Decades ago, there began a time of severe imbalance in the circles. The Great Imbalance caused mass sickness, abnormal spiritual behavior, and even physical Amelio Phenomena disruption of the finley which used the mana provided by the circle to live, despite everyone's best to balance the apparent wrongs happening. Battles broke out from tension, and natural disasters rampaged around the globe, ruining crops and causing famines. Finley were at each other's throat, and many felt as if it was the end of times.
Create-Touched individuals of legend came out from the woodworks to try and quell the situations the best they could, summoned by pleas from the people worshiping the Deity-Sent, and Creation Circles, but even what is viewed as a positive in society can become too much, and quickly flip to a negative.
Areas recovered by the Create-Touched were ravaged just as quickly by the desperates of the world and their armies behind them, destroying and taking the replenished riches of the land for their own.
No matter how much work the Create-Touched did, it was just as quickly unraveled by the needy residents of where they were stationed, and soon they combined their powers, created a hidden oasis for those deemed worthy, and they vanished from the public eye completely.
However, their combined presence was not gone from the Circles view, and so the Divine energies had to rectify and restore the balance caused by their Creation energies existing in excess.
In the whirlpool of chaos, a Keystone Void-Sent was spawned from the heavens and fell to the ground below, encased inside of a glistening crystalline gem. The land beneath the crystal became black, barren, and empty, as the Sent emerged from their stone, and observed the surroundings around them.
Their featureless, amalgamous form flickered in the breeze, the blank figure of solid black emptiness imposing a frightful and nearly fake looking visage amongst the lush green fields and woods around them.
The Sent knew they wouldn't survive long if they didn't find something to imbue their raw form and gem into, and so they went, seeking a worthy host, sapping the energy out of the surrounding wildlife and plants to fuel them whilst searching.
A wandering Draken explorer was unfortunate enough to cross the Sents path after a day or so, and their body was consumed by Void incarnate to become their vessel.
Thus unceremoniously, began the start of the years long conflict that rocked the entire world, changing history forever.
The disruptions to the world started off small, with various folks seemingly gone without a trace, nor a soul that remembered them. The Void-Sent, who has chosen the name Hollow, was testing his boundaries to see how much power was at their disposal.
Then, slowly, towns began blipping off the maps, but nobody could ever recall anything being there despite it making all logical sense for something to HAVE existed there previously. Libraries with books filled with nothing but empty or broken up pages lurking on shelves once full of knowledge, and maps, with empty spots that seem like a perfect place for a large city started appearing as well…this caused mass confusion amongst finley widespread.
It was like holes appeared in their memory, but nothing appeared to have ever been lost, causing many to become obsessive over information in case it too, vanished.
And then began the physical reports.
Vague inklike anomalies were spoken of, pitch black and haunting in nature, and extraordinarily violent in disposition. Attacks to livestock and finley alike were reported, though strangely no deaths were ever recorded...
Channelium Faith Spiritualists eventually caught wind of these reports, and quickly figured out the cause of these disruptions with discussions with historians.
They were non living, mana created creatures which were deemed 'Voidstructs' due to the telltale pitchness of their composition. The word 'Void' struck chaos into the circle studying societies in the city's innermost folk, instantly thinking of what kind of being could’ve caused this.
"Such a thing is unheard of!"
"Could the Circles be punishing us?"
"Where can we move to escape?"
"What can we do?"
"We are doomed!"
"I just had kits with my partner, Void CAN'T come NOW!"
Those were all common things to hear then…the panic seeped into everyone that heard the news. The thought of even the presence of Void was terrifying. The tensions rising in Channelium Faith's academic and Spiritualist circles caused an emergency citywide shutdown for the scholars and higher ups who knew about the Voidstructs to prevent any of them from escaping and spreading uncontrollable panic.
After calming a bit and collecting themselves for further discussions, the scholars recomposed their documents and remet with the spiritualists and their associates as well as the cities two mayors, and began plotting about what to do.
At the most severe, the scholars thought they were dealing with a budding Void-Touched individual flexing their prowess. A decent threat for sure, but nothing they couldn't handle with a bit of finpower behind them. So, after deliberating, they approached their Mayors with a plan of action to spread to select other towns and cities across Klaedon that held advantageous positions for any fights.
Not every town contacted contributed or could spare the finley, let alone spare already sparse provisions to feed aspiring soldiers, but the larger more settled cities and towns with any significant amount of spiritual knowledge pitched in.
In total, the rogue independent town of Aurem, a heavily spiritualy active settlement called Spirits Grove, the large astralit populated village of Starshine Shores, the prosperous hub of Brydon City, and the spiritual capital of Klaedon Channelium Faith brought themselves together to contribute finley towards the cause of neutralizing the Void influence tainting their world.
