my story!! ^_^
guys im warning u this is a long one.....
The relative peace of the dawn was shattered like dropped glass when they appeared over the mountains. They stood tall and proud, like men who had just earned several medals after a long and trying campaign, and maybe they had. The three beastmen stood on the ridge and looked over the countryside. They saw green fields filled with food, yellow plains where horses raced, the castle of the local lord, and the sprawling village.
The beast in the middle looked to the two beasts next to him and said, “We will go into the woods and gather a great horde to us. When the horde is formed we will crush the human lands. We will avenge those slain by Shaabhekh and his whore master. All will fear the names Ragash Soulrender, Rothur Mindscourger, and Boralis Nightblade and their work for the dark gods against these humans.” At this his companions nodded and smiled. As the dawn’s light reached them it revealed faces worthy enough for a few nightmare stories. The one who had spoken was around 6’8, pitch black fur, the horns on his head made two complete circles before ending in vicious points, but the most notable thing about him were the tattoos that covered his torso. Dark whirls and jagged lines made their way around him and seemed to form a living creature with the peculiar ink that glistened with power. The beast to his left was only a few inches shorter than him, a leanness that said he could fight viciously for a long time before tiring, his fur was a faded shade of white, his horns made two ivory stakes which glistened in the light, and where Ragash had no armor he had light plated armor. The last beast was a few inches short of six feet, his face hidden a hood of questionable materiel so only his eyes showed, his body was hidden beneath the several layers of his robe, and his hands seemed withered but moved with ease. The one thing each of them had in common was their eyes. A fiery light could be seen in each of them that appeared to invigorate and empower each of them.
Ragash turned to the shaman, for only shamans wore robes and wielded staffs in beastman culture, “Where is the nearest herd Rothur?”
Rothur lifted a gnarled hand and pointed it deep into the forest, “There is a small herd towards the west, and a larger one to the east.”
The white one spoke up, “Are we to conquer the small one and then larger one? Or the other way?”
Ragash chuckled a bit, “No Boralis. We will destroy almost all of the small herd. The few that survive will tell the large herd of our might and then we will conquer it.”
“Your plan is a good one I think Ragash.” Said Boralis.
“Well I haven’t eaten in a while. How would you to like horse flesh this night?” mused Rothur.
The other two laughed at this and said in unison, “Perfect.”
When the three of them came upon the pasture they saw that the horses had been gathered into a fenced area about one hundred feet long.
“It’s been a while since I've been able to chase something down to eat.” Commented Boralis.
“HA. A fine idea Boralis. I also think that we should have some fun this night.” Laughed Ragash. The three of them spent the whole evening slaughtering the horses. Ragash and Boralis would fade into the shadows, a trick they had learned in the northern wastes, and spook the creatures with their eyes. When the horse that they were pursuing began to calm down they would leap from the shadows and cut it down. Rothur would stay in the middle and occasionally throw a dark spell at one of them but sometimes this would obliterate the entire horse.
A few hours had passed into the night before Ragash realized how late it was. “Night has truly fallen now. Leave a few of the horses alive to further scare the humans. Boralis, pick one up and we’ll feast on it tonight.” As Boralis lifted one of the larger horses that were mostly intact, Ragash went to the side of the fence opposite of the gate. When he reached it he gathered a large ash pile from the effects of Rothur’s spells and then took out a small medallion from his pouch. He placed the medallion on top of the pile and began summon the form of two crossed axes behind a beastman skull in his mind. The medallion glowed and sucked up all the ash. He then pointed the medallion at the fence and squeezed a bit. The medallion glowed once more and shot out all of the ash within it. When the black cloud cleared the crossed axes behind the beastman skull could be seen painted onto the wall. Ragash smiled at this and went to join the others in the woods.
After they had eaten their fill of the horses Rothur voiced what he had been suspecting, “Ragash, did you use the medallion on that fence?” Ragash’s only response was to look slyly at him.
Boralis thought for a moment, “Won’t they come hunting for us?”
Before Ragash could brag of his plan Rothur interrupted, “That’s exactly what Ragash wants Boralis.” When Boralis still seemed confused he elaborated further, “It will take a few days for them to get ready and by then Ragash thinks that we will have destroyed the smaller herd. When we reach the other herd they should be under attack by the humans. We will aid them and show them our skill and we will become their leaders.”
“And so our herd grows.” Finished Ragash. “It is a good plan don’t you think?”
Rothur just shook his head and said, “We better get going now then.” Boralis smiled and immediately ran deeper into the woods.
