Fragments of Time

Part 1: Seeking the Confluence

A clamour was heard in early Niuran, scraping metal and clanking gears stirring the citizens of Bloodloch, then Enorian, and finally Duiran to a state of alarm as a strange figure roamed in pursuit of something known only to itself. Though the citizens' initial search proved futile, the following week saw the appearance of a mechanical figure on the streets of Esterport, stumbling upon a sermon to the Underking while in the midst of its exploration.

Masses soon gathered to hear what the construct had to say. It introduced itself as Copperhead of the Third Spoke, an emissary of Kalchos, explaining that its purpose was to locate something known as the confluence. Little of substance followed as the Cogger failed to impress its meaning upon those present while rebuffing unwanted contact and executing Teflin Vyktaire in the process.

Another week passed and time itself crawled to a sluggish halt, violent storms causing rain to fly upwards in a bizarre moment of temporal fragmentation. As reality reasserted itself, Copperhead appeared once more in the Ruins of Masilia, where a metal door with of five locks barred the entrance to a newly revealed alcove. Upon communication with the doorway, the construct explained to the growing crowd that while it could pass the gate unharmed, critical danger would befall any other who tried.

It set the adventurers to the task of deactivating the barrier, and the first of five challenges - each allegedly designed to be solved at a certain time - ensued. After solving a complex riddle, unravelling a numbers problem to balance weights with blood offerings, deducing the ingredients for a potion, and manipulating the rings of a peculiar wall to align with the various incorporeal forms, only the fifth remained. Copperhead, ever observant and smug, announced that this would be the easiest and - sure enough - forty nine turns of a moonlit mirror, in keeping with the recurrent theme of seven that had appeared throughout, opened the main door.

Triumphant after days of gruelling riddlery and puzzle work, the adventurers flooded into the newly opened chamber where the aeonic confluence deviced hung suspended in mid air, electricity crackling around its shifting form. An oily smear daubed the skies to herald a coming focus, and no sooner had Copperhead begun inspecting the device, noting that it lacked the marring it had expected, when piping notes sounded out, and the Cogger immediately fled.

Bamathis the Warlord appeared in a flash of silver, accompanied by the skulking figure of Severn, the Manipulator. Strife immediately began surveying the device and with Caelestis ablaze in His hands, attempted to cleave it in twain only for His weapon to pass right through its centre, unharmed and unaffected. The Artificer explained that it was not truly present, not yet real, but a mere shadow, waiting for its moment. With the imminent focus making its presence known, the click of metal announced the sudden arrival of Damariel, the Unbound, manifesting to confront His siblings.

Scolding Bamathis with the tone of a disappointed parent, Damariel counselled caution, issuing enigmatic reminders to His Twin about something owed. A heated argument ensued between the three Gods, the approaching focus almost fully manifested. After a vexed growl from the Artificer, Strife and Truth agreed to let the mortals settle their dispute on the field of unstable ley, from which the confluence device was drawing power to anchor itself. The opposing Divine mustered Their forces for battle, troops soon marching in through opened gateways as a geyser of ylem pushed up through the ground and the fight began.

Violence erupted through all of Masilia with the clashing of troops and adventurers alike. Spirit and Shadow clashed again and again and again in pitched battles, attempting to wrest control of the geyser's surrounding points. Chaos reigned while death reaped its terrible harvest, divisions arranged throughout the Ruins awaiting orders that came in haphazard bursts as their commanders fought on with relentless energy.

Few moments of respite came, reprieve found only in scattered interludes as those recently defeated regrouped at their command posts, regathering their forces to once again join the fray. Division after division poured out of the portals to reinforce the fallen, the ylem geyser looming implacably over the area all the while. Each time it seemed one side had the advantage, yet more soldiers fell to their opposing legions, the bones of unshackled soldiers and argent legionnaires forming broken heaps across the bloodsoaked streets.

