thin secular tract

Aftermaths.

They come after every event, whether tremendous or small.

They are always heralding a change and always come with a cost.

Ranus walks through the devastated temple district of the city, thinking about something one of his family members once said to him.

When Ranus was a young boy, he asked one of his great-uncles about fighting in great battles and the glory that came from them. The older man had looked at him for a few minutes and then said something that he would never forget, although at the time, he did not understand its meaning.

He spoke. "The only thing worse than the battle won is the battle lost."

Now that he was older and looking around, he understood.

What you never understood as a child was that when the battle was over, it did not mean that it was finished. Around him, desperate people were trying to save who they could and then digging through the ruins for more survivors. Fires were still being fought, but few had the magic to help those trying to contain them. The population will haul buckets and barrels of water up from the river and use them to extinguish the fires. Around him, the air was still thick with smoke, and he could hear the cries of the wounded and the weeping of those who had found those they were looking for.

Tallying the cost of what had happened had begun.

He could see from the devastation that it would be quite a hefty price to pay.

Although the fighting here in Shadow Vale has come to an end, reports continue to arrive of ongoing conflicts in other parts of the world. What little they could make of the couch spoke of terrible devastation across nearly every major population centre in every land. None was left untouched.

This was bad enough. The fact that every attack had originated from the local temples had revealed a terrible weakness in most cities and towns. Like his city, they were arranged to defend from outside threats, not internal ones at that scale.

He walked down the rubble-strewn streets, counting the bodies as he went and inspecting the damaged buildings. Many of those he passed were in a state of shock or rushing around to attend to urgent matters. He was not wandering; he had a destination in mind.

The members of his council, still alive and wounded, were busy attending to their positions. He would be needed soon himself, but he had managed to carve out a limited amount of time to go and see what he needed to. Many people from within the city and beyond were trying to talk to him, so he needed a few moments of silence.

Thankfully for him, the Dungeon had destroyed the last of the twisted that had erupted from the temple district. He had attempted to contact it, but it wasn't speaking to anyone at the moment.

Few of the temples he passed had any priests or acolytes left to man them. So many of their numbers had died in the attack that they were still counting the cost. Many had attempted to contact their divine patrons for information or instructions, but chaos still prevailed on the divine plane.

Something had happened to Oda and Astraus. No one was sure what yet, but all the signs were pointing to something terrible befalling both. As he walked, he knew that this was a reprieve and that something far worse was happening that he did not yet fully grasp.

Looking around, he wondered if he could tolerate any more tragedy.

Physically, mentally, and spiritually, he was exhausted.

His condition reflected most of those around him, and like them, he pressed on.

Even travelling these rubble-strewn streets, it did not take him long to reach his destination.

The church of Oda.

Or what had been the church of Oda.

Like all the other churches, temples, and shrines around it, it had suffered in the recent calamity. The once-tall and proud building was now a shell of blackened stone and charred wood. Around the building, there were still many bodies to be collected. Most show signs of how they died, while some were just burned beyond recognition. The air was still heavy with smoke.

From what little they had learned from the survivors in this part of the city, it was clear that the madness had started here. He had decided to come alone to see.

For the first time since he had taken up the mantle of Lord of these lands, the full weight of what it meant to be the ruler settled upon his shoulders.

Looking at the ruins, he came to a realisation. Today, he wished he had never found the Dungeon.

## ## ## ## ##

I was sure the Dungeon had reset.

"Thinking hard."

I haven't checked yet, as doing anything like thinking more than a few words at a single time was a very complex and challenging thing.

I had felt bad from my extended periods with void corruption in the past, but this was nothing like any of them.

Thinking was hard, and doing anything else was next to impossible.

Larry and Puck were hanging around the core room.

The Dungeon doors were closed on the surface. A couple of people came with crystals and scanned the area. No one else had shown up in the last two days.

