The Battle of the Border Princes
Prologue: Once, long, long ago, the god of fire and tyranny was whole. Hashut, lord of the Frundrar, master of cruelty, forger of chains, makers of slaves, rose up within the halls of Karag Dum. He battled Gazul. Was slaughtered and broken for his trouble, shattered into a thousand-thousand pieces. His slaves, his subjects, his prophets wandered into the Chaos Wastes, becoming the Dawi Zharr, masters of Fire and Death, constructing hard steel and wicked machines to serve the foe, constantly attempting to reclaim his pieces, his fragments, and rebuild their broken god so they might taken vengeance.
I too, hunted for them. Sought them out, sought their hiding places, their hidden halls and holes. Destroying them absolutely and utterly, leaving nothing behind wherever could. But there were as many as there are pebbles in a mine. They became rarer, and rarer, and rarer. Rare beyond rare. Until now.
There is only one left. A portion of him, found in the Border Princes, and now screaming his place to all and sundry, hoping that his thralls, his slaves, might revive him.
I will not allow this. We must not allow this. Stand with me, Umgi, Elgi, and let us put an end to this darkness once and for all! Ancestors know as much as I'd like you to go away and let me do this right, you'll never listen so I might well get some work out of you and make sure your bungling is kept to a minimum.
Alliance Leaders:
Snorri Klausson: I'm a Runelord out of Kraka Drak, and that's all you need to know. This cow and I have unfinished business, and I will not rest until I've seen him sent off to hell where he belongs. I've called in all the favors from as many holds as I can--there will be no lack of Dwarfs to see things done right. But I've always had more cachet in the North, so don't expect too many of those new fangled flying contraptions, overwrought firespitters, or glorified balloons. On the other hand, our Runesmiths haven't forgotten how to read so you'll see plenty of our treasures and artifacts around, strengthening ourselves, and our allies when and if they should prove worthy of it.
I intend simply to destroy the damn thing, when I've secured it.
Silval: Glade Lady of Tal Varigan, near Wydrioth, otherwise known as the Pine Crags. That is, in fact, part of why she came here in the first place: They and Norn have had their skirmishes, their wars, in the past though for the moment there is the peace, and I'll not be the one to break it, Elgi. So when she heard there was a number of Dwarfs moving towards their forest, she was keen to make sure it was not some ill-considered flanking attempt on our part, and instead discovered the truth: it was me, here to finally put that old wrong to right, along with a Throng. A follower of Kurnous, how could she not seek to slay such worthy prey?
As Wutelgi, her forces are of course built more for running and hiding and shooting more than a real, honest, battle, though they do that very well. She does have a secret however: she has made friends with the spirits of that cursed wood. She can summon them, Dryads and Treemen and worse, more ancient things and they are a damn sight harder than mere flesh and leather as the Elgi like running around in, I can tell you that much, so she might actually contribute at some point. She, herself, runs around with an appreciable ax shaped to honor her lion god, and for an Elgi she fights well enough.
She intends to give it to Daith, that he might craft it into art worthy of Kurnous. Bah, she wants art she had best seek a true Runelord!
Vardanis of House Snowmane of Chrace: One of the Mages of Ulthuan, he "felt Asuryan's wrath and judgment at this usurper of titles that do not belong to him" (his words, not mine) and came running to put it right. An appreciable two-thousand years old himself, he could rouse a pretty good army himself as he came, too. He's proven aloof, if not quite rude, more driven by his strange Elven god and the oddities of magic than good plain strategic and diplomatic sense as he tries to hunt down the Shard.
A Mage himself, he managed to bring damn near the whole tower with him, it seems like, along with enough "heavy" (Hah, as if the Elgi know the meaning of the term) infantry to withstand damn near any blow. Swordmasters of Hoeth, White Lions, Phoenix Guard, Sea-Guard, he's managed to wrangle all of them to follow. What he really brings to the table, however, are warbeasts: Phoenixes, White Lions, even Dragons (Which must mean Caledorians, right? Right?), if it roars he's got it.
He intends to burn it in the Shrine of Asuryan, to honor his god. Bah, a fitting fate for the Aurochs that he should be fed to the fire he loves so much!
