"In the Age Before Kings: The Seventeenth of Winterfall"

Mirislav mounted his bay horse at his father's hall and rode northward to speak with the Taiga Elves. They lived in the same harsh region and shared a common
enemy, the Orks. His breath turned to steam and his thick beard began to grow ice-sickles. He covered his mouth and dared not to blink his eyes as he rode.
Like all of his kindred, he wore multiple layers of furs and a hardy set of leather armor, his weapons were iron (which was considered new for the time) his
horse was bred for the harsh climate and he too was a son of the land, knowing which plants were good for medicine and what was not. His thoughts turned
to his lost wife, Fenaslav. She vanished three years ago and hadn't been seen since, everyone assumed that either the dire wolves got her or the Orks
got her, just the same, she was dead to him. The Slava (as they called themselves) claimed the harsh northern lands for themselves during the Flight of the
People, sixty years ago, when portals opened everywhere and huge armies of Orks came through and began to conquer. The Orks hated the far north but they still
made raiding parties to harass the humans and elves on the Taiga. The whole planet lay under the heavy foot of the Universal Orkish Emperor Manon the Terrible.
He was the lord of 2,000 inhabited worlds and the commander of many blood-lust driven Orkish Generals and Barons. Baron Tul'gur ruled Mirislav's planet but the
humans gave their overlords no rest. There had been three major revolts since the Orks took over and scores of smaller ones since then. This was the reality that
Mirislav lived in. He sometimes let himself dream of a world without warfare but he knew that those thoughts were for children. He was a hardened warrior, having
fought over 600 battles against raiding Orks alongside his sizeable clan and their allies the Taiga Elves. His newest mission was simple: Get food stuffs from the
Elves in exchange for new arrows, which he had made plenty of. Pretty soon it would be necessary to raid some Ork slave farms for vegetables, which lay far to the
south. In the raids they not only liberated the food, they liberated everyone who was willing to fight, plus the women. The freed slaves usually joined the Slava
and adopted their culture, those who insisted on retaining their independence rode back south, vowing to hide in caves and continue the righteous fight.

He rode into a small clearing and beheld a large round hall. The Taiga Elves never built any structures in squares for religious reasons. He dismounted and left his
horse by the door. He strode in and greeted the High Druid in the language of the Taiga Elves. "Vishana Elloh" he said. "The same with you" echoed the elves in the
room. "You have our arrows Slavamiri?" asked the oldest warrior. "I do." said Mirislav. They exchanged bundles and the High Druid nodded. "Stay with us for awhile,
it is cold outside." said the High Druid. He agreed and he warmed himself by the fire as one of the warriors brought the horse to the common barn and covered it in
furs to keep it warm. The little elven children spoke quickly in their native language to Miri as he tried not to laugh. The women gossiped about their husbands
and the men spoke of tending to the herds of red deer, elk and other taiga deer that they carefully cultivated as a food source. "How are the cattle this winter?"
asked a warrior. "They are increasing, first increase in over a year. The Gods of the Light smile on us!" said Mirislav. "We found the bulls with the most hair,
bred them with the females and the herd stopped dying of the cold." said Mirislav. "We do the same with the deer up here" said a warrior. "Our women, seven of them,
just gave birth. We are hoping that they will live, and thanks again for the herbs. The herbs that take away the birth pains." said Mirislav. "And we thank
you for everything that you have given us in exchange." said a warrior. An elf played a tune on an elven stringed instrument as he recalled valor in battle from
past engagements with the Orks. "And though our sons of the wood fell in great numbers, we survive to fight another day" went the ballad. "And we shall stike down
the invader from the land forever, once the anointed one comes" sang the elf. Mirislav had heard this before but was not quite sure what to make of it. His people
worshipped the war god Karuthan, who was also the god of righteous rule and divine might. His people did not have priests and everyone was expected to memorize the
tales of the gods and how they shaped the world. Usually the Clan heads were the ones who taught the rest. Some of the Slava worshipped the gods of nature and
often left offerings at certain trees that "seemed holy". He was undecided on these matters and often sided with the idea that "a man makes his own way, with or
without the gods" but at the same time he did not disbelieve the gods. The celebration lasted far into the night and finally he curled up in a fur bag and went
to sleep. He awoke the next morning and saw everyone in their fur bags asleep, so he went to the barn and saddled his horse and left for his father's hall.

