¶ Death of The Witch
The battle at The Church of Her begins, and the first casualties are claimed.
¶ Lines Drawn
As war looms outside the burning Church of Her, forces continue to gather at The Bulwark of the Serpent and The Encampment of Her Light. By dawn on the morning of the conflict, over 300 souls had pledged their lives to either side.
Blaring their trumpet with tremendous force, Her Silence rallied the 155 troops that readied to fight on behalf of Mother Agora.
In opposition, a force of 146, including Detriti, the Swamp Witch and The Nameless Charter readied themselves with warchants and copious quantities of Noxium Brew. With the power of these titans of The Seventeen on their side, the forces of The Bulwark were feeling significantly advantaged leading into the fight.
¶ The Conflict Begins
As the battle itself began, there was little uncertainty over the power The Bulwark had amassed, outnumbered nominally by The Encampment, but all were aware of the power each of The Seventeen brought — bolstering the forces with the strength of 100 souls each.
The voice of She Who Smiles rings within the heart of The Lost Pilgrim and calls to awareness of the battle's imbalance, but places special recognition to the might of The Decrepits, and those who stand in defiance of the overwhelming odds; Ellua Turen, The Crusader, Jacob the Devoted, and Goldar the Chimerical.
Ivan stands ready to face his enemy, the Unknown Murderer who he had vowed to slay.
As The Encampment prepares itself, words from a General of Her Light echo to all who hear. He offers the comfort of Mother Agora's blessing, acknowledging that their side shall soon find themselves martyrs, and that they will all find place in at her side in the afterlife.
Meanwhile Detriti rouses her many followers with assurance that death is just the beginning, and it summons the writhing force of creation. She casts down the hopes of The Encampment with assurance that there is no transcendence awaiting any who die — only rot and rebirth.
The two sides race to each other, and the battle begins.
¶ Great Casualties
As the battle rages, there are many lives lost to the conflict.
55 within The Encampment of Her Light and 22 among The Bulwark of The Serpent are slain.
A complete list of each death can be found among the Burning Church Casualties list.
¶ The Fall of Detriti
Suffering through the pain of her radiant flames to breach her defenses, countless followers of Mother Agora charged at Detriti to little individual effect. In their assault, many suffered as The Nameless Charter dissolved their armors and flesh with concentrated Noxium Brew or were charred helplessly by her dark flames, but they were relentless.
In time, an unnamed soul dealt a blow that sliced deep into Detriti's bone and rallied morale enough to cause a swarm that distracted The Swamp Witch long enough for a boulder launched from The Encampment's catapault to crash into her chest.
Detriti laughed as her body shattered and she collapsed to the ground, flames dwindling as vines and worms sprang from the ground to consume her while many of Agora's warriors cheered — until they saw The Council of Six also celebrating.
First of The Seventeen to fall, within the 18th Cycle, there were none more suited to the process of rebirth than Detriti.
¶ Battle Trophies
As the fighting died down, each of the warriors were granted emblems of their armies.
The Encampment Medallion and the Band of the Bulwark became symbols of honor for those who fought in the first conflict, but the war had not yet concluded.
As daylight broke, each side returned to their bases to rebuild, recruit, and reinforce themselves for a bloody second phase. The Encampment of Her Light, not yet ready to surrender The Church of Her to The Nameless Serpent, and the The Bulwark vowing to seek revenge for the death of Detriti.