Spoiler: Author's Note - This will be my fifth entry into my jungles in AOS series, see the links for the rest here. - So the lizardmen are spawned from pools, of which the lizardmen have forgotten how they work. They assume that the blessings of the Old Ones are made manifest in the world each time a new spawning of saurus, skinks, or kroxigors are brought forth. - This story and lore takes a look at what would happen if some powerful magic users were able to circumvent the Old Ones controls and actually take control of the magic of the spawning pools (specifically some elfs à aelfs). We have seen in the past that Skaven have been able to corrupt the pools, so it is obvious that the technology of the spawning pools is not infallible. And if a human wizard was able to torture and reverse-engineer his way into creating his own elixir of life from the elfs (Nagash), what could a powerful elfin (see: aelf) sorcerer be able to do it they were able to reverse-engineer some old one technology? - For some historical context, I was interested in the slave-soldier revolts of the Mamluk kingdoms of Egypt, which were legions of slave-soldiers bred by the king who within a few generations had overthrown their masters and created themselves their own dynasty and kingdom. Drew on roman legion concept for the legion structure. I shamelessly drew upon some 40K lore, I hope my love of the Horus Heresy is obvious and a good tribute to the years of lore behind it. Also got some influences from the consolidation of Japan during the sengoku era in here too, as well as my own fantasy world I have been creating for years but haven’t posted anything about it here before. Shadow Jungles of the Ulgulands Deep in the forgotten jungles of the Ulgulands lies the tale of aelfin overlords and their bescaled slave-soldiers; it is a story of conquest, betrayal, rebellion, and genocide. Prologue Geography: The shadow jungles are surrounded by sky-piercing mountains on three sides, which prove great barriers to travel and communication to the rest of the Realm of Shadow. The turbulent coastline of the jungles is filled with deadly creatures and lairs of the Idoneth. The jungles are made up of the Great Basin, itself a massive rainforest split in four levels from the highest jungle-canopy to a succession of cliffs and waterfalls to the swamp delta feeding the sea. In descending order the valleys are named Cazamul, Rayapan, Teiba, and Ta’al. Each valley is in a massive subcontinent of temple cities, uncharted forest, shadowed lairs, rotting swamps, and forbidden ruins of civilizations long past. It is in these four valleys where the majority of the aelfin warlords vie for power along the lifeblood riverways that connect them. In addition the Great Basin is bordered by the valleys of Zaurum high in the mountains and the swamps of the Som which leads to the sea in the north. Several smaller realms also exist on the perciphery, such as the cliffs of Zephrag leading up to the mountains, but the population in these areas is scant and spread thin enough to not warrant the attention of the warlords. Early History of the Shadow Jungles: Upon the release from the bowels of Slaneesh, the Aelfs poured into the Ulgulands with a savage fury. Raiding armies conquered the temple cities of the Great Basin and the lost human tribes, whose descendants remain as slaves to this day. Humans as well as captured orc and dwarfs all were used for slave labor in the aelfin mines, builders of their cities and stepped-temple thrones, and sometimes as cattle. Occasionally they were used in living-wave attacks against the incursions of Chaos, whom the Aelfs fought nearly as much as each other (chaos to keep at bay, each other to attempt to gain superiority over their rivals but actually just keeping a balance of power) Long ago chaos had attempted to conquer this part of the Realm but failed, in part due to the forces of the ancient and magical star-lizards. A great battle in the clouds above Ulgu ensued, resulting in the destruction of one of the portals into the realm, but at a cost of the great temple-ship the Lizardmen travelled in. The remains of this ancient ship were strewn upon the jungle landscape and swallowed by the undergrowth. The largest single extant portion of the ship, now in ruins, was later refashioned into one of the largest Aelf cities and the capitol of the largest city state in the center of the Great Basin. Many disparate factions and feudal families of Aelf princes fought each other for control of the city and the magical resources found within, often coming to blows in the city street as they attempted to gain an edge over their rivals.
