Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
Okay.
12345
12345
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Civilization 7 has been announced. For more info please check the forum here .
Dominion NES
- Thread starter LDiCesare
- Start date
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
Spoiler :
@LDi:
@Orange:
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
I'll send my orders as soon as I hear from Immaculate.
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
And now for the intraductory story:
First Impressions
First Impressions
Spoiler :
orangelex44
Partisan
@Seon: What'd I do?
Oh... wait... did I forget to respond to something? Or did my friend Mr. Dial-Up Internet "lose" a message along the way?
Oh... wait... did I forget to respond to something? Or did my friend Mr. Dial-Up Internet "lose" a message along the way?
nutranurse
Unlikeliest of Slash Fics
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2009
- Messages
- 2,077
Orders sent.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
I sent you a PM. Twice, although since I already sent my orders so it doesn't matter now XD
I have orders for everyone but the two newcomers. Thank you all for sending orders that early.
Vanheim and Jotunheim (Darksaber1 and Vertinari118), you have till sunday to send me orders or if you can't, questions/issues list. I won't be able to answer questions before sunday so if you have any questions, send them by mail I'll answer as soon as I can reach an internet connection. Just be sure to send me a mail before sunday even if it's not full orders, so I can answer any issues fast and get the real orders processed quickly.
Vanheim and Jotunheim (Darksaber1 and Vertinari118), you have till sunday to send me orders or if you can't, questions/issues list. I won't be able to answer questions before sunday so if you have any questions, send them by mail I'll answer as soon as I can reach an internet connection. Just be sure to send me a mail before sunday even if it's not full orders, so I can answer any issues fast and get the real orders processed quickly.
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
Okay, I'll get my order sent with about 2 hours-I'm giving Immy some time to respond.
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
Orders sent. Tell me if you don't get it, so I can re-send it.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
Oh and people.
DON'T TOUCH PROVINCE 25!!!. (I spent a few gold on it!)
I wonder if something akin to FFH 1 would happen since I said that.
DON'T TOUCH PROVINCE 25!!!
. (I spent a few gold on it!)I wonder if something akin to FFH 1 would happen since I said that.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
What does it feel like being a god?
It feels as if you are standing on a rainbow, I guess. Everything is below you. Nothing matters.
It feels exhilarating. You know nothing can best you in anything.
You feel as if you own the world, there are always mortals who would even die to serve your every whim.
You feel sadness, as you see the people you care about wither and die.
You feel lonely as you know that there is nothing that will match you.
You feel abandoned as the world moves on without you.
I have a question.
Why do you want to worship me?
No answer? Well hear this.
A man once asked me. What created evil? What created suffering? What created demons? What created the gods?
And so I answered.
“Mortals.”
-Celes to the Sage of Pythium.
It feels as if you are standing on a rainbow, I guess. Everything is below you. Nothing matters.
It feels exhilarating. You know nothing can best you in anything.
You feel as if you own the world, there are always mortals who would even die to serve your every whim.
You feel sadness, as you see the people you care about wither and die.
You feel lonely as you know that there is nothing that will match you.
You feel abandoned as the world moves on without you.
I have a question.
Why do you want to worship me?
No answer? Well hear this.
A man once asked me. What created evil? What created suffering? What created demons? What created the gods?
And so I answered.
“Mortals.”
-Celes to the Sage of Pythium.
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
The Nation of Vanheim would like to announce that their Great Tome of Communication will likely be non-funtional from Tuesday to late Friday of this week. As such, pleas have diplomatic messages sent by mondy evening, or els do not get insulted if we do not respond until late.
Thank You
Lady Gwen Lllywhen, loyal servant of
Lord Thorndai the Thunder, Lord of the Vanir
[OOC: I'll likely be away from internet access from tuesday to late Friday]
Thank You
Lady Gwen Lllywhen, loyal servant of
Lord Thorndai the Thunder, Lord of the Vanir
[OOC: I'll likely be away from internet access from tuesday to late Friday]
Diamondeye
So Happy I Could Die
OOC: If my suggestion to Ldi is accepted, consider this a sort of introduction. Else, lurker flavour...
... The high-reaching arches of the stone cathedral gave an impression of a darkness far murkier than merely the absence of light. It was as if the room itself spanned the wide reached of the sky above, yet no stars were to be seen.
The omnipresent silence was broken by someone knocking on the gate-like door; one powerful knock, followed shortly after by another two, even more powerful knocks. The abbot hurried towards the locked wooden door and opened it only so a sliver of light could illuminate the person outside. The door was violently pushed open. The abbot was thrown backwards, to the floor. He yelled at the stranger: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The stranger replied, in the abbot's own language: "Is this the house of God?"
