07-12-2021, 01:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-12-2021, 01:45 PM by MakeshiftWalrus.)
Everywhere across the lands, the people of Alstalsia looked to the skies. Hundreds of thousands of eyes, finally reunited with the prospect of hope as the gentle streaks of light raced across the dark above, like sparks from a grindstone set against metal. It was the mark of victory, to the people. There could be no doubts in this sensation that their people had remained strong, and seen their tribulations through like their duties had required of them. Duty, that had seen the majority of those send dead, or permanently unable to serve from injury.
One life, bright, and powerful did not return from the battle. Anne Krank, the Signifier, had given her life in the battle against Cornelius, ensuring their troops remain unwavering against constant threat of the ever-rising number of monsters. They found her kneeling against a still-standing banner, her one remaining hand still attached to it, forcing it upright. Even in death, she had refused to yield, just as well as most of the troops that she had commanded.
Over the next few days, she would be buried near her home in Dragonfield, laid to rest upon a bed of thousands of white, and purple flowers, ever, and always remembered.
And yet, despite the cheers the survivors received when they returned from battle, not all was well in Alstalsia.
The defense had been a failure.
The Dominator's throne had been reached, this was a fact.
The Arbiter had spent the next several days looking over reports with the High Council, and several more in intense dialogue with them. When the meetings finally came to a close, a decision had been reached that all parts could agree with: Arbiter Kraus, and the Sturmuhr would be no more.
The Nest, the headquarters of the Sturmuhr would begin a rapid disarming of their collected war-utilities, and each clan would collect their equipment to return to their own lands where they could once more be used. War beasts rode in long caravans for territories beyond the walls, and finally, soldiers began to depart from places they had almost called their second home. Dissent was a given after what had just happened, but the former Arbiter himself quelled most doubts.
It took but three weeks for the monument of unity to be completely abandoned, standing as a testimony to Alstalsia at its strongest, and also at its weakest.
And so the closing chapter of the Sturmuhr came to an end, dying along with the foe they had fought desperately against.