2266 (Warcry 2024)

Friday Night, August 2nd, 2266

All Camps

Warriors, mages, and rogues of all kinds, from lands far and wide, have answered the summons of the Ixiad, the Firstborn of Contracts, and have gathered in the town square of Seidenstadt. There, anchored to the ground by her silken breath weapon, was the last known Golden Acorn of an unborn God. Giving none time to gawk, Ixiad addressed all those present. After welcoming them, she heralded the birth of the new god, inviting all to witness this historical event. She concluded by issuing a warning that any and all of her children were not to be touched.

Once her speech concluded, the Spider Dragon led those who followed her and her kin down into a small grotto located deep within the heart of her twisted forest. There, she explained the true reason for her summons: laying a trap for the forces of Hell. Ixiad insinuated she could have slain the nascent godling with enough effort, but it would rob her of a unique opportunity. This godling bud would most certainly attract the gaze of the Hell King, who would be forced to send one of his own to claim it. He himself would not come, instead, he would likely dispatch one of his mightiest Princes to claim the Acorn and its contents. Thus, giving the Spider Dragon a chance to capture them once again. She intended to be ready for what she saw as inevitable, asking those present to aid her in binding the Demon Prince that would make itself known. She could exploit a loophole in his previous contract with Adramalech by shaping silken strands of her breath weapon into chains they could use to bind this demon, rather than breathing upon him directly. Ixiad continued that a confluence of magical forces had created an atypically powerful type of Catalyst she called “Essence.” Items imbued with this Essence would be required to empower these chains.

The Spider Dragon warned that such a plan did carry a great degree of risk. For the forces of the Hellstack could empower their Pillar with Essence to its fullest, there was no telling what the end result might be. Perhaps something so simple as death for the godling, or  it might create an abomination beyond description. Any outcome was possible: using its divine corpse to open up new paths into the Realms Celestial or corrupting it into a being worthy of undertaking the Mortegiest’s vacant throne? None of these outcomes could come to pass.  She reassured her followers that the servants of the Divine would be occupied trying to use whatever power they could gather to influence the godling, that they would be unimpeded to forge these silken chains. However, Ixiad was somewhat wrong in this assumption. The Dark Pantheon had left their response to this matter in Baaagh’s hands, due to his skills against the forces of the Hellstack. The Heart Eater, lagging behind Ixiad, came to many of the same conclusions, ,resolving to enslave this Prince himself. While the servants of the Firstborn were being given their orders, those who followed the Dark were approached by Samara the Ungraved, the nominal leader of the Church of Darkness. It was her responsibility to lead her people to a group of ritualists of the Temple of the Black Eclipse, a church of mortals sworn to the Hell King and his allies. The Black Eclipse was working to prevent Baaagh’s emergence onto the mortal plane. However, the heads of the Dark followers assembled had other ideas. Exarch Setth Winter and his Dread Knight Ektas Eidolon had borne witness to a vision granted unto them by their patron Malagant, proscribing Samara as a heretic. They refused to aid her, choosing to quickly and mercilessly dispatch her and her entourage Hearing the nearby chanting, the followers of the Dark violently engaged those who attempted to hold back the God of Bloodshed. When the last cultist lay dead and the ground itself was suffused with gore, the clerics Auriel and Wogrosh along with the Dread Knight Asterion, the three present favoured of Baaagh, were wrenched into the air. Their rib cages were savagely pried open as their still-beating hearts ripped themselves from their chests. These floating hearts violently collided together forming a sickening wall of thick crimson gore, through which two hands covered in rusted plate mail burst forth. Akin to birthing himself from a demonic caul,  Baaagh brutally made his appearance onto the mortal plane. After restoring his three chosen, the Heart Earter informed them about the Demon Prince that would come and that powerful catalysts called ‘Essence’ would be required to fight it. They had a choice of how to utilise the Essence: They could shape the godling as Ixiad had predicted, or they could forge their own chains, in much the same manner the Spider Dragon was planning to do. Baaagh left it to his chosen and departed back to his heaven.

Meanwhile, an army of demons had begun to assault the centre of Seidenstadt, seeking to establish their Pillar of Essence  that would corrupt the godling inside the Golden Acorn. Amidst this battle came Roland, God of Justice. But he was not alone, for not far behind was Valdr, the Stormbringer and all those that followed the Savage gods. Both groups of faithful tore into the demonic hordes with a righteous and terrible fury. Once the Acorn was no longer under threat, each God gathered their respective flocks unto them.

Following sacrifices given and offerings made by their respective followers, both Gods explained that the very same magic that could shut a portal to the Hellstack could also influence the god-child. This magic, called “Essence,” could be stored in Pillars which were then raised from the ground.

Roland wished to sway the godling towards the Light Pantheon directing those who followed the Light to use the Essence they gathered to that end.

Valdr proclaimed that the goldling was marked by fate as one of his children and called on the followers of the Savage to prevent the Light from claiming the Golden Acorn.. Amulius Damena, Spymaster of House Damnea, was understandably greatly angered when he was slain alongside Samara earlier in the  evening. He was eventually mollified, but not before sending his own assassins against the followers of the Dark. Upon seeing their strength and numbers, these assassins ultimately chose not to engage. This compelled the Spymaster to reveal himself, whereupon threatening those present with the wrath of Madam Octavia, matriarch of House Damnea, should they continue to resort to murder so hastily. He also informed them that the Black Cathedral was currently held in Antioch and under her stewardship until such a time a new leader was deemed worthy.

When most had retired and the Acorn was left unguarded, a group of Shattered Elves slid quietly across the plains, trying desperately to stifle their insane laughter and cries of abject sorrow. Led by a fallen cleric, these insane demonic half-breeds conducted a ritual to empower the demonic Pillar of Essence It is believed that they felt a demonic victory might restore Whitethorn to them, as they lacked purpose or vision when bereft of his quiet fury and bottomless hate. This ritual was ultimately successful, for when the last Shattered Elf died with a cry of “WHITETHORN” upon their lips, power flowed into the demonic pillar and caused it to rise from the ground. Future watches upon the Acorn were much more robust.

Saturday, August 3rd, 2266

Dark Followers

Early Saturday morning, followers of the Dark were recruited to investigate a graveyard once-kept by a Darkweaver of Dietremen. A piece of Essence was hidden amongst the graves. While no demons or bandits assailed them, they soon discovered that these graves were laid with ingenious traps. Nevertheless, they followed the various clues and riddles pointing towards the correct grave, uncovering the Essence.

During midday, they were visited in their camp by an Ice Elf calling himself Thelad’thiel, a cleric of Pandora. He explained that he was currently contracted as a battle-mage and inquisitor with the Iron Company. The Company had been hired with the last of some Teifanese noble’s gold to fight with the Whiteraven forces for a season. His warriors had captured an Eclipse commander, who had eventually broken under his careful ministrations. The commander revealed that his men had secured their own piece of Essence from a nearby ruined draconic temple. Having no current use for it, yet knowing what it was, they attempted to destroy it. While they managed to rend it into pieces, they could not completely obliterate it. When Thelad’thiel and his warriors fell upon the camp that the commander had led them to, they found several encoded cylinders stuffed with the shredded remnants of the Essence. He presented these cylinders to the Dark worshipers, who did manage to reassemble and claim the Essence once more.

Long after dark washed over the village that evening, spirits of long-dead mortals from Erasmus’ heaven left their princely estates to open a market on the mortal plane. While many goods that mortal adventurers lust after are all too common in the twin city markets of Greed and Avarice, the material world has countless rare or unique items found nowhere else. These spirits came looking for the latter from the mortals present, so that they might make a profit when they return home. Unfortunately, the only currency they offered were the coins of conquest themselves, which expire quickly outside of Erasmus’ domain. Business was good, with many able to secure much needed supplies for the war effort that night. An Essence was for sale which was quickly purchased by a human, Victor Kaban, a Darkweaver of Erasmus himself.

Nearby Samara still lusted for vengeance. Having been abandoned by her Antioch allies, she raised her own tools of vengeance to satisfy her wounded ego. She dispatched her own elite squad of Death Knights, led by a single Death Rogue, to kill the Dark followers she saw as traitors. As mighty as her forces were, the Church of the Seven proved mightier still, and Samara’s servants were violently rendered into piles of ash.

Light Followers

As the dawn broke over the Church of Light encampment, an excited Hobling Magus and Lightweaver of Salam ran in asking for help to complete an experimental ritual. This Magus explained that he believed that if successful, this ritual could divert one of the open hell portals to Salam’s heaven instead! Those present provided assistance. However, as is often the case with theoretical magic, the ritual’s magic turned out to be extremely volatile. While the ritual was being performed, it caused the portal to rapidly shift between different planes of existence, wrenching enraged creatures through it, corrupting them into demonic facsimiles of themselves. Upon the miraculous completion of the ritual, despite the onslaught, the madness of Ixiad’s lands caused the portal to connect somewhere deep with the Far Realm. There, a vast and unknowable consciousness granted, any who accepted, its knowledge: a form of magic that no mortal mind could comprehend, nor contain for long. The knowledge of all that was, all that is, and all that will be, in a magical sense, was all there for a brief moment. So vast were the minds of those who accepted the gift, an Essence was crafted almost as an afterthought.

Near midday, Avandra Ironarm, the commoner hero of Tiefanue herself, rushed into town seeking aid. While she recruited those of the Light first, eventually many others converged on her when they learned why she was here. Several Teifanese refugee children had been taken in a daring raid by the forces of the Black Eclipse, intent on using their innocent blood in an unholy sacrifice. Having no other troops immediately on hand yet being absolutely unwilling to let these children suffer or die, she gathered what adventurers she could and struck out into the woods. These heroes of Seidenstadt seemed to be possessed of an especially potent battlefury that moment, making the demons themselves quaking before the onrush against them. Thankfully, the children were rescued and returned to their parents unharmed. Avandra expressed her gratitude by applying her skills and sharpening the weapons of several adventures who lent her aid.

