chapter four

Sorry, busy weekend.
Halloween party, bowling, etc...




chapter four

Commander Arkha was impatient. They had entered the palace nearly four hours ago and the guards were still holding out in the hall that connected the throne room to the rest of the palace.

"You and you; come with me." It was time to take matters by the scruff of their neck and make the prize the seers had promised him, his.

The bodies of Nieldic guards and palace servants littered the floor; several of his own warriors lay still, slowly being consumed by the blood. He made a mental note to mention this development in his report; heavier boots would be nessesairy for future armies.
The gates were not barred, but the guards had built a barricade to deny his men access, fools.
"Traonih! Teach these pups who the true masters of Anatolia are."
A good seer, but Traonih was to old to be put on a front line like this. His reputation, however, was such that his very presence inspired the men to greater feats, and that was before he even began to weave his first spells.
"I dare not commander."
"what!"
"There is a poweful force within that room. I fear that f I enter it; I shall not depart."

Then his suspicions were correct; what the seers had told him would indeed come to pass.
"By the authority of the Alpha himself. I order you to destroy that barricade!"
"Then my death is certain. I pray the demon of this world devours your soul that I might revisit this grievance, Arkha son of Brakh."
Traonih turned. He lifted his staff as he began to recite an incantation of destruction. As he brought down his staff, the barricade was blasted inwards.
Arkha smiled as his warriors rushed in, slaughtering the remaining guards. This was his day, and it was quickly growing better. For there before the throne was the one he sought.

"What is the meaning of this, this outrage!"
"This is the only chance I shall offer you to surrender, fire-blooded scum."
"neve.."
The armored figure to the right of Lord Lathorian silenced him with the harsh sound of her stave hitting the luxuriously tiled floor.
"What are your terms, tailed one."
Arkha motioned, his crossbowman raised their weapons, aiming directly at Callin.
"Your complete surrender."
"Unaceptable. The empire will never allow you rebels to get away with this."
"Then we are done talking"
The twang of crossbows echoed throughout the large chamber. Callin brought her staff around, deflecting many bolts effortlessly and dodging the rest with equal ease. One of the dodged bolts silenced the still protesting noble before he could even rise from his throne; while Callin deftly redirected another to lay low the elderly seer, still standing in the doorway; resting of his recent cast.
Arkha motioned for his men to stop; his intended target was slain, and he now had things exactly where he wanted them. Now, to set his plan in motion.

"The seers are not so blind as they may appear, guardsman. I know what you are."
"That is a bold accuastion. I hope you know what I would have to do if you were correct."
"Men! Leave us. We must discuss terms."
He looked up into Callin's dark eyes, trying to percieve her next move. As they stood watching each other cautiously, the Ga-Vok warriors fliled silently passed Traonih's body as they exited the room.
"What do you want, mortal?"
"I was told a prophecy while I was a young warrior, barely past my first hunt. The seers foretold that I would find a woman of otherworldly power. I have found you, and I can offer you what you desire."
"And what is it that you desire in exchange?"
Arkha grinned wickedly, "You must not be as powerful as I thought if you need to ask. I will let you have your way with this world; but only so long as I may have my way with you."

Callin stared blankly at the commander. Then she strode across the room to Traonih's body, and bending over it incanted a dark word. A shrill, piercing cry rang out; Arkha stepped back, reaching to his katar in fear. The cry was cut off mid howl, and Callin rose.
"Show me you are worthy. Bring to me the dearest possesion of the wealthiest man on this world. Then, I shall fulfil your desires, Arkha Shadesworn."

The great war

I'm going to give a quick summary of the Ga-Vok war.

For many years historians would consider each of the seven phases of the so called 'Great Ga-Vok war' to be their own seperate war. As the conflict would refuse to subside, the various wars began to be condensed into larger meta-wars.

The first phase of the war started when a new leader or 'Alpha' came to power. Using the strength of his clan along with skillful words he subdued the other Ga-Vok clans and brought them under his leadership. He convinced the tribal chieftans and the mystic shaman of the stone circles that the Nieldic galaxy was their birthright. He spoke to the people of the hunting grounds that awaited them on the other worlds; and convinced them that the Nielda were purposefully keeping them from these lands and must be purged.

Three worlds were atacked in the same hour by the combined forces of the new Ga-Vok confederacy. The small Nieldic colony on Decidua was masacred before days end; the colony on Burgun fared no better. But Anatolia, a minor colony neighboring the Ga-Vok homeworld of Decidua would prove to be the focal point for the entire war.
It was mostly luck that Anatolia survived. An aliance between the Anatolian resistance under the daughter of the lord of Anatolia, lady Kiera Gansfeld; and the head of Daniellands leading (and only) guild of criminals, Captain Daniel Stone, the pirate. I'll be touching on this situation in considerable detail as the two of them play a critical role in the Great Ga-Vok war.

The second phase consisted of several new Ga-Vok invasions as well as an additional unsuccsesful assault on Anatolia. After this phase the Daniellandish began settling soliders in order colonies in case of future wars.

Phase three began exactly like phase two and proceeded in exactly the same manner. However, at the end of phase three the Nieldic colony on Gasca found itself under Ga-Vok ocupation. A former army Captain, Alicea Stone(only distantly related to the forstated captain Stone), took charge of the local resistance and through clever use of magic, brilliant strategy, and ingenuitive use of technology was able to take back control of Gasca. This to will be covered in greater detail.

Phases four through six saw the continuation of the invasion-defense pattern set in the previous phases. Over the course of the sixty years from the first phase and the conclusion of phase six The Nieldic Galaxy saw the development of the first naval craft(Nielda and Ga-Vok; though both used spacecraft in battles prior to the formation of navies), the first cavalry(Nieldic and Ga-Vok, tough in all fairness the Ga-Vok only used stolen Nieldic tactics and vehicles), and first usage of mages integrated into standard military forces in the universe.

Phase seven will have to wait until after I've gone into greater detail on the personal matters of the Ga-Vok war, as they have a very direct impact on the final phase of the war.

Ga-Vok, continued

Sorry to leave off like that.
Now where was I?


Right.



First real contact with an alien race for the Nielda came in rather a reversal compared to what most races experience. Rather than a 'modern' or 'newly spacefaring' race encountering an experienced spacefaring race; the Nielda encountered the medieval culture of the dog-like Ga-Vok race.

With no prior experience dealing with other cultures, the Nielda reacted swiftly with disatarous results. No, they didn't attempt to commit xenocide. After nearly a thousand years of peace the last thing on the collective minds of the Nielda was war. Instead they introduced the Ga-Vok to space travel; giving them access to every technology that would be available to their own people. The result would define both cultures for milennia to come.

Ga-Vok

In the thirty-second year after the establishment of the Nieldic colony on Tara; An exploration team arrived on a heavily forested world in the north-eastern part of the Nieldic Galaxy.

I feel like I should explain Nieldic star maping before I continue this post.
Danielland is positioned at the center of the Nieldic galaxy, two major spacelanes intersect perpendicularly, the colonies; Tara, Medea, Kanto, and the twin worlds Arden and Rhinsla, are used to line up a compass on the Nieldic starcharts, with the twins as north, Tara as east, Medea as west, and Kanto as south. I'll go into more details on the Nieldic Starcharts when there is more to be charted.

Sorry about that.
They named this planet the world of seasonal leaves, or 'decidua'. But after several weeks of exploration, and subsequently three months of colonization, the Nielda were completly oblivious to the planet's secret.

to be continued...
Brain going a little slow right now.