119 Casualties of War

As Tyrix fought against the damage of a shattering astral sea, the culprit was drifting between planes of existence. Most theologians had determined that the planes overlapped each other and it was possible to bridge these layers assuming you had means to escape from the one you were in. Before Xing Lei however no one had achieved access to this 'space' between the planes. However a kobold through strength of technique was exactly here.

A great nothingness surrounded him, vague huge shapes moved in the distance. Squinting the kobold felt like one of the great shapes was a rather sizable fatty hiding behind what appeared to be a great section of wall. There were no motions, no sounds. Just a great beings outline, the wall and Xing Lei. Worst of all was the absence of spiritual energy here, this great nothingness was devoid of energy, even elemental energy seemed particularly sparse.

Orienting himself, Xing Lei focused on his technique again punching the nothingness with the scraps of qi he had reserved in his body. While using up his remaining qi was dangerous he could not stay here, regardless of method he would expend his energy and have no means to replenish it, better he try [Immortal Shatters All] and see if the next space was better suited for survival. With one last glance at the hazy figure the void tore open and swallowed Xing Lei again.

* * * * * * *

Elsewhere the war was in full swing. The mad melee in the central hub had broken up with no clear victor amongst the dragons, rather Alustriea had laid claim to it. Much like the white dragon region, the central battlefield was now a basin choked with ice and snow, a spire of stone like ice sat in the center and it was from here the divided forces learned that an elven queen had conquered that neutral territory. The whitescale lizardfolk by rumor had rebelled against their lord who was now imprisoned in the ice tower.

The other forces that dared try to sally forth were met with extreme blizzards, rains of ice shards and the vicious ice raptor she had rode into battle initially. Diplomats had reached out to this new comer to learn why she, an elf, was interfering with the great draconian trial. Select few returned. Those that did spoke of a frosty woman who looked upon them with great disdain, what had kept them alive was watching their haughty fellows try to bully the maid and end up as ice statues. When they checked their prides before her, the woman almost seemed cordial.

Resisting this affront both the red and blue dragon armies surged out into the frozen battleground, their wild and heavily armored legions made for the tower of ice and surrounded it with little effort. Reclaiming much of the neutral area emboldened other armies. The battered copper and bronze armies moved out in the wake of their chromatic rivals. It was this late departure from the safety of their zones that saved many of their troops. While the red and blue lizardfolk had indeed surrounded the spire the scouts who made it home spoke of a blizzard that had encircled the tower, great squalls of snow hid the encompassing forces for the better part of an hour.

When the storm ceased, not a single redscale or bluescale still lived on the field. Both armies stood frozen, entombed in shells of ice mid charge. Sir Ferus of the bluescale knights was told to have been closest to the tower but from the scouts distance it was his frozen head they saw, his armored body was in a block of ice some five feet thick. He was frozen rallying his forces forward, whatever had done such had struck the two entrenched camps leaving many an unprepared soldier frozen doing rushed tasks, hunting for a weapon or even simply trying to flee the icy death that awaited them in the storm.

This horrific loss saw the first change in the contest. The bronze and copper forces almost instantly withdrew. Their early losses were heavy and then seeing a neutral force rout the stronger red and blue armies sucked all the bravery from both forces. The entry to both regions sealed up tight within hours of the reports coming back that the two armies had become icy lawn ornaments. A day later the blue region sealed itself, but only after a great bolt of lightning thrust out of the safety of its entrance. This bolt, breathed out by the blue Emporer struck the tower, but as the swirling snow settled nary a scratch marred the dark blue surface.

It was with this loss the blue region sealed itself off, resigning from the competition. The red region however remained open, many suspected the ancient red was brooding, building himself up for an insane assault on the tower as the majority of his known army had been frozen by the tower. Yet as days past there was no sign of that old red, nor any of his remaining forces. The other regions similarly showed no activity, with the death of the red and blue armies the metallic dragons were being far more careful with the lives of their children.

Only one region showed activity. The blackscale region saw a figure daily standing before the icy storm, challenging the storm for hours. Most of the scouts could see she was an elite of the black dragon forces, or perhaps, even the black dragon herself. The dragoness that stood before the storm drew many gazes of spies and scouts, her muscular body clad in partial gold and silver armor, the design of which spoke of elven origin yet the silver forces spoke of having no contact with anyone from the blackscale region, their elven counterparts also didn't recognize the figure at first but a retainer from the Silvertree had some vague thoughts.

This retainer from a branch empire had shed great light not only upon the dragoness but also upon the ice witch. Soon most forces knew of both Osilliaice and Alustriea but there was suppose to be a third. Where was the kobold known as Kobolicus? Many surmised he might be why the two former friends stood opposed, with his absence perhaps one or the other had struck the kobold low and this stand off was a quest for revenge.