Part 1 Conquest of the Shadow Jungles It was one of these dark aelf princes who is one of the principle subjects of our story. Preparing for War. Prince Hextus, a member of one of the various gladiatorial clubs of the capitol city, witnessed the arrival of a new kind of pit-fighte to the arena. The gladiator a captured being of celestial heritage, a seraphon, saurian in appearance, and given up to the slaughter in the carnal pits by his captors. Though ultimately defeated, the saurus and its following brothers put up ferocious fights and were big hits for the pitmaster. Saurus always drew in large crowds eager to see the primal bloodshed, and many great gladiators were felled by these feral creatures. The prince became interested in the origin of these creatures; there always seemed to be a steady supply of these slaves winding up in the pitmaster’s kennels, but the source was unknown to him or any of the other princes. After countless bribes and the work of his extensive spy network, the prince discovered the truth: an ancient device, a pool of radiant energy and power, was the birthplace of these creatures. The device owner, now a pitmaster-breeder of great monetary wealth, had discovered the put long ago and discovered its secrets. Betraying the pitmaster, the prince secured the pit for himself and began to learn its secrets, continuing the charade of the pit-fighting gladiatorial scene in order to continue his studies. In truth, the prince had stumbled upon the wreckage of a still working spawning pool, a remnant of the ancient temple-ship long ago crash-landed in the realm of shadow. The device still operated, and seemingly randomly spawned new batches of savage saurus who were now without a master, but born with an innate ability to fight. It was an easy matter for the aelfs to capture them, torture into submission, and release into the fighting pits for the amusement of their patrons. In his studies Prince Hextus slowly learned the proto-language of the glyphs inscribed on the ancient spawning-device, and searches the ruins of the city and its outskirts. In his research he found two more spawning-pits: the sun and moon pits, and discovers not only how to turn them on, but how to breed more of these lizard creatures at will by reverse-engineering the ancient technology. Now he had the power of the spawning pools at his fingertips. Quickly the prince’s ambitions ignite. He realized he now had the power to breed his own private army of slave soldiers, begins an indoctrination program of his gladititorial slaves while slowly learning more about them, how to control them. The creatures are bred with a bestial intelligence, little in the way of learning, higher knowledge, or even language, but seem to have an innate understanding of warfare far beyond their years. The saurus had predatory instincts and lethal cunning, and their scales and battlefield prowess only seems to increase the more they fight. They instinctively know the use of battlefield weapons, group tactics, and legionary combat, and will follow those who know the Commands (learned from the ancient script off the spawning pools themselves). Prince Hextus now had all the tools he needed to plot his rise to power in the Ulgulands. Securing for himself a huge fortune due to the gladiatorial slave trade, he used his hereditary wealth from his families gold and jade mines and begins to arm his forces in secret. After years of building and slowly growing his forces, he unleashed his biologically engineered army upon the forces of the other princes, defeating them one by one. The other princes did not attempt to unite until it was already too late, within less than a year he had consolidated his rule over the capitol city as its sole ruler thanks to the might of his growing legions. Legion Construction. The prince constructed each of his legions around a single recovered spawning device, as he noticed saurus from a single pool tended to work better as a group together than with saurus of a different pool. At the start of his conquest of the capitol he had discovered three, and these grew into the legions that came to be known as the Moon Jaguars, the Dark Jaguars, and the Scar-totem Warriors. With these legions he quickly overwhelmed his rivals and cemented his rule of the capitol city, and then immediately turned his attention to the surrounding settlements. In order to construct his legions, Prince Hextus would first calibrate his saurus warriors by the construction of a single saurus warrior to use a template for the rest of the legion. Numerous failed copies would first be constructed, then killed off if they failed to live up to the princes’ high standards. These prime saurus would be the template for all future saurus to be spawned from their legion spawning pool, and ultimately were designated the legion commanders, generals, and lords directly under Prince Hextus’ control. The first three saurus to be successfully spawned by the prince prior to the conquest of the capitol city were Labakum, Arkuha, Kaan Liteth. All three were given command of one of the saurus legions made from their bio-engineered stock. Labakum of the Dark Jaguars (I Legion) was created first, and the secrets that led to his creation were the basis for all further experiments and saurus creations. Arkuha of the Scar-Totem Warriors (XI Legion) was