Rise Of Evil

RISE OF EVIL

A History of the War Lords and the Events before the Renaissance and End of the Dark Ages


2266 BC

Ortkov was overseeing his peasant workers on what seemed to be another normal day in Mesopotamia the ancient Middle East. Things had finally stabilized after Sargon created his "empire" as he called it, a few years ago. Ortkov had been loyal to Sargon and after he took power rewarded him with an official position in his "empire". His friend Uterkom a more senior official who had fought alongside Sargon in the war came up to him. "Greetings friend!" he said to Ortkov who returned his reply. "I have a surprise for you."he told Ortkov. "And what would that be?" He enquired. "Sargon wishes to see us."he replied. Ortkov’s eyes opened wide, without saying a word he rushed home and put on his best garments to go and see their leader.

Ortkov and Uterkom entered Sargon’s throne room. It was dark and gloomy inside and Sargon himself sat on a throne at one end of the room. They both ritually bowed to him before engaging in what Ortkov thought to be relatively meaningless conversation. Eventually the emperor dismissed them. He decided to ignore the strangeness of the event but soon Sargon began to call he and Uterkom back more and more often until one day Sargon said to Uterkom, "I think we can trust him." "Yes." Uterkom agreed. "Trust me with what?" Ortkov asked suspiciously. Then they both transformed, Sargon into a massive demon and his friend into a terrible dragon like creature. Ortkov’s fell to his knees and cringed in fear on the ground begging the monsters not to kill him. But then his friend spoke, "Ortkov, do not be afraid we will not harm you." Ortkov simply stared at them. Then Sargon spoke, "I have grown so powerful by creating this Empire I was granted this form by unseen forces. I then discovered I could bestow it on others and Uterkom as you know him was my first disciple. He then suggested you to join us. Will you accept?" he finished as he held out his hand to Ortkov. After thinking for a moment, Ortkov believed he had no choice and took it. Then he felt power surge through him and he began to transform into a hideous creature with wings. After Sargon let go he explained he had some minor powers that would grow over time and told him this group called the War Lords was a secret so he must remain in human form in public. Ortkov agreed and he moved to the last order of business. "As I said before you know Uterkom only by that name but he has a true War Lord name as well. It is Merkuto and so will you. Henceforth you shall be known as Voktor in War Lord form now rise and continue on as though this had not happened until I give you both further orders." They both departed having no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

1274 BC

Merkuto and Voktor were now far stronger than they had been in Sargon’s time. They had served him long and hard but eventually he died as they kept on living for some reason. His empire eventually fell as well but a new empire had arisen under a new War Lord named Ramses II in a land far to the south called Egypt so they traveled there and entered into the service of this new War Lord.

"Charge!" Ramses II shouted. His Egyptian chariots stormed forward against the Syrian lines. He had begun his invasion some time before and planned to conquer the area to expand the Egyptian Empire. Merkuto and Voktor still under their aliases were fighting with Ramses II in this campaign. Ramses unlike Sargon was not afraid to show their true forms either. He believed with the many gods and demons his people believed in they would be dismissed as so and not stand out.

Voktor transformed into his War Lord form, he no longer even felt the change anymore. He fired a blast from his left hand and Syrians toppled before him. In his right hand he held his sword which he used when combat became too close to make the blasts effective anymore. The Syrians were brave men and didn't fear him for some reason that was beyond him. One man swung an axe at him, Voktor felt the wind from it past his head but as the man prepared to swing again he thrusted his sword forward and ran the man through. He groaned and fell to the ground dead. Voktor moved on to another foe. After hours of fighting, Ramses and Merkuto broke the Syrian's lines and they fell back to a critical city known as Kadesh.

Ramses stood with the War Lords in his command center. "Within a few days the city should fall." He remarked. They had been there for awhile already, but so far the Syrians had shown no sign of breaking."Then we can slaughter these fools who chose to stand up to the might of the War Lords." Voktor said triumphantly. Ramses nodded in agreement and left to review his soldiers. Day after day the pattern continued until one day a scout arrived. He bowed to Ramses and then said, "My Liege, there are more Syrians coming at us from all directions. They are preparing to surround as with the forces already in Kadesh." Ramses flew into a rage and was inconsolable for several hours. Finally he ordered camp to be broken. The War Lords fell back to Damascus, a far larger city they had already taken. Many perished in the heat, dust, and sand along the route but they were able to make it back to Egypt with most of the army in tact. Ramses was able to convince his people that he had won a great victory however, and continued his reign as he had before. Merkuto shrugged when his collegue brought it up, "As long as Ramses continues to rule and conquer who cares what he tells these people?" Voktor nodded, that was as good an answer as any he had.

