Chapter One
"Barbarian warlords are only barbarian warlords unless they can capture the imagination of their followers" -Cingus of Averaxx
Hans Froisberger, the Chieftain of the Jungmudder tribe, was in his Great Hall speaking with his advisor, Jerland Berthold, his Weaponsbrother and his trusted aide-de-camp. "The Orcs and the filthy Trolls own this world! We practically got here, last month it seems from our home world and none of the leaders want to coordinate anything! Their feats of great strength are more important than settling this land? There needs to be a King, someone who will reign over the tribes and then we can kick the Orcs and Trolls off this world, back to wherever world they portaled in from!" said the Chieftain. "First of all, you need to capture the imagination of the tribes and the Chieftains of the tribes. Once they give you the authority, you can declare yourself King and do whatever you desire." said Jerland. "Yes, King of all mankind and even perhaps all of the world! I could be Emperor! Only I lack support." said Hans, crestfallen. His boys ran up to him. "We are playing Orc kills the Troll, wanna see?" asked his oldest boy. "Not now my son, I have affairs of State I have to attend to." said Hans. "Like what?" asked the boy. "Heh, you really think you could handle it? You can barely swing an axe." chided Hans. "Give me a chance papa!" said the boy. "Alright, I am trying to become King and I want to somehow get all the Chieftains to listen to me." said Hans. "Simple, just find an enchanted sword and then, using that sword, you slay all the Orcish and Troll leaders in single combat, make sure Skalds are watching you do this. The Skalds will then proclaim you the best hope for all mankind and all the Chieftains will kneel to you and you can proclaim yourself King. I was going to do all that myself, after you die of old age but I figured you should have first shot at it." said the boy brightly, with a sarcastic grin. Hans stared at his boy in amazement. "You are only twelve and you already figured that out? You are my Crown Prince and rightly so! Don't tell your mother any of it or I'll tan your hide." he said. His son nodded and ran off to play more games with his brothers.
"So you heard your own son on this matter, and he isn't even of age yet." said Jerland. "I shall get a sword! Surely our gods will aid me!" said Hans. "Now you are thinking!" said Jerland. Just then, a bright light entered the hall and a traveler appeared. "Hello, I have a gift for you." said the traveler. The two men were amazed. "I was going to give this to your son but he "spilled the beans" in a manner of speaking so "Orc Slayer" is yours, keep it close and kill all the Orcs and Trolls you desire, make yourself King but NEVER kill another man with it, even by accident or you and the sword will be accursed forever." and with that, the traveler just vanished. The sword had been thrust into the floor in front of the Chieftain. "It glows with a holy light!" exclaimed both men. Hans took it up and sheathed it. "Now to rally the tribe. Send messengers out to all the headmen! We are going to WAR!" exclaimed Hans.
Later that week, Hans and his oldest boy with Gerland stood on a wooden podium in front of a crowd of warriors and huscarls and their headmen. "By the Light of the gods we are going to use this sword to defeat the Orc and Troll mongrols and drive them off this world!!!" the crowd cheered him. He could see that the Chieftains of the other tribes were trying to make themselves hidden but he saw them. "All tribes, by MY enlightened leadership, will unite and we shall build an Empire that time shall never forget!!" he roared. The crowd cheered and even the rival Chieftains cheered at that. The crowd fell back as the Chieftians came forward to Hans and dropped off their "common" cloaks that they hid under. "You make a great case for yourself! We like that." said Jerhardt of the Jutlanders. "But can your words be backed up with action? Are you willing to take on their leaders and bring back their heads? Kill the seventeen Orcish Kings and their Emperor and we shall proclaim you King." said Jerhardt. "No, that is not for you to grant, the gods gave me the authority and you are to follow me." said Hans evenly. "Not for us to say, until you prove yourself worthy, our warriors will not help you." said Jerhardt. The Chieftains nodded and left with him. "Jerland, send a blade to Jerhardt and make sure it is driven home, that fool is the biggest blockade to unity." whispered Hans to his second-in-command. "In the meantime, I will slay the entire Orcish leadership in one day. I think I have a plan." he said. He gathered his spies who could use illusionary magic and knew Orcish. "Get the entire Orcish leadership in one hall, the one at Skallgaggar will do nicely because I know the fortress quite well. Make sure all of the doors are sealed with magic once I am in the hall and make sure they have no mages amongst them. Go do it." ordered the Chieftain.
