"Dark Alliance" (synopsis)
May. 27th, 2022 01:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"Dark Alliance"
[Dang. This was from my early teens and the first attempt to make a coherent mythos from some odd horror stories I had been writing. So poorly done. I typed out four or five versions of "Dark Alliance" as I kept adding and changing characters and figuring out the world in which they lived. The final story if I revised it today would be about as long as the pulp novels that influenced me, say 125 paperback pages.
"Dark Alliance" still 'really' happened to my characters and there are references to its events here and there in the canon as it stands today. Maybe I am taking this hobby too seriously, but nitpicking over trivial details is a joy in itself.]
In June 1981, the KDF learned of disturbing activity among the three Races most hostile to Humans. The Snake men were being reported in adjacent realms like Androval and Signarm, Trolls were being reported with increasing frequency in remote areas of this world (and dismissed as spurious Bigfoot sightings) and the Darthim had been up to no good even more than normal. Worst, Angdros had been seen in the world and he had obtained the cursed sword Hellspawn. [Angdros was a Human infused with immense gralic force directly by Draldros, making him a physical match for even Khang. He was regarded by his followers as a wargod.]
Gathering all the information from his agents and what his team had found out, Jeremy Bane concluded that a Dark Alliance was being formed. The Darthim were recruiting and training Trolls to be soldiers in an immense army, and they were using the Snake men as spies in different adjacent realms as they had not done before. Bane figured the Darthim intended to invade Androval or some other realm, with the Trolls being led Angdros. Other conquests would follow. He worried that this Dark Alliance would eventually start to take over parts of the real world.
Well. Bane assembled his team and the few allies the KDF had this early in its career. Androval supplied a force of several hundred Melgar warriors, including the notable heroes Sulak, Valera and Galvan. Under Hagen, the Seven Swords* also joined. One Melgar captain wielded the spear Brightbolt** (or Shai Tazam) which had been in his family for ages. The Eldarin were too pacifistic to fight physically unless as a last resort, but they did send the army to the realm of Maroch by god-gate. The Eldarin also projected an aura of benevolent gralic force around the heroes; this protected them from the harsh light of Maroch, which otherwise would be harmful and even fatal to normal Humans or Melgarin.
The battle was horrific. Taken off-guard, the Trolls fought back with their usual ferocity. Both Trolls and Melgarin are stronger and harder to harm than mortal Men, and in fact are rather evenly matched. Joining in the slaughter were some Snake men and about two hundred Almadim, the Dawn Folk. Although the Darthim launched malevolent gralic blasts, their potency was lessened by the aura provided by the Darthim. Technology beyond pre-industrial era would not function on Maroch, which made Slade's Trom devices useless and kept the KDF from bringing guns or grenades.
Toward the end of the fighting, Khang confronted Angdros halfway up the Burning Pyramid within which the dying Sulla Chun had been imprisoned for millenia. Angdros raised the sword Hellspawn, confident he could slay even Khang with it. To his great surprise, though, the silver man had taken Brightbolt from the slain Melgar and threw the spear to slide halfway through the wargod. Angdros died and dropped Hellspawn, with Khang shattered beneath his feet.
By this time, nearly all the Trolls were dead, and the Melgarin had sustained heavy losses. The Darthim had retreated to their labyrinths and strongholds deep beneath the surface. Bane and Sulak agreed it was time to withdraw. The invaders returned to the real world, and the KDF members were weakened and sick for several weeks from exposure to Maroch.
_____________________________
*Oh these guys. The Seven Swords only appear in one other story, where they team up with the KDF. They are an ancient order which uses weapons ensorcelled by Malberon, each sword having its own properties. The Returning Blade spins back to its wielder when thrown, the Chilling Blade has a freezing cold edge, the Hissing Sword moves quicker than a flesh and blood arm can swing, and so forth. Led by the Melgar noble Hagen, the Seven Swords' membership changes frequently due to deaths in combat.
**It is never explained why Khang did not retrieve Brightbolt from the corpse of Angdros. Maybe he was worked up enough over the fighting that he wasn't thinking straight. In any case, after everything had settled down, the spear was claimed by an Almaden named Basilor. Eventually, Basilor came up against Valera, who killed him and took the spear for herself. She is still using it, as the family who possessed it is extinct and King Holmir ruled she can best wield it.
