The Story of Souls: A Sweboz AAR

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Fanatasy?
So your saying im a fantasy fanatic?
Well while this may or may not be true i dont think thats the main issue right now

[HunGeneral]

Fanatasy?
So your saying im a fantasy fanatic?
Well while this may or may not be true i dont think thats the main issue right now

What a minute: stating that you have a lively fantasy ergo you seemingly can't run out of ideas has nothing to do with beign you a fantasy fanatic (I don't think you are fanatic). I actulally meant it to be a praise but ir looks like I didn't tell that clearly.

Hope its cleared up now

[Olaf Blackeyes]

((Continued from the last post))

As the fires raged and the battles grew bigger, they also got more and more chaotic. The lesser demons and slaves of the things' armies began to topple whole buildings upon groups of our men. This threw our lines into chaos. However the enemy were in much the same state. The things lines were in a total state of confusion as well. The militia were carving the unprepared things to pieces. However there was no real order to the fighting. Everywhere it was men, lesser demons and things fighting each other.
However the main action was with the Demon and Angel. As the angel tried to get a hold of her foe, the demon continued to dodge her blows and fire black flames at her. Building collapsed all around them, chaos erupted from the ground beneath them, explosions occurred above them. But they stayed focused upon each other.
What finally ended the stalemate was the fact that the demon happened to wander to close to a few explosions, knocking him senseless for a few seconds. This was all that the angel needed. Her great sword began to glow golden-white. She swung and hit his black whirlwind. However instead of bouncing off or passing through it, the sword got stuck within it. She probably wanted this to happen for she twirled her wrists and ripped the black wind off of the demon. As this happened, the demon was flung through a few buildings as well. It got stuck under the last one which collapsed upon it. The angel then approached the demon.
At that point i cant remember anything else because i have been told that i got hit. The demon was struggling to get out from under the fallen building. However the angel approached it too quickly for it to be able to get away. So it used a HUGE amount of power to fire one massive black chaos blast at the angel to delay her or kill her. However the angel managed to parry it easily, with her great glowing sword. However it headed for the tower that i and several other people were hiding in. We all tried to flee but apparently i wasn't fast enough and took a direct hit. I also fell through the hole that had been left in the battlements, towards the pavement below. Apparently i was saved from death because i landed on top of a soldier, whom broke my fall and saved my life. I almost killed the poor man i have been told. But he has recovered and i have added him to my guards.
But i digress. After the demon had fired his last big black blot at the angel, she had taken him and torn his red stone off. At that point the demon nearly went berserk and tried to gather up as much energy as he could in order to kill her. However she split his red stone on her sword. As soon as it broke open, the souls of all of those that the demon had slain poured out and attacked the demon.
What happened next no one would tell me in full, but the general consensus was that the souls ripped him apart. The screams, i am told, were sickening. And it lasted for quite a while. However as the demon was torn to pieces so was its army. The risen dissolved the minor demons melted, and the living slave warriors fled into the midst of the burning city. The burning sky also exploded and finally cleared, or so everyone tells me.
However at this point, as far as i have gathered, i was in really big trouble. The demon's final bolt had poisoned me. My blood was blackened, i had lost any trace of sanity and was screaming like a demon would. In my crazed state i killed two men before they got control of me. They brought me into the church, then tied me down and began a ritual of Exorcism upon me. It took them three days to rid me of the poison. When i finally woke up however the first thing i saw was the little Rune Priestess that had summoned the angel to our aid. She calmly explained what had happened.
As we rebuild the city and restore order, the rain has returned, as has sanity to the minds of the people. There are still a few rebel bands out there, and the eastern provinces are still in chaos due to the amount of troops we withdrew from the area, but i am confident that we shall soon restore order.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Twenty Six: Revival
(From the Runic book:)
Winter 382AD
There is great news from Greece. The second great demon has been destroyed, his army is shattered. As the Greek rebuild their Arche, the free steppe tribesmen prepare to reclaim their brethren, ancestral lands, and freedom. We have already given them many weeks worth of food, plenty of weapons and many horses. We will also be accompanying them during the campaign with some of our finest warriors to aid them in their fight.
The High Queen is doing as well as can be expected for a ten year old. She learns quickly, and tries her hardest to make the right choices. Her regent is doing a fine job, so there is not very much to worry about at the moment.
The warriors, elves and the free tribesmen are read to go and fight. It seems that the High Queen has requested to go along, and for some incredibly strange reason, the Regent has approved. I shall have to talk with him about this when we return.

