So, the avengers aren’t as fancy and spandex-clad back then as they are now, huh? Poor Morganna, having to serve her people all ways she can just to get them through. Not like others, like Mammon, would care…
Very nice chapter, and the idea of a dragon immortal lord is a troubling one. What kind of mad power would they have in the game? Full map explosion and blighting any non-garrisoned cities? The madness…
I always imagined undead dragons are just nightmare incarnate. You have all the horribleness that comes with a dragon and you give it a dark twist.
As for the Wrekers…well i thought what would be a good sellsword ( huurling) name for a company. I’ll delve into their backstory next time.
And the Morgonna thing…i admit i was conflicted writing it. But I think for her to overcome both the racial and gender thing would make a better story.
In Ephra’ story her gender didnt really play much of a role but i want to tackle it this time. See what happens.
Thanks for the read!
So more Vampires next or the Citadel? Or maybe both?!
Choices, choices…
Encyclopaedia Alundria
The Citadel.
The city of magic, Alundria incarnate, Greytown, the Iron Citadel.
By Brother Toth of the Gray Council.
Located in the heart of Alundria, the Citadel is the home of the illustrious council of Greys, a circle of Alundria’s most powerful spellcasters of all races, and the king of the Iron Citadel and the local province.
It is the size of a mountain, a fortress carved from the deep rock itself into seven levels with a small city around the Citadel named the Lowtown or shortened to just the Low.
The Citadel has had many names throughout the centuries. The Iron Citadel in reference to it’s appearance of it’s high walls and the iron veins in the surrounding area, the city of magic because it houses the well known Academia Magica that trains the best mages of all of Alundria and Greytown because it houses the Elder mages known as Greys who decide all matters magic.
Deep below the Citadel is the largest recorded mana well that stretches it’s lay lines across the entire continent of Alundria and from which all mana pools across the land are born.
History.
The Citadel has existed long before the mortal races discovered fire.
Some Greys theorize that the Giants or a elder race of dwarves must’ve build the mountain fortress but both deny any knowledge of having had a hand in constructing the ancient Citadel.
However the current theory still believe the Giants were responsible. Grey Theofield’s research indicates the giants possessed a superior knowledge and were able to build castles similar to the Citadel. The ruins found in the western edges of Alundria do share some similarities and are close to several of the major giant caverns.
The first settlers of the Citadel supposedly arrived six thousand years before the First Blight which was filled with numerous dangerous creatures such as werewolves, drakes and ghouls. There are few records about the earlier settlers but it is safe to assume they left as soon as they came or were killed.
That was until a large host of settlers arrived from the east. According to legend they are survivors from a island kingdom Troi who fled when their kingdom was sacked by a elven army led by prince Irvindel. Years earlier Troi’s prince had helped Irvindel as the Alliance of elves and men fought against a black dragon and his undead armies.
After a large battle that cost many lives, the dragon was slain and elves and men celebrated. During the celebrations, Prince Troi however fell in love with Irvindel’s wife and took her back to Troi. Irvendel followed and after ten years of siege destroyed the city and killed his former friend who he saw as a brother with his own sword. Irvindel allowed a large number of survivors to escape led by a man called Baldwin the Iron Arm. Elder Viodalin claims Irvendel choose mercy for the poor people who had to pay for the crimes of their prince. But Archivist Brolgar Rockbeard claims records found in the Book of Grudges of Ravenhold that a fleet of dwarves attacked Irvendel’s kingdom during the War of the Beard.
Baldwin was a veteran of both wars and a friend to prince Troi. He knew how to lead an army, engage in diplomacy with the nearby human tribes and dwarven holds and knew how to fortify a city. After a hard struggle of thirteen years, fighting the horrors that dwelled in the ruined city, and thanks to the aid of the local Mountain King, the Citadel was secured and Baldwin was crowned king of the Citadel. He and all kings after him made their home on the third level which gave the best view of the surrounding area.
Baldwin’s line has ruled ever since although in recent times the role of monarch is mostly ceremonial.
Despite it being mostly cleared, some horrors did manage to survive the purge and at certain levels of the city it is advised not to wonder out at night. Despite the City Watch’s efforts, there is no real explanation where these monsters are coming from.
Monster Hunters are adventurers who go out at night on these missions to cull whatever monsters they can find and keep the people of the city safe.
