Enter the Unholy

This is a report that I recently received from one of the few poor souls who escaped from the advance of the Undying:

Screams, pleas for mercy, and the gurgling death knells of the dying echoed throughout the burning village.

The blazing buildings with the living barred inside backlit the the throng assembled on the village green. Hundreds of vaguely humanoid shapes coalesced into a wall of shadow, watching with cold, empty eyes; the aftermath of the slaughter they'd enacted.

They stood before the village's shrine, mouthing silent profanities to their nameless dark benefactor. Upon the shrine's altar, an elderly bearded man lay bound and whimpering. Grisly runes carved into his chest wept, glinting occasionally from either the fires or fell sorcery...one could not tell.
A horn sounded. It's blast trumpeting thrice to herald the arrival of one of The Undying's dreaded generals, a Death Knight.

They were unwholesome men and women who were neither truly dead nor totally alive but, somewhere in betwixt. Unholy rituals and black pledges to unnamed evils allowed them to cheat the grave...and return stronger than ever.

The assembly parted to reveal three riders on skeletal steeds with eyes of blue-black flame. Their hooves singed the earth where the stood. Their caustic touch marking them unnatural beasts. Of the riders, two were immense beings clad in blackened plate, a greatsword slung across their saddles. One held a banner; a field of divided red & black. It's device a crowned skull.

Oddly, the third rider stood out. Smaller than the others. Thick of limb and clad in light armor. A strange mask made from basalt stone adorned his face. It too was shaped like a crowned skull and hid his pallid features.

He dismounted and then strode to the huddled man on the altar. The old man struggled against his restraints to no avail. Garbled pleas spewed from his mouth as the Death Knight's gauntleted hand reach toward him.

He shrieked, stiffened, eyes wide in terror.

"Thy lifeforce is mine, alderman." said the stout Death Knight nonchalantly.

At the alderman's drained husk rolled off the altar to the ground. Wispy tendrils of green hued smoke curled from the corpse's facial orifices. The Death Knight turned on a heel and walked back toward his steed.

"Plant the banner at the altar, let it mark the fates of any whom would dare oppose us," ordered the stout Death Knight to his companions, "They will know the name of Ekthor Ebonflame before the turning of the moons!"

Flicking the reins of the hellsteed, Ekthor, set off to the next village on the island...the Undying horde following not far behind.

I remember the name of Ekthor. He was one of those who followed Chaplain Hawthorne when he left the Wardens and founded the Witch Fynders. How did he come to lead the vanguard of the Undying?

OOC Game Notes

• This story is part of the background for our upcoming HFS day. I'm calling it the Holy War because it will feature the Wardens vs. the Undying.
• Robb Rodgers (aka Xhorja) penned the above story. He will be playing Ekthor so he took it upon himself to come up with a backstory. Nicely done!

Battle of Cul Cullach's Fangs

After returning to Ember Shoals, the Witch Fynders launched a war against the Moonborn, a tribe of werebeasts that once freely roamed the islands. The Moonborn were long-ago allies of the Druids, whose artifacts hold the hope of freeing the Shoals from the grasp of the Faedwyr. Alas, the Witch Fynders only saw them as abominations and set out to exterminate them.

Lately, Chaplain Hawthorne learned that the Moonborn were resettling Cul Cullach's Fangs, a long abandoned ring fort in the foothills of the Jagged Peaks. The Fangs are a place of spiritual significance & great power. Hawthorne could not allow the Moonborn to reclaim the Fangs so he gathered the Witch Fynders to march upon the fort.

A Witch Fynder

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/witch-hunter-omnibus_125.jpg

Another power has grown interested in the Fangs. The Undying, an army of undead led by the vampire lord Vicomte De Sangre, also covet the power of the ring fort. They too advanced on the Fangs.

The Undying
From https://tatarskiskandal.deviantart.com/art/Undead-King-43347978

Recently, the three armies clashed at the Fangs.

A few days ago, I Rufus was inspecting the ongoing construction at Freehaven when a messenger approached. I recognized him - Brother Simon, one of those former Wardens who joined with Hawthorne. Here is his account:

Our army approached the Fangs from the south. Hovering over the fort was a large bird; it began flinging missiles at us. We let fly with our pistols and charged the fort, only to run into a troll. The beast lay about, striking many of our number dead while a wererat caught us in a crossfire. Nevertheless, we were able to clear the abominations from the fort and secure control. But then the Undying attacked. Led by a vampire lord, this undead army routed us from the fort.

We advanced again, this time fighting against the Undying and the werecreatures. We would gain a temporary foothold, only to be scattered again. Sometimes, we were able to take advantage of the clashes between the Undying and the werecreatures to make a sortie, but our prayers were not sufficient, and we were driven back. Finally, the vampire lord led an assault that scattered both us and the moonborn. Both our armies fled, leaving the Undying in control of the Fangs.

Brother Simon then accused the Wardens of causing their defeat! Our "apostasy" had caused God to look unfavorably upon them. Only repentance, in the form of reinforcements, could alleviate the situation. I must say that it was an interesting way to beg for aid!

One thing struck me as odd, however. I asked " Did you say that the Undying and werecreatures fought each other?" Brother Simon affirmed his statement, which got me thinking. Why are the forces of evil fighting one another? This brought to mind a passage from the Book of Matthew "“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." This could be an opportunity. Or perhaps we misunderstand one of the factions. I would need to investigate.

OOC Notes

• The above account is my recollections from the Ember Shoals midreign last week.
• Robb created the 3 factions and encouraged us to dress as a monster. For this week only, we could play any monster. I, however, chose to play a witch hunter!
• Beast led the Undying army as the vampire lord. Ferrum and Orion were his undead cohort. Ferrum was particularly deadly with his sphere of annihilation! Artemis was the werebird (with nicely done garb!) and Cherry Picker was a wererat. They were joined by a troll, a visitor from Morohaven. Robb, Brutus from Morohaven, and I were the Witch Hunters.
• The scenario was essentially capture the hill, with the hill marked out by rope.