Little did they know, these would be the first actual steps into the Void war together against Hollow and the Touched he brought with him.
In the beginning, each town sent a small volunteer population of families and fighters to the settlement of Spirits Grove, due to it being near the center of Klaedon and the next likely attacked spot due to its prime location on the path to other major cities.
Families were moved there to help keep the homestead going and contribute labor to help with food and chores, while the fighters began training to prepare for the rapidly growing threat in the prairie and woods surrounding the town
Starshine Shores, due to their higher knowledge of the Circles and the beings inhabiting them due to their ancestry, put themselves in charge of training the fighters in what they may face, how to deal with the structs or any Touched individuals, and how to avoid being afflicted yourself. Many of the fighters were also inexperienced in magic casting, and so they began expedited magic classes to train the ragtag army to a proper fighting state.
Things were starting to look up, and a small beacon of hope was formed from the small town.
When the news got out across the oceans that there was a force in training to eliminate the Great Imbalance, the Isle of Xaaida, located on Klaedons sister continent, Raviad, sent forces from both their West and East villages to assist the cause, and to help lend a hand calming the frantic spirits attracted to the towns mana rich leyline location.
Hollow didn't take this small uprising as a serious threat at first, and for about three years, they were ignored for the most part, aside from small skirmishes with Void-Touched individuals and Structs that braved too close to the expanding settlement.
The attention grabber for the Void-Sent however, was when a Create-Sent came down from the circles as a balancing weight to the chaos Hollow was sowing.
The Create-Sent had a host deadline similar to Hollow when they arrived, but their gem landed in the outskirts of a small town, which made their urgent search much shorter.
After emerging and meeting with a young individual, discussions occured, and a mutual agreement was reached on what needed to happen. They took a budding Draken warrior by the name of Vortea as their host. Instead of fully taking over like Hollow did to his host, they instead left Vortea very much in control, letting her use their powers and abilities instead of erasing her completely to use her body as they needed.
Once Vortea became a host however, she needed to flee the town she called home for so long due her body, her eyes, and self being stained with the pure white colors, and hosting a Keystone Gem only found on those of Creation. She couldn't let her cover be blown due to the danger it possessed, as much as it hurt to have to run away.
Leaving a note and a special item she loved dearly for her parents, she kissed the three of them gently as they slept, and left her town, and everyone she knew behind with nothing but a bag stuffed with important belongings, her journal, some food, and her sword. She trekked to the southwest, following the news she's heard of the town of Spirits Grove and their fight against the Great Imbalance, and the Void-Sent.
She traveled for days without rest, the Sent her body now hosted, giving her the energy and resolve to rapidly travel the thousands of miles across dangerous terrain and untrialed wilderness to her destination.
Time felt blurred, and she made it into town in under a weeks time, when a normal journey like that would've taken *months*. She arrived at the town of Spirits Grove around noon, and before she entered the township's outermost prairie boundaries, the sent whispered to her what she needed to do to not blow her cover immediately.
Vortea's body shook as her hands rose to her face involuntarily, gently guided by the sent who temporarily took hold of her, claws tracing up her cheek, to the solid, pure white eyes create-stained eyes. The sent comforted her, promising that it will be swift and they will nullify any pain she may feel, and Vortea internally braced herself as she felt and temporarily seen her hands dig into where her eyes were, only feeling pressure, and hearing a small ripping, and then a *pop* as the tendons holding her eyes in place released.
Once finished with her grisly ordeal, she rapidly blinks her new eyes, and looked around her surroundings. Nothing was changed thankfully, and the sent kept their promise to her about having no pain, and thankfully no blood either. gently gripping the pure white orbs in her claws, vortea kneels to the ground and plants them into the soil.
When finished, the creation magic imbued dirt sprung to life, and a beautiful white and green variegated flowering bush rapidly where Vortea's original eyes laid at rest.
After spending a bit longer to recover from what she just went through and tiredly studying the bush that sprung from her buried eyes, Vortea gathers herself and walks down the winding path that leads to the entrance of the bustling town. looking around once she was cleared by the guards at the entrance, Vortea looks around to gather her surroundings. Four large buildings in the center of the town had been converted into inns for the soldiers and families to stay in, color coded based on what shift and specialty they were in, and she noted many folks currently stood socializing outside the red and yellow inns.
Soldiers doing drills and sharpening swords and other weapons lined the main street, and various smaller buildings by a very large brown and teal hall labeled ’guild’ by the border of the town bustled with finley darting in and out. A large stone town town hall sat at the start of the main street, and various residences stood close by, and not far beyond that to the side, a lovely glistening lake peeked through the trees. Children ran around her, giggling as she stood in the middle of the town gazing at all the sites to see. Two finley around her age that were exiting the town hall spotted her looking around and headed over. One was a chipper seeming Wind Draken, and following her was a rather stoic looking lucky Nyulop. They both walk up to Vortea and greet her warmly.
