Year 432 of the Volithian Calendar
Blood and ash dirtied the soil beneath the corpses of men, the rising sun giving way to a new dawn. Scraps of metal inlaid with blue hues of ether rested on the ground. Squawks from the clear sky heralded the crows' feast. In center of this blood-stained ground, amid armies clad in various colors, all united by a flag with a golden spear pointing towards the sky, stood a woman clad in azure robes, obsidian black armor resting upon them.
She swept a hand through her blond hair, her hand coming back red. It wasn't her blood.
She looked down upon a corpse, a man of tall stature in brilliant golden plate armor, his face obscured by a savage looking T-shaped visor.
A bookish-looking and bald man approached the woman, piles of maps crooked under his armpit,"Esteemed Ethereal One, may I recommend we proceed to the Usakan border from here? With our analyses, taking the Leviathian Strait should be able to provide us with scores of ether cannons and munitions."
"No, we're not going to do that my dear Ivan. I know him. I know Morekeii. Conventional tactics won't work. He's smarter than us, luckier than us, stronger than us, and he possesses more firepower than the whole coalition has combined." her face contorted into a grimace,
"Ready our prisoners. Not just the combatants, all of them. Send them towards the Kainan capital. He won't hesitate to kill them, but it'll buy us some time. In the meanwhile, I want you to gather the cabal of exiles. Tell them to bring the Abyss Torch. Prioritise speed, I want them gathered here within the afternoon."
"But Ethereal One! We can't do that! You know how many lives you're throwing away!? What about everything that the church of Lusiur stands for? They won't stand for that. I won't stand for that! And those savages you want to follow you? Don't even try, they're ticking time bombs." Ivan protested.
"My sweet, sweet Ivan. Look at me, look into my eyes. You're not under my employ because I pay you. You follow me because you do what I say. You think I care about what the church thinks about me? I certainly don't, not at this point. I am indispensable. I stop supporting the coalition, and the whole war effort vanishes. Disappears. Either you get out of my way, or I'll move you myself."
Those fierce gray eyes stared into Ivan's soul as if they could read him like a book. Even though Ivan towered over her by 1 foot, the sheer presence and power he felt from her made him feel like he was in front of a god.
He broke eye contact, stepped back, and knelt, "Understood."
"That's what I thought. Now, get out of my sight."
She proceeded to put the corpse of the man in brilliant gold armor around her shoulder and turned around, ignoring the paddling of rushed footsteps of Ivan behind her.
Before proceeding to her next destination, she found an isolated spot amongst the woods, snapped her fingers, and tossed the golden armored man into a gaping hole of black ether that appeared in thin air.
Proceeding towards the war camps, she tightly gripped an azure apparatus hanged around her neck as a necklace. Waves of soldiers and officers in light blue uniforms and gray armor in her way split in half upon seeing her; their arms automatically went to their salute: a fist resting upon their shoulders, arms at a diagonal angle. She continued past them with deliberate steps, and navigated through the seas of soldiers and tents towards the command tent.
In the spacious command tent, officers and grunts alike ran around, orders being given at a rapid-fire pace. Lights of ether were shining into the air, projecting maps and images of the battlefield.
Shouts and murmurs rang through the tent,
"Hurry up! Get the soldiers on escorting those prisoners! If they aren't out of their cells in 30 minutes I will demolish all of you!"
"General Areis, I'm going to be honest here, we don't have much of a chance. The enemy possesses fort Leviathian, Raven Hill, and don't get me started on our casualties. You know what? Here's the folder, figure it out."
After sitting down on her desk in an isolated corner of the tent, she organized her documents and sat in thought for 15 minutes, gray eyes staring at the overall map of the war.
A sudden voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "Hey Cassandra! What's up with my favorite war hero? Woah, what's with the look Cassandra. Jeez, fine, okay miss Ethereal One, didn't know I had to bow down to your highness here. Anyway, venerable Ethereal One, your man Ivan? Looks like he was scared shitless. What did you do? You know what, I don't care. The Cabal of Exiles is here."
The voice belonged to a long-limbed man, albino in color with red eyes and short spiky hair.
She sighed, "Say one more thing out of line and I will take your corpse and feed it to the void hounds. So, Qivol, stop saying useless things. Did they bring the item of importance?"
"Yes, they indeed did. Okay esteemed Ethereal One, may your ancestors bless you and your ilk for thousands of generations! In fact, I will get you an Ale to repay you."
"I don't drink." Cassandra said with a blank face.
"Okay, it's fine. I'm leaving now. You're welcome!" Qivol then proceeded to vanish in a puff of white ether, any trace of him dispersed out into the atmosphere.
Cassandra sighed, and then started to leave, heading for the woods.
Cassandra walked at a brisk pace, making it to an isolated grove in the middle of the woods. Black ether particles could be seen rising up from the ground like locusts, causing the trees to rot and decay. At the center of the lifeless grove resided twenty figures standing shoulder to shoulder, with 5 people in front of them in a line: 3 men and 2 women.
The 5 leaders had a strange air about them. The first man was dressed in a black trenchcoat and wore a black hat, his face fierce and coarse. The second man was dressed in rags and had chains upon his neck and wrists. His face was non-existent. Only skin remained there. The third man looked like he was chiseled by a god; a symmetrical face, beautiful blonde hair, and blood red eyes coupled with his ornate white robes was the very definition of regality.
