- A calamity has brought the Knights, Samurai and Vikings to engage in a perpetual war of what was left over. An uneasy peace is interrupted by a mysterious force called the Blackstone Legion.
- A great calamity devastated the continent, forcing the survivors to fight for resources. After a millennium of perpetual war between them all, the Ashfeld Knights, Valknenheim Vikings and the Samurai of the Myre have gradually grown isolated and an uneasy peace as formed between the three peoples. Ashfeld became weak and insignificant, the Vikings began playing petty games of bloody politics, and the Samurai became embroiled in a civil war. In order to change that, a woman named Apollyon leads the Blackstone Legion not to bring peace, but to bring strength to the factions by reigniting war and beginning a new age of war.—Nonuv Urbeeznus
- A very long time ago, a great calamity devastated all of a medieval era civilization. The history of all that happened before has been lost to the ravages of time. The Knights of Asheld, the Vikings of Valkenheim, and the Samurai of the Mire began battling each other for what little resources were left. As the broken world healed, the three cultures continued their war. As time went on they developed civilizations based around conflict. For a thousand years, these three factions fought each other for reasons they had forgotten. Their people were strong as martial techniques passed down from one generation to the next. While history and technology were lost, there had never been warriors more powerful than who were born during that millennium of conflict, or so it is told.
Eventually, however, an uneasy peace fell between the Vikings, Samurai, and Knights. Not through treaties or diplomacy, but through isolation and inner conflict. The Knights became weak and irrelevant, touting their dogmatic beliefs of fairness and justice while their people grew poor and hungry. The mighty Viking Clans made peace in the day, and slit each other's throats in the night, playing petty games of bloody politics for whatever power remained in their desolate land. The Samurai became embroiled in a civil war about who was to be the next Emperor. All the while, the three factions put on facades of strength, of unity, and of peace.
The Blackstone Legion formed among the Knights. A small renegade force of Knights, who began spreading their ideas of true strength, of true power, that Might made Right, that the weak should serve the strong, not the other way around. They began subverting the power of the currently dominant Iron legion, who had spread their already paltry forces too thin. The Blackstone Legion usurped dominance, both ideologically and militarily. The leaders of the Blackstone Legion abandoned their former names and adopted demon names from what remnants of ancient lore still remained. Due to the very nature of the Blackstone Legion, however, they began to in-fight. Eventually, a woman named Apollyon emerged as the true leader of the Blackstone Legion. While the Iron Legion could claim they were still in control, truly the followers of Apollyon were the dominant force of Ashfeld.
A man named Hervis Daubeny grew disillusioned with the Blackstone Legion's messages. He and a group separatists created the Regal Legion and created a safe haven. Apollyon sent Holden Cross, one of her most trusted generals, to pacify the resistance. Besieging the castle, Holden witnessed a mercenary who was apart of a long forgotten order of the Wardens do very well in the battle. After capitulating Daubeny and the Regal Legion, Holden Cross knight the Warden mercenary to be apart of the Blackstone Legion.
One of the few remaining fortresses of the Iron Legion is Ashfeld then came under attack by a rogue band of Vikings called the Warborn. It was but a crude imitation of the previous millennium of conflict, a small army of Vikings besieging the weakened fortress of a faltering Legion, but nonetheless the Iron Legion called upon the Blackstone Legion for help. The commander of the fortress was a man who went by Stone. The Warden was sent to help defend the castle. The Warborn Vikings were routed, and the Warden and Stone became fast of friends. Seeing how the Blackstone Legion sent help while the Iron Legion couldn't afford to send reinforcements, Stone and his men joined the Blackstone Legion.
The Blackstone Legion then began to go on the offensive. The Warden, Stone, and Holden Cross were sent to push the Warborn out of Ashfeld. Warden and Stone became separated from the main army and were ambushed by the Iron Legion. Confused, they investigated and found a rogue group of Iron Legion loyalists hiding in an old castle. It then becomes apparent that now the Iron Legion has lost all illusion of power and is actively being purged from Ashfeld. The two friends are almost defeated by the remaining Iron Legion, but Apollyon, Holden, and a contingent of Blackstone forces find them at the last moment and capture the Iron Legion soldiers. Two Iron Legion soldiers attempt to kill Apollyon after being captured but are apprehend. The rest of the Iron Legion soldiers are submissive in their defeat. Apollyon calls those who are content with surrender sheep, and has them all executed. She recruits the two who stood up to her into the Blackstone Legion. This becomes apparent as one of the Blackstone's recruiting strategies. Only those who are deemed fit can join, those who look out for themselves and are skilled in combat. This is implied as why the Blackstone Legion has succeeded while the Iron Legion has failed.
