Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Armageddon

Marne observes a growing crowd. Along with the growing crowd is a growing flame, where many books have already found themselves to be set alight. More join them as each member of Farrow's rebellion arrives, donating a piece of text as they come, before finding their place amongst the others. Marne begins to feel saddened by what he has come to witness thus far, acknowledging that with each page that turns to embers, rare knowledge is forever lost.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Comes the excited voice of Farrow, who rubs his palms together and peers off at a resting sun, which begins to set behind him. "The time has nearly come to bring Great things to an end."

Marne looks about The Bethel's roof once more, then to Farrow.

"Nothing about this feels right."

Farrow drops the smile he has been fashioning, then looks to his son.

"Have you had a change of heart?"

"No, I mean, nothing feels right without the others being present."

"Ah, of course! Of course." Farrow chuckles with relief, allowing his smile to return. "Perhaps they can be persuaded?"

"Perhaps, but there is no time for such things. Could you... have your men... escort them out of the dungeons? They should be here to witness this, even if it is against their will."

Farrow studies Marne's saddened expression, then sighs. With a wave of his hand the crowd falls silent, leaving only the crackling of the flames to fill the air.

"Warden?" He questions. "Warden, have you arrived?"

"Aye!" Shouts a voice in return as a man near the rear of the Craws raises his arm high into the air.

"Excellent! Come to me, please." Farrow shuffles the front of his garb around, allowing the tome to shift about until it is in a comfortable position. Marne watches him do so, knowing this to be what is happening.

"Yes, sir?" The warden asks with a bow.

"Could you please return to the dungeons and bring our... honorable guests to the surface, please?"

The warden pauses for a moment and blinks several times before speaking.

"Sir, the last time they were to be taken anywhere, they managed to slip right between the fingers of all who tried to capture them."

"Yes, yes, I know." Farrow places an open palm out towards the man to silence him. "However, I do feel as though they will be less likely to attempt combat this time around. There are things present in this moment that they have great interest in." Farrow taps hard against his torso, creating a thudding sound on the cover of the tome.

"Of course, sir. Right away." The warden offers another bow and heads off towards the dungeons, bringing four others from the crowd with him to assist in the effort.

Marne watches as the men disappear down a flight of stairs at the far end of the roof, then sighs.

"What might be the issue now?"

"Nothing, really. I just hope that you are right about them being too discouraged to fight."

"Discouraged?" Farrow laughs. "No, no, no. Not discouraged. Encouraged, as a matter of fact."

"How do you mean?"

"They will surely obey the guards to find their way up here, as this is the only place in which their efforts have the chance to remain intact." Farrow stamps against the makeshift stage they have found themselves atop, then takes a seat on a stool. Marne joins him and sits himself, allowing Farrow to go on. "You see, without the tome, there is nothing else they can do. No way of stopping what is now inevitable. So, they will come willingly, I assure you."

"Yeah... you're right." Marne mutters, partially disgusted with the words his father has spoken.

"Now, we must get ready!" Farrow slaps at his knees and pulls himself back to his feet. He then looks over the growing flames and takes in a deep breath. "All will fall to the rebellion soon enough. All will join our efforts, once the casting has been completed and the tome... destroyed." Pulling back his coat, Farrow removes the tome from within and walks across the stage once more. Placing the book atop a pedestal, he begins shuffling through the pages. "Fandor would be proud of the measures we have gone to, but... neither of us will remember that." Farrow shoots Marne a smile, then clears his throat. Raising his hand once more, the crowd begins to simmer. Many of the Craws look to their leader, then to one another and speak in hushed whispers. "The time has come. The time to relinquish ourselves of the shackles faith has put on us all. The time to free our minds of the limitations that persist, even when they are attempted to be wavered. The time... for our superiority to be known."

The crowd cheers as these words are spoken, as if there is not a soul who would argue the word of Farrow, leader of the Craws.

"Loyalty is a tricky thing." Marne whispers to himself as he ticks at the hilt of his sheathed blade. Now feeling shame for all that has been done under his watch.

