Part XV: The Coming of The Myz
Chapter 2: Gwar is Afraid
Timeline: AO 319
Little did Hacktor know, whether he consciously did it or not, he had just committed a mortal sin – for the king had spoken aloud to others that which was told to him in private at the Well of Wyzdom. And although none present knew this at the time, Hacktor’s blunder would later be marked as a critical turning point by the Scribes of Chaldea when they reflected on the reasons why the War of the Ghast ultimately failed.
[Naturally, the Drokka historians’ identification that Hacktor’s loose lips were the cause that led their people to lose the war was complete nonsense – but, as usual, humans of later generations have a long history of changing history to tell the story they want it to be].
Nevertheless these errors would not bear fruit for some time, and for the moment, the only thing Hacktor and his war-clans could think of was the insult of Gwar. Come the spring of AO 319, the War of The Ghast became even bloodier than before as Hacktor and his army erupted onto the lands of Gor and even push a bit north into Kra — Hacktor intent on slaughtering all evil minions’ off the face of Mittengarten.
And the war cries of “With Rhokii’s Might” and “Challenge not the Drokka, for Rhokii is our god” were heard far and wide by all the residents of those lands – and the resulting death and destruction they brought with it.
Into the battle once again went The Ghast, along with a Drokka army that was practically immeasurable in numbers (many of them carrying pseudo-ghasts at least for show – for they looked impressive – even though most didn’t use the useless blades in battle).
At that time, the Drokka population was over a half a million strong and their people had still filled perhaps every nook, cranny, and cave in the Rhokii Mountains. For the Drokka now guarded the entire span of that passage – from Duzarez and Gaza in the south, all the way to Oz in the north.
[For some perspective, the Drokka population was approximately 100k when they first escaped slavery and were led by Ajax the Freemaker into the Rhokii Mountains some three centuries past. Despite continual war, the Drokka quickly thrived once they were free and their population grew to nearly 300k by AO60. Although it declined slightly during the War for the Might of Rhokii (AO 175-185), in which the Drokka went head to head against Gwar – and got demolished at every turn, after 70 years of Baldur’s peaceful reign, it ballooned again, surpassing 500k. Soaring inflation and lack of foods as well as Hacktor’s war caused a slight reduction in the people’s headcount but the Drokka’s birth rate was strong enough to balance out this loss so the population remained stable — until AO 319 — for reasons you’ll soon learn].
Under Hacktor’s leadership, the Drokka were again destroying the Derkka at every turn and this new year of war promised to be the best yet. Hacktor sent messengers back home to Hecla who then happily had Monty Redstone use his propaganda machine to spread word that the war would surely soon be over.
Monty’s ‘influencers’ assured the populace that the king’s confidence about the war ending soon was warranted, for as Monty’s men explained, “not only does Kon-Herr Hacktor have an invincible weapon, but now all the members of the Drokka army do too and therefore the already depleted Derkka army will inevitably surrender soon.”
[This was actually not true – less than 50% of the men were equipped with ghasts and we we’ve already discussed these blades were not made by the weapons smith Hef Fastuz but instead poor craftsman and as such were horrible, but #FakeNews rarely concerns itself with facts, right?]
Meanwhile Mirker and Malchoir had their priests remind their worshippers at every church service that Hacktor Derkillez was not only the Kon-Herr Drokka of the Rhokii’s but also a living Balkery and he was therefore blessed by the gods who would surely make certain that fortune favored him and his army.
The propaganda efforts worked. Desperate for any sign of good news, the Drokka public allowed themselves to believe that the war would end soon. With the help of Monty’s professional ‘influencers’ the common people even began to praise Hacktor for his greatness – thankful they were living during such times.
With everyone now rabid with delight — the Drokka nation was thus quite sure that finally, once and for all, Hacktor Derkillez and his Ghast would carry them to complete and total victory over their hated rivals.
And indeed, they were almost correct.
Unfortunately for Hacktor and his men, it takes more than just fancy weapons to win a war – and more than that to defeat a God.
Although Hacktor continued to drive his men further into The Overworld — looking for Gwar – in spite of the god’s bold challenge, never once did the Kon-Herr and his army find the Gwar waiting for them.
What happened?
It’s simple really – after Gwar had spent his bravado at the old site of The Siq, he came calling to me – asking what I thought about The Ghast and blustering that he’d get the weapon for himself in one way or another. I told him to stop making promises he couldn’t keep and, before he could dispute me, I challenged him to just go (and secretly) watch the next battle to see The Ghast in action for himself.
Gwar took my advice (amazing, right?) and during the rest of the year AO319 he observed numerous battles between the Derkka and the Drokka. Sitting on his wind-swept Aerie, high in the mountains of Kagor, the God of War became obsessed watching the battles that raged on TerrVerde proper. Strange as it may sound, although it was Gwar’s mission in life was to inspire gruesome war throughout the world, my colleague soon discovered that the horrors of combat no longer brought him joy.
Why?
Because Gwar was afraid!
Yes, Gwar the God of War, the God of Hate, the deity who had killed more mortals than there are stars in the sky, yes that Gwar, suddenly found himself fearful of battle. For upon watching the awesome destruction levied by The Ghast, Gwar realized that even he could not stand up to its might.
(I guess he was smarter than I thought?).
As it turned out, that entire year, Gwar never moved from his perch – for he was wholly transfixed by the sight of The Ghast.
With naught he could do but watch, Gwar let my Derkka goblins fight on his behalf — which I graciously allowed him to take the credit for. If you’re wondering why Gwar had to use my minions to do his job (i.e. make war) it’s because Gwar, like Sindra, did not possess the power to create like I did; thus whenever either of my colleagues wanted to use my progeny to do their bidding, always were they forced to come to me — a fact that was not lost on either of them]. However, as Gwar continually saw ‘his’ Derkka being haplessly slaughtered by the hated Drokka, he grew ever more battle-hungry — so much so that he was becoming insane with bloodlust.
And then one day, at the end of AO319 I made nicey-nice and gave Gwar something to take his mind off his frustrations —- sending him a summons, inviting him to call upon me again, and promising that what I had to say would change his world (nay, the entire world) forever.
For I promised Gwar a chance to get The Ghast.
The Apocrypha of Azazel 