year proved his loyalty to the Palace and the kingdom. His life as a king has begun.
Weeks pass and Allan has yet to broker peace with the beasts and has remained in Ohith all this while. He is badly needed to remain in his kingdom during such a time and himself wants to maximises how much time he has left with his sick father.
Meanwhile in Doomenheim, Elis plans his move on Livonia. Having crushed opposition in Doomenheim and built a small army of mainly Orc’s, including some Goblins and Gargoyles. It is not a big force and he has not subjugated them nor has he enslaved them. Most of these beasts accept to be soldiers under him by their own accord, lured by his bold promises of land and glory in battle. He had singlehandedly brought justice to some tribes and united many small factions. He gave his troops the edge over other beasts in Doomenheim by introducing smiting and forgery after for the first time in Doomenheim harnessing its raw materials. Doomenheim has come to benefit from Elis’s presence as he has put a stop to some of the marauding armies that have for a long time have laid waste to a land that was already about to die. He does not supress their culture nor subject them to back breaking labour. But some things never change, for instance Elis is harsh when he commands the beasts, killing all who oppose him and enforcing discipline. Operating strictly but not till the extent it could be considered a slave army that he was commanding. Elis has had interactions with the beasts and has realised over time that the beasts are quite open to Human interaction, the Orc’s less so compared to the Gargoyles and Goblins, they just had goals in mind they wanted to achieve. Elis was weary around the Orcs and so were they of him. Nevertheless, Elis’s mind for the military was still able to well together a small, driven and diverse army. But his intentions for their allegiance is anything but good. He is just using them as a stepping stone to conquer Livonia when the time comes.
But before he directly moves on Livonia, he must grapple with the land to the west which he knows exists. He had sent one of his companions to do some espionage of the happenings in the Troll settlement in the Ranicus peninsula while Allan was there. Coming to find that Allan had gone out to the sea and did not return for weeks. There must have been something out there that he found.
Aldor may have been an Orc and a sworn enemy of the Humans, but was fascinated with the scripts and scrolls he encountered in Maredos during the Great Tri War. Occupying it allowed him exposure to Human culture and sophistication. He decided to do journaling, entries were made every day. Detailing his twisted everyday life.
Elis is in his army tent alone in the night on the western coast of Doomenheim in Aevorca. He keeps pondering what Allan could have possibly found. He recalls that Allan had a very strong interest for exploration and was always speculating about possible lands to the east and west. He thinks about it for some time and reached for the satchel that he had brought along from Hetheil. He pulled out the tattered and worn out journal of Aldor. The one he had uncovered many years ago, from the treasures in the old oracle room at the Temple of Pedna when he was a child. Just touching it gave Elis the chills. He had read a lot of it, secretly as a child and there was one page that he could recall that related to the current situation of a land in the west. He turned to the page after flipping through it frantically and saw the text that read ‘The Trolls, they escaped me yesterday but I killed them today. I have heard from my warriors that the baby was not found and a Gargoyle has just told me that he spotted the baby float downwards from our far northern coast’. There was another text on the next page that read ‘I brought death to them for defying me. But I cannot feel that they are all dead. The young one is still alive. I just feel it. I can’t explain it but I feel he is still alive. Where did those rushing currents take him and how is he still alive. No Human would spare him. He must have wound up somewhere else, the west if there is something out there. I believe someone who doesn’t hate any Troll has found him. Why can’t I believe he is dead?’
Revisiting the journal of Aldor the Orc confirms Elis’s suspicions and his brother’s discovery. Knowing Allan, he would have made and established himself there, making connections and friends. If Elis manages to conquer this land he will have access to more resources and Allan won’t know it. Elis was to now embark on an expedition to the west. He is going to sail pass the wall and afterwards from somewhere near the Ranicus peninsula change course and head directly west. Being on the western coast of the Doomenheim there were many beasts who could construct strong boats that could make two rounds across the distance of the sea.
