Ground Zero, Ashen Fields
The explosion was not fire. Not magic. Existence itself unmaking.
Zero to two hundred meters: vaporization zone.
Everything ceased to exist. Matter converted to pure energy. Temperature five thousand degrees Celsius—surface of sun heat.
Thirty Chainkeepers remaining after feedback. Two thousand Dominion soldiers advancing too close.
All vaporized instantly. Atomic-level destruction. Two-hundred-meter crater formed, fifty meters deep, glass-smooth from heat.
***
Two hundred to five hundred meters: plasma wave zone.
Superheated air three thousand degrees. Flesh flash-burned. Shockwave traveling at Mach three—three times speed of sound. Organs liquefied from pressure alone.
Eight thousand Dominion soldiers caught in advancing formation. Death instantaneous. Bodies charred beyond recognition.
***
Five hundred to eight hundred meters: shockwave impact zone.
Physical force threw bodies fifty meters. Pressure wave shattered bones, collapsed buildings, snapped trees like twigs.
Heat caused second-degree burns across all exposed skin.
Twenty-five thousand Dominion soldiers in main army position. Emperor Valerius's command tent in this zone.
The Emperor was thrown eighty meters. Impacted boulder. Died instantly.
Survivors: less than five percent. Those behind terrain features, knocked unconscious, critically injured.
***
Eight hundred meters to one kilometer: severe trauma zone.
Shockwave weakened but still lethal. Bodies thrown ten to twenty meters. Severe injuries throughout.
Heat caused third-degree burns on fifteen percent body surface. Survivable with immediate treatment.
Debris storm—shrapnel from exploded equipment, rocks, bodies turned into projectiles.
Fifteen thousand Dominion soldiers in rear formations. Thirty percent survived if treated within hours. Two thousand might live. Thirteen thousand died.
***
One to two kilometers: injury zone.
Shockwave knocked people prone. Broken bones possible. Disorienting but not immediately lethal.
Heat caused first-degree burns, sunburn severity.
Coalition forces positioned at two kilometers. Fifty stragglers too close—killed. Two hundred wounded from being knocked down, debris, panic.
Ninety percent survival rate with basic medical care.
***
The mushroom cloud rose.
Five kilometers high within sixty seconds. Dust, debris, energy. Classic nuclear profile.
Visible two hundred kilometers away. Survivors saw pillar of dust and fire on horizon.
Ash cloud spread fifty-kilometer radius. Darkened sky. Ash rain for hours afterward.
***
Light flash brighter than sun. Momentary. Witnesses one hundred kilometers away temporarily blinded.
Purple-white color—anomaly energy mixed with thermal radiation.
Duration: three seconds peak brightness, then fading.
Shockwave visible as air distortion. Ripple expanding concentrically. Trees flattened in two-kilometer radius.
Sound: deafening sonic boom. Heard three hundred kilometers away. Windows shattered within fifty-kilometer radius.
***
Total Immediate Casualties - Detonation Only:
Zero to two hundred meters: 2,030 dead (2,000 Dominion soldiers, 30 Chainkeepers)
Two hundred to five hundred meters: 8,010 dead (8,000 Dominion soldiers, 10 wounded Chainkeepers from earlier feedback)
Five hundred to eight hundred meters: 25,000 dead (Dominion main army including Emperor Valerius)
Eight hundred to one thousand meters: 15,500 dead (15,000 Dominion soldiers, 500 civilians in nearby villages)
One to two kilometers: 50 dead (Coalition stragglers)
Total: 50,590 immediate deaths
All fifty Chainkeepers who were on battlefield: dead. Field presence extinct.
***
Bloomring Hold, Forty Kilometers Away
The earthquake hit.
Magnitude nine point zero. Severe shaking. Duration: ninety seconds.
Felt like eternity.
Brenn gripped command tower railing as structure swayed like ship in storm. Walls cracked. Magical reinforcement held barely.
Twenty thousand civilians in streets below. Panic immediate.
People fell, could not stand. Earthquake too strong. Buildings swayed. Wooden structures creaked. Stone walls cracked but did not collapse—Covenant construction standards saved them.
Fifty civilians injured from falling debris, trampling, panic injuries. Zero dead. Fortifications held.
***
One thousand two hundred freed beasts throughout the hold felt it differently.
Primal terror. Overlord birth triggered instinct screaming SUBMIT.
Servitor-tier beasts collapsed completely. Overwhelmed, could not process power signature.
Noble-tier beasts knelt involuntarily. Hierarchy reflex. Overlord far above all others.
King-tier beasts like Varyn remained standing but trembling. Feeling weight of new Overlord pressing down on consciousness.
***
Through bonds, Draven's pack reported simultaneously.
Zor from three kilometers altitude: *Bearer! Earthquake and sky is tearing! Malvorn is beyond Lord-tier now. Beyond anything I have felt except Raziel!*
Velnar through earth consciousness: *Earth screams. New Overlord born. I feel it through every root, every stone. Continental event. Theia itself trembles*
Sylvara manifested, healing wounded civilians: *Life's Law is struggling to maintain order. So much death at once—fifty thousand lives extinguished in seconds. Cannot process. Too vast*
***
Dominion Capital, Two Hundred Eighty Kilometers West
Magnitude eight point five. Major to severe shaking.
Old quarter buildings collapsed. Non-reinforced structures two hundred years old. Earthquake revealed structural weaknesses hidden for generations.