Ernest Neff: An Imperial out of Hochland, Sigmarite through and through. That rarest of things, an Umgi who keeps his word, when he heard the Dwarfs needed help he came running, as his god demands. Good lad, that. Armed with a good hammer and a good attitude he's also got a more personal score to settle with the damn beastmen, and some skulls to smash.
He's not entirely unlike we Dwarfs in that his army's built for anything, though as a Hochlander he's got a bit more powder in his barrel than anything else. The Colleges, both of magic and Engineering, are trying to help but neither Engineers nor Battle Wizards grow on trees and even the Hochland branch can only produce so much so blackpowder and magic are both a bit expensive, but not to worry: the Hochlanders have plenty of bows. On the other hand, the Cults, Sigmar or otherwise, have raced both to do some good and to one up each other so plenty of knights and Warrior Priests have been seen and they can cause all kinds of trouble themselves.
He intends to give it over to the Grand Theogenist to destroy. Hmph, sensible enough, but better I think to trust the Dawi.
Leandre Agua: Oh gck, Ancestors spare me...She saw this coming in the future, and for all she does not like my people she seems to understand that when we say a damn god, we mean a damn god. She grabbed as many mercenaries, foot-sloggers, and others as she could spare out of the newly united Estalia and made a beeline straight east.
She didn't exactly have a great amount of time to put together a proper Tercio, what with all that math and nonsense. It's very much a melee force she's brought with her, many Rodeleros and Pikemen and Diestros and all the others running around with various sharp bits of metal and a bad attitude. In abeyance of what you'd expect not many guns nor artillery however, mostly crossbowmen from the militia. Not much cavalry either, hard to transport and again she didn't have much time. The Cults are not fond of her, as you'd expect since she doesn't know how to stop running her mouth, but more surprisingly neither are the Windseekers; seems trying to say I don't exist and getting the rest of the Guild mad at them has made her few friends.
She intends to use the Shard to craft the greatest Focus imaginable, one that will let her turn Azyr into her own realm. Bah, good luck with that!
Patriarch Anastas Markov: A Patriarch of the Great Orthodoxy from Praag, none but Dazh Himself, apparently enraged at a claimant to His title of King of Fire, gave him visions of the cow's current, broken status. Speaking to the Ataman, he managed to arrange a good Pulk quick enough to make it here before things were too late.
Cavalry is his real strength, that's what the Patriarch brought with him. He wanted to be fast, and to do that, he needed mounts. Oh, he managed to slap a small number of infantry into boats and get them here, but he is built on cavalry. Ungol and Gospodar alike, mounted on horse and bear and sled, he's brought it all. That also means, of course, that he has artillery, since so much of it is also artillery. His magic is lacking however, the Orthodoxy and the Ice Court do not see eye to eye in the least.
He intends to use the Shard to drive the corruption out of Praag once and for all, burning it away in Dazh's fire. Bah, use corruption to drive away corruption? Manlings...
Lord Baldwin du Grismont: A Grail Knight of Bretonnia, the Lady did not send him visions nor premonitions; but he did hear words of an orcish force in the Borderlands and sensibly decided he should deal with it. He rounded up his army, and journeyed to the south from Parravon, bringing the word of his Lady and a mighty host of Knights.
Cavalry, Cavalry, and more Cavalry, that's what he brought. Knights Errant, Knights of the Realm, Questing Knights, Grail Knights, they all followed him. Don't get me wrong, he's got bowmen and men at arms even some trebuchet, though they pale before a proper Dawi Grudge Thrower, but his bread and butter is cavalry. But they do it well. The skies are filled with the beating wings of Pegasi and Hippogryphs too, and so the air war has often turned on the chivalry of Bretonnia. His magic is nothing to sneeze at either, for he is married to the Prophetess Martha, and it seems they've a happy marriage for many of the Damsels and Prophetesses have, in turn, followed him.
He intends to keep the shard as a trophy within his chapel of the Lady. What could I even say to that?
Bai Zhu: Dragon Blooded offspring of Li Dao, out of Cathay. It seems he "smelled the red wind on the breeze" and decided to journey to claim it for himself with his father's soldiers, for there has been peace between Ind and Cathay for some time and he too was curious. It burns to rely on a dragon, of course...but I can live with it, with all the troops he's brought.
