King Johannes Richter XXII is known to be a just king, or at least that''s what every news outlet partially funded by the crown will happily tell you. He is also the king of a kingdom that has faced a recent disaster. The entire planet was... merged with other planets. Frequent visits to the bishops were of no help, the gods have been quiet ever since. Whispers in dark corners say the gods have abandoned us, but Richter knows that of all the gods under [The Veil] those of Brynya were the most active. They would never just abandon them. Not voluntarily anyway. Recently, Malencia was at the center of yet another scandal, that troublesome duchy had a habit of accruing a reputation for getting away with things. Richter always told his supporters that he simply couldn''t get enough evidence against them, and that it looks like they would be getting away with it this time as well. Behind closed doors, the king found that having such a shady duchy under his thumb had some... advantages. His spies have done plenty of research into that cursed place, and found that one of the figures in the midst of it all was... an ex-inquisitor. A high ranking one at that. His spies had managed to covertly question the man, and his words convinced the king''s suspicions. The duchy was meddling in illegal and heretical practices in order to counter them efficiently. Initially, Richter suspected the duchy''s negligence to be at fault for this disaster, but after calming down, he noted that [The Central Governor] had given them a lead in the form of a [Mythic] class being arriving shortly before it happening. Those types are practically professional trouble-stirrers.
He would have to tell his spies to keep an eye out for [The Nightmare] so he can end it and sleep easy once more.
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Maximilien Marat stares into the distance that has become ever-longer. The revolution was at the brink of failure, the servants of the churches had expressed overwhelming disapproval for the purges. The information on magic they had purchased from Faerune was one of the reasons they managed to get this far in the first place, and the churches revealed that they were in fact heretical magics as well. Then suddenly the world cracked under pressure, and the gods were nowhere to be found. While the priests and paladins were in deluge, the Republic struck back, a grand offensive saving the failing republic of Rila. Maximilien was even promoted to [Lieutenant] during the chaos, something he didn''t perform nearly as horribly at as the nobles always said peasants like him would have. A creature that goes by the title of [The Nightmare] had ironically saved the republican dream, but from the sick land he could already tell what the future had in store for them. Gaunt, skinny beings rush from the newly formed forest, something that wasn''t there before. His squad fires a volley into the beings, and after too many hits they finally go down.
It seems they have exchanged one evil for another.
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Esstrey stares out of the observatory in the top of the highest tower in Malencia keep, all the while Cathy is preparing more armor for Esstrey. Something Cathy insisted herself, stating that just because Esstrey can''t die unless her brain is destroyed doesn''t mean she should openly invite attackers. Esstrey wanted to protest, stating that no primitive plate armor could protect her like she would want it to, but both Katerina and Sofia insisted as well. The former wanting their shared body to have some protection so it wouldn''t be on its own in the spine, while Sofia wanted to test metallurgy capabilities. Cathy is now working on the finishing touches near Esstrey, armor reminiscent of 6B45 ballistic vest complete with shoulder and groin protection.
Stolen novel; please report.
Esstrey meanwhile watches the expanded land, yes expanded.
It seems that with the dimensional merge haphazardly stuck planets together, now the planet is substantially bigger. Esstrey guesses that the reason gravity isn''t affected is some bullshit with magic and [The Central Governor] but what''s more worrying is the creatures spat out by the other worlds. Creatures that looks like regular mutated animals, but they are completely missing skin, showing their innards and sinew to all who face them. The land nearby has also become sick, Cathy says that the red trees and grass lineup with the mana signature of Belluzoar, but that''s about it. The trees look like they are made of flesh and blood, and citizenry has been advised to stay away from it while the paranormal division keeps the stuff at bay. Who knows what else is out there? Well... Esstrey and Cathy know what''s out there, everything is out there. Dimensions were pierced, and even now [The Veil] hasn''t been able to fully recover. Both of them have seen what happens to a planet with a weak dimensional veil, but its unlikely to become another full scale invasion because of various factors. One of which is the latent interest of foreign planets building on the planet, an old treaty is preventing more direct intervention, but they aren''t going to idle around over some piece of paper.
"Esstrey." It seems Jake entered the top of the tower at some point, intent on finding his troublesome doctor. Esstrey isn''t too worried about his actual health condition, as he''s clearly fine if he managed to climb all the way to the top while carrying some books and only be slightly exhausted.
For Jake, things have been exceptionally difficult. He is expected to keep giving direction to the paranormal division, and sometimes it feels like they are the only thing preventing a complete collapse of Malencia, trade is dead in the water as trade routes have elongated and become dangerous. Aid from the kingdom has a whole is impossible as they are the ones who have requested aid, and people are scared as the priests and bishops no longer provide the guidance they used to.
"You know something, don''t you." He takes a moment to catch some more breaths before continuing. "You came back looking like you had entered a shredder, and you always seemed to look so dejected whenever the Gods were mentioned. There are certain taboo''s that are highly specific and guaranteed to get the attention of the God''s, perhaps even they smite you on the spot. I had the necromancers turn one of their own into a lich in the church of Mortimer, and there wasn''t a single response. What did you do?" He drops a book on the religious ideals of Mortimer on the floor in front of Esstrey, looking at her with suspicion. She picks the book up, and reads through it for a bit, not hiding her disgust.
"This book isn''t rules set by a god, it''s an obituary." She throws the book back at Jake''s feet, and the reality of the situation finally dawns on him. There are many theories that can''t be confirmed by even the paranormal division, but calling a book specifically about someone an obituary is a very specific claim, one said with utter certainty.