B
Belomar
Guest
[Note: The second part of this chronicle will most likely follow after the weekend.]
Times of dire need breeds the most unlikely of champions, and dire times indeed had plagued the fair realm of Albion during the last months. Your chronicler, always with my mind to the bigger picture, had watched with dismay as the once-powerful Albion empire had crumbled as first venerable Merlin's Staff and then Thor's Hammer had been treacherously stolen from the relic castles of Myrddin and Excalibur. The strength of my beloved realm was fading and the enemy was rampaging through our frontiers. But, you ask, what of this unlikely champion?
Patience, my friend, and I shall tell you the story of Wildfire Darkspirit and his bold plan to strike at the heart of the Hibernian supremacy.
I, myself, had watched the white-haired Wildfire rise to power in the allied guild Knights Who Say Ni during my own quest for experience and skill in the vile swamps of dark Lyonesse, and was familiar with his ambition and enthusiasm. While I joined the proud ranks of Shadowlords Society, Wildfire pledged his allegiance to the gold-clad members of the First Cohort. And with the grizzled war-veteran Arthwyr, a stalwart paladin of the Holy Church of Albion, leading this strong band, this was to become a fruitful match indeed. Because Wildfire, fiery wizard that he was, had his eyes, and indeed his whole mind, bent on the coveted relics of power kept at the impenetrable Dun Dagda deep in the Hibernian frontier.
On the eve of Tuesday, the night preceding this glorious day, nothing of the impending assault was evident in Albion, at least not on outwardly. But appearances can be deceiving, because beneath the surface, the guild masters of the majority of the strongest guilds in the realm were involved in intense preparations for the upcoming attack. The source of these preparations? Why, Wildfire, of course, with the battle-scared Arthwyr lending his martial expertise to the planning. The objective? Why, to reclaim all three of the power relics to Albion. However, the rumor of treacherous spies roaming our realm had forced the generals to hold their plans in outmost secrecy, and only contact the leaders of the various guilds to ask for their support.
Your chronicler caught wind of the bold strike as night turned into day on Wednesday morning. Justinian, worthy paladin and representative of the Society, made it known that the Shadowlords were expected to arrive at the Albion portal keep in Emain Macha at 22.30 that evening, carrying two rams. Our band was to travel with the main force and assist in the assault on the relic keep proper, and then help protecting the relic on its way back to Albion. It was with great enthusiasm and no small sense of anticipation I took up my duties for the day, inspiring courage and valiance in my fellow guild members. Albion was to finally strike back against the Hibernians on this glorious day!
As the yellow-cloaked Shadowlords assembled within the ancient stone walls of Castle Sauvage, we noted with great enthusiasm the sheer amount of Albion crusaders arriving at the castle and preparing for the teleport into enemy territory. All around us stood the members of Albion's finest; holy paladins with their great swords strapped to their backs, parched cabalists wielding their gnarled staffs and commanding their silent golems, and ever-watchful infiltrators, eyes constantly roaming beneath their hoods. However, our anticipation was tinged by the disturbing reports coming in from the frontiers beyond the oaken doors of the castle; a large Hibernian army was rampaging through the mountains of the Pennines and had already captured four Albion strongpoints guarding the land. It was feared that the vile foe would launch a direct attack on Castle Excalibur and seek to reclaim Lug's Spear held safely within.
Forcefully shoving these pessimistic thoughts aside, we allowed our vessels to be teleported to Emain Macha under the powerful magic of Master Visur, Magus Primus of Castle Sauvage, and to the Albion portal keep. The sight of all these Albions forgetting their differences and working together was encouraging, and helped allay our fears of a Hibernian counter-attack. This time, there was no failing. This time, Merlin's Staff was to be returned to its rightful place in Snowdonia at all costs.
Meanwhile, deep within the lush hills of Mount Collory, the master infiltrator Mallus Darkblade was cautiously travelling overland, headed for Dun Dagda. His mission, a most perilous one: penetrate the relic keep and confirm any defenders waiting for the Albion army. The raid generals feared that word of the relic raid had reached the Hibernian defenders, and that spies once again would thwart the attempt at the impenetrable fortress. However, as Mallus reached the keep and was able to scale its reinforced walls, he noted that the keep remained undefended. Twice he risked his life to perform this feat, twice he skillfully dodged the vigilant Hibernian guards patrolling the castle, and twice he relayed this information to Wildfire.
