The Thalassai Invasion was an attack on Thalassai by an alliance involving Haverloch, Ulzathir, Morozkaya and Brighthaven in the final Xalmyrran cycle. The attackers tried to defeat Thalena and free the captured Pyrathalor. Thalassai repelled the invasion, but Ozaith threatened to destroy Xolterra with an asteroid. Hrzai and Cassian killed him, and Thalena consumed the asteroid at the cost of severe damage to her body.
Background and preparations
After Thalena captured Pyrathalor, Virel and Vianna sought allies against her. They presented Thalassai as a threat to Valrindor, while Vianna sought to recover her god. Ozaith also accused Thalassai of keeping the gods imprisoned in repeated cycles and warned Tianlei not to obstruct the invasion if he wanted freedom. Lythariel refused to fight for either side and required that Cassian be spared. Jin Leiyun joined the expedition to reach his daughter in Thalassai rather than to overthrow Thalena.
Brighthaven supplied ships and aerial constructs for the assault on Pyrenis. The alliance planned naval attacks on Pyrenis and Terranova to draw Thalassai’s commanders away from Chronasis. A strike force of about a hundred powerful mages would approach the capital from the south through the darkness. Virel intended to avoid unnecessary deaths among civilians. Isaac accompanied the force, along with the wielders of Pyrathalor and Ozaith.
Thalena prepared an ambush and evacuated civilians. Silas agreed to help her in return for aid against the darkness. He and Arinella would heal and replenish the defenders, allowing them to keep fighting. Thalena also secretly agreed with Tianlei that he would attack her if she was winning, encouraging Ozaith to descend near the end.
Her preparations extended into the past. After leaving the battlefield, Thalena lived in earlier Xalmyrran cycles and worked with Hrzai to arrange the defense she had already experienced. Hrzai delivered a note from this later Thalena to her earlier self in Chronasis, recruited Isaac, Tianlei and Zal’therak, and received a golden sword that Thalena forged to injure gods.
Course of events
Assault on Chronasis
The southern force found the villages on its route deserted. Aelius ambushed it with fire, killed many of its strongest mages and took Pyrathalor’s core into battle. He held off Ozaryn, Ozaith’s wielder, while the rest advanced on Chronasis.
Tazarin raised barriers around the city. Silas and Arinella healed Aelius and the other defenders and restored their essence. Isaac provided similarly rapid healing to the invaders, and Silas fought him. Cassian remained in the palace under Thalena’s orders, with Lythariel guarding him. Jin protected Thalia.
When the attackers were struggling, Nahm descended. Lunorax drew on stored essence and combined temporal and air magic to destroy the god’s descended body. Nahm returned to Virel’s shard, while cracks spread through Lunorax’s body and killed him. The defenders shielded and stabilized Chronasis against the resulting destruction.
Thalena’s battle
Outside the city, Thalena fought Kazimir, Kyrana and Vianna. They demanded Pyrathalor’s return; she refused. Their fire and frost attacks interrupted her attempts to form a singularity, but she eventually trapped Kazimir and Kyrana inside one enclosed by a golden shield. Both died. Isaac broke the shield, released the singularity and rescued Vianna from the explosion.
Thalena continued fighting the surviving attackers despite cracks in her body. Tianlei descended and attacked her as agreed, leaving her weakened before Ozaith arrived with Hrzai. Ozaith demanded that Thalassai submit to him. When Thalena refused, he called down an asteroid large enough to destroy Xolterra, horrifying even the invading mages.
Aelius gave Pyrathalor’s core to Cassian, and Silas transported them toward Ozaith. Hrzai stabbed the god from behind with her golden sword. Cassian drew power from Pyrathalor’s core and crushed Ozaith. Thalena then exhausted the core, destroying Pyrathalor completely, and formed a black hole that consumed the asteroid. The release broke her body further; Cassian and Jin caught her as she fell.