It was going to be a tough season for Ukotar and his herd. During a human raid he lost over half of his herd to the swords and arrows of the humans.
‘Maybe I could challenge that other gor in the east. No, he’d just kill me. We could ambush him. If we are fast enough it should work, it will work.’ It was just after he finished that train of thought when he saw them. Shadowy figures hunched over with eyes like green fire. They shut their eyes and moved off to encircle the camp. “We have attackers!” cried Ukotar. The gors and ungors scrambled to grab hold of their weapons. When they heard Rothur chanting they all began to panic and began to stab and hack at shadows. Most of them managed to stand their ground but there were a few who panicked and ran into the woods. Before any more of them could follow they heard screams from the ones who ran. All of them froze and looked at each other for courage, but while they seemed to be able to rally themselves a large mass of grey stuff flew through the camp. In its wake it left several dead and wounded gors clutching their wounds. Immediately after this two dark figures burst from the shadows that surrounded them and went through the circle of gors leaving even more dead and wounded gors behind them. Ukotar decided that if he wanted to be the leader of anyone he’d best challenge whoever was killing his herd so quickly. “I am Ukotar Hardfist. I challenge whoever your leader is to single combat.” His herd seemed bolstered by this and began to regain their courage. A large part of the shadowy wall detached itself and walked forward.
“I am Ragash Soulrender. I have come to destroy your entire herd. You ask for combat and I will give it to you.” With that he took his axes from his back and readied himself for a charge. Ukotar knew that he had to end this quickly for he could see that he couldn’t outlast this newcomer. When Ragash charged Ukotar waited until he was halfway across the camp and made the last mistake of his life, he threw his axe at Ragash.
Ragash was amazed that this joke of a wargor would have the audacity to throw his weapon at him. Ragash ducked under the flying blade and hacked at Ukotar’s side as he ran past. Once he had finished the cut he half turned and hacked at his other side with his other axe. The two attacks made Ukotar buckle under the pain and he fell on his hands and knees.
“You have insulted me in a way that I cannot forgive.” Said Ragash as he stood above Ukotar. He raised both his axes barely above his head and swung them down on either side of Ukotar’s torn back. The blows lacked enough force to finish him off however. “I leave you to the crows. You do not deserve a swift death.” With that Ragash walked away back into the shadows. All of the herd, or rather what remained of it, saw this and lost what little resolve they had been building up. They scattered like roaches before a light into the forest. Rothur’s spell brought down half of them and Boralis hunted down a few more.
“How many do you think survived?” asked Ragash when they met on the edge of the camp.
“No more than five.” Responded Boralis. They both looked to Rothur.
In response Rothur shrugged and said, “At least two.” The three of them looked please at this outcome. Since no one had taken a single injury it was more successful than they had anticipated.
“We will not hurry to chase them. We want to come when come when the knights do.” With a smile on each of their faces they walked off into the night.
‘Today will be a good day.’ Thought Rolf to himself. He chuckled a bit to himself, “Maybe it’s a sign from the Lady that this evening’s dinner with Barons Eric and Pilon will go better than I think it will? Isn’t that a good idea Ismella?” Ismella was the servant who cleaned his chambers who had served him and his father before him for quite some time.
“For all of our sakes my lord I hope that you are correct.” Ismella laughed. Somewhere in her sixties the woman had become one of the more permanent figures in the castle. She appeared just like a grandmother straight out of a fairy tale, but this grandmother has an edge. For Rolf’s father, Ulric Nestebryer, believed that all children needed to be disciplined while young and especially young noble boys. So he gave his permission to Ismella, Rolf’s favorite maid at the time, to spank him and such whenever he behaved in a manner unbecoming of a noble. She had only been forced to punish him a few times, thankfully for Rolf for Ismella had quite an arm, and even then she explained to him what he had done wrong before she did it. “Breakfast is ready my lord. I think its toast and eggs today.”
“Can the cook do anything except eggs and toast for breakfast? We have it every other day.”
“Listen to this, Rolf Nestebryer, Master of Horses, the great Beastbane is complaining. About what you ask, about his breakfast. Well I have an idea my lord. If your food bothers you so much then why don’t you learn how to cook?”
Rolf just laughed, “I am much too busy with running these estates and raising our neighboring lord’s horses.”
“HA! You mean you don’t want to have to pay to rebuild half the castle after you burn it while cooking?”
“You know me too well Ismella.” Rolf raised his hands palms facing her in a sign of peace.
“Well if you ever find the time to get dressed I've laid some clothes out for you in your solar.”
