The Twin Cages

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Saiceles
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Posted by Saiceles »


And so it ended.

Katherine wasn't sure if that was how wars were supposed to end. She had never been into one. The experience had certainly been quite surreal, and utterly exhausting. Scary too. The last area, composed of a maze of writhing flash, still tormented her memories at times. The sight of Caex being swallowed into it, and the Erinyes having been pulled out them as well. It could have been her, but it hadn't. Still, the verse was a big place, and the memory certainly wouldn't let her forget that fact. Nonetheless, she felt glad at least. Even if she had played a small part in the big picture, those parts were just as meaningful as any other.

She had survived War. And they had won even. At the cost of lives, but that was life. She didn't expect that her first half-year in the Cage would see her fighting in such places but then again, if these last six months taught her anything, was that nothing ever fit her expectations properly. Having returned to her almost unfamiliar room, Katherine was glad to find it in good condition. She didn't bother with a bath or a meal, and simply collapsed on the bed, nearly asleep. The last thing she did before resting was mutter a word of thanks to her trusty blade.

Maybe she was too sleepy to tell, but she could swear it said something in return.
silinrul357
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Posted by silinrul357 »


Eyes opened to face the ever-present moon of Karasuthra. Was it all just a dream of some kind? It wasn't even a full day yet since it happened, but it already felt like another distant event to her. An'aroluth looked to her side finally, to the sword placed beside her in the grass. There was still a bit of blood stained on it from the 'Seer' she had fought, and at the hilt, a bit of her own.

"If I and this sword should be made to spill blood, let mine be the first." Those were her words (in drow) when she had entered that realm of writhing flesh. An'aroluth had gone through this entire war wielding nothing more than medical kits, and even when she had to switch from an infirmary to a battlefield, she only strapped a shield to her arm and hand. Yet, her sword crafted by Ireiel, never yet stained with blood, she kept to her hip on the extreme emergency she'd need it. Then she stepped into the Seer's realm...

She picked up the sword in both of her hands, holding it gently by the blade. Some that had been there with her seemed a little surprised at how well An'aroluth handled what they had seen. They were unaware of her past, how she'd seen such things before, fought against such powerful beings before. The only difference this time was that by some miracle they came out on top. She hadn't expected that, but that was why she drew the sword in the first place: to do everything in her power to try once more for that outcome. This time, with the help of a united front, it paid off.

She stood, holding the sword still gently in her hands, and looked once more to the moon. Thoughts raced through her mind, of her daughter, of having lost her, of the encroaching darkness she had mentioned. Was this it? Was it over? What about her own role in it? An'aroluth had long considered herself a 'retired' adventurer, purely putting her skills to work as a doctor instead, and even now that was something she thought on and preferred. Yet the evidence was right in front of her yesterday...

She slowly lowered the sword, and put back in the scabbard that lay nearby. Afterward, she picked everything up, and began to depart. This war had truly been something horrid, but there was one small, bittersweet silver lining: she finally knew what she needed to do.
Viann
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Joined: Thu May 21, 2020 5:23 pm

Posted by Viann »


Ran had spent his time in one of the smaller side missions during the attack into Sigil. Deciding his efforts would be best spent in attacking large open spaces with least amount civilian population surrounding them. Slinging his destructive magic into the strongholds to assist in bringing their defenses down. Seen with his sleeves pulled up during this fight, revealing his fully tattooed arms, filled with runic scriptures, different runes and phrases glowed lightly at the use of different spells. Besides this, for this fight he seemed to have fully immersed with his distant past, his face painted for war. And he could be heard chanting for Valhalla at most crucial moments to bolster morale. And thoroughly enjoy the heat of fight.

After the fight was over and victory was proclaimed. He formally quit the war group, but lingered within the other Sigil long after, though would leave before the portals were shut, and if requested by locals. Maintaining neutrality once more, and would observe or actively work to undermine any aggressions against the population at large, be it from the Crimson Dawn, or indeed, the Harmonium. He also offered his temporary aid to the (former?) resistance, to extent of maintaining the 'balance' as he said. Though he'd pursue a non-aggressive path, he'd not be afraid to remind of possible consequences of crossing the lines.
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Asigai
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Posted by Asigai »


"ONION." boomed the voice of Aoskar, the resurrected god of Portals.

And thus Katanis long lasting quest for asking a deity "If you were a soup, what kind of soup would you be?" had ended. Oh and the war had also ended, that was pretty o-k also. Where Thoth had failed, Aoskar had delivered, and with that she was even more adamant that Aoskar would've been far better ruler for Sigil, than what the Lady of Pain could ever be. But alas, she hadn't seen much openings to work on that angle despite her deepest wishes. Aoskar was in too weak state. The Seer apparently was just some six-armed-snake-demon in disguise hanging around the Abyss where she couldn't go.

So it'd appear she'd have to endure Her Serenity longer still. At least, the war also had ended. Crimson Dawn was defeated. But thousands had to die first. Among those thousands, she counted the members of Crimson Dawn also. She hadn't taken joy in fighting them. Infact, only reason she joined the fight was to try to preserve life. Still the hands of the more volatile people so they wouldn't take it upon others unnecessarily. Though it'd take a long time for what this really meant for the worlds within the strange-Cage, to her it was clear. The worlds had just been set back by decades. An enormous amount of their population had just perished, leaving many homes, jobs and futures emptier.

