Ward History
Chapter 11- The Edict and the Pact
The Holy Order was crumbling, and the Old God had not been answering the High Priests prayers for weeks. The Empire of the Damned was devastating everything in their path and the doom of the Holy Order seemed to be at hand. The Holy Order had some small victories as the undead assaulted some of the larger cities. The undead were everywhere but they continued to break upon the strong walled cities of the Holy Order. Believing the Old God had abandoned his people the High Priest called a summit of the other mortal races at the Holy Orders most sacred place, the Cathedral of Dawn. Leaders from many different races traveled great distances to the Holy Orders capital city of High Rock. Tensions boiled and old rivalries erupted. It seemed as if nothing but animosity existed between these great leaders. But in the end the unlikeliest of leaders stood forth. The Elven king, a proud and arrogant man who deemed all other races below the Elves, for they were of The Creator, made a harrowing speech. That Though the Elves were fallen they are still descended from the one true god, The Creator, and their mission to safeguard Ward was still their obligation. Putting his ego aside he strode to the High Priest and declared for all to see to come to the aid of the Holy Order. For they were of the living, and this was a fight not between races, but between life and the slavery of undeath. The Elven king bore great weight amongst the leaders as he had the most reason to leave the Holy kingdom of men to their own fate, as the Undead King was of their own making. One by one the other great leaders of Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings all swore an oath to come to the aid of the Holy Order and end the Undead invasion of Ward, thus forming the alliance, The Edict of Dawn.
The scourge of the undead was everywhere. Some places had been hit harder than others, but no one was left untouched. Hooded figures in black robes riding undead black steeds traveled across Ward serving as missionaries to the Undead King. The message was simple convert or die. Seeing the growing threat of the undead was not only a Human problem, and the new alliance the Elves had made, the Dark Elves enemies were growing in strength. Knowing it was only a matter of time before their longtime nemesis the Elves turned the Edict of Dawns attention towards them. The Dark Elves were strong but they were few in number. Their solution to bolster their army with the bloodthirsty Orcs had failed miserably. The Orcs were uncontrollable, but fortunately for them they did not need to control the Orcs, only direct their aggression in the right direction. The Dark Elves staged attacks on a few smaller of the Orc tribes and made it look like both Elves and Undead were attacking them. Convinced, the Orcs were under attack on two fronts they reached out to their progentors for support. In this the Dark Elves convinced the Orcs that they must rally around a single banner. Although reluctant the Orcs valued strength above all else calling together other races they deemed strong enough to be in their army they came together. However, this meeting did not go as the Dark Elves had planned. In their minds they were the obvious choice to lead the coalition. But the Orcs had a different idea. They called for representatives of the Dark Elves, Goblins, Trolls, and Minotaur to a meeting at the Orcish stronghold and capital, Thul. But this was no ordinary gathering for it was a contest of strength and blood to determine who would lead the great army.
Mighty champions of the different races were elected to represent them in this gathering of strength. Mighty warriors and horrific magic casters all showed up to claim the Blood throne. For a month contestants performed in feats of strength and cunning to prove their worth. Tricker goblins, Burly Minotaur, Graceful Dark Elves, Ferocious Troll, and Blood thirsty Orcs all competed in gladiatorial combat. Amazing and terrifying at the same time the heroes competed, but in the end only one could prevail. First to fall was the tricker goblin Hero. Their misdirection and wild boom power was overshadowed by the beautiful and deadly sorcerer of the Dark Elves. Next, to fall was the resilient Troll champion. Although blessed with the ability to heal deadly wounds and regenerate lost limbs eventually the power of the Mighty Minotaur overcame the restorative powers of the Troll champion. A show of raw strength against blood thirsty rage determined the next winner. The powerful Minotaur champion pitted its strength again the relentless assault of the Orc Chieftain. Blades were broken and blood soaked the field of battle but in the end the indomitable rage of the Orc won out. With only two left the picturesque Dark Elf squared up against the monstrous Orc. Might vs magic, wit vs brawn the two clashed. But in the end only one could ascend to the title of Blood King. Back and forth they went, blasts of darkness and corruption lashed out at the Orc inflicting grievous would. But there was a reason the Orcs were unbound by the Dark Elves, for the brutality of the Orcs could not be contained and the Dark Elf buckled under the skull crushing grip of the new Blood King.
Following the tournament of strength, the newly crowned Blood King and the representative kings and leaders of the other races signed the Blood Pact. This was signed in the blood of the fallen heroes and champions to commemorate their sacrifice and commitment to the cause of a strong leader and the alliance between the different races. Each member of The Blood Pact had their own reasons for joining. Stolen lands, old rivalries, honor, blood lust, curiosity, and a slew of other reasons. The Edict of Dawn was their true enemy, but the immediate concern had to be focused on the Empire of the Damned.