Baptism By Fire

[Neri 3590]

Siege/Conquest Warclaim

Opposing Faction: Zalm Flamewhisper

Defending Faction: The Holy Oren Empire, The Dwarven Clans

Name of the battle: Baptism by Fire.

Location:

Basic Map:

Detailed Map:

(Map coming soon)

Time,(atleast 5 days warning.):

It shall begin on the 9th, and shall continue on until Zalm is defeated, the source of his troops is destroyed, or he is assuaded to surrender or stop his assault.

If Zalm is victorious in his slash and burn of the land, he will set up a base in the scar, and will proceed to phase two of his plan.

Terms of Combat:

• Anything goes. He will fight dirty, so can his enemies. No honour is needed here.
• Enchanted bows and Golden Apples are allowed.
• Zalm’s Army is not... humanoid. He harnesses enslaved ‘Blazes’ to do his fighting for him. There will be a few humanoids in his army, but they are in exclusively officer roles.
• Each ‘Blaze’ is assigned to a ‘Controller’, who is most likely Zalm or one of his Cultists. Kill them, and you will stop new Blaze forces from spawning.

Victory Conditions:

• Defenders repelled from the Area
• Raze from west to east completed.

Loss Conditions:

• Zalm killed or halted
• Blaze forces depleted

Meta-details:

• Zalm has already attacked Solace to test the waters, so to speak. The populace is alerted to his presence, although they may not have gauged the severity of the situation at hand. This shall be a 'surprise attack', so to speak, meaning that there should not be a massed army ready to meet him - however, the Dwarves may organize beforehand to allow a certain amount of co-ordination required for maximum enjoyment and turnout. The RP explanation of this could be a scout/patrol spotted a large force of blazes and cultists massing to the east, perhaps.

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((Mood music, because everyone does it...))

Zalm stood at the lectern, tapping his fingers against the wood - charred black through use and misuse - impatiently, as if waiting for something. He sighs, raising his hand to head level and making a series of gestures. He leans forward, and breathes gently into his hand, now cupped. A small flame flickers to life, and he stares at it intently, willing it to grow. The tiny flame expands, swelling to twice the size, the flickering tongues of heat casting a orange glow over his robes. Zalm continues to stare at the fledgeling flame with a indifferent gaze. He startles slightly as a voice behind himself breaks the silence.

“Master, the preparations are complete. All we need now is your final touch.”

Zalm turns, crushing the young flame in his grasp, extinguishing it. He relishes the feel of burning for a brief moment before the flame dies, the only epitaph of its short life a tiny plume of smoke curling between his fingers. He takes in a short, stunted form of a man, bent nearly double through age and experience.

This man was his inferior - a man unable to comprehend and bend the flow of magic to his purposes. The same reason why the man was his servant - Zalm only trusted those inferior to him to be his servants - he did not leave anyone capable of hurting him alive or free-willed.

Zalm speaks, after a seeming eon of silence - he liked making people wait, it made him feel important.

“Very good, Moroes. I shall be down shortly - gather everyone together, if you will.”

He turns back to the lectern, flipping the page of the singed almanac over delicately, staring down at the incomprehensible gibberish jotted down upon the parchment. He grunts, and slams the book shut, adjusting his robe before turning and walking down the steps of the altar, the footsteps on the cold stone echoing through the hall.

He pauses for barely a moment, and makes a quick flicking gesture with one hand. The book on the lectern erupts in a gout of flame, a harsh orange hue cast upon the walls of the dark room. Zalm’s mouth turns up slightly at one corner, a vile perversion of a smile.

“Soon, we shall begin. And it shall be most glorious indeed...” he mutters, dusting down his robe again, before pushing open the heavy timber doors - again, singed black with scorch marks - and stepping out onto the stone balcony. He leans against the stone railings, gazing out into the cavern.

Below, the vast dark chamber is lit by sporadic fires dotted randomly - moving fires, surrounded by groups of men, arms raised in a gesture of evocation. These were often called ‘Blazes’ by the people of Asulon, Zalm mused. They sure don’t bandy around with words - that’s exactly what blazes did.... set things ablaze. He turns, and throws a glance at the hooded man standing beside the door to his chambers.

“What is the progress of the evocation?”, he asks, once again turning his gaze to the scene below. He watches as three hooded men subdue a Blaze as it erupts from the ground, using chains forged from tempered iron. They drag it to a cage, and seal it inside.

“We have over three hundred elementals subdued and ready for transport, my lord.” the hooded man replies, not moving his head or breaking his vigil.