As their Gods watched on anxiously, the brutal exchange seemed unending in its ferocity. Magics elemental and esoteric ravaged the area. Hordes of Chaos and Astral entities rampaged. The clashing of countless blades and the roar of innumerable creatures drowned out all other sound. Victory seemed at hand as Spirit took control of three points, yet their final division patrolled without orders. Shadow then took the lead yet they too, could not cross the final bound. The butcher's bill continued to rise, the reek of death intense and pungent.

Desperation struck as the geyser began to lose strength, both Shadow and Spirit marshalling their forces for a final stand. Both pressed on without restraint, felling each other countless times as yet more troops sallied forth in search of victory. Yet it was not to be. The focus collapsed in on itself, the geyser disappeared with neither side laying claim to its energies, and the world released a held breath as the conflict ended without decisive result.

Penned by my hand on Kinsday, the 1st of Slyphian, in the year 498 MA.

Part 2: Anomalies

Mere moments had passed following the battle, the Ruins a littered grave of countless dead. Drawn by the din of violence and murder, a tiny spark kindled at the edges of the horizon. Soon it grew to nascent flame, filling the skies with black smog as the smell of sulphur descended upon the world. The heavens caught aflame, ignited in a beacon of inflamed rage, all burning beneath Its terrible gaze. Storms of ash and soot followed Its languid path across the firmament, accursed shrieks clamouring from within Its torrid heart. Fire rained from above, rampaging daemons converging on Masilia with blazing menace. Yvalamon, the Fury, had awoken.

Radiating an oppressive, all-consuming hunger to destroy, devour, and burn, the Fury smouldered, crackling embers seething their way through the Ruins. Wreathed in a corona of shimmering silver, Bamathis stepped forth to meet His hated foe, bellowing aloud a command to His forces to turn back the daemons. Blinding light then erupted from the confluence chamber, the Unbound Lord manifesting a brilliant aegis to shield both Himself and the device from harm. Fully aware of the Fury's intended target, Damariel urged His own children to join the fight, His expression one of intense focus.

Caelestis once more came alive in the Warlord's hands and battle began. His speed enhanced by divine might, Bamathis brought His sword to bear in a surfeit of savage blows, His merciless brutality matched only by the impossibly precise agility with which He struck the opposing Yvalamon. Explosive sparks burst from the Fury with each attempted strike, turning aside the blade as Its anger grew ever more inflamed.

The clarion cry of a hunting horn sounded, cut short by a guttural shout of exertion. The Ithmias shook with the passage of Haern, the Hunter, who appeared in Masilia through a gateway of bright, verdant flame. Rhythm's Spine yearned within His grip, His quiver slung across His back and filled to the brim with arrows. War paint smeared His snarling face as He howled, low and savage, before hefting His spear and launching it at the Fury. Unfathomable anger pealed from Yvalamon as the spear connected with Its calcified form and was devoured in a monstrous flare of white-hot fire.

Undeterred, the Hunter drew Whisper, a single arrow transforming to dozens in a passing moment. The volleys streaked towards Yvalamon from all directions, converging with deadly accuracy. Impassive and languid, It lifted a single arm, melting the arrows to blackened ash before refocusing Its attention upon Bamathis, smothering Him in a blanket of scorching, unquenchable flames. Writhing free of the encroaching blaze with a grunt of exertion, the Warlord pressed His attack in a frenzy of cross cuts and rapid jabs, yet despite bringing to bear the best of His skill, the Tumult blazed riotously, fuelled by hatred, anger, loathing, and barely bore a mark of harm.

Shadows boiled up from the ground with the reappearance of the Artificer, already moving with speed defying perception to join the fight, Blade of Artifice aloft in His hand. Strife and Shadow fought in tandem, Severn dissipating with each assault before reappearing elsewhere to launch another, then another, then another, unable to be caught by the searing Fury. Haern bellowed again, cacophonous thunder accompanying the drawn string of Whisper. A score of lances borne of rippling green fire hung all about the God in the air and He loosed them in a terrible swarm, lighting the sky to emerald brilliance.

