Comments:
Zappo once again finds himself lying on the ground, completely disorientated, having no clue where he is. "Sheesh, how many times can this happen to me in one week," he grumbles, as he attempts to get up. Zappo suddenly stops, not recognizing he voice that came out of his own body. He looks for the first time at his surroundings, noticing many charred corpses scattered about, and obvious signs of a great struggle. Examining himself, he realizes he doesn't even recognize his own body, but odd y, he is dressed in the same garb as the people around him. "I wonder where that strange companion of mine dissapeared to?," he thinks, looking around the cave again. All of the sudden a large man approaches Zappo, easily twice the size of his ne body, "Eh, there you are Chuck, we thought we lost you. Well, you had better stop mulling about, Lord Philo is ready to move out again, and you don't want him upset at you again! I don't even want to think about that...," the man says, slapping appo on his back, almost sending him sprawling to the ground. "If I only had my old body...," Zappo muses, quickly following the man out of the cave.

01/27/98 07:39:33

Name: Lord Philo

Comments:
Lord Philo, upon hearing the struggle cease, hoists himself and stumbles toward the cave. "Mages, see to my dragon. She sounds injured. One of you, come with me. This should be the last piece..." One of Philo's mages, Hechambo, takes his a m and leads him into the cave. A faint shimmering light can be seen at the back of the cave, and even Philo in his blinded state can sense it. A source of great power, one that does not belong on this world... Philo removes his arm from the mage's gras and lunges forward, his sensations and excitement reeling like nothing he had ever felt before. Philo reaches out for the blade, the largest and most powerful fragment of Deristative Repower. Suddenly, he feels its power course through his body, and th smell of charred flesh fills the room. Philo screams again. "GYAAA! Blasted..!" He rubs his hand on his pant leg, then offers it back to Hechambo. The mage weaves a few small incantations to stop the pain and swelling, but it will definately s ar. Lord Philo tears off some fabric of another sleeve, wraps it around his injured hand, and reaches for the blade again. Again, an overwhelming power overtakes him, and he stumbles backward from its magnitude. Hechambo catches him before he falls. < i>"My Lord, are you alright?" Lord Philo brings his good hand up to his forehead and bring the blade up before his face, as though he could see it. "Let us return to my Keep and reforge this legendary weapon..." Philo whispered. The mage smi ed. "Which Keep, Lord? If the seige went as planned, you should have two by now..." Lord Philo's scarred and bandaged face split into a hideously evil grin, multiplied by the luminescent effect of Deristative Repower. "Let us retire to my n w Keep, Hechambo," Philo says, holding the blade above his head triumphantly. "The troops will do well to see this in their master's possession..."

01/27/98 06:22:54

Name: Mages in the 2nd Assualt Corps...

Comments:
They lay elaborate magical traps--words of warning, invisible pits, and the same strange glitter marked in ways obvious to Morrowind's and Gaultheria's soldiers but not to anyone else...One grins at another: Can't wait to see pretty Philo's troops when they step on one of THOSE babies, eh? They seem to be spending about twenty minutes on each one, moving in pairs...

Johan spends almost six hours outside making a ring of this glitter marked with flowers and other sundry and insignifigant errain items, scattered semi-randomly around or next to the circle (so it's not an obvious circle.), with only one passage through the ring at a random place to the east of the castle.

01/27/98 06:19:03

Name: Johan

Comments:
Freezes in place for a moment, and then bellows at the top of his lungs, silencing the conversation. Philo's on the move! Advance elements of the 2nd report massed troops swarming at the border as we speak! Details are unavailable, but Jocasta e timates enemy strength on the front as two divisions-plus. He heads over to Lucien: Best evacuate anyone who can't help or won't help...He pauses a moment, and lowers his voice: And please, make sure that Miss Lisa stays safe. He then heads outside, and begins chanting incantations in various spots around the castle, and sprinkling the ground with a strange power that's almost like glitter...he clearly marks them in a non-obvious (for thr terrain) manner (by having the men plant patche of wildflowers where he chants, no less.*g*) and then strictly admonishes the troops to NOT STEP ON THE FLOWERS, and to have their sentries pass on said warning to any friendly folk approaching the castle. He goes back inside and repeats the same warnin to the assembled crowd.

