Through Storm Swept Seas

[cruzazul 2815]

 

THROUGH STORM SWEPT SEAS

 

“A painting of Prince John Casimir leading his people during the exodus.”

 

In the twilight hours of the fifth Empire, Emperor Philip I had released his men from their oaths. Nonhuman hordes and rebels had reached the gates of Johannesburg, and the Imperial Monarch knew his days were done. Yet, someone had to live on. And in that final moment, he saw with clear foresight: When Oren falls, our race will be shattered. We will fight among ourselves, weak and divided, while nonhumans take advantage of our rivalries for decades. We must survive these dark times and put down petty differences for the sake of humanity.

 

 

Across the sun-soaked deserts at the maw of the world’s edge, corpses lay strewn in the sand, too dangerous to be collected and given a proper burial. The journey was arduous to where they stood; what few men remained from the St. Ari’s Day Massacre and their weeks at sea were in a grim state. They were hunched by their fires as they savoured what rations remained and sharpened their blades. The diaspora was preparing for their new lives with the smell of death emanating from their blood-soaked tunics. They had travelled the length of the world in search of a new life, free from the horrors they had grown so accustomed to. The days ahead would surely strain their endurance and will to the limit once again. After all, how many more lives could they afford to lose?

 

They made their way south, following the wayward star of St. Lothar. The constellation’s light was the only reference point in sight through the horizon of a desolate storm-swept sea. The light seemed to instill a newfound sense of faith, as it shone above every other star in the sky. They followed the bewildering constellation to the furthest southern coasts of Almaris, where the turbulent sea marooned them to the bleak beaches, rendering their vessels irreparable. The few that survived in salvageable condition were drug to the searing sands of the shore and torn apart for firewood. Only the salt of the shore and the sand of the dunes were their company now - and so, with supplies lost, all seemed final.

 

Despite such tribulations, Prince John drove on. Spurned by determination unbeknownst to many, he stood upon a rock, gaze set to the sky, whereupon he spotted a rock formation far in the distance towering above much further than his eyes could see. The mountain would later be coined Monterosa, whereupon Prince John and his company knew in their heart of hearts that they had found God’s land, and He had shown his sign with peaks through the heavens. These Orenian men had been guided here. God had shown in the troupe’s eyes such a revelation, a well of water erupted from above the jagged peaks, raining down upon those gathered below. It happily provided many with earthly nourishment..

 

 

 

The Heavenly Kingdom of Balian has forever stood as a guiding point to enlightenment. Saint Lothar and his chivalry, honour, and piety fit the principles of the lost men of Oren to a tee. While John Casimir’s band had lived in sin for many years, it was the tribulations through which God guided them back into His Grace - A rededication long overdue.

 

With the signs they’d witnessed on their voyage; from the Constellation of Lothar radiating the night skies as storms pummeled their vessels, offering the only sign of hope this band had seen in months. To the peaks of Monterosa that seemed to jettison into the heavens, towards divinity. The hardy, yet defeated men came to the ultimate conclusion; the Grand Duchy of Balian was to be their home. Built atop the highest of peaks in the barren mesa with heavenly direction, the assortment of wounded and downtrodden people would find solace in the clouds.  This was a city in the skies woven upwards by a red road that seemed to stretch all the way to God’s Kingdom itself. That city would be coined Atrus. Below the overarching white city the men cobbled together a red bridge to the sky, coined Ponterosa With Lothar’s wisdom and enlightenment, this shimmering blue oasis above was truly the limit for the troupe.

 

And now, from the maw of the Abyss to the windswept plains of St. Lothar, high upon the peaks of Montrosa, the Exodus had found their home - a new sovereign state of God would henceforth stand here. Atrus would be built atop the highest elevation of the southern continent in what will forever be known as the Grand Duchy of Balian.

 

 

[Da_Emperors 1987]

Constantine Malenos would smile as he entered into the walls of Ponterosa, the youth would be pleased to be able to start his life afresh amongst fellow liked minded friends and comrades. 

[Jokinghills 825]

Captain Viktor Darkwood would move forth inside the new city "A new start, a chance unlike any other" he would think for a moment "Truly, the people here, together we all shall go far."

[Harald 2875]

Sir Rev Vuiller would stand within the newly builded city, a warm smile formed upon his face as he looked over it looking to his wife "To new beginings my love, even in our old age" he chuckled slightly as he took a hold of her hand

Father Drasus Olivier Vuiller would sign the lorraine as he entered the newly builed Cathedral. looking over it wtih a warm smile, the young preist ready for the time and work that was infront of him.

[argonian 14254]

 

Charles Alstion beholding the Constellation of St. Lothar, c. 1869.

@seannie

[HeyitsNano 1582]

Elijah Keen casted a gaze upon his closest comrade, Sir Augustin. "The failed people of Balian claim to be holy. Do they not sully the term by consorting with Azdrazi, spawn of Iblees himself?"

 

@Legoclub22