After many campaigns Ramses returned to Egypt and built monuments to himself all over the country as well as monuments to his War Lord allies.Thes were later misinterpreted as other Egyptian myths and gods as Ramses intended. But despite all his accomplishments like Sargon, Ramses died as well and Egypt began to weaken. The War Lords fled Egypt before it fell to the north in 530 BC where a new Empire was growing, this time called the Persian Empire.

490 BC

Merkuto and Voktor still going by Uterkom and Ortkov were now in the service of King Darius I of the Persian Empire which was reaching the peak of its power. Darius had recently decided to invade a small, mountainous country called Greece, one of the last known pieces of opposition to his rule. The War Lords began to believe that this time they may conquer the world.

The Persians had chosen to land outside a town called Marathon where there was only a small force of Greeks called the Athenians to meet them. They had not received reinforcements from their Spartan allies so were especially weak here. The Persians then decided to land and met the Greeks, the War Lords with them.

"At them!" A Greek shouted. The Persians were organized on the shore waiting for the Greeks to move. "They must be mad." Merkuto remarked. "We outnumber them by far." Victor didn't care, let them come, he thought. Then he wouldn't have to run after them to kill them. Then moments later the Greeks slammed into their lines. Merkuto killed the Athenian in front of him. He was doing quite well in the battle but the Persians were not. They were constantly being pelted by arrows and spears from the Athenians and began to fall back toward the water and their ships. Voktor was some distance away holding his own. The Persians held for some time but soon began to flee back toward their ships in a panic and many were killed. "Curses!" Voktor shouted as he met up with Merkuto. "We still have a chance. We'll sail around these pesky Greeks and attack Athens from behind them." Merkuto answered. Voktor nodded as they boarded their ship and set sail.

Hours later his jaw dropped. "This impossible!" He roared. The Greeks were already there and waiting for them. "We shall not let this defeat go unpunished." Merkuto replied as they departed. Any further attack was futal, they simply couldn't break through the Greek soldiers and their armor."The Empire is still strong and did not bring its full strength to bear here. So we shall return later and subdue the Greeks then." He declared. Voktor shook his head in agreement.

479 BC

The War Lords were back in Greece yet again. Darius had died years ago but his son Xerxes had gathered another even bigger Persian army to destroy the Greeks and avenge his father’s defeat. They were coming up onto a pass at a place called Thermopylae. Held by a mere 300 Spartans and some of their allies. The War Lords smiled thinking this would be easy.

Day 1
Voktor watched as tens of thousands of Persians rushed the Spartan lines. He laughed as the mass of men slammed into the Spartans. "The sheer weight will break the wall!" He said to the other War Lords. Then when he looked back something strange had happened. The Spartans were pushing them back! "Impossible!" He said, astounded. For hours it went on like that until the Persian soldiers, bloody and battered retreated to where they had started. That evening they received news from their fleet as well. It had been ordered to sail around the Spartans but no luck, an Athenian fleet had met them and caused serious damage to their ships.

They began to grow impatient with Xerxes. "Why can’t you break this pitiful force of Greeks in front of you?" Voktor demanded. "You certainly brought enough men." Merkuto added pointing to the camp containing hundreds of thousands of Persians. "You must understand," Xerxes replied, "these are the best soldiers Greece has and the pass keeps my men from getting around them so numbers matter not here." he finished. "Then send in your best troops, the Immortals!" Merkuto demanded. Xerxes agreed to try it. "We have got to get around these people, we simply have to." Voktor added. "I say we send half the fleet around the straights and surround the Greek fleet and destroy it as well." Xerxes agreed again. They were ready for round two.

Day 2
The Immortals were King Xerxes personal body guards. They were the best men the Persians had. The wore masks that concealed their faces and marched in complete silence. They were known as the Immortals because when one died, another man was immediately called up to take his place. The fight began the second day with Voktor leading the ground assault and Merkuto the attack at sea which was a delay for the rest of the fleet to surround the Greeks. The Immortals crashed into the Greek lines as the light infantry had the day before. Voktor looked around him. These men were being slaughtered just as badly as the regular soldiers. "Enough." he said at last. He stepped forward and fired a blast at a Spartan soldier. The man held up his shield and the blast was deflected! Voktor gaped. There was no armor he had ever seen that could do that. All of the sudden he realized he needed to get out of there which was easier said than done in the crush of men all around him. The killing went on for hours again as the Immortals desperately tried to retreat finally escaping before nightfall.

That evening, Merkuto landed on shore. "Disaster." He said. "The Athenians attacked us before we were in position and destroyed even more of our ships." Xerxes cursed. "It gets worse." Merkuto said. "A storm destroyed the entire fleet we sent around the Athenians last night." This time Voktor and Xerxes cursed. "We had no better luck on land." Voktor said retelling how the Spartan shields had blocked even his dark power.