Guns. Lots and lots of guns. So many guns. And crossbows and bows, for that matter. And artillery, lots of artillery. His melee infantry and cavalry may be lacking in comparison, but that hardly matters when he can shoot them so often. His magic is strong as well, of course, having brought many of his siblings born of the Fire Dragon as well as Astromancers and Alchemists. It seems he intends to kill everything before he needs to engage it in melee. Not a terrible idea, but I do not expect it will work.
He will shatter that god and take its power for his own. I can only hope he succeeds.
Wahkin the Skink: Even the strange lizard beastmen from Lustria have sent someone to deal with this matter. Now if only he weren't such a Wazzock! It seems they intend to remove an enemy permanently.
One of the smaller Lizardmen, and yet listened to by the whole force that has come with them, apparently under the authority of the "Slaan" (now if only I knew what that was, or why it makes my beard itch with trouble...). They have only scarcely bothered to deal with the rest of us at all, arrogantly convinced of their own superiority to a level beyond what I thought possible. The Umgi get along well enough, I've ridden herd on the Dawi, the Wutelgi are more focused on the hunt than on their own sense of superiority, and even the Zunelgi are more distracted by their magic than they are truly being rude. Not so with the Lizardmen. In return however, they seem to be at least adequate in just about everything, though adequate may not be adequate in this case.
Wahkin intends to sacrifice the Shard to his god, Quetzl.
I hear also the Arabyans have caught wind, though I doubt they will be coming.
And then there is the enemy...
The enemy:
The bad news is, we will be interrupted by the foe. It seems ever enemy any of us has ever had has journeyed here also hoping to take the Shard. The good news is, they are even less capable of working together than we are. The bad news is, they don't need to half as much.
Takarth Blackfang: An old enemy of the House of Snowmane, it seems he's come to take Vardanis' hide for killing his father, Thayus. During the Sundering the House split in two parts: House Blackfang, the original House, which was loyal to Malekith; and House Snowmane, which split from the traitors and remained loyal to the Phoenix King. He wants to settle the score, and gain a treasure in the process.
Monsters and Magic, that is what Takarth has brought with him. His wife, a Sorceress Supreme, has ensured his force is filled to the brim lesser sorceresses, and he is himself a Beastmaster. He has few properly Elgi troops in return however, from the simple Dreadspears to the vile Witch Elves to the bleak Executioners he could not convince many other of the Druchii to come, for they have learned to fear the Champion of Asuryan. The monsters and mages might be fearsome, but too they are expensive and cannot garrison land he captures.
He intends to give the shard to his Wife as a five-hundredth anniversary present.
Qorkan: A champion of Slaanesh, though she is more inclined to seek for absolute perfection as a martial artist than the usual vices of Slaanesh, and what better place to find worthy foes than here? Make no mistake though, even the Greenskins consider her a bad lot.
Fast and strong but a bit of a glassjaw, both her forces and her herself as a person. If you can endure her flurries, withstand the abuse she flings your way, and come out the other end, giving both her and the mortal followers of Chaos a good blow to the head in return, she'll crumple well enough. That's harder than it sounds, though, and it might be better just to shoot the lot of them if you can and spare yourself a headache. Her wizards are also...well they aren't bad, per se, but it's not exactly hard to imagine them being surpassed, either, being mostly auto-didacts.
She intends to use the Shard to raise a constant parade of challengers, so that she never has to be without battle again.
Mahrur the Bronzeback: He's got a score to settle with Qorkan, and so where she goes he follows, hoping to take her head once and for all. Make no mistake, he is a Black Orc, and so his army from the lowliest Goblin on up will be forced to be as disciplined, murderous, and capable as possible as he pursues his vengeance.
At base, Mahrur has formed a surprisingly balanced force, for he has pushed all his troops to be as able as possible from the lowliest of goblins to the mightiest of his fellow black orcs. He has both Goblin and Orc Shamans, even River Troll Hags, to help protect him from magic. He has Boar Boys and chariots and Pump Wagons to serve as cavalry. His War Machines, though shoddy as all get out, are...well I can't say "well-maintained" but I wouldn't rely on them just breaking either. His greatest weakness is his reliance on the Black Orcs, for they serve to maintain discipline.
