The Last Citadel of the Yyan Empire and the surrounding peninsula (Week 8+)


#1

The peninsula was wide and flat. Fields of snow were interspersed by what seemed like natural pools. A few were hot springs leading to a strange flat landscape of snow dotted by bubbling water. The blizzard seemed to blow fiercly here, and visibility quickly went from open to barely being able to see five feet in front of you.

On those few moments one could see, there was a single structure. It towered over the snowfields and seemed to be surrounded by a frozen moat. The structure was made from white stone. Each stone block was as tall as a grown man, and had been placed on top of each other without spaces. In fact even from this distance it was obvious that there was significant and advanced craftsmanship that went into the production of this massive keep.


#2

On a world where almost every ancient structure found was formed from raw stone using the Leyas, it was both intregeing and confusing as to why this one fortress was made in fashion involving seperate hewn stones.

As to its size because it was the only structure dominating the penninsula it was rather hard at first to tell.

Eli and Lurtor were currently offshore, aboard a sea going ship of Bestial Design. The sailing ship was handling the rough waters with ease, and the pair were feeling quite confident about their exploration of the coastline.

But when they saw the massive citadel, they were impressed by the breathtaking view.


#3

Lurtor used his shapeshifted eyes to look closely at the citadel. It was at this point he realized that perspective was trying to make a fool of him. The citadel was way further away than he expected, but it was so incredibly big that it seemed only a few miles inland on the penninsula at first glance.

But a few quick calculations told him the main fortress entrance was so big two of their boats could have laid side by side and there would still be room to for a cart next to them. It was a keep designed for and built by the hands of giants…


#4

Eli meanwhile was busy fixing the anchor and prepping the dive suit they had found in the GRF. While the Citadel was very interesting, he knew they were only in this cove because all signs pointed to the missing submersible being here.

The cold dark waters left much to the imagination, but Eli had no fear.

With their gear ready, Lurtor and Eli were prepared to dive deep and into the cold…


#5

There was a splash, and the cold water enveloped them. Eli drifted down faster in his heavy suit, and Lurtor shapeshifted to keep up.

As they reached the bottom of the Cove, both of them stopped and waited. There were parts of a ruined city extending out from the cove at least a few miles out to sea. The ruined city was giant sized, obviously built by the same hands that built the Citadel on the land.

Eli was immediately struck by the thought that some force had drowned the entire city. He didn’t know why he had that feeling but it was strong. There was something about the way the buildings looked that made him think water had rushed in quickly overnight and not a rising sea level situation.


#6

Down to their right, half embedded in a building that looked like it might have been carved right into the rock wall, was the submersible. It was positioned so the airlock was inside the building, as if the crew had tried to park the vessel for disembarking.

Floating closer, Lurtor noticed there was a secondary hatch near the rear of the submersible for colonists to board and disembark for snorkling and deep diving. He pointed at it and the pair approached slowly, cautiously.


#7

The submersible was still in good shape despite the years of neglect. It had no markings on it beyond a simple Colonial License number at the nose and tail. The airlock door was currently locked and had a slot for a keycard and below that a numeric keypad, made of hardened plastics that seemed to still be functional.

Eli and Lurtor looked at each other for a moment. How would they tackle the airlock door?


#8

Lurtor used earth leyas to create a flat shelf with a over hang. The using Air and water leyas he starts to create an outside air lock with a hole in floor outside the shelf where someone can enter. As the shell forms a dome, Lurtor starts changing the water to air to create a breathable area. Then he would freeze the water around the door to link the two areas creating a dry area to open the sub. Incase the airlock is open on the inside. This will allow them in and melt away later.

Once this was done, he and Eli could enter the dry area. Lurtor would open the outside air lock so they could go in. Purifying the air before they entered. Closing the air lock after they get in.


#9

Eli and Lurtor were safely inside the submarine. It was a smaller vessel, but Eli was impressed by how well preserved it was. Unlike iron and steel which would have degraded over time, the plasteel they built the vessel from had suffered no degredation over time. The electronics and other systems had not fared as well. Salt water had degraded wiring and some of the advanced systems were gone. Propulsion was repairable, and the airlocks were sound.

They could see the main airlock was extended into an airfilled chamber inside the ancient ruins. There was the skeleton of a colonial. Looking at the uniform and markings, they both could tell it was the skeleton of an Old VLAD clone.


#10

AS they approached the controls a hologram automatically actived. It was one of the clones of the Old VLAD.

It began to speak, "I am the head Variable Light Assault Division operative on the planet D-445, called by its residents the planet Refuge. If you are finding this, I have died on this mission.

