Timeblock C Fluff

Setup for Scenario 1C:

The forces under Cathius’s command have begun the final push. The Shining Lord sits clutching the shard of the Fenulian Miirror tightly to his chest, as if terrified that something would take it from him. As they approach once more the edge of the Abyss where their proud city still stands, albeit a far more decrepit in nature, Cathius dispatches his foreward scouts to secure the advance through which the forces of Good will storm in order to attain the Obelisk. Cathius struggles to not show the desperation he feels as the small advance forces ride out from the gates of the city. He struggles even more to quiet the growing whispers in his mind that call out to him of his impending doom at the hands of his twin.

Across the divide and at the base of the Obelisk, Urz’Rael plots his revenge for the ignominious defeat he received from his twin on the Ardovikian plain. Taking more of the same cursed stone with which he made up his Obelisk, he begins to construct small pillars of lodestones to further channel the dark energies of the Abyss. With each stone he places, his fury grows deeper. Soon the depths of the Abyss once more ring out and the drums in the dark places of the yawning chasm begin to summon forth new and more terrible nightmares that crawl out from the depths to join Urz’Rael’s host, lending it their power.
 

The beginning skirmishes of this final push for the Obelisk have begun. But the Abyssal Lord vows under his breath as he channels the fel energies focused by his ritual stones that this will be where his twin will fall, and that the prize he won on the Ardovikian Plains will not remain his much longer, nor would it grant him victory..
 

Setup for Scenario 2C:
As the opening skirmishes come to a close and the dust settles, Urz’Rael still stands in the midst of his summoning stones, channelling his energy into the Obelisk in hopes of causing it to fulfil its purpose and open the yawning Abyss further. He calls out to his commanders, urging them forward to lend their strength to his. They file forward, some more willing than others, and feel the dark tendrils of power wrap themselves around their quaking frames.

 

Then the screaming begins.
 

Some of the commanders weep openly at the pain of having their very life essence drained from them, others are more stoic and sustain the agony of their sacrifice in silent suffering, but all are willing to sacrifice to finalize the reality of the Obelisk’s completion.
 

It is upon this nightmarish scene that Cathius and his troops arrive. Sensing what is happening, for he has already seen it in the visions given him by the shard he bears, Cathius calls upon his own commanders and imbues them with his own powers, sending them forth to duel those avatars of his fallen twin, in the hopes of disrupting the foul ceremony taking place before them.
 

The armies of these commanders rush to lend their aid to their respective generals by capturing the piles of lodestones that surround the dueling avatars as they fight for control of the unholy ceremony being enacted by their respective deities. Every lodestone claimed by their army gains their side an edge in the ongoing fight.
 

Each of the commanders dance with their darker counterparts in a bizarre parody of the struggle between their Abyssal and Shining masters. Their own abilities heightened by the presence of the dark ritual taking place in their midst. One false move can spell disaster and will turn the ritual against them and give the edge to their enemy.
 

Setup for Scenario 3C:
Cathius cries out in triumph as he throws his twin to the ground and stares ahead at the towering form of the Obelisk. The incessant whispers in his head clamour ever louder for his attention but by now he has learned to ignore them. Instead he begins moving towards the Obelisk and the blessed promise of release that it offers.

The divine strings have been cut from the commanders and they begin to amass their armies for a final battle for the fate of the Obelisk. The forces of Evil are now desperate to stop the advance of Cathius and his warriors of Light, and they will stop at nothing to halt his progress. The forces of Good have proven stalwart and implacable to this point, but they are beginning to falter under the superior numbers that are pouring forth from the Abyss, drawn by the infernal energies being absorbed by the Obelisk.
 