The Blackstone Legion continue their push into Viking territory. Holden Cross wins a strategic victory and takes one of the first lines of defense into Valkenheim. He then discovers that Apollyon recruits Vikings into the Blackstone Legion, which discontents him. Mercy, an agent of espionage in an ancient order called the Peacekeepers, destroys a Viking fortress that used old technology that could not be replicated. These two victories opened the way into the heart of Valkenheim. The Warden leads the final assault on a Viking city called Svengard. Upon capturing Svengard, it is revealed the Warden that it is one of the few places where the Vikings can grow their own food. Apollyon burns a majority of the food and farmland, but leaves just enough food for one of the Viking clans in the city. She says leaving no food would force the Vikings to unite, but leave just enough food and they would fight each other for the scraps. This, she said, would let the wolves among them out and the sheep would die. The Warden confides in Mercy that Holden, Stone, and the Warden themselves all represent ancient orders of people who sought to bring peace, while it is clear that Apollyon is going out of her way to create war and suffering. The Blackstones withdraw from Valkneheim, their mission complete.
A Raider becomes influential in the Warborn clan. The Raider wants the Viking people to unite, not to tear each other apart in war over what few resources remained. So they began on a great conquest to reunite the Vikings under the Warborn banner. The Raider set out to destroy or assimilate all of the clans who were pillaging fellow Vikings. First, they came across a group of Vikings who had been greatly influenced by Apollyon's message, lead by a man named Ragnar. The Raider killed Ragnar in a duel and they capitulated into the Warborn clan. Then, the Raider did battle with a woman named Siv, who was taking Vikings prisoner which was considered a grave dishonor. Siv, like Ragnar, was also attacking fellow Vikings. The Raider killed Siv and her followers joined the Warborn clan. One of the prisoners rescued is an influential Warlord named Stygandr, who joins the Warborn. The remaining contingents of self-attacking Vikings surrendered the Warborn after these victories. The Vikings of Valkenheim were now all under the same banner of the Warborn. During this conquest the Raider also met Runa and Helvar, who become trusted allies.
The four of them, Stygandr, Runa, Helvar and the Raider then decide it is time to attack a Blackstone sea-port in Valkenheim that has remained since the Blackstone Legion's first incursion. Stygandr leads the charge, and discovered a crate full of Samurai gold in the port from a Samurai sea-fortress called Kaiyo Kabe. He concludes that the Samurai must have bountiful resources in their mysterious Myre, and thus the Warborn begin to prepare for the Great Raid. The Great Raid was to be like the many raids the Vikings did back in the millennium of conflict, with a fleet of ships, beating drums and besieging great fortresses, all while united under one banner. The Raider leads the attack against the ancient sea-side fortress Kaiyo Kabe and upon killing the commander of the fortress, Fujikyo, in a duel, takes over and plunders what remains. The Vikings than pushed further inland to the capitol city of the Samurai, Koto. The Raider did battle with one of the few remaining great defenders of the Samurai, a man named General Tozen. Upon killing him, the Warborn clan begin pillaging Koto, taking the treasure back to their homeland just like the Vikings of old.
The Fujiwara clan were a small group of Samurai who were looked down upon by the other clans. The Fujiwara hated that the Samurai were in a civil war against each other, all while the Emperor pretended their was peace. The Orochi, a member of the Fujiwara clan, was the Emperor's champion before they were imprisoned for speaking out of turn and attempting to incite action. The Orochi was imprisoned in the very city that the Vikings were currently pillaging, and the few remaining members of the Fujiwara clan took the chance to free the Orochi. The leader or "Daimyo" of the Fujiwara clan, named Ayu lead Okuma and Momiji in the escape attempt. They were successful, and Ayu suggested they flee the burning city while they had the chance. The Orochi on the other hand refused, even if they were no friend of the Emperor now, they had an obligation to defend the city. They were actually quite successful and turned the tide of battle against the Warborn who were still pillaging the city. Unfortunately, the defenses of Koto already breached, Apollyon and the Blackstone Legion took the chance and also invaded the capitol city of the Samurai.