The spies went out and did as they were bidden. Word was sent back to Hans and he took the enchanted sword and threw on a "cloak of shadows" and traveled up to the mighty fortress of Skallgaggar. He saw that all the Kings of the Orcs and the Emperor of the Orcs where rather upset at each other, accusing each one of being a traitor. He walked in, his hidden mages quickly sealed all of the doors and he went to work, hidden. He walked around unseen and slew all the Kings and then the slew the Orcish Emperor, who was slashing at the air with a massive jeweled sword. He beheaded all of the Orcs and took the sword and he gave the signal and the doors where unsealed. He returned to his Hall and showed the other Chieftains the heads of the Orcs. "They will be running around like headless chickens! The time to strike is now!" said Hans to the others. Jerhardt was not present, a spy had poisoned his wine and he died quickly at his table. His son, Olmar, was present and unlike his now dead father, he agreed with Hans wholeheartedly now. "We shall rally the men! We give you the power to declare yourself anything you want except for Emperor." said the Chieftains, they had decided that the elder Osbjorn the Wisened would speak for them. Not even Hans would move against him. "Then I am King of all Men on this world but not any other world. I shall lead you into battle and give you laws. May the gods bless me." said Hans. He held up his sword into the air in a dramatic gesture and a shaft of light came down on him and a booming voice said: "You shall do as you indeed said but no more than that." and just as quickly as it happened, it was over. "The gods have spoken!" said the Chieftains. The leaders quickly gathered their armies and put them all under King Froisberger.
The 10 million human army marched for ten years, killing every Orc and Troll they could find, destroying their fortresses and leveling their cities. The King handed out lands to the best fighters amongst them as well as the leaders. He proclaimed that all large landholders were now Earls and the old tribal names and ranks were now abolished. During the war, he had a crown of steel made for himself and chainmail of scarlet, to represent his first command as King: Kill all of the enemies. Soon, after twenty years, all the Orcs and Trolls had been either slain or where driven back through the portals from where they came. His battlemages closed the portals entirely and once the war was done, he began work on Froisburg and built a mightly stone Palace there. He gave all of mankind laws and he died at 102 years of age. After his death, his Crown Prince succeeded him and put down the elves and dwarves, who threatened to make war on his Kingdom. He set vassal rulers over both races and the entire world was at rest.
End of Part One
"Barbarian warlords are only barbarian warlords unless they can capture the imagination of their followers" -Cingus of Averaxx
Hans Froisberger, the Chieftain of the Jungmudder tribe, was in his Great Hall speaking with his advisor, Jerland Berthold, his Weaponsbrother and his trusted aide-de-camp. "The Orcs and the filthy Trolls own this world! We practically got here, last month it seems from our home world and none of the leaders want to coordinate anything! Their feats of great strength are more important than settling this land? There needs to be a King, someone who will reign over the tribes and then we can kick the Orcs and Trolls off this world, back to wherever world they portaled in from!" said the Chieftain. "First of all, you need to capture the imagination of the tribes and the Chieftains of the tribes. Once they give you the authority, you can declare yourself King and do whatever you desire." said Jerland. "Yes, King of all mankind and even perhaps all of the world! I could be Emperor! Only I lack support." said Hans, crestfallen. His boys ran up to him. "We are playing Orc kills the Troll, wanna see?" asked his oldest boy. "Not now my son, I have affairs of State I have to attend to." said Hans. "Like what?" asked the boy. "Heh, you really think you could handle it? You can barely swing an axe." chided Hans. "Give me a chance papa!" said the boy. "Alright, I am trying to become King and I want to somehow get all the Chieftains to listen to me." said Hans. "Simple, just find an enchanted sword and then, using that sword, you slay all the Orcish and Troll leaders in single combat, make sure Skalds are watching you do this. The Skalds will then proclaim you the best hope for all mankind and all the Chieftains will kneel to you and you can proclaim yourself King. I was going to do all that myself, after you die of old age but I figured you should have first shot at it." said the boy brightly, with a sarcastic grin. Hans stared at his boy in amazement. "You are only twelve and you already figured that out? You are my Crown Prince and rightly so! Don't tell your mother any of it or I'll tan your hide." he said. His son nodded and ran off to play more games with his brothers.
