NationStates Jolt Archive

As dawn broke over the Plains of the Moon, observers on the coast-line of the fledgling nation of Nekro-Salaam couldn't believe what they saw. Dozens of warships two miles off their coast bearing an unknown flag, and a single LC heading towards the beach.

As the craft landed and the fifty or so soldiers of this unknown nation disembarked, Phil Sheridan had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nekro-Salaam was a scarce two-months old, newly formed after years of anarchy and chaos following the defeat and break-up of the Empire of Koth.

He knew that here were lands across the Sea of Janus, but they were unknown lands, perpetually hidden by sea-mists and fog. As the soldiers moved closer to the outposts, Sheridan could see that these were no ordinary soldiers.

Fully seven feet tall, clad entirely in black body armor, they were led by what appeared to be a very large animal. It was almost ten feet tall, and completely covered by thick brown hair....fur, to be more exact. It carried a notched and bloodied battle-axe in one hand, and an automatic rifle in the other.

The creature held up a hand, and the platoon halted. It took a long look at the outpost and started to move forward when a burst of machine-gun fire tore up the sand just inches from his feet. It halted again, and Sgt. Stedenko of the 1st Coastal Battalion of Nekro-Salaam bellowed out a warning. "Come no closer. State your name and your business here. You are illegally tresspassing on sovereign Nekronian soil. You have ten seconds." As he looked at his watch, Stedenko heard the creature address him in an almost unintelligable, gutteral language. A language that he recognized as a variant of ancient Kothian.

"I am Marph, commander of this platoon. I have been sent by his Majesty Azulun, King of Osatael, Barbaranossa, and Magogg and High Lord of the region of The Pagan Borderlands. His message to you is simple: surrender or die. His Majesty needs these lands as a staging ground for a future invasion of lands to the south. What is your reply?"

Stedenko moved cautiously towards the creature. It was obvious that it was not human. Hugely muscled, it's feral eyes gazed back at him with murderous intent, it's two-inch fangs glistening in the morning sun. Stedenko stopped short, realizing with increasing alarm that he was looking at a were-wolf, one of the fearsome denizens of the Kothite Empire. "I thought all of you were-creatures were dead," he said. "Where'd you came from?"

In answer, the creature pointed off to the northeast. "There are millions more in the army of Azulun, waiting to conquer in his name," it growled. "Enough talk. Will you turn your nation over to me, or will you die?"

Stedenko laughed. "You really expect me to just let you take my country? Just try it."

Marph tapped his commpin. "Commence" was all he said. In seconds, hundreds of landing craft began moving towards the beach. Stedenko opened his mouth to warn the others at the outpost.......and died as Marph's talons ripped through his chest and neck.............

_________________________________________________________________

Mere days later, the victorious armies of Azulun swarmed over the nation of Nekro-Salaam, putting all resistence to death and occupying the country. Azulun himself set foot on his new aquisition one week after the invasion commenced. He looked with disdain at the battered and bloody leaders of Nekro-Salaam, trussed up like sheep waiting for slaughter. "I hereby declare your pathetic nation annexed by the region of The Pagan Borderlands." He motioned to the guards, who promptly slit the throats of the nobles kneeling before him. He then turned and gazed in the direction of the region of Mythos. 'Mock me, will you?', he thought. He turned to his commanders. "Make sure all of our forces are landed, and send for reinforcements. I want that miserable region to know that we are ready to make them pay for their actions." The commanders saluted, and made ready the Mythos Invasion Force (MIF).

One month later, all was in place.................................................

OOC: mind If i get involved?

OOC: mind If i get involved?

ooc: sure, if you want. but just be aware that this is just a precursor to a much bigger thread coming up in the next couple of days. it's going to ultimately involve a lot of nations and alliances.

see thread "Angelianum seeks allies"

OOC: fine by me... I'm not a nation and am in only one alliance. But I'll wait to hear from the thread starter.

Praetor Khilgau, Lord of the Legions of the Dead, gave a short bow to Azulun, and took a long look at the self-proclaimed ruler of The Pagan Borderlands. He was shorter than Khilgau, but not by much. Heavily muscled, clad in rotted and tattered leather, matted, filthy hair hanging down to his waist, arms and legs coated with the dried blood and flesh of his enemies, he looked less a king than a vicious and depraved animal. But Khilgau knew of Azulun.

He ran through a short memory of what he had been told about this vampire-king. A general in the armies of Vhammpyr, he had rebelled against Alaric of Xeraph along with several other nations of the Xeraphain Empire, had laid Northern Sushi waste, and attacked Comatica, almost over-running the huge nation. In the process, he had arranged the deaths of millions of Coalition citizens with his coordinated chem/bio attacks on a half-dozen Coalition nations, Xeraph itself included. AT last, however, he had been routed, but escaped and formed another alliance, the Essenian Dynasty, which had once again attacked the nations of the Xeraphian Empire and it's allies. Defeated yet again, and escaping once more, Azulun had been in hiding, licking his wounds and awaiting another chance to rid the world of Xeraph and it's allies.

