"This is the Time - Our Enemies are exposed and We are ready for the attack - Our assault will be all-out - We will not relent - We gamble what We have for the World."
(ALTIS)
"One can only bend a bough so far - before it breaks."
(The Sage Tandrys)
"Put your Faith in Me, and in Me alone. If you truly trust, then I will see you through."
(ESCUS)
"If you are a slave to love, you've got to pay and pay and pay."
(Harlequin - acknowledgments to the Only Ones)
"SARAN Cares."
(Prince Kostof II)
"With this Arrow of Gold, I launch a new activism."
(SARAN)
"The stakes are doubled!"
(DALA)
"You have been oppressed long enough. It is time to fight for a return to the True Way!"
(Harrek)
"Die for Me, and you will be reborn mightier than ever."
(KOROS)
"Where do We draw the line between legitimate killing and murder?"
(FIDAR)
"Nobody wins a war but I, and My brother."
(ZAKEL)
A confusion of voices, a clash of arms. Anarea is at war, and Chaos prevails as the various factions struggle to impose their Order. Now is the time of testing - of Faith, of thews, of command. This is when we will find out who are the true Champions of Anarea.
The Temple of Heaven on Earth continues on its way to Bjarmigen. It left the Empire 12 Weven. Behind it are the afterthroes of a stormy passage, which climaxed in the City of Valdran 9 to 11 Tekrim. The Evil terrorist offensive was horrific: the Beast of Valdran stalked the City, killing hundreds whilst they slept; Spectres came out of the sewers as darkness fell, hungering for life they could not get; things moved in quiet and shadows, with one eye always watching the back. Half a thousand people died as they celebrated the holiday of the Temple, over half of them in a single frightful blast. The Guard mounted a counter-offensive, but were fighting a losing battle until SARAN stepped in and shot a Golden Arrow to point out the Beast to Prince Kostof II. The Prince took the murderous wretch and threw him to the mind-strippers of the I.D.S., from whose interview rooms none emerge untouched.
Ahead of the Temple lies the great forest of the North West, in which (word has come) waits the army of the Forces of Hell, poised to attack the Temple as it passes. Alerted now to the threat, the Forces of Heaven are mobilising to meet it, and to defend the Temple that is the symbol of Their power on Earth. With the Temple marches a Valdrean Expeditionary Force: a volunteer army of adventurers, Noble Champions and elite units of the Imperial Army, all under the command of the Crown Prince, who is now 17th Champion of Normeikl in his own right, and continuing his meteoric rise up the table.
The Kyrian troops are also led by their Prince, Zorgar of Kyr, who is sailing with them to Grinen in the North, whence he will march down to join the Temple and bolster the Kyrian honour guard already with it under the command of his father, King Kargax.
In a show of magical strength, the Dwarves are sending their reinforcements direct to the Temple by Teleportal. It is expected that many leading personages will be arriving by Planist means as the battle draws near.
King Bjørn XVI is also mobilising the Kingdom of the North for the coming battles, but his stated attitude is that purely religious wars are no concern of his - unless they invade his Kingdom, in which case they will be promptly and mercilessly put down. In practice this means he will not act to defend the Temple until it reaches Grinen. Evidently this has not been too well received by his people, and there are reports of unrest, especially in the islands and outlying towns.
Terrorism and military action are not the only ways in which the Forces of Hell are making Their presence felt. There is the propaganda war of course. But it is also becoming clear that They are behind the catastrophic harvest this year in the South, responsibility for which ORIL has always denied. A Warrior Priest of Hers with the Temple, by name Corin, has been preaching how he has exposed the Hellish connection to the bad harvest, and is now widely believed - even in the Empire, where the word of Chaotics counts for little. As Winter closes in, so does Famine - always a close companion of War.
But there are some who are looking ahead to a time of peace, when the war has been won. As order reasserts itself in Valdran, a Committee on East Coast Exploitation sits to study the possibility of opening up the East to Valdrean and Kuntacian trade. Its patron (as one might guess) is Prince Kostof.
Your orders are requested for the period 17 Weven to 16 Iarom 2500. The Temple aims to reach Grinen about 5 Iarom.
Check the Headlines again
Read the next News
Back to Temple of DALA