Bretonnian Crusade fluff and a Question

[Lathaine]

I decided to write up fluff for a Bretonnian Crusade to aid Arnheim and raze Karond Kar a few weeks ago. Its only the first chapter, more are probably coming but I have a major problem: I'm one of two Druchii players in my gaming group and I was hoping to play my Brets against the other Druchii player, but he left town and I'm now being asked by my Dwarf, Empire, and Asur opponents to play them with my Druchii so they can represent their races. My plan was to base future fluff on battles with the Druchii player but that seems almost out of the question now, unless I ask other players to play Druchii against me. I'm loathe to do that since I'd probably just be stealing games in all fairness considering it would be a totally new army to them.

Anywho, I was wondering if it would be okay to write fluff without basing them on battles? I just don't want to let my story die but I'm afraid it wouldn't be very accurate. I was thinking of basing my story on win percentages at certain sites scaling victories and defeats accordingly. I also now intend to do more side story than originally intended. Either way I would like some input toward this line of thought. Is it fair to base success in fluff on win percentages alone? How should I structure my fluff to be fair and avoid a Bretonnian domination bias that may occur?

Well regardless heres my fluff and I hope you enjoy it.


A Tale of Blood and Woe

Ch. 1: An Encounter at Sea

Lathaine couldn’t tell where the azure sky and sea separated on the horizon as he stood aboard the Bretonnian galleon The Lady’s Champion.
Ah, Thought Lathaine I’ll never tire of this sight, Aislinn was all too right in loving the sea. Perhaps I’ll have sea legs by the time this voyage is done. Wouldn’t that be a surprise! Pushing himself away from the ship’s railing Lathaine steadied himself in his glinting armor. So cautious was he of an attack in these Druchii waters that he wouldn’t take off his armor even for an instant except to bathe and sleep.
Time to get back to work I guess, Lathaine thought languidly. Making his way to the captain’s cabin Lathaine sat down at his desk, which like every other piece of furniture on the ship was strapped down to avoid accidents. Poring over his notes and the selection of books he brought from Bretonnia, Lathaine once again began to lay down his strategy to disrupt the Druchii in their homeland.
Lathaine or more accurately Earl Lathaine De Bastonne le Avalon Knight of the Grail, as his personal attendants presented him, had left his homeland of Bretonnia only four weeks prior. Having taken a circuitous route that brought him to Bretonnian colonies on the island of Albion, Lathaine’s fleet, a holy Crusade, was bearing on the Dark Elf realm of Naggaroth.
Just six months ago he had fought in the epic Storm of Chaos and led his coterie of knights to victory after victory against all manner of enemy. Expecting an epic battle between good and evil, Lathaine had expected the defense of Middenheim to be the end times, the dark times foretold by wailing prophets of doom and their flagellant hordes Fortunately for mankind this was not the case, though this sentiment wasn’t exactly mirrored in Lathaine. For Lathaine had expected to accomplish great deeds in the Storm, he had even had aspirations of besting the Duke of his Duchy himself, Bohemond the Beastslayer. Craving prestige in Bretonnian society Lathaine had wanted to slay one of every Greater Daemon and the dreaded Chaos Dragon Graumag. This wasn’t the case, the Storm happened so quickly and Archaon defeated so easily, Lathaine only had time to engage in but a handful of battles against the Dark Prince, Belakor; slaying a Great Unclean One and a Lord of Change. However, the thought of that lost glory didn’t sting in Lathaine’s psyche too much; for as a Grail knight Lathaine would have the lifespan to fight more battles in which to defeat the hell spawn of the world. The realms of men were safe, somewhat safer at least, and with that safety his oath to protect Bretonnia and defend the lady upheld.
For Lathaine the relentless battles and war would have ended with Archaon’s defeat had it not been for his friend Aislinn’s news. Aislinn, Sea Lord of the Elven fleets who Lathaine had fought with more than even his Bretonnian allies, had told Lathaine of reports of civil war among the Dark Elves in the lands of Naggaroth across the Great Ocean. Lathaine didn’t think too much of this until A few days later Aislinn told him of the plight of Arnheim and the slave rebellion in the city of Karond Kar.
Lathaine could hardly forget the devastation incurred by villages raided by the vile Druchii. Whole populations enslaved and the rebellious sacrificed to the Dark God of Murder on pyres. The memory of seeing such villages after a raid still haunted Lathaine and gave him a grim determination to right the wrongs of the past. He had asked Aislinn if he could aid him in his quest to defend Arnheim in the near future. Aislinn of course agreed even offering to take Lathaine and his knights of Avalon right then to chill lands, unfortunately Lathaine’s knights were in no shape to go and he refused, though he swore a solemn oath to accompany Aislinn with his own fleet as soon as he was ready.
Lathaine had swept back to Bretonnia with all due haste and started to gather a Crusade. Petitioning friendly nobles, units of bored knights Errant who had not earned much prestige in battle during the Storm, and eventually the King himself Lathaine was able to acquisition a fleet. Outfitted according to Lathaine’s specifications these ships would bring this new Crusade to the Druchii and teach them an object lesson in ever waging war against Bretonnians or their allies.

