The Nether Invasion

''There is something darker than anyone can comprehend beneath Silverdawn…. a power that could end the world as we know it. He knows what your capable of… a chance to end Voltharimas with the true Shatterer….''

Voltharimas Rises
Begin Part 2: Voltharimas, god of flames and destruction, has finally the power to enter the Overworld. Here he shall reign, spreading his corruption everywhere! The heroes, with strength barely renewed from the last battle have received aid in the arrival of new friends to join them in battle. For the experienced, they knew the consequences this battle will have on the fate of the world. For the new, a chance for treasure, glorious treasure to be received, but only if they can survive the next hour. Together, the gathered at the outpost of LightsHope, an outpost still standing through the centuries. Here lies the heroes’ last hope of survival, two beacons of immense strength, built during the days of the original Clerics, before the ruins and equipment were restored by engineers many generations later. These beacons were built specifically for this very moment, the invasion of the Nether realm. The heroes gathered in the courtyard as the engineers scrambled to input the commands to activate the pylons. Suddenly, the earth exploded, knocking everyone to the ground. As they picked themselves up, they trembled for rising up from the dust was the sight of a massive figure. Voltharimas laughed madly as flames licked across his skin, lighting the night sky with an eerie glow. “FINALLY! THE HOUR OF YOUR END IS UPON YOU!” He laughed again even as the heroes circled around him. “Xariv has served me well. There was only one who could have stopped me, and she died for you…” he sneered. “Now, for my army to destroy you…”He raised his arms up and cast the spell, creating a portal to the Nether. But the portal he cast flickered and sputtered weakly. Voltharimas mused. “Hmm…. Seems my power has been slightly drained from my emergence into your world… no matter! The army I can bring in will be more than enough to destroy you.”The portal finally spewed forth his army. With clanking armor and gleaming swords, the Blood Orcs marched through from their dimension towards the heroes. With a bloodcurdling war cry, they rushed the heroes who readied themselves against the attack. The battle for the world has commenced. The battle itself was long and brutal. The heroes were not quite ready for the attack, but they pushed bravely back, trying to gain one more minute of time as the pylons begun to power up. But the machinery was old; the circuits were not as they had been at the time of their construction. The recharging was taking too long, even with the engineers who were not battling trying to quicken the process. However, as the last Orc was slain, the heroes still cheered, finding some joy in the fact that not one of them had perished. Voltharimas, looking down upon the battlefield was frustrated. The Orcs were not coming through quick enough to stop the heroes. Something else was needed…He tossed a crystal into the middle of the compound. The crystal struck the ground, sinking slightly beneath the dirt before expanding, growing into a formidable shape. As more Orcs swarmed through the portal, the crystal began to gleam with a strange light. The heroes fought harder than before, but this time, the Orcs were stronger, fighting with a ferocity that the heroes could not keep up with. The heroes began to fall. A lone Frostnight, battling beside his comrades suddenly noticing the way the Orcs seemed to grow stronger around the crystal. He decided to take a chance. As his friends continued to fight, he left them. He ran, dodging past axes and falling bodies as arrows rained down from the sky. Reaching the crystal, he pulled out his diamond pickaxe and with all the strength left in his body, struck the gem. It cracked. Voltharimas winced from the sudden painful loss of energy. He looked down from his vantage point and noticed the lone hero’s work.“YOU! He bellowed, “YOU DARE TOUCH MY CRYSTAL?!”Other heroes, seeing the impact the Frostnight had on the Nether god, brought out their pickaxes too and began to help chip away at the gem.Voltharimas felt his power begin to drain away from trying to protect the crystal. He dropped the protection spell and instead launched a fireball at his foes. Seeing their imminent death, the heroes dodged out of the way. The flames struck where they had moments ago stood, spewing across the ground before sizzling away. The god had missed. Voltharimas was furious.“I didn’t think I would have to use this, this early…” As he summoned his power, he launched shards of himself across the courtyard. Mere distractions, they attacked the heroes alongside the Orcs as Voltharimas created a Demi-god coffin. As the heroes fought, he searched for a target. Casting his spell, he summoned destruction from the sky which rained down, striking everyone and killing enemies and friends alike. In panic, a heroine launched herself for the nearest shelter at hand… the Demi-god coffin. As she ran in, the coffin snapped shut, trapping her inside! The god laughed at her gullibility, then began to create another powerful spell. Launching it at the trapped heroine, the spell landed upon the coffin with a crack of power. She screamed as she felt her soul ripped out from her body before falling unconscious. Grasping her essence, Voltharimas melded corruption into it before forming an abomination. The giant roared, rushing at the horrified heroes. The heroes battled against the new threat, but it was powerful. By the time they defeated it; several more of their friends had perished. The corrupted essence returned to the unconscious heroine. Her friends ran into the coffin and dragged her quickly out but as they aided her, an explosion rocked the air. One of the pylons had been destroyed! Remnants of the gunpowder used by the Orcs floated around them. Only one pylon was left, will it be enough? Voltharimas decided it was time to finally end this battle. He summoned Xariv.

