A Broken Empire.
In times past, the Ermorian empire was that of the living, and of living only. The legions of the Empire had conquered practically all of the known world, integrating many different, peoples into itself, peoples who had been weakened by constant warfare. Some of these would embrace the Empire's civilization with open arms, like the Pythians who lived in the easternmost continent of the lands, becoming almost more Ermorian than the Ermorians themselves and being the envy of many a subjugated human kingdom, whilst others did not, like the C'tissian lizardmen who lived in the northern marshlands, who were feared for their dabbling in the dark arts of undeath.
In those times, the Empire was known as the Holy Empire. Its priests were the most devout in the lands, and they spread it far and wide, ridding the land of many natural religions as they went on. Its lands were kept safe by the many Censors who were the highest policing force within the Empire, with local militias keeping an eye on the more immediate threats for order within the regions they were positioned in.
In the most holy capital of Eldregate, the Thaumaturgs of the Empire studied the Arcana in the main temple dedicated to the Spheres. The Senate of the Empire also resided there, in the capital. The highest echelons of the Senate was composed of people what one could consider the elite of the Empire, with the lower ranks of it being reserved mostly for the conquered peoples, who had been granted quite exceptionally great rights... As long as they stayed in their homelands.
But times slowly changed, and the Empire started to decline. Too many of the Thaumaturgs had forgotten the noble cause of their order. Too many of them were lured in by the dark arts of the C'tissian Sauromancers, to arts they did not quite understand. Indeed, they had mastered the arts of the Spheres, so what could hold them from mastering Death itself?
As if the slow fall from grace of the Thaumaturgs was not enough, the institution of Censors had turned self-destructive. Too many bad choices after another as the Arch Censor had lead into a loss of credibility, and the Senate had ordered the position to be split into two: that of the Arch Censor and that of the Grand Censor. The Grand Censor would see that crimes are indeed punished, while the Arch Censor would be mostly in charge of the nominating of Censors - under the supervision of the Senate, of course.
But this did not help the situation, quite the opposite. While the Senate was overly concerned over the depraved Arch Censor, they did not follow the actions of the chosen Grand Censor. As it turned out, the very first Grand Censor of the Holy Empire was quite insane, meting out his deprived justice on many an innocent peasant in the southern peninsula between the Western and the Southern continents. Those who had dared to tell the other authorities of the atrocities the man was committing had been executed - thus his madness went on unchecked. In fact, his actions were one of the starting blocks of the emergence of the theocratic, inquisitional kingdom of Marignon and the magic-hating, secular kingdom of Ulm in that region.
Whilst the Ermorians themselves were growing complacent, discontent reared its ugly head in the lands of those they had conquered. Even the Pythians were plotting to separate themselves from the Holy Empire with the entirety of the Eastern Continent. To create an empire of their own. And the C'tissians... Had their own plans for the future.
Ermorians and those of the conquered lands came to call the events which ended in the quite literal destruction of the original Holy Empire as "The Fall". Most for different reasons than others, but nonetheless, it was almost universally called such.
The Ermorians themselves saw that the seeds of the Fall were planted when the first Thaumaturgs became interested in the dark arts of the C'tissian Sauromancers. That the Fall was, simply put, the final consequence of the folly of man, who thought he could mould the world in his own image. With hindsight on their side, they would think that the Fall was the logical end to the dabbling with forces the Thaumaturgs, no matter how powerful they thought they were, did not understand and could not, ultimately, wield.
But those they had conquered saw things quite differently, for from their point of view the Fall had started when dissent had begun to spread within the Eastern Continent, the Southern Central Peninsula, and what could be called the C'tissian swamplands. There had been what the Ermorian authorities called "violent demonstrations", especially in the peninsula, started by local citizenry against the Ermorian rule, or the "occupation". These had been quelled with swift and bloody military actions. The Pythians in the east, on the other hand, had been raising "private guards" and the likes. The Ermorian rulers of the region saw this as suspicious, but they chose not to force their most trusted allies under the boot of the Empire... Again. As they would see as time went on, this was indeed a bad choice.
Indeed, it is hard to pinpoint the exact moment where the Fall of the Empire had begun. In the end it is a matter of very low importance - but it is easy to say that it was an unfortunate chain of events which caused it.
