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Immediately Darwin was filled with unnatural life, and the Squid was shocked to see he was unable to destroy Darwin, no matter what he tried. His focus however was quickly torn from Darwin when the Peacock intervened to rescue his new Long from the Hour of Survival.
Although incarcerated beyond [[The Gilded Gate]], the Unceasing Hour was far from powerless. In addition to his command of life and unnatural vigor, his powerbase in the House of the Serpent had always been built upon the vast numbers of Dead and Long he was able to garner to his cause. And now, in his infinite generosity, he unleashed that power for the sake of a Long.
Where some Hours grant their Long the power to destroy and remake or enthrall and inspire, the Merrymakers of the Peacock have a relatively straightforward blessing: their unnatural durability and endurance. Individually, they do not seem to pose a great threat. But to save Saint Darwin, the Peacock turned to the vast legions of the Choir Unceasing and uttered two simple words: "grab him."
Immediately, the ground shook as the Peacock's armies forced themselves into the History en-masse and rushed the Squid without hesitation or fear of death. Where the Architeuthian rode into battle on the ocean and its tides, the Peacock responded with a sea of laughing, dancing flesh that trampled its own fallen in its efforts to seize the Squid. The utter disregard for self-preservation and sheer vastness of the horde the Peacock fielded was a grim reminder of why the Choir had once engulfed the Upper Mansus, and why the Golden King -whose power destroyed his foes utterly and left not a trace- was needed to keep the Upstart contained.
The Squid fought back fiercely, crushing and drowning countless Long. But for every one that fell a dozen seemed to take their place, and even the "fallen" refused to stay down. Rather than die, a disturbingly large number of the Peacock-Long crushed under the Squid continued crawling or simply oozing across their ground towards their target. Their god fully pouring himself into them as conduits of his will, and with concept of death totally foreign to them now, they single-mindedly threw themselves into the Squid's blows, grabbing a hold of his vast form wherever they could.
Eventually, even as he thrashed and raged, the Squid was engulfed in a sea of clawing, biting, crushing bodies that bound several of his limbs. Even to a Hour, it was an irritation that could not simply be ignored, and Saint Darwin was momentarily forgotten as the Dweller struggled to free himself. That moment of distraction was all it took for a rescue to take place.
While the Squid was preoccupied with the red mass seeking to engulf him on the ground, the winged Choirmen of the Lyrebird swooped down from above, grasping Darwin in their claws and lifting him up, out of the Hour's reach. The Squid let out a roar of rage so ear-spitting it could be heard even over the shrieks of the Choir Unceasing. The Hour attempted to pursue, but still partially pinned under the sheer bulk of the Peacock's mindless Long, he could only watch as Darwin and the Names of the Peacock rose out of sight and into his domain high up in the Upper Mansus, far from his reach.
To the Architeuthian, there was no greater insult than what the Peacock had done. He had no stake in this war, he was not involved! He did not even covet the Forge-power, as did many other of the Architeuthan's rivals. But for this Nowhere-born wretch to steal his prize at the hour of his true victory. If the Delver and the Anaconda hadn't soothed the great Squid's rage, he would have done something terrible and inadvisable, perhaps this war would still be continued to this day. To soothe his rage, at least somewhat, he took to hunting down any remnants of the Assemblage and traitor Long who hadn't not been 'rescued' by other Hours.
===FNORD===
===Conclusion===
With the remains of the Assemblage gone, the war gradually stalled out as Hours lost their reason to remain involved. The Squidward FNORDED back to bikini bottom. The Anaconda, Snake-Tail, and the Delver FNORD.
The Assemblage ironically left the war almost as fractured as it entered it. Though now united in purpose, many powerful artifacts and Long were killed in the battle. Long and artifacts that could never be replaced. The Assemblage from then on avoided direct conflict with the forces of the other Hours unless totally necessary.
Many of its Long retreated to Glassgarden, where they found sanctuary with the Apple-of-the-Eye. Their mortal forces as well as their more conspicuous Long commanders scattered into the Histories, where they continue to seek out long-lost relics and servants of the Maker and Anvil, regathering strength for their long-awaited "Day of Reassembly". St. Darwin, however, was forced into the Revel Unending, where he is unable to leave.
His body so utterly mangled by the Squid's wrath and stripped of the last embers of his god's power, the only thing keeping him alive was the blessing of the Peacock, to whom he was now bound to in the sight of the Dolomedes, whose bargains are Absolute and Final. Amidst the delights and debaucheries of the Revel Unceasing he sits, his body being slowly re-assembled and "improved" by [[The Caladrius]].
And while the Glorious Lie no longer had any use for the man, Peacock's bond with the old man gave him considerable clout with the Assemblage. Darwin's self-sacrifice cemented the loyalty and religious reverence his followers held towards him, and they were grateful to the Broken Bird for keeping him alive. Additionally, it is only through the Choirmen of the Honest that Darwin can issue orders to the Assemblage, making the patronage of the Bird invaluable for its survival.
FNORD
==The Fifth Today==
Very little of note remains of the Fifth History today. While not destroyed utterly like [[The Sixth History]], the Fifth's entire society had collapsed utterly in the wake of the War.
Fnord
==Full Description==