After a short welcoming discussion where they traded introductions, and why Vortea was in the town, the two mayors lead her to the blue inn nearby, and they all enter.
The two introduce Vortea to another wind Draken who was seemingly in charge of the inn, one who looks rather young to be in such a role too, barely above 13 or maybe 14 years old at most. A majority of teenagers would be out of their element in such a place, but she looks at ease in the crowded and bustling interior, paperwork in one claw and a quill in the other taking notes and writing down orders to give to others who are running around.
She sees the two mayors, and waves enthusiastically, gesturing to them and the new face over. After a brisk but cordial conversation with some signing of papers and explaining the blue Inn's schedule, Vortea was given a room number, another much newer bag with some basic survival goods, compass, and a journal. She was led by the young finley who introduced herself as Honey, to where she would be staying. Honey tells her she would be in a single room, and that after she's rested, to go back to town hall to get a residency card. Opening the door, Vortea gazed around at her new abode. The room was small and sparsely furnished…but cozy. Vortea thanks the Draken in front of her with a small smile, closes the door once Honey walks off, and goes to put her few things away.
Plopping down on her bed, she sighs. So much has happened in such little time, she barely had time to process anything….and in the quiet of her room, under the blankets in her new bed….Vortea begins to cry.
Her home, her family, her life…everything was changed and she barely feels ready for anything rushing at her like a train. She was just a fresh adult at 23 years old and feels just…lost at this sudden whirlwind she was in. The Sent in her mind comforted her the best they could, a warm, quiet presence wrapping her body in a warm sensation like a solid hug. The crying session ends with Vortea finally asleep, her mortal body receiving the toll of the expedited travel and fresh trauma she went through and shutting down to recover.
The next morning rushes in, and Vortea sluggishly drags herself out of bed, washes her face and bathes in the communal bathhouse that the inn hosts to cleanse herself from the traveling grime, and she wanders around the town to better familiarize herself with everything. There was finley everywhere! Nyulop, Draken, and even these..small finley she's never seen before, knowing them to be from talk as Astralits. Both large and tiny animals she's never seen before roamed loyally alongside the folks from Xaaida, and the Draken was awed at the variety of life that bustled in this tiny town.
The months started to fly once she got settled into the hustle and bustle of Spirits Grove.
New people, new experiences, even new friendships started to form the longer she stayed in the town, and started warming up to the residents, and a smile found its way onto her face more as time progressed.
Tatshka, a Xaaidan Gravity Astralit warrior, was one of Vortea's next door roommates who she became quite close with a short time into her stay at Bluesky Inn. The charismatic Rockstomper Bond Tatshka had with her was the one that accidentally introduced the two when he corralled Vortea into the wrong room and caused a bit of a ruckus as Tatshka had to calm her Bond from hunting mode. After the awkward introduction, she and Vortea got to chatting, and found out they were in the same drill platoon, and they made plans to meet up later that night on shift and train together.
Tatshka joined Vortea for quite a bit of her drill sessions and magic classes after that, and the two became fast friends, often talking late into the morning when they very well should be asleep, and the Rockstomper, named Kitshi, even let Vortea pet him and scratch his rather large ruff after they became more familiar.
Things seemed to be on an upward trend, and it made her feel a bit more at ease than before knowing she had a close friend for support
Nearing a year into her stay in Spirits Grove, Vortea had climbed her way through the ranks using magical skill never before seen in a Dual Element Draken, and her readiness and steadfastness in battle routines. As the lead for her shifts platoon of Bluesky, making new routines, drills, and training exercises for herself and her soldiers took up a majority of her free time as the days progress to months, and day by day she grew stronger…her body becoming more powerful as she pushed herself to the limit every day, knowing she was the one who had to fight Hollow when he decided to show himself.
The Sent she hosted, also had finally come out after all this time with a name that they suddenly revealed to Vortea out of the blue when she turned 24. They were called Ashen.
As more residents traveled to Spirits Grove from around the world as news traveled of their resistance effort, a tent city was established outside the town's boundaries, and every day it grew more, and more, and more. Finley from every corner, and every culture seemed to flood to the now near city, and resources were flooding in richly as everyone combined their goods to fuel the town and keep things steady.
Earth Draken worked around the clock in shifts to speedily grow crops and enrich the soil to avoid nutrient stripping, Lightning Draken worked to fuel crude electrical wiring to hook up and transmit morse code messages across wires to other major settlements (With a Druid Nyulop nearby to help prevent any mishaps that may happen).
