Mind hunting frenzy

With the presence of the Queen of the Lake, also named the Acid Queen due to her tactic to use an Acid storm against enemy armies, Lord Kall had decided to get back to his favorite hobby : hunting the minds of his enemies. An Ether Lord named Benedictus had been summoned a few months ago, and his skills in Astral magic had made him a hunting buddy for Lord Kall. Together, they had tried to take down Megalesius the Telkhine and Thalassa the Queen of the Sea, but sadly without success. Obviously the enemy had learned from the death of the first Telkhine and was better prepared for such attacks.

So, now that the Acid Queen was out, both Lord Kall and Benedictus were searching for her soul like madmen. Several secondary enemy commanders fell dead to their frenzy search but Limne had so far managed to survive …

Later it was known that the enemy had indeed prepared traps for the hunters. Several lizard shamans cloaked with Shademail haubergeons had been dispatched in the provinces where he expected them to strike. Thanks to their knowledge in Astral magic, the shamans could indeed feel the presence of the hunter and severely damage their minds. Indeed, a hunter caught that way was sure to end his life as the legendary Hodor : a man whose mind had been damaged by a magical accident and had since became feeble-minded. That fate could have happened to Lord Kall … a disaster of such a magnitude that one can only rejoice it never happened … but Fate was on his side and both he and Benedictus luckily escaped the enemy traps.

Massacre of the Hekaterides

After the capture of the Iron Throne, the steps to get to the Shattered throne, the last objective of this war, were plain and simple. First take Machaka and open the path to the Throne of Stability near Ulm, then get the Misty bogs and finally assault the throne itself.

But these steps were under the constant danger of the Queen of the lake that could counter-attack at any time. The army had been trained for this event with new tactics that would be able to bring her down, but surprises were still possible.

Also, an eye had to be kept constantly on the growing enemy army in the fortress of Gol Phalas, just 2 provinces away from the Shattered throne. Every scouts and scryers told the same thing : the enemy was building an army there, a huge one, and sooner or later they would be on the move.

So Skaljv marched cautiously on Machaka. And, to the surprise of most, intercepted a party of enemy Hekaterides . These were the most skilled mages of Therodos, and so were quite precious. So what were they doing there, all alone, without escort, in one of the most dangerous place in the world for them ? Most probably a battle plan that had failed due to poor planning. The successful mind huntings of Lord Kall and Benedictus had probably helped to disorganize the enemy, killing the commanders that were supposed to escort the ladys … but what happened was later called the Massacre of the Hekaterides, as 5 of them were eaten alive by a horde of hungry Jotun wolves … a good thing for the rest of the war as these mages could have otherwise been quite dangerous.

Machaka falls and the Acid queen is repelled

The walls of Machaka were stronger than most fortresses and the whole army of Skaljv alone was not strong enough to breach them in only a month. However, when devising the Plan to victory, the necessity to breach enemy fortresses in a blink was outlined as vital. That’s why the smiths in the Banefire forge had started to craft some Gate Cleavers . These huge and cumbersome axes were devised for one thing : destroy doors, destroy walls, make the most powerful fortress look like a sand castle … They could also be used as the most fearsome weapons on the battlefield, their mass and magical properties making them laugh of any armor and cutting through it like butter.

A few of them had already been built and were given to some Vanjarls, with too objectives. First of course breach the fortress as fast as possible, and second, if the Acid queen attacked again, fall on her with the mighty weapons and cut her to pieces.

So, thanks to the cleavers, the fortress was quickly breached and the army prepared for the assault. And, as feared, the Queen came in to try to stop them. This time, she was accompanied by a Lizard shaman holding a powerful Staff of Storms . Indeed, she wanted to cast her Acid storm and didn’t want to be interrupted by any flying valkyrie this time ! And the raging storm brought by the staff ensured no Valkyrie would get into the air … but … this was to no avail as the War council had decided that is was of no use to sacrifice more Valkyries into this fight. Instead the strategy was to send every wolf to eat her up, supported by the few Vanjarls equipped with the Gate Cleavers. This tactic was decided when the mages understood the secrets of Mass Regeneration, a powerful battle enchantment that gave every unit in the army the power to heal very fast. Thanks to this powerful Nature magic, the enemy Acid storm would be much less dangerous and this reduced considerably the risks for unwanted losses.

So, the battle started as expected by both sides. Mixing water and fire magic, the Queen raised the most corrosive vapours and waited for Helheim’s army to dissolve unto it. As soon as the spell was ready, the Lizard shaman teleported away with his precious staff of storms and let the Queen finish the job (it was known later that due to poor planning he ended up in Therodos itself, under the sea, without any mean to breath, and drowned …) … Meanwhile, as planned, Mass Regeneration was gifted to all Helheim’s units. As soon as the acid started to dissolve the flesh, it was reforming with incredible speed thanks to the power of the spell.