Day 3
After those exhausting defeats they became convinced that they would need a miracle to break through. Then it came. A Greek peasant came to the Persian camp and showed them a secret path around the Greek lines. The War Lords used the pass and surrounded the Spartans. Within minutes of refusing a surrender demand the Spartans and their King Leonidas were slaughtered down to a man without mercy and the Persians marched on.

The War Lords then decided to take their revenge and advanced into a major Greek city called Athens and completely destroyed it. But the population had already evacuated and the destruction of the city made little difference to the overall campaign. Then the Persians came up on the main Greek army at a place a called Plataea. Soon they received crushing news their navy had been defeated at Salamis once more. They then suffered a crushing defeat on land against the Greeks as well. The Persians were forced to completely abandon Greece in disgrace. The War Lords were furious. They saw Greece as the new place to create an Empire and soon turned on the Persians siding with a Macedonian named Philip II.

336 BC

After campaigning with Philip II for some time the War Lords unified all of Greece under Macedonia, a mountainous country to the north of Greece. They then planned to turn East and invade the Persian Empire. But before they could do so a fateful day arrived. The War Lords were speaking of the plan with Philip at his court in Macedon when all of the sudden one of his body guards pulled out a knife and stabbed Philip, dead. The War Lords hunted the man down and killed him before he could escape. "What are we going to do now?" Votor asked in a mood of annoyance. "Alexander" Merkuto replied. "The boy?" Voktor asked. "What other choice have we?" Merkuto asked. "He is the legitimate heir to Philip’s throne." "Fine." Voktor conceded. They told Alexander and he was crowned King of Macedonia and picked up where his father had left off. The invasion and conquest of the Persian empire.

333 BC

Three years ago Voktor and Merkuto had been highly skeptical of their young entourage. But during that short period with their help Alexander proved to be a genius. He won many battles against Persia and sent Darius III fleeing deep into his own territory. Now it was time for a final battle. The War Lords with Alexander had conquered half the Persian Empire and were threatening to destroy the last pieces of it at this battle.

"Attack!" Alexander ordered. His men kept their tight Phalanx formation and began to wade into the Persians with their forest of long spears that cut them down before they could reach his Macedonian and Greek troops. Persian after Persian fell and Alexander began to advance toward Darius himself as his two War Lords mercilessly cut down his bodyguard. Soon Alexander was upon Darius who fled in terror and soon his army began to break apart. Within hours they hunted down most of the Persians and had won the battle. Some time later Alexander seized the remainder of the Empire and Darius was killed by his own men. Persia had collapsed.

But Alexander’s hunger for power was too great to control. He soon invaded India pressing even further from home. His men threatened to mutiny and Alexander himself was nearly killed by an arrow wound attacking an Indian city. He was finally was forced to halt his conquests. The War Lords celebrated his victories in splendor but then fate struck them once more, by 323 BC Alexander was dead and his Empire splintered....

264 BC

The War Lords still continued to live regardless of this and found as one evil was destroyed another appeared. Now they made their base in the Roman Republic. They had lain low, slowly expanding their influence and watching Rome grow waiting for it to make its move and now the time had come.

Rome had declared war on another country named Carthage beginning what would become known as the First Punic War. Voktor and Merkuto immediately joined the war on Rome’s side and departed for Sicily where the main battles were occurring as Roman generals under the aliases of Gaius Tokrov and Marc Morketu. They landed with each in control of a legion and fought for over twenty years. They rampaged over Sicily time and again conquering and reconquering the same territory. Finally, the bedrock of Cartheginian resistance, Syracuse fell and Sicily was subdued. Roman forces then landed in Africa and prepared to attack Carthage. The War Lords had swung the balance of powe in Rome’s favor and changed history. Carthage was defeated and surrendered all its colonies to Rome. However, Carthage would not remain defeated and a Second even greater Punic War would begin.

226 BC

Voktor knew Rome was in trouble this time. Merkuto had gone south to prepare to invade North Africa which Carthage controlled from Roman held Italy and Sicily. However Carthage’s leading general another War Lord named Hannibal had invaded from Spain, which Carthage controlled, crossed the Alps and was storming through Italy. Now Voktor was in charge of the Roman army about to meet him in southern Italy at a place called Cannae.

Voktor looked at his subordinates. "The Carthaginians are far weaker than our legions. Hit them head on and we can break them and win the day. Our cavalry will protect the flanks of our army." he explained. The Romans carried out their orders not knowing the consequences of the under planned strategy.

