The Fall of Gralhîw

[Tainga 521]

 

Issued the 283 Year of the Second Age by the office of

THE HIGH QUEEN 

 

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Spoiler

[Hello! Take this as a published journal entry or something that my character published soon after the great Mani Bear Fight. This post was written in the POV of my character and the events that transpired that day, so obviously I did not include the Empire’s side or Kurai-Kuni’s side. But, I hope this is enjoyable to read for those of you who weren’t aware of what happened that day or were curious as to why all bears went extinct. Rest in peace Boloromaa or whatever the mani bears name was and all bears. And thank you ST for running the event.

“We leave in five.” I called the order from the saddle, tightening my grip on the reins as my horse shifted restlessly beneath me. I rode slowly along the gathered line, forcing myself to meet the eyes of every soldier and knight who had answered the call. Veterans stood beside newcomers, all gathered to face the same enemy. The corrupted bear. A demi-god, people called it, a creature as vast as a mountain and as relentless as a storm. Once sacred to the druids, once loved and revered, and now a walking ruin that left nothing living in its wake. I had faced it before, more than once, and every time we had ridden home defeated. The weight of those failures pressed heavily on my chest as I surveyed the host, but I pushed the doubt down. Not today. Today had to be different.

 

I turned in the saddle and looked over the assembled warriors from Alduun, Petra, Adria, and Ildon. My gaze settled on Ûrihîn Euler, the man who had first drawn me into this war years ago when the threat rose in the Grove of Kurai-Kuni. Back then, I had been a princess riding at another’s command. Now I led the charge, and the realization settled in quietly but firmly as I looked across the men and women who trusted me to guide them into danger. The air felt wrong that morning, far too still and quiet. When I lifted my eyes to the sky, I realized there were no birds overhead. The day was bright and cloudless, yet the silence pressed in like a warning. Somewhere deep inside, a certainty formed that this would be the final battle. Fate had been moving toward this moment long before I ever joined the fight, and now it waited for us at the end of the road.

 

I trusted in Aeradar’s design. My host trusted in me. And I had to bring them home.

 

With a snap of the reins, our horses surged forward. Hooves thundered through the gates of Alduun and onto the winding road toward the ruins where the beast had made its lair. As we rode, one thought lingered stubbornly in my mind. For years, the creature had been spoken of only as a monster, a giant bear, a corrupted god. But never by name. Even the druids spoke of it with sorrow and hesitation. It felt wrong to march to kill something that had no name. Even corrupted, even hunted, it deserved that dignity. So as we rode past the scars of our previous defeats, that of the ravine carved west of the Grove, the shattered remains of the Grove itself, I finally gave it one. Gralhîw, The Corrupted.

 

 

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[!] A depiction of  the ruins by Tari-Ashael

 

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The ruins came into view at last, and with them the rest of the gathered host. The Empire of Man stood ready beneath the banner of Her Imperial Highness, Joan. The sight of her brought an unexpected sense of relief, the tension loosening slightly in my shoulders. For a brief moment, the weight of command felt lighter. That calm did not last long. Waiting rarely brings comfort before battle, and conversation fell away quickly as the reality of what lay ahead settled over us. My thoughts drifted home to my daughters. Astarmë, Sîdhiel, and Calanis. In past battles, I had written letters promising my return. This time, I had written nothing. The certainty in my chest told me I would come back to them. Around me stood soldiers from every corner of the continent, each with someone waiting just as mine were. That knowledge steadied me.

 

When those of Kurai-Kuni and the druids arrived, the host swelled to more than thirty warriors, and the moment for reflection ended. Orders spread quickly as the army divided to surround the ruins and prepare the assault.

 

“Idunia, with me to the south.”

 

“We head east.”

 

“By your orders, Joan. Men let us set out.”

 

I led my group south toward the treeline, where two cannons had been positioned to strike the beast if it approached. Four cannoneers moved into place while the rest of us remained mounted, forming a defensive line. Ûrihîn Euler to my right. Sir Therin, Calthûnor O’Rourke, Astrid, Taurel, Mornòmagor Euler, and Vydnyr to my left. It was they who had followed me into battle, and they who have earned my utmost respect. As I lifted my shield and scanned the forest, the trees began to tremble. Animals burst from the brush in sudden panic. Birds, squirrels, anything that could flee… until the forest fell into a suffocating silence. 

 

 

“Ready yourselves for an onslaught of bears, it is keen on sending them.”