01/27/98 06:12:32

Name: Morrowind Forces

Comments:
The word is passed: War has begun... Now the dragons attached to the various armies begin to take wing, acting as scouts--staying well out of ground sight, and carrying spyglasses...

5th and 6th begin moving their positions slowly to get closer to Philo's right flanks...1st, 3rd, and th do the same on Philo's left.

The lead echelons of the 2nd, on the border, follow their orders to the letter...putting up a stiff resistance to blunt the attack's speed as much as possible, and then falling back a few hundred yards to their reenforcements and digging in again...while here hasn't been a lot of time to premake defenses near the border, troops and any civilians willing to help continue to dig trenches, foxholes, and shelters...in many cases, these are based off the escape tunnels already in place....Northern Gaultheria r pidly is turning into a horrific maze of traps, ambushes, and defensive fortifications....

OOC: Gee, uhh, sure, the rangers on the border are crack troops. Uh-huh. =) Honest!

01/27/98 01:09:54

Name: Azarael, The Guardian

Comments:
Azarael seems to be having a tough time now. He's been significantly slowed and his fires nearly quenched. Still, he continues to battle, his strength waning. "No... You...can...not...have...it," he struggles to spit out. He swings his now dim blade ildly, catching anything he can. He falls to his knees under the torrent of acid spewing forth from the dragons. They stop after he has fallen to his knees and the men pounce on him, bludgeoning him to the ground. "No... I...can...not..." He collapse under the weight of the men piling on. They continue to pummel him into the ground, until finally he lays still. "No..." he mutters. A final bath of acid causes his flesh body to disintegrate. The swirling lights of his ethereal form burst forth from the remains, float about angrily for a bit, and then disappear back into astral space...

01/27/98 00:52:35

Name: Guards on the Border

Comments:
The men all got a good laugh. "So anyways, then I told 'er, "well, dearie, I dunno about that, but maybe I could help ya get outta some o' those skirts of yours!"" This time, the others practically keeled over from the man's ingenuity. "Yo 're a right card there, Bobby!" one of the men said, patting him on the back. The man called Bobby shook his head. "I haven't even gotten to the GOOD stuff yet!" he said. The men began to laugh again; all but one. "Say, Tommy, what's th matter with you?" The one called Tommy shook his head. "I dunno. I've just been getting this weird feeling 'bout all them animals running outta the trees like that." Another man lifted a chunk of meat. "Why, man? Makes good eatin'!" < >The men began to laugh again, but Tommy sighed and looked off toward the horizon. Suddenly, something odd caught his eye. He tapped Bobby on the shoulder. "Say, isn't there an unusual amount of dust in the air?" Bobby looked to where he pointe , and noticed a large, dusty cloud hanging low in the sky. His lower jaw began to quiver. He rummaged through his pack and pulled out a crude spyglass. He looked off into the direction of the forest, and his jaw nearly dropped. A few of the men began apping him on the shoulder. "Bobby? Bobby, what's wrong?" They asked him in calm voices. Bobby was silent for a moment, but then turned and shouted at the top of his lungs. "LORD PHILO'S ARMY IS HERE! THEY'RE COMING THROUGH THE FOREST! ALL MEN, PREPARE FOR AN ATTACK!!"

01/27/98 00:31:39

Name: Lord Philo

Comments:
Lord Philo catches a faint difference in the sound of the rift, followed by a loud explosion. He jumps to his feet. "Mages! SEAL THE RIFT!" he shouts, clenching his fist in the air. Soon, the mages finish weaving their magic, and a dull flas accompanies the closure of the rift. Philo realizes that the static has stopped, and decides to attack Azarael with force. "Ryath! Attack!" Philo shouts to his mount. However, instead of the dragon's familiar battle roar, he hears an unhealth wimpering coming from his side. Philo frowns. "Blast it! Dragons, men, attack! Mages; Fetters of Rime! Get the blasted heat down!" Soon, the nearly blind black dragons are upon the ailing Azarael, spewing their trademark acid upon him. The m n hold back until the Fetters of Rime are complete, causing a great deal of steam to obscure the area. The ice chains slow Azarael down, allowing the men time to attack. Soon, the majority of Philo's party is upon him...

