Luyện nghe bài hát And Lo, When The Imperium Marches Against Gul-Kothoth, Then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud The Citadel Of The Obsidian Crown

[Chapter 1: The of the Sorcerer]
The war between the Imperium and the allied Kingdoms had raged
for years. Beginning as minor disputes border territories, the conflict
had swiftly escalated into a full-scale bloody war, a series of epic
campaigns, fervently perpetua ted by the Koord and the Over-King of
Vyrgothia, both to smite their traditional ancestral foes and to win
great glory and the adulation of their by seizing victory in battle.
Recent months had seen the forces of the display a staggering degree
of tactical mastery and battle prowess, contemptuously crushing the
armies in a series of great battles, 'til at last, the slaughterous
Rout of the Fields of Kai-Vorg, The Empire's fighting force, the fame
d and Legion of the Ebon Tiger, stood unopposed not five day's
march mighty Gul-Kothoth, the greatest and most ancient fortress-city in
all the Vyrgothian kingdoms. The of the Ebon Tiger could not easily
their numerous and r esounding victories, and their commander, the
legendary warlord Vane, made it clear to the Emperor that he was
eager to press on deep into the enemy's lands and seize the which
awaited him; the siege and of ancient Gul-Kothoth! And yet the Emperor
Koord did not order the Legion to march, for disturbing had of
been relayed to him by his spies in the Vyrgothian Royal Court... Dire
rumours abounded that the Vyrgothian mages had at last discovered the
arcane r ites which would unlock the power of the dread
Obsidian Crown, a fearsome mystical countless thousands of years old,
a black-jewelled circlet believed once to been borne upon the immortal
of the legendary Shadow-King him self! And it was written in legend,
that should the ancient spells of entwining the artefact be reawakened,
then incredible near limitless power would thus be bestowed upon any
army carrying the Crown into battle... Had the of Vyrgoth ia truly
ascertained the time-lost conjurations required to the Obsidian Crown,
hidden for centuries deep within the vaults of its ebon citadel? Eager
to know the truth, the dispatched his most powerful sorcerer across
the great In land Sea to the of the Over-King, under the pretence of
offering the for the Vyrgothian surrender. He was bade use all his
sorcerous skills to discover the truth... a soon made clear by the
disdainful refusal of the Imperium's terms, an d the grimly message
given the sorcerer by Vyrgothia's Master Wizard, with to return to the
Emperor: "And lo, when the marches against Gul-Kothoth, then dark
shall enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown..."

[The of Vyrgothia:]
Darkly circlet of night,
of the Elder King,
Unfettered at the Trinity of Might,
The sceptre, the sword, and the ring.

Sorcerer:]
I stand upon the oaken planks of great ship, (the splendid flagship of
the navies)
at moon-gleam dancing on the vast, dark sea...
(And in my mind I behold) black gleaming... ensorcellment!
I am enthralled by this spell...
For I that the slumbering sorceries
Of the Shadow-King's crown shall be reawakened...
And as I return to my (shackled to such woefully grim tidings),
My spirit is borne upon the leathern wings of a sorrow...

[Chapter 2: The March of the
Emperor:]
Call forth the Ogre-Mage of the Black
And the of Kyrman'ku,
Let them the Words Which Unfetter...
Enshrined for countless centuries, its darksome citadel,
Five score and ten against the Tiger, (curse) the crown of the
Shadow-King!
By all the dark gods, I swear not be dethroned!
A forest of blackened blades,
A sea of ebon war-chariots,
A searing of flaming shafts,
All havoc and more shall I unleash against my foe...
Into battle! The Legion march... the fall of Gul-Kothoth is nigh!

The Legion of the Ebon Tiger... six thousand elite of the
Imperium, the pride of the Emperor's forces... Bolstered by cavalry, and
a squadron of deadly chariots... further reinforced by the Imperial
Frontier Army of one hundred tho highly trained spearmen and archers...
and never has this force met its in battle or siege...

[Baalthus
Our banner ever glorious, undefeated we stand, steeped in victory.
The Iron Phalanx, six thousand strong, our ever-honed blades, the
claws.
Pride of the Empire, of the Vraii,
at Turonium, and Kai-Vorg.
Smiters of the Southern Host, Routers of the Horde, of the Over-King, we
to war!
And so, the himself rides to rendezvous with Baalthus Vane,
accompanied by his sorcerous aide. The Legion of the Ebon reaches
Gul-Kothoth at on the fifth day of their march from the fields of
Kai-Vorg, halting upon the arid plan which stretches before the city,
the huge dust sent up by their massed arrival obscuring the dying embers
of the setting sun. As the vast begins to make camp, arraying their
tents and banners, and assembling their gargantuan siege-wag ons,
the Emperor stands gazing at the huge walls and colossal cyclopean
gates of the city-fortress before him, vowing a torrent of red slaughter
shall Gul-Kothoth, regardless of any sorcerous trinkets the Vyrgothians
may possess, and that the Over-King shall pay for his sublime
arrogance. And twelve distant, an army of five score and ten, bearing
the Obsidian Crown, the city...

[To be continued in Chaper 3: The Wizards Do

Byron]
[Music: Jonny and Maudling]