The abbot, finding his footing, nodded, "It is. What are you doing here this late?"
The man lifted his hood and smiled. "I'm moving in."
... The high-reaching arches of the stone cathedral gave an impression of a darkness far murkier than merely the absence of light. It was as if the room itself spanned the wide reached of the sky above, yet no stars were to be seen.
The omnipresent silence was broken by someone knocking on the gate-like door; one powerful knock, followed shortly after by another two, even more powerful knocks. The abbot hurried towards the locked wooden door and opened it only so a sliver of light could illuminate the person outside. The door was violently pushed open. The abbot was thrown backwards, to the floor. He yelled at the stranger: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The stranger replied, in the abbot's own language: "Is this the house of God?"
The abbot, finding his footing, nodded, "It is. What are you doing here this late?"
The man lifted his hood and smiled. "I'm moving in."
Diamondeye, you can take control of Marignon. However, since you said you'd probably have no internet connection for the coming days, I'm still playing them as NPC till you send me an email to ldcdomnes (at) gmail (dot) com. At this stage, you'll take over.
Vertinari118
Deity
Magni
I am Magni. I am the son of ice and frost; I am the Winter and the Snow and the North Wind. I am the first and foremost of my kind and kin the hrímþursar, the rime-thurs in the script of Man; and in turn we are among the greatest of all the kinds of giants with only the jötnar of Muspelheim being stronger but their kind are long defeated for they were broken in a great war against the Æsir and have mostly left the lands of mortals to nurse their hurts and plot with malice against the new order of Æsir who rose from the ashes and made all the great hurts of the jötnar of Muspelheim in vain, for they had sort to slay the Æsir and the Vanir, the greatest foes of the jötnar, for all time and while the few Æsir who survived are weak the jötnar of Muspelheim are weaker still. Thus it is the time of the hrímþursar, the Æsir's power is broken and the Vanir that still live and escaped the great battle can be broken too by the might of the hrímþursar.
I once lived in Asgard and the halls of the Æsir and I fought my kind and kin at my father, Thor's side and I was regarded as one of their number. I survived the great battle and I fled from the land of Asgard at great haste, for I knew that the Æsir were weak and I could overthrow them. I fled to the lands of the jötnar, Jötunheim and Niflheim (Niefelheim spelt properly), and there I was perceived as one of the Sons of Nifl (Niefel spelt properly), of mist and snow and cold and winter, and the jötnar began to see me as greater than their own chiefs, whom they abandoned, and worshipped me as a god. Their chiefs were not pleased at the desertion of their followers and gathered their remaining strength into one mighty host led by the greatest of their number Bergfinnr, son of Thrym. My followers were greater in number but their skill at arms was far less and Berffinnr had great practitioners of seid (one of the forms of magic in Norse mythology), who knew many galdrar (spells) that might turn the battle in the favour of Bergfinnr. Yet I was greater than even his greatest sorcerers and I broke them for my knowledge was far greater and I had learned the arts of seid from Freyja herself and no mortal man or jötnar could oppose me in that art lest they too ranked among the Æsir or Vanir in the elder days. Yet Bregfinnr did not fear for his warriors were of greater skill and valour and the centre of my army was broken before their might and all looked bleak. Once more I called upon the seid and the army of Bredfinnr found their blades blunted and their armour grew soft as clay and clung to their bodies and prevented them from moving with ease. They were cut down by the remaining warriors of my command. Still Bregfinnr and his guard persisted and marched on towards my men. I ordered them to retreat and marched forth to meet my enemy. Bregfinnr and his guard, seeing that my followers ran, laughed and cried out:
"Look how the men of the 'god' run rather than face their doom. For they know that their 'god' is nothing but a trickster who has met his match. Trickster turn and run with your men and we might spare you death. You could be our thrall and work your seid for our gain. Why would a 'god' use such unmanly arts anyway for all know that the practitioners of seid tire and grow weak after using their arts. Run or face your end."
I replied:
"You face one of the Æsir, the son of Thor the Bear, no less this day. You will fall as the price for your pride."
And with those words spoken I charged the ranks of the chiefs of the jötnar and they scattered or fell were they stood, such was the might of my charge and my skill with my axe. Bregfinnr berated his men crying out:
"He lies! He is no son of Thor for the son of Thor must be the wielders of his mighty hammer, Mjöllnir, as Thor is dead. Where is the hammer?"
