Legends of War:The Academy

One thing that all races, no matter who primitive, have in common, is the they search for answers. Some of them turn to their oracles who predict the future through bones, stars, cards, and hundreds of other devices. Many people turn to the worship of gods, some dark, in an attempt to gain control over their surroundings through appeasement. Still others turn to science, they cut, tare, measure, burn, and crush everything that they can until there is nothing left, then they move on the the next item at. It is for that reason that the Academy was created.

In 1602 a.d.c. Garmaria had come across a strange and lush, tropical island near the Black Rim that was filled with a bountiful amount of fruit and natives. It was an easy step to conquer them, but, all of the fruit that was brought off the island died instantly, and those who ate of it would suffer the same fate. This didn't matter what was forced to grow there, as even Garmaian grains would cause the same consequences. While they should have just abandoned the island, it proved to be to much of a curiosity and dozens of Garmarian Engineer-Biolis and Engineer-Mamelions(interested in the effect it had on people) who clamored to discover its secrets. In order to house these Engineers, a massive series of rather drab looking buildings were erected and the discovery of iron and titanium deposits on the island further fulled more of them, as well as a large amount of Engineer-Mutologists.

For a while, everything worked out fine. The natives provided a large source of test subjects and, when they ran out, humans, and other races, were imported from across the known world to further their research. A weapons factrum was set up there as well and, for a while, the finest guns and artillery pieces came from their. The success of their research was inspiring, but oddly dark rumors started to filter their way from the island to Garmaria, mainly featuring inhumane(or bizarre) experiments, and a dangerous new school of thought known as Ragnarok. Ragnarok stated that, the reason the world was so horrible was because the races had polluted it, and in order to form the prefect world, they'd have to destroy every single last thing there was, and then start over.

That such a philosophy would exist was laughed at in the pub halls, but, it eventually repeated itself enough times that it found its way into the ears of The Parliament. In 1643 a.d.c., the Garmarian Royal Navy launched a dozen ships to go to the island and sort out this issue once and for all. They never returned. Further attempts were made until it was discovered that a series of storms and whirlpools had sunk any ship going their so they had to wait. Then facts faded into stories, stories faded into legends, legends faded into myths, a myths faded into obscurity. Now, more then 200 years later, a mysterious island was discovered near the Black Line, as it filled with ash, and the only things remaining are a complex of buildings and a large and advanced army bent on doing the same thing to the world. Several attempts to destroy this army ended in complete disaster, their weapons literally boiling men apart where they stand. This has forced Garmaia to turn to the other human nations for help, who in turn have turned to the other races of the world for help. Now, a coalition of dozens of armies is headed towards the island known only as The Academy.

Echoes of War

"Why would I live in Hellspout? Hellspout is the most interesting city in the whole world. For starters, the river Hell, that divides it in half, is so thick with waste that it is safer to use as a road then a water way. You've got Dwarfs, Trolls, Elves, Stygians, And Gnomes, all running from one law or another, holed up here as pirates. Everyday there's a fight in the streets, but it's all in good nature, and the watch will come in if its not. Every day we've got more ships coming in and going then there are people who live here, and with around a million that's a lot. Even those stuck up Garmarian jerks come here and have their own quarter and docks, the only one with paved streets that you can see. But, all in all, people come to Hellspout for the time of their lives, and theirs enough drink, and other things, that a man will stay entertained for a life; just so long as he watches his back."
-Captain Hurndar explaining Hellspout to his captors

"Yes, yes. This is all good then, yes? That means our troops are ready, yes? And that means our ships are ready too, yes? And you are sure they aren't waiting for us, no?"
-Rat Chief Retz before the First Battle at Sallamia 

"All right then. I just want to make one thing clear to you all: that at this point there is no return. Once we land, the only way you'll get home before us is to swim. Now I don't care where you stand on any of the issues, or if you think that I'm a crazy old gnome who's gone over his head in working with Dwarfs, Elves, Humans, and Goblins. But if we don't do this, then those Stygians will think they are our masters, and who's going to allow that?"
-Lord Mayor  Steifl Gnomegard, to his troops at The First Battle


''Epistrofí̱ sto spíti me ti̱n aspída sas , í̱ se af̱tó .''
--What Stygian mothers from Seratas say to their sons, once they go to war, meaning ''return victorious, or dead.'

