A Sacrifice of Angels: A Zuur AAR

A Sacrifice of Angels: A Zuur AAR
Based of the mod Fairy Tale by Le Sage​

Cast of Characters:

Charzana: Emmissary of the Demon King, Princess of Evil, High Priestess of Marana. She entered from the Other World to ours through the Marana Portal with the intent to rebuild Zuur and lead it to conquer the world. She is the overall leader of Zuur


Zheverr Crech: The original leader of Zuur before Charzana came. Crech took over the secular and militaristic side of Zuur.

The Demon King: After Old Zuur was defeated in the Great Wars he hid their remnents on Black Dragon Island. Now the forces of light lie is dissaray. Now is the time to lead Zuur back to her proper place as the Lord of the Earth!

Marana: The Goddess of Evil. The Demon King is merely her Lieutenant. She feels that Zuur should not reawaken but she has little actual power remaining after the last Great Wars; as such the is merely a figurehead for the Demon King but in her dark mind, plans stir....

Zuur: While not an actual character, the city of Zuur Nova is as varied as any character. Due to the immense amounts of magic permeating through both ancient Zuuran magefire and the Demon Kings temporal bubble the city has taken on a life of its own.


The sky was a glowing red; although that is a bit of an understatement. The sky danced as if it were surrouned by phantasmal fire leaping across space. That however was not uncommon in Zuur Nova these days. Gone was the old assurance of a pitch black sky when Zuur was trapped in the Demon Kings temporal bubble; now there was only the blood-red sky and the mists roiling about the arch-line (horizon line). Zheverr Crech strode up to the Seaward Tower to attend the cristening of the ship Babylon. With a crew of mages and saturated with magic it was though it would be able to open a path between Zuur Nova and the rest of the world. The time was now, the ship gently flowed out of the estuary and into the Blackisle Sea. Crech watched with pride as the great sails emblazoned with the triple triangle of Zuur swelled and filled with wind ending in a quick *snap* as they grabbed at the winds, yearing to be free of the anchor line. Crech began her speach:
"People of Zuur: our time has come! For untold millenia we have sat here, waiting for our return to the world so that we may fulfill our destiny, to become as great as the deathless Gods! Too long have we ignored our destiny; putting all of our faith in our own strength rather than the Divine. But now, we seek to break the veil between the worlds, to return to our home. Men! Reforge the swords and shields. Sound the clarions and beat the drums. The world will shake at our return, for we have returned!"

The ship Babylon slid out of the harbor and approached the roiling mists. The ship glowed with St. Elmo's Fire and simply flashed out of existance. Crech saw his shadow juxtaposed against the wall of the tower and unconciously turned. He saw what appeared to be the doom of Zuur approaching. A great shockwave eminated from the point of dissapearance, but oddly the waves appeared unaffected by it. The shockwave raced toward Zuur wrapping everything with lines of force. Crech was unable even to think resistance as the lines of force hurtled him toward the great statue of Marana. He was thrown to his knees as if in pennance before the statue. The city shrank until it was no larger than a grain of sand but Crech remained the same size. The statue however grew tenfold until it occluded the whole sky. The lines of force forced their way into every nook and cranny of the statue while the red sky coalesced around the statue, almost becoming solid. In the midst of this Chrech could only notice one thing: the sky had dissapeared. It was as if the entire sky was in her Blind Spot. The lines of force entered her mind and ripped its concentration back to the statue; affixing it with psychic chains. The statue changed. Looking back Crech was unable to say how it changed but it did. Then the lines dissapeared and the solidifiing redness around the statue vanished. Then the statue split in two with one part becoming the form of a middle-aged women. The other part became the old statue, bereft of any supernatural abilities. She steped down and raised Crechs head with her hand and whispered: "It is as you said: Zuur shall be reborn. However the world has changed much, more than you could fathom. Marana has answered your prayers and wishes. She has sent an Emissary to save you. It is I, Charzana. Princess of Darkness, Emissary of the Demon King, Mistress of Obediance. I have come to lead Zuur to its proper place. All the nations of the earth will bow down to us. But first I need your oath of obediance." Crech willingly gave it. At that moment Charzana raised up her hand; fingers splayed and a ball of light shot up to what Crech thought would be the apex of the sky. He thought, that is, as the sky had dissapeared into his blind spot. The ball of light banished the Blind Spot into nothingness and the sky was: blue. "Come!", Charzana said with a tone of cold command, "we have much to do." Charzana and Crech strode through the streets of Zuur Nova toward the center castle. Everyone who saw those two prostrated themselves before them for they knew, Zuur would be reborn. All pledged to serve Crech, Charzana, the Demon King, and Marana unquestioningly, even past the End of Days. On that day, Zuur had become a follower of the Cult of Marana, as relayed through the 'emissary' of Charzana.



