End of Year Wrap Up and a Look into the Future
December 22, 2022
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There was a time when Edrea was a green prosperous land full of people. The continent was divided into four lands, ruled by four different nations, living in harmony.
[…] I was awakened by a shrill scream and a dreadful howl just outside of my hut. Not knowing what made that terrifying sound I reached for my chopping ax and headed for the door. What my eyes saw outside will never leave my memory. A sea of blood, gutted corpses of my neighbours, and dozens of frenzied wolves feeding on the fallen. Being immensely outnumbered by the wild beasts my best option was to try to sneak out in hope that the animals would not sense me.[…]
The peaceful days of Edrea were no more. One night, a full moon night to be exact, wolves, foxes, and all canines alike came from the forests and started attacking the human settlements. The sheer hunger of the beasts had no end, wolves were ripping bodies apart, leaving nothing more than bones.
Many prior decades of peace and prosperity made the continent defenceless. Lack of conflicts meant no army was needed. Only the capital towns had troops and those numbers were limited.
Small villages, having no ramparts were an easy target for packs of animals.
People started fleeing into chief towns but they soon became overcrowded and the gates were closed. Those safely hidden behind the walls had no other choice but to listen to the screams of those left for dead.
Blood of men ran into the ground painting the soil of abandoned cities and villages in red and brown. No living soul in sight, only hundreds of hungry beasts soaring the lands.
Some said it was a curse sent by the gods for not worshiping them, others thought a plague was brought by a corrupted mage that was exiled from The City of Avia. The truth is still unknown.
The situation in capitals was no better than outside. Overpopulated and with limited supplies, the towns could not withstand it for long. Starving people on every corner, diseases ravaging already struggling cities, the leaders of the capitals had to act. They made the difficult decision of choosing their most prominent warriors and hunters to gather much-needed resources.
Some of the escapades were successful, from some no one returned. Once a wounded fighter came back alone from one of these ventures. Who would have thought that seemingly favourable event would bring such doom onto Ragecross – The capital of Kedunn Firelands.
The returning warrior wasn’t badly wounded – has been only bitten by a wolf. Healers managed to clean the wound and close it but the man had still fallen ill. High fever and excruciating pain were piercing his body. All endeavours of the medics to cure the warrior were in vain.
3 nights later warrior’s body started undergoing a terrible transformation – The agonising, stabbing pain of breaking bones made him scream. His muscles grew, limbs elongated. His jaw split and started moulding itself into a long and gruesome snout. Thick fur sprouted out of his skin. The creature stood up from the asylum’s bed. Now taller and broader than an average human and somewhat slouched. A monster of legends and fairy tales – a Werewolf.
The monstrosity growled loudly and snarled, showing its new sharp teeth. It dropped to all fours and rushed outside of the building looking for prey. Fuelled by primal instincts it started killing townsfolk left and right. Sharp claws cut through flesh with ease. Some stronger men tried to stop the beast but got quickly overpowered by the blinding fast strikes of the werewolf.
The beast decimated a quarter of the population of the city before Keegan The Fiery, a battle mage and towns leader managed to bring the creature down with a Searing Flame spell.
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