Era of Invasion (0)

Prologue
         Centuries of war and famine will cause even the most noble of leaders to turn to sickening barbaric actions; using the ideas of prosperity and peace to justify themselves. There is no greater example than King Armend of the Galderin Kingdom. Armend was an imposing figure built like a true warrior, despite his early hopes of a diplomatic peace. After twenty long years of war under his rule, he chose to lead the assault on the kingdom's most prevalent threat. This threat was a bloodthirsty ruler named Kacaros the Slaughterer. He was a greedy and corrupt barbarian who would stop at nothing to gain power over others.
Kacaros saw a chance for the war to meet a peaceful end as the opposing kingdoms agreed to meet and discuss a truce. He took this gathering to lead his marauders in an assassination against King Armend's father, King Taulund the Wise. King Taulund was a true diplomat after seeing his own father ignore every attempt made by the neighboring kingdoms for peace. Kacaros knew that Taulund would put an end to the war if allowed, and beheaded the peaceful ruler as he traveled through the woods to make his beliefs known. Kacaros traveled to the diplomacy meeting, carrying Taulund's head in his saddle bag. "Lords and Ladies of the realm, I bear horrid news. Taulund the Wise was murdered not a mere three days south. I found his corpse and severed head on my travels to your prestigious halls", Kacaros cried to the other nobles of the land. His words were met with whispers and accusations of fear that caused panic to ripple through the room until the nobles had all drawn their weapons.
         The young prince turned king Armend was dragged out of the room by his late father's guards and vowed to learn the truth. Years passed under Armend's rule as he tried adopting his father's policies to help his people before he was approached by a strange old widow. She claimed to know what really happened the night Taulund the Wise was murdered. The widow told Armend how Kacaros stole weapons from the northern kingdoms and used them to behead his father. As Armend listened to the old woman he felt a strange presence surround her that confirmed each word she spoke. This presence was heavily unnerving but did not seem malicious and Armend had no choice but to trust it. He prepared his armies and set his mind to killing the monstrous man that prolonged the war keeping his people in poverty. Years of searching led his scouts to a remote mountain between the Great Kingdoms and the wastelands to the south. Kacaros had made a massive living space for himself and his followers inside of the mountain and used slaves he took from "liberated" prisoner camps to expand and maintain it.
         Armed moved quickly and prepared five hundred soldiers for an attack on the caves. Armend led these brave souls personally with his most faithful knights at his side. The battalion charged the caves and fought the marauders mercilessly. They had began to break through the lines when a fierce cry echoed through the caves. The king and his men saw the eyes of goblins, peering through the shadows of the deep mines. Over three dozen pairs of sickly yellow eyes staring through the darkness, into the very hearts of Armend's knights. They stepped forward, each goblin carrying a bow with burning arrow knocked and aimed. It was then that Armend saw his enemy, leading the horde of goblins. Kackaros, grown to four times the size of a man, his skin covered with carvings of ancient runes. He had become more than any mere mortal. His arms had split to carry two great swords and two great axes, each one half the size of his foes bodies in blade alone. Armend drew his sword and approached the massive beast.
         "Kackaros! I am Armend, son of Taulund the wise and ruler of the Galderin Kingdom! Surrender now and your men may live, but you will pay for the murder of my father." Armend was met with no response as the beast, Kackaros threw his weight into charging at the human standing before him. King Armend ran out of the monster's way at the last second, allowing him to hurdle himself into the cave wall. The echoing thud of the massive collision signaled the Galderin knights to slaughter the goblins and begin to take prisoners of the fleeing ruffians. In less than the time to took for Armend to assess his situation, the caves had been emptied of all life, save for himself and Kackaros. Their battle raged for hours, Armend quickly beginning to outwit the larger foe. He had landed several blows on the monstrosity before his sword began to bounce off of his foes hide like stone and found each hit to gain more force than the last. Armend was thrown out of the cave mouth after attempting to cut the leg off of Kackaros.
         The King lay bleeding at the mouth of the cave as the giant monster emerged from the darkness. Kackaros raised his weapons to deliver the final blow as he was suddenly blinded by a pure, shimmering light. Armend used the last of his strength to see his knights charge the beast, led by the Holy Priests of The Master's Church. Kackaros was outnumbered and restrained by the holy light. The same light filled Armend. His body and soul was invigorated by The Master's blessings. Armend rose, and grabbed the hilt of his sword. As he approached the beast that murdered his father, Armend's sword began to change. His blade grew to the length of his arms and was covered by white scripts, embedding it with a holy power. "Beast Kackaros. By the Divine Power of The Master, I grant one final plea to your gods.", Said the king as he raised his weapon to the throat of his enemy.
