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| Thread: Annals of the Banner - War for the South (IC) |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 · «PREV |
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Neraus
Promising
Legendary Hero
Pain relief cream seller
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posted November 06, 2018 08:04 PM |
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-I... Hate... ZEALOTS!- Shouted Federigo while hitting the cultists coming at his way.
He started feeling relieved of the burden he felt as he slashed and diced the coming hordes, in a way, tiredness and stress gave way to fury, worryingly enough for him, he was enjoying himself, and he was still lucid
Then suddenly a mace swung by.
He barely dodged the blow, and retaliated by swiftly decapitating his foe.
He had spaced out for a moment, he felt as if he could understand and even share the same recklessness of his foes; the thought of being consumed by that same zealotry horrified him, and was terrified of succumbing and joining the other side.
"Is this some kind of mind control? Are they planning on making us turn against one another?"
He started clashing with a better armoured cultist, he drove his sword in the armpit and severely wounded the foe.
"I will endure, I must endure. I have lived with my darkest thoughts since I was born, I bore the taint silently and made sure to never make it emerge for good, I will not let some creature break my will that easily"
He then realized the wave was subsiding, the sortie was nearing its end.
-What a waste...- He muttered.
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Noli offendere Patriam Agathae quia ultrix iniuriarum est.
ANTUDO
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Kipshasz
Undefeatable Hero
Elvin's Darkside
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posted November 14, 2018 11:39 PM |
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The line of cultists was pushed back at a steady pace, and the Brotherhood, as well as the blue clad Emerdinans avanced towards the walls of Naramak, which had received sufficient damage, from the Brotherhood's siege weaponry.
It was time to take the city now, but before the forces could be consolidated into proper attack formation, a roar was heard from within the city walls.
The amber runes on Wyrm's fury glowed as bright as the sun.
- Looks like the cult has more in store for us - He said, mostly to himself. He could see that Halfman and Nightshade were preparing a spell of some sorts.
Magnus stood by his side, clenching his warhammer tightly. The Sword-Brethren mustered fast, and formed a wall of pikes facing forwards. All of the other mages of the Brotherhood readied with their spells as well.
Heavy footsteps were soon heard, and finally, the Brotherhood was faced with the bound lesser void spirits leading a captured, barely broken into their servitude proto-dragon, and it was a big one.
Way bigger than most of the wildlife almanacs indicated. This must've been an ancient beast in it's own right, for it to grow so large. Luckily, the proto-dragons lacked any of firebreathing and other abilities of actual dragons, but the strenght this beast wielded was a formidable weapon no less. These giant reptiles were dragons in name only, as Domerth remembered from his studies. They were beastial, solitary predators, and very rare to boot. Most were hunted down during the time of the Dominion, as their skin was tough and resistant to slashes, and thus was used for making armor.
At the time Domerth thought that it was captured to be used as a terror weapon, or as a living siege engine, like the summoned void behemoths were.
It seemed that the beast struggled to escape at any cost from it's captors. as it was marched towards the Brotherhood, it killed few of the handlers, by either a tail swipe, or devouring one whole.
- Steady the lines. You too Frederigo! - Domerth shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping that the knight would hear him. The other officers repeated the order to stay in formation with pikes facing forward, but Domerth knew that it may be of no use, if the beast were to charge at them. Some would surely scatter.
- We have no choice but to put down that ivory leviathan lad - Magnus said, whilst looking at the beast. With those words, the beast was coaxed into attacking. Just as it charged, after killing another handler with a tail swipe, several bolts of purple arcane lightning connected with the beast, temporarily dazing it, right before it crashed into the Brotherhood's lines.
With a war cry in their throats, more of desperation than actual courage, not waiting for another chance, the Brotherhood's pikemen piled into the beast, piercing it's body in various places, gravely injuring it, whilst others, engaged the bound voidspawn.
It wasn't over quite yet Domerth knew, as he slew one of the beast's handlers and moved on another. The blade of Wyrm's fury began to fathom a faint white flame, whilst it drew the blood of the voidspawn. The Emerdinan allies were engaged in combat as well.
Domerth gave the orders to one of the flag bearers to signal the canoneers to aim some of the organ guns at the crippled proto-drake, hoping that the cannon's shot would pierce it's hide and kill it, before it causes some serious damage.
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"Kip is the Gavin McInnes of HC" - Salamandre
"Ashan to the Trashcan", "I got PTSD from H7. " - LizardWarrior
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Kipshasz
Undefeatable Hero
Elvin's Darkside
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posted November 22, 2018 11:56 AM |
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5 years later... Back at North Shandra
Domerth returned with his sister from the opening ceremony of the Festival of the First Harvest, a long tradition here in the duchy, that celebrates, as name implies, the first harvest of the vineyards and fruit orchards.
It was a week long celebration, giving a well deserved break for the farmers tending the orchards, and the beginning of the work for many wineries and distilleries in the Duchy, once the festival concluded.
After the whole campaign in the South, the Brotherhood recuperated quite fast, new recruits flocked in at a very steady pace. From all over the realm.
A Aveline with her guard returned to the Zmeykeep, the rebuilt and renamed castle of Kunn, Domerth went back to Manor Dragonheart. Along his way, he saw people making merry in the festival, participating in games, shopping in the marketsquare or just sitting by the tables and enjoying themselves with food and drink. He saw Magnus with several other dwarves, mostly from his clan to carry a large keg of what Domerth presumed was wine, whilst one dwarf been shuffling a deck of cards along the way.
