Hiro Matsumoto, Level N/A Guardian Daimyo of the Three-Fold Alliance

The old samurai fought down another sigh, shuffling through his seemingly endless stack of missives. When he had dreamed of independence for his people, he had never quite pictured it coming with this much paperwork. Yet he would be the last to voice such a thought aloud…

He had restored honor to his line and he was a long way from that hopeless wretch the human had met on his first days on their world. The God-sent warrior had more than done his part, and Hiro would suffer utter destruction before failing to match such determination.

The almost unbelievable influx of funds that Jonathan Tillman’s recent actions had brought into the Alliance had opened up incredible doors of opportunity for both their faction and what they were now calling the Dawning Coalition. Plans once thought impossible and obstacles insurmountable were suddenly within reach due to the incredible influx of funds that had hit their accounts in the last days.

Overtures had been made to the Defiant Fist among several other known Powers said to be open for hire and thus far Uncorrupted. Much of the Tower of Light’s manufacturing infrastructure had relocated here, boosting their fledgling Dragon Glass industry to dizzying heights.

It looked like they would be able to field the Alliance’s full force along with the Church’s military arm, with new powerful equipment. The flow of essential workers and goods coming into the Alliance had almost choked the Teleport platform several times in the last few days as more and more of the Coalition’s forces made their way to the Three-Fold Alliance’s lands.

The Auctioneer had shoved a huge logistical problem into their laps with their offer of transport. It was, however, much better than having to transport their forces across so much foreign territory overland… but still, the details were turning out to be very difficult. Construction had already begun on two new teleport platforms outside the wall and they had even reached an agreement with their nearest neighbors to allow them use of their Hub. Even with all of that, it was still not a sure thing that their forces would be assembled and ready when it was time to move.

“Sir,” A guard called from outside his private office, located adjacent to the courtyard where the council met daily. “You have an audience request from a Mr. Reginald.”

“Send him in,” Hiro answered.

At his call, the bland-looking humanoid with elongated earlobes strolled in. A quick scan of Hiro’s workspace evoked a wince of sympathy from the otherwise flat-faced spymaster. “So many on this plane thirst for power, and yet so few realize its price,” he deadpanned, walking up to Hiro’s desk and taking the only other seat in the room.

This was the third impromptu meeting they had had in as many days and Hiro was growing used to the plain exterior Reginald exuded and the intense focus that hid beneath it.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“Believe it or not, they are each off heading up different areas of the expansion as more and more of our forces arrive. What you see before you,” Hiro waved his hand over the stacks of missives covering every surface of his office, “is just the summary of their work and occasional requests for further resources or guidance.”

At that, the Spymaster allowed himself the smallest of smiles. “Yes, that baker of yours is proving to be quite the capable leader… Now for the reason I’m here,” he said, snapping his finger and activating an Ability that sealed them from any prying. The manor already had certain protections, which is why they used it as the council chamber in the first place, but over the last few days Hiro had come to appreciate just how cautious the spymaster could be.

“As you know, we have been screening those joining our forces very carefully. Your son has been instrumental in this, and we have given him a full quad of Forsaken to locate and eliminate Corrupted attempting to embed themselves in the coalition. His task is rather unenviable as their numbers swell each day, and there is little order in the Camps beyond the wall. Our allies are gathering, but are proving to be… unfocused.”

Hiro’s frown deepened, “It is as we expected, a problem of hierarchies. This force we are cobbling together has no recognizable head. With no enemy to unite them…” He trailed off, allowing Reginald to pick up the thought.

“...They squabble amongst themselves, to an almost suspicious degree. Even with all of our care, we believe saboteurs are operating within the camps, sowing as much division as possible, and attempting to break the Dawning Coalition before it begins.”

“Commander Achilla has informed me of similar problems arising in almost every quarter of our lands. I believe the Facets themselves are providing a certain amount of protection from Corruption’s influence, but it is not enough to stop its sympathizers from scheming. With so much growth, it is impossible to identify and eliminate these elements entirely.” Hiro finished with a tight expression. It bothered him to no end that some creatures roamed amongst his people, but there was simply nothing further they could do about the problem without jeopardizing their overall mission.

After a long moment, Reginald sighed, some of the blandness falling away, revealing the exhaustion underneath, “I am afraid I have come to once again request moving up our timeline. We hoped to delay this as long as possible, seeing as it would tip our hand completely to those who watch the Tower, but I believe it is time we bring over my commander and give him charge over the outer camps and the majority of our forces beyond the wall. He holds no direct authority over many of our erstwhile allies, but he is a recognizable symbol that they will gather around until it is time to fight. It is our hope that he, along with the majority of our Forsaken will help keep order long enough for your man to come through. His ability to grant us passage to the Contested Lands is the linchpin that holds this entire operation together.”

He voiced that last sentence as if it were a simple fact, not at all suggesting the possibility of the plan’s failure. But both leaders felt the weight of the risk they were taking. They knew that Corruption’s forces had fielded the largest army anyone in living memory had ever seen.

The few reports they had managed to collect spoke of a dark tide covering the horizon and sweeping toward the Contested Lands at a cruel speed. Corruption had been on the move for days already while what seemed to be their only opposition had risked everything waiting for a relatively low-level human to do the impossible, once again.

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“He will succeed. If he does not… we never stood a chance anyway.” Hiro grunted, forging through any doubts before they could build momentum in his mind. They had chosen their course, and they would achieve victory by it, or be destroyed in the attempt.

There were no other options left.