The irony of bringing a fleet to the Druchii still amused Lathaine as he sat poring over maps of Naggaroth. Lathaine’ inquisitive and calculating mind viewed the maps and charts not as the chaotic jumble they would appear to normal folk. But instead he saw them as pieces on a board that he could move to win himself a decisive victory. His conquest looked all too easy to him; “Perhaps this won’t be as easy as I think it be.” voiced Lathaine aloud.
“Of course, Apprentice, it never is.” said an oddly-familiar old, raspy voice from behind. Startled Lathaine turned quickly, ready to respond to a threat only to see, much to his chagrin, the unimposing sight of his old friend Gaspar.
Perhaps unimposing to me but not to any commoner, that’s for sure thought Lathaine.
In fact Gaspar could even be called frightening arrayed in his brilliant white robes that shone with an inner radiant light and gifted with a snowy white beard that reached down to his waist. Gaspar was a Wizard lord from the college of the light order in Altdorf. Lathaine had met him there when he had been brought to live in the Imperial capital as a child. Born a Bretonnian noble but raised by his uncle a Bretonnian knight stationed in the Imperial capital when his parents died, Lathaine had always been interested in the winds of magic. Not a common pursuit for Bretonnian men, for all men of the Bretonni tribe who could use magic were taken to serve the lady in another plane. Nevertheless, Lathaine had studied well into the night scanning ancient books of magical lore. In all the capital and its colleges of magic his favorite haunt had always been the pyramid of the order of light. Gaspar was a friend who taught Lathaine much of the magic of Hysh, despite Lathaine’s apparent lack of ability at the time. Despite this lack of ability, the prospect of gathering such esoteric knowledge always pulled Lathaine towards his studies even when he was practicing and sparing with Bretonnian knights at the Imperial embassy. For no knight of Bretonnia no matter his role or interests is a prolific fighter. Ambassador or scribe it did not matter to a Bretonnian, they would keep themselves proficient with the sword and lance no matter the difficulty.
Eventually Lathaine had learned to see the wind’s of magic. A fact he never divulged to anyone except to the servants of the Lady including his wife of twenty years the Fair Prophetess Elaine. The thought of her and his two children, Leuthere and Margaret, made Lathaine ache to return home, but no he had a duty to fulfill first, though he knew his home-sickness would only become more acute with time. In his youth Lathaine had expected to be scooped up by the Fey Enchantress and taken to personally serve the goddess as all Bretonnian men did, but oddly Lathaine was never taken in fact it was never even an issue. Even when Lathaine presented himself to the Fey Enchantress herself and told her of his ability she had told him not tell anyone but the devoted of the goddess and had said, “The Lady has greater plans for you Lathaine De Bastonne, we’ve known of your ability for some time, but your role for the goddess will be fulfilled later if you walk the proper path.”
“You know getting yourself lost in thought may be well and good for new wizards earning their rites, but it is very unbecoming in an apprentice talking to his advisor,” chided Gaspar.
Lathaine was caught off guard, “I’m just remembering old times, friend, no need to become accusatory. Also, do not forget I haven’t been your apprentice for almost 70 years now.”
“True, and you’ve grown all the more stubborn and set-in-your-ways for it, which isn’t a compliment just to remind you,” said Gaspar.
Getting up from his desk and stretching his legs, Lathaine got up to embrace the old wizard.
“It’s been a long time old friend.” said Lathaine.
“For me as well my former apprentice,” said Gaspar.
Lathaine inquired, “Tell me, by what magical means did you get here so fast? I sent word several months ago, and it wasn’t until before I left that I received a reply saying you were organizing a fleet in Altdorf and would leave two weeks after my Crusade. You can’t expect me to believe you traveled the distance my sleek Bretonnian vessels have in half the time on those Imperial blunderbusses.”
“Ah, ever skeptical I see,” said Gaspar with a sigh, “You should know better than to expect mere mortal limitations from wizards. The fleet is here, though fleet may be too strong a term. I only arranged ten Great Ships and twenty skiffs to come with me, after all a third of the empire is in ruins and not even Karl Franz could afford to send many ships.”
“The fleet’s size is unimportant.” said Lathaine, “I expected my knights to do most of the fighting anyway. The important question is did you bring the supplies and soldiers I asked for?”
“Yes, not an easy feat to gather such an expedition you should know.” Gaspar said “The ships were easy to acquire considering the Navy took little damage in the Storm. To fill them was another matter, I had to coerce some counts with visions of colonies and glory in Druchii lands, appeal to the humanitarian streaks in others, and even hire mercenaries to fill my ships.”
“Mercenaries!” shrieked a startled Lathaine, “You didn’t really hire mercenaries did you? You know what I think of their lot.”
“Don’t worry your little Bretonnian head, friend, I knew of your disdain for sell-swords and didn’t pay these mercenaries before the expedition set off.” continued Gaspar, ”I only offered them a plot of land and some Druchii plunder should the Crusade succeed, they get only what they claim in battle.”
Lathaine shook his head and replied with a sigh, “Still, you seem to have only circumvented tradition. Oh very well, though they will get only what they take in battle, under no circumstances shall I pay them out of my coffers.”
Changing the subject Lathaine asked, “So how goes the reconstruction.”
Gaspar grimaced, “As well as to be expected. Spawn of the Cursed Gods still roam the Middle Mountains and the town of Zundap is in Skaven hands. Although, I did hear of a Crusade to uproot the Skaven was being formed in Middenheim. Although its stalled, apparently they are having problems because of…” Gaspar would never finish that sentence for at that very moment A Yeoman cried, “Ships Starboard!”

