Shaping the Young World
In the first days of the world’s formation, there was little except the elements and a single race came into existence. And this first race looked upon the world as it was when the lava and the earth had settled. It was barren, devoid of life, and completely unable to support life. The First Race as many races called them could feel the wind, the soil, the water, and the stone and shape it to their will with enough effort and depending on how the elements felt about it. And so the first race set about working with the elements to make the world a happier place. Some simply shaped the elements with their hands, short and stout of being, some sang and were tall and physically more graceful, and finally, they average yet most influential of thought simply willed the elements into compliance so strong was their connection.
Yet among those who sang to the elements was one of such song and grace. That the elements bowed gladly to his whims, and when the first plants were made they would blossom early under his song, and when animals were made they would give birth to descendants many, strong, and healthy. So great was the respect of his fellows that they would seek his counsel often and admire his works as he made them. But despite the greatness of their efforts, they found the limitation of their hands, and their songs, and their will. They could not create creatures like themselves, creatures of sentient and independent thought that could be truly original and seek their own paths. And so the greatest among them came together, including the great weaver of songs. And a great discussion that lasted many days and many nights took place.
For though they did not die of old age they could die by spear or boar tusk-like any other creature. And their powers of creation though great, not enough to make the kind of change they so sought. “We must become more then we are now!” declared one faction, those who would craft through will alone felt they knew how to transcend their forms altogether. And those who shaped by hand spoke out against it, “We must craft greater tools to connect us to the earth we work!” And so with the two factions poised against one, another’s plans they turned to those who shaped by song. And those who shaped by song turned to the Great Weaver of Songs. For though each vote mattered those who worked by song praised him as the greatest among them, and so he truly held sway over their votes.
The Great Decision
And as all eyes turned to him and his to see what they would say, he turned to his people those of song and began to sing. And as they harmonized with him his song became a great and mighty tune pouring over all the world. A song of sadness at goodbye, a song of rejoicing at new wonders to come in a new age, and a song to tell both factions that he and his would gladly exchange their identities and physical forms in order to make a more prosperous world. And so those who worked with their hands began shaping the hall around them, and those of mental fortitude enough to change the world began in unity to pull the most potent of stone and energies deep from within the earth. And around them, they constructed a colossal structure, that dwarfed any previous creation of theirs. And when the days of labor were finished and the massive structure was before them the three groups exclaimed as one. “We shall rest for as long as we have labored, for when we depart it is the beginning of a new age of works to surpass anything come before or after this time.”
But the Great Weaver of Songs had plans altogether his own. For he had lived almost as long as any of them, and he was of the fairest, and most revered for his voice. And so malice and fear crept into his heart that he would lose everything he held dear and that he would no longer be the same. And so as all ate and drank gleefully before deep and healing rest. He crept amongst them to the greatest of all halls, and there he began a song of empowering his form, empowering his voice, and empowering his will. And as he sparked to life the great and mighty dweomer of the hall he became the first and the last of a new race. Similar to his race of old but mightier by multitudes, so when his old peoples came forth and saw his new form. Great, pulsing with power beyond their own, and a dark glee behind his eyes that signaled a change of ages the likes of which they did not seek.
They did great battle with The Great Betrayer, hurling all their might of mind, and matter, and even song. For though many sided with him they were slain, either by their own fellows or by those of their race stronger than they. And though the Betrayer wielded the unearthly power of body and voice beyond theirs, they subdued him, and they wept for such a great loss of life as that experienced that day. For not once had one of them ever been with child, and so that day was one of deepest and most profound sadness at the decimation of their peoples. After they had prepared there for something they wished they need not do. They as a people crafted one last great and magnificent dweomer, crafted from the memories and sorrow of the fallen along with much of the Great Halls dweomer they plunged the earth. Here he remained bound arms and legs by mighty chains, the earth around him infused with the loss and sorrow of his people and an emotion he understood not yet. That of anger at him for his actions, and as he raged in the deeps against his people for this greatest of travesties against him, They ascended to a new form of being not as great as they could have been, yet mightier than they were, and free of their old constraints of hateful venomous emotions as we know them.