created second and specifically designed to push the limits of saurian strength, endurance, and especially combat savagery. The experiment was successful, but Hextus soon found that his new creation was hyper-aggressive and exceedingly difficult to control. The prince used the gladiator pits to great effect in this instance, and Arkuha was featured as one of his star saurian gladiators that was never beaten by an opponent for many years up till the conquests began. This gave the hulking saurus a savage outlet for his aggression, but also stirred resentment that was unknown to the prince until many years later. Kaan Liteth of the Moon Jaguars (VIII Legion) was the third saurus template created prior to the princes’ conquests, and was his ultimate creation and prized possession. As a warrior the Kaan had no peer, and as a leader of saurus he had no equal. The Moon Jaguars experienced great success during the conquest campaigns of the Great Basin with him at the helm, much to the pleasure of his master. Legion Structure. The basic fighting-unit of the legions was the century. Each century had roughly 80 to 100 saurus warriors. Every century was led by a centurion, a saurus champion who proved the strongest spawned of his century. Up to six centuries made a single cohort, of total anywhere between 480 to 600 saurus warriors. The exception of this was the first cohort, which was only ever made up of five centuries comprising at least 150 saurus each, made up of the elites of the entire legion and usually wearing the heaviest armor the legion had at its disposal. Up to ten cohorts comprised a legion at full strength. A legion at full strength was at least 4800 6000 saurus warriors, but some legions such as the Moon Jaguars and especially the Sky Coatls grew to well over 10,000 saurus thanks to the efficiency of their spawning pools. This does not of course count the saurus who were spawned specifically for cavalry roles, as the prince did discover that some of the saurus were spawned with an innate ability to control the cold-ones native to the shadowlands, which were already used by the princes’ own heavy cavalry forces. The prince further augmented his forces with his aelfin warriors, who often served in support roles such as archers or fast cavalry. Other experiments. At several occasions both before and during the conquest period, Prince Hextus attempted experimentation on the saurus bloodlines to make his slave soldiers more efficient. Most of these ended in failure or the destruction of entire spawning pools, such as the rampant mutations of the XIX Legion known as the Vultures, who proved so unstable the prince was forced to completely destroy their spawning pool to ensure none of the chaos-taint would infect the rest of his legions. His attempts to make other legions more aggressive were more successful, such as the Scar-totem warriors, known for their savagery, or even the Blood Jaguars known for their close-combat prowess, however even these produced warriors that were increasingly difficult to control The prince did discover and experiment with skink spawnings at several points during his research, but ultimately these proved unstable slave-soldiers. Unlike saurus, who would take military commands and execute with the proper command guidance and the use of the Words he had learned during his extensive studies of the sauric language, the skinks were too independent of thought to prove useful even as skirmish warriors. The prince also attempted to spawn a cadre skink magic users at one point, but ultimately only a single skink was produced in this effort, Makos of the Firefly Legion, who was only barely trusted by the prince and kept under the watchful guard of a loyal group of trusted agents. Wars of Conquest- Valley of Teiba and Ta’al After seizing control of the Capitol City and its environs, Prince Hextus renamed himself King, taking for himself the name and title Kinich Ajaw (holy lord) in the language of the old ones, and set about the immediate conquest of the neighboring aelf powers of Teiba. In short succession all the cities of the Great Lagoon fell to the power of his saurus slave-legions, and he was able to cower several key allies into submission. Hextus continued to grow his initial three legions, and thanks to his far-ranging scouts was able to locate additional spawning devices to grow his armies. During this era he quickly added the Sky Coatls, which would grow to become his largest legion; the Stone Hands, who he would assign as his personal praetorian bodyguard due to their loyalty; the Tree God’s Chosen, an elite legion of highly skilled close-combat warriors; and the White Hawks, a legion of saurus cold-one riders without peer. The Monastery of the Blood Marsh was another crucial victory. The witches of the Blood Marsh had long been a thorn in the side of the aelfin warlords; as devout followers of Khaine they had no true alliegence other than raids of slaughter throughout the countryside. Their main monastery