…

Hilbert Ferrier, Level 74 Lifeblood Warlock

The last weeks had been a whirlwind of change. He had gained more levels above the first bottleneck than he had in the previous five years combined and had seen more of the plane in the last week than he could have ever imagined as a young Apprentice.

After decades spent watching the slow decline of his people and fighting the tradition and bigotry that had been dragging their Order to its eternal grave, he had grown desperate. When the Land had shifted unexpectedly, he had risked exile to reach out to their new neighbors and attempt to tip the balance back in their favor.

Perhaps it had been his position as eternal apprentice or the mockery of some of his peers, but whatever had allowed him to take such a gamble, he would have never anticipated it paying off to such a degree. Not only had the ancient enemy of his people, the Prime Dirge, been destroyed, but the very nature of his Order had seemed to change overnight. What was once an isolated Faction in slow decline had shifted radically and was now profiting hand over fist from the emergence of a plane-wide coalition on their doorstep.

That would have been the end of it if his old master had not returned. With his august guidance, the queen had shifted the entire Faction’s outlook on outsiders, encouraging them to stand with this new alliance and face the tide of darkness threatening the whole plane. It was almost like magic…

Hilbert could not help but be a little bitter at how easily the whole of the Faction fell in line with the ancient wizard’s words. He had been gone for so long, offering no explanation for his exit or return… and most felt it sacreligious to even question the savior of their Faction. So they fell in line, shifting to a foreign policy emphasizing cooperation and trade with their nearest neighbor and the Church of Light, an institution they had previously kept at a distance for reasons that were also not explained.

They had given the church access to the Sanguine Order’s teleport network to bring in fast-moving units joining the Coalition, allowing them to travel the last leg of the journey to the staging ground under their own power. This eased the pressure on the Three-Fold Alliance’s limited teleport capacity, and it allowed Camelot to profit mightily through trade and supply.

Guinevere had been selling the dormant imbued Bloodweed at exorbitant prices and was still unable to keep up with demand, as all the forces moving through their lands bought as much of the Corruption cleansing weed as possible. It apparently was one of the very few alchemical solutions to the extremely tenacious substance.

Not that Hilbert had much of a chance to witness many of these changes. He had almost immediately been appointed liaison to the Three-Fold Alliance along with Sir Michael and soon after, they had been recruited by the church to run missions with the Forsaken. When Hilbert had passed along the request to the queen, she had agreed almost immediately, not even asking for details… the change had been shocking, to say the least.

All in all, it had been a very strange few weeks. To top it all off, it seemed like the human had been hiding a dragon under that mountain of theirs and had flown off with it to do some secret mission of their own before the final conflict began. There were too many pieces and none of them seemed to fit as comfortably as he would have liked.

“I don’t like it, Michael… I don’t like it one bit. Why does it feel like so much of this is not adding up?” He asked, turning to his faithful companion as they exited the Church outpost, having recently returned from another mission. The knight strode beside him, eerily silent in his all-metal suit of armor.

“I know it seems simple. Scary super being from the Outerdark pressing in on our plane from all sides… The last vestiges of freedom and order united to fight back against overwhelming odds… I could tell you the ending to this story right now, and yet… it just doesn’t feel right. Some piece is missing.”

The knight didn’t twitch as they continued walking toward their quarters, but Hilbert nodded vigorously as if he had added something particularly insightful to the conversation, “Exactly my point! Now even Mallytza is worried! The Queen seems to be making almost all the right decisions, but she is more cold and distant than ever, and my master… Well, he was never the kindest fellow, but at least he seemed interested. Now he barely pops in for a few hours before he is off to gods know where.

“I’m sure it's all for the ‘greater good’, but it just feels off, manufactured somehow. I mean, we struggle for centuries against the Strigoi, and then Poof! They are gone like a puff of smoke, and now without a second’s thought we are redirecting all of our resources toward this new enemy!”

Sir Michael continued to stride forward, movements silent and almost predatory in their grace.

“Not that I am complaining, it's absolutely the right move. I guess I just don’t understand our people. Maybe I never did… Then there is this whole thing with Sir Accolon! I mean, a full pardon and a promotion for that worm? How could our leadership be making so many right moves, and yet do something so foolish at the same time?”

They arrived at the apartment building that covertly housed many of the more notable foreign dignitaries and elites staying within the Alliance lands and entered by the central stairs. Climbing to the second floor, Sir Michael pressed his palm to the door, releasing the wards that sealed it, and stepped inside.

“And another thing, I still-” Hilbert’s voice choked off as the door shut of its own violation, and Sir Michael drew his mace, a growl starting deep in his throat.

“Easy big guy, I’m not here to hurt you.” A sultry voice purred from deep within the unnatural darkness of their apartment. Hilbert’s hands were free of his sleeves in an instant, accessing the wards and finding them untripped, despite the intruder before them.

She chuckled at his motion, “Now now, hear me out before you get any blood on my outfit. I just changed.” The voice said, emerging from the darkness as the shadows fell away, revealing the female lapin that Hilbert was fairly sure worked as a part of the Alliance’s counterintelligence arm.

“Strange way to approach us… even if there are covert matters to discuss,” Hilbert said slowly, hands splayed out to touch the interlocking concentric glowing circles of his magecraft. Sir Michael hadn’t moved since drawing his weapon, but Hilbert knew his body language well enough to recognize several Abilities primed and ready.

“Yes, I am afraid matters are growing far more complex than I had hoped. I am going to have to take something of a gamble, which means revealing more of my plan than I typically like to. Now will you settle down for a civilized discussion, or am I going to have to tie you up?” she asked with a sultry smile.