Overview
The Solvarria and Pyrenis Campaign begins after Thalassai retakes Solvarria from Zain's occupation. Hadrian and Anshar lead the surprise takeover, and Zain answers by sending a fast strike force toward Pyrenis.
Thalassai takes Solvarria, cuts its trade lines with Ulzathir, and blocks an immediate Ulzathir push back into the country. Zain's counterattack fails, but Qadir detonates near Pyrenis after one of Gabriel's crystals fills him with stored essence. Pyrenis City survives, while the surrounding region is devastated.
Solvarria Takeover
Hadrian and Anshar lead the opening strike against Solvarria after Zain's occupation of the country. Hadrian and Anshar's attack on Solvarria catches the country off guard and puts Thalassai in position to cut off its supplies. Anshar expects Sol, the capital, to fall within hours.
The Solvarria and Pyrenis Campaign becomes decisive when Hadrian links up with Kazehiro and Marcellus, who arrive from Tharendur. Together, they complete the takeover, lock down the country, and sever Solvarria's trade with Ulzathir. The completed conquest becomes an active front for Haverloch.
In Ulzathir, Qadir brings Zain the news of Solvarria's loss after the Siege of Rimvold. Archibald still holds Lumenbury at the border, but Marcellus and the remaining high-level Thalassai mages prevent an immediate push back into Solvarria. Khezriya argues for showing strength near Lumenbury before trying to retake the country.
Zain's Counterattack
Zain chooses a fast counterattack meant to draw Thalassai away from Solvarria. Gabriel gives Qadir a crystal before the strike. Zain then leads Qadir, Zhulkar, and other black-robed Ulzathir mages toward Pyrenis.
Hadrian alerts Cassian in time, and Thalassai prepares the defense near the coast. Hadrian's Solvarria force does not plan to hold the country for long and expects to withdraw within days.
Battle at Pyrenis
Zain's force spreads out behind a blue-fire diversion over the ocean. Zhulkar breaks through the volcanic ocean wall toward the port, and Qadir splits south with another mage. Cassian engages Zhulkar. Abraxas intercepts Zain, and Jin moves to stop Qadir.
Abraxas overwhelms Zain with voids, black rays, prismatic beams, liquid-glass-like shields, and attacks that bypass his essence senses. Their duel shatters the ocean wall, damages the port, and sends destructive shockwaves across the coast. Zain survives by using gravity magic to hold his damaged body together and retreats toward Ulzathir.
Jin kills Qadir's companion and battles Qadir through storm, lightning, ice, and gravity. During the fight, the hollow lines left by Gabriel's crystal fill with stored essence. After a shockwave from the Zain-Abraxas battle knocks both fighters down, Qadir lies motionless in a crater with enough stored essence to explode. Jin buries Qadir under earth and stone, then flees with Cassian.
Qadir's Detonation
Abraxas creates voids to consume or redirect the expanding essence. Cassian, Jin, and Tianlei shield themselves from the blast. The detonation splits into ocean and land, severs a mountain, raises a massive tsunami, tears a crater through the ocean floor and shoreline, opens fissures, triggers landslides and earthquakes, and strips vegetation from the region.
The tsunami ravages smaller villages before water mages arrive. Landslides and earthquakes kill at least ten thousand people in Pyrenis. Pyrenis City remains intact. Ilyra remains with the army from Solvarria, Astryx stays in Pyrenis, and Marcellus leads survivor rescues alongside Ignaros.
Cassian and Jin find Abraxas broken in the debris after the detonation. Abraxas gives Cassian her final thanks, names the source as still needing a guardian, and disintegrates into black and white particles. Jin preserves some of the black particles long enough for Jareth and Cyrena to seal them in a hollow core.
Aftermath
Gabriel's crystals can fill individual mages with stored essence until they detonate. Qadir's crystal nearly destroys Pyrenis, and the risk of more detonations pushes Cassian, Tianlei, Hadrian, and the allied leaders to strike Ulzathir before Zain can repeat the tactic.
Abraxas is destroyed almost immediately after Cassian and Jareth rework her into a protector for Thalassai. Her victory over Zain saves Thalassai from a worse defeat, but her disintegration leaves sealed particles and removes the source's long-term guardian.
Zain's Pyrenis counterattack worsens the God Realm's instability around Pyrenis. After the fight, repelled essence, divine connection-veins, and unusually numerous God Realm cracks surround the area. Khauren's origin magic causes the damage. Khauren's plan around Zain becomes an urgent threat to the allied gods.
After Qadir's detonation near Pyrenis, Thalassai and its allies prepare to press the advantage against Ulzathir. Solvarrian forces assist with the relief and military response around Pyrenis.