Attack on Soleaum - Entry 1
3rd of The Deep Cold
Year 242 of the Second Age
It had begun with a tremor which I felt was no cause for concern, it was faint at first, almost forgettable.
I was in my laboratory prior to things escalating, working on my automatons when the lifeblood inside of the container vibrated unusually. The glassware on the shelves gave a soft, restless rattle. I paused, waiting for the moment to pass. The mountains often stirred with minor quakes, usually nothing more than the grumbling of ancient stone. If only it was such…
The shaking intensified, books I kept in my shelves slid from their cases. A vial of concoction I had nae finished yet shattered on the ground; the liquid dissolving, the vial shattering in millions of pieces.
By the time I made it to the gate of Soleaum, the earth beneath Soleaum was pulsing with unnatural rhythm, a deep, relentless thrumming like a war drum being struck below our feet. The Ivory Sage of Soleaum was already by the gates, sitting in his usual spot and conversing with a visitor. I asked him if this was what he had been expecting for, the thing he had warned me months prior. I had awaited.
Before he was able to answer my question, both of our gazes met its…a massive, earthen hand breaching the northern waters, rising from the depths like a forgotten god. Chains erupted from the ground in great iron bursts, carving through stone and soil alike.
The wind turned bitter, I had never seen such things before, they were beyond my mundane comprehension. Their bodies were infused with the elements of mother nature. My first theory was that these creatures were of Voidal origin, the very practice I swore to keep my hands off of. It poisons one's mind with fear, yet if you wield it well, you are practically untouchable.
Regardless of how they were made, it was sure they were here to harm us. Creatures that gave off a feeling of a cold blizzard rained arrows our way, though they were nae difficult to deal with. Next, there were fire elementals, their bodies flickering with molten veins, took to the air and hurled fireballs toward our walls. But worst of all were the mountain elementals of staggering size, carved from the cliffs themselves. They moved with a terrible inevitability, each footfall cracking the earth as they advanced.
I remember cleaving through a fireborn creature mid-flight, its body bursting into a spray of embers. I remember the sting of an ice arrow grazing my shoulder, numbing my arm. And I remember the ground splintering as a giant’s fist slammed down where I had stood moments earlier.
But we endured.
The Grand Kingdom of Urguan fought beside us, their brave soldiers and might aided us greatly in this fight, their weapons clearly mighty, and the Grand King’s carbarum dentures shiny. The druii of the Redtail Grove struck from above, raining down arrows and keeping them at bay.
Eventually, the chains began to fail, crumbling to ashes. But just before the last of it vanished, I moved. I don’t know what compelled me, but I moved. I reached into the smoke and grabbed a chunk of a rock. I wrapped it in cloth, unknowing of its capabilities, I stored it for further research.
I fear this is only just the beginning of something far worse.
The mountain stirred once.
I fear it may do so once again.