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Devastation PDF
Devastation PDF
2
A World in the Balance
Choices often come with unintended consequences, As old heroes become new again, the wild factions of
and doubly so for those choices born of desperation. A Immoren cast aside all pretense of hiding in the shadows
decision made under duress, in the heat of the moment, and reveal the true extent of their might. Previously
can lead to exactly the end it was meant to avoid. Such unseen gargantuans descend upon the battlefield, their
is the story of Madrak Ironhide and his choice to wield footsteps shaking the earth as they heed their warlocks
the ancient and terrible axe Rathrok in a desperate bid to calls to slaughter. Whether it be the crackling electrical
save his people. fury of the savage Storm Raptor or the multi-headed,
acid-spewing nightmare that is the Desert Hydra, these
As the power of the axe stirs and grows with each blood-
fearsome warbeasts will rock the very foundations of war
soaked battle, the Devourer Wurm turns from its eternal
within the Iron Kingdoms.
battle against Menoth in Urcaen and casts its gaze upon
the world of the living. Sensing its masters desires When the end of the world is at stake, nothing is off-
Wurmwood, the Tree of Fate, carefully manipulates events limits. Unleash the full extent of your fury and know that
from the shadows, preparing to enact a ritual that will part Devastation is at hand!
the veil and unleash the Devourer Wurm on Caen. Amid
these climactic events, legendary warlocks rise to the
crisis, tapping heretofore-unknown inner reserves so they
might avert the apocalypseor perhaps hasten it.
Table of Contents
The Key Turns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Legion of Everblight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Theme Forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Minions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Trollbloods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Model Gallery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Circle Orboros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Painting Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Skorne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The Gate Opens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
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3
The Key Turns
The Shard Spires, Early 609 AR stones upon the dire trolls back flared. In the next instant,
Sheets of snow, stone, and ice flew through the air as the the winds that besieged them dissipated under the influence
mountainside erupted in a burst of pent-up fury. A bestial of Mulgs power.
roar echoed from peak to peak, threatening each slope with
Doomshaper narrowly avoided a crushing blow from the
avalanche. Clouds of displaced snow shrouded the newly
glacier king, though the glancing impact knocked him
formed hole, and the hulking shape that arose from it came
off his feet. Mulg howled and struck the slow-moving
out swinging. After searching for more than a week among
fist with his banded club, shattering several of the great
the frozen northern reaches of the Shard Spires, Hoarluk
fingers and causing the enraged creature to draw back its
Doomshaper had found the first of the glacier kings of
arm in surprise.
the north, cousins of the mountain kings awoken in the
Wyrmwall. As anticipated, the ceremony of awakening he The crack of stone splitting filled the air as rock and snow
had invoked in the south had roused other ancient trolls exploded from the nearby slopes to reveal two more of
from their prisons, eager to be free. the primal trolls. These were slightly less immense than
Winters Maw, but seeing the three together chilled the
During his travels, Doomshaper had recruited two dozen
shamans blood.
kriel warriors and a handful of skinners from the northern
tribes. Though seasoned and battle-ready, they fell back Doomshaper stood, drawing on Mulgs anger and vitality,
now, falling over one another to put distance between and resumed his advance. If the first gargantuan were
themselves and the troll legend pulling itself into the allowed to gather its wits, there would be no chance of
world. The old shaman found their panic aggravating but stopping it. If he could tame this, the greatest of the glacier
understandable; they could not have stood against such a kings, the others would submit.
creature even had they tried. Doomshaper did not flinch
Again the troll king drew back its fist, eclipsing the waning
as a boulder hurtled past him and left a long gouge in
sun, and struck. The fist shot past Doomshaper toward
the snow. Beside him, Mulg rumbled and stood equally
Mulg behind him. A howl of rage and the snapping of
resolute, smashing his reinforced club into the ground in a
bones sounded as the fist slammed into the craggy dire troll.
display of dominance.
Looking through Mulgs eyes, Doomshaper experienced
As the glacier king emerged from the hole, its massive being hurled back several yards in the air before tumbling
knuckles unceremoniously crushed one of the ancient end-over-end in the snow.
krielstone markers that had mystically bound the
With Mulg down, gusts of frigid wind began to circulate
slumbering trolls as much as their chains. A telltale scar
again around the towering form of Winter's Maw, followed
running down the beasts face matched descriptions from
by a sudden, intense snowstorm that all but blinded
old legends of a far-northern troll king called Winters Maw
Doomshaper. Mulg disappeared from view, and the shaman
that had raged against the trollkin intruding into its domain.
stepped forward blindly, reaching for the space where the
Though in some ways the glacier king resembled the
glacier kings knee had been.
mountain kings of the southern ranges, it was unmistakably
marked by the endless winter of the frozen north. Icicles A fist emerged from the blizzard to seize Doomshaper
taller than a man hung from its chin, and a mound of ice with enough force to crack his ribs, and he was lifted high
and snow upon its back reached toward the sky. The already above the earth. He struggled futilely against the glacier
frigid temperature of the surrounding air plummeted as a kings grip. His shattered ribs threatened to pierce vital
deeper cold radiated from the beasts skin. The trunks of organs, and he had no choice but to shunt the damage to
nearby spruces cracked and split. Mulg, adding to the injuries the troll had already sustained.
Doomshaper achieved the contact he sought with the great
Doomshaper set his teeth. If he could reach the beast and
troll, but pain prevented him from focusing. Darkness
lay his hands upon it, he felt certain he could bind its will
threatened his vision.
as he had done with the mountain kings. Without a battle
raging about them to serve as a distraction, however, such The face of the glacier king emerged from the vortex of snow.
a feat would prove difficult. He gave a mental command to Its maw unhinged, exposing the gateway to a bottomless
Mulg, and together they advanced into the fray. hunger, and from the beasts throat issued a roar worthy of the
legends. Spittle flew from great tusk-like yellowed incisors,
A burst of icy wind tore over the pair, partially numbing
and the sheer force of the sound rattled Doomshapers
their limbs and inflicting frostbite in seconds. Cold! Mulg
teeth. His eardrums exploded, and the roar gave way to an
bellowed in Molgur-Trul, and the runes carved into the
incessant ringing. Disorientation overtook him.
4
He drew on his last strength to lash out with Willbreaker. Well met, Winters Maw, Doomshaper said. He issued a
The mystically augmented staff splintered one of the mental command, and the creature placed him back on the
massive incisors. Doomshaper felt rather than heard a ground. The bond was forged.
second roar, and the glacier king shook him mercilessly.
The other glacier kings were closing on Mulg to tear him
Willbreaker slipped from his grasp and tumbled down to
limb from limb. Doomshaper commanded Winters Maw
clatter against the beasts teeth before disappearing into the
to intervene. With a roar, the glacier king placed himself
yawning darkness of its mouth.
between his troll brethren and the dire troll, hitting his chest
Doomshaper stared unblinking into the trolls eyes forcefully and baring his teeth. The others stepped back
and reached out to its mind with his own. He radiated and slumped slightly in submission. Doomshaper took the
confidence into the mind of the glacier king, subjecting it opportunity to touch the other two, and within moments all
to the power of his will. What ensued was not unlike the three looked down at his tiny form with anticipation.
Tohmaak Mahkeiri, as their minds joined and he immersed
The kriel warriors who had fled to a safe distance now crept
himself in the hunger and rage of Winters Maw. In his
back, gaining confidence at the sight of Doomshaper standing
minds eye, Doomshaper saw flashes of images, memories
unharmed and defiant. Mulg returned to the shamans side,
of Winters Maw clashing with other beasts of the steppes
limping and dragging his club in the freshly fallen snow.
or devouring them afterward. He called forth the memory
The blow he suffered at the hands of the gargantuan had
of feeding his own hand to Mulg in a bid for the dire trolls
been tremendous, but his natural regenerative powers were
loyalty, showing the glacier king that all trollkind shared
already at work, accelerated by Doomshapers urging.
the same blood, a kinship more powerful than anything
else on Caen. The bloodlust etched on the trolls face Above, a glacier king tore a boulder from the mountainside
shifted in puzzlement as it squinted at Doomshaper, and and shoved the rock into its eager mouth. They would need
the blizzard swirling about its shoulders died down. real food soon, but at least the first step toward taming the
kings of the north was complete. With Winters Maw at his
side, the rest would follow.
5
The Key Turns
6
Whatever advice she offered, she worked toward her own Finally he hauled himself over the lip of the cliff, his chest
ends. Even so, he couldnt help but wonder how much truth heaving. At the top of an incline littered with boulders and
lay in her words. the occasional stunted pine loomed Cassius, and behind
him, Wurmwood. The ancient trees roots wrapped about
What of the town? asked one of the kriel warriors.
loose soil and stone, and the many bones hanging from its
Doomshaper hesitated. We proceed as planned, He limbs clattered in the wind.
said after a moment. He would not allow a figure out
Kromac removed the burlap sack from his waist and
of Khadoran folklore to influence his actions. For too
emptied the contents at Wurmwoods base. A dozen human
long the empires of men had pushed his people to the
hearts and a smattering of other choice organs landed in the
fringes, treating them as inferiors. They would pay a
dirt, looking like slick and spoiled fruit in the moonlight.
price in bloodnot once, but many times. This town was
The Tharn dropped to one knee and uttered words of
meaningless, only the first of many he would erase. He
greeting and respect in Molgur.
would not back down at the demands of anyone speaking
on behalf of his enemies, even Zevanna Agha. You have returned, Cassius said, his hooded form gliding
between the sentry stones, though without the axe of
Doomshaper looked up to the gargantuans looming
Horfar Grimmr. His eyes were empty, two extinguished
above. One of them sucked on a boulder discontentedly.
coals wrapped in pale skin.
The glacier kings still hunger," he said, "and it would not
do to let the transgressions of the people of Daliskov go Forgive me, Oathkeeper, Kromac said, feeling his shame
unanswered. keenly. I was thwarted.
Western Wyrmwall Cassius' voice was deep and resonant, as though his words
Kromacs muscles strained as he hauled himself up the carried from the bottom of a well. You underestimate your
cliff face. Above, the granite sheet ascended into the night foe. The trollkin are also children of the Wurm.
sky, and sharp stones waited below to receive his fall. His In Kromacs memory he saw himself closing on the axe only
fingers slid over the surface in search of new handholds, the to be tackled by one of the trollkin chieftains lieutenants,
cuts on his palms leaving smears of crimson. the two of them brawling across the ground until they
A burlap sack hitched to his belt slid back and forth over his went together over the edge of a cliff. The lieutenant was a
thigh like a pendulum as he climbed. Like the stone under powerful warrior, and by the time Kromac narrowly bested
his palms, the bottom of the sack was a dark red. A trickle him, the opportunity to confront Madrak had been lost.
of blood filtered through the bag and fell into the yawning Kromac clenched his fists, his claws cutting into his palms.
darkness, one drop at a time. I will not disappoint you again.
The three moons looked down upon him like pale faces. You were named champion of the apocalypse. You must
Calder, the largest, shone as a blue-white half crescent. prove worthy. You will have your chance, and soon. Events
The speckled red-brown Laris was nearly full, as was pale converge to offer a chance at redemption.
green Artis, the smallest of the three. Already the pull
of the upcoming lunar conjunction threatened to drive
Kromac into his bestial form. He had not undergone a You were named champion
transformation since his defeat at the hands of the trollkin, of the apocalypse. You
and despite the physical demands the ascent placed on must prove worthy.
him, he resisted the urge to transform now. The shame
of his failure clung to him, and he did not wish to draw
upon his connection to the Wurm while unworthy. In a few I will take the axe from Madrak Ironhide after I have taken
weeks time, however, the three moons would be full, and the heart from his chest. Kromacs blood stirred as he
the Beast of All Shapes would be upon him regardless of spoke, his primal side straining like a collared beast.
his resolve.
You must wield the axe of Horfar Grimmr. The statement
Handholds crumbled beneath his fingers and the winds of was made with cold certainty, the matter decided. World
the peaks threatened to rip him from the cliff, but he would Ender nears the completion of its purpose in the northern
not be shaken. At the edges of his vision, a hooded figure Bloodstone Marches. Step forward when the time is right.
appeared beneath the shadows of distant rock faces. The Rise now, and go.
suspicion that Cassius watched spurred him to overreach
and to try unstable handholds, and one time he was left Kromac stood. His muscles ached from the climb, and thin
dangling by a few clawed fingernails. rivulets of blood flowed over the knuckles of each clenched
7
The Key Turns
fist from the wounds on his palms. The blood pattered at It is good to see you, she said, but how did you arrive?
his feet, where the gnarled roots of the Tree of Fate wrapped Rumors are multiplying in the village, each more unlikely
around the hearts offered as tribute. His blood, too, was than the last.
pulled in by the roots.
He shook his head. I cannot say. We had just come down
A mist rose from the ground, swirling and growing thicker. from the Wyrmwall Mountains, with weeks of travel still
The forms of Cassius and the Tree of Fate disappeared in the ahead of us, when we were swallowed by a fog. Then we
wall of fog. The calls of birds Kromac knew to be native to were in the Marches and Calandra was greeting us. He
the Glimmerwood sounded from unseen branches. A sense squeezed her hand and gave her an apologetic look. I
of disorientation lingered as he steadied himself. When should find Grissel. There is much to discuss. Things have
the fog burned away, he stood in a ring of standing stones changed since I left.
hundreds of miles from where he had been moments before.
Kargess nodded. Indeed they have. But Grissel can wait.
Kromac took only a moment to consider his course. Several She will see you later at the feast. Take a moment to rest.
Tharn tribes loyal to him resided in this region. He would You can be spared for a few moments.
gather them and see the will of the Beast of All Shapes done,
Madrak nodded and followed his mate to their new
even if it meant his end.
dwelling, one of the small buildings attached to the defensive
Northern Bloodstone Marches wall of the inner village. It looked familiar even though he
Madrak sought out Kargess across the gathered crowd and hadnt seen it before. He saw Kargess in the details: the
smiled. Despite his misgivings about returning to his exiled arrangement of the furniture, the cloak laid across the back
people, it was beyond good to see her. She smiled back, but of a chair, items salvaged from their old home. Her own
there was something reserved in her expression. He felt the armor and weapons hung, cleaned and ready, in a place
familiar ache in his chest grow heavier even as the axe on where she could readily seize them. He wondered what she
his back pulled at him. He had not been a good mate lately, had faced in his absence. He took a moment to rinse his face
or a good leader for these kin. He had done the best he at a washing bowl. From somewhere nearby he heard the
could, but his failures weighed heavily upon him. sound of a baby crying and he smiled. Even in times of war
there was new life.
8
unexpected pride. He and Kargess had just decided to begin The chieftain who walks with legends, Horthol said with
their own family when the Thornwood was invaded, and a grin. He stepped forward to clasp forearms with Madrak.
they had put off that dream amid the tumult. He thought Congratulations on your son. I am sure he will grow up to
back to how long he had been gone. His son had been be every bit as impressive as his father.
conceived during those last weeks before he left to find
My son! Madrak smiled. Thank you. It is good to
Doomshaper, to distance himself from his people before
be in the company of old friends. He then explained
Rathrok brought them greater harm. As he looked into
Doomshapers quest in the north as the three of them stood
these wide eyes, old fears resurfaced. Here he held a piece
inside the entrance to the newly erected feast hall. Massive
of himselfhis futureand at the same time the axe of
pillars hewn from trees dragged from the mountainside
Horfar Grimmr hung from his back like an ominous weight
braced the impressively high ceiling, and the fine masonry
anchoring him to a destiny fraught with darkness.
of the walls held in the warmth of a central fire over
I have been calling him Dag, Kargess said. An old name, which roasted two desert oxen. Every notable champion
from a Molgur-Trul word for day. There will be time to and chief was present, and the cadences of conversation
decide if it sticks or if another is better suited. and laughter filled the hall. It had been a long while since
Madrak had felt such warmth, though he couldnt bring
A good name, Madrak said, looking at his child. Was he
himself to relish it. He looked from Horthol to Grissel and
an albino like his father, or only pale? He was not sure.
considered what his return might cost them.
Kargess stepped close and placed her hands on Madraks
Grissel caught his eye and said, Do not seek troubles that
elbows so the baby rested between the two of them. Grim
are not already yours. It was an old saying. She continued,
wanted to tell you, but I insisted he wait so I could give you
There is much to do, but many to share the burden.
the news myself. I was hoping it would be sooner, but we
are together now, the three of us. He nodded. This is true. Beyond the open doorway, the
mountain kings roamed in the encroaching dark, eating
His mates words echoed in his mind. Yes, they were
stones and trees. He waved vaguely in their direction.
together, and while he should rejoice, his apprehension
Keeping such creatures under thumb takes its toll on the
was stronger than ever. He had left those he cared for to
mind, but the march is over. Thank you both. I knew I could
spare them the horrors that followed him. He had sworn
count on you to keep everyone together.
he would not return before ridding himself of the accursed
weapon, yet here he was, still in its possession, putting his We had help, Grissel said. You were right to send Calandra.
kriel at riskand now his son as well. Without her, I dont know if we would have made it out of
Crael Valley intact. Gunnbjorn has also proven invaluable,
Kargess leaned forward and their foreheads pressed together,
though we practically had to drag him from Skarleforth
initiating the Tohmaak Mahkeiri. Rather than meeting her gaze
Lake before he would retreat from the skorne. He has done a
and completing the bond that would allow them to peer into
commendable job organizing the camps defenses.
each others mind, Madrak pulled away.
Madrak looked to Gunnbjorn, seated beside Grim Angus at
What is it? she asked, collecting Dag from his arms. You
the raised table. The trollkin caught the chieftains glance
look every bit as tired as you look happy to be a father.
and raised a mug of ale in salute and Madrak nodded in
What happened while you were away?
acknowledgement.
Later, Madrak said, shaking his head. He placed his hand
Indeed, you have done more than I could have asked for,
on the bundle and a small hand gripped one of his fingers.
Madrak said. I am lucky to count you among my kin. It is
In one sense, nothing has changed. In another, everything.
remarkable what you accomplished here in so short a time.
Later, then. She studied his face for a long while, then
Dont let him forget it, Kargess said as she approached
said, We should prepare for the feast. Your people wish to
the three of them, young Dag in her arms. Come, she
speak with you. Their chief has been missed.
said, taking Madrak by the hand. Others want to speak
with you, and I am sure you are hungry from your travels.
9
The Key Turns
were talking at a fast clip when Madrak and Kargess joined What is it? Kargess asked, looking into his eyes. He
them. Already plates of meat were being passed, though the could not abide the thought of telling her his mind was
slices were thin and few. The feast looked hard-won. not his own.
I examined the fortifications when I arrived, Madrak said Nothing, Madrak lied. As Horthol said, there will be time
to Gunnbjorn. You have done a fine job strengthening our to talk later. Let us enjoy the feast. While we can, he thought.
position. He looked around him at the construction of the
hall once again. All of you. You have done much to make
this a new home.
Even so, there is so much more to do, Grissel said. This You spent so long away from us, Kargess said later, when
land sustains life only grudgingly. The soil refuses anything they had returned to their hut. Yet your mind seems no
but weeds, and even those do poorly. Every skinner and clearer than when you left. At the opposite end of the
hunter is out looking for game, but what they bring back room, Dag slept in his cradle, and she spoke softly so as
barely sustains us. We must find other solutions. not to wake him. Madrak faced away from her, leaning
Gunnbjorn nodded. Other supplies are scarce as well. We against the door frame, and she eyed his back wearily. He
may have to raid the farrow or even the skorne, though we had seemed distracted during the feast, and he appeared no
are not eager to provoke them. better now that they were alone.
The faces at the table looked to Madrak. They all had It is the mountain kings. Even at a distance, I bear them in
questions. They wanted direction, and they looked to mind. I cannot command them from here, but I must work
their chief to provide a path forward. He couldnt see it. to remind them of my previous orders, to keep them from
Beneath the table, Kargess gave his hand a squeeze, which descending. It is exhausting.
he returned. She was the bedrock beneath the shifting sands She couldnt recall ever hearing him sound so tired. I am
upon which he had been walking of late. He felt the faith sure that is a strain, but there is more, she said. Do not
she had in him steady his footing once more. shut me out. Tell me, what truly troubles you?