Lathaine bolted away from the wizard and went outside, pulling his looking glass from his belt; he adjusted the sights and spied in the direction the Yeoman in the crows nest was pointing. Before him he saw a Black Ark towering above the waters and almost three dozen galleys and double that number in skiffs bearing on his fleet.
“Sigmar’s blood! A Black Ark.” exclaimed Gaspar.
“By the Lady!” shrieked a man-at-arms.
Lathaine gave the man-at-arms a willowing look and said, “Hold your tongue knave; I will not have you using the goddess’ name in vain, even in battle.”
The man-at-arms flinched, “But my Lord, did you anticipate such a fleet? How can we win against that? My Lord, even though we outnumber them, their ships are otherworldly constructs that will best any three of ours. Remember you not the tales of the Druchii? That Ark is huge bigger than any ten galleys! We will be lost against such a fleet!”
“Shut yur’ trap you scurvied dog!” shouted Lathaine’s Master-at-Arms, a grizzled sergeant named Halberd who had fought in more battles in his short lifetime than almost any Asur or Dwarf could attest to. “The master would not be leading us into battle if he had not already been prepared for it. Trust in your Lord and the Lady to see you through and quite your worries.”
Lathaine, gladdened by his yeoman’s defense, continued, “Do not worry young man. I knew a Black Ark was more than ten times the size of a galley already, the plan I worked on will work if you carry it out. Fear not for we have an advantage already: The Druchii did not expect another fleet in the vicinity and to them we are merely pathetic humans.” The last he noted wryly.
The man-at-arms still looked unsure but quickly got to work under the glare of Lathaine and Halberd. Halberd blew an “all hands” whistle while another yeoman raised flags to alert the other ships in the fleet of the Druchii presence.
Lathaine looked over his fleet, and a fleet it was. One hundred and fifty ships, including twenty five galleons, forty five Corsairs, medium sized ships of the line, and eighty Buccaneers, small ships designed for speed and maneuverability. Loaded with 2200 knights and more than four times that number in peasants, this Crusade was outfitted for war on a grand scale. It had taken a King’s ransom to assemble this fleet, but Bretonnia’s military had received little damage from the Storm of Chaos and could still easily amass Crusading fleets and armies to battle evil in far flung lands.
“I assume your ships have Great Cannons and the wizards.” inquired Lathaine
“Yes, I made sure to bring both of course, I don’t exactly wish to die on this ocean, you know.” said Gaspar.
Lathaine, knowing of the magical might of the Druchii, had requisitioned Gaspar to bring as many battle wizards he could get his hands on. Gaspar had responded by meeting with the Patriarch of the magical orders himself, who had issued a decree saying that any battle wizards who were able should help fight against Chaos by any means during the Storm. It was not unheard of for such decrees to go up in times of Great War such as the Storm and many battle wizards left their safe confines and libraries to adventure with a variety of parties and Crusades to gain prestige and experience. Gaspar’s group was particularly large and had been assembled with the Patriarch’s aid; it had ten wizards each from the eight orders.
Lathaine merely smiled at Gaspar’s reply and with confidence in his tone he said, “Good, have the Great ships form up with my galleons and let the skiffs know they are to join with the Buccaneers, but keep their distance from the main Druchii fleet. They are not as maneuverable or swift as my ships and could get plowed into by the galleys and Druchii monsters. Also get dinghies into the water and transport those battle wizards onto the Buccaneers. Tell them to do what they were trained to do.”
Lathaine’s own ships were armed with Trebuchets and cannons, the latter was troubling to most nobles in the fleet including Lathaine, Bretonnians distrusted black powder weaponry and avoided it. However, the seafaring nobles of Bretonnia and their peasant crews did not have that bias. If they did then the Bretonnian fleet would have never been able to defeat even the weakest of enemies at sea. The use of cannon on ships was just an unsettling fact of life that had to be dealt with. Although, by bringing Trebuchets Lathaine hoped to replace the black powder weapons with a less unholy instrument of war.

The sun was in its noonday spot and a light mist was wafting off the cold blue sea. Lathaine noted that the winds of Ghyran and Ghur, of life and beasts, were strong in these waters and that the winds of shadow and death were weak.
At least we have another advantage, noted Lathaine; we’ll need every one that can be found to win this battle.
The Black Ark stood silhouetted against the sea, a ghastly construct the size of a small castle; in fact it was a small castle. The Arks were remnants of fortresses built onto the lands of Nagarythe before the Elven civil war split their race. The Fortresses of Nagarythe served as the last refuges of the Druchii after their defeat. They were used to escape the High Elves and the Sundering and thus the fortresses were enchanted to float on water and search for a new home. The Ark still resembled a small keep with eight soaring spiked towers, arrow slits, and battlements, but it had been altered to make it more sea worthy. A single deck was where the walls would have stopped, the front of the fortress had been curved to make it more hydrodynamic, six great masts with Black sails rose among the towers, and four decks of oars, slave-driven no doubt, were arrayed on the sides of the ship. As its name suggested the ship was painted ebony and magical wards the color of blood stood out on the Ships walls, wards that would keep the fortress aloft and give it a boost in defense. Aboard the Ark was an army of Corsairs, trained to board enemy ships, along with missile infantry sporting repeater crossbows and above all the dreaded reaper bolt thrower. Slave-rowed galleys plowed the waters beside the juggernaut, filled with Corsairs ready to board any ship that maneuvered too close. Smaller ships, which were built onto the backs of great scaled monsters, swam beside the galleys and had towers built onto them that were filled with Druchii sailors ready to shoot hails of repeater crossbow and reaper bolt thrower fire. It was quite a sight to behold and would have sent any sane man running away in absolute terror. But Lathaine just watched the ships coming closer as though he had nary a care in the world.
At last I can join battle with these twisted outcasts and right some ancient wrongs, thought Lathaine.
Lathaine yelled to his crew, “Raise the flags and have the fleet take battle formation!”
With that command flags were raised and the fleet’s formation changed, up to that point the smaller ships had surrounded the plodding galleys keeping them out of harms way should a surprise assault disrupt the fleet. However, now the galleys began to turn abreast of their foe and the Buccaneers and Corsairs set sail for the Druchii fleet.
That ought to surprise them. Thought Lathaine, Any normal human fleet would have run by now but instead we charge.
As the Druchii fleet closed, Lathaine felt a thrill of exhilaration as he charged yet again into battle against the denizens of darkness.
I’ll never tire of this feeling, thought Lathaine, Not even if I live to the end of the Age. Just then the Damsel Morgana appeared from below deck and cast an intricate spell to let Lathaine’s orders be heard on every ship in the fleet.
“We have a range advantage, use it and keep clear of their ships. Don’t let them board us, and get the damsels, wizards, and Prophetesses casting spells, I want a torrent of magic to overwhelm the Druchii.” ordered Lathaine.
“It will be done Sir” said Sir Mogan from behind. He was a tall, handsome man who was as skilled with a blade and lance as any knight from the cursed realm of Moussilon ought to be. “I just came from the Prophetesses, who are already deep in thought and concentration on their spells. But, tell me when will you have the knights assemble? Today I wish to have my lance drink deep of Druchii blood.”
“Do not worry yourself too much, Sir Mogan.” said Lathaine, “In fact, why don’t you get the knights together with their horses on deck? I’ll alert the other galleons to do the same.”
“It will be done my Lord,” said Mogan before darting back into the bowls of the ship.