What came next was quite a shock to those who still did not understand how the Church of Light was able to act as it had under the former Archbishop Roderick Hale. A Shaman in the service of Bishop Cathelion of the remnants of the Church of Light came to guide the worshippers in an intense vision quest. A series of events that would both illuminate them and lead them to two pieces of Essence. They were brought into the depths of a visionscape, a dream that was not a dream, where they walked through the collective memories of the Citadel’s soldiers. They saw the world through the hazy illusion which had been cast upon the most followers of the Light Gods. This had allowed the Hell King to gradually shape their perception of the world and what they believed were the wishes of the gods they worshipped. They witnessed Hale before his zealous rise to power. They witnessed a young Asher of the Dawn, the disguised Hell King, find and manipulate the lowly Church bookkeeper and scribe, twisting him into the Archbishop the world came to know. As they gazed upon Asher, the memories allowed them the foul, twisted dark aura that clung to the supposed wood fae paladin, clearly marking her as something else entirely. This darkness roiled out from her in waves, blanketing all those who served the light, and shielding them from the sight of the Gods. Despite this knowledge, they quickly discovered that the aura’s power did not let them speak of it, or its influence upon them. As they continued through the vision, they emerged into an empty town and were set upon by Demons. Despite knowing that something was wrong, they were rewarded with blessings and boons from Roland with every victory. As they marched forward through the corrupted towns in their path, they were waylaid by a squad of winged demons with blades of pure darkness. Leading the vanguard, Asher commanded these demons be captured and taken to Lightguard’s dungeons for investigation. Emboldened by the powers of the Light, the group struck down these beings easily and shackled them in Castle Lightguard’s underground cells. It was at this point in the vision quest when the Hell King’s ancient spell was completed, the Divine Severance. Bereft of all the light-given blessings that had both empowered them and shackled their minds, they looked back upon their trail for the first time and were horrified by what they witnessed. What they saw was not the warpath of the avenging warrior, instead what they saw were the corpses of innocent town guards, villagers, and children. Turning their eyes back to the dungeons of Castle Lightguard, they did not see warded cells holding demons, instead they gazed at horrific machines that were torturing angels, syphoning their light to power the “blessings” they had enjoyed earlier until they were naught but corpses. Unable to bear more, the shaman ended the shared visionscape and all were returned to their right minds. Many shed tears as the shaman cried for the tale to be spread so these evils should never be forgotten and should never be repeated.

In the evening, deserters from the Temple of the Black Eclipse’s armies fled into Seidenstadt, seeking refuge from the former Grand Inquisitor Lucius Thorne. Unfortunately, they had not managed to escape before they had been infected with carnivorous worms. By the time they reached Seidenstadt, they had only minutes left to live. Only by the mercy of the Light did they manage to survive. As the mutineers shared the Grand Inquisitor’s schemes and secrets, Theokleia, a yokai aspirant of Cassandra, was afflicted by an unknown demonic spell and transformed into a horrific demon. This preceded a hell portal ripped open nearby, spilling a tide of vicious hellhounds right into the encampment. These minions of Thorne dragged off most of the mutineers kicking and screaming to the portal. At the last second, they desperately rallied one last time against the enemy, preventing them from being taken. A group of trackers subsequently gathered the mutineers and covered their trail to prevent the demonic hounds from finding them in the future.

Savage Followers

In the morning, four sworn warriors of the Temple of the Black Eclipse had slipped past the front lines and entered an empty camp. They made themselves at home while waiting on followers of the Savage Pantheon to arrive. After a not-insignificant amount of time waiting, some of them left to search for the followers they thought would be there. Eventually, they managed to gather a small crowd. They explained who they were and admitted to have made their faustian bargain in a moment of weakness. Despite their regrets and the fact that they were still under contract, they were here to aid the followers of the Savage in whatever way they could manage. The Eclipse warriors offered those present a portion of Essence in exchange for agreeing to sign a contact promising that they would stop the other pantheons from growing their Pillar; the Light church has shown themselves to be too weak and that the Dark could not be trusted. The followers refused this offer when it was stipulated that they would need to sign their true names to seal the bargain. After much deliberation, another option was offered: A fight to the death. A Black Eclipse champion versus a Savage champion. Having adherents of Valdr amongst them, who could not refuse an offer to grant a warrior an honourable death, this offer was accepted. This duel was gruelling and close, but the followers of the Savage Gods triumphed, claiming the Essence for themselves.

In the late afternoon, a lone druid and savage follower came into town looking for help from like minded folk. He was only able to find two adventurers to aid him, but luckily that would prove to be enough. His grove had been corrupted by the presence of strange foreign objects, which in turn had drawn a host of enraged Shambling Mounds. Bobbing and weaving through the thickened of enraged plants that sought to devour them, the two adventurers managed to cleanse the grove of all the offending artifacts, earning themselves an Essence in the process. Later that evening, before the sun truly set, followers of the Savage were asked to help a kind father find his missing child. He led them deep into the woods that surrounded the village. Sadly, they were too late. All they found was a burned and ravaged corpse. As the group approached, perhaps to give the child its last rites, they were interrupted by a horrific scream that nearly sundered their eardrums. A tall, gaunt, and dishevelled female spirit rose up from the corpse. Its voice was death! The adventurers present quickly defeated the banshee. Seconds after the finishing blow, there was a flash of purple light from the necklace draped around the burned corpse. The spirit reformed as a dark voice echoed from the shadows, calling it to unlife once more. This process repeated several times, before one of their number realised that if they wanted to free the trapped spirit of the child, they would need to break the necklace. With their efforts combined, they shattered it. With the necklace in pieces, they were greeted by an insubstantial visage that appeared to be Haldora herself, claiming the tormented spirit for her own heaven. Afterwards, the child’s body was returned to their father so that he might perform a proper burial.

Dragon Followers

Sir Griptalon, Dragon Knight of Rathenoch, arrived at the borders of Seidenstadt early in the morning. Within his spirit, he carried a fragment of Essence which could only be released at the object that called to it, the Golden Acorn. Once he met those who followed the Firstborn and agreed to be his escort, they were attacked by waves of Feral Brood stirred to madness by some unknown cause. Repeatedly, these chitinous vermin assaulted the draconic warriors with acid, claw, and fang. In the end, the Brood could not stop their quest and the elderly Dragon Knight performed a rite in honour of his patron. The effort proved too much. He died in the arms of Andrich Catti, another chosen of the Red Dragon. Nevertheless, all was not lost, as his fading corpse left behind a single red-scaled egg, pulsing fiercely with an intense heat.

Around midday, the draconic encampment was recruited by a human Azure Monk to enter an ancient crumbling ruin not far from Seidenstadt. The goal was to harvest what they could of its unique magics before it collapsed for good. The group had little trouble achieving their objective using a pair of enchanted gloves that allowed them to draw forth the magic from the stone and manifest it so that it might be handled. Once enough power had been harvested, the adventurers were able to shape this strange magic into another piece of Essence, which became another link in their demon-binding chains.

Late in the evening, a lone human came desperately seeking aid. They had been travelling with their purple draconian companion, desperately searching for her lost unhatched child! The draconian had gone ahead to scout and has never returned. Thus, leaving it up to the human to rescue the egg, alone. In order to keep it safe, the draconian had wrapped the egg in a cocoon of protective silk. Tragically, this caused the local spiders to mistake it for their own property and carried it off to their own nest. The egg needed to be retrieved before anything bad could happen to it, but fighting any of the Spider Dragon’s children was out of the question. Heeding Ixiad’s warnings from the night before, it was apparent that stealth would be required. Luckily, this nest was guarded by a semi-blind giant spider, meaning it could not hunt by sight alone. Carefully, the dragon followers managed to rescue the egg without being tempted by any of the other treasures stored in the vast network of silk strands. The human, feeling the egg was about to hatch, asked for the aid of anyone trained in medicine to help it along. As the egg began to hatch, the human started to feel ill, strangely disappearing shortly thereafter. Curiously, the hatching appeared to have the colouration of Ixiad, black with crimson web-like highlights, upon their scales, rather than the royal purple of Essylt. The broken fragments of the egg shell thrummed with power and were revealed to be another piece of Essence.

All Camps

One of Baaagh’s first Dread Knights, Lucy, an ancient Am’Rath, had previously told the adventurers to locate and leave open a portal to the Catafalque, the Throat of Hell, as it would be needed later. When that time came, a lesser angel of Baaagh arrived and gathered everyone at this portal. She explained that the Hellish portals that had been opening up all over town were the work of a great demonic construct called the Arcana Engine. Built by one of Mara’Bagash’s most skilled demonic smiths, this vast machine was constantly boring holes through the magical barriers meant to ward Seidenstadt from demonic incursions. It needed to be silenced. The Church of the Seven was also asked to bind and capture the demon responsible for its creation and operation, the Arch-Fabricator Carrion Raelthorne. His skills would be necessary to forge the chains of blood and steel that would later bind the avatar of Adramelech. Everyone who could hold a sword or chant a spell was gathered and marched through a bloody and jagged tear in reality that led into Baaagh’s heaven, the Bloodfire. The angel would lead them through the Bloodfire to where it bordered the Throat of Hell. As they waded through knee-deep blood and gore, the powers of that realm partially infused them. Those who could stomach such a thing found that whenever they ate a slain demon’s heart, their flesh would almost instantly knit itself back together. Such powers were sorely needed, as the fortress where Arcana Engine was located was anything but ill-defended. Several hordes of demons awaited them in front, while demonic mages rained spells down upon them from on high atop the battlements. Eventually, after a gruelling fight which nearly saw all present pushed back, a group of adventurers commandeered a battering ram and smashed open the gate with a ear-splitting crash. Like a swarm of locusts upon a fresh harvest, the adventurers swarmed into the now-breached keep, slaying nearly all who were inside. The Arch-Fabricator attempted to throw them back himself, but was thwarted in the attempt and taken prisoner when a potent word of power spoked by the Slaughter Priest, Auriel, Darkweaver of Baaagh. Other adventurers managed to claim several codes from demonic lieutenants, which triggered the self-destruction of the Arcana Engine. With demons and an advancing wave of arcane energy on their heels, all hurried to escape back to the mortal plane through the demonic portal previously left open with their prisoner in tow. Though not all returned, they were successful in their task and no new portals would open within Seidenstadt.

Sunday, August 4th, 2266

Dark Followers

Another host of demons interrupted the breaking of their fast, many not even having time to don their armour before having to wade into battle. Nonetheless, their foe was dispatched. Concurrent to their victory, the energy from a nearby ritual blacklash tore open a hole in reality. A quick examination revealed that this tear did not lead to any of the hellish principalities, but rather opened wide into a world of flesh and alien geometries. A sense of invitation and welcoming washed over all present, leading several of the Dark to choose to enter the portal to investigate. There, in a strange and terrifying realm that would break lesser minds, these adventurers met two creatures that the mad scholars who study the Far Realm called “Mindphages”. Before these two lithe squid-faced abominations, was set a table surrounded by a shimmering magical barrier with a smoking black horn resting upon its surface. Although they did not understand speech, by accepting one of their slug-like young into their eyes, a mental link was formed. Through a series of exchanged pictures and memories, a bargain was struck, and an Essence was exchanged for the most valued and treasured memory of a Dread Knight of Sverin named Domovoi.

That afternoon, the Church of the Seven was visited by a fellow Darkweaver of Dalerion, who came bearing news. The Arch-Fabricator they had captured yesterday had hit an obstacle. The hellsteel he was working into the chains was no ordinary metal. It required more than mere oil for it to be properly quenched: Blood was needed. But the crimson vitae that permeated Baaagh’s domain was too tainted with sin to be of use. Instead innocent blood was necessary. The cleric of Daelrion lead the Dark followers to a nearby encampment where a small group of refugees were hiding from the demonic hordes. After detailed explanations, some refugees were convinced to give their blood for the cause. However, others refused to surrender the one thing over which, they felt, they still held some manner of control. None were killed, but most were deeply traumatised by the theft of their blood. Subsequently, once enough had been gathered, it was provided to the Darkweaver. In turn, the cleric thanked them and promised the work would continue.