Reincarnation of Old Ideals
His voice had long left him, his lungs long dried beyond any level of salivation easing the burning in them, and the will gone from his bones mighty though they are. A caged beast waiting for a release from eternities seductive allure but the cruel execution of promise. But though subtle, he heard it, a reverberation of the elements rejoicing beyond his prison. For they felt the call of their ancient friends so long gone. And The Betrayer felt it too, and his dark heart thumped so loudly and so rapidly that he felt it would tear from his chest. And at that instant he began the long road to recovery of mind and body, for he had truly and totally forsaken his power of old, this his prison would be the place of his great rebirth as yet again something new, and something mighty. The first truly profound chord they struck with their awe-inspiring capabilities, was to send all the deep stone and power of the world that they had used to ascend away. For they would not have any mortal being follow in their footsteps without their direct intervention and approval.
The second and more painful of actions he felt the echoes of. Was the reworking of all the world previous creations, unaware if this was purposeful or simply another step, the betrayer cared not for in this instant they erased every mark he had ever left on the world as casually as the waves washed away footsteps in the sand. And so the last true aching of human pain his heart would experience fled from him. And from his mouth, though he had not recovered truly, he let forth such an aching sadness that truly the world itself felt profound despair, and then a terrible dread. For that despair had only tempered the rage of some ancient chained thing. That god and mortal alike could only hope had forgotten them as they forgot it. And this his first true song as The Betrayer and Lord of the Deep, lessened the bindings of the ancient and mournful stone between him in the world, bit by bit over the course of years it would take man, elf, and dwarf to forge the beginnings of grand and great society.
He could not truly see the world above, but he could take note of the steps upon the earth above him through great effort, some stout and close to the earth as indeed those who shaped with their hands emerged. Digging into the earth and surrounding themselves in homes of earth, stone, and metal worked in the first forges of the three races. And indeed there were those slender and fairer than any other. And they became as if one with the forests of the world, living in unity with plant and animal alike. And an unmistakable sensation, the confident and prideful step of those shaped in the image of the most willful. “So, they have returned in one form or another. Let us see how those who has so rudely and cruelly forgotten of me fare now against my power.” He thought to himself a wicked and gleeful smile spreading across his ancient face.
Emergence of Corruption
His whispers had finally and truly burrowed through most ancient and dweomer fueled stone. And so his voice went out into the stone and soil unaware of him. Here he began a slow and steady creep of a concept not often used in the old world for the un-needed peril it added. And so a marsh slowly began to form, and though it was a source of water any creature that drank from it would soon sicken. And any that stepped unto it would sink into its depths never to be seen again unless they were the most fleet of foot. And after the creation of his bog, he rested, recovering from the natural depth and gloom of his holding home. “They wish to craft sentients with their power, yet I have not seen the fullest of my capabilities.” And so again he smiled once more and rested as comfortably one thoroughly bound and restrained could.
Sure enough, the creatures crafted by the first folk reverberated their own old forms and ways. For Dwarves came forth to mine and cut from the stone they so revered great holdings. And Elves came forth to encourage life and live amongst the forests far to the east. And Man followed both as always he had to trade and work his willy ways. And such was his disdain and hate of these perfect images of his old people that he had decided upon a creation. And so goblins were born, shorter than a man, skinny, ranging from dark brownish green to bright light green, dim-witted, and weaker than man, dwarf, or elf. But cunning and hateful more so than any other of the three races of the first folk. And so the first goblins born of his malice and hate, and the muck and remains of beasts that had perished there, crawled forth from his marsh. And he smiled for though they could not hear him, they were of his ilk and would hear his voice one day when their cunning surpassed their slow wit.
And in the following years as the three more mature mortal races worked the land and constructed their own holdings to greater and more magnificent degrees. The Goblins flourished in the dark of night and in deep caves, forging the first and most primitive of tools and armor as they kept an eye on the fairer mortal races they hated so. And in the coming months, they would begin to openly attack and slay those who wandered far from their holdings. This created a great panic, for the fair mortal races knew of the dangers of animals, yet these their fellows had been slain by spear and club. The tools of man, elf, and dwarf. And so elf, and dwarf, and man entered into the first and only true conflict to ever take place between them. More skirmishes then true conflict, and as they continued to feud the goblins would raze farms, slaughter cattle, and steal away the dead from their graves if unguarded. So great was the menace they posed that when the fair races stumbled upon them, the goblins slaughtered a great many before a true fight could take place. At the Great Battle of the Marsh Woods where the fair races again declared peace and mutual alliances against this savage and untamable opponent that seemed to hold such great malice towards them.
