Illwinter

The war between Ulm and Niefelheim had been raging for a few months now (cf. chapter Battle for the Iron throne). And despite fierce resistance, the frost giants and their undead legions could not stop the barbarian tide. Soon, the battle would reach the gates of the capital and the giants had to do something.

So Daurgothoth the Dracolich took two major decisions. The first was to launch a raiding war pretty much like Helheim was doing against Therodos. Some Niefel jarls  and Skrattis equipped with Winged shoes were dispatched behind the enemy lines to cause chaos and force the enemy to disperse his forces. This way, Niefelheim wanted to gain time to gather his forces and engage in a decisive battle to repel the enemy.

The second decision had an impact on the whole world. Awakening the ancient Rimtursar, the giants sleeping in ancient glaciers. Niefelheim mages unleashed the Illwinter upon the entire world, an eternal winter that would not never end unless Niefelheim was completely destroyed itself.

The cold and the snow soon impacted every nation, slowing down their armies and strengthening the frost giants. The whole map became covered with unending ice and snow … to the pleasure of Lord Kall that could now enjoy his most favourite weather, and along with it his full, unhindered power.

Also, the armies of Helheim were not so affected by this change of weather. The Jotun wolves were also creatures of the cold and their movement was not hindered by the softened soil. As for the Valkyries, flying over snow or dry land, that did not change much either … finally, given the policy to give most of Helheim battle mages rings of levitation , they would too retain their mobility. All in all, this was a good thing for Helheim and most probably another good sign of Fate.

However, Ulm was very dissatisfied and made it known : Niefeheim would die by its hand, the sooner, the better.

Steel is stronger than bones

The end of Caelum had seen both Ulm and Niefelheim dismember the once flourishing kingdom. In that regard, Niefelheim had taken the best share and had expanded all the way south to the ocean. As a result they captured a throne down on the coast, to the dismay of Atlantis that had hoped to establish a beachhead there.

So, when the war begun between Ulm and Niefelheim, they shared a large border from the ocean to Helheim, guarded by several fortresses on each side. Ulm had invested quite a lot in battle magic and, like C’ti, had discovered the secrets to render the skin of all of its troops on a battlefield as hard as gold.

On the other hand, Niefelheim had had a hard time to survive until they finally overcame Caelum. That’s why they had not been able to use their resources properly to develop powerful battle spells. So when, finally, the first real battle occurred, it was clear that Ulm had a qualitative advantage. Not only their regular troops had now an armor too strong for the hordes of enemy skeletons, but their Niefel giants, which didn’t care that much about armor, proved vulnerable to the Magma bolts of Ulm battlemages.

So, even though the campaign was slow and few large battles occured, Ulm looked like they would sooner or later claim all of Niefelheim. Conscient of his weakness, Daurgothoth decided to make a gamble. Assemble the largest army possible and send it all at once in battle. He hoped in that way to overcome the enemy with numbers and, despite losses, stall his offensive.

That battle occurred in the middle of Winter in Dural woods, a few weeks march from Niefelheim. In spite of their efforts, Niefelheim only managed a 3 to 2 numerical advantage. Much more was required due to Ulm’s superior battle magic … and despite many efforts to break the enemy line, and a lot of barbarian blood spilled on the snow, Ulm claimed victory … as well as Daurgothoth’s head.

Days of Niefelheim were now numbered, but that didn’t matter much to Lord Kall. Despite its defeat Niefelheim still had large chunks of territory and a few battles forces to slow down its opponent. That was enough to be sure they’d be focused on something else that what Helheim was about to do …