(From the Greek book:)
Winter 382AD
As we have cleaned up the city, we are closer and closer to restoring the Arche Byzantiou to what it was before the things showed up. The rebellions and peasant riots in Greece have been put down. But the northern reaches of Mikra Asia have yet to submit to our rule as is proper. We have to send the armies there next. We are also going to reclaim the lands of Syria from the Langobardi and the Persians.
In news closer to home, it appears that im the only member of my family to have survived the invasion of the things' armies. Therefore many high ranking generals and politicians are vying for my hand in marriage, for a woman cannot take the throne. I have tried but no one would give the me the support i would need to take the reigns of the Arche. This doesn't mean im going quietly, mind you. I will pick my husband, that much no one can deny me.
But for now i must go for i am required at court.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Twenty Seven: In Victory...
(From the Runic Book:)
Summer 385AD
It has taken three winters of fighting, drinking, and marching, (mostly marching), to free the homeland of the Polish tribes from the iron grip of the Hunnic Empire. With the defeat of the Demon Brothers, there has been a civil war that has erupted within the Empire, it was split into five pieces. The four sons of Attila taking four pieces, and the daughter of Bledda taking the largest piece. The Son in charge of the Polish territoires was a demon named Urugus. He was a complete fool, for he got into two different wars with his brothers that controlled the Baltic lands and the Outer Steppes. This of course left Poland WIDE open. We immediately assaulted the western borders. All that we found there were undead slaves, which were blown aside with incredible ease.
The Polish lands are a rather poor country, in all of them there are only two great towns, Warzwoz, and Crazkowz, the former being nearly completely indefensible, being there only due to its important position of the trade routes of amber and furs. Needless to say we got there with good speed. The town was under defended to say the least, there weren't even any Hunnic cavalry to defend the little town. We took it in a matter of days.

Crazkowz was a different matter, there was a significantly larger number of Huns there the first time we attacked it, however when we arrived most of them had run off to their lords war in the east. So it was another easy victory.

However when Urugus heard of the towns being taken he immediately ran to defend his assets. All that he had left to fight us with were his pure blooded Hunnic horsemen. It was a viscous battle that the Polish armies lost with brutal chaos. As a result he re-invaded a now hostile Poland. It was two years of raiding and counter-raiding, but in the end he was killed, and his army's remnants fled to another one of the Hunnic lords. As a result There is now a friendly Kingdom of Poland guarding our eastern borders. This has freed up a LARGE portion of the men that were tied down fighting these demons, to gather the harvests once more. A large crop has finally removed the last traces of famine and plague from our lands.
The High Queen has learned much from this excursion. She has seen the ways of war for herself. She has also become very good with a bow, and is learning how to use and axe to cleave a man in half. She still wants to stay with our armies on campaign, while i protest this the Regent still gives his blessing to it, so there is nothing i can do.
We are now in preparation to invade the Baltic lands and reclaim them for our Baltic friends.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Twenty Eight:.....and Defeat(Part One)
(From the Greek Book:)
Summer 383AD
As i receive reports from all over the Arche the news is not nearly as good as i would hope. While all of the revolts within Greece have capitulated, the Pontic Territories have flung themselves into full open revolt. Armies that are supplied by the Armenians and Sassanids have taken Sinope and Trapzoeus. They have declared the area to be the Kingdom of Pontos. One of the generals in that area, i believe his name is Theodosius, is a claimant for my hand in marriage. He has decided to invade the area to reclaim it as a wedding present for me. As i have never met the man i can only wish him luck.
At the moment the highest claimants to the throne are Maximian, the general whom lead my brothers guard before he died, Heraclitus, the captain of my cousins guard before he was killed, and Timothy the son of the High Bishop of Konstantinopolis. Each of these men have tried to murder the others in order to get enough support to win my hand. All attempts have failed. There have been, as a result, several other "competitions" for my hand and the crown. This included a bet at the races, where one of them bet on the Reds to win my hand. This resulted in massive riots all over the city after it was discovered. Of course the betting suitor was beheaded. I'm pretty sure that this will not end well at all.

