cost, but wisdom won the day then. Someone with that drive and anger could make anything possible. It might even explain her unnaturaly long life. If she has perfected the art of bringing the dead to life, there's no telling what other dark secrets she has uncovered."

Rowan continued on to tell them that Liliana had been around since the middle of the First Age, give or take, only confirming that she had found some way to prolong her own life, at a cost they they couldn't guess. Mariel gazed around the room at everyone in turn. "I cannot overestimate how dangerous Liliana Korvesa is, especially now with her new powers and questionable mental state. She already had an immense reserve of Magical Power, I can't even hold a candle to her." Bethany quipped about the current situation, but they were all interrupted by a deep rumbling that seemed to come from Asmir itself, and a foul energy suddenly filled the room. Nichol then drew everyone's attention to the window as a purple beacon of light then blazed from the forest, and the time for words had ended.

Aether was the first to speak, and he gave his opinion with clarity and resolve. Mariel nodded and glanced at Yavanna and Rowan. "I agree. Though she has reasons to probably hate all of us, Mondolin is the closest, and it was their need that caused the Council to order the retreat from Blackspire." Aether then offered a course of action, racing to Mith Silvanus and evacuating villages and towns along the way. Mariel glanced at everyone. "In the interest of speed, I offer my Gateway ability. I can take one person to Mith Silvanus with me. The King must be warned as quickly as possible so he can rally a defense. I will then return to Sindaron, and rally support from my people. Liliana is one of us, at least she used to be, and we have a responsiblity to stop her." Kairi stood up from her bed and straightened her tunic.
"The rest of us will make haste on foot, and warn as many as we can along the way." Kairi waved off Marie's attention as she listened to Aether's suggestion about reinforcements. He mentioned Kairi's good relations with the Asentari as a possible advantage. "Possibly. I will send a messenger. They need to be made aware that Liliana will likely not stop with Mondolin."

Marshal Raynard, who had remained silent for much of the proceedings, looked to Kairi with a look of resignation on her face.
"We will begin our evacuation as soon as possible. They have no more reason to come here anymore, but that doesn't mean they won't. The families will head south, while me and anybody else that is ready will head to Mith Silvanus to assist." Kairi shook her head.
"No, you should all head south together." The Marshal looked taken aback.
"But Mith Silvanus was my home." Kairi gestured to Katie, who was standing behind the Marshal's legs and looked afraid for the first time since the Order had arrived.
"This is your home now, and you have a family to look after yourself." The Marshal simply nodded, her disappointment tempered by almost imperceptible relief as she clutched her small daughter warmly.

Yavanna moved to Kairi and bowed her head respectfully.
"Knight-Lieutenant, on behalf of the Eternal Watch, I will put myself under your command. I am no diplomat, and I fear that is what it will take for my people to assist us. I will be of greatest use to you at your side." A voice from the bed in the corner took Mariel and Yavanna by surprise.
"I'll be with you too, Kairi, if you'll have me." Fayla stood up from her bed and tied her hair up in her customary ponytail. "After all, I missed all of the fun earlier. I'm itching to batter some undead baddies!" Mariel looked at her with concern for a moment.
"Faylandrea..." But Fayla was determined that she would sit on the sidelines no longer.
"Mother, I'll be fine." Mariel sighed, but acquiesced with a smile.
"I know." Mariel then looked around the room with a serious look on her face. "Right then, time is running out. Kairi, it seems logical that I take you to Mith Silvanus. The King is familiar with you and the Order, and you can also send your message to Edia with a Pegasus rider from there." Kairi looked surprised for a moment, but then she nodded as she realized that Mariel was right.
"Understood." Kairi turned to the others. "You all know what you have to do next. Get to Mith Silvanus as quickly as possible, and warn as many settlements as you can. Good luck." To the Marshal, she added: "And good luck to you Marshal. I look forward to visiting you and Katie here again." With that, Kairi bowed to the room and awaited Mariel at the door once she had retrieved her weapons from across the room. Mariel nodded to Yavanna and Rowan.
"Take care you two, I'll see you both soon whatever happens." Then she turned to Fayla and hugged her only daughter. "Be careful, Faylandrea. I mean it." Fayla grimaced.
"Mother! Not in front of everyone." Mariel released the hold and smiled wryly, before offering a warm smile to Vala and a polite bow to everyone else, then left with Kairi.

Rowan nodded in agreement as Mariel chimed in about Liliana's capabilities. "We served under her during that battle. She was doing things a group of magi would struggle to pull off in concerto." He said. Nichol drew their attention to the window. Rowan guessed what that light meant, but Aether said it out loud. "I wonder if he remembers who killed him." "We can't stay here." Aether talked about calling for help, and while Nichol pointed out Kairi as an in with the Asentari, Bethany nodded. "Kora's probably already sent word to her cousin about the attack on the hold, but a letter from Kairi to fill in the blanks would help." Vala shook her head in reference to the heanta. "I wouldn't count on help from the heanta. If I can contact my mother maybe she'll bring the clan, but no way the warlord's going to come in force. And I'd be wary if he did." She said.

As they discussed who would go where, Yavanna told Kairi she would listen to her command. Rowan nodded. "I don't think I need to tell you that I'm in." Rowan said. "I'll always have your back in a scrap Kairi, but we could use more people. I'm going to ride for Edaria, and see if I can't marshall some more forces." Vala grinned when Fayla told Kairi she was going too. "Damn right we are. They wont know what hit them." Vala held her hand up for a fist bump from Fayla. Mariel looked concerned and Fayla reasured her that she'd be okay, but Vala still felt it necessary to add her own piece. "I won't let anything happen to her, just like she'll never let anything happen to me.." Lilian put her hand on Fayla's shoulder. "They'll have me too." She said with, blushing slightly under Mariel's gaze before quickly turning away.

After a short discussion, Kairi was chosen to go to Mith Silvanus. It would make more sense for the senior knight to go, but by the way he'd greeted his daughter there was little chance he was about to leave her behind. Rowan watched them leave, and turned to the others. "We need the location of every village between here and Mith silvanus, and possibly those surrounding it. The fastest of us will go for the furthest villages. Stick to teams of two at least. Bethany, i know its not on your path but can you inform the hold before heading to Edaria? Take the fastest horse we have, and get a new one when you arrive." Bethany nodded. "I'll do that. No point sticking around, so see you all on the other side." She said, turning to leave the room. Rowan looked at the others. "Lets get down to business, to defeat the zoms."

Not far from Calixto the forest stirred, trees shook and birds fled to the sky. A figure emerged from the forest, and then another and another, until there was at least a hundred moving ahead of a hulking form that broke from the trees. Its attention fixed firmly on something in the distance, it ignored the village as it left the forest, as more and more undead followed it from the trees. As any who looked on from the village witnessed this slowly growing horde march towards what was likely Mith silvanus, dread filled them. There was no relief to be had, despite the fact the horde was ignoring them, for they knew their capital city was likely to fall under the crushing weight of the horde that kept coming from the forest. The world as they knew it was over, on the brink of destruction by the Deadtide.