The Aftermath

[Archaon]

The storms that had swept across the mysterious jungle region of Dethsiris have left calamity and catastrophe in the wake of such natural fury. Archaon did whatever he could to assist and ensure as much damage and death as possible could be mitigated. His biggest worries were of those closest to him; his soon to be betrothed, his concubine, his mephos and all of the present eggs atop the castle in their nests, and his large beetle companion. Everybody had their priorities when it came to dangers, but with a danger of this scale.. it was nigh impossible to prepare everything for what was to come.

The castle seemed to hold steady through most of the battering winds and heavy downpours, but some of the outer walls showed signs of failure and then eventual collapse in a few areas. The mephos nests atop the castle did not stand a chance and were cast aside like grains of sand caught in a wind gust. It was somewhat maddening to be unable to do anything but wait for the wrath of nature to end. Perhaps it was Gaea's way of attempting to cast out the antithesis of life that holds dominion upon what is considered the origin of all.

In the moments that followed the powerful storms, damage would be assessed, any missing would be tallied, and if it were to come to it.. the dead would need to be counted whether it were humanoid or not. Wraith, fortunately, had enough alpha wherewithall to try and lead the others to a safer place once he had caught scent of what was to come, but the eggs.. they had to be left behind. The drak made sure to assign enough helping hands to bring the eggs down from the castle top and shelter them below. The beetles sought their own refuge beneath the earth as they always had, plugging their entrances with mud, wood, and stone to prevent a flooding of their caverns.

It was perhaps the single most intense display of natural power that he had ever witnessed, and without the use of an army. Merely the inescapable and fickle hand of nature itself.

The drak would emerge from shelter to witness the aftermath, and he had no words. What would he do now? How would he try and generate courage and inspiration amongst all in Dethsiris after this sudden cataclysm? All he could do for the moment is just gaze at the scenes of carnage until he called for a small contingent of the guard to begin spreading word to all.

"Go and spread word to all the people. Tell them that if they have lost their homes, they are welcome within the castle walls until they have regained their homes. Food and safety shall be provided. Have the healers set up a place where they can tend to any inbound wounded..." and he'd pause for a moment as he then focuses on what may be an inevitable thought. "Have the dead collected and brought back for proper last rites and rituals according to their race. If a fallen mephos is discovered.. please return them as well." he'd sigh a little after uttering those words. Now would begin the rebuilding process.

[CallieO]

Tennibrook returns to her beach villa on the bay to find utter devastation. Her beautiful home, completely flattened, leaving piles of bricks, scattered belongings, and so, so much shattered glass. The horse barn and mephos barn, torn to ribbons. But the stone rookery, very sturdily constructed, had remained pristine.

The beach is an absolute mess. Hundreds of dead fish, scores of wounded and dead birds, and a tremendous amount of wood flotsam from crashed boats litter the shore. But sadder still, saddest of all, are the bodies of eight merfolk, of both sexes, many different skin colors, and age groups, crushed by the merciless hand of nature.

Caolan Leafwhistle, one of Tennibrook's dearest friends, arrives a few hours after Tenni gets there, and helps her with the cleanup. First, they get the merfolk bodies wrapped in cloths and placed on a cart, and the two of them say a prayer, commending their souls to the afterlife. They dig a giant trench for the fish carcasses, and get them buried, a process that becomes much quicker when the Real Estate Office's cleanup crew arrives to assist them.

Tenni and Caolan drive the cart back to Castle Dethsiris and unload the bodies respectfully. Then they make their way to The Lonely Inn to unwind after this long, hard day.

The following day, Tennibrook officially puts in her insurance claim with the REB.