It was decades later when the first mages, mostly humans and the odd troll, arrived and found a hidden door that led to the Hall of mana that housed a large mana pool that connected to the ocean wide one deep below the surface.
Mana is a magical liquid that allows mages to cast their magics and with the Citadel having the largest pool known to the world made it a big target for any enemy to the mortal races, such as the black dragons, and even the mortal races itself who sought power.
Baldwin allowed the mages to stay and gave them a home on the 7th level but refused elven mages entry due to their involvement in the destruction of his previous home. Until one of these mages was a elf by the name of Troi who spoke with the king behind closed doors. After one night the king allowed elves entry into the city and Troi began teaching the other wizards the ways of proper magic. He was the first Grey who founded the council and headmaster of the newly formed Academia Magica. They swore to protect the mana pools across all of Alundria, especially the one at the Citadel for if they would fall into wrong hands it could plunge the world into a age of chaos.
As the power of the wizards began to grow so did the reputation of the Citadel. Trade began to flourish along the land and the river and the iron mines allowed the Citadel to grow in wealth. It was a century after Baldwin was crowned that the Lower City became a actual town with a wall to defend itself from bandit or troll attacks.
As the centuries passed and the last of the black dragons were slain, the Citadel began to face more threats from the lands around them. Several rival kingdoms sought the iron and mana riches and began raiding the land and even besieged the Citadel several times. During each siege the Greys aided House Baldwin with their magicks and the knights protected the mages from direct threats. Baldwin VII also known as Baldwin the Ill-tempered pulled away this protection when his son died of a magical illness the wizards could not save him from.
Knowing a wizard could not stop a knight in armour the Council created a new Knightly order to protect themselves.
Using magicks from the black dragons, they created the Dragonhelm Order. A order of knights who seldom spoke and who were fanatically loyal to their spellcasting masters.
The Dragonhelm Knights proved themselves during the First Troll War. A troll Warchief named Azikan the Fat launched a country wide invasion across Alundria. He was a Marsh Warden who sought to claim the Citadel’s mana pool and used his Tangle mages to teleport his warriors inside the Citadel, bypassing the city’s magical and physical defences. It was thanks to the Dragonhelm Knights that the attack failed and after the trolls were routed back to the marshes and the desert. Since then they are always seen beside a spellcaster who is on Citadel business.
After the Second Troll war, orcs and goblins were accepted into the wizard ranks thus showing the Citadel’s open nature that all those who wish to learn are welcome.
However some magical spells go to far. Around the year 1010, a Grey began to delve into magicks dealing with the After and began a new kind of magic only found in black dragons. Necromancy.
The Grey became the first Necromancer and with his followers began the horrible plagues known as the Blight.
Whenever a Blight begins, the Citadel keeps an eye on the mana pools connected to those lands and the Citadel. Should a mana pool be infected by the Blight, the mana priestesses at the Hall of Mana shut off that tendril so the infection would not reach the main mana pool under the Citadel.
As the Grey Council and the elders are asked to help more and more with every Blight, the king of the Citadel is pushed to the background. The last King who tried to aid against the Blight was Baldwin XII also known as Baldwin the brave who died with most of his army at the mana pool of Poorsprings against the hordes of a Trailblazer when the Blight struck the Fountain of Wisdom. After this defeat the noblemen called a vote and decided the Citadel’s armies have remained at home.
As of now Baldwin’ son King Dirkjan, a boy of seventeen, can only command domestic matters both in the city and Lowtown. Lately he is more interested in his mistresses, sports and hunting thus letting his advisors rule the city in his name.
After being inhabited for nearly ten thousand years, the secrets of the Citadel are still just that.
Scholars spend lifetimes trying to figure out specific runes placed across the city. Mages are still figuring out how the mana pools exactly work and some Monster Hunters claim that the horrors that first claimed the city seem to thrive again as of late.
Although the Citadel is called the city of magic, it would have a better name as the city of mystery.
Local Features.
Academea Magica: Located on the sixth level, the Academy looks like a small two store manor house but when you step inside it is the size of a actual castle. Staircases and books float by and change directions seemingly at random. Strange creatures dust of old pieces of armour as lecturers teach the next generation of mages the ways of magic.
