"Red Alert! Red Alert!" the alarms aboard the Starhopper cried out, ruby
gemstone buttons flashing brightly, sending the ship's already concerned
captain, Girda Starhopper, into a terrible worry. Already people had
begun to gather upon the Starhopper, having just fought off a massive
invasion of six gigantic toys - each, when slain, breaking apart into at
least a hundred smaller ones. And so the Basin of Life learned of the
attack upon the Facility by the army of toys. The combined forces of the
cities and communes swiftly descended upon the gnome outpost, stunned by
what awaited them - it was not the toys they had become accustomed to,
but figurines of mortal-like races. Worse, some of them looked nearly
identical to some of their compatriots, shocking them even more so as
they fought their way through the hordes to reach Newt Blasterson, high
above in his office, locked away safely.

Worried that the invasion would only continue, Newt directed them to an
aetherbubble where a gnome village had long ago been founded, where
craftsmen had, over generations, perfected their various trades. It was
believed there that the Toymaker might be hiding, as contact with the
colony had been severed somewhat recently. Lawliet, Dynami and Ajern,
all of New Celest, were the first to set foot upon the aetherbubble and
discover the delerious and fever-stricken Geleto, known to many as the
Toymaker. It soon became clear to any who spoke to him that the Toymaker
was not behind the continued, or even the initial, invasion of the toys
- indeed it was his marvelous wonders which were being used, however it
was in truth his late wife, Amana, who was the mastermind of the plot.
Having been stricken down by Ilyarin upon the Aetherbubble of
Mucklemarsh more than a year prior, it was a surprise to many to hear
she lived - and more of a surprise to those who sought her ought within
the heavily guarded Shadowbox Castle.

Having realized that the Master Artisan of Bottledowns Village had gone
into hiding, Xenthos An'Ryshe and his crew aboard the Aethership Widow's
Web, consisting of Chade Ysav'rai and his wife the Dark Regent Talan
Ysav'rai, the Blacktalon's own Talons of Crow, Krellan, the Ascendant of
Death Shuyin, the two Ascendants of the Glomdoring Sidd and Nyir, among
other members of the Merciless Forest, set out to align themselves with
the Bottoms Up Revolution which fought against the invasive Figurines,
who had developed a sudden and strange hatred for the gnomes (though the
Maker himself was a gnome, it appeared he was immune to such
prosecutions). That done, with the assistance of the villagers, Xenthos'
crew managed to create an incendiary device that, when delivered to Newt
Blasterson, managed to blast the invading figurines with a toxic gas,
causing them to retreat to the Aetherbubble of Bottledowns once more.

The Facility saved and the invading forces of the toys pushed back to
the Aetherbubble of Bottledowns, the village of gnome artisans settled
in to celebrate their victory at the local tavern, Perry's Drunk Drinks.
Yet many of the gnomes kept their eyes on the windows, for many
suspected it would only be a matter of time before the torches and
signal beacons of Shadowbox Castle were once again lit with the fires of
war.

Penned by My hand on the 24th of Urlachmar, in the year 242 CE.