The journey back took a few hours but not long, not compared to one journey that lasted three weeks and resulted in a meager exchange with another Slava clan.
The Slava rarely visited each other, except for allies for war and marriage, which was why it was easier to take wives from the unmarried refugees. If a clan had
a dispute with another clan, the clan heads worked out the problem in counsel and drank much "gousen" (spiced hot wine). (which was taken in raids from the Orks)
He tied up his horse at the barn and went inside. His father was fuming over over issues with the servants. "Damn them! We rescued them and they treat us like the
Orks? They expect to be treated like some Ork Baron rather than work." said Daraslav. Dara was an old and hardened warrior of seventy years with a beard as white
as snow. "Did they run off?" asked Mirislav. "No, they ate more than what was allotted them. Now we have to have a hunting party to replace the stores." said Dara.
"Where are they now?" asked Miri. "The leader of the bunch said that he was taking his family back south, I said "goodbye" and that was that." said Dara. "They'll
die without a guide." said Miri. "And the dire wolves will be fatter after eating that bunch of parasites, they couldn't even lift a sword, let alone a pike
or a bow!" groused Dara. Miri heard howling. The howls were unmistakable, they had made a kill. "See? They couldn't even get a mile without getting killed." said
Dara. "You have the food?" asked Dara. "In the sack." said Miri as he opened it. They emptied the meats out of the sack and put them in salt barrels for preservation.

Mirislav noticed a note had been left for him on the table. "Miri, we left (most of us) for White's Pass to raid the Ork fort and slave pens there. We should be back
in a few days." So Miri saw that he was left with looking after domestic affairs for awhile. He went to the fire and stoked it. A young woman walked up to him and
smiled. "I am of age, marry me." she said. He looked at her and sighed. "I cannot live in the past anymore." and he called his father over to witness the exchange
of vows. Later that night, he stripped naked and she did as well and he made love to her by the fireplace. He hoped that this marriage would be more productive than
his last one, his late wife gave him no children. They made love nightly until she stopped him one night and told him; "I missed my time of month." he then knew that
he would be a father. They talked about baby names and decided on Eforic for a boy and Efora for a girl, (Eforic had been his grandfather) and the war party rode back
in. Miri tended to them but remained silent about the marriage. The warriors slapped him on the back and told him of the brilliant raid on the Ork fort. "We went in
silently through a back door they didn't even know they had! We were all disguised as slaves and once we hit their storage, we took everything we could and slipped
out again, all without being noticed. We killed no Orks in our raid, it was brilliant!" said Orrinslav. "Perhaps they slipped in a magic item so one of their
warlocks could track you back to here?" asked Miri, suddenly concerned. "No, we checked for magic or even magic traces, they were caught totally off gaurd!"
said the group mage, Macagar. "I have news!" said Mirislav. The warriors stiffened. They had not heard of anything new at the hall for awhile so they were caught
a bit "off guard". "Tell us, is it better than our raid?" asked Orrinslav. "I married Fionaslav" said Miri. Gordogon stepped forward. "Who witnessed the vow?" he
asked. "The Clan head" said Miri. "This is indeed a fine day! I have gained a son then!" he said happily. "But wait, why did you not wait for me to return so
I could give away the bride?" asked her father. "Honestly, I burned in my widowhood. And she wanted a husband." he said. "Well, life happens with or without
me I suppose." he said. "And you have a grandchild on the way" said Miri. "Then we shall celebrate a wedding and a child, all in due time though." said Dara.

Much work and hunting had to be done, it took a month of hunting and mining to replenish their stores. The craftsmen fashioned new weapons and the warriors tended
to their herds of cattle when not mining. Thanks to one stolen oil lamp, the clan was able to refashion a similar lamp and use the fat obtained from polar bears
for it's oil, leading to longer hours worked. The oil lamps also helped light the hall brighter to ward off depression amongst the women. Summer was coming and that
meant Ork raids on the halls all over the taiga. The clans moved faster in the deep of winter because of skis and snowshoes, they used the horses up to the first
snowfall. They fashioned wagons for raids (so they could bring home more loot) but these wagons were equipped with skis instead of wheels. The wagon was pulled
by a special breed of draft horses that could stand the Taiga. Meanwhile, Miri was working on a plan to take and hold the Ork fort at White's Pass. If the clans
could hold that "choke point", then the clans could raid the area south of the mountains with impunity.

