How it all began

How it all began.
*********
For years, a secret war had been waged by the vile
Northern Kingdoms against the Principality of the
Borderlands—a war of infiltration and subterfuge, of
attrition. The enemy agents, having been displaced
from their previous positions of power, had been
leaching the very vitality from the Borderlands and
gauging the strength of that area, waiting for the
perfect moment to strike….

The tremendous attacking force came at dawn, marching
across the vast open space around the main fort with
their torches aloft and filling the air with a dark,
deep chant. The true nature of the threat was not
made clear until the defenders gathered at the outer
gate and found a full third of their number missing,
either slain or fled. Princess Sleet stood at the
head of the gathered army, inspiring them with words
of glory and victory and, finally, opening the gates
and unleashing the fury of the Borderlanders on the
advancing foe.

The battle raged on as the sun rose, burning through
the morning fog, crested the sky and descended towards
the horizon. The mongoloid Northerners, pressing
forward through the sheer force of their numbers,
finally managed to drive the defenders back into their
walled fortress. A second force, unbeknownst to the
beleaguered Borderland army, had been boring holes in
the foundation of the fortress walls and a wide
section finally crumbled, allowing another group of
the enemy to swarm into the inner courtyard.

Two mighty Borderlander wizards, Brimstone Blackhawk
and Malachai Longfellow, decided at that moment to
join their sorcerous powers in a dangerous attempt to
blast away the Northerners. Unbeknownst to them,
however, a cluster of enemy wizards waited nearby,
maintaining an invisible magic-corrupting field. The
two spells collided and exploded outward in a rush of
wild, uncontrollable magic, ripping a massive hole in
the very land. Those Borderlanders that survived the
day’s combat were pulled into the vortex and vanished
from that treacherous countryside forever.

White-hot pain slowly faded as the Borderlanders
regained consciousness and found themselves scattered
across a grassy mound surrounded by lush forest. In
just a moment, they regained their senses and drew
together to take account of their new surroundings.
It appeared that a large portion of their number had
either been left behind or been misplaced by the
vortex. After a brief word was said about their loss,
Princess Sleet sent the Blood Wolves, a trustworthy
and battle-hardened band, off to scout the area and
return with a more accurate assessment of this new
land. The remaining survivors arrayed themselves
around the hill, ready to take action if the portal
should reappear.

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Larissa Strome