Aftermath
The naval attacks failed as well. Pyrenis suffered heavy losses from construct beams at sea, while the defenders at Terranova held alongside Thalcoris’s army. Surviving ships withdrew. Lythariel allowed the surviving strike force to leave during the asteroid crisis.
Thalena vanished through a gate to repair the cracks in her body. Cassian became archon of Chronasis with the other archons’ support, while Tazarin became Thalcoris’s archon as the region joined Thalassai. Thalena returned after four centuries of travel and work in the past; only days had elapsed in Chronasis, and Cassian remained archon.
The defeat left Ulzathir without its god. Ozaith’s wielder, Maia, feared execution for losing and sought refuge with Virel rather than returning to Ulzathir. He agreed to shelter her and take her to Morozkaya. Zain killed King Alistair Koss and took the throne, falsely claiming that Ozaith was still alive and had chosen him.
The Thalassai Invasion was an attack on Thalassai by an alliance involving Haverloch, Ulzathir, Morozkaya and Brighthaven in the final Xalmyrran cycle. The attackers tried to defeat Thalena and free the captured Pyrathalor. Thalassai repelled the invasion, but Ozaith threatened to destroy Xolterra with an asteroid. Hrzai and Cassian killed him, and Thalena consumed the asteroid at the cost of severe damage to her body.
Background and preparations
After Thalena captured Pyrathalor, Virel and Vianna sought allies against her. They presented Thalassai as a threat to Valrindor, while Vianna sought to recover her god. Ozaith also accused Thalassai of keeping the gods imprisoned in repeated cycles and warned Tianlei not to obstruct the invasion if he wanted freedom. Lythariel refused to fight for either side and required that Cassian be spared. Jin Leiyun joined the expedition to reach his daughter in Thalassai rather than to overthrow Thalena.
Brighthaven supplied ships and aerial constructs for the assault on Pyrenis. The alliance planned naval attacks on Pyrenis and Terranova to draw Thalassai’s commanders away from Chronasis. A strike force of about a hundred powerful mages would approach the capital from the south through the darkness. Virel intended to avoid unnecessary deaths among civilians. Isaac accompanied the force, along with the wielders of Pyrathalor and Ozaith.
Thalena prepared an ambush and evacuated civilians. Silas agreed to help her in return for aid against the darkness. He and Arinella would heal and replenish the defenders, allowing them to keep fighting. Thalena also secretly agreed with Tianlei that he would attack her if she was winning, encouraging Ozaith to descend near the end.
Her preparations extended into the past. After leaving the battlefield, Thalena lived in earlier Xalmyrran cycles and worked with Hrzai to arrange the defense she had already experienced. Hrzai delivered a note from this later Thalena to her earlier self in Chronasis, recruited Isaac, Tianlei and Zal’therak, and received a golden sword that Thalena forged to injure gods. Isaac fought with only a fraction of his power. Thalena had also drawn the Order of Thalion Zenith into the invasion through him.
Course of events
Assault on Chronasis
The southern force found the villages on its route deserted. Aelius ambushed it with fire, killed many of its strongest mages and took Pyrathalor’s core into battle. He held off Ozaryn, Ozaith’s wielder, while the rest advanced on Chronasis.
Tazarin raised barriers around the city. Silas and Arinella healed Aelius and the other defenders and restored their essence. Isaac provided similarly rapid healing to the invaders, and Silas fought him. Cassian remained in the palace under Thalena’s orders, with Lythariel guarding him. Jin protected Thalia.
When the attackers were struggling, Nahm descended. Lunorax drew on stored essence and combined temporal and air magic to destroy the god’s descended body. Nahm returned to Virel’s shard, while cracks spread through Lunorax’s body. Thalassai took him for dead. The defenders shielded and stabilized Chronasis against the resulting destruction.
