The sound of war drums filled the air, intermingled with the sounds of hundreds of hoofbeats - as the armies of mortal men rallied to answer Daeros’ call. The mortals moved with a vigour that was rarely seen; excited as they were to earn the favour of the whimful God, who had already begun to stylize himself as the successor to Aroseus as the new King of the Pantheon.

King Oruous, shaken as he had been by Daeros’ sudden appearance in the midst of his court, had rushed to do the God’s bidding - all too keen to repay the God the debts he owed him, and earn his favour once again. Riders had sped out from the King’s sprawling palace and away from his kingdom, heading for the courts of all of their King’s allies; telling them of the God’s appearance, of the death of Aroseus, and the availability of Caesilinius - how it was ripe for the taking, and that all those who helped in its capture would earn the favour of the Gods. 

Whilst Oruous had gathered his men and those of his allies, Daeros had visited the palaces of numerous other mortals, collecting his debts - calling upon the allegiance that they owed him as their patron. Within the space of a few weeks, thirty-five thousand fighting men had been mobilised, and arrived at a central mustering point roughly fifteen miles from the Holy City of Caesilinius. 

As the humans had readed themselves for war, Daeros had watched the city of Caesilinius closely. He had seen Mikazliqui and their servants descend upon the great city, and watched on, powerless to help, as the majority of the mortal population was slaughtered - as Caesilinius’ value, its [i]power[/i] was splattered upon the cobblestones of the city. For, Daeros knew, without the people’s adoration, Caesilinius was nothing. It was from worship that Aroseus had drawn his power. 

The God had watched as Metanoia had descended upon the city, surrounded by a blinding blue light. If there was one way to make an entrance, that was it - whether it was foolish or not. Regardless, Daeros had continued to watch as the citizens of Caesilinius battled against the dark forces that had invaded the Holy City; but, eventually, they were bested - and Mikazliqui was victorious. 

Daeros had considered announcing his presence to the dark God, and asking to join him; or even marching in battle against him directly. But he had no desire to enter into an alliance with such a cruel being, and knew that the armies of men stood no chance against such dark forces; despite how many humans had rallied to his cause, they would be slaughtered by the evil God’s servants. 

Distraught, Daeros had been about to give up on his hopes of claiming the city as his own - when he heard the echoing voice of Lathunis; and had [i]felt[/i] her presence, and the power of the army she marched with. Perhaps she would be victorious - or perhaps she would be defeated. Either way, the dark forces that had taken over Caesilinius would be weakened, and Daeros would stand at a much greater chance of claiming the city as his own. 

“Ready yourselves, mortals,” The God’s voice echoed out, through the encampments of his great host. “We may yet win this fight.”