"I am not the only son of Thor. My brother keeps Mjöllnir," was my reply and, having spoken my reply, I smote the helm of Bregfinnr with my axe and cleaved it into two halves. Then I smote his face with my fist and I struck him dead and thus Magni, son of Thor, came to be lord of the jötnar.
OOC notes: The names are correct for Norse mythology and the great battle is of course the battle of Ragnarök were the Æsir and the jötnar and various other creatures fought with each other. Magni and his brother Modi both survive Ragnarök and later, along with a few other survivors, found the next group of Æsir, whom we know nothing of. Of course not all the the events are correct and Magni never did become lord of the jötnar. Wikipedia is your friend if you wish to find out more about Norse mythology quickly and easily. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
We of Vanheim who ask: Who is "Thor"? His he perhaps as local variation of Lord Thorndai the Thunder"s name?
And what is Mjöllnir?
Lady Gwen Lllywhen, Loyal servant of
Lord Thorndai the Thunder, Lord of the Vanir
And what is Mjöllnir?
Lady Gwen Lllywhen, Loyal servant of
Lord Thorndai the Thunder, Lord of the Vanir
Note: Players will be receiving detailed stats by e-mail.
Although wars have been fought regularly during the last twenty years, until now there hadn't been any battle in which two pretender gods led their troops against one another... No longer so.
Shinuyama keeps expanding
An industrious miner found new ways of extracting silver from Kitajima mines, resulting in increased production.
Meanwhile, Shizen and his troops left Manchuria to attack Bogarus.
At first the invasion went well. The inhabitants mustered an army of poorly skilled spearmen and archers and tried to defeat the bakemonos. Although a lucky arrow wounded Shizen, the bakemonos won the battle quite easily.
They thought they had beaten all the enemy forces there, and all the information they could learn from the villages proved them true...
But there were others interested in the lands of Bogarus. Northern barbarians had been waiting for years in their frozen lands for an opportunity to conquer Bogarus. When the land was invaded, they decided it was time to act.
The barbarians fell upon Shinuyama by surprise, but the bakemono armies managed to repel them. Not without serious losses, however, and only thanks to the fire and lightning rain cast by their wizards.
From Tir na n'Og, Bres moved into the neighbouring province of Eriu, where he waited for reinforcements who landed from Shinuyama. Bakemono armies, led by the tuatha hero, quickly conquered the rest of the island.
Marignon attacks Ermor
Marverni inhabitants revolt against the Marignon rulers once again, with noone to check them. They even try to go into Man, but a sheriff in Man arrests the brigands, making this province more orderly.
In Kymriu, an old tomb has been pillaged by adventurers. Most of them died facing unspoken dangers, but one of them came back with riches and magic items.
He realised pillaging the tomb had been a greedy and evil act, so he decided to atone by giving all his treasures to the church.
Furthermore, father Jon, his confessor, convinced him to join the rest of Marignon's army in Kymriu: The army went onboard ships which sailed southwards, doubling east of Marignon and landed into southern Ermor.
Marignon army was met with disorganised defense. Apparently, all of Ermor troops had been massed in the north, near the Marverni frontier where they expected an attack.
A quickly mustered militia force tried to repel Marignon infantry and knights but failed miserably as the better trained and equipped soldiers crushed them with fire magic support.
Emperor Tiberius Drusius Nero Claudius immediately summoned the commanders of his army to the capital and ordered gladiators to be freed from the arenas so they could fight the invaders while the main army marched south.
He also had most of his senior strategists executed, as they had failed to foresee the enemy's battle plans.
The gladiators fought for their lives and their freedom. They met Marignon veterans south of Ermor city and engaged them fiercely. Their combat skills were great from numerous cruel fights in the arenas. Many of them died, but they killed even more, and soon, despite the flame bolts fired at them, the gladiators overcame the invaders troops.
Marignon army retreated, having suffered heavy losses. The gladiators, having won the battle, left to profit from their newly acquired freedom while Ermor's standing army of wizard-led undead horsemen arrived at last.
Marignon troops tried to regroup and stand their ground despite the heavy losses conceded against the gladiators. Their infantry was charged by undead horsemen riding horse skeletons, and at the same time Ermorian wizards cast spells that destroyed the remains of Marignon's proud cavalry.
As the last footmen died, Ermorian thaumaturgs raised them from the dead to turn them against their masters, and the inquisitors leading the army were soon killed by undead opponents.
Only a few horsemen managed to reach Marignon triremes and flee to their homeland.
The invasion of Ermor had failed.
The Emperor immediately passed a decree, ordering all male family members of the generals that had been executed to be turned into slaves and trained as gladiators to replace those who had been freed after defending their nation.