A Time of Whispers on the Wind
Though Goblin Kind had not been extinguished to the last. Their first great era of prosperity had ended in failure to defeat the fair mortal races. And so The Betrayer in the Deep thought to himself of how he could truly remove the foolish servants of his kin from the land. He resolved that he could no longer let them freely conflict with those mightier them. So he sought a manner to truly breathe new life into them in order to better prepare them for the second greater offensive he had resolved to undertake. One day a goblin had wandered close to the Marsh Woods as most knew them now, For though the goblins had suffered great defeat there, the surrounding area was magnificent for their species, more born, stronger, faster, more cunning. And so despite the risks of the Marsh Woods, it wandered close. And found a mushroom unlike any other, it seemed to shimmer in the light of the moon, and upon consuming it felt changes taking place racking its durable but lanky body in pain. When it awoke, however, it could more acutely feel the breeze, and more importantly, hear its call. For on the breeze came a whisper, a whisper that declared this goblin would be the first to rule his species.
Glakurt First Shaman of the goblin folk was overwhelmed by the events of the previous night. It had simply seen a new and interesting food and tried it due to some strange compelling urge. It had awoken from the agony of its meal, feeling different from before. And so Glakurt First Shaman of his people watched the marsh and observed it. For every so often a whisper came on the air to him, speaking of true power that he could now wield. Glakurt tried channeling the powers the wind spoke of by himself. And found after deep concentration, that he had caused an entire tree to wilt and seemingly shrivel. Amazed at his newfound powers Glakurt rushed off to show his tribesmen what he could do, so proud of himself he had forgotten all about the voice on the wind. Which let out a deep and profound sigh of disappointment at how quickly it had been forgotten, no matter the betrayer thought to himself. All rodes for Glakurt the goblin led back to his marsh, for the dweomer of it practically exuded the magic’s the goblin would need more of.
Glakurt had indeed shown his people, and though the effect lessened with distance from the marsh, and without a focus didn’t channel as well as it had on the shores of the marsh. It did turn a warriors bark armor so frail upon touching the item it broke apart into chunks. As goblins are want to do first they were fearful of this new development, then angry, however after the first goblin was struck by the same magic and grew deathly ill appearing more raisin then goblin, they quickly accepted Glakurt as the would-be leader of the tribe. “We must move closer to the Forest around the marsh.” He spoke to them “It is there that we shall become greater than the stupid mans, and the stupid dwarfses.” And with that, they began to assemble their village and moved with all haste towards the Marsh Woods, which unbeknownst to them grew a little larger and a little more shrouded in darkness. The Betrayer was pleased, for he found that their belief empowered him on the surface. He would take great joy in using the new founded and soon reforged goblins against the fair folk.
The First True War
The goblins of Glakurts tribe indeed followed their leader, one part his inspirational aura, and one part out of fear for his new and strange powers. When Glakurt arrived at the Marsh Woods he reached out to the swamp confident it would bestow a boon upon him once more for some reason. The Betrayer deep beneath far more amused and curious than irritated by the boldness of his servant, shaped a staff made of bone and wood that had long sat in the marshes depth. And so the entire tribe watched as Glakurt the Shaman reached out his hand and found in it a staff with the skull of a ram perfectly preserved and fused to the top. And from its eyes leaked a strange sort of mist that brought dread to the hearts of others, for this was the First Shaman Staff brimming with the power of the Betrayer. Surprised and reinforced of his opinion that he was to lead he turned to his tribesmen and said: “This the Marsh Woods no longer, now it is the Goblin Deep Fens!” A celebration was held as a new encampment was created not far from the marsh’s edge.