Of course, the Thaumaturgs who had studied under the Sauromancers were most anxious as they came back home. They would finally be able to put their newly acquired magical skills to use, and, as they saw it, save the Empire from a looming destruction. While the citizenry of the Empire, the Thaumaturgs who had not gone with them and even the Senators who ruled the Empire had very little idea of what was to come, these Thaumaturgs who had learned the arts of death had seen the wars which would erupt sooner or later. They were certain that the Empire would be jeopardized unless they acted upon it.
And indeed, they did.
On that fateful night, a young Thaumaturg by the name of "Xirrath" and his peers, those who had learned the ways of the dark arts of death, set forth to finalize the great ritual they had been preparing for several months in absolute secrecy which, they thought, would bring eternal prosperity to the Empire. At least the C'tissians had claimed thus, and these Thaumaturgs had taken their words to heart without realizing that the C'tissian views on "prosperity" are quite different from those of men.
It was a warm summer night. The Sun was not visible, but it was still bright enough. The Moon's light reflected from the pale marble of which the great holy capital of Eldregate had been built from. Xirrath, excitedly, browsed through the pile of notes he had with him. Once he found the spot they were now in, he went through the items he had with him which would be required by the ritual. After a while he was convinced he was ready, and all he had to do now was to wait.
The capital's bells rang, marking that it was three in the morning, and he lit several candles. Then he started chanting ominously in an ancient, presumably dead language, just as five others in other locations within the great city did, all the while they were doing most intricate movements with their arms.
As they had continued this for half an hour or so and Xirrath was growing weary and tired of the entire deal, something began to happen.
First, there was a bright flash of blindingly white light, and they thought they had managed to, at least, contact the All-Father or some other higher deity of such kind.
But then all went dark.
All they could hear were maddening whispers they could not understand. All they could see was intense darkness. Soon, all they saw was green flames, and what they felt was not quite a burning sensation, but that of decay.
They had, in their folly, instead of creating a connection to the higher planes, found a magical method to connect this realm to the Underworld, giving Death free reign over the true Ermorian people.
If it hadn't been for the quick actions of the other Thaumaturgs, the Fall would have engulfed Ermor whole, and the dead would soon reign over the living. The Death Cult which would, from this point forward, control most ways of Ermorian life was formed quickly after the nearly avoided cataclysm. For the new religious cult, the Ermorians built a great temple beside that of the old temple which had been built for the Spheres, and it would be dubbed as the "Temple of the Dead". The Holy Empire had to embrace the unholy to keep Death at bay - and to keep itself, more or less, together.
As the dust finally settled in Eldregate and the original lands which had been Ermor "proper", the old Holy Empire which had been based on the most arcane magics had changed into an odd amalgamation of life and death. In addition to this, right after they had heard of what had happened in Eldregate, the Pythians had rebelled and formed their own empire of Pythium, claiming the entire Eastern Continent. Soon after, encouraged by the actions of the Pythians, the kingdoms of Marignon, which based itself on religious fanaticism and xenophobia, and of Ulm, the men who only believe in steel, had been formed. Even the lizardmen of C'tis had proclaimed that they had left the Holy Empire and claimed the entire northern peninsula of the Western Continent.
While the Holy Empire would retain its name, many would come to call it the "Broken Empire".
While the Holy Empire was busy reasserting its claim on what always had been its powerbase, the Western Continent - barring the northern and the southern peninsulas which connected it to the Eastern Continent -, the empire of Pythium on the Eastern Continent had been quite busy as well. When they had realized that they had new, quite hostile neighbors both across the northern and the southern paths to the Western Continent, which were much less actual paths than bridges connecting the two in continents, they chose to rebuild and strengthen the old Ermorian fortresses which still stood in those critical choke points.
The fortress to the north was technically already under their control, as after they had rid it of the Holy Empire's garrison there had been a few Theurgs keeping a watchful eye towards the west - while focusing much of their time towards their own projects - and it did sit on their side of the bridge. Although it was far less an actual fortress than just a combination of several watch towers the Ermorians had made to make sure the Pythians did not even think of waging war against the C'tissians (whom they loathed most profoundly) without having to walk through them first, it would work as a start for a more reinforced structure. They could see that the lizardmen had had the very same idea, as they seemed to be constructing something on their own side of the bridge.