Just before the evening meal, an undead Death Mage and Darkweaver of Malagant, calling himself Romero, came with a warning. Samara the Ungraved had been growing increasingly unhinged. From being stripped of her lichdom by the former Archbishop Roderick Hale to her recent assassination by those who rebuffed her authority, the last vestiges of her sanity and caution snapped. Using what connections she had left, she stole major artifacts from several other churches of Dark Gods,  to use as fuel for a heretical ritual. Gathering two shards of Essence unto herself, she drained one to empower herself beyond mortal limits, and the other was meant to be an offering to the First of the Heriotzaren Buruak, the Kings of Death, beings empowered to bestow lichdom. It was possible this latter piece could be retrieved. Romero led the Dark followers deep into the Deadlands where they were met by a host of powerful undead. Those loyal to Malagant were able to eventually carve a path to Samara’s ritual circle. Though they were victorious in slaying her, her ritual was successful in summoning the being whom she had hoped would restore her power. Since the dead are unable to bargain, Exarch Setth Winter and his Dread Knight Ektas Eidolon seized on the opportunity. They knelt and addressed the Heriotzaren Buruak at length, as the battle raged around them. The exact words spoken belong solely to those present. What was seen is the ancient death spirit laying a faintly glowing hand upon the red-robed priest’s shoulder, speaking word of an ancient long-dead arcane language before vanishing back into the grave dirt from whence he was called. Finally, all were able to return to the mortal plane through an already open portal. Late in the evening, after the Black Eclipse attack against all the forces of Seidenstadt, several angels of Baaagh emerged from the Catafalque with the Arch-Fabricator, still bound by magics. He delivered his coerced craft: Seven links of hellsteel chains empowered by Essence and tempered in the blood of the innocent. His task completed, the Angels dragged him through town so that all  might witness and mock his defeat before returning him to Bloodfire, where whatever punishments and labours awaited. The night saw the Church of the Seven visited by several nearby priests of the Church of Darkness, who sought to hold those present to account for the slaying of Samara the Ungraved. The exact specifics of their conversations remain with those who were present that evening. No sounds of violence echoed across the encampment and all those present returned to their posts when the talks came to a close.

Light Followers

In the morning, the Light followers took mercy, once again, on the soldiers of the Eclipse. Only this time, they were ghosts of mortals who had yet to actually give up their true names to their demonic patron. They explained that their bodies were imprisoned deep within a nearby spider cave and that they could not pass on without proper funerary rites. Guided to the cave by a follower of Ixiad named Atlacoya, she cautioned them to show respect and refrain from touching any treasures or the webs that crossed their path. Surrounded by arachnids both large and small, they carefully made their way through the labyrinth of webs towards the spider’s nest. At their destination, they met with a Dryad spider. The followers of Light begged for the corpses to be released and the Dryad agreed  on one condition: A woven webbed contract of blood, tribute, and deeds. When all was settled, the adventurers scrambled out of the cave before the horrid creatures could change their mind. They performed the funeral rites and the spirits passed on, leaving behind a portion of Essence.

In the afternoon, the silence was sundered by the sorrowful cries of a woman named Wyn, a mage and paragon of Celeste. In between sobs, she explained that Grand Inquisitor Lucius Thorne had made his move. He had kidnapped Wyn’s wife, Harriet, due to some unrequited affections he had for her, which had then been twisted by his demonic corruption into a dangerous obsession. He had been seen slowly dragging the wife towards the hell portal bound in chains of his own blood, exclaiming they would be wed at last. The adventurers mobilised with record speed and in moments they clashed against the Grand Inquisitor who had yet to join his bride to be in the Hellstack while a small team worked to free Harriet. Unfortunately, no alchemy or magic could either break the chains or close the portal while Thorne drew breath. Choosing obsession over self preservation, the inquisitor fought to his final breath and the chains shattered when the light left his eyes. The lovers, Wyn and Harriet, reunited and all was merry for a while. Every word was poetry, all faces were painted with smiles, and even the strikes of hammers upon anvils or the incantations of spells sounded like music.

In the last moments of daylight, a gnarled ambassador of Dunarthos trundled into Seidenstadt, weary from their journey through corrupted lands infested with demons. Even upon reaching the village, the minions of hell were relentless with their pursuing assault. The Light Followers mustered to defend the last stretch of their journey, but when the ambassador reached the Light’s Essence Pillar, their memories of Arthos’ beautiful lands had faded into nothingness. Using the nearest adventurer as their voice, they beseeched all who were present to show the gods the most incredible places they’d ever travelled. Using the shapes and forms of their bodies to pantomime, many participated in sharing their journeys through masterful scenes of nature’s beauty. Titanic mountains with mighty waterfalls, snow capped coniferous forests, and raging tsunamis crashing against rocky shores to name a few. The Essence flowed through all, but before it could transfer to the Pillar, the madness of Ixad’s territory twisted everyone like the roots of an ancient tree. Thankfully, trapsmiths and blessings of nature gods helped unknot the townsfolk, releasing the Essence and causing the root-like ambassador to disintegrate into slivers of the World Tree.

Savage Followers

Near eight bells, Regis, favoured of Sverin, gathered the followers of the Savage to issue a challenge. He had recovered a coveted piece of Essence and all one had to do to claim it was win his potentially fatal drinking game. There were only 4 simple rules. First, only drinks provided by Regis were allowed. Second, everyone participating in the game must drink. Third, only those that were participating could assist one another. Fourth, no one outside of the game could assist in any way until the game was completed. To prevent an accidental loss, one of the participants surrounded all who were competing with a circle of protection as the game began. The game was supposed to be a mere four rounds, but after being goaded by an ogre competitor, it was agreed that it would last seven rounds. Consequently, this resulted in many competitors suffering significant harm, with several on the edge of death as a winner was proclaimed. Regis, being true to his word, provided a bottle of Essence which was expended to grow the Savage Pillar.

Later that afternoon, an angel of Magnora herself descended to the mortal plane to gather the adventurers in the Savage encampment. They were invited to come with him back to Magnora’s heaven where they would get a rare opportunity to mine a special ore to craft a wondrous item upon his personal forge. Unluckily, upon their arrival they were greeted by a large bloated rust monster gorging itself on the personal metal stockpiles of the angel! The e adventurers engaged the monster, armed with a special blessing that protected their own weapons against the rust monster’s vicious acid. Even with the blessing, many weapons sundered into worthless pieces. Once the monster was slain, all gathered together to craft their item. While some wished to use this opportunity to craft powerful weapons or pieces of armour, it was ultimately decided that they would craft a symbol of Magnora, which would house a piece of Essence. So awesome was the angelic forge, that all present even those who were not smiths or crafters themselves were able to contribute to the crafting of the Essence.

Under the faint light of the waning crescent moon, a follower of Sybil came to inform the Savage followers of a terrible problem that required their attention. As a result of so much magic being used in such a small area, combined with the presence of the Golden Acorn, a record number of magic eaters had gathered in the region. Having no natural predators nearby, their very presence was making a mockery of the balance of nature that they sought to uphold. A cull was necessary. They gathered the adventurers for a hunt. After slaying several small clusters of magic eaters, a rare larger one of great stature appeared alongside several of its young. The smaller creatures were dispatched as easily as their predecessors but the attacks had no effect against the larger magic eater. Fittingly, Haplo Tyrson released a blessing of Sybil, granting them a vision of elemental magic harming it. With everyone enlightened with this detail, Vali of Clan Orson, paladin of Valdr, called upon his divine powers to coat his blade with elemental power finally shattering its defences. With the creature slain, its Essence was harvested.

Dragon Followers

In the early light of morning, followers of the Firstborn were approached by a goblin called Snack Brekhun claiming to be an aspirant of the White Dragon, Zsiera. He solicited their help to slay a large white drake and, in doing so, they could avail themselves of a piece of Essence. While they swiftly slaughtered the drake, it hurled accusations of treasure at Snack. The remaining carcass was rushed by a host of vicious bloodsucking sturges which were dispatched just as quickly. After the battle, the goblin had one of the draconic warriors cut open the white-scaled belly to remove the Essence-infused heart of the beast. Almost as an afterthought, Snack offered it to the adventurers as payment as he furiously rummaged through the spilled guts. As soon as he located a medallion that bore Zsiera’s mark, he clutched it with glee and scampered into the woods exclaiming “I’m freeeee!”, leaving the adventurers without any further explanation.

Later in the day, a Tezothian Squire named Barnibus offered his assistance to the Firstborn followers. He explained that Tezoth, the Gold Dragon, decided that he would send aid and help his distant sister’s cause, although he could not be there personally due to the laws of their kind. Instead, using his power over the Sun itself, he infused a portion of Essence in his possession into a vast array of brilliant sunbeams and cast them towards the town of Siedenstadt. As mere shafts of light, their Essence was worthless. They would need to be focused and pointed at an object charged with draconic power. In agreement, the adventurers followed the Squire’s instructions, using enchanted mirrors to direct the beams towards the nascent Draconic Pillar. Once each infused beam had collided with the pillar, the Essence was made whole again and finally took shape, ready to be forged into yet another link of Ixiad’s chains.

Their last opportunity to claim Essence came in the evening by a visit of an Ajaunti Dragon Knight of Essylt named Mirth. They expressed that the approaching threat would most undoubtedly be so powerful that ordinary magic would not stop him, let alone secure him in place long enough to have a chance of securing one of Ixiad’s binding chains safely. To this end, they explained they had been asked to steal an item of Vesmir’s realm and would lead them on the journey to claim it. This artifact was an enchanted hammer that not even a Demon Price could fully withstand, allowing them a brief moment to fulfil their duty to Ixiad. To facilitate their journey, the Knight had brought a powerful candle imbued with the strange energies of the mystic arts. So long as the flame danced upon the wick, their spirits could project into the deadlands as if they were master mystics themselves. As the candle was lit, the adventurers left their bodies and arrived in Vesmir’s domain. They were greeted by a powerful spirit that both guarded over this sacred artifact and kept a ledger of all the dead that pass through his domain. Mirth revealed an ulterior goal, asking if Vesmir had made any progress regarding the bargain he struck with Essylt, the Purple Dragon, almost a decade ago: Recover Thade, the Orb of Necromancy, and the phylactery which shackled the spirit of the Firstborn Dracolich, Suulazultsur, in order to cleanse her corruption so her soul could rest. The spirit was unwilling to answer their inquiries, calling upon ancient magics to slip between worlds to summon a cadre of spectre-like spirits to assail the adventurers. Despite their lack of flesh, the blows the adventurers delivered to these guardian spirits were real. When all the spectres had been dispersed, the spirit was forced to manifest before them once again. As Mirth pressed the spirit, he sobbed as he admitted that the dragons have no known afterlife. He added he had no record of Suulazultsur ever being in the Deadlands at any point in time. He could only conclude that her Dracolich body was never ensouled at all. He had never revealed this, not even to Vesmir himself, and was especially mortified that mortal spirits were made aware of this damning truth. Surrendering himself, the spirit did not resist when the hammer was taken from him, for he was so wracked by sorrow. Upon returning to their bodies, the Knight of Essylt was furious at the implications of the revelations they had drawn out of the spirit. Nonetheless, their duty was completed and departed to return the artifact to Ixiad to prepare it for its intended purpose.