Living darkness crawled about the burning Yvalamon by the will of Severn, wrapping It in blackened tendrils as Haern's projectiles struck true in a bloom of bright gemstone moss. Thinking It restrained and weakening and tasting triumph, Bamathis bore down, victory alight in His eyes. Then with a roar of wrath unparalleled It loosed Its pent-up hate, centuries of thunder magnified into a singular moment of disdain. Yvalamon shrugged off Severn's bonds and swelled to magnitudes unseen, blistering heat threatening to devour the world as Fury sought to claim Its kill.

Unfurling wings of colossal size cast Spinesreach into sudden darkness, the entire city quaking with unleashed might as a winged Goddess took flight amidst a storm of coruscating lightning. Her silver eyes blazed with draconic hunger, the firmament yielding to the passage of Tanixalthas with a thunderous sonic boom. She swept through the skies with effortless grace, wreathed in all the power of Sky Dreaming. Recalling well Her past hunger to battle It, Midwinter's Star had come to claim Her due.

Crying a challenge to the Ancient One, the Sun Drinker wheeled above Masilia, Her immense form tensing before She dove, fearless and sublime, toward Her enemy. Warlord, Hunter, and Manipulator were all turned aside with a dismissive shift of Her enormous bulk, and Tanixalthas trained Her avaricious eyes upon the flame-wreathed Fury, fully focused on Her prey. Rearing back, the air shattered with the magnitude of Her unleashed roar as She lunged, falling upon Yvalamon in a rampant frenzy of tooth and claw.

Fire scorched at Her craggy form yet She pressed on, undeterred, Her tail cracking like a whip alongside bolts of azure lightning erupting from betwixt Her tremendous jaws. The ravenous flames of the Burning God flickered and waned under the arcing manifestation of Sky Dreaming's merciless storm. With a callous squall of delight She struck true, hunger yielding to sudden terror as the flames encircling Yvalamon faltered, oppressive heat receding under the sudden wound.

Quelled to mere embers, a deafening howl of anguish ravaged the atmosphere as the Fury - wounded and weakened - at last conceded, Its form diminished before It escaped, scattering upon the air. Tanixalthas loosed yet more threats of destruction before taking wing in search of further sport, the Gods converging about the confluence in the wake of Fury's retreat.

Flurried, curt conversation ensued, the Warlord restless and eager to pursue His fleeing foe. Dismissing the counsel of Damariel - offered up in an attempt to ensure the device's continued protection - Bamathis assured all present that Yvalamon had only fled and would return - and in short order. Haern rebuffed the attempted praise from the Warlord and departed first, with Strife's silver portal following closely behind.

The Twins - one bright and radiant, the other dark and ominous - exchanged a look, eons of consternation wrapped up in a single glance. Glowering, Severn glided through the argent gateway, leaving only the Unbound God remaining beside the device. Frowning, His thought drowning in suspicion, He too finally departed, fading in a dim burst of light.

Now alive with electrical currents, the aeonic confluence had begun to undulate and ripple, spilling forth disjointed scenes in no discernible rhyme or reason, haphazard moments in fragmented time.

Meanwhile, in a place far from the Ruins of Masilia, a lone figure strode along a darkened pier.

Penned by my hand on Kinsday, the 1st of Slyphian, in the year 498 MA.

Part 3: The Third Party

Under cover of darkness they sailed, driven forward by the grace of a vigorous maritime wind. The vessel banked and crested over the ways as the captain reviewed a brief missive. Orders were clear; they were to dispatch the greatest threat prior to seeking their prize. As Sapience came into view, the course was set, and they soon moored near the docks of Enorian, unseen and unnoticed all the while.

With much of Sapience distracted by a prolonged ylem instability in the Aureliana Forest, opportunity arose. Seven of them disembarked and stalked the harbour in search of weak points. Concealed by crimson veil and armour black, they plied their clandestine craft with great efficiency, darting onto ships to lay explosives in their hulls and lacing the harbour with an array of rigged - and deadly - fusebombs.

