The War on the Undead

The War on the Undead is an account of the battles against the Undead in Aegis, written by Lothiriel. Copies of the text survive in he Cloud Temple library. Late in the reign of King Pampo Perea, great King and Leader of his people, may God rest his soul, something terrible occurred. From the North emerged a scourge, a taint, which would spread itself across the land for years going on decades. Word came first of an attack on the Northern City of Winterfell; smoke bellowed into the air as screams pierced the night sky, which would seem eerily long this particular eve. Word of the attack did not reach the Far South, to Malinor, until Alstion was already under siege as well. Too little too late, the Wardens left, marching North, only to be called back to guard Laurelin's walls by the High Prince, Native, before they reached the Far North. Mistake the High Prince's actions not for cruelty though, but rather benevolence. He knew that the force that laid siege to the North was not petty bandits or rebels…

…But the servants of The Fallen One, Iblees.

As the Elves stood guard at Laurelin, from South of Kal'Urguan traveled a group of what appeared to be men, mostly dwarves, in white robes with various colors lining them. Five with hoods pulled over their heads, their faces obscured, one walking taller among the rest. They brushed past citizens, nearly pushing many off the King's Road as they marched North, walking with such purpose in their steps that many followed them instinctively. Though these hooded men did not mean to be callous or rude in their haste. No, they walked with a purpose as they knew what scourge plagued the North, for they had foreseen it…

…That of the Undead.

As Alstion and Winterfell burned, the corpses of the dead littering the streets before being raised against their will to fight for their new master, Iblees, more evil revealed itself throughout Aegis. Worshipers of Iblees, who had once remained quiet and worshiped in secret, had now infiltrated the various nations and were poised to betray them were they not exposed. Slowly they grew bolder and the Hell that these worshipers would bring in the name of their "god" still plagues Aegis…

In the name of Iblees.

As the white-robed men marched to Al'khazar, they gathered behind them a militia of peoples of all different backgrounds and all races. They arrived at their post, announcing themselves to the Leaders of Oren, as well as the people before them. They were the Ascended! Children of the Aenguls who gave up their immortality to remain in Aegis, eventually having descendants with their blood. Their goal, great and just, yet also very simple. Defeat the Undead at all costs. Slay them, wipe their taint from Aegis forever and let their tale be done with…

In the name of Aeriel.

The fighting drew on. There is no real telling the precise end to every battle or what the final casualty count was. In the early years, the Undead took little to no land. But Winterfell and Alstion were nearly destroyed by the initial attacks, and many times after. But the attacks had time enough between them to allow for the cities to be rebuilt, never completely destroyed. Instead, the evil spread was subtle, quiet. Not like the type of illness a child would get which would cause them obvious pain, cause them to scream and cry. But rather the type of illness which causes the child to grow weary, silent from exhaustion. Such a quiet illness which spread throughout Aegis, one hardly noticeable, but one which spread fast.

"All in the name…"

During this time, a man known simply as a Novelist arrived in Al'khazar. To the people he spread his writings, his poems. Disturbing though the writing was, many overlooked him. Only those bitter from years of living in pain, or perhaps paranoid by birth, or maybe just wise beyond their years, suspected the man of evil. Not simply as a worshiper of Iblees, but rather as something much more devious. The Prophet himself, Rott. He and the men in his ranks, including his brother, the Overlord, worked in secret to acquire fresh "blood" for their ranks…and to weaken Aegis and especially Oren from the inside. They were preparing for something…but I doubt even the Prophet foresaw what would happen next.

"…of someone else…"

The Undead attacked Al'khazar in a massive siege effort after many years of skirmishes in the North. And Al'khazar…burned. Assistance was sent to help defend it by all of the Nations. Necromancers were slain, Heroes fell, children screamed and cried. The Overlord was slain and rose again by the might of Iblees himself. And in the chaos, the Prophet and the Overlord drew paths of blood through the troops, murdering themselves a path straight to the Keep…

"…but never for Aegis herself."

It is said the Wizard watched in absolute horror at what occurred next. As the walls of the Keep came crumbling down around them, the Overlord and Wise King Perea fought. I am not familiar with the details of that fight, merely the outcome. The Overlord won, and King Perea fell, dying at the very Keep he fought to protect, in his very city, in his nation, surrounded by his people.

"The Power to destroy something…"

The Wizard, looking upon these two creatures of Iblees, the Prophet and the Overlord… these filthy beings who had just slain his close friend, King Perea… Rose his staff in tandem as both the Overlord and the Prophet rose theirs. It is said the pure magical power with emanated from the One man and Two Monsters as they activated their powers simultaneously nearly flattened the mountain the Keep stood on, shaking the ground from Al'khazar to Kal'Urguan. When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, only the Wizard remained standing, unscathed. The remnants of the Prophet and the Overlord's robes flitted away in the breeze. The Wizard, deathly calm, turn to the troops who had been observing and announced what had transpired.

"…is not absolute power over it."

For a short time it appears things were quiet. As you may guess, this was but a ruse and not long to last. A new Overlord and Prophet arose from the ashes of the former, their hate triple that of their predecessors. They acquired slaves and servants and shortly from North of Snowy Fields, past the ruined Orc Outpost they had used as a launching point for attacks, arose a Spire. Obsidian dark as a moonless night sky, iron chains holding steady a floating sphere of glass and lava, and an inner-gut full of torture devices and the scent of death, the Spire was something to behold. No longer content to attack towns, though they did continue to do so, the Undead began capturing any wayward travelers they saw, in order to torture, kill, sacrifice, or otherwise have their way with.

