[Athan Eubuleus]
Athan and the seven other Faction Heads stood silently before the massive mechanical Dungeon portal, its gears grinding and hissing as the countdown ticked toward zero. In ten minutes, they would breach it. All came armored, geared, and ready for war.
Cole Seger, Head of the Heavenly Faction, looked every bit the mythic warrior he was. Clad in silver cuirass armor with a matching Corinthian-style helmet adorned with golden straw-like plumes, he stood motionless, a sentinel of discipline. Silver guards covered his legs and arms, and a massive red-and-silver hoplon shield was strapped to his back above a greatsword. Silver pteruges hung at his waist, and a thick rope coiled at his side. On anyone else, the outfit would seem archaic or cumbersome—on Cole, it looked natural. Arms crossed, he watched the countdown on the portal wall with serene resolve.
"Nine minutes," he said. "Then we retrieve the girl."
