Aftermath
The storm over Holly Ark stopped as abruptly as it had started....
...and left a clear blue-green dawn behind. The sky was marred by tendrils of smoke rising from the ruins of the Idol fortress. Distant cries of triumph sounded off of the concrete walls as leper slaves finally ventured out from the mines below; some for the first time in their lives. Rumors of saviors from another world spread fast as a new feeling of hope took root in the hopeless. Though none of the mysterious interlopers remained in the Ark, the evidence of their actions were everywhere. The poison gas inside the inner wall was clear and a complete section of it was destroyed by some sort of explosion. The sadistic Doktor Bonesaw's laboratory, where countless experiments had been conducted, was leveled. And the gates to the most feared structure in the complex, Rexx Suglus' Quarters, had been thrown open, the buildings razed, and the remains of most of Havok Company were strewn about.
From the hills to the north came a small band of armed lepers with the occasional mutant among their ranks. They approached the broken fortress. A fortress that for so many years stood as a monument to every cruel act the Idol Sovereignty had ever committed. That pillar of rising smoke bore it anew from the ashes. It was now a symbol to anyone who stood against the cruelty of the Idols or defiantly spit in the face of a Rexx. From their vantage point in the hills, the group had seen the wreckage of the Ark at first light and swept in to deal with any Idol forces that were too stubborn to realize they had lost. Then their efforts turned to aiding any lepers too weak to escape the mines on their own. They raised a flag in the name of The Remnants and awaited further instructions from their leaders – a group of the newly fabled heroes called Dreamwalkers.
...and left a clear blue-green dawn behind. The sky was marred by tendrils of smoke rising from the ruins of the Idol fortress. Distant cries of triumph sounded off of the concrete walls as leper slaves finally ventured out from the mines below; some for the first time in their lives. Rumors of saviors from another world spread fast as a new feeling of hope took root in the hopeless. Though none of the mysterious interlopers remained in the Ark, the evidence of their actions were everywhere. The poison gas inside the inner wall was clear and a complete section of it was destroyed by some sort of explosion. The sadistic Doktor Bonesaw's laboratory, where countless experiments had been conducted, was leveled. And the gates to the most feared structure in the complex, Rexx Suglus' Quarters, had been thrown open, the buildings razed, and the remains of most of Havok Company were strewn about.
From the hills to the north came a small band of armed lepers with the occasional mutant among their ranks. They approached the broken fortress. A fortress that for so many years stood as a monument to every cruel act the Idol Sovereignty had ever committed. That pillar of rising smoke bore it anew from the ashes. It was now a symbol to anyone who stood against the cruelty of the Idols or defiantly spit in the face of a Rexx. From their vantage point in the hills, the group had seen the wreckage of the Ark at first light and swept in to deal with any Idol forces that were too stubborn to realize they had lost. Then their efforts turned to aiding any lepers too weak to escape the mines on their own. They raised a flag in the name of The Remnants and awaited further instructions from their leaders – a group of the newly fabled heroes called Dreamwalkers.
*************
The Soldier watched this unfold as the effects of the Realm Shard faded and he was at last returned to the dreaming. He whispered insanely to himself, “I failed to keep the dream safe. My home is vulnerable for what? A small victory?!?"
"More will come through," he continued muttering, "Just like that coward Suglus who ran from battle and escaped into the dreaming."
The Soldier began to sound more and more like he was talking to someone tangible, "But even after they had trapped me in this vessel there was still time to make another shard! And then I could have moved on to other realms! Instead you had me walk away and let those would-be dreamwalkers continue to leave us in danger."
"why?!?” he screamed into nothingness. And then a word flashed through his thoughts.
Inspire.
From somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind he heard a voice heavy with a Slavic accent.
“Hello my friend, I have not given up yet.”
"More will come through," he continued muttering, "Just like that coward Suglus who ran from battle and escaped into the dreaming."
The Soldier began to sound more and more like he was talking to someone tangible, "But even after they had trapped me in this vessel there was still time to make another shard! And then I could have moved on to other realms! Instead you had me walk away and let those would-be dreamwalkers continue to leave us in danger."
"why?!?” he screamed into nothingness. And then a word flashed through his thoughts.
Inspire.
From somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind he heard a voice heavy with a Slavic accent.
“Hello my friend, I have not given up yet.”
*************
Somewhere else in the Dream the forests began to rumble as a gate opened, and a shadow reached out of the Far Realms...