The Druchii vessels were closing with the Buccaneers just as the knight’s were filtering from below with their horses and taking lance formations. Lathaine egged his steed to the front of the knightly ranks, stood up in his stirrups, and addressed the troops of his fleet, “Today I have a duty for all of you!” exclaimed Lathaine, “A Bretonnian navy has only once defeated a Black Ark. At the battle of Castellet, then King Philip and his knights slew thousands of the vile Druchii and defeated their Black Ark and its auxiliaries in a lesson to the Druchii plunderers. But the Dark Elves never took that lesson to heart and they continue to enslave our people and pillage our lands, sacrificing our kin to their bloodied god. I beseech all the brave souls of mankind present here today to destroy this foul construct and win a victory on the high seas as has not been seen by Bretonnia in centuries!”
A roar rose from the assembled knights on the Lady’s Champion, which was echoed from all the other ships soon after, even the Imperials were caught up in the moment and bellowed their approval. With that the Druchii vessels finally came within range of the Bretonnian artillery.
Lathaine roared, “All front-line ships commence fire!”
One hundred and seventy trebuchets, one outfitted on each Buccaneer and two per Corsair, loosed stone rubble as big as two knights on horseback at the Druchii galleys. Only one in ten shots hit true but that was more than enough, because whenever a piece of rock struck home into a galley’s midsection, the ship would explode in a cloud of splinters. Seventeen galleys were sunk in the first volley and the Bretonnian ships used their swiftness to keep within trebuchet range of the Druchii fleet but never venture within range of their Reaper bolt throwers. As the damaged Druchii vessels sank, the screeches of slaves chained to their oars could be heard in the distance, the desperate wail of doomed.
This strategy confused the Druchii, who altered their formation. The monstrous skiffs were sent to clear away the Buccaneers and Corsairs with missile fire leaving the galleys and the Black Ark to charge Lathaine’s larger vessels. Either way the Druchii galleys were doomed for a second volley of trebuchet fire was loosed just as the Druchii vessels split up. Another seventeen galleys sank with this rain of boulders leaving only two such vessels left. With the galleys out of play, the Bretonnian ships ran away from the Druchii skiffs to draw them away from the Ark
The Imperial ships were ordered to sink the remaining galleys with their Great Cannons as Lathaine revealed the next part of his plan. All the Damsels in the fleet began casting their prepared spells on the Druchii monsters, which served as skiffs. Talking to the minds of the tortured beasts the Damsels convinced them to shake the shackles of their oppressors off and kill their tormenters. Soon all the Druchii skiffs were heaving and capsizing as the beasts tried to throw off their crews. No amount of pain or coercion inflicted on the monsters on the part of the Dark Elves seemed to affect the beasts as the Damsels kept up their efforts to convince the monsters to single-mindedly fight.
With this confusion, the Buccaneers and Corsairs veered back toward the now disoriented Druchii skiffs. The Elven troops were in no shape to fire their massive reaper bolt throwers, the only weapon they had that could best the range of the peasant’s longbows. Peasants opened fire with longbows as battle wizards sent fireballs and bolts of energy at the wooden constructs atop the Monsters. Trying to keep out of repeater crossbow range, the Bretonnian ships loosed volley after volley of longbow fire into the last vestiges of Dark Elves until they fell limp from their ships and the sea ran red with Druchii blood.
Meanwhile, a volley of Great Cannon fire was loosed from the Imperial ships sending the last two Druchii galleys to the deep. With its auxiliaries in disarray, the Black Ark responded by speeding up and lunging directly for Lathaine’s command ship.
Perfect, thought Lathaine, Now the final pieces can fall together.
Lathaine gave the order, “All knights prepare to storm the Ark!” and immediately Damsels and the knights of Bordeleaux, who had stood aside as the formations were made, joined the Bretonnian units. Damsels conjured waves of water by invoking the Lady and led their units onto these waves, which kept the Bretonnian warriors aloft and would act as a delivery system for their knightly charges. The knights of Bordeleaux conjured their own waves but instead of invoking the Lady they invoked the sea god Mannaan, an ally of Bordeleaux since before Gilles le Breton himself, to aid the knights in their hour of need. Within minutes 2000 knights were arrayed on water born lances and Invoking the Lady’s protection, Lathaine urged his charger, Glorinal, forward with his army in pursuit. Lances flew at the speed of falcons as the knights were carried aloft toward the massive Black Ark. Along with the 2000 standard knights on waves, another two hundred knights carried by Pegasi were also launched from a handful of galleons used as carriers. These knights would swoop down upon the towers and battlements of the Ark bringing death from on high.
Just as the knights bolted forward a barrage of trebuchet and cannon fire was launched from the Bretonnian galleons behind Lathaine. Almost all the shots hit true against the Black Ark, which was almost impossible to miss due to its size. Oars were smashed and pieces of the ship the size of cottages were broken off as Lathaine’s knights closed distance. The Buccaneers and Corsairs had also neared having finished their grisly duty of mopping up the Druchii warriors. Cannons on the second decks of the Corsairs and the trebuchets rained even more fire on the Black Ark as Damsels used the winds of Hysh to summon mists that obscured the Dark Elves line of sight to the knights.
Lathaine urged the lances to the starboard side of the Ark before closing distance. Just as he maneuvered the lances towards the Ark, bright lights appeared over the Ark blinding its soldiers; thanking the Lady for her Damsels and Gaspar’s wizards, Lathaine led the charge on the Ark. As the knights came within missile range, the blinded, though stalwart Druchii launched volley after volley of fire at the knights in an attempt to panic them away, though many shots fell wide the shear amount of bolts managed to inflict casualties. In fact over a dozen knights were killed with each volley despite their heavy armor, but it only took three such volleys before the knights were on the ship. The waves they rode upon gained in size until they could board the Druchii vessel and Bretonnian lances met ranks of blinded Corsairs and missile infantry. The Bretonni cut a swaff of destruction across the whole length of the ship as wave after wave of Druchii fell to lance, hoof, and sword. The Pegasus knights had also joined the battle and were slaughtering the crews of every reaper bolt thrower stationed in the ship’s towers. Not a single bolt could hit the lightning fast and maneuverable Pegasus knights, as they dived on the surprised Elven defenders with lances and hooves and knocked their war machines off the towers and onto Druchii formations below so that they couldn’t be reused. Though Broken and bloodied, the Druchii fought on and would not relent in their attempt to protect their ship. The Bretonnian forces ran through the thinning Elven lines and exited the ship via the port side atop new waves, leaving bloody piles of Druchii corpses and intermittent missile fire in their wake.

