The Silent Invasion

Disaster / Destruction

The Silent Invasion refers to the opening of a portal to the abyss within the heart of the Valmith empire, after which demons poured through the portal in the hopes of conquering the Material Plane. The invasion was contained by sealing the entire capitol city of Aynir in a powerful magical shield. The demonic invasion was brought to a stop and eventually ended from within but the event caused the fall and dissolution of the Valmith empire and left the epicentre of the invasion as a bleak and desolate scar upon the land, tained by the demonic influence. Three of the factions that were key in ending the demonic invasion each started a new nation in what remained of the Valmith empire. The nations of Ithleon, Nestur and Vindraxos each consider themselves to be the true heir of the Valmith empire and have been in a continuous state of war with one another.   Since no one was able to leave or enter the magical bubble and communication was cut off, none outside the bubble knew of what transpired within until the invasion had ended and the magical shield was dispelled. This caused the event to become known as "The Silent Invasion".

As the human empire of Valmith reached the peak of it's power and started to expand its borders, a small cult dedicated to the demon lord Graz'zt sprang up in the heart of the empire. The cult - desiring power and wanting to rid the empire of it's stern moral codes, the oppressive religious atmosphere and the strict hierarchical chain of command - secretly built it's influence within Aynir, the capitol city and heart of the Valmith Empire. The cult hid it's devotion to Graz'zt from all but the fanatical inner circle and posed itself as a society that simply wanted to change the strictly regimented society to allow more personal freedom, while also whispering promises of power and status to those who could further the cult's agenda. Through this effort, the cult managed to win over several converts and managed to build its influence within the important temple district of the city. Before the emperor or his cabinet managed to catch on, the cult conducted a long and elaborate ritual in the undercroft of the church to Helm, patron deity of the Empire, using corrupt and allied clergy to cover for them as the ritual proceeded. With the ritual completed, the church of Helm was torn asunder in a magical storm of demonic nature, and within the ruins of the church's undercroft rose a portal to the Abyss itself. The Valmith Empire was completely caught off guard as demons poured from the portal, intent on conquering the material plane and gaining the adventage over their Devil adversaries.   Within the early chaos of the invasion, the temple district was quickly overrun while the city guard and the army scrambled to secure the rest of the city and set up defensive perimeters. The palace that was adjacent to the temple district was the next to fall, allthough the royal guard fought fiercely and bided the rest of the city precious time. The mangled bodies of the emperor and his advisors were paraded on the palace walls as the defenders of the city tried desperately to cordon off the temple district and the palace. Fortunately, however, the city's most powerful spellcasters were quick to act as they sensed the powerful demonic magics that were unleashed with the completion of the ritual. From the city's arcane university they coördinated the most capable amongst them to seal the entire city in a powerful magical shield that would allow none to enter or leave Aynir. The casters used their own bodies as arcane foci for the spell, which meant that they had to survive to keep the shield from faltering. Each of the casters hid itself throughout the city in the hopes enough of them would survive to maintain the shield. Meanwhile the other casters of the Arcane University tried to aid the defenders of the city as best they could.   For the first two days the battle lines shifted constantly. The narrow streets and the dense construction of the districts around the temple district and palace allowed the defenders to set up bottlenecks, barricades and battlements to counter the numerical advantage of the demons. The area's that fell in the original attack were cordoned off by the city guard and the army, and backed by spellcasters, clerics, citizen volunteers, and others. The defenders were able to hold back the demons in some area's or even drive them back a few blocks, while other streets and area's had to be abandoned as the demons broke through. Cultist agents within the city tried to sabotage the defense efforts and win over reinforcements by promising citizen converts they would be spared when the demonic forces conquered the city. As the defenders faced a limitless supply of demons, it appeared to be a matter of time for the city to fall unless the demonic portal was closed. Closing the portal, however, would mean fighting through a seemingly endless horde just to reach the portal while closing it would require time and no small amount of effort. As the defensive lines were pushed back further and further the situation seemed dire, untill three champions each set events in motion that helped turn the tide.   The first of these was a human woman named Nestur Black Eyes. Nestur realised that the cultist agents, acting within the "free" parts of the city were a serious danger and could tilt the tide in the demon's favor. Nestur used her contacts within the underbelly of Aynir to gather a group of followers that were willing to do what it would take to secure the city. They ruthlessly hunted the cult's agents and any converts or other traitors that hid amongst the populace and executed them in public spectacles. Using the same fear tactics as the cult itself, they thinned the cultist's numbers and drove them into hiding, keeping them from further acts of sabotage. By these actions, Nestur and her followers were crucial in preventing the city from falling, but as Nestur's following, known as "The volunteers", grew and got more organised they realised that more was needed to save Aynir. And so, Nestur Black Eyes and The volunteers turned to the demon's mortal enemies and made a pact with a powerful devil.   The devil promised Nestur and her volunteers the power they needed to fight back the invasion and they also pledged to start a large offensive on the Abyss from Avernus to pressure the demons and hopefully divert their forces. In return, Nestur and her followers vowed to enter the portal and take the fight to the Abyss itself. The terms of the contract also stated that the souls of Nestur and her followers would be consigned to the nine hells to join the Blood Wars on the devil's side. With the signing of the pact Nestur and her followers were remade in the devil's image. From their heads sprouted horns, their canine teeth gained a sharp point, their eyes lost it's pupils and turned to solid, unnatural colours, they gained a thick and long tail, and some of the afflicted found that their skin or hair changed to an unnatural colour. The changes were not simply visual, however, for the afflicted were suddenly able to see in the dark, they had access to powerful magics, and they gained supernatural strength, endurance and senses. Nestur Black Eyes and The volunteers then used their new powers to throw themselves against the demons with renewed fervor.   