All mages are welcome to the Citadel and are taught free of charge, however the Grey Council does like a nice donation from time to time from it’s wealthier students.
Not all mages who train here remain at the Citadel or work for them but sometimes go back to their own kingdoms or tribes to teach their magical kin there.
The current Headmaster is Archmage Kalidor the Bright, an High Elf whose been teaching for three hundred years.
Royal Palace: On the third floor you can find the Royal Palace, home to the bloodline of Baldwin ever since the reclamation of the Citadel. From here the King rules all over the Citadel and Lowtown.
He sees people with their problem every day from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon.
Holy Row: On the fifth level of the Citadel are the religious buildings to all races of Alundria.
Here you can find the Saint Polinus’ Cathedral where the Grand Theologian lives, the living embodiment of god. The cathedral is the largest of all the buildings with hundreds of marbles statues dedicated to the faith and the previous Theologians. As of late there is a crowd outside protesting the Theologian’s response on Mother Mercy’s actions in Sanctuary.
You will also find a temple dedicated to the sun, a temple to the mountain itself and many others.
To find a temple dedicated to the spirits of the wild or the troll goddess of death you best look at Lowtown.
Hall of Mana: The Hall of Mana is found at the top floor, guarded by Dragonhelm Knights.
Behind closed doors, there is a large room with a large mana pool inside which are tended to by mana priestesses. The priestesses make sure the flow of mana goes across all of Alundria and is cut off when one pool is infected by the Blight. Visitors are only allowed a few days a year due to it’ sensitive nature.
Market row: On the first floor you can find the market row where anyone can buy anything from anywhere. Including produce, gems, weapons, furs, Iron and more exotic magical items fit for adventurers.
Be careful for pickpockets.
It also hosts many restaurants, a brothel named the Red Rose and a theatre named the Sphere.
Danger row: Although during the day, the fifth level is very harmless and many people make their home here, at night monsters roam around and even the odd Immortal appears. The homes themselves are defended by magical runes to protect the inhabitants from harm. Unless you are a Monster Hunter, or seek death, stay in your homes after sundown.
Lowtown: A small city around the Citadel filled with markets, inns, brothels and plenty of fishing spots and also has many beggars and criminals.
Also has a dwarven embassy where miners haggle with merchants and holds temples to the wild spirits and the god of death on the outskirts of the town outside of the dwarven made walls. Many pilgrims try to rush passed Lowtown due to it’s unsavoury reputation.
Extra info.
Banners; The Council of Greys’ banner is a grey castle on a green background.
House Baldwin of the Citadel’s banner is a gauntlet holding a castle, symbolising Baldwin’s taming of the Citadel.
Population: Roughly over a million consisting of all races of Alundria, mostly human.
Ruling Lord; King Dirkjan.
Notable Citadel Dwellers:
The Grey Council: Thirteen of Alundria’s most powerful wizards. Their identities are unknown, even amongst themselves. These people decide all things magic.
King Dirkjan: The young King of the Iron Citadel. Although a adequate enough ruler he is quite well loved by his people. He is yet to be wedded but he already has had several mistresses, among which an Enchantress.
He does seem to care for his people and is often butting heads with the magical elements of the Citadel to reclaim some of his ancestral power.
The Bat: Several Monster Hunters claim to have seen a masked man dressed in black go around the levels at night, fighting both monsters and the criminal element. Some of the criminals who survive his attacks claim they saw him drain the blood from his victims. The Dragonhelm Knights nor the City Guard have not come close to catching him.
Archmage Kalidor; Headmaster of the Academea Magica. A elf from the Celestial Pools who has been teaching for 300 years. A kind, wise man who cares for his students immensely. Was taught by Highmage Troi himself before he passed and was considered a prodigy and rightful succesor.
Queen Rinna; So-proclaimed queen of the criminal underworld. Wanted for numerous accounts of theft, murder, arson and threats. Her symbol is that of a black cat with a crown. No-one knows who she really is or where she came from but some do claim the reason why she hasn’t been found yet is because of a royal connection.
Ambassador Hadhod Silverbeard: The dwarven emissary to the Citadel, lives in Lowtown despite the offer from the king and his nobles to live on the more luxurious third floor. A well-known gambler and frequenter of brothels, and a bit of a disgrace back home, Silverbeard notably does his duty to bring dwarven affairs to the Citadel.
