Part I: The Dogs Of War: [[1]]
In one day, Whitemarch was gone. Victivius, the Lord of the Past Days, had returned. [[2]]
The Armies of the Dead marched across the nation. Iveria, city of the Harpies, was utterly destroyed, its Dragon ruler sacrificed. For unknown reasons, Conrad Wulf, an undefeated Order champion of the highest caliber and fiercest reputation, marched with them. A Dracolich, known as the Herald, now roamed the nation collecting souls for Conrad's use. Meeting them on the field of battle in a desperate attempt to stop them was Praetor, Hound, and Doctor Ibrahim, hoping to buy time for the citizenry to escape.
But in doing so, disaster struck. Overusing the linked arcanum of the powerful Glyph that resided in Regina, his Golem wife, Doctor Ibrahim inadvertently caused a planar rift to open, obliterating both himself and Hound in the process.
After the Doctor and Hound vanished, the gash in the planar veil caused by the Glyph's power remained, and Victivius stepped through, bringing his vile presence back into the world and with it a darkness never before witnessed. The skies dimmed, sunlight waned, and the presence of the Gods all but vanished. Holiness drained from the minds of the faithful, replaced by despair. Even the holy Champion Praetor was all but helpless as Victivius, now free, tore the Glyph from the body of Regina, thus gaining its power for himself and completing his task. With it, he caused even further disaster: using its power he began to revert Mamono back into their monstrous forms, and thus Whitemarch fell without having seen a single enemy soldier.
A week later, even from the distant Elven city of Arenesse, the fires that still ravaged Whitemarch could be seen as they lit the low clouds from below, glowing like coals in the night. Praetor, having escaped with Ibrahim's injured children and his own servants, led the group of survivors to Arenesse, where they now rested, as Praetor decided on what next to do...
Hound woke up alone in an ashen wasteland, with no knowledge of how he got there or where he was. He spied a distant tower, and with little choice, made his way there, trudging through the black sand towards the spire... [3]