The Imperial Battlefront - [Epilogue]

[Malgonious 2758]

 

 

 

Baldur sat atop the ruined keep just outside of Johannesburg, it suffering much of the blast from the quaking explosion that just happened a few kilometers behind them... His claymore would stay sheathed next to him, laying idle on the cracked stonework.  "The end..." Baldur would let slip from his chapped lips, the thannic dust coating his throat.  "I never thought it'd come so soon."  He took up a small fragment of the stone, twirling it through his dusted hands.  The Black Armour he once wore was now blasted in this thick thannic dust, his armour now a dull blue more than black.  "I choose to die at the sword..." Baldur would heft up his sword as he stands high atop the ruined keep, hopping down onto the smaller broken chunks of wall until he eventually lands atop the dead grass that had become the hellish victim of War.  His gaze shifted all around the courtyard, the completely shattered fountain, the cobbled road that once was cohesive and guiding, the stonework that once made a noble family feel very safe and secure from all the outside threats... But none could save them from the bomb.  The Bomb was the Imperial Twilight, the last hoorah to imperialistic dogma that dominated the first-half of Axios.  Baldur's eyes set out across the dead grass that littered the keep's courtyard, walking slowly towards the broken gate, heaving his large plated body through the hole.  

 

The path eastward was littered with returning rebels, it would be as good as any to put a few more to the blade.  Baldur nodded, huddling close against the keep's wall, drawing his bow and arrow as he sheathed his massive claymore.  He peeked the corner, firing immediately at one of the scavenging rebels ducked near a wall, killing him.  His friends seem to have been alerted, however, Baldur immediately drops his bow, pulling fro his claymore as he hacks and slashes through the lightly armoured rebel scavengers, taking them on relatively easy with only a few minor wounds.  Baldur would proceed onward, only to be quickly halted by a startling number of dwarves, apparently under the supervision of Grand King Bastion Ireheart.  Knowing there was little way out, Baldur set his feet into place readying himself for a final stand.

 

Two dwarven grudgebearers rushed him head on, while their King lay back in wait.  Their staunch waraxes cleaved and swung rapidly around the area that was Baldur's arc.  Becoming entirely on the defensive, Baldur looked for an out to take on at least one of the Dwed at a time.  He gripped the handle of his claymore tight, as he brought forward a sudden jolting thrust that would pierce the armour of one of the dwarves, cutting deep into the half-man's torso.  The dwed screamed in agonizing pain as his kin rushed to push the opening, his warhammer smacking a hard blow against Baldur's helmet, cracking it greatly. and stunning the norlander.  Baldur was quick to recover however, making a few more arcing swings before a wounding blow to his leg dropped him to a knee.  The Black Knight turned his gaze toward the King who was in a full charge towards our wounded blond.

 

Baldur tried with all his might to brace for the charge, but however was toppled by the Dwarfen King's shield, busting through his stance like a drone.  Baldur fell quickly to his back, however was quick to find a way out as he rolled his body into a trench, taking a brunt impact fall, however picking himself to go face the Dwarfen King on equal footing.  Once he was back up, another Dwarfen Grudgebearer was en route from their camp to aide the King, so Baldur pushed the advance, running full speed at him.  The King would bounce off the wall of the Camp, only to be grabbed from out the air, into the clutches of Baldur's mitts upon his failed leap, slamming him down into the cobbled road with crude force.  Baldur would grin, however, would seemingly forget the Grudgebearer en route, receiving a startling smash against his head of a Dwarfen Warhammer, cracking his skull almost instantaneously.  Baldur struggled to stand, but brought his shield up, blood oozing from his crown.  He charged, picking up a felled dwarfen shield, and smashing it against the Grudgebearer's face, and then attempting a few cheeky arcing blows to the Dwarf's pauldrons, only to be met by fierce resistance from the plating.  The blow would seem to dominate Baldur's conscious as his movements slowed, and lost power, slowly giving into the previously inflicted wound he had incurred.  Slowly he felt his grip on his sword loose, and his knees began to quake.  He was completely toppled by the still standing Dwarf in front of him, and then a final blow which would completely cave his skull inward as the Dwarfen's hammer bears down the weight of their people's sorrow, the loss of their last King to such a man was avenged.  Svardin Grandaxe had slain Baldur the Black.

 

 

 

OOC Sidenote:

 

Baldur was probably one of my favorite character's to ever play on LoTC.  From such humble beginnings setting out from Johannesburg with his cart and followers, he made a long-lasting Jarldom that would eventually come to be a bastion of hope for his people, finally a permanent home on Axios for them to settle and live out their days as they should.  

 

To Oren, I've fought you for most of my time on this server, either directly or indirectly, and I have to say it was a lot of fun to help defend you guys in the end.  In a case of startling irony, I was probably one of the last active military groups in Oren at the time of Johannesburg's fall, and I got a lot of cool RP out of it too.  Forced Drafts, Robbing whoever, Killing whoever, all in the name of our good Emperor and City! ;).  Nah, but for real.  There are a lot of good people in Oren that I've come to have met, and I'm glad to see that my hunch that they weren't all craven snakes was true.  I had a blast meeting all the new faces and fighting against my old friends with my old enemies.  It was a nice way to see the end happen, on the other side of the fence I guess.  It felt better that way to me.

 

To Rebellion Factions, I understand some of you may think of me in a different light now that I didn't adamantly support your cause.  I actively worked against it, RP'ly and OOC'ly, as Baldur would have anyways.  Do note this was nothing against anyone in this faction of players, and I hope to work well with you moving forward.  I love all of you, except cakefool he's a little chimp.

To Black Legionnaires, thank you for your participation in the final days of the Empire.  You've all done your duty, and I look forward to seeing what lies in store for everyone's characters post-oren. You were some of the most loyal men I've ever met.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mj. 697]

((That's why I choose the right choice, acknowledging that rp and OOC are not the same world!

[Taketheshot 3834]

Walter welcomes Baldur up in the skies. 

[KeiaTypeBeat 3277]

A wondering Morghuul, donning an old set of heavily outdated Ruric armor, had been headed towards the explosion. He watches the fight, deciding to feed on a few of the corpses that would be left behind. He observes the foolish human rush into such a suicidal battle. The human puts on a quite impressive show, but is nonetheless slain in the end. The ghoul bends down and begins to rip into a fallen dwed's flesh, hot blood still oozing out of the wound on his torso. After finishing his meal, he takes a final glance towards the corpse of Baldur, taking specific note on the crown upon his head. "He went down just how a king should: with blade in hand and blood on the other. That is something one can respect."  He then stands and shambles back towards the origin of the explosion, quickly forgetting about the man and the bloody crown.

[Skylez 870]

Mercer is quick to shake Baldur's hand in the skies, the men having fought a long and bloody war that was finally at an end.

[Harri 4815]

((Honestly, throughout the war, these Imperial battlefront posts have been my favourite to read so far. I normally skim over RP posts, but I've read each of these in their entirety. Great work on them all, and great work on keeping up an active RP/PvP playerbase throughout a rather dire and hard to work with time.

[Birdnerdy 1539]

((Echoing HB's posts, well done with how you rped the falling action of the war and keeping rp in rp. Glad we got to make up our differences during the conflict. 

[OzYmandi 647]

Ser Rowan sat in his office, the silver armor he wore sat by his side. His eyes tearful.

"Why..."

he simply muttered many-a-times.

[AGP 3169]

"Good form," says Constantine.

[Dohvi 622]

Moved to the Archive. If you feel this is a mistake, please contact myself or any FM and we'll restore it.