Fanatics is what almost everyone, the Triad and planewalkers alike, even her friends and lover, had been calling them. But deep down, Katani just couldn't believe any life to be that black and white. In her mind, no man nor a woman would just spend their entire day and week just doing work. She knew why they did it, demonizing their enemy somehow made it all seem right. Now good people they maybe weren't... but mortals could've always had a choice, and for some reason, especially the planewalkers in her mind, gave far more trust to defecting outsiders, beings produced of an ideology, not of choice. But a deeper tragedy waited still, they'd all pay for it in afterlife also, with the pacts they had signed. Thousands of souls lost, to torment no being should be condemned upon.

She shook these thoughts off her mind, it was getting a little too serious. At least she knew, what kind of a soup, a god would be!
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mimifearthegn
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Posted by mimifearthegn »


The Epilogue

((Everyone whose character participated in the campaign, or who is a member of a faction, would know the following chant.))

The attack on the Other Cage was a success. The invasion, spearheaded by planeswalkers, had cut through the enemy defenses. Gatecrashers and wizards had held the portals open for the main Sigilian force, despite divine resistance. The army had fought its way to the Dark Citadel, the home of the Seer and her Darkborn "children" - the true enemy.

A few brave souls had gone inside, to put an end to the Crimson Dawn and their Seer once and for all. Inside, they had found a horror show: a god chained, fed on the false belief of madmen. The Signers on the other side had imagined Aoskar, god of portals, back into existence, and had been keeping him barely alive on the forced worship of the crippled and insane of the city.

The planeswalkers agreed to free Aoskar, and in return he opened the way for them to the Seer's realm in the Abyss. A few stayed behind to free the god. The rest pressed forward into the ominous portal.

The gate took them into a dark catacomb, where the souls of the damned writhed along its twisting pathways. Mortal souls and immortal essences alike were encountered, including three familiar Baatorians, who joined the fight as they were freed.

Deeper and deeper the planewalkers delved, until they found the true form of the legendary "seer"; an ancient, powerful marilith named Drujjahi. This was the creature that had led the Crimson Dawn astray, and declared war on the Cage.

The demoness and planewalkers clashed in a titanic battle, in which the fiend was slain. With the death of the Seer and the freeing of Aoskar, the dark citadel fell.

Meanwhile, outside the army had faced off with the last remnants of the Crimson Dawn, led by Praetor Pentar. They fought with their backs to the wall, allowing the team inside the citadel to finish their work, but were at last victorious as well.

With the forces of the Crimson Dawn defeated, the other Cage lost its will to fight. The Crimson Dawn, after all, had been their military, their government, and their way of life for the past hundred years, and now it was gone.

The people of the city had mixed reactions to their fall. On one hand, the teachings of the Crimson Dawn, good and bad, had become their culture. On the other hand, the Dawn had led them into a fruitless war, and had abused the weakest among them - a fact that was very much driven home by the writings released from the Office of Civic and Social Affairs. It seemed that Superintendent Lance Maserby was true to his agreements with the diplomatic team, and did his best to ensure that the people had no desire to fight the Sigilian army.

The army of Sigil and the council of Factols was at first quite divided on what to do with their victory. The dark chant was that the Harmonium Empire demanded that they keep their gains, and colonize this alternate version of Sigil and the Outlands. But the Faction government of Sigil almost unanimously opposed any such effort. After all, the armies that fought the war were Sigilian, and not of the Orthan Empire. Furthermore, diplomats of the Cage had assured the resistance in the other world that they had no intention of conquering their world. The Fated were also less than keen to allow a full Orthan Legion to occupy and run through their re-taken Gate town of Glorium. Thus, the Orthan Empire was denied access to either Glorium, or the temporarily active Blinks. However, rumor has it that the Empire is not done trying...

Other Factions each had their own plans. The Mercykillers, having come into contact with the remnants of the mirror to their Order, began efforts to rebuild and foster their brothers and sisters on the other side. They seemed intent on remaking a chapter house of their Faction. Similarly, the Sensates began setting into motions plans to influence the direction of the Office of Civic and Social Affairs, with the hope of one day bringing it back into the fold of the Society of Sensation. The Doomguard, for the most part, cared little for the world, though the engineer who had spent time in that world opted to stay behind, perhaps to preach the creed of entropy.

The Bleak Cabal, as per their philosophical beliefs, saw no point to doing anything of note. However, many volunteers opted to go over and aid in asylum in the other world, hoping to do what they could to heal the damage done by the Cult of The Sign.

The Transcendent Order continued to play diplomat between the True Cage and Other Sigil, with many of the exact details being worked out by Ciphers. They saw little similarity between the gladiators of the Other Cage and their own members, despite a similar focus on self-perfection, but they hoped to show them a better way by example.

Curiously, the Athar of the true Cage did little on their own, but they seemed to have a sudden swelling in their ranks. It seemed that the Knights of Athar, also known as the Athar Crusaders, saw Sigil as more hospitable to their creed than their own world since the rise of Aoskar.