People were enjoying the peace times, but Domerth knew, they would not last. They never do.
He got back to Manor Dragonheart, now heavily fortified as a Star Fort, as well as a residential castle, and went to the study of the manor.
After he poured himself some mead from a decanter there, Domerth opened his old journal, that detailed the campaign to retake the South from the Cult's influence, as well as the Quest for the Diadem.
In his study, he relived all the events of the war. From the Liberation of Kree, to the battle with the voidspawn warband, an event that left the majority of the young brothers scarred, as they never faced such abominations before. The finding of the intact Temple of Callista, which also doubled as a monastery-refuge to the untainted elves who hid away from the Dominion. The meeting with the Gold Dragon brood guarding a dormant Oracle site. Relieving the sorcerers of Sequat. Storming Naramak in aid of the Emerdinans that refused to bow to the corrupted Caliph, and the foolishly brave and reckless attack on a barely tame and wounded Proto-Dragon that Frederigo carried out. The eventual siege of Ysmarkand, the terrible losses the Brotherhood took there, and the revelation found in the Ivory Palace of Ysmarkand. The delving into the catacombs of Zeshett, where long forgotten undead horrors created by Clan Mortis lurked in the darkness, and the discovery that White One, a revered elven wizard, was in fact one of those responsible for the creation of the Dominion, and was still alive after all those long centuries in isolation.
Domerth relived the first encounter and how they, only thanks to the enginuity of Halfman and Orryth managed to escape the now lich White One. How they found the Diadem against all odds, deep in goblin infested Bonswadan jungle, in a lost Elven Temple City, whilst being persecuted by one of the most powerful bound Void Spirits that Domerth ever encountered. How the relic chose Nightshade as it's bearer, and how the scarred sorceress got drunk on the power that the priceless artefact gave her, to the point that she had to be killed by Halfman who with great sorrow uttered her True Name, stripping her of all her magical abilities, and slaying her with his blade.
Domerth took a sip from his ruby glass goblet, and reminisced further.
The Battle with White One, as well as void warped caliph perhaps was the one which took the most out of the Brotherhood during this campaign. It took everything imaginable from both might and magic to counter these threats to the realm, as the battle between the Brotherhood and White One's minions lasted three days and three nights, to the point of exhaustion. But eventually, both the Caliph and White One were slain, their army scatted by the timely relief force from the North. With the Caliph's head separated from his body by Domerth's blade, and White One's phylactery destroyed by Halfman with the aid of the Diadem, the War for the South came to an end.
Despite the protests from the elders of the Conclave, it was decided that Callista's gift to Mortalkind, much like the Malus, was too powerful to entrust to anybody, and that a civil war between the conclave was inevitable if the relic would remain in the hands of the mortals. Thus, it was returned to it's creator through the Oracle Among The Sands, under the supervision of the Gold Dragons that Guard it.
Domerth Finished his drink, and inked his quill. This journal had just enough space for one last entry.
"Fifteenth of the Month of Honey, Fifty-second year in the Second Age of Heroes
We've been home for eight months now, The Brotherhood is recuparating fast with the influx of new recruits from all over the realms.
Three Days ago I received generous wedding gift in form of three hunting falcons, several wonderfully woven carpets and exquisite dresses for my lady from the Caliph of Emerdina, the true heir to the Ivory throne, Sulleiman El-Harron, called the Just by his people. I am glad to have saved that man from the horrible destiny his brother had planned for him, and had dispatched a gift of my own to him, in form of our finest wines, as well as a sword that Magnus had forged.
I pray everyday that no such horrors would befall us again, like it did in that campaign. But we are here, our way of life preserved, and the Cult is again scattered and in disarray. The Samann are doing their best to root out any cult infestation in the land, to ensure that peace is maintained. The Brotherhood is doing it's part as well. We are well trained, and the most effective fighting force against the Cult in the four kingdoms, and the Northern Freeholds. We will be ready if those fiends of would show their fangs and claws again.
Domerth heard a knock on the door.
- Enter.- He said. The door opened, and his wife entered with a tray in her hands. She wore a red and whitedress decorated with gold ornaments. She had bright green eyes and raven black hair. Her belly indicated that she was at least 6 months pregnant.
- The servants said you came home from opening the festival. I thought you might be hungry my lord. - She said as she put the tray with a plate of hot stew, a meat pie and half a loaf of bread.
- Thank you Auria. - Domerth said. - What do the healers say about the baby?
- Silverstar says that he's fit and healthy.
- He? - Domerth smiled.
- Yes, Silverstar said we're expecting a boy. What should we name him?
Domerth looked at his father's portrait on the wall behind his desk.
- Dragomir. We should name him after my father. - He said, whilst embracing his wife in a hug,as his wife smiled.
They walked closer to the window of the study and looked through it. Today was beautiful, one could hear the birds chirping outside, and swallows raced through the sky whilst chirping their tunes.
Peace was again a part of his life, and Domerth, with the rest of the Brotherhood were given a time of rest and recuperation. Domerth hoped that this time it would be a long time.
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"Kip is the Gavin McInnes of HC" - Salamandre
"Ashan to the Trashcan", "I got PTSD from H7. " - LizardWarrior
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