Water Draken, Light Astralits and Alchemist Nyulop helped keep the water and air pure around the growing city using contraptions and magic to keep things clean.
Gravity Astralit helped with building new lean-to structures to support more capacity, their magic making the heavy beams a dream to work into place.
There was even a large-scale Bank opened, to help balance the currency flood pouring into Spirits Grove. There were nearly 100,000 finley that had gathered in the span of one and a half years to team together, and nearly 85,000 were in fighting shape. Spirits Grove was becoming a household name globally, both as an inspiration, and a beam of hope.
Hollow, upon sensing this actual threat to nullify and balance the energies through the combined efforts of the residents of the world grow and become an actual issue to him, immediately went on the offensive. Gathering his forces of Touched individuals he had been recruiting and creating, he began a destructive, scorched earth warpath to the city, cutting a path through everything that got into his way.
Emergency S.O.S messages began flooding into Spirits Grove as Hollow moved inward from his northerly outpost, and after a day went silent. Those in charge of the telegraph messages in the current shift started complaining of intense headaches and foggy memory, and were relieved and replaced by new finley…who shortly reported the same symptoms within the hour. Vortea, upon hearing the news from the Telegram Office, hurriedly gets up from the tree she was underneath holding claws with Tatshka, hugs her goodbye, and rushes over and tells them that she can take over.
When Vortea took over the post and sat in the transmitter's chair, she heard nothing but frantic S.O.S messages from many stations they had connected to over the year, some only 100 or so miles away. The lines were starting to come in crackled and distorted, and eventually stopped in the span of only 15 to 20 minutes, compared to the earlier hour. This made her blood turn ice cold as she realized what was going on, and Ashen confirmed her thoughts silently.
Ripping out of her chair, Vortea runs down the main street out of the Telegraphers Office in the town hall and screams while bolting down the cobbled path through the city
“EVERYONE TO YOUR STATIONS, READY YOUR WEAPONS, GET INTO FORMATION, THEY'RE COMING’
Finley peered out from the Inns and various temporary households speckled around the town, heard Vortea’s message, and ran back inside to spread the news of what was happening.
Families began mass shelter in place preparations, parents herding children to the basements of the Inns with chaperones as they rushed back upstairs to prepare to fight, Honey used Cotton magic to muffle the scared crying of the children under her care. She could only hope the other Inn leaders, Blaise, Vac, and Carina were ok as well as they weren't much older than her, and had just as many scared younglings under their watch.
The families in the tent cities that couldn't fit into the basements, followed the evacuation drills and went into underground bunkers that several Earth Draken dug deep down into the ground around a month back at Vortea’s instruction. The tunnels were lit by magic orbs that Crafters had put up to illuminate the ways down, and the few non-fighting adults and crying children filed down quickly, quiet worried chatter amongst the parents and teens too young to fight, filling the space.
The readied soldiers marched out of their homes and places of shelter after saying goodbye to their partners and families where applicable, and marched down to the forge, where they grabbed their weapons if they didn't bring any, and met out in the prairie surrounding Spirits Grove.
The air was thick and still, the rumbling of a distant storm traveling over the woods being the only disturbance or noise besides the shuffling of weapons and amour.
Vortea took to the air to look for any signs of approaching forces, and seen black wisps of smoke to the north, burnt wood smell wafting on the wind towards her. It still looked pretty far off, but the sight sent a pit to her stomach and she grits her fangs. Her nerves were sky high as the fight drew closer…it was the moment they were training for, but how much of a chance did they stand…? Looking below her at the army below her, they were braced, and looked nervous, but ready. Looking around her, the other winged finley that weren't weighed down with armor were in the air as well, bows and arrows at the ready to snipe form above, and they nod at her when they spotted Vortea look over at them, and she nods curtly in return.
The soldiers slowly made encampments as night slowly approached, nervously chatting with one another as the sun slowly started to sink on the horizon. Everywhere on the battlefield around town was illuminated to leave no spot vulnerable to attack, and heavily armored patrols began around the perimeter. As it got later, the less chatting there was overall. It was extremely quiet by the time midnight hit, one being able to cut the tension in the air with a knife as all eyes gazed at the pitch black forest around them. Spiritualists were communing with the Fae spirits around them, getting real time information when they could coax the frightened things out from the protection of the ether, and Casters were sending balls of light deep into the woods to better mark their paths.
Alchemists and Fire Draken were whipping up explosive potions in preparation together, while Earth and Lightning Draken were working together to discuss plans of making electrified metal shrapnel to propel into the opposing forces. Various groups of Astralits huddled around discussing various techniques they could orchestrate going off one anothers Orders
Yet….the surroundings remained...silent. Vortea was pacing around agitatedly, Ashen is telling her they sense Hollow nearby, but its the most they can glean. It's too dangerous to go rushing in blindly, and daylight is hours away still, and the dual Draken was getting fed up with the other Sent playing these mind games with her.