"Come now, let us destroy what remains of The Bethel's texts and begin... The Great Undoing!" Farrow throws his arms out to his sides and allows his head to fall back, giving him a clear view of the smokey skies overhead. The crowd cheers once more and books begin to fly from their hands and into the flames, which now rapidly climb to the height of the nearby towers. "Let us not forget those who have cleared the path to our victory. Those who have shown great interest in the destruction of Dabria. Those... who have fought tooth and nail to see this moment through." Farrow once more looks to his son with a proud smile. Then, he looks off towards the stairs far ahead of himself. "And of course, the one who destroyed Ordaite in battle!" Farrow flicks his hands out towards Hael, who emerges with Lee and Yuler shackled at her sides. The three look on in horror as the flames light up their gloom faces, which would otherwise rest in the darkness of a haunting night sky. "The time has come, my son." Farrow offers Marne his hand, which Marne shakily takes. Now standing alongside his father, Marne can see that the others have spotted him. Lee looks on with anger in his eyes, but Hael and Yuler show only disbelief.

Marne looks to the floorboards, then to his father, who runs a finger down a page from the tome, before glancing at what daylight still remains behind them. With a toothy grin, Farrow lets his eyes rest on the pages before him. As he takes in a deep breath and begins to speak, a sudden frown takes hold. His eyes drift up to those of his peers, then to those of Marne, who has sunken his blade into Farrow's ribs. Farrow begins to shake as he attempts to hold himself up, but as the blade is pulled free, he simply crumples to the floor. The Craws look on in horror, then anger. As Farrow gasps for air, Marne resheathes his blade and stares daggers into the crowd.

"Marne, run!" Shouts Yuler, who notices what has happened before either Hael or Lee seems to.

"There's no time!" Hael warns, now rattling her shackles as hard as she can. "Back away."

"W-What?" Yuler asks.

"Back away, girl!" Lee steps as far as he can from Hael, who in turn looks to the warden.

"Thank you." She says.

"Of course." The warden gives a cheery smile, rattles his keys, and backs himself down the stairs and out of sight.

As the man vanishes, Hael lets out a deafening cry, which gets the attention of many of the Craws. Others remain on the heels of Marne, who scatters about the stage and attempts to escape the evergrowing odds against him. As another cry is heard, Marne looks to Hael, whose shackles have shattered. As the beastly woman swipes Craws off the rooftop, Lee and Yuler find themselves in possession of swords and shake off their own shackles. As the trio makes their way towards Marne, Marne pulls his own sword free once more and fends off those that approach him as best he can.

"Traitor!" Shouts one of the men in the crowd.

"Murderer!" Shouts another.

"Bold words!" He shouts back, attempting to block and dodge each blade as they come nearer and nearer.

Hael shrieks as she swipes at the feet of the nearest Craws to Marne. With her path cleared, she snatches him up and lifts him into the air. As he lands on a furry spine, he grips tightly at it with widened eyes.

"This is not the rescue I'd have hoped for!" He cries, hanging on for dear life.

"It's the one you get!" Lee retorts, slashing at one of the few Craws that remains.

"I thought you abandoned us!" Yuler screams, plunging her blade into the chest of another.

"What? Never!" Marne returns, dodging a swiping blade as Hael dips her head low and begins charging through the crowd. Craws tumble and fall off the roof on both the left and the right as they attempt to avoid the beast. The limiting space proves a challenge even for Hael, whose claws dig into gold-plated shingles as she attempts to remain upright. "I just needed an angle!"

"Enough talk!" Lee begs, as he disarms a Craw with a swift punch to the face. "Focus!"

Marne, having enough of the ride, slips himself off Hael's back and rolls against the ground until he finds his footing. Once he has done so, he draws his sword out in front of himself and begins fighting as well. As more Craws emerge from the stairwell, Hael takes notice and swiftly knocks an open paw against the burning books. As she does so, the flames are sent hurling towards the entrance, knocking over Craws as they go and setting the walls aflame. With the entrance now blocked, the Craws remain below. Their curses and shouting still being heard over the crackling of an uncontrollable fire.

"We have to go, now!" Warns Lee, who runs towards Hael and- with her assistance- climbs onto her back. Yuler is next to do so, but before she mounts entirely, she offers Marne her hand.

"Wait, the tome!" Marne rushes towards the stage, which is now in flames as well, and attempts to reach the book.

"Leave it, Marne!" Demands Yuler, whose worried eyes now rest on his. "Leave it!"

