Destruction of the Empire

[Drowwarriorx]

Lord Mal'Zalth mounted his Black Dragon Vzelthus. He fingered the magical Amulet that encircled his wrist, while mentally preparing himself for the battle ahead. His forces had stayed too long in the area, and the humans had finally mounted some resistance. The human army was approaching the field even now. Drawing his rune-encrusted sword, Lord Mal'zath said a quick prayer to Khaine. Then he gave the order to prepare the troops.

Kruggeln, the standard bearer of his regiment, took his place in the front rank. The standard displayed the glories of not only the regiment it stood for, but of the army's capable general, Lord Mal'Zath. Kruggeln too was preparing for the battle ahead, drawing his wicked daggers. The order was given to advance.

Kruellen mounted his Cold One, guiding the stubborn beast to its place in his regiment. Kruellen enjoyed the camaraderie in his regiment, but knew, too, to be on his guard. Any one of his fellow Knights might use the battle as an excuse to slip a sword into his back.

Lady Rexala, Lord Mal'zath's personal sorceress, prepared the spells she would need in the upcoming battle. The Dark Power within her filled her senses, untill she screamed in pure exhultation. Noticing her, some passing warriors looked at each other. They almost felt sorry for the humans.

Tracing the Rune of Blood across her shapely, bare chest, Relzetha the Hag shivered in anticipation of the slaughter to Khaine that would soon follow. Her fellow Witch Elves drank the blood of recently sacrificed Asur warriors, shrieking their joy in so defiling the High Elven people. The battle would soon commence, and the enemies of the Witch King beware!

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Across the field from Mal'zath approached the human forces. Their cannons taking the middle hill, with other regiments on either flanks. Across from Mal'zath were clusterd a group of Great Swordsmen with detachments of Handgunners. Next to them was a group of Spearmen. Mal'zath gave the command for his Harpies to attack the cannon crews. He then signaled the advance for the regiment of Witch Elves behind him. After this, he flew Vzelthus straight in between the groups of Great Swordsmen and Spearmen. A smile grew on his face. How he loved defeating the enemies of the Witch King.

Kruellen watched as a group of human Knights deployed in front of his own regiment. Apparently, they were knights of some puny order, he had never seen them before. The human knights, instead of coming forward to attack his own group, went around a small farmhouse to line up with a regiment of repeater crossbowmen. Kruellen's commander sent the group heading to support them.

Kruggeln started forward with the rest of his regiment. Straight across the field from them was a group of puny human Spearmen. However, instead of moving toward them, the Reaver in charge of the regiment turned them to the right to engage the human knights coming forward to threaten the repeater crossbowmen.

Advancing in the wake of their mighty lord, screaming to Khaine all the while, Relzetha's regiment of Witch Elves could not wait to engage and destroy the pathetic human. To their left, a Cold One Chariot advanced alongside them. Shrieking to Khaine, Relzetha continued forward at top speed.

Mal'zath landed Vzelthus, sending humans scattering everywhere. The entire regiment of Great Swordsmen turned tail and fled. Crowing his victory and scorn of the humans, Mal'Zath commanded Vzelthus to breath his breath on the human spearment. The waves of destructive breath rolled over the humans, killing three immediately. Overcoming their terror, they charged forward to attack the great Lord. As they charged, they sky darkened with bolts fired form a regiment of repeater crossbowmen. Another four humans fell to the ground.

Kruggeln prepared himself as the human knights charged. The impact from their horses killed a Corsair, and the human lances killed another two. Slapping aside a clumsily thrust lance, Kruggeln charged forward, trying to rally his regiment. His dagger doing a dance of death, he managed to kill a human knight, sliding his dagger into the human's foolishly open visor.

