Whilst the forces of the Circle of the Broken Wing gather in preparation for a march west, Commander Julius Ravensfall has put out a call for individuals willing to meet up with members of the Liaran resistance and assist them in preparing the ground for the liberation of the city.
The fountains of Liarus begin to explode as the tranquil waters of the Axia are replaced by Gidner's potent brew of alchemical draughts and predator blood. The populace rise up in a bestial fury against the Serradic invaders and for a time it seems that liberation of Liarus might be wrought in a single afternoon of primal slaughter. Then the tide turns. Samuel's warning to the Serradic occupiers gave just enough begin the marshalling of the men, and when the Leader's Right Hand reaches the cordon a disciplined legion begins an inexorable advance through the rage filled citizens.
During the chaos Booker takes the opportunity to flee the city, but not before calling down a miracle of the Traitor upon the comatose member of the All Seeing Eye, granting the god vision over whatever the enemy warrior should see.
Gidner meanwhile has stayed to tend those wounded in the battle. When he realises that the fight has turned into butchery of the citizenry he prepares a second alchemical concoction and applies it to himself, the complex brew surges through him, reacting with the red mist hanging over the streets, and turning the horde of predators into a pack, with Gidner as the leader. Coordinated and led with a cunning mind the Liarans begin to fight back once more and the Serradic casualties mount up. In the end however there is no-one who can stop Samuel, and where-ever the red mist thins the warrior strides forth to strike down those who have rebelled against his master.
In the end Gidner decides the battle is lost, even spending the life of everyone of his pack he might put every legionnaire down, but the Leader's champion would stand undefeated when the last Liaran fell. Instead the Battle Magister calls off his people, sending the surviving Liarans fleeing east, a great tide of refugees heading towards Acryn, their spirit crushed but their safety preserved.
With the slaughter done Samuel communes with the Leader. The god is well pleased with his chosen, and orders him to display the bodies of the fallen as a reminder to others of the fate of those who oppose the Empire. In return he promises that the bloodstained streets will soon gleam once more, wealth and prosperity will return to Liarus as settlers from the western cities will be despatched to make Liarus a true bastion of the Empire.
Booker returns to Acryn, bringing word of the early signs of disaster to the Civil Service and the Circle. The Civil Service is obviously disappointed with the news but takes some comfort that at least the Serradics paid dearly for their victory. Commander Ravensfall is aghast to learn that his intelligence failed him so badly as to put so prominent a Serradic agent on the mission; his army makes haste with all speed to lay siege to Liarus before the Empire can reinforce their depleted garrison. On the road they encounter Gidner, who provides what warning he can of Samuel's prowess, but the Circle still bloody themselves trying to dislodge the last remaining Serradics. Faced with the prospect of hurling his soldiers into a seemingly untiring human meat grinder, and the arrival of the first fresh troops from the Empire, Ravensfall calls off the assault and the armies of Acryn withdraw.
It seems that Liarus will remain in Serradic hands until a plan can be formulated to defeat Samuel, the new Tyrant of Liarus.
45R
Retires. Now the military governor of Liarus, ruling in the name of the Leader and his Empire.
45R Alchemical Manipulation leaves him addicted to Mesmeretic Visage, however his link to the survivors of Liarus remains potent giving him access to the Popular Icon epic tree.
Your life has become deeply (and metaphysically) entwined with that of a large group of people; this could be anything from the population of a village to an entire nation.
You have developed a powerful connection to a group of people, gaining contacts and influence with the group in question. Furthermore your bond to the people has tied your fates together. Whether you find fortune or ill luck the group will shortly come to share in the same.
Twice per Adventure you may make a declaration on behalf of your people. The force of this utterance is proportionate to how widely and strongly held this opinion is within the group. An opinion widely disdained might be nothing more than a whisper, while the defiant cry of a city united could tear siege ladders from the walls and burst ear drums.
You have learned how to manipulate the ties between you and your people, your fates now need no longer be shared, instead you can move the burden according to the greater need. Once per adventure, should bleed out you can instead recover on 1 Hit, your people suffering some terrible catastrophe in your place. You may instead use this ability to prevent your people from suffering some misfortune; the consequences of this are at GM discretion but are likely to be fatal to prevent all but the smallest of ills.