Echoes of war

"The attack of a Goblin army is very mush like the attack of snow on a fire. Individually it will be ineffective, but each snowflake who dies weakens the defenses just that much. Eventually, it will be impossible to bring in more fuel, as the snow is to high and there is no way around it, and the fire will be left to fend for itself. In a matter of time, it will have been extinguished, and the only signs of its passing are chard and unrecognizable remains."
-Shpeal Brans, Garmarian Scholar

"Ons Donker God, Verbode Kennis, wil hê jy moet weer opstaan​​.Volg sy bevel en julle siele toegestaan ​​sal word om die ewige lewe."
Translation: Our Dark god, Verbode Kennis, wills that you shall rise again. Follow his command and your souls will be granted eternal life.
-a ritual for raising skeletons


"You know what isn't natural? The un-dead. I mean, what bright spark woke up one-day and said, ' By George, I will fill my not-dead army's ranks with un-dead people and call it a good-day!' Probably one of those stupid skul gnomes if you ask me."
-Hiterdale Mesgard, Gnomish Mayor


"You strange people come over here and then claim all of our lands for yourself. You think you are better then us as you have thunder sticks, iron plates, and hairy faces. You do not realize that you have turned your back to the Golems and other spirits of nature simply for your "profit". One day you shall feel nature's wrath and I hope you remember it."
-One of Mazotrathen messages to Herndar Kuorte
simplified(via numerous translation errors) to: "Your mother was a Troll drag and your father was a Elvish pig."

Legends of War:Gnolls, the Howling Hunters

Within the Blasted Desert, there is not just sand, but many watery oasis' and grassy savannas as well. These locations are usually where Trolls, humans, or Reptillions construct settlements and later on entire cities. But some of these areas are still wild, and they are seen as property of the Hyena people, the Gnolls. There is only one or two Tribes near each of these locations, except in one, the Laughing Savannah, a large grassy landscape that even has oddly shaped trees and a single large lake. This is where perhaps dozens of Gnoll Tribes gather and even meet. The Savannah got it's name because there always seems to be a distant voice, laughing, like some madman.

This place once used to be property of the Orcs, and it used to be called the Bloody Marsh, thick with plantlife, but once the Trolls came and blasted the entire continent, the marsh became but a Savannah, but it is still the most notable one in the entire desert. The Gnolls had later on settled here, and started forming permanent villages, unlike most others, who live nomadic lives, nesting from oasis to oasis. The Gnolls have a tribal culture, and are highly dependent on the blessings from their Gods, which mostly revolve about hunting and battle.

The Gnolls possess extremely low technology, for they still rely on wood and stone, as well as making leather clothes, and shields made from cow skin, but they are not to be underestimated in battle. Their senses are extremely keen, and they are lightning fast. They ride on top of giant canine beasts, as well as an occasional war elephant. Also, before each battle, their Shaman preform some weird rituals, making potions from crushed animal bones and herbs, which are believed to grant them special abilities. It is true that Gnolls have no wish of conquest or control, and are usually targeted by Reptillions, to be brought in as slaves, but if they must, they will fight with fang and claw. And if they are the ones doing the hunting, then you may as well pray that they ignore you, for that is the only way to escape.

Echoes of War

"Why am I a pirate? I am a pirate because I seek to conquer the world and have but a few ships and only a handful of men. You are a king because you seek to conquer the whole world and have hundreds of ships and tens of thousand of men."
-Captain Ironjaw Helik addressing King Alarxis

"May the false gods you worship be proof of your ignorance."
-a common Chaos saying

