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Book 1: The scaling of the fortress walls

The war is my theme, that great war that in mere mentioning causes the shivers in many a clan's peer, the life-consuming war, the war that pitted enemies against enemies and friends against friends. War is my theme, as is murder and deceit, rumour and conspiracy. Let us begin, goddess of song, with the very beginning.

Who was it that started the feud? It were the clans from the South, the Genesis alliance, that first sparked the enmity between the Hydrans and Revelation, when they were in great peril at suffering defeat from the latter asking help from the former. To their help came the six heads of the Hydra, and together they fought the allies of Revelation, from Stomper Ridge to shiny lake Revelation, and all that opposed them fell before them, until the citizens at lake Revelation itself had to flee for the might of the titans. It was in that war that the empire of the DreemeTygyr feel and the white-armed lady Cassandra was taken by the Hydran lords as a price.

Half a year had passed since the long trek south from shiny lake Revelation to the southern fortress, the trek that ended the war. The gods again turned the mortals into bloodthirsty savages, again pitting the titans against eachother. Strife and Hate once again ruled the sphere, followed by Death and Disease. The allies of Revelation had not forgotten DreemeTygyr, and the gods made it inevitable that the armies would clash once more.

At first they came, the fierce warriors of the Hydra, each marked with the colours of their city, to battle the revelation that lurked from their towers of stone shouting great battle cries. Nemesis, clad in shiny armor, arrived on scene first, challenging the master Bannor, son of the Bloodguard house. "Come out, are you a man or a coward? The Nemesis shall not rest before all of Revelation lay dead and the fortress is sacked." The mighty warrior Bannor then formed the words and spoke them: "A coward I am not, and you WILL feel the pointy end of my long spear. We shall battle once more!"

Now tell me, oh great Jonigod, who was the first to throw his long spear a the enemy? It was Nemesis, killing a Bloodguard warrior with a well-aimed shot. Bannor then threw, killing a Nemesian horseman. The proud Righteous and the spear-throwing Dante of the Adepts appeared on scene, as did the other Hydran lords, the light-feeted Yorkshire, son of the Terrier Pride the hammer-tossing Cosmo of Kismet and both the Paranoid Schizophrenics, Ju and Ju. But they were all too late, just as hammer-tossing Cosmo came by his side to aid him, the mighty warrior Nemesis was hit by a long spear. He formed his last dying words and spoke: "Cosmo, my friend, avenge me. Sack the fortress for me, and do that what I have been unable to."

With the death of Nemesis, the Hydran lords were hard-pushed and driven back to their large camp. The day was called and mighty Nemesis was buried.

Early the next day, the mighty warrior Bannor with his glittering armour rallied the warriors of revelation. "Let us go now," he spoke with a thunderous voice, and set fire to their camp, so that their warriors may perish, either to the flaming tongues or to the longs spears we throw and sharp arrows we shoot." "Yes," said the proud Righteous, "Let us burn their camp from end to end, so that they surely will perish."

Thus rode forth the warriors of Revelation, and that day Salvos, mighty god of war, rode at their side. Many enemies they killed and with all the combined might of light-feeted Yorkshire, hammer-tossing Cosmo of Kismet, Contagion, of the north, son the Yellow Fever house, both the Schizophrenics and mighty Frazzle, of the Frazzles the Hydrans of the flowing locks were driven back continuously, not being able to stand up against the wrath of Salvos.

"Oh great sky father," Contagion of the north spoke, "If there ever was a moment that I pleased you, by killing your enemies, or burning you the fat of a lamb, then grant me this: do not allow those vile Allies to reach our camp and burn our buildings, for our war would be lost and our army be destroyed. Grant me, oh Jonigod, a chance to stand up against the foe we're fighting. For every long-shadowed spear we throw, two are thrown back at us, and it seems as if one of the gods in person has come down to fight at their side." A that moment a crash of lightning split a tree in the camp of the Hydrans, setting fire to it, but to nothing else, and Contagion of the north knew help was coming.