Five thousand civilians died. Crushed, buried, trapped in rubble.
Imperial Palace walls cracked. Throne room ceiling partially collapsed. Structure evacuated earlier—empty when ceiling fell.
Chainkeeper Headquarters two hundred meters underground: shaking severe. Instruments malfunctioned. Ominous warnings nobody yet understood.
***
Eight provincial cities—populations fifty thousand to one hundred fifty thousand each—sustained widespread damage.
Ten to thirty percent of buildings affected. Older structures suffered worst damage.
Total casualties across all provincial cities: three thousand dead, fifteen thousand wounded.
Populations fleeing in panic. Believing apocalypse, divine wrath, end times.
***
Coastal Regions, Five Hundred Kilometers Away
Magnitude seven point zero. Strong shaking.
Underwater seismic displacement. Tectonic plates shifted. Ocean floor moved.
Tsunami triggered.
Wave formation took thirty minutes after initial quake. Three-meter tsunami approaching coastlines.
Fifteen coastal villages, twenty thousand total population, received no warning.
Wave hit. One thousand died—those who did not evacuate in time. Five thousand displaced, homes destroyed.
Two hundred ships at sea when tsunami formed. Three-meter wave at open ocean created severe storm conditions.
Fifty ships capsized or sank. Smaller vessels, fishing boats unable to handle waves.
Two thousand sailors drowned.
***
Allied Kingdoms, Two Hundred to Six Hundred Kilometers
Magnitude ranged from five point five to seven point zero. Moderate to strong shaking.
Vendar, two hundred kilometers away, agricultural heartland: grain silos cracked. Ten percent harvest lost but repairable. Livestock panicked, stampeded. Two hundred animals lost. One hundred humans injured, five dead.
Northern Clans, four hundred kilometers in mountains: avalanches triggered. Snow and rock slides blocked five mountain passes. Villages evacuated earlier by scouts—zero casualties. Three bridges collapsed—repairable, caused temporary isolation.
Free Cities Alliance, three hundred kilometers, trade hub: market stalls collapsed. Five hundred thousand gold property damage. Harbor damage—three piers cracked, ships damaged. Fifty injured, zero dead.
Coastal Confederacy, five hundred kilometers, naval power: ships in harbor rocked. Minor damage, no sinking. Lighthouse cracked but operational. Ten injured.
Other kingdoms—Western Baronies, Mountain Confederacy, all others: minor damage. Items fell, walls cracked, no structural collapses. One hundred total injured across all kingdoms combined, ten dead.
***
Distant Regions, One to Two Thousand Kilometers
Magnitude three to five. Light to moderate shaking.
Raziel's Ruins of Chains, four hundred kilometers south: felt clearly. Raziel was Fire-element, hyper-sensitive to seismic activity. No damage—ruins already destroyed, nothing left to break.
Frostina's Glacial Peaks, eight hundred kilometers northwest: ice cracked cosmetically. Glaciers remained stable. Felt distinctly. Woke Frostina as intended.
Naelvorn's Abyss, one thousand two hundred kilometers east, underwater: seismic shockwave through ocean floor. Fish scattered in bioluminescent display. Ecosystem disturbed. Naelvorn woke as intended.
***
Total Seismic Casualties - Continental:
Dominion territories: 8,000 dead, 15,000 wounded, 50,000 displaced
Coastal tsunami: 1,000 dead, 2,000 wounded, 5,000 displaced
Ships at sea: 2,000 dead, 500 wounded
Allied kingdoms: 15 dead, 200 wounded, 1,000 displaced
Bloomring: 0 dead, 50 wounded
**Total: 11,015 dead, 17,750 wounded, 56,000 displaced**
***
Combined Casualties:
Immediate detonation deaths: 50,590
Seismic deaths: 11,015
Total immediate deaths: 61,605
Wounded: approximately 20,000 requiring medical treatment
Displaced: 56,000 homeless from structural damage
***
Notes:
Detonation Zones Detailed: Five concentric zones from zero to two kilometers, each with specific temperature/pressure/casualty profiles, vaporization zone leaves glass-smooth crater, Emperor Valerius killed at eight hundred meters.
Visual Phenomenon: Mushroom cloud five kilometers high visible two hundred kilometers away, light flash brighter than sun temporarily blinds witnesses one hundred kilometers distant, purple-white color from anomaly energy, sonic boom heard three hundred kilometers.
Magnitude 9.5 Earthquake: Epicenter off-scale at ground zero, decreasing magnitude with distance, ninety-second duration at Bloomring, affects entire continent from strong to barely noticeable based on distance.
Freed Beasts React: Servitors collapse from Overlord presence, Nobles kneel involuntarily from hierarchy instinct, King-tiers remain standing but trembling, primal terror affects all beast-kind regardless of allegiance.
Pack Bonds Report: Zor compares Malvorn to Raziel power level, Velnar feels continental event through earth consciousness, Sylvara overwhelmed by fifty thousand simultaneous deaths straining Life's Law.
Cascade Damage: Dominion capital five thousand dead from old quarter collapse, provincial cities three thousand dead total, coastal tsunami one thousand dead plus two thousand sailors, allied kingdoms minimal casualties due to distance and preparation.
Overlords Wake: Raziel, Frostina, and Naelvorn all feel seismic event and recognize new Overlord birth, all monitoring situation, three-month deadline implicit.
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