Blood and Stone
A war of stone, brought on by demonic tidings, all to claim Mount Arcanis, the magnificent crystal of Inora.
Many of the details were lost to ruin, of how the war began. However the witnessed accounts, the few that were left that is, described an Ekivarian mortal who found a demonic artifact and was consumed. Their body grew to be roughly 18 feet tall. Their legs snapped and morphed into those of a goat, only with stony spikes protruding from their new hooves. The skin on their torso became a hard, dark leathery material. Their head distorting into resembling that of a canine's. Their eyes filling with a dark void encompassed by fiery irises, as the mortal soul was lost and the new demon-spawn assumed control.
This transformation unfortunately occurred within the Ekivarian capital. Devastating the kingdom. The demonlord, Brakal, set fire to the capital. The populace failing to defend against the demon's immense magic. None of the mortal weapons could pierce its skin. Countless soldiers charged and fell to the beast. However, those who perished were the fortunate ones. Individuals who were harmed but otherwise persisted, were converted. Their bodies and beings overcome with demonic energy. Turning to stone and becoming mere husks of their former self. Automatons that followed the will of Brakal.
The army of stone spread throughout Ekivaria. Ransacking town after town, capturing survivors. It is only assumed what happened to the captured, as none ever returned. The leading and agreed upon theory is that they were converted to stone. Along with the rest of the Ekivarian kingdom. The people attempted to flee to Centuron but it was difficult to outrun an enemy that never tired. A short while later the Holdfast Alliance was formed; able-bodied Ekivarians, ranging from farmers to soldiers, gathered in border towns sending news to the neighboring towns in Centuron.
Holdfast established small fortifications and strongholds near the border. Providing checkpoints for refugees fleeing towards safe haven. The alliance worked in secret. Attempting to find any survivors and gather as much intel regarding their relentless foe. They found heartbreakingly few survivors, and even fewer of the reconnaissance squads ever returned. The only information Holdfast could provide was second hand accounts, altered by fear and trauma.
Eventually the Holdfast Alliance resigned to defending the bridge connecting Ekivaria and Centuron. Rumors of the unstoppable army spread throughout the border towns of Centuron. Tales of stone soldiers who never tired, petrification of innocent civilians, and a monstrous entity cleaving their way through the kingdoms, haunted many Centronites. Using these threats, the crown increased its efforts in raising an army. Many soldiers were sent to the Holdfast bridge. Directed to protect the kingdom.
The soldiers of Holdfast fought valiantly. Unfortunately it was all for nought. However the events of Holdfast proved to provide invaluable information. Their weapons were largely ineffectual save for blunt instruments. Many golems charged the bridge. Golems that the soldiers were able to demolish after great ordeal. Piles of automaton grew at the edge of bridge. Mounds of dust and debris became a wall in its own right at the entrance of the bridge. Spirits were high and it looked as if the allied strength of Centuron would prevail, until the demon was seen off in the distance riding towards the bridge.
This was the first time many Centronites first laid eyes on the demon. Brakal rode slowly and calmly towards the bridge. Atop some six-legged creature with dark leathery skin. It almost looked as if it was a headless centaur with two large forearms extending from what would6 be the upper torso. It was a horrific sight. The worst part, however, was that anyone who locked eyes with the demonlord, turned to stone where they stood.
As Brakal neared, the army of stone followed suit. Some fifty yards away from the bridge, Brakal halted the centaur amalgamation and the army fell into formation behind. While this occurred, the Holdfast alliance ran to their own formations. Some 1,000 soldiers in total, and no more than 50 of which were magically adept. Small groups of 10 soldiers readied starting behind the wall of rubble and at multiple stations along the bridge. With the rest of the soldiers on the land behind, ready to replace the group ahead of them should they fall.
For a moment both sides stood still. The afternoon sun casting long shadows on them all. Slowly, stone automatons began to charge. This was only the first wave. A mere show of force to test the alliance's strength. The vanguard held off these golems by smashing the joints and letting them fall to ruin. The golems became blocks of stone debris that the soldiers added to the rubble wall. Shortly after, the wall began to rumble.
The rubble body parts fused together. Two stone amalgamations snapped to life from the wall. Various arms and legs protruding out from the creatures' central worm-like body. The two creatures curled into wheels and rolled over the multiple alliance groups, clearing the bridge. The stone amalgamations trampled over many soldiers on the Centronite side. Only being stopped with group effort and magical prowess. The demonic stone dripped with the blood of the crushed. Spreading it across the surrounding soldiers as it fought and flailed.