Marignon stragglers were captured too and Ermorian thaumaturgs used magic to burn their mind and turn them into loyal servants of Ermor, and these too were sent to the arenas.
Meanwhile, another part of Ermorian armies had set up eastwards into Slavia, which was promptly conquered, the emperor already having support of a sizeable part of the population.
Those who resisted were sent into Ermor arenas as gladiator slaves.
Lanka
Terrible forest fires spread in Lanka, killing thousands of inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Lanka armies invaded the jungles of Patala. The monleys'elephants were finally under control, and managed to overcome their enemies with only minimal losses.
Mictlan
In Machaka, a human baby has been found amidst a group of jaguar cubs by patrolling soldiers. He had apparently been raised by the jaguar mother.
Inhabitants believe it is a miracle that the newborn has been spared and even nurtured by the sacred animal, and faith raises as a result.
In Jaguars Jungle, a wealthy merchant died of a fever. Since he had no heir, the government has inherited his wealth.
Mictlan launched a naval expedition to the far-away island of Cyprus. The inhabitants tried to defend themselves by sending a horde of wild elephants into the path of the invading armies.
Despite the casualties, Mictlan jaguar warriors slaughtered the beasts and, with the help of the eagle warriors, they dispatched the Cyprian infantry, taking control of the land.
Ulm
An old bavarian shaman found a way to cure the illness that had recently ravaged the country of Ulm, after the discovery of glowing crystals in Dacia.
He told his recipe to the authorities, who promptly spread the news, resulting in many miraculous cures all over the land
Ulmish armies in Dacia moved and invaded the province of Sauromatia. The local amazons put up a fight, and although thair archers proved to be more efficient than the Ulmish sappers, the heay infantry and cavalry of Ulm had little difficulty winning the battle.
Arshnoc
A laboratory used by Arshnoc wizards exploded in an unexplained accident. There were few casualties, but the repairs were very expensive (5 gold lost).
Meanwhile in Seul, Arshnoc priests built a temple in the honour of their leader Stheran.
Arshnoc armies from Caelum invaded T'ien Ch'i, soon joined by flying celestial hounds from Arshnoc proper.
All of T'ien Ch'i nobles didn't join the fight against the invaders, and Arshnoc's flying hounds turned the tide of the battle in their favor.
Pythium
Pythian priests have been very active in Colchis province (province 25), preaching to the outlying villages first, and then slowly moving northwards as they convinced people of Celes's might.
An influent chieftain named Pelias decreed all of his village inhabitants should convert.
This led to some trouble as many didn't want to have a religion imposed on them, but most people were used to following Pelias and did what he asked as usual.
The nay-sayers pretend he converted out of greed rather than faith, but the end result is his village is now mostly following the cult of Celes, and faith is growing throughout the whol province.
Vanheim
Vanheim armies invaded the province of Midgard. Their huskarls hurled javelins at enemy berserkers, who charged. The huskarls retreated behind their heavy infantry and cave drakes, and joined the dwarven smiths. Vanheim's infantry stood and fought well, supported by their magicians who cast spells like flying shards and fire flies which helped break the opponent morale. As the enemy einherjar (berserkers) were killed to the last, the Midgard huskarls fled, leaving Vanheim armies victorious.
Jotunheim
Jotun armies led by the great Magni himself invade Agartha, while faithful Fafner the dreadful leads the invasion of Polgard province.
In Agartha, Magni duels an ancient Pale One, a one-eyed giant of his size, while his giants battle humans and smaller pale ones. Jotunheim giants soon prove stronger and more skilled than the agarthans, and they take over the province.
In Polgard, Fafner defeats the local tribesmen with little difficulty.
C'tis armies march upon Abysia
An abysian emissary was received royally by Ashdod authorities, and he managed to clear up the confusion cause by rogue abysians in the previous year.
The gift of a magnificent golden torc helped win the giants'leader favour.
However, neither this leader nor his fellow giants realise that the human population of Ashdod resents their slavery more and more, as the giants bask in gold and luxury while they toil hard for little gain. Humans are known to have started praying for the help of Sagra of Abysia and the mysterious goddess of Lanka in hope of getting rid of their cruel masters.
In Abysia, a group of humans brought to the Abysian palace a big wooden coffin. They said this was a present from the ruler of C'tis to the Abysian people.
After much pondering, Abysians finally sent a pair of humanbreds to open the box, wondering what it might be. They pushed the lid carefully, and nothing happened, except that a putrid stench came out of the coffin.