"But rather, to understand and comprehend something…"

The Undead began their assaults on Northern Oren anew. Snowy Fields would be their first target, not simply due to its' strategic location, but also it's citizens and other soldiers who used it as a base of operations to launch attacks on the Spire. All these attacks ended poorly, with many loses. And in the end, the Undead overtook Snowy Fields, then called Bloody Fields, destroying it and leaving it in ruins, which they allowed themselves to make free use of. From there, they set their eyes to the East…to Alstion.

"…then, to be able to alter and rearrange it as you please…"

But before they could overtake Alstion, one last offense was lead on the Undead Spire by the new King of Oren, Edmund Sheffield. The word was sent to all of the nations and the forces gathered, marching North. They arrived at the Spire in great numbers, announcing their intentions only to be scoffed at by the Undead. Lightning cracked in the air and the battle began. Hordes of monsters were summoned, fireballs shot, swords stained red with blood as was the snow. The Iblees Worshipers who served the Undead unleashed a subtle chaos on the attacking force, secretly stealing medical supplies, food and weapons while infiltrating their camp. But this blow did nothing to stall the attacking forces.

"Just as a potter shapes clay into art…"

The battle turned against the Undead. A shadow of Iblees arose spouting anger and hatred, belittling the attackers. But it did the Undead no good. The Shadow too was slain and the battle won. The land too tainted to settle on or use, it was abandoned. One of the mysterious magical beings that wander Aegis, or perhaps the Druids, cast a spell to return the land to it's natural glory. But the Undead were not done yet. Instead they settled anew in a tower which arose from the corpse of Snowy Fields…in Bloody Fields.

"As a blacksmith hammers his ore into weapons or armor…"

For a time the Tower stood and was used as a base to attack Alstion. However it was not the only base the Undead kept in Aegis. Aside from their great floating city, they had smaller, secret bases which were usually those of their supporters. Some were and still are quite obvious. Others remain secret, despite my best efforts. Ironically they are all concentrated to the West, South of Al'Khazar. To avoid making any new enemies for myself, as I have accidentally acquired enough already, I will not name them here. The Tower in Bloody Fields disappeared, abandoned, as did all of Bloody Fields shortly thereafter. I can only imagine it was one of those beings I mentioned earlier, or perhaps the Druids.

"As parents raise a child into an adult through love and care…"

Alstion too fell, a snow storm wiping it off the face of Aegis. Winterfell also, in the end, the Lord killed by the Undead. No new bases were established on behalf of the Undead in the North, save one. Years had passed since the first Prophet and Overlord fell. Even more since the first rise of the Undead. While the Undead did not create a significant new base in the North, instead the Ascended did. It matters not if it seems too late, as I believe they arrive exactly when God intends them to. The fact they tried did bring some relief, at least in the form of Hope to the people. The Ascended attempted to reach out to Oren and the other nations, to offer their assistance. But some were hesitant; they did not believe the Ascended lived up to their expectations. Yet still help was accepted and in truth, the Ascended have yet to show their true capabilities.

"As the evils of this world can turn kind folk into cruel…"

But the Undead's vision shifted from the North. Perhaps they feared the Ascended's new presence, or perhaps Iblees simply gave them a new goal to achieve. Regardless of the reason, their attention shifted from the North, to the East…To Krugmar, land of the one Brother who angered Iblees the most and that Brother's descendants. Sanhar was attacked in full force, several months in a row. Just as the Orcs were rebuilding the Undead nearly ruined it. They were driven out after hiding in their shoddily-built towers of Obsidian. Sanhar was rebuilt through the hard work of the Orcs and the generous assistance of the Elves.

"As the good of this world can turn a hardened, cold heart into a kind, warm one…"

Then, the Undead attempted to seize Sanjezal. I dreaded that this battle would end as the one at Al’khazar, with the leader slain… But I worried for not. Near a town in the North I heard warcries, rallying of forces, and talk of preparing staffs… What would occur next was obvious. A warning passed on to Al’khazar, I hurried to Krugmar and found Sanjezal already preparing for war. The Orcs do not sit back and allow themselves to be killed, nor do they counter-attack recklessly. They gathered allies, from the Elves especially, fortified the walls of Sanjezal even allowing Ascended to take positions atop the Walls to cast their spells. The forces dug in, ready for a fight.

"True, absolute power over something comes not through destruction…”

The Undead finally attacked. Staying in the wall was wise as the Undead failed to breach it, meaning they could not gain a high point to attack from atop the wall. A critical point to the victory. The Undead came mostly from the back and sides, summoning hordes of zombies, ghasts, and other minions. Lightning strikes cracked through the night air like a whip, fireball shots volleyed directly overhead. Everyone had a part to play and everyone played theirs well. Archers fired upon the ghasts, the leaders of the races including High Princess Soriuss and Warlord Mogroka rallied the troops and the Ascended brought hope and spirit. Others of us headed out on solo missions to slay as many of the Necromancers as we could, as our compatriots killed the numerous hordes of lesser beasts around us, clearing us a path to the Spell-casters.

“This is true power over something…"

Sanjezal was defended successfully with minimal casualties. All of the Undead were sent back to the Nether, though we wish we could have ended them permanently. They plot still; they will surely seek revenge on Krugmar for this. Their worshippers and servants also make their own plots, spinning webs of lies and deceit. Iblees sends new minions on occasion, such as Sand demons or other nonsense, to do his bidding, but they are not effective. We have proven ourselves. Aegis’ people will be protected and the Undead will fall…no matter the cost.

“…the power to alter, without destroying. This absolute power over all things belongs only to God. He will alter this world and our lives as He sees fit.”