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A Shadow Arises the First Crusade

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A Shadow Arises the First Crusade 1-Jul-18 Existing in a formless realm of energy beyond mortal comprehension, the Order has been waging a ceaseless crusade against the malign influence of the Hex. On Earth, their followers believe in the righteousness of this cause but their true understanding of the powers they serve is shrouded in mystery and doctrine. For the men and women of the Order, they know that their crusade is just and that the very fate of humanity rests with them. With such a burden, the Order strive to put themselves above their human frailties and morality. The Order knows that should their crusade here on Earth fail; the world will burn. From the confessional writings of universe they had left behind. This morass was High Sircan Horst Abner. known to them as the Hex, a relic of a life long forgotten. The Order, loath to allow the stain of this Let me tell you of the true saviours of mankind. creature to corrupt the physical galaxy, felt the first Their original name or what planet they might have stirrings of compulsion in aeons. The Hex had to be called home is now lost to time. But somewhere in eliminated. this fathomless universe, there was a species who sloughed off their physical forms and ascended to a Bending their will upon the physical universe, the higher state of being. Having departed from the Order was able to touch upon the sleeping physical universe, they found themselves in a new consciousness of countless beings reality; a dimensional plane they refer to as the scattered among the stars. Refining Allshard. To those previously bound to the this skill, they found that not only perceptions of matter and energy, this realm took could the subjects of this process the form of a river of blinding light. Amongst convey information into the Allshard, this infinite stream of energy sparkled the but images, beliefs, and messages very essence, the souls as it were, of could be subtly insinuated back into those who came to be known as the the sleeping minds thus contacted, Order. in a process the Order referred to as Gnosis. The Allshard is a timeless realm, unfettered by the physical laws Through Gnosis the Order began to of our own. Within the cocoon track the shadowy taint of the Hex of the Allshard, the Order’s across the galaxies. Travel in the understanding continued to material universe was the process expand as they developed a of a mere thought for them, the thirst for knowledge that entirety of creation in the aether dwarfed the ambition that had could be spanned in an first driven them into the light. imperceptible moment. The consciousness of the Order found While contemplating the deepest the still nascent Hex, studied it with workings of the universe the Order horrified fascination, and then moved to found they were briefly able to re- destroy it utterly and erase its every trace join the material plane should their from the backwater galaxy in which they found it. It studies and curiosity drive them to do so; but time is worth noting that this distant galaxy contained an spent in the realm of the flesh was anathema to obscure ball of dirt and water its inhabitants would them, its rigid, linear flow as uncomfortable as come to call Earth... gravity or any of the other limitations of the physical universe. THE FIRST CRUSADE In one of the farthest corners of the firmament A SHADOW ARISES away from our Earth, the Hex had settled upon a Within the Order’s ever-widening understanding of small, hot planet whose inhabitants were millennia the universe, they began to sense the from discovering even the simplest machines. encroachment of a familiar shadow from the These four-armed natives, who called themselves Warcradle Studios is a trading name of Wayland Games Limited. Dystopian Wars, Armoured Clash and Wild West Exodus is a trademark of Wayland Games Limited. Illustrations and Designs are copyright © 2018 Wayland Games Limited. the Sindar in their own language, lived in discrete, of the societies they attempted to infiltrate. primitive communities hunting the wide veldt and gathering fruits and berries from plants growing In time, as the Hex continued to evade destruction, along the boundaries of the plains. the hunt took on a formal structure. More and more of the Order were drawn into the effort, their Even primitive societies have rules. With rules come higher contemplations and aspirations abandoned outcasts and misfits; those deemed unworthy of for the destruction of the Hex. inclusion, who had been relegated to the fringes, to eke out what pathetic lives they could, demeaned CEASELESS VIGILANCE and disrespected. It was here, within these small, Through the millennia, the Order settled upon a disenfranchised communities, that the Hex had fixed strategy in their efforts against the Hex. When taken hold, driving these outcasts further from the the hated foe was once again discovered, a crusade other Sindar, and then twisting and corrupting their would immediately be declared, following a rigid flesh and their minds. framework of events and techniques that would, it was hoped, bring about the destruction of the foe. The Order, driven by disgust and overconfidence, The initial phase of a Crusade begins when the first struck at the Hex too soon, assuming their foe hint of the Hex’s presence on a world is identified. would be easily destroyed and thus the galaxy An exhaustive study of the planet’s societal would be saved from their debasement. The Hex, structures is then conducted through the analysis of unaware of the Order’s existence, reacted the dreams and subconsciousness of the sentient instinctively and violently to the sudden attack. The natives in the process of Gnosis. This scrutiny is Sindar who had been as hosts and helpers lashed intended to find both the root of the Hex incursion out in all directions, arousing the ire of the nearby and suitable organisations and also to highlight villages. The entire emerging civilisation was torn individuals that the Order may use as agents in the apart in violent upheaval and open war. In the coming conflict. With the strength of the Hex resulting confusion, the Hex escaped into the wider corruption ascertained the Order are careful to galaxy with enough of its essence intact to begin ensure that they have identified appropriate allies anew. amongst the native inhabitants before declaring Phase One of the Crusade to be at an end. BURNING OBSESSION Several things became clear to the Order at that As the Crusade moves into its second phase, the time. The Hex, although a creature of energy like Order begins to shape the beliefs of those native themselves, was limited in its power and scope. In groups who have a sympathetic outlook on the fleeing from the Order’s attack, the Hex revealed its tenets of purity and discipline. The beliefs of their inability to exist beyond the material universe. The unwitting allies are gradually and subtly influenced Hex seemed only able to touch upon a single world towards a more close-minded, intolerant at a time, which should, theoretically, make it much worldview conducive to the persecution of the easier to eliminate it. The problem with theories, of disenfranchised Hex-touched populations. course, is that they can be disproved. Throughout the first and second phases, the chosen native allies are unwitting proxies in the Order’s An appreciable percentage of the Order’s capacity conflict. Select individuals begin to have lucid was deployed and engaged in the task of locating dreams from a presence they believe to be their the Hex once more and this time eliminating it for godhead. The goal of the Second Phase is to use the good. Through dogged persistence, the population to cull those fringe groups and societies consciousness of the Order emerged from the where the Hex might be harboured, with the bright river of the Allshard for brief forays into the intention of eradicating the hated shadow before it material realm. Countless lesser sentient minds is allowed to fully take hold. Should the direct were sifted through the scrying power of Gnosis for action aspects of this phase of the Crusade fail, the any sign of the Hex. groundwork will have already been laid for the declaration of the Third Phase. The events on the Sindar homeworld repeated themselves again and again. But now, aware that With this escalation of the Crusade, the Order will they were being hunted, the Hex proved far more have consolidated its hold over those organisations elusive. The Order perfected their ability to twist a it has decided to use as proxies, imposing a more society’s innate xenophobia to their own ends, as militaristic, disciplined structure upon them. In the Hex always gravitated toward fringe elements addition, through Gnosis, the Order will agitate Page | 2 Warcradle Studios is a trading name of Wayland Games Limited. Dystopian Wars, Armoured Clash and Wild West Exodus is a trademark of Wayland Games Limited. Illustrations and Designs are copyright © 2018 Wayland Games Limited. general trends of prejudice and bigotry in the relic blade might take a century to enter the service general population to create a hostile and deeply of the Crusade. However, technology such as the unwelcome environment for the Hex. portals that allow the Spica to instantly teleport between two points on the battlefield would take The vassals of the Order will be inspired to create more than a thousand years to bring to fruition. The advanced technologies and weapons for use final relic that can be taught to a mortal mind is so against the Hex.
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