They peered inside, and saw a decomposed lizardman corpse. On its skull was nailed a rotten sheet of paper. One of the humanbred wanted to pick it up, and suddenly, the corpse rose, sending both of his arms upwards and clutching the humanbreds' throats in its tight grip.
The corpse rose, strangling his victims, and spoke with a horrible voice:
"I am C'tis ambassador, and we come to repay you of your arrogance!"
Abysian guards immediately charged the undead and cut him to pieces with their great axes, but by the time the monster fell, both humanbreds had choked to death...
After this incident, the whole abysian population was preparing for an attack from C'tis. Covert abysian agents moved around the incoming army, trying to disrupt the enemies' supply lines.
This had little impact on the advance of the C'tis armies, as C'tis wizards were able to create food and supplies to replace what was lost or damaged by the abysians.
C'tis armies moved and met the Abysians in a large field. Both armies faced each other, and prepared for battle.
C'tis wizards blessed their troops, their god-lord Sslaah granting them the strength of giants while his wizards cast all kinds of defensive spells and raised skeletons to help their armies.
Meanwhile, Abysian demonbreds blessed their sacred lava warriors.
C'tis slingers on both wings of their army started throwing bullets which exploded on impact, releasing poisonous gases.
Demonbreds reacted by chanting holy prayers to increase the morale of their humanbred warriors so they could cross the poison clouds without breaking.
Humanbreds finally reached the C'tis infantry and the melee started in the middle of poison clouds from which the lizardmen had been protected by their nature and their mages' spells.
Abysian heavy infantry followed their humanbred warriors and engaged the middle of C'tis armies which was being supported by healing spells from their wizards.
This charge relieved a lot of pressure from the humanbreds, but C'tis wizards could raise more skeletons while the charge was being prepared.
Abysian wizards cast fire spells to kill their opponents, and the C'tis infantry suffered sever losses, but corpses were being raised by the marshmasters as soon as they had died, and humanbred warriors were seriously starting to suffer from the poisoned clouds they had to fight in.
However, on one side of the battlefield, the abysians ahd sent their salamanders, and these started to flank C'tis soldiers. As they neared the lizardmen, some of these, having already suffered a lot of attrition from abysian battle axes, routed, but the undead kept the line.
Salamanders reached theslingers and their fire aura proved efficient in destroying their opponents.
On the other side, the humanbred militia retreated, leaving that wing severely undermanned, but the living C'tisians broke too, leaving that side to only a few skeletons.
The salamanders had destroyed one wing of C'tis soldiers, but marshmasters kept raising their dead despite the abysian rain of fire, and salamanders soon got killed by the undead.
The battlefield was now full of corpses. All living abysian soldiers had fled, but very few abysians remained. It was now a fight of wizards, some casting fire bolts and banishing undead, while the others kept raising corpses.
Ultimately, there were no longer enough abysians to keep the undead horde at bay and the demonbreds ordered their bodyguards to retreat.
In the end, the battle was lost for the Abysians.
Abysian people despaired. Would they be conquered by lizardmen from C'tis?
The demonbred wizard priests met together, and decided that this was an unacceptable outcome.
C'tisian death magic had proven extraordinarily deadly but now they knew what they were facing.
C'tisian living soldiers had all routed, whereas the Abysians still had one highly disciplined unit, which they had kept to guard the demonbreds, along with the slayers who had harassed the opponent.
The demonbred therefore decided to regroup and fight a second battle immediately. Their soldiers were few but well trained and with a great determination. The lizardmen needed time to summon their undead minions, so the demonbred decided to launch a night attack against the enemy camp.
Abysian infantry was met with hordes of undead but the demonbred used their priestly powers to banish them as they were raised. However, C'tisians didn't rely olely on death magic, and their priests smote the lavamen. Eventually, the demonbred ordered a retreat, but they had reached their goal:
C'tis leaders realised they couldn't safely occupy Abysia with flying wizard priests ready to ambush them wherever they went.
As a result, Sslaah ordered his wizards and priests to retreat and regroup their troops. However, C'tisians didn't leave graciously. They poisoned water wells, cursed or killed the inhabitants they met and plundered al they could on their way back.
When the C'tisians had finally left, Abysians checked cautiously their land, and found a great cairn made of human and abysian corpses. The bodies were organised in strange positions, and a demonbred decided to look at it from above. He flew upwards, and realised the corpses were organised in runes, which read this grimly message:
"Surrender Nubia or we will come back."
New map:
UPDATE FIVE
Pretender Wars
Pretender Wars
Although wars have been fought regularly during the last twenty years, until now there hadn't been any battle in which two pretender gods led their troops against one another... No longer so.
