435 - The Second Vampire War, the Vampire Lords (updated 2004/02/11)

Aegis has been constantly under attack ever since the city was reclaimed. The ancient "Battle Plain of Sepulchre" is home to legions of deathless Eldar who died in the Battlesong Wars and the Battle of the Thousandfold Curses. Avathar necromancers wander Sepulchre and raise undead armies, binding the restless dead to the banners of their armies, and hurling them in large numbers against the walls of Aegis. Each time, the Dwur, Karrocks and Alorns of Aegis held walls as a bastion against the tides of darkness. Even a few Eldar dwelled in Aegis, teaching the defenders the arts of archery, swordsmanship, and Battlesong. Aegis became a guiding beacon for noble warriors, and many orders of knighthood were formed.

The final conflict of this war took place in the year 435. The latest Avathar army was crashing against the walls of Aegis--endless waves of undead washed over the defenders, bolstered by Avathar necromancers and led by elite warbands of merciless Kurgans.

With each sweep of the sword, the battle was proving to be a near thing, the attackers threatening to breach the defenses and crush the defenders with losses at any moment. Losses were devastatingly high on both sides, albeit only one army would mourn its losses. If either side won, it would be by only a handful of warriors. Messengers were dispatched to summon reinforcements from Alahan, but they would be too late to affect the outcome, only soon enough to retake the fortress should it fall, or to pursue and wipe out the Avathar army should it retreat. The defenders were grimly resolved to meet their fate, only hoping that should they fall and join the ranks of the undead spawn, the reinforcements from Alahan would make their suffering brief.

Suddenly, thirteen terrible warrior kings materialized, garbed in armor made from bones and wielding mighty songblades stained with blood. Alglond knights rode fearlessly to confront them before the gates, but the warrior kings wielded eldritch power beyond the comprehension of mortals. Words of Power shattered phalanxes of knights and cackling songblades clove through the ranks of Alglond's finest. The warrior kings smashed through the knights to the gate, where a few unexpectedly removed their helms and called out to the gatekeepers parley! The warrior kings demanded entry to the city and audience with the king of Aegis, suing for peace between their peoples. Struck with fear yet buoyed by hope, the guardsmen allowed them to enter and escorted them to the palace. Strangely, none who saw them thought to spread news or rumors of their arrival, and the battle outside the walls waged on.

When the king of Aegis received word of their arrival, he privately voiced concerns to his inner council that these visitors were perhaps the cause of the Kurgan curse and made plans to slay these Vampire Lords in his court. Surprisingly, when the thirteen kings entered the throne room they appeared to be Eldar, albeit with blood-filled red eyes and terrible crowns of Avathar Shadowsteel and Illythridin. Despite appearances, the pale Eldar lords were quite civilized, and wove pleasant words before the king and his court, soothing the tempers that might have otherwise flared. Together, the fourteen kings arranged a peace treaty that would end hostilities and allow the majority of each army to survive. All of the assembled Alglond lords heartily agreed that the wisdom of the treaty was truly inspired upon hearing the melodic voices and reasonable words of the kings. Why should both armies perish when such a reasonable compromise could be reached? The Avathars necromancers would unbind their hold on the fallen Alglond warriors who had risen as spawn, allowing them a peaceful rest. In return, the thirteen kings merely asked to speak privately to an assembly of all of their Eldar kin in Aegis.

However, some say the Alglond king and his advisors acted strangely in the presence of the pale kings, and some present strenuously objected to the arrangement. One of those who disagreed with the treaty was Bregolas--an Eldar commander and one of those named as kin. Bregolas claimed the Alglond king ensorceled, and bravely led his few retainers present in an attack against the thirteen kings. Some Alglond knights joined them, inspired by his words, but most of the Alglonds sided with their king and lords against Bregolas. The resulting battle was truly tragic, as renowned Alglond knights slew each other in defense of their true foes. Only one of the thirteen kings, Saracek, drew twin Battlesinger blades to deal with Bregolas personally, and then the battle was over.

Both sides held to their bargain, though the Alglonds knew not the true cost. First, the Avathar necromancers released their hold on Alglond dead as a show of good faith, and their Kurgan warbands quit the field. Without explaining the reason, the Alglond king called the few Eldar dwelling in Aegis to assemble in one of the citadel's halls, which the the thirteen kings had prepared for this purpose. When the Eldar had all been brought together in the room, the thirteen kings entered in state. The Alglonds heard nothing of the assembly, and after a time they looked into the room--finding nothing except swirling smoke and dimly glowing Avathar Lanthorns on the walls.

The war had ended, but the Alglonds wept with grief and horror when they realized the true cost. To this day, Eldar rarely visit Aegis, seeing it as a city cursed by the power of the "Vampire Lords". The hall where the Lanthorn hangs is a place of infamy, and Eldar priests immediately sealed the place with stone blocks and warding runes of holy silver Ithildin. None can say what happened to the Eldar taken by the "Vampire Lords", but the implications are unpleasant.