Voktor killed another Carthaginian in front of him. Likewise his legions were doing well. Something didn't seem right about this battle though. He knew he outnumbered the Carthaginians but not by this much. And he hadn't heard from his cavalry in some time. But he had not time to worry about that, they were at his lines again. A Roman soldier fell dead and another man rapidly took his place. His men finally seemed to be breaking through but then there was turmoil in the rear of the lines. They had been tricked! Hannibal had been retreating piece by pieces this entire time until his lines were stretched so far that all he had to do was fold in the wings and the Romans were surrounded.. The Roman force was doomed. Voktor fought desperately to save his own life and finally escaped the ring of death. He didn't stop until he had reached Rome itself.

The next day the news arrived 40,000 Romans had fallen in the battle. Rome itself was in a panic as people shouted "Hannibal is at the gates!" But Hannibal never came, he didn’t know how to follow up on his victory and Merkuto was laying siege to Carthage itself. Hannibal was forced to leave Italy and Rome was spared.

"Alright, we can't afford to lose this battle." Merkuto said. "We finally have Hannibal where we want him. Are we going to let him get away now and destory what's left of Italy?" he demanded of the Roman generals in his tent. "No, sir!" the shouted. "Good. Then prepare your men and have those trenches dug. It's only a matter of time now." He said.

Merkuto watched as Hannibal’s forces charged his army. Elephants then infantry. But Merkuto had Hannibal trapped this time. Suddenly Hannibal’s elephants disappeared and then roared in pain as they died. They had fallen into spike bedded pits his men had dug. Those that survived passed by harmlessly as the Romans simply remained calm and moved out of their way. They had finally learned that the large creatures had no sense of direction and once moving were hard to get to change course. Then Merkuto’s superior infantry was able to crush Hannibal's men. Carthage itself fell soonafterward. As for Hannibal, he was hunted down and forced to commit suicide rather than face the wrath of the War Lords and Rome. Carthage once more surrendered all its territories to Rome. But once more Rome was to learn that Carthage could not be allowed to live even weakened so desperately and a Third and final Punic War would break out.

147 BC

Voktor stood outside Carthage with Scipio Amilianus the leading Roman general. The city was finally falling to Rome after three years of siege. The Roman legions advanced of the walls once more. Far fewer Carthaginians remained than had existed when the siege began. Voktor transformed and flew over the battered walls. He then began blasting away Carthaginians. Then he was able to at last reach one of the controls to the gates and threw it open. Even as the soldiers poured in however, the Carthaginians would not surrender. They fought street by street and house by house through the entire city. Taking as many Romans with them as they could.

It took days before the slaughter was ended. "Sell any survivors into slavery." Voktor ordered. "And sow the land with salt so that nothing may ever grow here again!" Scipio ordered.. Thus fell Carthage. Rome and the War Lord’s greatest enemy to this time. Now Rome was an Empire in practivce but not in name. All it needed was an Emperor and for that the War Lords would have to wait nearly a century for their greatest servant Julius Caesar.

January 6th 49 BC

Julius Caesar stood on the banks of the Rubicon River in northern Italy. He had just completed a campaign to conquer Gaul (modern day France). It would later be said Caesar’s wars in Gaul left a million dead and a million more enslaved. Now he was about to embark on a greater campaign. No general was permitted to cross this boundary with his army without permission from the Senate in Rome which was still a Republic at the time. Caesar looked at his allies Tokrov and Morketu, which he knew as their aliases, they nodded at him to begin. Caesar rode out onto the bridge atop his horse and addressed his men. "Romans, I do not ask you to follow me any further for we march on our own country past this point." Caesar spoke for some time further and crossed the river. Not a single soldier failed to follow him over. He smiled sinisterly at the War Lords and said, "The die is cast."

Less than three months later Rome fell to Caesar without a fight. The Senate and its allies had fled so quickly they even left all the gold in the treasury for Caesar. Caesar then crossed the Adriatic Sea with the War Lords in pursuit of his enemies Pompey and the Senate with their army and the last remnants of the Republic. A final showdown was at hand.

Summer 48 BC Pharsalus

Caesar looked across the plains at Pompey’s army gathering. He was outnumbered but confident he had the advantage. He was supreme ruler her and acted alone. His enemies of the other hand were badly divided. The Senators forced Pompey to move quicker than he was ready to and he lost his chance to wear Ceasar down. Caesar planned to take full advantage of the blunder.

Pompey ordered his men to attack. The battle remained even as the Senate's forces clashed with Caesar's front lines. For a few brief minutes the way people would live for the next thousand years and beyong hung in the balance. Power on the one side and freedom on the other. Only one side could be victorious. Caesar calmly watched and waited for the critical moment until at last he spotted it. "Now!" He shouted as the men he concelealed charged led by the War Lords themselves. Pompey’s line finally broke. With it broke freedom and democracy. Caesar would now rule with an iron fist as dictator for life.

