The Grey Death - AoS Report Ep 2.

Guest Written by Mihai Dan Popescu


The Grey Death

Liege Axitof watched the lands ahead. The humans were gathering to try to stop the advance of the mighty legions of Ossiarch. He looked at his troops. Maybe less than half the number of the enemy… but his troops had a fire burning in their chests. Quite literally. Axitof would have chuckled… But there was no one around him to appreciate such a gesture. The guards with their faces stocked in mockery, defiance or demented grins were nothing more than extensions of his own will. There seemed to be a flicker behind their eyes, but it was just the fire of the Crematorians.

The plan was simple. Hit the enemy, drag him down. Once decimated and routed, push enough troops behind the enemy line to lay waste to their encampment. He had the confidence that this was a simple task. His 40 mortek guards were not only able to deal death to the enemy, but also soak up most of what the enemy would be able to throw at them. Two mortisians were also here to help with the survival of his army. And in case a guard would fall, he would be able to take down the enemy with him in an explosion of bone-shrapnel.

He gave the order and with a furious charge the two armies clashed. The entire enemy line was hit by his guards, while he charged in the flank of an already engaged group of pikemen. He noticed the Soulreaper also charging in a group of enemies. He was surrounded by his guards and could inflict some damage where needed, but that Soulreaper was taking too much of a risk. He cursed him, and once again wished he had full control over everyone in his army. He hated this free-will so much.

While he trampled the pikemen he noticed his troops didn’t kill as many humans as he had anticipated and the humans didn’t seem to back down. It was curious for such creatures inflicted with free will to have such courage in face of his army of terror. He heard  the sounds of thunder in the clear sky and noticed the guards around the Soulreaper exploding while smoke from the pistols of some humans in the back was starting to fill the air. Curses! he needed to get there and take them out. Lost in thought he got surrounded by the pikemen and they even dared to hurt his body. Filled with rage, he cut them down to the last men.

The clash went on, more of the humans falling then of his guards. The handgunners salvo again laid waste to his troops, but this time they used this to their advantage. The guards almost embraced the Greatswordsmen trying to take down as many with them. When the arquebuses were silenced again only a lone human survivor was standing upon the ruins of what seemed a great city once. A stubby ‘man’ in heavy armor smashed into guards. He was expecting to have a greater impact but the guards walled him and eventually started to surround him. The Soulreaper's presence was not ignored as the human kept a respectable distance from his scythe. The Soulreaper was able to take a man here and there, but they didn’t feel the full power of the scythe. 

The rest of the guards were mowing down the remaining humans and surrounding the dwarf lord. It was time to deal with the handgunners. But as he charged into them he was welcomed by a hail of bullets, he avoided some, his armor deflected a few, but he was hit enough times to know this body was compromised. With a final act he hoped he could take down some of the Handgunners and the three Sigmarites with crossbows. But he miscalculated the tenacity of his enemy in the face of overwhelming odds. He died later in a tremendous explosion taking a Stormcast Eternal with him.

The dwarf lord was badly hurt and the guards were pouring over him. He was deflecting blows left and right, barely having time to try to hit any of the attackers. There is no shame in his courage as when he felt he was surrounded by no less than six guards and his armor and shield was dented from all the blows he had received.  

The Stormcast and Handgunners took down the last of the guards that were with the Soulreaper, just as he decided it was time to ignore this commotion and finish the mission. The Soulmason that until now was staying in the back and buffing the army, saw the approaching greatswordsmen trying to break into the Ossiarch territory. He released an arcane bolt and… missed. So he gave chase to the swordsman, eventually taking him down on the second try.

Dispatching of the dwarf lords the guards charged into the Handgunners and the two remaining Vanguard Raptors, giving the Soulreaper the chance to advance… until he was struck by lightning forked from the human wizard's hands. Badly damaged the Soulreaper stood fast. The guards made short work of the Stormcast and Handgunners. It was now only up to the human wizard to stop the badly wounded  Soulreaper. She gathered her will to manipulate the winds of magic, just as the Soulreaper was trying to deny it. But something in her concentration broke and she looked helpless at the Soulreaper approaching her encampment as the wind of magic dissipated around her before she could use them. 

 

  

 The soulreaper's body from black turned red and was engulfed in a white light as the encampment started to burn. Defeated, the human wizard started to move away from the lost battle as the mortek guards were now ignoring her. She swears she will avenge the death of her comrades.

Plain of Iron Tears - AoS Report Ep. 1

The wastelands of Chamon, the Realm of Metal, are not a place often graced by the tread of travelers, let alone entire armies on the march. That, however, was about to change when six enterprising warlords were informed of the approximate location of the tomb of Kurt Ravenholm, and the treasure that lies therein. Many miles away from civilization, in a place that was once a fertile valley, now a desolate dust-bowl which receives only leaden rain, lay the ruins of a temple complex to forgotten gods, built by the first humans in the Age of Myth. It was here, among the six barrows of these ancient people that the fabled tomb lie. 