Goldwind had attempted to contact me on several occasions, but I had not responded. Thankfully, all the time I spent on core refinement and improving the channels in my Core to allow the corruption to move more quickly was paying off.

The total was dropping, but not fast enough for me.

Once it drops to about 20%, I will be able to handle work as usual. Another day or two, and I will have reached that.

## ## ## ## ##

The divine plane was quiet.

Oda had vanished.

Astraus was shattered, likely dead.

Several gods were trying to see if she could be saved. Killing one of them was not as easy as some thought.

Her realm was in a state of slow decay. It is like many others that were heavily damaged in the fighting. But as it was missing its God, none could rectify it. The dungeon fairies were still operating their systems and conducting checks, but they were reporting that the mortal plane remained in a state of chaos. They were re-establishing contact with many of the other fairies located on the plane and waking them from their comas. They will then bring the wayward dungeons back under control.

The whole divine plane was in a state of shock. Many were moving around with purpose, but just as many were drifting aimlessly.

The scars of void corruption were visible. Some areas had to be sealed off until a method was found to remove it.

The Pantheon was unsure what to do. The danger of void corruption was now before them, and they were divided.

Oda's escape had galvanised them to find him, but at the moment, they were treating their injuries. None has emerged unscathed.

Rickle watched it all.

The gods had their attention split between the divine realms, their injuries, and the mortal plane. There was still violence and bloodshed down there that was now attracting more and more of the gods' attention. In most places where Oda had a temple, the carnage was terrible. His travelling priests and clerics were more isolated, but these too found that many of their number had changed, and a considerable amount of damage had been done before they were brought down.

One of the places least affected was the new city of Shadow Vale.

The dungeon core there was attracting a lot of hostile attention from the gods, but so far, it had not done anything to incur their wrath. He had checked on it and found it to be doing its job, processing a vast amount of void corruption that had recently been absorbed from all the priests and other people who had assaulted his Dungeon.

Rickle was impressed by the creativity of the Core and how it had been able to improve itself in such a way as to deal with large amounts of void corruption. This has saved it from being destroyed and creating another void breach on par with the one that once existed at Folly's End.

Several members of the Pantheon had expressed a desire to isolate the Core or remove it completely from the mortal plane. They, however, were being sidelined by the fact that the Core was doing everything it was required to do. However, it was being closely monitored; if there were even the slightest hint of a threat, the Pantheon would take action.

Rickle knew it was only a matter of time until they came to understand the role he had played in all of this.

He looked around and found the two he needed to talk to.

He went to Nictor and Xandus.

## ## ## ## ##

Around the world, the violence was finally abating.

The last few embers of the inferno were being extinguished, or it was hoped they were.

The last few days had seen the world hunting the last of the twisted that had erupted from the temples of Oda. That did not mean it was over.

Void corruption had spread through the population. For most, it was small, but it would grow. Others were not so lucky.

The people were becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of void corruption.

People were becoming afraid.

Frightened people make bad choices.

Frightened people form mobs and blame the "other".

Across the world, some were attacked and killed for the merest hint of possible corruption. This started the cycle of violence again.

Some in leadership stoked the embers for advantage.

Those trying to contain and cure the corrupted were getting desperate.

They were losing hope.

Many knew of one that had been cured of void corruption.

They reached out to the temple of Ilinia in Shadow Vale.

Hope was fading but not yet extinguished.

## ## ## ## ##

"We do not know how much longer we have." High Healer Selmum appeared to be on the verge of collapse. The woman was in the later stages of middle age: healthy and vibrant. Now, she seemed to have aged thirty years in a few days. Many of her orders were the same.

"How many are in danger?" Ranus asked. They were in his office, and he was leaning on his desk, the added weight of what she was telling him evident.

"Hundreds." The woman said, on the verge of tears. "The corruption is small, just a seed in many, but it is there."