March 15, 44 BC

The Ides of March. Caesar awoke on a day he expected to be like any other. Some believed this would be a fateful day for him but he believed it to be foolish. Caesar conducted his normal business activities and was then scheduled to make a speech on the steps of the former Senate building with some of the Senators. He was joined by the War Lords who were standing near him. Caesar began to speak but something was wrong. The Senators, some of them men he trusted, surrounded him and drew daggers. Caesar saw his friend Brutus and merely said "You too?" and then the knives raised and fell and Caesar fell with them.

Merkuto clutched at his chest, he couldn’t breathe. He looked over at Voktor who was white as the marble pillar he was clinging to in order to keep from falling. Their power was drained and they were in shock. Caesar was dead. Voktor groaned and fell to the ground. The Senators in the meantime fled the scene. The War Lords felt as though they would be ripped to pieces by the void left by Caesar. Their salvation came in the form of Caesar’s son Octavian appeared on the scene upon hearing the news. Octavian vowed to avenge his father's murder and pledged himself to the War Lords just as his father had as well.

However, Caesar’s former lieutenant Marc Antony stood in their way along with Cleopatra of Egypt. But the vengeful War Lords and Octavian were ruthless and far too powerful. They hunted down and killed every man, woman, or child involved directly or indirectly in Caesar’s death. Octavian’s legions snuffed out the old Egyptian Empire once and for all as they entered the country in pursuit of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. The two lovers then committed suicide rather than fall into The War Lords hands. Thus in a final bloody blow the War Lords destroyed the final hope for freedom in the ancient world and installed Octavian as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. He then took the name Augustus Caesar and would rule through the first part of the first century AD.

1 AD

Voktor was on tour across the Empire. He and Merkuto had agreed to scour every inch of it in order to determine what their next target for conquest was. Voktor was on the extreme edge of the Roman Empire in a land called Judea. It was late in the "winter" here and it was as hot as ever and the sandstorms were worse then ever. Augustus had recently ordered a census to be taken of the population of the Empire so the town Voktor was in called Bethlehem was filled to the brim as people rushed in to register. Voktor simply hated being trapped like this, he'd been crowded together in too many traps over the last 2000 years that he couldn't stand being there. He decided to go out of the city and look around for himself. Little did he know that he was about to stumble upon one of the most critical points of all history.

As Voktor wandered about he saw a stable off the side of the rode. Three men were in front of it, they left a few parcels there and departed. Curious the War Lord went over for a closer look, an average man and woman were there as well as a newborn child. The family stared at the War Lord in his Roman armor and he stared back for several moments. A strange feeling came over him in those moments. "This is important." A voice said in his head. His own? He didn't know. He shook his head and walked away. He didn't know what it was about that place. "Maybe I'll find out someday." He said to himself as he turned his path back towards the Roman barracks.

AD 9 Germany

After years of searching and preparation, the War Lords decided that the Germanic territories would be their next best chance to expand the Roman Empire. Germany was subdued in quick order but soonafter the War Lord's triumph there were talks of a rebellion.

Now the War Lords were accompanying three of the best Roman legions to crush an insurrection that had broken against the Roman Empire in the province of Germania. They had nearly 30,000 soldiers under the command of General Quintilius Varus. They had been informed the rebels were through a thickly wooded area called the Tutoberg Forest by one of their informants within Germania.

Voktor had a bad feeling as they marched through the woods. The strength of the legions lay in their formation, a solid block with each man shoulder to shoulder. In the narrow paths of the forest, it was impossible to march this way so the men marched in twos and were extremely vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, the forest was very dark and difficult to move or even see in. Everything about it felt wrong. They had been in it for a good deal of time but hadn't found any rebels. He rode over to Merkuto. "I think we should get out of here. Something isn't right." He said. Then it happened, one moment the legions were in perfect order the next shattered by tens of thousands of angry rebels. "It’s a trap!" Merkuto shouted. But it was too late. The Germanic warriors fell on the Romans from all sides. Men struggled to get into formation and draw their weapons but were cut down without mercy. The War Lords killed rebel after rebel but it was no use. They were completely surrounded and were losing too many men. "Where is Varus?" Voktor screamed at Merkuto. "I have no idea. I don't even know where we are!" he yelled back over the din of combat and the screams of the dead and the dying. Arrows began to fall as well and even more soldiers fell beneath them. "This place is a death trap." Voktor said. "I agree, let's get out of here. There's nothing more we can do. I'll tell the trumpeteers to sound a retreat. If any of them are still alive." Merkuto replied and rode off. Voktor took cover behind a thicket of trees and in a few minutes trumpets did sound ordering a retreat. That was all the more they could do. In a few more minutes Merkuto was back and they slipped off into the night.