Teasing her to get her to act rashly and make a mistake. She had thousands of lives under her command, and she wasn't going to waste them on a rookie's mistake. Or waste them at all.
Every move must be carefully calculated in order to have the best chance at winning, so she finally stops pacing, and calls for a nearby Astralit scout to carry a message to the other ‘generals’ in the area by her. Quickly scrawling a message on the paper provided by the scout, she thanks them, and the Astralit quickly scurries off to find the message's target.
Vortea looks around at the dozens of bonfires illuminating the area, the sky turning orange from the reflection of the blazes, and the smell of smoke filling the air. She worries for the families down below, the children in the basements in the Inns and in the underground bunkers…She has to keep them safe, even if it means blowing her cover. There's so much riding on this success…losing isn't an option for her
Hours crawled by agonizingly slow, anticipation raking the nerves of every finley around....and at around 3 am the first battle cry rang through the night air, a shout of alert as a Voidstruct was spotted entering the prairie field by a far outpost of soldiers.
Hundreds, then thousands of soldiers got up in waves, readying weapons and rallying their fellow warriors with bellows and shouts of readiness. Companion spirits leapt from the weapons they were summoned from, anxiously awaiting the battle on which they feel their partners adrenaline stemming from. Vortea joined the uproar, and took to the skies with the flighted mages, and long range fighters, the battlecry still echoing around the town's perimeter as more soldiers heard one another, and joined the rally.
Soon after the first Voidstruct, there was another, and another ...and the biggest struct seen yet, a hulking demonic pile of ooze continuously piling up from several structs around it, coming to a full height nearly as tall as a tree. Several smaller Voidstructs that didn't get absorbed into the behemoth slugged alongside it, numbers easily piling up into the hundreds.
The long range fighters began shooting magic tipped flaming arrows, and arrows tipped with purifying light into the structs, but they proved to be fairly ineffective as the beasts sludged forwards further. Blunt force damage was really the only way to fight them, and so they sent specialized fighters trained by the Astralits from Starshine Shores to tackle the beasts.
Shortly after the Voidstructs made their appearance, the various Void-Touched soldiers made their way forwards, weapons raised and Void magic floating ominously around their claws. The soldiers of Spirits Grove raised their weapons high, and the battle began.
Casualties began to happen…and yet the reactions were…nonexistent. Limbs, hands, horns, fingers, even legs disappeared at the mere touch of some of the Void-Touched individuals, yet the affected continued to fight like nothing happened. The soldiers around them seemed to act like they were glitching, horror flashing upon their faces one second as they witnessed their comrades be sliced down, and then just as quickly, back to fighting how they were before, seemingly completely unaffected to the ungodly situations happening in front of them.
The lack of blood was disturbing to witness, finley falling over as vital limbs were removed or yanked apart, yet they continued fighting until heads were chopped off by a magic cloaked hand and their body ceased movement, or various vital organs were ripped out of their chest, unprotected by armor that was Voided off of their bodies, and they dropped to the ground, body spasming and eyes wide as they tried to function without what they needed to live. It was like watching broken childrens toys being tossed around by possessed forces, and Vortea felt sick to her core watching it happen in front of her eyes.
The bodies that were slain by the Touched ones' magic disintegrate into a fine dust that sinks into the ground, armor on their bodies lying in a discarded pile.
Wounds inflicted by weapons however, and not by magic had the normal effect one would expect from blades and arrows. Blood gushed, screams from both parties were heard, and finley were at one another's throat. Bodies began piling up on the fields around town, fighting becoming impeded by the treacherous terrain. The ground around the frontlines were becoming fastly soaked with the fallens blood, the soil unable to absorb such large quantities in quick succession, and muddy blood puddles began splashing up the soldiers legs and staining both scales and fur.
A second wave of at least one hundred additional Voidstructs oozed onto the battlefield, consuming anything they rolled over. Finley that had lost limbs and couldn't get up, or the injured that couldn't move, screamed and did their best to fight the mindless structs to little avail, and many were consumed. Many of the soldiers were horrified at the advancement, and were slowly losing ground to the onslaught of Void.
Vortea lets out a yell, swooping down above the front line and blasting the structs back with a fiercely powerful jet of water as she knocks down enemies in front of the soldiers, giving them additional space to advance and start attacking the distracted structs. The Void-Touched around sense Vortea’s power, and turn their attention on her with malicious intent. Turning her attention towards the Touched in return, she commands her aerial backup to start shooting at the Touched and reduce their threat and numbers. She had to be quick and dodge the blasts of inky black power that was being thrown her way, and she had to fight off Ashens advances to fully front themselves and take control, and Vortea found herself snapping to them out loud in the midst of the chaos.
