The Battle of the Three Kings

Prelude

King Storvald Mithrus had learned of the existence of the secret city of Jalanthar to the west of the Ordloch Wall thanks to information provided by his Son, Prince Druken Mithrus before his death. Vowing not to let a usurper stand, King Storvald began marching his armies west towards the ruins of the Ordloch Wall where the two human factions met in battle.
The Jalantharian army had successfully managed to gather external allies in the Frost Jotun clan, as well as some from the Stone and Cloud Jotun clans, all of whom united to fight in the shadow of the ruined wall. The battle commenced immediately, the two factions colliding on the grassy field.

The Battle Begins

Jera Isalya and Drathir Lá set forth to try and locate King Storvald in an attempt to end the battle with his death, however their paths quickly crossed with people whom they had known and grown to care for in their time in the capital as spies for Jalanthar. Father Harald was protecting a group of soldiers, including Gunther, Corporal Larson and Private Ladson who were being lead by Captain Filas. Jera and Drathir attempted to talk them out of a fight however the group, convinced that they were traitors, refused to stand down. Jera quickly engaged with the Captain and Drathir used some minor enchantment magic to get Father Harald to fall unconscious. As Drathir was carrying Father Harald to safety, some of the Jalantharian soldiers engaged the other fighters in combat and as Father Harald began to come-to, he started to beg Drathir to take him back to them so that he could protect his soldiers. Drathir promised that he would make sure all of his soldiers would make it out safely and cast a veil of darkness over them in an attempt to stall the combat until after Father Harald was safe, placing him inside of an abandoned building before turning his attention to the Captain. Jera had not managed to knock her unconscious and so, with a swift blow from the hilt of his rapier, Drathir knocked her out.
They then both turned their attention to the men fighting inside the dark veil. When Drathir dispelled it, they found that one of the soldiers, Corporal Larson, had indeed been struck down by one of the Jalantharian fighters. Drathir was able to resuscitate him with a Revivify spell before dragging him out of the way of the fight, while Jera called off the Jalantharian warriors and stood with her arms raised in order to convince the Mithrali soldiers that she was not here to fight them. The other soldiers, witnessing that these two individuals were not only refusing to fight them but actively reviving their fallen comrade, agreed to stand down and take refuge inside the abandoned building. They barricaded the door and Drathir marked it with the Jalantharian symbol of sanctuary using Corporal Larson’s blood which still covered him.

The False Soldier

The battle raged on as Jera and Drathir continued to make their way to where they hoped they would find King Storvald, pushing their way through hordes of giants and humans alike. The next familiar face they saw was that of Commander Eric Ironside, the leader of the Mithrali army who Jera and Drathir had rescued from being sacrificed by Prince Druken Mithrus in the West. Eric refused to stand down, and immediately engaged Jera in combat. Combining Jera’s runic magic with Drathir’s arcane magic, Jera was able to grow to the size of a giant temporarily in order to fight Commander Ironside.

"Trust you to turn yourself into a monster!"

— Eric Ironside

The two fought in one-on-one melee, meanwhile Drathir went to assist two members of the Jalantharian council, Mikael and General Ragnar, who had taken on two Mithrali soldiers. The fight between Jera and Ironside was brutal, but ended spectacularly with Jera managing to chain her punches to such a degree that she was able to hurl Ironside into a nearby stone pillar with such force that his body cracked the stone. He was not dead, but he was certainly out of the battle.
Drathir was able to help subdue one of the soldiers however an invisible force suddenly struck. Prince Maktun Mithrus, disguised as a Mithrali soldier, appeared; stabbing Ragnar through the throat and killing him, letting his body fall over the edge of the cliff. The Prince took full advantage of this moment, using a focused strike to stun Drathir and throw him off the cliff as well. Drathir and Jera both wanted to ensure that Maktun would survive the war, and so when Drathir found the body of General Ragnar, already dead from the mortal wound, he quickly lay him on his front before bringing him back with another revivify, promptly knocking him unconscious so that he could not go after the Prince. Drathir climbed back up to the top of the cliff just in time to see Jera begin to engage with Maktun.
Jera and Maktun were nearly matched, however Jera’s reluctance to hurt the Prince held her back and gave Maktun the upper hand. The Prince came at her with such ferocity that Jera was unable to talk him down. Maktun was quickly able to stun both Jera and Mikael who was intent on killing the Prince, however Drathir cast a Calm Emotions spell over Maktun and Mikael, successfully getting them to back down for the briefest moment. That was all that the warriors needed; using a Sending spell, Drathir contacted Herliet Mithrus and told him to find them, that they had found Maktun and that he was safe for now but likely not for long. Jera reverted to her normal stature and tentatively approached Maktun, who’s rage had dissolved into grief.

"No one ever looked at me like they were proud of me, except for you, and you betrayed us!"