Mal'zath fended off another clumsy attack by the human swordsmen. Slipping his sword around the humans like a metal snake, he pierced through the man's armour like it was no more than a thin sheet of paper. The man's eyes widened as he realized his moment of death was upon him. Smiling cruelly, Mal'zath whipped his sword into the side of the human standard bearer's head, felling him and his standard instantly. Many hands rose to catch the falling banner, which Mal'zath promptly cut off. Giving a mighty roar, Vzelthus swiped his claws across the front ranks of the human regiment, sending pathetic figures flying to the ground and killing more than a few. Seeing how they had no chance against this mighty lord, the humans turned tail and ran. Grinning maniacally, the Lord commanded Vzelthus to give chase. He and his dragon cut every single human down.

Lady Rexala studied the form of the human from across the field. He appeared to be a student of the pathetic human god, Sigmar. Raising his hands, the priest began to pray to his false god. With an almost casual flick of her wrist, Lady Rexala began to dispell whatever the human was casting. Surprisingly, the human resisted her attempt. Her eyes widened as she realized she had been bested by a human! She sneered, waiting for the revenge she would have. She began to cast her spell. Let him feel the power of the Doombolts!

Relzetha prayed to Khaine as she slid her ceremonial daggers into the humans chest. Using the knives as handholds, she jumped onto the man's cest. Leaning her face close to his, she spoke to the last flickers of life in his eyes. "You were brave. Yes, you were my sweet." The semi-conscious human smiled, but then she continued, "You should not have been. Nothing can stop the Druchii. Nothing can stop Khaela Mensha Khaine!" With that, she leaned in even closer, tenderly kissing the man. Then she slid her daggers out of his chest, thrust them into the man's neck, and drank his blood. The battlefield was just one huge altar to Khaine!

Kruellen steadied his lance as his Cold One covered the last few paces to the human knigts flank. Crying war cries to the Witch King, the Knights rammed into the human flank, dropping three of the eight human knights. Only four remained, as the Corsairs they were engaging had killed one. Kruellen stabbed again and again with his lance, then dropping it and drawing his sword. A human knight, apparantly the leader of the group approached. With a cry to some human god, he struck at Kruellen. Blocking the strike with his shield, Kruellen countered. His counter was blocked by an excellently placed parry. The expected riposte did not come, however. Kruellen watched with a grin on his face as the Corsair standard bearer sunk the sharpened tip of the banner into the human's back, easily punching through the man's armour. With this, the remaning three human knights turned their horses and ran.

Kruggeln enjoyed the feeling of the standard sinking into the human's back. It had been his idea to sharpen with end of the banner, and his idea had worked quite well. The human had been skilled: he had seen three of his fellow Corsairs fall to his blade alone. But when the Cold One Knight engaged the man, Kruggeln had seen his chance. Wading through his group, he had killed the man from behind. The Knight nodded his thanks and rode to regroup with his comrades, of which only one had fallen. Kruggeln returned to his place.

Mal'zath watched with surprise as his harpies were blown apart. They had landed right in front of the cannons! The fools. The Hellblaster had opened up, firing no less than 20 shots into his 10 man regiment. Not a single harpy had survived. But more pressing to Mal'zath was the form of a human on a griffon flying toward him. The human warrior on top of the beast brandished a great axe, and even from here Mal'zath could feel the magic emanating from the weapon. Crying out to Khaine, Mal'zath wheeled Vzelthus to face the threat. The deathly breath flew forth from the beast's maw, but the human warrior's armour shone briefly, and he shrugged off the hit. So his armour is magicaly too, Mal'zath mused. Perfect.

Lady Rexala was fully into the throes of her spellcasting. The pure joy of feeling the power rush through her was more enrapturing than anything she had ever felt. This was why she had spent one and a half centuries in the Convents of the Sorceress! To feel this feeling, more intense than anything in the world. Well, perhaps it was second only to the feeling she felt when her Lord, Mal'zath took her. The shudderings of intense joy fell away, and from her outstretched fingers flew four bright, blood-red bolts. They arced across the field, striking into the group of spearmen the human priest was in. Every bolt killed a human, and the nearby repeater crossbowmen nodded their appreciation of the impressive display of sorcery. Rexala smiled sweetly at them, then began the throes of yet another spell.

