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!