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Warhammer: The Coming of Chaos, part 1: Chapter 1
By Compyraptor
Snow began to fall in the darkening sky. It wasn’t unusual, for the northern realm of Kislev was used to snow. It’s because of the snow that they developed into the hardy fur-clad people of today. But this snow was different. Instead of the usual fluffy white snow, it was more of a pinkish colour. No one was around to witness this abnormality, except for one person.
Gotthard sped through the wilderness of Kislev upon his steed. The small village of Krovas was getting smaller behind him. He only just managed to convince the peasants to sell to him some dried bear meat, thick furs to keep him warm and a flask of Kislev’s finished vodka. After that he had to make haste. The suspicious peasants were sure to alert the town watch.
It was just as he was passing a large rotting tree that he wondered when his life went wrong. It was only three months ago that he, Gotthard son of Raukanov, lived in Altdorf, capital city of The Empire. He had everything a man could wish for: money, power, a beautiful wife named Johanna von Leber, a baby daughter and a commission in Reiksguard. But what went wrong?
The Golden Eagle was the one thing that stuck out of his mind. When he was a teenager, Gotthard was a monk in the Temple of Sigmar. Everyday he would worship his deity. But for what reason? No matter how many times he prayed, not one thing happened. This angered Gotthard a lot. He was fed up with this worthless worshipping.
In his anger he joined a small religious cult called the Golden Eagle. They worshipped a mysterious and shadowy god. The cult was led by a powerful magister that could turn any metal into gold and change the form of any animal at will. This fascinated Gotthard, and he hastily joined without thinking.
What a fool I was, he would always say after that. He joined the highest ranks of the cult through his cunning ways. But one day, a band of Sigmar’s Witch Hunters broke into the cult’s hidden shrine. Gotthard managed to escape. But one of the cult members was caught and tortured until he named the names of all the Golden Eagle’s members. Unfortunately, Gotthard’s name was among the list.
His commission in the Reiksguard was cancelled. He was now placed under arrested by the order of Sigmar for heresy against Sigmar. Witch Hunters and the Altdorf Town Guard chased him through the streets. Gotthard immediately fled to his house, but his wife, Johanna, would not let him in. “I never want to see you again!” she screamed.
Gotthard knew that this meant he was truly alone, for most of his former friends were either Sigmarite Monks or were in the Reiksguard. He immediately fled the city, travelling north. Once he left the Empire, he didn’t meet anything. Apart from the odd creature lurking on the horizon, the north was a very quiet place.
He decided to forget about his past life and now concentrate on where he was going. Krovas was one of the last villages of civilized people. Beyond that was the frozen wastes of the north, often called Troll Country due to the amount of Trolls that lurked there.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the thicket. He stopped his horse and got off. He pulled out his sword and poked the undergrowth. A squirrel leapt out of the bush and scrambled up the nearest tree. Feeling like a fool, Gotthard climbed back onto his horse, brushing his long brown hair out of his eyes. He put his sword back into the scabbard and begun to ride again.
Chill winds sent a shiver up his spine. Ahead of him, Gotthard noticed a large stone monolith. He rode towards and climbed off of his horse to inspect it. Ancient looking runes littered the monolith. He looked around before a closer inspection. As he got closer, a strange feeling came over him, as if he knew he had to look at the runes. He had to find out what they meant.
Just as he touched the Monolith, a small rumble filled the plain. Out of nowhere, a large bull headed ogre stepped forward and pushed Gotthard away from the Monolith. Gotthard looked up and recognised the creature. It was Minotaur, a fell beast of chaos. Gotthard stood up, and bravery flooded his insides. “I wish to study the carvings on the stone. Stand aside Beast!” he said, calmly.
The Minotaur looked at the feeble mortal. A growl issued from his mouth. Gotthard only just caught the words “All those who not change must die. Only Chosen may find path”. At this, the beast raised a huge battle-axed and charged towards Gotthard, roaring loudly. Gotthard charged with Validus, his warhorse, straight towards the beast. His sword hacked at his exposed chest. Validus reared upwards and crashed his hooves into the Minotaur’s skull.
Before Gotthard could strike again, the Minotaur was back on its feet. He swung his axe, and broke Gotthard’s shield into two. The blow immediately broke Gotthard’s left arm. The Minotaur swung his free hand at Gotthard, flinging him from his saddle. Gotthard crashed onto the ground and dodged the Minotaur’s attack.