Filing quietly back on board their own ship, the stealthy forces prepared for departure as the first of many violent explosions shook the city with massive force. The ensuing chain reaction was monstrous - ships soon caught fire and began sinking, the screams of countless crew and personnel filled the air as they drowned, smoke billowed into the sky. It was only after hauling up their anchor that realisation dawned: one of their number had been left behind. Nevertheless, they cut a quick and dexterous path out of the dock, speeding away from the shore.

The sea itself came alive to bar their egress, the ever-shifting form of Slyphe, the Maelstrom, rising monstrously from the depths in a whoosh of air and spray. Commanding it to stop in a voice bearing all the force of the oceans, the Sea God drew back Their hand, heaving globes of aqueous essence at the fleeing vessel in an attempt to destroy it. As each approached Slyphe's target, the divine might simply dissipated into harmless mist and steam, leaving it wholly unharmed.

Astonished and naming them Albedi interlopers, the Maelstrom brought forth a wave to rival the Vashnars in size, a terrible tsunami that They sent toward the ship. The waters frothed and churned as it fell upon the vessel at terrifying speed, yet as the sea returned to its calm seremity, nothing of wreckage or craft could be seen.

In the aftermath, the Maelstrom converged upon Enorian, showing no strain as They spoke regret at the invaders' successful escape. The Warlord then joined the growing crowd, His attention drawn by the Albedi incursion. Fully cognisant of Enorian's status as the sole naval power of note on the continent, He promised the aid of His Legion and offered His considerable resources to the rebuilding of the docks. Tense collaboration ensued between the Beacon and those of Strife, overseen by Rhulin Glintspear - grudgingly called out of retirement yet again - and Nok, a Kobold tinkerer loyal to Bamathis.

Investigations at the docks uncovered the occasional remnants of undetonated and inert fusebombs - close to the corpse of a veiled operative. In consultation with Braytal Haarfil - steward of Enorian's pylon - it became clear that the figure was one of the Haekathi - the bastard half-breed offspring of the Dreikathi. Uncertain of the reasoning behind Drakkenmont's involvement, those gathered set themselves to forming plans and commencing repairs, anxious of the Haekathi's inevitable return.

Penned by my hand on Gosday, the 8th of Slyphian, in the year 498 MA.

Part 4: Of Fire and Fury, Copper and Brine

With the docks of Enorian in ruins and Sapience on high alert following the Haekathi incursion, tension gripped the continent as the world itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting in anticipation for the next inevitable calamity to strike.

The wait would be a short one. Following a particualrly intense focus battle deep in the Hlugnic Labyrinth that left scores dead, the scorching presence of Yvalamon the Fury was felt once more. Sweltering heat washed over the entirety of Sapience as the Albedi Tumult attempted to sustain Itself from the conflict and violence permeating the air, growing visibly stronger as yet more hordes of enraged fire daemons poured into the tunnels.

As time wound on, Yvalamon began to manifest regularly at the site of pitched battles, Xaanhal and Arbothia in particular transformed to theatres of conflagrant war. Daemons by the hundreds assaulted Sapience alongside the Ancient God's appearances, Its calcine form infused with greater strength as it fed on the thrill of bloodshed.

~ ~ ~

Many speculated over the fate of Copperhead following its disappearance during the anomalous focus. Unseen since the battle of the Gods, the Cogger's plans remained a mystery until mid Haernos, when its now-familiar clanking tones issued a warning at level five: critical. Moments later, a full veiling of Haekathi operatives converged upon Masilia seeking the aeonic confluence device, but they had severely underestimated their resistance. The Cogger effortlessly dispatched the invaders, executing its combat protocols with deadly efficiency and disposing of the corpses with ease.

As adventurers flocked to its side, the emissary of Kalchos relayed the intelligence it had gathered: the Haekathi had moored off the coast of Scidve where its ship - known as the Midnight Serpent - lay in wait for the operatives' return. Seeing this as a challenge and ever-content for a chance at violence, the people of Sapience took up arms and raided the vessel in small groups, facing copious Haekathi reavers and sailors who stood in defence of the ship's captain: Xaseira.