Meanwhile in the south.

Nachor and Mizaz were looking at a map of the whole Continent and were placing flags. "This plan had better work, the last revolt was an utter failure because
of the invasion from the gates we were not expecting." said Nachor. "That is why we are using mages to close the gates, hell I argued it before the tribal heads
and they rejected it, and we got defeated repeatedly because of it. "No, we need the gates open for our purposes" they all said." mumbled Mizaz. "Now we
bypass them. Simple, if they don't help us, we'll ignore them and let them take credit later." said Nachor. Men in uniforms sat on chairs by battle standards. Tables
overflowed with arms and foodstuffs. The whole cave was buzzing about the revolt. "One issue that we have to resolve, how are we going to rule this new world, the one
without the Orks?" asked Nachor. "Someone has to be a King" said Mizaz. "And replace the tyranny of the Orks with a human tyranny? No thank you!" said Nachor.
"The tribes will turn on each other the second the Orks are gone, just like last time. The Orks came back and mopped us up like we were insects, all because the
tribes fell into infighting with each other." said Mizaz. "We are untitled men with followers, hardly legal in a sense but once we chase out the Orks, we will
look to the gods and they will anoint us a leader. I am sure of it." said Nachor. "And the tribes will follow him?" asked Mizaz. "It will take some convincing."
said Nachor. "We need the Slava, they walked out on us last time and preferred to run their own revolt. I suppose it helped them but it weakened us. We need them
because their warriors are some of the best." said Mizaz. "Courier, go to Daraslav Hall at once and deliver this message. They need to be informed that the revolt is
back on." said Nachor. The soldier saluted. "Aye Commander!" and the Courier left the cave, mounted a horse and rode north.

On the Ork home world.

The Emperor lay dying and all of his sons had killed each other in a terrible blood feud. Only Oxnia remained. She was female and unmarried. She sat at his bedside
while he coughed up blood and swore dark oaths to the gods of darkness. She found she could not stand his suffering so she put a pillow over his head and waited for
him to die, he struggled a bit and finally went to be with Kal'liss, the dark god of Imperial rule. She arose and shouted at the servants. "Don't just stand there!
Bring in the Barons!" she said. The servants opened the doors of the plush palace and let in the well-dressed and super-wealthy Ork nobles. "I am the Empress!"
she shouted. "You have no right to claim the throne! You are a woman!" shouted lord Mag'atharian. "We'll see about that!" she shouted. She snapped her fingers and the
ultra-conservative lord was beheaded on the spot by the Palace Gaurd. "Any questions?" she asked the now frightened lords. "No! By the dark gods, the Throne is yours!"
shouted the nobles. But some nobles had other plans. Soon the Ork Empire was in an uproar with armies marching against each other, all supporting one noble or
another's claim to the Throne. The monumental civil war did not go unnoticed and 100 worlds revolted out form under their masters, including Miri's home world.

Back on Miri's home world.

Miri received the news about the revolt and uttered under his breath. "What fools! The orks will simply reopen the gates and march back through!" he said to the
other men of the clan. "I tend to agree." said Dara.

The Orcish Baron heard the news of the civil war and decided it was time to make a move for the Throne. He sent runners to the human tribes with this message:
"If you join my cause, I will let you run your own affairs and you will no longer have to pay a tax to me or anyone." the tribal leaders all rejected the
message and passed the message to Nachor. He fashioned his own message, "Leave our world, take your armies and go fight for your bloodstained throne and we promise
to not invade your home world and lay waste to your cities." That message was sent to the Baron who then realized that he was going to face a two-front war.

The Slava got ready for the revolt and sent messengers to Nachor that they were ready to "give it another try" and on the Seventeenth of Winterfall, the mages
gathered around the portals and shut them down using a powerful anti-magic spell. The tribes marched and laid seige to Vor'taak, the Baron's Capitol. Seeing that
he was utterly cut off from any re-enforcements from the home world, he surrendered his garrison and himself to the victorious Generals Nachor and Mizaz. A monk of
the Gods of the Light pleaded for the Generals to spare the Ork Baron and they agreed. In return the monk, speaking in a voice of the god of Divine right, announced
to the Tribes that Nachor was now the Emperor of all Men. The tribes agreed and a simple iron crown was placed on Nachor's head and a purple robe was placed on his
back. He picked Kings from the heads of the tribes and they too were crowned. The Ork Baron was allowed to live in exile in a place of his choosing (under watch)
while the Ork army disarmed and agreed to take up trades and live under human laws. The mages made certain that the portals remained shut.

