Record 3
Record 3
Late Winter of the 14th Year of the Obsidian Tide
As the western archipelago stood internally divided and paralyzed by fear, the drums of war continued to beat louder on the mainland, leaving open the question of whether the tribes would tear each other to pieces first or be swallowed by the abyss.
Schism in the Basalt Halls
The escalating continental war and ominous portents from the deep have brought long-simmering tensions within the western island clans to a boiling point. During an emergency assembly at the high basalt hall of Oakhaven, traditionalist elders and aggressive younger war chiefs clash openly over whether to commit remaining forces to the mainland campaign.
The traditionalists argue that sending fighters away is suicidal when the waters around the coast grow warmer and leviathans circle closer. The council ultimately fractures into hostile factions, tearing centuries-old alliances apart overnight as leaders flatly refuse to dispatch auxiliary warriors across the sea, paralyzing the western archipelago's military posture entirely.
The Sickness Below and Iron Above
Further out along the coast, far from the shouting matches of the council halls, marine priests of the Atani Coast watch in mounting dread as rhythmic, sickly green bioluminescent pulses cast an unnatural glow over the abyssal plains. This unnatural radiance signals a deeper, more terrifying awakening beneath the waves, as the very seabed seems to answer the blood spilled across the continent with ancient agitation.
Meanwhile, in the valleys and northern passes, the newly minted Obsidian Pact takes concrete shape. Clan Vane and the Tribe of the Red Ridge pool their remaining iron resources to equip a specialized joint vanguard, establishing fortified forward command posts near the contested border. As these specialized strike groups ready their newly forged blades, the looming question remains whether human steel will reach the rumored seat of power before the waking horrors of the deep claim the entire archipelago.