All Camps

Over the course of the weekend, the combined forces of the Whiteraven Alliance held an armed cordon around the town of Seidenstadt. The Temple of the Black Eclipse had great hordes of both demon and mortal death marching towards Ixiad’s lands by way of Teifanue. If they did not hold the line, those forces would inevitably sweep over the town and all would be lost. True to their resolve, they held for several days and sleepless nights of constant bloodshed. Shortly after most had taken their dinner, in spite of the surrounding army, an elite force of the very best of the Temple of the Black Eclipse managed to pierce through the cordon, entering the town proper. Their apparent goal being to secure the Golden Acorn and perform a great and terrible demonic rite that would infuse their own Pillar with demonic energy. Their squad of several stalwart warriors, supported by archers and wytches, easily battered aside the town’s defences, anchoring up positions around their ritemaster. The fight that followed was a long drawn-out brutal slugfest. Entrenched to their position, the Eclipse elite formation could not be broken even as a meteor was called down upon them. The advantage could not be pressed by the adventurers, giving the Eclipse time to recover with healing magics. The rite was completed and the demonic pillar grew, at great cost of their strength. Eventually, the Eclipse’s defences were breached and, one by one, all were unceremoniously slaughtered.

Monday, August 5th, 2266

All Camps

Once more, those adventurers that were early to rise were met by the frenzied howls and screams of the demonic hordes. Emerging from one of the few Hellstack portals that yet remained open were hellhounds with their fiend handlers. These were easily dispatched by these brave folk. However, it quickly became apparent that this attack was unlike the others that had come before it. None of the demons dared to interact with the glowing pillars of divine or demonic energies like their predecessors. Instead, it seemed more like a tactical strike, a means by which the forces of the Hell King might test the strength and resolve of those who had fought so hard for the past two days. This theory was proven true, for a little after ten bells, the wards the Conclave had placed upon Seidenstadt to guard it from direct planar invasions buckled under the strain, showering the area with sparks as the threads of magic were torn apart. Amidst this thunderous cacophony of sundered ritual magic, a portal to the Hellstack tore itself open, making a mockery of the great works set to stop such a thing from happening.

From this portal strode the avatar of the Demon Prince of Tyranny, Adramalech himself, clad and armoured in the very best war-gear that can be forged in the Gulf of Perdition. Even as limited as this particular form was, his raw power was obvious for all to see. Hellfire roiled off his form in waves and the ground itself blackened and died beneath his hooves. When he swung his hellsteel blade, mortals died. When he lifted a finger to direct a spell, more mortals died. Unescorted, he would be unmatched by any that were present. Alas, he was flanked at all times by two galbreazus: beings of terrible power, authority, and might only equalled or surpassed by Princes such as himself. These creatures in turn commanded a great host of lesser demons, hellhounds, greater fiends, and balrogs, all marching in Adramalech’s assault force.

The adventurers did not yield. Not even in the face of such overwhelming power did a single one turn and run. In front of the Golden Acorn, they made their stand. The fight itself was brutally savage. Once the opposing front collided, all discipline evaporated, devolving the battle into a chaotic melee. Unrelenting, the adventurers fought like the demons they sought to slay. Both veteran and neophyte emptied their pockets, expending every last vestige of strength and stockpiled power to endure the demonic storm. For some it was not enough, paying the ultimate price for their eventual victory.

The followers of the Firstborn were successful in striking Adramalech with their enchanted hammer, making him pause for a brief moment. Seizing their chance, followers of the Dark and those of the Firstborn competed to secure their chains forged from the Essence they had painstakingly collected in the past two days. With each chain secured, Adramalech’s steps faltered with his power diminishing until his hellsteel blade slipped from his fingers and he fell to his knees. The victory came with an unexpected cost, for when the last chain was secured to Adramalech, an explosion of raw hell-tainted power caught the Dread Knight Asterion, rending his body asunder and leaving nothing but ashes.

Those demons still alive at this moment were suddenly filled with fear as their lord was bound and retreated towards the nearest Hell Portal in a panicked flight, harried by the now triumphant warriors.

As the dust settled and the heroes of Seidenstadt took stock of the situation, Baaagh emerged upon the field of battle. He took hold of the chains binding the Prince of Tyranny, before letting out a great and terrible shout that was equal parts fury and triumph. Adramalech was reluctantly dragged back to Bloodfire, where his powers would be exploited and made to turn against the Hell King and his minions. The Heart Eater returned shortly after securing his prize to return Asterion to his allies, for death had not yet claimed his spirit. Wasting little time, Baaagh’s Dread Knight tore down the demonic pillar, pounding it into dust, while every adventurer chanted his name. Before leaving the material plane, Baaagh collected one of his fallen worshipers who had died a final death, an ogre by the name of Granyte, personally carrying his spirit into Bloodfire’s gore-soaked expanse.

With the demonic pillar destroyed, the magics of the Savage’s Pillar were free to aid in the new God’s birth. Valdr himself was summoned by his chosen and his aspirants. With a mighty blow from Brotnabru, he sundered the acorn in two, heralding the birth of his long lost child, Theodosia. While the godling was exhausted by the effort of their emergence, they spent as much time as they could learning from the mortals present, bearing witness to their stories and visualising the lands they had seen. Interestingly, this godling mimicked the physical form of each adventurer as they encountered them, abruptly changing from one to another without thought or effort. Gifts of all kinds were given unto them; trinkets, clothing, and other mementos that carry the countless seeds of stories within. With gratitude, they were even able to bestow their blessing upon a mortal that took a particular interest in their ways, a human by the name of Ville. This last act drained what little strength they had left and they allowed Valdr to carry them into Asgard.

In the proceeding weeks…

Having accomplished their objective, the forces of the Whiteraven Alliance take their leave after tending to their wounded and dead.

Under the command of Avandra Ironarm, the Teifanese make their way back west to secure the remnants of her shattered nation. While much of Teifanue either lies in ruins or is now the domain of the Temple of the Black Eclipse, she has managed to secure a portion of land in the northeast where her people can live a somewhat normal life. Here, behind hastily erected fortifications and under heavy guard, crops are grown, children are educated, and more, all without the constant threat of demonic assaults. What remains of the Church of Light tends to their flock behind these walls. They will rebuild and rearm so when the call to arms is sounded once again, those who hold fast to the Light will be ready. This relative calm that much of Maud’madir has begun to enjoy is likely due in large part to the sudden division and discord sewn amongst the forces of the Hellstack. Demonic warriors, once sworn to Adramalech, find themselves enslaved to Baaagh’s will and chaos erupts as they are forced to throw themselves against their demonic brethren with a frenzy that is not their own. The tremendous territorial gains achieved by the Eclipse’s forces slow down to a halt, as they are often so busy defending what they did manage to take earlier against the Heart Eater’s enslaved legions. Secret plans and schemes torn from the minds of his thralls have further blunted their spread across Arthos. Armed with this hidden knowledge, the Church of Darkness inflicts significant losses with a series of brilliant tactical strikes. For a time, it seems as if the world might not be coming to an end. Meanwhile, in Ixiad’s domain, the Spider Dragon does not curse herself for failing to enslave Baaagh’s new toy. She knows that the Heart Eater’s hold upon his prize is not absolute. Should his will falter, even for a moment, one of his chains will slip and she will pull tight upon her own silken strands…

2265 (Warcry 2023)

“By Ancient Craft, by What is Mine. I Sever Arthos, Gods Divine”

(Power Word Area “Arthos” Divine Severance)

On Monday August 7th, 2265, at approximately 1pm, every single last connection to the Celestial Realms was violently severed by the world-shaking incantation shouted by the formerly-missing Hell King. This power forced anyone that was favoured of the Divine to experience being torn from their god’s embrace and to take a death, unless they happened to be within a short distance of a Bastion Town. All Guildhouses are considered Bastion Towns. You may choose your own story here, and you may take a death (we won’t count it on your spirit), or you can just assume that somebody happened to be nearby and fed you a life effect. If you are outside of a Bastion town, you no longer have access to any divine spells or abilities, nor do you feel any connection to your God or Goddess. However, once you enter a Bastion Town, that connection is reestablished and you may cast divine magic again. This will not affect any spells on your spirit should you leave or enter the Bastion’s area of effect, unless a requirement of the spell is a constant connection to a god.

Event Summary

Friday August 4th, 2265

Our Adventurers left the decaying Celestial Realm of Sabrina and into the frigid and grim Celestial Realm of Pandora. Due to the recent deactivation of the Skein Gate network, the portals that Pandora’s Ice Elven warriors utilized to conduct their raids were thought to be the only currently existing mode of fast mass transit that was somewhat-readily accessible. However, upon their arrival, they did not find the empty hall of enchanted mirrors that they expected to find. Instead, they found that it was already occupied! Roderick Hale, Archbishop of the Church of Light and his right hand the Paladin Asher of the Dawn, had the Goddess of Pain herself ensnared with bindings of white-hot holy flame. Hale demanded that she submit and change her evil ways, and when Pandora once again proved her mastery over pain and began to rise despite her chains, Hale demanded that Asher unleash the bound Black Wytch upon the Goddess to ensure their escape. As the two battled, a mortal Champion of Pandora from amongst the adventurers entered the fray, although his aid did not seem to be required as the Pandora seemed to be more than a match for Nebbia Andranasta. The rest of the adventurers used the opportunity afforded by the chaos to escape through one of the enchanted mirrors, and spilled out into the Einish frontier-fortress of Mordenholt.

Upon reaching Mordenholt our adventurers were greeted by none other than Prince Leopold himself, leader of those in the Whiteraven Alliance who had sworn to fight against Roderick Hale and his tyranny. When asked why they had come, the adventurers responded with a single emphatic shout.

“To kill Hale!”

Revna Mothersblood, leader of the exiled Shieldmaiden clan, arrived shortly after an assault launched by a war party of Ice Elves and led our heroes into the ancient temple of the now-dead Silver Firstborn, Daedalon. There they retrieved the Ice Prison of the Einher High King Thorson Bloodeye, where it was being kept safe. Revna took Thorson and the High King’s personal friend and divine advisor Ansfred Ingögon back to her encampment.

Meanwhile, those who’s allegiances lay with the Dark Pantheon were called upon by Samara the Ungraved to undertake a mission of great importance to her. They travelled via a powerful necromantic ritual to a Citadel Church far behind the front lines, killing the Chosen within and retrieving the finaled corpse of a man that was once a Dread Knight sworn to Samara’s service in years past.

Saturday August 5th, 2265

Revna’s plan to reforge the Battlehorn of the Einherjar hit a snag Saturday morning when Orin the Bastard, flanked by many high ranking members of Clan Fenrick, entered town. The two bickered for a time, but eventually Orin caved and agreed that the attempt to reforge the artifact would not likely cause any real harm.