I have both admissions to make and apologies to give. I am not the first temperal version of myself. The original temporal version was desperate, racist, and ready to wipe out all species and hand over the universe to the Warmonger to achieve human supremecy over all species."


#11

"And so near the end of my life I was languishing in a prison in the far future. A prison called the Gu’ah, run by time traveling aliens. In the cell block with me was a rogue entity, a being called the Usurper.
The Usurper plotted an elaborate plan, one that would allow him to return of all places to Refuge. I thought I could use his prison break to stage one of my own.

I sent a copy of my future memories into the past, and uploaded them into a specific set of cloning tubes to produce me.

This me was working hard at stopping the worst elements of my own previous reign, but I didn’t know I was still helping the Warmonger take over.

There is a future version of me, a version called Vadim, that has appeared. One who has been thwarting my plans. Maybe he knows something about the future that I do not,

I am hoping to beat him, but I do not know if I will succeed. If you find this hologram, you will know that I did not survive.

Im heading to the last known location of the most sacred space to Warmonger on this entire planet. It is called the Last Citadel of the Yyan Gor. The Yyan Gor were a giant race. Bred and Led by the Krato Generals of Warmonger, and fully indoctrinated by their cult. But this entire planet, and this region was not loyal to Warmonger.

It was ruled originally by the Nightmare Lords, and the Yyan Gor were an invading army, taking their lands and killing their servants.

My research shows this planet is dotted with Nightmare Lord ruins. These would be the real sources of wisdom if I could just get someone in a position of power to trust me in the Colonies. Only my Kasanthian agents have been willing to study and explore the ruins I have found to the west.

Here in the frozen northeast, there are no Kasanthians to call upon, so I must make this journey alone. All these years of preparing a secret army here for my son Oliver may be all for naught if what I fear is hidden in this Citadel still remains.

I have all the tools I need to hide out as a Warmonger Cultist, but I do not know what if anything still survives at the Last CItadel of the Yyan Empire."

Lurtor used bird sight to look again at the bones of the Old VLAD clone, they had been scoured clean by obvious gnawing mouths of Fleshworms nightmares. He had seen Nightmare Lords used Fleshworms based weapons and traps at other locations. And it would make sense if the Nightmare Lords had wanted to kill the Yyan Gor but avoid any direct confrontation.


#12

The hologram continued, "I believe my son, Captain Oliver, a mixed background youth, who served in the Kolgul Militia will be the perfect combination of my tenacity and the tolerance I was missing. But I fear what would happen if either Vadim or the Usurper were to get his ear. Either could turn Oliver against my plans but for wildely different reasons. "


#13

"I was supremely lucky. A young boy named Alanse stole a minisub for a joy ride. He was the child of one of the colonial leaders so they hushed the whole matter up. The matter was considered nothing worth exploring when the larger issue of the death of everyone at the Glacial Research Facility took place.
I found Alanse’s report in fragments during my first temporality here. I also ignored their significance. But spending aeons in prison gives you a lot of time to think. And one thing in that insignificant report kept coming back to me. A picture the boy had taken with the minisub’s cameras. A submerged city made not for humans or even Nightmare Lord sized creatures. But so large that giants must have made it.

On a planet with so many wonders, you can understand why I didn’t value this submerged settlement at first. But this submerged settlement I would learn on my more recent forays through time was more than just a giant city. It was one of the places where the K’ias indoctrinated Krato Generals into the Warmonger Cult. It was a holy city to the giant aliens who lived there. But none of that would become clear until I compared hieroglyphics and sigils from this site to the laboratory that the K’ias Emperor used for his time travel experiments at the city of Gizhan on a distant dimension.

The sigils and symbols were the same. The same sigils and symbols that the Usurper subconsciously taught the K’ias Emperor to turn him slowly to Warmonger worship and get him to release the Warmonger and his many fiends upon our reality.

And if they had succeeded during the K’ias wars, then humanity would have been wiped out before they even left the stone age.


#14

"But I digress, this citadel of the Yyan empire was found by young Alanse on a joy ride. A joy ride that terrified him so much that he never did give back the keys to the sub. I had to hack the systems and basically hotwire it to use the Sub for this mission. Alanse didn’t just find the city you see, he saw a site with a skeletal giant army just waiting to be resurrected and filled with the unholy fiends of Warmonger. It took me centuries to piece together the entire report from data packets scattered across the Glacial Research Facility’s failing systems.

These vessels could be utilized by any number of dangerous groups, so I must enter these ruins. I must confirm the location of the Possession Chambers, claim the Giant remains for further study, and see if any of the inhabitants still live here.

