GLOGtober 2023-7

So yesterday I celebrated Life, in the form of an all-consuming, immortal fishperson. Today I celebrate Death, in an examination of what battles long ended have left behind.

Today's prompt is, "Famed sites of disastrous battles of the Blood War."

I am completely throwing out my usual tendency to abide by copyright law.

The Blood War

The Pyramid Turtle

The central command of the Doom Kingdom's counter-assault on the Archfiends. During the war the zombified turtle could carry thousands of troops, far faster than a march. Without life - or a lich like Doomking Balerdroch -  to command the undead in the fort, it has sat dormant for decades... although still very well-defended.

The Darkness

A 6-mile-diameter sphere of darkness which amplifies Fiendish energy. It was created to turn the tides at the Battle of Mystic Mine and hasn't disappeared since. It is said fiends still exist in the sphere, driven into a constant rage by the power. The fact that no one who enters seems to be able to return would support that theory. In truth the only thing in The Darkness is the great General Ha Des, who had been turned into a zombie double-agent just before the armies were wiped out.

The Gates of Dark World

The war had been going on for far longer than the Archfiends had expected. The Doomking's forces were getting close. The last resort: drag the Gates of Dark World to the center of the main front, perform the ritual, and summon the Dark Master - Zorc. Bringing a massive stone gate to the middle of a warzone was a risk, and some questioned if it was even necessary, but they didn't have time to consult more records on the precise ranges of Zorc's power. The ritual was performed, dozens of Archfiends were sacrificed, Zorc was summoned, and their request was made: Kill the Doomking's army. The Dark Master fulfilled the request, then walked into the night. But the sacrifice the Archfiends had paid was merely the cost to speak to Zorc. For the lives of the Doomking's army, Zorc took the lives of the Archfiends' army.

Both nations fell soon after, having already spent much on the Blood War. The battlefield now lays strewn with Fiendish weapons and masterless undead. Doomking Balerdroch vanished soon after he learned of the summoning. No one knows if the Dark Master Zorc returned to the Dark World, or if he still walks this realm.

Skeleton Cannon

Currently on a hill near the Pyramid Turtle, the Skeleton Cannon is a massive cannon designed to fire shells filled with skeletons. Upon impact, the skeletons would reanimate and begin fighting. The Skeleton Cannon has a multitude of shells left, ready to fire.