Dirge of the Afterlife - Chapter 9 The First Invasion

At the head of the mighty Alliance of soul warriors, human military, elven regiments, orcish war parties, dwarven engineers and their powerful machines, massive trolls with weapons as large as humans, some concrete clubs, others pulse cannons, dragons of all flights, stood Felicia, Xepher by her side, facing the plains over the eruption point where Weiss started the assault on Rursus. The remnants of the invaders were gathered there, and upon sight of the imposing army, let out a cacophony of fear. Yet, the punishment for faltering was more daunting than the fact that they faced certain slaughter.

And so they charged, fel creatures of all sorts in an unholy throng towards the armies attacking. The two sides crashed with an almighty collision, Xepher and Felicia leading the charge, plunged straight into the throng, tossing demons away, ripping beasts apart and smashing through undead. Closely following were the two archangel sisters, Kaffleen and Kaithlyn, the former's magical might equalled only by the latter's mental strength. Kunou no Yami screamed a dirge of death, tearing any within reach. The dualblade Hi-Rai Nodachi spun quicker than the scythe of the harvest, guided by psychic urges, reaping through the hordes of fel creatures with ruthless efficiency.

Rushing behind were the rest of the warriors from the past, Carolyn with her nine-tailed vixen at her side, Jesslyn with her dragon of ice above. Alloyn with her deadly punches, plowing away at any foolish enough to get in her way. Sieghart, holiness incarnate, his blade shining with the faith to the heavens, his very presence blinding the fel creatures.

Shadowz, Jennifer, Ristaccia and Rachel brought the rear of the frontal charge, katana slicing with saber, which in turn complimented the two broadswords of the latter two, creating a macabre dance of death. They shredded the remnants of the demons left by the warriors ahead.

Then came the Alliance itself, sweeping like the tide. The demons were all slain, except the few who escaped into the portal itself. They died by swords, they died by gunfire, they died by explosions, they died by magical spells. The end result: they died.

The rift into the womb of the earth yawned before them, a volcanic updraft slowing gravity as the plumes of lava steam rose to the heavens. The land-bound demons who leapt in drifted at a slower pace downwards than they would were the updraft absent, and as such made it to the ground and the portal unscathed.

Armies of Alliance leapt into the rift fearlessly, bivouacking at the ground. There, they regrouped and faced the malevolent portal, for the cavern was large enough for them to fit comfortably. There they set up a base camp, some distance from the gigantic portal. Mages erected a barrier, to prevent sneak attacks from within the portal itself.

Reinforcements arrived shortly, the fabled and nearly forgotten races of the lizardmen, tough scaled and armed to the teeth, goblins with their explosive contraptions and machinery, the winged elves - Arises - with their deadly throwing-axes and spike-tipped whips, and more races that were I to describe, would take until next winter.

Felicia faced the portal from the base camp, frowning. 'She wants us in there.' she muttered, to no one in particular. Xepher heard her, though. He came over to her. 'Yes, your sister wants us in there, to destroy us. But we will go in there, not to die, but to defeat her.'

'Candace is corrupted by some great evil. I cannot believe she is not the queen she - we - were since time immemorial.' sighed Felicia.

Xepher raised his eyebrows. 'Queen?'
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Several thousand years ago, in a world called Fresnae.

'Your highnesses, they come.' said the Elendil scout to the two royal Elendil queens, Felicia and Candace. Both turned at once, and nodded simultaneously.

Ever the impulsive one, Candace spoke first. 'Gather the armies, gather the Titans. If the demons want a fight, be sure that they will get a good one.'

Felicia nodded. 'Send the fourth and fifth regiments to the field, for a preemptive strike. Then the third and second, to strike the flanks.'

The scout frowned. He was the best scout and tactician of the Elendil, save the two queens, and he had reason to frown.

'What about the first regiment and the Titans?' Raphael asked.

Candace raised her sword. 'We will lead the attack of the first regiment, and the Titans.' She gestured. 'Go. We will join you soon enough.'

Two hours later, the demonic forces crashed into the Elendil army, but were torn apart by the pure fury of the Elendils. Their mystical might wreaked havoc with massive fire rains, blizzards, lightning barrages and more. Then they struck, their unparalleled martial prowess ripping demons left and right.

Then the third and second regiment attacked from the sides, crushing the demons with swift blows. They swept over the demon ranks faster than a tide washes over the sand.

The first regiment roared, and charged the faltering demon lines. Titans, their massive weapons swinging, obliterated the last resistance. The demons retreated full, but not before slaying a Titan by sheer numbers.

Elendil and Titan armies forced the demons back into the rift created by the strongest of their sorcerers, back into their hellish domain. But a resounding explosion shook Fresnae. The portal dissipated, and left behind a swirling whirlpool of darkness, eating away at everything. The sky, the earth, and the Elendils straying too close. The suction drew anything nearby in with astounding speed.

Among the taken were Candace, Raphael and several others, including two Titans. The vortex drew them into the Great Dark Beyond, a realm beyond the darkness of hell, where the Shadow was born.

As for the surviving Elendils and Titans, they forged a portal to another world - Rursus - and escaped into it, before the vortex had a chance to devour them. By the time they fled, more than half of Fresnae was taken.

Rursus was still young when the refugees arrived, and war waged between the Fresnians, caused by those gone mad from a new world. At the end, few were left, of those only Felicia and Sieghart were most active amongst the mortals, guiding them, aiding them.
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Xepher whistled. 'That is some tale. And something corrupted them in the Great Dark?'

Felicia nodded, and sighed. 'Would that I could help her, but I can't. The darkness has taken root for too long, and is become her.'