Cathius has seen what must happen. If he can imbue the Obelisk with the shard, perhaps he can modify the moral alignment of the Obelisk and cause it to reverse its effect on the terrible depths that even now stretches wide its mouth to allow more demonic entities to spew forth onto the upper realms and hurl themselves at the shining ranks of his soldiers. There is no other hope for them at this point. They are too deeply embroiled in the enemy lines to retreat now. There is only victory, or death, and even if they win the day there would be no guarantee that their lives would be spared, but they may well yet deal a fatal blow to the Abyss’s unending advance.
 

Cathius knows the knife edge upon which he and his troops march, yet he presses on, unable to halt in the face of his enemy, for if they fail not only will the shard drive him insane but the Abyss itself may never cease in its expansion, swallowing more than just the Brotherhood fortresses that have already been lost to its depths.
 

And so, they continue their march forward.
 

As the armies move to reach their respective master’s side, the shard erupts in a flood of light, causing everyone to stagger back and away from its source. The light continues to pulsate and then extends outwards to touch the piles of lodestones used in the ritual. When the light touches upon these piles of cursed stone they begin to glow with an infernal light having been imbued with an unnatural power. The warriors closest to each of these stones reaches out and to touch the stones cautiously, feeling the energies coursing through them.
 

Both Cathius and Urz’Rael recognize what has happened: the ritual has been successful and whoever can claim more of these stones will be able to influence the divine nature of the Obelisk, swaying to their alignment. Leaping to their feet they call out commands and order their battle lines to try and stake their claim on the Obelisk.
 

Setup for Scenario 4:
Urz’Rael steps forward to touch the dark silhouette of the Obelisk, placing his hand against the cold stone he gazes upward at its reach into the heavens above. Behind him, his warriors are dispatching the last of the forces of Light who have dared to stand between him and his goal. Taking a deep breath, the Abyssal Lord begins to draw on the claimed lodestones in order to influence the last of the Obelisks resistance to opening wide the Abyss and calling forth its denizens to flood the world with darkness.
 

“URZ’RAEL! STOP!” A voice rings out and a blinding pain shoots through Urz’Rael’s senses as something collides with his side, throwing him through the air to land in the dirt. Twisting under the weight of his assailant, Urz’Rael clamps his hand around Cathius’s throat. He stands slowly, lifting his twin with him as he goes.
 

“You cannot have this world!” Cathius manages to gasp as Urz’Rael squeezes harder on his windpipe.
 

“I have already claimed this world as my own! I told you that the day we were born into this world! It and everything in it are min!. The warriors of this world have already spoken! I am their chosen one! Why will you not listen and know your place!?” The dark deity casts his twin to the ground and pulls a long blade from his belt. He lifts it high over his head in preparation to strike.
 

“NO!” Cathius stretches forth his hand and a sudden gust of wind throws Urz’Rael back. In this moment of hesitation, Cathius seizes his opportunity and takes to the sky.
 

Realizing that this may be their last chance to save the Obelisk before Urz’Rael can influence it for Evil, the forces of Good charge forward to meet the spears and blades of the warriors of Shadow. The sounds of battle once again reach the high heavens as the work of bloodshed is renewed one final time. There is no restraint on either side, no quarter given. A battle as massive as this has never been recorded in the history of Mantica. Thousands die with each breath as swords cut flesh and hammers crack skulls.
 

In the midst of all this chaos the Shining and Infernal lights of Cathius and Urz’Rael can be seen dancing through the ranks, their blows sounding like thunder as they crash off each other’s armor, or deflect of the others skillful guard. They move too fast for the mortal eye to follow, trading blows at the speed of thought, each one able to read their other half like an open book and so they continue in a seemingly endless exchange. Just when it seems that one is about to fall to the other the balance shifts and just as quickly the opposite holds the upper hand.
 

There is no beauty to be seen here. This is no dance, this is war. Brutal, unending, and violent. Acts of depravity are committed on both sides, some for pleasure and others for survival. Innocence has no place in this battle, and as each soldier falls the battle inches closer to its decision.
 

