Jjhutto_Son of Flame
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B3. Ch. 1 Memorials.
🕑 Added 2024-05-06 20:29:42 +0000 UTCA new stone plinth stood jutting out of the center of the parade ground as most of the population of the Three-Fold Alliance stood around it, holding a silent vigil. The sun had only just begun to peek above the mountaintops, bearing witness to the event that had gathered the Faction’s whole population. The battle had ground to a halt sometime late last night and the enemies still trapped in the now greatly empowered forest boundary were summarily ended by the new protections. Those caught within the Alliance’s magically reinforced borders found themselves stunned and trapped by the explosive energy released by the Facets. Well into the predawn morning, mixed patrols of Rangers and the Watch searched them out and destroyed them.
It had not gone any better for the force attacking the wall. The explosion of energy had rolled well past the wall, incapacitating all but the strongest of the Strigoi Horde still pushing against the battlements. Simultaneously, the energy released by the Quest fully restored the surviving defenders. Under Linus’ leadership, and following Hiro’s example, they shifted into a sorte. Their offensive maneuver ended another ten thousand enemies and reaped their experience to further bolster the triumphant Faction’s fighting force.
All in all, everyone who had fought had gained a slew of levels and most had been offered new classes by the Sovereign Crystal in recognition of their contribution to the Faction quest. However, the rewards were not limited to only the martial classes. Even the non-combatant citizens had been offered a reward according to their contribution to the defense effort. All over the Alliance, new classes, or in some cases, facilities were being issued by the Crystal, and the changes had been dramatic and immediate. Tilly was glad the headache of discovering and documenting all of the changes belonged to someone else.
Now that they no longer faced imminent destruction, the Alliance was about to butt up against several logistical nightmares. They had to make full reimbursement possible for contribution points, basically creating an economy out of thin air so that the trust the people had shown in exchanging their work for this currency would be validated by higher-quality gear, items, and even basic necessities. Tilly shivered at the thought of the administrative burden represented by such a task, and he looked around uncomfortable at the remaining leadership standing with him on the front row of the Vigil as the names of the fallen were read out one by one.
The Council was scrambling to readjust as the two elected members over the refugee camp population had been lost in the aftermath of the battle. Linus’ class had not been upgraded, but he had gained access to full control of the Alliance’s new standing army and had eagerly stepped down from the council to accept the role of general. He would be given charge of its full deployment and growth under the supervision of the rulers of the Faction.
Pupienus, the other council member, had died attempting to foil the same plot Tilly had stumbled into on his way up the mountain. Marcellus the Elder had apparently been behind a slew of murders in the camps. It had been uncovered that he was the head of a small but growing insurrection that had been tasked by some unknown agent of Corruption to somehow break the Covenant between Origin and the Three-fold Alliance. If not for the delay that the Bureaucrat and his few guards had caused, they might have made it to the temple… Tilly shivered as he considered what a ritual like that would have entailed and why they would even have needed Aurelia.
Pupienus’ name had been one of the first read-aloud before being magically inscribed near the top of the stone at the beginning of the ceremony. The council had met after the dead had all been collected and burned in the early hours of the morning. It had been decided that before they began to build for the future the Alliance needed something to mark the sacrifice of those who had made such a future possible.
Hiro had collected Erash and partnered to create a towering formation of stone in the middle of the parade ground. Word had been passed to every surviving citizen who had all benefited from the restoring aspect of the Quest reward. They had all shown up to watch as one by one, people stepped forward to Erash and whispered a name. Once she heard it, a small flash of fire would appear on one of the faces of the plinth, searing the name of the fallen into the stone.
Each of the surviving Bastions stepped forward to read out the losses from their unit commands, followed by Threstus who stepped forward and spoke the names of the Five losses from the Bastion unit. The rest of the unit commanders stood by and watched solemnly as their leader spoke out the names proudly. Five may have seemed like a small number compared to the rest of the losses… but it was five more gone out of a unit of valuable elites that from all reports had singled-handily held the wall against the enemy's full strength in the last hour of the battle. The plinth was already half full, as people continued to come forward with more names. Different community leaders stepped forward to announce one death after another in the chaotic close of the conflict and Tilly felt himself feeling simultaneously relieved and ashamed.
Relieved that he had not lost anyone he personally knew, and ashamed at that thought as he straightened his shoulders against the weight of the soft crying he could here throughout the crowd as those present mourned loved ones. Attempting to distract himself, Tilly took a moment to scan the front row again, at the other end of the line was the newly appointed Sanguine Order representatives. Tilly had been the one to inform the Queen of the Prime Dirge’s defeat in the whirlwind of introductions after the battle had ended in the dark hours of the morning. Upon hearing the news, she and the rest of the Order’s forces had immediately set out, hoping to capture the center of the Horde’s base of power before some other monster rose to stabilize their number. She had promised him a reward when she returned for defeating the Prime Dirge, while informing the rest of the council that the Horde still likely outnumbered their combined forces ten to one. She and her highly mobile force would take this opportunity to strike, while the other faction was at an unprecedented disadvantage.
