Introductions were swiftly made, with Amelia making hers the last. “I am Empress Amelia of Elysium.”

“Elysium?” King Oresdin immediately challenged, raising an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“That is this continent.” Amelia supplied with a wry smile.

Three pairs of eyes, not including Keristrazly who was already eyeing her, turned to Victoria who did not dispute this claim. “You claim to be the ruler over the Half as well as this land?” King Oresdin asked.

“Yes, but you need not bow,” Amelia straightened. She was a little miffed. She knew that she was laying it on pretty thick, and arrogance wasn’t really her forte, but there was something about the sarcastic undertone of the dwarf that made her feel a little irritated.

King Oresdin blinked rapidly, his face expressing one of sudden shock. Moments later he grabbed his stomach and laughed heartily. “Her, I like.” Marden and Hermania were also sporting the very edges of a smile.

“Yes. Friend Amelia will likely field the most powerful army of all those who will fight for our world.” Victoria said, her face the picture of stoic. The smiles that were suddenly pointed at her in the tent seemed to mean nothing to her. “Please refrain from expressing your joviality. Did Keristrazly give you the document that was to be played by your magical academy instructors or do you require it to be shown?”

“We have seen it.” King Marden said quietly, all mirth disappearing from his eyes. “What is to be done then, Half Queen? We have assembled mighty forces but it appears many before us have failed.”

“...and will fail again, and again and again.” A new voice, familiar and terrifying, preceded an image of a man dissolving into existence near them at the table. Mourning. He was much as Amelia recalled. He was blander and more rotund, somehow. The way he moved indicated he felt no threat to his existence. That he was here and had apparated carelessly in full view of the heroes, kind of shocked her.

“I had thought the rumors false.” Keristrazly intoned painfully. “But you really… you really are an enemy, Falsted!”

“It’s MOURNING.” Mourning corrected him with a sneer.

“What is this treachery? You teach philosophy! Cease this mad sophistry and return to your senses!” Keristrazly growled.

“The only madness is that he comes and you will all fall before him. At the very least you should flee. I may flee before he comes. But… I may yet curry his favor.” Mourning responded. His lips were paler than Amelia remembered. His face was blanched and his eyes were a little crazier. His dialog and motivations had never made real sense to her before, but it was worse now. Worse because if you didn’t think too hard about it you might think you understood why he was doing this. It was when you started to examine what he said and the motivations he said that drove him, however, that you started to find loose threads to pull at. Mourning was clearly insane.

Weapons were drawn but he immediately waved a hand. Amelia looked up imperceptibly and saw that under her status bar there was a simple box. Mourning had cast a movement paralysis on them, making only the barest gestures and turning possible. Completely overpowered, including a steel box around the icon, indicating that this was supposed to happen and it was currently not dispellable.

He did not, from her memory, possess such a skill. His gaze swept the room and he seemed to lean heavily on his staff. For just a moment his gaze lingered on Amelia, and a shudder went through him. Surprise appeared on his face before he quickly banished it. This wasn’t lost on Amelia or those around her, and even though no one could move she saw gazes darting to her wondering what that was about.

“I bring glad news.” Mourning said, spreading one arm wide to encompass the room. “My master has sent me forth to offer a proposal. You see he had originally decided to come to this world to devour it because his plans have been, unexpectedly, accelerated. Seeing the richness of your world, he has decided that he is willing to delay his visit if a tithe be made.”

“Why do you say ‘your world’ as if you have no interest? Why do you betray us? You are the wizard of the…” Keristrazly tried again. Victoria looked confused too like she didn’t know what Keristrazly was talking about. Apparently the dragon knew who Mourning was but hadn’t shared the information.

“Tithe?” Aidan said. His voice sounded strained, reminding Amelia that Mourning’s face was a face he recognized from Last Sojourn, the death game. Originally when Amelia defeated Mourning he and Raven and Forsythe had declined accompanying her up the mountain. They had all thought it would be too painful to see a face that they once knew that had died. Amelia immediately felt a hurt in her heart. She never should have brought him here.

“Oh yes. You see instead of devouring your world he is prepared to send a device ahead that will collect only a pittance of this world. In return for your tithe, and because he is magnanimous, he will not return for, oh, shall we say, 1000 years? Perhaps by that time our world will be ready to fight him properly. We estimate that our world now, as it stands…” Mourning shrugged sadly and smiled. “Will fall in a matter of hours.”

