This is my account of the events of a 4000 points battle with Luc_Arkhame’s Bretonnians allying with Drauthnir’s High Elves to take on Khrangar’s Chaos.
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Prologue
“Well met Prince Drauthnir”, the Grand Marshal exclaimed as he grabbed the elf’s arm in greeting.
“It is good to see you again Luc”, the elf replied, “and at such a time your presence is most welcome.”
“Has Grimnos returned once again?”
“No, it seems that he was forced out after the last time we repelled his forces”, Drauthnir replied as he received his gauntlets from a squire. As he began to put them on he continued, “The new lord goes by the name Kragoreal, and he is not opposed to the use of magic as our old friend was.”
“Interesting, I shall prepare my forces accordingly, how long do your scouts report we have until his arrival”, Luc said as he looked down at the port city of Calais. This port was of utmost importance to the joint control of the Sea of Chaos, for both the safety of Bretonnia and the shipping of Ulthuan.
“We have a couple hours, enough time to get into position and prepare that new toy you promised to show me.”
“Ah, it truly is a marvelous piece of engineering”, the Bretonnian replied with a slight grin, “I should return to my camp and move my lances into position.”
With that the two generals grabbed each others right arm, “May the Lady watch over us this day.”
“And may our victory be as swift as it is sure”, the prince replied with a smile before the two generals parted to ready their forces.
Not too far away…
“Douragon, Report!” The massive figure yelled from atop his impossibly large steed, whose eyes glowed with an unearthly colour.
“Milord”, the exalted sorcerer replied as he moved closer to Kragoreal, the favour of slaanesh was obvious in this mage. “It seems the piddling goddess of Bretonnia has conspired to bring our foes together yet again, the generals Drauthnir and Arkhame await us beyond the edge of this forest.”
“Excellent, I shall succeed where that fool Grimnos could not, move the troops into position and wait for my signal once the enemy is in sight.”
“It shall be done”, the sorcerer replied before disappearing into the bulk of troops issuing orders loudly. Kragoreal look to his side and his gaze fell upon the bestial Khrangar marching with the chosen warriors of khorne.
“Khrangar, do not touch Arkhame, he is mine.”
“Fine, only if you promise me the head of the prince, I must be revenged”, the growling voice of Khrangar replied.
“See to it that you do so, now move out.”
The chosen marched faster, leaving Kragoreal to contemplate the soon coming battle. His forces were large and ready, these two generals could not hope to stand up to his might.
Chaos Turn 1
“We are ready milord”, the exalted sorcerer spoke psychically to Kragoreal from his position amongst the warriors of slaanesh on the far flank.
The Dark Lord glared across the field at the Bretonnians, who knelt in prayer, and the High Elves who held their weapons calmly, awaiting the prince’s orders. Raising his sword high and throwing forth a cry for blood, Kragoreal signaled for his forces to advance.
As the forces of chaos surged forward, Douragon grasped for the winds of magic to come to him, but many other voices vied for them as well and they slipped through his grasp uselessly. His fire loving counterpart Dragnar raised his hands before him, launching torrents of flame toward the waiting High Elves.
With the Bretonnians still in prayer, it was up to Kaerdroth and Azuriel to stop this magic. Calling forth their powers the two magi stopped the magical flames from harming anything, save for a few defenseless trees.
The Allies Turn 1
Luc stood slowly, confident the Lady would be with him today, and mounted his white warhorse with practiced ease. From the scabbard on his back the Bretonnian drew forth his massive blade and watched as the knights around him all remounted. Nodding to Drauthnir, the Bretonnian moved forward slowly, his forces following suit. In his mind there was no need for haste, the enemy would come to them.
Drauthnir saw his ally moving forward slowly and was glad he wouldn’t be forced to keep up. He liked fighting alongside his ally, but he could be extremely reckless some days.
The damsel Lisa calmly stared at the disfigured forms of the chosen warriors of khorne and their wolfen leader. Her lips moved as she recited the spell from memory. With a flick of her wrist a massive stone lifted itself from the ground and smashed into the warriors, killing the one who was foolish enough to try and catch it rather than step aside.
Kaerdroth felt a strange tug on his mind, drawing his towards a pack of deamons sworn to the service of khorne. He knew these abominations needed to be stopped and so he placed a powerful curse upon them. His attention then turned to the mage who had thrown magical flames at his brethren. Using his own magic he drained the powers of this chaos mage.
