Warlantern Fantasy Battle
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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32nd Nachgeheim 2512
Early afternoon
Prince Ahmose leads us towards the throne room, an escort of Tomb Guard marching in perfect time beside us. Meister Glook is taking the whole thing in his stride, though none of his men wanted to enter any of Lybaras' structures. For some reason Aranei can't seem to stop stroking the hilt of her dagger. I'm not sure what she thinks it would do; the locals don't have vulnerable points.
"Ambassador."
Before I arrived, I had wondered what the voice of someone without any obvious physical way of forming words would sound like. Would it be raspy? Whispery? Would their teeth click together as they talk? No, none of that. They don't move their mouths as they speak, and aside from a slight echo their voices are quite normal. According to Meister Glook, Prince Ahmose is speaking reasonable Reikspiel and as such is probably their official ambassador. It's all German to me, and I don't remember anything like enough of GCSE German to try conversing in it unaided myself.
"Your highness?"
"Explain the magic you are using upon your party."
The orange glow is rather obvious.
"A translation spell. Neither myself nor my colleagues speak High Nehekharan." Meister Glook does speak a couple of modern Nehekharan languages, but I doubt that the Queen would sully her lip-wrappings with them. "Will her majesty find it objectionable?"
"No. Some of Nehekhara's rulers would, but our Queen has stated that she is quite interested in your embassy. As such, I suspect that she will be more curious than offended. I will however caution you to do no more than that without her express authorisation."
"Of course. I thank you for your warning."
He leads us around a corner, turning away from the surprisingly intact guest quarters and towards the throne room. At the end of the corridor there's a thunk as the Tomb Guard protecting the doors to the throne room itself move as one from a 'rest' to a 'guard' position.
Prince Ahmose's eyes glow as he raises his right hand. "By the authority of our Queen, rest."
Their eyes glow faintly, then they step back to their rest positions. Prince Ahmose then strides up to the bronze-covered doors and knocks three times, the dull ringing sounding through the room. Another thing about the undead: they're a lot stronger than I thought they'd be. A living creature's strength comes from its muscles after all, and they don't have any. But Nehekhara's aristocrats derive their strength from the spells binding their souls to their corpses rather than any of their physical attributes; Prince Ahmose is far stronger now than he would have been in life.
A moment passes, and then the doors swing open.
Queen Khalida's throne is a.. relatively modest affair, though the wall behind it is clearly designed to draw attention to that part of the room. Designs in gold and bronze show scenes from mythology -or perhaps history- relating to the goddess Asaph and her champion. A small group of Tomb Guard stand in the corners of the room front and back, available but clearly not involved in the affairs of their betters.
Several skeletons stand near their queen as attendants. Though they're dressed they don't appear to have been granted mummification, so they were probably personal assistants, scribes and handmaidens in life. At her left hand stands the Hierophant, two lesser Liche Priests in turn standing a little back from him. In her right hand she holds her staff. Just before her throne stand her two personal guard… They aren't Tomb Guards; those are Tomb Princes. The wrappings and faintly glowing sigils on the armour and swords are a giveaway.
Towards the sides of the room the roof is supported by pillars, and between them stand large snake statues. They're patterned after the asp rather than the more common cobra design, but I've no doubt that if the queen ever came under attack that they would animate and smash the assailant to pieces just as surely. The 'animated statue' part of the Tomb King list came well after I stopped being interested in Warhammer so I'm not precisely sure how dangerous they are. Fortunately, I have no need to find out.
Prince Ahmose marches forward before coming to a halt a respectful distance from the throne. Then he falls to his knees before planting his face upon the floor.
"Rise, my herald."
Prince Ahmose lifts his torso, though he remains kneeling. "Oh High Queen Khalida, Wisdom of Asaph made flesh, the Voice of the Vengeful, the Lioness of the Hills, She Whose Legions Blot Out the Sun With Their Arrows, Guardian of Damned Lahmia, the Watchful Soul and the Serpent Queen. I bring to you the ambassador of the Reikland Empire."
