A brief flash of light that was followed by sounds of metal being hit by stone echoed through the darkness.

Sparks could be seen for miles as golems and men worked for hours as they tried to repair what they could. Sometimes they would be forced to replace a massive pillar, while other times they would have to destroy it.

The endless halls of the maze that had become their home were full of danger, there was no telling what was waiting for them around every corner.

Perhaps it was one of the many creatures that once called the castle home, or perhaps it was an insane machine or mutant that was native to this place no one knew.

Every new turn either led to another endless path or a dead end.

It wasn't all bad, there were machines so old but so advanced that it was hard for anyone to figure out what they did.

It didn't take long for everyone to figure out that it was better to send golems that carried lights on them into the new areas, just in case something was waiting in the darkness.

Then a flash of light spread through the endless hallways before it vanished again, then it happened again and before anyone knew it the light had come back to the first floor.

The endless hallways that hadn't seen light in countless years were once again feeling the presence of the light and the creatures that had never known it ran from the thing that they had never known.

Maybe it was all of the open room or maybe it was the environment but for some reason, the creatures of Aincrda began to breed like crazy, and again before everyone could even realize what was going the floor had changed again.

][][

On the surface of the world, another story was happening one filled with heroes and legends.

Had there been anyone who cared to record it they would have written of brave men and women who fought even as their last breaths left their bodies.

They would have written of the Angels that arrived to help the dying world and the creatures that invaded it.

They would have spoken of the many machines and apocalyptic weapons that were used against the invaders and how all of it was useless in the end.

They would have written of how those who were lucky enough were able to escape the doomed world in ships that carried them into the stars and of those who were left behind.

It was the latter who were forced to run deeper into the Hive cities into the areas where no sane man would ever dare to enter.

Perhaps it had been the Emperor who had heard his servant's pleas for help or perhaps it had been something else, but these people soon found a tiny star that led them through the darkness and to a place that they never thought possible.

Even as they traveled the survivors felt the eyes of the invaders and the roars of the beasts as they fought one another, but they soon realized something that filled them with fear.

The invaders were being attacked by something, and it was that very thing that was keeping them alive.

They were forced to leave behind those who were too weak or injured at the mercy of the beast, but after days of travel, they found automatons repairing the Hive city.

It didn't take long for the automatons to encounter the invaders and it was only because of the machine spirits' purity that the automatons defended them from their pursuers.

After months of running the survivors found themselves at the entrance of paradise, a place where green things grew everywhere.

Life grew out of the hive city instead of just existing in it, but their life was shattered when the invaders arrived.

Yet their fear was brushed away when creatures that they had never seen before fought the Tyranids and even forced them back to the higher floors.

What remained of the priests and sisters began to say their praises to the emperor thanking him for his mercy, little did they know that their presence had caught the attention of the players the true rulers of the world.