Azuriel saw the hounds that Grimnos had always used as a shield before his forces performing the same task for this new general. His eyes flared with light as he unleashed a burning gaze upon them, felling three of the beasts. His ring began to pulsate as it felt the presence of a powerful artifact emanating from the Lord of Chaos. Unleashing its power, the horrible eye Kragoreal wore about his neck closed and turned to stone.
Drauthnir looked over at the artillery position, trying to glimpse Luc’s trebuchet in action, but could only grimace as he watched the sling fall apart; tossing the useless stone sideways onto what had once been their wheelbarrow. The elven technology faired much better, the massive bolts soaring elegantly through the air to their intended targets, dispelling three deamons and felling two warriors of slaanesh. The sharp-eyed elven archers took aim at the warriors as well, killing two more.
Chaos Turn 2
Kragoreal yelled his orders quickly, trying to get his forces into the proper positions. The enemy artillery was already becoming a nuisance, so he signaled for the two chariots to flank wide and try and take them out.
Douragon stared at the brightly coloured knights that rode toward him, reaching deep into his mind he projected the spell known as blissful throes upon the knights and their red-armoured leader. A mystical force intervened and protected the knights from harm, leaving the dark mage to curse the Lady.
Draganr looked past the burning trees and spotted the winged knights moving to the flank. His full rage boiled as he launched a massive conflagration upon them, but the Lady was truly with them, and only one of the knights sustained an injury,
Kragoreal roared for his troops to be ready, the enemy would be coming for them this time.
The Allies Turn 2
The red-armoured hero Philippe thanked the Lady for her protection as he charged toward the sorcerer who had tried to harm him and his faithful knights. On the opposite side of the battlefield, the veteran grail knights saw an opening and took it, spurring their steeds toward a herd of vile beastmen. The two generals ordered their central forces to consolidate and prepare themselves, the hound trap was in range, but it would be folly to fall into one so obvious.
Lisa looked at the pyromage and lifted her hand again; another stone lifted up from the ground and flew toward the desired target. The mage was a crafty one though; his hands moved before him quickly as a blade of fire appeared in his grasp, slicing the boulder clean in half and harmlessly around him.
Kaerdroth moved the target of his curse from the deamons to the chosen warriors of khorne and the bestial Khrangar he had fought so many times before. His attempt to drain the fire mage’s power failed as the targeted mage exerted an effort to stop it.
Azuriel glared at the hounds again, the two remaining beasts disappearing in a bright flame. The mage’s ring pulsated again as he pointed it toward the familiar at the fire sorcerer’s feet. The creature faded from existence under the weight of the ring’s magic, its knowledge of the conflagration of doom lost to the mage.
Drauthnir watched as a chunk of stone flew high over his head, the Trebuchet had worked! A slight miscalculation though made it soar over its intended target of the chosen, catching one as it hit the ground and rolled into the marauders, incapacitating one of the norscan who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The arrows and bolts of the elves flew through the air at the khornate deamons, seven of their number returning to the abyss due to the hail. The prince shook his head and looked over at his ally, who only shrugged in return. There was nothing he could do about it; the engineers were still in training.
Philippe kept his attention locked on the exalted sorcerer before him. Leaving the warriors to his faithful knights, the hero pointed his lance at what should be the dark one’s heart. His lance pierced the nightmarish armour with ease, killing the mage outright with the famed lance of Artois. His knights smote one of the warriors with their charge, but the loss of their leader was too much for even these sons of chaos. They fled from the lance of knights and were scattered by the pursuit.
The Grail Knight smashed into the beast herd with righteous fury, their lances and swords killing twelve of the larger brood, while their steeds trampled one of the smaller beasts. The fearsome beastlord Bhorgar brought down one of the veteran warriors with his great axe, but was left to die as his brethren fled from the charge and were taken by the pursuit.
Chaos Turn 3
Kragoreal grimaced as he heard victory trumpets braying from the flanks of his forces. The loss of Douragon was a serious blow to his battle plan, but no matter, the forces of chaos can still crush these puny creatures with its might.
Dragnar hadn’t liked having a boulder thrown at him, and he promised the human witch was not going to enjoy what he had planned for her. Raising a real blade he bellowed and charged the damsel, who wisely chose to flee from the dark wizard. The two chariots continued to move around the edge of the allied forces, making their ways toward the artillery positions.
Denied his chance to slay the woman, the chaos mage unleashed his fire magicks upon her. Kaerdroth would suffer none of this on his watch and expertly dispelled the magic before it could bring harm to the sorceress.
