HORFAK versus XAKHAZ
The Story so far...
Neuberg has fallen! After his last trip to the south, Baron Tholdur, Margrave of Neuberg, returned with a large retinue of foreign swordsman. For years Neuberg has kept these southern raiders in check, but now they were guests of the Margrave. Soon
people began to disappear and things began roaming the streets at night.
After almost two months of occupation (during which time the Baron Tholdur was rarely seen), it was announced that the Margrave had been murdered and the new ruler was Senyakhaz, the evil sorceress from the south who had bewitched Baron Tholdur. The people of Neuberg rose against her, claiming that she was the
murderer, but the uprising was brutally supressed by the southern swordsmen and a gaggle of horrific mutants. It was at the climax of the suppression that Xakhaz first revealed himself.
Xakhaz was woken after centuries of slumber by the evil sorceress
Senyakhaz, who had found his remains below Neuberg Keep. After his resurrection, he began to use his magic to create horrible mutants through experimentation, including the horrific Blood-Lurchers. He created himself a body constructed of the limbs of countless victims. Soon Xakhaz unveiled plans to conquer all Khul, but his first priority was to unite the lands between Neuberg and Zagoula...
No one had ever set foot in to the dense forest west of the Cloudhigh Mountains until the gold rush occured. Then people, drawn like a magnet to the area, flocked there in their hundreds.
Soon zombie- like creatures and prehistoric monsters from an unknown source began roaming the woods. A rich miner by the name of Horfak had found a secret portal that led to another world. Recognising the strenght in Horak, the portal made him the new ruler of the other world, and then set its sights upon Khul. Soon huge armies of Slave Warriors, with prehistoric creaures at their sides, set upon the local miners, turning them too into Slave Warriors.
After taking control of the Wood Elves, Horfak had decided his army was large enough, and set about conquering Kleinkastel. Using the illusory magic of the enslaved wood elves, Horfak's forces tricked the inhabitants of Kleinkastel and launched a surprise attack. The battle was short, and many new Slave Warriors were created. Horfak's armies plodded on to new plunder.
Xakhaz's first conquest was the town of Svistraum, which gave a hard fight, as their hatred of southeners was clearly evident. Deciding he needed reinforcements, Xakhaz sent for another regiment to come from the south. They never arived. Soon rumours reached Xakhaz that the troops he sent for were attacked and killed by a large undead force. Luckily for him, Svistraum soon fell, and Festham not long after. But as he progressed southwards to the next target, his troops ran into a large, zombie- like army, which included some southerners in their ranks...
Minor conflicts soon turned into a major war as the two forces fought for control of the area. But who would defeat the other to have the chance of conquering the rest of Khul?
THE ARMIES
XAKHAZ: His army is mainly made up of Southern Swordsman, with many horrible mutants to aid them. Through his experiments, Xakhaz has created many bizarre and deadly mutants, and aims to make a his army of conquest from dead bodies and experimentations. The longer the battle wages, the more mutants Xakhaz will have. Probably his best creation to date is the Blood-Lurchers.
HORFAK: The crux of Horfak's army will consist of endless ranks of Slave Warriors, which are humans, dwarfs, goblins, elves and gnomes all trapped under the curse of the portal. This also means Horfak can generate armies from captured Southeners. To aid his Slave Warriors, Horfak has the deadly beasts of the prehistoric world (including numerous legions of Troglodytes), and only the bravest warriors would dare fight them.
PREDICTIONS
To run through their predictions of who will win the war for this part of Khul, let me introduce our two resident tipsters, Baldor and Fimbul.
Baldor: Thanks Oracle. Well this certainly looks set for a grand scale war here, doesn't it Fimbul?
Fimbul: Certainly does, Baldor. It is a war for a very important piece of land, because after this, the winner could quite easily go on and conquer a large portion of Khul.
Baldor: He sure could. Tell me Fimbul, who have you backed in this contest?
Fimbul: Well, I think Xakhaz will win this one. I make this assumption from one simple fact: Xakhaz has already got Horfak surrounded! With his mutants coming from the north and southeners from the south, Xakhaz already has the edge over Horfak. It won't be long before he finds a hole and WHAMMO! hole exploited. Game, Set and Match.
Baldor: Utter rubbish! Horfak will annihilate Xakhaz's forces. The mutants coming from the north are too pathetic to fight properly and the southeners from the south are wimps, and would flee at the sight of a charging Tyranosaurus Rex!
Fimbul: True, but once one or two dinosaurs are taken down, think of the new mutants Xakhaz could make from them! The will make an irrisistable force! And as Xakhaz says, "Practice makes Perfect". Sooner or later his experiments will be perfected, so the longer the war goes, the more in favours Xakhaz.
Baldor: You seem to forget, my friend, that Horfak also make his armies from those he has conquered. Can you imagine the expressions on the southeners faces as the recognise their old comrades as Slave Warriors? Hah! What's more, Horfak does not have to worry about food for his army, whereas Xakhaz does for his southerners. THe threat from the south will be over quick and when Horfak concentrates all his forces in the north, it will be all over.
Fimbul: Well it seems we can't make an agreement here. Can You? Write an email to ishtra@hotmail.com with details of who you think the winner will be and what will be the deciding factor. We look forward to seeing a result!
Back to Oracle Homepage