Over the ensuing weeks, Elis works his soldiers and tribal labourers overtime and builds a fleet of three ships to carry some of his beast warriors across the Stunt Sea. On the morning of the army group setting sail, Elis is supremely confident in his army. The army he had control over was unlike any other force of beasts. Elis had the beasts upgrade their war arsenal, not just replacing their clubs with metal battle-axes and long-swords but also upgrading their stone throwers into massive scorpions. These were far more accurate and although the bolts were oversized, they could rip through infantry formations and setting them on fire were sure to carry the day. The ones Elis had instructed the beasts to construct were far more sturdy and powerful. Thanks to the stronger trees in Doomenheim. Elis had these deadly siege engines mounted on the warships to wreak havoc on any coastal settlement. Elis’s interest in siege warfare as a child has paid off and now he is ready to begin his conquests of Paradon.
Unfortunately for Elis, their ships were lost for days, straying westwards when they were aimed at the Ranicus Peninsula, in the hopes of going to where exactly Allan had gone too. Eventually after a week of constant moving they readied their bearings and were in the right direction. The currents were not in their favour, almost as if mother nature was trying to prevent them from reaching the west. By the time seabirds could be seen in the sky Elis had lost two of his ships. They were somewhere out there in the sea, hopefully not in trouble and not spotted by anyone on either coast. Elis was relieved and excited on sight of the coastal seabirds. For the first time, Peril is going to brought upon the villagers of Stunt Valley. Soon the small Stunt Harbour was seen. Without hesitation, the Goblins who manned the scorpion were running to their station. “Fire!” commands Elis. The massive arrow smashed through the wooden plat forms and destroyed the stilts. Killing a Human villager as he fell into the sea followed by being crushed by the wooden planks. Other villagers at the harbour ran inland to warn the people of Stunt Village of an invasion. Elis and his army of beasts landed and jumped off the ship. Elis, his three companions and over a hundred beasts were at the shore. Confident no armies and no resistance would be put up, they wasted no time and continued their advance from the coast. It was at night so the villagers were caught completely off guard. The army of beasts came in fast. Torches were blazing and they approached the village which was further inland. Helm Stiller, Trolgar, Nero, Oeric and the other villages of Stunt valley had nowhere to run. They were going to fight to the last man. Elis had divided his army, a group would head for the left of the village another would head for the right and Elis himself would lead a direct charge for the front. He wanted no one to escape and for all of them to perish.
The villagers armed themselves with their wartime emergency weaponry. All of them knew it would be their last day. Trolgar, Nero and Helm stood side by side with the others ready for the army of beasts. Their diversity and unity was no match for military training and overwhelming numbers. Elis commanded “attack!”, lifting both his arms midway in the air, the beasts started rushing past him, eager for battle and the army of terrifying warriors descended into the valley to attack the village. The Beasts of the village had no experience in warfare but still had the lust for war, they went into rages and charged right at the incoming invaders, including Nero and Trolgar. The village had tightly packed buildings and barricades and this gave the villagers a better chance at the battle. The invaders could only funnel so many warriors at any point in time. Trolgar started off behind Nero. The
y ran into battle, possessed and angered. The sounds of dying beasts and Humans were so great all you could do was keep moving and keep fighting. Trolgar would fire his arrows at the unarmoured legs. After the arrows sent the beasts tumbling to ground Nero, the speedy Goblin would finish them off with his spear. Together they tied down vast numbers of the invading army. But Elis’s beast warriors were far too strong and great in number. This small village was being overrun. Trolgar was then rammed to the ground by an Orc. He loses his bow shortly after impact. But he is a big Troll and could withstand that collision. The same second Trolgar hits the ground he could see his beloved guardian Helm Stiller fall to the ground, blood flowing from under him. The Orc who had rammed him earlier, standing over Trolgar the Orc raised his axe but at the last bit of a second, Trolgar uses both his legs to kick the Orc backwards, directly to the stomach. The Orc’s neck is speared by Nero as he falls backwards.
Trolgar now makes haste towards Helm Stiller to see if he could save him. The old man fought