at the Blood Marsh was one of the first conquests of the King after his consolidation of the capitol. He forced the sorceresses of the monastery to swear fealty to him, and assigned one of his most loyal saurus legions, who came to be known as the Apostles of Khaine, to be his insurance to ensure the sorceresses remained compliant to his rule as both his magical artillery corps and enforcers of justice within his growing realm. The king also won the support of the Cayuk fleets of the Joga Clan, who set about major shipbuilding projects to further project his power up all the waterways of the Great Basin. He assigned the legion of the World Crocodiles to this clan to ensure their loyalty, which developed this legion into experts of watercraft and marine strikes throughout the waterways and eventually into the swamps and deltas of Ta’al. Wars of Conquest- Rayapan, Cazamul, and Zaurum After five years of brutal conquest against the other aelf warlords of Teiba and Ta’al, the King set his sights on expanding up the falls of the Great Basin into the wilderness of Rayapan and Cazamul and into the mountain plateaus of Zaurum. Many an aelfin warlord had attempted to conquer these uncharted and rich realms in the past, but to no success thanks to the dangers that lurked within. Huge orruk and goblinoid empires ruled the steppes, and all manner of corrupted creatures lurked within the jungles. During this phase of conquest the legions continued to grow in number. The Scar-totem warriors continued to solidify their reputation as deadly beserkers, while the Moon Jaguars only added more victories to their stunning campaign record. The Bone Centipedes, unflinching warriors of sour disposition, were added to the roster, as well as the Underworld Bats, whose terror troops struck fear even into the orruk cities they conquered. The Rain Serpents were the last legion created during this era, and often operated in concert with the Moon Jaguars (along with the Scar-totem warriors, the Tree God’s Chosen, and the Underworld Bats) and gained reknown for their ability to launch unconventional ambushes and surprise tactics against unsuspecting foes. To manage his growing empire, King Hextus ultimately assigned governorship to several of his most successful saurus generals, much to the anger of his aelfin allies. He did this primarily out of mistrust of his own aelfin allies, with who intrique and betrayal was a cultural strategy to gain power. The king hoped that by giving his saurus slaves jurisdiction over his realm he would further cement his power as the one true ruler of the Ulgulands. In the swamp delta of Ta’al to the southeast, the king assigned Lord Surat, leader of the Blood Jaguars legion, as overlord. Across the rolling valley of Zaurum the king assigned General Zouki’in, leader of the White Hawks, for his cold-one mounted legion were able to quickly cover the vast territory and enforce his will over the populace. In the northwest canopy jungles of Cazamul the king assigned the leader of the Sky Coatls, Lord Chakubaal. The lord of the Sky Coatls had proven an effective administrator of Teiba and conqueror early in the campaign, and with the might of his growing legion Chakubaal was able to turn the frontier of Cazamul into a thriving economic enterprise far from the confines of the capitol. In Rayapan, the largest valley within the Great Basin and nearly half of the land area the King had conquered so far, he assigned his most experienced, loyal, and trusted general, Lord Kaan of the Moon Jaguars. To further cement his control over this vast frontier, King Hextus bequeathed Kaan the title of Marshal, overall commander of all the saurus slave-legions. This ultimately would prove to be the King’s undoing. In Teiba, home of the capitol of the realm, the King assigned Lord Xalan of the Tree God’s Chosen legion as lord of the valley. The King did this at the advice of Marshal Kaan, passing over the more qualified Genreral Labakum of the Dark Jaguars in the process, who was given a frontier posting instead. Unknown to the King, the Marshal had for a long time been making his own plans for future conquest, and intended to ensure his own supporters were in places of power when the time came, slighting his elder spawnbrother Labakum in the process. This was the state of the growing empire when the Conquests came to a close. All four valleys of the Great Basin were subdued, with minor frontier wars still in effect. King Hextus continued to consolidate his power, speficially in the capitol city which had grown rife with intrigue in his absence. The aelf’s were overall withdrawn from the wars of conquest at this stage, preferring to sit back and let the saurus-slave soldiers conduct their wars and assume all the casualties while they themselves grew rich on the spoils of war in their templed cities. Little did they realize that their own slave-soldiers had been observing their actions from their initial spawning. While most were well and truly loyal to their masters, even they could see the decadence of their masters, suffering cruel treatment at the hands of their creators while silently questioning the order of the world. Many of the saurus began wondering if things had not always been this way, wondering where they had come from, and if they had always been slaves. ***** Maps and diagrams in the works too. Also intend to use the saurus painter to make some color schemes.
