Open War

As the sixth and final major event, the fate of the village is sealed. Unless player magi start the battle, the Wächter play their powerful and unpredictable card — the dark fae. Suddenly one morning, the Dark Huntsmen ride through the mist, bringing down death and destruction on the village. At this time, the Wächter have had enough and have decided they have as much support as they are going to get at the moment. Naturally, this draws out the Soterists as well as mobilizing the villagers men in all their religious zeal. Timing is of the essence here, because the player magi must be able to participate in — or at least witness — the attack. Active and well-prepared magi have seen which way the wind is blowing and have made proper arrangements to keep tabs on the village. Mundane scouts or infiltrators could do the trick, although they need some way of communicating with the magi back home for this to be effective. Scrying through spells or devices is also a viable option, however risky it might be with regard to the provisions of the Code. Alternatively, the magi might stake out the place themselves. If the magi are not monitoring the village, the Dark Huntsmen pass around the covenant, kept out by its Aegis, on their way to the village.

As the icing on the cake, the Wächter now strike directly at the other magi. Chaos, carnage, and massacre ensue. At this point, neither side cares about the Code nor about who they are fighting; this is all done for the cause. Both sides have broken the Code in enough ways to guarantee a March in any case. There is ample opportunity to cast great magic and to fight powerful magi or seasoned Faerie warriors. The player magi may support either side, or they may simply try to limit the destruction and save the innocent villagers. They might not even show a united front! Depending on what they've done during the escalating tension and conflict, they might be in the clear concerning the Code, or decidedly not. The whole troupe should be clear on the magi's legal position before the battle, for the sake of the future of the saga. In any case, the magi should be at no loss to find challenging enemies and to use their most powerful spells. Even without fighting other magi, there are opportunities to use great magic, since Soterists and Wächter alike use all manner of elements in the fight — animals, trees, building materials, reanimated corpses, the river, and the earth and hills themselves.

The way that the battle ends depends on the actions of the player characters. They might even manage to broker a peace in the midst of the violence. If the players intend to continue the saga after this climax, the storyguide should make decisions for the non-player characters that make that possible, but otherwise let the players decide how things finish.