Winter 383AD
As reports come in from the front, it appears that General Theodosius has had some great success against the Pontics. He met a General of the Pontic king at one of the few passes into the lands of Pontos. As he charged headlong into the pass, the Pontics deployed at the top of the pass.

They quickly destroyed the light Pontic infantry.

But the cavalry of the Pontics had received armor and aid from other Eastern nations. They menaced and crippled several infantry units before our Kilbinnarii could arrive and aid them.

This turn of events led to General Theodosius needing to retreat to regain reinforcements.

However our cavalry had crushed many more Pontic soldiers than we had lost. The Pontic general could not hold the pass as a result, and has retreated towards the city of Amasis, capital of Pontos. Theodosius has already retaken the pass and, as soon as the reinforcement get there, he assures me that he will march on Amasis. This has driven his standing in the contest for my hand all the higher. The other suitors have become increasingly worried.
But in all honesty im sick of being treated as a prize. I have already made my choice. His name is Patrestoles. He is a childhood friend of mine that has stuck with me through thick and thin. However he doesn't have enough support from any of the factions within this damned city to take my hand like i have dreamed of him doing. With murders and poisons on the table in this contest its only a matter of time before one of the parties breaks.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Ok before i post the next chapter does anyone have any questions or ideas?
At least for the 2 ppl that read this?

[HunGeneral]

I would have a question: is any of the "suitors" based on a historical figure?

Oh yeah and: are the Huns dead for good or could they still resist the "invading Barbarian hordes of the west"? And who is the idiot the last High king named regent? That "high qeen" of theres really seems to be looking for an arrow with her name on it - bring it on (evil )

Now really Olaf this story of yours is getting some fresh flavor - keep it going. I like it and I quess many others do

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty: Demon's Bane
(From the Runic book:)
Summer 386AD
As i write these words, all i see stretched out before me is grasslands. They seem to go on and on, forever and ever. Nothing but grass, and more grass. There are no hills few trees and fewer rivers.

I can see how the Huns became kings out here, this terrain is practically MADE for horsemen and centaurs. Luckily our allies are exactly that, horsemen and centaurs. However there have been reports that the two remaining sons of Attila, Tukheckjen and Emnetzur have allied to stop our invasion of their steppe lands.
There will be a battle soon, and our Queen wants to take a firsthand experience in it. She simply will not understand that she cannot go wandering into an situation that she wants anymore, because it will kill not only her, but the bloodline of the Royal Tribe forever. And there have been attempts, such as ten night ago when one of my servants was poisoned tasting our food. The food he partook of was for the Queen alone. As a result i have tripled her guards. But i guess such things cant be helped. I try and remember if i was this stupid when i was younger.
However i have more important things to do now, like organize an army for war, out on these grasses.

((At this point the handwriting changes in our Runic book.))
Three weeks later
(Tear stains dot these pages)
My name is Mezthenalza, and i am the High Queen of the German people. I have come into possession of this codex due to my former mentor's ... death. Aioufulz was a brave, brave man. He fought to the death to defend his people.
However i get ahead of myself. Two days ago we fought in a great battle against the Hunnic forces that had held the steppe for nearly 50 winters. The two remaining sons of Attila the Demon had gathered their "men" to stop us.

They were full of undead, demons and many enslaved tribes as well.
I had snuck into a group of Elven archers so that i could take part in this great battle. I cant believe that i was so excited, looking back at it now. We had taken the far left of our combined armies flank. Our centaur allies held the center, waiting to burst through the center weak spot that the Alans and my Germans were to create.

While the Alans were on the far right, ready to hammer away at the demons.

As the battle began we surged forward, for Aioufulz didn't want the Hunnic horsebows to come into play and devastate our mostly infantry army.