Night had fallen. Only the War Lords knowledge of the amount of time that had passed revealed this because the forest was too dark to reveal it on its own. They crept silently back whence they had come. Rebels were everywhere and nightfall had not stopped the killing. On the contrary, there were still thousands of lost and surrounded Roman soldiers waiting to be slaughtered. "Wait." Merkuto whispered. They stopped and looked out into a clearing. A group of rebels had caught several Roman soldiers and had them tied to wooden stakes. Then they set them alight and cheered as the soldiers burned. Enraged Voktor burst from the treeline and fired several blasts at the barbarians who were torn apart. He then drew his sword and waded into them joined by an equally furious Merkuto. In minutes the clearing was covered with dead rebels. "We have avenged these men, but I fear too many more have fallen than we can possibly make up for." Merkuto said.

They continued forward for several days. The killing never ceased all throughout the nightmarish Hell of the Black Forest. After several more ferocious encounters with rebel forces the War Lords reached the edge of the forest. They had never been so happy to be in the light throughout all the ages as they were at that moment. As they looked around them they saw a few hundred Roman soldiers sitting around dazed in the camp that had held thousands of men only days earlier. Voktor found the highest ranking officer still alive. He was a young man of low rank. Voktor questioned him and several other men and got the same story. Everyone was dead except for a few hundred lucky enough to escape the trap. And Varus had killed himself rather than face the shame of defeat. In the end, the War Lord's defeat was total, the Empire would never control Germany again during its existence. Until the day of his death the Emperor Augustus would roam his palace and beat his fists on the walls shouting, "Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

312 AD

Over the centuries the Empire had grown to rule nearly all of the ancient world. But internal strife that the War Lords either could not control or even encouraged, tore it apart and weakened it. Until the War Lords found a man who could reunite the Empire. Emperor Constantine the Great. During a critical battle to reunite the Empire they would have an experience that would change their lives and the history of the world forever.

Constantine, Merkuto, and Voktor were about to launch their attack on the enemy Romans. However, they were outnumbered and outmaneuvered in poor terrain. They expected to lose the battle, their lives, and their Empire. "This is it." Voktor said. "I guess 2500 hundred years is a good run." Merkuto said calmly. "Sorry, Emperor. I think we're about finished." Voktor said as the enemy soldiers advanced on their legions. "Emperor?" he said again when Constantine did not look at him but merely stared at the Heavens. Then he pointed to the sky and said, "Look." When the War Lords looked up they were shocked at the sigh that no one else seemed to be able to witness. An enormous Cross surrounded by light emerged from the sky. They knew it to be the symbol of a small, relatively unknown religion called Christianity. Then they heard a mighty voice that said, "Conquer by this!" They fell to their knees in shock. As they looked back to the battle a miracle had occurred. The larger Roman force was retreating! They had done it, somehow their soldiers had won the day. Rome was to be whole again.

Constantine turned to one of his aides following the battle. "Get me one of those, what do they call them? Priests, that's it. Find me a Christian Priest, this is important." The aide saluted and rushed off to do as he was ordered. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Merkuto said to Voktor. "Indeed I am and Constantine sees it too I believe." "Then it's settled. We are all going to become Christians." Merkuto said before continuing, "Whatever just happened saved our lives for some reason. And it was more powerful than anything I have ever seen. We could dominate the world with that power at our backs!" He finished. Then the priest came. They asked him how to convert and after a short ceremeony, he handed each of them a simple wooden cross. The War Lords had a new faith. In 313 Constantine would make Christianity the official religion of the reunited Roman Empire.

September 4, 476 AD

Unfortunately, it was too little too late. This was the end. The end. Rome was falling. The War Lords had felt it for some time and it was going for good now. Then something happened that shocked both of them. As the Empire collapsed they felt their powers weakening but now they were dragged out of War Lord form and unable to change back. Fear entered their minds for the first time in centuries. They had to get out of the city. Many of the buildings were on fire as it fell to the invaders. Barbarians who had fallen upon the oppressive Empire to destroy it. Roman citizens were slaughtered in the streets and the remaining soldiers fled or died. Voktor stumbled over a body and fell flat on his face as an enemy warrior lunged for him. Merkuto hauled him to his feet and they ran as fast as they could to escape. The warrior gave up the pursuit to plunder a wealthy Roman’s house instead. "There!" Voktor shouted. They had spotted a wagon that was still working and hopped in. It had been abandoned by its previous owner and they used it to escape. For a millennium they had fought and bled to build and protect the Roman Empire and now it was dead.

"Where do we go now? What do we do now?" Voktor asked hopelessly. "We flee to the east, to Constantinople, the Empire still survives there. Merkuto said. "We shall set up our base there and use the East to reconquer the ruined west." It was their only chance, for months they moved east until at last they reached the capital of the Eastern Empire, Constantinople. The center of the Byzantine Empire and Christendom in Europe. They had plenty of work to do as their strength slowly returned. They would soon learn the fall of the West was a blessing in disguise.