I take that as my signal to bow, and Aranei and Meister Glook follow suit without prompting. It was interesting to know that most countries who have any dealings with the Empire call it that, much to the consternation of everyone outside of Reikland. Especially since 'reikland' literally just means 'empire place'. Which means that 'reikland empire' means 'empire place empire'.
"Paol, the Orange Lantern, cleanser of the Reikwald and scourge of the World's Edge Mountains."
Queen Khalida tilts her staff slightly, and Prince Ahmose takes that as his signal to rise fully. He then bows to the throne and carefully backs away and to the side.
"Ambassador. You may rise."
I straighten.
"High Queen Khalida. I bring you greetings from Emperor Karl Franz of the Reikland Empire-" Who is a surprisingly nice fellow. "-and from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer of the Dwarfs-" Who is about what you'd expect. "-and King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia-" Who is.. not the easiest person to have a civil conversation with, no matter how close a friend of his son you are. "-and Phoenix King Finubar the Seafarer of Ulthuan-" Or.. his ambassador to the Empire, anyway. "-and from Tzar Boris Bokha of Kislev." Ambassador again. Katarin isn't on the throne yet… Or.. perhaps I've already changed something? There is a Wood Elf ambassador in Altdorf, but after she ordered her bodyguard to shoot me I decided not to bother.
I take my scroll of authority out of my belt and hold it out. An attendant skeleton walks over, takes it with a bow and then takes it to the Hierophant. He inspects it for a moment -we included as near as we could to a High Nehekharan translation- and then nods.
Queen Khalida inclines her head very slightly to look at me. "I am surprised that such sovereigns would send an ambassador here, much less that they would do so together."
"Your majesty, in that part of the world… If something remains animate after its death, it is without exception due to the work of vampires or the disciples of.. He Who Shall Not Be Named. Though I know full well that such beings are your enemies as much of ours, that knowledge is not common. I came here because I wish to demonstrate the distinction to my masters, between intelligent beings such as yourselves and the monsters we have become all too accustomed to dealing with."
She doesn't move at all as she considers my answer.
"I thank your masters for their greetings and return them in kind. In particular, send my regards to the ruler of the Reikland, the heir of the man who struck down He Who Shall Not Be Named."
"It will be my pleasure to do so, your majesty."
"In your letters, you spoke of a grand alliance. Your masters have sent you to ask me to join. For what reason? There is no good route by land or by sea from Lybaras to their lands."
"Because of all of the rulers of Nehekhara, you are reputed to be the most… With the greatest respect to-."
"Because being undead has maddened me less." Something shows on my face. "The manias of my fellow kings and queens are not unknown to me."
"And while the mind of High King Settra the Imperishable is entirely whole, I felt that the chance of him treating with foreign rulers was.. minimal."
"An accurate judgement. But that does not explain why."
"There is something I want very much. And I believe that the best way of getting it is to encourage cooperation between all civilised people in the world. Nehekhara is the oldest human civilisation, and even now your learning in many fields outstrips that of other human nations. If we cannot aid one another with armies, we can aid one another with knowledge and agreements to respect one another's territory and property. I have -as a gift for you- books from the Imperial College of Engineers and from the Light Order. In addition, from me personally…"
I pull a small bag from my belt and hold it out. Another attendant walks over, takes it from me and then walks back to the throne before opening it and holding the opening out to its mistress. She turns her head slightly downwards, stares, then looks up at me.
"Vampire teeth?"
"I understand that you have a personal grievance against their kind. Their owners… I took measures which will make their future resurrections… Difficult."
With their souls bound to their bodies vampires can't be kept down permanently. However, throwing them into space certainly keeps them out of the way.
"Well judged." The attendant closes the bag and returns to her place. "Tell me, what is the goal which motivates you?"
