Silent Slaughter

"I'd never given much thought to the dark abyss below the bridge -- in fact I had thought nothing of the churning waters below me -- they couldn't be as bad as the demons and monsters I had seen. But when I saw that writhing tentacle grab the supports and crush them like twigs, and when I saw what came out of the depths, that's when I learned to fear it."   Our world has been invaded many times by extraterrestrial beings from other dimensions and other planes, though most commonfolk would know of no such thing. Those invasions are quite often only a few hours or a few days long, thanks to the ever-present protectors of the Apocalypse Ring. They have fought beast and demon for nearly 250 years, but one recent incident above all stands out for its exceptional bloodiness. I speak, of course, of the Silent Slaughter -- an event that most of you who can read this at the time of writing should be aware of.   The incident began on the twenty-first of Nightal, in the year 1114. The initial incident began early in the day when a particularly strong force of imps and lesser demons burst forth from Hell's Doorway and assaulted the keeps in an attempt to pass through them. The assault failed, but managed to conceal a greater being which materialized itself in the dark waters between the fortresses, attended by a host of parasites feeding upon its energy. It wasn't until that night, when the creature -- accidentally or otherwise -- ran into the magical barrier between Castle Kamien and Castle Sciana. The guards upon the bridge were alerted instantly, and set about making preparations to kill the creature. Little did they know that this was no ordinary beast, but a kraken of Dagon -- a powerful demon lord of Hell. When it crashed into the magical barrier beneath the bridge, it raised its tentacles up the ancient bridge supports and bowed them inwards, causing a section of the bridge to collapse: the section that led into Castle Kamien.   Meanwhile, the other castle connected to Kamien, Castle Zamek, was still readying its troops to rush to Kamien to assist in the defense against the swarm of lesser beings that had accompanied the kraken through the rift. Then, isolated from their comrades, the defenders in the keep of Castle Kamien were forced to defend against the onslaught alone. The lack of contact with the defenders inside is what gave the incident the name "Silent Slaughter," as the castle appeared to be quiet and calm from without, while the defenders were slaughtered within. What exactly occurred within the walls is little-known, as the forty percent of the garrison that survived hardly speak of it.