“Thank you.” So Rolf’s morning went as it usually went. The breakfast was appetizing even though it was common.
When he failed to find his son Reyn and the other Knights Errant that had been there for the past few days he went to his clerk.
“William, where have the Knights who were here the yesterday gone?”
“The Knights Errant that were in residence here yesterday have gone to Grey Mountains in search of glory. They think that there is a gathering of Chaos there. They had been considering going there for quite some time now.”
Rolf nodded in approval, “He could have at least told me.”
William smiled a bit, “He told me that I was not to tell you on pain of death sir. He was confident that nothing would go wrong and that your presence would make the others anxious.”
Rolf’s smile was one of pure pride, “He will be a great knight one day. Leading armies for his King and the Lady, and most importantly, he’ll make women fall in love with him with but a single glance.”
William seemed amused at the last thing, “Your lord father used to say the same thing about you my lord.”
Rolf smiled at the thought, “He was so proud when I introduced him to Kerrin. Despite the fact that I neglected to tell him about our relationship he seemed just as proud of me as if I had brought back the head of Khorne himself.”
“Her presence will always be missed my lord.”
Rolf’s voice became quite grim, “Yes William. She will be missed and mourned but her memory will never keep us from being all we can be. Her memory will not be thought in terms of loss, but rather in terms of how much she taught us all. We will remember her lovingly and use her memory to drive us to new heights and greater achievements.”
William looked at Rolf like a teacher to a potential student who had found the key he has been searching for, “It is good to see that you are coping with her death well my lord. For this I am glad, for you know as well as I that she would never want to hold any of us back from our duty.”
“I know William. I must be off now though. Wouldn’t want to anger the other Dukes by having a bad horse now do we?”
Rolf felt very good as he walked to the stables. He was midway through his inspections before he realized that something was amiss.
“Jeffrey, I think we’re missing at least ten horses.” Jeffrey was in charge of the stables, all twelve of them.
“How odd. I think they are the ones that some of the ladies from Couronne asked for. Mostly fillies but I think there was a charger in that group to give them some backbone.”
“Where were they yesterday?”
“I lead them into a fenced area I know, but I'm not sure where it is.”
Rolf gave Jeffrey a dead pan stare that had been known to make other Dukes uneasy.
“Ah yes now I remember. They were in the ring closest to the forest. Mary was supposed to be taking care but I haven’t seen her all morning.”
With that Rolf and Jeffrey rode to the fenced area to find a sight of massacre. Tremendous piles of ash littered the ground and the overwhelming stench of rotten meat permeated the air. On the ground there were the corpses of several horses that had been hacked up quite badly. Each one had at least three gashes two feet long and a few inches deep. Yet none of these sights forebode as much danger as what they saw on the far wall. A large symbol had been drawn in ash on the fence. The symbol was two crossed axes with wicked heads behind the skull of some monstrous beast. So stunned were they that for a few moments they didn’t hear a faint sobbing that came from the west side of the fence. When they turned they saw a young girl over the corpse of a horse. With her peasant clothes covered in ash, dry blood, and dirt it was almost impossible to recognize her. Despite this they both ran to her.
“Mary… Mary tell me what… what happened here?” pleaded Jeffrey.
She slowly turned to face Jeffrey, “Jeffrey… Jeffrey they killed her. All of them look.” She started as she indicated to the carnage surrounding them. “Mean evil creatures they were. All of em’ had devil horns and monster faces. One had a huge sword and the other had two big axes. The other one though… he was the worst. He was covered in robes and would wave his hands around and shoot evil black stuff at the horses. They just came in here and killed them all. Then the big one walked up to that wall and pointed something shiny at it and shot out some black stuff came out and left that.” After her quick story she began to break down into tears again. Both men could only look at each other in awe.
“How do you know all this Mary?” Rolf asked slowly.
“Well my lord..”
“Call me Rolf dear.” He interrupted.
“Well Rolf, I was coming here last night to play with the horses like I usually do. I never thought that those strange women deserve good horses like ours. If they want horses they can raise em themselves.” She seemed to gain some strength in her anger and continued with a more firm voice. “Well I was coming here to play with Lily, that’s the name of this horse right here, but just as I came over that rise over there I saw the three of em walk in here. They didn’t look like normal beasts, walked on two legs and talked they did. I peeked over the rise and saw that they were killing all of the horses. I wanted to stop em Rolf, I really wanted to, but I was too scared to do anything. I'm so sorry that I didn’t do my duty my lord. Please forgive me.”
