Mythic Vistas: SpirosBlaak - Property Is Theft!

miles along the Path of Faith. Although the humans eventually beat
back the aackers aer a week of horror, they never found Slayfang.
The victory over the kav incited the humans’ thirst for revenge; racial
cleansings began anew.
Even the Sentinels could not stop the purges that followed. By
the end of the century, the Wildlands’ kavraen population fell to
Chapter Two: The Archduchy’s History 9
less than one-tenth of what it had been. These cleansings became so
acceptable—having gained approval of Spiros’ Pontiff—few humans
recognized the madness of their genocidal actions.
The cleansing would not last, for a new threat loomed on the
horizon.
Invasion of the Witch Lords
Following the horror of the Clan Wars, a hitherto unknown sect
of necromancers arose to lead their armies against mankind and
all its allies. Operating from the Swamp of Woe and commanded
by the fallen god Sallous Yar, these self-proclaimed “Witch Lords”
led aacks throughout the Wildlands, pillaging and murdering
on three fronts, dividing humanity into uncoordinated pockets
of resistance. One such front, lead by Sasha Drakonik, a sadistic
vampire, marched beyond the Wild Vode, slaughtering kav and
man alike.
Fearing the capture and use their great works and knowledge,
the mystic colony of Monvas evacuated to Vas, where they hired
ships to transport them and their works to Askalan in the east,
thereby preventing their lore from being used for evil ends. Most
of Monvas’ many spellcasters rode north in a gallant sacrifice
to delay the invaders long enough for their artifacts and people
to reach safety. Upon defeating the town’s pitiful defenses and
finding Monvas devoid of the arcanum she so dearly sought, the
Witch Lord Drakonik became enraged and she slaughtered every
prisoner her army had captured.
When Monvas’ refugees arrived in the fishing town of Askalan,
they combined their resources and purchased a spacious lot where
they built a warehouse to store their precious scripts and books.
This warehouse would eventually be rebuilt and expanded into the
marvel that is today known across Dracos as the Grand Library of
Zoetha (See Askalan, page 23), so named for the noble Monvasian
wizard who led the final resistance against Drakonik.
Meanwhile, the second front of the Witch Lords’ invasion,
commanded by Drybus Grimaxe, an orc necromancer, moved
east along the Path of Faith, annihilating the rebuilt Nonum
and assaulting SpirosBlaak. The centuries of orc, renegade kav,
and pirate raids prepared the great metropolis for such threats,
however, and the city drew its supplies and troops in behind its
immense walls.
Unable to penetrate the city’s curtain wall or break through its
outer borough, Grimaxe seled in for a long siege. SpirosBlaak
could afford to wait out the assault, though, for its coastal guns
and imposing navy ensured the continued flow of supplies into the
city’s docks. Enraged by his forces’ impotency and under orders
from Sallous Yar to take the city at all costs, Witch Lord Grimaxe
threw troops against SpirosBlaak’s impenetrable walls.
At the same time, Sallous Yar led the third and largest of the
Witch Lords’ armies westward toward the dwarven fortresscity
of Mundaes. Determined to exact his revenge for his defeat
centuries earlier, the evil god marshaled an army larger than any
previously seen upon Dracos. Arkanocles, the Lord of the Steel
Fist, was wholly unprepared for what gathered among the foothills
of his mountain home: Thousands and thousands of orcs, goblins,
kobolds, demons, undead, and dark sorcerers stretched to the
horizon beneath his worried gaze.
Arkanocles sent forth his army to clash with the Sallous
Yar’s forces. In the bale, Mundaes’ dwarves and lavayne used
technological weapons, inspired valor, and the advantages of the
balefield against their enemies, whereas Sallous Yar’s strategy
(514 BF to 506 BF)
consisted of sending endless waves of troops crashing against the
mountain, pausing only to add the fallen to his undead legions.
Both gods knew the inevitability of Mundaes’ collapse.
While the war raged in the north, Witch Lord Sasha Drakonik
united the warring clans of goblins near the remains of Monvas.
She tutored her new minions in the ways of technology, a science
thought to be the sole province of Mundaes. For three years, she
entrenched her forces upon the
towering, sacred hill north of
Vas, rebuilding Monvas into a
fortified town to house her new
goblin troops. From Monvas, she
designed and constructed new
terrifying machines of war in
preparation for her next
push south. Finally, with her
armies ready, Drakonik moved
against Vas.
Sallous Yar started the final
moves to end the long stalemate
with Mundaes, preparing unholy
sorcery to crush the city. Drawing
on the latent life energy contained
within the dead, the Magus of
Bones spoke the final words to
a terrible spell, tearing open
the fabric of reality to create a
planar gateway within Fire Eye
Mountain, forcing the peak to
explode with volcanic fury. The
514-506 BF, Invasion of the Witch Lords
● 511: Witch Lord Sasha Drakonik takes
Monvas.
● 510: Monvas’ refugees purchase the plot
where the Grand Library of Zoetha shall
later be built. Sallous Yar aacks Mundaes.
Witch Lord Grimaxe besieges SpirosBlaak.
● 510-508: Witch Lord Drakonik unites many
goblin tribes and teaches them technology.
Monvas is reborn.
● 508: Drakonik besieges Vas
● 507: Sallous Yar destroys Mundaes and the
city’s surviving dwarves flee south. The
lavayne seal Fire Eye Mountain. Arkanocles
disappears. The bale for Vas ends, and
Drakonik is slain. The Pontiff of Spiros
assumes control of Vas, and he declares
arcane magic illegal.
● 506: Spiros breaks the siege of SpirosBlaak.
Sallous Yar retreats into the Swamp of Woe.
The body of Spiros is taken away to an
unknown fate.
catastrophic blast crushed the defenders, but unexpectedly, the
destruction also delayed Sallous Yar’s forces from immediately
storming the fortress-city’s ruins. With the dark god’s armies
stalled, the surviving dwarves fled down the River of Fire in their
mechanical ships, while the lavayne remained behind to redirect
lava flows, causing cave-ins and sealing the mountain’s depths.
Victorious on the field, Sallous Yar had been denied the final
blow against his ancient foe. Enraged, he whipped his armies east
towards SpirosBlaak.
Of Arkanocles, no one knows. Some posit the eruption killed
him. Others suggest the destruction sealed him deep beneath Fire
Eye Mountain. If today’s lavayne know of their deity’s fate, they
remain silent on the subject.
At the siege of Vas, orc ships from the sea and goblin ships from
the air ruthlessly bombarded the holy city. Under the thunderous
cover of this punishing assault, a team of elite wizards, led by
Drakonik herself, stole into the city. Vas’ own powerful spellcasters
engaged these infiltrating wizards, but not before Drakonik
murdered the city’s ruling council. During the arcane bale’s
climax, a spell went terribly awry, killing all involved, including
Drakonik, and razing much of the city. Lacking the Witch Lord’s
guidance, the forces of darkness fell back to Monvas. Tragically, the
retreat came too late for many.