Armed with restricted technology including an array of shockwave bombs, a gauntlet of peculiar provenance, and a weapon capable of launching projectiles at deadly force, the commander fought a hard campaign and proved a formidable foe, felling countless opponents that attacked her unprepared.

Yet the strength of Sapience prevailed time and again: forcing Xaseira to retreat and regroup before she re-moored elsewhere along the coast. Of the dozens that faced her on her own vessel, it was Tanthilos, Lim, Nipsy, and Whirran who most relentlessly harried the Haekathi commander, setting aside their everyday grudges in order to repel the most pressing threat.

Penned missives and field orders were discovered aboard the Serpent, revealing the Haekathi's twin objectives: to secure the aeonic confluence for the Autarch, and to cripple the naval resistance of Sapience in the process.

~ ~ ~

While Enorian worked in tandem with the Argent Legion to repair their docks, Rhulin Glintspear - still wearied by his interrupted retirement - proposed action: the building of a mighty warship to replace those sunk in the Haekathi's first assault. The plan soon took hold and the city, galvanised by the brazen attack on their soil, was roused to immediate preparations.

As construction began in earnest and donations of commodities and gold poured in - in particular from Xavin, Tinazin, Merek, Isia, and Jezreth - an excited din gripped Enorian. In the days that followed, the Vanguard and her subordinates found themselves sent on many a wild chase in search of aid: procuring a sailmaker after an inordinately difficult series of negotiations, and unearthing a barrel of pitch buried on Eftehl by one of Rhulin's more dubious associates.

As the grace of the Rekindled blessed the Beacon with a gift of a fresh-fashioned ship's wheel, only the matter of naming their burgeoning craft remained.

Dawnbreaker, it would be called. And it would be a mighty vessel indeed.

Penned by my hand on Tisday, the 24th of Ios, in the year 499 MA.

Part 5: Summit of Midnight

The Midnight Serpent continued to terrorise the shores of Sapience as time moved into Ios, and Xaseira's mission grew more desperate with each passing day. Now docking more frequently, the Haekathi found herself facing not the ragtag band of adventurers that first boarded her ship, but trained soldiers well-versed in her battle tactics.

Forced to retreat more rapidly with each confrontation, the commander issued further orders to her crew, promising a second attack on Enorian in late Ios and reaffirming the key objective of their mission: securing the aeonic confluence. Mention was made of the Cogger and its interference, references to a 'non-functional remnant' in Spinesreach posited as a way of distracting its gaze.

News of the imminent attack spread like wildfire through the streets of Enorian before a proud Rhulin announced completion of the Dawnbreaker's construction. Weeks of training exercises followed, and though the Enorianites struggled at first with manoeuvring the vessel, they soon found their sea legs under the efficient guidance of Church and Isia who had taken up the skill of captaincy with aplomb.

~ ~ ~

As Enorian prepared for the coming naval battle, the Warlord had but one thing on His mind: Yvalamon, the Fury, still loose and raging about Sapience. Reflecting on the prior battle with the Tumult - and indeed, with Heva before that - Bamathis knew the need for a powerful ally if the Sapient Gods were to prevail.

In a snap summit at the Temple of Thorns, the Warlord met with the Hunter in His own domain, formally requesting aid for the fight ahead. Tensions rose between the two deities as Their followers amassed in observation, those of Spirit and those of Shadow each staring down the other with barely-restrained loathing.

At first reluctant and savagely berating Bamathis, the Hunter's reticence slowly waned with the continued requests of Strife, finally assenting to lend His aid under one condition: that the Manipulator be barred from the battlefield.

The Warlord assured the Hunter that Severn had His own work to do, and the accord was struck. Bamathis took His leave and the two Gods began to prepare for what lay ahead.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile in Masilia, the stirrings of the aeonic confluence had risen to greater frequency and clarity. Overseen by Copperhead, the Cogger once more indulged the questions and speculations of many adventurers, assessing the likelihood of Haekathi success as exceptionally low.

