#Lore24 – Entry #341 – Sci-Fi Month IV #6 – The Great Cataclysm of Andyllion
Transcribed From the Personal Recording Implant of Andra Ganim, Chronicler of the Codex Infinitum
AG: “History is rather dubious about Marcon Shadowmist to say the least. On the one hand he was reputed to be something of a boogeyman, living deep within the Shadowmist Swamp where his manor house served as the bane to many an unwary adventuring party. On the other, testaments and evidence have been uncovered that paint him in a more benevolent light, his machinations serving to better the world. What was your impression of him?”
RV: “I was young enough at that time to have been rather awed by him approaching me. I’d heard tales of him going back centuries; he was a legend even in those times. I suppose I was rather intimidated by his presence upon our first meeting, for I could sense a particular power about him that was at once frightening yet…somehow familiar. He seemed to know more about me upon our first meeting than even I knew at the time; it was actually our working together in this that would lead me to my future studies, in fact. He was a dangerous man, a dangerous entity, but if you treated him with at least some respect and didn’t attempt to invade his domain, then likely you would never run afoul of him. I am fairly convinced that most of the rumors swirling around him were in fact created by him and his loyal followers just so that he could enjoy some peace and quiet. I can absolutely relate to such methods’ effectiveness, for I have used them from time to time when I wished for privacy.”
Note: The historical record relating to Marcon Shadowmist still remains mysterious and incomplete, and there are theories that certain details have been either omitted or removed intentionally. I would like to press Rivalle more about him, but must tread carefully, and remain on task in questioning her about her past.
AG: “Could you elaborate more upon the plan that he had come up with to save Andyllion?”
RV: “Well, if you can call it that, certainly; some would argue, especially those who lived through the Great Cataclysm, that what we did was hardly saving the world. But yes, his plan was quite inspired, honestly, and I still don’t know how exactly he managed to perform his side of it. My task was much simpler in comparison; I and those I trusted… imagine using a word like that with my people at the time… was to create a series of linked, arcane matrices filled with as much energy as we could store in them and align their resonance to the demons’ home realm. That was the rather simple part; the more difficult part was distributing them around Shinsei Daitoshi and other demon-controlled areas without their knowledge. Still, a brilliant mind loves a challenge, and I certainly was intrigued by his proposal. Given the arrangement which he proposed for setting out these devices, I could immediately see what he had planned.”
AG: “Which was?”
RV: “Oh, it’s rather simple, if you think about it for a moment. We created a network of transplanar bombs, my dear girl, which would, when detonated, rip the very fabric of reality asunder, with most of the power being funneled directly back through the planar rifts and into the heart of the demon realm. Of course, it meant that severe damage would result on our side too, but all things considered, it would be relatively minor compared to what the demons would see on their side. Our hope was that the explosions would only devastate our world, not completely destroy it, you see, for dealing with demons once they have a foothold in your world is much more difficult than even I understood at the time.
Their very presence is not unlike a virulent cancer once it has set up in a world, corrupting and twisting everything to their own nature, and this happens faster and faster the more there are physically within our realm. You can get away with summoning a few of them at a time and sending them back, but once they’ve established a foothold, it’s much more difficult to handle. And they had quite the foothold on Andyllion back then.”
AG: “I see… So the destruction off the kerryn capital was actually due to the bombs you helped to create, at the behest of Marcon Shadowmist?”
RV: “Not entirely, but mostly, yes. There were other factors in play, for Marcon had several teams working on fixing that particular mess, placing dominoes all around the world that would topple once the fuse had been lit and the transplanar explosions began. It was the fuse that I found most fascinating during all this, for it is that factor alone which I still cannot clearly comprehend how exactly he did it.”
AG: “And what was the fuse?”
RV: “The very divine essence of Saressh herself, born from the suffering of her and her people, distilled into raw, angry power. It could only have come from the goddess herself after she had been deposed and captured by the demon lords, so how Marcon Shadowmist obtained it, I can only begin to surmise. Regardless, he gave this to her chosen upon Andyllion at the time, one of the younger members of the kerryn royal family by the name of Shibari Sukimori, who had, at that time, was married to the aerian prince Maltizar Skyrider. Though we had been at war, even I was struck by their willingness to do what must be done, for they ventured into the very heart of the demonic invasion to face its leader, Suzu’reitani directly. Upon Shibari’s death, the detonation occurred, as did the detonation of all the bombs my people had created and secreted away.
Though I was on the far side of the continent at the time, it was not far enough away. I still witnessed the explosions even at that distance, still felt the world shake as it was torn asunder and reformed. I had intended to relocate myself to another realm for a time, but by then planar travel was far too dangerous even for me, so I had little choice but to endure. Deserts became oceans, mountains became as plains, entire cities vanished and reappeared on opposite sides of the world, others were lost forever, while the deepest dwarven strongholds were thrust upward into the sunlight. It was a wonder that we survived at all, really, but survive we did. Only those closest to the site of the main detonation were lost, the remaining aerians were wiped out, for they were absorbed in a futile battle at the kerryn capital to assist the heroes who faced the demon lord, and we would not see their kind upon Andyllion again for a long time. The kerryns themselves gained their rather unique ability to reincarnate themselves during this time, I believe, for I had never heard of such a thing previously, possibly due to the blood curse placed upon them by the demons, possibly an alteration brought on by the eruption of Saressh’s power, perhaps a combination of both.
The demons themselves would be mostly obliterated, seared away by the power of an angry goddess combined with my arcane brilliance, though quite a few would remain behind, their physical forms destroyed, their dark essences still intact and safely hidden away inside mortals they would possess, not the least of which was Suzu’reitani herself. They would be the least of our concerns for a long while, though, for we had a world to rebuild, civilizations to reform, though their corruption would remain a permanent feature on Andyllion, specifically with the mazoku, well, they are usually called succubi these days.
I essentially had to relearn how to use magic during the first few centuries as well, for the very essence of the mystic forces that fueled Andyllion had changed. It was an…interesting period, I would say.”