Afterword
Fallen to Darkness and Decay
Though tens of thousands of Zephyrians lost their lives in the Darklands campaign, the ascendant power of the Chaos Dominion ultimately crumbled in the face of their valiant efforts. Not only was the Monarch Lich defeated but also all the other major powers save for one. Basilissa, the Herakles Queen of Queens, remained undisturbed in the mother hive. Her sister colonies were lost, but they could always be restored and now nothing stood in the way of her claiming all of the Darklands for herself.
The sacrifice of Xanthe of Zephyr was put to good use by the Notian archmage Scipio, who manipulated the unstable energies to seal away the Darklands for a hundred years. It spared the West of the threat from the East, but it also served as a shield for Basilissa, who was free to consolidate her power, to build and expand undisturbed. Xanthe's sacrifice and Scipio's craft bought a time of peace, but also laid the groundwork for a new dark time on the horizon.