While he was regaining his strength, he overcame the rulers of several nations of the Pagan Borderlands and declared himself King of these nations and Lord of the region. With his recent conquest of Nekro-Salaam, he was now poised to invade the region of Mythos, ostensibly because one of he nations there, Wiccan Shadows, had "illegally" left TPB to settle in Mythos.

"M'lord Azulun, all is ready to invade Wiccan Shadows. We await your orders."

It was Azulun's turn to gaze at Khilgau. About six inches taller than Azulun, Khilgau wore nothing but a loincloth. His golden-reddish "skin" was actually scaly in appearence. His muscles rippled with obvious power and strength. His cat-eyes held Azulun's glare without blinking. But it was the "angels" wings that held Azulun's attention.

Massive, red and white leathery feathers made up the majority of Khilgau's wings. When fully extended in flight, they spanned a length of over 25 feet.

"Very well, my good Khilgau. Are your people ready to aid me in my quest?"

"Yes, m'lord. Three hundred thirty thousand of my people are available to take off at your word. The other peoples of our region also are ready."

"Good, you may go. I will let you know when to commence."

Khilgau bowed again, turned and left the trash-filled throne room.

Soon....soon....

It had been many decades since Chelered had been so.....disquieted. Angelianum was a "nation" where very little occured. The "citizens" of Angelianum had few needs, those needs being provided by raiding the human settlements up in the mountains. The humans reproduced just enough to continuously feed the beings of Angelianum, and what shelter they needed was provided by the many caves and tunnel-like systems throughout the countryside.

Though Angelianum was recognized as an organized entity, it meant nothing to the Chief Ruler. Kzarr Chelered recalled the day, ages ago, when the simple decision had been made to move the tribes from one planet to another. Terra had been chosen from the myriad planets available, and the territory dubbed 'Angelanium' by the backward inhabitants of the land had somehow stuck.

In truth, they were angels. Cast forth from the presence of YWHW with the other two tribes who had rebelled against The One. Those known as Arkhangel Gabriellus and The Celestial Fallen had been arriving for centuries as more and more tribesmen joined Sathanis, now known as 'The One's Enemy'. The rulers of these two tribal groups had yet to make themselves known, but as with all things eternal, there was time.

The Kzarr wondered at the tangled web of events had led to this moment. The tribes and clans of Angelianum were poised to attack and overcome another puny human settlement called Wiccan Shadows.

Stupid humans. Little did they realize that what they called 'magic' and 'sorcery' was nothing more than his people doing what they do best.....create confusion and deception which led to human suffering and misery.

Apparently, this Wiccan Shadows had been part of another human settlement called the Pagan Borderlands, but had departed when the vampire-king Azulun arrived on the scene. Curious creatures, these vampires. Not quite human, they seemed to exist solely to war against the human race. Their ultimate aim was domination of the planet Terra, with humans as their slaves and as their food. It had happened once before, eons ago, when the blood-thirsty sorceror-kings of the ancient empire of Acheron ruled the world. For three thousand years, the vampires ruled. The unimaginable misery and deprivation of the human race was still whispered about in the Halls of the Dead, where lie the remains of the last great vampire-kings of Acheron. Remains who would one day, according to legend, be resurrected to go forth and conquer the earth once more.

At any rate, Azulun had convinced Chelered that this upstart bunch of Wiccans needed to be taught a lesson. Chelered said nothing, but was inwardly amused that Azulun thought that he had swayed the Chief Ruler with his reasonings. In actuality, Chelered simply decided that his tribesmen needed some amusement, and so agreed to aid the vampire in it's quest for world domination. And so, any time now, the Wiccans would be destroyed along with anyone in Azulun's way, and a very big war would eventually commence as the humans chose sides, death, horror, and the grave being the ultimate result.

Again Chelered chuckled. These humans would never learn...................

Sylvia watched events unfold with increasing apprehension. Azulun had swiftly conquered the small country of Nekro-Salaam and was set to invade Mythos, supposedly to force Wiccan Shadows to return to the Pagan Borderlands. She had sworn to resist to the death any such eventuality....which was what was probably going to happen. The Shadows had several allies who would aid them in their defense, but they were, with one exception, small nations whose combined strength was insufficient to combat the armies of Azulun. The only one who could really help was Xeraph, but she had not had a response to her appeal for aid from them. And time was running out.

She had her protection spells in place, bolstered by the Dangari spirit-wards. Normally, these defenses would be more than adequate for any human attack against her people.

But humans were the least of her worries now.

Azulun had somehow convinced the isolated and normally uninvolved Unleashed Spirits to join him in attacking Wiccan Shadows. She had very little in her arsenal of magic that would hold them at bay for very long. They would eventually wash over the nation of 1.5 billion inhabitants in a wave of horror and suffering not seen anywhere on earth for ages.