Rolf raised her chin with a finger so he could look her in the eyes, “There is nothing to be sorry for Mary. You are no knight. You have done more help by staying on the hill and alive then by going in here and dying. You have done me a great service today. Jeffrey, please take her back to the castle for help and make sure she’s not sick. While your there I need you to find Thomas for me and tell him to come here. Oh and if they are there please inform the Barons that today I cannot dine with them and send them my deepest apologies.”
When Thomas arrived he found Rolf examining the sign on the wall.
“Thomas, how did three beastmen get into my estates? You are the one responsible for the knights and peasants that patrol my borders after all. If anyone knows I'm sure it’s you.”
“My lord. I assure you that every knight was out on patrol when and where they were supposed to. To have gotten here they most likely came in from the mountains and walked in along the woods. The knights on patrol were looking for beastmen or other such minions in larger numbers than three my lord. Something that bothers me is that symbol. I'm familiar with the two of the local herds but that one is new.”
“Are you saying that there might be a new herd in the woods?”
“No my lord but if there is we would know of it. The woods would be filled with infighting because beastmen will fight anyone that’s not beside them. I'm pretty sure that there’s only a few because the peasant said that the beasts only took one horse back with them. If there were even seven they’d need at least two horses to eat.”
Rolf seemed to relax a bit, “My apologies old friend. It has just been so long since I've had something like this on my land. I thought that we had cowed the beasts. Yet it seems like we have new blood here. I think it’s time that they learned why I'm called Beastbane.”
“My lord! Please, allow me to redeem myself. The fact that they got in here at all was my fault. I should have considered something like this when I designed the defenses. Let me lead the knights and slay these fools.”
“Be glad that you are such a good friend of mine Thomas Lennit. If not I think I might condemn you to your shame.”
“Thank you my lord. I will assemble them immediately. They can't stand before our might.”
“Are you sure you do not want to wait for more help to arrive? It is possible that theses fools have brought more friends than you think.”
“My lord every moment I wait here I deepen my shame.”
“I think you should hurry back to the keep. The more time you have to recall all the knights the better. If you fail to break them I will send for more help.”
“It won't be needed my lord I assure you. This rabble is outmatched by us.”
“Well I’d rather be humble and ready than arrogant and caught off guard. Now go.”
Thomas saluted and raced off to the castle while Rolf sighed and looked to the stars and wondered how the day had gotten so bad.
Boralis’s stomach began to growl with the new scent of roasted food. “We should eat another horse. I'm still hungry.”
“Boralis no. We will eat after the knights have been killed.” Said Ragash.
“We’ve been waitin here for most of the night Ragash. Still no knights.”
“For once I think Boralis has a point Ragash. Surely the knights would have been much angrier at their dead horses.” Said Rothur.
“They will come. When they do we must be ready. If not all is lost.”
So the three of them watched the beastmen camp from afar. Braying, oaths, and curses could were being made as the night went on. They had found some ale and had decided to celebrate their new find. By the time the sun came up only a few beastmen were still awake. Most were still unconscious from drinking so much ale and eating so much meat from the night before. About an hour after the sun rose was when they came. A low thumping sound resonated throughout the woods. Some of them realized that there was something unseemly about the woods and wakened their neighbors. With the sun behind the attackers it was difficult to see them but the noise they made left them without a doubt of who they were. Only Bretonnians would announce their attack so blatantly. So confident were they in their lances and shields that they would throw the element of surprise away without care. The beasts scrabbled to awaken the rest of them. Only when the wargor had woken and began shouting did most of them rise and realize their danger. Just as the beasts were preparing did the knights charge. The thunderous pounding of hooves frightened a few ungors into the woods who were soon followed by some gors. The few bestigors and centigors there managed to rally a few of them to stand before the charge. Those in the woods set themselves to ambush the charging knights from the sides. The first and second ranks of knights had their lances pointed straight at the beastmen and put on some extra speed. Just after they collided with the centigors and bestigors did the ones in hidden in the woods jump out and slam into their sides. The ambush took the knights by surprise as they tried to twist in their saddle to face the new threat. A few were pulled out of the saddle where they met a quick end but a most managed to get out and use their swords to push them back.