While that was transpiring, Prince Leopold made his way back into the town centre and requested that surgeons and healers help him find a way to remove the metal mask he had been wearing for the last four years. Its magic had been hiding him from any attempt to scry or sense his whereabouts, but now that it was finally time to confront Hale, he wished to be rid of its curse. The brave doctors and healers worked tirelessly, while being defended from the Citadel soldiers that sought to kill the Prince while he was at his most vulnerable.  Despite this, the surgery was a resounding success, and despite a rather raw layer of new skin the Prince was as good as he ever was.

It was later that afternoon that Revna and our heroes gathered to reforge the battlehorn. With the aid of a Cleric of Magnora introduced by Revna and a Paladin of Magnora named Leodin who had travelled with the adventurers, a small group of artificers began their work. Due to the spiritual nature of the horn’s powers, their expertise still would not have been enough to forge it unaided. Thus, the cleric summoned the spirit of Joryn Karlekstrad, a since-deceased Lightweaver of Magnora. As the larger body of adventurers kept the craftspeople safe from a band of rampaging trolls, the the clerics channelled the divine energies required to keep the artificers safe while they worked. The artificers worked diligently as visions of the legions of the dead swarmed them and tested their nerve. The spiritual torrent that surrounded the horn threatened to absorb the deceased Lightweaver, but his wife Kerrigan and those who knew him in life anchored him to the realm of the living by embracing him.

As the artificers neared losing their nerve, the horn was completed and Joryn was dismissed back to his crafting station within Magnora’s vaunted halls. With the now-reforged artifact in hand, Revna sounded it upon the ice prison of High King Thorson. The ice buckled and gave way under the unrelenting thunderous blast that omitted from its mouth, spilling the now-free High King upon the cobblestones of Mordenholt. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he shouted “There are Fenricks in the Hall!” before collapsing into a comatose state.

Ansfred, using his sight beyond sight, determined that the High King’s mind was shattered and there was nothing he could do to fix it. Without a competent High King to unite the clans and their strength, their people were doomed to fall to the armies of the Church. A new High King needed to be chosen, or all would be lost.

In the middle of the day, the adventurers were greeted by one of the last remaining Silver Draconians. He called himself Proctor, the Protector of the Land. He explained that he was one of the few remaining Architects, and that he was seeking adventurers to aid him. Beneath Mordenholt there lay the ruins of the Silver Dragon Daedalon’s greatest city, a wondrous place known as Galaheim’Vox. There he hoped to find objects important to the memory of Daedalon. Those adventurers who went reported finding one such object, and they magically experienced a memory of Daedalon convincing warring peoples to seek peace with each other.

Shortly thereafter, the Einish peoples called the Althing and gathered in the town square. During the giving of sacrifices, Orin chose a worthy foe to be his sacrifice. He challenged the general of Clan Hunhil to single combat, and the fight would have been to the death had it not been for the intervention of Rory Lidelse of Clan Bothnia. Orin won, but had no sacrifice to offer due to said intervention.

Once the sacrifices had been given, matters turned to how a High King would be chosen. After much discussion, a grand melee was decided upon. That way each candidate vying for the High King’s crown would have a better chance at winning if they had the most supporters, thus providing a small picture of the support they might enjoy in the future.

The melee started fine, but quickly turned sour when Tyrik Halfman of Clan Fenrick used poisons in the fight. He was killed immediately, but returned from the Deadlands as quickly as he was only half a mortal man and cursed to walk both worlds. The forces of the Church of Light were summoned alongside him, and it became apparent who Fenrick had thrown in with.

All combatants that were then currently fighting called for a truce. Forming a shield wall, they pushed the forces of the Church of Light back towards the portal to the Deadlands that had opened behind Tyrik Halfman. Orin called to Revna to open the shield wall, and then sacrificed his chance at securing his seat in Valhalla by tackling Tyrik back through the portal from whence he came. There they remain, locked in battle for all eternity. With him one brave warrior followed, Rory Lidelse of Clan Bothnia.

The melee resumed with only a handful of combatants still standing. Soon, it was down to two. Haplo Tyrson and Revna Mothersblood fought for the glory of being the High King, and while it said that the young true berserker gave the Shieldmaiden hell, their duel was not one that was fated to finish with a winner.

High King Thorson Bloodeye, against all odds, dragged his broken body across the battlefield and called for silence. His mind, once thought irreversibly lost, was given a moment of clarity by the skilled Psionicist Azurine. Azurine selflessly took his madness into her own mind, but the cost of that sacrifice is still unknown. Confused, yet true of spirit, Thorson challenged any who would dare take his Battlehorn and call themselves King. Whispers from his aides told that Thorson only had a few moments of lucidity left before his mind fell into a state of permanent rot. That is no worthy death for an Einher. Thus, each and every hero in Mordenholt took up arms that day and fought valiantly against the greatest Einher to walk the surface of Arthos. There, in the middle of the greatest recorded shield wall, Revna and our heroes sent the High King to Valhalla.

After the funeral there was no doubt in anyone’s mind of who should be leading the Einish Clans. Each and every knee bent as Revna Mothersblood was crowned High Queen, and her first order was to call for the unification of her once-fractured people. The High Queen also promoted a local Jarl by the name Skarf Svansson of Clan Lofoten to the rank of Thegn, so that he might serve as one of her most trusted advisors.

Sunday August 6th, 2265

Architect Proctor returned in the morning, gathering a smaller group for another expedition. This time he was accompanied by a Gnome who seemed interested in collecting objects that contained Daedalon’s memories on behalf of someone called “ZOG”. Those who went with them reported reliving a memory of Daedalon’s first trade school, where they were taught architecture, sewing, and fabric dying, assembling together a small house with a flag on it. When they left the memory, they were holding the house they’d built, and the Gnome left with it. A White Draconian named Jezreel also gave Daedalon a book as a gift while in the memory, which was mysteriously missing when they emerged.

With the Einher united, Mordenholt turned to face the real threat drawing closer by the hour. The Church of Light. Asher of the Dawn, Paladin to the Archbishop, sent trusted runners to Mordenholt declaring her intent to join them and turn on her former Cleric. She claimed to know the secrets of his downfall but before our heroes could reach her, she was caught by the Church’s pursuing soldiers and ordered to be executed far behind enemy lines.

Only one force could travel there fast enough, and only one person could summon them. With the final words of the High King echoing in her ears, “A sacrifice must be made to lead the armies of Valhalla,” High Queen Revna Mothersblood asked for a willing sacrifice. One Einher man stood up and pledged himself and his spirit to her cause. His name was Vrael, and as Revna sounded the call from the Battlehorn that obliterated his body, a powerful cry of “Blood and Glory!” escaped his lips. And as the powerful blasts echoed, the land itself began to thrum and stir. Rising from the dirt and glowing green with the power of Valdr’s Celestial Heaven, the armies of the righteous dead appeared, led by none other than their newest general. Beside him, the former High King Thorson Bloodeye. With the armies of the righteous dead at their sides and with select spirits empowering the already potent mortal warriors that had gathered, the armies of the Church fell like wheat before the scythe. Together they liberated Asher from her captors, before handing her over to the Church of Darkness for integration. Asher was executed against the wishes of many once her interrogators felt they had the information that they needed, and was forced to resurrect in the Bastion of Light’s resurrection circle.

Shortly after that Asher of the Dawn was taken under the protection of the Queen of Felnir, Seltia Allana. Thought to be dead by the hand of Roderick Hale months earlier, Seltia revealed that she had actually switched places with her consort. Their objective was never to bring Hale to justice, but rather it instead was to steal the enchanted crown of Tiefanue, the same crown gifted by the first Gods of Light to the first Human King. She delivered this crown to Leopold, who had been besieged all weekend by the Church’s assassins.

To stop these constant attacks, members of the Thieves Guild tapped their underground information networks and found a mole placed deep within Leopold’s Guard. They executed him and stopped the information leak that had been relaying the Prince’s whereabouts to the Church. They also successfully procured additional supplies from Hale’s camps, keeping some for themselves and redistributing the rest to Leopold’s forces.

Architect Proctor appeared alone for the third time, seeking those who had previously explored with him. This time he told those whom he could gather that they would be facing a test, and their reward for passing would be “revelation.” The adventurers who followed him found that the Church of Light and Pandoran Ice Elves had beaten them to their destination, but they were clever and quickly realized the nature of the test that was laid out before them. The adventurers sought to make peace with their enemies, and after the negotiations they revealed themselves to be constructs wearing the ancient garb of Daedalon’s temple guardians.

Having passed the test, the adventurers made their way through the guarded gate and entered their final memory. The knowledge of what exactly occurred within those walls is uncertain to all, save that the screams and wails that emanated shook the very foundations of the fortress itself. When the adventurers returned, their faces were tear-stained but determined. Within themselves they carried with them the memory of Daedalon’s death, the knowledge of his final lesson, and several objects that he had carried to his to the end. Including, mysteriously, the book.

That afternoon it was discovered by the interrogation of Asher that Hale was using the Black Wytch as some sort of regeneration or rebirth vessel. Asher also believed that Hale was either serving the Hell King, or that he was somehow the demonic entity himself. Thus, before our heroes could slay Hale, they must first slay the Black Wytch. However, her being the consort to the Hell King made killing her near impossible. As quickly as she was put down, her spirit would be vomited back from the Hellstack and returned to the mortal realm, freshly empowered with the lost spirits of the damned. If the adventurers were to have any chance at permanently ending her, mere death would not suffice. It would require a complete and total obliteration of her Grey Elven spirit.

Asher of the Dawn brought forward the idea that Leopold could use the Divine powers imbued within his crown. If he placed it on the head of the Wytch as she was regenerating, the backlash would obliterate her. She also stressed that this would kill the Prince. Not just kill him, but it would also obliterate his entire bloodline. Leopold made it clear that he was willing to sacrifice anything, including himself, if it meant stopping the King of Hell and the false Church of Light.

A rather odd-looking Elven stranger approached the Elves in town at that time. He called himself “Ichabod” and claimed to be the very same fallen Archangel of Ll’yandra mentioned in the most ancient Elven legends. He said that, “If you have an unkillable Elven Wytch, then you need an Elf killing tool. Free my brother the Mortigeist, and use him to kill the Wytch.” He then gave the Elves present a dozen white roses, which acted as magical foci that granted them passage through a celestial portal to the dungeons beneath Castle Lightguard. There they were free to decide if they wished to liberate the Mortigeist and save Leopold, or murder him and condemn the Tiefanese royal bloodline to erasure. Our Elven party did not free the Mortigeist and save Leopold. Instead, Thallan Ebonwalker, who was at that time a favoured of Ll’yandra chose to end the Mortigeist once and for all and free his kind from fear. With Darkshard in hand, he stabbed the chained, bound and defenseless fallen Angel repeatedly with his own spear for over ten brutal minutes. Ignoring the warnings of his goddess to stop, he slayed the beast in its cell, and in doing so, was stripped of his favour by the Mother of Elves. When the Mortigeist died, a mourning bell rang from within Ll’yandra’s Garden.