Now, in these there were three warlords living north, in the hills of flowing ORZ and Cameleon ridge. They were gathered in council when a messenger appeared in the room. "Oh, great warlord Cameleon, warlords of the Cameleons and clear-minded one, I bring the response from Dante of the Virtual Adepts. I arrived at the great fortress with it's broad streets and high walls to speak to the mighty warlords of revelation, just as you commanded me. To tell them we would not meddle, and we would not tolerate any warfare on our fertile lands, but assured them they had nothing to fear from us, seeing as how we would allow Hydran nor Revelation lord to wander our acres or cross our rivers. I told him we wanted no part in their bloodshed, and they should have been happy. All the lords refused to see me, except for Dante, who spoke in a thunderous voice, forming the words: "off with you, young messenger, your message does not interest me, neither your neutrality. Our warriors reside in your land and eat your food, you are subservient to us. Do not bring such messages again, or I will slice you open where you stand and leave you to the vultures to consume." Those were the words of spear-throwing Dante of the Virtual Adepts."

"That arrogant nincompoop! Can he not see that our interference will cheat them of their victory over the Hydran lords? I myself have been eager to fight at the side of Contagion of the north and mighty Frazzle again, if it were not for my people, who remember the fall of the city of Bac Ho at the hands of Fang, sacker of towns and by far ugliest of all warriors. My people are not warmongers, though I will find most them very eager if it comes to giving those usurpers the boot."

Fang rose from his seat. Of all the warriors on whatever side, Fang was the ugliest one known. His face was a deformity and his round shoulders nearly met across his neck. His companions respected him for the warrior that he was though, mighty Methodt the hunter and clear-minded Cameleon of the Cameleons, and uninterrupted Fang formed the words and spoke them: "I am to understand there will be no relief from Mel of Gibson, who has been seen loitering at the gate of our Broad-streeted city, feeding of the products of our vineyard and butchering our cattle for his own men to eat AND offer to the gods what is not his to give. I myself caught him lurking near the gate for ever so long, like a hunter that sneaks up to a dear, bow in hand and watches the deer as it strides through the forest, unaware of the danger present. The hunter waits a moment before firing the arrow with a well-aimed shot, watching the target and awaiting the best moment. That was how Mel of Gibson the silent was lurking at the gates of Casero Capital. "Be off with you, and don't catch me catch you sneaking near the gates again," I then shouted to him, but he merely ignored me."

Red-wearing Fang the ugly continued: "I shall not be seen trying and holding peace against the allies of Revelation that do not seem to be interested. The cry of help from Hydra has been heard, and if it's up to me, we will now follow a course of action that will lead us into glorious battle." The mighty Methodt the hunter, dwarven leader, raised his voice and said: "Very well, we scale the walls of their mighty fortress and set fire to their homes!"

Thus it came that there now were two groups of allies that fought revelation. Who were in those groups? Tell me, oh Jonigod, who they were. They were the Hydra clans, five of them, with their warriors wearing the colours of their city. There were the Yellow Fever, under the leadership of Contagion of the north, bringing one hundred warriors under his command, eager to fight for their master, the hammer-tossing lord of Kismet called Cosmo, a new ally to the Hydran lords, bringing one hundred warriors, both the Ju's of the Paranoid Schizophrenics, each bringing fifty strong warriors, light-feeted Yorkshire, son of the Terrier Pride and the mighty Frazzle of house Frazzles, together bringing two hundred able-bodied men to the front. They were also Exodus, risen from the ashes of Genesis, with the bright-minded Jain-Zar of the Eldar and courageous Randwulf of clan Wolfshield, accounting for another two hundred of the strongest men among the Arcaeans. And last there were the three warlords that remembered the fall of Bac Ho, Cameleon of the Cameleons, the inventor, bringing one hundred men, the berserker Methodt of Gimli, of the loud warcry and light-feeted Fang of house Inquisition, by far the ugliest of all warriors. Together they brought another two hundred troops, well-trained and resilient. These were the warriors that sought the downfall of revelation.