Kragoreal pointed his sword as the human general and yelled his challenge to the blue-armoured knight. He would end this battle with one duel.
The Allies Turn 3
Luc heard the challenge and could not turn it down. As Lisa pulled her steed back around underneath her, the grand marshal and his retinue charged toward the massive lord of chaos.
Holding the standard proudly Gilbert signaled his lance to charge the deamonic entities. The prince of Ulthuan would not be outdone and joined them in their attack on the essence of evil.
The Strongwings swooped down from the clouds upon the chariot that had been trying to circumnavigate the allied forces.
As Lisa turned she threw her arm in a wide arc, encompassing a towering stone and the chaos mage in its shadow. The fire mage tried his best to stop the massive rock as it fell, but alas it was beyond his power, his body disappearing under the mass of stone.
Kaerdroth continued to curse the chosen warriors, and then turned all his attention to preparing his most devastating spell. The winds of magic are fickle though, and he could not bring them to lend him enough power.
Azuriel watched the charge of Luc at the Dark Lord and again his ring pulsated, the sword in his hand the target. With a single word the mage drained the power from the once magical blade.
The engineers checked their calculations one last time before launching a slab of stone across the field. The added effects of Kaerdroth’s curse drew the masonry into the center of the chosen, where six of the ‘blessed’ warriors were destroyed by the strike. The elven archers drew their strings back on the same target, four more chosen dying under the onslaught of arrows and bolts.
On the flank, the crew members of the chariot made effective use of the hard shell of their ride. The Pegasus knights could inflict no real damage upon the chariot and ended up losing their injured colleague.
Gilbert and Drauthnir crashed into the deamonic entities, their blades flashing as they each destroyed a pair of the abominations. Gilbert’s knights punched in with them, banishing two more. The extreme losses broke what little hold the deamons still had on this reality, all the remaining deamons disappearing as if they had never really been there.
Luc signaled for his knights to back off, this battle was his alone. The two lords squared off against each other and watched the other’s movements. Luc quickly unslung his shield and switched to a one-handed grip with his sword-and-a-half, the glorious Sword of the Quest. Kragoreal scoffed at the magical weapon as he cast aside his cloak, revealing the gruesome armour of damnation that he had taken from Grimnos’s corpse. Despite Luc’s martial prowess, the aura of the evil armour prevented him from landing any solid hits on his opponent. Kragoreal turned his now mundane blade and smashed it into the armour of Luc’s leg, evoking a terrible cry of pain from the Bretonnian as the metal buckled into a previous wound. The two moved off from each other for but a second before moving to clash again.
Chaos Turn 4
The knights of chaos thirsted for blood, and now both groups saw targets that were awaiting them. The chosen of khorne spurred into the flank of the winged knights, while the black-armoured group of knights charged at the flank of the battle standard’s unit.
As the forces of chaos pressed on, many eyes turned to the duel that was taking place at the centre of the battlefield. Kragoreal moved quickly as his blade darted forward like a coiled viper, but the Bretonnian turned his shield to meet the strikes. Luc swung his sword for the Lord’s torso, when Kragoreal tried to stop the magical blade with his shield, it passed clean through the metal plate before biting into his side. Kragoreal pulled away from the duel and looked at what remained of his shield.
“Come again Lord of Chaos”, Luc yelled to his opponent, “I shall remove your taint from this land forevermore.”
Kragoreal roared his hatred back, “I refuse to fall here and now, but know that I shall one day drink from your skull.”
Kragoreal reared his steed up to keep Luc from attacking again, lest he be kicked by the monstrous mount, and turned away from their duel, fleeing beyond a group of marauders, who received the Bretonnian’s pursuit.
The chosen knights brought down a second pegasi knight in their furious assault. The Strongwings were able to defeat one of the chariot’s crew members, but with the sheer weight of numbers around them, they chose to take to the sky. However the pursuit of the knights was equally as furious and the pegasus knights were taken down as they fled.
The second group of knights could not break the defense of Gilbert’s knights; neither side lost a man as they dug in for a protracted fight.
The Allies Turn 4
Drauthnir watched Luc and his knights charging toward the marauders and moved to support the attack. Luc was furious that Kragoreal would flee, “Have you no honour!?! Face Me!”
Philippe and his knights went to the aid of Gilbert’s knights, charging the chaos knights in their exposed rear. The silver helms intercepted one of the chariots, while the spearmen regiment attacked the remaining pack of hounds.
Lisa returned her attentions to the chosen warriors and Khrangar. Summoning the magic of the earth, she unleashed an irresistible torrent of rocks upon them, the magical force punching through their armour and killing four of them.