Aoskar's existence on the other side was an uncomfortable reality for the Faction Council. He wasn't a copy; he was the resurrected god of portals himself. The one who was not to be named within Sigil. His existence was a sticky point, and the representatives of the Council at last decided that they would seek an audience with him, to learn his plans, and try to come to some sort of agreement that would avoid any awkward future invasions.

The audience was granted, and an agreement was reached. Aoskar revealed that the Other Cage was his "dead dream" - an anomaly created when he was slain thousands of years ago, and occasionally reachable through the four portals known as the Blinks. Now that he was once again living, he agreed to close the Blinks permanently, to ease the minds of the Faction Council. He refused to be pinned down on his future plans, but the representatives came back with the impression that he was more interested in securing his power in his own realm, than he was in being an immediate threat to Sigil in the future.

With the closing of the four Blink Portals in Sigil, the Harmonium took down their barricades in the Clerk's Ward, Bazaar, and Lower Ward. But they continued their increased patrols in the Bazaar. Perhaps some Indeps were annoyed, but the Faction Council made no comment.

For the next few months, the way to the Other Cage remained open through the Outlands, allowing people from Sigil to come and go and aid in the reconstruction. While they were sifting through the remnants of the Dark Citadel, they found evidence that Klo and Maraphiel had not been the only Sigilians copied by the Seer. Indeed, all the dopplegangers of Sigilians had been magically "created." They weren't alternate versions of people at all; they were creatures that had been stolen from their homes in the other Outlands, given new identities, and left to live their lives as part of a fiendish design by Drujjahi. Some of those experiments had been more successful than others, with the unfortunate case of Lyra Lighthatter being an example of one who had gone quite mad.

With the end of the war, many of the prisoners taken by both sides were allowed to return home. There were a few notable exceptions: Mover Reina, and several of the other enemy commanders. The Faction Council was convinced that it wasn't worth the risk of releasing them to cause trouble down the line. Mover Reina was beheaded by Factol Nilesia herself, who wielded a sword of blue flames; despite being an outsider, the erinyes' body did not discorporate on her death, nor did her soul return to Baator. She was simply no more.

The Bleakers of the other side requested their patients back, since they now had the freedom to operate their Gatehouse in peace. The Faction Council agreed, and the patients rescued by the gatecrasher and diplomat teams were sent back home.

And with that, life began to get back to normal in the Cage. . . there were even rumors that the Society of Sensation was planning a victory party, and that the carnival was coming to town next month.
Cornelia
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Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 5:48 pm

Posted by Cornelia »


With the war over all but over, and the crime rate up, Cornelia turns her focus to the cries of help in the Hive ward. She moves from one clinic, to another dropping off medical supplies, and talking with wounded. Cornelia offers them steady pay, as her privet security, for her assets, more specifically the medical and food supplies being delivered, and held with inn the different poor homes and clinics with inn the hive ward.

Cornelia would even start looking about the hive ward to build a Community center to act as a all in one. Ranging from a half way home / Shelter, clinic, to soup kitchen, to different types of sports and games for kids and adults.
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Taurus Daggerknight
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Posted by Taurus Daggerknight »


The Chant: The Harmonium has been stepping up operations against the Anarchists, though there is still no official word as to who the next Factol will be. Tonant Shar is still the Acting Factol, but has made no official statement about his intention to either remain in charge, or abdicate in favor of another Mover. Further chant notes that the faction half-heart-idly proposed letting the Ortho Empire move in on the alternate Sigil, and did not seem terribly interested in pursuing the matter when it was shot down in the Hall of Speakers.

The Dark: Rumors from the Barracks suggest that there is some unrest within the Faction. Chant suggests that the empire does not intend to name either Killeen Cain or Tonant Shar Factol, despite those two being the most popular nominees and the two seemingly groomed for the post by the late Sarin himself.

The Darkest Dark: Chant says Ortho is not happy at the Sigilian branch's failure (possibly deliberate) to secure a path into alternate-Sigil for the nations expansion. Furthermore, rumors abound that the empire intends to put its own man in charge of the Sigilian faction, a fact that is not sitting well with many....
I just want to kill monsters and get prizes for it. Is that REALLY so much to ask for?
Cornelia
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Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 5:48 pm

Posted by Cornelia »


Days turning into weeks, and weeks turning into months, Cornelia still works with in the Hive ward, hoping to ease some of the hard ships their. She still brings the medical, healing supplies, along with fresh food and water supplies to the clinics, and the poor homes. While offering different forums of work.
Cornelia
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Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 5:48 pm

Posted by Cornelia »


Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and still Cornelia works within the Hive ward, hoping to ease some of the hardships. She still brings the medical, healing supplies, along with fresh food, and water, to the clinics, and poor homes. Time to time she includes simple but new, and clean clothing, and blankets. Cornelia still offers different forms of work for the Hivers, such as private security, for her assets, more specifically the supplies being delivered, and held with in the different locations. For the ones more inclined to hard labors and higher pay, she provides job openings within the mines that she owns stocks in.
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