What cavalry we had charged to the left of our flank to halt a flanking attempt by several groups of Horsebows. The fighting was fierce, and the screams were...brutal. This was when i realized that war was not all the glorious stories that i had heard as a child, that it was a sickening thing. However it seemed to be going well for us at the moment. Our brave men had hit the front ranks of the undead and slave foot soldiers, and the cavalry was tied up in a losing battle against our spearmen. I was with the archers in the back firing arrows into the rear ranks of the Huns.
It was then that things took an insane turn for the worse. Suddenly a HUGE group of very heavy Hunnic cavalry burst forth from the trees off to our line's right. They shattered much of our line right then and there. And then several groups of them attacked the archers. It was..insane. Their horses were so powerful that they knocked back nearly a full line of our men before their momentum halted.

They still killed WAY too many of us. We turned to flee. The Eleven High Guards stayed and fought to the last. That bought us time to get away. However any hope of regrouping was suddenly shattered, when Aioufulz was flung from his horse and killed.

The whole army turned tail and ran, scattering like rabbits, while normally i would call them cowards for running, in this instance i could see exactly why they fled. These Huns were unstoppable demons. However it was at this point that some of the centaur came bursting from the woods to save our collapsing line.

They drew off the Huns long enough for a fraction of our men to regroup. However it was then that the Hunnic warlord Tukheckjen turned the attention of his bodyguards on our regrouped forces. The spearmen that we had formed a shield wheel, and the remaining archers regrouped behind it. While we did managed to kill many of his bodyguards another band of Huns came to his aid. He broke our men like butter at that point. Our group split up. I was with the men that went right. The ones that went left, well they weren't so lucky.

At that point our army was out of the battle for good.

It was left up to the centaur and Alans to finish this sick day. The group i was with tried to flee back to the camp were fresh warriors would be waiting. However we were cut off by several Hunnic bands. So we retreated into the deepest part of the small forest that was on the battlefield. As we regrouped i revealed who i was to the men that had made it. I was immediately put in charge of the remnants of our army. I told them that we needed to wait before trying to escape these woods, for it was here that the Huns didn't have their advantage in horsemanship. They agreed that that was the smartest moved we could make.
However i heard the sounds of battle all around us. To the right we heard the cries of death and pain in the demonic language that the Huns use. A man that i sent out came back and told us that the Alans and centaurs had completely crushed the Hunnic left flank, and even killed the warlord Emnentzur.


He had heard the news from some of the centaur women that were fighting. They had also offered to distract the Huns as we fled for the part of the field controlled by the Alans. We gladly agreed.
As we fled south,

the centaurs proved an excellent distraction.

In fact the battle seemed to be building once again. As many of the Alans and centaurs had regrouped and turned to take on the remaining Huns on the field.


However the Huns were far from done. In fact one of the centaur groups got too close to the Huns and were crushed in short order. As they finished the centaurs off the Huns simply regrouped and moved on to another part of the battle.

However it was then that another group spotted the Hunnic warlord Tukheckjen and his remaining bodyguards along with some undead slaves.

He was using a demon to raise OUR fallen warriors to fight for him.

OUR WARRIORS!!! However by revealing his position so obviously he made a tactical error. And soon the centaur had him surrounded.

He fled out of the trap via a series of large boulders that provided him the best cover. However nothing could prevent his death at the hands of the enraged centaur. They started firing thousands of arrows towards him. The bastards end came when his horse was killed by three of the arrows and he was flung from its back, and busted his skull open on the ground.

The battle was won, but at an enormous cost.

Out of nearly 11000 warriors that we had brought to the battle barley 1500 had survived, and many of them had been driven insane. The centaur lost nearly 3500 of their warriors, but these losses were easily replaced by the freed centaur from the Hunnic lands. The Alans had suffered the least, with barley 2200 men gone. The Huns were nearly totally destroyed by this battle. Our efforts in this war have come to an end due to this battle. We have helped the steppe peoples as much as we can, the rest is up to them.
Bt now i must leave for i have a funeral to attend to.

