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 Vyrgothian had raged
for years. Beginning as minor over border territories, the conflict
had escalated into a full-scale bloody war, a vast series of epic
campaigns, fervently perpetua ted by the Emperor Koord and the of
Vyrgothia, both eager to smite traditional ancestral foes and to win
great and the adulation of their people by seizing victory in battle.
months had seen the forces of the Imperium display a staggering degree
of mastery and battle prowess, contemptuously crushing the Vyrgothian
armies in a of great battles, 'til at last, following the slaughterous
Rout of the of Kai-Vorg, The Empire's finest fighting force, the fame
d and far-feared Legion of the Ebon Tiger, stood 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
count numerous and r esounding victories, and their commander, the
legendary Baalthus Vane, made it clear to the Emperor that he was
eager to press on deep into the lands and seize the prize which
awaited him; the siege and capture of Gul-Kothoth! And yet the Emperor
Koord did not order the Legion to march, for disturbing had of
late been relayed to him by his spies in the Vyrgothian Royal Court...
abounded that the Vyrgothian mages had at last discovered the ancient
arcane r ites which would the aeons-fettered power of the dread
Obsidian Crown, a mystical artefact countless thousands of years old,
a circlet believed once to have been borne upon the immortal
of the legendary Shadow-King him self! And it was written in legend,
that should the spells of might entwining the artefact be reawakened,
incredible near limitless ruinous power would thus be bestowed upon any
army carrying the Crown into battle... Had the of Vyrgoth ia truly
ascertained the time-lost conjurations to empower the Obsidian Crown,
hidden for centuries deep within the marble vaults of its ebon citadel?
to know the truth, the dispatched his most powerful sorcerer across
the great In Sea to the Court of the Over-King, under the pretence of
offering the for the Vyrgothian surrender. He was bade use all his
sorcerous skills to the truth... a truth soon made clear by the
disdainful refusal of the terms, an d the grimly fearsome message
the sorcerer by Vyrgothia's Master Wizard, with which to return to the
Emperor: "And lo, when the Imperium against Gul-Kothoth, then dark
shall enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown..."

[The Wizards of
bejewelled circlet of night,
Crown of the King,
at last the Trinity of Might,
The sceptre, the sword, and the ring.

[The
I stand upon the oaken planks of this great ship, (the splendid of
the navies)
Gazing at dancing on the vast, dark sea...
(And in my mind I behold) black gleaming... ensorcellment!
I am enthralled by this spell...
For I know that the slumbering
Of the Shadow-King's crown soon be reawakened...
And as I to my emperor (shackled to such woefully grim tidings),
My spirit is borne upon the leathern of a great sorrow...

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

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

Vane:]
Our banner flies ever glorious, we stand, steeped in victory.
The Iron Phalanx, six 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, Routers of the Horde, of the Over-King, we
to war!
And so, the Emperor himself to rendezvous with Baalthus Vane,
accompanied by his sorcerous aide. The Legion of the Ebon reaches
Gul-Kothoth at dusk on the fifth day of their from the fields of
Kai-Vorg, halting upon the great arid plan which stretches the city,
the huge dust cloud up by their massed arrival obscuring the dying embers
of the setting sun. As the vast army begins to make camp, their
splendid tents and banners, and their gargantuan siege-wag ons,
the Emperor stands gazing at the brooding walls and colossal cyclopean
gates of the city-fortress before him, vowing a torrent of red slaughter
shall befall Gul-Kothoth, regardless of any sorcerous the Vyrgothians
may possess, and that the shall pay dearly for his sublime
arrogance. And twelve leagues distant, an army of five and ten, bearing
the Obsidian Crown, the city...

[To be continued in Chaper 3: The Wizards Do

Byron]
[Music: Jonny and Maudling]