There, they slew the Emperor and kidnapped various Daimyo, including Ayu. Also among the kidnapped Daimyo were Dokuja, Kizan, Ranja, and Seijuro. Apollyon offered them all the chance to take the Emperor's place. The few who showed honor and loyalty to the dead Emperor were killed on the spot. Seijuro threatened Apollyon and the rest of the Daimyo. For this, Seijuro was seen a a warmonger and selfish, and thus Apollyon left him in charge of the Emperor's Palace. She sent the rest of the Daimyo deep into the Myre with their loyalist soldiers. Ayu's only loyalists were among her close friends and they were not aware of where she was sent too, so Ayu had to deal with the other Daimyo herself. Ayu saw various flaws among the other Daimyo. Kizan, she said, was greedy. Dokuja never learned compassion and was a war criminal. Ranja was pious and mentally unstable. They all refused to join with Ayu and the Fujiwara, and attempted to kill her. One by one, Ayu was successful in the skirmishes against the other Daimyo and their few followers. The rest of the Fujiwara clan tracked Ayu down and helped her convince the other Daimyo's now leaderless forces to join with the Fujiwara lest they devolved into another civil war.
The now strengthened Fujiwara clan then pushed the last Vikings out of the Myre and began to plan to take out Seijuro, the new Emperor of the Samurai. The Orochi and Momiji sneak inside and open the gates for Ayu and Okuma and the Fujiwara forces to push inside. The Orochi reveals themselves to Seijuro as the Emperor's champion and challenges him to a duel. There, Seijuro is defeated. He refuses to surrender his forces to the Orochi, so the Orochi offers their place as Emperor's champion, for the Orochi would die to keep the Samurai united instead of having to do war with Seijuro's forces. Seijuro, not to be shamed as coward for dooming the Samurai to war, concedes his forces to the Fujiwara clan and joins them, and Ayu becomes Empress.
The once more powerful Samurai set their sights on the Blackstone Legion. The Orochi and Momiji were sent to scout ahead, and saw that Ashfeld, now totally under Blackstone control, had been at war with itself. Several rebellions had occurred with prominent figures of the Blackstone Legion betraying Apollyon and attempting to usurp her power. There they were ambushed by the Blackstone Legion and fled. Eventually the two of them came across a rogue contingent of Iron Legion forces training. Momiji and the Orochi were not aware of the differences between the two Legions and a skirmish erupted between the two. The Orochi was challenged by the leader of the contingent to a duel. The leader of this Iron Legion is revealed to be the Warden, along with Holden Cross, Stone, and Mercy. They had all abandoned Apollyon and her ideals of constant warfare to reform the Iron Legion. The Orocih defeats the Warden in a duel but spares them when they reveal that they are no friends of the Blackstone and are planning an attack on the main Blackstone fortress, called the Shard. The Fujiwara clan and the Iron Legion then form an alliance against Apollyon.
The Shard is a long-lost capitol of the Knights that has changed hands many times over the course of the thousand years of war and even before. Many forgotten Legions built onto and changes parts of the Shard, making it an amalgamation of old culture and architecture. The newest owner is Apollyon and her Blackstone knights. It is this place that the Fujiwara-Iron Legion alliance besiege. Okuma helps the Orochi breach the inner citadel and fights Apollyon while the forces below do battle. There, the Orochi fatally wounds Apollyon who drops her sword and leans on the railing of a balcony. She looks down and sees her Blackstone legion fighting the reinvigorated Samurai and the once more powerful Iron Legion. She also sees the Warborn, who had recently been pushing into Ashfeld, take advantage of the fray and attack both the Fujiwara and the Iron Legion. She sees that all three peoples have finally become wolves, just like she wanted, and how all of them have accepted that war is the only path to greatness. She says that she is proud of her wolves, before dying to her wound. The Orochi looks down and sees that the arrival of the Vikings and the defeat of the Blackstones has prompted the Iron Legion and the Fujiwara Clan to do battle with each other in the confusion and the mistrust. It seems the three factions are all united under one banner, and have all begun fighting each other once again, just like in the millennium of conflict.
Seven years later, Stygandr, Ayu, and Holden Cross have a secret meeting. They discuss the violence that has taken place since the Iron Legion, Fujiwara, and Warborn clans have done battle, fighting defensive or offensive wars and seeking to punish each other for perceived and real transgressions. All three factions are now powerful, led by competent leaders, and are engaged in a stalemate which has shown no signs of stopping. Already the people are hating the people of the other cultures. It seemed, they said, that Apollyon succeeded in creating her new age of wolves. The three leaders then agreed that they would begin to seek peace once more before another thousand years of war destroyed what they had begun to build.
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