The End of Madness

...somewhere in the Valley Of Champions.

The thunderous sound of tens of thousands of orcs became increasingly clear as the merciless orcs marched towards the great mountain ranges of the dwarves. Countless legions of orcs marched in unison flying banners of every color. They fixed their gaze on the dwarven homes carved into the side of the spine of the world. As they marched a great storm front rushed them head on and snow and ice was already visibly pouring down like a waterfall onto the side of the mountains. Hundreds of thousands of torches snaked their way through the valleys and as they advanced they scorched the landscape and destroyed everything in their path, no better than pirates they plundered and pillaged everything in their path. Off the coast a scout of the dreadwood fleet sat in wait observing the movements, throwing their casino chips down on the table they placed bets to see who would emerge victorious from this otherworldly battle. Carrion warbirds followed in the path of destruction the colored orcs left behind picking at the dead and feasting like they never had before.

The orcs reached the edge of the great forest now and were poised for the final assault towards the base of the mountains. The plan was simple: burn the forest and take the mountain castles of the dwarven lords. The storm from now closed in on the orcs, it began to rain ever so lightly and in the moment a great bolt of lightning lit up the sky followed by a grand air quake that nearly deafening all, the feral sound of the orcs being drowned out now by the sheer power of nature. Dark elves could be heard chanting in the forest, it grew louder until finally a beam of energy darker than amethyst rose into the sky from the forest and split the clouds forming a maelstrom in the center of the storm. A great wind came from the south and halted the storm cloud directly over the forest, the raid stopped and the air became warm. The smell of fire and brimstone in the air the orcs looked to the sky as the pillar of light now vanished from the eye of the maelstrom meteors began to fall from the heavens killing orcs and elves instantly on impact, decimating the flora and the fauna. The meteors continued to rain down now becoming smaller and less accurately placed; they began to simply destroy the landscape around the orcs who now pushed forward into the forests at the command of the wolf general, “CHARGE!!!”, he exclaimed.

The orcs pushed their way through the dense forest falling victim, to the countless dark elves protecting the forest, like bloody lunatics they charged the orcs from behind, going in for the silent kill. The orcs had the raw power but the dark elves and hidden halflings of the enemy were too well placed and by trying to avoid their traps they fell victim to pitfalls, greed, and nightmares. A metallic symphony cascaded through the forest and the valleys, the world of legends was more alive than ever. The dwarves took their time to study the enemy and the battle below, they delved into their grand library of good reads to find the optimal battle strategy once used by their forefathers to stop the merciless orcs. The orcs now at the base of the mountain pushed through two great sets of gates breaching the dwarvish kingdoms and slaying all in their path. Just then an earthquake shook the ground and the entrance to the upper castles and caved in the only passages to the dwarves final defensive position, blocking access to the orcish invaders. The great war horns of the dwarfs sounded louder than any other monsters or cryptids in the world of legends. As the orcs poured out they were surrounded by halflings and dark elves, they easily forced their way through the two and followed them back to their camps, destroying nearly everything they could find before being summoned back to the main army for a final assault on the Silver Mountain range.

The tempest raged on in the sky above as fireballs, lightning bolts, and meteor showers continued to rain down on the world creating a veritable hellscape. The great army of the colored orcs rallied now for the final assault on the silver mountains, one of the strongest and most protected dwarvish provinces for if they could topple the silver dwarves this war was certainly in the hands of the orcs. Seeing nothing but mild success and high casualties the wolf general had finally been consumed by the very energy that had brought him back to life. The final bastion of sanity had given way to rage, hate, and anger. With his last moment of sanity he cursed the orcs and their many colored banners in his mind. In his last words his eyes erupted with a fiery red glow brighter than ever before he had finally succumbed to the chaos magic used by the dark elves, descending into total madness the bloodlust consumed him. He stood on a small mound of earth and waving his sword in the air howled at the top of his lungs for the orcs to begin the assault, “TO THE DEATH, BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!”, he cried with all his unnatural might. He charged to the front of the battle and led the first of the armies to the gates, knocking them down instantly and taking a better position from which to lay siege. He called the second army to move in for the attack, as they closed in on the next wall protecting the inner courtyard the dark elf King Pharaoh pierced through the eye of the storm riding a great sapphire dragon, he began chanting so loud it drowned out the advance of the orcs they all looked to the sky. At that moment King Pharaoh clapped his hands over his head as the dragon swooped down towards the battle, a nova of blinding bright energy expanded in all directions from his hands and before the orcs made it to the walls they blinding light washed over the entire army blinding them. Countless orcs bounced off the walls blinded, concussed, and many incapacitated from the mystic vortex that had consumed the army. The orcish bloodlust was gone and they began retreating away from the wall, the attack had failed!