At exactly eleven o'clock, 30 minutes later than the announced time, the raid generals were convinced from Mallus's reports that there had been no advance warning to the Hibernian commanders from spies within Albion, and the main force was given the order to proceed. After a stirring speech by Wildfire Darkspirit in the confines of the portal keep, the armswoman Kcinimodus Navnegnodus, beautiful as death itself and replendescent in her elaborately decorated plate armor, rallied the main force to her and led it out of the portal keep. The army was finally on its way!
However, other wheels had already been set in motion in other parts of the Hibernian frontier. Beneath the looming shadow of Dun Da Behnn were the valiant warriors of Black Falcons, and at mighty Dun Bolg, the Legion of Darkness had arrayed its forces. At a given signal, these guilds began their assaults on their respective keeps, quickly dispatching the Hibernian guards protecting them and deploying siege rams on their doors. Time was of the essence; the keeps must fall before the main force reached the relic keep, but not too early lest the Hibernian commanders be alerted of the pending relic raid and thus have time to rally their forces. With blood-soaked Dun Crauchon already in Albion hands, three Hibernian keeps in all would be taken, and it was hoped that this would be enough for the guard force at the relic keep to be severely decimated.
At this time, your chronicler was already deep in Breifine along with the rest of the two groups of Shadowlords and the main army itself. Having been safely led through the Albion mile gate, where a medium-sized Midgard army had been dispatched of, Kcinimodus had picked her way across the Bowl and through Bolg Valley on her way south. Once entering Breifine, the force had set a westerly course, following closely to the craggy wall of mountains that marked the border of this area. However, all was not well within the Albion ranks. The Hibernian guild known as Clan Bearhawk was marauding the Albion homeland and had just captured yet another keep, and as Kcinimodus turned south on the border of the Crauchan Gorge and set course towards the distant Mount Collory, we received word of the guards at Castle Excalibur being under attack. All of the members of the relic force held their collective breaths while emergency calls went out to those defenders still in Albion. Would the relic force be forced to swiftly return to Albion to defend our own relic, thus thwarting the raid attempt on Dun Dagda?
We need not have feared. The champions of Albion who made a name for themselves were many that day, and not confined to the relic assault force in the Hibernian frontier. All across Albion, members of the realm stopped and listened to the distress call originating from Castle Excalibur, and countless were the nameless heroes who dropped what they were doing and took to horses to answer the call. Within minutes, Castle Sauvage was filling up with eager Albion defenders, some of them experienced and battle-scarred, some of them less so, but all of them determined to hold Castle Excalibur at all costs. One of these was CplCarrot, a worthy infiltrator, who took up the command and organized the Albion defenders at the castle into a keep retake army. Within a few minutes, these worthy people were beginning to strike back at the rampaging Hibernian army roaming the frontiers.
Upon hearing about the considerable defense being arranged in Forest Sauvage, the members of the main force in Hibernia were able to breathe easier. The army had now reached the southern parts of Breifine and was entering Mount Collory, skillfully dodging enemy patrols and scouts on the way. The raid generals knew the importance of speedy travel. If any Hibernian patrols would spot the approaching army, it would not take long for the enemy commanders to send defenders to the relic keep, making an assault impossible. Therefore, the route of the attacking army was deliberately circuitous and passed through little-travelled areas in the Hibernian frontier.
As we crossed into Mount Collory and proceeded south towards Dun Dagda, we received word of Dun Da Behnn falling to the combined might of the Black Falcons. Minutes later, Dun Bolg fell too, its lord cut down by the champions of Legion of Darkness. As these two guilds claimed possession of their respective keeps, there was much rejoicing in the ranks of the main army. After having upgraded the defenses of these keeps, these smaller armies were scheduled to move south and reinforce the main army at the relic keep. The road to Dun Dagda now lay open, and three Hibernian keeps were out of the action and unable to send guardians to the relic keep. We had our fate in our own hands.
