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Session Twelve

Descending Earth 25-26, 768

The Circle waits anxiously for sunset. At last, the sun goes down and the undead forces attack. Blasts of Essence light up the field illuminated by giant Essence lanterns, and catapults and ballistae wreak havoc among both armies, but every dead soldier is another three warriors for the Mask. The Solars wait no longer.

As they ride toward the Thorns forces, Grace launches the Death of Obsidian Butterflies, opening a path into the army. She and Sanura split off from the main force, which is lead Anaba, but some force repels Lapis and Lumo and it is all they can do to allow their horses to continue riding forward as part of Anaba's unit. The leader of the defending unit is a horribly scarred and mutilated girl, no more than 15 by her appearance, with metal plates bolted into her skin. Sanura recognizes the woman - the nemissary - and the nemissary recognizes her. All three forces smash into the larger group lead by the undead, attempting to maim and knock unconscious rather than kill.

The battle goes well for the Solars, though far too many die and they have only moments before the bodies rise again, as zombie and ghost and hungry ghost all three. They see that the Marukani flanking attacks are also having trouble with their dead rising up, but Juggernaut seems to be faltering under the combined fire of several Essence weapons. Sanura and Lumo turn their attacks on the nemissary directly, wounding her badly. The Solars reach the Tower of the Abyss as the nemissary signals a retreat. Sanura turns her anima against the thaumaturgical ward protecting the Tower, and at last Lumo and Lapis are free to act as they will. Saruna uses her anima against the Tower, Lapis hurls his daiklave, Lumo fires a bolt of pure Solar essence and Grace channels essence through the soulsteel snake artifact (which ages the steel massively). The Tower collapses, and the contained Essence within explodes, sending an Essence shockwave and shrapnel everywhere. The women of the Circle defend themselves, but Lapis and Lumo are wounded.

The Tower seems to signal the end of the Mask's attack - not only is the unit lead by the nemissary retreating, but Juggernaut is turning away as well, and soon the Thorns army seems to be in a rout. Lapis is seized by a sudden shift in attitude, and he shouts that all around should follow him in wiping out the cowardly retreating army. Sanura agrees, and Grace and Lumo reluctantly follow along with a number of Marukani horsemen from the city. Only Anaba does not join in as they begin to harrass the fleeing foe.

They are so busy chasing the foe that they do not realize until they have already entered the shadowland that there is a shadowland for them to enter, though they sense the change in the air as they enter the Underworld and see the strange stars overhead. Since it is night, of course, they cannot then escape the Underworld, though they turn around right away. Instead, they are forced to wait for dawn. Anaba, having returned to Celeren, is approached by Lumo's subordinates about their missing commander. She recruits them, a group of Marukani volunteer soldiers and Sanura's wolf Beodan to find the others. Beodan easily tracks the group to the edge of the shadowland, but refuses to enter. Anaba sees the change in vegetation and feels the chill in the air. She warns the others not to cross into the shadowland and they make camp to wait for dawn.

Inside the shadowland, the Solars remain close enough to witness strange events around the army of the Mask, which no longer appears to be retreating at all. Instead, they camp, and a group of figures can be seens walking around the camp. One cuts his palm, reminding Sanura of the Pyre of Ages, and two others - a woman with a massive curved sword and a masked and robed man with a gigantic warhammer - seem familiar as well. The group passes out of sight, but shortly thereafter, the land around the camp collapses downward more than 40 feet, revealing cave entrances along the inside of the sinkhole. The new perspective reveals a much larger camp than they expected, but almost immediately the army proceeds into the caves, including expanding one large enough to fit Juggernaut into. By shortly before dawn, the entire army has disappeared into these caverns.

The following morning, the group leaves the shadowland to meet up with Anaba on its outskirts. All return to the city for healing and recovery. Miniko closes Lumo and Lapis' wounds, and Shizaru debriefs them on the night in the shadowland. He asks them to scout out what is happening there as soon as they are recovered, and tells them public opinion awards Lespa the victory. Anaba, Sanura and Lapis take to the streets to correct this impression, which they do some extent. Shizaru assigns two Dragon-Blooded, both with communication Charms, to the group to maintain contact with him as needed. These two turn out to be Karal Callix and Karal Polla, fraternal twins and Anaba's adopted siblings.

(15 xp)

Hapushet/FallingShadowsSessionThirteen