There will be time to discuss such matters, Horthol said, Madrak shook his head as he turned back to her. I failed,
sensing his friends mood. For now, let us celebrate new he said after a time. That which I sought to cast off remains.
beginnings and the reunion of friends. He raised a mug. The curse is not broken.
Ale sloshed over the top and down his arm. To Chief
Ironhide. To Dag, heir of Ironhide! He will earn his own Put it out of your mind. The important thing is you have
axe soon! returned. Your people need you, Madrak. I have done my
best to hold them together, as have Grissel and the others,
The others laughed and joined his toast, as did those at the but they have been through a great deal.
long tables that stretched the length of the hall. Hundreds
of mugs rose and were promptly drained. Mixed feelings Yes. Grim told me of the hardships. Even so, my presence
assailed Madrak. He could not deny the gathering did his can bring nothing but misery. It was cowardly for me to
heart good. Yet despite the joyousness of the occasion, return. I wanted to come home, but we have no home now.
Rathrok remained an uninvited guest. He thought back to Not truly.
his recent battle against the druids, to how he had nearly She let that stand for long seconds and then said, You
given himself over to the axe in a fit of blind, psychotic sound as if you are considering leaving again. You are
rage. For one brief moment afterward, he had thought talking yourself into the wrong course. Your desire for
himself free of the axe. But the respite had been fleeting, homecoming was right. Your heart knows it. Your people
and once again he had found the weapon waiting, still have lost their friends, their families, their homes. But they
bound to him. still find harmony in kith, kriel, and kin. Do not deprive
Without warning, Madrak saw the central fire and the them of their chief again.
various sconces go out, plunging the hall into semi-darkness. Too many have fallen on my account. There was
Down the lengths of the halls tables, each laughing face desperation in his words. She knew she was seeing a side
was caked with blood and bulging with putrefaction. Each of him he would never reveal to another. She recalled the
laugh, joke, and boast melded into a cacophony of pained look of horror that crossed his face at the feast. Whatever
groans and screams. Only when Madrak began to stand haunted him had found its voice on the road and whispered
and Kargess placed a hand upon his shoulder did the room louder than ever. She hated the axe he bore, but it was too
return to normal. late for such regrets.
10
It is not just dreams any longer, is it? she asked. The Look on all you like! Doomshaper shouted to the crows.
nightmares find you even when you are awake. He pointed the tip of his staff in their direction. Your
talons have no power here. The hunger of the Shard Spires
He nodded. If you saw the things I have seen, you would
has come for those who would trespass on kriel lands.
understand why it is best I leave.
He treaded through freshly fallen snow left behind by the
No. She said it flatly, authoritatively, but with no anger.
glacier kings. There was little blood and fewer wounded;
He looked up, startled. Kargess continued, It is of no use.
the appetites of the great troll legends did not allow for
You cannot leave your family. Even were you to walk away
prisoners. Ahead, a church topped with a bronze Radiance
from us, I would find a way to stand beside you. What did
of Morrow ruptured into a hail of splinters as a glacier king
going off on your own accomplish? I know you had to try,
drove a fist through the roof and proceeded to devour those
but stop punishing yourself. Everything you have done,
huddled inside.
you have done from a desire to do right by your people.
Perhaps there is a curse. Even so, it does not follow only Shots rang out, and a bullet tore past Doomshapers head.
you. It affects us all. A handful of Winter Guard huddled in the skeleton of a
building worked to reload their rifles. Doomshaper gave
He stared at her slack-jawed. I had not considered this.
Mulg a mental command and the dire troll charged, bellowing
Let us say troubles are drawn to us, and Rathrok is the in rage at the attempt to harm his master. A wide swipe of his
cause. So be it. We will face them together. Your fate and club splintered the remains of a wall and caught the nearest
that of your kin are one. We will fight, and if need be die, guardsman hard enough to shatter the mans ribs and send
together. Let your people support you as you have fought him crashing into his comrades. The tangle of soldiers flailed
for us. Let me stand at your side. Whatever burdens you in the snow, panic plain on their faces. Those posted here
bear, you do not face them alone. She took his hand in hers. were inexperienced and complacent, distinct from Khadoran
garrisons closer to contested borders. It had been years
Thank you, Madrak said as he took her in his arms. Your
since the inhabitants of this region feared the nearest kriels.
words are true. We must stand united. Together, perhaps we
Doomshaper doubted they would feel so secure after this.
have hope.
11
The Key Turns
The Old Witch seeks to deter us, Doomshaper shouted direction, reeling and diving to avoid one another. Then
to Mulg over the din of the crows, but she knows not our they streaked toward the horizon, a streaming dark flock
strength! He turned to one of the pygs who assisted in heading south.
bearing his scrolls and pointed sharply at one of the smaller
Doomshaper, Mulg, and the glacier kings were nowhere
tubes. Quickly! We must unravel her efforts. No, the one
to be seen. The kriel warriors looked about in confusion.
below that!
Then a series of metal barbs erupted from the ground to
The pyg adjusted his grip on the tied bundle, extracted skewer them. The warriors cried out as the metal punctured
the scroll Doomshaper demanded, and thrust it into the their legs and pierced their torsos. Those not killed outright
shamans hand. With a twist, the parchment unfurled to struggled to free themselves.
reveal an old rubbing taken from a long-destroyed stone.
The whistle of escaping steam echoed in the shattered town.
Doomshaper held the scroll high before him and read the Scrapjack darted into the street seconds later. Its two long
words in a booming voice. Runes blazed into existence legs pumped furiously, pistons hissing, before the machine
and orbited the staff he clutched in his other hand. He crashed talons-first into one of the impaled trollkin.
raised his voice higher, as though the words would beat
The old woman followed close behind. She slashed through
back the cloud of crows. Then he, too, was enveloped, as
the invaders with her own blackened-iron talons, easily
was Mulg. Soon there was nothing on the wind but the
stepping aside from the downward stroke of an axe before
shrill calls of crows.
driving her blades between a different trollkins ribs. Within
minutes the remaining trollkin hung limp from the barbs that
held up their bodies, and the town was quiet once again.
12
Marches. The heat and dry environment left him distinctly His finger traced the trigger of his combat syringe as he
uncomfortable, but he tried to ignore the itching between stared out into the dark. A pair of war hogs flanked him
his scales. The warlock was grateful the timing allowed and several gun boars waited atop a nearby hill. Targ stood
him to carry out the rendezvous under cover of darkness. at his back, quiet as always. Now and then the pistons of
Maelok moved alongside him, the flames of the various the war hogs mechanical arms let out a hiss that sounded
candles crowning his head burning low in the dark. A unusually loud in the nights quiet. In the distance, a faint
handful of undead bog trogs shambled behind them with glow like that of candles winked at him, and as the light
glassy eyes. A single gatorman bokor with unwavering drew closer several forms took shape.
loyalty was the only living being in the entourage.
A trio of gatormen walked at the fore, a dozen smaller
Regardless of the outcome, the even meeting was an act
figures shuffling behind in the flickering candlelight. His
of treachery. Calaban could ill afford to bring anyone who
two war hogs bristled, but Arkadius mentally held them in
might inform his temperamental leader what transpired
check. He recognized the leading masked gatorman as one
among them.
of the opposing leaders involved in the Marchfells dispute.
Since the Blindwater Congregation started traveling through He recalled that this one had invoked powerful magic,
the hills, trees and waterways had become increasingly rare, summoning an enormous malevolent specter that nearly
and being out in the open made Calaban feel exposed. He caused the death of Lord Carver and Arkadius both. He was
cursed Barnabas for his insistence that they travel to such not certain he had implemented sufficient precautions for
a miserable place on nothing more than the visions of the the meeting.
death charmer Jaga-Jaga.
Greetings, roskaahn. I did not think... you would come,
An unlikely opportunity had presented itself. An army the masked gatorman said in a rasp, struggling with a rough
of farrow converged from the west toward the same version of Cygnaran ill-suited to his anatomy. Arkadius
destination as their own, led by warlocks Calaban had knew the literal translation of the Quor-gar term to be pink
fought before. Despite earlier skirmishes, the bokor skin but did not take offense. I am Calaban... bokor of...
thought he might have a kindred spirit in the opposing Fenn Marsh tribes. The stench of decay emanated from the
camp, a human advisor to the farrow warlord who desired gatormans allies, most of whom appeared undead. While
this conflict as little as Calaban did. Whether the human not surprising, this fact did somewhat unsettle Arkadius.
held enough sway to alter the farrows plans remained to He felt at a disadvantage fighting against such creatures,
be seen. Calaban had risked much to arrange the meeting, given the majority of his expertise relied on living tissues.
relying on discreet messages carried by enslaved spirits. To
I am Dr.Arkadius, he replied, also in Cygnaran. I know
this point his efforts had gone unnoticed by rival bokors;
your tongue. You may speak freely. He found himself
he could only hope his luck held.
considering gatorman anatomy and the myriad distinctions
Such risks were necessary. While Calaban had so far between these creatures and the farrow he often had under
weathered Barnabas crusade for godhood, the time to seek his knife. The reptiles were an impressive canvas, though
the safety of the shallows had passed. The roaring falls of their biological systems were less sophisticated than those
the warlocks ascension neared. All that remained was to of mammals. Impressive as their anatomy might beand
avoid the rocks below the plunge. To openly suggest they clearly they were nearly perfect killing machinestheir flesh
veer from the course would result in punishments worse was less mutable. Nonetheless, he imagined schematics for
than death. Calaban knew he must take a more circuitous mechanized jaws and enhanced limbs as they spoke. Aloud
and ambitious route. he asked, You have matters to discuss?
13
The Key Turns
14
The desert sun beat down on his withered skin. Multiple
sandstorms had assailed him in the last few days. He had
eaten littleonly the occasional lizard emerging from
beneath the sand at night. He was alone with his thoughts Mordikaar stood rooted in the sand. He was looking
and the wails of Void spirits. over his shoulder, his gaze tracing the edge of the Void
portal drifting behind him. A subtle distortion worked
His body had passed the point when most mortals
at the portals rim. At times it seemed to elongate and
would have collapsed from exhaustion, starvation, and
lean to one side, as if pulled by some inexplicable force.
dehydration. He could feel his blood pumping rhythmically
The distortion had become more pronounced since he
just beneath his skin and the slow burn of his muscles as
first noticed it several hours earlier and the pull seemed
his legs continued to propel him forward long after they
to originate from somewhere to the northwest. He had
should have stopped. To be skorne and a mortitheurge was
never witnessed such an anomaly and felt certain it was
to be empowered to weather such hardships. Countless
significant.
skorne over the centuries had defied the elements to cross
equally inhospitable wastes under even harsher conditions. The vast desert sands had given way to hardpan, here and
But such travels required at least marginal supplies. With there broken by rock formations. The void seer recalled
no food or water, the challenge of the task multiplied. Even seeing these landmarks on his initial voyage into the west,
mortitheurgy had limits. and he felt sure his current course would lead him directly
back to the Castle of the Keys, where he could continue
Though Mordikaars body continued to function, it
his work. If he altered his course and headed north, he
resembled a dried husk. It began to consume itself for
could find Tyrants Lash or one of the smaller outposts
sustenance, a process slowed only by the infusion of energy
in the region. Once he reported in and resupplied, he
provided by his will. He tottered on the edge of life and
could devote his attention to finding the source of the
death, a balance he was convinced relied on his inexplicable
irregularity. His mind turned to the extended ritual that
link to the Void as much as on his mystical skill. He sensed
had been performed by the dirt mystics at the river battle,
a slow trickle of cold energy flowing from the Void into his
and he wondered if the two were related. Despite the
shuffling form, a substitute for natural vitality. Something
narrow-minded opinions of his peers, Mordikaar knew
in the back of his mind warned him not to become too
now that they had underestimated this foe.
comfortable with this arrangement.
The clatter of lanterns sounded, and Mordikaar turned to
A familiar presence brushed his consciousness, and
see the Despoiler crest a dune. The struggling form of a
Mordikaars ceaseless march stopped abruptly. In all the time
lizard dangled by its tail from the Despoilers fist, trying
spent walking, he had encountered no one. And yet there it
in vain to bite its captor. From time to time the Despoiler
was again, a distant prod of familiarity. Mordikaar blinked at
disappeared into the desert to return with a wriggling
the horizon. At the edge of his vision, the form of a shambling
morsel. Mordikaars pace had doubled since the beast
beast stood out amid the hues of the desert. As it neared,
rejoined him, his health restored through the small influx of
plates of armor decorated in the red and gold of the empire
nourishment the Despoiler retrieved.
took shape, as did the lanterns swaying from curved hooks
that protruded from the beasts back and hung over its head. Mordikaars lanterns glowed and the lizard thrashed as
it died. The void seer absorbed the animals vitality and a
Relief washed over the void seer as the beast known as the
surge of warmth flowed through his limbs. He then plucked
Despoiler closed the distance. A product of countless hours
the lizard from the Despoilers grip and sank his teeth into
of experimentation, the beast was as much a manifestation
its neck. The flesh was tough and unappealing, but the
of the Void as a living creature. He could feel its life force
trickle of blood helped to satiate his thirst. As he ate he
thrumming. Mordikaar drew upon the energy of the beast,
considered his options, weighing his current path against
pulling stamina from its body into his own. The sense of
seeking the origins of the portals pull.
detachment he had been experiencing lessened. For a
moment he held the Despoilers gaze, admiring the loyalty Mordikaars return to his former post would most certainly
instilled in his creation. see his time devoted to Makedas campaign through either
combat or the harvesting of more void spirits for the war
We continue west, Mordikaar said, speaking to himself
effort. The matter of the unidentified anomaly would go
more than the Despoiler. I have unfinished business
unexamined, and this prospect vexed him. He felt a growing
beyond the sands. With renewed vigor, he continued
certainty that he should not ignore whatever was affecting
toward the skorne fortresses he knew awaited him, the
the gateway to the Void. He had spent his life in pursuit of
Despoiler plodding after. The spirits of the Void screamed
tough answers.
behind him, their mouths echoing some inevitable doom.
15
The Key Turns
He wiped a smear of blood from his chin and looked in the The cadence was oddly soothing, perhaps speaking to the
direction of the pull. portions of the Dhunian faith deeply rooted to the earth.
Dire trolls traveled between the slopes and the construction
Come, Mordikaar said to the Despoiler, tossing the husk
area, transporting enormous boulders. The incomplete
of the lizard onto the sand. Let us walk our own path.
outer wall would serve as the first line of defense, to be
Neither Hexeris nor Makeda know where I am, and they
abandoned if warriors found it necessary to retreat to the
can do without me a little longer. He turned to follow the
inner village and its more extensive protections.
tug of his portal, feeling immediate relief as he did so. The
sufferings endured on his journey were nothing against the In a cleared area within the outer wall, Grissel Bloodsong
torment of questions without answers. supervised the training of able-bodied trollkin warriors
drawn from dozens of kriels. Lines of kriel warriors trained
Northern Bloodstone Marches here, driving axes and clubs into shields and stepping into
Throughout the camp, trollkin worked to establish a and out of reach with practiced footwork. Those present
permanent holding. Their departure from Scarleforth Lake had proven themselves in combat over the past months,
and flight from the encroaching skorne had been bloody but Grissel insisted they keep in top fighting form. Though
and perilous, motivating the kin to put all their effort into many were veteran warriors, most were just now learning a
erecting a defensible home. Behind them, the mountains regimented style of formation fighting, borrowed from the
bordering southern Ios loomed. Though the soil at the base humans by Grissel and Gunnbjorn.
of the great mountain range was not as fertile as the string
of lands they had been forced to relinquish, the kriels once Hunger was rapidly becoming a problem. Game had been
native to the Thornwood and other war-torn regions hoped scarce. A considerable portion of what the hunting parties
they might carve out a life here. brought in was allocated to the dire trolls to keep their
hungermade worse by the demands of physical labor
Gunnbjorn had set about constructing defenses shortly after from turning toward the trollkin working to finish the
their arrival. The inner fortress of the settlement stood largely fortifications. The warriors, too, had to be kept ready to
complete now, awaiting only finishing touches. The perimeter defend the hold. There was strength in numbers, but keeping
comprised of wall segments interspersed with buildings so many bellies full proved challenging. Now, with the return
curved out from the mountainside to contain the feast hall, of Madrak and his mountain kings, the strain was worse than
a kuar dueling platform, and a number of workshops and ever. There was talk of raids on farrow tribes to the south, if
homes. The buildings making up this walls length served it could be managed without provoking the nearer, better-
as watchtowers, their tops broad and open to support the defended skorne.
positioning of thumper crews. The towers stood thirty feet
high, and occasional openings from which pygs could fire Madrak had guided the hulking mountain kings partway
their rifles dotted the face of each one. The sides of the walls up the Iosan slopes to avoid unwelcome snacking, and
were sloped to ward off cannon fire, and trenches at the base for now they seemed content to heft large stones into
of each segment limited the options of assailants. Tunnels their maws or uproot the occasional tree for consumption.
burrowed into the mountain itself to unearth additional Thanks to the chieftains recent clash with Circle forces,
materials as well as creating storage and refuge spaces. stories of gargantuans devouring trollkin and druids
alike circulated through the camp, and worries about the
A sea of stone homes peppered with the occasional tent bottomless hunger of the great troll legends circulated
stretched out beyond the wall. At the edges of this outer with them.
village, groups of runeshapers led by Janissa Stonetide
worked to build a secondary wall long enough to Calandra Truthsayer considered the problem as she stood just
enclose the entirety of the gathered kriels. This wall was beyond the southern portion of the outer wall. She initiated
still largely incompletethe long sections erected by an extended divination, hoping to find hints about how to
different construction teams would eventually be joined, add to the food stores. She cast a handful of small twig-like
but for the moment large gaps still separated them. In bones to clatter in the dirt, then squinted at them closely. She
addition to transporting stone from the mountainside, the ran a thick finger over their edges, feeling a connection to the
runeshapers sought out materials long buried beneath the land when she touched them. As with all types of divination,
earth. Now and then they pulled a slab of rock from the the answers were cryptic. Though she had spent the past
ground and guided it into place alongside slabs carved at hour casting and recasting the bones, she had yet to get to the
the mountain quarries. crux of their meaning. Ordinarily portents came easily to her,
but not since arriving at their desolate new home.
A number of stonemasons worked to craft the stone to the
required specifications, their tools ringing out rhythmically. What say those old bones, Calandra?
16
The shaman looked up to see Janissa Stonetide approach, Calandra turned her attention to the inner wall and those
her pickaxe Earthsplitter resting on one shoulder. toiling along the top of it. Hey, Prag! she called to one of
Although Calandra had limited interaction with the young the bushwhackers who kept a spyglass. Give me an eye on
runeshaper, she had seen Janissas skill at manipulating that dust cloud!
stone firsthand. Without her efforts, they could never have
The pyg snapped off a salute and took his spyglass from the
made such rapid progress toward Gunnbjorns ambitious
leather tube at his waist. He extended the telescoping brass
plans for defending the settlement.
tube and placed one end to his eye before sweeping the lens
Nothing I can make heads or tails of, Calandra said. over the horizon.
They prefer to keep their secrets. She took a last look at
the scattered bones before gathering them into her hands.
How goes work on the wall? I see you have no shortage As if to emphasize the lack of
of stone. food, an angry howl rose from
Raw stone isnt the problem. Its the worked stone thats one of the dire trolls along
harder to come by, plus enough strong hands to place it the partially complete wall.
where its supposed to go. I could use some of Grissels
people, or a few of the dozens we have out scrounging for
food. Janissa planted Earthsplitter at her feet, leaned on Well? Janissa yelled up. Out with it!
the haft, and sighed. Not that I begrudge anyone the need
Farrow, Prag called back. A lot of farrow. And bigger
to eat. But seems to me most of those hunters spend all day
pigs, too.
roaming without anything to show for it.
With a sinking feeling, the meaning of the bones became
Food is the issue at hand, Calandra said, distracted. Again
clear in Calandras mind. Why the farrow would gather to
she cast the bones and examined the patterns, and again
march against them in such a remote area was beyond her
she saw the same muddled meanings. Bounty, she said,
understanding, but that didnt matter now. She and Janissa
uttering the word as little more than a whisper. Nonsense.
exchanged a look. Calandra shouted toward the wall,
Bounty? Raise the alarm! Tell Grissel theyre coming!
