by The Serge » Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:50 pm
Vrock by The Serge
... the truth behind the entire conflict between Glimmerhovel and Valdeze was due to the Ostensi cult. To my mind, the most condemning moment before the War of the Beast officially started was the Skirmish of the Flayed Hills. The High Court, under High Justice Odemthus II, sent a contingency of Guard some 3000 strong beyond the River Whiplash, burning much of Broadbend in their march. Again, we cannot truly blame Odemthus for he thought what so many of the learned and men of power in Valdeze thought at the time: Glimmerhovel was behind the horrific assaults against the towns and hamlets near Ethenus and the attempted destruction of the Weeping Wall. And, unfortunately for the misinformed Odemdthus and his High Court, the Lord of Broadbend was able to release a pigeon bearing a message for the Lord of Worms, Esel. King Esel reacted as he was prone to: with swift decisiveness. He sent his fasted drake-riding warriors, his strongest Speakers of the Word, and a fair number of Celzarian priest to ambush the unsuspecting advancing Valdeze contingency in the valleys of the Flayed Hills. There, Esel’s forces decimated the Guard; however, while he was wily, Esel was also merciful to a point. Like Odemthus, he did not want war and he could not understand why the Valds would risk a conflict with the Wood. And again like Odemthus, he did not know that the assaults across the western reaches of his kingdom – with the exception of the burning of Broadbend – were not the work of the Valds. Still, he offered to allow the 300 or so survivors to return to Valdeze unharmed with news of their loss as an indication of his resolve to repel any attacks on Glimmerhovel’s people and his desire to have peace. According to the reports of the few survivors of what was to come, King Esel gave his word on a parchment bearing his seal that he delivered in person, using magic to arrive to make his pledge (recall that then, as now, the people of Worm’s Wood embraced The Word to a degree the Ministry and Valdeze find scandalous).
The survivors that began their struggle back to Valdeze made the fateful decision to return home by traveling directly for Valernus rather than to Ethenus, hoping to report on the situation directly with the High Court. This took them very close to the southern reaches of Chariel’s Snarl, a range of jagged hills, small mountains, and wide valleys. It was here that I believe the War of the Beast truly began. The man we now know to be Lord Damdred Daggerclaw appeared on a ridge in a valley the rag-tag band of survivors traveled through (in a desire for shelter and quick access to water and provisions). Lord Damdred was a servant of House Brokenclaw, the most prominent cultists of Ostensis of the time and the primary instigators of the troubles between Valdeze and Glimmerhovel. Lord Damdred was sent to kill as many of the remaining Valdeze contingency as possible and was ordered to allow just enough to escape to make Esel appear to be nothing less than a butcher. A powerful demonologist, Damdred apparently viewed his task as one of a scavenger for he selected to kill the remaining forces in a manner most terrible: he summoned demons.
Now, Damdred did not just summon any demons. Chariel’s Snarl arguably sits within an area of Worm’s Wood least populated by trees. Its high cliffs are spread apart quite well, which means there’s a great deal of open space which allows superb visibility for aerial assaults against ground-locked foes. According to survivor accounts, Damdred appeared on a cliff well above the small group and taunted them, declaring that Esel had lied and wanted to give them a sense of hope before slaughtering the whole lot of them. According to all accounts, he shrieked an incantation similar to the following:
“It matters not if you flee, fight, or what you will!
On this day, your flesh I’ll rend and your blood I’ll spill!
This valley shall be your tomb, your eternal home,
Yet none will no for there will be no skin, no bone!
For from the deepest depths where spirits most foul dwell
I draw them to come and consume you with this spell!”
The reports claim that the initially bright, sunny sky swiftly darkened as harsh winds rushed through the valley and along the cliff. Above Damdred, a black cloud appeared filled with eldritch, unnatural lights (green and purple being the colors commonly mentioned in the accounts). From this cloud, three demons emerged. All accounts agree on their appearance. While gaunt in frame, they were much taller than humen, perhaps 8 feet. Their heads and taloned feet resembled nothing less than those of fiendish vultures save for the asymmetrical quality of the features, the ridges and horns, and the glowing black eyes. Otherwise, they had long, spine-covered arms and massive, molting vulture-like wings; their bodies were covered in gray feathers. These were demons known by a variety of names. The least clever names for these creatures include Type I demon or air demon, although a few texts from the Deep Sea region call them “winged furies.” Both A History of the Demon Wars, by Drenicus the Wise, and the Demonomicon by Iggwilv refer to them as vrocks. In the Ministry, they are called screeching demons and this is a most appropriate name.
The creatures dove for the cowering Guard. The accounts say at least one of the demons issued a spirit-quaking shriek from its beaked mouth, causing most of the men to stagger about, vainly covering their ears, which required that they dropped their weapons. My research suggests that most of their weapons were largely useless at any rate against these monsters, for their flesh resists the touch of all but holy arms and strong magicks.
Next, the accounts indicate that the creatures defecated on the Guard, pelting their bodies with foul, white dung that clung to their armor, clothing, and flesh. These droppings were covered in spines that penetrated their skin and anchored therein, causing increasingly painful, bloody wounds. Half of the men apparently died over the course of the next minute from this single attack. The remaining men suffered lingering deaths as the creatures began slash and peck at them, ripping their upper bodies or decapitating them. The creatures coordinated their attacks well, an indication that despite being chaos-craving monsters, screeching demons are willing to do all they can to enjoy their acts of slaughter. They flew and attacked in such a manner as to coral the bulk of the remaining contingency, although it seems clear to me that they wanted some to escape. The few that did manage to make it out of the net were ignored. In some ways, I suspect that they did not see themselves as fortunate for what they claimed they saw happen to their doomed comrades. The demons landed among the victims that still lived. Joining taloned hands, the demons squawked and screeched as they danced in a riotous circle. Within moments, they were covered with a glowing crackle of energy, like lightning. When the trio reached a crescendo in their dance, they abruptly separated and the lightning consumed everything within 100 feet of the demons.
It is thought that Damdred disappeared before the screeching demons even began their attack for the survivors said that they did not see him on the cliff. The demons themselves either returned to their summoner or else returned to The Abyss and their mistress, Ostensis, for whom they did the foul deed. It would be months, though, before the truth of this would be known for this attack ensured the brutal response from Valdeze that the Ostensi wanted when the contingency returned to Valernus – A Study of the War of the Beast by Duke Dentun, Chief Librarian of the Valernus Library, Valdeze.