[center][h2][b]Act I: Storm Clouds on the Horizon[/b][/h2][/center]
[i]It is not the visible danger you need be concerned about, but the unseen one.” - The Prophetess, Year 223 of the Era of Heroes[/i]

Askor had suffered through twenty years of strife and conflict. Wars and famine. Diseases and political intrigue. Religious and political strife. And through it all the people of the continent had weathered the storm. They now looked to the future with the expectation of peace, at least for a time. Those expectations were about to be shattered, however, as clouds of an even greater tempest was already gathering on the horizon.

[center][b]Somewhere in the southern regions of Vlaanburg[/b][/center]

“Down with the Archon! Down with the bloodsuckers!” Artur yelled as he and the mob he had gathered marched towards the town. The mob echoed his cry seeming to go into a mad frenzy at the thought of bringing down the ruling class. 

At one time Artur had thought that this day would never come, that simple peasants would be unable to have any sort of meaningful uprising. And then the ‘Outsiders’ had appeared before him, bringing him more information and wealth, in the form of mithral dust. Mithril! It had taken Artur months to figure out how to turn mithril into usable wealth without drawing undo attention. But he had, and with his newfound wealth he had managed to acquire arms and armor for a small army. And the ‘Outsiders’ had provided the communications network needed to gather that small army. 

The ‘Outsiders’ had claimed to be “concerned citizens of the state”, whatever that meant, but Artur knew better, hence why he thought of them as the Outsiders. He didn’t know where they came from, whether they be from the Argentum Knights, agents of Lynnfaire, or simple criminals, and he didn’t care. All that mattered was that their interests aligned, for now. 

“We take the town today!” Artur yelled so he could be heard, “and then we march on the capital!”

[center][b]Somewhere in the Fractured Riverlands, The Emerald Empire[/b][/center]

“What would have possibly done this?” Vertrestin the Astute wondered out loud as she and her companions took in the scene before them. Several humans had led the group of dryads to a large ravine that housed something they ‘had to see’. Vertrestin had been dubious that the humans had found anything of real note, but she and her companions had decided to follow them to the remote area anyways. 

“How… how many hydras are here?”

“Three… maybe four?” One of Vertrestin’s companions answered after a moment. “The bodies are too mangled to be certain.” Calling them mangled was something of an understatement. To Vertrestin’s eyes it looks like the forest hydras had been chewed up by an impossibly large creature and spit out again.

“What could do such a thing?” Vertrestin asked. She left the question of why unvoiced.

The ground shuddered and suddenly Vertrestin found herself shaded from the sun.  She tilted her head up and found herself in disbelief at what she saw. It took her a moment to recognize that the creature standing over the revine she occupied was a forest hydra, but it was quite different from any hydra she had ever seen. This creature was at least five times the size of even the largest she had seen before. And something was… wrong with it. Massive swathes of scales had either been torn off or rotted off, revealing blackened flesh that oozed a grey goo. The hydra’s eyes mirrored those of a dead animal, but even so Vertrestin felt like it was staring into her soul.

“We have to warn the-” Was the last thing Vertrestin the Astute ever said.

[center][b]Along the northern coast of Khandarai[/b][/center]

One moment Hasnaa al-Turay had been fighting alongside her friends, the next she awoke, bound and gagged, blindfolded, and with a horrid headache. She could feel that she was lying on something wooden, something moving. A cart perhaps? She couldn’t be certain, but the sounds of horses lent credence to the idea. She could still smell the salt of the sea, meaning they, whoever [i]they[/i] were had taken her too far. Were her friends still alive? Had they been captured as well? She tried to struggle against the rope that kept her arms and legs bound, to test them, but even the slightest movement made her sick to her stomach.

“Awake are we now?” A gruff voice asked. The accent sounded both familiar and strangely alien at the same time. “You fought well. For a woman.” She could feel the owner the voice lean in towards her. “You’ll soon you hadn’t.” She couldn’t help but shiver at the sensation of his breath on her cheek. 

“You bitches have had free reign for far too long. Now its time to see how well you and your friends fare as breeding stock yourselves.” The owner of the voice, and several of his nearby companions apparently found his comment hilarious, as they call had a long laugh.

[hider][@Aristo][@DracoLunaris][@The Wyrm]: This one directed at you guys. You've got pretty much free reign to react to these threats as you please. Aristo/Wyrm: You guys are dealing with ~200 humans who are moderately well armed and armored, but generally lacking in actual skill. Draco: That forest hydra has got the combat strength of about ~200 humans as well. I will warn you guys that if you allow these issues to fester, they will get A LOT worse. Have fun![/hider]