The second champion was a powerful half-elf wizard named Avellisse Vindraxos. Avellisse was one of the few casters in Aynir that was not aligned with the Arcane University as she had been banned from the institution for her alleged "unhealthy interest in dangerous magicks". Avellisse's fascination with the magic school of Necromancy, in particular, had generated a great deal of controversy within the strict confines of the Valmith empire. With Aynir in complete dissarray during the invasion, Avellisse felt that her fascination could be the city's saving grace and she tried to convince her former friends and enemies to aid her in a risky gambit. With a small following, Avellisse scoured the Arcane University for powerful sources and materials. They succeeded virtually unopposed, and almost unnoticed in the chaos of the invasion. Avellisse then used both her own knowledge and what was scoured from the university to quickly teach her following how to raise corpses in the hopes of countering the infinite number of demons with an almost infinite number of undead. The necromancers then set out to the city's largest graveyard and raised those buried there as a substantial defensive force. The arrival of the necromancers and their small undead army caused a great deal of unease amongst the defenders, but few could argue with the results as the undead horde threw themselves at the demons and formed an unliving shield for the defenders. Soon after, Avellisse's necromantic followers visited graveyards, crypts and infirmaries to collect any deceased and bid them to protect the city once more. Each fallen defender rose once more to keep fighting and strenghtened by both the undead reinforcements and Nestur's infernal volunteers, the defenders started to slowly push back the demons after the first week of fighting since the start of the invasion.   While the defenders were slowly pushing back the demons, a third plan had been set in motion by Marius Ithleon, a human priest of Helm. Marius was a devout follower of Helm, and he believed the Silent Invasion was punishment for the Empire forsaking the eternal watch that is the domain of Valmith's patron deity. With the clergy corrupted and the empire caught off guard by the activities of the demonic cult within their midst, it was only fitting for The Vigilant One to require penance. Marius, therefore, believed that the only one who could save Aynir and the Valmith empire was Helm himself. And so Marius gathered a fanatical following of clergy, believers and what remained of The Order of the Ever Watchfull Eye for a suicidal attempt to reach the Vigilant Gaze Chapel on the outskirts of the Temple District. This meant fighting through several streets infested with demons to reach a hidden escape route leading to the chapel.   Ithleon's party gathered and used excessive force and divine magicks to hit the demons like a sledgehammer. Using the momentum of their strike, they forced their way through the demon infested streets to the escape tunnel, without worrrying about actually clearing the streets. While a few members of the party gave their life guarding the entrance to the escape tunnel, Ithleon and the rest of the party used the tunnel to make their way to Vigilant Gaze Chapel. While the knights and other fighters guarded all entrances to the chapel, Ithleon and the clergy gathered around the altar to Helm to desperately pray to their deity. They begged Helm to save their unworthy souls from the demon onslaught. They prayed for hours while the other members fought desperately to prevent the demons from entering the chapel. In the meantime, however, the fighting at the chapel caused a welcome distraction that allowed the defenders, strengthened by the volunteers and the undead, to gain the upper hand and fight the demons back towards the Temple district of the city.   As the defenders reached the temple district, a loud explosion was heard over the sounds of the fighting and a column of blinding light shone down from the sky on Vigilant Gaze Chapel. As the light hit the chapel and appeared to pierce the roof of the structure, causing the light to shine out of all the chapel's windows, it appeared that Ithleon's prayers were heard. Bathed in the ethereal light, Marius Ithleon started to float above the altar and was infused with the divine essence of Helm. Becoming an entity on par with a demigod, Ithleon became the avatar of Helm and as he and his followers rushed out of the chapel, Ithleon strengthened his allies and unleashed divine fury on the demons. With Ithleon and his followers doing serious damage in the center of the demon's ranks, the rest of the defenders redoubled their efforts and forced their way into the temple district. By combining the various fronts, the demons were driven back to the portal and the defenders now had the daunting task to close the portal.   Fulfilling the promise of their contract, Nestur and her volunteers entered the portal through the abyss to fight the demons on their own turf. Avelisse sent some of the undead with them as a moving shield, allowing Ithleon and his followers, the Necromancers and the other spellcasters the time to close the portal. As Nestur and the volunteers, together with the undead, pushed through the portal, the devil's started their own offensive from Avernus. As the two fronts met, they punched through the demon's ranks and drove them back further and further into the abyss. While the spellcasters worked to close the portal, Nestur and her volunteers set forth the last part of their plan. The volunteers had no intention to remain behind in the abyss and fight forever in the Blood Wars. Nestur also worried that helping the devils to gain the upper hand in the Blood Wars would upset the fragile balance between the forces of chaos and order, endangering the material plane. While Nestur remained behind to fight the demons, the volunteers publicly denounced Nestur Black Eyes, thereby freeing them from the obligations that Nestur's "followers" were beholden to. Using the undead forces as a shield, the Volunteers fought their way back to the portal to the material plane. Most of the volunteers returned safely to Aynir, while a short while afterwards the defenders managed to close the portal and thereby end the Silent Invasion.   With the invasion brought to an end, Aynir and the Valmith empire had the difficult task to rebuild. The events during the invasion, however, had brought a lot of problems to the surface. Relations soured between the various factions that had fought to end the invasion. It didn't take long for disagreements over the future of the Empire turned to outright conflict and the different factions each went their seperate way as a part of the Valmith Schism.