"Unce, da ohniverze waz nuffin but a bunch uf nuffin. Den, in un beet, da ohniverse was filled wit a groove dat furced evea ting inta exsitence. It revabaratd around and it cauzed the bodez ta moov to dis an' it created evea ting dat is. Now it mey be tousands uf yers lata but if ya listen closly, much easia fur a Troll den ya Ohmans, ya can stil 'ear dat groove. But wat I fink is weird, an' mey 'ave led ta me banishment, is; I can almost swer ta her a voice bafor da groove. It soundz ta me lik itz saying rela fast:
five, six ,seven, eight..."
-The berd Wokezter and his highly controversial(even among Trolls) view on the universe

"If I had a piece o' gold for every time I've run into Dominion warships, or any warships for that matter, I'd have a million gold coins. Oh wait, I DO!"
-Captain Nogram before outrunning yet another Dominion patrol

"You don't know anything about the Scarecrows. Want to know how I know? Because I've seen them at war. Those images you conjure of them, the ones made of metal, bones, wood, and stone among all other things? There's. Much. Worse. THERES A SPIDER TYPE THING THAT CAN KILL A DOZEN MEN WITH A SWEEP OF ITS LEG! Don't call me crazy. I've seen them. I've...built them. They are horrible, horrible monster. And they aren't the worst ones either. NO!... There's this one that can fly high into to sky and never come down. There's this one that can RIP THE BONES out of... of... your body and then it walks around trying to be you. Then there's the one that shoots acid out of its eyes, the one with the nine mouths that trys to eat you alive, and the one that makes your brain explode just by looking at you. But by far the worst is....the worm..."
-Antony Phalglay, former Scarecrow slave, before being sent to an institution

Echoes of War

"If we run from battle we are running from our country. If you charge without orders you are killing your own children. If you die today, make your fore fathers proud and die a hero's death.
COMPANY!
FORWARD, MARCH!"
-The first Field Marshal at the Battle of High Plains

"What we need is to have a giant metallic worm like device drill up through the ground and eat the enemy army. No? Well, what if we were to somehow... what was that?"
-Gnomeish engineer Heild Denber before his kidnapping by scarecrows

"Wat we'z Trolls no dat ya squishies dont now is dat us Trolls aint squishy, so dat means dat no mata wat ya do we well alwas be beta den ya."
-Wer chef Guty Bergand, trying to instigate a war with the Dominion

"May our lord protect us from the sword of our enemy, may he allow no harm to fall on his followers. If we doubt him even once in this battle, let him smote us. But, if we are true in faith and never falter in the belief of his divine protection, then let us come to grips with our enemies and slaughter them wholesale"
-The Prayer of Protection in Battle

"For an Elf to gain strength, he must fight and train.
For an Elf to gain power, he must pray and believe."
-a common Elf saying

Echoes of War

''Yo-ho! Haul together!
Hoist the colors high!
Heave-ho! Thieves and beggars!
Never shall we die!''
-Hellspout song before battle.

"I was sitting down in a red chair, in a strange dark room,  with an oddly shaped door and wearing oddly colored clothes. In the room there was a table, at which sat an odd, legless creature, making an odd clanking noise on a metal box with a round cylinder and every now and then it made a bell like noise, and he slid the cylinder out. There was also music playing, but I didn't see a band or anyone, and it sounded like the music was going into the instruments. Then in came an oddly clothed man..."
-Manter Geivle, Half-breed Troll, before his assassination by Trolls

"Boys, keep yer darts sharp and yer powd'r dry.
We've got us e'nough enemies ta make yer Ancestors p'oud;
An' p'oud we'll make 'em."
-a common dragoon chant

"If I we're to believe everything you humans had to say, then I would be running away from myself all the time."
-Galebreath Heasen, Elf Captain

"SHUUUUU!. Quiet down ya stupid goblins. Otha wise they'd know dat we were attackin'."
-The words that lead to the discovery of the (successful) diversionary force at the fall of Uoberwaeld

Legends of war:Reptilions, Lords of Civilization

In what is now the  Blasted Desert, at the shores of some rivers that were flowing through the continent, started forming small villages, which would work together to form irrigation systems, so that water flows evenly to all. Later on, around the year of 4000b.d.c, the very first nation was formed. The Reptillions, a form of frilled lizard that walks up straight, and has superior intellectual capabilities to even Elves or Stygians, were the very first to construct a nation, out of white marble rock, which would decorate the deserts with it's great beauty. At first, there were two nations, the East Kingdom, and the West Kingdom, and they were united at the year of 3000b.d.c., when the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom (named Menes) subjugated the Western one, and uniting it into the Great Reptile Empire, which would last for the next 3000 years unrivaled, and last to this very day. It's history is divided into 4 parts:

The Old Empire: This is the period when Menes united the two Kingdoms, and proclaimed himself as Ramsa or ''Big House'' as literal translation in the Reptillion language. A Ramsais considered a messenger from the Gods, and his words, their law. His rule was absolute. But, as the priesthood and the Ramsa gained power, the smaller regions revolted, and the Old Empire had shattered.

The Middle Empire: From the capital city of Teba, the new Ramsa Menhotep the Great had restored order, and had allowed the Reptillions to advance further in both agriculturally, politically and culturally. These changes started at the end of the 2000b.d.c. But since 18 century b.d.c, the central rule was weakening, and the local lords were strengthening, and thanks to this, an Orc tribe had conquered their Empire at 1670b.d.c.. The Orcs came on huge beasts of war, which had terrified the Reptillions, and this was their primary mean of victory. The Orcs would rule the Empire for 500 years.

The New Empire: The Orcs rule was weakening at the south of the Empire, and Teba immediately used this chance and freed itself, as well as uniting the country, chasing away the Orcs from their territory, as well as any other following invasion, and the borders of the New Empire were growing. Since the beginning of 12 century b.d.c., the Empire was constantly under Goblin raid, or ''people across the seas'' as the Reptillions called them. This had weakened the Empire over time. At roughly 950b.d.c., the Goblins had invaded the Empire, their ruler Sesonk, proclaimed himself as "Ramza", and soon, the Reptillion Empire crumbled again.

The Late Empire: By overthrowing the Goblin rulers, the Empire could expand once more, but soon they were assaulted again by Elves, whose attack began at 715b.d.c, but ended at 662b.d.c., with the Reptillions victorious. In the Reptillion army, there were many mercenaries too, which mostly included Goblins and Stygians from Yonia (another city-state). The Stygians for their services were allowed to occupy a small area, and form a new city state, named Naukratis. But soon, the Trolls came, and destroyed the Reptillion Empire. Only a bit of territory remains this day, for which the Reptillions fight with tooth and nail every day to preserve. This is their final stand, but the people believe that they will arise once more, like they always did.

The Reptillions fight in well organized columns of experienced soldiers, riding on top of great cold-blooded beasts, which might resemble those that went extinct millions of years ago. They also rely on their intellectual skills, to combine engineering and sorcery into some devastating weaponry. And so support them, the Reptillions use mercenary troops to back up their solid formations. Now, their race faces the greatest threat ever, the Trolls will not stop their attacks, until either of their races is extinct.

Art of war:Delfreng orc

This is a page from the Dwarven religious text Delfreng(lit. Killing All Life) featuring a sketch of an orc. It is interesting to note that this is the only entry in the whole book which states, "DO NOT ENGAGE!"

Legends of War:Nidhogg, Dragonmen

On both Dominion and Gnome lands live tribes of creatures that are humanoid in form but resemble Dragons. They called the Nidhogg, and their story is a mysterious one, for nobody is certain how did they get into existence, but they were always there. The first of their tribes appeared in Skull Valley, a form of Elephants Graveyard for Dragons. It is perhaps the Dragons who had created them to protect their graves, but nobody knows now, not even the Nidhogg. Because of many raids it had suffered, Dragons had forsaken Skull Valley and had went out to find a new graveyard, one that remains secret even to this day (however the Elven Homeland seems like a logical choice). The Hidhogg had later on migrated and spread throughout the lands of the current Dominion and Gnome country, they were even seen in the Dwarf Kingdoms, Goblin Plains and encounters were made in Vissaria.