Calandra grunted. At first I thought the pattern warned Stampede, Janissa said, hefting Earthsplitter onto her
of a stampede, but now it looks like bounty. I keep trying shoulder. It appears your bounty is upon us. I suppose
to figure out if theres a location where we can find a herd work on the walls will have to wait.
of something the hunters missed, but it keeps telling me its
already here. The signs are clearly wrong.
17
Theme Forces
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Dire Prophet
Immovable Mountains
Warbeasts:Trollblood non- Units: Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes, Pyg units
character warbeasts, Mulg the Ancient
Solos: Pyg solos, Troll Whelps
Tier 1 Tier 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models Requirements: The army includes one or more units with
listed above. Advance Deployment .
Benefit: Models in the army gain +2ARM during the first Benefit: You gain +1 on your starting roll for the game.
round of the game.
Tier 4
Tier 2 Requirements: The army includes two or more
Requirements: The army includes Troll Whelps. gargantuans.
Benefit: Warbeasts in the army gain +2SPD during the first Benefit: Reduce the cost of gargantuans in this army by2.
round of the game.
Benefit: Increase the FA of Tharn units and solos by1. Benefit: Reduce the cost of light warbeasts by1.
Tier 2 Tier 4
Requirements: The army includes one or more Requirements: The army includes one or more Sentry
Bloodweaver models/units. Stone & Mannikins units.
Benefit: For each Bloodweaver unit or solo in the army, Benefit: For each Sentry Stone & Mannikins unit in
up to one model in the army with Heart Eater gains one the army, place one 3 AOE forest template anywhere
corpse token at the start of the game. The same model can completely within 20 of the back edge of Kromacs
gain multiple corpse tokens but cannot gain more corpse deployment zone after terrain has been placed but before
tokens than it could gain normally. either player deploys his army. Forest templates cannot be
placed within 3 of another terrain feature including other
forest templates.
Permission is hereby granted to create reproductions of this page for personal, non-commercial use only.
18
Zaal, the Ancestral Advocate
Exalted Legions
Warbeasts: Skorne non-character Units: Paingiver Beast Handlers, Skorne Construct units
warbeasts
Solos: Skorne Construct solos
Tier 1 Tier 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models Requirements: The army includes two or more Immortals
listed above. units.
Benefit: Increase the FA of non-character Construct units Benefit: Add an attachment to one Immortals unit free
and solos in the army by1. of cost. This attachment does not count toward FA
restrictions.
Tier 2
Requirements: The army includes two or more warbeasts Tier 4
with SPD6 or greater. Requirements: The army includes three or more
Construct solos.
Benefit: Your deployment zone is extended 2 forward.
Benefit: Construct solos in the army begin the game with
three soul tokens.
Tier 1 Tier 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models Requirements: The army includes three or more different
listed above. Nephilim warbeasts.
Benefit: Increase the FA of non-character Blighted Nyss Benefit: Nephilim warbeasts gain Advance Move. (Before
Swordsman and Hex Hunter units and unit attachments in the start of the game but after both players have deployed,
the army by1. a model with Advance Move can make a full advance.)
Tier 2 Tier 4
Requirements: The army includes one or more Spell Requirements: The army includes one or more units of
Martyrs. Blighted Nyss Swordsmen and one or more units of Hex
Hunters.
Benefit: Spell Martyrs gain Stealth during the first
round of the game. Benefit: Reduce the point cost of Nephilim Soldiers and
Nephilim Bloodseers in the army by1.
Permission is hereby granted to create reproductions of this page for personal, non-commercial use only.
19
Two Fronts
Outer United Kriels Village, Northern I believe so. The greater question is how long before the
Bloodstone Marches farrow cut their losses and run. Where are we with the
Grissel whipped Resounder through the air again, connecting withdrawal?
solidly with the chest of the nearest farrow to send the creature
Ive met some resistance of my own, Calandra said,
crashing into his fellows in a broken heap. She belted out one
jerking her chin in the direction of trollkin warriors who
fell call after another, and up and down the unfinished expanses
were setting up makeshift defenses around a cluster of
of the southern outer wall, her warriors held fast against the
recently erected houses. Many of them are tired of trading
invasion. The farrow were numerous but unorganized, and
one home for another. Its going to take more than farrow
the outer defenses, though incomplete, provided the kriel
to convince them to pack up and hide behind the walls at
defenders with bottlenecks to hold the opposing army at bay.
the inner fort.
Fire! Gunnbjorns deep voice roared from atop the outer
Cant say that I blame them, Grissel said. She looked to
wall. Show those mangy cutthroats what it means to take
the gates in the center of the inner village wall. A steady
up arms against the United Kriels! All along the structures
stream of trollkin were passing through, mostly the elderly
length sounded the crackle and boom of rifles, thumper
and those too young to fight. Grissel hoped to preserve the
cannons, and mortar fire as those under Gunnbjorns
outer village, but they were preparing to get everyone to
command let fly another barrage. Louder discharges rang
safety in case their defenses were overrun. In the distance,
out from behind the warriors holding the gaps, where half
she could see Madrak returning from the mountains with
a dozen war wagons were firing their pounders over the
the mountain kings. If she could hold back the farrow until
heads of trollkin engaged in melee. Farrow clutched at
they arrived, the invading force might be shattered outright.
mortal wounds as the shots found their marks, or were torn
apart and launched into the air by artillery fire. The trollkin The two of them heard a shout and turned to see one of the
were holding and the farrow were taking casualties, but the scouts from the western wall rushing toward them, the look
steadily increasing number of enemies amassing beyond on his face eloquently expressing his alarm and disbelief.
the walls made Grissel uneasy. This was no gathering of a The sight knotted Grissels stomach.
few opportunistic local tribes. Among the gathering horde
Gatormen, from the west! the scout exclaimed. Headed
loomed the hulking forms of warbeasts flanking farrow
straight for the western walls. Too many to count!
warlords that had yet to join the battle.
Gatormen never ventured far from their swamps. It made no
Conserve your ammunition, Gunnbjorn! she shouted.
sense that they would strike out into the sunbaked wasteland
She had never seen such an organized war effort from against the kriels. For a moment Grissel thought to question
farrowkind. Every time she thought the tide of pigs was the scout further, but the trollkins face told her everything
at an end, another band appeared. They numbered in the she needed to know. He was not just jumping at shadows.
thousands. Great gouts of smoke rose from large, strange
She looked down the length of the wall toward the wider
machines not entirely dissimilar to war wagons. The front of
gaps on the western side. She had directed all her warriors
each contraption was fitted with a churning wheel laden with
to the southern side to combat the farrow, and the wall here
spikes, and occasionally a slow farrow was pulled beneath
was more complete than elsewhere. Only a few scattered
the deadly cylinder to leave a streak of gore as the machine
groups remained to cover the rest of the wall, a fact that
advanced. Hundreds of farrow already swarmed the walls,
had already been worrying her. She had expected some
yet the majority of their number waited out of range of troll
of the attacking farrow to eventually spread out along the
cannons and firearms. Grissel believed they were probing the
perimeter to look for better points of ingress.
villages defenses before mounting their main assault.
Now a second army was fast approaching, and there was
A pair of brigands leapt at her with their clubs. She evaded
precious little time to reallocate warriors to stand against
the first, but the second scored a glancing blow on her
the gatormen.
shoulder. She caught the offending farrow in the face with a
backswing, and one of the kriel warriors flanking her struck Get everyone inside, Grissel said, turning back to
down the other. The nearest brigands fell back to regroup Calandra. Were going to perform a fighting retreat. Tell
while pygs on the wall behind fired on them. Gunnbjorn. Ill buy you what time I can. She clapped
Calandra on the shoulder and began yelling orders, hoping
Grissel stepped back and turned, hearing her name called.
to bolster the gathered warriors under her command. She
Do you think we can hold? Calandra asked, looking
kept her voice steady, betraying none of the panic she felt.
harried.
21
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Dire Prophet
Trollblood Epic Trollkin Warlock Unit
In his hands, our very history is a weapon.
Grissel Bloodsong
Kriel Staff the annihilation of all foes. Yet while his words are an
Magical Weapon incitement to war, the shaman would sacrifice everything
Reach to ensure his people endure. He has proven that victory
cannot be attained through peace, but instead requires
Critical Smite On a critical hit, this model can slam the
model hit instead of rolling damage normally. The model hit strength and ruthless ferocity.
is slammed d6 directly away from this model and suffers a
damage roll with POW equal to this models STR plus the
Doomshaper has become a living repository of lore
POW of this weapon. The POW of collateral damage is equal rivaling even the omnipotents of the Circle Orboros. He
to this models STR. never slows in his search for hidden truths, particularly
those pertaining to the legacy of the trollkin people. This
hunt for lore has led him to knowledge of the Molgur
Hoarluk Doomshaper has cemented himself by word and
tribes of old as well as hints of the lost times of prehistory
deed as an essential pillar of the United Kriels. Through
when trollkin were the first intelligent race to walk Caen.
his exploration into the history and the blood of trolls,
During a long lifetime of searching, he has scoured every
he unearthed long-forgotten secrets; his indomitable will
sacred site and spent endless hours collecting rubbings
tore legends from the krielstones of the past and brought
from krielstones across western Immoren, accumulating a
them roaring into the present, hungry and filled with rage.
wealth of ancient teachings.
Those who thought him mad were silenced as his most dire
predictions have come true. Many who once shunned him Once he took it as a point of pride to carry these scrolls and
for his radical ideals now beseech him for aid and seek his their protective cases on his person. Over time, keeping
leadership as enemies close in on all sides. Doomshaper even a limited selection of the most spiritually potent
preaches a violent rhetoric embracing aggression and writings has become an unwieldy burden. His role at the
22
23
forefront of the battles of the United Kriels necessitated
SCROLL BEARER
SCROLL BEARER accepting assistance. A number of stout pygmy trolls
Tough
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
volunteered to help shoulder the legendary shamans
5 6 5 4 13 13 8 Attached to [Doomshaper]
This model is attached to burden. Those taking on this task are loaded down with
Damage 5 enough scrolls and cases to rival the weight of equipment
Doomshaper for the rest
Field Allowance C of the game. Each warlock borne by the most heavily armored kriel warriors. Even
Medium base can have only one model this impressive collection pales in comparison to the
attached to it.
knowledge Doomshaper has committed to memory and
Scroll Bearer Once per turn during Doomshapers activation
which would be lost with him if he perished.
while he is B2B with this model, he can use one of the following
scrolls. Each scroll can be used only once per game. Doomshaper has learned more of the connection between
Scroll of the Call of Troqal While within Doomshapers trollkin and full-blood trolls than anyone before him.
control area, each warbeast in his battlegroup can gain 0 Through his will and audacity, the might of the dire trolls
fury when forced to use its animus instead of gaining fury
points equal to the COST of the animus. Scroll of the Call of was joined to the kriels. This accomplishment alone saved
Troqal lasts for one turn. the lives of countless warriors who could not otherwise
Scroll of the Hand of Yolandi Enemy models pay double have stood against the warjacks and beasts of their
the focus or fury point cost to cast or upkeep spells in enemies. Doomshapers connection with these great trolls
Doomshapers control area for one round. is a deep one. His reputation has grown such that his word
Scroll of the Time of the Molgur While in Doomshapers is law to all full-blood trolls, and his name commands
control area this turn, friendly Faction warrior models gain an universal respect and fear from these primal minds. They
additional die on attack rolls. Discard the lowest die in each
see him as a being greater than his size suggests, more of
roll. Scroll of the Time of the Molgur lasts for one turn.
a natural force than a person. In this simple assumption
they are wise, since Doomshaper serves as a conduit
for the wrath and protective ferocity of Dhunia. The
world is his vast and limitless goddess, and he
walks nowhere that she is not with him.
24
The deep communion between Doomshaper and the searching for newer and greater weapons to add to his
greatest trolls is more than a matter of loreit has changed arsenal. Without the ability to contend with their enemies,
the shamans very being. When he entered into a pact with the kin risk being wiped from Caen. His understanding of
Mulg the Ancient, offering his own hand for consumption, this grim possibility motivated Doomshaper to search for
Doomshaper learned to regenerate as trolls do. The life allies even greater than the dire trolls.
and vitality flowing through him belies his age, allowing
Through his dusty scrolls he looked back to legends from
him to shrug off brutal injuries. He has learned to extend
the dawn of the world, when mountains walked and
this tremendous regenerative power to the trolls under his
when the earth of Dhunias body mixed with the Wurms
command, making them tenacious beyond belief.
predatory blood to birth the progenitors of all trollkind.
Even before his emergence from the Gnarls to participate Though his peers dismissed these legends as fanciful
in the greater struggles of his people, Doomshaper stood myths, Doomshaper proved them wrong. He found
as a figure both feared and respected among the trollkin. ancient markers specifying where the troll kings had
His stature inspired confidence and loyalty, but it also been imprisoned. Against the warnings of his ancestors,
brought Doomshaper into conflict with a number of tribal he awakened and freed the mountain kings, saving them
elders, all of whom he crushed or cowed into obedience. from the twisted deprivations of the Tree of Fate. In doing
Doomshapers war rhetoric and promises of retribution so Doomshaper unleashed beings as dangerous as they are
for past wrongs inflicted upon his race enticed many fearsome, but he knows that only such extreme measures
youthful trollkin to answer his call for blood. No longer can reverse the horrors inflicted on his people. He works
is Doomshaper content to merely react to challenges to ensure that the endless hunger and anger of these trolls
presented to the kriels. Instead his plans revolve around is ever directed at his foes.
taking the fight to his enemies. Already he has set his
While other leaders among the kriels seek to make the best
sights on several human cities within reach of the great
of the hand dealt to them, Doomshaper does not accept
forests the trollkin call home. His ability to persevere and
retreats or self-defeating compromises. His success in
his willingness to retaliate with brutal aggression turned
locating the mountain kings sparked his desire to retrieve
Doomshaper into a legendary figure that inspires fierce
yet more of their kind from slumber, to find other ways
dedication in the most warlike of the kriels. Doomshaper
to bring pain and destruction to his enemies. He would
restored to the kriels the confidence they had nearly
like nothing better than to see the cities of the nations
surrendered in the face of their many setbacks and
of man tremble and fall and to hear their monarchs
misfortunes.
beg for mercy. He intends to strike at them not only for
The number of transgressions against the kin is numerous, wrongdoings inflicted during his lifetime, but also for all
and Doomshapers list of grievances is long. His people the strife between their races since the Menites brought
have been exploited and betrayed at every turn, driven from fire and sword to the Molgur kriels. A thousand terrified
their traditional homes and made welcome in few places. screams are not enough to begin to balance the scales, and
For this reason, the Shaman of the Gnarls never ceased Doomshaper is ready to release an avalanche of carnage.
25
Glacier King
Trollblood Gargantuan
It is like the bones of winter itself grew muscle, sinew, and a bad temperament.
Calandra Truthsayer
sp
6
villages while the perpetual snowfall surrounding them
5 obscures any forms alongside them. Howling gales whirl
about their shoulders and chill with the might of the
northern winds. The moisture in the air crackles as it freezes,
and the exposed hands and faces of enemies are quickly
enveloped by frostbite. Snow and ice blanket the ground at
The awakening of the mountain kings chained beneath the
the glacier kings feet, and enemies who lose their footing
Wyrmwall reminded the world of the eternal hunger that
nearby are promptly crushed to death or frozen solid before
once roved the land. The north, too, has its kings of the
being lofted into a mouth of jagged, yellowed teeth.
peaks, and they are no less insatiable in their appetites for
destruction than their southern cousins. Gifted by the hand At Doomshapers bidding, these incarnations of winter
of Dhunia with an affinity for the elements that envelop now descend from the most remote mountain peaks to hurl
them, the glacier kings are the embodiment of winter and themselves against the enemies of the kriels. One question
the frozen north. Localized storms laden with ice and snow remains in the minds of many trollkin: who will attract the
swirl about their towering forms, streams and lakes ice attention of the glacier kings once these battles are won?
26
27
Dhunian Knot
Trollblood Trollkin Unit
The road calls to us, and we walk it as one.
Nargessel, Shaman of the North
28
Pyg BushwhackerTrollblood
Officer Unit
& Mortar
Attachment
The more firepower we give them, the happier they are to use it.
Captain Gunnbjorn
OFFICER Rifle
RNG ROF AOE POW
Bushwhackers are now commonplace among the fighting Advance Deployment 14 1 10
forces of the United Kriels. Captain Gunnbjorns efforts have Combined Ranged Attack Hand Weapon
seen pyg combatants organized into increasingly effective
Officer POW P+S
teams equipped with firepower to match. 3 8
Pathfinder
Pygs fighting under militarized trollkin leaders now follow a Tough
MORTAR PYG
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
system of promotion similar to that of a traditional military,
Granted: Combined Arms
6 5 4 4 13 12 7
complete with uniforms and insignia. Trollkin commanders While this model is in play, Light Mortar
models in its unit gain RNG ROF AOE POW
Combined Arms. (When a 14 1 4 12
model with Combined Arms
misses an attack roll for a Hand Weapon
POW P+S
combined ranged attack, it
3 8
can reroll that attack roll.
Each attack roll can be Officers Damage 5
rerolled only once as a result Field Allowance 1
of Combined Arms.)
Officer & Mortar pyg 2
Slip Away (Order) Small base
Affected models make a
full advance during their
normal movement this activation, can advance through other
models if they have enough movement to move completely
past them, and cannot be targeted by free strikes.
Tactics: Camouflage Models in this unit gain Camouflage.
(Models with Camouflage gain an additional +2 DEF when
benefiting from concealment or cover.)
MORTAR PYG
Advance Deployment
Pathfinder
Tough
Light Mortar
Arcing Fire When attacking with this weapon, this model can
ignore intervening models except those within 1 of the target.
Range Finder While B2B with another model in this unit, this
model gains +2 to attack rolls with this weapon.
29
Sands of Fate
Bloodstone Marches You think I did not notice this already? Mohsar asked. The
Mohsar floated above the dunes of the Bloodstone Marches, creaking of the Celestial Fulcrums mingled with the whistle
his cloaked form turning in slow circles. The occasional gust of the wind as it passed over the ring of stones. What new
of wind pulled at the folds of his clothing and sent a spray information do you bring on this matter?
of sand swirling about him. His head was thrown back
Closer examination revealed much of this stolen power
and his arms flung wide, his face with its milky-white eyes
being funneled through an obscure sacred site in the
lifted to the desert sun as its warmth radiated across his
Scabbard Hills, Thorle said calmly, seemingly unfazed
upraised palms. Pillars of finely carved stone jutted from
by Mohsars irritation. It became clear there was outside
the earth around him, each thrumming, and it was through
interference. I believe these stolen energies were utilized for
these stones that Mohsar amplified his awareness of the
mass teleportation.
Bloodstone Desert and the regions beyond its borders. A
pair of Celestial Fulcrums circled the site to further enhance Mohsar lowered his arms and turned toward Thorles voice,
his efforts, each creaking and groaning softly as the wood looking at him through the power of Orboros rather than
supporting the stone pieces representing Caens moons his own eyes. The Stormlord?
flexed, the orbs tilting and spinning about their axis.
That was my initial thought. I believe he is involved in a
Through the converging ley lines Mohsar could sense the dangerous project affecting the ley lines, a matter Lyvene the
druids under his command working to repair or rebuild Wayopener is investigating. Blighted energies have erupted
sites destroyed in the aftermath of the battle at the Bones at several connecting nodes across all three dominions,
of Orboros. The resulting disruption of energy flows made likely related to movement of the dragons. But Krueger
coordinating their efforts difficult. He could also sense the is not behind what transpires in the northern Bloodstone
anomaly he knew to be the skorne void seer he had cast Marches. When I arrived there, I encountered interference
deep into the wastes during that same battle. He mentally from the Tree of Fate.
tracked the tear in reality as the skorne warlock made his
The Runecarver paused to allow that to sink in. Mohsar
return trek, veering toward one of his peoples military
found his theatrics annoying. Go on, he snapped.
holdings just south of the Iosan border. Mohsar had yet to
find a more lasting solution for that particular problem. Wurmwood convinced me to allow the passage of a sizable
army of gatormen and bog trogs through the Scabbard Hills.
