Storybook - Terrible Dredgion

- Memoirs of an old Guardian -

Today's Daevas do not fear the Dredgion. They know that if they face the Dredgion and lose, they will simply resurrect. There is not the primal fear that drove us.

But I still fear. The fear I felt when I first encountered the Dredgion gives me nightmares, even now.

It appeared out of nowhere. We hadn't noticed any signs--anything at all that might indicate that such a dark shadow would be cast across our homes and lands.

The Balaur had been behaving suspiciously, but we had no idea they had such a weapon in their arsenal. We assumed their relative timidity was a sign that perhaps the war was going our way.

We were wrong.

We were fighting Asmodians in the Sulphur Archipelago when it happened. The very air changed around us. It felt heavier, thicker. Then...that sound.

All fighting ceased. All eyes turned to the Eye of Reshanta, and I watched it emerge, first a dark spot, growing quickly as the full vessel emerged into view. All light was extinguished in an instant.

That was the first time I felt the cold grip of real fear. My instincts told me to drop my blade and run as fast as I could. To flee. But I stood firm.

It was the Brigade General who broke the silence. He ordered us to charge the Dredgion. I steeled myself as best I could, took to the skies, and screamed towards the ship.

I remember a peculiar sight that day. I remember looking across and seeing Asmodian Archons, our mortal enemies, flying at my side. Our war was forgotten as this ancestral hatred surged to the surface.

We flew closer. I drew my sword as the dancing lights began to blaze through the sky. A moment later the white and black wings which had been united in fighting the Dredgion were now united in a headlong plunge from the sky, swept away by those strange, dazzling lights.

The Brigade General cried out a desperate order to retreat, but it was too late. The Dredgion had flicked us from the skies.

I'd experienced losses before--every Daeva does. You dust yourself off, heal, and tell yourself "We'll take them next time".

But this...this was different. It wasn't a defeat, it was a massacre. Two full Legions had been ripped apart in seconds. Seconds! There was no hope, no chance of victory. Fear gripped me. No, worse than fear...terror.

Word spread. The Light of Reshanta Legion had been mauled, and news like that is hard to keep hidden. So word spread, and with it, panic.

Meanwhile, we received a new order--to gather information on the characteristics, combat styles, and weak points of the Dredgion. Us!

How could WE be chosen? Surely this was a joke! But it was no joke. Fear gripped me again, but I could not bow out.

We lost many Daevas in the process, but we never gave up. We approached the Dredgion time and time again. Eventually my fear was replaced with familiarity, and as we became more bold, we also began to reap rewards. We learned about the Dredgion's Gravity Controllers, Cores, and armaments.

The most formidable weapon was the Core. Its Magnetic Field of Destruction and Magnetic Field of Annihilation covered a wide area, instantly exhausting the life force of all nearby Daevas.

Furthermore, the Dredgion was not fitted with one core, but four. One in the head, one in each wing, and one in the tail. We could not evade its attacks no matter from which direction we approached.

We knew we could cause severe damage to the ship by destroying all of the Cores simultaneously. We tried countless times though, and failed. We needed another plan.

The Gravity Controllers were structurally weak, and we theorized that they might explode if dealt sufficient damage. But these parts weren't well-shielded, and our success was limited.

In fact, during all our efforts, I only once saw a Gravity Controller destroyed. Once, in countless, countless attempts.

Of course, it wasn't just a warship, either. The Dredgion carried thousands of Balaur warriors--their very strongest--the most terrifying of the terrors.

Our Fortresses fell, one by one, to the sheer power of the Dredgion and its warriors. The tide had turned in this great war, the shift brought about by this one wicked vessel.

The Governor tried and tried again to resist, but failed time and time again. After more terrible losses, we gave up. The orders were issued on black paper, and were chilling in their simplicity.

"Upon seeing the Dredgion, flee. Save yourselves."