The Nidhogg live barbaric lives, with very primitive tribe and spiritual traditions. Their Tribes live in cities made from Wood and stone, decorated by animal skulls and bones they got while hunting. Their army is more of a tight brotherhood, with everyone knowing one another, while a Chieftain is seen as the ''eldest brother'', who is usually counseled by a mystic Druid. A Nidhogg army is very powerful, because each Nidhogg is roughly 8, 9  or even 10 feet high, with bulky stature, thick scales (with a multitude of colors, ranging from red, to green, even yellow and grey), sharp claws, long fangs, superior senses (especially eyesight) and a temperamental nature. One of their Tribesmen is usually outfitted with clothes made of animal skin and fur, decorated by gruesome trophies, such as skulls and bones of they had slain in battle, and are armed with round wooden shields, and various close combat weapons, from swords, to axes, to maces and hammers. In rare situations, a Chieftain will call for aid from other Chieftains to deal with greater foe, but most of the time, the Tribes are fighting each other.

The Nidhogg stand neutral in most situations, although they seem to be quite trade friendly with Humans of the Dominion, Gnomes and Dwarfs, but most of the times they meet with Vissaria, it ends up in a bloody conflict. From the trade they do get, they had acquired some exotic weaponry, such as rifles, cannons, steam engines, and even flamethrowers, while the Nidhogg in return can give so much as fine fur, strong alcohol and a warm welcome. It has been more then once that their allies had called for their help, as a mercenary army, in which case, a Tribe would gather it's men, commit war rituals, paint their faces with magic runes and march to war, as a small, but powerful army.

Legends of War:The Quhelet War, the wakening of a continent

Despite being relatively new, in terms of how long people have known about it, the continent of Inaros has been invaded countless times by Men, Elves, Ratkins, Stygians, and Trolls(who were trying to invade the Dominion and got lost. How they ended up in Inaros, since they didn't have ships, is a source of debate even among other Trolls). However, one of the first people to invade were the Dwarfs who were looking for a quicker way to reach the Bayous. The first Dwarf to set foot on Inaros was Kristof Grunber who claimed all of Inaros in the name of the Dwarfs. Attempts to enact their authority ended up with almost all the Dwarfs being killed and for a while the Dwarfs did nothing. In 1422 a.d.c., one year after Kristof's discovery, a more ambitious Dwarf by the name of Herndar Kuortek set off with a thousand Dwarfs to claim Inaros for the Dwarfs. Fortunately for Inaros, the Dwarfs landed in the Quhelet Empire.

The landing of the Dwarven Aero-clads and Iron-Aeros created a spectacle among the Inaors, as these devices were clearly flying and was carrying strange short men who shared their skin and had long beards,  black hair, spoke with weird words, and were clad head to toe in brightly colored plates. The news traveled as fast as horse could carry it and Emperor Mazotrathen was informed of them in no time. The descriptions of the Dwarfs piqued his curiosity: where these creatures some sort of messenger or devil? He decided to hold a meeting with them but had his elders search through the texts for some sort of clues as to what they were. On Balg the 17th, Mazotrathen and Herndar met in the city of Demacar and at first it was peaceful, then the emissaries from the Ylme tribe(the first tribe encountered by the Dwarfs) recognized the unnecessary clipping and haughtily laid back attitude as the same as the creatures who almost wiped out his tribe.

Attempts to negotiate were further complicated by having to use no less then 6 translators just to get a basic message across and the Dwarf's temper and accent just made things worse. Eventual they had all discarded their words and taken up arms and, in no time, the Dwarfs were in control of the city, but not the Emperor. The fighting lasted for three years with the highly mobile style of Inaros warfare clashing with the stone like tactics of the Dwarfs with battle lines changing daily and no less then 4000 dwarf reinforcements. However, the Dwarfs did not expect this to last so long and were running severely low on gunpowder and the money to buy it, so the sent a 500 Dwarf team to Mount Gerkamena to retrieve some sulfur and set up a mining operation. They reached the mountain but encountered the 900 warriors of the Ylme tribe(who shadowed the whole expedition) and both sided fought to the death in the molten core of the volcano. With no gunpowder left, and a significant portion of his troops dead or deserting, Herndar had no choice but to withdrawal which effectively propelled a previously unknown continent into the spotlight as other races, heedless of the Dwarf's failure, tried to carve it up.