Shinuyama keeps expanding
An industrious miner found new ways of extracting silver from Kitajima mines, resulting in increased production.
Meanwhile, Shizen and his troops left Manchuria to attack Bogarus.
At first the invasion went well. The inhabitants mustered an army of poorly skilled spearmen and archers and tried to defeat the bakemonos. Although a lucky arrow wounded Shizen, the bakemonos won the battle quite easily.
They thought they had beaten all the enemy forces there, and all the information they could learn from the villages proved them true...
But there were others interested in the lands of Bogarus. Northern barbarians had been waiting for years in their frozen lands for an opportunity to conquer Bogarus. When the land was invaded, they decided it was time to act.
The barbarians fell upon Shinuyama by surprise, but the bakemono armies managed to repel them. Not without serious losses, however, and only thanks to the fire and lightning rain cast by their wizards.
Spoiler :
From Tir na n'Og, Bres moved into the neighbouring province of Eriu, where he waited for reinforcements who landed from Shinuyama. Bakemono armies, led by the tuatha hero, quickly conquered the rest of the island.
Spoiler :
Marignon attacks Ermor
Marverni inhabitants revolt against the Marignon rulers once again, with noone to check them. They even try to go into Man, but a sheriff in Man arrests the brigands, making this province more orderly.
In Kymriu, an old tomb has been pillaged by adventurers. Most of them died facing unspoken dangers, but one of them came back with riches and magic items.
He realised pillaging the tomb had been a greedy and evil act, so he decided to atone by giving all his treasures to the church.
Furthermore, father Jon, his confessor, convinced him to join the rest of Marignon's army in Kymriu: The army went onboard ships which sailed southwards, doubling east of Marignon and landed into southern Ermor.
Marignon army was met with disorganised defense. Apparently, all of Ermor troops had been massed in the north, near the Marverni frontier where they expected an attack.
A quickly mustered militia force tried to repel Marignon infantry and knights but failed miserably as the better trained and equipped soldiers crushed them with fire magic support.
Emperor Tiberius Drusius Nero Claudius immediately summoned the commanders of his army to the capital and ordered gladiators to be freed from the arenas so they could fight the invaders while the main army marched south.
He also had most of his senior strategists executed, as they had failed to foresee the enemy's battle plans.
The gladiators fought for their lives and their freedom. They met Marignon veterans south of Ermor city and engaged them fiercely. Their combat skills were great from numerous cruel fights in the arenas. Many of them died, but they killed even more, and soon, despite the flame bolts fired at them, the gladiators overcame the invaders troops.
Spoiler :
Marignon army retreated, having suffered heavy losses. The gladiators, having won the battle, left to profit from their newly acquired freedom while Ermor's standing army of wizard-led undead horsemen arrived at last.
Marignon troops tried to regroup and stand their ground despite the heavy losses conceded against the gladiators. Their infantry was charged by undead horsemen riding horse skeletons, and at the same time Ermorian wizards cast spells that destroyed the remains of Marignon's proud cavalry.
As the last footmen died, Ermorian thaumaturgs raised them from the dead to turn them against their masters, and the inquisitors leading the army were soon killed by undead opponents.
Only a few horsemen managed to reach Marignon triremes and flee to their homeland.
The invasion of Ermor had failed.
The Emperor immediately passed a decree, ordering all male family members of the generals that had been executed to be turned into slaves and trained as gladiators to replace those who had been freed after defending their nation.
Marignon stragglers were captured too and Ermorian thaumaturgs used magic to burn their mind and turn them into loyal servants of Ermor, and these too were sent to the arenas.
Meanwhile, another part of Ermorian armies had set up eastwards into Slavia, which was promptly conquered, the emperor already having support of a sizeable part of the population.
Those who resisted were sent into Ermor arenas as gladiator slaves.
Lanka
Terrible forest fires spread in Lanka, killing thousands of inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Lanka armies invaded the jungles of Patala. The monleys'elephants were finally under control, and managed to overcome their enemies with only minimal losses.
Mictlan
In Machaka, a human baby has been found amidst a group of jaguar cubs by patrolling soldiers. He had apparently been raised by the jaguar mother.
Inhabitants believe it is a miracle that the newborn has been spared and even nurtured by the sacred animal, and faith raises as a result.
In Jaguars Jungle, a wealthy merchant died of a fever. Since he had no heir, the government has inherited his wealth.
Mictlan launched a naval expedition to the far-away island of Cyprus. The inhabitants tried to defend themselves by sending a horde of wild elephants into the path of the invading armies.
