Mar 5, 2021
Conqueror's Blade - Sapozhnik
After a long and bloody war and a devastating winter, the start of spring brought hope. The Scourge of Winter lay dead with his Archons, the Desecrators had been cleared out of Ostaria, and for the kingdom of Ungverija, a new era of peace and plenty seemed to be dawning.
The cost of raising armies in winter had been considerable, but with a grateful and newly-liberated neighbour to the north–ruled by a new monarch following the abdication of old King Conrad’s abdication–and the agents of the Merchant’s Guild bringing bustling trade to the streets of Turul Város, only the most mealy-mouthed pessimists would disagree that the future looked a little brighter.
However, there were signs that all was not well in the kingdom. Farmers reported an increasing number of wolf attacks on livestock, mostly in the east of the kingdom around Vajk’s Lake. A beast-like howling could be heard echoing across the water at night, and strange lights were seen flickering in the deep forests. Peasants barred their doors at sundown, village watchmen patrolled in pairs, and even the highborn kept loaded firearms at hand before settling down to restless sleep. Soon, people started to go missing too, and rumours began to circulate that something evil had crept down into the kingdom while the armies of Turul Város were liberating the North.
The guards on duty in Turul Város were met with an unexpected sight one day when a bearded barbarian warrior approached the gates. He was a man of the Northlands, clad in iron and furs, carrying a war horn, and with an honour guard at his back. As the host marched closer, the captain of the watch was surprised to see that his bodyguards were all women.
The warrior identified himself as Jarl Ulvar, a leader of the Northmen, who revealed that he was on a mission from the High Kin to kill the renegade warlord Guthrom Red-Eye. The man had fled justice in his homeland along with a band of his most devout followers, all calling themselves the Sons of Fenrir. Until such time that Guthrom and his men could be apprehended, Ulvar offered the Ungverijans the services of his army. Before anyone could ask to see this army, Ulvar slung his horn from his shoulder, blew it once, and summoned a great host of axe-toting warriors from the treeline behind him.
Meanwhile, on the banks of the Kiralyi river, Guthrom Red-Eye and his followers were finishing a final ceremony: a ritual sacrifice to the wolf-god Fenrir. The signs had been seen, the appropriate offerings made, and now the Sons of Fenrir set out for battle. Howling like a pack of hellhounds, they descended on defenceless villages and merchant caravans, burning and killing without pity.
Guthrom’s followers would begin with a shock attack, then the survivors would be offered the choice: Guthrom as your king, or be next on the altar. By this method, a small kingdom was sliced out of Ungverija which attracted every kind of brigand and bandit to the service of Jarl Guthrom…
The story continues in Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok, launching as a free update for Conqueror’s Blade on March 18!
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