She didn't need to tell him more. The implications were easy to understand on their own. Hundreds more people in the city are affected by void corruption. In time, it would take over their bodies and minds, turning them into the twisted. Magnify that by every single major population centre in the world, and you are looking at a disaster on a scale that he couldn't even fathom any more.

"What can be done?" He asked, now understanding why she looked the way she did.

"No breakthroughs have been made in addressing the corruption. We have made several advancements in containing it, but they are always short-term solutions. There has only been one recorded instance of corruption being completely removed from someone and them surviving."

He knew what she was going to ask when she was halfway through saying it. They were becoming desperate, and he realised that he had to take more risks now if he was going to save his community.

"It's not communicating with me, but I'll keep trying."

"I understand, Lord Goldwind. But please understand we're running out of time."

Ranus looked at the woman and realised that things were worse than he had even feared. He meant it when he said he would keep trying, but he realised that the odds were that he would be ignored. He was going to have to take more drastic action.

"Then I shall act faster." He said, standing up, knowing what he needed to do. This surprised the healer across from him.

"What do you mean, Lord Goldwind?" She sat up, surprised by his tone and actions.

"I'm going to get you the answers you need." He strolled from the room, driven by a terrible purpose.

He walked out of the building, ignoring everyone who tried to speak to him. He walked down the streets, still recovering from the damage inflicted by the recent battle that had been waged through them. As he walked, people looked at him. Some tried again to speak to him, but the look on his face silenced them. Everyone got out of his way.

It wasn't far to the gates and the palisade, and he watched it within a few minutes. He walked straight through the gates onto the floodplain, his destination now apparent to everyone. Many still followed, curious about what was happening, but all sensed something important was about to happen.

It was early summer, and the floodplain was dry. Boats were sailing up and down the river even in these troubled times. Ranus was so focused on his goal that he ignored everything around him. He was aware that he was being followed, but not by just how many people were now trailing him.

He walked up to the surface of the building of the Dungeon. The Guild structure was still occupied, but the one set up by the churches was empty. The Guild flunky in the building tried to ask what was going on, but one look from Ranus silenced him.

Without a word, he strolled past the young man. The Dungeon doors were closed, but they were found unlocked. Opening them, he walked into the dungeon surface building and turned, closing them behind him. Many did not realise just how many people were following him.

He locked the doors to ensure they were not disturbed.

He walked into the first room and sat himself down on one of the chairs. He pulled out the black speaking crystal from his pocket and prepared to infuse mana into it. He briefly looked up into the rafters and wondered where the sharoon that was usually found there was.

"It could be hiding from me?" He muttered to himself.

His focus once more shifted to what he was about to do, and he activated the crystal.

No answer.

He did it again.

No answer.

He did it again, and again, and again, and….

"WHAT!" The first came from the crystal, infuriated.

"We need to talk." Ranus was in no mood for pleasantries and was going to be as blunt as the Core was in their conversations.

"I'm busy. I've got no time to deal with you."

"Well, today, you bloody well better make time."

That brought a few moments of silence from the crystal.

"Why here?"

Ranus explained what had happened in the city. He spoke about the casualties and the fighting. He went on about the aftermath and the cleanup of what had been destroyed and lost. Finally, he addressed the issue of void corruption and its spread throughout the population.

"So, you wanted to cure the corrupted?"

"Yes. I do."

"Not asking for much, are you?"

"I am the Lord of these lands and all that is within them, under my protection, so I will do whatever I need to save them."

There was silence once again from the crystal. He was about to speak again when the voice returned.

"You said that this problem is gone worldwide?"

"Yes, every land is now reporting that hundreds of its citizens are at risk. At best, some are reporting that the numbers are in the tens of thousands."

"I cannot help the majority…." Ranus heard those words, and it felt like a punch in his gut. "…. But I might have a chance at a solution."

"What is it?" Ranus could barely control the hope flaring in his chest.

"I wouldn't get too excited. You're not going to like what I'm about to say."

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