01/26/98 22:55:03

Name: Azarael, The Guardian

Comments:
The Guardian, much to his dismay latter, has managed to distract himself with his laughter. Not entirely paying attention, he ends up taking the full brunt of the assault from Ryath. The first thing he catches is the fusion hot fire spewing forth from t e dragon's mouth. This knocks him down, but that's all it serves to do. Drawing more power from his rift he begins to stand back up, looking a little miffed. "Ohh... That smarts," he says. However, before he can reach his feet, he takes the full forc of the black dragon landing on his back. He hits the ground with a thud and the dragon sits on top of him, pinning him. Trying to strike out behind him with his blade, he manages to catch the leg of the great black dragon, which howls in pain. The leg is nearly severed, but hangs on by a few bloody ligaments. The dragon takes to flight, yelping like a kicked dog as Azarael again luminesces and becomes hotter than dragon fire. Standing up and spinning around angrily to face Philo, he is again assaulte from behind. This time, however, by two fools being shot out of the rift at about 100 mph. The Guardian is stunned. The bodies flying through the rift have destabilized it, giving the mages the chance they needed...

01/26/98 19:00:23

Name: Morrowind's Forces...

Comments:
No more carrier pigeons--now the mages pass the word from army to army...After conferring with Sir Mastermind, Johan sends the orders telepathically to the mage commanders in each division...

Loranar's 5th Army, the 2nd Assualt Corps, and the 6 h Marines all cross the Gaultheria border within a day...

The 2nd heads for the castle, and begins spreading out in a classic and effective defensive pattern--light forces close to the wasteland border, and becoming more powerful until one reaches he twenty catapaults ten ballista arrayed alongside and (if possible) inside the castle proper. The troops are friendly and courteous to the people near their camps, pointing out the possiblity of war, explaining the situation, and cautioning the citizen about the risks of remaining where they are...ranger patrols, in pairs of squads, are sent out from the border in an attempt to find the vanguard of Philo's army...

The 5th and the 6th, meanwhile, make a great loop through Gaultheria's midlands, reposition themselves in the northeastern corner of Softwynd, and dig in and hide as well as they can...

The 1st, 3rd, and 4th, as well as various and sundry detatchments from the garrisons, mostly dragons and cavalry, begin the long trek through the WorldSpines to the western border of Morrowind...

01/26/98 18:51:07

Name: Johan

Comments:
Very well, Lucien. The bulk of Morrowind's forces will conduct spoiling attacks on their flanks and rear, while the 2nd Assualt Corps digs in all the way from the border to here. Good plan? Glad you think so. I'll send the orders now. Then when Strik haven's forces show up, we can counterattack with them...

01/26/98 18:08:54

Name: The Nameless One

Country: Astral Space

Comments:
The Nameless One stands dumbfounded for a moment staring at the two living men running around astral space in full temporal form. "Uh... Uh..." he stutters for a moment. Failing to react quickly, the men finally come to a stop and try to gain a bearing on their surroundings. This is unfortunate since it give a nearby astral Dweller that second it needed to lock onto the scent of living, flesh and blood beings in its space. In one swift move its unintelligible astral shape, only recognizable as a swirl ng of blackness, pounces on the living men. In an instant of total shock, the men's faces go white. Screams of pain die in their throats as there is no air for them to scream in and the Dweller has rended their souls from their bodies. The still living forms hang limp in astral space, for they are without souls to guide them. The beast quickly floats away, munching on its rich midday snack. Utterly shocked again, the Nameless One stutters for another moment. He then whirls around suddenly and grabs Z ppo's astral form. Not knowing how to function here, Zappo is powerless to prevent it. "What're we gonna do? This!" He tosses Zappo's astral form into one of the empty husks of men. He only has time to see the form quickly jolt to life, as he throws imself into the other, and knocks the both of them through the rift, back into the temporal plane.

01/26/98 17:35:20

Name: Lady Poca

Comments:
She listens to everyone speaking around her, planning... She hears the questions posed to her, but is consumed by a wave of dizziness and cannot answer. She attempts to get someone's attention, but the diplomats and warriors are too caught up in thei discussion. She reaches out and touches Kenshiro's sleeve just before she sinks into unconsciousness and falls to the floor.

