After Worldbreaking ended and we got to rebuilding Arda, a new Era had set. Some call it the Age of Nobility, some the Age of Stagnation, the term Reconstruction Era is thrown about too. Reconstruction aptly describes the mood for it is the single era in our history defined not by itself but by what preceded and what came after. The Great War, a time-period in itself, marks the end. Worldbreaking’s finish marks the start. Some call it the Forgotten Period. There exist few who long for it. It wasn’t particularly peaceful, nor was it particularly quarrelsome. Wars, such as Fer’s Incursions or the Black & White War between Irinika and Allasaria were simply settling of long grudges.

There is of course a personal matter in this, for whereas I incarnated at the near-end of Worldbreaking, I was raised in the Era of Reconstruction, nevertheless, this is simply a mention. The Archive aims to be an unbiased text.

Yet whereas the world was relatively pleasant and whereas the period was not so defining as the times immediately before and after, it would be foolish to discount the Era of Reconstruction entirely from the books of history as scholars are want to do. The fissures of petty differences between Divinity started to bubble up and boil over. These grievances will be covered in the chapters: Prelude to the Great War.

Likewise, the Era of Reconstruction was ultimately responsible for Arascus’ Empire. The Reconstruction Authority, a Pantheon of sorts, lasted for eighty years. Organisation was done by Arascus, Fortia, Irinika, Allasaria and Theosius although it numbered hundreds of Divines, myself included. Where it not for the heads, there is doubt on whether it would have lasted even six months. Nevertheless, it was revolutionary, consisting of four levels of hierarchy. It broke Pantheon Doctrine in that manner yet with the world broken, there were none who would enforce such idealist principles. The Reconstruction Authority grew, expanded, rebuilt towns, cities and entire nations. It levelled mountains, it brought continents back together, it pushed oceans of magma back under the surface. It replanted and rebuilt wherever it went.

And then the world was rebuilt and the world was left in the hands of five Divines. It was the closest Arda had ever come to a one-world government. And just as Worldbreaking ended, so did the Reconstruction Authority. Just as were nothing left to destroy in the past, there was nothing left to rebuild in the present.

Ultimately, it was Arascus who dissolved the authority. Whereas the other heads voted against giving up their status as leaders of Divinity, the vote was overwhelming. Five-hundred and twenty-seven to twelve for dissolution, with the rest abstaining. In such a case, one can point to Reconstruction Authority as the first formal hierarchy between groups Divines.

And thus, we see the first link in the chain. The Reconstruction Authority, whilst not being a model for Divine organisation, served as the proof. Could Divinity be organised into stable hierarchy?

Yes.

Not only yes, but the Reconstruction Authority showed how effective organised Divinity could truly be.

– Excerpt from “Archive of Arda”, written by Elassa, Goddess of Magic.

“It’s time to leave.” Olonia said. She had given the men rest enough, the vehicles had long since cooled down, the air was starting to get thin here too. Olonia could feel her lungs straining as they tried to grasp at oxygen which was beginning to run out. She spoke again. “Tanit, it’s time to leave.”

“Mmh.” Tanit said as she stared at one of the walls of battered sand which had been created by her powers. The Goddess of Ibya took a deep breath and raised her hands. “Are you ready?” She asked. The woman was terrified, it was obvious. Her hands were trembling, her breathing was shallow, her coppery skin had grown paler by the minute. The air, as thin as it was, would not do that. Olonia turned to the One-Seventeenth who clustered and sat around in small groups. The vehicles had been switched off but the underground was illuminated with overlapping torch-light. They could not stay here for much longer. It was only a matter before the batteries or the air ran out first and then it would be chaos.

“Make a small entrance, I’ll scout it out.” Olonia said. “Make two, make a draft down here.” She would not be taking everyone out yet. First a team would check whether it was safe, then the One-Seventeenth could leave. They’d take it from there. If there were demons on the surface, then they’d fight. If they followed Iliyal’s theory and found some huge demon that spewed ash from its back, then they’d kill it. If they were overwhelmed by a Legion marching above them…

Olonia culled that line of thought. There was nothing to gain from it. They would hold.