Captain Amelia Stormhammer; The youngest daughter of a noble family and the captain of the Citadel City Guard. Frequently bumps heads with Kalidor when his students cause trouble in the taverns in the city.
She frequently has to deal with monster attacks at nights and Queen Rina’s men. As the youngest Captain in Citadel history she feels all the more obligated to do her best to protect her home.
I’ll do another tie in to Buccaneers, Bounty and Boom…it IS the same universe anyway.
You may, unfortunately I don’t play that one so the references will be beyond me.
From the world of Buccaneers, Bounty and Boom/Blight of the Immortals comes…
Tales of the Black Bess
You must be either very brave or foolish to brave the dark streets this time of night, my friend.
Tortugan is dangerous already during the day for at least you can see the knives coming.
At night even the bravest of pirates and buccaneers think twice of walking the shallow streets. I wonder what brings you here to the city of buccaneers. Is it the fabled treasure that is hidden among these isles? The thrilling life of a buccaneer filled with drink, adventure and women? Or men we do not judge, well we do but we do it quietly. Unless we’re paid off of course.
So what brings you to my inn? It cannot be the drink, this swill is worse than outdated goblin broth and the women uglier than a troll witch. But if you are here for the atmosphere, comfy beds and fine tales welcome my friend… to the Black Bess. Tortugan’s finest , cleanest and mostly not lice ridden inn. I am Zeeuck Deadwyck, your loyal innkeeper…as long as you toss some gold pieces my way and i’ll make sure you won’t get stabbed or robbed while you sleep.
Grab a chair, have a drink, have a wench on your lap if you dare and let me tell you a tale…
The revenge of Emilynn Todgiver.
Buccaneering is very much a man’s world and women are mostly not allowed aboard pirate ships; it’s part of the ‘Buccaneer’s Code’. However, there are one or two notable exceptions where women did go to sea and when they did, they often proved to be more than a match for the men, Captain Annelyn Bonneyfield of Oasis and the she-orc Markra the Freed are famous examples. Here is a true story of another young woman who was taken to sea against her will, and how she dealt with her situation.
Emilynn Todgiver was born into the high end of goblin aristocracy. Emilynn, at the age of nineteen was taken into employment as Lady in Waiting to the Queen of Bounty Bay at the dock city of Bounty Tangle. There is, in the centre of Bounty Tangle, a rather gruesome tribute to Emilynn’s exploits. Standing on top of a lantern, over the doorway of the Gobbo Arms Inn, is the figure of a goblin girl, holding in one hand a sword, dripping blood, and in the other, a severed head.
As the story goes, The Great Goblin King of those parts was hosting a banquet at Bounty Tangle. In those days, the Bounty was a busy seaport and often there were merchant ships of varying size and from different countries docked in the harbour. One such was the ‘Bumpy Road, a vessel commanded by Jerric Van der Klein, a small time gobbo buccaneer, sailing under the flag of the Rogue Islands. It was the Great Goblin King’s custom to invite to his banquets, the master of any ship that happened to be in the harbour at the time and Van der Klein was included on this occasion.
The moment that he set eyes on Emliynn, he was captivated. He asked the vivacious lady in waiting to join him on his ship, but she was not interested in the smelly gobbo and refused. Van der Klein however, was a conniving and ambitious goblin and through the night, he returned with four of his crew, broke into her room and abducted her, carrying her back to his ship. They took her to Van der Klein’s cabin and locked her in, setting sail out of Bounty Bay almost immediately. Once at sea, the cowardly captain stayed on deck drinking with his men, while Emilynn pondered her fate in the cabin below.
Several hours later and very much the worse for drink, Van der Klein returned to his cabin and found his captive, curled up on the floor in the corner, apparently asleep. Totally drunk, he threw himself, fully dressed onto his bed and was snoring as deeply as a drunken giant. But Emilynn in fact, was wide awake and biding her time. She waited maybe half an hour to make sure that her captor was sleeping deeply before quietly getting to her feet. She moved over to where the captain was stretched out on his bed. Then carefully drawing his dagger from its scabbard, she thrust it into his chest, piercing his heart! For a moment his eyes opened in surprise. Then, just as quickly, they closed. Van der Klein was as dead as a Blighter!