His eyes narrowed and malice deepened the timber of his voice. A dark shadow seemed to stretch out from him, making him look more imposing than he really was. Some sort of terror spell.

----------------------------------

Local Announcement - Despair Wave

Met with the awesome individual power of one of his emissaries, the 3 Leaders consider the offer made to them by Void. While the tithe will no doubt cost enormous amounts of life lost, can it be said to be the wrong choice when faced with almost certain death?

Effect: Terror in the small radius causes morale failure to those not stalwart and committed.

-------------------------------

Amelia glanced around the tent, unsurprised to see that Mardin, Hermania, and Oresdin were suddenly kneeling. Their eyes were wide and their breathing heavy. They were looking around at one another in a manner familiar to Amelia. She recognized that look from her dream. Her face when Void held her aloft and let her watch the world die. Amelia narrowed her eyes.

She was about to step forward. Paralysis had worn off moments before, probably because she was a Transient, and she had no doubt that Aidan was also free. The quiet rage she had been controlling until now began to spill out. Her morale was Invincible, and his feeble trick hadn’t been enough to override her game condition. Still, it was surprising when the first one to speak wasn’t her, but Victoria.

Oh right. ‘The 3 Leaders’ considered the offer, not the 4.

“We decline,” Victoria’s voice cut cooly through the despair, ending the effect almost instantly. Keristrazly had casually moved to stand beside her, seemingly also unaffected by the despair effect. Well, he was a dragon, Amelia supposed.

Marden started to speak but Amelia cut him off. “Have a care King of Brack, the creature before you offers only death. It is evil, and evil…”

“Must be fought when it is found!” Victoria decisively finished. She drew her blade, surprising Amelia again. Paralysis had fallen off her as well. Rather obvious since she’d stepped forward in the first place. “Changer thinks his blood runs as red as any!”

“Do you think she got Invincible morale when she defeated Raven?” Aidan suddenly asked. The honest and interested question was so out of place from the current mood and situation that Amelia immediately laughed.

“I am not telling Raven she is considered a world boss.” Amelia immediately said. “Rejected.”

Mourning’s eyes narrowed as he eyed the armed and dangerous Half Queen in front of him. He started to level his staff, and moments later, he seemed to change his mind. Instead, horrible darkness filled the tent, extinguishing the several candles on the table as he turned his wrathful and horrible countenance on the three still cowering kings and queen. He laughed darkly.

“How fortuitous! The Half alone will cover the tithe. Will you not accept? My master will be well pleased! There is no way to defeat him! That you might resist with your current forces? No! He has shown me on this very world that there is no chance. I was like you, a distant ruler, and he came to me in dreams and showed me his brilliant and undeniable power.”

------------------------

Local Announcement - Total Fear

A dark aura spreads out, promising death and nothing else.

Morale failure: Queen Hermania, King Marden, King Oresdin

--------------------------

Brought to their knees, Hermania, Marden, and Oresdin looked at Mourning in terror. This was just the emissary? His presence gave off the power of a creature more terrifying than anything they'd ever faced, and they were supposed to fight the monster that ordered it around? Their eyes darted fearfully at Victoria, cold calculation beginning to work in their eyes. Cheap tricks and theatrics but effective nonetheless. Amelia knew that she and Keristrazly, not to mention Aidan and Victoria were more than a match for this magician in front of them.

Again, while Amelia was beginning to think of a response, Victoria beat her to the punch. She sheathed her sword and waved a hand contemptuously. “Keristrazly. Please remove this creature from the tent. I do not believe I have acquiesced to an audience with a lesser being.”

“By your command,” Keri shouted out gleefully.

Before Mourning could move the small red-skinned half tackled Mourning through the back tent flap. It was comedic in that the larger of the two looked like he had no chance as he flew backward under the assault of the red-skinned Keri who was only half his size. They disappeared outside the tent flap, a large serpentine tail suddenly appearing to push through the tent before it too snaked the rest of the way out. A roar was heard, and Victoria immediately pushed the tent flap aside and followed.

Amelia stepped through with Aidan, almost immediately followed by Marden, Oresdin, and Hermania, who had shrugged off the terror effect the moment Mourning had left the area. For a moment there was complete bedlam. The camp was full of screaming and yelling as the impromptu battle started. Mourning was howling at a large dragon that had suddenly appeared.

