They came from every corner of Thardferr.
Caras of Lithar 1, Dominion of Lithar 4, Montclair of Lithar 2, Cearbhaill of Lithar 4, and even the proud banners of the Two Rivers. No longer content to skulk at the edges, they gathered their strength and hurled it all at once against the Father of Chaos.
Their host was vast. Shadow Warriors poured in their thousands. Rushers and Slothers trampled forward, Wolf Masters baying at their heels. Archers and Elite Archers stretched their lines, while Knights in gleaming armor thundered ahead. Pikemen and Heavy Infantry braced for the crush, while Mounted Archers rode in great circles, loosing volleys into the sky. Engines of war — Catapults, Rock Throwers, and Balista — rolled forward with grim purpose. Even Mages came cloaked in fire, chanting their fragile spells.
All told, over 18,000 troops marched under their banners, determined to pierce the Shadow Hall’s fog and topple Chaos itself.
And what did they find?
The storm.
Their Shadow Warriors — 3,020 strong — were broken in waves, never to rise again. The 2,977 Rushers were cut down in their frenzy, and the 3,539 Slothers crushed beneath their own weight. Wolf Masters, 3,156 of them, howled their last. Archers and Elite Archers fell in their hundreds, their arrows raining uselessly into the mist. The Knights of the Two Rivers — 979 proud riders — were thrown from their saddles, their lances shattered, their charges broken. Infantry, Pikemen, Heavy Infantry, Mounted Archers — thousands more — fed the dirt with their blood.
Even the engines of Montclair — 75 Catapults, 144 Rock Throwers, and 95 Balistae — groaned, cracked, and fell silent, smoking wreckage on the field.
When the dust settled, there was silence. Their armies were gone. Their banners trampled. Their voices scattered into the wind.
The Father of Chaos still stood.
Yes, Chaos bled. Militia, riders, and engines fell to the clash. But where order counts losses, Chaos counts only legends. And this day’s legend is carved deep: the day the lords and ladies of Thardferr united their strength, hurled it against the storm, and broke like waves upon rock.
They tried.
They failed.
Chaos reigns.