I havnt gotten through it all but it is already inspiring. This makes me want to redo my whole story and do a much more detsilrd history before I start writing the actual story. Going to keep reading but I felt the need to comment and just say that, I love how detailed and history driven/inspired it is. Kudos.
Part 2 Betrayal and Civil War The King is dead! Long Live the King! It was skink priest Makos, lord of the Firefly Legion who first discovered the truth behind the origins of the saurus slave-legions. Since his spawning both he and his fellow saurus slaves had been taught by their aelfin masters that they had been created directly by the prince now King Hextus, and through history lizard-kind had always lived in the shadow of their aelfin masters to do their bidding. Unlike the saurus however, Makos was born with an innate understanding of the saurian hieroglyphs that dotted the ruins of the spawning pools and the ruins spread throughout the Ulguland jungles that he encountered. Secretly from his aelfin masters, who had forbidden the use of saurian script amongst the legions, Makos gathrered notes from the far-flung sites and slowly began to learn the true origins of the lizard-people. He discovered they were not the creation of the aelfs but rather had ancestry amongst the stars and ages long past; that their race had helped build the World that Was and give birth to the aelfs and many other beings, and that their kind still existed to this day far above them in the stars as defenders of the realms. The skink priest kept this information secret from all those except Makam, the saurus-general, and the other saurus centurions of the Firefly Legion, teaching them too how to read the glyphs and scouring information from the jungle ruins until he had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the truth behind his discoveries and the lies of the King. The day King Hextus finally died of old age sent ripples of shock through the saurus slave legions. Elves are nearly immortal by the standards of humans, but this is an altogether different standard when compared to the fully immortalized bodies of the saurus, who can functionally live forever until they are cut down on the battlefield. The saurus slaves slowly witnessed their aelfin masters grow older and older and finally leave the realms of the living, to be replaced by their offspring. All the while the saurus slaves continued to endure, under the descendants of their masters. The death of the King was different however. All saurus were property of the King, and now the King was dead. The skink priest Makos then met secretly with Marshal Kaan Liteth, most preeminent amongst his saurian battle brothers and lord of all the Rayapan forces, to present to him the truth behind the origins of the saurus slave legions. Upon hearing these revelations, the Marshal’s anger was legendary. Never before had Marshal Kaan felt so much wrath, and he nearly killed Makos and his massacred the entire Firefly Legion as traitors on the spot. But the Marshal also recognized the truth of Makos’ discoveries, for he had long held feelings of mistrust and doubt about his masters in his heart. This doubt had only grown with the death of King Hextus and the rise to the throne of his son, the former Prince Cadraxes. King Hextus had always treated his saurian slaves with a measure of respect, given to them not out of kingship but recognition of their importance as the tools to his power and the foundation of his empire. This was very different from the new King Cadraxes, who if anything had been jealous of the importance of the great success of the saurus slave-legions, and made his arrogance well known. Since the early days of the campaign Cadraxes had remained at the capitol city far from the frontier wars that expanded the kingdom. Upon his ascendance to the throne he only remained in the capitol, never venturing forth to ensure the continued progress of his campaigns. As a result the aelfin interest in the campaigns waned and the conquests stalled; as the aelfin court grew increasingly self-centered and decadent. Conspiracy to Rebel Many days of agonizing occurred after the revelation was made, secretly and away from the watchful eyes of the aelf masters. Marshal Kaan, despite his disgust at the truth and his realization that he had lived his entire life a slave, was initially hesitant to take action. He had lived his entire life on the assumption that he had been bred to serve his aelf masters, and had done so faithfully and efficiently since his spawning. Now he stood at the crossroads, and