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.