Here in the Goblin deep fens, Glakurt and his people prospered. And the longer Glakurt wielded the Deep Fens Staff the more confident and powerful he grew. For his heart and mind had truly been given to his unknown master, the betrayer. And here his tribe grew to great proportions and gathered to it many rogue goblin folk. Such was the zeal they held in their hearts for the other races, that they wished another war. Glakurt consulted the goblin deep fens on the subject. More and more relying and trusting the voice that came to him on its foul and sudden winds. And so The Betrayer deemed Glakurt worthy of advice and pleased he was that the goblins had chosen this path for themselves, that he spoke to Glakurt then. “There is a caravan from the dwarves not far from here. They go to meet with elves in order to establish a tentative trade agreement.”
And that was all he had need impart on Glakurt, for the goblin had grown cunning and hateful of the other races. And organized his tribesmen into a great raiding party, the plan he had brilliantly concocted was to attack the dwarves first. using their armaments against the elves, and looting both of their precious smithed blades and armor. And so in two great lines sneaking through the underbrush, Glakurt and his goblins waited for the dwarves to set camp. Springing out and upon them all at once, though dwarves were not frail creatures, they had not dealt with goblins so frenzied and overwhelming. For they were used to the near-mindless beasts that tried to prey on them for food. And they surely had never fought a goblin with magic before, and so it was glakurts magic reduced many of the brave defenders to nothing more than dried blood and dust in their own armor. The first stage of the plan had gone as ideally as glakurt could have expected. The Fair Races had the skill of smithing and horseback riding, along with far superior archery. Looting the dwarves and sending the dead back to the fens, to be fed to it, they progressed forward after savaging the carts and horses. They fed deeply of the four-legged slaves of man and progressed onward with new weapons and armament, eager to meet the tall fair folk and show them that goblin kind was more than a mere annoying pest to be controlled in population if not eliminated.
The First Revenge of the Deep
Indeed they used much similar a tactic against the elves. And though they were not easily fooled like the dwarves when they took upon themselves drink, and song. They fired their bows into the dark finding their mark….only to hear the thud and crack of arrows finding their mark, and cracking upon a stronger surface. With confusion and fear of some new threat the elven folk drew close together drawing their swords, spears, and other assorted weapons of true martial prowess. And upon them sprung the goblins they had so underestimated, for when the goblins emerged bearing the looted and bloodstained armor and weapons of dwarves. They knew that something dark had acted against them the fair folk, A hail of dwarven arrows flew into the tight-knit formation of elves disorienting and knocking some back. As they continued to be pelted by stones and arrows a tide of goblins clad in armor not forged by their own hands came upon them savagely and without self-preservation.
The elves had held back the goblin-tide throughout the night but with the light of dawn fast approaching, glakurt came forth and began weaving one of his dark and hateful sorceries. And recognizing it for what it truly was the elven host attempted with all speed to make their way to him in order to stop the mystical menace. However goblins came on in even deeper more frenzied droves to block the way, and as the elves sliced through the last goblin between them and the chanting green skin, glakurts spell was complete. And so he breathed forth such a miasma, that the elven folk, fairest of all, were reduced to pestulant sickness into a mucus-like fetid liquid. and so Glakurt spoke in his own voice “We have victory, we shall continue to cut a bloody swath through them!” As his speech went on however his voice darkened and grew louder. Until every sentence dark and foreboding struck forth from his voice like a thunder strike of malice and hate of the fair folk. So afraid of this dark inner power and so inspired, that they dared not fail his command to begin the construction of a true village for his people near the goblin deep fens.
So exhausted from The Betrayer in the Deep speaking through him. That he had to be carried back, and so he was laid in an elven bag of sleeping and carried back. As they approached and deposited the bodies of dwarf and elf alike. And with the tools of both the goblins began the construction of a ramshackle village, and when Glakurt awoke he was deeply pleased. “My people! long has the enemy held over us their sharpened metal, and their fancy bows! But no longer! For in a deep and powerful vision I was shown how we will rise. But this comes at a price for I have learned the name of our master and god!” And a terrible uproar among the goblin folk took place, what was a god? Why was knowing its name so terrible? And was it truly who they served and not Glakurt? And Glakurt spoke again. “I am not long for this world, and many are the secrets I must pass unto you. So amongst you decide who the strongest and bravest warrior is, and I shall find among you the most worthy to bear The Deep Fens Staff!” Holding his most prized possession up to emphasize the importance of his task.