Gotthard swung his sword into the Minotaur’s shoulder, causing the beast to roar in pain. He ran and hid behind the stone Monolith with Validus, while the Minotaur licked the oozing blood from his shoulder. Gotthard realised that he stood a chance of killing the Minotaur while he was licking his blood. Gotthard climbed up the Monolith and jumped onto the Minotaur’s back, digging his blade into his neck.
The Minotaur crashed onto the floor and threw Gotthard into a tree. The tree splintered and pierced Gotthard’s armour. Darkness then engulfed his mind and he remembered no more.
“Oh Gotthard” whispered a voice in his ear. It was Johanna, his wife. He then felt her lips kiss his. But then, he kissing grew slobbery. He woke suddenly and realised that Johanna was nowhere to be seen. Validus was licking Gotthard’s face. Gotthard’s mouth fell. It was all a dream.
He looked towards the gigantic stone Monolith, and at its foot saw the dead body of the Minotaur. He picked himself up, but stumbled back to the ground. Again, he rose and this time managed to stay on his feet. He climbed his steed, and rode on.
For days, he rode on. Further north he rode, where an eternal darkness rules the heavens. Cold winds swept the plains, and Gotthard was sure he heard a cruel, mocking laughter in the wind. Day and night lost all meaning to him, for the northern wastes was ruled by darkness. The landscape was ever changing. Whenever he blinked, the landscape changed. Any landmark fled from sight when he tried to concentrate on it.
He could not eat or drink. Instead, he had to live off something else. What it was he did not know. He did not need sleep anymore. He was always alert and is sense were sharper than usual. Validus had changed as well. His teeth grew sharp and no longer did he flee when he saw a fell beast.
His skin became dark and his tongue grew long and forked. Validus no longer brushed his nose against Gotthard’s face, but always stood silent and unmoving when they were not riding.
The winds always blew fell messages to Gotthard. But one message stood out from the rest. “Be strong…. Only the strong are welcome” it blew.
“I am strong! I fear nothing!” he shouted back, his voice echoing across the plains. Only mocking laughter was the wind’s reply.
“Then show me, gallant knight. Prove to me your bravery!” whispered the wind. Just as the voice stopped, a huge flight of steps appeared. On top was a large gateway. Flames danced across the skies, while lightning lit up the plain. The voice in the wind came back, and whispered “Akhso Khaos Khwearr. Khaos Limmbar Menthar”.
A strange force pulled Gotthard up the steps towards the gateway. A large mirror then appeared and Gotthard peered in. A young handsome man looked back at him. He had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing bright polished armour and was carrying a shining sword and shield, emblazoned with a twin-tailed comet, the symbol of Sigmar. Gotthard recognised the man as himself a few months ago.
At once, the reflection came out of the mirror and said “I am the Guardian. I am the defender of Humanity! And you are an abomination”. The reflection then swung his sword at Gotthard. Immediately an intense fight issued, with both men parrying, slashing, hacking and dodging each other. A sharp pain suddenly appeared in Gotthard’s chest. The reflection’s sword had stabbed him in the chest.
With his last ounce of energy, Gotthard swung his sword and chopped off the reflection’s head. The body disappeared, but the pain remained. Gotthard peered into the mirror and now saw dancing red flames. The pain made him collapse onto the ground. I’m going to die, thought Gotthard. But he fought against the pain and rose. A message appeared on the mirror. It read “ONLY ONE MAY ENTER! THE WAY LIES BEYOND THIS PORTAL. ARE YOU THE CHOSEN ONE?”
He pressed his hand against the mirror. White flames licked his body and a sharp pain flooded threw him. He screamed as the last of his sanity was taken from him. As suddenly as the pain came it went. Gotthard stood up and looked into the mirror. The reflection showed that Gotthard was no more. Instead a large figure clad in full plate armour was staring back at him. His eyes were like burning rubies. Eldritch runes covered his armour, glowing red in the darkness. His sword gleamed a sky blue colour, and whistled as it sliced through the air.
Gotthard began to laugh. He now understood. He lifted his sword above his head. His laughter grew louder and louder. He then screamed out aloud “Fear me mortals, for I am the Anointed, the Favoured Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World. The armies of the gods shall rally behind me, and it is by my will and by my sword that your weakling nations shall fall. For I am Archaon, Lord of the End Times!”
1/21/2003 5:37:22 PM
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