Tell me, oh great sky father, who the clans at the fortress were. They were the revelation clans, the spear-throwing Dante of the Virtual Adepts, Mel, son of Gibson the silent, the proud Righteous of Righteous, goodlooking Templars and the mighty warrior Bannor of the Bloodguard, with his glittering armor made by the gods. The Revelation warriors accounted for five hundred shields carried and five hundred spears thrown or sword wielded. Aiding the clans of Revelation were Tosno, the Mercenary and his hundred followers, the strong Kalorn of the Knights, clear-minded Lord Crash of house Zildjian, bringing a total of two hundred warriors, the demi-God Blight of the sharp eye and his hundred men and the vulture Elemental whose hundred men scavenged the land. One thousand men set out on the Arcaean side to sack the mighty fortress of Revelation, one thousand men opposed them on Revelation side, to avenge the fall of the DreemeTygyr empire and to pay the Arcaeans back for the abduction of Lady Cassandra.

And the gods smiled for so much strife under the mortals. The gods laughed with glee at the taunts, the insult, the accusation that flew alongside arrows and long spears.

Who was is that first scaled the walls of the mighty fortress? It was light-feeted Fang, the ugly, that was first to scale the walls, followed by mighty Methodt of the loud warcry. On the walls they saw Tosno, the hireling, his armor bright in the sunlight. "You shameless schemer," he spoke "you villainous plot-maker. I cannot believe you actually are here, on the walls of the fortress, attacking me. Hear me now, I have no quarrel with you there, my only hatred is pitted against the warriors of Hydra." Fang replied, speaking: "You plot well yourself, but you would be wiser to defend yourself against my sword." With that he flung himself at the hireling, shouting a great battlecry. At first he threw his spear, but missed. Fang then drew his sword and managed to injure Tosno the hireling, cutting his sword-arm. "A mighty blow," spoke Tosno the hireling, "but a mere scratch in comparison to what I will do to you."

The fortress had been in alarm when the mighty Bannor with his glittering helmet was called, along with spear-throwing Dante and Kalorn of the Knights by his side. Bannor the mighty beheld his old friend Methodt and spoke: "What treachery is this? How dare you attack us with so much surprise. May the gods smite you for your villanous treachery. Oh Jonigod, grant me the strength today to be victorious in battle, so that I may slay this villain, and leave his body to rot while the ravens pick his eyes out." Methodt of the loud warcry spoke "Treachery or no, I will set fire to your house. You should have been forewarned, you should not have allowed your companions to insult us so badly. Never has the clan of Gimli seen so rude a treatment as when the revelation clans freely plundered our vineyards and murdered our cattle. This we will now end, and never may you see your home at Lake Revelation again."

The men of Gimli charged forward, helping ugly Fang, who was in dire straits now that both mighty Bannor and Tosno the hireling had drawn their bronze swords and were headed towards him, to injure him in the belly, so that he may bleed to death, or cut his throat, ending his live. Mighty Methodt of the loud war-cry took up a boulder, that would take two normal men to lift, and wielded it without any sign of trouble, throwing it at the Mercenary Tosno and hitting him straight in the chest. With a sigh he fell back, his breath cut, but far from dead. "A mighty blow", he spoke, "but not enough by far to kill me, mighty Methodt of the loud war-cry. I will have you for this, I shall leave in my ship and seek out the city of Gimli to sack it, once I get the chance!"

Strong Kalorn, the Knight noticed all this and rallied his men: "Let us do to them as Bannor did to the Hydran lords! Let us drive them back, and off the walls of our sacred fortress, so that they no longer may set fire to our hourses, or injure and kill our men. It is bad enough, now that that Mercenary Tosno is injured and those northern warlords are setting fire to our beloved homes. Strike them down! Drive them out and do not stop before the walls of our sacred forest are clear of all Arcaean infestation!" He spoke the words and to add power to them he threw his long-shadowed spear, killing a horseman of the Cameleons.