 

We remembered the last battle all too well. Cubs had come first, then mothers, and finally the monstrous creature that had destroyed our defenses. I believed we were prepared this time. I was wrong.

 

Through the trees I glimpsed Gralhîw’s wounded form. Blood poured from its fur and soaked the ground until a towering pillar of crimson energy erupted from the earth. A wave of corruption rolled outward covering the earth in blood, leaves darkened and sagged under the weight of it. The soil beneath us softened into a wet, sickening mire that squelched beneath the hooves of my steed. My heart clenched as I watched the same corruption that had consumed Gralhîw spread through the earth itself. For a moment my eyes dropped to my horse, fear tightening my chest. Would this blight claim her too? Would I be forced to send her away before it was too late? The risk was clear, but the battle was already upon us. I chose to keep her beneath me and raised my voice so the line could hear. 

 

“Steady yourselves and protect the cannons. If Gralhîw comes this way, we hold our ground so that the cannons can damage it for as long as they are able to.”

 

The answer came quickly. Shapes burst from the treeline and rushed the cannons in a flood of muscle and violence. They had once been bears, but little remained of what they had been. Their hides were gone, their bodies reduced to exposed sinew and dripping muscle stretched over bone. They moved with frantic, bloodthirsty purpose, mindless and relentless. Six charged from the right while many more surged from the left. I drew Alscarch and spurred forward to aid Ûrihîn, trusting the rest of my men to hold the opposite flank.

 

But then the forest broke apart. My gaze lifted, and my breath left me as something vast moved through the trees. Trunks snapped and toppled as Gralhîw stepped forward, maw wide, paws shaking the ground with each step. The rumble of its voice rolled through the forest like distant thunder. Fear struck deep and immediate.

 

Gralhîw, The Corrupted. A frightening sight.

 

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[!] A depiction of  Gralhîw, The Corrupted by Calthûnor O’Rourke

 

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I forced my attention back to the creature before me as the first clash erupted. A wall of ice surged from the ground beside my horse, impaling a charging beast and saving one of the cannoneers. The cannons were already being readied, their crews moving with desperate speed. Ûrihîn struck first, his blade sinking deep into one of the monsters. My swing followed, finishing the creature as it collapsed in front of his steed. The victory lasted only a heartbeat before another beast hurled itself at me and tore me from the saddle.

 

I hit the ground hard, air leaving my lungs in a sharp cry. Claws shrieked against my armor as the creature snapped at my face, its breath hot and foul. My vision darted upward and I saw vultures circling overhead, already waiting for the dead. I refused to become one of them.

 

“FORTH!” Ûrihîn’s shout cut through the chaos. I slammed my shield into the beasts skull. Its answering blow struck my shoulder, denting plate and cracking bone beneath. Pain exploded through me just as the cannons thundered, their roar drowning my cry. I drove my blade into its throat until the creature collapsed beside me in a torrent of blood. 

 

The world blurred through pain and exhaustion, but the battle raged on. I forced myself upright, wiping blood from my helm, my shield arm trembling under its weight. Ûrihîn lay pinned beneath a cluster of beasts, and I pushed forward with a shout, cutting on down before another crashed against my shield. Cannon fire thundered again, and when I looked toward the treeline, I saw Gralhîw retreating north-west, bleeding heavily.

 

“OH YOU GET BACK HERE, BIG GUY!”  Vidnyr’s voice rang out as a tornado tore into existence and chased the fleeing beast, hurling debris against its back. For a moment I stared in disbelief before the sound of only three cannons firing snapped me back to the field. One cannon had fallen, but not ours. We had held the line.

 

When the fighting eased, I stood among corpses with blood pooled around my boots. My armor was soaked, my shoulder burned with every breath. Ûrihîn’s leg was broken, and I hauled him upright, shouting encouragement to the rest of the line. 

 

“Well done, Idunia! The fight is almost over! Find your courage and keep fighting!”

 

The southern cannons were still intact. Their crews moved quickly, hands steady despite the carnage around them, swabbing barrels and hauling powder into place. With Gralhîw now out of range, their attention shifted to the towering pillar of sanguine energy that still pulsed at the edge of the treeline. “Oi! Shoot at that thing!” The shout carried across the clearing as I helped Ûrihîn back toward the center of our line. My gaze lifted briefly toward the northern sky. A massive storm cloud churned in the distance, dark and restless, its shape twisting in a way that reminded me of Aevos and Orsathiael. I swallowed hard before forcing my attention back to the forest. For a moment the battlefield had gone quiet. Every bear we had faced lay dead at our feet. And yet, the silence did not last.