He's going to use the Shard to scorch what remains of Qorkan when he's done with her, and I wouldn't even blame him for it. Still going to kill him first, of course.
Adrek Furybearer: An Exalted Bloodthirster, first he scented that so many worthy champions had made their way here; then he sensed the Skull of Hashut (IE the Shard); and then he sensed me, and remembered...much. Altogether that seems to have clenched it.
The forces of Khorne are simple. They prefer melee, only grudingly accept ranged, and abhor magic entirely. But in return, even the lowliest of his Daemons will be a force to be reckoned with as a melee combatant, and for all they have no love of magic they are not entirely defenseless against it. I suggest shooting them from very far away as your best option, and so hope that you might send the Wutelgi to avoid engaging with them in the first place. Wahkin might also be acceptable with all his little fellas, if you can convince him.
He intends to offer all our skulls to Khorne: you, me, everyone. Including Hashut.
Hellfang Redhorn: A Doombull, one a cut above the rest, clad in hellforged armor. He was tormented by visions of the bullgod and so heads towards his Shard.
His common forces, though manuverable, are lightly armed and armored in comparison even to the men-at-arms, never mind the rest of us. They will require ambush and numbers to face us; or else bide their time, waiting to gather Bestigors and Minotaurs and all other manner of vile things, waiting to unleash them upon us in secrecy. In either case their Bray Shamans are not to be trifled with: all of you likely have a broader pool of knowledge, to be sure, but the Shamans cheat with the help of the gods and sufficient Dhar, meaning they can still be a threat to us.
He will revive Hashut, intending to do onto the Dawi Zharr that which was done onto the Beastmen. Apparently he believes that Hashut will feel obligated to them. A god of Dwarfs, Chaos or otherwise, he may even be right.
Khit Headstalker: Clan Whitefur was near where the broken Hashut landed; their fortress was ravaged and burned by his carcass, though they have not been slow in rebuilding.
As always, they seek to drown the foe in their bodies with slaves and scum. What they cannot bury, they intend to destroy with the unreliable contraptions of Skyre, the plagues of Pestilens, the subtlety of Eshin, and the monsters of Moulder. But such does not come cheap and so by weight it will always be the Slaves, Clanrats, and Stormvermin of this lesser Warlord Clan. They have little, if any, magic however, for they had few Grey Seers before looking on the hideous remnant of Hashut and did...what it did. And they can hardly call up more, for they are keeping his presence close to their chest. Khit himself is something of an aberration, for he is a proudly warrior Skaven, cast in emulation with his idol, Queek Headtaker.
They seek to use the Shard to become a mighty Clan, a fifth Great Clan.
Konna Bleakfire: Leader of the Dawi Zharr Throng, and oldest living sorceress prophet of Hashut. Long has she dreamed of restoring him prominence; now that his shard mgiht be found, nothing will stop her but us.
The Dawi Zharr have many of the same strengths we have. They are strong in the shield wall, enduring, and well-capable of crafting good construction. Too, aside from the knowledge of Runes they have ripped from the grasp of Thungni, and for which they will pay, they have access to magic proper, in its wild, untamed form, too used to bind daemons to vast, evil machines. They do have a glaring weakness however: they are even fewer than the Dwarfs proper, for the Chaos Wastes are no fit place to erect a true realm. If it were not for Beastmen slaves they would simply be swallowed up whole by some more numerous foe; as is they are ever pressed and ever attacked.
They will ressurect Hashut to preeminence, to rebuild their empire and take their dark vengeance on us all.
Too they say vast leviathens are seen coming from the east, bearing a grim cargo from the lands of Khuresh...
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The Instruction Manual for the hit 2010 RTS Game Warhammer Fantasy: Battle in the Border Princes, an AOM alike created to harness nostalgia for the quiscent genre. It hardly resurrected the genre entire, but it was a nicely sized success within its niche, earning two DLCs and a sequel, with a second the way.
So we were talking about what if Hashut's final shard (or something) was found in the modern day, which inspired me to make this.
