Isekai no Kodai Hiroin

It is late-autumn in the 178th Year of the 5th Age (month 4, day 36) under the Holy Oaonis Calendar. It has been three weeks since the Cascus Empire began its invasion of Eastilund. Imperial forces have taken all territory south of the Reorius River and are besieging the port city of Anstoil. The death toll of Eastilund soldiers and civilians alike has eclipsed 20,000. 

Retreating Eastilund forces have destroyed the two bridges over the Reorius and are digging in along the most probable landing sites along the banks and cavalry units are staged to counter any airborne landing via dirigible. At the current time, the Empire seems most interested in securing Anstoil before moving on to the rest of the country, though forces are beginning to amass near Setlae. The town itself has been completely sacked and burned to the ground. To the northeast, sporadic raiding parties are hitting the Kingdom’s rear, forcing them to divert troops to protect outlying settlements. 

Tens of thousands have fled the towns and cities south of the river, crowding inns and taverns in every town north of the river, with many trying to get to the capital city of Glencey. Demihumans in particular, knowing life under Imperial occupation may well be a death sentence, are attempting to leave the country altogether. Outbound ships from the continent have been overloaded with those giving their life savings for a chance at a seat aboard cargo and passenger vessels alike. The Duchy of Yueshire to the north, under the direction of the Holy Kingdom of Kuzne, has closed its borders to all except pure humans who are members of the Oaonis Church and deployed its own cavalry to enforce the border closure.

A group of mages from the Society of Keepers have assembled at an abandoned cathedral near the town of Eelry. With them they have brought the mummified remains of the great heroine, Yanagi Sawa, who died following the final battle in the kingdom’s war for independence as well as the Duchess of Wealdstone, Agnes Limines, with them. After three days of preparation, they have amassed the magical energy for the spell they hope will transfer the soul and powers of Yanagi nto the body of Lady Limines. This requires that she be sacrificed and her blood poured out onto the remains of the heroine at the center of a magical circle, drawn with the blood of six mages that will perform the ritual. This is a task Lady Limines takes on willingly, believing that she will be resurrected with the heroine inside her and will then use her power to lead the nation to victory, and herself to the throne. 

The heroine herself is still trapped as a conscious spirit within her mummified body. As the ritual has been prepared, she has been aware of the entire proceeding and plotting a way to prevent being transferred into the body of the Duchess. The ritual is performed during a rare double eclipse, where the world is eclipsing the smaller of this world’s two moons, just as that moon eclipses the distant Night Sun. As Lady Limines cuts her own throat, in order to absorb the heroine’s spirit and power at the moment of death, a searing hot explosion instantaneously boils the five mages maintaining the circle alive and ejects the sixth and Limines across the room at a bone crushing velocity.

As the broken glass rains down on the scene, five individuals from another world rise to their feet among the carnage.