==== Beforehand ==== * Magog received some unlikely allies in the form of so-called Silo Keepers arriving to help defend the Fallen from their Oneida and Squat enemies * The Oneida regularly patrolled Magog, on the basis that (to them, at least) it was a territory subject to their rule, under “Mistress” Castellana (a Lightbringer of the Adored) * Some Fallen were seen fighting alongside the Joshuans, against Oneida, Confederate, Leox and Keeper alike - and, sometimes, other Fallen * At the same time, other Fallen were seen assisting Boarhead’s Confederacy, supplying weapons and critical information to help guide their assault on the Oneida * Baba Yaga was attacked by Fallen in Dream, and became enraged, sending Her Mordreds to attack Magog in revenge * Meanwhile, in Eva’s Dome over Sanctuary and Lai, the same two Fallen were raiding in Dream, causing Tera Sheba to execute one Evan an hour for over two days until they decided to leave * A delegation of Marians travelled to Sanctuary and Lai, expecting to be welcomed by Eva and Her Tribe, but were instead killed by high-ranking Shamans at their Fatima’s instruction * Dahlia was notable for Her increasingly-erratic behaviour, seeming distracted, hyperactive and almost afraid at times * The truth revealed in the skin of High Judge Illaree Thaim’on became more and more widely-discussed in Tribal communities, thanks to the efforts of the Fallen, prompted a great deal of unrest * Veruka the Wraith woke from her deep sleep, and issued a prophecy through her parched lips: I have seen the end! Another storm, the biggest the world has ever seen! It will wash over all, drown all, destroy all And nothing will remain You must make a choice Stay behind the wall the Nomads built Safe from the hordes beyond Safe from the Beasts and the very worst of their excesses Safe til the water rises and washes you away Or must unmake that which was made Tear down the walls that protect us Heal the world with a wound Let the tide bleed out and end the flood But face what lies beyond One choice will doom us all The other will usher in the Third City But I do not know which is which ==== At the event ==== * Zom attacks became even more frequent, showing the full extent of the damage done to the Great Architecture * Gage, a member of Brutal Deluxe who died helping the Fallen recover Lilith’s Heartstone from the H’l Kar, returned as a spirit, called “Gage the Wanderer, Knight of Stars”, and was singularly focused on opening the Fold which separates the Physical and Spiritual Orbs, claiming that the world would be destroyed otherwise * Lugh the Hammer and Eric the Shield of the Armaments of Lilith had both been cursed by Baba Yaga to wander as ghosts for being the Fallen who attacked Her * Mordreds continued to attack Magog, slaying a Joanite Templar named Toma the Unchained * “Mistress” Castellana behaved increasingly bizarrely, which was revealed to be due to possession by the Sanguis Lord, Prince Fa’Cul * The Leox had become desperate, due to the lack of support they had received from the Fallen in the preceding six months; an attempt to assist them with Synthesis backfired, leaving them even more frustrated and eventually prompting them to ally with the Joshuans over their shared anger at the Fallen. * The White Viper, now free of the Baron’s direct influence but still tainted by close association with a powerful Z’bri, offered the Fallen a chance to strike at Tera Sheba and free Eva * Magdalen met with the Fallen in Dream, and offered them an opportunity to meet with the Z’bri’s new leader, Yn’yn’drss of the Melanis, to broker peace - She did not believe that either the Fallen or the Tribes would survive open warfare with the Beasts * A Jo’han Z’bri named K’laasshar lured Recall and other Fallen into a trap, resulting in them being able to free a serf (and former Cellmate) and slay the Beast, but at the cost of the life of Aster of the Desert Blooms * Joan invited the Fallen to meet with Her, making a very particular request for Her audience - as well as her cadre, She wanted to meet with at least one Fallen of each Outlook, as well as representatives from the Joshuans and Marians. She explained that She could not bear to see four of Her sisters blamed for their complicity in Joshua’s death, when all seven of Them - including Herself and Mary the Forgiver - had been responsible. She asked the Fallen to discuss Her case at a Rant, and said that She would a accept any judgement they placed upon Her. * The following morning, the Fallen presented the Warrior with the decision of their Rant - She was to serve the Fallen and humanity’s interests as penance. She sealed Her oath with Her powers of Devotion, making it a compact She could not break. * A number of the Beasts tried to raise their hand against the Fallen, but were slain in the process, including Hr’ax’xrk of the Melanis, and a large force of Koleris who had captured Fallen children. * The Silo Keepers offered to unleash “the Peacekeeper” (a powerful weapon controlled by an artefact called the Hand of God) against Hattan if the Fallen found a cure for the Rust Plague, but the Fallen did not take up this offer * Calling on powerful Synthesis, a Fatimal artefact and the power of a Little Trickster, three of the Fallen (Orchid of the Desert Blooms, Shiv of the Adored, and Viva of Brutal Deluxe) orchestrated a confrontation with Dahlia Herself. When the three emerged from Dream, Orchid claimed to have killed the Trickster and taken Her power for herself, becoming a new being with Eminence over Freedom and Motion...and control of Dahlia’s Tribe. * Boarhead seemed finally to have lost his temper with the Fallen, and he sent his Tusks against the people of Magog, using powerful weapons they’d traded with Keepers to acquire. The Fallen slew most of the attacking force, but two runners escaped to carry news back to their leader. * An Evan former Shaman (now a recently-Fallen Herite) arrived in Magog, having escaped Sanctuary with a large number of young Agnite and Evan children, including many infants. He solicited the help of the Fallen in trying to get Den Mother to incite his tribe to rise up against the Shebans, but they were not willing to pay the cost required - the lives of Eric and Lugh. The Joshuans, led by their representative Kestrel, agreed to take the children in to offer them shelter and protection. * Another of the