@TheWindel@KoLThis better?
History: Fittingly, it was a dark and stormy night when the world ended. The worst storm in recorded history was scouring much of the surface of Dinas Affaraon. Even with the advanced technology of the planet's inhabitants it was going to be a task to repair all the damage.
The storm was more than just a mass of electromagnetic and kinetic energy though. It seethed with magical power as well. A massive wellspring to those who knew how to harness the arcane. One such group had gathered at the center of the megastorm. The Brotherhood of the Pit Beyond. An insane cult that had somehow gotten in contact with several high level demons. It was a tale as old as time. The demons whispered promises, handed out hints of knowledge and passed tidbits of power over the interdimensional link the cultists had formed.
Open a Gate for us. They whispered in the minds of the Brotherhood.
We can give you so much more if you just open the way.The members of the Brotherhood never gave it a second thought. So enthralled were they by the power just out of reach. Demonic corruption had run so deep through them it was starting to effect physical changes. A dark ceremony was performed at the eye of the hurricane. Human torture and sacrifice so vile it tore the very fabric of reality asunder.
To the rest of the world it looked like the gigantic storm had somehow triggered a volcano. Magma shot hundreds of feet into the air, accompanied by sulfurous fumes. Fire and brimstone rained down on the surrounding landscape for miles in every direction. It took almost a day and multiple cases of live video footage before the reports of
things in the area were taken seriously. And by then it was too late to repulse the foothold Hell now had on the planet. The Gate at the center of the disaster zone was mystical in nature and the various militaries were a bit short on spellcasters.
Militaries mobilized slowly at first, then with ever increasing speed and desperation as the the demonic forces overran the countryside. Over the next three months the entirety of Dinas Affaraon's forces were pushed back along an ever widening front. Problems they could only attribute to the invaders hindered them the entire way. Their machines of war broke down far more often than they should have and loyal soldiers and officers turned traitor seemingly at the drop of a hat.
Once it became clear that the first of Dinas Affaraon's two major continents was lost the commanders in charge of the war switched tactics. All forces fell back to the remaining demon free landmass, taking as many people with them as they could. The plan was to build a massive series of fortifications along the shores. A grand barrier meant to give what remained of the world a chance to catch its breath.
In the end it didn't matter. The Gate was still spewing forth legions of filth and the grand defensive line around the second continent stalled the demonic advance for a bare two weeks before leviathans and colossi swept it aside and horror poured through. Outnumbered and overwhelmed it was all the defenders could do to send refugees and essential civilians to ever shrinking safe zones.
It as one of the latter that Saef found himself. As a well known physicist he was thrown at project after project, feverishly trying to find the magic bullet that would at least slow the monsters down. As the brass frantically shuffled him around he found himself watching people die to protect him, fighting off Corrupted assassination plots and occasionally taking up arms himself when the nearby battle lines broke before he could be evacuated.
At the start of the war Saef was an arrogant fellow. At the top of his field, a field that wasn't easy to get into in the first place. He was assured of his place in the world. In his thoughts the smartest mind in a society that valued a person's intellect over their physical strength. He had it all. Over the course of those three months his worldview was shattered. He froze the first time he saw a demon. An act that cost the lives of half the platoon assigned to his protective detail. His assistant and best friend went mad and tried to strangle him with electrical wires.
Contrasted against untold horror the arrogant scientist saw the best that Humanity had to offer. Acts of selflessness and courage in the face of certain doom. Generosity when one had nothing to give. Self sacrifice so that the child of a stranger might live. Saef saw it all and it changed him.
By the end of those three months eighty percent of the planet's inhabitable landmass was under demonic control. The only nation still fully intact was the realm of Falias. Its capital was also the holy city of the largest organized religion on the planet. The fact that it laid on the exact opposite side of Dinas Affaraon from the portal to Hell was likely not a coincidence.
A great demonic host had gathered to strike at it. Slice deep into the core of remaining human territory and cut the heart out. Shatter their symbol of hope and have a good old time hunting down the rest at their leisure. It was set to be the defining battle of the war. Both sides had gathered their forces and the disparity was obvious. Even without their inherent advantages the demons outnumbered the humans by ten to one.
Moments before the battle was joined however, something extraordinary happened. A rift opened in the sky with the sound of ten thousand trumpets. Rays of light shot out and burned entire formations of demons to ash. The barrage was followed by hundreds of thousands of angelic warriors who fell upon their mortal foes with a fury. What had been a foregone battle suddenly turned into a turnabout rout as the mortal forces on the field recovered from their shock and joined the fray. Dead demons soon covered the open plains, their brethren fleeing or being struck down themselves.
It was explained later that Heaven had known about the invasion almost from the start. No aid had been sent sooner because they, (the only forces who cared enough to help humans) had been tied up in another campaign elsewhere and had only just been released from their duties.
What followed after was a ten month slog back across the planet as the combined Human/Angelic forces pushed their way to the demon spewing gate that was the cause of all their woes. During that time Saef took to an area of study much more helpful to the war effort. Thaumaturgy. Seeing the effectiveness of the holy magic used by the angels and sick of working on projects that never went anywhere the scientist turned his mind towards the study of magic and its uses.
With the holy magic he picked up came the ability to join the battlefield himself. And join it he did. For three long months he had been watching others fight and die while he ran away to some laboratory and failed to keep demons from overrunning his world. Now he had a way of fighting back. Saef's newfound combat power, fame and the high casualty rate earned him a commission in the army. It was not a position he was completely unfamiliar with. Small unit tactics was something he had learned from all the bodyguard details given to him over the course of the war. It was with small groups that he excelled. Taking a strike team and leading them to hit critical targets in the enemy's line of battle.
Over the long slog he continuously proved himself, gaining respect from the Heavenly Host and raising to his current rank of captain in the Dinas Affaraon military. He took part in the assault on the Gate and personally helped in sealing it. When the Gate had been closed and all the demons on the world captured or killed the Archangel leading the Host came forward with an offer. Many of the humans had fought well and bravely. The fight was over here but it would continued on elsewhere. Would they be willing to ascend to Heaven and join them in the fight?
Many said no. It had been a long and terrible fight. They just wanted to be able to pick up the pieces of their world without somebody trying to kill them and/or do horrendous things to their body and soul. For others like Saef simply kicking the demons off their world wasn't enough. The war on Dinas Affaraon had claimed billions of lives. That could not be allowed to happen elsewhere and the Hellspawn needed to
payThey took the offer.
