The Godsfall Chronicles

Cloudhawk had single-handed destroyed the Conclave’s presence in the Blisterpeak Mountains .

In this one, indescribable act the Northern Barrens lost tens of thousands of soldiers . The rest were scattered to the winds, abandoning their posts . Through them Cloudhawk’s horrific deed and his threat to deliver ruin upon all the towns of the North quickly spread . It was clear to all that if you stood against the Green Alliance, your life was forfeit .

News spread like the plague . Cloudhawk’s inhuman power was whispered in frightened tones through every corner of the North . With every telling the scenario became even more nightmarish . After ten days the fires of trepidation were at full pitch . In the hearts of all, Cloudhawk was a demonic harbinger of doom . Dozens of cities had fallen, millions of people were dead!

Stories described him as a beast with three heads and nine arms . He could eat ten full grown people and not even leave a sliver of bone . His single act of terror was so effective that a number of Northern cities declared neutrality in the hopes of escaping Cloudhawk’s wrath .

The Conclave of Judgment was quick to try and put a lid on it . Deserters were slaughtered in grizzly fas.h.i.+on as examples to the others . So it was that a dangerous undercurrent was sweeping through the Northern Barrens, making the situation complicated and precarious .

Some cities, caught between the Conclave’s retribution and fears of the Green Alliance, abandoned their cities entirely and became nomads . A few left the Northern Barrens altogether, and a small subset took up residence at Fallowmoor . It was the safest place left to them .

Fallowmoor existed in a special environment between dimensions . Most of the s.p.a.ce around it was free from gravity’s restrictions and Fallowmoor itself floated freely . Cloudhawk’s meteor swarm would be useless against it, at least in theory . Meteors couldn’t do any damage without gravity pulling them down . Secondly, Cloudhawk’s favored attack was most useful against stationary targets . Things like armies could just get out of the way .

Cloudhawk didn’t expect rumors alone to bring the North to its knees, but it would at least cause a little chaos . With the Conclave on shaky footing, Wolfblade and Dawn could lead the Alliance’s forces pa.s.sed the blockade and claim a foothold in the north .

Woodland Vale was a perfect strategic a.s.set . A G.o.dly domain that was as impregnable as a fortress! 

It was located to the north-west of Skycloud and one could cross over to the southern wilds from its southern border . In other words it was located right in the middle of a crucial thoroughfare for all three armies . To the Green Alliance it was an invaluable tactical position . From there they could dispatch soldiers directly into the Elysian lands, send armies to the north and receive reinforcements from the south .

Cloudhawk’s actions in Skycloud had been effective as well . As his forces moved north they were only interrupted by token resistance from the Conclave . No sneak attacks were forthcoming from Skycloud, which proved that the Temple had been effective in curtailing Arcturus’ power . Of course everyone knew that this was temporary at best . The Temple held an important position, but it could not hold out for long against the Governor . It was only a matter of time before Arcturus shed Ramiel’s fetters, so no one was under any illusion that things were looking good for the Green Alliance . They couldn’t afford to let this war drag on, it had to be finished as soon as possible .

Woodland Vale . Immense forests stretched as far as the eye could see . Hundreds of kiilometers of clear blue sky hung over the green paradise .

It’d been a very long time since Cloudhawk last set foot in this place . A lot had changed . The realm’s simple, self-sufficient people were not in the midst of an industrial revolution . Out in the forests there had risen a manufacturing zone where scores of goods were being produced .

Natives still lived in the giant G.o.d Tree but found their lives utterly changed . Suddenly there was an abundance of wealth for them to access, drastically improving the standard level of comfort . As more outsiders came to occupy their home, Vale natives found their thinking and philosophies changing with time . Different factions dealt with this differently .

One group left the Vale entirely, out to seek adventure in the world that had been kept from them . Some quit their forest home for Greenland, eager to be part of its Alliance . Others joined the army to fight for their home and freedom .

It seemed like overnight these simple people were inundated with the morals, conflicts, choices and technology of the outside world . Lives of tepid peace were suddenly a lot more colorful . In some ways life improved as technologies introduced form outsiders made things more convenient . On the other hand, life also became more complicated . Everything was a mess of uncertainty and confusion .

“Cloudhawk! You sure do love the limelight, huh . ” Dawn clang clang clanged up to him in her fortress-like Dawnbreaker Armor . She dropped a heavy gauntleted hand on his shoulder . “People are saying just the worst things about the Green Alliance . Conclave soldiers are p.i.s.sing themselves about now . ”

Dawn was as carefree as ever . Cloudhawk felt the need to shy away . After all, he’d taken his relations.h.i.+p with Selene to the next level and though he had nothing to apologize for, he felt somehow guilty .

He covered it up by looking out over the soldiers, immersed in the process of erecting a barracks . “You all got here without incident?”

