The Day of Latha Marbhast

There are some things in history that circle. Doomsday, in all its varieties, is one of those things. Particularly where prophecies and giant sea monsters are concerned.

— Derek Stormraven

There are a number of cataclysmic events that have happened in this world, and a bunch of them were avoidable if some idiot would just not try the arcane power ritual or fire a laser at the moon or any number of stupid ideas. Beyond that, however, there are a series of events that tend to cycle through the world that are designed to end it. These events start in particular locations and have particular rules to them.
The Day of Latha Marbhast is the one that starts in Deorma. Like the other such events, it always progresses in a particular way, following the ancient prophecies, and always with just enough time in between that no one remembers exactly how the Day is supposed to go.

The Actual Words of the Prophecy

The Day of Latha Marbhast shall be marked thusly: by a pit of water where no salt should appear, by mists that obscure, by clouds of war, by the draining of the Pond, by teensy volcanoes in the most inconvenient place, by the wall of fire, by storm, and by the light that leads.
The Day of Latha Marbhast shall bring forth the monster of the deep at Aite Anslok, who will attempt to eat the world.
The Day of Latha Marbhast shall be thwarted thusly: by the Valorous Tome, by the Mistbow, by the Ballista of Death, by the Might of the Mace, by the Splendorous Pipes, by the Impossible Sword, by the Dragon Javelin, and by the Flamethrower Spear.
The Day of Latha Marbhast shall be ended by the Chosen One: a stranger from a distant land, meant to fall, who shall take the wyrm by the tail, who shall save the maiden, who wields the blade with skill and yet fails, who bears the mark of the clans.
But mainly, the beast shall only be defeated if the clans cooperate.

— The words of prophecy, older than any era or known prophet

The Conflict

Prelude

There is a series of signs that precede the battle, and each one corresponds to a particular clan. Prophetic Energy surrounds everything and everyone meant to be involved.

1. Clan Leafmire. A pit forms and fills with water at Aite Anslok
2. Clan Mistbreath. A mist surges from the pit and covers the area until such time as it is ready to be revealed, and it pretty well drives everyone away from the pit until the final day.
3. Clan Cloudphage. Pastel-colored clouds form clan symbols that are blasted apart by unexpected winds.
4. Clan Floodstride. The Macgillivray Pond surges massively then drains away entirely.
5. Clan Burnwallop. Cute little volcanoes keep popping up in the Ponairean Seolta.
6. Clan Steelheart. A wall of fire emerges from the cliffs around Deorma, essentially blocking them off from the rest of the world, so it's advised to rush home when first hearing of the signs if someone wants to participate in the battle.
7. Clan Stormguard. A very big storm, known to be the penultimate sign before doomsday, and there's less than a day left. It’s not a terribly abnormal storm in texture, it’s just huge and covers the entire country.
8. Clan Firefray. A giant spotlight, or sequence of spotlights, appears and leads the essential people to the battle.

Deployment

The Chosen One is sent out first. This person is armed at this point, presumably after having been held prisoner for a while since they're not meant to come from Deorma and thus usually have to be persuaded to help since the prophecy shows that they're apparently going to die at the end.
This person is followed by the eight chosen warriors of the clans, each with their clan weapon.

• Stormguard: dragon-fire seared dirk that converts into a javelin as needed, called the Dragon Javelin
• Cloudphage: a ballista simply termed Ballista of Death
• Mistbreath: a very fancy recurve bow called the Mistbow
• Floodstride: a very ordinary mace called Might of the Mace
• Leafmire: The Valorous Tome (a large book made of iron and engraved with various admonitions to stop reading and bash the enemy over the head)
• Steelheart: a massive broadsword that should not be able to be wielded by a human except it’s enchanted to ignore the laws of physics and also weight limitations, named the Impossible Broadsword
• Burnwallop: a set of bagpipes, since the person is expected to use their fists when the need arises, and otherwise draw attention to the battle with their loud music, known as the Splendorous Pipes
• Firefray: they wanted it to be a flamethrower so they built one but magic turned it into a pretty basic wooden spear without even a metal point, which they do usually light on fire, called the Flamethrower Spear

The Engagement

This is the point where the prophecy gets a bit vague, and variations tend to crop up. Latha Marbhast emerges from the pit, starts raining down fire and electricity and other unpleasant things, all while slashing out with its claws. They fight. Things get crazy.
If all goes well, the Chosen One uses the Blaze of Glory to smite Latha Marbhast and destroy them.

Outcome

Someone usually has to fish the Chosen One out of the pit before it closes because madly charging in results in rather precarious situations. Prophetic effects usually cease, including the traditional soundtrack. Sometimes the clans make it all the way back to Ochdinean before they start fighting each other again, but sometimes not.

Historical Significance

Legacy

Doomsdays come around again and again. Those who stop it are honored for a time, and then forgotten. Weapons are hidden, destroyed, or otherwise obscured. New warriors rise up. The cycle continues.

In Literature

There is a prophecy written about the Day of Latha Marbhast. The main portion is fairly straightforward, but there are a number of addenda dealing with how each clan is meant to obtain their traditional weapon. Judging by those additions, sometimes strange things happen to these weapons in the interim.
Due to the traditional Deormic disdain for written history, there are very few records of past Days. There is one account in Deorma: An Annotated History, but it's considered apocryphal even by the writers of the book since Latha Marbhast apparently flies off to a mountain.

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

When the great pit at Aite Anslok appears and begins filling with water

Ending Date

When the beast is defeated, or else has consumed Deorma

Conflict Result

Victory, thus far

Location

Aite Anslok

Belligerents

The Clans of Deorma

• Deorma

Latha Marbhast

Strength

This is one of the few events in which the eight clans of Deorma will work together. Civilians across the country bunker down, any travelers return home in a hurry to participate, and the clan leaders and the chosen warriors band together.
Everyone capable of it shows up to fight, but there are specifically eight warriors who take the lead. There's also a particular "Chosen One" who will perform the killing blow.

Latha Marbhast is a giant magical sea monster that comes up from a pit and is immune to most forms of fire. Its size is unknown as most people concur that it would be a bad idea to let it get all the way out of the pit to find out exact biological details. It has massive teeth and claws and spines and sharp scales and is generally very difficult to kill.

Casualties

Probably at least a few hundred people, considering how nasty Latha Marbhast is. Most people assume that the Chosen One of the prophecy will die based on the prophecy wording but actually they're usually fine, barring a few accidents since there is a bottomless pit involved

Hopefully, it dies at the end of the battle. If not, it is a very happy monster.

Objectives

To defeat Latha Marbhast and save Deorma. And also the world, but that is more of a secondary objective.

Wants to eat the world, starting with Deorma. "Eating" in this case might be more metaphorical, but something is still getting consumed and a lot of people will probably die if it ever succeeds.