Eternal Night, phase one|Haven | Ilyamen

[Kender Bard]

Outside the gates of Ilyamen, as night lay over the city, a guard blew into his hands, feeling the chill bite of autumn already. As his breath misted on the air, he thought he saw movement up ahead. Nudging a fellow guard, he pointed and asked, "Whazzat?"

The guard cocked his head, listening. He thought he heard moaning but figured it was just the wind. "Nothing, I guess," he said finally. "Quit jumping at shadows."

"'M not," the first guard remarked sulkily. He turned to the side to spit, and nearly planted his face into a bit of fog that was not there a moment ago. As he stared, he noticed the fog had features. Like a human.

He opened his mouth to scream and the ghost stuck its phantom hand down his mouth and throat. The guard flailed a moment, clinging to his throat, trying in vain to draw breath where no air would come. His friend, hearing the strangling noises, glanced over in time to see his friend fall limp and drop to the ground. "Efil above!" he swore, and fumbled for the whistle to alert his comrades on the other side of the gate. "What in Soahc's name is that!?'

The whistle blew shrilly a few moments before abruptly cutting off. The mass in the distance drew closer.

The first wave of Taed's army had arrived.

[Kender Bard]

They spread thickly and quickly, like some plague of the damned. Though all of the undead found ways to wreak havoc and carnage in this deathtrap of a city, the vampires were most at home here. They found many dark nooks and crannies that they could hide in later, abandoned cellars in poorer distracts that they would come home, and a proverbial sea of food ripe for the taking. In the blind panic most people were in, they had a feeding frenzy, simply plucking people right off the streets and taking their fill as the skeletons and zombies acted like shields for these more elite undead. The streets were littered in corpses - some of which would rise later and join this fight.

[Devon]

Ilyamen's army, known for its fast reaction, is slow to act against the army of Taed. Mainly due to the shock of seeing the dead rising and raising up their arms to strike down the people of Ilyamen. Still the guards did start to mount a defense against the undead. The first thing the army of Ilyamen did was to but a border between the defenseless people and Taed's army. A section of Fire and Storm troops started to launch elemental attacks against Taed's army while a section of Beast and Earth troops went forward into physical combat to see how they would far against the army of the undead.

[Kender Bard]

The defense had mixed results. While the zombies seemed to shy away from the fire and lightning, and the skeletons from the beast and earth, the ghosts were completely undeterred. They flowed forward, assisting knots of resistance, stealing the breath and warmth from those that opposed them. Breaks in the defense appeared long enough for the cavalry to surge forward. Some of the fallen guards rose again and joined them. The army slaughtered mercilessly everything in their path, but they seemed not to hunt anyone down yet. They had a definite goal though - the hellish army was marching straight for the temples.

[creekkiller]

"What do you think of this, out there?"

Niclocke looked up from his book and sighed. "Noisy."

Johnathan presses his face against the window, hardly able to make anything out in the dark. "I wonder whats going-!!! What the hell is that thing?" He moves away from the window and lets the curtain drop. "I saw through that guy..."

"Its dark out, you can hardly..."

"Trust me I saw it! There's a fight out there, it's hard to miss the Fire's..." He stops talking and gets his shoes and start slipping them on.

"Going out?" He closes his book and sets it down. "Get me my shoes."

The two got ready and stepped out to see the fray first hand.

[Kender Bard]

No sooner had they stepped outside but were they greated with a grisly sight. A young woman ran screaming from a zombie who was in pursuit. The zombie managed to catch her, and then ripped her apart with his bare hands. He glanced up at the two as if noting them for after he was done with his grisly task.

[creekkiller]

"That was pretty awful." Spoken passively as he watches.

"Nic, pay attention!" He grasps his wrist for his sign

"Right, dont want to end up like that." As he starts to grab his wrist.

"Then just go back inside if you're going to be like that."

"Oh dont cry like that, it bothers me..." Holding his posistion while watching the zombie.

[Devon]

The commander of the Ilyamen army surveyed the battle before him from behind his troops. Taking into account what was working and what didn't work he made his adjustments accordingly. First he ordered the troops to back up their line to deal with the army of Taed's sudden surge toward the temple district. He had the Storms and Fires continue their attacks, but this time ordered a group of Wind troops to add to their damage. Splitting the Earth troops almost in half he had some of them assist the Fires to combine mud with intense fire and the rest would continue to help the Beasts in physical combat. He also dispatched Water troops to tend to injured civilians and soldiers. The few Mind troops he had he used to rely messages to the citizens and the rest of the army and also to try and shield some of the innocent people.

[Kender Bard]

The zombie, finishing his dark task, turned towards the pair he had observed. With a cross between a grunt and a moan, the zombie lurched forward, hands outstretched, as he tried to decide which neck to snap first.

The pitched battle outside the temple continued; the new tactics seemed to be working much better as the zombies and skeletons faced real threats now, and the ghosts strugged to maintain their form when blown away. A few more stealthy undead still managed to get through, though, and sudden screams filled the air as the slaughter in the temple began; two vampires had found their way into the temple and were simply tearing out throats in their frenzied attempt to kill all the priests of Efil within.

[Devon]

The commander of the Ilyamen forces is not at a lost of what to do. If he breaks away too many of the troops to go into the temple of Efil they may get overwhelmed, but if he doesn't do anything the people in the temple will all die. It was strange he had to wonder why the Efil temple was the only one being attacked. Gritting his teeth hard in thought the commander takes with him three other guards and orders the rest of the troops to continue holding back the other army, then he heads inside the temple himself.

[Kender Bard]

Inside, the priests struggled for their life. They prayed fervently to Efil while beating back the undead. Many of the priests weren't fit for combat; what few templars there were, were quickly being swarmed.

[Kender Bard]

The carnage nearly complete, the undead began to retreat or press forward; it was hard to tell. They scattered, seeking out any possible avenue and running, but definately in an eastward direction. The dead priests of Efil were left to bleed their life away on the floor as the undead swept through Ilyamen like a black wind, only killing if someone got in their way of their run, and heading away towards Sensatia...