01/26/98 17:33:15

Name: Lucien

Comments:
He listens carefully to the plans of the others and nods. "Johan, I believe we should bring a thousand troops in Gaultheria, no more. She would not be able to handle more men. About 500 others can stay around the borders though. As for evacuati g, there is a set of tunnels and each family knows how to get to one. We have plenty of food stored up in Gaultheria to feed the men, fear not. Our harvests are always good, with plenty left over." He motions to a soldier and speaks in hushed tones, asking him to send out the word to head for the tunnels.

01/26/98 05:05:53

Name: Zappo

City: Astral Plane

Comments:
Suddenly Zappo jumps back, surprised by the appearance of two new bodies in the Astral Plane. "Hey, that's something you don't see every day," Zappo says to his companion. "At least I don't," he adds as an afterthought. "You know, now would be a really good time to remember something about this place," Zappo sneers, spitting on the ground in disgust. "Those two still appear to be alive; they seem to have more substance than we do. They had to come from somewhere, ma be there's a portal back to our world somewhere?" He glances around, and upon not seeing anything resembling a portal, addresses his companion again, "Any great ideas, hot shot?"

01/26/98 03:57:32

Name: Alex

State: Human

Country: Strikehaven

Comments:
The now human Alex glowers at Gungadin as he disappears around the corner. Speaking silently to himself he says, "It's been a few years since she's seen me you twit. The next time you react that way towards me, you'll be lucky to survive long enou h to choke on your own innards little man!" The sword overhears Alex's tirade and if it could, it would be smiling wickedly. "Alex, how can you let him treat you this way? You're better than he is. You're larger, more magically inclined. What is h ? A complete and total clutz! You should be the one controlling the 1st Infinity Corps when the Emperor is gone. Come on, you can shift into hybrid form and catch him before he gets away." Alex shakes his head and looks down at his sword, frowns and lo ks back up. He heads upstairs to his room, once inside he throws his sword against the wall and finds an empty place on the floor to meditate. He begins to chant "Invidus Exatus Vindicarus". A ring of fire appears around Alex, however it does not damage a y of the wood furniture in the room. Alex enters a meditative trance.

01/26/98 03:03:03

Name: Narrator

Comments:
Suddenly a voice is heard from above, "Go Denver!"

01/26/98 01:50:04

Name: Lord Philo

Comments:
"GYAAAAAA!" Lord Philo screams in agony as he grasps his face. Blood streams through his fingers as he rubs his eyes. He had been staring directly at Azarael and practically felt his eyes burst within his head. He begins to stumble away and near y falls off the cliff behind him. The guardian begins to laugh again. Philo removes his hands from his face long enough to tear a piece of cloth from his sleeve to tie around his head. His sight may heal, it may not, but right now he needs to stop the leeding. As he affixes the cloth across his eyes, Philo can hear the sounds of his dragons colliding and his mages racing furiously to counter-act the side effects of an incorrectly incanted spell. He also hears another sound... one which he didn't hear before. A sort of static coming from behind the guardian. A link to his source of power... Philo turns in the direction of where he thinks his men may be, only a few degrees off. "Mages! Soldiers! Block the source behind him! Try to cut off his power! Ryath, cover! GO!" Ryath, whose eyes were above the brilliant flash, swoops down in an effort to distract Azarael while a few of the nearly blind men run against him to attack as well. The three mages who weren't occupied by the failed Dark ternal attempt to weave spells to manipulate the rift behind the guardian, while two other blinded soldiers, thinking they're attacking Azarael, run directly into the rift itself...

01/26/98 01:41:42

Name: The dragons of Morrowind...

Comments:
Again, first sighting goes to the young sapphire...not that any of them really missed the flash. The consensus is to keep their distance from such obvious displays of power...and the young sapphire and his rider again return to Lightfall, for wizardly support...

01/26/98 01:39:43

Name: Johan

Comments:
Lucien? Do we have your permission to move into Gaultheria? The sooner we get our defensive positions built up, the better....