"So you heard your own son on this matter, and he isn't even of age yet." said Jerland. "I shall get a sword! Surely our gods will aid me!" said Hans. "Now you are thinking!" said Jerland. Just then, a bright light entered the hall and a traveler appeared. "Hello, I have a gift for you." said the traveler. The two men were amazed. "I was going to give this to your son but he "spilled the beans" in a manner of speaking so "Orc Slayer" is yours, keep it close and kill all the Orcs and Trolls you desire, make yourself King but NEVER kill another man with it, even by accident or you and the sword will be accursed forever." and with that, the traveler just vanished. The sword had been thrust into the floor in front of the Chieftain. "It glows with a holy light!" exclaimed both men. Hans took it up and sheathed it. "Now to rally the tribe. Send messengers out to all the headmen! We are going to WAR!" exclaimed Hans.
Later that week, Hans and his oldest boy with Gerland stood on a wooden podium in front of a crowd of warriors and huscarls and their headmen. "By the Light of the gods we are going to use this sword to defeat the Orc and Troll mongrols and drive them off this world!!!" the crowd cheered him. He could see that the Chieftains of the other tribes were trying to make themselves hidden but he saw them. "All tribes, by MY enlightened leadership, will unite and we shall build an Empire that time shall never forget!!" he roared. The crowd cheered and even the rival Chieftains cheered at that. The crowd fell back as the Chieftians came forward to Hans and dropped off their "common" cloaks that they hid under. "You make a great case for yourself! We like that." said Jerhardt of the Jutlanders. "But can your words be backed up with action? Are you willing to take on their leaders and bring back their heads? Kill the seventeen Orcish Kings and their Emperor and we shall proclaim you King." said Jerhardt. "No, that is not for you to grant, the gods gave me the authority and you are to follow me." said Hans evenly. "Not for us to say, until you prove yourself worthy, our warriors will not help you." said Jerhardt. The Chieftains nodded and left with him. "Jerland, send a blade to Jerhardt and make sure it is driven home, that fool is the biggest blockade to unity." whispered Hans to his second-in-command. "In the meantime, I will slay the entire Orcish leadership in one day. I think I have a plan." he said. He gathered his spies who could use illusionary magic and knew Orcish. "Get the entire Orcish leadership in one hall, the one at Skallgaggar will do nicely because I know the fortress quite well. Make sure all of the doors are sealed with magic once I am in the hall and make sure they have no mages amongst them. Go do it." ordered the Chieftain.
The spies went out and did as they were bidden. Word was sent back to Hans and he took the enchanted sword and threw on a "cloak of shadows" and traveled up to the mighty fortress of Skallgaggar. He saw that all the Kings of the Orcs and the Emperor of the Orcs where rather upset at each other, accusing each one of being a traitor. He walked in, his hidden mages quickly sealed all of the doors and he went to work, hidden. He walked around unseen and slew all the Kings and then the slew the Orcish Emperor, who was slashing at the air with a massive jeweled sword. He beheaded all of the Orcs and took the sword and he gave the signal and the doors where unsealed. He returned to his Hall and showed the other Chieftains the heads of the Orcs. "They will be running around like headless chickens! The time to strike is now!" said Hans to the others. Jerhardt was not present, a spy had poisoned his wine and he died quickly at his table. His son, Olmar, was present and unlike his now dead father, he agreed with Hans wholeheartedly now. "We shall rally the men! We give you the power to declare yourself anything you want except for Emperor." said the Chieftains, they had decided that the elder Osbjorn the Wisened would speak for them. Not even Hans would move against him. "Then I am King of all Men on this world but not any other world. I shall lead you into battle and give you laws. May the gods bless me." said Hans. He held up his sword into the air in a dramatic gesture and a shaft of light came down on him and a booming voice said: "You shall do as you indeed said but no more than that." and just as quickly as it happened, it was over. "The gods have spoken!" said the Chieftains. The leaders quickly gathered their armies and put them all under King Froisberger.
The 10 million human army marched for ten years, killing every Orc and Troll they could find, destroying their fortresses and leveling their cities. The King handed out lands to the best fighters amongst them as well as the leaders. He proclaimed that all large landholders were now Earls and the old tribal names and ranks were now abolished. During the war, he had a crown of steel made for himself and chainmail of scarlet, to represent his first command as King: Kill all of the enemies. Soon, after twenty years, all the Orcs and Trolls had been either slain or where driven back through the portals from where they came. His battlemages closed the portals entirely and once the war was done, he began work on Froisburg and built a mightly stone Palace there. He gave all of mankind laws and he died at 102 years of age. After his death, his Crown Prince succeeded him and put down the elves and dwarves, who threatened to make war on his Kingdom. He set vassal rulers over both races and the entire world was at rest.
End of Part One