With the ultimate decision already made for them now, the mystics of Mordenholt gathered together in an attempt to summon the Black Wytch. She came, and it seemed that all of Hell rode with her. Her minions consisted of every type of demon known to man, as well as mortal Greenskin warriors from the Razor-Vine and Bar’Ghul clans. Her words of power echoed across the battlefield, changing mortals into toads before summoning abyssal maws to swallow them up. In the end, our heroes prevailed, but only just. When the Black Wytch was put down, Leopold placed his crown upon her head, and spoke his final words to Arthos.

“I do this for my murdered brother, for my murdered father. For their fathers before them and their mothers’ mothers, and for all of Tiefanue. A Kingdom founded on the tenets of the Gods of Light. But I have learned in my time adventuring you do not need gods or higher powers to tell you to do the right thing. Each and everyone one of you has it in you to do what is right. Be good to each other.” And with that said, the holy flames called forth by the crown utterly consumed them both, body and spirit.

Monday August 7th, 2265

As the morning sun rose and the adventurers stirred from their beds, the Church of Light launched what was meant to be their final assault. Angered by what they saw as the corruption of their most revered Paladin and the obliteration of one of their most potent living weapons, Roderick Hale and his elite forces literally descended from the heavens. Protecting himself in a circle of what appeared to be divine magic, he called forth powerful blasts of Light magic to smite the adventurers while his soldiers waded into battle. Mighty as they were, his holy warriors did not prove to be a match for the electric band of misfits that had so consistently foiled his plans. The Archbishop was unwilling to accept the possibility that he might lose however, and instead he called forth a miracle of the heavens, causing his troops to rise once more, even after death had claimed them.

Again and again the forces of Mordenholt put down the corrupted Church of Light warriors, and Roderick Hale responded each time with the miracle of true resurrection. However, upon the third use of this miracle, something seemed off. There was a pause then a giggle. A small one at first, but it grew ever louder. It was coming from Asher of the Dawn. Roderick Hale summoned every bit of magical power at his disposal and called forth a word of power that promised the complete obliteration of all those present upon the battlefield, but the spell’s energies harmlessly faded away as he desperately tried to control them. He tried to resurrect his troops twice more, and each time his spells failed to take effect. All the while, Asher kept laughing. And as she laughed, she turned her gaze towards the Archbishop, who stood confused and alone atop his tower.

Asher of the Dawn shouted to Hale, “You are a fool, mortal. You have always been a fool, and that is why I chose you to be my puppet. Your power comes, and always has come, from me. And I am the King of Hell.” Spreading her arms wide, she opened a plethora of rifts into the Hellstack, possessing the corpses of the Church of Light warriors with new and more powerful demonic hosts. Horns burst from skulls, muscles warped and skin was torn to shreds as these new demonic forms began to burst forth from their seeded corpses. Finally, addressing the town, she gloated, “Quite honestly I don’t even need to be here. You’ve done everything I needed you to do. You removed from Arthos the only thing that might have thwarted my plans. The Divine Crown, given to the first King of Tiefanue by the Gods of Light themselves had the power to do what you do not. Here, upon the graveyard of a Firstborn, that Divine Crown, destroyed or not, allows me to finally remove any semblance of Divinity from this mortal realm. Then my real work can begin.” She then summoned her power and for a brief moment, her image changed. The small diminutive woodfae shifted as reality broke around her. For a moment the true visage of the Hell King was seen and it almost drove all mortal minds to madness, brief though it was. The sky turned red and the ground shook as the Hell King’s magics combined the bones of the first born Daedalon with the Deep Magic of the broken crown and incanted, “By Ancient Craft, by What is Mine. I Sever Arthos, Gods Divine.”

The world shattered as every connection to the Celestial Realm across Arthos was severed. She then opened a final hell rift and began to step through, but paused for a moment and looked back at the adventures arrayed before her. “I am looking for a new Wytch though. If you desire true power, seek my gaze.” And with those final words said, the Hell King disappeared through the portal.

As the Severance took hold, those with divine spells cast upon their spirits, or those who were favoured by the Divine, dropped dead. However, despite over half of their number being suddenly executed, not all hope was lost. From the distance a glowing orange light filled the area and warmth enveloped all those who were present there. The leaders of the rebel Bastions came in their dozens, showing their true versions of their fallen Angelic forms. Their connection to the Divine plane was not cut like the others, perhaps because of their unique status as failed celestial beings. Those mortals that had died found themselves brought back to life by their power, and those that had lost their connection to their god, found it reaffirmed so long as they stayed within close proximity to one of the fallen. Bastion Leader Elija Quintrell moved to the side of Seltia, the Queen of Felnir and nodded while other Bastion leaders then opened up celestial passages that lead back to their respective homes. Seltia then called those who were present to attention and spoke the following words. “If this divine severance has happened across all of Arthos, then we are needed. The situation does indeed look very grim, but know that I will stand with you, and that I will fight for what is good and just. Soon I will lead my forces to Castle Lightguard to remove any remaining members of Hale’s false church. Go now to your homes and aid those who need it. We will rebuild.”

It then came to town’s attention that the protective barriers around Roderick Hale had fallen. The man that was once the leader of the entire Whiteraven Alliance, fell to his knees grovelling, “I did not know. I did what I thought was right. Please, I beg for mercy.”

It was not shown.

He did not resurrect.

POST CREDIT SCENE

The crowds have departed and peace once again settles upon the town of Mordenholt. Amidst the mist-laden forest nearby, a lone Einher stumbles upon a scene of tragedy. His weathered boots crunch softly upon the damp earth as he approaches a lifeless form before him. A delicate creature, unmistakably Elven, lays sprawled amidst the foliage. He knew this Elf by look and reputation and was shocked to see her body so brutally murdered. This was Enna Summerlark, favoured Paladin of Ll’yandra.

Hearing a noise the Einher backs away and into the cover of a small bush. From the blood-soaked ground around the fallen Paladin, white roses began to bloom. A strange hooded Elf, with golden veins upon his face, makes his entrance known as he slowly walks to the body. Bending down, hand pressed to Enna’s chest, he channels. A small object, green in colour, levitated to his hand. To the Einher it looked like a shard of glowing stone. Cupping the shard in both hands the strange Elf breathes onto it. Its colour changes from green to red then slowly descends back into her lithe Elven frame. He bends lower still, leaning into the dead Elf’s ear and whispers with a voice like ice, “You shall be the first of my chosen.”

The Elf’s body began to stir.

2260

After the Battle of Highwinter, the Duvanian fleet limped back to the northern channel between Day’ten and Northern Duvain. Severely crippled, the fleet had no choice but to leave the southern shores open to living islands of Brood making landfall, threatening to blockade the island nation.

The Firstborn Physignathus actively involved herself in the attempts to expel the Brood from her territory but could only hold them back for so long and could not rid herself of the infestation alone.

The Empire began to withdraw troops early in 2260, leaving the Whiteraven allies stretched thin. After several defeats under the constant pressure of the Brood army, the Whiteraven troops were forced to retreat inland to regroup. Many in their ranks had lost faith in the Church of Light’s ability to lead the army, and wondered where Prince Leopold, their former beloved and charismatic leader, had gone.

In June 2260, rumors from the front lines began to reach the interior heartland of Berphaunt. Princess Louisa had begun calling herself the Empress and true heir to Berphaunt. More and more stories of Dark clerics accepting Ga’more as the head of the Dark Church spread throughout the Empire. It seemed that more dark days of civil war were ahead.

House Shalanost of Suvant negotiated terms with House Sumendar. The two feuding High Elven houses agreed that an alliance was necessary to stand united against Ga’more. After the war, they would return to the table to discuss a peaceful solution to their conflict. House Sumendar publicly honored the lives given in the war, saying “Blood has always been the price of freedom.” However, they did not mention the alliance with House Shalanost.

On July 23, 2260 another World Summit was held, this time in Day’ten with emissaries and representatives of the following factions:

• The Sons of Sprawn
• The Citadel
• Blood Red Rose
• Tiefanese Church of Light
• Suvantian Church of L’lyandra
• Antiochian Church of Raze
• Representatives of The United Dark Church of Berphaunt
• Duvainian Church of Erasmus
• The Church of Vesmir
• Host of Rathenoch
• Host of Styphon
• Host of Physignathus

Although it was not without its tensions and near failures to compromise, the summit concluded with a two week armistice agreement between all present parties in order to turn their united efforts on Ga’more and the Brood. A notice of the armistice was posted by House Sumendar, and sealed by all the representatives except the Citadel, plus the runic markings of most of the Einish clans of Mjoll.

Once again, all able bodied men and women were called together to support the Coalition forces on the shores of Day’ten. Skein Gates opened across Arthos to allow the would be heroes to make their way to the eye of the storm. An oversized gate to transport the army was created on Day’ten with the magic of planeswalking Wild Elves called the Deep Root Tribe, and expert mages from Suvant. The Brood had already begun their assault, trying to cut off access to the island as soldiers and adventurers alike tried to exit the gate. As more able fighters leapt through the gate, they were able to break through.

The Church of Light and Blood Red Rose began intensive training with the Peasants Crusade. Together, they resurrected a fallen Paladin to act as a beacon for their forces. The Sons of Sprawn showed an unprecedented level of coordination, succeeding in every theatre of war and special mission bringing honor and glory to the clans.

Amidst the melee, another conflict arose between the noble houses of Suvant.  It was discovered that the great hero Jatar Sumendar, of House Sumendar, had fallen in combat against the Brood. A funeral was held, organized by his sister Ullya Sumendar. Upon the conclusion of the funeral Jjik’da Shalanost arrived and declared that Ulya was guilty of treason and he was there to arrest her. His claim was that she had been withholding her forces from the fighting in order to stage an attack on Suvant once the battle against the Brood had concluded. A fight broke out between those loyal to Shalanost and those allied to Sumendar. When a stalemate was reached the Blood Red Rose stepped in and declared that the conflict was diverting too much attention away from the task at hand. Ulya agreed to go into the Rose’s custody until the next day when the neutral House Tar’Esiir could hold a legal trial for the accusations. Tar’Esiir found Ulya not guilty in a vote of two to one but at this point the damage had already been done. The armistice between Shalanost and Sumendar was broken and hope of peace between the two was considered lost for the time being. House Sumendar would continue to exist in exile and Shalanost remained the leading house in Suvant.

In an ultimate show of heroism, the story of one small Kobold rose above the rest. In an assault against an Artillery Brood which had been harassing the command camp for days, this Kobold was able to position itself within the stomach of the beast and set off a massive kaboom. The explosion was unlike any other seen in recent history and managed to destroy the terrible creature in one magnificent move. Her bravery saved the lives of hundreds of troops and ensured an advantage for the Coalition.

The final tactical move by the Sons of Sprawn was a definitive strike against the heart of Ga’more’s power structure. For this, Baaagh himself sent one of his recently fallen champions greatly imbued with his power. The Dread Knight Orokgrim was returned from final death to fight one last time against the enemy. As he joined the fray an assault force was assembled and sent to strike at a newly discovered Brood creature dubbed ‘The Anchor’. While the Sons of Sprawn distracted the majority of Ga’more’s forces, a small team of adventurers, lead by Krulbjorn Lightstrike, stole into a well-guarded Brood hive and destroyed the Anchor. The Anchor was a creature grown to keep the many separate hives working together in unison. With its destruction, Ga’more’s Hive Queens lost their ability to coordinate with one another. The Brood lost their cohesion and were even seen battling each other in a number of places. This set the stage for the greatest accomplishment that was achieved by the Coalition Forces.