The agents of Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals of both Vanguard and Sacrosanct chambers - came to retrieve the soul of the mighty hero for reforging. The tomb has been sealed in such a manner that the soul was still inside, and has avoided the malicious grasp of Nagash, or the thunder of Sigmar. It had to be retrieved firsthand. Accompanying the small band was a contingent of Hammerhall mercenaries and a handful of Ogors atop Stonehorn mounts lured by promises of wealth and copious feasts.

The Stormcast were not the only ones who came to collect the soul. Nagash has sent his Ossiarch Bonereapers - Soulmason and Boneshaper in tow to convert the dead hero to their legions. No more great soul would be left to be stolen anymore by the God King, especially not an ancient one such as this. Like vultures to a corpse the followers of Tzeentch slithered onto the battlefield on the left flank of the Ossiarch Phalanx, maintaining enough distance from the Undead and the barrows as to not attract their immediate ire, but close enough to the forces of Order so that they could quickly engage with their weakest side. Last but not least, a raiding party of deepkin appeared on the left side of the Ossiarch line - paying no heed to either the undead or the servants of Tzeentch. The charge was immediately sounded. The Soulrender's ultimate goal was the soul of the mighty hero for their High King, but the boisterous Akhelian cavalry and seemingly frenzied Namarti rushed the Hammerhallian lines eager for a reaping of a large amount of souls, regardless of quality.

Making use of the impetus and the confusion caused by the Idoneth charge on the left flank. The right flank of Tzaangors crashed into the Sacrosanct Sequitors, resulting in a brutal melee. Spells were flung at the forces of order from every direction, a fact which delighted the God of Magic, everything was going -just as planned-. The forces of the Bonereapers made a slow march towards the center Barrow, content to leave the other forces deal with their enemies while they search for the hero's tomb.

While the initial push of the Idoneth left a large gap in the Hammerhallian lines, their momentum soon ended as the Ogor Butcher rotted their armor away with magic, and the mighty Frostlord on Stonehorn trampled the Akhelian Cavalry, Soulrender and Namarti into fine powder. The Stormcast decided to assist their Human and Ogor allies on the opposing flank, as the Mortek Guard and Gothizzar harvester were pushing their more elite infantry back. The Lord Aquillor as well as the Paladors were teleported via lightning strike to the other side and picked off what little remained of the Idoneth forces. This was a raid that no elf returned from.

With what a crushing defeat was dealt to the Ossiarchs and the Deepkin on the left flank by the Ogors and Stormcast toops, at the cost of nearly a hundred Hammerhall mercenaries' lives, the situation looked grim on the right flank. The Stonehorn beastriders was brought low by the exploding bodies of the Mortek Guard he had just killed - Nagash had prepared a volatile surprise for anyone that managed to slay one of his perfected soldiers. As the forces of Tzeentch managed to completely wipe out the sequitors, a band of of Freeguild Halberdiers engaged the Tzaangor horde only to be ripped to shreds. The last one of them felling one goat-beast out of spite before falling to the swords and beaks of the remaining 14 beastly mutants. He shall be remembered. The massive accumulation of arcane energies that resulted from the constant barrage of spells ripped open a hole in reality through which a Lord of Change stepped through.

The handful of elite cavalry the forces of Order still had intact mustered for a final, desperate counter charge into the braying Tzeentchian horde and the massive avian demon that has spawned from the aether. The lord of change was banished back to the Realm of Chaos by the Frostlord who has up to this point amassed an impressive tally of kills, but ultimately has fallen to the magics of the Arcanites in return.

 As the light of Hyish was replaced by the shadow of Ulgu in the sky, among the scattered and broken remains of 5 other combatants, the forces of Tzeentch effortlessly found the tomb and instead of looting it or its treasures - have merely left it there...seemingly unguarded as bait for future greedy expeditions of treasure hunters. Such expeditions often had mages to deal with the magical seals of the tombs, and any conflict around the tomb would weaken the veil of reality more and more. This had been the plan all along, to rip open the fabric of reality bit by bit.

Tales of the massacre in the Chamonite Wastelands quickly traveled from realm to realm. As the story passed on from one listener to another it was, as all stories are, exaggerated - and from these exaggerations the Wastelands gained the name "Plain of Iron Tears". The metal rains of Chamon being attributed to the suffering of the souls crushed by the pawns of the dark gods  there. Travel through enough inns among the realms and you may hear a version of this cautionary tale yourself!