Episode 6: Wild Cry

“My Lord! We have news from Etheria. The fifth battalion was partly successful. They slew many in the name of the light, but the intervention of a dark mage and the grandmaster saved many others”, a knight told a man in white robes with inlaid gold. “Sir! We have also cornered the beast you ordered us to hunt”, another knight added. The man walked forward, the knights moved away bowing their heads. “Captain, call the remainder of the first battalion, let us corner and slay this beast once and for all”, said the man in a powerful commanding voice. The knights moved quickly and organized their offensive behind their imposing leader. Before entering a large cave on the side of a dead volcano the man turned around and said, “Today we make history. We will exterminate this vermin upon the land and cleanse it with our pure light. So I declare as leader of the church and chosen of our divine father!”. “Hail Lord Cyran! Long life to the church and the Lightbringers!”, the soldiers chanted.

With a large group of soldiers behind him, Cyran moved ahead seemingly fearless of the creature they were about to battle. A loud screech echoed through the cave, the creature was near. When they reached a large open chamber they saw it, a gryphon. Half eagle, half lion and a mystery of the workings of the ether. Cyran cared little for such a majestic creature. To him, this was an abomination that had to be cleansed from the world. The Lightbringers had hunted such creatures for months, now, they faced the last one.

“You would dare strike me down!”, the gryphon could speak, its voice echoed along the natural corridors and walls. This form of speech was a unique trait of creatures born of the Ether. “I merely do as I am asked by my lord and father. God has deemed you a foul presence upon our lands. It has fallen to me to free you from your own wickedness”, Lord Cyran continued to walk fearlessly toward the creature. “I will not allow you the satisfaction of taking my life!”, the gryphon opened its wings and readied for one mighty take off, but it would not be. “Now!”, screamed one of the soldiers. With this order the mages casted a number of spells that were carefully crafted for this situation. Their light rays formed a sort of net that slowly fell upon the gryphon. As soon as this energy touched it, it felt intense pain. Writhing and shaking, it was able to break free but at the cost of burnt out wings. “So, this is how my brethren fell. This is why there had been no other survivors of your attacks, the only indication of their loss was the feeling of their ether dissipating”, the gryphon let out a powerful screech once again, this time it charged towards the soldiers. It swiped with its claws one of them, who was caught off guard, and sent him flying into wall. The soldiers reacted with all their might and fury. Swinging swords and stabbing with their lances to put some distance between them and the creature. As they continued, another soldier fell and a careless mage was torn in half by its powerful beak. It was at this moment that the other mages mounted a proper offensive. Light rays shot around, and while the gryphon could dodge many of them, some did hit their target. The intense light burned off some feathers, then some soldiers moved in and slashed at its front claws. The screams of this wild beast now turned into cries of pain.

The gryphon now lies in its death throes. Its breathing was slow, and fading. Its left eye was heavily burnt by a ray. Its legs had been broken. The end was near. “There… is no glory for you in this… why?”, the gryphon used its last energies to try to reason with the hunter, but Cyran was ruthless and answered, “Because it is the will of god, and our cause will not be denied”. The soldiers and mages began to ready a purging spell, even Cyran was about to join in, when he gave an order, “hold! I have been given a revelation, I will deal with this creature”. With that, Cyran prepared a new spell. While he charged it a single tear from the gryphon’s remaining eye fell unto the ground. When Cyran unleashed his magic, the creature glowed for a very short time and then collapsed. The gryphon was now dead, along with its entire race. The church had been successful in hunting down these creatures. “Take its body back to the capital, our father wills it!”, and with this command the soldiers left with the lifeless body of the once proud and noble beast.

For many years the Cyrithian church had been amassing a mighty army and recruiting people from the war torn eastern continent. Very few people truly survived the voyage, so many thought that the deity promoted by the church had protected them. This along with careful indoctrination of certain influential individuals has turned the church into a powerful force. Now this theocratic armada is moving out to conquer what is still far from their reach, the kingdoms of Etheria, Lyre and the northern allied countries of Vox, Pax and Luna. With their main city so far from the conflicts they were well prepared to launch their first offensive. The vision of Cyran was to purge the world of people who did not conform to their teachings and to exterminate Flux users by any means necessary.