When his knights were out of missile range, Lathaine turned around and saw another volley of artillery fire smash into the Ark. More pieces of the ship were torn off and holes began to appear at the water line, yet despite the damage and a compromised hull the ship would not sink.
It can’t be, raged Lathaine, the ship still does not sink or even slow. No wards could be that powerful… but still the ship floats. How can I counteract these wards? Have I the firepower to sink this vessel?
Just then a massive Kraken of the deep surfaced next to three Buccaneers and a lance of knights. The Kraken’s many tentacles pulled the knights and ships beneath the waves as it raged as if possessed by a daemonic intellect.
“Why aren’t you Damsels doing something about that!” barked Lathaine to the Damsel Morgana in his lance.
“The creature is under total sway of the Druchii, lord, we can’t control it, they’re blocking our spells!” replied the Damsel.
Upon looking closer Lathaine could see it. The Druchii were using some arcane means with which to shield the Kraken from the influence of the wind of Ghur. Apparently they could stop his Damsels efforts, but only when they pooled their resources onto protecting the minds of a handful of creatures.
Knowing what had to be done Lathaine urged his charger forward and yelled,
“Then watch me kill the beast!” as he broke away from his lance to hunt. The wave he rode held firm even as he raced away from the Damsel who created it. Being a knight of Bastonne Lathaine had been trained in the anatomy of all manners of beasts, this knowledge was often used to slay such monsters with one swift blow a trade mark of most Bastonnian knights. A knowledge Lathaine also applied to humanoids as well, though this idea went against the grain of Bastonnian thought.
Flying towards the Kraken, Lathaine tried to remember where the brain was in this massive beast, for though a Kraken was large, its brain was not. To kill the beast Lathaine would need to separate the spinal cord from the brain at the creature’s brain stem paralyzing it. Lathaine recalled his lessons, steadied his lance, and identified the point of the creature to strike. Suddenly a huge tentacle swept towards him, Lathaine dodged at the last instant but was almost thrown from his horse.
That was close; I just need to get a little closer…just a bit closer…better dodge that tentacle…Now! Lathaine’s lance struck home in a colorful shower of purple ichor as the monster’s brain was skewered immobilizing it, with no motion to maintain buoyancy the beast began to sink. Dashing away Lathaine felt exultation in his achievement and rejoined his lance just as his Damsel-created wave was wearing off.

Not all was going well; the Black Ark was now dangerously close to Lathaine’s galleons. If the ship reached them the backbone of his fleet would be lost.
Lathaine shouted “I want a full scale assault on the Ark. All artillery will be loosed and every knight is to reform on the port side for a second assault!”
Just as he gave these orders, a gasp erupted from a few knights in his lance. Looking up to what had shocked them, Lathaine gaped at a tri-tailed comet hanging in the sky, and even more shockingly it appeared to be heading for the Black Ark. Looking at the heavenly body Lathaine could only think that the Lady herself had sent the celestial formation to save him and his knights, although he knew it was summoned by his Prophetesses and their timing was preternaturally impeccable. The comet, upon closer inspection, turned out to be three such heavenly bodies in a close formation, leaving a trail of crimson flame each comet smashed into the Ark with incredible force. Explosions of water hundreds of feet high erupted where the comets hit tearing off a whole quarter of the Ark and ripping the ship’s rudder off. No later had the comets hit their mark, than a Leviathan three hundred feet long reared out of the cool waters and slithered onto the deck of the Druchii vessel.
The creature, the size of a small castle with gleaming blue scales that twinkled in the midday light, bellowed a roar that could be heard for miles. The creature then lunged at the Druchhii who merely annoyed it with their bolt fire. It proceeded to slaughter Druchii en masse as it clawed, bit, and rolled on top of its foes, which began to flee in utter terror.
“Lady bless the prophetesses for they have delivered us,” intoned Lathaine.
“Of course they would, did you have doubts? The Lady would never forget her knights and followers when they needed her most.” chided the Damsel Morgana.
Lathaine returned his knights to the galleons and ordered the fleet to regroup. The Leviathan had also stopped its assault on the Ark and returned to the cool blue sea. The Ark itself floated dead in the water, but some Druchii could still be seen working to get the ship mobile again despite their losses. Most unsettling to Lathaine though, was the fact the vessel, despite losing more than half its mass, still floated, testament to the wards and engineering of the Druchii race.
Lathaine was about to order another volley of artillery fire, when a second Black Ark fleet appeared in the distance. Knowing that it was surprise more than anything else that won the battle against the first Ark, Lathaine gave the order: “Have all ships reform and withdraw. We’re done here.”
“No! We can’t stop now, “raved Mogan “We’ve killed so many of the vermin already and taken so few losses, why withdraw? Haven’t they killed enough of our people? Let’s finish the job we started! Let us kill this second Black Ark and exterminate them all for the Lady! Many knights began to echo Mogan’s sentiment.
“No!” Lathaine replied heatedly, “I am the Admiral of this fleet and you will follow my orders. The Druchii were caught off guard here, which will not be the case with this next fleet. Besides our mission isn’t to sink the Druchii navy but to fulfill my oath to Aislinn and save your brethren in Karond kar, or have you forgotten that already? The oath of a Bretonnian is sacrosanct and I will not waste men against another Ark. Furthermore, we have not come as butchers but as paragons of virtue, angels on high come to save our brethren and allies and bring the light to this cursed land. We are leaving and that is the end of it!”
The knights assembled shied away from Lathaine and many dared not meet his gaze, though Mogan still fumed with a passion that was more conducive to a follower of Khorne than a Bretonnian knight.
“Very well, my lord,” said Mogan coolly as he dismounted and strode away.
With that the fleet was gathered and turned toward the city of Arnheim. The second Black Ark and its fleet made no move to follow.