Relzetha and her unit chased down the remaining human spearmen. Still in their frenzy to Khaine, their voices hoarse from screaming, they attacked a group of human spearmen, the last in the way of reaching the cannon. The chariot nearby smashed into the group, killing five humans. Then the Witch Elves attacked. Leaping forward into the humans, dodging spears, Relzetha slammed her daggers into a man's throat, ripped them out and stabbed into another human's chest. Both dropped. Relzetha held her daggers high, bringing them down just in time to halt a spearman's attack. Smiling evily, she leaped forward, right onto the man's chest, knocking him down, then grabbing his hair and pulling his head back, exposing his neck. The man's eyes filled with terror, begging mercy. Relzetha had nothing of the kind in her cold heart, and a quick slash ended the miserable man's life. Relzetha cut off the man's head, holding it high for his friends to see. Having the opposite effect she had intended, it only stiffened the men's resolve. With grim features, the human's formed up and continued the fight. Relzetha grinned. Maybe it was not so bad anyway.

Kruellen and the remaining knights charged forward across the field, drawing inexorably closer to the human handgunners. Seeing the humans' eyes narrow, Kruellen swung his shield in front of him. Just in time. The clumsy human guns exploded in a volley that managed to punch through one of the Cold One's thick scales, dropping the beast. The Knight on top fell underneath a comrade's beast's feet. The Elf was obviously dead. Kruellen looked over his shield. They were almost upon the humans! He set his lance in line, drawing over the last ten paces. The impact! A human was skewered on the end of his lance as his momentum carried him through the human regiment. Dropping the lance once again and drawing his sword, he swung the Cold One about to chop at the Man on his left. His beast grabbed another human in its jaws and chewed, ripping the poor man's arm off. The humans, having already lost eight comrades, ran. Too tired to give chase, the Knights formed up. There were only three left. The musician had been killed in the battle with the spearmen, and his trumpet had been left behind. Swinging their Cold Ones around, they were completely unprepared for the charge of the remaining three human knights.

Kruggeln and his regiment hurried forward, yelling to the group of Cold One Knights who had aided them before. Kurggeln saw the Knight he had helped kill two humans on his own. But the Corsairs saw what the Knights did not. The remaining human knights had regrouped and were now charging into the group of knights. Knowing they could not get there in time, all they could do was watch as the Knights were cut down ruthlessly. Then the humans continued their charge straight at the Corsairs, and Kruggeln had no more time to see if the Knight had survived.

Mal'zath prepared for the human's charge calmly, prepared for the fight. He knew that his warriors and the remaining humans eyes would be on the fight, watching their two lords fight. Mal'zath knew he had the edge, for he had never been bested in single combat, and with Vzelthus under him, he was supremely confident. And besides, the approaching warrior was only a human.

The human general brandished his axe as his beast propelled him closer toward the Dark Elven Lord. He knew he did not have much of a chance, but he would gladly die in the name of Sigmar and the Empire.

Mal'zath watched the human draw inexorably closer, then called out, "A battle to the death then, no interference from the lesser troops. The battle shall be decided here and now." The human paused in his advance, and considered the idea. Considering that most of his men were either dead or in no position to help him, the thought of single combat without interference did not seem so bad. "It is agreed then," he called back. Mal'zath flew Vzelthus forward, drawing his sword in a dizzying movement. Vzelthus let loose a roar that shook the battlefield. He was responded by a shriek from the griffon, sounding like a pathetic noise indeed next to the mighty roar of the black dragon. But Mal'zath knew better. The griffon was no small beast, and perhaps even capable of defeating him in combat. But he was not truly worried, let Vzelthus deal with the thing. At last he reached the human. Vzelthus swiped with his mighty claws, only to be blocked by the griffon's sharp talons. Again and again the dragon attacked, only to be blocked by the griffon's talons, or scoring only a minor hit. Mal'zath slipped his sword around one of his dragon's wings, but it was deflected by the human's magical axe. The human countered with his weapon, but Mal'zath brought his sword back in to find the correct parry. At this point the beasts fight made Vzelthus do a quick dodge, making Mal'zath's riposte go wild. Fortunately, the human's axe hit the dragon's scales, bouncing off their iron-hard surface. The dragon's maw flew downward toward the griffon's head, but the beast drew it back just in time. At this moment, the human's axe arced in toward Mal'zath's head, impossible fas. There was no way Mal'zath could block it. His doom descending quickly, Mal'zath had no time.