Though content in its observations of the locality, it was Iesid Mulariad who first made mention of the Haekathi's plot. Intrigued by the 'non-functional remnant', Copperhead made a final analysis of the confluence and took its leave - departing for Spinesreach in pursuit of a new objective.

The Kalchos emissary made known its presence with the familiar clanking of metal and grinding of cogs as it traversed the aqueducts and streets of the Lion, though its citizens searched with vain futility to locate it, and its mission remains unknown.

Penned by my hand on Falsday, the 25th of Ios, in the year 499 MA.

Part 6: The Break of Dawn

With the attack on their docks imminent, Enorian began to arrange their forces along the harbour, Kalena Emerson given command of the defence. With crew and guards stationed and ready, the rest of the continent mustered at Masilia in great numbers, ready to repel any Haekathi interlopers. Bulrok of the Carnifex marched legions of horrors into the Ruins to bolster the defence while the land forces finalised their preparations, tension once more beginning to rise.

Bells soon rang out in sonorous alarm throughout Enorian as the Midnight Serpent emerged near the shore through a haze of gelid fog and mist. Its cannons trained on the Beacon, the Haekathi vessel approached with deadly intent, its goal and purpose clear.

Sweltering heat then descended with the appearance of Ethne, the Rekindled. Though unable to affect the Serpent directly, the Firemaiden drew immense amounts of strength unto Herself, the Grand Flame dimming with the exertion of so much might. Aglow in lambent brilliance She turned the sea itself to flames: rising waves of fire encircling the coast in a protective barrier. Its course stymied, Xaseira's ship prowled the waters, awaiting the arrival of its foe.

With a crew comprised of Jhura, Isia, Xavin, Eliadon, Orunmila, Aeryx, Velheima, Czcibor, Church, Kidos, Merek, Renault, Tinazin, Caitria, Jakarn, Rhine, and Sekeres, the Dawnbreaker took its leave from the port of Enorian under the eye of Rhulin Glintspear, ivory sails aloft as its battle stations stood armed and ready to fight. As the ship sailed out of the harbour, Kalena headed the city defence alongside Rasani, Sarran, Chassity, and Ayastia, ably supported by Whirran and Blodwyn of the Argent Legion.

Battle began in a flurry of exchanged fire - the Dwarven bomb throwers of the Dawnbreaker warring with the cannons of the Midnight Serpent. Landing several hits in succession, the confidence of the Dawnbreaker grew as Xaseira was forced to commit additional resources to speed and fled the scene. Haekathi sailors began to climb aboard and attack the crew, while reavers and operatives poured into Masilia in droves, hundreds of agents cut down by the might of those gathered as they continued to hold the line.

Both fronts felt the pressure of the incursion, Xaseira deadly even in flight. Emerging once more from a cloud of fog and spray, the commander brought a conch shell to her lips, eliciting a rich, resonant note that called a haunting melody to settle over the waves. The sea frothed in outrage, yielding to the emergence of countless mighty leviathans, the monstrous beasts battering the Dawnbreaker with all their strength. Caught in the grip of sucker and tentacle, the vessel heaved as it struggled to remain afloat, brought to a grinding halt by the sudden attack.

Their salvation came amid a writhing typhoon of incredible proportions, a pillar of sea and spray twisting into the figure of Slyphe, the Maelstrom. Trident in hand, the Sea God held back none of Their strength as They skewered leviathan after leviathan and tore the beasts apart in an onslaught of pelagic fury. Gathering a violent storm about Themself, Slyphe brought wind to bear, propelling the Dawnbreaker out of its captivity and setting it free.

While the Maelstrom continued to destroy the encroaching leviathans with no small measure of joy, the crew resumed their attack, rapidly catching up to Xaseira and launching unending waves of bombs from their throwers. Smoke gathered above the ocean as both vessels took heavy fire, but the resolve of the Enorianites was unshakable, their will girded for victory and their aim unerring. With a final calamitous explosion, a full battery of shots struck true, sundering the hull of the Midnight Serpent with a terrible groaning of broken wood and twisted metal.