The southern passage's fortress was on an especially critical location, as it was located right on the very island which connected the new kingdom of Ulm to the Eastern Continent. And unlike the watch towers to the north, this one actually was quite a well made fortress. They had been just a little late, though, as they came to find out that the said kingdom had already taken the fortress as its own. But through some persuasion, such as, assassinating their commanders through magical means and using phantasmals inventively, the Pythians managed to take this mighty Ermorian fortress from Ulm with minimum of bloodshed on their own part. The Pythians didn't know that the troops stationed on the fortress were fresh recruits, though, and that this would be the first - and the last - easy victory they would gain from them.
As the Pythians became confident enough that their grip on both land-ways to their continent was solid enough, they continued by creating several smallish armies made up of their most veteran troops. Although, as was the case with most Pythian troops, this only meant that they had quelled more rebellions by the peasantry than others. These armies would be commanded by several Theurgs. These armies would stay within the capital of the Pythian empire until needed, when they would, through the use of magic, deploy quickly where ever they might be needed. To make sure that these armies would indeed be fast enough, the Pythians built small outposts which were manned by inanimate constructs all across their long coasts.
Indeed, they knew that their enemies might come forth from the seas.
Not too long ago in the northern parts of the southern peninsula, the Ermorians had appeased the locals by letting them create something they called "the House of Just Fires" and to create their own priestly caste, thinking that they could be awarded for their loyality to the Holy Empire through this kind of recognition. And since the Pythians had their own clergy, magical studies, even law enforcement to some extent, they saw no problem with giving the same rights to others.
The clergy of these people, who had started calling themselves "the people of Marignon", at first, seemed to mostly turn out to being some kind of traveling monks, who taught the peasantry in the ways of the "One True Faith", literacy and brought them news from outside of their villages. The newly appointed Grand Master of the House of Just Fires seemed benign enough as well, and the Ermorians had no qualms with the choices of the people. Little did the Ermorians know that the House of Just Fires would turn out to be a training ground for witch hunters, and that the actual clergy of the people would turn into an Inquisitorial beast.
South of these Marignonians, there was a people who, while had remained relatively quiet, did not seem to have much love for the magic nor the faith of the Empire. This did not stop the local Ermorian rulers to let them build their own temples for their own god, nor did it stop these Ermorians from using the services of their great smiths. As was the case with the people of Marignon, they were given extensive rights, albeit somewhat slowly, to govern themselves, giving them semi-autonomy while the Empire seemed to be more and more concerned about its own lands in the west than those which seemed to be controllable by others.
While giving these people more and more freedom, the Empire failed to see the danger which it entailed.
Slowly, the Ermorian language which had been the official language of all the lands, which all officials were supposed to know how to speak fluently enough and as was the case with higher officials, read and write, began to be replaced by local ones. It was during this time that the first elected Grand Censor was killing people in the lands which had been come to be known as "Marignon", for seemingly no reason at all, which did only manage to add to the hate towards the Holy Empire all across the conquered lands.
Once the news of what seemed as though the fall of Eldregate and the formation of a new empire of Pythium reached the peninsula, the peoples there began rebellions of their own, separately and unaware of the fact that those who neighbored them were doing the exact same. The uprisings were swift and bloody, leaving thousands of men of the garrisons of the Holy Empire dead as well as scores of rebels lying on the blood drenched battlefields, charred with wild magics that had been applied during these battles.
The Empire's men had been attacked by well armed troops from the side of the rebellious factions, surprised by their level of organization and sheer strength. While the men of Marignon relied on the magic of fire and the justness of their cause, those of Ulm relied on brute strength and the quality of their weapons. Soon after these quick battles, the formation of the Kingdom of Marignon was declared, after which came the declaration of the formation of the Kingdom of Ulm.
Only days after defeating the Empire's legions, there were no obvious marks of the long Ermorian rule left standing in either of these new kingdoms.
As darkness engulfed Eldregate and the Empire was witnessing the great Fall, the Sauromancers of C'tis suddenly changed their ways without the knowledge of the others of their species, as they knew what this great change would mean, and what would be required of their species. For ages had they prudently practiced the magic of Death, but all had to change. In secrecy did they perform dark rituals in the revered tombs of ancient kings of the lizardmen, and bane fires were lit in braziers which had not been in use for ages. Ancient, long dead legendary kings would share the thrones of the kings of these turbulent times.
This transformation was, as they thought of it, the answer to the coming darkness. The amalgamation of life and death, where both are as meaningful - or meaningless - as the other, where the dead can freely walk among the living, and where the living can revere those who had passed on and heed the knowledge of generations past. Of course this meant also a great increase in their numbers militarily and their ability to wage war and even attempt to conquer the known world and to shape it into their liking was increased nearly a thousandfold, but this was simply a side effect of the final destination of the long and arduous path the C'tissians had walked.
