Report on Ardrak's fall. Based on true events, from the point-of-view of a
furious Celestine, thusly biased. Date, 24-25th Dioni. Written from Soll's
point of view.

---
The air was warm around the Pool of Stars on the evening of the 24th of
Dioni, and light conversation chattered in the air, mingled with an
overwhelming sense of nerves and apprehension. Among those present were
Shaeden, Mitch, Sipelus and myself. Bright stars flickered overhead and cast a
light glow over the city of New Celest. We bathed in it, a slight serene sense
flowing through us.

"Thoros is in." boomed Mitch's voice in my head. I straightened. The
serenity dissipated.

I nodded an affirmation in his direction, and beckoned to those around me.
Shaeden, Mitch and Sipelus filed into line behind me. We walked quickly south of
the Pool of Stars as Thoros' voice rang through my head, commanding me to
teleport to him.

Reaching through the aethers I grasped upon his familiar threads and began
stretching my own out to reach his. The voices of the others had fallen silent
now, I heard only the deep rhythmic pulses of the city of New Celest raging
through me, syncronised with my own pulse. I felt approval for the task ahead.
Having sufficiently stretched Thoros' threads out, I carefully attached my own
and my vision blurred, a furious torment of ever-bright hues as I was whipped
and catapulted through the ether. Moments passed and I stood within Magnagora,
before Thoros and to my horror, the form I recognised as Archmage Telrath of
the Geomancers.

A loud thrumming pulsed in the background, reverberating throughout
Magnagora, fighting against our intrusion. Alarms rang in my head announcing a
difficult escape from the distortion field. Almost simultaneously we evoked
pentagrams around our forms in protection. Attempting to focus the Supernal's
power at Telrath, I floundered, noticing his aethers had moved and left my
reach. We stood alone, a group of Celestians within the oppressive Portal room
of Magnagora. The exit out was obstructed by a gargantuan wall of ice; we were
truly segregated. Seconds passed in silence as each of us analysed our
situation. The Tainted air of the city befouled our noses.

I stumbled suddenly as the very ground beneath me rocked and trembled,
sharp bits of stone slicing wounds in my legs. Suddenly, a whole barrage of
sharp shards of rock exploded around us and sliced at our protective
pentagrams. I grinned mischeviously; we stood against our enemies, within their
own grounds, and their attacks fell short.

Jaskata rushed in unawares, pointing her staff directly at Thoros and
discharing a torrent of poisonous fumes which made him gag. Gathering our
courage, we returned fire after whispering short declarations to Avechna with
pulses of aquatic magic and beams of Elohora's Light.

"Meld." I commanded to Mitch, who knelt down in response and flooded the
area with purifying waters. Chanted words flew from many mouths, draining
mental strength for Jaskata's mind as her skin paled in response. Still her
onslaught rushed, and our beloved angel's aided us with bolts of topaz light
and cobalt blue discs of crackling energy. Rippling rushes of cosmic fire and
Astrological rays and aquatic floods bombarded her, yet she stood strong
against our power. Weakening, her knees kinked slightly and her resolve
dropped. She fled.

"Let's move on." I spoke, pointing outwards.

As one being we all stepped out of the Portal room, and looked around
triumphantly as we strode into the Antechamber in the Necropolis, a slight
feeling that we could do whatever we wanted rising in us.

Squinting around, I saw three forms and declared the order to attack as
Telrath, Draston, and finally Reyn as they shuffled in. Our Archangels engulfed
them in Celestial powers as we threw our collective might upon Telrath's piteous
form. Thick webbing sprayed outwards and covered him as we flooded him with raw
cosmic fire, pure elemental energy and scintillating beams of light which
burned away at his Tainted, putrescent flesh. Hailstones battered his weak
body, and whispers from Thoros caused him to pale and blink in confusion.

A great uproar commenced, with tarot cards thrown powerfully by both
sides, Angel and Demon pitted against each other in holy battle. Suddenly, a
beautiful prismatic light flowered in the room and caught our eyes. We stopped
and stared, suddenly ignorant of our attack upon Magnagora. Painful blow after
blow skittered across our bodies unaware, entranced and transfixed by the
beauty of a perfect gemstone.

Snapping back, we growled and wrestled ourselves free from the false
beauty and attacked with renewed vigor at our cruel enemies. Shaeden gathered
up his entire might and thrust a coruscating fountain of cosmic fire at
Telrath, engulfing him and causing his mortal body to writhe in agony. He
collapsed and was consumed in its raw power.

Mitch continued calling forth an onslaught of frigid hailstones to batter
our enemy's bodies, and Reyn fell victim to the continued power, collapsing in
freezing misery, leaving only Grench and Draston to stand against our furious
long-opressed rage. Mere seconds passed before we slew them in justice. We ran
through as one, bursting through the pitiful defences that Magnagora threw at
us and arrived quite quickly before the foul Megalith of Doom, and our main
target: Ardrak, Keeper of the Megalith.

"Attack!" I bellowed, and we stood firm before him with slight smirks
playing across our lips as we summoned torrential floods of magic against him.
He collapsed, barely withstanding seconds of our might. As the energy of the
Megalith of Doom pulsed through his dying veins, he spoke a weak, remoseful
sentence and collapsed. I scooped up his limp body, the Taint in his eyes
weakening and dissipating.

We retreated to the Portal room with hurried steps, hearing, not far
behind, the furious screams of multiple Magnagorans. Looking around I tried to
grasp at the aethers of a familiar manse and faltered suddenly. Frenzied, I
cast about the aethers of any manse and panicked as I lacked the ability to
enter any. We turned around, gulping in unison as the icewall offering solitude
in the room was ignited from the other side. We stood face-to-face with a
furious, bloodlusting gang of Magnagorans seething for revenge.

Thoros quickly threw a tarot card at the floor, and the image of the
Catacombs of the Dead rose before me. I touched for Delport. My head swam and a
deep humming filled my ears, thwarting my method of escape. Panicking, I threw
up a shield and cast out my aethers unto the Pool of Stars, cautiously
attaching mine to the powerful strands of Light. All around me a furious war
was occuring. Magnagora threw their might against us all, but the group stood
strong and none faltered. The attacks were continuously cast off and I was
sheltered by my comrades as I attempted to bring us home.

"Retreat! Get OUT!" I bellowed, after my attachment to the Pool of Stars
was destroyed by a loud humming, screaming through my body. Everyone around me
disappeared from view, scattered to nothingness. I stood alone within a group
of Magnagorans. I saw myself reflected in their eyes, and images of my battered
body lying defiled upon this filty floor coursed through me. Sharp silver swords
cut my body all over, and pulses of nihilistic energy rotted my flesh. Reaching
out to the holy plane of Celestia I called upon the Light, barely summoning the
power and mental strength to give myself wholly unto the Light. A divine
presence filled my entire being and I floated gloriously above the ground,
turning in utter ecstacy as the Supernal's strength filled me. I stood one
more, a paragon of the Light, immune to the weak attacks of the Tainted scum.

A loud thrumming vibration caused my prismatic shield to waver and fall.
Sipelus' voice rang in my head. I closed my eyes and grabbed his hand as a
heavy blow landed on my back. Moments passed in fearful silence.

Uproarious cheering exploded around me. Opening my eyes I found myself
back at the Pool of Stars, surrounded by everyone I knew and all were
celebrating and shouting praise to the group who raided Magnagora and returned
as heroes, claiming not only the lives of many of their foul scum but Ardrak,
the Keeper of the Megalith of Doom. A party ensued, as we offered the body of
Ardrak up to the great Even-Bladed Goddess.