Prologue
In the land of the amalehqs, K ing Gayehr the Fat was
holding court. The nation‘s princes and senior nobles were
in attendance, having been commanded by the K ing to put
aside petty differences and age-old grievances in order to
form a strategy with which to resist an invading Luhporian
army. The amalehqs were an unbelievably degenerate race
universally feared by all – and the only reason they had not
conquered the world was because they never ceased
fighting each other. Standing six feet tall, they could have
been mistaken for humans except for their grey skin,
angular faces, and pointed, yellow teeth.
Court was being held in the audience hall of the King‘s
own castle - a crudely built, towering structure of natural
rock and stone blocks that was poorly maintained and yet
virtually impregnable. The sun hung low in the western
sky, but as the hall had few windows, dozens of fiery
brands adorning the walls laboured furiously to illuminate
the room and its occupants. Suspended from chains
between the torches, almost lost in shadows, hung dozens
of gruesome trophies - the mummified corpses of human,
dwarf, elf and amalehq lords and knight bannerets who had
opposed or antagonised the King in the past. They were a
constant reminder to all of what awaited them should they
cross the K ing.
Towards the back of the amalehq nobility, a young
baron, Blair Ruhr, strained to look past those before him in
order to get a better view of proceedings. He could see
King Gayehr slouched impassively on his golden throne,
flanked by a dozen guards in their trademark black and red
suits of armour. The rest of the nobility and military
commanders stood in a semi-circle before the dais, arguing
fiercely amongst themselves as they debated the best
strategy to use against the invading Luhporian humans.