And while this weird acid/regeneration fight was going on for every living being on the battlefield, the Jotun wolves ran like crazy to tear down the queen. Her own regenerative powers were far beyond the ones of the spell used by Helheim’s enchanters, and as soon as a part of her body was torn apart by the jaws of one wolf, it reformed almost instantly. But … there were a lot of wolves, and the more the acid hurt their flesh, the more angry they were and the more lethal were their strikes. Soon, the Queen saw herself on the verge of collapse and decided to flee. Climbing on her Flying Carpet , she barely managed to espace the voracious beasts …

But there she had fled again. Lord Kall cursed his commanders for letting her escape. Indeed, if they had been more aggressive, they could have cut her last way to retreat and cornered her like the Queen of Thunder during the battle of Mireni. But a wandering Melia had opened a way to let her espace to the south in a land named Panuonia where she could heal her wounds and prepare for a new fight …

Despite this minor setback, the gates of Machaka were wide open and the army let herself lose in slaughtering the defenders without mercy.

Water Queen Robbery

Lord Kall was still furious that the Queen had escaped her fate. Twice he had devised plans to take her down, and twice she had made it out. This time she would not escape his mind hunt as both him and Benedictus started to search for her soul. Benedictus was the one to find her … and still exhausted from her last fight she was taken unaware. He swiftly severed her soul from her body … and this was the end for her as she returned into the Elemental realm.

At last ! She was dead ! The road to the Shattered throne was now wide open and the armies marched to the Misty bogs to take the last enemy stronghold standing in its path.

Meanwhile, Persephone the Kokythiad had summoned a Sea King to help her call upon the so important Bishop fishes. But as soon as the news from the banishment of the Queen of the Lake came in, the Sea King was ordered to use his knowledge in Water magic to summon her back. Indeed, elemental Queens and Kings were living in their Elemental realms, and only a part of their power was incarnated when summoned into the matter world. So, it was easy to summon them back if they were slained …

That was a bet, as it was very probable that the enemy would try to get her back too. But a bet that had to be taken as having her on ones side was a game changer. So, when the news came in of her accepting to join her former enemies, Lord Kall couldn’t hide his joy ! Turning the worst enemy weapon against himself, that felt good, very good …

Misty bogs stormed and the shattered throne breached

The times to unfold the final steps of the Plan were becoming very close. Lord Kall ordered Skaljv to accelerate the operations and take the Shattered throne as soon as possible. So, instead of letting the main army storm the fortress of Misty bogs, only a handful of Wraith lords were left for conquer it while the main armies marched directly unto the Shattered throne.

It was made certain that the enemy army in Gol Phalas could not intervene and save the throne. A Vanjarl was sent to capture Ockerjab, the key province between Gol Phalas and the throne. And as the operation succeeded, the only available path for the armies of Therodos to save it was secured. It was now assured that the Throne would fall.

So the army laid the siege and easily breached the fortress. Helheim’s was only one step from achieving the first part of the Plan.

No hope for the ghosts as the messengers of death bring their sentence
They will lose their power, and give it to the True one

Ecclesiarchy from the Depth

While the Sea King was summoning the Acid Queen, Persephone called unto the second Bishop fish. In this early winter, with 2 Bishops already summoned, only 3 were left to be called to be ready to unfold the Plan.

However, the enemy had launched a counter-attack in Nuptia, a Sea province just close to Lake Seaweed where the Bishops were being called. Indeed, despite several setbacks in the south, Atlantis had finally managed to secure the bordering provinces of Lake Seaweed and the summonings could be done safely. So, that counter attack was a problem as it opened a way for the enemy to uncover a part of the very secret Plan. If that small army managed to attack, they would see all the recently summoned bishops and that information was to be kept secret at all cost.

So a Vanjarl was equipped for that very special mission : intercept and destroy the enemy army before it could move out anywhere. Well, that kind of mission was pretty common … but this time it had to be done in the depths of the Ocean … Thanks to a ring of waterbreathing, he could survive and fight in that pretty uncommon environment. So, riding on the clouds he found himself hundreds of meters above water, ready to fall and dive to the enemy hundreds of meters below water …

For any who could have seen it, it was magnificent, plunging into the water, riding into it he finally got to meet the spectral soldiers and make them flee for their lives. Lake seaweed was secured, the last of the Bishops could now be called.

So the three of Persephone, the Sea King and the Acid Queen made the call and a whole party of 3 bishops answered it. The Ecclesiarchy from the depth was now complete, the final phase of the Plan could begin.