But our ferocious goblin girl was not yet finished! She drew out the captain’s sword and with a few hacking blows, cut his head from its body! Dragging her grisly prize out of the cabin, and still carrying the sword, dripping with blood, she made her way onto the deck. At the point of the sword, she forced the helmsman to ring the ship’s bell, summoning the crew on to the deck. It was nearly dawn and most of the men were sleepy eyed and still half-drunk. But they soon sobered up, their faces as pale as a Dark Dwarf’s rear end, when they saw Emilynn holding up the severed head of their captain! She demanded that they turn about and take her immediately back to Bounty Bay. They were too shocked to argue and did as they were told.
The Great Goblin King was so impressed by Emilynn’s bravery that as a tribute, he added the figure of a girl holding a sword and a severed head to the crest of his coat of arms, and there it remains to this day!
As for Emilynn Todbringer? Well once she had that taste of power like a true goblin she never let go!
She abandoned her position as Lady In Waiting dubbed the late Van Klein’ ship the “Headsmen”, or just the Head for short, and set sail for the open seas where she became one of the fiercest and most dangerous buccaneer’s known to goblinkind and any unlucky merchant vessel her eyes fell on. Forever will she be known Lady Todbringer, bringing deadly sophistication to her victims.
Ha, that does sound like Gobbos to label killing someone in their drunk sleep with their own blade as a heroic action. A bit strange that the crew (including the captain’s officers who’d be in line for the title of captain of the ship) would be okay with her just taking the ship and becoming a pirate herself. Good short tale.
Thanks Mammon!
This story is based on a real Scottish legend, I just changed the name and ending.
I think gobbos do admire sttength and cunning so following a lady who killed their captain does make sense…deffo if she paid them well. 
I plan on doing one more pirate legend tying in with the Blight/vampires before going back to the plot of the two kings.
Chapter 12: In the eye of the storm, is now out! The Blight has been spreading rapidly and the Outskirt is far from prepared to deal with this wholeheartedly. Can they band together in time, or will they remain divided until it’s too late? Dropbox - File Deleted
Loved it, mammon!
The orcish scheming was hilarious and Mammon’s Machiavellian ruling Park financially was very intriguing. Love the extra lore bout Firstborn there, I should try to incorporate that in my tales.
As for Scar’s tale…i wonder who have decided to live in a dwarven stronghold…very curious.
It’s quite a while ago, but you already know which white creatures roam the fortress now that the dwarves are gone. With the Wilds, that was more me getting a bit tired of a tribe of deception and schemes. One that frankly doesn’t really work well in their position. Well, maybe it will get better once the King of Lies arises in the next chapter, right?
Can’t wait to read or get hints of your firstborn Gorvar!
And I cant wait to see your take on the Dark Dwarves, my dear Mammon!
Love your continuing saga and i honestly wonder how it will end.
As do I, while I do have some ideas and plotpoints to work towards I’m writing this in a Akira Toriyama fashion (Dragonball Z): coming up with stuff as I’m writing it and not really planning ahead. I didn’t even knew Mammon had daughters when I wrote the previous chapter.
George R.R Martin has a similar writing style.
It has it’s uses and feels more natural but for the loce of goodness check back on previoys stories so you don’t accidentally retcon your own work.
From the world of Buccaneers, Bounty and Boom/Blight of the Immortals comes…
Tales of the Black Bess…
Ah welcome back to the Black Bess, my friend! Have you found some treasure on these isles? Some booty from some unlucky merchant ship? Well unlucky for them and VERY lucky for you. Praise yourself fortunate you docked tonight for tonight is the anniversary of Blackbeard.
What, you do not know the legend of Blackbeard! Tis a tale of the worst treachery most foul ever commited upon these seas.
Come sit with us, lift your feet up, have a wench on your lap and share some of your new coin with us over some ale and a card game or two while I, Zeeuck Deadwyck tell you the tale of…
The curse of Blackbeard.
It all began many years ago, around thousands of years before the First Blight, with the birth of the Firstborn.
The Firstborn are the first children our gods created in their image and from their lines came the races of Alundria and Arabiana.
One such Firstborn would be called Blackbeard, a dwarf who unlike his kin had no real interest in creating vast mountain holds or fortresses. He did love gold and mined deeply into the earth but after many centuries he grew bored. The earth had no surprises for him. He found every vein he set out for, slew every creature with his axe that dared to oppose him or his kin.