Despite the casualties, Mictlan jaguar warriors slaughtered the beasts and, with the help of the eagle warriors, they dispatched the Cyprian infantry, taking control of the land.
Spoiler :
Ulm
An old bavarian shaman found a way to cure the illness that had recently ravaged the country of Ulm, after the discovery of glowing crystals in Dacia.
He told his recipe to the authorities, who promptly spread the news, resulting in many miraculous cures all over the land
Ulmish armies in Dacia moved and invaded the province of Sauromatia. The local amazons put up a fight, and although thair archers proved to be more efficient than the Ulmish sappers, the heay infantry and cavalry of Ulm had little difficulty winning the battle.
Spoiler :
Arshnoc
A laboratory used by Arshnoc wizards exploded in an unexplained accident. There were few casualties, but the repairs were very expensive (5 gold lost).
Meanwhile in Seul, Arshnoc priests built a temple in the honour of their leader Stheran.
Arshnoc armies from Caelum invaded T'ien Ch'i, soon joined by flying celestial hounds from Arshnoc proper.
Spoiler :
All of T'ien Ch'i nobles didn't join the fight against the invaders, and Arshnoc's flying hounds turned the tide of the battle in their favor.
Pythium
Pythian priests have been very active in Colchis province (province 25), preaching to the outlying villages first, and then slowly moving northwards as they convinced people of Celes's might.
An influent chieftain named Pelias decreed all of his village inhabitants should convert.
This led to some trouble as many didn't want to have a religion imposed on them, but most people were used to following Pelias and did what he asked as usual.
The nay-sayers pretend he converted out of greed rather than faith, but the end result is his village is now mostly following the cult of Celes, and faith is growing throughout the whol province.
Vanheim
Vanheim armies invaded the province of Midgard. Their huskarls hurled javelins at enemy berserkers, who charged. The huskarls retreated behind their heavy infantry and cave drakes, and joined the dwarven smiths. Vanheim's infantry stood and fought well, supported by their magicians who cast spells like flying shards and fire flies which helped break the opponent morale. As the enemy einherjar (berserkers) were killed to the last, the Midgard huskarls fled, leaving Vanheim armies victorious.
Spoiler :
Jotunheim
Jotun armies led by the great Magni himself invade Agartha, while faithful Fafner the dreadful leads the invasion of Polgard province.
In Agartha, Magni duels an ancient Pale One, a one-eyed giant of his size, while his giants battle humans and smaller pale ones. Jotunheim giants soon prove stronger and more skilled than the agarthans, and they take over the province.
In Polgard, Fafner defeats the local tribesmen with little difficulty.
Spoiler :
C'tis armies march upon Abysia
An abysian emissary was received royally by Ashdod authorities, and he managed to clear up the confusion cause by rogue abysians in the previous year.
The gift of a magnificent golden torc helped win the giants'leader favour.
However, neither this leader nor his fellow giants realise that the human population of Ashdod resents their slavery more and more, as the giants bask in gold and luxury while they toil hard for little gain. Humans are known to have started praying for the help of Sagra of Abysia and the mysterious goddess of Lanka in hope of getting rid of their cruel masters.
In Abysia, a group of humans brought to the Abysian palace a big wooden coffin. They said this was a present from the ruler of C'tis to the Abysian people.
After much pondering, Abysians finally sent a pair of humanbreds to open the box, wondering what it might be. They pushed the lid carefully, and nothing happened, except that a putrid stench came out of the coffin.
They peered inside, and saw a decomposed lizardman corpse. On its skull was nailed a rotten sheet of paper. One of the humanbred wanted to pick it up, and suddenly, the corpse rose, sending both of his arms upwards and clutching the humanbreds' throats in its tight grip.
The corpse rose, strangling his victims, and spoke with a horrible voice:
"I am C'tis ambassador, and we come to repay you of your arrogance!"
Abysian guards immediately charged the undead and cut him to pieces with their great axes, but by the time the monster fell, both humanbreds had choked to death...
After this incident, the whole abysian population was preparing for an attack from C'tis. Covert abysian agents moved around the incoming army, trying to disrupt the enemies' supply lines.
This had little impact on the advance of the C'tis armies, as C'tis wizards were able to create food and supplies to replace what was lost or damaged by the abysians.
C'tis armies moved and met the Abysians in a large field. Both armies faced each other, and prepared for battle.
C'tis wizards blessed their troops, their god-lord Sslaah granting them the strength of giants while his wizards cast all kinds of defensive spells and raised skeletons to help their armies.