Keristrazly for his part didn’t seem to care that there were soldiers around him. He swung his mass, much less than the Kerstrazly that Amelia knew, around with wanton glee. He seemed to be only mildly refraining from trampling the Silf ring of soldiers that had set up nearby. Screams and shouts started to fill the area as everyone tried to figure out what to do. Was the dragon attacking? Should they fight it? It had been helpful earlier…

He hopped, whipping around, smacking Mourning with the base of his tail. The dark mage flew through the air, barely managing to cross his arms before taking the blow, and completely destroyed tents and crates that had been set up as he flew backward.

Victoria had her sword drawn and was offering jeers from a small crate. Amidst this, she cried out, “Half! To me!”

Shouts of “To the Queen!” took to the air and before long Halves were jumping crates and even over dazed soldiers. Mourning had cast his despair aura again and everyone but the Halves seemed affected. They cowered or fell to their knees, almost making it easier as the Halves hurtled themselves furiously forward with swords drawn. In their gaze was only courage and murder.

“Shadow Fall!” Hunter called out, announcing the core group’s presence as well as including War. They were also making their way through the camp. Excitement on their faces everyone clamored through the strange scene to engage Mourning.

“Fools!” He spat, he managed to right himself, untangling his long robes from his legs and he pointed with his staff. “[Mass Teleport Greater Captain - Skeletal Knight]”!

Dark shapes mirroring those of the lieutenants, or elite soldiers they had fought on Blutonsi, began to appear. For a moment it seemed like this would be a problem. Raven stepped in toward one that had just appeared, looking dangerous and dark in its black plate and dispelled any concern when she immediately hammered him to the ground. She kept hammering him until he broke apart, giving a ghastly cry as he was immediately struck down. Her face was one of conviction and fierceness, a cold unpitying look crossing her eyes as a sneer took her lips. She stamped down one more time when the bones ceased their movement and only looked up as they began to dissipate.

Everyone was a much higher level than they were in Blutonsi and entirely too familiar with these elite forms. Forsythe wasn’t having trouble with the two he had decided to engage and the Shadow Fall members who hadn’t got in on the Blutonsi elite soldiers last time around raced each other to engage the ones that still stood. In a matter of moments Mourning’s reinforcements had been struck down in an almost laughable way. In fact, the Transients were laughing, breathlessly and audaciously as they competed to be the ones who struck the final blows.

Mourning moved toward the sea, away from the wave of bodies that were all rushing him now. This just left open sea behind him and Keristrazly immediately capitalized on this. With nothing and no one in the way or behind his enemy, he inhaled a great breath and breathed fire in a long and incredibly devastating line. As before it did little to Mourning other than throwing him off balance.

“You will all perish!” Shaken, and smouldering to some extent, he waved a hand and began to dissipate into a dark cloud that appeared around him. “[Teleport].”

Victoria hopped up on a crate in front of his retreating form and waved furiously at him, jeering all the while. “Go on! Crawl back to your master! Tell him you and he are nothing! Tell him we know he is coming! Tell him the Half are not afraid!”

Victoria reached down and grabbed a simple carpentry hammer from the edge of the crate she was standing on and pulled back in the classic throw pose. There was a moment where the small warrior seemed to be taking a measure of the weight that was held cocked back behind her head. Like a major league athlete, she hurled the hammer through the air and it hit Mourning squarely in the chest. A startled shriek began to tear itself from his lips even as the darkness of his teleport spell swallowed him from behind.

In moments it was over. Amelia had just stood watching the whole time, a strange sort of smile on her face. Aidan hadn’t moved either, leaning heavily on his staff with a foul look. “I should have been melee. No time to do any fancy spells. The melee train beat the crap out of him too fast.”

“You could always re-roll Half when we unlock them?” Amelia said innocently.

That earned her quite the look.

A strange quiet spread over the camp once the jeers and insults had stopped being hurled by the Halves who had surrounded their queen in a defensive ring of steel abated. Silf, Human, and Dwarves stared in wonder at the small and luminous figure that Victoria cut on her crate. The red dragon had moved to her and began to seem conversing with her as well, his head bowed to a degree so that he seemed to be beneath her.

“...the power of the Half?”

“By all that is…”

“What just happened?”

“Couldn’t move at all…”

Amelia turned to see that the three Heroes had recovered. They stared guiltily at the scene, disgust on their faces. When they noticed her gaze they looked away. Amelia was trying to think of how to address the issue. They looked like they were considering capitulating to Mourning and giving up to Void. That was a serious breach of what Amelia thought the storyline was going to be and would have to be dealt with swiftly.