The Second Generation
And so Glakurt set about exercising the will of their god. He had heard it in a deep sleep and knew it to be true “The Composer of Songs.” Such a beautiful name for so glorious and kind a god, and so he found the strongest and the bravest goblin, and he found the most cunning and loyal goblin. And he brought them before The Goblin Deep Fens heart, a bit of marsh that no one dared approach unless glakurt allowed it. And sure enough on its bank grew two mushrooms that seemed to shimmer with magic that they pulled up from the bog. Glakurt turned to the two of them, and bade them to eat of these majestic mushrooms and as they spasmed and fell into a deep slumber, Glakurt sat on the banks of the goblin deep fens. And carved out in tablets of bark the goblin language, and the secrets to smithing soft metals, and pulling them forth from the earth in the fens. And when they awoke, Glakurt explained to them both their duties. The strongest would lead, but he would be accompanied by a shaman whose duty it was to tutor and temper the chieftain into a great and wise warlord. And that all of the goblin kind served he who dwells in the deep, they look of reverence as he looked at the swamp instilled newfound fear and love for the goblin deep fens.
And so Glakurt gave his staff to the new shaman of the tribe, and glakurt’s last action for his people was to draw forth the newly made great-sword of the fen stag. Forged from the bones of a great stag and imbued and edged with the precious metals and despair of dwarf and elf alike. And then he simply walked into the fens, drawn back into its depths and passing from the mortal coil. And beyond it he joined as part of “The Composer of Songs” great ballads. And the two newly minted champions of The Tribe in the Deep Fens strode forth into the village holding their respective artifacts, and the tablets of the great Glakurt the Shaman. And so a new era began for goblin folk, for now, it was the story of Gect the Warrior, and of Zrax the Shaman.
In the coming years, the Deep Fens tribe grew greatly in population. As did the Heart of the fen itself for the shaman led the tribe in monthly festivals to their god the composer of songs. And so one of the few cultural developments of the goblins took place, involving song, primal instruments such as drums, sacrifices to the fens, and a great deal of dancing around the bonfires made of the bones of elf and dwarf. Great sifting of the fens for minerals was a daily task, it brought in many fish and other bottom feeders, and slowly but surely brought in the softer minerals they desired. That their god pushed to the surface for them, in small quantities but enough. And so with petes from the fens as fuel, they built simple forges in which to work the metals, primarily creating arrow and spearheads. Granting larger things such as hammerheads, ax heads, and sword blades to those who earned it through collecting the ears of elf and dwarf.
The Great Purge
Long had the goblins of the deep fens tribe raid dwarf and elf alike. Gathering good quality gear, crafting their own, and more importantly blooding their growing population of warriors in the tribe. But the time had come for one of the truly ambitious plans of the goblin race. The purging of human settlements from the regions surrounding the goblin deep fens. For though elf and dwarf felt the ever-growing tide of the murderous goblin folks blades, the humans had populated greatly and continued to do so. Prospering even, in the suffering of dwarf, and elf. For it gave them more leverage, but the goblins had not forgotten that the humans more numerous of their foes were brave and cunning as well. And so the shaman and the chieftain agreed they must be dealt a hefty blow. Creating a plan where the goblins would strike fiercely in the night at multiple human settlements, the stronger human encampments would be hard pressed on where to send their hardened warriors.
The day had come where shaman and chieftain alike split the forces of the tribe to assail the human scum. As night fell an attack began on multiple small farming communities. The overwhelming attack, with the advantage of forged weapons and armor, along with the element of surprise spelled doom for many small communities responsible for supplying the larger human network of towns with necessities such as meat and grain. With minimum casualties, the goblins ransacked the farms taking all the food they could carry, torching the rest along with the crops/livestock after slaughtering and harvesting meat, and the structures and remains of the humans aside from those who fought. They were returned to be hurled into the bog as had become an honor and religious ceremony for those slain by the goblin folk.
Having gained confidence in striking a blow against the humans, reducing the population, and causing the remaining population to suffer from great amounts of hunger as they went through food stores. The goblin folk at the behest of their chieftain turns his efforts on the bearded folk. Many raids were launched on caravans as many succeeding as not, for the bearded folk’s memories were long and remembered the previous incursion by the blight of goblin folk. Unfortunately, though the shaman and chieftain’s presence heralded the success of any one raid, the sheer scale of raids decimated the population of able-bodied warriors. And so the goblins retreated to their swamps to procreate in large numbers once more, for sustaining the war effort and the species was a trial given the potency of the foes they faced. After having rested and dined off the spoils of victory a new plan was concocted.