The bards and poets will try to paint this day with poetic verse and theatrical hyperbole, but they will fail, for nothing could exaggerate the violence committed in these hours. The historians will try to dissolve its essence down into a game of numbers, a battle of attrition, but that will fail to capture the horror. Those who outlive this day will be haunted by the wanton bloodshed and fear for their survival the rest of their days. Only the empty husks of the undead might be spared this terrifying reality, for even the great demons of the Abyss who revel in this unending bloodshed fear for their safety as there is no one that is invulnerable on this battlefield, for even Gods will fall in this terrible confrontation.
 

In the contest between Cathius and Urz’Rael, only one can remain to command the essence of the Obelisk. The other must be cast down and torn asunder.

The Final Act:

The two halves of divinity spun through the air, clinging to one another in a grip that not even death could loose, neither one able to gain the upper hand. Each blow is expertly parried, each thrust skillfully deflected to the side. Cathius feints to the right, but Urz’Rael is ready for him and counters with his own overhead blow, bringing it down to crash against his twin’s outstretched blade, batting it to the side.

The fight continues to wage on and on, without any clear victor. The shard touched memories that Cathius had experienced refused to avail him of anything, as his twin could read his every move. Until in a last desperate gamble, the Shining Lord flies straight up, causing the clouds overhead to part as he shoots through them, causing the sun to streak down and illuminate the grungy shadow in which the fighting had taken place. Cathius flew directly into the sun.

Wreathed in the piercing light of day, Cathius stares down at the infinitesimally small target of his twin standing several leagues below him. Urz’Rael struggles to stare into the bright light, but his eyes refuse to obey him, involuntarily closing as the beams of light beat down on him after such an extended darkness as had plagued this desperate struggle. Cathius takes aim with his blade, aiming directly for his fallen brother’s heart he stops beating his wings. The air is still around him for a moment as he seems to float in the sunlit air. Then he begins his plummet. Falling through the cold air he hurtles toward earth, which zooms up to meet him.

Too late Urz’Rael sees the winged figure. He raises his own weapon to defend against the blow, but he knows he cannot move fast enough. With the force of a falling avalanche Cathius crashes into his twin, his blade piercing the shrivelled heart of his Abyssal half. Urz’Rael grunts as he falls to the ground, Cathius’s momentum carrying them down.

The world holds its breath. After an eternity Cathius pushes himself to his feet. He looks down at his twin’s fallen form, which has already begun to dissolve into a leaden lump of Godstone material.

“I’m sorry.” Cathius whispers, reaching a hand down to touch the lump of raw material that once was his other half. Light flashes and the Godstone seems to melt like gold in a smelter, pooling on the ground and running up Cathius’s arm to encase him in what seems like liquid amber. The Shining Lord breaths deep as the strange liquid seeps into his skin, causing his veins to sing as if they were on fire. In an exhilarating rush of emotion, Cathius experiences all of Urz’Rael’s memories, all his visions, all of his desires and all of his ambition. He breathes deep and opens his eyes.

The forces of Darkness see that their master is fallen and bit by bit their lines collapse. Those generals that try to restore order among the broken ranks of Evil are either quickly cut down by their enemy or realize the folly of trying to restrain their troops from fleeing and eventually join in their expeditious retreat. The warriors of Light give chase for a reasonable distance, but they are too weary to pursue them for any great length of time and many of them collapse before they have even cleared the field of battle.

Cathius stares up at the Obelisk that still stands over the now abandoned killing fields. Trampled carcasses and fresh bodies are scattered so thickly that it is impossible to see actual earth anymore for miles around the cursed stone.

Exhausted Cathius makes his way up to the base of the Obelisk. It has been a hard fought campaign to win this prize, and now the Obelisk will be made into a beacon of hope for all those who strive against the darkness. The Shining one places his hand against the stone and summons the latent energy reserves around him, willing them into the Obelisk, changing it, bending it to his will.

Only time would tell if it will be enough.