Post by aku on Mar 13, 2010 21:02:03 GMT -5
PROLOGUE
The frozen night sky was on fire, blazing with the horrifying beauty of magical warfare, and splashing the vast countryside in flashes of every fathomable color. It was a contradiction with which the Republic of Siantao had grown accustomed, and under that storm of extraordinary chaos, was their camp on the plains carried on in relative routine, becoming a contradiction in itself.
From his elevated vantage point, high atop a ridge that overlooked the plains, General Benneth Gregory gritted his teeth. His entire Brigade, six legions, reduced to a sea of sparkling idleness as the nightmare reflected in their silver armour, with some even staring like fascinated children.
To the west, the faraway aura of the distant Forelawn Cityscape still pulsed defiantly against the attacks. Though the general could not see the devastation those comets inflicted on the city, he could imagine them well, every time one vanished on its course, arcing over the trees, out of sight. All the man could do was shift uncomfortably in their saddles and watch: the impotent commander of thousands. “damn them,” the General blurted; apparently echoing the feeling of his comrades, for they merely nodded and mumbled agreement under their breath. Senator Jade Glennsmen and Constable Brice Marcus were motionless on his flanks, and Glennsmen was the first to speak.
“They’re so close,” he said, rolling his head to follow the path of a fizzling lavender comet. Gregory offered a sidelong glance to the Senator. “Not close enough,” he said, turning back to the plain in disgust. “Never close enough.” Jade could only nod the grimness on his aged and tired face unchanged by the General’s words. It was hard to believe that it had only been a month since he could barely contain his enthusiasm for this mission. To be named official liaison to the Senate, and the news correspondent to all of Siantao was an excitement he could not put into words, and to accompany the legions sent to intercept the mysterious invasion was an honour. Morale as a whole had reached an unprecedented high in the wake of what was considered a major victory to mobilise such a mighty force in time to repel the enemy. But the enemy never came.
The first of the aerial attacks began less than a week after General Gregory’s forces set their camp on the plains outside Forelawn, and a day after the first scout failed to return. Three more had disappeared into the Forelawn Woods within two weeks, and as the hellish bombardment continued, the politician’s confidence was waning near the point of despair. All the men in the world were useless against an unreachable enemy, and here on the doorstep of one of the Republic’s major cities, the senator found himself seriously contemplating the fall of Siantao. There was a time he would have scoffed at the idea, but the fall of Forelawn City would mark the beginning of the end.
The frozen night sky was on fire, blazing with the horrifying beauty of magical warfare, and splashing the vast countryside in flashes of every fathomable color. It was a contradiction with which the Republic of Siantao had grown accustomed, and under that storm of extraordinary chaos, was their camp on the plains carried on in relative routine, becoming a contradiction in itself.
From his elevated vantage point, high atop a ridge that overlooked the plains, General Benneth Gregory gritted his teeth. His entire Brigade, six legions, reduced to a sea of sparkling idleness as the nightmare reflected in their silver armour, with some even staring like fascinated children.
To the west, the faraway aura of the distant Forelawn Cityscape still pulsed defiantly against the attacks. Though the general could not see the devastation those comets inflicted on the city, he could imagine them well, every time one vanished on its course, arcing over the trees, out of sight. All the man could do was shift uncomfortably in their saddles and watch: the impotent commander of thousands. “damn them,” the General blurted; apparently echoing the feeling of his comrades, for they merely nodded and mumbled agreement under their breath. Senator Jade Glennsmen and Constable Brice Marcus were motionless on his flanks, and Glennsmen was the first to speak.
“They’re so close,” he said, rolling his head to follow the path of a fizzling lavender comet. Gregory offered a sidelong glance to the Senator. “Not close enough,” he said, turning back to the plain in disgust. “Never close enough.” Jade could only nod the grimness on his aged and tired face unchanged by the General’s words. It was hard to believe that it had only been a month since he could barely contain his enthusiasm for this mission. To be named official liaison to the Senate, and the news correspondent to all of Siantao was an excitement he could not put into words, and to accompany the legions sent to intercept the mysterious invasion was an honour. Morale as a whole had reached an unprecedented high in the wake of what was considered a major victory to mobilise such a mighty force in time to repel the enemy. But the enemy never came.
The first of the aerial attacks began less than a week after General Gregory’s forces set their camp on the plains outside Forelawn, and a day after the first scout failed to return. Three more had disappeared into the Forelawn Woods within two weeks, and as the hellish bombardment continued, the politician’s confidence was waning near the point of despair. All the men in the world were useless against an unreachable enemy, and here on the doorstep of one of the Republic’s major cities, the senator found himself seriously contemplating the fall of Siantao. There was a time he would have scoffed at the idea, but the fall of Forelawn City would mark the beginning of the end.