at this vital junction he resolved to become the leader his enslaved brethren needed to revolt against their false masters, and fight for their freedom. With his Moon Jaguars legion at his back and Makos the skink priest and the Firefly Legion at his side, he began to secretly recruit his brothers to his cause. The savage Arkuha of the Scar-Totem Warriors, second-eldest of the saurian slaves and preeminent close-combat general of the slave legions was first to join the Marshal’s cause. Arkuha’s anger at the aelf’s had never wavered since his days in the gladiator pits of Esor at the bidding of his late master, and would only be too happy to refocus the anger of his legion against the forces of his master’s son. Lord Xalan, general of the Tree God’s Chosen, also immediately joined the side of the Marshal. Lord Xalan had long been a close friend of Marshal Kaan and had been his direct subordinate in many campaigns in the past before being assigned as the preeminent saurus general of Teiba. Likewise the forces of General Xibas of the Bone Centipedes and Izam of the Rain Serpents were also easy to convince once they too learned the truth of their origins as a species, having previously served alongside the Moon Jaguars on campaign. The dangerous and unpredictable Kotan of the Underworld Bats was also enticed come into the fold of the conspiracy, mostly due to that legions’ already dark reputation within the Ulgulands. The Underworld Bats were known for commiting many atrocities and savagery while on campaign, and their legionmaster did little to control them. Marshal Kaan soon realized that not all his brothers would join him in his revolt, at least not at first, to break the chains that held them in bondage to their aelfin masters. Marshal Kaan knew the forces of Rotzal Tuun, the steadfast Praetorian of the Stone Hands, would never turn. These saurus slave-legionaries had been bred from birth to be personally loyal to the King, to an extent not seen by any other legion. These saurus were fully committed to their role in the defense of the capitol city, and would be very difficult to dislodge. Likewise the Marshal recognized it would be exceedingly difficult to win the forces of the Apostles of Khaine and the Sky Coatls to his side. The Apostles, led by Lord Oxwik, were even more conditioned than the Stone Hands to be loyal to the aelfs due to their religious zealotry, and were written off as a loss to either be crushed or to be manipulated. The Sky Coatls likewise had a reputation of complete and utter compliance to the rigidity of the aelfin slave-empire system, and the Marshal himself recognized that their sheer numbers would be a very difficult force to dislodge from the lofty jungles of Cazamul. The legions of Ta’al and Zaurum were far away from the Marshal’s forces and too far from his influence to make overtures to and grow the planned rebellion. The Marshal hoped these forces would join his side as he continued to add more legions to his roster, but all planning for revolt ended when the secrets were flung into the open by the Dark Jaguars legion. Marshal Kaan had initially expected General Labakum, leader of the Dark Jaguars, to be counted amongst his most loyal of followers, but in recent years they had interacted only infrequently. Thanks to the great success of the Moon Jaguars they had overshadowed nearly all other saurus legions in campaign record and number of victories. Meanwhile the Dark Jaguars, known for their loyalty, were instead given guardianship of the frontier zones of southern Teiba, far from the capitol and any signs of glory, as mere peacekeepers and signs of the King’s strength to stem the tide of revolt within his realm. Therefore when the Marshal, fully expecting General Labakum to come over to his side, was shocked when he was immediately rebuffed by his spawnbrother. General Labakum reacted with rage, damning the actions of the Moon Jaguars and their growing conspiracy as treachery and branding Marshal Kaan, the architect, as a traitor to the aelfin king. It was a sign of long respect to his elder brother that Marshal Kaan did not execute his own brother as an obstacle but let him and his legion contingent retreat out of Rayapan and return to Teiba, informing the new King Cadraxes of the conspiracy to usurp the power of the aelfin overlords. Events transpired quickly over the next few weeks as cries for alarm, confused messages, and reports of rebellion and destruction circulated the panicked aelfin empire. The Marshal had showed his hand too early, and had not yet won more than a passing majority of the saurus slave-legions to his secret cause before it was revealed. Yet thanks to his cunning and planning, in this confused time the Marshal was able to achieve two stunning victories that fought back the forces of the King Cadraxes Cazamul Campaign and Rout of the Apostles In a stroke of strategic genius, Marshal Kaan and the skink priest Makos were able to intercept the initial reports and alter them, so that when the Apostles of Khaine received the reports of an imminent rebellion of the saurus slave-legions, they were told the forces of the Sky Coatls were the rebels and Lord Chakubaal was the arch-traitor. Marshal Kaan immediately dispatched both the enraged Apostles of Khaine, sheparded by General Izam of the Rain Snakes and General Makam of the Firefly Legion, to the jungles of Cazamul to deal with the ‘traitors.’ The Sky Coatls were caught completely by surprise and suffered grievous initial losses, but were quickly able to turn the tide and beat the Apostles, the Fireflies, and Rain Snakes back to the borders of their territory. It was then that Lord Oxwik discovered the truth of his deception, and fully discovered the treachery of Marshal Kaan against the King. Turning on the traitor saurus legions to his left and right, Lord Oxwik led the Apostles of Khaine in a blood-soaked route of the Firefly Legion and the Rain Snakes. In a fury of violence the Apostles savaged the Firefly Legion, with Lord Oxwik personally beating General Makam in single combat. This battle resulted in the near destruction of the Firefly Legion as a whole, with the skink-priest Makos only just escaping in time to retreat and warn Marshal Kaan that their deception had failed. The Rain Snakes meanwhile faded into the jungles at the border of Cazamul, remaining hidden and carrying out a campaign of guerilla warfare against the Sky Coatls throughout the rest of the rebellion, ensuring their formidable forces were never brought to bear on behalf of the aelfin king. The Sky Coatls forgotten, Lord Oxwik and the Apostles of Khaine turned their legion around and marched back down into the jungles of Rayapan, savaging outposts loyal to the Marshal as they did so. Their legion had already suffered grevious wounds at the hands of the Sky Coatls, the Fireflies, and the Rain Snakes, and it was a testament to their religious fury that they were able to make it so far back into the Moon Jaguar legion’s territory before they too were stopped. Their saurus legionaries were captured, and Lord Oxwik was himself brought before Marshal Kaan and the rest of the rebelled and former slave-saurus generals. During the start of this council, the defeated and chained Oxwik rained down every insult and curse upon his spawnbrothers, shaming them for their disloyalty to King Cadraxes and branding them all traitors. None of the well-crafted words of the Marshal, of Lord Xalan or the other assembled generals was able to change his mind; nor were the earth-shattering revelations of the skink priest Makos about the origins of their species. Nothing could shake the faith of the saurus slave-general, and in the end Marshal Kaan executed him for both his obstinency and the battlefield murder of General Maxam, and likewise purged the survivors of the Apostles of Khaine for the wounds inflicted on the ravaged Firefly Legion. Battle of the Falls and Massacre of the Loyalist Legions King Cadraxes meanwhile wasted no time in sending his forces against Marshal Kaan and the Moon Jaguars. In his arrogance, the king did not comprehend the true extent of the slave rebellion now brewing within his empire, and sent only a few legions to go “bring the rebellious Marshal to heel,” and “to the capitol in chains.” This force was led by General Huan-Jarak of the Obsidian Fists and General Yajax of the World Crocodiles, and both were quickly mobilized and moved upriver towards the valley of Rayapan and the territory now controlled by the Moon Jaguars and their allies. The forces of the Dark Jaguars were also tasked to attack the Moon Jaguars, but their forces never materialized during the rest of the campaign. Unknown to the other saurus-legions, the Dark Jaguars were rent with in half with their own internal power struggle, brought on by the revelation to their legion of the true origins of saurian-kind. Marshal Kaan and his Moon Jaguars were prepared for the arrival of the legions sent to “bring him to heel” and met the forces of the King at Nekis Falls, the towering waterfall entrance between the valley of Teiba below and the valley of Rayapan above. Alongside the former enslaved forces of the Tree God’s Chosen, the Bone Centipedes, the savage Underworld Bats, and the brutal Scar-Totem Warriors, the traitors outnumbered the loyalist slave-legions nearly three-to-one, and also occupied the high ground above the falls to their advantage. To the shock of aelf overseers and the aelfin king back at the capitol, the loyalists were defeated, with nearly every saurus slave-legionnaire massacred at the base of the falls in the perfectly-executed deathtrap. The lord of the Obsidian Fists was beheaded in single-combat by Lord Xalan of the Tree God’s Chosen, while the general of the World Crocodiles was presumed dead on the battlefield, having been butchered by the Scar-Totem Warriors. The berserker warriors of Arkuha gained the moniker “the Cannibals” by the aelfs for their witnessed atrocities upon their battlefield. With the