Volkmar returns, but could be harbouring
some internal struggle as he's been corrupted from his time as Be'lakor's
battle-standard. Heck, he could even become a closet cultist. This next part
could explain his interaction with Mannfred.
Be'lakor wants to crush Archaon, show the Ruinous Powers that HE was
always supposed to be the Everchosen and that he could succeed where Archaon
has failed. To crush him, Be'lakor needs physical form and he needs a wizard of
massive power - Nagash. So Volkmar (Be'lakor's new errand boy) and Mannfred
(Nagash's) agree that they have a similar purpose (Nagash would need to be
resurrected, and Be'lakor could possibly help with that?).
Crom, meanwhile, was Vampirized by Mannfred - and is struggling
internally himself. Abandoned by his own gods and the Everchosen, the former
Herald sets off to Brass Keep to destroy Archaon, perhaps find a cure for
vampirism and take his rightful place as the ultimate champion of the gods.
Volkmar would use his station to set up a large campaign that would cut
to the heart of the Middle Mountains and knock on Brass Keep's door. Here, the
combined efforts of a misguided Empire, her allies, and forces loyal to
Be'lakor and Nagash lay seige to Archaon's temporary fortress.
But Archaon has not been idle. The brute force of Khorne-inspired
warfare was not enough to consume the holy Flame of Ulric, thus perhaps he
needs the subtlety of Tzeentch. Archaon allows the armies to march on his
fortress as he prepares a spell that will open a pathway so he can step
straight into the Temple of Ulric and complete his destiny.
Meanwhile, Volkmar has a plan. Old Man Weirde (in-universe author of the
Darkness Rising) had seen the tormented spectre of a witch-hunter in an old
run-down Sigmarite temple outside Altdorf - he speculated that the witch-hunter
had a soul-splitting experience. This is what had happened to Archaon. Volkmar
prepares a ritual that would bind the spectre back to Archaon - the influx
would be incompatible with the champion of the gods, and either destroy him or
make him weak enough for him to be slaughtered by the armies marching on Brass
Keep.
In the final seige, Archaon escapes to the Temple of Ulric and steps
into the flame as Volkmar's ritual reaches its zenith. The fusion of spectre to
champion should have killed him, but with the holy might of Ulric, something
else happened. He was transformed! Archaon steps from the flames unharmed, but
human again.
What does he do? Does he reveal Volkmar's treachery? Does he take his
place under a god that had abandoned him for 200 years?
What of Crom? Does he find the answers he seeks?
Will Be'lakor and Nagash be successful in their bids for power? (Nagash
would obviously use the power summoned for his own purposes - double-crossing
the Dark Master in the end).
So much could be written from the end of the campaign.
#
I'd like to see:
- Teclis uber spell of banishing required
the sacrifice of a group of mages in order to work. Yet back on Ulthuan
whispers of dark ritual are spreading maybe by DE spies seeking to spread
discord again. (allows an interesting side story)
- Archaon is held up in bronze keep with
the most elite regiments of his horde. Crom see's this as his chance and
declares him self the new Everchosen. Archaons banner bearer is dead, killed by
Grimgor (took the bullet as it were). Archaon must kill Karl Franz to prove he
still is the everchosen or head east to take out Crom.
- Karl Franz is still the emperor but the
political borders have changed, some electors are eyeing the throne. Rumours
surrounding Volmars escape are rife as those amongst the church are seeking a
power play. The empire in chaos doesnt have to change that much.
- Von Carstein must secure his lands, and
killing of Croms hordes will give him the badies he needs to lauch a new
vampire war.
- Grimgor takes his horde east into the
mountains hearing rumours of a massive Orge horde is on the march. The dwarfs
are caught in the middle, the army under Thorgrim has to march to protect to
bolster the defences of the holds caught in the middle.
Just a few ideas, they may be useful or not
hahaha
#
How's this for a possible situation report
for the Empire immediately following the lifting of the seige of Middenheim?
The Empire was in turmoil. Though the siege
of the city of the White Wolf had been broken, and the forces of Archaon forced
into retreat, the Warlord himself still lived. He was surrounded within the
virtually impregnable fortress of Brass Keep, his greatest surviving warriors
gathered about him and the walls of the edifice protected further by vile
enchantments.
Valten was gone, and none knew for sure
where, but those who knew of the manner of his disappearance feared the worst.
Some of the nobility with an eye on the throne themselves muttered in muted
whispers about how conveniently this challenge to Karl Franz position had so
neatly been removed.
Despite the hardships the Imperial forces
had suffered, now was not the time to fall to complacency, and Karl Franz had
ordered a mustering of the remaining Empire forces, bolstered by reinforcements
from the southern States spared the horror of the war thus far. A decisive push
must be made to cleanse the land of the forces of Chaos and drive them back to
whence they came, or destroy them utterly. Archaon himself must die, so that he
would have no chance to reorder his forces and plunge the Empire once more into
bitter war.
The northern States that had borne the
brunt of the fighting were in ruin, and great was the task of rebuilding ahead
of them. The roving bands of Beastmen and fur clad Marauders must be hunted
down, and any treacherous men of the Empire who, in their darkest hour had
thrown their lot in with the forces of the enemy must be put to the sword as
well, lest their taint be allowed to spread.
An army had already been dispatched, heavy
with Priests and Witch Hunters, east towards Stirland and far Sylvania. Now
that the threat of the Vampire Counts hung once more over their heads, that too
must be addressed and ended for all time. Now, while they were on the front
foot, the forces of the Empire could be victorious, but it was a hard task to
come.
As Karl Franz stood in council around the
map table before him and his generals, an outrider entered the tent. He looked
worn and short of breath. From within a leather satchel he drew forth a rolled
parchment, and kneeling he held it out for the Emperor. Karl Franz took the
roll and unfurled it, scanning down the script within. The news was grave. The
Orcs were marching south, towards Altdorf...
#
I have situation reports for all the major
factions involved in the fight for the Old World, and as for the Orcs marching
on Altdorf, Middenheim evidently wasn't the fight Grimgor was hoping for, so
he's gonna pick a fight that most assuredly will draw all the hardest fighters
in the Old World (bearing in mind we have a whole host of new special characters
since the Storm of Chaos was originally played out). As for the Bretonnians:
After battling alongside their human and
Dwarf allies in the defence of the Empire from the vast hordes of Archaon, and
distinguishing themselves at the Siege of Middenheim, the Knights of Bretonnia
are in high spirits, jubilant in their hard won glory, though little of that
spirit seems to be present in the peasantry who marched to the Empire’s aid in
the wake of their noble masters. They appear as downtrodden and dishevelled as
ever. Now that the siege has been lifted and the forces of Archaon forced into
retreat, the Knights of Bretonnia seek further challenges to test their metal
against.
The chasing down of bandits and the broken
remnants of the enemy force beneath their interest, the Bretonnians turn their
thoughts instead to the newly emerged threat from Sylvania. Many are the tales
of that blighted realm that have found their way to Bretonnian tap rooms over
the centuries, and such a challenge as the notorious line of the von Carsteins
would indeed be a test worthy of the gallant elite of fair Bretonnia.
It is also rumoured that a vast army of
Ogres marches from the east, from beyond the Worlds Edge Mountains, and an
entire army of such monsters is too much for any true knight of Bretonnia to
resist. And so, word has spread amongst the legions of young knights eager to
prove themselves in their eyes of both their piers and the Lady of the Lake.
Never before will the dank and decrepit province of Sylvania have seen such a
muster of splendour as the army of Knights marches to finally free the people
of that benighted realm from the curse of the Vampire Counts...
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