[Chirurgeon]

Good stuff Did you mod EB to get the hun faction? I particulary like the Virgin Archers :)

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty One: Sacred Bloodstorm (Part One)
(From the Runic book:)
Autumn 386AD
As i write these words i am in the Polish fortress of Crazkowz, returning home to Germania to fully take the responsibility of the Throne. The remnants of our army is my escort home. I have been in this town for nearly a week waiting for the rain to let up so that we can continue on our way, for id like to get home BEFORE the snows come.
But as i sit here there is excellent news from the steppes, the Huns are on their knees, the only remaining leader is the daughter of Bledda the Demon, we have learned her name is Tehajuka. This bitch will not last very long with most of her people destroyed and in disarray. But there are reports that she is gathering her forces for the final battle. Every one of the free tribes, Poles, Balts, Slavs, Alans, centaurs, and even the Cromars are sending warriors to this great battle. I can only pray for their victory to Odin and the High Gods.
I have other things to tell of as well. Yesterday an assassin almost killed me. He was standing on a rooftop whilst i was riding a horse below, going to the barracks where my troops were stationed for the evening. He had a bow pointed at my head. However a crow startled him and he shot his bow and killed my horse. As i was flung from my horse, my guards surged around me. At that point, i guess the assassin knew this wasn't going anywhere so he took off running across the rooftops. We never managed to catch him. All that we had was the arrow that he shot at me with, and we cant tell who made it.
This turn of events show that loyalty only last as long as greater threats do, it seems.
Ah well, i have to go now for my commanders have received another report from the steppes.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Two: The Game
(From the Greek book:)
Summer 387AD
Well it has finally happened. The Churches' candidate, Timothy has been found dead i his quarters within the Hagia Sofia. It does "appear" to be a natural death, but then again i had the body examined and found scars in hidden places. This can only mean it was a well done murder. At this i wouldn't be surprised to see a civil war within this city to win me as the ultimate prize.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about this. If it comes down to it i may have to kill the other candidates using my guards and what friends i have. If this is found out however i would be immediately deposed by the traditionalists and probably killed. However i have waited for as LONG as i possibly can. I refuse to be the pet plaything of some bastard child that has no more right to the throne than a pig does. Im sure that Patrestoles would make an excellent emperor, and i would be there to guide him. However i simply cant get the other powers in this city to agree with that statement.

(From the Runic Book:)
Autumn 387AD
Well as i write these words the final treaty of the steppe peoples is going into effect. They have formed a MASSIVE confederation of tribes all along the steppes and including Poland as well. This is simply a council called together for the defense of all of the member tribes lands at once, from threats from the far areas of the steppes. I can only hope that in doing this they also can shield the rest of Europe from the invasions of these said steppe peoples, for if ANYTHING like the Huns were to ever hit Europe again i dont think we could survive it.
I have also received news from my agents. The assassins that have hunted me for nearly a year have been captured at last. Two of the bastards managed to kill themselves, but my men got their hands on the third one while he was still alive. We have been questioning him for nearly two days but he refuses to tell us whom his paymaster is. As soon as i finish with other affairs today, i shall have a court Rune-Priest brought to his chamber to get the truth out of him one way or another.
Another issue has been brought to my attention over the past weeks as well. That of my husband and future children. Several candidates have been lined up for me, the most prominent of those being my former regent, the Jarl of the Franx, Juzarlez. I have never really liked the man, he has been far too selfish and even at times paranoid. He always has this look on his face as if he is about to kill someone, or at least maim them, And he is always angry. However he is the courts favorite and that brings him to my attention more often than most.
I have also payed homage to the Great Crystal of the White Lady. She has always been a model to me as to what i should aspire to be. And with her spirits appearances in Constantinople and on the Rhine i can only hope that she is still with us and will continue to protect us as we move forward in this world.
And finally i have commissioned a portrait of myself to be added to those within the Great Hall. However the artist that i commissioned was a Roman, so he had a floor mosaic done.

Personally i think it looks gaudy and too revealing but he is a Roman after all.
But i must leave off for now for i need to get back to seeing supplicants.

[SwissBarbar]

Hang those powers in the city. go olaf