Mistresses of Hattan, by the name of Myra the Tide, arrived to challenge Castellana’s claim to Magog, but was slain by the Fallen * One of the last remaining members of the Chain, a Lightbringer named Gabereal, gave himself willingly to the Rakh Flemis to recapture his lost sense of belonging. He tried to attack his former Cellmates while possessed by a Rakh Lord, and was slain. * Sheban Judge Shera Dan’on arrived to recapture the children who had escaped from Sanctuary. As she was backed up by a number of Rakh Flemis, she and her allies were killed without question. * Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by White Viper, and with the aid of Joan in the Physical Orb (whom the Fallen supported with mighty acts of Synthesis), the Fallen mounted an assault on Tera Sheba. At its climax, Mallus and Nisi of The Advocates, and Eric the Shield, took Her power from Her and claimed it for themselves; they collectively became a being similar to Orchid, but with Eminence over Freedom and Truth, and responsibility for the Judge’s former Tribe * However, at the same moment, summoned forth by Fallen ritual, the entire Skkr Flemis Hive attacked Sanctuary, seeking to devour Tera Sheba. Unable to get even slightly close to Joan as She grieved over her fallen Sister, the Skkr instead absorbed every Evan and Tera Sheban on the islands, and the spiritual and physical essence of the Mother Herself. The Fallen watched Her death-throes, before it became clear that She was not truly dead, but rather corrupted and subsumed by the Flemis. * The Fallen mounted yet another assault on a Fatima, using a weapon created by Viva of Brutal Deluxe to kill death Herself - Baba Yaga. They were successful, but unable to consume Her essence as they had with two of Her sisters. * Having decided to take Magdalen up on Her offer to broker a negotiation between the Fallen and Yn’yn’drss, the people of Magog met with the new lord of the H’l Kar. They wanted something unprecedented - to work together with him to unleash the power in Joshua’s and Lilith’s Heartstones and slice open the Fold. Taking “Mistress” Castellana as his price for cooperation, Yn’yn’drss agreed to come to Magog with Joshua’s Heartstone and perform his role in the ritual. * And so, working together, Ravyale of the Smiling Hands and several other Fallen Dreamers wove Synthesis in with Yn’yn’drss’ dark Sundering, while the rest of the Fallen worked hard to ensure everyone could resist the vile Atmospheres created by the Melanis and Koleris Z’bri. * As the blood of serfs was spilt onto the ground, the Fallen called on those of them who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of humanity. Together, the people of Magog and the Melanis of the H’l Kar released the power contained in the Heartstones of the Ravager and the Liberator. * In a blinding flash of light, the assembled Fallen were knocked down as if by a huge irresistable force; when their senses cleared, the Z’bri and their surviving serfs were all gone. ==== The Aftermath ==== * The Leox report that they saw Joshua and Lilith Themselves, tall as the highest trees, ascending into the heavens holding a spear of bright light, before exploding into the stars above * All the Fallen who Dream in the following weeks see the exact same thing the Leox describe * The Oneida fall back in disarray: it is unclear whether this is due to being terrified by this huge show of power, or due to some internal issues with their leaders * Boarhead’s Confederacy stops its advance and starts to fall back, although it is clear that his rage has yet to be satisfied * The Tribes are significantly changed; the few remaining Evans, and the entirety of the Yagans, are badly damaged by the deaths of their respective Fatimas. They look to the example of the Joshuans and Marians for how to move forward, but find it incredibly difficult to walk such a hard path. The Joanites are secure in the knowledge that they will never have to face Falling as a punishment thanks to their Fatima’s compact, and work to defend Magog and its people. The former Shebans, although very much fewer in number than before, start to adapt to life under their new Fatima and their formal role as Advocates of Truth and Freedom. Similarly, the Trickster’s former Tribe - now calling themselves Orchidites - put aside their illusions, and instead embrace Freedom and Motion. Agnes’ and Magdalen’s Tribes continue much as they had before, although the young Adventurer is very wary of Her Aunts, since their deception was revealed. And finally, the Joshuans themselves receive a new lease of life, empowered by the release of their Fatima’s Heartstone. * The huge roiling mass of Skkr Flemis on Sanctuary and Lai which contained an entire Hive, plus the overwhelming majority of Evans and Shebans - and the Mother-Fatima Herself - simply vanished, leaving no trace behind of the horror it had wrought in its time * There was no trace of any of the other Z’bri, whether physically or spiritually, and many of their serfs seemed to have left with them. However, some remained, especially those with strong ties to the Dreamers. * There were attempts by some of the more malevolent Z’bri to return to the Physical Orb to take the flesh of their former herds for their own once more; they were surprised to find the full potency of the Dreamers of Vimary and Magog arrayed against them, and their attempts were unsuccessful. * The Keepers report that their strange power of Technosmithing is even more potent than before; many Dreamers are suspicious about this, given the role allegedly played by material things in the fall of the World Before, but it is clear that whatever the Keepers are doing is as much of the River as Synthesis is. * Even the Squats - especially the Leox, with their Joshuan allies - start to show signs of waking up to Dream * Those who Dream see the Sea of the Lost starting to drain away into the Spiritual Orb, as it should; there are squalls in the River, and consequently in Magog, but nothing on the scale of the great storm six months ago. Zom sightings become rarer and rarer. * As for the Fallen, they are secure in the knowledge that they have fulfilled the Prophecy of Joshua, and claimed their place as the Eighth Tribe, the Risen, the Nation of the Fall. Magog itself becomes the Third City, a bridge across the River of Dream, a place both Physical and Spiritual.