Rexala completed her next spell. As the pleasure flew away, she concentrated on the enemy cannon crew. She had seen how they had blown away the harpies, and decided they were the greatest threat. The humans felt a strange will inside their minds, compelling them not to fire their cannons. Their weak willpowers were so easy to dominate, Rexala was not even certain the spell had succeeded. But when the cannon did not fire, she knew she had won. A smile grew over her face as she watched Mal'zath's swordplay with the human. After a good battle, Mal'zath always came to her. She would lie with him, whispering how brave and great he was. And then how she would be rewarded! She shivered with anticipation, but her smile fell away as she watched the human's axe descend upon her Lord's head. Her mouth opened to scream...

Relzetha stopped in the midst of the carnage for a moment for a breath. Glancing around, she saw that many Witch Elves had fallen, but more human corpses littered the ground. Seeing that the standard had fallen, she grabbed it and tossed it to another of her remaining Elves. The humans had rallied around their champion, a fairly skilled man. In a voice that carried over the screams to Khaine and of death, Relzetha challenged the man to single combat. He was an honourable man, and did not refuse. Coming forward, his men and Relzetha's Elves gave them space. Just before the combat began, Relzetha happened to glance over to where the great dragon fought the human on the griffon. Relzetha looked back suddenly as the human leapt forward. Cursing her distraction, she skittered backward, daggers working defensively. She then charged forward, slapping the man's sword and shield out ward, then slashing the daggers back inward. The man sucked in his gut and desperately threw himself backwards, managing to get enough away that only a few nicks of blood appeared on his tunic. Not recovering himself in time, he stumbled backwards, sword working frantically. Hoping to distract him further, Relzetha yelled out, "I know a hundred and twenty-three ways to defile a corpse fool! Do you really wish that to happen? It is too bad that you accepted the challenge, pathetic Man. Perhaps I shall merely take you prisoner, to work in the mines of Hag Graef? We shall see."

Kruellen groaned, leaning on his sword to get up. Looking around blearily, he realized once again where he was. Now fully alert, he glanced around. No enemies were near him, but he was in no condition to fight. Nearby he noticed a comrade stirring in the last phases of death. Perhaps he should end his misery, he thought. No, better to concentrate how to get away. Perhaps he could get to the farmhouse he had seen earlier and hide in the building untill the battle was over. Yes, he mused, that might......... His train of thought was cut off suddenly as he saw a flash of steel right in front of his face. The steel cut into his face, Kruellen fell over backward. Above him he saw the figure of his fellow Knight that he had seen stirring. His previous suspicion had been correct. Someone had wanted to kill him... And to think only a minute ago his enemy was helpless before him... Ah, the ironies of life. That was Kruellen's last thought.

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Ok, thats it so far. If you like it, or would like me to continue, post replies! Any suggestions would be welcomed as well!

[Anaryin]

nice. good indeed, but it may get confusing with so many characters.. try also to put some more description of how things happen and how the regiments are.. apart from that, its a good story, keep up

[Drowwarriorx]

Thanks for the suggestions Anaryin. Yes, it might get confusing, i might edit one of them out... But anyway, im going to keep working on it now!
~DWX