Quarthanos, Templar Lord
In the name of the Living Saint, is there no end to the evil of this blighted place? Have you come to join the Crusade? Saint Malorn himself has declared that these deserts, once prime provinces of the Realm of Ardan, are to be reclaimed for Humanity, the Chosen Children of the All-Father. And so we have come to bring the Cleansing Flame of redemption to this land of fire and dust. Our road, it seems, shall be long indeed. But our faith will not falter!
Many are the foes we face here, for there are many who would deface the ancient glories of Ardan, or keep them hidden so that the Sons of Men might never reclaim these ancient ruins, and their rightful legacy of glory. The Devil-men, degenerate Elf-blooded fiends who worship the false fires of Chaos, the impure fires that can only destroy and blacken, never redeem. They are pawns of Chaos and must be cleansed, as the Articles of Faith demand. Other foul creatures dwell here as well, scaly horrors who worship the Dragon itself, brazen Giants who revere the name of the Destroyer (I shall not utter it!), and foul jackal-headed spawn of the Beast Lords. All of them must be cleansed.
Worst of all are the heretics, the Dervish-men who fled to the deserts in some forgotten age. Among them the ancient, pagan faith of Bellugh Nuathal still burns hot, a false heresy that shall buy them naught but pain and much correction. The stink of Chaos lays heavy on these lands, and we have found here emissaries of the Legions of Vorgrim, lackeys of the Maimed God. We shall fight them, and reclaim those ancient arms that their master so besmirched with treachery! If you would join our righteous crusade, press on! If not, then get thee hence, lest my brothers smite you with the Cleansing Flame!
Tell me more of Ardan.
Ancient ruins dot these sands, the last relics of that ancient Kingdom that was the birthplace of all Humankind, where once the All-Father himself dwelt among His Chosen Children! There of old stood the great Temple of Ardan, a palace where the first men joined in fellowship with their creator. So much of that age has been lost, swept away by the treachery and sorcery of the perfidious Elves. Curses be upon them for ever, and upon the arrogance of their so-called Deathless Empire!
Tell me more of Bellugh Nuathal.
They are the vilest of Heretics! Of all the sinners, they are the most foul, for they have turned their backs on the All-Father, as the Elves did of old.
After the Years of Sorrow, when all Humanity toiled under the dark oppression of the Deathless Empire, it was the Centaurs who taught escaped Human slaves the way of the All-Father and the forgotten history of Ardan, reuniting the Sons of Men with their stolen destiny. There were some lost souls, however, who cursed the All-Father for never saving Ardan. These Men spurned the counsel of the Horse Lords, and set out to find new Gods. Their folly has spelt their doom!
Led by the prophet Bellugh, these renegades worshipped of the elements of earth, wind, sea, and fire. Fire they placed above all the other elements as creator and destroyer, the source and the bane of all that lives. And so it is seen that they are indeed Men, for their heart is drawn to the Flame of purity, yet because their souls are unfit they can only see the debased fire of Chaos instead of the True Flame. Bellugh's followers made a false God of the Sun, which they named Nuath. But Bellugh led them all astray. There is no Nuath -- it is Khalikryst, mother of the Devil-men, who toyed with them and granted their heretics powers. For centuries the Sun worshippers practiced their foul rites of human sacrifice. The Holy Church of the All-Father denounced the followers of Bellugh as heretics, and sought to destroy them. Alas, the corrupted Church was no stronger then than now, and their inquisition only drove the cult of Bellugh Nuathal into hiding, where they faded from all knowledge. The Bellugh Nuathal took haven among the pagan Gwendannen, who for a time added Nuath to their pantheon of Gods.
In recent days rumors reached the righteous Lictors that the Bellugh Nuathal has reformed, or else emerged from hiding. Indeed, we have seen them here! Priests in the brazen vestments of the Sun God have wandered into these deserts, seeking the aid of creatures born of fire and Chaos. We are not afraid: the pyres of these heretics are prepared. Soon we shall show them the true power of Flame!
Tell me more of the Vorgrim Legion.
That is a black name, that once was held in high honor, but is now stained with the taint of sin, Chaos, and treachery. The Legion was born of folly, during the War of the Scourge, when the mightiest in the armies of Elves and Humanity joined together to form an elite army where the Firstborn and the Sons of Men would fight side by side, under joint command. The Legion won its greatest fame during the middle years of the conflict, when they managed to halt the advance of Chaos on many fronts. After the retrieval of Shadowbane and the turning of the tide, Malog the War God emerged from his long seclusion to answer the All-Father's call to arms. Malog himself took command of the Vorgrim Legion and led it to many victories. In their pride, the Legion slowly renounced its ties with the lords of Elves or Men, following their mighty general to death and glory.
The Legion's fate was sealed when Malog tried to betray the All-Father to His doom in the Pit of Chaos. The warriors of the Vorgrim were abandoned and trapped with their dark master. Malog's treachery poisoned the name of the Vorgrim Legion forever: the tales and songs of its exploits were deliberately forgotten, and the few surviving members of the Legion renounced it. But now the Legion moves again. Ever since Malog, reborn as Morloch the Destroyer returned to the world, warriors and devotees of Chaos have appeared wearing the ancient suits of armor used by the Legion of old. Morloch is combing ruins and ancient places for the enchanted relics of the Legion, and some fear that the Maimed God intends to reform the legion and use it to conquer all the fragments of Aerynth. No doubt he seeks to destroy these ruins, sacred to the memory of Men! We will win back the enchanted arms of the Vorgrim, and put them once again to honorable use!