Sorry for all of the text. There will be more pictures in the next chapter. Please offer all comments. I'll fix all grammer errors tomorrow as its getting late.

Nice. I'll be following, of course to see how the game and the story develops and also to see where I can improve the nation of Zuur and the game as a whole. This will be very helpful. As I said, I have plans of writing a story of my own as well, but I don't know when I'll have the time.

You do some good writing here! I'm excited to see you describing the wars with Dal and Elchers later on!

You might want to change Zheverr Crech to a bloke though. He's really a young man, like in his late teens. I planned him to be Charzana's son, but I think I'll be changing him to be her brother really. I haven't written his civilopedia yet, but all the leaders will be done in the next update of the mod.

Why are the people of Zuur so unhappy? I usually stop a city's growth at 6 or 7 before Monarchy to avoid them becoming unhappy. Then, when Monarchy is discovered, happiness is easily controlled by garrisoning troops within the cities. I should perhaps supply the mod with another "happy building".

Oh. BTW, what does AAR sttand for really? I knew it had something to do with storywriting and so, but I'm unclear on what really makes the difference between a usual story and an AAR?

>Oops! I thought Crech was a girl. He does look a bit effeminate. I'll change it. If you want I can PM you my story outline to make sure I am not too far off cannon.
>Zuur is so unhappy because I'm running slavery I need population for whipping. Note that the last picture is not chronological.
>AAR stands for After Action REport technicaly but it basicaly means any game story that is intended to entertain more than be a strategy demonstration.

Yeah. Send the story over. But it really is no worry if you go out of the frames. Artistic Freedom, you know.

OK. After Action Report. That sounds like the kid of story I am going to do as well.

Crech asked Charzana, "Milady, how will Zuur reclaim her rightful place? You destroyed our sole hope of leaving this island. We lack the resouces to build another ship equal in glory to the one you destroyed."
Charzana replied, with her tone of cold command not leaving her voice. "My child, do you not think that I, Mistress of Obediance would forget something as important as that? Do not presume to think you can see something I cannot. You will only discover, I am the beginning and the end to all answers."
Charzana raised her hand and shouted a phrase in a language so black that her lips temporarily cracked and ran with blood. The ship reappeared in the estuary and Crech bade it to sail for any point on the compass.


In the winter of the year 3016, for the first time in over two millenia a native of Zuur touched the true earth. A landing party went ashore and discovered triving, abiet primitive cities. Cities though the Zuurans were ancient, legendary super-beings who ruled the world from above. As such the natives bowed down before the Zuurans and gave them all they wanted.

It appeared that Charzana could do no wrong. She inspired all she talked to. It was under her that the first continental Zuuran settlement was founded, Altazzia in the fall of 3020. Zuur was once again on the rise.


Southern Lands: 3022.
Crech stumbled across the gully. Panting, running, fleeing. He had thought it noble to explore the far reaches of the world, expand the boundaries of knowledge. He had not learned of the darker side. He though back to the fateful moment of his defeat; if only to take his mind off the monsters poision coursing through his body. He had been leading a scout group in an exploration of what appeared to be caves when he heard a
noise. The noise did not sound like any he knew so he dismissed it but then he noticed: everyone else had heard it to. He ordered the group stopped to invenstigate when the ground began to shake and great scorpions roared out of the caves. Crech was the only one to make it out. He managed to stumble back to the ship and eventualy recovered.


Upon his return to Zuur Nova Crech demanded a meeting with Charzana and stormed up to her chambers, bursting down the door. With a hard, slow voice he began to force out: "You say that you must have command because I do not know how the world has changed? It is you who does not how the world has changed. I never thought to ask you, but how many of our scout parties have died Charzana? Hm.. How many! We lack any appreciable forms of defense. Zuur has been so long without war that we do not even comprehend its true meaning any more."
With a sigh Charzana replied, "What would you have me do, Crech? Zuur lacks the population to raise an army."
"Then use your magical gifts and raise us a demon army to defend us. Isn't that what Zuur used in the early days? Legions of the Cursed marching under the banner of Zuur?"
"I cannot. The latent magic surrounding this city drives away spirits, it rips them apart if they attempt to materialize. I will see if any supernatural creatures could possibly exist in all this magical chaos."
And the product of Charzana's quest was the Ghosts. Not truely corporeal, conversly not truely ethereal. They were Zuurs only answer to the hostile world.