“Okay.” Tanit said. “I’m ready on your command.” Even as she said that, her hands still shook and her lips still trembled. Olonia couldn’t even shout at her to be brave. Her own legs felt as if they had been made out of stone. Every breathe felt as if she was trying to stuff gelatine down her nose.

Instead, the Goddess of Lubska only turned around and shouted to her men. “Captain Henek! Organize an expedition team! One platoon on the double!” Olonia’s order echoed throughout Tanit’s burrow. Men looked up, a few sighed. Some fell onto the air backs and stared up at the ceiling. A few peeled off out of sight, behind trucks and vehicles. Olonia let them be. They were here already, once battle adrenaline kicked in and the wait was over, the fear would melt away. It was always like that in war.

“Aye Aye Goddess!” Henek shouted from close by, Olonia had not needed to shout.

She turned back around to the Goddess of Ibya. “Tanit. Go.”

“Understood.” Tanit said, she moved her hands forwards, her fingers straight, and then she spread them as if separating a mass in front of her. The sand moved with her. It created a corridor wide enough for two men to march side-by-side. Another was next to it.

“Will that make a draft for air?” Olonia asked.

Tanit pointed up to the ceiling. “We’re sitting underneath a dune. We’re already risking things with one entrance. There could be demons in that valley.” She moved her hand down and pointed to the other end of the chamber. The men pretended not to be interested in what she was saying. “Do you want to risk two entrances?”

“Good point.” Olonia said. “Expand it slowly for the vehicles.”

“We’re taking them?” Tanit asked. “They’re loud.”

“Do you want to cross the Sassara on foot?”

No answer. Tanit merely nodded as Henek ran up behind Olonia with a team of men who obviously had not wanted to be chosen. “I’ll lead the way.” Olonia said. She picked up her rifle and slung it across her shoulder. Her sword on its belt. At least there would be no need for the white-cloaks to protect her from the sun. Already, it was obviously dark outside. They had not been down here long enough for it to be night-time already.

As Olonia marched up, she realised how much colder the air became. Tartarus, the realm of demonspawn, she had always associated with blazing infernos and devouring temperatures. Now, it felt as if she was stepping outside on a cold autumn afternoon. Certainly not freezing or incapacitating, but definitely cold enough for it not to be pleasant. She slowly marched up Tanit’s tunnel.

Out into the land of ash. Olonia felt the sand that her sheer weight slowly burrowed into suddenly be replaced by a something soft that quickly became hard. She took another step. It was akin to walking through snow that wasn’t wet nor freezing. Oddly warm in fact. Another. Her head went out the ditch. Her eyes focused. She was suddenly glad for her snow-white hair. It stood out in forests and fields as brightly as a flag but here? It was just another colourless dash in the landscape.

Forward. Grey. Slope. Going upwards. Right. Grey. Valley. Darkness in the distance. Left. Grey. Valley. Distance. Behind. Olonia turned and held her breath. Grey. Slope. Upwards. They were in the middle of a valley between sand-dunes now swallowed by ash. Tanit had been right. Making a tunnel in the other direction would just be another risk of being spotted. “We’re clear.” Olonia said as she spun again and marched out. “Run out, take point.”

She took a few quick steps to make way for the men who spilled out and formed a circle around the breach in the ground. And Olonia took a breath as her mind stopped panicking. The Sassara was huge. Save for the oceans, it was probably the single largest continuous environment in the world. Maybe the uninhabited taiga’s east of Epa and north of Guguo could compare, but that would only be a comparison. Even if Tartarus had deployed a million soldiers here, then they would be akin to single germ on the ashen desert. Olonia’s two thousand would be even less, just a single cell. There had been no reason to panic.

The Goddess of Lubska looked around at the fog. Ash touched her cheek and she realised it was no fog, but just a gentle fall of the material that covered the covered the entire sky. The air tasted like something burned, there were traces of sulphur there too, although those were uneven. Even few moments, Olonia would smell it in the slow breeze and then pass away. And it was silent save for thunder a steady rumbling of thunder.

The soldiers started reporting between themselves. Better that than panicking. “Visibility is a kilometre, maybe.” Another pulled out a laser range-finder and cursed that it the falling ash covered up too much of it. “Could be less.”