Before leaving, she assigned Hilbert and Sir Michael to stay behind as the rest of their forces continued to pursue the scattering Horde. The two vampires had also been tasked with facilitating further trade between their two Factions, most notably in blood. They were very interested in obtaining agreements for standard shipments of the valuable commodity and even discovering a more sustainable way to produce Ability Embued varieties. The queen had given him a meaningful look as she loudly issued out these commands to her subordinates and he had not missed their importance. The breakthrough Amelia had shared with the Sorcerous Superior had much deeper implications than just a way to purge corruption from their bodies, and the Faction was very eager to continue to uncover the future possibilities.
The Queen’s political machinations or even the economic ramifications such a partnership implied were way above Tilly’s pay grade and he found himself at a loss as he observed his recent companions facing the plinth from the other side of their circular formation. Sir Michael stood as erect and silent as the stone memorial before him and Hilbert stood next to him, wearing a solemn expression. Tilly fought to press down a small smile as he noticed the newly-christened Lifeblood Sorceror’s eyes flit back and forth as he read through the invisible screens of new information trying to glean some insight into his new class.
As the Bastions and Threstus filed back into the crowd, Achillia, the Gaurd Captian turned Flame’s Watch Commander, stepped forward. In her hands, she held a long sheet covered in writing and in a loud serious voice, she began to read out the last of the names, tallying the remaining losses to their defenders. It had been left to her to collect the roles of the dead from the units that had lost a commander, and she had taken up the duty with a surprising amount of formality.
The Alliance’s fighting force had been cut down by a third, now numbering a little over two thousand five hundred. The numbers seemed staggering to Tilly, but Ichiro had assured him in the quiet leading up to the memorial service that when weighed against the Faction’s gains, the conflict had actually ended up being very advantageous to the burgeoning nation.
From what Tilly understood, each non-Bastion wall combatant had been offered the choice of two classes: Flame’s Watch Veterin, or Three-Fold Infantry. The vast majority had elected the Infantry position, which Linus had confirmed would have Bastion as a future class option once they reached level fifty. The class came with a Buff to shield, spear, and short sword-wielding Skills as well as access to the legendary Unit Magic that Tilly had seen used to such devastating effect on the battlefield. About ten percent, led by Achillia had taken the Veteran class evolution, allowing more individual and modular unit formations suited toward movement and patrols.
The Rangers, led by Nyuk and Kuro had enjoyed almost zero casualties and had been offered an evolution called Twilight Rangers. Tilly hadn’t gotten the chance to learn about the new class, but he couldn’t help but notice the new identifiers sitting over many of his friend's heads. None of the Honu seemed to have gotten a new class, but based on everything he was seeing, he was sure there was more to the story. All in all, whichever route each individual had chosen, their fighting force had emerged from the conflict with levels averaging in the mid-forties.
Watch Commander Achillia finished reading off the names on her sheet and Erash lowered her staff, burning the last of them into the stone. The Service was almost over and names reached nearly to the ground. For a morbid moment, Tilly couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next. When the next batch of names came in, would they grow the plinth higher, or would a second stone be raised?
All indications pointed to a conflict that was about to spill over to the whole Plane, and if that was true, they were going to need a lot more stones…
As soon as this thought finished coalescing on the surface of his mind, he reflexively clenched his right fist, resisting the negative spiral of temptation that had been his constant companion since being infected with the Seed. He clenched his jaw in anticipated conflict, before stumbling mentally at the complete lack of internal opposition. He relaxed his jaw, and unconsciously rubbed his side, now containing nothing more than a fist-sized scar.
He sighed, realizing that as dark as it had been, that dark humor had been all him. There was no longer an invader attempting to suborn his will and for better or worse, he was once again fully in charge of his faculties.
The sun finished rising over the mountains that protected their Faction on three sides, and Hiro stepped forward to address the crowd. Erash did something to the air in front of him and his voice boomed out over the crowd, reaching almost as far as Tilly could see.
“Members of the Three-Fold Alliance. We fled here together, forced into each other's company by desperation and necessity. We were uneasy allies, clinging to our old views of the world. Of this, I was just as guilty of this as any of you. But from this day forward, that has all changed.” He declared in a weighty cadence, looking out over the crowd unruffled by the number of people now to them for leadership.
“You have sweat, bled, and died to protect what is growing here, and your determination will be matched only by our own to lead you into the prosperous future we all desire. We will thrive as a new people, reborn in the fires of adversity into a nation that can stand against anything that comes against it and triumph. We are building a Faction where the powerful both protect and nurture new growth for the benefit of all. With us is a new kind of Deity, one who offers a great reward to those willing to pay the price of power and see this nation grow. We will honor those who have paid the ultimate price to give us this chance and we will-”
A deep chime reverberated throughout the valley interrupting Hiro’s speech. Tilly looked around in confusion as a screen opened in front of him dominated by words he had never seen before:
System Wide Announcement!