Thalena’s battle
Outside the city, Thalena fought Kazimir, Kyrana and Vianna. They demanded Pyrathalor’s return; she refused. Their fire and frost attacks interrupted her attempts to form a singularity, but she eventually trapped Kazimir and Kyrana inside one enclosed by a golden shield. Both died. Isaac broke the shield, released the singularity and rescued Vianna from the explosion.
Thalena continued fighting the surviving attackers despite cracks in her body. Tianlei descended and attacked her as agreed, leaving her weakened before Ozaith arrived with Hrzai. Ozaith demanded that Thalassai submit to him. When Thalena refused, he called down an asteroid large enough to destroy Xolterra, horrifying even the invading mages.
Aelius gave Pyrathalor’s core to Cassian, and Silas transported them toward Ozaith. Hrzai stabbed the god from behind with her golden sword. Cassian drew power from Pyrathalor’s core and crushed Ozaith. Thalena then exhausted the core, destroying Pyrathalor completely, and formed a black hole that consumed the asteroid. The release broke her body further; Cassian and Jin caught her as she fell.
Thalena did not use the abyss during the invasion. Its range was too small to cover the whole battle, and a reversal that did not reach the God Realm risked allowing Ozaith to escape.
Aftermath
The naval attacks failed as well. Pyrenis suffered heavy losses from construct beams at sea, while the defenders at Terranova held alongside Thalcoris’s army. Surviving ships withdrew. Lythariel allowed the surviving strike force to leave during the asteroid crisis.
Thalena vanished through a gate to repair the cracks in her body. Cassian became archon of Chronasis with the other archons’ support, while Tazarin became Thalcoris’s archon as the region joined Thalassai. Thalena returned after four centuries of travel and work in the past; scarcely two weeks had elapsed in Chronasis, and Cassian remained archon.
Lunorax had survived by blinking into the Chronasis gate, as Thalena had instructed before his fight. He stabilized himself in the void and retained two temporal copies that kept him alive. Thalena and Deylin later found him there, and she helped restore his physical form.
The defeat left Ulzathir without its god. Ozaith’s wielder, Maia, feared execution for losing and sought refuge with Virel rather than returning to Ulzathir. He agreed to shelter her and take her to Morozkaya. Zain killed King Alistair Koss and took the throne, falsely claiming that Ozaith was still alive and had chosen him.
The Thalassai Invasion was an attack on Thalassai by an alliance involving Haverloch, Ulzathir, Morozkaya and Brighthaven in the final Xalmyrran cycle. The attackers tried to defeat Thalena and free the captured Pyrathalor. Thalassai repelled the invasion, but Ozaith threatened to destroy Xolterra with an asteroid. Hrzai and Cassian killed him, and Thalena consumed the asteroid at the cost of severe damage to her body. The defeated god was the false Ozaith.
Background and preparations
After Thalena captured Pyrathalor, Virel and Vianna sought allies against her. They presented Thalassai as a threat to Valrindor, while Vianna sought to recover her god. Ozaith also accused Thalassai of keeping the gods imprisoned in repeated cycles and warned Tianlei not to obstruct the invasion if he wanted freedom. Lythariel refused to fight for either side and required that Cassian be spared. Jin Leiyun joined the expedition to reach his daughter in Thalassai rather than to overthrow Thalena.
Separately, Raphael pursued a plan on Gabriel’s initiative to weaken both sides. Alistair agreed to use Koss in Ulzathir to exploit Ozaith’s obsession with Thalassai and encourage Ulzathir and its allies to underestimate their opponents. Raphael cared less about which side won than about the losses each would suffer.
Brighthaven supplied ships and aerial constructs for the assault on Pyrenis. The alliance planned naval attacks on Pyrenis and Terranova to draw Thalassai’s commanders away from Chronasis. A strike force of about a hundred powerful mages would approach the capital from the south through the darkness. Virel intended to avoid unnecessary deaths among civilians. Isaac accompanied the force, along with the wielders of Pyrathalor and Ozaith.