Indeed - unlike the humans, the C'tissian lizardmen did not see the dead as convenient tools, but rather as equals. That was the great difference, and also one of the main reasons why humans could never succeed in this "transformation", whilst the lizardmen could. Humans were usually repulsed by the very thought of the dead - the C'tissians were not.
As the transformation slowly took place and the dead arose from the great, ornate, swampy crypts which had been built in their honor, the lizardmen announced their withdrawal from the Empire. They began reinforcing their side of the passage to the Eastern Continent as a precaution, and started rebuilding the age old fortresses on the eastern fringe of the Western Wastes, as they called them, in the hopes of keeping the likely incursions by the Holy Empire at bay.
While the C'tissians attempted to keep the news of their societal changes to themselves, it still managed to spread like wild fire, and soon the new C'tissian society was seen as an abomination upon the world by the humans. Everyone, from the lowliest Marignonian peasant to the highest echelons of the Pythian clergy, wanted them erased from the face of this Earth.
It is notable, though, that some C'tissian Sauromancers held true to their oaths to the Holy Empire, and were indeed pivotal in stopping the Fall, which the Sauromancers whom had begun the process within C'tis itself had feared would cause the Empire to fall to undeath in its entirety. These courageous Sauromancers were allowed to remain in the capital, while the Sauromancers who had come with the Thaumaturgs which had caused the cataclysm and had, indeed, taught them what they knew, were exiled.
On the other hand, the corpses of the Thaumaturgs were never found, so it was likely that they still were alive, but in hiding.
When first news of the withdrawal of the people of Pythium from the Empire reached Eldregate, only days after the great Fall which almost destroyed all life in the known world, the High Thaumaturgs of the Holy Empire, whom now were in the process of creating the so called Cult of Death whilst having some of the lesser Thaumaturgs continue the rituals which they had begun to appease Death itself, declared the need for swift military actions all across the lands the Holy Empire still remain in control of, to restore order and to stop even further rebellion and death.
They forced the Senate to act by blatant blackmail - for if the Senate would not order the living legions to march forth and the reinforcement of the already present Ermorian legions in the Western Continent, the Thaumaturgs would bring forth the growing legions of undead to the fray and restore order on its own, striking a decisive blow to the authority of the Senate, sidelining it forever. Of course, this was something the Senators did not want to happen, and in record time was it decreed that the Legions of the Holy Empire would be sent to bring forth law and order to the Western Continent, and that the institution of Censors would be reinstated there.
And so was done. Although, luckily enough, the Marignonians nor the C'tissians had had time to invade these Ermorian holdings, so they were "retaken" without bloodshed, if one does not count brigands and the sorts which had to be found and executed. Not to mention some monks from Marignon who had come there to preach their own strange faith, whom had been hidden by some converts... But there always were informants. These monks and those they had managed to turn to their faith were all publicly beheaded, as a show to all that treason was not taken lightly.
As the leaders of the Ermorian legions found out as they continued to march deeper into the Western Continent, the garrisons in the Western Continent had successfully quelled all the rebellions which had taken place in there, while they had not managed to quell the attempts of certain groups to bring their faiths into the lands.
While this meant that the Holy Empire could not stop the new national entities from asserting their own claims, at least it would still retain a massive portion of its most critical areas. The Empire had mostly received tax revenues from the practically autonomous parts which now had taken control of their entire areas, some resources and many magical gems which had been stored for later use into Ermorian fortresses in the Western Continent, for the Thaumaturgs. The Western Continent, on the other hand, contained the vast farms, lakes with fresh water and even mines from which Ermor got what it needed for its weaponry and the like, all of which had always kept the Ermorian side of the Empire afloat. Also, it was the side the Empire had had almost complete control of back in the days of its global conquest.
As each country raced to claim and take control of the lands they had chosen for themselves, an uneasy peace existed between the factions. Constant border skirmishes were an immutable fact of life on all border regions, with the bloodiest ones taking place in the borderlands of Ulm and Marignon - but no wars had been declared, nor did the skimishes ever end in losses of land, only lives. While the zealots of Marignon had no love for the undead which the Holy Empire now utilized and wished for the swift end of Ermor, they did not dare to face the Empire in an open, all-out war.