Alliance soldiers fell back into formation, trying to retake the bridge but only making it halfway before meeting the golems. The Battle of Holdfast was a rough and brutal affair. Of the 1,000 soldiers, only about 200 returned. Many of the martial soldiers were crushed under stone, and those that persisted were soon petrified. The battlemages proved to be the most effective against the stone army. However this made them high value targets for the demon. At the point where the alliance realized they were on the losing side of the battle, they reprioritized to evacuate the magical adepts and other important members of the alliance. Many of the adepts were able to evacuate, however nearly half were killed and few were captured.
The remnants of Holdfast fled inward towards Solcity, the capital of Centuron. Meanwhile the forces of stone seemed to slow. The border towns of Centuron had been previously evacuated, but scouts reported movement and sounds coming from within. Rumors of scout exploits spread throughout Centuron. Squads of statues infiltrating villages and landmarks, capturing any creature that comes too close. Horrifying screams coming from the border towns. Monstrous nightmares heard roaming deep in the forests
Centuron took this time to fortify. However, the longer they had was more time for the enemy. Multiple covert teams were sent to the border towns of Centuron. Primarily seeking information as to why the demon was no longer advancing. Many of the teams never returned. However few members survived and were able to recount the horrors they witnessed. The towns were retrofitted into some form of factory. But instead of working with materials like stone or metals, the creatures used people. Evil experiments were being conducted on captives. Some were petrified like countless before them. However, others were taken and strapped to various contraptions. One scout reported finding one of the mages from the Battle of Holdfast confined to one such contraption. The scout was unable to release the mage before golems arrived, but they witnessed a harrowing sight. Brakal entered the chamber and performed some kind of ritual. The constrained mage flailed and contorted as energy flowed into them. Their body breaking and deforming into a monstrous shadow of their former self. Facing an army of stone that knew no fear nor tire was one thing. But an army of demons was another.
The Centronite army grew rapidly under the threat of demonic tyranny. Tradesmen and skilled workers grew wealthy supplying equipment and fulfilling requests. Mount Arcanis unlocked more newfound knowledge. The army successfully captured golems which were sent to Arcanis to be studied. There the golems were found to have a largely organic structure despite the hardstone exterior. They had some equivalent to blood running through tiny tunnels within their bodies. This liquid was much darker but still kept the red tones of its counterpart. The ooze radiated an energy that magicians learned to manipulate. Adept determined ways of incapacitating the automatons through the stone-blood, but it required being in close proximity.
Months passed since the army of stone first reached Centuron, but soon enough the demonic forces mobilized again. Centuron held squadrons along the towns and villages, gathering any residents and directing them towards Solcity. The squadrons were instructed to prioritize the lives of the villagers and their fellow men; if the enemy forces breached their station they retreated to the next. Brakal's forces caught Centronite's at the town of Zephyrin. The largest town in outerlands of Centuron, Zephyrin had many residents who couldn't reach Solcity in time.
The Zephyrin Battle devastated Centronite forces and ended the lives of many residents. Only to return as stone husks serving demonic will. The battle provided valuable insight to Centuron however. The soldiers held their own, giving passage to the fleeing Centronites for as long as they could. While battlemages incapacitated golems as they advanced. New creatures approached from fog. Their bodies were not stone, but appeared to be similar to Brakal's. They were much smaller, only slightly larger than the humans and elves. Some battlemages took notice of resemblances between these lesser demons and captured adepts. Like the demonlord, the lessers wielded magic to the detriment of Zephyrin. They obliterated the town's defenses. Sent soldiers soaring in the air only to fall and be trampled by golems. Energies burst and surroundings shattered as battlemages and demons locked in magical duels
Through valiant efforts, one lesser demon was vanquished. The Bulwark of Zephyrin, Ahtan, a holy paladin, a mere human showed Centuron that the demons could die. That not all was lost. Ahtan had been leading the evacuation of Centronite residents all the way from the border. He was a constant for survivors. Never turning away when called upon, intercepting foes who dared threaten those in his charge, and keeping order during the troubling times. Ahtan was revered by all and the soldiers held nothing but the utmost respect. The soldiers fought nobly alongside Ahtan up until it was time he called for retreat. Retreat they did. Guiding survivors back to Solcity. Regrouping for one final stand, for unknown destruction would occur if the demons got ahold of Mount Arcanis.