Zalm sniffed, smelling the scent of sweat and labour in the air. He didn’t feel the heat himself, and chucked at the thought of others suffering. It was barely hot enough to boil water! Not even a bother to one such as himself.

He walks to the left, his robes swishing slightly, leaving a void in the thick, smoky air behind him as he descends the black stone stairs down into the large chamber - a repurposed underground lava floe, the place most rich with volatile beings such as the Blazes. The ground was hardened lava, wavy patterns adorning the surface from where Zalm had caused it to harden unnaturally.

He walks to a table standing nearby, with several men surrounding it. He gazes at the men in turn as he leans over the table, palms flat upon the surface. He clears his throat, and begins to talk.

“So, as you may well know, our recent assault upon the... Holy Oren Empire...”

Here, he spits on the floor, the saliva instantly hissing as it boils in the heat, a tendril of steam swirling up.

“It was a failure. We underestimated the resistance we would face and the sheer tenacity of the humans. However, this time, shall not be the case. We have made our show of strength, and the time for theatrics is drawing to a close. What do we do know, you ask?”

Here, several of the men look up from the map, where a variety of stone tablets had been carved with the ley of Asulon - parchment had not fared so well, as they had realized quick. They nod slowly, eyes burning with curiousity to what the plan may be.

“What do we do now?” he repeats.

“I believe the term is... slash and burn.” he intones, grinning widely.

As he says this, he brings his clenched fist down upon the tablet, smashing it in twain. The crack carves a swathe through the land of Oren, across to Kal'Dwain. Collective gasps can be heard from all around, quickly hushed.

He brings his fist up, plastered in stone dust, still clenched. "We shall strike them at the roots. Then, in time, the trunk will grow weak, and then... well, have you ever seen a tree go up in flame? If not, you will have your fill soon enough."

“We shall begin by attacking... here.” he says, pointing at Solace.

“Solace is a seemingly impenetrable fortress, according to the Humans. However, I find that Humans tend to... blow their own trumpets, shall we say? And Hightower, the debauching Lord of Salvus, definitely doesn’t hold back on his fanfares. His hired sellswords will be no trouble for us, either. They’ll see one Blaze and run for the hills. Gold can buy a man’s word, but it cannot buy his will, as Hightower will soon learn.”

“We shall sweep westerly like a forest fire, razing all in our path. We shall not be stopped we reach the forests of the Dwarves. Once there, we will fell their forests and erect a monument to our ferocity. This Campaign will take roughly one elven month, if not less.”

He turns, and walks away. The men look at each other with excited grins clear on their faces. They cheer, and walk away back to their respective stations.

[Alakabam 582]

(( This is epic! ^_^ ))

[_pok_ 1768]

[[Why doesn't any of the evil demons and monsters want to try to attack us? :(

Guess they're just scared. :P]]

[Neri 3590]

[[Why doesn't any of the evil demons and monsters want to try to attack us? :(

Guess they're just scared. :P]]

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[154684321654951 73]

( 'Dat incredible WoW music, shame neither of my characters will be able to experience this. )

[Drelik 865]

(( WoW lich king much? ))

[Braxis 813]

((Evil Fire Cultist.... SOLUTION!

On a Serious note it seems like a fun event Can't wait to see it happen!))

[CTap 111]

*unsheaths his water bottles

"Muhahaha!"

[Lym 849]

[[is it possible to help the Zalm worshippers as mortal being? ^_^]]

[no longer active 734]

((Couple questions: Will there be any use of godemode? Will the event team play as the blazes or will they be spawned? Could you give us the time on the days?))

[Neri 3590]

(( WoW lich king much? ))

[[i assure you, Zalm is not a lich of any sort, is not a king, and does not contain his soul in any kind of phylactery.]]

((Couple questions: Will there be any use of godemode? Will the event team play as the blazes or will they be spawned? Could you give us the time on the days?))

[[

1. No, I never use Godmode in events. I will be perfectly killable, as will the blazes.

2. Blazes will be AI, spawned mobs.

3. The Event Team, if they wish to take part, will play as Flamewhisper cultists.

4. I will announce the times tomorrow.

]]

[no longer active 734]

((Thank you! I especially love how you won't use godemode. In my opinion it ruins events. Will the blazes have a stronghold that we can attack or will their source be his staff or another.er item like that?))

[Samson Option 9652]

Freya has my stamp of approval as the only one capable of writing this sort of Lore. Undead, back off.

[craotor 617]

Fire is always the solution

[_pok_ 1768]

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