Through sheer will, he reshaped the land as though the
As promised, they did not damage our site. They appeared
whole of the desert lay beneath his fingers. Slabs of rock
to be there at the trees bidding. Our conversation was brief,
erupted from the earth, hills eroded as he redirected rivers,
but I could feel the trees roots drawing heavily upon the
sand dunes rose in great waves to crest and crash upon the
ley lines. Whatever is happening, I am certain Wurmwood
mountainsides, and heavy clouds rolled from the distant
is behind it. I suspect a great ritual will soon be initiated.
Stormlands to flood stretches of sun-bleached waste. The
work was slow and strenuous, but he was making progress. Mohsar was silent as he extended his mind across the miles
to focus on the specific remote region Thorle described. He
A mental projection he recognized as Bradigus Thorle pulled
sensed the reptilian army, far from the lush swamps they
at his consciousness from across the miles, requesting an
called home. An intense aura of darkness gathered around
audience. Mohsar had sent the Runecarver to repair the
them, as if the entire army was suffused with necrotic
more severe ley line fractures, and he felt a flare of agitation
energies. As he broadened his perspective, a more familiar
at the thought that Thorle might have deviated from that
ripple of discordant power caught his attention. It was the
task. Unlike many in the organization, the Runecarver had
skorne void seer again. Now Mohsar saw his path was likely
always proven dependable. Mohsar gave him the benefit of
to intersect with that taken by the gatorman army. With him
the doubt and granted his request. Soon there was a sound
traveled the rent in reality between Caen and Urcaen that
like the cracking of granite, and Bradigus Thorle appeared.
was anchored to his soul.
State your business, Mohsar said, cutting off any
Mohsar returned to himself and looked again at Bradigus
formalities. He tried to temper his displeasure at having his
Thorle. You have done well. Return to your work and
work interrupted, though it came through in his voice.
await my call. I must attend to this matter personally.
Ive discovered another potentially more alarming Mohsar gathered his power, extending it into and through
disruption to the the ley line network, Thorle said. the Celestial Fulcrums, then became one with the wind
Energy from both Lortus dominion and your own has and sand.
been significantly drained.
31
Kromac , Champion of the Wurm
Circle Epic Tharn Warlock
The Tharn king rules not with the weight of his crown but withthe weightof his axe.
Wolf Lord Morraig
32
33
Storm Raptor
Circle Gargantuan
Its wings are the flash of lightning, its cry the call of thunder.
Una the Falconer
RAPTOR
RAPTOR
Gunfighter
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 1 2
7 13 5 6 12 18 9 Immunity: Electricity
Lightning Flight This model can
RNG ROF AOE POW advance through terrain
12 1 14 and obstacles without
Body
m
POW P+S through obstructions and d
it
ir
sp
Talon completely past them. This 6
POW P+S model ignores intervening
L 4 17
models when declaring its
5
Talon charge target.
POW P+S
Plasma Nimbus If this
R 4 17
model is hit by a melee
Fury 4 attack, immediately after
the attack is resolved the
Threshold 9
attacking model suffers a Tactical Tips
Field Allowance 2
POW 10 electrical damage Lightning Generator The lightning will still arc to models with
Point Cost 19
roll unless this model Immunity: Electricity; it just cannot damage them. Damage from
Huge BASE was destroyed or removed Lightning Generator is not considered to have been caused by a hit
from play by the attack. or by a melee or ranged attack.
Superconduction When a friendly model attacks with a Electro Leap The lightning will still arc to a model with
ranged weapon with Damage Type: Electricity , it gains +2 to Immunity: Electricity; it just cannot damage that model. Damage
attack rolls against enemy models within 5 of this model. from Electro Leap is not considered to have been caused by a hit or
Virtuoso This model can make melee and ranged attacks by a melee or ranged attack.
during the same combat action. When this model makes its initial
attacks, it can make both its initial ranged and melee attacks.
This terrible bird of prey soars over the battlefields of
Lightning Immoren rife with electrical energies, its silhouette blotting
Damage Type: Electricity out the sun while its keen eyes scan for those who would
Lightning Generator When a model is hit with this weapon, oppose the will of its masters. Lightning flickers through its
lightning arcs from that model to d3 consecutive additional feathers, to be unleashed in blinding arcs of voltaic energy as
models. The lightning arcs to the nearest model it has not the raptor dives upon its prey, talons extended for the kill.
already arced to within 4 of the last model it arced to, ignoring
this model. Each model the lightning arcs to suffers a POW 10 Native to the desolate northern Stormlands, this great beast
electrical damage roll . makes its home on the steep cliff faces of the Abyss. It is a
Beak superb hunter and spends much of its time circling amid the
Disruption A warjack hit loses its focus points and cannot be harsh storms common to the region, using their frequent
allocated focus or channel spells for one round. electrical discharges to cloak its approach to preytypically
Electro Leap When a model is hit with this weapon, you can deep drakes and other denizens of this vast and treacherous
have lightning arc to the nearest model within 4 of the model wasteland. Solitary storm raptors often clash with archidons
hit, ignoring the attacking model. The model the lightning arcs in territorial feuds in the skies above the desert, rending the
to suffers an unboostable POW 10 electrical damage roll . air with their cries. The storm raptor is invariably the victor in
Talon these tempestuous battles, though archidons working together
Open Fist sometimes succeed in driving one away.
Disruption See above. Storm raptors were utilized as beasts of war long ago, but
Electro Leap See above. their existence had been forgotten for millennia before
Omnipotent Mohsar called attention to them once more.
His subordinates spent years studying the breeding patterns
ANIMUS Cost RNG AOE POW UP OFF
and habits of the creatures before moving to seize hatchlings
Sky Fire 2 Self * No No
when their nests were unguarded. The charred bodies of a
When an enemy model in this models command range suffers
an electrical damage roll , add +2 to the roll. Sky Fire lasts for number of blackclads who failed are lost to the desert sands,
one round. but the druids did retrieve some few storm raptors and have
trained them well to serve the will of the Circle Orboros.
34
35
Blackclad Mist Riders
Circle Light Cavalry Unit
They stalk the mountain heights and strike with the fury of the storm.
Omnipotent Lortus
36
Bloodweaver Night Witch
Circle Tharn Solo
In consuming her foes, she learns their most guarded weaknesses and her own inner strengths.
Tharn Chieftain Kulventis
Implements of Death
Magical Weapon
Grievous Wounds When a model is hit by this weapon, for
one round it loses Tough, cannot heal or be healed, and cannot
transfer damage.
Life Drinker When it destroys a living enemy model with
this weapon, immediately after the attack is resolved this model
heals d3 damage points.
37
Limits of Authority
Tyrants Lash, Northern Bloodstone Marches army of swine to interfere with the ongoing campaign.
Less than a day ago? Mordikaar asked the primus. The two Make the arrangements, or you shall find yourself more
stood on a section of the outer battlements, accompanied intimately familiar with the Void than I.
by a number of Praetorians. Here atop the fortress, the
Making an overt threat was a riskthe primus now had
mortitheurge and the primus had a better vantage on the
every justification to challenge Mordikaar to a duel. For a
desert beyond them and the looming mountains to the
moment they stood glaring at one another.
north. The barren landscape of this region almost resembled
portions of the eastern empire. Almost. Very well, the primus said at last. You did not say you
were in service to the lord arbiter. A face-saving excuse,
The sun was nearly down when they passed, the primus
but Mordikaar did not challenge it. The primus nodded to
said, pointing north. He had a nervous look and seemed
one of the Praetorians flanking the doorway, and the soldier
unable to keep from staring at the ghostly forms with gaunt
disappeared into the fortress. Your escort should be ready
faces that sometimes manifested around the mortitheurge.
to depart within the hour.
They couldnt have gotten far yet, not with such numbers.
A figure appeared in the same doorwaya low-ranking
From the moment he arrived at Tyrants Lash at the end
extoller, to judge from his robesand stepped hesitantly
of his long trek through the wastes, Mordikaar knew he
into the open air. He wrung his hands as his living eye darted
had been right to alter his course. He found more soldiers
frantically in its socket. The primus let out a dispirited sigh.
stationed along the walls than he had expected, given
the remoteness of this outpost. According to the ranking What is it? the primus asked. You were told to remain in
primus, an army of possibly thousands of heavily armed the ancestral shrine.
farrow had passed within sight of the fortress, heading
You are making a mistake, the extoller said. His voice
due north. An impressive array of beasts and unfamiliar
was low and he spoke directly to Mordikaar, showing no
wheeled battle machines traveled with them. The garrison
sign of having heard the primus. Give up your chase. The
had expected this army to besiege them, but it had passed
ancestors demand it!
without aggression. He could not say how or why, but
Mordikaar felt certain the farrows movements were related Apologies, the primus said to Mordikaar as the guard
to whatever was pulling the Void portal north. gently took the extoller by the arm to guide him back to the
central fortress. Extoller Lakaar has been unwell these last
I need a weeks worth of rations and an escort of your most
few days.
experienced soldiers, Mordikaar said. He eyed Mount
Shyleth Breen and the Iosan peaks to the north. Two full The extoller extracted his arm from the soldiers and turned
taberna should suffice, a mix of Venators and Praetorians. back toward Mordikaar. The answers you seek will be your
undoing, he insisted, his eyes focused and unblinking.
The primus stared at Mordikaar in disbelief. After a moment,
You bring the death of us all!
he said, The soldiers stationed here are reserved for the
preservation of supply lines and caches vital to the Army of Mordikaar raised one of his lanterns and unleashed a blast
the Western Reaches. You lack the authority to demand them of energy, knocking the extoller to the ground with his robes
or to lead them, mortitheurge. Though the primus voice smoking. He was still alive, but under the lanterns assault
was stern, his expression betrayed a lack of confidence. It he convulsed and fell unconscious. Mordikaar considered
was true Mordikaar held limited authority, being neither an striking him again but stopped when he saw the primus
officer nor a member of the warrior caste, but he had never expression. Even deranged extollers were to be respected,
let rank stop him. He generally relied on Hexeris or Rasheth and he had strained the primus tolerance far enough.
to allocate the soldiers and warbeasts he required.
Remove him from my sight, Mordikaar said. This man
I leave today, as soon as possible, Mordikaar said. is unfit for service.
Perhaps you misunderstood me The primus hesitated but then conveyed the order to his
subordinate. Mordikaar turned from them to look again
No, Mordikaar interrupted, you misunderstand. You have
toward the desert, and the primus backed away, effectively
allowed an enemy force to bypass your post uncontested
dismissed.
and head directly for the supreme archdominas supply
lines. I will investigate the ramifications of your foolishness. Behind Mordikaar, the portal that was a rent between
If you stand in my way, you will answer to Lord Arbiter worlds flickered and swayed, its oblong shape still straining
Hexeris and explain why you felt compelled to allow an toward the mountains in the distance.
39
Zaal, the Ancestral Advocate
Skorne Epic Warlock
He is a vital link in the chain binding past to present, the exalted to the living. To impugn him is to
disrespect our ancestors.
Supreme Archdomina Makeda
ZAAL
Construct
Tactical Tips
Direct Spirits When a friendly living Faction warrior model
Annihilation Because boxed models are removed from play
is destroyed in this models control area and generates a soul,
before they are destroyed, they do not generate corpse tokens or
you choose which eligible model gains the soul, regardless of
additional soul tokens. Cull Soul converts tokens gained from
the proximity of other models. Enemy models never gain soul
Annihilation into focus points.
tokens for friendly living Faction warrior models destroyed in
this models control area. Direct Spirits Eligible models are those models that could gain
that models soul if no other model was closer.
Righteous Vengeance If one or more friendly Faction warrior
models were destroyed or removed from play by enemy attacks
while within 5 of this model during your opponents last turn, eyes brook no insubordination or disloyalty, and both his
after resolving continuous effects during your Maintenance
will and his connection to the spirit realm are stronger than
Phase, this model can make a full advance followed by one
normal melee attack. ever. Untethered spirits swirl about his obsidian body while
Reclaim This model gains one soul token for each friendly
his vision pierces the veil of death to perceive the mysteries
living Faction warrior model destroyed by a continuous effect, of the world and lay their secrets bare.
an enemy attack, or collateral damage from an enemy attack
in its control area. During your Control Phase, after this model In life, Zaal was suspected of delving into forbidden arts.
leaches fury but before it spends fury to upkeep spells, replace A pragmatic mystic, he was willing to sacrifice even the
each soul token with 1 fury point. exalted to achieve victory. Some whisper that his own
Steady This model cannot be knocked down. unorthodox exaltation was an abuse of his authority, as only
a rare few outside the warrior caste receive exaltation. His
Obsidian Staff
Magical Weapon followers refute this idea, pointing to the fact that he died in
glorious battle and insisting his unequalled mind required
Reach
preservation. None dare speak their doubts in his presence
Silencer A model directly hit by this weapon cannot cast
lest their houses lose the privilege of exaltation altogether.
spells for one round.
Zaal retains unprecedented control over his caste, and the
Supreme Aptimus Zaal exemplified the power of the extoller extollers of the Army of the Western Reaches are fanatically
caste, whether he was communing with the honored dead loyal to him. If others elsewhere openly object, they risk
or leading a host of ancestral guardians and immortals dividing their caste. For now, Zaals exalted status places
in battle. During one such battle against Ios, Zaal was him beyond reproach. If the ancestors disapprove, Zaal
mortally wounded. He refused to surrender to the Void and keeps their dissent in check, since they can speak only
preserved himself with his last breath. His devoted followers through his vassals. His newfound understanding of the
recovered his sacral stone and fused him into a new form, untapped potential within each sacral stone carries with it
one worthy of his stature. He retains leadership of his caste the promise of grim endeavors to come.
and intends to hold it until the end of days. His unliving
40
41
Desert Hydra
Skorne Gargantuan
The temperament of this great beast is every bit as brutal and unforgiving as the desolate lands it inhabits.
Supreme Archdomina Makeda
4
Acquiring desert hydras represents only a portion of the
it
ir
sp
6 expense of keeping them. For every slave killed in procuring
these beasts, ten are lost during conditioning and battle
5 preparation. Additionally, inserting flesh hooks beneath
the hydras natural armor plating is a task from which
few beast handlers walk away unscathed, and keeping the
beasts fed requires a steady expenditure of resources. Once,
Of the terrors lurking in the harsh desert at the fringe of the use of desert hydras proved far too cost-prohibitive for
skorne territory, the multi-headed hydra is among the even the most powerful skorne houses. Now that Supreme
most recognizable and the most fearsome. In combat, the Archdomina Makeda has united the empire, however, she
desert hydras heads duck and weave as it coordinates has made the acquisition of these beasts a top priority so that
precision strikes or washes foes with potent acid secreted she might use their strength in her bid for power in the west.
42
43
Legends of Halaak
Skorne Character Unit
Honor has many faces.
Valgesh
VALGESH
VALGESH Tactical Tip
Fearless
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD Combo Smite The slammed model is moved only half the
6 7 7 4 13 15 10 Officer distance rolled if its base is larger than the slamming models.
Sword Flank [another model
POW P+S in this unit] When this Once respected members of the warrior caste, the Praetorians
3 10 model makes a melee attack
now known as the Legends of Halaak spent the early years
against an enemy model
CIDAAR
within the melee range of a of their careers clashing with one another in house feuds.
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
6 7 7 4 13 15 10 friendly model of the type It was not until their houses were destroyed that the three
indicated, this model gains would join forces and earn greater acclaim.
Naginata +2 to attack rolls and gains
POW P+S an additional damage die. The second war of unification and return of Vinter
5 12
Granted: Side Step Raelthorne from the west saw the leadership of disloyal
JDETH While this model is in houses publicly executed in Halaak and many houses
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD play, models in this unit
6 7 7 4 13 15 10 dissolved. Most of their warriors were merged into the
gain Side Step. (When a
model with Side Step hits Army of the Western Reaches. Some defiant soldiers silently
Maul
POW P+S an enemy model with an displeased with Vinter Raelthornes continued reign became
4 11 initial melee attack or a outcasts and brigands. Careful not to draw the attention
melee special attack that is of paingivers, these disenfranchised Praetorians formed
Damage 5 each not a power attack, it can
Field Allowance C advance up to 2 after the opportunistic taberna united by dedication to the hoksune
Point Cost 4 attack is resolved. It cannot code instead of house loyalties. These bands offered their
Small bASE be targeted by free strikes services in a variety of inter-house conflicts. They sought
during this movement.) to be rewarded with glory in battle, not coin, and accepted
CIDAAR only tasks that supported the tenets of hoksune as well as
Fearless Valgesh posing a significant challenge. Those who survived their
Defensive Strike Once per turn, time as outcasts earned reputations as skilled and fearless
when an enemy model advances Cidaar combatants.
into and ends its movement in
this models melee range, this Valgesh, Cidaar, and JDeth were each among the most
model can immediately make one JDeth accomplished of these warriors who remained in Halaak
normal melee attack against it.
after unification. Trained in the classic art of dual-bladed
Flank [another model in this unit] See above. combat, Valgesh was once the finest swordsman of the now-
Granted: Synchronicity While this model is in play, models in extinct House Jukkar. His ability to lead and inspire his peers
its unit gain Synchronicity. (While B2B with one or more models was widely known even before his houses dissolution.
in its unit, a model with Synchronicity gains +2 DEF.)
Cidaar, a former ranking officer of House Karzul, was still
JDETH young when she left her house after their tyrant bent the
Fearless knee to the Conqueror. She joined an outcast taberna and
Flank [another model in this unit] See above. within months assumed command, then built the groups
Granted: Relentless Charge While this model is in play, models reputation for being both vicious and reliable. Of the three,
in this unit gain Relentless Charge. (Models with Relentless JDeth has most readily adapted to the life of a vagabond
Charge gain Pathfinder during activations they charge.) warrior. His now-enslaved House Govaax came from the
Sword Northern Marches, and he spent his youth scouting the
Combo Strike (HAttack) Make a melee attack. Instead of desert fringes. An oddity in Halaak, his talents have proven
making a normal damage roll, the POW of the damage roll is well suited to surviving the Bloodstone Marches.
equal to this models STR plus twice the POW of this weapon.
When Supreme Archdomina Makeda overthrew Vinter, this
Naginata
trio of renowned warriors went west to offer their services
Reach
to House Balaash. The supreme archdomina accepted
Maul despite distrust and disapproval from her officers due to
Combo Smite (HAttack) Make a melee attack. On a hit, instead the groups disreputable past. To Makeda, it was enough
of making a normal damage roll the target model is slammed d6
directly away from this model and suffers a damage roll with POW to know the warriors reputations in battle and their
equal to the STR of this model plus twice the POW of this weapon. unquestionable dedication to hoksune.
The POW of collateral damage is equal to this models STR.
44
45
Extoller Advocate
Skorne Unit Attachment
Through our efforts we guide the blades of the past.
Aptimus Sarangerel
46
47
Unveiled
Northern Wyrmwall Mountains the dead, which boded well for Everblights plans but also
Everblight sensed the movements and locations of his introduced new complications. Those capable of vanquishing
forces as they crossed western Immoren. The athanc he the lich lord must be formidable, and now they had the athanc.
sought was near, and his desire to consume its power was Everblight was loath to put his own shards at risk while the
foremost in his mind. Lylyth and Bethayne had been at the dragons allied with Blighterghast searched for him. He urged
fore of the hunt until recently, but again the blackclads had the harriers closer, hoping to learn more.
interfereda sizable force including many stone constructs
A sudden flash of intense blighted light shot out from the
had descended from the mountains to intercept each of
dark void within the ship, blinding the harriers and leaving
them. Saeryn and Rhyas, recovered from their earlier clash,
Everblight momentarily stunned. The spawn screeched in
had taken the vanguard again and now closed on his prize.
surprise and in the last seconds before Everblight withdrew
Everblight channeled his consciousness into the athanc
his consciousness he heard shouts from the riverboat and
shards within them to assess their situation.
the crack of rifle fire.