She clasped and unclasped her hands, growing more fretful by the minute.

Where was Xeraph? Where was Alaric?

A lone angel hovered high up in the sky over the central plains of Wiccan Shadows. It took a few minutes, but the inhabitants of the peaceful nation were soon aware of it's presence. As they held hands up over their eyes to catch a better glimpse, the angel spoke, a warm and soothing voice somehow heard by all.

"People of Wiccan Shadows. I am Saphrael, messenger of Kzarr Chelered, chief ruler of Angelianum. I have been sent as a final warning to you. You face annihilation and slavery if you do not return to the lands from whence you came. There are force arrayed against you that will have no mercy in dealing with you. For your own sakes, go back. You have no future otherwise. I am the last warning you will receive before the Unleashed Spirits and the Hordes of Azulun come against you. Do not be foolish enough to think you can stand against them. You have been warned."

The angel floated for another few seconds, then with astonishing speed flew off towards the north....................

The Emperor was relaxing with a cold Bass Ale when his commscreen beeped. 'This had better be good', he thought. "Yes, Sue, what is it?"
Sue was his long-time secretary and confident. She'd been with him for many years and knew him like the back of her hand. She knew that he'd want to be notified of this little item.

"Alaric, we've got a situation. Ever hear of Nekro-Salaam?"

"No...do tell."

"A new nation evolved from your old pals the Kothites. They were seemingly minding their own business when another buddy of yours over-ran them and set himself up to invade a region called Mythos."

"Buddy?"

"Alaric....it's Azulun. He's killed several leaders of the nations of the Pagan Borderlands and has allied himself with Ur-Mesop."

She now had his full attention. "Complete report, Sue. All of it. Now." As he read the reports and the request for aid from Lady Sylvia, he mind raced back to the war with the B/G Imperium and the Essenians. "Sue, two immediate things. Get hold of all of our Imperial heads of state and inform them of the situation. Then tell Lady Sylvia that we're on our way. I just hope we're not too late."

He punched in the code for Immediate Mass Mobilization and across the Empire generals and commanders scrambled to get their troops in order. This had happened only twice before in the Empire's history, so it must be serious.

Alaric sat back for a minute to gather his thoughts. That bastard Azulun was back. Alaric swore that this time he would not get away................

:p Helluva opening there... If you need any more participants...Let me know...I'll throw my paltry forces into the fray as a defensive screen?

Remember I have a "Vested" interest in anything Kothian... My Character was an Officer in the VL Forces involved...

:p Helluva opening there... If you need any more participants...Let me know...I'll throw my paltry forces into the fray as a defensive screen?

Remember I have a "Vested" interest in anything Kothian... My Character was an Officer in the VL Forces involved...


ooc: consider yourself a main participant. I'll send you a TG with some particulars....

Bump

bump

bump

Occ: I am in if you need help I can start my nations mobilization here so I can be ready for the "Big Event".

Occ: I am in if you need help I can start my nations mobilization here so I can be ready for the "Big Event".


Here, or if you want to wait a day or so. The 'Big Event' is going to commence Saturday nite, but I'm going to kick things off in the 'IC' thread by Thursday. Just a bit more background, troop deployments, etc. No fighting. What I have planned for the opener is a killer.......heh.

Sitting in a high-backed leather chair. Alejandro watched as the room filled with advisors of every type… The room was a smoky haze filled room. The room reeked of sweat & fear. Everyone running around compiling data… Voices ringing out calling for updates, Several Officers in a heated argument over who, what, where & why
With his fingers steeped…. He leaned forward an spoke in a low voice… “Initiate the Operation: Burning Sky Protocols”
The words hung in the air as the room went deathly silent… Everyone standing around with shocked looks on their ashen faces
Quietly one voice in the back spoke up… “Highness is that extreme response called for?”

As if by magic, the crowd separated giving Alejandro an unobstructed view of the speaker.
Standing there trembling, The Major looked frightened as Alejandro stood
“Major Hassan is it?... Yes it is…Only twice in my lifetime has Xeraph EVER been this focused on one region solely… The Kothian War & in years recent the immediate threat from Azulan… Once again we are monitoring Xeraph assets being recalled & their ENTIRE Intelligence Division all but solely focused on the area known as the Pagan Borderlands… The same region that Azulan was last reported in!”

As of now, I want all Divisions on active alerts… All leaves are recalled…Notify the Centrus Fleets & Order them to report to their home ports… Notify them of the issued Protocol

General Hawkins… My Son’s cadet unit is scheduled for a tour of the Old VL lands… With a stop at Fort Wagner the former base shared by VL & Xeraph years ago… I want the 1st Legion & the 3rd & 7th Cohorts attached, Discretely mind you….
The rest of the military is ordered to assume Case: Timberline Deployments…

Admiral Davis… I want the 4th Naval Task Force mobilized & deployed to patrol routes along the Xeraphian, Pagan Borderland Area.
The rest of the fleets are ordered to Case: Sierra Deployments…