Blinded still by madness and bloodlust the wolf general howled in hatred as he saw the orcs fleeing the battle, he turned on the colored orcs and began slaying them as they retreated. The dwarves watched on in horror, only having ever seen this before from their own dwarf berserkers, counting their prayers that this monster had not breached the gates. All of the remaining orcish legions and generals saw the battle had been lost and began pulling all armies back from the front while the wolf general was left alone in his madness. King Pharaoh could sense the chaos magic inside the wolf and knew what he had to do, drawing his great teal scimitar he spoke a magical incantation to the blade in naught but a whisper. The blade hummed and sung an elvish tune as it vibrated to life now ignited with a blazing purple aura the dragon narrowed its wings and dove for the attack. The wolf general turned at the last moment to confront the King but he was too swift and the blade pierced the wolfs’ chest plate and into his heart. King Pharaoh recoiled his blade and watched as blue energy shot out from the chestplate and from the wolves eyes and mouth creating a pillar leading up to the sky, parting the storm clouds. With his final breath the wolf let out a monstrous howl that concussed the King and all those on the battlefield and in that final moment the wolf fell lifeless to the ground. “Be at peace once again.” King Pharaoh whispered.


*fade to black*

...somewhere on the Spine Of The World.

The battlefield was littered with bodies of all shapes and sizes, countless scorched and mutilated beyond any kind of recognition. The maelstrom had vanished now and only a small storm cloud lay over the hell zone. Misfits who wandered on to the battlefield pillaged the dead while the birds of war picked the corpses clean and mocked the fallen. The wolf lay lifeless on the ground, tiny rain drops creating a metallic symphony on his armor plate as several dark hooded humanoids knelt down beside him, placing his sword on his chest they lifted him up and carried him from the field high into the Spine of the World. In the wolfs’ viewing chamber and tomb now they lay his body back into the tomb which he had been awoken from two ages ago by chaos energy. Finally back in his resting place they spoke a magical incantation, “somnus emeritus invictus canis lupus, somnus”. The great wardstone reappeared and closed the tomb of the wolf, sealing it as if it were part of the very earth itself. On the entrance to the tomb they carved the words above the portal, “Mac Tíre”, they said their final goodbyes. As they exited the viewing chamber and tomb of the wolf general the ground, walls and ceilings began to quake and the entire room caved in, burying all evidence than anything had ever been there. In the ice they used elven magic to hide a warning to all who would dare to travel here, “Beware, here lies ruin, here lies chaos, to whoever who seeks to open this tomb… BEWARE!” They descended down the side of the mountain and observed the devastation that was brought on to the world of legends and wept for there was not much time left.

... on another plain

The wolf awoke to a beautiful sunny day, on the field of battle with all his favorite scenery and all his long lost brothers in arms and all those who had fallen asleep in the world of legends hoping never to return. His eyes no longer blazing red he raised his sword into the air and across the valley he could see the mighty Swedish Warlords. He smiled to his friends he thought he lost forever, releasing his eagle into the air he cried… “TO WAR!!!”. The wolf's spirit was finally at rest and where he belonged.

Travellers and those lost at night in the world of legends still report seeing an ethereal wolf when their need is most dire, when all seems lost, when you have no hope left in the world he will find you. Many lost armies and travellers have been guided by this spirit of the earth to their destinations free of harm. Not a word spoken, not even a howl or a bark the spirit would vanish when it was no longer needed disappearing back into the world of legends forever hiding in the shadows, poised to aid those in need. His soul, forever bound to The World Of Legends.

THE END