The dragon took a moment to consider the changes their
The dragon felt a lurch at the core of his being. He pulled
bodies had undergone since his absorption of Pyromalfics
back to Saeryn to find the warlock on one knee, her mind
athanc. Ridges of blighted calluses rose along one side of
clouded, the spawn under her control disoriented. The
their bodies, and a pair of miniscule horns projected from
sensation went deeper. Everblight felt an outside force, a
Saeryns forehead. The expansion of Thagroshs athanc
foreign energy, penetrating his athanc. The impression
had required Everblight to attune the crystalline shards of
of being laid bare was all-consuming. A bright lance of
the remaining warlocks to channel the greater power that
blighted energy was beaming from each of his shards
Everblight now possessed. Each warlock had responded
through the warlocks that held them, turning each into a
to this adjustment differently. Satisfied that the twins were
beacon. Through his divided athanconce united with
properly acclimated, Everblight expanded his perspective,
Toruks and Toruks other progenyhe felt an awareness
peering through their eyes as well as the blighted senses of
of those as ancient as himself, watching. A deep revulsion
their dragonspawn.
filled him as draconic minds violated his isolation.
Saeryn and Rhyas topped a rise. Below them, the Banvick
The captured athanc in the ship was also shining like a
River wound through an expanse of trees between the
beacon, signalling its position so strongly that Everblight
mountains. A solitary riverboat moved upstream, and small
could sense it even from the perspective of Lylyth and
details told Everblight it was likely of Cryxian fabrication.
Kallus. The realization that his own shards betrayed his
What mattered more than the vessel itself was what lay
location in the same manner chilled him with fear. He
in its hold, something he could detect only through the
sensed that the disembodied athanc was not the source of
dragonspawn: a sphere of darkness deep in the ships hull,
this intrusion, but it was reacting in the same way as his
impenetrable to blighted energies. This containment field
own athanc. The invading force came from elsewhere.
surrounded the athanc. The sphere flickered and something
glowed from withinan intriguing distortion he had not Through his scattered warlocks, Everblight felt the foreign
witnessed before. Was the field failing? energy wash over him several times, like ripples in a
disturbed pond. It came not from one location but several,
Everblight had hoped to have his warlocks in place to
scattered across western Immoren. He tried to decipher the
intercept the athanc, but he would have to limit himself to
information even as the ripples faded, and he realized he was
surveying the ships defenses until reinforcements arrived.
sensing other athancs, other dragons. As he was revealed
Kallus was not far behind, nor was Absylonia, though she
to them, they were revealed to him. There were as many
had lost most of her spawn to Lich Lord Venethrax.
as six, perhaps more, and at least two were uncomfortably
Using Saeryn as a conduit, Everblight urged a pair of harriers close. He recalled the sensation he felt when Blighterghast
into flight and watched as they swept toward the distant summoned the dragon alliance to warn them of Everblights
vessel. Through their eyes he saw mace-wielding knights clad attack on Pyromalfic. Their desire for vengeance was fierce.
in white robes and steel walking the ships deck alongside Whatever plan they had hatched against him had begun.
other soldiers in traditional Cygnaran uniforms. Somewhere They had discovered his nature.
along the way the athanc had clearly changed hands, stolen
A hushed silence fell around Saeryn and Rhyas, and the
from Cryx. Saeryn and Rhyas had discovered the aftermath
wind stilled. Then a thunderous roar rang out, crashing
of a battle downriver, near where the Banvick fed into the
across the twins like an unstoppable wave.
Dragons Tongue. The remains of Terminus had been among
49
Saeryn & Rhyas, Talons of Everblight
Legion Epic Blighted Nyss Warlock Unit
While you guard against one talon, the other rips open your throat.
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
The brutal and efficient nature of Saeryn and Rhyas Whereas Saeryn is a being of schemes and subterfuge,
mirrored that of the dragon even before they accepted the Rhyas is more direct, with a black-and-white perspective
gift of his blight, and the athanc shards embedded in their on the world. She does not mind following her sisters
bodies served to further awaken their inner potential. Since lead, and in combat she allows herself to be guided by a
their youth the twins have demonstrated a deadly resolve combination of instinct and intuition. Rhyas is no less
and focus, a willingness to push beyond any perceived intelligent than her sister and has proven a capable tactician
limitations. They went so far as to consecrate their union and strategist when commanding soldiers of Everblights
with the dragon through the murder of their entire shard. legion, but she approaches problems head-on, often finding
With this demonstration of sacrifice and ruthlessness, they solutions at the edge of her sword. Rhyas also carries most
earned their place as the leaders of Everblights legion. of the emotional weight of the bond between the twins,
They are his talons, striking as if each were joined to the though by any outside assessment she is every bit as callous
same claw. They are extensions of one another as much as as her sister. Everblight has augmented her natural abilities
they are of the dragon itself. with the blade and refined her killing instincts to make her
50
51
a living weapon, cutting her way across the battlefield with athanc shard. This period of separation marked the longest
precise movements and measured strikes. Yet her feelings time Saeryn and Rhyas had been apart, and although it
for her sister run deep, and she feels whole only at Saeryns took its toll on both twins, their bond became stronger than
side. Ultimately, nothing matters to her except this one ever in the aftermath. Much of the tension between the two
simple truth. was resolved, and each of the twins were reminded of the
strength she gained from proximity to the other.
Though the mystical connection between the twins has
always been strong, in the past Saeryn sometimes longed Saeryn no longer seeks isolation. Their combined power far
for an identity separate from her sister, whom she treated eclipses what either commands alone. The two now move
with cruel condescension. Saeryn acknowledges her sisters as if of one mind, each anticipating the movements of the
skills and killing prowess, but she considers herself the other to adapt their tactics and coordinate strikes without
superior intellect and the will that impels the pair to excel. saying a word. Saeryn has adopted a new fighting style to
This has sometimes led Saeryn to regard her sister as a tool, enter battle alongside her sister. She now wields a spear, the
a mere extension of herself. But her actions prove that Rhyas haft of which was built from a powerful staff recovered from
is the one person in the world Saeryn truly valuesas much the Shyvess shard. Saeryns connection to Rhyas guides her
as she can care about anyone. strikes. Their spells and steel work in tandem as they push
opponents to their limits before overwhelming them with a
After their victory over Pyromalfic at the Castle of the
concentrated flurry of magic and physical attacks.
Keys, the twins were ordered to take separate routes on the
journey north through Ios and Rhul so they might ensure the
survival of Thagrosh and the full absorption of Pyromalfics
52
Spells Cost RNG AOE POW UP OFF RHYAS
RHYAS
Flashing Blade 1 Self No No Acrobatics This model
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
This model immediately makes one normal attack with one of its melee can advance through other
weapons against each enemy model in its LOS that is in the weapons
7 5 8 6 16 14 8
models if it has enough
melee range. These attacks are simultaneous.
movement to move Antiphon
Occultation 2 6 Yes No completely past their bases. POW P+S
Target friendly model/unit gains Stealth . This model cannot be 7 12
Onslaught 2 Self Ctrl Yes No targeted by free strikes. This Fury 5
Friendly Faction models beginning a charge in this models control area model ignores intervening
gain Pathfinder during the charge.
Damage 8
models when declaring its
Field Allowance C
charge target.
Small Base
Bond of Blood [Saeryn]
Tactical Tip This model can spend fury
Twin Sister This warlock unit is both Saeryn and Rhyas for the points to transfer damage to Saeryn.
purpose of the Affinity, Bond, and Special Issue rules. Channeler [Saeryn] While this model is not engaged and is in
Saeryns control area, Saeryn can channel spells through it.
Everblights consumption of Pyromalfics athanc increased Granted: Riposte While this model is in play, models in this
unit gain Riposte. (When a model with Riposte is missed by an
the dragons power, and this influx was felt by the twins as
enemy melee attack, immediately after the attack is resolved it
well. Fresh surges of blighted energy poured through their can make one normal melee attack against the attacking model.)
bodies from their athanc shards, shaping them anew. Their Twin Sister Saeryn and Rhyas are both warlock models, but
superficial changes are outward manifestations of a deeper only Saeryn has the Officer advantage. Saeryn and Rhyas
transmutation, one that bestowed new powers and abilities. share a single battlegroup and count as one warlock for the
purposes of army construction.
The very being of the twins and their athancs are now Saeryn cannot make attacks against Rhyas, and Rhyas cannot
entwined. Their living vitality is shared, so that destroying make attacks against Saeryn. Saeryn and Rhyas cannot have an
one is impossible without eliminating the other. As long as Attached model. Your warlock is destroyed only if both Saeryn
and Rhyas are destroyed or removed from play.
one twin still draws breath, the other can endure even the
most severe wounds. Injuries not shunted to warbeasts can Antiphon
also be shared between the sisters, each shielding the other Magical Weapon
53
Blightbringer
Legion Gargantuan
Mine is the inferno of ages, and we shall bury all the world with ashes in our passing.
Everblight
Tail Strike So hot are the fires burning within the Blightbringers frame
Critical Poison On a critical hit, gain an additional die on this that the very blood pumping through its veins remains at a
weapons damage rolls against living models. perpetual boil. Those who fight their way through the smog
Rear Attack When declaring and resolving attacks with this swirling about the gargantuan to strike it are scalded by
weapon, this models front arc extends to 360. steaming ichor spraying in great gouts from the beasts wounds.
and streams are tainted, and for days after the Blightbringers
ir
sp
6
passage, animals not quick to flee may be found changed in
5 horrific ways, become malevolent and vicious. For creatures
already blighted, this energy strengthens muscle and bolsters
bone and scales to further perfect Everblights improvements
over nature.
Tactical Tip The Blightbringer is the flame around which the legion
Rear Attack This does not enable this model to target models in gathers, while the empires of men and dragons tremble at
its back arc with charges. their approach.
54
55
Grotes que Banshees
Legion Blighted Nyss Unit
Its not the claws you have to worry about.
Gorten Grundback
LEADER & GRUNTS With their strengthened vocal cords, expanded chest cavities,
LEADER & GRUNTS and highly elastic lungs, grotesque banshees are able to emit
Fearless
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
5 7 5 5 13 13 6 Gunfighter high-frequency cries so intense their sonic force can collapse
Flight This model can the bones and rupture the organs of Everblights enemies.
Piercing Screech
RNG ROF AOE POW advance through terrain Foes caught in the blast of these deadly screams collapse,
SP 6 1 12 and obstacles without rivulets of blood flowing from their ears, nose, and mouth.
penalty and can advance Even those enemies hardy enough to endure the banshees
Field Allowance 2
through obstructions
Leader & 5 Grunts 5 and other models if it sonic attacks rarely escape unscathed but are deafened by the
Leader & 9 Grunts 8 has enough movement focused bursts of sound, and the frequency of these piercing
Small base to move completely past shrieks can shatter the concentration of any spellcaster.
them. This model ignores
intervening models when declaring its charge target. Those beset by these winged horrors often employ projectiles
Force Barrier This model gains +2 DEF against ranged attack in hopes of shooting down the spawn before they close.
rolls and does not suffer blast damage. Constant changes in direction and altitude render the
Piercing Screech grotesques difficult to track or lead even with highly accurate
Silencer A model directly hit by this weapon cannot cast weapons. Such tactics are further rendered ineffective as
spells for one round. sonic waves emitted from the gaping mouths of the banshees
alter the trajectory of those arrows and bullets they do not
Few sounds haunt the memories of soldiers like the cry of the outright shatter.
grotesque banshee. On leathery wings these twisted forms The cry of this blighted creature is so effective a weapon
plummet from the sky in great flocks to sweep over those that while grappling with prey the banshee will scream in
embattled below and assail them with maddening screeches. the opponents face rather than using claws or fangs. Most
Enemies clutch at their ears and beg for relief as their bones foes subjected to this sonic assault die outright, while some
are rattled within their bodies. undergo intense agony as their hearing is shredded within
Banshees are another example of Everblights ability to adapt their skulls. One way or another, for most victims the
flesh to the task at hand. What traces of the Nyss that remain banshees shriek is the last sound they will ever hear.
in other grotesques are gone in these, which bear a far
more monstrous appearance. The last
vestiges of hair have fallen away
and the jaws gape, low and
extended with rows of
razor-sharp teeth.
56
que Assassin
GrotesLegion Blighted Nyss Solo
By the hands of the assassins, our adversaries will be made to fear the open sky.
Kallus, Wrath of Everblight
Assassin Blades
Combo Strike (HAttack) Make a melee attack. Instead of
making a normal damage roll, the POW of the damage roll is
equal to this models STR plus twice the POW of this weapon.
57
Final Preparations
Blindwater Congregation Encampment, at hand, they were consumed by excitement for the looming
Northern Bloodstone Marches battle. Still, Calaban kept his gaze on Maelok, searching for
The night sky was black and vast, pitted with the pinpricks anything that might confirm the fleeting emotion.
of a thousand stars. Only the towering stone structures of
You know who this is for, dont you? Calaban lofted the
the sacral vaults stood out against the dome, their shadowed
totem above his head and watched Maeloks face. In life
forms flickering with the light of row upon row of candles
Maelok had been a powerful bokor, Calabans greatest rival,
fashioned from animal fat. Their great stone wheels had cut
and in death he knew the totem that bound his own spirit
deep gouges into the earth. In the morning those wheels
to Calabans service. He would apprehend the purpose of
would carry the massive constructs on their final stretch of
the assembled bones, yet the dreadbounds eyes remained
the journey and into the heart of slaughter.
dead and expressionless. Calaban recalled how Maelok had
Calaban had spent the better part of the evening preparing fallen under his power, and he felt a twinge of an unfamiliar
the vaults for their role in Barnabas great ceremony, invoking sensationregret. Perhaps you were right, when you were
rites and directing others to wash the altars with the blood alive. Maybe if we had stood together against Barnabas, I
of sacrifices. Now, with everyone joining Barnabas and Jaga- would not need to stand alone against him now. I was short-
Jaga in the revel at the camps center, he slipped away from sighted. I did not think he could succeed.
prying eyes to attend to his own preparations. He moved to
Calaban heard another set of footfalls, and he hastily stowed
the edge of the camp, beyond the reach of the torchlight, and
the totem before Jaga-Jaga emerged from the darkness.
withdrew from his satchel a skull and a clattering mass of
An undead tatzylwurm coiled about her body, hissing at
slender bones fixed to a central cord made from intestines.
Calaban as she approached.
The ribs and finger bones numbered in the dozens, each
Grave Walker, Jaga-Jaga said in greeting. You have done
taken from a separate victim. They fell in cascading layers
fine work on the vaults. The congregation owes much to
that spanned the length of the cord like a crooked spine.
your skill.
A human skull missing the lower jaw topped the morbid
creation. The uppermost layers of small bones disappeared Your efforts are equally admirable, Calaban said smoothly.
into the cranium, and the string emerged from a small hole On another occasion he might have offered some criticism, but
in the top. Calaban held the totem suspended from one with his plans underway it was important to remain gracious.
clawed hand and tapped it with the other so it dangled and He had resented the death charmers involvement in his affairs
spun before his yellow eyes. He had put considerable effort since she pledged her service to Barnabas. Her words did not
into its construction beyond the acquisition of materials, conceal her true purpose. He recognized her desire to pry into
and looking at the runes etched on each bone sent a shiver of his doings, but Calaban would not expose his secrets.
pleasure down the bokors spine. Barnabas preparations for
She said, The eve of battle is upon us. Will you not join the
ascension were all but complete, but so too were Calabans
celebration? Tomorrow we feast on the fallen. Kossk will be
own plans. He never thought the deranged Barnabas could
watching.
gain so much power so quickly, yet here they were.
I have final preparations to attend to, Calaban said, speaking
Calaban heard soft footfalls in the dark and whirled to
a half-truth. I will celebrate once tomorrows work is done.
see the decayed form of Maelok close by. As always, the
dreadbound appeared devoid of emotion, a dry husk As you wish, Jaga-Jaga said, turning away. I will let
walking among the living. Barnabas know you are too busy to answer his summons
and witness his final steps to godhood.
You! Calaban hissed at the animated corpse, agitated at
being startled from his contemplation. He often forgot about Calaban hissed, unable to hide his frustration. Never did
Maelok entirely when he wasnt giving him commands, and she cease to manipulate the situation to her own ends. Yet
he rarely considered the dreadbound beyond the degree to even as his temper flared, he thought of the totem and its
which one might think of a tool. Now, however, Calaban imminent use. Tell Barnabas I will join him shortly.
thought he sensed a glint of emotion, and he traced Maeloks
Jaga-Jaga paused as though she might say something more
stare to the bone totem. Recognition or even hatred flickered
and then disappeared into the dark. Calaban watched
behind Maeloks eyes, and then it was gone.
her go, then looked to Maelok, who stared with the same
A cacophony of guttural roars sounded in the distance as the expression, blank and unreadable.
throng of gatormen at the camps center responded to some
Soon, Calaban said, retrieving the totem from the satchel.
declaration made by Barnabas. The congregation was eager for
Soon.
blood; with the prospect of their leaders alleged deification
59
Battle Boar
Minion Farrow Light Warbeast
The fighting spirit keeps as well in tubes and canisters as within the flesh.
Dr. Arkadius
D
brute boars have been
trained for battle through
IT
IR
SP
6
breaking their will and
5 subjecting them to rage-
filled brawling. Trained
Fury 3 battle boars learn to
Threshold 7 call upon swells of
Field Allowance U
adrenaline to batter
Point Cost 4
Medium base
opponents to pieces
under their enhanced
strength. This process
originally took months to accomplish, depending on the
skill of the trainer and the will of the particular beast. Now,
through the intervention of Dr. Arkadius and his cunning
apparatus, the qualities of these fighting creatures can be
unleashed almost immediately, with only minimal training.
M
D
Acid Bomb Models
inducing gases. in the AOE are hit and
IT
suffer a POW 12 corrosion
IR
SP
Open Fist
Open Fist
61
Blind Walker
Minion Gatorman Heavy Warbeast
The capacity for thought in a beast is nothing but distraction.
Calaban the Grave Walker
friendly Faction warlock blinded, its eyes replaced with semi-precious stones. The
can transfer damage to this
IT
beast exists in a state of living death and will obey any of its
IR
SP
model even if this model
6 has a number of fury points masters commands without hesitation.
5 equal to its current FURY.
A blind walker is conditioned to swiftly interpose itself
Shield Guard Once per
Fury 3
round, when a friendly
between a warlock and his foes without protest or
Threshold 10
model is directly hit by a acknowledgment. Each is so tightly linked to its warlocks
Field Allowance U ranged attack during your will that a bokors magic flows readily through it, making it
Point Cost 7 opponents turn while the perfect weapon of war.
Large base within 2 of this model,
you can choose to have this
model directly hit instead.
This model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and
effects. This model cannot use Shield Guard if it is incorporeal,
knocked down, or stationary.
Claw
Open Fist
62
Croak Raiders
Minion Unit
They exude poison and light everything they see on fire. Thoroughly unpleasant creatures!
Saxon Orrik
Flaming Dart
Continuous Effect: Fire
Damage Type: Fire
Oil Gourd
Alchemical Accelerant A
model hit by this attack suffers
Oil. When an oiled model
suffers a fire damage roll ,
the damage roll is automatically
boosted. Oil lasts for one round.
Cumbersome If this model
attacks with this weapon during its
activation, it cannot attack with another
ranged weapon that activation. If this model
attacked with another ranged weapon this activation,
it cannot attack with this weapon.
63
Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr
Mercenary Minion Character Unit
Never before have I had the pleasure of working with such astute assistants. They are intelligent,
capable, and not at all predisposed to the unfortunate deaths which often befall my charges.
Professor Viktor Pendrake
64
65
Farrow Brigand Warlord
Minion Unit Attachment
Each chief thinks himself a warlord. It amuses me to see them squabble over the scraps I leave behind.
Lord Carver
Attachment [Farrow their local villages, they must hasten to answer the call of
WARLORD Brigand] This attachment mightier ones. It is in this way that the largest warbands
SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD can be added to a Farrow
5 7 7 6 12 16 9 Brigand unit.
are assembled, a chaotic collection of fierce and aggressive
Pig Iron farrow, each only as obedient to his superiors as he is fearful
RNG ROF AOE POW
WARLORD of them.
