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But although he drowned, his story did not end there. Through his own indomitable will and the significant power in the occult he had amassed, he resisted the pull of [[The Ferryman]] and instead ascended to the Sea-Dragon's Palace. Not as a mere Dead, but something much, much greater. He rose stronger, forever changed. The King became the Architeuthian, the Dweller in Depths who rules over forbidden knowledge and survival of the fittest.
===The Golden Age of Progress===
The Empire was beyond distraught to learn that their beloved King had perished at sea. But for many this sorrow became rejoicing when the priests proclaimed that their King was not Dead, but merely ascended to the realm of the gods to take a seat amongst among the pantheon. This news assuaged the fears of many, but not all. A land of scholars and intellectuals, many skeptics took this merely to mean that the King was simply dead, and was certainly never coming back. Debate raged in the high halls of learning as to the whereabouts and status of the King's soul, but at this point in time it was widely accepted that the King was still watching over them from above.
Fears that the Kingdom would fall to invaders or petty infighting as empires of the time were not to do when suddenly bereft of their charismatic ruler proved unfounded, for the King had been just and wise in his dealings and affairs of state. He had surrounded himself with men and magi of great character and wisdom, only those who had proven themselves in battle and possessing strong spirit had been permitted to attain office. He knew that those who had fought for their power and had personally sacrificed for the peace they all enjoyed would be able to appreciate the value of it, and would not allow their baser natures to get the better of them, no matter the whispers of certain Hours that wished to lead them astray.
===The Great Heresy===
As it is said, idle hands are the Devil's playthings. And as the kingdom grew ever more prosperous under the guidance of the magi and the abundant blessings of the Hour's, ever deeper did grow the people's own indolence. Ever deeper did they drink from the Grail, and ever more did they become addicted to its Redmost delights. Decadence, like a stain, began to seep into a and spread through the bedrock of society. What started as just pride in their heritage and ancestral achievements became ''arrogance'', and a inherent sense of superiority over the rest of the world.
"Look at them, these lesser people. Those not favored by the Hours as we are. What divine blood do they trace their heritage back to? Why should we be bound to the same rules as they? Why shouldn't we carry ourselves as their inherent superiors, their rightful rulers? What could they possibly do to stop us?"
===War in Heaven===
The Birds assaulted the Hall of Silence in grand fashion, in a manner never before seen before or since. The flow of Dead to the Mansus was temporarily universally disrupted as the Spider's attention was focused on defending its realm from invaders. The Spider had long avoided becoming involved in the politics of the Mansus and Histories below, and that was not now coming back to haunt it. It stood largely alone against the onslaught of four united Hours. As rightfully feared as the Ferryman was and rightfully so, the Ferryman spider found itself overrun with many enemies at once.
Some Hours however stood against the invasion. The Anaconda, then a Name of the Great Serpent, brought its sword down in defense of the Ferryman. Even a Name such as the Anaconda was no match for an Hour, much less several, but it was well aware of what a breach of the bargain its patron made with the eldest spider might mean. Teeth bared and sword drawn, it battled the servants of the invading Hours with all its might until the Erinyes pulled the sentry from the Moon itself, servants and Name falling to the Mansus below.
===IMAGO===
However, disaster struck. Not all of the seals and bindings placed upon the moon were there simply for the purpose of keeping the Dead trapped. A number of these kept dark, long forgotten powers contained harmlessly in the heart of the Hall of Silence. But now, their bindings loosedloosened, infused with new Knock power unknowingly provided by the Flood, they stirred once more... and '''Lashed Out'''.
The Second Flood were caught totally off guard as the Knock power in their chamber skyrocketed. The rate of Dead arriving from the Moon changed from a manageable trickle to an unstoppable tide. Finally, with the sound of a mountain crumbling and a thousand chattering insects, the portal to the Moon tore and ruptured outward, growing to unmanageable proportions. Only a handful of members of the Second Flood managed to escape, using all their knowledge and command of Knock to feel before the tide utterly engulfed them with their fellows.
The Revels around the city all stopped at once as a buildup of power was sensed from the Palace at the center of their city. Every eye in the city watched as the Palace of Adonibaal, their Lord, their Master, swelled and burst outwards, disgorging a tide of Dead that was without end.
Simultaneously, the air above the capital city seemed to bulge and crack before splitting open. Nothing could be discerned of the other side of the Breach, but an unholy light and a rain of damned souls.
The Blight had begun.
===White Tide===
Historical texts cannot do justice to the damage the beginning of the blight did to the empire. The Dead were endless. Relentless. As mighty as the Bayali were still in their magic, especially those whom had damned themselves to the service of dark powers, they were simply overwhelmed by the tide of foes that spilled forth from the breaches in reality.
The Dead were a terrifying sight to behold. Clad in sticky shrouds of silk that concealed most features from view, their movements unnatural and hazy as they glided through the material world, most Bayali chose to flee rather than fight. Worse yet, most Dead were ''addled'' from their time in the Hall. Whether it was from being denied life's pleasures for so long, or from horrifying sights and experiences suffered in the Ferryman's domain, the Dead were lost to reason. Some grabbed for mortals in a desperate plea for aid, while others destroyed everything in a blind rage for injustices that went unanswered in life.
Worse yet came when the Dead began to learn to Feed. Many of the Dead that fled the Hall in those early days were thankfully weak, taking advantage of a preexisting Breach to enter the world where they would be powerless to do so otherwise. Without the blessing of a Hour or sufficient strength, some Dead dissipated and faded back to the Hall in short order after arriving. This changed for the worst when some Dead came to understand that and started devouring the living or even possessing them in an effort to stave off the reaper.
Cities fell into discord as the Dead walked the streets killing, only for their victims to either rise back up or descend from the breach to join their killers. Small communities disappeared. In one night an empire was sent backwards in progress by a generation.
The Magi that either escaped the orgy of madness in the capital or were still loyal enough to the King's memory they did not attend did their best to contain the damage on their own. They mustered their personal forces and each did their best to stem the tide of monsters raining down from above, while steering clear of the white tide pouring forth from the very heart of the empire. But with so many now dead the chain of command was in tatters, with no one sure who was to be their new leader to unify them.
They looked for leadership, but the Church of the Second Flood was nowhere to be found. A handful of their sorcerers had teleported out of the ritual chamber at the last moment, but they were all but insensate. They talked nonsense, of not Dead but ''insects'' spilling from the portal to engulf the Church-members, before withdrawing and allowing the Dead to flow through. No more could be gleaned from them, and they remained in that fugue until they were executed and their bodies burned to prevent their return. Whether it was out of pity, vengeance for their sin, or a mixture of both, no one knows.