The evil of the Empire's oppression was gone. However, it was replaced by anarchy, a far greater evil. Without a symbol to rally around or turn against, the people of Europe fractured and bloodily turned on one another. The world would now enter the age of terror, of evil, of war, of a thousand horrors. The Age of the War Lords. A Dark Age that would last for a thousand years, had finally arrived.

527 AD

The War Lords were back and a hundred times stronger than they were when Rome had existed. In the East a new War Lord, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian had recently taken the throne with his equally crafty wife Theodora. They had designs to reconquer the West and restore the Empire. Meanwhile in the West, the light had faded and finally died out. Anarchy reigned as destruction and terror acted as law and order. But a new power was rising in the West, one the War Lords planned to take full advantage of, the Roman Catholic Church.

552 AD

Voktor was back in Rome after less than century of being away. Justinian’s armies had just retaken the city and a large part of the old Western Empire. It was at a crippling cost but it was done and now Voktor had important business to attend to. He entered the large Church in the city. "Greetings holy one." Voktor said as he walked up to Pope Vigilius. The Pope sighed. "Alright War Lord we give up. We know you saved us from the barbarians. What do you want?" he asked. "First of all this split between you in the West and the Church in the East is foolish. The Emperor demands a move toward reconciliation." "Done" The Pope replied. "Second the Church will accept Merkuto and myself as guardians of the Church regardless of the ahhh forms we take on." The Pope grabbed a parchment and wrote for a few minutes granting Voktor what he wanted.. "Here" He handed it to Voktor. "Anything else?" He asked. "As a matter of fact yes." Voktor began. "This is a private dealing from the War Lords alone understand?" Voktor leaned close to the Pope to whisper. Vigilius nodded in agreement. "We want the destruction of all European pagans and the total Christianization of Europe." "It can’t be done!" The Pope blurted out. "Oh yes it can." Voktor replied smiling. "You will hunt the Pagans down and force them to convert and we will help you. We have plenty of time trust me." He finished, laughing as he left the building. The Pope shook his head. This meeting and the decisions of his successors to follow these people would change history.

C 800 AD

The Church had obeyed the War Lords and over the centuries untold numbers of Pagans converted or were destroyed. The Church grew infinitely powerful and the War Lords used it to dominate the West and the Byzantine Empire to dominate the East. They now dominated the entire known world. But it was not to be so for long. For in the country of Britannia there was an uprising. The War Lords naturally moved the whole of their forces to crush it and would be engaged in the greatest battle they had ever fought, against their most deadly enemy. The first of their future enemies the Freedom Leaders, King Arthur. The War Lords were about to learn that the light shines brightest in the dark.

Idiocy, heretic, fool. Voktor thought. Then he leaned over the side of the ship. He learned that he was terribly seasick and vomited again. He and Merkuto were leading a massive army of continental forces, mainly Germanic, against King Arthur and his "freedom" rebellion in Britannia. These were dangerous ideas and they had to be dealt with. And it wasn’t just Arthur it was his wife Guinevere, his Knights of the Round Table and the whole of Britannia. Voktor scowled again. "We’ll burn them all at the stake." He said as the ship moved closer to Britannia. He was confident of victory. He remembered previous rebellions against Rome, of the battle against the rebel Spartacus whom he had helped hunt down and destroy with General Marcus Crassus, and yet another Britannian rebellion under the warrior Queen Boudicca. There Voktor had helped General Suitonius Publinius smash the rebels. The fate of the rebel queen and her daughters was never revealed. Voktor smiled as he remembered the horrified looks on their faces before his energy bolts smashed into them and left not a trace. Why shouldn’t this rebellion die as the others had?

Soon they reached Britannia and he carried out his promise. When the fleet touched shore on the eastern coast he killed anyone he could get his hands on aside from those who could prove loyalty and the monks of the Church. Merkuto was taking the other half of the army and closing in on Arthur’s capital Londinium. It won’t be long now. Voktor thought and laughed sinisterly.

Arthur looked out at his assembled people. If he failed this would be the last time he would see them. "Britons," he began, "Today we face a mighty and sinister foe. It must be defeated! If it is not it will destroy our homes and our families. Will we allow this?" Arthur asked. "NO!" his people shouted. "And who do I mean by it? I mean the War Lords, vile monsters whose only honor is terror and murder! If they triumph not only do we lose but freedom, equality, and the light fail! Will we, no can we allow that to happen?" Arthur asked. Cries of No! and Never! arose from the crowd. "Then let us go forth and vanquish this foe!" He finished. His forces cheered and prepared their defenses outside the capital.

Merkuto rode up to Voktor nodded then turned to address their army. "Men! This will be the greatest battle of your lives! Before us lie the heathen traitors! Death to the enemy! Death! Death! Death! Death!" Merkuto shouted and soon the entire army took up the cry and began to advance toward Arthur’s forces in a menacing wave formation. The battle was about to begin.