So one day he dug his way out of the mountains…and came across a beach which showed the ocean. The moment his eyes adjusted and saw the same majesty that brought the likes of you and me to the seas he to was hooked.
He was the first of the Dwarven Firstborn to take to the seas, of course in dwarven fashion.
His ship, The Tidebreaker, was a ship entirely encased in steel and mounted with cannons strong enough to blow a dragon apart. He used the strange invention of steam to power his ships forward, for the ship was to large to be moved by wind. When the steam becomes to much the ship gives a whistle to vent it. For many who roam the ships tonight that might be the last thing they will hear before their end comes…
With the Tidebreaker, Blackbeard sailed the seas and went all across Alundria and Arabiana in search of adventure and gold. In a way Blackbeard was the first Buccaneer and some of the first treasure maps came from him and his adventures. He never attacked a fellow traveller of the sea or any settlement for you see in the early days the sea was a obstacle far more dangerous then it was today. Back then the ships weren’t as strong and the seas teamed with far more monsters of the depths than today for Captain/Sea King Morgan had not made his pact with the goddess Neptuna yet.
This was the golden age of exploration, uncorrupted by the likes of war and greed. In fact he is one of the first founders of Tortugan along with the Sea Prince Calimbrimbor, Lunatik the fat and Captain Then.
Of course that all changed during the War of the Beard.
Centuries ago, before the First Blight or even the founding of the Citadel, war broke out between the elves and the dwarves. During a elven wedding where a dwarven delegation were invited, the dwarves all died of food poisoning. And when the dwarven ambassador demanded an explanation, a young elven prince replied by cutting the dwarf’s beard, the worst insult one can bestow upon a dwarf, off thus unknowingly causing a war. Dwarven kingdom attacked an elven kingdom who asked aid from their kin which made the dwarves ask for aid from another hold and so forth. Soon every dwarven hold and elven castle were involved in a war that engulfed all of Alundria and in the case of Blackbeard on the seas.
Blackbeard was recalled to the dwarven mountains and was named the first Admiral in the dwarven navy. Dwarven ships made for exploration turned into engines of war and the Firstborn led this navy, with the Tidebreaker as his flagship, against the elves who dared incur the wrath of the mountain people.
Legend say it was Blackbeard who saved the survivors of Troi by attacking the elven ships that chased after the human’s flotilla and it was he who sacked Prince Irvindel’s kingdom.
Soon enough many ships of the dwarves were filed with elven treasures. Heaps of elven coin, statues and diamonds were all part of their plunder and it is claimed many of these are still found in the treasuries of Ravenhold or Orangecraig. The more Blackbeard plundered, the more unsated he became. No matter how much gold he had in his coffers, kegs of ale he drank, women he bedded or cannons were mounted on his once peaceful ship he had it never was enough and it did not take long before he began attacking innocent goblin ships.
His crew no longer consisted of well bearded dwarves but foul buccaneers such as humans and goblins. Some stories claim Dark Dwarves joined his crew as well.
During the war on the seas him and his old friend Sea Prince Calimbrimbor became rivals, one trying to outsmart the other in naval battles across the seas all over Alundria. Were it not from Calimbrimbor, the elves would’ve lost the war on the seas years earlier.
Blackbeard began to dress differently to scare his enemies. Skulls decorated his ship, he painted the vessel back and killed everyone he came across except one to spread the tale of his woe. But the last thing he did is what upset the dwarven mountain kings…he lit tips of his beard on fire.
For this his name was entered in the book of grudges. Yet the dwarves could not replace their Admiral. For one he was a Firstborn and as such had more authority than most other mortal kings and there was no dwarf who could fill in his shoes. However one Gnomish major who was part of the war council had a cunning plan…
In the last battle in the war, the dwarven fleet met the elven fleet, led by Blackbeard’s once former friend Calimbrimbor, outside of Oasis. Orcish mercenaries and the human kingdom of Lowervail supported the elves due to coin or blood ties and joined their small fleets and sailors to the cause. The dwarves themselves had a few mannish allies from Queenspark who sought to usurp Lowervail.
Elven eagles met dwarven gryphons in the air as blood and feathers rained down from the sky, dwarven cannon blew apart elven wooden ships, arrows decimated crews as sailors fought in boarding parties on sinking fortresses and crude messes of wood that once were beautifully carved elven ships.