**********************************************************

Two days hence, Lathaine was standing on the deck of The lady’s champion, again admiring the horizon as a familiar figure strode up to him.
“I heard you had quite an adventure on the way here, friend.” said Sea Master Aislinn.
Several hours prior, Lathaine’s fleet had met up with the two Elven fleets guarding Arnheim and had been met with nothing but the finest hospitality.
“You could say that,“ said Lathaine, with mirth in his voice.
“I hear you sunk an entire Black Ark fleet save for the Ark itself, which you crippled, while only losing three skiffs and seventy knights.” continued Aislinn.
“Tis true, we withdrew in the face of a second Ark though.” replied Lathaine, “So I take it the battle goes well. For the Druchii to send two Arks it must mean you’ve defeated them so soundly they haven’t a clue as what to do other than throw everything they have at you. So how goes battle?”
“Ha!” said Aislinn, “You’re a sharp one. Well yes, we have been doing well; our forces have already begun construction of the 6th Gate of Arnheim to solidify the defense of the city. Geomancers have arrived from Ulthuan and even now build the structure. All goes well, with the Druchii in disarray fighting among themselves thanks to some Asur cunning. We also sank a Black Ark the other day. Though, we were the one’s surprised, I lost a good many ships to it before I sank it,” Aislinn paused to think, “The Druchii must be scared to send two of the things at us.”
“Not two anymore, the one I damaged is crippled and will need to be taken back to port.” said Lathaine, “Any counter-offensive is a long time in coming. So, what news from Karond Kar, I plan to assault the city with my Crusade after Arnheim is safe.”
“Very little reaches us about that city. Scouts and informants report that the slaves are fleeing and organizing in ever increasing numbers but they suffer from a lack of training, discipline, and supplies. Two Imperial galleys were beached in an attempt to smuggle soldiers and supplies in. But away from this serious talk, what have you been doing to pass the time on the seas Lathaine? It seems ages since last I saw you.” inquired Aislinn.
“Well, I preferred to think about my duty to the Lady and how to defeat the Druchii on the way here. I didn’t have much time for antics or individual pursuits that would rob me of such work.” Responded Lathaine, flatly.
Aislinn shook his head, “You never did have a real sense of fun even for a human. You should really consider diversifying your life. Seriously, if that Vow to be a Grail Knight you took will let you live centuries then you should start thinking more like an elf. We created art, poetry, and new fields of knowledge to give us pursuits in our long life. Many an elf has learned a dry existence over centuries will leave one wanting. You should consider what interests you, what gives you passion and try to do those things or you’ll end up a shriveled husk of a person in a few hundred years.”
“Perhaps, but I prefer not to think of such things before a battle.” said Lathaine.
“Yes, because the whole world’s a board to you! Did you know the best warriors in history did not fight because of duty or honor, but for a sense of love they had for something a passion that led them to defend what they treasured most? I’ve studied Bretonnian lore since last we met and your Gilles the Uniter himself fought for a nation and people he loved before his own life. Maybe you should aspire to his example.” said Aislinn.
Lathaine was troubled by this talk and replied, “Sounds extreme, I could never hope to match the Breton himself, although I do care for my wife and children back home. If any threat surfaced that could hurt them, do not think I wouldn’t battle it with a holy fervor.”
“Ah, but your wife and kids aren’t here right now, the Druchii are a distant threat what drives you to this land?” said Aislinn.
“The duty I have to my people and my oath to you. That should be enough.” said Lathaine.
Aislinn snickered, “very well, you’re as mule-headed a man as I’ve ever met, but I have an idea: let me offer you a gift for helping my people here, what would you want, what is your heart’s desire Lathaine?”
Lathaine just stood there stunned by the question, he thought for a moment and said, “I would like to see the White Tower in Saphery, I think if I could take my family there and study with a scholar such as Teclis, I would be happy.”
“Excellent! I think that can be arranged, I’ll make sure your family is taken there after this war is done with,” said Aislinn.

Just then a man-at-arms burst forth shouting “Sire! Sire! There be a mutiny!”
“What!” yelled Lathaine “what mutiny?”
“The commoner misinterprets my lord,” came a voice from behind the peasant. Baron Masson De Brionne appeared and walked closer, “I merely wish to take a few ships and head towards Karond Kar. The slaves need help more than these elves do. They have the Druchii on the run, why make us fight with them?”
“Because I swore an oath, Masson,” said Lathaine,”I agree the slaves need help but my first duty is to Arnheim and the elves.”
Masson replied, “Fine, but my duty is to my own kind first, why not let us have a few ships, maybe even just two to take north. Already three imperial Great Ships and six skiffs wish to join us.”
Lathaine was stunned, “You expect to defeat…Aislinn how many Black Arks are near Karond Kar?”
“Three and a half by my measure,” replied Aislinn.
“You want to take on three Black Arks with nine ships! are you mad?” exclaimed Lathaine.
“No, my lord, we don’t wish to engage the Black Arks, merely out run them and scuttle ourselves on the beaches.” said Masson, ”We could offload supplies and fresh troops to fight for the slaves and teach them to fight.”
Lathaine mulled this over, “Aislinn, I swore the oath to you, I’ll let you decide.”
Aislinn looked the physically unassuming, middle aged Masson up and down before nodding and saying, “Sir Masson I see some semblance of a warrior in you, I’ll agree to your wish, take three Bretonnian ships with provisions, no more. After all, you could just be destroyed before you reach the beaches, best not to throw too many ships away.”
“Excellent,” said Lathaine, “Baron Masson I hereby command you to pick two Bretonnian galleons, three Corsairs, and six Buccaneers to take with you north along with three Imperial Great Ships and up to four of their skiffs. You are to aid the slaves of Karond Kar and bring honor to your name, your troops, our Crusade, and the realm. How say you to this quest?”
“I will accomplish it to the best of my abilities Earl,” replied Masson.
Lathaine continued, “Very well then, get prepared and unload most of the trebuchets off the galleons, you won’t need to use them except to provide covering fire. But take any of the cannons, I dislike using such things and would be happy to see them leave the fleet. Oh, and when I travel north there better be some headway or you will answer to me in this plane or the next. Before I go on, I’m afraid to ask, are there any more great ideas for the Crusade to go?”
“Just one more my liege,” forwarded stout, sir Graem, son of lord Graem a distinguished Dwarf-friend. “I must admit, when I signed up for this expedition my wish was to help a clan of Dwarves battling the vile Skaven and foul Druchii in the Underway. If I may, will you give me a ship to combat these vermin?”
Lathaine’s shoulders tensed as he thought of what to say, “Aislinn how say you? I know all too well of the mistrust among Dwarves and Elves, I would not hold it against you if you denied him passage.”
The elf grimaced before merely nodding and saying, “He can take two ships and support, any enemy of the Druchii is friend to our efforts at the moment. That and I wouldn’t leave any good mariners to the ‘tender care’ of either Skaven or Druchii.”
Lathaine relaxed visibly, “Fine, take two galleons, six Corsairs, nine Buccaneers and head for the underway. Aislinn if you could show them the way to the Dwarven fleet, that would be appreciated.”
Aislinn had turned scarlet with anger, “Now you want me to baby-sit these breakaways! You’re pushing your luck Lathaine, but alright I’ll send two ships to show them but that’s the end of this partitioning business you came to help us remember.”
“Yes I remember, and that we shall do.” said Lathaine flatly, turning to his crew he commanded “Hoist the anchors, set the sails, and assemble all the crews. The Bretonnians have finally arrived in Naggaroth!”