10 1 12 Gunfighter
Officer Farrow warlords must be prepared to fight dirty, and their
battle Axe
battle tactics reflect this. They prefer ambush whenever
POW P+S Dig In (HAction) This
5 12 model gains cover, does not possible, avoiding engagement unless they have clearly
Damage 5 suffer blast damage, and superior numbers. Failure invites challenges from within
does not block LOS. The the ranks. Many do not hold their vaunted positions for
Field Allowance 1
model remains dug in until
Point Cost 3 more than a few seasons before being pushed aside by
it moves, is placed, or is
Small base engaged. The model cannot younger and stronger rivals. Those warlords who do
dig into solid rock or man- survive bear many scarsas many from potential usurpers
made constructions. This model can begin the game dug in. as from external threats. These injuries are displayed with
Granted: Gang While this model is in play, models in this unit pride, serving the farrow as badges of rank and distinction.
gain Gang. (When making a melee attack targeting an enemy
model in melee range of another model in its unit, a model with
Gang gains +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls.)
Granted: Reform While this model is in play, after all models in
its unit have completed their actions, each can advance up to 3.
Tactics: Prowl Models in this unit gain Prowl. (Models with
Prowl gain Stealth while within terrain that provides
concealment, the AOE of a spell that provides concealment, or
the AOE of a cloud effect.)
In farrow society, might makes right, and only the strongest and
most willful climb the ranks over the battered bodies of those
left below them. Through bloody battles against both friend
and foe, farrow warlords are those rare few
who have scraped together enough
clout to hold their positions through
a lifetime of unbridled violence and
cunning. No warlords position is
secure, requiring demonstrations
of sheer brutality to keep the
ambitions of their subordinates in
line. The slightest hint of weakness
can topple any of them. To the farrow, this
represents the natural order.
66
Gremlin Swarm
Minion Grymkin Solo
It wasnt until I walked into the shop to find an old Stormclad waltzing across the floor with a
Centurion that I knew we had a gremlin problem.
Timothy Foster, shop assistant
Nothing in all the world attracts the attention of gremlins Minion This model will
like the hiss and clank of a warjack treading across the work for Circle, Legion, GREMLIN SWARM
Skorne, and Trollbloods. SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
battlefield. Mischievous and malicious to the extreme, these
6 2 2 2 14 12 7
grymkin delight in rooting around in mechanikal constructs GREMLIN SWARM Damage 5
with the intent of causing as much damage as possible solely Incorporeal
Field Allowance 3
for their own amusement. More than one jack marshal has Stealth Point Cost 2
found his or her warjack inert or walking in loose circles Apparition During your Medium base
only to find a swarm of gremlins had taken up residence Control Phase, place this
within the machine. model anywhere completely within 2 of its current location.
Man-Sized This model is treated as a model with a small base
The annoyance caused by gremlins is matched only by the and occupies the space from the bottom of its base to a height
sense of mystery surrounding them. As with other grymkin, of 1.75.
extraordinary zoologists know little of their origins and can Mischief When an enemy warjack begins its activation B2B
make even less of their motivations. Rather than allowing with this model, roll a d3. On a 1, the warjack suffers Disruption
themselves to be hired for use during conflicts, gremlins are for one round. On a 2, the warjack suffers 2 SPD for one round.
On a 3, the warjacks ranged weapons suffer 5 RNG for one
far more likely to simply show up at battles that include round. (A warjack suffering Disruption loses its focus points
large numbers of warjacks or other mechanized weaponry. and cannot be allocated focus or channel spells for one round.)
Sabotage (HAction) Target enemy warjack or battle engine
B2B with this model suffers d3 + 3 damage points and cannot
be repaired or have damage removed for one round. When
damaging a warjack, choose which column suffers the damage.
67
Hutchuck, Ogrun Bounty Hunter
Mercenary Minion Character Solo
He isnt much to look ator to talk to, for that matter. But hell get your man.
Lieutenant Hugh Madigan
68
69
Model Gallery
Croak Raiders
Minion Unit
70
Desert Hydra
Skorne Gargantuan
71
Painting GUide
Wet blending is a quick way to get blends on surfaces like quickly. It is best to have the color tones for the area you
skin and fur. The technique is achieved by applying the are working on prepared in advance so that you can dip
shades and highlights to the model with thinned paint, your brush in colors as you need them, blending back and
then blending those colors together where they meet while forth between shades and highlights. The paints should be
they are still wet. This tutorial features blending in a step- watered down so they stay wet on the model long enough
by-step format, but it may be easier to simply focus on one that multiple colors can be applied and the transitions
area of the model at a time, blending all the way from the blended without any of the paint drying.
highest highlight to the darkest shade before moving on
Be bold in these first steps, and youll be surprised how
to a new area.
quickly and easily your technique develops. Wet blending
For your first time wet blending, we recommend practicing is a lot of fun in addition to being a great technique to have
on a spare model that has a large, open surface. Use lots of in your repertoire, so give it a try!
paint for good coverage and to ensure it doesnt dry too
Croak Skin
There are a variety of techniques for blending colors on a
Iosan Green Coal Black
model, each one shining in different situations. Wet blending
is most effective for creating a smooth transition between Wurm Green Exile Blue
very different colors, such as on the bright skin of Croak
Raiders. The coloration moves from orange to green and on Sulfuric Yellow Thamar Black
into yellow and eventually white. Painting this would be a
difficult task with any other blending technique, even for a Skorne Red
skilled painter, but with the wet blending technique it can
Khador Red Highlight
be fun, fast, and very satisfying.
Step 1) For the skin, start with a wet blend of Iosan Green, Menoth White Highlight
Wurm Green, and Sulfuric Yellow. (If youre having trouble
working with all three colors, switch to just two.) To apply Step 3) Wet blend the transition around the hands and feet.
the wet blend, working from the back, blend the Iosan Mix Skorne Red and Khador Red Highlight and then blend
Green into a wet line of Wurm Green. Once that is dry, paint this into a wet pool of Iosan Green.
another wet line of Wurm Green along your previous line
Step 4) Blend Menoth White Highlight onto the belly and
and blend the Sulfuric Yellow into this wet line.
chin. Because there isnt a big difference between the colors
Step 2) Return with each of the three colors used in step 1 here, its not as important to use wet blending for this step.
and pick out some of the textures that were obscured by the Go ahead and use the blending technique youre most
thick blending. Use a glazing technique to smooth out any comfortable with.
rough spots in the blend.
1 2 3 4
72
Step 5) Blend a mixture of Coal Black and Exile Blue onto Step 7) Apply a similar mottled texture to the back of the
the back of the model. As in step 4, it doesnt matter much model, using a mixture of Coal Black and Thamar Black.
which blending technique you use.
Step 8) After the skin is painted, finish the model with
Step 6) Using Iosan Green, apply a freehand mottled texture neutral colors for ropes, leather, and bone weapons.
along the transition between Wurm Green and Iosan Green.
This adds interesting detail to the model.
5 6 7 8
Gremlin Flesh
Step 1) Basecoat the gremlin flesh with a thin coat of
Midlund Flesh Thamar Black
Midlund Flesh. The coverage does not need to be perfect, as
the purpose of this layer is to ensure that the black primer Khardic Flesh Coal Black
does not show through once you begin wet blending.
Skorne Red Sanguine Base
Step 2) Apply a layer of Khardic Flesh to the areas of the
flesh that should be shaded. Thornwood Green Gun Corps Brown
Step 3) While the Khardic Flesh is still wet, apply a layer
Ryn Flesh Hammerfall Khaki
of Midlund Flesh to the rest of the flesh and use a brush to
feather the transitions between these two colors, creating a Menoth White Rucksack Tan
smooth blend. Highlight
1 2 3
73
PAINTING Guide
4 5 6
7 8
Step 4) For the next shade, mix Khardic Flesh, Skorne Red, paint thin lines between the fingers of the gremlins and to
and Thornwood Green. Apply this to the areas of deepest delineate where the bodies of two gremlins come together.
shadow and wet blend it into the Khardic Flesh. You will Paint the interiors of the mouths and gums with a mixture
likely need to reapply some Khardic Flesh to blend with, as of Skorne Red and Sanguine Base.
the coat from step 3 will have dried by now.
Step 8) Paint the eyes with Menoth White Highlight. Give
Step 5) Begin highlighting the flesh using a 1:1 mixture of the claws a solid coat of Gun Corps Brown, followed by
Ryn Flesh and Menoth White Highlight. Wet blend this a highlight of Hammerfall Khaki. Paint the teeth with
layer into a fresh application of Midlund Flesh. Paint the Rucksack Tan, then highlight each tooth with a spot of
bellies and chests of the gremlins with this highlight color Menoth White Highlight.
and blend it into the surrounding flesh.
74
The Gate Opens
Northern Bloodstone Marches Corpses of Madraks kin littered the ground around him,
Gatormen funneled through the space between several many trampled into the bloodied mud by hoof and claw.
stone houses toward Madraks position. He twisted aside Recently erected houses and workshops burned. War
to evade another set of jaws that snapped shut in the space wagons had been rammed into the gaps in the walls in
his shoulder had occupied a moment earlier. The gator a desperate effort to hold back the enemy. Trollkin who
had overcommitted, and Madrak took the opportunity to had leapt out into the fray so their kin could reach the
bring Rathrok crashing down on the base of the creatures fortress had been cut off from retreat amid the chaos, their
skull. With a yank he dislodged the weapon and hurled bodies joining the fallen. Those nearest the gate formed
it into the chest of another gatorman behind the first. The a loose ring, fighting shield-to-shield, the mountain kings
axe whirled back through the air to smack into his palm. standing over them. Grissel shouted orders and sought
Towering above him and fighting nearby, the mountain to hold the line. Walls of stone jutted from the soil at the
kings brought their massive fists, driving into the throng behest of Janissa Stonetide to shelter defenders and grant
of gators, crushing reptiles into the earth. One of the kings them brief reprieves.
lofted a struggling gator into the air and chomped down
A blackhide plowed into the ranks of kriel warriors and
on the creature with the sound of snapping bones and flesh
dragged one to the ground, and the trollkin struggled to
grinding between stone. Another unleashed a roar that sent
keep his shield between his throat and the gators jaws.
shockwaves through the enemy lines.
Down the line, a hog that was more machine than pig
A group of kriel warriors rushed past their position, clutched another warrior in its iron grip and hurled him
hurrying toward the safety of the inner village. into a cluster of razor boars to be devoured.
Madrak, Calandra called as she rushed to his side, the Madrak! Grissel shouted as she fought her way to him.
retreat has stalled! We need to get inside and close the gate.
How much time do we need? Madrak asked. He sent We cant leave them, Madrak said, pointing to the
Rathrok whirling into the chest of another gatorman, once embattled Cragfist champions.
again catching it on its return.
They knew the danger when they chose to make a stand,
Time isnt the issue. We have holdouts. With all the pigs Grissel insisted. Their courage will be remembered. If we
and gators spilling through the walls, Im not sure we can leave the gates open we risk everyone inside.
help them.
One of the gatormen slipped inside the mountain kings
Madrak gazed into the unfolding chaos. Now and then a reach, and Madrak parried a blow from the attacker before
flash of tartan patterns and blue skin became visible deep cutting its legs out from under it. Still more came.
behind the enemy lines before being swallowed from
Go, Madrak told Grissel. Get your warriors inside.
sight. At the eastern end of the village, warriors of the
Cragfist Kriel had stubbornly dug in to hold against the Grissel narrowed her eyes as if weighing her options, her
farrow. Their warriors were an embattled island in a tusk- expression grim. Fine, but I want you behind us. With
filled sea. that, she turned to her remaining warriors and sounded
the retreat.
They need to fight their way here! Madrak shouted to be
heard over the shriek of thumper cannon fire. Gunnbjorn was Madrak stepped forward and brought Rathrok against
up amid the fortress battlements directing supporting fire. the hordes. Battle lust filled him, radiating from the axe
like physical heat. The mountain kings felt his rage and
Theyre thick-headed, Calandra said. She worked her
roared in response as they clashed with pursuing farrow
magic as they talked, invoking runes to bend fortune to
and gatormen. Madrak struggled to maintain control as he
the benefit of embattled trollkin. Theyve always been
hacked through the opposing forces, Rathrok empowering
prideful.
his blows. As he lashed out, he saw that the farrow and
The gatormen pressed forward with hulking beasts in tow, gators also fought one another, seeking to kill and maim
and the largest of the mountain kings rose to meet the with snapping jaws and gouging tusks. He realized that the
challenge. It loosed a primal roar and the sheer force of the attackers were not acting as a unified force.
declaration shattered the bodies of the troll kings enemies.
Behind him, the last of the kriel warriors disappeared
Not everyone had such protection.
through the gates. Shouts that he was clear to withdraw
75
The Gate Opens
came down from the wall, and he prepared to give the Able-bodied krielfolk formed lines to receive weapons and
mental order for the mountain kings to retreat. Then he saw armor. Others ferried ammunition, including fresh kegs of
the champions of the Cragfist kriel moving toward him. powder for dire troll bombers to hurl over the wall. Stone
They were finally giving up their position. previously designated for late-stage construction was
hauled up to the walls defenders to be dropped onto the
Madrak stepped forward and cleaved a farrow brigand in
enemy. Gunnbjorns pygs, sluggers, and scattergunners
two, watching the group of warriors battle their way toward
fired in sequence from atop the wall, pausing only to reload.
him. Though the Cragfist kriel was harried on all sides,
Those few among the kriels too young, old, or maimed to
the farrow lines had collapsed amid bouts of looting and
fight took shelter in the feast hall and the storage caves set
arson, and the fighting between pigs and gators alleviated
into the mountainside at the back of the fortress.
some pressure. Even so, the Cragfists moved slowly, one
of their ancient krielstones carried at the center while the A cheer went up along the wall and through the inner
champions on the perimeter protected the rest. They would village. It took Madrak a moment to realize they rejoiced
never make it. at the sight of him. He felt a combination of gratitude and
shame. He recalled his conversation with Kargess and their
Close the gate! Madrak called. Make ready with ropes!
agreement to stand together, even to the bitter end. Grissels
Without waiting for a reply, he turned his attention to the
declarations, too, rang in his ears, and he looked to her now.
enemies between him and the warriors. A nimble bull
They had time only for a single nod before each returned
snapper rushed from the fray to harass Madrak, driven by an
their attentions to the defense.
unseen warlock, but the trollkin chief laid the beast low with
a few rapid strikes. He could feel the power within Rathrok Ropes! Madrak called. He directed them up to the wall
welling up, feeding on the violence. He paused to steady nearest the embattled warriors outside. If the Cragfists
himself and push the encroaching darkness from his mind. make it to the wall, haul them up! He ran up the stairs to
the battlements to assist. Several kriel warriors followed to
What in Dhunias name are you doing? a voice shouted.
help as well.
Madrak looked back to see Grissel between the two halves of
the closing gate. Right behind me, is that not what I said? He topped the wall. The sight beyond made a mockery of his
previous perception of the onslaught. From his new vantage
We can still save them! Madrak shouted, pointing toward
point he saw the battles enormity, and dread filled him.
the kriel.
Madrak glowered at her. Are you disobeying the orders of Lord Carver surveyed the battlefield. To soften the foe,
your chieftain? Carver sent the deranged Sturm and Drang against them,
Youre not in charge here, Ironhide. She matched his stare and he reveled in the resulting chaos. Midas and Helga
and he felt the truth of her words. The gathered warriors had taken their forces along each of the flanks, forcing
looked to her now. You hoard blame for that which you the trollkin to divide their attention. For a time the enemy
cannot control. Thousands draw breath behind those walls. had stalled his forces at the gaps in their unfinished outer
Tough times call for tough choices, and if you cant make wall, but with the weight of superior numbers and his
them, I will. So help me, I will haul you through that gate own obvious combat superiority, he drove the defenders
even if I have to knock you senseless and drag you! back. Now the warlord of warlords marched his warband
through what remained of the trollkin village.
Madrak looked from Grissel to the beleaguered trollkin
and reluctantly nodded. The two fell back as Madrak gave A force of gatormen had arrived from the west not long after
the mountain kings a mental command to push toward the the battle began. Early efforts to avoid engaging them soon
stranded warriors and defend them. He lamented leaving failed, especially once the trollkin army withdrew behind
the warriors outside the wall, but he took solace in knowing the walls of their inner fortress. Now farrow and gatormen
the towering legends fought alongside them. The gate clashed between partially collapsed homes.
slammed shut with a resounding clang, its resonant echo The area closest to that fortress had become a roiling mass of
rolling off the walls like the sealing of a tomb. Defenders murderous warriors and beasts. Old rivalries between gators
slotted a series of bars across the gate to brace it against the and farrow ignited, resulting in an undisciplined melee.
assault to come. Brigands ordered to assail the inner wall chose instead to
The space inside the inner wall was crowded and filled with pick their own battles. Carver could not recall the last time
motion. Everywhere, battle preparations were underway. he had seen such a show of farrow military might, and its
76
primal energy spoke to his warlord nature. He hefted Hand As much as Carver disliked the human, he did have his
of God over his head and loosed a deep bellow that carried uses. The surgically altered boars had played a critical role
over the incessant clash of battle. His followers raised their in recent battles.
weapons and returned the cry in kind.
Carver was not discouraged. I have raised the greatest
Not all farrow were battling gatormen or making advances army the Marches have ever seen.
against the inner stronghold. Many were busy rooting
Your great army is accumulating casualties by the
through the structures abandoned by the trollkin, seeking
minute, Arkadius spat. Do you have any idea how long
plunder before razing each to the ground. The destruction
it took to acquire the means to launch an assault of this
thrilled him, as did the knowledge that the morale of his
magnitude? How many test subjects we have already left
people would be bolstered by the spoils. The deaths they
dead in the dirt? Besides, she doesnt seem impressed with
endured just meant a larger portion for those who survived.
your accomplishments. The doctor nodded at the farrow
Now this is a raid! Carver said to Dr. Arkadius. The doctor assaulting the wall, led by the prominent form of Helga the
stood nearby, his oversized syringe ready and his expression Conqueror. Unlike those looting the village and brawling
dour. He had displayed nothing but disapproval since with the gatormen, these farrow had maintained order,
Carver announced his plans to march against the trollkin. fighting in organized ranks and mitigating attacks from atop
The doctor had become downright incensed when Carver the fortress wall with bouts of covering fire. Some worked
refused to delay the raid after learning of the gatorman to assemble ladders. Helga stood at their center, clearly in
army. Your doubts would have cost us a great victory. charge, her voice stern and inspiring. Her attention was
focused on the fortress walls as though the chaos erupting
This doesnt qualify as victory yet, Arkadius said. He
throughout the abandoned outer village held no importance.
turned to one of the battle boars flanking him and inspected
the tubes that fed supplemental adrenaline into the beasts Then I shall take the fortress first, Carver said. He
body, then tapped a gloved finger against one of the gauges. tightened his grip on Hand of God and looked up at the
77
The Gate Opens
sloped fortress walls. As pressed as the trollkin were at band of slaughterhousers several yards away was reduced
the outset, they had gathered their wits and were holding to charred meat and twisted armor. The smell was not
against both the gatormen and the farrow from the top of entirely unpleasant.
their impressive battlements.
To me! Carver called out, lofting Hand of God above his
I do not claim to be an expert on matters of the heart head once more, and again hundreds returned his rallying cry.
beyond the purely anatomical sensebut I do not think
Some of the lesser warlords directed gun boars to return fire on
stealing Helgas glory will win you her favor. And even
the trollkin while others rallied their warriors. Masses of loyal
if it would, I am not certain we are in a position to take
farrow heard Carvers call and emerged from trollkin homes,
the fortress by ourselves. As if to accentuate the doctors
eager to prove their worth. They swarmed about him, wild and
point, a flaming brigand ran past. Perhaps a singular act of
frantic. At his command they pressed ahead, readying weapons
strength is needed. That would suit you better.
to clear a path through the battle. Arkadius followed, and
Carver grunted but said nothing, feeling a familiar urge to Carver could hear the hydraulic hiss and whine as modified
pummel Arkadius to death. But he had to admit the human hogs obeyed his command. Carver gave Helga a passing
was righthe had no immediate inspiration for breaching glance before turning his attention to the hooded gatorman at
the fortress walls. the center of the slaughter. He would cleave the bokor in two
and deliver the creatures head to her as an offering. Then,
Look there, Arkadius said, pointing to the mass of hungry
when the field was his, he would prove Arkadius wrong by
reptiles. West of the fortress, just beyond where the fighting
leading his warband over the top of the wall.
was thickest, a familiar hooded gatorman with skulls
mounted to poles strapped to his back stood atop a mound
of fresh corpses. Eliminate their leader and the field will
be yours.