Times of dire need breeds the most unlikely of champions, and dire times indeed had plagued the fair realm of Albion during the last months. Your chronicler, always with my mind to the bigger picture, had watched with dismay as the once-powerful Albion empire had crumbled as first venerable Merlin's Staff and then Thor's Hammer had been treacherously stolen from the relic castles of Myrddin and Excalibur. The strength of my beloved realm was fading and the enemy was rampaging through our frontiers. But, you ask, what of this unlikely champion?
Patience, my friend, and I shall tell you the story of Wildfire Darkspirit and his bold plan to strike at the heart of the Hibernian supremacy.
I, myself, had watched the white-haired Wildfire rise to power in the allied guild Knights Who Say Ni during my own quest for experience and skill in the vile swamps of dark Lyonesse, and was familiar with his ambition and enthusiasm. While I joined the proud ranks of Shadowlords Society, Wildfire pledged his allegiance to the gold-clad members of the First Cohort. And with the grizzled war-veteran Arthwyr, a stalwart paladin of the Holy Church of Albion, leading this strong band, this was to become a fruitful match indeed. Because Wildfire, fiery wizard that he was, had his eyes, and indeed his whole mind, bent on the coveted relics of power kept at the impenetrable Dun Dagda deep in the Hibernian frontier.
On the eve of Tuesday, the night preceding this glorious day, nothing of the impending assault was evident in Albion, at least not on outwardly. But appearances can be deceiving, because beneath the surface, the guild masters of the majority of the strongest guilds in the realm were involved in intense preparations for the upcoming attack. The source of these preparations? Why, Wildfire, of course, with the battle-scared Arthwyr lending his martial expertise to the planning. The objective? Why, to reclaim all three of the power relics to Albion. However, the rumor of treacherous spies roaming our realm had forced the generals to hold their plans in outmost secrecy, and only contact the leaders of the various guilds to ask for their support.
Your chronicler caught wind of the bold strike as night turned into day on Wednesday morning. Justinian, worthy paladin and representative of the Society, made it known that the Shadowlords were expected to arrive at the Albion portal keep in Emain Macha at 22.30 that evening, carrying two rams. Our band was to travel with the main force and assist in the assault on the relic keep proper, and then help protecting the relic on its way back to Albion. It was with great enthusiasm and no small sense of anticipation I took up my duties for the day, inspiring courage and valiance in my fellow guild members. Albion was to finally strike back against the Hibernians on this glorious day!
As the yellow-cloaked Shadowlords assembled within the ancient stone walls of Castle Sauvage, we noted with great enthusiasm the sheer amount of Albion crusaders arriving at the castle and preparing for the teleport into enemy territory. All around us stood the members of Albion's finest; holy paladins with their great swords strapped to their backs, parched cabalists wielding their gnarled staffs and commanding their silent golems, and ever-watchful infiltrators, eyes constantly roaming beneath their hoods. However, our anticipation was tinged by the disturbing reports coming in from the frontiers beyond the oaken doors of the castle; a large Hibernian army was rampaging through the mountains of the Pennines and had already captured four Albion strongpoints guarding the land. It was feared that the vile foe would launch a direct attack on Castle Excalibur and seek to reclaim Lug's Spear held safely within.
Forcefully shoving these pessimistic thoughts aside, we allowed our vessels to be teleported to Emain Macha under the powerful magic of Master Visur, Magus Primus of Castle Sauvage, and to the Albion portal keep. The sight of all these Albions forgetting their differences and working together was encouraging, and helped allay our fears of a Hibernian counter-attack. This time, there was no failing. This time, Merlin's Staff was to be returned to its rightful place in Snowdonia at all costs.
Meanwhile, deep within the lush hills of Mount Collory, the master infiltrator Mallus Darkblade was cautiously travelling overland, headed for Dun Dagda. His mission, a most perilous one: penetrate the relic keep and confirm any defenders waiting for the Albion army. The raid generals feared that word of the relic raid had reached the Hibernian defenders, and that spies once again would thwart the attempt at the impenetrable fortress. However, as Mallus reached the keep and was able to scale its reinforced walls, he noted that the keep remained undefended. Twice he risked his life to perform this feat, twice he skillfully dodged the vigilant Hibernian guards patrolling the castle, and twice he relayed this information to Wildfire.