‘Not yet! Stand down Ashen!’
Ashen met her with a bit more resistance after that, but eventually resigned themselves to the back seat again. Vortea wanted to use as little of the Create-Sent powers she had at her disposal as possible to avoid a potentially disastrous situation on the front lines. She was inexperienced, not sure of her limits with such power, and she didn't want to burn her body up with the raw exertion of channeling near godly amounts of mana.
In the slight moment of distraction she had while arguing with the Sent that possessed her body, a rogue pillar of Void magic shot through her wing, and Vortea crashed to the ground, trying to insulate her fall the best she possibly could, and she lands, skidding through the dirt and getting the wind solidly knocked out of her for a second. Laying stunned for a quick moment, she looks around hurriedly, and summons her own magic and sends a huge shockwave of mana discharge around her, fastly paralyzing the approaching Touched that tried to swarm her while shes down, and using the moment, she goes on the offensive, and swings her sword in a circle around her, badly injuring many of the Touched finley, and managing to dispatch a few as well with a couple well aimed chops.
Panting from the exertion, Vortea takes a quick second to look at her wing, which felt numb, and the part that was blasted off wasn’t bleeding…but the numb feeling was spreading further, and her wing from that point was starting to disappear. Gritting her fangs and looking around to see if anybody was watching, Vortea grabs her wing with her claws, focusing on only letting a TINY bit of magic through at a time. Soft white light flowed from her palms, and engulfed her gem in a matching glow, and she moved her claws around the Voided area to reverse the damage done…..and harnessing the Creation magic flowing through her body, was able to patch her wing up enough to where it was restored whole and she was able to fly again. It hurt a good bit as the newly regenerated muscles got used for the first time, but she was able to fly at least. Unbeknownst to her yet, her eyes were tinged much lighter by the use of magic, and her once dark grey horns reflected much lighter now.
Launching herself off of the ground where she was vulnerable, she used the renewed vigor that channeling even a little bit of Creation magic gave her, and proceeded to zoom around the front line again, joining the Draken warriors around her in launching elemental based attacks against Hollows advancing army. For a bit, it seemed as if they were managing to push the forces back into the treeline, advancing forward and killing more finley than there was coming out of the woods.
But hour after hour…more of the Spirits Grove warriors were falling….The forces were slowly getting pushed back through the trampled prairie grasses, and closer to the borders of the town. Bloodied bodies lay scattered around the field where they fell, and piles of glittering black dust from the voided corpses blew across the ground, illuminated like a drifting shadowy fog as the sun began to rise on the horizon.
A horn sounds in the distance, and the Touched look towards it, and immediately begin to retreat into the nearby wood at a breakneck pace. The finley of Spirits Grove hollered once they seen their opponents running away, and began running after them to attack, cutting down the retreating forces as fast as they could. The Touched didn’t seem to retaliate at all, driven by some force compelling them to follow the nose they heard back into the forest from whence they came. Several soldiers chased the opponent force deeper into the woods, with some air support following behind and sniping the individuals they could reach with magically charged arrows.
Though many of their comrades fell in the battle, the defending finley let out a victorious and collective yell at managing to stave off the enemy in this attack, and especially celebrated once the chasing soldiers come back holding various trophies such as armor, weapons, and magically imbued items and more from the slain foes.
Collectively they start gathering their dead to move to an area where they can be properly prepared for rest in honor for the Circles.
Varkery carts were brought in to haul the deceased better, and additional carts were brought in at the request of the field cleanup crew to help carry spoils, and other remnants that may have fallen from the Touched while fighting.
Many on the collectors squadron stared confused down at the piles of armor that Voided finley once occupied, and they chat amongst themselves on why much needed armor was just…laying on the ground in such a manner. Some go behind the burial preppers and collect the armor and weapons to take back to the forgemaster to repair properly, and others stay behind and help collect the bodies of the Touched finley to properly incinerate them to prevent any disease or germs spreading, and to return them to the Greater Energies.
Water Draken, Light Astralit, and various classes of Nyulop stay behind on the trampled and blood-soaked prairie to cleanse the earth of blood and viscera using magic, again, to prevent any diseases from spreading through the community.
The bodies of Spirits Groves’ fallen were taken back to town, cleaned up, and presented to the grown finley of the town to claim their loved ones, and to say their final goodbyes before they too, were incinerated to return their bodies back to the Circles.
The coming day was filled with sorrow, Married finley who have been separated by life and death wailing over their loved ones body who was taken too soon, parents grieving their lost grown children and holding one another as they sobbed into one another's arms, young and older children both grieving a parents loss and filling the town with high pitched wails.