Kaerdroth turned his intent to the fleeing Dark Lord, laying his magical curse upon him. Once again he tried to summon his most powerful spell, but the winds continued to elude him in this endeavour.
Azuriel turned his burning gaze upon the hounds, but the anti-magic of khrone was still powerful and the spell was stopped. Pointing his ring at the gruesome armour of damnation, another magical item lost its power to the mage.
The trebuchet launched its ammunition at the second group of marauders, but the stone sailed above and beyond the intended target, creating a useless crater in the empty countryside. The two bolt throwers locked onto the lord of chaos and let their giant ammunition loose on the target. With the curse’s effect one of the bolts pierced the lord’s chest from the small of his back, sending him flying from his steed to the ground. Landing hard, Kragoreal ceased to move at all.
The knights of chaos downed three of Gilbert’s knights before the charge of Philippe crashed into the rear of the battle. Two knights fell under the charge, and as they broke from the hopeless situation they were pursued and scattered to the four winds.
The marauders were in a hopeless situation, the blades of the two generals killing seven of their number with practiced ease, while at the same time the lance of knights punched straight through the norscans while downing six more. The marauders scattered and Drauthnir ran after them and the deamonic steed of Kragoreal, personally banishing it to the other realm.
As the spearmen attacked the hounds, they traded a life for a life as one hound jumped up and onto a spearman, tearing out his throat before being dispatched by the champion of the unit. As the hounds fled, the phalanx held its position, Khrangar’s chosen were near and a much more important target than some simple dogs.
The silver helms overwhelmed the crew of the chariot, killing them with ease as they charged on past the husk of metal and wood.
Chaos Turn 5
Leaderless and spread thinly, the chosen warriors and knights refused to give in now. Khrangar howled as he led his few remaining warriors at the group of spearmen. The stoic warriors of Ulthuan ranked up and readied their wall of spears against it.
The chosen knights knew the grail knights were behind them, but in their battle frenzy their judgement was clouded and they charged toward the elven archery core. The elves chose discretion and retreated back to the port city, leaving the battlefield altogether.
Khrangar and his chosen smashed into the wall, one of the warriors could not make it over the spears, but the ones that did broke through and took seven elven lives. The High Elves bravely held their ground.
The Allies Turn 5
The High Elven swordmasters charged to support their brothers against the chosen of khorne. On the flank, the grail knights took their target and charged after the chosen knights.
Lisa turned her magic upon the remaining marauder group, but the winds refused to come to her and not one of her spells succeeded. Kaerdroth had the same problem in casting his curse, but when he tried to cast the flames of the phoenix, they came surging forth and the searing fire killed ten of the men of the north.
The trebuchet tried to find that same target, but the stone fell short and bounced past, injuring only one of the marauders. The bolt throwers let loose on the pack of hounds, but in a spectacular display of insanity the creatures attempted to catch the large bolts. All but one failed miserably.
The grail knights smashed into the consolidating knights of khorne, downing two under the weight of their charge, but losing one of their own to the ferocity of the counter attack. As the charge pierced their ranks, the chosen fled from the grail knights and scattered under their pursuit.
The swordmasters moved into combat but could not pierce the thick armour of the chosen warriors. Four more spearmen fell to the attacks of Khrangar and the chosen, but with sheer numbers behind them they continued to fight on.
Chaos Turn 6
With a bolt still clenched in its fangs, and the smell of blood in its nostrils, the remaining hound charged headlong at the spearmen. The chariot whipped into motion at the rear of the grail knights that had become exposed in the pursuit of the chosen knights.
The impact of the charge brought down one of the veteran knights, while the driver pierced the armour of another one. The grail knights turned quickly to face their attacker and surrounded the chariot.
Khrangar cut a swath through the spearmen, killing three more as he fought his way through them, but suddenly he found himself surrounded by the much more skilled swordmasters, who dispatched the evil hero. Another spearman fell to the two remaining chosen, and despite losing their leader these two fought on, death would be the only thing to stop them.
The Allies Turn 6
Drauthnir could no longer put off the plight of his loyal soldiers, charging the two chosen while being followed closely by Gilbert and his knights. Luc turned his knights to charge the remaining group of marauders.
As Luc narrowed the gap, the flames of the phoenix flared once more and took their toll of seven more of the norscan warriors. The charge crashed into the remaining troops, who leaderless and alone had no choice but to scatter to hope to survive.
