The Painted Man

The Dark Continent has many dark legends, and though those of the Witch-king of Gerem Faït are not amongst the more widely known, they have few rivals in terms of fear, horror, and undying evil.

In the days when the Erian civilizations were still young, there lived a mighty wizard in a now forgotten kingdom. His hunger for power led him to delve deeper and deeper into mysteries man was never meant to know, and as his quest lead him further down his dark path, he also became obsessed with immortality. Through nigromantic rituals and deals with old and best forgotten entities, he managed to cheat Dìs of his due.

The Prince of Ashes

He seemed an island of quiet, unearthly elegance where he stood, on one of the few remaining towers of Castel Vigilius in Borgen, Cora's capital. Until recently, this had been the home of the Knights of St. Invictus. The city had been bombarded night and day for two months before it fell. They had rained fire, plague and acid on it, demons and guldamoths had thrown themselves against it's defences, and a hundred nigromancers had torn at the very fundaments of it's reality. Then it had fallen. It's fortifications crumbled, it's once magnificent temples, those few that had survived the onslaught, stripped and defiled. Hardly a single house was undamaged, and an unnatural, viscous, dark mist lay like a dirty shroud over the once proud and defiant city.

The Deep South

A generation has passed since the Old Colonies fell to the Dark Horde. The Orc came out of the Broken Coast in such numbers,and with such a terrible force, that not even the most apocalyptic of prophets could foresee it. The colonies were swept away in a little over a year, and it would take more than twenty years before the Erian kingdoms attempted to reclaim what had been lost. This attempt failed, and now any hope of bringing light to the Dark Continent is slim.

Terrors of the Dark Coast

Before the dawn of man, strange and terrible creatures roamed the world, lords of air, land and sea. These beasts have long since been driven away, into extinction and oblivion. Yet now some of these races have been brought back from the depths of myth. The Queen of Stars has called these terrors back into Creation and set them loose upon her realms. Some prowl the skies, swooping down to prey upon any who stray away from cover, others lurk in the wilderness, while yet others have been bound or warped by eldritch magic and nigromancy. These are a few of them.

On the Painted Man

Abyssal glyph

In the last chapter (post not written at this point), the Pius Cabal visited Siltra, the City of the White Tower. The Tower is, according to legend, one of the seven Watchtowers of Argos. Here they were allowed entry to the library. Here is the essence of what was found about the Painted Man in the scrolls, tomes and tablets. Some of these points are hints, and more information can be found elsewhere on this blog.

• He his a Nefandic archmage, and a Master of Ars Abyssal, the Forbidden Arcanum believed to grant the Willworker immunity to Paradox.
• The tattooed body is but a vessel, and the soul is probably at least 1,500 years old.
• He has had many incarnations.
• He once wielded the sword Deicide.
• The tattoos are actually Abyssal glyphs. These glyphs form powerful spells, among these one that keeps the corpus from being consumed by the corrupted soul. Others are powerful wards.
• It is believed that he was once the Witch-king of Gerem Faït.

[Picture source: Peter V. brett - Creations]

The Siege of Cora

The following was read aloud in all temples, on all squares, and in all the fortresses of Cora; copies were also sent to all rulers in Eria as well as to the Hannuman Caliphate:

Defenders of Cora and the World of Man, on this, the 3rd day of the 9th month of this, the 1022nd Year of Enlightenment, the Black Storm has surrounded us. The blockade has begun, and the Enemy is sure to be upon us shortly.

We have all come here willingly, and we all know well what would follow should we fail. On us rests the weight of Destiny. With our blood we will buy the future of our world. The battle we will fight will be one all the world will sing of in years to come, and those who were not among our number will lament their fate. Here the Light of Creation stands against the Darkness. Here we shall guard that flame with sword, pike, and shot. Here are no civilians, here we are all warriors.

Brothers and sisters, I am truly blessed to be with you here, now -- for this is the fulcrum, the pivot-point. Let all the world know that Cora stands! Let them hear of our bravery, and let those who dared not join us weep in shame.

Defenders of Cora, this is our time. Let the Enemy come. Let them know that here nothing awaits them but fire and steel!

~Orthellion de Martellus, Grand Master of the Knights of St. Invictus

The defenders of Cora counts close to 35,000 warriors, made up of the following contingents:

The Knights of St. Invictus

1,396 Knights

4,586 Serjeants

The Wolf Lords of Draccia

276 Grey Knights

1,711 Knights of Draccia

14,900 Men-at-Arms

The Hannuman Caliphate

384 Ahl-i-Batin

2,100 Dervishes

1,590 Mujahedin

4,900 Harun al'Azizin

In addition to these forces are some 2,000 adventuring ladies and gentlemen, as well as close to 2,500 Coran militia. In the time since Martellus was appointed Grand Master, he has made sure every civilian left on the island knows their role in the coming siege.

All fortifications on the island has been strengthened, and all stores have been stocked to sustain a prolonged siege. It is said that the Grand Master has emptied the order's coffins completely in this process, and most of its treasures have been sold or traded to strengthen Cora's defenses. What has not been relinquished is the order's considerable collection of reliquaries, and numerous Saintly Avatars are summoned to guard the defenders.

Against these forces stands the full might of the Court of Stars. Among the enemy forces are the fearsome Black Ships, the Blood Legions, savage warriors from the Lost Tribes, orcs, and a host of foul demons and Abyssal entities, not least of which is the dreaded Kraken.

Storyteller's note: My chief source of inspiration for the Siege of Cora is the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 CE. This is, in my opinion, one of the most awe-inspiring events that has ever took place. Reading about it, I more than once had to put the books away and make a reality check. The men and women who took part of that fight were of a type I do not believe exists any more. 

It was a conflict of worlds, civilizations, great men, and religions. The bravery, determination, and atrocities exhibited on both sides are almost unfathomable in scope. The leading men, both among the Christians and the Muslims, would put most heroes and villains of fiction to shame. Grand Master de Valette of the Knights of St. John, to name an example, survived a year chained to the oar of an Ottoman galley. This is as inhumane an ordeal as any you could imagine. Nevertheless, he survived, grew stronger in both body and mind, and was later to lead his order to victory against overwhelming odds, at the outrageous age of seventy. It should be mentioned that the character-building experience of being a galley slave was one he shared with Turgut Reis, one of the Ottoman commanders of the siege.

If I could impress one thing upon you, dear reader, it is that you do some light research on the subject. At the very least, that you follow the three links above. And if I could make one further recommendation, it would be that you read The Religion, by Tim Willocks. It is by far my favourite work of historical fiction, and it also gives a fairly accurate account of the siege. I made an attempt at reviewing it here.

[Picture source: Carsten Holtman] 

Villains: The Court of Stars

Watchtower on the Broken Coast

In this post I will sum up what is known about the other major faction of evil in the world of Argos. As with the previous Villains-post, no new information will be presented, but I will try to put things in context.


The concept behind the Court of Stars is Dark Empire/Ancient Evil, and as such, its ranks will include a wide range of villainous archetypes and characters, ranging from (to quote G. Galan's player) the Queen of Shit herself, down to the rank-and-file of its legions of terror.


The Court of Stars has roots back to the very early days of the Book of Worlds.