Arthur waited for the War Lords to smash into his army. His wife Guinevere and his best troops, his Knights of the Round Table, lead by Lancelot held the center of the army while regular troops held the rest of the area. Then it happened. The War Lords were upon them and the battle began. Within minutes the casualties were enormous. Arrows blotted out the sky from both forces. Soldiers fell as though mowed down like wheat. Arthur killed a Germanic warrior and moved on. His center was holding but the right wing seemed to be weak. Arthur rode over to lend assistance with a few of his knights. They plugged the gap in the line and pressed the enemy back. Then Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw Lancelot and Guinevere leading a counterattack in the center. The enemy was bending back and the line was about to snap. Arthur returned to press the attack home. Victory seemed within his grasp.

Merkuto saw the center of the army falling back as planned. Soon it broke and Arthur’s best men came rushing forward and stopped at the sight of Merkuto for a moment. Merkuto then unleashed power as he had never before, his dragon like form became more apparent and larger until Merkuto was a full sized dragon. He roared and flames shot forth burning Arthur’s men to a cinder, the King barely escaping with his life. Merkuto could not sustain his form long and soon went back to his regular shape and began blasting Arthur’s men until the line was repaired. He was hoping that would frighten the enemy but no luck Arthur rallied them and they held. Now it was up to Voktor on the left to break them.

Votor rode forth on a large black armored horse, himself clad in heavy armor as well. He lead an elite group of cavalry against Arthur’s left and the battle was becoming very chaotic. But the chaos seemed to be working to his advantage. He killed Briton after Briton in his murderous advance. Then he came upon Lancelot who had brought in reinforcements. He swung his heavy sword which Lancelot barely blocked and then struck back at him. Voktor’s armor repelled the blow but it was still painful. Voktor brought up his clawed hand and blasted Lancelot from close range. Lancelot flew off his horse badly wounded. Then Voktor felt a terrible pain in his arm. Guinevere had shot him with an arrow. Voktor tore it out his eyes burning with hatred. He then dismounted and attacked the queen who barely dodged his mighty blows. She then fell to the ground. Voktor raised his sword for the final blow and his army seemed to do the same as the Britons collapsed all around him. Then Voktor heard the most terrifying sound he would ever hear in his life. Arthur shouted, "Voktor!" but this was not Arthur’s voice it was inhuman, extremely powerful, and menacing. Arthur pounded toward him on a great white steed and was surrounded by an aura of powerful light. His sword seemed poised to slice Voktor in two. The War Lord barely withstood the blow flying back several yards before smashing to Earth. He barely recovered and Arthur was at him again. "Demon! Liar!" He shouted in that mighty voice. "You wear the symbol of the Cross but you are the heathen! You murder innocents, equality, and freedom. I banish you from Briton! Never return and pollute the land with your evil again!" Voktor began to retreat in stark terror hoping his army would save him from this unknown and terrible power. But then Arthur’s cavalry smashed into Voktor’s men and cut them down. The left began to fall apart and the rest of the army with it. Voktor jumped onto a horse and began to flee to the coast with the rest of the army. Arthur hot in pursuit. It wasn’t over yet.

Merkuto was enraged. They were going to lose. But if they were going Arthur was with them. He spotted him riding after Voktor and gaining fast. Merkuto closed even faster and leapt from his horse tackling Arthur from his who seemed to finally lose some of his terrible power. He threw Mekuto off him and they battled for some time. Then Arthur’s knights showed up. Merkuto let out an inhuman shriek and fled. Arthur had just dealt the War Lords their greatest defeat ever and he still had more in store for them.

Voktor had made it to the coast. By this time nine out of every ten men that came with them was dead. Many more had been killed in ambushes after the defeat and Arthur was still chasing them to the coast. What was left of the army boarded the ships and fled. But Arthur had yet another trap waiting. His fleet came out and attacked the transports causing even more death and destruction. Few returned to the continent alive. Merkuto and Voktor however were among the few. Voktor ran off of the transport and fell to the ground groaning and vomitting up blood. That power! He thought. "So horrible!" he managed to choke out. Then he saw Merkuto standing above him bleeding from several wounds. "Get up!" he roared at Voktor. Who shakily managed to do so. Voktor only groaned and nearly fell again. "Stop that you fool!" Merkuto commanded. "Listen, Arthur is but a man. He will die and as you know we will not. When he does Briton will return to the way it once was." "I, I can never go back," Voktor stammered. "That curse. I’ll be struck dead if I set foot on that island again." Merkuto only shook his head. "Hold your silly superstitions then. As for now we have work to do. Let’s go." he said. Voktor wearily obeyed and they began to rebuild their forces once more.