Non omnis moriar

by Derek B Rackham Esq

The body of evil has been shaken but not destroyed, for evil must exist if good is to subsist. While the Sin War rages on, the forces of evil gather once more on the mortal realm to try to claim the power of the souls that reside there for their own use.

The Gathering

Clouds were gathering over head, slowly drowning out the last of the suns defiant rays. A lone figure stood atop the watch tower, his hair billowing out behind him in the wind. As he gazed down over the Arreat Steppes, he silently mourned the scarred wastes that the landscape below him had become. The battles that had taken place during Baals campaign on Mount Arreat had greatly wounded the barbarian tribes, but they had also taken a toll on the once beautiful north lands. Much of the north had been turned to mud and slush during the sieges, the giant craters that were left by the catapults popped out of the ground like angry sores. Kraed sighed into the breeze. It seemed as though the land were crying out to him.

"Do not look so troubled, the blood of the fallen will quench the lands thirst, and it will be reborn."

Kraed turned and smiled at Haesan as he approached, eager not to let the scenery get to him again. "I just can't help it. I know there are more pressing issues at hand, but evil has already ravaged our home, and I feel its pain."

"As do we all, brother, as do we all. But in time it will heal, and the pain will fade. If our cousins from the forests of Scosglen are not deterred by the state of the land, then neither should we be. They of all peoples will know when our countryside is in danger. But for now would you be so kind as to share a meal with your clan?"

"I cannot leave the post yet, for they draw near and I wish to be here to greet them when they arrive."

"Just as I thought," Haesan laughed "So I brought you some broth. You always were as stubborn as an ass when it came to things like this."

He shook his head and left, leaving Kraed with the broth and chuckling to himself as he returned to the village.

Alone once more, Kraed sighed again. Dusk was fast approaching and he had still seen no sign of any travellers. He knew that some would come, and that they were in fact close, but the heavy weight of disappointment was beginning to bear down on him once more. He had really looked forward to greeting some of his old friends today, even though it seemed from day to day that the journey was taking them a very long time. The wind picked up, as if to further dash his hopes, and told of a storm coming in from the west. Scanning the steppes to the edge of his vision again before the light was too poor, Kraeds heart jumped as he saw what he thought to be a tiny figure traversing the snowy wastes. As his eyes narrowed in on the distant movement, he instantly recognised the lightly armoured and incredibly lithe form of Aissa. Though she was rugged up in thick furs to brave the journey through the Arreat snow plains, it was clear to the Northman that it was the amazoness he remembered so clearly trudging through the snow. He began to watch intently as she made her way through the sludgy slopes, desperately grateful that the first was about to arrive. The others, or those that were coming anyway, would not be much further off after Aissa arrived, and Kraed found that he would be grateful not only for their aid, but simply for the chance to see some old friends. As she drew nearer to the village outskirts, Kraed prepared himself to go down and welcome her into his home.