But, as it were, the Holy Empire did not see the current situation as a viable option. The Ermorian people yearned for what they had lost - total control over the Continents. This wasn't simply because they had grown accustomed of their high status among the peoples of the Continents. Indeed, while the Thaumaturgs of the Cult of Death kept the Empire from slipping into the world beyond, it did not change the fact that life had to go on.
The new kingdoms, as well as the Pythian empire, had imposed unfairly high tariffs to goods which had to pass through their lands, or were bought from within the very same lands. Trade had become immensely difficult, and the only method of doing thus profitably - even at the risk of losing your own life - was through illegal forms of transportation. While the Empire managed to arm its vast legions, clothe them and feed them as well as its entire populace, it was the goods which could be considered luxury the people from Eldregate and other major cities had grown so accustomed to which these tariffs especially hit. Of course, this also worked to two ways - there were certain items which grew and were made within the Western Continent which were considered luxuries in the east.
And so, a great conference was held in Eldregate, with delegations from each kingdom and empire, to deal with these issues. The Holy Empire had high hopes for the conference, with the most optimistic of their people even dreaming of a full integration of the Empire, no matter how unlikely that was at this point.
And so, from Marignon, came an Inquisitor wearing the black robes which were customary of their kind, accompanied by several Witch Hunters, fresh from the House of Just Fires. Ulm graced this conference with one of its Black Lords, leaders of the Black Knights of the Black Order of Ulm, wearing their customary full plate armor made of black steel. Pythium had sent one of its Arch Theurgs with two lesser Theurgs, wearing their ornate, light yellow robes. And then, finally, as an insult, as the others saw it, the C'tissian lizardmen sent a Sauromancer with two Tomb Priests. No one listened to what they thought amounted to excuses - that C'tis had to finally change its ways in the wake of the Ermorian perversion of the arts they held sacred. From Ermor itself, present were a single High Thaumaturg and several lower ranking Thaumaturgs.
As for the conference itself, it amounted to almost nothing for the part of the Holy Empire, although, finally, they found out where the insurgents stood in relation to it. The Pythians, Marignonians and the Ulmians seemed to agree to lower the tariffs between each other, they left the Holy Empire and the C'tissians out of this agreement. The fanatically religious delegation from Marignon went as far as to call Ermor an abomination, an evil empire, that was only tolerated because of its historical importance. While the delegations from Ulm and Pythium did not verbally approve of this, they did not deny that this view differed from theirs in any way either when asked.
The conference concluded in a proclamation by the slightly angered High Thaumaturg, that the Holy Empire would not tolerate belligerence from its subjects, and that they would be dealt with accordingly. The Empire had respected the wishes of the conquered peoples, and what they got in return was utter contempt. It was then that the Inquisitor lashed out, and it finally came to the Holy Empire's attention that the first (and last) Grand Censor of the Empire had been a ruthless monster. Not too much later on, there were major changes done to the Ermorian judicial system, reducing the power of the Censors and the creation of new positions and so forth.
But, as it were, this conference did not help to alleviate the differences between the Holy Empire and its former subjects - quite the opposite.
It could only end in bloodshed.
The initial invasion of the southern peninsula began only days after the conference, due to the fact that the Empire had been preparing for such an assault well before their final attempt at diplomacy. Many Ermorian legions had been stationed at the border between the two nations, although through the usage of spells like the Gateway, Astral Travel and Stygian Paths they would bring further legions, both dead and living, straight into the lands of Marignon - a detail the people of Marignon would pay dearly for.
What the inquisitors of Marignon had not realized was that, while there was a major attack through the land route which connected the peninsula to the rest of the continent, and while the Marignonians made the Empire pay dearly for every inch of space they took there, the undead could with some ease walk across the depths of the sea which was right in between Eldregate and Marignon itself. Nor had they realized what kind of magic did the Empire had at its disposal, as many legions simply appeared all over the lands of Marignon, dealing a swift and devastating blow to the welfare of the Marignonian state.
The beginning of this war was notable for its speed and brutality.
Marignon was horribly outnumbered. Every lost member of their military soon rose back up to fight their former comrades, causing them to hate the invaders from Ermor even more. Their fortresses were besieged by undead legions, while the great majority of the Ermorian legions simply passed them. No supplies could be brought in, which effectively made these fortresses death traps. They knew they were losing the war, and they had been requesting help from Ulm from the very beginning. Where they had time, as they retreated, they burned many villages, farms and the likes, often burning those who lived there with their homes, so that the Holy Empire could get as little as possible out of Marignon - a practice the Ermorians regarded as barbaric. It only managed to fuel their desire to subjugate the entirety of the kingdom.