At exactly eleven o'clock, 30 minutes later than the announced time, the raid generals were convinced from Mallus's reports that there had been no advance warning to the Hibernian commanders from spies within Albion, and the main force was given the order to proceed. After a stirring speech by Wildfire Darkspirit in the confines of the portal keep, the armswoman Kcinimodus Navnegnodus, beautiful as death itself and replendescent in her elaborately decorated plate armor, rallied the main force to her and led it out of the portal keep. The army was finally on its way!
However, other wheels had already been set in motion in other parts of the Hibernian frontier. Beneath the looming shadow of Dun Da Behnn were the valiant warriors of Black Falcons, and at mighty Dun Bolg, the Legion of Darkness had arrayed its forces. At a given signal, these guilds began their assaults on their respective keeps, quickly dispatching the Hibernian guards protecting them and deploying siege rams on their doors. Time was of the essence; the keeps must fall before the main force reached the relic keep, but not too early lest the Hibernian commanders be alerted of the pending relic raid and thus have time to rally their forces. With blood-soaked Dun Crauchon already in Albion hands, three Hibernian keeps in all would be taken, and it was hoped that this would be enough for the guard force at the relic keep to be severely decimated.
At this time, your chronicler was already deep in Breifine along with the rest of the two groups of Shadowlords and the main army itself. Having been safely led through the Albion mile gate, where a medium-sized Midgard army had been dispatched of, Kcinimodus had picked her way across the Bowl and through Bolg Valley on her way south. Once entering Breifine, the force had set a westerly course, following closely to the craggy wall of mountains that marked the border of this area. However, all was not well within the Albion ranks. The Hibernian guild known as Clan Bearhawk was marauding the Albion homeland and had just captured yet another keep, and as Kcinimodus turned south on the border of the Crauchan Gorge and set course towards the distant Mount Collory, we received word of the guards at Castle Excalibur being under attack. All of the members of the relic force held their collective breaths while emergency calls went out to those defenders still in Albion. Would the relic force be forced to swiftly return to Albion to defend our own relic, thus thwarting the raid attempt on Dun Dagda?
We need not have feared. The champions of Albion who made a name for themselves were many that day, and not confined to the relic assault force in the Hibernian frontier. All across Albion, members of the realm stopped and listened to the distress call originating from Castle Excalibur, and countless were the nameless heroes who dropped what they were doing and took to horses to answer the call. Within minutes, Castle Sauvage was filling up with eager Albion defenders, some of them experienced and battle-scarred, some of them less so, but all of them determined to hold Castle Excalibur at all costs. One of these was CplCarrot, a worthy infiltrator, who took up the command and organized the Albion defenders at the castle into a keep retake army. Within a few minutes, these worthy people were beginning to strike back at the rampaging Hibernian army roaming the frontiers.
Upon hearing about the considerable defense being arranged in Forest Sauvage, the members of the main force in Hibernia were able to breathe easier. The army had now reached the southern parts of Breifine and was entering Mount Collory, skillfully dodging enemy patrols and scouts on the way. The raid generals knew the importance of speedy travel. If any Hibernian patrols would spot the approaching army, it would not take long for the enemy commanders to send defenders to the relic keep, making an assault impossible. Therefore, the route of the attacking army was deliberately circuitous and passed through little-travelled areas in the Hibernian frontier.
As we crossed into Mount Collory and proceeded south towards Dun Dagda, we received word of Dun Da Behnn falling to the combined might of the Black Falcons. Minutes later, Dun Bolg fell too, its lord cut down by the champions of Legion of Darkness. As these two guilds claimed possession of their respective keeps, there was much rejoicing in the ranks of the main army. After having upgraded the defenses of these keeps, these smaller armies were scheduled to move south and reinforce the main army at the relic keep. The road to Dun Dagda now lay open, and three Hibernian keeps were out of the action and unable to send guardians to the relic keep. We had our fate in our own hands.