Meanwhile, Abysian demonbreds blessed their sacred lava warriors.
C'tis slingers on both wings of their army started throwing bullets which exploded on impact, releasing poisonous gases.
Demonbreds reacted by chanting holy prayers to increase the morale of their humanbred warriors so they could cross the poison clouds without breaking.
Humanbreds finally reached the C'tis infantry and the melee started in the middle of poison clouds from which the lizardmen had been protected by their nature and their mages' spells.
Abysian heavy infantry followed their humanbred warriors and engaged the middle of C'tis armies which was being supported by healing spells from their wizards.
This charge relieved a lot of pressure from the humanbreds, but C'tis wizards could raise more skeletons while the charge was being prepared.
Abysian wizards cast fire spells to kill their opponents, and the C'tis infantry suffered sever losses, but corpses were being raised by the marshmasters as soon as they had died, and humanbred warriors were seriously starting to suffer from the poisoned clouds they had to fight in.
However, on one side of the battlefield, the abysians ahd sent their salamanders, and these started to flank C'tis soldiers. As they neared the lizardmen, some of these, having already suffered a lot of attrition from abysian battle axes, routed, but the undead kept the line.
Salamanders reached theslingers and their fire aura proved efficient in destroying their opponents.
On the other side, the humanbred militia retreated, leaving that wing severely undermanned, but the living C'tisians broke too, leaving that side to only a few skeletons.
The salamanders had destroyed one wing of C'tis soldiers, but marshmasters kept raising their dead despite the abysian rain of fire, and salamanders soon got killed by the undead.
The battlefield was now full of corpses. All living abysian soldiers had fled, but very few abysians remained. It was now a fight of wizards, some casting fire bolts and banishing undead, while the others kept raising corpses.
Ultimately, there were no longer enough abysians to keep the undead horde at bay and the demonbreds ordered their bodyguards to retreat.
In the end, the battle was lost for the Abysians.
Spoiler :
Abysian people despaired. Would they be conquered by lizardmen from C'tis?
The demonbred wizard priests met together, and decided that this was an unacceptable outcome.
C'tisian death magic had proven extraordinarily deadly but now they knew what they were facing.
C'tisian living soldiers had all routed, whereas the Abysians still had one highly disciplined unit, which they had kept to guard the demonbreds, along with the slayers who had harassed the opponent.
The demonbred therefore decided to regroup and fight a second battle immediately. Their soldiers were few but well trained and with a great determination. The lizardmen needed time to summon their undead minions, so the demonbred decided to launch a night attack against the enemy camp.
Abysian infantry was met with hordes of undead but the demonbred used their priestly powers to banish them as they were raised. However, C'tisians didn't rely olely on death magic, and their priests smote the lavamen. Eventually, the demonbred ordered a retreat, but they had reached their goal:
C'tis leaders realised they couldn't safely occupy Abysia with flying wizard priests ready to ambush them wherever they went.
As a result, Sslaah ordered his wizards and priests to retreat and regroup their troops. However, C'tisians didn't leave graciously. They poisoned water wells, cursed or killed the inhabitants they met and plundered al they could on their way back.
When the C'tisians had finally left, Abysians checked cautiously their land, and found a great cairn made of human and abysian corpses. The bodies were organised in strange positions, and a demonbred decided to look at it from above. He flew upwards, and realised the corpses were organised in runes, which read this grimly message:
"Surrender Nubia or we will come back."
New map:
Spoiler :
The names Niefel/Niefelheim are spelt quite correctly as they are. These are taken from Dominions, which is a game designed by a swedish professor of theology and he knows his myhtology well, particularly the norse.
Anyway, in this world, the Vanir and Aesir fought a very very very long time ago before allying with each other. The Aesir gave Vanir some of their own to reign as kings, while the Vanir gave the Aesir their best members to live among them (Frey, Freya who taught them seidr). But then, a very very long time ago, the Rimtursar bet the Aesir (Ragnarok would be then). And afterwards, a very long time ago, the One bet the Rimtursar and exterminated them, leaving only lesser giants. Some in Niefelheim, some in Jotunheima nd some in Utgard (province 7). The One also extended his dominion over the Vanir.
During his reign, any survivor from the great battles, the times of the Aesir and Rimtursar, would have hidden, biding their time. Now it seems that two Aesir (or half-Aesir), Thorai the Thunder, and Magni son of Thor and the giantess Jarnsaxa, have come back to lead the age-old enemies, Vanir and giants, each of them pretending, as many others indeed, to be the new legitimate god of this world.