And if it hadn't been for the kingdom of Ulm which declared war and attacked the Ermorian legions which had continued their march ever deeper into Marignon, they very well could have done so. But as Ulm opened another front, the war in Marignon slowed down drastically, as many Ermorian legions were now needed elsewhere. While the Ermorian legions continued to advance even in Marignon, the forces of Marignon finally began to have time to actually regroup and form actual defenses against the incoming tide of the Holy Empire.
As fighting had finally erupted and the legions of the Empire were on the march once more, the war for domination had begun. And the Empire held the upper hand.
"The war is certainly going in our favor," said the Praetor whom had been the commanding general of the Ermorian legions so far, explaining the situation to the High Thaumaturg who had been chosen to be sent forth to the battlefields of Marignon by his peers. It was rather obvious that both would prefer being anywhere but there, but it was their duty to heed the call.
A map of the great Continents of Ermor, as the Empire had called them, rested on a wooden table (of shoddy quality) next to the two. There were two others in the rather cramped, quickly raised tent which stood on a staging ground of sorts, where the reinforcements from the Holy Empire came to, but it indeed could have been worse.
At least nothing was falling on them.
"Whilst the surprise attacks by the traitorous kingdom of Ulm did indeed manage to slow our advance into Marignon," he pointed at some red figurines which denoted the locations where these had taken place on the map, "We heard of them quickly enough to deploy some of the reserves which were stationed here and managed to stop a major disaster. We've also put some of the legions which were marching for Marignon to the front with Ulm."
He paused momentarily and took off the red figurines from the map.
"This is what we have done so far."
He placed new, blue figurines on the map. But they were more numerous and covered the entire border with Ulm, and some were placed to come forth from the seas which surrounded the kingdom, denoting undead legions.
"We decided to invade Ulm from both land and the sea, to maximize their losses in as short a period of time as possible - the same that was done with Marignon. The undead were to cut the supply lines of their forts and men defending the border."
He paused again, looking at the map for a little while.
"And this is where we are now."
He started moving the little blue figurines into Ulm, quite deep as well when you think how little a time they have been on it.
"As you can see, the living legions have already gone past the undead, and we have placed, like in Marignon, some of the undead to besiege the fortresses. We do expect things to slow down as we get closer to Ulm as we begin running more into the Black Order, but... So far things have gone better than we thought possible."
"Hmm," replied the High Thaumaturg, "Yes... It has gone too well. From the looks of it we have not run into any major armies of the kingdom of Ulm. And I have heard that they have armies which are only surpassed by us and Pythium in sheer numbers, not to mention that the Ulmians have always been the strongest people in the entire Empire..."
"Yes," responded the Praetor, "as I said, we expect a slowdown sooner than later."
The Thaumaturg nodded.
"So, what about our progress in Marignon? How far are we exactly."
The Praetor started placing figurines on the map again. First blue to denote the Empire's own legions, and then red to denote the armies of Marignon.
"We have advaced about this far. Now we have started to run to what we think is the bulk of their combined armies, and the advancement has come to a near halt. We have still won every major skirmish, and the zealots have not managed to break through. Our grip on their lands is tightening, and there is very little they can do about it."
"And how are the peasants reacting to all this?"
"In Marignon, those that have survived their fleeing army burning and pillaging whatever they could, have been mostly content with the switch in the rule so far. No love is lost on them, especially after this stunt. I think they know they cannot win, so... They think that if they cannot have it, we cannot have it, either."
"And in Ulm?"
"Well... That is a slightly more complicated an issue. The people of Marignon have, generally, spoken the same language as we have, and are mostly of the same stock as we are and so forth, but the people of Ulm are not. They never really liked us to begin with, ever since we conquered their tribes. So far there have not been any major problems with the local citizenry of the lands we have taken from Ulm, but there is a lot of tension."
"So, it is an explosive situation," said the High Thaumaturg.
"Indeed. We have increased the militias and left some legions to patrol the countryside, but there is not much we can do until they actually begin an open rebellion."
The High Thaumaturg nodded, and their conversation went on for quite some time longer, as the Praetor briefed the Thaumaturg on issues with the legions and so forth.