Marne hesitates for a moment, looking towards the others, then back at the tome, which remains open on the pedestal. Deciding it is for the best, he turns away and rushes back to the others, where Yuler assists in pulling him onto Hael's back. Once they are all on, Hael lets out a shriek and leaps to one of the towers. With her claws dug deep into the stone, they quickly descend the side of the structure and slam into the ground. The force of their landing shakes the earth underfoot and knocks nearby Craws onto their backs. Taking what advantages she has been given, Hael sprints off towards the outskirts of the city and quickly climbs over the outer walls.

With the city now behind them, they watch as the flames begin to grow larger, consuming The Bethel as a whole. Each of them attempts to catch their breath as they climb off Hael, allowing her to return to her human form. With the chaos behind them, Marne begins to laugh. The others look to him as he does so, acknowledging what it is he has done, and taking into account what toll that might have on a person.

"I... I can't believe it's over." He says with another laugh. "I can't believe it."

"Yeah," Begins Lee, "perhaps it is."

"How do we know if the tome was destroyed?" Wonders Yuler, who continues to watch the smoke rise.

"We'll know." Assures Hael, who has found herself in Lee's overcoat once more. "Look." She says simply, pointing to the roof of The Bethel.

As the others do as she asks, they notice a small blue light begin to emerge. The light then begins to grow larger and larger, until blue flames consume all others. Then, the flames seem to soak themselves into where it is the tome had been placed. Silence and darkness fall over the city and all that can be heard is the breathing of those around them.

Thunder begins to rumble in the distance as they continue to watch the curious darkness that now shrouds the city of Maciofim. Marne steps forward, observing the nothingness that seems to be going on. Then, Yuler joins him at his side, where she takes his hand and does the same.

"What happened?" Lee wonders. "Why has it all stopped burning?"

"It hasn't." Hael assures, sniffing the air. "Something... something is happening."

"What is it? What do you sense?" Marne questions, still looking towards the city.

"I sense... that death is near." As Hael speaks these words, blue light begins to spread across the roof of The Bethel once more and a strange whistling sound is heard.

BOOM!

Marne steps back, as does Yuler. The group watches as the top of The Bethel explodes with the same blue glow. Rolling smoke gives way for lightning to strike the building casting even more light on the city below, which remains otherwise silent.

"What is happening!?" Lee questions, placing both hands atop his head as he watches the destruction unfold.

"Wait, look!" Marne points to the sky overhead, where the foremost moon displays a red aura and a core as blue as the flames atop The Bethel.

As they observe the moon, unmistakable cracks begin to form over its surface. the cratered face then begins to glow red near its center, outshining the blue glow that had become of it as the cracks begin to worsen.

"What have we done?" Hael wonders, no longer feeling that her sight is a gift.

With the cracks now covering the moon's entirety, the sound of splintering glass is heard across the fields and hills. Winds begin to blow over the party, and the city falls into darkness once more. Then, the moon shatters. Shards of the once pristine surface soar across the sky and rocket towards the earth. Beams of blue flames come crashing down from the heavens and slam into the soil below. Still, the red aura remains.

"By the Gods!" Lee exclaims, now stepping closer to Marne and Yuler, who appear fixated on what lies behind the foremost moon's remains. "Impar!"

A red shade casts itself over the heavens, with Impar being the source, before a beam of similar light emerges. As the beam trails away from Impar, it swiftly plummets towards the earth. The group steps back, uncertain of what harm could come from such a thing, but no harm comes. As they look back toward the beam of light, they see that it has touched the world around them. Yet, it focuses over one area in particular. A manor, which resides just beyond the city walls.

"The Decwicks?" Questions Lee.

"I... don't understand." Says Marne.

"None of us do." Assures Hael, who now whimpers at the damage that is being done.

Chunks of the moon continue to rain down, with some being so small that the dust appears to be nothing more than snow. All the while, remnants of The Bethel break free from the building, and crash against the streets below. Panic now ensues and the screaming of citizens fills the local air. Returning their gaze to the beam of focused light, small red orbs can be seen swirling down the column, as if the stars themselves are fluttering towards the earth.

"No...." Hael begins to weep as she recognizes the red orbs.

"What? What is it?" Begs Marne, who watches as Hael falls to her knees.

"It can't be." Lee says, now attempting to comfort Hael.

"What is happening?" Yuler pries, desperate for answers.

"Buds of Dabria return to the soil." Lee states with despair in his voice. "There is no cleansing the world of this plague."