While all this happened in front of them Ragash and his companions still sat in their place in the woods. Just as Ragash began to rise to his full height did he see some peasants come over the ridge. “Rothur, take out the ones on the hill. When your done with them kill some of them on horses. Boralis, we strike now.” So Rothur began chanting to the ruinous powers as he waved his hands. Several dark forms formed in front of him and he made them fly to the peasants on the ridge. When they reached the peasants they exploded and their screams joined those of the dying. He then turned his attention to knights in the middle. He resumed his chanting and pointed his hands to the sky and once more black matter flew into the air. Only this time it spiraled up and slowly came down and picked up speed like a vengeful falcon sky bombing elusive prey. It landed in the middle of the knights and sent out a circular ring of death that cut through shield and armor alike. As if things weren’t devastating enough for the knights Ragash and Boralis slammed into their rear with kamikaze abandon. They shredded through the knights and also managed to trap them.
At that point with the peasants fleeing and the knights boxed in it was only a matter of time until the knights were completely eradicated. When the fighting had finished Rothur came down from the hill and joined Ragash and Boralis as they approached the wargor of the herd. Ragash sized up the wargor. Ragash was three inches taller, at least thirty pounds lighter, twice as lean, and about three winters older. Ragash smiled, as best he could, at the wargor. “I challenge you as wargor of this herd.”
The other gor looked around at his herd and then just started laughing. “Why should I not kill you now?”
This time it was Ragash’s turn to laugh, “Because we have saved you. Great Bray Shaman Rothur killed several humans on the ridge and some knights. Me and Boralis killed the knights in back and trapped them. Without us you and your herd would be dead now.”
The other gor thought about this and seemed to make a decision. “I accept.” With that he lashed out with his great axe. The swing flew harmlessly over Ragash’s head as he ducked beneath it. The other gor went with his momentum to spin around and take a great sweep upwards. Ragash spun around to his side and whipped out with his own axes and embedded them into the wargor’s spine. With the gor frozen in place Ragash slid to his front and head butted him so that he fell on the axe blades. Ragash then threw the corpse over and pulled his axes free. He turned to his herd and said, “My name is Ragash Soulrender. I come from the wastes of the north. We will gather around us a great herd and when we are more powerful we will fall upon the lands of men with vengeance unseen. I promise all of you glory and battle. I also promise you that we will slay the Shaabhekh.” The beastmen muttered to each other and for some reason knew that these were the gors that slew the other herd. So they greeted his idea with braying, cheering, and shouting. Ragash looked to his companions and nodded for each of them knew that their plan was halfway done.
Rolf was in his solar pouring over several maps of his lands and those near his. ‘If Thomas failed then we will have to shore up the defenses at the northwest end. I’ll have the peasants begin building a wall to give the beasts less room to charge. The wall should be around eight feet high. Their lack of artillery will make them find some way to knock down the wall though. They can't climb because of their hooves so night raids won't be much of a concern. Posts will be built within sight of each other every four hundred yards or so. Gates will be set at the west and northwest sides. Patrols will go out for five hours at a time and another goes out an hour after the first one arrives. Night patrols will have seven knights in them. I wonde-’A hurried knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
“My lord some bowmen have returned from their fight.” Said a voice at his door.
“The Lady save me.” Rolf said as he walked out the door. He found six very terrified bowmen in his waiting room. When he walked in they didn’t seem to notice. “Excuse me.” Rolf’s voice snapped the peasants to attention. “What news have you brought me?” Each of them looked to the other for support until one of them managed to step forward. “My lord, Sir Thomas told us to wait until a count of fifty until we joined him and his knights in the battle. So when we reached the top of the hill we saw that he was breaking though the front ranks of the beastmen, but some of them jumped out from the woods and slammed into their sides. It still didn’t seem too bad until we saw this one beast walk out from the woods and looked at us. He started waving his hands and then shot some evil stuff at us. When it hit us it exploded and killed everyone except us. I got up and saw him shoot another thing into the sky. It came down and landed in the middle of a bunch of knights and sent out this ring thing that killed a bunch of em’. Then I saw two more beasts run out from the woods and crash into the rear of the knights. They fought like daemons and cut down lots of knights and boxed Sir Thomas and the rest of em’ in. After I saw that I knew I had to tell you so I told these men to come with me back to you.” After the retelling the man seemed somewhat shaken and wobbly.
Rolf realized that these men had escaped a massacre and told them to go home and rest. When they had each left the room Rolf said to William, “William I want you to send messages to our neighbors requesting aid. Warn them of the menace that grows in these woods. I have a feeling that they will return and in greater numbers. I also want you to tell whoever is in charge of the garrison to double the patrols. I want there to always be at least thirteen knights out at a time. I don’t want any sneak attacks.”
“Yes my lord.” As William left the room Rolf could only shake his head and wonder how things could have gotten so bad.
so comment on what u think of it (asuming you READ it in the first place)