Beginning of the First Under War
The dwarven folk had always been the ones to engage in battle. Coming from the deep clad in their armor so shiny and strong. So why couldn’t the goblins do the same? Find their own places in the stone beneath to better hide from the various fair folk parties searching for goblins to maintain population limits. The creation of digging tools hadn’t proved complex, the quality of the tools, however, had become a gratingly annoying factor in the process. However the excavation of a great tunnel down into the depths did bring access to stone in larger than before quantities, and hardier minerals such as iron became a factor. The slow but sure expansion of goblin kind underground was a large success. Moving many of the non-combatants underground, along with supplies they needed to keep from their homes naturally entropic properties. With such a secure location the revised plans of the goblins were brought forth. Dwarves had the war gear, the sheer endurance, and strength, and fighting them at their homes was simply not an option to any but the most determined and supplied of invaders.
And so a different sort of war was waged, dwarves needed to mine to keep their society running well. And the goblins enjoyed but did not need the finer crafted weapons and armor to fight. And so goblins flooded into as many tunnels as possible, strip mining and collapsing the passageways. Ambushing and savaging any mining group that wandered too far from the safety of the fortified dwarven main tunnels. The resulting conflict was devastating, the bearded folk came forth in such great tides of glimmering armored dwarves, carrying such honed and enchanted weapons. That no goblin could stand against them, for they marched with the fury and wrath of dwarves who couldn’t drink ale, smith metal, work stone, or rest until they’d resolved the prior issues. And so it was that an extremely bloody, one-sided, and the short campaign was waged. With the goblin folk being pushed up as far out of the earth as where the soil of their marshy homeland met tunnel. At which point even the dwarven host erred in bravery and was rewarded by some of the bogs unnaturally blackened waters ripping through a retaining wall in the tunnel. And such was the foulness of the fluids that even a dwarves resolve was heavily put to the test against it.
Though the goblins had earned great plunder their chieftain and shaman agreed to fight the bearded folk alone and head on was not to be. And so after spending a year perfecting their talents of bottling the deadly bog fluids in safe-ish containers for warfare. The goblins marched forth for a very different mission, they would gather to them the various other goblins to form one larger goblin force instead of acting independently. The Betrayer did not know how to feel about such actions, on one hand, he liked such ambition and wanted his revenge to come more swiftly to the forward. On the other, if they were defeated it could mean the utter annihilation of his species or close enough that it would not recover. Thankfully his loyal servants had a different plan in mind that pleased their master greatly.
The Unification of Goblin-folk
Gect and Zrax were old, even by goblin standards and so they were challenged every time they found an organized group of goblins. But slowly and surely they brought at least 23 different tribes together, at the central bog the place of their empowerment. Gect talked first “We have conquered you one by one, a long and tedious process. And in doing so you see the power we wield above any other goblin.” After which Zrax continued with his part of the plan. “And so we have brought you here to show you the true path of our people, we have a master stronger than all of us, stronger even then all of the fair folk. And so we should place ourselves not in our own service but into his!” The various leaders displayed the various forms of reaction. Anger, confusion, fear, acceptance, and the middle ground stance. However when the shaman called upon his master the composer of songs.
The Betrayer did not appreciate being put on the spot. He did, however, enjoy the endless confusion not understanding brought to others. And so he indeed sang a tune about goblin folk uniting in service to him against the dreaded fair folk and being victorious after much struggle. And so the other tribe leaders agreed to join the coalition in service to The composer of songs that watched over them all. The next great phase in their trials of a unified people was soon to come. But for now, they celebrated and began preparing a great amount of teaching and training to begin. For many weeks there was a peaceful stillness to the valley, that could be felt by every man, woman, and child of every race. And all at once a terrible chill fell over the hearts of the fair folk, for their enemies the wretched and hateful goblins came forth from their caves, their hovels, their glorified holes in the ground or rocks to hide under.