It was a day of tears, sorrows, and mourning…what was technically a victory was still extremely bitter and hard to even think about celebrating.
After most of the day had passed, and Vortea helps the nurses and nurse assistants take headcount and tally the names of the dead as they are loaded onto several funeral pyres on the outskirts of the town.
So far, in this first battle alone, around two-thousand individuals perished…and the Dual Draken angrily gritted her fangs as she knew the true toll was so much higher. She may be the only individual that can remember their ultimate price, but she promises their lost souls that she will preserve their memory, and their life wasn't for naught.
Several Fire Draken and Alchemist Nyulop come together to start the pyres once dusk hits, and the community gathers around the platforms where their loved ones are laid to rest, and the lit fires go long into the night. Muffled sobs and crying are heard from the crowd around each pyre, and finley who are strangers to the mourning hold them close and let them cry on them as an act of comfort. The deaths of those that fought for the town, while unfortunate, had brought the town even closer together.
When morning hit, and the pyres were just smoldering embers dulled by the morning sun's glory, was when the town had to pull itself back together and try to resume normal production. The war was still a threat, and time stops for nobody,
no matter how much hurt they were in.
Vortea sent a crew of flighted and swift finley out to go check the telecommunications lines strung between the three major cities west, south, and northeast of them, sent them with materials to repair the lines, and an armed guard of winged finley to guard them on the way. It was vital to communicate to the main cities lending their finpower to the cause about what happened, and what they found out during the battle.
It took a week or two for the repair scouts to return and verify that the lines had been repaired properly, and Vortea sent out a test message to Channelium Faith to verify the lines solidity. It took around fifteen or so hours for the message to get through due to the long distance, but upon reaching contact with someone at Channelium, Vortea was alerted to the message, and tells the telegrapher that she requests the two mayors of the city come down to Spirits Grove for a very important discussion.
It took almost an entire day for the message to come through, but the Mayors agreed, but only if they could come with an armed mounted guard, which Vortea, Mayor Gale, and Mayor Hyndrel agreed to without hesitation. Similar messages were sent out to Aurem, Brydon City, Starshine Shores, and to any other smaller cities that had the capacity to handle telegraph wires by a dedicated team of transmitters that crammed themseves i to the small telegraphers office area.
A collective meeting invitation between every city leader or mayor that has contributed to the cause was sent, and the effort took nearly two weeks of constant rotation and message receiving and documentation to finally complete. In total, 239 out of 352 different leaders were asked, and agreed to meet up in Spirits Grove for a convention three weeks from the day. Vortea was extremely nervous about having to break the news to others outside of the town that there was a much more severe threat hanging above everybody else's head than they originally expected… the mayors of this town could barely handle news she broke to them without a look of pure doom being plastered upon their faces when she told them, but there was no choice left.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the already crowded town welcomed an additional two hundred and thirty nine individuals from all over the globe, and the guild hall was being arranged the best it possibly could be to host a large scale meeting at the same time. Once the crowd of leaders settled down, the mayors and Vortea look out around the crowd, and Hydrel lays a hand comfortingly on Vortea’s shoulder as a way of support.
Several Elders from Xaaida were sitting out in the crowd in front of her, and the Dual Draken smiled gently at seeing the Bonds sitting faithfully next to or on top of their companions, being reminded of Tatshka and Kitshi. Gathering herself and steeling her nerves, Vortea walks out the the podium moved into the center of the guild halls main room, resting her claws on the sides of the wooden platform in front of her and clears her throat a bit before starting to address the elephant in the room
‘I know that you are all probably wondering why the Mayors of Spirits Grove and I have called you here, and why it couldn't be transmitted over a telegraph wire, or even through a messenger spirit. I'm going to make the break to you short and sweet, because i know that this is going to cause a lot of commotion, and i want to be able to answer questions the best i can due to personally being one of the beings that came close to meeting their demise in the battle that just happened not too long ago…What we are dealing with isn't a Void-Touched…..They’re a Void-Sent.
The amount of forces, and the various Void created creatures that we came face to face with were far too much to possibly come from one Touched, let alone could one Touched create an entire overwhelmingly large army of more Touched and structs….This is a much much more dire situation than we could've ever prepared for, and we wanted to have you all be aware of what we are exactly up against. Can we count on you still for your support…?’
Vortea inhales nervously at the end of the short speech, and looks out at the gathering crowds of stunned and horrified faces in front of her. Mayor Annie Fox stood up with a start, her elegant dress wrinkling and bunching at the sudden movement, looking a bit panicked and enraged.