defeat of the loyalist force ending in victory, and the Sky Coatls hemmed up on the frontier, the way was now open for the Marshal and his allies to invade deep into the heart of the empire. It wasn’t long before the forces of the rebelling saurus-slaves swept into the valley of Teiba and besieged the capitol city. Siege of the Capital City The siege of Esor, the Capital City pitted the might of the formerly unified and invincible slave-saurus legions versus the surging forces of the Marshal’s saurus traitors. Marshal Kaan brought the weight of his formidable Moon Jaguars to bear against the defense of the city. Alongside him stood his allied Tree God’s Chosen led by Lord Xalan, the horde of Underworld Bats let by Kotan, and the “Cannibals” led by the raging General Arkuha, who threw themselves against the defenses of the aelfs immediately upon arrival but were rebuffed by the defenders. Loyal to King Cadraxes, Praetorian Rotzal Tuun led the resolute defense of the city’s fortress, and alongside him fought Lord Surat, the “Avenging Angel” of the Blood Jaguars recently mobilized up from Ta’al. Both these warriors exacted a terrible toll on the rebel forces from their superior defended position. The arrival of the White Hawks, led by Zouki’in, only broadened the scope of defense by raiding behind the lines of the rebel legion’s forces on the outskirts of the city. But though the raiding parties of the White Hawks were brave and determined, the forces of the Marshal were too large in number and slowly began to starve the defenders out. With little help from the outside and no hope of relief, the only lifeline of the city for food and supplies remained the river itself along the flank of the city. In addition, the Marshal unleashed the forces of Kotan and his terror troops across the countryside to ravage and pillage all local villages and castles of supplies and butcher the local aelf populations to cower the capitol city into submission. Still the king did not yield. As the situation behind the walls continued to deteriorate, the hope of the defenders constantly remained reinforcements from one of the other saurus slave-legions of the frontier to come and lift the siege. Many messages from the aelfin king were intercepted by the Moon Jaguars, but others still made it through, desperately calling on the beleaguered loyalist forces of the Dark Jaguars, the faraway Sky Coatls, and others. Marshal Kaan knew it was only a matter of time before reinforcements of loyalist saurus were to arrive, potentially tip the momentum of his campaign away from his own armies and allies, and therefore began to formulate a desperate and potentially catastrophic gamble. Upriver from the capitol city were many great river dykes, built long ago by aelfin-driven slave labor, which controlled the flow of the great river and fed many massive tributaries and irrigation projects of the entire Teiba valley. The millions of gallons of water that passed through these feats of slave-built engineering was truly astronomical, and now the Marshal saw them as a potential weapon of war. Pulling much of his host away from the siege, far enough to be safe from the impending deluge but not too far as to give the defenders a reprieve, he set his legions to work weakening the dykes. When the king’s generals learned of this plan, they quickly realized they had to act immediately or risk the imminent destruction of the entire city and all their loyalist forces. Sallying forth at the head of their host, Lord Surat and his Blood Jaguars led the charge with Zouki’in and the White Hawks and Praetorian Rotzal Tuun and the Stone Hands at his side. Only a token force of loyal saurus legionaries remained to continue to guard the city from attack, along with their king who refused to enter the fray with his slave soldiers despite the danger. Thrown into the fray, the united loyalist forces cut a bloody swath through the defender lines directly into the base camp of the Moon Jaguars. Yet for all their heroics they were unable to stand against the unbridled fury of the attacking rebel hordes and the power of their commanding saurus generals. Marshal Kaan cut down Lord Surat of the Blood Jaguars in single combat, while General Arkuha and his legion butchered the Praetorian and the Stone Hands with unmitigated fury. Surrounded and cut down piece by piece, only the White Hawks thanks to their incredible mobility were able to escape the slaughter and the impending doom. The defender’s rally ended in failure, giving the rest of the rebel legions time to complete their work at the dykes. Finally succeeding in destroying the constructions, the Moon Jaguars breached the dykes and unleashed a flood of water, soil, and debris in an avalanche towards the capitol city. The walls were crushed and remaining defenders pulverized; the temples that lined the magnificent plazas were leveled, and the imperial fortress with King Cadraxes watching from the tallest tower collapsed into the river and was swept away.