"I want very much to kill the Gods of Chaos."
Early afternoon
Prince Ahmose leads us towards the throne room, an escort of Tomb Guard marching in perfect time beside us. Meister Glook is taking the whole thing in his stride, though none of his men wanted to enter any of Lybaras' structures. For some reason Aranei can't seem to stop stroking the hilt of her dagger. I'm not sure what she thinks it would do; the locals don't have vulnerable points.
"Ambassador."
Before I arrived, I had wondered what the voice of someone without any obvious physical way of forming words would sound like. Would it be raspy? Whispery? Would their teeth click together as they talk? No, none of that. They don't move their mouths as they speak, and aside from a slight echo their voices are quite normal. According to Meister Glook, Prince Ahmose is speaking reasonable Reikspiel and as such is probably their official ambassador. It's all German to me, and I don't remember anything like enough of GCSE German to try conversing in it unaided myself.
"Your highness?"
"Explain the magic you are using upon your party."
The orange glow is rather obvious.
"A translation spell. Neither myself nor my colleagues speak High Nehekharan." Meister Glook does speak a couple of modern Nehekharan languages, but I doubt that the Queen would sully her lip-wrappings with them. "Will her majesty find it objectionable?"
"No. Some of Nehekhara's rulers would, but our Queen has stated that she is quite interested in your embassy. As such, I suspect that she will be more curious than offended. I will however caution you to do no more than that without her express authorisation."
"Of course. I thank you for your warning."
He leads us around a corner, turning away from the surprisingly intact guest quarters and towards the throne room. At the end of the corridor there's a thunk as the Tomb Guard protecting the doors to the throne room itself move as one from a 'rest' to a 'guard' position.
Prince Ahmose's eyes glow as he raises his right hand. "By the authority of our Queen, rest."
Their eyes glow faintly, then they step back to their rest positions. Prince Ahmose then strides up to the bronze-covered doors and knocks three times, the dull ringing sounding through the room. Another thing about the undead: they're a lot stronger than I thought they'd be. A living creature's strength comes from its muscles after all, and they don't have any. But Nehekhara's aristocrats derive their strength from the spells binding their souls to their corpses rather than any of their physical attributes; Prince Ahmose is far stronger now than he would have been in life.
A moment passes, and then the doors swing open.
Queen Khalida's throne is a.. relatively modest affair, though the wall behind it is clearly designed to draw attention to that part of the room. Designs in gold and bronze show scenes from mythology -or perhaps history- relating to the goddess Asaph and her champion. A small group of Tomb Guard stand in the corners of the room front and back, available but clearly not involved in the affairs of their betters.
Several skeletons stand near their queen as attendants. Though they're dressed they don't appear to have been granted mummification, so they were probably personal assistants, scribes and handmaidens in life. At her left hand stands the Hierophant, two lesser Liche Priests in turn standing a little back from him. In her right hand she holds her staff. Just before her throne stand her two personal guard… They aren't Tomb Guards; those are Tomb Princes. The wrappings and faintly glowing sigils on the armour and swords are a giveaway.
Towards the sides of the room the roof is supported by pillars, and between them stand large snake statues. They're patterned after the asp rather than the more common cobra design, but I've no doubt that if the queen ever came under attack that they would animate and smash the assailant to pieces just as surely. The 'animated statue' part of the Tomb King list came well after I stopped being interested in Warhammer so I'm not precisely sure how dangerous they are. Fortunately, I have no need to find out.
Prince Ahmose marches forward before coming to a halt a respectful distance from the throne. Then he falls to his knees before planting his face upon the floor.
"Rise, my herald."
Prince Ahmose lifts his torso, though he remains kneeling. "Oh High Queen Khalida, Wisdom of Asaph made flesh, the Voice of the Vengeful, the Lioness of the Hills, She Whose Legions Blot Out the Sun With Their Arrows, Guardian of Damned Lahmia, the Watchful Soul and the Serpent Queen. I bring to you the ambassador of the Reikland Empire."
