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 Voyage of the
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 war, a vast series of epic
campaigns, fervently perpetua ted by the Emperor and the Over-King of
Vyrgothia, both eager to smite their ancestral foes and to win
glory and the adulation of their people by seizing victory in battle.
Recent months had seen the of the Imperium display a staggering degree
of tactical mastery and battle prowess, contemptuously crushing the
in a series of great battles, 'til at last, following the slaughterous
Rout of the Fields of Kai-Vorg, The Empire's finest fighting force, the
d and far-feared Legion of the Ebon Tiger, stood unopposed not five
march from mighty Gul-Kothoth, the greatest and ancient fortress-city in
all the kingdoms. The Legion of the Ebon Tiger could not easily
count their 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 the enemy's lands and seize the prize which
awaited him; the siege and capture of ancient Gul-Kothoth! And yet the
Koord did not order the Legion to march, for information had of
late been to him by his spies in the Vyrgothian Royal Court... Dire
rumours abounded that the Vyrgothian had at last discovered the ancient
arcane r ites which unlock the aeons-fettered power of the dread
Obsidian Crown, a mystical artefact countless thousands of years old,
a black-jewelled circlet believed once to have borne upon the immortal
brow of the legendary him self! And it was written in legend,
that should the ancient spells of entwining the artefact be reawakened,
then incredible near limitless ruinous power would thus be bestowed any
army carrying the Crown battle... Had the mages of Vyrgoth ia truly
ascertained the time-lost conjurations required to empower the Crown,
hidden for centuries deep the marble vaults of its ebon citadel? Eager
to know the truth, the Emperor dispatched his most powerful sorcerer
the great In land Sea to the of the Over-King, under the pretence of
offering the terms for the surrender. He was bade use all his
sorcerous skills to discover the truth... a truth 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 which to to the
Emperor: "And lo, when the Imperium marches against Gul-Kothoth, dark
sorceries shall enshroud the Citadel of the Crown..."

[The Wizards of
Darkly bejewelled 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 this ship, (the splendid flagship of
the navies)
at moon-gleam dancing on the vast, dark sea...
(And in my mind I behold) crystals gleaming... ensorcellment!
I am by this nighted spell...
For I know that the slumbering
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 wings of a great sorrow...

[Chapter 2: The March of the
[The
forth the Ogre-Mage of the Black Lake
And the of Kyrman'ku,
Let speak the Words Which Unfetter...
Enshrined for centuries, within its darksome citadel,
Five and ten against the Tiger, (curse) the black 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 this 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 of the Emperor's forces... Bolstered by heavy cavalry, and
a squadron of deadly scythed chariots... reinforced by the Imperial
Frontier Army of one hundred tho usand highly 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 Phalanx, six thousand strong, our ever-honed blades, the Tiger's
claws.
Pride of the Empire, of the Vraii,
at Turonium, and Kai-Vorg.
Smiters of the Southern Host, of the Horde, Bane of the Over-King, we
to war!
And so, the Emperor himself rides to rendezvous Baalthus Vane,
accompanied by his sorcerous aide. The Legion of the Ebon Tiger
Gul-Kothoth at dusk on the fifth day of march from the fields of
Kai-Vorg, halting upon the great arid which stretches before the city,
the huge dust cloud sent up by their massed arrival obscuring the dying
of the setting sun. As the army begins to make camp, arraying their
splendid 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 that a torrent of red
shall befall Gul-Kothoth, of any sorcerous trinkets the Vyrgothians
may possess, and that the shall pay dearly for his sublime
arrogance. And twelve leagues distant, an of five score and ten, bearing
the Crown, approaches the city...

[To be continued in Chaper 3: The Do Battle]

Byron]
[Music: and Chris Maudling]