— Maktun Mithrus

Jera held Maktun as he cried into her arms. Mikael went to the base of the cliff to locate Ragnar’s body, only to find him alive, but unconscious. Drathir shouted down to them that they had the situation handled there and that they should go and assist the armies elsewhere. Ragnar and Mikael promptly departed, leaving Jera to comfort Maktun without immediate threat to his life. Drathir managed to signal to Hurliet who quickly descended from the sky on the back of his gryphon, Borias. Hurliet comforted his brother, who he had not seen since leaving Mithral to join Jera and Drathir’s mission to build a better Ysgor. He told Jera and Drathir that he had seen his father and that he did not know which side he was on anymore, but that he was further north should the two wish to confront him. Hurliet took Maktun on the back of Borias and flew off, while Jera and Drathir made their way north to confront the King.

An Interrupted Duel

On their way, Jera and Drathir heard a commotion coming from inside an abandoned building. It was the voices of Prince Laurelson Mithrus and Othala Trygg and the sound of a fight taking place. The two quickly rushed to the doors, Drathir making it their slightly before Jera and seeing the man he once loved fighting a very injured Othalla. Though both had sustained wounds, Othalla was certainly worse off. Drathir called out to Laurelson to back off, who refused and angrily ordered him to leave and keep it a fair fight. Drathir couldn’t let Othalla keep fighting along but he also could not harm Laurelson so he did the only thing he could think of to stop the fight in its tracks.

"You are so lucky I got here before she did."

— Drathir Lá

Drathir cast a force cage on Laurelson, which prevented him from continuing the fight. Jera quickly tended to Othalla, giving him her final healing potion in order to sustain him. Meanwhile, Laurelson was desperately trying to escape the confinement, though it was useless. He shouted at Drathir to free him, insulting him and insisting that Drathir had never truly cared about him, that he would rather be dead than kept alive by these means. Drathir was on the verge of a breakdown and had to cover his ears and close his eyes to try and block out Laurelson’s shouts. The caged prince had begun beating his knuckles bloody against the cage and digging with his nails to try and escape. Jera tried to get Drathir to leave the building, but she could tell he was starting to lose himself.

"I thought I could live with him hating me as long as he was alive, but I don’t think I can Jera,"

— Drathir Lá to Jera

They were eventually able to leave the barn, with Laurelson trapped and screaming inside. Othalla took Jera’s potion and quickly went back to join the rest of the Jalantharian armies.

The End of the World

Finally, the two made it to the mountain side, where King Dalmatia Mithrus and King Storvald were already engaged in combat. Jera sprang into action and joined the fray, making eye contact with Storvald who declared:

"Finally, a challenge,"

— Storvald Mithrus

The fight did not last long, as Jera was able to chain her hits in order to take down Storvald. However, she was careful to only subdue him, leaving him within an inch of his life. Seeing her mortal enemy vulnerable, Dalmatia picked up her sword and prepared to strike down the King. Jera and Drathir tried to talk her down but she was prepared to take his life herself. Just before she could strike him down, the earth beneath them began to rumble, and while Jera and Drathir were able to maintain their footing Dalmatia was thrown sideways by the force of an earthquake splitting the earth before them.
From the chasm erupted hoards upon hoards of draconic beasts, who seemed to flood out of the earth without relent. Dalmatia insisted that she needed to return to her armies, choosing to make her way towards them instead of exacting her revenge. She did not make it back, as from the crack in the earth the great world serpent Jörmungandr burst forth, his great maw devouring King Dalmatia Mithrus in an instant. Jera and Drathir watched in horror as she was consumed before turning back to the dying King Storvald.

The Era of Isalya

Drathir offered to heal Storvald so that he could fight the beast, however he declined, seeming to accept his fate and the fulfillment of the prophecy that he would witness the beginning of the end of the world.

"The world could really use a paladin right now"

— Drathir Lá to Storvald Mithrus

Jera attempted to comfort the dying King by insisting that it was not too late for him to return to Odin, that she was certain he had earned his place among the halls of Valhalla even with his broken oath. Drathir wrapped the King’s fingers around the hilt of his weapon, before the King reached up and removed his crown, handing it to Jera and naming her his successor.

“You love my son,”
“I love your son,”

— Storvald Mithrus to Jera Isalya before crowning her

He died quietly after his declaration. Herliet descended from the skies on the back of Borias, accompanied by Jera’s father Jaron Elingboe. Upon seeing the body of his father, Herliet knelt down and wept silently for a moment, before rising with sorrowful determination. Upon noticing the crown that Jera held, he immediately addressed her as ‘your majesty’.

“I've known for awhile, your majesty,”

— Herliet Mithrus

With that, Jera placed the crown upon her head as Drathir helped Herliet carry Storvald’s body onto the back of Borias. The group pressed on through the hordes of dragons until they finally made their way to the great tree.

Conflict Type

Battle