The failed Third Expedition: The Second Beast Tide

Expedition

The Third Expedition intending on claiming the remaining walled area was met with a surprise Second Beast Tide - it was a trap.

The Third Expedition departed Sanctuary on the 5th Day of the 9th Moon 4 B.F midday. In the time since the Second Expedition and the building up of the Burrows, productivity had never been better - construction was completed at Sanctuary; likewise at the Academy and the Burrows. In addition to that, having greatly reduced the numbers of beasts during and since the Second Expedition, Central expected the Third Expedition to take much less effort.   The first two weeks progressed rather smoothly, almost too smoothly. The Third Expedition encountered little issue fighting the beasts and clearing out corruption. By the third week, the Expedition had managed to clear everything up till the halfway point between Sanctuary and the final destination. But four days into the third week, a few hours after they departed, warning beacons lit up and signal flares fired in the distance behind them. The message was clear: there were beasts behind them. But where did they come from? The expedition immediately turned around, only to discover beasts crawling up from the abyss below. The leaders decided to return to Sanctuary. They confirm the fears and theories of Central; a second Beast Tide was in fact possible and was happening.   Caught inbetween, the expedition fought valiantly until they were in sight of Sanctuary. That was when all hell broke loose - the beast tide surged in numbers and encircled the expedition. They were caught in a trap. The fight for survival lasted seemingly forever. Despite the training and upgraded equipment, the beasts were simply far too numerous and overwhelmed the expedition. Right in front of Sanctuary, and in front of the defenders, the expedition was killed to the last body.   The beast tide had also appeared elsewhere, with the majority grouping up to wipe out the expedition. Having learned from previous lessons, settlements that lay between the major cities had fortified enough to defend themselves and so losses were lessened. Despite this, the fight against this second beast tide lasted well over a few months, and took another few more to purge and cleanse the corruption that had spread. It would be over a year before the Second Beast Tide officially came to a close. While the overall losses were not significant, the nation of Abyss had lost significant manpower and resources in the form of the decimated Third Expedition.