And Lucien? I think you should consider evacuating anything and everything between that army and here...I'm sure you c n appreciate the problems of trying to feed an army that massive...no sense making it easier on them. And please, no complaints on how the citizens will react to their own troops stripping the farms bare. Morrowind will make good the monetary losses if e have to bankrupt ourselves, and the very survival of Gaultheria at the least is at stake.

01/26/98 01:34:01

Name: Arina

Comments:
Refine my technique? It's a matter of scale. She stands, takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes...a wind whips up around her, billowing her hair and skirts and whistling through the castle...suddenly, a blinding blue light erupts around her, and a and thrusts it's way out of the ground with a terrifing crash--it's solid rock, and she's standing on the palm with a mild expression...the hand continues pushing upward, accompianied by a low ominous rumble and a slight scent of sulfur, and an arm and sh ulders appear behind it...Much of Gaultheria's ceiling collapses, and the rock-creature continues to fight it's way out of the ground until it's a forty-story granite golem, looking like it's mean enough to destroy a good-size city on general principle, w th Arina standing in one hand looking smug...at least, that's what Gungadin sees--everyone else only sees Arina standing there concentrating. After a few heartbeats, the process reverses itself in Gungadin's eyes, and the castle reforms back around him.< i> Now, Gungadin, I can only do that to one person...but you, being an intelligence agent, can no doubt show me which uniform the generals are wearing, no? She grins in a very evil manner...

01/26/98 00:46:41

Name: Gungadin

Comments:
Gungadin pauses a moment to keep his temper in check, then turns back to face Alex. "Listen, Big Bird, I don't CARE if you and Lady Poca had met before. It was obvious that, when you first addressed her here, she did not recognise you. That mig t be another by-product of this place. Either way, DON'T try to order me around! You know as well as I do that it's MY responsibility to inform the Supreme General or the Emperor of the situation and, given the circumstances, *I* am next in line to cont ol the armies of the north, which includes the 1ST INFINITY CORP!" Gungadin adds, thrusting his thumb into his chest. He stares the much taller man in the eyes until Alex turns away. Gungadin then turned to Johan. "Strikehaven can afford to mobi ize about another 20,000, possibly more. Gaultheria Castle has a garrison of 600 right now. At latest reports, I can estimate a combined force of about 65,000, max, from our 3 countries combined. Quite frankly, we don't have the time to marshall any mo e. Considering that our enemy may have up to 180,000 with the mercenaries, we'll be outnumbered by about 3 to 1. Quite simply put, we're NOT going to win this battle by brute force..." Gungadin then turns to Arina. "That trick of yours might pro e useful, if you could refine it. Philo runs his armies through fear, not through promises, so you're not gonna scare anyone away. However, if you could somehow... I dunno. We should talk later. Right now, I've gotta go... Gungadin says as he agai runs off to Malcontent.

01/25/98 22:33:37

Name: The Nameless One

Country: Astral Plane

Comments:
Zappo and the Nameless One walk in pretty much utter silence for the astrally short duration of their trip. Aside from a few floating astral nick-knacks and various other harmless entities, the trip is rather uneventful. "We're almost there. I think... the Nameless One finally says, shattering the silence. Getting a "how do you know?" look from Zappo, he replies without the question being actually asked. "Because I have no idea what the hell that is." He points to an obvious point of mana transfer b tween the two planes. Power arcs back and forth as it is drawn through the astral/temporal fabric. Before either can say another word, the two are blinded by the astral component of Azarael's flash...

01/25/98 20:57:32

Name: Azarael, The Guardian

Comments:
Without warning, something awfully odd happens. It would seem that all sound is suddenly cut off, and the only thing audible is an odd sound Azarael seems to be making. Slowly, it gets louder. It's a chuckle. A low little, wholehearted laugh. Its int nded meaning is all too clear. These 'mortals' have no idea who what messing with. In a brilliant flash, Azarael tunes up his glow to something around 20,000,000 candlepower, throwing illumination into every nook and cranny for at least a league. Anyon who was even turned in a direction so as to see the Guardian through their peripheral vision is nearly blinded. If nothing else, everyone is quite distracted and lose their concentration. The mages dark spells falter and the dragons, nearly blinded, fl into each other with great crashes! Azarael laughs louder...