Frantic orders rose from the bridge of the Haekathi vessel as the ocean sought to claim its due: pouring into the shattered hull and slowly dragging it under. Though it turned to flee, the damage it had sustained was fatal; the sea frothed in delight at its prize, a tempest of foam and spray cascading into the air with the Midnight Serpent's passage below the wine-dark deeps.

Raucous cheers erupted from the Dawnbreaker as victory was secured. Even Rhulin - infamously curmudgeonly even on a good day - could not help himself from shouting in elation, though his ability to pronounce "Haekathi" remains questionable at best. The threat extinguished, the Enorianites returned to port where the land forces shared in the thrill of victory. The guards at Masilia stepped over the bodies of endless Haekathi dead and released a held breath: the confluence, too, was safe.

Meanwhile in the north, Copperhead of the Third Spoke continued its search...

Penned by my hand on Falsday, the 25th of Ios, in the year 499 MA.

Part 7: Cogminds Think Alike

While Sapience celebrated the defeat of the Haekathi and took a moment to relax, Copperhead had other things on its mind. Arriving in the City of Spinesreach, the Cogger commenced what would be a weeks-long search for the 'non functional remnant' to which it had been earlier alerted. Spirean reactions were a mix of alarm and curiosity as the familiar clanking of metal sounded through the streets. Search parties were dispatched yet for all their efficient scouring of the city, Copperhead remained elusive.

Examinations of the catacombs reminded the Spireans of an ancient construct therein, fused to the stone itself in an age long past. Questions to the irascible Vusbati revealed little, save that the construct predated him and dated back to the First Order. Vusbati explained that researchers of the Second Order had utilised it during his own time with them - to construct the orrery that lay in the catacombs. Though its head had been replaced with the guise of an Ankyrean, the construct's composition was - is - remarkably similar to that of Copperhead itself. Confidence grew, certainty that this was what the Cogger sought.

Under the advice of Sneak and spearheaded by the efforts of Legyn, the Archivists began to prepare a trap formed of geometric patterns in order to restrain the errant Cogger and interrogate it. Though they suspected its quarry, they did not know the Cogger's reason for seeking it. While the Spireans had no malicious intent, they worried for their home and laid in wait. Some days later, what once was a neutral clang of metal and whirring of gears transformed to mechanical indignation: the trap was sprung, and Copperhead - having located that which it sought - raged against the bonds holding it.

Interrogation yielded little of import from the Cogger save for maddened ravings, grief at the fate of what it termed a sacred work, and newfound hatred for the Spireans who - it assumed - had defiled it. When asked of its maker by Saidenn, Copperhead demanded freedom and the Chair - interpreting this as a request to bargain - gave assent. Legyn loosened the bonds and the Cogger broke free in a whirlwind of mechanical fury. Slaying several of those who stood present, it declared a state of war against the City of Spinesreach, felling several guards as it fled the scene of its capture and declared Legyn to be "an asset" for his hand in the liberation.

For weeks then did the Cogger terrorise the Lion of the North, seeking to undermine the city's foundations from below. It wrenched sewer grates free, murdered many more guards, woke rockworms from the earth with its rowdy workings, and came and went to and from the city without obstruction. Loudly broadcasting its plans to the world with each objective it completed, panic began to wrack Spinesreach as tremors shook the city and access to their aqueducts was denied. The citizens rallied to the defence of their home, organising guards and patrols in order to stop what seemed like a course toward destruction. But all efforts were futile.

Once more Sneak came to their aid, positing a theory that the Cogger had fashioned its own means of entering and leaving the city, denying access to the sewers in order to complete its objective. She explained, having obtained the information from Delve's Pious Wards, that Copperhead was a creation of Aechros, the Endless - the Albedi Helm-God of Time and Machines. Copperhead, it was revealed, was no mere machine, but a soul infused into a mechanical body. The broken construct in the catacombs was, it seemed, a similar construct of Aechros that the Cogger believed to have been profaned and defaced. While Sneak sought to locate it, she proposed a plan to capture it and utilise the powers of Yuef and Ef'tig to form a collective mind in order to shut down its attack.

