Kormada Version XX: Deliverance

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The Scourge had devastated everything. Continent by continent the infestation had spread, able to survive all the Kormadians could throw at it. In its search for nourishment the Scourge had even taken to burrowing into the ground, seeking the salts and minerals of the alien earth. When the land itself became too unstable to stand on, the Kormadians had no choice but to flee, as had the non-equines.



The Loftland was the last to be struck by the devastation, but its time would come. Most of the surviving inhabitants had gathered here, surrounded, and with nowhere else left to go.



When the first cave-in occurred, the equines thought the Scourge had already begun their assault. But the infestation had always come first from the skies, and it only reached into the soil once all other resources had been depleted. No, this cave in was purely coincidental.



Or was it?



The ground began to fall away more rapidly as the Scourge infestation loomed just out of sight, but no sign of the red mass had yet appeared to take credit. It was when the largest collapse of them all occurred that the Kormadians realized something else was at play. Steam and smoke billowed out of the crater at the center of Quarter Caverns. The ground trembled and shook, rising and falling as though in breath. On the horizon, red skies had finally appeared.



The attack began with no hope of a positive end for the Kormadians. The Scourge were everywhere all at once, consuming everything in their path. The mountains of the Loftland crumbled into the seas below. The Kormadians were pushed farther and farther inland, a mass of hopeless, terrified bodies. Their hearts seemed to stop beating. Time slowed down. The breath of the earth grew more frequent and pronounced. And then...



Kestrel.



The wyvern had broken free!



The beast ripped himself from the earth with an ear-splitting wail of fury and spread tattered wings. He launched into a counterattack, bombarding the infestation with ice and flames. He shielded his creations beneath his great shadow, forcing them backwards and into the protection of the cavern that had once imprisoned him. The Scourge continued onward at a punishing pace, straining the wyvern and forcing him to his last resort.



Another piercing scream tore from Kestrel's throat, and bursts of lightning split the sky. The bolts struck down at the Scourge itself, disintegrating the mass little by little. The wyvern, caught in the crossfire of his own ammunition, fell like a stone to the ground and lay still. Minutes passed until all at once, at last, there was silence.



When the Kormadians moved out of the cavern, the devastation they had known for so long, was gone.



The land was fertile once more and in its most pristine condition. All evidence of the Scourge had ceased to exist--save for one piece.



The wyvern's great body rested silently just a few meters away. A small crystal orb lay beside him.



A mare stepped forward and touched her muzzle to the orb. It began to glow, emitting a thick mist that surrounded them all. As it did, the voices of the Scarbearers echoed through the mountains.



"The Leviathan has made his choice. Now you must make yours. Even evil has a soul. Return to him his soul, and solidify your existence. Throw it into the sea, and entrust your world to chance."



The mist dissipated slowly, until all that was left was the glowing orb. The mare that had touched it looked around at her counterparts. Kestrel had saved them all, in spite of their dissent. He had saved them from an evil not even the Scarbearers could stop. Kestrel, even in his craze, had always protected them. In their frightened eyes, she saw the truth and knew what she needed to do.



She nudged the orb toward the wyvern's body until it touched his burn-blackened skin.



The wyvern's eyes snapped open. A red glow grew within them, and as his heart began to beat, the thin sail on his back pulsed red along with it.



It was the same red hue as the Scourge.



Kestrel's weapon had not destroyed the infestation at all. He had contained it within himself. And now, as the Kormadians gave him life once more, so too lived the Scourge.



What had they done?



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