[Mord.]

As a druchii I can find little satisfaction in your selfmade ´supremacy´, you make bretonnians appear as untouchable and forget each and every fluff law there ought to be. Such witless slaughter of my fellow druchii pains my black heart, however I took the trouble of reading through most and have some tips for you as a writer.

Do not be overconfident/arrogant:
"Just six months ago he had fought in the epic Storm of Chaos and led his coterie of knights to victory after victory against all manner of enemy."
"slaying a Great Unclean One and a Lord of Change."
-Always be modest about accomplishments, Great Unclean ones and Lords of Change do not actually sprout out of the ground like potatoes and 'most' mortal men pray to the lady never to be confronted with one. If you look at the stats of a bretonnian lord and a great unclean one, even with bretonnia's mighty skills it would be a great challenge indeed.

Do not mention numbers:
"I only arranged ten Great Ships and twenty skiffs to come with me,"
-30 Ships in total seems quite a lot seeing as it takes forever to even built one the old way as the empire does. But even such things are but an opinion so exchange numbers for 'a handfull of Great Ships and a pack of Skiffs' to give an example.

This seems unlikely:
"Lathaine’s own ships were armed with Trebuchets (and cannons),"
Trebuchets are massive weapons which hearl giant rocks through the skies, cannons only require 'small' balls to shoot, but it would seem unlikely if even impossible to bring trebuchets and their ammo gathered on a ship, probably accounting for so much weight that it could even sink the largest ship.

"a ghastly construct the size of a small castle; in fact it was a small castle."
- Black Arcs are nagarythian cities, far greater than mere castles. Read the piece in the druchii book about how the black arcs were created.

Just adjust it a little bit so other people like to read it, not only yourself.

[Lathaine]

Do not be overconfident/arrogant:
-Always be modest about accomplishments, Great Unclean ones and Lords of Change do not actually sprout out of the ground like potatoes and 'most' mortal men pray to the lady never to be confronted with one. If you look at the stats of a bretonnian lord and a great unclean one, even with bretonnia's mighty skills it would be a great challenge indeed.

Arrogance is kind of Lathaine's style; he thinks he's the Lady's gift to the world. Although it does get him into a lot of trouble as will be noted in future fluff. I have a story arc that shows him some humility in the face of the Druchii and don't forget I'm a Druchii too, the "Bretonnia can do anything" attitude in the first chapter was intentional it will likely be about the same in the second chapter too then reality sets in. Although thanks for reminding me about this I'll be more careful in the future just to be on the safe side.

BTW the Great Unclean One and Lord are not that scary in my opinion. I play Daemon Legion and my Bret Lord can kill them no sweat. It should be noted Bastonnians have killing blow vs. large targets and being a grail knight gives him a magical attack, negating their ward save. Its Keepers and Bloodthirsters that give me problems (Strike first and killing blow are nasty on Greater Daemons).

Do not mention numbers:
"I only arranged ten Great Ships and twenty skiffs to come with me,"
-30 Ships in total seems quite a lot seeing as it takes forever to even built one the old way as the empire does. But even such things are but an opinion so exchange numbers for 'a handfull of Great Ships and a pack of Skiffs' to give an example.

Thanks point taken, I noticed that most fluff avoids numbers but didn't think why. I think in the future I'll err ion the side of caution and only give numbers if necessary. Oh and the number of ships is mainly due to the fact the studio fluff is full of giant battles of hundreds of ships of the line in many places. Either the studio is being overly dramatic(most likely) or ships are relatively easy to build in Warhammer. But I’ll steal remain sufficiently nebulous in the future to be safe.

This seems unlikely:
"Lathaine’s own ships were armed with Trebuchets (and cannons),"
Trebuchets are massive weapons which hearl giant rocks through the skies, cannons only require 'small' balls to shoot, but it would seem unlikely if even impossible to bring trebuchets and their ammo gathered on a ship, probably accounting for so much weight that it could even sink the largest ship.

As far as trebs go, I included them because in the Bret naval battles from the general's compendium we can take trebs and they are very useful indeed. I don't think its stretching the imagination too much to think that a galleon could have several dozen cannons on two decks and a handful of trebs on its top deck. Or have small ships with one treb and nothing else on board (although where I get all my ammo confounds me, to counter this I think I’ll limit the shots per treb to three max until they reload at port).

"a ghastly construct the size of a small castle; in fact it was a small castle."
- Black Arcs are nagarythian cities, far greater than mere castles. Read the piece in the druchii book about how the black arcs were created.

It specifically says Nagarythian fortresses in that part of the book, I looked. Also in the slave's story he describes an Ark as a massive fortress that floats. To me this word “fortress” implies castle. From what I gleaned of the fluff IMO it implies that the cities were lost but the fortresses of Nagarythe survived to take the Druchii to a new home. I could be wrong but that’s my interpretation.

Just adjust it a little bit so other people like to read it, not only yourself.

I’m sorry you didn’t like it although some Asur and Bret readers did like it but that’s probably due to bias. You’re a Druchii and just as important an audience, so I’ll need to be more careful in the future. I should also say that some of pomp and invincibility was also part of my experience playing Druchii. I slaughtered them with my Peg. Knight army of doom, in the future I’ll probably take my army of 72 knights errant and stampede over them, as has worked on the Asur on several occasions.

Anywho, what do you think I should do about future installments? I've been egged by some people to write more fluff up and later on, rest assured, the Druchii are shown to be the twisted, demented, frigthening creatures we all know and hate. I think I will apply percentages to future fluff though, just to be firstly, fair as I'll proably slaughter my Druchii opponent with my uber cheap armies and secondly, accurate to the fluff of the campaign.

Thanks for your comments.

[Lethalis]

Arrogance is kind of Lathaine's style

Then even so, you seem to glorify war. This is only done in propaganda, war is never as glorious as they say. Even if you are a hero, it doesn't mean the rest is untouchable.