The Draconians who had organized the Coalition were in a position to complete their ritual. The ritual was performed with a unique scroll collected from Physignathus’ temple and the support of powerful Deep Root ritualists. What few cultists Ga’more had left on Day’ten attempted a desperate assault while it was performed. The heroes fought valiantly to defend the ritualists, eventually succeeding against the doomed enemy. Upon completion of the ritual all of Ga’more’s Brood and cultists were expelled from Physignathus’ territory. The effect of the ritual was that of a massive repelling ward created within the Aqua Dragon’s entire dominion, specifically against Ga’more’s Brood. This ward was intended to remain unless somehow destroyed for as long as Physignathus lived.

2259 (Late)

Months after the battle on Amaranthia, Princess Louisa revealed to the Empire that she had not been kidnapped two years before. She ran away from her stepmother Shiloth and the control she had over the Emperor Louis. Her brother helped stow her away in the confusion of the departing warships, but Shiloth’s own Dragon Knight Imrik was sent after them and tore the Prince apart, leaving Louisa alone. She went to Prince Leopold for sanctuary, and the two fell in love. Their union, and the child she bore, was supposed to unite the Berphauntian and Tiefanese empires. Louisa believed that the Lich Mage Shuc’Noc was not the one truly responsible for the death of her unborn child, and that it was the machinations of Shiloth that tore her family apart.

In October, Grundella the Tangled, Leader of the greenskin Clan Blackthorn, recorded a message to all pinkskin nations. The greenskin clans of the Savage Legion, now simply calling themselves the Sons of Sprawn, had destroyed or assimilated what remained of the Bar’Ghul. They declared immediate action against the Brood as the horrible insectoid soldiers made landfall around Arthos. They called upon the pinkskin nations to join them in the ongoing fight over the next year.

The Emperor of Berphaunt issued a statement claiming Princess Louisa was manipulated by Leopold, and driven mad with grief for her lost child. He believed it was all the machinations of Tiefanue, and any accusations that his wife was a Dragon in disguise were treason.

A heartbroken Leopold disappeared into self imposed exile and the Church of Light took the Berphauntian Empire’s side, declaring Leopold a deserter. They declared war on Darkness, Brood, and Ga’more in the name of Light. The Church gathered forces and marched across Arthos to lend their aid in training able bodied men and women to fight the Brood.

In November, rumors spread that Prince Marcel Berphaunt, heir to the throne, was missing. His guards were found murdered, their bodies hidden in alleys in the capital. Empress Annadonna sent her personal guards and First Champion, Imrik Adalite, to help in the investigation.

In a convenient turn of events, the Empress Annadonna announced that she was with child.

A month later, Imrik Adalite concluded his investigation into the disappearance of Prince Marcel. He reported that Prince Marcel Berphaunt had been murdered by the Dark Church. He described his demands to speak with the Dark Church in the capital, and claimed that those inside barred the doors and attacked Imrik’s forces from behind their barricade. Many fled the Black Cathedral, taking the Prince with them. Imrik claimed that the Dark Church had accepted Ga’more as one of their pantheon and worshipped him as the head of the Dark Pantheon. When Imrik caught up with them in the sanctum of Samara the Ungraved, a High Priestess of Malagant, she was found conducting a dark mass with her congregation and several cultists of Ga’more. They had sacrificed Prince Marcel in some sort of ritual. Imrik’s report stated that he flew into a rage and killed all who were involved, except Samara who managed to escape. Imrik brought the severed heads of those he had slain back to the castle to be displayed on the gates.

The Dark Church of Berphaunt was declared disbanded, all remaining ranking officials were branded traitors and hunted down by Berphauntian guards.

In December 2259, a report from Duvain announced the moving continent of Amaranthia was still traveling northward toward the naval blockade set up to slow its progress. They warned that the Brood army could breach the southern shores as early as January 2260.

On the eve of Highwinter 2259, the combined naval armada of Duvain, Berphaunt, and the Sons of Sprawn experienced a temporary few hours of peace for the holidays. The ships were tethered together and the sailors, usually rife with disagreements, moved freely between the ships playing games, drinking, and trying to find respite from the war while far from their families. At early dawn, they were nearly crushed beneath a wave of Brood arriving weeks earlier than reports had predicted. In a heroic move, Captain Drysdale of the Duvainian fleet led six frigates into a suicidal charge at the Brood, allowing the slower Dreadnaughts, Man ‘o Wars, and other heavy vessels enough time to escape. But the Brood began closing the gap too quickly, and it seemed as if Drysdale’s great sacrifice would have been in vain. Just as it seemed all was lost, a great disturbance roiled through the water, and the Firstborn Physignathus revealed herself to the remaining crews. She took vengeance on the Brood intruders, dragging them to the depths of the sea with great whirlpools, powerful Water Elementals, and Merfolk Dragon Knights. She unleashed her breath weapon on the Brood, a huge stream of boiling water, driving them back away from the ships and cooking them in their chitinous shells.

2259 (Warcry 2017)

Day 1

As the month of July closed, adventurers, heroes and villains made their way en masse to the island of Melinda. There, under the cover of night, they were met with the two renegade royals, Prince Leopold of Tifanue and Princess Louisa of Berphaunt, the latter of whom revealed she was six months pregnant.

Shortly after all were gathered, the Purple Firstborn Essyllt summoned her powers and opened a rift into the nightmarish place known as the Far Realm. Travel through the far realm was slow and laborious, assault on all sides by not just monsters of lore, but also demons and their ilk serving the Demon Prince who calls the Far Realm home, Nilestromus. Through bloody battle, they somehow made it to the end. As the swords came to rest, the sounds of the dying falling silent, they gazed upon a throng of powerful greater demons standing at the end of a bridge between them and the exit. These demons were sent by Nilestromus not to battle, but to bargain. To allow passage they demanded true names. Thirteen was the number they called, but before any mortal could give their soul to the Nightmare Lord for eternity, Prince Leopold stepped forward. He offered his true name, the true name of royalty in exchange for the escape of the others. The Princess cried out and the people who loved him begged him to reconsider, but he would not. The demons took Leopold to their dark master, granting passage as they agreed on. Disheartened, heartbroken and in tears, Princess Louisa took up the mantle of leadership for the first time in her life and led the adventurers out of the Far Realm.

The fields of Amaranthia were much like those on Maud’madir. The adventurers first met a few leaders of the Sons of Sprawn. Together, as allies, the Sons took the united factions to a safe camp in which, at its center, shone a bright beacon.  They explained that there was another Orc tribe here known as the Ebon Khan. They were immune to the death and destruction of the Brood by, as they put it, “fighting fire with fire.” While traditionally the brood would capture and impregnate the mortal races, the Ebon Khan did this but in reverse. They captured brood queens and, through arcane rites, made Orc-Brood hybrids, immune to the sight and senses of the local brood queens in command. They also shared between themselves a localized hivemind to communicate. The Ebon Khan crafted a lantern for safety and informed that it ran on a specific type of oil only found in brood queens. So long as it was lit, the brood would ignore the camps. Our adventurers settled down for the night, hearing the screams of their friends who were too foolish to camp under the light’s protective shine.

Day 2

As the sun rose high, members of the Sons of Sprawn, together with the Ebon Khan, invited the united factions of Whiteravan and Empire together for a summit. All factions and clans agreed to unite against Ga’more save one,  Shuc’Noc the Eternal, servant of Styphon and chieftain of Bar’Ghul clan. Shuc’Noc demanded the pinkskins die and swore that he would never ally with their enemies.

“They are useful for two things,” the Ogre Magi and rumoured Lich shouted. “Serving Syphon as undead in his army, or falling beneath the axes of the Sons of Sprawn.”

Krulbjorn Lightstrike, Paladin of Valdr and leader of the Stormborn Clan stood up against Shuc’noc. The Paladin demanded he step down as he was not the true leader of the Sons of Sprawn. Shuc’Noc shook with rage and approached Krulbjorn menacingly. Shuc’Noc grasped Lightstrike by the throat and with unnatural strength hoisted him into the air. He called out to his black devil dragon and then, using vile draconic magic, severed the divine connection between the Paladin and his god, killing him instantly. To add further insult to injury he then cast necromantic magics to raise the fallen hero before storming off, swearing to return if the pinkskins were not slaughtered.

Once Krulbjorn was put to rest the Ebon Khan stepped forward. They declared both themselves and the Sons of Sprawn were unsure if they wished to aid the united civilized factions, but they were willing to give them a chance to prove their strength. The Ebon Khan require brood queens to populate their breeding pit, as their last captive queen was dying. They sent adventurers on a quest to capture a young brood queen.

The battle for the live queen was long and hard, but in the end heroes and villains worked together to bring her down. They laid her bloody, but breathing chitinous body at the feet of the Ebon Khan.

Shortly after the end of the summit a strange multicolored prismatic Draconian appeared. He claimed to be called “The Custodian” and he gathered those who spoke well of the Firstborn. What he told them in secret is unknown, but it is said they could be seen leaving the lands of the Brood on spectral drakes of their chosen Dragon. They returned a few hours later without their multicoloured friend.

As the sun set on the second day, Shuc’Noc the Eternal gave our brave adventurers a taste of what was to come if they disobeyed his orders. Undead hordes rose from the ground and attacked in force. Zombie Lords, Plague Knights and Greater Banshees took to battle while a force of lesser undead followed closely behind. The night was fearsome and the screams of the dying pierced the night until the early morning.

Day 3

In the afternoon heat, three Minotaurs claiming to be from the Vendetta Concordat approached the center of town feigning friendship. One brute of unusual size approached the princess. Without warning he withdrew a stiletto, hidden in his armour and begin stabbing downwards into the stomach of the pregnant royal. Onlookers tried to intercede, but the Minotaurs that flanked the attacker defended him. The unborn child was brutally ripped from its mother’s womb and the cord was severed with a mighty blow of the Minotaurs weapon. With their dark work done the Minotaurs then seemed confused at their actions. A few brave souls fought them and captured them for interrogation. It was then discovered that these Minotaurs were assaulted by some form of magical gas and made pawns in a greater scheme by some unknown force.

Princess Louisa retreated to her tent as physicians tried to save the baby. Once again, fate would not shine on them this day and the child, heir to both the throne of Tiefanue and the Empire of Berphaunt, was burned and laid to rest.

The time for mourning was cut short for as the sun set, the ground began to shake and rumble. Bursting through the trees a massive undead mammoth charged at the camps. On a platform on his back, sat the Lich Shuc’Noc. Undead poured out of the mammoth as the Bar’Ghul leader sieged the makeshift town. The battle lasted hours and things looked grim, but once it was discovered the mammoth acted as Shuc’Noc’s Phylactery, all effort was turned to its destruction. Once the mammoth was destroyed, Shuc’Noc was laid to waste and the forces of Styphon were defeated.