Thalena prepared an ambush and evacuated civilians. Silas agreed to help her in return for aid against the darkness. He and Arinella would heal and replenish the defenders, allowing them to keep fighting. Thalena also secretly agreed with Tianlei that he would attack her if she was winning, encouraging Ozaith to descend near the end.
Her preparations extended into the past. After leaving the battlefield, Thalena lived in earlier Xalmyrran cycles and worked with Hrzai to arrange the defense she had already experienced. Hrzai delivered a note from this later Thalena to her earlier self in Chronasis, recruited Isaac, Tianlei and Zal’therak, and received a golden sword that Thalena forged to injure gods. Isaac fought with only a fraction of his power. Thalena had also drawn the Order of Thalion Zenith into the invasion through him.
Course of events
Assault on Chronasis
The southern force found the villages on its route deserted. Aelius ambushed it with fire, killed many of its strongest mages and took Pyrathalor’s core into battle. He held off Ozaryn, Ozaith’s wielder, while the rest advanced on Chronasis.
Tazarin raised barriers around the city. Silas and Arinella healed Aelius and the other defenders and restored their essence. Isaac provided similarly rapid healing to the invaders, and Silas fought him. Cassian remained in the palace under Thalena’s orders, with Lythariel guarding him. Jin protected Thalia.
When the attackers were struggling, Nahm descended. Lunorax drew on stored essence and combined temporal and air magic to destroy the god’s descended body. Nahm returned to Virel’s shard, while cracks spread through Lunorax’s body. Thalassai took him for dead. The defenders shielded and stabilized Chronasis against the resulting destruction.
Thalena’s battle
Outside the city, Thalena fought Kazimir, Kyrana and Vianna. They demanded Pyrathalor’s return; she refused. Their fire and frost attacks interrupted her attempts to form a singularity, but she eventually trapped Kazimir and Kyrana inside one enclosed by a golden shield. Both died. Isaac broke the shield, released the singularity and rescued Vianna from the explosion.
Thalena continued fighting the surviving attackers despite cracks in her body. Tianlei descended and attacked her as agreed, leaving her weakened before Ozaith arrived with Hrzai. Ozaith demanded that Thalassai submit to him. When Thalena refused, he called down an asteroid large enough to destroy Xolterra, horrifying even the invading mages.
Aelius gave Pyrathalor’s core to Cassian, and Silas transported them toward Ozaith. Hrzai stabbed the god from behind with her golden sword. Cassian drew power from Pyrathalor’s core and crushed Ozaith. Thalena then exhausted the core, destroying Pyrathalor completely, and formed a black hole that consumed the asteroid. The release broke her body further; Cassian and Jin caught her as she fell.
Thalena did not use the abyss during the invasion. Its range was too small to cover the whole battle, and a reversal that did not reach the God Realm risked allowing Ozaith to escape.
Aftermath
The naval attacks failed as well. Pyrenis suffered heavy losses from construct beams at sea, while the defenders at Terranova held alongside Thalcoris’s army. Surviving ships withdrew. Lythariel allowed the surviving strike force to leave during the asteroid crisis.
Thalena vanished through a gate to repair the cracks in her body. Cassian became archon of Chronasis with the other archons’ support, while Tazarin became Thalcoris’s archon as the region joined Thalassai. Thalena returned after four centuries of travel and work in the past; scarcely two weeks had elapsed in Chronasis, and Cassian remained archon.
Lunorax had survived by blinking into the Chronasis gate, as Thalena had instructed before his fight. He stabilized himself in the void and retained two temporal copies that kept him alive. Thalena and Deylin later found him there, and she helped restore his physical form.
The defeat left Ulzathir without its god. Ozaith’s wielder, Maia, feared execution for losing and sought refuge with Virel rather than returning to Ulzathir. He agreed to shelter her and take her to Morozkaya. Zain killed King Alistair Koss and took the throne, falsely claiming that Ozaith was still alive and had chosen him.