Onto the plane they charged, the long-haired warriors of the fortress, their swords flashing in the sun. And it seemed that day the great Skyfather himself had descended from his throne in the sky to fight at the side of the forces of Revelation, as lightning crashed down and smouldered many a broad-shouldered Arcaean, though none of the proud warriors of Fang the ugly. Salvos, the great war god, after seeing this decided to trick Fang into audacity. "Fang," he whispered in the voice of his brother, "Fang the light-feeted one, sacker of cities, charge your men forward, for they truly are under the protection of an immortal. Not one has fallen today. Let your men be glorious, killing every Revelationist in their path." And Fang heard these words, and shouted a great battle-cry, telling his broad-shouldered men to throw their long-shadowed spears at the enemy.

Tell me, oh great Earth Mother, who were the first to slay an audacious Inquisitional warrior? It was the vulture Elemental, who, with a well-aimed shot hit Brutus, the son of Meomedes in the eye. Fang saw this, and was outraged by the sight of the Vulture among the ranks of the forces of the Lake. "You fiend," he shouted, "weakling! Mercy you begged when I ordered my men to burn your town to the ground. Cymbrogis, with all his riches, would have been nothing but a pile of rubble, had not the gods inspired me to be mercyful upon you and that wretched fiend Tantalus when you had to flee, flee for the same demons that you now aid in glorious battle. Tantalus, like you, betrayed me, and now lies dead at the gates of his sacked city. Do not think your own fate wil be very different." With those words ugly Fang threw his long-shadowed spear at the vulture Elemental, missing him, but killing his right-hand man Argon.

Spear-throwing Dante and strong Kalorn of the Knights then saw the troops of light-feeted Fang, Methodt of the loud-warcry and Cameleon the inventor. The two, supported by Salvos, god of war, rode forth and drove back the mighty forces that remembered Bac Ho. They pushed all warriors of the walls of the fortress of Revelation with it's broad streets, and were only stopped when they got to ORZ ridge and Cameleons ridge, the two mighty ridges that held the camps of the Arcaeans that remembered Bac Ho. As night settled, the walls of the fortress were once again clear of all Arcaean forces.

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Glossary

The following is a list of the characters involvement, sorted by side first, then by clan.


The Arcaeans



Cameleons

Cameleon, the Inventor: The leader of the Cameleons, one of the Bac Ho Memorial Alliance.


Eldar



Bright-minded Jain-Zar: Head of the Eldar, a member of Exodus.




Frazzles

Mighty Frazzle: One of the Hydran lords


Gimli



Methodt of the loud war-cry: Leader of Gimli, a memeber of the Bac Ho Memorial Alliance




Kismet

Hammer-tossing Cosmo: Leader of Kismet and Hydran lord.


ORZ or Inquisition



Fang the ugly: Leader of the Inquisition, the third member of the Bac Ho Memorial Alliance




Paranoid Schizophrenics

Ju the greater: One of the Ju's, leader of the Paranoid Schizophrenics and Hydran lord.
Ju the lesser: The other Ju, also a Paranoid Schizophrenic leader and also Hydran lord.


Terrier Pride



Light-feeted Yorkshire: Caninus Rex of the Terrier Pride, Hydran lord.




Wolfshield

Courageous Randwulf: Leader of Wolfshield and the second member of Exodus.


Yellow Fever



Contagion of the north: Leader of the Yellow Fever and Hydran lord.



The forces of Lake Revelation



Bloodguard

Mighty Bannor: The lord of Bloodguard, member of Revelation


Elemental



Elemental: The vulture, leader of his own people.




Kalorn Knights

Strong Kalorn, the knight leader.


Mercenary



Tosno: The mercenary leader, a hireling.




Mr. Mel Gibson

Mel the Silent: Leader of the Gibson, member of Revelation.


Righteous



Proud Righteous, leader of the Righteous, member of Revelation.




Templars

Good-looking Eccles: Head Templar, member of Revelation


The Blight



Blight of the sharp eye: Demi-god, Blight leader and member of Revelation




Virtual Adepts

Spear-throwing Dante: Leader of the Virtual Adepts, a member of Revelation


Zildjian



Clear-minded Lord Crash: Leader of Zildjian


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