This night of terror and darkness did not end with the destruction of the Bar’Ghul. As the full moon rose into the sky, an Avatar of Raze made her presence known. She approached Princess Louisa and the voice of Raze spoke, saying that she had been summoned by her pain, anguish, and loss and offered her vengeance for both her lost love, Leopold, and the murder of her unborn child. The royalty in mourning gave thought to the offer and, with having little else to live for, accepted servitude to the dark goddess as her Darkweaver. As favoured among the goddess of revenge, she left with her faithful to do the work of vengeance and punish those that wronged her so.

Day 4

As the sun rose the last day on the island, the Sons of Sprawn and the Ebon Khan met a final time. The Ebon Khan join with their greenskin kin, taking a place in the Sons of Sprawn as the Savage Legion. Impressed by the battle prowess and courage of the “pinkskin army”, they agreed to put aside their differences for the time being and unite to fight Ga’more, on one condition. This condition stated that in one year’s time, if all factions on Maud’madir could be united, Orc and pinkskin would band together, fight together, and die together. Until then, it was every kingdom’s duty to hold back the armies of the Brood until the time was right. With this declaration made, the order was given to retreat. An order that came a moment too late.

Ga’more, the God on Arthos himself, arrived to end this invasion personally. Behind him, in a wave 20 feet high, tens of thousands of Brood, climbing over each other in an effort to reach their prey. Slowly and with purpose he walked with his wall of death towards the united factions.

Meanwhile, Princess Louisa gathered those adventurers who were still left alive and made a proclamation. In her quest for vengeance and with the power of Raze, she summoned Leopold back to the mortal plane from the clutches of Nilestromus. She pulled forth from her robes a rod made of twisted bone. She informed those that would listen that he was their hero and she had sacrificed everything, far more than they knew, to see him returned. She also gave warning. The Demon Prince was unlikely to give up his prize so easily, but the united forces of Whiteraven and the Empire demanded in unison that no one would be left behind. Whispering an unheard word into the magical rod she held it high into the sun. A gate of shadow appeared. Through it Leopold stumbled, battered, broken and bloody. The shadows of the gate formed into that of a draconic figure that uttered only two words in a distinctly female voice before dispersing. “You dare?”

Leopold moved to embrace the Princess but she placed a cold hand on his chest. With a stern face she spoke directly to his heart, “No. I do not love you. We are done.”

Leopold looked confused and hurt, but then his eyes fell to the empty womb that once held his child. Tears began to stream from his face and he started to speak, but the Demon Prince of Nightmares was not late to this party. A 30 foot tentacle appeared out of the ground, between our united factions and the Sons of Sprawn ships waiting to take them home.  It lashed downwards, shaking the ground. When it rose again a demonic gate appeared and greater demons of began to pour out. Behind the the wall of death, Ga’more drew closer. Leopold had no time for questions anymore. The battle was harsh and many lost their lives. In the end the ranks of demons broke and the armies retreated to the waiting ships.

It was on that shore, Leopold understood. He tried to speak to the Princess again, his lost love, but she turned her back to him. They would not leave this land together as lovers, but instead separate and alone. In taking the favour of Raze to save her lover, Louisa was forced to forsake it.  As they parted on separate ships Leopold called out, vowing to free her from this damnation, if it meant travelling to the celestial realms and killing Raze herself.

The voyage back to Melinda and awaiting Skein Gates was melancholy and cold. Heavy winds and rain bore down on the ships as if an omen to come. The single heir destined to unite the warring factions had been killed and ripped from the mother’s womb. The Orcs of both Sprawn and the Ebon Khan would still fight alongside the pinkskin forces, but only if they stood united. A hope that seemed to be diminishing with every sunset. Leopold stood on his ship’s bow, staring into the void the entire voyage home. During the five day voyage he neither ate, slept, nor entertained visitors. Louisa, on her ship, locked herself away in her private cabin. She took no visitors and only spoke with the Chieftain of the Ebon Khan, whom she summoned shortly after boarding.

When the ships landed on the shores of Melinda the Ebon Khan escorted Louisa to a Skein Gate: destination unknown. Leopold watched her go before taking his own gate westward to face the Church of Light and contemplate what remained of the life he had tried to build.

2259 (Early)

The Church of Light sent a declaration to all that the Island of Kalidor was the last bastion of Light in a widening sea of dark worship. The betrayal of the Empire a year ago brought winter to Melinda and the Shadow Isles. Princess Louisa Berphaunt who had been granted sanctuary by Prince Leopold disappeared before she could be delivered to the Citadel for protection.

The Empire believed Princess Louisa was kidnapped by the Church of Light and demanded an ultimatum to return the princess or face war with Berphaunt.

A missive on the Skein Gate warned of a moving continent infested with Brood and a strange new species of orc approaching Maud’madir.

The Whiteraven Alliance issued a statement that the impending Brood threat was more important than threats from Berphaunt and to ready all able bodied man and woman to stand against the Brood.

Berphaunt responded that reports of a moving island infested with millions of Brood were greatly exaggerated and not to be taken seriously.

A new message on the Skein Gate indicated that Prince Leopold and Princess Louisa had left Tiefanue together as refugees. They intended to go to this moving continent of Amaranthia to join the Sons of Sprawn orcs in a direct assault on Ga’more and Brood forces, in the name of Essyllt and every Firstborn. Prince Leopold called upon the independent people of Arthos to join him on Melinda as they set sail for Amaranthia.

Prince Leopold and Princess Louisa then asked that the independent greenskins of Arthos reach out to the Sons of Sprawn to broker a peace and alliance. They wished to go together to rescue the lost orcish tribes on Amerinthia and call this alliance the Savage Legion.

Emperor Louis Berphaunt placed a bounty on Prince Leopold’s head, and a reward for returning Princess Louisa to him.

The Sons of Sprawn declared an alliance with Prince Leopold. However, Shuc’Noc the Eternal, the chieftain of rival Greenskin clan Bar’Ghul and devoted follower of Styphon stood singularly opposed to the alliance.

2258

The Celestial War

Ga’more enslaved the purple Firstborn, Essyllt, and used her breath weapon to sever the divinity of the Gods, both Light and Dark, with the intent to murder them all on the mortal plane. Thus, the old Einish pantheon; Odin, Thor, Freya and their kind, were killed on the first battlefield against the God of Dominion.

An ominous note sent through the Skein Gates by powerful Fae magic said, “We are still alive”. The message led many to believe all had not been lost on Melinda.

The Empire of Berphaunt declared war on Ga’more, and ordered its people to prepare. Skein Gates were arranged from every loyal nation, kingdom, and independent town to take adventurers to the port of Prospero outside Tempest Grove, where the Emperor’s juggernaut battleship “Loyalty” awaited to sail an army to Melinda to fight the Brood.

Prince Leopold of the Whiteraven Alliance declared war on Ga’more, rallying his people to take up arms to save the innocent citizens of Melinda. They blamed the Empire for bringing Ga’more to the shores of Maud’madir and declared justice be brought upon Ga’more, the Brood, and even Essyllt herself.

When the Empire and Alliance’s navies arrived at Melinda, an attack by the Brood forced these two enemy armies to cooperate or risk total annihilation.

After a pitched battle, the isle of Melinda was liberated. The combined forces of the Whiteraven Alliance and the Empire of Berphaunt successfully sieged the beaches of the conquered island, struck down many a brood warrior and saved the Firstborn Dragon Essylt.  But there was a cost.

As the two factions gathered in the ruined, burnt out Wood Fae village, the True Fae arrived.  The courts of summer, winter, spring and fall, campaigned for power through the support of the brave heroes who had come to liberate them.  The heroes worked together, deciding to stand strong under the banner of the Summer Court. This decision would have seen the Firstborn freed, but the Wood Fae forced from the mortal realm into the Fae Realm. Unbeknownst to them, citizens of the Empire worked a much darker deal. Allying with the Lord of the Winter Court a devious double cross was devised. When the Dragon Essyllt was defeated and subdued, the Summer Court used their most powerful magics to cleanse her and transfer her essence into a single egg. This act weakened the Summer Court and it was then that the Empire and the Winter Court struck, seizing the egg and killing the Lord of the Summer Court.

While the Empire schemed in the shadows, a young Princess Louisa Berphaunt arrived in the Whiteraven camp seeking aid.  She brought stories of her brother’s death, the second son of the Emperor, at the hands of the Empress’ personal Dragon Knight assassin, Imrik Adalite. She and her brother had been making their way to the island to seek asylum with Prince Leopold and Whiteraven when the Dragon Knight attacked. She was the only survivor. Leopold gathered his trusted advisors and together they agreed to grant her sanctuary within the Whiteraven ships just as they began to set sail.  When the Emperor found out he was furious and, believing his daughter kidnapped and his son murdered by Whiteraven, ended the truce and returned to his ship to give chase. When the Empire forces boarded their ships they found their masts cut and their rudders disabled. The Emperor was powerless to stop the Duvainian fleet from sailing away with his beloved child.  He did however, raise into the air the ill gotten egg of Essyllt, showing Whiteraven and the world that the ever-growing borders of the Empire now enveloped the Isle of Melinda.

As Empire shipwrights worked to repair the damage done by Whiteraven sappers, the Emperor and the Lord of the Winter Court met on the shore.  The Emperor handed over the egg of Essyllt to the Winter Court to raise while the Winter Court promised fealty to the Empire’s cause and freed the Wood Fae so they could bend knee to their new Emperor. The betrayed members of the Summer Court were nowhere to be found.

2257

On Melinda, where the Wood Fae capital of Cherry Dale once existed, Ga’more used psionically-linked insects called the Brood to conquer the island, enslaving or massacring the inhabitants who were unable to evacuate in time. His very existence threatened the shores of Maud’madir. His horrible army of Brood were a dark, skittering shadow off the southern coast.

A Peace Summit was held between the Empire of Berphaunt, the Kingdom of Tiefanue, and the other mortal nations of Maud’madir in the city of Whiteraven.

The Empire of Berphaunt is a large territory encompassing the east and southeast of the continent of Maud’madir. In mid-August of this year, Emperor Louis Berphaunt married a commoner, Annadonna Cordelle, and declared her his Empress. Annadonna became stepmother to Louis’ five children.

At the Peace Summit, the Emperor demanded that all present bend the knee to the Empire. House Shalanost of Suvant, Gerdain, Antioch, and the eastern clans of Mjoll supporting Orin the Betrayer swore fealty to the Empire.

Prince Leopold of the Kingdom of Tiefanue refused. He began to gather those in opposition to the demands of the Emperor and The Whiteraven Accord was signed. The Whiteraven Alliance united the Kingdom of Tiefanue, the Republic of Duvain, the Hoblings of Teris, Mizra Atarah, the Hunhil of Mjoll and their allied Einish clans, Felnir, Aslak, the exiled Sumendar former government of Suvant, Whiteraven, and Havenhallow.

War loomed on the horizon between these two forces of Berphaunt and Whiteraven, and the ever darkening shadow of Ga’more and his Brood army drew ever nearer.