Part 3 â€" The Final Moments

When the end manifested itself, its prophetic virtue altered Fate itself…

=-*-=

Frost chilled the iron bars and covered them with a thin layer of cold.
Thoughts of summer orchards and autumn harvests entered Jahidd’s mind, yet
none of them brought solace. The weeks had passed since Lilian had acknowledged
him in that narrow hallway. From within his containment Jahidd caught snippets
of the outside world, a Basin which had plunged into a major war. Even the
villages had joined the brutality, a final conflict that would determine which
lifestyle would prevail â€" the Light or the Taint.

The emergence of a major power to dominate the Basin posed a troubling
question: What would happen to those who opposed? Would they be exterminated
like insignificant insects? Or would the battle itself rage until one faction
was entirely wiped out? Either way the future looked bleak, and Jahidd wasn’t
sure if he wanted to be a part of it…

=-*-=

Tears watered the parched stones of the cell floor. Lilian had grown quite
frail during her imprisonment and, due to her meager rations; it was a miracle
that she had enough fluids to weep. Numerous faded scales littered the jagged
ground. Where was the humanity in this place? For a while Lilian had held a
false hope that everything would be alright. But that was before.

Audible shouting sounded and her ears perked up. Steel clashed on steel and the
sizzles of cosmic energy erupted just outside her cell. A shriek of pain erupted
from the other end of the hallway and there was a thud as a limp body fell
lifelessly to the hard stone. Lilian’s heart raced with anticipation. A sword
was sheathed and a tall merian man came into view. With a few muttered
incantations, the lock on the gate came free and the door swung open. The
merian held out a scratched hand, which Lilian took earnestly. Freedom.
Glorious freedom…

=-*-=

The city was drenched with elemental power. Celest had come to reclaim the
multitudes of citizens who had been taken without due course from their
venerable walls. Throughout the entire city, Magnagorans were being pushed back
with the torrential waves of the Aquamancers and the blinding light of
Celestia’s angels. Where were the great warriors of the Engine when their
city was threatened and could be mere ruins in the coming hours? Victory seemed
within reach for Celest and the war appeared all but over.

Another gate was being opened, but not in Magnagora. Demons from Nil hissed
with delight as their masters weaved a complicated entrance to Celestia. A
counterattack aimed at crippling the entire religious beliefs of the
fish-folk…

=-*-=

They hurried along the desolate passageways, making haste in setting the
prisoners free. Lilian glanced fervently about, trying to catch a glimpse of
her lover’s eye. But it was no use - Jahidd was nowhere to be found, and she
feared that perhaps the interrogations had gotten to him. A small band of
Celest’s finest had joined them in their search for loyal citizens. Some
choked back tears as the gates were opened; half of the prisoners were dead.
Lilian wrenched on one set of iron bars and ran inside to the unmoving form of
a black loboshigaru. The figure groaned when Lilian touched him and then opened
his eyes. It could not be. Tears flowed from Lilian’s eyes once more as she
embraced Jahidd for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. Jahidd was
given fresh bread and a warm bowl of soup as they rushed to finish what they
had started.

Suddenly, the Celestines with them held their heads in exasperation. The
Supernals were being attacked! Off in the distance they heard the sound of a
conch shell calling Celest to defend their city. Once an unbreakable contingent
of warriors, Celest was now in disarray. By the time they could reach Celestia,
it might be too late…

=-*-=

Elohora held out her hands in front of her, trying to stop the inevitable
blasphemy. The Warlord chuckled. These angelic beings knew nothing of the
glories that the Engine could bestow upon them. It just so happened that in
this case glory came in death. On his signal the Magnagorans swarmed the final
Supernal who succumbed to their might. Spitting on the ground in disgust, the
Warlord motioned for them to continue on to the Pool of Stars.

But what they would find there would be disastrous…

=-*-=

The prisoners were led over the highways until there arrived at the murky
waters of the Balach Swamp. Lilian was confused. Why weren’t they running to
save the Supernals? Why stop here? Jahidd didn’t realize what was happening
until it was too late. Their appendages were bound. Their eyes were
blindfolded. Their lives were ending. Celest couldn’t take any chances as to
who was infected with the Tainted essence. So instead of letting the prisoners
become a liability, they would have to be dealt with in an extreme manner.

Lilian and Jahidd held each other’s hands. Their joy had been short-lived
when it should have lasted many years to come. It was cruel and heartless, but
it was a necessary evil. They knelt down and waited. Sadly, the merian man
brought down his greataxe. Seagulls flocked to the site and a black cloud of
crows could be seen heading towards the area. Sounds of mourning rose eerily
from nearby Spectre Isle. A sad day indeed…

=-*-=

One by one the Magnagorans emerged from the waters of the Pool and one by one
they were massacred. As a druid cuts down the unneeded trees in the forest
glades and they fall with a hollow echo, so did the Magnagorans perish at the
hands of the members of Serenwilde. They had come to protect Celest, their ally
in this Great War.

But the Fates frowned on the Serenwilders. For at the same time, chaos had been
unleashed upon their Forest. Glomdoring was launching an offensive against the
lovers of Sister Moon and Brother Stag, holding high the standard of Brother
Crow and wearing the cloaks of Mother Night. Those tuned to the threads were
plagued with constant death. Nobody was safe anymore. Untold perils and
devastating horrors roamed of their own will. Destruction, the illegitimate son
of the Fates, did as he pleased. Governments were overthrown with anarchy. And
thus did the Basin descend into an era where everybody fended for themselves.
It was survival of the fittest, and there simply was no room for the weak.

End.