In a glorious strike that all would remember that survived it, goblins came forth bearing plague, and blade, and lastly and worst of all the unified efforts of their prolific reproducing race. And so in a great and terrible tide, the second of three great blows in the great war came. Forcing the humans, elves, and even the surface dwarves into a predominantly defensive posture. From which the goblins hoped, they would never recover. A dark cloud indeed flew over the cities of man and elf, for they had never before been so devastated in battle with goblins since the first days. These vile canisters they wielded were potent indeed bringing ailments, not before felt or found down upon them. The saving grace was most afflicted by it were killed too quickly to bear the ailments back to populated towns.
Joining of Alliances
The goblin folk had indeed struck many terrible blows. The large stream of enemies sacrificed to the bogs depths was long taking many days in of itself. As the Composer of Songs was fed so grew his influence and power within the bogs. Which grew to great size, an eternal haze of dark clouds above it. With such a boost to his power, the betrayer thought deeply on what else could be done to further the rise of his dominance and his revenge upon the mortal fools who served his old kin. And a sinister plan crept into his mind, simple yet brilliant indeed. He would turn them, one by one, and in the end, those who would not serve would be destroyed. The dwarves to stubborn to twist easily, the elves powerful foes indeed with their own magic becoming prominent. That left only….the humans, strong-willed but frail spiritually, and physically. That would do quite well, sending a mental command to his most loyal of servants. “Go forth and bring to me the most fearless and potent human warriors.” Gect and Zrax set out to complete at least one more great task for their master. For his will was absolute, and their victory inevitable.
So many goblins went forth to search and see what they could find. Indeed in many places, they found well-fortified cities guarded by the scared and experienced, this was not where they would find what their masters desired and so they went out afield to find those who goblins knew of. Men who lived like the goblin and not like a man. This was costly for those who had reverted to tribal society and lived like the goblins were fearsome indeed. Hunting their food, preparing it, crafting tools by hand, and slaying their enemies without fear of what is to come. And so greater and greater swarms were led into battle, among the savage humans was a great prince of their people. Fearsome indeed in battle wielding a great axe forged from the splintered metal of spears and the bones of a great lizard he had slain beneath the earth. Gect was old, one of the oldest goblins in their given history. But strong too was he wielding a blade forged by the great composer he was also a force to be reckoned with. They had one true chance to subjugate the wild folk to challenge the one thing they cared about, honor and battle prowess for in this manner they could defeat their strongest warrior and cripple their morale at once.
Gect made a point of desecrating the corpses of those he’d defeated, leaving vivid and disturbing messages for the strongest of the savage men Garth to find. Meanwhile, Zrax performed an equally important service to the prospering of the people. He was teaching students how to truly harness their powers as shamans of the Composer. The primary power he wanted to test was one he himself had discovered recently after toe coalition under the composer was formed, and that was the temporary infusing of magical energies into a weapon and its wielder to empower their performance. If shamans could empower those who served their master even temporarily it would be a great addition indeed to their spells. They had learned of the ability to call plague upon their enemy, shield themselves from limited ranged attacks, contact the composer if they were truly favored, and now to empower their allies.
A Old Goblins Last Fight
Gect was old indeed by goblin years. But he was determined to clash with the prince of the savage men, a powerful beast of a man named Heirthrog. He wielded a powerful hatched crafted from the shattered blades of would-be assassins and the backbone of some potent cave lizard. And upon discovering the great offenses against his people’s bodies and sites he was enraged beyond doubt. In the manner of brutally beating a goblin to near death and then demanding it crawl to he responsible and tell him he would die at sunrise on the third day after the message. Gect who every day felt the cold in his bones grow stronger as the flame of his life dimmed took the news greatly. Stating he would ride off post haste to prepare a fighting area for this savage man to fight him in. Zrax almost equally old to his brutish companion sent word to the various chiefs of the savage men. Egging them into a fury with insults and assurances that to miss the battle of their chosen nobility and if the goblin was to be believed his assured demise brought them all…..Where a massive horde of armed and veteran goblins was waiting to force them to talk to Zrax, the cunning old goblin that he was.
Chiefs and Goblins gathered around the assembled fighting pit. Here the champions of both sides would do mortal battle with one another. And so the savage warrior prince Garth and Gect the oldest and most veteran of the goblins entered the arena.