Chapter 8.9 - Dawn Breaks

[Status Report]

Serin sent the [message] for his war council from the amphitheater. The dead were countless. Serin was aware that there was a parade of damned souls. It would have been difficult, if the spirits of decay had not decided to help. Aloof in nature, they came to the rescue, taking over the job of carrying or dragging the dying into the theater, and then carrying the excess dead for reprocessing. Although docile in nature, they were quite scary for the uninitiated to look at. Their smallest form looked like a miniature grim reaper from Lord Harkonin's books, the larger ones stood as tall as small golems, hulking masses of a variety of bone held together by shadow.

The casualty collection point had to continue its throughput, because this operation had to continue. The enemy flesh golems added the dead of their own into their bodies, using willing flesh to heal their own wounds or create large flesh hammers and shields.

Serin could not afford to have their resources recouped by the enemy soldiers.

Serin then heard from Edel.

[We are currently holding strong, but we have had to supplement our soldiers. The enemy's blood attacks are infectious, and the infected have to be instantly killed by their own or risk having their soul stolen.]

[The Warhounds are running low on collars, as they only have so many uses before the magic fades. We are at about 20% remaining]

[The Dragon Riders have mopped up most of the bone flyers that escaped containment, and now the juveniles are ensuring that any late flyers are dealt with. The adults have returned to the nest for healing, repair, and restock of ammunition, but they won't be back before dawn.]

[Enemy Infantry General and the Lead Commander have been captured. Remaining enemy high command is being dispatched one by one.]

[Force at Ston has been seized and is awaiting processing.]

[Collective requests Spirits of Decay to assist with cleanup efforts, and will need elven assistance to start purification efforts. They also request sanitation area be opened for them as they are currently covered in poison.]

[...]

Serin saw the pause in the messages.

[The blood gate is closing!]

Souls: 213,476

Serin had dispatched over 200,000 souls from dusk until dawn.

The sounds of gunfire waned.

Then the sounds of cheers could be heard.

***

The Pontificate of Mystra, her highest upon high, her mouth upon the world, stood angered. It was taking too long for him to have received a message.

He looked over at his 'mirrors.

Standing in a line, in white robes of the cult, there were several people awaiting orders. They were called his 'mirrors' because they were all twins. Their brothers or sisters were sent to the various fronts of battle, as well as to certain areas of import within the Cult.

The first twin he looked to was connected to his sister in the invasion staging area. He nodded, and the twin took a small knife, cutting open his hand. Using blood magic he formed a small verticle circle, a red mirror of blood, of which the other twin had done the same.

"Herald, I wish to know how the invasion progresses."

The Herald, receiving a message from the highest ranking person in the church, bowed.

"We estimate that The Collective and Kingdom of Thul invasions have failed, but all assigned troops have passed through the gates at Haven, Ston, and The Corvid Society are well below acceptable losses. The gate's magics are now ending with dawn and we are helping the returned half life soldiers readjust to their other halves. Thus Ends my report, your holiness. Suffer not the impure."

The Pontificate closed the window.

Why had his Heralds not messaged him by the appropriate time with updated statuses?

He walked over to the three mirrors for the three successful campaigns.

He looked at the twin for the Ston invasion. As the twin cut his hand and tried to open the mirror, the magic failed. The blood drained from his face as fast is it fell off his hands.

"No answer, your holiness."

The pontificate stood stunned. The twins were the last ones through the gate, to ensure that they were not within the fray. Willfully not answering a summons by the Pontificate was impossible for the zealots, so it meant the twin was either captured or dead.

The Pontificate moved to the mirrors for the Corvid society.

No Answer.

Then to Haven.

No Answer.

The Pontificate then used his twin for his reserve base, the place where the countless rows of blood sacs containing half life soldiers were held.

"What is the status of your Operations, Herald of Rebirth?"

"You holiness, the blood sacs for Soldiers that attached to the invasions of The Collective and Thul have burst, and we are processing the half life soldiers and preparing them for reassignment."

"The Corvid Society?"

"They are bursting one or two every few minutes, so we assume they are in a drawn out battle."

"Haven?"

"Losses are at acceptable levels, and no sacs have burst in the last ten minutes, which leads to the assumption that the invasion is mostly successful."

'This can't be right,' the Pontificate thought.

"And Ston?"

"A flawless victory, your holiness. Not a single sac burst."

The Pontificate then realized the issue. There was no war where no one was killed. No matter how skilled an army, or overwhelming the force, there were always casualties.

The pontificate then asked a pointed question.

"What of the blood sacs for my mirror twins specifically?"

The Herald of Rebirth, whose sole job was to administer and remember the almost one million souls under his purview, answered fairly quickly.

"Your holiness, they have not expended their first half life."

The pontificate grew cold.

This meant one of two answers. Either over 300,000 soldiers were currently missing in action, which was too much even for the keepers of the gates to displace.

Or their souls were captured.

The pontificate looked towards the small girl who was the final mirror. She showed anemia, which made sense. She was a quintuplet, and the four other mirrors were used for his high cardinals.

He walked to her, and realizing she would die anyways for the message, slit her throat. Working the magics himself he opened up a channel to his four Cardinals.

"We meet in two days to prepare for the counter invasion."

And with the blood mirror shifting to the that of a bunker and growing in size to a singular blood gate, the pontificate stepped through.