Mordikaar had set out from Tyrants Lash with sixty
Praetorians and half as many Venators. They made good
Never in the humans years of time, following the unmistakable trail of the farrow north.
service had Carver known All the while, the Void portal tethered to Mordikaar bent
him to suggest starting a and bowed and elongated itself as the mysterious pull
fight when they did not continued to grow. The void spirits swirled about the
have clear superiority. portals edge, issuing howls of agony and rage. They
were more agitated than he had ever seen them. When the
Carver recognized the figure as Bloody Barnabas, a journey began, the skorne accompanying him had feared
gatorman bokor of great spiritual power and far-reaching crossing the path of the farrow army that had passed the
reputation. He was supposedly ancient, but nothing fortress a day earlier. As time went on they grew to fear
in the way he fought suggested age or weakness. With him instead, carefully keeping their distance from the
each stroke of the bokor s axe, a farrow went flying. As maddened void spirits.
the brigands facing him expired, ghostly glowing forms The skorne climbed atop a hill, and the sight beyond gave
emerged from their bodies to swirl about the bokor, even him pause. At the base of the mountains to the north
joining a greenish haze that surrounded him. Nearby stood a squat, wide stone fortress, and beyond the fortress
were several massive wheeled stone constructs, each was a large ring of half-finished walls, now in ruin. Between
pushed by a pair of large gators and covered in candles the two barriers, where a village might once have been, two
and runes that glowed brighter with each life Barnabas seething bestial armies sought each other's annihilation.
extinguished. Carver had fought Barnabas before at the Mordikaars keen eyes picked out tiny figures on the
Marchfells. It had been a difficult clash with no clear fortress battlements fighting to repel those beyond. Near
victor, since Carver had been forced to deal with other the walls, trolls the size of mammoths fought to dislodge
adversaries before finishing the bokor. The idea of ending smaller beasts assailing them, hammering with their great
the matter appealed to him. fists and punctuating each strike with a roar that shook
Carver wrinkled his snout at Arkadius with suspicion. combatants to pieces. The red sand of the Marches had been
Never in the humans years of service had Carver known drenched in blood that clung to hooves, boots, and scaled
him to suggest starting a fight when they did not have feet. The entire gruesome scene seemed a manifestation of
clear superiority. The doctor did not have a warrior spirit. primal madness.
As Carver puzzled over Arkadius intentions, one of the The cacophony of birds caught Mordikaars attention, and
stone structures pushed by the gatormen pulsed, and a he looked up to see thousands of crows pass overhead.
78
Each bird shifted and dove as part of the whole flock, and creating defensible positions to fall back to. Wooden spikes
taken together they resembled a living black cloud winging protruded from the earth, angled toward the gate, and
toward the battle. In the west, other dark clouds took shape. beyond them piles of stone created a makeshift barricade.
Whatever their purpose, he knew they were drawn by the
Horthol came up onto the battlements and gripped forearms
same pull as that affecting the Void portal. Something was
with Madrak. The left side of his face was a mass of scrapes
happening, something unnatural. He felt drawn to the
and that eye was swollen shut, yet a grin pulled at the
battle like iron to a lodestone.
corner of his mouth.
Sir, are you all right? asked the dakar accompanying him.
Glad to see you well, Horthol said. Grissel said she had
The man sounded unnerved, and Mordikaar realized he
to drag you through the gates to stop you from fighting.
had been smiling.
Something like that, Madrak said, ruefully. He pointed to
Quite, Mordikaar said. The portal pulsed at his back, and
Horthols bruised face. You took a beating.
the promise of unraveling its mysteries consumed him.
Worse than it looks. I was torn from the saddle and a
We should return to the fortress and report our findings,
brigand clipped me with a club before I got my footing. I
the dakar said.
repaid the favor. My bison wasnt so lucky. His grin was
Reports can wait, Praetorian. I intend to take a closer look. replaced with a look of regret.
Ensure I get there intact.
Madrak said, Our people have lost much. If only the bison
could be restored as easily as homes and crops.
79
The Gate Opens
Grim Angus added his own firepower, aiming for the the power within the legednary weapon, and blackness
ladder bases where farrow clumped. Yet on they came in again crept from the corners of Madraks mind. It would be
an endless stream, and despite their heavy casualties they simple, he knew, to stop thinking entirely.
began to reach the battlements.
Above the battle, crows circled in the hundreds, crying out
The thud of an impact and the crack of wood sounded incessantly.
below, and Madrak heard Grissel shouting orders to those
To the west, the bog trogs had gained a foothold. Under
arrayed behind the gate. From amid the gatormen emerged
Kargess direction, the defending trollkin formed a battle
a tremendous stone battering ram carved in the likeness of
line and delivered unified blows to shatter the bodies of
a giant, open-mouthed alligator. Gatormen lined each side
enemies who made the climb, but the defenders were greatly
of the ram, and their combined strength brought the idol
outnumbered. For each of the bog trogs that died, one arose as
crashing into the gate with enough force to cause the wall
undead to climb once more, empowered by the bokors below.
to shudder.
The battering ram connected with the gate repeatedly and the
Madrak urged the mountain kings to intercept the battering
sound of braces and bars cracking carried to those battling
ram while he headed to the eastern side of the wall to deal
atop the wall. More enemies piled on the beleaguered
with the farrow. Madrak brought Rathrok across a brigands
mountain king as it swayed on its feet. A final roar of defiance
face as the first of the farrow reached the top of the wall.
escaped the trolls throat, shattering the enemies swarming
Trollkin ready with hand weapons fell upon the farrow
before it, and then the falling beast crashed into the wall
the moment they came within reach, striking with ferocity
near the gate. One of its arms draped over the top of the
fueled by the sight of their burning homes. The narrow
battlements, and the gatormen below immediately began to
ramparts became crowded, and the eastern wall rang with
climb the massive corpse as if it were a ramp.
the clash of blades and clubs.
Madrak met tthem head on. He knocked aside a halberd and
At the gates, the mountain kings threw themselves upon
caught the wielder in the chest on the backswing. His opponents
the swarm of gatormen around the battering ram. The troll
ribs cracked under the force of the blow, coating Rathroks slick
kings slowed under the accumulated impact of countless
blade in fresh gore. The gator rushed forward and weathered
injuries. Gatormen piled on one of the kings, and the troll
two more swings before it fell. Although the gatormen did not
stumbled in wide circles as it fought to pull the snapping
have the numbers of the farrow, they did not die easily.
beasts loose. The other two fought on as the battering ram
collided with the gates. The gatormen with the battering ram charged the gate
again, bolstered by the mountain king's death. The idol
A commotion broke out along the western rim of the
connected with enough force to splinter the supports, and
fortress. A blanket of fog crept up the wall there, and from
the gates flew back on their hinges. The gators immediately
the swirling white mass came grappling hooks tethered
rushed through the gap.
to thick rope. The shambling forms of bog trogs followed,
pulling themselves up the stonework one arms length at a Fall back! Madrak shouted. Above, the number of
time. The western defenders hacked at the ropes and tried gathering crows swelled to the thousands, their cries
to kick the hooks lose, but for each one they dislodged two drowning out the clash of battle and the screams of the
more sailed up to grip the ramparts. dying. Fall back! The wall is lost! Form ranks below!
Gunnbjorn ordered his shooters to fall back. Their weapons Grissel and her warriors held the gatormen that came
were next to useless amid the general melee, and many of pouring through the gate, but the battle was fierce. Fresh
the cannons and mortars had been cast from the wall or ranks of trollkin rushed to lend their strength. Others
had depleted their ammunition. Without the deterrent of formed ranks along the wall in front of Gunnbjorns troops
covering fire, the influx of farrow swelled. and prepared to intercept the incoming enemy forces.
Determination lined their faces, but their fear showed
Madrak parried the overhead swing of a club before
beneath. Madrak recalled the dreams that had driven him
planting his foot firmly on a farrows chest and shoving
away, the horrid images of burning villages and the screams
him from the battlements. His muscles burned with fatigue,
of the innocent.
but he ignored the pain. A blind hatred filled him. The only
thing remaining was the urge to press on and kill. Hs axe Farrow, gatormen, and bog trogs descended the inside of
greeted the farrow as they came up the ladders, lopping the wall in droves, cramming staircases and occasionally
tusked heads from shoulders and severing hooved legs at knocking each other down. Those that reached the bottom
the knees. Rathrok stirred and the axe's handle was filled were met by the blades and hammers of kriel warriors.
with a hungry, living heat. The blood of the fallen ignited Madrak tightened his grip on Rathrok and cleaved into
80
any invader within reach. Beside him, Horthol wielded his swirled about the mound of corpses, gaining momentum
hammer with matching savagery. Up and down the lines and pulsing each time the bokor and the warlord clashed.
fell callers belted out their songs, inspiring their kin. It was Barnabas stood at the fulcrum of tremendous necromantic
not enough. energies as though his dark soul feasted on the essence of
the slain. Whatever was about to happen, Calaban needed
The crows blacked out the sun and cried out in songs of
to stop it without betraying himself, lest he give up his bid
death. The great swirling clouds of birds coalesced into five
for power in the aftermath. Arkadius had come through
distinct funnels of feathers and glassy black eyes, revolving
on his end of the bargain, but the outcome seemed far
ever faster as they dropped from the sky and into the battle
from certain.
below. Two touched down atop the wall, one inside the
fortress, and two in the killing fields beyond. The swirling
masses took shape as if outlining unseen forms, and each
shape expanded as more crows poured down from the sky. Energies invisible to the
untrained eye swirled about
In a sudden explosion of wings, the gathered crows
dispersed in all directions. Doomshaper and Mulg appeared
the mound of corpses.
atop the wall from amid two of the swarms. A troll king
laden with ice and snow stood inside the wall among the
A farrow rushed Calaban, and the Grave Walker held Heart
defenders, where another funnel had touched down. With
Stopper before him. The weapons jeweled eyes gleamed,
a roar worthy of the frozen peaks of the north, the glacier
and the farrow gripped his chest before collapsing in a
king shouted his arrival, and all present turned toward the
heap. A pair of blackhides under Calabans command
sound. Beyond the wall, two similar roars answered in turn.
continued to tear into the swarming farrow, and he directed
The surviving mountain kings of the Wyrmwall bellowed at
them away from the thickest points of engagement in case
the arrival of their northern brethren.
he needed to shunt a wound from his flesh to theirs.
Crows attacked the invading forces with a unified
Barnabas let out a hiss and snapped his jaws, meeting
viciousness, and with a tremendous battle cry the inspired
Carvers blade with his own. A deep mutual hatred burned
trollkin set upon their enemies.
in their eyes. Calaban recognized a shared hunger for
Doomshaper, Madrak called up to the grizzled warlock, supremacy, both aspiring to take the part of the predator
you are a sight for the weary! How did you manage this? and force the other to become prey. If either were aware of
the larger battle around them, he did not show it.
I am as surprised to see you as you are to see me, Doomshaper
replied. There was no time for more words as he turned his A bestial bellow sounded from deep within the farrow
attention to the enemy and urged Mulg into the fray. ranks, and a large boar outfitted with a glowing tank
and hoses pushed its way through the crowd. The beasts
The fell callers raised their voices once more and other
muscles surged. Calaban could see the arteries pulsing
warriors joined in, the chorus lifting the hopes of those
beneath the skin of the boars neck. Behind the modified
still standing. It was then, with trollkin spirits high and the
boar stood Dr. Arkadius, who gave Calaban a furtive glance
will to fight renewed by the miraculous appearance of the
before turning his attention back to his creation.
Shaman of the Gnarls, that wild howls rolled down from
the mountains, echoing from stone and tree. The hymns to A hiss of frustration escaped Calabans jaws as a group
Dhunia clashed with those calling the Devourer Wurm. of gatormen moved to intercept the charging beast and
unravel what might prove the last chance to see Barnabas
life extinguished.
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The farrow pushed back against his assault. Their crude rage and brought his axe around for a retaliatory strike,
clubs and blades bit into Calabans flesh to open wounds but Carvers blade fell upon him again, striking the same
across his chest and knock free his mask. The pain was spot and driving the bokor to his knees. The shoulder of a
immense. It blazed through his body like a wildfire, then nearby ironback spitter tore open as Barnabas shunted the
it was gone. The blackhide staggered as the transferred damage, leaving the creatures arm dangling by a thread
wounds tore its body open. of skin. A third stroke fell, then a fourth, and Barnabas
collapsed amid the corpses, the spitter collapsing with
With a blast of potent energy, Calaban withered the bodies
him. Yet there was awareness in his eye and he seemed
of the farrow surrounding him and turned in time to witness
almost expectant. Barnabas did not try to evade the farrow
the roaring mass of tubes and metal and muscle knock the
warlords axe as it crashed into his chest, splitting it wide
wounded blackhide aside without slowing. Other gatormen
to reveal his pulsing heart.
moved to intercept, but the work was done.
The gathered spirits erupted into heightened activity, the
The boar charged up the mass of corpses to where
green glow surrounding them flaring with intensity as
Carver and Barnabas continued their bout, the stream of
they converged on the mortally wounded bokor. Runes
supplemental adrenaline spurring it onward. Barnabas
carved upon the sacral vaults glowed with unwavering
turned with a look of surprise as the charging beast
light while the flames of their candles leapt high. When the
neared. He shifted his weight forward and stepped into
bokor looked up at Carver, the only sound that rose from
a swing, and with a measure of force augmented by the
his battered and broken body was harsh laughter. Then he
spirits of the slain, he planted his axe deep within the
fell silent. The exposed heart stilled, and Barnabas slumped,
boars chest and stopped the charge outright. The moment
motionless. Carver raised his blade to the sky in triumph.
of distraction was enough.
Gatormen froze, staring in shock and dismay.
Even as Barnabas pulled his axe free from the boars
The bokors reign had come to an end. His ascension had
chest, Carvers blade sank into the bokors shoulder,
been cut short by the efforts of those closest to him, those
biting bone and severing tendons. Barnabas hissed with
he believed to be his faithful servants. Now all would serve
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the will of the Grave Walker. It was time to collect Barnabas them to batter those who assailed them rather than the
soul, to bind and enslave him to become dreadbound like kriels. Behind him, Doomshaper shouted ancient curses as
Maelok. Calaban reached inside the satchel at his waist. His he unleashed the contents of his scrolls. The gathered troll
clawed hand closed over something smooth and hard, not kings expressed their rage in great bellows.
the shape of the totem he had so painstakingly created for
Madrak had to trust his friends to hold without him. He
this moment.
could not allow the Tharn to rampage unchecked. Drive
He withdrew his hand and in his palm rested not the totem, them back! he shouted as he and his warriors joined the fray.
but a stone. Panicked, he looked inside the satchel but
A female Tharn on wolfback charged to meet him. He swung
found nothing except river rocks, the totem nowhere to be
Rathrok in a rising arc, the blade nearly scraping the ground
seen. He upended the bag and scattered the stones at his
before coming up to bat aside the spear and behead the rider.
feet. Calaban looked around in seething anger, finding only
He extended a hand toward the warriors, runes blazing to
Maeloks dead eyes upon him. He knew that creature was
life in the air, willing their fatigue to vanish and renewed
incapable of such an act. Jaga-Jaga, then? But her eyes were
strength to fill their limbs. He shouted, Gather any able-
fixed on Barnabas.
bodied kin and make for the hall! At his command, the
A howl of sheer terror rippled through the masses of warriors broke off to assist the reserves fighting the Tharn.
farrow, and Calaban looked up to see the spirits of the
Madrak stayed his course, sprinting toward the feast
dead rising from the mass of bodies on which Barnabas
hall and his child. He saw Bron and Jor at the structures
lay. Paying no mind to his wounds, Barnabas regained his
entrance. Alongside a pair of veteran warriors almost as
footing amid an aura of green power, buoyed by the souls
old as Doomshaper, they were holding back the attackers.
clinging to his reanimated body. He laughed once more,
Earlier he had regretted not putting these most loyal trolls
each burst expelling red mist. His body began to knit itself
along the wall, but now he was glad he had chosen to leave
together, though his chest remained open, his beating heart
them here. They would remain rooted there as long as they
grotesquely visible. He fixed his gaze on Carver.
lived. Still, without help those who defended the village
You have slain me as a mortal, Barnabas said. But can would not last long. He wondered which side the Tharn
you slay me now that I am a god? were aligned with, gatormen or farrow.
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more human. He was not yet in his bestial form. You have The Tharn king pressed the attack with wide, powerful
come very far to destroy our homes. What have we done to sweeps of his axes. Madraks mind flashed back to the
deserve such wrath? battles atop the dueling platform in his youth, the duels that
had earned him the title of Chieftain. He must push back, or
I do not come for your people or your village, Kromac
he would be vanquished. He recalled how he found a way
replied. He stepped forward. It is you I come for, Madrak
to defeat challenger after challenger on the kuar in the early
Ironhide. I will eat your heart and World Ender will be
days of his rule. There was always a weakness to exploit, a
mine. I will show your people the true power of the Beast
trick to throw the opponent off guard.
of All Shapes.
Madrak dug in his heels and brought the length of Rathrok
Some of the warriors Madrak had pulled from the wall
upward, catching the heads of both Dusk and Dawn and
arrived with a dozen reserve warriors in tow, yet even with
driving the weapons high. Rathrok burned in his grip.
the reinforcements those defending the entrance struggled
He then snapped forward, striking his forehead to the
to deflect the hail of spears hurled at them by passing wolf
Tharns nose. He was rewarded with the sound of snapping
riders. One of the veterans who had been fighting beside
cartilage. A howl escaped Kromac which Madrak cut off
Madraks trolls lay face down in the dirt, a spear protruding
with a second, more forceful headbutt.
from his back. Madrak took a step toward the hall only to
have one of the warpwolves block his path. The beasts fur The two parted, Kromacs face as bloody as Madraks
bristled, and it bared its teeth. wounded shoulder. Madrak drove forward and put Kromac
back on his heels. Dusk and Dawn rose to meet the axe swings
Your fight is with me, Ironhide, Kromac said. He crossed
only to be batted aside, unable to slow the cursed weapons
the hafts of his axes before him. The Tharn kings expression
momentum. Kromac snarled, but Madrak came on.
was not far removed from that of the warpwolf. I will make
your end quick. He stepped forward as he swung, putting all his weight
behind the attack. With impossible speed, Kromac brought
his weapons up just high enough to deflect the killing strike.
Dusk and Dawn crossed between the two fighters, the
It is you I come for, Madrak intersection of their hilts catching Rathrok below its head.
Ironhide. I will eat your heart
A pause followed. Madrak and Kromac stared at one
and World Ender will be mine. another over the great axe. The Tharns eyes were wild.
84
An axe connected solidly with Madraks chest, and beneath it sailing into the dirt. Kromacs eyes widened in surprise,
his armor his ribs cracked. His body spun from the impact but he countered with Dawn. Madrak batted it away on the
even as the pain swallowed him, and in the next moment backswing, and Kromacs last axe flew a dozen yards and
he was face down in the dirt. Rathrok rested in front of him, clatter into the wall behind him. Unarmed, Kromac rolled
and beyond Madrak saw his warriors gathered in front of to evade. Madrak followed, swinging the blazing Rathrok
the feast hall. They were outnumbered, and he could tell through the space the Tharn had occupied but a moment
several had fallen. Rather than shunting his wounds to his earlier. The world was a blur, his movements not his own.
wounded trolls, he urged on their regeneration, willing His body responded with a surety and strength he could
them to endure even as he felt deaths approach. never have matched, even without his injuries. Fever raged
in his mind. Rathrok wielded him, pushing his body beyond
Stand! Kromac roared, his voice bestial and difficult to
its limits so the edge of its blade might taste flesh.
comprehend.
