Gravespawn Dominion

Surface Betrayal

Gunshots echoed through the streets above as Vaeloric led his small group of undead up the crypt stairs. "Move faster " he ordered in an steady voice. A zombie stumbled on rubble but Vaeloric did not slow down.

Vaeloric knew Liras people were waiting for them the moment he felt the fresh air hit his face thick with smoke and the smell of blood.

"Contact!" a man shouted from a collapsed building across the square.

Bullets ripped into the skeleton. Bone shards sprayed everywhere. Vaeloric dove behind an overturned bus, ash swirling around him. "Return fire and hold your position " he said.

His undead obeyed without hesitation. The hunter corpse with the shotgun pumped rounds toward the ambushers. Two zombies charged forward drawing attention while Vaeloric scanned for Lira.

She stood on the rooftop of a grocery store her flaming sword raised like a beacon. "There he is! The grave robber. Kill the necromancer first!" she shouted.

Her voice was full of hatred. No hesitation, no mercy.

Vaelorics grip tightened on his knife. The Matriarchs whisper brushed his mind. *She already fears you. Use that to your advantage.*

"I see you, Lira Voss!" he called out. "Still running from a fight?"

Lira laughed, sharp and cruel. "Fair? You cheat with corpses. Burn them all!"

A wave of fire rolled down the street. Two of his zombies ignited instantly staggering forward as burning husks before collapsing. The heat washed over Vaelorics position. He felt the new fire resistance from his harvest blunt the worst of it but his skin still blistered.

He pushed through the pain. No time to linger. "Harvest on the move!" he shouted.

Vaeloric touched a fallen enemy gunman who had just died to crossfire and triggered the ability. Memories of marksmanship flooded his mind. He snatched the rifle rose and fired three shots. One of Liras men dropped.

His undead army pressed forward. Skeletons flanked left zombies took the center. The shotgun hunter provided covering fire. Vaeloric moved like a shadow between ruined cars always advancing, always harvesting. Each death fed his strength.

A woman with glowing tattoos leaped from cover, electricity crackling around her fists. She slammed a charged punch into one of his skeletons shattering it. "Got one!" she yelled.

Vaeloric reacted instantly. He sprinted, knife flashing. She turned late. The blade sank into her side. As she gasped he pressed his hand to her chest.

Energy surged into him. He channeled it back through the knife. The woman. Fell still.

Liras voice rose above the chaos. "You freak! That was my lieutenant!"

"Then stop sending them to die " Vaeloric shouted back. He raised the corpse immediately. The new lightning zombie jerked upright arcs dancing across its limbs. "Join the fight " he said.

The tide shifted. His forces grew with every loss on their side. Liras group fell back toward an intersection where more survivors had barricaded themselves.

The real threat came from below.

The ground split open twenty meters ahead. A massive claw of bone and rotting flesh erupted, followed by a creature that looked like three elephants fused with graveyard dirt and steel rebar.

Vaeloric saw opportunity and danger in the breath. "All units, converge on the titan. Harvest after the kill " he said.

He sprinted toward it. Desperate? No. Calculated. The beast would crush Liras numbers if left unchecked and its soul promised massive gains.

The Grave Titan swung an arm. Vaeloric slid under it feeling the wind rip past his back. He slapped his palm against its leg as he passed.

Pain lanced through his head. Flashes of rage ancient burials and something darker. The titans origin tied to the graveyard rips.

He pulled back before it overwhelmed him. "Focus fire on the joints!" he shouted.

His lightning zombie discharged bolts into the creatures knee. Shotgun blasts tore chunks of flesh. Skeletons hacked at tendons with blades. Vaeloric climbed its back using exposed bones as handholds knife driving into weak points.

Lira saw the chance. She launched herself with a burst of flame landing on the titans shoulder. Their eyes met across the monsters spine.

"You won't take this kill " she snarled.

"Watch me " Vaeloric said.

They fought atop the raging beast. Fire clashed against ash and lightning. Vaeloric used his marksmanship to shoot a support beam on a nearby building bringing rubble down on Liras position. She dodged most of it. Lost balance for a critical second.

He struck. Knife slashed across her thigh. She retaliated with a point- flame burst that sent him flying. He hit the ground hard rolling to absorb impact.

The titan staggered. His forces had done damage.

"Finish it!" Vaeloric commanded.

Concentrated attack from every minion brought the beast down in a crash. Dust and ash exploded outward.

Vaeloric was first to reach the corpse. He drove both hands into its core.

Power coursed through him. His body felt denser, faster. Wounds from the fight closed faster. He raised a portion of the titan as a bone construct minion, towering and formidable.

Lira limped away with her remaining fighters. "This changes nothing, Vaeloric. I'll gather every awakened in the city. We'll hunt your kind to extinction."

"Try it " he replied coldly. "The graves are on my side."

She vanished into the smoke with a hateful glare.

Vaeloric stood among the ruins breathing steady. His force had tripled in strength during the battle. The new Bone Warden rank hummed with potential.. He did not celebrate.

A new voice cut through the quiet. "Impressive " a man said.

Vaeloric spun rifle up. A lean man in scout gear stepped from behind a delivery truck hands raised but eyes sharp. He carried a silenced pistol and a backpack full of supplies.

"Kael Draven " the man said. "I saw the thing from the rooftops. You're the necromancer everyones whispering about already."

Vaeloric kept the rifle trained. "And you want what?" he asked.

" as you " Kael said. "Survive.. Alone out here gets you killed. Your dead don't need food or sleep. I do.. I know the city. Safe routes. Where the big factions are forming."

Vaeloric studied him. The man moved like someone used to running and observing. No obvious lies in his posture. Still trust was a luxury.

"Prove your value " Vaeloric said. "Tell me about Lira Vosss allies."

Kael nodded. "Shes already allied with the Crimson Flame cult. They worship the fire that started this. Burn offerings.. Dead. Lira fits in. They're heading to the stadium to set up a base. Hundreds strong already."

The Matriarch whispered again. *He hides something.. Useful for now.*

Vaeloric lowered the rifle. "You can travel with us " he said. "One wrong. You join the army permanently."

"Understood " Kael said with a smile. "Lead the way Bone Warden."

They moved through the ruined streets as evening fell. Crimson skies deepened. Distant screams and explosions marked battles, across the city. Vaeloric harvested opportunistically— civilians, minor undead even a pack of mutated dogs that attacked them. Each fragment

The scout shrugged his shoulders. "I want revenge because Liras cult burned my group two days ago. I want Lira dead. You seem like the chance to make that happen."

That was honest enough for now.

That night when most people were resting Vaeloric sat down and the Matriarchs fragment appeared beside him. "Tell me more about the Sovereigns " he said.

The Matriarchs fragment replied, "Not little king. You are still too small and weak. You need to grow and get stronger. Conquer a city. Then I will show you the doors that the Sovereigns will walk through."

then a system alert interrupted them.

*There is a regional event happening: Lira Voss and her followers, the Crimson Flame are marching on the Central Stadium with over 400 people. If you claim or destroy the stadium before they can fortify it you will get bonus rewards.*

Vaeloric stood up. He had an army of over sixty people now. The titan piece and some new allies who were still alive. But Lira Voss had a lot followers so they were still outnumbered.

However Vaeloric knew that having a strategy and some dead people on his side could make up for the difference, in numbers.

"Kael " he called out. "Wake up the others. We are going to march into battle before dawn."

The scout grinned. "You want to go into the enemys territory?"

Vaeloric nodded. "We are going to go through them and come out on the other side."