Bound no longer
Rising from the ground, Xariv loomed over LightsHope, turning the night sky into pure blackness. He opened his massive moth and tore out the fort from the rest of the world. With a huge swallow, the fort and the heroes inside fell down into his stomach. Foul with slime dripping from every orifice, the heroes climbed among the wreckage, desperately searching for a way out. From outside the stomach walls, they could hear the booming voice of the god, but instead of triumph, he seemed angry.The heroes felt their prison rumble as the great beast spoke.“You still believe that I serve you?”Voltharimas yelled, “YOU INSOLENT BEAST! You are MY creation, formed of my own powers! You are bound ETERNALLY to ME!”The creature chuckled, “We shall see about that…”With a crack of one of its tentacles, it snatched the god from the sky and with a gulp swallowed its former master whole. Voltharamis landed amongst the wreckage, but was unharmed. Bubbling liquid began to rise, pouring from the stomach lining and filling the air with its acrid stink. Voltharamis begun to laugh as the heroes scrambled atop the ruins to find higher ground.“You think this could hurt meEAHHHHHH!!!” The stomach acid was burning the god, dissolving his skin and burning through to the bone. As he writhed with the pain, Xariv spoke.“Did you not just say that I am formed of your own powers? You gave me the power to kill ANY god, including YOU!”Voltharimas screamed and with the last ounce of his godly powers managed to teleport away. The heroes though remained trapped. All hope was gone. There would be no escape. Beep…..Beep…..Beep….A sound rang out in the stillness. The last pylon! Even though it had been terribly damaged, it had miraculously continued to charge its energy. It lay on its side, mere inches away from the corrosive liquid. Without thinking, an engineer launched himself toward the control panel and entered in the code passed down through time. A beam of light shock waved from the pylon, punching a hole through the stomach lining and out through the skin. Xariv screamed in agony as blood began to pour, hot and steaming as it washed away the acid. As Xariv continued to cry out from his wounds, the heroes escaped through the torn flesh and out into safety. They were alive! Yelling with joy, everyone celebrated their survival, even as slime and blood oozed from their skin. The world was safe, for at least another day. And now, they could hope to fight again for their loved ones. As a new day dawned, they turned away toward their homes. ''Xariv slithered back down into the dark earth. As he nursed his wounds beneath Silverdawn, the creature thought of the battle. Those heroes were powerful indeed. He recalled the words of the late Lexstrazian…. Yes, he had indeed underestimated them and it nearly cost him his life. This time, he will not let their seemingly weak nature distract him. He must prepare for the final act in destroying them…. and his old master. He was weak now, his death will be long and torturous… yes, and Xariv will grow stronger again. This time, he will not fail…….End part 2''