You see Alanse wasn’t terrified just by the demonic gateway he discovered, there was something guarding it. Something left over from an ancient time. Something that grabbed the boy’s stolen submarine in its grip and wouldn’t let go until the boy prayed really hard.

Yes the report confirms the boy was an unconscious leyas user, a natural master healer, and I suspect he must have summoned some Leyas based attack to protect himself and the sub from the monster."


#15

The Old VLAD finished up, "If you find this, make sure Vadim does not claim it. If he were to resurrect these Giants he will use the enslavement technology of the Northern Kingdoms to turn these monsters into the most dangerous WarGiants an army of Refuge has ever faced.

Do not allow the Kasanthians access either, they would instill the Giant Corpses with nightmares.

And above all else do not allow the Warmonger Cult or the Usurper access to these bodies and this site. It would be easy enough for either Ancient Evil to field a full army of demons on this planet.

My other suspicion is that a proper ritual at this site might just banish all the demons from Refuge in a single strike.


#16

In any case, I must succeed. I have hidden and wiped all proof of this expedition from future clones, and from all databases. In fact unless someone tracks down Alanse and the missing keycard then no one is ever going to discover this mission even occurred.

If you stumble upon this submarine, it means I didn’t finish this mission. Please finish it, and then return the submarine to the Glacial Research Facility before the EEF discovers it is missing…"


#17

As Eli and Lurtor watched the hologram end, they looked towards the air filled room again. It looks like the Vlad clone got two steps into the airfilled room and was then immediately attacked and eaten.

What would Lurtor and Eli do to avoid his fate?


#18

Lurtor says "I’ll take the lead on this one. I can protect us from the Fleshworms. Most likely. "

Lurtor focuses into the room and creates a shadow leyas compass. So he could see where the nightmares maybe lurking. Then after he sets that. He focuses a Smaller Halo around his skin (Sustaining shield). He sets a life shield. Able to flex it out when he is attacked. But he doesn’t want the full 15’ of the halo to draw attention outside of the sub. With that set, and him blocking the doorway. He flexes out his claws and says "Ok Eli, Open the door. And then steps in saying “Hello, anyone home.”

If a nightmare attacks he can also consume nightmare (shadow lvl 2).

If its an intelligent nightmare. Lurtor will not attack on Sight unless attacked first.


#19

“Why can’t it be just a normal sub? Egh!”

Eli McGraw opens door for Lurtor.


#20

Lurtor watched in concern as his Shadow Leyas compass pulled forward pointing at the ceiling of the room. Lurtor’s eyes could see Shadow Leyas was welling up, and fleshworms began peeling off the ceiling like ameobic blobs.

They dropped to the ground in the center of the room and began moving rapidly towards the pair.

Lurtor began sucking in the Shadow Leyas that animated the Fleshworms nightmare on the left. The nightmare popped and a purple aura was pulled up into Lurtor and he felt energy coursing through his body.

The other two nightmares began oozing away, now with rapid speed as light began to emanate from Lurtor’s body. The halo burned scorch marks in the retreating Fleshworms, and Lurtor stepped fully into the room.

He looked back and gave Eli and thumbs up. It seemed there was some artifact or weaponized Leyas in effect that was creating Fleshworms. In abundance such an artificing could fill a city if needed…

Then Lurtor saw it, embedded in the wall. It was like an archaic artillery shell, but with strange carvings set in it.

Eli stepped out and recognized the artillery shell’s trajectory. He realized the building they were in had once been part of a rather fancy structure, perhaps the lower levels of the very tower they had seen further inland.

Eli followed the path of the shell back, and realized the entire wall they had assumed the sub had crashed through had actually been opened by this artillery shell long before water had covered the lower levels.

With Lurtor’s Halo keeping the Nightmares at bay, the pair went further into the Last Citadel. Here the halls expanded, and Lurtor and Eli felt so tiny. They walked and walked, and saw distant columns come closer and then retreat behind them until they reached a wall of carved stone. There was a giant sized door in the wall, and it was sealed by a massive lock. The lock was big enough that Lurtor could stick his entire hand in it, if he wanted to.

The doorway had seams, and if either pressed an eye to it, they could see a room beyond with a hearth with a blazing fire. There was some creature inside, dressed in shining robes. It was at least forty feet tall, while being hunched over. But this creature and the blazing fireplace were both on the OTHER side of the door, and they would need to get past the lock.

And if they simply opened the door, it would allow the Nightmares in too…then there was that issue of the lock.