pamp-pu kirjoitti:Vielä jokin motiivi Karak Ranudin ja Far Northin väliselle liitolle pitäisi kehittää, ja milloin liitto solmittiin.
Hmm. Tässä olisi jotain. Ei tätä tarvitse mitenkään erityisesti noudattaa tulevaisuudessa, se on vain minun ehdotukseni, ja se varmaan kumoaa jotain aikaisempia, hyviä väittämiä. Mutta laitetaan nyt tulemaan:
The Friendship of Karak Ranud and Far North
In the Imperial Year 2383 the people of Far North met a horrible danger. A plague came upon them, carried by the winds from the north. The people cursed the evil god of Decay, who they had never served themselves, but they knew that the Marauders in the northern wastes had a god of this kind called Nurgle. In that terrifying time some people said that the pestilence was Nurgle’s punishment on Far North, punishing them because they did not serve the Lord of Decay. Those who said these words were known as Pestilans amongst the people, and in some villages they were welcome but in others they were stoned to death. The Pestilans spoke long lectures to vast masses of crowd, telling them that they had to dedicate their souls to Nurgle or die to the plague. But before there were any bigger conflicts between the Pestilans and other Far Norse, one rose amongst the villagers. A young farmer named after the spirit Äijö saw a vision from the Spirits of Purity. He threw away his life as farmer and left to travel the lands of Far North. He spoke against the Pestilans and said that they were liars, and wherever he went the folk listened to him and followed him. Finally the leader of the Pestilans, a great warrior Gunrik, found out Äijö and challenged him for a duel. Äijö’s friends told him:
“Please, don’t fight Gunrik! He is powerful warlord and he will strike you down!”
But Äijö didn’t listen to them. He took up a small sword and went to meet Gunrik. The Pestilan watched the boy laughing and said: “Is this the legendary Äijö? You wouldn’t defeat a lamb in fair battle!” And so Gunrik attacked.
But miraculous, Äijö stabbed Gunrik slaying the warrior with a single strike. Gunrik fell and the Pestilans went to panic. Nobody listened to them anymore and they were driven away from Far North. Soon after that, Äijö found a herbal medicine which could be used to heal the plague. It took one year to cure the decease, but after that pestilence never touched the people again.
But they weren’t the only people that the plague attacked. East from Far North lied the Dwarven fortress of Karak Ranud, where lived a small number of Dwarves. Nurgle struck them, too, and they did not have any healing potions. It is said that the plague killed half of their population that year, and the fortress never rose back to its former glory. But it was not destroyed completely by the decease.
For Äijö saw another vision. The Spirits of Purity came to him and told him:
“East from Pineland lies a grey, dark mountain. You will recognize it from the others by the smoke that rises from the caves on its sides. You must travel to that mountain and go inside the caves. Inside you will find a secret Dwarf stronghold. This stronghold is being slowly killed by the same plague that came upon Far Norse. You must help the Dwarves. Go to their lord and tell him about the herb that cures the plague. Help the Dwarves to collect the plant and teach them to make the medicine. Once you have done this, return to Far North and wait.”
Äijö was confused. “Why, mighty Spirits?” he asked. “Why do I have to help the Dwarves? What do I owe to them?”
“Nothing”, answered the Spirits. “But when you have done this, they will owe to you.”
Äijö didn’t ask anything else. He travelled to the Dwarven stronghold. At first, the Dwarves were not pleased by his presence. They thought he was an enemy spy. But when he told them that he wished to help them defeat the pestilence, their attitude changed. They told him that the name of the fortress was Karak Ranud and that it was very old. They told that the plague was unbearable and that the decease was going to kill all the Dwarves in Karak Ranud.
Äijö taught them how to defeat the plague, and very soon the results began to show. After a while, the whole population of Karak Ranud was cured and the plague was only a memory.
But when Äijö was going to leave and return to his home, a war band of the Pestilans surprised him. Right in front of the gates of Karak Ranud Äijö fought a desperate battle and died. The Pestilans took his body and smashed it into the rocks, cut it into pieces and fed it to the crows. The dwarves saw all this and turned frenzy. They were upset because of the death of their saviour, and so they attacked the Pestilans. Nurgle’s warriors were killed to the last man and they were never seen again in Far North, but they had succeeded in slaying Äijö. The Dwarves mourned the loss of this great man but did never go to Far North and tell Äijö’s people that he was dead.
In Far North, when Äijö didn’t show up, the folk began to believe that he was dead.
“Who is the responsible? Who killed Äijö?” they asked.
“Äijö went to meet Dwarves”, said others. “They must’ve killed him.”
“The Dwarves killed Äijö!” they shouted. “Kill the Dwarves!”
Far North was on the brink of war. The people wanted to destroy Karak Ranud. But they couldn’t find the hidden stronghold and gave up. But for twenty years Far North hated Karak Ranud from the bottom of its heart.
Then, in the Imperial Year 2403, Kislev attacked Far North. The people were defeated and Pineland was invaded. But when all hope seemed to have gone, the Dwarves of Karak Ranud marched to their aid. At first the Far Norse thought that the Dwarves were going to attack them, but instead they attacked the Kislevites. It was a long and bloody battle, but finally the Dwarves struck the Kislevites back.
Far Norse soldiers were amazed. “We thought you were our enemies”, they said.
“No”, said the Dwarves. “We came to pay back our debts to you. Äijö helped us, and now we help you.”
“But didn’t you kill Äijö?”
“No. The Pestilans killed him on our very doorstep.”
After that war, the Far Norse and the Dwarves of Karak Ranud were strong allies and helped each other many times. The Dwarves exchanged gold, weapons and armours to wood and food. This friendship was so tough, that sometimes they even helped each other in battles. The symbol of this bondage was the herb used to cure plague, and the leaders of both peoples often visited the grave of Äijö.
Pyydän suurta pituutta anteeksi, mutta en vain pysty päästämään hyvää tarinaa livahtamaan sormieni välistä. Toivottavasti jaksatte lukea, vaikka onkin englanniksi.
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