A howl sounded to Madraks right, and he pivoted in time to
Madrak had opened his mouth to reply when he spotted
see a circling warpwolf charge. Madrak launched Rathrok in
Kargess. She was alone, rushing toward the feast hall with
an overhead swing and caught the leaping figure in midair,
sword and shield ready. He reached for her, wanting to
breaking the beasts back and driving it to the ground.
call out and warn her that there were too many Tharn. He
wanted to tell her to take their child and run, but the pain Madrak roared in a voice that was not his own, and a ripple
of his shattered ribs robbed him of breath. He looked on as of answering howls rose throughout the village, starting
a pair of female Tharn wielding daggers blocked her path. with the circling warpwolves and spreading among the
Kargess ran the first through and clashed with the second. rampaging Tharn. White light gleamed in their eyes as
well, and hundreds of voices cried out as a shared madness
The runes of Rathrok glowed before Madraks eyes, and he
consumed the Tharn and their beasts. Warpwolves twitched
could feel the weapon calling. It felt more alive and aware
and convulsed as their bodies changed from moment to
than ever. It hungered for release. Madrak had long worked
moment. They raked their claws across the ground, their
to fight the weapons pull. He had lost much in his decision
minds unhinged. What little restraint had been imposed by
to take up World Ender, and his friends had died in the axes
the external will of their master was shattered.
efforts to stave off his demise. By his own doing, his people
were all but lost. Now the key to that destruction promised The warpwolves darted in every direction, spurred to
salvation if he would only surrender and allow it to fully the hunt by their frenzied state. They attacked Tharn and
awaken. His mind filled with thoughts of Kargess and his trollkin with equal abandon. So too the Tharn now seemed
child, of the life they might lead. Whether he was present or as willing to slaughter each other as their former foes. A
not seemed unimportant. pair of warpwolves raced toward Madrak. The first lunged,
and he caught it with a sideways swipe that sent its broken
Forgive me, Madrak whispered, speaking to everyone
body flying. The second followed on the heels of the first,
and no one. With a heavy heart, he surrendered to the axe,
and Rathrok split the creatures skull. With each killing
no longer fighting its call.
blow, Rathrok surged with new vitality.
The runes engraved upon the axe blazed to life with an
Madrak turned back to Kromac, who had taken the
intensity Madrak had witnessed only once before, when
opportunity to reclaim his weapons. The Tharn king roared
Rathrok helped wake the mountain kings. A white fire filled
in defiance, and Madrak shouted back. He drew Rathrok
each rune, and the blaze spread over the blade and down the
back and felt the axe will him to take the shot, longing for
haft. Raw power and vitality poured into Madraks body with
final release. Too much power had built up in Madrak, filling
painful intensity, starting with his fingers and then igniting
him, his muscles straining, light streaming from his eyes.
in each wound Kromac had inflicted upon him. With the pain
His skin felt as though he would burst from it. The brutality
came a strange euphoria, and fresh wind filled his lungs. He
of the weapons long history filled his mind, and he wanted
stood without effort. The white light deepened and pulsed
nothing more than to send it hurtling into Kromacs chest.
as all the pain vanished. His injuries remained, but they no
longer mattered. He turned to face Kromac once more, light The desperate cry of a familiar voice pulled his mind back
pouring from his eyes, an ancient and unfathomable power from the darkness. Kargess fled the hall with a bundle in her
awakened for the first time in ages. arms, a warpwolf loping after her.
Kromac let loose a bestial cry and rushed forward, drawing Kargess! Madrak shouted, and with all of his strength
Dusk back. The axe cut through the air toward Madraks he launched Rathrok, not at Kromac, but at the back of
neck, but the trollkin chieftain swept Rathrok upward hard the warpwolf pursuing his mate. All the power that had
enough to knock the weapon from its wielder's grip and send accumulated in his being went with the soaring axe, which
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streaked across the intervening space trailing fire like a into a panicked retreat, but the newborn swamp spread
comet. As the handle left Madraks grip he felt a great to enmesh their legs in mire. Spirits of the slain raced
weight lift from him. His mind was his own again. At the alongside the living, shrieking and tearing ephemeral
same moment, he felt his knees buckle as the agony of his claws through the minds and bodies of the farrow, rending
wounds returned. His body was broken. their essence.
Rathrok cleaved straight through the warpwolf in a spray Ancestors save us, said the nearest Praetorian. He and
of blood before falling to the earth. A pulse of energy the other guards stared in awe and terror. Even Mordikaar,
erupted from the weapon, and a column of blinding light who had witnessed more of the spirit world than most, was
shot skyward as a piercing wind shrieked around those stunned by the display.
battling throughout the inner village. The looming clouds
As the swamp spread, the revived gatorman priest rose into
overhead buckled as if punched by an enormous fist, and
the air as if lifted by the spirits that assailed his enemies. The
sheets of rain began to fall upon the warring armies.
remaining stone constructs glowed a deep and haunting
Madrak watched Kargess continue her escape. Beneath green, and the candles flared to life as if drinking in the
him the earth trembled, and all about him the combatants energy of defeated foes.
paused to look at the pillar of light piercing the clouds.
Magnificent, Mordikaar said, the word lost among the
Drawing upon the last reserves of his strength, Madrak
screams of the dying. It was then, as the blood swamp spread
raised his hand to await Rathroks return. The axe remained
and the sky grew black, that Mordikaar saw a column of
unmoving and the pillar of light surged unabated. A rumble
blinding white light erupt from beyond the fortress walls to
began beneath Madraks feet, and soon all the Bloodstone
pierce the sky. Although it hurt to behold, he could not turn
Marches trembled under the might of World Ender.
away. Lightning erupted in the clouds above. The portal
linking him to the Void pulsed.
86
remained to face the oncoming
devastation. Despoiler issued a
mournful wail, though whether
in sympathy for him or in
attunement to the widening
portal he did not know. Then
he heard a roar, a mighty
sound rising from the throats
of a thousand beasts. As he
looked into the Void he saw a
formless predator rushing up
from the nothingness to meet
him, its body shifting from one
nightmarish incarnation into the
next. Teeth became claws, then
talons, then barbs, and as the
god was birthed from the Void
to slake its hunger on Caen,
Mordikaar saw his annihilation.
The remnants of the watchtower
exploded in a hail of stone, and
Mordikaar was drawn into the
maw of the terrible beast.
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wall exploded and chunks of stone flew in all directions, steel surmounted by a tabard of gold and white, his helm
crushing trollkin and Tharn alike. Through the gap came a cast in the shape of a lions head. The battle was fierce as
tumult of ever-changing destruction. the warriors clashed. He could sense Madraks pure hatred
for the armored figure. Through remembered tales Kromac
The Beast of All Shapes had arrived on Caen.
knew the man must be the Menite priest-king Golivant,
The shifting deity seemed physical and ethereal at once, against whom the Molgur had made their final stand at the
its form morphing as it rampaged across the battlefield. Shield of Thrace. Another flash erased this vision as well,
Yawning mouths and savage eyes formed and collapsed replacing it with the disheartening sight of the trollkin
while the storm coalesced into trampling hooves and chieftains body racked atop the wall in view of what
lacerating claws. A group of wolf riders was crushed remained of the Molgur army. From his lips flew curses,
beneath the tread of the Wurm, and a dire troll fitted with and his face showed no weakness despite the pain. Kromac
a slugger was swallowed whole by a maw ringed with knew this was Horfar Grimmr, he who had united the wilds
fangs. The ground crumpled in the deitys wake. Lightning and threatened to erase the greatest Menite city of his day,
reached down from the sky to lash the battlements, and a yet he was also Madrak Ironhide.
deluge of rain fell upon those left alive to witness the glory
The vision faded, and the face of Madrak Ironhide stared up
of the Wurm.
at him with the same resolute expression. Kromac stepped
Rathrok thrummed in Kromacs grip, though its fury and back and lowered the axe. Rathrok had given him a glimpse
inchoate rage had been released into the world, facilitating into the past. Madrak and his people were lost children of
the arrival of the Wurm. He felt a bond to the weapon, and the Wurm, and the trollkin chiefs skill as a warrior was
its living heat shifted in tune with his heartbeat. A sense commendable. His life was to be spared; there was other
of clarity came over him, the haze of transformation lifted. blood to be spilled. Perhaps one day they would take up
The Wurm still flowed within him, giving him strength arms together against the overreaching human kingdoms,
and allowing him to maintain his bestial form, yet his as both their ancestors had.
mind was his own. He felt at one with the storm around
Kromac turned away and started toward where Wurmwood
him, with the howling beasts, and even with the mountain
loomed on the mountainside. Suddenly a robed and
and glacier kings crying their greetings to the Beast of All
hooded figure held the blade of a scythe to his throat.
Shapes that was their father. He was connected to them
Kromac recognized him as the Circle omnipotent Mohsar,
all yet remained himself. He sensed in the distance the
the Desert Walker. The hood obscured much of his face,
collapse of skorne fortresses as the world threatened to
except for a deep frown on sun-baked skin. His expression
shake apart.
conveyed contempt. Behind him, the manifestation of
The Wurm rampaged through the inner village and crashed the Wurm broadened its swirling and spiraling rampage,
through what remained of the wall. Echoes of sensations ran swallowing the looting farrow that had taken shelter in
through Kromacs body as the Beast of All Shapes invoked trollkin homes.
ruin all around. A pair of fleeing kriel warriors crossed his
What horror have you unleashed upon my domain?
path and he cut them down without ceremony.
Mohsar asked, though it was clear he expected no answer.
Madrak lay upon the ground, his body propped up on one So much effort for an instrument of destruction, yet you
elbow as he tried to pull himself toward the trollkin female know not what you wield. Leave before I strike you down.
he had relinquished the axe to save. Once more Kromac set Tell Wurmwood my business with him is not over.
his sights on Rathroks former host. He would consecrate
Kromac felt no fear, despite the omnipotents power. With
the axe with the chieftains blood and eat his heart. He
Rathrok in his grip, he knew the threat was empty. You
approached Madrak and placed Rathroks edge at his
should rejoice with me, he said. The Wurm is made
throat, saying, I am the Champion of the Wurm. Then he
manifest. Civilization will fall.
drew back the axe.
He turned away, heading for the peaks where Wurmwood
A vision struck him. Madrak stood atop a vast wall,
awaited him. He would no more answer to the blackclads.
Kromac beside him, wearing unfamiliar garb and holding
Only the god of beasts was his master now.
a forked spear in his hands. Rathrok was once again in
the trollkins grip, and together he and the Tharn chief cut
through swathes of men, sending them tumbling from the
battlements. Kromac felt an inexplicable bond of kinship
with Madrak. The scene changed with a flash of light, and Only a few sections remained of the inner fortifications, and
Kromac watched as Madrak clashed with a figure clad in the bastion of stone on which Hoarluk Doomshaper stood
88
quaked beneath his feet. He intuitively knew the shape- enough to salvage the life his allies had tried to build here.
shifting creature that seemed at one with the storm; he This was not the Wurms timenot if he had anything to
understood its nature more through the flow of its energies say about it.
than by its ever-changing appearance.
A solitary figure wrapped in a desert-hued cloak and holding
The forces that had been battling one another moments a scythe climbed the steep steps of the inner villages kuar
earlier now fled in terror before the onslaught. The troll dueling platform. Though the figure was not attired in black,
kings who came with him from the north as well as those Doomshaper recognized his armor as that of the druids.
he had awakened in the Wyrmwall seemed unbothered by Even at a distance, he could sense the beings power.
this rampaging force of destruction as they chased down
The figure raised one hand skyward while the other made
the nearest remaining farrow and gatormen, devouring
a circling motion with his scythe around the base of the
anything they caught. Those Tharn not driven to berserk
kuar. Below him, a pair of elaborate floating stone devices
frenzy made for the safety of the mountains. Trollkin
Doomshaper knew to be celestial fulcrums circled the tower,
poured from the inner village. The battle was over. Now the
each crackling with elemental energy. In the same way he
only goal was survival.
could feel Dhunia through the stones on which he stood,
The portal from which the Wurm had emerged still hung in he felt a steadily increasing flow of energy rising within
the air, a shimmering rupture in reality, a black gateway to the kuar. Whatever ritual the blackclad had begun, he was
Urcaen. The Wurms manifestation was still in the beginning using the platform as a conduit. Energy welled up from the
stages, Doomshaper sensed. The terrifying primal power earth to course through the stone and into the druids body.
igniting the air around him was growing stronger by the Yet somewhere in the transition between stone and druid,
second, and the living storm that partially comprised its the energy became charged, like the air before a storm. This
body still poured from the portal. The more it raged, the druid was no shaman of Dhunia but a prophet of the Wurm.
more potent the quakes became.
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voulge at the ready. Doomshaper brought around his staff The portal looming in the distance flickered and distorted.
and laid the youth low, leaving him unconscious. There was A cacophony of bestial cries sounded from the Wurm,
no time for debate. and Doomshaper felt the opposing energy push back. He
dropped to one knee, his body bowing under the strain
The wolds closest turned to avenge the fallen youth, but
of resisting the Wurm, but he continued to channel the
Doomshaper ran past them and climbed the steps to where
power of Dhunia. He prayed to the goddess, hoping to
the leader stood with arms outstretched. The wolds did
prove worthy to be her vessel. Bolts of lightning struck
not follow, perhaps impelled by the ritual to remain where
first one blackclad and then another, frying them in their
they were.
robes and sending them over the edge of the kuar. The
Doomshaper crested the top despite the quakes that tried storm intensified. At the base of the platform, one of the
to throw him from the platform. The wind was intense, and celestial fulcrums exploded in a hail of stone and splinters.
the howl of the storm nearly swallowed the chants of the Two smaller wolds did likewise.
blackclads. The druids seemed immune to the elements,
Hold! Mohsar yelled in a voice more threatening than
and he saw several were floating just slightly above the
encouraging. Do not waver!
stone. This close, Doomshaper realized the leading druid
must be Mohsar, one of the omnipotents of their order who Together they managed to withstand the mounting pressure,
governed the eastern deserts. but the loss of the blackclads and the celestial fulcrum had
thrown the energy into disharmony. The distant portal
The Wurm begets the Wurm! Doomshaper shouted over
shrank only slightly. All around them the storm wailed. A
the wind and the rumble of shifting earth. Your powers
druid to Doomshapers left collapsed, blood pooring from
will not succeed against their master! We must invoke the
his body.
Great Mother!
A flash of light overwhelmed Doomshapers vision, and a
What impertinence is this? Mohsar said, turning to face
clap of thunder sounded atop the platform. The remaining
him. You. One of the slayers of Ergonus. He referred to
two omnipotents had arrived: Dahlekov, large and muscled
the omnipotent Madrak and Doomshaper had laid low
in his black robes and bronzed armor; and Lortus, thin and
when the blackclads tried to assassinate Ironhide.
gaunt, his head bald and his face marred with scar tissue, a
Observe, Doomshaper said, ignoring the accusation. golden torc around his neck.
Without another word he gripped his staff in both hands
Our apologies for our late arrival, Dahlekov said to
and struck its base against the platform. He could feel
Mohsar. The Storm Lords impertinence eclipsed all else.
Dhunias essence radiating through the kuar. He harvested
that energy and sent it against the chaotic essence that Lortus said, Let us end this before the Devourers hold on
surrounded them. this world tightens.
The vibrations shaking the tower lessened. The new arrivals did not seem startled by Doomshapers
presence, and they quickly apprehended how Mohsars
Doomshaper said, Alone, I can do little more than resist.
ritual was connected to him. As they added their power
Together, we may be able to drive the Wurm back. Lend me
to the ritual, a great weight was lifted from Doomshapers
your strength. If I cannot see it done, no one can.
shoulders. The power flowing through him intensified and
He studied Mohsars face. The scowl remained, but became a smooth torrent.
something changed in the overall expression. An appraisal,
The shifting form of the rampaging deity headed for the
and the faintest trace of respect.
dueling platform, its thousand eyes burning with rage.
Very well, Mohsar said. Let us see what you can do. He
The Wurm plowed through the wolds gathered at the base
nodded to the surrounding druids. Once again a swell of
of the platform, sending them hurtling through the air in
power traveled up from the earth and through the platform.
pieces. The second celestial fulcrum was crushed beneath
Doomshaper squared his shoulders. The energy pouring a barrage of scaled and clawed feet. Without the assistance
into his body was immense, and the sensation it provided of the wolds or the celestial fulcrum, the burden became
was both invigorating and terrifying. He felt like he was unbearable for those atop the kuar.
trying to swallow a lake. He gritted his teeth and pushed
A number of new celestial fulcrums materialized below,
back against the prevailing energies of the Wurm. The roar
summoned to amplify the efforts of the druids. The Wurm
of the earthquake faded.
wheeled about and prepared to destroy them. If they went,
so would all hope of casting the Wurm back into Urcaen.
90
Doomshaper removed a small knife from a sheath at his Survivors of the Gnarls kriels had joined the United Kriels
waist. With one swift motion he plunged it into his own gathered at the platforms stairs, waiting for Doomshaper
chest below the sternum and yanked downward, opening to lead them home.
a deep gash. He fell to his knees before the omnipotents,
Madrak made his way to where his people gathered in
his blood flowing from the wound to splatter across the
loose groups around what had once been the feast hall.
platform and sink into the cracks between the stones. Even
Kargess stood with them, Dag held tightly in her arms.
as his vitality drained away, Doomshaper felt his connection
The two embraced with their child between them. She
to Dhunia strengthen, joining him to the earth below. There
had not remarked on the absence of Rathrok in the battles
was no force on Caen as primal and connected to life as the
aftermath, and she did not do so now.
blood of trolls. He gave Dhunia the gift of his own essence
and accepted her power in return. We have lost much, Kargess said.
The platform thrummed with energy, but Doomshaper Much, but not all, Madrak replied. Dag babbled
sensed the flow coming to an end. Something deep within meaninglessly between them. Madrak smiled at his son.
the earth had collapsed beneath the strain. The power the
Bron walked up to them, Jor following close behind.
druids had gathered would be the last.
Madrak lives, Bron said in his rumbling voice. Little
Doomshaper felt his consciousness slipping, but the Madrak lives. The troll extended a thick finger to scratch
regenerative power borrowed from Mulg stopped his Dags head. Having gorged on fallen farrow, the axer
bleeding and closed his wound. He tightened his grip on showed little evidence of the injuries he had suffered. Both
his staff and pushed himself to his feet. Gritting his teeth he Bron and Jor had nearly given their lives to keep Dag safe.
stared at the portal, denying its existence and healing the Madrak was forever in their debt.
body of Dhunia.
His friends stood talking nearby: Grissel, Calandra,
An anguished shriek rose from the Wurm. On the horizon, Gunnbjorn, Grim, and Horthol. Many had died, but these
the hovering portal expanded briefly before collapsing in had made it through. He owed them all.
on itself with an implosive thump, as though a massive
Kargess found his gaze. What now? she asked. He had no
door had slammed shut. The sound rolled over the hills
immediate answer.
and echoed amid the Iosan peaks before fading into the
distance. A clap of thunder rang out from the kuar, and the hunched
druid vanished. Doomshaper descended the tower and
The storm-fused form of the Wurm accelerated into a
crossed the empty expanse to Madrak and his family.
maddened vortex around the kuar, emitting flashes of
lightning. The warping forms contained within it became The blackclad says your people will not be troubled by
more fluid, crashing into one another and blending together. his within his domain, Doomshaper said. He believes the
With a final howl the Beast of All Shapes disintegrated, its farrow and gatormen are unlikely to return.
form dissipating in the wind. Just as suddenly the storm
Good, Madrak said.
abated, leaving a deep and solemn quiet.
Have you given any thought to what I said about
accompanying me back to the Gnarls? There is strength
in numbers.
Madrak walked among the rows of honored dead. Weapons Madrak shook his head. Our time here is ended. This
and shields rested upon the chest of each warrior. They land is not the home we sought. He looked toward the
would receive proper burial rites, but it would take some horizon. Somewhere out there, a new life awaits us. He
time. As he passed each body, he silently thanked them for had no idea where such a place might be, but the words
their sacrifice and wished them an expedient return. felt right. He had taken the first step on a better path for
the kriels. His people would no longer accept what was
The kuar was the only structure still standing for miles in
forced upon them. They would choose their own way
every direction, its lonesome form eerie to behold. When the
and their own destiny.
chaos ended, Doomshaper descended from the platform to
check on Madrak and the others, but he returned soon after
and remained there even now, talking with the hunched
druid who carried a scythe and wore robes the color of sand.
What the two talked about, Madrak did not know or care.
91
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