 

“Aid is needed here! Check your wounds and prepare for anything else that might be coming our way! We hold the cannons until we can't!”

 

The answer came almost immediately. From the treeline emerged a sight that froze the breath in my lungs. An army of bears, easily seven times the number we had just barely survived. They did not charge. They marched. Slow, steady, and perfectly in step and stripped of all animal instinct. The cannoneers rushed to load another volley while the rest of us struggled to remain standing. Ûrihîn leaning heavily against me as we both reached for potions, his whisper cutting through the air.“We're not ******* fighting that in this state.” And I knew him to be correct. Many of us were wounded, barely able to lift our weapons. Yet we could not abandon the cannons.

 

“Protect the cannons… And begin to pull back. Stay together, keep your guard up.”

 

The advancing horde stopped abruptly just short of the cannons. Crimson energy erupted once more, wrapping around the creatures and sinking into their exposed muscle. Their bodies swelled and tightened as the corruption strengthened them before our eyes. We had no chance of meeting them in open combat. The cannons fired at the crystal, the blast shattering nearly half of it. There would not be time for another volley. “SHOOT THE CRYSTAL!! YOU MAGES, WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, DO IT AT THE CRYSTAL!” 

 

One mage answered. Flora gathered and compressed between his hands, twisting into a dense sphere that hardened into a spinning bone drill. The air vibrated as it launched forward and struck the crystal. Time seemed to slow as we watched it bore into the remaining mass. Then the pillar shattered. The crimson energy vanished in an instant. The bears froze mid step and one heartbeat passed, then another. Blood poured from their bodies all at once, draining into the earth until the clearing fell silent. The southern front was over. 

 

Laughter had bubbled and escaped me before I could stop it. We had survived. The battle still raged elsewhere, but I knew the outcome had already been decided. Gralhîw, The Corrupted would fall in mere moments. 

 

“Well done, Idunia!”

 

Sir Therin began tending to our wounds as we rested at last, my eyes fixed on the distant storm clouds and the sounds of the battle beyond our sight. Then the forest fell silent as a terrible cry echoed across the ruins. Gralhîw’s death scream stretched on and on for what felt like eternity. Around us, the corpses of the bears began to change. Flesh withered and vanished until only bone remained. And from that did we move quickly to rejoin the others at long last. 

 

There we saw the aftermath. The Shugo drew his final breath, his final words being spoken to his people. I dared not to interrupt. The vultures circled the enormous corpse of Gralhîw, already tearing at what remained. The storm had vanished. The corruption had faded. The battle was over, though the cost was heavy.

 

But at last we went home.

 

 

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Signed,

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, Tari-Ashael Malôs Harren Arthalion, by the blessing of Aeradar, High Queen of Idunia, Chiefess of the Númenedain and the Tribe of Harren, Defender of the Númenaranyë, Sovereign of Alduun, Master of the Sharadûn, Protector of the Adunians, Knight of the Realm, Ascendant of Orodaeglir, Trailbearer of Tar-Númenetâr, Slayer of Gralhîw

 

[Wolfy-D 467]

Astrid nods as she finishes reading the journal entry "It sounds better than when it was happening." 

[xDisarray 552]

Calthûnor recalled the battle. 

The sheer size of the beast would send a shiver down his spine. He couldn't relent, as his allies might suffer if he idled and did naught.

The heat of his body reflected off his armour, roasting him alive beneath the blazing sun. He'd die for those he stood by, regardless if he didn't even know all of them by name.

 

This would be a test on his resolve, a test on if he would find himself worthy to continue on.

Luckily him and his allies live to see another day.

[Frisket 4538]

Vivien Congratulated Vidnyr for a successful mission against the bear. Her hand slapped his back, soft enough to hurt him but hard enough to annoy the ever living shit off him

 

”Look at you, killing Druid Demi gods. Might give me a run for my money…HAHAHAHA!”

 

@Wonderland_Boy

[DragonofTaters 920]

A letter would make its way to the Tari. Unsigned, written in strange ichor. A deep blue-grey hue, smelling of brine rather than copper.

 

”Bolomormaa. Her name is Bolomormaa. And she will rise again.”

[Wonderland_Boy 1081]

13 minutes ago, Frisket said:

”Look at you, killing Druid Demi gods. Might give me a run for my money…HAHAHAHA!”

[!] The Maehr would let out a chuckle "Danke... and don't you worreh, give me just a few years and i'll start taking away your clients"