‘Do you think we stand a chance against this at all?? You are a fool for even considering that! You can't fight a VOID-SENT, it's a hopeless cause! I refuse to let any more of my citizens die for this, it is a waste of resources, and more importantly, a waste of life! If the Circles have decided that we are to be damned in such a manner, I'm not going to be depriving my citizens of their home in their final moments!
Annie throws her equally as elegant hat onto the ground in front of her and stares angrily at Vortea and the Mayors of Spirits Grove upon the podium as a show of the finality of her decision, and her reaction triggered a tidal wave of commotion amongst the seated town heads who started talking over one another in increasingly agitated tones. Bonds, feeling the chaos of the situation, showed their agitation as well, and various animal sounds added to the cacophony echoing inside of the hall. Vortea covers her ears, before going to the podium again and yelling at the top of her lungs
‘EVERYBODY CALM DOWN! THIS ISNT SOLVING ANYTHING, AND WE NEED UNITY! NOT MORE CHAOS!’
The various leaders stop at the sudden bellow, disstressed faces turning towards the Dual Draken in front of them
‘We need every finley we can possibly recruit now moreso than ever! Every paw, every claw MATTERS. I understand your fear, and i know its a lot to ask, but if we split, we fall apart, and we cant risk loosing our world…Our lives will go towards making sure our draklings, our kits, our starlits, all have something left to grow up in! Its our job to do that for them, and for everyone else in this world who cant fight.
I cant stop you from ultimately withdrawing your support and your soldiers youve sent here, Mayor Annie, Mayor Anne. But know, the world will remember you for the rest of time for this choice, and what you do next. That sentiment applies to everyone else here as well.’
Silence hung heavy in the air where there was once a tidal wave of commotion, and the collected leaders pursed their lips or looked to one another, consumed in thought.
Vortea sighs, and announced a half-hour recess where everybody could properly clean their minds, and reconvene when things were calm again. She dosent know whats goin to happen if more withdraw their support from the cause. Their numbers were already small to begin with against the forces in front of them as they already seen. Many stood up and went to go outside and get some fresh air, others stayed in their seats, conversing with their neighboring towns Mayor. The quiet chatter echoed around the large gathering room, and Gale, Hyndrel, and Vortea step into one of the empty side offices that the guild hall housed to discuss things amongst themselves as well.
Anxiety and tension lingered in the air when everybody reconvened in the main room, and several leaders had a look of guilty resolve plastered on their face…Vortea knew right then, that they were going to withdraw when the meeting started back up, and she clenches her jaw a bit in stress. There was at least twenty folks that have the look of guilt around them from her rough scan, and it made her heart sink.
Ignoring the feeling in her chest, Vortea once again mans the podium, and asks the crowd if there were any that would be joining Channelium Faith in leaving the cause, or if the Channelium Mayors had changed their minds at all. In total, around thirty-five towns of the present two hundred and thirty nine…including Channelium Faith….resigned their forces from Spirits Grove.
After the meeting officially adjourned once the towns pulling their soldiers wrote their names down, the Mayors of said towns sent out a call for retreat for those that wished to go home, and return to their roots before another attack bombarded the city.
Channelium Faith put out an announcement using magic to announce to its citizens to gather their belongings and meet them on the edge of Spirits Grove if they wished to go home for complete safety
inside the city before it was sealed off from the rest of the world. Before they left however, they let their stronger magic casters that accompanied the Mayors to Spirits Grove, to send out Messenger Spirits to the other large settlements around Klaedon to warn them to prepare for the forces that were revealed to them at the meeting, going ahead of their Mayors who were currently still inside Spirits Grove, who were going to take a while yet to get back to their hometowns.
Having such a major city withdraw their support and
soldiers echoed through the ranks in Spirits Grove, and many felt the drop in morale immediately upon hearing the news.
Some Channelium folk refused the summons to go return home, and stood their ground on staying. Others argued against the call of retreat, holding their weapons tightly and shouting at the mayors for their cowardice. And yet there were many who lowered their heads, returned their armor and weapons that were borrowed, and heeded the return call and marched out of town in a large procession.
In total, around around 2,500 soldiers returned to Channelium Faith, and roughly 1,500 stayed on behind in Spirits Grove to fight.
Brydon City, the biggest contributor, managed to withdraw around 5,000 soldiers. Only 3,000 stayed behind to fight.
Starshine Shores kept their entire Astralit population in the city, promising to stay and fight all the way through, much to the Gale, Hyndrel, and Vortea’s relief.
Aurem, already a small town, surprised everyone else by keeping their forces intact and refusing to retreat. Their stubborn, weather-worn nature stood strong in the face of the unknown, and they refused to fall back to temporary safety.
The Xaaidan finley chose to all stay as well. They didn't have many soldiers, but their combined tribe's strength provided a strong punch still, and some of their Bonds made an impressively fearsome figure on the battlefield.