“I’d say it’s eight-hundred.” Another man added. Olonia would have said something around that distance too. Not far, but not so close that demons would be coming out of the darkness at them. Lights would definitely be seen, although how far? Olonia could do not guess. She looked around once, then again, then a third time, this time slowly, taking the environment in. “Compasses still work.”

Dunes that had once been a pale golden yellow not were a spotty shade of black and white that amalgamated into grey unless one focused onto a specific spot. Above, the sky was the same shade. “Same here.” Another man confirmed his was working. Olonia got them to work. Twenty men organised in formation would be just only slightly more difficult to spot than two thousand. Their desert camouflage now was a beacon too. She saw ash fall on the men’s shoulders and stick to the material. Not for long though, they’d all be grey if they stood here for a few minutes.

“You two.” Olonia said pointed to the two soldiers who took point just by her sides. “Run back down and say its clear. Get everyone out, vehicles, everything save for the garbage. Organise here in the valley, spread out along it if space gets tight.” It shouldn’t, two thousand men was a great amount and two thousand men was far less impressive in person than in the imagination. “You have thirty minutes before we start moving.”

“Understood.” The men said, both saluting.

“Off you go.” Olonia said, without bothering to salute. They ran off into the burrow just like that. “Henek, take a squad and follow me. We’re going up there.” Olonia pointed to the rolling hill straight ahead of them. She turned back to the man, expecting a counter-argument. He just saluted, dismissed his own salute, and picked out the closest sergeant.

“You heard the Goddess. Get your squad, the rest of you keep point and make space. Tanit will expand the breach.” The men re-organized themselves although Olonia was already walking. The vehicles had been made for light sand that they could almost bounce off. This ash was more like snow. If it kept on falling then they would be made immobile quickly. North then, to the coast, they had to go. Supplies would be difficult too. The demons needed to eat something though. Water they had to drink, all creatures needed water. The Clerics would heal sicknesses if there were any.

Ammunition.

Olonia took a deep breath.

Melee then. Ammunition had no answer if they ran out. Automatic fire had to be banned. All shots had to be controlled. Ammunition was there lifeline. She remembered what Iliyal had said back in the dwarven tunnel when they were finishing training. Demons were slightly tougher than men but no match for Divines. Back then, those words were meant to rally her. Back then, they did rally her. Splitting a demon in half with her blade was no more difficult than splitting a human open. Likewise, Olonia could crack stone if she tried. What exactly was slightly stronger?

She looked back at her weary men. They better learn fast then. But no, they had to go north, or they had to…

Olonia’s eyes crossed the zenith of the mound. She took another step. There were fires in the distance. They had to be huge to be seen from so far. She squinted, eyes locked on them. The shades were off. Crimson. It wasn’t flame but it looked to be burning. Magma? No. That was more orange. An army? An army she would expect as long lines. Maybe if they marched formation then it would just be a block of flames or whatever else the demons used to light themselves. Maybe they could see in the dark? No. Iliyal would have said and they had faced them off before. They needed light just as humans did.

Then what was that? Three? Four maybe? Crimson flames?

“Goddess.” Captain Henek said, he wasn’t even using his binoculars, instead just pointing to the horizon in another direction, one Olonia had missed as she had concentrated on the lights in the distance. “What is that?” The team around him all watched as well, no one had raised their rifles, no one bothered with binoculars or scopes. Even in this low visibility, it could be seen.

Two towers reaching up to the clouds. They were pitch black, with glowing red insignias forged onto them. The front was straight, the rear was curved as if… Olonia was sure she recognised curves like that. And that had to be straps. One of the towers began to topple. Then left up into the air. It bent on a joint half way through. Olonia saw they were connected at the top. Behind it, there was… Smooth. Like a… Like Fer’s tail without the tuft of fur at the end.

And she realised what she was looking at when it came back down. That front edge must be armour. Olonia managed to rip her eyes away to look at her own calves below the shorts had she ripped from trousers to make stop her clothes from being too hot in the Arikan sun. Hers had less muscle on them. She looked back up. Then that joint… The knee.

She had to consciously her hands from shaking.

Whatever they were doing in Epa, they better be preparing for this.

It was legs of a creature so tall it breached the cloud cover.

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