Blackbeard himself led the main push into the enemy fleet, his face one of death and glee. His mind of the killing and the gold he would gain afterward.
During the battle, a High Elf mage and a convocation of elven and human wizards conjured up a magical storm that summoned a large whirlpool within the dwarven fleet. During the sudden storm one of Blackbeard’s bastard children fell overboard and was swallowed in the whirlpool which send the dwarven Firstborn in a rage.
The steam powered ships struggled against this elven treachery and had to retreat. The Tidebreaker pushed on relentlessly as their captain demanded the head of Calimbrimbor to avenge the death of his son.
This was the moment the Gnomish mayor predicted. Dwarven law dedicated mutiny was not allowed…but allowing a dwarf to go off to his doom had no such ruling.
And so the Tidebreaker and it’s crew launched itself alone into the whirlpool and in a final climatic battle between Blackbeard’s and Calimbrimbor’s flagships, both vessels were destroyed with Blackbeard and his Tidebreaker lost with all hands. Shortly afterward both fleets called for an armistice.
Calimbrimbor and half his crew survived, although he had lost most of his left arm in the battle, and signed the peace treaty between both races. This signing, this ultimate betrayal on Blackbeard is why he haunts the seas to this very day.
On this night the Tidebreaker emerges from the depths of the seas, a metal monster covered in rust and manned by the restless dead. They say his crew consists of mutineers and all those who died without proper burial at sea. Countless of ships, especially elven, have gone missing on nights like these. A few years ago one survivor who clung to the debris of his ship was found the next day, claiming he did not remember anything except the sound of a bell of a steam boat whistling and a dwarf with a burning beard…
Still that does not stop buccaneers such as yourself from sailing all over Alundria to Arabiana to find his treasure troves he supposedly hid. Sometimes a captain gets lucky and finds a treasure that set him and his crew for life. But more often then not they go missing…and presumably join Blackbeard’s ghastly crew.
So be careful next time you go out at sea, for Blackbeard does not take kindly to those who roam his waters at night. Especially those who mutinied.
We elves have the greatest navy, it’s fast, agile and filled with people that can put an Arrow through your eye from 200m away in even the worst storm. Surely we…
We have a dreadnought, all your arguments are invalid.
Damn, dwarves on floating fortresses. Talk about badass. I liked the references to the original Blackbeard and (I assume) Davy Jones.
Thanks Mammon, gotta admit I was inspired by Man’o’War and Dread Fleet from Games Workship…except I made it more pirate-e. Blackbeard here is a mix of the Blackbeard legend we all know and Davy Jones, kinda. Remember, our storytaler is telling just that. A story, it may or may not be true. Hell it might be possible Blackbeard became a Immortal Zombie hero like a Lord of Destruction and his crew all Blighters…
Here’s hoping we do get dwarven ships like that in Bounty, Buccaneers and Boom…cough @IHG-BlightedPea Cough nudge wink. 
Startled, the young elf stumbles over his own feet and falls over, the pens and papyrus he was carrying flying all over the place. Scared and sweating, the apprentice mage gets up.
‘Master, do you sense that? Such a vile energy just appeared.’
The eldermage grimaces and looks over to the south with a worried expression. ‘Sense that? I can taste that.’
‘The source of that evil. It’s unmistakeable, that’s coming from Eisblüme village, right?’ The apprentice mage asks.
‘No, it’s not.’
‘It’s not. That’s great!’ The apprentice says, relieved.
‘No, with such a powerful force of evil, Eisblüme village is no more. In fact, their entire forest is as good as gone already.’
‘What? But if that’s true, then…’
‘Yes. I fear that we’re all doomed.’ The eldermage says. ‘Take the day off, think of what you’ll do. If you choose to flee, I can give you a letter of recommendation to become the apprentice of a colleague of mine to the East, if you wish.’
The apprentice looks at his master, scared and in doubt. He then looks back to the horizon, staring at the invisible threat that suddenly appeared there. Such a vast, powerful evil. How could anyone hope to stop such a force of unnature?
Loved this one, Mammon!
Liked the action of using valour to claim an settlement as a actual story element and the fall of a mana well. Loved the transition from living to a Immortal, well done.
