History Many thousands of years since humanity first evolved in the world of
Myth, scholars looking back through its history began to notice a pattern; civilisation would rise, only to be torn down, before again rising. More specifically, they noticed that every thousand years, a powerful being bent only on destruction would conquer humanity, ushering in an age of darkness. This age of darkness would itself last a thousand years, until a hero emerged to lead humanity into an age of light. For a thousand years, humanity would prosper, only to be conquered once again, leading to another thousand years of darkness, and so on. The commencement of each thousand-year cycle is marked by the appearance of a comet in the western skies, "The Apparitor". Believing each evil being to be the same entity in different guises, scholars called him "The Leveler". They noted that each time The Leveler returned, he was more powerful than before, and feared that eventually he would be unstoppable. When Sorangath assumed the mantle of The Leveler, many felt this was the final phase of the cycle. However, Sorangath was defeated by Tireces, and once again, humanity prospered. After Sorangath's defeat came the Age of Reason, during which a warlord named Clovis of the Bruig united most of humanity under one banner; the Cath Bruig Empire. In the capital city of Llancarfan, the archmage Mazzarin founded a school for
sorcerers, the most skilled of whom became known as Avatara. During this period, the Avatara occasionally came into conflict with a powerful necromancer known as Bahl'al, who appeared briefly throughout human history, before vanishing again for centuries. This tendency earned him the name "The Watcher". A thousand years after the death of Sorangath, The Apparitor appeared, heralding the return of The Leveler. Inhabiting the long dead body of Tireces, and assuming all his knowledge, The Leveler became known as Moagim. Despite this, humanity had grown strong, and Moagim knew defeat was imminent. Using black magic, he opened a door into another realm, and found a race of fearless monsters known as Myrkridia. Shortly thereafter, he was captured by the Avatara, and drawn and quartered, but he had already brought the Myrkridia into the world. Humanity were unprepared for such a vicious foe, and was hunted to near extinction. Only Llancarfan remained of the Cath Bruig Empire. In the mountainous lands of Gower, refugees from other parts of the world banded together for survival. One thousand years since the Myrkridia appeared, they remain undefeated in battle, and their numbers continue to grow. Meanwhile, a necromancer calling himself Moagim Reborn has emerged. In the western skies, The Apparitor heralds the coming of a new hero.
Plot The game begins one-thousand years prior to
The Fallen Lords. Only two human strongholds remain; Gower and Llancarfan. Unable to penetrate Llancarfan, the Myrkridia have instead focused on Gower, reaching the largest
township, Yürsgrad. The town is successfully defended by a group under the command of Connacht, a man raised in the wild after the Myrkrida destroyed his village and killed his family, and who has spent his life studying them and learning their weaknesses. Over the next four years, the various clans unite behind Connacht, who goes on the offensive, pushing the Myrkridia back into the Dire Marsh. Word of Connacht's deeds reach Llancarfan, and he is summoned to meet Emperor Leitrim, who wishes him to join the fight against Moagim Reborn. On the way, he saves the life of Damas, captain of the Emperor's
Royal Guard, and the two become friends. In Llancarfan, Leitrim asks Connacht to teach the men how to defeat the Myrkridia, and Connacht agrees, much to the consternation of Leitrim's advisor, the archmage Mjarin, who takes an instant dislike to him. The training is conducted under the watch of Myrdred, a young Avatara. After several months, the soldiers are tasked with finding and killing a Myrkridian Pack-Mage. They do so, finding a book in the Pack-Mage's den revealing Moagim is planning to launch an attack on Llancarfan. However, the book also notes the location of his camp, and Connacht launches a preemptive strike. The army walk into a trap; Moagim has enlisted the aid of Bahl'al, who unleashes an army of undead, and the Trow, ancient
giants nearly unstoppable in combat, who also bring with them their Oghre slaves. The army is decimated, leaving a demoralized Connacht planning to return to Gower, but is prevented by Damas and Myrdred, who suggests they find Mazzarin. Legend claims Bahl'al killed Mazzarin centuries ago, but Myrdred believes him to be still living. The trio set out to find him, accompanied by Ravanna, a Myrmidon warrior. Entering his crypt, Mazzarin is initially uninterested in helping them. Impressed by Connacht, he transfers his knowledge of the
Total Codex, a book that tells of future events, into Connacht's mind. In Llancarfan, Connacht speaks to the
dwarven Smiths of Muirthemne about creating a magical device that could imprison infinite enemies.