The other two women wore ragged and crimson robes. Their faces were concealed by an ever-present gray mist that floated around them. They looked exactly the same: height, stature, build, and mannerisms. It was uncanny.
Cassandra stepped forward, "I welcome you, exalted Exiles. I apologize if coming here was inconvenient. We have an urgent situation."
A grumble could be heard from the man with the black hat, "Don't waste our time, qavahé. As usual, something of the equivalent value for our services."
"Worry not. I have something very, very valuable. In fact, this is going to be the last favor I am going to ask of you." She snapped her fingers, and a black portal once again opened. Pointing downwards, it dropped the corpse of the golden armored man onto the ground.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Father of the Black Bloods. In exchange for assisting me with the consumption of his corpse, I shall complete our bargain."
With azure tendrils of ether, she floated the corpse up into the air. It hanged there like a marionette, blankly staring into the distance. A gaping hole of ether appeared inside of the man's chest, and the corpse dropped to the ground. She tore her hand back, and in her palm was a beating, black heart. It had veins of gold throughout, pulsating a mixture of black and gold blood through valves and tentacles.
The twins stumbled back simultaneously, an audible gasp could be heard from the black hatted man, the faceless man stayed still, and the handsome man guffawed, "As expected of the virtuous Ethereal One. It is a shame we could not kill him ourselves, but his death is quite welcome."
The blonde man beckoned a finger, "Pay up. What will you give us to help you? I seriously doubt even you of all people have something that will make consuming a corpse of this divinity worthwhile."
Cassandra responded, "Pages 137, 250, and 251 of the Codex. I assume that will be enough for payment?"
A low whistle could be heard from the man without a face.
The blonde man smiled, "Yes. That will be enough. You sure though? You know what Volitiha will think of that right? Aberrant Gods cannot be trusted. Especially those that are not of this world. If he finds out, well, let's just say I would not want to be you."
"Do not trouble yourself with my affairs with Volithia. It doesn't matter if he finds out or not, nor is it your concern." Cassandra said.
"Fine, I understand. Serendipity, the Abyss Torch please." The blonde man said.
The faceless one reached into his pocket, and pulled out a 5 foot tall obsidian black brazier. Its flame burned with a mixture of violet and black, the center a seemingly incomprehensible abyss.
"God damn, we're really doing this, first time in a millennium." The man with the black hat said.
The blonde man began organizing and commanding the others, "You know the drill. Our client here deserves our utmost effort I indeed say! Dear Ethereal One, I also assume you know what to do."
Cassandra nodded, and proceeded to put the heart into the violet flame. The flame became a swirl of colors, this time dominated by black and gold, with a tinge of violet on the outside of the flame.
The twins began drawing sigils and symbols into the dirt with their feet. They both finished simultaneously, their movements perfectly in sync. Along the sigils and lines drawn out into the dirt, the faceless one injected a solution of a clear liquid into the lines. The ritual site began to glow White.
The faceless one began maniacally laughing, "I wonder what our dear little missy here intends to do with this sacrilegious power!? I look forward to it."
While Cassandra ignored him, the others got into position, along with the 20 other subordinates the 5 brought along around the ritual circle. Occult chants began to ring out in unison in the alcove, the flame growing stronger and taller, eventually reaching 3 feet tall.
Cassandra drew upon her ether well, reinforcing her brain for the impact of splitting her mind into thousands of pieces. She could feel a sharp pain erupt in her head. She began coughing, and blood fell on her hand. With the preparations complete, she began to exert her will onto the unholy power reaching its crescendo within the brazier.
Primordial emotions, thoughts, and memories came rushing into her all at once. If not for her fractured mind, Cassandra would've been dead seconds ago. She felt rage, hate, happiness, sadness, and most of all, gluttony. She wanted to eat and consume until there was nothing left. She saw from the viewpoint of someone on the ground, and saw herself standing over her.
She could feel herself changing, her memories being swapped, and with one last futile resistance, she lost her sense of self.
The Father of Blackbloods was enraged. What was he doing here? Staring up at a heretic that planned to destroy his homeland, the very existence he tried to protect in danger because of this monster.
'I cannot accept this.'
Cassandra let out a guttural roar more fitting for a beast than a man. The Exiles' subordinates began dropping like flies. Heads exploded, minds were broken, and some overcharged their ether well in order to commit suicide.
Serendipity shouted, "Solace! Help me stabilize Cassandra! Probe her mind and expel The Blood Father's foreign will!"
The black hatted man nodded. With a precision not unlike a surgeon, he gradually and meticulously brought the foreign will inside of himself. He began screaming.
With that, Cassandra stopped screaming, and saw the chaos around her. Without a delay, she materialized her will. Cracks in the air began to form, a testament to the amount of divinity in the area.
With one final gesture, she executed the spell, and with the multiple pieces of her mind, she merged half of them into a single entity, and connected it to a large eye-shaped apparatus in the sky.
She could see the whole world like a god. Pure Black flames began to rain down from the heavens like lightning bolts. She directed them towards the Zkinian continent. The flames began their unrelenting pursuit, an unstoppable advance. Cities were scorched, burned down, and wiped out of existence. The continent was painted black. People didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones.
On this day, year 432 of the volithian calendar, is when the Calamity of Zkinian wiped out all of Saint Morekeii's allies in one fell swoop.