The combined skills of Drauthnir and Gilbert finished the last of the chosen, while the last hound traded its life for one more taste of elven blood.
Alone and overwhelmed, the chariot fought on against the grail knights, but after sustaining significant damage, the driver chose to end his own life rather than be taken captive.
Epilogue
The party was in full swing within the castle that protected the port of Calais. Bretonnian and Asur alike mingled in the celebration of the decisive victory.
Beside one of the great hall’s pillars, Azuriel could be seen talking to the damsel Alana with a massive grin on his face. Alana took exception to whatever he was saying and slapped the grinning mage before stomping off angrily. Azuriel smirked as he rubbed his cheek, but seeing Renard walking toward him with a stern expression convinced him to make himself scarce. With a word of magic Azuriel disappeared, making his way invisibly elsewhere.
Luc raised his glass to the elven prince, “a glorious victory today my friend.”
Drauthnir returned the gesture, “Indeed it was, it will be quite some time before they threaten this port again.”
“Let us hope so”, Luc said solemnly, “but no somber thoughts this night, let us enjoy one night of revelry.” With that Luc finished his drink, his eyes searching the room for a particular face. As his eyes found the raven-haired Kislevite that he was soon to be wed too he spoke to his trusted ally, “well, love calls my friend, if you are still in Bretonnia please see that you can make it.”
Drauthnir laughed lightly as Luc walked away to great Tayanna, “but of course my friend.” Taking a drink of his wine though, he was reminded of how long it had been since he had last been home to Ulthuan. With the enemy once again repelled, maybe it was time to take a break; Athravan could handle the port until the next incursion. His thoughts were interrupted as Kaerdroth walked over to him and struck up conversation; Drauthnir put his thoughts aside and went back to enjoying the party.
Meanwhile…
The two cloaked figures sat huddled over the old tavern table, their features hidden to all others in the room.
“Where shall we go now Douragon?” a growling voice asked of the other figure.
“Back to Norsca”, the mage replied without wasting any words.
“Fine”, the growl replied, “and once we have rebuilt, I, Khrangar the Beast, shall see to it that both Drauthnir and Arkhame’s skulls adorn my belt.”
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Bretonnian – 1998 points
Luc Arkhame – Armour of Agilulf, Sword of the Quest, Virtue of Confidence – 243
Gilbert Darmani – Gromril Great Helm, Sword of Might – 124
Philippe Arkhame – Lance of Artois, Virtue of the Joust – 126
Lisa Jouilon – Power Stone, Prayer Icon of Quenelles – Lore of Life 1,5 – 169
8 KotR – joined by Luc – 216
8 KotR – joined by Gilbert – 216
8 KotR – joined by Philippe – 216
4 Pegasus Knights – 220
9 Grail Knights – 378
Trebuchet – 90
High Elf – 1998 points
Prince Drauthnir – Blade of Sea Gold, Helm of Fortune, Guardian Pheonix – 250
Kaerdroth – Jewel of Dusk, Seer – High Magic 3,5 - 180
Azuriel – Ring of Corin, Silver Wand – Lore of Light 1,3,4 – 187
30 Spearmen – 360
20 Archers – (in two units) – 240
12 Silver Helms – 311
15 Swordmasters – Banner of Sorcery – 270
2 Repeater Bolt Throwers – 200
Chaos – 4140 points
Kragoreal – Armour of Damnation, Sword of Striking, Gaze of the Gods – 350
Douragon – Skull of Katam, Sceptre of Domination – Slaaneshi Magic 2,3,4,5 – 460
Khrangar – Armour of Tortured Souls – 179
Dragnar – Power Stone, Spell Familiar – Lore of Fire 1,3,5 – 160
Bhorgar – The Dark Heart – 136
16 Warriors of Slaanesh – joined by Douragon – 315
19 Chosen of Khorne – joined by Khrangar – 522
Beast Herd – joined by Bhorgar – 159
8 Chosen Knights of Khorne – Banner of Rage – 505
8 Chaos Knights – 314
20 Bloodletters – 355
2 Chariots – 240
10 Warhounds – (in two groups) – 60
25 Marauders – 200
20 Marauders – 185
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Victory Points
Allies - 5320
4020 (points of Chaos killed)
+100 (general slain)
+400 (four table quarters)
+800 (8 banners captured)
Chaos – 520
520 (points of Bretonnians and Elves killed)
Difference = 4800 points in favour of the Allied forces.
Therefore a massacre for the good guys.
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Sorry about the length, but a lot of stuff happened and I like to embelish a lot.