I take that as my signal to bow, and Aranei and Meister Glook follow suit without prompting. It was interesting to know that most countries who have any dealings with the Empire call it that, much to the consternation of everyone outside of Reikland. Especially since 'reikland' literally just means 'empire place'. Which means that 'reikland empire' means 'empire place empire'.
"Paol, the Orange Lantern, cleanser of the Reikwald and scourge of the World's Edge Mountains."
Queen Khalida tilts her staff slightly, and Prince Ahmose takes that as his signal to rise fully. He then bows to the throne and carefully backs away and to the side.
"Ambassador. You may rise."
I straighten.
"High Queen Khalida. I bring you greetings from Emperor Karl Franz of the Reikland Empire-" Who is a surprisingly nice fellow. "-and from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer of the Dwarfs-" Who is about what you'd expect. "-and King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia-" Who is.. not the easiest person to have a civil conversation with, no matter how close a friend of his son you are. "-and Phoenix King Finubar the Seafarer of Ulthuan-" Or.. his ambassador to the Empire, anyway. "-and from Tzar Boris Bokha of Kislev." Ambassador again. Katarin isn't on the throne yet… Or.. perhaps I've already changed something? There is a Wood Elf ambassador in Altdorf, but after she ordered her bodyguard to shoot me I decided not to bother.
I take my scroll of authority out of my belt and hold it out. An attendant skeleton walks over, takes it with a bow and then takes it to the Hierophant. He inspects it for a moment -we included as near as we could to a High Nehekharan translation- and then nods.
Queen Khalida inclines her head very slightly to look at me. "I am surprised that such sovereigns would send an ambassador here, much less that they would do so together."
"Your majesty, in that part of the world… If something remains animate after its death, it is without exception due to the work of vampires or the disciples of.. He Who Shall Not Be Named. Though I know full well that such beings are your enemies as much of ours, that knowledge is not common. I came here because I wish to demonstrate the distinction to my masters, between intelligent beings such as yourselves and the monsters we have become all too accustomed to dealing with."
She doesn't move at all as she considers my answer.
"I thank your masters for their greetings and return them in kind. In particular, send my regards to the ruler of the Reikland, the heir of the man who struck down He Who Shall Not Be Named."
"It will be my pleasure to do so, your majesty."
"In your letters, you spoke of a grand alliance. Your masters have sent you to ask me to join. For what reason? There is no good route by land or by sea from Lybaras to their lands."
"Because of all of the rulers of Nehekhara, you are reputed to be the most… With the greatest respect to-."
"Because being undead has maddened me less." Something shows on my face. "The manias of my fellow kings and queens are not unknown to me."
"And while the mind of High King Settra the Imperishable is entirely whole, I felt that the chance of him treating with foreign rulers was.. minimal."
"An accurate judgement. But that does not explain why."
"There is something I want very much. And I believe that the best way of getting it is to encourage cooperation between all civilised people in the world. Nehekhara is the oldest human civilisation, and even now your learning in many fields outstrips that of other human nations. If we cannot aid one another with armies, we can aid one another with knowledge and agreements to respect one another's territory and property. I have -as a gift for you- books from the Imperial College of Engineers and from the Light Order. In addition, from me personally…"
I pull a small bag from my belt and hold it out. Another attendant walks over, takes it from me and then walks back to the throne before opening it and holding the opening out to its mistress. She turns her head slightly downwards, stares, then looks up at me.
"Vampire teeth?"
"I understand that you have a personal grievance against their kind. Their owners… I took measures which will make their future resurrections… Difficult."
With their souls bound to their bodies vampires can't be kept down permanently. However, throwing them into space certainly keeps them out of the way.
"Well judged." The attendant closes the bag and returns to her place. "Tell me, what is the goal which motivates you?"
"I want very much to kill the Gods of Chaos."
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