“What do you think?” Dawn shrugged . “That crafty b.a.s.t.a.r.d Wolfblade still has a few tricks up his sleeve, that’s for sure . Guess that happens when you live for hundreds of years . If you ask me, he’s a better tactician than that woman leading the Conclave . We lost less than ten percent of our forces getting here . You can bet the Conclave paid a much higher price . ”

Cloudhawk nodded . “Good work . ”

Her tone suddenly dropping, Dawn changed the subject . “I’ve noticed, though, that Wolfblade has been training his own unit . ”

This took Cloudhawk by surprise . “Without telling anyone?”

She nodded . “The drunk pointed it out . He said Wolfblade and the Khan of Evernight have been meeting in secret . Word is they’ve been receiving intelligence on enemy forces from this unit, including word from inside Skycloud . Wolfblade has an in somewhere feeding him information from the Elysian lands that he’s keeping from you . Could be nothing, but big or small this guy should be watched . ”

Cloudhawk found it strange . As far as he could tell there was no reason why Wolfblade would hide information from him .  

Dawn offered her own thoughts . “Leave this matter to me . I’ll help you sort it all out . ”

Cloudhawk shook his head in refusal . “Don’t worry about it . Let him do his thing, Wolfblade is not a guy you want to be messing with . ”

“Hmph, you look down on me!” She gave him a hard glare . “If I leave him to his business what happens if it comes back to bite you? n.o.body knows what his aim is, anyway . He could be up to something terrible . ”

Cloudhawk shook his head with a bitter smirk . She was incorrigible . He turned away toward G.o.d Tree and began to walk off .

“Hey, where are you going?” Dawn called after him .

He didn’t turn around . “Just off to check on something!”

Dawn trundled after him and the two made their way to the mausoleum beneath the G.o.d Tree . They wound their way through the roots until they came to a larger chamber . It was here that Cloudhawk did battle with Adder and narrowly survived .

When he thought of Adder, Cloudhawk sighed . In the end everything he’d said had come to pa.s.s . Cloudhawk had risen to become a leader of the wastes, just as he predicted . And invariably, every time he thought of Adder he also remembered another figure . A young woman as innocent as she was beautiful .

Asha…

He wondered how her life was . Maybe she heard about his exploits in pa.s.sing from people, and he wondered what she’d think about it . Perhaps she still hated him for killing Adder, or did she maybe feel sorry that she would never see him again? He wouldn’t know, he couldn’t go see her . He’d made a promise never to be involved in her life ever again .

Cloudhawk was a bad omen, wherever he went . Asha wasn’t strong enough to protect herself . If he got too close all he would do is ruin everything . His hope for her was to live a quiet life of safety into ripe old age . It was his deepest wish as her brother .

Dawn saw that Cloudhawk was lost in thought and gave him a little shove . “Hey, what are you thinking about?”

Coming back to the present Cloudhawk shook his head and smiled . “Just old faces . Nothing important . ”

When this was said he strode forward to a bier in the center of the chamber .

Dawn watched him approach the ferocious black armor locked in crystal and hovering above it . It wasn’t so much a piece of armor as it was a disembodied organ . It had some kind of life of its own, she could feel it . The sensation made her uncomfortable .

“What is this?”

“The Demon King’s Cuira.s.s . ”

“What does it do?”

“It was the Demon King’s most powerful relic and contains a portion of his power . When I am able to put it on, I’ll have all of the former Demon King’s abilities . I will officially be the new Demon King – leader of Gehenna and all its demons . ”

Surprise spread over Dawn’s face .  

Cloudhawk had already a.s.similated a portion of the last Demon King’s inheritance and memories, but it wasn’t nearly enough . If the phase stone represented power, and the skull represented knowledge, then the armor represented the t.i.tle itself .

Once Cloudhawk was worthy of the armor he would unlock more of the Demon King’s strength, left behind for him to employ . But that was only part of it . More importantly it would mark him as the true successor, the new Demon King . It would grant him the right to unleash the demons of Gehenna on his enemies . When he put on that armor he donned authority, which the other demons could not deny .

Yes, it was the most important facet of the Demon King’s inheritance .

Dawn looked at him wide eyed . “You mean to tell me you’re . . . ”

Cloudhawk disappeared before she could finish her thought then reappeared above the altar . He reached out a hand toward the cuira.s.s, pressing his palm to the crystal . He could feel the intention of the armor through its casing .

It possessed a very old, very powerful will of its own . This relic, locked away for a thousand years, was not merely an inert piece of equipment . It could think .

b.u.t.terflies fluttered in Dawn’s stomach . She was nervous, even frightened . What would happen when Cloudhawk did it? If he really put that armor on, would he really become the leader of a horde of demons? If he did, he would definitely earn the t.i.tle of Demon King .

What about Skycloud? Arcturus? The Temple? Before the entirety of the demon species, they were nothing . But she had to wonder if this was good for Cloudhawk, the man?

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