BTW the Great Unclean One and Lord are not that scary in my opinion. I play Daemon Legion and my Bret Lord can kill them no sweat. It should be noted Bastonnians have killing blow vs. large targets and being a grail knight gives him a magical attack, negating their ward save.

First, in DL the ward gets also usable against magical attacks. Furthermore, basing fluff on gaming terms is highly uncommon (looking at GW and their piercing high elf arrows here).

[Lathaine]

Then even so, you seem to glorify war. This is only done in propaganda, war is never as glorious as they say. Even if you are a hero, it doesn't mean the rest is untouchable.

Quite true, I should only apply the "hero shield" to Lathaine and not the rest of his knights. Thank you.

Also the propaganda attitude was about right at this point of the story and its very Bretonnian. Bretonnian fluff looks at war and battle as romantic and chivalrous. Only on the field of battle can a knight earn his status from Errant to Realm to Grail. A damsel’s and the Lady’s favor is usually gained on the battle field as well; hence why every Bretonnian noble from scribe to ambassador is a warrior. They are also very preoccupied in posturing, just look at SOC in which Duke Bohemond said he wanted to face that epic level chaos dragon, can’t remember his name, just for the prestige gained by killing it. Bretonnians are in their element when on the battlefield and I meant the fluff to present that.

First, in DL the ward gets also usable against magical attacks. Furthermore, basing fluff on gaming terms is highly uncommon (looking at GW and their piercing high elf arrows here).

Yeah DL do get the ward I forgot at the moment but I play it correctly in games. In addition, I consider it odd to not make the fluff mirror the game. Think about it, if the game is merely an outgrowth of the Warhammer world then it stands that the fluff should mirror the game. That’s how I plan to write even if it is against the norm it just makes more sense.

[Lethalis]

Well, the thing is that in stories, things can happen that in games are much different. We all have read how Malekith is the strongest Dark Elf out there, but only the fact that he has to be the general represents that. Also, High Elf archery is supposed to be second only to that of Wood Elves and, speaking of Wood Elves, Glade Guard are supposed to some of the best spearfighters out there. Druchii spearelves should be outnumbered but superior in fighting versus asur spearelves, while in gaming terms the asur, though outnumbered, fight better.

Things like this make you realise that it is all too easy to praise a Bretonnian Lord killing Greater Daemon after Greater Daemon with some good weapon combo, but how often has a Lord such an actual combo? The game allows them to have magic weapon, some suit of magic armour and another piece of magical stuff that aids him. How often has even a Duke any of them, they would be really happy having just a common magic item.

The way the game is now, makes it somewhat hard to base fluff on it. Sure, there are many battles that can fit right in, but when you see that Snotling Swarm that has just flanked those Minotaurs and even killing one of them, you realise something has gone wrong with your glorious beastmen warband that was about to siege the Empire. You should blame the Minotaurs for fighting lame, or praise Snotlings for fighting extremely well. Since you can't really do both, as they're just models, blaming the rules is the only thing left.

[Mord.]

Anywho, what do you think I should do about future installments? I've been egged by some people to write more fluff up and later on, rest assured, the Druchii are shown to be the twisted, demented, frigthening creatures we all know and hate. I think I will apply percentages to future fluff though, just to be firstly, fair as I'll proably slaughter my Druchii opponent with my uber cheap armies and secondly, accurate to the fluff of the campaign.

Glad to see that you took my criticism so well, I can sometimes be harsh, as in my last remark about knowing your audience, sometimes I find myself living up to druchii standards a little too closely.

I think that you could make a great writer, but what your story lacks is mutual respect between opponents and humility. These are the basic problems for people who are, shall we say, 'fresh' to writing actual stories, and all that it takes to learn is practice and experience.

You might be right about the Black Ark's it seems logical what you explain and after having read through the rulebook yesterday made me understand that I am not always as all-knowing as I might think. Experience may lead to arrogance, and arrogance corrupts judgment.

Greetz,

[Lathaine]

At Lethalis

Wow, you know your fluff and game mechanics.

Yeah a normal Bret hero is likely only to have items that there are multiples of such as common items and a few Bret items that say their common place, still can only take one though. Killing blow vs. large isn't an item its a fighting style picked up by almost all Bastonnians, looking at the book here. So are all Virtues for that matter, so I could have many of those in my fluff but few really powerful items and combos. Could make the differnt Duchies look more unique.

Your reasoning with the fluff is true for GW. I've noticed it too, they tend to twist the fluff to make it seem more dramatic/heroic but not accurate to the game or real life (knowing this is fantasy of course). Game mechanics also rarely figure into how things would really work on the battlefield. They got some basics right but a dragon going down to my Men at Arms isn't bloody likely in a real battlle, although it can happen in gaming terms.

I'm at odds with what to do now. On the one side I could write according to a game that is not accurate for the world it represents. On the other I could write according to reality and current fluff but lose some of the "fantastic" aspects I was going for. Oh well, I'll figure it out. Much abliged for the comments, suggestions wanted.

[Lathaine]

At Mord.

I consider criticism very neccesry to develop any skill. It isn't an assault on my ego its just pointing out problems that must be fixed. So I thank you on your criticism you were the first to openly voice it.

I plan to make the stories more mutually respetful fom now on. I'm about to sit down and start writing Ch 2 and it will make the Bretonnians look less invincible even Lathaine, whose about to be taught a leeson on fighting a Druchii assasin. The Druchii will look more capable and scary as well, as befits any true Druchii.

[Lethalis]

Killing blow vs. large isn't an item its a fighting style picked up by almost all Bastonnians, looking at the book here. So are all Virtues for that matter, so I could have many of those in my fluff but few really powerful items and combos.

True, but when you decide 'now I am going to kill all dragons and daemons and giants and shaggoths and manticores and all other over-sized monsters' it doesn't mean that you just know how to in an instance. Most warriors that are able to even killing-blow (letting alone on Large Targets) have invested quite a few years to learn the moves, perfect them and try to use them in combat (as by far not all models that have killing blow actually benefit from it).

Still, it's nice to see you learn here Try becoming a member of the Cult of Pleasure Initiative if you like fluff writing :p

Wow, you know your fluff and game mechanics.

Being in both the above mentioned CoP Ini and the Temple of Khaine one, I kinda have to