         A low, demonic rumble slowly crawled from Kackaros' throat. "Your Master, your Church, and your kingdom are all forfeit to the darkness of the Watcher. Even in death, my creator smiles upon me. Can you say the same, boy?" Armend was put into shock. The Watcher was the darkest myth throughout the content of Parafa. Every kingdom knew the tales of the Watcher between the worlds, the devil of desecration, the crafter of all that is evil. Had Kackaros truly made a pact with such a powerful being? The presence that surrounded the old widdow flooded his mind. "The Slaughterer is a fool. Heed not his his words and deliver the final blow. Your god is faltering.", it told him. The voice was cold, emotionless. It was somehow threatening and inviting at the same time. The only solise it carried was an air of honesty. Armend cleared his mind and removed the head of his rival in one fluid slice of his enchanted blade.
         The monstrous, troll-like head rolled forward and stopped at Armend's feet. The massive corpse fell onto its back as the runes slowly disappeared. "Congratulations my king. You've done what many thought impossible. You have slain the god of wars and taken his followers prisoner.", a strangely familiar voice called behind him. As he turned, he saw the old widdow, shrouded in a dark aura walking towards him. Time appeared to change as she drew closer. The soldiers slowly froze in place and the sky turned grey. "There is no god of wars, witch. What magic have you conjured to do this?", Armend asked, gesturing to the frozen men behind her. Chill rolled down his spine as the old woman cackled wickedly, her voice quickly lowering to a similar rumble that the demon he slayed produced. A demonic growling replied from the woman, "Simple boy. This was not the hag's doing. She merely acts as my messenger for now. This was the work of my son, on my behalf."
         The widow froze in place, like all others surrounding Armend. He dropped his blade as a chilling fright overtook him and the world went black. All that existed was the lonely king, and darkness for what felt like hours. Finally a figure emerged from the inky depths. It appeared to be a man, clad in strange robes that stopped short of the knee and trousers that were stiff against the leg. The figure's sleves were similarly made and odd white decorations adorned its otherwise pure black robes. The figure had hair of silver, but the face of a young man, just above the age where young soldiers are knighted. His eyes were indiscernible; somehow both warm, yet terrifying. The being spoke to Armend, "I am that which you call the Watcher. Your god of evil and monsters, so you believe. You know so little of me, and yet make such bold accusations, mortal" The Watcher smiled wickedly. Armend never recounted the rest of this conversation. Only what happened after. Armend began a righteous crusade to all other kingdoms, slowly recruiting or conquering the other Great Kingdoms, creating the Sacred Empire. The rest is well known history.
         Armend took his paladins, his priests, and his sword to every kingdom involved with the war. If he and his priests could not convince them to join him peacefully, he would take his sword with his armies and conquer them. This period of the war was known as the Great Crusade. The Great Crusade lasted no longer than five years as the various Kings and Queens who bowed before Armend aided him in his conquest to the east and north. Soon all that was needed to gain loyalty was a single man. A special religious figure that Armend had designed to protect him and his followers from darkness. These new forces were known as the Templars. Their code was based off of that of an ancient order by the same name, and their armor was greater than that of the highest order paladin. The Templars were divine in the church and generals amongst the army.
         A Templar was sent to each kingdom still fighting, and would take the role of both negotiator, and conquerer in Armend’s name. As these Templars finished his will among the Great Kingdoms, Armend himself returned to the southern borders. Many of Kackaros’ followers still worshiped him and The Watcher near the small border towns where they could lure monsters out of the desert. Armend took with him six Templars, two priests, and one hundred paladins to the border to the wastelands. He took this force to the cult and the armies that served Kacaros willingly and gave them a choice. They would either be given a chance to fight and die with some honor or live the rest of their lives wandering the desert, never again allowed to set foot in the Empire. The cults chose the latter and were sent into exile for all time. It was this final action before the disappearance of Armend the Righteous that began what has come to be known as the era of tranquility. Nearly seven decades of uninterrupted peace in the Empire.