Forgemaster Traval says they can make it, but they need their tome of building from Myrgard, which is currently under siege by Ghôls. Connacht leads an army to lift the siege, annihilating the Ghôls. The Dwarves form an alliance with humanity, and give Connacht the tome. In Llancarfan, the Smiths build Connacht a Tain; a small magical device containing a pocket universe of limitless capacity, capable of sweeping an infinite number of enemies inside it. With the Tain in hand, Connacht and a small contingent of men head to the Dire Marsh, and wipe out the Myrkirida. Moagim then attacks Llancarfen with an army of undead and Trow. The army is repelled, but it is agreed that with the Trow by his side, Moagim could return and breach the city. As such, Connacht proposes they be removed from the war; Myrdred has learned the Oghre are not enslaved by physical means, but by a "Dream of Subjugation", and believes if the spell can be broken, the Oghre will rebel, and the Trow will withdraw from the war to deal with the uprising. Myrdred leads a small force to the Trow Empire, where he is able to free the Oghre, beginning a rebellion against the Trow, who withdraw from the war. Two years pass. Moagim makes no attempt to attack Llancarfan, but continues to conquer lands outside the city. When news arrives that the Twelve Duns, home of the Myrmidon, has fallen, Ravanna, who is in love with Damas, heads there, saving thousands of refugees, and forging an alliance between the Duns and the city. Meanwhile, Connacht receives word from the Smiths that a device he commissioned from them is ready, the SunHammer. When he reaches the forge, he finds it under attack by the Spider Cult, a group who worship Syrkrosh, a giant spider from another dimension. Finding the Cult has stolen the Tain and the SunHammer, Connacht readies his forces to attack, but before he can do so, the Smiths infiltrate the cultists' temple. They wipe out the Cult, retrieve the artifacts and imprison Syrkrosh within the Tain. When Connacht attacks, he finds a note from Traval explaining Syrkrosh came into the world by way of an accident during the construction of the Tain, so the Smiths felt honor-bound to defeat her, following her inside the Tain to kill her. Meanwhile, the Trow put down the Oghre rebellion, and vow to attack Llancarfan. On the way to intercept them, Connacht's forces are ambushed by Bahl'al, and although they survive, Connacht knows someone has betrayed them. Eventually, they destroy the Trow Empire, Connacht using the SunHammer to melt their cities and trap them within the molten iron. Upon returning to Llancarfan, Connacht prepares the army to destroy Moagim. Before they leave, however, Leitrim asks Connacht to let him command the attack. Despite his misgivings, and under pressure from Mjarin, Connacht agrees. En route, they are attacked by Bahl'al, but Myrdred, who seems to have grown unnaturally skilled, defeats him in a dream duel. Meanwhile, Moagim heads west, planning to cross the Cloudspine Mountains into The Province. With both sides camped in the Cloudspine, Moagim sneaks into the Llancarfan camp and kills Leitrim. Connacht and Damas then lead an assault into Moagim's camp, with Connacht killing Moagim, and his armies of undead collapsing thereafter. However, as they return from the battle, Connacht realizes Mjarin is the real Leveler; he resurrected Moagim to cover his own machinations. Connacht also learns Myrdred is in the service of Mjarin. Connacht and his men fight their way to Mjarin, with Connacht killing him. The head, however, refuses to die, and so is buried. Myrdred is banished and renamed The Deceiver, whilst Bahl'al is hunted down, and imprisoned beneath the Cloudspine. Connacht becomes Emperor of Llancarfan, which he renames Muirthemne in honour of the dwarven smiths. Years later, Connacht tells Damas to destroy what artifacts of power he can and hide the indestructible ones, explaining that from his knowledge of the
Total Codex, he knows he will become the next Leveler, and does not want to have access to any of these items. Connacht presides over a prosperous era known as the Wolf Age, before disappearing into the east, not to be seen again for a thousand years when he would return as Balor, with Damas and Ravanna again by his side as Soulblighter and Shiver. ==Development==