Mirislav was there with the United Armies and witnessed everything. He returned home and the clan discussed the future. "We have a King now over the entire Slava,
I expect we can move south again" said Dara. "King Garhanaslav is a wise elder, he will lead us back to our old homeland." said Dara.

Months passed and no word came from the new King. The clan heads rode out to see if he was still alive and they found him quite busy at the task of building a
giant new hall for himself and his clan. "When are we going back south?" the clan heads asked him. "Why are you hetmen in such a hurry? Who knows if the Orks
will come back? Besides, this Taiga can be defended, our old homeland was defenseless." said the King. The Clan hetmen nodded at this wisdom and rode back to
give the news. No-one was happy and the entire Clan of Nougal declared it was going to resettle in the Kingdom of the Juttes, which was in the warm south.

Mirislav heard the news and announced that he was taking his wife and children and heading south. "I will send letters and visit" he promised. He went south with
Clan Nougal, helping them fend off the suddenly resurgent trolls, which now had come out of their caves and infested the land. The King of the Juttes welcomed the
new arrivals personally and asked them to swear an oath of allegiance to him. This was unknown amongst the Slava and they debated if the King's request was even a
legal one, since all Kings had to answer to the Emperor, who was ruling from the former Ork city of Vor'taak, now Middleburg. The men of the Clan talked it over with
the hetman and gave this answer to the King: "We shall obey your laws but we swear allegiance to the Emperor only." The King was not happy but he accepted it. He had
no choice, since the Jutts were still building up their ruined towns villages and cities. The farmers were excited to be freed from the slave pens. They did not
(at first) even want to build walls around their settlements but the King reminded them that Orkish magic was far older and more powerful than human magic. "They
could come back" which is what the Kings told their people.

The Emperor remained humble at first, he only ruled on cases that came before him according to ancient customs. He then began to dream of expanding the Capitol city
and giving land to commanders in exchange for their service, since the Empire was basically born without any coinage whatsoever. He had cartographers draw up maps
and he made some quick alterations and handed millions of acres of land to 600 commanders that he named Barons. He gave them the power to tax the people and they
answered directly to the Emperor. The Kings also reserved the right to tax and soon all the farmers and tradesmen in the land were "rather upset" at the situation.
The Emperor was informed of his mistake by Mizaz, his new Chancellor. The Emperor then sat down and wrote a code of laws for the Empire, appointed Judges to enforce
the law and set up a centralized tax collection service. He stripped the Barons of their right to collect taxes but they could still charge rent for tenants on their
land. The Kings quickly followed suit. He ordered that a Mint be established and he abolished barter. So gold and silver coins bearing his imprint began to circulate
all over the land. The Empire had no standing army (except for a small Palace guard) and that haunted the new Emperor daily. He realized that there was no way he
could provide for a standing army, the taxes required to maintain it would crush the Empire. Until now, the Dwarves and the Elves accepted him as Emperor and their
Kings recognized him as their leige but they ran their own affairs to such an extant that they all but ignored Imperial Law altogether. When he sent tax collectors
to the Under King of the Dwarves who resided at Mt. Mondol, they were sent away empty-handed. The Elves gave the same answer. He chose to not move against them
because if the orks were to ever return, he needed their support and their armies. He then proclaimed a new all-volunteer force, which was to be organized
under 10 Generals. The Barons and the Kings levied their own small personal forces as well. The tribal militias accounted for most of the Empire's fighting force
still. The 10 Generals built Castles according to their assigned military disticts.

Mirislav was given a Generalship by the Emperor and so he resettled his family at Rosendale and built a simple house there. He made sure that the new troops under
his command remained trained and armored and were kept away from gambling and wine. He was strict and even wrote a Military Code of Conduct which the Empire adopted
a few years later.

Thus this Tale comes to an End.