The soldiers and residents reached the exterior defences of Solcity a few days after the Zephyrin Battle. The residents were ferried further into the city towards the docks where they were to be sent across the bay. Whereas the soldiers took short, well deserved rests before attending their new stations. Ahtan was taken to the castle where he met with King Marcus Balherd. King Balherd named Ahtan commandant of the Centronite army and crowned him with a coronet of peryton antlers. Ahtan returned to the walls of Solcity and watched over the rows of battlements. The King instructed Ahtan to hold the wall but do what he judged was right. They both understood the possibilities if Brakal gained control of the magnificent crystal, but those who couldn't fight were counting on their protection.
Soon Brakal and his army of stone could be seen approaching on the outskirts of the once farmland. Ahtan gathered his soldiers and the Battle for Inora began. Large amalgamate stone creatures charged the walled fortifications of the trenched battlements. The stone beings found unsteady footing that the soldiers were able to capitalize on and neutralize the amalgamates. The stone golems continued to advance, along with the sired lesser demons. Battlemages focused their efforts on protecting the soldiers from demonic magic. While also attempting to disrupt the advancing automatons.
The lesser demons, few there were, breached battlement after battlement. Leaving trails for the golems to follow. Their magic and strength were beyond that of individual mortals. However battlemages and squadrons fought alongside each other and one by one, the lessers were felled. Nevertheless, stone automatons pushed on towards city gate. The golems were endless and the remaining battlements were overcome. Remaining soldiers fled to the gate, followed closely by stone. Yet Ahtan could still see Brakal, unmoving from where he first approached. Seemingly content to let the countless stone bodies overwhelm and breach the mortal defenses.
The stone golems reached the gate and there Ahtan stood, meeting them head on. With men at either side, Ahtan fended of golem after golem. For three whole days Ahtan and his squad held the wall. Meanwhile, the rest of the soldiers evacuated the citizens of Solcity to the docks and across the bay. The King and wizards of Mount Arcanis stayed in the castle, preparing for the worst. An outcome everyone dreaded and hoped never came. One that never did.
After the third day, Brakal finally made a move. The golems halted in their tracks. Standing 15 feet from the city gate, they waited. Brakal approached to investigate what was causing the delay. The demonlord laid it's fiery black eyes upon Ahtan's squadron. It cleaved Ahtan's squadmates with a fiery brimstone axe. The demon and Ahtan spoke for a moment. The exact exchange between the two is unknown. However witnesses recount Ahtan exclaiming to let them be judged. It is not known whether it was the work of the tempest Goddess Kalella, or some higher being, but in that moment the clouds grew dense overhead. Energy crackled and the air buzzed around them. A pillar of lightning struck down on the two of them lasting nearly half a minute.
Once the energy dissipated and the sky dimmed, bystanders could begin to see two figures. The demonlord was on their knees, smoke slowly rising from its body. While Ahtan stood ready in the smoke, waiting for the demon's next move. As the smoke cleared it became apparent that Ahtan was not readied, but rather was petrified. Brakal slowly rose and began making their way into Solcity. But they were blocked by an immovable force. There Ahtan stood, rather there his soul stood. Ahtan stationed at the entrance of Solcity, barring entrance for any malefactors, finally vanquished the demon laying waste to Inora.
Ahtan's ghostly sword plunged through the demon's chest, and as Brakal's life came to an end so did much of the magic perpetuating the army of stone. Many of the golems collapsed into rubble, and those that didn't grew lifeless becoming statues once again. Ahtan's being evaporated into sparks filling the night sky. Leaving behind the statue of himself. A symbol of hope, determination, and righteousness for the people of Centuron. A remembrance for all that was lost.
Centuron slowly rebuilt over the next few years. The land was cultivated, buildings reconstructed, and populations began to grow. The few Ekivarians that were left, returned home to desecrated lands. The residents of Inora, now knowing the potential horrors of the verse, collaborated in the reconstruction of the planet. Ekivarians and Centronites alike passing through Solcity stop at the front gate and pay their respects to Ahtan, the Worthy. Many even find themselves reinvigorated in the presence of the statue, ready to face the world and the trials to come.
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