(OOC: Now this thread is starting to turn to a more roleplayish form from the story form, so if anyone's reading this and cares enough, they can take part in it in some form. This is thousands of years in the past kind of deal, so I won't allow Sci-Fi, but mercenaries and the sort contacting whichever side works. I might go back to a story form if it turns out that there's no one willing to take part in the thing, but that's something for the (possible) future.
TGing me with details of what you're going to do would be preferred.)
In one of the lookout towers of the fortress on the border of Ulm and Pythium, a lone Pythian Theurg sat on a wooden chair he had brought there with him, looking into the horizon, deep in idle, trivial thought. Cold wind came from the southern sea. It was late Autumn, and the season was slowly turning to winter on the southern hemisphere. Or at least, what could be considered the southern hemisphere.
And he thought if they would get snow this year. They were rather south, after all. Close to the sea and such. He hadn't seen snow in years. It was high noon, so visibility was high, and he could see some military encampments on the side of Ulm in the distance.
He had come to notice, that, ever since they had started their war against the old Holy Empire, the armies the kingdom kept on the border with Pythium had grown smaller and smaller. Obviously they did not think it a possibility that the empire on the Eastern Continent would strike against them. After all, the Pythian peoples had stayed out of most of the wars in the past between the people who had resided in the general location of Marignon and the tribes of Ulm had fought for the land and resources of the peninsula.
He noticed footsteps coming from down below as he continued watching the horizon - someone was coming to the tower.
"Yes?", he asked, without turning his face.
"Have you heard the latest on the war?", was the reply of the person who had come up the stairs to his little observantion tower.
The Theurg turned his head towards the newcomer. He had recognized the voice.
It was one of the other Theurgs who were stationed in the fortress, a man a few years younger than him, so he had some kind of seniority.
Then, he turned his face back towards whatever he had been watching.
"What about it?", he asked boredly, his face to the opposite direction of the other Theurg, who obviously took some offense of his behavior.
The other Theurg took a few steps closer to him, and then he started talking.
"It is getting more obvious that Marignon and Ulm are not going to hold for very long, and that the Ermorians are not going to settle with simply striking down the new kingdoms as some kind of an example."
He crept a little bit closer, and whispered: "I just heard that they are planning some kind of covert actions against the Broken Empire back home," after which he took a few steps backwards.
"They are, hmm?," said the sitting Theurg, shrugging. "They are late."
The second Theurg nodded, and replied, "Indeed they are, but better late than never, one would think."
"Yes, yes... You are right. And I guess it does beat doing nothing and waiting for the Broken Empire to come here and repair what was broken."
Again, the second Theurg nodded, and said, "Yes. Indeed it does..."
As he realized that he wouldn't get much out of the elder Theurg, he chose to leave him be and go back to his research.
A million things were racing through his mind as he ran in the old and gigantic woods of Ulm, routed after the failed defense of the borders of the kingdom, fleeing from the ever growing flood of the undying. All of his comrades had risen to fight those who still lived, only expanding the already bloated legions of the enemy. The makeshift barricades they had quickly built in between the border of Marignon and Ulm were not even close enough to stop them.
But it was not the numbers of the enemy which had been the most horrid part of the battle. No. It was the smell of decaying human flesh, the sight of walking corpses with their intestines dangling on the outside with some of them falling onto the ground, smashed brains showing from beneath their crushed skulls, sometimes brain matter dropping to the ground as they marched forward. The dead and the dying attracted many kinds of creatures, insectoid and mammalian in nature, only feeding the ever growing legions of the dead as they sped up death's victory over life in those who were not yet dead.
As he continued to run, blood flowed without end from cuts all over his body, but they had not been fatal - and the amount of blood lost wasn't quite as bad as he thought. He was too hyped up by adrenalin to even feel the pain. His armor was broken up so it was closer to clothing than armoring. He had no weapons as he had left them on the battlefield. But at least he hadn't given his body for the undead legions.
It could have been worse.
Although, fleeing from battle was almost the worst thing a member of the Black Order could do. If he would run into patrolling troops of Ulm, he would be as good as dead. If he wasn't summarily executed, he would be tried and then executed. Or, if he'd be lucky, just imprisoned for many years. Or maybe, if he can hold out enough, they might be desperate enough and place him back into the military. Hopefully not in a front-line duty, though.
Or maybe the Broken Empire has beaten the entire kingdom by the time he's caught up with. Who knows. As long as he was alive, the future was indeed brighter than it would have been if he had stayed true to the doctrines of the Black Order.
((OOC: This thread ended here.))