Aloria Story Progression The Great Sewer Boom

The nefarious acts of the sewer dwellers of Regalia had been a thorn in the side of Empress Freya for quite some time already. The Magdalene Bar was a hotbed for revolutionary activities, as well as general anarchist gatherings with the intent to destabilize Regalia. The sewer dwellers had long assisted various rebellion groups, and proved to be a decisive venue for many key individuals, like the Prince Marshal, to escape Regalia proper and join forces with the hold out rebels in the countryside. Freya’s wrath would eventually descend onto the sewers in a more violent and aggressive manner than any Regalian authority had before, in declaring that all who lived below the surface, were enemies of the state. And befitting enemies of the state, Freya declared them all suitable for execution.

When the sun went down, Deathling guards flooded the various streets carrying barrels and carts behind them, swarming to the various air chutes, wells and drainage pipes that led to the surface. Even from Greygate, guards were lobbing barrels into the water, only to watch them wash away into the escape tunnels that had so frequently been used by various criminals to escape justice. In the past few weeks the Deathlings had emptied most of the Regalian military warehouses and were now dumping large quantities of gunpowder barrels into the sewers. Over at the Lo Palace, the Deathling Court was holding a fanfare while public speakers preached about the evils of the Sewer dwellers. When the event was complete and Freya’s arrival a fact, the great execution of the sewers commenced.

Freya heralded the fiery doom with a golden ruby decorated chandelier, lit by three arms which resembled snakes. She held the chandelier over a long drain pipe which had specifically been converted for this joyous occasion to allow her to deposit the chandelier at just the right location to set off a chain reaction. She unceremoniously dropped the chancelier into the hole, after which it started its slow descent to the lower bowels of the city. There was a moment of silence in the crowd where mere seconds felt like an eternity, the only sound being produced by the ever dimming clanging of the metal hitting the walls of the drainage pipe. And then finally, when the chandelier hit the bottom, did the orchestra of fire and death commence.

The chandelier landed directly onto a pile of gunpowder which was prepared for this occasion at the bottom, indeed setting off a massive chain reaction where the other gunpowder barrels blew up one by one. The city’s foundations shook as muffled explosions and crumbling rock could be heard. Those citizens unfortunate enough to be on the streets were knocked off their feet, and certainly many children who had ventured to bed early were woken by this sudden crash of noise. Cathedrals and churches rang their bells to herald the end for the sewers as it had been known, for explosion and hell fire consumed the corridors. Many vagrants and vampires were incinerated instantly as the fireballs consumed the tunnels. The Magdalene bar was wiped away in an almost instant as many barrels had gathered near the entrance. The Nenyarina base was incinerated almost instantly as a feiry wave consumed it all, burning the plants to ashes as the Mother Solurs cried out in excruciating pain before only agonizing silence remained.

There was little room to run or hide from the destruction. Those not caught in the immediate first blast were afterwards consumed by collapsing rubble or suffocation.

In the lower levels, Vilitatei were disturbed from their slumber and imprisonment by the sewer tunnels of the third level that burst open. While most of the damage was contained on the second level (thus explaining why the city itself sustained no damage, as it was built on the first level). With the murderous elements of the sewers creeping above, what little survived the fiery onslaught had to fend off vultures and monsters seeking to kill. Not all hope was lost however.

Men robed in black with Imperial insignias had warned the sewer dwellers, or what few actually listened, of the oncoming doom and led groups of them to the eastern tunnel sections which bled into the vastly unexplored countryside sewer tunnels. It had been known to many that the sewers stretched much further under the island’s surface, but barely anyone had ever ventured into the east sections of the sewers. Here before them lay a whole new set of tunnels and shanty towns with colorful inhabitants who were now faced with a large wave of refugees from the destroyed central tunnels. Less than a few hundred sewer dwellers of the central structure made it out alive by either dumb luck by already being above ground, or having been led away in time.

Back on the surface the victory of Freya over the sewer dwellers was quickly pressed on the people by late night heralds and rumor circulating among tavern goers. Many citizens had reported flames or smoke rising from the air tunnels, and many water filled wells and sewage drains had completely drained on account of the water being sucked into the sewers like a vacuum to consume the rubble left behind. The central sewers were permanently inaccessible, even when the fires died down as the tunnels had all collapsed, and what had not collapsed was now flooded and inaccessible. The survivors left behind were distraught. Their homes destroyed, their possessions wiped away save for what little they carried on them. They were in a completely new environment, alien to them, and the locals weren’t necessarily friendly to the central newcomers. The sewer dwellers were not forgotten though, and some were reminded of such with seemingly little gestures, like the one gesture Niantha of the Nenyarina experienced when one of the black robed men handed her a small tear shaped stone faintly emitting a rainbow glow, telling her to call upon aid where she would settle her new home. Small packages of food were handed out and some basic regals, no doubt to bribe the other sewer dwellers, as well as assurances through arms. The identity or affiliation of the men robed in black was not known, and as quickly as they had appeared, did they too disappear after handing out their assistance.

The surviving sewer dwellers set out in a completely unknown world to them, awaiting to see what the future would hold, and perhaps emboldened with increased hatred for the Lo administration.

OOC Info:

• The new /tp Sewers is the east sewers.
• The old Sewers (still reachable by massivegates) is now non-canon.
• No player characters were maimed or killed, but you are encouraged to roleplay out wounds from the fleeing.
• You are permitted to have carry-ons in-canon rp from your base, but not entire furniture unless you were already moving out.
• Assume that if your character survived, they heeded the warning of the men robed in black, or simply followed the people leaving before the event occured.
• All the information above is IC knowledge upon posting of the post.