In the year 3029 the city of Megathon was founded. It would serve Zuur well as a bulwark against the mindless, dead hordes that aimlessly wandered the Great Northern Wood.


When Megathon was founded, dead hordes streamed across the frontiers of the Zuuran colonies. It was not known why they came in such numbers. The people demanded answers and a defense for the Ghosts could not hold out indefinatly.



The people of Zuur demanded answers; which no one seemed to be able to offer, until Charzana appealed to the Demon King. Charzana reported to the people that the Demon king would be sending the troops. Charzana collected the largest and strongest men in Zuur and bade them put on heavy brass armour. It was far too loose for them but they did as Charzana said for she was their lady. Then their bodies began to change. Skin hardened, joints enlarged to give a greater range of movement. Bones became more rigid. Muscles grew exponentialy turning them into hulking monstrosities. The armour fit perfectly. Charzana called these troops Carcera, or Realm-Guard in Zuuri. These troops were far stronger than the Ghosts. The Zuuran colonies were protected.


It was in the year 3035 Zuuran scouts met scouts from the Collective Dominion, claiming to represent Gregory Lyssander; a fallen human, husband to the possessed Dowager Queen, and former ruler of Angleeye. The scouts were taken into the presence of Charzana and Crech. In awe of the majesty of Zuur they paid them homage and returned home to Gregory bearing word of Zuurs return. Gregory sent reply pledging eternal frienship and servitude.


"Gregory is not to be trusted!" Charzana kept repeating those words, again and again until her voice nearly gave out. Crech had been sitting in a corner, quietly thinking to himself. When Charzana temporarily was quiet while she was getting a drink, he broached the question. "Why must Gregory Lysander not be trusted? He pledged us his eternal friendship and peace. He appears to be a follower, at least personaly, of Marana. Why can we not trust him?"
"How many times have I had to tell you, Crech, that I am not to be doubted?" She snaped back. Then a look of weariness came over her face and she fell down into a chair. She sighed. "No, perhaps you are right in this case. My mind is not clear. I have been away from my realm for far too long. If I return to my realm I will be able to tell you why Gregory is not to be trusted. I will also find a way to stop these dead incursions. We must build the Marana Gate, more commonly called the Dome of Prophecy."
"My lady you must jest! We do not have the ability, nay, the right to build such an object. Only Marana or Namyrl should be able to see all the machinations of fate."
A harsh fire entered into Charzanas eyes. At that moment Crech knew he must back down. "I apologize my lady. I was wrong to doubt you. We shall begin bulding the Gate. How do you wish to proceed?"
She smiled, a cold condescending smile. "As I have told you before, do not doubt me. The portal shall be built in Altazzia. The land is less poluted by magic there."
"My lady I must protest that choice of location. Altazzia lacks the population to build it. The Gate would take decades, perhaps generations to build."
"Then force people to the city, you miserable cretin. Need I tell you to do everything. Don't tell me, hundreds will die, this I already know. But the needs of the many come first. The needs of Zuur transcend all boundaries. So it is written, so shall it be."
Crech left respectfully and slowly went about his duties collecting people to work on Charzanas project, death the only benefit they would recieve. Crech began to wonder, was Charzana doing what was right for Zuur? The men of Zuur are better than all others in the world. How could any protector of Zuur claim to be doing the right thing by senslessly killing them? Crech forced that thought from his mind. Charzana was the Emissary of Marana. She could do nothing wrong for all was part of her plan.

Altazzia, 3039:
Crech and Charzana, along with all the high priests stood before the Marana Gate. It was pulsating a dark red. Crech did not want to know how many had died to build this, abomination that would put even an emissary of Marana equal to the goddess herself. Without even a word or sacred chant, Charzana strode into the Gate and dissapeared.


Sorry if it drags a bit. It should get better once more things start happening. As always, comments are welcome.

That pic of the ghosts is great! I didn't realize they made such good photo models.

What tech did you choose when completing the Dome? Maybe you're about to tell us. I always take Monarchy.