It was with this intel the "bystanders" began reaching out to pledge assistance against their opposite. Though neither the evolved dragoness, nor the ice witch elf responded. Both seemed content to battle each other with their powers. Foolish enough, the retainer from Silvertree had tried to order the ice witch to submit to her family nation. Most shook their head at the foolishness, thinking a being that powerful could be ordered like some errant child, the scouts took great mirth when a squall of snow swept the pompous elven man up and threw him unceremoniously back into the silver region, albeit none too gently.

Still, the fact the clown was not outright slain did speak of her sanity. A woman lost to power and rage would not just repay such arrogance with a slap on the face. Yet as humiliating as it was for the retainer, at least he hadn't become one of the many sculptures surrounding the tower. One could say she let her former home's representative off easy. Still, while tales of the two continued to circulate from spy ring to mercenary guild, the history of both was slowly spreading further and further making many believe these two would end the competition, perhaps it might even be an elf to take the Dragon God's throne?

That is not to say the draconic forces had completely given up. Rather, where loose alliances had existed before, now true iron clad treaties were forged. Little else could be done with the competition being paused by a single individual. With the queen of ice occupying the mid ground, the secret routes of adjacent regions became even more important, many were thankful for the efforts of the black and green forces who, rather than keep these routes secured, opened them to the local powers. Many quickly learned that their supposed safety of a single entrance was a sham.

The gold dragons who had prided themselves on going a step further on fortifying the entry path were especially shamed to realize there was no less than six minor paths that completely negated their fortified entry! Needless to say, they were quick in raising walls and gate houses to secure their borders, but when the green army revealed a new seventh route, the other powers were in fits over the futility of trying to keep the hidden forces out of the gold region... yet they continued to try.

As for the wayward kobold, Osilliaice's relentless assault on Alustriea was not for no reason. Xing Lei had fallen into a deep slumber after his tribulation, Destorianaxe had his body placed in one of their more secure healing structures, but after a week mist healers and clerics were baffled by his continued slumber. Little could they know Tyrix had stolen his soul for a little chat. With Alustriea's dominance of the main battleground and worry over her mate's condition Osilliaice could no longer put off her evolution.

Her worry compounded when even a week later when she emerged from her egg as a full dragonfolk, her mate was still unconscious next to her. With little else to do she threw herself into the current efforts of Destorianaxe, which was, as mentioned, establishing routes around the blackscale region. Securing the passes for the grand reveal that their force as well as their allies amongst the greenscales were not impeded by Alustriea's occupation of the main route.

It was the start of the third week, returning from securing a new route that connected the black and former blue region that it was learned that Xing Lei's body had vanished from the recovery room he had laid in. To complicate matters the room had been choked in ice, a thick layer of it covered every inch of the room, the cot itself was shattered as if the ice had exploded from that point. Considering Alustriea's about face, Osilliaice was convinced that her sister had somehow abducted their lover.

In her rage, her evolution choked all reason from her. Dragonfolk were incredibly strong being just a step below being true dragons, but like dragons, when their reverse scale was offended they lost all sense of reason of intellect. Thus lead to Osilliaice blindly charging out, her spiritual pressure tossing her kin like leaves as she stormed into the frozen domain to challenge her sister directly for their stolen lover. Thankfully Alustriea had not been similarly blinded else a true tragedy might have been borne from the demonic god's interference and his target's rash escape.

As for the where abouts of said kobold?

A lone figure trudged through a snow scape not unlike what the central battlefield had become. For miles around great spires of ice stabbed into the stormy sky. A howling blizzard was dumping a constant sheet of freezing snow around the slow moving figure. Xing Lei, wiped the frost from his eyelids as he looked around the bleak landscape. At first glance one might indeed mistake it for Alustriea's new domain but his eyes told him a different tale.

Rather than a basin now choked with freezing ice and snow, there were no mountain ranges in the surroundings. There was no tower from which the new domains queen ruled from. Rather it seemed a world completely devoted to the freezing landscape. Even each breath Xing Lei took quickly froze in the air to fall before his feet as they sunk into the deep snow as he made his way forward. Why he chose this direction was immaterial, his heightened senses had told him one way was as good as another as all ways equally lead to more frozen wasteland.

It had been clear early on that he wasn't 'home'. Rather it was another realm much like the astral sea he had left, his spiritual pressure coated his body like a wispy paper thin jacket, barely keeping the blood from freezing in his veins. Yet he sensed something in this direction, a faint wisp of qi that could prolong his life or help him to once again summon the energy to use [Immortal Shatters All] to escape further. Thus he trekked onward, walking steadily into the howling blizzard that threatened to bury him in mounds of shifting snow and ice pellets.

He would survive. At least... thats what kept one foot moving in front of the other.