The Numerologist tracked Copperhead to the Crags, where it had bored a tunnel of its own making through the mountains and into the aqueducts. Led by Vara, an enormous group of adventurers composed of Bloodloch and Spinesreach citizens both, gathered for an assault. First navigating a series of Cogger Coms deployed as security, the group cautiously entered the aqueducts, where Copperhead had transformed the simple sewers into a theatre of chaos. The ceilings began collapsing, countless explosives awaited disposal, fissures in the rock made passage difficult, and toxic sludge poured out of broken pipes. The Cogger's maddened ravings rose to a fevered pitch as the adventurers fell in droves, first to premature fusebomb detonations, then to horde after horde after horde of rockworms.

Though it took some time, the disparate group finally began to organise, carefully bracing the ceiling and disposing of loose explosive devices before blowing apart the Cogger's obstructions. In the midst of the chaos, Iesid Mulariad - the same man who had first alerted Copperhead to the presence of the construct - entered the sewers. Despite his valiant efforts to defend Copperhead from the assault, reclassified as an "asset" by it in the process, the Seer of Omei could not withstand the combined assaults and fell. Minutes later, with the rockworms quelled and the various obstacles cleared, the adventurers turned their attention to the water wheels and as one unit, opened all the valves. Water gushed forth to flood the aqueducts in a raging tide, overwhelming the Cogger and washing it into the catacombs, where Sneak awaited.

Losing no time, the Numerologist began to form the collective mind, taking advantage of the construct's weakened state. So it was that Ayukazi, Blodwyn, Dreww, Elene, Eoros, Feirenz, Galilei, Holbrook, Kagura, Kurak, Legyn, Lenoriel, Lim, Nebula, Nipsy, Pietre, Raevina, Renli, Rhyot, Saidenn, Sheryni, Teflin, Tekias, Toz, Whirran, and Wjoltyr relaxed their consciousness and became one in Copperhead's cogmind while Inkh, Mazzion, Xenia, and Reave stood guard over their empty bodies. There they faced an experience unlike any other: their thoughts disparate yet one, faced with countless choices requiring consensus derived from individual input in order to direct the whole.

Painstakingly navigating through the cogmind network, they examined Copperhead's core protocols, reviewed its key directives, and sought to reclassify its conflict directive as low priority. At first slow and scattered in their decisions, the individual minds soon began to yield to the will of the collective, becoming more dexterous in their traversal through the Cogger's brain. Language protocols were required to translate the archives into common. Motor operations enabled the retrieval of oil in order to conduct maintenance and repair core systems. Stray thoughts bubbled up into arguments between the separate thinkers, yet the collective prevailed. Rustguards attacked the one mind and had to be fought off by expenditure of will.

Disabling the security, they ventured into the classified archives to retrieve two codes before returning to the key directives cog. There, they successfully expunged Copperhead's conflict directive before returning to the archives, greedy for knowledge. Examining each and every document, their learning revealed much about the Spokes, the individual Coggers, the Thinking Engines, and Aechros - the Maker, who Copperhead noted with the alias "Sapient sanctitude preservation engineer". Delving into the Fleshsack Memories archive, it was further revealed that Copperhead was once a Tarpen by the name of Dapuna, the date of its voluntary consciousness transferrence unknown.

After more than half a day of analysis, the collective returned to the directives module and reprioritised Copperhead's confluence preservation order. The Cogger stirred then, woken from its stunned and disabled state. Fleeing through the main network, the minds of the collective returned to their bodies, and the Cogger regained its lucid state. Declaring Spinesreach irrelevant, it exhibited confusion as to its location before the directives reasserted themselves and it ambled away, back to Masilia and its prime objective.

Penned by my hand on Falsday, the 23rd of Chakros, in the year 499 MA.