Attack of Atropus

The **Attack of Atropus** was an apocalyptic event that happened in the fifth month of the year 03 EOC when the the elder evil, Atropus, the World Born Dead, attacked the world of the Collective.

## Events Leading Up to the Attack

### The Grand Library

When the dead began rising, the Collective conducted research and discovered that an ancient evil, known as the World Born Dead, was coming to their plane. Further research uncovered that this being, also called Atropus, was the living afterbirth of the creation of the gods and the size of a moon, measuring nearly 700 miles in diameter.

Later, Laidrich brought news that a group of assassins had infiltrated the Grand Library in Capitol City, slaughtered many of the scholars, and stolen a book called the book of vile darkness. Quickly, a group of Collective members and Laidrich headed to the library through the archfey’s portal. Outside the library, they were met with three Circle members. Deciding to team up for the sake of the apocalypse, the group headed inside to uncover any clues about who could have committed the massacre. The group of adventurers consisted of: Analise, Sammy McCallister, Moxie, Elise, Matsubi Hanako, Azarel, Valas Telenna, Lari Alsconti, Qetara Kusushi, and Einar.

Following a their lead, the group went down to the bottom floor of the library to investigate the crime scene, when they were confronted with a scholar, Nandre, who knew Hanako. Nandre then took the group to the scene where the other scholars were (Cherish, a young tiefling woman. Petyr, a young elven man. And Borverk, an elderly human man). When they got to the scene, Valas and Moxie noticed that one of the five scholars was no longer there. With a quick searching spell, they found the last scholar making a break for the elevators. After downing the scholar, whose disguise spell washed away to reveal their undead nature, Nandre, Petyr, and Borverk revealed themselves to be in on the attack and ambushed the group, while also holding Cherish hostage. Azarel struck first, though, driving a sword through Petyr’s heart and sending the fight into full force. Azarel and Moxie then killed out Borverk, only after Borverk slashed Cherish’s throat and was revealed to be a zombie as well, and Hanako took out Nandre.

After discussing the reasoning behind their actions, Nandre revealed that in the group of assassins was an entity who called itself “The Herald of Atropus” and agreed to spare Nandre and her charges, Petyr and Cherish, if she aided them in uncovering the book of vile darkness. Nandre reluctantly agreed.

With everyone subdued, Valas healed Petyr and Cherish’s fatal wounds and the group decided to for Valas to take Nandre and Petyr to the Collective’s dungeon until everything was sorted out while the others investigated the scene.

Hanako, Lari, Sammy, Elise, Qetara, and Einar continued to investigate the library when Lari discovered the shimmery, dark blue scale from which the group believes to have belonged to the Herald. Cherish the tiefling scholar all but confirmed their suspicions when she told Hanako that the assassins had called the Herald "Ryū", or "Dragon". Further, she divulged information that they seemed to be looking for "Tenshi no namida", which Hanako translated to mean "tears of an angel".

After attempting to scry the location of the owner of the scale, Lari divined a vision of the Temple of the Divine, located within Capitol City, and saw the bodies of guards just outside its doors. Attempting to push further, Lari was not able to scry the interior of the temple, feeling an unseen force keeping him from scrying.

### Temple of the Divines

Racing to the Temple of the Divines, the adventurers, Lari Alsconti, Elise, Sacred Oak, Matsubi Hanako, Kovir Acorazado, Valas Telenna, Zarriia Aleanar, Azarel, and Allie Grey, found themselves upon its steps shortly after leaving the Grand Library. Entering stealthily, the group was met with a hooded figure at an altar surrounded by a massive horde of undead.

Hanako struck first but was placed into a magical hold by the hooded figure who then transformed into its true form to reveal itself to be Xelryrth, Herald of Atropus and an astral dracolich. A fight ensued where the group was bombarded by zombies while Xelryrth took flight, followed shortly after by Hanako, Valas, and Lari.

In a brief tussle, Hanako was turned into a gemstone with the dracolich’s Mind Trap ability. Lari prioritized saving Hanako over fighting the dracolich but missed. Sacred Oak, in an enlarged form, leapt through the ceiling of the temple and caught the gemstone-Hanako before it crashed upon the roof of the temple.

The rest of the group, consisting of Kovir, Elise, Allie, Zarriia, and Azarel, rescued an angel that laid upon the altar, flayed by the dracolich. Knowing the fight to be unwinnable, they fled to regroup later.

## Agmazar and the Ritual

The next day, an army of the undead marched to the outskirts of the Town and called forth Agmazar the Star Titan, an alien, undead kaiju, that began rampaging through the streets of the Town. Many adventurers attempted to stop it, including Harold Sten-Artis, Valas Telenna, Sacred Oak, Einar, Dhegan Tagaar, Zarriia Aleanar, Matsubi Hanako, Azarel, Regina Wyrmdrake, Moxie, Ivrail of the Solar's Hand, and Garreth Hayes, but were halted by the onset of something greater.

Two hundred miles away, at Capitol City, the Herald of Atropus, Xelryrth, completed the ritual apocalypse from the sky and blanketed the city in fiery death. Tens of thousands of people died in minutes. After completing its ritual, the Herald made off to the Town where it attacked the Collective and company along with Agmazar, who’d yet to be defeated.

Several adventurers stayed to fight off the Herald of Atropus and Agmazar the Star Titan in the Town, including Azarel, Garreth, Moxie, Valas, Alastair, Dhegan, and Ivrail. After suffering grave injuries, they prevailed over the two monstrosities with their ingenuity, creating a sling out of wreckage and using it to send a ball of fiery death into the titan's face.

Meanwhile, Hanako, Qestra, Sacred Oak, and Lari headed to the Grand Library in Capitol City to see if they could uncover the book of exalted deeds. After a perilous trek through the partially destroyed library, they uncovered the book and discovered a key to defeating Atropus. Upon its surface, its an entity called the Aspect of Atropus, a physical embodiment of Atropus's mind and that it's defeat would force the moonlet to depart and cause the risen dead to become inert.

## Mission to the Moonlet

The following day, a team of several adventurers got together to teleport to the moonlet, Atropus. Upon arriving, they split into three groups to search the surface of the World Born Dead and find out where the Aspect of Atropus resided. The adventurers included: Garreth Hayes, Vedis Lowell, Valas Telenna, Alastair Grey, ST-014, Sammy McCallister, Lari Alsconti, Qestra Kusushi, Matsubi Hanako, Squintch, Dhegan Tagaar, Sacred Oak, and Zarriia Aleanar.

After battling skeletal dragons, dreaded boneyards, and other horrific entities, one of the teams found the Aspect. Calling the other teams in, they attempted to wait until backup arrived but were attacked by the Aspect who rained down a hail of meteors on them. In the attack, Sammy McCallister the Desperado was killed.

When the rest of the adventurers arrived, they faced down the Aspect in a glorious fight. Hanako created an anti-magic field that rendered the Aspect's magical meteor storm attack useless while the rest fought valiantly. Midway through the battle, the body of Sammy McCallister was reanimated as a zombie and attacked Zarriia, Alastair, and Lari. One adventurer subdued the zombified desperado while the rest continued to fight the Aspect of Atropus.

After a harrowing battle, it was Lari who struck the killing blow with a powerful bolt of lightning that shot straight through the Aspect and split it in two. It was then when the Aspect fell that great tremors rippled across the surface that caused the ground to crack and buckle. Then entire moonlet began to crumble beneath the adventurers feet. Garreth opened a portal and sent the team through just in time.

Back on the surface of their planet, the adventurers looked upwards to the moonlet in the sky. It collapsed inwards on itself and was pulled back into the cosmos, never to be seen again.