[Dang. This was from my early teens and the first attempt to make a coherent mythos from some odd horror stories I had been writing. So poorly done. I typed out four or five versions of "Dark Alliance" as I kept adding and changing characters and figuring out the world in which they lived. The final story if I revised it today would be about as long as the pulp novels that influenced me, say 125 paperback pages.
"Dark Alliance" still 'really' happened to my characters and there are references to its events here and there in the canon as it stands today. Maybe I am taking this hobby too seriously, but nitpicking over trivial details is a joy in itself.]
In June 1981, the KDF learned of disturbing activity among the three Races most hostile to Humans. The Snake men were being reported in adjacent realms like Androval and Signarm, Trolls were being reported with increasing frequency in remote areas of this world (and dismissed as spurious Bigfoot sightings) and the Darthim had been up to no good even more than normal. Worst, Angdros had been seen in the world and he had obtained the cursed sword Hellspawn. [Angdros was a Human infused with immense gralic force directly by Draldros, making him a physical match for even Khang. He was regarded by his followers as a wargod.]
Gathering all the information from his agents and what his team had found out, Jeremy Bane concluded that a Dark Alliance was being formed. The Darthim were recruiting and training Trolls to be soldiers in an immense army, and they were using the Snake men as spies in different adjacent realms as they had not done before. Bane figured the Darthim intended to invade Androval or some other realm, with the Trolls being led Angdros. Other conquests would follow. He worried that this Dark Alliance would eventually start to take over parts of the real world.
Well. Bane assembled his team and the few allies the KDF had this early in its career. Androval supplied a force of several hundred Melgar warriors, including the notable heroes Sulak, Valera and Galvan. Under Hagen, the Seven Swords* also joined. One Melgar captain wielded the spear Brightbolt** (or Shai Tazam) which had been in his family for ages. The Eldarin were too pacifistic to fight physically unless as a last resort, but they did send the army to the realm of Maroch by god-gate. The Eldarin also projected an aura of benevolent gralic force around the heroes; this protected them from the harsh light of Maroch, which otherwise would be harmful and even fatal to normal Humans or Melgarin.
The battle was horrific. Taken off-guard, the Trolls fought back with their usual ferocity. Both Trolls and Melgarin are stronger and harder to harm than mortal Men, and in fact are rather evenly matched. Joining in the slaughter were some Snake men and about two hundred Almadim, the Dawn Folk. Although the Darthim launched malevolent gralic blasts, their potency was lessened by the aura provided by the Darthim. Technology beyond pre-industrial era would not function on Maroch, which made Slade's Trom devices useless and kept the KDF from bringing guns or grenades.
Toward the end of the fighting, Khang confronted Angdros halfway up the Burning Pyramid within which the dying Sulla Chun had been imprisoned for millenia. Angdros raised the sword Hellspawn, confident he could slay even Khang with it. To his great surprise, though, the silver man had taken Brightbolt from the slain Melgar and threw the spear to slide halfway through the wargod. Angdros died and dropped Hellspawn, with Khang shattered beneath his feet.
By this time, nearly all the Trolls were dead, and the Melgarin had sustained heavy losses. The Darthim had retreated to their labyrinths and strongholds deep beneath the surface. Bane and Sulak agreed it was time to withdraw. The invaders returned to the real world, and the KDF members were weakened and sick for several weeks from exposure to Maroch.
_____________________________
*Oh these guys. The Seven Swords only appear in one other story, where they team up with the KDF. They are an ancient order which uses weapons ensorcelled by Malberon, each sword having its own properties. The Returning Blade spins back to its wielder when thrown, the Chilling Blade has a freezing cold edge, the Hissing Sword moves quicker than a flesh and blood arm can swing, and so forth. Led by the Melgar noble Hagen, the Seven Swords' membership changes frequently due to deaths in combat.
**It is never explained why Khang did not retrieve Brightbolt from the corpse of Angdros. Maybe he was worked up enough over the fighting that he wasn't thinking straight. In any case, after everything had settled down, the spear was claimed by an Almaden named Basilor. Eventually, Basilor came up against Valera, who killed him and took the spear for herself. She is still using it, as the family who possessed it is extinct and King Holmir ruled she can best wield it.
