The Destruction of the Great Earth Clan

Disaster / Destruction

The sounds of laughter cut through the night. A Drow with sharp features and a gleam in his eyes grinned as his half-dozen companions realized that the tale he had been weaving was nothing more than the elaborate setup to a terrible joke. Each of the group took a drink, and the echoing merriment faded into the night.

The world was silent. As another of the party began to spin their own tale, the Drow held up a hand, listening intently to the forest around them. The quiet sounds of the night had disappeared. No longer were the crickets underscoring the conversation, and the occasional crackling of the campfire was the only noise interrupting the silence. For a moment, everything was still, as if the world was holding its breath in anticipation of what was to come.

Out of the silence, a sound. From everywhere and nowhere, a tremendous explosion of noise shook the earth. Before the group could react, a blinding purple light filled the area, withering plants and people alike. Those that withstood the initial blast turned and ran to the cabins that made up the body of their settlement. Whether they hoped to warn their sleeping kin, or find some cover from the onslaught, it is impossible to say. Before they could do either, they were destroyed as their friends before them.

The next minutes were a cacophony of death and destruction as bursts of energy destroyed each cabin in turn. Earthquakes tore rifts into the earth, bolts of lightning set trees and buildings alight, and writhing black tentacles rose from the ground, restraining those who attempted to flee the onslaught.

Then, just as quickly as it had begun the annihilation ended. The lightning receded, and the blasts of energy ceased battering the encampment. In their absence, an apocalyptic scene was all that remained. Whole cabins were swallowed by cracks in the earth, and fire blanketed everything in sight. Everything, from the grass in the fields to the group of joyous friends who had sat around the campfire not ten minutes before, was destroyed. A quarter-mile away, hidden among a copse of trees on a hillside a lone survivor observed the scene, silently crying for the fate of his clan